ã€ŠStar Odysseyã€‹


 Chapter 1: Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 1: Lu Yin</h4>

    Lu Yin

    Noxious fumes billowed out from the countless cracks that marred the beaten earth, forming a ck veil that obscured the red sunset. Tens of thousands of fearful faces trudged forward on a muddy path, their constant sobs ented by the echoing screams of those who fell into the cracks. This river of despair was nominally guarded by a group of cultivators, once-normal people who had now be unimaginably powerful beings half a year after the Apocalypse struck Earth. They were positioned along the path, each a set distance from the previous, and each responsible for their own section.

    Near the back of thisrge group, Lu Yin suddenly looked up towards arge, burning tree in the distance. A hair-raising sound of flesh being ground apart filled the air before being quickly followed by a loud howl. Then, just momentster, a two-meter-long hound with scarlet pupils charged at the group. Many panicked and screamed at the grisly sight of itsrge jaws dripping with fresh blood, but Lu Yin¡¯s will remained unflustered as he grabbed an odd weapon hanging from his waist. It seemed to be just a metal rod, but were it sharpened enough, it could eventually be a de. He jumped forward and smashed the beast¡¯s head wide open with a single heavy swing, dyeing the nearby grass red with blood. Only after the group witnessed the wild hound¡¯s death did they regain a modicum of calm and quell their fears enough to resume walking.

    ¡°Seems like it won¡¯t be long now,¡± Lu Yin muttered under his breath as he gazed at the cracks that covered his weapon.

    Thest traces of daylight soon slipped underneath the horizon, prompting the cultivators to halt the procession. Each one then lit a bonfire for those under their care, a meager measure taken in the hopes of frightening away any mutant beasts. Walking in the darkness was certain death.

    ¡°Third team from the rear, head out and start looking for food sources. Limit the search radius to one kilometer,¡± Lu Yin said through hismunicator; his personal identification number was 103. After ncing thoughtfully at the fresh carcass of the hound that he had just killed, he hoisted it up and unceremoniously tossed it to his group.

    ¡°Eat.¡±

    Several men moved forward from the group when they received hismand. They soon set to work, exquisitely carving the beast apart so as to roast it, not even wincing once at the strips of human flesh that they had to work around. There was only enough meat for twenty-odd people, however, so Lu Yin grabbed his weapon and headed out to find more.

    The squelches of his boot trudging through the mud didn¡¯t stop even once, but glowing green eyes lit up in the darkness to stare at him. These were mutant mice; although they were unbearable to look at, they were at least edible. Lu Yin killed about a dozen of them before he obtained enough to feed his group, at which point he returned. Another piercing scream informed him that a fellow cultivator had died, but he had no desire to try to save them; nobody knew what dangers lurked in the darkness, and venomous snakes, infectious mosquitos, and even enormous rats that could chew through metal weremon in this areas.

    Lu Yin returned to a mute group that was huddled behind the bonfire, as though the pitiful mes would protect them from the countless dangers around them. His gaze shifted towards the dazzling stars in the clear night sky that were no longer polluted by the light and smog of human industry. Of course, that rity hade with the cost of the mutant beasts¡¯ arrival.

    And mutant humans, too.

    Nobody knew just what had triggered it, nor how it had happened to the entire world in just one night. All sorts of creatures had mutated into deadly beasts, and many humans had simrly lost their minds and be walking zombies without a hint of rationality. Those that survived saw a marginal boost to their own strength; while that alone wasn¡¯t significant, they had also gained the ability to grow stronger by eating the energy cores of the newly emerged mutant creatures. These survivors had renamed themselves ¡°cultivators.¡± The world then seemed to regress into ancient times, where thew of the jungle ruled supreme. Lu Yin had personally witnessed the explosions that had destroyed all of the modern weapons and munitions in his city; it was almost as though this new world order would not allow the existence of such advanced technology.

    A soft gust of wind then drew Lu Yin¡¯s attention to a blood-soaked newspaper fluttering under a stone, which he picked up to read:

    ¡®February 3rd, 2200.This day shall be recorded in the annals of history as the day that Chinese Air Force 5nded on Neptune. The first member of the crew to set foot on the gas giant was Bai Qian¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin tossed the newspaper away when a little girl tottered up and carefully handed him a barbecued meat drumstick. He smiled at her as he said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin contentedly swallowed the hot meat down as the little girl smiled and ran back to the group. The meat was difficult to push down even with the overpowering seasoning, but it was a good source of energy. He suddenly pounded his rod down onto the ground as the bonfire flickered, killing a toxic mantis that had tried to leap through the mes and attack the group. These insects could devastate a group if they seeded; their des that shone among the mes were no weaker than his own weapon. Lu Yin only got two hours of rest over the course of the entire night, as he had to kill a dozen mutants that tried to rush through the mes and attack the group. However, the other groups didn¡¯t have someone like him protecting them. Another group consisting of a dozen cultivators and even more survivors were all massacred by a single mutant boar. The creature¡¯s tough hide was covered in bristling spikes that could be shot out at will, and every volley reaped multiple lives. Several stronger nearby cultivators had to join forces to subdue it lest it cause even more casualties.

    Still, the sun eventually rose and the group continued its southward march towards the city of Jinlin. This city was thergest rallying point in the surrounding region, and many soldiers and cultivators called it their home. Amongst them was Zhou Shan the Executioner, one of the Seven Sages. In the six months after the Apocalypse, the human race had used what limited information it had to construct a rough ranking system for cultivators. Someone who had just swallowed their first energy cores were unssified, and those who had gained the power to crush them were in the Realm of Man. Above that was the Realm of Earth. Cultivators at this level could destroy entire cities with ease, but there was still one realm above them. Those in the Realm of Sky could take to the skies at will; perhaps it was due to their terrifying power in battle or maybe it was due to their role as guardians, but they were known as Sages. The Seven Sages were the seven individuals in China who had reached this realm.

    The overall group was now only a hundred or so miles away from Jinlin, a distance that would have been covered in mere hours only a few years ago. Now, however, that same distance would take several days to cross, and the once-safe roads were also now gued with wandering zombies that were attracted to the aura of life. The guards lining both sides of the procession remained endlessly vignt, but the fear in their eyes was obvious. While the zombies weren¡¯t fast, and even though their monstrous strength could be countered, their blood contained a vile toxin that could seep through skin and infect the brains of any cultivator exposed to it. This toxin would eventually sap its victim of their free will and sentience, turning them into zombies as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened and he gripped his weapon tightly. It wasn¡¯t too difficult to fend zombies off since they always attacked in the same pattern. Unlike cultivators, they could not evolve and grow; otherwise, there would be no survivors in this world. Thergest threat to the procession still came from mutant beasts.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to engage the zombies, however, they suddenly went still before turning around and leaving. An ominous premonition bubbled up as his heartbeat elerated. Just momentster, his omen was fulfilled as the very earth trembled. A thick, dark green vine tore through the ground andshed out at the head of the procession. Its broad leaves captured the various survivors and then crushed them like ripe fruit. Cries of despair rang out once again, and the blood of the victims dripped down, fertilizing the soil below. Let alone themoners, even some of the cultivators turned tail and fled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This mutant vine had definitely reached the Realm of Earth; even though their group had multiple cultivators at the Realm of Man, it would be difficult to take down this mutant vine. Even those who had stuck around did not have any intentions of trying to kill it. Intead, they skirted around the edges of the battle, waiting for the vine to eat its fill. By the time it retreated, wails of desperation and sorrow echoed through the battlefield once more. Even many cultivators would break down at such a gruesome sight.

    ¡°Hold your ground. The Executioner will being to our aid soon,¡± said a husky voice through Lu Yin¡¯smunicator. The hopeful news lifted the spirits of those who had survived. To them, a cultivator in the Realm of Sky was like a god; so long as they appeared, all problems would be solved.

    Sage? Lu Yin scoffed at the rest of the group¡¯s reaction as he surreptitiously flexed his left arm. Even now, the entire left side of his body still pulsed with bone-piercing pain, an ever constant reminder of that fateful night. The entire city had been abandoned, and all of the weaponry and firepower that had yet to be destroyed had been focused within the city itself. The screams from that night still rang vividly in his ear; that was the night he had caught sight of that lofty being with golden eyes.

    Liu Shaoge, the Sage of Light. Lu Yin would never forget the man who had caused him unbearable pain ¡ª pain that he had vowed to return ten times over.

    As always, the bonfires were lit just before dusk. Lu Yin was about to rest when he was alerted by a scream behind him, and upon further examination, there was some crying as well. His brows furrowed as he turned around to see a dozen-odd cultivators surrounding several girls with ripped clothes. The girls were barely able to maintain thest shreds of their dignity as the men sciously toyed with them.

    Unfortunately, this was not an umon sight. Humans, too, had reverted to a barbaric philosophy after the cmity. One had to pay a price for protection in this world of beasts. Lu Yin shut his eyes, his consciousness fading away.

    ¡­

    Not far away, a girl screamed as she was pushed to the ground. A cultivator towered over her. ¡°Goddamn it, I put my life on the line to protect y¡¯all. So what if I want to have some fun with you? You should consider yourself lucky. A rising starlet slept with me just two days ago, but now, I¡¯d refuse her even if she begged me. Get up!¡±

    The girl¡¯s cheeks were flushed red with anger as she stared at her oppressor, but the surrounding cultivators justughed raunchily. These people fit right into this kind of world where one could do as they pleased as long as they had the power.

    *Whoosh!* A quick gust of wind brought a new member to the crowd, his rod held against the man¡¯s neck as he indifferently stated, ¡°Scram.¡± The surroundings instantly fell quiet save for the soft sobbing of the girls.

    The threatened cultivator¡¯s expression soured and he gritted his teeth. ¡°This has nothing to do with you, Lu. They¡¯re under mymand.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy,¡± Lu Yin said emotionlessly as he mmed his weapon into the man¡¯s throat. Skin tore open as blood spilt forth, staining the metal rod a familiar color. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be that vicious, then sure. They¡¯re all yours now. I won¡¯t touch them.¡±

    He then withdrew his weapon and calmly walked back to his previous spot, the silenced crowd watching with confusion. They had already grown used to such acts, and normally, nobody would have stepped forward to save these girls even if they were about to be killed. To them, Lu Yin was the strange one.

    The rest of the cultivators all shared a nce as they seethed with rage. However, none of them dared to make a move; they all knew that Lu Yin was more powerful than them. The girls ran over to say something, but when he closed his eyes with no intention to talk, they could only give him a look of gratitude.

    Not long after, a stunning youngdy dressed in revealing clothing walked over with a smile. She stared at the girls until they lowered their heads in fear, and was only satisfied once they all backed off. She then sat down beside Lu Yin and gently blew into his ear.

    However, the response was a calloused hand wrapping itself around her throat. ¡°One more time and you¡¯re dead.¡±

    ¡°Still so heartless,¡± the woman spat out, forcing a smile onto her face even as her eyes dimmed.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly as he released his grip.

    ¡°Ack. Don¡¯t you know you¡¯ve already offended somebody?¡± she asked with a re, rubbing her throat pitifully. When he didn¡¯t reply, she continued exining. ¡°Zhang Tong and his group are plotting against you. They have over ten cultivators while you¡¯re alone. You can¡¯t deal with them. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lu Yin ndly replied.

    The woman groaned helplessly, ¡°You know, I have some backing myself. I can help you out of this. All you need to do is ask.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t need it.¡±

    ¡°Sigh. Alright. Well, feel free to call me whenever you want. As for Zhang Tong, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll handle them for you. See you soon.¡± She shed him a smile before turning around, leaving a hint of fragrance in her wake. Lu Yin simply closed his eyes again,pletely unaffected by the woman¡¯s arrival and departure.

 Chapter 2: Camp of the Seven Sages

    <h4>Chapter 2: Camp of the Seven Sages</h4>

    ¡°Congrattions, things have been handled!¡± The beautiful woman wasn¡¯t gone for long. Later the same night, she was back with a smile on her face, only exining herself after Lu Yin cast a look of doubt her way, ¡°I asked my older brother to help and he captured Zhang Tong. He¡¯s inviting you over to discuss what you¡¯d like to do with the captives.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up and he got to his feet, ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±

    The womanughed and headed out, leading him through the bonfires until they were about 300 meters away from another group not far from Lu Yin¡¯s original quarry. This section was no safer, but as Lu Yin arrived, he saw Zhang Tong and the other cultivators who¡¯d tried to rape the girls kneeling on the ground. In front of the dozen of them was a tall, burly man with his hands sped behind his back whom the woman spoke to in a sweet voice, ¡°Brother, Lu Yin is here.¡±

    The man turned around and smiled, ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°My name is Liu Sheng. I am one of the captains in this troop.¡±

    ¡°I know who you are,¡± Lu Yin responded bluntly to the man¡¯s arrogant tone.

    Liu Sheng arched his brows; he did not like the attitude Lu Yin had just shown, ¡°You want to deal with this group? They¡¯re all yours.¡±

    Lu Yin looked him in the eye, ¡°Name your conditions.¡±

    The corners of Liu Sheng¡¯s mouth twitched as he stared hard at Lu Yin, ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point, then; I¡¯ve heard about your exploits and have been observing you. I don¡¯t believe you have absorbed any energy cores from the bodies of mutant beasts, but you are still so powerful. Can you tell me why?¡±

    The beautiful woman eagerly looked on from the side, clearly awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s answer with great anticipation. Even Zhang Tong and his group of cultivators who were kneeling on the floor couldn¡¯t help but stare.

    However, what they got in response was a mocking smile, ¡°Is that why you lured me here?¡±

    Liu Sheng smiled faintly and nced at the beautiful woman, who took a few steps forward to arrive by Lu Yin¡¯s side. She spoke in a husky voice, ¡°Mister Lu, won¡¯t you please tell us? Is there another method of cultivation? Telling us is like telling all of mankind; humanity will forever be grateful. Me, especially...¡±

    ¡°I told you, one more time and you¡¯re dead¡± Lu Yin spun around as she leaned against him, his weapon shing by her throat. The woman clutched her neck in shock as blood poured down her fingers, dying her clothes red as she crumpled to the ground. She hadpletely ignored the prior warning because she believed he wouldn¡¯t be so bold as to kill her in front of her brother. After all, Liu Sheng was a captain, a powerful figure in the Realm of Man! Even said brother was stunned into silence by this act, not having expected it at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re all so annoying, watching me ever since your group formed. It ends tonight,¡± Lu Yin brandished his rod, heading straight towards Liu Sheng and swinging towards his skull.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Liu Sheng shouted in a rage, drawing out an intimidating sword from his waist to block Lu Yin¡¯s weapon. He expected to deflect the rod and even wound Lu Yin in one swipe, but reality betrayed those lofty ambitions. His sword was split in two from the impact, and the tip of the steel rod even left a deep wound in his right shoulder.

    Liu Sheng could not believe what had just happened. He was a powerful figure in the Realm of Man, more than capable of fighting a number of ordinary cultivators at the same time. He had never expected to lose so handily inbat.

    Lu Yin had chopped right into his target, but that wasn¡¯t enough to sate him. Liu Sheng barely dodged the next horizontal strike, shing out with the broken sword, but the rod knocked the handle away with so much force that the impact created a small crack in the ground.

    ¡°What are you all looking at?! Come on, let¡¯s kill him!¡± Liu Sheng cried out, ring at Zhang Tong and the rest. None of them dared to hesitate and they all immediately took up different kinds of weapons, but Lu Yin was prepared for their charge. He had an icy look in his eyes as heunched forward, his legs creating ripples in the ground that could be seen by the naked eye. His body rushed more than ten meters ahead as the tip of his rod chopped down. In an instant, Zhang Tong and the rest nced down to see blood dripping from their chests. A dozen corpses fell to the ground a momentter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was already hard as steel by this point. They were at the worst time in history, a world that waspletelywless, but this was also the best time to take care of scum without consequences.

    ¡°How is this possible? No one in the Realm of Man can do that; you have to be someone in the Realm of Earth!¡± Liu Sheng looked up at him with a vacant gaze, shivering as the sight of his icy gaze. He immediately knelt down on the ground, ¡°Lu Yin¡ª no, Master Lu, please! Let me off, and I¡¯ll be yourckey. I can kill anyone you want, get you women. I¡¯ll do anything you ask!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t respond, simply raising his head and gazing at the starry sky. A sinister glint shed in Liu Sheng¡¯s eyes as he drew his de and stabbed out, but the figure that was pierced slowly faded away. Liu Sheng¡¯s gaze nked as he stared in disbelief; what on earth was this?

    ¡°This is known as the Roving Step, a type of battle skill that originates from the starry sky,¡± Lu Yin responded to the unspoken question in his deadpan tone, an equally bored swing sending the steel rod crashing into Liu Sheng¡¯s skull. He just sighed and stowed his weapon away as the man went down, continuing to gaze at the sky in thought, ¡®I¡¯m just a guest but here I am, stealing the show.¡¯

    He soon finished extracting the energy cores from the bodies of Liu Sheng and the rest, moving them towards a ring where they just disappeared as though they¡¯d never existed before. This was a cosmic ring, a precious ornament capable of storing a myriad of items. It, too, hade from the starry sky.

    ¡­¡­

    No one would bother with the disappearance of Zhang Tong and the rest, but Liu Sheng was different; he was a captain. His sudden disappearance would definitely draw the attention of the other captains, but he had hatched his scheme in secret to obtain Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation method. He¡¯d already covered all his tracks, so one could even say it was his fault that no one came looking for Lu Yin. Afternoon the next day, this incident was thrown to the back of everyone¡¯s mind as tens of thousands of people looked into the sky. They had just received news that the Executioner was about to arrive, so they were lying in wait.

    It didn¡¯t take long for a ck figure to appear high in the sky, looking down on them all. Zhou Shan was more than two meters tall, with short hair and a muscr physique. He carried an enormous three-meter-long axe that seemed capable of splitting mountains, cutting an imposing figure as he hovered over the awe-struck cloud. So this was a man who could fly, a powerful figure in the Realm of Sky. He didn¡¯t utter a single word before raising his hands, sending an explosive gust down towards the people below. The dust blown up by the winds blinded thousands for a while, but the cultivators ignored teary eyes to stare at the powerful Sage who was capable of amazing feats of destruction.

    Huge vines twirled out from the ground and lunged viciously towards Zhou Shan, but he just screamed out a roar that resounded in everyone¡¯s ears before raising his axe high into the sky. The wind gathered into translucent winds behind him. ¡°Storm sh!¡± he shouted out loud, flipping andnding down on the ground while chopping at the vines. Huge cracks spread out across the earth as dust flew everywhere, gusts spreading throughout the surroundings. Fortunately, the captains of this group had been stationed up front and managed to cushion the crowd from the blow.

    Lu Yin kept a close eye on the events. Everyone had guessed that these vines were in the Realm of Earth, but he had felt that they were actually in the Realm of Sky. Zhou Shan needed to go all out to fend them off.

    A huge gust of wind blew past. and when the dust settled everyone saw the Executioner with his axe resting against the ground. The terrifying vines had been destroyedpletely, and there was even a huge hole in the ground that was full of green liquid. As thousands burst into cheers, he picked up his axe and took to the sky once more, ¡°Let us head to Nanjing at once, it is much safer there.¡±

    ¡°¡°Thank you, Executioner.¡±¡± ¡°¡°Long live the Executioner!¡±¡± ¡°¡°Executioner!¡±¡± Thousands of voices screamed his title in exaltation. In these chaotic times, what everyone wished for was a hero. Just like the rest of the Seven Sages, Zhou Shan fit that bill.

    ¡°Soon¡­¡± Lu Yin gripped his steel rod tightly. He hadn¡¯t yet entered the Realm of Sky himself; just like Liu Sheng had said, he didn¡¯t use energy cores to cultivate. He had to look for other ways to grow his strength, finding the true road of cultivation in the starry sky.

    The group advanced steadily under Zhou Shan¡¯s protection. There were definitely beings in this world that were much stronger than him, but the chance of actually encountering one of them was close to zero. A dayter, the tens of thousands of people reached Nanjing. It was only then that many people started to put down their belongings and burst out in loud cries.

    Nanjing waspletely locked down by huge walls, with rows of cultivators on each watching the thousands of lucky survivors streaming in. Some had sad looks in their eyes; this team had lost nearly a tenth of its total manpower since they¡¯d started their rough journey.

    Lu Yin recalled how the city had looked when he visited in times of peace, a picturesque scene with ancient trees covering the footpaths. Now, its suburbs had been abandoned to the hordes of zombies and it had shrunk down greatly. If not for Zhou Shan paving the way, the people would have had to fight a bloody battle just to enter.

    The survivors were organized into groups while the cultivators were separated into another group. This group of cultivators consisted of approximately five hundred individuals, and whenpared to the total survivors, each one in charge of the protection of close to a hundredmoners. Many people could start cultivating after eating an energy core, but unfortunately, zombies did not have any in their bodies and it was extremely difficult to kill the mutant beasts which did.

    Back in the camp, Executioner Zhou Shan had set up a team to manage the cultivators. Every single one who gathered in Nanjing had to participate in its defense regardless of willingness, registering at the camp to have their battle abilities and health conditions tested. Lu Yin and the others were also brought to this camp.

    This camp was by no means small, upying all of Nanjing. It was rumored that there were countless zombies and mutant beasts roaming around it when the camp had first been established; Zhou Shan had led the cultivators on a month-long expedition to upy the former tourist city. With Nanjing at the center, the camp spread out in all four directions, allowing survivors to sessfully reach the gathering point in Zhongshan which was one of the biggest concentrations of survivors in China.

    There was a solemn silence amongst the neers in the camp, all of them looking enviously at the cultivators who were already in matching uniforms. They would join those ranks in the near future.

    ¡°It is an incredible feat that the Executioner could build this camp to this extent in merely half a year,¡± someonemented.

    Someone else echoed the sentiment, ¡°Many went into hiding when the Apocalypse arrived, but the Executioner immediately established this camp. It will be a dominant force in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin walked among the cultivators and looked around at the soldiers who would pass by on asion. These people were tough, true soldiers. Logically speaking, when the world was ending, there would be nobody charismatic enough to be able to form such a structure, and yet, the camp was still here. There was only one reason; the members of this organization were all true soldiers and Zhou Shan represented the country.

    The apocalypse did not destroy China; in fact, it stabilized the country. Zhou Shan was a member of the military and even one of the Seven Sages; if not for both of those connections, he would never have been able to reach the Realm of Sky in merely half a year. It was yet to be determined if it was a blessing that the apocalypse had not brought about a copse in themunication systems, but if that had happened, it would have been impossible even for nations to stabilize in such a short period of time.

 Chapter 3: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 3: Arrival</h4>

    Zhongshan had been cleared out entirely, leaving the enormous za filled with numerous modern facilities that left the neer cultivators in awe. They saw soldiers walk by with uniform des on their backs; a strange fusion of modern and ancient equipment. Regr guns had be useless as cultivation developed, and many national armories had been destroyed in the Apocalypse. For someone to still be able to outfit all their soldiers with standardized equipment was a demonstration of their power and influence.

    Lu Yin and the other neers were taken to a huge square where they were encircled by the soldiers, both men and women alike. About ten meters above them was a square of clear ss that separated another area from which quite a few people looked down on the soldiers and neers while giggling.

    ¡°I wonder if there are any useful ones this time. It¡¯ll be good if we could get someone of decent strength or even in the Realm of Man,¡± someone grunted from among the overlookers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up. The Realm of Man isn¡¯t easy to reach. Besides, the Executioner has already decided who the Realm of Man captains will be. Neither of us qualified,¡± a beautiful woman next to the man replied irritatedly.

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been easy guarding tens of thousands of survivors to Nanjing, so I have pretty high expectations of this group. If you don¡¯t want them, I¡¯d be happy to take them off your hands.¡± a young man said with a smile.

    ¡°Stop dreaming. It all depends on how Feng Hong handles this. He¡¯s the instructor this time, so he¡¯s sure to get the best ones,¡± the middle-aged man said.

    All the people in this upper area were captains at the camp. The camp held eighty thousand cultivators, of whom only those that had reached the Realm of Earth could be captains. Each held almost absolute power in Nanjing, with status second only to the Executioner himself. Sight of the Executioner was a rare asion to the millions of survivors in Nanjing, so to most, the captains were the ones in power.

    ¡°Apparently, the Water Sage¡¯s disciples areing to Nanjing to battle one of us. Who wants to take on the challenge?¡± the beautiful woman suddenly asked with a grin, bursting intoughter when everyone went silent, ¡°Rumors say that she dered the Snow Maidens invincible in the Realm of Earth. Don¡¯t you guys want to defend your reputations?¡±

    Nobody said a word in response, and despite a giggle the woman covered her mouth and went quiet as well. Although themon person might think that the Seven Sages stood equal, a few individuals knew that there were three high sages and four normal sages. The Water Sage with the Blue Camp atop her icy peak was a high sage, while Zhou Shan was only a regr sage ranked below her.

    Meanwhile in the za below, the cultivators were being checked individually. This was mostly due to the many new diseases that had sprung up since the apocalypse. The sickness that could be contracted from the zombies was particrly difficult to treat, so the camp had to ensure that all newly arrived cultivators did not carry any illness that could endanger the camp. It was soon Lu Yin¡¯s turn, and the nurse filled in his details while he turned in his blood sample. His eyes flickered and his body blurred briefly as he exerted strength in his legs, but the only change was a slight change in the color of the blood sample. For a moment it had seemed to possess a hint of purple, but that was soon gone and the blood went back to normal.

    ¡°Lu Yin, was it? This will just take a moment, so please wait for a bit,¡± the nurse smiled gently at him. Lu Yin nodded, thanked the nurse, and walked to the other side to wait.

    It didn¡¯t take much time before the tests on all of the nearly five hundred cultivators werepleted withoutplications. Before much time passed, a middle-aged man in a dark military uniform arrived, exerting a wave of pressure that cracked the earth and left everyone awestruck.

    ¡°He¡¯s- He¡¯s in the Realm of Earth! A Realm of Earth expert!¡± Someone shouted, instilling fear and envy into the onlookers.

    The middle-aged man stopped about ten meters away from the neers before speaking with a clear voice, ¡°My name is Feng Hong and I¡¯m a captain in this camp. I¡¯ll say this just once: whoever is unwilling to enter the camp, leave now!¡±

    Hundreds of cultivators looked at each other and people started to leave the formation one after the other. While the camp was powerful, those who enjoyed its shelter had to fulfill certain obligations as well. Many of these cultivators had never been soldiers, and it was quite normal for them to not want that kind of life. Lu Yin himself was in this group.

    Almost two hundred people were unwilling to enter the camp, which was nearly half of the neers. Feng Hong looked at the departing group and said, ¡°Joining us not only ensures your protection, but we will also look after your loved ones. They will be taken to a location near Zhongshan. Also, you will be provided with energy crystals to train and it is even possible to receive a battle technique from the Executioner.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a battle technique?¡± Someone asked curiously.

    Feng Hong replied coldly, ¡°A technique that can allow you to exert twice your maximum power. The Executioner¡¯s battle technique is the Storm sh. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen it before, I don¡¯t need to exin that few can block it.¡± This visibly excited all of the cultivators. They had indeed seen the Storm sh before¡ª with just one attack, the Executioner had taken out all of the mutant vines and cracked the earth. Even the winds had shifted in the face of his overwhelming might.

    ¡°Can we learn that?¡± someone asked longingly.

    ¡°So long as they are acknowledged by the Executioner, anyone can,¡± Feng Hong answered coldly, drawing back many of the cultivators who had started to leave. In the end, Lu Yin was among less than fifty people who were still determined to leave.

    ¡°Take them away,¡± the captain waved them off, sending some soldiers to escort the group out of Zhongshan. Looking back, Lu Yin knew that the camp would erupt into chaos soon enough.

    Outside Zhongshan were a substantial number of survivors and even cultivators. As Lu Yin and the others came out, the crowd immediately pounced on them.

    ¡°Would you like to buy some real estate? If you do, you cane to me. I guarantee I¡¯ll give you a good deal.¡±

    ¡°Want to travel, sir? Don¡¯t look at me like that. There¡¯s way too many zombies and monsters outside Zhongshan, and without a guide, you¡¯re sure to get surrounded in no time.¡±

    ¡°Would you like a weapon, Sir? I¡¯ve got sharp des, tough spears, and a lot of other options. If you want to buy explosives or firearms, I¡¯ve got those too. How about buying some self-defense options?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Who has a map?¡± Lu Yin asked into the crowd, garnering the attention of a beady-eyed cultivator who approached immediately and red at the surrounding hawkers to shoo them away. He then carefully took a map out of his pockets, ¡°Here, only ten crystals.¡±

    ¡°Ten? For a map?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s brows shot up, ¡°You do know that a single energy crystal is enough for a normal person to be a cultivator?¡±

    The man whispered in response, ¡°Brother, this isn¡¯t just any map. It marks out the ces where powerful monsters and zombies gather outside Zhongshan. You wouldn¡¯t want to be surrounded the moment you leave, right? This is your life. Are you telling me your own life isn¡¯t worth ten crystals?¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°Three is the best you¡¯ll get. I don¡¯t have any more.¡±

    ¡°Deal. Take the map, my new friend.¡±

    Lu Yin suspected he¡¯d been conned since the cultivator had agreed way too easily, but he didn¡¯t really mind. He took three grain-sized crystals and passed them to the cultivator who grabbed them excitedly. He then leaned in closer and whispered, ¡°Here¡¯s a little extra for you since you were so easy to do business with. No need to thank me.¡±

    With that, the man pushed a round pill into Lu Yin¡¯s palm and left. Lu Yin recognized it immediately, but that actually prompted a confused look. This was an aphrodisiac, and a powerful one at that. While numerous nt mutations had rendered many older medicines obsolete, products from the new vegetation were more effective than anything humans had before. Lu Yin had seen people who¡¯d used these pills before, and knew just how effective they were, but they were also in high demand and extremely expensive. No matter what, a single one was certainly worth more than the three energy crystals he¡¯d paid for this map. Who was this guy?

    Lu Yin ignored his own question and tossed the aphrodisiac before looking around and heading towards the outer city. Studying the map along the way, he headed towards a barren hilly region to the south. ¡®I hope I¡¯ll find some clues there.¡¯

    ¡­¡­

    At the highest point in Zhongshan, a gathering mostlyprised of captains sat in a meeting room. On the left of the empty seat at the head of the table was a man in a military uniform with a scar on his face. On the right sat a lovely young woman with sses.

    The captains spent a long time waiting before Zhou Shan walked into the room and casually sat at the head of the table. His gaze swept over everyone in the room before resting on the young woman with sses, ¡°How¡¯s the n proceeding?¡±

    The girl adjusted her sses, ¡°The initial n to expand Nanjing''s base will take at least two months, and we could lose up to two or three thousand people in battle. If you want to expand Nanjing to its peacetime borders, we¡¯ll likely see three times those casualties.¡±

    Zhou Shan frowned, ¡°We need to expand the base. The northern expansion has been going well, and in a few months we¡¯ll link to the capital city. At that point, the whole country will be reconnected and reiming our country¡¯snd will be easy. Showing weakness here will be a joke.¡±

    ¡°Executioner, we just received word that the Tianzhu Monk has entered the Realm of Sky,¡± the man with a scarred face reported. The room broke out in discussions at the news. The whole of China only had seven Realm of Sky cultivators, showing the difficulty in reaching that level. For the Tianzhu Monk to reach that realm was a huge surprise.

    Zhou Shan¡¯s gaze cooled, ¡°Ku Sen? Investigate him. It¡¯s impossible for anyone to reach the Realm of Sky within a year.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    The scar-faced man had finished and a cultivator stood to speak up, but suddenly froze as he stared outside the window. Everyone followed suit and made simr dazed faces. Zhou Shan spun around to look, his eyes narrowing as he peered outside.

    Dozens of meteors streaked across the sky, leaving fiery trails in their wakes. One of them flew in the direction of Nanjing beforending to the south of the gathering point, shaking the earth. These meteors were more dazzling than fireworks, drawing the attention of countless survivors.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin had watched the scene with the meteors as well, and from a vantage point much closer than any of the other observers. Having followed his new map to the hills south of Zhongshan, he wasn¡¯t far from thending zone when violent shockwaves blew away the clouds. He watched as the earth cracked and debris flew through the air, having to kick away a piece of metal that shot toward him before looking further south. After a brief moment of contemtion, he dashed in the direction of the crash.

    Back within Nanjing, the Executioner soared into the sky. He was just about to charge south before he was stopped by a report, ¡°Sir, a horde of zombies is charging at the walls!¡±

    Zhou Shan turned to the east, finding a ck mass of zombies heading towards Zhongshan. The city itself had been sealed off in a quick response, but quite a few survivors were left outside, crying out in despair. He grabbed his axe and flew outside the city, striking the ground and destroying a number of zombies with his attack, ¡°Open the gates and let the survivors in. I¡¯ll defend the city¡±

    To the south, smoke billowed into the sky from the site of the meteor crash. The crater spread a thousand meters with a white ball at the center only two meters or so in diameter. Equally white smoke was wafting off it, filling the distorted air all around.

    Lu Yin approached the crater and hid in an abandoned factory nearby, observing the white ball through a crack in a wooden board. Although he had expected an event like this, he was still caught off guard when it actually urred, ¡®A spacecraft¡­ This is way earlier than I expected¡±

 Chapter 4: Formcast Model

    <h4>Chapter 4: Formcast Model</h4>

    The door of the spacecraft opened with a dull thud, a hand stretching out from within before pausing. A short-haired young man eventually walked out, ¡°Oof, I¡¯m exhausted! I know this is supposed to be a trial, but why do they have to choose such a remote and make us fly out on our own?¡±

    The youth stepped out and stretched to get used to his white light armor andbat boots, grabbing a dagger from the spacecraft before putting on what looked like a wristwatch and tapping it once. His gaze quickly hardened as the device emitted a beep, and he turned towards Lu Yin¡¯s hiding spot at once, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Lu Yin immediately ran ten meters away from the factory, just in time to avoid an energy sh that split the entire building in two. The young man flew into the sky and stared down, ¡°Are you a native of this?¡±

    Realm of Sky? Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking to you, can¡¯t you hear me?¡± the youth asked with annoyance, casually sweeping his dagger across the air once more. Lu Yin watched as the aftermath formed a deep crater in the ground, raising clouds of dust.

    ¡°You¡¯re an alien?¡± he eventually asked.

    The young man smirked and descended to the ground, ncing at his watch before turning back in shock, ¡°Onlybat level 8? You shouldn¡¯t be able to dodge my attacks at that¡­ Wait, you specialize in body training?¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, ¡°You should be an alien.¡±

    The young man frowned, ¡°That is technically true, but we¡¯d prefer you natives call us masters.¡±

    ¡°Masters?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    The young man looked down at him and said, ¡°The Great Yu Empire has been observing your for a long time. We have control of it, so we¡¯re clearly your masters. Now, do you focus purely on body training? Did you be a Seeker yet, or maybe even a Sentinel?

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s answer prompted the youth to narrow his gaze. He pondered for a moment before realizing that the natives of the couldn¡¯t know the different realms of cultivation, his expression turning cold as he red at Lu Yin, ¡°Attack me. I want to see what you¡¯re capable of.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    The young man scoffed, ¡°Do you know who I am? I¡¯m Vesta, the likes of you can¡¯t possibly hurt me. Even if you could somehow hide yourbat level and were a Sentinel, you still wouldn¡¯t be able topete with me. You get to see just how wide the gap is between us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll attack, then,¡± Lu Yin pulled out his metal rod, rushing forward as Vesta arrogantly crooked a finger.

    The youth dodged his swing with ease, even cing his hands in his pockets, ¡°A¡¯s natural evolution really does produce a group of brutes. Your attack was swift and decisive and you went for the killing blow immediately. Well, this is fine too. It really is the only way we can make soldiers out of you people.¡±

    Lu Yin attacked constantly, his rod releasing thick energy sts that cracked the ground apart, but Vesta continued to defend with ease. Hands still in his pockets, he even blocked hits with his feet alone as hemented, ¡°Actualbat level is 302, not bad. It isn¡¯t easy to be a Seeker in physical body alone, even some Sentinels in my academy struggle to get that far. You¡¯re worthy of a chance to follow me. Be my ve, and I¡¯ll bring you away to a different sky.¡±

    ¡°A different sky?¡± Lu Yin gasped, his rod still stuck against Vesta¡¯s foot.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m an elite student from the First Military School of the Great Yu Empire, qualified and brave enough to apply for trial byary evolution. Once I finish my mission, I will join a higher ss. Following me will be the best thing to happen in your life. Of course, that depends on whether there¡¯s anyone more qualified than you on this; you better pray that isn¡¯t the case. Ha!¡± the youth kicked the rod away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression chilled in the face of Vesta¡¯s arrogance, his right palm starting to vibrate as the air rippled around his hand. The alien youth didn¡¯t pay any attention at first, but once it caught his eye he was stunned, ¡°Shockwave Palm? How do you¡ª¡±

    Lu Yin smashed his palm into Vesta¡¯s chest, shockwaves exploding from the impact as the youth¡¯s white armor fell apart. Vesta spat out a mouthful of blood as he was thrown back, but managed to twist his body in the air and draw his knife in an attempted counter. Palm still buzzing, Lu Yin simply charged in.

    ¡°You¡¯re no native!¡± Vesta growled, attempting to stab forward in the face of Lu Yin¡¯s continued palm attack, but Lu Yin¡¯s entire body disappeared moments before impact and left him striking an afterimage. ¡°Movement skills?¡± the youth spat out another mouthful, a ring melting apart to form armor that covered his entire body. Bang! Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck him in the same spot as before, a faint crack ringing out in response. Although the armor had barely managed to cover him in time, it still wasn¡¯t enough. His heart waspletely shattered, and his body copsed into a hole next to the spaceship that was now stained with his blood.

    Lu Yin fell nearly to his knees, panting and grimacing in pain. The blood vessels in his right hand had ruptured from forcing use of the Shockwave Palm; if not for the chance to kill Vesta instantly, he wouldn¡¯t have risked disabling his arm for this attack. Fortunately, he¡¯d managed to wait the talkative youth out long enough to seed. Still, two uses of the Shockwave Palm and the Roving Step on top drew everything from his body, leaving him trembling from exhaustion. It took great will to even shuffle over to Vesta¡¯s corpse and grab the armor that had returned to ring form. This was amon piece of defensive equipment used by students, and although Vesta¡¯s was quite mediocre, it could still protect from an attack in the Realm of Sky.

    Besides the ring armor, the device on Vesta¡¯s wrist could detectbat level and also held all of Vesta¡¯s information, including his location. Lu Yin removed the gadget, disabled its tracking mechanism, and stored it in his cosmic ring before looking at the corpse itself, his gazending on the middle finger. He cut the thing off and grabbed a crystal from within.

    ¡®It¡¯s really here!¡¯ Lu Yin was ted as he picked up the crystal; this was the entire reason for his attack on Vesta and why he hadn¡¯t used regr energy crystals to cultivate. This was a formcast model, a crystal that condensed from the energy of a true powerhouse that could stimte one¡¯s biology and sunder their limits. It would also allow them to cultivate by absorbing energy from the universe, which was the most effective training method there was. Consuming energy crystals was much inferior and had many drawbacks, not the least of which were the effort to both gather the crystals and break through one¡¯s own limits. While the energy from the crystals found in the bodies of mutated beasts was also a form of condensed starforce, the crystals had too many impurities and would cause more harm than good when ingested. People who trained with energy crystals were sometimes called rangers, but many simply called them warves.

    Lu Yin did indeede from the skies beyond, but to keep his identity legal he hadn¡¯t trained with a formcast model before arriving at Earth. Every formcast user in the universe was required to register themselves in the Great Yu Empire, but the Empire¡¯s Youth Council had decreed one exception. Anything obtained during aary evolution trial was one¡¯s own property; this was an invible rule.

    ¡°This guy was only a Sentinel, which means this formcast model has been used twice. There¡¯s only one chance left. Tch, I¡¯ll have to keep looking,¡± Lu Yin mumbled as he tossed Vesta into the spacecraft, turning to leave. However, a dark silhouette suddenly cast a shadow upon him, warning him of a sudden attack! He turned his body sideways and blocked the attack with an explosive kick, giving himself a chance to back away. The attacker who was in the Realm of Earth also backed up before raising her head, revealing a delicate face.

    ¡°Why did you attack me?¡± Lu Yin asked icily. Even though he hadn¡¯t felt any killing intent from the woman, a sneak attack was just that.

    The girl studied the spaceship before turning to focus on him, ¡°I saw you throw the alien¡¯s corpse into the spaceship. Why did you kill that alien? Who are you? Do you know something?¡±

    ¡°Why would I tell you?¡± Lu Yin sneered.

    ¡°Because I¡¯ll make you,¡± the woman answered, pulling out a dagger and leaping towards him. The weapon emitted waves of cold as it cut through the air. Lu Yin tried to dodge, but her dagger constantly tore through the air and struck towards his vitals. He eventually found the right moment and grabbed her wrist with one hand, using the other to strike her stomach, but she raised her eyebrows and dropped her weapon to block his palm. The temperature plummeted as their hands met.

    ¡°Battle technique?¡± Lu Yin turned solemn; his palm had started to freeze.

    ¡°You cannot match me. Answer me now,¡± the womanmanded as the temperature dropped further.

 Chapter 5: Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 5: Cultivation</h4>

    Lu Yin grew serious in the face of this unknown assant. He hadn¡¯t even started to recover from his previous battle, so it was impossible to use Shockwave Palm to break free of the chilling grip. As the frost continued to spread and burn down his options, he quickly forced his legs to move and pushed the woman along using Roving Step. The sudden shift immediately left her vomiting uncontrobly, to the point that she nearly fell unconscious. Taking the opportunity to tear off her sleeve, he watched as a few leaves drifted to the ground and froze it.

    ¡°So you had to rely on something external; I knew you couldn¡¯t be that good,¡± he mocked her.

    ¡°What did you just do?¡± the woman gritted her teeth, ¡°Was that a battle technique?¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent, considering whether to kill her, but all thoughts of that were thrown away as a gust filled the hilly area. The Executioner flying over made it impossible for him to make a move, but curiously enough, the woman didn¡¯t actually seem happy to see the man. Was she not from the camp?

    The air billowed out from Zhou Shan as he descended majestically, his eyes sweeping across Lu Yin and the woman before settling on the white spacecraft, ¡°Can someone give me an exnation?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as he considered his answer, ¡°I was exploring the area when this spacecraft crashed down and a person stepped out from within. He tried to kill me, but he might have been injured from the impact so I managed to take him out.¡±

    Zhou Shan stared at Lu Yin before shifting his gaze to the girl, seemingly losing all sense of urgency as he smiled, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Snow Maiden.¡±

    The woman bowed, ¡°Zhao Yu pays her respects to the Executioner.¡±

    This revtion shocked Lu Yin. He had heard of the Snow Maidens before. They were the Water Sage¡¯s disciples from the Blue Camp in the Changbai Mountains. Why was one here at Nanjing??

    ¡°We haven¡¯t met since the Apocalypse. I never expected so much to change,¡± Zhou Shan sighed.

    Zhao Yu gathered herself and bowed, ¡°The Water Sage sends her congrattions for gaining control of the Su District.¡±

    Zhou Shan smiled bitterly, ¡°What is there to congratte? I know how powerful the Three High Sages are; I can¡¯tpare to your master in any way. You alone are already stronger than all of my captains.¡±

    Zhao Yu smiled, ¡°That¡¯s too much to say when I was just defeated by one of yours. He¡¯s quite strong.¡±

    ¡°Him?¡± Zhou Shan pointed at Lu Yin with astonishment, ¡°I don¡¯t even know him.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he one of the Troop Leaders under you?¡± Zhao Yu asked with simr surprise, prompting a curious gaze from the Executioner; he couldn¡¯t see the strength needed to defeat a Snow Maiden in the youth at all.

    Lu Yin stared down while considering the implications of this conversation. These two clearly knew each other from before the Apocalypse, but they hadn¡¯t met since then. This meant Zhou Shan had seen the power of the Three High Sages even before disaster had struck. It was publicly known that the Seven Sages had started cultivating even before the Apocalypse, and Lu Yin had also heard that exploring Neptune had been quite fruitful; a corpse and a warde had been retrieved on that trip. China had eventually sumbed to global pressure and shared some items to prevent a world war, which showed just how valuable they were. He clenched a fist as he pondered; the fact that the Seven Sages were able to cultivate before the Apocalypse showed that they had relied on an object from that corpse. This validated his search; the Seven Sages couldn¡¯t possibly have known about formcast models, so if that corpse was from a supreme being, it possibly still retained the model within the body. This had been his goal all along.

    It wasn¡¯t long before the soldiers from the camp arrived, led by a pretty woman with sses. Zhou Shan ordered his troops to seal off the perimeter, allowing a group of researchers to head towards the spacecraft as he turned to Lu Yin, ¡°Little Brother, what can you tell me about the alien?¡±

    With Zhao Yu¡¯s gaze falling on him as well, Lu Yin took a moment to think over his answer, ¡°I heard him talk a bit. He mentioned some academic assessment, a trial byary evolution.¡±

    Zhou Shan¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°That was all?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°He really didn¡¯t say much. He called us natives, said he wanted to enve me.¡±

    ¡°Natives?¡± Zhou Shan sneered and looked at the sky, ¡°It looks like Earth won¡¯t remain calm much longer. There were dozens of spaceships that justnded, which means dozens of aliens. I didn¡¯t imagine we¡¯d make contact so soon.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the man who didn¡¯t seem all that surprised, but they were soon interrupted by the woman who came up to report, ¡°Executioner, we n to take the spacecraft back to Nanjing for analysis. Unfortunately, the alien¡¯s heart was destroyed. The traces make it seem like he should have had a weapon on hand, but we weren¡¯t able to find anything.¡±

    Lu Yin had ruined the surroundings after he had searched Vesta¡¯s corpse, so they were simply unable to restore the scene to its original state. Zhou Shan looked over, ¡°Little Brother, could you hand over anything that you took from the alien¡¯s body to help us with research? Rest assured, we will return it once our investigation isplete.¡±

    ¡°This is his weapon, I didn¡¯t take anything else,¡± Lu Yin pulled out the dagger after some muttering, opening his shirt up to show Zhou Shan and the rest. It was impossible for anyone here to recognize the cosmic ring; the people of this wouldn¡¯t even think of a ring that acted as a storage space.

    Zhou Shan took the knife and waved it around, a careless sh splitting the earth open in front of him. ¡°Sharp, this material truly isn¡¯t from Earth,¡± he said as he handed the weapon to the spectacled woman, stern gaze focusing on Lu Yin to confirm that nothing else had been concealed. He stepped forward and patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder,plimenting him, ¡°You¡¯ve killed an alien and defeated a Snow Maiden, Little Brother, that¡¯s quite good. What¡¯s your name? Would you be interested in joining my camp as a captain?¡±

    Lu Yin agreed without any hesitation, but in reality, he had no other choice. The Executioner seemed gentle for now, but he knew that he was currently under suspicion. Almost anyone would believe that he¡¯d hidden some of the alien¡¯s possessions away, so he couldn¡¯t be allowed to leave. It was better to just agree and avoid conflict; he didn¡¯t currently have the power to handle someone in the Realm of Sky in a fair fight. Vesta had only died to carelessness, something Zhou Shan would certainly avoid. Besides, there were numerous other cultivators around as well; Zhao Yu alone would be difficult to deal with.

    Said girl suddenly frowned from the side, turning to Zhou Shan, ¡°I can¡¯t contact the Water Sage. All forms ofmunication were cut off when they descended.¡±

    Zhou Shan nodded solemnly, ¡°The pulse from their descent took outmunication lines. I¡¯ll send out emergency repair teams shortly; rest assured that the Blue Camp is fine for now. The Water Sage is powerful.¡±

    Zhao Yu nodded in silent agreement.

    ¡­¡­

    One couldn¡¯t unlock all the secrets of the alien spacecraft overnight, but fortunately it was small enough to be transported back into Zhongshan with ease. Zhou Shan stood at the highest point of Nanjing, looking towards the south. The woman with sses approached him, ¡°Executioner, we finished searching the area surrounding the crater. There was nothing hidden; that man isn¡¯t lying.¡±

    Zhou Shan sighed, ¡°I understand. You may leave.¡±

    ¡°There is another thing I must report. We found evidence of a battle being covered up around the pit. This Lu Yin may not be as simple as he seems. He may be very strong.¡±

    Zhou Shan smiled, ¡°I know. He defeated a Snow Maiden even with injuries to his right palm and leg; his true strength is at the peak of the Realm of Earth. He also doesn¡¯t seem to have absorbed energy crystals a single time in his life; he¡¯s really interesting.¡±

    ¡°Should we continue to monitor him?¡±

    ¡°No need. We should be as united as possible right now. Besides, so what if he hid his strength? He¡¯s only in the Realm of Earth, he can¡¯t reach the next level.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Meanwhile. Lu Yin was in his new captain¡¯s residence near the middle of the camp. While none of the 80,000 soldiers truly served this so-called fourteenth captain, he himself was only concerned with using the formcast model to be a true cultivator. Sitting down cross-legged on his bed, he took ten minutes to slow his breathing before opening his eyes and calmly retrieving the formcast model from his cosmic ring. He grew excited as he bit his index finger hard enough to draw blood, pressing the crystal into the wound.

    The formcast model slowly vanished underneath his skin, and it wasn¡¯t long before the excruciating pain he was waiting for arrived. His gaze defocused and he clenched his teeth as he endured the mind-numbing pain, waves of agony crashing into his body and tearing everything apart. This was the feeling of his cells developing and re-organizing, his very organs and blood vessels writhing as they warped. It felt like a burning hand was squeezing his entire being.

    After what seemed like forever, Lu Yin finally felt a huge surge in his power. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes brightening once more as his body expelled numerous impurities. The energy emitted from the event incinerated this filth, distorting the air around him.

 Chapter 6: The Die And The Cosmic Art

    <h4>Chapter 6: The Die And The Cosmic Art</h4>

    A long time passed before Lu Yin coughed out some more blood, a shockwave rippling out from his body that overturned his tent. The st destroyed equipment and knocked over trees for hundreds of meters in all directions, prompting the arrival of two captains who were looking for the source of the disturbance.

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin, the new captain?¡± Feng Hong¡¯s voice rang out, a questioning gaze directed at the ruins of Lu Yin¡¯s tent.

    Lu Yin quickly emerged from the ruins, walking with unsteady steps. He was pale as a ghost, but still noticed the woman next to Feng Hong as well as the soldiers who were looking on cautiously, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Lu Yin. Sorry for the disturbance.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so weak?¡± The two captains stared at him in shock.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, ¡°I saw the Executioner disy his battle technique a while ago, and it made me want to try mine as well. Unfortunately, I failed and hurt myself.¡±

    Feng Hong immediately rxed and chuckled, ¡°Brother Lu, try to hold back a bit. Battle techniques are difficult to train and take patience. We captains have the asional fortune to train with the Executioner, so I suggest you wait for him.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded with understanding, ¡°I see. Thanks for your advice, Brother Feng.¡±

    Feng Hong waved him off, ¡°You¡¯re most wee. After all, we¡¯re all brothers in this camp and will need to rely on each other to face future disasters. I¡¯ll have someone clear out another tent for you, so get some rest. Right, do you need a doctor?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, these are just superficial wounds. I¡¯m just tired.¡±

    ¡°Good, then we¡¯ll head out. Rest well, Brother Lu,¡± Feng Hong nodded before sending a nce towards the woman. Nodding herself in acknowledgment, she took one more look at Lu Yin and left.

    Lu Yin followed some soldiers to a nearby tent where one soldier saluted him, ¡°I will take my leave now, Commander Lu. Just give us a shout if there¡¯s anything else you need.¡± He nodded and entered his tent as the soldiers left, eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation. The formcast model had seeded, and even given him an enormous surprise. A six-sided die appeared in his palm as he raised his hand, sparkling with starry energy. It lookedpletely ordinary, but he knew it to be an innate gift, something few cultivators got with their first use of a formcast model.

    Innate gifts were odd things that many schrs considered the biggest mystery of existence. no one knew where they came from, and the popr belief that they were connected to one¡¯s origin were spection at best. However, Lu Yin couldn¡¯t care less about said origin; he was only concerned with the properties of the innate gift itself.

    Beforeing to Earth, Lu Yin had heard of many types of powerful innate gifts. Every cultivator with a unique one was a prodigy who would be recruited eagerly all over the universe. Perhaps the most well-known detail about them was the fact that any cultivator with one would gain instant membership amongst the Universe Youth Council. While that was an immense advantage on its own, however, the actual utility of the innate gift was important as well. Lu Yin eagerly poked the die that was gently floating in the air, starting it on a quick spin before it came to a halt. The pips on five sides nked out, leaving only one visible: he¡¯d rolled a five.

    He instantly knew that this side¡¯s use was Pilfer, its details randomly appearing in his mind. The use of this side could steal any item that a random individual had in their cosmic ring, and before he could react a beam of light formed a passage in mid-air. A crystal fragment fell out from within, after which the die blurred and vanished with the passage.

    ¡®This is something that was sto¡ªno, recovered for me?¡¯ Lu Yin stared at the crystal fragment nkly, eventually picking up and studying it. Realizing its use, he grabbed Vesta¡¯s watch from his cosmic ring and inserted the fragment within. A single ray of light drew two words in front of him: Cosmic Art.

    The dazzling images that followed left him dazed. Silhouettes, images of the universe, gxies, and palm prints all shed across his vision for half an hour before the crystal exploded, rousing him from his trance. After a few more minutes of shock, he finally acknowledged that he had received something truly powerful.

    The Cosmic Art was a technique that could allow one to absorb energy from the stars. It imitated the movements of the celestial bodies, and theoretically, each addition to the imitation would increase the speed of energy absorption. Even though the Cosmic Art technique that he had received was iplete, it could still allow him to imitate up to eight orbiting celestial bodies. In other words, if he seeded in learning this technique, his energy absorption would increase eightfold. Furthermore, the technique also included a battle skill called the Cosmic Palm that could allow the user to release star energy from their palm, which was a very powerful ability. This was astonishing!

    Lu Yin stored his personal gadget and excitedly started to review the Cosmic Art. This was something that he had never heard of before, but he had no doubts as to how powerful it was. With such power, it probably even originated from the Innerverse! He was ecstatic at his unbelievable luck. For the die tond on Pilfer was already rare, but he had no right to expect anything more than a random pair of underwear. A powerful technique like the Cosmic Art was enough to secure his future! It was a pity it was only the introductory level of the technique...

    He shook his head and let out augh; he was overthinking things. This type of technique would be a powerhouse¡¯s treasure. The safeguards would be extremelyplicated, and there was no way that someone would put its entirety in a single crystal fragment. What he had received was clearly just a partial recording of theplete technique that must have been taken from some poor fool. Trying to retrieve the entire technique would be a monumental task.

    Lu Yin dismissed this train of thought and left his tent. Leaning against a tree, he gazed up at the sky and pondered about how he would start training this new technique. If he had to imitate celestial orbits, he had to first enter the sky.

    ¡­¡­

    In the depths of the universe was a massive mountain surrounded by a dozen stars, its ming summit making it look like a cigarette butt that pulsed bright and dark every few seconds. The smoke shooting out from this peak seemed like a ribbon sent to wrap around the world.

    ¡°You WHAT?¡± a voice roared within the massive mountain, ¡°You stupid brat, how could you have lost the technique? Did you give it to some wench? Get over here!¡±

    In the darkness, a young man could be seen fleeing in a pitiful state as he covered his buttocks and cried, ¡°Master, please! This is an unjust usation, it wasn¡¯t me! It just disappeared!¡±

    ¡°Do you take your master as a fool? Who could steal something from right under my eyes,e out at once.¡±

    ¡°Master, please! Damn it!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin had little sess with the Cosmic Art over the course of the night. As the sun started to rise, he eventually made his way back towards Zhongshan with tired steps. At the highest point of Zhongshan, many people were seated inside a meeting room. Once again the seat for the chief was left empty, but as Lu Yin entered the room he became the center of everyone¡¯s attention. Some people looked at him with curiosity, other looks were friendly, while still more were suspicious.

    ¡°Brother Lu,e sit over here,¡± Feng Hong called out, an invitation that Lu Yin epted. He ended up sitting between Feng Hong and the beautiful woman he¡¯d seen the night before, and across the other side was the woman with sses whom he¡¯d met out south. Although most of the people here were captains, some researchers were also present.

    When Zhou Shan finally entered the meeting room, he scanned through it and paused on Lu Yin with a hint of suspicion before taking his seat and smiling, ¡°Let me introduce you all to Lu Yin, our newest captain.¡±

    Lu Yin rose from his seat nodded his head in greetings to the other individuals in the room before sitting back down. The meeting quickly moved on to actual issues the camp was facing, forcing him to listen for more than half an hour before it finally ended. Even then he wasn¡¯t dismissed, being asked by Zhou Shan to stay behind for a private conversation, ¡°It felt like you had never trained with energy crystals yesterday. I wanted to ask you about that, but it looks like you were justpletely spent.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded solemnly, ¡°That alien was very powerful. Even severely wounded, fighting him forced me to use all my energy.¡±

    ¡°I could tell. He was someone in the Realm of Sky, so killing him was clearly no easy feat,¡± Zhou Shanughed. Lu Yinughed but otherwise stayed quiet, so the Sage spoke up once more, ¡°I heard you wanted to leave the camp yesterday, why is that?¡±

    ¡°I like my freedom, and the atmosphere of the military camp was too stifling for me,¡± Lu Yin answered

    Zhou Shan nodded his head and sighed, ¡°Many people feel the same way, but when faced with annihtion, we humans should unite together. That requires some sacrifices.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Executioner.¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Zhou Shan grunted in acknowledgment, ¡°How are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°Nothing serious, I¡¯ll heal quickly.¡±

    ¡°We cultivators are lucky in this regard. We have amazing healing abilitiespared to regr humans. True, we are also more at risk, but once you have experienced power, you never want to be weak again. This drives you to work even harder to grow stronger. Many people have died in pursuit of strength, I don¡¯t know when I myself might meet that fate.¡±

 Chapter 7: Within The City

    <h4>Chapter 7: Within The City</h4>

    Lu Yin knew what Zhou Shan said was true. The Seven Sages of China were worth less than ants in the greater universe, the so-called Realm of Sky outmatched even by many students across the myriad stars. Out there, this stage was known as the Sentinel, only the second stage of training.

    The stages of cultivation in the universe started with the Seeker, cultivators who were first starting to look for their paths like helpless chicks. Next came the Sentinel, when they explored the power of the human body. Third was Melder, when one would grow in strength and even reach the limits of the human body. The fourth stage was known as Limiteer, when one broke through the limits of the human body. Beyond this was the Explorer, those who could travel through space all on their own. Someone at this stage could copse the mountains of earth with a single wave of their hands. However, even such powerhouses could not create formcast models. There was no end to the path of cultivation, but people who had trained with energy crystals like Zhou Shan would find it nearly impossible to even be an Explorer. The stronger one became, the more they would realize their own insignificance.

    ¡°Ah, why am I getting all philosophical with you? Let¡¯s go watch the fun. Zhao Yu should be sparring with one of the captains right now.¡± Zhou Shan smiled and led Lu Yin out of the meeting room. They arrived atop the za without further conversation, watching through the ss pane as another captain lost a bout to Zhao Yu. The girl¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t even ruffled yet, but she was still swift and decisive in her attacks. Lu Yin had experienced all this before, but now it was Feng Hong¡¯s turn to receive her assault.

    Zhou Shan looked down and shook his head, ¡°There are strong and weak cultivators at every stage, and the gap can be huge. Zhao Yu can easily defeat my captains even without using any battle techniques.¡±

    ¡°Her technique relies on some sort of nt,¡± Lu Yinmented as he stared down.

    Zhou Shanughed, ¡°Of course. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s the Snow Maidens or the Water Sage herself, they all rely on external objects to use the Frost Palm. The human body is unable to conjure something like that on its own.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed at the foolishness of that statement, but he kept quiet. Powerful battle techniques could even alter nature; it was just that people with such skills didn¡¯t exist on Earth. His own Cosmic Art could even imitate the movements of celestial bodies, though no one would believe him even if he told them.

    Feng Hong¡¯s defeat came quickly, followed by two more captains consecutively being trounced as well. Eventually, no one else was willing to challenge the Snow Maiden, who matched gazes with everyone around her, ¡°I was told all the captains here are capable, why aren¡¯t any of you willing to spar with me?¡±

    Feng Hong and the other captains grimaced, but Zhou Shan justughed from above the za, ¡°The Water Sage¡¯s three disciples are said to be invincible within the Realm of Earth. That certainly seems to ring true!¡±

    Zhao Yu looked up and stared straight at Lu Yin, crooking her finger at him. Feng Hong and the others were surprised, but Lu Yin raised a brow at this open provocation.

    Zhou Shan grinned, ¡°It seems like she¡¯s not convinced that you defeated her yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday didn¡¯t have a clear winner,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Zhou Shan agreed, ¡°Then just go and face her, we can¡¯t embarrass ourselves.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and left the room.

    The hundreds of cultivators in the za were discussing the previous matches, most of them amazed by Zhao Yu¡¯s might. Having defeated multiple captains in a row, she had quickly be a goddess to these soldiers. However, said goddess breathed in deeply as she saw Lu Yin approaching, taking the uing fight seriously. She still couldn¡¯t ept what had happened the day before; despite initially holding the upper hand, she had been defeated by a single battle technique. She wanted to observe that skill once more¡­

    Feng Hong went out of his way to approach Lu Yin and warn him, ¡°Be careful, Brother Lu, this woman can use a battle skill called the Frost Palm that is very strong.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and headed towards Zhao Yu, ¡°Please begin.¡±

    Zhao Yu leaped up with her hand raised, using a dagger in the exact same manner she had next to thending site. A st of cold sliced through the air, but this time Lu Yin evaded it with ease. He waspletely different from the day before; yesterday he had merely been a human with a strong body, but today he was a cultivator who had already entered the Realm of Earth!

    Despite the carefree evasion, Feng Hong was anxious since Zhao Yu¡¯s attacks kept speeding up. There was a freezing energying off the dagger that quickly dropped the temperature in the vicinity, the very earth fracturing as she spun around like a whirlwind. This Snow Maiden¡¯s pressure sted the walls and even suppressed the breathing of some cultivators around. However, Lu Yin merely observed for a while before he lifted an arm and rushed forward, leaving a dazed Zhao Yu behind. She looked at her empty hands; her dagger was now with him.

    Feng Hong was shocked at first, but that quickly changed to excitement, ¡°That was great, Brother Lu!¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, you did great.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Others echoed from the crowd as well.

    Lu Yin turned to face Zhao Yu and casually tossed the dagger back, ¡°Do you want to go again?¡±

    Zhao Yu stared at Lu Yin, ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m quick and have a good eye.¡±

    Bullshit, everyone thought instantly.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Zhao Yu shook her head, ¡°You win. You disarmed me before I could so much as touch you; there shouldn¡¯t be anyone in the Realm of Earth who can match you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, these people were too isted. Seekers of their caliber who had no proper battle skills were innumerable amongst the dregs of the various academies in the universe. That being said, she was still right in a way. There was no Seeker on Earth who could defeat him.

    Zhao Yu sheathed her dagger despondently before realizing that there was something different about Lu Yin from the day before, ¡°You, was your energy used up yesterday?!¡±

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin and just turned around to leave, nning to head out and see if the thing he was searching for could be found in the mountains or some other hidden area. The Snow Maiden desperately wanted to ask him about his battle technique, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to call out to him. Such arts were personal, and she had no right to ask.

    Feng Hong and the other captains were still dazed by Lu Yin¡¯s strength. They hadn¡¯t ever doubted that he¡¯d killed an alien, but all of them had conveniently forgotten that even injured, that was someone in the Realm of Sky.

    While Lu Yin was officially made a captain yesterday, it was only now that the camp gave him any power; he had been assigned 100 soldiers to serve under him. As he walked out from Zhongshan, he summoned a young cultivator with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°Do you have any orders, Sir?¡± the youth asked.

    ¡°Do you know where the old gun store in Nanjing is?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s to the northwest.¡±

    Lu Yin took out a map, ¡°Mark it out for me.¡±

    The soldier took out a pen and circled a ce on the map. Lu Yin took a look, ¡°You can go back, I¡¯ll explore a bit on my own.¡±

    The soldier hesitated, ¡°Sir, the gun store was destroyed even before the Apocalypse. The few remaining ballistics were moved out as well. If you need one, you can ask the Executioner.¡±

    ¡°I understand. You can go back now.¡± Lu Yin nodded, but still walked towards the northwest alone. It was true that the soldiers answered to him, but they were also here to keep an eye on him. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t n to hide his movements anyway; what he was searching for was extremely well-hidden, and it was pointless to search at random. With the strength he had shown, there would be minimal opposition to his advance. In fact, someone could even step forth to help him find what he wanted.

    His assumption was indeed correct. A short while after he left, Zhou Shan paused at a report he¡¯d received, ¡°The weapon storehouse? Why is he heading there?¡±

    The woman adjusted her sses, ¡°It has already been destroyed, and he knows this. We know he¡¯s looking for something, but we don¡¯t know what.¡±

    ¡°Leave him be, we don''t have any secrets here,¡± Zhou Shan smiled.

    Zhongshan was the center of Nanjing, and the closer an area was to the mountain, the safer it was. The urban regions had thus descended into chaos, with people living on the streets and even in the river as they cowered in fear from the zombies outside. However, there were some people who actually celebrated this anarchy. They were no longer restrained by societal morals and gave in to every whim that crossed their minds. Lu Yin had seen many cultivators bullying the survivors, and there was no way for the soldiers to keep everyone in line. Uncertainty was the state of the entire world, but he understood that this was the steep price to be paid whenever a was to evolve.

    The gloomy sky soon gave way to heavy rain, a mix of blood and water flowing in the streets. Lu Yin quickly found a restaurant that seemed clean and took a seat. Even the entrance was crowded here, but not with people wanting to get in. On the few asions where leftovers were brought out to be thrown into the trash, the people would riot for the food.

    ¡°Stay away from me!¡± the waiter, clearly a cultivator himself, scolded the crowd as he tossed them a pail of trash, ¡°And wash the bucket before you return it, or I¡¯m giving this to someone else next time.¡±

 Chapter 8: Fire Crystals

    <h4>Chapter 8: Fire Crystals</h4>

    Watching themotion outside, Lu Yin ordered a random two dishes before looking around. This restaurant clearly had someone important backing it; there were soldiers constantly patrolling the street, and the crowd outside didn¡¯t dare cause a problem. A restaurant that could function in these chaotic times was definitely out of the ordinary.

    ¡°Here is your food, please enjoy.¡± The waiter dropped the dishes off quickly. Lu Yin took a single bite and frowned; although the food was much better than the mutant rats or dogs he had needed to eat, it still wasn¡¯t very good. Swallowing hard, he started to go through it slowly while studying his map.

    Shortly after, a group of about a dozen people entered the restaurant. The restaurant owner¡¯s face lit up as soon as he saw them, ¡°Young Master Kang, pleasee in! The rain is terrible outside, just let us know whatever you want and we¡¯ll send it over right away.¡±

    The young man at the head of the group just nodded in acknowledgment and sat at a nearby table, only briefly ncing at Lu Yin before looking away and tapping the table, ¡°Bring him over.¡±

    A person was thrown to the ground with a thud, overturning several seats. The man looked up at Young Master Kang while trembling, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young Master Kang, I didn¡¯t know that it belonged to you. If I had known, I never would have dared to take it. I¡¯m so, so sorry, please let me off this time!¡±

    The boy sneered, ¡°Let you off? If I did that, I would lose the respect of my followers. Did you know that I was nning to give that item to my uncle? Now that you¡¯ve lost it, I¡¯ll give you two choices; pay me thirty crystals or die.¡±

    ¡°Young Master Kang, no!¡± the person wallowed in despair, ¡°I really didn¡¯t know it was yours. Please forgive me; let me go, and I¡¯ll be your ve for the rest of my life!¡±

    However, the youth just mmed his fist on the table and pulled out a gun, aiming it at the man¡¯s head, ¡°If you don¡¯t have the crystals, you¡¯re dead.¡±

    The person shrank back, wailing in horror, but then suddenly noticed Lu Yin sitting nearby. He pointed over, ¡°It¡¯s him! He¡¯s the one I gave it to!¡±

    Everyone turned around to look at Lu Yin, who simply set his ss down and stayed silent. He had noticed as soon as the group entered that the man being beaten was the same sketchy cultivator who had sold him the map he was studying. He had paid three crystals for the map, and the man had given him a pill as well. He¡¯d found it strange at the time since the pill was very expensive, but now he realized that the pill had been stolen from this Young Master Kang.

    The youth stared at Lu Yin for a while before kicking the sketchy cultivator, ¡°How dare you lie to me, Xu San? Just pointing at a random person won¡¯t save your life!¡±

    Xu San protested desperately, ¡°But it¡¯s true, it really is him! He bought a map from me. Look, I sold him the map on the table, there¡¯s my mark on the bottom right corner.¡±

    Young Master Kang and his followers looked over to check, as did Lu Yin. There was indeed a mark on the corner, and the group immediately dragged Xu San over, ¡°Brother, if you took something that wasn¡¯t yours, shouldn¡¯t you give it back now?¡±

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Lu Yin dismissed them.

    The youth glowered, and one of the cultivators behind him raged, ¡°What a tough attitude. Do you even know who¡¯s behind Young Master Kang? You have some guts!¡±

    Someone else tried to capture Lu Yin just as the man finished, but Lu Yin just took a chopstick and threw it forward. The thin bamboo pierced through the arms of several cultivators before it finally struck the wall, crumbling in the process. Blood sprayed out of the victims even as the wall itself copsed, howls of pain ringing throughout the area. The youth paled and retreated anxiously with the rest of his posse, while the other cultivators and restaurant owner fled in shock.

    Young Master Kang pointed his gun at Lu Yin, ¡°My uncle is a captain. Don¡¯t hurt us and just return it to me, and everything can be worked out.¡±

    ¡°I threw it away,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Young Master Kang obviously didn¡¯t believe him, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you again; hand that thing over, or else you¡¯ll know true despair. You can¡¯t afford to anger a powerhouse in the Realm of Earth.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled, ¡°If your uncle is a Realm of Earth expert, why does he need that pill?¡±

    ¡°How dare you insult my uncle? You must have a death wish. Lao Wu, contact my uncle now,¡± Young Master Kang¡¯s voice spluttered as his face twitched. He wasn¡¯t stupid either, and knew that the gun wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Xu San¡¯s half-dead body on the floor. He had believed that the arrogant young man wanted the pill, but realized that he was actually looking for something else and that Xu San had pushed the me for this onto him. Xu San noticed and immediately avoided his gaze, but he just smiled. He didn¡¯t mind taking the fall, but was now curious about what item could have roused the interest of a captain. He knew that Earth¡¯s evolution was giving rise to many exotic items, which was why so many students from academies across the universe hade here to train. There was a possibility that this captain had found something special.

    A short whileter, a middle-aged man approached the restaurant and waved the soldiers away before peering in. The youth raised his gun up high and called out excitedly, ¡°Uncle, over here!¡±

    Lu Yin looked over only to recognize the man as Kang Dafeng, one of the captains who had been defeated by Zhao Yu. The man nodded towards his nephew, ¡°Did you find it?¡±

    ¡°I did, but this guy took it away!¡± the youth replied angrily.

    Kang Dafeng looked over with simr anger, but that expression quickly changed at the sight of Lu Yin. The image of Zhao Yu¡¯s defeat was still etched in his mind, and he¡¯d even felt envious of the new captain who¡¯d defeated a Snow Maiden with ease. He walked over with a smile, ¡°Brother Lu!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled back, ¡°What a coincidence, Brother Kang. Are you here for a meal?¡±

    Kang Dafeng answered, ¡°This restaurant is owned by my brother, so wee here for our gatherings quite often. I must apologize for what happened today, I hope Brother Lu won¡¯t hold it against my nephew. He¡¯s young and doesn¡¯t know better.¡±

    Everyone was bbergasted by what they were seeing. What did this mean? Had they confronted some powerhouse?

    Lu Yin grinned, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, it was nothing serious.¡±

    Kang Dafeng immediately red at the youth, ¡°Get over here and apologize to Brother Lu.¡±

    The nephew wasn¡¯t stupid, and didn¡¯t stop to question things at all as he smiled and bowed in respect, ¡°Forgive me, Captain Lu, I didn¡¯t recognize you. I hope you won¡¯t me me.¡±

    ¡°I said it¡¯s fine,¡± Lu Yin waved it off, chatting with Kang Dafeng for a while before the man left with the youths in tow. It wasn¡¯t appropriate to say too much to a new acquaintance, but before the man left Lu Yin asked for Xu San to be left behind. In the meanwhile, the owner of the restaurant personally served Lu Yin and offered him many of the best dishes as a courtesy.

    Outside the restaurant, Young Master Kang finally showed his confusion, ¡°Uncle, why were you so polite to that person? Isn¡¯t he another captain like you?¡±

    Kang Dafeng spoke softly, ¡°Remember to be polite if you meet him again. He¡¯s extremely powerful.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you also in the Realm of Earth, Uncle? How strong could he be?¡±

    ¡°Shush! This guy is several times stronger than me. Outside of the Executioner himself, no one in Nanjing can defeat him. Even Li Hongliang might not be a match.¡±

    Young Master Kang¡¯s mouth fell open, and he looked back at the restaurant in a daze before fleeing. Only now did he realize how close he¡¯de to dying.

    Back in the restaurant, Lu Yin looked at Xu San coldly, ¡°You¡¯re quite brave to push the me onto me.¡±

    Xu San felt like all of his luck had left him. First he had stolen something only to discover that it belonged to Young Master Kang, and then he had tried to me someone else who had turned out to be even more powerful! Even a captain had been deferential! Xu San was convinced that God had abandoned him and that he was about to die.

    ¡°What was the thing that Kang Dafeng wanted?¡± L u Yin asked casually.

    ¡°A red crystal, but I already sold it,¡± Xu San copsed on the ground and replied bitterly.

    ¡°Oh? Was it quite hot?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Xu San was shocked.

    Lu Yin immediately recognized the item as a fire crystal. Many battle techniques required such crystals since they could produce mes upon contact. In concept their usage was simr to Zhao Yu¡¯s Frost Palm, they were external items that could help execute a battle technique. Fire crystals were very popr in the universe. and were naturally very rare in a ce like Earth. It was little wonder that Kang Dafeng desired one so much.

    ¡°Do you know where it came from?¡± he asked.

    Xu San shook his head.

    ¡°Hahaha. So you pushed the me on me and made me a random enemy out of nowhere, yet there¡¯s nopensation?¡±

    Xu San paled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin yed with his chopstick, ¡°Do you want to bet that this chopstick can pierce your throat? I feel like testing it out.¡±

    Xu San shook with fear, remembering the earlier scene of another chopstick piercing the arms of multiple cultivators. He started banging his forehead against the floor, his repeated kowtows forming a small lump on his forehead and causing Lu Yin to shake his head; he had gone so far that the man now saw a shadow of his death. Sipping on his water, he prepared to leave.

 Chapter 9: Farsight

    <h4>Chapter 9: Farsight</h4>

    Xu San nervously watched Lu Yin stand up, fully certain of the uing pain. Life had lost its value since the Apocalypse, and murder was quitemon. With the confidence that he was about to be killed to soothe Lu Yin¡¯s anger, he hurriedly shouted, ¡°Sir! I can help you with many things! Please, don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Lu Yin simply ignored him and headed towards the exit, but as he passed by, the man¡¯s fear of death reached a new peak. Xu San had seen many instances of the strong killing the weak, so he braced himself and spoke up, ¡°Sir, I have a special ability that can help you.¡±

    This finally caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention. He stopped immediately, turning around in astonishment, ¡°What did you say? A special ability?¡±

    White with fear, the man stuttered out, ¡°My eyes¡­ I can see very far, much farther than normal people. That¡¯s how I¡¯m so sessful with theft.¡±

    Surprised, Lu Yin squatted beside him and stared at his eyes, noticing the slight angle between his pupils. His excitement grew as he recognized the innate gift, something incredibly rare amongst the countless cultivators of the universe. He frowned, ¡°Farsight? Does anyone else know about this?¡±

    Xu San shook his head, ¡°I didn¡¯t want others to think I was a freak. You¡¯re the first person to know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curved up in a smile, ¡°Your name?¡±

    ¡°Xu San.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, Xu San, follow me from today. You¡¯re now a member of the Nanjing Camp.¡±

    A trembling Xu San nodded, ¡°Are you going to dissect me?¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°I won¡¯t, but others might want to. You must never reveal your special ability, do you understand?¡±

    This exnation confused Xu San a little, but he still nodded in the end. Cultivators who had not left their home could not understand the value of innate gifts. The Universe Youth Council allowed any cultivator with an innate gift to join them directly, an unreachable dream for countless others. To Lu Yin, Xu San was a priceless treasure that would be of immense use in the future. In fact, he could even be sold off for immense wealth.

    ¡­¡­

    Xu San turned out to be surprisingly well-connected in Nanjing. Lu Yin covered all of the district in only a few days¡¯ time, including the destroyed weapons cache, but he couldn¡¯t find a single hint of what he was searching for. He eventually brought Xu San over to a mountain, which the thief promptly exined, ¡°Boss, this is Jinlin¡¯s second-highest peak. It¡¯s only shorter than Zhongshan.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted, ¡°Ignore Zhongshan, look for other areas with a higher concentration of troops.¡±

    Xu San nodded and stared out. His eyes seemed to lose focus but brightened at the same time. A whileter, he smiled bitterly, ¡°Boss, I can see a long way, but I can¡¯t clearly see all of Nanjing.¡±

    ¡°Keep practicing, you¡¯ll get better.¡±

    Xu San remained silent and widened his eyes before suddenly shouting and pointing to the eastern sky, ¡°Boss, is that someone flying?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up with surprise, finding that someone was indeed heading toward the camp. It was also obvious from first nce that this wasn¡¯t someone from Earth, but instead someone from the stars like Vesta. He was soon hovering right over Nanjing, emitting a great roar of violent energy that engulfed it in a tempestuous storm. rms rang out immediately, and many who looked up at the sky froze up in fear of the powerful figure in the air.

    ¡°Realm of Sky?¡± Back in Zhongshan, Feng Hong and the other captains rushed out with deathly-pale faces. Many of them stared at the sky in bewilderment; flight was something only those in the Realm of Sky were capable of. When had another such expert appeared in China?

    Orton looked down on Zhongshan''s assembly grounds from his vantage point, radiating an arrogance reminiscent of Vesta. Perhaps everyone who came from the wider universe treated the people of Earth like savages.

    A voice echoed out from Zhongshan, ¡°Respected warrior in the Realm of Sky, why are you attacking Nanjing''s assembly grounds? This is an area protected by the Executioner Sage.¡± Despite being a question, the voice was noticeably deferential.

    Orton sneered, ¡°Executioner Sage? Is this a title you natives gave yourself? Calling yourself a sage, how bold. Tell him to get out here!¡±

    The millions gathered in Nanjing''s assembly grounds were frightened at this clearly hostile warrior, while Feng Hong and his peers who knew what was going on had ugly expressions on their faces. They understood that this was another alien, just like the one who had been killed a few days ago. This did not bode well for Nanjing.

    ¡°I¡¯M the Executioner!¡± Zhou Shan¡¯s roar rang out from below, his massive three-meter-long axe glinting as he flew into the sky to confront the enemy. Many people cheered at the appearance of their guardian angel.

    Orton scoffed, ¡°You should know of my origins. I¡¯ll give you one chance to serve me; perhaps I¡¯ll bring you out of this and into the skies in the future.¡±

    Zhou Shan squinted his eyes, ¡°Forgive me, I don¡¯t know what origin you speak of.¡±

    Orton sneered, ¡°A mere native dares to act clever with me? Vestanded in this area, so don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t seen him. I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m ranked much higher at the academy than he is, and you will have a much brighter future with me.¡±

    Zhou Shan tightened his grip on his axe, ¡°We¡¯re earthlings, not natives.¡±

    ¡°Looks like words won¡¯t work. I¡¯ll have to show you the difference between natives and their masters.¡± A smirk appeared on Orton¡¯s face, and immediately after he finished speaking a sword shed towards Zhou Shan. Even the Executioner himself was caught off-guard by the surprise attack, but fortunately his reflexes and battle experience allowed him to deflect the longsword with his axe. He spun around with pause, using the momentum for an admirable upward sh that took the enemy by surprise. Orton¡¯s longsword rushed to block the heavy weapon, but even then his body was thrown back a hundred meters and his hands were numbed by the sh. The collision sent shockwaves towards the assembly grounds that sundered the earth, creating crevices hundreds of meters long that sent countless people fleeing for their lives.

    ¡°Such power,¡± Orton was amazed, but he sneered as Zhou Shan swung the axe towards him and again. This time he blocked it with ease, prompting the Executioner to pause and squint before attacking again.

    ¡°Trying to push me away from this ce? No matter, I¡¯ll show you your ce,¡± Orton deflected the massive axe once more with his sword, but was still pushed back by the force. He used the momentum to fly away from the assembly grounds near Nanjing.

    Although the exchange had only taken an instant, countless people were amazed at the sight of people who could fight in mid-air. These men seemed to hold the strength of gods, every blow capable of splitting the earth. Only Feng Hong and the other captains were worried for Zhou Shan; the fact that the aliens willinglynded on Earth showed that they were prepared.

    From the top of a different peak, Xu San was shaken by the sight of the battle. This was the first time he had seen a fight between two warriors in the Realm of Sky, and it greatly broadened his horizons.

    Beside him, Lu Yin frowned as he looked outside the camp towards the source of the vague rumblings. He was aware that any student who came to Earth had their own ring armor that could defend against attacks from Realm of Sky warriors. This should leave Orton invincible and confident in his own victory, but as one of the Seven Sages of China, Zhou Shan could not be underestimated either. The corpse found on Neptune had clearly possessed the ability to travel through space unaided; its origin was a mystery. While he himself looked down upon all the cultivators of Earth, the Sages were the one exception. These people had started cultivating even before the Apocalypse, and the Executioner hadn¡¯t even been all that impressed by Vesta¡¯s corpse and spacecraft a few days ago. There was a real chance that this neer would lose the fight.

    Another earth-shaking rumble soon arose from outside the city, the shockwaves blowing apart the clouds. But then everything went still, and Zhou Shan¡¯s figure flew over on the horizon. Although he was slightly pale, there were no visible injuries as he hefted his axe, causing the onlookers from Nanjing to break out in cheers.

    ¡°Wait here,¡± Lu Yin ordered Xu San before rushing out towards the site of the battle. When he arrived at the spot that was twenty-some kilometers away from the city, all he saw was a burning building and a ruinedndscape. The scars on the earth extended as far as the eye could see, and the zombies and mutant beasts once here had fled or been crushed to nothing.

    Lu Yin squatted down and touched one of the scars, feeling a trace of cold energy still present. This was a remnant of Zhou Shan¡¯s battle technique, which meant that the attack on the mutant vine all those days ago wasn¡¯t the actual limit of Zhou Shan¡¯s ability. He quickly came across some white fragments that were glittering nearby, and picking them up he was startled at what he saw. These were fragments of ring armor! Orton had been beaten so viciously that even his armor had shattered! Unfortunately, the alien was still alive; were it otherwise, Zhou Shan would have taken the corpse back to Nanjing in triumph. Still, he had to re-evaluate the strength of the Seven Sages. He didn¡¯t know how strong the three High Sages were, but Zhou Shan alone already had power near the peak of the Sentinel realm. He heard distant movements that indicated the approach of the other captains, but without any desire to meet them, he immediately left the scene.

 Chapter 10: Cosmic Palm

    <h4>Chapter 10: Cosmic Palm</h4>

    That night, Lu Yin sent Xu San away and headed to the tree outside his tent, looking up at the stars glittering in the clear skies above. He had been trying the Cosmic Art for the past few days, but it wasn¡¯t easy to imitate the orbits of the heavens. He had been clueless all this while, but having seen the aftermath of Zhou Shan¡¯s battle, he stared at the night sky with renewed inspiration. The background noise slowly disappeared as time passed, and the other stars started disappearing as well, leaving only the glow of the moon. This glow illuminated the night sky and himself, quickly bing the only thing he could see.

    He raised his hand subconsciously, forming ripples in the air. Energy started pouring into his body as a lone celestial body shone within his palm. The moon was circling his hand, giving him the power of the Cosmic Palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body shook and he looked at the star on his palm in awe. He could feel terrifying strength within; although he had nothing topare to directly, he felt like this was a move that would surprise even Zhou Shan. Waving it away, he felt the energy surging into his body that he¡¯d absorbed from the world around him. This energy wasn¡¯t limited by energy crystals, and could be absorbed anytime, anywhere. From the information he had on Vesta, his absorption rate was even double of that youth. Such was the power of the Cosmic Art.

    As Lu Yin waved the star away from his palm, Zhou Shan opened his eyes from within his own residence. He had felt a faint hint of terror for a moment, but it went away quickly. ¡°Was it a hallucination? The battle today was too exhausting.¡±

    The next day, Lu Yin received a notification that the Executioner had personally assigned him to the northern frontlines. This was the battlefield that was trying to connect Nanjing to the capital, a dream Zhou Shan had entertained for a long time. He wanted his territory to connect to the capital and then the other six Sages, allowing them to reim all of China together. It was a good idea, but unfortunately extremely difficult. Even the smallest push required months, and they hadn¡¯t even been able toplete a tenth of the journey before the aliens¡¯ arrival had brokenmunication lines.

    The frontlines were the most important thing to Zhou Shan, something he had always focused on. The very fact that half of his fourteen captains were pressing forward here showed his determination to reach the capital. Alongside 10,000 soldiers, the three captains heading forward were Lu Yin, Kang Dafeng, and Luo Yi. Luo Yi was the beautiful captain Lu Yin had seen beside Feng Hong multiple times; she had always been curious about him.

    ¡°Supporting the frontlines? We¡¯re just repairing roads,¡± Luo Yi started grumbling barely a day into their journey, albeit justifiably given that the troops had been moving the entire time. Groups of soldiers were always pausing to repair vehicles and tten the roads, slowing their progress significantly.

    Sitting in an armored vehicle of his own, Lu Yin rested his eyes, only looking up at the sky from time to time. He was wondering whether he could imitate the movements of the ring sun; once he seeded, his absorption rate would double. He already felt close to bing a Sentinel, but it wasn¡¯t easy to imitate the movements of the sun. ¡®Maybe start from the Earth?¡¯ he wondered. It wasn¡¯t a must to look at the skies; he could find videos of the gxy from peaceful times and begin there. He had to consider all the various momentums in the universe to imitate the heavens; it was a near-impossible task, but he would keep trying.

    They soon crossed a city that was still lit ame, the roaming zombies asionally attacking the soldiers who sted them with their guns.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be wasteful, we have a limited amount of ammo,¡± Kang Dafeng scolded the soldiers, dropping the frequency of the shootings.

    Within Lu Yin¡¯s armored vehicle, Xu Sanughed, ¡°Ballistics be more useless as time passes from the Apocalypse. If we don¡¯t use our weapons now, then when should we? Our guns will be nothing more than scrap metal after a while.¡±

    Looking out the window, Lu Yin frowned at the sight of more zombies gathering, ¡°Tell everyone to speed up. We shouldn¡¯t waste our time being surrounded by the zombies in the city.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boss,¡± Xu San answered and left the armored vehicle, after which the army quickly sped up. As the captain who¡¯d defeated Zhao Yu, Lu Yin now had one of the highest positions amongst the captains and neither Kang Dafeng nor Luo Yi dared to disagree with him.

    Along the way, Lu Yin acquired a newfound admiration for Zhao Yu. Not everyone had the courage to travel across the zombie and mutant-infested countryside alone.

    The troops soon came to a stop at a broken road, forced to repair it if they wanted to move forward. Lu Yin closed his eyes and started twirling his finger in the air, imitating the movement of the stars, but he heard Kang Dafeng shouting outside as he started killing zombies. Opening an eye for a nce, he returned to his task.

    ¡°He truly is a captain, even the zombies are afraid of him,¡± Xu Sanmented from the side.

    However, Lu Yin was not impressed, ¡°Ask him toe back and continue the journey. There are too many zombies to kill around here.¡±

    Xu San nodded and was about to leave the vehicle, but he soon turned back, ¡°Boss, Kang Dafeng followed the zombies into that abandoned building.¡±

    Lu Yin finally lifted his head and looked over, heading out of the vehicle a whileter with a solemn expression.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Boss?¡± Xu San asked.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, ¡°There¡¯s no sound.¡±

    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. They should be fighting in the building.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, where¡¯s Kang Dafeng?¡± Luo Yi came over and asked.

    ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll go and take a look,¡± Lu Yin answered, pulling out his metal rod and walking towards the building. Vesta¡¯s dagger was still in Nanjing, where he presumed it would be for a long time. He had also declined the sword Zhou Shan had offered him, so he was continuing to use his metal rod for now.

    Surrounded in mes, the abandoned building looked creepy even in the day. Lu Yin walked in slowly and examined the ce, but despite finding Kang Dafeng¡¯s knife very quickly, he couldn¡¯t find the man himself. He walked further in and took out Vesta¡¯s watch from his cosmic ring, checking for signs ofbat level around. There was soon an arrow pointing right behind him, with the number 900 written underneath.

    Lu Yin immediately nted his body, dodging a white thread that broke into the closest wall. He looked over and saw an enormous mutant spider with six terrifying red eyes, a piece of bloodstained cloth at the corner of its mouth. He sighed in response; he was toote. Kang Dafeng had been eaten. Atbat level 900, this mutant spider was equivalent to someone at the peak of the Realm of Earth. As someone who had only recently gotten to this realm, Kang Dafeng simply wasn¡¯t its match.

    Lu Yin gripped his metal rod tightly and rushed out, sweeping it in the spider¡¯s direction. The beast lifted its legs up to try and avoid his attack, but his body suddenly flickered and appeared right behind it. The rod smashed down and broke its body in half, throwing an undigested Kang Dafeng out of its abdomen. Disgusted by the scene, he frowned and left quickly. Returning to the troops, he had Xu San announce that no one was to leave on their own. Anyone who disobeyed would be exiled.

    ¡°Kang Dafeng, is he dead?¡± Luo Yi asked in shock.

    ¡°You can go take a look in the building, his body wasn¡¯t digested yet,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Luo Yi¡¯s face paled. A captain had died just like that, without a single sound? If not for Lu Yin, Kang Dafeng would have been digested by the spider. This was the cruelty of the Apocalypse; even the powerful couldn¡¯t protect themselves. Xu San turned pale as well, immediately boarding the armored vehicle and deciding that he would never leave Lu Yin¡¯s side. Luo Yi soon did the same.

    Lu Yin was speechless at this fear, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine if you don¡¯t leave the troops.¡±

    Luo Yi rolled her eyes at him, ¡°That¡¯s easy to say. Who knows what other mutant creatures there are, it¡¯s safer staying with you.¡±

    Without a retort, he decided to just ignore her and ordered the troops to continue moving forward.

    ¡°Boss, should we report to Nanjing? The death of a captain isn¡¯t a trivial matter,¡± Xu San asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. We¡¯ll decide once we reach the frontlines. Well, if we reach the frontlines.¡±

    These words left Xu San even paler. Even as Luo Yi subconsciously edged closer to Lu Yin, he started consoling himself, ¡°No, we should be able to reach the frontlines safely. We will.¡±

    Lu Yin looked out of the window, the troops were moving ahead slowly.

    ¡°But thinking about it, Kang Dafeng was really so unlucky. He might have lived if he didn¡¯t chase the zombies to that building,¡± Xu San mumbled to himself. He felt safer when he was talking.

    These words made Lu Yin¡¯s head shoot up, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Xu San went stiff and answered, ¡°I said Kang Dafeng was really so unlucky. He might have lived if he didn¡¯t chase the zombies to that building.¡±

 Chapter 11: Zombie Horde

    <h4>Chapter 11: Zombie Horde</h4>

    Kang Dafeng chased zombies into that building? That couldn¡¯t be right. Lu Yin¡¯s mind started racing; even without sentience, zombies still had the instinctive urge to avoid danger. The mutant spider was extremely dangerous, and they should never have gone anywhere near it. This was the first time in his six months dealing with them that he had ever seen them do such a thing; it was simply unthinkable for them to run from Kang Dafeng towards something far more terrifying.

    Could it be a trap? He narrowed his eyes, hoping that he was overthinking things, but after the incident with Kang Dafeng, even he was on edge.

    A dayter, the troops stopped next to an abandoned toll station where their mission finally began. This was part of the route that had been destroyed and needed repairs, but before they could begin, a soldier ran up to Lu Yin to report, ¡°Captain, there¡¯s a battle going on five kilometers away. A small group of cultivators is being attacked by mutant beasts.¡±

    Lu Yin sent a few soldiers to go save the group, and thirty minutester the troops returned with five tattered cultivators in tow. All of them seemed to be starving, but he didn¡¯t order for any food to be brought to them. Everyone had to be prepared for death when they went out to hunt mutant beasts; while his army had some food, it had taken great effort and many lives to obtain it. He wasn¡¯t a saint to give that food away; if these people were truly hungry, they could go look for some rats to eat.

    Thus, the five strangers could only watch in envy as the soldiers devoured their food. After a while, one of them finally called out to Lu Yin who was keeping a lookout from atop the toll station¡¯s roof, ¡°Sir, could you please provide us some food? We can pay you with information.¡±

    ¡°What information?¡± Lu Yin looked at the man.

    ¡°Will you give us food once I tell you?¡± came the hopeful reply.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice went cold, ¡°Are you trying to negotiate with me?¡±

    ¡°No, Sir, I wouldn¡¯t dare! Actually¡­ We actually had plenty of food yesterday, but we were robbed by an expert in silver armor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze flickered, ¡°Continue.¡±

    The cultivator swallowed to soothe his dry throat and continued, ¡°The only Realm of Sky expert in Nanjing is the Executioner, but the one who attacked us could also fly. I¡¯m thinking it must have been his armor. He was about to kill us after stealing our food, but then he started talking to himself like he was crazy and suddenly shot towards the east.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly realized that they had encountered Orton, but talking to himself? The more likely scenario was that he had contacted someone with his watch. Could he have called another student? That would be troublesome. Zhou Shan had already struggled to defeat one alien; if there were more, the result was up in the air.

    He ordered that the group to be given some food before sitting down and staring at the sky. What was he concerned about? <i>Nanjing</i>? The refugees? He was an outsider like Vesta, but his time on Earth had given him a sense of attachment. In truth, his memories only dated back to about two and a half years ago; he remembered nothing of his life before that. Most of the time he did remember had been spent on Earth; to him, this was home.

    Lu Yin sighed. It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t a powerhouse yet; while he could still try to save some people, he certainly couldn¡¯t save the entire. Still, he contacted Zhou Shan and informed the man about his guess.

    ¡°Sigh, I understand,¡± Zhou Shan answered, ¡°Finish the repairs as quickly as possible, I¡¯ll try to find out what the others are dealing with. These students are powerful.¡±

    Others? The other Sages? Lu Yin was left wondering to himself as the call ended. Eventually, he just muttered to himself, ¡°I hope Liu Shaoge isn¡¯t dead, or how will I get my revenge?¡±

    Clouds covered the sky that night, leaving no stars to be seen. A disappointed Lu Yin slept in his armored vehicle, but was awoken in the middle of the night by Xu San¡¯s scream, ¡°BOSS, A HORDE OF ZOMBIES!¡±

    Shaking himself awake, Lu Yin left the armored vehicle and leapt atop the toll station to see countless zombies closing in from all around. Luo Yi shouted to the troops, ¡°ACTIVATE ALL DEFENSES, THROW FIRE AT THEM¡±

    It didn¡¯t long for the zombies to flood upon them, attacking the toll station from all directions. ming objects were thrown everywhere and started to burn the ground, startling the captain who¡¯d just given thatmand. She shouted again in warning, ¡°Careful, keep the mes away or you¡¯ll all burn!¡±

    The thunderous spray of gunfire resounded in all directions that dark night, 10,000 soldiers doing their best to kill every zombie they saw. The shower was peppered with metallic dinks as the asional bullet ricocheted off the zombies¡¯ steely ws, and screams rang out as soldiers were wed or dragged into the horde. The five rescued cultivators were terrified by the sight, it was the most horrifying thing they had ever seen.

    Luo Yi constantly brandished her de, the energy wave from each attack tearing through dozens of zombies with every swing. While she was normally quite timid, this Realm of Earth powerhouse was ruthless in actualbat.

    Lu Yin was right in the middle of the zombie horde, clearing away swathes of them with his metal rod. Although ballistics were the most effective type of weapons against zombies, Nanjing was almost out of supplies. The bullets lost when the weapons cache was destroyed could have killed countless zombies. Focused solely on killing as many opponents as he could, he only snapped out of it when a panicked voice rang from the radio at his waist, ¡°Boss, the southwest line is about to copse!¡±

    Shocked, Lu Yin leapt up and headed southwest along the heads of the zombie horde. Just what could have killed so many soldiers there?

    ¡°There¡¯s a strange zombie there that¡¯s very powerful, none of the Realm of Man officers can beat it,¡± Xu San reported from his vantage point above the battle.

    Lu Yin plunged to the ground, crashing his metal rod down at the point where the zombies and soldiers met. A sh visibly tore through the sky and ripped the ground apart, drawing a clear line on the ground and killing dozens of zombies in one go. Many soldiers took advantage of the opportunity to retreat, the fear clear in their eyes. They had lost more than fifty people in mere moments. Unable to handle the impact, the rod broke in half with a ng.

    ¡°Captain, watch out!¡± someone shouted. The horde seemed infinite, with at least 100,000 zombies surrounding the entire area. Lu Yin had to activate the Cosmic Art to push the zombies near him away, but one long-haired enemy somehow withstood the attack and remained in ce.

    ¡°Boss, that¡¯s the one. He ughtered the soldiers,¡± Xu San¡¯s voice rang from the radio, but Lu Yin was staring at the zombie before him in shock. He had just noticed something unbelievable; there was a clear sign of intelligence in its eyes! He could clearly see the glint of thought in those blood-red orbs, something that left him dazed until the zombie suddenly charged at him without warning. Its ws stretched out towards him, the aftermath of the attack killing zombies even ten meters away once he dodged it. This zombie was in the Realm of Earth and far surpassed Kang Dafeng; it even approached Zhao Yu¡¯s level!

    Lu Yin paid attention to the zombie¡¯s attack, noticing the structure behind the sloppiness. If not for its clear features, he would never believe the attacker was a zombie. It even roared and fled after a few attacks, trying to escape. His eyes twitched as he saw white threads on its back, confirming his conjecture from the morning; this thing had lured Kang Dafeng into the building with the spider!

    With no more time to think, Lu Yin hurled the broken metal rod into the zombie¡¯s torso. The zombie turned to throw a re at him, but it continued to flee to the south. The entire horde roared and tried to block his advance.

    ¡°Xu San, where is it?!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    ¡°Boss, it turned west after a hundred meters, it¡¯s heading the same way we came from.¡±

    Lu Yin worked his legs and vanished, leaving behind an afterimage that was instantly swarmed by the countless zombies. Xu San just stared from his vantage point in awe; was that a battle technique?

    Lu Yin ran out from the wave of zombies at full speed, charging in the same direction they hade from, but it was already toote and he¡¯d lost track. When Xu San reported that he couldn¡¯t see it anymore either, he stopped with his back to the toll station and took out Vesta¡¯s watch. The device shed as he activated its tracking abilities, showing multiple mutant beasts within range. He ran towards the direction of an impressive 990, knowing that it had to be the zombie. This was likely the king of the horde; so long as he killed it, the horde would likely disperse. It clearly wanted to defeat Lu Yin¡¯s soldiers and Kang Dafeng had been its first victim.

 Chapter 12: Astral-10

    <h4>Chapter 12: Astral-10</h4>

    Lu Yin did not know just how far Vesta¡¯s scanner could cover, but he knew that ten miles was at least a good possibility. He quickly chased after where he believed the zombie king to be, quickly heading further and further away from the toll station. The zombie horde that had been left behind slowly regained a hint of calmness, most wandering around aimlessly once more. Xu San and the others heaved a sigh of relief.

    The stinking trenches meandered into the distance, green eyes asionally shing within the patches of grass. Lu Yin constantly checked his watch as he sped along; if he didn¡¯t get rid of the zombie king, any troops from Nanjing who passed through this ce would be in grave danger in the future. The creature could even spell disaster for all of Nanjing.

    He soon started hearing crunches in the distance and followed the source of the sound,ing across a ditch that was emanating a dark red glow. A crimson mist wafted into the moonlight, its red sparkle illuminating the night. Lu Yin soon saw two scarlet eyes, but he had to look away for a moment. Fire crystals! The zombie king was eating fire crystals!

    Roar! The long-haired zombie leapt into the sky, wing towards him with a dark red glow on its arm. The hand radiated a scorching glow, forcing Lu Yin to dodge. The excess energy from the attack burnt arge patch of grass, and momentster a few fire crystals dropped behind the zombie king and shattered to pieces on the ground. The mes quickly started spreading everywhere.

    Lu Yin utilized the Roving Step to sh behind the zombie king¡¯s back, extracting his rod from its flesh and piercing it into the creature¡¯s head. The zombie went rigid for a moment, its body eventually shaking and copsing to the ground. A dark red glow burst out from within its body, the mes consuming it from the inside out.

    Lu Yin would never have expected a zombie to be able to unlock abilities by consuming energy crystals. Only one in ten thousand humans had any endowments at all, but the zombie could just swallow fire crystals and use their energy. Just who was the higher life form?

    The zombie king quickly burned down to ashes, the mes slowly dying out. It was only then that he walked over to the ditch where it had been swallowing the crystals, finding a hole at the bottom. He was shocked at a red glow that appeared when he shone a torch down there, but that shock quickly turned to excitement, ¡°A fire crystal deposit!¡±

    Energy crystals were always in demand in the universe. Astral crystals, fire crystals, water crystals, they were all extremely valuable. Lu Yin had never expected toe across a deposit here; even though he didn¡¯t know how big it was, it was certainly a treasure trove. He definitely hadn¡¯t expected such a reward for killing the zombie king.

    Thinking over things, he took out a good number of crystals before sealing the entrance. He then walked all around the area to hide his trail, making sure that others couldn¡¯t follow his trail to find it. Just like Xu San, this ce was a precious resource for his future.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, he noticed another dark red glow under his feet. He bent down and started to dig at the dirt, finding a pair of scarlet eyes. He felt a chill run down his spine as he realized these were artificially constructed, and digging further he found that it was a human head with a sinister smile and scarlet eyes that seemed like they could pierce his very soul. He felt goosebumps rise up as he almost threw the thing away immediately, but he managed to calm himself down and put the thing in his cosmic ring. It took a while for him to regain his calm; just what the hell was it and why was it here? It was clearly manmade, so someone had to have been here before. It also clearly wasn¡¯t just a random piece of craft; it definitely had a purpose.

    Exhaling loudly, Lu Yin quickly left. Most of the zombie horde had dispersed by the time he returned, and his soldiers were now holding steadily. An hourter, all of the zombies that still remained had run away. Corpses were piled up outside the toll station, filling the building with a pungent odor that attracted a flood of rats to the area. It was a horrifying sight.

    ¡°Brother Lu, where had you gone?¡± Luo Yi asked in annoyance when she saw him.

    Lu Yin replied seriously, ¡°I found a zombie king that was sentient. It was what had brought this horde.¡±

    ¡°What? Are you for real?¡± Luo Yi asked in shock.

    ¡°Mm. Report this to the Executioner immediately, the zombies are no longer just a numeric threat. There can be powerhouses amongst them as well; that king killed more than fifty of our troops tonight.¡±

    Understanding the gravity of the situation, Luo Yi immediately went away to report.

    ¡°Boss, how are you?¡± Xu San asked. This wasn¡¯t out of concern, however, at least not for Lu Yin. Without Lu Yin¡¯s presence, Xu San simply had no status in the camp.

    ¡°Take care of things for me, I need some rest,¡± Lu Yin waved him off.

    ¡°Yes, Boss.¡±

    The zombie horde had caused almost a hundred casualties, but everyone had already gotten used to such cruel scenes. An uncountable number of people had perished since the Apocalypse, and most soldiers had been through so manyrades that it barely fazed them. Lying on the roof of the toll station, Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help but touch his cosmic ring. The head within left him unable to rx; the materials clearly weren¡¯t from Earth. Was it brought along by those students? What kind of student would bring such a thing?

    Luo Yi jumped up to the rooftop, her lovely face showed clear signs of exhaustion. She sat by his side, ¡°The Executioner wants to convey this matter to the frontlines as soon as possible; the best oue would be if we could contact the capital and tell them too.¡±

    ¡°The capital?¡± Lu Yin chuckled, ¡°They should already know about it.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why do you say that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but here¡¯s a guess. If we saw a zombie king here, why wouldn¡¯t more have appeared elsewhere?¡±

    Luo Yi hugged her knees, dazedly looking into the distance. The vast night sky was covered in clouds, illuminated only by the light of the moon.

    ¡°When do you think Earth will be peaceful again?¡± she murmured.

    Lu Yin did not respond. Dark nights often left people lonely, and the vulnerable Luo Yi now would be gonee day. Time would not stop on ount of one¡¯s fears;ary evolution took a long time, and the trials had only begun. Perhaps only the Seven Sages were privy to this information outside of himself; the students that had just arrived would decide the fate of their world. Vesta and Orton were merely students from ordinary schools of the Great Yu Empire, they were perhaps elites in their own bubbles, but they were nothingpared to those from actual high-tier institutions. An elite from those ces had powerful battle techniques and was leagues ahead of anyone else. They were the main characters in these so-calledary trials.

    As he thought about this, he touched his cosmic ring once more and looked over at Luo Yi, ¡°Go get some rest, I¡¯ll keep watch tonight.¡±

    Luo Yi nodded and smiled weakly, ¡°You know, something could have happened between us if you said something nice just now.¡±

    He smiled back but paid no attention as she departed; he simply wasn¡¯t interested.

    As Luo Yi left the rooftop, the soldiers around organized their stuff mindlessly while Xu San bawled loudly from afar. Watching it all, Lu Yin took out the watch and turned it on; even though he¡¯d disabled location ess on it and didn¡¯t dare connect to the universalwork at first, he could finally login and have a look now that he was outside Nanjing. This thing had all of the youth¡¯s messages and a lot of personal information; it was effectively a proof of identity.

    Unfortunately, the gadget simply couldn¡¯t connect to thework. While he had expected this to happen, Lu Yin was still disappointed. The students inary trials had their gadgets registered to them, and ess to the system would be barred once they died. This also meant that people knew about Vesta¡¯s demise.

    He sighed and looked up towards the sky. He wasn¡¯t worried about being exposed as Vesta¡¯s killer;ary trials were extremely important and under the supervision of the Universe Youth Council; no one could interfere with them. To the Great Yu Empire, even a primitive that had barely stepped foot into space was still a part of their territory. This trial wasn¡¯t just for the students who had arrived; it was for Earth as well. In fact, his killing of Vesta was more likely to garner praise than any ill consequences; the attention was part of the reason he hadn¡¯t hesitated in going for the kill.

    Any students that entered Earth would be disallowed from extra-terrestrialmunication until the end of the trial. By the same token, those outside could only watch and not speak. Such were these trials of blood and steel; death was anything but umon.

    Lu Yin found no new notifications on Vesta¡¯s screen, but there were a few messages that he had marked and ced on the side.

    ¡°Vesta, if you are unable toplete the task within three months, the Council will send in the second batch of students for the trial. Please do your best.¡±

    ¡°The Universe Youth Council has ruled to dissolve the Youth Council of the Great Yu Empire, the date of reorganization has not yet been determined.¡±

    ¡°The Universe Youth Council has ruled that Astral-10 shall enter Frostwave Weave of the Outerverse, we wish you all the best of luck.¡±

    Of the three notifications that had been saved, two were from the Universe Youth Council. Lu Yin was astonished that the Youth Council of the Great Yu Empire was dissolved, but his eyes truly went wide when he read that Astral-10 was about to appear in Frostwave Weave.

 Chapter 13: Liu Shaoge

    <h4>Chapter 13: Liu Shaoge</h4>

    The Astral Combat Academies were the most powerful institutions in the universe. There were a total of ten of them, and outside of Astral-9 in the Endless Weave, all others were located in the Innerverse. Astral-10 moving to the Frostwave Weave was big news; this was the Weave that contained the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were practically glowing when he switched the screen off, knowing that this was hugely important. Astral-10 would pose a fatal attraction to many youths in the universe, and while it was unrted to him at first, he now had to n around it. Entering the Academy would require aptitude, power, and most of all the ability to learn quickly from experience. And there was an enormous chance to gain that experience right now: Earth¡¯sary evolution. It was no wonder that so many people hade out to participate this time. Vesta was likely one of those who had rushed here the moment he heard the news.

    However, this wasn¡¯t all encouraging. He still didn¡¯t know what Vesta¡¯s actual mission was¡ª those participating inary evolution had toplete certain tasks to seed¡ª and even worse, a second batch would arrive in three months if this set of students couldn¡¯t aplish that mission. Many people would be enticed by the opportunity, including those from powerful races or affluent families. The next set could bring untold cruelty to this.

    Lu Yin felt a little anxious. If even the first batch of students wasprised of Sentinels, then the second would certainly have individuals that were even stronger. With his current power, he might not even be able to preserve his own life. He had to be a Sentinel at least within the next three months, or he would be relegated to being mere cannon fodder. He ordered his army to begin work the next morning, growing more silent than ever as he simplyy atop the roof of his vehicle.

    Within the Hubei province, the city of Wucheng was now the core of China¡¯s centralnds, protecting tens of millions of survivors with more gathering by the day. This ce was the camp of one of the Seven Sages¡ª Liu Shaoge, the Radiance. The title came from a strange ore that had appeared all around the city soon after the Apocalypse came to be, glowing when it was split apart. This ore and its properties were the foundation of Liu Shaoge¡¯s battle techniques and had saved millions of lives. Beams of light shot towards the sky from all over Wucheng, enveloping the entire city. It was thus known as the City of Light amongst survivors, with some even calling it the Everbright City.

    One section of Wucheng¡¯snd was propped up in mid-air by its beams of light, floating up high in the sky. This was the residence of the Radiance, termed the City in the Sky. Below it was the Camp of Light, where 100,000 cultivators guarded the city¡¯s core.

    There was no grand pce upon the City in the Sky, only a pretty courtyard with no form of cover. Those that stood up here could admire the starry heavens without obstruction, which was exactly what an elegant young man was doing at the ind¡¯s edge. His lips curved upwards in a strange smile as he took a gentle sip of his wine; this was the Radiance himself.

    Near him was another young man. Though this one wasn¡¯tparable in appearance, the pride in his gaze seemed to disregard the elegant youth entirely. He grumbled, ¡°All these resources here belong to you, especially the light crystals. They could have given you a ten-year head start over the rest of your, but here you are, wasting them.¡±

    Liu Shaoge turned and smiled at the man, ¡°Don¡¯t put it like that, Phil. All these crystals belong to us, not me alone.¡±

    Phil¡¯s expression softened, ¡°Cut off these light pirs, you¡¯re squandering resources.¡±

    Liu Shaoge nodded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you. So, could you borate on the regional divisions you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Mm. There are some unwritten rules in training. As long as any of us students control a certain area, we can mark it blue on the. Most others won¡¯t fight for blue districts in the initial phases, the only exception is if they¡¯re already enemies.¡±

    ¡°So Wucheng has already been marked blue?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Do you think I was the only one who came here in the past few days? This training is cruel enough already; no one wants a fight to the death so early. We also have to consider each other¡¯s backgrounds; fortunately, mine is good enough for no one to bother us.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled faintly and nodded, ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Alright, how¡¯s the other stuff I asked you to look into?¡± Phil asked impatiently, then nced at the light pir. Annoyance shed past his eyes once more, ¡°Deactivate those things, it¡¯s such a waste.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled and poured some wine, ¡°Things are beginning to take shape.¡±

    Phil¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Really? Continue.¡±

    Liu Shaoge passed the wine over, ¡°Look at this ss of wine.¡±

    Phil hesitated and subconsciously looked over. There was nothing special about it, only the liquor within rocking and rippling endlessly, circle after circle¡­

    ¡°Hand me your personal gadget,¡± said with a smile, and a sluggish Phil passed it over without question.

    Not long after, Liu Shaoge closed the gadget and massaged his head, ¡°Now that I¡¯ve taken him off thework, will they find out I¡¯m controlling him? Hmm¡­ Forget it,¡± he put on the watch and smiled, staring knowingly into the skies.

    ¡­¡­

    Two dayster, Lu Yin¡¯s troops finally approached the frontlines. Had they not been forced to repairmunication lines along the way, they would have arrived already. Those two days had been spent idly staring at the moon, something that made Luo Yi think that he was a fool.

    The fleet suddenly stopped and Xu San looked towards him, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, Boss. We haven¡¯t seen any survivors since yesterday, and there should be soldiers patrolling nearby.¡±

    ¡°Have the troops rest,¡± Lu Yin got up and stared into the distance, heading away from the army and taking out his wristwatch. He started the scanner and slowly extended its range. One kilometer, two kilometers, ten¡­ He soon screened out everything below the Sentinel realm and kept going until he finally found someone 37 kilometers away. His expression sank as he saw thebat level: 2200. When he checked his map, he saw an abandoned town that was less than 20 kilometers from the frontlines. This was right on their path.

    Having the troops hunker down, Lu Yin headed north on his own. He needed to know if this Sentinel was a person or a mutant beast, but that question was answered less than ten kilometers into the journey. Ahead of him was a squadron of cultivators, which meant that this abandoned town had been turned into an assembly ground. The Sentinel he had detected was undoubtedly one of the students who had descended upon Earth. Muttering to himself for a while, he enabled the location tracker on Vesta¡¯s watch once more.

    The moment the tracker was reactivated, a girl in white armor with waist-length hair suddenly popped up more than a dozen kilometers away. She looked at her own watch and snorted, flying south. Not long after, she was in the skies ring coldly towards Lu Yin, ¡°This region has been marked blue, please leave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed at the sight of the pretty girl, ¡°Good day! I¡¯m Yatar from the First Military School of the Pagoda.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested, leave now,¡± the girl replied coldly, energy rippling around her as she directed her strength downwards.

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t be hasty!¡± Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m injured right now, not a threat. I can give you resources, a lot of resources.¡±

    Her gaze remained cold, ¡°You¡¯re just a Seeker, and you dare to participate in aary trial? How did you get in?¡±

    ¡°My grandfather is the headmaster,¡± Lu Yin answered with a proud tone.

    ¡°Ugh, scram!¡± the girl was clearly getting annoyed.

    Lu Yin immediately retrieved several fire crystals from his cosmic ring and tossed them over, ¡°Help me survive this, and I¡¯ll give you a whole basket of these crystals.¡±

    The girl grabbed the crystals nonchntly, but was shocked at the heat they were radiating. She finally descended, ¡°Where did you get these?¡±

    ¡°My grandfather, of course. He¡¯s an Explorer, he can get as many as he wants.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes finally gleamed as well, making a fist as she started emanating bloodlust. Lu Yin immediately retreated and red, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare mess around. No one can interfere in the evolution, but they can look up who lived, who died, and who killed whoter. You don¡¯t want my grandfathering after you!¡±

    The girl thought about it and rxed her hand, ¡°I can help you get out of this alive, but I¡¯ll have nothing to do with your results.¡±

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°No matter, my grandfather can send me to Astral-10 no matter what. Any rewards are all yours.¡±

 Chapter 14: Energy Crystals

    <h4>Chapter 14: Energy Crystals</h4>

    The girl was exasperated by Lu Yin¡¯s im that his grandfather could get him into Astral-10. Not even powerhouses beyond the Explorer realm could affect the Astral Combat Academy, and that knowledge caused her to hesitate, ¡°Wait, how can I be sure you¡¯re not a native?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand and his right palm vibrated,pressing the surrounding air tightly beforeunching it towards the ground. The girl was caught off-guard as the resulting explosion left arge crater, ¡°Shockwave Palm?¡±

    ¡°So does that count?¡± Lu Yin asked smugly.

    The girl¡¯s eyes narrowed as she pondered. She knew that although Shockwave Palm was amon battle skill, it wasn¡¯t something everyone could learn. It required the user to have a body even stronger than her own; it was astonishing for any Seeker to be able to use it. Feeling the slightest of threats herself, she responded slowly, ¡°Alright, that makes you at least a little useful. Help me capture Nanjing, and I¡¯ll share some of the glory with you.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, ¡°You want to capture Nanjing? I heard that there¡¯s someone called the Executioner there who¡¯s a very powerful Sentinel.¡±

    ¡°I know. I heard even Orton was humiliated by him, but I¡¯m not that pathetic. If we work together, we can beat that native,¡± she replied coldly.

    ¡°Huh? How did you find out?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re from the same school. We had a deal to work together if wended nearby, same as most other people. I guess no one looked to make a deal with you because you¡¯re so weak.¡±

    Lu Yin felt relieved that he hadn¡¯t impersonated Vesta. Since this woman knew Orton, she might have known Vesta as well. Could she be the reason why Orton had fled north after Zhou Shan had defeated him? So then why had he suddenly changed his direction and headed east? He really wanted to know, but kept himself from asking. The more ignorant he appeared, the more likely it was for his fraud to be exposed. Since this woman wanted to team up with him, she clearly had some kind of grudge against Orton or Orton had found a different ally. No matter which option was right, Nanjing was in danger.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll help you, but I need to strengthen myself first,¡± he finally answered her question. The formcast model he¡¯d recovered from Vesta was limited to three uses, and Vesta had used it twice before he used it to be a Seeker. That was why he¡¯d approached the girl in the first ce, but she was too strong to beat.

    ¡°No need,¡± the girl frowned.

    ¡°I at least need to heal from my injuries!¡± he protested. This brought a re his way, but she still flew towards the assembly point with him in tow. Lu Yin saw about 200,000 survivors on the way, and arge proportion of them were cultivators. Most of the soldiers wore the uniform of Zhou Shan¡¯s camp; this woman had likely taken control of the frontlines.

    ¡°That Executioner guy in Nanjing is pretty impressive. He managed to keep 80,000 cultivators with him and was still able to order another 20,000 to the frontline to try to openmunications with another region. There were six Seekers in this group, but I killed two and another one died to a mutant beast, so I only have three left for now,¡± the woman readily shared information about the troops as she led him to the top of a vi within the camp.

    ¡°Oh. Right, I still don¡¯t know your name,¡± Lu Yin mentioned.

    ¡°Jeraldine,¡± the girl replied as theynded.

    ¡°Master, another detachment of the Executioner¡¯s troops are encamped about 30 kilometers away.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to the neer and saw who it was. The man was visibly confused when he saw Lu Yin as well, but Lu Yin rushed the man instantly and struck his chest with a Shockwave Palm before Jeraldine could even move. The man spat out a mouthful of blood as the force of the attack pushed him off the roof, his fall creating quite a stir in the crowd below.

    ¡°What the hell was that for?¡± Jeraldine raged.

    ¡°That¡¯s the bastard who ambushed me when I firstnded. He¡¯s the reason I was injured in the first ce!¡± Lu Yin answered righteously.

    ¡°When was that?¡± she asked coldly.

    ¡°The day wended,¡± he answered without hesitation.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°Around a hundred kilometers to the south,¡± Lu Yin replied, looking at her with indignation, ¡°What? Are you doubting me, or do you care about that man?¡±

    ¡°Careful with your words!¡± Jeraldine snorted, ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about a mere native, but you can¡¯t just kill my followers.¡±

    ¡°Just a native,¡± Lu Yin clearly didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°He¡¯s still one of my subordinates,¡± Jeraldine said angrily.

    Lu Yin was annoyed, ¡°Fine, I get it, I won¡¯t do it again. By the way, the troops 30 kilometers away are mine, should I bring them over?¡±

    Jeraldine ignored him and turned around, ncing at Nanjing and then her watch. Lu Yin nced towards the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. The man he had attacked was Li Hongliang, who had seen him in the aftermath of Vesta¡¯s death. The man knew that he was the one who¡¯d killed Vesta; if he¡¯d been allowed to speak up, things would have gottenplicated. A sneak attack likely wouldn¡¯t work on this girl, so he had to bide his time.

    Jeraldine¡¯s appearance had wreaked havoc on the frontlines, and the soldiers had either escaped or fallen under hermand. Since Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been able to contact Nanjing all day, he was growing concerned and tried to take appropriate measures. He brought Luo Yi, Xu San, and all of the soldiers to Jeraldine¡¯s gathering point and also met with the two captains under hermand and warned them to keep quiet before looking for her at night.

    ¡°You want what? Star crystals?¡± she looked at him with shock as he asked her a question.

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll return you 10 times the amount when we return.¡±

    Jeraldine was doubtful, ¡°You have fire crystals, but no star crystals?¡±

    ¡°I used them all up,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Jeraldine was hesitant; energy crystals could be recovered from the mutant beasts on Earth, but star crystals were different. Every and ecosystem had its own unique energy that led to various training methods, but no matter the person or location, the star energy that star crystals contained could be absorbed and used for all training. These crystals could only be produced in ces that resonated with the ecosphere of the universe itself, whereas Earth could currently only produce specialized energy crystals like those for fire and ice. However, the students here actually needed those kinds of energy crystals as well.

    ¡°You don''t believe me? Fine, then let¡¯s trade,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Jeraldine looked at Lu Yin, ¡°With what?¡±

    Lu Yin took out a pile of fire crystals from his cosmic ring, ¡°These.¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s eyes gleamed and she started considering how much she would pay for them. The exchange rate varied depending on where one was, and Lu Yin was clearly out of star crystals so she had the advantage in this negotiation. She eventually came up with a number, ¡°I can give you five.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! These fire crystals could be exchanged for at least 20 star crystals, that¡¯s a 300% profit!¡±

    ¡°Your choice,¡± Jeraldine replied arrogantly.

    ¡°You¡­ Ugh, fine, but then I have another condition. Help me practice my battle techniques.¡±

    ¡°Sure, anytime.¡±

    epting five translucent crystals the size of his thumb, Lu Yin left to go train. Jeraldine stowed the fire crystals with excitement once he left; these things were far more important to her than to most other cultivators. She was someone who used fire-based techniques, so her gains from this deal was a bigger win for her than Lu Yin had thought. She started to wonder, The Pagoda? Why have I never heard of it? Could these crystalse from there?¡¯

    Lu Yin started grinning as soon as he left Jeraldine. Although the exchange rate was terrible, he had picked up the fire crystals for free. No one on Earth apart from the arriving students had even a single star crystal. Vesta had not even carried a cosmic ring, but Jeraldine clearly came from greater wealth so he could perhaps get more useful things from her. He arrived at an abandoned vi and buried some fire crystals around to keep people from sneaking up on him before heading to the living room, clearing out all the furniture and crushing a star crystal to flood the room with energy.

    A cultivator would be capable of directly absorbing star energy from their surroundings after using a formcast model, but the speed was dependent on their skills. For this reason, many would collect star crystals and then let the energy erupt in a small space and drastically increase their cultivation speed; many powerful groups fought over deposits of these things.

 Chapter 15: The Battle Of Nanjing

    <h4>Chapter 15: The Battle Of Nanjing</h4>

    Lu Yin would never have expected to be able to use star crystals for training on Earth. With the Cosmic Art to double his training speed, his absorption rate far surpassed students like Jeraldine; he believed he would be amongst the best of the entire Great Yu Empire. It wasn¡¯t long before one full crystal had been consumed, greatly increasing the amount of star energy in his body. He quickly moved onto the next one, crushing it and drawing out the energy from within.

    An abundance of star crystals didn¡¯t necessarily mean that one could simply get to the peak of their current realm. Even they contained some level of impurities, and one still needed a formcast model to cleanse themselves. Only Melders could absorb the energy from star crystals and dispel the impurities themselves, those below had low energy thresholds and theirbat level was also unstable. They also had to rely on the star crystals for training, which weren¡¯t easy toe across. This was the reason they were mostly just soldiers and war ves.

    After absorbing a total of five star crystals, Lu Yin could feel the energy within his body surging. He had arrived at the peak of the Realm of Earth, the limit of someone still a Seeker. It would only take a single step to be a Sentinel, but that needed a formcast model.

    Heid atop the vi¡¯s rooftop and slept through the night, heading to Jeraldine the moment he woke up the next morning, ¡°Let¡¯s duel.¡±

    Jeraldine was dumbfounded by his candor, ¡°Do you know what time it is? I might be a cultivator, but I¡¯m also a girl, you know? Why is a guy looking to fight me so early in the morning?¡±

    Lu Yin knew himself that he was being difficult, but he really wanted to know the difference between himself and an elite Sentinel. He sighed, ¡°I¡¯lle over in the afternoon, then.¡±

    ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s fight if you want,¡± Jeraldine held him back. She didn¡¯t think he was worth too much attention; if not for his Shockwave Palm, she wouldn¡¯t even have cooperated with him.

    The two found an empty spot and opened up a ten-meter gap between themselves, bestial gurgles ringing out from each side as they prepared. A faint trace of blood drifted into the strong winds.

    ¡°Begin, I won¡¯t hit back,¡± Jeraldine said proudly.

    Lu Yin made a fist with his right hand and then released it, tearing the air apart like cloth as his taut legs snapped straight andunched him forward. The winds split the ground near him as he charged with an outstretched palm.

    The sheer power of the Shockwave Palm surprised Jeraldine. She had initially nned to defend with a single hand, but had to raise both to guard herself. Even then an explosion rang out as the air currents swept past, the earth buzzing as it split apart into a crater that was a few meters wide. She eximed in shock, ¡°Quite powerful, even some of the Sentinels in my school don¡¯t have such strong attacks. A sneak attack with that could probably kill a Sentinel below 2kbat level.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned at that response; he had indeed used the Shockwave Palm to p Vesta dead. Though that attack wasn¡¯t as strong as today¡¯s, Vesta wasn¡¯tbat level 2,000 either.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet, let¡¯s keep going,¡± he said as heunched another attack with equal power, pushing Jeraldine even deeper into the ground.

    Feeling her hands going numb, she frowned, ¡°Enough, your attacks won¡¯t do anything to me. I already crossed the 2k threshold, you know that my power is different from anyone below.¡±

    ¡°Last one,¡± Lu Yin barked, and this time the surface of his right hand shed with faint starlight. The moon spun around his palm; while the airflow around was simr to when he activated Shockwave Palm, this was the Cosmic Palm which was far more powerful. Jeraldine¡¯s heart started thumping as it pped down on her, body disappearing into a shadow as everything within a hundred meters was smashed apart. An explosive distorted the very air around.

    Jeraldine¡¯s figure reappeared a dozen meters away, her eyes wide open in shock, ¡°What was that?!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a move my grandfather taught me, the Extreme Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s eyes narrowed. She couldn¡¯t recognize the Cosmic Palm, but the attack was far too powerful to be a regr Shockwave Palm as well. Even she felt threatened by it, prompting her to remark gravely, ¡°I¡¯ve heard the Shockwave Palm can beyered, would this be a doubled attack?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°Maybe, I guess the names are just a little different.¡±

    Jeraldine didn¡¯t return to her arrogant expression after this bout, instead saying calmly, ¡°A doubled Shockwave Palm has very high physical requirements. Not even many Sentinels can achieve it, at least not in my school. You¡¯re actually quite strong, you¡¯ll be able to measure up to the elites once you be a Sentinel. Might even make it into Yu Academy.¡±

    ¡°The Empire¡¯s highest academy? Me?¡± Lu Yin acted shocked.

    ¡°Possibly, that body strength is promising. Alright, I¡¯m tired, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Lu Yin watched Jeraldine¡¯s departing figure before lifting his hand to take a look. A friendly duel was one thing, but he had checked to see if there was a chance for him to defeat her in a fight. The girl¡¯s reactions were fast and she¡¯d used her footwork technique to dodge at the critical moment, living up to her reputation as an elite. However, he wasn¡¯t too shabby himself. He¡¯d still held back the power of his attack the moment she dodged; if she thought this was his limit, she was in for a surprise.

    Unable to contact Nanjing, Lu Yin had Luo Yi and the rest join the rest of Jeraldine¡¯s subordinates at the assembly grounds. The girl didn¡¯t care about the new arrivals or his exnations, but after two days, Luo Yi came over to look for him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, how long will we be waiting here?¡± she asked and stared at Lu Yin. She had heard from two frontline captains that this was a supply point, but she still felt like something was wrong. The people here kept mentioning a Realm of Sky powerhouse; where had thate from?

    ¡°Stop questioning so much,¡± Lu Yin replied, ¡°You¡¯ll know in a few days.¡±

    Luo Yi wanted to continue her questions, but her face suddenly changed as she stared at the skies. Lu Yin simrly looked up as Jeraldine descended with an anxious expression. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Orton¡¯s team has gone to Nanjing.¡±

    Shocked, Lu Yin immediately grabbed her arm and allowed her to fly him towards Nanjing. Left behind, a shocked Luo Yi noticed that the girl was wearing armor identical to the alien who had tried tounch an attack on Nanjing not long ago. Nearby, Xu San walked over with a simrly astonished expression.

    Jeraldine flew as fast as she could towards Nanjing, the air screaming as they shot through the skies. Having to carry Lu Yin along, she couldn¡¯t possibly reach her top speed.

    ¡°How do you know Orton¡¯s heading for Jilin?¡± Lu Yin shouted into the wind.

    ¡°None of your business. Remember, our goal is to snatch Nanjing away, so act ordingly. Orton definitely hasn¡¯t gone there alone, and his helper won¡¯t be weak. Be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was heavy. If Orton had decided to abandon Jeraldine, it implied that his new selection was much stronger than her. By his estimation, Vesta¡¯sbat level was around 1,500. Orton was close to 2,000, while Jeraldine was a little beyond. Orton¡¯s new helper would likely be far beyond 2,000, and it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that there would only be one. Looking south, he could only hope that Zhou Shan could hold them back until they got there.

    Half an hourter, Jeraldine and Lu Yin were quickly nearing Nanjing. Two figures were already floating above the city; one was Orton with arge chunk of his armor shattered, and beside him was a young man with his hands behind his back. The survivors in Nanjing looked up in dismay. Two powerhouses in the Realm of Sky?

    A fierce rm rang in Zhongshan as Zhou Shan rose into the sky, stopping when he was 200 meters away from Orton and asking calmly, ¡°You again?¡±

    Orton sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a pity that you didn¡¯t kill me before?¡±

    Zhou Shan squinted, ¡°Truly unfortunate.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, sadly you¡¯ll never get another chance. Let me introduce you to my senior, Terence.¡±

    Feeling the energy wavesing off Terence¡¯s body, Zhou Shan felt his heart sinking; this person was much stronger.

    Terence stared down at the Executioner, ¡°To think there would be someone so powerful among the natives. Follow me, and I can take you to the heavens.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in reasoning with him, Senior. These natives are too stubborn to agree.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me when I¡¯m speaking,¡± Terence snapped at him. Orton immediately went meek, murmuring his agreement before ring at Zhou Shan with gritted teeth. Resentment filled his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to follow you. If you want to take Nanjing, defeat me first.¡± Zhou Shan gripped his giant axe, starting to fly north to avoid a fight over the city, but unfortunately that wasn¡¯t his decision to make. He was barely a kilometer away before Orton sent a sword st towards Zhongshan, causing a torrent of screams as a corner of the mountain was crushed.

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE COURTING DEATH!¡± the Executioner bellowed, sweeping towards Orton.

    A few minutester, Jeraldine and Lu Yin finally reached Nanjing. The assembly grounds were inundated by a symphony of howls, countless people escaping the ruins of Zhongshan. Manyrge gashes had split apart the earth, swallowing everything in their vicinity even as the air still buzzed with residual energy. Even the clouds had been blown away.

    Within Nanjing, Zhou Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and leaned against his giant axe with difficulty, staring at the skies. Terence and Orton were sneering at him from above, the former taking a moment to say, ¡°Not bad, you might even be top 15 within my school. Unfortunately, you¡¯ve met me.¡±

 Chapter 16: Power Of The Cosmic Palm

    <h4>Chapter 16: Power Of The Cosmic Palm</h4>

    A beam of light suddenly shot towards the skies from Nanjing''s west wall, aimed right at Orton. He deflected it with his de, but the impact still caused an explosion in mid-air. This prompted a sneer on his face, but such things were the exact reason they had attacked within the city itself. Even this native possessed the technology to enter the skies, and their old weapons posed a significant threat.

    Jeraldine and Lu Yinnded within Nanjing, the former speaking up in shock, ¡°He actually brought Terence?!¡±

    ¡°Terence?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°Top three in the First Military School,bat level over 2,500.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, ¡°Can you stall him for a while? I¡¯ll deal with Orton.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yes, but not for long.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and ran towards Zhou Shan¡¯s position, watching as more beams of energy shot towards the alien from Nanjing''s walls.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you guys a visit once I ughter this one,¡± Orton said impatiently, dashing towards Zhou Shan on the ground. The Executioner gritted his teeth and prepared to deflect with his axe; he could have been a challenge even for Terence, but with Orton on top, he¡¯d quickly lost control of the battle. The swordsman was quickly right next to him on the ground, rendering Nanjing''s ballistics useless.

    Lu Yin grabbed a fire crystal from his cosmic ring as he approached the battle, tossing it high into the sky. It was quite eye-catching, but Orton and Zhou Shan were too busy doing battle to notice. Terence nced over and his eyes started to water, but even he didn¡¯t have time to wonder about it before he felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around quickly, figure swaying like a leaf in the wind as he dodged Jeraldine¡¯s second strike, ¡°You?¡±

    Jeraldine did not reply, simply retrieving a fire crystal from her cosmic ring and crushing it. ¡°me Palm!¡± she barked as her surroundings were burnt, condensing the fire within her hand for an attack.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± Terence growled as he spat out some blood, his own right palm grabbing the air around for a Shockwave Palm. The ze and winds engulfed the earth as both hands pped against each other, destroying all buildings within a hundred-meter radius. The giant mes were swept upwards by the airstream, just like a dancing fiery snake.

    Jeraldine retreated a few steps with a pale face. Terence¡¯s Shockwave Palm was much stronger than Lu Yin¡¯s and was difficult to withstand even if she used her battle techniques. However, her opponent didn¡¯t have an easy time either. Fire techniques were already on the high end of the power scale, and the help of a fire crystal left her attack no less harmful than his. He roared once more, ¡°Jeraldine, this is my territory!¡±

    She did not reply, the ring armor covering her body and reflecting the red light of the ze. Terence clenched his jaw and did the same; he wouldn¡¯t have bothered at the start, but now he felt pressure from her, and more importantly, was injured.

    ¡°Jeraldine? Why are you here?¡± Orton looked back in shock, but his attention was forced back into the battle as Zhou Shan bellowed. He quickly blocked another sweep of the axe, the shockwave from the collision splitting the earth below.

    Lu Yin suddenly dashed out, approaching Orton in an instant with Roving Step. His own palm shot out, the moon appearing within. Neitherbatant had expected this, and while Zhou Shan only hesitated, Orton¡¯s gaze nked out. The Cosmic Palm crashed down on his chest the next instant, leaving him unable to utter a single word as his heart was crushed. The boundless energy even bored a hole through his chest and continued into a residence behind, bringing it down to the ground. Even the ground crumbled under such pressure.

    ¡°You,¡± Zhou Shan was dumbstruck at the sight.

    Lu Yin turned his body and swept his leg towards him, ensuring that his back faced Jeraldine and Terence as he hissed, ¡°Attack me!¡±

    The Executioner¡¯s gaze flickered, but he attacked without mercy as he used Storm sh directly. Lu Yin used Roving Step to dodge the attack, but made sure that his clothes were torn apart before continuing, ¡°Push me over there.¡±

    Zhou Shan roared, and flung his axe forward. Borrowing the strength of the explosive attack, Lu Yin let himself be thrown towards the battle in the distance. Jeraldine was already deathly pale, and her right hand was trembling from the injury. While Terence¡¯s armor had been torn apart by the inferno, he was at least marginally better.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body crashed into a wall that wasn¡¯t far from Terence, and he slowly fell to the ground. This finally caught the youth¡¯s attention, and he quickly nced at the other battle where Ortony dead. His expression warped and he was about to say something, but Zhou Shan suddenly flew off into the distance.

    ¡°You¡¯re not escaping!¡± Terence leapt after Zhou Shan, turning his back to Lu Yin. It was at this point that Lu Yin dropped the act and jumped off the wall, palm spread out without bothering to conceal the Cosmic Palm. The moon spun around as he connected firmly with his target¡¯s back; Terence felt the danger moments before he was hit, but was toote to dodge.

    The moon exploded and threw Terence to the ground, the impact creating arge crater. Lu Yin himself was sent flying by the counter-attack Terence had managed just in time, his armor shattered by the impact before he flew into the wall once more.

    Jeraldine held her injured arm as she walked over to the pit and looked within, finding a pallid Terence constantly coughing up blood. Astonished, she turned around to look at Lu Yin who had fallen in the distance, she couldn¡¯t imagine just how that one attack had caused such great injury. That line of thought was quickly cut off as the dying Terence suddenly opened his eyes once more, whipping out a strange gun and firing a shot towards her. The energy st bore a hole through her shoulder, and she instinctively reacted with a me Palm right on the other side of Lu Yin¡¯s original impact. This devastated Terence¡¯s internals, finally ending his life.

    Jeraldine fell to the ground on the spot, staring in awe at Terence¡¯s corpse while her back turned cold. Although there wasn¡¯t a limit on casualties duringary trials, an abundance of deaths would still draw some ire. This was especially true with Terence who was in the top three of her school; many hoped had been pinned on him, leaving her a little nervous at his death.

    Lu Yin dragged his injured body over and said weakly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Worsees to worst, I¡¯ll have my grandfather transfer you to the Pagoda.¡±

    Jeraldine cast a cold re his way, ¡°What¡¯s with that palm attack you used on him? Even a doubled Shockwave Palm could not have injured him like that.¡±

    He shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. He was already wounded, and I managed to hit the same spot.¡±

    However, she clearly didn¡¯t believe him. Terence¡¯sbat level was an enormous 2,500; even stacking attacks, it was difficult for a Seeker to cause such injury. However, she was cut off again as a loud shout rang behind them, with the escaped Zhou Shan having reappeared to finish the job. His axe mmed down once more, but as she instinctively grabbed Lu Yin to use as a meat shield, he promptly diverted his attack. Lu Yin himself turned around andnded another palm attack; while he¡¯d sustained heavy injuries himself, she was weak enough for this strike to be effective. Her face paled as she kicked him away in a knee-jerk reaction, falling back into the pit herself. Zhou Shan roared and hacked towards her again, but she grabbed Terence¡¯s gun and fired. The energy beam shot a hole through the Executioner¡¯s axe and shoulder, throwing him a dozen meters away with an unknown fate.

    It was only then that the scene went quiet, leaving only the constant crackling of the mes all around. Four Sentinels and a Seeker had crushed almost half of Nanjing amidst their battle, burying the district in a sea of fire.

    Jeraldine retrieved some medicine from her cosmic ring and swallowed it, alleviating some of her injuries. Hearing voices from every direction only minutester, her expression changed and she struggled out of the pit. Dragging her wounded and pierced body through the battlefield, she stumbled towards Zhou Shan who was lying motionless on the ground.

    The Executioner¡¯s troops soon had her surrounded, staring at her injured body warily as they prepared to attack. Feng Hong and Qin Xuan, the researcher with sses, stepped forward, ¡°Surrender immediately, and we can spare your life.¡±

    ¡°You natives want to spare my life?¡± Jeraldine asked with disdain as she pointed her gun at Zhou Shan¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t you want this one to live?¡±

    ¡°Let go of the Executioner!¡± Feng Hong barked.

    ¡°Ten miles back, or I kill him now.¡±

    Feng Hong and the other captains looked at each other but didn¡¯t move. A cold glint shed past Jeraldine¡¯s eyes, however, and she picked up a nearby stone and smashed it against Zhou Shan¡¯s head. Seeing the blood starting to flow, Feng Hong finally shouted, ¡°Stop! We can move away, but we have to treat the Executioner or he¡¯ll die.¡±

    Jeraldine nodded, allowing a doctor to walk over and provide first aid. It took a full twenty minutes to just staunch the blood, after which he spoke up, ¡°His injuries are too severe, we need to take him to treatment immediately.¡±

    ¡°Ten miles back right now and wait; I¡¯ll leave in three hours. Or I¡¯ll just kill this native now.¡±

 Chapter 17: Becoming A Sentinel

    <h4>Chapter 17: Bing A Sentinel</h4>

    ¡°Can the Executioner hang in there for another three hours?¡± Qin Xuan asked the attending doctor from afar, and when she got a nod, the army surrounding Jeraldine quickly retreated. Without a soul in sight, she heaved a sigh of relief.

    She¡¯d only demanded a three-hour period to y it safe. She only needed about two hours to recover from her injuries, and without any Sentinels around, no one would be able to stop her at that point. With that train of thought, she nced at Terence before her gaze shifted back to Orton. Wait, where was Orton? Her eyes went wide and she tried to get up to look around, but a violent pain surged through her entire body, forcing her to sit back down. She consoled herself with the thought that there was no need to rush; even if Orton wasn¡¯t dead, she could deal with him in two hours. After all, his injuries were definitely worse than hers. As for Yatar, the boy who¡¯d dared toy a hand on her would get hiseuppance as well.

    Orton¡¯s corpse was in a ruined building a thousand meters away. Next to it was a gasping Lu Yin; he was badly hurt as well, but to him there was nothing more important than the formcast model right now. With it, his body could still be healed to some extent. Although he tried his best to observe the situation, it took cutting off five of Orton¡¯s fingers before he finally found the model, at which point he excitedly grabbed it and fused it into his own body. A sharp pain suddenly engulfed him, but he also felt that unmatchable power coursing through and modifying his cellr structure. The agile energy seemed to overlook the starry sky, bringing even a small creature like him away from the Earth. Soon, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Cellr rearrangement was very painful, but it was a good pain. He could feel his body evolving, growing more and morepatible with the sky.

    An hour quickly passed, and Jeraldine¡¯s face had regained a bit of its flush. Her injuries were much better, the healing process right on track. ¡°One more hour,¡± she muttered to herself excitedly, without any ns to leave at that point. Her only goal right now was to take control of Nanjing, giving her a bargaining chip with the next batch of students that would arrive. Even though blue zones were protected to a certain degree, not everyone followed that rule. It wasn¡¯t much of a problem in ordinary trials, but now that Astral-10 was about to appear, everyone wanted to show off. She was most worried about the next batch of students that would arrive. While her group had been decided before news of Astral-10 was spread, there would undoubtedly be a plethora of prodigies who¡¯d join the second to make a name for themselves. She knew that keeping Nanjing was a pipe dream, but she wanted to rely on it to at least obtain a slightly better score. This was likely the exact same idea Terence had.

    Another half-hour passed, and just as Jeraldine felt like she¡¯d recovered enough to go look for Orton, she felt an appalling surge of star energy from a kilometer away. She looked over in shock; what was that?

    In the building, Lu Yin finally felt the pain starting to subside. Clenching his fist, he felt the energy surging within his body; it was only now that he¡¯d truly stepped into the realm of cultivators, gaining the right to look towards the stars.

    Back near the pit, Jeraldine tapped her watch and activated the scanner, the gadget beeping a few times before showing a reading of 1,000. Someone had just broken through to the Sentinel Realm? Was it Yatar? As though he¡¯d heard her thoughts, the distant ruins were pushed aside as Lu Yin walked out, staring straight towards her. Her heart sank in shock, gaze flickering, ¡°You became a Sentinel?¡±

    Lu Yin stepped forward and smiled, ¡°So you noticed.¡±

    Jeraldine frowned before trying to say gently, ¡°Yatar¡­ Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have used you as a shield there. But it wasn¡¯t intentional, my body just moved on its own. You have to believe me!¡±

    Lu Yin walked forward until he was about ten meters away, ¡°Of course I believe you. Elite students have faced many life and death scenarios in life, that sort of reflex is normal.¡±

    Jeraldine smiled, ¡°That¡¯s great. Terence and Orton are now dead, and this native is also broken. Nanjing is ours now; as long as we work together, no one can snatch it away.¡±

    Lu Yin continued smiling, ¡°Yeah. Before that, can I borrow something?¡±

    Her expression froze, ¡°Borrow what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much, just some energy crystals.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± she red at him.

    Lu Yin stared back indifferently, ¡°Hand over your cosmic ring.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to rob me?!¡±

    He shrugged at her yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like that, I just want to take a look.¡±

    Jeraldine got up and hissed, ¡°Yatar, just because that formcast model healed you a little doesn¡¯t mean you can bully me. You haven¡¯t fully recovered, and I¡¯ve gotten better too. You¡¯re not guaranteed to win if we fight, and don¡¯t forget you¡¯re still 1.3k.¡±

    ¡°Would you spout so much bullshit if you really believed in the level difference?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips twitched. Seeing the glint in her eyes even as she remained silent, he continued, ¡°Combat level is just a measure of the outward influence of someone¡¯s star energy; it isn¡¯t an actual reading of one¡¯s ability in battle. That¡¯s the first line in most textbooks.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just the books trying not to upset mediocre students. The higher one¡¯sbat level, the more their star energy can suppress the opponent. Why else do you think Terence is almost twice as strong as me? I can¡¯t make up for that with battle techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin walked closer, ¡°Then attack me, if you¡¯re that confident.¡±

    Jeraldine stared coldly at the approaching Lu Yin, retrieving a fire crystal from her cosmic ring. She forced herself to execute a me Palm that would defeat Lu Yin in a single strike. The rebound of that attack would injure her again, but she was left with no choice.

    Lu Yin watched the deep ze in her palm and lifted his own, the moon starting to spin as he used Cosmic Palm without the slightest hesitation. The contact explosionpletely extinguished the mes, fracturing Jeraldine¡¯s arm and ending her flying a hundred meters away. She stared at him in pain and shock, unable to believe that a single strike could hurt her so severely. Just what kind of battle technique was that? Shockwave Palm was no match for her Fire Palm, and she was supposed to be twice as strong as him!

    Lu Yin himself wasn¡¯t surprised, nonchntly ncing at his palm. The power of his strike had risen again now that he was a Sentinel, with traces of stars in the attack as well. The explosion suppressed everything with just a single cosmic body; what would happen when he had two, or ten or twenty? How powerful would it be then? He wouldn¡¯t even dare imagine it; he just knew that he simply couldn¡¯t reveal this battle technique¡¯s origins.

    The explosions attracted Qin Xuan and the rest once more, and when the troops reappeared, they only saw Lu Yin standing on the ground next to Zhou Shan.

    ¡°Brother Lu?¡± Feng Hong was shocked. They had all been too far from the battle to see what had happened.

    ¡°Lock this woman up and save the Executioner,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Jeraldine was quickly brought away by the troops, but as Zhou Shan was moved onto a stretcher he regained consciousness and called out in a weak voice, ¡°Wait.¡±

    Everyone drew closer, and the Executioner turned to Lu Yin, ¡°I¡¯ll need your help¡­ Protect Nanjing while I recover.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± With that, Zhou Shan immediately fainted again.

    Nanjing had suffered heavy losses in today¡¯s battle. Lu Yin ordered the troops to rebuild the destroyed assembly grounds and pacified the survivors beforemanding Luo Yi and group to rush back to the city. Fortunately, these were things he didn¡¯t need to worry about himself, allowing him to head to the lowest level of the camp¡¯s prisons.

    All four of Jeraldine¡¯s limbs had been locked and tied up, with a number of guns trained on her from all around. They would fire at the first sign of abnormal movements, blowing her to pieces, but Lu Yin ordered the guards away and walked over alone. Taking off her cosmic ring, he unlocked it with a drop of blood from her finger and emptied her belongings onto the floor. Not many people could afford these things, with Vesta and even Orton not being in possession of one. He¡¯d already cleared out Terence¡¯s ring just before he came here, and now it was Jeraldine¡¯s turn.

    ¡°What are you?¡± Jeraldine asked as he sorted through her stuff.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t belong on this primitive, you have to havee from elsewhere in the universe,¡± she reasoned, staring at Lu Yin with gritted teeth.

    Lu Yin nodded, grabbing all her energy crystals before stuffing other items like undergarments back in the ring and returning to her. Cosmic rings were tied to the gic code of their users, so it would be useless for him to hold onto it.

 Chapter 18: Training Mission

    <h4>Chapter 18: Training Mission</h4>

    Lu Yin only spoke up once he was done robbing all of Jeraldine¡¯s crystals, ¡°My name is Lu Yin, not Yatar. Don¡¯t call me by the wrong name.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin? Is that your Earth name?¡±

    He didn¡¯t answer that question, but rather gave her an order, ¡°Log into the universalwork and mark Nanjing blue under you.¡±

    Jeraldine chuckled but otherwise ignored him.

    He sighed, ¡°You know, I don¡¯t actually like torturing people, but this is a military base and they have all sorts of ways to get you on board.¡±

    ¡°These natives will pay the price for that!¡± she barked.

    That anger was met with a cold re, ¡°Sure, but your price will be much more terrifying and immediate.¡±

    Jeraldine matched his gaze for a while but eventually caved in. In the end, she was just a student; though she could be proud, cold, and even cruel to the natives of Earth, that was merely due to the difference in their status. When that difference was taken away, all that was left was a normal schoolgirl like any other. Lu Yin watched as she logged in and turned Nanjing blue, noticing that a good portion of the had been marked by these aliens. Situations like Jeraldine¡¯s were bound to be exceptional, butrge swathes of China, Europe, Africa, and the Americas had changed color. The area that stood out to him most was Hubei; had Liu Shaoge surrendered to a student? Was he killed?

    He turned to Jeraldine, ¡°Who is the strongest in this batch of students?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Empire itself initiated this evolution, so the students can be from many different schools. Terence was one of the strongest from mine, but I have no idea about the others.¡±

    Lu Yin held back from asking further questions. He was confident in dealing with the current batch of students, but he also knew the true challenge would only begin in two months. With everyone one else busy, he gave himself the task of clearing out any mutant beasts he could detect with his scanner that were in the Realm of Sky. Finishing that task in five days, he called upon all remaining captains, even calling back Luo Yi and Xu San from the frontlines. Thetter was dumbstruck to find out that his new master was now stepping in for the Executioner with full control of Nanjing, but that only made him certain that his future looked promising.

    Lu Yin had supported Xu San quite a bit already, helping him be a Seeker in this time. He knew that the man¡¯s value would skyrocket once he became a Sentinel, but Xu San simply reveled in the preferential treatment and resolved himself to grow stronger quickly. He believed that the best way for him to aid Lu Yin was to grow more powerful, at which point his own gains would improve as well.

    If anyone had anyints about the current power structure, they didn¡¯t dare to voice them. Everyone was aware that Lu Yin had intervened in a battle with two Realm of Sky experts, showing that he too had reached that realm. This was a level of power that matched the Executioner, and no captain would overstep their bounds. As for the two captains that had once surrendered to Jeraldine, Lu Yin stripped them of their ranks as punishment for the crime.

    ¡°The most important order of business is to give up on expansion efforts and focus on fortifying Nanjing,¡± Lu Yin announced to the eight remaining captains.

    Someone hesitantly replied, ¡°Carving a path towards the capital was the foundation of the Executioner¡¯s strategy. It wouldn¡¯t be good to stray from his goals.¡±

    ¡°I agree with Lu Yin,¡± Qin Xuan countered, ¡°Nanjing is too weak to connect to the rest of the country right now; we need to first stabilize this ce to ward off external threats.¡±

    Seeing the nods from Feng Hong and the others, Lu Yin stood up, ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. All of the camp¡¯s soldiers are going to be recalled, we¡¯ll begin heading west to reim the lost parts of the district.¡±

    Thest bit was said as he was leaving the meeting, leaving the others silently looking at each other. Qin Xuan fell into deep thought as she watched Lu Yin leave. She felt that he was even more bold than the Executioner while still wanting to help Nanjing, but the supposed temporary caretaker of the city was overruling Zhou Shan¡¯s strategies. Although she agreed with this change, she wondered how the Sage would react when he awoke.

    ¡°Feng Hong, stay close to the Executioner for a while,¡± she whispered.

    Feng Hong was puzzled, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°An abundance of precaution. Just protect the Executioner.¡± She feared that Lu Yin would harm or even kill the Executioner to gainplete control over the camp.

    Across the room, Luo Yi¡¯s eyes flickered as she observed the two talk.

    ¡­¡­

    Zhao Yu had left a few days ago by herself, heading northeast. This girl¡¯s courage was admirable, but Lu Yin felt the decision wasn¡¯t very sensible. The stronghold had originally housed 80,000 cultivators, but 30,000 of them had originally been stationed at the frontlines. Now that they had returned with the rest of the captains, the district¡¯s defenses had been strengthened drastically. Zhongshan was now a true fortress, but that meant the countryside was more fragile than ever before.

    Beams of light shed across the sky to the backdrop of the crimson sunset, destroying a number of flying mutants. Atop the city¡¯s walls, Lu Yin called out, ¡°Use ballistics if you notice a group of beasts or a zombie horde; no need to hold back.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± two captains responded.

    A sudden cry rang out in the distance, many zombies being torn apart as a massive flying beast rushed towards the city. It swept close to the ground and grabbed talonfuls of zombies along the way, crushing them to pieces amidst its flight.

    ¡°ATTACK IT! QUICK!¡± someone screamed, and people started panicking. However, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he leapt up with Orton¡¯s sword in hand, one Sentinel-level strike knocking the beast straight to the ground. The scream turned into a wail as its head was twisted strangely by the impact, voice slowly dying out. Lu Yin jumped down onto its back and slid the sword into its head, causing two twitches after which all movements stopped. It took a moment for the stunned onlookers to burst into cheers.

    ¡°The Hidden Sage !¡± someone cried out amongst the crowd, which was soon picked up by everyone. Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched¡ª he didn¡¯t want to be another Sage, but no matter how he tried to calm the crowd, the term quickly started to spread.

    ¡­¡­

    Few zombies or beasts remained around Nanjing as the cultivators at the stronghold had already exterminated most of them. Following Lu Yin¡¯s orders, most of the people¡¯s energy was focused on regaining the westernnds; nearly half the captains moved out in support. Survivors continued to flock to Nanjing, and the number of cultivators grew as well.

    Half a month sped by, and soon less than seventy days remained before the next batch of students arrived. During this time Lu Yin had used about half of his star crystals to cultivate, getting tobat level 1,500. Star crystals were not typically used to elerate cultivation and upgrade an individual¡¯s power, but were mostly used to train battle skills or to power high-tech equipment. The crystals could also be used to rapidly recover energy after exhaustion. A powerful battle technique could often multiply one¡¯s strength, but a higherbat level alone could cause others to be cautious.

    Obviously, a higher power level represented the body¡¯s energy, which meant that the same attack would be more powerful, much like how Terence¡¯s Shockwave Palm had been able to counter Jeraldine¡¯s battle technique. Although Terence had saved some star crystals to train his battle techniques, it had been for nothing in the end; otherwise, hisst battle would have ended differently. Lu Yin nned on using his remaining star crystals to improve his Cosmic Palm and try some other things.

    Jeraldine had given up during these two weeks, requesting to meet with Lu Yin. Although he hadn¡¯t allowed anyone to torture her physically, she had been ced in solitary confinement in a dark dungeon and forced to eat food made from rats. It wasn¡¯t long before she cracked.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll help you if you let me go,¡± she pleaded weakly, face pale and gaze unfocused. Her very body seemed to radiate an unpleasant odor.

    Lu Yin remained indifferent, ¡°How can you help me?¡±

    ¡°I can help you protect Nanjing, and I¡¯ll do whatever else you want me to. Just let me out, I¡¯m losing my mind!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her, ¡°So what¡¯s the mission in this trial?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really not a student? How did you manage to enter Earth when it¡¯s been under the Great Yu Empire¡¯s observation for so long?¡± Jeraldine¡¯s gaze brightened, but when Lu Yin turned to leave she called out, ¡°Wait, fine! I was just curious, I won¡¯t say anything. Our mission was to hunt down an escaped criminal.¡±

    ¡°A criminal?¡± Lu Yin turned back with interest.

    She nodded, ¡°We were given the mission one day before the trial started. A criminal managed to escape parole and came to Earth; he was the one who triggered the¡¯s evolution. The Empire didn¡¯t n to use this for a while, but now it was the best choice. This even dyed our training by several months, we were supposed to start much earlier.¡±

    [1] One reading of Yin is Hidden

 Chapter 19: Timestop

    <h4>Chapter 19: Timestop</h4>

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, ¡°You guys weren¡¯t the ones that started Earth¡¯s evolution?¡±

    Jeraldine shook her head, ¡°No, the where we were originally supposed to train on is actually quite far away.¡±

    This was shocking information. If Earth¡¯s evolution hadn¡¯t been triggered by the Great Yu Empire but somehow initiated locally, could it have been that corpse?

    ¡°Who is this escaped criminal?¡± he asked

    Jeraldine coughed a few times, ¡°I don¡¯t actually know. Their identity is ssified, so no one knows what they look like or even what their name is.¡±

    ¡°Then how are you supposed to find them?¡±

    ¡°This is aary trial, of course, it wouldn¡¯t be that simple.¡±

    ¡°But even if you manage to track the criminal down, are students enough to capture him?¡±

    ¡°Probably. Theye from the Innerverse, but they¡¯ve sustained heavy injuries so there¡¯s no way for them to be stronger than a Melder. On top of that, all their equipment is destroyed so they have nothing to rely on.¡±

    Lu Yin released Jeraldine after ten more minutes of conversation, having someone take her to a ce where she could bathe and get treatment. She took an entire day to take care of herself, only meeting him the next afternoon. While she had been in pain for the entirety of the past few weeks, a special healing potion that she¡¯d brought on the trip ensured that the shoulder injury was all that remained. At their next meeting, Lu Yin led Jeraldine to an empty field outside Nanjing, ¡°So you¡¯ve recoveredpletely outside of your shoulder? Do you want to try and beat me to avenge the humiliation?¡±

    Jeraldine red at Lu Yin; her limbs were still bound with metal chains. However, he onlyughed, ¡°Stop pretending. With your strength, these things can¡¯t restrain you.¡±

    ng! Jeraldine immediately broke free of the chains, but this caused pain to shoot up her right arm. She paled instantly, ¡°I told you I¡¯d help you.¡±

    ¡°Would you still be afraid if I got rid of this?¡± Lu Yin removed Terence¡¯s gun from his belt and threw it on the ground. Jeraldine stared in shock at the weapon; this gun that could injure even Sentinels was the primary reason she had been afraid of him. How could he toss it aside so easily?

    ¡°Come on, see if you can beat me. Victory means control of Nanjing and vengeance, wouldn¡¯t that be perfect?¡± he taunted her.

    Jeraldine ¡®s eyes gleamed and she tossed her hair behind, rushing towards Lu Yin with full force. Even if she wasn¡¯t sure of defeating him, she knew that she could at least hold her own inbat. After all, he was only a new Sentinel himself. Sparks flew from the ground whenever her feet made contact, mes condensing around her left hand as she swept it forward.

    Using Roving Step, Lu Yin dodged the me Palm with ease before tossing out some crystals, ¡°Not enough fire, try again.¡±

    Jeraldine was surprised but didn¡¯t hesitate. Since she had already started, she would use everything she could to win. The fire crystals broke apart to release towering mes that she condensed with a twist of her hand, gathering it all into a single attack. Lu Yin merely took a step back and raised his own hand, stars appearing on his palm.

    BANG! The impact shattered the ground,unching mes high into the sky where they exploded like fireworks. Jeraldine was blown away by the shockwaves, spitting out a mouthful of blood in the air and coughing up another when she crashed into the ground. On the other hand, Lu Yin remained in ce with an indifferent expression. His Cosmic Palm had killed Terence when he was just a Seeker, and now he was a Sentinel. The only reason Jeraldine wasn¡¯t dead was mercy.

    ¡°How?¡± Unable to even get up from the ground, the girl just wheezed in shock. Although she was aware that Lu Yin had a powerful battle technique, it had only beaten her before because she was incapable of using her full strength. This time, her me Palm hadn¡¯t even pushed him back!

    Soldiers from the camp rushed over after hearing the noise, but they were held back by Lu Yin. He walked over to Jeraldine, ¡°Are you going to keep resisting?¡±

    ¡°What battle technique was that?¡± she asked, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her once-beautiful face was now pallid.

    Lu Yin smirked, ¡°Shockwave Palm, 3x.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? There¡¯s no way that was Shockwave Palm,¡± she protested weakly.

    Lu Yin smiled while retrieving the energy gun, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the legends? A powerhouse once stacked a hundred Shockwave Palms to shatter the stars. Three are more than enough to defeat you.¡±

    Jeraldine was still incredulous; she couldn¡¯t ept that a person who she had been able to easily crush was now able to beat her so easily.

    ¡°Go and heal your injuries. From now on you are my bodyguard,¡± Lu Yin smiled, leaving as she spat out another mouthful of blood. She finally realized why this jerk had allowed her to challenge him; he had only wanted to subdue herpletely.

    Lu Yin struggled to contain his excitement as he returned to his quarters. While hisbat level was only 1,500, his Cosmic Palm was now something that even a peak Terence wouldn¡¯t be able to handle. He could finally be confident in defending himself. Asking Xu San to guard him while he trained, he headed to a sealed arena within Nanjing and took out a star crystal and crushed it. This time he didn¡¯t absorb it, instead summoning his die once more. He had noticed its dullness after the previous use, and while it had been regaining its luster on its own, he believed that star energy would be able to empower it as well. That expectation was met, and the die rapidly absorbed the crystal¡¯s energy until the room was empty once more.

    Lu Yin continued to take out star crystals, watching as the die slowly recovered its glow. It was only when he had a single crystal left that itpletely returned to its former glow, shrouded in starlight as before. He cleaned the nervous sweat from his brow; this thing just ate up too much star energy. After calcting, he realized that adding up the star crystals he had taken from Terence and Jeraldine and the energy the die had passively recovered over the past few days, the die had absorbed nearly half a cube of star crystals. If he also added up the energy it had absorbed from the burst of energy released when he had be a Sentinel, the die had probably needed an entire cube of star crystals to recover! Even a wealthy student like Terence couldn¡¯t possibly bring that much of such a valuable resource.

    This incident gave Lu Yin a premonition that he was destined for destitution in the future. He needed to find a way to earnrge sums of money, or he wouldn¡¯t even be able to use his innate gift that he would never be able to abandon. The first use of it had brought him an unbelievable skill like the Cosmic Art with no repercussions to speak of; no matter whether it took one cube of star crystals or a hundred, he would keep using it. In the worst-case scenario, he would just rob people.

    He swallowed in anticipation as he watched the die float before him, rubbing his hands before tapping it gently. His breathing grew hurried as it started to spin, ¡°Come on, give me something good¡­¡±

    Five of the die¡¯s faces slowly faded, leaving only the one with four pips visible. The space around him changed before he could think about it, the arena and even all of Nanjing disappearing. All he could see was an endless space of gray and white, with no beginning nor end. Above him was limitless darkness, and the ground below was made of some tough material he didn¡¯t recognize. The only other thing was what seemed like a countdown behind him. 259200, 259199, 259198¡­

    The words Timestop Domain floated into his mind, leaving him stunned. Was it actually possible to pause time? That was something he¡¯d only heard of in legends! He soon knew that the countdown he was seeing was seconds, depicting the time he would be allowed to stay here. 259200 seconds, or exactly three days for a roll of four. The outside world wouldn¡¯t change at all until this timer ended.

    Lu Yin released a big breath as he stared at the numbers slowly counting down. Wasn¡¯t his innate gift just too terrifying? He cleared his mind and shook his head, raising his hand to look at the die, but saw that it was dull once more. He now understood why so much star energy was needed; it was used to gain ess to this space.

    A small test with his final star crystal left him speechless. The number went up as he threw the crystal over, but only by five seconds. Wasn¡¯t that way too small?

 Chapter 20: Origin Of The Apocalypse

    <h4>Chapter 20: Origin Of The Apocalypse</h4>

    The Timestop Domain initially provided Lu Yin with three days of frozen time, but the price to extend that was far too steep. One fist-sized crystal only added five seconds; if that scaled, a full cubic meter would only add about 80 minutes to the timer. His need for star crystals had grown once more; he needed them for cultivation, battle technique training, equipment, charging his die, increasing the duration of the Timestop Domain, and a million other small things. He was starting to believe that some disreputable acts would be worth it if he could get enough crystals; in fact, maybe bing an interster bandit wasn¡¯t a bad career choice.

    Shaking off that thought, he examined his surroundings. Three days of time here was a rather awkward duration; he didn¡¯t have any star crystals to absorb, and there wasn¡¯t enough time to upgrade his Cosmic Palm. What about other techniques? Wondering for a moment, he soon decided that there was only one technique that he could practice right now: the Spacerender Palm.

    Spacerender Palm was the upgraded version of the Shockwave Palm, another battle technique avable to the masses. Its physical requirements far exceeded that of the Shockwave Palm, to the point that not even many Melders could utilize it. However, this suited him perfectly; he had no energy crystals to train anything else, and he was confident in the strength of his body. Spacerender Palm was much more powerful than Shockwave Palm, and more importantly, it was a long-range attack; it could make up for his current shorings. Although he hadn¡¯t been practicing his battle techniques for a while, he hadn¡¯t rxed his training regimen for his body.

    The near-zero star energy cost of Shockwave Palm was the reason that Lu Yin had managed to use it to kill Vesta. Although the universe was flooded with star energy on the whole, every had a unique ecosystem and some of them weren¡¯tpatible with it. Techniques like the Shockwave Palm that relied on one¡¯s physical energy were extremely underrated by most people; in the process of chasing more formidable battle techniques, they didn¡¯t pause to wonder whether those techniques could be used in all situations. As the timer continued to tick down, he went down and started doing push-ups with a single finger.

    Three sweaty days quickly passed, and Lu Yin watched the scenery before him warping once more. He returned to the training arena he had just entered on Earth, and a quick nce confirmed that only a second had passed in his three days of rough training. Taking a quick bath, he rested for the rest of the night.

    When he met Jeraldine the next morning, Lu Yin noticed the hint of dread in her gaze as he asked, ¡°Do you know what your role is?¡±

    ¡°Your bodyguard,¡± Jeraldine answered softly.

    He chuckled, ¡°Let¡¯s go, the Executioner should be awake soon.¡±

    Having sustained injuries far worse than Jeraldine¡¯s, Zhou Shan had been undergoing advanced therapy. After sustaining severe wounds from Terence, he would have been killed by Orton if not for Lu Yin. Even with the half-month of treatment, he was visibly thinner and weaker.

    When Lu Yin brought Jeraldine towards the Executioner¡¯s ward, Feng Hong got up immediately, ¡°Brother Lu¡ª no, Hidden Sage¡ª the Executioner has woken up.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless at the use of the moniker. He definitely didn¡¯t want that title when the second batch of students was about to arrive, as it would ce a target on his back. However, all of Nanjing now called him by that title, and it was widely known that he had reached the Realm of Sky. There wasn¡¯t any way to refute.

    ¡°You can stay here,¡± he responded, stepping past Feng Hong to enter the ward. Feng Hong stared vigntly at Jeraldine for obvious reasons, but she didn¡¯t bother with him. She didn¡¯t care about anyone outside of Lu Yin himself here; were he not from the greater universe like her, it would have taken a while for her ego to allow her to give in.

    In the ward, Qin Xuan was the only one present besides Zhou Shan. She grew alert as soon as she saw Lu Yin stepping in, moving in front of Zhou Shan.

    Lu Yin was quite amused, ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just here to talk to the Executioner.¡±

    ¡°Qin Xuan, move aside.¡± Zhou Shan¡¯s feeble voice prompted her to stop muttering to herself and step aside.

    Lu Yin looked towards her, ¡°You can leave.¡±

    Qin Xuan¡¯s gaze changed, and she looked at Zhou Shan who nodded in agreement. Still, the hesitation was clear in her steps.

    ¡°My apologies, she¡¯s too worried about me.¡± Zhou Shan said weakly as he gestured for Lu Yin to sit.

    Lu Yin sat beside the man¡¯s bed and smiled, ¡°She¡¯s afraid I¡¯ll harm you.¡±

    He chuckled, ¡°If you wanted to do that, I wouldn¡¯t have lived this long. I heard you gave up on the north to focus on Nanjing and the west?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and stood up, walking to the window and staring at the ruins of Zhongshan, ¡°It¡¯s been half a year since the Apocalypse; there might be a lot of zombies, but they¡¯re not too much of a threat. The mutant beasts are a different story; they¡¯ll grow stronger with time, and the entire frontline might copse if it¡¯s stretched too thin.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because it¡¯s been half a year that I wanted to reach out to the rest and join hands to reim China. Zhao Yu risked her life toe to Nanjing for that reason.¡±

    Lu Yin turned back, ¡°How many casualties does the stronghold suffer every day? How long do you think our path will be? I already had Luo Yi report that the supposedly safe roads had a zombie king with intelligence. That thing could evolve, and even consume special materials to develop rudimentary battle techniques. Your captains can¡¯t handle that, will you go there personally? And how much can you do yourself? Can you ensure that there won¡¯t be a single Realm of Sky on the way?¡±

    Zhou Shan went silent for a while before smiling bitterly, ¡°I can¡¯t, but I need to establish contact with the capital. I need to figure out the origin of the Apocalypse.¡±

    Lu Yin perked up, ¡°The origin of the Apocalypse?¡±

    Zhou Shan stared solemnly at Lu Yin, ¡°We received some news when the country brought that corpse back from Neptune. We relied on the news to be ahead of everyone else and be the Seven Sages, but the corpse posed its own problems. But there were problems; the Ministry of Science and Technology discovered an abnormal substance on its body that can instigate strange changes in DNA; I believe that is what brought about the Apocalypse.¡±

    "What happened then?¡±

    Zhou Shan continued with a pained expression, ¡°The Ministry couldn¡¯t control the substance, so Primary ordered for the corpse to be transported away. The seven of us were separated to protect different parts of China. Primary might have guessed things already, but the Apocalypse struck the very day the corpse was to be transported.¡±

    Lu Yin was staring intently at Zhou Shan, but the Executioner stared at the ceiling instead, ¡°We don¡¯t know how it happened, but there was great change in an instant. The researchers, Primary, and a lot of other people died in a great explosion. We tried our best to get in touch, but no one knew what happened, even Zhang Dingtian who was in the capital.¡±

    ¡°What about that corpse?¡± Lu Yin asked quickly. That thing would contain a formcast model, and it could be the same criminal from the Innerverse that these students were trying to find.

    Zhou Shan shook his head, ¡°No idea, there was only a giant pit filled withva left behind. All the information vanished in that explosion, and the Apocalypse arrived.¡±

    Lu Yin could tell that Zhou Shan was not lying. He hade to Nanjing from Hubei precisely as a part of his search for the corpse; it seemed like he had to pay the capital a visit. He sighed, ¡°Get some rest, I¡¯ll be going.¡±

    ¡°Are you leaving Nanjing?¡± Zhou Shan asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, you¡¯re the only one who can defend the city. You managed to injure the strongest of the aliens even when you were in the Realm of Earth. Now that you¡¯re in the Realm of Sky, you¡¯re certainly stronger than me. I hope for you to stay. The camp will follow your orders, as will I.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, ¡°Why? You¡¯re still the revered Executioner, Nanjing will still be yours after I leave.¡±

    Zhou Shan could not help butugh bitterly, ¡°Do you think I want that title? I¡¯m a career soldier; I defend Nanjing because of Primary¡¯s orders, nothing else. The survival of the millions in Nanjing is what¡¯s important, I hope you can stay and protect them.¡±

    Lu Yin stared into Zhou Shan¡¯s eyes, and the man did not show a single hint of weakness. He eventually nodded and turned to leave the ward, ¡°I¡¯ll stay, for now.¡±

    Zhou Shan heaved a sigh of relief and looked out the window. The battle half a month ago was etched deeply in his memory. He was termed the Executioner, but he was no more than a pawn. The pressure of millions of lives was too great, and he truly hoped for Lu Yin to stay behind for a future where his people survived. The information about the corpse was top secret, but it had shown his sincerity.

    Qin Xuan hurriedly entered the ward as Lu Yin left, and Lu Yin nodded towards Feng Hong before leaving with Jeraldine in tow. Zhou Shan being a soldier was a heavy revtion, as it was an added responsibility. Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to bear that burden; while he respected the Executioner, he wouldn¡¯t stay behind forever to lead the man. With Terence¡¯s formcast model on hand, he could stay here for now and wait until he became a Melder. However, nothing was more important than that corpse; he would leave the moment there was news.

 Chapter 21: Bai Xue

    <h4>Chapter 21: Bai Xue</h4>

    Smoke pervaded the air around Nanjing as the city settled down into a never-ending battle. A wave of mutants rushed in from the west every few days, and nobody could make heads or tails of the situation.

    In the skies, the flying mutant beasts formed groups to attack the assembly grounds in Zhongshan. Jeraldine flew over and lit them up with her me Palm, bombarding the skies and sending sparks everywhere to the tune of cheering spectators. Stood on the city walls, Lu Yin was gazing westward. The waves were far too frequent now; was a formidable beast in the vicinity?

    ¡°Jeraldine, southwest!¡± he barked, leaving the girl a little depressed. Here she was, someone from the greater universe being ordered around like a warve. She had considered disobeying him multiple times, but Lu Yin¡¯s icy gaze ensured that she remained wise. Her thoughts ran back to a scene from a few days prior; the morning after visiting Zhou Shan, Lu Yin had proposed a friendly duel. She¡¯d only agreed when he agreed not to use a Shockwave Palm, but the bastard had actually used a Spacerender Palm and nearly crippled her! That incident had angered her so much that she swore to never duel him again.

    Of course, she was also shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s power. While the Shockwave Palm was not umon, the Spacerender Palm was entirely different. She only knew one other person of simr age that could use the technique; the top student in her academy, Veron.

    Bang! The remnants of the me Palm mmed into the ground, crushing several formidable mutant beasts. Gasping for air up above, Jeraldine found it strange as well. It was normal for this number of mutant beasts to exist in a world undergoing evolution, but it was decidedly abnormal for them to attack humans so consistently. Beasts had primal tendencies, and as long as no one intruded on their territory, they hardly ever came out. This was also a key reason why there were so many survivors, but the beast waves had be far toomon of an urrence now. Her thoughts were interrupted by deafening howls as two more beasts snuck towards her; using the me Palm once more, she decimated them in a single strike.

    Lu Yin frowned from the city walls. This woman relied too much on her battle techniques, which restricted her development. Her battle ability was halved when she wasn¡¯t using the me Palm; she was perhaps only slightly above average in her school, a far cry from Terence and perhaps only a little stronger than Orton. However, as he continued to observe her, his gaze suddenly sharpened.

    ¡°STOP!¡± he shouted as he lifted his hand, forming ripples of energy by pressing down on the air. Jeraldine was shocked as she saw the attack flying straight for her but somehow managed to react the right way and stop in an instant. The Spacerender Palm swept past her andnded behind, blowing the air apart and sending a youth crashing to the ground. Lu Yin jumped and flew towards the ambusher, glowering at him on the floor.

    Jeraldine heaved a sigh of relief, rejoicing at the sight of Lu Yin. This sneak attack would havended on her squarely if not for his intervention, and the would-be assassin was a Sentinel as well. The best-case scenario would have been heavy injuries.

    There was a giant crack on the earth¡¯s surface, and the youth clutched his chest as he stared at Lu Yin in shock, ¡°Spacerender Palm? How¡¯s that possible?¡±

    Lu Yin red at the man, sweeping around the area with his peripheral vision. His gaze suddenly focused as he disappeared towards the beasts with Roving Step.

    ¡°RUN!¡± the youth shouted, but it was toote. Another young man within a beast¡¯s abdomen was shocked as Lu Yin¡¯s hand grabbed towards him. He grabbed his longsword and shed out, but a loud explosion rang out as the bare palm shattered the metal with ease. The ground within a dozen meters split open as currents of air whirled outwards, tearing countless beasts to shreds. Lu Yin had just used two strikes to bring down two Sentinels, astonishing Jeraldine in the process.

    She was sure that these two were students. Though not from the First Military School, they would not be weaklings if they could participate in this trial. That they had been so easily defeated was a testament to Lu Yin''s current strength; his true battle prowess far exceeded hisbat level.

    The beast wave dissipated quickly once the two students were defeated, informing Lu Yin that they were the source of the problem.

    "Where are you from?" Jeraldine barked, still reeling from the near-ambush.

    The two stared fearfully at Lu Yin, but did not answer. Lu Yin waved the iing soldiers away and coldly stared at them, "I''ll feed you two to the beasts if you don''t speak."

    "We''re fellow students, no need to be so cruel," one of the males squeaked with a pale face.

    Lu Yin shrugged, "Sorry, I¡¯m an earthling."

    "Impossible!" the two shrieked, turning towards Jeraldine. Her silence shocked them further, ¡°How can a native defeat us so easily? He can even use the Spacerender Palm!¡±

    ¡°Alright, less nonsense,¡± Lu Yin barked, ¡°Speak or die.¡±

    Around ten minutester, Lu Yin ordered the two to be imprisoned while he sank into thought. These two hade from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Blue Mountain Academy, which was situated on a full of wild beasts. These two had experience taming wild animals, but could only urge weak mutant creatures. As for mounting this sneak attack on Nanjing, they were the same as Jeraldine and wanted to upy the city. Unlike her, however, they had a powerful backer in Anhui nearby.

    Jeraldine was furious, "Why don''t you kill them, they were plotting to steal Nanjing."

    Lu Yin looked at her, "You can do it if you want."

    "Err¡­ I can''t bear to do it," she was stunned and turned away

    ¡°This trial might not forbid murder, but too many deaths isn¡¯t a good look. This is the first time you¡¯ve tried to act smart with me, it better be thest.¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s lips twitched as she watched Lu Yin leave, a sense of pity filling her. She had wanted to make him the main antagonist of this first batch so she could escape control, but that had failed. The scoundrel was smarter than she¡¯d thought.

    "Boss, the beast wave has retreated!¡± Xu San cheered, his eyes glowing.

    Lu Yin knew what he was thinking with one nce, "You finished using the energy crystals I gave you?"

    Xu San was embarrassed, "Yes, and I''ve grown much stronger."

    "No need to be anxious for a breakthrough, you still don¡¯t have the capacity yet. Try your best to immerse yourself in your body¡¯s energy and condense it."

    "Yes, Boss!" Xu San could feel Lu Yin''s concern.

    While Lu Yin had initially wanted to get Xu San to the Realm of Sky quickly, he had changed his mind as ofte. He didn¡¯t want an abundance of impurities to harm Xu San¡¯s potential, which would diminish his value. Many powerful entities had their own ways topletely cleanse someone¡¯s energy so they could start anew, but that process grew more difficult and expensive as one trained to higher realms. Xu San being in the Realm of Earth was just perfect; while his potential wasn¡¯t harmed too much, he could still survive on his own.

    After dealing with the aftermath of the beast wave, Lu Yin headed to Zhou Shan¡¯s ward. He had given the Executioner some of Jeraldine¡¯s medicine, so he had mostly recovered from his injuries.

    ¡°What are you nning to do with those two aliens?¡± Zhou Shan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep them locked up for now, they¡¯ll be usefulter. You can interrogate them if you want, it¡¯ll be good to learn more about them.¡±

    Zhou Shan nodded, ¡°I hear theye from Anhui?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, which is exactly the direction I¡¯m headed in. Might as well get rid of them.¡±

    Zhou Shan was puzzled, ¡°Huh¡­ I¡¯m curious, why do you want to journey west so bad?¡±

    ¡°Want to hear the truth?¡± Lu Yin looked him in the eye.

    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to Hubei to look for someone.¡±

    ¡°Hubei? A rtive?¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°Kind of.¡±

    Zhou Shan nodded, ¡°Alright. You¡¯re Nanjing¡¯s savior; if you want us to head west, we head west. You can connect with Liu Shaoge in Wucheng and join hands to fight the aliens there.¡±

    ¡°The Radiance, huh. What¡¯s he like?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯s he like¡¯? Strength or personality?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Both.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know him all that well. Though we¡¯ve worked together before, it wasn¡¯t for long. The Water Sage Bai Xue is the one who¡¯d know him best; they were involved romantically at one point from what I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed for a moment, ¡°Involved? Are they married?¡±

    ¡°No, but there¡¯s something there,¡± Zhou Shan didn¡¯t seem to be sure either, but he quickly grinned, ¡°Have you ever seen Bai Xue?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Zhou Shan looked up at the sky and pointed at the clouds, ¡°She looks just like that.¡±

    Looking up as well, Lu Yin was rather lost.

    Zhou Shan sighed, ¡°Bai Xue, fresh as a lotus blooming in water, beautiful as a goddess, pretty as a picture. Her looks are absolutely out of this world.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Zhou Shan as if he¡¯d seen a ghost, ¡°Since when do you know how to pontificate?¡±

 Chapter 22: Bloodlust Under Moonlight

    <h4>Chapter 22: Bloodlust Under Moonlight</h4>

    Zhou Shan gave Lu Yin an odd look, ¡°It¡¯s not just me. It¡¯s well known that Bai Xue is the most beautiful woman in all of China. No matter which celebrity or model you look at, no one canpare. Heh, I didn¡¯t believe it at first either, but once I met her I couldn¡¯t help but agree. This woman was born to be worshipped; it¡¯s no exaggeration to call her a goddess.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°That¡¯s not an exaggeration?¡±

    ¡°Goddess? Don¡¯t tter yourselves, natives will always be natives. If you ever see Starsibyl, you won¡¯t be able to get off your knees,¡± Jeraldine interrupted with a tone of ridicule.

    This immediately prompted a cold re from Lu Yin, ¡°I never want to hear you say the word native again. Go guard the door.¡±

    Jeraldine snorted, but without the guts to challenge Lu Yin, she turned and left. Zhou Shan was embarrassed as he realized a woman had overheard such a discussion, but Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Please continue, Brother Zhou.¡±

    Zhou Shan coughed several times, ¡°There¡¯s actually nothing more. Liu Shaoge is handsome and Bai Xue is pretty. The two are a perfect match.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s curious eyes gleamed, ¡°What about their power?¡±

    The Executioner shrugged his shoulders, ¡°Liu Shaoge and I are part of the four Sages, while Bai Xue is one of the three High Sages. He¡¯s supposed to be prudent and adept at hiding, but he can¡¯t be much stronger than me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding. Zhou Shan did not seem to understand Liu Shaoge very well, but he could sense that the man¡¯s impression of Liu Shaoge was pretty decent. The Radiance seemed to deserve the greatest praise, and Liu Shaoge¡¯s external image did seem rather perfect. Only the dead and the one idental survivor would know of the man¡¯s dark side. He had assumed he only had one enemy amongst the Seven Sages so far, but if the Water Sage really was involved with Liu Shaoge, that assumption could prove false. And then there was a chance of a butterfly effect where all the Sages stood against him¡­ Society worked in strange ways.

    Drumming his fingers against a wall, Lu Yin sank deep into thought.

    ¡­¡­

    It took until night for the beast wave to retreatpletely, and Lu Yin left Nanjing after dark; he was running out of fire crystals and needed to dig up a few more. Powerful gusts could be heard under the yellow moonlight illuminating the cold earth, forcing one to focus if they wanted to hear the constant chewing that sent chills down the spine.

    When Lu Yin finally arrived at the fire crystal deposit beside the old canals, he saw a shadow standing there in silence. It was a man with short silver hair, looking up towards the moonlight with a vacant gaze. His expression changed instantly the moment he noticed this person; the long-haired zombie king, the fire crystals, and that fearsome head. Was this person here by coincidence or on purpose?

    He hadn¡¯t expected anyone to be around, so he hadn¡¯t bothered to conceal himself while flying over. Before he could do so now, the silver-haired youth noticed him. Lu Yin focused his gaze and looked over with a guarded expression; he didn¡¯t know how strong this person was, but he felt an extreme danger that made him want to keep his distance. His mind kept wandering back to that head, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The corners of the youth¡¯s mouth lifted up in a faint smile. Right at that moment, the wandering clouds covered the moon and plunged the entirend into darkness. Lu Yin felt his scalp tingling as he saw a sh of white amidst the darkness, and he used the Roving Step to retreat. His right palm struck out at the same time, the sole moon flying around within. He noticed astonishment flicker across a cold gaze under a sh of white light, the illumination changing directions to collide with his palm. He faintly made out the outline of a beautiful butterfly sword, slicing the very air with a speed almost indiscernible to the human eye.

    The youth¡¯s attackpletely deflected the power of the Cosmic Palm, the air distorting as the resulting explosion sent bothbatants flying backward. The moonlight peeked through the clouds once more, revealing expressions of surprise on both sides.

    The silver-haired man rubbed his head and smiled, ¡°Sorry, my bad. I thought you were a zombie and attacked by instinct.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted as his own mouth curled up, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I only acted because I thought the same. Fortunately, I only used half my strength; I hope you weren¡¯t injured.¡±

    The silver-haired male¡¯s eyebrows rose, ¡°Ah it¡¯s alright, how could that harm me? I only used a third of my strength, but that was more than enough to block your palm, haha.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at his own palm then smiled, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was mistaken. That was only a quarter of the palm¡¯s power, thankfully I did not injure you.¡±

    The silver-haired manughed, ¡°That¡¯s okay, I also remembered wrongly. I only used a fifth of my strength.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I find that hard to believe, want to try again?¡±

    The silver-haired man quickly waved his hands, ¡°No, I¡¯m just an elegant gourmet, and hardly like fighting with others. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are you here for?¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°Looking for a fellow student. I¡¯ve set the meeting point here.¡±

    The silver-haired man grunted, ¡°Me too, actually. I recall this ce is near Nanjing, but it¡¯s been marked blue. Maybe that was done by your fellow student?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°It was.¡±

    The youth tutted, ¡°Aww, I wanted to take a look. But forget it, you can keep waiting here, I¡¯ll head out.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at his watch as the youth flew away, only letting go of a breath once he confirmed that the person had left. He had never felt such a grave sense of danger before; someone had actually blocked the full-power Cosmic Palm! This was an all-out attack with his full Sentinel power behind it; where had that person evene from? Was there really someone so strong in the first batch?

    He walked through the area and looked at the fire crystal deposit. That youth had been standing where he¡¯d found the head with vertical eyes, so he could very well have been its owner. He thought back to that skull, still failing toe up with a connection to anything he knew of. When Lu Yin had first picked up that head, he had felt he may havee into contact with an incredible object. And now, this feeling grew even more intense. Though that silver-haired male was only a Sentinel, Lu Yin did indeed feel like he hadn¡¯t used his full power in that attack. That was unfathomable.

    On the other side, the silver-haired man was flying under the moonlight with a strange expression on his face. His infallible killing strike had actually been blocked! He chuckled to himself, ¡°There¡¯s actually someone among the Sentinels that could withstand that strike, interesting. I thought such people would only appear with the second batch.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Yuxiang, the junction of the Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. Ever since Nanjing had focused its energies westward, it had be the major battle line for Lu Yin¡¯s troops. Five prominent captains and 30,000 cultivators had set off to clear the path, saving many survivors and recruiting quite a few cultivators along the way. The camps at Yuxiang now had about 40,000 cultivators in total, and even had an added captain among their ranks. All these troops were under themand of Feng Hong, the captain Lu Yin was most familiar with.

    The battle lines had originally been stable, but one day a figure appeared high in the skies above Yuxiang and looked down on Lu Yin¡¯s troops. Tens of thousands of cultivators raised their heads from below.

    ¡­¡­

    In Nanjing, Lu Yin was staring at his map. The distance to Wucheng was far too great, and the two were also separated by Anhui in the middle, which had countless zombies, mutant beasts, and even cultivators who weren¡¯t on friendly terms with Nanjing. It would be extremely cumbersome to pave a path all the way to Hubei, taking at least a few months, and now that the city was marked blue, he could very well end up meeting aliens instead of Liu Shaoge.

    As he was wondering to himself, Luo Yi screamed and rushed over, ¡°Hidden Sage, the barracks at the frontlines has been crushed, and everyone was captured including Feng Hong and the other captains!¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, ¡°Did any aliens appear?¡±

    Luo Yi nodded, ¡°The soldiers who were allowed to escape were told four words: Blue Mountain Academy, Jaeger.¡±

    ¡°Call Jeraldine over, now.¡±

    Lu Yin barked an order the moment Jeraldine arrived, ¡°Use one of the Blue Mountain watches and contact a Jaeger. He¡¯s captured our soldiers.¡±

    Jeraldine nodded and retrieved the watches of the two students from her cosmic ring, clicking through it rapidly until a young man¡¯s figure shed on the screen. He smiled politely, ¡°Miss Jeraldine, long time no see. I hadn¡¯t expected we would meet in such a situation, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Jaeger, a student of Blue Mountain Academy.¡±

    Jeraldine hesitated, ¡°You recognize me?¡±

    Jaeger smiled, ¡°You¡¯re the famous elite beauty of the First Military School. Our Academy is not very far, of course I recognize you.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who sent those two to ambush me?¡± her voice turned cold.

 Chapter 23: The Class Divide

    <h4>Chapter 23: The ss Divide</h4>

    ¡°Ambush you?¡± Jaegerughed at Jeraldine¡¯s usation, ¡°I sent the two of them out to check out if we had any peers nearby. Did they sneak up on you? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll teach them a lesson.¡±

    ¡°No need for that, they¡¯ve already paid for their mistake,¡± Jeraldine replied coldly.

    Lu Yin walked over to Jeraldine¡¯s side, casting a nce at Jaeger. The youth didn¡¯t seem surprised to see him, ¡°The Hidden Sage of Nanjing? I guess you must be from the greater universe as well, Miss Jeraldine wouldn¡¯t want to work with you otherwise.¡±

    ¡°My name is Yatar,¡± Lu Yin said bluntly, ¡°Ie from the First Academy of the Pagoda. My grandfather is the headmaster.¡±

    Jeraldine felt her face twitch at the mention of those words. Those were the very words that had made her underestimate this asshole.

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Jaeger asked distractedly.

    Lu Yin disyed a hint of arrogance, ¡°I have more money than you could dream of. Release my people, and I can pay you in a lot of resources.¡±

    Jaeger let out a heartyugh, ¡°Pagoda? Never heard of it. To be honest, I don¡¯t really care who you are; all I¡¯m looking for is an alliance.¡±

    ¡°An alliance?¡± Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Jaeger turned serious, ¡°I discovered a mine of wind crystals nearby, but the ce is upied by a group of mutant beasts that are all Sentinels. I need assistance in dealing with them.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡± Jeraldine asked.

    Jaeger shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not certain, but a conservative estimate would be a dozen cubic meters.¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s eyes zed in an instant. A dozen cubes of wind crystals was no small amount; mosts had only a few cubes¡¯ worth in total. She wanted to agree immediately, but stopped herself and looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°I have money, I don¡¯t care,¡± Lu Yin dismissed, something that surprised Jaeger. The youth hadn¡¯t thought there was any student who would reject this offer; a dozen cubes of wind crystals were worth over a hundred cubes of star crystals at the right exchange, enough for one to master an entire branch of battle techniques or even elerate one¡¯s path to bing a Melder. Even Jeraldine looked longingly at Lu Yin, but he continued, ¡°Having said that, no one turns away chances to make money even if they¡¯re rich. We¡¯lle look for you in two days; in the meanwhile, you aren¡¯t to touch any of my subordinates.¡±

    Jaeger nodded, ¡°Alright, please bring those two juniors of mine as well. It would be best if we have arger group.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed, and Jeraldine immediately disconnected the screen.

    ¡°Is this Jaeger the one which the other two mentioned is the same level as Terence?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Jeraldine grunted in agreement, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of his name, he is one of the top three figures in Blue Mountain Academy, he may even be more powerful than Terence.¡±

    ¡°What is his family¡¯s financial situation like?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Jeraldine was puzzled by the question, ¡°Financial situation? I have no idea.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. He didn¡¯t care for the wind crystals right now. No matter the quantity, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exchange them for star crystals until he could enter the Great Yu Empire. On the other hand, Jaeger probably had a few star crystals on hand.

    ¡­¡­

    Nanjing wasn¡¯t very far from Yuxiang. When Lu Yin left for the town, even with Jeraldine carrying both students from Blue Mountain Academy, it only took him two hours to get there. Tens of thousands of cultivators were sitting around in the camp with their weapons seized, being watched by another group of cultivators all around. Poor Feng Hong was hanging from a tree nearby.

    A powerful energy wave swept through the camp as the two reached the site, sending a violent vibration into the sky. Lu Yin realized the dual intent from that disy; Jaeger was showing off his power, and at the same time trying to probe his own. However, such a disy was actually useless, even posing the risk of ensuring the other party knew the exact extent of one¡¯s power. Jaeger was quite powerful, slightly surpassing Terence, but this didn¡¯t bother Lu Yin at all. To him, this was a dog with all bark and no bite; the only person who¡¯d ever left him feeling threatened so far was that silver-haired man.

    Jeraldine stepped forward, her own energy buzzing as it stopped Jaeger¡¯s disy. A crack suddenly appeared on the ground, splitting Lu Yin¡¯s group off from the rest of the camp. The resultingmotion drew the eyes of Feng Hong and the other captains, shame written all over their faces. Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother with them, his gaze focused on the man who was slowly floating into the sky.

    p! p! p! ¡°The reputation of the beauty of the First Military School isn¡¯t for nothing. Your abilities truly are astounding,¡± Jaeger heaped praises upon her, eyes filled with unconceble greed.

    Jeraldine snorted, ¡°Is this the way the Blue Mountain Academy treats their guests?¡±

    ¡°Ah, sorry for being brash,¡± Jaegerughed, finally turning his gaze to Lu Yin. Contempt shed across his eyes as he noticed that Lu Yin had only recently be a Sentinel; this was something not even worth noticing.

    ¡°My two esteemedrades, isn¡¯t it about time to let my juniors go?¡± Jaeger looked in Jeraldine¡¯s direction as he asked, under the impression that she was the leader of the two. The two captured students wanted to say something, but their mouths were sealed. All they could do was try to signal with their eyes, informing their senior of Lu Yin¡¯s might. However, he simply didn¡¯t understand what they were trying to express.

    ¡°We¡¯ll release them once we¡¯re convinced of your sincerity,¡± Jeraldine said coldly.

    Jaeger shrugged, ¡°Alright then. Gather!¡±

    Quite a few people walked out from all over the camp as he opened up a map, pointing to a mountain that was about a hundred kilometers away from Yuxiang, ¡°The wind crystals are there, but they are surrounded by a flock of mutant birds. At least five are Sentinels, or what these natives call the Realm of Sky. The rest are Seekers, and we don¡¯t have a good count for those.¡±

    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± Jeraldine asked after ncing at Lu Yin.

    Jaeger replied, ¡°The five of us definitely can destroy the flock of birds, but that would take too much work. I have another n; we can get the natives to lure the flock out. We can then blow up some of their explosives to take the beasts out; that would be the most efficient method.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze immediately frosted over, while Jeraldine was taken aback as well, ¡°That would kill the natives.¡±

    ¡°Who cares if the natives live or die?¡± Jaegerughed, ¡°The only thing that matters is to make things easier.¡±

    ¡°We can seed even without risking their lives,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    An amused Jaeger looked over, ¡°Brother Yatar, the lives of these natives aren¡¯t worth our consideration. Once the trial has ended, their cultivators will be sent to battlefields all over the universe. Those with endowments might be fortunate enough to be ves to some influential student, the prettier ones can be servants, and the rest will just be cannon fodder. Heh, they might just be grateful for the opportunity to die here!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t say anything to refute him. The Fate of Earth had been decided the moment evolution started; all the people of the were already under the surveince of the Great Yu Empire and the Universe Youth Council; only a minority would be treated even remotely well.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve shown you my sincerity, can you release them now?¡± Jaeger turned back to Jeraldine.

    She looked towards Lu Yin, who said inly, ¡°Wait, I have another question.¡±

    A cold glint filled Jaeger¡¯s eyes, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You can be considered a top-level figure in Blue Mountain Academy, why are you sitting around instead of moving to finish the mission?¡±

    Jaeger¡¯s eyes filled with bewilderment and then bemusement as he looked between Lu Yin and Jeraldine, finally unable to suppress augh, ¡°Right, I forget that people at your level don¡¯t have all the information. Let me break it down for you over refreshments.¡±

    Jaeger sat down and had his subordinates serve tea, with Lu Yin and Jeraldine both obliging as they took their own seats. He took a sip and said profoundly, ¡°There are three sses of students in this trial. The first ss consists of individuals like my juniors; they¡¯re only entering to impress certain people; consider it gold ting. Survival alone is enough for them to have a bright future.

    ¡°The second ss is people like us.¡±

    ¡°Like us?¡± Jeraldine was surprised. She had not imagined a top figure from Blue Mountain Academy like Jaeger would be in the same ss as her.

    Jaeger nodded, ¡°You, me, Terence¡­ all of us are the same. Our aim is to have some sort of result in this trial, be it upying territory and turning it blue, discovering rare ores, or the like. Say, has anyone asked you to join their mission team since younded?¡±

    Jeraldine shook her head with a solemn expression.

    Jaegerughed and continued, ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s because we aren¡¯t good enough. Only Veron from your academy and Borise from mine qualify for that.¡±

    ¡°The strongest individual in the academy?¡± Jeraldine asked.

    Jager nodded his head, continuing in his serious tone, ¡°There is no fairness in the universe. These people knew the details of what was going on when we first got news of the trial. The strongest individuals in each academy also have wideworks that they can leverage for thepletion of the mission. For example, Veron isn¡¯t even in this region anymore.¡±

    Jeraldine nodded with a pained look on her face, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him since the trial started.¡±

 Chapter 24: Targeting The Capital

    <h4>Chapter 24: Targeting The Capital</h4>

    Jaeger smiled, ¡°I know a little more than you, but even I barely have any news of that circle. Veron from your school and Borise from mine have teamed up with Parlie. They should be exploring the cause for this¡¯s evolution, and are perhaps on their way to the capital. That area isn¡¯t somewhere we can go; I would be satisfied with just a province and some minerals. There¡¯s no need to fight those freaks.¡±

    Jeraldine paled, ¡°Parlie? From the Third Gravitas?¡±

    Jaeger¡¯s gaze turned serious, ¡°Yes, the very same one who almost joined the Empire Youth Council. He¡¯s already a peak Sentinel at 3kbat level.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised that people so powerful would be among this batch. If Vesta and Orton were in the bottom tier, Jeraldine could barely join Terence and Jaeger in the middle. The strongest were already close to the capital, which would undoubtedly be the epicenter of the battles.

    Jaeger said seriously, ¡°From what I know, there are three top-tier teams in China, of which I only know Parlie¡¯s. Still, even the others are certainly going to be freaks that canpete with the second batch; their goal isn¡¯t even theary trial, they¡¯re just using it to warm up for the legendary territory trials.¡±

    Jeraldine fell silent at this juncture. Her ownwork was too weak to know much at this level.

    "Alright, I''ve told you all I needed to. It''s about time," Jaeger said suddenly.

    ¡°What time?¡± Jeraldine asked with suspicion.

    "Time for you to be happy," heughed weirdly.

    She felt her heart drop immediately and looked at her teacup, ¡°You poisoned the tea?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, your watch would have caught it. I actually gave you something quite good; powerburst powder.¡± Jaeger retrieved a crystal vial from his cosmic ring with a dark green clover emblem on it.

    ¡°Shamrock Enterprises? What does this do?¡± she cried out.

    ¡°Find out for yourself. Try to activate your energy,¡± Jaeger chuckled.

    Lu Yin pressed down on Jeraldine¡¯s shoulder and stared at Jaeger, ¡°Don¡¯t move. Powerburst is meant to allow Melders to activate all their star energy in an instant for explosive strength. Sentinels don¡¯t have enough star energy; we¡¯ll injure ourselves and wither up. Am I right?¡±

    Jaeger was astonished, ¡°You actually know? Right, you mentioned that your grandfather was a headmaster? Looks like you have some family background.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze went cold, ¡°People who aren¡¯t Melders yet can¡¯t activate their star energy for a while after consuming powerburst, but that¡¯s a huge price to pay. What are you pulling?¡±

    Jaeger stowed the vial away and eximed proudly, ¡°Nanjing is a decent ce, and it has a unique position in this country. upying it myself would improve my results. And on top of that,¡± greed shed in his eyes as he looked Jeraldine up and down, ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to taste the First Military School¡¯s beauty for quite some time.¡±

    Jeraldine backed away, the blood draining from her face, ¡°You bastard.¡±

    ¡°Bastard?¡± Jaeger smiled, "How could you say that? I gave you a powerful supplement, you should me yourself for not being able to use it."

    The two students in the corner were writhing about, trying to raise the rm, but he frowned as his gaze swept past them, ¡°Useless things that still require my rescue.¡±

    A gale tore open their chains with a wave of his hand, and they shouted immediately, ¡°Senior, watch out!¡±

    Jaeger¡¯s gaze narrowed and he turned around, only to feel his stomach being crushed as a violent impact sent him flying out of the camp. He crashed into an abandoned field in the distance as Lu Yin jumped up and raised his hand, causing ripples in the air all around. Another motion of the palm gave rise to a second wave of energy that crumbled the earth, assaulting the fallen Jaeger once more. The youth could barely raise his hands to defend himself, but the force broke both his arm and forced out a mouthful of blood before he fainted.

    Lu Yin stared coldly at him as he stretched his hand; both the Shockwave Palm and Spacerender Palm could be activated without star energy and were unaffected by powerburst. He cast a cold nce at the countless watching cultivators before shifting to the two other students of Blue Mountain Academy, whose faces paled as they froze in ce. Jeraldine heaved a sigh of relief, but she was shocked as well. Even knowing the power of the Spacerender Palm, she wouldn¡¯t have thought it could defeat Jaeger. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength alone could put him on par with the top three in most institutions. That rate of improvement was terrifying.

    "Are the wind crystals real?¡± Lu Yin asked the two students. They had said so thest time he¡¯d asked, but he didn¡¯t believe them anymore.

    The two nced at each other and finally spilled, ¡°They¡¯re real, but it¡¯s hard to beat the mutant birds. There¡¯s a giant bird there that could be a Melder, one of our schoolmates was killed by it.¡±

    Jeraldine red at Jaeger upon hearing that, but Lu Yin made his way outside the army camp, ¡°The effects of the drug will pass in half an hour. We¡¯ll take these guys back to Nanjing after that.¡±

    Feng Hong and the other captains were already waiting outside, having surrounded another group from Anhui who had fallen under Jaeger¡¯s control. This group was not saddened by Jaeger¡¯s death, but instead heaved sighs of relief; he had only ruled over them with terror.

    ¡°Release them, and keep those who are willing to join our camp. The unwilling ones can leave.¡±

    Feng Hong nodded and started his arrangements, returning a short whileter, ¡°Apologies, Hidden Sage, we needed you to save us again.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°No matter, the opponent was in the Realm of Sky. How¡¯s the clean-up process?¡±

    ¡°Roger. We¡¯ve already cleared up most zombies in Nanjing¡¯s countryside, as well as many mutants. We left the ones that were too strong for us to deal with, but managed to mark their territories on the map for warning. Further west is Anhui, where that other Realm of Sky powerhouse came from¡­¡±

    Lu Yin dismissed Feng Hong after the report, falling into thought. He realized he had mixed up his thoughts. He had seen the intense ambition in Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes when the city had been bombed, but the so-called Radiance had no understanding of the greater universe at this point. His ambitions then were only directed at Earth, but with the first batch of students having appeared, he would have understood the heavens much better. Would his sights be limited to Earth anymore? That was impossible. It was 90% likely that Wucheng was in the same state as Nanjing; Liu Shaoge had suppressed some students to better understand the greater universe. He would not have much interest in China or even the Earth anymore; his ambition would have shifted to the skies.

    Using Zhou Shan¡¯s soldiers to strike at Wucheng was a narrow-minded effort. The troops would have to spend a long time and give up many lives to reach the city, and the second batch of students would have alreadynded by that time, bringing great change to the world. It would be near impossible for him to pursue his vengeance this way; it wasn¡¯t even guaranteed that Liu Shaoge would be able to fend off the second batch at all.

    Lu Yin breathed out and gazed towards the west, deciding to put his vengeance on the back burner while he focused on the corpse. He wanted toplete the mission of the trial, the same mission that could bepleted by anyone from Earth. With all his other arrangements, that would make it possible to enter Astral-10.

    Half an hourter, Jeraldine dragged Jaeger¡¯s trio back out. The two students had been bound once again, and Jaeger himself had been beaten within an inch of death. Lu Yin didn¡¯t stand on ceremony as he grabbed thetter¡¯s ring, using some blood to open it and pour everything out. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have much of value outside of some wind crystals, some unknown medicine, and a dozen star crystals. Pocketing what was useful, he turned around, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    Jeraldine nodded and followed behind him.

    Those who hadnded around Nanjing were mostly from the First Military School and Blue Mountain Academy. Their fates had varied between death, capture, and servitude to Lu Yin. Lu Yin believed there weren¡¯t any major threats to the city left nearby save for the silver-haired youth who couldpletely block the Cosmic Palm. That fellow¡¯s power far exceeded that of Jaeger and Terence, but he hadn¡¯t been able to obtain any information about him from Jeraldine. She simply didn¡¯t know anyone with that description.

 Chapter 25: The Head Of The Seven Sages

    <h4>Chapter 25: The Head Of The Seven Sages</h4>

    Back in Zhongshan, Lu Yin informed Zhou Shan that he would be heading to the capital after all, which prompted some confusion, ¡°Why now?¡±

    ¡°I want to find out the truth about the Apocalypse and that corpse,¡± he lied to avoid talk of the mission.

    Zhou Shan shook his head, ¡°That explosion turned everything within ten kilometers to dust. We rushed some people there despite the Apocalypse, but we couldn¡¯t find anything then. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to find anything now?¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but I¡¯m still going.¡±

    Zhou Shan sighed and looked out at Nanjing with aplicated expression, ¡°I have no way to stop you even if I wanted you. But, I wish you could return to Nanjing in case you don¡¯t find anything.¡±

    ¡°I will,¡± Lu Yin nodded.

    Zhou Shan smiled and retrieved a small certificate from his chest pocket, ¡°This is my official certification with the national army, it¡¯s my token. Each of the Seven Sages agreed on our tokens before departing; talking to the token¡¯s holder is the same as talking to the Sage themselves. Take this to the capital and find Zhang Dingtian, he¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°Zhang Dingtian? One of the Seven?¡± Lu Yin hesitated as he did not understand the seven well. Information was broken at best since the Apocalypse, and all his attention had been focused on Liu Shaoge. If he hadn¡¯te to Nanjing, he wouldn¡¯t even have known that the Executioner was called Zhou Shan. The only sage he knew in the capital was the desage.

    Zhou Shan¡¯s face twisted strangely at the mention of Zhang Dingtian, ¡°Lu Yin, I know you¡¯re strong enough to beat the aliens right now, but I suggest you don¡¯t belittle the Seven Sages. Don¡¯t use my power as a gauge, especially for the three High Sages. Zhang Dingtian is our head.¡±

    The Head of the Seven Sages? Lu Yin was amazed; that was no ordinary aplishment.

    Zhou Shan continued seriously, ¡°Ever since the corpse was brought back to Earth, China secretly chose from countless people for its inheritance. Us Seven Sages are those who seeded, and Zhang Dingtian is the strongest of all. His de can suppress everything; those students are powerful, but no one in the same realm can defeat him, not even the lofty Water Sage. Many call him desage, but his true title is the Frenzied de. He¡¯s the Sage of China.¡±

    Zhou Shan¡¯s words brought an image of a single dominant man to Lu Yin¡¯s imagination, his sole de suppressing the entire capital. He asked, ¡°How do you match up against him?¡±

    Zhou Shan forced a smile and put up a single finger, ¡°Besides the other two High Sages, all others can onlyst a single strike.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed; the ability to defeat Zhou Shan with one strike was terrifying. the man¡¯s true strength exceeded Orton¡¯s and Jeraldine¡¯s, and he could even give Terence a run for his money. In other words, Zhang Dingtian could defeat people on the same level as Terence with one strike, which would put him on par with school leaders. For such a person to exist on Earth¡­

    Lu Yin presumed his Spacerender Palm or Cosmic Palm could defeat Zhou Shan in one strike as well. So how did hepare to Zhang Dingtian? He shook off the thought and received Zhou Shan¡¯s certificate, stowing it away carefully. The Executioner was doing him a huge favor with the hope that he would return to Nanjing, but that desire would only be met with disappointment. His futurey among the stars.

    There were still a little under two months before the second batch of trainees arrived. Lu Yin was on a tight timeline if he hoped to confirm the corpse¡¯s identity within these two months.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m supposed to follow you to the capital? Impossible,¡± Jeraldine cried, rejecting him immediately.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any authority to reject me,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear Jaeger? Only the school leaders have gone to the capital. Those people are freaks! I¡¯ve seen Veron crush Terence with my own eyes; even an ambush won¡¯t beat him.¡±

    ¡°Let me repeat. You don¡¯t have the authority to reject me.¡±

    Jeraldine pleaded with shock in her eyes, ¡°Yatar¡ª no, Lu Yin¡ª you have no idea what the school leaders represent. Terence was severely wounded by a single palm when he challenged Veron during a schoolpetition. The difference between us is too great!¡±

    ¡°I almost crippled Jaeger with one palm myself.¡±

    Jeraldine wanted to report, but she suddenly came to a realization. She had always known herself to be inferior to Terence, but she¡¯d unwittingly dragged down her appraisal of Lu Yin¡¯s power because of that thought. Finally considering things, she realized that before her was another freak of nature. Lu Yin had severely wounded Terence even as a Seeker, and inflicted heavy wounds on Jaeger without even using star energy. She took several steps backward and measured him warily, suddenly feeling like this fellow really could match up to the school leaders.

    Lu Yin had never used his full force against Jeraldine, and she simply could not guess his true power level. However, what he¡¯d already disyed was enough to amaze her.

    ¡°We leave for the capital tonight,¡± Lu Yin left, not giving her another chance to refuse. Jeraldine was helpless; the universe had so many territories with countless institutions, and even the Great Yu Empire had many schools. The so-called training mission was not for people on her level, but here she was getting dragged into the highest echelons of power.

    ¡­¡­

    The vast Taihang Mountains of the Hebei Province were covered in a bloody mist that spread from horizon to horizon, dyeing the mountain stream red. The stinging odor of the bloody river attracted more and more mutant beasts, but their roars soon turned into howls of anguish as they were ughtered. A short man was bathing in the middle of the river, exposing many scars and scabs on his sturdy back.

    Up on shore, another man and a woman were silently measuring, ¡°There won¡¯t be any more beasts on this mountain if you keep ying around.¡±

    The short man nced ashore, ¡°There are two Melder beasts that I haven¡¯t provoked yet. We¡¯ll ughter them before we leave.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time to head to the capital,¡± the woman refuted, ¡°That¡¯s our greatest chance to find the criminal; it¡¯s very likely that the corpse these people brought back from Neptune is our target.¡±

    A cold glint passed through the short man¡¯s eyes, ¡°Veron, where are the other two teams?¡±

    The man ashore was Veron, the strongest student of the First Military School. The woman was Borise, the strongest of Blue Mountain Academy. At their head was Parlie of the Third Gravitas. This trio was the elite group Jaeger had talked about.

    ¡°I believe Geine¡¯s team is in the grasnds north of the capital. Eddy should be in Shanxi, not far from the capital.¡±

    Parlie walked onto the riverbank, a wave of energy drying him off in an instant, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the capital, then.¡±

    The trio left behind a pile of ughtered mutants in their wake, with arge number of Sentinels in their midst.

    ¡­¡­

    The endless grass in Northern China was swaying in the wind, looking like green waves dancing under the sunlight from a bird¡¯s-eye view. It was exceptionally charming, prompting one young woman to stretch both hands and shout, ¡°So this is how the grasnds smell. Sooo fresh!¡±

    A two-meter-tall green-skinned man nced at her from nearby, speaking in a low voice, ¡°If you think this shit smells fresh, you¡¯re crazy.¡±

    ¡°What did you say, Bror?¡± the woman stared at him furiously.

    The green-skinned Bror quickly smiled, ¡°Nothing much, it smells pleasant.¡±

    ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re tactful,¡± she smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s head towards the capital. I heard this¡¯s people retrieved a corpse from another primitive, it should be the criminal.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Bror agreed, raising his head as the endless grass ahead of him parted abruptly like it was alive.

    ¡­¡­

    Two people in ck clothing were slowly walking through Shanxi, crossing an endless yellow in. Strange beasts were constantly rushing out of the ground before vanishing again, prompting a frosty gaze from a man with a scaly face. The yellow soil turned iparably dry with every step he took, as though the little water it had was sucked away in an instant. All the soil a hundred meters behind him had basically turned to dust, with any mutants that had wandered nearby dried into leather.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this ce. We should havended in the ocean.¡±

    ¡°No other choice, we have toe to the capital toplete our mission. I know you were born at the bottom of the ocean, but try to endure it a little more. We¡¯ll be able to leave soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sacrificed so much. I¡¯ll kill whoever dares to stop me frompleting this mission. Even if all the natives from this must die, so be it.¡±

    ¡°Of course, no one can stop us.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the northeast, ice and snow formed a white nket covering heaven and earth. A pair of red boots was trudging through the endless sea of white, giving way to a face that was absolutely beautiful. The woman¡¯s eyes were bright as stars, almost able to melt the frozennd; this was Bai Xue, the Water Sage, and the surroundings were her Blue Camp.

    Three figures were crouched in front of Bai Xue in the snow, their expressions distorted from extreme pain. It took great difficulty for one of them to raise his head and stare at the gorgeous beauty with absolute horror, eking out through trembling lips, ¡°You, just a native¡­ How are you so strong?¡±

    Bai Xue watched the three of them calmly, ¡°You¡¯re students from the greater universe, huh? Not bad.¡±

    ¡°Who are you? You can¡¯t be a native, a native can¡¯t beat three academy elites!¡± one of them said in disbelief.

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes gleamed brighter than diamonds as she ignored them, ¡°Please mark the northeast blue, I don¡¯t want to be disturbed.¡±

    That student closed his eyes in pain and activated his watch. Momentster, the northeast turned blue on the map.

 Chapter 26: Melder

    <h4>Chapter 26: Melder</h4>

    Lu Yin grabbed Jeraldine and started his journey the same night. Taking a short rest about 100 kilometers north of Nanjing, they continued heading north until they reached Shandong.

    ¡°Hey, the northeast has turned blue,¡± Jeraldine said with surprise along the way.

    Bai Xue was defeated? Lu Yin was curious about this, but before he could think further the duo came across a giant tree that was blocking their path. It resembled a willow that was more than a kilometer tall, countless branches covering a portion of Shandong¡¯s sky. Both of them immediately halted and checked itsbat level.

    ¡°¡°4290,¡±¡± the two eximed in unison. The tree was a Melder!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go around it,¡± Lu Yin promptly decided to avoid it, but a few vines stretched out from a river and whipped towards them. He pushed Jeraldine away before dodging the attack himself, a loud snap resounding through the air as the vines went taut. Jeraldine gasped with relief; she wouldn¡¯t have managed to escape the attack if not for the push.

    ¡°Go around and try to avoid it,¡± he shouted even as countless vines whipped toward them from all directions. The tree could somehow attack them from quite the distance, and it soon became apparent that it would be too difficult to go around. They would spend at least ten seconds in its attack radius, and while he could manage that, Jeraldine could not. Noticing her defense faltering, he used a Spacerender Palm to deflect the branches and rushed towards her, lifting her up and rushing directly towards the tree.

    ¡°WHAT? YOU¡¯RE CRAZY!¡± she screamed as they approached, eyes glued to its python-like vines and the piles of bone on the ground. It was a terrifying scene.

    ¡°Look behind you,¡± Lu Yin said calmly.

    Jeraldine turned back and her face paled; the road behind them had been sealed off! An endless wall of branches had left them with no way to retreat. She groaned, ¡°This is a Melder, we¡¯re doomed!¡±

    Lu Yin looked through his surroundings with an icy gaze, dodging the endless vines that shot towards them. He was now less than three kilometers away, and the closer he got, the more he realized that he¡¯d underestimated its horrifying size. Its energy alone was distorting the space around, rendering the ce devoid of sunlight. Thankfully, the creature seemed quite unintelligent, attacking purely based on instinct. Were it to have any skill at battle, the two of them certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to persist.

    Jeraldine took out more than ten fire crystals from her cosmic ring and smashed them, sending a wave of mes towards the ground.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ are you trying to burn it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She grimaced, ¡°It might be scared of fire.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t wrong, technically. It was normal for nt-based creatures to be afraid of fire, but a tree as big as this one would need a volcanic eruption before it went up in mes. Even the full stash of fire crystals outside Nanjing would be insufficient. However, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed and he ignored her; was that another person? He saw a tiny spot darting left and right under the tree, slowly growingrger andrger until it revealed itself to be another human. This person was even closer than them.

    ¡°He¡¯s so strong!¡± Jeraldine eximed. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the tree¡¯s attacks if not for Lu Yin, while this other person was obviously quite rxed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold as they approached closer, recognizing the head of silver hair. This was the same youth whose butterfly sword had beaten his Cosmic Palm under the moonlight, something that he would never forget.

    ¡°We meet again, friend,¡± the silver-haired youth greeted cordially.

    Jeraldine was bewildered; how did they know each other?

    ¡°What a coincidence,¡± Lu Yin said as he side-stepped another whip.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence, I¡¯ve been trapped here for quite some time. There¡¯s a high chance that you would bump into me if you¡¯re heading north, it¡¯s fate.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that we¡¯re heading north?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Of course you¡¯d be heading north. Isn¡¯t your destination the capital?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he tried to guess who this guy was. Was this one of the school leaders Jaeger was talking about?

    ¡°CAREFUL!¡± Jeraldine yelled suddenly as she saw dozens of branches shooting towards the youth. He just shed a friendly smile as a beautiful butterfly sword appeared in his hands, facing the attack head-on. A loud explosion rang out as the branches were cut down, the youth himself emerging unscathed. He smiled at her once more before shing a provocative grin in Lu Yin¡¯s direction.

    For his part, Lu Yin still held the frightened girl in one hand as the moon started flitting around the other, meeting the attack with the Cosmic Palm. The branches were blown away as he, too, emerged unscathed. He yawned, ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night, so I only used 30% of my power.¡±

    The silver-haired youth¡¯s face twitched, ¡°I only used 20%.¡±

    ¡°Oh sorry, did I say 30? I meant 10.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. I meant 5.¡±

    Jeraldine was speechless at this exchange. They werepeting? Now?

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know why he felt an intense threat from the silver-haired youth. It was as though that butterfly sword was hovering right above his head at all times, ready to drop down at any second. That was why he always strutted about; it was an act to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be the victim of a sudden attack. As countless branches appeared from all directions and sealed off the space that they were in, he finally turned serious, ¡°Let¡¯s aim for the main body, or there¡¯ll be no end to this.¡±

    The silver-haired youth nodded, ¡°I spent too much energy ying in thest few days, or I could¡¯ve just settled this alone.¡±

    ¡°If I weren¡¯t trying to get somewhere soon, I¡¯d use this thing for training.¡±

    The youth smiled and stepped on one of the branches, rushing towards the main body of the tree. Lu Yin tossed Jeraldine to the ground, warning her to take care of herself as he followed. Both of them quickly approached the trunk.

    Bing a Melder was an important step in one¡¯s training. That realm was the peak of the human body, where many cultivators would be stuck for the rest of their lives. It was only when they exceeded their own limits that they could advance and be Explorers. Most elite students were Sentinels, but there were still more Melders at that age than Sentinels who could face Melder-level beings. Although the tree wasn¡¯t exactly intelligent, it was huge and seemed to have infinite energy reserves. In some ways, it was far more difficult to defeat it than a normal Melder.

    The silver-haired guy¡¯s butterfly sword turned into a whiteet that shot towards the tree, while the vague image of a second star appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm. Both attacksnded at almost the exact same moment and struck the same spot, cracking the tough surface of the tree in an instant. The two of them pierced right through the tree and flew a hundred meters away as a loud explosion rang out behind them, the enormous creature copsing to the ground as its vines covered the river.

    The two looked at each other after thatbined strike; they now had a better understanding of the other¡¯s strength. The same thought shed across both their minds; this person had grown more powerful.

    On the other side of the tree, Jeraldine was the most stunned of them all. A mutant nt was easy to dodge, but it was difficult to pierce their bark. Although she had never sparred with Veron, she was sure that even he didn¡¯t have the ability to wound this tree. Were these two even stronger than the top student of her school?

 Chapter 27: Realmbreaker

    <h4>Chapter 27: Realmbreaker</h4>

    Just who was this guy? Jeraldine stared hard at the silver-haired youth, but had no impression of him at all. That hair and the butterfly swords were identifying characteristics that she was sure she couldn¡¯t have forgotten, but she simply didn¡¯t know who he was. He couldn¡¯t be a native, right?

    ¡°Sigh, my knife is dull and I had no time to sharpen it, I only managed to use half of my strength,¡± the youthmented with a tut, ncing at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at his own palm, ¡°Tch, my hands were dirty. I could only show 40% of my strength.¡±

    How was that a valid reason? This response left the youth speechless, but he smiled like a fox, ¡°This is our second meeting, let¡¯s introduce ourselves. My name is Silver.¡±

    Lu Yin shed a faint smile, ¡°I¡¯m Yatar from the Pagoda, my grandfather is the headmaster.¡±

    ¡°Wow, a headmaster? Two, no three generations of schrs. Congrattions!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°You''re too kind, I like your silver hair too.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, I like it too. Right, I still have something to do, see you again, Yatar,¡± Silver said graciously.

    Lu Yin smiled as the youth disappeared into the horizon, ¡°See you again, Silver.¡±

    It was only then that Jeraldine flew over and asked, ¡°What school is he from?¡±

    He shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Hang on, don¡¯t you want the energy crystal?¡± Jeraldine stretched her hand out, showing a dazzling white crystal the size of her finger, ¡°These things might not be useful for us directly, but we can use them as an energy source or just sell them for a good price.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said again as he grabbed it from her, taking off and heading north. The energy crystals of mutants were inferior and couldn¡¯t even be used on most soldiers; they had too many impurities and would affect training speed. His own die was picky as well, and refused to absorb inferior energy crystals. For now, he could only gather these kinds of things and hoard them until he could exchange them for star crystals.

    After flying east for a while, Silver finally stopped and looked back with confusion in his gaze, ¡°What battle technique was that? For a Sentinel to block my attack¡­ It¡¯s a foreign technique, but it¡¯s pretty strong. I¡¯ll have to check it out when I go back.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Once the Apocalypse struck, many people even within the capital had turned into zombies, while the leaders of the country had all died in that one explosion. The capital had descended into chaos at first, only brought under control by the Head of the Seven Sages¡ª Zhang Dingtian. Despite that, the new capital only upied a third of its original size, the outer districtspletely filled with zombies. There had just been too many people living here, giving rise to millions of zombies that far exceeded the numbers near Nanjing. Even after half a year of constant battle, Zhang Dingtian and the thousands of cultivators under him simply couldn¡¯t destroy them all. The city was like a beast surrounded by countless ants; while it could crush any ants in sight, the sheer mass left it unable to move.

    The vicinity of the capital was reinforced by a steel tform that was ten meters high, cultivators all over watching over the zombies roaming in the distance. The gates were mostly shut, only opening from time to time as cultivators in armored vehicles headed out to forage for resources.

    As one armored vehicle wheeled back into the city, a captain on the walls mused, ¡°Didn¡¯t that truck just leave?¡±

    ¡°Must have bumped into a beast and suffered casualties, happens all the time. They¡¯re back for supplies and men,¡± the one next to him answered.

    There were many survivors gathered near the steel walls, all dressed in rags and most starving. They quickly gathered around as they saw the vehicle driving in, but it didn¡¯t stop at all as it almost drove over a few of them. Within the vehicle, Borise¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°I¡¯ve only seen these kinds of things in books, I never thought I¡¯d have the chance to drive one. Interesting¡­¡±

    Veronughed, ¡°Bring one back if you like it.¡±

    However, Parlie did not share the same levity. He was staring grimly into the city, worried about a chilling energy that he felt within. He hadn¡¯t been worried at first, but now his mind was changed, ¡°Veron, who¡¯s the strongest person in the capital?¡±

    ¡°Someone called Zhang Dingtian, people call him the Frenzied de. He¡¯s the Head of the Seven Sages.¡± Veron noticed Parlie¡¯s gaze frosting over, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even the Seven Sages are just Sentinels. They¡¯re a little better than some elite students, but still far below our level.¡±

    Parlie ignored Veron; he was the only one here who vaguely felt that chilling strength.

    The armored vehicle ignored warnings from the soldiers as it headed towards the southern section of the city where the explosion had urred. The region had been cordoned off long ago, but Borise simply tried to drive over the captain who tried to stop them.

    ¡°How dare you,¡± the man jumped up and attacked, but Veron nced up and summoned a powerful gale with a snap of his fingers. The sharp wind pierced through the captain, dropping him to the ground and frightening the other soldiers in the area. The vehicle quickly came to a halt anyway, with Parlie and group walking out to examine theva-filled pit in front of them. The air all around was distorted by the heat.

    ¡°This is the ce. The¡¯s evolution was kickstarted by an explosion here, but the corpse went missing as well,¡± Veron exined.

    Parlie fell deep into thought. Theva had certainly eradicated any traces nearby, making it impossible to obtain any information here. ¡°Well, it seems like we have to find the person in charge of the city, this Head of the Seven Sages.¡±

    Veron smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll go and bring him over.¡±

    Parlie was just about to speak when he froze and looked upwards, shrinking back with a grim expression on his face. Veron and Borise followed right after; a swordsman was standing silently in the air, ring at the trio.

    ¡°When did he appear?¡± Borise was shocked.

    ¡°desage!¡± the soldiers all around bowed as the swordsman drew his de and descended, shocking Parlie and his followers. This was the Frenzied de!

    ¡°Retreat,¡± Zhang Dingtianmanded, and the soldiers all around withdrew in perfect order. Strangely, the man himself looked rather ordinary. There wasn¡¯t much visible muscle, nor were there any overbearing scars, but he still had an overbearing aura that might have been because of the de in his right hand.

    ¡°Youe from the greater universe?¡± he asked them calmly.

    Veron walked forward, ¡°You¡¯re right. Wee from the heavens, and have some things to ask you.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nced past him and looked at Parlie, ¡°Leave the capital, you¡¯re not wee here.¡±

    Parlie¡¯s eyes narrowed, while Veron was outraged at being ignored, ¡°I said I have some things to ask you, are you deaf?¡±

    ¡°Before you leave, the punishment for causing turmoil in the capital is one attack each.¡± Zhang Dingtian finally nced at the youth, shing out before the three could even answer.

    BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Borise¡¯s watch suddenly started screaming, and her expression warped as she saw the scanner reading, ¡°CAREFUL, HE¡¯S A REALMBREAKER!¡±

    However, it was toote. Veron was shocked as everything around him seemed to disappear in the face of an ordinary sh, the de approaching him quickly. He growled as he activated the Spacerender Palm, forming an energy wave to deflect the attack. An explosion of pressure crushed the earth in the vicinity, forcing Borise a few steps back as the residual energy blew the clouds apart and shook even theva in the pit below. The soldiers watching this sight gasped in awe; every battle that the desage participated in was inspiring.

    Veron gritted his teeth and stared at Zhang Dingtian in disbelief. How could there be a freakish realmbreaker among the natives?

    Parlie was the only one who could react quickly, rushing behind Zhang Dingtian and throwing out a punch. However, the back of the desage¡¯s sword smashed into his attack, sending out an energy wave that destroyed a distant building and left a gash in the ground. Veron was pushed back and spat out a mouthful of blood, while Parlie retreated as well.

    Still in his original spot, even in the same stance, Zhang Dingtian looked towards Borise.

 Chapter 28: Capital

    <h4>Chapter 28: Capital</h4>

    Borise¡¯s eyes narrowed at the sight of Zhang Dingtian¡¯s de. She retreated as quickly as she could, but she simply hadn¡¯t expected him to be able to attack her so quickly after dealing with thebined force of Veron and Parlie. The de nced past her, leaving a gaping sh in her abdomen that quickly stained her shirt crimson. Her nerves immediately felt like they¡¯d been set on fire, forcing her to her knees even as sweat started dripping from her forehead.

    One man and one de could control the entire capital. The Head of the Seven Sages, the Frenzied de. It was only now that Parlie¡¯s trio understood why Zhang Dingtian deserved the respect hemanded; he could very well be the strongest person currently on Earth.

    Realmbreakers were beings who could disy power beyond their current realm. While one¡¯s ability in a battle depended on a multitude of factors, even a peak 3,000bat level Sentinel like Parlie couldn¡¯t actually get to 3,001 until he broke through to be a Melder. He could certainly use skill and battle techniques to fight Melders before then, but the difference between the two realms was a wall. Those who could break that wall were extremely rare even across the Great Yu Empire, and each one was a freak. Zhang Dingtian¡¯sbat level had jumped to 3,200 the moment he attacked.

    ¡°RUN!¡± Parlie barked, directly flying out of the capital. Veron and Borise were a little slower owing to their injuries, but Zhang Dingtian calmly watched them leave. He had been surprised by their strength; five students had attacked the capital before, but each one had died to a single strike. These three could endure the strength of a High Sage, especially the formidable shorty.

    ¡°desage,¡± a young woman in a suit walked out of an armored vehicle nearby, a concerned expression on her face.

    ¡°Send down orders to investigate all foreign cultivators immediately. Report back immediately about any that look like these students, and don¡¯t act against them.¡±

    "The ones you just traded blows with were from the heavens?¡± she asked.

    Zhang Dingtian looked at her, "Don''t overthink it, no one can match me."

    The woman nodded respectfully, heading out to pass on his orders.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°A native actually wounded me¡­ I want him dead, I want him dead right now!¡± Borise growled as the trionded outside the capital.

    Veron wiped the blood on the corner of his lip, "There¡¯s an actual realmbreaker with the natives, quite extraordinary."

    "No worries,bat level is the most unreliable means of measuring one¡¯s battle ability. Victory and defeat still depend on battle techniques and skill,¡± Parlie tried to quell them, but Veron frowned and stared at the city. Unreliable? Indeed,bat level wasn¡¯t a reliable statistic in general, as many powerful people held themselves down in certain realms and focused on battle techniques. Those kinds of people were powerful, but realmbreakers were an entirely different story. Each one could enter one of the thirteen imperial squadrons without any test; that was the highest military organization in the Great Yu Empire, where realmbreakers were treated with the same kind of favor that those with natural endowments received. That native was proof of why; he hadn¡¯t even used a battle technique in that engagement, beating them back with simple shes.

    Parlie tried to act calm, but it was difficult to disguise the respect and envy in his voice. He was a peak Sentinel himself, capable of defeating Melders using his battle techniques, but he still couldn¡¯t break through the barrier and get to level 3,001. That one level had cut off countless geniuses, but this native could cross it at will.

    ¡°The bastard actually dared wound me, he¡¯s going to get it!¡± Borise was still immersed in her hatred, ¡°I¡¯m inciting a beast wave!¡±

    Parlie¡¯s gaze focused and he did not speak. Beside him, Veron agreed, ¡°The capital definitely has clues about the criminal. Zhang Dingtian might know himself, but a direct confrontation might not be a good idea. Send the beast wave and lure him outside; Parlie and I will look for clues.¡±

    Borise nodded and licked her lips, dashing into the distance.

    ¡­¡­

    One dayter, as Lu Yin and Jeraldine arrived at Hebei, they heard the news that the capital was under attack by a wave of beasts. The entire city was surrounded by mutant beasts.

    ¡°There are over 10 million zombies outside the capital, no beast wave wants to go there. Didn¡¯t Jaeger say his school leader Borise was around here?¡± Lu Yin guessed. If it was her, she couldn¡¯t be allowed to remain in the vicinity.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible. Everyone from Blue Mountain knows at least one kind of beast taming skill,¡± Jeraldine replied, quickly following up, ¡°But this is actually a good thing. The beasts will just go fight the zombies, the people will be safe as long as they stay inside.¡±

    Lu Yin started muttering to himself. If Jeraldine could think of it, so could Borise; why would she still send out a beast wave?

    The soldiers within the capital were constantly shifting formations, ready for the off-chance that the beasts and zombies would join together and attack the capital. The asional flying Sentinel beast would incite cries of fear from within the city. Upon a high building, two figures watched as one flying beast was beheaded with a single strike, sending a shower of blood to the ground.

    "That''s Zhang Dingtian, Head of the Seven Sages. Truly powerful!¡± Geine eximed.

    Bror was solemn, "This person is stronger than me."

    "Obviously, he¡¯s a realmbreaker. Even the two of usbined might not be a match for him.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t have to confront him directly, I can suffocate him over time,¡± the green man clenched his fist.

    Geine changed the topic, ¡°This beast wave should havee from that snake Borise. Looks like she suffered at Zhang Dingtian¡¯s hands, or she wouldn¡¯t incite a wave so massive. It must have cost quite a lot.¡±

    Bror nodded, ¡°It¡¯s attracted Zhang Dingtian¡¯s attention, so there¡¯s no one left in the city. Parlie and Veron are likely looking for clues right now.¡±

    Geine activated her scanner at his statement, ¡°Woah, five Sentinels! There¡¯s Zhang Dingtian on one hand, so the others should be Parlie, Veron, Eddy, and Hayden. We¡¯re all here, guess things will get lively soon.¡±

    Bror¡¯s face sank, ¡°Eddy being here could spell trouble.¡±

    ¡°Mm. They made an exception for him to enter Yu Academy, and he recently defeated thirty school leaders¡­ but no matter, what do you think will happen if we leak this news to Zhang Dingtian?¡±

    ¡°You want us to betray our peers?¡± Bror frowned

    Geine rolled her eyes, ¡°There are no peers here, onlypetition. The earthlings are perfectly valid trainees in the Empire¡¯s eyes, we¡¯re betraying nothing.¡±

    Bror nodded, ¡°I can have the nts help stop the beast wave, and let Zhang Dingtian show his hand.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯vee to a great decision.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Elsewhere in the city, two figures in ck gowns were within an abandoned hotel.

    ¡°Eddy, I just sensed Bror¡¯s nt smell,¡± one of them said with a cruel smile.

    ¡°There are seven Sentinels in this city, eight including Borise. It¡¯s a little troublesome, but nothing too difficult to eliminate. The only problem is Zhang Dingtian; I didn¡¯t expect a realmbreaker among the natives.¡±

    ¡°Leave him to me, I want to know what a realmbreaker is like,¡± the other person¡¯s eyes twinkled green.

    Up atop the steel walls, Zhang Dingtian stared solemnly at the fight between the zombies and beasts. This was a millstone of flesh and blood, dozens of creatures dying every second. The smell of blood stained the air. The zombies were weak enough for the beasts to tear apart easily, but their bodies were also toxic. Every beast had a limit to how many it could kill before it was poisoned to death.

    Around ten kilometers to the east, Borise stared into the distance with excitement despite a pale face, ¡°Go and bury this city. A bastard native actually had the gall to wound me, you¡¯ll pay.¡±

    She didn¡¯t notice immediately when a chill started below her legs, nor did she see the asional snowkes in the air. Focused purely on the massacre in the distance, she pulled on her clothes and shuddered; why was it getting cold?

 Chapter 29: Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 29: Coincidence</h4>

    For some strange reason, Borise¡¯s heart clenched and her back turned cold. She whirled around, startled to discover a cold stare from a beautiful woman that she hadn¡¯t discovered in however long. She passed it off as a side-effect of her injury, focusing on the appearance of this beauty in red boots and a snow white skirt, waist-length blue hair a stark contrast from the dark red earth, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The stunning woman seemed devoid of all emotion as she asked a question of her own in response, ¡°Are you the one who summoned the beast wave?¡±

    Borise stared intensely at the woman, growing more and more jealous of her peerless beauty. Of all the women she had ever seen in her life, only Starsibyl couldpare. How did such a pure and untouched beauty exist in this universe?

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask once more; did you start this beast wave?¡± the gorgeous woman asked.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Borise repeated herself, wariness growing in her gaze.

    ¡°Bai Xue,¡± the woman replied calmly.

    ¡°Bai Xue the Water Sage?!¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s frosty gaze passed beyond Borise,nding on the bloody battlefield, ¡°What was your goal with unleashing these beasts?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. A mere native has no right to speak to me. Watch me tear your face apart!¡± Borise grabbed forward, a bestial roar sounding from her palm that could send a chill down anyone¡¯s spine. Layers of ice appeared in front of Bai Xue as she retreated.

    ¡°Did you think you can stop me with some dumb nt¡¯s ice?¡± Borise charged right through, ¡°You natives are so stupid.¡±

    Bai Xue came to a stop and raised her palm towards the alien, causing the ground to freeze and the winds in the forest to change directions. Borise was unphased by the attack and raised her own palm, ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Even though she hadn¡¯t yet recovered from her injuries, Borise felt nothing but contempt for Bai Xue. She let out a low growl and the ice exploded, the impact ripping open the sleeve of Bai Xue¡¯s blouse and spilling a few stalks of icy grass. This was the exact same nt that powered Zhao Yu¡¯s Frost Palm, working in a simr way to fire crystals.

    Anticipating a look of desperation, Borise stared down at Bai Xue with a gaze steeped with pride, ¡°I told you that some nt ice would be useless!¡±

    However, a frozen wind suddenly buffeted her from all sides, freezing the ground solid. Ayer of frost solidified in the air, causing the blood to drain from Borise¡¯s face, ¡°No¡­ That can¡¯t be. This is the innate gift of Frost; you have an innate gift?!¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s gaze remained unchanged as an endless sequence of gusts rushed towards Borise, freezing her arms in a moment. The girl squealed and tried to escape, but it was already toote. Her entire body froze solid in a mere two seconds and she toppled to the ground, shattering into a million pieces. The top student of Blue Mountain Academy had died just like that.

    Borise¡¯s death immediately returned self-control to the mutant beasts on the battlefield, prompting many of them to start retreating. Bai Xue let loose a sigh of fatigue; the girl had actually been quite powerful. If not for the previous injury, there was a chance that she could have struggled free. Even with the advantage of being underestimated, she herself had been forced to use her innate gift of Frost.

    Back in the city, Veron and Parlie had already searched Zhang Dingtian¡¯s residence as well as the office of the deceased Primary without finding anything. Lu Yin had reached the capital as well, entering the city with Jeraldine in tow. The two encountered a sober atmosphere, but one thatcked the chaos he¡¯d expect from a city under attack. Even when terrified, the survivors of the capital remained confident in the Chinese troops.

    No matter how prosperous China¡¯s cities had been during peacetime, they had all been ruined to the same extent by the Apocalypse. Bridges were broken, houses had copsed, and most buildings were too ruined to live in. Just a ce to sleep was now a luxury.

    Lu Yin found a map of the capital and led Jeraldine straight to Zhang Dingtian¡¯s residence, his reasoning being the same as Veron and the others who believed Zhang Dingtian was most likely to know the whereabouts of the corpse. Said man was currently atop the steel walls, focused on a distant white fog that he knew was produced by Bai Xue.

    ¡°desage, look there!¡± someone eximed, drawing the gazes of everyone nearby. A sea of white froze the ground in the middle of the battlefield between the mutant beasts and zombies, a gorgeous woman walking out of the fog and freezing every creature she passed.

    ¡°The Water Sage! Water Sage Bai Xue!¡± someone else shouted in excitement, prompting a chorus of cheers. The Seven Sages of China were upheld as the guardian angels after the Apocalypse, and Bai Xue was ced on a distinct pedestal as the only woman among their number. Her mere appearance renewed the vigor of the soldiers here, convincing them to give it their all in battle. Beauty could be considered its own form of strength; it could stir the potential in some individuals, causing them to ignore their struggles and pain. All of Beijing seemed to roar out in delight at Bai Xue¡¯s arrival, striking fear into the mutants that were still on the battlefield.

    Bai Xue headed towards Zhang Dingtian who was still staring at the battlefield, ¡°I took care of the one who triggered the beast wave. It was a student from outer space.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said mechanically.

    She continued coldly, ¡°You¡¯re too soft. Even if you don¡¯t kill them, you should at least capture them. These people don¡¯t even see us as human beings.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian growled lowly, ¡°I killed five. Thesest few proved to be quite difficult.¡±

    Bai Xue was taken aback, ¡°Difficult? Enough that you couldn¡¯t kill them?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian looked at Bai Xue, ¡°Even we Sages are divided into the three High Sages and the four Sages. The students from outer space should also have their own divisions. The person you killed a bit ago was no pushover either.¡±

    Bai Xue remained silent. Borise had indeed forced her to use her innate gift, something even the four Sages could not aplish. At her peak, that girl would likely have strength equivalent to a High Sage. Her attention was suddenly pulled to something about the desage¡¯s statements, ¡°You saidst few. What happened to the rest?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian suddenly narrowed his eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Bai Xue took out the personal gadget that she had plundered, tapping it a few times to activate the scanner. The screen quickly started beeping and she gasped, ¡°Eight. There are eight experts in the Realm of Sky here!¡±

    The desage¡¯s eyes went wide with towering rage; eight cultivators at that level were enough to destroy the entire capital! ¡°They¡¯re looking to die!¡±

    Across the city, as Lu Yin and Jeraldine were closing in on Zhang Dingtian¡¯s residence, thetter suddenly froze up in shock. Lu Yin followed her gaze to two men, one tall and one short, that were dressed far better than most survivors. More importantly, the shorter man looked truly unique at only a little more than a meter tall with quite a stocky build. This was a body that would be noticed anywhere. These two were Veron and Parlie, who had just emerged empty-handed from Zhang Dingtian¡¯s residence. About to head somewhere else, they had coincidentally bumped into Lu Yin and Jeraldine.

    Veron and Parlie were quite distinct, and so were Lu Yin and Jeraldine. The girl was exceptionally eye-catching; women¡¯s rights had been trampled after the Apocalypse, so a woman as attractive as Jeraldine would definitely stand out in the crowd. Veron immediately recognized her.

    ¡°Veron!¡± she gasped, instinctively moving towards Lu Yin.

    Veron? Lu Yin focused his gaze. He had heard the name of the First Military School¡¯s strongest student a number of times but hadn¡¯t expected to encounter him so quickly.

    Veron was also surprised to see Jeraldine. The capital was the obvious investigation spot if one wished to actually work on the trial¡¯s mission, but he couldn¡¯t help butugh at the idea of her trying to do so. He quickly moved his gaze to Lu Yin, but feeling the weak star energy of a new Sentinel, he believed this other youth was just trash.

    ¡°Do you know each other?¡± Parlie asked quietly.

    ¡°We¡¯re from the same academy.¡±

    ¡°Bring them along, we need manpower,¡± Parlie grunted.

    Veron nodded and turned to the two, ¡°Follow us.¡±

    A hint of fear shed across Jeraldine¡¯s eyes and she looked at Lu Yin. Although the trials were open to everyone, anyone who wasn¡¯t a friend or rtive could be considered an enemy even if they were from the same school. As far as she was concerned, although Lu Yin controlled her, he didn¡¯t make her fear for her life like Veron did; fellow students were far more ruthless.

    ¡°I told you to get over here! Are you deaf?¡± Veron shouted loudly, drawing several gazes.

    Parlie frowned, ¡°Lower your voice.¡±

    Veron gave Jeraldine an icy re, but Lu Yin took a few steps forward and looked at him indifferently, ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? Pipe down.¡±

    Veron was a little startled by this; he had never expected a new Sentinel to have the guts to speak out like this. He sneered in response, ¡°I don¡¯t know which school you¡¯re from, but they¡¯ll have to remove your name from their records today.¡±

    He pushed his palm downwards, ripples spreading in all directions and affecting many nearby survivors. Lu Yin raised an eyebrow at the Spacerender Palm, copying the enemy¡¯s movements and synchronizing a forward thrust.

    Two identical attacks shed in the sky, and all that everyone in the area heard was a loud bang as gusts of winds sted the walls apart and even copsed the bridge nearby. The sky cracked where the attacks collided, forming a vacuum that sucked in air from all directions.

 Chapter 30: Chaotic Battle

    <h4>Chapter 30: Chaotic Battle</h4>

    ¡°You can use Spacerender Palm?¡± Veron stared at Lu Yin with a surprise. A shocked Parlie stared at Lu Yin, confused at the existence of someone else who could match up to Veron with the Spacerender Palm. Lu Yin himself shared the sentiment, but for the exact opposite reason. The exchange had taken far less power than he¡¯d expected, and Veron¡¯s hand was already shaking in the aftermath.

    Meanwhile atop the steel walls of Beijing, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were coldly gazing at the core of the city. Bloodlust was pouring out of Bai Xue¡¯s eyes at the thought of the enormous damage these callous students could inflict on the people of Earth.

    ¡°Zhang Dingtian is heading over with another Sentinel,¡± Jeraldine called out in the city.

    Lu Yin was unfazed, but Parlie frowned, ¡°Hurry this up!¡±

    Veron¡¯s gaze sharpened as his ring armor covered his body, and he leapt up and kicked towards Lu Yin with blinding speed. However, Lu Yin lifted his own leg and stomped down on his calf, breaking the ground below and prompting a pained roar. Star energy erupted from Veron¡¯s body, trying to force a contest of pure energy, but Lu Yin simply sneered. He had no way to match Veron¡¯s energy reserves, but his absorption rate was more than twice that of anyone else here; he had no need to worry about running out.

    Jeraldine fled the area to escape the effects of the sh of star energy, and Parlie raced forward in an attempt to grab her. She crushed several fire crystals in tandem to boost her me Palm, but the attack failed to even wipe the smirk off the short man¡¯s face. A single blow dispersed all the energy; these mes were simply no match. This forced Lu Yin to send a Spacerender Palm his way, which he shattered before turning to Veron, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Veronughed and rushed to leave, but Lu Yin snorted and gave chase using the Roving Step. The youth sensed the danger and went wide-eyed, turning to inspect Lu Yin¡¯s palm. He could dodge the Spacerender Palm, but the Cosmic Palm was different. The movements of the stars created a huge pull centered around Lu Yin¡¯s hand, as though everything in the vicinity was being drawn in by their gravity. The force behind the attack stunned even Parlie.

    A loud explosion rang out as ast-second Spacerender Palm was shattered, and Veron¡¯s body was smashed into the ground like a meteor. The bridge was destroyedpletely, and a crater was formed in the ground below. Veron spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Lu Yin in disbelief; he had never expected to even be injured, but the attack had destroyed his ring armor. Even Jeraldine was shocked at the easy defeat of her school¡¯s top student.

    ¡°How dare you fight in the city!¡± A distant roar suddenly interrupted them, followed by a fierce sh directed towards Parlie. The short man activated his ring armor even as he dodged, leaving the attack to gust past and cut into the ground.

    Zhang Dingtian took in the scene below him and swept his gaze past Parlie and Jeraldine to see Lu Yin on the ground near the injured Veron in the crater further below. His heart dropped; he had fought Parlie and Veron before and knew how strong the two were, but one of them had been injured by one of these new strangers. This was going to be extremely difficult considering the four other Realm of Sky experts who were still around.

    Veron coughed up more blood as he walked out of the crater, casting a fearful gaze at Lu Yin as he headed next to Parlie, ¡°Things aren¡¯t looking good.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. This is going to be a chaotic three-way battle, so try to find a chance to escape.¡± Parlie narrowed his eyes and sighed deeply, suddenly shoving Jeraldine towards Zhang Dingtian before anyone could react. The desage shed towards the terrified girl by reflex, prompting Lu Yin to jump up and push her out of the way. He used the Spacerender Palm to block the iing attack, the meeting of sh and palm warping the air before sending Lu Yin barrelling to the ground once more, his feet sinking into the earth. He was stunned by the sheer power behind that strike.

    Parlie and Veron had fled the moment they¡¯d pushed Jeraldine over. Both were insufferably arrogant, but they weren¡¯t stupid. Zhang Dingtian could take on both of them alone, but with another strange neer on top, their only real option was to flee. However, Zhang Dingtian was no idiot either, and had already shed towards Parlie right after his attack on Jeraldine. Parlie barely dodged the strike, ¡°We don¡¯t want to fight, let us leave!¡±

    ¡°No one¡¯s leaving!¡± Zhang Dingtian shouted, continuing his frightening attack. The short man clenched his fist and turned around, throwing a punch towards the desage, ¡°Gravity Punch!¡±

    Crash! The earth shook from Parlie¡¯s battle technique. He had originally been confident that this attack would be enough to injure Zhang Dingtian, but was shocked to find that Zhang Dingtian wasn¡¯t injured in the least. He wasn¡¯t even slowed down, the attacksing with greater ferocity and pushing Parlie to the ground. The shockwaves washed over the area like a tsunami, crushing everything within a 1,000-meter radius of the attack. Veron reluctantlyunched a Spacerender Palm towards Zhang Dingtian, who shed it apart before once more directing his attention and sword towards Parlie, intent of facing both students simultaneously.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to attack Veron, ice appeared under his feet. Bai Xue walked out from behind Jeraldine whose legs had been frozen and red coldly at him, ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xue, awestruck by her astonishing beauty for the moment, ¡°You¡¯re the Water Sage?¡±

    ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve done your research,¡± Bai Xue said coldly.

    ¡°No, Zhou Shan told me about you. He said your beauty is like the sky.¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s gaze frosted over, ¡°You attacked Zhou Shan?¡±

    A sh from Zhang Dingtian brushed past Lu Yin before he could exin; the desage was intent on pulling him into the battle. Lu Yin dodged, but seeing Bai Xue freezing Jeraldine, he used the Roving Step to blink over and grabbed the woman¡¯s cold hand, ¡°Are you trying to kill her?!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Bai Xue asked, radiating an extreme chill from her body.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changed, ¡°Innate gift, you have the gift of Frost.¡±

    Bai Xue didn¡¯t answer, simply freezing Lu Yin¡¯s palm that was holding her back. The ice inched up his arm, but a burst of star energy shattered the ice and sted her more than ten meters away. Bai Xue was stunned as she felt the pain shooting up her arm; this was the first time someone had shattered her ice so easily.

    Possibly because he saw Bai Xue forced back, Zhang Dingtian changed his target from Parlie and Veron to Lu Yin instead, shing his sword in that direction. Lu Yin grew annoyed at this and threw out Zhou Shan¡¯s certificate while dodging the attack, ¡°I¡¯m Zhou Shan¡¯s friend, not an alien!¡±

    The desage grabbed the document in mid-air and nced at it with surprise, ¡°You¡¯re from Earth?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but before he could exin further, his expression suddenly changed. He used the Roving Step to blink after Veron, ¡°They¡¯re going to escape!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian didn¡¯t hesitate, attacking Parlie himself. He was the only realmbreaker present, and could defeat even the powerful peak Sentinel with ease. While Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm was powerful, it still didn¡¯t allow him to cross realms and match a Melder¡¯s power. This was in part because his ownbat level was barely above 1,000, and also in part because he had only trained it to two stars. Once he managed the third, he would likely have simr strength.

    Veron had already been injured once by Lu Yin, so he was captured quite quickly. Zhang Dingtian¡¯s endless attacks proved too much for Parlie as well, and he soon copsed with a wound on his chest. The battle ended up being quite short, but it was quite shocking. Everyone involved had the power of a school leader at minimum; this kind of intensity was rare even across the various academies of the Great Yu Empire; those like Jeraldine couldn¡¯t even participate.

 Chapter 31: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 31: Shock</h4>

    The chaotic fight showed Lu Yin that he could now defeat school leaders, but he didn¡¯t get much time to bask in that fact before Zhang Dingtian raised his de to kill both Parlie and Veron. He stopped the man immediately, ¡°Wait, we can use these people as bargaining chips!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian was confused, ¡°Bargaining chips? With whom?¡±

    ¡°You should know that these students came to Earth for a trial. Although people can die in trials, the students who participate all have strong backgrounds; we can use them to negotiate with the higher-ups of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Bai Xue looked at Lu Yin, ¡°We¡¯re going to use their lives to obtain Earth¡¯s freedom?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Although this trial is supposed to evolve humanity, it¡¯s actually a method for the Great Yu Empire to recruit warves. All earthling cultivators that aren¡¯t chosen for other purposes are sent to battlefields, be they between the Great Yu Empire and other empires or between the gxies controlled by different races. Those battlefields are far crueler than these trials; even Explorers won¡¯t necessarily survive. These students can help us keep more people on Earth.

    Zhang Dingtian silently sheathed his de, while a twinge of sadness shed across Bai Xue¡¯s gaze. Humans had once thought they were the only intelligent beings in the universe, but all that had changed once they discovered that corpse on Neptune. Now they knew that Earth was just a primal under the surveince of arge empire; so what if they could enter space, they were always caught under someone¡¯s gaze. Moreover, they were currently facing something even scarier than mutant beasts and zombies; once theary trial was over, countless people would be sent to battlefields where perhaps even the Seven Sages would only be considered soldiers of decent ability.

    Jeraldine stared at Lu Yin with surprise; she hadn¡¯t known about such a n at all. In fact, she¡¯d never heard of a situation where natives asked the Great Yu Empire for anything, forget negotiations using high-ranking children as hostages. She was certain that he was only digging his own grave with it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she also felt like it just might work. After all, Veron¡¯s background was quite decent; he had a rtive in the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.

    ¡°Cough, you, you¡¯re such a simpleton. The Great Yu Empire is known for military discipline, we won¡¯t be cowed by mere natives!¡± Parlie taunted from the side.

    Lu Yin nced at him, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about anything, just stay alive to be our bargaining chips.¡±

    Parlie just sneered; it was clear that these natives were clueless about the reality of the Great Yu Empire. However, Bai Xue looked at Lu Yin in surprise. After all, even though it might be useful to catch students trying to negotiate with the Great Yu Empire, this would doubtlessly endanger the youth himself, maybe to the point of death. Did he have some hidden backers? No one helped others at the cost of their own lives. Her caution only rose.

    BANG! A loud explosion from the north sank Zhang Dingtian¡¯s heart in an instant, and he shouted as he rushed towards the source, ¡°NO, THE RESEARCH CENTER!¡±

    Two figures flew away to the west, figures that Parlie recognized at first nce, ¡°Eddy, Hayden.¡±

    The desage shot into the sky in pursuit, but two more people joined the escapees from another direction. He turned grim as the energy from his body set the air off buzzing, all energy seemingly vanishing into his raised de. It felt like this one strike would split the Earth.

    Lu Yin watched with amazement as the attack sted the skies apart, drowning out all sound. He wondered whether it was a battle technique for a moment, but he knew that wasn¡¯t the case; this was simply the man¡¯s strongest attack.

    Eddy and the other students in the west were stunned by the attack and how deeply Zhang Dingtian had hidden his true strength. While the sh was not a battle technique, it closely resembled one and was truly terrifying.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wait, run!¡± Eddy called out in an instant, and Geine and Bror nearby were surprised as well, ¡°This guy is nuts! Run!¡±

    The desage¡¯s sh split the sky as it crashed towards the trainees out west, shocking the people in Beijing as it distorted the air all around. Eddy, Hayden, Geine, and Bror stopped and turned around, bracing themselves for the iing attack that split into five separate energy waves. When the aftershocks finally disappeared, a shocked Eddy was the only one who was rtively fine. Hayden¡¯s ck robes had been torn apart to reveal the scales covering his upper body, the blood on his lips shining under the sun. Geine was panting as she stared at Zhang Dingtian, while Bror had spat out a mouthful of blood entirely. His skin had noticeably turned greener, and there were some cracks all over his body.

    ¡°Go!¡± Eddy cried out, rushing west once more. Hayden took one more look before following reluctantly, followed by the silent duo behind him. An impressive Zhang Dingtian floated heroically in the sky, cheered on by the masses at having sent four students running with one attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed in excitement and inspiration. How much stronger would his Cosmic Palm be when he got to three stars? Would he be able to beat this? Bai Xue simply heaved a sigh of relief, smiling softly; the Head of the Seven Sages had shown his prowess once more.

    Jeraldine was left dumbfounded at the presence of a realmbreaker among the natives, while Parlie and Veron watched with awe; this was someone stronger than the vast majority of Sentinels in the Great Yu Empire. They realized their error in underestimating this man; if they had known, they would certainly have avoided the capital before.

    Zhang Dingtian flew north to check the Research and Development Center, while Lu Yin and Bai Xue rushed to catch up to him; this was one of the most important ces in China. Jeraldine grabbed the two captive students and followed behind.

    The Research and Development Center was in the northern part of Beijing, and was where the corpse recovered from Neptune had originally been stored. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know why senior management had decided to transfer it to an unknown location, but a huge explosion in the process had triggered the subsequent Apocalypse. The Research and Development Center was very much the origin of everything that had happened. Parlie and Veron had only considered checking Zhang Dingtian¡¯s residence and Number One¡¯s office, but hadn¡¯t thought to check the Research and Development Center that Eddy had targeted.

    Arriving at the Center, the group saw wreckage and corpses everywhere, causing Zhang Dingtian to clench his fists before sending soldiers to block off the area and search for any survivors. However, one guard ran up and interrupted him, ¡°desage, President Lian wants to meet you.¡±

    ¡°The President is alive?¡± Zhang Dingtian clearly grew delighted, following the man right away to a small hollow a few kilometers away from the wreckage. This was the entrance to the Center¡¯s basement, and within the cordoned-off area was an old man in a white coat who was leaning against a wall drinking water. Beside him was a beautiful woman in a ck business suit, and the desage questioned her anxiously, ¡°Huansha, how is the President?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fine, he was only startled,¡± the woman replied.

    ¡°What nonsense, I wasn¡¯t startled,¡± the old man grumbled, ¡°I only sprained my ankle.¡±

    Huansha smiled, ¡°Yes, yes, you only sprained your ankle.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian looked to the old man as Lu Yin and the others arrived, ¡°Mr. President, what happened?¡±

    Bai Xue gave Lu Yin an odd look as she saw him rifle through Parlie and Veron¡¯s cosmic rings, confiscating everything of value. There was technically nothing wrong with this¡ª he had contributed to that battle and there was no chance he would waste the loot¡ª but the scene left her perplexed. The youth himself was excited to discover an entire cube of star crystals, which left him anticipating the next use of his die.

    President Lian had Zhang Dingtian disperse the troops and even sent Huansha away, leaving only Bai Xue, Lu Yin, and Jeraldine with the two leaders. Lu Yin soon asked Jeraldine to move away, which she onlyplied with after a re from him; Eddy had clearly discovered something here, and she wanted to know what it was too. Bai Xue stared at Lu Yin in a simr manner, hinting for him to leave, but he tantly ignored her and looked at President Lian with curiosity.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the President asked.

    ¡°Zhou Shan¡¯s representative,¡± Lu Yin answered, leaving the woman speechless.

 Chapter 32: Escaped Criminal

    <h4>Chapter 32: Escaped Criminal</h4>

    Zhang Dingtian paused before saying, ¡±He is Zhou Shan¡¯s friend, and a Realm of Sky powerhouse.¡±

    ¡°Realm of Sky? And you¡¯re from Earth?¡± The President grew even more astonished when Lu Yin nodded, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anyone outside of you seven and the Tianzhu Monk to aplish it. Unbelievable, boy, how did you manage such a feat?¡±

    ¡°Talent,¡± Lu Yin answered calmly.

    President Lian simply nodded, epting that exnation at face value.

    ¡°President, what happened?¡± Bai Xue asked.

    The President sighed, ¡°The Research and Development Center was attacked; the alien stole all the information.¡±

    ¡°What information? There should be nothing in the Center that he¡¯s interested in.¡±

    President Lian shook his head and frowned, ¡°I don¡¯t know, he connected that thing on his wrist to the center¡¯s terminal and suddenly grew happy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s his gadget,¡± Bai Xue said, ¡°This is foreign technology that far exceeds ourworks, it might have been able to decipher something we couldn¡¯t. No wonder he wanted to destroy the Center, he likely doesn¡¯t want us to find out.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m the one who destroyed the Center,¡± President Lian eximed, smiling bitterly at everyone¡¯s surprise, ¡°That man killed all the researchers when he came in, and went directly to the terminal. He would have found the basement if I didn¡¯t destroy the building, and it was the only way to draw all of you here as well.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a renewed respect for the old man; few people had the courage to put their lives at stake for the cause.

    Zhang Dingtian frowned, ¡°The Center has been destroyed and all the information is gone, we can¡¯t even find them for our vengeance.¡±

    ¡°Who said that the information is gone? What¡¯s the point of my presidency if that were the case?¡± President Lian shook his head again, opening the door to the underground, ¡°There¡¯s a backup of everything underground; any of you who has the foreign technology can try it out. Maybe you can obtain some information too.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue and Lu Yin went down immediately, and a few minutester they were looking at the projection from the watch in shock. The screen was disying the explosion that urred half a year ago; on the screen of the Research and Development Center, there was nothing special about the explosion. However, the gadget enhanced the video to show a ck shadow rushing west in the aftermath of the explosion; that shadow moved so fast that Earth¡¯s technology simply couldn¡¯t capture it.

    All three cultivators had grim expressions on their faces, while President Lian was stunned, ¡°What is this ck shadow? A human?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Half a year ago, the Seven Sages weren¡¯t in the Realm of Sky yet. This speed isparable to someone in that realm; if I¡¯m not wrong, it should be that corpse.¡±

    ¡°That thing was alive?!¡±

    ¡°Mm. One can cover their body in energy to stop all functions; it should have been enough to fool our technology. Well, I guess that means this corpse was the criminal mentioned in the students¡¯ missions.¡±

    Everyone fell silent and stared at the screen, while Lu Yin looked at President Lian, ¡°May I ask why you decided to transfer the corpse? Zhou Shan mentioned that there was some uncontroble substance on it.¡±

    President Lian nced at Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue, ¡°It was a highly explosivepound; given the amount of it on the body, we knew that there would be grave effects if something set it off. We couldn¡¯t find a way to neutralize that substance, so we decided to move the threat away.¡±

    ¡°Primary was worried that the corpse would blow up during the move, so he separated the seven of us. We¡¯d never expected his fears toe true and cause the Apocalypse. At least we managed to protect the survivors,¡± Bai Xue continued softly.

    Lu Tin nodded, ¡°He truly was selfless; given the strength of the explosion, he wouldn¡¯t have died if you had been protecting him.¡±

    President Lian sighed, ¡°No one expected things to turn out like this, but now it looks like the corpse was the one who triggered everything. He must have been the one to cause the explosion.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, feeling like something was off; why would the criminal want to cause the Apocalypse? That had triggered Earth¡¯s evolution, wasn¡¯t he afraid such an event would catch the attention of the Great Yu Empire?

    ¡°We ced a tracker under the corpse¡¯s skin when we first started studying it; let me see if it still works,¡± the President said while tinkering with his terminal. Momentster, there was a blip on the world map and he said excitedly, ¡°I found it! This is where the signal wasst detected.¡±

    Everyone looked over; the mark was in Europe, within the Mediterranean Sea.

    ¡°That student from before headed west to search for it,¡± Zhang Dingtian concluded.

    ¡°Should we follow?¡± Bai Xue asked.

    Zhang Dingtian stared at the screen, ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°That corpse was once an Explorer; even if he¡¯s heavily injured right now, he¡¯ll still be fine. It¡¯s too dangerous for us to go.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry, if those students are unable to capture him, he¡¯ll definitelye back here,¡± President Lian imed, exining when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s obvious confusion, ¡°His belongings are still in the Research and Development Center; he won¡¯t let them go.¡±

    ¡°What belongings?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had only heard about a de that had been brought back to Earth with the corpse.

    President Lian was just about to reply when Bai Xue cut in, ¡°This is top secret; we can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused, ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of the Apocalypse and the Seven Sages are the highest authority in China; how secret can it be?¡±

    She red at him, ¡°We have no idea about your background. For all we know, you might be another student.¡±

    ¡°Zhou Shan can vouch for me, I was already at his camp when the students arrived,¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Her lips curved into a beautiful smile, ¡°I remember hearing the students mention that the Great Yu Empire has been watching Earth for a long time; it¡¯s not impossible for someone to havee here early.¡±

    ¡°Now you¡¯re just imagining problems,¡± Lu Yin grew irritated. This woman was giving him trouble at every turn, and on top of that she was supposedly in some sort of rtionship with Liu Shaoge.

    ¡°I¡¯m just stating facts,¡± she responded calmly.

    ¡°The facts are that the students you¡¯ve seen so far are only the first batch. The second will be arriving soon, and among them will be people you can¡¯t defeat. I can help you, stop treating me like an enemy!¡±

    ¡°Hmph. If you¡¯re really an earthling, not helping would make you a traitor anyway. If you¡¯re not, it¡¯s pointless for us to ask you for help.¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, but couldn¡¯t refute her point. In the end, Zhang Dingtian looked over as well, ¡°Your background is uncertain, and Zhou Shan can only speak for himself. If you want to know, then you must get majority approval from the Seven Sages.¡±

    ¡°Forget it,munications are still disrupted anyway. Besides, this woman clearly has power; I¡¯d lose even if there was a vote.¡± Lu Yin stormed out, leaving a thoughtful Zhang Dingtian behind.

    Bai Xuemented, ¡°He¡¯s extremely powerful; I don¡¯t know how someone could enter the Realm of Sky outside of us and the few foreigners we gave some of the inheritance to.¡±

    ¡°The Tianzhu Monk has already shown that it isn¡¯t impossible; this guy would be the second.¡±

    Bai Xue nodded. She wasn¡¯t deliberately targeting Lu Yin; she genuinely was suspicious of him. He was unreasonably strong and extremely greedy; she still recalled the weirdly immediate response of looting those two students.

    Lu Yin left the basement with a grim face. Earth was currently dealing with the Apocalypse, the ruthless students, and even a runaway criminal in hiding! With the soon-to-arrive second batch of students, things were only going to get more chaotic and he needed to quickly increase his strength. The Great Yu Empire was just an ordinary nation within the Frostwave Weave. There were numerous weaves in the Outerverse with geniuses born every day. If he couldn¡¯t handle the students of mediocre schools, there was no way he could match up to those from the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons or Yu Academy.

    ¡°Jeraldine!¡± he shouted.

    She walked over, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Post that the criminal is in the Mediterranean Sea.¡±

    ¡°What? Really?¡±

    ¡°Mm. Do it.¡±

    She frowned, ¡°If you know that, why don¡¯t you go yourself?¡±

    ¡°Just do it! Why do you have to question everything?¡± Lu Yin snapped, prompting her to switch on her gadget and send the message out.

 Chapter 33: Another Zombie King

    <h4>Chapter 33: Another Zombie King</h4>

    The most important thing to Lu Yin right now was gathering star crystals, followed by catching the criminal. Terence¡¯s formcast model would allow his third transformation into the Melder Realm, but normal models stopped at that point. A rare few models could help with the fourth advancement, and students like Veron or even Parlie certainly didn¡¯t qualify to possess them. The only one possible on earth would be on the criminal.

    Even if the criminal was very strong, Lu Yin was unsure of what tricks the four students had up their sleeves. He realized that he might as well muddy the waters and draw the attention of all other students, making it chaotic enough to give the criminal a better chance to escape. No one in this first batch would be able to match him when he added the third star to his Cosmic Palm, so he had to push things until then.

    Within a secluded courtyard in the capital, Lu Yin closed his windows and scattered fire crystals around before returning to his room and spreading his arms. The die slowly materialized, its surface still dim as it hadn¡¯t yet recovered from the previous use. Without star crystals, it would take a long time to recover to usability. Lu Yin rubbed his hands together as he stared expectantly at the die, then crushed a cube of star crystals that he had gathered with much difficulty. The surging star energy entered the die and brightened it instantly, the stars sparkling all around.

    Lu Yin licked his lips with anxiousness, feeling somewhat like a gambler, ¡°Come on, I hope I have good luck. Let¡¯s see what I get.¡±

    The die spun quickly as he ced a finger on it, forming a beautiful image of twinkling stars. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained glued upon it as it came to a halt, five surfaces nking out until the one-pip side was left behind.

    ¡°Pilfer again,¡± Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised, as Pilfer could retrieve an item from a random person¡¯s cosmic ring. The first roll of this number had given him the Cosmic Art. He watched as it shot a beam out into the void, opening a passageway that dropped something to the ground with a soft thump. He stared at the ground in disbelief; a snack?

    On the ground before him was an exquisitely-packed snack bag, with what looked like advertising on the cover that he couldn¡¯t understand. He picked it up with a stoic face, but that expression was his best attempt to not cough up blood; he¡¯d spent an entire cube of star crystals to activate the die and all he¡¯d gotten back was a snack! Even a broken dagger would have been better than that! The die''s surface dimmed before it gradually vanished, the room returning to its previous state with Lu Yin clutching that one snack bag. He felt his heart bleeding from the unfairness of it all.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin remained in the capital for ten days; the city had calmed down significantly from the former excitement, and the zombies and beasts continued battling outside the city. Their reducing numbers gave more cultivators the courage to step out of the city.

    But while Beijing was quelled, Europe erupted instead. No one had believed Jeraldine¡¯s message that the criminal was near the Mediterranean Sea at first, but once it was discovered that Eddy and the others had departed China, many rushed to beat him. A massive battle three days ago had set the very sea aboil, the criminal revealing Melder-level power that killed several students and left Eddy¡¯s team among the injured.

    This wasn¡¯t the only group of top students either; three teams from China, two from Russia, two already in Europe, and multiple others from across the other continents caused chaos across Europe, news that really pleased Lu Yin when he heard it from Jeraldine. All was good as long as the criminal remained free; he was close to finishing the third star of the Cosmic Palm, and estimated that he needed no more than half a month to go from the vague image he had now to thepleted version. He would act then.

    Countless zombies were aimlessly wandering outside the capital, beside the road and in and out of the abandoned buildings as they chewed on unknown substances. Gunshots rang out as a convoy of armored vehicles plowed through them, leaving the ground covered in blood and the air full of a putrid stench. They were driving along when a sudden explosion rang out, fierce winds flipping the vehicles over, sending out a rush of cultivators who were confused by the strange gust. A tall man dusted himself off and barked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Someone reported, "Captain, a gale came out of nowhere and flipped us over."

    The tall man frowned as he looked around, seeing that there were no winds in all directions; where had the galee from? It was then that a shop in the distance was split by an unseen attack, followed by the cultivators¡¯ torsos flying off into the sky. They had all been massacred in an instant.

    Cultivators dying in the field was nothing too strange, but more and more of them were killed by such invisible attacks over the next few days. Once someone in the Realm of Earth died, Zhang Dingtian personally left the capital to investigate; that man had been second only to the Seven Sages, so no weaker cultivators dared to act. Zombies from both sides of the road snarled and charged towards the desage, and he noticed strange creatures wriggling underground, but he remained expressionless as an energy wave swept out and decimated the creatures.

    Perhaps he was too intimidating, as both sides of the road fell silent. He met no sneak attacks even after traveling quite a distance, causing him to stop and consider his options. He pulled out Borise¡¯s personal gadget that Bai Xue had given him, deciding that it was best to use it right now. A light tap set it off beeping, and his gaze immediately focused northeast as he shed out with his sword. The attack sliced across the earth, a pathetic figure hurrying to escape as it nursed an injured left shoulder.

    Zhang Dingtian pursued immediately, his de sweeping out immediately. The fleeing figure turned around and showed a frightened face; it was a zombie! The creature crashed into the ground, its hands iling as a cruel light shed in its scarlet eyes. Formless des of wind shed out at the desage, but a swipe of his hand rebounded the attack and sliced the creature¡¯s head off in an instant. The head rolled a little ways away before being crushed by an aftershock.

    Zhang Dingtian frowned at the zombie¡¯s corpse. To his understanding, zombies were failed specimens of apocalyptic evolution; they simply shouldn¡¯t have such strength. This thing had the sheer power of a Realm of Earth cultivator, and it could even control wind des with its hands. He rushed back to the capital to report the event to President Lian.

    ¡°What? A Realm of Earth zombie that can control the wind? How is that possible, they are just failed evolutions.¡±

    ¡°I saw it with my own eyes,¡± Zhang Dingtian replied.

    President Lian muttered darkly, his gaze solemn. The zombies outnumbered the human survivors many times over; if they could also evolve or cultivate, they would make for another powerful enemy. Even more rming was the ability to control the wind; that was impossible through simple cultivation. Even Zhang Dingtian didn¡¯t have such a capability; in fact, they only knew of two people who wielded such supernatural abilities. How could the zombie havee by it?

    ¡°If there was one, there will be another. Didn¡¯t Lu Yine from Jinlin? Check with him if he has met any simr zombies,¡± President Lian suggested.

    Zhang Dingtian immediately summoned Lu Yin, and Bai Xuemented the moment she saw his face change upon hearing the information, ¡°You know something.¡±

    He nodded, telling them of his experience with the long-haired zombie king back near Jinlin. At the time, he¡¯d thought the capital would have known already, but they were only learning of it now.

    Bai Xue was incredulous, ¡°Swallowing natural energy crystals can grant supernatural abilities? How is that possible? Even humans can¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what I saw; I have no reason to lie to you.¡±

    President Lian¡¯s expression was solemn as he looked at the trio, ¡°We¡¯ve always assumed that zombies are a failed branch of human evolution, and facts indicate that this isrgely true. Most zombies only pose a threat to the average human, but what if they aren¡¯t failures but a divergent path? Wouldn¡¯t that make sense?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gaze changed, ¡°Humans can cultivate with the energy cores found inside the mutant beasts. Perhaps zombies can simrly absorb energy crystals and gain stronger abilities.¡±

    President Lian replied, ¡°No one has seen a zombie swallow a beast core. Mutant beasts can easily wipe out entire hordes, and even if injured they can still escape. No one would be willing to give a zombie a hard-won beast core either, so there¡¯s no way for one to get a hold of any. But it is usible that a rare few manage to find energy crystals through dumb luck; if our assumptions are true, Earth will see enormous change.¡±

 Chapter 34: Murder

    <h4>Chapter 34: Murder</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯ll go grab a zombie to test,¡± Zhang Dingtian left immediately, returning in a sh and throwing a zombie to the ground. He stuffed an energy crystal into the creature¡¯s mouth, but even as everyone stared for a while, the creature had no reaction. Both he and Bai Xue heaved sighs of relief.

    Lu Yin was unconvinced, ¡°We can¡¯t base our judgment on a single one, go catch a few more.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded, ordering his subordinates to capture some more zombies. More than fifty were bound and sent over within half an hour, and he ced an energy crystal into the mouths of each one. Most didn¡¯t react as expected, but one suddenly growled and revealed a pained expression, its scarlet eyes staring daggers at the desage as surging energy heated and ripped apart its skin. A loud explosion rang out as its body sttered all over the ce.

    President Lian watched this scene in astonishment, ¡°Different zombies react differently after being given the crystals, that means this type of evolution is feasible.¡±

    As Lu Yin looked at the mangled flesh on the ground, an image of Yin and that head suddenly appeared in his mind, sending a chill down his spine. He didn¡¯t dare take it out to examine it right now.

    ¡°This has to be kept strictly confidential, it cannot leak out to certain individuals.¡± Bai Xue said coldly, throwing a dirty look Lu Yin¡¯s way.

    He replied calmly, ¡°It seems like theary evolution isn¡¯t as easy as it seems. If the zombies can evolve, are they considered trainees in the trials too?¡±

    ¡°Zombies possess no intellect.¡± Bai Xue snapped.

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°No intellect? That may not be the case.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian immediately issued an order for anyone outside the city to return, deciding to use the ballistics he had left to bomb the zombies. There seemed to be no way to make them human again, so if their threat was significant, allowing them to remain was risky. That risk multiplied tenfold if they could obtain great power by ingesting elemental crystals.

    President Lian approved of this; there were just too many zombies. All it took was the evolution of one in ten thousand for things to be catastrophic; that sort of supernatural energy was not something that an original human being could withstand. A good example was Bai Xue. Realistically speaking, she would not have been a match for Borise if not for her gift of Frost.

    Earth-shattering explosions rang outside the city that night, and Lu Yin watched as salvo after salvo of guided missiles swept across the zombie hordes. These creatures were only frightening out of sheer volume, and ballistic missiles were thus the best way to deal with them. However, the bombings onlysted two minutes, leaving him rather surprised; he felt almost certain that there had to be more missiles in Beijing¡¯s arsenal.

    His attention diverted to the sky, he saw a distant figure dashing towards his residence through the air. Focusing closely, he was surprised to see that it was Bai Xue. What could this hostile beauty want from him sote at night? Watching the gorgeous woman approach under the pale moonlight, he felt like he wouldn¡¯t have any qualms with making a cuckold of Liu Shaoge.

    However, Bai Xuended in his courtyard and looked around, not growing less agitated as she stared at him. A puzzled expression came over Lu Yin¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Is anything the matter?¡±

    Jeraldine walked out from her room as well, sending a nce of confusion towards the Water Sage.

    ¡°Nothing, I was just passing through,¡± Bai Xue said dully.

    ¡°Err¡­ Are you sure?¡±

    After a momentary pause, Bai Xue answered, ¡°The personnel in charge of firing the missions are all dead, and the ballistics have been damaged beyond usability.¡±

    ¡°What? Who did that?!¡± Lu Yin asked in shock, but a bemused smile filled his face as Bai Xue stared at him in silence, ¡°Oh, so you rushed hoping I was absent and you could use it as evidence against me.¡±

    ¡°I hope you had nothing to do with this; we wouldn¡¯t be forgiving,¡± Bai Xue said menacingly.

    Lu Yin was baffled by it all, ¡°You seem to be so guarded against me, why?¡±

    Bai Xue didn¡¯t respond, instead turning around and preparing to leave.

    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t just leave like that; you owe me an exnation!¡± he gently walked over to her side, stretching a hand forward to touch her hair. Bai Xue sent an icy re his way, the surface of her body starting to radiate cold air which swept towards him. When he swept it away with his right palm and made to grab her hair again, her body was suddenly covered in ayer of ice that reflected the moonlight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm smacked against the ice and shattered it, prompting Bai Xue to take a few steps back as she red at him warily. Only then did he shrug, ¡°I was just horsing around.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t funny,¡± she replied coldly.

    ¡°Barging into my home to threaten me thiste in the night wasn¡¯t funny either,¡± he responded with a slight chill of his own.

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes twinkled, and she left behind a ¡°Sorry¡± and her signature fragrance as she took to the sky. Watching her fly away, Lu Yin wondered just what kind of person would want the ballistics destroyed. Was there anyone who¡¯d want the zombies kept alive?

    Jeraldine squeaked in admiration as she watched Bai Xue leave, ¡°I¡¯m always so enthralled whenever I see her. Zhou Shan was right; this woman really does seem like a water goddess. Even in terms of looks alone, she¡¯s definitely worthy ofparison to Starsibyl.¡±

    ¡°Starsibyl?¡± Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Jeraldine looked towards the sky and spoke with a longing tone, ¡°She¡¯s the most beautiful woman in the universe, rumored to be at least an explorer. She visits trials quite often, supposedly to look for those who are destined to meet her. She¡¯s said to have the power of divination, and can also look into the past; she¡¯s the fantasy of countless people.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, ¡°Yours too?¡±

    Jeraldine rolled her eyes, ¡°For me, she¡¯s my idol. Shees from a powerful, mysterious sect in the Innerverse; any random disciple of that sect can destroy any youth from the Great Yu Empire. She¡¯s a legend on the battlefield, too, she¡­ Nevermind, you wouldn¡¯t understand even if I exined. I¡¯m going to bed.¡±

    Indeed, Lu Yin dismissed Jeraldine¡¯s words. The universe was beyond vast, and things often got grossly exaggerated as stories spread around. He fully believed that this Starsibyl¡¯s supposed divination abilities were one such thing; it simply made no sense.

    While he considered what he¡¯d just heard, Lu Yin stared into the stars once more, as two stars spun on his own right palm with a third starting to manifest. The eradication of the zombie horde was put on hold and he didn¡¯t really care about how Zhang Dingtian would handle it, but he was concerned that the second batch of students would be arriving in only about forty more days. He was running out of time.

    Meanwhile, Zhang Dingtian ordered ten thousand cultivators to leave the city in batches to head out and eliminate all the zombies. They were told they could ignore all mutant beasts, which made the task fairly easy. He and Bai Xue oversaw the departures from atop the city walls, thettermenting, ¡°Even if we destroy all the zombies around the capital, there are still more everywhere else.¡±

    ¡°This is still better than nothing,¡± the desage said with a grave tone, ¡°I¡¯ve also ordered troops to travel to Jinlin, Hubei, and elsewhere to deliver an update on the situations. We¡¯re trying to minimize the risk.¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes lit up when Hubei was mentioned, ¡°How is Shaoge doing?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian looked at her and responded monotonously, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Bai Xue fell silent.

    The zombie purge was aplished quite sessfully. Ten thousand cultivators were able to kill and burn nearly two million zombies each day, so after only a few days, the area surrounding the capital had been emptied. Now, all that filled the vicinity was pungent smoke. Zhang Dingtian personally investigated westwards where the ballistics team had been stationed, but even after several days, he couldn¡¯t find any clues about the identity of their killer. The only thing he knew was that the assassin was swift and brutal, massacring more than 500 people within a minute.

    ¡°Do you think Lu Yin could have done it?¡± Bai Xue asked from a distance.

    ¡°Did you see it with your own eyes?¡± he asked in a grave tone, his eyes sweeping through the ground.

    She pursed her lips, ¡°We¡¯d better connect with Jinlin as soon as possible. This Lu Yin guy is suspicious, I have a feeling he¡¯s a student from outer space.¡±

    ¡°And what if he is? With our current world, we should only draw a line between allies and enemies; we don¡¯t have the option to segregate ourselves based on race or origin any longer.¡±

    Bai Xue had a mncholy face, but remained silent.

    Zhang Dingtian turned to walk back inside, but a white sh blurred past him as he opened the door. The sh was headed straight for his throat, but he was barely fast enough to dodge most of the attack. Still, a thin wound appeared on his neck and started leaking blood. A silver-haired youth with a twisted smile thrust his butterfly sword forward once more in attack, forcing him to draw his longsword in a defensive stance as the de swung down towards his eyes. The desage braced himself for impact as the weapon drew close, star energy bursting forth to slow the attack as his own forward thrust split the earth nearby.

 Chapter 35: Information

    <h4>Chapter 35: Information</h4>

    ¡°You really are the strongest of the Seven Sages. I¡¯ll see you soon!¡± Silver retreated a few steps, turning around and rushing away. Zhang Dingtian was about to send a sh behind him, but stopped as he realized that he was fleeing in the direction of Bai Xue. Ice formed everywhere as the Water Sage stretched out her palm to confront him, but he simplyughed in mockery as his butterfly sword shattered the ice with ease, leaving her helpless as the de stabbed towards her neck. She resigned herself to death, but watched the youth redirect the attack in surprise as a starry palm blocked the way.

    Lu Yin had used the Roving Step to barely appear in front of Bai Xue in time, threatening Silver with a counter-attack that forced him to change targets. The air trembled as the two attacks met, the astral explosion sting Bai Xue away and shattering the ground. Shockwaves spread out in all directions and filled the room with a cloud of dust; by the time it cleared, Lu Yin was still in ce but the silver-haired youth had disappeared from sight. Fewer than ten seconds had passed from Zhang Dingtian¡¯s injury to this point; leaving the nearby soldiers with no time to react.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stepped out of the debris.

    Bai Xue was shaken by that touch of death; the delicate de had effortlessly torn through her defences and threatened her life. This was the first time she¡¯d felt such fear since bing one of the Seven Sages. It took her a moment to nod, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin then turned to look at Zhang Dingtian, ¡°You¡¯re hurt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± the desage touched the wound on his neck, the blood shocking the soldiers who had just arrived. They couldn¡¯t believe that the strongest of the Seven Sages had been injured, but he himself was more confused to see Lu Yin, ¡°Why did youe here?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at his palm, ¡°I was curious. I wanted to know who the murderer was.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian answered, ¡°It was the guy who just left.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Lu Yin replied. He looked at Zhang Tian¡¯s wounded neck and frowned. He had seen the entire process of Silver¡¯s attack, and was quite astonished by the desage¡¯s perception to be able to avoid that attack at such close range without using any battle techniques. He had to admit that he could have done no better in the same situation. However, what truly intrigued him was how Silver had managed to hide his aura sopletely. While most students could somewhat aplish that to avoid scanners, Zhang Dingtian had almost let him get close enough to kill him in one blow.

    ¡°Why was he targeting you?¡± Bai Xue asked.

    Zhang Dingtian narrowed his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯ve never met him before. The only possibility thates to mind is that he doesn¡¯t want the zombies killed.¡±

    Thatment hit Lu Yin hard; this attempt proved his previous guesses that Silver was connected to the zombie kings somehow. This also meant that Silver wasn¡¯t really paying attention to the trial¡¯s mission, but was instead worried about keeping the zombies alive. The youth was aplete puzzle; although some assumptions could be made, there was only so much that could be learnt from a single assassination attempt.

    ¡°Pass down orders to keep killing the zombies for 24 hours,¡± Zhang Dingtian suddenlymanded. Since it was impossible to capture someone that fast and sneaky, he would simply suppress news of the attack and redouble his efforts at eliminating the zombie horde. He quickly set about hiring even independent cultivators to join in on the task.

    Time flew by, and soon there was only a month until the next group of students arrived. Numerous fights had broken out all over Europe in the meanwhile, but there was no news of the criminal¡¯s capture. One day, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget activated automatically and beeped as it sent him an announcement.

    ¡°Dear Students.

    The grace period has now drawn to a close; location tracking can no longer be disabled on your gadgets, and your positions will be openly avable. Please finish your missions as soon as possible.

    Good luck.¡±

    This message would cause the trial to be even more cut-throat. The first batch of students had already been on Earth for two months, and this time had been considered a safe period when they could hide their battle ability and just look for rare herbs or minerals in order to improve their results, but now that this period was over, everyone¡¯s location would be publicly broadcasted unless they got rid of their gadget entirely. Lu Yin sighed, gazing at the sky. The true trial was now starting, and hiding was no longer a possibility. Thest two months could also be considered an opportunity for the people of Earth to fight the students for resources; this was what the greater universe considered a fair opportunity for evolvings.

    ¡°There¡¯s quite a few,¡± he mumbled to himself. Vesta¡¯s gadget finally connected to the for the first time, showing a model of Earth with the locations of every single student. The pods he¡¯d seen in Jinlin had only been a small fraction of the total number; he now saw nearly a hundred students in Asia, with more in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and even some all the way in Antarctica. However, most of the students were currently centered around a spot near the Mediterranean Sea.

    As he looked through the map, a message suddenly popped up on top, ¡°The Tianzhu Monk of Earth has defeated Hayden.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised by this; were battle results also going to be announced now?

    This information startled many other students as well. Hayden was known to be the strongest in his school, so a native defeating him was stunning, especially formon students like Jeraldine. Top students were often considered unbeatable, and this defeat made them consider the risks of this trial much more seriously. Although the Great Yu Empire held many trials every few months, it was rare for a top student to be defeated anywhere. The strongest natives of typicals weren¡¯t even Sentinels, ensuring that those like Hayden were invincible.

    Another message quickly appeared, ¡°Eddy has defeated the Tianzhu Monk.¡±

    This piqued Lu Yin¡¯s interest; why would Eddy and Hayden visit Tianzhu? Jeraldine anxiously sought out Lu Yin, ¡°Now that the trial has officially started, you can see everyone¡¯s location on the map and can contact them, too. You¡¯re aware of this, right?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, ¡°You can contact each other?¡±

    She nodded, ¡°The studentse from all over the Great Yu Empire so most of us don¡¯t know each other, which is why so few people contacted each other over the past two months. Whatever, the important bit is that someone already released news that the criminal left something important in Beijing that he¡¯lle back to retrieve.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold, ¡°Who?¡±

    Jeraldine shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know, the only shows the positions of the gadgets, not their users.¡±

    Lu Yin ran through the possible suspects in his mind, but the only people who knew that the criminal had left something in the capital were the Seven Sages, President Lian, and himself. Not even Eddy had known about it, so now that the news had been leaked, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue would absolutely suspect him.

    Surely enough, an energy wave swept through the area very soon. Lu Yin flew into the sky and saw Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue, saying immediately, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who leaked the information.¡±

    ¡°Convince me,¡± the desage red at him.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes in thought before ordering Jeraldine, ¡°Announce that the criminal hid something in Tianzhu, which is why Eddy and Hayden were there. It was also why the Tianzhu Monk was able to beat Hayden.¡±

    Jeraldine instantlyplied.

    ¡°That won¡¯t slow them down for long,¡± Zhang Dingtian said.

    ¡°I¡¯m demonstrating my sincerity; it¡¯s up to you whether you believe me or not.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian inhaled deeply, clenching his de. He wanted to capture this only outsider who knew the secret, but Lu Yin was too strong for him to be confident in victory.

    ¡°Let us check your gadget,¡± Bai Xue remained skeptical.

    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Come take it from me if you dare!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Bai Xue was exasperated. She had wanted to give Lu Yin a chance to prove his innocence since he saved her life, but he was too stubborn.

    ¡°There are a total of nine people who were aware of this secret. I¡¯m in the capital, so why would I say something that would bring trouble to myself like an idiot? Even if I had ulterior motives for being here, I would still keep my mouth shut,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

 Chapter 36: Robbery

    <h4>Chapter 36: Robbery</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s words made sense. and Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue exchanged nces. They realized that if Lu Yin really was a student taking the trial, he wouldn¡¯t have done something to cause himself trouble.

    ¡°There is a person that I have my suspicions about, though,¡± he continued, ncing at Bai Xue, ¡°Liu Shaoge.¡±

    The two Sages were astonished, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Hubei has been marked blue, you know what that means.¡±

    Bai Xue disagreed, ¡°My entire domain is blue, as is Nanjing. That doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re one of the three High Sages, and the only reason Nanjing is blue is that I saved it. Liu Shaoge isn¡¯t a High Sage, he isn¡¯t even much stronger than Zhou Shan; how could he possibly defend himself from the trainees? Look at the map yourself, you¡¯ll see there are multiple students around the region.¡± This exnation silenced Bai Xue¡¯s retort; she simply couldn¡¯t pick a hole in his argument.

    Zhang Dingtian heaved a deep sigh, sheathing his sword as he turned to leave, ¡°Innocent until proven guilty; that applies to you, and it applies to Liu Shaoge as well.¡±

    Bai Xue also left after onest, troubled nce at Lu Yin. It was only then that Jeraldine approached, ¡°Was it really Liu Shaoge who spread the news?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Lu Yin answered nonchntly.

    She blinked, ¡°But you sounded so certain just now.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked at her, ¡°How would I convince them if I didn¡¯t? If you¡¯re going to scapegoat someone, you need to have full confidence in your words. What have you been studying in school if you don¡¯t even understand this?¡±

    Scapegoat someone? How despicable! While Jeraldine was disturbed by these words, Lu Yin returned to his residence. Meanwhile, her post on the prompted many of the students bitterly fighting in Europe to rush to Tianzhu. Although Eddy and Hayden tried to rify that they had only been passing through and fought the Tianzhu Monk through coincidence, no one believed them.

    To Lu Yin, the officialwork was like a movie over the next few days. There were constant messages about X defeating Y, Z dying, and the like; some of the students trying to fly over from the Americas had been eaten by mutant sea beasts on the trip. Themotion continued for five days until Eddy and Hayden finally managed to prove their innocence, convincing people that the criminal hadn¡¯t left anything in Tianzhu.

    When the focus finally shifted back to Beijing, Lu Yin sighed. He¡¯d known that he couldn¡¯t keep people distracted forever; those challenging trials weren¡¯t fools, and Beijing was clearly the ce most likely to have anything rted to the criminal. However, Eddy had suggested that the students group up and take control of Beijing, waiting for the criminal to appear. If the month passed without that happening, they would stick together against the next batch of students. This suggestion proved quite popr with those who wanted to try and get into Astral-10; no one in the first batch had confidence in facing the next individually, but Eddy¡¯s suggestion gave them a sliver of hope.

    Within Beijing, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue looked terrible. They were aware of the situation and knew how bad things were about to be; the capital would soon be a battlefield. Although Zhang Dingtian was extremely powerful, there was a limit to his strength and he didn¡¯t have any battle techniques that suited him; it would be impossible to protect the city alone. Bai Xue was significantly weaker, and the blunt truth was that even all of the Seven Sages gathered together would still face a hopeless situation.

    Lu Yin was just as concerned as the two Sages. He had taken the identity of a native in the trial, so if Beijing was taken over, it would drastically reduce the effect he was aiming for. Also, he had no intentions of allowing the criminal to go free with the item that had been left behind. Beijing was critical to all of his ns.

    ¡°Lu Yin, let¡¯s go. Beijing won¡¯t be able to defend itself,¡± Jeraldine told him anxiously, but he was lost in contemtion. The most powerful people on Earth right now were Zhang Dingtian and Eddy, the former being a tiny bit more powerful, but there would be many opponents ofparable strength in the uing battle. He needed to be stronger than them all to keep the city from battle; at the very least, he needed to reach Eddy¡¯s level and sweep through them all with his Cosmic Palm.

    Considering all this, he whispered to Jeraldine before flying off, ¡°Stay in Beijing, I¡¯ll be back in a few days.¡±

    Jeraldine was left gritting her teeth in reply. He was aware of the situation; why was he asking her to stay and die?

    Right as Lu Yin was about to leave the capital, Bai Xue popped out to confront him, ¡°Are you trying to escape?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back before the trainees attack the city,¡± he answered softly.

    ¡°And why should I believe you?¡± she asked, her beautiful face expressing all the disdain she held towards him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to; you can¡¯t stop me regardless,¡± he stated matter-of-factly, ¡°Or do you want a deathmatch with me right before an impending war?¡±

    Bai Xue clenched her fists.

    ¡°Let him go.¡± Zhang Dingtian¡¯s voice rang out, though he remained out of sight. Bai Xue could do nothing more at that point, and simply floated back to the ground. Lu Yin stared at the city for a while before leaving, taking out his gadget once he was far enough away.

    ¡°The closest one is¡­ you,¡± he said while rushing west.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s departure, Jeraldine tried to leave as well. She had no obligation to him and would have fled long ago if he hadn¡¯t been keeping an eye on her, so this was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, she¡¯d missed something in this perfect n; Bai Xue.

    ¡°What right do you have to stop me?¡± Jeraldine demanded furiously as the Water Sage stopped her.

    Bai Xue red at her, ¡°Because you¡¯re Lu Yin¡¯s woman. Since he left, you have to stay.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not his woman! Don¡¯t spread rumors!¡± she screamed angrily, but while Bai Xue was powerless against Lu Yin, handling this girl was a breeze. It wasn¡¯t long before a block of ice plopped down in Lu Yin¡¯s residence, it would take quite a while for Jeraldine to thaw out. ¡°Damned Lu Yin, Damned ice girl, damned natives¡­ every damn one of them is unreasonable!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Shaanxi was the province closest to Beijing, but without any of the Seven Sages protecting it, the strongest people within were only in the Realm of Earth. Still, arge group had gathered within itsrgest gathering point of Tongchuan. Russel was aid-back person who was easily satisfied with minor aplishments. As the second strongest student of Garu Academy, he had no ambitions toplete the trial mission and was content with simply upying a region and harvesting what resources he could to have a decent result. He was delighted during the past two months of peace; as a Sentinel¡ªno, a Realm of Sky cultivator¡ªhe¡¯d taken over the city and be its guardian deity worshipped by all. Although he helped the survivors eliminate some mutant beasts on asion, most of his time was spent in quiet explorations that resulted in the asional delight of a rare item. Even the thought of his results made the man happy.

    Sipping some wine under the sun, Russel was humming some tunes from his hometown as he thought to himself with a smile, ¡®Primals like this one are the best. The air is fresh, the people are honest, and I¡¯m free to do whatever I want! All I gotta do is find some valuable materials¡­ heh, this is just the best! Hahaha!¡¯

    After enjoying himself for a bit, Russel waved over two beautiful youngdies and had one massage his shoulders while the other was tasked with keeping his ss full and working on his feet. He moaned in pleasure, ¡°Ooh¡­¡±

    Just as he was about to take a sip, a shadow suddenly blocked thefortable sun. He frowned and looked up to see a rather in young man staring down at him from mid-air.

    ¡®Hmm? A Sentinel?¡¯ He grew serious and shooed away the two girls who¡¯d grown frightened, ring at the man above him, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°A thief,¡± the youth said briefly.

    ¡°What?¡± Russel stared nkly, ¡°Come again?¡±

    ¡°I said I¡¯m a thief,¡± Lu Yin repeated graciously. He¡¯de to the conclusion that the only way to raise his strength quickly was to absorb star energy, and robbing the students was the way to go if he wanted star crystals.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re a trainee too, kid, but you have to be an idiot! Do you know who I am? Want to rob me? Let me tell you, I¡ª¡±

    He felt a sharp pain in his stomach before he could finish, sent crashing into the ground by the terrifying blow. The impact formed a deep crater, and at the bottom of it Russel coughed up blood and looked up with a pale face. Wasn¡¯t that the Spacerender Palm? The hell? Where did a monster like thate here from?

 Chapter 37: Planetary Thief

    <h4>Chapter 37:ary Thief</h4>

    Lu Yin descended to the ground and approached Russel, ¡°Empty out your cosmic ring before I have to force you.¡±

    ¡°You have to be the leader at some school, why are you robbing me instead of finishing the mission? Won¡¯t you lose points?¡± Russel¡¯s face twitched, but Lu Yin responded by raising his arm and leveling a cold re. As the air started to distort from a Shockwave Palm, he urgently spoke up, ¡°No! D-Don¡¯t attack, I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    Russel removed everything from his cosmic ring as he spoke, revealing a wide array of items, but Lu Yin only grabbed the star crystals and a few of the more useful ones before leaving.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡± he called out, but upon being ignored he could only curse at the existence of such a bastard among the trainees. He suddenly remembered something and hurried to check thework on his watch, but the only thing disyed at the top of the map was ¡®Russel has been defeated.¡¯ This left him coughing up blood again; if there was no name, the thief had even stolen his gadget!

    Once he was far away from Tongcheng, Lu Yin nced at thework on his gadget and nodded in satisfaction. He was aware that the people monitoring the trial on Earth knew who he was, but they had still hidden it to keep things fair. Who next? That was answered by a quick nce at his map; he didn¡¯t take much time to choose someone before hurrying off.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin robbed more than ten students around China over the next three days, all of whom had thought they were safely hidden. Each one was about the same level as Jeraldine, content with upying a piece ofnd, harvesting some rare materials, and just surviving to the end. They had no interest in disrupting the status quo, but they had been unfortunate enough toe across someone in desperate need of star crystals. After all, no matter how small it was, even a mosquito had some meat on it.

    High up in the sky, he was currently reorganizing the contents of his cosmic ring. Although its capacity was quiterge, it was still far from sufficient for his current needs. He had picked up too many random ores and ingredients during his hunt, leaving him with no choice but to throw out some of the less valuable items. He wasn¡¯t too concerned since most of these students carried things of little value, but he was frustrated by just how poor these students were. Even after robbing so many, he had only managed to gather two cubic meters of star crystals!

    The truth was that all students with the courage to participate inary trials were the cream of the crop, and were thus also much wealthier than ordinary students. Lu Yin likely wouldn¡¯t have found a single cubic meter of crystals even among a thousand ordinary students; across the universe, star crystals were as valuable as gold was on Earth. Even the extremely wealthy hesitated to use them to advance their training and preferred only having them around as a life-saving measure in case of an emergency; their star energy came from absorbing thetent energy in the surroundings.

    ¡°This is too slow. Looks like I have no choice but to rob school leaders like Veron,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. He had already robbed everyone within a reasonable distance, and information was quickly spreading on thework about aary thief that had mixed in with the students. They were starting to panic.

    More and more students were heading towards Tianzhu to take up Eddy¡¯s proposal, and at least thirty had gathered already. Ten of them were the strongest in their academies; after all, only someone in the top three of their school would have the confidence to pursue the criminal. The group left all of Tianzhu trembling in fear.

    Five dayster, Eddy announced that there was no need for any more people to gather at Tianzhu; he would now be heading to Beijing. This lit thework ame; the battle with the natives was officially about to start.

    ¡®Is it starting? Guess I need to get busy too,¡¯ Lu Yin stood up from where he¡¯d been hidden and soared into the sky.

    ¡°Ian has been defeated.¡± Two dayster, another notification appeared on thework that left many students in despair. They had already seen this message ten times over, and the rumors were that this thief had a stolen gadget so no one could know who he was. They had first assumed he was only robbingmon students, but Ian was the strongest in his academy. This left many terrified.

    On a piece of barren ground, a young man coughed up blood as he red into the distance, watching Lu Yin use some of that crimson to gain ess to his cosmic ring. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he saw the contents, ¡°Nice, you¡¯ve got some pretty good things in here. As expected from a school leader.¡±

    ¡°Who the hell are you?! What academy are you from? Give me a name!¡± Ian roared with fury. He had been unfortunate enough to meet this guy, and before they could even begin talking, he¡¯d been rendered speechless by a Spacerender Palm. Another had closed in before he could recover his senses, and this one had beaten him into the ground.

    Lu Yin tossed the ring back, ¡°Call me Seven.¡±

    ¡°Seven?!¡± Ian was infuriated, but could only watch as Lu Yin left.

    ¡­¡­

    At the westernmost part of China, Qinghai, Eddy, Hayden, and a group of at least ten students looked grave.

    ¡°Ian was robbed too, Eddy, we have to take care of this guy before we go to Beijing; there¡¯s still fifteen days for the second batch, we have enough time,¡± someone suggested.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s no good to let a rat like that stick around to cause more trouble,¡± someone else said, looking annoyed. A ssmate of his had been robbed as well, and knowing the thieving bastard was even targeting girls left him mad with rage.

    Eddy and Hayden exchanged looks, ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll work in pairs and search around Beijing while slowly closing in to iste his gadget¡¯s location. If you see anyone alone who has the power to match a school leader, just attack. It¡¯s better to get the wrong person than let the thief go free.¡±

    ¡°If only thework hadn¡¯t blocked photo share, or we could recognize him right away,¡± someone said begrudgingly.

    ¡­¡­.

    ¡°So they¡¯re working in pairs?¡± Lu Yin checked the gadget locations on the map, ¡°Interesting, one of each has to be a school leader. Alright,e at me!¡±

    Half a dayter, he was floating amidst the clouds when two students appeared on the horizon and checked their gadgets. ¡°Only 1,700, just trash,¡± one of them said disdainfully.

    The other person gestured towards Lu Yin, ¡°Get over here, kid.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly flew towards them, his eyes showing nothing.

    ¡°Did you see the person who robbed you?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Draw me a picture.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°I never learned how to draw.¡±

    ¡°Are you dumb or something? Just use your gadget and you¡¯ll be able to draw whatever image you imagine!¡±

    ¡°Oh. Well that¡¯s pointless, the person is right here.¡±

    ¡°Here? Where?!¡± The two were astonished.

    ¡°Me,¡± Lu Yin pointed at himself. A p of the Shockwave Palm distorted the air around him, knocking one of the students out.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the thief. DIE!¡± the second managed to resist, drawing his sword to attack. This was the top student of his academy, and while he couldn¡¯tpare with those like Veron, he was much more powerful than people of Terence¡¯s ilk. Unfortunately for him, that was nothing in the face of Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm; one attack snapped his sword and swatted him to the ground.

    Just like that, Lu Yin had sessfully robbed two more students and created another ruckus on thework. Eddy took the news in with a grim face; someone had already been robbed after such little time. Where had this bastarde from?

    ¡°Remember not to get close to any strangers,¡± he messaged everyone, but this was a pointless suggestion. The students had already started keeping their distance regardless of power.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Half a cube more¡­ I can use this to cultivate,¡± the thiefmented as he checked his cosmic ring. He then removed his gadget, threw it into a stream, and dashed away to an abandoned farm. Crushing the crystals, he immediately activated his Cosmic Art to absorb all of the energy.

    Far away, Zhang Dingtian and the others in Beijing watched thework speechlessly.

    ¡°I guarantee that¡¯s Lu Yin.¡± Bai Xue determined.

    Zhang Dingtian looked confused, ¡°Why?¡±

    She told him of how the youth had robbed Parlie and Veron, ¡°So who else could it be?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian was perplexed, while Lu Yin looked ordinary, he was someone who wentpletely overboard at times. He had robbed more than 15 people so far, many of whom were the strongest of their academies. What was he nning?

    If Bai Xue could determine the robber was Lu Yin, Jeraldine was naturally able toe to the same conclusion. The news left her far more amazed than Zhang Dingtian and the others; she knew that Lu Yin had only been a Seeker she could crush the first time they met, and that same bug had now grown to the point where he could overwhelm school leaders. He was simply a monster.

    While Lu Yin leisurely absorbed astral energy at the farm, Eddy and the other students were going crazy searching for him. They fruitlessly continued their search for five days without a single clue, but all they found in the end was an ownerless gadget in a stream.

    ¡°Keep searching. If we can¡¯t find him in the next seven days, we¡¯ll go straight to Beijing. There are only ten days before the next batch arrives, we can¡¯t afford to screw up the n,¡± he said sternly.

 Chapter 38: Gerlaine

    <h4>Chapter 38: Geine</h4>

    Up in the distance, two figures were floating in the sky. They were Geine and Bror, the same duo who had initially chased after Eddy. Instead of joining forces with him, they were fishing for benefits elsewhere.

    ¡°This is exhausting, let¡¯s rest a bit,¡± Geine swung her long hair about, her pretty face revealing a hint of weariness. Looking around at the lush green farm they were nearby, Bror smiled and agreed. However, both their personal gadgets suddenly started beeping, prompting Geine to look into the distance in surprise, ¡°Huh, there¡¯s another student here. 2100.¡±

    ¡°That low? Let¡¯s check it out.¡± Bror replied, and the two slowly headed for the farm.

    Within the farm was a troubled Lu Yin. It had taken only a few star crystals for him to go from a new Seeker to the peak of that realm, but going from a starting Sentinel to the peak required hundreds of times that amount. He had absorbed about a cube of star crystals, but hisbat level had only grown to a little past 2,000. A portion of the energy had been used to eliminate any impurities, which meant it would take many more cubes to be a peak Sentinel. He was no longer sure if he could get there even targeting school leaders.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s impossible to max out for now, at least I¡¯m over 2k,¡± Lu Yin mumbled as he recalled Parlie¡¯s strength, but was suddenly distracted as he noticed Geine and Bror approaching. He was particrly intrigued by thetter; did a dryad manifest itself from the nt life here?

    ¡°You inside,e out,¡± Geine charmingly ordered, flinging her hair back with pride. Lu Yin walked out as asked, but she was displeased when she realized that he barely even noticed her, ¡°Hey, what are you doing staring there? I¡¯m the one talking to you¡±

    He pointed at Bror, ¡°Is that a nymph?¡±

    ¡°What? Such insolence!¡± Bror grew furious in an instant, sending a kick towards Lu Yin. As an elite student of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Outerspace Academy, he was second only to Geine here at over 2,900 battle power; he didn¡¯t see someone at 2,100 as a threat.

    Lu Yin dodged with Roving Step, appearing to the youth¡¯s right as he pressed down on his abdomen. ¡°Robbery,¡± he said with an icy tone as enormous force sted out from his palm, the explosion sting Bror away as the Spacerender Palm split skin.

    Geine¡¯s gaze focused as an unusual bow appeared in her hands, rumbling thunderously as she aimed an arrow at Lu Yin. He felt the approaching danger and immediately dodged with the Roving Step, barely in time as an arrow whizzed past his ear into the distance. It tore through the air and shook the earth in its wake, and momentster a thunderp resounded in his ears apanied by a violent shockwave.

    Before he could even look back, the girl was already aiming another arrow at him. He wed forward to stop her, but she dealt with that by forming lightning all over the surface of her body in a stormy armor. The appearance of the armor twisted the air and shook the ground, forcing Lu Yin to get serious as two stars appeared on his palm. Another loud explosion rang out, as his attack barely tore through the armor and struck her body.

    Both literally and physically, Geine was blown away. This armor had been a gift from her brother, and its defenses were something few Sentinels could break through. And yet, this random person had managed to do it.

    ¡°DON¡¯T YOU TOUCH HER!¡± Bror howled as shended away from her bow, odd green stripes appearing on his skin and spreading across his body. The surrounding nts started to squirm the next moment, and the grass below Lu Yin jumped up like a living creature to grasp his feet. Lu Yin was surprised by the hostile aura all around him, but an eruption of star energy shattered the nts and let him charge straight forward with another palm attack. Bror swung both of his weed-covered arms to counter, but despite a deafening impact that sent a cloud of debris into the air, the palm pped him into the ground. Both of his arms were twisted at a strange angle, and he spat out blood.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s where I remember you. Both of you were hidden in the capital once,¡± Lu Yinmented as he picked the man up, tossing him towards the girl and drawing closer.

    ¡°Geine and Bror have been defeated,¡± thework notified all gadgets on Earth.

    ¡°Even Geine lost to him?¡± A distant Eddy was surprised.

    Fallen prone on the grass, Geine red at Lu Yin, ¡°You¡¯re thatary thief!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Don¡¯t nder me; I¡¯m a good person.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± she shouted.

    ¡°A diva cursing someone? Such a bad temper!¡± Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Geine just snorted, but Bror spoke up, ¡°Kid, I¡¯m warning you not to touch her. Her brother is Gerbach, one of the strongest youths of the Great Yu Empire. If you hurt her, there¡¯s no ce you can get to to escape him.¡±

    ¡°I already said I¡¯m a good person, I don¡¯t hurt people,¡± Lu Yin pursed his lips, snatching Geine¡¯s cosmic ring as he spoke. Unlocking it with some blood from her mouth, he immediately started rifling through it for star crystals.

    Geine and Bror were dumbfounded by this behavior; just how was he a good person? The ease and familiarity in his actions showed that he¡¯d done this many times before. Geine protested and started kicking at Lu Yin while yelling, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t mess with that! I¡¯ll give you whatever you want from there, but don¡¯t go through a girl¡¯s stuff!

    ¡°Useless crap,¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes, but they suddenly gleamed and his breathing sped up. Astonished by a pile of star crystals that summed up to at least two cubes, he turned to her in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re rich!¡±

    Geine gritted her teeth and her face went red, ¡°Bastard!¡±

    Taking the crystals, Lu Yin threw her ring back and began to search through Bror, whose reaction was much calmer once he realized that the two of them wouldn¡¯te to as much harm. While Bror¡¯s ring didn¡¯t contain as much wealth as Geine¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t far behind either. Lu Yin ended up with a bit over three cubes, something that made him feel rich. Satisfied, he turned to leave, ¡°It¡¯s been a pleasure meeting you two; if it is our fate, we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    ¡°At least give me your name, you bastard!¡± Geine screamed.

    ¡°Call me Brother Seven,¡± Lu Yin waved goodbye, starting to rise into the sky.

    The girl was extremely upset at this, but then an idea popped into her mind, ¡°Wait! Do you want more star crystals?¡±

    The thief that had just started to ascend shot back to the ground and looked at her, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Geine smiled cunningly, ¡°Come with us. I¡¯ll lead you to rob others.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted while Bror grimaced; it had started again. Geine never allowed herself to be at a disadvantage. She was normally decent, but if she ever lost out to someone, she¡¯d do anything to not end up with the short end of the stick.

    Lu Yin stared at her with a confused expression, ¡°You want to lead me into more robberies? Do I look like an idiot?¡±

    She snorted, ¡°It¡¯s your call to believe me, but you don¡¯t even have a gadget to find other students with. There¡¯s maybe a week before they start invading the capital, what kind of luck do you think you¡¯ll need to meet any of them this week? But if I help you out, we can meet one every step of the way.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°What if you set a trap for me?¡±

    Geine raised her head, ¡°On my name, I¡¯d never do such a thing. Go ask anyone, they¡¯ll vouch for the character and trustworthiness of Geine from the Outerspace Academy. I¡¯m Gerbach¡¯s sister, what could I gain from harming you?¡±

    Bror was speechless, but Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he considered the proposal. He was confident that with his current increased strength, he could escape even if trapped and surrounded. ¡°Alright, you lead the way, but I¡¯m going to keep your cosmic ring until we¡¯re done.¡±

    Geine clenched her jaw, ¡°Alright.¡±

    After the two students recovered for half a day, the three people flew north. On the way, Lu Yin asked, ¡°I wanted to know, is this guy a nymph?¡±

    ¡°I was born on Botany,¡± Bror grunted, ¡°Everyone there looks like this; do you have a problem?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. The universe is really vast, there are all sorts of creatures.¡±

    A furious Bror turned away, feeling like Lu Yin had insulted his people.

    Geine rolled her eyes, ¡°So what? You¡¯ve also seen Parlie. Those of Third Gravitas are 1.6 meters tall at the most. He can be considered Mr. Average with his height of 1.2 meters. There are alsos where the people have scales, or four arms, or are even ten meters tall. There are also all kinds of grotesquely shaped ones.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a student from the Empire too?¡± Bror suddenly asked as he looked at Lu Yin suspiciously.

    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m from Earth,¡± Lu Yin replied, leaving both of them wide-eyed and humiliated.

    Half an hourter, Geine informed them excitedly, ¡°Two students areing.¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled, but he nced at the girl who seemed even more eager than himself. She turned back to him, ¡°Hey bastard, how are we going to do this?¡±

 Chapter 39: Robbing Together

    <h4>Chapter 39: Robbing Together</h4>

    Lu Yin lifted an eyebrow at Geine¡¯s words, shing a fake smile, ¡°You want to be a part of this?¡±

    Geine¡¯s eyebrows lifted as well, ¡°You don¡¯t want me?¡±

    The two stared at each other before Bror pulled her aside, ¡°We can¡¯t be seen; it won¡¯t reflect well on your brother if word of it reaches the school!¡±

    Geine finally understood and nodded, concealing herself as she told Lu Yin, ¡°You can go y then, we¡¯ll hide.¡±

    Lu Yin did not object, watching two figures appearing in the distance. He wouldn¡¯t feel at ease with the two right next to him; them being hidden away was a better option.

    Ten minutester, thework sent out another notification of a pair¡¯s defeat. Most students around the country looked at it in surprise; they had thought the bandit simply stopped five days ago, but the menace was at it again!

    Said bandit was currently being stared down by an excited Geine, ¡°Quick, how much did you rob? Split the goods!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her curiously, ¡°You sure?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of immorally hoarding everything.¡±

    He thought about it and nodded, tossing her a small star crystal, ¡°Take it then.¡±

    ¡°What? You stingy bastard!¡± Geine was riled and charged straight at him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my problem if you don¡¯t want it,¡± Lu Yin said with a smile. He had realized the girl¡¯s personality problem long ago. She was helping him because she was disgruntled with the robbery, and she would have stayed on his side even without any pay. He wasn¡¯t worried about her throwing in the towel until she could retrieve what he¡¯d stolen.

    Geine¡¯s help greatly smoothed up Lu Yin¡¯s robbing process, allowing him to procure a staggering five more cubes of star crystals that left even the rich traitor jealous. However, there were only about four days left before the second batch arrived when he also met true danger for the first time since the Apocalypse. Geine had found two people on top of an abandoned supermarket in thework, but once he arrived, he was surrounded by seven. Five of the people here weren¡¯t carrying their watches to conceal themselves, and three were even school leaders! It was quite a wager.

    ¡°You¡¯re theary thief? Onlybat level 2,100, seems like you have formidable techniques,¡± a coarse-looking student barked, one of the stronger ones in the group.

    Beside him, a girl with a hot body smiled demurely, ¡°Most people who obtain star crystals use them to upgrade their battle techniques. Are you like this too, Junior? Could you tell this senior of yours what these battle techniques are?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved upwards, ¡°You really want to know? I¡¯ll give you a taste.¡±

    The girl smiled like a maiden, but raised her hand, aiming an energy gun at him, ¡°Junior, you do know that one doesn¡¯t always have to rely on themselves in battle. External items are important as well.¡±

    Several others took out more energy guns at the same time, aiming them at Lu Yin. This was the same type of gun that Terence had used to bore a hole through Jeraldine¡¯s shoulder; it certainly wasn¡¯t weak.

    Lu Yin stared at the ambushers as he retrieved a fire crystal from his cosmic ring, suddenly smashing it against the ground. The ze set the entire building ame, and as a few people opened fire he dodged with Roving Step. A few other types of elemental energy crystals quickly formed a powerful breeze that only spread the mes all around, and the usage of frost crystals formed a white mist that further obstructed vision.

    Having moved quickly, Lu Yin left a phantom behind in his original spot as he appeared behind one of the school leaders, pping out with Cosmic Palm directly. The opponent¡¯s ring armor was shattered in an instant as he was sent crashing into the ground, and Lu Yin followed up with a spin and a Spacerender Palm that struck out in all four directions. The enormous energy crushed the building and dissipated into the void, injuring four of the remaining six students.

    The two students left tore through the Spacerender Palm to attack Lu Yin, but his gaze turned cold as he stretched out a palm towards each. Stars appeared in both attacks, sting the floor open and splitting the abandoned supermarket in two. The trio fell towards the ground, but Lu Yin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and turned around to see that the first student he¡¯d pped down had stabbed a sword into him. sting his current two opponents away, he turned around and grabbed that student¡¯s shoulder, unsheathing his dagger to strike. The student¡¯s eyes shrank as he let go of his sword to retreat, but Lu Yin flung the dagger forwards and scored a ncing blow on the cheek. Blood sttered across the nearby wall as the dagger tore through a dozen buildings, burying itself into a tank nearby. The ruined building started to shake as dust sprang up everywhere.

    Gasping for air, a now-nervous Lu Yin struggled to heighten his senses. These three elites were just as strong as Parlie, and they¡¯d surrounded him with nowhere to hide.

    In the distance, Geine and Bror looked over with ted expressions. The girl especially was eager, ¡°Do you think we should rob them in one go?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we have to wait for his injuries to get worse,¡± Bror muttered.

    Geine was pleased, ¡°At least Eddy isn¡¯t stupid and know how toy an ambush, or I would have done all this for nothing.¡±

    Bror was surprised, ¡°You knew this was a trap?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, stupid, but as long as Eddy wasn¡¯t dumb, I knew he would think of something. I can bring that scoundrel around to rob people, so he used me toy an ambush. None of us are idiots.¡± She rolled her eyes before giggling, ¡°Even Eddy would find it hard to escape from this kind of ambush, this bastard is done for!¡±

    Seven ambushers, and only three were of any real threat to Lu Yin. However, even those three were shocked as he sighed and retrieved something from his cosmic ring, ¡°That is¡­¡±

    In the distance, Geine was stunned, and went red in the face, ¡°That shameless bastard!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he donned a set of ring armor that flickered with lightning. Indeed, this was the armor that Geine imed had been given by her brother for defense; having confiscated her cosmic ring until they parted ways, he had both this and her bow.

    ¡°Geine¡¯s armor!¡± the bulky man shouted and red at Lu Yin, ¡°You actually dare to rob Geine, you must be crazy. Her brother is Gerbach.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn who her brother is, your brains have to be mush if you think I need to differentiate between my targets!¡± Lu Yin sneered, sending out a Spacerender Palm. The buff man clenched his jaw as he crashed into one of the pirs, causing the entire building to copse.

    Allbatants bounced out of the ruins, one of them crushing a crystal to summon des of green wind that struck towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin simply charged towards the attack, allowing the lightning arcing all across his body to deflect the wind des as he appeared before the man andnded a firm Cosmic Palm. He almost spat out his internals before fainting on the spot.

    Seeing things go awry, the other two retreated immediately. While Lu Yin could barely break through it with the full force of the Cosmic Palm, they didn¡¯t have such ability. In the end, a seven-man ambush had led to five defeated and two escaped. When these results were announced over thework, everyone fell silent including Eddy. He¡¯d thought he was the strongest amongst the first batch of trainees, but it would be difficult for even him to obtain such results. Not long after, everyone cooperating with him received a message to give up on the bandit; they would invade the capital in three days.

    ¡°Come out,¡± Lu Yin plopped down on the floor and stared at a distant Geine and Bror. Both were shocked; today¡¯s battle would certainly make this youth famous. Geine remembered the native realmbreaker sending four people running with their tails between their legs using a single strike, but this disy of power left her shuddering just as much. What sort of battle technique could severely wound a school leader with one strike?

    ¡°Help me with this,¡± Lu Yin threw some ointment at her.

    ¡°What?¡± Geine pointed at herself while ring, ¡°You want me to do this?¡±

    ¡°Is that difficult to understand?¡±

    She grew furious, ¡°You must be dreaming! I¡¯m a youngdy who¡¯s pure as ice, I¡¯ve never touched any man¡¯s body. Such heresy!¡±

    Lu Yin stared coldly at her, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you were thinking. If I was defeated just now, you wouldn¡¯t be so courteous towards me. Apply this medicine now.¡±

    ¡°Let me do it,¡± Bror offered.

    ¡°No, your hands are dirty,¡± Lu Yin snorted, leaving the man peeved.

 Chapter 40: Two Pips

    <h4>Chapter 40: Two Pips</h4>

    Lu Yin continued to stare coldly at Geine, ¡°I said, help me apply this ointment.¡±

    The girl gritted her teeth and spat out slowly, ¡°Alright, but you better remember this. I¡¯ll settle things with you one day¡±

    She then grabbed some of the ointment and rubbed it into his back, prompting a refreshed sigh. This product from Shamrock Enterprises was quite effective; his wounds were already scabbed over. Geine¡¯s hands were soft and gentle, and with the added cooling effect of the ointment, he experienced true pleasure. His gaze towards her even softened.

    However, it quickly came to an end. Wiping clean, Geine spoke up, ¡°Hey, get up. Let¡¯s go find the next target.¡±

    However, Lu Yin tossed her cosmic ring back to her, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough, no more robberies. You can carry on yourself.¡±

    ¡°What? No, we haven¡¯t even found Eddy yet, we have to rob him!¡±

    Lu Yinughed and ignored her. Those people hadn¡¯t considered him a huge threat before, thinking a few elites could handle him, but now that he¡¯d beaten seven, he would certainly face more such ambushes in the future. Only a fool would keep going at this point. Rifling through the five cosmic rings, he salvaged two more cubes of star crystals before waving her goodbye and flying away.

    ¡°You idiot, where¡¯s my armor and bow?¡± Geine shouted behind me.

    ¡°Lend them to me for a while, I¡¯ll return themter!¡± his voice faded into the distance.

    Geine stomped on the ground in annoyance. The bow and armor were gifted by her brother for her to defend herself with, and were the only things that could strike fear into his heart. Now, they¡¯d been robbed by that shameless scoundrel!

    ¡­¡­

    Within the capital, Zhang Dingtian and the rest saw the results in thework as well. Bai Xue was shocked; each one of these students was from the Realm of Sky, and those that dared to work on the missions were at least top three in their schools. Almost half of them were even school leaders, and she had first-hand experience of their power. Now, Lu Yin had defeated seven of them in one battle. Just how had he gotten so strong after disappearing for only a few days?

    As she was left wondering, Zhang Dingtian looked south and shed a rare smile, ¡°An old friend is back.¡±

    ¡°Zhou Shan?¡± Bai Xue¡¯s eyes gleamed.

    The two quickly flew towards the south, but then stopped mid-way and gazed northwards, ¡°Another old friend. Looks like they want to help the capital in trying times.¡±

    Bai Xue was pleasantly surprised, ¡°Wu Sheng is here too, that¡¯s great.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian sighed deeply, ¡°They shouldn¡¯t havee. Four of the Seven Sages plus Lu Yin is still five against dozens. There¡¯s a huge disparity here.¡±

    A long journey away, Lu Yin found a deste mountain vige and surrounded a building with fire crystal traps. He then took out a star crystal and crushed it, absorbing the surging energy with his Cosmic Art.

    West of Beijing, Eddy and his followers appeared as well, ¡°Prepare yourselves, the invasion starts in three days. Remember, the natives defending the capital are nothing, but the second batch is about to appear. The Melders will be restricted to Sentinel strength, but it still is no easy feat to deal with them.¡±

    All the students were solemn. It was rare to have a second batch of trainees in the Great Yu Empire¡¯sary trials, and this instance was purely because of Astral-10. A number of freaks that were normally hidden away had decided to participate in this second batch.

    More and more students approached the capital from all directions. A dozen weary students descended upon the South China Sea, ¡°We¡¯ve finally reached China, and that fellow Eddy and his team are plotting to steal the criminal¡¯s items. We need to move to stop him from gaining an advantage.¡±

    Students simrly appeared in eastern and northern China, bringing turbulent times with them. Dawn of the third day, Zhang Dingtian was staring out from atop Beijing¡¯s steel walls as a group of silhouettes appeared in the distance. At the same time, a distant Lu Yin finally opened his eyes. Five cubes of star crystals over three days of meditation had cleansed his body of impurities; he was now overflowing with energy and felt a drastic increase in strength. Not only did his body contain much more than before now that he was a peak Sentinel at level 3000, it was morepacted as well.

    Although he¡¯d plundered a total of seven cubes of star crystals, he had only used five so far. He now looked at the two remaining cubes in anticipation; the temptation was just too much! Drawing his die, he eagerly rubbed his hands together and crushed one cube¡¯s worth, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see my luck. Pilfer isn¡¯t worth it, I¡¯ll never get something good, but¡­¡±

    The surface rapidly returned to its dazzling brightness, and Lu Yin nervously swallowed as he gently flicked out with a finger to start it going. His gaze was frozen on the spinning die, eyes growing wider and wider until it started to dim and the surfaces started to fade away. He¡¯d rolled a two.

    This excited him greatly; it was his first time getting this roll. He watches as a ck vortex formed beneath the spinning die, its usage popping to mind. ckhole Disassembly? Disassemble anything? What could that mean? He was rather confused at first, so he threw a random piece of scrap iron into the vortex; it passed through in an instant, but what popped out on the other side was a small piece of pure iron with a smooth, hard surface that had shrunk down significantly from what he¡¯d put in.

    He finally realized what Disassembly meant; any material thrown into this vortex would be broken down into its basicponents. This seemed reasonably useful, so after considering his options for a bit, Lu Yin threw in a cosmic ring he¡¯d confiscated from one student who¡¯d acted a little too unreasonable. A fingernail-sized piece of dark red metal emerged on the other side that made him quite happy instantly; this was imperial gold, an extremely precious material that was key in the creation of cosmic rings. He immediately threw all of his stolen rings into the vortex to get a thumb-sized ingot, but after a moment¡¯s consideration he threw that back in as well. A twinkling dark-gold metal plopped out on the other side that lit his eyes aglow; this was imperial gold essence, something far more valuable than imperial gold that was used in the crafting of high-quality cosmic rings with massive storage spaces. Carefully stowing it away, he thought to himself, ¡®I should probably find some junkyard to harvest materials from.¡¯

    The vortex disappeared after five minutes, but Lu Yin already knew that its duration could be extended with star crystals just like the Timestop Room. His head started to ache at the realization that he¡¯d found another crystal sink that would keep him poor in the future regardless of his ie, but he muttered to himself that he¡¯d figure something out before standing up to stretch and pop his joints. He looked towards Beijing and sted into the distant sky, ¡°It¡¯s time to go back.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The capital was already in shambles by the time Lu Yin started rushing back, millions of survivors watching the skies with fear as asional shockwaves overturned the earth and brought disaster to them all. By the time they¡¯d received news that Eddy¡¯s coalition of dozens of students had started their attack, the battle had already begun. The steel walls were devastated in the very first moments.

    An arrogant Hayden was apanied by two other students as they stared at a panting Bai Xue atop some ruins outside the city. ¡°A mere native wants to block us? You should know your ce!¡± one of them said with contempt, but his gaze was burning just as brightly as those of his peers; she was just far too beautiful. Each one of them was a school leader and could easily handle the Water Sage, but her appearance had prompted them to join hands while many more watched from the distance.

    Hayden frowned at Bai Xue, ¡°Woman, I¡¯ll give you an opportunity to follow us. I can bring you away from this shithole to truly explore the universe.¡±

    ¡°Hayden, you can¡¯t be thinking of keeping her for yourself, right?¡± one of the students beside him was immediately upset by his words, but he remained indifferent. There were various alliances and rivalries amongst the academies themselves, and he was stronger than the two beside him. Of all those currently in Beijing, only Eddy and Zhang Dingtian could defeat him in battle.

    Bai Xue clenched her fists and released a measured breath as her blue hair drifted into the air. The ground suddenly froze and the temperature of the entire region plunged, but the three students confronting her didn¡¯t mind the change. She could handle one school leader at best; it was impossible to face three at once.

    In the distance, Zhou Shan roared as he smashed into the ground with a student. It took all he had to deal with just the one, however, and there were more than a dozen figures still staring down from up in the sky. The students knew there was only one ending to this war; after all, this was nothing more than a city of natives.

    ¡°Stop messing around. Let¡¯s go,¡± one of the students arrogantly said before pressing down toward the capital with one hand. Enormous pressure crushed countless survivors until they vomited blood, but they could do nothing more than stare at the sky in despair.

 Chapter 41: One Palm

    <h4>Chapter 41: One Palm</h4>

    The air suddenly distorted as a terrifying energy sh tore through it, heading straight for a dozen students. Shocked by its power, all of them quickly acted to counter the strike. Zhang Dingtian rose into the air in the distance, gaze cold and hands holding tightly onto his long de. They had all received information about him, but these trainees felt a sense of numbness when actually facing the desage for the first time. For the natives to have a realmbreaker like him was abnormal to say the least.

    An arrow whizzed across the sky, drawing blood from one of the students who had just attacked the capital. It came from Wu Sheng, the Wolf Sage. Originally the overseer of the ins, he had received information about the attack on the capital from a gadget he had won over and came to help.

    Despite such disys of power, the four Sages were still facing over twenty students; even Zhang Dingtian could not make up for that deficit. Not even a quarter-hour had passed before he was starting to spit out blood, his body riddled with cuts. Wu Sheng¡¯s nk had been pierced only a few minutes ago, and was now leaking blood onto the ground. Thousands of cultivators were fighting on the Chinese side, but they were mowed down like weeds and unable to even approach the students.

    Sitting on one side, Jeraldine was horrified by the scene. As someone who wasn¡¯t from Earth, she had no ns to give up her life for it. With her power, she couldn¡¯t stop even one of the other students here anyway. A strong wind drew her attention to a patch of ice on the ground, where quite a few students were gazing at the ruins of the city walls. Two of them had actually been frozen there, and Hayden had a bewildered look on his face, ¡°Innate gift, you actually have an innate gift!¡±

    The two words shocked anyone, drawing many looks of incredulity towards Bai Xue. She was already beautiful beyondparison, and the value of an innate gift made her even more memorable. However, her lips were a plump red as blood trickled down her chin to the floor. The air was fogging over with every heavy pant; she had already reached her limits.

    The Water Sage¡¯s innate gift was a secret she held close to her chest; not even all seven Sages knew about it. Still, there was simply no choice but to reveal it against Hayden and the other top students, whose gazes were promptly filled with greed. Everyone here knew the importance of innate gifts; if they managed to procure such a person for their backers, their status would rise greatly.

    The student who had been grappling with Wu Sheng threw him aside,ughing as he charged towards the Water Sage. The one that was about to kill Zhou Shan smiled and did the same. A dozen idle students acted simultaneously from the sky; at that moment, Bai Xue was even more important than the capital or even the criminal.

    Jeraldine sighed, this was the tragedy of being weak. Having exposed her innate gift, Bai Xue could only be captured. No one would squander away cultivators with innate gifts, and she would be arranged to marry into some influential family to raise the odds of birthing future generations with such talent.

    Eddy, who was facing off Zhang Dingtian, also watched Bai Xue greedily. He rushed over, but Zhang Dingtian was a step ahead and unleashed countless strikes in all directions, ¡°Scram!¡±

    The dozens of students were blown backwards by the strike, stunned by the desage¡¯s power. However, their resolve to snatch Bai Xue could not be extinguished; her allure was just too great. Eddynded a punch square in Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gut, throwing him ten meters away. He managed to sh in return, however, and despite a rapid retreat, blood arced through the air.

    ¡°Water Dragon Punch!¡± Hayden shouted as he crushed a water crystal, a tornado forming around his fist and shooting towards Zhang Dingtian. It wasplemented by a barrage of other attacks as well, leaving the desage wide-eyed as he clenched his teeth until his gums bled. Howling softly himself, he thrust his sword into the ground before swinging it up with force; stones sted everywhere and a giant fissure spread all the way from outside the city to just past the wall, swallowing many people.

    Zhang Dingtian had countered the wave of attacks, but it had taken everything to do it. Many of the students observing idly so far suddenly charged forward, two of them attacking him while a third moved to capture Bai Xue, ¡°The one with the gift is ours!¡±

    This time, there was no way to dodge. Zhang Dingtian¡¯s body was pushed into the ground with so much force that he nearly lost his grip on his sword. Meanwhile, Bai Xue red at the student who had rushed towards her and raised her hand. A Frost Palm sent a shockwave through the sky, freezing the student and the ground around him solid. That was the price for belittling one of the three High Sages of China; she was trulyparable to a school leader in terms of power, and not even Hayden had any way to approach her right now.

    Seeing that the desage had been injured, Eddy himself charged towards Bai Xue to capture her; a cultivator with an innate gift was almost as valuable as the criminal himself. Two more students rushed out at the same time, each one as powerful as Hayden.

    ¡°Is this the end? Such a pity,¡± Bai Xue¡¯s face paled. Three students were charging at her, and even the Sage of China was too wounded to help. However, a familiar figure suddenly appeared right in front.

    BANG! BANG! BANG! Three tremendous explosions rang out, followed by an equal number of broken bodies shooting out from the rubble. The entire battlefield froze and stared at the man who had appeared out of nowhere and defeated three school leaders in one exchange. Who was that?

    ¡°He actually came back.¡± Hiding in a corner, Jeraldine¡¯s eyes widened. Zhou Shan spat out a mouthful of blood and smiled bitterly from his own position within the city, while Bai Xue was utterly shocked. This wasn¡¯t arge back, but it had kept her safe. He¡¯d actually returned as promised, and even seemed much stronger than before.

    Of course, this was Lu Yin. He still had no gadget, so he had no way to know that the capital was already under attack, but fortunately he¡¯d returned just in time to save Bai Xue. He looked back at her, ¡°I said I¡¯d be back.¡±

    ¡°Be careful, there¡¯s too many of them,¡± Bai Xue said weakly.

    Lu Yin nodded and grew serious; there truly were too many opponents. Although he was now a peak Sentinel and his Cosmic Palm was at least as strong as Zhang Dingtian¡¯s attacks, even the desage had been beaten up. The uing fight was certainly going to be difficult. However, a coughing Zhang Dingtian climbed up from the ground, leaning against his sword as his focused gaze scanned through the area with resolution. Lu Yin tossed him some healing ointment, ¡°Treat yourself.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian grabbed the ointment, but instead of applying it he just swallowed it like a boor. This left Lu Yin speechless; this was a topical ointment! Still, it was a product from Shamrock Enterprises, so it would likely be somewhat effective even when ingested.

    From a distance, Eddy¡¯s trio rose up and stared at Lu Yin, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother with small talk and simply donned Geine¡¯s armor, the lightning sparking across his body. This shocked Hayden, ¡°This is Geine¡¯s armor, why do you have it?!¡±

    ¡°She gave it to me,¡± he answered.

    ¡°¡°Impossible!¡±¡± Eddy, Hayden, and a few others responded simultaneously. Geine was a famous youth in the Great Yu Empire, mostly due to her powerful and protective brother Gerbach who left other elites feeling helpless. Gerbach was a monster whose reputation prevented anyone from daring to bully his sister; if she really had given her armor to someone, it would end up troublesome. Did this youth have some sort of connection to them? Wait, it couldn¡¯t actually be her boyfriend, could it? Everyone looked at Lu Yin with bewilderment.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply, putting on an authoritative tone as he spoke to Eddy, ¡°Get lost.¡± One had to catch the leader to tame the herd, and he was nning to do just that as he shot forward.

    Eddy was still upied with unraveling Lu Yin¡¯s identity when he was forced to retreat once more. He had already witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s power in the previous attack, and didn¡¯t dare face it directly. Lu Yin used the Roving Step to appear in front of Hayden right after, but despite being startled this youth actually reacted with a Water Dragon Punch. The water flow wrapped around him and blocked the attack, but Lu Yin simply smiled and pointed his palm in the direction Eddy was fleeing.

    ¡°Spacerender Palm?!¡± Eddy recoiled in shock, using a palm of his own. Loud shockwaves blew everything away as Lu Yin whirled around for another attack, prompting him to grit his teeth, ¡°Bastard, don¡¯t go overboard!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled once again, raising his palm towards Eddy who grunted as he sensed the iing danger. A vague bestial roar rang out as he clenched his right fist, the sign of the battle technique that had allowed him to defeat thirty other school leaders to enter the famed Yu Academy¡ªthe Beast King Punch. He had only used it once each against the criminal and Zhang Dingtian ever since arriving on Earth, but now he was forced to use every means at his disposal.

    Three stars twinkled above Lu Yin¡¯s palm, exploding upon impact. Eddy was shocked to see his Beast King Punch being stoppedpletely with only the first of the three; the second sent excruciating pain through his fist while the third ruptured skin and sent him flying backwards. Blood spilled from his mouth and hand as he crashed into the earth, sending dust flying everywhere. Without holding back. Lu Yin had removed Eddy from battle with a single palm.

 Chapter 42: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 42: Arrival</h4>

    Everyone was stunned by Eddy¡¯s defeat. This was the exceptional student who had been epted into Yu Academy, the strongest of them all who could match up to Zhang Dingtian. Yet he was destroyed in a single strike? The desage himself was simrly shocked; Lu Yin was much stronger than before, to the point that he had no confidence that even he could take on that strike.

    Lu Yin looked at his right palm; with the third star revolving around it, the Cosmic Palm was much stronger than expected. This wasn¡¯t simply an attack of individual explosions; each styered the damage, so the power of three stars far exceeded that of two. He had once guessed that he would be able to match Zhang Dingtian when he mastered the third star, but this attack was clearly more powerful than anything he had seen the man aplish.

    ¡°3700!¡± a distant student stared at his gadget in shock, ¡°He¡¯s a realmbreaker!¡±

    The entire group felt their scalps go numb; all realmbreakers were freaks, and only those with strange innate gifts could aplish the task. For a fringe to produce two such people was unfathomable, and there was even someone else with an innate gift. Was this really a normal?

    Watching on, Jeraldine was also stunned by the new might of the scoundrel, who clenched his fist before ncing over all the students who had tried to attack the capital. He then grinned widely and charged towards another student. That student was also an elite in his school, but the student was so frightened by the mere sight of Lu Yin charging towards him that he didn¡¯t even think of resisting. However, his escape was cut short as Lu Yin grabbed his shoulder, crushing the ring armor with ease.

    ¡°Shut up and stay still!¡± Lu Yin knocked the youth unconscious with a fist to the forehead, leaving him behind as he chased the other students. It was like a wolf had charged into a herd of sheep; his Cosmic Palm was unrivalled, while his armor protected himpletely and left the students helpless. He had knocked eight of them out before the group even started to disperse amidst the chaos, giving up on their participation entirely. Their attacks were meaningless and they couldn¡¯t hope to defend; what was the point in trying?

    Hayden was the first to run, but was held back by Bai Xue who was watching him from the start. ¡°Scram, woman!¡± he shouted, not wanting to be rendered unconscious. He had the feeling that the scoundrel definitely had a reason for knocking them unconscious, and recalling the fate of Parlie and Veron, he drew a breath of cold air. That idiot couldn¡¯t possibly be trying to kidnap all the trainees!

    Still, by the time he broke through the ice and tried to escape, a terrifying energy sh stopped him in his tracks. de in hand, Zhang Dingtian was staring coldly at him, ¡°Did we say you could leave?¡±

    Hayden was stunned, but a sharp pain in the back of his skull was all he felt before he fell to the ground. Bai Xue¡¯s eyes sparkled as she withdrew her hand, feeling like she was the coolest person in that moment, but Zhang Dingtian just stared nkly at her. This was the first time he¡¯d seen her knock someone unconscious like that, and suddenly felt tempted to try the same.

    In the distance, Geine felt numb as she stared at the capital, ¡°I have to be blind. Is that bastard catching students?¡±

    Bror smiled bitterly, ¡°No, he¡¯s indeed kidnapping them. The elites of various academies across the universe are being caught like rabbits; this should be the first time something like this has ever happened in history.¡±

    In every trial, students were like almighty deities that could look down upon all other life on the. They would onlypete among themselves, but now these elite trainees were being captured one after the other. They were even running away, but only five evaded capture. When silence returned to the capital, the vicinity was ruined and neen unconscious studentsy miserably on the ground.

    Lu Yin wiped the sweat off his brow; it had been exhausting, but it was finally over. Those that managed to escape had done so quickly to avoid capture, and unfortunately all had footwork techniques that helped them slip away. Moving quickly to loot them all, he started counting, ¡°Neen here, plus Parlie and Veron makes 21. Eh, Zhou Shan brought those two from Blue Mountain Academy, right. So that¡¯s 23, not too bad.¡±

    These actions were just too practiced, leaving Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue speechless. The near-unconscious Eddy¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°You¡¯re theary thief!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous, these are just the spoils of war. I can¡¯t fight for free,¡± Lu Yin dismissed the usation, leaving the youth indignant.

    It was only at this point that Jeraldine came over, helping to organize the loot, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t me her for theck of participation. After all, she was a student herself; it was good enough that she hadn¡¯t sided with the attackers. In fact, she was now very useful. While the ¡°borrowed¡± armor had blocked quite a few attacks for him, the exhausting battle had left all his internals shaken up and he needed some rest to recover. Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were obviously tired to the point that they could barely move, while Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng were badly injured. She tended to all the wounded while he returned to the city¡¯s military camp to recover, allowing the cultivators of Earth to clean up after the battle.

    Two hourster, thest of the captive students woke up to find that they had been kidnapped. Furious res were leveled at Lu Yin, and someone even shouted, ¡°You¡¯re the bandit that robbed Ian!¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t use me as your example; it¡¯s embarrassing!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re definitely the one that robbed Ian, and you even want to rob us now? You damned native thief!¡±

    Sitting right next to all of them, Ian was left speechless. However, Lu Yin just sneered and walked over, frightening all the students into silence by just raising his palm. He then turned to Zhang Dingtian, about to say something, but before he could open his mouth his gaze focused and he looked to the sky. Countless people all over the globe did the same, as another batch of meteors streaked down from the heavens. One such meteor shot across Beijing¡¯s horizon.

    ¡°Why are they so early?¡± he turned to Jeraldine in confusion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s already rare for there to be a second batch of students in a trial.¡±

    ¡°They must have calcted the time from when the second batch set off, not from when the students received the message.¡± Bai Xue walked over, her expression solemn. Zhang Dingtian also studied the sky, focusing his gaze as he saw three spaceships zooming in their direction.

    ¡°Quickly, bring everyone into the capital!¡± Lu Yin shouted immediately.

    Soon after, a distant rumble terrified many of the survivors in the capital, bringing them to more despair than the day of the Apocalypse itself. Dozens of experts in the Realm of Sky were battling over the city, and now even more meteors werending. Was this the end for the Earth?

    As the city walls were destroyedpletely, Lu Yin and the rest stood atop some ruins and watched another spacecraft plummet from the sky. This onended only a few kilometers away from Beijing, and they could actually see the spacecraft within the ze. BOOM! The ground trembled as a massive fissure shot towards the capital, but Zhang Dingtian split the earth tangentially with a wave of his hand to redirect the damage.

    A blistering shockwave sent a dust storm across the city as everyone felt the pressure descending on them. When it cleared out, those atop the walls saw a pod that was only about three meters across, the same size as Vesta¡¯snding craft. A steep crater was formed in the ground as a deafening rumble rang out in the distance, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he watched three more shipsnd. They were here. The second batch of students, those who aimed to enter Astral-10 using their exceptional results in the trial, had arrived.

    The captive Eddy eagerly stared at the spaceships, ¡®Come on, show these savages what a real freak is. Show them true power!¡¯

    The ship¡¯s door clicked open, shooting out hot air and white smoke. A hand reached out to grab the door frame for support, followed by a handsome figure that walked out into the sun and lifted its head with a smile. The man slowly floated out of the crater, observing his surroundings like an explorer, but hepletely ignored all the people present.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened when he saw this man; he felt extreme danger from the neer. He looked down at his gadget and saw that the man had a battle power of 3000, a peak Sentinel like himself, but that didn¡¯t exin it. He wasn¡¯t alone in this feeling either; Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Jeraldine, and even Eddy could feel the danger he was radiating. His gentle appearance hid formidable strength.

    ¡°Who is he?¡± Lu Yin tapped Eddy on the head and asked.

    Eddy stared nkly at the man and shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; even now, the man had not once looked at any of them. It showed the arrogance deep in his bones. Was no one worthy of his attention?

 Chapter 43: The Perfect Cosmic Art

    <h4>Chapter 43: The Perfect Cosmic Art</h4>

    Two ck dots flew over from the distance at this moment, both males. As they descended quickly, Eddy grew excited, ¡°Senior Raas, I¡¯m here! Senior Raas!¡±

    ¡°What are you shouting for? Who is it?¡± Lu Yin smacked him in the back of the head.

    The youth red back, ¡°Your death! Senior Raas is an expert from Yu Academy, you aren¡¯t his match. Release me now, and I¡¯ll ask him to be lenient.¡±

    Yu Academy? Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned heavier as he looked back at the two new arrivals. That was home to the Empire¡¯s true elites, an institution that groomed the best of the best.

    Outside the capital, the man who had descended first was still measuring his surroundings from his original spot. Floating in the sky as they observed Lu Yin and the rest, one of the neers stepped forward, ¡°Actually getting captured by natives, Eddy. You¡¯re a stain on Yu Academy¡¯s reputation. So useless!¡±

    Eddy¡¯s expression immediately turned ugly, but he gritted his teeth and lowered his head. The other man waved his hand and looked down calmly, ¡°Who captured him? Let everyone go, and I¡¯ll spare your life.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s your senior?¡± Lu Yin asked in the city.

    Eddy grew excited, ¡°Yes, Senior Raas is no average expert either. His father is the Vice Treasurer of the Great Yu Empire! Lord Sicar has gathered many battle techniques for him; across all of Yu Academy, he¡¯s second only to the Melders.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Vice Treasurer? His family must be loaded.¡±

    Eddy stared nkly. That wasn¡¯t the point! However, Lu Yin continued to stare longingly at Raas; he still had a huge deficit of star crystals, only earning eight cubes in total off all the students. Could this Raas give him a surprise? As for the power that Eddy had mentioned, Lu Yin was not too concerned. While his senses screamed danger at the first guy, this Raas gave off a much milder impression.

    ¡°That guy feels different...¡± Zhang Dingtian suddenly said, prompting Lu Yin to look back at the first arrival whose aura hadpletely faded into the average Joe. There wasn¡¯t even the slightest feeling of danger anymore; that had evaporated the moment Raas and the others had approached.

    Raas frowned up above, ¡°What, are you not going to release them? Or do you think you¡¯re actually capable of protecting this ce?¡±

    ¡°Senior Raas, the criminal seems to have left something in this city. As long as we control this ce, he¡¯ll definitely return!¡± Eddy shouted. His defeat and the arrival of the second batch of trainees hadpletely crushed any dreams he had held ofpleting the mission; he stood to gain more if he could make Raas owe him a favor, and it could even give him some backing for the future.

    Raas¡¯s eyes gleamed and he smiled, ¡°Is that so? Looks like my luck isn¡¯t bad; I happened tond somewhere good.¡±

    At this point, the man behind Raas looked around and saw the spacecraft on the ground nearby. He whispered something that prompted Raas to look over, ¡°Hello, Friend, why don¡¯t we introduce ourselves? I¡¯m Raas.¡±

    Down below, the man picked up some mud and sniffed it, ¡°Blood.¡±

    Raas¡¯s face sank, ¡°Friend, let¡¯s get to know each other, I¡¯m the son of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Vice Treasurer Sicar.¡±

    The man stood up and looked at Raas in the sky above, smiling faintly, ¡°I¡¯m Xia Luo, parentage unknown. I don¡¯t dare to interact with those above my station.¡±

    Raas frowned, Xia Luo? He hadn¡¯t heard of such a name before.

    Lu Yin turned to Zhang Dingtian, ¡°Don¡¯t let them keep talking. If they establish amon goal, we¡¯ll be in trouble. I¡¯ll go after Raas, you keep an eye on Xia Luo.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded and gripped his de, while Eddy looked at Lu Yin like he was the devil. Forget power, Raas¡¯s background alone was enough to terrify all the other students. This guy was insane!

    However, Lu Yin looked upwards and knew that this was merely the beginning that he had been awaiting for so long. Still in thought, he sted into the skies towards his target, the air distorting like the horrified onlookers¡¯ faces as he struck out with a palm. Puzzled over Xia Luo¡¯s identity, Raas had never expected Lu Yin to make a move against him.

    ¡°The audacity to attack Master Raas!¡± the man behind Raas stepped forward in a rage, a bestial roar shaking the sky as his hand formed a w. Lu Yin felt for a moment that the w covered the entire sky; it was simr to Eddy¡¯s Beast King Punch, but much more formidable.

    A cautious Lu Yin activated the Cosmic Palm with two stars, a powerful explosion rocking the skies as the two attacks met. Invisible force buffeted the ground as the man was sent flying a hundred meters away, coughing up blood uponnding and staring at Lu Yin in shock. He was at the same level as Eddy; while a full-powered Cosmic Palm could ruin him, two stars would still be enough to cause injury.

    ¡°No wonder you captured Eddy, you actually have some power!¡± Raas said in delight, his hand forming a simr attack. However, this time the actual image of a giant w appeared in the sky, like something was reaching down from the heavens to strike. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changed as he considered that this attack had grown stronger and stronger from Eddy to that man to Raas. All the while, it still retained the same origin.

    Below, Xia Luo¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Yu Academy¡¯s top technique, the Skybeast w. Although he¡¯s only grasped five of the 108 forms, that is enough to crush most Sentinels. Really not bad.¡±

    Behind Lu Yin, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Jeraldine, and the rest went wide-eyed in shock. This was privileged information even within the Great Yu Empire. However, those gazes changed when a third star joined Lu Yin¡¯s palm to meet the attack, the simultaneous explosions keeping it at bay. Raas was stunned by the force as the phantom w was shattered, his gaze narrowing as he disappeared from the spot. Lu Yin used the Roving Step to follow.

    The crowd watched as bothbatants flickered out and back in a momentter, Lu Yin striking out with another palm attack that scared Raas. His Skybeast w had already been shattered and left him unable to defend himself, so he dodged to the side and crushed a wind crystal. The index finger of his left hand twisted as a gray tornado was sent towards Lu Yin; the Darkwind Finger was his strongest battle technique, and his father had paid a heavy price to acquire it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body froze up and he felt a strong sense of danger. This was an icy gloom that chilled him to the bone, feeling like it could freeze even star energy itself, but his expression turned cold and he used the Cosmic Art to manifest the three stars around his body. The tornado weakened as it drew closer to his body, leaving Raas shocked when he dodged.

    Lu Yin used the movement to appear right in front of Raas and ce his palm at the abdomen, activating the Spacerender Palm. Raas didn¡¯t even have the time to don his ring armor before enormous force mmed him into the ground. Raas¡¯spanion yelled and charged over with a sneaky w, but another activation of the Cosmic Art slowed it down until Lu Yin could see every tiny movement of the battle technique in detail. Dodging with the Roving Step, his right hand formed the same w and he raised it to attack, much to the bewilderment of the onlookers as the man crashed down with a mangled shoulder.

    Eddy stared nkly at the scene. What had he just witnessed? This man had somehow used Yu Academy¡¯s top battle technique, limited to only a handful even within the academy. Just how?

    It wasn¡¯t just Eddy; everyone present was shocked including Lu Yin himself! He had defeated Eddy earlier in the day and also captured numerous students. Though he had the protection provided by Geine¡¯s armor, he had still received multiple injuries from the countless attacks he had endured. It was only after he had activated his Cosmic Art in order to regain some star energy that he had identally discovered another use for it; not only could it increase his rate of absorption, but it could also form a defensive forcefield around his body that weakened iing attacks. Up to this point, Lu Yin had thought that this was the strongest aspect of his Cosmic Art, but he now realized that he still didn¡¯t understand it in its entirety. The Cosmic Art didn¡¯t just protect him from enemy attacks; it also exposed them to him in their entirety so he could learn them if he so wished. This was something he had never even dreamed was possible!

    He clenched his fists in delight. He had known from the very start that Cosmic Art was something unique and special, but he had truly underestimated it all along. Not only was it a unique technique, it was truly something that shouldn¡¯t even exist! This was a skill that could mimic the ways of the universe itself, and was extraordinarily powerful.

    Xia Luo looked on from the ground in astonishment as well, ¡°Interesting.¡±

 Chapter 44: Lu Yin and Xia Luo

    <h4>Chapter 44: Lu Yin and Xia Luo</h4>

    Not far away, a bloody-mouthed and bewildered Raas stood up with a lot of difficulty. Having taken the full impact of the Spacerender Palm at close range, he had suffered heavy injuries. However, the impact of those bodily wounds was nothingpared to the mental blow that Lu Yin had given him; how did this person know the Skybeast w?

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Raas yelled.

    ¡°Your captor,¡± Lu Yinnded and took a step forward, grabbing Raas by his shoulders and crunching down hard with a palm. The man screamed in pain as his shoulders were crushed, but Lu Yin threw him towards the capital, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s the only way to make youply.¡±

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE DEAD!¡± the other person yelled out, ¡°That¡¯s the honorable Raas, son of Lord Sicar! Lord Sicar won¡¯t let you go, the Twelfth Imperial Squadron won¡¯t let you go! You¡¯ll be a target of the Great Yu Empire!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy!¡± Lu Yin said with a frown, breaking the other one¡¯s shoulders as well before throwing him to the capital. He then turned to look at Xia Luo, who returned the gaze.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not interested in your group.¡± Xia Luo smiled gently, looking peacefully at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled faintly, ¡°My name is Xia Luo, pleased to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin? Lu?¡± Xia Luo asked, astonished, ¡°That¡¯s an umonst name.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted in response; Xia Luo was right. Lu was a verymonst name on Earth, but it represented a distinct group of people across the universe. It was known as a primeval surname, and would be investigated strictly anywhere else. One of the reasons Lu Yin had arrived on Earth was to legitimize his name and identity; the Great Yu Empire had monitored this for a long while and knew that these sorts of surnames weremon here.

    ¡°Yourst name is quite the same,¡± Lu Yinmented as he leapt up and flew back to the capital. The smile remained on Xia Luo¡¯s face.

    ¡­¡­

    A huge spacecraft was floating in space not far from Earth, like a brightly lit beast watching over the. The people within had gotten riled up the minute Raas was captured, a dozen people gathered in the surveince room where the screen was reying the moment of defeat. Someone raged as Lu Yin broke the youth¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Far too brazen! He actually hurt Lord Raas, he deserves a death sentence! That is the only way!¡±

    ¡°That native is a dead man. He is the same one who killed Vesta three months ago, the first student death. He also looted many students, including Geine, and then kidnapped more than twenty trainees. Now he dares to hurt Lord Raas? He must be put to death, that is the only way to appease Lord Sicar!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, what did he say? I couldn¡¯t hear.¡± Many in the crowd were riled up.

    Despite themotion, there were also some present who approved of Lu Yin¡¯s behavior. After all, trials were not intended solely to test the students, they were an opportunity for the natives as well. There were many elites in the Empire that hade from primals, and the trials were a way to discover these hidden gems. This man was definitely talented, but his actions against Raas would also draw Sicar¡¯s ire. The Vice Treasurer wielded great power and influence in the Great Yu Empire, so this was a dead man regardless of talent.

    Gentle footsteps rang through the surveince room, echoing in the ears of those present and bringing it to silence. Everyone quickly made way for a trio of men that approached, led by a middle-aged man in armor with a stern face and piercing gaze. This was Generald Sigmund Mathers of the Great Yu Empire, the official in charge of Earth¡¯s trial.

    To Sigmund¡¯s right was a pale young man whose footsteps rang hollow, his entire body emitting a chilly aura. Although he looked weak, he was the vice captain of the Ninth Imperial Squadron; his name was Torry Auna. To his left was a gloomy man with an ice-cold gaze, face marred with strange vein-like patterns. He stood at least two meters tall, and his arms were even longer than one would expect for someone of that size. This was Shalosh, vice captain of the Twelfth Imperial Squadron and Raas¡¯s guardian at this trial. These three men were the officiators of the trial, all powerful Explorers who drew respect simply from their presence. No one marred their way to a screen that was showing a rey of recent events.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Sigmund suddenly growled, prompting someone to pause the video at the moment Lu Yin used the Skybeast w. The General stared at that image in shock, ¡°He managed to use the Skybeast w without ever studying the wall that holds that skill. This isn¡¯t even an imitation but a perfect reproduction of the technique. This kid has talent.¡±

    ¡°Continue the yback,¡± Shalosh¡¯s eyes narrowed into a cold re. The video resumed and quickly finished with the scene of Lu Yin shattering Raas¡¯s shoulders, prompting a disturbing grin as the man licked his lips, ¡°Vicious and brave.¡±

    ¡°Has anyone investigated this man¡¯s background?¡± Sigmund asked.

    A soldier stepped forward and saluted, ¡°General, this person is not among the list of students attending the trial.¡±

    ¡°Of course he isn¡¯t!¡± Sigmund grunted, ¡°He killed Vesta far too easily. Look ten years into the past, see if anyone snuck onto Earth through our blockade.¡±

    ¡°We already checked, General; no one entered in the past thirty years.¡±

    He frowned, ¡°The monitoring station needs to be investigated. This man used both the Shockwave and Spacerender Palms, he¡¯s clearly not a native. He doesn¡¯t seem very old, but there still aren¡¯t any results.¡±

    Sigmund¡¯s words brought about a nervous silence in the room; many of the people standing there were from the monitoring station.

    ¡°Make a record of everything about this person. We will arrest him once the trial is finished,¡± Shalosh suddenly said in an overcast tone.

    Torry raised his brows from the other side, ¡°Arrest him? For what?¡±

    Shalosh looked at him coldly, ¡°Entering a trial without permission. Isn¡¯t that an arrestable offence?¡±

    Torry sneered, ¡°Even though Earth was being monitored by the Empire, it is still a free and anyone can enter as they please. Not discovering his existence is the fault of the monitoring station. Do you me the floor if you slip and fall?¡±

    Shalosh turned towards the man, ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you trying to stop the Twelfth Squadron from discharging our duties?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the Twelfth Squadron was allowed to interfere with the trial,¡± Torry said without a hint of respect. Everyone else nervously watched the exchange between the two vice captains, their status and power leaving the onlookers scared to even breathe aloud.

    Sigmund waved his hand, ¡°Alright, enough. Shalosh, I know you have your orders to protect Raas, but the only thing that matters in a trial is the result.¡±

    ¡°Fine, you¡¯re the Chief Examiner and have the authority to decide. I can only report what happens to my captain,¡± Shalosh said with a sneer, freezing Sigmund¡¯s gaze.

    It was at this point that footsteps rang out once more; they were much more gentle, but they seemed deafening to everyone present as they all turned towards the female figure that had appeared at the entrance. The first thing one noticed about her was the white hair that flowed all the way to her ankles,plementing her snowy feet. This was a girl with an appearance of purity, but her eyes glowed a faint red. Her revealing summer clothes showed off her exquisite skin, and a small bit of hair was tied adorably over her forehead.

    However, none of these things were the most noticeable thing about her. That glory was reserved for a ring on her finger, its white and silver head engraved with a pair of flying wings and a sword. Around that engraving was a ck border surrounded by ten silhouettes; this ring was the symbol of the Universe Youth Council. This was Mira, a representative of the Universe Youth Council¡¯s evolutionary trial division.

    Mira¡¯s arrival left Sigmund and the rest solemn, especially Shalosh who was the focus of her crimson gaze. The rising pressure almost sent him to his knees, but she suddenly turned to Sigmund and smiled, ¡°I heard rumors that some people wanted to interfere with the trial. Is this true, General Sigmund?¡±

    Shalosh felt a shiver travel down his spine and he dropped his head. He was a vice captain of the Great Yu Empire, a powerful Explorer, but couldn¡¯t help but bow his head before this young girl. This showed Mira¡¯s strength, and the power of the Universe Youth Council.

    ¡°Thank you for your constant attention, Lady Mira,¡± General Sigmund replied, ¡°There is no such interference nned.¡±

 Chapter 45: Red Lotus Witchbow

    <h4>Chapter 45: Red Lotus Witchbow</h4>

    Mira smiled, ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that. I wasn¡¯t supposed to appear in the trials here, but the Empire¡¯s Youth Council was dissolved and I¡¯m the one who has to bear this unfortunate news. The trials cannot continue without the presence of someone from the Youth Council; is that not right, General Sigmund?¡±

    Sigmund nodded, ¡°Thank you, Lady Mira.¡±

    ¡°This guy is something else, I hope he does well,¡± she stated with her eyes on the screen, turning around to exit the surveince room and leaving a delicate fragrance behind. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief as she left; they¡¯d felt an intense pressure by her very presence, making it clear that she was more powerful than anyone else here. Even though she was from the Innerverse, she was still a student at the end of the day. How was she so powerful?

    Torry Auna said gravely, ¡°She¡¯s just one of the underlings of the Universe Youth Council. Sure, she¡¯s a student of Astral-6, Sure she¡¯s the Red Lotus Witchbow, but I¡¯d never have imagined her to be this powerful.¡±

    Sigmund sighed loudly, choosing not to discuss this any further as he returned his attention to the screen. The young man there had Mira¡¯s favor; if he continued to overperform, her help could grant him a meteoric rise to the top. He was truly a lucky youth.

    Having been shut down by a woman, Shalosh was still in a daze. Torry noticed the rage bubbling up within him, but onlyughed in disdain. So what if he was angry, would he actually dare to do anything to Mira? Even if she weren¡¯t the more powerful of the two, she was backed by the Universe Youth Council and its ten monsters. He himself was no match.

    ¡­¡­

    Outside Beijing, Xia Luo had left without much conversation. The youth didn¡¯t even fly, instead choosing to walk in the direction of the roaming zombie horde. Lu Yin was too focused on robbing Raas and the other man to care; it had to be said that this child of a Vice Treasurer truly was rich. There were close to 12 cubes of star crystals within his cosmic ring, and a number of other natural crystals that shocked Jeraldine and the rest.

    ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± the youth himself was ring angrily from the ground, ¡°Everything I own is monitored by the Empire. Father already knows about this, and you¡¯ll be hauled off to court right after the trial. I¡¯ll make you beg for mercy!¡±

    Clearly unintimidated, Lu Yinughed, ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to it.¡±

    There was a twinkle in Raas¡¯ eye; natives were clueless about many things, and Lu Yin would only truly know despair after his sentencing.

    ¡°Right, what was that technique you showed earlier?¡± Lu Yin suddenly switched topics.

    Raas sneered, ¡°A mere native dares to dream of the Skybeast w? Well, telling you won¡¯t change anything. Yu Academy of the Great Yu Empire has an inheritance of 108 forms of the Skybeast w; I have only managed to master five. Feel wee to somehowe and try to learn all 108; you will shock the universe.¡±

    ¡°You only managed to master five forms out of 108? That¡¯s such low aptitude!¡±

    ¡°I am the son of Lord Sicar, you pleb! Even Gerbach and the others only have half-mastery over a single form, a native like you cannot even understand such powerful techniques!¡±

    ¡°Techniques like this?¡± Lu Yin raised a hand, curling it into a w. A faint bestial cry rang out from nowhere, sending out a pressure wave that ruptured the rocks nearby. Zhang Dingtian and the rest suddenly felt a wave of fear washing over them.

    Raas gritted his teeth; this asshole really had managed to learn three forms of the Skybeast w. If he¡¯d disyed all five earlier on, would he not have learnt those too? Such people had to be strangled!

    With Lu Yin¡¯s help, the capital had captured twenty five students, one of whom was the son of a noble. This caused quite a stir in thework. Watching over the movements, Jeraldine quickly counted things up, ¡°There are a total of 26 people in the second batch of trainees, and fifteen of themnded in China.¡±

    Even though 26 was a far lower number than in the first batch, the individuals were on apletely different level. Any given individual in the second batch possessed peak Sentinel strength; only the three High Sages could match the weakest ones, and even then victory wasn¡¯t guaranteed. Even Zhang Dingtian wouldn¡¯t be confident against someone like Raas; battle techniques could often make up for many disparities, and their power couldn¡¯t be expressed with merebat level.

    ¡­¡­

    Northern Europe. Heavy winds and relentless snow hadsted for days, and the once-picturesque area had been reduced to a snow-covered wastnd. Countless zombies shuffled across the frozen ins, the entire northern half of the continent covered in bloodless white. One of several shooting starsnded on the ind of Hailuoto in the now-frozen Gulf of Bothnia. There wasn¡¯t a single soul within a hundred kilometers, so the spacecraft did no damage despite the huge crater it formed. The doors opened and a young man walked out, hot breath turning into icicles in mid-air that tinkled against the ground.

    ¡°Damned randomndings, sending me to this god-forsaken ce. So damn cold, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it was the coldest ce on this!¡± the man cursed, walking out further and looking around. His expression changed abruptly as he tapped his gadget, finding a reading only a few kilometers away and shooting off in that direction. It wasn¡¯t long before he saw a lone figure sitting atop a mountain, absentmindedly staring into the sky.

    ¡°Hey, where are we?¡± the new arrival asked from up above.

    The man on the mountain looked up, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    The youth¡¯s gaze turned icy, ¡°What? You don¡¯t know? Then why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hiding from people,¡± the figure said indifferently.

    The studentnded on the mountain and walked towards the figure, ¡°2300bat level, that¡¯s quite impressive. But you don¡¯t have a gadget, are you a native?¡±

    The person turned around to look at the man, ¡°Can you do me a favor? I need you to help me post something on thework.¡±

    ¡°Post what?¡± the student grew suspicious.

    ¡°Just that you spotted the criminal,¡± the figure smirked.

    ¡°Why?¡± the student was startled and immediately went into a defensive stance, but the next moment, he felt all strength leaving his body. This man was only showing 2,300bat level before, but now he was releasing insurmountable energy thatpletely overwhelmed him. His gadget rang out endlessly to inform him that this was a Melder-level battle technique.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± the figure said faintly before turning around and walking away.

    A few minutester, thework on Earth exploded with activity. Everyone received an alert that the escaped criminal had Melder-level strength and was hiding in northern Europe, and that message ended with a request for assistance. Many didn¡¯t believe it at first¡ªit made no sense to publicize the location of this trial¡¯s mission¡ªbut Eddy and the others who¡¯d fought the criminal before looked through the details about the criminal¡¯s appearance and certified its authenticity. Many students raced towards Europe immediately.

    Within Beijing, Lu Yin and the others were caught off guard, ¡°The target¡¯s position was leaked? Something doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±

    Jeraldine exined, ¡°Not all students care about the trial¡¯s mission; everything that happens over the course of their stay can affect the result. Win/loss records count, and publicizing the information might be worth some points as well.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Eddy, ¡°You fought the criminal before, how strong is he?¡±

    Raas¡¯s capture had turned Eddy into a well-behaved captive. He replied obediently, ¡°He¡¯s very powerful. Even with little star energy, any Explorer¡¯s control and understanding of their battle techniques is difficult to match with numbers. A dozen of us attacked him together, but he instantly killed five and escaped.¡±

    ¡°The poster mentioned that the criminal has Melder-level strength; is that true?¡± Jeraldine asked.

    ¡°Not when we confronted him, or we would¡¯ve run away.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered something under his breath. The whole situation seemed suspicious; someone who could escape to the Outerverse from the Innerverse would not be careless enough to let a passing student notice him and post information.

    ¡°Quick, look at this. Some students are nearing northern Europe.¡± Jeraldine cried out and everyone gathered to watch the localwork.

    Three students flew over to the location of the message, two from the first batch and one from the second. While they arrived at the same time, the former were afraid to even approach thetter.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the criminal?!¡± the stronger student shouted, while the other two started looking around. However, a dull thud suddenly rang out as the duo fell to the ground; it wasn¡¯t long before the student from the second batch join them. Only when they had all fallen did a man slowly walk over, his steps seemingly gentle yet releasing an indescribable pressure that caused them all to tremble. The trio raised their heads to look up at the figure, but all they could see was a silhouette in ring armor towering over them with an expression of content. Although the streak of white amidst his thick ck hair made him look rather odd, he gave off a sinister vibe.

    ¡°Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qingyu, the one you refer to as the criminal on the loose,¡± the man said with a faint chuckle. The three students trembled as they watched an explosion of star energy that caused them all to pass out immediately. Qingyu looked to the vast horizon with eyes filled with longing as he muttered to himself, ¡°Four is nowhere near enough.¡±

    Over the next two days, the localwork erupted into chaos as no fewer than twenty students were captured. His name was finally released for the first time as well: Qingyu.

 Chapter 46: Huo Xiaoling

    <h4>Chapter 46: Huo Xiaoling</h4>

    Most of the students in the trial only learnt about the criminal once they epted the mission, but they knew nothing else. Part of the mission was gathering the information, but even now they only knew his name.

    The third day after their arrival, the students of the second batch were shocked by a girl flying through the skies of northern Europe. All of them recognized her waist-length me-red hair and the delicate features that made her look like a pixie; she was Huo Xiaoling, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Great Yu Empire. Her appearance brought dozens of scared students out of hiding; while they had been scared of Qingyu¡¯s power, Xiaoling was a Melder herself. Although some of her power had been sealed, Sentinels couldn¡¯tpare.

    The girl looked down at the scene below her, watching Qingyu with a dozen students tied up behind him. His eyes gleamed at the sight, ¡°Such a beautiful girl, I didn¡¯t expect such an elegant beauty in the border weaves. Haha!¡±

    ¡°You might still be a Melder, but your injuries won¡¯t allow you to demonstrate your full ability. Your star energy isn¡¯t that great a threat, just surrender now,¡± she said coldly.

    ¡°How arrogant, I like women like this,¡± Qingyu said with a smirk, stepping forward and smashing his metal rod towards her. She¡¯d barely dodged the first attack before he¡¯d appeared behind her, weapon crashing down. Although the trajectory was clear, Xiaoling felt like there was no way to dodge. mes soared from her body in response to the threat, burning everything they touched. Everyone watched the battle in shock as the snow melted instantly, the very skies turning red.

    Qingyu withdrew his attack and retreated, looking at the girl with first surprise and then excitement, ¡°Innate Gift of Fire. You¡¯re worthy of following me, woman.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling leveled a cold re in Qingyu¡¯s direction, ¡°Phoenix Pierce!¡±

    Beep! Beep! Beep! A few students in the distance looked at their gadgets, their expressions changing, ¡°4100.¡±

    ¡°Quite powerful, it would be enough to defeat a normal Melder. But your opponent is Qingyu Daynight.¡± Qingyu grinned, a loud explosion shaking the earth. The melted snow formed a river that crashed into Xiaoling and covered her; before it even faded, his gaze was sweeping across the surroundings.

    The students who were watching the battle ran away immediately; Huo Xiaoling was one of the few Melders that were participating in this trial. Now that she had been defeated, they were even more frightened of the criminal. Said Melder soon climbed up from a pit, dripping wet and pale as she stared at the approaching Qingyu, ¡°That surname¡­¡±

    Qingyu bent down and stretched a finger out to her chin, shing a smile, ¡°You actually know about my family, seems like you¡¯re not ignorant. Since you do understand what it represents, you¡¯re fit to be my woman. Think about it, I can bring you out of this weave.¡±

    She pped his hand away and covered her shoulder, gasping in pain, ¡°The order to capture you came from the Innerverse. If you really are from that family, who would dare to capture you?¡±

    He grabbed Huo Xiaoling¡¯s hair and pulled her up, matching her angry gaze with a cold one, ¡°Don¡¯t get too agitated, if you break your seal you¡¯ll be eliminated. Don¡¯t you want to join Astral-10 anymore?¡±

    Her heart sank, and the star energy flickering around her dissipated. Qingyu simplyughed and flung her towards the group of tied-up students, ¡°Just watch, everything will be over soon. Thirteen seems like enough¡±

    He wasn¡¯t wrong; Huo Xiaoling alone was more than enough. Sigmund almost rushed straight to earth from the surveince station the moment she was captured, only being stopped by Mira.

    ¡°No one can interrupt the trial when it is still ongoing, this is a decision made by the Universe Youth Council. General Sigmund, are you nning to defy the decision of the Youth Council?¡± she asked calmly.

    ¡°Forgive me, Miss Mira, but Huo Xiaoling is Captain Huo Qingshan¡¯s daughter; she cannot be injured,¡± Sigmund answered seriously.

    Mira narrowed her eyes, ¡°I know. So what? She can break her seal as well; she chose to be in her current situation.¡±

    Sigmund took a deep breath and matched the re, but in the end he was the one to step down. The entire Great Yu Empire was nothing in the eyes of the Universe Youth Council, forget Huo Qingshan. The Council had erased many strong powers before, and the Great Yu Empire had no desire to be the next one.

    Mira moved her eyes past Sigmund to look at the screen showing Qingyu; the battle technique he¡¯d just used seemed very familiar for some reason.

    ¡­¡­

    News of Huo Xiaoling¡¯s capture quickly spread across thework, and many of the students rushing towards Europe stopped and gathered together instead. Within Beijing, Eddy was stunned, ¡°Even Xiaoling was caught; how are we supposed toplete this mission?¡±

    ¡°Huo Xiaoling? Is she very powerful?¡±

    ¡°She should have the highestbat level of all the students in the second batch; she¡¯s a Melder.¡± Watching Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changing at the mention of the word, Eddy continued, ¡°Not just any melder either. She has the innate gift of me, and her father, Huo Qingshan, is the captain of the Fifth Imperial Squadron. He¡¯s an powerhouse whose battle level will shatter an average gadget; with his guidance, there was no way for her to not be one of the most powerful elites in the Empire. I can¡¯t believe even she lost.¡±

    Only the trainees like Eddy and Jeraldine were stunned by the news of Huo Xiaoling¡¯s capture. Although Lu Yin was surprised, it was something too distant for him and he retained focus on the few students who were approaching. It didn¡¯t take too long for another trio to appear outside the city; although they weren¡¯t from Yu Academy, they were still elites with powerful backgrounds that matched or even exceeded Eddy. Still, they couldn¡¯t escape from him in the end and were captured, adding to his growing group of hostages that now tallied to 28.

    Once the battle ended, Lu Yin stopped Zhang Dingtian from attacking a pair who had been hiding at the sidelines and called out, ¡°Why are you here? I¡¯ll give you the armor back once the trial is over.¡±

    Geine stepped out and showed a hesitant smile, ¡°I want to join you.¡±

    ¡°Join us? What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    ¡°I want to join you, that¡¯s what it means,¡± she said, staring down her nose like they should be honored by the offer.

    Lu Yin considered it and asked, ¡°Why should we take you in?¡±

    Geine was outraged, ¡°What do you mean by take us in?! We said that we want to work with you!¡±

    ¡°Why would I ept you?¡±

    Gene gritted her teeth, ¡°Qingyu is a Melder and one or two students won¡¯t be able to handle him. He left his belongings in this city so he¡¯ll definitelye back; we can join forces to defeat him.¡±

    Lu Yin thought it over and realized she wasn¡¯t wrong; Qingyu was a truly difficult opponent and there were bound to be massive problems when he returned to the capital. Having more bodies around would never hurt, ¡°Fine,e in. But I¡¯ll warn you, try to pull one over on me and I¡¯ll tie you up.¡±

    Geine huffed and entered the city with Bror. She was actually being honest; Qingyu was too powerful and could only be defeated through a group effort; this was the only way for her to try toplete the mission. Many students had formed an alliance in northern Europe, so she clearly knew she couldn¡¯t work alone anymore. Instead of working with other students participating in the trial and sharing the credit, it would be better for her final results to work with a native.

    Outside the capital¡¯s border, Xia Luo was walking amidst a crowd of zombies that werepletely docile, as though they didn¡¯t even notice his existence. For three days he¡¯d been observing them with the same expression, but now he released a sigh, ¡°Their auras are truly everywhere. This is going to be troublesome.¡±

    Down south, a pretty girl was flying towards Beijing. Everything about her was colored a fresh green, from her haid and her dress down to her boots that had a delicate floral print on them. It made her give off a sense of life.

 Chapter 47: Battle With A Broken Blade

    <h4>Chapter 47: Battle With A Broken de</h4>

    Eddy was thrown into prison that night, substituting for Raas who was a noble¡¯s son. Many students had already contacted him regarding thetter, indicating their willingness to pay for his freedom. Lu Yin had rejected them all; the youth¡¯s value in negotiations would be worth far more than resources or crystals.

    Raas was thrown violently on the floor, not far from where the Chinese cultivators were rebuilding the walls. Seeing a familiar face walking around nearby, he called out to her, ¡°Geine? What are you doing here?¡±

    The girl beamed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Senior Raas. I was captured too.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, are you backing this bastard?¡± he grew furious; this stupid girl was obviously lying through her teeth. How did she seem captured in any way? ¡°No wonder he dared to kidnap me, the nerve. Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be fine just because of your brother¡¯s protection; my father will deal with you.¡±

    Geine blinked innocently with herrge eyes, ¡°Please don¡¯t use me of things like that, Senior Raas, I don¡¯t control these natives. You can ask the others if you don¡¯t believe me, I was robbed by him as well.¡±

    Raas simply couldn¡¯t believe that a mere native dared to act against him. Although the youth was surprisingly powerful, even innate gifts weren¡¯t worth that much without a certain amount of backing.

    ¡°Another is approaching!¡± Jeraldine suddenly called out, drawing Lu Yin¡¯s attention to a shadow flitting across the sky. The neer came to a halt right above Beijing, staring down at him.

    Raas was delighted by the sight, ¡°Senior Munoor, here! Senior Munoor!¡±

    Geine¡¯s expression changed, ¡°How has hee too?¡±

    ¡°You know him?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°Munoor, an elite even in Yu Academy. He was once my brother¡¯s rival; even though he¡¯s been surpassed long ago, he¡¯s still one of the few Melders in the school.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s mood sank upon the mention of the word Melder. They knew that there were bound to be Melder-level powerhouses among the second batch of trainees; Huo Xiaoling was one. However, such experts were rare and nobody had expected one to appear here so quickly.

    Munoor¡¯s eyes gleamed as he saw the wounded Raas down below. So long as he could save this junior of his, Lord Sicar would be grateful to him and make his future in the Empire less worrisome. His energy waves suddenly dispersed the clouds and pressed downwards, striking fear into the survivors below, ¡°Let go of him, native!¡±

    Raas was ted, but Lu Yin frowned and moved forward to initiate. While the opponent was a Melder when at full power, he was confident in victory against one whose star energy was sealed. However, Zhang Dingtian walked out with a solemn gaze, ¡°Let me handle this.¡±

    A glint shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Zhang Dingtian had hardly stepped out since the battle a few days ago, leaving him to defeat and capture all the iing students. Jeraldine, Geine, and the rest had all been focused on him, and even Eddy and the rest had quickly forgotten about the desage, but this was the Head of the Seven Sages, a realmbreaker. Beijing¡¯s original guardian had endured leaving the city in another¡¯s hands for a long time, but now that he had recovered from his injuries, he wanted to battle for the capital himself.

    Worry filled Bai Xue¡¯s gaze as she stared at Zhang Dingtian; these aliens had powerful battle techniques, and were much more adept at using their energy. Zhang Dingtian could likely deal with average students of Yu Academy, but this was an elite.

    Raas shrugged it off, feeling like it wasn¡¯t even worth his time watching the battle. At least Lu Yin would be a show, but this other native now wanted to challenge a Melder¡¯s strength. Even sealed to a peak Sentinel, that would be impossible.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Lu Yin eventually nodded, and Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eyes gleamed as he picked up his sword and rose into the sky. Geine watched intently; Raas and group didn¡¯t know that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t actually thergest threat the first batch of trainees had faced. This was the realmbreaker who had initially defended the capital with his lone de; even she had to escape.

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Munoor said after a single nce, sending a surge of star energy with a wave of his hand. Unlike the energy that woulde from a normal Sentinel, this was condensed into a single point, showcasing a subconscious mastery that was the true indication of a Melder¡¯s control.

    Zhang Dingtian narrowed his eyes and his de swept out, the strike tearing apart the energy surge and continuing towards Munoor. Although he had initially disregarded Zhang Dingtian, Munoor¡¯s expression changed and he raised his hand to crush the strike with a w, ¡°Interesting¡­ A mere native has strengthparable to a member of Yu Academy. No, this is even better than an average student. Are you a realmbreaker?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian responded to Munoor¡¯s surprise by lifting his de and attacking again, but this attack, too, was shattered. The desage was a realmbreaker more powerful than Eddy, someone even equal to Raas, but his attacks were nothing to a sealed Melder. Although his power had been sealed, Munoor still retained his battle techniques and energy control; they simply weren¡¯t in the same league.

    BANG! Munoor¡¯s probing palm turned into a w once more, pummeling the edge of the de with a loud explosion. The weapon cracked even as the remnant force traveled up Zhang Dingtian¡¯s arm, shredding his sleeve. Still, even this was a miracle of sorts; the blow would have shattered the de and seriously injured him if he hadn¡¯t diverted some of the force.

    The desage spat out some blood and retreated, but lifted his sword once more and howled. His body suddenly vanished into a phantom, astonishing Lu Yin, ¡°Roving Step?¡±

    There were two Zhang Dingtians? Everyone stared nkly at the sky, while Raas looked on with his jaw hanging down. A mere native was fighting Munoor head-on, even despite the use of the Skybeastw? How was it possible for him to be this powerful? How did this backward have an actual realmbreaker?

    Up in the sky, Munnoor¡¯s expression froze before he erased the phantom with a wave of his hand. He whirled around and swept his leg out, releasing a violent tornado that warped the air and sent out shockwaves that fractured the ground.

    Zhang Dingtian appeared by his side and struck down with his de in full view of everyone, filling the hearts of countless onlookers with hope. Geine and the rest finally witnessed the true power of a realmbreaker¡ªit seemed like the desage could even defeat Munoor¡ªbut the man himself narrowed his eyes as he felt no resistance to the sh. His sword moved behind his back out of sheer reflex, but it shattered loudly as a horrifying force sent him crashing down to the ground below.

    Everyone fell silent as Munoor reappeared in the skies, now with a gloomy face. A lowly native had forced him to use both the Skybeast w and his movement techniques! It was unthinkable.

    People looked out from the city to where the dust billowed into the sky, and Geine released a deep breath. This was the natural way of things; if a native could actually defeat someone like Munoor, her view of the world would turn upside down. A native could not defy the natural order no matter what! She turned to Lu Yin, ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not over,¡± Lu Yin pointed out of the city.

    ¡°Do you want him to die? There¡¯s no way that native can defeat Munoor, he can¡¯t even injure him!¡±

    Lu Yin squinted, ¡°I really don¡¯t like the term ¡®native¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± she turned away.

    Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng rushed over, looking out of the city with worry written all over their faces. Bai Xue clenched both fists tightly as a threatening chill radiated from her body, drawing Raas¡¯s attention. He had already been smitten by her face and nned to take her back to serve him, but realized she was far beyond what he¡¯d first expected. Frost? An innate gift? What was this? Realmbreakers, innate gifts, freaks of power, it had everything!

    As the dust cleared, everyone could see Zhang Dingtian gripping his broken de. He was covered in wounds from top to bottom, but was still standing and his gaze was focused as he looked at the skies and slowly rose up.

    ¡°Unyielding,¡± Munoor raised an eyebrow, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Zhang Dingtian.¡±

    ¡°Follow me, Zhang Dingtian. You¡¯re qualified to join Yu Academy, I¡¯ll bring you there.¡±

    ¡°Not interested,¡± Zhang Dingtian answered coldly, clenching his broken de.

    Munoorughed, ¡°You want to fight me with this broken de? Listen to me, the wall between us cannot be breached. Nothing awaits you but failure.¡±

    ¡°That might not be the case. Dingtian, here¡¯s a gift,¡± Lu Yin shouted, throwing Geine¡¯s ring armor over. Zhang Dingtian caught it instinctively, but then looked back with a puzzled expression. Lu Yin exined, ¡°Your battle wasn¡¯t fair to begin with; he¡¯s a Melder, you¡¯re just a Sentinel. Don¡¯t be that rigid.¡±

    The desage¡¯s eyes shed and he equipped the ring armor, covering his body with flickering lightning in an instant.

 Chapter 48: Genius

    <h4>Chapter 48: Genius</h4>

    Geine blew her top when she saw the lightning around Zhang Dingtian, and red at Lu Yin fiercely, ¡°You scoundrel, you actually gave my armor to a random person. Bastard!¡±

    Lu Yin waved his hand, ¡°Don¡¯t be offended, I¡¯ll return it to youter.¡±

    Geine was infuriated, ¡°No need, it¡¯s too disgusting with all that sweat in it. You can use it as your coffin!¡±

    Lu Yin ignored her and turned to the sky, where Zhang Dingtian felt his strength surging within that lightning armor. He recalled how Lu Yin had used this armor to ignore the attacks of so many students.

    ¡°Gerbach¡¯s toy,¡± Munoor¡¯s expression darkened, eyes squinting as a cold gaze swept towards Geine, ¡°His sister is here too, perfect. I can teach you a lesson.¡±

    He then charged downwards, but Zhang Dingtian snorted and shed out with his broken de to block the path.

    ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Munoor barked as he saw the unhesitating sh, swatting Zhang Dingtian away with a w. A bestial roar rang through the void, inspiring fear in the onlookers; this was the seventh form of the Skybeast w, far exceeding Raas¡¯s strength. The attack should have killed Zhang Dingtian instantly, but the desage growled softly in the face of the terrifying attack. Blood flowed down his lips as his de trembled rapidly, distorting the air around it. A strange force converged around the weapon, radiating oppressive pressure. A loud explosion rang out as the broken sword shed with the w, powerful aftershocks dispersing the clouds in the sky and tearing the ground apart. One sh followed the city walls and cut the earth open, the depth of the gash unknown.

    Scarlet blood sprinkled from the skies onto the ruins below as Zhang Dingtian¡¯s armor broke, body crashing down to the ground where Lu Yin caught him at thest moment. He was left unable to even move, and his sword was shattered further, but no one dared underestimate him anymore. His attack had actually injured Munoor!

    Up in the sky, Munoor stared at the native in shock. Fresh blood was dripping down his right shoulder, and his fingers were trembling from the impact. An elite of Yu Academy, a Melder who had once strived against a legendary existence like Gerbach, had actually been injured by a native and sted a hundred meters away. Even if his power was restricted, this was supposed to be impossible! No one would even believe that the seventh form of the Skybeast w couldn¡¯t kill a native.

    On the ground, Lu Yin was suffering from simr shock; Zhang Dingtian had managed to survive the w attack and had managed to somehow incorporate Shockwave Palm into his de! The man was simply a genius, that de attack wasparable to his own Cosmic Palm. The two-star Cosmic Palm had only been slightly weaker than the desage¡¯s full-power blows when they first met, and the third star allowed him to match Raas¡¯s fifth form of the Skybeast w. Munoor¡¯s was clearly much stronger than that, meaning Zhang Dingtian¡¯s life was owed to the lightning armor, but that luck didn¡¯t offset the achievement in the slightest.

    Raas was stunned, ¡®Where did such a pervertedly strong nativee from?¡¯

    Bai Xue and the others quickly took Zhang Dingtian away to be treated. It was truly amazing that he had held out for so long; after all, his opponent was one of the strongest youths of the Great Yu Empire who had spent much more time cultivating than he had. Meanwhile, Lu Yin rose into the sky, ¡°I¡¯ll be your opponent now.¡±

    Munoor stared at Lu Yin with an icy re, fully intent on erasing his previous humiliation on this other native.

    ¡­¡­

    In the giant spaceship floating over Earth, everyone in the control room was simrly shocked at what they had just watched on the disy. They were all aware of who Munoor was, as only a few Melders hade to participate in thisary trial. This made Munoor one of the strongest participants, and yet a native had just injured him!

    A loud bang brought everyone¡¯s gazes to an excited Sigmund, ¡°A realmbreaker! Who could have thought this had such talent! If he wasn¡¯t missing battle techniques, he could have had a brilliant fight. This is the type of soldier we want.¡±

    Shalosh licked his lips at the side, ¡°Apologies, General Sigmund, the Twelfth Imperial Squadron wants him.¡±

    Sigmund snapped, ¡°The main responsibility of the Twelfth Squadron isn¡¯t battle. This man is clearly extremely talented atbat, he could even copy the Roving Step so quickly and integrate the Shockwave Palm into his de. He¡¯s a genius!¡±

    Torry spoke up from the other side, ¡°General Sigmund is right, this person is truly a genius. The Auna Family is willing to pay for his formcast remodeling, leave him to the Ninth Squadron.¡±

    The debate quickly and loudly escted, while the others in the room cast envious nces at the badly injured man on the screen whose eyes were still resolute. They all knew that so long as he didn¡¯t die during this trial, his future would be bright. Then there was the woman with the innate gift of Frost; if one threw in the mysterious youth who had captured Raas, the people of this weren¡¯t simple at all!

    As the trio¡¯s argument continued, Mira looked at the disy as Lu Yin and Munoor began their fight. Rage-addled from the injury, the sealed Melder wanted to vent all of his frustrations on the natives, starting with Lu Yin. He didn¡¯t hold back from using the seventh form of the Skybeast w right away, assuming that victory would be easy, but Lu Yin proved even more impressive and dodged the wide-area attack with calm ease. It was only then that a stunned Munoor realized that this opponent would be even more difficult than thest.

    Lu Yin grew serious, activating the Cosmic Art as Munoor attacked once more. He disappeared with the Roving Step, but the phantom w shed and brought him back only a momentter when the attack was no more than twenty centimeters away. He could feel the iing power, but carefully observed the usage of the technique as he dodged to the side and evaded again. A Spacerender Palm was shot towards Munoor, but the Melder didn¡¯t even bother avoiding the technique and just tore through it with his w before sending out another attack.

    It was at this point that Lu Yin¡¯s gaze narrowed; he had seen enough. He thrust out another attack that Munoor assumed to be a Spacerender Palm; while a Sentinel being able to use that skill was rare, it couldn¡¯t harm him in the slightest. However, Munoor¡¯s skin crawled as he felt an immense sense of danger, watching as Lu Yin¡¯s palm turned into a w; this was the seventh form of the Skybeast w!

    BANG! He fell down like a meteor, spitting out blood before he even hit the ground. The earth around his impact was dyed red, shocking every onlooker in one moment. Raas¡¯s heart sank; he¡¯d forgotten that this native could mimic the Skybeast w!

    Bai Xue and the rest stared at Lu Yin in amazement; this person continued to grow stronger and more terrifying with every encounter.

    Munoor was bleeding on the ground with a stunned look on his pale face. The blood from his abdomen stained his clothes, but his attention was on the person who had copied his own battle technique rather than on his injury. There was no way he had seen wrong, that was the seventh form of the Skybeast w. He red at Lu Yin, ¡°How do you know the Skybeast w?¡±

    Lu Yinnded, ¡°Learnt it from you.¡±

    ¡°Impossible, no one could learn the Skybeast w so quickly. I took nine months at Yu Academy to get to the seventh form, how could you learn it so quickly? Who the hell are you? Where did you learn this in secret?¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t make you believe me if you don¡¯t want to,¡± Lu Yin replied before leaping at Munoor once more. A phantom roar shook the sky as Munoor clenched his teeth in frustration, knowing that the seventh form was his strongest attack while he was sealed. It should have overpowered anything he encountered, but he was now facing an opponent who had the same skill and could dodge his uses of it. There was no chance to win this battle.

    BANG! A giant w mark dug into the earth as Munoor flew away in defeat. The only way to beat such a person was to break his seal. This group of natives was just too absurd; there was a second realmbreaker among them! No, this person definitely wasn¡¯t even a native; he used the Spacerender Palm. Just who the hell was he?

    Lu Yin allowed Munoor to fly away, only heaving a sigh of relief once he was gone. Facing a Melder had put him under a lot of pressure; if the opponent broke his seal, he would be badly injured at best and killed at worst. Munoor would be expelled from the trial for doing such a thing, but that was of no constion to a dead man. Lu Yin preferred not driving him into such desperate straits, especially since he¡¯d already gotten so much. His biggest harvest from the day was definitely the seventh form of Skybeast w. This was a battle technique that was a heritage of the Yu academy and lived up to the reputation of the Empire¡¯s best academy. A total of 108 forms? He was looking forward to discovering the full power of the technique after all of the forms were learned.

 Chapter 49: Strange Stone

    <h4>Chapter 49: Strange Stone</h4>

    Back in the capital, Raas had pretty much given up all hope. If even Munoor had been defeated, no one could save him now. He was fated to join the bottom end in this trial. Jeraldine looked at Lu Yin in disbelief, recalling the first time she had seen him where he was just a Seeker. Now he was an unparalleled Sentinel, just what was his background? Yatar from the Pagoda, grandson of the headmaster, a top-notch powerhouse? Was that really the truth?

    Munoor was famous amongst the trainees, and news of his defeat stunned all of them. Their first reaction was disbelief, but thework never lied. Geine verified the news quickly, ensuring that everyone took this powerhouse guarding the capital more seriously. At the same time, the trial itself grew much moreplicated. The two Melders who had shown themselves so far had already been defeated.

    Not longter, a few more students were captured by Qingyu. Lu Yin updated his count, ¡°Seventeen, he¡¯s caught seventeen students.¡±

    Bai Xue was puzzled, ¡°What are you counting this for?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s fighting for numbers,¡± Lu Yin pouted, but seeing everyone speechless, he took a deep breath and exined, ¡°This fellow isn¡¯t stupid and thought of the same thing we did. He wants to use these students to reach somepromise. Pity, the natures of our sides are different; he¡¯s a criminal on the loose, while we¡¯re just natives. He¡¯s fated for judgment no matter how many students he captures.¡±

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that settle things? It¡¯s unrted to you,¡± Geine batted her eyes.

    Lu Yin turned to her, ¡°Every student he captures is one fewer for us. They¡¯re our only bargaining chips.¡±

    Geine widened her eyes, ¡°You really want to negotiate with the Empire using students? That¡¯s impossible.¡±

    ¡°Nothing is impossible. Everyone who dared to enter this trial is an elite; they¡¯re very important to the Empire.¡±

    She sneered, ¡°Do you know how many students participate in these trials every year? Let me tell you; this is one of many running right now, and even if all of them were wiped out, there wouldn¡¯t be any impact. You¡¯re dreaming!¡±

    Bai Xue, Zhou Shan, and the rest felt depressed upon hearing her words. The Great Yu Empire was simply toorge, and there were too many students and academies within. The trial on Earth only involved a small portion of its students.

    ¡°That¡¯s not for sure,¡± Lu Yin consoled them, pulling Raas over, ¡°This guy¡¯s status should be enough for us to get something.¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Raas was furious.

    Lu Yin tossed him aside and smiled, ¡°The Vice Treasurer holds a very high position in the Empire; I¡¯ve even heard he has some influence within the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, which is perfect for me. The greater his influence, the better our chances of a sessful negotiation, no?¡±

    Geine sighed and looked at Raas. What Lu Yin had said was true, and this guy was Sicar¡¯s only son. For his sake, the man might even be willing to give up his own life. Raas leveled a furious re at Lu Yin; this bastard actually dared to use him to threaten the Empire! Whether the negotiation was sessful or not, he would be aughing stock to the Empire¡¯s younger generation.

    ¡­¡­

    In northern Europe, a group of students were simrly angry. Over twenty students had banded together from all over to hunt for Qingyu, led by Yan Gang who actually wasn¡¯t from the Great Yu Empire but another power within the Frostwave Weave called the Fireforge. They were just as well-known as the Empire despite their limited scope; the was enormous and filled with seas of fire. It was said that all creatures from there had extremely high resistance to fire, and could use powerful me-based battle techniques.

    ¡°Qingyu, release Huo Xiaoling,¡± Yan Gang stared down from his towering position in the sky. He himself was a sealed Melder like Huo Xiaoling, but many believed that he was even stronger than her. His body that had a hint of dark red was radiating scorching heat even in the freezing north, melting the snow below.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got guts, kid. Do you think you can snatch someone from my grasp?¡± Qingyu teased the youth, his eyes full of contempt. In fact, he was still lounging on the ground with the seventeen captured students behind him, Huo Xiaoling among them. He had once been an Explorer; he couldn¡¯t be bothered with mere students.

    ¡°Let me warn you, Huo Xiaoling is engaged to Yan Feng, the strongest youth of the Fireforge. Touch so much as a hair on her head and you¡¯ll face my entire¡¯s wrath!¡± Yan Gang stated coldly.

    ¡°A little in a savage bordend really thinks highly of itself. Whatever, I¡¯ll give you a chance to take her away, but it will depend on your ability.¡±

    ¡°Speak!¡± Yan Gang growled.

    A slight smile grew on Qingyu¡¯s face, ¡°Go to China¡¯s capital and fetch my stuff in exchange for this woman.¡±

    Yan Gang¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°Release Huo Xiaoling first, and then I¡¯ll go and get it for you.¡±

    Qingyu burst out inughter, ¡°Are you an imbecile, or do you think I¡¯m an idiot? Release the hostage first? I do hope your brain hasn¡¯t burnt to aplete crisp.¡±

    Yan Gang was furious and clenched both fists, the air around him further distorted by the heat, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go, but you must promise not to harm her.¡±

    Qingyu shrugged, ¡°That depends on how long it takes you to get it. I wouldn¡¯t give you a guarantee if you take too long; this girl is quite pretty.¡±

    Yan Gang was furious, ¡°Xiaoling is a Melder; if you dare touch her, we¡¯ll ughter you even if it means we must break our seals.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean you forfeit your chance to join Astral-10? Do you think the Astral Combat Academy epts trash that can¡¯t even handle Sentinel trials? How will you answer your leader?¡± Qingyu continued to mock him.

    Yan Gang snorted, then told the student behind him, ¡°Watch him, I¡¯m going to China.¡±

    ¡°Munoor just fled after being defeated, are you sure you¡¯ll be alright alone?¡± The student came from the Huo Family and Huo Xiaoling was his only concern.

    ¡°Don¡¯tpare me to such trash!¡± Yan Gang snapped before flying away, a white trail of smoke behind him. Assuming no mutant beasts barred the way, it would take about two days to get from where he was to Beijing.

    ¡­¡­

    Said city was mostly dark, with only a small part of the city lit up so it could avoid attracting mutant beasts. Lu Yin arrived at the basement of the Research and Development Center under President Lian¡¯s guidance to see what Qingyu had left behind¡ªa stone about the size of a human skull. It seemed round at first nce, but it actually had sixteen faces, each smooth and t with an indecipherable mark in the center. The entire stone emitted an aura that felt like it had weathered countless changes since the start of time.

    Beside Lu Yin was Bai Xue; it was her rmendation that had finally allowed him to see this thing. She had been strongly opposed to him evenying eyes on Qingyu¡¯s belongings before, even iming that such permission required the Seven Sages to agree, but now the entire capital was under his sole protection; there was simply no reason not to let him take a look.

    He looked at the stone that was ced in a ss box with curiosity, ¡°It looks like carved stone, but it feels¡­ different.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how old it is?¡± President Lian asked, answering when he shook his head, ¡°We don¡¯t either. It¡¯s impossible to estimate.¡±

    ¡°Impossible to estimate?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. It was rather inconceivable that Earth¡¯s current technology couldn¡¯t even measure a stone¡¯s age.

    President Lian continued, ¡°It¡¯s just too old for our knowledge, we can¡¯t track some of the changes it hassted through. The traces of its age are everywhere, and we simply can¡¯te to a conclusion. We¡¯ve tried many approaches but were unable to glimpse anything.¡±

    Bai Xue followed up, ¡°We did manage to put together some information. This Qingyu came here from the depths of the universe, and no news was spread despite the incredible distance of his escape. The best exnation is that he¡¯d stolen something far too valuable, this stone.¡±

    ¡°When you guys brought him back from Neptune, what else did he have besides this stone?¡± Lu Yin asked

    She looked at President Lian, who said, ¡°A sword, several crystals that turned out to be star crystals, and a chip that contained cultivation methods. It was rather damaged, so we couldn¡¯t read much, but we did what we could.¡±

    She borated, ¡°The de is with Zhang Dingtian, and we absorbed the star crystals long ago to help with cultivation. We were already close to the Realm of Sky before the Apocalypse started, or what the aliens call the Sentinel realm.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the stone, ¡°So this stone and that sword are the only things Qingyu left behind?¡±

    President Lian answered, ¡°We have examined the war de. The material is very sturdy and far surpasses any metal or alloy that can be found on Earth, but that¡¯s it. As for this stone, we can¡¯t make heads or tails of it at all.¡±

    ¡°Can I examine it?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

 Chapter 50: Corridor

    <h4>Chapter 50: Corridor</h4>

    Bai Xue nodded after some hesitation; if not for Lu Yin, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect even the entire capital, forget this single stone. Since they couldn¡¯t understand it anyway, it didn¡¯t matter. She left with President Lian in tow, leaving him alone.

    Lu Yin picked up the stone and started examining it, feeling nothing outside of a heavy chill at first. Unable to glean anything after some time, he put it down and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly went cold and he used Roving Step to appear at a corner. A ck shadow looked at him in shock, the air turning cold as they lifted their hand, but his gaze narrowed and he attacked with the Skybeast w. The shadow eximed and dodged urgently.

    Lu Yin had only used the first form of the Skybeast w, so the shadow dodged with ease. However, this also exposed her frosty re.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you here?¡± Lu Yin asked. This girl was definitely a student, and while notparable to Munoor, she could still match Raas.

    ¡°Jenny Auna of the Auna Family, you should have heard of me before,¡± she said proudly.

    ¡°Nope, never heard of you,¡± Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Jenny sent an icy re his way, ¡°How dare you speak to me like that?!¡±

    Lu Yin was annoyed; this girl had the same sense of superiority as Raas. The Auna Family was likely a good background, but he didn¡¯t care, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. Since you¡¯re here, you don¡¯t need to leave.¡±

    ¡°Stop! I¡¯m the daughter of Snow Mountain Auna, niece of the captain of the Ninth Imperial Squadron! You¡¯re making a mistake!¡± Jenny was shocked as Lu Yin rushed towards her; she knew that she simply couldn¡¯t match him, and when he grabbed her hand, she didn¡¯t even resist much. She just red at him, ¡°I¡¯ll warn you again, I¡¯m not the same as Raas. The Auna Family can affect the decisions of the entire Empire, don¡¯t make a mistake!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face suddenly changed and he released the girl, dashing back to the stone at the same time that another figure tried to snatch it away. It was only when he grabbed a silky arm that he realized this was another girl, this one looking like an elf in her all-green attire. She turned around and kicked at him the moment he caught her, and when Lu Yin tried to pull her arm to break the attack, he was shocked to find that she was so shockingly powerful that he couldn¡¯t even budge it. He reluctantly let go of her arm and dodged the kick, using the third form of the Skybeast w that could defeat those like Eddy, but even that provedpletely useless as she shattered the attack with a direct punch. Her fist barreled right towards him with shocking strength, forcing him to activate the Cosmic Art, but when he saw the details he realized that she was making ten attacks in a row! Barely dodging the attack, he sent her a wary nce.

    ¡°You dodged it?!¡± the girl seemed shocked as well.

    Lu Yin frowned, this new opponent was truly powerful. She was just as strong as Munoor, if not stronger, and a bunch of normal punches had been no weaker than the seventh form of the Skybeast w. Just where did such a scary powerhousee from? Was she aiming for the stone?

    Right as he was about to speak up, another shadow moved out of a dark corner. All three of these people could hide their star energy to avoid gadget detection, proving just how strong they were, and the third person¡¯s face dropped Lu Yin¡¯s heart; this was Xia Luo, the same youth who¡¯d given him such a strong sense of danger when he firstnded outside the capital. Lu Yin clearly remembered that sensation, the same one he¡¯d felt when he first met Silver.

    Four people faced each other in the cramped basement, two boys and two girls. Jenny was the most astonished of them all, not having realized there were two other people in hiding, while the girl in green had a simr feeling towards Xia Luo.

    ¡°Your aim is this stone?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Jenny Auna and the girl in green kept quiet, but Xia Luo smiled warmly, ¡°That¡¯s right. Lu Yin, do you know where this stone is from?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°No.¡±

    Xia Luo continued to smile, ¡°Then we can talk about it. This stone is the inheritance of a powerful n in the Innerverse. It is rumored that one can learn the battle techniques of that n from this stone, which is the reason why Qingyu is wanted. Since you didn¡¯t know the function of this stone, I¡¯ll tell you the method of using it and let¡¯s try it out together. What do you think?¡±

    The girl in green looked at Xia Luo in surprise, ¡°You know how to use it?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled, ¡°I know a bit. This stone isn¡¯t useful to anyone other than the people of that powerful n because no one else can use it. This is also why the n didn¡¯t bother to retrieve it themselves¡ªin which case the entire Frostwave Weave would have been done for¡ªso there¡¯s no reason to fight over this thing.¡±

    The girl in green looked at Lu Yin as well, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the three people before him. He was only confident in a battle against Jenny, which also meant that no one in the entire capital could stop them. ¡°Fine, we can study it together, but you can¡¯t take the stone away.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded, ¡°No problem. And if you have friends who want to study as well, they can join us. The method is very easy; blood can activate the stone. It¡¯s up to each person individually whether they can get the inheritance, but I¡¯ll tell you now that it¡¯s almost impossible for us to seed.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Xia Luo and immediately contacted Bai Xue and Zhang Dingtian, who soon arrived along with Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng. Jenny frowned arrogantly while the Sages looked at the outsiders warily; these three people were very powerful and two were at least equal to Munoor; it would be a disaster for Beijing if a fight broke out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we mean no trouble and only wish to study the stone together. I¡¯ll go first,¡± Xia Luo gestured. Lu Yin tossed him the stone, and he pricked a finger and allowed a drop of blood to drip down. The stone absorbed it and started floating, exerting pressure on everyone in the room as they saw hints of many battle techniques shing past their eyes. Apanying those techniques was something terrifyingly vile, but Xia Luo sat down and gazed up at the stone in contemtion.

    The girl in green was the second to start, dripping her own blood and sitting down as well. Soon, all of them were sitting in a circle around the sixteen-faced stone. Lu Yin snuck a peek at Xia Luo before starting, although everyone looked defenseless right now, he was certain that they all had their ways to protect themselves and that it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to attack. He finally dripped some of his own blood onto the stone and watched as it was absorbed, suddenly seeing a primordial fist punching towards his face.

    Puff! Wu Sheng suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, color draining from his face. A whileter, Zhou Shan joined him in failure. Like a chain reaction, Bai Xue, Jenny Auna, and Zhang Dingtian all failed one after the other, staring at the stone with awe on their pale faces. Meanwhile, Lu Yin saw the fist drawing closer and closer, surrounded by a boundless darkness and the river of time. Countless people had died to this punch that could change day to night.

    He subconsciously gritted his teeth, biting his lip as he used the Cosmic Art. The approaching fist started to slow down and he could now see it more clearly; although it covered the entire sky and turned day to night, there was still a way to avoid it.

    ¡®Wait, why avoid it?¡¯ He opened his eyes and three stars revolved around his body, a fourth suddenly appearing as well. The stars exploded into the fist, dissipating it just as it was about to strike it.

    In an instant, Lu Yin felt like he had travelled through infinite distance to arrive at an unknown corridor. He was surrounded by boundless darkness on all sides, the only visible thing being this one ancient passage filled with a bloody aura. He couldn¡¯t find words to describe this ce; while there was no light source, he could clearly see the corridor in its entirety. And while he could see it all, it changed when he nced away for a moment. The entire ce was dark red, with murals all over the walls that he didn¡¯t understand. There was no sound, but it felt like the figures upon them were screaming and howling, like the wall would drip blood any moment. That blood was the only thing he could smell.

 Chapter 51: The Daynight Name

    <h4>Chapter 51: The Daynight Name</h4>

    The long corridor was the only thing within that dark, limitless space; Lu Yin felt like he would merge into the darkness with a single step backwards. He frowned and stepped forward,ing across a stone b at the entrance that was integrated into the surroundings. Rows of names were engraved on the block, most of them ending with Daynight.

    Daynight was a family name, but recalling Xia Luo¡¯s words about iting from a strong family, he realized that this was supposed to be its inheritance. Seeing the words Nightking Lord at the top, he felt his gaze transcend space to look at a man towering over the heavens with an iparably dominant aura. It took him only an instant to recover from that daze, but it left him shocked. <i>The </i>Nightking Lord, Daynight, just what is all this?

    He put his shock aside and shifted his gaze towards the corridor, stepping forward.

    ¡­¡­

    At the center of an ancientnd in the depths of the universe was a towering stone tablet that extended into the clouds, its terrifying aura causing the stars around to buzz. Two shining stones were slowly revolving around the middle, and several figures were standing upright at the base. Dust was caked all over their bodies; one could mistake them for statues at first nce. Lu Yin¡¯s image appeared at the bottom of the tablet as he stepped into the portal, but the depiction was too fuzzy to make out any details.

    ¡°Another member has entered the n; it is unknown how high he can go.¡±

    ¡°The nsmen are growing worse by the generation, their gifts are increasingly mundane.¡±

    ¡°Ignore such matters; no matter how poor their gifts are, they are still members of the Daynight n. Any one of us can crush countless geniuses.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of, why has the stone not been retrieved yet? This is a little too inefficient.¡±

    ¡°No hurry, there isn''t anyone in the universe who dares plot over the Daynight inheritance stone. It will return soon, but the one that stole it must be punished severely.¡±

    ¡°His innate gift is special; killing him would be a pity.¡±

    ¡°No matter, this generation has the n¡¯s future hope elsewhere.¡±

    Several people involuntarily raised their heads as they spoke, their gazes transcending vast distance to look at the topmost section of the stone que. A bright silhouette flickered upon it, almost like a real person who overlooked all life.

    Suddenly, the image of Lu Yin at the base of the stone tablet vanished. Several of the watchers in disappointment, ¡°Even his appearance can¡¯t be shown. Pathetic; has that child received all of this generation¡¯s luck? It¡¯s too cruel to the others.¡±

    ¡°No, there are two others who managed the climb; that isn¡¯t too bad.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Within the corridor, Lu Yin felt endless suppression from the very first step. This wasn¡¯t physical pressure but a spiritual one, a dark loneliness that almost swallowed him at the start and only grew more intense the further he walked. A fist appeared in the darkness after about three meters, shing with a bright light before knocking him out and into the darkness. He woke up to the stupefied faces of Zhang Dingtian and the others in the underground room.

    ¡°What are you all looking at me like that for?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You seeded?¡± Jenny stared at him like he was a freak.

    ¡°Nope,¡± he shook his head.

    ¡°Liar! I felt that ancient aura going into your body, you must have seeded!¡± she acted like she¡¯d caught onto something.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to exin anything to you,¡± he dismissed, leaving her furious. She had happened to discover from her father that the escaped criminal was a member of a terrifying ancient n who was carrying its inheritance stone; this was the entire reason she¡¯d decided to participate in Earth¡¯s trial. No one was supposed to be able to receive this inheritance without the n¡¯s bloodline, so what just happened? Not only was there one sess, but three! She felt like her understanding of the world had been challenged.

    Qingyu¡¯s identity was only known to a few students of very high status, so virtually everyone was ignorant of his roots. Even learning his full name, most didn¡¯t understand what it meant. This was the restriction of limited experience and a life in the Outerverse; thisck of information also decided one¡¯s future. In a more informed region, Jenny wouldn¡¯t have been one of only three who¡¯d tried their luck; in the current circumstance, even a Melder like Munoor wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize this stone if it was ced in front of him.

    Lu Yin looked around at the people in front of him and noticed that Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng had already left. Of the people from the capital, only Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue stayed behind, though their faces made it clear that they had not seeded. Of the students, Xia Luo and the girl in green still had their eyes closed.

    Very soon, the girl opened her eyes and released a breath. She looked around with a very pleased expression, but when she saw that Xia Luo was still seated with his eyes closed, her expression quickly contorted as though she¡¯d lost. Seeing the look of displeasure on her face, Jenny told her, ¡°Don¡¯t think you two were the only ones who seeded. This guy did, too.¡±

    The girl was shocked and followed Jenny¡¯s gaze to look at Lu Yin, ¡°You seeded?¡±

    Lu Yin had no answer; he was unsure what entering that corridor actually meant, so he wanted to say as little as possible.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be from their n,¡± the girl said as she measured him up, but he continued to ignore her. She was annoyed and wanted to speak again, but Xia Luo finally opened his eyes and the stone fell, ttering to the ground.

    ¡°Hey, what did you learn?¡± she asked him curiously.

    Xia Luo smiled, ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°No way, you took longer than me,¡± she did not believe him.

    Xia Luo smiled and turned to Lu Yin, ¡°How about you?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°I did not seed.¡±

    ¡°Liar!¡± the girl in green shouted, staring at Lu Yin, ¡°You seeded and must have learnt something.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her, then at Xia Luo, and finally at Jenny who felt something was off, ¡°You, what do you want?¡±

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face, ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about you. You can surrender; you¡¯re now a member of my glorious army of negotiators.¡±

    ¡°What army of negotiators?¡± she asked naively, unable to react before Lu Yin caught her and tied her up. Only about as strong as Raas, she could only scream and re at him, ¡°You bastard, let me go! Do you know who I am, you savage? I¡¯m Jenny Auna, heir to the Auna Family. No one can save you if you dare touch me!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are, only whether you¡¯ll be of help during negotiations. First Raas and now you, I should have a higher chance of sess.¡±

    Jenny screamed, but it was useless and Lu Yin just threw her to Bai Xue, ¡°Take good care of her, this is an important bargaining chip.¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s pretty eyebrows scrunched up, but after some consideration she nodded and pulled Jenny out. Neither Xia Luo nor the girl in green interfered; they were only here for the stone. Lu Yin wanted to capture both of them as well, but simply had no confidence in sess. He couldn¡¯t measure either of them, and despite Xia Luo¡¯s mundane aura was much more cautious of him. He would never forget the immense sense of danger he¡¯d felt the first time he saw this handsome youth.

    ¡°Brother Lu, a piece of advice for you. It¡¯s best to get rid of this stone as soon as possible, or it will bring you unimaginable disaster,¡± Xia Luo said to Lu Yin, walking off before Lu Yin could reply. Really wanting to know what he¡¯d obtained from the inheritance stone, the girl in green chased after him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed in agreement; this was something he had considered as well. This stone was precious, but that value would make it a source of unimaginable terrors that he couldn¡¯t handle with his current strength. Perhaps even the Great Yu Empire itself wouldn¡¯t dare hold onto it; he still remembered the skin-crawling list of names on that stone b. This was definitely a terrifying n. He knew that he was neither a genius nor someone with incredible luck, and he simply had no way to keep this stone in the face of such a power. It was only a question of who he¡¯d pass it on to.

 Chapter 52: Five Pips

    <h4>Chapter 52: Five Pips</h4>

    Outside the capital, more than ten students who had joined forces suddenly charged in to rescue Jenny. The Auna Family was much more powerful than Raas¡¯s father, and the students had grown impatient since she had not returned after such a long time. Zhou Shan immediately sounded the rm, but Lu Yin and Zhang Dingtian were still underground in the Research and Development Center while Geine, Bror, and Jeraldine were resting. He was left alone to face more than ten students, and couldn¡¯t even mount a moment¡¯s resistance.

    A green silhouette suddenly zipped through the skies, shooting past Zhou Shan as it charged straight into the dozen students on the attack. With one punch for each, it took less than ten seconds for as many unconscious bodies to hit the ground. The scene was rather astounding, especially for the Executioner. Many of these people were from the second batch, the strongest in their schools! They couldn¡¯t even react to this girl in green; just how was she so fast?

    Out in the distance, Lu Yin and the rest had just risen to the skies when they saw this scene, and they were stumped as well. The girl definitely wasn¡¯t this fast when she¡¯d first tried to grab the stone, or he wouldn¡¯t have been able to block her off. Her current speed must have been inherited from the stone.

    Outside the capital, the girl in green frowned, ¡°The White sh, huh¡­ Still a little slow, looks like it¡¯ll be fastest in daytime. Let¡¯s test it out again tomorrow.¡±

    The dozen captured students were thrown into the city by the cultivators, and including Jenny Auna, they now had a total of 42 captives. Lu Yin was rude as ever as he plundered them, going from 20 cubes of star crystals to a whopping 42. Jenny alone had contributed nearly 15, more than any other student, even Raas. Coincidentally, this meant that he had the same number of captives as he did cubes of star crystals. This was a rather impressive fortune, nearly tripling that of the heir of the Auna Family.

    Lu Yin grew excited; he could roll his die again. Robbing truly was the most lucrative upation. He secluded himself again after greeting Zhang Dingtian; his cosmic ring no longer had enough space to store all his wealth, so he had to use up some of the star crystals. Entering his residence and burying fire crystals all around for safety, he raised his hand and summoned the die once more.

    The die¡¯s surface had actually recovered a little by this time, but Lu Yin wasn¡¯t one to wait. He crushed a cube of star crystals for it to absorb, and it quickly recovered its vague starlit glow. As always, he felt excited and nervous as he stretched out a finger and tapped it, like he was about to end a pilgrimage. Spinning rapidly, the die rolled one.

    Pilfer again. Lu Yin stared intently at the void, wondering what he would steal this time. The die didn¡¯t keep him waiting either, and a fist-sized star crystal fell out of the portal andnded on the ground with a thump. He was left speechless at the sight; a cube of star crystals had been exchanged for this? It was barely a thousandth of the value! Gambling truly was harmful.

    Pilfer was a scary roll, but Lu Yin lifted his heavy spirits with the thought that he had money to spend. He shattered another cube of star crystals to recover the die, and tapped it lightly once more.

    It was Pilfer again.

    Lu Yin had no response at this point, his luck was just too bad. While Pilfer had huge potential, the odds of actually obtaining something worthwhile were low. Sure enough, his eyes went wide in anger at what he¡¯d acquired. He felt like going through to the other side and smacking the idiot who he¡¯d stolen from. Who the hell put TOILET PAPER inside a cosmic ring?

    It took a good while of fuming for Lu Yin to calm down. Even if one were filthy rich, money should not be spent like that. That was two cubes of star crystals, two entire cubes, and they had been exchanged for a fist-sized star crystal and a roll of toilet paper. If Jeraldine learnt about it, she would probably cry until she died. Her entire family¡¯s fortune was probably not worth more than a dozen cubes; he had spent two thousand times her fortune. Only now did he understand how lucky he¡¯d been to receive the Cosmic Art the first time; perhaps all the luck in the universe had been granted to him on that particr day.

    ¡®Should I wait? Maybe today¡¯s a bad day¡­¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but think as he crushed the third cube, but he shook his head and dismissed it. He was rich himself, and it was time to continue. He nervously tapped the die and it slowly came to a stop, and when it rolled a four he finally released a pent-up breath. Timestop was alright; at least it wasn¡¯t a waste of money.

    He appeared in the ash-colored room the next moment, the timer starting to count down. Three days wasn¡¯t enough to train further in the Cosmic Palm and he didn¡¯t have any more forms of the Skybeast w to study, so after some consideration he realized there was only one thing he could try; that fist he had seen within the inheritance stone. It had thrown him right out, but he had seen its secrets when he used the Cosmic Art. While the girl had received that extreme speed skill, he had gotten this.

    He adjusted his breathing and thought back to that monochrome fist¡ª the Daynight Punch.

    ¡­¡­

    Three dayster, the timer ticked down to zero and an exhausted Lu Yin left the room. Even though that ashen space stopped time, it didn¡¯t stop physical fatigue. Grabbing some random food, he slept through the night and woke upter the next day.

    ¡°Back at it,¡± he growled immediately afterwards, crushing the next bunch of star crystals for the die to recover. This was his fourth roll and he felt a wave of dizziness hit him for a moment, but he paid it no notice and focused on the die that slowed to a crawl in front of him before stopping on two pips¡ªckhole Disassembly. This was perfect; he¡¯d gathered a decent amount of trash already, so he disassembled it all and ended up with some strange metal that he didn¡¯t recognize.

    Once the vortex vanished, Lu Yin crushed more star crystals and tapped the die, but suddenly felt much dizzier than before. He finally realized why this was happening; this die was his innate gift and couldn¡¯t be used endlessly; simr to star energy, use it too much and it would run out, forcing himatose until he recovered. His body trembled and he nearly fell to the ground, ¡®Five. Five times is the limit.¡¯

    Trying to shake the dizziness away, Lu Yin looked at the die that was showing five pups, a roll he¡¯d never seen before. So far, he¡¯d rolled Pilfer on one, ckhole Disassembly on two, and Timestop on three. This was the fourth side he¡¯d unlocked, and its usage drifted into his mind¡ªGift Copy.

    With this roll, he could touch anyone with an innate gift and copy their ability within the die. It could be used once before it vanished in the future. Unfortunately, this roll needed him to touch someone with an innate gift within ten seconds of the roll; it would fade away after that time passed.

    Checking the time to find that two seconds had already passed, Lu Yin rushed out of his residence to hunt down the only cultivator in the entire city with an innate gift. He knew where Bai Xue was supposed to be right now, so he raced towards the city walls without hesitation even as his body trembled amidst his flight. Five uses hadpletely exhausted him and he desperately needed rest, but the Water Sage was still a hundred meters away. He shot forward with full strength, cing a hand on her shoulder and heaving a sigh of relief when there was only one second left.

    What was this? Jeraldine, Geine, Bror, and Zhou Shan all stared at him nkly from their own positions atop the walls, while Bai Xue herself stared dumbfoundedly. His hand was still on her shoulder as he looked up to see the strange looks everyone was giving him, and he suddenly pulled back and fled, ¡°My bad, wrong person.¡±

    There was a deathly silence left behind, as not one person managed toe up with a response. Jeraldine was at a loss for words, ¡®What a crappy excuse was that? Why did that bastard stretch out his hand? Was he trying to take advantage of Bai Xue, in broad daylight without any indication? He had to be insane!¡¯

    Jeraldine wasn¡¯t the only one to start making assumptions as all the rest were doing the same, especially Geine, ¡°Did Lu Yin just try to confess his feelings? Did we interrupt him?¡±

    ¡°Seems like it,¡± Bror replied seriously.

    Bai Xue¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment, captivating even Jeraldine for a moment. Even the heavens truly paled inparison to this woman¡¯s beauty. Meanwhile, Lu Yin crashed into his own residence and instantly fell asleep. Already past his limits, he dozed throughout as rumors spread through Beijing like wildfire.

    ¡°Did you hear? The Hidden Sage dered his feelings for the Water Sage and was even rejected. He drank himself unconscious and hasn¡¯t shown his face since.¡±

    ¡°No way, I heard that the Hidden Sage didn¡¯t actually dare to say anything. He was smitten by the Water Sage and left before even saying a word.¡±

    ¡°You are all wrong, my cousin¡¯s uncle-inw¡¯s younger brother¡¯s neighbor saw it with his own eyes; the Hidden Sage kissed the Water Sage and even proposed to her, with a ring even!¡±

    ¡°Get lost, where would he buy a ring in these times.¡±

    That afternoon, Zhang Dingtian sought out Bai Xue, ¡°I heard¡ª¡±

    ¡°It was nothing, he mistook me for someone else.¡±

    The desage was caught off guard and froze for a moment, then responded with a simple ¡°Alright¡± before leaving.

 Chapter 53: Mavis

    <h4>Chapter 53: Mavis</h4>

    Bai Xue was enraged by Lu Yin¡¯s actions. She believed that the scoundrel had been looking for revenge ever since she¡¯d stopped him from seeing what Qingyu had left behind, and had decided to enact his vengeance in this disgraceful manner. She wanted to go look for him and discuss things, but knew that the rumors would only burn brighter if she met him. In the end, she could only tolerate it for now.

    Another neer descended upon Beijing the next afternoon, the air distorting around him as his powerful star energy swept over the capital¡¯s skies. Zhang Dingtian and the rest rushed out to look up; this was Yan Gang.

    ¡°Give me what Qingyu left behind in the capital,¡± he ordered, gazing down coldly.

    Zhang Dingtian gripped his de and rose to the sky, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Yan Gang, from the Fireforge.¡± The words Fireforge were uttered with an indifferent pride, looking upon Zhang Dingtian with disdain.

    It was Geine that cried out from below, ¡°The Fireforge?!¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡± Bai Xue was puzzled.

    ¡°That¡¯s one of the biggest powers in the Frostwave Weave, just as famous as the Great Yu Empire. The entire is covered in raging mes, and every being there is very powerful. Their fire-rted battle techniques are unmatched.¡±

    Jeraldine added on, ¡°Normal fire battle techniques are useless against them, they¡¯ve evolved to be near-immune.¡±

    ¡°Anyone from the Fireforge who can arrive at the Great Yu Empire is a Melder at the least; this guy should be stronger than Munoor,¡± Geine remarked.

    Bai Xue looked up at Zhang Dingtian with a worried expression; each enemy that came was stronger than thest.

    ¡°Let Qingyue and collect it himself if he wants it,¡± Zhang Dingtian replied, gripping his new warde tightly. As his own had been destroyed by Munoor, he had taken to using Qingyu¡¯s.

    ¡°A maggot thinks it deserves to talk to me,¡± Yan Gang sneered, sending a wave of scorching heat down with a flourish. Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eyes went wide as he dodged with Roving Step, charging over and shing out with his de. The sword¡¯s body buzzed as it melded with the Shockwave Palm; this was the same attack that had allowed him to wound Munoor.

    With a realmbreaker¡¯s might added onto the powerful battle technique, even Yan Gang was astonished. He pped both hands together and formed a spear of mes, shooting it towards Zhang Dingtian. A rain of fire fell upon the capital as de and spear collided, igniting panic as it burnt the ground.

    Zhang Dingtian was swept away by the spear, crashing down heavily after a single exchange. He simply was no match, but the youth still stared in amazement from up above, ¡°Few Sentinels can survive that spear of mine. You¡¯re pretty good, you can follow me.¡±

    Bai Xue, Zhou Shan, and the rest red at Yan Gang with irrepressible fury. These trainees always looked down upon earthlings, acting like following them was a blessing. Unfortunately, this was thew of the jungle.

    ¡°Is that an innate gift of Fire?¡± Jeraldine was shocked.

    Geine replied, ¡°No, everyone from the Fireforge has a mutated body that can produce mes of high temperatures. I guess you can consider it a sort of innate gift, but not in the same way. This person is really powerful.¡±

    With Lu Yin still fainted, those that opposed Yan Gang were simply powerless. The youth remained arrogant and pointed down with his spear of mes, ¡°Give me what I want, or I¡¯ll burn you all to a crisp.¡±

    ¡°Give him the stone,¡± Zhang Dingtian spat out blood, leaving everyone aggrieved. Only Geine¡¯s eyebrows lifted up. What stone?

    It was at that point that a green figure shed in the distance, vanishing and reappearing behind Yan Gang, ¡°You¡¯re not bad, help me test the White sh.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Yan Gang¡¯s gaze shrank, a loud explosion ringing out before he could even react. Everyone present stared in shock as a giant pit appeared outside the capital, the conceited man thrown to the ground like a dead dog. Up in the sky, the girl in green clenched her fist and muttered something to herself with an excited look on her face.

    ¡°You slut! I¡¯ll tear you apart!¡± Yan Gang suddenly raged, charging out as mes started spewing from his body like protective armor. His spear of mes pierced through the air towards her.

    ¡°Perfect!¡± the girl squealed with excitement, her body disappearing without warning before Yan Gang spat out a mouthful of blood. His body snapped into an angle at the waist from an invisible blow, sending him crashing into the ground once more. The girl reappeared and stared down, obviously pleased with herself.

    The audience was shocked by the huge discrepancy between the two. This second attack made it obvious not only to the onlookers, but now even Yan Gang could see the difference in strength. He climbed back out of the crater and looked at the girl above in shock, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    She lifted her chin, ¡°Lulu Mavis.¡±

    Upon hearing this name, Yan Gang, Geine, Jeraldine, and the rest of the trainees were shocked. Yan Gang asked once more, ¡°Mavis? That Mavis?¡±

    She smiled, ¡°Is there another in the universe?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue and the other earthlings were puzzled, Mavis? What did that mean?

    Yan Gang immediately extinguished the mes around his body and looked up with a serious expression, his voice now filled with respect, ¡°Is this your territory?¡±

    Lulu didn¡¯t answer, simply crooking her finger instead, ¡°Let¡¯s continue; I want to try the power of the White sh.¡±

    Yan Gang smiled bitterly, ¡°I didn¡¯te here to fight. Qingyu has captured Huo Xiaoling, the heir of the Huo Family. He said that he will only release her if the object he left in the city is returned to him.¡±

    The girl frowned, ¡°What does that have to do with me? Now are you going to continue or no?¡±

    Yan Gang stood there calmly, with no intention of fighting. His demeanor had changedpletely from the moment he¡¯d arrived, and Lulu also lost interest and returned to the city after a twitch of her mouth. He watched her leave before finally rising back into the sky, calling out icily, ¡°Did no one hear what I just said? Who¡¯s in charge here? Send them out to speak with me.¡±

    Zhou Shan immediately headed to look for Lu Yin within the city. The stone belonged to China and thus should have been controlled by Zhang Dingtian, but Lu Yin was the one who¡¯d obviously gained something from it. The desage couldn¡¯t make a decision about this by himself; although some were reluctant to acknowledge it, Lu Yin was now the actual ruler in Beijing.

    ¡°Jeraldine, what is Mavis?¡± Bai Xue suddenly asked.

    Jeraldine and Geine looked at each other before the former answered, ¡°The universe is unfathomably vast and holds countless empires and powerful organizations. These great powers each have their own methods of transactions and currencyws, but the Mavis Bank issues the only universally recognized currency. They have branches everywhere in the universe where one can exchange credits; they¡¯re a financial powerhouse.¡±

    No further words were needed; the mere phrase ¡°only universally recognized currency¡± was sufficient to show people what the Mavis name was worth. Earth was insignificant in the face of the greater universe, but this family owned a bank capable of issuing the only universal currency. That required terrifying power; it was no wonder Yan Gang changed his attitude so drastically. If that girl in green really was from there, her influencepletely overshadowed that of Huo Xiaoling, Raas, Jenny, and the restbined.

    Within the city, Lu Yin was stillying on the ground with his eyes closed. His brows were tightly knitted, both fists tightly clenched, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. He was dreaming of a snow-white finger that crushed the void, travelling across time to arrive before him. It stretched past countless stars, approaching closer and closer¡­ ¡°HOW AUDACIOUS!¡±

    He sprang up within his residence, panting for breath after the roar. Eyes zed over without focus, taking a while to regain some sense of normalcy. He was vigorously shaking his head in confusion when Zhou Shan arrived, ¡°Lu Yin! What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin got up from the ground, looking exhausted and beaten, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, why are you here?¡±

    Zhou Shan was unconvinced and carefully looked over Lu Yin, who looked like something the cat had dragged in, ¡°You sure you¡¯re alright?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Someone named Yan Gang is here and ims to be representing Qingyu. He wants to take away that stone.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed and he nodded, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go meet him.¡±

    Zhou Shan grunted, ¡°Do you want to change first?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll change when I return,¡± Lu Yin replied and flew out.

    Along the way, Zhou Shan described how Lulu had beaten Yan Gang, and the mention of her full name left Lu Yin shocked. He recalled that the entire universe only had one family named Mavis, the controllers of the Mavis Bank. He had wanted to open an ount there once, but simply hadn¡¯t qualified. Even the average wealthy family didn¡¯t have the right to transact with them; if she was from there, her background was terrifying.

 Chapter 54: The Flying Turtle

    <h4>Chapter 54: The Flying Turtle</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t long before Yan Gang grew impatient; without Lulu around, he¡¯d grown arrogant once more. Lu Yin didn¡¯t take long to arrive, but he ignored Yan Gang and stared at Bai Xue instead. He vaguely recalled having done something before he fainted, and he could see the frustration on her face. The Water Sage certainly had her reasons for this; while Yan Gang was one thing, she hadn¡¯t been able to get a handle on the rumors that were spreading through the city like wildfire.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Lulu?¡± Lu Yin asked Jeraldine.

    ¡°Back in the city.¡±

    He nodded and nced at Zhang Dingtian, ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s very powerful, from the Fireforge,¡± Zhang Dingtian answered in a low voice, prompting a raise of the brow from Lu Yin. He hade directly to Earth upon reaching the Frostwave Weave, so he hadn¡¯t heard of the ce.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the one in charge? Come talk to me,¡± Yan Gang¡¯s gaze turned cold.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡± Lu Yin turned around and snapped.

    Yan Gangughed, ¡°Looking down on me, are we?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°So what?¡±

    Yan Gang red at him and the temperature around shot up, the very air starting to distort. However, he suddenly thought of something and sent a wary nce towards the city as he exhaled, ¡°Stop this nonsense and give me Qingyu¡¯s belongings.¡±

    ¡°Why the hell would I do that?¡± Lu Yin grunted, still annoyed at just having woken up.

    Bloodlust filled Yan Gang¡¯s eyes, ¡°How dare you, do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care.¡±

    Yan Gang was outraged at the insolence. If not for the presence of a Mavis in the city, he would have attacked the native directly. ¡°What are your conditions, I have to take Qingyu¡¯s item.¡±

    Even if Xia Luo hadn¡¯t warned him, Lu Yin would have given the stone away anyway. Its background was far tooplicated for him to hold onto, but he still had to make sure he would get sufficientpensation for its sale, ¡°Do you represent Qingyu or the trainees?¡±

    ¡°Qingyu,¡± Yan Gang answered.

    ¡°Then I can give it to him, but he has to give me all the students he¡¯s captured.¡±

    Everyone was shocked by this condition, but they remembered what Lu Yin had once said about using these students to negotiate with the Great Yu Empire. Zhang Dingtian and the rest were happy with that stance, but in reality Lu Yin only cared about the students¡¯ star crystals. The negotiations were only secondary.

    Yan Gang frowned, ¡°Why do you want the students? You also have a few here, and don¡¯t you have Jenny Auna too?¡±

    ¡°I think there¡¯s someone with that name,¡± he answered vaguely. Most of the students had removed their gadgets so their information wouldn¡¯t be visible on the web. Meanwhile, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget had no name attached to it, so it was also unable to announce some information.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± Yan Gang bellowed.

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°Who do you think you are?¡±

    ¡°So rude!¡± Yan Gang red at him, mes appearing on his palms as he rushed forward. Those from the Fireforge were all bad-tempered, and for him to suppress his until now was already an aplishment.

    Everyone felt threatened by the attack, but Lu Yin balled up his right fist and distorted the light around. Yan Gang suddenly felt the world change around him; it was obviously still morning, but this punch showed him both day and night. It felt like a terrifying conflict had broken out within his own body, leaving him in excruciating pain. He growled and stabbed towards Lu Yin, but waves of energy swept across the earth and sted him backwards, extinguishing his spear of mes.

    Lu Yin took a step backwards as well, looking at Yan Gang with a grave expression. This person truly was far more powerful than Munoor. The Daynight Punch was a battle technique from the n of the same name, which meant it was far more powerful than even the Cosmic Palm or the seventh form of the Skybeast w, but this guy had managed to block it without any significant injuries.

    Although the result of the sh left Lu Yin surprised, Yan Gang waspletely shocked; this native was just a Sentinel, but his attack had been so threatening that he¡¯d had to respond with his most powerful strike. In fact, if Lu Yin¡¯s attack had been the slightest bit more powerful, he might have broken his seal to counter.

    Observing the exchange, Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had faced Yan Gang before, and it had been enough to understand how terrifying this trial participant was. And yet, Lu Yin had still managed to push him back, showing his absurd increase in strength since the day the two had first met.

    The powerful attack changed Yan Gang¡¯s impression of this native, and he descended slightly and looked Lu Yin straight in the eye, ¡°Jenny is the heir to the Auna Family of the Great Yu Empire. You will only bring yourself trouble by capturing her, consider it carefully. Her family has countless options if they wish to wipe out the people of this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware of all that, there¡¯s no need to warn me. If you want to get the stone for Qingyu, then ask him to give me the students that he captured. This is my only condition, there¡¯s no room to negotiate.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll contact Qingyu,¡± Yan Gang reluctantly agreed and switched on his gadget, but just when he was about to contact Qingyu, Lulu Mavis suddenly appeared and surprised everyone.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d gotten something! That punch wasn¡¯t bad, let¡¯s fight!¡± she told him excitedly.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Lulu blinked, ¡°Refuse? Why? Powerhouses should improve by learning from each other.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a powerhouse,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She shook her head, ¡°You¡¯re not bad for a Sentinel, at least you qualify to fight me. Stop with this nonsense, bring it!¡±

    Zhou Shan and the others watched the strange interaction with bemusement; it felt bizarre hearing a beautiful girl telling a man to ¡°bring it.¡± This one probably wasn¡¯tpletely normal.

    Lu Yin really didn¡¯t want to fight with Lulu; she was way too strong and he didn¡¯t want to suffer her punches. Besides that, the speed that she¡¯d obtained from the inheritance stone would leave him nothing more than a punching bag; he wasn¡¯t a masochist.

    ¡°Hey, are you even a man? Bring it! I said bring it!¡± Lulu shouted, but he ignored her and looked at Yan Gang instead. She grew anxious at this, but there was nothing she could do if he refused to move. She was ady; she could only ambush bad people, so a sneak attack was off the table.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought about his Cosmic Art, and how he¡¯d been able to use it to learn the seven forms of the Skybeast w. Could he use it to copy Lulu¡¯s movement technique just as quickly? Thinking of this possibility, his eyes started to gleam. ¡®Maybe I should spar with her after all.¡¯

    That thought was interrupted when Bai Xue suddenly shouted, drawing everyone¡¯s attention to her talking to someone on her gadget. Momentster, she lifted her head and informed them grimly, ¡°The Blue Camp has been destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Who did it?¡± Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gaze turned cold. Lu Yin looked over as well, recalling the girl Zhao Yu who was one of the three Snow Maidens from that camp.

    Bai Xue answered in a low voice, ¡°Not who, what. It was a mutant beast, an enormous flying turtle.¡±

    ¡°A turtle?¡± Many were shocked.

    She nodded, ¡°ording to a gadget in the Blue Camp, the turtle¡¯sbat level exceeded 10,000 and couldn¡¯t even be read properly.¡±

    The information stunned everyone. Abat level over 10,000 was at least the level of an Explorer! A Sentinel was limited to 3,000, Melders 6,000, and Limiteers 10,000. Qingyu being an Explorer was what allowed him to survive on Neptune despite severe injuries, what allowed him to showcase such power even now. How could there be a mutant beast on Earth with such power? Where could it havee from?

    This also happened to be the moment Yan Gang finished his call. ¡°Qingyu¡¯s¡ª¡± he started shouting, but a terrifying pressure from the east suddenly crushed him to the ground. An enormous figure covered the sky, and Lu Yin looked eastwards to see a giant turtle that wasrger than all of Beijing. The scene stunned the millions of survivors in the city; they simply couldn¡¯t conceive of the existence of such a massive creature. That shock soon turned into terror as the enormous creature drew closer.

    Yan Gang picked himself up and was about to curse everyone, but raising his head left him stunned, ¡®Where did this crazy turtlee from?!¡¯

    The turtles traveled extremely quickly, its shadow covering Beijing for only a second before it continued west. The beast never even looked towards the ground; to it, Lu Yin and the rest were nothing more than ants that could be crushed at any moment.

 Chapter 55: Deal With The Devil

    <h4>Chapter 55: Deal With The Devil</h4>

    Within the huge spacecraft outside Earth, Sigmund and a few others were looking at the turtle on the screen anxiously.

    ¡°General Mathers, we can¡¯t consider a beast that is beyond 10,000bat level a part of the trial; let us capture it,¡± Torry Auna said nervously. Jenny was still in the capital; if the creature decided to attack, they would all die.

    Sigmund clenched his fists and nced at Mira, who smiled calmly, ¡°Is death really that scary to the young elites of the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Torry¡¯s face sank and he went quiet, looking back at the screen.

    Fortunately, the huge turtle disappeared quickly before anyone in Beijing worked up the courage to utter a single word. That creature was truly terrifying; even its body alone could crush everyone here.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin sighed, but then suddenly realized something was strange. Where is Lulu? He barely looked west in time to see a green silhouette disappearing into the distance; that crazy woman couldn¡¯t have gone after the turtle, right?

    Outside the capital, Yan Gang was coughing hard. He had choked on the dust from the turtle¡¯s arrival, and was finally feeling better. While everyone was still immersed in the terror of the turtle¡¯s appearance, he continued speaking, ¡°Qingyu agreed to your condition.¡±

    ¡°Which gadget is his?¡± Lu Yin asked with a nod, contacting the man directly once it was pointed out, ¡°Qingyu?¡±

    In northern Europe, Qingyu looked at his gadget and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re the native who has caught dozens of students in the capital?¡±

    ¡°Your thing is with me; if you want to get it, hand me the students you¡¯ve captured.¡±

    ¡°I talked about it with the other guy just now, I¡¯m okay with that. Do you also want Huo Xiaoling?¡± Qingyu smirked.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, knowing that Xiaoling was the reason why Yan Gang was working for Qingyu. With Raas and Jenny already on hand, she wasn¡¯t worth the fight that would cause, ¡°No, but then you have too few students on hand right now.¡±

    Qingyu¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Kid, I¡¯m dealing with you because I don¡¯t want toe all the way there, do you think the few of you can stop me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, you¡¯re a Melder. But we can run just like you. I¡¯ll just hide the stone until the mission fails, and then the Empire will send soldiers to capture you. Do you think you¡¯d be able to defend yourself at that point? I know that you want a chance at escaping using that stone;pared to your life, my conditions are already quite lenient.¡±

    Qingyuughed, ¡°You¡¯re quite smart, I do intend to use that stone to escape. Fine, I can capture more students. I already have some here, is a total of 32 alright?¡±

    ¡°That works.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll trade under Cang Mountain in Tianzhu; ten days.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed and hung up, turning to the watching Yan Gang, ¡°You can go retrieve Huo Xiaoling now.¡±

    Yan Gang¡¯s eyes sparkled, ¡°You¡¯d better hand Jenny Auna over; you don¡¯t know how powerful the Auna Family is.¡±

    ¡°Not happening. Get a move on.¡±

    Yan Gang didn¡¯t bother responding and just left, after which Lu Yin informed the rest of hispanions of the current situation. Zhang Dingtian was the first to speak up, ¡°I¡¯m going with you. Qingyu caused Earth¡¯s evolution and brought about the deaths of countless people. I want him to pay with his life.¡±

    Bai Xue said, ¡°I¡¯m going too.¡±

    Lu Yin looked to Jeraldine, ¡°Post the news that Qingyu will be at Cang Mountain in Tianzhu in ten days.¡±

    ¡°Do you n on using the students to eliminate him?¡± Geine asked.

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the mission? If he¡¯s taken out, you¡¯llplete the trial mission, so it¡¯s a win for you too.¡±

    ¡°What about you? Are you trying to seek vengeance for the people of this?¡±

    He took a deep breath, ¡°The trial isn¡¯t only for the students, it¡¯s for us as well. You students have your results to worry about, and I have mine too. Completing the mission also increases my chances of negotiating with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Geine sneered, ¡°Are you really nning on negotiating with the Empire? You¡¯re insane, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll seed¡±

    ¡°I can at least try,¡± Lu Yin shrugged.

    The localwork soon erupted into chaos as Qingyu captured more students,pelling most of those who were still in Europe to flee. News was also released that he would appear at Cang Mountain in Tianzhu, so many students rushed over immediately. They were far past the point of trying to verify whether this was real; it wasn¡¯t much of a loss to take the trip anyway. This would be the final battle of the trial; either they wouldplete their mission, or they would all fail and the Great Yu Empire would capture Qingyu afterwards.

    Lu Yin returned to training and studied the movement of the stars, hoping to be able to form the fourth star of the Cosmic Palm in this time. The technique was incredibly powerful, and the fourth star would greatly increase its strength. He could defeat Eddy and match up with Raas using the three-star version, but he knew for certain that the fourth would allow him to outright defeat even sealed Melders like Yan Gang and Munoor. With no way to increase the strength of the Skybeast w or the Daynight Punch, this was the only way for him to grow hisbat ability.

    However, before anything else, Lu Yin found a piece of paper and closed his eyes and tried to recall the dream he had woken from when Zhou Shan hade to his residence. He still recalled that crushing finger that spanned the heavens; it had felt quite real, as had the boundless rage in his heart.

    And yet, even though he could clearly envision the scene from his dream, he couldn¡¯t draw it on paper no matter how hard he tried. Thinking over it for a while, he eventually sighed and gave up on trying to make sense of it, deciding to just treat it like a normal dream. As such, he threw the sheet away and raised his hand to summon his die, observing the traces of ice on the face with five pips. This was Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift; he could use it one time before it vanished from the die. If he wanted to use it a second time, he would have to roll Gift Copy again and touch her within that ten-second time limit.

    ¡°What an interesting gift,¡± he muttered to himself, retrieving a cube of star crystals from his cosmic ring and crushing it to allow the die to recover. However, the die didn¡¯t absorb the energy this time. Had it reached its limit? It seemed like he had to wait a while. Dismissing the gift with dismay, he returned to his study of star charts.

    This trial was a nightmare for many of the students. The first batch had mostly wanted to upy a section of Earth and harvest rare materials in order to earn an average result, so it was only the stronger and braver of them that had been captured. However, the second batch had been truly unlucky, with nearly half of them captured across Europe and China. There was no such trial in the recorded history of the Great Yu Empire; it left General Sigmund and the other overseers embarrassed. The worst part of the situation was that even the heirs of powerful families like Jenny, Xiaoling, and Raas had been captured, as well as elites from Yu Academy. Mira watched everything and even meted outpliments from time to time, but it all sounded like sarcasm in Sigmund¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Now this is a true trial. Most of the time, the trials just consist of the students defeating the natives, but that¡¯s more of a show than an actual trial. General Mathers, the Great Yu Empire is truly a fair and just empire,¡± Miramended, but her words left the General speechless. This woman had just criticized the youths of the Great Yu Empire for being afraid of death, but now she was saying the opposite. Was this anything but mockery?

    ¡°General, we should start preparing; the final battle will ur in ten days. Qingyu must be quite confident if he is giving ten days to allow more students to gather,¡± Torry spoke up.

    ¡°That Lu Yin doesn¡¯t even understand how powerful a Melder is. This trial¡¯s mission will most likely end in failure,¡± Shalosh said in a cold voice.

    Sigmund looked at the screen. To the overseers, Lu Yin would be trying to make a deal with the devil if he really wanted to bargain with Qingyu. Even if Qingyu only had the battle power of a Sentinel, an elite from the Daynight n was someone iparable to normal opponents.

    Mira smiled at the screen, Melder? No, that¡¯s wrong. She had confirmed that Qingyu didn¡¯t have the battle power of a Melder; in fact, it would be difficult for him to showcase even peak Sentinel power with his injuries. He was only half a Sentinel, but to others it seemed like he had the strength of a Melder. This showed the power of the Daynight n; it left her hopeful for something interesting after ten days.

 Chapter 56: The Deal

    <h4>Chapter 56: The Deal</h4>

    Two dayster, Yan Gang approached Qingyu to rescue Huo Xiaoling, but Qingyu turned him away with a sneer, ¡°Do you have my item?¡±

    Yan Gang was outraged, ¡°You can settle that with those natives in eight days. Release Xiaoling now!¡±

    ¡°The condition was Huo Xiaoling for my property; why would I release her when you didn¡¯t fulfill your end of the deal? Leave,¡± Qingyu said arrogantly. Yan Gang was enraged by this, but he knew that he simply wasn¡¯t a match and left when he saw Qingyu¡¯s gaze turning cold. Sitting on the ground, the hostage herself was staring at her captor¡¯s back with a glint in her eyes. If this guy truly was from the Daynight n, none of the trainees would be able to beat him. The deal that would ur in eight days was just a fun exercise that he controlled.

    Countless students started appearing at Cang Mountain in Tianzhu, mostly from the second batch. A majority had removed their gadgets to avoid revealing their locations as they hid themselves around the area, with even Munoor among them. Other than him, there was another sealed Melder; only true elites dared to appear here at this time.

    The ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yin spent the entire time watching star charts. His fourth star was growing clearer but had yet to fully form, prompting a sigh. It was growing increasingly difficult to add more stars to the Cosmic Art now; it was capable of simting an entire sr system, but it was already so difficult to form just the fourth body. Even the maximum of eight was only for the limited technique he¡¯d acquired, but with his rate of progress, he had no idea how long it would take him toplete the technique.

    He also knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to break through to Melder anytime soon, either. Bing a Melder wasn¡¯t something that could be aplished through a formcast model alone; everyone¡¯s body was unique, so they all faced unique challenges on their path to this breakthrough. One¡¯s own body would give them a signal when they were ready, and without that signal they would fail even with a formcast model. Even wealthy children like Raas couldn¡¯t simply make it to this realm; while he had nock of star crystals to speed up his cultivation, the obstacle of his body still persisted.

    Everything one learnt, including their battle techniques, affected their Melder breakthrough. Lu Yin looked at his own palm, wondering what effect the Cosmic Art would have as he summoned the die with a twist of his hand. A cube of star crystals was crushed and the energy quickly absorbed, leaving him excited as the die regained its normal glow. Calcting the time, he realized that five uses would leave him exhausted to the point of deep sleep, and the die would be unusable for ten days. This meant he could use it up to four times in a row, with breaks of a few days in between.

    Although Lu Yin wanted to use the die immediately with the star crystals he had stored in his cosmic ring, he was out of time and had to head for Tianzhu immediately. He leapt up and left his bedroom, seeing Zhang Dingtian and the others waiting nearby. Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng would stay behind to guard Beijing, while he would be apanied by Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Jeraldine, Geine, and Bror on the trip.

    Behind Zhang Dingtian were a bunch of weak and starving students who had been tied up. Despite their obvious weakness, many of the students red at Lu Yin, particrly Raas and Jenny. With their background as the son of the Vice Treasurer and the heir of the Auna Family, they had never suffered through anything like this before. In this crowd of students, someone like Veron would only be an average cultivator.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Zhang Dingtian flew up, dragging the 42 students west with a tethered rope like they were useless bottles. These people couldn¡¯t be left in Beijing once the city¡¯s strongest cultivators were gone; Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng wouldn¡¯t be able to handle them if something went wrong.

    Lu Yin paused to take in the impressive scene and wondered how the other students would react when they saw this. Jeradine was simply stunned by the sight. Any one of these hostages could kill her in an instant, but here she was watching them herded like cattle. It truly changed her world view. On the other hand, Geine was delighted with the situation and kept provoking Eddy, Raas, and Jenny, infuriating the bound girl to the point she felt like biting someone.

    Lu Yin greeted Bai Xue, but she responded very coldly. However, this time he understood her reaction; he¡¯d heard the rumors that spread through the city and considered it normal for her to be angry. He was furious as well. What did they mean he was rejected? Was he that bad?

    The survivors of Tianzhu stared up in a daze, watching as Qingyu dragged all of his captive students in with a rope as he headed towards the foot of Cang Mountain. He had transported the students in the exact same manner as Zhang Dingtian,pletely humiliating and enraging them all. Huo Xiaoling was flushed red, hating not only Qingyu but Lu Yin as well, ¡®Couldn¡¯t they have made some other deal? Why did they have to involve us? The pricks! If I wasn¡¯t in the trial I would break this damn seal and fight Qingyu myself!¡¯

    In the spacecraft above Earth, Sigmund and the others were frowning at the screen while Mira grinned widely at the disy that soon changed to show the foot of Cang Mountain. This was going to be the site of the final showdown for this trial, and based on what had happened so far, no one was expecting a peaceful transaction. A battle was inevitable. Qingyu had started traveling a day earlier and so arrived at the mountain before Lu Yin, giving the students already there quite the show to watch. Many of them gloated that Huo Xiaoling and the other arrogant elites were being embarrassed in such a manner.

    Meanwhile, Yan Gang trembled in rage. Huo Xiaoling was the fianc¨¦e of the young lord of the Fireforge; this was an absolute insult to both her and her future husband.

    Qingyu tossed the students to the ground and yawned, calmly turning to observe the peak of the mountain. His demeanor seemed nothing at all like an escaped criminal. After half a day passed, Lu Yin arrived with the others from Beijing. The students hiding around the mountain were shocked once more with Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, when they saw that he had captured even more students than Qingyu and that all of them were hanging in the air. It was an impressive scene that stunned even Yan Gang, though his emotions quickly changed to fury. His Fireforge had a good rtionship with the Auna Family, who had even hosted him during his travels to the Great Yu Empire. Discovering that Jenny was being treated the exact same way as Xiaoling left him fuming.

    The students who had tried to protect Jenny Auna were also quietly seething, knowing that the Aunas would be humiliated if this information spread. Compared to the two women at the center of attention, Raas was rtively unimportant.

    Qingyu¡¯s gazended on the group of new arrivals and quickly settled on Lu Yin, ¡°You¡¯re the one who negotiated with me.¡±

    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Qingyu smiled, ¡°Instinct.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured with a hand and Zhang Dingtian brought the students forward and threw all 42 of them to the ground, where theynded near the students that Qingyu had brought. The two groups of students looked at each other awkwardly, especially Jenny Auna and Huo Xiaoling. The two¡¯s families weren¡¯t on good terms, but they held a simr status and had known each other since they were young. Never had they expected that they would see each other in a situation like this.

    ¡°Here are the 32 students, where¡¯s my item?¡± Qingyu asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the stone out and tossed it to Qingyu, who caught it and looked at it before turning to him in surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know how to use this stone?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lu Yin answered. He had no intention of revealing the Daynight Punch to this guy; who knew if the information would get back to the Daynight n. He didn¡¯t want to get involved in matters at that level, so it was best to just get rid of this thing quickly.

    Qingyuplimented, ¡°You¡¯re smart to not try to trick me with a fake one. If you hadn¡¯t threatened me, I could have given you a bright future.¡±

    His words elicited a stone-cold gaze from Lu Yin, while Zhang Dingtian and the rest moved forward while radiating bloodlust.

    ¡°Did you cause Earth¡¯s evolution?¡± the desage asked.

    ¡°Who do you think you are to question me?¡± Qingyu looked at Zhang Dingtian and sneered,ughing as his gaze fell upon the sword, ¡°It¡¯s an insult for you to hold my de. Give it back.¡±

    He disappeared and rushed over, but Zhang Dingtian shed out with full power. The buzzing sword surprised Qingyu. ¡°Realmbreaker? Interesting!¡± he said as he swung his metal rod at the attack, destroying the energy entirely. The rod seemed to upy a corner of the sky as it crashed down towards the desage, including Lu Yin, Bai Xue, Geine, and the others within its range.

 Chapter 57: The Terrifying Qingyu

    <h4>Chapter 57: The Terrifying Qingyu</h4>

    Lu Yin started as he saw Qingyu smashing down with his rod; it seemed quite simr to the Daynight Punch. Still, he didn¡¯t think much of it and instead used the seventh form of the Skybeast w to dodge, supported by an arrow from Geine and thebined efforts of Bror, Bai Xue, and Jeraldine. Still, all of them were pushed back after explosive contact, with everyone but Lu Yin himself spitting out blood. Zhang Dingtian was also knocked a dozen steps back, each one leaving a distinct footprint on the ground. Lu Yin himself only stepped back one, holding firmly as he defended against the unimaginable force behind Qingyu¡¯s weapon.

    The metal rod disappeared, and Qingyu retreated to about ten meters away in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong to block a strike, even if I¡¯m only a Sentinel for now.¡±

    ¡°Sentinel?¡± Huo Xiaoling and some other students cried. Even Yan Gang and the others in hiding were shocked; wasn¡¯t he a Melder?

    Qingyu noticed this andughed, ¡°A bunch of idiots, believing whatever you hear. If I was really a Melder, this trial would have no meaning. Would the Great Yu Empire send you people to your deaths? Sentinel students are naturally assigned to Sentinel trials; you can only me yourselves for being too stupid and weak.¡±

    Yan Gang roared from in the darkness, dashing out as he mmed his palms together to form a fire javelin that he flung forward. From the back, Geine shouted as well, ¡°This is the criminal, catch him and the trial can end. Astral-10 and the Youth Council are watching, everyone. CHARGE!¡±

    Her words had an immediate effect. Any student that darede here wanted toplete the mission, and their goal was joining Astral-10. No one would give up, especially after Yan Gang had already initiated the offensive. Countless attacks rained down on Qingyu. And yet, this was exactly what the criminal expected. If he hadn¡¯t revealed that he was only a Sentinel, a majority of the students would have dared to attack. Now, they believed that they could overwhelm him.

    ¡°Pathetic trash, let me show you the terror of the Daynight n!¡± he howled inughter, his rod flickering gray as he swept it across. Multiple students were struck in an instant, two of them chopped into halves as their blood sttered onto the ground.

    Yan Gang¡¯s javelin was smashed, and his body was beaten a dozen steps back. He barely raised a deathly-pale face that was filled with horror, ¡°The Daynight n?¡±

    Qingyu¡¯s rod continued on its way as a shockwave crushed and shattered the earth. Burning hotva sttered out onto the ground, heating everything in the surroundings. Yan Gang¡¯s eyes constricted from rising fear at the mention of the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin stopped Zhang Dingtian and the rest from attacking. If Qingyu was willing to reveal his realm, it meant he had absolute confidence in the current situation. This was a frighteningly powerful person whom Lu Yin knew he couldn¡¯t match even if he went all-out; he hadn¡¯t ever heard of such a wide gulf between two Sentinels; was this because of the Daynight n?

    Screams rang out as a few of the captive students fell into the cracks, prompting Bai Xue to hurry and save them by sealing the fissures with ice. Qingyu¡¯s rod smashed into another student¡¯s longsword and shattered it into pieces, sending the student flying even as he turned to look at her, ¡°Ice? Innate gift of Frost? You¡¯re mine, woman!¡±

    With that, he blinked right in front of Bai Xue to try and grab her. Lu Yin barely managed to get in front of her in time with the Roving Step, attacking with a palm. Three stars immediately exploded with terrifying force, blowing Qingyu away even as the powerless Bai Xue was tossed into the distance.

    ¡°What battle technique is that?¡± Qingyu was shocked, but Lu Yin simply fled through the sky with a clenched jaw. There wasn¡¯t a single way to win this fight; despite being a Sentinel as well, Qingyupletely outssed him. The criminal chased after him with a sneer, ¡°Innate gifts, realmbreakers, unique battle techniques¡­ you people have piqued my interest! Haha!¡±

    An oppressive force suddenly erupted in the battlefield and swept into the sky, clearing the clouds. The force of the shockwave flipped everyone over, even Lu Yin. He looked at an unknown man that had appeared right in front of Qingyu, cing both palms on the criminal¡¯s body. ¡°Go to hell!¡± BOOM! Qingyu was sent flying into the mountain, stunning everyone. A Melder powerhouse? A true Melder?

    Lu Yin was stunned by the show of force that even Qingyu couldn¡¯t react to, but the stranger suddenly turned around and bared his killing intent at himself. This was an unexpected development for everyone that left Lu Yin confused; why in the world was he being attacked by this man? Still, he activated the Cosmic Art just as the attack approached him, barely able to make out the trajectory of the fatal blow and dodging sideways to avoid the crisis. The man¡¯s strike smashed into the ground, the aftershocks alone injuring some students to the point of spitting out blood, but the attack was wasted. The man prepared to strike again, but a beam of light suddenly enveloped him above and stopped his strike midway, injuring him from the bacsh of star energy.

    The Great Yu Empire¡¯s surveince station had intervened, prompting everyone to raise their heads to look at the spaceship above. This was a Sentinel trial, so any student who broke their seal would be disqualified and expelled from the training grounds with force. Lu Yin breathed raggedly as he looked towards his captives, seeing the bitter look of regret on Raas¡¯s face. It must have been him! Only a few students had a background that would allow them to coerce a Melder, and Raas was the most hateful of them all.

    Lu Yin clenched his fist, wanting to kill this bastard, but was stopped by a giant boom. Everyone turned to look at the mountain and saw Qingyu walking out from the smoke with a gloomy face, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. This immediately plunged them all into the pits of despair; even a Melder¡¯s all-out attack couldn¡¯t kill him?

    Qingyu cleaned the blood from his mouth and looked at it. Though his smile was still present, his eyes were ice-cold, ¡°Great. He was willing to sacrifice his trial results to deal with me, not a bad attempt. Pity that was the only chance. A mere Melder thought of killing me? Dream on! I¡¯ll kill every one of you today!¡±

    Tremendous pressure enveloped the students as Qingyu swept out with his rod, killing several of them in an instant. However, Geine shouted out, ¡°HE¡¯S INJURED! ATTACK NOW, WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE!¡±

    Yan Gang, Munoor and the other sealed Melders attacked Qingyu at the first opportunity, but he justughed at them, ¡°Still trying to win? I¡¯ll make you weep.¡± The earth was overturned with a single wave of his hand, revealing three captured figures that froze up everyone present.

    Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had the strongest reactions, ¡°Wang You? Tong Zhan? Liu Shaoge?¡±

    Lu Yin stared in amazement. These were thest three of the Seven Sages of China, and Wang You was even one of the three High Sages. How did they end up here with even Liu Shaoge captured?

    Qingyu¡¯s smile turned cruel as he looked at Lu Yin, ¡°A worm like you dared to give me conditions? Did you really think my ten-day suggestion was to allow you to gather all this trash? It was just to capture these three. Anyone who dares threaten me must die! But before that, I¡¯ll make you experience true suffering. It¡¯s not just these three; your Beijing, Jinlin, Hubei, and everything else will be crushed under the hooves of a beast horde. Yes, I¡¯m the one who started this¡¯s evolution, so what? What can you do to me? Enough, it¡¯s time you feel regret!¡±

    He waved his hand once more, and a sharp wind swept out to cut off all three heads. Bai Xue immediately turned deathly pale, while Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gaze sharpened as he grasped his sword tightly and rushed forward. Qingyu sneered and pointed a finger forward, ck and white hair blowing in the wind. It was unclear just how, but the desage¡¯s chest was pierced through and he was sent flying away.

    Qingyu immediately started attacking the other students like a wolf among a pack of sheep, covering the ground with blood. Bai Xue¡¯s eyes went red and she pped towards him, but he that finger gently shattered her ice before he grabbed her hair and took a deep whiff, ¡°How fragrant. You¡¯re mine now, woman.¡±

    Lu Yin appeared again at this point, with a Skybeast w in his left hand and a Cosmic Palm in his right. Both were released together, shocking Qingyu. There were few people he took seriously on this, but Lu Yin was one of them. Admittedly, he only considered this a slightly more serious opponent than the rest.

    Bai Xue was sent flying once again, while Qingyu broke off the Skybeast w and countered the Cosmic Palm with his finger. All three stars exploded, but they were overpowered by the one attack. Lu Yin¡¯s right hand was even pierced and he was flung back, left in a miserable state. This was a terrifying freak of nature who seemed impossible to defeat.

    Yan Gang spat out a mouthful of blood, badly beaten and stunned by what he had just seen. This was the Daynight n¡¯s power, that of terrifying monsters who surpassed all others.

    ¡°Boring. I originally wanted to y a little more, but forget it. I¡¯ll take them and end things here,¡± Qingyu said indifferently before looking at the captured students. Next to them were the fallen bodies of Geine and Bror; it was unclear if they were alive or dead. A handsome man with a gentle face stood where they had been previously.

    Still gripping his injured right hand that was dripping blood, Lu Yin¡¯s expression warped as he saw the man. Liu Shaoge?!

 Chapter 58: Rematch

    <h4>Chapter 58: Rematch</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡± Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue stared with simr disbelief.

    Liu Shaoge smiled and bowed respectfully to Qingyu, ¡°Master, I have all 72 captured students; that should be enough.¡±

    Qingyu nodded and stared at the sky in cold arrogance, ¡°Your trial has ended. Let me go if you want to save these lives!¡±

    ¡°SHAOGE, WHY?¡± Bai Xue screamed from the distance.

    Liu Shaoge smiled once more, ¡°The Earth is too small, my dear. I¡¯m heading to the heavens.¡±

    ¡°YOU BETRAYED US! WHAT ABOUT WANG YOU? TONG ZHAN?¡±

    ¡°Eh, they¡¯re really dead. Those who can¡¯t appreciate the greater world don¡¯t deserve sympathy,¡± he looked at her gently, ¡°But you, you shoulde to the heavens with your innate gift. Give up this; someone with your talent shouldn¡¯t have their future restricted like this.¡±

    An enraged Zhang Dingtian bit his lips to control himself, while Lu Yin gazed upon the scene coldly. Even the pain that Qingyu had brought to this and himself couldn¡¯tpare to what Liu Shaoge had done. A city of countless survivors had been set on fire at the start of the Apocalypse, himself among them. He still carried the scars of that painful day upon his body, and knew that he would never forget that experience. He¡¯d thought it would be difficult to enact his vengeance, but now Liu Shaoge was alive and in front of his face.

    Qingyu was still waiting for the heavens to answer, while Liu Shaoge was facing Bai Xue. Lu Yin closed his eyes and formed the die in his right hand, crushing star crystals and allowing it to absorb the energy rapidly. This was his only chance, and he hoped for the right luck.

    ¡­¡­

    Within the giant spacecraft outside Earth, Sigmund sighed, ¡°It has ended. The trial is a failure.¡±

    No one refuted. Qingyu had iparable power at his level, and was practically undefeatable.

    Torry tutted, ¡°If that girl from the Mavis Family had gone over, she might have been Qingyu¡¯s match.¡±

    Shalosh sneered, ¡°The Mavis Family isn¡¯t the Great Yu Empire. So what if they defeated Qingyu? Would that glory be ours?¡±

    There was no disagreement.

    Sigmund turned towards Mira, ¡°Lady Mira, I¡¯m sorry you had to see such failure.¡±

    ¡°Failure?¡± Mira¡¯s eyes shone a faint red as she looked at the screen with a smile, ¡°Has it ended?¡±

    Sigmund nodded helplessly, ¡°Apologies.¡±

    She continued to grin, ¡°Wait a little, the tables might be turned yet. A trial is meant to see how the trainees find a way out of predicaments, is it not?¡±

    Torry Auna had a pained expression, ¡°Qingyues from the Daynight n. Even if his own family put out the warrant for his arrest, his power far surpasses his contemporaries. Forget Sentinels, he is practically matchless on Earth.¡±

    Even Mira seemed to be weighed down by the mention of the Daynight Family, ¡°How do you n to handle him?¡±

    Sigmund answered, ¡°The Daynight n wishes for him to be captured alive if at all possible. Even dead, his entire corpse must be sent back along with their inheritance stone.¡±

    Mira nodded, ¡°That means it¡¯s not a matter of whether he¡¯s alive or dead.¡±

    Everyone fell silent as they considered whether to kill him. He had schemed to exchange the lives of 72 students for a chance at escape, but it was impossible for any number of students to outweigh the Daynight n¡¯s warrant.

    ¡°Wait a little more. The Youth Council¡¯s rules state that as long as there are trial takers who have not lost their determination, the trial cannot be consideredplete. Just look, someone is still trying his best.¡± Mira kept looking at the disy that showed Lu Yin crushing more star crystals.

    ¡°LIU SHAOGE!¡± Zhang Dingtian bellowed and struck out with his de, mouth and clothes stained crimson.

    ¡°You¡¯re not dead?¡± Liu Shaoge was astonished, but he gently lifted his hand and a ray of lightunched towards the desage. This attack shattered the strike effortlessly and continued towards Zhang Dingtian himself, but Bai Xue appeared in front of him and blocked it with thick walls of ice. Even then, both High Sages were pushed back into a retreat.

    Geine and Bror had both woken up, intent on retaliating, but stopped upon seeing Liu Shaoge¡¯s attack. This native was clearly very powerful.

    ¡°Don¡¯t injure that woman too badly,¡± Qingyu said coldly as he surveyed the scene.

    Liu Shaoge responded with a bow and a grunt, then looked towards Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue with indifference, ¡°The so-called Seven Sages are nothing but a joke. I captured Wang You and Tong Zhan because they were just too weak. Zhang Dingtian, you might possibly be my match if you recoverpletely, but as you are right now, you¡¯re pathetic. None of you ever managed to fathom my true power.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian spat out a mouthful of blood, now too weak to even keep a hold of his de. Bai Xue stared at Liu Shaoge with an icy re, her eyes deep red.

    Not too far away, Lu Yin was growing frustrated. The first roll hadnded on ckhole Disassembly, and despite an immediate retry he¡¯dnded on Gift Copy. Seeing the gloating faces of Qingyu and Liu Shaoge after the Radiance had defeated the two High Sages, he took a deep breath and crushed more crystals. This time, the die stopped spinning and the surfaces faded away until only the four-pip face remained. This was the one!

    Lu Yin immediately entered the Timestop domain, excitedly taking out all of the star crystals he had left in his cosmic ring and throwing them at the countdown. The number jumped from 259,200 to 436,800; using all his wealth had gotten him two more days in this space.

    He immediately started to treat his injured body, even as he pulled out his star chart and started studying. He had five days to finish the fourth star. Just how strong would that be? Would it be able to stand up to Qingyu? He could only test that conjecture out in battle.

    The five days in the ashen room felt endless, with no sound nor sight in that boundless solitude. Lu Yin¡¯s hand had recovered dramatically by the third day, and the fourth star of his Cosmic Art had grown more defined. By the end of the fourth, it was fully formed. When the fifth day ended and the countdown dropped to zero, the scene before him changed once more as he returned to the outside world, back at the exact time he¡¯d left. Qingyu was still looking at the sky arrogantly, while the calm Liu Shaoge appeared as conceited as before. Bai Xue and the others were still helpless to act on their hatred, and there were injured students scattered across the ground.

    ¡°Are you not going to answer me? Are you trying to leave me here to die?¡± Qingyu shouted, his body disappearing and reappearing in front of the captured students. He grabbed Huo Xiaoling¡¯s long red hair and sneered, ¡°She¡¯ll die with me.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling was enraged and an overwhelming strength started swirling around her as she started to break her seal, but Qingyu coldly remarked, ¡°Trying to break your seal? Consider it carefully, a Melder who failed a Sentinel-level trial. Do you think you would ever be allowed into the Astral Combat Academy?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling paled at those words. She had already heard them many times from Qingyu, and it was the primary reason that she had been willing to remain a captive. A great Melder who also had an innate gift couldn¡¯t fail in a mere Sentinel trial mission. She would be nothing but trash in the eyes of the Astral Combat Academy. It wasn¡¯t just them; none of the higher academies of the universe would ept such a student. Breaking her seal here would end up the greatest stain on her record.

    She closed her eyes and constrained her star energy again. She would not break her seal even if she died.

    Outside Earth, Sigmund grew more anxious, ¡°Lady Mira, we can¡¯t wait anymore. Huo Xiaoling must not die.¡±

    Torry Auna and Shalosh were also focused on the screen; if Huo Xiaoling died on Earth during this trial, the wrath of the Huo Family would shake the Great Yu Empire; all involved would be out of luck. However, Mira didn¡¯t even notice; the scions of random families in the Outerverse weren¡¯t worth her attention. She was still focused on Lu Yin, having sensed something off as he suddenly changed. His injured hand had healed so quickly! Was that an innate gift? Or was it that die? All of the observers had seen Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift but thought little of it; gifts could look like anything and were only worth attention if they proved to be extraordinary.

    ¡°Lady Mira...¡± Sigmund continued, but Mira raised her chin and pointed at the disy. Everyone turned to look, only to be stunned at what they saw.

    On the battlefield, Qingyu suddenly was suddenly ten meters away from Xiaoling, having just been knocked back. He was staring at Lu Yin with incredulity, an emotion shared by everyone else; how had he been pushed away?

    ¡°Seems you forgot about me,¡± Lu Yin stated from in front of Huo Xiaoling, retracting his hand. Geine choked on her spittle, while Jeraldine was shocked once more by the youth who had destroyed her preconceptions again and again. Qingyu had eclipsed every student only moments ago, but Lu Yin could now force him back.

 Chapter 59: Lu Yin vs Qingyu

    <h4>Chapter 59: Lu Yin vs Qingyu</h4>

    Even though he was heavily injured, Zhang Dingtian smiled. Bai Xue looked at Lu Yin expectantly; she had never felt so helpless before either.

    Qingyu huffed, ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding your true strength?¡±

    Lu Yin stretched his shoulders, ¡°Not really. Some people just burst forth with potential when they¡¯re forced to their wit¡¯s end.¡±

    ¡°Ha, so what if you burst? You¡¯re only a maggot.¡± Qingyu pointed a finger at Lu Yin, the same one that had defeated Zhang Dingtian, Yan Gang, Munoor, the other students, and even Lu Yin¡¯s older Cosmic Palm. An apprehensive Lu Yin raised his own hand, four stars spinning within as he struck out.

    ¡°Courting death!¡± Qingyu shouted. The Daynight n was invincible amongst others at the same level.

    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Four explosions rang out in quick session. Qingyu didn¡¯t even bother about the first three, but a terrifying pressure descended upon him with the fourth that finally bent his finger. A palmnded on his chest at the same time, flinging him back ruthlessly. Tornado-like winds crushed the earth, leaving everyone deaf for a moment as their visions blurred with smoke and dust. When everything settled, they were shocked to see that Qingyu had been defeated.

    Lu Yin was panting heavily, his right palm throbbing as blood dripped down broken skin. Opposite him, a pale Qingyu gritted his teeth from the pain of his crushed finger, shuddering with wrath, ¡°What battle technique was that?¡±

    ¡°A technique to kill you!¡± Lu Yin grunted, using Roving Step as he charged forward again. His palm was raised for a deadly strike; while the others didn¡¯t understand the terror of someone withstanding the Cosmic Palm, he knew that this opponent could return one day and bring great trouble.

    ¡°Maggot, I¡¯ll show you the power of Daynight!¡± Qingyu snarled, and the entire mountain buzzed as Lu Yin was forced back, leaving a dozen footprints down below. He barely raised his head in time to see Qingyu rushing out of the smoke, ¡°Do you think I only have one battle technique? My n might not have much, but that¡¯s the one thing don¡¯t weck!¡±

    Enduring the impulse to vomit blood, Lu Yin met a new w attack with the seventh form of the Skybeast w. The earth rocked once more as a terrifying shockwave buffeted the ground, boring into the mountain rock. Seeing the battle through the veil of smoke, everyone was shocked; could Sentinels really fight at such a level?

    ¡­¡­

    Outside Earth, Sigmund and the rest were simrly astonished, ¡°How did this person be so strong? That¡¯s the Skybeast w, looks like the seventh form. Isn¡¯t that a battle technique of Yu Academy?¡±

    ¡°The real power is in that strike that withstood Qingyu¡¯s finger. That was his greatest battle technique, but it lost.¡±

    ¡°This person isn¡¯t simple; we must investigate further.¡±

    While everyone posited their own opinions, Mira¡¯s eyes gleamed as she watched Lu Yin. They were all focused on his battle technique, but she was looking at his fully-recovered hand. There was obviously a finger-sized hole through it before, but it had mysteriously vanished.

    ¡­¡­

    Shock after shock seemed to explode in the audience¡¯s hearts, leaving many pale. The two figures retreated simultaneously after another explosion, with Qingyu panting heavily as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were currently shaking. He had healed from his injuries, recovered his stamina, and even rested during his five days in the Timestop domain, but he was still hard-pressed to match up with Qingyu. Not even the four-star Cosmic Palm seemed to be able to cause any serious injuries; this man truly lived up to the reputation of an Explorer and member of the Daynight n. Even a Melder wasn¡¯t likely to be able to withstand his full strike with just their physical body.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him, Master!¡± Liu Shaoge suddenly imed, jumping forward with light blossoming on his palm. Zhang Dingtian roared in anger, but Lu Yin barely spared a nce as he lifted his left hand. A bestial howl rang out as the Skybeast w crushed the light, swatting the man down into the ground.

    ¡°Trash, do you think you can interfere in my battles?¡± Qingyu barked.

    Liu Shaoge spat out blood and feebly replied, ¡°Sorry, Master.¡±

    Lu Yin was quite amazed. He had intended to kill Liu Shaoge with that attack, but the man hadn¡¯t just survived, he could still speak! He was clearly much stronger than believed.

    ¡°I never dreamed that this backwater could house someone like you who wields such power as a Sentinel!¡± Qingyu eximed, ¡°Even in the Innerverse, you would be considered outstanding.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, ¡°I have no need for your approval.¡±

    Qingyu grinned, ¡°I¡¯ve seen too many geniuses fall and too many powerhouses die before my Daynight n. You won¡¯t be able to escape either, and don¡¯t count on the Great Yu Empire rescuing you. Every trial is supervised by the Youth Council, so unless every one of you loses your determination and causes the trial to fail, no one will interfere and the trial will continue. I¡¯ll ughter you before that happens!¡±

    Chaotic star energy drifted over his body, but instead of being released, it wrapped around him and twisted around his legs to make it seem like he was stepping on the clouds. ¡°Die!¡± was the only word people heard as his body suddenly vanished, only to reappear in front of Lu Yin with the index finger stretched out to attack.

    This was an extreme speed technique of the Daynight n, so powerful that not even Yan Gang could make out Qingyu¡¯s movements. The man was trying to take Lu Yin out with a single blow, but the still-panting Lu Yin activated the Cosmic Art once more. He could make out every movement of the finger that drew close; while the Cosmic Art¡¯s range was quite small, that distance was scaled to the stars. Just as when Raas, Munoor, and the others had attacked with the Skybeast w, Lu Yin could make out every change in Qingyu¡¯s attack. Carefully analyzing the approaching strike, he moved down and to the side, countering with a Cosmic Palm that contained everyst bit of his rage.

    Qingyu waspletely caught off guard; he had never expected Lu Yin to be able to dodge his finger, let alone counter attack. His absolute confidence in his footwork technique was crushed, but he was left with no time to react. Most importantly, Lu Yin made sure his Cosmic Palm struck the exact same point where the unsealed Melder had previously struck. Already injured from the beginning, this was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. A mangled body crashed to the earth, forming a cone-like crater as rocks shattered with tremendous explosions. Lava scorched the air, drowning out all sound.

    To the onlookers, Qingyu had blinked out and in before immediately being pped to the ground by Lu Yin. It looked terrifyingly simple, but the victor alone knew how perilous that moment had been. Anyone in his ce¡ªeven an unsealed Huo Xiaoling¡ª would have been unable to dodge that strike. Only someone like Lulu with her own speed technique could avoid it. While Lu Yin had noparable speed techniques, his Cosmic Art was the counter to them all.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes glinted as he looked at the ground. The others followed his gaze, looking towards the figure buried deep below, wasn¡¯t he dead? Lu Yin stood beside the pit, gasping for breath in the furnace-like heat created by theva. Qingyu had brought this moment upon himself with his carelessness. He had been so confident that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge thatst finger attack that he hadn¡¯t considered or prepared for any type of counter. The only regret was that he had been unable to learn the extreme speed technique even after studying it with his Cosmic Art. All of the Daynight n¡¯s techniques had a unique aspect that reflected the name of the n itself; day and night. If one couldn¡¯t grasp the rhythm, even seeing every change and development of the technique was useless. He had initially thought that he could use the Cosmic Art to be able to learn all battle techniques in the universe, but now he realized this was impossible. Some techniques required special conditions to be acquired and learned.

    Crack! The surface of the conical pit cracked and gave way, and Qingyu slowly pushed himself off the ground with one hand and red at Lu Yin with red eyes, ¡°You maggot, you¡¯ve really pissed me off now!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, knowing full well how precarious this situation had be. This man was worthy of his status as one who had reached the realm of Explorer. Even while he was unable to manifest his full strength, his body was extremely tough and he had taken on a full-powered attack from an unsealed Melder on top of Lu Yin¡¯s strike. Qingyu also was showing a scary rate of recovery, and Lu Yin knew that he would lose if things continued.

    ¡°You won¡¯t win no matter what method you choose, maggot. Give up!¡± Qingyu growled and charged, but Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he looked towards the crowd of students watching from below. Qingyu coughed up some blood, but forced himself to endure and pursued, ¡°There¡¯s no escape.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mad dash frightened many students into fleeing. One of them even cried out, ¡°This bastard wants to drag us down with him! Quick, escape! And don¡¯t get caught!¡±

    The students all rushed away, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t care about most of them. He had a single target that he chased after; Munoor, a sealed Melder.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± All color drained from Munoor¡¯s face.

 Chapter 60: Nightking

    <h4>Chapter 60: Nightking</h4>

    Lu Yin used Roving Step to charge straight to Munoor¡¯s side, punching him square in the stomach. Already injured earlier by Qingyu, the youth was unable to dodge and ended up gasping, giving Lu Yin an opportunity to stuff a pill into his mouth, ¡°Come on.¡±

    ¡°You asshole! What did you just give me?¡± Munoor yelled out in rm.

    ¡°Powerburst!¡± Lu Yin said as he escaped, not looking back for a moment.

    ¡°You son of a bitch! You bastard!¡± Munoor¡¯s expression warped in an instant; he knew just what Powerburst was for. While it would allow him to burst forth with power as a Melder, it would destroy any Sentinel. He felt the terrifying burst of star energy break his seal, and he also saw Qingyu rushing straight for him. His hand thrust out almost automatically in the Skybeast w; while he could only use the seventh form as a Sentinel, he could go up to the tenth as a Melder.

    Qingyu¡¯s irises shrank as he saw the tenth form of the Skybleast w, but it was toote to escape. The attack had a hundred-meter radius, so it smashed him into the rock once more.

    ¡°YOU¡¯LL PAY FOR THAT!¡± Munoor bellowed as he was beamed away.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t be bothered with this new enemy. Facing a battered Explorer, he had to strike while the iron was hot. He shot towards the surface and drove his palm down, five consecutive Cosmic Palm strikes focusing on previous injuries as they drove Qingyu deeper and deeper into the mountain. The entire mountain was eventually divided in two as he ran out of star energy, but he still had the Shockwave Palm and Spacerender Palm to utilize. More attacks rained down on Qingyu without pause, each one sending another gush of blood from Qingyu¡¯s gaping mouth.

    Seeing the bloodlust in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Qingyu gritted his teeth and bellowed between strikes, ¡°MY WOUNDS ARE TOO HEAVY TO SHOW MY INNATE GIFT. STOP, YOU CAN¡¯T KILL ME! I¡¯M A NIGHTKING, I¡¯M AN AWAKENED NIGHTKING!¡±

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Lu Yin raised his right palm, stuffing all his energy into onest Cosmic Palm. However, the strike was only one centimeter from connecting as someone grabbed his wrist, a middle-aged man having appeared out of nowhere with a shocked expression on his face, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Qingyu spat out blood as a huge smile spread across his face, ¡°A Nightking. I¡¯m a Nightking.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s pupils instantly constricted and he looked up at Qingyu¡¯s hair. Sure enough, amidst the ck and white was an inconspicuous bit of ash-colored hair. His face nched as he tossed Lu Yin to the side, quickly retrieving a potion from his cosmic ring and feeding it to Qingyu. A nervous expression beset his face in the anticipation of something dreadful.

    Torry and Shalosh appeared at the edge of the pit as well, showing simr looks of shock at the sight of that ashen tuft. That was the sign of a Nightking, the royals of the Daynight n. Every Nightking was a living cmity in the universe.

    Qingyu¡¯s status after awakening as a Nightking was iparable to his previous status as an ordinary Daynight n member. He now held one of the most supreme positions within the Daynight n, now untouchable not just in the Great Yu Empire, but the entire Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he took out a healing potion and consumed it. His entire body was so drained that even his skin had cracked; the attack he¡¯d just received was more than his body could withstand. He had been nning on killing Qingyu and retrieving his formcast model for personal use, but against all expectations, the Great Yu Empire had intervened.

    Nightking? This title shocked him, bringing his mind to his attempt to use the Daynight n¡¯s ancient inheritance stone. He had seen this title at the highest level of the stone b; the Nightking Lord.

    High in the sky, a huge spacecraft appeared and blocked out the sunlight, ¡°Attention all students, the trial has ended. I repeat, the trial has ended. The results of this trial will be announced at your academies.¡±

    The students heaved sighs of relief; the trial was finally over, even Veron, Eddy, Raas, and the others. While this wasn¡¯t the first trial they had participated in, it was by far the most terrifying one. They had thought they would be unmatched on this, but they had actually been kidnapped! Even worse, they had been turned into hostages and left unable to participate in any other way. In the end, even Melders had gotten involved; this simply didn¡¯t end as a Sentinel trial.

    Liu Shaoge released all of the captured students. Now that Qingyu¡¯s awakening had been revealed, they were worthless to him. While they could have been of great use to Lu Yin and the others for negotiating with the Great Yu Empire, they were unfortunately all freed.

    Jeraldine was disappointed to see that all of their hard work had been for nothing. If Lu Yin had seeded in killing Qingyu in their fight, he would have been the only person toplete the mission and he would definitely have been a shoe-in for Astral-10. It was really a pity¡­

    Huo Xiaoling was looking over at Lu Yin, still amazed by the earlier battle. If she was to be honest, she was capable of no more than what Lu Yin had disyed even if she used the full extent of her Melder abilities. Qingyu had proven to have a body far stronger than a Melder, and she begrudgingly had to admit that she was not his match. Lu Yin had managed to exhibit such stunning strength while still being a Sentinel. Although the battle had been won with a portion of luck, it was still an astonishing victory. Too bad Qingyu¡¯s status was just too far above that of this native.

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes held endless sadness and hatred as she stared at Liu Shaoge. Though suffering from terrible injuries, Zhang Dingtian struggled to stand up, his eyes never leaving Qingyu. This criminal had masterminded Earth¡¯s Apocalypse that had hurt or killed countless people, but he was now being rescued. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to ept this reality.

    ¡°Go to the spacecraft. We will give you the best treatment avable,¡± Sigmund said. He had been the one to stop Lu Yin¡¯s final blow. Qingyu was still coughing blood from his serious injuries. Explorers could travel through space alone because of the protection of their star energy; restricted to a Sentinel¡¯s level, Qingyu¡¯s defenses were insignificantpared to before. In this weakened state, he had taken on the full brunt of two Melders¡¯ attacks, one even having consumed Powerburst. After all that, he had also suffered from Lu Yin¡¯s barrage.

    Qingyu spat out some blood and lifted his head to smirk at Lu Yin, ¡°You must be so disappointed you couldn¡¯t kill me, maggot! Hahahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened, while Sigmund sighed to himself. If it was just a normal Daynight n member, their death wouldn¡¯t have meant a thing. After all, the Daynight n was the one that announced Qingyu¡¯s criminal status and arrest warrant. However, a Nightking was entirely different; they were the n¡¯s royalty. Not even the rest of the n dared to discipline a Nightking; only other Nightkings could try Qingyu. There were just too few members of the branch, and each one was considered a treasure of the n. It was truly unfortunate for all involved that he had awakened during the trial on Earth. If Qingyu was killed within the Great Yu Empire, the entire Empire would be washed with blood and no one would be able to escape. Not even Mira moved to stop Sigmund from interfering, proving just how important Nightkings were. Absolute fairness did not exist anywhere, and this was a perfect example of how unfair the universe could be.

    ¡°General Sigmund, that native almost killed me, kill him at once!¡± Raas bellowed as he ran towards Sigmund.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The General pped him so hard that he crashed into the ground.

    Shalosh moved in front of Raas and nced at the ground before looking at Qingyu. He smiled respectfully and asked, ¡°These natives are such a nuisance. Do you need us to get rid of them for you?¡±

    Lu Yin, Zhang Dingtian, and the others froze at these words, ring at Shalosh. Sigmund waited for Qingyu¡¯s response, while Torry¡¯s attention was caught as well. Qingyu had suddenly be the most powerful person the moment he¡¯d revealed that he was a Nightking.

    Liu Shaoge quietly walked behind Qingyu, standing in a deferential position, but Qingyu wiped the blood from his mouth with his thumb and stared at the scarlet stain. He lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, ¡°No, I¡¯ll wait. I will return very soon, and when I do, this will cease to exist. Everyone on it will die.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s face turned ice-cold and he clenched his fists tightly. He was ovee with sadness; Qingyu had triggered the Apocalypse that killed countless earthlings. He had killed Wang You and Tong Zhan himself, and caused beast hordes to attack various parts of China to further increase the death toll. Now he was dering the impending destruction of the entire; this truly was the greatest enemy of all earthlings. He silently swore to himself to kill this man in vengeance if ever the opportunity arose in the future.

    ¡°How magnanimous of you,¡± Shaloshughed, ¡°As you wish, then. We will preserve this for you.¡±

    Qingyu waspletely unmoved by Shalosh. After all, Qingyu had once been an Explorer level powerhouse as well and had been far stronger than this man. Lu Yin was the only one that upied his thoughts; that maggot had managed to defeat him. This mark would mar Qingyu¡¯s record for the rest of his life unless he could somehow deal with the situation on his own. However, this was not the time. The most important thing right now was to return the ancient inheritance stone to the n¡¯s ancestral grounds and take his ce as a true Nightking.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Qingyu said faintly, shing Lu Yin an evil smile before continuing, ¡°I wille back very soon, maggot, you can count on it.¡± With that, a beam of light transported him and Liu Shaoge directly into the spaceship.

 Chapter 61: Blood Sample

    <h4>Chapter 61: Blood Sample</h4>

    Knowing that anything he said was useless, Lu Yin didn¡¯t speak from start to end. The weak would always be preyed on across the universe, and any unwillingness on his part would only make him a subject of ridicule. The only thing he felt was a pity at this point was being unable to kill Liu Shaoge; that man was a hidden threat.

    ¡°LIU. SHAO. GE,¡± Bai Xue trembled as she shouted each syble, her eyes now red. The man in question smiled at her faintly, but he didn¡¯t reply.

    Qingyu nced at her, ¡°Forget her for now, bring her along the next time. Her gift and face make her fit to serve me, but we can¡¯t take her along now.¡±

    A cold glint shed past Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes, but they quickly returned to normal as he bowed, ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Soon, the duo¡¯s figures had vanished, and a silver spaceship shot out from therger one and took off into the unknown. Back within therger spaceship, Mira squinted, ¡°The birth of another Nightking; truly a troublesome n.¡±

    As they watched Qingyu vanish, Lu Yin suddenly reached out and grabbed both Huo Xiaoling and Jenny Auna, stunning everyone including Sigmund.

    ¡°The audacity! Let them go immediately, native!¡± Torry shouted out, cursing his carelessness to let such a scenario y out before his very eyes. Standing nearby, Shalosh was astonished; he¡¯d never imagined a puny Sentinel would dare to grab these twodies of high society in front of Explorers. The sheer courage that required was something that he could appreciate.

    ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± Sigmund stared coldly at Lu Yin.

    Holding both girls with his elbows, Lu Yin pointed a dagger at them with each hand. He could pierce their necks with even the slightest force. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have to use these girls to threaten people, but it just so happens that they¡¯re the most important ones here. I hope to talk things over with you, General Mathers.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Sigmund grew irate at the fact that a native was ckmailing him. He wouldn¡¯t have cared to sacrifice these lives in most scenarios, but the two hostages were simply too important in this scenario. If Xiaoling and Jenny died, he wouldn¡¯t end up well either.

    ¡°Once the trial ends, the cultivators of Earth will be sent to the battlefields of the Empire. I don¡¯t wish for that to happen.¡±

    ¡°Those are the rules of the Empire, I have no authority to overturn them.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Qingyu just said that he would personally return to destroy Earth. You can use that as an excuse; if I¡¯m not wrong, the Great Yu Empire wouldn¡¯t dare to defy a Nightking¡¯s orders.¡±

    Sigmund was enraged, ¡°Brat, don¡¯t insult the Great Yu Empire. We simply do not wish for hostilities with the Nightkings. I¡¯ll report your suggestion if you wish, but release them first.¡±

    ¡°Do I look stupid?¡± Lu Yin declined.

    This time, it was Torry who replied, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, kid. Your performance in this trial qualifies you to join Yu Academy; you won¡¯t be burdened by this. Not just you; the earthlings around you can all join Yu Academy as well; this is the reward from the Empire. Threaten us again and that reward will be void; you¡¯ll experience true destion.¡±

    ¡°Looks like these two aren¡¯t all that important if you¡¯re spouting so much nonsense,¡± Lu Yin remarked.

    ¡°YOU!¡±

    Huo Xiaoling red at Lu Yin, ¡±Let me go, I¡¯ll help plead your case.¡±

    ¡°Me too, don¡¯t touch me!¡± Jenny added.

    ¡°More crap and I¡¯ll stuff a smelly sock into your mouths,¡± Lu Yin threatened, forcing them quiet as they ground their teeth. Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue silently walked beside Lu Yin; to them, this was the only chance for Earth¡¯s countless cultivators. Geine stuck a tongue out and distanced herself from the lunatics, and despite the struggle on her face, Jeraldine did the same. This trial was permanently etched into her mind.

    Everything stopped for a moment. Lu Yin¡¯s breathing became shallow as he stretched his body past its limits, but he refused to show any weakness even as his face paled. However, a sudden terrifying pressure crashed down on him and caused his hands to tremble, an invisible force locking his body in ce. The rocks all around were turned to dust as Torry Auna appeared in front of him and kicked out, sending him flying a hundred meters back before crashing to the ground. A simple wave of the man¡¯s hand sent Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue flying away as well.

    Lu Yin immediately coughed up blood, a searing pain spreading through his body as all his organs were shattered. There was a deep footprint now marked on his chest; the kick had almost broken through his entire body. It was at this moment that he felt the terror of an Explorer¡¯s strength; it had been impossible for him to resist or even move a single muscle.

    Torry¡¯s icy gaze swept across him, ¡°Some vagabond dares to negotiate with us? We wanted to save you for Qingyu¡¯s return, but you¡¯re just looking to die. How arrogant!¡±

    Jenny matched Torry¡¯s re as she looked at Lu Yin, while Huo Xiaoling just sighed at the sight. She hade to admire Lu Yin for attaining such strength with the meager resources of the natives, it was not an easy task at all. Unfortunately, the gap was just too great in their backgrounds. Geniuses were a dime a dozen in the universe, and while Lu Yin was clearly a genius, how did that matter? The universe was too vast and there were too many prodigies to choose from.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head dropped down, his vision blurring as he truly reached the end of the road. Torry turned to Sigmund, ¡°General Mathers, I think we should eliminate this person. He¡¯s uncontroble and his background is unknown; sending him to the battlefield will only cause problems for the Empire.¡±

    The General showed no signs of hearing the man, focused on a call he¡¯d just started with some unknown person. Torry noticed the man¡¯s unreadable expression and slowly raised his hand and pointed it at Lu Yin, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll actually be able to wait for Qingyu toe back and kill you. It will be difficult for him to return, and we won¡¯t wait that long. Go to hell!¡±

    The Explorer moved to attack. Zhang Dingtian howled, but couldn¡¯t even get up, and a pathetic-looking Raas sneered to the side. Mira stood up in the spaceship above and prepared to intervene, but Sigmund suddenly shouted, ¡°TORRY AUNA! STOP!¡±

    Torry was stunned and looked at him in astonishment, ¡°What?¡±

    Sigmund¡¯s expression grew solemn and he looked at Lu Yin with a mix of apprehension and anticipation, ¡°Get a blood sample.¡±

    One soldier immediately stepped forward and approached Lu Yin, bending down and collecting some blood from Lu Yin¡¯s lips. When a dizzy Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw the soldier, his pupils shrank, ¡°You?¡±

    The soldier shushed Lu Yin and blinked, ¡°Home tasked me with sending you regards. You have performed well, now pass me the blood sample.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately retrieved a vial of blood from his cosmic ring, handing it over to the soldier. The man smiled at Lu Yin, but by the time he¡¯d turned around, he was solemn once more. He walked over to Sigmund, ¡°General.¡±

    Sigmund opened his hand and sent the vial flying towards the spaceship, leaving everyone silent in anticipation. Lu Yin watched the soldier returning to formation and released his breath with a smile; finally, he¡¯d taken the first step. The blood sample he¡¯d left back when he first arrived at Jinlin had finally proved its use.

    The Great Yu Empire¡¯s examinations for cultivators were extremely strict, and due to Lu Yin¡¯s eye-catching performance during the trial, the Empire naturally wanted to gather his blood samples and conduct some tests. The blood Lu Yin had left behind at Jinlin had actually been intended for just this moment. His ster performance had been a show to entice the Great Yu Empire to examine the blood sample he had left behind, and now everything was proceeding ording to the n.

    After a bit of time passed, Sigmund listened to a report from his gadget. Getting visibly excited, he turned to Lu Yin and blinked right in front of the youth to prop him up, ¡°Tell me, why are you here? What¡¯s your name? Who else is in your family? How old are they?¡±

    The others grew curious. Shalosh and Torry quickly received the same news as Sigmund from their own sources, and they also turned to look at Lu Yin in shock. The Great Yu Empire was about to get shaken up.

    Up in the spacecraft, Mira was dumbfounded. She looked at the people in her disy, ¡°Are you certain? This is too convenient.¡±

    The person on the screen nervously checked the instruments, ¡°There¡¯s no doubt. Absolutely none. This is the Zishan n¡¯s bloodline. That child is definitely a descendant of the Zishan Family.¡±

    Mira was speechless. She had learned about this empire before arriving and was well aware that it had its fair share of legends. It had started as a weak nation, but had abruptly risen in power thanks to two people who had groomed it into a top-ranked empire within the Frostwave Weave. One of those people was Undying Yushan, while the other was Undying Zishan. The duo had been famous throughout the Outerverse.

 Chapter 62: The Zishan Family

    <h4>Chapter 62: The Zishan Family</h4>

    The Great Yu Emperor¡¯s name was The Undying Yushan, while hispanion, The Undying Zishan, had died long ago. The Zishan Family had withered quickly after, and after a period of seclusion, the n vanished. They were confirmed to be gone centuries ago with no surviving descendants, and it was unthinkable to find one on this fringe. This bloodline¡¯s influence on the Great Yu Empire was nontrivial; The Undying Yushan had promised that their hereditary kinghood allowed them a position second only to himself. It would be a pity if Lu Yin truly was a descendant of this line; they had actually thought of subduing him.

    As Zhang Dingtian and the rest were left confused about current proceedings, Lu Yin stood up with difficulty. His body quivered at first from the aftermath of Torry¡¯s kick, but he barely held himself up, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Tell me, Child, where are you from?¡± Sigmund asked.

    ¡°Earth,¡± Lu Yin sneered.

    The General shook his head, ¡°We have observed everything during Earth¡¯s trial. You¡¯re definitely no earthling; they have no battle techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin wiped his mouth, ¡°I am from Earth, I¡¯d left the at a young age. It¡¯s up to you whether you believe me.¡±

    Sigmund seemed like he still wanted to question more, but seeing the exhaustion on Lu Yin¡¯s face, he immediately ordered a few people to send him up to the spacecraft for treatment.

    ¡°Wait, what about them?¡± Lu Yin pointed at Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue.

    ¡°Rest assured, Earth will remain untouched. We¡¯ll send people to clear out the more powerful mutant beasts,¡± Sigmund beckoned, sending a troop of hundreds of Sentinels led by a few Melders. All of these soldiers came from various colonies and had cultivated using energy crystals, so they were already at or close to the peak achievement of their lives. ¡°Protect China and all of Earth¡¯s major cities. Disperse.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± All of them flew into the sky, separating in different directions. Seeing this, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue finally rxed. No one moved to stop the soldiers from moving out, not even Torry or Shalosh. Now that Lu Yin¡¯s identity had been verified and ryed to the Empire, he was no longer someone they could touch.

    The Undying Yushan had reigned as Emperor of the Great Yu Empire for 800 years, and had the cultivation to live to a millennium. His strict rule over these eight centuries had cemented him as the sole individual on top of the Empire¡¯s hierarchy, and no one dared defy him. The man had one invible rule during his reign; the Zishan Kingship would always be held for the Zishan Family. It was a position with no authority, but it did have high status. Torry and Shalosh were only vice captains in the Thirteen Squadrons and their positions were iparable to the King Zishan; they had no power to create any obstacles.

    Lu Yin was sent up to the spacecraft, and everyone was now obeisant from the moment he arrived. This reassured him and he finally allowed himself to drift off, his consciousness fading.

    With the trial now finished, arrangements were made to return each student back to their academy. Since the mission had ended in failure, many students were in bad moods. The Sentinels weren¡¯t too bad, but students like Huo Xiaoling who had participated in the trial as a sealed Melder were miserable. Failing just a Sentinel trial was a blemish that would practically guarantee that they would have no chance to enter the Astral Combat Academy.

    There was also something else that most students were unaware of, but Huo Xiaoling and the others who were at simr levels were paying close attention to the fact that the Great Yu Empire Youth Council was about to be reorganized. The Youth Council was a powerful organization that supervised the trials, meddled in educational institutions, and could even field its own army. It was a force that no one in the Empire could ignore, and all top students desired to be members. Now, the results of this trial had badly damaged their chances.

    All things considered, there was a forlorn mood among the trial participants. Only Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were celebrating. Despite everything that had happened, both good and bad, Earth had been preserved. The two were grateful to Lu Yin, since it was only with his help that they had been saved, and that the numerous cultivators from Earth would no longer be sent to a foreign battlefield as cannon fodder.

    Raas failed toe to terms with the reality of the situation and just stared nkly at the spacecraft. He truly wished to kill Lu Yin, but Shalosh had given a warning not to act rashly, leaving him sulking. Yan Gang also started to mope after he spoke with Torry Auna. He had assumed that this trial would be a breeze, but he had been no more than a bystander in the end who hadn¡¯t even qualified to participate in the final showdown. He had even watched as Huo Xiaoling had been threatened by Lu Yin. With no way to defend himself then, he had now received a stern warning from Torry that ensured he couldn¡¯t deal with Lu Yin even after the trial was finished.

    As for Eddy, Veron, and the others, they didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest hostility towards Lu Yin. They may not have known much about the Zishan Family, but just from Sigmund¡¯s attitude they could tell that it was best to not cause any problems for Lu Yin or even Earth itself. This had held a realmbreaker, someone with an innate gift, and a number of other things that they weren¡¯t aware of.

    The spaceship suddenly sounded an rm, and Sigmund and a few others turned north to see a giant shadow approaching them. The students followed their gazes and gaped in horror, one of them crying out, ¡°A giant turtle!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian and the others who had traveled with him were also shocked; it was the flying turtle that had passed over the capital after destroying the Blue Camp. Yan Gang even nched upon seeing its approach; this was the creature that had humiliated him.

    Sigmund, Torry, and Shalosh flew into the sky together, releasing terrifying star energy in an instant that turned the weather chaotic and even changed the colors of the sky; they were Explorers, individuals of simr strength to the beast.

    ¡°An Explorer-level mutant appeared so quickly; this is full of surprises,¡± Torrymented.

    Sigmund remained solemn; this turtle was neither simple nor weak. Its gargantuan eyes remained calm as it looked at the three minuscule obstructions in its path; it seemed not to care about them at all and slowly opened its mouth, ready for a small snack.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be naughty, Little Turtle. These are good people, don¡¯t eat them,¡± a girl suddenlymanded, appearing on the beast¡¯s head.

    The trio of Explorers gazed at her in wonder, ¡°Lulu Mavis?¡±

    Lulu casually greeted them from atop the turtle¡¯s head, ¡°Long time no see. How¡¯ve you guys been?¡±

    The three were left speechless, Long time? It hadn¡¯t even been a month!

    ¡°Miss Lulu, this turtle¡­ ?¡± Sigmund was still shocked, doubtful that a Sentinel student could tame an Explorer turtle. Just the thought was ridiculous.

    The girl immediately got defensive, ¡°It¡¯s mine and it will stay that way.¡±

    The General forced a smile, ¡°Of course it belongs to you, but if I may ask, how did you subdue it?¡±

    She smiled weirdly, ¡°That¡¯s a Mavis Family secret. Come, let me tell you.¡±

    ¡°No need!¡± Sigmund hurriedly shook his head, ¡°Since it¡¯s a secret, it would be troublesome for me to find out. You do know the trial ended, no?¡±

    ¡°Already?¡± Lulu felt a pang of regret, ¡°What happened to the criminal? Was he caught? There was no news on the at all.¡±

    All of the students who had arrived to participate in the final confrontation had removed their gadgets to prevent revealing their information and location, so of course no news had been released onto thework. Torry Auna exined everything that had transpired, causing Lulu¡¯s expression to change, ¡°Nightking? You mean that criminal from the Daynight n awakened to be a Nightking?¡±

    The trio nodded.

    Lulu sighed, ¡°That¡¯s fun. No wonder you guys didn¡¯t dare to let him die and had to rescue him. Clearly, the trial was impartial.¡±

    Sigmund was embarrassed. Lu Yin had indeed been capable of killing Qingyu, but he had stopped that at thest moment. This was clearly breaking the rules of the trial.

    ¡°Pity, if I had arrived earlier, I could¡¯ve killed a newly awakened Nightking myself. A Nightking, that would have been such an aplishment. My family would definitely have praised me for that.¡±

    Not one of the three men dared to interrupt. Whether it was the Mavis Family or the Daynight n, the Great Yu Empire could not afford to offend either one.

    ¡°Nevermind, we missed it and can¡¯t do anything now. The trial¡¯s done, so I should leave too. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with Little Turtle following the spaceship, right?¡±

    Sigmund smiled, ¡°Of course not, we can tow it along. That being said, I¡¯m a little concerned it might not be able to handle warps.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem, Little Turtle is very powerful,¡± Lulu waspletely unconcerned, and jumped over to the turtle¡¯s ear and spoke a few words. The gigantic turtle obediently rose up and quietly waited behind the spacecraft, closing its eyes and resting. It was a little smaller than the ship, but not by much. The size was truly astounding.

    The girl herself entered the spacecraft, curious about Lu Yin; he had nearly killed a recently awakened Nightking. This was news that could shock even the Innerverse, and it was even a Sentinel native who had clearly not been so powerful before the fight. How interesting...

 Chapter 63: Seruzen

    <h4>Chapter 63: Seruzen</h4>

    Normal earthlings simply couldn¡¯t even hear about the Great Yu Empire¡¯s trial. In their view, strong individuals had simply appeared out of nowhere to protect their new poption centers. They had no idea that the trainees in this trial were currently boarding the spacecraft, a total of 150 out of 237 having returned alive.

    87 deaths might seem like arge number, but Sigmund wasn¡¯t moved in the slightest by it. In fact, this was considered quite good by standard of most trials, where about half the participants died in the process. In fact, the only thing that would cause a fuss would be the death of some noble heir.

    Many students around Jeraldine¡¯s level were in high spirits; their goal had only been to hold onto one or two major cities for a while ande back alive. On the contrary, it was the elites who were annoyed, especially those from the second batch. Each one of their faces was more unsightly than thest; they had basically earned nothing.

    Among the earthlings, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were exceptional enough to join the Empire¡¯s ranks. One was a realmbreaker, while the other had an innate gift; both would receive direct invitations to one of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. The only one outside of the Sages that qualified to join was the Tianzhu Monk, Seruzen. Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng had been asked as well, but both chose to retain their positions as Earth¡¯s guardians. Sigmund didn¡¯t particrly mind; there was arge disparity between these two sets, and the regr Sages would only be normal soldiers for the Empire.

    It took about two hours for Sigmund¡¯s doctors to treat Lu Yin¡¯s chest wounds, and the first people he saw when he opened his eyes were Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue. He asked feebly, ¡°How are things?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s tone was downcast, ¡°It has ended. Earth hasn¡¯t changed, but the Empire will send people to monitor the situation and clean up the zombies. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Bai Xue echoed with gratitude.

    Lu Yin coughed and got up from bed, looking at the clouds floating past them, ¡°Are we leaving soon?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded, ¡°Zhou Shan and Wu Shend decided to stay behind. Outside of the three of us, one other person from Earth is joining the Great Yu Empire¡ª Seruzen.¡±

    ¡°The Tianzhu Monk?¡± Lu Yin was astonished, ¡°Is he very strong?¡±

    ¡°He is an entric. You can take a look yourself, he¡¯s just outside. We¡¯ve all been arranged to join Yu Academy.¡±

    Lu Yin walked out of the treatment room to see the Tianzhu Monk, who really was quite unique. His feet were bare and he wore only half the amount of clothing a typical person would, revealing his skinny body that looked like a pile of bones covered in bronze skin. One could mistake him for an exquisitely detailed copper statue at first nce.

    Strangely, the monk had his right hand raised in the air; it was unknown just how long he¡¯d kept it like that, but it was withered and deformed from its original shape to look more like a tree branch than an arm. His beard was wrapped around that arm, drawing strange looks from everyone passing by. Lu Yin was stunned as well; this was the Tianzhu Monk?

    Zhang Dingtian was someone with a strong will, but even he was a little disturbed by the Tianzhu Monk. Given that, there was no need to even mention Bai Xue; Lu Yin even felt a bit of fearing off her.

    ¡°This is Seruzen; the only one from Earth who became a Sentinel without receiving anything from Qingyu¡¯s inheritance. He even defeated Hayden,¡± Zhang Dingtian informed him.

    ¡°How did he be a cultivator?¡± Lu Yin felt odd; it felt like someone with this appearance would find it extremely difficult to fight mutant beasts. Seruzen looked to be disadvantaged even against the average human.

    Zhang Dingtian replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, he hasn¡¯t spoken.¡±

    ¡°I can answer this question,¡± Sigmund walked over and those in the vicinity immediately saluted him. Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were a bit standoffish in the general¡¯s presence; the two of them had joined the Great Yu Empire to gain strength, but they had no good opinions about the Empire itself. Granted, they felt no hatred, either; after all, Earth¡¯s evolution had been caused by Qingyu and was unrted.

    Despite already knowing the answer, Lu Yin turned to Sigmund and asked, ¡°You seem to treat me differently now. Why?¡±

    Sigmund smiled, ¡°I will exin everything to you in time, but right now the spacecraft is about to leave Earth. Are there any final tasks you need toplete?¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself before answering, ¡°Please have a man fetched from Jinlin. His name is Xu San, he¡¯s like a little brother to me.¡±

    Sigmund nodded and asked no further questions, sending instructions through his gadget before looking at Seruzen, ¡°As for your earlier question, this is someone with outstanding perseverance. He sat alone with no fear amidst two groups of mutant beasts, bathing in their blood as they waged war. He then swallowed their energy cores after the massacre, bing a Sentinel. His willpower is extraordinary, almost never seen across the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s little trio stared at the monk in shock, He sat alone in the middle of a mutant beast battlefield when he was just a normal human? He must have been insane! How was he not eaten?

    ¡°I made a special exception to allow him to join the Great Yu Empire since his willpower attracted the interest of some. He may have an impressive future before him,¡± Sigmund continued.

    At this time, Seruzen raised his gaze to look at Lu Yin with clouded eyes. He stood up and stepped forward with his bare metal feet, slowly bowing down to his waist.

    ¡°Th-Thanks,¡± he said hoarsely to a confused Lu Yin, as though his voice hadn¡¯t been used for a long time. It took some effort to even make out what he¡¯d said.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Lu Yin replied, ¡°You don¡¯t look like someone from Tianzhu.¡±

    ¡°I was born in the mountains of Tibet, my practice of Buddhism led me to Tianzhu,¡± the man exined, bowing again before turning to leave. Sigmund left as well; his workload in the aftermath of this trial was mountainous.

    Lu Yin turned to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s go explore. After all, this is the Great Yu Empire¡¯s spacecraft and it should be more valuable than an average.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. I want to check out the gravity room, and there¡¯s a small library here as well,¡± Zhang Dingtian said before walking away. Lu Yin turned to Bai Xue. She was truly beautiful and it was a pleasure just to look at her. However, Bai Xue had not yet recovered from Liu Shaoge¡¯s betrayal and apologized to Lu Yin before also leaving on her own.

    Lu Yin felt rather helpless. With these two kill-joys, he might as well have asked Seruzen to stay behind; he would have at least been useful to scare people away. With the monk¡¯s appearance, most people would not dare act against him.

    The giant spacecraft was named the Perseverance, and was used exclusively to fetch trial takers. It wasrger than Beijing¡¯s assembly grounds and housed all the necessary facilities; there were over one hundred gravity training rooms and more than three hundred personal spaceships within. Its crew had already recovered all of the personal pods, ready to take off.

    The Perseverance had clearly designated areas for training, maintenance, day-to-day living, observation, and administration. Lu Yin was currently in the top-most level of the residential area, having been ced in his own home that had a swimming pool, medical room, and much more. There were only three such quarters in the entire ship, and Lu Yin took one over even Shalosh. All of the students were housed at least one level below, and while their rooms wererge as well, the luxury was iparable.

    He descended one level into the student housing; the workers¡¯ quarters were at the other end while the soldiers¡¯ barracks were at the bottom-most level. The residential area was enclosed in what he found was some sort of sturdy yet transparent metal, and as he tested it out, he heard a gentle voice behind him, ¡°Only Explorers or greater can shatter this metal. With your power, you can¡¯t even scratch it.¡±

    Lu Yin turned back to see a smiling Xia Luo, ¡°Why weren¡¯t you at Tianzhu?¡±

    Xia Luo continued smiling, ¡°Wasn¡¯t interested.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows, ¡°As a trial taker, I¡¯m really curious why you wouldn¡¯t be interested in the primary mission. Especially with your strength.¡±

    Xia Luo walked to Lu Yin¡¯s side and looked through the metal to the clouds outside, past which the giant turtle¡¯s tail could vaguely be seen wagging back and forth, ¡°As long as the goal is aplished during a trial, that¡¯s enough. No need to confuse that withpleting the mission.¡± He turned to look at Lu Yin, ¡°Congrattions on defeating Qingyu. This will definitely cause the Great Yu Empire to take notice of you.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°It was just a cheap trick. I wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him directly.¡±

    ¡°There are no cheap tricks in the universe. A victory is a victory. Lu Yin¡ªno, Brother Lu¡ªdo you know what defeating a Nightking means?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°It means that the Daynight n has their sights on you now. They will watch you closely if you ever enter the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders, ¡°In other words, I¡¯m in trouble.¡±

 Chapter 64: Youâ€™re Being Rude

    <h4>Chapter 64: You¡¯re Being Rude</h4>

    Xia Luo burst intoughter at Lu Yin¡¯s im of being in trouble, ¡°Not entirely. Who knows, they might even try to recruit you. But you did do one thing right, which was not revealing the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. If not, you¡¯d be dead.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was why he hadn¡¯t used the Daynight Punch regardless of how precarious the situation was; no family would allow outsiders to learn their secret techniques; if he was exposed, the Daynight n wouldn¡¯t be the end of it; other organizations from across the universe would chase him down to obtain it. Only someone like Lulu with her powerful family¡¯s backing was immune to such things.

    Then what about Xia Luo? Lu Yin looked at him earnestly, ¡°I¡¯m quite curious; what will you get out of this?¡±

    ¡°Just some scraps,¡± Xia Luo grinned.

    Both of them suddenly turned towards a figure that had just turned the corner, with a signature head of short silver hair. ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Silver waved to them with a grin so wide his eyes seemed to shut, acting as though he was very familiar with them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart thumped once more, radiating that familiar sense of danger that he always felt in this youth¡¯s presence. Even with his personal growth since that day, the rm didn¡¯t even fade. Even the ever-jovial Xia Luo¡¯s face sobered up, and he left a surprised Lu Yin behind without a word.

    Silver drew closer and stopped three meters away, ¡°I heard you nearly killed Qingyu in the trial. Congrattions!¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Lu Yin smiled, ¡°He wasn¡¯t half-bad, forced me to use half my strength.¡±

    ¡°I fought him before too, he forced out barely 30%. Alright, I¡¯m off; we¡¯ll meet again if that¡¯s what fate has in store for us,¡± the youth smiled even brighter in answer. Lu Yin rolled his eyes at theme response, but the departing Silver suddenly paused, ¡°Perhaps it won¡¯t be long.¡±

    ¡°The Astral Combat Academy?¡± Lu Yin asked calmly, only getting a grin and wave in response. He sighed; there were exactly three people out of all the trainees on Earth that were most mysterious to him; Lulu Mavis, Xia Luo, and Silver. Munoor and some others might have been sealed Melders, but he couldn¡¯t even read their true power.

    Thinking of Munoor, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a touch of guilt. He had force-fed Powerburst and used the man to take on one of Qingyu¡¯s strike; the resulting counter-attack had been the critical blow that caused Qingyu¡¯s defeat. Without Munoor, there was no way for him to have eked out a victory. While that guy had a low opinion of him, he was still a benefactor.

    A whileter, Lu Yin also left to explore the rest of the area. Ultrarge spacecraft were umon, and even in the entire Great Yu Empire there were only a few. A typical cultivator would just use a personal spacecraft to travel among the stars.

    Though the lower floor didn¡¯t have the same number of facilities as the top floor, there were still quite a few that Lu Yin was interested in. In particr, the bar! Students dealt with a great deal of stress and were expected to rest before a trial. Of course, they would also wildly celebrate the end of a trial, so the bars were always among the busiest ces on these ships. So busy, in fact, that he bumped into someone the moment he stepped in.

    ¡°What the fuck¡ª¡± the student took two steps back and cursed, but shut his mouth the moment he made eye contact with Lu Yin. He tried to smile right after, but his face looked even more miserable than if he¡¯d been crying as he spoke, ¡°Oh, Mr. Lu Yin. Please,e in; there¡¯s plenty of room inside.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the student doubtfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but¡­ do we know each other?¡±

    The student¡¯s mouth twitched, but he forced himself to keep smiling, ¡°Um, I was one of the students that you captured.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgment and entered the bar. The student heaved a sigh of relief and took off; he had no wish to stay close to the cause of so many of his troubles, not to mention the guy was the enemy of nearly every student.

    The bar on the spacecraft was just as rowdy as one on Earth, with music and dancing everywhere. If Lu Yin had to point out a difference, it would be that there was nothing ¡°dirty¡± going on and there were no drugs of any kind, just people enjoying themselves simply. He chose a random seat and ordered some liquor, looking around while he drank. The ce was huge and upied by off-duty staff, soldiers, as well as students; people of all ages upied the establishment.

    The bar had many screens, some showing action movies while others yed news or music from across the Great Yu Empire. The whole thing was so busy that Lu Yin felt a headacheing on.

    Not far away, a dozen students raised their sses, ¡°Here¡¯s to our senior finding rare metals and getting the best trial results of anyone from his academy!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Senior!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Senior!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, everyone. I¡¯ve said this before, but this trial¡¯s mission wasn¡¯t easy. That idiot Hayden recklessly charged ahead and didn¡¯t manage to get even remotely close to Qingyu. In the end, he was even held captive by a native, haha! But that¡¯s not even all of it! He was even by what¡¯s-his-name, that Tianzhu Monk, and needed Eddy to help him save face. Hah¡±

    ¡°How can an idiot who was born at the bottom of the seapare with us? He¡¯s an idiot and he¡¯s probably done for.¡±

    There were people celebrating at the other end of the bar as well. These celebrating students weren¡¯t the strongest from their academies, but were returning from the trial with pretty good rewards. They weren¡¯t aiming for the sky and trying to enter Astral-10, so they were more than happy with finishing some basic tasks instead of the primary mission.

    This was how the perpetually mediocreforted themselves. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t hold back augh and took another drink, watching as the door to the bar crashed open and everyone looked over to see Eddy and Hayden stroll in. All the gloaters fell silent in one moment; now that the actual school leaders had appeared, they didn¡¯t dare to speak a word.

    Jenny Auna walked in right on the duo¡¯s heels, lookingpletely pissed off. Many students scrambled towards the exit in an instant, afraid that they would be the target of that stress.

    Hayden walked over towards some of the celebrating students and shouted, ¡°Scram.¡± The students were annoyed, but still got up to leave. He and Eddy took up the entirety of the table that had previously seated a dozen students by themselves, both looking depressed. Meanwhile, Jenny headed directly to the private rooms on the second floor.

    ¡°Hey, let me sit here.¡± Just as Lu Yin was taking a drink, he heard someone speaking to him. He looked over in confusion and saw that it was one of the students that Hayden had chased away.

    ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± he pointed to himself.

    ¡°Cut the crap. Scram!¡± a tall student answered

    He burst outughing, looking past the students in front of him to make eye contact with Eddy and Hayden, ¡°Hey, you two! You took their spot and now they want to give me trouble. Take care of it.¡±

    The students froze. Did this guy know Hayden and Eddy?

    The duo froze when they saw Lu Yin, looking like they had seen a monster. When they saw that he was growing more annoyed, they hurried to scold the students, ¡°Get lost! Leave him alone when he¡¯s drinking, you¡¯re being rude!¡±

    Lu Yin snorted.

    The man the students had called ¡°Senior¡± got irritated and looked at Hayden, ¡°This is ridiculous, Hayden. What does our drinking have to do with you?¡±

    Hayden stood up with an icy look in his eyes. The students were terrified, but refused to back down. It was easy to see that they would rather be beaten up than act like cowards.

    ¡°Who¡¯s making a fuss? If you want to fight, get out,¡± Raas suddenly exited a private room on the second floor and looked down. Seeing him sent a shiver down the spines of many students, and even the music stopped ying. Standing behind Raas was Munoor, who had regained his strength as a Melder. His reimed power left many feeling ufortable.

    One by one, people walked out of the private room. They had all been part of the second batch of trial-takers, and even Yan Gang was among them. The Fireforge native was now looking very pompous.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, Senior Raas. Sorry for disturbing you,¡± the tall student immediately apologized.

    Raas was arrogant and loved being able to look down on everyone as he surveyed the room. These people didn¡¯t even have the right to speak to him, and with his appearance, all of the students and even some of the soldiers in the bar went quiet. This was the reaction that someone of his position ought to evoke.

    Wait a moment, he focused a frown right below, where someone was still drinking. Someone dared to ignore him even after he¡¯d made himself known? This was intolerable, ¡°Hey you, get up!¡±

    Everyone looked over at Lu Yin, while Hayden and Eddy had a strange look in their eyes. The tall student cheered up and red at him, ¡°He¡¯s talking to you, kid. Senior Raas told you to get up, didn¡¯t you hear?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even drink in peace,¡± Lu Yin set down his ss, slowly looking up at Raas with a smile.

 Chapter 65: Leaving Earth

    <h4>Chapter 65: Leaving Earth</h4>

    What was this bastard doing here? Raas looked irked the moment he saw Lu Yin, with Munoor, Yan Gang, and some other students sharing in that sentiment. Jenny saw him as well, and her astoundment quickly turned into rage. This was the bastard that had the nerve to take her hostage!

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Raas?¡± Lu Yin turned up, ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like that long since we saw each other. Miss me already?¡±

    Raas twitched, ¡°Are your injuries all healed already?¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the concern, I¡¯m basically back to normal. So what did you want to say?¡± Lu Yin asked while raising his ss for another sip. Raas¡¯s eyes narrowed in a cold rage, but Lu Yin¡¯s attention was drawn to Munoor whose entire body started trembling with anger. He brightened up, ¡°You¡¯re here too? Sorry for using you like a shield earlier. Your Skybeast w is pretty strong too; I really wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal with Qingyu without you.¡±

    ¡°Lu. Yin!¡± Munoor grew furious, clenching his fists.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too arrogant, Lu Yin!¡± Jenny suddenly yelled from the side as well.

    ¡°Arrogant?¡± he nced at her in confusion, ¡°I don¡¯t think I am, though. Right, I had a question. I heard you and Huo Xiaoling are rivals; why is she a Melder when you¡¯re just a Sentinel?¡±

    ¡°You bastard!¡± Jenny clenched her teeth in fury.

    By this point, the other students were scared out of their wits. They¡¯d thought Lu Yin was an easy target, but to their horror they¡¯d provoked a monster. This man was the nightmare of most of the trainees, and he¡¯d nearly killed the criminal. People like Raas were lofty beings to them, but to him they were merely spoils of battle. There were even rumors that he was a descendant of the Zishan Family. How had they been so unlucky as to bump into him?

    Themotion was disrupted by a soldier entering the pub. He headed straight to Lu Yin and whispered something, after which Lu Yin put his ss down and smiled at Jenny before leaving. Raas and the rest red at his departing figure, wanting to teach him a lesson, but they didn¡¯t have the courage to try. They¡¯d be the ones in trouble the moment they attacked; Lu Yin¡¯s status was quite concerning.

    The soldier hade to inform Lu Yin that Xu San had been brought over. This underling was quite important to him; those with innate gifts were few and far between, with even the trainees only having Huo Xiaoling among their midst. Bai Xue was the only confirmed earthling with one as well, while Qingyu had been unable to use his. Regardless, innate gifts were a symbol of prodigies across the universe.

    A group of soldiers walked past Lu Yin just as he left the bar, and his eyes lit up as he noticed one of them. He made it a point to brush past that soldier, who whispered as they crossed, ¡°Home wants you to try and join the Great Yu Empire¡¯s new Youth Council.¡±

    The soldiers quickly turned a corner and went out of sight. In the meanwhile, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. The Youth Council? It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but it wouldn¡¯t be impossible either. His current status as a member of the Zishan Family gave him a position with no power, but the Youth Council would definitely add authority.

    One¡¯s body could only use formcast models until it passed a certain age. This meant that talented youths could increase their strength at mind-blowing speeds, and some of them wereplete monsters. Youth Councils were organizations with the authority to educate, adjudicate, and conduct trials for the younger generation. Be it within the Great Yu Empire or elsewhere in the universe, they were privileged groups. Unlike the Zishan name which only held a modicum of power in one monarchy, Youth Council membership was recognized throughout both the Outerverse and Innerverse.

    The appointments of the members of the Youth Council was something that the Great Yu Empire could not influence. If Lu Yin wanted to join the Council, being a member of the Zishan Family might give him a slight edge, but he would definitely need to work out a real n.

    Soon after he returned to his quarters, Xu San was brought over.

    ¡°I finally get to see you, Boss!¡± Xu San started whining as soon as they met. He had been suffering from the moment they¡¯d been separated, with no one willing to associate with him due to his sketchy appearance. Not even Feng Hong and Luo Yi would talk to him; if not for the fact that he had reached the Realm of Earth, he might even have been kicked out of the camp. He still wasn¡¯t great inbat, but thankfully Zhou Shan had treated him well out of consideration for Lu Yin and not sent him anywhere too dangerous. Unfortunately, that ease of life had dissipated once the Executioner left for Beijing. Every captain had to protect an area and he had been no exception, forced to deal with many powerful mutant beasts to the point that he nearly died once.

    The beast wave that had happened most recently had been particrly dangerous. If not for the few Realm of Sky experts who had appeared out of nowhere and helped save the stronghold, he definitely would have died. He had thought that he would live out the rest of his life at Jinlin, but to his surprise, he was suddenly carted off onto a spaceship! He had been on edge this entire time, terrified that he would be dissected and analyzed by aliens, so when he saw Lu Yin, he was so relieved that he nearly wept. Xu San had previously been quite wary of Lu Yin, but in this strange new environment, he was determined to cling onto the only person he knew.

    Lu Yin burst outughing, ¡°Enough of that. You can stay with me. I¡¯ll have someone arrange another room, so just wait here.¡±

    Xu San eximed in surprise, ¡°How ¡®bout I room with you, Boss? I won¡¯t go anywhere.¡±

    ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t like staying with guys. Alright, just rx. You¡¯re safe here, and there will be people protecting you. I¡¯m pretty important in this ce,¡± Lu Yin said airily.

    Xu San was astonished, ¡°Boss, this is an alien spacecraft, and you¡¯re saying you¡¯re pretty important?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have time to exin everything, so he had the soldiers lead Xu San away and arrange a room for him next to Zhang Dingtian. Now, there were four earthlings aboard this spacecraft, five if he included himself. This was actually quite a high number of natives to be joining the core of the Empire from a trial; in most other trials, there would be at most three and they would be sent out to battlefields. Compared to the cream of the crop in the empire¡¯s academies, the ¡°geniuses¡± from the trials were nothing but trash. Earth was quite exceptional, especially considering that Liu Shaoge was able to enter the Innerverse.

    A dayter, Lu Yin was still studying star charts when the Perseverance shook a little, and there was a huge roar from the turtle. He went to the window to watch as the scenery outside disappeared in the blink of an eye, fading into the pitch-ck darkness of space. He could see the beautiful blue Earth from his window, a dazzling sight.

    Seeing the blue ball zooming away, he felt a bit troubled. He had lived on that for nearly two years and owed a majority of his memories to it; now that he was leaving, he had no idea when he would return.

    Elsewhere in the spacecraft, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen were also staring at the beautiful. They had left this¡ªtheir home¡ªwith no idea if they would be able to return. Perhaps, this was goodbye¡­ The universe was vast and filled with all kinds of dangers, whether they be living creatures or the environment itself. As they were now, they didn¡¯t have the strength to protect themselves.

    Zhang Dingtian clenched his sword tightly and walked away with a steely determination in his eyes. Bai Xue looked concerned, but no one could tell exactly what she was thinking. Xu San kept muttering to himself about something and looked unwilling to leave. He had not wanted to leave Earth, but he was smart enough to know that he had no choice, which was also why he had kept his thoughts to himself. Seruzen was the most tranquil of them all and simply watched quietly as the blue disappeared from sight.

    Muchter, once the Perseverance was steadily traveling through space, Lu Yin headed towards Sigmund¡¯smand center; as a general, the man was also the lead pilot of the spaceship. Themand center was situated at the very top of the craft, but the interior seemed normal without the plethora of confusing buttons one would expect. There were only all sorts of star charts on various screens.

    Sigmund looked out in the direction they were traveling with his hands sped behind his back, ¡°How does it feel to leave Earth?¡±

    ¡°Sad. I¡¯m reluctant to leave,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    The General turned towards him, ¡°I¡¯ve had you investigated, but other than the data we could gather about you from Earth, we couldn¡¯t find anything. Can you tell me where you¡¯re from?¡±

    ¡°I lost my memories,¡± Lu Yin answered,ughing as the man arched an eyebrow, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t believe me. The only memories I have are those from Earth.¡±

    Sigmund nodded, ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. I asked you toe here to tell you something.¡±

    ¡°Is it about the Zishan Family?¡± Lu Yin inquired.

 Chapter 66: Zishan King

    <h4>Chapter 66: Zishan King</h4>

    Sigmund exined, ¡°I believe you¡¯ve heard some things already. The Zishan and Yushan families are the two most important families in the Great Yu Empire. When His Imperial Majesty The Undying Yushan ascended to his throne eight centuries ago, he conferred the title of King upon The Undying Zishan. However, that man died while out on an expedition, and some circumstances led to the entire family hiding itself until it gradually disappeared. You are thest living descendant of the Zishan Family.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glowed, but he kept quiet as the General continued, ¡°I know what you might be thinking. The Undying Zishan was not killed by His Imperial Majesty; this is public knowledge.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, ¡°How can you be so certain?¡±

    Sigmund sighed. ¡°Before His Imperial Majesty seeded the throne, the Great Yu Empire had little influence in the Frostwave Weave. It was thebined effort of His Imperial Majesty and The Undying Yushan that allowed the Great Yu Empire to be what it is today. However, this wasn¡¯t enough. His Imperial Majesty¡¯s wish was to bring the Great Yu Empire into the Innerverse. The death of The Undying Zishan brought those ambitions to a halt; he wouldn¡¯t have destroyed his own dreams.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. I don¡¯t really care about the Great Yu Empire¡¯s past; all I want to know is what kind of status I have now,¡± Lu Yin said, feeling slightly annoyed.

    ¡°You are the sessor of the title of the Zishan King, as ordered directly by His Imperial Majesty. From the moment your identity was confirmed, you became the Zishan King of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, ¡°Just like that? Don¡¯t I have to go through someplicated procedures or something? No re-examination on the Capital Star?¡±

    Sigmund shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. All the data on Perseverance is linked to the Empire. His Imperial Majesty is aware of everything and has already acknowledged that you are now officially the Zishan King. When you arrive at the Capital Star and meet with him, everything that the Zishan King is entitled to will be given over to you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up; this was exactly what he had wanted to hear. He had been forced to use up all of his star crystals to fight Qingyu, earning a measly two days in the Timestop domain. He had been agonizing over how to get more, but with this news it seemed like it would no longer be a problem.

    "By the way, if there''s anything you need help with when you''re on the Capital Star, you can look for my family. I''ve already spoken to them, and they''ll help you however they can," General Sigmund said before giving Lu Yin an ordinary gadget, "Take this, it''ll help."

    Lu Yin nced at him and nodded, "Thank you. If there''s nothing else you need, I''ll be on my way."

    Sigmund Mathers nodded, but when Lu Yin was at the door, he suddenly spoke up, "There''s someone on the spacecraft called Mira. If you see her, be careful."

    Lu Yin made a sound of acknowledgment and walked out of themand center. The General''s words had left him puzzled; while he might now be the so-called Zishan King, he was still just some random rich kid with no power. There was no need for Sigmund Mathers to treat a Sentinel so well; was he somehow connected to the Zishans?

    Around the same time, Raas was meeting with Shalosh.

    "What? That bastard really is a descendant of the Zishan n, and it''s even been acknowledged by His Imperial Majesty that he''ll take over as the Zishan King?" the youth shouted in disbelief.

    Shalosh stared at Raas with a dark look on his face, sending a chill down the youth''s spine. He quickly backed up two steps and went quiet, allowing the man to say coldly, "Shout at me again, and I''ll remove your tongue."

    Raas broke out in cold sweat and hastily apologized. His father might be the Vice-Treasurer, but his actual power couldn''te close toparing with the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Shalosh was the vice-captain of the Twelfth Squadron and was far more influential than Sicar. If it weren''t for his father having certain financial controls, the man wouldn''t even bother with him.

    "If you see Lu Yin again in the future, make sure you stay away from him. It might be nothing more than a name, but if he does try to use his status against you, you have no choice but to let him," Shalosh said coldly, to which Raas quickly agreed. The man then snorted and gazed towards the darkness of space. Zishan King? Let''s see how long you''llst. The Empire will erupt the moment you cause trouble.

    Elsewhere on the ship, Jenny Auna was raging as well, "How can this be? Bing a king is no simple matter. How can a native like him receive any kind of inheritance?"

    Torry could only smile wryly, "Please don''t be angry, Miss. This has already been confirmed, and the head has ordered you to stay away from him."

    "Why should I? Is being the Zishan King all that amazing?" Jenny answered in annoyance, leaving Torry tongue-tied. He wanted to tell Jenny certain things, but he knew that she would storm off the moment he brought them up. In the end, he decided to leave it to the head.

    Lu Yin didn''t leave his room for two days, focusing purely on recovering while studying the star charts. The fourth star of the Cosmic Palm was twice as powerful as the third, so he couldn''t wait for the fifth to appear. If he had been able to use the five-star Palm, he wouldn''t have needed a Melder''s help to crush Qingyu. It was too bad that the Cosmic Art that he had retrieved was merely the elementary volume. With this, he would only be able to simte a maximum of eight stars. He also feared that after bing a Melder, the Cosmic Art''s benefits might fade away. Its overwhelming might would dissipate in the face of geniuses with other powerful battle techniques.

    "Do you study those charts every day because of some battle technique?" A sweet voice sounded from behind Lu Yin, quickly followed by a pleasant fragrance. He was startled and quickly turned around to see a beautiful woman with an air of purity, white hair hanging down to the ankles with a bun near the forehead. She was staring at him with interest.

    "Who are you?" he asked cautiously, his instincts screaming that he was no match for this woman. She had gotten far too close to him without making a single sound; even the Cosmic Art hadn''t reacted! This was a powerhouse.

    "My name is Mira," the white-haired girl said with a smile, what seemed like a trace of red in her focused eyes.

    Mira? Lu Yin quickly remembered Sigmund''s words of caution regarding this woman. "Do you need anything from me?"

    Sheughed and walked past him with her hair drifting behind her, gracefully sitting down and crossing her right leg over the left. The round toes of her bare feet wiggled around, showing off her bright red nail polish as she looked straight at him and asked, "Can you tell me why you look at star charts every day?"

    Lu Yin looked at her seriously, "I lost my memories, so I''m searching for the way home."

    Mira yed with the hair curled in her right hand, "Do you know who I am?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    M said, "I''m from the Innerverse, and am part of the Universe Youth Council."

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. The Universe Youth Council was a terrifying organization that could theoretically try any youth in the entire universe. It had its own army and subsidiaries everywhere; the Great Yu Empire''s Youth Council was one such subordinate organization.

    "I was the one to disband your Great Yu Empire''s Youth Council. Do you understand now?" Mira continued.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, "What does this have to do with me?"

    Mira got up and slowly strolled over to Lu Yin, lifting his chin with her index that carried the same intoxicating scent, "I admire your abilities, so I can rmend you to the Outerverse Youth Council. My only condition is that you join Astral-10 and gain some aplishments."

    Lu Yin stared straight into her eyes, the bit of red more obvious now. This woman heated his body and was extremely tempting, but there was both a visual and instinctive feeling of danger to her that chilled him, "Why me?"

    Mira''s lips curled into a sensual smile, her captivating eyes threatening to drown him within their gaze, "Your innate gift is quite unique. May I know how it works?"

    Lu Yin retreated a few steps, "All this just because of my innate gift?"

    Mira retracted her hand, "The Ten Arbiters decreed that any cultivator with an innate gift can enter the Outerverse Youth Council. However, the Outerverse Youth Council oversees too vast a territory, including the Great Yu Empire''s Youth Council. Most cultivators with innate gifts typically only join local councils, but exceptional ones can join the higher body. Where do you think you belong?"

    Lu Yin hadn''t even considered the possibility of joining the Youth Council by revealing his innate gift. His miraculous die was something that should remain a secret, not because it was too weak, but because it was too powerful. The die had six faces, and every one of them had a shocking ability. He didn''t want to reveal it at all if possible, but it had been found out during his battle with Qingyu. Although Sigmund had not mentioned it, he definitely had his own thoughts. This woman was merely the first to ask about it.

    "My innate gift isn''t that special; it simply speeds up my healing rate."

 Chapter 67: Miraâ€™s Terms

    <h4>Chapter 67: Mira¡¯s Terms</h4>

    Mira¡¯s eyes glowed as she was informed about Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift, and she smiled, ¡°It is quite average. Do you want me to rmend you to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Youth Council? If you agree to my terms, I could perhaps rmend you to the Outerverse Youth Council instead.¡±

    ¡°If I agree to your terms?¡±

    ¡°Well, if you fulfill them,¡± she said tiredly, ¡°You¡¯ll have to enter the Tenth Academy, but more importantly, do something that¡¯ll make me proud of you. Something the Red Lotus Witchbow would be proud of.¡±

    After saying this, she grinned at him, gave him a series of numbers, and turned to leave. Lu Yin simply narrowed his eyes; the Red Lotus Witchbow?

    ¡°By the way, it makes sense that you¡¯re protecting that barbarian. Who knows, you might even get more talents like Zhang Dingtian and Liu Shaoge. Treasure it,¡± she said at the door, leaving Lu Yin even more surprised. Lu Yin was surprised. He understood why she mentioned Zhang Dingtian, but why Liu Shaoge? It was already a pity that he hadn¡¯t killed the man; had she discovered something?

    He immediately left and headed towards themand center. It wasn¡¯t a ce just anyone could enter, but his status on the Perseverance was second only to Lulu and Mira now, beyond even Sigmund¡¯s. He shot out an order right as he entered, ¡°Show me all the footage of the battle in Tianzhu.¡±

    The people in the control room froze for a moment before carrying out his orders, and Sigmund, Torry, and Shalosh all got word right away. The trio quickly appeared at the control room themselves; while confused, the General didn¡¯t really mind. He¡¯d already said before that Lu Yin could do anything he wanted, so long as he wasn¡¯t out of line.

    Lu Yin focused on Liu Shaoge as he stared at the video of the battle, shock slowly turning into dread. The screen was showing footage of him sending Shaoge flying with one blow; that was normal, but what really drew his attention was what had happened just before. The man hadn¡¯t been injured helplessly; he¡¯d chosen not to defend. Why?

    The answer was simple. Liu Shaoge had stood on Qingyu¡¯s side, and Qingyu had been severely wounded in that battle. What would his master think of him if he waspletely unharmed? He had to show his loyalty, even at the cost of taking on an attack that could kill him in one blow. This was the kind of person he was, someone who was vicious with others and even more so with himself. Lu Yin felt a sense of foreboding about the trickster.

    It was no wonder that Mira admired Liu Shaoge¡¯s talents, the man was extremely cautious and could endure what others couldn¡¯t. He made sure that he didn¡¯t stand out and wasfortable with loneliness. Whenever he acted, every move was perfect; he would get injured when needed and his intelligence and cunning were far beyond Zhang Dingtian or Bai Xue. Lu Yin had the feeling that this person would not remain behind anyone. They would definitely meet again in the future.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s plenty of time,¡± he muttered to himself, drawing nces from the people in themand center. They had watched in the trial as he had captured dozens of students; they had assumed he was good as dead when he showed the gall to capture even Raas and Jenny Auna; who could have guessed that he would suddenly be a king? It was simply unbelievable, leaving them all curious.

    ¡°Show me all the footage of the surveince cameras on the Perverserance,¡± he asked bluntly.

    A slightly older officer was put in a tight spot, ¡°You may only see that if the pilot gives you permission, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself. I¡¯m ordering you as the King Zishan.¡±

    The officer hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth, ¡°y it.¡±

    Screens all around them lit up immediately, constantly changing to show different locations. Lu Yin grinned in response; he didn¡¯t really care about the surveince footage, he just wanted to test how far his status went. It seemed like this kingship would be more useful than expected.

    Hmm? Right as he was about to leave, his attention was drawn to a scene where Xu San was getting beaten up. He narrowed his eyes and left.

    ¡­¡­

    On the second level of the residential region, a few students had grabbed Xu San, ¡°You¡¯re just a native, don¡¯t start thinking you¡¯re equal to us just because you managed to get on the ship! A savage is a savage, and will always be trash. Got it?!¡± Veron yelled, eyes glimmering with bloodlust.

    Xu San¡¯s face was ck and blue, but he remained silent. When Veron eventually snorted and called for the students to leave, he was coughing with his head bowed low, too afraid to fight back. Students kept passing by and nced at him with mocking expressions before ignoring him. Most people who managed to leave the trials dealt with simr hazing, and no one thought Veron was being out of line. To them, Veron had actually held back because of Lu Yin¡¯s status and merely beaten this man until he looked bad without doing anythingsting.

    All of a sudden, a figure blocked the departing students. Veron looked up to see Zhang Dingtian and barked, ¡°Scram!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian pulled out his sword and moved it in front of Veron, ¡°Apologize to him.¡±

    Veron¡¯s gaze changed and he burst intoughter, ¡°Do you know where we are, bumpkin? If you use your weapon, you¡¯re dead.¡±

    As he spoke, a group of soldiers surrounded the students, ¡°Lower your weapon immediately. Fighting is not allowed on the spacecraft.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian replied coldly, ¡°So why didn¡¯t you stop them when they were beating him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll say again. Put down your weapon immediately.¡± A soldier shouted.

    Xu San quickly ran to Zhang Dingtian, ¡°I¡¯m fine, let them go.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eyes narrowed and his grip on his sword tightened. More and more students arrived to watch the show, quite a few of them excited. They were the students who had run out of luck during the trial and been captured, so seeing an earthling in a bad state obviously delighted them.

    It was at this point that Xia Luo arrived, threading his way through the crowd to move in front of Veron. He lifted a leg and drove his knee right into the youth¡¯s stomach, kicking so hard that Veron squealed and dry-heaved as his body curled up in agony. Everyone, Zhang Dingtian included, was stunned by his action.

    Xia Luo turned and smiled at the desage, ¡°Is this okay?¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Zhang Dingtian put his sword away.

    Xia Luo nced at the soldier, ¡°Do your job like you should. You can go now.¡±

    The soldiers gave him a long look and then left, but not before giving Zhang Dingtian onest warning nce. Veron kept coughing as he looked up and glowered, but Xia Luo¡¯s death re forced him to hang his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said to the other students and left quickly.

    Zhang Dingtian looked at Xia Luo again before leaving without a word.

    It was only after nearly everyone had left that Lu Yin arrived, enquiring about the situation.

    ¡°He was the one who helped me, Boss,¡± Xu San told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°No worries,¡± the youth answered kindly, ¡°They were annoying. I still have some things to do, so I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    Lu Yin thanked him once more and watched as Xia Luo walked away. After they were alone, Lu Yin turned to study Xu San, ¡°Why were they picking a fight with you?¡±

    Xu San shook his head, ¡°I really don¡¯t know. I just came out to get some food and they approached me; said they thought I was an eyesore.¡±

    An eyesore? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. Veron was certainly aware of Xu San¡¯s rtionship to him, but still had the nerve to attack. Why? There was no way a mediocre student like that would have the guts to provoke the King Zishan; some sort of conflict had already started within the Great Yu Empire. Was someone already trying to eliminate him?

    Lu Yin was positive that every move of his was being recorded and sent back to the Capital Star. Any trivial matter could be blown up by certain people, used to make assumptions about his personality, intelligence, morality, and more. It was all to gather information that could be used against him in the future, and this was only the start of the provocation. The people behind this affront would keep escting until he¡¯d had enough.

    ¡°I heard something interesting just happened. I wish I had been here to see it,¡± Silver suddenly said with a grin, having appeared at some unknown time.

    Lu Yin told Xu San to leave and turned to look at the man, ¡°What were you hoping to see?¡±

    Silver smiled, ¡°I wanted to see a certain someone looking troubled. Maybe they¡¯d curse you after you beat them up? Or maybe you¡¯d just let them provoke you? It would have been fun to watch.¡±

    ¡°Which kind of person do you think I am?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Silver answered nonchntly.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have the time to continue the discussion; he had to consider what his status as the King Zishan meant within the Great Yu Empire and gather more information.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to chat some more? I know quite a lot about the Zishan Family. Maybe it could help you,¡± Silver beamed at him.

    Lu Yin looked back, ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Silver shrugged, ¡°Not much beyond old news from a few centuries ago. For example, the old headquarters of the Zishan Family, their amazing food, battle techniques, the marriage agreement between the Zishans and Yushans, and so on.¡±

    Marriage arrangement? Lu Yin felt like he¡¯d just heard something critical, ¡°What marriage agreement?¡±

 Chapter 68: Lu Yin And Silver

    <h4>Chapter 68: Lu Yin And Silver</h4>

    Silver¡¯s lips curved up as he watched Lu Yin with envy, ¡°You¡¯re so lucky, kid. You get the fruits of your ancestor¡¯sbors, haha.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the man, who simply continuedughing for a while before saying, ¡°The Zishan Family had two marriages arranged in the past; one was with the Aunas, decided upon by thest head of that family. The other was with the Yushans, a promise between the two Undyings that¡¯s dragged on to this day. While the Zishan Family was extinguished all this while, you¡¯re here now. That means those two marriages are yours too; I¡¯m so jealous!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Marriage arrangements from centuries ago don¡¯t count for much in the present day.¡±

    Silver scoffed, ¡°Oh? You think that¡¯s very long, now? Explorers typically live for centuries, The Undying Yushan has been in power for eight. Those promises from a few centuries ago aren¡¯t even half of one man¡¯s life; outside of The Undying Zishan, those that made these promises are still alive and well.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his heart drop at this revtion, feeling the iing headache already. He¡¯d thought he was a free soul, but now there were so many issues including an arranged marriage with the imperial family. If there was one thing he¡¯d learnt about The Undying Yushan, it was that the Emperor took promises very seriously. There was a chance¡ª no, it was almost certain that this marriage wouldn¡¯t be cancelled!

    ¡°That¡¯s not all you have to consider. The Zishan Family once controlled nearly half the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops. While the Zishan Family vanished, quite a few of their former subordinates are still alive. Take Sigmund Mathers, for example; his family was once subordinate to yours as well.¡±

    ¡°What else?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°A lot, but why would I tell you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve said so much already, what do you want? Just tell me.¡±

    Silver smirked, ¡°Did you find something somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to deny it, I can sense it in your cosmic ring.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What can you sense?¡±

    Silverughed eerily and shook his head, pointing at his eyes, ¡°Red.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, ¡°That belongs to you?¡±

    ¡°Our first meeting was no coincidence. The things we were looking for weren¡¯t the same, but they were located at the same ce.¡±

    ¡°I can give it back.¡±

    Silver turned and looked into the distance, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can keep it. It might be useful in the future.¡±

    ¡°That thing is useless to me.¡±

    ¡°Only because you don¡¯t know what it represents.¡±

    ¡°Does your assassination attempt on Zhang Dingtian have anything to do with it?¡±

    ¡°You really want to know?¡± Silver grinned like a fox.

    ¡°Two of the three times I saw you, there were zombie kings involved. You destroyed the ballistics and wanted to kill Zhang Dingtian because he ordered the extermination of the zombie horde. Are you connected to those things?¡±

    Silver made a shushing gesture, ¡°Don¡¯t say that; how could I be connected to any zombies? They¡¯re only a failed product of evolution, they have nothing to do with me. I just help move things around.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t understand; there were still far too many things in the universe that he didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°We¡¯re actually the same kind of person, my friend. I can sense it, which is why I came to look for you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you,¡± Silver smiled.

    ¡°And when I reach a certain status, you¡¯ll make me help you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Silver beamed, ¡°I knew you were smart. We¡¯ll help each other out, it¡¯s a win-win situation.¡±

    ¡°Heh, why would I work with someone I don¡¯t even know?¡±

    ¡°Eh, you can reject me, but I¡¯m certain we¡¯ll be best friends in the future.¡± The youth turned around and left, but not before tossing a piece of paper into Lu Yin¡¯s hands. It had some numbers, and the names of people in the Great Yu Empire and information about their duties. His voice trailed off into the distance, ¡°The universe is brutal. If it weren¡¯t for you, Earth would have a dismal future. Just think about Qingyu, you couldn¡¯t even kill him in the end. And why? Because the world only considers itself first,¡±

    Lu Yin sighed, took a look at the piece of paper, and stowed it away. He knew that one never had the advantage in a deal with the devil, but who was the devil here? Was it Silver, or was it himself? Only time would tell.

    What Lu Yin wanted to do now was cause amotion, the bigger the better. He wanted to know how much he could do as King Zishan in the Great Yu Empire before they reached the Capital Star, or it would be difficult to do anything once on it. If some people weren¡¯t afraid to make their moves, they had to be prepared for the repercussions.

    Crash! The entrance to Perseverance¡¯s bar was smashed once more, which attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Ever since the students had returned from their trials, the door had not been able to stay undamaged. Lu Yin ambled into the bar and looked towards Veron in the corner, who paled and got up to flee at the mere sight. Star energy pushed all nearby students away, turning the chairs and tables to dust as a Spacerender Palm shot towards the escaping youth. A surprised Veron tried to block it with an arm, but was flung into the wall and started coughing up blood while ring at Lu Yin with gritted teeth.

    Everyone in the bar immediately left. Nobody had the courage to do anything about this, including the soldiers who had coincidentally been patrolling the area. In the meanwhile, the doors to the private rooms on the second floor opened and Huo Xiaoling and Yan Gang walked out, looking down in confusion. What was this guy up to now?

    Lu Yin meandered over to Veron, looking annoyed. A look of horror filled Veron¡¯s face as he drew closer, and the student shouted, ¡°What do you want?! This is a spaceship, not the trial. You can¡¯t attack me!¡±

    However, Lu Yin simply grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him over his head, asking icily, ¡°Who ordered you to bother me? Speak!¡±

    Veron went red. He was the strongest in his academy, but could not fight back at all. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted to do that either, ¡°I... don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Lu Yin snorted, ¡°I know you¡¯ve got someone backing you. You must think I won¡¯t have the nerve to kill you, but the truth is your backer hopes I do just that. You¡¯d better think this through.¡±

    Veron¡¯s expression changed. He had been ordered to challenge and provoke Lu Yin so that everyone on the Capital Star could see what kind of person the so-called King Zishan was like. If Lu Yin killed him now, the effects would be much better than not killing him. This would make it a fact that the King Zishan was stupid and cruel, making other families look down him. This was perfect for many people, and the person who¡¯d made him do this definitely wouldn¡¯t save him. Considering all this, he replied immediately, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, it¡¯s Raas! Raas made me provoke you!¡±

    Lu Yin flung Veron aside and left the bar.

    As he watched Lu Yin¡¯s disappearing figure, Yan Gang snickered, ¡°What a fool. There¡¯s obviously someone targeting him and he¡¯s still causing amotion? He thinks way too highly of himself.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling¡¯s eyes twinkled and she switched her gadget on to contact someone.

    Meanwhile, Sigmund, Torry, and Shalosh got the news as well.

    ¡°What? He¡¯s gone looking for Raas? Quick, stop him!¡± Sigmund yelled, feeling vexed, ¡°He¡¯s so, so stupid! How can he do this now?¡±

    Shalosh sneered, ¡°He¡¯s worse than I thought. Did being bestowed the title of King boost his ego? What a pitiful bumpkin.¡±

    Torry shook his head in disappointment, ¡°Sis definitely can¡¯t get married to this kind of person.¡±

    Regardless of what these people were thinking, Lu Yin had already arrived outside Raas¡¯s room. He shattered the surveince camera in the corner with a light tap and kicked the door in. Raas seemed to be waiting for him, and smiled disdainfully while saying politely, ¡°Would you need anything from me, Your Majesty?¡±

    Lu Yin simply kicked him without speaking a word. Not having expected the crazed violence, Raas subconsciously dodged only to be met with the Skybeast w. This was the seventh form of the attack, far more powerful than his own fifth form. Unable to avoid it, his body was flung outside the room and smashed into the metal frame. He coughed out blood and yelled, ¡°How dare you hurt me, you barbarian!¡±

    When approached again, Raas shouted and retrieved an energy gun from his cosmic ring. Lu Yin dodged the bolt easily; while such things could hurt Sentinels, that didn¡¯t apply to a realmbreaker like him whopared to Melders.

    As he watched Lu Yin draw closer, Raas¡¯ expression quickly changed, ¡°Save me!¡± Munoor quickly appeared nowhere, a loud explosion resounding and sending out shockwaves that sent Lu Yin a dozen steps backwards. Munoor himself retreated quite a few steps, fixing his eyes on Lu Yin¡¯s earnest gaze.

 Chapter 69: The Great Yu Empire

    <h4>Chapter 69: The Great Yu Empire</h4>

    The guards of the Perseverance had arrived by this point, including Sigmund, Shalosh, and Torry. Raas shouted in indignation the moment they arrived, ¡°General Sigmund, he wants to kill me!¡±

    Sigmund looked helplessly at Lu Yin, ¡°Why did you try to kill him?¡±

    Lu Yin red coldly at Raas, ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You want to deny it with so many people looking?!¡± Raas hollered.

    ¡°Oh? Do you have any evidence?¡± Lu Yin scorned. It was only then that everyone turned to look at the monitoring camera, only to find that it had been destroyed long ago. Raas himself took out his gadget, having started recording the moment he learned Lu Yin wasing, but his face paled as he realized that it had been smashed as well. Lu Yin was no fool, and knew not to go overboard even when just probing someone. He still needed a reason to ward off public ire; one needed great power to break the rules.

    ¡°Trash,¡± Shalosh muttered gloomily under his breath, but Raas continued to point at Lu Yin angrily, ¡°You just injured me. Munoor saw it as well, right?¡±

    ¡°I saw everything,¡± Munoor stepped forward, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t intervened, Lord Raas would have been killed.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°Only an idiot would believe two people that were decimated.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Munoor was furious.

    Secretly relieved, Sigmund leveled a cold re at Raas, ¡°Do you have any other evidence?¡±

    Raas¡¯s expression warped, but then he retorted, ¡°This is my room! He attacked me in my room! That¡¯s the evidence.¡±

    Everyone turned back to Lu Yin, who took out a gadget from his pocket. The screen lit up, revealing Veron¡¯s confession, ¡°This man bribed Veron to deal with me; I was simply looking for him to return the favor. That isn¡¯t too much, is it?¡±

    Everyone fell silent, and even Raas couldn¡¯t refute. He¡¯d ended up taking a beating for free, and those on the Capital Star would only praise Lu Yin for expertly handling the situation. Lu Yin¡¯s arguments were sound, while his were the exact opposite.

    ¡°We have the facts of this matter, I¡¯ll deal with this. Now, disperse,¡± Sigmund waved everyone off.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Lu Yin interrupted.

    ¡°Do you have any other requests, Your Majesty?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across everyone, finally settling on Shalosh, ¡°I just wanted to say that I mighte from a primitive, but I¡¯m no pushover. Some dogs better pull back their paws, or I¡¯ll chop them off one day.¡±

    Shalosh stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, and he returned the re. He was only an idle prince who couldn¡¯t handle an Explorer yet; even with higher status, it would be difficult to affect someone from the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. However, a warning was still necessary, and this would allow him to probe the Empire¡¯s reaction. The type and extent of reprisal would determine how he could act in the future.

    The crowd quickly dispersed, and Raas was brought away for treatment. Shalosh remained silent from start to end, while Sigmund didn¡¯t say much either. The matter thus came to a conclusion, and the Perseverance continued to sail through the darkness of space. A few hourster, a punishment notice was sent to everyone, ¡°Student Raas of Yu Academy showcased sheer indiscipline and defiance of his superiors. He will be demoted to a soldier upon return; let this be a warning to others.¡±

    Everyone was shocked by this news, and Lu Yin¡¯s silhouette appeared in their minds. The King Zishan wasn¡¯t simple at all. Even Lu Yin himself was shocked; his value in the Empire far exceeded his own imagination. The Vice Treasurer¡¯s son had been demoted publicly, which was a huge victory. It seemed like he had to adjust his own conduct in the future.

    That scoundrel! A downcast Shalosh clenched his fist tightly; he was the one driving Raas all this while, and the me for this would certainly fall back on him.

    This incident suddenly left the Perseverance much quieter than before, with no one daring to create any more disturbances. One dayter, Lu Yin was interrupted from his star chart reading by a middle-aged man in military garb.

    ¡°The Deputy General pays his respects, Your Majesty,¡± the man saluted solemnly. There wasn¡¯t any custom of kowtowing in the Great Yu Empire, and military personnel saluted while courtiers only bowed to pay their respects.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Good day, how should I address you?¡±

    The middle-aged man replied, ¡°You can call me Deputy, everyone on the Perseverance calls me so.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me Your Majesty, it¡¯s awkward. Call me Lu Yin, Student Lu is fine too.¡±

    ¡°Alright. The General sent me here to exin the Empire¡¯s situation to you. We¡¯ll be reaching the Capital Star in two weeks,¡± the man exined, opening up a star chart when Lu Yin gestured for him to continue, ¡°The Great Yu Empire spans thirteen fments and is in the center of the Frostwave Weave, connecting north and south. Our domain is a straight line that roughly splits the weave into two equal halves, connecting to the Grandtop Weave and the Boundless Chaos Weave¡­¡±

    Lu Yin had grown to understand the Great Yu Empire better over the past few days, so he knew this bit already. He was curious about the Capital Star itself; knowledge of the entire Empire was too broad a scope to understand in the time he had. However, all he knew was that the Capital Star was known as the Zenyu Star, and was ten thousand timesrger in surface area than Earth. Three rings ofnd revolved around it, but what they were, he didn¡¯t understand.

    The deputy pointed at a position on the star chart, ¡°This is where the Zenyu Star is, and the three rings revolve around it. Different sections of the imperial forces are stationed there, and those armies are simply numbered ording to the rings from the inside out¡­¡±

    Lu Yin formed a mental map of a giant as the deputy introduced it, the capital of the Empire that was surrounded by the Ironblood Army and oversaw the thirteen fments. After a long while of exnation, the man stowed his charts away, ¡°Do you have any questions?¡±

    ¡°I would like to know more about the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons and the royal pce.¡±

    ¡°My apologies; I do not have the authority to reveal that. You can ask General Sigmund for more details.¡±

    Lu Yin felt it was a pity, ¡°How long did you say it was before we reach the Capital Star?¡±

    ¡°About half a month.¡±

    ¡°So slow¡­¡± Lu Yin grumbled.

    ¡°It is average speed, and only because of the wormholes popting all thirteen fments to speed up travel. Every warp crosses a vast distance that we couldn¡¯t cover in even a thousandfold the time.¡±

    Lu Yin thought of his time initially in the universe, when his family had discussed a sort of spaceship called the aurora spaceship that could disassemble materials to upgrade performance. That sort of spacecraft could theoretically be upgraded infinitely, and it was rumored that the best ones could tear apart ck holes and protect themselves from top powerhouses. Those things were thousands of times faster than normal spaceships and were a man¡¯s dream. Unfortunately, that kind of spacecraft was far too expensive for him to afford.

    ¡°Alright thank you, Deputy,¡± Lu Yin said, and the man saluted once more before leaving. He looked back at his own star charts and his gaze suddenly froze; from a bird¡¯s eye view, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s territory was like a sharp sword with the tip pointed directly at the Innerverse.

    ¡­¡­

    Beams of light streaked across the dark skies; they could be meteors, or they could be star energy attacks by powerhouses. A lone spaceship was rapidly sailing through the emptiness, the man on its highest deck gazing at the stars. Qingyu swirled the wine in his ss, ¡°I have a feeling that I¡¯m forgetting something. Right, Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letter. Pity I forgot about it.¡±

    ¡°Master,¡± Liu Shaoge came to Qingyu¡¯s side and respectfully muttered.

    Qingyu nced at him, ¡°Remember, you must not raise your hand when we are back in the n. Don¡¯t look around randomly, or you can be killed in an instant by anyone.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s attitude was extremely deferential.

    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t let anyone bully you either. You¡¯re still my subordinate, the subordinate of a Nightking,¡± Qingyu continued proudly.

    Liu Shaoge immediately nodded earnestly, leaving Qingyu pleased with his attitude. It was only this attitude that had convinced him to bring this native along; the family name was a little troublesome because of some ancient connotations, but that native had been under the Great Yu Empire¡¯s control for so long that he had a legal identity, ¡°In fact, I should be thanking you. If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t have managed to rise from my deep slumber.¡±

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s gaze shed, ¡°It¡¯s Master¡¯s own innate luck to awaken as a Nightking, the future will definitely belong to you.¡±

    Qingyu¡¯s lips curved, ¡°Well said, haha. When I formally inherit the Nightking title, I will return to that native and ughter that garbage. You will return in glory.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks, Master,¡± Liu Shaoge bent his head lower, but his eyes were brighter than the stars.

 Chapter 70: Genma Space Station

    <h4>Chapter 70: Genma Space Station</h4>

    ¡°The Perseverance has reached Genma Space Station. All departing students, please take all your belongings and leave in order.¡±

    Standing beside the window, Lu Yin stared down at the space station below. Genma Space Station was a long distance from the sr system, and the first ce that the Perseverance would perform a wormhole skip. It was quite ordinary to most people, but for earthlings like Zhang Dingtian and Xu San, it was apletely novel experience. The ce was thousands of timesrger than the Perseverance, a construct of all sorts of strange metals that looked like a giant beast brandishing its ws. Its flight machinery constantly adjusted its position ever so slightly, keeping it floating in one ce.

    Behind Genma was a protective made of countless flying machines. Even though they were quite a distance away, Zhang Dingtian could feel the shocking fluctuations of Explorer-realm star energy from out back. The Perseverance settled down on a giant dock, and beam after beam of light shed below as students left the ship.

    Coming from all corners of the Empire, most students didn¡¯t need to go to the Capital Star. Over twenty of them stopped off at Genma and left the Perseverance, clearly in a more rxed mood. One of them was Jeraldine, who finally left Lu Yin¡¯s side. ncing back at the spaceship, she saw Lu Yin waving to her and red firmly before mumbling something under her breath; they clearly weren¡¯t pleasantries. From his perch up above, Lu Yin raised a brow; this brat needed a beating.

    Besides Jeraldine and Veron who were from the same school, Parlie¡¯s wasn¡¯t far and he left as well. Surprisingly, even Silver got off at this stop, leaving Lu Yin deep in thought as he watched the youth¡¯s back. That guy was unfathomable. Cooperation? They¡¯d work out who¡¯d yed whom soon enough, but before that, he needed to understand Silver¡¯s backing.

    Lu Yin noticed Sigmund¡¯s figure in the sky before returning to his observation of the star charts; it was only in outer space that he could truly feel its boundless nature. He was confident in getting to the fifth star within the month, so how strong would he be then? Every additional star was double the former¡¯s power, and he had suppressed a Sentinel Qingyu with four. Five could perhaps let him match Yu Academy¡¯s Melders; even Munoor might not be a rival at that point.

    The Station Master of Genma was named Barudar, an Explorer whosebat level had broken past 10,000. He had been stationed here for over two centuries and worked conscientiously the entire time; while someone of his status didn¡¯t need to oversee the wormhole personally, he had made sure to be its primary guardian for the past 200-odd years and thus gained fame throughout the Great Yu Empire.

    Sigmund quickly travelled behind the station and nced at the wormhole before looking at the protective of warships packed densely around it. Barudar¡¯s own ship was at the very center, and the door creaked open to reveal a middle-aged man inbat armor. He appeared before Sigmund in one step, ¡°Greetings, General Sigmund.¡±

    Sigmund respected this man quite a bit, so he smiled, ¡°Station Master Barudar, we haven¡¯t met in thirteen years. How have you been?¡±

    Barudar replied with a serious tone, ¡°Haven¡¯t noticed any enemy invasion in these thirteen years.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. His Imperial Majesty has mentioned many times to thank you for protecting the borders.¡±

    Barudar immediately gave a military salute, ¡°I¡¯m a soldier of the Empire, it is my duty to protect the borders.¡±

    ¡°You should be notified that there¡¯s a fringe called Earth that recently evolved. We have to trouble you to monitor it strictly, and dispatch people at the earliest opportunity to destroy the failed goods or the enemy may sneak in,¡± Sigmund warned.

    Barudar grew apprehensive, ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    Sigmund nodded and looked towards Earth, ¡°The zombies that failed to evolve cannot be discovered by the Neohuman Alliance. Even if they take just one corpse king, it will spell trouble for the Great Yu Empire. You must understand the importance of this matter.¡±

    Barudar remained stern, ¡°I do. I¡¯ll send troops to Earth immediately.¡±

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t harm the when you destroy the zombies. That belongs to the King Zishan now.¡±

    Barudar acknowledged and left immediately. Not long after, the Perseveranceunched off again and flew towards the wormhole behind the space station. The moment it entered the wormhole, everyone felt their body growing weightless. But in the next moment, everything returned to normal, and the only difference was the change in the surrounding stars. They had appeared in another system¡¯s space station, not needing to pause for even a moment.

    Xu San was relieved. He had been afraid in the moment they had entered the wormhole, as that darkness of the depths was not one that everyone could bear to look at. The wormhole had allowed them to traverse a rather vast distance, and they had moved from the sr system into another weave altogether.

    The universe was divided as such. Gxies were the smallest full units, followed by local clusters, and superclusters, and finally a fment. Most great powers of the universe were measured in the number of fments they controlled; each one contained multiple superclusters and was vast beyond measure. The Great Yu Empire contained thirteen in total, almost dividing the Frostwave Weave into two halves.

    Above the fments were the weaves. The entire Outerverse contained 72 in total, of which the Frostwave Weave was just one. They each averaged about a hundred territories, and the Frostwave Weave was above average at 125. The Great Yu Empire only upied about 10% of it in total.

    The sr system was located in the fourth fment, and the Perseverance had just warped from the fourth to the third. They were headed to the Capital Star in the first fment, the center of the Great Yu Empire.

    The training area was much emptier after the departure of a batch of trainees, but Lu Yin still saw a few familiar faces when he headed to the facilities. Those faces avoided him immediately, but he didn¡¯t particrly care; he had no n to live with them in harmony anyway. The Zishan kingship was bound to bring him trouble from the moment it had been granted to him, and he could already tell that he would be hated throughout the Great Yu Empire. But so what? It was a false identity anyway, and all he needed was the authority to influence some territory of the Great Yu Empire in the future. Of course, he didn¡¯t yet have that authority, but the kingship would help.

    The training facility was quiterge and could simte different environments and regiments. Lu Yin ambled towards the gravity region which had a hundred gravity rooms, a ce where he could train his physical body. Each gravity room wasrge enough to amodate multiple people training at the same time.

    Lu Yin found an empty room and increased the gravity to sixfold, warming up for a while before increasing it again. His body gradually felt heavier and the pressure on his organs grew stronger. His body was drenched by the time he reached 30x; this was the most that the average Sentinel could survive.

    ¡°Alright, time to train,¡± he muttered, starting his normal regimen. It was a set of basic exercises that he¡¯d used to toughen up his body so he could use the Shockwave Palm without using any star energy. Things like the Shockwave Palm and Spacerender Palm might not be as effective as other battle techniques, but he didn¡¯t wish to give up on them either. In a situation where he had no ess to star energy, they would be a lifeline.

    Outside the gravity room, student after student gazed in wonder at the figure posted on the console. Someone guessed, ¡°Thirty times normal? Who¡¯s training there? Could it be Munoor or Yan Gang? Or Huo Xiaoling?¡±

    ¡°Or perhaps that one old soldier, there are Melders among the soldiers too.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s most probably a soldier. They can¡¯t get enough star crystals, so they train physically instead. There are many Sentinels with Melder-level strength.¡±

    ¡°But they¡¯re just trash, so what if their bodies are so strong, they¡¯re just warves,¡± someone retorted.

    Not far away, several soldiers¡¯ expressions warped but they didn¡¯t retort. They had alle from trials themselves, and it wasn¡¯t easy to even enter the Perseverance. Unfortunately, they weren¡¯t qualified for the Great Yu Empire to pay for formcast remodelling, so they truly were warves.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, why don¡¯t you just open the door if you want to know who¡¯s inside,¡± another student was impatient.

    Someone beside warned, ¡°There may be trouble if you interrupt someone else¡¯s training. Thirty times normal gravity, it¡¯s very likely a Melder. Do you think you can take it?¡±

    That student¡¯s face changed and he did not dare to proceed.

 Chapter 71: Imitation And Bewildering Strength

    <h4>Chapter 71: Imitation And Bewildering Strength</h4>

    The gravity training room adjacent to Lu Yin¡¯s opened to reveal Jenny Auna, who grew curious at themotion and opened his door. However, her expression warped the moment she saw him, and after leveling an angry re, she firmly mmed the door closed and left, leaving the surrounding students stunned.

    What happened? This was a question Lu Yin shared with the crowd. This woman had to be crazy to give him that sort of threatening expression; didn¡¯t she know the Aunas had a marriage agreement with the Zishan Family?

    His guess wasn¡¯t wrong; Jenny was indeed aware. Torry had revealed it by ident, and while the agreement didn¡¯t mention any names, even a fool would know that the Zishan heir would only be married to the Auna heir. The Zishan Family¡¯s prime was far more splendid than the Aunas¡¯, so as long as the marriage was forced, Jenny herself would be the one wedded to Lu Yin. She didn¡¯t have a good impression of him to begin with, and when she contacted her family about it, their answer had frozen her heart¡ª they would most likely go through with the agreement. The girl had felt like her entire life had dimmed down ande to the training room to vent her anger, but she¡¯d bumped into that scoundrel once more. It felt like she¡¯d stepped into dog poo.

    Jenny wasn¡¯t gone long before a joyous Lulu Mavis ran over, identifying Lu Yin¡¯s training room and jumping in without hesitation.

    ¡°Lulu?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re perfect. My hands are itchy, let¡¯s practice!¡± she challenged.

    Curious about the Mavis Family¡¯s battle techniques, he didn¡¯t reject her. Lulu had showcased terrifying strength and extreme speed in Beijing, and he wanted to know if it was innate or a battle technique he could copy in secret.

    The girl licked her lips in excitement; she had observed Lu Yin for a long time, and the defeat of even a freshly awakened Nightking was no mean feat, ¡°Don¡¯t hold back, I want to experience what you learnt from that inheritance stone firsthand. Here Ie!¡±

    Lulu¡¯s body vanished as she finished talking; even under 30 times normal gravity, her speed was still so terrifying that she left behind phantoms that merged with the daylight. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t beyond the grasp of the Cosmic Art, which revealed her snaking palm to Lu Yin immediately. When he stepped aside and allowed her hand to crash into the wall, the entire training room rumbled.

    ¡°Good. Again!¡± Lulu beamed with delight, rushing towards him once more. The increased gravity didn¡¯t seem to affect her at all. Lu Yin stared at her fist and raised his own, white and ck alternating in the formation of the Daynight Punch.

    BANG! A shockwave rumbled out as bothbatants took several steps back, the sheer volume of the impact shocking the students outside. Lulu herself was surprised, ¡°This is the technique you learnt from the inheritance stone? It¡¯s not much.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his own fist and stared at her in amazement. While the speed was a battle technique, her punch itself was not. She had relied on brute force to stop the Daynight Punch; could that strength be the Mavis Family¡¯s innate gift?

    ¡°Continue,¡± Lulu barked, sweeping her legs towards Lu Yin who stared at them while dodging. She disappeared the very next moment, starting to attack from all directions.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t learn Qingyu¡¯s speed technique at all, but Lulu¡¯s disy gave him some clues. His legs subconsciously started imitating her movements as he integrated things with the Roving Step, slightly improving his own speed. However, the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques always had this unique rhythm that he simply couldn¡¯t learn outside of that inheritance stone; imitation had its limits.

    Lulu backflipped andnded before staring at him in shock, ¡°That¡­ You were copying my White sh, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°But it can¡¯t be emted.¡±

    She burst out inughter, ¡°You¡¯re really imitating the White sh, and even managed to copy it a little. Interesting, you¡¯re too interesting!¡±

    Lu Yin was lost, ¡°Is that strange?¡±

    She smiled, ¡°Of course it¡¯s strange. It¡¯smon knowledge that battle techniques cannot be imitated, and many different races¡¯ battle techniques require specific conditions to receive their inheritance that even powerful copying techniques cannot break. This is the fundamental reason why the great ns dominate the universe, but you actually managed to copy this a little. You¡¯re a strange fellow; not only did you inherit one technique, but you copied the White sh, too. So mysterious, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin could not figure out why it was so amusing, ¡°Are you still fighting?¡±

    ¡°Yes, continue. But thirty times gravity is too low, can we raise it a little?¡± she suggested cunningly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows raised, ¡°Sure, how much?¡±

    Lulu thought about it before sticking out four fingers, prompting him to squint. Forty times? This was vicious, even a Sentinel from Yu Academy like Raas wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand that. Was this woman testing him?

    The gravity room was quickly adjusted to forty times gravity, and Lu Yin immediately felt his body sink further. His legs felt like lead, while the terrifying pressure left him barely able to speak. This sort of gravity was meant only for Melder bodies; he could barely hold on.

    Lulu¡¯s expression turned uglier as well, but she stubbornly stared at Lu Yin and beckoned him over. He felt strange, ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you having trouble with this too?¡±

    She gritted her teeth, ¡°Of course not.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. He could tell that this brat was holding on through will alone, but she acted as if she was all fine.

    At this point, the door to the gravity training room opened and Xia Luo walked in. He smiled, ¡°Can I join too?¡±

    Lulu¡¯s lips curled, ¡°Don¡¯t throw away your reputation, Melder.¡±

    Xia Luoughed, ¡°I won¡¯t use battle techniques, nor will I initiate the attack.¡±

    ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s just training anyway. Begin,¡± Lu Yin shrugged. He and Lulu attacked the youth simultaneously, but Xia Luo dodged with zero effort. Forty times gravity was nothing much to a Melder like him, and avoiding the duo¡¯s attacks was like a walk in the park.

    When theirbined attacks hadn¡¯t even touched Xia Luo¡¯s clothes after trying for a while, Lulu grew worried, ¡°Hey, did youe here to mock us?¡±

    Xia Luo raised one leg to block Lu Yin¡¯s Skybeast w, while he whipped the other out towards Lulu, ¡°I¡¯ll show mercy.¡±

    Lulu snorted, then clenched her right fist so hard the air trembled. Lu Yin subconsciously stepped back just as a dull echo resounded on the spot, knocking Xia Luo back one step. The youth eximed, ¡°Such strength!¡±

    Lulu was pleased and she blew her fist. Then she leaned towards Xia Luo provocatively, ¡°If you want to fight, seal yourself ande back.¡±

    ¡°Alright, be right back,¡± Xia Luo smiled and left the training room.

    ¡­¡­

    The Perseverance passed through another wormhole to enter the second fment of the Great Yu Empire, now less than ten days away from the Capital Star. Within the gravity training room, Lu Yin, Lulu, and Xia Luo sparred frequently, going through a hundred bouts in five days. Lulu was a fighting maniac, sharing the violent tendencies of others with great strength. That was within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Xia Luo would even be willing to seal himself in order to spar with them. The man was strange¡ªthis sort of battle should have been useless to him¡ª but Lu Yin felt quitefortable in his presence.

    On the sixth day, another person joined them, Zhang Dingtian. He had been training in a distant gravity training room himself, but hade here after bumping into Lu Yin. Lu Yin had always known him to be a freak, but he still hadn¡¯t expected the man to be able to withstand forty times gravity. He did not shrink back even if his skin was about to split or his vessels about to burst. This earthling without battle techniques could suppress school leaders like Parlie, and was a realmbreaker who could even match someone like Raas. Even Sigmund stated that this man was an exception that could join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons right away. Xia Luo admired Zhang Dingtian, and sometimes even shook off Lu Yin and Lulu to train the man. He slowly guided the desage in developing a battle technique that truly fit him.

    Two dayster, another participant arrived: Seruzen. The monk scared Lulu into hiding behind Lu Yin when he first appeared; a frightening exterior was a threat unto itself, and he had an aura of incongruity that ensured normal people wouldn¡¯t dare act against him. Seruzen could not withstand the high gravity, so he simply opened the door and took one step in. He ced his other foot in once he¡¯d adapted, leaving everyone speechless. Lu Yin and the rest ended up fighting with the door half-open, andbined with Seruzen¡¯s appearance, they attracted many onlookers everyday. Xu San had alsoe around, but Lu Yin forced him to fetch them water and refreshments. The man was alright with such a job; he was at least of some use this way.

 Chapter 72: Bai Qian

    <h4>Chapter 72: Bai Qian</h4>

    Quite a few students were creeped out by Lu Yin¡¯s training room as they passed by, shocked that people could battle under 40 times gravity. Even the elites of many institutions couldn¡¯t achieve such a feat.

    More students left the Perseverance as time went on, including Geine, Bror, Eddy, and Hayden; at this point, Lu Yin recognized very few of the students left behind. Before Geine left, she looked for him and waved her fist, ¡°You better watch out, I haven¡¯t repaid you for robbing me just yet.¡±

    ¡°Wanna try again?¡± Lu Yin was defiant.

    The girl was frightened and quickly ran away, but she tried to intimidate him once more before she left, ¡°Don¡¯t belittle Yu Academy. You won¡¯t be fighting Sentinels anymore, you¡¯ll be facing Melders. Just wait for my brother to crush you!¡±

    Lu Yinughed at first, but an introduction of Gerbach sprang to mind and his expression turned heavier. The man was one of Yu Academy¡¯s strongest students, and had even joined one of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Although his own status was rather high now, these kinds of people wouldn¡¯t necessarily defer to him. He had to work hard and be a Melder to protect himself.

    As he was rushing back to the training room, Lu Yin came across Bai Xue who was staring into space alone. Her beauty with the stars in the background moved him; she seemed to be a glowing fairy, attracting fervent gazes from many of the students around her. Be it on Earth or in the wider universe, such looks would never go away.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± he walked over to her side, ¡°Why don¡¯t you train with us.¡±

    ¡°The universe is really too big, and Earth is too insignificant. No wonder the can¡¯t hold on to its people,¡± she answered indifferently.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you walk out yourself? Don¡¯t take things with Liu Shaoge too seriously.¡±

    ¡°Not him,¡± she shook her head.

    ¡°Huh? Who else?¡±

    She turned to look at him, ¡°Do you know who discovered Qingyu?¡±

    ¡°Bai Qian,¡± he blurted out instantly.

    Bai Xue¡¯s expression darkened, ¡°That¡¯s right, Bai Qian.¡±

    That¡¯s right, Bai Qian was the one to step onto Neptune and fetch the so-called corpse. This was the first person toe into contact with alien life, but there was no such name among the Seven Sages. How was one of Earth¡¯s most elite astronauts simply gone? Lu Yin had always felt like there was something amiss. ¡°Who is it? You share surnames, is he rted to you?¡±

    An expression of agony filled Bai Xue¡¯s face, ¡°She¡¯s my elder sister.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a woman?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Bai Xue nodded, unable to help a smile as she watched Lu Yin¡¯s surprise, ¡°Shocking, isn¡¯t it. The media exploded with news of her reaching Neptune, but no one mentioned a hint of personal information, not even gender. You always thought she was a dominant man like Zhang Dingtian, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly and nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right. So, what happened to her? She left Earth?¡±

    Bai Xue looked down, her long hair covering her eyes as she exined gloomily, ¡°Rainbows paled inparison to my sister¡¯s face. She was a strategist like Zhuge, had the heart of an empress, and was a genius swordswoman. But she abandoned me, abandoned Earth, and went into the heavens alone. I¡¯ll probably never see her again.¡±

    ¡°Into the heavens? How?¡± Lu Yin felt it was strange.

    ¡°When Qingyu was first brought back, there was a message engraved on leather with him. We tried to decipher it for the longest time but could only make out three words; it was an invitation letter. It was this letter that opened her path to the heavens, she vanished soon after. She¡¯d only just entered the Realm of Sky; a Sentinel.¡±

    ¡°So brave. An unknown invitation and she stepped into the greater universe, without fear of being crushed by space and time,¡± Lu Yin eximed in admiration.

    Bai Xue gazed toward the dark universe and said longingly, ¡°My sister would never do anything she wasn¡¯t confident in. Academics, sports, swordsmanship or exploring the heavens, she was always outstanding. Even Zhang Dingtian and the rest had no choice but to ept it as well, no one couldpare to her. Maybe Earth just couldn¡¯t satisfy her.¡±

    Lu Yin could not help augh; this woman worshipper her sister too much. Perhaps Bai Qian could excel on Earth, but the greater universe was boundless. Just like Bror or Parlie, there were many different races of beings, and some were born Sentinels or stronger. Normal humans couldn¡¯tpare to them at all.

    The Daynight n was already very terrifying, and the Nightkings were their rulers with frightening innate gifts. Any elite would be overshadowed by such freaks. He would use the unlimited possibilities of his die topete with them, but what about Bai Qian?

    Bai Xue was right about something; she might not be able to meet Bai Qian again in this life. Normal people couldn¡¯t even step into the boundless universe. A face that made rainbows seem pale inparison? It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t catch that sight.

    ¡°Oh, do you have a photo?¡± he asked, really wanting to take a look.

    ¡°We weren¡¯t allowed photos,¡± Bai Xue shook her head, but then she red at him like he was a thief, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Just wanted to take a look, but it¡¯s alright. Come and train with us if you¡¯re free. It¡¯s easy to grow sick of things if you stay by yourself,¡± Lu Yinmented and turned to leave. Bai Xue recollected her thoughts and looked back at the darkness of space with aplicated expression.

    Earth was mysterious indeed. One Qingyu and one trial had brought out so many monsters. Zhang Dingtian the realmbreaker, Bai Xue and Xu San with innate gifts, Seruzen with iparable willpower, Liu Shaoge¡¯s silent endurance, and the perfect Bai Qian. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know what these people would experience amongst the stars, but the future would be exciting yet. Oh, he could be considered an earthling at this point. Was he a monster too?

    The Perseverance grew quiet over the next few days as students left one after the other. Bai Xue joined Lu Yin¡¯s training group, but just like Seruzen, she was unable to withstand the gravity. She helplessly followed the monk¡¯s method, her breathtaking beauty a stark contrast with his nightmare-inducing appearance. Lu Yin was left speechless in the face of these pr opposites at the exit of the training room.

    Xu San noticed something strange in Bai Xue¡¯s gaze, and felt like the woman must have been pushed in some way. Why else would anyone follow that monk¡¯s torturous method to adapt to the gravity?

    Lu Yinpletely adapted to the increased gravity during the ten days, something that shocked Xia Luo. Even a newly advanced Melder wouldn¡¯t adapt so quickly. Lulu had gotten used to it even earlier, but no one was amazed by the Mavis Family¡¯s freakishness. In the meanwhile, Zhang Dingtian got to a point where he could move around without issue, while Seruzen had taken this time to advance¡­ one entire step. This was the only normal bit; it was ridiculous for Sentinels to adapt to 40x gravity in the first ce. Surprisingly, Bai Xue¡¯s progress was even faster; she had gotten to the same point herself.

    This gravity training room had already be famous on Perseverance, and even Sigmund had looked over at one point. Everyone there outside of Xu San could defeat school leaders; it was hard not to attract attention.

    ¡°Careful, I¡¯ming,¡± Lulu barked, and her fist swept past Lu Yin¡¯s ears to hit the walls. She retracted her hand and looked discontentedly at him, ¡°Hey, show some respect, I¡¯m hitting you!¡±

    Lu Yin said apologetically, ¡°My bad, I was distracted. I just received a notice that students who seeded in trial missions are to head to the Capital Star to be examined for rmendation into Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t concern me,¡± Lulu rolled her eyes, and Xia Luo paid no attention either. It was only then that Lu Yin recalled that these two weren¡¯t simple; one was from the Mavis Family that was not one whit inferior to the Daynight n, and the other had shown his background by knowing and seeding with the Daynight inheritance stone. The Empire¡¯s rmendations likely meant nothing to them.

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Everyone in the trial failed except me. No one can be nominated to participate in the Tenth Academy¡¯s examination.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need any rmendation, I can go there myself,¡± Zhang Dingtian pipped.

    Lulu rolled her eyes, ¡°Go yourself? You must be joking, you don¡¯t even know where the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s doors will open. You think anyone can get in? When Astral-10 arrives at the Frostwave Weave, only major powers like the Great Yu Empire will know its concrete position and have means to approach it. A normal person wouldn¡¯t see it even if they passed by.¡±

    The desage¡¯s gaze turned heavier as he gripped his de.

 Chapter 73: Astral Combat Academy

    <h4>Chapter 73: Astral Combat Academy</h4>

    ¡°You know about the Astral Combat Academy?¡± Lu Yin looked at Lulu.

    ¡°Heard some seniors talking about it, want to know more?¡± she smiled craftily, her gaze shifting as he nodded, ¡°I can tell you, but you have to promise me something. Help me get something if you enter Astral-10¡­ Hey, don¡¯t leave, it¡¯s not anything extraordinary or something! I just need you to fight someone; you should know that information about Astral Combat Academy is restricted. Even that General Sigmund might not know; no one will tell you except me!¡±

    Xia Luo interrupted gently, ¡°The Astral Combat Academy is an umbre term for ten institutions, the first eight in the Innerverse. Astral-9 is in the Endless Weave of the Outerverse, while Astral-10 is going to appear here in the Frostwave Weave. Every academy is said to have supreme battle techniques inherited from ages past and is overseen by unequaled powerhouses. The academies also determine the top 100 youths across the universe, and then there¡¯s the true attraction of the legendary Three Realms and Six Daos.¡±

    Lulu clenched her jaw in fury, but everyone else focused on Xia Luo, ¡°Three Realms and Six Daos?¡±

    ¡°Legend goes that there are nine trial zones passed on from ancient times, hiding supreme battle techniques. Longevity, strong blood vessels, unstoppable strength¡­ rumors say you can acquire all kinds of things there, but there is one thing we know for sure,¡± Xia Luo¡¯s smile faded, ¡°Almost half of the Ten Arbiters of the Universe Youth Council have walked through the Three Realms and Six Daos.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed as well; the Ten Arbiters had taken the Universe Youth Council from an obscure organization to the behemoth it was today. These ten devilish geniuses were the greatest prodigies of their generation; while he didn¡¯t know just how strong they were, a single one had destroyed a major organization that defied the Council¡¯s ruling. That power had been far stronger than the Great Yu Empire.

    The Universe Youth Council was originally responsible for the Outerversepetitions and rewarding or disciplining the younger generations, but ever since the Ten Arbiters came into power, its influence had broadened greatly. Not only did they rule over the young, but they now had judicial authority and supervised the various academies. They had the authority to investigate, pass, and enforcews on education, military, and prisons, empowering the younger generations greatly. The Universe Youth Council was thus also called the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council. Mira was a prime example of the terrifying prowess of this organization. Lu Yin had tried to get more information about the Ten Arbiters, but there was very little he could glean about them. Those from the Outerverse simply couldn¡¯t learn about them.

    Lulu snorted, ¡°Some of those freaks have indeed stepped through the Three Realms and Six Daos, but not all gained any technique from it. There is one certainty, though; any student that dares enter that cees out much stronger than before. The Astral Combat Academy is like the gate to the Three Realms and Six Daos, which is why countless people are drawn towards it.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who the Ten Arbiters are?¡± Lu Yin looked at Lulu. When she and Xia Luo looked back silently, he asked, ¡°Don¡¯t know?¡±

    Lulu shrugged with a negative. When Lu Yin turned to Xia Luo, the youth shook his head as well, ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, no one here is qualified for such information. Even the Emperor might not know; those ten are way too high, and no media dares to even contact them.¡±

    Disappointed, Lu Yin thought back to news broadcasts he¡¯d seen before. The only images shown for rulings from the Ten Arbiters were ten silhouettes; he really wasn¡¯t qualified to find out. The only person on the Perseverance who knew was Mira, but asking her would only garner ill-will. It would show lofty ambition with little perspective.

    After the ship warped once more, a notice was transmitted throughout the ship that they were about to arrive at the Zenyu Star, the capital of the Great Yu Empire. Lu Yin looked out his window to see a mass of vehicles passing by. They were soon in sight of the massive celestial body, three rings ofnd circling around it constantly. It looked vast and magnificent, terrifying star energy ripples passing by on asion. The spaceships around stretched into an unknown distance.

    There weren¡¯t many students left on the Perseverance at this point, only children of influential families like Raas and Huo Xiaoling. Watching the capital approach, an excited Raas activated his gadget, ¡°Senior, please, you have to avenge me.¡±

    ¡°That is King Zishan; if we mess him up, we risk offending the entire Zishan faction.¡±

    ¡°Bah, the Zishan faction withered away long ago, and many have cast their lots in with my father. There are only a handful of people left that support him; His Imperial Majesty only gave him the position because of a past promise. He really thinks that title willst forever; the Crown Prince and Second Prince will always be worried if he doesn¡¯t die.¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten about the Thirteenth Captain?¡±

    Raas was startled, but then he smiled, ¡°That woman is just holding up the Zishan name. She might even thank us when he¡¯s dead.¡±

    The person on the other end of the call took a while to respond, ¡°Alright, I can teach him a lesson, but it¡¯ll be embarrassing him at most. I can¡¯t help you kill him; that¡¯ll be courting death.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Thank you, Senior!¡± Raas huffed and forced a smile, deactivating his gadget. He then gazed at the Capital Star that was almost within reach, ¡°Do you really think that the title of King Zishan is so nice? You don¡¯t understand; the bigger you are, the harder you fall.¡±

    Just before the Perseverance reached the capital star, dozens of royal courtiers gathered in the Great Yu Pce, watching an imposing figure respectfully. This was The Undying Yushan, the man who had taken the weak Great Yu Empire into a powerful nation that spanned thirteen fments today. Even the Innerverse had heard of the Ironblood Emperor, a man who had reached the top ten of the Astral Combat Ranking in his youth and shaken the entire universe. Although conspiracies had pushed back his ambitious charge into the Innerverse, he had still built the Great Yu Empire up to its current state. As a Hunter, he could live over a thousand years, but his dignified figure was now only a shadow of in his prime. He was aging quickly.

    The Great Yu Empire had advanced technology, yet upheld ancient traditions. Ministers that represented the various territories had to stand respectfully, while the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons who had the highest authority stood in the front row. Compared to the uniformly dressed, dignified and serene councilors, these captains were much stranger. Some were dressed bizarrely, there was one who was two meters tall, one with fiery red hair, and even one blind baldy. All sorts of people were present, making it look like a mob. Although they looked random, each of them were the greatest powers in the Empire.

    There were two figures in front of even the captains. One was the Second Prince, Duke Yushan. His hands were in his pockets, and he seemed to be chewing on something absentmindedly. The other seemed more alert to the situation, wearing a faint smile that concealed the imposing aura that shed past his eyes on asion. This man resembled The Undying Yushan more than his brother, and was the Crown Prince of the Great Yu Empire: Dorren Yushan.

    ¡°That will be it on diplomacy with the Grandtop Weave. I want to bring up one other person, Lu Yin,¡± the Emperor started to speak, his dignified gaze sweeping across everyone present as a hint of exhaustion shed past his eyes. The hearts of the courtiers jumped at the name; it had shocked the court when it first appeared. This name represented a n that had once shocked them all, even if it had now declined; the Zishan Family.

    Crown prince Dorren Yushan had stepped forward and bowed, ¡°Royal Father, Royal Brother Lu Yin is going to arrive, do you want your son to wee him personally?¡±

    Undying Yushan shook his head, ¡°I sent Bronsen to wee him; his identity should be sufficient to wee him.¡±

    ¡°The First Squadron Deputy does have sufficient seniority,¡± Dorren agreed respectfully, returning to his spot. The Second Prince nced at him and continued to chew with a displeased expression.

    The Undying Yushan coughed several times, ¡°Zishan and I called each other brothers in our youth, and it was with his help that I forged this great empire. His family might have perished today, but Lu Yin is the sole survivor. I¡¯ve already given orders that he shall inherit the title of King Zishan; he can enjoy the honor and glory thates with that title. You must all treat him like you treat the other royal children.

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± all of them chorused.

    The Undying Yushan nodded, then coughed a few more times.

    ¡°Your Majesty, this subject has a question that I am unsure whether to ask,¡± an older man walked out.

    The Emperor smiled, ¡°All courtiers are free to speak in my presence.¡±

    ¡°There was a marriage contract between the royal family and the Zishan Family that is still unfulfilled. Will it be taking effect today?¡±

    All gazes fell upon the Emperor, this time including some of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons and the hitherto-inattentive Duke. The man¡¯s own eyes narrowed; this was a difficult question to answer. Denial would sully the Yushan name, but he couldn¡¯t acknowledge it either. There was only one unwedded princess in the royal family, Fifth Princess Wendy Yushan who wasn¡¯t yet thirty. However, she was no ordinary princess; tutored within the Myriad Swords Peak of the Innerverse, she was ranked within the top 20 of the Astral Combat Ranking. Few people across the Outerverse could match her, and she was the pride of the Frostwave Weave¡ª no, the entire Outerverse itself. She was considered the seconding of the Emperor¡¯s own talent, and even he couldn¡¯tpare to her in status. Regardless of willingness, he simply didn¡¯t have the ability to decide for her.

    The Emperor suddenly broke out into a fit of violent coughing, and a few doctors immediately rushed up and injected him with some medication. He spoke feebly when the fit subsided, ¡°Suspend the court, we shall begin again when Lu Yin is here.¡±

 Chapter 74: Arrival and Capture

    <h4>Chapter 74: Arrival and Capture</h4>

    The Perseverance slowlynded on the Capital Space Station, and Lu Yin and the rest beamed down to the Zenyu Star. The was flourishing wherever one looked, the entire city linked with bridges and flying vehicles streaking across the skies. Their white trails were everywhere, an indication of the technology at y here.

    Lu Yin stretched as he felt the gravity of this new that was about the same as Earth. The air was much fresher, and the surging star energy all around far surpassed anything he¡¯d ever felt back home. The Zenyu Star was tens of thousands of timesrger than Earth, and he couldn¡¯t estimate its poption or even the number of different races that lived here.

    Xu San gazed in amazement at his surroundings, at this extraterrestrial civilization that had supervised Earth. There was nothing that Earth couldpare to, be it in terms of science or cultivation. Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, and Seruzen remained calm, as they had seen introductions to the various technologies in the library. On the contrary, the Zenyu Star¡¯s technology looked a little backward to what they¡¯d read about.

    The Perseverance returned to tranquility and the troops descended quickly, Sigmund, Shalosh, and Torry among them. Mira had already departed earlier. Seeing the capital¡¯s guards suddenly surround them from the distance, Zhang Dingtian frowned as he felt something was wrong. These troops looked solemn, and some were even leaking bloodlust. As someone who had grown up in an army himself, he was very sensitive to this prelude to an attack. He warned the rest, ¡°Careful.¡±

    Lu Yin also felt something amiss in the wary gazes of the soldiers, and the area around the Perseverance was quickly sealed off. He noticed several invisible weapons locking onto them, especially Sigmund whose expression turned heavy at the sight of a man descending from the distance, ¡±Bronsen, what is the meaning of this?¡±

    Everyone looked on at the man, feeling his powerful aura. This man was at least an Explorer, able to move around freely in space. While the Emperor was a Hunter, someone over 100,000bat level, there were few like him across the Empire. Even Cruisers¡ª50,000 or higher¡ª were rare, so Explorers were quite powerful. Sigmund was an Explorer, as were Shalosh and Torry.

    Bronsen retrieved an arrest warrant, ¡°The Emperor has ordered your capture, Sigmund Mathers. Your crime is treason against the crown by collusion with outside powers.¡±

    Amotion quickly broke out amongst Sigmund¡¯s shocked soldiers, with Lu Yin sharing their sentiment. Treason? That was a capital offense!

    Shalosh and Torry looked at each other in confusion. As vice-captains from the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, they hadn¡¯t received any news about such a thing at all; this was obviously sealed off so Sigmund couldn¡¯t escape. The only one who could do such a thing was The Undying Yushan himself; did Sigmund really betray the Empire?

    Sigmund frowned and stared at the arrest warrant, color draining from his face as he recognized its authenticity, ¡°Why? I didn¡¯tmit any treason, why is His Majesty arresting me?¡±

    Bronsen looked on coldly, waving for a squadron to capture the man. Sigmund didn¡¯t resist, only staring at him for an answer until he eventually stepped forward and said, ¡°27 corpse kings escaped during Earth¡¯s evolution, and Barudar betrayed us and destroyed Genma Space Station.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Sigmund¡¯s eyes shrank.

    Bronsen activated his gadget and a screen lit up to show Sigmund conversing with Barudar, ¡°You¡¯re thest person that met Barudar, and also the one in charge of Earth¡¯s trial. The Empire has reason to believe that you colluded external powers to steal those corpse kings. Bring him away!¡±

    Sigmund¡¯s face turned ashen. While he was an Explorer, he did not put up any resistance at all and allowed the troops to escort him away. Watching his arrest, everyone else remained silent. Even a general of the Empire, an actual Explorer, could suffer such an end. Lu Yin stared at that despondent figure, recalling the moment that the man had dered him the King Zishan and assured that he could help with any trouble. Who would have thought things would change so greatly?

    Bronsen nodded towards Shalosh and Torry before walking directly to Lu Yin and bowing, ¡°The Third Seat of the First Imperial Squadron pays his respects to King Zishan.¡±

    Lu Yin returned his gaze to Bronsen, ¡°At ease.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. His Imperial Majesty has tasked this humble servant with escorting you to the pce. Please, follow me.¡±

    ¡°What about my friends?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Please rest assured, the Empire has made arrangements,¡± Bronsen replied.

    Lu Yin nodded and nced at Zhang Dingtian¡¯s trio before having Xu San follow him out with Bronsen. Xu San followed him like a mouse, frightened of letting him go too far.

    Feeling like things were getting boring, Lulu ran off by herself. Xia Luo also strolled through the area at leisure, with no one caring about him. Looking at Lu Yin¡¯s figure with envy, Raas followed Munoor and Eddy away to the first ring which contained Yu Academy. Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, and the other nobles were weed by their families and left.

    In the end, Zhang Dingtian¡¯s trio was brought to follow Raas¡¯s group to Yu Academy, where they would undergo formcast remodeling as a reward for their aplishments during the trial. This normally wasn¡¯t a reward given out easily, but these three had disyed great talent and would be absorbed into the Empire as fresh blood.

    The Zenyu Star¡¯s space station was enormous, and after a while of walking a flying vehicle stopped in front of Lu Yin, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin and Xu San boarded the vehicle while Bronsen flew up by their side. The machine started with a low boom and quickly shot into the distance. Xu San measured this machine curiously with his eyes, especially the screen which had already mapped out the route. It was on autopilot.

    ¡°General Bronsen, can I ask you a question?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bronsen dispersed the airflow around them using star energy and replied, ¡°Of course, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°You mentioned 27 corpse kings earlier, what does that mean?¡±

    Bronsen¡¯s gaze trembled, ¡°The evolution of the Your Majesty was on birthed many strong cultivators, but it also gave rise to zombies. There is one type of zombie called the corpse king that can swallow natural energy crystals to achieve great power. They have formed their own faction called the Neohuman Alliance, posing as the future of humanity, but they are extremely dangerous.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shed as he thought of the long-haired zombie king and the one that Zhang Dingtian killed. Innate gifts were rare among humanity, but those things could achieve a simr effect by swallowing energy crystals. This meant the entire Neohuman Alliance had innate gifts; it was no wonder that the Great Yu Empire was concerned. ¡°The escape of 27 of them from Earth¡¯s trial, is it a serious offense?¡±

    Bronsen only muttered two words, ¡°Death sentence.¡±

 Chapter 75: Royal Court

    <h4>Chapter 75: Royal Court</h4>

    ¡°Generally, they have to dispose of the zombies once the trial ends, precisely to prevent the corpse kings from being taken away by the Neohuman Alliance¡± Bronsen added, ¡°But Sigmund did not do so, and Barudar defected as well, so the Empire ruled that it was a case of collusion.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and didn¡¯t ask further questions. The Mathers Family were old Zishan subordinates, but he had just arrived at the capital and didn¡¯t have the clout here to help Sigmund. The man could only pray for himself.

    He thought of Silver, feeling sure that the youth was somehow rted to this Neohuman Alliance. Was he a corpse king himself? He didn¡¯t feel like one. Silver had left at Genma Space Station, which made Barudar¡¯s defection all the more suspicious. However, he quickly dismissed it from his mind. Even if he knew the truth, he couldn¡¯t say anything. Sigmund hadn¡¯t been given a moment¡¯s chance to exin himself before he was judged to be guilty of treason; it might have had something to do with the Zishan Family. This conspiracy was different from the probing of Raas. It had bloodlust that even Explorers couldn¡¯t avoid.

    It took two hours of travel across the Zenyu Star for Lu Yin to reach the royal pce. Every tower pierced of the center of the Empire¡¯s authority pierced into the skies, its dignified appearance stunning him even from miles away. Xu San¡¯s lips trembled as he gazed into the distance; to him, it seemed like this was a pce that had swallowed the heavens and wasing for him.

    ¡°There are thirteen gates to the royal pce, guarded by each of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. The main gate is called the Grand Astral Gate, guarded by the First Squadron. His Imperial Majesty ordered me to bring you in through it,¡± Bronsen informed him deferentially.

    Lu Yin nodded and got off the vehicle, looking up at the pce that stretched into the skies and pulsed with so much star energy that onlookers shuddered. Xu San had to remain behind at this point; he was not qualified to enter. The fact that he¡¯de so close was already a testament to Lu Yin¡¯s title.

    The royal pce was enormous, taking twenty minutes of travel from the Grand Astral Gate to arrive at the royal court. Lu Yin saw many peculiar details of the Empire¡¯s culture along the way, with carved columns and jade buildings illustrating countless stories. The technology clock seemed to wind back further as he traveled into the pce; by the time he was at the court, he even suspected that he¡¯d arrived in ancient times.

    Bronsen bowed towards the royal court and gestured for Lu Yin to proceed, waiting outside himself. Taking a deep breath, Lu Yin sensed the enormous fluctuations of star energy all around him and walked in step by step. He came to a stop right outside.

    ¡°Come in.¡± The Undying Yushan coughed twice before raising his head with a smile. All the courtiers within stood rooted in ce seriously, with only the captains turning around to look outside with curious gazes.

    Lu Yin entered the royal court, feeling the world change with one step. Indescribable pressure descended from the sky, turning everything in sight an ashen gray while the ground buzzed him deaf. His eyes narrowed at this imposition of absolute powerhouses, watching the air twist as threads seemed to connect the heavens to the earth. His organs started to ache and his vision turned blurry, the star energy within refusing to budge.

    It was at this point that the courtiers turned to look at the doors, all sorts of expressions on their faces. Dignity, ridicule, pride¡­ A native had shaken off his mortal coil and transformed into King Zishan who existed above the masses; this was something they could not ept. The pressure came from all of them; it wasn¡¯t intentional, but simply abination of their displeasure. The entire court wanted to throw him out.

    Lu Yin slowly felt dizzy and his fingers trembled, the figure of the Emperor slowly vanishing in front of his eyes until he almost couldn¡¯t endure it anymore. He grunted and bit his tongue, tearing open the flesh of his palm with his nails until fresh blood dripped to the ground. It was this pain that awakened him, giving him the strength to raise a leg and step forward once more, entering the hallpletely. The pressure suddenly disappeared like the tide, reced with looks of amazement. It was no mean feat for a mere Sentinel.

    Up at the front, the Crown Prince smiled, while the Second Prince¡¯s lips curled as well. The blind, bald man among the captains nodded imperceptibly, while The Undying Yushanughed from his position at the head of it all, ¡°Come closer!¡±

    Lu Yin huffed and raised his head to match the Emperor¡¯s gaze with a solemn expression of his own. He stepped past each of the courtiers, then the captains, finally stopping at the same row as the princes, ¡°Lu Yin pays his respects, Your Imperial Majesty.¡±

    The Undying Yushan smiled and was about to speak, but he coughed a few times and immediately drank some water, ¡°Call me Royal Uncle.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed, ¡°Yes, Royal Uncle.¡±

    The Emperor nodded, ¡°You have spent so many years outside, it must have been difficult.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the concern, Royal Uncle,¡± Lu Yin replied respectfully.

    ¡°Royal Brother, His Imperial Majesty has always remembered the Zishan Family. Where have you been all these years? Why wasn¡¯t there any news? And who named you Lu Yin?¡± Dorren had many questions.

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin. The Great Yu Empire had been investigating him ever since his bloodline was verified, but inconceivably, they couldn¡¯t find anything. They were the foremost power in the Frostwave Weave, but couldn¡¯t investigate a single individual¡¯s background. It left them quite curious about him.

    Lu Yin had already prepared his answer, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯ve lost my memory. The only thing I could remember was this name; if anyone doesn¡¯t believe me, they can feel free to search my mind.¡±

    The Crown Prince hurriedly waved it off andughed, ¡°That is too much to ask for, Royal Brother. Your identity as the sessor to The Undying Yushan has been verified; regardless of what happened earlier in your life, the Great Yu Empire will always be your strongest supporter.¡±

    ¡°The Crown Prince is right, Little Yin. You can remain at ease in the Empire and take over the Zishan crown; bring it to glory,¡± the Emperor said brightly. Lu Yin nodded and bowed.

    ¡°Royal Father, have we settled Royal Brother¡¯s amodations? If not, your son is willing to arrange them,¡± the Second Prince spoke for the first time.

    The Undying Yushan smiled, ¡°Little Yin¡¯s amodation need not be arranged by others. The Zishan Residence is his home.¡±

    Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, no, the Zishan Residence holds a lofty position within the capital. It is not only a representative of the Zishan title, but also the glory of the Great Yu Empire and His Majesty The Undying Zishan¡¯s achievements. Even if we give it to the new King Zishan, we should wait until he¡¯s matured.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Imperial Majesty, please reconsider.¡±

    ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, please reconsider.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin felt the pushback rather bizarre. These people had to be mental! It was just a residence, why did they have to debate it like it was a matter of life and death? The Emperor seemed to agree, thumping against his throne in anger, ¡°I have already given my word, do you want me to go back on it? I have not passed yet, it isn¡¯t your turn to make my decisions.¡±

    ¡°We plead for Your Imperial Majesty¡¯s forgiveness,¡± the courtiers paled. The princes simrly bowed.

    Lu Yin nced around him and noticed that the few strange-looking people remained still. Eh, there was even a little girl?

    When he had first walked into the royal court, he had already noticed these strange people. There were a total of seven of them; one was two meters tall and jet-ck from head to toe. The next had red hair and a stern face, the third emitted a frostiness all over, and there was a short, blind, bald person. Another wore a big white coat and looked like a scientist, while the next was excessively good-looking and seemed even more gentle than Xia Luo. Last was the petite little girl. A total of seven people that had rather striking looks stood quite close to the front, behind only the Crown Prince and Second Prince. He guessed that these were captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, holding the most power here.

    ¡°What are you looking at, have you never seen a pretty girl?¡± The delicate-looking girl red at Lu Yin, who turned away speechlessly. Even if they didn¡¯t want to attract attention, these people would draw gazes anywhere. This was especially true of the bald man, whose horrific appearance was second only to Seruzen¡¯s.

    The dainty little girl saw Lu Yin turn away and was pleased. She proudly puffed up her chest and raised her head.

    ¡°Alright, the court is dismissed, I am tired. Crown Prince, Second Prince, Little Yin, stay behind,¡± the Emperor shook his hand lethargically. The courtiers withdrew quickly, and the girl red at Lu Yin again before leaving herself. Lu Yin didn¡¯t care; a little brat like that could be called a captain?

    The Undying Yushan brought the trio into the pce¡¯s garden, where the air was fresh and there were many varieties of nts that Lu Yin had never seen. It was fortunate that he had lived in the greater universe before for a while, even in the Innerverse, so this wasn¡¯t too strange.

    Perhaps the Emperor was getting older, but he dragged the trio over and started reminiscing about old times. He recalled past times as they toured the gardens, leaving Lu Yin quite helpless. He wasn¡¯t a Zishan in the first ce, why would he have the time to hear this old man¡¯s stories? But the Emperor had already set his mind, and even the princes couldn¡¯t escape. They were forced to listen to his rambling for three whole hours.

 Chapter 76: Emperorâ€™s Promise

    <h4>Chapter 76: Emperor¡¯s Promise</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s legs were a little wobbly by the time the Emperor grew tired and ended his stories.

    ¡°Forgive me, I¡¯m tired. When people get older, we like to recall the past,¡± the man said with a smile and a shake of the head, pushing some food over, ¡°Try these, they were some of Zishan¡¯s favorite snacks.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and tried them, finding them rather good. The Emperor seemed like he wanted to say something, but it was only then that he noticed that Dorren and Duke, ¡°Oh, you two are still here, you can leave. I want to speak to Little Yin alone.¡±

    Lu Yin nearly spat out, feeling like he was being toyed with. He had listened for three whole hours, and the man didn¡¯t seem to bother with his own emotions at all. The two princes seemed used to it, giving their salutations before departing.

    ¡°There are many things troubling the Great Yu Empire, and I can only maintain the calm for a little while. Everyone knew the Undyings when I and Zishan made a name for ourselves across the universe; pity, he left before me while I¡¯ve struggled at death¡¯s door for centuries. I¡¯d assumed I would never see his descendants in my life, but fate brought you along, Little Yin. I am grateful to be able to see you before my death,¡± the Emperor said, sighing with sorrow.

    Lu Yin could only humor him, ¡°Royal Uncle¡¯s power is at the peak of the universe. Living for another ten thousand years will be no problem.¡±

    ¡°I know my own body well, you don¡¯t need tofort me.¡± The man chuckled, shaking his head, ¡°I have seen everything rted to Earth¡¯s trial. You¡¯re quite good to be able to defeat a Nightking, even if newly awakened. Few can match you at the same level; there is a hint of the young Zishan in you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt ashamed, ¡°Qingyu was too strong. If not for the cooperation of the students, I would not be able to defeat him¡±

    The Undying Yushan smiled, ¡°Intelligence is ability as well; that final battle was under your control. The end where you forced a Melder to attack for you was quite smart; it¡¯s the kind of cleverness that extends lives.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak.

    ¡°I also understand about the matter on the spacecraft; go settle it with a free heart. As long as I am on the throne, you¡¯ll be fine,¡± the Emperor suddenly changed topics.

    Lu Yin immediately retreated two steps, ¡°Thank you, Royal Uncle.¡±

    The Undying Yushan nodded and retrieved a cosmic ring, ¡°This is your first time on the Capital Star, and money is needed everywhere. Here is a crystal Mavis Card and some star crystals, use them freely.¡±

    Lu Yin expressed his thanks once more, and the old man grunted, ¡°You are currently too weak, I have ordered Bronsen to be your bodyguard for now. I am tired, you can leave.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to reject this arrangement, but seeing the old man close his eyes, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to. Making his own salutations, he left as well. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s Ironblood Emperor was like a setting sun. In his reign of 800 years, he had more than doubled his territory. This was someone whom Lu Yin admired from the depths of his heart, but even the greatest of achievers eventually fell to the ws of death. He didn¡¯t know how history would evaluate him, but he was rather grateful for this man¡¯s care.

    He looked inside the cosmic ring to find twenty cubes of star crystals. It wasn¡¯t much, but it certainly was significant to all Sentinels. Wondering how much money was in the card, he left the garden under the guidance of a maid.

    Bronsen was already waiting outside the garden and greeted him immediately, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°This must be troublesome for you, General Bronsen.¡±

    ¡°Protecting Your Majesty is only my responsibility, there is no need for you to be so courteous.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and walked out of the pce, with the Explorer following behind at an exact one-meter distance. He asked as he strolled along, ¡°Oh, General, you mentioned you¡¯re the Third Seat of the First Squadron. Could you exin the Imperial Squadrons to me?¡±

    ¡°dly,¡± the man paused to collect his thoughts, ¡°The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons correspond to the thirteen gates of the royal pce; any movement in or out must go through them. They are His Imperial Majesty¡¯s shields, and each captain is at least a Cruiser. We are at the top of the Frostwave Weave and known throughout the Outerverse, but more importantly, we correspond to the thirteen fments of the Great Yu Empire. We take care of almost half the administration across the Empire; the lord of each fment is one of the captains.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, ¡°So the Imperial Squadrons are the rulers?¡±

    ¡°His Majesty appointed the captains as the Fment Masters of the thirteen fments, and their left-hand deputies are the ones in charge of normal administration.¡±

    Lu Yin now understood. No wonder the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were the division of the Empire with the most authority; each captain was effectively a regional governor, and even had the authority to appoint or dismiss other administrators. The Undying Yushan had shared his authority and controlled things from the source, saving himself trouble while not having to worry about rebellions. This sort of practice could be only in ce if there was trust in the Center, and it clearly showed how much confidence the Emperor had in himself.

    Bronsen also introduced the captains, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t react as he did not recognize any of them. It was only when he mentioned the thirteenth captain that he was shocked, ¡°Liuying Zishan? Where is she¡±

    Bronsen nodded, ¡°She is currently in the thirteenth fment handling her duties; she will return shortly.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows knitted together, ¡°She¡¯s from my family?¡±

    ¡°No, Captain Liuying is not a Zishan herself. As for her name¡­ perhaps you should ask her yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. Not from the Zishan Family but had the Zishan name, where did this womane from? The Undying Yushan had not mentioned it when they had met; had he forgotten?

    Before he knew it, Lu Yin found himself at the Grand Astral Gate, where Crown Prince Dorren smiled at him gently. He immediately walked over, ¡°Why are you here, Your Highness? You couldn¡¯t have been waiting for me.¡±

    Dorren smiled, ¡°Of course I was waiting, Royal Brother. This is your first time at the Capital Star, and I have nothing much to give, so here¡¯s a small wee gift. I hope you like it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he received a cosmic ring, examining it in Dorren¡¯s presence without shame before thanking courteously, ¡°You are much too kind, Your Highness, declining this would reject your goodwill. I will take care of this, thank you.¡±

    Dorrenughed, ¡°You are quite forward, Brother. Right, the Zenyu Star is quite big, and you might not be able to move about freely right now. I have arranged thetest model of transportation to be sent to you; it will be waiting outside the gate for your personal use.¡±

    Lu Yin thanked him again, and after some pleasantries, Dorren instructed Bronsen to take good care of him. The captain of the First Imperial Squadron was The Undying Yushan himself, while the left-hand deputy was the Crown Prince. The right-hand deputy was Second Prince Duke, while Bronsen was their subordinate who sat just lower.

    Lu Yin looked at the cosmic ring after Dorren left, shocked to find that he had been given a whopping fifty cubes of star crystals. This was even more than the Emperor! So generous, who knew if it was a bribe? He couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°The Crown Prince is too kind, so humble and modest. No wonder he¡¯s the next Emperor.¡±

    Bronsen¡¯s head was bent low and he did notment. Lu Yin walked two steps forward and suddenly recalled something, growing excited and clenching his fists as he walked out of the Grand Astral Gate with a strange smile.

    Xu San was hiding at one side, watching a dazzling flying vehicle in the distance. Be it design or size, this one far surpassed the one they had flown in on, with a streamlined body and bold style that was every man¡¯s dream. He almost started drooling on the spot; who knew who it belonged to? This was surely quite valuable.

    Momentster, Lu Yin walked out of the gate and waved to him before walking straight for that cool ne. He immediately ran over, ¡°Boss, careful where you put your hands. This toy looks very expensive, don¡¯t let others think we have ill designs over it.¡±

    Lu Yin went silent for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°Stop being an embarrassment,e on,¡± he opened the cabin door and sat within.

    Xu San was stunned, then grew excited, ¡°Boss, this is ours?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Feeling like this man was an embarrassment, Lu Yin decided to give him a tour to expand his knowledge and increase his worth, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the first ring, Zhang Dingtian and the others are there.¡±

    ¡°What are they doing there, Boss?¡±

    ¡°Yu Academy, formcast remodeling. Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin said as he activated the vehicle. A strong jet of air set it off and it entered autopilot, following a predetermined path to the first ring. Bronsen immediately stepped into the void and followed them.

 Chapter 77: Provocation

    <h4>Chapter 77: Provocation</h4>

    The Capital Star was surrounded by three rings ofnd, even the closest of which took two hours of travel to get to. Lu Yin was traveling in the newest model of ne in the Great Yu Empire, its speed even exceeding a Limiteer¡¯s. From his perspective, the distance between the Capital Star and the first ring was an ocean¡¯s width.

    During his flight to the first ring, Lu Yin crossed only about a dozen other nes that were slower than his. Not just anyone could enter these restricted zones; they were military grounds, and the first ring was under Yu Academy¡¯s autonomous control. It was clear that this ne from the Crown Prince was specifically approved; it was unobstructed the entire way, not even having to stop at the flight tform as it flew directly toward the formcast pool.

    ¡°Boss, this is too cool, look at all those people getting examined. They look like the Empire¡¯s officials, but even they need to stop for inspection while we can pass directly. This is a noble life!¡± Xu San was excited.

    Lu Yin got him to shut up and nced at Bronsen who was floating nearby. He had appeared when they were approaching the flight tform, and all the soldiers and officers on it saluted him. Although he was the third seat, his status was at least on par with the other vice-captains, not because he was an Explorer, but purely owing to his status. Watching the man, Lu Yin¡¯s own thoughts ran wild. Home had asked him to inherit the Zishan status to infiltrate the Great Yu Empire. Did they also want him to join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons? What about the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Youth Council? What did they want him to do? No one had contacted him yet.

    The first ring was about the same width as the Zenyu Star, but its surface area was far greater. It had an unfinished vibe to it, with sand and dust pervading the air while the asional tornado thundered across and left Xu San pale. This was the location of Yu Academy, the training grounds for its elites and garrison for its troops.

    The ne flew along a predetermined route. There wasn¡¯t any danger at first, but ten minutes or so into the journey, a roar shook the skies and tore open the earth and sky. A terrifying st of air nearly overturned the ne, but Bronsen was fortunately around to obstruct it.

    Lu Yin was shocked; this was a roar of an existence at the Limiteer¡¯s level. Though it was not as unparalleled in power as an Explorer, it could still cause his heart to tremble. Did Yu Academy elites frequently deal with Limiteers? He thought of Raas and Eddy before shaking his head; that couldn¡¯t be the case.

    ¡°Boss, I feel like the Zenyu Star is safer. Maybe we should head back,¡± Xu San spoke timidly, but Lu Yin ignored him.

    The sky started to darken an hourter, and a huge mountain range showed up on the horizon. Most eye-grabbing of all was the hollow in the center of a mountain, surrounded by some unknown transparent material. Countless soldiers were floating all around it, giving off a dense, imposing aura. This was Yu Academy¡¯s formcast pool, the reservoir of formcast models.

    The nended and was sent to parking, while Lu Yin pulled Xu San along. This time, even he was stopped¡ªBronsen¡¯s status wasn¡¯t enough to allow him in directly, and they had to present a certificate of clearance. This left him curious, ¡°Even you can¡¯t enter the Academy as you please?¡±

    ¡°Yu Academy is a top-tier institution reserved for the Empire¡¯s elite, even His Imperial Majesty cannot meddle however he wishes. This was an order he¡¯d sent down when he first assumed his position. Your Majesty, I cannot interfere in anything at this ce unless your life is in danger. Please take care of yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, unable to help but feel more respectful of The Undying Yushan. He had given the younger generation liberty and freedom, but that was exactly what won him their hearts.

    As they neared the formcast pool, Lu Yin heard a soft howl of extreme pain. His expression changed and he was about to charge in the moment he recognized its owner, but Bronsen spoke up, ¡°Formcast remodeling is often a painful process, like the physical body being smashed into pieces and reorganized. It requires one¡¯s cells to be remade from the ground up, with even the blood being generated once more. An inability to endure it means failure, and failure means death.¡±

    Lu Yin paused, then regained his calm and walked in. The pool was surrounded by countless troops and under the protection of numerous experts of Yu Academy, with even Explorers among their ranks. It consumed far too many resources; Zhang Dingtian only qualified for the process because he was a realmbreaker, and had nothing to do with the man defeating school leaders. Entry to the pool was forbidden while it was in use, and Lu Yin saw Bai Xue and Seruzen waiting outside as well. The former¡¯s gaze lit up when she saw him.

    ¡°How long has he been inside?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Quite a few hours,¡± she replied.

    ¡°He¡¯s been suffering like that for hours?!¡±

    Bai Xue nodded, her own face a little pale already. However, Lu Yin was extremely impressed. Rebuilding one¡¯s physical body clearly required great suffering, and even a stone-cold soldier like Zhang Dingtian found it hard to bear. He nced over at Seruzen, curious about how this monk would behave and whether he would scream.

    ¡°Damn it, where¡¯s that dog barking from? It¡¯s disturbing me!¡± a rude voice suddenly rang out. Lu Yin looked over to see several youths whose clothes had been messed up from what he assumed to be training. They seemed to be Yu Academy elites, at least on Eddy¡¯s level.

    ¡°What are you looking at, trash? Such a waste of the Empire¡¯s resources. If the pool was given to us, we¡¯d have be Melders long ago. Just a bunch of native nonsense!¡± One of the youths was clearly in a bad mood, insulting Lu Yin with a provocative tone. A few others looked at Bai Xue and their eyes nearly popped out. The youth that had just cursed saw her as well, and his jaw dropped open in amazement.

    Bai Xue was disgusted, ¡°If you want the resources, fight for them yourselves. We won this opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Oh, sassy. Alright, fight for it, you say? Let¡¯s see what ability you have,¡± one of them was obviously very interested in Bai Xue, and took the initiative to stretch a hand towards her. He was trying to touch her face.

    Lu Yin frowned, but sensing theck of bloodlust, he didn¡¯t act. Bai Xue snorted and struck out with her fist. While the youth¡¯s expression was frivolous, he met the attack with a serious gaze. He knew that those who could join Yu Academy had some substance to them, and also understood the qualifications required for remodeling. His hand immediately formed a w as he barked, ¡°Skybeast w!¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s expression changed, but not into one of fear. She was much stronger than she had been on Earth, and the training on the Perseverance proved effective right now. Her body blinked away with the Roving Step, something Lu Yin had taught her. Having adapted to forty times gravity much faster than Seruzen, her speed far surpassed the average Sentinel. The attack crashed into the ground without much damage, while her hand pressed down on the youth¡¯s abdomen and ayer of ice extended across it.

    ¡°Frost?¡± the youth was overwhelmed, retreating without a thought. The ice shattered with a bang, and a shadow flitted past the youth as another strike headed towards Bai Xue.

    ¡°Despicable!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze focused, and he raised his own hand which had a shocking five stars within. Bronsen had almost intervened at the same time, but he stopped the moment Lu Yin struck out. The neer was clearly a Melder, but he had sensed that Lu Yin¡¯s attack was actually stronger!

    Two attacks streaked past Bai Xue and collided with each other, a violent shockwave pushing her away in an instant. The other students and Seruzen soon followed, a vacuum popping in the emptied void as Lu Yin finally saw the stranger¡¯s face. He focused on the youth¡¯s vicious gaze; the target wasn¡¯t Bai Xue, it was himself. Terrifying pressure crashed down as the Melder tried to crush him with star energy alone, the weight of it all causing him to shiver, but the stars within his palm exploded in response. The first three withstood the opposing strike, the fourth changed the stranger¡¯s gaze and prompted a Skybeast w, while a growl and the fifth sent both parties flying backward.

    BANG! Shockwaves radiated in all directions, drawing the attention of the formcast pool¡¯s guards. Lu Yin retreated five steps, while the dumbstruck Melder was pushed back seven. Bronsen and the guards all watched on in shock; a Sentinel had actually knocked back a Melder, this wasn¡¯t simply a realmbreaker. The other side was an elite of Yu Academy!

    Bai Xue also looked at Lu Yin with surprise. He was even stronger than before.

 Chapter 78: Hall Master Of Yu Academy

    <h4>Chapter 78: Hall Master Of Yu Academy</h4>

    ¡°Tyson lost?¡± the students from Yu Academy were stunned, ¡°How¡¯s that possible? He¡¯s one of the only Melders in our branch, that kid¡¯s just a Sentinel!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go again!¡± the youth called Tyson red, dashing towards Lu Yin and attacking with a Skybeast w. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; this attack was even stronger than Munoor¡¯s. It seemed like this school truly was where the cream of the crop gathered. However, the five-star Cosmic Palm gave him confidence against anyone at or around his level, and he wouldn¡¯t back down.

    Just as the two were about to collide, a tremendous force swept through the area and rocked the people present. This was Melder energy just like Tyson¡¯s, but the sheer power left Lu Yin¡¯s hair standing on end. This was someone whom he was no match for. Tyson paused, turning pale by the time he even turned around to see the distant figure ambling over. Lu Yin followed his gaze to a man who looked even younger than his current opponent, but one look and he knew that this young Melder was the cause of that force just now. He was far more powerful than Tyson, to the point that even the Cosmic Palm was useless. He turned grim; this was the strongest Melder he¡¯d met so far.

    ¡°H-Hall Master Tianming!¡± Tyson looked horrified.

    Hall Master? Lu Yin was confused. He didn¡¯t know much about Yu Academy; information about the school was restricted by the Empire. Geine and the others hadn¡¯t divulged much either, just that the strongest youths in the Empire were gathered here. How exactly they were chosen and what sort of hierarchy the ce followed was a total mystery.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting smarter, aren¡¯t you, Tyson? You even learnt how to ambush people now. Want to try that on me? If you defeat me, I¡¯ll give you my spot.¡± Tianming walked over and nodded amicably at Lu Yin.

    Hearing the cold voice of the Hall Master, Tyson''s expression quickly changed, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose, Hall Master! I just saw¡ª¡±

    ¡°I saw what happened quite clearly. Your target wasn¡¯t the girl; what gives you the nerve to ambush the King Zishan?¡± This question did not get an answer. Sweat beaded on Tyson¡¯s forehead, but a wave of Tianming¡¯s hand sent out an invisible beast w that smashed into his chest and sent him flying, ¡°Scram!¡±

    The other youths quickly left as well, not daring to look back.

    The moment he saw Tianming attack, Lu Yin felt his heart leap. This was a Skybeast w that was different from Tyson¡¯s, practiced to the point that one didn¡¯t even need to shape their hand first. This was a master.

    ¡°Yu Academy is managed by its students. There are five halls located across the first ring, and this is one of the Hall Masters and thus one of the five strongest people in Yu Academy. His name is Tianming,¡± Bronsen softly whispered from behind.

    ¡°Who are the other four?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed as he remembered Geine mentioning that her brother was an elite in Yu Academy as well. Was he a hall master too?

    ¡°Schutz, Gerbach, Logan, Huo Zhong, and Tianming. They are the five strongest youths in the Empire¡¯s current generation.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. In the meanwhile, Tianming finished Tyson off and turned towards him to apologize, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not disciplining him properly. Are you alright, Your Majesty?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being kind. We just had a bit of a scuffle,¡± Lu Yin answered. Tianming wasn¡¯t just any other student of the academy but someone with great power.

    Tianming sighed, ¡°There is an obvious difference between a scuffle and an ambush. There have been few talents in Yu Academy in the past few years and there¡¯s been nock of disgraceful people like him. I heard the people from the Academypletely humiliated themselves in the trial on Earth. Apologies for the embarrassing disy.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°It was only thanks to someone from the Yu Academy that we managed to win at the end. You¡¯re being too courteous.¡±

    Tianmingughed and exchanged some pleasantries with Bronsen before ncing at Bai Xue, ¡°I apologize on behalf of all Yu Academy students, Miss. I saw everything on the cameras, I¡¯m very sorry.¡±

    Silent as always, Bai Xue simply nodded.

    Lu Yin was curious, ¡°Mr. Tianming, I recall that Yu Academy possesses 108 forms of the Skybeast w. May I know if I can learn it?¡±

    Tianming nodded, ¡°Of course. The moment you touched down onto the Capital Star, you became part of the Academy. I give you permission to learn the first five forms.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Just the first five?¡±

    Tianming smiled, ¡°You might not know this, but the Skybeast w is the Academy¡¯s ultimate battle technique, and considered one of the best in the Empire. Most people can¡¯t begin to learn it; even those who enter the Academy need permission from a Hall Master to begin. Permission from one hall master can give you the right to five, three to ten, and all five to twenty forms.¡±

    ¡°So you had a rule like that.¡± Lu Yin could do nothing about this.

    ¡°Sentinels usually only learn the first five forms. The technique isn¡¯t easy, and that is normally enough. Only Melders can go to ten, and the stronger ones twenty. Tyson has had ess to all twenty forms, but only managed toprehend the thirteenth. There will be some time before he finishes this.¡± Tianming exined everything slowly, seemingly in a good mood.

    Lu Yin recalled that Raas had learnt five forms. Munoor probably knew ten, and Tyson knew thirteen. He¡¯s already learnt seven from the former two, but with 108 forms in total, he hadn¡¯t even gotten to a tenth of it yet.

    ¡°May I know how much you¡¯ve learnt already, Mr. Tianming?¡± Bai Xue suddenly asked.

    Everyone¡¯s attention shifted to the Hall Master. Lu Yin was quite curious, too. The Skybeast w that Tianming had nonchntly thrown out was far stronger than Tyson¡¯s. To be able to be a hall master and keep Tyson in line meant he was not someone to be trifled with.

    ¡°43,¡± Tianming smiled, and their expressions changed. This was a terrifying number. He¡¯d learnt nearly half of it! This exined the disparity in power. He continued, ¡°Of the five hall masters, Logan¡¯s actuallyprehended the most at 49. His Skybeast w is the strongest among us.¡±

    ¡°What should I do if I want to learn the entirety of the Skybeast w?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Defeat any one of us, be a hall leader, and you get ess to all of the Academy¡¯s resources,¡± Tianming said with a shrug and wave, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve still got things to deal with, so I¡¯ll be off. Best of luck. Also, anyone who¡¯s done with their formcast remodeling needs to enter the Academy. If you don¡¯t have any other choices, you can join my hall. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been booked by the Thirteen Squadrons. Can we still join the academy?¡± Bai Xue inquired.

    Tianming smiled, ¡°Being in the Thirteen Squadrons does not sh with Yu Academy. The Academy is a ce for learning, the army is where you apply that inbat.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s moans had dissipated by this point, and Bai Xue entered the formcast pool. She, too, cried out in agony, but her voice was much nicer to hear. Lu Yin started to get a little frustrated, ¡°Bronsen, who¡¯s performing the remodeling for them? Is it a man or woman?¡±

    ¡°Neither. They¡¯re enduring it on their own,¡± Bronsen answered nonchntly.

    Lu Yin nodded. This was good. If there was a guy in there doing it for Bai Xue, he¡¯d be annoyed. Bai Xue wasn¡¯t his lover, but he didn¡¯t want anyone taking advantage of her either.

    ¡°By the way, Seruzen, which squadrons want you guys?¡± Lu Yin suddenly remembered the monk and asked.

    Seruzen looked up and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Zhang Dingtian, was taken by, Fifth. Bai Xue, Sixth. I¡¯ll join, Eleventh.¡±

    Lu Yin hummed. Bronsen had told him before that the captain of the Fifth Squadron was called Huo Qingshan. He was the head of the Huo Family in the Great Yu Empire, and was Huo Xiaoling¡¯s father. That was the middle-aged man with fiery hair at the pce. The captain of the Sixth was that little girl, and she was called Peach. The Eleventh Squadron¡¯s captain was that blind, bald man known as the Blind Monk.

    It was normal that Huo Qingshan thought well of Zhang Dingtian, a realmbreaker. It was also obvious why the Blind Monk had chosen Seruzen. Both of them were frightening people externally, and Sigmund had mentioned that Seruzen¡¯s perseverance had garnered someone¡¯s interest. But why did Peach choose Bai Xue?

    Lu Yin had a strong impression of that girl, but he quickly dismissed it as it had nothing to do with him. Since they were off Earth, these people would have to control their fates themselves. There was something that was a huge shame, though. The Astral Combat Academy was about to reach the Frostwave Weave. Zhang Dingtian needed to train again after formcast remodeling and would not be able to make it.

 Chapter 79: Lighting Up The Zishan Residence

    <h4>Chapter 79: Lighting Up The Zishan Residence</h4>

    Lu Yin bade Seruzen farewell, heading back to the Capital Star with Xu San and Bronsen. Everyone from Earth had their own fate to follow, and it wasn¡¯t his ce to interfere. That being said, it wasn¡¯t like he could do anything anyway; whether they would meet again depended on themselves.

    The trio traveled through the night to return to the Zenyu Star, and it was when he saw the Zishan Residence in the distance that he realized why all the courtiers had been against him living in it back at the pce. The Capital Star¡¯s most grandiose structure was certainly the royal pce, having the tallest spires on the, but the Zishan Residence was a close second.

    Bronsen exined, ¡°When His Imperial Majesty became god-brother of King Zishan, he built the Zishan Residence taller and turned it into andmark second only to the pce. The Zishan Family has disappeared for centuries, but the residence still remains and nobody is allowed inside.¡±

    Lu Yin drew a deep breath, ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Capital Star was bustling with activity even deep in the night, the lights shining as bright as day. For many, their nights were just beginning. Dozens of nes flew around leisurely on some hills not too far from the royal pce, to the tune of incessant cheering from a crowd of thousands.

    ¡°Raas, Raas, Raas¡­¡± the shouts filled the hills.

    Raas arrogantly nced at a man nearby, ¡°This is thest round, Wukai. If you lose, you¡¯ll have to prostrate yourself every time you see me.¡±

    Wukai gritted his teeth, ¡°I won¡¯t lose. Don¡¯t forget what you promised me.¡±

    Raas said disdainfully, ¡°When have you ever won? But I¡¯ll keep my word. If you win, I¡¯ll get my father to plead on General Sigmund¡¯s behalf. But that won¡¯t be happening, haha!¡±

    The cheers grew louder below.

    Elsewhere in a huge manor, Huo Xiaoling was helplessly being dragged around by a little girl, ¡°You promised me that you¡¯d take me out to y! You can¡¯t go back on your word.¡±

    She could only smile wryly, ¡°Yes, yes, Xiaoxiao. I wasn¡¯t lying to you, so let go of me first.¡±

    The little girl pouted, ¡°No, that¡¯s how you cheated me thest time! I can¡¯t run as fast as you.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling sighed.

    The little girlughed slyly, ¡°I¡¯m actually helping you!¡±

    ¡°Helping me?¡± Huo Xiaoling was confused.

    The little girl smiled cheekily, ¡°Those idiots from the Fireforge keep pestering Father to push the marriage forward. Let¡¯s run away!¡±

    Huo Xiaoling rolled her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t even dream about it, you cheeky little thing. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stupid!¡± the little girl huffed and continued pouting.

    Elsewhere in a morous bar, a bunch of people were dancing passionately. A girl in revealing clothes and ck boots was yelling in excitement, drinking and shouting on asion.

    A depressed youth entered the bar and plopped down in front of the bar, ¡°I want something strong!¡±

    A bright green spirit came out soon enough, and the man took one huge gulp before choking on it and coughing hard. To the man¡¯s embarrassment, many started mocking him. The girl in skimpy clothing, in particr, and kept pointing at his nose whileughing.

    The man was furious, ¡°Shut up, you worms!¡±

    In that one moment, the bar wentpletely quiet. Everyone froze and stared at the man, but not with anger. In their gazes was pity, and a hint of respect. The man felt something off about the situation, but quickly ignored it. He was the strongest student in the Imperial Military Academy, Ian; in terms of status, he was far above the kind of trash that lingered around in nightclubs.

    The girl in skimpy clothing slowly walked over to Ian with narrowed eyes. He only saw her pretty shoulder as she put an arm around him and got closer, ¡°Were you talking about me just now, kiddo?¡±

    Ian frowned. He felt certain urges as he sniffed that enticing fragrance, but at the thought of the kind of person that would visit these types of ces, he instantly felt repulsed, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    The girl burst intoughter, quickly followed by the rest of the bar. Everyone was guffawing, including security, leaving Ian confused. What was going on?

    ¡°Someone¡¯s scolding you, Miss Dana. The fact that there¡¯s someone with the courage to scold you is something to celebrate about. Let¡¯s drink to being called worms!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡± Everyone yelled.

    The bar suddenly got all excited, leaving Ian even more confounded. These people were crazy. Why were they happy to be cursed at?

    The girl called Dana was happy as well and kept pping the bar, ¡°This is fun! How many years has it been since someone had the nerve to scold me? Great, I¡¯ll pay everyone¡¯s tab today!¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Miss Dana!¡± Everyone raised their sses in celebration.

    ¡°Enough of that!¡± Ian fumed, but it was at that moment that a suffocating force descended on the ce. The counter cracked as his gadget blew up, the pressure leaving him unable to even breathe. He stared at Dana in disbelief. That forced¡­ it hade from her?

    Nobody else reacted; he was the only one who felt that surge of strength. He couldn¡¯t even begin to fathom the level of strength she possessed. Was she a Melder? A Limiteer? Or¡­ an Explorer?

    Dana drew even closer, ¡°Know who I am, kiddo?¡±

    It was only with blood dripping down the corner of his mouth that Ian realized he¡¯d provoked someone powerful, ¡°I- I don¡¯t.¡±

    Dana licked her lips as she burst into a seductive smile, ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of the captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries.¡±

    Ian was first confused at first, but his expression quickly changed. Everyone knew about the Ordnance Mercenaries amongst the higher echelons of the Great Yu Empire. It wasn¡¯t impressive at first nce, but the vice-captain of the group was Shalosh, the captain of the Eighth Imperial Squadron.

    He was in trouble.

    ¡­¡­

    A lot happened that night, but a lot could only happen at night. Zenyu Star¡¯s night life was quite luxurious. Those with money and power, the strong, those seeking thrills, criminals and so on¡­ Numerous people went out and participated in the capital¡¯s morous nightlife. However, it was amidst this mor that there was a darkness never to be illuminated¡ªthat of the Zishan Residence.

    The Residence was extremely vast and second only to the royal pce in height, casting a shadow of eternal darkness over the Zenyu Star. This was how things had been for the past few centuries, but that darkness suddenly¡­ lit up.

    The dark residence seemed to burst into daytime as Lu Yin stepped in, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. All attention was diverted from the ne contest in the hills as everyone nced over, with the sole exception of Wukai Mathers. All he wanted to do was win thispetition and get Sicar to plead on his father¡¯s behalf, and not even a fire in the royal pce would distract him from that goal. On the other hand, Raas cursed. Distracted by the residence, Wukai had been gone before he knew it. He¡¯d lost the round.

    Within the Huo Family, Huo Xiaoling was right about to take little Xiaoxiao out when she saw the Zishan Residence light up. She was shocked as the image of a man appeared in her mind, as well as a dagger that had been ced at her throat. Lu Yin¡­

    The bar had been shrouded in the Zishan shadow, so the residence lighting up drew everyone¡¯s attention. Most of the patrons headed out and gazed up at the lofty building that wasn¡¯t far away.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Zishan Residence? It actually lit up. Does that mean someone from the Zishan Family came back?¡±

    ¡°I heard it¡¯s true. There¡¯s a young man whom His Imperial Majesty granted the title of King Zishan.¡±

    Ian stared on frozen, Lu Yin¡¯s image appearing in his mind. That man had been able to rob him so easily, leaving him ridiculed by everyone in his academy. He¡¯d been mocked as the weakest leader in the school¡¯s existence, all because of that bastard! If it weren¡¯t for him, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a difficult position as toe to a bar to get drunk. If it weren¡¯t for him, he wouldn¡¯t have offended the Ordnance Mercenaries. It was all that despicable bastard!

    ¡°So how shall we deal with you scolding me, kiddo?¡± Dana ignored the residence and focused her attention on Ian, who hung his head silently. She snickered, ¡°You¡¯re entering the Ordnance Mercenaries from today, and you¡¯ll be my personal servant. You¡¯ll cook and clean for me to make up for this.¡±

    Ian opened his mouth with the intention to reject her, but in the face of danger, he could do nothing but agree. It wasn¡¯t like he could go back to school anyway. There was nothing left for him in that ce than ridicule.

    Within the royal pce, The Undying Yushan nced at the distant Zishan Residence with longing in his eyes, ¡°If you were still alive, Brother, I¡¯d charge into the Innerverse with you once more, and take my empire with me.¡±

    The Zishan Residence¡¯s re-opening resulted in happiness, sorrow, longing and anger. None of these had nothing to do with Lu Yin for now, and he focused on his gadget. A stranger was contacting him.

 Chapter 80: Silverâ€™s Gift

    <h4>Chapter 80: Silver¡¯s Gift</h4>

    A familiar figure appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen when he answered the unknown call, ¡°Hey, friend. Hope you¡¯re doing well.¡±

    ¡°How did you get my number?¡± he was shocked. He never could have guessed that Silver would contact him, but fortunately he¡¯d given Bronsen a residence in the outer courtyards of the residence just to keep any secrets in check.

    Silver smiled, ¡°I can find out anything I wish to know.¡±

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    Silverughed, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in quite some time, I missed you. Also, I wanted to give you a gift.¡±

    ¡°Gift?¡± Lu Yin asked, unconvinced.

    Silver sent over some location coordinates to his gadget, ¡°There are a few corpse kings hidden in these areas.¡±

    Hearing this, his gaze sharpened, ¡°So you really are involved with the Neohuman Alliance. I guess you were also the one behind Barudar? You almost killed Zhang Dingtian on Earth because he was about to shell the zombies, and then took them away with you.¡±

    Silver cupped his own ear, ¡°Quieter, someone might hear you! I don¡¯t belong to the Neohuman Alliance, I just happened to find out about it. Don¡¯t push the me onto me.¡±

    ¡°And why would you tell me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled.

    ¡°I already said I was helping you.¡±

    ¡°And I also told you that I wouldn¡¯t reciprocate in the future.¡±

    ¡°Haha, how heartless of you. Even so, just take it as me being a good guy,¡± Silverughed.

    Lu Yin stared at the youth on the other side, ¡°Destroying the Neohuman Alliance is an obligation of all mankind. I¡¯ll take care of those corpse kings, but I¡¯m on your trail too. Don¡¯t try to escape; once I find out where you are, I¡¯ll catch you and send you to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.¡±

    Silver¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°Oh? Then let¡¯s see just how capable you really are. Goodbye!¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head to look at the sky. The Neohuman Alliance was a behemoth of the Outerverse; what was Silver¡¯s role among them? Why did he help out? Was it because of his status as King Zishan? If that were the case, this title was perhaps more useful than he gave it credit for. Home had allowed him to be the King Zishan, and the Neohuman Alliance had taken the initiative to approach him because of this. The Great Yu Empire was just one of the major forces in a single weave; what was so appealing about this title?

    He sighed it off, not wanting to think about it anymore. He only wanted two things right now: first, to enter the Youth Council, and second, Astral-10. Everything rted to his title could wait. Looking outside, he turned off the light in his room. It was now time to roll his die again, another gamble to look forward to.

    After running some calctions, he knew that he had about 70 cubes of star crystals. This was an unprecedented wealth that could make for as many rolls, but he could only hold out for a maximum of four before the exhaustion kicked in and forced time off.

    ¡°Alright, here it goes,¡± he mumbled to himself, looking exactly like any other gambler. The die appeared within one palm, glowing brightly with hazy starlight. It was at this point that he tapped his head in annoyance; he¡¯d forgotten that it could regenerate on its own even without star crystals. The time he¡¯d taken to travel from Earth to the Capital Star was more than enough for the restoration, but it was toote for regrets.

    Looking at the die, he stretched a hand out to set it off. It spun rapidly and slowly came to a stop, ending up with a two.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± he mumbled to himself as the vortex formed before him, taking several items out of his cosmic ring and throwing them in. This included a few spare cosmic rings as well, and most of the materials obtained after disassembly were unfamiliar to him. He threw everything in repeatedly until it came out without a change, and the only thing he recognized was imperial gold. He now had three small ingots in total; while not arge amount, the material was quite expensive. As for the rest, he just stowed it away on the assumption that it was quite valuable.

    Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yin had a varying yet small quantity of what he felt were good materials. He then took out a cube of star crystals to regenerate the die, and set it rolling once more. This time, it stopped on five, Gift Copy. He immediately felt an urge to rush out the door and copy someone¡¯s innate gift, but he quickly quashed the thought. Just who would he be able to find in ten seconds? There wasn¡¯t anyone to sponge off. There were bound to be many cultivators with innate gifts on the Capital Star, but he didn¡¯t know any of them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched as he let the ten seconds pass by, at which point the twitching suddenly grew worse. Wait a minute, how had he forgotten Xu San? He was left speechless, unable to believe that he¡¯d forgotten all about his own subordinate. Unfortunately, there was no point crying over spilt milk. He sighed to himself and fetched more star crystals, this time rolling a number which he hadn¡¯t so far. It was six, which he quickly learned was Possession.

    Before he could rejoice at this new roll, a terrifying suction emerged from within the die, extracting all of the star energy in his body in an instant. The star crystals from his cosmic ring were absorbed as well without even giving him a chance, transforming into star energy that disappeared into the die. A rift appeared in space right before him, but it disappeared in a second and everything returned to normal.

    What just happened? Lu Yin gasped, staring at the die that was dark as night. He¡¯d clearly rolled Possession, but nothing had happened! Why had his star energy disappeared? He suddenly had a realization and rushed to check his cosmic ring, being devastated to find out that his newfound wealth had now vanished as well. He cried out in agony, ¡°No, this is tant theft!¡±

    Of the six sides of the die, only the roll of three was still unknown to him. The other four sides didn¡¯t demand as many star crystals as Possession, which only opened a small slit somewhere with seventy cubes. And he didn¡¯t even find out what it did!

    He suddenly felt a bad sense of foreboding; was it always going to be like this when he drew Possession? Was the roll of six just an immediate extraction of all his star energy? That couldn¡¯t be it, every roll had its own purpose. It had to be that this use was a little frightening, and something that he couldn¡¯t support right now.

    As he looked at his dark, glowless die, Lu Yin let out a sigh. The day had been ruined, he was out of star crystals and star energy, and all he could do was slowly wait to recover. What a bother! He lost any interest in continuing training for a day and immediately went to bed, only growing more resolved toplete his ns.

    ¡­¡­

    Many people didn¡¯t sleep that night, all wildly specting about the light from the Zishan Residence. When Lu Yin got up the next morning, he contacted Zhang Dingtian¡¯s trio and found that they were at Yu Academy. He only conversed casually; the road ahead was something they would have to travel themselves.

    ¡°Boss, someone wants to see you!¡± Xu San shouted from outside his room.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Lu Yin walked out.

    ¡°Some high-ranking army officer, he says he¡¯s amander-in-chief named Long Chu.¡±

    Lu Yin had Xu San guide the guest into the lounge, soon meeting a formidable-looking middle-aged man who grew excited the moment they crossed gazes. The man bowed courteously, ¡°I am themander-in-chief of the third ring, Long Chu, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin stepped forward and pulled the man up, ¡°No need for formalities, Commander, please take a seat.¡±

    Filled with emotion, Long Chu continued, ¡°Your Majesty, we have long awaited your return.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes darted across to Xu San, signaling for him to leave. He then looked back, ¡°What do you mean by that, Commander?¡±

    Just before Long Chu could open his mouth, he subconsciously looked around his surroundings. Lu Yinughed, ¡°Bronsen isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Long Chu huffed and whispered, ¡°I used to be a subordinate of His Majesty The Undying Zishan, and many of us served him. But ever since the disappearance of the Zishan Family, we were deployed to the third ring. I¡¯d already given up all hope of seeing a sessor in this lifetime; it was wonderful news to hear that his sessor had showed up.¡±

    ¡°The third ring?¡± Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Long Chu nodded and continued in a somewhat agonized tone, ¡°Ever since the disappearance of the Zishan Family, the soldiers who served under them were deployed to the third ring. On the surface, we¡¯re the first line of defense for the Capital Star. In reality, it¡¯s just a ce for youths of powerful families to frolic about. We veterans who served under His Majesty were thrown away like garbage. We¡¯re military men, we will not stand for such humiliation!¡±

 Chapter 81: Good Person

    <h4>Chapter 81: Good Person</h4>

    Seeing that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t responding to his impassioned rant, Long Chu continued, ¡°Your Majesty, do you know who controls the second ring¡¯s army?¡±

    Lu Yin stared back at the man, who continued to rage, ¡°On the surface, that army is a reserve of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. In reality, it¡¯s a war machine to monitor us. They¡¯re the real guardians of the Capital Star, but they guard against its oldest allies!¡±

    ¡°So what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°Reassume military authority over the Zishan Family, be ourmander. We are soldiers, not toys for nobles, and definitely not enemies of the Empire!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, ¡°You ce me on too high a pedestal, Commander Long. You¡¯re a smart man and should understand my circumstances. Yes, I¡¯m King Zishan, but only as a pawn of His Imperial Majesty used to show his kindness to my ancestors. Him giving me the title is his restitution to the Zishan Family; reassuming power will be difficult.¡±

    ¡°How will you know if you don¡¯t try, Your Majesty? We soldiers support you!¡± Long Chu shouted.

    Lu Yin gestured for him to lower his volume, ¡°This isn¡¯t an urgent matter. Do you have any other issues, Commander Long?¡±

    Long Chu sighed and sat down, looking troubled, ¡°There is one more thing I hope for your help with, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°General Sigmund Mathers was a supporter of the Zishan Family, but he has been arrested in the aftermath of Earth¡¯s trial. The man was definitely framed, I hope you can try to save him.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Why are you so sure?¡±

    Long Chu was gloomy, ¡°His Imperial Majesty did not give General Mathers any opportunity to defend himself, and he sealed any news once he learned that Barudar had defected. Someone is evidently afraid of having new issues surfacing, and ndered General Mathers in front of him. They must mean harm towards the General, or His Imperial Majesty would not have convicted him so readily. Your Majesty, please save him.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers drummed on the table as he fell deep into thought, while Long Chu stared at him with bloodshot eyes. It seemed like he hadn¡¯t had a good night¡¯s sleep in a long time. A long whileter, Lu Yin looked back at the man, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go to His Imperial Majesty immediately and do what I can.¡±

    Long Chu was pleasantly surprised, ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and had Xu San escort the man out. It was only once themander was out that his gaze frosted over, ¡°This is the second time they¡¯ve dared to act against me, they really think I¡¯m a pushover.¡±

    Silver had passed him a note on the Perseverance that not only contained information about the old factions of the Zishan Family, but also certain defectors. This Long Chu was one of them, and was an underling of Sicar at that. The man¡¯s aim was simple; it was to coerce him to try and rescue Sigmund, which would lead to no good end with his current power. Not only would he fail to save the General, but he would also invoke suspicion from the Emperor that he was trying to gather the old subordinates of the Zishan Family once more. Others wouldugh at his ignorance, and his title would be useless if they thought of him as blind, arrogant, and ignorant.

    But now, not helping would offend those who truly did consider themselves subordinate to the Zishan Family still. Although Lu Yin was unclear why Home had asked him to act out in this role, the title was definitely useful and the followers he gained from it would be future helpers. Offending them wouldn¡¯t bode well in future moves. Thus, neither solution was a good one; this was a good y by Sicar.

    Lu Yin squinted and muttered crossly to himself before leaving the Zishan Residence for the pce. News of King Zishan pleading for General Sigmund quickly spread across the Capital Star, lighting up countless faces with ridicule.

    ¡°27 Corpse Kings escaped, and this seems to be the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s style. His Imperial Majesty obviously knows Sigmund is innocent or he wouldn¡¯t return, but a scapegoat is required or the Great Yu Empire would face pressure from the Innerverse. The Neohuman Alliance is a universal enemy across domains, and poses a threat as great as any individual domain. His Imperial Majesty cannot bear it, but this King Zishan wants to act recklessly. He¡¯s just courting death!¡± Sicar sneered.

    Raas was ted, ¡°This will just make His Imperial Majesty uneasy. As long as Sigmund is alive, His Imperial Majesty will have to bear a huge pressure. Lu Yin is unclear of the circumstances and really assumes that the former subordinates of the Zishans respect him. In reality, the family has long lost its power.¡±

    Sicar shook his head and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s not that he¡¯s unclear of the situation, but he simply cannot understand it. King Zishan? Who would recognise him? Even the crown prince showed him some face to act benevolent, but he will soon realise his own downfall due to this arrogance,¡± Sicar looked at Raas and his face sank, ¡°I heard you lost to Wukai inst night¡¯s race?¡±

    Raas was stunned and nodded in embarrassment, ¡°There won¡¯t be a next time.¡±

    Sicar snorted, ¡°What did you promise him?¡±

    Raas was in a difficult position.

    ¡°Speak!¡±

    Raas hesitated, ¡°For you to plead for Sigmund in the royal court.¡±

    THWACK! The Vice-Treasurer pped his son back a few meters, ¡°You useless son, daring to make such gambles. The court is for the Empire to discuss national affairs, and every resolution concerns countlesss. How did you turn it into child¡¯s y, do you think you can exin this to His Imperial Majesty if he finds out? Go kneel in the courtyard, you¡¯re not to move for three days.¡±

    Raas covered his mouth and ran off with an ugly expression. Meanwhile, Sicar massaged his throbbing temples. He wasn¡¯t the only one taunting Lu Yin¡¯s ignorance that night.

    In a pink room, the little girl Peach was staring at a screen with bright eyes. There were countless snacks all around, and she was almost drooling.

    A soft knock at the door was followed by a sweet voice, ¡°Captain, there¡¯s news that King Zishan Lu Yin is going to plead for a pardon for General Sigmund.¡±

    Peach blinked, ¡°Good man.¡±

    There was a brief silence, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said he¡¯s a good man,¡± she stated, ¡°Sigmund was obviously wronged here, and no one else dared to plead on his behalf. Lu Yin is a good man, and I wasn¡¯t very nice to him in court. I should find a chance to apologize to him.¡±

    The person outside the door remained speechless.

    Within the pce, The Undying Yushan closed his eyes. He had already been standing for two hours. No one dared to interrupt, but he suddenly opened his eyes on his own, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The pce maid that had just arrived bowed down, ¡°King Zishan requests an audience.¡±

    ¡°Let him in.¡±

    Lu Yin followed the maid while Bronsen had to wait outside. Prince Dorren and Prince Duke had just arrived as he walked in, and the former smiled at thetter as they saw Lu Yin¡¯s figure, ¡°Why are you here, too, Royal Brother?¡±

    ¡°To see Royal Father. You?¡± Duke repliedzily.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you going in?¡±

    ¡°What about you, Royal Brother? Why aren¡¯t you entering?¡±

    Duke¡¯s lips curled, ¡°Don¡¯t smile that much, it¡¯s disgusting.¡±

    Dorren sighed, ¡°What good will that do? Don¡¯t strain yourself so much, Royal Brother, it¡¯s difficult.¡±

    The Second Prince¡¯s ears perked up, ¡°You should tell that to yourself, but with me right behind, things will be tiring even if you don¡¯t want them to be.¡±

    ¡°Is the throne really that important to you? Even as your elder brother, I can¡¯t tell,¡± Dorren said softly.

    Duke ignored him and stepped in, ¡°Let¡¯s go, any slower and Royal Father will be infuriated to death by that King Zishan. It wouldn¡¯t be good for him to copse before I be the crown prince.¡±

    Dorren sighed and followed, while the watching Bronsen remained calm. The fight for any throne was always a bloodbath, but the Great Yu Empire was an exception. The Undying Yushan had five children. The third and fourth had died in the Innerverse, leaving the Crown Prince Dorren, Second Prince Duke, and Fifth Princess Wendy. The position had to be given to one of the three, but the Fifth Princess had no interest in it at all. The Crown and Second Princes had always been fighting for it, but they seemed too open and even talked about things in public without doing anything threatening. He had grown used to it long ago.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Lu Yin pays his respects to Royal Uncle.¡±

    ¡°Come, look. This nt is from a strange, and does not have a name yet.¡± The Emperor was looking at a shining purple nt. Lu Yin drew closer upon his beckoning and observed; finding it strange. The bulbous, segmented organism was emitting an unclear aura, leaving him unable to tell if it was weak or strong.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close,¡± the Emperor said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s too powerful for the current you.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost, ¡°Too powerful?¡±

    ¡°It can strangle Explorers.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changed in an instant, and he retreated immediately while staring in awe, ¡°That strong?¡±

    The Undying Yushanughed and looked on at the purple nt, approaching it step by step. He then touched it under Lu Yin¡¯s amazed gaze and turned around, ¡°Do you want to try? It feels very soft.¡±

 Chapter 82: An Act Of Merit

    <h4>Chapter 82: An Act Of Merit</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he stepped forward, and reached out a hand to touch the purple nt. It was very soft indeed, and touching it even made him feel like his stamina was recovering a little with every whiff.

    The Emperor looked at the nt and was moved, ¡°Thews of nature can be very cruel. This nt knows how to restrain its power in the face of powerhouses. No matter how it is touched, it will not attack, and even remains motionless while all the other beings around it may resist. That¡¯s why this was the only nt that survived from that and was brought into my presence. When I¡¯m around, it¡¯s just a pretty thing to look at. It might have an Explorer¡¯s strength, but that is of no use.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted at the clear warning, but the Emperor continued to ask, ¡°Do you have anything to discuss?¡±

    ¡°I identally unearthed some news during Earth¡¯s trial and decoded some coordinates from it. There might be corpse kings hidden there.¡±

    The Undying Yushan was shocked, ¡°What? You know the location of corpse kings?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not certain that that¡¯s what they are, the details were fuzzy.¡±

    ¡°What coordinates?¡± the Emperor¡¯s voice boomed. It was only after passing those coordinates to the army that he smiled, ¡°Sit for a while, there will be results soon.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and sat. It was at that point that Dorren and Duke arrived, looking at the scene with astonishment. Wasn¡¯t King Zishan pleading for leniency on General Sigmund? How was Royal Father not furious?

    ¡°Why are the two of you here too?¡± The Undying Yushan was puzzled, but after the two made their salutations, he nodded, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, sit and wait with us.¡±

    The two felt suspicious, but asked no questions as they calmly sat beside Lu Yin who simply nodded without further interaction. They ate some snacks from the maid as they waited, half an hour passing before the Emperor¡¯s gadget rang out. He looked at it and smiled, turning to Lu Yin, ¡°Good job, a total of three corpse kings. This is your first great merit.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately got up, ¡°Royal Uncle¡¯s troops are invincible, that is why they got the corpse kings.¡±

    Dorren was stumped, ¡°Royal Father, what corpse kings are we talking about?¡±

    The Emperor exined the matter to the two, who stared at Lu Yin in amazement. The Neohuman Alliance was quite capable, and exterminating even a single escaped corpse king was a deed of merit. This was why the escape of 27 had forced The Undying Yushan to shift the me to Sigmund. Even if this didn¡¯t cancel out the pressure entirely, it would recover some of the Empire¡¯s lost reputation.

    ¡°Good job, Royal Brother,¡± the Crown Princemended. Meanwhile, Duke measured Lu Yin up once more. He had assumed him to be a fool, but this neer actually had some brains. No wonder he yed around with everyone and defeated a Nightking during Earth¡¯s trial. This was interesting.

    The Undying Yushanughed, ¡°You¡¯ve served your country well, Little Yin. Feel free to ask for anything you want; I will do whatever is within my power.¡±

    Lu Yin took a few steps back and bowed again, ¡°Royal Uncle, General Mathers rescued me once on Earth. I beseech you to announce publicly that he was the one who provided these coordinates.¡±

    Everyone fell silent. Dorren met nces with Duke, both astonished. It hade to Sigmund as expected, but this wasn¡¯t a plea for mercy. It was a request to shift the credit!

    The Emperor remained silent for a while, and Lu Yin maintained his bow with twinkling eyes. He¡¯d learnt that three corpse kings was a big deal; capturing any single one was an amazing feat in itself. This was an adequate pretext to gain some power, but he had not sought to do so. Sigmund wasn¡¯t just one person; he represented the former subordinates of the Zishan Family and his own reputation in returning favors. Public opinion of oneself was vastly important in this day and age, and a good reputation was worth more than a modicum of power. Lu Yin understood clearly that his current strength left him unable to take on any true status. He was just a tiny Sentinel that no one would notice; so what if he was given authority over military affairs? No one would listen to him. What he needed now was a good reputation and inside information.

    The Undying Yushan finally spoke after a while, ¡°You must think carefully, do you really wish to do this?¡±

    Lu Yin was firm, ¡°I hope you allow it, Royal Uncle.¡±

    ¡°I can, but this will not offset Sigmund¡¯s crimes. At most, it can spare his life.¡±

    Lu Yin was touched, ¡°Thank you, Royal Uncle.¡±

    The Emperor nodded and looked at Lu Yin deeply, then asked the two princes to leave. He walked over, ¡°Are you really returning the favor by saving Sigmund? Give me an honest answer.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the man and replied sincerely, ¡°Yes, Royal Uncle.¡±

    The Undying Yushan stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, then smiled, ¡°You really are Zishan¡¯s descendant. He also knew how to show gratitude where it is due. Alright, I¡¯m tired, you can leave.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and left, while the Emperor looked at his back and sighed towards the skies, ¡°Your descendants are really like you.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t even reached the Grand Astral Gate before the imperial edict had been sent out, ¡°Owing to amendments for his crimes, Sigmund Mathers is pardoned from capital punishment. He will be detained temporarily due to insufficient evidence of his treason.¡±

    Many high officials of the Empire were stunned by this order, unable to understand just why this had happened. Only those on the Capital Star knew that King Zishan had gone to the pce.

    ¡°How is this possible? Amendments for his crimes? What amendments? What did that brat do?¡± Sicar stared at his screen nkly, an emotion mimicked by many people across the Empire.

    Even at the Grand Astral Gate, Bronsen was staring at his own screen in simr disbelief. He had never spoken out of turn towards Lu Yin because his job was to ensure King Zishan¡¯s safety, but he hadn¡¯t felt that pleading for mercy would have worked. Now, he had to reevaluate this King Zishan who¡¯d brought about a miracle. It seemed like this guy wasn¡¯t arrogant and oblivious; he had the brains to match his guts.

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re out!¡± Xu San was excited.

    Lu Yin frowned at the wording that made him seem like he was being released from prison, ¡°Bronsen, do you know where Vice-Treasurer Sicar lives?¡±

    Bronsen was distracted, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Bring me there.¡±

    Bronsen nodded and set the route on the ne, which dashed off the runway only a few momentster. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time to the capital, and it was quite different from what he had imagined. There certainly was technology everywhere, but there were some ancient buildings as well. Arge section of the ce was covered in greenery, which was a stark contrast from the nes that constantly flew by and the stunned expressions of those within. His transport was far too eye-grabbing here.

    Not far away, a giant screen was showing a lively young girl singing, and there were people crowding around it both on the ground and on the bridges. The three rings could be seen clearly in the sky, circling in the air like clouds.

    ¡°Boss, look. So many beauties!¡± Xu San eximed as he surveyed the city below, but Lu Yin was wholly uninterested. The Great Yu Empire was a far cry from the Innerverse.

    A ne suddenly dashed across their front and turned sharply to move beside Lu Yin¡¯s, and a pretty girl threw him a flirtatious nce through the ss, ¡°Hey, handsome. Let¡¯s have a race to see who¡¯s faster.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s bet,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved up.

    Her eyes shed, ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Five cubes of star crystals.¡±

    Her jaw dropped, ¡°Five cubes? You must be crazy! Do you even have that many?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t y if you can¡¯t afford it,¡± he dismissed, and she snorted and left in another direction.

    ¡°She was such a pretty girl, Boss. You shouldn¡¯t scare them.¡± Xu San felt it was a shame.

    Lu Yinughed it off. Everyone was beautiful when technology reached a certain point; unless there was someone as pretty as Bai Xue, he didn¡¯t care. Still, his starting offer had been far too vicious; the school leaders on Earth¡¯s trial had only averaged one cube and that was due to Raas and Jenny pushing up the numbers. This girl was just an average student with a few cubes on her at best. Five was too steep a figure for her to bet.

 Chapter 83: Welcome Gift

    <h4>Chapter 83: Wee Gift</h4>

    Since they were on the topic of betting, Lu Yin realized it was rather inconvenient to have no star crystals on his person at all. He didn¡¯t even have any credits, so he decided to find a Mavis Bank soon and see how much the Emperor had given him. Hopefully, he hadn¡¯t been too stingy.

    The Capital Star was very big, but most officials lived near the royal pce. It only took ten minutes for Lu Yin and Xu San to arrive at the luxurious manor that was Sicar¡¯s home, with Bronsen stepping out of the void. When they were stopped from entering by the guard, Lu Yin said indifferently, ¡°Inform Sicar that King Zishan is here to visit.¡±

    The guard was shocked and immediately ran inside to ry the message. It didn¡¯t take long for Sicar to run out with Raas while making a show of berating the guard, ¡°You shameful creature, how could you not allow His Majesty to enter? Forgive me for not being present to meet you personally, Your Majesty.¡±

    Raas bowed to give his respects, but his eyes were seething with hatred. Lu Yin smiled, ¡°I took the liberty of paying an unannounced visit, my apologies for the disturbance.¡±

    ¡°It is my honor to be visited by King Zishan. Pleasee in, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin did not stand on ceremony, nodding and taking the initiative to walk in. Sicar¡¯s manor was certainly grand, but it was only an average sort of grandeur. The building did not exceed the man¡¯s position as a Vice-Treasurer, an indication of someone with an abundance of caution. The man was even acting so respectfully towards a powerless king, behaving appropriately with superiors and subordinates alike. Lu Yin had to admire him a little. Many had one attitude in front of the Emperor and another behind him, but Sicar was different. He lived as if he was constantly under The Undying Yushan¡¯s eye, and he thought of the Emperor in everything he did. No one could pick out a single fault of his; that was what made him such a fearsome person.

    Lu Yin thought of the introduction that Silver had given him. Although Sicar was the Vice-Treasurer in name, Finance Minister Bailey was just a figurehead. This was the person who controlled the Empire¡¯s finances; that was why the Twelfth Squadron valued him so. Most would find it a headache to deal with this sort of person, but Lu Yin liked the smart ones the most.

    ¡°My son hasmitted many errors during the trial on Earth. We seek Your Majesty¡¯s forgiveness,¡± Sicar apologized at the first opportunity, forcing Raas to do so as well.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°You are too courteous, Lord Sicar. Trials are by naturepetitive; I was about to ask you not to me me for being too ruthless with your son.¡±

    ¡°Haha, it was an important lesson from Your Majesty. If this brat had stayed in Yu Academy, he¡¯d continue to believe that he was the best. It¡¯s good for him to attain some experience and learn that there are always stronger people in the world, geniuses with innate gifts like Your Majesty,¡± Sicarughed. Lu Yin smiled just as facetiously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s visit came out of the blue, and Sicar did not know what the goal was. The incident where Raas hadpelled Veron to intimidate Lu Yin had put him in a difficult position, but he was confident that there was no way for anyone to know of his rtionship with Long Chu. So why was Lu Yin here? To condemn him? That was unlikely.

    ¡°Lord Sicar, I¡¯ve heard that your home has beautiful scenery,¡± Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    Sicar smiled, ¡°That¡¯s right, I was born in¡­¡±

    An hour quickly passed, leaving Xu San bored to death behind Lu Yin. he didn¡¯t know what his boss was up to, and Raas was the same. Both of them watched Lu Yin and Sicar chat all over the ce.

    Fresh to the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin had countless topics to talk about. However, Sicar was different; as the Vice-Treasurer and the true controller of the Empire¡¯s finances, he had many other matters to attend to. And yet, he couldn¡¯t outright reject Lu Yin¡¯s queries, helplessly answering everything in detail. His¡¯s environment, customs, local conditions, training methods, even gossip¡­ Two more hours passed quickly.

    It was soon unbearable for Raas, and Sicar himself coughed and lifted his teacup. This was a simple indication to the visitor that they had overstayed their wee, but Lu Yin pretended not to notice and lifted his own cup to take a sip. One more hour slipped by before the man coughed again, ¡°Your Majesty, is there any purpose to your visit?¡±

    ¡°No, I just wanted to visit you and learn from your insights. I¡¯ve had some contact with your son before, and Long Chu mentioned that you¡¯re a well-known schr. I was here hoping some of your wisdom rubbed off on me.¡±

    Sicar¡¯s eyes shed as he nodded, muttering something to himself before whispering to Raas. The youth gritted his teeth and left the room, returning with a cosmic ring.

    Sicar smiled at Lu Yin, ¡°It must be inconvenient for Your Majesty to do so many things on your first visit to the capital, so you can hire some servants to run errands for you. I once received a favor from the Zishan Residence, so I hope you would kindly ept this small token of my appreciation.¡±

    ¡°This is embarrassing!¡± Lu Yin pretended to be stunned even as he epted the ring without hesitation. Contempt was written all over Raas¡¯s face.

    Sicarughed, ¡°No need to be courteous, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin got up, ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it. Thank you once more, Lord Sicar.¡±

    Sicar stood as well, ¡°Let me escort you out, Your Majesty.¡±

    It was when Lu Yin stepped out of Sicar¡¯s mansion that he suddenly looked back at the door, ¡°When will you be avable next? I¡¯lle by for another visit.¡±

    Sicar smiled, ¡°Forgive me, Your Majesty, I¡¯ve been rather busy recently. If there is anything you need, we can meet after court sessions at the Grand Astral Gate.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you.¡±

    Sicar finally allowed his face to droop as Lu Yin left.

    ¡°Father, what did this brat mean? He still wants toe again?¡± Raas was infuriated.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to probe me, and sending a warning, too. He¡¯ll return if I act against him again.¡±

    ¡°So what? He¡¯ll leave if we just give him a little money. What can his title do to us anyway?¡±

    While Raas continued to mock Lu Yin, Sicar grew even more downcast as he realized this person was beyond his control. How did he know Long Chu was one of his? No one knew that except himself and the Second Prince, not even his own son. This kid had even rescued Sigmund recently, he wasn¡¯t simple at all.

    ¡°Send someone to see where he¡¯s gone,¡± Sicar ordered.

    A short whileter, a soldier returned to report, ¡°My Lord, His Majesty is headed towards Minister Bailey¡¯s residence.¡±

    Sicar¡¯s gaze changed and he gripped his fist. First his manor, and then Bailey¡¯s. It was evident that Lu Yin knew that Bailey was just a figurehead, he wouldn¡¯t have messed up the sequence. King Zishan definitely had some backing, or he wouldn¡¯t have such an understanding of the Capital Star already. This was no simpleton.

    ¡°Remember not to provoke him for now,¡± Sicar said in a low voice.

    Raas didn¡¯t understand, but wouldn¡¯t dare refute his own father.

    ¡­¡­

    Bailey¡¯s mansion was not far from Sicar¡¯s. The Finance Minister talked with Lu Yin for only half an hour, being much more straightforward and giving him a cosmic ring directly. While Sicar had his misgivings, Bailey knew that he was just a puppet with nothing but money. He readily handed over a crystal card that looked even more valuable than the one from the Vice-Treasurer.

    ¡°It is my honor for Your Majesty to have graced us with your presence. Please take care of us in the future,¡± he smiled and sent Lu Yin off.

    ¡°You are too kind, Lord Bailey, please go home.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Bailey nodded and followed Lu Yin¡¯s departure with his own eyes until he was out of sight. Then he spat in contempt, ¡°What the... Such extortion. You¡¯ll be ripe for the picking soon; we¡¯ll see how long you can maintain thiscency.¡±

    Lu Yin was in a good mood, a very good mood indeed. He had this idea of going house to house for a bribe when the Crown Prince gave him a wee gift. Right, these weren¡¯t bribes, they were wee gifts. He would stay until they understood, and leave the moment he got the gift. He had too much time on his hands anyway. He was an idle prince with no real power, so anything went. Who would dare report that he was taking bribes, and so what if they did, anyway? Why would anyone bribe a Sentinel?

    The Undying Yushan had also given his promise that he would not let others bully him as long as he was on the throne. This promise had to be made use of quickly; who knew when the old man would die. As for reputation, he did not care what these courtiers. Which of them weren¡¯t greedy, but the Emperor tolerated them anyway. Why? It was because they were capable. Greed wasn¡¯t frightening unless paired with ipetence. Sicar¡¯s was astronomical, but no one dared point it out because he managed the Empire¡¯s finances well. On the other hand, Lu Yin was someone with no power, but that meant he also had nothing to lose. In fact, this act served to lower the guards of the courtiers against him. He had spent so much work and energy to be this descendant of the Zishan Family. He reasoned that he¡¯d be letting himself down if he didn¡¯t get something in return.

 Chapter 84: Mavis Bank

    <h4>Chapter 84: Mavis Bank</h4>

    Lu Yin spent a full three days collecting bribes, and gained a substantial return on his time. Five Mavis Bank crystal cards, twelve crystal cards from Yu Imperial Bank, and 200 star crystal cubes had left Xu San gaping in amazement, and even Bronsen¡¯s cheeks were stretched wide at the sight of unprecedented shamelessness. This was the first time the soldier had seen someone visiting people at their homes to ask for money.

    The criminal himself was grinning from ear to ear; none of the 10+ courtiers he¡¯d visited in the past three days had given him too much on their own, but it added up quickly into a tidy sum. He had to do this more often, but unfortunately, most of the other courtiers had quickly closed their doors and declined visitors. No hurry, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

    That train of thought reminded him that he still had to go to Mavis Bank and withdraw some money. It always felt like he was missing something without any on him. As someone who¡¯d just gone from rags to riches, he turned to Bronsen in high spirits, ¡°Set a course for the Mavis Bank.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the royal pce, a few courtiers were making a joint report to the Emperor, ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, King Zishan is using his identity without restraint to request bribes. Please investigate him.¡±

    ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, please investigate.¡±

    The Undying Yushan lethargically sipped a mouthful of tea, ¡°Did you pay him off?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Your Imperial Majesty!¡± one of them grew agitated, ¡°I did not meet him, for I didn¡¯t have the money to bribe him with.¡±

    ¡°Then how do you know that he is asking for bribes?¡±

    Another spoke up, ¡°This humble servant has heard that Lord Bailey, Lord Sicar, and even Lord Garope have been extorted.¡±

    ¡°<i>Heard?</i><i> </i>Do my courtiers want to use King Zishan based on rumors? Did Sicar or anyone else admit it?¡± the Emperor asked sternly, leaving all of them cowering in silent fear. How would anyone admit to something like that? He took another sip, ¡°I know that King Zishan visited some courtiers, and from what I know, some of them gave him wee gifts. A wee gift for a child is not too much, do you not agree?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Imperial Majesty, it is not too much.¡± The ministers didn¡¯t dare to speak further; the Emperor was clearly covering for King Zishan.

    ¡°Alright, you can leave,¡± he waved them off, and they left in a hurry. He couldn¡¯t help augh when they were gone, his screen lighting up with information about how Lu Yin had robbed dozens of students in Earth¡¯s trial. He shook his head and smiled, ¡°This kind of lust for money wasn¡¯t Zishan¡¯s style. Perhaps it¡¯s just the youth.¡±

    ¡­

    The Mavis Bank branch on the Zenyu Star was actually quite close to the royal pce; these transdomainpanies had far greater influence than an empire in a single weave. However, the building wasn¡¯t too tall out of respect for the Great Yu Empire. While it wasn¡¯t even top five in height, however, no one dared look down on it. Anyone who could enter those premises was an influential figure.

    As they approached from a distance, Lu Yin noticed that the building was constructed like arge tree, with each branch densely packed with tens of millions of credits. These were genuine notes, some of them even floating down after the asional gust for people to pick up. The property prices close to any Mavis Bank branch were normally exorbitant, likely even surpassing the royal pce. Countless people strolled around every day, hoping to pick up some free money.

    The bank had bought all thend within a thousand miles, nting trees rarely seen in the Outerverse. They had their own specialized security force with Explorers and even greater powers, and some rare creatures flitted across on asion. Atop the tree was even a space station reserved for the Mavis Family; this ce exuded luxury in every way.

    A well-mannered youngdy walked over to Lu Yin the moment he got off his ne, giving him a brief introduction of the bank before taking him to a counter. When they entered therge tree trunk that led directly to the top floor, he surveyed the dozen counters in his surroundings; there wasn¡¯t much traffic at all. Behind him was a dumbstruck Xu San, wondering if money could just be picked up here. He had already grabbed one note from the floor.

    The counter was entirely automated, and the woman only stood nearby and offered beverages and all sorts of other refreshments as she tended to Lu Yin¡¯s needs. He first scanned through all the Mavis cards he¡¯d gotten from the courtiers, acquiring a tidy sum of a little over one million credits. The exchange rate to Yushan credits was ten to one, so that meant he had ten million. It definitely wasn¡¯t a small amount, but it wasn¡¯t enormous either. In addition to the modest 300,000 credits from the Emperor, he drew close to 1.5 million. The Yu Imperial cards also tranted to about 500,000 more universal credits, leaving him with a worth of 2 million.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched at this number; they were too stingy! One cube of star crystals was normally worth about a million credits, so he didn¡¯t even have 20 cubes¡¯ worth on hand. Still, it made sense once he thought about it. The courtiers hadn¡¯t dared give him too much money to avoid investigation, but star crystals themselves could be crushed to avoid thatplication any time.

    ¡°Damn, three days of work and this is all I get? Looks like they spent all their money on the star crystals, I should find a way to get some more,¡± he muttered to himself.

    ¡°Boss, where to next? Are we going to continue with the extortion?¡± Xu San asked cautiously as they walked out of the bank.

    ¡°Stop it with the bullshit, those were wee gifts,¡± Lu Yin red back, and the embarrassedckey giggled. Still, he considered it for a moment but mumbled to himself that he ought to take a break. There was no use in finding all those officials now; no one would open their doors for him. It was time to train his battle techniques.

    It was at this point that his hand reached out naturally, grabbing a bill that was floating down from the sky. It was manufactured with a special material, star crystal threads weaved into a special design of the universe on top that made it look elegant while still feeling soft. He looked up and saw the giant tree with countless such bills fluttering on the branches, his gaze filling up with greed. How much would he get if he robbed this bank? He suddenly thought of Lulu Mavis, wondering if she was here.

    ¡­

    King Zishan returned to his residence, telling Bronsen that he would enter istion for five days and that no one was to disturb him. The man strangely released a sigh of relief, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Boss, what about me?¡± Xu San asked expectantly.

    Lu Yin simply passed a card to him, ¡°Buy me some furniture, whatever you see fit. Don¡¯t train.¡±

    Xu San was puzzled about why he was forbidden from training, but didn¡¯t question further.

    Lu Yin was considering whether he should report Xu San¡¯s innate gift to the Empire. That would give thisckey of his a formcast remodeling opportunity, but then he wouldn¡¯t be ackey anymore. But did that mean he had to raise him forever? He couldn¡¯t stop Xu San from training much longer.

    At this point, he thought back to how he¡¯d wasted Gift Copy before, forgetting about Xu San¡¯s Farsight gift. So focused on Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift of Frost, he had forgotten that it wasn¡¯t the only kind.

    There were three types of innate gifts in the universe; elemental, biological, and exotic. Elemental gifts were quite straightforward, giving their owner grasp over powers such as ice and fire. They included all sorts of natural phenomena; there were legends of a cultivator who had once awakened an innate gift of ck Holes; they were unequaled for a long time. Biological gifts were rted to the vast array of creatures across the universe, with myths of a phoenix that had burnt down the walls of the universe itself. Meanwhile, exotic gifts were the ¡®other¡¯ and included modifications to the body, and even things like Lu Yin¡¯s die that could not be exined directly. Xu San¡¯s gift was exotic as well.

    There wasn¡¯t a specific hierarchy of the three categories of innate gifts; world-dominating abilities came from all types. This was why the Universe Youth Council allowed such one-in-a-million characters to join their subsidiaries directly.

    Lu Yin had originally nned to sell Xu San to some powerful organization, but that was still shortchanging himself. He had already brought the man all the way to the Great Yu Empire, and wasn¡¯t quite willing to let go of him. Money could always be earned, but one couldn¡¯t always find cultivators with innate gifts to follow them. Xu San didn¡¯t know his own importance yet, but he would learn soon enough.

    Still, after some thought, Lu Yin sent a message to the Emperor informing him about Xu San¡¯s situation. The reply didn¡¯t take long; Xu San would be given a remodeling chance and entry into Yu Academy. The Seventh Squadron had apparently even indicated their interest already.

    He thought back to the introductions from Bronsen. The Seventh Captain was Batson, and his weapon of choice was an antiquated gun. Had he taken a fancy to Xu San¡¯s innate gift?

 Chapter 85: Fourth To The Throne

    <h4>Chapter 85: Fourth To The Throne</h4>

    ¡°Boss, someone is trying to take me away!¡± Xu San cried over a call.

    ¡°I¡¯ve informed the Empire about your situation,¡± Lu Yin exined, ¡°You can go through formcast remodeling like Zhang Dingtian and the others; you¡¯ll have to depend on yourself in the future.¡±

    Outside the Zishan Pce, Xu San carefully swallowed his saliva as he recalled the scene of Zhang Dingtian¡¯s suffering, ¡°Formcast remodeling? Boss, I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Who asked you to absorb energy crystals before you met me? But then, you wouldn¡¯t have unlocked your innate gift. Alright, work hard and you mightpare to Dingtian and the rest in the future,¡± heughed and hung up. Now, everyone from Earth had found their own home here, where they could forge their futures from. As for himself, he had to get stronger quickly; Astral-10 would arrive anytime. With his current power, it would be difficult for him to enter.

    There was an entire training facility in the Zishan Residence, but it was a shame that Lu Yin was alone. He entered the gravity training room and turned it up to 40x by habit, directly crushing a cube of star crystals and starting practice on the Daynight Punch and Skybeast w. Most people weren¡¯t so extravagant as to use star energy for training like this, but to him it was a trifle.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t step out of his residence for seven consecutive days, and many guessed that he had been berated by the Emperor. At the end of that week, Zhang Dingtian arrived at the second ring around the Zenyu Star where the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were stationed. He looked up at a giant 5 as his identity was verified, quickly being led into the Fifth Squadron¡¯s camp. There were innumerable auras surging around him that could all crush him with ease, but he maintained a steady gaze.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were the most powerful faction within the Great Yu Empire, and every official member was a Melder at a minimum. Each squadron had multiple Explorers, and the Cruisers in charge represented the peak of the Empire¡¯s prowess. The Fifth Captain was Huo Qingshan, a man who had once ventured into the Innerverse alongside The Undying Yushan. He was also the Huo Family¡¯s patriarch, Xiaoling¡¯s father.

    Zhang Digtian was brought below an enormous volcano that was constantly rumbling,va shooting into the sky like fireworks before crashing down and melting into the earth. He remained motionless as a molten rock shot towards him, guaranteed to crush and melt him to ashes if they touched. Just before the heat could burn him, however, it was suddenly absorbed by a terrifying voice, ¡°Youe from Earth?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian was forced back and his skin had already been singed, but he showed no fear, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why did you step out?¡±

    ¡°To be stronger.¡±

    ¡°You will die.¡±

    ¡°Remaining a weakling is a more tragic fate than death!¡± he howled under the pressure, his legs almost unable to withstand it any longer. Even his clothes were being burned off.

    ¡°You will join the Fifth Squadron from today, and you will be under me. I¡¯m Huo Qingshan.¡± These words pushed the desage over the edge. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.

    Within the volcano, a middle-aged man opened his eyes to look at his new subordinate. His hair was even redder than theva around, and while he¡¯d seemed milder in court, it was here that he revealed his scorching heat.

    ¡­¡­

    Elsewhere in the second ring, Bai Xue was brought into the Sixth Squadron that was entirely different from the Fifth. A majority of the people here were girls, and the environment was graceful and pretty, filled with all sorts of fragrant pink nts. Bai Xue hadn¡¯t expected to enter such a ce at all, and assessed her surroundings curiously.

    Peach walked out with a tall woman several meters behind her, floating up when she was ten meters away herself and looking at Bai Xue curiously, ¡°You must be Bai Xue, King Zishan¡¯s friend?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Bai Xue hurriedly saluted.

    The girl nodded in satisfaction, ¡°You really are beautiful. Alright, you¡¯ll be a part of my squadron from today. Remember to use my name if anyone bullies you, the great Captain Peach!¡±

    Bai Xue was stunned. This was the Sixth Captain? A cute little girl? It couldn¡¯t be! She suddenly felt like she¡¯d embarked on a hopeless adventure.

    ¡°Why, you aren¡¯t willing?¡± Peach¡¯s displeased voice rang out behind her, and her gaze narrowed even as her head shot around in an instant. She then bobbed between Peach¡¯s current location and the old one, where a phantom image still existed. Why hadn¡¯t it vanished yet?

    Peach smiled craftily, ¡°Now you see, even space itself can¡¯t react to my speed. It¡¯s only going now.¡±

    Bai Xue stared dazedly at the phantom that started to dissipate. She couldn¡¯t understand how this happened, but she knew that it was terrifying. ¡°Yes, Captain!¡±

    Peach smiled.

    ¡­¡­

    In an isted section of the second ring, the barracks of the Eleventh Squadron was witnessing a strange scene. The Blind Monk and Seruzen sat opposite each other without speaking a single word, simply looking at each other without end. Many were sending furtive nces at the ursed ce; they¡¯d thought their captain was scary, but Seruzen was even worse. This was their first time seeing someone beat the Blind Monk in appearance. That withered arm was just too awesome, how many years had it been raised?

    Within the Seventh Squadron¡¯s grounds, a panicked Xu San was observing his surroundings as he thought, ¡®Boss, it¡¯s too scary! I don¡¯t want to stay here, take me away!¡¯

    ¡­¡­

    Seven days had passed by the time Lu Yin left the Zishan Residence, heading out at night to bnce work with rest. He had noticed that the gravity rooms weren¡¯t great for training his battle techniques, especially the Daynight Punch. Such things didn¡¯t just improve with practice; they needed aprehension of the cycle of day and night.

    Not far from the Zishan Residence was a bar. It wasn¡¯t thergest of establishments, but it was quite refined. Lu Yin heard cheers and merriment as he walked in, with many youths dancing to their hearts¡¯ content. He hadn¡¯t taken more than a few steps before he decided to leave, turned off by the mor.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know where to go after he walked out, but a man approached and bowed, ¡°Your Majesty, His Highness invites you for some wine.¡±

    He followed the man¡¯s gaze to a small open-air tavern some distance from the bar, where Second Prince Duke raised his ss. He was amazed by the coincidence and nodded, ¡°Sure.¡±

    The small tavern was much simpler in appearance than the bar, with the cold winds blowing over from the distance. Duke was eating and drinking by himself; had he not seen this personally, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t believe that the Second Prince woulde to such a ce.

    ¡°You seem to be doing well, Brother,¡± he greeted, not standing on ceremony as he took a seat opposite Duke and poured himself a ss of wine.

    Duke smiled, ¡°Never thought I¡¯d bump into you when I came out to drink. You don¡¯t like the bar?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°Too noisy. It¡¯s morefortable here, a ss of warm wine for the cold winds, and a variety of small delicacies.¡±

    ¡°I was a little afraid that you wouldn¡¯t like it. This tavern¡¯s boss was a stowaway from a primal with no special abilities, but his wines are in a league of their own. You should try,¡± the Prince raised his ss in toast.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips after a mouthful. He honestly wasn¡¯t a wine expert, but the ss flowed smoothly down his throat and quenched thirst without any parching. While it was obviously a warming wine, a refreshing chill rushed to his head. ¡°It¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°So long as you don¡¯t hate it,¡± Duke smiled, pouring another ss.

    ¡°So howe you¡¯re drinking here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Tired,¡± Duke shook his head. While astonished, Lu Yin kept silent until he drank another mouthful and continued, ¡°Squabbling over the throne is exhausting.¡±

    Lu Yin nearly choked on the wine and stared at Duke in shock; this was too direct! The Princeughed, ¡°What, first time hearing this?¡±

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help augh, ¡°It really is. You¡¯re as forward as theye.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one I¡¯ve said this to. In fact, I even said this to Royal Father,¡± Duke¡¯s lips curled, leaving Lu Yin stunned. Was the fight for the throne so open? With his understanding of Earth¡¯s history, contests over the throne were always cruel, with constant politics and treachery. He had never seen someone like Duke who was so direct, leaving him wondering how big this brother¡¯s heart was.

    ¡°The Empire is huge, containing others with the royal blood, the Thirteen Squadrons, Yu Academy, and so many other powers. Everyone is focused on the throne, focused on us. There are currently four people who can vie for it; Elder Brother is the closest, but there are always some people who don¡¯t want to see his ascension. Many of them support me, like Sicar. There are others who support Wendy, but pity; her aspirations aren¡¯t limited to the Great Yu Empire anymore,¡± Duke said matter-of-factly.

    ¡°You said four people, who¡¯s thest?¡± Lu Yin was curious. He only knew three of The Undying Yushan¡¯s children; Dorren, Duke, and Fifth Princess Wendy. Who was the fourth?

    Duke stared him straight in the eye, ¡°You.¡±

 Chapter 86: Battle Force

    <h4>Chapter 86: Battle Force</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart froze as he heard Duke¡¯s words, ¡°Me?¡±

    Duke Yushan nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re fourth in line to be the Great Yu Emperor.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, ¡°Don¡¯t pull my leg, Royal Brother I¡¯m just an idle lord, not even from the Yushan Family. How could I qualify?¡±

    The Second Prince smiled, ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense. Did you know what His Imperial Majesty promised The Undying Zishan before the two of them stormed the Innerverse?¡± He paused for a moment, ¡°Should we not perish this time, you and I will each own half the Empire. The Great Yu Empire will belong to both the Yushans and the Zishans.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted and gazed into Duke¡¯s eyes before smiling and picking up some vegetables, ¡°Tastes pretty good.¡±

    Duke averted his gaze, ¡°Then eat as much as you want. The people beneath me aren¡¯t sensible; I apologize on their behalf.¡±

    Lu Yin knew he was speaking about Sicar, but did not mind, ¡°Royal Brother, do you have any news on when Astral-10 will arrive?¡±

    Duke shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t, there¡¯s only one person of the Empire who has ess to such news. Fifth Sister, your fiancee.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; Wendy Yushan, his fiancee? She wouldn¡¯t even bother looking at him. To her, the Great Yu Empire wasn¡¯t important.

    His thoughts were brought to a halt by a thump of a cosmic ring on the table. Dukee stood up, ¡°This is my wee gift to you, Brother, I hope you don¡¯t hate it. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed at the sight; he knew that the Second Prince wouldn¡¯t hold back with his gift. Dukee smiled and was about to leave, but suddenly paused, ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that the Zishan Family has a hidden treasure, Brother, there should be no harm in trying to find it. Perhaps it might be an unexpected harvest.¡±

    The Prince¡¯s figure vanished,and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he picked the ring up. Hidden treasure? What did that mean? Find it himself? The Undying Yushan hadn¡¯t mentioned a single word about this hidden treasure; the man clearly didn¡¯t want anyone getting involved in this pie. If he went to look for it himself, wouldn¡¯t that be courting death? Did Duke really think he was so greedy that he was digging this kind of hole? These royals loved to create problems out of nothing.

    Within the cosmic ring was a set of ring armor, and given the gifter, it was certainly at least Melder armor. This was rather generous, but the implications were also quite dark. Still, Lu Yin lost himself in thoughts of the Zishan Family¡¯s qualifications to inherit the throne. Was that why Sicar tried to suppress him? Impossible; even if he was qualified, there was no chance of sess. He had nothing in apetition against the Princes who had run the Empire for centuries, and wouldn¡¯t even make for a worthy opponent. Was it because of the Zishan Family? The cluesy in Duke¡¯s apology. Evidently, Sicar had acted on his own initiative. Or rather, Duke wasn¡¯t the only one behind the man.

    ¡°Bronsen,¡± Lu Yin called.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± a shadow stepped out of the void.

    ¡°Have you heard of the hidden treasure of the Zishan Family?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it was several centuries ago. No one mentioned it in recent times.¡±

    ¡°Do you know if Sicar has any grudges against the Zishan Family?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Lu Yin started mumbling to himself. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s water ran rather deep as the Emperor aged, especially with rumors of an old injury¡¯s rpse. The man wasn¡¯t likely to live long, so how would the struggle for the throne end? He sat down and pondered for a while before heading back to his residence. All these things were unrted to him for now; when the situation erupted, he might already have entered the Astral Combat Academy.

    There were many books within the Zishan Residence, but none of them detailed any battle techniques. Tomes of such worth would likely have been taken by the Zishans when they disappeared, so Lu Yin focused his energies on looking for books rted to Melder breakthroughs. This realm was a turning point for cultivators; many books said that a person¡¯s potential could be seen at this point, but he didn¡¯t know what that meant. All he knew was that the road to power was paved with realms and battle techniques. What else could there be?

    ¡°Bronsen, have you gone to the Innerverse?¡± Lu Yin asked, to which the man shook his head. He felt it a pity; the Innerverse had always been far stronger than the Outerverse. While he¡¯d lived there himself before, he¡¯d been stuck in one ce and didn¡¯t really understand the world; he¡¯d learnt nothing about being a Melder during his stay. Should he ask The Undying Yushan? He shook his head after giving it a thought; the man was still the Emperor, and even if he spoilt him a little, it wasn¡¯t right to look for him for everything. Dorren seemed gentle on the surface, but he was just as scheming as Duke. Mira? He had to maintain as little contact with her as possible. The more times they talked, the more his value would drop in her eyes.

    ¡°Are you considering your breakthrough to a Melder?¡± Bronsen asked, one of the rare asions he spoke up without being asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°The breakthrough is a natural process. I¡¯m considering what the source of a Melder¡¯s strength is.¡±

    Bronsen muttered, ¡°Within the Great Yu Empire, the source of a powerhouse¡¯s strength is their battle techniques. But I have heard of another strength called battle force, it is supposedly very powerful.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed; he had heard of battle force himself. A powerful warrior was someone with a clear conscience and determination which stemmed from the heart; they could manifest that will for attack or defense, even breaking through their limits to crush the heavens or tear the skies apart. Battle force was an iprehensible power that everyone had the potential to unlock, but few ever did. He had heard of it multiple times in the Innerverse, but even there, techniques to train it were a secret protected more tightly than formcast models. In the Outerverse, there was simply no way to train in it. Even the fact that Bronsen knew of its existence was a testament to his status, but that was the extent of it.

    Lu Yin gazed at the sky, watching the three rings around the Zenyu Star. His eyes suddenly gleamed; how had he forgotten about the Skybeast w? He immediately thought of asking for the approval of all five hall masters to learn the first twenty forms. The first order of business was to contact Geine and ask her to help with Gerbach, but he stopped after opening his gadget and thought about her for a while before brushing off that idea. With her personality, it was already good enough that she wasn¡¯t looking to make trouble for him. He could only take the initiative himself, sending out requests to the hall masters as a member of Yu Academy.

    Tianming was the first to agree. This guy was easy to talk to; he¡¯d already said so at the formcast pool. The second was Logan, while the third was Huo Zhong. It was Huo Zhong that surprised Lu Yin the most; he¡¯d thought the Huo Family would have been antagonistic due to Xiaoling. Unfortunately, Gerbach and Schutz refused. It was a pity, but it was also within expectations; three approvals was already a good deal.

    As he was wondering how he¡¯d get the other two to agree, Lu Yin received a notification that Gerbach wanted to see him. He was stunned by the request, and his thoughts immediately rushed to Geine; that brat had snitched! Still, this would reveal the man¡¯s thoughts about the approval anyway, so he decided to go quickly. He left for the first ring the same night; cultivators didn¡¯t have strong circadian rhythms, and it was easy to go a few days without sleep.

    Gerbach¡¯s residence was a bit distant from the formcast pool, taking nine hours of travel in total from Lu Yin¡¯s residence. The sky was already bright by this point; if he had used a normal ne, it would have taken days to arrive.

    There was ake on the first ring around the Zenyu Star,rge enough to be considered an ocean. Its surface area exceeded all of Earth¡¯s, and at the center of it all was the hall Gerbach managed. There were enormous towers stacked all around, with the asional person zooming through the skies. Marine life swam freely in the ocean, the ones that dared to attack the tower from time to time being obliterated in moments. The ce was guarded by Explorers.

    As his ne sped towards the highest tower, Lu Yin looked down and watched as students from Yu Academy hunted at the surface of the water. He didn¡¯t notice a youth at the top floor of the tower opening his eyes and grinning from inside a spacious stone house. As an outsider, Bronsen was blocked from entering; Lu Yin had to go in alone.

    The tower was tall enough to pierce through the clouds. Students from Yu Academy entered and left regrly, many sending curious nces towards Lu Yin. This was where the most powerful youths of the Empire gathered, and none of them were simple; any one here could very well be an opponent in the future.

 Chapter 87: Gerbach

    <h4>Chapter 87: Gerbach</h4>

    Lu Yin headed to the center of the tower and climbed up the spiraling stone staircase. Flying was forbidden on these premises. A youth walked over just as he started the climb, looking at him curiously,¡°Where you going, bro?¡±

    ¡°Which floor is Gerbach on?¡± Lu Yin asked, attracting surprised nces in an instant.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking for the Hall Master?¡± the youth was surprised.

    ¡°He¡¯s looking for me.¡±

    Everyone sized Lu Yin up at that moment, and a shorter man among the crowd red at him. This was one of those from Yu Academy who¡¯d gone to the trial on Earth and been robbed by Lu Yin; he had a very strong impression of the thief, and was one of the few who knew Lu Yin¡¯s identity. He really wanted to cause trouble, but considering the identity of the King Zishan, it wasn¡¯t worth it.

    ¡°He¡¯s on the top floor,¡± the youth who¡¯d blocked Lu Yin spoke up, clearing the way. Lu Yin thanked him and headed up.

    As he climbed, Lu Yin found that some of the floors werepletely empty. The higher he went, the fewer people there were as well. Nobody else stopped him on the way, and by the time he started seeing clouds, there was no other person at all. When he leapt up to the top floor, he found Gerbach with his back turned to him, staring at the fierce winds through a stone window. The young man¡¯s back was ramrod straight and he radiated an aura of discipline; this was one of the strongest fighters of his generation in the Great Yu Empire, one of the hall masters of Yu Academy that people considered a monster.

    As he thought to himself that Geine and her brother looked quite alike, the youth in question suddenly turned and sent him a chilling re that was like an arrow streaking through the sky.

    ¡°You took care of my sister during the trial,¡± Gerbach trained his eyes on Lu Yin. With his entire being straight as an arrow, he seemed quite overbearing. Each of the hall masters of Yu Academy seemed quite different. Tianming was gentle and polite, while Gerbach was incredibly fierce.

    Lu Yin frowned but did not back down, ¡°It¡¯s all about survival of the fittest.¡±

    Gerbach smirked, ¡°Exactly. Since you know what, why did you help her?¡±

    Lu Yin froze. Help her? When did he do that? Didn¡¯t he rob her?

    Gerbach said dryly, ¡°Although the trial on Earth wasn¡¯t a sess, Geine¡¯s marks put her even in front of Eddy. I know my sister; it¡¯s impossible for her to get there on her own. She helped you rob dozens of students to get ahead of everyone else.¡±

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow; it seemed like Geine hadn¡¯t told her brother that she was robbed as well. But that made sense; given her personality, she was someone who¡¯d never admit to something shameful. And while Gerbach had high status in Yu Academy, that power did not extend outside this system; he couldn¡¯t find out about the situation himself. This was all a glorious misunderstanding.

    ¡°Is that the reason why you¡¯re not letting me learn the first twenty forms of the Skybeast w?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gerbach directed his gaze outside the tower, ¡°I just wanted to meet you. You might be the King Zishan, but you participated in the trials as a native. As a native, you defeated dozens of students, including the best of Yu Academy. It made me curious.¡±

    He shifted his attention back to Lu Yin as he spoke, eyes filled with a desire to fight, ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about your strength. There are rumors that you can learn the Skybeast w just from battling someone using it; I don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned, ¡°Let¡¯s try it out, then.¡±

    Gerbach grunted in approval before suppressing his star energy to the level of a Sentinel, ¡°Careful. Once I¡¯m in battle mode, I don¡¯t hold back.¡±

    ¡°Me neither,¡± Lu Yin answered, and the two charged towards each other at the same time. Fists shed and shockwaves surged in all directions, bothbatants retreating in tandem before darting back quickly. Gerbach truly didn¡¯t hold back,unching a Skybeast w that was much stronger than Tyson¡¯s. Even with Sentinel strength, the Hall Master could use battle techniques beyond most Melders.

    Lu Yin seemed hesitant and stopped, eyes fixated on Gerbach¡¯s Skybeast w. The five stars of his Cosmic Art formed their unique defensive forcefield, allowing him to see every little form of the attack. One, two, three¡­ The attack consisted of fifteen forms, possessing terrifying power as a bestial cry resounded through the air. The surroundings almost froze in ce, but Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and his body curved unbelievably to dodge the attack that covered a hundred-meter area. All the strike aplished was an enormous w imprint on the ground.

    ¡°You actually managed to dodge that? Nice!¡± Gerbach looked at Lu Yin in shocked delight, but Lu Yin only frowned. He¡¯d gotten to the ninth variation, but that wasn¡¯t enough and he wanted to go again. The Hall Master obliged, trying to defeat Lu Yin with his attack, but Lu Yin managed to dodge every single one.

    It was after the fifth exchange that Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up; he¡¯d gotten all fifteen. He raised an arm in the next instant, fingers curving as it shot towards a startled Gerbach. Gerbach fought back with the same attack, and the resulting rumble drew the attention of people even at the bottom of the tower.

    Lu Yin and Gerbach retreated at the same time, leaving behind deep imprints in the ground. When the dust settled, a shocked Gerbachmented, ¡°You really can copy¡­ no, learn the Skybeast w on sight. Only five times and you got it.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped hard, nursing his stinging hand. While the Melder had suppressed his star energy, the body was still the same. If he wanted to keep this going, he was certainly the one who¡¯d lose.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you really were such a genius. The Skybeast w is carved into the stone walls, and even the best of Yu Academy take ages to learn it. Some never manage to learn the fifteenth form in their lifetime, but you can do it like this,¡± Gerbach sighed in admiration.

    Seeing no envy in the youth¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin found himself liking this man even more, ¡°I think this battle technique just suits me very well.¡±

    Gerbach nodded and sighed ruefully, ¡°Yes, one can learn a technique very quickly if it is suitable.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to keep going?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The corners of Gerbach¡¯s lips curved up, ¡°My best move isn¡¯t the Skybeast w. Since I said I wanted a battle with you, it can¡¯t end so easily. Be careful; I¡¯ll use a technique that suits me next, so don¡¯t me me if you die.¡±

    ¡°Come at me,¡± Lu Yin answered, but he felt slightly apprehensive. Gerbach was a hall master after all, and at the peak of the Melder realm. His other battle techniques must be terrifying,

    Gerbach grinned and a strange fruit appeared in his hand with lightning markings all over. This fruit was somewhat simr to an energy crystal, and it thundered as he crushed it, bolts of lightning scorching the ground and startling a few people as they shed outside the window.

    ¡°The Hall Master is fighting? Who?¡±

    ¡°Could it be that person that just went up?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. That guy was just a Sentinel.¡±

    As he saw the violent lightning, Lu Yin took several steps back subconsciously. This scene reminded him of Geine¡¯s armor, although that had been much more terrifying. Deciding not to wait, he shot out a Spacerender Palm with a cold look in his eyes.

    Gerbach merely snorted, the lightning bursting forth with a wave. It tore apart the Spacerender Palm¡¯s shockwaves and shot towards Lu Yin like an arrow, barely missing as he dodged. The wall behind him was pierced through and a searing shockwave pushed him aside, his body numbed by the electricity.

    ¡°This is my battle technique, Lightning Arrow. Let me see what you can do!¡± Gerbach shouted as he took one step forward. The lightning turned into a bow and arrow and was pointed at Lu Yin, sending a chill down his spine. It wasn¡¯t just lightning that appeared before his eyes; there was another force approaching that he couldn¡¯t even begin to fathom. The entire world became a sea of sma that made an enemy of everything in its path.

    Outside the tower, Bronsen solemnly stared up at the sky. So long as nobody was killed with intent, he couldn¡¯t interfere in any battles at Yu Academy. He hoped the King Zishan wouldn¡¯t die; hall masters were much more powerful than ordinary melders even after suppressing their strength.

    Lu Yin stared hard at the approaching force amidst the lightning; the threat Gerbach currently posed to him far exceeded what he¡¯d felt from Qingyu. Qingyu had been severely wounded, suppressed in energy and unable to use most battle techniques. Gerbach was different; with nothing holding him back, he could use even the Sentinel power to its limit. Seeing the approaching force, he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it. All he could do was raise a palm with five stars, activating the Cosmic Palm.

    The entire tower rumbled.

 Chapter 88: Overbearing Fiancee

    <h4>Chapter 88: Overbearing Fiancee</h4>

    Shockwaves broke through the tower walls and dispersed the clouds, lightning dissipating in all directions. At the top, Lu Yin managed to block Gerbach¡¯s full-power attack with his Cosmic Palm, but that wasn¡¯t all. The fifth star¡¯s explosion even suppressed the lightning arrow and dispersed it, scattering the battle technique entirely. The man himself was fine, but this was an automatic defeat.

    Lu Yin put his own hand back down, watching the ck on his palm. This was the power of the lightning; while it wasn¡¯t all that serious, his entire palm had been charred.

    ¡°You won,¡± Gerbach stated.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and lifted his palm, ¡°It¡¯s a tie. I¡¯m injured.¡±

    Gerbach burst intoughter, ¡°I needed a lightning fruit to power my technique; that was cheating. I don¡¯t believe you went all-out, either. I¡¯m not someone who can¡¯t take a loss.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t argue. He truly hadn¡¯t gone all-out here; at the very least, using Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift alongside the Cosmic Palm would have led to a stronger strike.

    Gerbach sighed happily. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel good to fight while suppressed, but this isn¡¯t half bad. You should be top ten in Yu Academy.¡±

    ¡°What? Doesn¡¯t the Academy have more than ten Melders?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Gerbach chuckled, ¡°Melders? You know that means nothing, right? No more than ten people in the Academy could have blocked that arrow; you¡¯re definitely up there.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled Tyson who had challenged him at the formcast pool. That was a Melder as well, but the Cosmic Palm had beaten him easily. Then there was Munoor, whose result would likely be the same. This made sense; he was a realmbreaker, after all. Were Melders weak? No, they were quite strong, but not in the Great Yu Empire. Even Gerbach wasn¡¯t all that much whenpared to the average Melder in the Innerverse; that was just the extent of the disparity. This thought suddenly dissipated all anticipation of bing a Melder. He realized that he needed to understand more about what bing a Melder meant, not just rush into the stage and be a weakling like Munoor.

    Lu Yin was snapped out of his thoughts when Gerbach agreed to his request for the Skybeast w. He nodded, ¡°Thanks a ton.¡±

    ¡°Mm. Schutz is the only one left. How will you get him to agree?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged; he hadn¡¯t nned this out yet. Schutz was indisputably the strongest youth in the Great Yu Empire, the top fighter in Yu Academy who was much stronger than Tianming and Gerbach. He was a member of the former Great Yu Empire Youth Council, possessing so many dazzling titles that even an ordinary person would be pushed to the top, but Lu Yin had no idea what kind of person he was.

    Gerbach chuckled, ¡°Since I¡¯m already at it, might as well go all the way. You¡¯ve already gotten to fifteen forms of the Skybeast w, it isn¡¯t all that different to go to twenty but the price is huge. Have you thought this through?¡±

    Lu Yin was curious, ¡°It¡¯ll depend on what I have to pay.¡±

    Gerbach was astounded, ¡°I thought you¡¯d do it regardless of the consequences.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°Like you said, there isn¡¯t arge difference whether I have the next five variations or not. There¡¯s no point in losing more than I gain.¡±

    Gerbach sized Lu Yin up, ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve met a lot of people who aren¡¯t afraid of death to obtain a powerful technique, especially in this academy. Your practicality is a rare trait.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. He was willing to give up a great many things for the entirety of the Skybeast w, but not for a mere twenty forms. It wasn¡¯t even like that was his biggest hope; his focus was the Cosmic Palm. What he actually wanted was for Gerbach to show him the twenty forms, but that request was unreasonable. Nobody liked their battle techniques being stolen, even if it was one that everyone had ess to. It was an invasion of privacy. Now that Gerbach knew he could learn the Skybeast w in battle, he would never use it again.

    Gerbach switched on his gadget and a hologram appeared, depicting a youth with a cold re and red sword on his back, bare upper body filled with scars. Schutz looked quite ordinary, but was a step beyond numerous youths across the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Schutz¡¯s hoarse voice rang out, boredom filling his tone.

    ¡°I was beaten.¡±

    ¡°By whom?¡± Schutz¡¯s eyes glinted.

    ¡°Lu Yin, King Zishan.¡±

    Schutz sighed, ¡°He¡¯s a Sentinel.¡±

    ¡°I suppressed mybat level, but I still lost. He also managed to learn the fifteenth form of the Skybeast w duringbat, and recreated it perfectly.¡±

    Schutz went quiet.

    ¡°By the looks of it, he¡¯s invincible amongst Sentinels; at the very least, there¡¯s no match in Yu Academy. Even overall, he¡¯s top ten; he might be a threat to be a hall master the moment he bes a Melder. What do you think?¡±

    Schutz watched Gerbach, ¡°Where is he?¡±

    ¡°He just left. Why? Do you want to meet him?¡±

    ¡°I want to fight with him, as a Sentinel.¡±

    Gerbach said, ¡°He might not have the time. You know he¡¯s King Zishan, not just any ordinary student in the academy. He isn¡¯t a part of any of the halls, either.¡±

    Schutz turned serious, ¡°Tell him that I¡¯ll agree to him learning the first twenty forms of the Skybeast w as long as he has the guts to fight me.¡±

    Gerbach thought it over, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask him.¡±

    Schutz didn¡¯t say another word, simply switching off the hologram.

    Gerbach turned towards Lu Yin and grinned, ¡°It¡¯s done. What do you think? Do you have the guts to do it?¡±

    The corner of Lu Yin¡¯s lips turned up as a hint of excitement shone in his eyes, ¡°It¡¯d be my honor to fight the strongest in the Empire. When will it be?¡±

    Just as Gerbach was about to speak, both of their gadgets dinged in a tone that could only be a major announcement. This sort of notification couldn¡¯t be muted; they had to read it. It was just like the news regarding Astral-10. The two looked down simultaneously, exchanging shocked nces with each other. Fifth Princess Wendy Yushan of the Great Yu Empire had joined the Outerverse Youth Council as a formal member. She would also hold a position as a member of the Great Yu Empire Youth Council, and hadplete authority over selections.

    ¡°There¡¯s going to be chaos,¡± Gerbach said gravely.

    Meanwhile, countless people in the empire got the same news. After finding out that Wendy Yushan would join the Outerverse Youth Council and take charge of the Empire¡¯s Youth Council, most people cheered in joy. Finally, there¡¯d be somebody from the Empire with a say over the Outerverse. However, there was a fair number of people that sighed. These people were ones who knew her well, and included The Undying Yushan.

    Within the imperial pce, The Undying Yushan sighed and smiled wryly, ¡°There¡¯s going to be trouble.¡±

    Within his residence, Crown Prince Dorren stared at the hologram in shock, and then sighed ruefully just like his father had, ¡°Is there anyone in the Empire that can handle her?¡±

    Duke chuckled, ¡°This is fun. The Empire¡¯s going to be lively very soon.¡±

    Many people had simr remarks.

    On the top floor of a building in the first ring, Lu Yin was confused, ¡°Why do you look like that? Isn¡¯t Wendy joining the Outerverse Youth Council a good thing? She¡¯ll even be in charge of the Empire¡¯s Youth Council.¡±

    Gerbach smiled wryly, ¡°Do you know the Fifth Princess well?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. He didn¡¯t know anything about her at all, and what he¡¯d heard was that she was doing very well in the Innerverse. Her nose was always in the air and she didn¡¯t think much of anyone in the Great Yu Empire, and nobody could control her.

    ¡°Princess Wendy is¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, there came another notification, ¡°The Great Yu Empire is in need of talents. The council will temporarily stop all recruitment and let the members of the Outerverse Youth Council take control. These members will soon reach the Zenyu Star.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the notification nkly. What did this mean?

    ¡°Do you see now? This is Princess Wendy. Nobody amongst the younger generation in the Empire are good enough for her. This includes us five hall masters. In her eyes, we don¡¯t even have the right to enter the council, which is why the Empire just doesn¡¯t have a Youth Council at all and has someone else in charge.¡± Gerbach said wryly.

    For the first time, Lu Yin could sense how tyrannical Wendy Yushan was. One woman could decide everything, and it was a decision that nobody could disobey; not even The Undying Yushan.

    Was this the person he might be arranged to marry? He felt a chill going down his spine at the thought. The woman wouldn¡¯t send him a notification like this to end the arrangement, right? While he was a fake, that would be humiliating.

    ¡°How strong is this woman? How can she ignore you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gerbach looked troubled and said in a hushed voice, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware that she¡¯s the second captain of the Thirteen Squadrons.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He¡¯d heard this from Bronsen before.

    ¡°She won that spot inbat,¡± Gerbach stated in admiration.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What? She won it?!¡±

 Chapter 89: Marriage??

    <h4>Chapter 89: Marriage??</h4>

    Gerbach nodded with an almost-reverent gaze, ¡°What do you think? Inconceivable, right? But those are the facts. There are rules to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons; anyone who can defeat a captain can rece them. Beating the Second Captain was the only thing she did sinceing out of the Innerverse; no one else knows how strong she is, because no one in the Empire is worth her time.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, and incredulity welled up in his heart. The Thirteen Captains were all Cruisers; theirbat level were over 50,000. That woman had actually reached that sort of standard? How was that possible? Gerbach and the other hall masters were just Melders! They couldn¡¯t even begin topare. It was no wonder that woman didn¡¯t bother with the younger generation of the Empire; she was a genius above the rest across the entire universe.

    ¡°Top 20 in the Astral Combat Ranking, terrifying power that can sweep through the Frostwave Weave, and the capability to push the older generation down with force. Not many people in the Great Yu Empire can beat her; she¡¯s earned the right to look down on us,¡± Gerbach sighed.

    At this point, the screen lit up again; it was Schutz, ¡°Gerbach, defer my battle with Lu Yin. I want to test how strong the Outerverse Youth Council members are.¡±

    Gerbach nodded, ¡°I want to try it too. They must be powerful if Wendy fancies joining them. You need to adjust yourself ordingly; our Great Yu Empire cannot be looked down upon.¡±

    Schutz ended the call, and Gerbach looked at Lu Yin, ¡°You can leave for now. The battle with Schutz will take some time, at least until after the Outerverse Youth Council members have arrived.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged with a grunt, and left withplicated feelings. His fiancee was a little too powerful, a sensation not just in the Great Yu Empire. Foreigners might think it was a good thing; she was the Empire¡¯s princess after all.

    It was perhaps due to this abrupt rise in power that the Huo Family suddenly rejected the Fireforge¡¯s marriage proposal.

    ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, Young Master Yan Feng and the Huo Family¡¯s eldest daughter had been arranged into marriage a long time ago, and they suddenly back out of the deal today. Are they looking down on the Fireforge?¡± Yan Gang thundered in the royal court.

    The courtiers in the audience looked on with cool gazes as Crown Prince Dorren spoke, ¡°The Great Yu Empire has always been on good terms with the Fireforge, and a marriage would only solidify that rtionship further. But this is the Huo Family¡¯s own decision, and it won¡¯t be good for the Empire to involve itself.¡±

    Yan Gang gritted his teeth, ¡°Your Highness means that the Empire is not concerned?¡±

    ¡°It is simply an internal matter of the Huo Family, and not within our jurisdiction. His Imperial Majesty does not dictate such things, and this is not arge diplomatic issue. Both sides can dictate results by yourselves,¡± Dorren said with a smile.

    Yan Gang red at the man with fiery red hair just below Dorren Yushan. This man was none other than Huo Qingshan, the Fifth Captain. Unlike when he was testing Zhang Dingtian with zing aggression, he seemed somewhat normal now, ¡°I never agreed to marry Xiaoling into the Fireforge. Your young master speaks for himself, and that has nothing to do with me.¡±

    Yan Gang clenched his fists tightly and felt extraordinarily humiliated. When did the Fireforge ever receive such humiliation? And yet, he had to endure this, especially now that Wendy Yushan had entered the Outerverse Youth Council. It was not wise to make the Great Yu Empire his enemy. He raised his head towards The Undying Yushan and saluted respectfully, ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, since the Huo Family has deemed it appropriate to alter our agreement without warning, the Fireforge has nothing to say. I will rece my master and bear this humiliation.¡±

    The Emperor seemed tired, ¡°Don¡¯t be too rash, young friend. This is no humiliation, only a difference in views on love amongst youths.¡±

    Yan Gang was left without choice, and he suddenly looked behind Huo Qingshan at the man who was emitting a frostiness all over his body. His eyes brightened, and he spoke with a deferential tone, ¡°The Huo Family¡¯s betrayal will make my Young Master theughingstock of the entire Frostwave Weave. I wonder if this humble servant can ask for a different partner on his behalf?¡±

    Everyone was bbergasted and looked at Yan Gang. A mere Melder bodyguard of Yan Feng had such power to make decisions on behalf of his master? Duke nced over, ¡°I heard you and Yan Feng have been friends since youth, master and servant in name, yet brothers in reality. Looks like those rumors had a basis, you actually dare to help him pick another partner in marriage.¡±

    Yan Gang replied grudgingly, ¡°The entire Frostwave Weave and even Grandtop Weave know that the Fireforge has proposed marriage with the Great Yu Empire. If that is notpleted, my will be a joke. I trust His Imperial Majesty does not wish for that to happen, either.¡±

    ¡°Who are you proposing?¡± the Emperor asked.

    Yan Gang bowed, ¡°Miss Jenny Auna.¡±

    Everyone was shocked, and the man behind Huo Qingshan red coldly at Yan Gang, ¡°No.¡±

    Yan Gang had a nk look, ¡°Why?¡±

    The Undying Yushan and the rest also looked at the man¡ªRocky Auna, the Ninth Captain and Jenny¡¯s uncle, ¡°Jenny has a long-standing marriage contract with someone else.¡±

    Yan Gang smiled, ¡°Captain Rocky must be mistaken. I¡¯ve just participated in Earth¡¯s trial with Miss Jenny and can be considered acquainted. I also asked her, and she¡¯s said she isn¡¯t engaged yet.¡±

    Rocky¡¯s gaze frosted over, ¡°That was before. My Auna Family has a marriage contract with the Zishan Family; everyone in the Great Yu Empire knows this, you can try asking around.¡±

    Yan Gang could not help but look at The Undying Yushan, who nced at Rocky and nodded, ¡°That is correct.¡±

    Yan Gang frowned, ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, from what I know, Miss Jenny does not want to be married to King Zishan as there is animosity between them.¡±

    ¡°As if she can make a decision on something as big as her marriage!¡± Rocky barked.

    Yan Gang was furious, but his hands were tired, ¡°Since that is so, I understand. I will report back to my superiors and Young Master. He has just caught wind that Princess Wendy Yushan has joined the Outerverse Youth Council, which he has always looked forward to. He will participate in the selections in a few days, and might have an opportunity to work with her. They can discuss matters again then.¡±

    Everyone was startled as they heard this news. Was Yan Feng qualified to join the Outerverse Youth Council? They didn¡¯t know, and if it was true, it would be troublesome. Hold on. They suddenly all realized what had happened here; the Fireforge had been targeting Wendy all this while! Huo Xiaoling and Jenny Auna were just excuses, those refusals by the Great Yu Empire made it easier for them to chase after her. The Great Yu Empire had already rejected Huo Xiaoling and Jenny Auna to be wedded to the Fireforge, but if Yan Feng sessfully wooed Wendy Yushan, it would be difficult to reject them again.

    It was more possible the more they thought about it. Many looked at The Undying Yushan, though he remained calm and showed no signs. Yan Gang still seemed to seethe with anger. Huo Qingshan and Rocky Auna looked at Yan Gang with icy gazes. They had been used as tools in this matter, and would not let it slide.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m tired, you can leave,¡± the Emperor lethargically waved his hand, and the audience left the court. ¡°Summon King Zishan to the pce to meet me.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin¡¯s ne flew over to the pce. The Zishan Residence was far too close to the pce, so he had arrived before the courtiers were even out of the Grand Astral Gate. With Bronsen about ten meters away, he greeted several of them. Sicar even smiled and was extremely polite.

    Quite a few officials were unhappy after being extorted by Lu Yin, and a few hid from him to prevent being targeted. Lu Yin waited until they¡¯d all left before walking in without a hurry.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± a voice rang beside his ear.

    Lu Yin turned and saw an indifferent Rocky Auna, ¡°Captain Rocky, good day.¡±

    ¡°Be more earnest in handling things, and cautious in both word and action. Don¡¯t trust others too readily; you can always look for my family if you need help,¡± he stated. He had personally mentioned the marriage contract in the royal court, so Lu Yin was now the Auna Family¡¯s future son-inw. He left a chill behind in the air as he turned to walk away.

    Lu Yin was stunned. What was that supposed to mean?

    ¡°Your Majesty, His Imperial Majesty is awaiting you,¡± the pce maid reminded, and Lu Yin promptly followed her in.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin¡¯s cry rang through the courtyard, ¡°What? Engaged to the Auna Family?¡±

    The Undying Yushan smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes, this was the agreement between the Zishans and the Aunas. Rocky personally confirmed it in the royal court today; you should prepare for the marriage and look for a good day, you¡¯re not that young anymore.¡±

    ¡°With whom?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°The direct heir, of course. Jenny.¡±

    The image of an arrogant woman sprang up in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, in a scene where she¡¯d been tied up and was being used by him to threaten Sigmund after the decisive battle with Qingyu. That woman hated him to the core, and didn¡¯t even look at him properly once on their way back. Marriage? He was doomed!

 Chapter 90: Misunderstanding

    <h4>Chapter 90: Misunderstanding</h4>

    Lu Yin felt himself in a dilemma, ¡°Your Majesty, is it possible to cancel this marriage?¡±

    ¡°Do you have another sweetheart?¡± the Emperor asked curiously. Lu Yin almost instinctively shook his head, but quickly caught himself and nodded, which prompted augh, ¡°Then forget her. Rocky Auna brought this marriage up personally, and rejecting it would humiliate the Aunas and turn the Fireforge into aughingstock.¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ I actually don¡¯t fancy Jenny.¡±

    ¡°Feelings don¡¯tst a lifetime, especially for cultivators who live for hundreds of years. Emotions don¡¯tst long; you two just have to get along and live your lives together, no need to overthink.¡±

    Lu Yin was left in a bind, but the Emperor seemed toe up with something before he could think of a retort. The man leaned over, ¡°Little Yin, tell me the truth; do you have any ideas about Wendy?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked without a direct response, but this only convinced the Emperor that he¡¯d guessed correctly. He started massaging his temples, ¡°I promised Zishan that my family would be engaged to his, and through direct descendants. That does mean you and Wendy are engaged, but I simply cannot make the decision for her. You¡¯ll have to fight for her hand in marriage yourself; the best I can offer is that I won¡¯t oppose it.¡±

    As Lu Yin looked down, The Undying Yushan sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to bring you down, Little Yin, but Wendy is formidable even across the Innerverse. You should know of the Astral Combat Ranking, a listpiled by the Astral Combat Academy ranking the prodigies across the universe. She¡¯s in the top 20 of that list, no more than 20 people in her current generation can match her across the universe. Even I cannot underestimate her power, and I definitely don¡¯t n to use her as a pawn in a political marriage to stabilize my Empire. Her goals are too high for me to touch; if you want to win her over, you have to get into the top 50 at least.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m confident in myself, Your Majesty,¡± Lu Yin looked up again.

    Undying Yushanughed, ¡°Confidence is a good thing. Since that is so, I¡¯ll help you speak to the Auna Family. There won¡¯t be an outright rejection, but I will postpone the marriage by three years. Three years; if you haven¡¯t wooed Wendy by then, you have to be obedient and marry Jenny, okay?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded solemnly, ¡°Three years, then. I¡¯m confident Her Highness will sit up and take notice of me by then.¡±

    The Undying Yushan nodded and watched Lu Yin leave, muttering to himself, ¡°Sit up and take notice? Young ambition. Wendy is a disciple of the Myriad Swords Peak of the Innerverse, not someone groomed by the Great Yu Empire. Her noticing you isn¡¯t just difficult, it¡¯s impossible. Nevermind, three years is long enough to temper him.¡±

    Lu Yin huffed after exiting the courtyard. Fortunately, he¡¯d managed to use Wendy to defer the engagement, but three years? What a joke! He wasn¡¯t the real King Zishan anyway, and in three years, he might not even be in the Great Yu Empire anymore. Who¡¯d care about the engagement then? Still, the news of him trying to marry the Fifth Princess spread throughout the Zenyu Star within moments of his exit, inviting endless ridicule. The average person did notprehend Wendy Yushan¡¯s strength; she was a captain of the Thirteen Squadrons¡ªsomeone who had defeated a Cruiser in her life¡ªand a disciple of one of the Innerverse¡¯s greatest powers. No one in the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire even deserved her attention, even those like Schutz or Gerbach. His desire for her left many considering him a lunatic. This matter swiftly became a joke on the Zenyu Star.

    Within the Auna Family¡¯s study, Patriarch Xueshan mmed the table, ¡°A mere Fireforge dares to make use of my family? I¡¯ll repay this debt one day!¡±

    Rocky Auna seemed indifferent, ¡°Jenny seems to like Yan Feng.¡±

    ¡°So what if she likes him? The environment of the Fireforge is unsuitable to our family. If this marriage goes through, how will we retain our independence in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Rocky¡¯s gadget was suddenly pinged by a message, and his brows furrowed as he read it through. Unhappiness filled his gaze.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Xueshan asked.

    ¡°King Zishan wants to marry Princess Wendy.¡±

    Xueshan sneered, ¡°He does not know his ce; even someone like Schutz would not have the courage to say something like that. What, does he not fancy Jenny?¡±

    ¡°He utterly defeated her on Earth.¡±

    The mere mention of this left the man angry, ¡°Such a disappointment, couldn¡¯t even beat a simple native. Pass down my orders, she better not think of leaving the manor before breaking through to the Melder realm.¡±

    ¡°What about King Zishan?¡±

    Xueshan muttered to himself for a moment before speaking, ¡°You already confirmed this engagement in the royal court, but the royal family also had its marriage agreement with the Zishans. No one will think less of us for this, but this boy is too much. He even dared to openly ept bribes a few days ago. Someone should knock some sense into him, or who knows what sort of din he¡¯ll create if he enters our family?¡±

    Not long after, Jenny was dragged home from a bar. Torry gave her a bitter smile, ¡°Sorry, Miss, you won¡¯t be able to leave the manor from today until you break through to Melder.¡±

    Jenny Auna red back, ¡°I heard my uncle married me off to that bastard Lu Yin in the court, right? And he doesn¡¯t even want to wed me, but wants Princess Wendy.¡±

    Torry could only spread out his hands, as he did not know how to answer her.

    Jenny was furious, ¡°That bastard dares to slight me. I¡¯ll never marry that pathetic native; he¡¯s a thief, a despicable bastard! You can beat me to death, but I won¡¯t agree to this wedding. Just watch, I¡¯ll be a Melder and return all the humiliation he gave me!¡±

    Torry sighed as she stormed off, wondering whether he should thank Lu Yin for firing up the Young Lady. If not for him, Jenny would likely still be immersed in her adoration of Yan Feng, without any motivation to train. He felt a hint of appreciation for that youth who dared to confront and even threaten him back on Earth; not every native dared to negotiate with the Empire, especially against an Explorer. Pity; a person¡¯s talent was fixed at birth. Even if the boy had an innate gift, it was limited to the Great Yu Empire. Wendy was a recognized genius across the universe, and even Yan Feng could not match up to her.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin did not think that this engagement would draw such strong reactions from everyone. Although most people ridiculed him, some grew really expectant, especially the army in the third ring. Although they weren¡¯t in contact, they had always been following his actions closely.

    Within the imperial prison, Sigmund Mathers was bound to his cell by light. A youth across the room was looking at him with a pained expression, his son Wukai.

    ¡°He wants to wed Princess Wendy? Too difficult,¡± Sigmund sighed.

    Wukai replied, ¡°If it happened, it would shake the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°No, it would shock all the heavens. Princess Wendy is top twenty in the Astral Combat Ranking, a disciple of the Myriad Swords Peak whose name rings throughout the universe. Every action of hers is scrutinized by countless people, and people were already investigating Lu Yin the moment he was conferred his title.The wedding agreement is no secret, and with this high-profile im, countless people will be discussing this.¡±

    ¡°What about us, Father? His Majesty saved your life.¡±

    Sigmund looked at him, ¡°Don¡¯t speak about this in the future. Go home now, and don¡¯t do anything. Stay away from people like Raas.¡±

    Wukai nodded.

    ¡­¡­

    A beam of light charged out from the depths of the universe, a medium-sized spaceship in silver and white with a design of flying winds and swords. Around the emblem were ten lofty silhouettes, forming the crest of the Universe Youth Council. Those ten shadows represented the Ten Arbiters.

    Within the spacecraft, dozens of servants were fighting to suppress shivers as an enormous man who was nearly three meters long was doing push-ups with a single finger. Sweat dripped onto the floor from his cheeks, already having formed a puddle on the ground. The sweat flowed into the dent formed by his finger, which was widening with every push. Not far away, a screen shed with the value of the gravity in this training room: 150.

    The man¡¯s gaze trembled and he suddenly flipped up with a push from his finger. A maid at the side immediately crushed a water crystal and scrubbed his body as he asked, ¡°King Zishan publicly proimed he wants to marry Councillor Wendy?¡±

    The others bowed, ¡°Yes, news spread out from the Great Yu Empire just now, and The Undying Yushan hasn¡¯t denied it.¡±

    The man sneered, ¡°Such a brave dog. Just a savage native wanting to swallow the skies.¡±

    One person stepped forward and spoke softly, ¡°Representative Bazeer, this native may be puny, but this is disgusting. It wouldn¡¯t be good if word of this spreads to Councillor Puyu.¡±

 Chapter 91: Friendship And The Flash

    <h4>Chapter 91: Friendship And The sh</h4>

    Bazeer nced at the person, ¡°You¡¯re right, so what should we do?¡±

    The subordinate suggested, ¡°Stop the news from spreading, and find a way to remove that native.¡±

    ¡°Good idea, anything else?¡± he threw his towel away and approached.

    ¡°Councillor Wendy wouldn¡¯t care about that native, so instead of just killing him, we have to make it look like an ident, too. It should tarnish his reputation and make her feel disgusted by her home.¡±

    Bazeer walked over to the person and ced a hand on his shoulder, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but do you realize that nothing can escape Councillor Wendy¡¯s eyes? If she thinks Councillor Puyu asked us to do this, wouldn¡¯t it embarrass him?¡±

    The youth turned pale and scrambled to exin himself, but it was toote. Bazeer pressed down with his palm, and a loud explosion turned him into a pile of flesh and blood that stained the ground. The stench of iron filled up the training room, terrifying everyone into silently staring at the ground.

    Another pale and skinny youth walked over, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Representative. That native is a Sentinel like me, let me help you with this problem. It¡¯smon for battles to end in death, I believe no one would me me.¡±

    Bazeer wiped his hands, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, Ghostfire.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A few dayster, Lu Yin was observing star charts in the Zishan Residence when Bronsen contacted him, ¡°Your Majesty, Captain Peach of the Sixth Squadron is here.¡±

    Peach? Lu Yin lifted his head in shock, why was she here? He hadn¡¯t interacted with the girl much, and she¡¯d actually red at him when he first entered the royal pce. Was she here to do something?

    When he reached the living room, he saw a young girl walking around with a gorgeousdy, one that he recognized: Bai Xue.

    ¡°Lu Yin!¡± Peach said excitedly, shing over to him in an instant and looking at him with her huge eyes.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, ¡°Hello, Captain Peach.¡±

    Peach took a few steps backwards, ¡°Don¡¯te near me.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at himself, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Bai Xue exined, ¡°Captain doesn¡¯t like to be near people taller than her.¡±

    Lu Yin paused and looked at Peach, she was only 1.2 metres tall and it would be quite difficult to find someone shorter than her. No wonder Bai Xue stood a few metres away.

    ¡°The Zishan Residence is really high and spacious, I like it!¡± Peach said as she looked around.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°You can stay here if you like.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Peach was surprised. She liked looking down from high ces.

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Yes. By the way, is there anything I could do for you?¡±

    Peach finally turned to face him solemnly, ¡°I wanted to apologize.¡±

    ¡°Apologize? Why?¡±

    Peach touched her hair and bowed sincerely, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have scared you in the pce, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked and tried to move away. This was the captain of the sixth squadron, a Cruiser powerhouse who was in the top 20 of The Great Yu Empire. She didn¡¯t even have to bow when she met The Undying Yushan, but she was bowing to him now. However, he couldn¡¯t seem to dodge at all as he was soon surrounded by multiple bowing Peaches. His gaze narrowed; were they doppelgangers? No, this was speed; extreme speed.

    After apologizing, Peach grinned and was about to leave. Bronsen¡¯s initial introduction of her had mentioned that she was quite innocent and earnest, but Lu Yin hadn¡¯t believed him at the time. Now, it turned out to be true; there seemed to be no arrogance at all that arose from her status. Seeing her turn away, he said anxiously, ¡°Captain Peach, why don¡¯t you have some tea before you leave?¡±

    Peach shook her head, ¡°No thanks, I have something to do.¡±

    Bai Xue nodded at Lu Yin and followed Peach out. However, he took out a packet of snacks from his cosmic ring and shook it, producing a crackling sound that stopped the short captain in her tracks. She turned around to look at what he was holding, and her gaze suddenly burnt, ¡°The Gen 3 Fatty Snacks ice lobster chips! Only 50,000 packets were ever made, how did you get one from the Kaka Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised at the rarity of this snack; it was the packet he¡¯d gotten by using Pilfer. He¡¯d just wanted to try and entice Peach to stay using it, but its effect was far greater than expected. He smiled and passed it on, ¡°Take it if you like.¡±

    Peach instantly blinked right in front of him, ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re such a nice person. Are you really okay with giving it to me? This stuff is delicious!¡±

    ¡°Of course, but I only have one packet. That¡¯s not really enough.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough, it¡¯s enough, it¡¯s more than enough! I couldn¡¯t even get one packet when it went on sale! Thank you, Lu Yin, you¡¯re really a nice person!¡± Peach seemed just as excited as if she¡¯d learnt some amazing battle technique, leaving Lu Yin speechless. How did someone like this be a captain? She should still be quite young.

    Standing nearby, Bai Xue looked at Lu Yin in surprise. Although Peach was innocent, not everyone could make friends with her. That innocence meant her principles were stronger as well, and it allowed her to be a better judge of character. She hadn¡¯t seen Peach being so warm to someone ever since she¡¯d started following her.

    ¡°We¡¯re friends now, Lu Yin,¡± Peach looked at Lu Yin and blinked herrge eyes at him, standing quite close as well.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how to answer and just said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you any snacks that I find next time.¡±

    Peach¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Thank you, but I can¡¯t just take this from you, do you have anything that you need help with? Let me tell you, I can¡¯t beat, Wendy and I won¡¯t kidnap people for you.¡±

    She knew quite a bit, even the kidnapping of the students on Earth. Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. This young girl had clearly looked into him, which was obvious; anyone capable of bing a captain wouldn¡¯t be easy to fool, and he couldn¡¯t just treat her as a little girl. He smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re my guest, of course I should treat you well. Besides, didn¡¯t you say we¡¯re friends now? Friends don¡¯t always have to give something in return.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do, I don¡¯t like owing people¡­¡± Peach helf the snack tightly and thought about it while biting her finger, eyes suddenly lighting up, ¡°Oh right, do you have any battle techniques you want to learn? I can teach you.¡±

    Lu Yin was about to reject her offer but suddenly thought of something, ¡°Was that a movement technique that you used just now? It was really fast.¡±

    Peach said proudly, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the movement technique of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons: sh.¡±

    ¡°Of the Thirteen Squadrons?¡±

    ¡°Mm. The Thirteen Squadrons, Yu Academy, and the royal family all have their own battle techniques that His Imperial Majesty brought back from the Innerverse. sh is a movement technique unique to us, and it can unleash such great speed that it constricts space itself. Do you want to learn it?¡±

    ¡°Huh? If it¡¯s restricted to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, am I even allowed to learn it?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Peach nodded, ¡°You can, you¡¯re one of us as well.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Lu Yin pointed at himself. Since when did he join the Thirteen Squadrons? Wasn¡¯t he part of Yu Academy?

    Sheughed, ¡°The Yushan and Zishan Families are both parts of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons by right. You should be a part of the First Squadron, but I¡¯m unsure of the details. Regardless, you¡¯re definitely qualified to learn sh; do you want to?¡±

    ¡°If it won¡¯t put you in a rough spot, of course.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t. Come, I¡¯ll teach you,¡± she grinned and grabbed his arm, the two blinking a few meters away in an instant, ¡°Pay attention to theplex workings.¡±

    Bronsen left the room once Lu Yin started learning the sh. He already knew the technique, but everyone had a different understanding of it and he wouldn¡¯t watch Lu Yin learn. Bai Xue looked at Lu Yin enviously, she still hadn¡¯t managed to learn this herself yet.

    Peach was very fast, and the sh required arge amount of strength in the legs just like the Roving Step. Fortunately, Lu Yin already knew the Roving Step and could use that as a foundation; coupled with his experience of the movement technique of the Daynight n, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to learn the sh. Despite that, he still took almost two hours to barely use the skill.

    ¡°You really are a genius, most people need at least two months to learn the technique, and that¡¯s considering that it¡¯s for the elites of the Thirteen Squadrons, of the entire Great Yu Empire. You¡¯re so much better.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Peach.¡± Lu Yin exhaled and grinned excitedly. He had Cosmic Palm, Daynight Punch and Skybeast w as attack skills, the Cosmic Art for defense, and onlycked extreme speed so far. sh would make up for this gap.

 Chapter 92: Bazeer

    <h4>Chapter 92: Bazeer</h4>

    Peach generously waved her hands, "No need to be formal. Remember that I''ve only taught you how to use the sh. The degree to which you master it depends on your understanding of it, just like any other battle technique."

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding.

    Peach licked her lips, "Then I''m going to enjoy the ice lobster, see youter!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t even notice how she disappeared, left wondering where she ranked amongst the Thirteen Squadrons. Practicing the technique himself a couple times, he looked at Bai Xue, ¡°How¡¯s life in the Sixth?¡±

    ¡°Not bad, the Captain is nice to me.¡±

    ¡°How about the rest?¡±

    Bai Xue thought about it, ¡°Zhang Dingtian is having a tough time in the fifth and climbing up from the bottom. Seruzen and the Eleventh Captain are still just looking at each other motionlessly. I don¡¯t know about Xu San.¡±

    He noticed that she looked a little haggard, ¡°Your innate gift is very good, so try to pick a battle technique suitable to you.¡±

    Bai Xue simply nodded without saying anything.

    Whenever someone entered a new environment, they would need to adapt. Lu Yin viewed Bai Xue and the rest like buried gold; they would shine in the light one day. How brightly they shone depended on how much they could polish themselves.

    Not long after, Peach left with Bai Xue in tow. Her face was one of pure pleasure, and she looked expectantly at Lu Yin before she left; her desires were evident in her gaze.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, there was only a one in six chance of rolling Pilfer on the die, and there was an infinitely minuscule chance for Pilfer to steal some snacks. He did not dare promise her anything.

    However, it did remind him that it was time to roll again, and he opened his palm and crushed a star crystal. The die regained its hazy starlight and he breathed in deeply; every roll left him nervous. He still didn¡¯t know anything about what three was, and six consumed a terrifying amount of star energy. He was now afraid of even rolling thetter, but at the same time, held massive expectations for what it would do. Dozens of cubes of star crystals had barely opened a small gap, but today, he carried around 200. That had to be enough!

    Still in thought, he flicked the die with a finger and it started spinning quickly, stopping on Pilfer. A soft thump rang out as a ck crystal cardnded from the vortex. Lu Yin was delighted and picked it up thinking it was a battle technique, but disappointingly enough, it was a Mavis Bank card instead. These sorts of things were normally authenticated gically, and the words Yao Gu were written into this one¡¯s top right corner. Yao Gu¡­ Was that a name? He was puzzled but didn¡¯t bother. The card certainly wasn¡¯t simple, and he¡¯d never heard of ck Mavis cards, but the highest rank ought to be golden. Real or fake, this card was pretty much useless to him.

    Putting the card away, Lu Yin crushed another cube of star crystals and tapped on the die. He watched it spin and slowlye to a stop at four: Timestop. The next moment, he entered the ashen Timestop domain.

    ¡°Not bad, I can practice,¡± he muttered to himself, crouching down and gathering star energy in his calves. His body zoomed forth in the next moment; the sh would make up for his one weakness in speed.

    Two dayster, he was panting heavily and massaging his legs. His current speed far surpassed the Roving Step, but there was still a ratherrge gap between himself and Lulu. Training in this ce wasn¡¯t that great; he needed a gravity room. Thinking of that, he pondered over the Timestop domain for a moment. If this ce could stop time, could it also alter gravity? He retrieved a cube of star crystals and crushed it, focusing on the gravity. The next moment, the energy vanished and his body felt slightly heavier. Gravity had doubled.

    Lu Yin grew excited. Of course it was possible, this room was imagined after all. He could create anything he wanted, but he needed to pay with star energy. This seemed great at first, but one cube of star crystals only increased the gravity 1x. Getting to 40x would need as many star crystals; if not for the bribes, he had no idea when he would be able to collect it all. Gritting his teeth, he crushed forty star crystals and an immense pressure descended upon the area. This was the familiar feeling of forty times gravity.

    But now that he¡¯d used forty cubes of star crystals to create this ce, he couldn¡¯t just leave it in a day. He steeled his heart and crushed another ny cubes, increasing the time by five days to a total of six. This was enough time to practice the sh to some degree.

    Who could be as extravagant as him, spending over a hundred cubes of star crystals to develop a battle technique? Lu Yin was secretly distressed, but his actions were not slow as he began to dash about in the room under forty times gravity, recalling the speed Lulu had disyed and trying to integrate that as well. However, he immediately crashed into the ground with swollen calves; he had been too impatient, trying to integrate other techniques before he even understood the one he was trying to learn properly. Fortunately, the injury wasn¡¯t too serious, and after applying some ointment, he got back up in no time.

    ¡­..

    A mere second had passed for others, but Lu Yin had been training endlessly for eight days, most of that time under 40x gravity. He fell asleep almost immediately when he exited the Timestop domain.

    It was two dayster that the representatives from the Outerverse Youth Council arrived, many courtiers of the Great Yu Empire awestruck at their silver spacecraft that was descending from the distance. The Outerverse Youth Council was a subsidiary of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council; if the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council gathered the strongest young geniuses across the universe, the Outerverse did so for the Outerverse alone. Only geniuses with innate gifts or some of the absolute strongest could join, and even the strongest youth in the Great Yu Empire, Schutz, didn¡¯t qualify to even maintain contact with them. That showed the terror of the beasts that this organization gathered; only a famous powerhouse like Wendy could join them.

    Many from the Empire were curious as to who would be representing the Outerverse Youth Council. Crown Prince Dorren Yushan had even been waiting outside the space station for a long time, showing just how much respect the Great Yu Empire had for the Outerverse Youth Council.

    A dozen people walked out of the spacecraft, led by a three-meter-tall, hulking man with a rather mature exterior; this was Bazeer. Beside Bazeer was the pale-looking Ghostfire, and on the other side were several Limiteers who were all quite young. Dorren¡¯s expression grew heavier as the man approached; anyone who could join a Youth Council was generally under 40 years of age across most races, but this man looked to have Explorer-level strength. This was the grandeur of the Outerverse Youth Council, the level of a genius. He himself had been well over 40 when he became an Explorer.

    ¡°I am Representative Bazeer of the Outerverse Youth Council,¡± therge man announced as he walked over to Dorren.

    The Crown Prince smiled, ¡°Wee to the Great Yu Empire, Representative Bazeer. His Imperial Majesty is awaiting you in the royal court.¡±

    Bazeer nodded, ¡°Please.¡±

    Dorren Yushan gestured, ¡°Please.¡±

    Not long after, Bazeer and the rest arrived at the royal court. This was a special day, as all the courtiers were present, and even Lu Yin was summoned alongside some other idle members of the royal family. The only ones not present were the Thirteen Captains, showing how much The Undying Yushan valued the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Bazeer brought Ghostfire and two Limiteers into the royal court, politely paying his respects to the Emperor instead of saluting. And yet, no one minded; the other side wasn¡¯t a citizen of the Great Yu Empire or even the Frostwave Weave, and also had extremely high status. The formalities were only out of respect for Wendy.

    Bazeer had received orders to rece Wendy Yushan to supervise the Great Yu Empire¡¯s training and education of the younger generation, and naturally wanted to meet the empire¡¯s most famous elites from Yu Academy. Not long after, everyone moved to the school grounds, where hundreds of Yu Academy students had already been waiting for a long time. Only the five Hall Masters were not present. The Undying Yushan appeared quite tired, and had Dorren entertain the Explorer youth while he left for rest. Without the Emperor keeping watch, many people rxed.

 Chapter 93: A Unique Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 93: A Unique Innate Gift</h4>

    Bazeer turned to Crown Prince Dorren, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve heard about the legendary Undying Duo of the Frostwave Weave since my youth; I heard His Imperial Majesty climbed his way into the top 20 of the Astral Combat Ranking, even. That is quite admirable.¡±

    Dorren smiled, ¡°This is old news, the one that has reced His Imperial Majesty and stormed into the Innerverse is Wendy. She should be doing okay in the Council, right?¡±

    Bazeer smiled as well, ¡°My apologies, I cannot discuss Councillor Wendy as I wish.¡±

    Dorren waved it off, but a croaky voice sounded from one of the Limiteers by Bazeer¡¯s side, ¡°These are the elites of your Great Yu Empire? They¡¯re a little too weak.¡±

    Dorren¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but he nced past Bazeer to look at the crowd from Yu Academy. Bazeer growled, ¡°Shut up, our Council is only responsible for examination, not training.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± the Limiteer acknowledged.

    Standing beside the courtiers, Lu Yin looked at the crowd from Yu Academy. There were many faces like Raas and Munoor, but Zhang Dingtian and the rest were not around.

    ¡°The heavy man seems strong,¡± Peach popped out from nowhere.

    Lu Yin jumped in fright, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°To take a look. I heard some incredible people areing.¡±

    Lu Yin felt curious, ¡°Didn¡¯t His Imperial Majesty inform you guys?¡±

    She shook her head, ¡°Nope.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he remained silent.

    On the other side, Bazeer was curious, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve heard there are five hall masters of Yu Academy; why are they not here?¡±

    Dorren felt awkward, ¡°The Hall Masters will be here soon; please wait a little longer.¡±

    A chill swept across Bazeer¡¯s eyes and he nodded, looking over his surroundings only to stop at Peach. That girl gave him an acute sense of danger; she was obviously a brat, but why did he feel so afraid? Even the Crown Prince, who was a Cruiser, didn¡¯t give off such a sense of danger. ¡°Your Highness, may I know who that girl is?¡±

    Dorren followed his gaze and replied, ¡°She¡¯s the Sixth Captain of our Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Her name is Peach.¡±

    ¡°Rumors say the Thirteen Captains are all absolute powerhouses; why are they not at the royal court?¡± Bazeer¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t pleasant.

    Dorren smiled, ¡°The Thirteen Squadrons are exempt from court matters, they aren¡¯t from the younger generation anyway. Captain Peach may look young, but rest assured that she¡¯s actually over a hundred years old.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that,¡± Bazeer rxed upon hearing she was over a hundred. It was too strange for a little girl to be so strong.

    Five figures appeared at the entrance at this point, with the stern Schutz naturally in the lead. His upper body was bare save for the red warde he carried.

    Bazeer and his gang had initially been dismissive of Yu Academy¡¯s elites, but now they felt like things could be interesting. Although these were just Melders, they gave off a sense that they could battle the average Outerverse Limiteer.

    Dorren Yushan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw their arrival. Although Yu Academy was student-run, it had a unique position in the Great Yu Empire just like the Youth Council. These students had high independence, a trend seen across the universe in recent years. No one dared belittle these students, and even he didn¡¯t have any way to interfere with the Academy significantly. The discovery of formcast models had brought about the inevitable authority of the younger generation. They could mature far too quickly using those, so much so that they soon held their own against older generations. The appearance of the Ten Arbiters was the most obvious example, but more and more terrifying young powerhouses had been born in the past few generations for whatever reason.

    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Schutz greeted Dorren with a low tone, but his gaze was locked onto Bazeer.

    Dorren smiled, ¡°These are members of the Outerverse Youth Council, here to supervise the Empire¡¯s younger generation.¡±

    Schutz, Gerbach, and the rest looked at Bazeer with shocked gazes. This youth was at most ten years older than them and still a part of their generation, but he was an Explorer who gave off a pressure that made it hard to breathe. On the other hand, Bazeer looked over and evaluated them as decent Melders, but that was about it.

    ¡°No wonder Councillor Wendy is unwilling to reorganize the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Youth Council, and instead had Representative Bazeere in her stead. There are no talents here,¡± Ghostfire spoke for the first time, provocative from his first words.

    An ugly expression covered everyone from the Great Yu Empire immediately, including Dorren Yushan. Wendy Yushan was appointed to reorganize the Empire¡¯s Youth Council, but these people could still bluntly remark that there were no talents. This was a shame to everyone, and Bazeer didn¡¯t even need to stop him because it was fact.

    Schutz red at Ghostfire, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    A sneer extended across Ghostfire¡¯s pale face, ¡°Ghostfire, a subordinate member of the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    Schutz was shocked, and the others were astonished as well. This Ghostfire was just a Sentinel, but had joined the Outerverse Youth Council? It was indeed terrifying, as Schutz, who was the strongest in the Great Yu Empire youth generation, could not even qualify. It did not mean that Schutz was not Ghostfire¡¯s opponent, but this person was certain to have a frightening innate gift.

    ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t believe me? I can y around with you Melders, no need to suppress your realms,¡± Ghostfire said arrogantly. Dorren¡¯s gaze immediately shot to Bazeer, but the Explorer did nothing to stop his subordinate.

    ¡°Such powerful words. Since that is so, I¡¯ll represent Yu Academy to battle you,¡± Tianming walked out with a solemn face.

    Schutz said with a calm tone, ¡°Suppress your realm.¡±

    ¡°I said that¡¯s not necessary. One¡¯s realm is a part of their power. Do all your battles here happen at the same level? No one outside will care about this fairness,¡± Ghostfire continued to belittle them.

    In the distance, Lu Yin was amazed. He had seen Tianming¡¯s power out of the five Hall Masters,

    and he was no match with his power. The Yu Academy Hall Masters were at the absolute peak of the Melder realm, and Ghostfire was challenging them as a Sentinel. It would be frightening if he won.

    Everyone dispersed, and Tianming looked seriously at Ghostfire. If he dared to make this challenge, he¡¯d have made preparations. Bazeer was no idiot either, and wouldn¡¯t agree to this fight without confidence. But what could that confidence be based on? This was just a Sentinel.

    ¡°You can attack,¡± Tianming said.

    Ghostfire sneered and raised his hand, a ball of ck mes floating in the air. The crowd was shocked as they recognized the innate gift of the ck ze. The corners of Bazeer¡¯s lips lifted, and he looked at Ghostfire with approval. This innate gift was why a mere Sentinel could join them.

    Woosh! The ck mes formed a chain that was flung towards Tianming, burning and distorting air as it passed. Tianming did not meet it rashly, raising his hand to start with the twentieth form of the Skybeast w. A bestial howl rang through the void as the attack swept past the fiery chains and mmed into the ground, filling the air with dust and blinding the audience. When it all settled, all they could see was a stupefied Tianming staring at his unharmed opponent.

    Opposite him, Ghostfire swung his ck chain forward once more, shaking the ground and trying to seal him off from all directions. Tianming sped ahead quickly and struck out, ¡°Triple Stack!¡±

    Three consecutive explosions rang out, oveying to form an attack whose aftershocks forced the elites of Yu Academy back. They were overwhelmed with awe as they looked at the battlefield; this was Tianming¡¯s power, the power of an individual that could suppress all of Yu Academy. It was a pity that the Ghostfire who should have been crushed emerged unharmed, standing in his original spot and returning an arrogant re as the chain of mes continued to burn.

    Everyone was shocked that Hall Master Tianming couldn¡¯t even harm a Sentinel.

    Dorren¡¯s gaze narrowed, ¡°An exchange of corporeal and incorporeal; his innate gift allows him to change his body to a constitution immune to physical attacks. Isn¡¯t that right, Representative?¡±

    ¡°No wonder you are the Crown Prince. Yes, Ghostfire¡¯s mes are called the Void ze and can allow him to burn his own body into nothingness and reorganize it afterward. Although he can¡¯t maintain that state for long, it is enough to avoid physical attacks.¡±

    ¡°Such a good innate gift, no wonder he can join the Outerverse Youth Council as a Sentinel. He must be peerless with this innate gift,¡± Dorren was stunned.

    On the other end, Peach was giving a simr exnation, ¡°A few powerful cultivators are terrifying solely due to their innate gifts. They can change true and false, rece the stars and moons at will, or even cause natural disasters. This Ghostfire is far from that level, but the unique nature of his innate gift ensures he has no limits in the future. The universe is a mystery with all sorts of people.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted and thought of a person that changing true and false reminded him of. But that person didn¡¯t rely on any unique nature of their innate gift, just exploiting it to a terrifying degree. Ghostfire was still far from that, but it was hard for any Sentinel to defeat him. It was no wonder that he dared to challenge a hall master of Yu Academy, his innate gift made him virtually invincible.

 Chapter 94: Lu Yinâ€™s Strategy

    <h4>Chapter 94: Lu Yin¡¯s Strategy</h4>

    Stood at the center, Tianming calmly stared at Ghostfire, who spoke haughtily, ¡°What now? Are you going to admit defeat?¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I cannot defeat you, but your attacks aren¡¯t powerful enough to hurt me, either,¡± he answered somewhat helplessly.

    Ghostfire¡¯s expression turned gloomy. Those words were the truth; strong as it may be, his innate gift only granted him invincibility, victory was still out of reach.

    ¡°It is alright, Ghostfire, fighting to a draw with a Hall Master of Yu Academy is no mean feat,¡± Bazeer said loudly.

    Ghostfire wasn¡¯t done yet, ¡°Representative Bazeer, I heard that there was a powerful cultivator of the Sentinel realm in the Great Yu Empire, a realmbreaker even. I would like to fight with him to learn a thing or two.¡±

    Everyone was shocked to hear this, and many people subconsciously looked in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. Dorren¡¯s gaze changed, and he shot a nce at Lu Yin before turning to Bazeer, ¡°Representative, you must be tired after the long journey. His Imperial Majesty ordered me to prepare a banquet for you; please enjoy.¡±

    Bazeer smiled faintly, ¡°You are too kind, Your Highness, but there is no rush. I heard King Zishan was unbeatable in the Sentinel realm; why not have a friendlypetition with Ghostfire? He should learn how to be unbeatable as well.¡±

    Pride oozed from Ghostfire¡¯s expression as he beamed at Lu Yin so provocatively that Peach bared her teeth, ¡°This guy is trouble, don¡¯t respond to his challenge.¡±

    There was a twinkle in Lu Yin¡¯s eye. These people were trying to provoke him even if they hadn¡¯t crossed paths in the past, and there was only one possible reason: Wendy. News of his intent to marry her had leaked out; The Undying Yushan was apt at making trouble for him.

    And yet, he stepped forth before Dorren could decline on his behalf. Whatever it was, the honorable response to provocation at one¡¯s doorstep was to ept the challenge regardless of the oue. The alternative would be an act of cowardice.

    Schutz and the rest looked at Lu Yin full of contemtion, and Tianming advised softly, ¡°Careful to avoid his attacks, he only knows one move. Don¡¯t face him head-on.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and came face-to-face with Ghostfire, ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin, King Zishan. You said you want to learn how to be an unbeatable Sentinel? I¡¯ll be happy to teach you at no cost.¡±

    The sides of Ghostfire¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°Alright then, please teach me.¡± With that, the ck mes in his hands turned into chains that floated mid-air, heading straight towards Lu Yin. The scorching heat was apanied by formless energy that Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare get close to; he quickly dodged, and the ground split open as sparks flew everywhere.

    Lu Yin thrust his palm out, the Spacerender Palmpressing the air around it and heading viciously towards Ghostfire. However, the opponent strangely chose not to evade, instead thrusting his own palm forward and smashing the attack into bits. Bazeer scoffed; the reason Ghostfire could gain membership into the Outerverse Youth Council wasn¡¯t just his innate gift. Even without that, his abilities were not to be underestimated; the gift only allowed him to take on even strongerpetitors.

    Ghostfire¡¯s power came as a surprise; it seemed like the single attack used against Tianming was a smokescreen all designed for this battle. The ck mes grew in size as they danced in the air, and heughed, ¡°Is this a so-called unbeatable Sentinel¡¯s ability? How disappointing.¡±

    Unbothered by thement, Lu Yin used the Roving Step to evade. The mes enveloped an evenrger area and started to constrain his movements, leaving many worried as they watched. If he were defeated, the Great Yu Empire would turn into aughing stock.

    Amongst the elites of Yu Academy, Raas scoffed. He did not care about any reputation; he just wanted Lu Yin to be defeated. The more humiliating the defeat, the better. Gerbach looked on in astonishment, staring hard at Lu Yin. At his side, Schutzmented gloomily, ¡°Is this all he¡¯s capable of? You lost to someone of this caliber?¡±

    ¡°Just keep watching,¡± Gerbach went silent.

    As he saw his surroundings being engulfed by ck mes, with the area around him already obstructed, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. His thigh muscles twitched as he disappeared instantly, shing right in front of Ghostfire before his silhouette could even disappear from his original location. Everyone was shocked, with even Bazeer seeming astonished. Such speed was something only a minority of Sentinels could manage. It was little wonder he was considered unbeatable, but shame that he was up against the invincible Ghostfire.

    Schutz, Gerbach, and the rest in their party looked at one another in awe; Lu Yin had somehow mastered the sh since they¡¯dst met. Dorren Yushan¡¯s eyes lit up; this technique was something he was all too familiar with. Meanwhile, Peach gripped her fists tightly and cheered on.

    Ghostfire paid no attention to this, ¡°Do you think you can evade forever? Look up; there is nowhere to run.¡±

    After he finished speaking, the ck mes that pervaded the sky violently crashed down. It was like a dark cloud descending over the school, and everyone backed off. Lu Yin again put the sh to good use, but he did not attempt to evade. Instead, he faced the ck mes head-on and birthed a cold wind around his body as he encased himself in ice and shot into the fire. It wasmon sense to fight fire with ice, and he still had the innate gift of Frost that he¡¯d taken from Bai Xue. Even though he wasn¡¯t familiar enough with it to use it well, it was good enough as a temporary defensive measure.

    Ghostfire did not know where Lu Yin was, but Bazeer and the rest could see him clearly. They were especially shocked to see Lu Yin¡¯s entire body covered in ice, and even Dorren was taken aback. He recalled that Sigmund Mathers had reported some sort of die-rted innate gift; why was it Frost now?

    Ordinary ice would not stop the ck mes, but it allowed Lu Yin to get through and appear above the school. His figure flickered beside a huge bell and kicked out, starting it buzzing as it crashed right down. Blinded by his own mes, Ghostfire had been confident that Lu Yin could not harm him. It was only after the bellnded that he realized something was wrong, dispersing the mes and realizing that he was trapped. He started wailing into the wall, but couldn¡¯t get out no matter how hard he tried.

    The school bell was made with exceptional materials designed to defend against Limiteer attacks, and the ground got harder the deeper one went. A Sentinel would likely need at least three hours to escape. Everyone watched in stunned silence; was this even allowed? A loud rumbling came out from therge bell as Ghostfire struggled to escape, but his attempts were futile. Lu Yinnded on it and knocked against it leisurely, ¡°Not bad; it¡¯s quite hard.¡±

    ¡°You cheater, this is cheating!¡± A Limiteer beside Bazeer cried out angrily.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the ones who said there¡¯s no need for fairness in battle?¡± Lu Yin stated in mock astonishment, ¡°What is this cheating you speak of?¡±

    ¡°Insolence!¡± the Limiteer raged.

    Bazeer stretched out a hand to stop his subordinate, ¡°Indeed, anything goes in battle. Since he was the one who challenged you, we wholeheartedly ept our loss. It isn¡¯t like the Youth Council cannot take losses graciously.¡±

    Dorren spoke out, ¡°Representative Bazeer, this is just a friendly contest. There is no need to determine a winner and loser. In any event, Ghostfire did not lose; he would make it out in three hours at most.¡±

    Bazeer said solemnly, ¡°Even if he makes it out, King Zishan is too fast for him to catch up to.¡±

    ¡°But His Majesty is unable to defeat Ghostfire as well, can we count this as a draw?¡± Dorren smiled.

    Bazeer did not acknowledge the question at all, only taking a good look at Lu Yin. His brows knitted as he heard the bell chime, a wave of his hand cracking the school grounds open exactly below the bell. Everyone felt a strong wind strike their faces with the sharpness of a knife, showcasing his might.

    Ghostfire rushed out from the underground and red at Lu Yin, ¡°How despicable! You should fight me in the open if you¡¯re really that good, ying dirty tricks just shows us what kind of cowardly antics those in the Great Yu Empire employ in battle.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him, amused, ¡°Battles are dynamic. They¡¯re not just about power, but also strategy and intellect. I did tell you I¡¯d give you a free lesson.¡±

    Ghostfire was seething with anger, his already-pale face now even paler. However, Bazeer raged, ¡°Ghostfire,e back!¡±

    He greeted his teeth, ¡°Representative Bazeer, let me fight another round.¡±

    ¡°I told you toe back!¡± Bazeer thundered, his figure instantly transforming into that of a bear whose roar pierced the sky. The clouds dispersed, and space itself grew unstable as everyone felt goosebumps forming on their skin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he felt an immense sense of pressure, far higher than what Sigmund had exerted on him on Earth. Ghostfire¡¯s expression changed in an instant and heplied immediately, not daring to make another rebuttal.

    Bazeer suppressed his anger and turned to Prince Dorren, ¡°Your Highness, sorry for making a mockery of ourselves. We will take our leave now; we are hungry and would like to try the delicious food the Great Yu Empire has to offer.¡±

    Dorrenughed and gestured his willingness. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief as they left, finally unburdened from the pressure of the Outerverse Youth Council. A mere Sentinel could do that to a hall master; if not for Lu Yin salvaging the situation, the Great Yu Empire would have be theughing stock of the universe.

 Chapter 95: Three Stacks

    <h4>Chapter 95: Three Stacks</h4>

    ¡°Good job, bud,¡± Peach appeared by Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim, ¡°Do you know who Bazeer is? He doesn¡¯t seem all that old, looks to be the same generation as me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Peach shook her head, but her gaze swept across the courtiers, and she picked one and pointed at him, ¡°You, get over here.¡±

    The middle-aged man walked over to Peach timidly, ¡°Captain Peach, Your Majesty, is there anything I can do for you?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Bazeer?¡±

    Schutz, Gerbach, and Tianming arrived at this time and looked at the minister who answered respectfully, ¡°He is from the Helm Weave, with status just below the five Councillors of the Outerverse Youth Council. People call him the Raging Bear because his innate gift is the Ursal Stareater.¡±

    ¡°Ursal Stareater?¡± Is it a biological innate gift?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°Yes. They are a type of astral beast, and legends say that the greatest of them can swallow entire stars. Bazeer is an Explorer, but he has defeated Cruisers before.¡±

    Lu Yin turned solemn. No wonder he was so scary, even most of the Thirteen Captains were only Cruisers. This person was indeed mighty.

    ¡°Alright, if there¡¯s nothing else, you can leave,¡± Peach waved her hand.

    The courtier was relieved and left immediately.

    Peach patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, the universe is so big that there are bound to be some crazy geniuses. You¡¯re already very powerful; at the very least, Ghostfire can¡¯t beat you, and he¡¯s someone even Tianming can¡¯t defeat.¡±

    Standing next to him, Tianming was stunned, ¡°Captain Peach, can you not use me as an example?¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong? Who couldn¡¯t defeat him just now?¡± Peach nced at him.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Although we¡¯re in the same generation, he¡¯s over thirty while I¡¯m not even twenty years old yet. I have lots of time to catch up with him; I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll be stronger than him when I reach his age.¡±

    Peach grinned, ¡°You¡¯re right. All the best, I¡¯ll be off!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and watched Peach leave.

    ¡°Lu Yin, when did you be so close to Captain Peach?¡± Gerbach asked curiously.

    Lu Yin justughed and looked at Schutz, who also looked back at him and nodded, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee, I was doing it for myself, too,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Schutz said slowly, ¡°I originally nned to challenge them, but Ghostfire almost turned us into a joke. You saved our reputation, Your Majesty; I agree to you learning the first twenty forms of the Skybeast w.¡±

    Lu Yin was ted, ¡°Really? That¡¯s great.¡±

    Schutz nodded and left without mentioning anything about his battle with Lu Yin. It seemed like Ghostfire¡¯s words had left an impact on him. Why must people suppress their realms when they battle? One¡¯s realm was also a form of their power, this wasn¡¯t wrong, but Lu Yin definitely wouldn¡¯t be his match if they fought at full strength.

    Gerbach and Tianming left soon after, telling Lu Yin to head to one of the halls to learn the Skybeast w. The first twenty forms were avable at the Academy; only the rest had to be learned elsewhere. Not needed at the banquet, he had Bronsen apany him and set off. The first twenty forms would give it power on par with the 5-star Cosmic Palm, which he didn¡¯t want to reveal.

    The hall closest to the school grounds was the formcasting pool, which was Tianming¡¯s domain. Lu Yin headed there directly and arrived just before Tianming, who brought him to a stone wall, ¡°The first twenty forms aren¡¯t a secret, but less than fifty people in Yu Academy have managed to learn all of them. With your talent, though, you can probably pick it up very quickly.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the w mark on the stone wall and quickly immersed himself in learning. Not wanting to disturb him, Tianming left. The Cosmic Art quickly revealed every little change in the w mark on the wall; since he¡¯d already learned the first fifteen moves, the next five didn¡¯t take much time.

    When he walked out only half an hourter, Tianming stared at him in shock, ¡°You¡¯re done learning it?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Barely.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m getting jealous of you. Your talent at this is far beyond everyone else; even Logan took much longer to learn the first twenty forms.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dwell much on this topic, ¡°Hall Master Tianming, I remember that you used a special battle technique during your battle with Ghostfire, I think it¡¯s called the Three Stacks?¡±

    Tianming smiled, ¡°That¡¯s right. Why, are you interested?¡±

    ¡°Can I have a look?¡± Lu Yin grew excited.

    Tianming nodded, ¡°Actually, the Three Stacks came from the Grandtop Weave. There¡¯s an ancient and powerful technique there called the Nine Stacks. I spent some time there before and managed to get to three.¡±

    He then directed his palm towards the sky, the same power erupting thrice and getting stronger with each go. The power of the third burst was more than double that of the first, simr to the Cosmic Palm. Both were stacked attacks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°I¡¯d like to try taking it on.¡±

    ¡°Sure, be careful,¡± Tianming nodded, directing his palm forward. Lu Yin lifted his own hand to meet Tianming¡¯s attack, three stars flickering in his palm. A soft bang was all that urred; Tianming hadn¡¯t used much force behind the attack as he was only showcasing it, while Lu Yin didn¡¯t set off his stars, either. The silent usage of the Cosmic Art revealed the changes in the attack clearly, but Lu Yin was still sted backward by the third bang.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Tianming asked.

    Lu Yin swung his numb right palm and praised, ¡°What an ingenious method of using strength.¡±

    ¡°Have you learned it?¡± Tianming smiled.

    Lu Yin was astonished and replied awkwardly, ¡°A little.¡±

    Tianming said casually, ¡°I heard that King Zishan can learn battle techniques from someone by watching them in battle. You don¡¯t have to worry; this is your skill, and it¡¯s survival of the fittest in this universe. Although it seems like we are civilized now, the world is much crueler than in the past. Regardless, you shouldn¡¯t try to learn battle techniques from powerful ancient ns. It is hard enough to learn as they require certain conditions, but those ns also don¡¯t allow outsiders to learn their techniques and will take offense.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°Thank you for your advice, Hall Master. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Tianming watched Lu Yin leave.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin immediately started training once he reached the King Zishan Manor, experiencing the power of Three Stacks. He only managed to understand it after an hour, and was once again amazed by how formidable the Cosmic Art was. It could clearly show every change in the opponent''s battle technique, and this was only the introductory volume. What about the full Cosmic Art? Would that help him learn battle techniques of powerful ns? That would be far too scary, how powerful was the force that controlled this technique?

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t arrogant, and he knew that there were way too many geniuses in the universe. He was sure that someone had learned the full Cosmic Art and that person would be unimaginably powerful; meanwhile, he had only just started.

    Within the depths of the universe was a vast continent with arge city in the sky. This was the headquarters of the Outerverse Youth Council. Nine moons that radiated a silver glow hung in the sky, resembling an infinite river that connected the city to the maind.

    At the edge of the sky city, a beautiful young girl was looking down on thend below. She was dressed in a form-fitting white jacket with golden trim, holding a two-meter-long sword with a silver sheath. Her straight ck hair went all the way down to her waist, and her calm, elegant aura wasplemented by a peaceful gaze that held a hint of sharpness. She was like a sheathed sword herself; covered, yet still piercing.

    The young girl looked at the scene below her quietly, seeing more and more people kneeling before her, but her gaze remained unreadable. A handsome man d in a ck robe walked over slowly from behind her, asking with a warm gaze, ¡°What are you looking at, Wendy?¡±

    ¡°To them, we are gods. But then, who are our gods?¡±

    The man smiled, ¡°No one. We¡¯re the only ones who can take control of our destiny.¡±

    Wendy¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Why did youe to find me?¡±

    ¡°Bazeer reported that King Zishan from your empire has publicly announced his intent to marry you,¡± the man sneered.

    ¡°So what?¡± Wendy didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°What do you want to do? Bazeer is waiting for your orders,¡± the man smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you,¡± Wendy said calmly, turning around to leave.

 Chapter 96: Astral-10 Arrives

    <h4>Chapter 96: Astral-10 Arrives</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know his situation? After all, he defeated Ghostfire,¡± the man asked, but Wendy didn¡¯t even pause in reaction. Ghostfire? That was a nobody. The man watched as she walked out of sight, and his smile gradually vanished. He activated his gadget, ¡°However you will.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Councillor Puyu,¡± Bazeer¡¯s voice rang out.

    Over the next two weeks, Lu Yin didn¡¯t leave the Zishan Residence at all. On one hand, he tried to learn the Three Stacks technique and tried to mix it into his other battle techniques. On the other, he examined the star charts. He rolled his die in this period as well, but he found that it most oftennded on Pilfer or Timestop. He¡¯d never seen the roll of three before, while both six and two had only appeared once and weren¡¯t quite useful. He eventually decided to hold off on the die for a while. He was rapidly running out of star crystals, but more importantly, he wasn¡¯t doing too well mentally due to how often he was rolling. He would replenish his supplies before rolling again.

    Just like that, about two months had passed since Lu Yin¡¯s arrival at the Zenyu Star. It was at this point that news of Astral-10¡¯s arrival shocked the entire Outerverse. The academy that carried the hopes of the younger generation of the Frostwave Weave had arrived.

    There were countless institutions in the universe, but not one was at the level of the Astral Combat Academy. Astral-9 had created many geniuses in the Endless Weave when it arrived, and that sess ensured the entire Outerverse kept up with the news. All 72 Outerverse weaves had been trying to pull another Astral Combat Academy out of the Innerverse for so many years, and Astral-10 had finally shown itself.

    It wasn¡¯t known to the general public where Astral-10 had appeared, nor even how it looked or how to enter it. Only some supreme powerhouses could glean this information, like The Undying Yushan of the Great Yu Empire or the lord of the Fireforge. The Emperor informed the entire nation once he knew, and tasked Jue Lang, Huo Qingshan, and Rocky Auna¡ªthe captains of the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Squadrons respectively¡ªas well as Crown Prince Dorren Yushan to lead the students towards Astral-10.

    Lu Yin had also received notice that he could join the examination. While the trial on Earth was technically a failure, that didn¡¯t stop some with special statuses like him, Jenny, or Lulu from participating. Once everyone was counted, the Great Yu Empire was sending almost a hundred elites. Thousands of participants arrived from across the Frostwave Weave, and many more from the other Outerverse weaves and even the Innerverse. It was anyone¡¯s guess as to how many geniuses had actually gathered to join Astral-10.

    Schutz and the other Hall Masters, as well as Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, Raas, Xia Luo, Lulu¡­ Lu Yin had high expectations as he looked at the namelist. There were many familiar names, but who knew how many people could enter the Tenth Academy. Eh? There was Ghostfire too, this person also followed the Great Yu Empire¡¯s procession.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the seductive Mira, the Red Lotus Witchbow. Only by joining Astral-10 and achieving something for her to be proud of would he be rmended to join the Outerverse Youth Council. He truly did believe she could get him in there; she came from the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council, after all. Home had only asked him to join the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Youth Council; he couldn¡¯t wait to see their jaws drop when he went above and beyond.

    As he was lost in thought, his gadget beeped a notification. He looked down and nced at it, only to be filled with surprise, ¡°Bazeer is inviting me to a banquet?¡±

    Beep! Beep! Beep! Gerbach called him at that moment, and Lu Yin switched on video. The Hall Master asked immediately, ¡°Did Bazeer invite you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°You too?¡±

    ¡°More urately, he invited all students heading for the Astral-10 examination. Are you going?¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. From Ghostfire¡¯s attitude, he knew the Outerverse Youth Council did not like him, perhaps due to something rted to Wendy Yushan. Participating in this banquet now could be inviting trouble for himself.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯d better go. Bazeer is a member of the Outerverse Youth Council, and definitely knows some news about the Astral Combat Academy,¡± Gerbach was serious.

    That was right. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Gerbach nodded and switched his screen off.

    That night, many students gathered in the top-floor ballroom of the Zenyu Star¡¯s Great Yu Hotel. Quite a few of them were from influential families, like Raas, Wukai Mathers, Huo Xiaoling, and Jenny Auna. It was practically full when Lu Yin arrived. The first person he noticed was Schutz, who was far too unconventionalpared to the rest. While the others were all dressed for the asion, he was the same as normal with his bare upper body, as though he was afraid others wouldn¡¯t notice the scars littering his skin. It was in strong contrast to someone like Raas who was dressed like a peacock spreading its tail.

    This was supposedly a banquet, but in reality, it was aworking session for those of the Great Yu Empire. After all, they were headed to Astral-10 for the examination soon, and it would be best if they could help each other. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across Huo Xiaoling and the heirs of other influential families,nding at the corner of the long table where Gerbach was busy tearing through a giant chunk of meat.

    ¡°Why are you here? Go make friends with some people,¡± the man spat out, some minced pork falling out of his mouth and scaring an elegantly-dresseddy who left in disgust. She even tried to clean her hands before she left.

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°Not interested, why is no one looking for you? You¡¯re a hall master of Yu Academy after all, and one of the top experts in the Empire.¡±

    Gerbach sneered, ¡°Not many know me.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°But everyone has heard of your name.¡±

    Bang! Geine appeared from nowhere and red at Lu Yin, ¡°You dare to show up?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, ¡°What? I helped you in the trial, after all.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Geine raged, but then she saw her brother watching and stopped. She¡¯d hidden the fact of her being robbed because she didn¡¯t want the humiliation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved and he stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, ¡°Eat up, you might not get to eat much when we reach Astral-10.¡±

    She red at him fiercely, then threw the meat away and left.

    ¡°This brat has no manners,¡± Gerbach was discontent.

    ¡°She¡¯s still young, she should have some temper. She¡¯s still pretty goodpared to some others.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Gerbach did not believe him.

    Lu Yin told him to watch and slowly walked over to Jenny Auna, ¡°Hello, Miss Jenny.¡±

    When she turned around and saw him, her expression grew overcast in an instant. As she snorted and left, Lu Yin turned back and smiled at Gerbach, ¡°See? Your sister¡¯s temper is still pretty decent.¡±

    Gerbach nodded, ¡°Hmm, looks like we raised her well.¡±

    Those who were nearby felt like facepalming and left without a word.

    In the distance, Huo Xiaoling was talking to Huo Zhong, who saw him and nodded with a smile. Lu Yin nodded back in reply; the two of them hadn¡¯t interacted before, and this was enough greeting.

    ¡°Xiaoling, King Zishan is very powerful. You might not be able to beat him even as a Melder,¡± Huo Zhong said earnestly.

    Huo Xiaoling grunted and nced at Lu Yin. Like Jenny Auna, she always remembered the time that Lu Yin had threatened them. But this person¡¯s progress was just too fast; she had seen Lu YIn¡¯s battle with Ghostfire; that sort of speed had left her feeling helpless. Even his battle experience was vaster than hers.

    On the other hand, the opulent Raas was red as a tomato as a youth opposite himmented, ¡°You actually have the guts toe here even after your failure in the trial. If not for your father, you wouldn¡¯t be qualified to be anywhere near here.¡±

    ¡°I beat you once before, Ayker.¡±

    Ayker maintained his tone, ¡°That was in the past. Besides, you failed your trial and shouldn¡¯t qualify for the Astral Combat Academy. Just get lost now so someone more capable can take your ce, haha!¡±

    Raas was enraged, but he could not retort.

    The banquet was a social venue, especially for those that were about to face the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s examination. They had to unite in response to the other powers, and the Huo and Auna Families werepletely surrounded by people. Many also tried to be friendly with the likes of Tianming and Logan, but only a few approached Lu Yin or Gerbach. The former had especially offended too many people, and he was only a Sentinel. There were almost no Sentinels from the Great Yu Empire that would be participating in this examination, and no one bothered with them.

 Chapter 97: Unforgettable

    <h4>Chapter 97: Unforgettable</h4>

    Ding! Everyone looked over as Ghostfire walked out under Bazeer¡¯smand and raised a toast, facing the Great Yu Empire¡¯s elites. A hint of a smile crept onto his pale face as he paused, then spoke with a hoarse voice, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen. This is Brother Bazeer¡¯s first time at the Great Yu Empire, but he is certain he wille into contact with you in the future. There is no need for any wee gifts, and he is willing to share some information about the Astral Combat Academy so that no one would be too lost.¡±

    Everyone grew excited instantly; it had finally begun. One of themon goals at this banquet was to find suitable allies, but even more important was to get information about the Astral Combat Academy; that was crucial for the examination.

    Bazeer walked up and looked at everyone. Strictly speaking, they were all of the same generation, but they were all of no significance to him. He didn¡¯t mind sharing a few hints that only a few elites knew with these nobodies. ¡°The Astral Combat Academy has been passed from generation to generation since ancient times. There are a total of ten individual schools, eight in the Innerverse, and now two in the Outerverse. The Outerverse Youth Council is mostlyprised of those from Astral-9, so we might not understand the other academies very well, but do not consider this an academy. The best description is and of struggle; everything you need, you¡¯ll have to fight for yourself. There will be no allocation, nor are there any standard teachers.¡±

    No teachers? Everyone was shocked. Then how would it still be considered an academy?

    Bazeer smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t know about the other academies, but in Astral-9, you have to strive for what you want to learn, perhaps even engage in battle. A price has to be paid for a mentor to instruct you; there are tutors in the Astral Combat Academy, but they decide whether to teach you. So here¡¯s a kind reminder; this is the Astral Combat Academy; even learning is obtained through battle. It is a battlefield where you win the right to study.¡±

    ¡°Representative Bazeer, are the rumors true that the Astral Combat Academy has an ancient trial region?¡± someone asked.

    Bazeer smiled, ¡°Those secrets cannot readily be revealed.¡±

    ¡°Representative Bazeer, do you know why the Tenth Academy has arrived in the Frostwave Weave? Is it a decision by the Ten Arbiters?¡± another questioned.

    Bazeer simrly avoided answering. He knew some information, but these people were not fit to know, as they simply could not enter the Astral Combat Academy. Only the top elites of the universe could enter the Astral Combat Academy, and these people had no means ofpetition.

    Lu Yin noticed the pride and pity in Bazeer¡¯s gaze. It made him very ufortable, but he was powerless to change it. Uninterested in anything else, Gerbach led Geine away. Schutz had already left, but just as he nned to leave, Bazeer suddenly eximed, ¡°Everyone, there is one more piece of news to announce. Your Majesty, one moment.¡±

    Lu Yin turned back, puzzled.

    Bazeer smiled, ¡°Councilor Wendy Yushan has allowed me to announce on her behalf that her engagement with you is canceled with immediate effect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shot wide open, and he clenched his fists as anger immediately surged through him. Everyone was stunned; Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, even the brother and sister who had just reached the door. No one would have thought this could happen, and Bazeer had actually announced this in front of everyone. This was humiliation, utter humiliation!

    A peal of mockingughter rang through the area. Lu Yin was technically a king, but he was also just an idle noble that nobody really cared about. Many had mocked his intent to marry Wendy Yushan before in secret, but now it spilled out into open ridicule.

    Lu Yin red coldly at Bazeer, realizing what had happened. The entire banquet had been for this one moment, a plot targeted at him. Bazeer didn¡¯t want to tell these people anything, he simply wanted to lure them out to make this announcement in front of them. And he was using the name of the Outerverse Youth Council to spread this news throughout the universe. Lu Yin¡¯s intent to wed Wendy Yushan had already been a joke on the Zenyu Star, but now it would be a joke throughout the universe.

    Raas sneered smugly, while a trace of rage shed past the bbergasted Jenny Auna¡¯s eyes. It was Huo Xiaoling¡¯s expression that held a hint of pity and sorrow, while Tianming and the others frowned at this extreme step. This Bazeer wanted Lu Yin to be aughing stock across the universe; unless he could marry Wendy in the future, this would forever be a taint on his name!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Geine walked up to Lu Yin and pulled him.

    Gerbach walked along as well, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I never thought it woulde to this.¡±

    Bazeer smiled, ¡°Apologies, this is an order by Councilor Wendy. Aspensation, I can promise you a reference into the Outerverse Youth Council if you manage to enter Astral-10.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gaze evolved again, as they did not know what to think anymore. This was a venomous statement; even if Lu Yin managed to join the Outerverse Youth Council with his own capabilities in the future, it would also be tagged as this so-calledpensation. Bazeer was truly messing with his future.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot as he was filled with a fury he had only felt a handful of times before. The first time was the extreme suffering from Liu Shaoge, and the second was that heavenly jade finger in his dream. This was the third.

    Gerbach pulled Lu Yin back and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash. He¡¯s an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin red at Bazeer, the iciness in his gaze sending a chill down even the Explorer¡¯s spine. He vaguely felt like he¡¯d done something that he would regret for the rest of his life, but he shook that off and smiled. This was just a Sentinel; so what if his talent surpassed Ghostfire¡¯s? There were too many geniuses in this universe, and this sort of person couldn¡¯t even enter the Astral Combat Academy, let alone threaten him.

    Lu Yin eventually left without a word, under gazes of both ridicule and sympathy. Outside the hotel, Gerbach patted his shoulder, ¡°Sorry, I was the one who told you toe. I never imagined something like this could happen.¡±

    Geine looked at Lu Yin with a hint of concern in her eyes, but he shrugged and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s alright, just a broken engagement. I never wanted to marry her anyway.¡±

    Gerbach sighed, ¡°Brother Lu, the universe is cruel and the powerless always remain weak. Weaklings can¡¯t wield the de of dignity; that was what Wendy Yushan told the five of us. Don¡¯t overthink it until you have the means.¡±

    Lu Yin stood rooted to his spot as Gerbach and Geine left, his heart not nearly as calm as his exterior made it seem. This extreme humiliation was something he would never forget in his life. Bazeer¡­ and Wendy Yushan.

    Not long after, news began to spread throughout the universe. Lu Yin had be a target of ridicule, a toad that wanted to swallow the world.

    ¡­¡­

    Five dayster, a giant spaceship crossed the three rings of the Zenyu Star and entered the boundless darkness of space. It carried the most powerful youths of the Great Yu Empire, as well as the Empire¡¯s expectations for the Astral Combat Academy. Even The Undying Yushan appeared at the space station to send them off; no one knew how many could enter the Astral Combat Academy, but the only hope was to avoid aplete wipeout.

    Bazeer had alsoe to bid farewell, as Ghostfire would be ferried to the trial with the Empire¡¯s participants. He was confident that no Sentinels could defeat this junior of his, not even freaks from the Innerverse. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for him to join the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°Councilor Bazeer, I heard that you threw a banquet a few days ago, how¡¯s the younger generation of my Great Yu Empire?¡± the Emperor asked Bazeer.

    Bazeer smiled, ¡°Not bad, they are enthusiastic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± The Undying Yushan nodded, coughing twice as he ced a hand on Bazeer¡¯s shoulder, ¡°It must have been tough on you, even announcing especially to Little Yin that the engagement is canceled. But those are internal affairs of the Great Yu Empire, not for you to dere.¡±

    The Emperor¡¯s tone grew colder as he spoke, and the hand on Bazeer¡¯s shoulder grew heavier as well. Bazeer hadn¡¯t bothered at first, but couldn¡¯t get rid of that hand no matter what he did. It was like a mountain sitting firmly on his shoulder, leaving him unable to move. A terrifying pressure turned him deathly white, and he ended up spitting out a mouthful of blood. The vague image of an Ursal Stareater only appeared on his body for a moment before it was shattered.

    The Undying Yushan slowly took his hand away and smiled at Bazeer, then slowly left. Bazeer had no strength to resist from start to end. Even though he had used his innate gift, there were no changes whatsoever in the surroundings, not even a crack in the earth.

 Chapter 98: Assessment Road

    <h4>Chapter 98: Assessment Road</h4>

    This was The Undying Yushan¡¯s power, the power of someone in the top twenty of the Astral Combat Ranking in his youth who was now a Hunter. Even though he was heavily injured and didn¡¯t have much longer to live, he was still an unyielding emperor that someone like Bazeer could not defy.

    Bazeer panted, and it took a while for his face to regain color. He gritted his teeth and stared at the Emperor¡¯s back, gaze filled with anger.

    On the spaceship, Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and Lulu Mavis finally reunited; they hadn¡¯t seen each other since they arrived at Zenyu Star.

    ¡°Haha, Lu Yin, I heard that your proposal got rejected, so embarrassing, haha,¡± Luluughed immediately.

    On the other hand, Xia Luo patted his shoulder, ¡°Don¡¯t mind her.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°It¡¯s fine, but why didn¡¯t Bazeer invite you two to the party?¡±

    Lulu rolled her eyes, ¡°Do you think that just anyone has the right to invite me?¡±

    Xia Luo shrugged, ¡°I just arrived two days ago.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Well, I wonder how strict the assessment will be, and whether anyone from the Innerverse will be there,¡± Lu Yin mused while looking at the sky.

    ¡°The Innerverse? There shouldn¡¯t be a lot of people from the Innerverse,¡± Xia Luo said. Seeing the curiosity in Lu Yin¡¯s expression, he turned to Lulu, ¡°You should know that Astral-10 has been driven out.¡±

    Lulu nodded and her smile disappeared, ¡°The Astral Combat Academies are ranked ording to the Interacademy Tournament. Astral-10 has been the worst for a long time; if not for that, they wouldn¡¯t have been sent to the Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Rumour has it that since the news that the old students even left once they learnt of the relocation. So we¡¯re currently registering to join an empty school.¡±

    ¡°But why?¡± Lu Yin asked, ¡°Even if Astral-10 moves to the Frostwave Weave, the trial zones of the Three Realms Six Daos that you mentioned should still be around, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but I am pretty confident that most of the people joining the Astral-10 assessment will be from the Outerverse. The geniuses who can join any Astral Combat Academy would go to the first eight; Astral-10 will join Astral-9 in being predominantly Outerverse,¡± Xia Luo exined.

    ¡°Still, the Astral Combat Academy is very attractive to people from here. You can see it from the Empire itself; most of the young elites from the weaves nearby will definitely attend; this is the only ce where they will get a chance topete with the countless prodigies of the Innerverse. This is their hope that they¡¯ll be able to catch up,¡± Lulu continued.

    ¡°Countless prodigies?¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. The Astral Combat Academy was like a line that connected the young elites of the Outerverse and Innerverse, but how long was that line? He really wanted to see how powerful those geniuses from the Innerverse were.

    Most students retreated into training to prepare for the impending assessment, including Gerbach and the rest. Time passed quickly in istion; the very next day, Lu Yin noticed all sorts of other spaceships joining them on the journey, from one that looked like a coffin to one that resembled a sword. These spaceships were carrying elites from various ces in the Outerverse. To the Innerverse, Astral-10 was a rejected failure. To the Outerverse, it was a lifeline.

    One more day passed, and Lu Yin put down his star charts as the spaceship came to a halt. He looked out the window and saw a vast array of others nearby, all pointing in the same direction. He left his room and headed to the top deck where a bunch of students were already gathered, all looking at the scene in front of them. In the middle of empty space was a vast continent that stretched out endlessly, with an ordered array of small, personal stars that illuminated thend in their fiery hue. He could feel the heat even from the distance, his vision distorted by the high temperatures as though the mes were burning the sky.

    Many of the students were dazed, ¡°What is this?¡±

    Crown Prince Dorren turned around from the helm, saying solemnly, ¡°This is Astral-10¡¯s assessment for Sentinel cultivators. The Academy is at the end of this path; if you fail toplete it, you can either retreat or die.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was grim, this was a path? It was certainly narrow and long, but it was almost as wide as the Earth!

    ¡°Sentinel?¡± Lulu eximed as well, her expression sinking.

    Dorren looked over with a gentle gaze, ¡°Yes, this is the path for Sentinels. There are a total of ten paths leading to Astral-10, three for Sentinels and seven for Melders. All Sentinels are to board their personal pods and set off for the assessment right now.¡±

    ¡°Tch, I should have brought Little Turtle here,¡± she said bitterly.

    Little Turtle? Dorren was stunned, while Lu Yin was left speechless as well. How was that thing little? It was an Explorer!

    Less than twenty Sentinels from the Great Yu Empire were participating in this assessment, and of them, Lu Yin only knew Lulu, Raas, and a few others. He hadn¡¯t interacted with them outside the banquet, and they had no interest in talking with him either.

    ¡°All the best, Brother Lu, see you at Astral-10,¡± Xia Luo waved him off. Gerbach gave him a few words of encouragement as well; Geine had already given up.

    Lu Yin nodded, but at that moment, Ghostfire walked past and threatened him in a low voice, ¡°You better not meet me, I didn¡¯t promise not to let you off.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold in the face of that smirk and he left slowly.

    Dorren Yushan looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back as he left.

    Jenny Auna walked towards Rocky with a slightly pale face, ¡°Uncle, this environment is bad for me.¡±

    Rocky frowned, ¡°The environments are different across the paths.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± she heaved a sigh of relief.

    Rocky said regretfully, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have forced you to break through. With His Majesty¡¯s ability, it is very likely that he would have been able to pass the assessment, and he could have taken you along. No, you¡¯ll have to take the Melder test, and no one can help you with that.¡±

    Jenny gritted her teeth. She was already quite scared as she looked at the road in front of her, and that was only the assessment for Sentinels. She wondered how difficult the Melder assessment would be.

    ¡­¡­

    The assessment had started from the moment this path appeared in the sky, and the Great Yu Empire wasn¡¯t the first to reach it. There were already quite a few Sentinels around, including those from the Fireforge. As the hot suns baked the ground and distorted the air, groups of Sentinel cultivators flew into the distance. Sounds of battle rang out regrly, ented by bestial roars.

    Apart from the adverse environment and enemies, students had to face huge beasts on the path as well. The beasts were all Sentinels, but were certainly one of the biggest challenges the students had to face.

    A group of seven people looked up at the sky from the shadows, ¡°Young Master, the people from the Great Yu Empire are arriving soon.¡±

    Within the group, a young man who was sitting on the ground looked up and sneered, ¡°Good, I want to show them the consequences of insulting us..¡±

    A flurry of thuds rang out as the space pods crashed down onto the path, stirring up a storm of dust. Lu Yin walked out as the door opened, and the first thing he felt was overwhelming heat. The suns were gettingrger towards the ends of the path, and it would only get hotter and hotter with time.

    ¡°Not bad,¡± he leapt up and felt the air and star energy around him, rushing forward into the distance.

    Of the near-twenty Sentinels from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s ship, a fewnded close to the seven people from the Fireforge. The young man finally stood up and leapt into the sky, ¡°Start hunting, don¡¯t leave anyone alive.¡±

    All seven of them split up to chase their targets. The Fireforge was surrounded by mes year-round, and this environment was favorable to them. They were confident that no one could defeat a powerhouse from the Fireforge in an environment with high heat.

    ¡°What a crazy assessment,¡± Ayker kicked open his pod¡¯s door, squinting under the sun¡¯s re to look at his gadget, ¡°My position is slightly off, but only ten kilometers. I should be able to get there.¡±

    He flew westwards to meet up with his group, but a fiery red spear pierced through the skies and flew towards him. A surprised Ayker dodged and the spear brushed past him,nding on a stone wall.

 Chapter 99: One Palm

    <h4>Chapter 99: One Palm</h4>

    ¡°Who is it?!¡± Ayker was furious, and he nced at his gadget to see abat level of 3,000. This opponent was a peak Sentinel, but that meant nothing; nearly everyone capable of participating in the Astral Combat Academy assessment was at this point; the numbers weren¡¯t all that important. Not too far away, he saw a male with reddish skin charging over, arms sparking to form a ming spear as they brushed against each other.

    ¡°Fireforge scum!¡± Ayker screamed and engaged in battle, but it took less than half a minute for him to be struck by the spear. His abdomen was charred by the mes.

    ¡°This is the price that the Great Yu Empire has to pay for humiliating Young Master Feng,¡± the man snickered, pulling the spear out and dropping a lifeless body to the ground.

    This scene repeated in quite a few ces. The people from the Fireforge seemed to know exactly when the Great Yu Empirended, and anyone that descended during this period of time was considered an enemy. The young person who¡¯d been leading the group looked at the body that was gradually getting colder and spat at him, ¡°Yan Zheng will exact vengeance for his older brother.¡±

    Another crash rang out and sent heat waves his way. Yan Zheng nced westward and smirked cruelly, flying off in that direction. A pod had formed a conical pit in the ground only moments earlier, and a youth opened the hatch and disembarked. Yan Zheng saw this new target and rubbed his hands together without second thought, thrusting a ming spear at the young man.

    The person in question looked up, his eyes glinting. ¡°Deste Palm!¡± His palm turned an earthen color and smashed into the spear, sending shockwaves in all directions as the spear cracked inch by inch. Yan Zheng was shocked and his pupils shrank as he felt a sharp pain in his chest; the youth had sent him flying with one move.

    The opponent didn¡¯t even look at the result as he flew off, leaving Yan Zheng to spit out a second mouthful of blood as he crashed into a cliff. He nearly died from that one attack, barely able to speak amid all the coughing, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not dead yet?¡± The youth was surprised, but didn¡¯t stop his departure. ¡°My name is Meng Yue. If you¡¯ve got the skills, you cane look for your vengeance.¡±

    Yan Zheng knelt down in pain. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t long before two of his subordinates came over. They were astounded, ¡°Young Master, who managed to wound you?¡±

    He did not answer, simply drinking a healing potion. Soon enough, two more arrived and surrounded him. Some timeter, he opened his eyes and panted. That attack hadn¡¯t just destroyed his battle technique, but also left him seriously injured. It felt like his life had been sucked out of him. Deste Palm? Why did that sound familiar?

    ¡°Check that pod and see if there¡¯s anything special on it,¡± he said frailly.

    One of his subordinates flew over and returned in an instant, ¡°The word Vastdearth was on its back, Young Master.¡±

    Yan Zheng¡¯s expression quickly changed. The Vastdearth Sect was an immense organization that possessednd quite the distance from the Frostwave Weave. This Deste Palm that had been able to injure him in one blow, a youth named Men Yue¡­ Right, that was the young lord of the Vastdearth Sect!

    It was only now that Yan Zheng knew who he¡¯d been dealing with¡ªthe genius of the Vastdearth Sect, a lunatic who had remained a Sentinel for a long time for the sake of fully exploring the realm¡¯s capabilities. That man had once been invited to join the Outerverse Youth Council, but had rejected the position. He was a Sentinel capable of defeating Melders with innate gifts; a pure monster. No wonder he was so powerful.

    Yan Zheng sighed. Revenge was impossible when it came to people like this. If he saw Meng Yue again, he was better off avoiding him. He turned to his subordinates, ¡°Where are the other two?¡±

    One of them hesitated and looked grim, ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡±

    ¡°How?!¡± Yan Zheng was furious.

    ¡°One of them was killed by a mutant beast here, and the other died at the hands of a cultivator from the Empire.¡±

    Yan Zheng clenched his fists, ¡°Who was it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen him before.¡±

    There was nothing Yan Zheng could do in this situation. He¡¯d been too narrow-minded. This was the trial for Astral-10 that had gathered countless geniuses. The Fireforge could do as it liked on the Frostwave Weave, but that did not extend to their neighbors. ¡°Let¡¯s rest a little; we¡¯ll avenge them after we enter the Academy.¡±

    These people heaved a sigh of relief and could not help but celebrate inside. They were afraid of the young master¡¯s quick temper and the trouble that would bring. There were far too many monsters here.

    ¡­¡­

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin met up with Lulu who¡¯dnded nearby.

    ¡°Let¡¯spete to see who¡¯ll get there first!¡± Lulu was eager to give this a go.

    Lu Yin nced at his gadget. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m waiting for someone though, so give me a moment.¡±

    She was confused, ¡°Is there someone elseing with us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m nning on sending him away,¡± he said with an icy look in his eyes. Lulu didn¡¯t understand at all, but instead of exining, he just grinned, ¡°He¡¯s here.¡±

    Not too far away, Ghostfire flew along leisurely. His innate gift was very suited to this environment. All of a sudden, he paused and looked ahead. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Lu Yin moved forward, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    Ghostfire snickered, ¡°Sorry, I just killed a piece of trash that said he was from the Fireforge and was agonizing over where I could find you. I can¡¯t believe you have the guts to appear before me. Are you trying to die?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, ¡°I¡¯ll settle the score with Bazeerter, but I¡¯ll be collecting some interest from you first.¡± His figure blinked towards his target in the next moment.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here that can stop me, you ant! I¡¯ll show you how powerful my mes are!¡± Ghostfire scorned, ck mes burning his body into void. This innate gift shocked Lulu; It was something that could help avoid all physical attacks.

    Lu Yin snorted and punched out, day and night intersecting with his blow. The Daynight n was one of the most powerful existences in the universe and had passed down powerful battle techniques over generations. Those techniques could crush countless unique innate gifts, and these mes were no different. The Daynight Punch contained both a physical and spiritualponent, and it was only facing Ghostfire that Lu Yin understood why. These techniques were conceited beyond belief, with no weaknesses at all. They could be weak, but they would at least be effective.

    Ghostfire¡¯s disdain was quickly followed by confusion. He felt his body being torn apart, darkness and light flickering before his eyes like time was passing in an instant. He knew that this was a deception, but was unable to do anything about it. Extreme fatigue ended his mes in a moment, and his body became opaque once more. Lu Yin pressed his palm into the deathly-pale youth¡¯s abdomen, ¡°This is exactly what will happen to Bazeer in the future. Three Stacks Threefold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Shockwaves rippled through the air as Ghostfire crashed into the ground, forming a huge pit. He coughed out blood, but things weren¡¯t over just yet. A second and third explosion rang out as the pit grewrger, knocking him out instantly. Floating in the skies, Lu Yin gradually reined in the chill in his eyes as he looked down upon the pitiful youth. This really was just interest; Bazeer would end up a hundred times worse.

    Meanwhile, Lulu had seen everything from start to finish. It had begun and ended very quickly. She¡¯d first been astonished by Ghostfire¡¯s innate gift, and then shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s Three Stacks Threefold Shockwave Palm, ¡°You¡¯ve improved again. That¡¯s an amazing attack!¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll see who reaches first.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± she sped up.

    Meng Yue appeared in the vicinity after the two of them had left,nding to check Ghostfire¡¯s pitiful state. He was astounded, ¡°Three Stacks and the Shockwave Palm? Interesting.¡±

    Meanwhile, on a spacecraft belonging to the Great Yu Empire, Dorren Yushan and the others on board received news about the status of the students taking part in the exam. The Melders¡¯ exam had only just begun, while that for the Sentinels had basically ended, because only a small number of people were left.

    ¡°A student has sent word that they¡¯re being pursued by people from the Fireforge,¡± somebody reported.

    Dorren looked grim, ¡°The Fireforge? Seems like they¡¯re nning on waging war on our Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Rocky Auna said, ¡°It shouldn¡¯te to that. Yan Gang paved the way so that Yan Feng could pursue Princess Wendy; it wouldn¡¯t make sense for them to attack us at such a time. There¡¯s only one possibility, which is that the person attacking doesn¡¯t know the situation and thinks we¡¯ve humiliated Yan Feng by ending the arrangement.¡±

    ¡°Yan Feng has a younger brother called Yan Zheng, who¡¯s a Sentinel. He¡¯s probably the one responsible for this,¡± the Crown Prince said.

    ¡°Shall we talk to the people of the Fireforge?¡± someone asked.

    Dorren answered, ¡°It¡¯s fine, the Fireforge isn¡¯t that powerful. If we can¡¯t get past them, it¡¯ll be impossible for us to enter the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

 Chapter 100: Changing Skies

    <h4>Chapter 100: Changing Skies</h4>

    Dorren Yushan¡¯s gadget beeped quietly and he nced over, only to freeze up, ¡°Ghostfire was defeated and is on the verge of death.¡±

    ¡°What? Who did it?¡± Hearing this, Huo Qingshan and Jue Lang gazed at him in confusion, while Rocky Auna was astonished. They all knew of the power of Ghostfire¡¯s innate gift, something that left him invincible amongst Sentinels. Lu Yin had only been able to defeat him thanks to that bell earlier; even Tianming could not take him down.

    Dorren looked confused as well, ¡°His Majesty Lu Yin.¡±

    Everyone was shocked.

    Rocky Auna frowned, ¡°Lu Yin can defeat Ghostfire?¡±

    The corners of Dorren¡¯s lips twitched, ¡°This is news from the Empire. Ghostfire intentionally streamed the battle when he met Lu Yin; he was probably hoping to send a recording out, but was unfortunately defeated with ease. Now that he¡¯s nearly dead, Bazeer must be hopping mad.¡±

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes twinkled, while Rocky sighed ruefully in admiration, ¡°While the Outerverse Youth Council has a lot of authority, that only extends to the younger generation. Bazeer was far too arrogant and thought nothing of our Great Yu Empire; this battle with King Zishan should take him down a peg.¡±

    Dorren smiled. It wasn¡¯t just Bazeer affected here. The man was just ap dog, and there was actually someone in the Youth Council backing him. That person was the true mastermind, wanting to humiliate Lu Yin to get his sister¡¯s interest. Unfortunately, none of these people understood his sister. She¡­ had a big heart.

    ¡°Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!¡± At this very moment in the Great Yu Empire, Bazeer was howling in fury. He was the one who¡¯d sent Ghostfire to take part in the exam, and yet the youth had been beaten up so badly andpletely disgraced him.

    On the Sentinel path, Lu Yin and Lulu moved rapidly, one with the sh and the other with the White sh. She was rather surprised that he could keep up.

    Along the way, the two of them saw quite a few youths flying into the distance, as well as numerous monsters roaring. This route was filled with danger, and besides monsters, there were quite a few interesting nts; there was no water here for them to use. After two hours of travel, they finally paused to get some rest.

    A tired Lu Yin nced at his gadget to see readings all around him, most of them at 3,000. ¡°Conservatively, there are at least thousands of people taking part.¡±

    Lulu massaged her calves, ¡°That¡¯s normal. Your Great Yu Empire sent over a hundred people, and it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if a hundred million came for the exam across the Outerverse. However, only the regions near the Frostwave Weave can actually attend the exam. There should be a couple hundred thousand people on each path.¡±

    He went quiet. There would be nearly a million examinees with these three routes; the entire poption of a city on Earth filled with peak or near-peak Sentinels. Such an army could sweep through the entire sr system!

    ¡°Right, I¡¯ve been curious. Why do you always wear green?¡± He shifted the topic.

    Lulu rolled her eyes, ¡°People from the Mavis Family always dress in green. What¡¯s it to you?¡±

    He looked at her curiously, ¡°Are you very rich?¡±

    Lulu¡¯s eyes twinkled and she smirked, ¡°Yup. Wanna borrow money? I¡¯ll take 3% interest monthly.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    ¡°I wonder if we were being too hasty just now. This is an exam where hundreds of thousands of people are participating, so thepetition ahead must be very fierce. There¡¯ll be more and more peopleingter, too,¡± Lulu sighed.

    He thought the same. They were one of the fastest arrivals after Astral-10 had revealed itself; what about the other weaves nearby? This assessment didn¡¯t have a specific time frame; the more time passed, the more people there would be. If they hurried to the front, they were basically paving the way for the people in the back. The exam couldn¡¯t be that easy, and there was sure to be trouble at the front. He thought over it for a while and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be doing all the hard work for others. We can wait and get some rest for a few days.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Lulu nodded.

    The terrain around them was filled with bare, hot hills. Standing on one barren peak, Lu Yin watched people flying past him every once in a while and wondered how the rest were doing. Once twenty or so hours had passed, the suns suddenly dimmed. A cold gust of wind whipped past the sky, chilling the scalding surface in an instant. Lulu was astounded, ¡°An ultimate powerhouse must have attacked to change the weather. The Astral Combat Academy really lives up to its name.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the skies in awe. A number of suns had been frozen over, and gusts of cold air kepting in from space. These were the abilities of a powerhouse that he could not even begin to fathom. If seen far away in space, there would be something like a path of ice.

    Up in space, numerous people watched on in shock. All ten routes had been frozen simultaneously and freezing chills swept across them, although there was no effect on the space itself. Dorren and those around him gulped. They could not even begin to imagine theplexity of this move that was far above anything they knew.

    Those capable of surviving in the void were ssified into Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters. The Great Yu Empire possessed a number of all three, but no one amongst their ranks was capable of such a thing. This was the ability of a terrifying existence even past Hunters, well beyond 100,000bat level.

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s zed in response. He could destroy one of the paths himself, but not all ten in one go. That was the kind of power he¡¯d always pursued; the youths of this generation were truly fortunate to have the opportunity to enter the Astral Combat Academies and witness strength that was beyond what the Outerverse usually saw. They were so, so lucky.

    The power to make the sky go dark by freezing the suns was something everyone down below could only gape at. That was all they could think, because they were still too far away from being able to possess this kind of power. Lu Yin checked out the chilling from the ground and gasped. How was this possible?

    ¡°Stop looking at it. You won¡¯t understand anyway. Even Explorers and beyond won¡¯t be able to understand. This is a qualitative difference in strength.¡± Lulu smirked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were fervent. ¡°This road was created, right?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? It might have been formed by destroying a sr system,¡± she answered nonchntly.

    He nced at her, ¡°Do you have an existence this powerful in the Mavis family?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I wouldn¡¯t tell you if I did,¡± she rolled her eyes. Still, Lu Yin could make a guess. Without such a person in charge, how could the Mavis Family take over the universal economy?

    As one gazed up at the sky, the night chill left them lonely. Lu Yin looked distracted; he had nothing to long for as he¡¯d lost his memories, and the only thing worth missing was Earth. That could be considered his hometown; he wondered how it was doing. He counted silently with his back to the cold surface of the hill. 700¡­ About 700 people had flown past him during this time, and that was only in the region he could see. The Sentinel path was as wide as the Earth, which meant a hundred thousand people could have passed by already.

    Once it was about time, he got up, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lulu made a sound of acknowledgment and clenched her fists. However, both of them stopped as a dark spot flew over from the distance, a young man they didn¡¯t recognize. This was Meng Yue, who¡¯d seen the pitiful state Ghostfire had been in and was quite interested in the power of Three Stacks. He¡¯d chased after the two of them immediately, but had barely been able to see Lulu before she took off. Her all-green outfit was eye-catching, but he simply couldn¡¯t catch up despite moving at top speed. He¡¯d thought he¡¯d lost them already, but to his surprise, he¡¯de across them once again.

    Afternding on a low hill, Meng Yue eyed Lu Yin and produced a picture of Ghostfire, ¡°Did you defeat this person?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡±

    Meng Yue looked excited, ¡°Let¡¯s fight one round.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, ¡°Are you trying to avenge him?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with him,¡± Meng Yue answered nonchntly, ¡°I¡¯m interested in your battle technique. Three Stacks should be one of the battle techniques of the Ninefold Sect in the Grandtop Weave. You¡¯ve fused it with the Shockwave Palm and I¡¯m very curious about how powerful it is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± Lu Yin answered calmly, not wanting to waste his energy on fighting an unimportant person.

    Meng Yue did not say more but simply attacked. He charged towards Lu Yin and swept out with a leg, but Lu Yin shed away from the gust of wind and responded coldly, ¡°If you want to fight, look for someone else. I don¡¯t have time for you in this exam.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not up to you,¡± Meng Yue answered, raising his palm and smacking towards Lu Yin. He knew he couldn¡¯tpare in speed; his only shot at victory was using the Deste Palm and a surprise attack to decide the victor with one move. As someone in pursuit of the limits of the Sentinel realm, he wanted to fight any strong Sentinels around.

 Chapter 101: Brutality

    <h4>Chapter 101: Brutality</h4>

    Lu Yin felt the power of the Deste Palm drawing out the life in his body, and immediately knew that this was a powerful technique. His eyes glinted as he raised his own hand; since this guy was courting death, he didn¡¯t need to hold back.

    BOOM! The two engaged at full-force. The battle technique passed down by the Vastdearth Sect had immense power, but the five-star Cosmic Palm had once defeated a Melder in Yu Academy and given Lu Yin a top ten ranking in the school ording to Gerbach. Shockwaves split the earth like a typhoon and dispersed the frost, while a group of Sentinels that were unlucky enough to pass by at this moment were gravely injured by the shockwave. The earth split apart, and Lulu quickly dodged away in surprise; this exchange between the two of them was more powerful than even a Melder interaction.

    When the Deste Palm that had defeated numerous Melders was blocked, Meng Yue was astonished. However, he and Lu Yin retreated at the same time, with this one exchange not deciding a victor. Lu Yin was just as surprised; there were few Sentinels that could defeat Melders, and this person didn¡¯t seem to have an innate gift, either.

    ¡°There are very few Sentinels that can block the Deste Palm. What¡¯s your name?¡± Meng Yue asked excitedly.

    Lu Yin wrinkled his brows, ¡°I don¡¯t have time to waste on you. Out of the way.¡±

    Meng Yue thought it over and gave Lu Yin a long look before withdrawing his star energy. Recalling Lu Yin¡¯s speed, he understood that he couldn¡¯t win in a true fight. He nodded, ¡°My name is Meng Yue; remember it.¡±

    Meng? Lu Yin was startled. Was that one of the primeval surnames? He knew very little about the primeval surnames and wasn¡¯t sure if this was one of them.

    ¡°Hey, do you want a fight? I can fight you!¡± Lulu was eager to give it a go, trembling with excitement as she stared at Meng Yue.

    However, the youth just nced past her, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in fighting girls.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re underestimating me,¡± she said with a frown, her body suddenly blinking right in front of him. She kicked out quite ordinarily, and while Meng Yue wasn¡¯t as fast as her, he was still quick enough to raise an arm to block. BOOM! Shockwaves rattled the area once more, and Meng Yue¡¯s eyes narrowed as he felt intense pain from his right arm. The blow sent him flying through three little hills and buried him into the ground.

    Lu Yin grimaced at the sight, watching Meng Yue with a hint of pity. He¡¯d really underestimated Lulu¡¯s strength; that kick must have been pretty powerful.

    ¡°How dare you underestimate me? Hmph, let¡¯s go.¡± Lulu looked up and waved to Lu Yin, leaping into the distance. ncing at Meng Yue who was covered in dirt, Lu Yin left as well.

    ¡°What a vicious woman.¡± Underground, Meng Yue gritted his teeth. His arm was bent in an unnatural manner; that kick had been powerful enough to break it. He downed a healing potion, but by the time he walked out, the two had already left. He sighed and looked bitterly at his right arm; he¡¯d really underestimated that monster.

    ¡°Lulu, don¡¯t you think you were a little harsh?¡± Lu Yin asked as they flew along.

    The girl snorted, ¡°It¡¯s his fault for looking down on me. Serves him right.¡±

    He burst intoughter and reminded himself not to ever provoke her. This woman was just way too strong, perhaps that was her innate gift.

    After that, Lu Yin and Lulu didn¡¯t meet any enemies along the way. The Astral-10 exam wasn¡¯tpetitive, any number of people could enter as long as they passed the assessment. Few people would go out of their way to cause trouble in such an environment; Meng Yue really was one of a kind.

    However, that didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t any dangers. The number of beasts increased the further one went, and all sorts of strange creatures roamed the frozen path. Quite a few were flying in the sky as well, and had killed many Sentinels. Lu Yin and Lulu were unfortunate enough to run into a terrifying beast; while it was also at the Sentinel level, its defences were imprable. Lulu managed to smash its innards to bits with a punch, but it didn¡¯t actually seem injured on the outside at all. That kind of defense sent a chill down his spine.

    There was also a quick mutant beast that couldunch lightning from its mouth, its attacks more powerful than Gerbach¡¯s lightning arrow. The two managed to dodge those easily, but the creature was too quick to pin down. Fortunately, it only seemed to be protecting its territory and didn¡¯t pursue them.

    Alongside the mutant beasts were a lot of strange nts, as well as terrible weather. Every once in a while, they¡¯d see a few more bodies on the ground. Those who could take part in the Sentinel examination were the best in their realm. Even the weakest were at Eddy¡¯s level, but the shadow of death was ever present. It wasn¡¯t too far from there that a trembling Raas was hidden away in an alcove, abandoned by all the people he¡¯d arrived with. He didn¡¯t have the courage to keep going, and was thus waiting for the assessment to end.

    Eventually, the frozen suns in the sky suddenly exploded, the zing heating all at once and too much for a few people to bear. Some of those who¡¯d been in the middle of fights lost their lives to the sudden distraction. The mix of cold, warm, and ring light even confused Lu Yin for a moment, and he had to sh away as the earth cracked apart. Strange flowers peeked out from the ground, cut apart by horrifying gusts. He looked up and sighed; things had changed again. The heat would be around for at least 48 hours.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting warmer. The longer you look, the lower the suns get. They¡¯ve nearly fused with the ground already,¡± Luluined.

    Lu Yin gazed into the distance. It was true that the suns were descending and the entrance was still quite far away. Some stronger people could deal with warmth, but the heat in this area was already at a point where only Seekers could take it. Perhaps even Sentinels would find it difficult to withstand the heat near the end, and there was still the endless array of mutant beasts and nts alongside hidden enemies. This assessment was a brutal one.

    While the Sentinel paths were still quitepetitive, the Melder routes were downright cruel. Jenny and Xiaoling had been disqualified from the get-go, having run into Melder beasts that could have killed them right uponnding. If it wasn¡¯t for Schutz saving them, they truly would be dead; it was clear immediately that they had no choice but to give up. Nearly eighty Melders from the Great Yu Empire had participated in this assessment, but most of them had been eliminated in just one day. Thirty had even died; these were the true elites of the Great Yu Empire, hailing not just from Yu Academy, but also the other top institutions of the Empire. Even The Undying Yushan would feel terrible after such losses. Even more terrifying was the fact that even one of the five hall masters¡ªLogan¡ª had been disqualified. That left Dorren and the rest grim. The hall masters were the most powerful youths in the Great Yu Empire, and his elimination was certain to cause fear among the rest.

    ¡°Gerbach and Yan Gang are moving together,¡± someone reported, but Dorren simply nodded without surprise. Few people knew of the attack on the Sentinel routes; if Yan Feng truly wanted to marry Wendy, Yan Gang needed a good rtionship with the Empire. Yan Gang was thankfully almost as powerful as Gerbach. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t bring Gerbach down.

    More and more spaceships arrived at the ten paths as time passed, the powerhouses within gazing at the roads that stretched into the distance.

    Near Lu Yin and Lulu on the Sentinel path, a young man was currently clutching his left arm as he cried out in pain. This was Wukai Mathers, Sigmund¡¯s son. He hade to participate in the assessment without his father¡¯s knowledge, but an attack from a strange nt had shattered his arm. He managed to kill the thing, but this seemed to be where he would fall. While a near-equal Raas was quivering in fear somewhere, he had proceeded with astounding perseverance until he could go no further.

    Wukai felt very bitter as his blood stained the hilly ground below him. Was this how things would end? However, his eyes suddenly fell on something within the walls of the cave, strange carvings that he was quickly lost in. This was a fist technique that had no name and no origin; lost in the dust and sand for a long time. It had been revealed in the aftermath of his battle, and it seemed like this would be his chance.

    Lu Yin and Lulu flew ahead, but hundreds of kilometers away, a hundred-meter-tall dinosaur beast roared and tore the ground with its sharp ws. Surrounded and being attacked by dozens of Sentinels, it was beyond frustrated and opened its mouth tounch a beam of star energy that razed everything in its path.

    ¡°No, our attacks are useless against it. We can¡¯t get through its defenses.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s work together!¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t work. It¡¯s smart enough to attack the side with more people. It¡¯s impossible to work together like this.¡±

 Chapter 102: Coco

    <h4>Chapter 102: Coco</h4>

    A girl was peering through the branches of a giant tree a few kilometers away, sticking out her tongue from time to time, ¡°It¡¯s so scary here. Should I go away? No, I won¡¯t be able to help anyone if I¡¯m further.¡±

    When Lu Yin and Lulu reached the battlefield, there were almost a hundred Sentinel cultivators surrounding the dinosaur beast. The two looked at the creature and exchanged shocked nces. He said gravely, ¡°This thing isn¡¯t simple; it¡¯s faster, hardier, and more experienced. Do you see that shadow of a battle technique in its attacks as well?¡±

    Lulu acknowledged and clenched her fists, ¡°It¡¯s obviously very hard to fight against, so why are these people fighting it to the death?¡±

    Lu Yin looked across the battlefield and finally below the beast¡¯s legs. No matter what the battle situation was, that beast never stepped on a small mound underneath. ¡°There¡¯s something there.¡±

    Lulu grew excited, ¡°Let¡¯s go, too. I want to know how many punches it can take!¡±

    He¡¯d wanted to wait a little longer, reckoning that there were many other experts waiting for an opportunity, but she¡¯d already charged out before he could stop her. Unable to let her just go alone, he followed helplessly while keeping an eye out for others. It seemed strange that almost a hundred Sentinels couldn¡¯t defeat a mutant beast of equal level, but Lulu grew excited as it dodged her first strike. This thing could sense the danger!

    The beast howled, its giant tail sweeping in her direction. Lulu dodged easily, but a dozen others were struck, and almost half their bodies were broken apart and they died immediately while others were sent flying with heavy injuries. Lu Yin was astonished by the violent attack; this wasn¡¯t one whit inferior to the five-star Cosmic Palm.

    The biggest difference between beasts and humans was imagination. Humans knew how to be creative, while beasts relied on their bodies and innate gifts. Thetter were far more powerful under simr conditions, but humans had the ability to change the environment using their own innate gifts and battle techniques.

    ¡°Good!¡± Lulu shouted, vanishing from her ce and appearing behind the creature¡¯s back. She raised her right hand and struck out, forcing the beast to turn around and chomp down to force her to give up. But she hadn¡¯t nned to attack in the first ce; she was only giving an opportunity for Lu Yin to sh onto its head and strike. He shot down with both palms, one the Three Stacks Shockwave Palm, and the other the twentieth form of the Skybeast w. A loud explosion rang out as his hands smashed into its head, dropping it to the ground in an instant. A hundred-meter-tall creature copsing was a magnificent sight, and the mere shockwaves forced dozens of Sentinels to back off. Everyone was shocked at the sight; they understood the beast¡¯s power, instincts, and defenses. Someone capable of killing it had to be an absolute powerhouse.

    Lulu blinked to the mound in the earth and waved her hand, exposing a small, glowing tree. There were several light-yellow fruits hanging from it that seemed quite alluring. As she was puzzled over what they were, the beast roared and exerted all of its strength to get back up.

    ¡°Lulu, careful!¡± Lu Yin barked, and she avoided with the White sh. Another figure appeared and looked at her in astonishment before reaching towards the tree, but a furious Lulu kicked out with one leg. That figure blocked the attack with his left shoulder, a scene that would have been all too familiar if Meng Yue was around. Sure enough, the figure was sent flying in the next moment.

    Lulu snorted and left, grabbing the fruits along the way. Lu Yin felt curious, but didn¡¯t ask more and took to the skies as well. The beast snarled and charged out from underground as he left, intimidating a dozen Sentinels who had run in from hiding into fleeing once more.

    ¡°How many did you take?¡± he asked as they left.

    She threw five fruits over, ¡°Ten in total, half each.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t take more?¡± he grew suspicious.

    She answered seriously, ¡°Leave something in everything you do, do not exhaust a natural treasure. That is part of my family¡¯s teachings.¡±

    He nodded and said so more, looking to the dozen people who had suddenly appeared nearby. One of them spoke cheerlessly, ¡°Friend, don¡¯t mind sharing some of what you took.¡±

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get this done quick,¡± Lu Yin remained indifferent, vanishing at the same time as Lulu. All of the aggressors rained down from the sky in the next moment. Many other cultivators grew apprehensive at the sight, and were secretly d that they didn¡¯t act themselves. Someone capable of defeating that beast with one attack definitely wasn¡¯t simple; those two were some of the strongest in this assessment.

    Within the big tree in the distance, the dainty girl sighed, ¡°So powerful, I wonder how hepares to Sister Zora.¡±

    Many Sentinels were still surrounding the beast, and the asional person managed to snatch some fruits, Most of the dozens of fruits on the small tree were picked off when the beast finally exploded with condensed star energy, forcing everyone to hide. The sun froze once more at this point, and the frost nketed the ground while the heavens and earth turned dark. Lu Yin and Lulu didn¡¯t stop this time, leaving immediately. After thinking for a while, the girl in the tree followed them.

    The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s assessments weren¡¯t simple. Many people could pass through a path filled with extreme climates and powerful beasts, and it incentivized moving around inrge teams which was antithetical to the goal of filtering out elites. Everyone watching from the heavens watched with bated breath; the real tests were yet toe.

    Even as the frost swept across the ground, the Sentinels didn¡¯t manage to grab all the fruits. They quickly realized something was amiss as the beast changed, growing more irritable and unrestrained than before. It stomped down and crushed the tree, but before the Sentinels could even grow furious, more and more howls rang out from all directions. The earth started to rumble.

    ¡°Not good!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed and he shot to the ground, ¡°It¡¯s a beast wave, we should hide!¡±

    The two dashed to a mountain peak near them, braving the attacks of hundreds of flying beasts. Blood soon filled the sky as all the flying cultivators were attacked, but the two fortunately used their extreme speed and avoided the attacks easily. They were almost at the peak when a squeal rang out, and Lu Yin turned around to see an adorable young girl with a pale face who was shakily dodging the attacks. He frowned and shed towards her, ¡°You go ahead.¡±

    Lulu nced at him and then dashed even quicker to the peak, watching as the girl wailed in the face of an attacking beast. Lu Yin caught her at the crucial moment and carried her towards the mountain. The girl panted heavily and leaned into him, carefully looking on as more and more flying beasts almost covered the entire sky. She was eventually brought to a peak where they entered a recessed cavern with Lulu and covered the entrance.

    The sky was filled with flying beasts at this point, and the dark earth had grown even dimmer with bloodstains. Shrieks rang out from everywhere. Lu Yin squinted and looked outside; this was the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s examination, and a good majority of the million candidates would probably be wiped out by these beasts. It was a cruel reality, but conversely, those that survived were absolute elites.

    ¡°Th-Thank you,¡± the girl carefully looked at Lu Yin and spoke softly, a little nervous and uneasy.

    Lu Yin looked at her but did not speak, while Lulu nced between the two before her eyes brightened, ¡°So this is your type.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Lu Yin was confused, but she just giggled.

    The girl blushed, ¡°I-I¡¯m Coco, from the Windrift Hall. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, while it was Lulu was shocked, ¡°The Windrift Hall from the Innerverse?¡±

    Coco nodded and pursed her lips like a wounded doe.

    Lu Yin looked at Lulu, ¡°You know them?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The Windrift Hall loves saving others and is good at healing. They¡¯re not quite numerous, but they have a great reputation in the Innerverse just like Shamrock Enterprises. But their aims are different; Shamrock Enterprises is looking for profit, but I don¡¯t know about these guys. Maybe they just have nothing to do.¡±

    Coco blinked, ¡°No, we¡¯re training!¡±

    ¡°Training to save others?¡± Lu Yin was incredulous.

    The girl grunted softly, ¡°Master has taught us that the more we save, the greater our fortune, and the longer we may live.¡±

    Lu Yin and Lulu exchanged nces, with thetter unable to let it go, ¡°Your Master¡¯s fooled you well.¡±

 Chapter 103: Unconventional Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 103: Unconventional Innate Gift</h4>

    Coco opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but kept mum in the end. Looking around, she noticed that Lu Yin¡¯s right arm was bleeding, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re injured.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down and shrugged, ¡°No worries, it¡¯s just a nick.¡±

    ¡°Let me treat you,¡± she promptly replied, ¡°Or you might get infected. The universe is filled with strange diseases that can take your life if you¡¯re not careful.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad,¡± he raised a brow.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying; any small wound might be the cause for someone to lose their life one day.¡± Coco said seriously.

    Did doctors like scaring people? ¡°Alright, will you treat me?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Coco¡¯s eyes lit up, and she suddenly seemed like a different person from before. Lu Yin suddenly had a bad premonition, and that came true as a three-meter-long syringe appeared in her hand the next second, stunning him and Lulu. The needle itself was a meter long and glinted coldly in the dark cave, the syringe filled with a strange green liquid that left him terrified. He felt his scalp go numb as he backed away subconsciously, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Coco hugged the syringe and looked at him excitedly, ¡°Treatment. Let¡¯s go, one poke and it¡¯ll be fine!¡±

    Lu Yin choked on his saliva and swiftly rejected, ¡°No need, I can do it myself, you don¡¯t have to treat me!¡±

    Coco grew anxious, ¡°Let me treat you, you won¡¯t be able to healpletely yourself! There¡¯ll be residual effects, and it will be toote if there are other pathological changes. Come on!¡±

    He retreated a little more and insisted, ¡°No need, I can do it myself.¡±

    Coco tutted and looked at his shoulder unwillingly as the syringe vanished, ¡°Oh.¡±

    It was only then that Lulu managed to react, ¡°That¡¯s your innate gift?¡±

    Coco returned to her timid and adorable self, nodding, ¡°Mm, my innate gift can treat injuries, but no one lets me use it.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; that thing could pierce through him and end his life. Only an idiot would let her use that on them; it was far more terrifying than a sword.

    ¡°Your innate gift is really unique!¡± Lulu eximed, prompting a bashful chuckle.

    The conversation was suddenly interrupted as a beast roared nearby and dashed into the distance. Lu Yin nced outside and wondered how Schutz and the rest were faring on the Melder path. That brat Geine was sensible enough to give up on the assessment, or he would¡¯ve had another burden.

    ¡­¡­

    The Melder road faced a simr beast wave, and luck wasn¡¯t on Gerbach¡¯s side. He was injured at the very beginning by a mutant beast; if he hadn¡¯t hidden well, he would have be food already. Yan Gang was in the same situation, so the two had basically failed already.

    Far away, Tianming had blocked himself into a valley with a giant rock, sessfully avoiding the beast wave. However, his luck was just as bad as Gerbach¡¯s because he met someone he didn¡¯t want to¡ªSIlver Tiger, a young expert from the Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect; the man was also his enemy.

    Silver Tiger stared at Tianming excitedly, ¡°I never thought I¡¯d meet you here. I heard you became a Hall Master of Yu Academy? Congrattions.¡±

    Tianming¡¯s expression turned solemn, ¡°I never thought I would meet you here, either. I can finally have my vengeance.¡±

    Silver Tiger sneered, ¡°Vengeance? What a joke. You¡¯re just trash evicted by the Nine-Layered Gate; even trying to Learn the Nine Stacks, you only got to three. The Great Yu Empire actually epted trash like you, I¡¯ll help them clean up today.¡±

    The youth then swatted towards Tianming, energy condensed within the strike. An apprehensive Tianming struck out and shockwaves cracked the earth thrice in a row. This was Three Stacks, but Tianming¡¯s eyes narrowed in the next moment as he felt acute pain from his hand, ¡°You actually understood the fourth stack!¡±

    Silver Tigerughed maniacally, ¡°Trash like you will never be able to understand me. Fourth stack? I¡¯ll show you desperation!¡±

    Another wave of terrifying energy flooded forth, and the fifth stack broke Tianming¡¯s right hand to strike his abdomen. He was sent crashing into the mountainside and spat out blood. Standing in ce, Silver Tiger looked at him coldly, ¡°You were trash then, and you¡¯re still trash today. I¡¯ll send you on your way.¡±

    Tianming spat out blood and raised his left hand, forming a w that howled in the void. Everything within a hundred meters was enveloped by the Skybeast w, and a dense bloodlust crushed the boulders and valley floor. Silver Tiger was stunned by the 43rd form of the Skybeast w, and failed to defend against the attack even as beast after flying beast crashed down from above. All creatures within a hundred meters were smashed apart, while his clothes were torn apart to reveal four deep wounds on his right shoulder. When he raised his head again, Tianming had vanished.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡± Silver Tiger leapt up, but a shadow covered him as a giant hairy w swept across and pierced his body. His body was turned into dust as only a head fell back into the valley; thest he saw was a heavily wounded Tianming hiding under the ruins of the mountain.

    Tianming stared at the unresigned head that was ring at him and smiled bitterly. He had enacted his vengeance, but his examination would end here. As for whether he would live, that depended on the will of the heavens.

    ¡­¡­

    The beast wavested an entire day, but that day was enough to feel like hell to the cultivators who participated in the examination. The beasts could appear to take their lives at any time, and each one was just as powerful as them. Even the stronger ones had to avoid the countless beasts, and they could only watch as their friends, family, andrades perished. They could only shiver in a corner as the apocalypse raged outside.

    When the wave ended, the suns were unsealed and scorched the earth once more. This time, this boiling heat was a warmth that reced the cold, murderous winter. When Lu Yin¡¯s trio walked out of the cavern, the smell of baked earth waspounded with the stench of blood.

    Coco sniffed and turned pale, ¡°Thousands of people must have died nearby.¡± There were many broken corpses even at the peak right below them.

    This assessment was like purgatory, and it reminded Lu Yin of Earth¡¯s evolutionary trial. How many people had turned into zombies in that one moment? How many had died in the mouths of mutant beasts? How many powerful students had been killed? The powerhouses of the universe were more concerned with cultivating strength than preserving life. The weak always fell prey.

    At this point, the high temperatures could not dispel the cold in certain people¡¯s hearts, like Raas. He had beenpletely frightened and barely escaped from the wave; all he wanted to do was return to the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°Those who do not wish to continue the examination, yell ¡®I give up!¡¯ thrice. The rest will have to take three attacks, survival is not guaranteed,¡± a voice rumbled through the void, echoing through the ten paths and the heavens nearby. Those who heard it had a change in expressions. Were the three attacks unavoidable?

    Three attacks? Lu Yin raised his head, while Coco shivered on the verge of tears.

    ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡± a cry sounded from a mountain ledge below them, the young man screaming so loudly it was as if he was afraid he wouldn¡¯t be heard.

    ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡± someone else shouted soon after.

    ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡± ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡± ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡±

    The voices rang out from further and further along the path, but there were still many that refused to admit defeat. This assessment gathered the elites of various factions, and there were quite a few people who weren¡¯tcking in willpower. One young man right below the peak had already lost his right leg, but passion still burned in his eyes.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to give up, Coco?¡± Lulu asked.

    Coco looked fearfully at the skies then shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t want to. Master said that Windrift Hall has no cowards.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at her and was suddenly quite interested in this master. Meanwhile, the girl saw the man below the peak and grew eager once more, ¡°He¡¯s broken his leg, let me go treat him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll scare him,¡± Lulu stated.

    Coco acted innocent, ¡°I want to help him.¡±

    ¡°Let him go,¡± Lu Yin added.

    Coco felt wronged but watched dazedly as everything went silent. Lu Yin and Lulu moved apart without exnation, staring at the heavens. This was a test where no one could help them; they had to make their own preparations and face the iing strikes.

    He breathed in deeply, feeling a strange sense of crisis as an invisible attack crashed down from the void. The force tore through the mountain peak as he dodged with the sh, the feat replicated by Lulu who was nearby. On the other hand, Coco didn¡¯t have such speed. Summoning her syringe once more, she ced it on her head and cowered. The invisible attack crashed down ferociously and sent her entire body a few meters underground, but when Lu Yin and Lulu looked over, she was perfectly fine. The syringe had blocked the attack.

 Chapter 104: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 104: Attack</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s trio sessfully endured the attack, but not everyone was as lucky. The broken-legged guy was killed immediately; the Astral Combat Academy had unleashed a ruthless strike on each of them at once. He switched on his gadget and watched as the readings on his scanner disappeared one by one; the first attack alone had shown those who nned to continue just how terrifying the Astral Combat Academy was. This was an attack that would kill the mediocre among them.

    The same thing happened on the Melders¡¯ path, and everyone from the Great Yu Empire outside of Schutz and Xia Luo failed.

    ¡°I give up, I give up, I give up!¡± someone shouted immediately, quickly followed by many others. This was just the first attack, and the next two would only grow stronger.

    Although the path for the Sentinel assessment was quite long, it still had an end. Some people from the leading batch quickly reached the end, even seeing the distant beam of light that connected the sky to the ground. They would pass the moment they stepped into that light, but the temperature around was so high that it almost melted the ground.

    A few Sentinels were hidden in the shadow of the cliff, but despite constantly drinking water they felt parched in the blistering heat.

    ¡°I won¡¯t give up, I won¡¯t give up. I want to enter the Astral Combat Academy, I have to!¡± a girl muttered to herself as she watched the distant light with hope in her eyes. No one wanted to give up at this stage; with the end in sight, many would rather die to the next two attacks than admit failure. At this time, another attack came from the sky. The girl dodged it anxiously; although she wasnt as fast as Lu Yin and Lulu, she still surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s Roving Step from when he was back on Earth. She¡¯d managed to dodge the first attack, but the second attack mmed her body into the ground. Dozens of cultivators near her faced the same situation, none of them had managed to dodge.

    Now, there was only one attack left. The girl coughed and rose into the sky, but she froze as she looked at the end of the path. A new silhouette had appeared there, a man who looked normal but whose body was faintly glowing with heat. He resembled a descended sun that looked upon them with arrogance.

    The clothes on the man were perfectly intact and he stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over everyone there including the girl. She was stunned. This man was far more powerful than her, who was he? Someone from the Astral Combat Academy? If not, he would have been attacked as well. No one could dodge the second attack.

    At a spot further away from the end of the Sentinel path, Lu Yin and Lulu dodged the second attack. However, it was much harder to dodgepared to the first attack, and they knew that the third attack was definitely unavoidable. On the other hand, Coco still had the syringe on top of her head, she seemed like she was nning to endure all three strikes. Now that he thought about it, the syringe was unimaginably sturdy; it wasn¡¯t damaged at all even after two attacks. Since the body was so strong, the needle had to be so as well. No one would dare touch that needle; this girl definitely wouldn¡¯t find anyone willing to endure her treatment.

    The third attack descended as Lu Yin was looking at the syringe. He knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it when the Cosmic Art couldn¡¯t pinpoint the direction, and only felt an rming strength strike him right into the mountain. Lulu was the same, and Coco held onto her syringe for dear life and crashed into the foot of the mountain as well. Countless people were killed or maimed by that attack.

    At the end of the path, the girl screamed in pain, her face as pale as paper. The third attack was too powerful, and she could barely endure it. Meanwhile, the man right in front of her also endured the attack, the heat turning into a surging sea of fire that disappeared instantly. She gritted her teeth while kneeling on the ground, taking out some pills to treat her injuries as she looked at the distant man in awe. He had endured that attack too, did that mean he was also participating in the assessment? Why was he just standing there instead of going ahead?

    The man waved his hand and scorching heat surged towards the distance as he raised his head, ¡°So this is the third attack. It¡¯s really powerful, those who can endure it are quite capable. It¡¯s a shame that none of you can join Astral-10, since it¡¯s fated to disappear.¡± He looked at his gadget and smirked, ¡°There¡¯s seven people left? That¡¯s not bad. Well, let me show you the final despair.¡±

    He leapt up into the sky under the gazes of the seven people who had endured all three attacks, smiling and lifting his head up high, ¡°I am Archino of the ze Realm; no one is allowed to pass through, you are all destined to fail.¡±

    The seven of them were astonished, and the girl was stunned. The mighty ze Realm of the Innerverse? No wonder he was like a burning sun. The ze Realm was one of the greatest forces of the Innerverse with an ancient inheritance. But why would one of them appear here, and why was he stopping them from entering?

    Archino didn¡¯t care about their concerns. He only had one mission, which was to stop anyone from going through this path. He was not alone, either; each of the ten paths had their own final guardian, and their goal was to ensure that Astral-10 would take in no students.

    In the sky, Dorren Yushan¡¯s expression changed, ¡°What? Forces from the Innerverse are attacking the assessment? Why are you only telling me now?¡±

    Rocky Auna said bitterly, ¡°His Imperial Majesty has just received the news from the Fifth Princess, she heard from the Myriad Swords Peak that three forces from the Innerverse are trying to rece Astral-10 and obtain ess to the trial zones. They have sent disciples to guard the final section of the path to ensure that no one will pass this assessment.¡±

    ¡°Which forces are involved?¡± Huo Qingshan asked.

    Rocky answered in a low voice, ¡°The ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and the sylvan dragons.¡±

    Dorren¡¯s face turned pale; these were powerful forces in the Innerverse, and they were to the Great Yu Empire what the Great Yu Empire was to Earth. There was noparison. Huo Qingshan was astounded, he had been to the Innerverse before and had experienced how scary the ze Realm was. Who could pass someone from the ze Realm?

    Jue Lang said slowly, ¡°Is the Ross Empire the one that¡¯s rumored to have obtained an ancient inheritance?¡±

    Dorren nodded, ¡°Mm, but the most powerful are the sylvan dragons that betrayed the Astral Beast Domain. Any grown dragon is near-invincible.¡±

    These three forces cast a gloom over everyone. The Great Yu Empire weren¡¯t the only ones to hear this news, but every power that got hold of it went silent. Astral-10 was the only hope for the Outerverse to catch up with the Innerverse, but the assessment was now under siege. The three forces from the Innerversepletely disregarded them as they stole their chance at improvement, which was a bitter pill to swallow.

    There was a beam of light connecting the sky to the ground at the end of the path, and one could enter Astral-10 through it. When the people from the three forces appeared, someone within the academy asked, ¡°Are they so anxious to make us disappear?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t chase them away since they are here as assessees.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t cheating, either; they fall in line with all requirements.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s just treat this as the hardest challenge. The initial assessment for the Outerverse was made easier, but this can be considered bringing it up to the other nine academies..¡±

    ¡°Not many will pass; I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s a chance that none will seed, even.¡±

    ¡°It is all destiny. If Astral-10 really has to exit the stage, then we will leave. This ce is just a prison to us, anyway.¡±

    On the Sentinel Path, Lu Yin walked out of the ruins of the mountain and looked up. The final attack was extremely powerful, but it was still bearable. Lulu walked out from underground as well, and Coco flew out from the foot of the mountain while wincing in pain. A pang of disappointment shed past her eyes as she saw that the other two werepletely alright, but she quickly grew happy, ¡°You¡¯re fine, that¡¯s great!¡±

    Lulu pouted, ¡°You were hoping that something was going to happen to us, weren¡¯t you.¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ Nooo¡­.¡± Coco shook her head promptly, stowing her syringe away as she tutted in secret. She¡¯d really hoped they would sustain slight injuries for her to treat.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we should be near the end,¡± Lu Yin said as he looked at their surroundings. The beast wave had already charged towards the beginning of the path, making it much easier to move ahead now. There likely weren¡¯t many cultivators left, either.

    Lulu nodded, and the trio flew into the distance.

 Chapter 105: The Blaze Realm

    <h4>Chapter 105: The ze Realm</h4>

    The ze

    Lu Yin switched on his gadget en route to the end of the assessment, finding that there were only a few cultivators that had made it this far. Many of the survivors they saw along the way were also desperate, their confidence broken by the situation. Passing through another winter and another heatwave, they finally saw the light beam that connected heaven and earth.

    ¡°That¡¯s the end, it¡¯s there!¡± Coco grew excited, a flush crawling up her face. Lu Yin¡¯s own gaze was passionate; this was the Astral Combat Academy, the greatest institution in the universe where millions died just to enter. Only a select few could rise beyond the rest; just how strong were they? Expectations were high.

    There were a total of three Sentinel paths, and at the end of one, the sun-baked the earth. A dozen Sentinels were rooted in ce, staring dumbfoundedly at a giant beast. No, this wasn¡¯t any beast; it was an enormous sylvan dragon!

    Just like humans, the many races of beasts had gxies of their own. Man and beast had fought for a long time, and sylvan dragons were a specific breed of dragon that had betrayed their own kind after one battle and defected to the human side. They had deer antlers, a snake¡¯s body, rabbit eyes, oxen ears, and huge sharp ws. On both sides of the head were two enormous yet thin wings that were dark red, and at the tail was a sphere of flesh that was bundled up in tough armor. This dragon¡¯s fearsome aura was radiating out for all to feel, making people shudder just from a nce.

    ¡°Wha-What is this thing?¡± someone shouted, quaking in fear. The others all stared nkly; this traitorous race of astral beasts lived in the Innerverse, so not many knew about them. And yet, the dragon¡¯s terrifying aura ensured that not a single cultivator dared to step forward.

    Two figures suddenly charged towards the light beam in a bid to circumvent the dragon, but the creature¡¯s cruel gaze turned sinister as its enormous body split in twain. Bang! Bang! Both cultivators were sent flying back, one even staining the ground with blood as his body was cut apart. Everyone inhaled sharply; this was absolute speed. The beast seemedrge, but it was also terrifyingly fast.

    ¡°This road is blocked, ants. Scram!¡± the dragon snarled, its huff creating arge storm, but the dozen Sentinels remained unresigned. They had endured the terrible climate, beast wave, and three invisible attacks to get here; they weren¡¯t about to give up now.

    ¡°Everyone, charge together. That thing¡¯s also a Sentinel, it can¡¯t block all of us!¡± someone shouted. The next moment, everyone gritted their teeth and dashed towards the beam of light.

    The sylvan dragon roared and its enormous body split into two, then three. Three giant figurespletely sealed off the path towards the light beam, and a ground-shattering rumble apanied the intense attacks that repelled the figures one by one. Any Sentinel that could get here had their own formidable battle techniques, but those were useless in the face of this giant beast. The sylvan dragon roared towards the sky, its sturdy ws stained with blood as it forced a retreat. The path was defended alone, allowing no one to pass.

    ¡°You shall not pass, humans!¡± the dragon proudly raised its head, scratching the ground with its ws as it stretched towards the Sentinels in front. However, a silver streak suddenly shed across the ground, and before the stunned dragon could even react, a figure had stepped into the beam of light. Back turned, he waved goodbye as he vanished.

    No one had expected someone to actually cross the dragon without a trace. They had only felt a wind blowing past the trees, but that had vanished by the time the leaves even moved. The sylvan dragon stared at the light beam and roared in fury; this was an utter disgrace, but the person had already left. Helpless, it turned and stared savagely at the rest to warn them against trying the same.

    On the final Sentinel path was a man whose body was half-machine. He was Vanko of the Ross Empire, an Innerverse organization that imed an inheritance of ancient technology. The Ross Empire aspired tobine man and machine to achieve eternal life; their powerhouses were cultivators with technology fused into their bodies.

    The Sentinels opposite Vanko couldn¡¯t cross him, either. He was even harder to deal with than the sylvan dragon, as he had guns everywhere to seal off the region. Each individual gun only had a Sentinel¡¯s offensive power, so this didn¡¯t even count as cheating. The Astral Combat Academy could do nothing to him. A purple energy wave sizzled across the earth and vaporized the surface, forcing the Sentinels back. Vanko had developed a defensive fort at the end, and used the suns to create a terrifying heat attack that would kill an average Sentinel upon contact.

    ¡°Give up, the Astral Combat Academy is not a ce you Outerverse trash can reach,¡± Vanko remained haughty. This was the arrogance of the Innerverse; to those from within, the Outerverse was just a collection of nobodies.

    The Sentinels all gritted their teeth and looked at the fortress of guns before them helplessly, but a figure high in the skies suddenly shot towards the end. They were standing upon a simple longsword and gave off a fearsome aura; Vanko initially nned to obstruct them, but his expression changed at the sight of that figure and he resisted the urge to attack. He let the figure pass through directly as he mumbled, ¡°Someone from the Myriad Swords Peak? How did theye to Astral-10?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s trio also came to their path¡¯s end and experienced the heat. He quickly learned of the wall called Archino that had blocked all the other arrivals and stared in amazement. The ze Realm? Why was one of the most powerful organizations of the Innerverse blocking their way? Did they not want anyone enrolling in Astral-10?

    On the other hand, Lulu bumped her fists together and stared at him excitedly, ¡°I never thought I¡¯d bump into someone from the ze Realm here. Interesting, leave this to me!¡±

    She leaped up and past the dozen Sentinels, barreling straight towards the youth and striking out with her fist. Archino was looking down on the Outerverse trash at first, nning to say something to show the power of the ze Realm, but a green silhouette suddenly sent a fist flying his way. He was enraged by the audacity of someone to challenge the ze Realm and showed no mercy, ¡°Skyburning me.¡±

    The Skyburning me was the ze Realm¡¯s battle technique, and the scorching heat of the sun only multiplied Archino¡¯s power. A simple upwards gesture spawned a sea of mes that spread all around, intent on destroying the surroundings.

    Lulu grew excited at the sight of this blistering sea of fire that would strike fear in even Melders. She struck out with what looked like a normal punch, but the aftershocks ripped apart the mes andnded directly on Archino. While the youth was proud, he knew he wasn¡¯t invincible and dodged the moment his mes were dissipated. The earth was shattered by the punch, and strong winds turned the ze into a rain of fire.

    Archino¡¯s eyes narrowed at the sight of this thorny opponent, and he didn¡¯t hesitate to erupt with full force. The ground burned once more, the fire spreading quickly to ten meters, a hundred, a thousand¡­ There seemed to be no end to it, and all the watching Sentinels were affected, including Lu Yin and Coco who had to retreat together. Most of the people around were burnt in moments, some even to a crisp.

    Lulu remained calm amidst the raging mes, her right fist smashing down once more. Her philosophy was that there was nothing one fist could not achieve; no matter how terrifying Archino¡¯s mes were, this fist still brought him down and extinguished the boundless sea of fire. Archino¡¯s body drilled so far down he couldn¡¯t be sea, his breath stolen away by the attack.

    Lu Yin was shocked at the terrifying power of Lulu¡¯s fist. This was the power of the Mavis Family, a real behemoth whose descendants could crush opponents with a technique-less fist.

    ¡°How powerful,¡± Coco eximed in admiration, her eyes gleaming, ¡°Even stronger than sister Zora, is she really a Sentinel?¡±

    When Lu Yin pulled the girl over, Lulu looked down at the hole in the ground, ¡°Was that overkill?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ve passed,¡± he replied.

    Coco nodded and turned to admire Lulu, ¡°Sister, I don¡¯t think you should expose this strength if it isn¡¯t needed, or you won¡¯t be able to find a boyfriend.¡±

    Lulu snorted, ¡°I¡¯m so beautiful, suitors would line up from the Innerverse to the Outerverse, it¡¯s alright.¡±

    Coco believed it and took out her giant syringe, ¡°Sister, are you injured? How about a jab.¡±

    Lulu immediately declined. Coco¡¯s syringe was much scarier than Archino¡¯s mes.

 Chapter 106: Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 106: Old Friend</h4>

    By the time Archino was defeated, almost everyone on Lu Yin¡¯s path was either heavily injured or dead. The trio didn¡¯t speak much, simply heading towards the light beam and stepping across to vanish from the Sentinel path. He heard a few words before disappearing: ¡°Age: Passed. Cultivation: Passed. Trial: Passed. Astral-10 application approved.¡±

    Up in the sky, Dorren Yushan and the others from the Great Yu Empire were looking at the ten paths nervously, unsure if anyone from the Great Yu Empire had gotten through. It would be a great embarrassment if not even one of their youths entered Astral-10 when the academy had effectivelynded in their backyard. The Empire would be theughingstock of the entire universe.

    But no one could help them in this matter, either. There were three great powers of the Innerverse lying in ambush during this examination that no one had known about beforehand. Dorren didn¡¯t dare hope too much because he knew just how powerful those elites would be.

    ¡°Look, screens are popping up on every path. They¡¯re listing the people who passed,¡± Rocky Aunamented, prompting Dorren and the rest to look nervously at their screens while gripping their fists. Of the three screens on the Sentinel paths, one already had a name and origin upon it: Silver¡ªGreat Yu Empire. On another path was Zhao Yilong¡ªMyriad Swords Peak.

    Dorren and the others stared at the name of Silver in a daze, ¡°Silver? Did we bring such a person?¡±

    Someone examined the list of student names, ¡°No one on our list, Your Highness; he should havee by himself.¡±

    The Crown Prince¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Investigate him. It isn¡¯t simple to join the examination on his own.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Huo Qingshan gazed at the name Zhao Yilong and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder someone from the Myriad Swords Peak got through the blockade. This person should be a very powerful Sentinel.¡±

    Dorren nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Fifth Sister if she knows them.¡±

    Of the ten paths, the battles among the Sentinels were rtively simpler. Not a single name appeared on the screens of the seven Melders¡¯ paths; the battles there weren¡¯t just more intense, but the paths were longer as well. Thus, Dorren Yushan and the rest all focused on thest screen from the Sentinel paths, where all of the youths from the Great Yu Empire had walked.

    The first name to appear here was Lulu Mavis, with her origin listed as the Mavis Bank. There were no gasps of surprise here; the Mavis Family was an absolute monster that could easily surpass the three powers present.

    Coco¡¯s name caused a bit more conversation, ¡°There are even people from the Windrift Hall here. Looks like the Innerverse didn¡¯t ignore Astral-10 entirely.¡±

    And then, the third name appeared. Lu Yin¡ªGreat Yu Empire. This one left Dorren and the rest jubnt; Lu Yin was someone truly of the Great Yu Empire, and he was even the Zishan King. His sess would give some credence to the Empire in a way that Silver¡¯s could not; a suspicious youth they hadn¡¯t heard about could notpare to the absolute joy of a royal establishing himself.

    Rocky Auna nodded in approval; the Zishan King truly was worthy of the Auna Family. Even if he was just an idle prince, Lu Yin¡¯s status as a student of the Astral Combat Academy would be enough to cover up the humiliation of Princess Wendy rejecting his engagement.

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes twinkled as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s name, and no one could tell what he was thinking. Jue Lang was silently staring at Lu Yin¡¯s name as well. On the other hand, Dorrenughed in excitement and immediately contacted the Empire to ry the good news.

    ¡°Your Highness, wait a moment, let¡¯s see the results of the Melder paths,¡± Huo Qingshan stopped him.

    The Crown Prince patted his own head, ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ll wait a little. My bad, I was too impatient.¡±

    To the powers of the universe, the Sentinel realm was just a starting point. Melderhood was the true beginning of cultivation, and a person¡¯s power when they were a Melder was enough to determine their life. Astral-10 had explicit requirements for this enrollment that only passed Sentinels and Melders; the logic was that anyone beyond this point was a lost cause. To the Empire, any Melder that managed to enter the Astral Combat Academy would be a big surprise.

    ¡­¡­

    The beam at the end of the Sentinel Path brought Lu Yin¡¯s trio to a limestone tform. The cozy ce was full of lichen, but the first thing they noticed when theynded was the constant patter of raindrops. They looked up at the peculiar, towering nts and the rain that drowned the world. They were in the depths of some forest growing out of the limestone, the rain forming several rivulets on the ground that flowed down to some unknown ce in the murky green sky.

    ¡°Silver?¡± As he looked around, Lu Yin was surprised by a familiar smiling face. He hadn¡¯t expected to see Silver here, especially having passed the examination earlier than himself.

    Silver nodded in greeting, ¡°Long time no see, friend!¡±

    On the other side, another figure stood silently and looked at the rain. There was an unsophisticated long sword on his back, and he gave off a sharp aura that seemed to cut the very rain apart. Lu Yin suddenly felt a great sense of pressure when he saw this person; he was certainly very strong.

    ¡°Someone from the Myriad Swords Peak?¡± Coco yelped, shocking Lu Yin as well. Wasn¡¯t that the power Wendy came from? Meanwhile, Lulu looked at the man and then Silver with excitement, cracking her fists with bloodlust. Coco had to stop her in a hurry.

    Lu Yin grew curious about Silver¡¯s power once more. How had he passed so quickly despite the blockade from the Innerverse power? This person improved just as fast as himself. It had felt like they were around the same level when they first met, and that feeling held true even now. This person who was rted to the Neohuman Alliance certainly wasn¡¯t easy to deal with.

    The man from Myriad Swords Peak kept staring at the rain and did not bother with Lu Yin and the rest. Lu Yin nced at Silver and did not bother to reminisce, minding his own business to scan through the surroundings. However, there was nothing around except the green sky, green forests, and never-ending rain.

    ¡­¡­

    The path of Melders was considerably longer than the Sentinels¡¯, but even so, some powerhouses had reached the end. Five Melders looked excitedly at the light beam in the distance, ¡°Finally here, Brother Meng. The next part will be the hardest, where we have to face the obstruction from the Innerverse¡¯s powerful elites.¡±

    News of three powers from the Innerverse dispatching people to obstruct the examination had spread. Many in the paths had received the information¡ªand some directly gave up¡ªbut the majority were unwilling to do so this close to the end. They had invested too much to give up.

    Meng Tao¡¯s face remained firm. He was from the Vastdearth Sect and was among the top three in its younger generation. They were the overlords of their own weave, and would never allow anyone to flee without at least trying battle. He wanted to personally experience the power of the elites of the Innerverse. His group joined up with others that were already waiting, quickly totaling more than twenty people who were facing off against an enormous sylvan dragon with a fearsome aura. The dragon had an immeasurable ocean of star energy, and every fluctuation caused cracks in the earth. Its breaths shot out des of wind that could cut skin apart.

    The sylvan dragon surveyed the people and let out an ear-splitting roar, ¡°I am Dragon Nine. Remember the name of the person who will block your hopes of entering the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    All the Melders were enraged, and Meng Tao stepped forward, ¡°Meng Tao from the Vastdearth Sect, here for a challenge.¡±

    Dragon Nine lowered its head and looked at Meng Tao, then sneered and a powerful stream of air rushed out, ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Not half a minuteter, Meng Tao cried in agony as his body was bitten by Dragon Nine and directly snapped. His blood dripped down its enormous body, all his dignity fading away into death. Everyone felt their scalps going numb; this was one of the strongest among them, and he had faced such an end. Who else would dare take the challenge?

    ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s attack together. This joker is a sylvan dragon, and that meatball at its tail is its weakness,¡± a girl¡¯s voice echoed, brightening everyone¡¯s gazes.

    ¡°Who dares nder my race?¡± Dragon Nine bellowed, but all twenty Melders joined forces in the next moment. This was their only chance of victory; none of them were confident in beating this dragon in singlebat.

    Dragon Nine was irate, and its giant eyes desperately sought out the one that had dared utter those words. It specifically attacked the women in the group, leaving many of them heavily injured, but several people broke through and headed straight for the light beam. The dragon growled and showcased its extreme speed, its body rapidly splitting into five silhouettes that formed a watertight wall blocking the portal. The Melders were left stunned; the speed of an Innerverse genius was simply too scary.

 Chapter 107: Those Who Passed

    <h4>Chapter 107: Those Who Passed</h4>

    Dragon Nine swatted someone away with ease, but suddenly sensed a threat from its rear. It turned around and snarled in a rage just as a silver needle stabbed into its tail through the void, prompting an anguished howl. The woman who¡¯d shouted out its weakness wasn¡¯t wrong; the meatball on a sylvan dragon¡¯s tail was a weakness, but while many Innerverse powers knew that, few at the same realm could break through its defense. Dragon Nine hadn¡¯t expected to meet such a person in the Outerverse, but thankfully, the attacker did not continue. The injury she had left was only minor, and she used the distraction to break through the blockade and enter the beam of light. The sylvan dragon vented on everyone else.

    On the limestone tform, Lu Yin was gazing at the distant rain, his heart calmed by the constant patter. He felt like it wasn¡¯t simple, a hypothesis that was shared by Lulu who simrly immersed herself. A new figure blinking in among them disrupted that immersion, prompting several astonished gazes at the average-looking man who¡¯d joined. The one captivating thing about him was his ck hair; it wasn¡¯t reflecting any light at all. The hair seemed like a void that captured all light, adding a sense of mystery.

    The neer didn¡¯t bother with the crowd, standing motionless in his original spot, but another figure appeared not long after. This one was female, and Coco shouted in delight when she noticed, ¡°Sister Zora!¡±

    The woman saw Coco and her face brightened, ¡°Coco! Are you alright? Did you get injured?¡±

    Coco shook her head and looked back with excitement, ¡°How about you? Are you wounded anywhere?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Zora promptly shook her head.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Coco was disappointed.

    ¡°Sister Zora, let me introduce you, these are Brother Lu Yin and Sister Lulu. They¡¯re the reason I could pass this exam; I wouldn¡¯t have made it myself.¡± Coco pulled Zora to the two others she had traveled with. Lu Yin nodded towards this woman who also seemed to be from the Windrift Hall, while Lulu maintained a polite indifference. Zora thanked them and then pulled Coco aside to speak to her.

    At the end of another Melder path, a deathly silence pervaded the sweltering atmosphere. The ground seemed to have been ttened out by something and there was no one alive; even the expert from the Ross Empire that was guarding the light beam had turned into scrap metal covered in blood. This was a path of absolute extermination.

    ¡°Incredible, that ck-haired youth has an excellent innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Pity it¡¯s too fatal.¡±

    ¡°That is fine, given his experience. We need such people.¡±

    For those who were waiting in the sky, two more screens lit up. One read ¡°Zora¡ªWindrift Hall¡± while the other only mentioned ¡°Darkvoid¡± with no origin.

    ¡­¡­

    Time passed slowly, and another day crept by. At the end of another Melder path was a proud Arshim, standing before a dozen Melders that he had roasted. He was from the ze Realm and ced fifth in the ze Rankings, far beyond the trash all around. The sun froze once more as extreme cold descended upon the path, leaving the baked Melders ecstatic at the thought that he would have the terrain disadvantage, but mes raged all around him and left them desperate once more. He had an innate gift of fire; coupled with his fire battle techniques, no one could contend against him.

    Arshim enjoyed watching their expressions change from hope to despair. This was why people like him looked down upon the Outerverse; it only produced weaklings. However, he was stunned when a beautiful silhouette walked out of his mes, her gait an alluring dance atop the fire. Most people¡¯s gazes locked onto the dark red eyes in her pretty face as well as the graceful snow-white hair. Many choked on their saliva and looked nkly at the absolutely charming girl, her bare feet treading on the mes to pass Arshim and enter the light. Only after she¡¯d vanished did the crowd realize that he hadn¡¯t obstructed her at all.

    Arshim was rooted in ce; he recognized the woman the moment he saw her; this was Michelle, the Red Lotus Witch. She was the younger sister of the Red Lotus Witchbow Mira, not someone who could be provoked.

    ¡­¡­

    With the one-day dy, someone new finally joined the limestone tform. Everyone¡¯s attention turned to Michelle when she arrived, including the ck-haired youth and the one from the Myriad Swords Peak who had been silently observing the rain. She was too captivating, be it in her appearance or the aura of her personality. Even Coco was dazed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was fixed on Michelle as well, though in his case it was because he thought he¡¯d seen Mira for a moment. Both girls shared their alluring figures, white hair, and dark red eyes. Michelle was unbelievably attractive, but her expression was filled with indifference after a single pass across the rest. Paying no further attention to them, she looked into the distance. No one tried to chat her up, as those that could pass the exam all had incredible willpower and would not be unnecessarily charmed by beauty alone.

    Michelle was followed by Meng Yue, the youth from the Vastdearth Sect who had been following the same path as Lu Yin. Archino who was guarding that path had been crushed by Lulu¡¯s punch, so anyone who could make it to the end would automatically pass. Unfortunately, Meng Yue was the only one powerful enough to get through the path who¡¯d been dyed long enough to avoid Archino¡¯s attacks. He stared at Lu Yin and then Lulu with an apprehensive gaze before silently walking to one side.

    As more time passed, anxiety started to take over Dorren Yushan and the others from the Great Yu Empire; no one from the Great Yu Empire had passed through the Melder paths. The freezing night was a perfect manifestation of their own mental states right now.

    Down below, Schutz and the rest were experiencing endless cold. The cyborg before them put his arm down, ten Melders who had united to barge through falling behind him. His mechanical voice rang harshly, ¡°I said you cannot pass. The difference between the Innerverse and Outerverse is like the chasm between heaven and earth.¡±

    The dozen Melders were dumbstruck; that half-machine freak¡¯s attacks were each within Melder limits, but the superposition left onlookers trembling. He was in a ss of his own. Schutz gritted his teeth and stepped forward. As the top expert of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s youth generation and the only one that managed to walk to the end, he could not retreat; the only way to stop Princess Wendy from looking down on them was to enter Astral-10 or die trying.

    ¡°Stepping out means death,¡± the mechanical man looked towards Schutz and said impatiently, raising his hand and firing his gun. A session of energy beams screamed forwards at a strange angle.

    Schutz howled softly and shed out with his blood-colored warde. The splendid strike streaked through the sky and pressured its surroundings, the shockwaves leaving the dozen Melders gasping in admiration. However, Schutz¡¯s strongest attack was easily torn apart by the light rays which congealed into an irresistible strength in moments. That power struck forward and ripped everything apart, aiming straight for his heart.

    Schutz bellowed and defended with his de, but it broke within a second. He felt the undefeatable strength of that cyborg in that instant; this was might that surpassed his wildest imagination.

    Just as everyone thought that Schutz would perish, however, the light beams suddenly vanished. Everyone stared dazedly at him; he wasn¡¯t dead? Schutz raised his head and gazed at the cyborg, his eyes narrowing as he saw a youth with a gentle smile behind. Schutz recognized this man as one of the Melders from the Great Yu Empire who wasn¡¯t from Yu Academy. He had seen him around, but not conversed much. This person had appeared at a crucial moment to save him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The cyborg asked coldly.

    ¡°Xia Luo. Sorry, please let us pass.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded at Schutz, then turned and walked towards the light beam. Schutz was left aplicated expression. That powerhouse from the Innerverse was intimidated andpletely subdued by this Xia Luo. Did he reallye from the Great Yu Empire?

    Everyone looked at Xia Luo and Schutz slowly walked towards the light beam. The cyborg didn¡¯t look back at all from start till end, but his gaze was icy-cold. He had felt the cold embrace of death in that instant, and subconsciously stopped his attack in order to prepare for defense. He was certain that the man had the ability to kill him. How could the Outerverse have someone so scary?

 Chapter 108: Hidden Gifts

    <h4>Chapter 108: Hidden Gifts</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m Wair. Remember my name, Xia Luo, I wille find you in the Academy,¡± the cyborg suddenly howled. He could not ept that he had been threatened to the point that he didn¡¯t have the courage to retaliate.

    Xia Luo smiled and stepped into the light beam, with Schutz taking a deep breath and closing his eyes before walking in. This time, he was brought in by someone else. When he walked out of Astral-10, he had to have achieved the glory to hold his head up high.

    Up above, Dorren Yushan and the rest were pleasantly surprised to find Schutz¡¯s name appearing on the screen. Xia Luo¡¯s name appearing as well left countless others jealous of the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°Hahahaha, Schutz had passed, worthy of being the top expert of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s youth generation,¡± Dorren Yushan was ecstatic. Huo Qingshan and the rest nodded. It looked like Schutz had improved significantly if he could break through the Innerverse elites guarding the examination.

    ¡°Who is that Xia Luo?¡± Rocky Auna asked curiously, prompting a shake of everyone¡¯s heads and an order from Dorren to look into it.

    ¡°What? Top secret?¡± the Crown Prince asked in amazement a momentter, saying solemnly, ¡°Even I don¡¯t have the authority to check; we can only ask His Imperial Majesty when we return. But enough of that¡ªour Empire was the biggest winner in this examination! A total of four students epted, this is worthy of a national celebration!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy yet, the three powers of the Innerverse have not seeded in their endeavors and they will definitely not be happy with us sending four people through,¡± Jue Lang warned.

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s gaze turned cold, ¡°So what? The Great Yu has its own military power; we don¡¯t fear war!¡±

    The mood on the distant Zenyu Star was just as Dorren Yushan had predicted. Everyone sank into euphoria, and The Undying Yushan¡¯s order to waive taxes for the year only elevated the atmosphere.

    There was only one person fuming; Bazeer. Lu Yin¡¯s sess meant he couldn¡¯t cause trouble in the short term; he had heard there was far more to Astral-10 than meets the eye. Perhaps this person could really be a threat in the future. Thinking of Ghostfire¡¯s miserable state, an unbearably ugly expression overcame his face and he mmed his hand into the floor.

    Within Zenyu Star¡¯s pce, The Undying Yushan looked at the screen before him with a permanent smile. There was a stunning young woman on the screen with a quiet expression and serene gaze, ¡°Your Imperial Majesty, you should not let anyone enter Astral-10.¡±

    The Emperor sipped his tea, ¡°The gap between the Outerverse and Innerverse is too great, and we must think of a way to bridge it.¡±

    ¡°It is not possible to reduce this gap. You¡¯ve entered the Innerverse before and should know how terrifying it is. Do you think that sending some imps into Astral-10 will be able to bridge this gap? They will only realize how insignificant they are,¡± the girl remained apathetic.

    The Undying Yushan stared at his daughter, ¡°Little Fifth, you are too arrogant. The workings of the universe follow somews, as do toppling of the heavens. One moment strong, and the next weak, no one knows when it will happen, and the skies will change. Your father is old and cannot protect the Empire, while you are unwilling to return as well. This is the only way we can fight; the future might be on the shoulders of these youths.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze remained cold, or perhaps she truly did not care, ¡°As you wish. The Great Yu Empire is just one speck of dust in the universe. If you must hold on so tightly, I have no choice either. But I must warn you that the Astral Combat Academy is not a stairway to heaven. They will clearly see how small they are and howughable their ambitions.¡±

    The Emperor watched as the screen winked out and sighed. He clearly knew the cruelty of the Innerverse, but a frog in a well would never know how big the sky was. Its desire to swallow that sky might beughable, but one had to respect that grit.

    ¡­¡­

    As the rain continued to patter constantly on the limestone tform, Lu Yin looked at the two neers with astonishment. Xia Luo? Schutz? The former smiled back with no signs of surprise, while thetter instead looked around at those present. There were a total of eleven people here, six Sentinels and five Melders. Minus Xia Luo and himself, only three other Melders had passed the examination. Of them, Schutz fixed his gaze on Darkvoid, who gave off an incredible sense of danger.

    Not far away, Silver smiled at Xia Luo just as he looked over. They exchanged nces and Silver maintained his smile, but Xia Luo¡¯s lukewarm gaze morphed into something sharper. Coincidentally, a new figure arrived between the two.

    Lu Yin looked over and his eyes narrowed as he noticed the ck and white hair of the Daynight n. Everyone else turned towards him as well; the Daynight n was well-known among the cultivators of the Innerverse, and the ck-and-white hair was easy to recognize as well. The man had a haughty look and scanned his surroundings, gaze lingering slightly on Michelle with his breath taken away.

    At this point, a voice rang through the void, ¡°The examination has ended. Congrattions to the twelve of you who passed.¡±

    The voice died down, and one more name appeared on one of the screens on the Sentinels¡¯ path in the heavens. Under Zhao Yilong¡¯s name was Hui Daynight.

    Lu Yin turned his gaze to the emptiness in the skies; the voice seemed to havee from all directions. All he noticed was the dark green curtain of rain that connected the skies to the earth, with the asional puff of mist.

    ¡°Congrattions to all that have entered the Tenth Astral Academy. We have specially prepared five gifts and hidden them in the rain. Finders, keepers.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes brightened; gifts from Astral-10 would not be simple. Lu Yin looked towards the rain and wondered what those words meant. Gifts hidden in the rain?

    Twelve individuals, each with their own thoughts, looked into the distance in the pouring rain. There were no signs of any gifts whatsoever, but Michelle walked to one corner of the limestone tform and silently looked eastwards. Xia Luo did the same, as did Hui Daynight. He might have been a Sentinel, but no one would view him as one. All twelve eventually chose their own directions and stared at the rain, trying to sense something.

    Lu Yin allowed the rain to ssh on his palm. It was nothing but normal in his perception, but the Academy seemingly wanted them to understand something from it. His mind drew aplete nk when faced with this natural phenomenon.

    Not long after, star energy ebbed and flowed around him from Michelle and a few others, as though they had discovered something. Lu Yin frowned and nced at Lulu, whose eyes were gleaming with some understanding. He then looked at Xia Luo, the youth¡¯s ever-gentle gaze concealing all thought. He breathed in deeply; he could not carry on like this, or he would fall behind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew steady as he thought over it. He hadn¡¯t wanted to use the Cosmic Art in case someone recognized it, but he had no choice. This was only their first task, and he didn¡¯t want to fall behind with every step. Six stars started to circle around him, the result of many days of training. At this point, he believed he could give Gerbach a run for his money.

    A pair of wizened eyes opened within the curtain of rain, peering through a great distance to watch Lu Yin with surprise, ¡°Someone from the Outerverse got a hold of this technique? Interesting, very interesting.¡±

    Gadgets were cut off from the moment everyone entered the world of rain, and the new students did not have an idea of how time flowed in Astral-10pared to the rest of the world. Three days quickly passed; for Lu Yin, they were three days of constantly staring at the rain. Even with the Cosmic Art, he could not see a thing. The rain helped him cleanse any impurities in his star energy, but the only thing outside of that was vague images shing within bursts of star energy nearby.

    Soon, he saw all sorts of strange phenomena within those images. The sound of raindrops cleared his mind, turning those sights into what felt like an experience of stepping onto the road of cultivation. As he immersed himself in that feeling, Michelle opened her eyes and her star energy erupted to sweep the rain aside. A burst of air rushed forth and tore open a tiny crack in the curtain; her eyes brightened and she stepped out into the rain to grab a chip of some sort.

    The others looked at Michelle in astonishment, while Lu Yin watched her star energy and then his own. He quickly realized what the problem was: her energy had taken physical form to disperse the rainwater, while his own was incorporeal. He simply could not push the rain apart. The gifts were right in front of their eyes and not hidden. Whoever could see them first would obtain them. This was a test of their star energy. Lu Yin breathed deeply and adjusted the star energy within his body, feeling the raindrops again. He had to turn his star energy into something substantial before he could tear the curtain open. It sounded simple but was a difficult challenge.

 Chapter 109: Rain Observatory

    <h4>Chapter 109: Rain Observatory</h4>

    Moments after Michelle¡¯s sess, Xia Luo smiled and stretched his hand out as well. Star energy spread out and allowed him to pluck a chip out of the rain. Hui Daynight frowned coldly in response.

    A deste gaze swept past Michelle and Xia Luo from the depths of the rain, a faint trace of approval within, ¡°Star energy is the foundation of cultivation, and the same battle technique can have vastly different capabilities depending on the user¡¯s star energy. Normal people focus on quantity while true powerhouses focus on quality. Even people who have focused on training in this cannot easily materialize star energy within three days; these children are quite smart. But the next step is the realm of infinite change; they will need to be geniuses to achieve that quickly.¡±

    A dayter, Hui Daynight suddenly opened his eyes and his hand grabbed at the rain, tearing it apart brashly. He then retrieved a chip arrogantly, matching gazes with Lulu who also got one near the same time. She red at him provocatively; prompting a brow-rise out of annoyance. How dare an ant from the Outerverse re at him?

    Lulu raised her fists out of her dislike for the Daynight n, and Hui Daynight¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°You¡¯re looking for trouble, woman.¡±

    ¡°Just someone from the Daynight n,¡± Lulu sneered.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Hui was surprised by her indifference.

    ¡°Lulu Mavis,¡± she answered proudly.

    He was stunned and didn¡¯t continue talking, knowing how terrifying the Mavis Family was.

    Michelle and the rest had already gotten four of the presents, but they continued standing in the rain and observed the scenery around them. This was a magical ce that brought peace to the soul.

    Lu Yin had been using the Cosmic Art tob through the star energy while watching the rain. He tried imitating the raindrops in order to liquify the star energy, but that failed. An attempt to evaporate his star energy wasn¡¯t sessful either, requiring vast skill that he did not possess.

    Hang on¡­ He was STUPID! He recalled that the Cosmic Art was based on the movement of the stars, objects that were physical manifestations of star energy. He had been training with physical star energy from the start, but he hadn¡¯t realized it until now. He opened his eyes and stretched a hand out, a star appearing on his palm to tear the rain apart. He saw the fifth chip and was about to grab it, but three swords suddenly pierced towards him from afar.

    The star in Lu Yin¡¯s palm erupted and crashed against the three swords. Unfortunately, this had happened too abruptly and he had only formed one star in his palm, which wasn¡¯t enough to abate the pressure. His hand recoiled immediately, and Zhao Yilong stole the chip away.

    Lu Yin looked at the youth from the Myriad Swords Peak, but Zhao Yilong ignored him and focused on the chip. He said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s not very nice to attack me, Friend.¡±

    Zhao Yilong nced over, ¡°You cane get it from me.¡±

    Lu Yin was just about to attack when a shadow suddenlynded on a mound north of the tform. Everyone looked over at the new arrival, who let loose a wave of star energy that astounded them; this was a Limiteer. They all fell silent, watching his longish hair waving in the rain. This was someone with the aura of a master.

    ¡°Congrattions, ju¡ª¡± the man blinked as he turned around, looking at them dazedly, ¡°Wait¡­ Where are all the students who passed the assessment?¡±

    Coco immediately answered like a good girl, ¡°We are them.¡±

    The man was stunned and smiled reluctantly, ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, little girl. There are so few of you, we normally recruit a thousand students.¡±

    Zora lifted her head, ¡°We¡¯re the only ones, are you a senior here?¡±

    ¡°Rainmaster, is something wrong?¡± the man suddenly shouted, ¡°Why are there so few people? Where are all the cute juniors I was promised? Where are they?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, only twelve people passed the assessment this time,¡± the voice bellowed from the rain.

    The man¡¯s expression sank, ¡°How did this happen? Has Astral-10 really be that abject that only twelve people passed the assessment? What a shame.¡±

    Michelle frowned, ¡°Senior, please talk about official business.¡±

    The man sighed, looking as if he had been dealt a huge blow. His gaze swept past all of them andnded on Michelle, his eyes gleaming as he appeared in front of her in an instant. He bowed her politely, ¡°My name is Big Pao, may I know your name, Junior?¡±

    Michelle was annoyed, ¡°Senior, please talk about official business.¡±

    The raindrops suddenly grewrger and the whole sky turned gray, ¡°Big Pao, do anything embarrassing again and you can go to the Sand Ocean for a year.¡±

    The man was shocked and immediately retreated to the mound, coughing a few times and turning serious, ¡°Hello, juniors. My name is Big Pao, and I¡¯m a student of Astral-10. Let me introduce all of you,¡± he winked at Michelle, ¡°As you already know, the Astral Combat Academy is the bestnd of learning in the universe, with a rich history that makes it a treasure of civilization. This is a ce countless powerhouses dream to enter¡­¡±

    ¡°Senior, please don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± Hui Daynight said coldly.

    Big Pao red at him irritably, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt when your senior is talking. You should be more polite.¡±

    Hui Daynight ignored him, while Michelle repeated a third time impatiently, ¡°Senior, please talk about official business.¡±

    Big Pao coughed again and continued awkwardly, ¡°Alright, Astral-10 doesn¡¯t have tutors to teach you personally and you can learn on your own. There are three renowned training spots here: the Rain Observatory, the Stargazing Deck, and the Sand Ocean. This is the Rain Observatory, where it has rained continuously for countless years; it is a great boon to training in your star energy. You¡¯ll understand the other two ces when you visit them¡­¡±

    After some introductions, Big Pao suddenly thought of something, ¡°A friendly reminder that you should use the teleporters if you want to leave the Rain Observatory. If you don¡¯t, I can¡¯t guarantee how long you will need to reach the other two ces.¡±

    ¡°Senior, is the academy very big?¡± Coco asked obediently with a face full of curiosity.

    Big Pao looked at Coco¡¯s adorable face and beamed, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very big. You only see one small corner of the entire Rain Observatory; the ce is made of tens of thousands of enormous trees.¡±

    ¡°Tens of thousands? That¡¯s not a lot.¡±

    Big Paoughed, ¡°Not a lot? What if I told you that the tform you¡¯re on right now is just the crown of a tree, and the endless greenery that you can see in the distance is just a single branch?¡±

    Everyone was stunned, and Coco covered her mouth while looking at the distance in shock. Those trees were just a single branch? So they were only looking at one tree? That big? They were cultivators and had quite the field of view, but they couldn¡¯t even see the next tree.

    ¡°Given your speed, it will take at least a day to cross the Rain Observatory,¡± Big Pao exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised, a day is enough for him to fly from Asia to the westernmost part of Europe, so that meant that the Rain Observatory was equivalent to the size of Asia and Europe on Earth. How could it be so huge? And that was just the Rain Observatory, could the entire Astral-10 be as big as Zenyu Star? Was that still an academy?

    ¡°There are a few things that you have to pay attention to in Astral-10, you won¡¯t understand it if I just tell you. Let me send you the information now; remember, you can¡¯t contact the outside world when you¡¯re in the academy, and can only contact each other. Come, let¡¯s exchange numbers.¡±

    Michelle and the others didn¡¯t even move, ignoring Big Paopletely. The situation grew a little awkward, and the man was left speechless. This waspletely different from what he had imagined. Where were the cute juniors that were promised? Only that one adorable small girl? This was a tragedy!

    ¡°Senior, where are the tutors?¡± Schutz asked.

    Big Pao had already lost his enthusiasm and replied listlessly, ¡°Look at the information yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin and the others looked at their gadgets promptly, seeing a new message about Astral-10. There wasn¡¯t much new there; only some tidbits about the treasury and the trial zones.

    Something in the information caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention; as long as one obtained the approval of the Rain Observatory and the Sand Ocean, one could be the student of the tutors there.

    There were tutors in Astral-10, but if one wanted to be taught by them, they needed approval. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know whether it was the same situation in the other academies, but he felt that this method was quite weird. Michelle frowned while looking through the information and looked at Big Pao, ¡°Is this the teaching method of Astral-10? The other nine academies all have tutors to help the students, why doesn''t Astral-10 have that?¡±

 Chapter 110: Ported Battle

    <h4>Chapter 110: Ported Battle</h4>

    Big Pao nced at Michelle in astonishment; this brat seemed to know quite a lot. ¡°I don¡¯t know why we don¡¯t have standard tutors; I¡¯m just a student. Now, I admit I¡¯m a little more handsome and better qualified than most, but I don¡¯t have the authority to intrude on academy matters.¡±

    Michelle looked down at her gadget and noted something down, prompting a change in Big Pao¡¯s expression. He muttered into his own, ¡°Sandmaster, this isn¡¯t good. The rumors might be real; she might be the one the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council sent to inspect us. What? You don¡¯t care? How? This kid will spill all our secrets! Yes, yes, I know we don¡¯t have secrets, only problematic education policies. But it won¡¯t be too good if your mantra of ¡®only idiots study¡¯ leaks out. Ugh, whatever. If you¡¯re not concerned, then so be it. Don¡¯t me me when the Council cracks down on us.¡±

    ¡°How do we confirm that we have obtained the Rain Observatory¡¯s acknowledgment?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    ¡°Simple. Just write your name out with star energy and send it out; you¡¯re acknowledged if it doesn¡¯t shatter,¡± Big Pao replied.

    Zhao Yilong stuck out his hand and lightly plucked his fingers, turning the star energy on his fingertips into swords that he twisted into his name. He pushed this name out, but it was dissipated in moments.

    Michelle spoke coldly, ¡°One¡¯s understanding of star energy has to be so deep to gain acknowledgment here; no wonder Astral-10 hasn¡¯t produced any outstanding geniuses in thousands of years. There are problems with your policies; the tutors just don¡¯t want to teach.¡±

    Big Pao rolled his eyes. This woman was pretty, but she seemed to be picking fault at everything.

    ¡°Is it true that the tutors here are all very powerful?¡± Coco raised her hand to ask.

    Michelle was the one to reply, ¡°One needs to be at least a Hunter to qualify.¡±

    ¡°A Hunter? So strong!¡± Coco cried.

    Lu Yin squinted. Hunters were at the same level as The Undying Yushan, a veritable powerhouse in the Outerverse, but they were only tutors in the Astral Combat Academy. It went without saying that they were all much stronger than the Emperor; why did tutors have such power?

    ¡°If only we could ask them to teach us individually,¡± Coco murmured.

    Big Pao smiled, ¡°Of course it¡¯s possible. As long as the conditions are met, you might even be direct disciples and learn the formidable battle techniques passed down in Astral-10 through the generations.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°What conditions?¡±

    Big Paoughed in a strange way, ¡°One is sending your name past the Rain Observatory. There are absolute beasts from ancient times that have sent their names right through and left them intact for a myriad years. They float endlessly in the curtain of rain and form the Rain List. If you enter the Rain List, you can be a direct disciple of any of the tutors and receive the ancient battle techniques.¡±

    Rain List? Ancient battle techniques? Their gazes brightened at the mention of names that hadsted a myriad years.

    ¡°Where can we see the Rain List?¡± Zhao Yilong asked loudly.

    Big Paoughed mischievously, ¡°No idea, only those who qualify to enter the list supposedly see it.¡±

    Michelle turned to the rain curtain and drew her name with star energy, pushing it away. Everyone looked on curiously; although there hadn¡¯t been a properparison, she was likely the most powerful of them all. She was the first to obtain the gift, had the most knowledge about the battle academy, and many were curious about her origins and especially her power. Even Zhao Yilong from the Myriad Swords Peak couldn¡¯t send his past a hundred meters, but her¡¯s pushed much further in only moments.

    Still, her name shattered before long, causing her to frown as Big Paomented, ¡°Pity, it didn¡¯t even make it past the tree.¡±

    Everyone experimented sessively. Lu Yin used five stars to open a path through the rain, but his name shattered at about 300 meters. Hui Daynight managed 500, while Xia Luo almost reached Michelle before his name shattered.

    ¡°No need to try that hard, I haven¡¯t managed it even after spending so many years here; you guys are still too far away. The Rain List supposedly only has a hundred names; you need to be a prodigy to squeeze in there,¡± Big Pao consoled them.

    Hui Daynight felt this was beneath him. He may not have had confidence in the other nine academies, but Astral-10? There were no powerful individuals birthed here. He was confident that if he was given some time to achieve enlightenment, he would definitely enter the Rain List.

    ¡°Senior, I want to go to the trial zone,¡± Lulu said excitedly. Everyone was shaken and looked at Big Pao; there was no greater attraction among the Astral Combat Academies than the Nine Trial Zones. There were rumors of ancient battle techniques, cultivation methods, bloodline enhancements, and the like all waiting to be obtained. Even the Ten Arbiters had grown through these trial zones, so they were a huge attraction.

    Big Pao shrugged, ¡°Sorry Junior, the trial zones cannot be entered as one pleases.¡±

    Michelle¡¯s gaze turned cold, ¡°The Astral Combat Academy holds the key to the Nine Trial Zones, and those that have enrolled in the Academy can enter. Why can¡¯t Astral-10?¡±

    Big Pao spread his hands, ¡°There are conditions.¡±

    Everyone was left helpless again. Condition after condition, was this even a school? Shouldn¡¯t they have no restriction on educating their students? Was it even logical for the Academy to not teach if the student wanted to learn?

    ¡°What conditions?¡± Hui Daynight asked coldly.

    ¡°You should have heard of the ported battles. As long as you win a hundred matches, you can enter the Six Daos,¡± Big Pao said with a little sympathy in his eyes.

    Michelle was enraged, ¡°Ridiculous, as a representative of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council, I suggest that any student who has entered the Academy should be allowed to enter the trial zones. This is a universal rule among the other nine, why does Astral-10 not follow it?¡±

    Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council? Everyone stared at Michelle in awe. Big Pao felt helpless. It turned out that this woman really was picking them apart; it was a pity that she was a beauty. ¡°As I said, Junior, this is not something I can decide. Why don¡¯t I bring you to the Trialmaster?¡±

    ¡°Lead the way,¡± Michelle snorted.

    The new students did not know how far the trial zone entrance was from the Rain Observatory, but they followed Big Pao through the teleporter and arrived there directly.

    ¡°Brother Xia, what are ported battles?¡± Lu Yin asked. He hadn¡¯t heard of them before.

    Schutz and Meng Yue looked over as well, so Xia Luo picked his words, ¡°How do I put it¡­ The universe is very mysterious, and has birthed many strange things. One of these things is a teleportation stone. So long as you touch it, it can send a perfect copy of you into another space to battle someone who touched another stone simultaneously. These are called ported battles.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s matchmaking?¡± Lu Yin asked in shock, recalling many games he had heard of from centuries ago.

    Xia Luo shook his head, ¡°Matchmaking implies that you¡¯re actually looking for suitable opponents based on qualifications. Ported battles don¡¯t care; you cane across anyone. You can fight a Seeker or an Explorer; there is no fairness. These stones are extremely rare and controlled by the strongest academies and powers in the universe. Any opponent in a ported battle is an absolute elite; we should be on the lowest rung.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned that there was actually such a thing. ording to what Xia Luo had said, anyone that qualified to use the teleportation stone was a force to be reckoned with, and there would be nock of bullies like the Daynight n, Mavis Family, or even the first nine academies. The strength would also be varied, but Sentinels should be the weakest. It was no wonder that Michelle was incensed; they were simply too weak to achieve a hundred victories. Their opponents wouldn¡¯t be weaklings like Eddy or Raas, but truly exceptional elites. They would almost never find opponents at their own realm, and defeating those opponents would be a huge challenge.

    Lu Yin felt some pressure for a moment, like he had seen countless proud experts who would be his opponents in the future. His eyes glinted as they teleported out of the curtain of green rain and entered a savannah where the dry grass swayed gently in the wind. Each stalk had a dim radiance with a strange evening color, giving off a delightfully fresh smell.

    ¡°This is the entrance to the trial zones, and the location of the teleportation stone as well. The Trialmaster is within that tree¡¯s hollow, everyone; you can go ahead. See youter!¡± Big Pao waved and left. He had pointed out an enormous curved tree that looked like a crescent moon, the surface wilted with countless cracks across the bark. The tree was so tall that it pierced the clouds, its interior holding a full forest of its own.

    As everyone entered the tree, their gazes were drawn to a stone that was floating in mid-air, emitting a bright light that pierced through the hazy mist.

    ¡°That should be the teleportation stone. How mysterious,¡± Xia Luo sighed; this was his first time seeing such a thing as well.

 Chapter 111: Instant Kill

    <h4>Chapter 111: Instant Kill</h4>

    Not far from the teleportation stone was an old man with a white beard and eyebrows. He appeared benevolent, and without a single drop of star energy leaking from his body, he seemed just like amoner. Michellended in front of him and saluted, ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council Representative Michelle pays her respects to the Trialmaster.¡±

    Lu Yin and the rest immediately followed suit, with only the ck-haired Darkvoid and Hui Daynight refusing to even look at him. The man opened his eyes, lips creaking open as though he had not spoken in a long time. He had to cough twice before his eyes seemed to regain focus, sweeping across them all to focus on Michelle, ¡°My apologies, Student; my ears aren¡¯t what they used to be. Could you repeat yourself?¡±

    Michelle repeated, ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council Representative Michelle pays her respects to the Trialmaster.¡±

    ¡°Ten what Council?¡± he seemed lost.

    ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council.¡±

    ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ what?¡±

    Michelle frowned, and it took multiple repeats for the man to finally understand, ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council?¡±

    She rxed and nodded, saying seriously, ¡°I¡¯m here on behalf of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council to inspect Astral-10. Mentor, may I ask why the students of Astral-10 have to win a hundred ported battles to enter the trial zones?¡±

    ¡°What? Could I trouble you to repeat?¡± the old man leaned forward slightly and tried his best to speak. A stumped Michelle walked a few steps closer and repeated loudly, but he seemed to grow distracted and pointed at the teleportation stone, ¡°That is the teleportation stone, Student. Do you want to join a ported battle?¡±

    Michelle was left speechless. Luluughed and Lu Yin chuckled, prompting a fierce re from her before she looked at the old man helplessly. Was this fogey really hard of hearing? It did seem like it. She ended up walking towards the teleportation stone,ing across Zhao Yilong who was waiting nearby, ¡°Who¡¯s in there?¡±

    ¡°The one from the Daynight n,¡± Zhao Yilong replied coldly.

    She looked at the mist below the teleportation stone and waited silently. Meanwhile, Lu Yin and the others arrived as well, all wanting to try the ported battle. Only one person could use a teleportation stone at a time, and Astral-10 only had one such stone. Fortunately, Hui Daynight left quite quickly, an ugly expression on his face.

    ¡°How¡¯s it? Should have failed,¡± Lulu rejoiced at his misfortune, only drawing a snort.

    ¡°Hui Daynight, zero victories to one defeat,¡± a voice rang out all of a sudden, making everyone jump. They all turned to look at the old man, while Hui looked annoyed at the report. Michelle¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t all that great either. Who would believe that old coot couldn¡¯t hear if he was calling out names so clearly?

    Lu Yin felt more weirded out by the old man the longer he looked at him. He had the feeling that the coot wasn¡¯t as kind as his appearance suggested. In the meanwhile, Zhao Yilong stepped directly into the teleportation stone and back out a short whileter, looking just as bad as Hui Daynight had.

    ¡°Zhao Yilong, zero victories to one defeat,¡± the elder shouted.

    Michelle grunted and stepped in. She spent a little more time there than the two boys, but it wasn¡¯t that much longer.

    ¡°Michelle, one victory to one defeat.¡±

    Hui Daynight tried to walk in again the moment Michelle walked out, drawing an annoyed shout from Zora who was next in line, ¡°Hey, Daynight kid, get in line.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d just be wasting resources.¡± He couldn¡¯t be bothered to turn towards her as he stepped towards the stone, but before an angry Zora could attack him, he was pressed into the ground by an invisible attack. Everyone turned to look at the old man, who said indifferently, ¡°No cutting the line, Student.¡±

    Hui was furious, but he had been suppressed by an invisible and immaterial attack that he simply could not resist. Michelle was stunned as well. This old fellow was far deeper than they could measure, so he had to be an Explorer at least. How could someone like that be deaf? He was clearly acting stupid! She decided to report back to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council once she left, asking them to crack down on Astral-10 and allow other academies to rece it.

    ¡°Zora, zero victories to one defeat,¡± the old man called out only moments after Zora entered. Coming out of the portal, she could only grit her teeth and stare at him. Xia Luo followed calmly behind her, his entrance drawing Michelle¡¯s attention as he was the second person to receive a gift at the Rain Observatory.

    Unfortunately, he walked out soon after and spread his hands. ¡°Xia Luo, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned at this. The ported battles had to be terrifying if even this immeasurable youth was defeated, and Michelle¡¯s one victory suddenly seemed all the more stunning. It was no wonder that she was a representative of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council as a mere Melder.

    ¡°Schutz, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    ¡°Darkvoid, one victory to one defeat,¡± the old man said with a little astonishment. He¡¯d never thought someone else here could actually emerge victorious. Everyone looked at the youth whose hair swallowed all light, but he remained indifferent as he gave off an aura of cold solitude.

    All the Melders had entered by this point, and Zhao Yilong had also tried from the Sentinels. Lulu jumped in happily, and returned just as quickly, ¡°Ridiculous! It was actually a sylvan dragon, and even a Limiteer; such a bully!¡±

    ¡°Lulu Mavis, zero victories to one defeat,¡± the elder shouted. His gaze lingered slightly on her before moving away.

    ¡°Meng Yue, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    ¡°Coco, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    Everyone had tried by this point outside of Lu Yin and Silver. Thetter smiled and gestured for him to proceed, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and entered the battle. It felt like he¡¯d entered a different world when he entered that mist, and the world spun around him as he touched the stone itself. He instantly appeared atop a volcanic crater withva spewing all around him.

    Ported battles could perfectly clone anyone into a virtual space, but the environment wasn¡¯t fixed. It could bend, ocean, or sky; this time, Lu Yin had arrived at a volcano. He looked at himself as the heat spewed all around; the space copied the build exactly, but his appearance was a little hazy with his face a ck void. Trying the Cosmic Art, he found no abnormalities at all, a fact that shocked him. This stone truly was mysterious, and every sense of this virtual space felt exactly like a real world. He bent down to touch the volcanic rock and was burnt; even his body¡¯s ability to withstand heat was exactly the same.

    A new figure suddenly appeared before him, apanied by a terrifying pressure that distorted the void and burst the volcano open. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he couldn¡¯t even gather his senses before he was killed. The only thing he saw was a silhouette with words atop its head¡ªBig Windy Bro.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just a Sentinel rookie. My apologies, I should have exercised some restraint. Such a pity, he died before his codename even appeared, haha!¡± Big Windy Bro sniggered atop the volcano. There was no form ofmunication here, and they could only think to themselves.

    Below the teleportation stone, Lu Yin opened his eyes with sweat beading on his forehead. He¡¯d thought he really had died in that instant. That person was definitely an Explorer at least; they were so powerful that he didn¡¯t have a chance to react. This was way scarier than even someone like Sigmund Mathers, the strength of a young genius in the ported battles.

    As he walked out of the teleportation stone scope, the elder¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Lu Yin, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    No one was surprised, as it would only be peculiar if he won. Silver beamed at him and entered the portal, while Coco asked curiously, ¡°How was it, Brother Lu? Who did you meet?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°Unsure, it should be an Explorer.¡±

    She stuck out her tongue, ¡°Worse than me, I met a Limiteer.¡±

    He smiled bitterly. Xia Luo was right; they were too weak. They were the worst among the ported battles, and the requirement of a hundred victories to enter the trial zones was unbelievably harsh. It was a pity that Michelle hadn¡¯t seeded in changing their minds.

    ¡°Oh right, what are your codenames?¡± he asked. One could use their real name in a ported battle, or just a codename to represent them. He hadn¡¯t evene up with one for himself before getting wiped out by Big Windy Bro.

    ¡°I¡¯m Hercules,¡± Lulu clenched her fists. It was a formidable name, just in her style.

 Chapter 112: Image

    <h4>Chapter 112: Image</h4>

    ¡°How about you, Coco?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved as he looked at the girl.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m called Little Angel,¡± she said with a blush, leaving him speechless.

    ¡°I¡¯m Silver Needle,¡± Zora walked over and volunteered.

    Mend Yue headed over as well, staring at him, ¡°I¡¯m Destion, remember that. If I meet you in a ported battle, I won¡¯t show mercy.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one teleportation stone, we won¡¯t meet,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    At this point, Silver walked out with his trademark sly smile. They all thought he¡¯d won for a moment, but the Trialmaster announced, ¡°Silver, zero victories to one defeat.¡±

    By this point, all twelve of them had tried their hand at the ported battles. Outside of Michelle and Darkvoid who had one victory each, the rest were all defeated. Their opponents weren¡¯t just beyond their realm, but also absolute elites or geniuses with innate gifts. The universe was just so big, and Lu Yin now sensed acutely just how small the Great Yu Empire was. He could match up to Yu Academy¡¯s Melders as a Sentinel, especially with his sixth star where he was now confident in facing a hall master like Gerbach, but he wasn¡¯t even confident against opponents of the same level in these ported battles. Perhaps he might even meet another powerhouse who had learnt the Cosmic Art in these battles.

    Hui Daynight stepped into the teleportation stone¡¯s domain once more with a desire to continue battling, while most of the others got back in line. These battles were a fresh experience to them, and they all wanted to try again. After several rounds, Lu Yin got his second chance. He gave himself the codename of Seventh Brother; he did not know why, but he¡¯d always felt like he was ranked seventh. However, his luck wasn¡¯t too great over the next few rounds. He met two Limiteers, an Explorer, and a Melder, but even the Melder had defeated him easily.

    As he walked out of the scope of the teleportation stone for the fifth time, Lu Yin heard the Trialmaster shout, ¡°Lu Yin, zero victories to five defeats.¡± He minded his own business and walked away, deciding not to enter again in the short term. Fighting like that was useless; his opponents didn¡¯t even give him time to react, so it wasn¡¯t very helpful in practice. It was clear that he could only use the ported battles as a benchmark for his own strength.

    ¡°Want some food, Friend?¡± Silver smiled and raised a sausage in the distance, the aroma wafting out as he added seasoning. Coco, Zora, and Lulu were already eating there, so he didn¡¯t bother with pleasantries and just grabbed one and dug in.

    ¡°Brother Silver, you¡¯re a great chef!¡± Cocomended.

    Silver smiled, ¡°Eat more if you like it, I¡¯m a gourmet.¡±

    ¡°How many matches have you fought?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Silver lifted up one finger.

    ¡°Just one?¡± Lu Yin was incredulous.

    ¡°You fought five matches, are you going to continue?¡± Silver flipped the meat and smiled back. When Lu Yin shook his head, he threw another sausage towards the Trialmaster.

    The old man caught the meat and sniffed it, ¡°Not bad, you have some sense. Good kid.¡±

    ¡°As long as you like it,¡± Silver smiled.

    The old man¡¯s face blossomed with a smile of his own, ¡°I do.¡±

    Fortunately Michelle did not see this scene. Silver had not spoken too loudly, but the Trialmaster clearly heard what he¡¯d said. He¡¯d clearly been acting deaf in front of her, a fact that would anger her to no end.

    More people left as time passed, with Zhao Yilong, Schutz, Xia Luo, and Zora all leaving to find a more interesting ce to train. Silver finished cooking and left as well, but Lu Yin stuck around near the teleportation stone to see how many victories Hui Daynight and Darkvoid could get. Those two were still going at it.

    ¡°Hui Daynight, one victory to 27 defeats,¡± the Trialmaster said.

    Not long after, ¡°Darkvoid, seven victories to 22 defeats.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked by Darkvoid¡¯s win rate, while Hui Daynight was bbergasted as well. This person was far stronger than himself.

    ¡°Seven victories, how powerful,¡± a male stranger appeared about ten metres away from Lu Yin and gazed at Darkvoid in wonder. Lu Yin looked at him with suspicion, but he smiled back, ¡°Let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Little Pao, you can call me Senior Little Pao.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange, ¡°Little Pao? You¡¯re with Big Pao?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my older brother,¡± Little Pao replied.

    Lu Yin nodded, as the two brothers had rather convenient names, ¡°Senior Little Pao, there¡¯s something I would like to ask. We¡¯ve been here for three days, but why has not a single other senior appeared?¡±

    Little Pao felt embarrassed, ¡°They all left. Outside of the tutors themselves, we¡¯re the only two remaining.¡±

    ¡°What? All of them left?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Little Pao nodded and sighed, ¡°Astral-10 was once in the Innerverse, but we were sent to the Outerverse. All the other students tried to enter the other academies or just left. No one wants toe to the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t imagined that Astral-10¡¯s situation would be so poor. No wonder he couldn¡¯t see a single other student. He bid farewell to Little Pao and left the trial zone entrance, heading for the Sand Ocean that Big Pao had introduced them to before. The others had all left over the past three days.

    The Sand Ocean was one of three greatndscapes of Astral-10 with the Rain Observatory and Stargazing Deck. Their specific uses were not really introduced to him, but given that the Rain Observatory could polish their star energy, he guessed that the Sand Ocean would help with the physical body or battle techniques. The teleporter only had a few options anyway, and the ripping force quickly left him in a wide expanse of yellow sand.

    From Big Pao¡¯s basic introduction, the Sand Ocean was farrger than the Rain Observatory. Dangerous sandstorms swept across the region on asion, and after seeing the yellow desert that stretched as far as the eye could see, Lu Yin stepped back into the teleporter and headed for the Stargazing Deck. He wanted to look at all three majorndscapes once, and the Stargazing Deck was the most mysterious of them all. This was the onendscape that all ten Astral Combat Academies possessed.

    ording to Big Pao¡¯s introductory message, everyone saw something different on the Stargazing Deck. Some saw their past, some saw a smear of the heavens, and some saw powerful battle techniques. It was said that some even glimpsed a hint of the future; Lu Yin could not believe this, but those rumors did go to show how mystical this ce was. It was actually just an octagonal wooden building with manyyers, but it wasn¡¯t more than a hundred meters tall and the top was a leveled terrace. The entire thing looked quite average, but there were just too many rumors about it.

    Xia Luo walked out of the Stargazing Deck just as Lu Yin arrived, and the two bumped into one another.

    ¡°How many times have you tried the ported battles?¡± Xia Luo asked. He had left after his first defeat.

    ¡°Five.¡±

    He smiled, ¡°We¡¯re in early stages still; we can¡¯t challenge the Innerverse powerhouses just yet.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and pondered over it, changing topics, ¡°You know Silver?¡±

    Xia Luo was taken aback, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Lu Yinughed, ¡°I¡¯m not blind. You treat himpletely differently with the way you treat others.¡±

    Xia Luo shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know him, but I hate the smell on his body.¡±

    Lu Yin thought of the Neohuman Alliance and their Corpse Kings from theary trial. Silver didn¡¯t actually look like one, but he just let the conversation die. Xia Luo left for some other location, and he slowly stepped onto the Stargazing Deck. The ce seemed just as normal on the inside as on the outside; even at the top, the scenery he saw and the sensations he felt were nothing out of the ordinary.

    ¡°Close your eyes, meditate, and feel,¡± a voice rang beside his ears. Lu Yin understood that this was a tutor, and he thought no further before slowly closing his eyes. A short whileter, he entered a strange sleep where he felt like he was still awake. His gaze flitted past the Stargazing Deck into the starry heavens, entering a foriegn space that was flooded with a deste aura. Further away, he saw titanic ancient battleships sailing through the stars, each one sorge that their ends could not be seen. They almost seemed to embrace the gxies they floated across, and an ancient warsong yed in his ears. There was one word he saw in front of the frontmost vessel¡ªBoundless.

    Everything suddenly bubbled apart, and a jade finger tore through the skies to crush him. ¡°How audacious!¡± Limitless wrath filled Lu Yin¡¯s mind and soul, but when he opened his eyes, everything had returned to normal. He was still on the Stargazing Deck, with no heavens, warships, or jade fingers in sight. His eyes gleamed and he panted. It was that scene again, the scene of him being crushed. Was it reality or an illusion? If it was real, why was he still alive? If it was an illusion, how were his emotions so believable?

 Chapter 113: Old Lunatic

    <h4>Chapter 113: Old Lunatic</h4>

    Clothes soaked with sweat, Lu Yin continued to stare at the ground and recall the scene he had just witnessed, that foreign heaven, the giant ancient battleships, and that jade finger.

    ¡°Go down. The Stargazing Deck shows you the stars, your gratitude and grudges, the world through the ages, the cycle of causality, and a part of the heavens that belongs to you,¡± the tutor¡¯s voice rang out again.

    Lu Yin looked up before bowing slowly, ¡°Tutor, might I ask a question? The Stargazing Deck can look into the past, but can it also look into the future?¡±

    ¡°Causality dictates everything,¡± the Starmaster said dully, ¡°If you see the cause, there will be an effect.¡±

    ¡°And what does a part of the heavens that belongs to me mean? I clearly saw some foreign space.¡±

    ¡°Ask yourself what you witnessed; there have been many changes since ancient times. Go down, I will not answer you further.¡±

    Lu Yin had many questions as he walked down the Stargazing Deck. He still was at a loss; if no one saw the exact same thing, what did his vision represent? His innate gift and the Stargazing Deck had both shown him that jade finger. Whose finger was it? Why did it crush him? Why did he feel so angry?

    Ever since arriving at Astral-10, Lu Yin had only experienced one thing: insignificance. Unmatched as a Sentinel? That was just a joke, and only in the Great Yu Empire. A person¡¯s strength didn¡¯t just depend on their rtive strength in the same realm; how many people in the Innerverse were younger yet much more powerful than him? Unequalled in the same realm, fair fights¡­ those were all false glory. Like Bazeer had said, no one limited themselves in an actual battle. Star energy was a definitive part of power, proved by the ported battles. He hadn¡¯t met any Sentinels in five battles; the powerful believed in crushing victories, not fairness.

    He would never forget the humiliation that Wendy Yushan had wrought upon him. She hadn¡¯t even canceled their engagement in person, looking down from a high vantage point with disdain. Muttering to himself, he raised his head and headed back to the Rain Observatory. That was the ce everyone who passed the assessment had been sent to first, which had to be intentional. Perhaps that would be the right ce to begin.

    The dark green skies suddenly felt strangely familiar this time. He looked around and leaped into the sky, crossing one tree after several minutes of flight. The entire forest looked a little scary from the skies; as Big Pao had said, each treetop had its own limestone tform. He spent two hours on the journey before settling on one he liked, sitting down cross-legged and staring silently at the raindrops.

    ¡­¡­

    Great Yu Empire, the second ring around the Zenyu Star. A de sliced through the air and chopped down a flying beast, drawing cheers from a man nearby, ¡°You¡¯re back to a Sentinel, amazing!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian calmly looked at the sky, staring at the first ring, the Zenyu Star, and finally out into space. Lu Yin was likely at Astral-10 by now.

    ¡°Brother Zhang, let¡¯s have a friendly duel to see how strong your realmbreaking power is,¡± the man walked over excitedly.

    Zhang Dingtian refocused and gripped his sword, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Not long after, the two of them parted. The man was a powerful Melder while Dingtian was just a Sentinel; the oue had been decided quite quickly.

    ¡°So powerful, you just recovered as a Sentinel and have the power of a Yu Academy elite. No wonder they made an exception for you to remodel, and you even have the Captain¡¯s favor,¡± the man eximed. Seeing the desage just wipe his sword in disappointment, he continued, ¡°Right, I heard you know King Zishan?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded silently, and the man was stunned, ¡°Tell me, is he really such a genius? He¡¯s one of the four people from the Empire that enrolled into Astral-10. I heard he was unparalleled as a Sentinel and even defeated Melders from Yu Academy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Zhang Dingtian growled.

    The man tutted, ¡°So stupid. If you could use your connection to King Zishan, you could have walked alongside him and decided the future of the Great Yu Empire. His title might have been empty before, but now that he¡¯s entered Astral-10, everything is different. He might be able to enter the Innerverse just like Princess Wendy in the future, and she might not hate our Empire anymore.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gaze flickered and he gripped his de with resolution, swearing to himself that he, too, would walk out of the Great Yu Empire to find Qingyu Daynight and Liu Shaoge for vengeance.

    Elsewhere on the second ring, Bai Xue was panting heavily as she stared straight ahead. Her body suddenly vanished and reappeared a few meters away.

    ¡°No, no, nope. Too slow, this is a turtle crawling, not the sh!¡± Peach said unhappily from her perch atop a peach tree, swinging her legs while she munched on snacks. She saw the sweaty Bai Xue gritting her teeth and followed, ¡°Faster. Faster! The sh is my specialty; as my assistant, you need to be super fast. Faster, use it with your innate gift.¡±

    The royal courtiers were walking out of the royal pce on the Zenyu Star below. It should have been an ordinary day, but all of them were scampering to hide from the Blind Monk. Him alone was one thing, but he had brought Seruzen along. No one dared approach them because of their appearance.

    ¡®I miss you, Boss.¡¯ Inside an enormous spacecraft in the distance, Xu San looked out the window with dejection as the Zenyu Star shrank into nothingness in the distance. He wanted to cry, but the tears simply would note. He was being shipped off to the seventh fment to meet captain Batson, and did not know when he would return to the capital.

    ¡­¡­

    Astral-10, Rain Observatory. Lu Yin sat on his chosen tform for five days straight, remaining motionless throughout that duration as he stared at the raindrops without end. There was no change in them from start to end, but he had slowly stopped thinking of them as drops of water. They were now a heavy curtain that connected the heavens to the earth, and his body¡¯s star energy slowly started imitating them. His surroundings slowly changed as a shower of star energy joined the dark green rain.

    Ten more days passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yin had continued to sit and stare. He could feel the changes in his star energy at this point, but it was far too slow. He was certain that his star energy control would massively improve if he sat here for the next year, but he couldn¡¯t wait that long.

    Lu Yin was the first to admit that patience wasn¡¯t his strong suit, or he wouldn¡¯t have robbed all the trainees for star crystals back on Earth. He had to think of something! As he diverted his mind, he huffed and shook his limbs, ¡°I haven¡¯t rolled the die in a while. But I don¡¯t have enough star energy crystals, it isn¡¯t worth it.¡±

    The dark green sky suddenly trembled as he was pondering over it, and the rain actually stopped. Unimaginable pressure swept across the Rain Observatory and sent him to the floor in an instant, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Terrifying star energy formed a visible tornado that crushed the tree he was on, heading right for him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shrank with fear; he was going to die!

    ¡°Headmaster, stop!¡± a voice barked just as he was about to be crushed into a pool of blood, dissipating the terrifying strength.

    An old man in ragged clothes flew by, howling inughter, ¡°You started this war, you¡¯ll suffer the consequences of your actions! Hahaha! You started this war¡­¡±

    Lu Yin stared nkly as the crazy old man passed him, and his throbbing brain finally gave up. Many profound runes shed behind him in the instant he fainted, forming a lock that flickered with light before fading away.

    A middle-aged man stepped out of the void and arrived behind Lu Yin, staring in shock, ¡°Was that a seal? For what? How have I never seen this before? There are even a few lines I can¡¯t decipher, and it can¡¯t be broken either¡­ Interesting¡­¡±

    The old man wrecked a dozen more trees before vanishing; Lu Yin just happened to be unlucky enough to be on one of them. If not for the tutor in the Rain Observatory intervening, he would have died.

    It took a day and night for Lu Yin to wake up, and his head was still hurting when he did. His gaze slowly focused on the raindrops that were dripping down on his hand, the process helped by the slight chill. Was this the Rain Observatory? What happened?

    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± a wizened voice rang behind him, and he turned to see a middle-aged man. He seemed normal, but he had heard this voice before; it belonged to the tutor here.

    ¡°Are you the tutor?¡± Lu Yin asked, his voice very hoarse.

    The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yin with a bizarre expression, ¡°I¡¯m Guanyu, you can call me the Rainmaster.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Rainmaster,¡± Lu Yin bowed.

    ¡°Do you recall what happened?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and thought about it, his expression changing as he saw the dozens of destroyed trees all around. ¡°There was a crazy old man.¡±

    ¡°Forget it,¡± the Rainmaster sighed, and Lu Yin just nodded. He had a vague memory of the word ¡®Headmaster¡¯ being said before he fainted. Was that old fogey Astral-10¡¯s headmaster?

 Chapter 114: The Treasury And The Mission

    <h4>Chapter 114: The Treasury And The Mission</h4>

    ¡°This is for you,¡± the Rainmaster threw Lu Yin a chip, and he epted it with gleaming eyes. This had to be the same thing Michelle and the others had gotten, and now he had one too. It was probably something for him to keep his mouth shut, or justpensation of sorts for the near-death experience. He was about to ask more questions, but the Rainmaster just disappeared. Slightly disappointed, he inserted the chip into his gadget. It contained an introduction to star energy and its different variations, which showed him the way forward.

    ¡°Every student should have gotten one of these,¡± he muttered to himself. There really was a problem with Astral-10¡¯s teaching methods.

    ording to the information on the chip, one¡¯s control of star energy was dictated by a process of removing its impurities, physically manifesting it, and then achieving the realm of infinite change. Many cultivators needed the help of elemental crystals for their battle techniques, but those at infinite change could imitate those kinds of energy on their own.

    He lifted his hand and condensed some star energy in his palm. Without the Cosmic Art, it barely formed a single strand that was far from physical manifestation, forget the stage of infinite change. Besides, infinite change wasn¡¯t even the end of it; there was a brief note about forming one¡¯s own power system afterwards which attracted his attention, but there was no further exnation. Star energy was the foundation of all cultivation, and his understanding of it was currently far too crude. It was no wonder that all students who passed the assessment had appeared at the Rain Observatory. Astral-10 hoped for them all to start their training here, but they had all chosen to focus on other ces instead.

    The screen disappeared and the chip cracked into pieces. Lu Yin truly wanted to train in the Rain Observatory in order to improve on his star energy, but that would take too long. His primary goal now was to get another batch of star crystals and use his die; he hoped to unlock the yet-unseen roll of three, and figure out what the roll of six actually did outside of consuming enormous amounts of star crystals. He determined the direction of the teleporter and flew away.

    Meanwhile, the Rainmaster was staring at him from the distance while deep in thought, ¡°Strange¡­ I¡¯ve never seen that seal before. It¡¯s tooplicated for the Outerverse, even most of the Innerverse. Could it be¡­¡±

    Outside of the three majorndscapes in Astral-10 was the treasury. Big Pao had introduced it as a ce with a dual purpose; it housed the school¡¯s countless treasures, but also put up training missions with rewards forpletion. Desperately in need of star crystals, Lu Yin had decided to go there and try his luck.

    The Astral-10 treasury was an enormous ce that looked grand and magnificent from the outside. Hui Daynight was leaving just as Lu Yin walked in, and he nced over arrogantly before leaving a growl behind, ¡°Get lost.¡±

    A cold glint of annoyance shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Hey, another neer! You''re the seventh one, what do you need?¡± A short and skinny old man cackled from within.

    Lu Yin looked over and was stunned. The old man had an interesting beard that moved when he smiled, and the cunning look in his eyes made it clear that this wasn¡¯t a nice person. ¡°Are you the Treasuremaster?¡±

    The old man nodded and stroked his beard, ¡°Are you here for treasure or missions?¡±

    ¡°Can I go in and take a look?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The old man waved his hand to summon a screen that disyed various objects, ¡°Everything in the treasury is here if you want to look, but you can¡¯t enter.¡±

    Lu Yin went through the enormous catalog with some surprise. There were all sorts of items here, from weapons and armor to books, potions, and even spaceships. However, the screen disappeared soon and the old man waved again to summon a different one that showed a list of missions, ¡°Anything you want from the treasury has to be redeemed with mission points. Interested?¡±

    ¡°Mm, but they¡¯re all Sentinel missions,¡± Lu Yin mused.

    The old man pinched his beard, ¡°Only powerful forces in the universe dare to issue missions to Astral-10, their missions aren¡¯t easy. Don¡¯t think about exceeding your realm; it wouldn¡¯t be bad if you canplete even these. Look at the top one.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Five wins?¡± Lu Yin asked in shock as he looked through it. Mission: Get five consecutive wins in battle. Reward: one Aurora spaceship and 10,000 cubes of star crystals.

    The old man nodded, ¡°Read it properly, it¡¯s five consecutive wins, not five wins in general. The difference is enormous, but the reward is obviously quite attractive as well. That brat from the Daynight n is trying to do this right now.¡±

    Lu Yinughed at that. It was far too difficult for any of the new students to get to five wins total right now, forget five consecutive. It was no wonder that Hui was in such a bad mood. He shelved the mission immediately, scrolling through the list to find something suitable.

    ¡°Find the rumored Zhn Muya on the Muya.¡±

    ¡°Complete a weave trial.¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaker needed.¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaker needed.¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaker needed.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk for one year.¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaker needed.¡±

    ¡°Recycle unwanted materials for Iltoco. Reward: a third of the value of the recycled materials.¡±

    There were many types of missions, including something as crazy as not speaking for a year; they truly broadened Lu Yin¡¯s horizons. He asked, ¡°Treasuremaster, what does lockbreaker mean?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard of lockbreakers?¡± the old man nced at him, continuing when he shook his head, ¡°Kids these days are really blind to the world. You¡¯ve never even heard of lockbreakers, huh? I¡¯m toozy to exin, you can find out on your own.¡±

    Lu Yin ignored the berating and pointed to a mission, ¡°I want this, please.¡±

    The old man looked over, ¡°Iltoco is an old friend of Astral-10, don¡¯t embarrass us when you go there or I¡¯ll punish you.¡±

    Embarrass them? Lu Yin smiled. This was a joke; breaking things down was extremely simple with his die, he was confident that he would recycle enough to stun thepany.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve assigned it to you. The mission details on your gadget include the location of their recycling nts, you can go over on your own,¡± the old man said.

    Lu Yin looked at the location. Iltoco¡¯s nearest location was two days away from Astral-10, and he would need to take a wormhole on the journey. He followed the instructions and borrowed a personal spaceship from the treasury, but the old manmented on that as well, ¡°I want it back in perfect shape once you¡¯re done. You¡¯ll have to pay if you lose it.¡±

    He registered with his fingerprint and teleported to Astral-10¡¯s space station. Finding hundreds of personal spaceships around, he got on a random one and flew out. He wanted to figure out where the school was when he left, but there was nothing in sight all around when he was warped out of the station. The Academy waspletely hidden despite its enormous size, something that bbergasted him.

    After nearly a month in this new school, Lu Yin was finally traveling out in space as a student of Astral-10. On the other hand, Coco was at the teleporter in the Sand Ocean, looking at the desert timidly, ¡°Senior Little Pao, I don¡¯t like it here.¡±

    Little Paoughed, ¡°This is a really good ce for training, it can unleash anyone¡¯s potential.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush, really!¡± she answered anxiously.

    ¡°Well, then I hope you¡¯ll win in the new studentpetition,¡± Little Pao said.

    ¡°New studentpetition? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°A contest for students to determine their ranking in the school. First ce gets great rewards,¡± Little Pao exined.

    Coco pouted, ¡°When will it be?¡±

    Little Pao shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Maybe a couple days, maybe a couple months. Everything about it depends on the tutors, even the rewards, but there¡¯s one guarantee; the person inst ce will definitely get punished.

    Coco thought about the other new students and realized that she probably was the weakest one, ¡°What? Why would they do this?¡±

    Little Paoughed, ¡°Get back to training.¡±

 Chapter 115: Disassembly

    <h4>Chapter 115: Disassembly</h4>

    Two dayster, Lu Yin weaved through theets flitting through space and appeared at a dull yellow. This was one of Iltoco¡¯s recycling nts; the entire was under their control. His spaceship was allowed tond after they confirmed his identity and purpose, and he met a plump middle-aged man with a bright smile down below.

    ¡°Wee to Iltoco; I am Ahke, the manager at this small nt,¡± the middle-aged man said eloquently.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin,¡± Lu Yin said with a node.

    ¡°Wee, Student Lu. Let me give you a tour,¡± Manager Ahke said cordially, hiding his shock at the surname.

    Lu Yin looked up at the dark yellow sky without any trace of a sun. The thickyers of yellow clouds gave off an oppressive feeling that was anything but weing. He shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Manager Ahke, please bring me to the mission location.¡±

    ¡°Alright,e with me¡± Ahke nodded, leading him to a giant ne that quickly left the station and flew into the distance. He started a brief introduction to the nt, ¡°Student Lu, this is full of toxic gases that make it unlivable. Iltoco bought it specifically to store scrap metal; the stuff is everywhere, from abandoned spaceships and nes to weapons and armor¡­¡±

    Lu Yin looked on calmly. This was a approaching its demise; perhaps it had birthed a civilization once just like Earth, but various causes had left it on the verge of destruction. It could only be used as a dumpyard now, and a few hundred millennia could drive it out of existence.

    The ground was unbelievably dry, with not a single source of water to be seen anywhere. People in hazard suits were sifting through all the rubbish down below, likely ves that Iltoco had brought over from other backwards to search for useful items in the trash. There were more of these people than he could count; had Earth not been protected by his identity, its cultivators would have been sent to battlefields and the normal people would join those down below, living on such abandoneds and sifting through rubbish until they died.

    ¡°Student Lu, which disassembler do you use?¡± Manager Ahke asked. There was just too much garbage in the universe, and a considerable portion of it was man-made. Manypanies sifted through abandoned trash and reused what they could; this both reduced their costs and cleared the universe¡¯s trash. There were many different models of disassemblers, devices powered by star energy that could strip materials apart. The better one¡¯s control of star energy, the finer the disassembly. Astral-10 epted such missions because it trained students in star energy control.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need any disassemblers,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Ahke was stunned, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you say?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Find me a quiet ce, I don¡¯t need any disassemblers.¡±

    Ahke¡¯s eyes gleamed and he nodded, ordering the ne to change directions. Half an hourter, they stopped beside a hill, ¡°There is no one here, Student Lu, and there are many abandoned machines all around. You can use whatever you want; rest assured that no one will watch.¡±

    Lu Yin walked down from the ne and frowned at a breath of pungent gas. While this gas wasn¡¯t toxic to cultivators, it stung.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have someone get you an air freshener,¡± Ahke offered immediately.

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°No need. You can leave, I¡¯ll call you when I¡¯m done.¡±

    Ahke didn¡¯t bother with any more pleasantries and just left. Once he was on the ne, however, he switched his gadget on, ¡°General Manager, the student from Astral-10 doesn¡¯t need any disassembler. He either relies on his star energy or some innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Must be an innate gift; he¡¯d need to be a lockbreaker to disassemble materials with star energy alone, and he wouldn¡¯t ept a mission like this if he was. Don¡¯t bother him; wait for the results and we¡¯ll see,¡± a pleasant female voice rang through. Ahke acknowledged and hung up.

    The mound Lu Yin had been brought to wasn¡¯t all that tall. He flew up and looked through the countless abandoned nes and spaceships in his surroundings. They came in all sorts of sizes, with the biggest one extending far into the horizon. ncing at the dark yellow clouds, he stretched his limbs and summoned his die, ¡°Time to start, let¡¯s hope I roll a two right away.¡±

    With so many days since hisst roll, the die was already emitting hazy starlight at this point. Lu Yin gulped with the same nervousness he felt every time he rolled, tapping on it lightly to set it off. It spun rapidly andnded on Pilfer, at which point a thump followed as arge sword dropped down from the portal. He picked it up and exerted some force to test it; it wasn¡¯t bad but was more suited to Melders and he had no use for it right now. Putting it away, he retrieved a cube of star crystals to replenish the die and set it off again.

    His luck was rather good this time, and hended on ckhole Disassembly on his second roll. ted, he didn¡¯t think further to crush eighteen more cubes and extend the duration just like Timestop. One cube provided about 160 minutes of extension, double that for his Timestop domain. Eighteen were enough to run the thing for a day.

    ¡°Just a little too small,¡± he muttered to himself before picking up a random discarded instrument and tossing it in. The item passed through and an unknown materialnded on the floor below. He took a deep breath, ¡°Alright, time to start.¡±

    Lu Yin pushed the mountainous heap of trash towards the vortex. Although the thing was small, anything that passed through its domain was disassembled. He only had to move things back and forth, consuming the entire mountain in only two-ish hours to leave behind a considerable pile of all sorts of unrecognizable materials. He thought of the previous situation with the cosmic rings and guessed these materials could be passed through again to produce something more precious, but he hesitated to do so. His speed would already be questionable anyway.

    A day thus passed with Lu Yin spending his time disassembling a considerable batch of abandoned machinery. Everything around him seemed a little emptier by the time he was done, and the materials formed a significant heap. He wondered how much ie that would be, but after some thought decided to crush eighteen more cubes of star crystals for another day.

    When Ahke received a notification after two days, he immediately flew out to Lu Yin¡¯s location once more. Seeing two tiny hills of disassembled materials, however, he had to rub his eyes vigorously to believe it was actually real. How did he recycle so many things in only two days? Even Limiteers with the most efficient disassemblers couldn¡¯t do this much in a month. This was far too efficient! For a moment, Manager Ahke looked at Lu Yin like he was a deity.

    Lu Yin coughed, ¡°How is this, Manager Ahke. Enough?¡±

    ¡°Of course! You¡¯vepleted your mission, Student Lu, and exceeded the quota by arge margin. But, did you do all this by yourself?¡± Ahke asked suspiciously. Some students had brought in a lot of disassembled materials in their cosmic rings toplete missions before, iming that they had done the work. Iltoco didn¡¯t care because it was pure profit, but the amount before his eyes was far too much. Just how many cosmic rings could a student bring? Was this even real? How could he do it so quickly?

    ¡°I hope it won¡¯t be too much trouble to calcte my reward,¡± Lu Yin prodded faintly.

    Manager Ahke immediately agreed and assigned someone to settle Lu Yin¡¯s rewards, even contacting the general manager in charge within the Frostwave Weave.

    ¡°Impossible, one student cannot recycle that quickly unless he¡¯s a lockbreaker!¡± the voice said with certainty.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask,¡± Ahke answered.

    ¡°No need, it has to be fake. A lockbreaker wouldn¡¯t bother with a tiny reward like this; let him go.¡±

    ¡°And what about the assignment progress?¡±

    ¡°Overperformed.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Ahke hung up.

    Lu Yin had already received his reward by this time. While a majority of the materials weren¡¯t worth too much, there were some special things that were sold by the gram. Everything weighed a few tons in total, adding up to a worth of nearly 1 billion credits. His share of the reward was a little over 300 million. A quick calction told him that disassembling machines that were actually in good condition would jump his output a hundredfold. Iltoco paid extremely low prices for the scrap and had people like him disassemble it for further usage. The finished products would fetch tens of billions of credits; even if the money given away was shaved off, the profits would be well over 10 billion. The only issue was that disassemblers needed care, maintenance, regr repairs, and training. This money would be paid by Iltoco, and they would never be short on money. It was no wonder they had enough to buy a to use as a rubbish dump.

    Lu Yin felt rather envious. Thispany was so rich, and it was just onepany in the Outerverse that couldn¡¯tpare to great powers like the Mavis Bank.

 Chapter 116: Lockbreaker

    <h4>Chapter 116: Lockbreaker</h4>

    While Lu Yin was busy wondering whether the Mavis Bank¡¯s total finances could keep the Timestop domain running indefinitely, Manager Ahke finished calctions and passed him a white crystal card from the same bank, ¡°There are 3.2 billion credits here, you can exchange it all for star crystals at the nearest Mavis branch, they should be more convenient for transactions and storage.¡±

    ¡°More convenient for transactions?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°Yes. Many transactions in the Innerverse are settled with star crystals and the like as currency; it is rather inconvenient to carry notes for 3.2 billion when you can just have 3,200 cubes of star crystals instead.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded with secret excitement; this job was just far too suited to himself. He decided to return whenever he needed money¡­ Wait, when did he ever not need money? He would return to Astral-10 toplete the mission and see if he coulde back soon after.

    Ahke¡¯s doubts grew when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s high spirits. They had guessed that this student had brought his own materials toplete this mission, which they were fine with, but the student was only paid back a third of the value. Why was he so happy? Was this mission that important in Astral-10? That couldn¡¯t be, Iltoco wasn¡¯t worth that much.

    ¡°Do you wish to continue your efforts, Student Lu? We¡¯ll dly pay the same rate,¡± he tried to probe.

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°No need, let¡¯s go to the space station.¡±

    Ahke nodded, ¡°Please follow me.¡±

    They passed by countless abandoned machines on the way back, but Lu Yin considered it all treasure that could be exchanged for money. He asked along the way, ¡°Manager Ahke, can Ie whenever I wish to recycle things?¡±

    Ahke smiled, ¡°Of course. Most pre-Limiteer cultivators have to pass an examination first, but students from Astral-10 are different. You¡¯ve already proved yourself anyway; just inform me in advance if you want toe. Here¡¯s my number.¡±

    Lu Yin recorded it down and thanked him, but Ahke hesitated for a moment before trying to probe again, ¡°Student Lu¡¯s star energy control seems rather extensive for a Sentinel. You were even faster than a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°My innate gift is useful for recycling,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    ¡°Innate gift?¡± Ahke was shocked, unsure if this person was pulling his leg. If there was an innate gift this useful, Iltoco definitely couldn¡¯t miss out on such an opportunity. There were many strange innate gifts in the universe, including those suited to lockbreakers, ¡°Student Lu, is your innate gift in the exotic category?¡±

    Lu Yin nced back at him, inciting a prompt apology, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m being too nosy.¡±

    He turned away, ¡°Well, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Ahke grew envious, ¡°So you have the potential to be a lockbreaker.¡±

    Lockbreaker? Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to look it up, ¡°Have you seen a lockbreaker before?¡±

    Ahke smiled bitterly, ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, how could someone like me evere across a lockbreaker? Even some of our executives might not have met one before; those are characters at the peak of the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and went quiet, looking down to fiddle with his gadget. An introduction of lockbreakers came up rather quickly, revealing what they were. This was a title for someone who could perfectly disintegrate star energy.

    The universe had been through countless years of the cycle of creation and destruction, leaving behind innumerable items from ancient times. These items were enveloped inyers of all sorts of energy that formed a protective shell known as a sourcebox. Forcefully prying these things open could damage what was inside, and the abundance of mysterious phenomena in the universe ensured that some of theyers were dangerous to destroy. One had to peel away eachyer of protective energy slowly to retrieve the contents. Any object that could absorb star energy to form these protectiveyers wasn¡¯t simple; these were all dust-caked treasures that only a lockbreaker could reveal.

    Sourceboxes could hold such things as powerful battle techniques, cultivation methods, and even ancient technology. Every revtion of such a thing increased the prestige of the profession, but the requirements to be a lockbreaker were far too harsh for mere mortals to attain. Lockbreakers thus had enormous clout wherever they went. Lu Yin was rather surprised; he hadn¡¯t thought such an upation could exist.

    ¡°We¡¯re at the space station, Student Lu,¡± Ahke said suddenly, pulling him away from his screen.

    Lu Yin stepped off the ne, ¡°Thank you for the hospitality, Manager Ahke. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    ¡°We should be thanking you for your help. Have a pleasant journey.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly stepped into his ne and set course for the nearest Mavis Bank. As his spaceship disappeared into the depths of space, he thought over his current reward. Over 3,000 cubes of star crystals¡­ this was far more than the entire amount he had gained in the Great Yu Empire. It truly was worthy of a bigpany that could send missions to Astral-10, something even the Empire did not have the ability to do. Iltoco seemed like a subsidiary of some bigpany in the Innerverse, and were likely using that rtionship to send these missions.

    The nearest Mavis Bank was a day¡¯s journey away, and Lu Yin spent the time reading up on lockbreakers. He only noticed a change when his ne docked at the space station, and in his tion, he didn¡¯t even flinch at the high parking fees. The he hadnded on was quite big, and its buildings were simr in style to the Zenyu Star. He headed directly for the Mavis Bank and transferred the credits into star crystals, a total of 3,270 cubes. With the 28 he had on hand prior, he was almost at 3,300 cubes which was a huge sum. He still had the two million credits he¡¯d obtained in the Great Yu Empire, but that sum now seemed smallpared to his mission rewards. It was only when he checked the price of the most basic spaceship and found it to be at 10 billion that he realized how stingy The Undying Yushan had been to only give him 300,000 credits. It was far too miserly.

    But it did seem that earning money was easy, if only for himself. Ahke had said that even a Limiteer with a good grasp of star energy couldn¡¯t earn so much in two months, and that sort of Limiteer was a rare breed. He guessed that it would have to be someone at the level of materialization or even infinite change, and there simply weren¡¯t that many of those around. Earning money wasn¡¯t all that easy; he just had a hack.

    Lu Yin walked out of the Mavis Bank and looked at the branches full of credit notes, moved by how rich the Mavis Family was. He was about to leave when he recalled something and retrieved a ck crystal card from his ring; this was what he¡¯d gotten when he rolled Pilfer once. The words ¡°Yao Gu¡± were front and center on it, so he¡¯d thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to make a withdrawal, but he was already here and there was no harm in trying. When he went back in, he actually seeded.

    Sess without authentication? How? Lu Yin grew excited at his luck, and the bnce in the card was just as delightful. 12,000 cubes of star crystals, four times his current wealth. Wait, why did this card use star crystals directly instead of credits? He quickly brushed that thought aside, deciding not to look the gift horse in the mouth. He took out all of the crystals but found that his cosmic ring now wasn¡¯t big enough. In the end, he heroically spent 1,000 cubes on the spot to purchase arge cosmic ring. The pang of regret was washed away by the fact that this new ring had over 10,000 cubic meters of space.

    Lu Yin left the bank with a mix of excitement and apprehension. He was carrying more than 15,000 star crystals, enough to invite anyone¡¯s greed. Everyone looked like a bandit now, so he headed directly to the space station and left the to return to Astral-10.

    ¡­¡­

    Two dayster. A giant meteor smashed right through a star and flew through a foreign sky, continuing to head into the distance. A pair of eyes that were impossible to describe opened up on the meteor, seeming to engulf everything like they were ck holes. ¡°There¡¯s news. Send someone to search the Frostwave Weave in the Human Domain. Find the person that dared to rob me, he¡¯ll learn the consequences of stealing Yao Gu¡¯s belongings.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

 Chapter 117: Possession

    <h4>Chapter 117: Possession</h4>

    Within Astral-10¡¯s treasury, the bearded old man sized Lu Yin up and down in shock, ¡°Not bad, kid. You did more than required, it was probably a huge price to pay.¡±

    ¡°What price?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    The old man snickered, ¡°We all know the answer to that. Whatever, there¡¯s no need to hide it; they confirmedpletion.¡±

    Hide what? Lu Yin was confused, but the old man scoffed and exined, ¡°You went beyond requirements in only two days, do you think I¡¯m an idiot? Only lockbreakers¡­ Whatever, take a look and see which mission you want to take next.¡±

    Lu Yin ignored the man¡¯s words and left without taking on any new missions. Grabbing his star crystals, he wondered where to go before eventually deciding to head to the space station. There weren¡¯t any specific residential areas in Astral-10, but he guessed this was likely the only ce not monitored constantly by the mentors. He was going to roll his die. With two uses at Iltoco and some rest afterwards, he hoped he¡¯d be able to find out what rolling a three did soon.

    The die appeared with a flick of the wrist, and Lu Yin crushed a cube of star crystals and set it off. He held his breath as it slowed down, but was left speechless as itnded on two. With nothing to disassemble, it was useless. With his next roll, hended on five. This time he cursed; it was another useless roll. Who knew exactly who here had innate gifts, and how was he to find them in ten seconds anyway?

    With only one roll left before he¡¯d be exhausted, he tossed the die with a little worry. The thing turned slower and slower until five of its sides disappeared, revealing the number six.

    SIX! Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. He¡¯d only gotten it once, and it had absorbed all of the star crystals he¡¯d offered and given him nothing. It still felt like he¡¯d been scammed by this die yesterday; what was going to happen this time?

    A terrifying suction force erupted from the die before he could think, and the star crystals in his cosmic ring started disappearing in the blink of an eye. 100 cubes, 1,000 cubes, 2,000 cubes¡­ Before he knew it, he¡¯d lost a full 10,000 cubes of star crystals.

    The moment thest of the star crystals were pulled away, Lu Yin saw his surroundings warping into an unfamiliar dark space. His consciousness turned into a bundle of light that shot forward, slowing down with time as he saw numerous bundles of various sizes all around. Some were feeble glows, while others were hot as stars. He was shocked to realize what the roll of 6 was for; it allowed one to merge with another person, experiencing their life for the low starting price of 10,000 star crystals. The bundles of light he was seeing were the ones he could sense with his current power, and the ones closest did not seem like they would harm him.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin felt a pull and was startled. He didn¡¯t have enough star crystals on him, and not fusing with one of these bundles would be wasting a great opportunity. He didn¡¯t waste any more time and charged straight for the warmest bundle he could sense, guessing that the brightness was rted to the owner¡¯s power. However, he felt like he was being burnt to ashes and was forced to turn back, heading towards the bundles that were only a little smaller than him. Meanwhile, all 15,000 star crystals on him were absorbed.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Da Lei, Da Lei! Wake up!¡± a beautiful girl was crying out anxiously on a dark field, awakening a hazy Lu Yin. She smiled emotionally when he opened his eyes, ¡°You¡¯re awake! That¡¯s great!¡±

    Da Lei? Who was that? Lu Yin was confused at first, but then he recalled rolling a six on his die and fusing with someone¡¯s mind. Was this the person?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Da Lei?¡± The girl looked at him nervously. The man in front of her was obviously someone she knew, but his gaze was very unfamiliar.

    As he rubbed his head, Lu Yin instantly knew everything he needed about the person he had possessed. His mind was still running a little slow, but he eventually turned towards the girl and smiled, ¡°Nothing, I was just ying a prank on you.¡±

    The girl sighed, ¡°You scared me. Don¡¯t do that again!¡±

    Lu Yin¡ªno, Da Lei nodded. ¡°Aya, I¡¯m hungry. Can you buy me something to eat?"

    ¡°Mm. Stay here, I¡¯ll get you something.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as the girl left before looking at himself and sighing. He was Da Lei now, and while he had no idea how long he¡¯d stay merged with this person, it couldn¡¯t be that long. Thinking of this, he reached in and sensed therge pool of energy within his body. Da Lei was actually a Limiteer!

    Da Lei had the power of a Limiteer, but that wasn¡¯t all. Lu Yin was delighted to find that his grasp of star energy had reached the realm of infinite change, and he was a famed genius on this that was nning on applying to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. To his surprise, this was the thirteenth fment which was at the edge of the Frostwave Weave. He had been sent here with only 10,000 star crystals; would he reach the Innerverse with more?

    Star energy gathered in Da Lei¡¯s palm, going from intangible to tangible. Soon, it reached a form simr to fire and vibrated with heat in the air; this was the realm of infinite change simting fire energy. This person wasn¡¯t even forty years of age, so he was still of the younger generation. This level of star energy control was prodigal.

    With the same battle techniques and star energy, one¡¯s control could make for a huge difference in power. It was a pity that Da Lei did not know any good battle techniques. He didn¡¯t understand the need to find a backer, didn¡¯t know how to earn money, and didn¡¯t have the guts to chase the girl he loved. All in all, this was someone extremely stiff.

    ¡°AH!¡± a voice suddenly interrupted Lu Yin¡¯s thought, sending him to his feet. Aya had fainted by the time he bounded over, and a number of cultivators walked out from the shadows. A young man smirked at him, ¡°Long time no see.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze focused. He recognized Ramos from Da Lei¡¯s memories; this was the son of the most powerful person on the. Ramos had always been jealous of Da Lei¡¯s talent and tried to bribe him to take part in the exam for the Thirteen Squadrons in his stead, but Da Lei had rejected him. He wasn¡¯t supposed to show up now.

    ¡°I already said no, Ramos. Let Aya go,¡± Lu Yin said seriously.

    Ramos snickered, ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Give up your ce, and I can let you live and even give you battle techniques. You¡¯ll never be able to get one otherwise.¡±

    It was at this point that Lu Yin understood why Da Lei had no battle techniques or much general knowledge. He had been blocked off with intention.

    ¡°I don¡¯t agree,¡± Lu Yin said once more.

    Ramos shrugged, ¡°You¡¯re so inflexible. Do you really think the Thirteen Squadrons will see anything in you? This universe has nock of geniuses. I¡¯ll have you know that the Empire is now most interested in King Zishan and the others who entered Astral-10. What about you? They¡¯ve forgotten you already. Nobody will cause trouble for me if you disappear. Kill him.¡±

    A number of Limiteers came for Lu Yin and he tried to sh away, but he didn¡¯t have much control of this body and nearly tripped. He¡¯d forgotten that this body was Da Lei¡¯s; even if he knew how to use the sh, the body didn¡¯t have the muscle memory for it.

    BOOM! The earth shattered and Lu Yin soared into the skies, a middle-aged Limiteer attacking behind him. He raised his hand and smashed down with converged star energy, sending the attacked flying into the ground. This was the terrifying power of the realm of infinite change; he could even go up against battle techniques with his star energy alone.

    However, a few more Limiteers had surrounded him at this point. Lu Yin gritted his teeth and used the sh consciously, this time seeding as his body vanished to dodge their attack. He appeared behind one of the Limiteers and shed out with a de of star energy. The target had quick reflexes and dodged, so the de cut through the air with a tremendous surge of star energy that cut a rift into the earth. The aftershocks spread into a river in the distance and reversed its flow.

    Such a battle should technically have attracted the attention of the¡¯s troops, but they never appeared. Ramos had already nned this out; today was the day Da Lei died. He had no ns of letting Da Lei off. Even if Da Lei was willing to give up his position, that still wouldn¡¯t do. What he wanted to see the regret and despair as this genius died before him.

    Lu Yin panted and then burst intoughter. Da Lei really was quite lucky. If he hadn¡¯t entered this body, this genius would have been done for.

    ¡°Your girlfriend is quite pretty, Da Lei.¡± Ramos¡¯ voice rang out down below. He walked over to Aya and bent down to touch her.

    Da Lei¡¯s fury bubbled up even into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, but he calmed those emotions down, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle him for you.¡±

    And then, Da Lei disappeared.

 Chapter 118: Michelleâ€™s Shock

    <h4>Chapter 118: Michelle¡¯s Shock</h4>

    ¡°Young Master, careful!¡± the Limiteers nearby shouted as Da Lei disappeared, but it was toote. Lu Yin shed behind Ramos and grabbed him by the hair; the mere Melder was helpless against his strength.

    Ramos paled, ¡°Let go of me now, or my dad will make your life unbearable!¡±

    ¡°You can just die,¡± Lu Yin said with a smirk; he wasn¡¯t the actual Da Lei to be threatened by that. Ramos¡¯s eyes narrowed with disbelief, but a loud bang rang out as Lu Yin¡¯s palm smashed past his ears into the ground. That attack was filled with bloodlust; Da Lei really was going to kill him!

    ¡°Stop, let him go!¡± the Limiteers growled angrily, but Lu Yin just pulled out a gadget and started a call. A beautifuldy quickly appeared on his screen, her face stunning Ramos and the rest. This was the captain of the Thirteen Squadron; Liuying Zishan.

    ¡°Who are you? Who gave you my number?¡± Liuying asked coldly.

    ¡°Hello, Captain Zishan, I¡¯m Da Lei. His Majesty Lu Yin asked me to contact you if I needed help,¡± Lu Yin said. This was his first time contacting the woman who was supposed to be his closest supporter in the Great Yu Empire, and he hadn¡¯t expected it toe out in this situation.

    Meanwhile, Ramos paled at the mention of Lu Yin¡¯s name. How did Da Lei know the Zishan King? The Limiteers around were astonished as well; they realized that things weren¡¯t going too well.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Liuying asked with surprise, her gaze sweeping past Ramos and the rest as Lu Yin exined, ¡°Oh. I understand, I¡¯ll handle it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. He hadn¡¯t just contacted Liuying because she was the Thirteenth Captain, but also to see what her attitude was towards him. Da Lei was the best litmus test, and he¡¯d always harbored a desire to join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons anyway. This would be killing two birds with one stone.

    Lu Yin let go of Ramos and stared the Limiteers down. Now, no one would dare cause trouble for Da Lei. Even Ramos and his father couldn¡¯t afford to offend someone who could contact Liuying Zishan directly. He carried Aya away towards a grassy field, feeling a pulling sensation that indicated his time was up. He had saved Da Lei¡¯s life today, but he wanted to give the man one more present before he left.

    ¡°Da Lei?¡± Aya woke up and looked around at her surroundings blearily while lying on the grass.

    Lu Yin responded with a hug and a kiss on the lips that shot her awake, matching her gaze with a smile, ¡°Aya¡­ I love you.¡±

    Tears immediately welled up in Aya¡¯s eyes, and a look of disbelief overcame her face. She hugged him back tightly and cried tears of joy, ¡°I love you too! I love you too!¡±

    Lu Yin patted Aya¡¯s back as the pull grew stronger and stronger. He was about to leave, but he had helped Da Lei ovee thest obstacle before he left. He hoped the two of them could live happily ever after; that would be his thanks for helping him realize the true meaning of the realm of infinite change. The two of them would certainly meet in person in the future.

    In the blink of an eye, Lu Yin was back at Astral-10¡¯s space station. His body shook and he opened his eyes, immediately summoning his star energy to feel it. He lifted his hand and turned it into wind, water, and mes in his palm; they were all just imitations, but this was the realm of infinite change. Many people depended on elemental crystals to use battle techniques, like Jeraldine with her fire punch. However, that requirement faded once one achieved the realm of infinite change; if she were at that level, she could simte fire with her star energy alone.

    Lu Yin was ted; it was an amazing feat to achieve the realm of infinite change so quickly. It would have taken more than a year if he trained at the Rain Observatory, but he had reaped the benefits of Da Lei¡¯s experience. The only thing that depressed him slightly was the thought of the star crystals he¡¯d used up. Possession had taken at least 10,000 and he hoped to have a few thousand left, but reality sent him to the pits of despair. There was nothing left in his cosmic ring at all.

    He was destined to be poor! Lu Yinmented the loss of his newfound wealth, but eventually shed a better smile. It was definitely worth it to spend 15,000 star crystals in exchange for this level of star energy control.

    ¡­¡­

    Michelle headed right back to the Rain Observatory uponpleting a mission, watching the constant green rain. She¡¯d only taken on a mission so she could go outside and report the situation in Astral-10 to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council; there was something wrong with Astral-10¡¯s teaching methods, and she was of the opinion that it didn¡¯t have the right to control ess to the Nine Trial Zones. Unfortunately, the Council still needed some time to make a decision on the issue, so she could only return to the Academy and gather more evidence.

    Rain sttered on the limestone tform and cooled Michelle¡¯s feet. She looked at it calmly, observing the changes in star energy intently. A silhouette brushed past the distance, but she didn¡¯t pay it much attention. It was just one of the new Sentinel students; while he deserved praise for entering Astral-10, someone like that wasn¡¯t umon in the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin flew past the rain and was initially going tond on a tform in front of him, but he realized that there was someone there already and thus went looking for a different tree. Now, his perception of the rain all around was entirely different. He could see every minute change clearly; every drop of water was going through infinite variations in a moment. This wasn¡¯t ordinary rain as he¡¯d once thought, but drops of miniature worlds that changed constantly.

    Five more days of practiceter, he lifted a palm filled with star energy. The energy materialized and transformed into wind, fire, and even joined the rain, eventually forming his name and flying into the rain.

    The word Michelle was pushed into the rain simultaneously. Although the two of them were an entire tree apart and quite far from each other, their names were close enough in the rain that each could see the other¡¯s as they pushed the rain apart and rushed into the distance.

    Michelle didn¡¯t pay much attention at first, thinking that Lu Yin¡¯s name would disappear quickly, but it stayed for quite a while. Eventually, her name was on the verge of dissipating and his didn¡¯t seem changed in the slightest. Her expression changed and she looked into the distance in shock.

    In the depths of the rain, the Rainmaster was watching the scene with surprise, ¡°This kid was only gone for a few days, how is there such arge change? His star energy control is already in the realm of infinite change before anyone else.¡±

    Lu Yin watched his name flying into the distance, believing that the realm of infinite change would be enough to gain the Rain Observatory¡¯s approval. His name continued to soar long after Michelle¡¯s had shattered; her control was very close to the realm of infinite change, but she wasn¡¯t there yet. Having experienced Da Lei¡¯s control and star energy, he was far beyond her now.

    Three people watched two words soar through half the Rain Observatory before they shattered. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t familiar enough with his star energy control just yet. He ended up sitting down and staring at the rain, hoping to obtain the Rain Observatory¡¯s approval in the shortest time.

    On the other tform, Michelle took off and flew towards Lu Yin, interrupting his solemn practice with her intoxicating scent. Lu Yin breathed in and turned around to look at the stunning woman, but she was indifferent to his gaze and asked curiously, ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    ¡°Do what?¡±

    ¡°Your energy control. You reached the realm of infinite change.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and the star energy formed various shapes in his palm, ¡°It¡¯s as simple as this, why?¡±

    She raised a brow, ¡°You couldn¡¯t do this when you first joined.¡±

    ¡°Who told you that?¡± he smiled, ¡°One just has to keep a low profile. Showoffs end up disliked by everyone, have you seen Hui Daynight?¡±

    Michelle clearly didn¡¯t believe him; no one would ignore a gift from an Astral Combat Academy to hide their abilities. She turned to leave, ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to tell me.¡±

 Chapter 119: Nine Stacks

    <h4>Chapter 119: Nine Stacks</h4>

    Watching Michelle¡¯s tempting figure, Lu Yin suddenly asked, ¡°You said you¡¯re from the Universe Youth Council. Can you tell me who the Ten Arbiters are?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to know yet.¡± She didn¡¯t even stop or look back.

    Lu Yin took it calmly; desire for the knowledge of the Ten Arbiters was a test of sorts. Some would never pass it, yearning to understand who they were, while others would find out after passing that they were merely identities and nothing more. The Arbiters were free to do as they liked across the universe merely because they towered over the rest of their peers.

    Soaring into the sky, Michelle felt the rain dripping on her and wondered something else; how had he done it? She was certain that this had been impossible for Lu Yin when he¡¯d first joined the academy. He had gone from solid star energy to the realm of infinite change in such little time; even the most prodigal geniuses should have taken months. Was he really such a monster?

    Lu Yin remained in the Rain Observatory for ten days, trying to send out his name every three days. His newfound control of star energy should have allowed him to keep his name from dispersing, but he was a tiny step away from aplishing that task. That tiny step was his understanding of star energy in rtion to himself, taking Da Lei¡¯sprehension and integrating it into his own.

    It was on the morning of the twelfth day that he aplished that task; the sky was still dark when he reached out and pushed his astral name into the rain. This time, he was confident that he could seed. The two characters easily made it past the furthest point he¡¯d been able to reach before, zooming straight past the Rain Observatory before dispersing on the other side.

    He¡¯d seeded! He was now acknowledged by the Observatory! Lu Yin got up in excitement, feeling something new that caused his eyes to twinkle¡ª he could now break through and be a Melder!

    As the Rainmaster walked over through the rain, Lu Yin bowed down to the waist, ¡°Hello, Tutor.¡±

    The man gave Lu Yin a look of admiration, ¡°Your grasp of star energy changedpletely in one month. This is prodigious.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the praise,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    The mentor nodded, ¡°ording to Academy rules, tutors provide personal guidance once you are acknowledged by the Rain Observatory. You can choose a battle technique for me to polish, or I can give you an entirely new one. It is your choice.¡±

    Lu Yin pondered over the decision. A battle technique from Astral-10 was quite tempting, but he already had quite a few battle techniques of his own. The Cosmic Palm, Skybeast w, Daynight Punch, sh, and Three Stacks were enough of a drain on his attention; he didn¡¯t have the time to learn any more. He also didn¡¯t think the new battle technique could be better than the Cosmic Art, which he wanted to explorepletely before looking for anything else. He looked up earnestly, ¡°I¡¯d like you to polish one of my battle techniques.¡±

    ¡°Mm, sure. Show me.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and faced the empty rain before punching forward. The power of Three Stacks burst forward and resounded thrice in quick session. The Cosmic Art was way too powerful and he had no idea whether the Rainmaster could improve it, while the Daynight Punch could expose him. The Skybeast w could be found in Yu Academy, so that left him with Three Stacks and the sh. The former was the weakest link right now.

    ¡°Ah, stacking. I once met a genius in the Innerverse who was incredible at it. Alright, let me improve this for you.¡± The Rainmaster ced his hand over Lu Yin¡¯s outstretched palm and pushed, forming a curious echo that coursed through Lu Yin¡¯s body. One, two, three, four¡­ Eight soft echoes rang out.

    ¡°This should be enough until you be a Limiteer,¡± the tutor continued, waving his hand around and striking the air. Nine explosions rang out and pushed back the rain, producing as many shockwaves that left Lu Yin wide-eyed. Nine Stacks! He¡¯d somehow gotten to Nine Stacks!

    ¡°This technique does exist in the Outerverse, but nine should be the limit and enough until you be a Limiteer. Only go up to six for now, don¡¯t overdo it,¡± the Rainmaster stated before disappearing into the rain.

    Lu Yin bowed down as the man left, but doubt filled his face. Was this really only a Hunter? Could all Hunters take Three Stacks and improve it to the point of Nine Stacks? He remembered Tianming saying that Nine Stacks was a technique unique to the Grandtop Weave. If all Hunters could just recreate the technique so easily, it was impossible for that to be the case. Someone like The Undying Yushan would have spread the technique through the Frostwave Weave by now, at least. Was the Rainmaster even more powerful than a Hunter?

    This doubt only lingered for a moment. Lu Yin knew he didn¡¯t have to bother with all those thoughts at this point; all he had to do was familiarize himself with Nine Stacks as soon as possible. The Cosmic Art and the personal experience through the Rainmaster ensured that it wouldn¡¯t be difficult, but his body could only handle up to six right now. It madeplete sense that Nine Stacks would be enough until he became a Limiteer.

    Dayster, Lu Yin shouted and punched out, forming six explosions in the air even as he bled a little from his palm, ¡°Tch, six is a bit too much as well. Hmm¡­ If I can get to the Sixfold Shockwave Palm and stack that, it¡¯s sure to be very powerful.¡±

    After resting for half a day, he started wondering if it was possible to merge the stacking technique with his Cosmic Art. He¡¯d thought about it when he¡¯d learned Three Stacks, but never tried it due to ack of time. If he actually managed to stack the Cosmic Art, his power would skyrocket. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.

    Lu Yin prepared to make a test run with Two Stacks, but the Rainmaster appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm before he could go through with it, ¡°You¡¯ll lose your arm if you try that.¡±

    ¡°Sorry?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    He let Lu Yin¡¯s arm go and said sternly, ¡°You¡¯re trying to merge your stacking ability with that attack of yours?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled.

    ¡°It¡¯s a death wish. Battle techniques are basically impossible to stack, or everyone in the universe would be going around doing it. Why do you think no one does that? Try to merge a battle technique and a stacking technique, and you¡¯ll shatter yourself before you hurt anyone. Many geniuses have tried and failed; powerful techniques have their own inner workings, and stacking them will overload you instantly. At the very least, a kid like you won¡¯t be able to bear it; you¡¯d have lost your arm if you tried that just now.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Thank you so much for the lesson!¡± Lu Yin said with gratitude. The Rainmaster¡¯s words made sense; he was being way too greedy. If the Cosmic Art could be stacked, which technique couldn¡¯t?

    The Rainmaster grunted in acknowledgment, ¡°Some people can strengthen their battle techniques by stacking them, but the further you go on your journey, the more you¡¯ll hurt yourself. You can only stack the Shockwave Palm because it isn¡¯t really a battle technique, just a way to produce physical force. Don¡¯t assume you¡¯ll be able to do the same for anything with power.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± Lu Yin bowed again.

    Pleased with his attitude, the Rainmaster looked at Lu Yin¡¯s palm. ¡°That technique you used just now was quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    ¡°No, but it seems rather unusual. How many stars can you use?¡±

    ¡°Six,¡± Lu Yin revealed directly. The tutor had already seen things, so trying to conceal it would only make him seem petty. This was Astral-10 after all, hiding it forever was a pipe dream.

    ¡°Six? That¡¯s not a lot. This battle technique feels like one that needs to be a whole, and that isn¡¯t at six. Hmm¡­ Nine might be able to do it.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, ¡°Whole? What does that mean?¡±

    The Rainmaster waved it off, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know right now. Effectively, what I mean is being able to disy the power of the technique perfectly. Your grasp of all your techniques is only elementary at this point, but that attack would get to initialpletion at nine stars. As for the power at that point¡­ It will be incredible.¡±

 Chapter 120: Phoenix

    <h4>Chapter 120: Phoenix</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at the Rainmaster expectantly, ¡°Tutor, could you help me get to nine stars?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see when you get onto the Rain List,¡± the Rainmaster dismissed indifferently. The man left soon after, but he left an excited Lu Yin behind. His current Cosmic Art was only limited to eight stars, and the ninth could be a part of the next set. That was something he might never achieve on his own, so it would be wonderful if the Rainmaster could help him figure it out. But could it really be deciphered so easily? He wasn¡¯t sure. While he hadn¡¯t seen the full extent of this technique¡¯s powers, it was still terrifying.

    ¡°Getting onto the Rain List will have to wait until I be a Melder,¡± he muttered to himself. While he could technically continue practicing until he reached that point, he had no ns to wither away on these trees. The best thing to do was find a way to make money and integrate with even more powerhouses, experiencing their strength as a shortcut to his own. For now, he would head to the trial zone entrance and participate in ported battles.

    As Lu Yin left, the Rainmaster chuckled behind the veil of the Observatory, ¡°A technique based around the stars¡­ Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°Meng Yue, 83 defeats,¡± the old Trialmaster shouted as a depressed figure walked out of the teleportation stone, and that figure¡¯s expression turned uglier. Zhao Yilong entered the teleportation stone right behind, but returned just as quickly, ¡°Zhao Yilong, one victory to 58 defeats.¡±

    Lu Yin arrived just as Zhao Yilong¡¯s results were announced, and he was rather surprised that any Sentinel managed a victory in the ported battles. He saw that there were only the two around and was about to head towards the stone himself, but Meng Yue grew excited upon seeing him, ¡°Lu Yin! Let¡¯s spar!¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you been thrashed enough in the ported battles?¡± Lu Yin found it funny.

    ¡°You don¡¯t dare fight me?¡± Meng Yue snorted.

    ¡°Hold on, I want to fight,¡± Lu Yin dismissed him.

    Meng Yue¡¯s eyes gleamed in response, but the youth did not stop him. He was already close to a hundred battles fought, but life was far too cruel; he had lost every single one. It wasn¡¯t even like he¡¯d been spending all of his time here; in fact, the majority of his time had been spent improving greatly at the Sand Ocean.

    ¡°Oh right, who has the best results?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°Darkvoid. 13 to 47, and he even has four consecutive wins,¡± Meng Yue said enviously.

    Lu Yin nodded and stepped into the teleportation stone¡¯s domain, while a disinterested Zhao Yilong turned to leave. Michelle arrived around the same time, wanting to improve on her 6-29 scoreline, but she saw his figure stepping in and her eyes gleamed as she silently waited nearby.

    Lu Yin had lost all five of his previous attempts, and the memory of those losses was still fresh. He was much more powerful now, but he didn¡¯t feel like that would trante into results. There was no realm restriction on ported battles, just age; if Michelle and Darkvoid had losing records, he wouldn¡¯t fare much better. His only hope was to have the good luck to get three consecutive victories andplete the highest Sentinel mission in the treasury.

    The world changed as his fingers touched the stone, the loud roar of waves oveing his ears. He looked around to find that he was actually over water, with a fishy smell all around. ¡°Ocean, huh,¡± he mumbled as another figure appeared before him, sending out a wave of berserk star energy without restraint. The water was set aboil and shot into the heavens, rocking Lu Yin like he was a small boat ready to capsize.

    ¡°Limiteer!¡± he cursed his bad luck. The figure didn¡¯t give him a moment before blinking right in front and punching out. He activated the Cosmic Art and determined the target quite quickly, but there was simply no way to avoid it. The opponent¡¯s star energy had solidified and sealed the surroundings; the only way to avoid was to attack.

    Lu Yin had two options right now: one was to attack the star energy around him, and the other was to attack the opponent himself. He didn¡¯t hesitate to raise his palm to begin the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm, but a loud explosion sent him flying away to a loss.

    He died too quickly to notice the opponent pausing for a moment in shock, ¡°A Sentinel actually paused my attack¡­ Another freak.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, six defeats,¡± the elder¡¯s voice rang out as a helpless Lu Yin walked out. Michelle didn¡¯t bother with him and entered the ported battle herself.

    Meng Yue walked over, ¡°It¡¯s our turn.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not my match,¡± Lu Yin waved him off again.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we try? Take this!¡± Meng Yue replied coldly as he started an attack, but the old man¡¯s invisible force pressed him down, ¡°No fighting near the trial zones.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother, continuing to stare at the teleportation stone. It wasn¡¯t long after before a calm Michelle walked out, ¡°Michelle, six victories to thirty defeats.¡±

    Meng Yue was still suppressed by the elder, so Lu Yin entered once more. Meanwhile, Michelle paused quite close to the stone and waited. This time, he appeared on arge tform filled with broken rocks, with the opponent already having arrived. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Sentinel; it was quite rare toe across those.

    Within a gloomy forest in a distant sky, teleportation stones hung atop the trees like stars. A youth was seated under one particr stone, with a few scattered individuals waiting nearby. One youthmented, ¡°So much time has passed. Junior Hart should have won a battle or two; he might even do three and finish the mission.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Junior Hart is the only Sentinel who can get three consecutive victories in the ported battles; remember whose brother he is. His Undying Bird bloodline is quite powerful,¡± someone agreed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope he only meets a Melder or something, he can win then.¡±

    ¡°Mm. Astral-5¡¯s reputation will skyrocket right before the Astral Combat Tournament if he does.¡±

    Back atop the stone tform, Hart was pleasantly surprised as well. He had already achieved two victories, and never thought he¡¯d have the luck to meet a Sentinel in his third match.

    Hart Phoenix? Lu Yin looked at his opponent¡¯s codename and quickly realized that this was likely the person¡¯s real name. He had to be rather confident to use his actual name in ported battles.

    Bang! The two attacked at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s hand forming the twentieth form of the Skybeast w. He couldn¡¯t underestimate anyone in these battles, especially someone with the confidence to use his real name. However, a ze flew forward from Hart¡¯s hand and drowned the attack, burning it to ash with a loud rumble that left Lu Yin shocked. An innate gift? Even a Melder would have a hard time against such temperatures!

    Hart did not seem to have any reaction to the Skybeast w and his ze continued to fly towards Lu Yin. He was firmly of the belief that no Sentinel was his opponent; in fact, the Phoenix n was unrivalled in the same realm.

    The tform melted under the blistering heat. Lu Yin shed away, but even the void was distorted by the ze and he didn¡¯t get far. The mes twisted around Hart¡¯s body as he charged over at high speed.

    Bothbatants were lightning quick. Lu Yin¡¯s sh even held hints of the speed techniques of the Daynight n, but Hart seemed capable of swimming freely through the mes and appearing wherever he wanted in an instant.

    A dozen booms rang out as they exchanged blows. In order to experience his opponent¡¯s power, Lu Yin went on the defensive. On the other hand, Hart was genuinely surprised that his opponent could withstand his blows. Few Sentinels could survive his mes for so long, but it was time to end things. His figure suddenly paused and he pped his palms together, unfolding them as a bird cry rang out in the void. A bird of pure mes appeared between his hands, distorting the air as it charged Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin tried to sh away, but the bird was even faster than him and burrowed through the void. He was forced to turn around and use the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm, giving rise to a loud boom as the aftershocks dissipated the mes into the sky. Even Hart had to retreat a few steps in the face of that attack, staring at the distance in shock. Lu Yin withdrew his palm and stared back; this was a strong opponent.

    Hart actually grew excited at the prospect of a Sentinel that could withstand the first form of his battle technique, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t give him much time to think. The initiative was switched around this time, and Lu Yin shed over and used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm once more. The air pressure all around concentrated to the point that sight was distorted, forcing a wide-eyed Hart to burst forth with that bird again. The ming creature crowed in fury; how could the Undying Bird be a pushover?

    BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The tform shatteredpletely, and bothbatants rose into the skies. One controlled a zing bird that baked the earth, while the other crushed air itself with his power. Their violent shes sparked all around.

 Chapter 121: A Tough Battle

    <h4>Chapter 121: A Tough Battle</h4>

    A Tough Battle

    It took half a minute of constant explosions for Hart Phoenix and Lu Yin to separate, both left gasping for air. It was the first time that Lu Yin had faced such difficulty against a Sentinel, and Hart felt the same. It was a pity that he could not converse with his opponent here; he really wanted to find out where such a contender came from.

    However, no one could be allowed to defeat an Undying Bird. Golden zes soared once more, forming a muchrger bird that soared in the void. Lu Yin was shocked at the realization that his opponent hadn¡¯t been going all-out until now; the unbelievable surge of energy and the golden mes were worrying. The bird¡¯s screech vaporized the shattered tform, its golden mes filling the air. Hart was now like an emperor of mes as he gestured both hands downwards, sending the mes to engulf Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew serious and raised his palm, six stars spinning within. However, the six-star Cosmic Palm was clearly a little weaker than these golden mes, and he howled as they covered him. A seventh indistinct star slowly formed in his palm; it wasn¡¯t revolving just yet, but even the trace burst forth with significant power. Lu Yin charged down towards Hart and struck out, the seventh star dispersing the fire in all directions. Hart¡¯s eyes narrowed as his protective mes faded, and the earth all around them sank down from the impact.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm had not managed to strike Hart, but it did disperse all the mes around. He raised his left hand and used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm right at the opponent¡¯s abdomen, drawing a mouthful of blood as Hart growled and kicked at his side. He retreated a few steps and shed away, reappearing behind Hart and forming the Cosmic Palm once more.

    Hart turned around and gritted his teeth. The ming bird crowed from his body once more, refusing to ept defeat. The attacknded firmly on him and sent him flying, but the scattered mes quickly converged on him once more and started healing it rapidly.

    Lu Yin was stunned by the sight, recalling Qingyu who was simrly difficult to kill. This would not do, he couldn¡¯t give this opponent a break. He immediately shed towards Hart once more, using the Cosmic Palm with both hands this time. The golden bird flew out and shed with the attacks a dozen times, leaving Lu Yin a little overwhelmed, but Hart was the exact same. His innate gift was powerful, but it could not be used endlessly.

    Eventually, Hart was the first to give in. He nked out for a moment, and a just-as-exhausted Lu Yin noticed the gap and used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm again to achieve victory. However, this one battle gave him an acute sense of how fearsome the geniuses of the Innerverse were. A mere Sentinel could actually push him this far; if not for his improved grasp of star energy and the lessons in stacking from the Rainmaster, this battle would not have gone his way at all. He finally realized that his assumption that he was unmatched in the Sentinel realm was too arrogant.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes after the victory and looked outside, noticing Michelle¡¯s curiosity and Meng Yue¡¯s surprise at his having stayed in so long. However, he wasn¡¯t done yet; one could continue so long as they were on a winning streak, and he entered once more.

    At the same time, Hart stood up within the gloomy forest in Astral-5 with an ugly expression. He¡¯d been defeated, and that too by someone in the same realm. This was utter humiliation! How was he to answer to his brother? He burned the codename Seventh Brother into his mind. He had to scrub away this shame.

    Quite a few people came over as he stepped out of the teleportation stone¡¯s domain. ¡°How is it, Hart; you¡¯ve got to have hit three wins this time.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to ask, he definitely did it¡­¡±

    Hart did not bother with the crowd and just left to train. That Seventh Brother had to be from one of the Astral Combat Academies; all the other powers that held teleportation stones had their own unique factors. He might face this person in the Astral Combat Tournament, and would definitely defeat him then.

    When Lu Yin entered the ported battle once more, he arrived at a marsh. There was already someone waiting for him again, but he felt like puking the moment he saw their name. Big Windy Bro. The very first opponent he¡¯d chanced upon in the ported battles, the absolute beast that had killed him instantly, was here again. Big Windy Bro¡¯s star energy swept out the moment Lu Yin appeared, obliterating the void. Lu Yin was knocked out in an instant yet again just as expected. It was rather depressing that he couldn¡¯t even block one hit.

    Back in Astral-10, Lu Yin walked out just as the old man announced his results, ¡°Lu Yin; one victory to seven defeats.¡±

    ¡°You actually won?¡± Meng Yue was shocked.

    However, Lu Yin ignored him and turned to Michelle, ¡°You¡¯re from the Innerverse, have you heard of a Phoenix n?¡±

    ¡°You met a Phoenix?¡± Michelle was stunned, exining when he nodded, ¡°They¡¯re one of the strongest families in the Innerverse. It makes sense that you were beaten.¡±

    She stepped towards the stone before Lu Yin could tell her that he¡¯d won. He wanted to call after her, but eventually dismissed it. Phoenix? They definitely lived up to their billing if a Sentinel could give him such a tough time. He couldn¡¯t begin to imagine how powerful the n¡¯s Melders or Limiteers would be.

    It was quite alluring to achieve a hundred victories and enter the Nine Trial Zones, but most of the new students knew their limits and were silently training. Only a handful were around the entrance at any time; when a dejected Meng Yue left as well, Lu Yin and Michelle were the only ones remaining. At one point, Lu Yin had won two out of twelve battles, a score that shocked Michelle. Her own win rate was about the same, but she was a Melder while he was only a Sentinel.

    Sometimes, luck was a part of one¡¯s achievements. Lu Yin met Sentinels consecutively in his thirteenth and fourteenth battles, and they seemed to be new students just like him. He dispatched them easily, but the fifteenth opponent was more troublesome: a sylvan dragon.

    One of the three powers blocking the Sentinel paths during the Astral-10 assessment was a sylvan dragon, but Lu Yin had been on a different path and so did not recognize it. He was stunned by the sight of a beast in the ported battle, but there was indeed a codename on top of the creature¡¯s head: Dragon Eight.

    Dragon Eight huffed and charged at Lu Yin, crushing down with is ws. Its terrifying Melder star energy swept across and wrapped around him, intending to immobilize its target for the easy kill. Lu Yin would indeed have been trapped if it was a Limiteer, but his current star energy control allowed him to shake it off. The creature was stunned by the sight of a Sentinel breaking its chains, but it stretched out and its enormous body split into two. Four sharp ws moved in strange paths to block off all directions, forcing Lu Yin to confront it.

    Lu Yin used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm directly, giving rise to an explosion that split the earth. Bothbatants crashed down to the ground from the impact, with Dragon Eight retreating a few steps to nurse its trembling ws. It was quite amazed by this blow, almost shivering at the thought that a mere Sentinel could injure it. Was this an heir of one of the best Innerverse ns?

    Lu Yin jumped out of the marsh and stared at Dragon Eight, six stars forming on his palm. Six stars in the realm of infinite change far surpassed Gerbach and even Schutz, making Lu Yin the strongest youth in the Great Yu Empire, but he still had a losing record. In fact, it was extremely rare to score a single victory. He had to work under the assumption that this beast was no ordinary Melder. After all, Hart Phoenix was certainly stronger than Schutz despite only being a Sentinel. That showed how scary the geniuses of the Innerverse were. He had the feeling that the beast before him didn¡¯t qualify for that term, but it was still fast enough to be terrifying.

 Chapter 122: Public Mission

    <h4>Chapter 122: Public Mission</h4>

    Dragon Eight¡¯s body suddenly shook and split into two. Lu Yin dismissed it as extreme speed and was about to attack, but his eyes quickly narrowed as it split again into five total bodies. How was this possible? This wasn¡¯t just a normal speed technique, it had to be an innate gift of speed! He looked for a way out, but the dragons attacked from all directions and sealed off his escape routes.

    Forced to face the opponent directly, he gritted his teeth and activated the Cosmic Art, six full stars and the hints of a seventh appearing around him. He could see Dragon Eight¡¯s movements clearly once more, noticing the one actual body among the five. His rm faded away in an instant; the Cosmic Art was the bane of high speed. Dragon Eight¡¯s enormous eyes shuddered as it saw the Cosmic Palm; how could this human actually find its body? However, the question didn¡¯tst long. The attacknded square on its head, knocking it out in an instant.

    A panting Lu Yin grew thrilled when he realized he¡¯d won. Three consecutive victories; he¡¯dpleted the hardest Sentinel mission! He was warped back to the teleportation stone, seeing that Michelle had been joined by Coco, Hui Daynight, and Little Pao. However, he savored his victory and entered battle once more; he wanted to try and get four consecutive wins. With his current ability, a bit of good luck was all he needed.

    However, his heart dropped when he saw his sixteenth opponent. Or rather, when he saw the one sword that the opponent swung at him. There was nothing after; he had been defeated before he could even nce at their codename.

    This was definitely a powerhouse who was at least an Explorer, a fact that left Lu Yin aggravated. Luck was of the utmost importance here; some strong people could have horrible results while a Sentinel like him had consecutive wins. As he walked out of the teleportation stone, he heard the old Trialmaster¡¯s voice, ¡°Lu Yin, seven victories to 18 defeats.¡±

    Michelle was stunned when she realized what that meant, and Hui Daynight clenched his fists as well. His own record was 3-52; how could this mere ant surpass him?

    Coco was the first to speak, ¡°Brother Lu, your results are amazing! Darkvoid and Michelle are the best of us, but they still only win one every four and five times. You win one in three!¡±

    Lu Yin walked over and patter her head, ¡°It¡¯s just good luck.¡±

    ¡°How many Sentinels did you encounter?¡± Hui asked coldly.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Three.¡±

    ¡°Huh. It really is just good luck.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother to exin to the sneering youth. The Daynight n was definitely powerful, but Hui was mediocre at best. He would have won in a fight even back when they first joined Astral-10, and that victory would now be instant.

    ¡°Brother Lu, are you injured? Do you need treatment?¡± Coco asked hopefully.

    An image of the huge syringe immediately appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind and he shook his head quickly, ¡°No thanks, ported battles aren¡¯t real.¡±

    Little Pao walked up behind the disappointed Coco, ¡°Congrattions onpleting the most difficult Sentinel mission, Junior Lu. Three consecutive victories is an amazing feat!¡±

    Hui¡¯s expression turned even darker, but Lu Yin just smiled, ¡°I have good luck; I couldn¡¯t lose if I wanted to.¡±

    Little Pao smiled, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t believe that for a second. Anyone capable of entering ported battles is definitely an elite, a genius in the Outerverse if not the Innerverse. Some of them are even famous already; if they were easy enough to beat, the mission would have beenpleted long ago. But I have to congratte you; keep up the good work and try to get to thirty consecutive wins.¡±

    ¡°Thirty? Is there any special reward for that, Senior?¡± Coco asked.

    ¡°Yes. Thirty consecutive wins give you the right to challenge the Astral Top 100.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. The Astral Top 100 listed the most powerful youths in the entire universe; this was the same ranking that Wendy Yushan had reached the top 20 of. Anyone who could get on this list would be renowned across the universe and had an easy opportunity to join the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council. A single word from them could determine the future of entires; it was much more powerful and prestigious than the title of King Zishan.

    Coco stuck her tongue out, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go near the Astral Top 100, those people are insane.¡±

    Little Paoughed, ¡°Well, one should always have a goal. For you guys, it should be the New Student Competition. I was sent to tell you that it will be held in a month, and the reward for the champion is quite unusual too.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Coco asked expectantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret,¡± Little Pao put a finger to his lips, leaving the girl disappointed.

    Meanwhile, Michelle nced at Lu Yin before entering the ported battles herself. Lu Yin himself bid farewell to Little Pao and Coco to head to the treasury where the reward awaited him. Some of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s missions were restricted to specific academies, while others were public to all ten. Those missions were generally quite difficult toplete and would cause amotion across the entire Astral Combat Academy when they were finished. The most difficult Sentinel mission was to obtain three consecutive victories in teleportation battles, and it was public. This had been Hart Phoenix¡¯s goal, but he¡¯d been defeated by Lu Yin in his third match. The mission was also removed once Lu Yinpleted it.

    Astral-9.

    ¡°Someone actually finished the top Sentinel mission? And they¡¯re from Astral-10, too; they might be making aeback.¡±

    ¡°Bull. They¡¯re in the Frostwave Weave, could there possibly be any geniuses so remote? Someone powerful from the Innerverse must have joined them.¡±

    Astral-5.

    ¡°Junior Hart¡¯s mission was justpleted by a¡­ Lu Yin, I think? He must be a real talent to get three wins in a row.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s from Astral-10, his potential will definitely be wasted there.¡±

    Astral-1.

    ¡°The top Sentinel mission? What a joke, this mission was only hanging around because some people didn¡¯t want to draw attention. It seems narrow-minded for Astral-10 to look for recognition this way.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We still have to give them some respect, even if they¡¯re driven out.¡± A gorgeous girl nearby turned to look at Lu Yin¡¯s name before leaving.

    Back in Astral-10, the old bearded man marveled at Lu Yin so hard that he felt disgusted by the stare. ¡°Tutor, can I get the reward now?¡±

    The old man cackled, ¡°Why so formal, young man? Just call me Old Cai from now.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a brow, ¡°Old Cai?¡±

    Old Cai nodded approvingly, ¡°Not bad, not bad at all. Astral-10 hasn¡¯t done anything impressive in a while. You¡¯re not bad, young man, haha!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just good luck,¡± Lu Yin replied humbly.

    Old Cai waved his hand, ¡°Luck is also a part of ability. Alright, here¡¯s your reward. Keep it up and try to finish more public missions, it¡¯ll help us out a lot.¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the cosmic ring that was thrown towards him and inspected it, finding 10,000 star crystals within and growing excited immediately. He finally had money again! 10,000 star crystals was a sizable figure.

    ¡°Your Aurora is at the space station. That thing will require endless resources, just do your best for now,¡± Old Cai added, giving Lu Yin permission to leave.

    Lu Yin promptly headed to the space station, finding one of the Aurora spaceships and registering himself as its owner. Most of the resources in the Astral Combat Academies were sponsored by major economic forces, and the Aurora Space Company was one such supporter. These spaceships looked quite simr to most others¡ªthe personal model Lu Yin had gotten was less than three meters across¡ª but they had a special energy converter on them. These things relied on pure energy to jump through space, and rare materials that passed through the converter were assimted into the spaceship¡¯s structure itself. This was the core feature that made thepany famous, but it was rumored to have originated from ancient technology that otherpanies could not replicate.

    The better the quality of the materials someone used on an Aurora, the faster and sturdier the ship would be. That was why Old Cai had said it would require endless resources; the spaceship would need it all to upgrade. However, once upgraded, the Aurora¡¯s functions would far exceed a normal spaceship. Lu Yin had done his research, and all Auroras were at an elementary stage. The addition of the energy converter actually made them slightly worse than most other spaceships, but even at the radiant grade, they were ten times faster than normal spaceships and could defend from a Cruiser¡¯s attacks. Another upgrade would bring them to the ck hole grade, where they were 100x the speed of ordinary ships while also capable of blocking Hunter attacks. Their name came from the idea that they could rip right through ck holes; they were certainly essential on long journeys.

    It was rumored that there was an eon grade even higher up, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t know the specifics of that. The Aurora Space Company¡¯s marketing slogan was that they were flying warpships. That is to say, they could cover in flight what most other spaceships had to use wormholes to cross.

 Chapter 123: Melder Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 123: Melder Breakthrough</h4>

    The Aurora spaceship¡¯s hull felt cold and sturdy to the touch; it was definitely made of a tough alloy. These things retailed for at least 50 billion credits; anyone who possessed it was considered rich! Unfortunately, he had nowhere to take it right now and wanted to be a Melder before he did. He headed for the Rain Observatory and settled on a treetop that was quite the distance away from the teleporter, taking out the formcast model that he¡¯d taken from Terence¡¯s corpse in Jinlin. He¡¯d been holding onto it all this while so he could hit the Melder realm; the original n was to get the formcast model from the corpse on Neptune, but that had turned out to be a still-alive Qingyu who he didn¡¯t manage to kill. Seated on the limestone tform, he watched the dark green rain fall to the ground and inhaled deeply. Pricking his finger, he then pressed the formcast model into his fingertips and initiated his breakthrough.

    Momentster, searing pain shot through Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. His eyes were lit aze from the familiar sensation, his entire body writhing as his cells were burnt away and recreated. It felt like an invincible enemy was crushing him from the stars, and he felt the universe with each breath he took. His body was slowly starting to get used to the greater world, and it realized how meager the amount of star energy it held was. It longed for more to quench its thirst. His eyes glowed with determination as he felt his body growing stronger; this was the power of the Melder realm. He was about to break through.

    His coat suddenly burst open and several runes started sparkling on his back. They formed the shape of a lock that pierced his shoulder de, seemingly locking down his entire body. This was a seal that had appeared before, and it shattered the formcast model immediately. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shot open in bewilderment; the mental impact had almost forced a ckout, but he was more agitated by the failure.

    The Rainmaster walked out from the continuing downpour, frowning as he looked at Lu Yin, ¡°Who would be cruel enough to seal a child from breaking through?¡±

    The old man in tattered clothes appeared out of thin air on the other side, pressing a hand onto Lu Yin¡¯s back. Terrifying energy filled all of Astral-10, pervading the skies and shaking the surroundings as he tried to suppress the seal. He also stretched a hand into the void as this happened, slowly forming a brand new formcast model and merging it into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was on the verge of fainting from the unexpected failure. He had been on the verge of breaking through and simply did not understand how failure was even possible at that point. Just as he felt that all was lost, however, a powerful force suddenly supported his body and allowed the formcasting to continue. As his cells burned and the blood began to reform, he gritted his teeth. Even though he didn¡¯t know where this new force came from, he would rely on it to continue the formcasting.

    Behind Lu Yin, the old man had a distant look in his eyes as though the heavens were spinning around him. A small part of the lock shimmered into existence before exploding, causing the heavens to quake. A middle-aged man in the Sand Ocean looked up in rm, while Old Cai jumped in shock in the treasury. The Trialmaster¡¯s eyes shot open in contemtion, while someone stuck his head out of the Stargazing Deck. The Rainmaster himself watched the entire process in shock.

    In the process of entering the Melder realm, Lu Yin saw that jade finger once more as the seal was smashed. However, the sight was different this time; there was a boundless stretch behind the finger that glowed with gem-like stars. It was a magnificent sight to behold. The old man watched thoughtfully as Lu Yin¡¯s body was reforged.

    ¡°This¡­ this is an ancient seal,¡± the Rainmaster stuttered.

    ¡°Very ancient, one that can only be broken with force. Ah, such a shame that I only managed to break one,¡± the old man said dejectedly.

    The Rainmaster had a puzzled look on his face, ¡°Do you mean there is more than one?¡±

    The old man nodded and looked up, collecting his thoughts, ¡°I think I encountered such seals before, but I have forgotten where. Ancient and terrifying indeed; someone could actually bear to lock a kid with them.¡±

    ¡°What are the effects?¡± the Rainmaster asked curiously.

    ¡°His physical body and his innate gift. This kid¡¯s talent was squeezed down to an ordinarymoner; I broke the seal on his body. He will finally be able to showcase his physical ability, but I¡¯m afraid that will be the extent of it for now,¡± the old man exined. Looking at Lu Yin, he sighed, ¡°The next seals will be very difficult to break. I hurt this child when I lost control; this new formcast model should make it up to him. It should keep him going unless another of the seals is activated.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    It took more than a day for Lu Yin toplete his breakthrough, and when he opened his eyes, the downpour looked entirely different. His breakthrough to the Melder realm had enhanced his senses greatly; he didn¡¯t know himself how much stronger he was now. Balling his fists, he felt like something was wrong. It felt like his body had changed, growing much more durable and robust than he¡¯d expected. His strength also seemed to have grown significantly. Waving it off as the effects of the breakthrough, he got to his feet.

    It was at this point that Lu Yin felt the additional formcast model in his body. Stunned, he quickly looked towards the curtain of rain, ¡°Rainmaster, are you there?¡±

    The Rainmaster responded without showing himself, ¡°The formcast in your model will allow you to sculpt your body again. Go to the Sand Ocean and cultivate yourself; the Observatory will not be of much help at the moment.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed to show his thanks, thinking back to when Terence¡¯s formcast model had shattered. The Rainmaster had helped him salvage the situation. He truly felt fortunate that he¡¯d managed to join Astral-10; this help would have been impossible to acquire otherwise.

    To get a feel for how much stronger he was, Lu Yin immediately headed to the Trial Zone entrance to join in on the ported battles. As always, he heard the old Trialmaster announcing someone¡¯s results, ¡°Hui Daynight, six victories to 92 defeats.¡±

    A dejected Hui Daynight walked away from the teleportation stone, but Lu Yin shot an impressed nce his way. Going from 3-72 to 6-92 was a significant improvement.

    Michelle had walked into battle the moment Hui stepped out, and it took some time for her toe back out, ¡°Michelle, 13 victories to 56 defeats.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback; she had improved as well. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t the only one who was getting better; even though they didn¡¯t get personal tutge in Astral-10 from the get-go, both the Rain Observatory and Sand Ocean were amazing ces to cultivate. There was also the mysterious Stargazing Deck.

    He passed by Michelle and made his way to the teleportation stone, hoping that he didn¡¯t get an Explorer at least. The scenery changed to a vast grasnd with a gentle wind, an intoxicatingly fresh smell filling the surroundings until his opponent ported in.

    The other individual immediately attacked him with a sticky purplish substance that was like a web. Lu Yin was shocked; this was a strange innate gift. It sealed off the surrounding space and fell towards him, but his figure blinked away. He was right in front of the Melder the next moment, his hand shooting out the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm. A loud thud shattered the opponent immediately, and the sticky substance vanished; it was a one-hit kill.

    Lu Yin looked at his palms, bewildered. His palms had felt like they would break when he used the Six Stacks Shockwave Palm before, but now it seemed as easy as breathing and caused no strain at all. Why was this? Did the Melder breakthrough really make his body that much stronger? Even the sh had doubled in speed!

    Lu Yin opened his eyes wide underneath the teleportation stone, a bewildered expression on his face. He knew that the biggest change during the Melder advancement was the increase in star energy; Melders absolutely dwarfed Sentinels in terms of their energy pool. Other attributes were improved as well, but he felt like the strengthening of his body was abnormal. Continuing to think about it, he entered another ported battle.

 Chapter 124: Powerful Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 124: Powerful Lu Yin</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s next opponent in the ported battles was another Melder, the mostmon type of contestant one could find. The order of urrence went Melders, Limiteers, Sentinels, and then a minority of Explorers.

    He looked at his current target and lifted his hand, the air rippling as he started stacking attacks. Six Stacks hadn¡¯t burdened him at all before, and using even seven didn¡¯t add much load. An astonished Lu Yin got to eight when the Melder blinked towards him and kicked out, almost shattering the sky with his powerful battle techniques. Facing such closebat, he went all the way to nine directly. Nine explosions of power left the sky buzzing, shattering the powerful Melder in an instant.

    Lu Yin was stunned; the power of Nine Stacks far exceeded that of Six Stacks and even the six-star Cosmic Palm. He hadn¡¯t even used the Shockwave Palm, this was pure energyyering! He appeared beneath the teleportation stone once more and fell into deep thought as he stared at his palm. Nine Stacks wasn¡¯t his limit, his body could endure much more. Just how strong had he be? He huffed and re-entered the ported battle with an excited gaze.

    The next four people Lu Yin met were all melders, and none of them could defeat him. The fifth was a Limiteer powerhouse named Invincible Palm, but even that didn¡¯t frighten him any more. Instead, he grew excited at the prospect of finally being able to test his limits.

    A loud explosion rang out as the Limiteer rushed over to Lu Yin and pressed his palm down, the surging star energy almost suffocating the fresh Melder. Lu Yin responded to the threat with the Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm without hesitation, the nine echoes shattering the earth below. The extreme pressure on his organs left him amazed by the opponent''s strength, and the feeling went both ways.

    Invincible Palm hadn¡¯t expected a Melder to be able to block nine of his blows. He had intended to win quickly and used the top battle technique of Astral-7, the Starburst Palm. This techniquepressed all of one¡¯s star energy into every strike, rebounding it back into one¡¯s body once the attackpleted. Each attack dissipated a negligible amount of energy but possessed enormous power; the nine palms were equivalent to nine full attacks.

    The Limiteer lifted his hand once more, but this time Lu Yin dodged just as arge hole was sted into the ground and tried to counter-attack under the cover of the dust. However, intense pressure suddenly almost crippled him as he targeted his opponent¡¯s back; this person had an innate gift of gravity! The hundredfold gravity increase stunned Lu Yin, and Invincible Palm stretched his hands out and struck out in rapid session to crush his internal organs.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes under the teleportation stone once more, feeling vexed. He hadn¡¯t expected the opponent to have an innate gift of gravity, which was what lost him the battle; had he known, he would have yed it safer. However, even if he hadn¡¯t used brute force, Lu Yin still felt that he wouldn¡¯t be a match for that Limiteer. All of Invincible Palm¡¯s attacks were insanely powerful, and his star energy reserves seemed to be endless. He didn¡¯t know where this crazy person came from.

    In Astral-7, astonishment filled Dai Ao¡¯s eyes, ¡°A Melder who could force my innate gift, and he only lost after 23 Starburst Palms when his organs were crushed. He really is a genius, pity that I had something to do. Seventh Brother, huh¡­ Let¡¯s meet again soon, I want a good battle with you.¡±

    Back at Astral-10, Lu Yin walked out from under the teleportation stone and his results were announced, ¡°Lu Yin, 13 victories to 19 defeats.¡±

    Michelle and Hui Daynight who were nearby, as well as Zhao Yilong and Lulu who had just arrived looked at him in shock.

    ¡°Six wins in a row, you just won six in a row!¡± Michelle stated, her dark red eyes opened wide.

    Lu Yin nodded calmly, ¡°It¡¯s just good luck.¡±

    Hui walked forward and stared at Lu Yin, ¡°Were all of your opponents Sentinels?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Attitude! I have no obligation to answer you.¡±

    ¡°Tell me!¡± Huimanded.

    A cold gaze shed past Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and he red back, ¡°You¡¯re really annoying.¡±

    The Daynight youth smirked, ¡°You found a way to get weaklings to enter the ported battles, didn¡¯t you.¡±

    The old man in the distance blinked, ¡°There is no way to cheat in ported battles, only the strongest will win.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it, he¡¯s just a cultivator from the Outerverse, how could he get six consecutive victories when we can¡¯t?¡± Hui bellowed in a rage. This time, even Michelle frowned while Lulu was annoyed.

    Lu Yinughed and turned to the Trialmaster, ¡°Could we have a battle here? It¡¯ll be over quickly.¡±

    The old man nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t destroy the nts.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and turned back, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll only take a moment.¡±

    Hui¡¯s gaze was icy as he stared at Lu Yin, ¡°So what if you¡¯re a Melder? I¡¯ll show you that you¡¯re still nothing.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his hand, ¡°Come then, show me how powerful the Daynight n is.¡±

    Hui¡¯s eyes widened in response to the disdain in Lu Yin¡¯s tone. How dare a bumpkin from the Outerverse look down on them? ¡°Daynight Soulfinger!¡± His body vanished in a moment, reced by a finger pointed towards Lu Yin from the sky. Lu Yin instantly felt some indescribable rift in his body; if souls truly existed, this was likely the feeling of it getting torn apart. This truly was a battle technique worthy of the Daynight n, but he simply aimed up and grabbed the finger out of the sky. A bit of force and the sound of bones shattering rang out, pulling Hui out of the sky with force and sending him to his knees.

    The Daynight youth wasn¡¯t the only one shocked at this point; Michelle and the others were simply dumbfounded. Although Hui was only a Sentinel, he was definitely stronger than most Melders. The battle techniques of the Daynight n were also difficult to defend against, and it was remarkable for Lu Yin to beat it so easily.

    ¡°I already told you this would only take an instant.¡± Lu Yin nced at Hui and smiled; as someone who¡¯d entered the corridor of the Daynight inheritance stone, the unique soul effects of the n¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t as significant towards him. This was especially true when his opponent was just a Sentinel.

    Hui¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°Impossible, the soulfinger isn¡¯t affecting you at all. Why?¡±

    Lu Yin exerted some more force in his hand and shattered the fingerpletely, ¡°You have no right to question me.¡±

    Hui Daynight gritted his teeth in pain and growled, his star energy erupting as he tried to push Lu Yin away in vain. Lu Yin simply grabbed his finger and flung him away with immense strength before turning to Michelle, ¡°Are you going in next?¡±

    Michelle stared at Lu Yin and thought about it for a moment before leaving. Zhao Yilong hadn¡¯t paid much attention to Lu Yin initially, confident that he would win even with a difference in realms, but now he felt that this person was very powerful. Six consecutive victories couldn¡¯t be obtained with pure luck, or it wouldn¡¯t be a mere three to finish the most difficult Sentinel mission. He ended up leaving as well, a trace of resolution on his face. Hui Daynight didn¡¯te back either.

    Lu Yin felt like he had provoked them all. The Sentinels had all been waiting to finish their Melder breakthroughs, but he would likely be the catalyst for them to start. He couldn¡¯t wait to test himself against them when they did.

    Lulu was the only one left behind, and Lu Yin knew that the girl was itching to fight him the moment he saw her glowing eyes. Indeed, she spoke up impatiently, ¡°You¡¯ve changed so much so quickly, let¡¯s spar.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to battle here.¡±

    ¡°No battle, then, we can justpare strength.¡± She licked her lips, looking at him with a provocative gaze.

    Comparing strength? Lu Yin grew interested as well; he did want to find out how strong he actually was. ¡°Fine, how do you want to do it?¡±

    ¡°Simple, tug of war. We¡¯ll see who moves first.¡± Lulu stretched out her dainty hand and smiled as Lu Yin grabbed the soft palm, ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡±

 Chapter 125: The Star Of The Souldream Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 125: The Star Of The Souldream Tribe</h4>

    ¡°Go.¡± Lu Yin and Lulu exerted force simultaneously, and cracks rippled across the earth without either using a trace of star energy.

    Lu Yin was surprised by Lulu¡¯s strength. Her hand was soft to the touch, but her grip was firm as steel as it pulled on him with immense strength. However, the girl herself was by far the most amazed of the two. She was a Mavis, someone blessed with natural strength; this was the first person she¡¯d ever met who matched her. She could even feel that he was actually stronger; he wasn¡¯t using his full strength yet. Since when was he so strong? No normal person could reach this level with just training, it felt more like an innate gift from an ancient civilization.

    A strong gust of wind separated the two of them, and the old man frowned in the distance, ¡°I said not to destroy the nts!¡±

    Lu Yin and Lulu looked down and saw the cracks on the ground getting deeper, uprooting the cracks. He quickly apologized and backed off, but she simply continued to stare and made him ufortable. He eventually asked, ¡°Why are you staring? We haven''te to a conclusion yet, we can finish at some other ce if you want.¡±

    Lulu shook her head and pouted, ¡°You¡¯re crazy. We don¡¯t have to continue, you can go and do what you want.¡±

    What was wrong with her? Lu Yin grew confused as she simply turned and left. However, that meant there was no one else fighting for control of the teleportation stone, so he decided to continue testing the limits of his own strength.

    It was only once he¡¯d entered his next battle that the old man allowed his eyes to go a tiny bit wider, ¡°A Mavis blessed with immense strength is inferior to him? I can¡¯t tell what n he hails from. Strange, really strange¡­ He¡¯s just a normal person, but why can he surpass a Mavis? And his surname¡­¡±

    Elsewhere, Michelle was walking across a stretch of ruined ground, amon sight outside of the major surviving sections of Astral-10. She looked up with gleaming eyes, contemting something for a moment before making up her mind, ¡°Sorry Sis, I¡¯ll have to use my innate gift.¡±

    Xia Luo was seated calmly outside the Stargazing Deck, but his meditation was interrupted by a sudden message from Lulu. His expression filled with surprise, ¡°Such great changes, that¡¯s unexpected. I¡¯ll have to work harder, or I won¡¯t be able to catch up anymore.¡±

    Beyond the endless rainfall in the Rain Observatory was a broken wall. It was clear that this had originally been a majestic ce that had turned into ruins overnight, and there were still mes burning at certain spots. Silver was observing the ruins from a mound, ¡°Everything is really gone¡­ They say the headmaster went crazy and destroyed all of Astral-10; this was why they were always at the bottom. Countless battle techniques from ancient times, all destroyed¡­ Such a shame.¡±

    No one would believe that there were only around ten people in the enormous Astral-10, but that was the truth. Everyone here was like a drop of water in the sea, so tiny that they would never bump into each other.

    ¡­¡­

    Lu Yin spent half a day at the trial zone entrance before getting a night¡¯s rest and heading to the Sand Ocean. The Rainmaster had told him that the Rain Observatory wouldn¡¯t be too helpful to him right now, so the Sand Ocean was his best shot at getting stronger. His record when he left was 31 victories to 46 defeats; the best result among the new students by far. Unfortunately, no one was around to hear at the time.

    There was a solemn glint in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he chose the Sand Ocean on the teleporter. He had originally nned to keep going a bit longer, but his final battle had astonished him. His opponent had been a Melder as well, but had managed to defeat him by relying on a power that he¡¯d heard of but never experienced before¡ªbattle force. It was supposedly the manifestation of one¡¯s will, a power that could attack, defend, and push one past their limits. It could crush the skies and tear the gxy apart, and came from the heart which was the foundation of the human body.

    Some people said that this description was the exact method to train battle force, but Lu Yin couldn¡¯t really understand what that meant. He¡¯d heard about it during the brief time he¡¯d spent in the Innerverse between Home rescuing him and sending him to Earth. People had described it as something with great potential and he¡¯d looked forward to learning it, but then he¡¯d ended up on Earth due to various reasons and stayed there ever since. He had recognized battle force the moment he saw it in thatst battle, and also knew just as quickly that it was something very suited to him. He wanted to learn more about it immediately, but didn¡¯t know whether Astral-10 had any methods to cultivate it and could only try his luck at the Sand Ocean. That ce was clearly rted to the body, so it could be possible for him to learn there.

    This was the second time that Lu Yin had visited the Sand Ocean. He¡¯d only nced over it before returning to the Rain Observatory before, but now he nned to stay. He stepped out of the teleporter into the world of yellow, the hot sand heating up his feet. He tore apart his outer shirt as he felt the dry heat, bending down and pinching a handful of the desert between his fingers. Every grain was extremely tough; this certainly wasn¡¯t normal sand. He even felt a hint of pain when he used a bit too much force.

    ¡°It really is a great ce to train the body,¡± he exined, walking into the depths of the sands. His distorted silhouette slowly disappeared among the dunes.

    ¡­¡­

    With a little over twenty days left until the New Student Competition, everyone was busy with preparations. An enormous spaceship jumped out of a wormhole to appear at the Frostwave Weave, heading towards its depths. There was a dark blue quaver carved into the hull, the symbol of the Souldream Tribe from the Innerverse.

    The Souldream Tribe was a famous tribe of women in the Innerverse, each one with stunning looks and a melodious voice. They were said to add a trace of gentility to the lonely universe, and every person there was a superstar.

    ¡°How much longer?¡± a striking girl with waist-length blue hair asked within the spaceship.

    Someone next to her answered immediately, ¡°Another hour at most, Young Mistress.¡±

    The girl shed a smile that could illuminate the night sky, ¡°I hope they won¡¯t disappoint; I need to awaken my battle force quickly.¡±

    ¡°Young Mistress, your trip to Astral-10 has attracted a lot of attention. The media has been contacting the tribe to find out why you¡¯re going.¡±

    The girl scrunched up her tidy brows, ¡°They¡¯re always so bothersome.¡±

    ¡°You are the most exemry heir of the Souldream Tribe, the brightest star of the Innerverse. It is inevitable for everyone to pay attention to you.¡±

    The girl suddenly thought of something and smiled mischievously, ¡°Tell them that I¡¯m going to Astral-10 to look for my boyfriend.¡±

    Everyone was stunned when she said that, be it the spaceship¡¯s captain or the navigator. They all looked at her in a daze, and someone yelped, ¡°You can¡¯t do that, Young Mistress, it will bring trouble to Astral-10. All the powerhouses interested in you will tear them apart.¡±

    The girl blinked and thought about it, ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re right. Fine, I won¡¯t cause trouble; my suitors are really irritating, but some of them are truly powerful. Just release a statement that I¡¯m heading there to train at the Sand Ocean, that ce was once a famous training ground."

    The people around her breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Yes, Young Mistress.¡±

    Nobody would dare to underestimate the influence of the people from the Souldream Tribe. They were the real stars of the universe and had countless admirers, ranging from normal people to cultivators to elites from major forces. Moreover, this was the young mistress of the Souldream Tribe; even her worst admirer would still be the strongest in the young generation of a major power. If those people really went to Astral-10 to create trouble, the academy would definitely be crushed if the tutors didn¡¯t interfere. However, no matter where someone was, the power of the media was everywhere. As long as she said something, then it would definitely spread. The girl didn¡¯t know yet the trouble she had brought upon Astral-10 with her joke.

 Chapter 126: Michelle And Xi Yue

    <h4>Chapter 126: Michelle And Xi Yue</h4>

    Within the gloomy forest in Astral-5, Hart Phoenix walked away from the teleportation stone and clenched his fists.

    ¡°Congrattions on the three-win streak, Hart!¡± ¡°Congrattions, Young Master.¡± ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m toote, the mission was alreadypleted by someone else,¡± Hart snorted, leaving everyone silent.

    ¡°By the way, Young Master, you¡¯d asked me to pay attention to Mistress Xi Yue of the Souldream Tribe. She¡¯s recently announced ns to go to the Sand Ocean in Astral-10,¡± someone said.

    ¡°Astral-10?¡± Hart stopped on his way out, ¡°Isn¡¯t that where the person who finished the Sentinel mission was from?¡±

    Someone next to him immediately spoke up, ¡°You needn¡¯t be affected, Young Master. That person is just lucky, he likely met new Sentinels who¡¯d just joined the academies. You¡¯ve actually defeated a powerful Melder.¡±

    Hart frowned, ¡°You can¡¯t rely on luck in ported battles. I¡¯m going to Astral-10, make the arrangements.¡±

    The people around him were surprised, ¡°Young Master, Astral-5 doesn¡¯t allow people to leave without a valid reason.¡±

    Hart didn¡¯t care, ¡°Tell them my brother asked me to go. He¡¯s always wanted me to marry Xi Yue and gain the support of the Souldream Tribe, this is a good opportunity.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master.¡±

    Within Astral-8, a pair of eyes opened under hotva, ¡°Craynor, go fetch Xi Yue from Astral-10, she shouldn¡¯t be there. Tell her that if she wants the Sand Ocean, I¡¯ll give it to her once the ze takes over the academy.¡±

    Right outside theva pit, a Melder with an abundance of star energy surrounding him concurred. He was Craynor, second in the ze Rankings and far more powerful than the fifth-ranked Arshim who had previously attacked Astral-10.

    A low voice reverberated within Astral-9 in the Endless Weave, ¡°Baunir, go to Astral-10 and see if anyone there can threaten our geniuses.¡±

    A young man opened his eyes, ck mes winking out within his pupils, ¡°Yes, Tutor.¡±

    Big Pao and Little Pao were chatting within Astral-10. The former asked, ¡°Brother, be honest, how do you think I treat you?¡±

    Little Pao thought about it for a moment and answered, ¡°Not very well.¡±

    The corners of Big Pao¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°I¡¯ll treat you better in the future.¡±

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. You want me to lend you the money to buy Xi Yue¡¯s newest single, right?¡± Little Pao asked suspiciously.

    Big Paoughed awkwardly, ¡°Brother, you know that I don¡¯t really have many pursuits in life, I just like Xi Yue¡¯s songs. Come on, lend me some money.¡±

    Little Pao rejected him promptly, ¡°No, I like Xi Yue¡¯s songs too, I¡¯m going to buy it for myself.¡±

    ¡°Then lend it to me.¡±

    ¡°No way, Xi Yue¡¯s songs are like my wife, I would never lend them to anyone.¡±

    ¡°So stingy, you won¡¯t die if I listen to it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll feel very bad.¡±

    ¡°Lend it to me and I promise not to fight for the role of Area Master in the Purgatory Dao.¡±

    ¡°Nope, this isn¡¯t up for discussion.¡±

    As they continued to bicker, a notification appeared on their gadgets that left them wide-eyed in disbelief, ¡°Xi¡­ Xi Yue ising to Astral-10? Is this real?¡±

    ¡°Xi Yue ising here!¡± Big Pao cheered.

    ¡°Xi Yue¡¯sing, Xi Yue¡¯sing, I want an autograph, I want a picture with her, I want¡ª¡±

    ¡°You two, go receive our guest!¡± a bellow interrupted their thoughts.

    ¡°Yes, Sandmaster,¡± both brothers answered quickly. Half an hourter, they were at the space station staring at thending spacecraft from the Souldream Tribe in delight. Both were loyal fans of Xi Yue, but they had never imagined that they would be able to meet the person herself one day.

    A troop of female warriors walked out as the spaceship opened, followed by youths with arrogant expressions. These young men were from Astral-8, sent here by their tutors to ensure that Xi Yue wouldn¡¯t be harassed. For example, they would definitely keep her away from the two perverts in front of them whose eyes were gleaming.

    ¡°Who are you? Are there no better students who can wee Young Master Xi Yue in Astral-10?¡± a young man said irritably.

    ¡°We¡¯re the best students,¡± Big Pao stepped forward casually, ¡°Where¡¯s Junior Xi Yue? Why hasn¡¯t shee out yet?¡±

    The youth frowned and blocked the path, ¡°Mind your manners. You¡¯re just students of an academy that was thrown out; you have no right to call Young Mistress Xi Yue your junior.¡±

    Big Pao pouted and ignored the youth, but before he could rage, a stunning girl with waist-length blue hair and starlike eyes walked out, ¡°Unless it¡¯s banned, Astral-10 is Astral-10; he has every right to call me his junior. Hello, Senior, I¡¯m Xi Yue.¡±

    Both Paos looked at Xi Yue in a daze, intoxicated by her striking appearance and melodious voice. Fortunately, the older brother coughed and said solemnly, ¡°Hello, Junior. I¡¯m Big Pao, you can call me Brother Pao.¡±

    Little Pao stepped forward as well, ¡°I¡¯m Little Pao, you can call me Brother Little Pao.¡±

    Everyone surrounding them was stunned. Brother Pao? What a weird name, were the two of them trying to tease Xi Yue? The person in question grew angry as well, but she suppressed her anger in the face of their excited gazes. Her reluctant smile almost melted the brothers¡¯ hearts, ¡°I think I should just call you Senior Big Pao and Senior Little Pao.¡±

    ¡°Anything is fine. Could we take a picture together, and maybe a short video? It would be even better if we could share a mea¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother Young Mistress. She¡¯s here for the Sand Ocean and has no time for anything else,¡± a woman who looked to be in her forties interrupted, standing in front of Xi Yue and ring at the brothers. They bowed their heads in disappointment.

    Xi Yue looked out of the space station. She had heard rumours that the original students of Astral-10 had all left once it had been driven to the Outerverse. Only two of the original students were left that no other academies wanted; these two were probably the guys. This was Astral-10, an academy that was about to be banned. If not for the fact that one of the forces that was going to rece Astral-10 was the ze Realm, she wouldn¡¯t havee here at this time. Once the ze Realm took over Astral-10, she would have to face someone troublesome whenever she visited.

    ¡°Seniors, how many students are currently in Astral-10?¡± she asked curiously.

    ¡°Fourteen,¡± Little Pao answered.

    A young man behind Xi Yue sneered, ¡°What a shame that Astral-10 has fallen to this state, no wonder there are rumours that it¡¯s going to be banned soon. There¡¯s only people like you left here, it¡¯s an embarrassment for this ce to still be called an Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Little Pao raised his brows, ¡°We focus on quality instead of quantity in Astral-10. We¡¯re not a shelter who just epts everyone.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    Xi Yue lifted her hand and red at the youth, saying frostily, ¡°There will be no disrespect here, or you can go back.¡±

    The young man bowed his head, ¡°Yes, Young Mistress.¡±

    Xi Yue turned around and looked at Big Pao and Little Pao, ¡°Can I trouble you to bring me to greet the tutors of Astral-10?¡¯

    Big Pao smiled, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, we don¡¯t have too many rules. The Sandmaster already said you can go train in the Sand Ocean directly.¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s eyes gleamed and she bowed, ¡°Thank you, Senior, please lead the way.¡±

    The two of them immediately led Xi Yue towards the Sand Ocean, but the people from the Souldream Tribe were stopped as not everyone was able to enter an Astral Combat Academy. Xi Yue didn¡¯t object and went in with the students from Astral-8, using the teleporter to arrive at their destination. They came across a pair of boy and girl in the desert, the former clearly leaving while thetter was going in. These were Michelle and Schutz. Schutz had entered the Sand Ocean after facing multiple defeats in the ported battles, and was heading back to test himself again.

    Xi Yue¡¯s arrival attracted the pair¡¯s attention; they hadn¡¯t expected to meet other people here. Her gaze swept past Schutz calmly, but her eyes gleamed when she saw Michelle, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see the Red Lotus Witch here, nice to meet you.¡±

    Michelle looked back, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet the famed Young Mistress of the Souldream Tribe either.¡±

    ¡°I heard you joined the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council, it must be so nice to have a powerful sister,¡± Xi Yue joked, her tone filled with disdain.

    ¡°You got a problem with that?¡± Michelle asked coldly.

    Xi Yue smiled, ¡°Why would you say that, Michelle? So what if I¡¯m unhappy, nobody can defy a decision from the Council.¡±

    Michelle didn¡¯t say anything in response and just stared back. Meanwhile, the Pao brothers nced at each other; there was clearly some history between the two.

    ¡°Young Mistress, do you need me to teach her a lesson?¡± one of Xi Yue¡¯s followers asked.

    Xi Yue snorted, ¡°Teach her a lesson? Look clearly, she¡¯s the Red Lotus Witch.¡±

    ¡°Red Lotus Witch?¡± The few of them were confused, but one of them suddenly recalled something and looked at Michelle fearfully and immediately fell silent.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Schutz walked right into the teleporter, drawing a nce from Xi Yue. However, she didn¡¯t pay much attention to him; in her eyes, Michelle was likely the only one worth recognition in Astral-10. However, one of the youths following her blocked Schutz¡¯s path on purpose. This was the same person who¡¯d been scolded just now, and that had left him extremely annoyed at Astral-10. He wanted to find some way to humiliate this academy that should have been thrown out long ago, and he was also someone from the ze Realm.

    The Pao brothers saw the challenge, but they didn¡¯t say anything. The path of cultivation was never smooth; if one didn¡¯t even dare to battle, there was no point in training. This was Astral-10, no matter what, one definitely couldn¡¯t hide from a challenge.

    Xi Yue turned around to take a look and ignored them, her gaze still focused on Michelle. This was the woman who¡¯d taken her spot on the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council just because she had a powerful sister.

    ¡°Make way,¡± Schutz matched the youth¡¯s re.

    The young man walked even closer, ¡°You ants just have good luck to be able to ovee the obstacles and enter Astral-10. I don¡¯t know who the person was who stopped you, but remember, I¡¯m from the ze Realm.¡±

    Schutz¡¯s gaze turned cold; the ze Realm was one of the three forces who attacked Astral-10¡¯s assessment and was also one of the forces who were trying to rece Astral-10 in order to take control of the key to the Nine Trial Zones.

 Chapter 127: Musical Battle Technique

    <h4>Chapter 127: Musical Battle Technique</h4>

    ¡°So what?¡± Schutz asked coldly. The youth immediately crashed forward with his left shoulder, but he simply clenched his fists and stood his ground. A low rumble rang out as the two collided, with Schutz taking two steps back while the young man went one forward. Smiling disdainfully, he walked out.

    Schutz stepped out of the teleporter as well, cing his hand on the youth¡¯s shoulder. Star energy suddenly erupted into mes, searing the very air around, but his sword gleamed its bloody red as he prepared to attack. It was Little Pao who had toe over and pushed his palm away, cing another hand on the youth and suppressing his star energy, ¡°Sorry, you can¡¯t fight here. We¡¯ll have to fly you out if you damage anything.¡±

    The young man red at him and his star energy surged, trying to erupt again. However, he couldn¡¯t ovee Little Pao¡¯s suppression no matter how hard he tried. He was stunned; didn¡¯t people say that the two students left in Astral-10 were useless? This person was a Limiteer!

    Suddenly, everyone felt a stir in their heart. They looked over and saw Xi Yue singing, her dark blue hair blowing in the wind as a melody reverberated in the skies. The hot air transformed into gorgeous dancers, her gentle voice cleansing everyone¡¯s soul.

    This was a beautiful sight to behold, but Big Pao and Little Pao strangely turned solemn. This was Xi Yue¡¯s battle technique, the battle technique of Astral-8¡ªPsychedelic Song. Astral-8 was the only Astral Combat Academy with significant musical battle techniques, which was why everyone from the Souldream Tribe studied there. This was a natural pairing that could unleash unimaginable power.

    ¡°Xi Yue is a powerhouse who¡¯s won thirty consecutive victories in the ported battles, Michelle can¡¯tpete with her. Let¡¯s stop them, Brother,¡± Little Pao said gravely.

    Big Pao shook his head, quite different from his usual joking self, ¡°Let them continue. The Sandmaster will intervene if things get out of hand.¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s followers looked around smugly. She wasn¡¯t just a singer, but also the Young Mistress of a powerful tribe in the Innerverse. That couldn¡¯t be aplished without some ability; she was considered one of the strongest Melders in Astral-8.

    Schutz was astounded at the sight of the Sand Ocean¡¯s weather changing to follow Xi Yue¡¯s tune. He could feel a huge threat from the voice; that girl was far stronger than him, and so were her followers. The person he¡¯d had an altercation with could already materialize his star energy, something that he was still unable to aplish. Such was the capability of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students; any of them could stun the Outerverse.

    Michelle frowned; the music was causing her organs to shake and she felt so dizzy that she couldn¡¯t even stand properly. She wasn''t looking at the Sand Ocean anymore, and various memories started shing before her eyes. Unable to stand it, she gritted her teeth and her eyes shed red, forming crimson lotuses at her feet. The sea of red was shocking, adorning the endless Sand Ocean and shattering the Psychedelic Song.

    This was Michelle¡¯s innate gift? Everyone was stunned. Even Xi Yue¡¯s eyes gleamed. This innate gift, the same as Mira¡¯s, was the reason that Michelle had been allowed to join the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council as a Melder. She was going to defeat that gift today. The song suddenly changed as three loud booms rang through the sky. This was the Three-Note Eruption, a technique that she¡¯d learned just for this purpose.

    Michelle opened her alluring red eyes. No one could stop her once her lotuses bloomed; not this woman, nor any Melder from the other academies. She was invincible.

    ¡°It¡¯s so noisy, who¡¯s disturbing my rest?¡± a loud roar suddenly rang out, and both the battle technique and the innate gift were shattered by a gust of wind. Xi Yue and Michelle retreated simultaneously with pale faces, bowing in the direction of the Sand Ocean, ¡°¡°Sorry, Tutor.¡±¡±

    Big Pao walked out in a hurry, ¡°Junior Michelle, Junior Xi Yue, the Sandmaster has a bad temper. You should stop.¡±

    ¡°You truly are Senior Mira¡¯s sister, your innate gift is really powerful,¡± Xi Yue said with a smile as the two stepped back, but Michelle leveled a cold nce at her and walked towards the eastern section of the Sand Ocean. However, Xi Yue was unfazed and smiled at Big Pao and the others, ¡°I want to train here for a few days, I¡¯ll let you know once I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too dangerous, Young Mistress?¡± the youth from the ze Realm asked.

    Xi Yue frowned, ¡°This is the Sand Ocean, and there¡¯s a tutor here. Don¡¯t worry, no one can hurt me. Leave for now.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll wait at the entrance,¡± someone suggested, but she didn¡¯t respond. Smiling at the Pao brothers once more, she headed towards the western section of the Sand Ocean.

    Schutz slowly suppressed his awe; this was a battle between the elite students of the Astral Combat Academies, and he was still far from their level. Little Pao patted him on the shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s go, don¡¯t overthink it. You¡¯re much stronger than you were when you first joined, you¡¯ll be even stronger in the future.¡±

    Schutz nodded and stepped into the teleporter. Big Pao ran over as well, and all three left the Sand Ocean together. In the end, only Xi Yue¡¯s followers were left standing at the entrance.

    The Sand Ocean was an enormous ce, but Xi Yue chose to run instead of flying toward its depths. She covered quite the distance within the first hour, and she could already feel the coarse toughness of the sand. ¡°I hope this works, battle force will bring me to the peak of Astral-8, and I¡¯ll be able to be an Area Master.

    ¡°Okay, this looks like a good spot. The deeper, the better,¡± she recalled some advice from a student who had transferred out of Astral-10 and smashed her palm into the desert. Unfortunately, the ground here was difficult to pierce through, and she only managed a meter-deep hole with her full strength. She could only stand atop the small hole reluctantly and start digging her way with force.

    The friction only increased as she sank in, causing immense pain to her body. This was a rather crude way of training the body, but the degree of agony was also proportional to the benefits she would gain. Already prepared for this, she gritted her teeth and endured.

    Enormous pressure covered both Xi Yue¡¯s body and soul once she waspletely buried, as if a mountain was crushing down on her mind. However, this still wasn¡¯t enough; there were ces with simr pressure in Astral-8, and they hadn¡¯t gotten her all the way there. The pressure needed to learn battle force was excruciating. There were ces that helped in all ten Astral Combat Academies, but they had too many people and weren¡¯t as good as the Sand Ocean. To aplish her goals, she needed to go even deeper.

    Five meters, ten meters, fifteen meters¡­ She started to grow dizzy when she was twenty meters beneath the surface, and traces of blood started to appear on her supple skin. Her body and soul were already at their limit, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. Xi Yue gritted her teeth and continued her descent, but suddenly felt the pressure under her feet give way to something soft. She looked down and a pair of eyes staring at her chest.

    Lu Yin had been sleeping. Ever since he¡¯d entered the Sand Ocean, he¡¯d realized that the surface of the desert was useless to him. The introduction from Big Pao showed him that he had to bury himself for better results, so he¡¯d burrowed into the sand. The pressure had grown better and better as he went in, but he¡¯d actually fallen asleep at this point. His body was tough enough not to sustain injuries at this depth, but there was still a mild pain. As he was sleeping, he¡¯d suddenly felt something stepping on his calf. Opening his eyes, he was dazed by the sight in front of him. It was a girl¡¯s breasts, and they were even radiating an intoxicating fragrance. Subconsciously taking a deep breath, Lu Yin looked up and met a stunned pair of eyes.

    ¡°PERVERT!¡± Xi Yue shouted angrily, smashing down with the palm.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t nder me!¡± Lu Yin dodged the attack. She tried to knee him in her fury, but he stopped that by grabbing her thigh, ¡°I was here first!¡±

    Xi Yue felt the heat from the hand on her thigh and screamed, ¡°Let go of me, pervert!¡±

    Lu Yin let go immediately and took a step back, ¡°Stop calling me a pervert, I was here first and you stepped on me!¡±

    Xi Yue was shaking from anger. She was the Young Mistress of the Souldream Tribe and had never been so close to a guy. She also remembered that her chest had been so close to him. And, and¡­ Her fury erupted once more, ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU!¡± She opened her mouth and a booming melody rang out, the Three-Note Eruption. She hadn¡¯t managed to use it against Michelle, but its full power was directed towards Lu YIn now.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed when he realized how powerful this woman was. He used the Cosmic Art immediately to weaken the attack, but when he looked up, he saw her using the technique repeatedly and grabbed at her in annoyance.

    Xi Yue was already incensed and just wanted to kill the man in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± she bellowed when she saw the handing at her, huffing out a delicate melody from her lips. Lu Yin¡¯s palm stopped ten meters away from her and he almost suffocated, falling prey to the most powerful technique in her arsenal. This was the Dark Universe Song, something she had never used on someone before.

    In the depths of the desert, the Sandmaster was surprised, ¡°Such a strong battle technique, she truly is an outstanding heir of the Souldream Tribe. Already one of the strongest in her generation, she might just be able to challenge the Top 100 at some point.¡±

 Chapter 128: Washing Board

    <h4>Chapter 128: Washing Board</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm couldn¡¯t move forward anymore once the Darksoul Song started. It felt like the music was exploding in the depths of his mind, trying to blow his head apart. ¡°SHUT UP!¡± he roared, using Nine Stacks to shatter the music and cover Xi Yue¡¯s mouth. Her re threatened to melt him within its rage, but he sighed and looked at her in surprise. This woman was very powerful, certainly beyond a normal student, ¡°I¡¯m saying this onest time. I was here first, you came afterward and even stepped on me.¡±

    Xi Yue grabbed his arm trying to push him away, but he was someone who had beaten even Lulu in apetition. He voiced a threat, ¡°I won¡¯t be nice if you¡¯re rude again, you understand?¡±

    She red at him angrily, suddenly grabbing his palm and biting down. ¡°OW! ARE YOU A DOG?¡± he pulled back, at which point she punched him in frustration. She had never been bullied in her life before, and it was unfair that she couldn¡¯t even defeat him.

    Lu Yin caught Xi Yue¡¯s fist and pulled her closer, his heart stirred by a soft fragrance. He was about to say something, but suddenly realized they had descended further amidst their battle. Before he could react, both of them were falling down.

    Unknown to Lu Yin, there were seven levels to the Sand Ocean, the first being thirty meters deep. Between the first two levels was a thousand-meter drop, and as he fell down with Xi Yue in his arms, he was buffeted by endless pressure. The girl promptly fainted, while even he was dazed and had to endure it with great effort as they crashed into the second level.

    Up above, the Sandmaster was shocked, ¡°They actually fell to the second level. Haha, those old coots from the Eighth will be outraged if they find out that their flower was caught by one of ours. Haha, interesting. Very interesting!¡±

    It waspletely silent in the dull desert. Rubbing his head with his one free arm, Lu Yin felt a terrifying pressure all around him andughed bitterly. What was even happening? He didn¡¯t even know about this woman, and they were suddenly in this unknown ce. The introduction from Big Pao mentioned nothing about multiple levels.

    His gaze started to flicker from waves of dizziness, the enormous pressure starting to get to him. However, all that was snapped away as he heard a gale-like whistle in the distance. Why would there be a gust underground? He turned to look, and his eyes suddenly shrank as he hugged Xi Yue and turned back around. Momentster, a fierce storm tore the skies apart, ripping his shirt to pieces. The strong winds cut into his body like knives ripping apart his nerves, forming trails of blood on his back. This was clearly a gale of des!

    The gale ended quickly. Lu Yin panted as he took out some medicine from his cosmic ring and applied it to his back. Fortunately, his body was strong and he only had some superficial wounds. The woman in his arms would probably have been ripped apart.

    He hadn¡¯t even started looking around when he heard another whistle that left him stunned. Again? It was too quick! He promptly ced himself in front of Xi Yue, but this time there was almost no physical pressure at all. Instead, his mind felt like it was being crushed, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and almost fell unconscious. It had felt like he¡¯d spent an eternity locked in a dark room, filling him with a boundless amount of loneliness and oppression.

    Sometimes, pressure didn¡¯t have to be caused by external factors. The pressure exerted by one¡¯s self could be even more terrifying. Lu Yin was currently feeling the pressure that he had exerted on himself, and it was an overwhelming feeling of despair. If not for his strong will, he would have fainted long ago.

    The gale left as quickly as it arrived, leaving a pale Lu Yin staring up at the sands above. He had to leave quickly; this ce was too strange.

    But how was he supposed to leave? He tried flying, but a fierce wind buffeted his body once he reached the sky and forced him to descend. The situation repeated a few more times, leaving him worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave this ce at all.

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, Big Pao smacked his forehead elsewhere within Astral-10, ¡°I forgot to tell Junior Xi Yue not to go too deep. It¡¯ll be troublesome if she falls into the secondyer.¡±

    Little Pao waved it off, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she can just call for help from the Sandmaster, it¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Junior Xi Yue is so smart, she¡¯ll definitely know to ask for help. Haha, let¡¯s go listen to some songs.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    When Xi Yue¡¯s eyelids slowly twitched open, all she saw was darkness. The sand and dust were still rubbing against her, but she also felt a pair of arms reaching around her behind her back. She turned around and was stunned by the sight of a guy she didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°AH!¡± she pushed away reflexively, but her own body fell onto the sand.

    Another gale blew over only momentster, and Lu Yin grabbed her urgently, ¡°Careful!¡±

    ¡°Let go of me, you pervert!¡± Xi Yue red at him furiously and slipped away, but the gale arrived and her expression changed instantly. Her top was torn apart and traces of blood started to appear on her fair skin before Lu Yin dragged her behind him. She spat blood due to the excruciating pain, but still managed to take out another set of clothes and wear them as she looked on in disbelief. She definitely couldn¡¯t survive this gale; if not for this guy in front of her, she would have been heavily wounded.

    ¡°The next wave ising. It targets your soul this time, careful not to die,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice rang out. Xi Yue was confused, but the next gale swept past them and it felt like something had rammed into her mind; she almost fainted again. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t feelingfortable either, but he clenched his fists with a determined gaze and a strange yet weak current of air appeared on his body. Neither of the two noticed it for now; they were more upied with Xi Yue spitting out another mouthful of blood.

    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, finally looking at the pitiful girl who¡¯d had to endure the pressure the moment she woke up.

    Xi Yue panted heavily, her body covered with sweat. She backed away from Lu Yin automatically, her gaze sweeping past their surroundings for a moment beforending on him once more, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin, a student here.¡¯

    ¡°From Astral-10?¡± She was astonished, finally remembering that this person had actually defeated her even after she used the Darksoul Song she¡¯d prepared for that person. Was there really a student like this in Astral-10? He was definitely stronger than Michelle!

    Lu Yin looked at Xi Yue, finding her stunning even in the dim light. The disheveled state seemed to do nothing to diminish her beauty. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°None of your business,¡± Xi Yue answered coldly.

    ¡°Rude.¡±

    ¡°Pervert!¡±

    ¡°Shut up about that. How many times should I tell you? I was there first, you cameter!¡± he said exasperatedly.

    Xi Yue had no response to that, so she closed her mouth and looked around before asking, ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    ¡°Dunno.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a student here and you don¡¯t know?¡± she red at him.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, ¡°I¡¯m a new student, I don''t know much either.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a new student?!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t I look like one?¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s eyes gleamed. She¡¯d initially thought this was an old student of Astral-10, left behind like Big Pao and Little Pao. It was difficult to believe that there was such a powerful new student in Astral-10, but she suddenly recalled something she¡¯d heard. Wasn¡¯t Lu Yin the person whopleted the Sentinel mission?

    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°We¡¯re below the desert,¡± she looked up.

    Lu Yin ignored her and checked the time on his gadget. It had already been seven hours since they¡¯d arrived at this ce, and there was a pair of gusts every ten minutes. One targeted the body, while the other targeted the soul. There were only a few minutes left until the next wave.

    Xi Yue¡¯s eyes were gleaming. She was just about to ask for the Sandmaster¡¯s help when she suddenly recalled that the Sand Ocean was supposed to be one of the best ces to learn battle force. The pressure she¡¯d felt above wasn¡¯t enough, only about as good as in other training grounds. However, this ce was different. She could feel constant pressure here, and there were those gales as well. It might be the true Sand Ocean, the best ce to learn battle force.

    The only problem was the pervert next to her. Xi Yue nced over and matched Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, snorting and turning her back to him with a pale face. Lu Yin was left speechless. He was the victim here; although he¡¯d seen a bit that he shouldn¡¯t have, this woman was crazy.

    ¡°Stay far away from me,¡± Xi Yue said coldly.

    Lu Yin raised a brow, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    She was about to say something when she thought about the gales she¡¯d just experienced. She would certainly have been hurt if not for the pervert¡¯s help, but she would rather die than ask for his help. This left her torn; she hadn¡¯t encountered anything like this in her life.

    Xi Yue looked up and saw the dull sand drifting above, wondering whether she should ask for the Sandmaster¡¯s help. However, she suddenly heard a distant whistle at the same time as Lu Yin turned to her, ¡°The next gale ising, are you going to take it yourself?¡±

    She gritted her teeth and moved closer. Lu Yinughed and stood in front of her as the gale arrived, allowing it to leave traces of blood on his back. However, some of the wind went past him and left trace wounds on her arms and calves, leaving her trembling. He pursed his lips and pulled her into his arms out of sympathy, but Xi Yue¡¯s eyes opened wide and screamed, ¡°Let me go, perv!¡±

    Lu Yin grew annoyed. ¡°Stop calling me that, I have a name! I¡¯m Lu Yin, or you can call me Brother Seven.¡±

    A furious Xi Yue spat out yet another mouthful of blood. She directed her palm towards Lu Yin just as the gale paused, but he dodged it and she fell forwards. The whistle rang out again, and the next gust caused her to faint. Lu Yin paled and endured the endless pressure, the translucent current around his body growing slightly more obvious. Once the gale was over, he panted heavily and sat on the ground and looked at the unconscious Xi Yue. This ce really wasn¡¯t meant for people, she was looking for trouble.

 Chapter 129: Battle Force

    <h4>Chapter 129: Battle Force</h4>

    Five hourster, Xi Yue opened her eyes again and wiped her forehead. She suddenly thought of something and checked her clothes were still on, sighing in relief when she found they were.

    ¡°Hey, what are you looking like that for? Do you really think I¡¯m a pervert? Even if I was, who¡¯d be interested in a washing board like you?¡± Lu Yin ranted.

    Washing board? What washing board, they were clearly quite big? Xi Yue red at Lu Yin angrily. Wait, what was she thinking? This PERVERT!

    Even Lu Yin felt like he¡¯d gone a little overboard, but he quickly dismissed that thought. She clearly had a superiorityplex for no reason; she wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Bai Xue, nor as elegant as Michelle; not as alluring as Mira, or even as innocent as Coco. Where did her confidencee from? At best, her voice was alright. This was the first time he¡¯d encountered any musical battle techniques.

    ¡°When will the next gale arrive?¡± Looking at her gadget, Xi Yue realized that it had likely been spoilt when they fell through the desert. She looked up and red; she wanted to leave this pervert¡¯s side, but couldn¡¯t withstand the gale without him. This was detestable; the Young Mistress of the Souldream Tribe had to rely on someone else?

    ¡°One minute,¡± Lu Yin answered casually.

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking,¡± she frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m not either,¡± he retorted, watching as she took out Melder-grade ring armor from her cosmic ring. He wondered whether such external objects would be of use here, but before he could think further, the gale was upon them again. Xi Yue¡¯s n to be independent of him backfired immediately, the truth bringing her to despair; the ring armor was blown away, and her clothes were torn apart in moments to reveal her fair skin once more. Things would have gotten worse if he hadn¡¯t pulled her into his arms again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down!¡± she shouted anxiously.

    ¡°Then you can endure it on your own.¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Then why should I help you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I can pay you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed the moment he heard the word pay, and he hugged Xi Yue so tight she felt like her neck would break. She promptly changed into new clothes once the storm ended, heaving a sigh of relief when she saw that he truly wasn¡¯t looking.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± he asked eventually, and once she confirmed, he smiled, ¡°Get ready, it¡¯sing again.¡±

    Determination filled Xi Yue¡¯s gaze this time, her pale face staring into the depths of the dark desert as the gale swept past. The terrifying mental pressure almost caused her to copse, but fortunately, she managed to will herself through it. However, she noticed something on Lu Yin amidst her suffering, and her eyes widened, ¡°Battle force?¡±

    ¡°Battle force?¡± A confused Lu Yin followed Xi Yue¡¯s gaze and looked at himself. The two had already spent twelve hours down here, having gone through 144 gusts in total. Having been awake the whole time, he had endured it all. There were visible traces of battle force on him, threads of energy surrounding his body that he could cover himself with at will.

    This was battle force? Battle force was one of the greatest powers in the Innerverse; although he¡¯d hoped to learn something about it in the Sand Ocean, he hadn¡¯t expected it to happen so quickly. Xi Yue was stunned as well; fewer than ten people across all of Astral-8 could use battle force, which was deemed one of the highest skills in the universe atrge. This pervert had actually acquired it sessfully!

    BANG! He smashed his palm into the sand with excitement, the air separating around his hand. He suddenly felt like everything was in his control. Before this, a palm strike used 80% of his strength and he could recover 20% of what energy he¡¯d used up. Now, he could go to 120% with the same recovery; this was a direct boost to both attack and defense. He could already feel the destructive power behind this energy that could pierce most things.

    ¡°So this is battle force, that¡¯s great,¡± he marveled excitedly.

    Xi Yue was filled with disbelief and shame. This pervert had managed to aplish something she couldn¡¯t. It was so embarrassing, really embarrassing!

    ¡°Do you have it too?¡± Lu Yin asked with a curious gaze, but she grunted and turned around, refusing to look at that annoying face. This left him confused; what was wrong now? This woman was crazy.

    Up on the surface of the desert, the Sandmaster was stunned, ¡°He only took twelve hours to learn battle force. Guanyu was right; this kid¡¯s body is incredible. He should be from a powerful family, is it from the Innerverse? Or¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Back at the trial zone entrance, Schutz walked out of the ported battle zone with an ugly expression. Although he¡¯d improved over the course of his training, he was still nothingpared to the powerhouses he faced. He¡¯d even been defeated by a Sentinel! Thinking of this, he recalled Lu Yin who¡¯d entered the Academy at the same time and wondered how he was currently doing.

    ¡°Senior Big Pao, who has the best results currently in the ported battles?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Hmm? Lu Yin, I guess,¡± Big Pao said after a moment of thought.

    ¡°Lu Yin? Isn¡¯t he a Sentinel?¡± Schutz was surprised.

    Big Paoughed, ¡°He¡¯s advanced, but his results were the best even when he was still a Sentinel. He got to three wins in a row back then, and his record is six now. His total result is 31-46.¡±

    31-46? That was getting to an equal win rate! Schutz was astounded. His own record was 4-76, a win rate of only about 5%. This was miles apart from Lu Yin¡¯s; what made him so sessful? Or was he really that powerful? Those who hadn¡¯t experienced the ported battles could never imagine how cruel they were. The people inside were all insane geniuses of the Innerverse; he was quite powerful by Outerverse standards, but he was nothingpared to those people. However, Lu Yin had already surpassed him.

    ¡­¡­

    Underneath the Sand Ocean, Xi Yue hid behind Lu Yin indignantly. Still unable to withstand the gusts, this was all she could do.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget the reward you promised,¡± Lu Yin reminded her.

    ¡°Here, take this!¡± Xi Yue groaned, giving him a Mavis card, ¡°2k star crystals.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, thank you. I didn¡¯t know you were so generous.¡± Lu Yin was ted. He only had the 10,000 star crystals he¡¯d gotten from the three wins for now, and that was nothingpared to what he needed if he rolled Possession. He had to earn more money, and the woman in front of him was clearly rich.

    ¡°Protect m¡ª¡± she was suddenly interrupted by a new gale, but the now-experienced Lu Yin covered himself with battle force and protected her. When the gust came to an end, she panted heavily and grew enraged at the sight of him beingpletely unaffected. ¡°Protect me so I can learn battle force as well; I¡¯ll pay you 20k when I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°20k? Are you from a rich family?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Xi Yue ignored him, would she need money from her family? She was the most famous star in the Innerverse, and any album of hers couldmand an astronomical price. She had so much money that she didn¡¯t even know her bank bnce; she was a purple card holder with the Mavis Bank. But she wouldn¡¯t tell this bumpkin such things so he wouldn¡¯t scam her.

    ¡°So do you agree?¡± she asked coldly.

    Lu Yin considered it for a while with a gleaming gaze.

    Xi Yue frowned, ¡°30k.¡±

    ¡°Deal¡±,¡± Lu Yin agreed immediately. This was 30,000 star crystals; ten times what he¡¯d get by recycling without rest for two days. Although he didn¡¯t know how long it would take for her to finish learning, this was much easier than breaking down machinery. He just had to block the winds for her, and that had no effect on him once he had battle force.

    Once the deal waspleted, Xi Yue didn¡¯t even bother talking anymore. She had him turn around and act as a wall while she sat down and endured the constant pressure. With Lu Yin¡¯s protection, the bodily gusts were not a threat anymore. She only had to endure the mental pressure.

    Twenty more hours passed by, and Lu Yin¡¯s battle force strengthened while Xi Yue¡¯s hadn¡¯t started to form at all. He started asking impatiently, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you learned it yet? You¡¯re too slow!¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy to learn battle force? Everyone from the Innerverse would be an expert at it!¡±

    ¡°Then why did I learn it so quickly?¡±

    Xi Yue was left speechless at hisck of tact. No matter what, she was still a beauty; he was such a bumpkin to not even recognize her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten more hours, I¡¯m going to leave if you still haven¡¯t learned it by then,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll add 20k more,¡± she snorted.

    ¡°Nevermind, you can take it slowly. I¡¯m in no rush.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. Wall.¡±

    Lu Yin pouted and turned his back on Xi Yue. Momentster, he thought of something, ¡°Who are you? Why are you in Astral-10?¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m a student from Astral-8, I came here to train,¡± Xi Yue exined, but still felt like telling someone her name was humiliating.

    ¡°Astral-8? From the Innerverse? Isn¡¯t there a ce to learn battle force there? Why¡¯d you have toe all the way here?¡±

    ¡°None of your business.¡±

    ¡°Haha, did you get pushed out? Must be, your personality is so bad.¡±

    Xi Yue gritted her teeth and refused to answer, but Lu Yin continued to ask curiously, ¡°Right, how do I improve my battle force?¡±

    ¡°Either endure enormous pressure or fight constantly.¡±

    ¡°Enormous pressure? So it improves with more?¡±

    Xi Yue frowned, ¡°Tell you what. I¡¯ll give you some information about battle force, but you shut up afterward. Deal?¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ Ugh, whatever, I¡¯ll keep quiet.¡±

    Xi Yue licked her chapped lips and thought of something. She took out a drink from her cosmic ring and took a sip, saying with a thoughtful gaze, ¡°Battle forcees from a person¡¯s heart, and its source is the foundation of the human body. The body has infinite potential; the greater the pressure you endure, the greater the battle force you achieve. But it¡¯s just like a spring; you either bounce back or copse. The best way to improve is constant battle. Battle force is categorized by the number of lines, and nine lines is the most powerful. You¡¯re at the first level¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. Nine-lined battle force? Was that the rumored peak of battle force that could crush the skies?

 Chapter 130: Xi Yueâ€™s Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 130: Xi Yue¡¯s Revenge</h4>

    ¡°This is all I know, you can ask your teacher if you want to know more,¡± Xi Yue finished, leaving Lu Yin pondering. A gale appeared at just the right time; the only distractions came in the form of her asional pained cries.

    It was easy for people to fall apart in such dark surroundings, especially in the face of such a strong suppression; even an elite student like Xi Yue found it hard to bear. She was almost broken by the 50-hour mark, her deep blue hair starting to turn into a sickly yellow. Her exquisite skin had now lost its luster just like her sunken eyes, and she was starting to hallucinate on asion. Lu Yin watched it all with a frown; the woman would surely die if she went on like that, but he couldn¡¯t help her.

    She trembled subconsciously as the wind whistled, having grown to be fearful of such sounds. As she folded her arms in response to her body quivering, he let out a sigh and suddenly hugged her, moving his mouth close to her ear, ¡°You¡¯re such a washing board.¡±

    ¡°YOU SCUM!¡± Xi Yue¡¯s gaze changed drastically in an instant, her face turning bright red as anger filled her heart. That anger didn¡¯t fade at all in the face of the oppressive winds, and the aura of battle force burst forth from her body. Dozens of hours of inhuman suffering had finally taught her battle force, but all her focus was on the asshole in front of her.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help augh as he got up to stretch, ¡°Congrattions, you seeded!¡±

    ¡°Seeded?¡± she was stunned, looking down at her body as she realized what it was. Battle force? She¡¯d really done it! After all that torment¡­

    Up above, the Sandmaster raised a brow, ¡°Understanding battle forcergely depends on one¡¯s determination, some will never grasp it in their lives while others grasp it quickly. This girl isn¡¯t bad; in fact, she¡¯s quite extraordinary.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you can pay me now,¡± Lu Yin said below.

    Xi Yue raised her head, but the only thing that came to mind when she saw Lu Yin¡¯s face was the term washing board. This asshole! Her battle force quickly swirled around her palm and she sent it out, ¡°Go to hell!¡±

    Lu Yin evaded the attack andined, ¡°Woman, you¡¯re biting the hand that fed you.¡±

    ¡°SCUM!¡± she yelled, but her body swayed from even this exertion. She had to crouch down in exhaustion; the long torment had drained herpletely.

    Lu Yin crouched down beside her, ¡°Pay me, I refuse to think you don¡¯t have the money.¡±

    Xi Yue snorted and took out a crystal Mavis card, ¡°60,000 star crystal cubes. You aren¡¯t to tell anyone else about what happened here and what you did to me.¡±

    ¡°What did I do to you?¡± he asked in puzzlement as he took it.

    ¡°You better not call me that in the future!¡±

    ¡°Call you what? A washing board?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    ¡°Are there really 60,000 cubes here?¡±

    ¡°Go see for yourself.¡± She didn¡¯t want to waste time talking nonsense any longer.

    ¡°Eh. Alright then. If you¡¯ve scammed me, I¡¯ll tell everyone about what happened here. Rich kids like you care about your reputations.¡± Seeing Xi Yue ignore him, Lu Yin clenched his fist, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s time to set off. Because of the additional 10,000, I¡¯ll bring you back.¡±

    She simply red at him with disdain, getting up and shouting feebly, ¡°Sandmaster, I want to leave this ce.¡±

    Sandmaster? Lu Yin was taken aback.

    ¡°Alright,¡± a voice suddenly rang out from the void, and soon after, Xi Yue was pulled out by a formless energy and disappeared. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide in speechless shock. He¡¯d forgotten that the Sand Ocean had its tutor as well; if he¡¯d known, he would have left earlier.

    ¡°Sandmaster, I want to leave as well!¡± he yelled, but no one paid him any attention.

    He yelled again, and there was still no response. This time he fell silent; this was such favoritism! Unfortunately, the winds buffeted him again before he could think about it, and he had to push his battle force to deal with the gale. He was no longer affected by the boundless pressure; while Xi Yue had spent the past two days understanding battle force, he had advanced his own control. He quickly shot into the sky, touching the upperyer of sand. Thirty meters passed by very quickly, and he made his way out of the desert with only a light ringing in his head.

    It felt like he hadn¡¯t seen the sun in forever when he finally got out, and he wasn¡¯t able to adapt. Xi Yue wasn¡¯t anywhere nearby, so he didn¡¯t bother about the nasty woman who might start a messy fight if they met again. After going through such torment for so long, all he wanted to do was rest and roll his die.

    ¡°Miss Xi Yue, what happened?¡± The waiting students from Astral-8 were rmed at the mere sight of a dejected Xi Yue that walked out of the Sand Ocean towards the teleporter. She looked in dire straits, and her clothes were torn.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Xi Yue had no ns to talk. Gloomily making her way to the teleporter, she looked deep into the desert just before she left, ¡°Just you wait, scumbag. You¡¯ll pay for what you¡¯ve done!¡±

    She left in a hurry, not even bidding goodbye to the Pao brothers as she headed straight to her spaceship. The middle-aged woman looked at her with concern as she took her time to freshen up and change, returning to her usual beautiful self. ¡°You¡¯ve had a hard time, Young Mistress.¡±

    Xi Yue took a deep breath and looked at the darkness outside, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡±

    ¡°Then your battle force¡­¡±

    Xi Yue raised her arms and a formless current circled around it, neither star energy nor air. It gave off an aura of power that could pierce through anything. Many of her followers were shocked and amazed, while the middle-aged woman was filled with glee, ¡°Wonderful! You managed toprehend battle force in a matter of days; that is the quickest in Astral-8!¡±

    When she heard that she was the fastest, Xi Yue immediately thought about Lu Yin. That asshole had mastered it in a matter of hours. Besides, even her own sess was owed to that bastardmenting on her chest. If she didn¡¯t get her revenge, she wouldn¡¯t be worthy of her fame.

    ¡°Spread the news that Lu Yin of Astral-10 was disrespectful to me,¡± she suddenly said with an arrogant look.

    The middle-aged woman and the others were rmed, ¡°What? Who? The Souldream Tribe won¡¯t let him off.¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with you, just get the word out that he took advantage of me,¡± she said with a crooked smile. She wanted to show the asshole that Xi Yue wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. Washing board? She was clearly voluptuous.

    The middle-aged woman was put in a difficult position, but she could onlyply under Xi Yue¡¯s icy re. Very soon, the paparazzi burst to life with news that the star of the Innerverse had been taken advantage of at Astral-10 by someone named Lu Yin. At the same time, the news that she¡¯d gone there to meet a boyfriend had spread out as well, and countless pairs of eyes focused on Astral-10.

    Within Astral-8, one youth¡¯s eyes were filled with magma as his hatred frozen the sky, ¡°Tell Craynor that Lu Yin doesn¡¯t need to continue his cultivation. I want one of his arms.¡±

    Within his enormous spaceship shuttling through the starry skies, Hart Phoenix had a gloomy look on his face.

    ¡°The news might not be real, Young Master. Miss Xi Yue might have been taken advantage of a little, but it likely isn¡¯t as bad as it was made out to be,¡± someone said cautiously.

    Hart stared into space, ¡°Doesn¡¯t really matter. That woman is the one my brother chose for me; she¡¯s my property, and no one can touch her. This Lu Yin took my spot as the greatest Sentinel, and he¡¯s now taken advantage of my girl. He has some guts.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll report to Young Master Serati immediately.¡±

    ¡°I can handle my own matters,¡± Hart said gruffly.

    In another spaceship, Bonnie from Astral-9 was watching the news with rm, ¡°Xi Yue is an elite of Astral-8; there are very few Melders that can take advantage of her. So not everyone at Astral-10 is worthless, Tutor was right in asking me to take a trip.¡±

    Once the news broke out, many spaceships from across the Innerverse shot towards the Frostwave Weave, heading for Astral-10. Xi Yue was well aware of the buzz she could create; every member of the Souldream Tribe was a star in her own right, but she was a cut above the rest and even an elite Melder of Astral-8. She was certain that her promation would cause Lu Yin enough trouble in the foreseeable future, and could already see the pain and helplessness on his face. She smirked, ¡°Call me a washing board again.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just the Innerverse that followed news about Xi Yue. She had plenty of fans in the Outerverse as well, and two die-hards were named Big Pao and Little Pao. When they saw this news, they could not believe it, they had to verify it before they finally epted it as truth. Stunned, they looked at each other.

    ¡°Little brother, is the Lu Yin they speak of the one from our academy?¡±

    ¡°Who else could it be? We¡¯re in trouble.¡±

    Big Pao sulked, ¡°My goddess has been vited.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t the problem. Think of how many people will be on their way here right now. Quick, go look for Lu Yin; I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t know what kind of mess he¡¯s made. But then again, he really is something if he took advantage of her; she isn¡¯t weak.¡±

    There were no restrictions on Astral-10 outside of the three major cultivation grounds. Lu Yin found a spot near the teleporters to sleep right after he got out of the Sand Ocean, and when he woke up, there were over a hundred messages from the Pao brothers. He realized something was wrong and responded immediately with his location.

    Big Pao and Little Pao flew over very quickly, and thetter grabbed him by the cor, ¡°You son of a bitch, tell me which hand you used to take advantage of her!¡±

    ¡°What advantage are you talking about?¡± Lu Yin was confused. It was only after Little Pao showed him the news that he realized how powerful this woman was, and it left him speechless. Taking advantage of her? Surely, it wasn¡¯t that serious. One might be able to stretch the circumstances to consider it that way, but¡­ This woman was really strange. She was the one who¡¯d told him to keep quiet about the entire thing, but she was the one who spread the news. There was definitely something wrong with her.

    However, it was this look of annoyed contemtion that gave the Pao brothers a confirmation. They exchanged nces, each sure that this bastard had taken advantage of their idol.

    ¡°Damn it, think of a way out! There are bound to be many people who are already on the way to Astral-10!¡± Big Pao said helplessly.

    Little Pao looked at Lu Yin, ¡°I think it would be best if you hide yourself for a while. Those who are wooing Xi Yue are all young and powerful individuals. You¡¯ve seen her abilities for yourself, you know how strong she is. She¡¯s one of the strongest Melders in Astral-8, but there are some people stronger than her. There are also a number of suitors who are even higher in realm.¡±

 Chapter 131: Conditions of Battle

    <h4>Chapter 131: Conditions of Battle</h4>

    ¡°Above Melder? Limiteers? They¡¯re not Explorers, right?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Little Pao shook his head as he responded, ¡°There probably won¡¯t be any Explorers among them, as most people graduate once they be Explorers and thus can¡¯t battle anyone they want to. However, I¡¯m sure there will be a fair amount of Limiteers, and you can¡¯t underestimate those Limiteers. They are powerhouses who have participated in countless ported battles and have also trained in the Three Realms Six Daos. For them, battling above their realm is normal! You¡¯re still a Melder, so it¡¯ll be very difficult for you to battle against these people. You should just try to avoid them.¡±

    Lu Yin pondered Little Pao¡¯s words for a moment. His training had just started to yield some results. With his newly acquired battle force, he should be able to do even better in ported battles, and his current goal was to achieve a hundred victories. Then, the next step for him would be the Three Realms Six Daos, so he didn¡¯t want to leave just yet. Moreover, Xi Yue had told him that battling could further hone one¡¯s battle force. Since she had attracted so many powerhouses here, then he should naturally just battle!

    ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t want to leave yet, and I¡¯ll continue to train at Sand Ocean. If anyonees here looking for trouble, then tell them toe to me directly. I won¡¯t hide from them,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Big Pao¡¯s eyes gleamed and he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s good. I also don¡¯t think that you should flee from them. Astral-10 isn¡¯t cowardly¡ªhow can we fight against other people in the Nine Trial Zones if we can¡¯t even get past this small hurdle? Fine, go and train.¡±

    Little Pao nodded as well. This was the first time that he had ever treated this junior of his seriously. Maybe this incident wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing, and he might even be able to use it to gain an advantage.

    At this moment, Big Pao received a notification on his gadget and his expression suddenly changed. ¡°This fast?¡±

    Lu Yin and Little Pao both looked at him questioningly.

    He said solemnly, ¡°Someone¡¯s here, a powerhouse from Astral-8. Craynor.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Big Pao seriously replied, ¡°He¡¯s a Melder powerhouse from Astral-8 who¡¯sparable to Xi Yue. He¡¯s also ranked second in the ze Rankings, just below Jared who¡¯s first.¡±

    ¡°The ze Realm,¡± Lu Yin repeated grimly as his face sank. This wasn¡¯t the first time that he had encountered them. The person who had blocked his path during Astral-10¡¯s assessment was from the ze Realm as well, but he had been defeated by Lulu. This time, he nned on trying to fight this guy himself.

    ¡°Go to the Sand Ocean. If he¡¯s here to look for trouble, then we¡¯ll direct him to you,¡± Little Pao said.

    Lu Yin nodded and stepped into the transportation equipment, which was directly connected to the Sand Ocean.

    Back at the entrance of Astral-10¡¯s space station, the door of a spaceship opened and a line of people from the ze Realm walked out. Craynor looked at his surroundings after leaving the spaceship. In his mind, this ce would belong to the ze Realm soon.

    Little Pao arrived at the space station and greeted Craynor.

    Craynor nced at Little Pao disparagingly. ¡°You¡¯re a student from Astral-10? Where¡¯s Lu Yin? Tell him toe out.¡±

    Little Pao frowned, paused for a moment, and then used star energy to write on a nearby wall, ¡®Lu Yin is at the Sand Ocean.¡¯ He then nced at Craynor contemptuously before leaving, having never said a word.

    Craynor was furious. How dare this person dismiss him like that? ¡°The Sand Ocean, huh. Great. I hope that the mentors of Astral-10 won¡¯t interfere in a battle between students.¡±

    Little Pao left slowly.

    Craynor snorted and briskly walked towards the teleporter. The people from the ze Realm were about to follow him in when they were suddenly stopped by Craynor. Only other students could enter Astral-10, and non-students were not allowed to enter.

    The ten Combat Academies were all branches of Astral Combat Academy, and were called as such when they were taken as a whole. However, due to the sheer vastness of the universe, a single branch would be unable to amodate everyone. Thus, it had been split into ten academies instead. So although Craynor was a student of Astral-8, he was also technically a student of Astral-10 as well.

    Even if he looked down on Astral-10, it was still Astral-10, and the non-students from the ze Realm were not allowed to enter. If they dared to do so, he would be defying the entire Astral Combat Academy, which would bring a scary set of consequences down upon his head.

    Craynor¡¯s gaze was serious when he stepped into the transportation equipment. That person had told him to bring one of Lu Yin¡¯s hands back as proof that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to continue training here. Hence, he had decided to break Lu Yin¡¯s limbs, but he had to ensure that the mentors of Astral-10 wouldn¡¯t interfere.

    At this moment, in the desert, Lu Yin had been thinking about this same exact situation. With Xi Yue¡¯s status, she would definitely be able to call upon many powerful opponents. If he just straightforwardly battled them, it would be a waste of his time. He suddenly recalled what had happened during Earth¡¯s trial and smiled¡ªthat was a better idea.

    Craynor looked at the boundless desert in front of him; this was Astral-10¡¯s Sand Ocean that was renowned throughout the universe. It was rumoured to be the best ce to develop and hone one¡¯s battle force, but the Sand Ocean had undergone a huge change when Astral-10¡¯s headmaster went crazy, and it was no longer the ce that it used to be.

    ¡°I¡¯m Craynor, a student of Astral-8, and I would like to meet the Sandmaster,¡± Craynor shouted out.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and looked into the distance. They had finally arrived.

    ¡°What do you want? Speak,¡± the Sandmaster¡¯s voice reverberated.

    Craynor obediently answered, ¡°I would like to battle with Lu Yin from Astral-10. I hope that you will approve.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Craynor smiled as he added on, ¡°I hope that the Sandmaster won¡¯t interfere before a party admits defeat.¡±

    ¡°I already said that I won¡¯t interfere. Stop speaking nonsense. If not, you can leave.¡± The Sandmaster¡¯s temper was much worse than the Rainmaster¡¯s. Despite that, Craynor wasn¡¯t angry after being scolded. Rather, he was delighted as those were the exact words that he needed to hear, and he had already recorded it down. Now, as long as he could heavily injure Lu Yin before he admitted defeat, then no one would be able to me him.

    Lu Yin stood up and looked at the man who was slowly walking over. This was the person who was ranked second on the ze Realm Rankings, Craynor.

    Craynor¡¯s eyes gleamed when he saw Lu Yin and icily greeted, ¡°Junior Lu Yin, we finally meet.¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°You¡¯re trying to stir up trouble?¡±

    Craynor smirked. ¡°Of course not. I just wanted to do battle with you. As an elite student of Astral-10, you aren¡¯t scared right?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to provoke me. I¡¯ll battle with you, but I have some conditions.¡±

    Craynor was bewildered. ¡°Conditions?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled confidently as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of training, but you¡¯re interrupting me to have some battle. You¡¯re wasting my time, so I must get something out of it in return.¡±

    Craynorughed and condescendingly asked, ¡°Sure, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin raised up two fingers. ¡°Twenty thousand star crystals and I¡¯ll battle with you.¡±

    Craynor¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Twenty thousand?! You¡¯re crazy! Do you know how much twenty thousand is?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have that amount?¡± Lu Yin sneered contemptuously.

    Craynor coldly answered, ¡°Of course I do, but you¡¯re not worth that price.¡±

    ¡°I can give you another choice as well. If you lose, give me your cosmic ring; if you win, I won¡¯t take a single cent. How about that?¡± Lu Yin suggested temptingly.

    Craynor beamed. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll do that.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s sharp eyes gleamed. ¡°Great, you¡¯re truly a powerhouse from the ze Realm. You can attack at any time.¡±

    Craynor smirked again as he arrogantly said, ¡°Be careful Junior. I might not be able to control my strength.¡± Then, he rushed towards Lu Yin, the star energy surrounding his body bursting into mes that distorted the air with its high temperature as he aimed a palm at Lu Yin.

    It was as if a ring sun had appeared above the desert, causing a blistering heat to sweep towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned serious; Craynor was truly an elite student from Astral-8. His control over star energy wasparable to the genius, Da Lei, and might even be slightly stronger. His attack thatbusted star energy into mes was far stronger than Archino¡¯s, who Lu Yin had met during Astral-10¡¯s assessment. Archino had relied on the actual sun in the sky to fuel his attack, while Craynor could power his attack with just his own star energy. He truly deserved the title of being second in the rankings.

    Lu Yin still remembered his battle with Gerbach, where Gerbach had relied on Lightning Fruits to use Lightning Arrow. There was an insurmountable difference between the two of them.

    The person in front of him was as powerful as Xi Yue¡¯s musical battle technique, but it was a shame that he had met Lu Yin. Lu Yin disappeared using sh and tore the star energy surrounding Craynor apart before appearing right in front of him. He then lifted his palm and used his Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm.

    Craynor narrowed his eyes. He felt threatened by this attack and instinctively dodged. There was a loud bang at the spot where he had originally been standing, and the aftershock of the attack radiated in all directions, blowing Craynor¡¯s star energy apart. He whirled around as he finally realized that this person definitely wasn¡¯t amon Melder. He had assumed that Xi Yue was just joking when she had said that someone had teased her, as he didn¡¯t think that there was anyone from Astral-10 who was strong enough to defeat Xi Yue. But clearly, he had been wrong. From what he could tell, this person far exceeded his expectations.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t stop his offense and continued to hurl more attacks at Craynor. Craynor roared and equipped his ring armour even as his star energy continued tobust into mes that surged everywhere. He seemed like he was about to erupt.

    Lu Yin ignored him and smashed another Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm onto Craynor¡¯s body, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood as his ring armourpletely shattered. After this shocking blow, his body even began sinking into the desert.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm was powerful enough to battle against Invincible Palm, a Limiteer, let alone Craynor. Although Craynor was powerful in his own right, he was definitely easier to defeat than Xi Yue, as Xi Yue¡¯s musical battle technique had posed a greater threat to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grabbed Craynor, who was heavily injured, and removed his cosmic ring. He then unceremoniously tossed him on the ground.

    ¡°Stop, stop!¡± Craynor yelled hoarsely as he continued to re at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin bent down and shot him a cold look. ¡°Are you trying to break your promise?¡±

    Craynor gritted his teeth as he replied, ¡°There are battle techniques from the ze Realm inside. You¡¯ll definitely be an enemy of the entire ze Realm.¡±

    Lu Yin scornfully replied, ¡°I never nned on taking the battle techniques from the ze Realm, but since you have told me about them, I would seem cowardly if I didn¡¯t take them.

    Craynor¡¯s gaze changed. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Lu Yin poured everything out of Craynor¡¯s cosmic ring. Most of it was star crystals, for a total of ten thousand. There were also some Mavis Bank cards, medicines, ring armor, and even hot weapons. There were also some items that he couldn''t recognise. The unidentified objects all emitted heat and were probably rted to his battle techniques.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother asking Craynor what the items were. He first took the star crystals, the Mavis Bank cards, and a vial of blood meant for gene recognition. Finally, he also grabbed a red card that had the symbol of the ze Realm¡ªthis was probably a battle technique from the ze Realm.

    Craynor¡¯s face was pale as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Once Lu Yin learned the battle technique, the ze Realm would go after Lu Yin, and Craynor would be implicated as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the battle techniques from the ze Realm, but I should be able to get a good amount of money if I sell it, right?¡± Lu Yin said with an evil smile.

    Craynor asked in a low voice, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him with a frosty gaze. ¡°I want to know about the elites in Astral-8 as well as the person you serve.¡±

    Craynor was relieved, as this request wasn¡¯t too much. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± He then paused and saw Lu Yin staring at him, so he arranged his thoughts and quickly continued, saying, ¡°There¡¯s a Realm Master and three Area Masters in Astral-8. I serve one of the Area Masters, the first on the ze Rankings. Jared.¡±

 Chapter 132: Extreme Flash

    <h4>Chapter 132: Extreme sh</h4>

    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s a Realm Master and Area Master? What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Craynor was baffled by his response. ¡°You don¡¯t know what Realm Master and Area Master mean?¡±

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°Cut the nonsense and just tell me.¡±

    Craynor coughed and awkwardly wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth before resuming his slight pant. ¡°The Astral Combat Academies hold the key to the Three Realms Six Daos, where there are various magical realms. Powerful students can take control of these training grounds and obtain huge benefits from them. Those who control an entire realm are called Realm Masters, and those who control a known training ground are called Area Masters. Have you not been to the Three Realms Six Daos before?¡±

    Lu Yin contemted Craynor¡¯s words for a while as he thought to himself. So that¡¯s how the Three Realms Six Daos are. Then, he asked, ¡°Are the Area Masters very powerful?¡±

    Craynor sneered at his ignorance. ¡°Powerful? That word is not enough to describe them. There are only a few training grounds in a realm and only the powerhouses who control these training grounds are qualified to be called Area Masters. Every realm can easily support more than a thousand elite students, and not all of them are Melders as some might be Limiteers. So, for someone who is able to attain the position of Area Master and lord over all thesepetitors, do you think that they are powerful?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re second on the ze Realm Rankings but first is actually able to be an Area Master. Is he that much stronger than you?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Craynor was speechless¡ªthis was something that he had always been frustrated about. Jared was much stronger than him. Not only was he a Limiteer, but he had also managed to be an Area Master. Craynor didn¡¯t even know what Jared¡¯s limits were.

    ¡°What about the Realm Master? Who¡¯s that?¡± Lu Yin asked, wondering how scary a person who controlled an entire realm would be. He didn¡¯t even have the right to enter a training realm yet.

    Fear shed across Craynor¡¯s face when Lu Yin mentioned the Realm Master. ¡°The Realm Master is called Feng Shang. He is the most powerful person in the Eighth Academy and is also a member of the Astral Student Council. He founded Wind Door on his own and specializes in the Dao of Illusion.¡±

    ¡°The Astral Student Council?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Craynor had a longing look in his eyes as he exined, ¡°The Astral Combat Academy is split into ten academies, but there is a single student council that manages the entire academy. Only Realm Masters can join the council, and the Astral Student Council is one of the subsidiaries of the Council of the Ten Arbiters. They have the right to ask the Ten Arbiters to make a ruling for them.¡±

    ¡°Can they meet the Ten Arbiters?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed.

    Craynor nodded. ¡°Theoretically yes.¡±

    ¡°How can I join?¡± Lu Yin immediately asked.

    Craynor exined, ¡°I already told you¡ªonly Realm Masters can join. There should be a member from every academy, but the council has only had nine people for hundreds of years. Astral-10 has not had a representative on the council for a long time now.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    ¡°Although the Council of the Ten Arbiters ultimately made the decision to send Astral-10 to the Outerverse, there are rumors that this issue was initially submitted by the Student Council, which eventually led to Astral-10 being driven out. Actually, you should thank the Student Council. If not for them, you wouldn¡¯t have even had a chance to join Astral-10,¡± Craynor said with a sneer.

    Lu Yin hit Craynor¡¯s head, ¡°Just answer my questions. Drop the sarcasm.¡±

    Craynor was incensed, but since he had lost to Lu Yin, he could only bear it with gritted teeth.

    ¡°Tell me about Jared. How powerful is he?¡± Lu Yin queried, as he had a feeling that he would definitely encounter this person some time in the future.

    Craynor shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Jared is the strongest heir in the entire ze Realm. The ze Realm has invested all their resources into him. I know that he has definitely learnt the ancient battle technique of the ze Realm¡ªFiery Sword, but I''m not sure what he¡¯s gained from attending the Eighth Academy. Furthermore, he¡¯s an Area Master and nobody knows just how his attainments in the Dao of Illusion go, since nobody has ever forced him to use his full power before.

    Lu Yin had a grim expression on his face. This person was way more troublesome than he had initially expected. Fiery Sword sounded like an impressive battle technique, and it was probably one of the main reasons why the ze Realm had survived in the Innerverse for so many years. In addition, there was still his Dao of Illusion, and he also had no idea what Jared might have obtained from his training grounds.

    ¡°And Feng Shang, from the Eighth Academy, is the Realm Master of the Dao of Illusion, right? So does that mean that everyone who specializes in the Dao of Illusion is from the Eighth Academy?¡±

    Craynor shook his head. ¡°Apart from the Three Realms, there are also people from various academies in the Six Daos. However, the Eighth Academy has focused their efforts on the Dao of Illusion, and there is an understanding between the six academies that each will focus on one Dao. If any academy tried to take over another one¡¯s Dao, it would definitely cause an outrage.¡±

    Lu Yin felt annoyed by this new information. The Three Realms had already been split among the first three academies while the remaining Six Daos had been split across the other six academies, leaving Astral-10 with nothing. No wonder there was a rule in Astral-10 that said that one could only enter the training realms after obtaining a hundred victories in the ported battles. This was because the training realms had already been divvied up by the remaining nine academies. Thus, a student from Astral-10 would definitely be looked down on or even driven out once they entered. Therefore, that rule had been made to prevent students without sufficient ability from entering; otherwise, they would definitely embarrass Astral-10.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you so much. You¡¯ll return my item to me, right?¡± Craynor asked, slightly pleadingly.

    Lu Yin casually tossed the red card to Craynor. He truly didn¡¯t care about the ze Realm¡¯s battle technique, as he hadn¡¯t even finished learning his own battle techniques. Thus, unless a truly elite battle technique appeared before him, he wouldn¡¯t pay attention to any new ones. However, if it were Fiery Sword, then he definitely wouldn¡¯t return it to Craynor that easily.

    ¡°How much money is in these bank cards?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Craynor gritted his teeth as he painfully replied, ¡°Seventy thousand star crystals.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed and he couldn''t stop himself from bursting out in another round ofughter. He was rich again! Combined with what Xi Yue had given him, he had amassed almost 150,000 star crystals. What arge sum!

    Robbery was still the fastest way to earn money, especially from the elite students of the Innerverse. They were all extremely wealthy, unlike those students from The Great Yu Empire who only had a few crystalsbined. The difference was just too vast. ¡°Not bad. Feel free to challenge me at any time,¡± Lu Yin said encouragingly.

    Lu Yin then took out a sign and wrote down his rules, which were the same ones that he had told Craynor. Challengers could either pay twenty thousand or bet their cosmic ring. He knew that there would definitely be throngs of students looking to cause trouble for him, and he was toozy to exin the rules to everyone. Thus, he had written it all down on a sign.

    Craynor was so incensed when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s actions he coughed out some blood, angrily red at Lu Yin, and then immediately left.

    ¡°Feel free toe again,¡± Lu Yin said as he beamed at Craynor.

    Craynor coughed again and left promptly. The entire day had been a nightmare for him. He didn¡¯t expect that Astral-10 would actually raise such a terrifying Melder. Besides that person, there weren¡¯t many other Melders who could defeat Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile faded and his face turned serious once Craynor left.

    He had initially thought that, once he became a Melder, his overwhelming physical strength and battle force would make him invincible within his tier. However, after listening to Craynor¡¯s descriptions, he was stillcking whenpared to the other academies¡¯ elites, and he might not even be able to defeat an Area Master, let alone a Realm Master. Moreover, the first three academies who controlled the Three Realms would definitely have even stronger powerhouses.

    He was still too slow. He had to get stronger even more quickly, Lu Yin decided.

    A huge silhouette suddenly appeared behind him. It was a half naked man with huge muscles that bulged like little hills on a scar-coveredndscape. After appearing, he just stood there and watched Lu Yin silently.

    Lu Yin turned around and was shocked when he saw the silhouette. He then seemed to remember something and bowed slightly. ¡°Good day, Sandmaster.¡±

    The huge silhouette was the Sandmaster. ¡°Young fellow, you have sessfully learnt battle force and hence have managed to obtain the approval of the Sand Ocean. You can choose one battle technique and I will develop it for you.¡±

    Lu Yin had forgotten about this reward; since he had obtained the approval of the Rain Observatory, it was normal that he could do the same in the Sand Ocean as well. One needed battle Battle force to obtain the Sand Ocean¡¯s approval, which made it a far more difficult requirement than the Rain Observatory¡¯s. ¡°Thank you, Mentor.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so what battle technique have you chosen?¡± The Sandmasterlooked at Lu Yin with a stern expression.

    Lu Yin paused for quite some time before lifting his head and earnestly replying, ¡°sh.¡±

    The Sandmaster¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Show me.¡±

    Lu Yin exerted some force through his calves, and his body disappeared. That was sh.

    At this moment, his sh was slightly different from what Peach had originally taught him, as he had incorporated some concepts from White sh into it as well, which helped to further increase his speed. This technique was currently strong enough to oveemon Melders and maybe even some Limiteers. Nevertheless, Lu Yin would never forget that time he had been trapped by someone else¡¯s star energy during a ported battle. He didn¡¯t want that to ever happen again, so he had to improve his sh battle technique.

    The Sandmaster was surprised, as he could see the influences of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques in Lu Yin¡¯s sh. This young fellow was truly an enigma. On top of his terrifying physical strength, sealed body, and the art that Guanyu had mentioned, he now even had battle techniques from the Daynight n. It was good that he was talented, but his training was too messy.

    ¡°Young fellow, do you know what happens once your body breaks through a certain limit?¡± the Sandmaster asked casually. He ced his hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder as he continued, saying, ¡°Let me see your limit.¡± Then, he exerted a startling force through his hand, causing Lu Yin to feel a sharp pain on his shoulder. The scene in front of him started changing, and the desert disappeared as if it had instantly moved away¡ªno, it wasn¡¯t the desert moving¡ªit was him. His eyes couldn¡¯t even keep up with how fast the surroundings were changing as the speed was simply too fast. A remnant line of the desert¡¯s silhouette slowly disappeared behind him as a crack in space appeared beside him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. A crack in space? This wasn¡¯t something that a Melder could aplish. How quickly were they moving to cause even space to crack apart?

    The Sandmaster was stunned as well. He didn¡¯t expect that this young fellow¡¯s body still hadn¡¯t reached its limits yet. This was great! He liked Lu Yin¡¯s perseverance, so he continued to increase his speed.

    A sharp pain started spreading across the surface of Lu Yin¡¯s body as his skin started to crack. The crack in space flowed past him like a stream and he vaguely saw an image of Michelle for a moment before she disappeared in the next instant.

    Suddenly, everything in front of him came to a stop. Lu Yin vomited and immediately fainted afterward¡ªthe speed had finally be too fast for his body to bear.

    The Sandmaster was astonished. Lu Yin¡¯s body had be this terrifying once the seal was removed. Not many Melders could even touch his level, which meant this person clearly came from an extremely powerful n. But from where? He couldn¡¯t tell as Lu Yin didn¡¯t have any distinguishing characteristics; usually, the few ns who specialized in powerful physical bodies all had very obvious characteristics.

    After vomiting for a while, Lu Yin finally felt better andughed bitterly. ¡°Sandmaster, that was too fast.¡±

    The Sandmaster calmly replied, ¡°That was the limit that your brain could undergo, and you can re-experience it by yourself. By the way, you still haven¡¯t reached your body¡¯s limits yet.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°I can achieve that speed on my own?¡±

    The Sandmaster gazed into the depths of the desert as he replied, ¡°Movement battle techniques require one¡¯s body to be strong. Your body is very powerful, and you should be able to achieve that speed if you use it properly. Think about it on your own.¡± And with that, he disappeared.

    Lu Yin thought about the Sandmaster¡¯s words and then decided to sit down, slowly digesting the feeling of moving at extreme speed and the reaction of his body.

    The Sandmaster had just left when he looked into the distance. He paused for a moment, and then stepped through the skies.

 Chapter 133: Request

    <h4>Chapter 133: Request</h4>

    At the same time that the Sandmaster departed, the Rainmaster opened his eyes within the Rain Observatory. Then, he stepped into space with a light sigh.

    Meanwhile, Silver was flipping through the list of missions in the Treasury, bored. Suddenly, Old Cai waved a hand and vanished, leaving Silver looking around in confusion. Where did that old man go?

    At the entrance to the Trial Area, Coco had just mustered up the determination to challenge the ported battle again, but just when she was about to step into the teleportation stone¡¯s range, she was stopped by a resistive force. And in the distance, the Trialmaster disappeared from his seat.

    Far above the vast sky of Astral-10, there was a hollow space, strewn with ck fossils. The insane director of the academy stood with his hands sped behind his back as he stared into the vastness of outer space with a confused expression.

    The director tore his gaze away and looked around at those before him. He bowed at the waist with a somber expression. ¡°Thank you for all your hard work over these years.¡±

    All five people simultaneously took a step back. The Rainmaster quietly said, ¡°Please don¡¯t do that, sir. There¡¯s no need for it.¡±

    The director sighed with a gloomy look. ¡°My Astral Battle Academy once experienced great glory, but that all fell to ruins when I was brought to the brink of insanity. I apologize to my predecessors as well as to all of you who have watched over me for thest thousand years.¡±

    The Sandmaster had a serious look as he said, ¡°This is our prison. Us old farts aren¡¯t merely your wardens. This is our duty. If there¡¯s something you want to say, then speak now while you are still sane.¡±

    The mad director¡¯s eyes clouded over before he suddenly brightened up, ¡°I would request that you all take on the roles of mentors under this director. Please help the academy return to glory.¡±

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around about this. We¡¯re not even real mentors, and we certainly don¡¯t have the time to help you.¡±

    The Trialmaster¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°I can¡¯t help.¡±

    The Sandmaster snorted, but didn¡¯t answer.

    The Starmaster¡¯s face remained unchanged.

    The Rainmaster shook his head.

    The mad director bowed once more. ¡°A thousand years ago, every book in this academy was burnt to ashes because of me, causing most of the academy to fall to ruin. The mentors either left or perished, and most of the students fled. This was all my fault and I wish to make up for it. Please, for the sake of the Endless Weave, help me and help the Endless Weave.¡±

    All five people twitched in shock. The words ¡°Endless Weave¡± were not ones to be uttered lightly. Even they respected those words.

    The mad director bowed once again, his voice grave. ¡°The five of you have already stayed here for a thousand years. What you¡¯ve seen, heard, and experienced is no less than what I have. You should all be aware that, back in the Endless Weave, our predecessors from ancient times were all valiant and passionate. Please recall their valor and, even if just once more, don¡¯t allow the Endless Weave to be hidden. It was once the proud gship and the most important heritage of the past, and it should be given to these children.¡±

    The Trialmaster sighed and looked up. With his eyes wide open, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s for the Endless Weave, then I¡¯ll be a mentor once.¡±

    The Rainmaster nodded as well. ¡°Okay.¡±

    The Sandmaster stared at the director and, a long whileter, said a single word. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Old Cai rolled his eyes again. ¡°You should realize that we¡¯re taking aplete loss here. Fine, fine, I¡¯ll just have some fun while I¡¯m at it. But be aware¡ªI¡¯ll only do it this once.¡±

    The Starmaster nodded as well. ¡°If it¡¯s for the Endless Weave, then I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    The mad director was extremely grateful. ¡°Thank you so much. The new students¡¯ tournament will be held in about half a month¡¯s time. After that, five students will be selected to be nurtured in preparation for the uing Astral Combat Tournament. Let me thank you all for your assistance.¡±

    The five mentors departed soon after and the mad director sighed as he shifted his gaze back down towards Astral-10, observing each student. His eyes belied his agony, because sanity was far more painful than insanity. He was the one who had destroyed Astral-10, causing its status to fall to the point where his students were being threatened by other students of the young generation. But it wouldn¡¯t be like this forever. One day, he would recover, and that moment was when the Endless Weave would shine forth once more.

    As time passed, the mad director¡¯s eyes became murky and his hair once again fell into disarray. His insanity had returned, and he rambled to the skies, ¡°You were the ones who started the war, so you must be the ones to bear the consequences! Hahaha! You were the ones who started the war¡­¡±

    Back in the Sand Ocean, the Sandmaster watched the mad director dash around the sky before shaking his head. ¡°He touched something that he shouldn¡¯t have. What a pity.¡± After clearing his mind of the director¡¯s issues, he swept his eyes over the desert and saw Lu Yin, who was in the middle ofprehending extreme speed. The mentor¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This guy is pretty good! Although he isn¡¯t the most talented among everyone that I¡¯ve seen, he¡¯s still much better than most. He just might be able topete with the monsters in the top one hundred list. It looks like there¡¯s some hope left for the Endless Weave.¡±

    One dayter, Lu Yin opened his eyes. After a quick stretch, he tried using Air sh, but he just copsed onto the sand. Though he had used too much force, he was slightly quicker than before. ¡°As long as my body can handle it, I can go even faster,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself. After several more attempts, he thought of his die; it was about time he rolled it again. After realizing this, he left the Sand Ocean.

    While walking through the teleportation facility, Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he hadn¡¯t even explored the other areas of Astral-10 yet. He had only visited the Rain Observatory, Sand Ocean, Treasury, Arena Entrance, Stargazing Deck, and space station; however, Astral-10 had far more than just these few areas.

    He now felt the desire to explore the remote area outside of the Treasury. If he was going to roll the die, then that kind of isted area was the most appropriate. Other simrly deste areas were too distant. For instance, the area surrounding the Rain Observatory would take at least a day to reach and he didn¡¯t have that much time to waste. His best option was somewhere near the Treasury.

    Before long, Lu Yin left the Treasury and entered the deste ins surrounding it. He could see the ruins of quite a few buildings that went on for quite some distance. Deep fissures ran through the ground, from where hot air seeped through. While he had no clue what the area used to be, it seemed that it had once been a flourishing region with many buildings.

    Lu Yin chose a random dpidated building and released his star energy to confirm that he was alone. He then reached out, causing the die to appear.

    It had been quite some time since Lu Yin hadst rolled the die. During hisst usage, he had rolled six pips, Possession, which had allowed him to experience Da Lei¡¯s life. He hoped that he could be as lucky this time.

    After spinning the die, Lu Yin watched it slowly stop spinning¡ªone, Pilfer.

    This came as no surprise as this was the mostmon roll. If he was lucky, then what he gained from Pilfer could change his fate. If he was unlucky, like this time¡­ Lu Yin hesitated before picking up a potion wrapped in ancient packaging. This was the other sort of thing that Pilfer could get him.

    While studying the bottle, Lu Yin let out a sigh. Just because the packaging was ancient, it didn¡¯t mean the item itself was. There were all kinds of civilizations in the universe and some of them were at a very low technology level. Since the packaging was in an ancient style, it probably came from a civilization in the universe that had met other civilizations, but refused to modernize.

    Lu Yin opened the bottle and sniffed at it. A very ordinary potion.

    After storing it, he crushed a cube of star crystals. Again.

    For his second roll, the die ended on five pips¡ªGift Copy. Lu Yin stood up, but then sat down just as quickly. It would be impossible to find a cultivator with an innate gift within ten seconds from where he was. How could he find anyone at all in ten seconds?! Another wasted roll. Again.

    For the third roll, the die slowed and stopped at four pips¡ªTime Stop.

    Reality seemed to fade and Lu Yin found himself in the familiar ash-colored space. The timer started counting down three days of time.

    This wasn¡¯t a bad roll, as it gave him more time to think. Lu Yin decided to spend his time studying the star chart. It would be ideal if he could manifest the seventh star or maybe even the eighth. This would allow him to absorb star energy eight times faster, which would allow him to reach peak Melder¡¯s strength as soon as possible.

    There was a vast difference between someone who stood at the peak of the Melder realm and someone who had just entered the realm. The most obvious difference was the amount of star energy, which was likeparing an ocean to ake.

    Craynor held the position of number two on the ze Realm Rankings and stood near the top in Astral-8. He was a peak Melder, and Lu Yin had felt the pressure of Craynor¡¯s star energy during their battle. Fortunately, Lu Yin had been able topensate for the difference with his strong body. If the two¡¯s physical strength had been simr in power, then the pressure of their star energy would have been the key that determined victory. Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to lose out in this area.

    With this thought, Lu Yin immediately retrieved six hundred cubes of star crystals and tossed them out. The timer leapt up, but instead of the expected thirty-three days, Lu Yin saw that the timer had only increased to only sixteen days, nearly half of what he had expected. Lu Yin realized that the more he increased the time by, the more star crystals he needed for each day. The rate was not fixed to eighteen cubes of crystal per extra day.

    He let out a sigh; he should have expected that this ability wouldn¡¯t be that convenient. If Time Stop really did have a fixed rate of eighteen cubes of star crystals per day, then Lu Yin would be able to stay inside the space for nearly three years with his current stores!

    Whatever, there¡¯s nothing that can be done about it. He then took out an additional fifty cubes of star crystals and raised the gravity to fifty times the standard level before taking out a star chart.

    Neen days was a long time, so Lu Yin was in no hurry. He studied the star chart diligently, practiced his battle technique on asion, and rested when he needed to. After ten days of training, his Cosmic Palm¡¯s seventh star manifested.

    The power of the battle technique with seven stars far surpassed the power with six. If, as a Sentinel, Lu Yin had reached the level of seven stars, then he would have been able to fight Schutz. If he had also had Air sh and the other battle techniques that he had recently learned, then he might actually have been able to win. Now, as a Melder, Cosmic Palm alone was enough for Lu Yin to defeat students like Craynor and he wouldn¡¯t even need to use techniques like his Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm.

    Currently, Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack was still his Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm. The Nine Stacks boosted the power of his Shockwave Palm to even greater heights than his Cosmic Art with seven stars; it was no longer sufficient to be his trump card and he needed to increase its strength.

    Over the next nine days, Lu Yin immersed himself in the star chart. When the countdown got closer to zero, he actually tossed out another hundred or so cubes of star crystals and added an additional eight days to the timer.

    Even after seventeen days had passed, not even a ghost of the eighth star was seen. Lu Yin frowned and looked around. He¡¯d had enough of this ce. In fact, anyone would find it hard to sit in one ce for almost a whole month.

    Lu Yin rested for a few hours and then waited for the timer to run out, not increasing the timer anymore. He needed to get out.

    The scenery around him warped and shifted. While a month had passed within the Time Stop Space, it had been just a second in the outside world.

    Lu Yin waved his hand and brought out seven stars to circle his palm. If he hadn¡¯t learned the Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, then this Cosmic palm would undoubtedly be his primary attack.

    He dispersed the stars and brought out his die again, ready to continue rolling. He had previously used it three times, so he had one chance left.

    As the die stopped spinning, it stopped on one pip again.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Despite his mounting eagerness to roll three pips, he just hadn¡¯t been lucky enough. It was fate andpletely out of his control.

    This time, the die retrieved something a bit different with Pilfer. It was a tough stretch of hide from some unknown creature. And on it, there were strange characters etched into the surface that linked together into a long passage. As soon as Lu Yin saw the characters, he felt like his brain had been rattled, and blood leaked out of his seven orifices. He quickly stored the item while his pupils vacited between dting and contracting.

 Chapter 134: Crushed

    <h4>Chapter 134: Crushed</h4>

    Just who had written those characters, and how had they managed to hurt him so badly? The only exnation was that this was the work of some terrifying powerhouse, and there had to be more to the characters than met the eye.

    Lu Yin wiped the blood staining his face away. At some point, his forehead had be covered in sweat. He looked at his cosmic ring fearfully and decided that he would not touch the carved hide until he was at least as powerful as a Limiteer, or at least until he was in some desperate need.

    His gadget beeped, informing him that he had received a new notification. Lu Yin looked down and was surprised to see that he recognized the name of his new challenger. Hart Phoenix? What a familiar name. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled in anticipation as he recalled this person. Wasn¡¯t he the Sentinel from the ported battle? He remembered that this person had an innate gift and was quite strong. How did he know to contact him? Had he discovered that Lu Yin was ¡®Seventh Brother?¡¯

    Lu Yin wasted no time and quickly rushed back to the Sand Ocean.

    At this time, back at Astral-10¡¯s space station, Big Pao and Little Pao were staring at the man before them in utter shock. This person was actually from the Phoenix Family of the Innerverse. They had heard of Hart Phoenix before, and he was definitely one of the elite students of Astral-5. When he had just been a Sentinel, he had already been able to defeat Melders, though if that was the extent of his abilities, the two would not have had such a reaction. What shocked and scared the two Astral-10 seniors the most was Hart¡¯s older brother, Serati Phoenix; that guy was an absolute monster.

    ¡°Sand Ocean, the ce that was once known as Astral-10¡¯s battle force sacrednd, is no longer what it once was. Is that where Lu Yin is?¡± Hart asked coldly.

    Big Pao coughed once to dispel his shock before replying, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Hart¡¯s eyes twinkled as he stepped into the teleportation device.

    The desert was hot and dry. For many, this wasn¡¯t a pleasant sensation, but for Hart, it suited him perfectly since all his techniques contained heat and mes.

    Lu Yin had arrived a bit before Hart, and he had already erected a signboard that disyed the rules for the duel in a very conspicuous location near the teleportation device. Lu Yin was excited for the uing duel since theirst fight had been closely matched. How far had Lu Yine since then, and was it possible for him to win with an instant K.O.?

    Hart stepped out of the teleportation device and immediately noticed the signboard. With a condescending expression, he looked over towards Lu Yin in the distance and threw a bank card onto the sand. His entire demeanor oozed arrogance. ¡°Money? I have nock of it, but let¡¯s see if you have the ability to take it.¡±

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. This guy is way more arrogant than Craynor. He even used his real name in the ported battles. Lu Yin liked messing around with incredibly proud people, but unfortunately, Hart wasn¡¯t as impulsive as Craynor was. If he was, then all the money in his cosmic ring would have soon belonged to Lu Yin, which would have been perfect. ¡°You¡¯re here for Xi Yue?¡±

    Hart gazed at Lu Yin coldly. ¡°You have no right to say her name. She¡¯s my fianc¨¦e, and if you touch her, then it means that you¡¯ve touched the Phoenix n. Are you prepared to face the wrath of my n?¡±

    Lu Yin froze. That- that was so cool!

    ¡°How old are you?¡± Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help himself from asking.

    Hart¡¯s eyes glinted icily as he charged at Lu Yin. ¡°Cut the crap.¡± Golden mes erupted from his body and rose into the sky, forming a ming bird that crowed so loudly the entire desert trembled.

    Deep within the desert, the Sandmaster was astonished. ¡°There¡¯s someone from the Immortal Bird family here? Things are starting to get lively.¡±

    Lu Yin saw a golden bird of mes cover the sky. Back in the ported battle, he had confronted the attack with his Cosmic palm, but this time, he merely raised a hand. ¡°Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Crash!

    Golden mes swirled and exploded in all directions, blurring the sky and scorching the desert surface ck. Lu Yin had torn the golden firebird apart in a single attack and followed his move up bynding directly above Hart, no more than a millimeter away from his head. Vicious shockwaves pushed the sand beneath Hart¡¯s feet away, digging out a conical pit that he fell into. Hart himself didn¡¯t move, but his eyes betrayed his endless shock.

    ¡°Mr. Hart!¡±

    ¡°Mr. Hart!¡±

    ¡­

    The students who had apanied Hart to Astral-10 yelled his name in shock while standing at the teleportation device. They all heaved huge sighs of relief when they saw that Hart hadn¡¯t been injured. However, they looked at Lu Yin with shock in their eyes. They couldn¡¯t believe that there was a person this strong in Astral-10. In the entirety of Astral-5, there were less than ten Melders who were strong enough to crush Hart like that¡ªin fact, Hart¡¯s abilities allowed him to proudly stand besides the top ten Melders in their academy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up as he retracted his arm and looked over towards the teleportation device. ¡°Give me the card.¡±

    A Melder student inside the device hurried over, picked up the card, and then respectfully handed it over to Lu Yin. Regardless of if it was the Tenth or Astral-5, strength was paramount.

    Hart¡¯s eyes followed Lu Yin shakily. Only at this time did his face begin to pale. He had been defeated before he could even react. He then carefully asked, ¡°Have we fought before?¡±

    Lu Yin stored the card away. ¡°Perhaps. I don¡¯t remember anymore.¡±

    Hart clenched his fists in shame. He had beenpletely dominated; this was too disgraceful. He thought to himself, No one from the Phoenix n should ever be crushed this thoroughly before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± After that, Hart headed deep into the desert. He wanted to break through and be a Melder. That was the only way for him to have a chance of defeating Lu Yin.

    Several of the students rushed over to protect Hart.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. This guy really doesn¡¯t hold back at all.

    Elsewhere in Astral-10, at this same time, another spacecraftnded at the academy¡¯s space station. This spacecraft had the Ninth Academy¡¯s symbol etched on its hull.

    Little Pao was astonished. Even someone from the Ninth Academy hade?

    The door opened, and Bonny walked out. He was dressedpletely in ck and there was a ck phoenix embroidered onto the back of his coat.

    Little Pao grew slightly puzzled at this seeing this member of the Dark Phoenix n. This wouldplicate the situation. Someone from the Phoenix n was already here, and a person from the Dark Phoenix n had just arrived. Disciples of the rival ns immortal bird and the fallen immortal bird were about to meet; things were about to get interesting.

    Bonny looked at the wall with shining eyes before directly heading to the teleportation device and traveling to the Sand Ocean without saying a word. Little Pao hurriedly followed behind.

    Lu Yin was still in the desert, examining his cosmic ring. He currently had the equivalent of 150,000 cubes of star crystals in just Mavis Bank cards, which was a considerable sum. With the additional 20,000 cubes that he physically had in his ring, he felt pretty wealthy.

    But then, deep in the desert, great golden mes filled the sky and cast a brilliant shadow over the desert.

    Lu Yin was rather excited. Hart had been one of the few Sentinels who could threaten Lu Yin. Now that he had advanced and be a Melder, Lu Yin expected his power spike to be huge. Could Hart match up to Craynor? While Craynor was very talented, that was it. It was honestly somewhat surprising that Craynor ranked second on the ze Realm Rankings.

    As the golden mes streaked through the desert, the star energy in the Sand Ocean trembled. A cry from an immortal bird caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to skip a beat. He could feel an invisible pressure pressing down on him.

    Suddenly, a figure flew into the sky to look into the distance. ¡°It¡¯s Phoenix! There¡¯s someone from that shameless n!¡± ck mes roared into the sky as if responding to the golden mes before the figure disappeared.

    Lu Yin was surprised. What¡¯s going on?

    Little Pao was standing by the teleportation device¡¯s entrance, and his eyes shimmered when he saw this. Things were really about to get going now.

    Deep within the desert, the Sandmaster was caught off guard. ¡°The Dark Phoenix n? What a coincidence.¡±

    Elsewhere in the desert, where Hart was trying to break through, Hart widened his eyes and looked into the distance with a furious expression. ¡°It¡¯s someone from that n of traitors! Quick, get him!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± a few students from Astral-5 responded before rushing out.

    It didn¡¯t take long for battle fluctuations to spread out across the desert. ck mes raged and radiated an intense heat. Yet, oddly enough, when one tried to sense the ck mes, they would feel an incredibly cold and corrosive energy that could eat through star energy. Although the students from Astral-5 were powerful, Bonny could hold his own against them by himself. He was a genius of the Dark Phoenix n and naturallyparable to the geniuses from the Phoenix n.

    Lu Yin looked up from the sand. Numerous battle techniques of all sorts were shing in the sky every second, leaving him in awe. Bonny¡¯s ck immortal bird was quite amazing to Lu Yin. What an amazing innate gift!

    Off in the distance, the golden mes had reached a peak, and their heat had grown to a terrifying level. Hart had only just broken through, but he could already stand up to the ck mes unaided. This boosted the morale of Astral-5 students, and they continued fighting.

    ¡°Tsk, there¡¯s so many years of grudges hidden deep within their bones. They¡¯re fighting to the death even before they¡¯ve actually met each other. How lively,¡± Little Pao said in surprise.

    Lu Yin was confused and asked, ¡°Who is that?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s from the Dark Phoenix n, the fallen immortal bird. The kid who you fought earlier is called Hart Phoenix and is from the Innerverse¡¯s Phoenix n, which is also known as the golden immortal bird. These two families used to be one, but they split at some point in time and have been opposing each other ever since. Once any of them meet, there¡¯s sure to be a bloodbath,¡± Little Pao exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°No wonder they¡¯re so simr.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, the Dark Phoenix n hasn¡¯t been able to win against the Phoenix n. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been chased out into the Endless Weave. Bonny is a student from the Ninth Academy, and he should have originallye here to check out his rival academy. But out of sheer luck, this happened. Haha,¡± Little Pao said, obviously enjoying the situation.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter as well. The Ninth and Tenth Academies that stood next to each other were naturally enemies. Hart Phoenix had terrible timing, although that was good news for Astral-10 because his men would be preupied with fighting against Bonny instead of Lu Yin.

    Before too long, all of the students from Astral-5 were defeated.

    ¡°Get your ass out here, Phoenix!¡± Bonny yelled provokingly.

    The golden mes in the distance condensed and contracted before morphing into a terrifying immortal bird that soared through the sky, its mes warping the very air. Hart had be a Melder and was right away able to disy an impressive strength that far exceeded Schutz¡¯s and possibly even Craynor¡¯s. This was quite shocking to Lu Yin. How could an innate gift be this powerful?

    Hart stood tall within the golden immortal bird¡¯s mes as it pped its wings. He cast a look of disdain towards Bonny. ¡°Where did you gain the confidence to bare your teeth at your master?¡±

    Rage burned in Bonny¡¯s eyes and he nearly lost hisposure. ¡°You Phoenixes are the slimiest and most despicable family. You should all just go and die!¡± Then, the ck immortal bird looked up, released a cry, and charged straight at Hart.

    Hart snickered as he replied, ¡°You possess nothing more than a fallen bloodline. A ve will always be a ve.¡± The golden immortal bird rushed forward as well.

    These two enormous immortal birds, one ck and one gold, shed high above the desert in an ear splitting crash. The air was burnt away and the heat distortions nearly caused the sky to copse. Yellow wind swirled in from the surrounding desert, covering the earth and sky as it melted into the gold and ck mes.

    Astral-5 students quickly hid after recovering from their initial shock.

    Lu Yin also moved slightly behind Little Pao, leaving the senior student stunned. ¡°Junior, you¡¯re not cute at all.¡± As Little Pao spoke, he lifted a hand and formed an invisible shield from his star energy that protected the two of them.

    This was a fight between two immortal birds and even the errant shockwaves could reduce an ordinary Melder to ashes, but Little Pao was able to protect them with a casual lifting of his hand. Lu Yin was a bit surprised to see this. After all, Big Pao and Little Pao were the only students left after Astral-10 had been chased out of the Innerverse. There were rumors that these two students hadn¡¯t left because they were so weak that no academy wanted them, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe this nonsense. Rather, he suspected that these two were hiding a great deal of surprises.

 Chapter 135: Lu Yinâ€™s Reputation

    <h4>Chapter 135: Lu Yin¡¯s Reputation</h4>

    Little Pao and Lu Yin avidly watched the battle y out in front of them until Lu Yin suddenly received a warning from the Sandmaster. He reluctantly took a step out before vanishing.

    The two immortal birds were still brawling in the sky when Lu Yin appeared directly before Hart. Without a word, he unleashed a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, pushing him to the ground. Lu Yin then whirled around and attacked Bonny with another palm strike. Bonny tried to counter-attack with his ck mes, but everything was scattered by Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    When Lu Yin used his Shockwave Palm at the Nine Stacks level, it gave the attack unimaginable power. No one at Hart, Bonny, and Craynor¡¯s level could defend against it, and the two rivals were simultaneously sent crashing to the ground.

    Lu Yin had stopped the astonishing battle between the two rival immortal birds that easily.

    The students from the Fifth Academy were dumbfounded by the sight. They knew full well how powerful Hart had be after breaking through to the Melder Realm. He could easily be ranked within the top ten Melders of their academy, but he had still been defeated in a single move. They had drastically underestimated Lu Yin.

    Beneath the surface of the desert, Harty there in shock as blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. He raised his head up in anger as he thought, I lost again?! I lost even after I became a Melder? Why is he so strong? Is he actually a match for those crazy geniuses?

    Not far from Hart, Bonny spat out a mouthful of blood before looking around nkly. He was in a simr state of shock¡ªto think that there was actually a Melder in Astral-10 who could defeat him! Even though Bonny wasn¡¯t the strongest Melder in the Ninth Academy, he was still within the top five. Despite that strength, he had still been beaten by this person. No wonder the mentors had asked him to investigate Astral-10; this ce had truly concealed itself well.

    Lu Yin looked down from the sky. ¡°Astral-10 isn¡¯t a ce for you to settle your personal grudges. Tell me if you want to duel me, and if not, then please leave.¡±

    Hart wiped away the streak of blood on his face and stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Bonny also stood up, and he red at Hart, clearly unwilling to go. He then turned to look at Lu Yin one final time before departing as well. From that one exchange with Lu Yin, both of them had realized that they weren¡¯t his opponents. There was no longer any point in fighting him now. More opportunities woulde up in the future.

    Lu Yin reluctantly watched them leave, feeling like he had wasted an opportunity. His attacks just now had been too strong. If he had held back slightly, then he might have been able to earn a hefty sum from the two of them.

    Little Pao paid close attention to the two students and only left after he saw them leave Astral-10 on their spacecraft.

    Once Hart entered his spacecraft, he immediately turned his gadget on. The face of a handsome man appeared on the disy. When the students of the Fifth Academy saw him, they bowed low without even daring to lift their heads.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Hart gritted his teeth. ¡°I want to enter the n¡¯s secret realm.¡±

    ¡°I asked you, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I lost. I lost to Lu Yin from Astral-10.¡¯

    ¡°How many moves?¡±

    ¡°One,¡± Hart answered with a grimace.

    The man fell silent. ¡°You won¡¯t be his opponent unless youplete your metamorphosis.¡±

    As soon as he heard the word ¡°metamorphosis,¡± Hart¡¯s expression changed and a trace of fear flickered through his eyes. ¡°I¡­ Can I undergo metamorphosis?¡±

    The man¡¯s gaze was cold. ¡°You¡¯ll have to undergo metamorphosis if you want to win. However, metamorphosing is extremely risky.¡±

    Hart clenched his fists tightly. He thought about not only Lu Yin, but also the powerful Melders from his own academy. Lu Yin could be considered the catalyst for his desire to change, as Hart didn¡¯t want to be weaker than the student of an exiled academy. Hart carried the heavy glory of the Phoenix n upon his back and he refused to be a weakling who couldn¡¯t even defeat a traitor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll metamorphose.¡±

    The man in the disy smiled. ¡°I will send out the appropriate orders. Once you have metamorphosed sessfully, you will be able to directly join the Council of the Ten Arbiters. If you fail and die, I will avenge you. Lu Yin, right? I¡¯ve memorized his name.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, brother,¡± Hart answered.

    The disy disappeared, and the Fifth Academy students raised their heads and sighed in relief. The pressure that the man exuded was intense, as he was one of Ten Arbiters: the Immortal Phoenix, Serati Phoenix.

    Astral-10 returned to its previously peaceful state for the next two days as no new challengers appeared. And the ones en route wouldn¡¯t arrive for some time.

    Lu Yin inquired after the other students and was told that each one had found a suitable ce for their own, individual training. ¡°There are other training grounds in Astral-10?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Little Pao replied, ¡°Of course. Astral-10 has a heritage that spans countless years. Although it was destroyed in an ident, some of the training grounds still exist. It¡¯s just that they aren¡¯t asplete as the Rain Observatory or the Sand Ocean. Nevertheless, there are still definitely ces that are most suitable for each student. For example, Zhao Yilong is training at a cliff while Zora is spending all her time in a cemetery with skeletons.¡±

    ¡°What about me? Are there any training grounds that are suitable for me?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Little Pao rolled his eyes. ¡°Go look for one yourself. How should I know? I¡¯m still a student too, ok? The mentors who actually knew the training grounds aren¡¯t around anymore, so maybe you should ask the Headmaster?¡±

    Lu Yin recalled the crazy old man. Forget it. He didn¡¯t want to die just yet.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered what Lulu had told him while they were on the spacecraft. She had said that she wanted to obtain something from Astral-10 and that she wanted to battle with someone. Lu Yin wondered if she had been sessful.

    Little Pao continued talking. ¡°You can stay here. It¡¯s been peaceful for a few days, but it won¡¯tst. The powerhouses from the Innerverse should be arriving soon.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged as he thought to himself, It¡¯s about time.

    The battles in Astral-10¡¯s Sand Ocean had been leaked to the public, and almost everyone had heard that Craynor, Hart Phoenix, and Bonny Phoenix had been defeated by Lu Yin. Each of the three was quite famous within their own academies, but they had still lost to Lu Yin, stunning everyone.

    The news about Xi Yue had already caused Lu Yin¡¯s name to be well-known, and with these battle results, he garnered even more interest from the other powerhouses. Even those who had no interest in Xi Yue started to pay attention to Lu Yin, wanting to challenge him as well.

    In the Sixth Academy, someone said, ¡°That¡¯s weird. How can an Astral-10 student defeat a powerhouse from the Phoenix n? That¡¯s an abandoned branch of the academy.¡±

    ¡°The universe is extremelyrge, it¡¯s not surprising that a genius like him would pop up. I heard that the ze Realm is enraged because Craynor is second on the ze Realm Rankings, but his cosmic ring was actually stolen by Lu Yin. What a humiliating defeat.¡±

    ¡°Serves them right. The ze Realm already failed when they tried to stop Astral-10¡¯s assessment, and now, the person who they sent to cause trouble was defeated. They should be furious, haha.¡±

    ¡°Shh, are you looking for trouble?! You also train in the Dao of Illusion. You better not meet Jared there. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be out of luck.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so scared? At most, I''ll stop pursuing the Dao of Illusion. It¡¯s not like I can die in there.¡±

    ¡°But being killed there will still severely wound your spirit. Jared is an Area Master. If he really wants to create trouble for you, there¡¯s no way for you to escape.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Do you see who just came in?¡± The students who were gossiping looked over and became stunned. There was an alluring woman whose white hair reached her ankles. She was wearing a breezy summer dress and a ck ring fringed with brilliant silver. It was Mira.

    ¡°It¡¯s Senior Mira! Senior Mira is back,¡± the students shouted fervently as everyone looked at her with an excited gaze.

    The entire Sixth Academy erupted with noise.

    Mira was a huge celebrity in the Sixth Academy even after she had be an Explorer and graduated. However, she was still an alumni of the Sixth Academy as well as a representative of the Ten Arbiter, and her status was second only to them.

    Mira smiled, and her red pupils swept past the crowd, causing many to breathe heavily. She was just too entrancing.

    Lu Yin right? I have underestimated you. You¡¯ve already gathered such a huge reputation even before you entered the training realms. Michelle is also in Astral-10. How interesting, Mira thought to herself. Though she seemed to walk slowly, she instantly vanished from sight after a single step, only leaving a fragrant breeze behind.

    Another day passed, making it four days since Hart had left. During this time, new people came, seeking to cause trouble. A motley crew of people had all traveled to Astral-10 for Xi Yue. Some of them weren¡¯t even students of Astral Combat Academy. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t turn any of them down and managed to earn an enormous sum from his conditions and unbeatable strength.

    The true powerhouses wouldn¡¯t rush to the Outerverse just because of Xi Yue. The only people who had rushed over were second rate experts who couldn¡¯t evenpare to Hart. To Lu Yin, they had juste to deliver money to him. He had earned nearly three-hundred thousand star crystals over ten days. At this point, even he thought that maybe he might be acting too shamefully.

    After two weeks, people finally stopped challenging Lu Yin as his reputation had be very widespread at this point. The academies had all made note of him and his name was no longer unfamiliar to most people. However he was more infamous than famous as his reputation included teasing Xi Yue, robbing students, and being very greedy. Due to this foul reputation, all sorts of insults had been thrown at Lu Yin.

    Xi Yue was outraged when she heard about what had happened after returning to the Souldream Tribe. Isn¡¯t there anyone who can punish that pervert?

    In Astral-8, blisteringva surged in slow, molten waves. Craynor stood there silently in difort, as he had for thest ten days.

    Above theva, burning red air blew into the distance like a sweltering sea breeze.

    ¡°You failed?¡± a low voice rang out.

    Craynor bowed his head. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry, but I failed.¡±

    ¡°Useless.¡±

    Craynor didn¡¯t dare to reply.

    ¡°Send some people into the Six Daos, and have them report to me once they see anyone from Astral-10. I want everyone from Astral-10 to be stopped.¡±

    Craynor was ted. ¡°Very well.¡±

    Back in Astral-10, Lu Yin was unaware of a shocking event that had rocked the Great Yu Empire to its core; the Second Prince, Duke Yushan, had betrayed the Empire along with the Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Squadrons. They had invaded five points in the Frostwave Weave, stunning the weave residents and all those nearby.

    Undying Yushan was so infuriated when he heard the news that he fell unconscious, causing the Great Yu Empire to destabilize even further.

    Within the pce, Dorren Yushan had a grim face. ¡°Announce that Duke Yushan, Seventh Squadron¡¯s Captain Batson, Eighth Squadron¡¯s Captain Shalosh, Tenth Squadron¡¯s Captain Felut, and Twelfth Squadron¡¯s Captain Dove are traitors and wanted criminals in the territory of the Empire. The war has begun.¡±

    But Duke Yushan¡¯s deration hade toote. By the time the Great Yu Empire reacted to the betrayal, all of the people loyal to Duke Yushan¡ªincluding Vice Treasurer Sicar and some other ministers¡ªhad already left. Even the Sword Mercenary group and some of the elites of Yu Academy had joined the betrayers, causing the royal guards to descend into a second round of chaos.

    While all of this was happening, some minor incidents flew underneath everyone¡¯s notice. Zhang Dingtian, Seruzen, Bai Xue, and Xu San, who were all elites of Yu Academy, had all gone missing. If the times were more peaceful, then the repercussions would have been enormous.

    After a few more days passed, it was the day of Astral-10¡¯s New Student Competition. Lu Yin left the Sand Ocean and stood at the realm entrance, the venue for thepetition.

 Chapter 136: The New Student Competition

    <h4>Chapter 136: The New Student Competition</h4>

    By the time Lu Yin arrived, several people had already arrived.

    ¡°Brother Lu,¡± Coco shouted excitedly. She was clearly happy to see Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin tousled her hair affectionately. ¡°You must¡¯ve improved a lot since thest time I saw you¡ªyou¡¯re already a Melder! Do you want to spar with me?¡±

    Coco stuck her tongue out before yfully replying, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t want to fight with you. Everyone¡¯s heard about how you defeated the students from the various academies. You¡¯re famous now.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lu Yin blinked, slightly astonished. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to what other people thought of him since he already knew his reputation wasn¡¯t good. To him, there was no reason to put himself in a bad mood.

    Meanwhile, Zora was spinning her silver needles between her fingers nearby. Just the sight of the massive needles scared Lu Yin, and he suddenly remembered Coco¡¯s innate gift. Could this be a specialty of Windrift Hall¡¯s?

    On the other side, Meng Yue stood to the side, all by himself. He had also be a Melder, and his palm now carried with it a yellow hue. It seemed that his strength had risen considerably. When Meng Yue noticed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, his provokingly clenched his fists.

    A bit further away, Xia Luo was casually sitting beside the Trialmaster, as if the two of them were old friends.

    Darkvoid sat alone in a corner, and his dark hair that seemed to absorb nearly all the light that ventured near it caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention. Darkvoid was the most mysterious person amongst all the students, and he definitely had a powerful innate gift.

    At that moment, Schutz exited the teleportation stone area as the Trialmaster announced, ¡°Schutz: fifty two wins and two hundred and thirty seven losses.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. Schutz¡¯s win/loss ratio was nearly 1 to 4. Not bad. Schutz¡¯s win rate wasparable to Michelle¡¯s from a month ago.

    Meanwhile, Schutz¡¯s eyes gleamed when he noticed Lu Yin, and he nodded to Lu Yin once before walking to the side, standing by himself. They were both from the Great Yu Empire, but they weren¡¯t very familiar with each other. Lu Yin originally thought that Schutz would be discouraged after seeing the strength of the Innerverse powerhouses, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case, leaving Lu Yin surprised.

    Coco leaned in towards Lu Yin and whispered, ¡°That guy ispletely crazy. Hees here every day to battle. Even the Trialmaster said that he is better suited to train through battles.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding.

    A whileter, Silver appeared with a beaming smile and a foxy expression. Coco instinctively took a few steps back when she saw Silver¡ªthis guy frightened her. Lu Yin, on the other hand, acknowledged Silver with a simple nod.

    Silver smiled. ¡°Congrattions! You¡¯ve be very famous recently.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a good thing,¡± Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Silver added, ¡°Not necessarily. You can probably attract the attention of certain people if you be famous enough.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Certain people? What people? The Neohuman Alliance? He couldn¡¯t figure out Silver¡¯s identity, but he was clearly rted to the Neohuman Alliance even though he was clearly not a zombie. All Lu Yin was sure of was that he was a mysterious person. Also, Xia Luo seemed topletely despise Silver for some reason.

    When Hui Daynight arrived, he red at Lu Yin coldly before walking to his own corner.

    Zhao Yilong soon appeared alongside the sh of a sword. He made a point to re at Lu Yin before also quietly moving to the side to wait.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that he might have be too famous, which was not a good thing as everyone seemed to treat him as a rival.

    Everyone who had arrived at Astral-10 as a Sentinel had be a Melder, greatly increasing their strength. Lu Yin was very interested in seeing just how much they had improved.

    Momentster, Michelle walked out of the teleportation device before taking a position near the rest of the students. She looked at Lu Yin with an expression as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained silent.

    When Lu Yin saw Michelle, he suddenly remembered that he had seen her when the Sandmaster had taken him along to experience Extreme sh. Michelle must have seen his silhouette at that time.

    Big Pao and Little Pao also showed up, with the same cheerful mood as always day. ¡°Who¡¯s still missing?¡± Big Pao asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Lulu.¡±

    Big Pao looked at his gadget before saying, ¡°No matter. We¡¯ll wait.¡±

    In the other academies, every New Student Competition would have arge audience watching, and there was no way that the event would be dyed for anyters. However, since they were all in Astral-10, things were a bit more casual.

    Lulu finally appeared an hourter, and her entire forehead was covered in sweat as she panted heavily.

    Now that everyone was present, Big Pao led them to a grassy area quite far away from the teleportation stone. He smiled before saying, ¡°Alright, now that everyone¡¯s here, I hereby announce that the New Student Competition has officially started! Come on up. Everyone has to draw lots; number one will battle with number two, number three with number four, and so on and so forth. Those who win will continue to fight until the strongest student is determined.¡±

    ¡°Not only does the New Student Competition determine the rankings of the new students, but it is also a chance for you to show off your abilities to the mentors. If you are lucky enough, you might even catch a mentor¡¯s interest and be their student. So, I suggest that you all take this very seriously. If you are chosen by a mentor, it can change your destiny!¡± Little Pao dered temptingly.

    Everyone grew excited; even the weakest mentor in Astral-10 was a Hunter. Being personally guided by a Hunter powerhouse would definitely vastly improve their strength, which was precisely why all of these students had joined Astral-10 in the first ce. With this incentive in ce, they would all definitely give their all in thispetition.

    Lu Yin drew the number nine. He looked around, and his gaze settled onto Zora, who was holding the number ten; she would be his opponent. She saw the number nine in Lu Yin¡¯s hands at the same time, and her face immediately sank.

    She was an elite from Windrift Hall, had connections to the outside world, and was clearly familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s reputation. This was why her expression had turned downcast. Lu Yin had even defeated the number two on the ze Realm Rankings. He was clearly a genius who could be considered powerful even among the other academies, not to mention Astral-10. This was going to be a difficult battle.

    ¡°Senior, is there only one chance in thepetition? Are you eliminated once you lose?¡± Silver asked smilingly.

    Little Pao answered, ¡°Of course not. Those who are defeated will have one chance to challenge the winners.¡±

    ¡°Alright, number one against number two. Let¡¯s begin,¡± Big Pao announced as he looked through the crowd.

    Xia Luo walked out from the students with the number one lot. His opponent was Meng Yue.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone when he saw Xia Luo step out. Between all Astral-10 students, Lu Yin was the most curious about Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift, most cautious of Silver, and the most confused about Xia Luo. To Lu Yin, this person was an endless void. Regardless of whether it was on Earth or here in the academy, Xia Luo had never revealed his true powers. Thus, Lu Yin was curious to see if anything would be forced out this time. However, when he saw that Xia Luo¡¯s opponent was Meng Yue, he assumed that Xia Luo wouldn¡¯t be forced to reveal any of his hidden cards.

    Xia Luo calmly looked at Meng Yue with a gentle gaze.

    But Meng Yue was looking at Lu Yin with a frosty re; he didn¡¯t care about Xia Luo and only wanted to fight Lu Yin and Lulu. Those two were the only opponents that he wanted to face.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a good habit to be distracted during a battle,¡± Xia Luo said with a light smile.

    Meng Yue swiveled over to look at Xia Luo. He wanted to get this battle over as quickly as he could, so he lifted a hand and said, ¡°I won¡¯t hold back. Be careful.¡± He then rushed at Xia Luo, and with every step he took, the grass beneath his feet wilted. He aimed his palm at Xia Luo while using the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s battle technique¡ªDeste Palm.

    Meng Yue had found a ruin within Astral-10, though it would be more urate to call it a deste area in the shape of a palm print. He had felt a terrifying deste energy there that seemed to be able to swallow souls. This had astonished Meng Yue, as he had not felt such terrifying destion energy even in the Vastdearth Sect, where he had first learned the Deste Palm. He had meditated at the site of the palm print for a month before breaking through to be a Melder. The location had helped him strengthen his Deste Palm, which now had a faint trace of that ancient palm print¡¯s aura.

    Meng Yue¡¯s palm intrigued the Sandmaster who was watching from the sky. ¡°It can absorb souls and cause everything to wither away. It¡¯s an excellent battle technique.¡±

    Xia Luo felt the energy in his body disappear and saw the sky turn dull as the Deste Palm drew close to him. The attack consumed everything in its path, stunning everyone present. No one had expected Meng Yue to have such arge increase in power. Even Lu Yin was surprised.

    However, his growth wasn¡¯t enough. This palm just wasn¡¯t enough to defeat Xia Luo.

    Bang.

    The sound reverberated in all directions, tearing the air itself apart from just how vast the star energy contained within it was. Meng Yue¡¯s Deste Palm shed with Xia Luo¡¯s palm, but Meng Yue was the one who was sted backwards dozens of steps. His palm shook and a thin bloodtrail could be seen on the grass; he had lost.

    Everyone looked at Xia Luo, surprised that he had countered Meng Yue¡¯s Deste Palm that easily.

    Although there was still a smile on Xia Luo¡¯s face, the smile had turned cold. ¡°Senior, I¡¯ve won, right?¡± Xia Luo said as he looked at Big Pao.

    Big Pao¡¯s eyes gleamed as he nodded. ¡°Xia Luo has won the first round.¡±

    Meng Yue¡¯s palm was still trembling as he tried to dispel the remnants of Xia Luo¡¯s attack. He stared at Xia Luo with a shocked expression. He hadn¡¯t expected that there would be such a terrifying person among the new students.

    Lu Yin had known that Xia Luo would win, but he didn¡¯t expect him to do so that quickly. Xia Luo¡¯s palm hadn¡¯t been a battle technique, but it had easily defeated the Deste Palm. How did he do that?

    Most of the onlookers didn¡¯t understand what had happened either, but Michelle was staring at Xia Luo in disbelief. She had never expected someone like this to be among the new students.

    In the distance, the Trialmaster opened his eyes, his gaze filled with surprise. ¡°That was a powerful attack, but he used an astounding method to dissolve the opponent¡¯s star energy. This person has the potential to be a lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°The second round begins now,¡± Big Pao announced.

    Schutz walked out; he had drawn number three while Lulu was number four.

    Schutz was stunned when he saw Lulu walk out. He wasn¡¯t particrly good at fighting girls.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with that face?¡± Lulu was annoyed and clenched her fists.

    Schutz coldly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t like to fight with girls.¡±

    Lulu¡¯s gaze turned cold and she smiled deviously. ¡°Really? Then don¡¯t fight back and just let me attack you.¡± She suddenly charged at Schutz, the strength of her stride cracking the ground with every step.

    Lu Yin and Meng Yue were both well aware of how strong Lulu was, so they winced when they saw Lulu clench her fists.

    Schutz¡¯s battle experience was extensive, and he immediately felt an incredible sense of danger overtake him as soon as Lulu raised her fists. He instinctively dodged, and Lulu¡¯s attack left a massive pit in the ground, stunning everyone.

    Schutz was astounded. The ground in this ce was very sturdy and should be able to easily withstand a battle between Melders. However, Lulu had carved out a huge pit with a single punch. If Schutz had been struck by that fist, then he would have definitely been badly injured.

    ¡°Don¡¯t hide if you¡¯re a man,¡± Lulu taunted before punching at Schutz again.

    Schutz¡¯s eyes widened and he pulled out a blood red de, blocking Lulu¡¯s fist with the back of his de. It wasn¡¯t a fair matchup, fist against de, but the results surprised everyone when Schutz wasunched away along with his de.

    ¡°Tsk, she¡¯s a Mavis, but that guy still dared to go easy on her,¡± Big Pao eximed.

    Before Schutz could evennd on the ground, Lulu appeared behind him with her extreme speed movement technique and then fired off another punch. She was like a monster in human form at this moment, and her attack shattered Schultz¡¯s de and caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood as he was smashed into the ground.

    Hui Daynight¡¯s eyes flickered when he saw Lulu¡¯s extreme speed. Why did that technique look so familiar? Why did it resemble a movement technique of the Daynight n?

    Crash!

    Another deafening bang rang out as Lulu¡¯s fist shattered the ground, but Schutz had long since disappeared from there.

    Lulu turned around, only to see a blood red de sh past her face as she barely managed to dodge. Shended on the ground and knocked her fists together pugilistically as she looked at Schutz. ¡°You¡¯re going to fight back now?¡±

 Chapter 137: Seeing Through Weaknesses

    <h4>Chapter 137: Seeing Through Weaknesses</h4>

    Schutz gripped his de tightly as he stared at Lulu in disbelief. This woman was both crazy and had incredible strength. If he hadn¡¯t dodged in time, then the battle would have ended just now.

    ¡°I apologize for being rude. You are a worthy opponent,¡± Schutz replied solemnly.

    Lulu smiled, snorted, and then said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s keep going. I know that you¡¯re the most powerful person in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation, but you¡¯re still not my opponent.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I¡¯ll lose with dignity,¡± Schutz said in a heavy voice. The most powerful person in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation hadpletely set his pride aside at Astral-10. He had to face the harsh truth that he was currently one of the youngest students in the academy.

    Lulu took off with another bang, her strength and speed reaching a level that Schutz couldn¡¯t even retaliate against. However, due to his rich battle experience, he managed to always dodge her attacks at critical moments. But despite his battle prowess, his injuries continued to umte.

    Schutz¡¯s inability to fight back against Lulu showed Lu Yin just how weak the Outerverse was. He had interacted with the cream of the crop of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s fighters and was well aware of their strength. For example, Gerbach used external items so that he could use Lightning Arrow while most of the Innerverse and the Astral Combat Academy elites used star energy to power their battle techniques. This was a key difference. The powerhouses of the Outerverse were just too averagepared to the Innerverse geniuses. It was no surprise that Wendy Yushan would look down upon the members of her generation.

    Lulu leapt into the sky andunched yet another punch at Schutz. Her fighting style was extremely direct; she just brute forced her opponent into submission. Schutz gritted his teeth, and his shirt was already stained with blood. He raised his de and a dim, blood red glow illuminated a section of the battle grounds. This was Schutz¡¯s battle technique, but Lulu had shattered it along with his de thest time he had tried to use it. Lulu¡¯s punchnded squarely on Schutz and the ground below him splintered into a huge pit. Schutz fell to the ground, heavily injured.

    Big Pao shook his head and sighed. ¡°Lulu Mavis has won the second round.¡±

    Lu Yin went over to Schutz and helped him up. Schutz had a hand clutched to his chest, and he squeezed out, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You did very well. She¡¯s a Mavis and would be considered an elite even in the Innerverse,¡± Lu Yin consoled.

    Schutz¡¯s had a determined gaze as he replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter which n she¡¯s from. She¡¯s still human, and there¡¯s no excuse for being defeated by a human.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He respected Schutz¡¯s attitude, and he actually reminded him of Zhang Dingtian. Both men were resilient and fearless. This type of personality might face a difficult path in their life, but they would definitely grow to achieve great things. Lu Yin respected people like these two.

    ¡°The third round begins.¡±

    Silver walked out with a smile; he was number five.

    Hui Daynight stood up from where he had been sitting; he was number six. Since this battle had Hui Daynight, who was from the powerful Daynight n, everyone paid attention when he stepped forward.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew sober, but not because of Hui Daynight. While the others might not be familiar with Silver, Lu Yin was well aware that he was somehow rted to the Neohuman Alliance¡ªthe greatest enemy of the human realm. Regardless of whether it was the Daynight n, the Mavis n, or the ze Realm, all of them were united against the Neohuman Alliance.

    Hui Daynight was from the Daynight n, but Silver had a potentially even more powerful background.

    Xia Luos face changed and his eyes grew cold when he saw Silver.

    After Silver had entered Astral-10, he had only ever participated in a single ported battle, which he had lost. He hadn¡¯t really done much and seemed to be very average. It was easy for people to forget about Silver, like how Hui Daynight only desired to fight against Lu Yin. The smiling guy that Hui Daynight was paired up against right now only made him feel a sense of disdain.

    ¡°Moonrise Finger,¡± Hui Daynight roared as he took a step forward, instantly appearing in front of Silver. His finger pierced through the air, flickering with a grey light as it headed straight toward Silver¡¯s heart.

    Silver¡¯s smile never faded, but his eyes turned frosty as the attack neared. His beautiful butterfly sword emitted a small ringing sound that covered the area in front of him. Hui Daynight¡¯s brows rose in surprise, and he felt a chill in his fingers. He reflexively dodged, causing the butterfly sword to slide past him.

    ¡°What a shame, you managed to avoid it,¡± Silver said with a beaming expression, still casually looking at Hui Daynight.

    Hui Daynight¡¯s expression grew serious. He had felt threatened by the butterfly sword that had just slid past him just now. If he hadn¡¯t dodged in time, then he would have lost a finger. This silver haired man was very strong.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed dramatically. He had encountered this de a few times before, but he had yet to defeat it. Even after his drastic increase in strength, that sword still gave him the chills. He could see that Silver had improved as much as Lu Yin himself.

    In the sky, the Rainmaster looked at Silver. ¡°This person can see through his enemy¡¯s weaknesses.¡±

    Silver burst out with another attack, his butterfly sword spinning rapidly as it swept toward Hui Daynight. The Daynight n member grew sober as he carefully tracked the sword¡¯s movements and did his best to dodge. The scary thing was that, despite his efforts, the sword managed to connect with him every time. It almost seemed that he was deliberately moving towards the de, leaving Hui Daynight furious.

    Everyone watched in surprise as the same thing happened several times in a row before Hui Daynight angrily roared, ¡°Daynight Soul Finger.¡± His finger bore through the air as his body disappeared from sight. Silver didn¡¯t move and felt a spot of pain on his body. The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques are so annoying, but this is nothing more than an attack.

    The butterfly sword quickly swept out in a white sh, and then a ssh of blood suddenly stained the grass red. Hui Daynight¡¯s body reappeared, but there was a huge gash on his chest, leaving everyone stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You looked so dashing just now that I couldn¡¯t hold myself back from cutting you,¡± Silver said, still smiling.

    Hui Daynight¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Silver in a daze. Although Hui Daynight could still use his Daynight Soul Finger, this person had not allowed him tond a single attack yet¡ªhow was this possible? He had never expected that such a monster would be hiding within the new students.

    Coco drew back into the crowd, scared. She had always felt that Silver¡¯s smile was terrifying. Meanwhile, the rest of the students looked at Silver warily. Thatst sh had astounded them. They now all saw him as a very dangerous person and as someone to keep a distance from if they battled him.

    Michelle had a startled look on her face. She felt that her initial assumption that Astral-10 wouldn¡¯t have any amazing talents after being driven into the Outerverse was absurd. These past few battles had amazed her; Xia Luo, Lulu, and Silver were all extremely powerful. Although Hui Daynight had lost to Silver, he was still a member of the Daynight n. Additionally, there was still Darkvoid, who intrigued her the most initially, as well as Lu Yin who had been steadily growing in strength. Many of Astral-10¡¯s new students had truly surprised Michelle as she was only getting to know her fellow students now.

    Michelle wasn¡¯t alone in her thoughts. The others had also onlye to realize the extent of their fellow students¡¯ abilities over the course of these few battles. They really hadn¡¯t interacted with their juniors that much.

    ¡°Silver wins the third round,¡± Big Pao announced.

    But Hui Daynight was stubborn. ¡°It¡¯s not over yet.¡±

    Big Pao disdainfully replied, ¡°If his de had gone any deeper, you¡¯d be dead right now. It¡¯s over. You lost.¡±

    Hui Daynight ground his teeth unwillingly. He wanted to refute Big Pao, but he couldn¡¯t think of anything to say. He still couldn¡¯t understand how Silver¡¯s attack had ovee his battle technique¡ªthat was a battle technique of the Daynight n! How could it defeated so easily? The only possibilities were that the opponent¡¯s technique was much stronger than the technique Hui Daynight had used or that the opponent himself was far more powerful than Hui Daynight. Regardless of which option was true, his chances of victory were negligible at best.

    Silver returned to the group, still grinning. He turned around to smile at Lu Yin once before ncing at Xia Luo.

    ¡°The fourth round begins.¡±

    After everyone saw the results of the first three rounds, the atmosphere had be very heavy. Everyone had realized that their fellow students were all very powerful and that they couldn¡¯t be held to the typical Outerverse standards.

    Zhao Yilong slowly walked out; he was number seven.

    Coco hesitantly stepped out from the other side. She was number eight.

    ¡°Good luck Coco!¡± Zora shouted, but she only startled the small girl. Coco was already extremely nervous, but this caused her to be even more nervous.

    Lulu patted Coco¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. Go.¡±

    Coco blinked once, causing Lu Yin tough. This girl was just too jumpy.

    Zhao Yilong¡¯s face fell when he saw his opponent. He had been hoping for an exciting battle, but he was utterly disappointed to see that his opponent was Coco, the little girl who seemed powerless.

    ¡°All the best, sister,¡± Lulu encouraged. Coco took a deep breath and then reluctantly walked out to face Zhao Yilong.

    The ancient sword in Zhao Yilong¡¯s hand shimmered with a cold light, and his gaze was even colder. Coco instinctively retreated two steps and pouted when she saw his serious appearance. However, her gaze also firmed with determination. She had entered Astral-10 through her own merits, so why should she be afraid? Arge syringe suddenly appeared in her hands, startling nearly everyone. Was that really a syringe?!

    Zhao Yilong was also taken aback.

    Aside from Lu Yin and a few others among the students, no one else had seen Coco¡¯s innate gift yet, which made the gigantic syringe¡¯s sudden appearance truly shocking.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Coco piped up.

    Zhao Yilong gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He wasn¡¯t really sure how to attack a young girl. Actually,e to think fo it, she was the youngest among everyone present.

    They both froze for a moment.

    ¡°You should just admit defeat,¡± Zhao Yilong said quietly.

    Coco stubbornly shook her head. ¡°No.¡±

    Zhao Yilong frowned. ¡°I won¡¯t hold back.¡±

    Coco bit her lip anxiously and replied, ¡°Come on then.¡±

    Zhao Yilong narrowed his eyes and then waved his hand casually, releasing a sh that whistled through the air at Coco. But the girl disappeared in an instant, surprising everyone.

    Zora smiled. The Windrift Hall had a rule that required its members to form teams of two. She and Coco were in a team, and she was the protector while Coco was the healer. Despite their roles, however, Coco could hold her own in battle and had an amazing ability to tank damage. Her durability could be seen from the fact that she had sessfully taken the three attacks during Astral-10¡¯s entrance assessment. And on top of all this, Coco had also learnt an extreme speed technique from Windrift Hall.

    Coco¡¯s extreme speed surprised Lulu; it was almost as fast as her White sh.

    Lu Yin was amazed as well. The speed was simply amazing.

    Zhao Yilong¡¯s attackpletely missed. He arched a brow and shook his wrist. Multiple shes appeared, sealing off an area that was a hundred meters in radius. This was a wide spread attack that hit everything, but his attacks still couldn¡¯tnd on Coco. The girl seemed to melt into the air, avoiding every attack.

    Zhao Yilong¡¯s face grew somber. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Do you admit defeat?¡±

    Coco stubbornly shook her head.

    ¡°I hail from Ten Thousand Swords Peak. We can shatter the sky, so it¡¯s useless even if you hide in the sky. Don¡¯t hold it against me if you die,¡± Zhao Yilong solemnly said. He then ced his hand on the hilt of his sword and exerted a miniscule amount of force. The sword multiplied into ten identical images beforebining into a single sword that stabbed towards Coco.

    ¡°Ten Swords in One,¡± Zora muttered in shock.

 Chapter 138: A Powerful Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 138: A Powerful Innate Gift</h4>

    Coco¡¯s eyes shed brightly and she hurriedly dodged the attack, leaving Zhao Yilong¡¯s sword shing through the empty air. His attack did manage to slice off a piece of clothing, but Coco herself was untouched.

    ¡°How many times are you going to dodge?¡± Zhao Yilong growled. Dazzling attacks rained down one after the other. Every single one of his attacks was actually the Ten Swords in One technique; this battle technique that had stunned so many people was casually and smoothly executed by Zhao Yilong with exceptional skill. Coco could only dodge so many of the attacks, and it was growing increasingly difficult for her to evade them.

    Lu Yin had a grave expression on his face as he spectated this battle. Back when the Rain Observatory had been giving out gifts, Zhao Yilong had snatched most of them away. During that time, Lu Yin had witnessed Zhao Yilong¡¯s sword skills, and he knew that the Ten Swords in One technique was definitely not his limit. Zhao Yilong had already reached that stage as a Sentinel, so now that he was a Melder, he was bound to be stronger.

    Coco was panting heavily. She was constantly dodging and evading, and whenever there was an attack that she couldn¡¯t dodge, she would use her syringe to defend herself. During Astral-10¡¯s entrance examination, Coco had used her syringe to defend against the three aerial attacks without it suffering a single scratch. It was clearly extremely sturdy and was proving to be quite effective against Zhao Yilong¡¯s attacks.

    Before long, Zhao Yilong upped his power by changing from the Ten Swords in One technique to the Twenty Swords in One technique, and eventually, even the Fifty Swords in One technique. Finally, one hundred swords united in one, shaking the entire space and causing Coco to lose her footing. The sharp sword edge shed through the syringe and violently shoved Coco back. Her face paled and her syringe fell to the ground by her side.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Coco, admit defeat!¡± Zora yelled as she sprinted in front of Zhao Yilong to protect Coco.

    Zhao Yilong sheathed his long sword, his eyes calm.

    No one was surprised by the oue, but they were surprised that she had forced Zhao Yilong to use his Hundred Swords in One technique. He lived up to the reputation of Ten Thousand Swords Peak, and the power of the Hundred Swords in One technique was enough to leave everyone in awe.

    Whenever Lu Yin saw Zhao Yilong, he was reminded of his fianc¨¦e, who was also a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak. If Zhao Yilong was able to use Hundred Swords in One, then she could probably merge a thousand swords together!

    ¡°Victor of the fourth match, Zhao Yilong,¡± Big Pao announced emotionlessly.

    Coco hugged her syringe and left the battlegrounds with her head hung low, as if she couldn¡¯t ept the results. Lulu hugged the small girl and tried to cheer her up. ¡°Little brat, you moved pretty quickly in there! Later, when you¡¯re free, why don¡¯t we see if you or your big sister is faster.¡±

    Coco mumbled, ¡°I won¡¯tpete with you. What if you decide to beat me up after you lose?¡±

    Lulu was unhappy with her response. ¡°What the- Your sister isn¡¯t like that.¡±

    ¡°The fifth match. Begin.¡±

    Lu Yin walked out and looked straight at Zora, who was standing in the middle of the battlefield with gleaming eyes. She was initially despondent when she first discovered that she would be facing Lu Yin in the first round, but after watching the first four matches, she wasn¡¯t as upset anymore. Not a single one of the fighters so far would have been easier to deal with than Lu Yin. For example, she would never have been able to withstand Zhao Yilong¡¯s Hundred Swords as One technique. Every single one of the students here was a freak. Even though everyone assumed that Astral-10 wouldn¡¯t be able to recruit many strong students after being exiled to the Outerverse, reality seemed to be the exact opposite.

    It was rumored that the difficulty of Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam wasn¡¯t the same as the other academies. If that was true, then anyone who could pass the exam would be strong and at leastparable to any genius from the Innerverse.

    At this time, Coco coincidentally saw Schutz and politely approached him. ¡°That, that injury of yours seems pretty serious. Would you like me to treat you?¡± As she talked, she brought out her syringe.

    Schutz wisely declined.

    Windrift Hall was known for its healing techniques, but no organization would be able tost for long without also having the means to defend itself. Coco¡¯s disy of extreme speed had piqued Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity over what level Zora¡¯s strength had reached.

    ¡°I know that I can¡¯t beat you,¡± Zora suddenly said while staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I will use my strongest battle technique to attack you, and ask for your mercy,¡± Zora said seriously.

    ¡°Brother Lu, please show mercy!¡± Coco shouted.

    Lu Yinughed wryly before responding, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Zora took a deep breath and then took out a giant silver needle. The needle shed with a cold sheen that caused Lu Yin¡¯s scalp to feel numb. That¡¯ll definitely hurt like hell if that even pricks me.

    In the next instant, Zora rushed towards Lu Yin, the silver needle stabbing directly at his forehead. He easily evaded the attack, but Zora followed up with a finger attack at his stomach. Before the finger even connected, a gale washed over Lu Yin, numbing his body. He reflexively retreated, but Zora grunted quietly and pointed at him, causing her silver needle to shatter and spew shrapnel toward Lu Yin.

    Coco¡¯s eyes shed when she saw this battle technique from Windrift Hall¡ªPulse Severing Finger. The attack targeted the opponent¡¯s vital points and focused on sealing the opponent¡¯s star energy and paralyzing their body. It was one of the highest ranked battle techniques of Windrift Hall.

    Lu Yin could clearly feel that each finger strike from Zora was a purposeful attack. Since he didn¡¯t want to lose like an idiot, he raised his hand and caused the air to vibrate. With a boom, the ground was sundered, the void trembled, and Zora was forced back more than ten steps. She exhaled bitterly; she had lost.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back. He hadn¡¯t used Spacerender Palm in quite some time, but he had controlled his six-stacks Spacerender Palm quite well. Zora had been sessfully repelled without any injuries.

    ¡°I admit defeat,¡± Zora readily acknowledged.

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin with a strange impression. While he hadn¡¯t shown any particrly strong skills, it was precisely this aspect of him that was the most terrifying. Like Xia Luo, who hadn¡¯t used a single battle technique, Lu Yin¡¯s strength was unfathomable.

    ¡°The fifth match¡¯s victor is Lu Yin,¡± Big Pao announced.

    Lu Yin acknowledged Zora with a nod and then walked to join the rest of the students. He held a hand against his stomach; there was still a bit of pain and numbness left after Zora¡¯s attack. The Windrift Hall was not a simple power and there was a reason why they prospered in the Innerverse. Even though there had been arge gap between Zora¡¯s strength and his own, she had still been able to affect Lu Yin.

    ¡°The sixth match, begin.¡±

    Everyone grew somber. There were twelve new students, so the remaining two who had not yet battled were about to go: Michelle and Darkvoid.

    Of Astral-10¡¯s new students, these two were in a entire league of their own. One had joined the Ten Arbiters Council as a Melder while the other possessed a strange innate gift. They were both unfathomable individuals, and this battle was bound to be the most interesting of the first round.

    ¡°Everyone, move back,¡± Little Pao warned.

    The students retreated further back, leaving Michelle and Darkvoid standing in front, both of whom¡¯s faces showed nothing.

    Neither spoke or exchanged any pleasantries. They immediately started battling. Michelle pulled out a red shortbow from her cosmic ring and condensed her star energy into arrows. As the arrows flew toward Darkvoid, they distorted the space around them,pressed the air into liquid, and sted the clouds away. Against this attack, Darkvoid didn¡¯t even move as a strange explosion burst out in front of him,pletely blocking Michelle¡¯s star energy arrows.

    The onlookers were stunned and pressured by the shockwaves. The duo¡¯s strength was already astonishing in the first exchange.

    Each one of Michelle¡¯s arrows could rival Zhao Yilong¡¯s Hundred Swords as One and had the power to shake the void and sunder the earth. And yet, these overpowering attacks had been easily blocked by Darkvoid, giving the audience quite a thrill.

    Zhao Yilong¡¯s face turned ugly. He had thought that it was rare for a Melder to be able to unite a hundred swords as one, but even though the sixth battle had barely started, he knew that he would have already lost to Michelle¡¯s relentless attacks.

    The tremendous impacts from the unending bombardment released huge shockwaves that caused the ground to copse wherever it spread. The affected area spread so far that Coco was pressured to the point of barely being able to breathe.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He knew that Michelle was powerful since she had been able to join the Ten Arbiters Council, but Darkvoid¡¯s strength was the true surprise. After all, he was someone who originated from the Outerverse, but he had still managed to reach such a level at his age.

    The ground trembled as Michelle¡¯s attacks grew in ferocity. Each attack was coated in a terrifying sharpness, and even the surrounding space was sealed off from the distortion forces. Darkvoid¡¯s expression remained as calm as ever even though the ground that he stood on was the only bit that had not been sted away. There was a circle a hundred meters in radius, centered around Darkvoid where the ground was hollowed out and ruined.

    Michelle¡¯s explosive barrage continued for two full minutes. At the end, she was slightly out of breath as she stared at Darkvoid in disbelief. He hadn¡¯t taken a single step from his original stance.

    Xia Luo also stared at Darkvoid in amazement. If what he had seen was true, then this person¡¯s innate gift was terrifying.

    Silver¡¯s originally beaming face had grown a bit stiff.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were sparkling.

    ¡°Are you going to keep defending just like this?¡± Michelle asked coldly.

    Darkvoid looked at her with the same indifference as before. He slowly raised his hand, revealing a ck fingernail.

    A chill ran down Michelle¡¯s spine when she saw Darkvoid raise his hand. She instinctively dodged to the side as a ck smear of color shed through where she had been standing just now. A terrifying explosion erupted at the spear¡¯s impact point, shattering the void. Before their very eyes, the scene cracked as if it were a reflection in a giantke. The violent shockwave pushed Michelle back a dozen meters.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened even further. This was an attack that had damaged space itself. Impossible! It was practically impossible for a Melder to shatter space, especially within Astral-10, but it had still happened. Darkvoid had shattered the void.

    Everyone was stunned and gaped at Darkvoid.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched. That attack was a little too horrifying!

    Little Pao gravely said, ¡°This is why I had everyone pull back. Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift causes explosions in the void. You would be easily injured if you were even the slightest bit careless.¡±

    It took a while for his words to register within everyone¡¯s minds. Void explosions?! Just the name of the gift sounded troublesome. Typically, the void was extremely difficult to shatter and even an unstable space could only be shattered by someone at the Limiteer realm. It took a freakishly strong Melder to crack the void, but Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift actually allowed him to cause an explosion to ring out in the void. To put it simply, when he awakened his innate gift, he had stepped ahead of countless others.

    Michelle looked at Darkvoid with some fear in her face. She knew he was terrifying, but not to this extent. Why had he not gone to the Innerverse? He should have been discovered when he had asked to join the Ten Arbiters Council long ago.

    Darkvoid remained silent and only continued to wave his finger. Michelle¡¯s face fell and she dodged again. The ce where she had been standing once again became distorted before exploding, sending shockwaves rippling in every direction. The ground crumbled like paper, and the destruction spread almost a kilometer out, and maybe even further.

    The students pulled back again. No one wanted to feel the aftershocks of an attack that could sunder the void itself.

    Dark smoke swirled about, and Michelle emerged from the ruined area with a back slick with sweat. She closely watched Darkvoid since she had to dodge whenever his fingers so much as twitched. Darkvoid was still standing in his original location while Michelle was now forced to scurry around like a mouse. She had never been toyed with by an opponent before.

    In the sky above the battle, the Rainmaster eximed, ¡°Such a powerful innate gift! It¡¯s a pity that this child¡¯s personality is too dark and that his experiences have caused him to close his heart to everyone else. Such a pity.¡±

    The Sandmaster quietly replied, ¡°This innate gift would be absolutely terrifying even in the first three academies. Very few can match him while in the same realm, but it¡¯s not like he can¡¯t be defeated. He only knows how to unleash his innate gift on an instinctual level, but he doesn¡¯t know how to truly use it. It¡¯s still immature.¡±

    ¡°Give him to me,¡± the Rainmaster said, and no one raised any objections.

    Boom!

    Again, the void exploded, and Michelle¡¯s face paled. She gasped for breath as her clothes were ripped apart, revealing some of her snow white skin and catching the eyes of the audience.

 Chapter 139: A Seed And Invisible Attack

    <h4>Chapter 139: A Seed And Invisible Attack</h4>

    Everyone was visibly disappointed by the pairing for this battle. Michelle was truly strong, but she had encountered this monster. It was rare for Michelle to battle for this long, as she often defeated her opponent in a single move.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you won¡¯t be able to take it for much longer. Let¡¯s get things started!¡± Big Pao mumbled to himself. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the time Xi Yue had pressured Michelle into using her innate gift, which was quite powerful as well.

    Michelle¡¯s expression turned cold as she dodged yet another explosion. The red glint in her pupils deepened. She never thought that she would be forced to use her innate gift in the very first battle, but with this monster before her, she had no choice.

    In the next moment, red lotuses blossomed beneath her feet. They were enchanting, beautiful, and enticing, and when Michelle stood above them, she was like an incredibly gorgeous enchantress.

    Darkvoid¡¯s finger twitched and he darted past her. Michelle¡¯s eyes gleamed red as she took a step and disappeared. A void eruption exploded where she vanished from while she reappeared a kilometer away. Her speed was simply unbelievable. Michelle then raised her hands, causing specks of red light to shoot out before consolidating into a bow and arrow. She quickly fired one at Darkvoid.

    The bright red bow and the arrow hurtling through the area caught everyone¡¯s attention. A strange flicker disrupted the air as something ck appeared, blocking the lotus arrow¡¯s path. There was no loud explosion, but the shing techniques caused tiny spatial cracks to spread everywhere. It was a shocking sight to see, and even if this battle was taking ce in another academy, these spatial cracks would still be there. Being able to shatter space while in the Melder realm was something limited to only the most powerful freaks.

    Between the fractured space, the ck light and lotus arrow wore each other out as they were of simr strength.

    For the first time since this battle started, Darkvoid was shocked. He flicked his finger and sent another ck light flying toward Michelle. She used the red lotus to dodge before firing another arrow, forcing Darkvoid to block it with another void explosion. The space around him continued exploding in a chain reaction, just like it had in the beginning. Butpared to when he had done so at the beginning of the battle, the current explosions¡¯ power was iparably greater. Their battle kept escting in scale and the attacks only intensified. The onlookers could feel their fear settling in as they continued to watch. Very few had the courage to even go near attacks of this level. Even the average Limiteer from the Astral Combat Academy would find it difficult to retreat from this situation unaided.

    All of a sudden, a lotus arrow turned to ash and faded away, causing everyone to perk up¡ªwas the winner about to be determined?

    The spatial eruption continued expanding, and it engulfed Michelle in the blink of an eye. Everyone paled, fearing for her life, but before anyone could react, another Michelle appeared behind Darkvoid. Her feet was nted on her red lotuses, and after appearing, she loosed the nocked arrow aimed at Darkvoid.

    Darkvoid was focused entirely on Michelle who had been in front of him, and he didn¡¯t expect that another Michelle would appear behind him. This wasn¡¯t extreme speed, but a clone technique. The Michelle that had been devoured by the spatial explosion dissipated into a flurry of red lotus petals before scattering. And behind Darkvoid, the red lotus arrow had already hit him.

    Michelle¡¯s innate gift left everyone shocked, and they were all excited at the results of the battle. Michelle was clearly extremely powerful, and now that Darkvoid had been hit at point nk range, the battle should be concluded.

    With a dull thud, Darkvoid¡¯s body flew dozens of meters away before hended on the ground. The fiery attack left his body smoking, the trails rising all the way into the clouds.

    Everyone watched on in silence.

    Big Pao and Little Pao eyed the situation in disbelief, shocked that the battle could end in a single move.

    Michelle frowned. The battle had not been easy, and technically speaking, that attack should have been enough to decide the victor. However, for some reason, her instincts were screaming that Darkvoid wasn¡¯t finished.

    Everyone remained focused on the battlegrounds, and before long, a soft thud came out from amidst the smoke and dust. They watched as Darkvoid used a hand to help himself up before slowly standing. Everyone felt a chill crawl down their spines. How could he be fine after that attack? This doesn¡¯t make any sense! He¡¯s a monster!

    Michelle¡¯s right fist tightened and her pupils dted as she stared at Darkvoid. He slowly walked out, seemingly unphased by the attack he had suffered. He seemed to be uninjured, but the clothes on his back had been ripped to strings. And through the hole, everyone could see a tattoo of three green leaves.

    ¡°Shamrock Enterprises?¡± Zora cried out.

    Everyone stared at Darkvoid¡¯s back, which was tattooed with the symbol of the Shamrock Enterprises.

    Michelle was astonished. So this person was from Shamrock Enterprises!

    ¡°They say that Shamrock Enterprises specializes in finding talents of the universe, nurturing them, and then summoning them back once they reach a certain amount of power. However, I never thought that it was true! So Darkvoid is a talent that Shamrock Enterprises has been nurturing. They call these people ¡®seeds,¡¯¡± Zora exined. Windrift Hall as an organization was on a simr scale as Shamrock Enterprises, so its members were quite familiar with thepany. And it was precisely this knowledge that formed the base of their fear. Every seed of Shamrock Enterprises was an absolute genius that would mature into a beyond terrifying expert.

    Michelle must have heard simr rumors because she also paled once she saw the tattoo. The person before her was a seed of Shamrock Enterprises, and her sister Mira had told her how powerful thatpany was. It was far more difficult to be a seed than it was to enter an Astral Combat Academy, and yet, she had encountered one such seed here.

    Darkvoid faced Michelle and raised a hand, but Michelle shook her head and bitterly said, ¡°This battle is done. I admit defeat.¡±

    Everyone was shocked.

    Lu Yin sighed when he realized that Michelle had used up all of her star energy. While her innate gift was very powerful, it also consumed arge amount of star energy. On the contrary, the amount of star energy that Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift used was rather small. What a horrifying innate gift!

    ¡°The sixth match¡¯s victor is Darkvoid!¡± Big Pao announced.

    And with that, all six initial rounds were done. The victors were Xia Luo, Lulu Mavis, Silver, Zhao Yilong, Lu Yin, and Darkvoid. These results upset many people¡¯s expectations, as no one had expected Hui Daynight or Michelle to lose their battles. Xia Luo and Silver had also turned out to be surprisingly powerful. The two had been very low key after entering the academy, barely participating in the ported battles, and yet, they had easily won their rounds.

    And then, there was Darkvoid. He was so powerful that it was terrifying. Whenever anyone looked at Darkvoid, they couldn¡¯t help themselves from ncing at Lu Yin. No one was surprised when they discovered that Darkvoid¡¯s opponent for the second round of battles was to be him. Poor Lu Yin.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you lose, Mr. Lu! You¡¯ll be able to win in the future!¡± Coco grabbed Lu Yin by the arm as she preemptivelyforted him.

    Lu Yin was struck speechless by her response. ¡°I¡¯m not guaranteed to lose!¡±

    Coco pursed her lips. ¡°Even Ms. Michelle¡¯s terrifying attacks didn¡¯t do anything to him. I don¡¯t think anybody here can beat him.¡±

    Lu Yin burst into a fit ofughter. He wasn¡¯t sure how many people had noticed it, but Michelle¡¯s attack had actually been blocked by Darkvoid. There had been a thinyer of defense on his back and the arrow hadn¡¯t touched him at all. Or to be precise, the arrow hadn¡¯t been able to prate through thatyer of protection.

    Additionally, Michelle had overestimated herself. The reason why her attacks were able to shatter space was mostly because the space had already been weakened by Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift. She wasn¡¯t able to cause such cracks unassisted; otherwise, she would not have spent that much time to see through the rain and find the Rainmaster¡¯s gift. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t see any need to exin all of this to the small girl beside him.

    ¡°Cough cough. To avoid wasting too much time, thepetition will continue. Round seven, Xia Luo versus Lulu Mavis. Begin,¡± Big Pao announced.

    Xia Luo walked out and gently gazed at Lulu.

    Lulu knocked her fists together, letting out a dull thudding noise each time. She was such a cute girl, but her actions were extremely brutish. Every time Lu Yin saw Lulu eagerly anticipating a fight, he would be reminded of that turtle back on Earth. The girl really did not fear anything.

    ¡°Be careful. This isn¡¯t a friendly duel, so I won¡¯t hold back,¡± Lulu said provokingly.

    Xia Luoughed in response. ¡°You don¡¯t even hold back in our friendly duels. But you¡¯ve since be a Melder and gotten much stronger, so I will need to be careful.¡±

    With a flip of her hair, Lulu charged towards Xia Luo, the ground splitting underneath her forceful movement in an impressive explosion. Xia Luo¡¯s eyes sparkled and he took two steps backwards to perfectly dodge the attack. Lulu hit nothing but air, but the air formed into a conical shockwave that shot off into the distance. The air was distorted, and the shockwave ruffled Xia Luo¡¯s hair as he was forced to take several more steps back.

    Lulu snorted and used White sh to disappear. When she reappeared, she viciously kicked out at Xia Luo, who lifted a leg to block the kick. There was a tremendous crash, and the ground beneath them copsed, causing both of them to fall to the bottom of the pit. Massive cracks began radiating out from the hole and toward Lu Yin and the other onlookers.

    Everyone was surprised by the amount of force the two could use even without any battle techniques. How was this possible?

    Michelle was shocked as well. She could feel a sense of pressure just from the aftershocks of this battle, which showed just how powerful these two were.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The earth trembled and the cracks spread even further. Lu Yin and the rest had no choice but to take to the air as the ground beneath them ruptured. The level of destruction in this match was surprisingly not any less than Michelle and Darkvoid¡¯s. The major difference was that those two had fought each other from a distance while Xia Luo and Lulu were fighting in closebat, which made their feat only more impressive.

    Boom!

    Afternding a punch, Lulu felt surprised. From the very first encounter in this battle, she could tell that Xia Luo had a technique that forced his opponents to use up their star energy. She could also tell that he was much stronger than theirst duel. Because of this, she didn¡¯t bother using any of her star energy and relied solely on her physical body to attack. But even though she was using pure physical power, Xia Luo was able to take her attacks. Lulu was from the Mavis family and was still annoyed that she had lost to Lu Yin in terms of strength. If even Xia Luo was stronger than her, then her humiliation would double. The Mavis family¡¯s name couldn¡¯t be disgraced like this.

    She shouted, and the image of a towering tree appeared behind her, causing her strength to increase greatly. With this timely powerup, Xia Luo was sent flying by her next attack. With a White sh, she appeared behind him and directly punched him again. Xia Luo was bashed into the ground so forcefully that the earth was pulverized for a kilometer in all directions. With Xia Luo at the center, the destruction rippled out like waves. It was an incredible sight. The damage done to the ground with this single punch was far greater than the previous battlesbined. It was impossible for anyone to remain standing in the mess, as there was now a huge pit in the center of the arena while smoke and dust rose into the sky.

    Coco covered her mouth in shock. ¡°She¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows in surprise as well. Lulu had be much stronger. The Mavis Family truly did consist of human dinosaurs!

    Hovering up in the sky, Lulu looked at everyone with a grim face and said in frustration, ¡°I lost.¡±

    Everyone was surprised. She had lost? How?

    At that moment, Xia Luo dusted off his clothes with a wry smile and looked at her, ¡°Can¡¯t you be a bit more gentle? I was nearly smashed to bits.¡±

    Lulu rolled her eyes at him. ¡°What¡¯s with this bullshit even after you won?¡±

    Amidst the masses, Big Pao announced, ¡°The seventh match¡¯s winner is Xia Luo.¡±

    Many people were confused by the oue, and even Michelle didn¡¯t understand.

    Lu Yin eyed Lulu¡¯s neck and saw that there was a thin red mark along it. No blood could be seen, but if the attack had gone any deeper, then she would have lost her neck. This was definitely from Xia Luo¡¯s attack, but when had he done it? Lu Yin hadn¡¯t seen it at all.

 Chapter 140: Decisive Battle

    <h4>Chapter 140: Decisive Battle</h4>

    Thatst duel caused Silver to open his eyes wide as a hint of shock shed through them.

    Darkvoid kept his eyes glued on Xia Luo while his fists unconsciously tightened.

    Not too far away, right next to the teleportation stone, the Trialmaster gazed into the distance at the young man who had a gentle smile on his face. The mentor looked shocked as he muttered to himself, ¡°There are so many monsters here. The Starsibyl Sect was right when they said that there¡¯s going to be a huge upheaval in this generation.¡±

    Within the treasury, Old Cai was also talking to himself. ¡°A lot of powerful organizations had their geniuses with powerful innate gifts undergo cryogenic hibernation while waiting for signs of the sect¡¯s divination. These geniuses were recently unsealed and reawakened. With their unparalleled talent and young bodies, it¡¯s certain that a huge change is on the horizon. Did this child awaken after being sealed in ice as well?¡±

    ¡°Round eight, Zhao Yilong versus Silver. Begin,¡± Big Pao announced. The battlefield had been moved to a new location about a few dozen kilometers away since the original site had been destroyed.

    Zhao Yilong walked out with his sword in hand, his eyes fixed on the ever-smiling Silver.

    Everyone was silent. They all had a feeling that Silver would perform very well after he had defeated Hui Daynight in such a mysterious manner. Silver gave off a simr impression as Xia Luo¡ªthey were both iprehensible.

    ¡°Sorry, but I admit defeat,¡± Silver said.

    Everyone was surprised. He was admitting defeat?!

    Big Pao was simrly confused. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Silver nodded with a wide grin as he said, ¡°I¡¯m no match for a genius of Ten Thousand Swords Peak. He managed to use Hundred Swords as One. Truly terrifying.¡±

    Zhao Yilong was furious. ¡°You¡¯re belittling me!¡±

    Silver¡¯s smile never slipped, and he jovially responded, ¡°Of course not! I genuinely worship Wendy Yushan from Ten Thousand Swords Peak.¡± After responding to Zhao Yilong, Silver turned his smiling face to look at Lu Yin, but that only gave Lu Yin the urge to punch the man in the face.

    Zhao Yilong stood in front of Silver, his anger peaking. ¡°You can¡¯t do that. Fight me.¡±

    Silver nced at Big Pao.

    Big Pao was at loss. He had never encountered a situation like this, but there was nothing he could do after someone admitted defeat. ¡°The winner of round eight is Zhao Yilong.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ept this! He¡¯s obviously acting condescendingly to me!¡± Zhao Yilong shouted as he unsheathed his sword and pointed it right at Silver. ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward. This is apetition between the new students! It¡¯s not a joke.¡±

    Silver snickered slyly. ¡°Instead of arguing with me, you should save your strength to deal with your next rounds. Thest round might even be a threeway battle.¡±

    Zhao Yilong gritted his teeth and continued staring at Silver.

    Little Pao patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Forget about it. You won.¡±

    Zhao Yilong managed to wrestle his anger under control. He really didn¡¯t want to win like this. It held no value to him.

    ¡°Go back. A win is a win,¡± Big Pao said.

    Zhao Yilong gripped his sword tightly while staring at Silver begrudgingly. This bastard!

    Silver was still smiling as brightly and repulsively as ever.

    Lu Yin forced himself to look away from Silver; that disturbing smile involuntarily made him want to punch Silver in the face.

    Lu Yin walked out as he heard Big Pao¡¯s voice announce, ¡°Round nine. Lu Yin versus Darkvoid. Begin.¡±

    Everyone grew sober. This was a greatly anticipated battle, and even more people were waiting to watch this battle than the one between Darkvoid and Michelle. Lu Yin had built up quite a bit of fame recently, especially after he had defeated a Phoenix n member and even the ze Realm Rankings¡¯ number two. Lu Yin¡¯s name had spread through all of the Astral Battle Academy schools, and he was widely considered to be one of the top Melders. Just about the only thing that anyone knew about Astral-10 was Lu Yin. The students all knew that he was powerful, but they were all curious about just how powerful he was, and they were looking forward to discovering the answer.

    Darkvoid calmly walked out. Not much time had passed since his battle with Michelle, but he seemed to have already recovered from it. The only sign that he had even battled was the small tear on the back of his top.

    Anyone would feel pressured by the prospect of facing off against Darkvoid, and Lu Yin was no different. Whether it was Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift or his mysterious demeanor, his attacks were able to shatter the void as only a true powerhouse could. To win, Lu Yin needed to have an innate gift that was just as powerful as Michelle¡¯s or an attack that could ovee Darkvoid¡¯s defenses.

    Lu Yin had already made up his mind.

    Darkvoid attacked immediately. Just like when he had faced Michelle, he simply raised a hand and slightly flicked a finger. A ck light shone as the space around Lu Yin exploded.

    The onlookers held their breaths when they saw this. Darkvoid¡¯s attack was clearly stronger than when he had attacked Michelle. With his first move, he had already sealed the area.

    Darkvoid¡¯s silence did not trante to ignorance. He was well aware of Lu Yin¡¯s reputation and of his strength even though they had never fought before. Hence, Darkvoid didn¡¯t hold back at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm as he bent his knees and disappeared right before the space around him exploded. With a speed that distorted the space, he crossed through the eruptions and charged toward Darkvoid. There wasn¡¯t much distance between the two, and when Lu Yin appeared in front of Darkvoid, his afterimage had only just been devoured by the void explosion.

    The scene that was ying out was very familiar and caused everyone¡¯s eyes to widen like saucers, especially Michelle. She was well aware of how powerful Darkvoid¡¯s defences were, and Lu Yin was currently in the same exact situation that she had been in.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and mmed his palm down while his eyes remained fixed on Darkvoid. He saw that Darkvoid¡¯s eyes held nothing but disdain and apathy for his attack, showing his absolute confidence in his defense that even Michelle had been helpless against.

    The corner of Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up slightly as he attacked with his Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm. There were also transparent streams of air surrounding his palm¡­ Battle Qi.

    Among the onlookers, Big Pao, Little Pao, Xia Luo, and Silver were all astonished when they noticed the subtle aura surrounding Lu Yin¡¯s palm.

    Boom!

    Shockwaves rent the earth and shook the sky, creating minuscule rips in space. Darkvoid¡¯s face changed from disdain to shock, which was quickly followed by astonishment. His face then turned red and he spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s overwhelming strength. He shot through the still shaking air and was smashed deep into the ground.

    Everyone fell silent as they stared at Lu Yin in awe. He had managed to defeat Darkvoid in a single strike. Before the match, this was an unimaginable oue. That was someone who had blocked Michelles¡¯ red lotus arrows without taking a step back, but against Lu Yin, he had been blown away with one attack.

    Coco¡¯s mouth gaped open, her eyes transfixed on the scene before her.

    Michelle¡¯s pupils shrank and she clenched her fists.

    Xia Luo was astonished, but then his lips then curved upwards. How very, very interesting.

    Silver¡¯s grin did the impossible and grew even wider.

    Big Pao and Little Pao exchanged nces and saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. They had assumed that Darkvoid would be the one to move on to the final round, but to their surprise, he had been defeated here. They could tell just how powerful that attack was due to how Lu Yin¡¯s Battle Qi had wrapped around the attack and shaken the void. Darkvoid was definitely gravely injured, which meant that he had lost the round.

    Lu Yin looked down at his palm. As expected, just his Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm wouldn¡¯t be enough to prate through Darkvoid¡¯s defenses that could withstand spatial attacks. Only by using his Battle Qi could the force of the nine stacks reach Darkvoid and take him by surprise.

    However, Darkvoid was destined to lose even if he hadn¡¯t been careless. Lu Yin had used a Ninefold Shockwave Palm, but with the current durability of his body, even Lu Yin himself didn¡¯t know what level of Shockwave Palm his body could handle. And since Lu Yin was also able to use Battle Qi, Darkvoid was no match for him.

    Far in the distance, Darkvoid¡¯s fingers twitched as he slowly got back up.

    Everyone looked over. Could he be possibly unharmed, just like how he had been after being struck by Michelle¡¯s arrows?

    However, it soon became clear that they were overthinking things. Darkvoid had to sit on the ground for quite a while before finally being able to stand. The front of his clothes were tattered, and there was a clear palmprint that left everyone with chills running down their spines. The corner of his lip glistened with blood. Darkvoid raised his head, nced over at Lu Yin, and then quietly walked to the other side.

    Everyone sighed in relief. Thankfully, Darkvoid wasn¡¯t so monstrous that he couldn¡¯t be defeated.

    Wait a second!

    All of a sudden, everybody realized something as they all looked over toward Lu Yin. If a monster like Darkvoid had been defeated in one blow, then just how powerful was this guy?!

    Michelle stared at Lu Yin, shocked that there was someone this powerful in Astral-10, and what¡¯s more, he was just a new student! Even in the top three academies, he¡¯d definitely rank highly with his strength.

    At this moment, Zhao Yilong was feeling the most pressure. In this contest, there was still Xia Luo, who was unfathomable, and Lu Yin, whose strength seemingly had no bounds. In contrast to those two, Zhao Yilong was the weakest.

    ¡°The winner of round nine is Lu Yin,¡± Big Pao announced before quickly continuing, ¡°To not waste time, thest round will be a battle between the final three. Begin.¡±

    Lu Yin remained standing where he was and nced at Xia Luo, who walked out with a smile on his face. ¡°I never thought that we¡¯d be fighting in the finals, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. I never could tell just how powerful you were,¡± Lu Yin said with a grin.

    Xia Luoughed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t difficult to gauge your strength, but you improve so quickly that I can¡¯t even tell how strong you¡¯ve be. Could you perhaps hold back a bit for me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrow arched up as he repsponded, ¡°No one knows who will be the winner just yet. I¡¯m quite curious about how you were able to dissipate the Deste Palm and also how you defeated Lulu so quickly.¡±

    The two of them spoke whilepletely ignoring Zhao Yilong, who had also walked out onto the battlefield, leaving him in an awkward spot. He gripped his ancient sword and lifted it before charging straight at the other two. His sword released a quiet sound as if it was eager for a fight.

    Unfortunately, Zhao Yilong¡¯s actions didn¡¯t matter to the other two. While his Hundred Swords as One wasn¡¯t a bad technique, it was nothing more than that. He had been lucky with his first match, and even luckier in his second, allowing him to advance to the final round. He would have been defeated if he had been matched up with either Hui Daynight or Michelle. To be perfectly blunt, Zhao Yilong wasn¡¯t qualified to participate in the final round.

    The spectators were puzzled as Lu Yin and Xia Luo started their match. While it seemed as if the two had simply used two ordinary palms to sh, the shockwaves that emanated from the collision chilled the students¡¯ hearts. These terrifying shockwaves smashed the earth and left everyone quivering.

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Big Pao shouted, causing everyone to run backwards.

    Lu Yin and Xia Luo¡¯s palms were pressed together as if they were mirror images of each other, and even their looks of shock were the same . Lu Yin had used his Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm, which meant that there should be nine stacks of power. However, only three stacks had made it through to Xia Luo. Six stacks had somehow been dissolved, greatly decreasing the attack¡¯s power. A better way of putting it would be saying that a majority of Lu Yin¡¯s attack had been redirected elsewhere.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes shone as he smiled. To think that there were Nine Stacks! No wonder Darkvoid couldn¡¯t even take one attack. If Nine Stacks of power werebined with battle qi, then it would have been a miracle if Darkvoid took that attack without suffering significant damage. Even after using all his methods, Xia Luo had only been able to dissolve six stacks.

    The two separated with a bang. Lu Yin attacked again with a Cosmic Palm as seven stars started to rotate in his palm. He had already activated and surrounded his body with his Cosmic Art long before the battle; he clearly remembered how Lulu had been defeated without any warning whatsoever.

    Xia Luo closely watched Lu Yin¡¯s attack draw closer with an even more serious face than when he had faced the Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm. Some battle techniques could be easily dissolved with star energy, but others were more difficult to do so. The attack approaching him was something that he had no choice but to face head on. But then, all of a sudden, something shed by, charging towards Lu Yin. It was Zhao Yilong. This was a three-way fight, and he did not want to be ignored.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Lu Yin yelled as he continued attacking Xia Luo with his Cosmic Palm in his left hand while simultaneously summoning a Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm in his right to attack Zhao Yilong.

    Meanwhile, Xia Luo did the exact same as Lu Yin. He attacked with both hands; one aimed at Lu Yin and the other at Zhao Yilong.

    Zhao Yilong¡¯s strongest sh was reduced to dust and the power of the other two¡¯s attacks sent him flying a kilometer away and left him coughing out blood. He copsed immediately, unable to get up.

    Rumble

    An instantter, Lu Yin and Xia Luo¡¯s attacks collided. A seven star Cosmic Palm was just as powerful as a Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm, and Lu Yin had assumed that his Cosmic Palm could not be dissolved as easily. Meanwhile, Xia Luo disyed his terrifying strength for the first time. Even though he wasn¡¯t using a battle technique, he was able to deal with the Cosmic Palm. He forcefully diverted it elsewhere and not a single one of the seven stars¡¯ explosions managed to reach Xia Luo. Instead, they exploded on the nearby ground. Xia Luo¡¯s eyes shed and he flicked a finger with impable timing, firing an invisible undtion straight at Lu Yin¡¯s neck.

 Chapter 141: Leader

    <h4>Chapter 141: Leader</h4>

    Although Lu Yin didn¡¯t realize it himself, his Cosmic Art allowed him to sense the danger at the very possiblest moment and dodge by sheer instinct. Star energy shot past him, creating numerous ripples in the air behind him.

    Xia Luo found it a pity that his attack had missed. Lulu had been defeated by this very same attack, and he had thought that he Lu Yin would be preupied by his attack enough to be struck. However, Lu Yin had sessfully dodged at thest moment.

    Lu Yin took a step backwards and stared hard at Xia Luo. He was shocked to discover that Xia Luo was able to attack him without letting him notice anything. If he hadn¡¯t been constantly using his Cosmic Art to defend himself, then he would have lost just now. Lulu¡¯s loss now made sense; this guy had a gentle appearance, but he was actually very cunning. His control of star energy was in a ss of its own. Lu Yin was certain that Xia Luo¡¯s control exceeded his own and probably everyone else present.

    What exactly had Xia Luo seen at the Stargazing Deck?

    ¡°You¡¯re very sneaky,¡± Lu Yin sighed in awe.

    Xia Luo raised an eyebrow as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t say that! My attack was still a bit off.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. That was considered ¡°a bit off?¡± Most people wouldn¡¯t have even seen the attack.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to Xia Luo. He knew that it would be difficult to find any sess with any star energy based attack. In the end, it seemed that battle force and his body¡¯s physical toughness were his best advantages over Xia Luo. Lu Yin was pretty sure that Xia Luo¡¯s physical body wasn¡¯t as freakish as his star energy control. With this in mind, Lu Yin stimted his battle force, causing clear streams of air that were nearly transparent to seep out of his body as his expression became determined.

    Xia Luo suddenly lifted a hand. ¡°I admit defeat.¡±

    Lu Yin froze along with everyone else. The two of them seemed to be pretty evenly matched and Xia Luo even seemed to hold the upper hand. Why would he suddenly admit defeat?

    Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin and bitterly exined, ¡°If you use battle force, what can I do? For now, I still can¡¯t do much against battle force.¡±

    Lu Yin retracted his battle force and stared straight into Xia Luo¡¯s eyes for a while until he was sure that thetter was not lying. Xia Luo really did not have a way to counter battle force, which meant that his weakness was now his body.

    Of course, Xia Luo¡¯s body wasn¡¯t actually weak; this was just speaking rtively. If he waspared to an average Melder, Xia Luo¡¯s body was anything but weak. However, whenpared to Lu Yin, there was a massive disparity. And on top of that, Lu Yin could also use battle force.

    ¡°The winner of the final round is Lu Yin,¡± Big Pao announced loudly. With this, the new students¡¯petition had concluded unless someone decided to challenge the results.

    ¡°Is there anyone who wants to challenge someone else because they¡¯re dissatisfied with the results?¡± Little Pao asked.

    Zhao Yilong got up with some difficulty and scanned Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and then Silver. After thinking it through, he decided not to challenge them. He knew his ce, and, amongst the new students in Astral-10, he was in the weakest tier.

    Hui Daynight was just as frustrated. He had lost in the very first round, but after watching Lu Yin and Xia Luo fight, as well as Michelle, Darkvoid, and some of the others, he wisely decided not to challenge anyone. The fame and glory of the Daynight n seemed worthless here. After witnessing the fullpetition, he had realized that he might not even be one of the top five new students.

    Lulu, on the other hand, seemed eager for another battle. She kept staring at Lu Yin in excitement, but he just ignored her.

    ¡°Alright, since nobody wants to challenge anyone, Astral-10¡¯spetition for new students has officially ended. I hereby announce the winner as Lu Yin. From here on out, Lu Yin will be the leader of the new students in Astral-10 and has the responsibility of supervising his peers. The academy also gives him the right to punish other students, within reason of course. Does anybody have any objections?¡± Little Pao said in a loud voice.

    Everyone was startled. Supervise? Punish? That seemed like too much power for one person to hold.

    Michelle was the first to raise an objection. ¡°That¡¯s not fair. We came to Astral-10 to learn, and it doesn¡¯t make sense to be supervised by someone who entered at the same time as us.¡±

    Hui Daynight followed up herint in a loud voice. ¡°We members of the Daynight n do not have a habit of following others.¡±

    Meng Yue snorted, but didn¡¯t say a word. However, his opinion was obvious.

    No one else spoke, but their faces clearly showed traces of annoyance. Nobody was willing to have a peer stand above them.

    Lu Yin himself was astonished. He had never expected something like this to be a part of thepetition rewards. If this rule was confirmed to be real, then he¡¯d have the right to judge the other students.

    Little Pao swept his gaze over everyone present and said, ¡°The supervision and punishment that I speak of must all be done within reason. Nobody has the right to restrict your freedom. Additionally, the moment he does anything unreasonable, you may voice your disapproval to your mentors. This is a rule that exists not only in Astral-10, but in all of the Astral Combat Academies. The other nine academies have their own leaders, though they have another title¡ªRealm Master.¡±

    Meng Yue and the others were confused by Little Pao¡¯sst words, as they had never heard of the term before. Michelle and Hui Daynight, however, were familiar with the title, and their eyes twinkled. Realm Masters held great authority in the other academies. They hadn¡¯t initially thought much about the title, but now that they did, it made sense that the Realm Masters were also the leaders of their respective academies. Following that reasoning, the amount of power that Lu Yin held was justifiable.

    ¡°The Astral Academy Council has the right to decide the general direction that all thebat academies will develop in. The Ten Arbiters even have the ability to change the structure of the universe. The power that each academy¡¯s leader has over their academy peers isn¡¯t much, and if you have objections, then you can simply leave the academy. Our Astral-10 won¡¯t force you to stay,¡± Big Pao said in a low voice.

    Everyone remained silent, and no one spoke up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone. Leader, Realm Master? No, a Realm Master was a leader, but being a leader did not necessarily mean that one was also a Realm Master. He wasn¡¯t even at the level of an Area Master right now, but who knew what heights he would reach in the future. His next target was the Nine Trial Zones, as he really wanted to know what an Area Master and even the full power of a Realm Master was like. They were all part of the younger generation and he was curious about just how big the gap between them was.

    ¡°By the way, there¡¯s a second reward that¡¯s for all of you,¡± Little Pao said before looking up at the sky, ¡°Have you made your choices yet, sirs?¡±

    All of the students were confused.

    A gruff voice replied. It was the Sandmaster. ¡°Lulu Mavis, Meng Yue, and Schutz,e to the Sand Ocean.¡±

    ¡°Silver, Darkvoid, and Zhao Yilong,e to the Rain Observatory.¡±

    ¡°Zora and Coco,e to the Stargazing Deck.¡±

    ¡°Xia Luo and Hui Daynight,e to the Arena.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin and Michelle,e to the Treasury.¡±

    Everyone was bewildered. Little Pao smiled at everyone before saying, ¡°Congrattions! The mentors have decided to officially start teaching you. Work hard! An opportunity like this onlyes about once a lifetime.¡±

    Everyone grew excited and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes also lit up. The fact that the mentors had decided to teach them was amazing news. He had previously received some pointers from the Rainmaster and Sandmaster; the Rainmaster had helped him breakthrough to the Melder Realm and had even simted Nine Stacks from Three Stacks. The Sandmaster had shown him the limitless possibilities of sh, including its ability to tear through the void. Had the mentors finally decided to teach them?

    ¡°Hurry up and head to the ces that the mentors have mentioned,¡± Big Pao said enviously. The brothers had attended Astral-10 for many years, but they had never received such treatment.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes twinkled and he left with a gentle smile.

    Silver slowly left with the rest.

    Before leaving, Lulu waved her fists at Lu Yin.

    Zhao Yilong left with bright eyes. The day would definitelye when he challenged these people again.

    Thispetition had revealed everyone¡¯s abilities to each other. Some were left in awe while others were excited.

    Michelle was still overwhelmed by what she had seen. The power of Astral-10¡¯s new students had far exceeded her expectations. Despite her formidable strength, she had still been eliminated in the first round. This would have been impossible in any of the other academies.

    Lu Yin remembered that he and Michelle had been named by Old Cai. He nced at Michelle. Why was she in a daze?

    ¡°Hey, we need to go to the Treasury,¡± Lu Yin shouted at Michelle.

    Michelle nced at him indifferently and then left without a word. Lu Yin was at a loss; this girl was theplete opposite of her sister. One was beautiful and alluring while the other was lovely and as cold as an iceberg. Such a waste of a beautiful face.

    After everyone else left, Big Pao sighed ruefully. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that our Astral-10 would suddenly gather so many geniuses when it¡¯s right on the edge of copsing. The fact that our director managed to get the mentors to teach them means that he¡¯s trying to revive the academy.¡±

    Little Pao¡¯s eyes shone brightly. ¡°I think that we should also do something so that we won¡¯t be looked down upon by our young friends.¡±

    Big Pao found this difficult to bear. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem for us to be an Area Master, but a Realm Master is in a whole other league. The nine Realm Masters aren¡¯t to be trifled with, we might not be able to hold our own against one even if we team up.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a shot. We can¡¯t give up as long as there¡¯s still hope. Not yet, though. We want to pave their way, but not with our lives,¡± Little Pao muttered.

    Big Pao started stretching. ¡°We haven¡¯t done muchtely, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if those people have forgotten about us. Back then, we were pretty well-known in Astral-10 arena battles. I hope that there are still some people who remember us.¡±

    Things were the same as ever in the Treasury. Old Cai was fiddling with his infinity-shaped beard as he looked at the two who had arrived before him. Hezily said, ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know how to teach you. All I can do is give you some missions, so do what you can toplete them.¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t any mission that¡¯s suitable for me,¡± Michelle said coldly.

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. ¡°These won¡¯t be missions from the academy, but rather personal ones from me. It¡¯s up to you if you want to do them. In the end, I was asked by the director to teach you even though I didn¡¯t want to. It¡¯s totally fine with me if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Michelle¡¯s eyes twinkled as she thought it over. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Old Cai nced at Lu Yin.

    He nodded as well. ¡°Fine by me.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re fine with it, first go and win one hundred battles at the arena. Then you can go to the Six Daos.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°The Six Daos? I can go there?¡±

    ¡°What a joke. You¡¯ll be allowed in after you win a hundred battles. Now disappear so that I can start thinking about what¡¯s good for this girl,¡± Old Cai said with an annoyed tone.

    Lu Yin nced at Michelle before leaving.

    Old Cai thought it over a bit before his eyes lit up. ¡°I remember now. Back when I was travelling through the Frostwave Weave, I actually found a good ce that¡¯s pretty suitable for you.¡± After saying that, he smirked.

    Michelle frowned. How disgusting.

    Everyone was busy taking advantage of the opportunity they had just received, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t see Xia Luo or Hui Daynight at the arena; apparently they had been sent elsewhere by the Trialmaster. Lu Yin didn¡¯t speak to the mentor and stepped up to the teleportation stone to start working towards the required one hundred victories.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, there were very few Melders who could defeat him. He could crush almost every Melder; only Limiteers and existences above them could defeat him.

    He ended his first day with neen victories and five losses. During those battles, he once managed to reach a streak of eight consecutive wins, but then, he had lost to a Limiteer. That Limiteer had used battle force to crush Lu Yin and pulverize his organs. He only had one line of battle force, and while that was just the first stage, it was still much further than Lu Yin¡¯s progression.

    On the second day, Lu Yin achieved thirteen wins. His luck was worse than the first day as he even ended up matching against quite a few Explorers and above. One opponent didn¡¯t even give Lu Yin any time to counterattack; he had been suppressed by some unseen force and then defeated in a mere instant. The power of his opponent had left Lu Yin quite shocked, and after that battle, he had to take a full two hours to recover before reentering the teleportation stone.

 Chapter 142: Dao of Purgatory

    <h4>Chapter 142: Dao of Purgatory</h4>

    Three days passed. Then four days. Finally, on the fifth day, Lu Yin got his hundredth victory.

    ¡°Lu Yin, one hundred wins and seventy three losses.¡±

    Lu Yin walked away from the teleportation stone and let out a heavy sigh of relief; he had finally achieved a record of a hundred wins. It hadn¡¯t been easy; over the past five days, he had been defeated twenty seven times. With his current abilities, he wouldn¡¯t have lost that often if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Explorers and even stronger individuals could participate in the ported battles. Lu Yin could jump levels to challenge people above his realm, and even normal Limiteers were no match for him; only Limiteer geniuses with innate gifts could defeat him. Melders didn¡¯t even need to be mentioned. It was a pity that the arena ced no limit on cultivation, so anyone in the younger generation could participate by touching a teleportation stone.

    Where did all of these young Explorerse from? Lu Yin was speechless.

    Over these five days, his best win streak had been twelve consecutive wins, which was a pretty good record. He remembered that Big Pao had once mentioned that winning thirty rounds in a row would give one the right to challenge someone from the Top 100 Rankings of the younger generation. With a bit of luck, Lu Yin felt like he could meet that criterion.

    While thinking this, Lu Yin walked towards the Trialmaster and politely asked, ¡°May I enter the trial region?¡±

    The old man cracked his sleepy eyes open a sliver. ¡°Sure, go on in.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Go in? Where?¡±

    The old man pointed behind him without saying a word. Lu Yin walked past the old man and stretched out a hand. The space rippled like water, though the ripples spread much slower and much further. The tip of his finger had seemingly vanished, which actually meant that it had entered another space.

    Lu Yin had heard rumors of how ultra-Hunters could open their own spaces; it seemed that the rumors were true.

    He took a deep breath. It felt like he had just been connected through to another part of the universe, and he immediately retracted his hand due to the strange sensation. Nothing seemed to be off, so he no longer hesitated and entered the invisible space behind the old man.

    After Lu Yin left, the old man opened his eyes, appearing to be deep in thought.

    After travelling through the rippling space, the scenery before Lu Yin changed. There was no longer an endless in before him, but rather a massive, towering mountain blocking his path that was incredibly wide. He couldn¡¯t even see the peak when he looked up; all he could see were thick clouds that obscured the top of the mountain. Additionally, the entire mountain was surrounded by distorted rays of light, which made it impossible to determine its height.

    ¡°Go on. This mountain is the key to entering the Nine Trial Zones. You just have to think the name of the region you want to go to in your mind, and then, like the teleportation stone, your mind will enter that ce while leaving your body behind. You¡¯ll be protected by the mountain while in this state, and no one will be able to harm you,¡± the Trialmaster¡¯s voice echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s ear.

    Lu Yin peered at the lofty and impressive mountain, astonished that this was a key and the main point of entry into the Nine Trial Zones. This was also the most awe-inspiring piece of wealth that Astral-10 possessed.

    Without wasting any time at all, Lu Yin walked into the light and then headed to a random, hollowed out area at the bottom of the mountain. He sat down cross-legged, thought it over, and then silently thought, ¡°Dao of Purgatory.¡± A momentter, it felt like his entire being had travelled back thousands of years, leaving himpletely bewildered. When he opened his eyes, all that he could see was ck. Regardless of whether it was the mountains, ground, vegetation, or water, everything was ck. He had entered the Dao of Purgatory within the Nine Trial Zones.

    Lu Yin took measure of himself and found that his body appeared to be exactly the same as his true body, unlike when he entered the ported battles. Here in the trial zone, his appearance matched his looks in real life. Compared to the ported battles, this ce was clearly much moreplex.

    Lu Yin went to inspect one of the nearby ck streams. In the reflection of the dark water, he saw that the number ten written on the back of his hand was giving off a faint glow. This was the symbol of Astral-10.

    He strode forward, but then he suddenly felt his mind turn dull as countless strange noises drilled into his ears. They sounded like battle drums but also like thementations of numerous people. He had heard this before when his mind was being pressured while his body was dealing with fifty times gravity.

    Lu Yin shook his head and sighed with a rueful smile on his face. So this was the trial zone. It was quite interesting and he was curious to find out howrge it actually was.

    Not too long after Lu Yin entered the Dao of Purgatory, a piece of news was transmitted to the human regions that shocked the universe.

    They¡­ had been defeated.

    The universe was currently divided into four main regions. The Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Astral Wilderness. These four regions had been locked in brutal wars against each other for countless years that had imed the lives of countless beings. Everything had been going the same as normal, but recently, the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy had allied together to attack the Human Domain. A huge battle had then led to the defeat of the Human region. Numerous experts had been killed, and a portion of the Human Domain¡¯s territory had been lost. The Endless Weave had lost a third of its territory, which had be the astral beasts¡¯ yground. Astral-9 had managed to flee in time and had not been affected.

    Their defeat caused a hugemotion throughout the entire human region. Many were furious, as numerous powerhouses had died and the region had very nearly broken down into chaos.

    The astral war had affected all humans, no matter if they were in the Outerverse or in Innerverse, whether they were from the Daynight Family, Mavis Family, or Astral Combat Academies. Every conceivable group had sent out powerhouses to represent the humans in the border battlefields. Their defeat meant that a great deal of battle power had been lost, so much so that the starry sky seemed to dim in response.

    Even though there were still people who said that they wanted to fight back, the Human Domain couldn¡¯t stand up to the other two Domains on its own. This negative atmosphere was spreading far and wide throughout the Human Domain. With this current mood, the director of Astral-1 had taken a stand, proposing to the Ten Arbiters that the academies should host an Astral Combat Tournament to raise the Domain¡¯s morale and strike fear into their enemies.

    The Ten Arbiters Council made their decision and agreed to hold a publicpetition for the entire human region. Every that had reached a certain level of development would be able to watch it. On top of that, they would also be able to see for themselves the power of the Astral Combat Academy, which was the most powerful academy in the universe. As stakes for thepetition, Council announced that the winner would gain ess to some of the most powerful techniques that had been passed down from ancient times, a seat as one of the submittee members on the Ten Arbiters Council, as well as precious items that had been donated by other powerful organizations.

    The moment the news was announced, the entire universe grew excited. The news spread like wildfire, and within just a few hours, the information had circted to the Outerverse, leaving everyone shocked. Soon, the entire universe was aware that the Astral Combat Tournament would be held soon.

    Someone from Astral-4 said, ¡°The Interacademy Tournaments have always been a huge event. But this time, because of the loss of our territory, morale has dropped. This must have been organized to lift the human region¡¯s spirits, which is why the rewards are so generous. It¡¯ll be hard to be number one, but I¡¯ll strive to at least be in the top ten.¡±

    Someone from Astral-6 responded, ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯re actually strong enough to do as you say. The day of the tournament will be the day of your defeat.¡±

    From Astral-7, someone said, ¡°Damn, the rewards are really enticing. All of the hidden disciples from powerful families are sure to surge into the Astral Combat Academy. Competition has always been fierce, but with these geniuses joining, perhaps even the monsters that have been released from their ice seals will take part. This tournament will definitely be on a whole other level from the pastpetitions.¡±

    In Astral-8, someone said, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me, Craynor. Also, keep a close eye on Feng Shang. I want to know exactly how powerful he¡¯s gotten. In this tournament, only Realm Masters will have the right to reach the top ten ces. Only by defeating him will I have a chance.¡±

    In Astral-9, another person said, ¡°In pastpetitions, the first three academies have always taken up half of the top ten spots, and the strongest have alwayse from them. I won¡¯t ept it! This time, I¡¯ll lead the Ninth Academy and be the strongest ever!¡±

    And in Astral-10, the Sandmaster tortured Schutz as he looked at his gadget at the same time, deep in thought. ¡°Are they trying to use this tournament to show off how powerful we humans are and use this opportunity to recruit people? It¡¯s a good idea. At the very least, we should be able to see the innate gifts of some powerful families. How nostalgic. I wonder how many people will be scooped up by those people. If someone bes their disciple, their entire destiny will be changed.¡±

    Some people correctly guessed that, the moment news of the Astral Combat Tournament spread, many academies immediately received numerous entrance exam requests. Quite a number came from powerful organizations, and even some ancient organisations that many thought had faded into history had suddenly emerged to take part.

    Unfortunately, nobody wanted to join Astral-10. This tournament was way too important and Astral-10 had been at the bottom of the branch academies for so long that no one really believed in them anymore. The only people who were interested in joining were Outerverse organizations, but unfortunately for them, Astral-10 thought nothing of them. The Sandmaster simply closed Astral-10 and didn¡¯t allow anyone in.

    Regardless of how chaotic the outside world became, it had nothing to do with Lu Yin. At this very moment, he was standing on a broken bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a man who was coldly staring at him. ¡°Screw off.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Try to be a bit more polite.¡±

    The man nced at the back of Lu Yin¡¯s hand and saw the ¡°ten¡± marking on it. With a look of contempt on his face, he said, ¡°Astral-10? I haven¡¯t seen anyone from there in a long time. I didn¡¯t think that there¡¯d be someone from Astral-10 who coulde to Dao of Purgatory. I¡¯ve got just two things to say to you. Screw off, or I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    A cold light shone in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes before his entire body vanished. In the next moment, he appeared right in front of the man and reached out to grab him. The man viciously said, ¡°You¡¯re dead,¡± as he produced a sword that he immediately used to sh at Lu Yin. But with a metallic ng, the de broke. Lu Yin grabbed the man by the throat and, with just a small amount of force, caused the man¡¯s face to turn red. The man kicked out, but that only resulted in him being smashed into the ground by Lu Yin, causing the bridge to copse.

    ¡°Cough, cough.¡± The man spat out some blood and gazed at Lu Yin in astonishment. ¡°Are-Aren¡¯t you a Melder?¡±

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°I can¡¯t believe someone with your strength has the gall to be so rude to me. In our Astral-10, you wouldn¡¯t even be the second from the bottom.¡±

    The man became even more surprised, and he obviously didn¡¯t believe Lu Yin in the least. After all, Astral-10 was known for being weak. While the man wasn¡¯t exactly strong, he wasn¡¯t the weakest either. The person in front of him should be the strongest from Astral-10; his strength simply didn¡¯t make any sense otherwise. He could only me it on his bad luck. No matter how weak the Outerverse was, there¡¯d still be one or two geniuses.

    He was actually partially right. Lu Yin was indeed the strongest in the academy; however, Lu Yin was also right as well. Coco was acknowledged as the weakest, but her extreme speed and her huge syringe¡¯s defensive abilities meant this guy would be no match for her. He wouldn¡¯t even be second from the bottom and thus could only be ranked at the very bottom.

    ¡°Tell me where the nearest training spot is,¡± Lu Yin said in a cold voice.

    The man was still terrified and immediately replied, ¡°Spear Mountain¡¯s less than five hundred kilometers away. The entire mountain is shaped like a spear, and the entire area emanates bloodlust. It¡¯s said that someone onceprehended an ultimate spear technique there. You can give that a try.¡±

    Lu Yin released him. Spear Mountain?

    ¡°Who¡¯s the Area Master?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The man gulped and fearfully answered, ¡°Frankfurt, one of the Area Masters from Astral-6.¡±

    ¡°Is he very strong?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The man nodded. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s a peak Limiteer and hasprehended some techniques from Spear Mountain. Also, he has two lines of battle force.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed when he heard thest sentence. Two-lined battle force? That alone proved that Frankfurt was definitely terrifying. Lu Yin had been defeated by someone with just one-lined battle force in the ported battles. With his current abilities, he might bepletely helpless against Frankfurt. Were all Area Masters this powerful?

 Chapter 143: Spear Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 143: Spear Mountain</h4>

    Spear Mountain¡¯s Area Master¡¯s strength actually wasn¡¯t that surprising as both Area Masters and Realm Masters stood at the peak of Limiteers. Although Area Masters were slightly weaker than Realm Masters, they were all still top elites of their academy and the rare few who could potentially battle against a Realm Master.

    Apart from Astral-10, the other nine academies all had Realm Masters and Area Masters. There was only one Realm Master in each academy and a handful of Area Masters; they were the true elites of the Astral Combat Academies.

    Still, Lu Yin was shocked to hear how powerful Frankfurt was, and he immediately shelved any idea of battling against the Area Master with his current strength. Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°Why did you ask me to leave when you saw me?¡±

    The guy was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°Is this your first time in the training realm?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold, and he waved his hand, shattering the remainder of the bridge. A trace of his Skybeast w technique grazed past the man¡¯s head, almost drawing blood. The threatening motion prompted him to anxiously answer, ¡°Ancient voices can be heard within the training realm. It could be wails from a battlefield, a warsong, or even skills, but the probability is always very low. Moreover, the more people there are in an area, the lower the chance of hearing anything. Thus, most people don¡¯t want to be in an area with anyone else around within the training grounds.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood, but he was still amazed. How was this possible? What an amazing ce! Would he be able to hear ancient voices too?

    Lu Yin released the man shortly after. In the end, this person was just an average Melder from Astral-6. He didn¡¯t know much or even have the qualifications to enter a training ground. Lu Yin had learned everything that he could from the man and was surprised to learn about the number of powerhouses that belonged to the Astral Combat Academy. Fortunately, all of those famous experts were far away from him.

    Lu Yin nned on traveling to Spear Mountain to see one of the few training grounds in the Dao of Purgatory. The Dao of Purgatory was a massive region, but all Lu Yin could see was darkness. Lu Yin traveled quite slowly as the gravity was fifty times stronger than normal. He also had to stay on guard for any sudden attacks that might beunched against him. In the Nine Trial Zones, not only were there other students training, but there were also strange beings called war spirits. These spirits weren¡¯t actually living beings. Rather, ording to what the student he had interrogated earlier had said, these spirits were the memories of students who had previously fought in the training realms. Additionally, they had the samebat abilities as the fighter at the time of their creation.

    There was no exnation for the existence of these war spirits, but after years of investigation, it had been repeatedly proven that war spirits were beings without intelligence or visible features. They were just physical bodies that had very strong attacks. Average students were typically defeated whenever they bumped into a war spirit, so their presence increased the danger of the training realms.

    Of course, not every battle would create a war spirit, and there was only ever a small probability for one to be created. Otherwise, the spirits would have filled up the entire training realm after all these years.

    There weren¡¯t arge number of war spirits even in the entire Nine Trial Zones, so the greatest danger in the training realms was still other students.

    When Lu Yin first heard of them, he thought that the war spirits¡¯ existence was very odd. His initial reaction was that they sounded like opponents that had been intentionally created by the designer of the Nine Trial Zones to adjust to the strength of the cultivators training within. If this training area was thought of as a massive game, then the war spirits would be monsters that were custom made in such a way that they scaled to the power of the cultivators while never being depleted. The stronger the cultivators, the stronger the war spirits that would form.

    ¡°Could the training realm possibly have been created by some ancient being from the Astral Combat Academies?¡± Lu Yin guessed. He looked around and saw a gigantic sphere in the sky. It was one of the moons of the training realm, of which there were three, all pure and bright. The realm even had a day and night cycle, so there was a sun as well.

    These three moons illuminated a path through the darkness of the Dao of Purgatory.

    The number of footsteps along the illuminated path was increasing, and Lu Yin finally found a used path a few hourster, verifying that he was approaching Spear Mountain.

    Bang!

    The earth shook as gusts of wind blew through the area, uprooting a few of the ck trees.

    Lu Yin saw two students battling off in the distance. They were both Limiteers and were both using spears.

    ¡°Just give up! You¡¯ll never be able to graduate with your ability. As long as I¡¯m here, you shouldn¡¯t even think about reaching Spear Mountain!¡± one of them shouted proudly.

    The student opposite him had a solemn gaze. ¡°I¡¯m free to go wherever I want. I will definitely graduate sessfully, and I will even join the Ten Arbiters Council!¡±

    ¡°What a joke. The people who can join the Ten Arbiters Council upon graduation are all elites. You definitely don¡¯t have such qualifications to do so. Just go and die.¡±

    Crash! The earth trembled once again.

    There were quite arge number of Limiteers in the Astral Combat Academy. The academies were difficult to enter, but they were even more difficult to graduate from. One could either graduate voluntarily by bing an Explorer, or be driven out after they became too old to be considered a part of the younger generation. There were many students who had been expelled throughout the academy¡¯s history, and there were probably more expelled students than graduated students since not all students could sessfully be an Explorer.

    These two Limiteers looked to be no more than ten years older than Lu Yin and were probably around thirty years old. They still had ten more years before the Astral Combat Academy would expel them. If they couldn¡¯t be Explorers within that timeframe, then they would be expelled and their names expunged from the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student list.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t interested in their battle, as they clearly had some personal feud that was none of his business. He didn¡¯t hesitate to take a detour east to avoid their battle. Spear Mountain was right before him, and he could see the silhouette of a peak reaching into the sky. The silent mountain towered over the ground, as if it were piercing through the air and cause the sky to copse.

    This was Spear Mountain, and Lu Yin looked at it with a fervent gaze. Maybe he would be able to gain something from this ce. He grew increasingly excited at the prospect and rushed forward anxiously.

    The aura of Spear Mountain intensified the closer he approached. The aura had an indescribable sharpness, and every time Lu Yin looked at it, he felt like his gaze had been stabbed through by something. There were a few times where he even saw the vague image of a spear shooting towards him.

    Then, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly lost focus and he abruptly stopped moving. He had heard something that sounded like an anguished roar. The scene before him distorted and he felt like he had been transported back to ancient times. He saw a man slowly lift a spear; this was an ancient spear technique and the man was about to use it. Lu Yin¡¯s head suddenly went numb as he sensed impending mortal danger, causing him to take a step back reflexively.

    Someone yelled, waking Lu Yin from his trance. There was a man staring at Lu Yin with an icy gaze. His body moved and heunched a spear straight at Lu Yin¡¯s head without another word.

    Lu Yin was outraged; not only had this person ambushed him, but he had even gone on to attack him for no reason. This man had also interrupted the scene that Lu Yin had just seen. In his eyes, this person deserved death. Lu Yin had no intention to hold back, and he instantly disappeared with sh before reappearing behind the man. Then, Lu Yin activated his Seven Stars Cosmic Palm and thrusted forward, surprising the man. He responded by swinging his spear backwards, grazing past Lu Yin¡¯s palm and heading straight towards his head.

    A palm and a spear were worlds apart in reach, so Lu Yin was forced to reluctantly redirect his Cosmic Palm towards the spear. The power of the seven stars¡¯ explosion surprised the man, and he nearly dropped his spear. In the end, he barely managed to disperse the power of the Cosmic Palm, but despite his sess, his palm had been injured by the aftershocks and was covered with blood.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to hit the tip of the spear, causing the power of his Nine Stacks to rush toward the man through the spear. The man couldn¡¯t keep his grip on the spear anymore and stumbled a few steps back, his face pale as he looked at Lu Yin in disbelief, each step leaving a clear footprint on the ground.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t n on letting the man go. He had beenprehending an ancient scene and had nearly grasped the rare ancient spear technique, but then he had been rudely interrupted by this man. Lu Yin grabbed the spear and stabbed the man with it. Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was actually quite powerful; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm. However, he hadn¡¯t reached the level of being able to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, especially after losing his spear. He simply had no way to retaliate against Lu Yin¡¯s attack. His body was easily pierced through by his own spear, and he looked at Lu Yin in fury. ¡°You are so cruel.¡±

    ¡°You brought this upon yourself,¡± Lu Yin coldly replied as he let go of the spear. He didn¡¯t bother asking why the man had attacked, as there were way too many possible reasons. The fact that Lu Yin had beenprehending an ancient scene was more than enough reason to justify his attack. Everyone was selfish, and since Lu Yin had seen the ancient scene, this person had probably assumed that nobody else would be able to see it again and had thus ambushed him. Moreover, Lu Yin was just a Melder and shouldn¡¯t be too strong. That¡¯s why this person hadn¡¯t cared, or maybe there was still another reason¡ªAstral-10.

    When someone upied the weakest position for too long, their former peers would begin to regard them as no longer being qualified to be equals. Astral-10 had not done anything of note for far too long, and now that they had reappeared, they would definitely face ridicule and resistance from others.

    Lu Yin had long since learned why Astral-10 had a rule that required its students to win a hundred victories before they were allowed to enter the Nine Trial Zones. However, the more time he spent in the training realm, the deeper his understanding; Astral-10 had been weak for far too long.

    The spear stopped moving after a while, and the man¡¯s body started fading until it disappeared entirely. This was a training realm and killing was allowed here. However, the person wouldn¡¯t truly die as their physical body in their academy would still be fine. Nevertheless, their spirit would be heavily injured by the event, and this man would probably need some time before he could enter the Dao of Purgatory again.

    This was just a small setback, but it was still a shame that Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been able toprehend the ancient spear technique.

    He looked up at Spear Mountain and noticed that he had almost arrived at the majestic and imposing towering peak. Lu Yin took a deep breath and continued walking forward, but he was soon stopped by two Melder realm students.

    ¡°Student, may I know whether you use spears as your weapon?¡± one of them asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted and he shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then you won¡¯t be able to continue on to Spear Mountain. Leave,¡± the other person bellowed fiercely.

    Lu Yin frowned at this unexpected hurdle. ¡°Why? Who decided that only spear wielders can enter Spear Mountain?¡¯

    The two of them nced at each other and sneered before answering, ¡°This is a rule set down by Senior Frankfurt, the Area Master of Spear Mountain.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated; if that was true, then there was nothing he could do about it. An Area Master held absolute power in the training ground that they ruled over, and no one could object to their rules as long as they weren¡¯t too ridiculous. Moreover, Frankfurt was from Astral-6 and the Realm Master of the Dao of Purgatory was also from Astral-6. In some sense, the entire Dao of Purgatory belonged to the Sixth Academy.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment before turning around. He needed to think of another idea. At worst, he would just find a random spear and pretend that it was his weapon. He would manage to get in one way or another.

    At that moment, a girl casually walked past Lu Yin, headed towards Spear Mountain. However, the two Melder students didn¡¯t stop her.

    Lu Yin looked at the girl. She was a Melder too, but she hadn¡¯t been stopped. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop her?¡±

    The two who had stopped Lu Yin irritably answered, ¡°We can stop whoever we want. Do we answer to you?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brow and he saw their gaze sweep across the back of his hand before he finally understood. They must have stopped him because he was from Astral-10. But that was strange as well. Even if people looked down on Astral-10, they shouldn¡¯t go so far as to treat students from Astral-10 as enemies. The students from the Astral Combat Academies weren¡¯t dumb and wouldn¡¯t find trouble for themselves for no reason. Lu Yin thought about it from another angle. What if the two of them were deliberately picking on him? Lu Yin suddenly remembered Xi Yue and how he had a poor reputation within the Astral Combat Academies. He probably had countless enemies among the academies now.

 Chapter 144: Enhance

    <h4>Chapter 144: Enhance</h4>

    ¡°Do you know me?¡± Lu Yin narrowed his eyes as he stared at the two in front of him.

    A strange look appeared in their eyes and they snorted, ¡°No, so go away. Spear Mountain isn¡¯t a ce for people like you.¡±

    Lu Yin was now certain that they had recognized him, which simplified the situation greatly. They were clearly deliberately causing trouble for him.

    ¡°And what if I don¡¯t leave?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned cold as he checked the back of the two students¡¯ hands. Even though they tried to cover their hands, Lu Yin still managed to see what he was after¡ªthere were tworge ¡°eights¡± on the back of their hands. Astral-8? If he remembered correctly, Xi Yue was from Astral-8, and many of the ze Realm¡¯s powerhouses were also from Astral-8.

    The faces of the two students grew serious. ¡°So you won¡¯t be epting our help, then. Beat it, or else we¡¯ll get Frankfurt and he¡¯ll teach you a lesson himself.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at them with a scornful expression. ¡°You should know who I am, so you must be aware that you¡¯re no match for me. However, you still mentioned Frankfurt in an attempt to frighten me. I can¡¯t believe that Astral-8 has such cowards as you among its students.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The two students were infuriated by Lu Yin¡¯s taunts, and they simultaneously attacked. Two spears flew forward at strange angles, sealing the space around them. But Lu Yin merely disregarded their attacks. These two were just Melders, and their control over star energy and ability to solidify it was even worse than Craynor¡¯s. Lu Yin simply raised an arm and grabbed the spears without even trying to dodge the attacks. His Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm shook the area and immediately injured the two¡¯s hands.

    Both of the students retreated with looks of astonishment on their faces. They had known from the very beginning that they were no match for Lu Yin, which was why they had tried to chase him away from Spear Mountain so that they could call for reinforcements from zing region Limiteers. Unfortunately, they had been goaded into attacking just now and were shocked to learn that Lu Yin was even more powerful than they had imagined. There were rumors that Craynor had been defeated in one attack by this person. But just now, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t even used a full attack to defeat the two of them.

    Lu Yin took one step forward and appeared right before the two of them. He used his star energy to seal the area so that the two of them weren¡¯t able to use any battle techniques or escape. He then lifted his palm and pressed downwards.

    Rumble!

    Shockwaves spread out, distorting the very air.

    The girl who had passed by had already travelled quite far, but the sounds of battle still reached her. She looked behind in shock at Lu Yin. He must be incredibly powerful to be able to defeat two people at his level. He might even be one of the top Melders in his academy.

    All of a sudden, the girl¡¯s heart lurched and she peered upwards. She heard a whistling sounding from the top of Spear Mountain. It was a spear, piercing through the air and towards the ground.

    It only took Lu Yin a single move to smash the two students into the ground, but just as he was about to use another move to send them flying out of the training zone, he suddenly felt his scalp go numb. He spun around to look upwards and saw a spear diving toward him. The spear wasn¡¯t exactly traveling quickly, but the air was being forcibly disced by it. Lu Yin knew that he was in a tight spot without any way to escape. This attack was beyond terrifying and it was vastly more oppressive than his star energy; rather than just sealing the area, the attack sealed the void, preventing anyone from blocking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank and he raised a hand, nning to fight back with his strongest attack. But then, he stopped. He allowed the spear to pierce through his chest and destroy his organs. His body naturally disappeared from the Dao of Purgatory.

    The two Melders from Astral-8 stared at the scene in awe. As they watched the spear gradually disappear before their eyes, they felt a chill crawl down their spine.

    ¡°I helped you because of Jared. Tell him that we¡¯ll meet again at the Astral Combat Tournament,¡± said someone with a bright voice that resounded throughout Spear Mountain. Quite a few people looked up in shock; this was Area Master Frankfurt¡¯s voice while Jared was an Area Master from Astral-8.

    The two Melders quickly got up and bowed at the waist before heaving a sigh of relief. They exchanged a look of excitement due to what had just happened; technically, they had taught Lu Yin a lesson on behalf of the ze Realm. This was something that they could report back to Area Master Jared with pride.

    Back at Astral-10¡¯s mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes with the apaniment of a splitting headache that took some time to dissipate. This was a side effect of being killed in the trial region. Whenever someone died in the trial region, they would be mentally injured and would have to spend a significant amount of time recovering before they could enter again. Of course, it was possible to rush back inside immediately, but if they were killed yet again, then the consequences would be even worse. There had even been cases in the past where someone had be an idiot after returning to the trial region too soon after they died.

    Even though Lu Yin had been killed, he wasn¡¯t very angry. This was just thew of the jungle. Once he became stronger, he¡¯d be able to fight back and take revenge.

    Lu Yin actually had the ability to block the attack that had killed him, but he had purposefully chosen not to. He could tell that the attack was not a battle technique and that it was actually nothing more than a casual attack. Such a terrifying attack could have only beenunched by Frankfurt. Additionally, Jared from the ze Realm was also an Area Master, and it would be strange if the two didn¡¯t know each other. Lu Yin had thought it out. Even if he had managed to block the first attack, he wouldn¡¯t be able to block the second attack. Thus, the best course of action was to just give uppletely. There was no need to reveal all his cards now, and he had no desire to attract another Area Master¡¯s attention.

    Jared was the real problem in the current situation. People from Astral-8 had tried to cause problems for Lu Yin as soon as they saw him, which meant that Jared must have specifically pointed him out. While Lu Yin couldn¡¯t take on all of the students from Astral-8, the ones from just the ze Realm wouldn¡¯t be a problem as there weren¡¯t that many of them. However, there would always be a risk of hidden danger when he moved against someone this powerful. Jared also definitely had friends who were likely as powerful as him. The moment Lu Yin entered a territory belonging to one of his friends, he would likely be identified and targeted. What a hassle¡­

    Astral-10 had always been very noticeable, and after Lu Yin had teased Xi Yue and offended the entire ze Realm, many students wanted to beat him up the moment he entered the trial regions. It seemed that, at this point, he needed to find someone who was strong enough to protect him. Otherwise, he¡¯d be hounded to the ends of time if he continued to only rely on himself.

    ¡°Who should I go to?¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. His first thought was of Lulu. The Mavis family was very terrifying and definitely had extremely powerful people within the Astral Combat Academy. They might even have Realm Masters. However, after thinking it over some more, he ultimately decided not to contact her. Why would the Mavis Family help him? Lulu obviously didn¡¯t have a lot of power within her family anyway.

    What about Xia Luo? That wouldn¡¯t work either. While he was very powerful and mysterious, hisckadaisical attitude meant that trying to borrow his influence would be aplete waste of time.

    What about Michelle? No, that girl didn¡¯t even want to see him. Darkvoid? Shamrock Enterprises? Lu Yin might not even receive an answer. Hui Daynight? Forget it, Lu Yin was already lucky that the Daynight n wasn¡¯t targeting him. Zora? Coco? Windrift Hall? Nope, none of them were very good at fighting. Zhao Yilong? There was no point in bothering him.

    After going through almost everyone that he kenw, Lu Yin realized that hisst hope was Silver.

    Silver had unknown ties to the Neohuman Alliance, and other than Lu Yin, nobody else knew this secret of his. The Neohuman Alliance was something that the entire Human Region feared, which showed just how powerful the organization was. Would it be possible to use this knowledge to threaten Silver? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone as he estimated his likelihood of sess.

    After mulling it over for a long time, he ultimately decided to give up. Just the thought of Silver¡¯s wolfish, cunning grin gave Lu Yin an uneasy feeling. If he worked with someone like Silver, it meant that he would have topletely subdue him. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time until he threw Lu Yin under the bus.

    After leaving the mountain, Lu Yin passed through the invisible screen and reappeared at the trial zone entrance.

    The Trialmaster looked up and nced at Lu Yin. ¡°You died already? So you still weren¡¯t good enough to survive. It seems that a hundred victories is too little. I should increase the number.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. Increase the number? If it got out that he was the reason why the number to enter the Three Daos Six Realms had increased, then he¡¯d definitely be themon enemy of the other Astral-10 students. ¡°Um, Sir, you can¡¯t me me. An Area Master attacked me.¡±

    The Trialmaster was surprised. ¡°An Area Master? You¡¯re pretty good at causing trouble, kid! Even an Area Mastor wanted to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin was at a loss for what to say. ¡°I may have offended a lot of people in the past.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. You look like the type,¡± the Trialmaster mumbled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched a little as he answered, ¡°I¡¯ll be off then.¡±

    The Trialmaster just ignored him.

    A simr scene urred in the treasury. Old Cai looked at Lu Yin as if he were judging a piece of trash. ¡°You got killed that quickly after you went in, huh. Don¡¯t ever tell anyone that you¡¯re the leader of Astral-10. It¡¯s too humiliating.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes in annoyance. It really wasn¡¯t his fault! The number of people who could contest an Area Master within the entire Astral Combat Academy was too few. There probably wasn¡¯t even anyone in Astral-10 who could do so!

    ¡°Enough. Go replenish your star energy. There¡¯s a huge difference between someone who just became a Melder and someone at the peak stage,¡± Old Cai said in disdain.

    ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± Lu Yin said before turning around to leave.

    ¡°Wait, do you have any star crystals? It¡¯ll take ages for you to reach the peak stage with the stray bits of star energy in the universe,¡± Old Cai said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up and he immediately looked at Old Cai excitedly. ¡°No.¡±

    The man nodded and did not say a word.

    Lu Yin blinked before repeating, ¡°I said, I don¡¯t have any, sir.¡±

    Old Cai shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t, then go earn some! Why are you wasting your time talking to me? Do you want an old man like me to do it for you?!¡±

    Lu Yin immediately fled. He knew this infinity-bearded man couldn''t be trusted. Why would he ever think that this old man would be generous enough give him some crystals?

    After finding an isted area, Lu Yin ced a circle of natural energy crystals around him and began to absorb the star energy. He wanted to use Time Stop to do this, but he decided against it in the end. Absorbing star energy took time, and if he became a peak Melder in less than a second, then even an idiot would suspect that something was off. He also couldn¡¯t be sure that no one would see him. Thus, he could only cultivate normally like everyone else.

    Lu Yin took out over a thousand cubes of star crystals and crushed them in his hand. As he felt the turbulent star energy wash over him, he activated his Cosmic Art. The effects of a seven-fold increase in his absorption rate was very obvious, and the star energy was sucked in as if he were a tornado. He rapidly absorbed everything.

    There was arge difference between a Melder and a Sentinel, but the most apparent difference was the amount of star energy that one could store. It could be said that a Sentinel contained enough star energy reserves to satisfy their needs, even if one¡¯s needs were rtive. A Melder¡¯s reserves, however, were more like a vast sea.

    Over the next seven days, Lu Yin absorbed star energy at seven times the standard speed. He used up a hundred thousand cubes of star energy, but it still wasn¡¯t enough to bring him to the peak of the Melder realm.

    Lu Yin opened his heavy eyes and felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Absorbing so many impure elements meant that it would be difficult to remove them. He had never expected his cultivation to require so much star energy, where even a hundred thousand cubes wasn¡¯t enough for him at this level. Most people didn¡¯t need that much. A hundred thousand was quite a terrifying number. If Xi Yue hadn¡¯t caused so much trouble for him, then Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t have been able to gather such arge quantity in such a short period of time. But despite his vast stores, it had all disappeared in an instant.

    He still had twenty thousand star crystals stored in his cosmic ring and another two hundred and fifty thousand in the form of a Mavis Bank crystal card¡­ He should find some time to withdraw some.

    For now, though, Lu Yin raised his hand and looked at the die in his palm. It was time to roll it again. The skin that he¡¯d retrieved before had scared the wits out of him, but hopefully, he¡¯d be luckier this time and roll three pips. He still had no idea what that roll could do.

    He ended up being pretty lucky. On his first roll, the die stopped on the ¡°three¡± that had never appeared before.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing turned rough as he watched two golden rays of light appear; one on top and one on the bottom, like two golden screens. They were very dazzling and, a momentter, he discovered their use. He could ce items on top of one of the screens and raise its ¡°level.¡±

    As soon as the information on what this roll did appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, his breathing became even more ragged, and his eyes shone like never before. He first thought about his Cosmic Art¡ªif it was possible to upgrade the crystal for Cosmic Art, then what would have happened? He also had battle techniques, weapons, materials, potions, and much more. Right, and there was also the formcast model¡­

    Lu Yin immediately took out the formcast model from his body. This was the one that the crazy director had given him. He assumed that the Rainmaster had made this precious formcast model so that he could go through his fourth round of reshaping.

 Chapter 145: The Lockbreaker Society

    <h4>Chapter 145: The Lockbreaker Society</h4>

    A standard formcast model could reshape a cultivator¡¯s body three times and help one ascend to the Melder realm. The students of the Great Yu Empire were usually only able to obtain three-stage formcast models, with some luckier ones finding a rare formcast model that was able to conduct four reshapings, which allowed one to be a Limiteer. As for the five-stage formcast models that could assure one of reaching the Explorer realm, those were extremely rare and couldn¡¯t be bought with any amount of money, as they were only produced by HUnters after much effort.

    There were also six-stage formcast models whose final stage was that of the Hunter realm. These formcast models only existed in legends, as only terrifying powerhouses were able to make them by spending a huge amount of energy. Even the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire, Undying Yushan, was only at the Hunter realm.

    Most cultivators would obtain a three-stage formcast model, go through three reshapings, and then train slowly from there on out. Some of the more outstanding cultivators could reach the Explorer realm through reshaping, but that was the absolute limit. Nobody had ever gone through six reshapings except those in the legends, and certainly no one from the Astral Combat Academy had ever aplished this. This was because only those who were at least as strong a Cruiser could go through six body reshapings, and they would immediately be a Hunter once they broke through.

    There was a huge difference between cultivators within the same realm when it came to those who had gone through reshaping and those who had not. Each reshapingpletely reconstructed one¡¯s body and gave one a chance to perceive some of the strength of the powerhouse who had created that formcast model. This was an extremely valuable experience, and also the main reason why many powerhouses were unwilling to create formcast models. Apart from taking up a huge amount of energy, there was also a chance that the person using it would be able to learn their skills.

    The formcast model that Lu Yin had was a four-stage one, which meant that he could go through four reshapings and be a Limiteer. If he upgraded it, then would he get a five stage formcast model? What would that even look like? He would definitely surpass his peers as it was rare for someone to be an Explorer with five reshapings even in the Astral Combat Academy. There was a huge difference between that and bing an Explorer through cultivation; the difference was asrge as that between cultivators and normal soldiers.

    Lu Yin truly admired the person who had created the first formcast model, as it had revolutionized the path of cultivation. Before this, cultivators had to spend a long time arduously training even if they had great talent. But now, after the birth of formcast models, many talented young people had managed to surpass the powerhouses of the older generation. The appearance of the Ten Arbiters was the strongest proof of this phenomena¡ªthe ten of them had managed to shift the bnce of power to the younger generation¡¯s side, creating unimaginable side effects that still hadn¡¯t been fully understood.

    Lu Yin cleared his mind and took a deep breath. He looked at the two horizontal screens of light in front of him and slowly ced the formcast model on the upperyer. Once the formcast modelpletely fell through andnded on the secondyer, the upgrade would beplete.

    Lu Yin stared at it excitedly, but the formcast model didn¡¯t move at all. He suddenly realized something. ¡°Does this require star energy too?¡±

    He felt like vomiting blood, but he still took out a hundred star crystals to try his luck with. He threw them onto the topyer, where the crystals were absorbed by the light screen. Although the formcast model moved slightly downwards, the movement was so minute that Lu Yin could barely tell the difference.

    Lu Yin pped his hand to his forehead; he was right. This ability required more star crystals to activate as well. He was struck speechless. His innate gift was powerful, but as greedy as a ck hole. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t been so dumb as to try to slowly umte money. If not for his money collecting schemes and plots, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with his innate gift¡¯s appetite.

    ¡°Hopefully it won¡¯t need too many...¡± Lu Yin muttered as he took out tens of thousands of star crystals and threw them onto the topyer one by one. After absorbing it all, the formcast model finally descended a little bit more. But only a little bit.

    Lu Yin made a rough measurement with his hand and estimated that it would take around three hundred thousand star crystals to upgrade the formcast model to reach the nextyer. He sighed and looked at the sky vacantly. He only had two hundred and sixty thousand star crystals on him; that still wouldn¡¯t be enough to upgrade his formcast model.

    Lu Yin reluctantly stored the formcast model away and watched the light screens disappear. He smiled bitterly and shook his head again, as he had no choice but to wait until he had enough star crystals before he tried to upgrade it again. Fortunately, the formcast model had been slightly modified, and if he rolled Enhance again, then he could simply continue on from where he had left off. He hadn¡¯t actually lost anything.

    It was extremely rare for anyone to obtain a five stage formcast model, and only cultivators rted to the major forces would even have a chance of getting one. Lu Yin knew just how difficult it was to obtain one and that he was already very lucky to have a way to obtain one. Thus, he would find a way to upgrade it no matter how much money it cost. Of course, a five stage formcast wasn¡¯t his final goal. His ultimate goal was to obtain a six stage one, but just how many six stage formcast models existed in the universe? While neither he nor anyone else knew exactly how many there were, it was sure to be an extremely small number. Even the entire ze Realm might not have a single one, or at least, that was what Lu Yin hoped.

    ¡°Is six stages the limit?¡± Lu Yin suddenly thought of an interesting question. His gaze quickly turned excited, but he immediately suppressed his desire. He would only consider this in the future. If he truly could obtain a seven stages formcast model, then that would be very interesting. He probably would shock the entire universe.

    When he finally noticed that he had just spent tens of thousands of star crystals on nothing but an experiment, Lu Yin realized that his spending was growing more and more excessive.

    Lu Yin continued rolling his die, but this time, he no longer hoped to roll Enhance. Now, he was hoping to get Time Stop so that he could steadily cultivate the eighth star of his Cosmic Art. Not only would that increase the speed at which he absorbed star energy, but it would also increase the power of his Cosmic Palm technique. ording to his estimate, a Cosmic Palm with eight stars would be more powerful than a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, and that wasn¡¯t even taking into the effects of battle force. He looked forward to finding out just how strong it would be.

    He rolled the die again and it stopped on Pilfer. An exquisite ring fell with a loud ng. It was made out of amon material, but Lu Yin was astonished by the craftsmanship. The carvings on the clear metal seemed to have a life of its own; however, it was a shame that it didn¡¯t have any intrinsic value. Still, it should be quite expensive due to how exquisite its craftsmanship was.

    His third roll turned out to be Gift Copy. What a waste. He now realised that Possession and Enhance weren¡¯t the most wasteful, and neither was it even Pilfer. Rather, it was actually Gift Copy. It was clearly a good skill as it allowed him to temporarily borrow someone¡¯s innate gift, but it was always wasted since he was always rolling his die in a remote area. I have to pay attention next time. I can borrow someone¡¯s innate gift with it, so I shouldn¡¯t waste it.

    Lu Yin had one more chance to roll, as he would faint after rolling it five times. Hence, four times was the ideal number.

    He stared at the die until it stopped spinning and settled on a number¡ªFour. Lu Yin knew that his luck today was quite good as he had gotten both Enhance and Timestop.

    His surroundings disappeared before his eyes and he appeared in the familiar grey Time Stop Space. He increased the gravity by sixty times like he normally did, but that wasn¡¯t enough this time. He took out more star crystals and continued increasing the gravity until he felt strained, which was at a hundred-fold. This was a hundred times the normal gravity! It was a pressure that, normally, only Limiteers could possibly withstand, which led Lu Yin to guess that his body had already surpassed most Limiteers¡¯. And this still wasn¡¯t his ultimate limit!

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know why his body had be so terrifyingly tough and strong, but he could tell that it was still improving with each passing day. He stopped thinking about it and used over a thousand star crystals to increase the time that he had in the Time Stop Space to one month. He nned on staying in this space for a month to finish cultivating the eighth star of his Cosmic Art.

    When Lu Yin entered the Time Stop Space, a spacecraft appeared at Astral-10¡¯s space station. There was an interesting symbol carved on its helm that seemed to be from the Innerverse: two hands covering a.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes gleamed when he saw this symbol, as it was the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s insignia!

    Lockbreakers enjoyed many privileges in the universe, and the Lockbreaker Society had been formed to oversee the Lockbreakers. Its main purpose was to gather Lockbreakers together in order to test the limits of their skill, but everyone knew that another reason for its existence was to control the Lockbreakers, as there would be disastrous consequences if a Lockbreaker went rogue.

    Many sealed ancient items could cause disasters, if they were recklessly unsealed by a Lockbreaker, it could lead to a catastrophe striking the universe. This could not be allowed to happen, and so the Lockbreaker Society received great support from various major forces which guaranteed its status and legitimacy.

    A few days ago, the Trialmaster had sent out an examination request to the Lockbreaker Society on behalf of Xia Luo. He wanted to have Xia Luo join the society as he was clearly capable of doing so.

    Xia Luo moved forward as the hatch of the spacecraft opened.

    The first to disembark were a troop of cultivators. They were soldiers of the Lockbreaker Society, and they were all at least Melders, and some were even Limiteers. Behind them, a middle aged man in a grey robe walked out with a solemn expression. He immediately noticed Xia Luo as he slowly descended from the spaceship.

    A beautiful girl, about Lu Yin¡¯s age, followed behind the middle aged man. Her nose was turned up to the sky, and she made no efforts to hide her arrogance.

    Xia Luo walked forward with a smile. bowed towards the man in the grey robe, and introduced himself. ¡°Greetings, Master Wusheng. I am Xia Luo from Astral-10.¡±

    The middle aged man nodded as he studied Xia Luo for a moment. He then nodded his head in satisfaction. ¡°You are the person that Elder Tan mentioned to me?¡±

    Xia Luo answered, ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    Wusheng continued to say, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I want to greet Elder Tan first.¡±

    ¡°Tutor, please follow me this way.¡± Xia Luo then motioned in the direction for them to go and politely nodded at the girl before turning around to lead the way for them.

    The girl looked at Xia Luo curiously. Her name was Liu Ji and she hade on this trip to take Astral-6¡¯s entrance exam. However, they had suddenly taken a detour here, apparently to scout a student from Astral-10 for the Lockbreaker assessment. Astral-10? Wasn¡¯t that academy driven out of the Innervse? How could one of their students join the Lockbreaker Society? The situation didn¡¯t make any sense to her.

    Once she saw Xia Luo, Liu Ji felt an instinctive affinity toward him, but she still had no confidence in him passing the assessment. She was well aware of just how difficult the Lockbreaker assessment was, and even she, a natural genius who was born into the society, had to take the test multiple times before she finally passed. What gave this person the confidence to think that he would pass the exam?

    The three of them appeared at the realm entrance via the teleportation equipment and coincidentally met someone who was about to leave, Hui Daynight.

    Hui Daynight just nced at the three of them before proceeding into the teleportation device without a word.

    Wusheng was shocked. ¡°Isn¡¯t he from the Daynight n? I didn¡¯t expect someone from the Daynight n to join Astral-10.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled as he exined, ¡°His name is Hui Daynight. And yes, he¡¯s from the Daynight n. He¡¯s a nice person.¡±

    Liu Ji raised her brows questioningly. A nice person? Why would he say that? The student who had just left was obviously extremely arrogant, even more so than herself. He hadn¡¯t even greeted Master Wusheng! Even a senior of the Daynight n wouldn¡¯t dare to be so rude. It was truly an annoying n.

    But as far as Xia Luo was concerned, as long as someone wasn¡¯t his enemy, then everyone was a nice person¡ªor, at least, that was his personal view.

    The Trialmaster was sitting in the same spot as always, with the appearance of a senile old man.

    Wusheng¡¯s expression changed once he saw the Trialmaster and he immediately went forward and said respectfully, ¡°Elder Tan, your student, Wusheng, hase to greet you.¡±

    Surprise shed across Xia Luo¡¯s eyes while Liu Ji''s mouth actually fell wide open. Is this really Master Wusheng, acting this respectfully to that old man? He¡¯s Master Wusheng, an Intermediate-rank Lockbreaker who¡¯s nearly at the Senior level! Even the most powerful ns of the Innerverse would act deferentially to Master Wusheng, and yet here he was, acting respectfully to a mentor of Astral-10?

 Chapter 146: Whoâ€™s the Top Student?

    <h4>Chapter 146: Who¡¯s the Top Student?</h4>

    The Lockbreaker Society had divided lockbreakers into several different levels, which were broad yet clearly defined. In ascending order, these levels were: Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and any higher levels were ssified. The Junior level corresponded to Melders and Limiteers, the Intermediate level to Explorers and Cruisers, and the Senior level to Hunters. There were very few people who could surpass these ssifications and be a high leveled lockbreaker at a low realm.

    Wusheng was an Intermediate lockbreaker, but his knowledge of lockbreaking was actually at the Senior level. Once he became a Hunter, he would immediately be promoted to Senior Lockbreaker. There weren¡¯t many Senior Lockbreakers in the entire universe, and they were people who most major forces sought after.

    Furthermore, as a general rule, Lockbreakers were strong for their level and extremely powerful. Every lockbreaker had terrifying control over their star energy and could easily battle against people above their realms. Wusheng¡¯s Lockbreaker levelbined with his terrifying battle power meant that his status was exceeded even that of a Hunter realm cultivator. This was also why Liu Ji was so surprised by Wusheng¡¯s respectful attitude towards this academy mentor. Astral-10 was just a driven out academy, and apart from the Headmaster who had gone crazy, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone here that merited Master Wusheng¡¯s deferential attitude.

    The Trialmaster slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Wusheng. You¡¯ve grown older.¡±

    This sentence almost caused Liu Ji to faint.

    Wusheng, however, still remained respectful. ¡°It¡¯s been too long. It¡¯s wonderful that Elder Tan is still as healthy as ever.¡±

    The Trialmasterughed in response. ¡°You still speak as glibly as ever. Take a look, that¡¯s the young man I was telling you about. Give him a test and see if he¡¯ll be able to join the society.¡±

    Wusheng solemnly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to test him. Since you have officially requested the society to assess him, there¡¯s no way that you would be wrong about his abilities. I trust your judgement.¡± He then turned to Xia Luo and seriously said, ¡°Xia Luo, let me ask you this. Are you willing to join the Lockbreaker Society and formally be a Junior Lockbreaker?¡±

    Xia Luo took a deep breath, walked towards Wusheng, and respectfully answered, ¡°I¡¯m willing to dedicate the rest of my life to the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    Wusheng nodded and passed a badge to Xia Luo. ¡°I have added your name into the society¡¯s member list. From now onwards, you are a member of the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Master Wusheng,¡± Xia Luo answered respectfully.

    Wusheng nodded in a satisfied manner. He looked at the Realm Tutor and asked, ¡°Elder Tan, are you satisfied?¡±

    The realm tutor casually replied, ¡°None of this is rted to me. If this young guy embarrasses the Lockbreaker Society, then that¡¯s all your fault. Who asked you to waive his assessment.¡±

    Wusheng continued, saying, ¡°Actually, I was nning on asking Elder Tan some questions on this trip here. May I?¡±

    The Trialmaster nodded and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve enjoyed the benefits given by the society for so many years, but I¡¯ve never contributed anything. That¡¯s my fault. Since you¡¯vee to visit me, then stay a while before you leave.¡±

    Wusheng was ted. ¡°Thank you Elder Tan.¡± He then turned around and told Liu Ji , ¡°Go and take a look around Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°Master Wusheng, I¡¯ll show her around,¡± Xia Luo offered.

    Wusheng nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± He then sat next to the Realm Tutor and immediately started quietly discussing with him.

    Xia Luo politely gestured at Liu Ji . ¡°Please.¡±

    Liu Ji nodded, but she felt slightly ufortable. She had been born into the Lockbreaker Society, but even then, she had to spend a great deal of time studying and preparing herself before she had qualified to join the society. However, this person had joined without even taking an assessment. If not for the fact that she didn¡¯t dare to refute Master Wusheng, then she would have definitely objected. Nevertheless, although there was nothing she could officially do now since Master Wusheng had already agreed, she had still resolved herself to not be nice to Xia Luo. Despite her attitude, Xia Luo was very gentle and hadn¡¯t minded the fact that Liu Ji didn¡¯t bother introducing herself.

    He brought her to the Rain Observatory.

    The rain in the Rain Observatory never ceased pouring, and the entire area was covered with a dull green sky filled with green branches. Most people couldn¡¯t tell that these branches all came from the same gigantic tree unless someone told them.

    Liu Ji wasn¡¯t very interested in the Rain Observatory since Lockbreakers already had a very high level of control over their star energy. Their standard of control over star energy was different from the standards that Lu Yin and the others followed. They had a unique understanding and knowledge of star energy that only Lockbreakers possessed; if not for this heightened sensibility, then any cultivator who had a slightly above average control over their star energy could be a Lockbreaker.

    Liu Ji wanted to increase her battle experience and lockbreaking skills, which were things that couldn¡¯t be obtained from looking at rain. So, she prepared to leave as soon as she entered.

    At this moment, a ck dot rapidly flew over, his dark ck hair absorbing all of the light around him. He leapt past Liu Ji and stepped into the teleportation device. It was Darkvoid.

    Liu Ji became furious at Darkvoid¡¯s actions. ¡°Stop, what¡¯s wrong with you? Didn¡¯t you see that I was about to leave? You¡¯re so rude!¡±

    Darkvoid nced at Liu Ji, but he merely ignored her and continued to leave.

    Liu Ji snorted. She then lifted her hand and disturbed the surrounding star energy with her palm in an attempt to suppress Darkvoid. She was a Lockbreaker and had a high battle power even if she didn¡¯t use battle techniques. None of that mattered; Lockbreakers represented power.

    Darkvoid lifted his hand up as well, and his fingers twitched slightly, causing the space in front of Liu Ji to erupt. Her face paled and she immediately retreated. The air distorted and a wave of energy washed over her, pushing the rain apart and causing the star energy that had been dispersed by Liu Ji to recover. By the time Liu Ji recovered from her shock, Darkvoid was already gone.

    Liu Ji was stunned. ¡°Did he just shatter space?! How is that possible? He¡¯s just a Melder! How is he so strong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s his innate gift,¡± Xia Luo said with a smile.

    Liu Ji was astonished. ¡°Innate gift? So he has a space-rted innate gift. Was that guy just now the top student of Astral-10?¡± In her mind, someone with this unique of an ability would naturally be the top student.

    Xia Luo shrugged as he replied, ¡°No.¡±

    Liu Ji was surprised. ¡°He¡¯s not the top student?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled but didn¡¯t bother exining any further. The outside world looked down upon Astral-10, but they didn¡¯t know that this academy was actually very powerful. The battle power that the new students had shown during the New Student Competition was already enough to astonish the other academies. And now, after they had received personal guidance from the mentors, no one really knew how far their fellow students had progressed.

    Liu Ji was astounded and looked at Xia Luo. ¡°Take me to meet your top student. Rumor has it that most of the old students from Astral-10 have left, so there should only be Melders here. I want to see the innate gift of the top student that can defeat a Melder who can shatter space.¡±

    Xia Luo helplessly answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know where he currently is. Do you mind if we search for him?¡±

    Liu Ji nodded. ¡°I have lots of time. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled and brought her to the Sand Ocean next.

    Liu Ji saw something surprising as soon as she reached the Sand Ocean; there was a girl who was practicing, her every punch shaking the desert. The vibrations surprised Liu Ji as she could feel the terrifying strength of the girl through the reverberations of the earth underneath them. How powerful was that punch just now?

    ¡°Who is she?¡± Liu Ji was shocked.

    Xia Luo replied, ¡°A new student. She¡¯s quite nice.¡±

    ¡°Not the top student?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Next ce.¡±

    They went to the Stargazing Deck next, where Zora and Coco were. Both of them were struck speechless by the sight of Coco embracing her enormous syringe for no apparent reason. The sight disturbed Liu Ji so much that she instinctively took a few steps back upon seeing the syringe. Most girls were scared of that ominous looking thing.

    Coco¡¯s eyes sparkled when she saw Xia Luo. ¡°Brother Xia, why did youe here? Are you injured? You¡¯ll be fine once you get an injection.¡±

    Xia Luo retreated with a smile. ¡°No, I¡¯m not injured.¡± He quickly brought Liu Ji away as well; he was also quite frightened of that syringe. No one had allowed Coco to give them an injection yet, and Xia Luo was also curious about what the effects would be.

    ¡°The girl just now was quite strong. Would you like to take her offer?¡± Xia Luo tried to tempt Liu Ji.

    Liu Ji immediately shook her head. ¡°No, thanks.¡±

    Xia Luo was slightly regretful at the lost opportunity.

    After a while, the two of them reached the Treasury, where they bumped into Silver, who was wearing his perpetual, superficial smile on his face.

    As soon as she saw Silver, Liu Ji''s gaze changed. If Xia Luo gave her a familiar feeling, then this person gave her the chills. Both men were all smiles, but they gave her two entirely different feelings. When her eyes met Silver¡¯s, Liu Ji felt a piercing pain in her eyes and a great threat in her heart; this person was able to threaten her life.

    ¡°Brother Xia, what a coincidence,¡± Silver said with a smile.

    Xia Luo¡¯s face sank when he saw Silver and he just nodded in greetings.

    Silver then turned to Liu Ji and eximed, ¡°What a beautiful girl! Is she a new junior? I heard that many new students will be joining us to participate in the Astral Combat Tournament.¡±

    Xia Luo replied with a simple, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What a shame. I wanted to spend time with this junior,¡± Silver then shrugged and left after waving at Liu Ji.

    Liu Ji''s expression was grim. What a scary man! She wasn¡¯t thinking about his abilities, but rather about his aura. This was the first time that she had ever felt such terror from just seeing someone.

    ¡°How powerful is he?¡± Liu Ji was curious.

    Xia Luo shook his head. ¡°Not sure.¡±

    ¡°Since your academy has a top student, then there was definitely apetition. How can you not know?¡± Liu Ji thought Xia Luo was lying to her.

    Xia Luo calmly answered, ¡°He admitted defeat in the middle, so nobody knows the depths of his strength.¡±

    Liu Ji narrowed her eyes. Her only thought was that Astral-10 definitely wasn¡¯t simple. Everyone she had met so far were either weird or geniuses, but they were all very strong. If Xia Luo truly had the right to be a Lockbreaker, then there was no way that he would be weak either. Liu Ji was confident that she was one of the stronger Melders in the Astral Combat Academy, but the few people that she had met today were allparable to her. Astral-10 had truly hidden itself well.

    Suddenly, a thought urred to Liu Ji and she gave Xia Luo an odd look. ¡°Are you the top student?¡±

    Xia Luoughed before replying, ¡°Of course not. By the way, I still don¡¯t know your name yet.¡±

    ¡°Liu Ji .¡±

    ¡°Liu Ji? What a nice name,¡± Xia Luoplimented.

    Liu Ji frowned. ¡°Are there only these few ces in Astral-10?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Most of the locations in Astral-10 were destroyed and there are only these few ces left,¡± Xia Luo answered with a helpless shrug.

    Liu Ji had heard about that as well. ording to the rumors, the Headmaster of Astral-10 had gone crazy and destroyed the entirety of Astral-10, including its collection of battle techniques, skills, and weapons, all of which had been gathered over countless years. This had caused Astral-10 to deteriorate rapidly until it reached its current state of near copse.

    After Xia Luo was done taking Liu Ji around, Lu Yin had already left the Time Stop Space. After spending a full month in there, he had finally finished cultivating the eighth star of his Cosmic Art. As expected, the power of his Cosmic Palm now surpassed his Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm. Despite this improvement, it also signified that Lu Yin had reached the end of his path with this Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin sighed as he realized that this art that had apanied him and helped him through several challenges had reached the end of its road. The Cosmic Art manual that he had initially obtained had only ever talked about cultivating up to eight stars, and although Lu Yin had tried to theorize the next star, he had been unsessful in his attempt. This was an ancient art and not something that he could extrapte on his own.

 Chapter 147: The Ninth Star

    <h4>Chapter 147: The Ninth Star</h4>

    I wonder if one of the academy mentors can extrapte the next level of this Cosmic Art, Lu Yin thought to himself. But in the end, he decided that it wasn¡¯t possible. This Cosmic Art was far more powerful than he had initially imagined. A mere eight stars was already this powerful. It was beyond any battle technique that he had seen, and it was also an ancient battle technique that not just anyone in the present could deduce.

    He told himself to forget about it, but he just couldn¡¯t quash his yearning desire to learn the next level of the skill! Even as Lu Yin became resigned to his fate, he stretched out his hand, causing eight stars to revolve around his palm. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

    ¡°One is missing.¡± All of a sudden, a wavering voice spoke into Lu Yin¡¯s ear, startling him so badly that he leaped up. He reflexively used his sh technique to run away, but the voice continued to pursue him relentlessly. ¡°The fact that one is missing is such a shame. It makes everything imperfect.¡±

    Lu Yin stopped moving and slowly turned around, his face as white as a sheet. He had a feeling that his biggest secret had just been exposed¡ªafter all, he had juste out of the Time Stop Space a moment ago! Also, could the owner of this voice actually see when Lu Yin had activated his Cosmic Art? This was something beyond most people.

    What greeted him was an old, wrinkly face that Lu Yin recognized. It had left a deep impression on him, as this was the crazy director¡¯s face, the same one who had nearly killed him!

    At this time, the crazy director¡¯s eyes were murky, and he only seemed to be able to focus on Lu Yin¡¯s palm. More precisely, he was focused on the eight stars rotating around it.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat and said, ¡°I am Student Lu Yin. I have met you before, Director.¡±

    The crazy director did not care about Lu Yin¡¯s introduction and continued to stare at his Cosmic Palm intensely. His eyes slowly lit up and he let out a maniacal cackle. ¡°Haha, I remember now! One star is indeed missing. Eight stars are imperfect, but the addition of one more star to take it to nine would make itplete. Yes, that is it! Haha.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was shaken, and he had to forcibly stop himself from letting the stars dissipate. He had a suspicion that he might have just received an unbelievably good stroke of luck from this crazy director. ¡°Cra- I mean, Director, have you seen this technique before?¡±

    The crazy director continued tough rabidly and mutter to himself under his breath, as though he had remembered something. Lu Yin waved his Cosmic Palm in front of the crazy director, and with feigned sigh, he said, ¡°How can I make the ninth star appear? I don¡¯t know.¡±

    The crazy director¡¯s mouth fell wide open, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That is correct.¡±

    ¡°Well, I do! Haha! I know how to do it!¡± The crazy director let out an earth shattering howl ofughter.

    Lu Yin eagerly anticipated this unexpected boon. ¡°You know how to do it? I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    The crazy director stared hard at Lu Yin. ¡°I said that I know how to do it. I really do.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°You must believe me.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t believe you until I see the ninth star.¡±

    The crazy director let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his frazzled hair before saying, ¡°You will be the death of me! Alright then, let me show you the ninth star. I have to make you believe me.¡±

    After saying that, he grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hands and pressed his own palm against Lu Yin¡¯s. An indescribably peculiar ripple spread out when the two palms met, filling Astral-10 before shooting into the sky. This abnormally powerful ripple went unnoticed by everyone else, including Old Cai, the Trialmaster, and the other mentors. At this moment, only Lu Yin could feel the rippling sensation.

    He was now firsthand experiencing a transformation that was even more mysterious than his rudimentary Cosmic Art. Although he did not know if this was truly the next stage of the Cosmic Art, he was certain that it was more powerful than the eight stars version because he could see the faint image of the ninth shining from within his body.

    But the way this ninth star was forming waspletely different from the previous stars. If the stars had previously been forcibly coalesced, then the ninth star was like the final piece of a puzzle falling neatly into ce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind slowed down as he stared at the stars surrounding him. They weren¡¯t real, but their appearance was impossibly authentic, making him feel as if he had been thrust into an unimaginably terrifying realm consisting of nine stars. This ninth star had changed the intrinsic nature of the technique, whereas before this point, each additional star had slightly increased the power of the technique. Now, not even Lu Yin had any idea of how powerful it was. The explosion of a single star could distort the void, so what would happen if an entire star field exploded?

    Suddenly, the stars surrounding his body disappeared, and Lu Yin closed his eyes. The insane director turned his head up to gaze at the skies above them as he cried out, ¡°You! Yes, you! Don¡¯t run! You started the war, and now you have to bear the consequences! Do not flee.¡± With that outburst, the crazy director took to the skies and quickly vanished.

    Lu Yin was disappointed that the crazy director hadn¡¯tpletely simted the ninth star of the technique. Lu Yin could feel how much more powerful his physical body had be, although he still didn¡¯t truly know his body¡¯s limits. Still, the Cosmic Palm that he had just witnessed left him shaking in the wake of its power. Just from that brief moment of contemtion, Lu Yin had gained incredible insights into the movements of astral bodies, and his face grew heated as he considered all the new possibilities that had opened up to him. If the Cosmic Palm was remodeled around a star system, then could more stars be added to it, like how the original eight had functioned?

    This was a radical idea, but it didn¡¯t seem to bepletely impossible. Lu Yin¡¯s breath turned ragged, and he urgently wanted to relive the sensation that he had felt with the director¡¯s simtion earlier. That brief expression had triggered a fundamental change in his abilities.

    Lu Yin decided to act on his impulses, and he sat down crossed-legged to start meditating. He soon cleared his mind and focused his concentration.

    After an hour passed, he opened his eyes. He could still recall the sensation of the ninth star, but he couldn¡¯t cause it to appear; it was definitely harder to cultivate than the eighth star. And since it had taken Lu Yin nearly two months to cultivate the eighth star, the creation of the ninth would undoubtedly take even more time. This was not something that could be rushed, so he decided that he would focus on this the next time he rolled Time Stop. He could stay inside that frozen space for three months, and Lu Yin was confident that he would be able to manifest the ninth star after cultivating the skill for that long.

    Lu Yin stood up and stretched, feeling the numbness leave his body. What should he do next? He couldn¡¯t just keep cultivating, and the Nine Trial Zones wasn¡¯t a good choice right now as, without any backing, returning would just be asking for trouble. He only had one real option left: make money. Since he had some free time, he should go and earn some money, especially since his innate gift required so much star energy.

    Soon after, Lu Yin arrived at the Treasury. By then, Xia Luo had already left with Liu Ji.

    When Old Cai saw Lu Yin, his eyes lit up and the curiosity in his voice was palpable as he asked, ¡°Hey kid, you¡¯re really quite rich. Your star energy has increased a lot in just a few days, huh? You must have already used up thousands of star crystals to do that.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I was just lucky to get arge sum recently, nothing more.¡±

    Old Cai grunted in annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted any from you. There¡¯s no need to be scared.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, embarrassed. He just felt that he couldn¡¯t trust the moustached man in front of him. The ¡°Cai¡± in Old Cai¡¯s name already showed how greedy the old man was for riches, so it was best to not appear too wealthy in front of him.

    ¡°Old Cai, I am looking to take on some missions. The most ideal ones would be situated near the Zenyu Star of the Great Yu Empire,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Old Cai grunted in acknowledgment. ¡°With your current ability, you¡¯re really stuck in the middle. There¡¯s indeed not much you can do besides take on missions.¡± As he spoke, he opened up his mission file, picked out a few of them, and then handed them over. ¡°Choose one. It¡¯d be best if you picked a harder one than an easier one. You don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much time? What time are you referring to?¡± Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Old Cai was taken aback by his question. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard about the Astral Combat Tournament?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The Astral Combat Tournament? When is that?¡±

    Old Cai was bbergasted for a while before he finally remembered that Lu Yin had been in the Nine Trial Zones when this news was released. No wonder he didn¡¯t know about it. ¡°Kid, do you know about how this universe is divided up?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°Are you referring to the four Domains?¡±

    Old Cai couldn¡¯t stop himself from bursting out inughter. ¡°No, to be exact, there are only three Domains. The Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy. The Astral Wilderness can¡¯t truly be counted as a Domain as no one knows how big it is. For many years, the battle between the Domains has been escting, and a while ago, the Human Domain was defeated¡­¡±

    A whileter, Lu Yin was finally informed of the recent events; it was rather shocking information. The Astral Combat Tournament had been announced after the defeat of the Human Domain not just to boost morale, but also to recruit more troops. Of course, there was also another reason, which was to draw out all of the hidden monstrous talents from the various powerhouse organizations. Whatever the reasons were, this Astral Combat Tournament would be of an unprecedented scale.

    ¡°What is it¡¯s actual start date?¡± Lu Yin asked hurriedly.

    Old Cai shook his head. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been decided yet. They¡¯ll only be able to decide and announce it after all the civilizations get theirworks back online and connected.¡±

    Lu Yin pondered his words. Connecting all of theworks? After mulling it over some more, he realized that this was yet another goal of the event organizers. Thiswork would span the entire universe, making their information ry system even more interconnected. Their current technology could definitely aplish this, but it had not been implemented yet. Someone somewhere must have had some misgivings about joining a universalwork, but the powers at be were now using the Human Domain¡¯s recent defeat to hurry things along. Despite the pending implementation of thework, there were bound to be various limitations to thework until after the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Old Cai looked through the list of avable missions, assuming that Lu Yin was still preupied with the news about the Astral Combat Tournament. He waspletely unaware that Lu Yin¡¯s mind had already drifted to a faraway ce. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t too concerned by Old Cai¡¯s assumptions. This was just how his thoughts naturally flowed.

    ¡°There are no missions near the Zenyu Star of the Great Yu Empire,¡± Old Cai casually remarked after looking through the list.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgment before looking through the list himself. Since there wasn¡¯t a mission in his preferred location, then he would just pick one at random.

    At this time, a new mission popped up: ¡°Protect the Irven Merchants by providing them with safe passage through the war-zones all the way to the first region of the Great Yu Empire in the Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped on it for further information. The first region of the Great Yu Empire was where the Zenyu Star was located. This mission couldn¡¯t have appeared at a better time. ¡°Old Cai, are these Irven Merchants also a sponsor of our Astral-10?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. These are missions that are passed on to us by the Mercenary Association. The Association is one of the sponsors of our Astral Combat Academy, so they often send us missions at certain times,¡± Old Cai replied.

    Lu Yin understood and realized that this was why there were so many weird missions. ¡°I¡¯ll be off then, Old Cai. Do you have anything else to tell me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Old Cai waved him off. ¡°Try to refill your star energy as quickly as you can. That is your sole mission.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and left.

    At the same time, at a space station in Astral-10, Master Wusheng walked out from the teleportation device. Xia Luo followed behind and respectfully said, ¡°Take care, Master.¡±

    Master Wusheng nodded and looked towards Liu Ji. When he saw that she seemed a little preupied, he asked, ¡°Liu Ji, what is the matter?¡±

    Liu Ji shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Master Wusheng didn¡¯t press her further. He looked back to Xia Luo. He trusted Elder Tan¡¯s rmendation, and Elder Tan definitely had a good understanding of this student¡¯s abilities if he had rmended that he join the Lockbreaker research group. After Wusheng finished thinking about all this, he took out an orb covered in a thin metal film from his cosmic ring. When the film was removed, Xia Luo saw that the orb was transparent. Dazzling star energy was radiant outwards from it, causing fluctuations in the very air.

    ¡°This is a starburst orb, and the Lockbreaker Society uses these to test its potential candidates. See how long you need to neutralize the star energy inside,¡± Master Wusheng exined as he passed the orb to Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo asked out of curiosity, ¡°How long do most people take to neutralize the energy on their first try?¡±

    Master Wusheng casually replied, ¡°Ten seconds for most. Those who solve it within five are considered good, and those who solve it within three are the elite.¡±

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes twinkled. Elite? He then looked towards Liu Ji.

    ¡°Liu Ji is one of the few who can neutralize it in three seconds,¡± Master Wusheng said when he noticed Xia Luo¡¯s gaze.

 Chapter 148: Playing With Balls

    <h4>Chapter 148: ying With Balls</h4>

    Xia Luo nodded. He held the starburst orb and replied with a serious expression, ¡°I¡¯m going to start now.¡± One, two, three seconds passed before the surging star energy within the orb started to dissipate, onlypletely calming down after five seconds.

    Liu Ji was surprised; he had actually seeded in five seconds.

    Master Wusheng wasn¡¯t too surprised since Xia Luo had been rmended by Elder Tan. He smiled and said, ¡°Not bad at all. This is a good result, especially when considering that this is your first time interacting with a starburst orb. Your potential is simr to Liu Ji¡¯s. Elder Tan¡¯s rmendation is perfectly justified. You may keep this starburst orb for yourself.¡±

    Xia Luo ced the thin metal covering back over the orb and stored it away. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you can return now,¡± Master Wusheng said.

    Xia Luo understood that Master Wusheng probably wanted to talk to Liu Ji alone, so he nodded and left through the teleportation device.

    After Xia Luo left, Master Wusheng looked at Liu Ji and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look strange.¡±

    Liu Ji solemnly replied, ¡°This academy isn¡¯t as simple as we had first assumed. I saw quite a few geniuses here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal. After all, the Outerverse is bound to give rise to some geniuses. Didn¡¯t Wendy Yushan from the Great Yu Empire in the Frostwave Weave break into the top twenty of the Astral Battle Leaderboards? I was astonished by her results as well. The Outerverse is enormous, and you don¡¯t have to worry about the fact that there are a few geniuses here,¡± Master Wusheng exined.

    Liu Ji agreed, but she still wanted to meet the top student. Just how powerful did the top student have to be for him to be able to defeat all of the students that she had seen so far? Liuyi was extremely curious.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t neutralized a starburst orb in a long time, correct?¡± Master Wusheng suddenly said while looking at Liu Ji.

    Liu Ji was caught off guard by his question, but she nodded slowly.

    Master Wusheng took out another starburst orb and passed it to Liu Ji. ¡°Try and see if you can wipe out the star energy instantly.¡±

    Liu Ji muttered to herself, ¡°How is that even possible? Only geniuses can do that.¡± But despite her misgivings, she did her best to instantly wipe out the surging star energy. At that moment, someone appeared in the teleportation device. Wusheng and Liu Ji turned around to see Lu Yin appear.

    When Lu Yin entered the space station, he hadn¡¯t expected other people to be there, let alone two strangers. Was that a girl ying with a ball?

    He was even more shocked to see a girl seemingly ying with a ball in Astral-10¡¯s space station, but the ball did look rather intriguing with star energy surging from within it.

    The starburst orb exploded with a bang as Liu Ji was distracted by Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance, causing her to identally fail.

    ¡°Be as calm as water. Is this the extent of your current abilities?¡± Master Wusheng said sternly as he stared at Liu Ji.

    Liu Ji hung her head as she angrily red at Lu Yin. This annoying person had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, distracted her, and caused her to fail and be scolded by Master Wusheng.

    ¡°Again!¡± Master Wusheng roared,pletely ignoring Lu Yin, who was now right beside him. Master Wusheng took out another starburst orb and gave it to Liu Ji while still ring at her.

    Liu Ji took a deep breath and removed the thin metalyer yet again. Star energy surged from her palm, neutralizing the violent star energy within the ball in just three seconds.

    Master Wusheng sighed. ¡°It¡¯s still three seconds. It seems that you won¡¯t be able to ovee this threshold anytime soon.¡±

    Liu Ji hung her head in disappointment. Three seconds was a significant threshold that she wanted to ovee someday. She wasn¡¯t hoping to clear the energy instantly, but even a minor improvement of one or two seconds would show that her ability had improved. This was very important to Lockbreakers, as their control of star energy was of the utmost importance to them.

    ¡°Can I try ying with that ball?¡± Lu Yin asked. He was very interested in the orb, and if his guesses were right, then this should probably be some kind of assessment that tested one¡¯s control over their star energy. Moreover, he saw that there was a spacecraft that did not belong to Astral-10, and the symbol of the Lockbreaker Society was even emzoned on the spacecraft.

    Liu Ji snorted disdainfully. ¡°Go away.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked before saying, ¡°You mentioned neutralizing it within three seconds just now. I can do that too.¡±

    Both Master Wusheng and Liu Ji were stunned when they heard Lu Yin¡¯s im. The starburst orb looked simple, but the surging star energy contained within it was veryplicated, and it would erupt violently if one tried to wipe it out forcefully. It could only be neutralized by someone whose control over star energy had reached a certain level. There were a very small number of people who could do this within a minute, let alone three seconds. Otherwise, this orb wouldn¡¯t have be the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s standard assessment method.

    Master Wusheng frowned. The quality of Astral-10 has truly dropped. This student can¡¯t even tell how difficult the starburst orb is to neutralize.

    ¡°Go away. Where did youe from?¡± Liu Ji was annoyed. She had just been scolded by hger master and was still disgruntled that Lu Yin had interrupted her.

    Lu Yin felt helpless as he insisted, ¡°Just let me have a try. You won¡¯t lose anything if I fail.¡±

    Liu Ji was furious and red at Lu Yin, but she was just about to tell him off again, Wusheng waved his hands. ¡°Give it to him.¡±

    ¡°Master, this guy-¡± Liu Ji was reluctant, but Wusheng impatiently said, ¡°Just give it to him,¡± before boarding the spacecraft to leave.

    Liu Ji snorted and threw the starburst orb at Lu Yin before following behind Wusheng.

    Lu Yin caught the starburst orb, and the star energy within the ball immediately started surging again. When he felt the energy in the ball, he estimated that, with his current level of control over star energy, he would need at least ten seconds to neutralize the surging energy. Only geniuses like Xia Luo would be able to finish it in three seconds. However, Lu Yin could also try using his Cosmic Art to control the starburst orb, as it increased his perception abilities towards all kinds of changes.

    Lu Yin immediately activated his Cosmic Art, causing eight stars to start circling around him and revealing the surging star energy as clearly as a child¡¯s puzzle. Lu Yin smiled, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    Wusheng, who was about to step onto the spacecraft, whirled around to look at the starburst orb in Lu Yin¡¯s hands. Four seconds! This child actuallypleted it in four seconds!

    Liu Ji was stunned as well. Four seconds, that¡¯s impossible! Where did this geniuse from? Even Xia Luo took five seconds topletely neutralize it.

    In an instant, Master Wusheng appeared in front of Lu Yin, looking at him with an expression of shock. ¡°Do it again.¡±

    Lu Yin beamed, as the Lockbreaker Society was the exact backing that he needed. There were too many enemies in the Nine Trial Zones as Astral-10 was too famous. There was just no way for him to survive there without some kind of support. A special organization like the Lockbreaker Society was exactly what he needed. as there were definitely people from the Lockbreaker Society within the Astral Combat Academy.

    The energy in the starburst orb began raging once more while Master Wusheng and Liu Ji stood in front of Lu Yin, watching him. He once again used his Cosmic Art to observe the changes within the surging star energy in the starburst orb before neutralizing the energy. This time, he finished even faster than before: three seconds! He had managed toplete it in just three seconds.

    Liu Ji¡¯s mouth fell open as her shock peaked. This, this guypleted it in three seconds! Where did this freake from? She had been born into the Lockbreaker Society and her parents and grandfather were all Lockbreakers. Even so, it had taken her more than ten years of training before she was able to neutralize the starburst orb in three seconds. Just where had this guye from?

    Master Wusheng was also astonished. This was a genuine genius standing before him! He had now met two geniuses today, but this one was even more talented than the first. He had already known about Xia Luo, so he hadn¡¯t been too surprised, but this student in front of him was a true lucky encounter. Master Wusheng warmly asked Lu Yin, ¡°Young fellow, what is your name? Are you a student of Astral-10?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. ¡°I am Lu Yin from Astral-10. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    Master Wusheng was shocked. ¡°Lu? Your surname is Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Yes, my surname is Lu, and I¡¯m from Earth of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°The Great Yu Empire? Then you have a legal status. That¡¯s good. I¡¯m Wusheng. You can call me Master Wusheng,¡± Wusheng said in relief. There was a strict rule in the Lockbreaker Society that stated that the society wouldn¡¯t ept people with primeval surnames if they didn¡¯t have a legal status. Lu was one such primeval surnames, and Xia was actually another one. However, he wasn¡¯t too worried about Xia Luo¡¯s status as he had Elder Tan¡¯s guarantee. Fortunately, Lu Yin also held a legal status. Otherwise, Wusheng wouldn¡¯t be able to ept him regardless of how talented he was.

    ¡°Greetings, Master Wusheng,¡± Lu Yin said in a respectful and humble tone.

    Master Wusheng nodded in satisfaction as he started to grow fond of Lu Yin. Finding a genius like him so unexpectedly could turn out to be one of his greatest achievements. If in the future, Lu Yin produced great aplishments, then it would be proof that Wusheng had a great eye for spotting talent. He had travelled all over the universe, hoping to find geniuses like the student before them, but they were just too rare. He had never expected to find one today.

    ¡°Lu Yin, have you heard of the Lockbreaker Society?¡¯ Master Wusheng asked.

    Liu Ji was still in a daze; this guy had easilypleted a task that she had spent ten years training to do so. Xia Luo was already at the five second threshold, and he would definitely improve to three seconds after just a few more years of training. But Lu Yin had them all beat. He had aplished it on his first day; this guy was really revolting.

    ¡°The Lockbreaker Society? Of course, Lockbreakers are a greatly respected group of people,¡± Lu Yin gushed excitedly.

    Master Wusheng was even happier now. Although he rarely smiled, he truly felt very happy at this moment. He looked at the sincere gaze of the young man standing in front of him and said in a contented tone, ¡°Are you willing to join the Lockbreaker Society?¡¯

    Lu Yin blinked and pointed at himself in feigned disbelief. ¡°Me? Can I, Master?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The Lockbreaker Society has a fixed assessment for talented cultivators. However, since you are already able to neutralize the starburst orb in three seconds, you are eligible to skip the assessment stage, so long as there¡¯s no problem with your status. By the way, your control over star energy has reached the infinite change stage, correct?¡± Master Wusheng said.

    Lu Yin nodded as he responded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Master Wusheng nodded in satisfaction. He asked Lu Yin to wait for a moment while he verified Lu Yin¡¯s information. As long as there were no problems with what was recorded, Lu Yin would be able to immediately join the Lockbreaker Society.

    While Master Wusheng was looking up Lu Yin¡¯s information, Liu Ji stared at Lu Yin as if he were a monster, causing Lu Yin to feel ufortable. ¡°Astral-10 isn¡¯t bad at all. You guys have concealed yourselves well.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Concealed ourselves? How so?¡±

    Liu Ji sneered. She hade to the conclusion that Astral-10 was just pretending to be weak. Everyone had long since assumed that all of Astral-10¡¯s students were useless, but no one knew that there were multiple geniuses dwelling here, not to mention the two Lockbreakers. Lockbreaking was a rare talent even in the scope of the entire Astral Combat Academy. It was already considered quite good for an academy to have two lockbreakers among their entire student body, but two had suddenly appeared in Astral-10 out of nowhere, and they were both extremely talented as well. This was bordering on absurd.

    Normally, one would be eligible to take the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s assessment if they could neutralize a starburst orb within a minute. If they were able to do so under ten seconds, then they would automatically pass the assessment. Only geniuses were able toplete the starburst orb within five seconds on their first try, but two students from Astral-10 had aplished the strictest criterion: Xia Luo and this guy. Liu Ji was still wondering if there were any other geniuses among Astral-10 students when she suddenly remembered Silver as well as that mysterious top student. Oh right, I forgot to ask what the name of the top student was.

    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s the top student in Astral-10?¡± Liu Ji suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin pointed at himself. ¡°Me.¡±

    Liu Ji ignored his answer. This person didn¡¯t intimidate here and even felt weaker than that silver haired guy. In her mind, it was impossible for Lu Yin to be the top student. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to tell me, but don¡¯t lie.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. Why is this girl so sure that I¡¯m not the top student?

 Chapter 149: Undying Manual

    <h4>Chapter 149: Undying Manual</h4>

    ¡°Just remember this. No matter how hard you people from Astral-10 work, it¡¯s impossible for you to ever match up against the otherbat academies from the Innerverse. At best, you might be as powerful as Astral-9. The Astral Combat Tournament isn¡¯t about showy battle techniques or concealing your abilities, but rather demonstrating your true power,¡± Liu Ju said. She already considered herself as a part of Astral-6.

    Her words only made Lu Yin extremely confused; she seemed a little crazy to him.

    Soon enough, Master Wusheng smiled, walked over to Lu Yin, and extended an emblem to him with a serious expression. ¡°I would like to officially ask you if you are willing to join the Lockbreaker Society and be a Junior Lockbreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and, with a fervent look in his eyes, replied, ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯m willing to dedicate the rest of my life to the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    Ju was rendered speechless by his act. This guy was saying the exact same things as Xia Luo. Had they rehearsed it?!

    Master Wusheng froze for a brief moment but then chuckled as he handed the emblem over to Lu Yin. He patted Lu Yin on the shoulder and eximed, ¡°Great. From now on, you¡¯re officially a registered member of our Lockbreaker Society. However, you currently have zero merit points, which you can only obtain by sessfully breaking locks. When others wish to ask Lockbreakers for help, they mostly choose based on how many merit points the Lockbreaker has earned, so please work hard.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Lu Yin was very excited with his membership. He mainly wanted the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s backing, so he didn¡¯t really care about these merit points.

    Master Wusheng sighed before saying, ¡°Xia Luo has Elder Tan to teach him, so there won¡¯t be any problems there. You just joined the society, however, so you really don¡¯t know anything, and it¡¯s not like you can suddenly start breaking locks. How about this; I¡¯ll give you a few books. Also, you must promise me that once you start officially breaking locks, you¡¯ll contact me first.¡±

    So Xia Luo also joined the society? It seems that this person came here just to recruit Xia Luo. and Elder Tan must be the Trialmaster! All of these mentors seem to be hiding something. Meanwhile, Lu Yin nodded earnestly and took the books. They were all from the society and were invaluable.

    Liu Ju red at Lu Yin. ¡°Make sure that you take care of them and don¡¯t lose them. Those books are worth more than your life.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, Liu Ju. No matter how valuable these books are, they can only pass their knowledge down to others while people are the ones to create the knowledge that is held within the books. The two can¡¯t bepared,¡± Master Wusheng said sternly.

    After being scolded again, Liu Ju pursed her lips and chose to remain silent.

    Master Wusheng spent a bit more time talking with Lu Yin before finally leaving with Liu Ju. Lu Yin watched the spacecraft soare through the sky while he sighed ruefully at how fickle fate was. What an amazing coincidence it was for him to run into such a great opportunity right before he left the academy. And this was the Lockbreaker Society, not just any run-of-the-mill organisation! With his new identity, he¡¯d be free to do as he liked in any part of the universe. How liberating!

    However, even if he used his newly acquired identity of a Lockbreaker, it would still be difficult to find a backer for the trial zones. No one would acknowledge him, not even if he showed them his emblem. Only power was relevant there. Lu Yin had a feeling that he needed to first sessfully break a lock before he would be able to use his Lockbreaker status to find protection in the trial zones.

    After boarding his own Aurora spacecraft, Lu Yin prepared to fly over to the Irven Merchants¡¯ meeting point, which was a one day journey from Astral-10. Given the speed of his universal spacecraft, the meeting location was pretty far, but it was still within the Frostwave Weave¡¯s territory.

    Before Lu Yin started the spacecraft up, he checked to see if it needed a power source, but he couldn¡¯t find anything. With how advanced modern technology was, this spacecraft worked in a way that he could not understand. Whatever it was, it did not need any additional power source.

    This was good news for Lu Yin, as otherwise, this would just be another thing that requiredrge amounts of money. While the Aurora spacecraft was already a money-devouring monster, it was good to save wherever he could.

    He selected his route, set the spacecraft to autopilot, and then took out the books that Master Wusheng had given him. He then began to carefully peruse them.

    Back within Astral-10, Xia Luo was leisurely walking around while he yed with the starburst orb in his hand. Within the blink of an eye, he removed the thick metalyer covering it. Star energy trembled within it, and a momentter, all of the rampaging star energy was calmed down.

    If Master Wusheng had seen this, then he would have definitely been shocked speechless. People with outstanding ability like Liu Ju were already able to neutralize the energy within three seconds, and there were few people among the young generation of the Lockbreaker Society who could do this. Those who could neutralize the energy in less than three seconds were much rarer, and it was nearly impossible to find someone who could do so instantly. Liu Ju had done everything she could in order to shorten her time by even one second, but for Xia Luo, it seemed to be as easy as breathing!

    ¡°The test for the Junior Lockbreakers, huh? How childish,¡± Xia Luo mused as he nonchntly crushed the orb in his hands. Then, he looked up, his eyes shining with a profound light that nobody could understand.

    A dayter, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft started beeping. He opened his eyes and found that there were quite a few spacecraft surrounding him. He hadnded at the space station of a blue, with the surrounding spacecraftnding one after another.

    Lu Yin had fallen asleep due to sheer exhaustion after studying the books for over ten hours. And surprisingly, by the time he woke up, he had already arrived at his destination.

    His time spent studying was not in vain, as his understanding of what a Lockbreaker actually was had expanded greatly. These books had also helped him understand why the universe prized Lockbreakers so much. If the universe was said to contain countless treasures, then Lockbreakers were the guards who held the keys to those treasures. In one of the books, it had listed out a few examples of why Lockbreakers were so important.

    The example that had been deeply imprinted into Lu Yin¡¯s memory was the Daynight n¡¯s ancient inheritance stone. It turned out that the stone had been unlocked by a powerful Lockbreaker from that n, and that unlocked inheritance stone was the start of the Daynight n¡¯s history of possessing unparalleled battle techniques.

    Another memorable example was the Ross Empire, which was one of the three great powers that had attacked during Astral-10¡¯s exam. The ancient technology that they had inherited had been unlocked by a Lockbreaker.

    There was also Shamrock Enterprises, which had inherited treasures that Lockbreakers had unlocked.

    There were so, so many examples that exemplified the importance of Lockbreakers. However, while Lockbreakers were able to unlock ancient items that had been sealed away, the society¡¯s actual battle power wasn¡¯t very impressive, mostly because their numbers were so few. Currently, there were only about 630,000 registered Lockbreakers in the society. There were countless people within the universe, but there were merely 630,000 Lockbreakers.

    Astral-10¡¯s exam alone had attracted about a million students. 630,000 Lockbreakers was a tiny number whenpared to the poption of the Frostwave Weave¡ªno, even on Earth, this would be true. Their member count was onlyparable to the poption of a tiny province. This number was nothing in the scope of therger universe.

    Lu Yin released a pent up breath. He¡¯d only just now realized what kind of organization he had joined. No wonder Master Wusheng had been sceptical of his ability to clear the starburst orb assessment. Finding somebody who could do so was not one in a million, but more like one in ten million.

    Of course, Lu Yin didn¡¯t trust the reported membercount. In this universe, what organization didn¡¯t have a few secrets? There had to be more than 630,000 Lockbreakers as there was no way their member count would be inted. The number of Lockbreakers was determined by the number of people who couldprehend star energy. Lu Yin could be considered a genius in this, but that was only because of his Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin stored the books away and looked outside. His spacecraft was still lining up tond, and while slow, it would take less than half an hour. Before long, Lu Yin had parked the spacecraft and found the Irven Merchants where they¡¯d agreed to meet.

    The Irven Merchants traded not onlymercial products, but also troops. This journey was because of the war that had broken out in the Frostwave Weave.

    Right after Lu Yin left Astral-10, he had received a notification that war was brewing within the Great Yu Empire; the second prince had been revealed as a traitor and Undying Yushan¡¯s old medical problems had resurfaced. Zhang Dingtian and some others had disappeared as well. While Lu Yin now knew about all this, he was still unable to intervene.

    His title, King Zishan, was merely a title. He was still nothing more than a Melder and didn¡¯t even have the right to interfere. The only thing he could do was pray for Zhang Dingtian and the others. Everyone had their own fate; they might die or obtain a huge opportunity, but nobody knew the future for certain. If it was possible, then they would meet again somewhere in the universe!

    While Lu Yin was reliving the night he had spent drinking with the second prince on the capital star, an obese man who seemed like a businessman walked over. After Lu Yin stated who he was, the man grewpletely disinterested in Lu Yin due to his identity as a student of Astral-10. The man was very calm, namely because Astral-10¡¯s reputation was already ruined.

    Two hourster, Lu Yin withdrew 150,000 star energy crystals from the bank cards and returned to his spacecraft before following the Irven Merchants into space.

    Lu Yin being a student of Astral-10 had not surprised the obese merchant, but Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora spacecraft did. The man became a lot more enthusiastic when talking to Lu Yin, who then burst intoughter. Being a student at Astral-10 can¡¯t evenpare to owning a spacecraft. How hrious. Lu Yin wondered if this fat man might die from shock if he revealed that he was a Lockbreaker as well.

    The Irven Merchants had a total of twelve universal spacecrafts that traveled in a straight line north of the Frostwave Weave. The cargo spacecraft was massive, dwarfing all the others. Only Lu Yin remained in a personal spacecraft, though that drew quite a bit of attention as not many people had an Aurora spacecraft in the Outerverse.

    After sessfully setting course, traveling through space was pretty dull unless they happened to encounter space pirates. Lu Yin was aware of this, so he continued reading his books.

    Before much time passed, his gadget made a sound. Lu Yin was shocked since it was from an unfamiliar ID and in the form of a video call. He did not hesitate at all to tap the screen, causing a familiar face appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Long time no see, Seven.¡± An aged man had appeared on the screen. A strand of white hair hung loosely from his forehead, and he appeared to be around fifty years old. His eyes seemed to prate through everyone he looked at.

    Upon seeing him, Lu Yin grow ecstatic. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect for you to contact me, Uncle Reuben!¡±

    ¡°Are you doing okay out there?¡± The man called Reuben looked solemn and did not smile at all. However, he gazed at Lu Yin with a gentle look in his eyes.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m doing great. How are things at home? Is everyone alright?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Reuben replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us. I¡¯m contacting you to tell you about something important. You probably already know about the war in the Great Yu Empire. You should rush back to the imperial pce and do whatever you can to find the Zishan Family¡¯s treasure before Undying Yushan passes away.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone brightly. As expected, there was a secret within the Great Yu Empire; otherwise, his family wouldn¡¯t have expended so much effort to set him up as the descendant of King Zishan. ¡°What is this treasure?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Reuben went quiet before seriously answering, ¡°The Undying Manual.¡±

    ¡°The Undying Manual?¡± Lu Yin was confused, as he had never heard of it before.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Reuben replied, ¡°It¡¯s an ancient technique that¡¯s been rumored to exist in the Innerverse Fallen Star Waters. It contains the secret to immortality.¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°How is that even possible? Nobody can be immortal. That goes against all thews of the universe!¡±

    ¡°I know that. But even if one can¡¯t be immortal, it¡¯s possible for cultivators to extend their lives. Centuries ago, Undying Yushan and Undying Zishan ventured into the Innerverse and joined the Fallen Star Waters. After that, they rose in power and Undying Yushan even reached the top twenty rankings in the Star Battle List. Many guessed that Undying Zishan and Yushan obtained the Undying Manual together. They even changed their names! He wasn¡¯t called Undying Yushan back then,¡± Reuben exined.

 Chapter 150: Space Battle

    <h4>Chapter 150: Space Battle</h4>

    ¡°If people suspect that Undying Yushan and Undying Zishan found the manual, then why hasn¡¯t anyone attacked them yet? Eliminating Undying Yushan should be as easy as turning over a hand for any major Innerverse organization.¡± Lu Yin was confused by this news.

    ¡°That¡¯s because Undying Yushan isn¡¯t the only one suspected of having the manual. Anyone who¡¯s ever been to the Fallen Sea Waters is also under suspicion, and there¡¯s simply too many of them. Also, it¡¯s not as if no one¡¯s ever tried to attack Undying Yushan before. How else do you think he received his injuries? It¡¯s precisely because he¡¯s so seriously injured that many organizations¡¯ suspicions about him were lifted. Even we don¡¯t really know if he has the Undying Manual; we just want to verify the information. There are still many people in the Innerverse with simr suspicions,¡± Reuben answered.

    Lu Yin nodded as this made sense. He had heard of the Starfall Sea before. It was an ancient ce and a great number of people had visited it in the past. No matter how powerful the organizations in the Innerverse were, it was still impossible for them to check every single person that had ever been there. There were also many people much more powerful than Undying Yushan who were also suspected of possessing the Undying Manual. So since Undying Yushan was just one of many suspects, he was mainly watched closely by many people.

    ¡°That¡¯s everything that you should know. Go to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star and attempt to find the Zishan n¡¯s treasure before Undying Yushan passes away. There are some powerhouses from the Innerverse who seem to be preparing to make a move, so don¡¯t take any needless risks. This isn¡¯t the only reason why we set you up with the identity of King Zishan. With this position, you¡¯ll be able to keep climbing the socialdder, so don¡¯t waste it.¡± After speaking his final thoughts, Reuben cut the connection without waiting for a response.

    Lu Yin still had many questions in his mind and quickly called back, but he was informed that the ID no longer existed, which meant that there was nothing more he could do. The people back home were abundantly cautious, so much so that he didn¡¯t even have any way to contact them from his end.

    It took at least ten days to travel from where Lu Yin had met the Irven Merchants to the northern part of the Frostwave Weave¡¯s first region since it included traveling past the battlefield. With this much free time on his hands, Lu Yin continued flipping through the books that Master Wusheng had given him.

    Quite a few days passed uneventfully. Then, one day, all of the merchant spacecrafts stopped as the space ahead of them had been sealed off. Past the seal, Lu Yin could see an extensive battle taking ce.

    The void of space was filled with light ass exploded with enough energy that spatial distortions rippled out all around them as ck holes consumed everything that neared them.This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing arge-scale space battle. The technological weapons used were as astounding as a powerhouse cultivator; a single beam was enough to destroy an entire. This was beyond the abilities of even most Explorer realm experts.

    The universe was vast and the battle here was merely one of many, but it was still mind-numbingly shocking to Lu Yin. Weapons fired and bombs exploded as powerhouses fought in space, a perfectbination of power and technology. This was modern warfare.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft jostled. A number ofs had just been destroyed in front of him, and the destruction had caused the space to be unstable.

    Not much time passed before Lu Yin noticed arge, burly man floating above a reddish with a knife and a miserable expression. The man looked around bitterly at the dozens of war spacecrafts that were surrounding the and merely sighed.

    The weapons on those spacecrafts were immensely powerful and strong enough to take out Explorers. However, they needed a long windup time before they could fire. Thus, most Explorers could attack before these weapons were ready and easily destroy the spacecraft. Because of this, there were always protectors ced around these slow-firing spacecraft.

    The burly man waspletely lost as to what he should do; he wanted to destroy the spacecraft before him, but the two explorers would definitely stop him. It seemed as if there was nothing he could do besides wait for the spacecrafts¡¯ weapons to obliterate him and his home. It was a great tragedy.

    Any space battle that included Explorers among itsbatants were sure to berge campaigns, and this battle was an enlightening experience for Lu Yin. However, he did not grow excited to see it. Instead, he only felt sorrow as this battle reminded him of his experiences in the Innerverse. The universe followed thew of the jungle, and he was hyper aware of this pervasivew.

    Quite a few spacecraft fired their weapons, and the Explorer who was protecting his home yelled out to the heavens in despair before ultimately disappearing along with the. Everyone who saw this scene went quiet. To many people, Explorers might seem invincible since they had the ability to travel freely throughout the universe. However, despite this man¡¯s strength, he still had no option but to die in this situation. Cultivation had no final destination.

    Not too long after, the spatial seal in front of the merchant fleet was released and they continued heading north.

    When Lu Yin passed by the siege spacecraft, he inadvertently locked eyes with one of the Explorers who was protecting a spacecraft. The Explorer had a cold and merciless look in his eyes and emanated a strong, powerful aura. He was clearly a veteran of the battlefield and not some average powerhouse. Where did hee from? Was he with the second prince? Or the Great Yu Empire?

    The Irven Merchants were very lucky that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s war spanned a veryrge area. The wide-spread battles had caused most of the space pirates to retreat back into hiding, so after just a few days, the merchant fleet reached the first region without any trouble.

    After bidding the obese boss farewell, Lu Yin collected some payment for his escort. It wasn''t much, but it was still better than nothing. After programming his next destination into his spacecraft, he set out towards Zenyu Star.

    Compared to hisst visit to Zenyu Star, the current security was extremely strict. There were threerge armies constantly patrolling the region, and the soldiers checked every spacecraft that approached the.

    Lu Yin saw that numerous spacecraft that didn¡¯t belong to the Outerverse were entering the¡ªamong them must be quite a few looking for the Undying Manual. As expected, with Undying Yushan on the verge of death, the powerhouses of the Innerverse no longer bothered hiding themselves and had all appeared to collect any benefits that they could. They were all nning to scour the Great Yu Empire for treasures as soon as Undying Yushan died. Fortunately, no one here was actually that strong, which indicated that the Innerverse didn¡¯t hold very high expectations for Undying Yushan¡¯s treasures. It made sense. After all, the Undying Manual was rumored to bestow immortality to its practitioner, so it should be an incredible art. Despite that supposed power, Undying Yushan was now in such a pathetic state. Given what the situation was like, Lu Yin was of the opinion that Undying Yushan probably hadn¡¯t obtained the Undying Manual. Rather, the many powerhouses of the Innerverse simply did not want to give up on their centuries of hard work and saw this as their veryst attempt to recoup their losses.

    Looking at the various-colored spacecraft neatly arranged in a long, single-file line, Lu Yin took advantage of his position as King Zishan to find the name of the person in charge of the security checkpoint. After seeing who it was, he chuckled. It was someone he knew¡ªLong Chu. He was the person who had initially schemed against Lu Yin when he first entered the capital star. However, Lu Yin had managed to take care of it, and now, Long Chu was affiliated with Sicar, though Sicar should have left with the second prince, Duke Yushan. Lu Yin was quite surprised to see that Long Chu was still hanging around.

    ¡°Your lowly servant Long Chu greets your highness, King Zishan.¡± The guards around him bowed as well. ¡°Greetings to your highness, King Zishan.¡±

    Lu Yin casually grunted and looked at Long Chu with a twinkle in his eye. ¡°You¡¯re still in the third round of the capital?¡±

    Long Chu had a serious expression on his face. ¡°Yes. Please enter Zenyu Star using this alternative route.¡±

    Lu Yin gave him another nce before following the soldiers to Zenyu Star.

    Long Chu watched as Lu Yin left on his spacecraft with a glint in his eyes.

    The entire mood of the capital star was much different from before; there was a feeling of destion and it was rare to see a smile anywhere. Regardless of the era, whenever an imperial family copsed, there would be great upheaval within the empire. Now that the second prince had betrayed the empire, many predicted that the Great Yu Empire was about to enter a time of cmity. It was clear that war was imminent.

    Lu Yin used his position as King Zishan to enter the pce. After multiple security checks, he arrived before Undying Yushan, only to see the Emperor half-immersed in a liquid bath. Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°Greetings to Your Majesty.¡±

    There were numerous doctors rushing around Undying Yushan as well as multiple powerhouses guarding him in secret, including the captains of the Third and Fifth Imperial Squadrons. Jue Lang and Huo Qingshan stood nearby and attentively watched every single person that entered.

    Undying Yushan slowly opened his eyes, and after seeing Lu Yin, he said in a frail voice, ¡°Come closer, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin took several steps forward and bowed. ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    Undying Yushan took a few deep breaths and moved his head slightly. Perhaps it was because he was overly exhausted, but he soon shifted back to his original position and smiled wryly. ¡°Sorry for looking so terrible, Lu Yin. I¡¯m dying.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and said in a low voice, ¡°You aren¡¯t! You¡¯re a powerful hunter and will live for at least a thousand years!¡±

    Undying Yushan smiled, shook his head, and sighed again. ¡°The Innerverse is merciless. So what if I was in the top twenty on the Star Battle List? Those people are all monsters.

    ¡°Are you doing well in Astral-10, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin earnestly answered, ¡°I¡¯m the leader of Astral-10.¡±

    Everyone in the room was startled. Being a leader was not a position that just anyone could obtain. Even though Astral-10 had been forced out of the Innerverse, it was still an academy that would attract many geniuses. Some Innerverse geniuses should have joined the academy as well, so his bing the leader even with all of these geniuses around might be a first in the Outerverse!

    Undying Yushan burst intoughter, but then quickly coughed vigorously; scaring all the doctors as they rushed over to help him.

    Lu Yin stood there helplessly as there was nothing he could do. He had been nning to say that he had also be a Lockbreaker to raise his status and hopefully make it easier to find the Zishan n treasure, but with how weak Undying Yushan was, there was no way he could say something that stimting. What if the man died from the shock?

    A whileter, Undying Yushan recovered and said bitterly, ¡°Congrattions, Lu Yin. Every branch of the Astral Combat Academy has its hidden geniuses and Astral-10 is no different. Y-You¡¯ve got to treasure this position. The director especially is-is¡­ cough, he was once an peak powerhouse.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°A-Also,¡± As he spoke, Undying Yushan¡¯s look turned even more solemn. ¡°Hurry back to the academy and don¡¯t interfere in the matters of the empire. Remember, don¡¯t interfere and leave as soon as you can.¡± After that came another round of violent coughing.

    Next to Lu Yin, Huo Qingshan spoke up. ¡°You¡¯d best leave, King Zishan. His Majesty needs treatment.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed to Undying Yushan and slowly retreated.

    Lu Yin looked back as he began to walk around the pce. The imminent death of the emperor was even more of a tragedy than he had expected. The first prince, Dorren Yushan, was waging war against his brother, Duke Yushan, while Wendy Yushan was far away in the Innerverse. The Emperor of the Great Yu Emperor didn¡¯t even have any of his children or grandchildren around to bid him farewell. Dorren Yushan was already a few centuries old and had quite a few children and grandchildren of his own; however, not a single one was allowed toe close to Undying Yushan. Right now, for the emperor, the people he wanted to see the most were his children.

    Everyone was focused on Undying Yushan¡¯s condition and nobody cared that Lu Yin was wandering through the pce. His actions were all excusable as long as he did not disturb Undying Yushan.

    The pce was massive and Lu Yin did not manage to find anything even after searching for a long time. He had no idea where to even begin looking for the Zishan n¡¯s treasure. Did Duke Yushan know? Was that why he had suggested to Lu Yin that he find it? Lu Yin didn¡¯t know, but it wouldn¡¯t matter even if he did¡ªhe had had no way to contact the Duke. Lu Yin also wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that no one was watching him. He knew that, from the first moment he stepped foot inside the pce, his gadget had been put under surveince.

    It gradually grew dark and Lu Yin could no longer wander around in the pce as he pleased, so he headed outside.

    There were countless officials waiting to be summoned by Undying Yushan in front of the great entrance. Lu Yin saw two from whom he had sought bribes from in the past. Lu Yin even considered them acquaintances to some extent.

    All of the officials saw Lu Yin leaving the pce and he noted that everyone¡¯s expression changed when they saw him. His two ¡°acquaintances¡± had a particrly glum look on their faces.

 Chapter 151: Shocking Yu Academy

    <h4>Chapter 151: Shocking Yu Academy</h4>

    Lu Yin left after he greeted the officials; it was apparent that none of them had any energy to entertain him at this moment. However, just as he was about to leave, a flying vehicle suddenly changed directions and careened towards Lu Yin with no intentions of avoiding him.

    Lu Yin found this strange, but he easily dodged the ship before turning around to look at who had tried to run him over. A man exited the vehicle and nced at Lu Yin with a provoking, cruel smile on his face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed coldly once he saw the man, as he recognized his face. This man was from the Outerverse Youth Council and was one of the two Limiteers who followed Bazeer. No wonder he¡¯s here looking for trouble.

    ¡°I was just going to say that I had great luck today, but I never expected to run into you! What? Did you get chased out from Astral-10 as well?¡± the man sneered while ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin disdainfully answered, ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me.¡±

    The Limiteer was infuriated by Lu Yin¡¯s contemptuous response; he didn¡¯t expect that Lu Yin would dare to be so rude to a Limiteer as him. ¡°We can start by talking about what you did to Ghostfire. Do you realize that you crippled a genius?¡±

    ¡°Genius? More like an idiot! He was just a pathetic thing that only knew how to avoid attacks with his innate gift. His body was so unbelievably weak that I crippled him with a single attack. Can you really call that a genius?¡± Lu Yin taunted.

    The Limiteer clenched his fists to suppress his boiling anger. ¡°There arepetitions within the Youth Council as well, and Ghostfire was a genius that we groomed. Since you crippled him, I¡¯m going to do the same to you right now and teach you why you can¡¯t offend certain people! You¡¯ll regret this for the rest of your life!¡± The Limiteer then dashed towards Lu Yin and punched out, his surging star energy drawing everyone¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. This person was a Limiteer as well as a member of the Outerverse Youth Council, and he would be considered very powerful by the Outerverse¡¯s standards. However, to Lu Yin, who was used to battling against Limiteers from the Astral Combat Academy, this man was too weak. He was at mostparable to Craynor.

    To be fair, it was already quite impressive that this Limiteer could be considered on par with the second ranked fighter on the ze Realm Rankings. Even though he was just a Limiteer, a Limiteer from the Outerverse was usually onlyparable to a Melder from the Innerverse. No matter how outstanding this person was, he was still miles away from Lu Yin.

    Bang!

    Lu Yin easily blocked the Limiteer¡¯s attack, causing the pce guards to stop in shock. They had been running forwards to defend Lu Yin, but apparently, there was no need for them to interfere.

    Lu Yin squeezed his hand slightly and the gruesome sound of bones snapping filled the air. The Limiteer cried out in pain as Lu Yin squeezed down harder, crushing the man¡¯s fist. He then twisted his hand downwards to force the man to kneel on the ground. The Limiteer looked up angrily. ¡°How dare you?! Release me! I¡¯m from the Youth Council.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°I¡¯m teaching you who you cannot afford to offend.¡± He then used Three Stacks topletely smash the man into the ground, creating a small pit in the earth.

    Everyone who saw this scene was dumbfounded. How could a Limiteer powerhouse from the Outerverse Youth Council possibly bepletely defeated by Lu Yin? How long has it been since he joined Astral-10? Could the Astral Combat Academy really have caused his power to make such an amazing leap?

    Lu Yin looked down at the Limiteer in the pit and apathetically said, ¡°Go and tell Bazeer to remember what he said in the past. I will join the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    He then left without waiting for a response while the Limiteer gritted his teeth. He was enraged, but also stunned. This person had improved greatly after such a short trip away from the Great Yu Empire. He had only ever been dealt a crushing defeat this badly from an Explorer, but Lu Yin had handed him one as just a Melder. How was he so strong?

    A few of the nearby officials looked at each other in surprise; King Zishan had changed drastically. If, in the past, he had just been an average person who was trying to reap some benefits from his new position, he was now a young talent who had just unveiled his true power. While he was still too weak to have any real impact in the empire, he had disyed his potential, and no one would ever underestimate him again. No wonder millions of youngsters had taken the entrance exam when Astral-10 had arrived at the Frostwave Weave; an elite academy could truly transform a person.

    The King Zishan Pce looked exactly the same as before. Lu Yin searched through the entire mansion, but he still wasn¡¯t able to find any clues as to where the Zishan n¡¯s treasure could be. He sighed reluctantly; it wasn¡¯t his fault if he couldn¡¯t find it. He looked up at the three rings in the sky and his eyes shed. Is it time to learn theplete Sky Beast w? While it might not be necessarily useful anymore, I still have the desire to learn it in its entirety and to challenge the five Hall Masters¡­ It¡¯s time to test their strength.

    Although the upheaval in the Great Yu Empire had caused some elites to leave Yu Academy, most of them had remained behind.

    One dayter, Gerbach was sitting at the top of a tower, gazing at theke below him with a sad expression. He was wondering whether the empire would be able to sessfully weather the oing storm.

    His gadget started beeping, and a quick nce at it caused Gerbach¡¯s eyes to light up and a smile to spread across his face. ¡°He¡¯s got guts, challenging all five Hall Masters. It looks like he¡¯s learned a lot during his time at Astral-10. Regardless, the five of us earned our positions through our genuine ability. He¡¯s dreaming if he thinks that he can catch up to us within a few months just because he¡¯s improved quickly.¡± Gerbach then immediately notified the other Hall Masters. It had been a long time since anyone had challenged one of them, and Lu Yin was challenging all of them at once.

    Actually, Schutz is also in Astral-10, so the two of them have probably battled before. Since he¡¯s challenging us now, then could he really be that confident in himself? No, we can¡¯t let him do this. At most, we can let him rece Schutz. But we can¡¯t let him defeat us all, Gerbach thought to himself, growing excited.

    Huo Zhong, Logan, and Tianming soon received the news and all of them headed to the formcast pool. Lu Yin had been waiting there for some time when Tianming arrived. He was the first of the Hall Masters to reach the pool.

    ¡°King Zishan, congrattions on joining Astral-10,¡± Tianming warmly greeted.

    Lu Yin smiled as he responded, ¡°Hall Master Tianming, you¡¯re too polite. I¡¯m here to repay you for teaching me the Three Stacks technique in the past.¡±

    Tianming was puzzled, ¡°Repay me?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister. Someone¡¯sing.¡±

    Tianming was surprised. Someone¡¯sing? He hadn¡¯t sensed anyone approaching them.

    Logan arrived soon after their brief exchange, and Tianming looked at Lu Yin more seriously. This person had changed greatly and was quite terrifying now.

    Lu Yin had always been curious about Logan. He had immediately approved of Lu Yin¡¯s request to learn the initial twenty forms of the Skybeast w technique and had always been very friendly towards him. He was also the person who had learnt the most styles of the Skybeast w technique in Yu Academy, having mastered a total of forty nine forms.

    Huo Zhong arrived at the same time. While the Huo family technically wasn¡¯t on the friendliest of terms with Lu Yin, Lu Yin had realized that, regardless of whether it was Huo Qingshan or Huo Zhong, they had always treated him quite well.

    As soon as Huo Zhong walked up to them, he said, ¡°King Zishan, Zhang Dingtian has gone missing.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Leave him be. One¡¯s fate is determined by the heavens.¡± Huo Zhong nodded in response and silently stood to the side.

    Logan kept stealing surreptitious nces of Lu Yin; his gaze wasplicated and contained tinges of curiosity, confusion, suspicion, and even hope.

    Gerbach soon arrived and heartilyughed when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve be arrogant after spending some time at Astral-10 and now you¡¯re even trying to challenge us? Hasn¡¯t Schutz told you how powerful we are?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled mysteriously. ¡°I can at least try. Besides, I¡¯m bored.¡±

    Gerbach grinned. ¡°Fine, you can try. Alright, let¡¯s cut the nonsense. Do you want to fight us individually or all together?¡±

    Lu Yin beamed as he responded, ¡°I¡¯m fine either way.¡±

    Gerbach had only asked thest part jokingly since it was impossible for anyone to fight against all of the Hall Masters simultaneously, and yet, Lu Yin had readily agreed. This actually infuriated Gerbach. He was a Hall Master of Yu Academy and one of the strongest powerhouses of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation. Despite his des, someone was actually looking down on him! He immediately took out a fruit that was covered with lightning and prepared his battle technique: Lightning Arrow.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed and he raised his hand as well, mirroring Gerbach¡¯s actions. ¡°Lightning Arrow.¡±

    Crackle!

    Lightning roared and shot into the distance.

    Tianming and the rest were stunned by the scene and Gerbach¡¯s eyes almost fell out of his head. Lu Yin had truly used his Lightning Arrow. Although it hadn¡¯t been real lightning, it had been far more powerful since he hadn¡¯t relied on a lightning fruit to unleash the technique.

    ¡°How is that possible? Do you have an innate lightning gift?¡± Gerbach eximed as the others stared intently at Lu Yin. The experts guarding the formcast pool were also staring at Lu Yin, even the Explorer among them.

    Lu Yin casually answered, ¡°Star energy isn¡¯t as simple as you believe it to be, and one¡¯s control over star energy is of the utmost importance. It¡¯s rare to see any student of the Astral Combat Academy rely on external items to battle. Anything can be simted with star energy, and although it isn¡¯t actually real, it will be far more powerful than the actual thing.¡±

    Gerbach and the others were stunned by this revtion as Lu Yin¡¯s exnation had enlightened them. Could they use star energy like that as well?

    The Outerverse also knew about the different levels of control over star energy, but it wasn¡¯tmon knowledge. Lu Yin had only learned about the different levels after joining Astral-10, and that was only because of the reward that the Rainmaster had given him. It was entirely possible that Schutz still didn¡¯t know about it yet. Although this wasn¡¯t a great secret, nobody would be willing to reveal it as no one wanted to be surpassed by their peers. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t want Gerbach and the others to train blindly since they all had high potential.

    However, even with this knowledge, it was difficult to improve one¡¯s control over star energy. Astral-10 had the Rain Observatory and the other academies probably had simr training ces. This was probably one of the reasons why Gerbach and the rest didn¡¯t know about this; the Great Yu Empire probably didn¡¯t have any ce like the Rain Observatory. Hence, it would be useless for them to know this even if Undying Yushan had taught them this.

    ¡°I have lost,¡± Gerbach said quietly. He was disappointed; he didn¡¯t expect that the gap between them would grow sorge after just a few months.

    Tianming, Logan, and Huo Zhong didn¡¯t object either. Lu Yin had used star energy to mimic lightning energy and defeated Gerbach. Just this single exchange proved that he now far surpassed them. There was no point inpeting any further.

    ¡°King Zishan, you can learn theplete Skybeast w technique. No one will stop you. Here¡¯s the location,¡± Tianming said as he passed the coordinates to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin solemnly said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin had wanted to learn theplete Skybeast w technique when he had still been on Earth, but he hadn¡¯t been able to do it after arriving at the Great Yu Empire despite his title as King Zishan. This was because the five Hall Masters had been all too powerful and he hadn¡¯t been able to defeat them when he had first arrived. But after spending a short amount of time at Astral-10, things had changed drastically. This just proved that, sometimes, one¡¯s environment was more important than their talent.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t console the disappointed Gerbach, and unless he could somehow take them back to Astral-10, there was no way for him to change their training environment.

    Gerbach, Logan, and Huo Zhong soon left, leaving only Tianming behind.

    ¡°Hall Master Tianming, let¡¯s spar,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Tianming didn¡¯t ask why and just nodded. He was aid-back individual and hadn¡¯t gotten angry at all back when Lu Yin had learned the Three Stacks technique from observing him. While he considered Lu Yin¡¯s request to be odd, he was fine with it.

    He lifted his palm and smashed it down towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin lifted a hand and met Tianming¡¯s palm with his own. There were three soft bangs from the Three Stacks, but Tianming retreated in wide-eyed shock in the next moment, as a Fourth Stack had appeared. But before he could respond, a Fifth Stack also appeared, shattering the ground beneath him.

 Chapter 152: Changes on the Zenyu Star

    <h4>Chapter 152: Changes on the Zenyu Star</h4>

    ¡°This... is Five Stacks?¡± Tianming was shocked, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m still extremely grateful to Hall Master Tianming for demonstrating the Three Stacks technique for me. This Five Stacks is to show my thanks.¡±

    Tianming was still at an absolute loss for what had just happened. ¡°How did you learn the Five Stacks technique? The Ninefold Sect¡¯s Nine Stacks technique is one of the absolute secrets of the Grandtop Weave. Did you meet one of their disciples?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he shook his head. ¡°I learned this from one of Astral-10¡¯s mentors. Hall Master Tianming, reaching Five Stacks is not actually that hard. Come and get a feeling for it. After you learn it, I¡¯ll go to learn the Skybeast w technique.¡±

    Tianming suppressed his shock and excitement as he quickly nodded. He then raised his hand again with a solemn expression. This was the Five Stacks technique, and as a disciple that was chased out of the Nine Stacks family, it held a great attraction to him. Even if he had to owe Lu Yin a great favor, he was still more than willing as long as he could learn this technique.

    It wasn¡¯t that Lu Yin was unwilling to teach him the Nine Stacks technique, but rather that it would take too much time, and he did not have the luxury of slowly teaching it to Tianming. It took Tianming two entire days to learn the Five Stacks technique, and that was still only enough for him to find the general direction for future practice. It would still take him a few months to fully be able to use the Five Stacks technique. After all, he was not like Lu Yin, who had a Cosmic Art that greatly reduced the time it took him to learn a new battle technique.

    It was precisely at times like this that Lu Yin acutely appreciated the value of his Cosmic Art. In this specific instance, he was eager to see when he would be able to manifest the ninth star and form a star field. It would definitely bring about a noticeable transformation to his techniques.

    The entirety of the Skybeast w was recorded on a stone wall. The twenty forms that each Hall Master held were nothing more than a copy of a section of the wall. Once Lu Yin saw the original record, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of transcending through the ages as the image of a beast¡¯s giant w of tearing through the heavens shed through his mind. At that instant, Lu Yin could even make out the scales of the w, even though it was no more than a glimpse.

    ¡°The Skybeast w stone wall was brought out of the Innerverse by His Majesty. The Great Yu Empire had no Skybeast w or sh technique until His Majesty brought them back from the Innerverse. From then on, we have used these two battle techniques to dominate the Frostwave Weave,¡± Tianming exined before letting Lu Yin ponder the wall alone.

    Lu Yin was already thoroughly immersed in the Skybeast w stone wall. The technique appeared to only be a normal w tearing through the heavens, but he could see boundless changes within the technique. It was very simr to how an absolute powerhouse in their natural state was capable of facing any battle techniques, where even just one move could neutralize every technique under the skies. That was the sensation that the Skybeast w technique gave off, and it made Lu Yin feel that it could face up against any other battle technique without losing.

    Lu Yin stared at the Skybeast w stone wall and unconsciously raised his hand in an attempt imitate the carvings. As he did so, a beastly howl could be vaguely heard resounding through the walls.

    In the history of Yu Academy, the ones who hadprehended the Skybeast w technique the furthest were three deceased former Hall Masters. One had been an Explorer who had perished in a war against the other weaves. He hadprehended seventy two forms and had been considered a genius with an innate gift. He could use one strike to defeat two others at his rank, but he had died surrounded by enemies. His death was truly tragic.

    However, that was only when the history of Yu Academy was considered, and the Skybeast w technique did not belong solely to them. The royal family also had the right to learn this battle technique, and Lu Yin had even seen a shadow of the Skybeast w technique in Duke Yushan¡¯s drinking posture. The Duke had already assimted the technique into his every movement, and since he had lived for hundreds of years, it also meant that his understanding of it was profound. Also, Dorren Yushan must have learned it in the past as well.

    Before this, Lu Yin had only learned the first twenty forms. As he faced the ancient stone wall, he practiced by repeating the same action for five consecutive days. After five days, he had learned forty three forms. All the while, his Cosmic Art spun at its full power of eight stars, causing hisprehension speed to greatly increase and his understanding of the Skybeast w technique to rise continuously.

    After another five days, Lu Yin had learned ny forms, and when his hand formed a w it caused the very air to distort. He had a feeling that, once he learned all hundred and eight forms, he would be capable of tearing the void itself apart.

    When a Melder was capable of tearing space, it was a sign that they were an incredible genius with innate gifts. The five Hall Masters of Yu Academy had practiced the Skybeast w technique for many years, but none of them had even learned fifty forms. This was because they were too weak and also why Wendy Yushan could not be bothered with them. Lu Yin¡¯sprehension speed was an innate gift that had shocked all of Astral-10; there was a vast difference between the Hall Masters and him.

    The nieth form seemed to be a threshold, and it became more and more difficult toprehend the battle technique after that. Over the next three days, Lu Yin only learned six more forms, and he was unable to continue after that regardless of how much time he poured into studying the stone wall. Even with his Cosmic Art, he could onlyprehend the first ny six forms.

    Lu Yin breathed out; he was done learning this battle technique for now. Ny six forms wasn¡¯t bad, so he could let thest twelve forms go for now. He wouldn¡¯t try to force hisprehension since his impression of the Skybeast w technique was sufficiently deep already. He would wait for his Cosmic Art to further develop, and he might even be able to derive the remaining forms from what he had already learned. He had spent thirteen days to learn ny six forms of the Skybeast w technique; this was shocking enough to even draw the attention of Undying Yushan.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and tested the w technique, nearly causing the void to copse. This power could rival the Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm¡¯s. Once he integrated it with his battle qi, Lu Yin felt that it would truly tear through the void.

    He left the stone wall and returned to the King Zishan pce. It had been nearly half a month since he had left the capital star, and when he returned, he noticed that there were many more powerhouses gathered around the imperial pce. Lu Yin was able to notice them even though they were purposefully restraining their auras. He was immediately reminded of the spacecraft docked at the space station that did note from the Outerverse. Were they here for the Undying manual? The Innerverse must be getting ready to act against the capital star.

    At this time, his gadget beeped quietly, and Uncle Reuben appeared. ¡°Little Seven, leave Zenyu Star immediately. Undying Yushan has reached his limits. Once he dies, no one will be able to restrain those from the Innerverse, and the Zenyu Star will fall into chaos.¡±

    ¡°It should just be some captains from the Imperial Thirteen Squadrons. They won¡¯t pose a problem to me,¡± replied Lu Yin.

    Uncle Reuben sternly said, ¡°Those Outerverse Cruisers can¡¯t even bepared to the Innerverse powerhouses. Besides the exceptions of Huo Qingshan and the blind monk, the rest are nearly useless. The blind monk was also taken to the frontline by Dorren Yushan. Zenyu Star will not be able to defend itself. You should leave immediately.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. Truthfully speaking, Undying Yushan had treated him rather well and Zenyu Star had also been a peaceful time in his life. Who would have thought that it was about to be a bloody battlefield?

    ¡°Wendy Yushan is on her way back to Zenyu Star. When she gets back, she will be able to regain control of the situation. Nothing will happen to the Great Yu Empire.¡± It was as if Uncle Reuben could read Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart trembled. The name ¡°Wendy Yushan¡± had not originally meant anything to him, and he had only regarded her as a legend. Yet ever since she had publicly rejected him for her hand in marriage, her name seemed to have be tightly intertwined with him. Wendy Yushan did not seem to care about him, but he would never forget her. Even Uncle Reuben assumed that she would be able to suppress all the troublemakers who hade to the Great Yu Empire. ¡°I understand. I will bid farewell to Undying Yushan before I leave.¡±

    Uncle Reuben nodded and then disconnected the transmission.

    Lu Yin stepped through the Grand Astral Gate; he could feel many eyes boring holes through his back. There was a teahouse that had sprung up not far from the pce, and it was currently filled with powerhouses.

    These powerhouses from the Innerverse were bing unbridled. Once Undying Yushan perished, they would charge into the pce without care. Lu Yin knew that he should leave quickly.

    After a long wait, Undying Yushan finally awakened and summoned Lu Yin in.

    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Lu Yin greeted politely.

    Undying Yushan looked feebly at Lu Yin. ¡°Come closer.¡±

    Lu Yin walked towards the emperor.

    ¡°Closer.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled by the request, but he nheless stepped forward until he was right by Undying Yushan¡¯s side. Undying Yushan looked at Lu Yin with murky and tired eyes. ¡°Little Yin, don¡¯t search for the Zishan n hidden treasure. Return to Astral-10.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked as he looked at Undying Yushan. Only now did he realize just how perceptive this Ironblood Emperor, who had ruled the empire for eight hundred years, was even at death¡¯s door. Perhaps Lu Yin¡¯sst visit to the pce had made his goal too apparent when he had wandered around the pce for a prolonged period of time.

    ¡°Your Majesty-¡± Lu Yin wanted to say something, but he was stopped by Undying Yushan. ¡°The treasure belongs to the Zishan n, and this Majesty should not stop you. But there¡¯s no more time, so don¡¯t think about it anymore. This Majesty will see to it that you get appropriatepensation. Leave the capital star immediately¡ªthe further the better. Before you can properly protect yourself, don¡¯t stray too far from Astral-10. Rest assured. Even if a war breaks out in the empire, it will not spread to Earth. This Majesty has already sent people to protect it.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a pang of sorrow stab through his heart. He could feel Undying Yushan¡¯s concern and the dying man was truly doing his best to guide Lu Yin as an elder. ¡°Your Majesty, please take care.¡±

    This was hisst farewell.

    Undying Yushan nodded. ¡°Go. The further, the better.¡±

    Lu Yin retreated a few steps, bowed, and then turned to leave.

    Undying Yushan sighed. So what if he had traveled through the universe? On his deathbed, he was surrounded by insignificant enemies, his descendants were being monitored, and his son had turned traitor. He asked himself what wrongs he had done to deserve this ending. Why did it have to end up like this?

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s such a pity that the effect of this purple star ointment is insufficient. Otherwise, it could have prolonged His Majesty¡¯s life a while longer.¡± Lu Yin had just stepped out of the emperor¡¯s chambers when he coincidentally overheard this. His eyes gleamed as he paused in his steps.

    Undying Yushan¡¯s attending physician had just uttered those words.

    ¡°When His Majesty first returned from the Innerverse with heavy injuries, it was only with the purple star¡¯s medicinal effects that he was able to survive for so long. But now that the nt has been mostly exhausted, there¡¯s no choice left. It¡¯s a panacea from the Innerverse¡¯s Fallen Star Ocean. Even the fifth princess would not have an easy task gathering it as it can only be found by luck,¡± another doctor griped.

    ¡°If we could just double the effectiveness, then His Majesty could be saved. But what a pity. The second prince is too vicious and preemptively arranged for the purple star to be wasted bit by bit a hundred years ago. Otherwise, it would not have ended up like this,¡± another doctor bemoaned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he stood at the doorway. It was possible for him to raise the effectiveness of this purple star if he managed to roll Enhance. His die should be able to upgrade the purple star by a grade, no? However, Lu Yin hesitated. If he did this, then it would expose his innate gift. But if he didn¡¯t¡­ He remembered Undying Yushan¡¯s affectionate gaze that should have been directed only at family members. Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted and his gaze steadied.

    Sometimes, human emotions could surpass all else. Lu Yin knew that he was no selfless saint and that he would also take advantage of anything to get ahead, even engaging in dark schemes if necessary. He had thought that he would never sacrifice himself to save another; those who did so were idiots. But when it came to those who were close to him, he couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye, could he? Otherwise, how would he be any different from a beast? Undying Yushan had shown great kindness to Lu Yin ever since he arrived at the Great Yu Empire, and now, Lu Yin wished to preserve this person¡¯s life, even if it required paying a price.

    Lu Yin returned to Undying Yushan¡¯s side, ¡°Your Majesty, could you hand the purple star to me and allow me to study it?¡±

    The surrounding people looked at Lu Yin. This was Undying Yushan¡¯s lifeline and this request was akin to cutting it short.

    Huo Qingshan and Jue Lang¡¯s gazes turned cold.

    Undying Yushan lethargically opened his eyes, ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, no! The purple star is the key to your survival!¡± one doctor cried out.

    Undying Yushan feebly responded, ¡°For how long?¡±

    The doctor hung his head. It was not a question of how long as it was simply unable to prolong the emperor¡¯s life any further. Undying Yushan was practically already at death¡¯s door.

    ¡°Give it to Little Yin.¡± Undying Yushan was finished speaking on this matter.

    Jue Lang stood up and red at Lu Yin. His eyes were cold as he did not know what King Zishan intended to do, but to request the purple star at this sort of time was no simple request.

    Lu Yin never thought that Undying Yushan would not hesitate to hand over his lifeline, the purple star, to him. He took a deep breath and hoped his luck wasn¡¯t too bad. He had to roll three pips: Enhance. He had to.

 Chapter 153: Enhance

    <h4>Chapter 153: Enhance</h4>

    The purple star was a spherical purple nt with an appearance as resplendent as the stars. Unfortunately, it was slightly shriveled from being improperly stored, which had caused the nt to lose some of its medicinal effectiveness.

    Lu Yin could not help but marvel at the depths of Duke Yushan¡¯s calctions. He had been preparing for this day for a hundred years, and his betrayal had been impably timed as well. How vicious.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how many star energy crystals he would need to upgrade the purple star. All he had on him was 160,000 crystals, so he hoped that that would be enough. Otherwise, he would have to go back to Undying Yushan and ask for more.

    He took the purple star and reserved the private lounge next door, but Jue Lang followed behind Lu Yin, staring at him the entire way. Lu Yin grimaced as he exined, ¡°Captain Jue Lang, since the purple star¡¯s efficacy has diminished for His Majesty, I¡¯m going to do my best to restore its effectiveness. That won¡¯t be possible if you continue staring at me.¡±

    Jue Lang was shocked. ¡°You can restore its effectiveness?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded as he replied, ¡°There¡¯s a chance. Although it¡¯s extremely unlikely, I must still try.¡±

    Jue Lang gave Lu Yin a long look, turned around, and then closed the door without another word.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. As the proverb says, the prudent man foresees evil and hides himself. However, people could be swayed away from the prudent choice. Lu Yin had lost his memories and forgotten where he came from, but he had been saved and thus epted his saviors as his family. Undying Yushan had cared for him like family, and thus simrly deserved to be treated like family, which meant that Lu Yin would take this risk for his sake.

    Lu Yin retrieved his die which had not been touched for nearly twenty days. It had almostpletely recovered to its peak luminescent state, and Lu Yin was pleased to discover that he could roll it four consecutive times today. He tapped the die lightly and it began to spin. It finally stopped at four pips: Time Stop.

    Time Stop was amon roll. Lu Yin entered the Time Stop space and rxed for three days while he continued trying to simte the ninth star of his Cosmic Art.

    When the three days were up, Lu Yin left the grey space. The ninth star was still nowhere to be seen, but he felt like he was pulling closer and closer to the sensation that he had felt when the crazy director had shown him the ninth star. He was in no hurry and could always try again.

    The second roll was two pips.

    Five minutester, the ckhole Disassembly vanished. Lu Yin rolled the die for a third time, hoping for sess. It was a pity that fate seemed to be against him as he rolled five pips: Gift Copy.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t move. While there were certainly experts outside like Huo Qingshan and Jue Lang who possessed innate gifts, he had no way of touching them in time; Gift Copy was thus wasted.

    He breathed in deeply; he was already at the fourth roll, and after the fifth, he would no longer be able to handle the die¡¯s mental strain any longer and he would be forced to fall asleep. After that, it would take at least ten days before he could recover enough to roll the die again. This fourth roll was vitally important.

    He watched the die grind to a halt andnd¡ªfive pips. Another wasted roll.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, and his gaze hardened. Enhance and Possession were the rarest rolls from the six possible results. Again.

    He tapped the die and his eyes never left it. Then, the scene changed before his eyes as he reappeared in the grey room. Time Stop again. He had failed to roll Enhance. He immediately began to grow dizzy and was seconds away from fainting. Right before he lost consciousness, he threw five hundred more star crystals towards the time to ensure that he would still be within the Time Stop space when he woke up. Then, he copsed.

    The excessive mental strain brought unconsciousness crashing down upon him, and Lu Yin ibce again saw the jade finger prating through the heavens to crush him. Just as before, he exploded in anger. ¡°Outrageous! Audacious!¡± He awoke with a loud howl and his entire back drenched in sweat.

    It had taken him two days to recover from hisatose state. He looked around and saw that he still had ten days of time left on the counter.

    Lu Yin rested for a while, and then reached out his arm and brought out the lifeless die. He could use his innate gift even while in the Time Stop space, but its energy consumption was multiple times higher than what it would be in the real world. In other words, he could shake the die four times just like outside the Time Stop space, but he had to rest for ten days after every die roll. Otherwise, he would suffer even more drastic consequences than if he had rolled it five times in the outside world.

    Fortunately, he was in the Time Stop space, which allowed him to be more extravagant. It all depended on whether or not he had enough star crystals. Hopefully, they would be enough!

    Lu Yinvishly spent nearly six thousand star crystals at once to increase the duration of Time Stop by thirty days. He now had over forty days of time in the ashen space, which gave him four more opportunities to roll the die. He refused to believe that he could not roll Enhance within these four rolls.

    Ten days quickly passed, and then Lu Yin took out the die and tapped it. One dot: Pilfer. Useless. He was alone in the Time Stop space, so he couldn¡¯t retrieve anything. Pilfer waspletely useless. His solitude also made Gift Copy and Possession worthless. The only rolls that would mean anything were a two or three.

    He still had more than thirty days to spend in this space. When he looked around at the dull surroundings, he really wanted to change it, but that would cost him a few crystals¡­ Forget it. Who knows how many crystals it¡¯ll take to enhance the purple star, so I¡¯ll just leave it alone for now.

    He tried to simte the ninth star while waiting for ten more days to pass.

    The die recovered. He tapped it. Pilfer again; useless. Lu Yin was left speechless by the oue. It was truly difficult trying to roll Enhance.

    Another ten dayster, and Lu Yin tapped once again. While he didn¡¯t hold much hope when he tapped the die, he became so emotional when three pips revealed themselves that he nearly kissed it. Finally, he had rolled Enhance.

    He saw the two light screens, one above and one below, and let out a heavy sigh. Fortunately, Enhance could be used in this Time Stop space.

    He retrieved the purple star and ced it on the upper light screen. He then took out star crystals and threw them in. As the light screen absorbed more and more crystals, the purple star slowly sank into the upper screen; its descending speed was even slower than the formcast model¡¯s. Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. From what he could tell, the formcast model would require almost 300,000 crystals topletely upgrade, and this small purple star would require even more than that.

    The purple star hade from the Innerverse¡¯s Fallen Star Ocean and could be used to preserve lives. It was absolutely worth an exorbitant sum, but Lu Yin did not nearly have that many crystals. Thus, he could only try to upgrade it as much as possible with the crystals he had left.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before he threw his remaining 150,000 crystals in and watched them be slowly absorbed by the screen. The purple star slowly descended and the shrivelled surface seemed to regain some of its luster. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone; the doctor had said that the medicine just needed to have double its effectiveness to save Undying Yushan¡¯s life. If the purple star was upgraded, then its effectiveness would undoubtedly be more than doubled. That also meant that it did not have to be perfectly enhanced.

    After the 150,000 crystals were consumed, the purple star had moved in between the two light screens. The shrivelled portion of the nt¡¯s surface hadpletely recovered, and Lu Yin even saw the luster shifting as the colors were on the verge of changing.

    Lu Yin grabbed the purple star. ¡°Even the color¡¯s changed. This should be of some use now.¡± He was still nervous, but even if there was no improvement, he had given his all.

    There were still more than twenty days remaining in the Time Stop space, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to waste his time. He used a hundred crystals to increase the gravity of the space to a hundred times and then checked his cosmic ring. He still had around three thousand crystals left. This could be considered arge sum in the Great Yu Empire, but it was way too little for his current needs. Luckily, his Mavis Bank card held another 100,000, so he still had some emergency funds.

    The twenty days quickly passed by, and while Lu Yin could sense the ninth star much more clearly than before, he still could not make even a shadow appear. This was going to be a long journey.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, he had been gone for nearly two months, but it hadn¡¯t been more than a moment for Jue Lang and the rest.

    When the pale-faced Lu Yin seemingly returned a momentter and handed the purple star over to the doctor, the doctor¡¯s pupils shrank to pinholes and he stared at Lu Yin in shock, ¡°What- what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Jue Lang and the rest had cold looks. ¡°Speak clearly. What happened?¡±

    The doctor was in disbelief as he stammered, ¡°The pur- purple star has turned into a billowing star.¡±

    Everyone was stunned by his evaluation. They had heard of the billowing star before. When Undying Yushan had been severely injured all those years ago, everyone by his side had been his most trusted subordinates. They had heard countless doctors sigh wistfully about the billowing star that couldpletely heal Undying Yushan¡¯s injuries. Huo Qingshan had made multiple visits to the Fallen Star Ocean and had nearly lost his life searching for it, but he had been unable to find any billowing star or even purple stars. Fifth Princess Wendy Yushan had done the same, but both the purple star and billowing star were objects that could only be found by chance. The billowing star was much rarer than the purple star, and was a dozen times more valuable. It was considered extremely precious even within the Innerverse.

    How did Lu Yin do it? They all turned to look at him in shock.

    ¡°Hold on. This isn¡¯t actually a billowing star,¡± the doctor exined as he continued to examine it, ¡°It¡¯s still a purple star, but is on the verge of bing a billowing star.¡±

    ¡°Is it of any use to His Majesty¡¯s injury?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The doctor nodded as he delightedly answered, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely useful. King Zishan, Your Highness, how did you do it?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, declining to answer. ¡°Give it to His Majesty for treatment first. I¡¯m tired, and will rest first.¡± And with that, he returned to the lounge and fell into a deep slumber. Huo Qingshan and the rest did not attempt to stop him, and instead urged the doctor to start the treatment right away.

    Lu Yin and the rest¡¯s conversation couldn¡¯t be overheard, but the people in the surrounding area had heard the doctor¡¯s shouts. One soldier who had been standing guard outside heard the cries. His expression changed as he slowly left.

    An hourter, multiple figures appeared in the skies above the pce, each releasing a terrifying pressure. Huo Qingshan and Jue Lang looked at each other, but refrained from making a move.

    From within the pce, Fourth Captain Di Ou, Sixth Captain Peach, and Ninth Captain Rocky Auna rose into the sky together and stared at the outsiders floating above the pce. ¡°This is the Great Yu Empire¡¯s pce. All unrted persons must leave immediately.¡±

    Outside, an elder had a contemptuous attitude. ¡°A mere empire of the Outerverse dares to try to intimidate us. Undying Yushan has already died and you will move aside if you are sensibile. Otherwise, Zenyu Star will be washed in blood today.¡±

    Di Ou had a stern expression as he replied, ¡°The Innerverse has never meddled in the Outerverse. You are viting the universe¡¯s rules.¡±

    A woman outside the pce with a charming smile said, ¡°Rules? You Outerverse denizens can only obey, but the rules are written by us. Scram immediately. If we act, then this entire pce will be turned into dust.¡±

    At least ten people had appeared outside of the pce. Though the Innerverse powers felt that Undying Yushan most likely had not obtained the Undying Manual, they didn¡¯t care. Hence, various powers had sent representatives. When they all gathered together, there were so many of them that their pressure was almost unbearable for Di Ou and the rest.

    Suddenly, the skies turned red. Countless eyes turned towards Zenyu Star as a scorching heat covered the skies and enveloped all of Zenyu Star, the three rings ofnd around it, and even stretching into the vastness of the universe beyond.

    This was the strength of a Hunter; Huo Qingshan had stepped out.

    As someone who had journeyed through the Innerverse and as one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s few Hunters, Huo Qingshan¡¯s appearance made the crowd outside the pce slightly wary. These people were just Explorers, and while a few of them might be Cruisers, none of them dared to belittle a Hunter even if he came from the Outerverse. This was a terrifying cultivator whose power level had surpassed 100,000 units.

    Not far away, Huo Xiaoling¡¯s face paled as she stared into the sky from the Huo n¡¯s courtyard, worry etched into her face.

    In the opposite direction, the Auna n was in a simrly somber atmosphere. The great ns of the Great Yu Empire would all share the same fate; they would either bask in glory or be crushed in defeat. When faced with the intense pressure of the Innerverse, they had all chosen to stand strong. Everything would be fine if they seeded, but if they failed, then everyone¡¯s lives would be forfeit.

 Chapter 154: Green

    <h4>Chapter 154: Green</h4>

    Bazeer had a rxed expression when he looked at the scene before him. He was from the Outerverse Youth Council, so not even the Innerverse powerhouses dared to touch him, which usually paved the road ahead of him. He still remembered that helpless feeling when Undying Yushan had suppressed him in the past. ¡°Hurry up and die, old geezer. When you¡¯re dead, I¡¯ll kill that person myself.¡±

    The threeyers ofnd were sealed off, their inhabitants expectantly waiting for the end result. At this point in time, no more spacecraft were being allowed into Zenyu Star. Additionally, many Explorer powerhouses had appeared in the starry skies and were coldly staring at Zenyu Star.

    ¡°My Great Yu Empire doesn¡¯t fear war. Don¡¯t delude yourselves into thinking that you can trample over my empire¡¯s dignity. You¡¯ll need to get past my Thirteen Imperial Squadrons first,¡± Huo Qingshan barked, causing the mes in the sky to strengthen again while the crowd gasped in surprise.

    The Innerverse powerhouses were all afraid. There were not many powerhouses in the Outerverse, and even great powers that controlled an entire weave did not have many Hunters among their ranks. However, the Great Yu Empire was an exception. If not for the Innerverse¡¯s both open and secret meddling, then they would have definitely gained control of more than just half of the Frostwave Weave. With its strength, it could even swallow the surrounding weaves. In some sense, the Great Yu Empire was like a trapped beast; ferocious and brutal, but surrounded by enemies. Today, the Innerverse powerhouses were going to face this beast.

    Suddenly, a stormposed of energy whipped up from out of nowhere and wiped out the inferno in the skies. ¡°How dare a mere Outerverse Hunter act so conceitedly. Today is the day your Great Yu Empire will cease to exist.¡± These words swept across the entire Zenyu Star and caused the threeyers to shudder in fear. Zenyu Star¡¯s oceans boiled and its earth split open, destroying countless spaceships in the process.

    Many were stunned and stared at the sky in terror. A giant hand had appeared, lunging towards the pce.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons captains were all stunned stiff with the sole exception of Huo Qingshan, whose gaze turned fiery at the sight of the giant hand. His body flushed red and burned even fiercer than the sun. An indescribable power billowed forth from his body, causing even the giant palm in the sky to pause. The cultivator behind the palm felt unexpectedly threatened.

    Huo Qingshan was not a simple cultivator. He had also made his way through the Innerverse and had even left his name in the ze Realm.

    It was at this moment that a green wave rippled out from the pce, pulsating like a heartbeat. Then, it suddenly exploded, tore through the giant hand, and continued to soar through the sky. In a mere instant, the green wave had dispelled all of the foreign forces that were pressuring and influencing Zenyu Star. The powerhouses from the Innerverse surrounding the pce turned deathly pale and all coughed up blood.

    High above, in the void of outer space, an elder¡¯s pupils dted. He was a Hunter from the Innerverse who had intended on suppressing the pce, but that green wave of star energy had appeared before him and then transformed into Undying Yushan¡¯s palm. The elder was dumbstruck. ¡°You aren¡¯t dead? How is your domain so terrifying?!¡±

    ¡°Go back and tell your master that I, Undying Yushan, don¡¯t have what he wants.¡± The green star energy then swept over that elder, breaking all four of his limbs. He hurriedly fled in terror.

    The green star energy overwhelmed everything and dyed Zenyu Star in its own color. Everyone was overpowered by the green star energy.

    For the people of Zenyu Star, this star energy gave them warmth. On the other hand, those from the Innerverse felt dread as they trembled in terror.

    Huo Qingshan was delighted. This is His Majesty¡¯s true strength. He has finally recovered.

    Peach was struck speechless. How terrifying! She could still recall the day that she had been forcefully appointed as the Sixth Captain. She had also experienced this strength that day, and it was still fresh in her memory.

    Under the cloak of Undying Yushan¡¯s strength, the pce¡¯s aura deepened, giving off an iprehensible and terrifying feeling that made one¡¯s teeth chatter. Those from the Innerverse were forced down until they were half-kneeling towards the pce.

    A momentter, Undying Yushan¡¯s imposing figure floated forth before looking down at them. ¡°This was yourst warning. Now scram.¡± They vomited blood again, felt the horrifying pressure on their organs, and then retreated as quickly as they could with their injuries.

    ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!¡±

    ¡­

    Undying Yushan¡¯s gaze swept across everyone, and he sighed inwardly. Return to glory? How could it be that simple? He had simply extended his time at death¡¯s door. And the more frequently he used his strength, the closer he was to the end of his life.

    ¡°The empire shall resume its normal activities. Also, examine the records of anyone who crossed the borders and capture any suspected spies. Huo Qingshan, you shall be in charge of this,¡± Undying Yushan ordered.

    Huo Qingshan immediately moved to obey. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    After issuing a few more orders, Undying Yushannded on the ground and reentered the pce.

    In outer space, many of the Innerverse powerhouses were seething with fury. They had fallen from grace after spending all of these years nning for the downfall of the Great Yu Empire. They had hatched all sorts of plots and schemes to thwart the Great Yu Empire from bing too powerful or expanding their territory. But who could have predicted that Undying Yushan would make fools of them all, causing all of their efforts to go down the drain. What a shame.

    But that Hunter elder was even more resentful; all four of his limbs had been cleanly snapped off, and he had been forced to resort to using his star energy to sustain his life while his blood stained the skies red. He would take this revenge one day, but he knew that he was no match for Undying Yushan. His only option was to think of a way to request his master to act on his behalf.

    Everyone thought this had all been a part of Undying Yushan¡¯s n, but no one knew that, if not for Lu Yin, Undying Yushan would have perished earlier. A nobody had changed their fates.

    Lu Yin had truly fallen asleep. While this had initially been done as a pretense to disguise his innate gift, he was trulypletely exhausted and ended up sleeping soundly for three days.

    The first thing Lu Yin saw when he woke up was Undying Yushan¡¯s back. Lu Yin quickly turned from perplexed to sober and rushed to stand up. ¡°Your Majesty, are you alright?¡±

    Undying Yushan turned to give Lu Yin a grateful smile as he nodded. ¡°Little Yin, this time it¡¯s all thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, don¡¯t say that. If it were not for you, then the Lu Yin of today would not exist,¡± Lu Yin solemnly replied.

    Undying Yushan smiled and patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your ancestor, Undying Zishan, saved me more than once, and now you, a descendant of the Zishan n, have saved me once again. I owe the Zishan n too much.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply, as he could see that Undying Yushan was reminiscing about the past.

    Undying Yushan sighed and looked into the sky. ¡°Little Yin, what do you think of the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Lu Yin thought that this question was very odd and almost felt that it was not his ce to speak of such things. Regardless, he still answered. ¡°Very good. The empire is prosperous and the people are peaceful.¡±

    Undying Yushanughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such political niceties. Tell me the truth.¡±

    ¡°No idea. I haven¡¯t roamed around the empire yet,¡± Lu Yin blurted out.

    Undying Yushan looked at Lu Yin and seriously said, ¡°If I said that I would hand this empire to you, would you ept it?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked and immediately retreated. ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t y a joke on Little Yin. I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    Undying Yushan burst into another round ofughter and shook his head. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t speak about it. Let¡¯s go. I want to show you something.¡± He then walked of the room, leading the way. Lu Yin gave the emperor an odd look as he followed behind.

    They walked through multiple pavilions and the technological shield that protected the inner area of the pce. Then, Undying Yushan led Lu Yin to a corner of the pce where a concealed passage appeared on the ground when he approached it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He could vaguely guess at where Undying Yushan was taking him.

    Undying Yushan was still smiling slightly as he slowly stepped into the underground chamber. Lu Yin followed closely behind.

    This underground area was very ordinary, and besides a single corridor, there wasn¡¯t much else; just a few murals on the wall.

    Finally, the two stopped before a giant metal door. Undying Yushan looked at it and said, ¡°I believe that, earlier, you were searching for this. This is your Zishan n¡¯s hidden treasure.¡±

    Lu Yin did not attempt to hide the truth. ¡°Yes. Someone once told me that the Zishan n¡¯s treasure might be hidden within the pce.¡±

    Undying Yushan turned to Lu Yin, ¡°Tell me. Why are you looking for it?¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate in his reply. ¡°I¡¯m broke.¡±

    Undying Yushan was astonished. He had thought that Lu Yin would fabricate all sorts of grand reasons for it, and had never dreamed that he would respond so simply. Yet, this response was also very logical; treasure was money and whoevercked money would look for treasure. Undying Yushanughed, ¡°Are the expenses at Astral-10 toorge for you to handle?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously replied, ¡°The expenses are enormous. All the training in Astral-10 requires the consumption of massive amounts of star energy crystals. This was true especially since I¡¯ve broken through to be a Melder now; a mentor even had to to fill me up with star energy. It¡¯s like a bottomless pit. I need a vast amount of star crystals as inly absorbing the free star energy in the universe just takes too long.¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Melder realm is a serious hurdle and requiresrge expenses. I had nearly forgotten about this. I should have given you more before,¡± Undying Yushan said with a regretful tone.

    Lu Yin grew excited, but he still didn¡¯t know what to expect from Undying Yushan¡¯s words. Undying Yushan then turned around and slowly opened the metal door. Lu Yin was full of expectation. What kind of good stuff does the Zishan n treasury hold? Mountains of star energy crystals? Or perhaps the even more valuable star crystal essence? Lu Yin was curious and impatiently stared at the door, wishing that he could see through it.

    As the metal door fully swung open, an empty expanse greeted Lu Yin¡¯s sight.

    Lu Yin blinked. Nothing? Where¡¯s the treasure? He looked at Undying Yushan with a confused expression.

    Undying Yushan beamed at him. ¡°Are you disappointed?¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face as he replied, ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯ve be much more humorous after your body recovered.¡±

    Undying Yushanughed again. ¡°Not humorous. This was prepared for those thieves in the night.¡±

    Lu Yin was still lost.

    Undying Yushan¡¯s smile vanished as he exined, ¡°The Innerverse wanted to probe me, and so, they concealed themselves for centuries as they impeded the expansion of our empire¡¯s territory. How could I not have noticed their actions? Whether it was the royal treasury or the Zishan n¡¯s hidden treasure, both were rumors that I deliberately leaked. This was so that, when I passed on, those people would be buried with me.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°It¡¯s all fake?¡±

    Undying Yushan¡¯s lips rose in a smirk. ¡°Of course it¡¯s fake. If there really was a treasure here, then did you think that I wouldn¡¯t touch it? That I would have kept it hidden away all this while? The Zishan n isn¡¯t the only n to have legends of a secret treasure. Every great n of the empire that has ever perished has simr legends of a legacy treasure hidden within the pce. But with the passing of the generations, gradually there was no one left to talk about it. Only those thieves from the Innerverse would continue to nose around and search for clues.¡± Undying Yushan pointed at the empty room as he stated, ¡°Look, if the supposed Zishan n¡¯s hidden treasure contained nothing, then do you think that they would ept it? They have been hiding undercover for centuries and would definitely enter this room to investigate. And this is the graveyard that I¡¯ve painstakingly prepared for them. Even a Hunter would find it hard to survive.¡±

    ¡°The pce contains a total of five graveyards like this,¡± Undying Yushan proudly revealed.

    Lu Yin was shocked. This was his first time experiencing the boldness of an emperor at the end of his days. This was someone who dared to bury all of the Innerverse schemers in one fell swoop.

 Chapter 155: Invisible Aura

    <h4>Chapter 155: Invisible Aura</h4>

    This was a plot that had been carefullyid over the course of multiple centuries, and even if it were revealed to its intended victims, not a single one of them would believe it. They would definitely search through every inch of the pce regardless of the risk.

    They would not dare destroy the pce, either, because they had no idea exactly how the Undying Manual might be recorded down. What if they identally destroyed the manual as a result of their actions? Even though the chances of the Undying Manual being in the pce might not even reach 1%, they still did not dare to take this risk. Undying Yushan was taking advantage of their greedy nature to trap everyone and bring them all down with him.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Undying Yushan asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°You¡¯re very courageous, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± Undying Yushan asked with a faint smile.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that those Innerverse organizations might destroy the Great Yu Empire in a fit of rage?¡±

    Undying Yushan answered with a question of his own. ¡°Why do you think that unfilial son of mine, Duke Yushan, did what he did?¡±

    Lu Yin was initially confused, but then he remembered something. He gazed at Undying Yushan in surprise.

    Undying Yushan ced his hands behind his back and indifferently said, ¡°Everyone in the universe knows that Duke Yushan betrayed the empire. Even if the empire is destroyed, he will still survive. He will be the surviving bloodline of my Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he recalled the bitter look in Duke Yushan¡¯s eyes that night and how he had reacted when he learned that Dorren Yushan was nning on stealing the first prince¡¯s ce. Everything made sense now. It wasn¡¯t that Duke Yushan didn¡¯t want to do it, but rather that he had been forced to by this dying emperor. All so that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial bloodline would be passed on. Or, perhaps, even the prince didn¡¯t know that he was being used. This was actually true for both of the princes.

    Undying Yushan was very vicious. In order to kill the plotting Innerverse powerhouses, he did not even mind forcing his own son to go against him. Had he machinated for centuries, just to kill these people? Was it really worth it? Duke Yushan had tried to destroy Violet a hundred years ago so that Undying Yushan would die earlier. However, he never expected that Undying Yushan would have nned for this as well. He just genuinely didn¡¯t care about his life and just wanted to take more people down with him.

    ¡°Why are you telling me all this, Your Majesty?¡± Lu Yin was nervous when he realized who he was dealing with.

    Undying Yushan looked straight at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m not joking when I say this. If you want, I can let you inherit the Great Yu Empire. Due to a certain item, influential powers in the Innerverse have set their eyes on the Great Yu Empire. It¡¯s only a matter of time until it¡¯s destroyed. Duke Yushan is just one way for me to preserve some things and so is Wendy. However, neither of them can bepletely trusted, and I still need a third option.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be looking for me,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Undying Yushan smiled gently. ¡°You¡¯re King Zishan, which makes you the fourth person in line to inherit the throne, and you¡¯re obviously the person I¡¯d choose. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not making you the emperor, but I do want you to inherit my resolve. When the dayes and you have sufficient power, I¡¯ll be happy as long as you rebuild the Great Yu Empire and protect Zenyu Star. That¡¯ll mean I haven¡¯tpletely disgraced my ancestors!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t understand. This was a huge responsibility that he simply could not bear. Besides, he wasn¡¯t even the real King Zishan, but the man before him was baring his soul and putting hisplete trust in Lu Yin. He didn¡¯t want to betray this man¡¯s expectations; Lu Yin had his own integrity.

    He could also tell that the emperor was using a psychological trick on him. After all, Undying Yushan had resorted to all kinds of tricks to secure a path of survival for his bloodline. He had gone so far as to force his children to go against him, make siblings fight against each other, and disregard human lives. Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to be that kind of person.

    Undying Yushan sighed. ¡°I know that it¡¯s hard for you to ept all of this right now. Take this.¡± After saying that, Undying Yushan took a ring and passed it to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a ring of authority of the empire. If something happens to me, Dorren, and Duke, then you can use this tomand all the armies of the empire,¡± Undying Yushan said.

    Lu Yin wanted to return the ring, but after he saw Undying Yushan¡¯s hopeful gaze, he knew that he had no choice but to keep it. He knew what Undying Yushan was thinking. Given the current circumstances, Undying Yushan was in the most danger as he had been targeted for centuries. Next was Dorren Yushan, followed by Duke Yushan, andstly, Wendy Yushan. While it wasn¡¯t likely that she would fall into the line of danger, it was still a possibility. Thus, Lu Yin was Undying Yushan¡¯sst hope because nobody paid any heed to him. Besides, he was currently in the Astral Combat Academy.

    When Undying Yushan saw that Lu Yin had epted the ring, he smiled. ¡°That¡¯s how King Zishan should be! Responsible! From now onwards, you¡¯re the fourth official sessor to the throne. And for bing a sessor, I¡¯ll give you a present.¡± As he spoke, he produced a crystal card.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. This had been his entire goal! Since the Zishan n treasure didn¡¯t exist, Undying Yushan was obviously giving him something else aspensation.

    ¡°There¡¯s a hundred thousand cubes of star crystals here. Treat it as a reward for bing a Melder,¡± Undying Yushan said.

    Lu Yin expected to receive a lot more, but to his disappointment, it was only a hundred thousand. His appetite for star crystals was growingrger andrger, and a hundred thousand cubes was no longer enough to warrant his excitement. When he had defeated Craynor, he had received almost ny thousand cubes of star energy crystals from just that. Of course, he was aware that the Innerverse and Outerverse produced different amounts of star crystals. The Innerverse produced nearly a hundred times the amount of the Outerverse. The hundred thousand that Undying Yushan had just gifted him was akin to ten million in the Innerverse. So, rtively, it was actually quite arge sum.

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± Lu Yin answered gratefully.

    ¡°The production of star crystals is very low in the Outerverse. A hundred thousand isn¡¯t much, but it should be enough to meet your needs for some time. When you be a Limiteer, I¡¯ll gift you something else if I haven¡¯t died yet.¡±

    ¡°The empire seems to be quite rich, Your Majesty,¡± Lu Yin stated, as if trying to sound something out.

    Undying Yushan burst intoughter. ¡°What are you trying to ask?¡±

    Lu Yin recalled when various officials had tried to bribe him back at the capital star. Those officials had given him a pitiful amount of star crystals, and there was a huge difference between what he had received then and what Undying Yushan had given him now. It didn¡¯t make any sense. No matter how wealthy the imperial family was, there shouldn¡¯t be thisrge of a difference.

    ¡°Was I being petty when I wanted a wee gift from those officials?¡±

    Undying Yushan chuckled. ¡°Not at all, because it was a weing gift.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Calling it a wee gift was actually a form of humiliation to him. He had made those moves with the intention of receiving bribes, but they had actually given him the appropriate amount for a wee gift. The amount had been tiny. How embarrassing! To think that he¡¯d been so satisfied back then while the officials had really thought nothing of him. They clearly saw the world differently. Lu Yin silently reprimanded himself with a reminder to be more careful in the future. When asking for bribes, don¡¯t ask for a certain amount. Just collect the norm and don¡¯t ask for an amount.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve told you everything that you should know and given you your reward as well. Now, I¡¯m going to teach you some imperial battle techniques: the Invisible Aura Technique and the Ashen Energy Force,¡± Undying Yushan said sternly.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re going to teach me imperial battle techniques?¡±

    Undying Yushan grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°When I returned from the Innerverse, I brought four battle techniques back with me. They¡¯re the Skybeast w, Air sh, Invisible Aura, and Ashen Energy Force techniques. The Skybeast w technique was given to Yu Academy in the hopes of creating new talents for the empire. The Air sh technique belongs to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and thest two, the Invisible Aura and Ashen Energy Force techniques, belong to the imperial family. Since you¡¯re an official sessor of the imperial family now, you naturally have the right to learn those two as well.¡±

    Undying Yushan was doing so much for him that Lu Yin was even getting a little emotional. ¡°Thank you so much, Your Majesty, but I¡¯ve already learned a lot of battle techniques. If I learn any more, then it¡¯ll be difficult for me to learn and integrate them into my fighting style properly.¡±

    Undying Yushan pondered his words over and agreed. ¡°In that case, while you don¡¯t have to learn the Ashen Energy Force technique, you must learn the Invisible Aura technique.¡±

    ¡°The Invisible Aura technique?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    Undying Yushan seriously said, ¡°The Invisible Aura technique makes your aura invisible. In other words, it hides your battle power. When you use this technique, nobody will be able to determine your power level, even when you¡¯re fighting. Back in the day, one of the main reasons why I was able to return to the empire from the Innerverse was because of this technique. If used well, it may very well save your life.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted, as this technique sounded very useful. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡±

    The Invisible Aura technique wasn¡¯t tooplicated, and it merely required one to use their body to create a lock that would seal up star energy. While learning it did not take much time due to its simplicity, very few would think to use this method. It was a very sophisticated technique.

    Lu Yin fully learned it in just twenty minutes.

    ¡°You learn so quickly! I¡¯m shocked. I heard that you learned the 96th form of the Skybeast w in thirteen days and also managed to learn Tianming¡¯s Three Stacks after seeing it once. Considering your talent, this is the first time I¡¯m hoping that you¡¯ll be able to marry Wendy,¡± Undying Yushan said with a ruefully sigh.

    Lu Yin had beenpletely immersed in the excitement of having learned the Invisible Aura technique, but after Wendy¡¯s name was suddenly brought up, his heart sank. He¡¯d heard this woman¡¯s name far too many times, and it was impossible for him to ignore her existence.

    ¡°I can do a lot for you, Little Yin, but I¡¯m powerless when ites to Wendy. She might be my daughter, but she is also a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak. I alone cannot decide who her husband will be,¡± Undying Yushan said apologetically.

    Lu Yin hurriedly said, ¡°What happens between me and Princess Wendy will sort itself out. You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Your Majesty.¡±

    Undying Yushan nodded. ¡°Alright then. Anyways, she should be back in a few days. Would you like to meet her?¡±

    Lu Yin actually wanted to refuse, but after thinking it over, he remained quiet. He knew that his status paled inparison to Wendy Yushan¡¯s, but he should at least have the courage to meet her. ¡°We can discuss thister, but I won¡¯t immediately refuse.¡±

    Undying Yushan was d to hear his response. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With me around, she won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget about that three year marriage agreement that you have with the Aunas,¡± Undying Yushan reminded.

    Lu Yin could only nod again.

    Undying Yushan patted him on the shoulder as he consoled, ¡°That marriage contract will tie both sides together. Even if you don¡¯t marry Jenny Auna, the Auna Family is already trying to curry favor with you. Haven¡¯t you noticed?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone as he recalled what had happened when he had met Rocky Auna outside of the Grand Astral Gate. The Auna family had obviously shown that they wanted to disy their goodwill.

    ¡°For now, you don¡¯t have any connections to the empire. Thus, the Auna Family, which also doesn¡¯t belong to any factions, can be helpful to you. I don¡¯t mind if my sessor makes connections with external officials; it¡¯ll all depend on you. Even if you don¡¯t marry, those three years should be more than enough for the Auna Family to provide you with quite a bit of aid,¡± Undying Yushan said.

    Lu Yin nced at Undying Yushan. This person was teaching him how to use others, and also how to set situations up so that he would receive the results he wanted. Are these the emperor¡¯s psychological tactics?

    After a long time, Lu Yin left the pce. But he was pulled back inside right after by Undying Yushan, mostly to teach him how to deal with certain matters. From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, the emperor was teaching him things that were not widely known, yet were very effective. Learning from the experiences of someone who had governed an empire for over eight centuries was very valuable. Dorren and Duke Yushan had probably been taught like this as well, and it was now Lu Yin¡¯s turn.

    While thinking about the recent turn of events, Lu Yin unconsciously walked up to the Grand Astral Gate. He looked up and felt his heart tremble. Before him stood Rocky Auna, quietly looking at him.

 Chapter 156: Bloodstained Space

    <h4>Chapter 156: Bloodstained Space</h4>

    When Lu Yin saw Rocky, a feeling of guilt crept up within his heart. He had just been talking with Undying Yushan about how he could best make use of the Auna Family just now. Who could have guessed that he would run into one of the aforementioned people. It really was bad to talk about someone behind their back. He shouldn¡¯t have heard anything¡­ right?

    ¡°Hello, Captain Rocky,¡± Lu Yin greeted enthusiastically and modestly.

    Rocky Auna nodded, his expression as indifferent as ever. He even managed to squeeze out a smile as he asked, ¡°Do you have the time to visit the Auna Family? Our family head has been waiting to meet you for a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s first instinct was to refuse, but after thinking things over, he ultimately decided to ept Rocky¡¯s offer. He would have to visit the family sooner orter as, even though he had a marriage agreement with them, he hadn¡¯t done so yet. Even if his actions were interpreted in the most generous manner possible, he would be seen as having no manners. However, if people tried to read into his intentions, then they might think that he thought nothing of the Auna Family. And this was the Auna Family, a powerful family with a Cruiser at its head.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve long since wanted to visit Snow Mountain, sir,¡± Lu Yin answered politely.

    Rocky smiled at Lu Yin before leading the way. Soon enough, they arrived before a luxurious spacecraft. The two of them then embarked for the Auna Family¡¯s residence.

    Meanwhile, in the dark void of outer space, an ancient sword pierced through the stars, aimed straight at the Great Yu Empire.

    But in reality, it was a spacecraft in the shape of a sword. No matter how closely one inspected it, it looked like a sword flying through outer space at exceptional speeds. Spacecraft like these were rarely seen and only ever came from the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Within it was Wendy Yushan, who was rushing back to her homeworld.

    Within the spacecraft, Wendy had an indifferent and icy expression on her face. While she did not care much for the Great Yu Empire, it was still her birthce, and her family was still there. If anyone had the guts to challenge the empire, then she¡¯d kill them all.

    Not too muchter, she saw a spacecraft approaching hers from the front, as if it were fleeing away from the Great Yu Empire.

    Her eyes narrowed when she saw the spacecraft, and with a casual stomp of her foot, she tore through space and appeared directly in front of the spacecraft. Then, with a wave of her hand, numerous metallic glints shimmered in space that instantly destroyed the spacecraft. Every person who was inside died with the sole exception of a middle-aged man, who emerged from the wreckage with a pathetic expression. He gazed at Wendy in shock. ¡°Y-you¡¯ve returned?¡±

    Wendy¡¯s gaze was cold. ¡°What happened?¡±

    The middle-aged man grit his teeth and turned pale before he spoke. ¡°Your father, Undying Yushan, is fine. We were deceived by him and didn¡¯t manage to hurt him in the slightest.¡±

    Wendy continued ring at him. ¡°I already know that, but that¡¯s not what I wanted to hear.¡±

    ¡°You might be a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak, but I¡¯m still not someone you should provoke. I¡¯ve also got someone-¡± But before the middle-aged man could finish his words, Wendy killed him with a single blow. He had been a Cruiser, albeit seriously injured, and had still been very powerful. But he couldn¡¯t even hold out against Wendy for even a second and had been instantly killed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look for the person who¡¯s backing you, ant.¡± Wendy¡¯s tone was calm,plete unconcerned about whether the Cruiser was dead or alive. Arrogant wasn¡¯t even strong enough to describe her mind. In her eyes, even Innerverse powerhouses weren¡¯t worth considering. Like she¡¯d said, they were mere ants in her eyes.

    After Wendy returned to her sword-shaped spacecraft, it continued flying into the distance.

    Each Innerverse spacecraft that she met on the way was destroyed by her. She didn¡¯t care about who these people were nor the organizations behind them. She was a disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak and also a member of the Ten Arbiters Council. No matter how brazen these people might have been, they didn¡¯t have the guts to attack someone rted to the Ten Arbiters; the Ten Arbiters were the pinnacle of tyranny, influence, and power.

    Soon enough, many Innerverse organizations received the news of their members being ughtered and became enraged. However, there was nothing they could do about Wendy Yushan. As she already knew, while they could work together to disregard Ten Thousand Swords Peak, they could never stand against the monstrous Ten Arbiters. At this moment, they were already intensely regretting their decision. If they¡¯d known that the Great Yu Empire had birthed such a terrifying monster, then they would have tried to remove Undying Yushan regardless of the cost years ago. Then, a heaven-defying person like Wendy Yushan would have nevere into existence.

    Along the way, at least fifteen cultivators at the Explorer realm or above were killed by her as she paved her way home with blood. The entire space path was sttered with blood, and any soldiers or space pirates that passed by trembled in fear when they saw the macabre scene.

    Wendy Yushan had used such a high-profile manner to announce her return, but when she looked at Zenyu Star, she was still very far away.

    At that moment, Lu Yin had just arrived at the Auna Family¡¯s residence.

    This n was one of the strongest among the entire Great Yu Empire. Among its members, besides the captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, Rocky Auna, the family also held another mysterious existence¡ªXueshan Auna. That person was a key member of the Auna Family and held the same status as Huo Qingshan within his.

    This was something that Lu Yin had found out after chatting with Rocky Auna. He¡¯d thought that the Auna family head wasn¡¯t a warrior, but to his surprise, the person was even more powerful than Rocky Auna.

    While admiring the grand manor, Lu Yin felt a chilling sensation wash over him. This was a natural side effect that emerged whenever someone activated the Auna Family¡¯s battle technique that had been passed down through countless generations: the Blizzard Palm. Every blood-rted member of the Auna Family had trained in this technique at some point in time.

    As they approached the entrance of the manor, Lu Yin saw someone he knew¡ªTorry Auna, the vice-captain of the Ninth Imperial Squadron who had nearly killed him back on Earth.

    As soon as the two of them saw Torry Auna, Rocky carefully shifted gazes to observe Lu Yin. He wanted to use Torry to get a glimpse of Lu Yin¡¯s bearing and see if he was a petty person or not. For normal people, it would be nearly impossible for them to ignore someone who had nearly caused them to die.

    Thankfully, Lu Yin was merely slightly surprised at seeing Torry Aura. Then, he nodded at him and smiled casually.

    Rocky Auna gently sighed. Thankfully, this King Zishan was not a petty person, which meant that he had the potential to aplish great things in his life.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t mind Torry Auna at all. He had never med Torry for anything at all. In fact, to him, it even made sense that the vice-captain had acted against him, since Lu Yin had tried to rob Jenny Auna. At that time, he hadn¡¯t be King Zishan yet and had merely been betting that his threats would work. Besides, after his identity as King Zishan was verified, Torry had stopped trying to cause trouble for him. Everything that had been done purely out of necessity. There was no need to pursue things any further.

    Torry Auna was the Ninth Imperial Squadron¡¯s vice-captain and an Explorer realm powerhouse. No matter how high Lu Yin¡¯s position was, he still had to give him the basic amount of respect that such a powerhousemanded. Lu Yin nodding to Torry Auna was enough to show his sincerity.

    Torry couldn¡¯t help himself from sneaking a nce at Rocky, who surreptitiously nodded back. After seeing this, Torry bowed to Lu Yin before leaving.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t notice this silent exchange as he was instead enamored with the Auna Family¡¯s manor. It wasn¡¯t very extravagant or grand, and its decorations could actually be called simple. From a distance, it was pure white; the Auna Family manor was covered from ceiling to floor with snow and ice.

    ¡°Our family has passed down the Blizzard Palm technique for generations. The effects are multiplied when we train in such an environment,¡± Rocky exined.

    Lu Yin grunted in understanding. ¡°I heard that the Auna Family¡¯s Blizzard Palm technique can even freeze the void. Quite impressive.¡±

    Rocky burst intoughter. ¡°Any battle technique bes frightening when its wielder is strong enough. The battle technique in and of itself isn¡¯t that powerful. You¡¯ve fought with Jenny before, so you should have experienced it for yourself then. It¡¯s not powerful enough to threaten you.¡±

    Lu Yin inwardly agreed with Rocky¡¯s assessment, but he still had to be polite, ¡°It¡¯s a battle technique that¡¯s been passed down through many generations, after all. That¡¯s more than enough to make many people throughout the empire envious.¡±

    Rocky shook his head. ¡°The Outerverse is still the Outerverse in the end. The Blizzard Palm technique can be considered to be a pretty good technique in the Great Yu Empire, but it¡¯s nothingpared to the techniques of the great organizations in the Innerverse.¡± At this point, Rocky looked at Lu Yin and said in an admiring tone, ¡°I saw how you took out that Limiteer from the Outerverse Youth Council in front of the pce. You¡¯re powerful.¡±

    Everything suddenly clicked together for Lu Yin; he had been wondering why Rocky Auna¡¯s attitude had changed so drastically, but it seems that in the end, it all came down to power. His identity as King Zishan meant nothing to Rocky, but his battle power was a whole other story. Lu Yin had handily defeated those Limiteers from the Youth Council, and that organization was one of the top within the Great Yu Empire. If Rocky knew that Lu Yin had also enhanced the purple star, then he might even start asking about Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift.

    After considering all of this, Lu Yin sighed ruefully in gratitude. Undying Yushan had been very generous to not ask about this matter at all.

    ¡°The only person amongst the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation that can stand up to you is probably Schutz from Astral-10. The others, even Limiteers, are no match for you,¡± Rocky said happily.

    Lu Yin merely smiled. Schutz? He was one of the bottom ranked students in Astral-10 in terms of power while Lu Yin was the leader; the gap between them was huge. However, there was no need for him to say anything. Rocky might not believe him and even think that he was spouting nonsense.

    The Auna Family mansion wasn¡¯tpletely covered with ice and snow, and there were ces with normal weather as well.

    After passing through the manor, they walked for ten minutes before reaching a sitting room. There, the current head of the Auna Family, Xueshan Auna, was already waiting.

    Not only was Xueshan Auna the family head of the Auna family, but he was also Jenny¡¯s father.

    Lu Yin suddenly had the strange feeling he was being introduced to his father-inw. While he had never considered marrying Jenny, many people in the empire already thought him as the Auna Family¡¯s son-inw. In some sense, he really was meeting his father-inw.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment before stepping into the living room. From a nce, he saw that a solemn looking middle-aged man was sitting at the master¡¯s seat. This was naturally Xueshan Auna.

    Lu Yin bowed, ¡°Greetings, Uncle Xueshan.¡±

    Xueshan Auna inspected Lu Yin with a curious look on his face. Lu Yin didn¡¯t move and just remained standing.

    A whileter, Xueshan nodded in satisfaction and warmly said, ¡°Have a seat. You too, Rocky.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Rocky answered.

    Lu Yin bowed once again. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±

    When Lu Yin sat down, a servant immediately came over and poured tea for the three of them. The fragrance was pleasant and calming with a hint of bitterness. The leaves themselves seemed to be frosted over, which piqued Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity.

    Xueshan Auna looked at Lu Yin as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to greet you. Forgive me for making youe all the way to our Auna Family mansion.¡±

    Lu Yin politely answered, ¡°Not at all, sir. I should be the one greeting you. Please forgive my rudeness.¡±

    Xueshan Auna was very satisfied with Lu Yin¡¯s congenial attitude; he was neither arrogant nor hot-tempered. In the past, he would not have cared one way or another, but he now knew that this person was a student of Astral-10. Lu Yin had the ability to also easily defeat Limiteers from the Outerverse Youth Council, but his demeanor remained polite. This was rare. ¡°Enough with the pleasantries. I hope that you won¡¯t mind if I call you Little Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s what His Majesty calls me as well. Of course I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. How¡¯s life in the Astral Combat Academy, Little Yin?¡± Xueshan asked.

    Rocky looked at Lu Yin. The two Auna men might be powerful, but they had never gone to the academy. The Astral Combat Academy was the most prestigious academy in the universe and neither of them had met the requirements when they were younger.

    Lu Yin gave a brief summary on his activities in the academy. Of course, he did not mention Astral-10¡¯s decline. Just as Undying Yushan had instructed him, regardless of whether he actually married Jenny, it was necessary to maintain his value in the Auna Family¡¯s eyes. If they discovered what had happened to Astral-10, then Lu Yin¡¯s value would drop along with it.

 Chapter 157: Wendy Yushan

    <h4>Chapter 157: Wendy Yushan</h4>

    Most of the Great Yu Empire only knew that Astral-10 had been driven from the Innerverse, and not many of them knew the specific details about Astral-10¡¯s dire situation. Thus, Lu Yin did his best to avoid revealing the full extent of Astral-10¡¯s tragic state.

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s sparse exnation, his audience was stunned by the descriptions of the teleportation stone, ported battles, Rain Observatory, Sand Ocean, Nine Trial Zones, and everything else. Few Outerverse denizens had even heard of these mysterious ces, especially the ported battles. The thought of freely pitting themselves against Innerverse powerhouses was so wonderful that even Rocky Auna grew excited from Lu Yin¡¯s stories. It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t a part of the younger generation.

    ¡°I wish that I were born a few hundred yearster. If I were as young as little Yin, I would die to enter the Astral Combat Academy,¡± Xueshan Auna bemoaned.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Jenny couldn¡¯t make it,¡± Rocky Auna said with a sigh.

    Upon the mention of Jenny¡¯s name, Xueshan Auna¡¯s face changed. ¡°Don¡¯t bring up that useless thing. As the heir to the Auna n, it would have been eptable if she had merely failed the Astral Combat Academy examinations; however, she failed at the Sentinel trial stage and was even captured. Worthless.¡±

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed, as Jenny had naturally been captured by him. Did Xueshan Auna mention this just to make me feel guilty?

    Even though Xueshan Auna was genuinely furious, Jenny was still his daughter by blood and even the eldest child of his first wife. He could not stop his innate affection from showing through his eyes.

    Lu Yin was reminded of an amusing phenomenon; regardless of whether it was a Hunter who had a lifespan of a thousand years or a weaker cultivator who could only live for a few hundred years, they tended to dy giving birth whenever possible. He had actually investigated this phenomena, and apparently, it was because most cultivators only wanted to have children when they had reached peak strength. By doing so, their descendants would have a greater probability of inheriting their innate gifts and strengthening their n.

    Just like Daynight and Mavis n members, the children of powerful cultivators were more powerful than normal cultivators. Many cultivators in the universe had a dream of establishing a strong n, so they often dyed establishing a family for as long as they could. Xueshan Auna had lived for several hundred years and only had one daughter: Jenny Auna. Undying Yushan simrly only had a few children.

    Xueshan looked towards Lu Yin and, in a soft tone, asked, ¡°Little Yin, what do you think of my girl, Jenny?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart pounded when this question was asked. ¡°She¡¯s a good person. She¡¯s very kind and very pretty.¡±

    Xueshan Auna smiled wryly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be polite. As her father, I know that brat¡¯s disposition extremely well. She¡¯s stubborn and isn¡¯t very talented. But she is indeed kind and very pretty.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Miss Jenny is indeed a good catch.¡±

    Xueshan Auna nodded as his expression turned serious. ¡°Since our two families have confirmed the engagement, when do you n on having the wedding ceremony with Jenny?¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. After a while, he raised his head and seriously replied, ¡°Uncle, I wish to focus on raising my strength for now. Could you give me some time?¡±

    ¡°His Majesty has previously discussed this with me. Three years is not a long time, but it isn¡¯t short either. We can dy the wedding with Jenny for three years, but you must be engaged first.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t ept!¡± Jenny shouted as she furiously ran in. She red angrily at Lu Yin before demanding, ¡°Give up! I won¡¯t marry you. You¡¯re not worthy of me.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. What audacity!¡± Xueshan Auna mmed the table, stood up, and pointed outside. ¡°Get out! You have no right to speak here.¡±

    Tears welled up in Jenny¡¯s eyes as she looked indignantly at Xueshan Auna, ¡°Father, I will not marry him, even if I die. I already have someone else in my heart. This person doesn¡¯t even qualify to bepared with Brother Feng.¡±

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Xueshan Auna said as he waved his hand, causing an icy gust to sweep across the sitting room and toss Jenny out of the room.

    Rocky Auna immediately tried to defuse the situation. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s no need to be angry. I¡¯ll bring her around.¡± After saying that, he quickly ran out.

    Lu Yin did not speak from start to end. He wasn¡¯t concerned about the situation at all. Rather, he was actually d that she had rejected the engagement because he didn¡¯t know how to turn it down. However, he still had to put on an act. ¡°Uncle, who¡¯s this Brother Feng that Jenny mentioned?¡±

    Xueshan Auna smiled bitterly. ¡°He¡¯s named Yan Feng, the young master of Fireforge. When Jenny visited their to experience the other extreme of temperature, she was unexpectedly rescued by Yan Feng in a dangerous situation. But don¡¯t pay it much mind, Little Yin. There¡¯s no need to worry about Yan Feng. She was young back then and I cannot possibly allow her to marry into Fireforge. That is too unsuitable for anyone from the Auna n to call it home.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly sipped his tea. He remembered Yan Gang from Fireforge, and also that Ghostfire had mentioned it during Astral-10¡¯s examinations. It seemed that that had some muddled ties with the Great Yu Empire, and its target seemed to be Wendy Yushan. Yan Feng, huh?

    Lu Yin made a request. ¡°Uncle, may I speak to Miss Jenny alone?¡±

    Xueshan Auna paused, but then gave his consent. ¡°Please be patient with her. That brat¡¯s been spoiled to death, so don¡¯t ce much weight on whatever she says.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s normal for girls to be a bit headstrong. Things should improve after marriage.¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes shone at Lu Yin¡¯s response as it seemed to indicate that Lu Yin wanted to marry Jenny, which was good news. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Okay, go ahead.¡±

    Rocky Auna returned, informed Lu Yin of Jenny Auna¡¯s location, and then Lu Yin slowly walked over.

    Jenny Auna was furiously gnashing her teeth. ¡°So he still has the balls to look for me. Hmph, I¡¯ll let you know the might of the Auna n.¡± She activated her gadget and it seemed like she sent a message.

    Lu Yin slowly walked through the courtyard as he immersed himself in the visuals of the Auna n¡¯s heritage, enjoying himself immensely. This was truly an incredible n, as there were items of great cultural value that had been umted over the ages disyed everywhere.

    Before long, Lu Yin found Jenny Auna, who had two Limiteers beside her. Lu Yin was unperturbed by the additional people and continued approaching her without any hesitation.

    Jenny Auna defiantly pointed at him. ¡°Teach him a lesson.¡±

    The two Limiteers didn¡¯t hesitate as they did not recognize him. Thus, they approached with the intention to strike heavily; there were nock of Limiteers within the Auna n.

    An icy glint shed through Lu Yin''s eyes. Although he had hoped that Jenny Auna would resist, his punishment could not be too excessive, lest it cause any annoyingplications. He would teach her a lesson and by doing so, let the Auna n see his truth worth. He considered his next course of action for a brief moment, and then vanished as he stepped out, distorting the very air around him.

    With two soft ps that resounded throughout the courtyard, the two Limiteers were struck to the ground, expressions of disbelief still on their faces. Fresh blood flowed down their sides and stained the ground red as the four arms that had been cleanly and instantly severed fell onto the ground beside them with a discordant plop. Lu Yin appeared before Jenny Auna and raised his hand, slowly touching Jenny Auna¡¯s smooth cheeks.

    This oue shocked Jenny Auna to her core. How is this possible? Though the two Limiteers had not mastered any battle techniques, they were still Limiteers. In spite of that, they had been severely injured near instantaneously. Jenny looked at the scarlet blood spreading across the ground and felt an acute sense of danger. She didn¡¯t even attempt to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s hand that was caressing her face.

    ¡°I will tolerate being mischievous this once, but don¡¯t go overboard. There won¡¯t be a next time.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s calm tone caused a chill to run down her spine. She had felt this once before, when she had nearly died during Astral-10¡¯s examination. That had been an unforgettable experience, but that same feeling had resurfaced again with this man, her alleged fianc¨¦.

    Lu Yin smiled as he continued, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for so long, but I¡¯ve never given you any gifts. Here, this is for you.¡± An exquisite ring appeared in his hand. It was apletely normal ring without any special abilities that he had obtained after rolling Pilfer with his die. Its craftsmanship was quite impressive and it should have had a rather considerable price tag. It was more than sufficient as a greeting gift to the Auna n¡¯s eldest daughter. Jenny Auna was still in a daze and could only stare at the ring, dumbfounded.

    Lu Yin repeated, ¡°Take it. This is my gift for you.¡±

    Jenny Auna trembled; coincidentally, the blood was creeping towards her feet. She was extremely frightened, but she still stuck out her hand. Lu Yin epted her snow-white hand and put the ring on her finger. He eximed, ¡°Beautiful! This was an enjoyable meeting. I¡¯m looking forward to our next one.¡± He then turned and left.

    He did not bid farewell to Xueshan Auna as he knew full well that the Auna n head was monitoring his every movement. Xueshan Auna would learn much about Lu Yin through these actions that he had just taken.

    As Lu Yin went around the corner and his figure vanished, Jenny immediately took a step back to avoid the slowly expanding puddle of blood. She panted, and was only now able to react to what had just happened. She looked at the exquisite ring on her hand and thought about throwing it away, but the thought of Lu Yin¡¯s icy gaze rose unbidden in her mind, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the sorry state of the two Limiteers in front of her. She ultimately decided to leave the ring on her hand.

    In the distance, Rocky Auna sighed. ¡°Brother, he¡¯s truly not simple. He can already use sh so exquisitely that his technique is beyond most Limiteers as he is nearly able to shatter the void with his movements. How can his body handle it? It should be too fast.¡±

    Xueshan Auna had an amazed expression on his face. He wasn¡¯t just shocked by the young man¡¯s power, but also his execution. In just a few seconds, he had subdued Jenny. No matter what his strategy had been, this King Zishan¡¯s abilities were far beyond his imagination. He was obviously much more powerful than what he had previously been led to believe.

    ¡°Brother, Astral-10 must be truly extraordinary if it transformed him so much in just a couple of months,¡± Rocky Aunamented.

    Xueshan Auna calmly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be overly shocked. Those two Limiteers were very weak; even the Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Masters can defeat them. And Little Yin easily destroyed one of the Council¡¯s Limiteers. Those two can¡¯t even qualify to carry Lu Yin¡¯s shoes and would only shame us no matter the oue. Normally, my Auna n can act with impunity. This is also a warning for Jenny.¡±

    Rocky Auna could not bear it any longer. ¡°Jenny must have been frightened.¡±

    ¡°This will be a good experience for her then. Otherwise, she will truly end up suffering once she marries King Zishan. It¡¯s better to face reality now thanter.¡±

    Rocky Auna nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Oh, we must also send a gift in reply to King Zishan. Don¡¯t be stingy.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll give the task to Torry.¡±

    Xueshan Auna thought about it for a moment, but then nodded in approval. ¡°Very well.¡±

    Across the, the Zenyu Star space stations had all been sealed and the monitoring devices all deactivated. The cabin door of a spacecraft opened, and Wendy Yushan walked out. Jue Lang, Di Ou, Peach, and Bazeer were already there waiting for her.

    Bazeer¡¯s eyes gleamed when he saw Wendy Yushan. He stepped forward and respectfully greeted, ¡°Representative Wendy, you must have had a difficult journey.¡±

    ¡°Mmm,¡± Wendy Yushan said, barely acknowledging him.

    Jue Lang and the other captains stepped forward as well. ¡°We pay respects to the Fifth Princess.¡±

    The trio¡¯s attitude was very deferential, even more so than when they faced Dorren Yushan. This was because of Wendy Yushan¡¯s strength.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze swept across them all before finally stopping on Peach. She retrieved arge pile of snacks under Peach¡¯s watchful eyes. ¡°For you.¡±

 Chapter 158: Lu Yin and Wendy

    <h4>Chapter 158: Lu Yin and Wendy</h4>

    Peach was delighted by Wendy¡¯s gift, and she immediately took the snacks. Her small face beamed as she aimed a smile at Wendy Yushan. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded in response. ¡°I had to rush over here, so I wasn¡¯t able to prepare much. I¡¯ll move the production lines of your most beloved snacks to Zenyu Star.¡±

    Many were stunned by Wendy¡¯s deration. It seemed a little overboard.

    Even Peach shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to go that far. A small bite of these snacks are good enough. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t cherish them.¡±

    Wendy Yushan raised her head. ¡°That¡¯s true. Some people don¡¯t know how to appreciate what is dear to them.¡± She then stepped forward and vanished. Jue Lang and the rest were shocked; they could not sense where she had gone. Wendy was just too strong.

    Bazeer¡¯s gaze revealed his excitement, and there was even a hint of infatuation, but it was quickly suppressed. Wendy Yushan was beautiful, had a naturally heroic demeanor, and it was all entuated by the longsword she wielded; she emanated the natural aura of a conqueror. Bazeer was a member of her throngs of admirers, but he hid his thoughts well and didn¡¯t dare expose them. His idol was Wendy Yushan after all. She would not think twice about killing him, and he knew that he was no match for her.

    Sadly, there was no telling who might draw the short stick of her anger at any given moment. Pity welled up within Bazeer as the image of a man flitted across his mind.

    Within the Imperial pce¡¯s gardens, Undying Yushan was silently observing a certain purple nt. Wendy Yushan appeared behind him with tranquil eyes and a calm face.

    Undying Yushan turned around as he remarked, ¡°You¡¯ve lost even more manners sincest time.¡±

    Wendy Yushan disregarded her father¡¯s snidement and sat down. ¡°I killed almost half of those Innerverse meddlers.¡±

    Undying Yushan sighed. ¡°I heard. It turns out that I can¡¯t even fulfill my duties as a father! My daughter had to act on my behalf.¡±

    Wendy Yushan stared at Undying Yushan. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you inform me earlier? If I were watching over everything, it¡¯d be fine even if the ancestors behind theme out.¡±

    Undying Yushan shook his head. ¡°Showing off your abilities is not a good idea. Ten Thousand Swords Peak is not the strongest organization, and while the Ten Arbiters are powerful, the interests of all parties involved must be considered. Oftentimes, there is a gap between thew and the real world; however, this gap can bury us all.¡±

    Wendy Yushan coldly replied, ¡°Even if they use all of their hidden cards, I won¡¯t be harmed.¡±

    Undying Yushan smiled. ¡°I know who¡¯s behind you, but the winds of the universe are forever changing. That person is also not immortal. How can you be certain that she has no intentions on the Undying Manual? Even if the likelihood of me having it is miniscule, that probability might be enough for her to abandon you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan snubbed, ¡°Father, you are still too narrow-minded. Do you really think that the Undying Manual can drag out everyone¡¯s greed? The person behind me doesn¡¯t care about it at all, and neither do the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no one who can resist the allure of immortality,¡± Undying Yushan responded with a sigh.

    ¡°Anyone who reaches a certain level of strength will naturallye to understand that no one can truly be immortal. I dare say that, amongst the Ten Arbiters, not a single one of them wants to seize the Undying Manual. They would just have to reveal their intentions a little, and both the Great Yu Empire and myself would cease to exist.¡±

    Undying Yushan nodded. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right. Alright, let¡¯s not discuss this anymore. Now that you¡¯ve shifted the focus of the conflict from me to you, what do you n to do next?¡±

    She arrogantly replied, ¡°Whoever dares to give me trouble shall die.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re very confident in your power. Do you want to spar?¡± Undying Yushan suggested, his lips rising ever so slightly to form the barest outline of a smile.

    Wendy Yushan turned away, not epting the invitation. While she was confident that she could defeat many powerhouses, she knew that she would be powerless against her father. Even though he had been severely injured and his power had declined significantly, he was still a powerhouse who had lived for nearly a thousand years. His battle power far exceeded that of a considerable number of people in the Innerverse, and he could not be measured by the Outerverse¡¯s standards. Otherwise, those Innerverse powers would not have waited until they received news of Undying Yushan¡¯s death to act.

    ¡°Father, the empire has really declined. If you hadn¡¯t put on that act and deceived everyone at thest moment, then Jue Lang and the rest would not have been able to stop the Innerverse powerhouses. And the Yu Academy is truly too weak. I can¡¯t even bear to look at them,¡± Wendy Yushan criticized, still in a snobbish tone.

    Undying Yushanughed and gazed lovingly at Wendy. This brat of his was still every bit aspetitive as she had been in her younger days. If she couldn¡¯t win in an argument against him, then she would always try to take the advantage in another aspect. She used this tactic time and time again, but it didn¡¯t invalidate her arguments. Compared to the Innerverse, the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire truly was far too weak, apart from Schutz. Actually, there was now Little Yin as well. He was the top student in Astral-10 and had even surpassed Schutz.

    ¡°Little brat, Father did not arrange anything and very nearly died,¡± Undying Yushan spoke in a hushed tone.

    Wendy Yushan was shocked by this reveal and scrutinized Undying Yushan carefully. Her eyes shed as she replied, ¡°Impossible. Your condition has improved substantially, and in your current condition, you can hold on for at least another hundred years.¡±

    Undying Yushan forced a smile onto his face as he informed Wendy of what had actually happened. She was shocked and immediately asked, ¡°What could his innate gift be for him to be able to nearly enhance a purple star into a billowing star?¡±

    ¡°Once, a die appeared with a frosty chill around it. I¡¯m unsure of the exact details.¡±

    Wendy Yushan fell silent. Her right thumb caressed her sword hilt as she muttered to herself, deep in thought. There were many strange innate gifts in the universe. If this King Zishan really had the ability to enhance a purple star into a billowing star, that was a very valuable ability. The billowing star was a rare treasure even in the Innerverse.

    ¡°Find out what his innate gift is.¡± Wendy was direct in her thoughts.

    Undying Yushan looked sternly at Wendy, ¡°He himself has stated that there are no issues with the purple star. If he doesn¡¯t speak, then we will not force it.¡±

    ¡°I know that his innate gift may be special, but there¡¯s no way that it would be that valuable, unless his innate gift really can enhance a purple star to a billowing star. Then it would be worthwhile for me to speak up for him and defuse his conflict with Bazeer.¡±

    Undying Yushan¡¯s eyes zed. ¡°His worth would only merit you speaking up and defusing the conflict? Do you know what sort of shame he endured because of Bazeer?¡±

    Wendy couldn¡¯t care less about Lu Yin¡¯s shame. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that the strong will prey on the weak in this universe. Bazeer is strong, so he can do as he pleases. If someone needs to be med, then it should be that person for not knowing his ce. I can only speak on his behalf due to the uniqueness of his innate gift. If it were anyone else, I wouldn¡¯t care even then. Of course, as repayment for saving your life, I¡¯ll transfer him to one of the other academies. Astral-10 is just too lousy.¡±

    ¡°You can transfer him to the other academies? But you¡¯re not even a student of the Astral Combat Academy.¡± Undying Yushan was doubtful of his daughter¡¯s ns.

    Wendyughed confidently before replying, ¡°Father, many of Ten Thousand Swords Peak¡¯s disciples are students of the Astral Combat Academy. I¡¯m their senior, so my words are more than enough to bring one person into an academy. It¡¯s quite simple.¡±

    Undying Yushan fell silent. He felt that his daughter was too arrogant, but at the same time, her words were backed up by her strength and lofty status. But the universe had a saying; do not look down upon others. The shame that Bazeer had brought to little Yin could not be dissolved with mere words. If Wendy decided to defuse the conflict with her might, then it would only lead to Little Yin bing even more infuriated. It would be alright if he were a normal person, but if one day he became a peerless powerhouse, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    Undying Yushan could only assume that this wasn¡¯t the first time that Wendy had acted in this brazen manner. She had offended too many people to count, but no one had dared to act against her as she was protected by the Ten Arbiters¡¯ prestige. But there was no absolute in the world, and the Ten Arbiters may not remain invincible forever.

    ¡°Little brat, listen to me. Look at it from the bottom sometimes. There are many things that cannot be seen from just a high vantage point,¡± he advised.

    Wendy spun around and fiercely shot back, ¡°Father, you¡¯ve also reached certain heights before and should know that some people naturally don¡¯t understand what living like a lowlife is like. Only by perpetually seeking ever greater heights can we ever fulfill our potential. All I need to do is continually look upwards.¡± She then tore the void in front of her apart, stepped in, and vanished.

    Undying Yushan sighed; she was absolutely correct. He had once reached those heights, and hence held those same thoughts as well. The top twenty in the Astral Combat Rankings were not the peak, as there were still the top ten, and then the top five after that. And above them, there were still the Ten Arbiters and even more ancient and powerful ancestors after that. Although those seniors had not cultivated with formcast models, they had be unimaginably terrifying over time.

    After Lu Yin left the Auna n, he flew in his spacecraft towards the King Zishan pce. On his way back, he reviewed everything rted to the Great Yu Empire. Why did Undying Yushan fabricate legends about the Zishan n treasure? Was it really just as a plot against the various Innerverse powers? My family even set me up with the identity of King Zishan because of those legends. Just that might be reasonable, but what about Silver? He¡¯s from the Neohuman Alliance, so why does he have such a detailed understanding of the Great Yu Empire? Is it because of the Undying Manual?

    The Neohuman Alliance power was powerful, but it was also limited to acting in the shadows. Many Innerverse powers had concealed themselves specifically to deal with the Great Yu Empire and were waiting for Undying Yushan¡¯s demise. However, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s influence and power in the Great Yu Empire couldn¡¯t possibly exceed that of the Innerverse powers, so why did they know so much about the empire?

    There were only two possibilities. The first was that the Neohuman Alliance was certain that the Undying Manual was in Undying Yushan¡¯s hands, and thus had spared no effort in investigating the Great Yu Empire. Besides that, the Alliance might also have another goal.

    Lu Yin was reminded of Silver¡¯s special attention to himself and guessed that Silver must have other motives.

    Also, Lu Yin¡¯s family had specifically told him to find a way to join the newly established Great Yu Empire Youth Council. They must have some other goal besides obtaining the Undying Manual.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled; the Great Yu Empire must contain other secrets that he hadn¡¯t uncovered yet.

    The stately King Zishan pce appeared before him as Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraftnded. Suddenly, the void in front of him distorted, from where a peerless beauty with an ancient longsword stepped out, nearly causing the spacecraft to explode. Lu Yin ignored the near destruction of his spacecraft, only staring at the woman: Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan had stepped through the void and unintentionally run across Lu Yin. She nced at him and a strange expression shed across her eyes, but it vanished even quicker before her entire body vanished as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as his surroundings returned to normal. That could¡¯ve been a dream, but that woman¡¯s appearance was unmistakable. She was definitely Wendy Yushan. She had recognized him but had not bothered to say anything.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first close encounter with Wendy Yushan. She had a calm gaze that seemed to view everything as ordinary without any special disy of arrogance. But this was actually the greatest arrogance, as it meant that she did not put anything or anyone in her eyes, including Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. He had not expected to bump into Wendy Yushan here. Is this fate? It was impossible to know what the circumstances of their next meeting would be, and Lu Yin suddenly grew excited at that thought. He hated Wendy Yushan¡¯s calm look and fervently wished that he could shatter that tranquility. At their next meeting, he hoped that his actions would be able to send a ripple of shock into that woman¡¯s eyes. Or iprehension, or maybe even regret... The Astral Combat Tournament would be the best opportunity for him to prove himself to the entire universe.

 Chapter 159: Sourcebox Catalog

    <h4>Chapter 159: Sourcebox Catalog</h4>

    Not long after Lu Yin arrived at the residence, Peach arrived with a tortured expression.

    Lu Yin could already guess what had happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I lost your friend,¡± Peach sincerely apologized to Lu Yin, her face extremely cute.

    Lu Yin smiled as he consoled, ¡°Peach, Bai Xue is an adult and is responsible for her own behavior. Getting lost is her fault and not your responsibility.¡±

    Peach obstinately said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know what happened. She just vanished mysteriously. I didn¡¯t even sense anything when she disappeared.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked since he assumed that she had lost track of Bai Xue when Yu Academy had fallen into chaos when the second prince, Duke Yushan, defected. A portion of Yu Academy had left the academy grounds at that time, and it was very possible that Bai Xue had been taken out as well since she had an innate gift. But now it seemed that there might be other matters at y. ¡°How?¡±

    Peach didn¡¯t know either. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t she go in the first round?¡±

    Peach shook her head. ¡°No, she went missing in the Sixth Imperial Squadron¡¯s encampment. A super powerhouse should have been the one to take her away, but I couldn¡¯t feel any trace of remnant star energy. I¡¯ve reported this to His Majesty, and he said that only a Hunter or above powerhouse could have aplished such a thing. And it must have been no ordinary Hunter, either, as the emperor couldn¡¯t sense anything either.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked to hear Peach¡¯s words. For someone to be able to hide their movements from Undying Yushan, they were definitely a super powerhouse. But why Bai Xue? And Zhang Dingtian, Seruzen, Xu San are all missing as well. Could their disappearances all be rted to this mysterious super powerhouse? They were all very ordinary and their onlymonalityy in their shared origin of Earth. But Earth should be a very ordinary without any connections to any super powerhouses.

    Lu Yin felt helpless as he could not make sense of what had happened either. He told Peach, ¡°It¡¯s unrted to you, so don¡¯t me yourself.¡±

    Peach nodded with a gloomy face. She liked Bai Xue, but the woman had gone missing on her watch.

    Peach left soon after, but before she left, she told Lu Yin that Wendy had brought her many snacks from the Innerverse. Lu Yin knew what she was hinting at, but he really had no more snacks and so could only gently push her away.

    Torry Auna arrived shortly after Peach left.

    ¡°King Zishan, Your Highness, this is the Auna n¡¯s wee gift for you. Please ept our good wishes,¡± Torry Auna said as he passed an information chip to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin received the chip and smiled at Torry Auna. ¡°Please convey my thanks to Xueshan Auna.¡±

    Torry Auna nodded and slowly left.

    Lu Yin inserted the chip into his gadget and discovered that it was actually a list of names. More specifically, it was a list of names of those who were once loyal to the Zishan n. Sigmund Mathers name was on the list. Additionally, there was a portion of the names that had beenbeled as traitors.

    This list of names was rather simr to Silver¡¯s; it was more detailed, but the two lists were essentially identical.

    This list represented the Auna n¡¯s sincerity in dealing with Lu Yin. If not for Silver¡¯s gift, Lu Yin would have been extremely excited to receive this gift, but since it was just a copy of information that he already had, this gift held no practical value to him. Even money would have been better¡­

    Lu Yin crushed the chip into dust and looked at his gadget, recalling something.

    Master Wusheng had given Lu Yin several instructions before he left Astral-10. One was to wait for thework to finalize his approval as a Lockbreaker. Lu Yin did not know if it had finished yet, but he went ahead and entered the code that Master Wusheng had given him. The registration interface immediately popped up on his disy.

    After Lu Yin entered his serial identification number for the Lockbreaker Society and went through several rounds of authentication, a message finally appeared that stated, ¡°Congrattions, Lu Yin, for sessfully being verified as a Lockbreaker. Please choose a pseudonym and begin your great, lockbreaking journey.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed and immediately entered a pseudonym¡ªSeventh Brother.

    A momentter, the disy changed to a general interface. There were various guides and rules concerning Lockbreakers, and there was also a shing icon in the bottom-right hand corner. Someone was trying to contact him.

    Lu Yin curiously opened the icon, only to receive a flood of congrattory messages from all over the universe. The senders included various empires of the universe, ns,panies, institutions, and even research organizations. The congrattory messages were so numerous that they nearly overwhelmed him.

    While he had known that Lockbreakers held a high status, he had never known that it was to this extent! He was just a new member with no aplishments to his name, but so many people had already rushed to reach out and congratte him. This was just too unbelievable! He was sure that even the Great Yu Empire was one of the well wishers.

    Lu Yin immediately closed the messaging program. There¡¯s too many. I don¡¯t have the time to view them all.

    An icon close to the messaging icon shed on the disy with the description, ¡°Sourcebox Catalog,¡± below it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He had read through Master Wusheng¡¯s books and now had some cursory knowledge about lockbreaking. For example, objects that required lockbreaking were called ¡°sourceboxes.¡± Over the countless years of the universe¡¯s existence, innumerable treasures had been birthed into existence before being covered in dust and sealed away. These were sourceboxes, and lockbreaking was the only method that could restore them to pristine condition.

    The Sourcebox Catalog was essentially a collection of lockbreaking videos. Any Lockbreaker could film and then upload a video of them lockbreaking onto their own channel in the Sourcebox Catalog. This channel could then be sold, exchanged, and if suitably qualified, uploaded onto the Lockbreaker itself for others to view and admire.

    The shing Sourcebox Catalog icon meant that there were new lockbreaking videos avable to view.

    Lu Yin opened it expectantly, and a series of messages appeared before his eyes: ¡°Congrattions to Seventh Brother for entering the Lockbreaker Society. Mavis Bank has sent five videos from the Sourcebox Catalog,¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Seventh Brother, for entering the Lockbreaker Society. Exotic Metal Union has sent three videos from the Sourcebox Catalog,¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Seventh Brother, for entering the Lockbreaker Society. Shamrock Enterprises has sent three videos from the Sourcebox Catalog¡­¡±

    Each message stirred Lu Yin¡¯s heart. Every one of these messages had been sent by a powerful force of the universe, and there were dozens of messages. Lu Yin hadn¡¯t even heard of half of them, but since they were able to enter the Lockbreakerwork and send messages, they were definitely not simple, and they most likely even had Lockbreakers of their own.

    Mavis Bank, Shamrock Enterprises, Daynight n, Fire Realm... All sorts of powers expressed their goodwill towards Lu Yin. With regards to a Lockbreaker¡¯s status, even a powerful, ancient family like the Daynight n did not dare to act too haughtily. This was the respect that a Lockbreakermanded.

    Lu Yin rejoiced once again that he had sessfully joined the Lockbreaker Society and that he was now able to experience another world.

    In his excited state, Lu Yin started watching the Sourcebox Catalog videos that these powers had gifted him. First up was the one from Mavis Bank.

    He saw a strange, towering ck rock that stood in stark contrast to its deste surroundings. A man slowly approached the rock, the void tearing apart as he neared. The deste ground changed as well; the man¡¯s appearance seemed to have disrupted the immediate area¡¯s bnce, causing it to break apart in stress fractures. The void started to crumble, but even this could not influence the man.

    When the man finally reached the bottom of the ck rock, he calmly reached out to touch it. He mumbled to himself as he circled the stone. After making aplete round, he began hitting it at specific points. An hour passed, during which cracks slowly spread across the ck stone¡¯s surface until it finally copsed. In the instant that it copsed, the surrounding void seemed to be on the verge ofpletely shattering. The man used one hand to stabilize the space and forcefully mend it back together. Finally, the deste ground was enveloped by a greenyer of light, and countless nts started to grow from it. Before the man appeared a towering green rhizome.

    This rhizome had always been sealed by the ck stone and was finally freed by the man.

    Lu Yin was shocked. So this was lockbreaking; that ck rock had actually been the universe¡¯s star energy and all other sorts of special energies that had formed around the rhizome and sealed it in over the passage of time, turning it into a sourcebox. And it had been sessfully unlocked in this video.

    The process seemed simple, but every step was fraught with fatal danger. That entire destend had been within the pressure and influence range of the sourcebox, which meant that anyone who stepped in would face a tremendous pressure. It was such a dangerous ce that even the void had copsed upon the slightest imbnce. In order to sessfully perform his lockbreaking, this man had spent a whole hour to shatter the outer shell formed by the energy. This was aborious process where a single wrong move could cause the man to die, as well as cause the sourcebox to be destroyed altogether.

    This man in the video was definitely a super powerhouse who could move freely throughout the universe, or he would not have been able to forcefully mend the shattered space back together. Lockbreaking not only required a deep control and understanding of star energy, but it also required one to have vast strength. Without a certain level of power, a Lockbreaker may not even be able to approach a sourcebox.

    Lu Yin recalled the title page of the book that Master Wusheng had given him. There was a line that went, ¡°No two identical sourceboxes exist in the universe.¡±

    Each and every lockbreaking process was unique, which was one of the main reasons why lockbreaking had extraordinarily high requirements for one¡¯s control over their star energy and even more stringent requirements for one¡¯s experience. This was why there were hundreds and thousands of Lockbreakers constantly watching and studying the videos that other Lockbreakers had posted on the Sourcebox Catalog. By increasing their knowledge and experience, not only could a Lockbreaker improve their chances of sess, but they could also improve their chances of surviving.

    Lockbreakers enjoyed a lofty status in the universe, but in exchange, they had to bear an unimaginable danger. This was because sourceboxes were sealed by the universe, and unsealing any sourcebox was basically a battle against the universe itself.

    Lu Yin muttered a couple inaudible curses as he clicked his tongue. He wanted to view that video again, but he could not ess it anymore. Each video could only be viewed once, and he would have to pay to view it again. Damn¡­

    There was nothing Lu Yin could do about it, so he selected the next one.

    This time, the setting was at the bottom of an ocean. The angle was not a panoramic view, but rather only showed a pair of hands. This person seemed to have used their gadget to film, which meant that this Lockbreaker had shot the video by themselves.

    The snow-white pair of hands were evidently a girl¡¯s. As the camera moved and the video progressed, Lu Yin eventually caught sight of the sourcebox. This time it was a fish, or more urately, a frozen fish stuck within a grey material.

    Nobody knew how long this fish had been sealed away for, but it had an ancient aura around it. The sealed sourcebox slowly floated up from the ocean floor.

    When it appeared, countless marine lifeforms with scarlet eyes swarmed over from all directions to attack thedy. The woman waved her hands, staining the water red with blood in an instant. Even the strongest of those marine creatures was merely as strong as a Melder, and the majority were only at the level of a Sentinel. The woman in the video was a Limiteer and had easily dealt with them with a wave of her hand.

    Limiteers were generally only Junior Lockbreakers, so these videos that featured them helped Lu Yin greatly. The first video was something that he could only look up to; who knew how long it would take him to reach that standard.

    With the marine creatures removed, the woman was able to easily grab the frozen fish. As she stroked it with her hands, she seemed to be sensing something. Lu Yin guessed that she was using her star energy to get a better sense of the fish¡¯s surface so that she could better break down the dust that it was sealed in.

    After a long time, the dark, dusty material on the fish¡¯s surface gradually lightened. It had originally been dark grey, but it had now turned ash gray and was continuing to grow lighter with each passing minute.

    After two hours, all of the dust that had been sealing the fish had vanished. The fish¡¯s eyes shed as it regained its original appearance; it was brightly colored and a wise radiance seemed to flicker across its eyes. It was clearly a valuable specimen.

    The video ended there, not revealing the fish¡¯s abilities or uses; it had been hidden by the video owner. Every sourcebox was valuable, but the sealed treasures would gradually deteriorate and disintegrate over time. Sometimes, after removing the seal, there might not even be anything left inside. However, anyone who came across a sealed sourcebox would be willing to have it unlocked, as there was always the possibility that an astonishing object was contained within.

 Chapter 160: Harmless Sourcebox

    <h4>Chapter 160: Harmless Sourcebox</h4>

    Lu Yin selected the next video and continued watching.

    This time, the disy in front of him showed a dark room with a small stone in the middle of it. A man appeared and slowly approached the stone. However, before he even drew close enough to touch the stone, a burst of white light shed out from above the man. A flurry of invisible attacks shattered the space inside the room, causing the man to crumble into pieces.

    Lu Yin was shocked; this video was of a failed attempt. Lockbreakers faced major risks and many Lockbreakers died every year with death being amon urrence in their line of work. It seems that the Sourcebox Catalog not only included sessful cases, but they also featured failed attempts. These were actually even more useful than videos of sesses to the average viewer, as these videos represented invaluable experiences.

    Although no two sourceboxes in the universe were exactly the same, many shared simr traits and dangers. For example, Lu Yin had been terrified by that white sh that had appeared in this video; if, one day, he encountered a simr white sh during his own Lockbreaking attempt, he would make sure to flee immediately. These kinds of reactions were all born from experience. Hence, these videos were all very precious.

    Lu Yin had received about a hundred Sourcebox Catalog videos for free, so he spent a few days watching all of them. Most of the videos were of sessful lockbreaking attempts, and there were only a few failed attempts, and of those, only three had deaths. All of these videos were extremely rare; most people wouldn¡¯t show them that easily.

    Lu Yin rubbed his temples as he pondered over the situation. Lockbreaking was extremely difficult, but also simple. It didn¡¯t require much technical knowledge, but it had high standards on a Lockbreaker¡¯s own ability and experience as that was all they could rely on. This was the main reason why the profession was so dangerous.

    Lockbreakers were like a death squad supported by humanity; one that battled against the universe itself over countless treasures. They enjoyed the utmost respect of mankind, but that was because they faced enormous risks. It was no wonder why Master Wusheng had instructed Lu Yin to contact him before making a lockbreaking attempt. Wusheng must have been worried that Lu Yin would identally kill himself during his first time.

    The reality was, after watching so many videos, not only did Lu Yin not have an urge to start lockbreaking, but he was actually of the opinion that he should avoid it as much as possible, at least for now. He had no desire to gamble with his life, especially since he had no formal lockbreaking tutor. It would be all too easy for him to identally kill himself.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and, with gleaming eyes, looked at the die that had appeared there. He decided to put a hold on lockbreaking for now and that he would only try after learning more. He would first earn some more money, as he only had around three thousand star crystals on him right now, which made him feel insecure.

    In another location on Zenyu Star, Bazeer had just met up with Wendy Yushan.

    ¡°Take this and contact that Lockbreaker. Ask him to help us lockbreak it,¡± Wendy Yushan slowly said as she tossed a clump of mud towards Bazeer.

    Bazeer was confused. ¡°Representative Wendy, is this a sourcebox?¡±

    Wendy Yushan shot a cold gaze at Bazeer. ¡°Just do as I say. Tell the Lockbreaker that this Sourcebox is harmless and that it will be good practice for him. Whatever he obtains from this lockbreaking attempt will be his reward. This is also to show the sincerity of the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Bazeer left quickly.

    Wendy Yushan then turned to look at her gadget, which was disying Lu Yin¡¯s page from the Lockbreakerwork. Of course, the name Lu Yin wasn¡¯t listed; instead, ¡°Seventh Brother¡± was.

    ¡°It¡¯s surprising that the new Lockbreaker is from Zenyu Star. Hopefully, it¡¯s not someone from the Innerverse,¡± Wendy Yushan muttered with her ever-cold gaze. Even she didn¡¯t dare to underestimate a Lockbreaker, as every Lockbreaker had a high chance of bing an extremely strong powerhouse as they were the only ones who could unlock sourceboxes. Many Lockbreakers spent their whole lives exploring ancients and searching for sourceboxes. Once they obtained a rare item, they would quickly rise up to be a new powerhouse. These were people who she couldn¡¯t afford to offend.

    Lu Yin looked at the Mavis Bank in front of him and nced at the universal currency that was shimmering in the sunlight. He couldn¡¯t help himself from eximing, ¡°Still as rich as ever.¡±

    Just when he was about to enter, the familiar ring of an iing call came from his gadget. He looked at it and his face twisted in anger. Bazeer?

    Lu Yin looked at the contact request from Bazeer on his gadget. He quickly nced through the details and breathed a sigh of relief; Bazeer wasn''t contacting him directly. Rather, he was doing so through the Lockbreakerwork. This meant that Bazeer didn¡¯t know that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker yet.

    Considering his grudges with Bazeer, this man would definitely kill Lu Yin as soon as he found out that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker. It was something that would definitely cause huge troubles for Lu Yin.

    But why would Bazeer contact him? Lu Yin nced through his profile and noticed that his location was set as Zenyu Star in the Great Yu Empire, which Lu Yin immediately changed to private. No one had told him that his location would be disyed; no wonder Bazeer had contacted him. He was probably trying to get closer to ¡°Seventh Brother¡± on behalf of the Outerverse Youth Council since they were located so close to each other.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t decline the call, but he didn¡¯t use the video call function either. He only answered after using a voice-altering option, saying normally, ¡°Who is this?¡±

    ¡°Greetings Lockbreaker. I am Bazeer, a representative from the Outerverse Youth Council,¡± Bazeer said respectfully. His attitude waspletely different from their first encounter, when Lu Yin had first arrived at Zenyu Star. It was as if he were talking to another person entirely.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°What do you need?¡±

    ¡°I have a sourcebox here and would like to ask you to unlock it,¡± Bazeer answered humbly.

    Lu Yin impatiently answered, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡±

    He was just about to hang up when Bazeer anxiously interrupted, ¡°Please wait! This Sourcebox is not dangerous at all and can be used for practice. Also, anything you obtain from the lockbreaking attempt will belong to you. This is to represent the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s sincerity.¡±

    Lu Yin was quite interested in this proposal; a harmless Sourcebox was rare. Not all Sourceboxs were dangerous, but there was a low chance for there to be anything truly valuable in a harmless sourcebox, and that was not even mentioning the chances that the item inside had already deteriorated to dust. Nevertheless, this was still a good chance for him to practice as all Sourceboxs were precious. Most people wouldn¡¯t be willing to sell this chance as they would want to try themselves.

    ¡°How can you be sure that it¡¯s harmless?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bazeer replied, ¡°The Sourcebox is in my palm right now, and I have already tested it on a normal person. It ispletely harmless.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated a moment before saying, ¡°Fine, I agree. Where will the dropoff location be?¡±

    Bazeer was excited by Lu Yin¡¯s eptance; it was rare to be able to get to know a Lockbreaker. He was an Explorer himself and might be able to obtain Sourceboxs in the future, so if he had connections to a Lockbreaker, he would have a chance of obtaining something rare. ¡°You can choose the location. Whatever¡¯s convenient for you will work.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it briefly before saying, ¡°Leave the sourcebox in the third vase by the entrance of the Imperial Pce.¡±

    Bazeer was stunned. ¡°The pce?¡±

    ¡°What? Are you not willing? I will remember your sincerity and that you represent the Outerverse Youth Council. I have also memorized your name, Bazeer. That should be more than enough. What? Were you expecting to meet me?¡± Lu Yin said impatiently.

    Bazeer gritted his teeth before replying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you say. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll ce it there tomorrow.¡±

    Lu Yin ended the call, content with the result. As long as it was ced within the pce, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about someone finding out his new identity. Numerous people entered and left the pce everyday, including the ministers and the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. He was certain that Bazeer wouldn¡¯t be able to monitor the entire pce, which meant that his identity wouldn¡¯t be revealed.

    When Bazeer reported the situation to Wendy Yushan, she smiled. The pce? She was curious as to how this new Lockbreaker was able to enter the pce freely. She wanted to see who it was.

    After the call, Lu Yin continued walking into the Mavis Bank, but he paused after taking a few steps. He just realized that although Bazeer couldn¡¯t monitor the pce, Wendy Yushan could. After all, the pce was her home. He needed toe up with some way to distract Wendy; otherwise, it would be too difficult for him to retrieve the Sourcebox undetected.

    Lu Yin¡¯s bank card had a total of 200,000 cubes of star crystals within its ount. He withdrew the entire amount and filled his cosmic ring up. He had spent thousands of star crystals to purchase his cosmic ring and had made sure that it was an ultrarge one. The size was probably excessive for most people, but it could no longer satisfy Lu Yin¡¯s needs. Unfortunately, while there were evenrger sizes for cosmic rings, they weren¡¯t avable in a ce like the Frostwave Weave.

    As he walked out of the Mavis Bank, Lu Yin started researching Wendy Yushan with his gadget. To his surprise, he discovered that she didn¡¯t actually reside in the pce as she had moved out a few years ago. Her residence was actually quite distant from the pce. Lu Yin thought about it for a moment and then smiled. He was going to test Princess Wendy with this Sourcebox pickup.

    The next day, Bazeer entered the pce under the guise of visiting Undying Yushan and then left after some time. Wendy arrived at the pce before even Bazeer.

    Lu Yin was in no rush to retrieve the sourcebox and spent his time in the King Zishan mansion studying a star chart. This had be his pastime whenever he had some free time.

    On the day the sourcebox was deposited, no one went near its hiding ce at the pce.

    On the second day, Wendy Yushan continued monitoring the sourcebox for an entire day. She thought that the Lockbreaker might have realized that she was monitoring the area.

    On the third day, no one retrieved the sourcebox yet again. Wendy Yushan frowned as she considered the possibilities.

    On the morning of the fourth day, as Wendy was still considering the situation and deciding whether or not she should stop monitoring the pce, she received a shocking piece of news that caused her to fly into a rage. A spacecraft piloted by dozens of drunk men had crashed into her residence and caused a huge mess.

    Wendy Yushan immediately rushed home.

    At the same time that she went home, Lu Yin followed some officials into the pce. The sourcebox that he had just retrieved was already within his cosmic ring. He wasn¡¯t sure if Wendy Yushan was still monitoring the pce, but he had already done everything within his power. If she was still watching the pce, then his identity would be revealed, though that wasn¡¯t really that big of a problem. But he was quite confident that she had left. While investigating Wendy, Lu Yin had discovered that her residence was very important to her.

    This was a special day for the Great Yu Empire as it was an official armistice day for the civil war against Duke Yushan. Many officials hade to the pce, and the entire area was extremely crowded. Lu Yin stayed there for a while before returning home. He specifically made it a point to not visit anyone during his time in the pce.

    Less than a minute after Lu Yin left, Wendy Yushan returned to the pce and checked the vase. Her gaze turned cold. The sourcebox was gone. She thought about what had just happened at her residence and realized that she had beenpletely yed.

    Wendy was confident in her intelligence and knew that she had only been tricked because she hadn¡¯t been expecting it. After all, she was Wendy Yushan. ¡°You¡¯ll only escape this time, and you better pray that you be a useful Lockbreaker. If not, I¡¯ll let you know the true cost of tricking me.¡± She was fully capable of exposing the new Lockbreaker¡¯s identity if she really wanted to.

    Back in King Zishan Mansion, Lu Yin looked at the clump of ck soil in his hand. So this was a sourcebox. Although it looked quitemon, this was a genuine sourcebox, and what¡¯s more, it was even a harmless one that was the perfect chance to practice. Lockbreaking relied on both one¡¯s ability and experience, and he was going to get his first bit of experience now.

 Chapter 161: Opportunity and Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 161: Opportunity and Crisis</h4>

    Master Wusheng had told Lu Yin to contact him before he performed his first lockbreaking attempt. Now that he had obtained his first sourcebox, Lu Yin considered it for a moment before deciding to contact Master Wusheng first.

    A while went by, but the gadget was unable to connect to Master Wusheng. Lu Yin canceled the call since the man seemed busy. Since he couldn¡¯t contact Master Wusheng, Lu Yin was so impatient that he decided to immediately begin unlocking the sourcebox. He also started recording the scene as he wanted to upload his entire lockbreaking process of the clump of dirt onto his own Sourcebox Catalog channel.

    Whenever someone seeded in a lockbreaking attempt, they were also unlocking a secret of the universe since the sourceboxes were sealed and locked away by the universe. Lockbreakers were the key to unsealing these treasures, so every time someone seeded, they were also contributing to the Lockbreaker Society; it didn¡¯t matter if the lockbreaking attempt was paid for by an outside party or if the Lockbreaker was doing it for themselves. Each sessful contribution was graded by stars, and there were many Discerning Junior Lockbreakers who still had zero contributions like Lu Yin. Technically, they were not true Lockbreakers just yet. Only individuals who had sessfully unlocked a sourcebox could be considered to be a true Lockbreaker. Even with just one sess, that was a one star contribution, and with that single contribution, they would have taken their first step as a true Lockbreaker.

    A Lockbreaker with contributions was entirely different from one without any. One could only obtain a contribution by sending in a lockbreaking video. It could be recorded by the individual themselves or by a third-party. Since the sourceboxes were all unique, it was impossible to create a forgery. Generally speaking, if someone paid a Lockbreaker to unlock a sourcebox, then they were allowed to observe the process at the side of the Lockbreaker. It was rather convenient since they could help record the process, and it also removed any possible suspicions since the unsealed object would be handed over to the original owner right after.

    If a Lockbreaker secretly hid something that they unlocked, they would face the wrath of the entire Lockbreaker Society. This was one of the professional codes of the Lockbreakers.

    Lu Yin had finished preparing everything. He ced a hand on the sourcebox, closed his eyes, and then allowed his star energy to seep out of his body and onto the surface of the item in his hand.

    That instant it made contact with the sourcebox, Lu Yin felt stupefied. The various energies that formed the seal covering the treasure were just tooplicated, chaotic, and tangled. It wasn¡¯t exactly big, but when he observed it with his star energy, it felt as immeasurable as a giant ocean, perhaps even another whole world.

    The ambient star energy that permeated the universe could not be seen with the naked eye, but if it condensed far enough to be visible and tangible, then that was an indication that the star energy had beenpacted to a terrifying degree. The surface of the sourcebox was exactly like that, and it was not made up purely of star energy. It was actually aplex mixture of various energies that had strangely reached a tenuous equilibrium.

    Bazeer was right; this sourcebox was indeed not dangerous. But as the one unlocking it, Lu Yin had to use his Cosmic Art. Otherwise, it would be as hopeless as an illiterate person trying to operate a spacecraft.

    This was the true challenge that a Lockbreaker had to face when unlocking sourceboxes. This sourcebox was of the lowest grade, but it was already soplicated. With this experience, Lu Yin found theplexity of that towering sourcebox in the very first Sourcebox Catalog video that he had watched unfathomable. An amateur could only see the theatrics, but an expert would be able to appreciate the Lockbreaker¡¯s true skill.

    Lu Yin was helpless in his current state, and he hurriedly activated his Cosmic Art. Eight stars revolved around him and enveloped the sourcebox. Suddenly, the seal on the sourcebox¡¯s surface became as clear as day to him. It was still chaotic, like randomly interweaving lines. If he wanted to unlock it, he would have to unravel theseplicated lines of energy one by one. He took a deep breath and then started.

    Since he could see each individual line of energy, untangling them was more time consuming than difficult. Moreover, each twisted line wasposed of materialized energy, and there were an overwhelming number of them.

    Five hours quickly passed, and the surface became a little smoother. This was evidence that Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking attempt was progressing positively. He raised his head and released a pent up breath. He needed at least twenty-some more hours topletely unseal the sourcebox. He grimaced at the thought but soon continued.

    Without his Cosmic Art, Lu Yin had no hopes of seeding. But even with Cosmic Art, he still spent twenty seven hours painstakingly working at the seal before finally seeding.

    When the finalyer of thin, materialized energy vanished, an unremarkable piece of grey metal fell onto the ground with a dull thump.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body swayed and he almost copsed to the ground. Continually using his Cosmic Art for twenty seven hours had driven him to his limits, and he couldn¡¯t take it anymore. Luckily, he had seeded in the final moment.

    He picked up the unidentified grey metal, which seemed to have been aponent of some machine once. However, too much time had passed, and the machine had disappeared, only leaving this single piece of metal behind. But since it had withstood the passing of eons, there was no way that this metal was something simple.

    Lu Yin stored the metal shard away before activating his gadget and uploading the entire lockbreaking process onto the Sourcebox Catalog for review. With all the pressing concernspleted, he closed his eyes and fell into a long awaited deep slumber.

    Time quickly passed, and Lu Yin was awakened by a beep from his gadget. His eyes sparkled when he saw that his lockbreaking video had been reviewed and sessfully approved. He had officially obtained his first shining star on his personal page on the Lockbreakerwork. Lu Yin was delighted as this was proof that he was now a real Lockbreaker with contributions; a one-star Discerning Junior Lockbreaker.

    The single star seemed so resplendent that it nearly blinded Lu Yin. With this star, his status had just spiked upwards again.

    A Lockbreaker¡¯s status and contributions were not only important for their status towards outsiders, but it was also important within the Lockbreaker Society itself. A key reason for this was the protection they received. Any Lockbreaker with contributions was invaluable to the society. If such a member was killed, then their killer would face the wrath of the entire Lockbreaker Society. To say that the Lockbreaker Society was just ¡°very protective¡± was an understatement. And Lu Yin was precisely looking for this sort of overprotective organization. In fact, after he had earned his first star as a Lockbreaker, the Lockbreaker Society had immediately sent its congrattions along with twenty Sourcebox Catalog videos. Each one was done by a fellow Junior Lockbreaker, which suited his skill level and thus were very precious for him.

    At that point, Lu Yin received a soft notification; someone else was trying to contact him¡ªMaster Wusheng. He epted the call, and Master Wusheng immediately appeared on the disy with a stern expression. ¡°Student Lu Yin, you were too reckless.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°My apologies, tutor. I couldn¡¯t wait.¡±

    ¡°Do you know that every lockbreaking process is essentially gambling with your life? Lockbreaking is unlocking the universe¡¯s secret treasures and snatching resources from the universe itself. It is a very dangerous matter,¡± Master Wusheng lectured strictly.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Tutor, that sourcebox had no intrinsic danger.¡±

    Master Wusheng snorted disdainfully. ¡°No danger? Who told you that? The person who gave you the sourcebox? What the hell do they know? A sourcebox¡¯s danger cannot be understood by simpleymen. The dust sealing the sourcebox¡¯s surface starts in equilibrium, but if it is manipted carelessly, then it can lead to a disastrous chain reaction. Watch the Sourcebox Catalog videos that the Lockbreaker Society sent you and remember these words: Lockbreaking is holding firm to one¡¯s determination to risk their life to Lockbreak. That is the Lockbreaker¡¯s motto.¡± And with that, he ended the call.

    Lu Yin could feel the gravity of Master Wusheng¡¯s lecture, and he quickly opened the Sourcebox Catalog video that he had just received from the society.

    In the darkness, a young woman was gripping a fist-sized stone with her eyes closed as she began unlocking the sourcebox. That stone was very simr to Lu Yin¡¯s sourcebox in that it seemedpletely harmless. She spent almost ten hours to barely smooth out the energy sealing the sourcebox. She then rested for a while before continuing. Suddenly, the material on the sourcebox¡¯s surface distorted strangely and then violently exploded without any sign, causing the space to distort and nearly copse. The woman¡¯s entire body was swallowed without even a trace being left behind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank and his scalp turned numb. During her lockbreaking process, the woman in the video had failed to ensure the stability of the energy equilibrium on the sourcebox¡¯s surface, which was the underlying reason behind this ident. This was a ssic example of a failed attempt.

    This video was very simr to Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking attempt, but the differencey in that he had seeded while she had failed. One lived, and the other had died.

    The energy on the surface of the sourcebox could be seen as an unconventional ecosphere in a delicate bnce. Once that bnce was lost, the entire equilibrium would copse at once, and the resulting explosion of the materialized energy would be undoubtedly terrifying. Even a Limiteer might not be able to withstand it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fear of lockbreaking grew evenrger after viewing this video. Fortunately, his Cosmic Art had simplified the delicate energy system, or else he would have been in serious danger. He thought about it some more, and then decided to watch the rest of the videos that he had been gifted.

    The second, third, and every video up to the seventeenth were all failures. The eighteenth was even more shocking to Lu Yin than the seventeen failures, however.

    He saw a pair of hands that seemed to be lockbreaking yet another innocuous sourcebox. After dozens of hours, there was only a thinyer of energy left atop the sourcebox. But then, a strange snake with a bizarre appearance shot out from the sourcebox, past the pair of hands, and plunged into the Lockbreaker¡¯s body. There was a tragic cry, and then the scene faded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb once again. His view of sourceboxes had been turned upside down yet again. Evidently, whaty inside sourceboxes was not guaranteed to be an inanimate object; it could also be a living creature¡­ Such creatures had purposely sealed themselves, and with the passing of time, had been gradually covered in dust. It was easy to imagine the terrifying power of these primordial creatures from ancient times.

    There were a total of twenty Sourcebox Catalog videos, all of them failed lockbreaking attempts, and all of them resulting in the Lockbreaker¡¯s death. A cold shiver ran down Lu Yin¡¯s back. These cases made him acutely aware of just how dangerous lockbreaking could be. The Lockbreaker Society had sent him these videos the moment he had be a one-starred Lockbreaker both as a gift and as a warning about what being a Lockbreaker truly meant.

    More often than not, opening sourceboxes did not lead to marvelous oues. Lockbreakers carried a responsibility, and while they could embrace the glory that came with the title, they also faced death with every attempt.

    Lu Yin contacted Master Wusheng again.

    ¡°Finished?¡± Master Wusheng stared at Lu Yin through the disy solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows knitted together in consternation as he solemnly replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Your thoughts?¡±

    Lu Yin muttered underneath his breath for a moment, and then raised his eyes to meet Master Wusheng¡¯s gaze. ¡°Intense pressure, butpelling.¡±

    Master Wusheng¡¯s lips twitched upwards. ¡°Compelling? Few would think that lockbreaking is apelling profession. The Lockbreaker Society may be made up of hundreds of thousands of Lockbreakers, but the number who can truly unlock sourceboxes is much lower. And even within that select group, a portion of them have utterly shut lockbreaking out of their lives due to caution. I hope that you don¡¯t be someone like that.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose and he slowly bowed. ¡°Thank you, Tutor, for your guidance.¡±

    Master Wusheng nodded and a hint of praise shone out from deep within his eyes. ¡°When you make a lockbreaking attempt, you¡¯ll asionally be able to rely on external objects. There are some mysterious objects in the universe that can greatly aid us Lockbreakers. For example, these-¡± Master Wusheng took out two dark green leaves and stuck them onto his head. Under Lu Yin¡¯s questioning gaze, he continued, exining, ¡°These leaves focus my thoughts and enhance my reasoning ability. You¡¯ve sessfullypleted a lockbreaking attempt, so you should understand why enhancing one¡¯s reasoning ability can be very beneficial to the lockbreaking process.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone and he immediately nodded; this was something that he had learned the hard way. If his calcting ability had been upgraded by several-fold during his previous lockbreaking attempt, then he might not have needed to waste twenty seven whole hours on it. These types of items were precious treasures that would vastly improve his lockbreaking efficiency.

    Master Wusheng saw Lu Yin¡¯s longing expression and smiled as he stored the leaves. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that¡ªI only have two of these leaves. You¡¯ll have to work hard to find your own aids. Come to the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters when you are free. There are simr items that you can exchange for here. Of course, they alle at a hefty price.¡± He then abruptly disconnected the call.

 Chapter 162: Lockbreaking Genius

    <h4>Chapter 162: Lockbreaking Genius</h4>

    Such a pity... Lu Yin thought that he would have been able to wrestle a gift out of Master Wusheng, but it wasn¡¯t that important. Even Master Wusheng had said that the price of one would be heavy. Either way, there was no chance that the current him could afford one. It was better for him to return to Astral-10 since he had been away for so long.

    He exited out of the Lockbreakerwork and suddenly realized that he still had an unopened message. It had actuallye from Old Cai of Astral-10.

    ¡°Impromptu mission: head to the Umbral Butterfly Weave and obtain the third eye of the Giant Emperor. Immediately return to the academy afterpleting the mission.¡±

    ¡°Giant Emperor? Third eye?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled by the mission details and immediately looked around the for any additional information.

    He found that the Umbral Butterfly Weave was rather distant from the Frostwave Weave. Specifically, there were another seven weaves between the two of them. This weave wasposed of less than a hundred regions and was one size smaller than Frostwave Weave.

    And the giant tribe was a primitive race from the Umbral Butterfly Weave. They had powerful members, and had birthed many powerhouses that had freely roamed the universe.

    Every member of the giant tribe stood at least a hundred meters tall. All of them had sharp teeth, chubby monkey cheeks, bald heads, and drooping shoulders. Their bodies were shaded green, their eyes were filled with ck threads, and a forest grew on their backs. There were nearly ten million of these creatures and they were all ruled by the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin continued researching their tribe for a long time, but he could not find any mention of the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, despite scouring his resources for anything about the emperor. He even examined images of previous Giant Emperors, but none of them had ever had a third eye. Could Old Cai be wrong?

    He wanted to contact Old Cai to ask, but then thought that it would be best to take a look first.

    The journey from the Frostwave Weave to the Umbral Butterfly Weave would take a month, and Lu Yin nned on spending this time studying his star charts. Besides that, all he could do was roll his die.

    Only a few days had passed since he hadst rolled the die, and Lu Yin had calcted that not enough time had passed yet for the die to recover. Thus, he simply retrieved a star chart and began studying it while floundering around for that sensation he had felt when the crazy director had simted the ninth star for him.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin took out the die. It was time to test his luck.

    He tapped the die with a finger, and Lu Yin¡¯s environment changed after it stopped spinning. He had entered the Time Stop space.

    He was rather dejected about this oue since he was already rather fatigued from the unstimting, never-changing background of space, but he just couldn¡¯t bring himself to use star crystals to change the scenery. Forget it. Three days will pass quickly.

    At the end of the third day, Lu Yin exited the space and rolled his die again.

    This time he rolled Pilfer and received a bank card, but it wasn¡¯t from the Mavis Bank. Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled in disdain. Another useless roll.

    When Pilfer turned up yet again, Lu Yin sighed, but then he saw a pink female article of clothingnd before him. He was stunned. It can do this too?! He gave it no further thought and immediately burned the clothing to ash. If someone saw it, his reputation would be ruined.

    So it can even grab women¡¯s clothing. Lu Yin sighed and realized that he would truly never be able to roll the die in front of anyone else. He could already imagine the scene that would take ce if a female¡¯s underwear suddenly appeared in front of him. It would truly cause an uproar

    .

    He breathed in deeply and tapped on the die again. It stopped spinning and revealed six pips.

    Possession. What a mysterious ability. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he became iparably excited; this was a roll that suited him.

    Everything changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he transformed into a ball of light that was in the middle of a pitch-ck space. There were light balls surrounding him; some were glowing mildly, but others were burning fiercely. Some were big, and some were small. Lu Yin¡¯s light ball flew further and further into the darkness. His cosmic ring contained 200,000 crystals, which was more than enough for him to go a long distance.

    This time, Lu Yin was not anxious. He wanted to see if he could pick the most suitable person for himself.

    As he continued traveling farther out, Lu Yin found that, of the countless light balls surrounding him, some seemed to reject him, while others seemed drawn towards him. He was thinking about the differences when a force suddenly started dragging him in. His face changed drastically. No way! I¡¯ve already gone through 200,000 crystals? But there was no more time to think, and he instantly charged towards the most attractive light ball by him.

    This light ball was much bigger than his own, and it was also bigger than Da Lei¡¯s fromst time. This should be a Limiteer¡¯s light ball, and not a weak one, either.

    As Lu Yin charged into the ball of light, his consciousness faded. When he came to his senses, he had be another person¡ªCharon, a genius Lockbreaker.

    Lu Yin looked at his hands and then at the mirror in front of him. A handsome man with sharp brows and bright eyes looked back. He was now Charon, a Lockbreaker from the Timor Weave. He had already umted five stars of contributions as a Junior Lockbreaker and was just a single step away from bing an Intermediate Lockbreaker. He was a true genius, and more importantly, he was a student of Astral-6 and was one of the Area Masters of the Dao of Purgatory. In other words, he was someone at the same level as Frankfurt, Spear Mountain¡¯s Area Master.

    Lu Yin knew that he had won the lottery with this person. Charon was definitely very well suited for him, and he was even a Lockbreaker. It was no wonder why Charon¡¯s light had been drawn towards Lu Yin so strongly; there was a certain degree of connection between the two. Even better, Lu Yin now knew how to select the best choice during Possession in the future. He would find the light ball with the greatest attraction for himself, as the person represented by that light would definitely share a key aspect with Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something and quickly checked a star chart. He found that while the Timor Weave wasn¡¯t as distant from the Frostwave Weave as the Umbral Butterfly Weave, there was still a substantial distance between the two. Specifically, there were two weaves between Lu Yin¡¯s original location and the Possessed Charon. There was no way that his star crystals wouldst for much longer, so Lu Yin quickly focused on making the best use of his time by reviewing Charon¡¯s lockbreaking experiences.

    Charon deserved to be a five-starred Lockbreaker genius. He had already unlocked more than twenty sourceboxes. The lockbreaking attempt that had pushed him to five stars had been with a sword-shaped sourcebox.

    It had been a Limiteer mission issued by Astral-6, and the issuer had not given very clear instructions. However, the mission to unlock this sword-shaped sourcebox was infamous in Astral-6 as two other Lockbreakers had already perished from trying to unlock this sourcebox. In both cases, those students had been in by a single strand of a sword aura. This sourcebox had even attracted the attention of an Intermediate Lockbreaker, who had confirmed that it was truly a sourcebox that was within the lockbreaking capabilities of a Junior Lockbreaker, but it was extremely difficult to do so, and sess should be rewarded with five stars of contribution.

    Charon had spent three days working on the sourcebox before finally seeding. In fact, he had nearly copsed at the final juncture before the sourcebox was ultimately unlocked. He then obtained the sword, Unveiled, and shook Astral-6 to its core. He also became the school¡¯s number two genius Lockbreaker who was only behind Dao Bo.

    Lu Yin reviewed the process of how Charon had unlocked Unveiled and was shocked at Charon¡¯s supremely precise control of his star energy. Although this person could not see the tangled energies as clearly as Lu Yin with his Cosmic Art, he instead relied on his familiarity with star energy to forcibly unlock the sourcebox. This was the mostmon method used among Lockbreakers, and to a certain extent, Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art could even be considered cheating. Charon, on the other hand, was a true genius Lockbreaker.

    Even just reviewing this process left Lu Yin exhausted and his forehead covered with beads of sweat. He had profited tremendously from Possessing Charon¡¯s body and gaining ess to his Lockbreaking experience, which was considered valuable in any form.

    Lu Yin unsheathed Unveiled with a ng. The de seemed toe to life. Its main color was silvery-white, but its tip was vibrantly colored with special indistinct patterns that ran down the length of the de. He casually swung it and left a huge sh across Charon¡¯s secret room. Lu Yin was stunned¡ªa Limiteer¡¯s private training room would definitely not be made from normal materials, but it had been easily sliced through by this sword. It¡¯s too sharp.

    The patterns flickering at the sword tip were not simple, either. This was a weapon that had been sealed for quite some time, and it obviously carried a mysterious might with it.

    Lu Yin was greedy and he desperately wanted the de as well as the rest of the riches in Charon¡¯s cosmic ring, but in the end, he restrained himself. He had already obtained Charon¡¯s lockbreaking experience, and if hepletely robbed Charon blind, then Lu Yin¡¯s karma would be too heavily tainted. The universe worked in mysterious ways, and while Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe in karma, he would not be able to answer to his conscience if he did this, which was also a karma of sorts.

    Although Lu Yin no longer desired to plunder Charon¡¯s riches, it did not mean that this Possession had run its course in terms of usefulness. Charon, after all, was still a powerhouse of Astral-6 and an Area Master of the Dao of Purgatory who was on the same level as Frankfurt. He could provide Lu Yin with a ready-made backer. Lu Yin pawed through Charon¡¯s memories until a strange smile crept across his face. This person was definitely a genius, but he was terrible with managing his emotions. However, this was precisely the sort of person that perfectly suited Lu Yin¡¯s current needs.

    Lu Yin took out a dozen letters from the corner of his cosmic ring and blinked. ¡°Charon, don¡¯t me me. Your brother doesn¡¯t wish to do this, but I have no choice. Bear with this little injustice this time.¡±

    After uttering those words, a dragging force appeared and Lu Yin closed his eyes. He then reappeared in that dark space and traversed through a vast, unknown distance to return to King Zishan¡¯s pce. He opened his eyes, took out some paper, and immediately began to write.

    At the same time, back in the distant Timor Weave, Charon got up from the floor and rubbed his head. What just happened? He had just been lying there a moment ago, but his memory cut off there. Suddenly, Charon¡¯s pupils shrank and his face paled; there were dozens of letters scattered on the ground, the sight of which threw his mind into disarray. His secret had been discovered!

    To Charon, he would rather die than have this secret known by someone else. And yet, the letters on the ground clearly showed that his secret had been ruthlessly uncovered.

    Charon was covered in sweat, and he started trembling as he picked up the letters. Who could have done this? Who could possibly knock me unconscious without even leaving a trace? This was his most secretive training room, and not a single soul knew anything about it.

    At this point, a series of numbers appeared before Charon. It was a gadget number. Charon¡¯s face changed as he realized that it could have only been left by the person who had vited his privacy. Is this so that I can contact him? Charon hesitantly activated his gadget.

    Back in King Zishan¡¯s residence, Lu Yin checked his cosmic ring, and to his dismay, found that there were only around five hundred star crystals left. This one encounter had consumed 200,000 crystals, which was just way too terrifying a rate. However, he had no regrets as Possessing Charon had beenpletely worth every single one of the 200,000 crystals. These crystals had allowed him to venture all the way into the Timor Weave. Possession had given him a huge surprise, and had also turned him penniless. Lu Yin was simultaneously in pain and euphoria.

    It was now time to earn some money. The matter with Xi Yue had gradually quieted down as time passed, and there were no more fools looking for Lu Yin to give them a beating. He was considering how to best find another way to extort money from somewhere when his gadget suddenly beeped. His lips curled up in joy and he happily activated it. A disy appeared before him, showing Charon staring at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes.

    Charon was taken aback when he saw Lu Yin. He had originally thought that the person who had pried into his secrets would be at least an Explorer¡ªhow could it be this youth who seemed to only be around twenty years old? It was impossible for someone of his age to best Charon.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You must be the Charon that my uncle spoke about.¡±

    Uncle? Charon¡¯s eyes grew bigger and his expression turned vicious even as a trace of fear crept in. ¡°Where¡¯s your uncle? I want to see him.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged casually. ¡°Sorry, but my Uncle¡¯s busy and won¡¯t meet you. But he told me about some of your matters. How interesting. Haha!¡±

    Charon felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared furiously at Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?! What do you know?! What do you want?!¡±

 Chapter 163: New Mission

    <h4>Chapter 163: New Mission</h4>

    These three consecutive questions were proof of how scared Charon felt. The secret that Lu Yin had discovered was just that shocking. While Charon was a genius, his luck in romance was too poor; he had fallen for a girl, but before he could confess, she had already be his sister-inw. Even worse, the wedding had taken ce the night before he sessfully unlocked the sword-shaped sourcebox. It was precisely this pressure that drove him to muster up the courage and determination to unlock the sword-shaped sourcebox. He had sought death, but had found sess instead.

    But after bing a five-star Junior Lockbreaker, Charon had thought things through and no longer wished to die. However, his feelings for that woman had never waned, and writing unsent letters to her was his only means of venting. He wrote them purely for himself and revealed them to no one else. Even the woman herself did not know that her new brother-inw actually saw her in that kind of light. Charon had locked his feelings away in another world, somewhere hidden far from everyone except himself. This was his greatest secret and he had never shared it with anyone else. But now, Lu Yin also knew about it.

    This person is quite emotional, but he just had bad luck. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, if Charon continued to suppress his emotions in this manner, then it wouldn¡¯t take long before he became mentally unstable. Lu Yin may as well allow Charon to release some stress by divulging his secret and allowing Lu Yin to be his confidante. Of course, Charon would have to pay for this ¡°service¡± in kind, for example, by protecting Lu Yin within the trial zone.

    ¡°Brother Charon, those letters were pretty good. You write well,¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Charon clenched his fists. His fear had climbed to the point where he had started trembling. ¡°You¡­ What do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him seriously. ¡°I hear that you¡¯re a student from Astral-6, and that you are one of the Area Masters in the Dao of Purgatory.¡±

    Charon remained silent.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Then it¡¯ll be simple. Let¡¯s have an exchange. You protect me from any harm in the trial zone, and I¡¯ll protect these secrets of yours. No one else will ever find out.¡±

    Charon was shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re also a student of the Astral Combat Academy? Which academy?¡±

    ¡°Astral-10.¡±

    Charon was stunned. ¡°Astral-10? That branch still exists?¡±

    Lu Yin grew unhappy. What kind of reaction is that? Astral-10 is surviving and still doing well. This brat must not have returned to Astral-6 for a long time. Clearly, he was not up to date regarding the various events of the past few months. Charon should at least be aware that Astral-10 had been driven to the Outerverse as he was also someone from the Outerverse.

    ¡°Just say if you agree.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s unhappiness quickly turned to impatience.

    Charon¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Fine, I agree. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered at Charon¡¯s cold gaze as he replied, ¡°I suppose that you¡¯re thinking about how to best kill me now, right?¡±

    Charon¡¯s expression changed as he hurriedly responded, ¡°No, we¡¯re all students of the Astral Combat Academy. I can¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, still smiling. ¡°I¡¯ll urge you to think twice about this. My uncle has a few of your letters. Didn¡¯t you notice that you¡¯re missing a few? If anything happens to me, then those letters will appear in pristine condition on top of your brother¡¯s desk. Oh, that¡¯s right, and at Astral-6, where everyone in the Astral Combat Academy will learn about your situation. Think about that.¡±

    Charon¡¯s scalp turned numb. If such a thing truly happened, then this prestigious life of his would be gone. Although he had never done anything to that woman, if his feelings were exposed, then he would be turned away regardless of where he went in the universe. And what¡¯s more, his sister-inw would be implicated as well. ¡°I, Charon, swear on my honor that I will not do anything to you. However, you must also make a guarantee that your uncle will not publicize my letters.¡± Charon turned eager at that prospect.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I guarantee that, as long as I¡¯m fine, you¡¯ll be fine as well.¡±

    Charon heaved a heavy sigh of relief, and he sounded rather disheartened when he spoke again. ¡°I¡¯m the Area Master of Whitebones Gorge in the Dao of Purgatory. Go directly to the Whitebones Gorge when you reach the Dao of Purgatory. I¡¯ll also send down orders that you¡¯re under my protection. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    Charon nodded and deactivated his gadget. He knew that there was no point in continuing the conversation with Lu Yin; all of hispromising information had already been revealed.

    Lu Yin also released a breath and smiled. He had now found his backer, and he was an Area Master no less. This would cause many to think twice before attempting to deal with him. It was a pity; it would have been even better if he had found a Realm Master to back him. Then, no one in the entire trial zone would dare to act against him. An Area Master¡¯s influence was notparable to a Realm Master¡¯s, and Charon¡¯s deterrence would only intimidate a portion of students.

    Lu Yin suddenly recalled Jared, the top person in the ze Realm Rankings. After Charon gave his orders, would Jared possibly personally act against Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin spent the next two days reviewing his memories of Charon¡¯ Lockbreaking experiences. When he opened his eyes again, he rxed. With Charon¡¯s experience added on to his Cosmic Art, Lu Yin was now confident in his abilities to break through to be a five-star Junior Lockbreaker. But even Charon himself had needed some luck to seed. If Lu Yin wanted to safely and sessfully unlock a sourcebox that was as difficult as the sword-shaped one, then he needed to first manifest the ninth star of his Cosmic Art. Once the ninth star appeared, his Cosmic Art and Cosmic Palm technique would undergo huge transformations.

    Unfortunately, the ninth star was too difficult to manifest. Even after the crazy director had simted it and helped him sense the correct feeling, it was still useless. Lu Yin just could not find the key point to developing it. Perhaps he had a better chance out among the stars themselves.

    He thought about it, rested for another day, and then headed towards the pce to bid farewell to Undying Yushan.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to the Umbral Butterfly Weave?¡± Undying Yushan was astonished by Lu Yin¡¯s destination.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°My mentor gave me a mission. I have no choice.¡±

    Undying Yushan nodded understandingly. ¡°Then go. Even though it¡¯s far, your spacecraft has Astral-10¡¯s emblem, so it has the protection of the Astral Combat Academy as well as the Ten Arbiters Council. You shouldn¡¯t encounter any danger on the way. But remember to reroute immediately if you see any peculiar astral phenomena. The natural heavenly disasters are terrifying beyond imagination. Even I may not be able to make it through one safely.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged his warnings. ¡°Understood, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Wendy¡¯s back as well. Would you like to meet her?¡± Undying Yushan asked, looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve already met by ident.¡±

    Undying Yushan nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s so, then go. Complete your mission quickly and then return to the Academy. Remember your responsibilities, and also, remember the ring of authority.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged Undying Yushan¡¯s words one more time and then turned to leave.

    Undying Yushan refrained from telling Lu Yin that Wendy wished to defuse the conflict between him and Bazeer. Although Undying Yushan had not interacted much with Lu Yin, from what he had seen so far, he knew that the humiliation that Lu Yin had suffered that day would not dissipate until Bazeer died. And in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, the matter did not stop at Bazeer, but actually extended all the way to Wendy. Undying Yushan felt an oing headache as he considered this matter.

    Though Lu Yin was blessed with a unique innate gift, Undying Yushan did not believe for a second that Lu Yin could overtake Wendy. Reality was not a fairy tale, and Wendy had received the teachings of Ten Thousand Swords Peak as well as the attention of the Ten Arbiters. No member of the younger generation in the Outerverse could match her, but this should not be a major roadblock in Lu Yin¡¯s life. Only time would be able to slowly heal these wounds.

    The scenery quickly slipped away as the Aurora spacecraft broke into the heavens. With a gentle tremble, it returned to its deathly quiet stillness as it sped towards the Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    This journey would take a month, and Lu Yin would travel through dozens of wormholes along the way. Without these wormholes, who knew how many months or years it would take to reach the Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    Lu Yin retrieved his star chart and shoved aside all distracting thoughts. He immersed himself within his studies and hoped that he would be able to manifest the ninth star soon.

    One day after Lu Yin left Zenyu Star, Wendy Yushan checked the Lockbreakerwork and was shocked to find that a single, dazzling star had appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s profile.

    Wendy Yushan was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s a fast sess.¡± She thought about it a moment and then immediately paid to see Lu Yin¡¯s Sourcebox Catalog channel. There was only one Lockbreaking video, which was the video of him unlocking a mud-like sourcebox. Wendy immediately recognized it, as it was the sourcebox that she had sent to the new Lockbreaker.

    Wendy only looked away from the screen a long timeter. This person had actually seeded. She had assumed that a newly inducted Lockbreaker would take a minimum of several months to a year before finally seeding in their first lockbreaking attempt. It looks like this person is a genius at lockbreaking.

    ¡°Bazeer, immediately contact the Lockbreaker, Seventh Brother. I need him to know that he will continue to receive goodwill from the Outerverse Youth Council,¡± Wendy quickly ordered Bazeer.

    Bazeer obeyed and immediately tried to contact Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was in the middle of studying his star chart while traveling through outer space when he heard a notification from his gadget. His eyes hardened when he saw that Bazeer was trying to contact him. Then, a smile appeared and he altered his voice through the speech settings. ¡°Yes, Bazeer?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, Mr. Seventh Brother. I would like to ask, were you sessful in your lockbreaking attempt?¡± Bazeer¡¯s tone was even more respectful than during the previous call.

    Lu Yin grunted and seriously replied, ¡°What, do you want the unsealed item returned to you now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Please, don¡¯t be mistaken. We previously said that any item would belong to you once it had been unlocked. This was the decision of the Outerverse Youth Council, as well as Representative Puyu¡¯s decision.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows questioningly. ¡°Puyu?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Member Puyu. He is one of the highest ranking members of the Outerverse Youth Council. This is his show of goodwill.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned chilly. Puyu, huh? It seems that this was the backer behind Bazeer, and he was probably the same person who had ordered Bazeer to humiliate Lu Yin. Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Ghostfire did not justify Bazeer¡¯s actions, and moreover, it was Ghostfire himself who had challenged Lu Yin. In the end, everything seemed to be linked to Puyu, the person who wanted to obtain Wendy Yushan for himself.

    Lu Yin analyzed the situation in an instant and without missing a beat, responded, ¡°Got it. Member Puyu. I will remember him as well.¡±

    Bazeer was delighted by Lu Yin¡¯s response, as any Lockbreaker who had made a contribution was a powerful connection that might help him in the future. This Lockbreaker in particr had especially high potential, and he could bestow both him and Puyu with great riches. ¡°If that is so, then I won¡¯t disturb Mister Seventh Brother anymore. All the best in your lockbreaking endeavors.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted and disconnected the call.

    Puyu... Lu Yin¡¯s eyes hardened; this person would be troublesome. Puyu was at the same level as Wendy Yushan and was definitely extremely powerful in his own right. If Lu Yin wanted to join the Outerverse Youth Council in the future, then he would definitely sh with Puyu and would need to make preparations.

    Travelling through space was an extremely dull affair. And while the starry heavens were beautiful, they hid their own dangers.

    Another half month passed, and during that time, Lu Yin¡¯s route had been recalcted six times. Each change had been preemptively made to evade danger, but even so, he had been nearly swallowed by a ckhole that had suddenly appeared in front of him at one point.

    That moment had been a close call that had greatly frightened Lu Yin. If he had been swallowed, then he would have been dead meat since his spacecraft could not escape the grip of a ckhole yet.

    ¡°Danger ahead. Programming a new route. Rerouting sessful,¡± a pleasant voice sounded out. Lu Yin was bbergasted. Another reroute? He wondered what was happening and nonchntly looked out into the distance. His eyes twitched in shock. There are two people out there?!

 Chapter 164: All Nine Stars

    <h4>Chapter 164: All Nine Stars</h4>

    In the middle of outer space, two figures were entangled in a bloody battle as their surroundings crumbled all around them. Heavenly bodies were disintegrating left and right, and an indescribably frightening force streaked towards the spacecraft in the distance.

    Lu Yin was dumbstruck by this scene, but before he could react or even think, his spacecraft started shaking violently. A bizarre vortex had appeared in the region where the duo were fighting, and the spacecraft could not resist the pulling force as it was being inexorably dragged towards it.

    Lu Yin was extremely nervous and felt an impending sense of doom creep over him. He didn¡¯t know how strong the two people fighting were, but their every attack could easily shatter his spacecraft. And by the looks of it, neither one seemed to care about his survival.

    Bang!

    A shockwave exploded in the void of outer space. The ripples of force overwhelmed the safety measures of the spacecraft and nearly knocked Lu Yin out. The surrounding celestial bodies trembled, and it seemed as if they had been pulled one step closer to the two battling cultivators.

    The pulling force of the vortex grew even more powerful, and Lu Yin almost felt like he was seeing the birth of a new gxy. Lu Yin stared at the illusory scene and a feeling of extreme vertigo overcame him, but he quickly recovered. Out of pure coincidence, the eight nearby celestial bodies started orbiting the vortex that was centered on the fight between the two cultivators. As the celestial bodies slowly spun in closer and closer to the vortex , Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was pulled in and became the ninth body.

    In that instant, Lu Yin had an epiphany, reaching some kind of enlightenment. His Cosmic Art unconsciously activated, and the indistinct image of the ninth star appeared.

    The celestial bodies ruptured one after the other. The red magma and blue seawater were both scattered into the void of outer space. Following the explosions of the bodies, the void also cracked open. Lu Yin clenched his teeth, and blood even appeared on his lips. He could not escape. Three bodies had already exploded, and the fourth was now sweeping in towards the vortex. His own death was not far away.

    As he watched the fourth star explode and the two cultivators still fighting in the center of the chaos, Lu Yin felt a wave of pain and sorrow wash over him. He had manifested the ninth star, but he would not even have a chance to use it once before his death. His Cosmic Art slowly dispersed from his body, and the ninth star broke away from the Cosmic Art the moment it dispersed. This was because Lu Yin had lost control due to his unstable mental state, causing the perfect star field formed by the nine stars to copse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed when he saw the ninth star break away from his Cosmic Art. He suddenly grabbed the spacecraft¡¯s controls and personally guided it to purposefully charge towards the center of the vortex at top speed. The spacecraft warned of imminent danger, but Lu Yin disregarded the warning and continued charging forward.

    In the center of the chaos, the two people suddenly stopped their fight and stared at the spacecraft in astonishment. They watched with interest, but neither moved to save or block him.

    The vortex was pulling everything in towards it, but it was also possible to use its irresistible pull to break away from it. Everything depended on if Lu Yin could find the correct trajectory.

    If it had been at any time before now, then Lu Yin would have no chance of carrying out such a feat. However, a few moments ago, he had just observed the movements of the ninth star escaping from his Cosmic Art, and now, he was copying it as he controlled his spacecraft. His Aurora spacecraft borrowed the power of the vortex to break away at the exact same moment that the eighth celestial body exploded, the power propelling it far away.

    Behind Lu Yin, the heavenly phenomenon finally exploded and caused space itself to undte dangerously, but all of this waspletely unrted to Lu Yin now. After he had managed to barely avoid death, he copsed in exhaustion.

    ¡°Position deviated. Reprogramming. Rerouting sess.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed and squeezed out a faint smile. He wished that he would never have to experience such a dangerous experience again.

    Meanwhile, the battling duo was left stunned in his wake. ¡°I never thought that that brat would actually escape. From the spacecraft¡¯s emblem, he should be from Astral-10. I¡¯ve heard that the academy has been rather busy these days.¡±

    ¡°So what? I heard that, this time, they only managed to recruit twelve new students and that a considerable number of them came from the Innerverse as well. Once an order recalling them is issued, that academy willpletely copse.¡±

    ¡°If that director regains control, then no one will dare to plot against Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°True. Out of the ten directors of the Astral Combat Academy, that old fogey is the most terrifying. If he ever regains his sanity, then no one will dare to provoke his school. It¡¯s a pity that doing so is far too difficult, since he touched what he shouldn¡¯t have.¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with us. But when the Astral Combat Tournament begins, let¡¯s check it out. That brat must be pretty good since he actually escaped.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably just luck. At least we didn¡¯t have to rescue him.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue. I want to see how far you¡¯ve improved after all these centuries.¡±

    ¡°What a joke! When have you ever beaten me?¡±

    ¡°Shameless! I beat you once in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just say you beat me in the Neoverse? Don¡¯t act dumb.¡±

    ¡°Stop bullshitting.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft continued sailing through space steadily. Far in front of him was a giant spacecraft that had strangely stopped in the middle of outer space. From a distance, its sparkling lights seemed splendid, but everything changed when one noticed the blood staining the ss. Countless wails echoed forth from the massive craft as blood spilled out from the cracks in the spacecraft¡¯s hull, adding a macabre element of horror to the originally dark void.

    A few hourster, Lu Yin encountered the giant spacecraft and curiously wondered why it had stopped in the heavens.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression quickly changed when he noticed the blood seeping out from the spacecraft. He vigntly studied the spacecraft to see if there was an issue and was on full alert.

    A figure appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s view. It was a woman with long, drooping ck and white hair. Shockingly, fresh blood was dripping down from the tips of the hair. She held a red longsword and there were numerous corpses floating beneath her.

    Lu Yin was fully aware of the cruelty of the universe, and he ignored the bodies and instead focused on the woman; more specifically, he focused on her hair. It was ck and white, which was a distinguishing characteristic of the Daynight n. When did another member of the Daynight ne to the Outerverse? This n really does have its fingers in every pie.

    The woman from the Daynight n seemed to sense Lu Yin¡¯s gaze as she turned around and looked at him with icy-cold eyes. Lu Yin was shocked; how could this gaze be so icy, emotionless, desperate, remorseful, helpless, and yet, contain an irrepressible grief? Thoseplicated eyes etched themselves deeply into Lu Yin¡¯s heart and would be an unforgettable memory for the rest of his life.

    The woman merely nced at Lu Yin before she silently looked off into the distance as she remained in the spacecraft. No one could guess her thoughts.

    At that point, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft passed by that giant spacecraft, and he noticed an emblem on the front of the spacecraft. It was an interster pirates¡¯ emblem, and it emanated a bloodthirsty aura. It turns out that this spacecraft had originally been full of interster pirates.

    The Daynight n was a powerful n among the entire universe and one of their members would not be a pirate. The only logical exnation, then¡­ Had this woman of the Daynight n killed all of these pirates? With just a nce, Lu Yin had confirmed that no one else was alive besides that female. Such deep murderous intent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft quickly left the scene, and soon, he could no longer see that giant spacecraft. However, that Daynight member¡¯s gaze had been engraved deeply into his memory. It was his first time seeing such aplicated expression that mixed both grief and helplessness into a single gaze; the brief experience had shocked him to the core.

    He shook his head. In the end, the matter was unrted to him. He wasn¡¯t qualified to meddle with the Daynight n¡¯s matters.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and began to revolve his Cosmic Art once again, as he wanted to quickly stabilize the ninth star and allow his Cosmic Art to reach perfection. It was, after all, aprehension that he had only achieved after a near-death experience.

    As his route had changed continuously throughout the journey, it had taken him a dozen more days than the original estimated time to arrive. After a month, Lu Yin finally reached the Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the Umbral Butterfly Weave, Michelle appeared at the entrance of Astral-10¡¯s trial zone. After spending two months under Elder Cai¡¯s guidance, she was about to achieve her hundredth victory in the ported battle, and she wanted to enter the trial zone as soon as possible.

    Of Astral-10¡¯s twelve new students, the one with the most victories after Lu Yin was Schutz at 52 victories. Of course, the price he had paid for those wins was steep, as he had racked up 237 defeats. Schutz had challenged the ported battles many more times than anyone else and his match count exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s by more than a hundred matches. Schutz had continued to constantly challenge the ported battles long after the rest had stopped. It was no mean feat to obtain fifty two victories, as both luck and battle experience yed a huge part in doing so.

    Today, Michelle had appeared on the battlefield.

    Her previous record was thirteen victories and fifty six defeats.

    Michelle entered the range of the teleportation stone and only returned a long timeter.

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes and calmly stated, ¡°Michelle, seventeen victories to fifty seven defeats.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Michelle, twenty three victories to sixty defeats.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Michelle, thirty nine victories to sixty five defeats.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Michelle, seventy two victories to eighty eight defeats.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Michelle, ny three victories to ny eight defeats.¡±

    When Michelle stepped out of the range of the teleportation stone after her most recent bout, Silver arrived at the trial zone entrance. He had heard the results announced by the mentor and was astonished. ¡°Is she a genius? She¡¯s improved vastly in just two months.¡±

    When Michelle returned once again, the Trialmaster opened his eyes and looked at her seriously. ¡°Michelle, ny nine victories to ny nine defeats.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, student. Just one more victory,¡± Silver said as he smiled and offered his congrattions.

    Michelle looked exhausted. She had spent several days fighting at the trial zone¡¯s entrance to attain such results. It was almost too arduous to bear, but it also reflected the mentor¡¯s teaching methods. She recalled her past two months of hard work; all of her missions had been specifically designed to double as the most effective training for her. The mentors of Astral-10 were indeed worthy of their positions in the Astral Combat Academy. But now, other doubts had cropped up in Michelle¡¯s mind¡ªno mentor in the other academies could get such amazing results. Astral-10¡¯s mentors seemed to be different from the other academies¡¯ mentors¡­

    She turned to Silver and asked, ¡°Do you want a turn?¡±

    Silver smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll wait until your one hundredth victory.¡±

    Michelle did not speak any further and stepped into the range of the teleportation stone again.

    At the same time, Xia Luo arrived at the trial zone¡¯s entrance and nced at Silver. He then walked to the Trialmaster and spoke to him quietly. The mentor nodded and pointed at the teleportation stone. ¡°Go to the battle arena.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled and nodded back. He then walked over to the teleportation stone and patiently waited for Michelle to return.

    Not long after, Michelle walked out of the area with an excited expression. The Trialmaster¡¯s aged voice rang out. ¡°Michelle, a hundred victories to a hundred defeats.¡±

    Xia Luo was astonished and excitedly offered his congrattions.

    Michelle suppressed her excitement. She had finally reached a hundred victories! But her tion was quickly dampened when she remembered that Lu Yin had already reached a hundred victories two months ago. Although she was much slower, she felt that she could still catch up. Her innate gift meant that she was destined to have an outstanding future. If her elder sister could reach those heights, then so could she.

    Silver was next to step into the teleportation stone¡¯s area while Xia Luo looked on from behind, deep in thought.

    Not far away, Michelle walked to the Trialmaster and respectfully said, ¡°Mentor, I would like to enter the trial zone.¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Sure, go on in.¡±

    Michelle was puzzled. ¡°Go in where?¡±

    The mentor pointed behind him and sighed, ¡°Each as clueless as thest.¡±

    Michelle stretched out her hand in the exact same way that Lu Yin had done so. Her eyes gleamed before she stepped forward, vanishing.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes shone as he watched. It was time for him to enter the trial zone as well.

    Michelle was notpletely unfamiliar with the trial zone mountain. She directly entered, closed her eyes, and selected the Dao of Purgatory. It was the same choice that Lu Yin had initially made, but her reception was worlds apart. Lu Yin had been faced with ridicule and attacks when he entered, but Michelle encountered stunned gazes and passionate greetings.

 Chapter 165: Sword Sect

    <h4>Chapter 165: Sword Sect</h4>

    Oftentimes, being beautiful would give one an unfair advantage, and Michelle¡¯s remarkable appearance dazzled everyone who caught sight of her. Few in the trial zone were willing to let someone stay beside them, but they would make an exception for Michelle.

    Michelle looked around and saw that the surroundings were filled with darkness. This was the Dao of Purgatory that her sister, Mira, had mentioned before. It was the gathering grounds for Astral-6¡¯s main forces . Michelle turned around and saw a range of towering ck mountains off in the distance. If Lu Yin was there, then he would have instantly recognized it as Spear Mountain, where he had perished.

    Michelle pondered her options for a moment before heading for Spear Mountain.

    As she neared Spear Mountain, she was suddenly attacked by a ck shadow. It was extremely fast, and Michelle¡¯s expression changed as she instinctively stepped back to avoid its strike. Her eyebrows arched up. ¡°A war spirit?¡±

    Michelle had a much deeper understanding of the trial zones than Lu Yin. She immediately readied herself for battle when she identified the war spirit, already aware that it had no intelligence and would only battle mindlessly.

    Suddenly, a sense of fatal crisis washed over her. It was not from the war spirit, and instead came from an entirely different direction. Michelle unconsciously activated her innate gift in response, causing a red lotus to blossom beneath her as she vanished from the spot.

    ¡°Eh? A red lotus?¡± a voice cried out as a few people walked into sight. There were two males and two females, with one of the young males leading. They stared in astonishment as Michelle reappeared in the distance.

    Michelle stared at the man in the lead. She sensed an extreme level of danger from him, to the point where her intuition was screaming that the man was strong enough to kill her with a wave of his hand.

    The war spirit switched targets and suddenly jumped at the man, but he merely raised his hand and flicked a finger. The space around them shed with a radiance and the war spirit paused. The entire area then copsed and vanished along with the war spirit.

    Michelle¡¯s eyes shrank to pinholes and she retreated a few more steps back. She stared at the man in shock. How terrifying. This man easily tore the void apart just like that. Michelle waspletely outssed.

    ¡°Red lotus, I remember that my Astral-6 had a Red Lotus Witchbow. What¡¯s your rtionship with her?¡± The man looked at Michelle inquiringly. Though the question was abrupt, his tone was gentle and there was no feeling of oppression. The three behind him also studied her with curious expressions.

    ¡°She¡¯s my elder sister,¡± Michelle replied.

    The man nodded. ¡°No wonder. I¡¯ve seen her. She¡¯s very pretty.¡± He then smiled at Michelle and said, ¡°My apologies if we disturbed you. I¡¯m Liu Tang, the captain of the spirit hunters.¡±

    Michelle was astounded. The spirit hunters were a specialized team that roamed about, killing war spirits in the trial zone. The purpose of the team was unclear, but it was rumored that they were trying to uncover the truth about the trial zone orprehending something. No one seemed sure of their exact purpose, but one thing was clear: the spirit hunter team was very powerful.

    ¡°I¡¯m Michelle.¡±

    Liu Tang smiled, nodded, and then left without another word.

    Michelle watched the other party leave and let out a deep breath. She had never thought that she would meet such a frightening person as soon as she entered the trial zone. Liu Tang. Liu? An ancient surname?

    At that moment, another man with gleaming eyes appeared before Michelle. ¡°You must be Michelle.¡±

    Michelle looked warily at the neer. He was also very strong and didn¡¯t conceal his might at all; his aura even carried a hint of tyranny within it.

    The man smiled as he introduced himself. ¡°I¡¯m Frankfurt, the Area Master of Spear Mountain. I once received Senior Mira¡¯s help in the academy.¡±

    ¡°Hello Senior,¡± Michelle politely responded.

    Frankfurt waved his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be courteous. Senior Mira helped me greatly. Michelle, since you¡¯ve arrived at Spear Mountain, you should spend some time here. You mayprehend some things here.¡±

    Michelle shook her head. ¡°Thank you Senior, but Spear Mountain doesn¡¯t suit me.¡±

    Frankfurt felt that it was a pity. ¡°That¡¯s true. You¡¯re the same as Senior Mira with the innate gift of the red lotus. In the entire Dao of Purgatory, the only area that suits the two of you would probably be the Heavenly Drum.¡±

    Michelle agreed with a soft grunt. The Heavenly Drum was the best training ground in the Dao of Purgatory for someone looking to improve their perception ability, and it was coincidentally the ce where the Realm Master of the Dao of Purgatory was based. It was also the only area that suited her.

    ¡°Oh yes. Senior, have you heard of someone called Liu Tang?¡± Michelle suddenly asked. She was very curious about that person; he was also a part of the younger generation, but he was way more powerful than anyone she had ever encountered before.

    Upon hearing Liu Tang¡¯s name being mentioned, Frankfurt¡¯s face changed drastically. ¡°How do you know that name? Did Senior Mira mention him?¡±

    Michelle shook her head. ¡°He was just here.¡±

    Frankfurt¡¯s face sank. ¡°Those spirit hunter teams don¡¯t follow the rules. This is Spear Mountain, my territory.¡± He then turned to Michelle. ¡°Did Liu Tang do anything to you?¡±

    Michelle shook her head again. ¡°Who is he? An Area Master?¡±

    Frankfurt replied, ¡°He¡¯s not an Area Master, but he¡¯s no weaker than one. He¡¯s an Astral-2 student from the Sword Sect.¡±

    Michelle¡¯s face changed as she blurted out, ¡°The Sword Sect?¡±

    Frankfurt nodded solemnly. ¡°That¡¯s right. The family at the head of the Sword Sect is the Liu n. It¡¯s a n with a unique surname from ancient times and although they have many enemies throughout the universe, they have managed to cow them all. Liu Tang is from that n, and as you know, one of the members of the Ten Arbiters also has that samest name. They¡¯re both from the Sword Sect.¡±

    Michelle did not ask any more questions. The Sword Sect represented a great power, and it was no wonder why this ¡°Liu¡± surname sounded so familiar. Her sister had mentioned that great person in the Ten Arbiters as well; he had levelled an entire weave by himself with just his sword, and he had yet to meet his match amongst the younger generation. Liu Tang and that person were from the same sect, which exined why Liu Tang was so powerful.

    Michelle left soon after; Spear Mountain held no attraction for her, and she wanted to head straight towards the most important training ground in the Dao of Purgatory¡ªthe Heavenly Drum. The status of the Heavenly Drum could be summarized in a single sentence: whoever upied the Heavenly Drum was the Realm Master.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin arrived at the Umbral Butterfly Weave. His target for the mission that he had been given, the giant tribe, was on a about ten regions away.

    A few dayster, back within Astral-10¡¯s trial zone entrance, Xia Luo achieved his hundredth victory as well, and he followed the Trialzone tutor¡¯s instructions to enter the trial zone.

    Not long after, Silver simrly achieved a hundred victories and entered the trial zone with his trademark sly smile.

    Of the six Daos, Xia Luo chose to enter the Dao of Heaven, which was where the powerhouses of Astral-5 were. He was fortunate andnded not too far from his target destination. After around three hours of traveling, he saw a giant technological construction that appeared to be a spacecraft that had crashed into the ground at an angle. This was the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Machinery Burial Mound. The Area Master was Xia Ye.

    Silver, on the other hand, sat on the trial zone mountain and looked around him. He saw Michelle and Xia Luo in the distance before sitting down and leaned against the mountain wall himself. ¡°Which one? Hmm, that¡¯s right, Astral-4 should be the one upying the Dao of ughter.¡± He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he had reappeared in the Dao of ughter. A faint metallic scent of blood filled the air.

    ¡°A good ce,¡± Silver sighed as he looked around. He chose a direction and advanced forward, as he had someone he needed to meet up with. ¡°I remember that there¡¯s a training ground in here called the Ice Domain. It should have an Area Master. Interesting, I wonder if I can snatch it up.¡±

    If Lu Yin knew what these three had encountered after entering the trial zone, he would have been deeply depressed. When he had entered, he had immediately faced all sorts of deadly situations before finally dying under Frankfurt¡¯s spear. These three, conversely, had each received treatment better than thest, and they all had the backing of an Area Master. This was simply a matter of fate.

    Lu Yin was currently shrouded in a mncholy air. He saw Gigastar ahead, which was his destination, but he couldn¡¯t approach it at all. The Umbral Butterfly Weave wanted to recruit elites to participate in the Astral Combat Tournament, but they needed to first screen them with the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s assessment test, and this was theirst desperate attempt to achieve fame through the Astral Combat Tournament. The giant in front of Lu Yin was one of the weave¡¯s training grounds, and it had been sealed off, just like Earth had been previously.

    Since he couldn¡¯t directly enter the, Lu Yin could only find another entry method. He saw that there were some spacecraft entering the training ground from his right hand side, so he immediately maneuvered his spacecraft towards the right side and submitted a request tond as he neared.

    His spacecraft was a personal spacecraft that was very small, but it could dock into a giant spacecraft and thennd that way.

    Typically, giant-sized spacecraft wouldn¡¯t pay attention to a docking request from a personal spacecraft; no one would allow a stranger to enter their homes. But Lu Yin¡¯s luck was pretty good today, and one actually epted his docking request. He quickly flew towards the spacecraft without sparing a single thought as to the possibility of danger.

    Ah Mu¡¯s stress grew as he watched the approaching giant growrger andrger; he was about to be swallowed by his personal gloom and fears. As the only male of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, he was deep in despair. The Umbral Butterfly Tribe had its own unique ability that was almost at the level of an innate gift, but it was not suitable for a male. Hence, he had been abandoned and there was little likelihood that he would be able to return to the tribe.

    Ah Mu hadn¡¯t wanted to participate in the weave trial, but it was possible that some of the members within the Umbral Butterfly Tribe would want to eliminate an aberration like him. Hence, he had been essentially forced to participate. However, he had only just be a Melder and was a far cry from the elites who dared to participate in the weave¡¯s trial. Furthermore, Ah Mu was an intellectual who did not enjoy battle; how was someone like him supposed toplete this trial?

    Just as Ah Mu was worrying endlessly about his problems, he unexpectedly received a request to board. He didn¡¯t think any further and immediately consented. This was the Umbral Butterfly Weave and no one would dare to act against a spacecraft from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe! But then, he regretted his decision the same moment he consented. Is my n nning on eliminating me sooner rather thanter? Ah Mu immediately tried to cancel the docking permission, but it was already toote. That spacecraft was charging towards therger spacecraft like it was on steroids.

    Why are they in such a hurry? Ah Mu¡¯s face paled and resigned himself to wait for death.

    Lu Yin shut his spacecraft off and walked along the passageway that led to the interior of the giant spacecraft. Strange. There aren¡¯t that many people on this spacecraft...

    He searched for a while before finally arriving at themand room. There were only a few people there, every one of them with sullen expressions, as if they had just lost their fathers.

    ¡°You must havee to kill me. Do it,¡± Ah Mu spoke out.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw a pale-faced, skinny young person whose face was filled with both agony and desperation.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to be seen doing it?¡± Ah Mu ordered everyone to leave. They had all been sent by the Umbral Butterfly Tribe to serve him. Even though he had been discarded, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe still cared about its appearances, and it put effort so that they wouldn¡¯t look like they were bullying the weak.

    ¡°It should be fine now. Do it! My death will let many rx,¡± Ah Mu said in a hoarse voice as his eyes dimmed.

    Lu Yin furrowed his brows as he approached the sad young man.

    As Lu Yin drew closer, Ah Mu¡¯s heartbeat quickened. The fear of death overcame his pride, and his shrouded face even paled further. His lips trembled. ¡°Wa- wait. Can you at least tell me who sent you before you kill me?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered as he replied, ¡°Do you really want to die?¡±

    Ah Mu stared at him in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t, but¡­¡± He lost his strength and copsed into his chair before saying, ¡°I can¡¯t resist anymore.¡±

    ¡°I can spare your life.¡±

    Ah Mu¡¯s eyes brightened and he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°What? You¡¯re not going to kill me?!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, but under one condition.¡±

 Chapter 166: Umbral Butterfly Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 166: Umbral Butterfly Tribe</h4>

    ¡°What condition?¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Ah Mu was moved. No one wanted to die, and he was no exception to this rule. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would reach out to grasp it.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Take me along with you,¡± Lu Yin said as he pointed at Gigastar that they were gradually closing in on.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was bbergasted. ¡°You want tond on Gigastar?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Is there a problem? This is the only condition.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t youe to kill me?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu lost his voice. He wasn¡¯t foolish, and although he had over-thought things earlier, he was thinking clearly now.

    Lu Yin looked at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, and his gaze turned cold. ¡°Of course not. But if you don¡¯t take me with you, then I can¡¯t say for sure.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu felt threatened by Lu Yin¡¯s re and immediately agreed. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bring you along. You¡¯re not from the Umbral Butterfly Weave?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Lu Yin asked with a curious tone.

    ¡°Since the Astral Combat Tournament ising up, any native of the Umbral Butterfly Weave can participate in the weave¡¯s trials, no questions asked. The only caveat is that you must be of the younger generation. If you can¡¯t enter, then the only possible answer is because you¡¯re not originally from the Umbral Butterfly Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but did not respond.

    Although A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had been shunned by his tribe, he was still a genuine member of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. Their members had a unique status, and he could sweep across the weave with his n¡¯s prestige, which went to show just how influential the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was quickly allowed onto the, and no one questioned him taking Lu Yin along.

    ¡°Then, can you bring me along with you?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu requested before they were about tond on the giant.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Did you think that I was going to let you go?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was stumped, but then heughed in embarrassment. That¡¯s right. I¡¯m a hostage, and he¡¯s afraid that I¡¯ll report him to the supervising authorities once we separate.

    ¡°Get in the same spacecraft as me,¡± Lu Yin ordered firmly.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu nodded, sullenly crouched down, and entered the spacecraft. It was a cramped personal spacecraft, so it was fortunate that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was skinny. Arger person wouldn¡¯t have been able to squeeze in alongside another person. Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was left on A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s as it carried the emblem of Astral-10 and was too conspicuous.

    The personal spacecraft vibrated as the scenery behind them rapidly shifted. Dozens of spacecraft prated through the atmosphere andnded on Gigastar, creating craters and sending shockwaves through the atmosphere on impact.

    This scene moved Lu Yin, as he had been a native when he hadst participated in a trial. Now, it was the opposite, and he was wearing the cloak of an invader. His mood was understandablyplex.

    Each personnded at a random location. Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft crashed into a steep cliff and decimated it, shaking the earth and filling the air with dust.

    After the dust and smoke settled, a giant mouth with sharp teeth appeared before them. It savagely bit the hull of the spacecraft as it shrieked loudly.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget and saw that the creature had a power level of 2800. He was shocked. ¡°Even a mere beast is as strong as a Sentinel. Not bad.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, meanwhile, was terrified. ¡°This is the weave¡¯s trial. It should be extremely difficult and bloody. Gigastar''s also known for being a of death in this region. Let¡¯s stay in the spacecraft; there shouldn¡¯t be any creatures that are strong enough to destroy our spacecraft here.¡±

    Lu Yin increased the scanning radius of his gadget. The strongest power level around them was 5900, the same level as a peak Melder. There was nothing close by that posed a threat to him. He thought about it for a moment and then opened the door and unceremoniously tossed A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu out despite his terrified expression. Lu Yin then jumped out and kicked the beast, sending it flying. Its enormous body created shock waves as it sailed through the air before finallynding heavily in a distant part of the forest. Lu Yin was about to say something to A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, but a sensation that something wasn''t right stopped him. He looked back into the distance and his eyes widened; it wasn¡¯t a forest, but rather a field of grass.

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings in surprise. He then flew into the air, and sure enough, the swaying green nts in the distance were actually strands of grass. They hadn¡¯t crashed into some precipitous cliff, but rather just an earthen slope. They hadnded in the grass, but this grass was excessivelyrge.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu grimaced, ¡°You must have noticed it now. This is the of the giants, and everything is erged here. That wasn¡¯t some giant beast that you just kicked, but rather, just a bug. We humans are even smaller than insects here, and we are at the bottom of the food chain.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped as he remarked, ¡°The universe is really mysterious and has all sorts of uniques.¡± He thought back to the description that he had read online about the giants on this: ¡°sharp teeth, chubby monkey cheeks, bald heads, and drooping shoulders. Their bodies were shaded green, their eyes were filled with ck threads, and a forest grew on their backs.¡±

    These giants were not humans, but probably some kind of humanoid beast. But since they were giant humanoids, they had been dubbed ¡°giants.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait here until the trial ends. This is terrifying and often gives birth to Explorer level powerhouses. This is why multiple Explorers are stationed outside: to suppress them. We won¡¯t be able toplete this mission by ourselves,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu pushed out in a trembling voice, as he was truly frightened.

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°What¡¯s the mission?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was terrified by such a thought. ¡°Killing the Giant Emperor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°What a coincidence. I wanted to kill the Giant Emperor, too. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had a bad premonition.

    Lu Yin excitedly replied, ¡°To kill the Giant Emperor, of course.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu briefly lost strength in his legs. ¡°I won¡¯t go! The Giant Emperor is a peak Limiteer and he¡¯s likely to break through and be an Explorer. It won¡¯t be enough no matter how many people go. I¡¯m not going!¡±

    Lu Yin furiously stared at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and raised his voice. ¡°What did you say? Repeat yourself.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu pathetically begged, ¡°Please, let me go. I won¡¯t go with you! We¡¯ll both die if that¡¯s the case! Rest assured, I won¡¯t tell anyone about you. I swear! Go ahead by yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fist and carelessly waved it. The air currents stirred by his hand swept across the earth and rent it asunder. As A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu watched the ground split apart, he realized that the fissure was unfathomably deep. Even the void had been distorted from Lu Yin¡¯s casual move.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s mouth gaped and he stared nkly ahead. A full minuteter, he turned to face Lu Yin and sycophantically schmoozed, ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s go hunt the Giant Emperor!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s better. Remember, listen to me for everything. You can express your opinions, but in the end, I¡¯m the one who will ultimately decide what we do.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Yes, yes, everything is as you wish it to be.¡±

    Everything on Gigastar was novel to Lu Yin. Over the course of two days, they encountered countless insects, some aggressive and some docile. Lu Yin was like an insect executioner, and he killed so many insects along their way that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu grew afraid.

    As they continued exploring the in this manner, they eventually encountered their first giant on their second day.

    The giants¡¯ overall body shape was like a human¡¯s, just as the images online depicted them. Yet they were beasts in all other aspects, especially the living forests on their backs.

    ¡°It is said that, when a giant is born, they will nt y onto the baby¡¯s back and raise various nts there. That forest will thicken as they mature. It¡¯s mainly used for defensive purposes, as the giants¡¯ weak spot is their backs,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu introduced.

    Lu Yin did not care about their weaknesses. It was just a Melder realm giant and could be swatted away like a fly, so hended in front of the giant without another word. The giant was savage and smelly, with teeth as sharp as any wild beast¡¯s.

    Lu Yin frowned as he realized that there was no way he couldmunicate with it. From the dull look in the giant¡¯s eyes, it did not seem like it had any intelligence, either.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able tomunicate with them, as the giants are basically beasts. They¡¯ll eat whatever they can get their hands on, and their prowess is purely instinctual. They live their livespletely off of instinct, and even gather in primitive tribes. The strongest in each group is the leader, and the strongest in the entire race is the Giant Emperor. The Giant Emperor is the only one that is intelligent, and all the others act purely off of instinct,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu exined.

    Lu Yin was astonished at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s familiarity. ¡°You¡¯re quite well informed.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I had no choice. Once I discovered that I had no choice but to participate in the weave¡¯s trial, I immediately started making preparations. It¡¯s actually very safe to stay here, as this grasnd is the least dangerous ce. I specifically researched it. We-¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu did not have the chance to finish speaking before the giant was knocked out by Lu Yin in a single blow. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much, boss. We can continue now,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu attentively answered.

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°Since you¡¯ve researched this, you should have some understanding of the giant tribes. Lead the way. I want to find the Giant Emperor quickly.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was feeling miserable. ¡°The Giant Emperor.¡± Just the mention of those words made him tremble, but this person beside him was even scarier. Lu Yin actually wanted to confront the emperor! Could he actually still be looking to kill him, but with the condition that he needed to make the death look like an ident? That just might be the case.

    A few more days passed, and the duo finally left the grasnds. The next biome was a vast forest, where every tree towered into the skies. While Lu Yin was entranced by the novelties of the gigantified forest, several figures approached them from a distance.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu unconsciously inched closer toward Lu Yin when he saw them approach.

    Lu Yin stared straight ahead at five approaching people¡ªfour males and one female. When they saw Lu Yin and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, they were puzzled as if they did not expect to meet them here.

    ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu?¡± The girl was shocked. The other four also stared at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu with disbelieving expressions.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s face fell sullen, and he lowered his head.

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°You know them?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu grunted affirmatively, but he didn¡¯t speak.

    The woman studied A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and then looked at Lu Yin with a gaze of ridicule. ¡°Another one who¡¯s trying to curry favor with the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong target.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled by the woman¡¯s words.

    One of the males spoke up as well. ¡°Brother, you must be trying to suck up to the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu is indeed from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, but he¡¯s the only male in the entire tribe. And he¡¯s an abandoned nsman at that. I urge you to keep your distance. Not only is there a chance of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe cklisting you, but they might even be hostile.¡±

    And with that, the five people left.

    Lu Yin looked at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu with renewed interest, and his interest towards the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was also piqued. That n name was shared with the weave¡¯s name, which clearly illustrated its prestige. Also, it seemed that this Umbral Butterfly Tribe had no males, which was very interesting.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu could feel Lu Yin¡¯s interested gaze, and he sullenly exined, ¡°They are fellow students of mine. Although wended in the same area, no one was willing to team up with me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about any of that. Tell me, does this Umbral Butterfly Tribe really have no males? If so, then how do they reproduce?¡± Lu Yin was very curious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s question was extremely rude, and if it wasn¡¯t A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu but instead someone else from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, then they would have absolutely taken offense to Lu Yin¡¯s words. But A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was the exception, as he had already been abandoned by the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    ¡°The Umbral Butterfly Tribe is not a family or a n in the traditional sense. Their bloodline isn¡¯t passed down through normal reproduction methods, as it is actually an inheritance from an ancient powerhouse that can be bestowed. Any female who receives the inheritance will be a member of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.¡±

 Chapter 167: Bloodline Propagation

    <h4>Chapter 167: Bloodline Propagation</h4>

    Lu Yin instantly understood the situation. The Daynight, Mavis, and Phoenix ns all had powerful bloodlines that they had inherited from their ancestors. This inheritance was passed down from generation to generation through their bloodline. Everything was written in the previous generations¡¯ genes, and the descendants who inherited those genes would also inherit a strength that surpassed the average person¡¯s. This type of inherited strength was simr to an innate gift, and it could also be developed through further cultivation. The Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s bloodline held simr traits to the Phoenix n¡¯s undying bird bloodline, but it was nowhere near the level of an Innerverse n.

    Many powerhouses would wait until they reached peak strength before they started thinking about having descendants. They did this both to preserve their strength and to allow the next generation to have a better starting point. In this manner, it was possible to birth a strong n after countless years of repeating this cycle.

    ¡°So your Umbral Butterfly Tribe found the bloodline of some ancient powerhouse and then repurposed it into the core inheritance of your tribe. You people aren¡¯t even true blood rtives,¡± Lu Yin said.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu shook his head. ¡°No, we are blood rtives. In order to inherit the ancient bloodline, all of the blood in our bodies ispletely reced. Everyone in our Umbral Butterfly Tribe is blood rted to each other by an equal extent.¡± Then A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu suddenly lowered his head and sadly whispered, ¡°Except for me.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s tone turned dull as he exined, ¡°My mother was chosen to be a member of the tribe. But because of a mistake, she became pregnant with me when she inherited the bloodline. The Umbral Butterfly Tribe only chooses young, pure girls to be their members, but due to a mistake, my mother ended up giving birth to me. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the only male in the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and it¡¯s also why I don¡¯t have a pure bloodline.¡±

    Lu Yin sympathetically patted A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s shoulder. He could imagine how miserable this fellow¡¯s life in the Umbral Butterfly Tribe had been, and how he had been used as a negative example by the tribe. ¡°What happened to your mother?¡±

    ¡°She died not long after she gave birth to me.¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu became even gloomier, clearly not wanting to talk about this matter any further.

    Lu Yin did not probe any deeper and instead looked off into the horizon.

    After a while, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have bothered you with these irrelevant matters.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly changed the topic. ¡°The Umbral Butterfly Tribe must be very strong if this entire weave is named after it.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s gaze shifted and he nodded. ¡°Very strong. We can absorb the power of a nt to strengthen ourselves, which essentially increases our power level. It would be difficult for anyone to win against a member of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe of the same realm. The more nts there are, the stronger we be, and thus, the stronger the Umbral Butterfly Tribe bes.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s cheating,¡± Lu Yin eximed in shock.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu forced a smile onto his face. ¡°This is the Umbral Butterfly Tribe that rules its eponymous weave. No one dares to refuse our orders here, and not even the several surrounding weaves dare to challenge us.¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu looked at Lu Yin as he continued, saying, ¡°I remember that your spacecraft had Astral-10¡¯s emblem. What a coincidence. The strongest member of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s younger generation, Angie, is in Astral-7. You two are actually fellow students.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows arched up. Did I miss something? He had clearly seen a hint of joy in A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s eyes when he mentioned Lu Yin¡¯s supposed misfortune.

    Speaking of which, the Astral Combat Academy really had attracted a bunch of freaks. Not only were the young geniuses from the various strong powers and ns in the Innerverse attending, but even the strongest descendents from powers like the Outerverse¡¯s Umbral Butterfly Tribe were going. The Outerverse had seventy two weaves, and even though it was difficult to produce freakish geniuses, it was normal for them to have some. These Outerverse geniuses were already a pain to deal with, and after taking the Innerverse geniuses into consideration, it seemed that the Astral Combat Tournament was going to be very lively.

    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t believe that the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s ability to strengthen themselves through absorbing the power of nearby nts is unlimited. If there were no limit, then the tribe would have carved out a ce for themselves in the Innerverse,¡± Lu Yin said.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu put on a helpless expression. ¡°The facts are what they are. Of course we cannot absorb energy without limit. It¡¯s also not possible if the nt is too strong. However, thattter restriction is often not applicable as there are very few nts that are that powerful. And, as the power of the tribe member increases, they will eventually be able to absorb a powerful nt¡¯s strength. And so, the potential of every Umbral Butterfly Tribe member will continue to increase as they continue cultivating.¡±

    What a troublesome tribe. Lu Yin was left with a deep impression of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    About a dayter, the duo saw smoke rising above the tall forest. Smoke was a sign of life, so they quickly rushed over.

    Before long, they passed through anotherrge forested area and saw that the smoke was from a giant tribe, the sight of which nearly caused A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu to wet himself. Over a dozen giants were dismembering some trial takers, and Lu Yin and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had arrived just in time to see a male trial taker being ripped apart limb by limb as his blood sttered across the ground.

    He was one of the men that they had bumped into earlier, from the group of four males and the one female. At the moment, only the girl was still alive, and a small giant was toying with her in its hands. The rest of the group had long since been torn to pieces, their blood staining the ground as a metallic scent filled the air.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was terrified by the grisly scene. His face paled and he trembled in fright.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. That small giant was tightly pinching the girl, to the point where she could not make any noise if she wanted to¡ªall she could do was contort her face into tighter and tighter expressions of pain. Just as the small giant was about to exert enough force to cause the girl¡¯s body to explode, his head was lopped off. The giant¡¯s body slowly toppled over as blood gushed out of its gaping neck like a fountain. Lu Yin momentarily appeared in the sky before he used sh again, vanishing and reappearing in front of another giant.

    The second giant didn¡¯t even have a chance to react before its skull was smashed apart by Lu Yin¡¯s palm. Its pupils dted briefly before turning grey, and then it perished.

    Roar!

    The remaining giants angrily attacked Lu Yin. One was even a Limiteer, and it heavily pped towards a seemingly empty space in the air. A great shockwave that covered a thousand meters flew forth, even sending A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu stumbling back.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and nine stars appeared around it, although the ninth star¡¯s appearance was indistinct. The nine stars of his Cosmic Palm thenbined into one and formed a gxy. The palm then tore through the Limiteer giant¡¯s shockwave and crashed into its chest. The void distorted and then copsed as the Limiteer giant was torn asunder by Lu Yin¡¯s lone palm attack. Its blood gushed out towards the distant end of the forest like a tsunami crashing intond as it extinguished the smoking fires.

    Thest few giants fled in terror, but Lu Yin did not let them off. He used a consecutive series of sh and palm attacks to kill everyst one of them.

    Lu Yin could tolerate the weak being killed, but he would not stand for them being toyed with; he felt aggrieved. Humans were the wisest of all creatures. and their dignity should not be trampled upon.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu vomited as the stench of blood filled the air, and he did not want to stay a second longer in this area.

    Lu Yin stepped over the bloodstained earth, walked towards the girl, and then squatted down beside her. Her injuries were too severe; her body had been nearly crushed apart, and there was no hope of surviving. When she saw Lu Yin, she stuttered in agony, ¡°Ba- Based on the orientation of the houses, you ca- can find the Giant Emperor. He is at the center of all of the tribes. Please, kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin waved his hand and ended her suffering.

    He then stood up and looked around. The giants¡¯ stone houses were enormous and seemed crude. There were numerous white bonesying around haphazardly, and the front doors did not face in a single direction. Instead, they fanned out in an arc. All of the doors were facing towards the southeast. Lu Yin made a quick mental calction; if the Giant Emperor was at the center and all the other giants were scattered around it in arge circle, then the arc of these stone houses could tell him where the Giant Emperor was. The giants were not intelligent andrgely followed their instincts, so the methods that they used were quite simple.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu peeked out from behind arge tree and saw Lu Yin standing on the bloody ground. He resisted his nausea and cried out, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lu Yin waved to him and then dashed towards the southeast as A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu hurried to keep up.

    If A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had previously wanted to get away from Lu Yin, then right now, any such thoughts had been cast aside. What he had just witnessed was too terrifying; those corpses had once been his fellow students, and their misfortune shocked him to the core. They would never return after dying in such a miserable manner.

    A giant pit appeared in another giant tribe in the distance. A spacecraft hadnded in the middle of the tribe¡¯s settlement, crushing several giants in the process. The trial taker inside stared at the disyed power levels on his gadget in dismay after he realized that there were several giants with the strength of a Limiteer outside. He didn¡¯t even dare to open his door.

    The giants were also afraid of the spacecraft and didn¡¯t approach it either.

    Time slowly passed by, and just when the giants were about to dig the spacecraft out, several trial takers appeared from nowhere and killed them all. Anyone who dared to participate in this weave trial was at least at the Melder level, and there was even a Limiteer student in this group. He killed two Limiteer giants himself, and his group destroyed the entire tribe.

    However, the trial taker within the spacecraft still did not dare to step out. The others spared a nce of disdain in the spacecraft¡¯s direction, nced at the curve of the stone house¡¯s setup, and then flew into the distance.

    Gigastar was huge and the giants were just one of the many indigenous races on it. However, all of the trial takers¡¯ spacecraft hadnded within the giants¡¯ territory. The entire area fell into chaos as the giants and trial takers shed in a frenzied war.

    At that moment, the entire giant territory was a mess, and the most central region where the area where the Giant Emperor lived was no exception.

    Several unlucky spacecraft hadnded right beside the Giant Emperor. Its terrifying peak Limiteer strength and intelligent eyes had nearly scared those trial takers to death. While normal giants were not sapient, the Giant Emperor was. Intelligent and non-intelligent life were two entirely different levels of existence.

    The trial takers¡¯ spacecraft were very sturdy and even a Limiteer could not destroy one. When they saw the Giant Emperor, those unlucky few immediately decided to not step out until the trial ended.

    But they had underestimated the emperor¡¯s intelligence. He had picked up one of the spacecraft and shaken it vigorously, pulverizing the trial takers within. This scene had shocked the others senseless, and they immediately ran out of their spacecrafts to escape. However, the emperor had easily chased them all down and killed them with a single p each.

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s eyes sparkled as he saw the spacecrafts littered on the ground.

    The trial takers¡¯ battles were not only against the giants, as they were multiple battles between the trial takers themselves. For example, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, who had somehow survived to this point, faced ridicule from every trial taker that he and Lu Yin encountered. Sometimes, they would even face murderous intent. It was a hundred times worse than Lu Yin¡¯s trial zone experience back on Earth.

    Three trial takers were currently surrounding A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and Lu Yin. They did not speak, but there was no concealing the cold, murderous gaze in their eyes.

    The trio were all Melders, but they could not even match up to Gerbach. Lu Yin was indifferent to the situation, but he was curious as to how A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had instigated so much raw hatred.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu felt agonized when he noticed Lu Yin¡¯s curious nce. ¡°I told you¡ªI¡¯m the abnormality of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. There are many in the tribe who want me gone because they consider me a disgrace.¡±

    With a shout, the trio avoided Lu Yin and moved as one to kill A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was very weak, and his power could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s even when his Cosmic Art only had five stars. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was just a little stronger than an elite Sentinel of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yu Academy. There was no way for him to block the trio¡¯s attack, so he decided to not resist at all.

    The trio¡¯s attack was fast, but it was repelled even faster as Lu Yin had easily thrown them aside. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu nodded silently.

    Over the past ten days, the duo had run into several giant tribes as well as a dozen trial takers who had joined together, just like the teams that had formed from the schools¡¯ elites during Earth¡¯s trial. Currently, most teams were made up of individuals who were daring enough to challenge the Giant Emperor, and every one of them consisted of powerhouses. Lu Yin had met at least a dozen trial takers who were elite Melders that were at least as strong as the Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Masters.

 Chapter 168: Lu Yinâ€™s Backing

    <h4>Chapter 168: Lu Yin¡¯s Backing</h4>

    Even though the Umbral Butterfly Weave was a rtively smaller weave, its younger generation¡¯s abilities were, overall, greater than the Great Yu Empire¡¯s.

    This was not something surprising. After all, the Great Yu Empire only controlled a third of the Frostwave Weave. However, if the peak powerhouses of the younger generation were to bepared, then the Umbral Butterfly Weave was definitelygging behind. A single Wendy Yushan was more than enough to dominate the entire Umbral Butterfly Weave. Lu Yin refused to believe that the Umbral Butterfly Weave had anyone who could contest a monster like Wendy Yushan; there were very few who couldpare to her in the entire Outerverse.

    ¡°The further we encroach upon the giant tribes¡¯ territory, the more Limiteer giants will appear. It seems that the Giant Emperor isn¡¯t far away,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself when he saw four Limiteer realm giant corpses on the path ahead.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was shocked by this sight. ¡°The cultivators who¡¯vee this far are really terrifying. They are powerful enough to kill four Limiteer giants.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It is not that impressive. Even though the giants have the strength and star energy of a Limiteer, they can¡¯t properly use it. Power level is nothing more than a numerical reading; these giants aren¡¯t even as strong as a regr Melder realm student from the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was stunned speechless. Isn¡¯t it a bit too unfair topare the primitive giants to the students of the Astral Combat Academy!?

    After barely travelling past the tribe, Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed. The ground started to rumble, and he quickly took to the sky to see what was happening. What he saw made his face turn pale. ¡°Quick! Fly up! An ant colony is approaching.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was astonished. An ant colony?

    ¡°Come into this tree now!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu looked into the distance, and in stark contrast to when he had seen the giants earlier, he felt no fear at the thought of the impending ant colony. Lu Yin assumed that the young man had simply been frozen by fear, and he reached out to grab A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and drag him into the sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, the ant colony won¡¯t harm me,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu calmly replied.

    Lu Yin stared at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu like he was an idiot. ¡°They won¡¯t hurt you? Are you a queen ant or something?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Muughed as he responded, ¡°It¡¯s my innate gift. Ant colonies and other simr creatures won¡¯t harm me.¡±

    By then, the rumbling sensationing from the ground had be deafening. In the distance, a huge tree fell over as the ant colony covered the barren earth. After all, this was a where everything was gigantified, causing the ants to be even bigger than humans. The majestic colony of ants turned the entire horizon ck, sending chills crawling down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. He immediately flew into the skies as he could no longer afford to care about A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu; the Umbral Butterfly Tribe male could die if he wished. Though, a part of Lu Yin was also secretly eager to witness A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s proimed innate gift. There were countless innate gifts that had all sorts of fantastical abilities; there was no shortage of strange ones.

    When the ant colony arrived, they surged into the forest like a sea of ck waves. Lu Yin watched A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu closely; the normally craven man had apletely calm demeanor.

    When the ant colony reached A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, Lu Yin was shocked to see the colony suddenly stop in front of him. They truly did not harm A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu.

    The huge ant colony was something that even Lu Yin would find difficult to confront. Even though each ant was individually no stronger than a Sentinel, there were just too many of them. Sometimes, an overwhelming numerical advantage could fundamentally change the army¡¯s strength, though creatures like ants did not normally challenge humans.

    ¡°Seventh Bro , the ant colony told me that the Giant Emperor has run away. He isn¡¯t in the central region anymore,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu shouted from down below. ¡°Seventh Bro¡± was the name that Lu Yin had given A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu; he liked to be called Seventh Bro.

    Lu Yin was astonished and he flew down until he was about a hundred meters above the ant colony. He looked at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu with an expression of disbelief. ¡°What did you say? The Giant Emperor escaped?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu reiterated, ¡°The ant colony said that the Giant Emperor escaped a few days ago.¡±

    But Lu Yin was unconvinced. ¡°How would the ant colony know? Besides, how can you understand ants?¡±

    ¡°I can understand them because it¡¯s part of my innate gift. The Giant Emperor possesses something that is of great importance to the ant colony. More importantly, the ant colony has senses that that object is now in the northwest. Thus, the emperor has definitely escaped,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu confidently exined.

    Lu Yin was at a loss at this development. <i>A</i><span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal"><i>h Mu</i><i> </i>wouldn¡¯t make all this up just because he¡¯s afraid to go to the central region, right?

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu knew that Lu Yin was skeptical of this news, so he said, ¡°Seventh Bro , I am telling the truth. Even if we headed to the central region now, it would be pointless. The Giant Emperor is really not there.¡±

    Lu Yin made a decision. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll trust you this once. But if I discover that you¡¯re lying to me, I will throw you straight into a giant tribe¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was frightened by the threat, and he hurriedly replied, ¡°I am telling the truth! I didn¡¯t lie.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s ability tomunicate with the ants truly surprised Lu Yin. What shocked him even more was that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had managed to convince the ants to bring them there. They no longer had to run along the ground; now, they were able to ride the ants directly to the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin reevaluated A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu; he was actually a rare talent!

    Back at the entrance of Astral-10¡¯s trial zone, Darkvoid walked past the Trialmaster and into the realm mountain. He had umted a hundred victories, and had thereby aplished the first task that Shamrock Enterprises had given him.

    After sitting down on the realm mountain, Darkvoid chose the Dao of Heaven of the Six Daos without any hesitation. He had been instructed to make this selection by the Shamrock Enterprises as one of the Area Masters within the Dao of Heaven was one of their members.

    After Darkvoid¡¯s hundred victories, the next to meet that criterion was Hui Daynight. Those from the Daynight n could be considered absolute talents no matter where they were. With thebination of their natural talents and the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques, they were virtually undefeatable. And yet in Astral-10, Hui Daynight was considered average at best. This cement would be unthinkable in any other Combat Academy, and the humiliation that Hui Daynight felt due to this cement was not something that others could understand.

    Of the Six Daos, Hui Daynight chose to enter the Dao of ughter. One of his n members was an Area Master there, and he intended to surpass the other Astral-10 students to be the strongest. The Daynight n¡¯s members did not fall behind anyone.

    There were already six people who had entered the trial zone after Lu Yin left. Except for Lu Yin, everyone who entered the Nine Trial Zones had the backing of an Area Master. Needless to say, having proper backing was very important.

    Everything within the Dao of ughter was tinged bloody red, and it was nketed in an oppressive vibe. After Hui Daynight entered the realm, his distinctive ck and white hair made everyone steer clear of him. While he was looking for the training ground of his fellow n member, Tiankong Daynight, he heard a bit of news that made him unhappy; Area Master Charon from the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Whitebones Gorge had dered that Lu Yin was hereby under his protection.

    Lu Yin was the leader of Astral-10, and he was much stronger than Hui Daynight, but he had no backing. He was a target of much scorn within the trial zones, which was also the main reason why Hui Daynight was confident that he would be able to surpass Lu Yin. Aside from his displeasure at hearing the news, Hui Daynight was even more puzzled as to why Charon would send out word that Lu Yin was under his protection.

    Hui Daynight quickly found another student in the Dao of ughter and demandingly asked, ¡°Tell me. Why does Charon want to protect Lu Yin?¡±

    The student who was stopped saw Hui Daynight¡¯s hair, and a glint of fear shed through his eyes. ¡°I am not sure. Someone said that Charon is Lu Yin¡¯s elder brother.¡±

    Hui Daynight approached another person and asked the same question, to which the person replied, ¡°I heard that Lu Yin and Charon have been good friends since childhood. Because of their friendship, Charon sent out word that anyone who harms Lu Yin will face his wrath.¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that Lu Yin is a disciple of a superior race in the Innerverse and that Charon is his guardian.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin? Who? The one who took advantage of Xi Yue? That bastard, I¡¯ll kill him for daring to take advantage of Xi Yue! What? Charon said that he is under his protection? Oh, there must be some misunderstanding. Lu Yin is an upright man, and he would never take advantage of Xi Yue.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin? He is the son of Kiel Rolf, the chairman of the Lockbreaker Society. Of course Charon is protecting him.¡±

    ¡­

    Hui Daynight felt his head throb from all the rumors. He heard so many different answers, but not a single one was reliable. However, there was one thing that was certain; Lu Yin was no ordinary Outerverse citizen. Charon was a gifted Lockbreaker and Dao Bo was his backer. Could Dao Bo also be backing Lu Yin?

    Hui Daynight¡¯s expression turned more sour the more he thought about it. He felt that it would be very difficult to catch up to Lu Yin at this rate and that the man was not some simple character.

    Lu Yin, who was currently seated on an ant¡¯s back, was not aware that he was once again a hot topic due to Charon¡¯s announcement. While the resurgence of his name also came with the old news of him taking advantage of Xi Yue, no one dared to touch Lu Yin now, as they feared Charon''s retribution. No matter if it was for good or evil, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to use his old methods of making money anymore.

    The ants travelled very quickly, and their backs were so sturdy andfortable that Lu Yin, who was seated upon one, was about to fall asleep.

    After an unknown period of time, he opened his eyes and turned his head around to look behind him. To his surprise, he saw a woman seated on the back of another ant. She had white and ck hair that flowed behind her figure, making for a striking image. There was no telling when she had started following them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils contracted in shock; this woman was the same woman who he had seen in space who, the Daynight n member who had killed an entire spacecraft of interster pirates. What was she doing on this?

    Furthermore, the woman gave off no aura of any kind. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s intuition, he would not have sensed this woman¡¯s presence.

    ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, when did this woman start to follow us?¡± Lu Yin said with a low growl.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was puzzled. ¡°What woman?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless; A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu couldn¡¯t sense her even though she was this close to them.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu turned around to look and was shocked. ¡°Se-Seventh Bro, there is ady from the Day-Daynight n right over there.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Lu Yin said quietly before turning to look at the woman again.

    The woman looked up and met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This time, Lu Yin did not see the depressed and remorseful eyes he had seen in the past; instead he saw a calm and indifference set of eyes.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was badly shaken. The Daynight n was renowned throughout the entire universe, and they were a powerful n from the Innerverse. The appearance of any one of their n members was enough to cause wide scale panic, and he had never imagined that, one day, such a person would sneak up behind him while he slept. The long sword with the red handle frightened him so badly that he almost wet himself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what should we do? This woman is here to kill us! Let¡¯s escape!¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu said fearfully.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows unconsciously knit together. ¡°Ask your ant how she came to be here.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu whimpered in acknowledgment and lowered his head tomunicate with the ant.

    Very soon, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu raised his head, stole a scared nce behind him, and then softly said, ¡°Seventh Bro, the ant doesn¡¯t know either.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and his expression turned serious. This woman had perfectly concealed her aura, and her concealment even extended to her power level. She was so stealthy that even the ant below her had not realized that she had gotten on top of it. What a terrifying skill to possess!

    Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of a simr experience when he had been cultivating back on Earth. Zhang Dingtian had once been attacked by Silver and almost died. Back then, they had been under the impression that Zhang Dingtian could not sense Silver because Silver had concealed his power level. But in reality, that was not the truth of the matter. Zhang Dintian possessed the keen intuition of a powerful warrior, but he still had not been able to sense Silver¡¯s presence. He had only managed to narrowly escape due to his quick reflexes. Silver had concealed not only his power level at that time, but also his entire being. Just like what this woman was doing right now.

    Lu Yin turned around to stare at the woman. ¡°Who are you? Why are you following us?¡±

    Thedy from the Daynight n didn¡¯t respond, maintaining her indifferent expression as she sat on the ant without moving.

    Lu Yin raised his brows and said, ¡°You¡¯re from the Daynight n. I know Hui Daynight.¡±

    The woman still didn¡¯t respond. She apathetically continued to stare straight ahead, not caring about Lu Yin or anything else around her.

    Lu Yin turned back around. Even though she was ignoring him, he had still ascertained one important thing. Despite her advanced concealment skills, this woman was unable to see through Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. Her apathetic response had just confirmed this for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was confident that only a few Melders were capable of defeating him. He was among the top Melders in the entire universe and not someone to overlook. The woman¡¯s indifferent attitude proved that she could not determine Lu Yin¡¯s true strength. This suited him just fine since Lu Yin did not want to reveal his strength anyway.

    The ant colony continued on their way northwest.

 Chapter 169: Lu Yin And Zhuo Daynight

    <h4>Chapter 169: Lu Yin And Zhuo Daynight </h4>

    Somewhere in the southeast of Gigastar, a man garbedpletely in ck stood silently in the center of a giant tribe. He was surrounded by more than a hundred giant corpses, and even the sky seemed to be stained with blood.

    A Limiteer giant crouched nearby, looking at the ck-garbed man with an expression of abject terror as it quivered with fear. The man raised his head, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes, but an instantter, they had be a normal pair of eyes.

    If Lu Yin were present, he would have definitely recognized those scarlet eyes as the same ones in the skull that Silver had once had. No one from Earth would ever fail to recognize those eyes¡ªthey were a zombie¡¯s eyes.

    He walked next to the giant. ¡°Bring. Me. To. The. Giant. Emperor.¡±

    The giant shuddered and then obedientlyid down, allowing the ck-garbed man to climb onto its back. It then immediately sped off towards the northwest.

    Above the, one of the videos from the monitoring feeds had gone nk. ¡°What happened? Why did the video feed of the giant¡¯s headquarters vanish?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. The residual shockwaves from the battle must have smashed the monitoring devices apart.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Even the Giant Emperor can¡¯t break those monitoring devices. Do you really think that those trial takers could do something like that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ll investigate immediately.¡±

    ¡­

    Another five days quickly passed. By then, Lu Yin and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had already spent twenty days on the giant. They were still riding atop the ants, and the woman from the Daynight n was still following them for some unknown reason.

    A fair distance northwest from Lu Yin¡¯s groupy arge swamp that was home to countless poisonous creatures; just their cries would turn people¡¯s scalps numb. There, the Giant Emperor¡¯srge figure appeared before he leapt into the marsh and gradually sank into its depths.

    Themotion startled the swamp creatures, and one after another, strange creatures hissed to express their displeasure. A multi-colored gas spread across the sky, and it took some time before the area returned to its previous state of equilibrium. By then, there were no longer any traces of the Giant Emperor¡¯s besides therge footprints leading to the marsh that betrayed his passage.

    When the ant colony arrived, the Giant Emperor¡¯s footprints were still clearly visible. The ants approached the swamp and charged straight in without hesitation. Lu Yin, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, and the woman from the Daynight n, however, did not.

    Lu Yin was delighted that they had found the Giant Emperor so easily. He turned to A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, who seemed slightly depressed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Yin was baffled. There was a toxic gas in the air, but it shouldn¡¯t be concentrated enough to harm Melders.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu forced a smile onto his face and gestured around him. ¡°This is a swamp, and its gases are harmful to nts. Even if we Umbral Butterfly Tribe members don¡¯t use any battle techniques, our bodies are always slowly absorbing the strength of the surrounding nts. This means that we absorb this poisonous gas ten or even a hundred times faster than a normal person.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that this weakness was a bit too ring. ¡°Are you saying that, if I want to attack the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, I just have to release some poison?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. The strongest members of my tribe have cultivated battle techniques that prevent them from being poisoned. I- I haven¡¯t trained enough, which is why I¡¯m so susceptible.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu as he mulled over this new information. Even if the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s members learned battle techniques that prevented them from being poisoned or fatigued by the environment like how A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was, they would never be able to escape from their dependence on drawing their strength from nts. If a Umbral Butterfly Tribe member was cut off from the surrounding nts, they would be no different from an average cultivator. It was no wonder that, despite their tribe¡¯s powerful innate gift, the tribe still only operated within the Outerverse; their weakness was too ring.

    ¡°It seems that the Giant Emperor is in that marsh. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, you trial takers should have a localwork that you canmunicate over, right?¡± Lu Yin asked when he recalled that the trial takers on Earth had had ess to one, although there was a two month leniency period before they could look up other peoples¡¯ locations or actually use thework.

    ¡°Yes, but I haven¡¯t posted anything there yet,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu responded with a puzzled expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose up mischievously. ¡°Announce the location of the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was shocked by themand. ¡°What? Announce where the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks are?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and repeated himself. ¡°Announce it. This marsh is dark and convoluted, so it would take us way too long to actually find the Giant Emperor. It¡¯ll be much more efficient if everyone searches together.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s line of reasoning as there was only one Giant Emperor. If everyone knew the location, then would Lu Yin even get a turn to fight it? But this was good news for A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, as he had never intended to contribute towards the trial¡¯s mission¡¯spletion. If he announced their location, then he would not need to act, could obtain some benefits along the way, and would be able to find safety in numbers.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was excited to carry out this task and hurriedly activated his gadget.

    Suddenly, the woman from the Daynight n drew her sword and shed at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed and he instantly reacted with his Skybeast w technique. The 96th form of the Skybeast w howled out in a bestial roar that tore through the void, shocking everyone¡¯s mind. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was frozen in ce while the red longsword and Skybeast w shed in a shower of sparks. A fierce shockwave rippled out and forcefully shoved A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu aside.

    Lu Yin and the woman rushed towards each other, and their palms collided. Lu Yin did not hold anything back and had used a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, while the Daynight girl¡¯s palm attack was equally terrifying. It illuminated the entire marsh, a hallmark characteristic of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques.

    The instant the palms met, the void distinctly shuddered. The ground and air both trembled ominously, and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s heart started pounding violently as he instinctively crouched down. A momentter, the colliding energy dispersed, radiating outwards for 10,000 meters. Everything more than a meter tall waspletely pulverized, and the area within that radius was purged clean.

    When A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu lifted his head again, his pupils shrank as he stared at the drastically altered surroundings in shock. They had originally been standing beside a marsh with many ck nts around them. But now, everything had beenpletely obliterated, including the hillside. Even the muddy ground had been dried out into a solid sheet of rock.

    Lu Yin and the woman from the Daynight n stood there, facing each other. They had exchanged two blows and had been evenly matched for both. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t bothered by this as he knew that anyone from the Daynight n should not be underestimated. And this was especially true for this woman since he knew that she had eliminated an entire interster pirate spacecraft by herself. Her power clearly exceeded Hui Daynight.

    Rather, it was the woman who was indescribably shocked. She hadpletely disregarded Lu Yin initially, even after she realized that he was from Astral-10. However, those two strikes were hard for her to ept. First, her sword had been blocked by her opponent, and then her palm strike as well. This was a situation that rarely urred even in the Innerverse; how could Astral-10 have such a person?

    ¡°Beauty, you¡¯ve followed us for a while. Suddenly wanting to kill us isn¡¯t very nice.¡±

    The woman¡¯s indifferent gaze never faltered. ¡°I never wanted to kill him. I merely wanted to break his gadget.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin asked as he squinted his eyes.

    She looked towards the marsh. ¡°The Giant Emperor is mine.¡±

    Lu Yinughed in response. ¡°Based on what? I¡¯m also here for the Giant Emperor, and every trial taker here is looking for him. It¡¯s impossible to im him for yourself.¡±

    She stared at Lu Yin, tightened her grip on her red longsword, and then pointed it at Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t need your permission. My next strike will sever your head.¡±

    After saying that, her red de moved slowly, but a series of afterimages emerged behind it. They followed the longsword, stabbing into the earth until there were countless red swords within a hundred meters of them, each one capable of striking fear in others by themselves.

    Lu Yin was stunned when he saw the scene in front of him; this was clearly a domain! When he had Possessed Charon, he had experienced a domain through Charon¡¯s memory. It was an ability that could only beprehended after one attained absolute control over their star energy. Even Charon had only barely managed to touch on that realm, and he did notpletely understand it yet. The ability to form a domain was considered to be on the same level as utilizing battle force, but this woman had actually achieved it.

    Everywhere within a hundred meters of the woman was covered with red des, making for a very intimidating scene. She then retrieved her sword, but this time, Lu Yin felt a sharp sense of grave danger.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu continued lying on the ground as he stared into the sky in horror; this woman was just too terrifying! He felt like he was just an ant who could be squashed to death at any moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew serious and he no longer held anything back. An airflow slowly started circting around his body that caused the void to vibrate. This airflow was transparent, very small, and could hardly be seen. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu did not pay attention to it, but the woman from the Daynight n¡¯s face immediately changed. She was in disbelief. ¡°Battle force?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and then slowly opened them, causing a chain of explosions to ring out in the air. Not many people in the same realm as him could force him to use battle force, and even a Limiteer might not be able to do so. However, this woman had seeded. Lu Yin didn¡¯t even know her true strength, but since she could activate a domain, she was more than qualified for him to use his battle force.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu began trembling even more violently and his fear for the other two cultivators peaked. He really wanted to do nothing more than bury himself underground at this moment.

    The phantom swords around them suddenly disappeared and the woman sheathed her red de.

    Lu Yin was astonished and simrly canceled his battle force. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting?¡±

    The woman from the Daynight n evaluated Lu Yin as she remarked, ¡°You hid your true power rather well.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that she was referring to his concealing technique.

    ¡°I¡¯m Zhuo Daynight,¡± she introduced.

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from Astral-10. I¡¯ve seen your spacecraft.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°We met in space earlier.¡±

    ¡°I must kill the Giant Emperor. You¡¯re from Astral-10, so there¡¯s no need for you toplete the Umbral Butterfly Weave¡¯s trial. The Giant Emperor is worthless for you.¡± Surprisingly, her tone had gradually turned gentler.

    Lu Yin shrugged helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have my own objectives that I mustplete as well. If you prefer, we can have a match to decide things. But, forgive my candor, you are not my match.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight did not object to Lu Yin¡¯s words as she was not able to conjure a true domain. She had only taken the first step, which was to merge with the surroundings. Actually, she couldn¡¯t even truly take that step either; she had merely used a battle technique¡ªthe White Phantomsword¡ªwhich could imitate a domain. If she fought against a battle force user, even one at the most rudimentary level, it would be difficult for her to defeat them.

    ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, announce the Giant Emperor¡¯s trail,¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu raised his head, looked at Lu Yin, and then at Zhuo Daynight. He gritted his teeth and then published the location of the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s gaze turned cold as she still wanted to stop him. However, against this man in front of her, she was powerless. This was the first time she had ever felt like this against someone of the same rank in the Outerverse. It was not a pleasant feeling.

    When the location of the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks was posted on thework, all of the trial takers on Gigastar were shocked. Many were skeptical of the information and suspected that someone was trying to intentionally lure otherpetitors away, but others believed it since they had nothing better. The Giant Emperor clearly wasn¡¯t in the central zone as they had found nothing more than mounds of giant corpses.

    Lu Yin also knew that there would be some time before the majority of these trial takers believed the news. He was in no hurry and brought A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu to rx somewhere beside the marsh.

    Zhuo Daynight took the incentive to step into the marsh as she wanted to kill the Giant Emperor before the other trial takers arrived.

    ¡°Seventh Brother, why aren¡¯t you stopping her?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was puzzled.

    Lu Yinzily replied, ¡°Let her go if she wants to. I¡¯ll naturally stop her if she is really capable of killing the Giant Emperor. I cannot allow anyone to interfere in my business.¡±

    ¡°Business?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu could not understand what Lu Yin was talking about at all, and only had a vague feeling that something odd was about to happen.

 Chapter 170: Money-making Business

    <h4>Chapter 170: Money-making Business</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled. There was a clear business opportunity before him, which he was desperate to take advantage of. Lu Yin desperately needed more money as he barely had over five-hundred cubes of star crystals left. This wasn¡¯t even close to meeting his needs; at this level, he couldn¡¯t even roll his die, which was a waste of his Innate Gift.

    The swampy region grew darker and darker the deeper one ventured into it. asionally, the muddy soil would burst open, revealing some kind of disgusting creature wriggling around in it. Flocks of massive, strange ck birds also flew across the sky, and whenever they passed by overhead, their formation would cover the sky, making the marsh seem even darker.

    Zhuo Daynight was a girl, but she showed no fear towards the bizarrendscape.

    While it was true that all of the Daynight n members were crazy, every one of them was also the cream of the crop. Between their innate talents and the Daynight n¡¯s powerful battle techniques, it made sense that they were able to stand tall even in the Innerverse.

    Zhuo Daynight entered the swamp and tried to follow the trail of footsteps, but they vanished after just a couple steps. Thus, her only option to move forward was to randomly sh out and hope that her attacks would force the Giant Emperor out.

    There was a chance of this method working, but the swamp was just too big and she couldn¡¯t keep sending out haphazard shes forever. So while her method might have been effective, it was not efficient.

    Zhuo Daynight continued searching through the swamp for three consecutive days. However, if her progress was tracked from a bird¡¯s eye view, then it would be apparent that she had not even searched through 0.1% of the swamp, much less the whole ce. If she were to continue searching through the swamp in this manner, it would take her months to finish. After finally realizing the futility of her efforts, Zhuo Daynight walked out and quietly sat down about a hundred meters away from Lu Yin and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu.

    Lu Yin chuckled. The reason why he had told A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu to publicly reveal the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks was twofold. He could conduct ¡°business¡± while also getting others to search for the Giant Emperor for him. The fact that the Giant Emperor had decided to run was proof that it was highly intelligent and that it would not be easily discovered. This meant that they needed more manpower to uncover its hiding spot, and for that to happen, they needed to preserve the footprints as proof that the Giant Emperor was nearby.

    If the Giant Emperor knew about Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, it would have definitely been annoyed. The moment a spacecraftnded in front of it, the creature had understood the severity of its situation. There had been Giant Emperors who had be Explorers before, so the creatures were notpletely ignorant of therger universe. It was for this reason that the Giant Emperor had fled as soon as it saw the spacecraft. It wanted to buy itself some more time and push the trial takers to leave. However, now that Lu Yin had publicized the Giant Emperor¡¯s whereabouts, it was now doomed.

    Seven dayster, Lu Yin and A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu were idly grilling some meat while feeling incredibly bored when suddenly, far off in the distance, a group of trial takers appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. It¡¯s starting!

    People would starting one by one, which meant that he was open for business.

    The trial takers immediately saw Lu Yin and the others, and they all focused on A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu as he had been the one who released the Giant Emperor¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Giant Emperor, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu?¡± someone rudely asked.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu pointed towards the marshes. ¡°He¡¯s in there, but I don¡¯t know exactly where.¡±

    That person obviously did not believe A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and was about to say something else, but one of hispanions stopped him and gestured in another direction. A few of the other trial takers were staring nkly at Zhuo Daynight, who was quietly standing a little ways away. Everybody from her n was terrifying, and nobody dared to make a sound.

    These trial takers were the elites of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s younger generation and were all peak Melders. Since they were the first batch to reach the swamp, they were definitely the cream of the crop in this group of trial takers and were about as strong as the hall leaders of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yu Academy. But in front of the Daynight n, these students did not not dare to act brashly. They knew that the difference between them was just toorge.

    ¡°The Giant Emperor has already entered the marshes. We don¡¯t know his exact location, which is why we made his whereabouts public. I¡¯m well aware that I am incapable ofpleting the mission anyways,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu exined.

    The thought, He knows himself pretty well, went through all of the trial takers¡¯ minds at the same time. They said nothing further and headed deeper into the swamp after checking the footprints.

    They were the first group to arrive, but they were certainly not thest. Before much time passed, the next batch arrived and they too quickly entered the swamp to search for the Giant Emperor.

    Over the next few days, at least forty trial takers arrived, and all of them promptly rushed into the swamp to search for the Giant Emperor.

    To Lu Yin¡¯s surprise, the trial takers were all quite strong, at least whenpared to the others from the Outerverse. He had seen quite a few Melders who were as powerful as Gerbach, and one of them was even more powerful than Schutz when he had just entered Astral-10. That person was clearly one of the strongest Melders within the Umbral Butterfly Region.

    However, these geniuses¡¯ strength was ultimately nothing to Lu Yin. His time in Astral-10 had shown him that he was more than strong enough topletely disregard these people.

    The swamp started to get lively. There were trial takers everywhere, and the battles never stopped. Most of the fights were between the trial takers and the swamp creatures, but there were some instances of internal strife as well.

    At this time, another group of people arrived. This group stood out to Lu Yin because it included two gorgeous girls. They were both very enchanting and had amazing figures that drew the attention of many males.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu saw them as well, but he quickly looked down. A bone-deep hatred shed in his eyes before he suppressed it deep into his heart.

    These people went straight to the swamp. The two girls nced at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu in disdain, but they did not say a word as they passed by without stopping. Lu Yin noticed A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s strange behavior, but chose not to bring it up.

    The battles between the trial takers and the swamp creatures never ceased. Some timeter, the Giant Emperor appeared with a huge roar. He was quite unlucky, as there had been two trial takers battling right above him, and their battle had forced him out.

    The swamp trembled, and all the trial takers rushed over to the Giant Emperor.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes lit up and she moved to rush over as well, but she was quickly stopped by Lu Yin. ¡°You can¡¯t attack yet.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight had a cold look in her eyes. ¡°Are you trying to stop me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yin looked up.

    Zhuo Daynight was furious and brandished her sword, but a miserable cry at that moment caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and he immediately rushed into the marshes,pletely disregarding Zhuo.

    At that moment, about ten trial takers were battling with the Giant Emperor. This was the first time Lu Yin was seeing the Giant Emperor in the flesh. Compared to a regr giant, the Giant Emperor was clearly muchrger. More importantly, it had clothes¡ªno, not clothes, but rather a rough leather covering. However, this indicated that the Giant Emperor could feel embarrassment, which was a sign of intelligence.

    The Giant Emperor was far more terrifying than a regr giant, and with just one casual smack from its hand, it caused devastation among the swamp. The terrifying shockwaves caused many trial takers to fall into the murky waters. Among the affected trial takers was an unlucky fellow who fell into the swamp headfirst, his feet iling wildly in the air.

    The others immediately retreated when they saw that their attacks had no effect on the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor was furious and had no idea how it had been discovered. It grabbed the poor cultivator who was stuck in the swamp upside down with one of its hands, lifted the man to its head, and then opened its mouth. Such a terrifying scene left many frozen in fear. The man was about to be eaten alive.

    ¡°Want a hand, bro?¡± Lu Yin called out.

    No one else reacted, but the poor guy continued screaming for help.

    ¡°I can help you, but you need to give me everything in your cosmic ring,¡± Lu Yin shouted out.

    This time, quite a few people looked at him oddly and even Zhuo Daynight shot him a questioning nce. Is this guy asking for a bribe?

    ¡°Sure, sure, I¡¯ll give you everything! HELP ME!¡± The man was close enough that he could count the Giant Emperor¡¯s teeth, and he was so scared that he was about to piss himself.

    Lu Yin used sh to appear right in front of the Giant Emperor. He channeled the power of NIne Stacks through his leg, and with a single kick, he pushed the Giant Emperor¡¯s arm away as nine explosions rang out. The unfortunate trial taker was tossed back into the mud and was even unlucky enough tond headfirst once more.

    The Giant Emperor red at Lu Yin and threw a fist at him. Lu Yin had no interest in going head to head against the Giant Emperor and quickly used sh to get away. But before he left, he snatched the poor guy from the mud as well. When he used sh with his entire body, his speed was unbelievable. The Giant Emperor¡¯s attack missed, and the force of his strike left a massive crater in the ground.

    Lu Yin tossed the poor guy to the ground. Even now, the man had yet to regain his wits; his eyes were still filled with fear, and he had nearly died from the shock of the experience. His reaction was quite normal as no one wished to die.

    Lu Yin crouched in front of the unfortunate fellow and patted his face with a smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve fulfilled my side of the deal. You can give me your cosmic ring now.¡±

    When he finally regained his wits, still huffing and sopping wet, he looked at Lu Yin, gritted his teeth, removed his cosmic ring, and then poured out everything inside. ¡°This is everything I have. Take whatever you want. Take it all.¡±

    He didn¡¯t try to wiggle his way out, as regardless of the fact that he was being ckmailed, Lu Yin had indeed saved his life. A deal was a deal, and the man felt that he had to honor it no matter what.

    Lu Yin was quite happy with the contents of the cosmic ring as his haul wasn¡¯t that bad. Those who dared to take part in the weave¡¯s trials were not ordinary elites, and the thousand plus cubes of star crystals was proof that this fellow wasn¡¯t poor. Lu Yin also discovered a Mavis Bank card among the items. ¡°How much does this have?¡±

    The extorted man grew embarrassed. ¡°There¡¯s no money inside. I used everything from that ount to prepare for the trials to buy a Melder ring armor and a few-¡±

    ¡°Enough, I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± Lu Yin did not care for what the man had to say. After going through all of the items, he ended up only taking a few rare metals before finishing the deal.

    Back on Earth, Raas and the other trial takers had possessed less than a thousand cubes of star crystals between them, but that was because the grades of the trials were different. The trial on Earth was supposed to have posed no danger to the trial takers at all. Lu Yin was confident that, if Raas were to participate in a weave¡¯s trial, then Sicar would absolutely give his son a cosmic ring stuffed with at least ten-thousand cubes of star crystals.

    After one person took the initiative, more would surely follow in their footsteps. Lu Yin soon saved another poor guy who was nearly pulverized by the Giant Emperor. After Lu Yin saved him, the man couldn¡¯t move most of his body, and Lu Yin even gave him treatment. That fool ended up giving more than two thousand cubes of star crystals to Lu Yin, which wasn¡¯t a bad profit at all.

    One, two, three¡­ Lu Yin was like abat medic and kept saving people from the Giant Emperor. However, he never saved the same person twice since he knew they had nothing of value left. Additionally, those who were saved no longer possessed the courage to attack the Giant Emperor again.

    More and more trial takers rushed over from all parts of the swamp to participate in the attack. The two beautiful girls had also arrived and were attacking together. Theirbined attack was enough for the Giant Emperor to exhibit some fear.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that the two weren¡¯t weak.

    ¡°Can I ask something of you, Seven?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu asked quietly.

    Lu Yin grunted in reply. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°D-don¡¯t save those two women.¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu sounded depressed.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Why not? I need money and they look rich.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu gritted his teeth, gave Lu Yin a pleading look, took out his cosmic ring, and then passed it to Lu Yin. ¡°This is everything I have. It¡¯s not much, but¡­ Please.¡±

    The corner of Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Are they from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu nodded.

    Lu Yin nodded as he looked over at the battlefield. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t save them.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu answered gratefully.

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s strength left many of the trial takers quivering. It had the raw power of a peak Limiteer, and it also seemed to be using a battle technique. The reason why it only ¡°seemed¡± to be using a battle technique was because nobody was sure that it actually had one, but the pattern in his attacks gave off the impression of a battle technique.

    Lu Yin stared at the Giant Emperor. He was certain that it knew a battle technique, but was keeping it hidden. Why?

    Lu Yin looked up. Is it because of the beings that are watching the battle? This was the tragedy that befell a civilization when theygged behind; they may gain power, but they would be terrified of disying it. Earth had been stuck in a simr situation during the trial that Lu Yin had participated in. If he had not gained the title of King Zishan, then everyone on Earth would have long since been turned to dust.

    The universe was cruel, and once again, Lu Yin was reminded of how far this saying went.

 Chapter 171: The Reappearance Of The Scarlet Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 171: The Reappearance Of The Scarlet Eyes</h4>

    There were numerous trial takers and only one Giant Emperor. So despite its overwhelming strength, it wasn¡¯t able to block all of their attacks. Injuries steadily umted all over its body, and even its back had been shed open. The Giant Emperor howled in fury and mmed the ground with both palms, each hand instantly killing a person. Blood and water intermingled in the swamp as it unleashed another attack at the trial takers in front of it, this time targeting the two beautiful girls.

    Their expressions immediately changed, and they quickly retreated. However, the Giant Emperor seemed to be hellbent on killing them, and it appeared to be willing to forcefully take some of the attacks from the others in order to kill the two girls.

    ¡°Hey, over there. Save them!¡± somebody called out, hoping that Lu Yin would intervene.

    Ah Mu was startled and immediately nced at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer the call.

    One person grew anxious and continued attacking the Giant Emperor as he shouted, ¡°Hey, they¡¯re from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe! If you save them, you¡¯ll gain the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s favor. Besides, I¡¯ve got money, too! I¡¯ll give you everything in my cosmic ring!¡±

    Lu Yin still didn¡¯t move.

    Zhuo Daynight nced at him with a calm look in her eyes.

    ¡°Hey-¡± But this time, before the anxious trial taker could say anything more, he was smashed to bits by the Giant Emperor, and the entire swamp seemed to shudder slightly. The Giant Emperor then turned as it searched along the bottom of the swamp for something. A momentter, his hands emerged with arge, bizarre-looking snake that he tossed at the two girls. They were shocked, which allowed the snake¡¯s body to strike them, sending both of them flying and coughing up blood. One of them even died on the spot.

    Lu Yin merely watched on calmly. Since he had promised Ah Mu not to help, he would keep his word.

    ¡°Let¡¯s attack together!¡± someone yelled. Dozens of trial takers attacked simultaneously and many of their attacks sessfully struck the Giant Emperor. By now, its body was riddled with multiple holes from numerous powerful and fearless attacks, and it cried out onest time in resignation. The Giant Emperor¡¯s knees hit the ground, and its head hung down low while its panted for breath.

    ¡°Keep going, he can¡¯t hold out for much longer!¡± the same person yelled in excitement, prompting everybody to attack together again.

    Lu Yin watched the Giant Emperor closely. Where is his third eye? Since Old Cai said that I needed to retrieve the third eye, it must exist. But why haven¡¯t I seen it yet?

    Just as the Giant Emperor was about to die to the iing barrage of attacks, however, a dark figure shed through the battlefield. An instantter, at least ten trial takers fell to the ground, dead, with ck feathers stuck in their foreheads. The figure continued flitting past everyone to grab the Giant Emperor¡¯s head.

    The Giant Emperor looked up and bellowed fiercely. Shockwaves swept through the area, and the figure twisted around before disappearing into the void. The figure then reappeared less than ten meters away from where it had originally disappeared.

    The Giant Emperor had actually never run out of energy, and it was just as strong as it was in the beginning. It had been faking its weakness all along.

    Many of the trial takers were shocked by this scene. The mysterious figure attacked once more, and Zhuo Daynight joined in at this moment, shing at the Giant Emperor with her red sword. Lu Yin left Ah Mu at the edge of the swamp and rushed forward to attack as well, using his Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm right from the get-go.

    Each of the three iing attacks were troublesome for the Giant Emperor, and it instinctively tried to dive back into the swamp. None of the attacks struck their targets and instead hit the empty air, causing a huge crack to appear in the void. Everyone who saw this crack felt a shiver run down their spines. Those were spatial cracks, and the fact that those three people¡¯s attacks had shattered the void showed that they were very powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm caused both Zhuo Daynight and the mysterious figure to retreat together during the ninth explosion. The three of themnded on the ground after the Giant Emperor ran away. It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally managed to see the face of the figure that had flitted into the battlefield. It was a man with a very pale face

    Zhuo Daynight gazed at the man in ck clothing in shock. She had never expected that two people who were as powerful as her would appear in this tiny weave trial out here in the Outerverse. It was quite a surprise.

    The man in ck clothing was expressionless as he focused on the bottom of the swamp. His body then began to sink down.

    Lu Yin had no intention of letting the pale man attack again. The Giant Emperor might be powerful, but it was no match for any of them three. Whether it was Zhuo Daynight or the man who had just arrived, both of them had enough power to kill the Giant Emperor by themselves. Things would get troublesome if the man was able to attack again.

    With this in mind, Lu Yin used sh to appear by the man¡¯s side before attacking with the 96th form of the Skybeast w technique. The man¡¯s expression did not change in the face of this sudden attack, and he responded with his fist. With a loud boom, shockwaves rippled out in all directions, destroying the topyer of the swamp. The resulting shockwaves even forced dozens of trial takers to take several steps back.

    Zhuo Daynight stabbed her sword deep inside the swamp while Lu Yin and the man were engaged in battle. Multiple images of the sword appeared in the area around her¡ªthe White Phantomsword had appeared again. With this sword technique, the area within a circumference of a hundred meters of her had been sealed off, making it akin to a domain.

    This attack cut through the swamp and even chopped off one of the Giant Emperor¡¯s arms, leaving it howling in pain.

    The pale faced man vanished, retreating from his battle with Lu Yin, before he charged at Zhuo Daynight. Her red sword swept horizontally and shed at the man, who countered by throwing out several ck feathers straight at her, which Zhuo Daynight rapidly dodged. At this moment, the Giant Emperor leapt out of the swamp and tried to rush away.

    Zhuo Daynight and the man switched targets to the Giant Emperor at the same time. The red sword and the ck feathersnded on the Giant Emperor and mercilessly pierced through its body. It fell to the ground powerlessly, causing the swamp mud to ssh everywhere.

    Zhuo Daynight and the man were both desperate tond the killing blow on the Giant Emperor. Lu Yin did not know why, but his intuition said that it had something to do with the third eye. He watched as the two of themnded on the Giant Emperor¡¯s back and then headed into the forest while still fighting on the Giant Emperor¡¯s back. Lu Yin used sh and appeared in the sky. Elsewhere, ten or so trial takers tried in vain to deal the final blow to the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin swept out his arm and star energy rushed through the area, injuring those ten or so Melders. ¡°If you go there, you will die.¡±

    His calm voice echoed throughout the swamp and left the trial takers trembling in fear. They could not understand why, even when they were all at the Melder realm, there was such an insurmountable gap between their power levels. With Lu Yin¡¯s power, he could easily crush the Giant Emperor that was as strong as a peak Limiteer. Within the Umbral Butterfly Region, perhaps no one couldpare to him.

    A bit aways from the Giant Emperor and the battlefield, Ah Mu drew closer to the Umbral Butterfly Tribe girl who was still alive. He had an icy look in his eyes. His initially cowardly gaze had since begun burning fierce as he red malevolently at her. The girl was severely injured and alone, and so was unable to move. Fear filled her eyes as she watched Ah Mu approach. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯te near me, you bastard. Stop!¡±

    Ah Mu walked over to her, revealing a broken sword in his hand. He clenched it tightly, and without a second thought, thrust it into her heart.

    Red blood mixed in with the ck mud of the swamp.

    The girl¡¯s eyes were stunned, and she seemed to be in excruciating pain. She stared at Ah Mu venomously until her eyes zed over as she died.

    Ah Mu crumpled to the ground and closed his eyes. ¡°Mother, she¡¯s the first, but she will definitely not be thest. Don¡¯t worry. Ah Mu will definitely avenge you.¡±

    Rumble!

    A huge rumble shuddered through the swamp as the forest on the Giant Emperor¡¯s back copsed. Zhuo Daynight was driven backwards by a huge force, until she regained her footing in mid-air. Her red sword dropped to the ground. causing phantom swords to appear in a hundred meters radius around her. One of the swords was aimed at the man in ck clothes who was still standing on the Giant Emperor¡¯s back.

    The man turned around with a cold glint in his eyes that was so chilling that it left many of the trial takers trembling in fear. He lifted his arm and something ck extended from it, gradually engulfing the area until it reached Zhuo Daynight. Her red sword let out a terrible creaking noise when it collided with the ck mass that was emanating a chilly aura.

    Lu Yin was shocked¡ªthis was ice! To his surprise, the man had an innate gift of ice. Even more surprisingly, it was no ordinary ice. It was ck and frighteningly cold.

    Zhuo Daynight shattered the ck ice with a single sh from her sword that then went on to strike at the man. However, it had lost too much power from shattering the ice, and the pale-faced man easily knocked it aside. Zhuo Daynight couldn¡¯t handle the sudden change in force, and her sword flew out of her hands,nding far away in the swamp while still vibrating.

    Zhuo Daynight had lost.

    After defeating her, the man punched the Giant Emperor again. Only then did Lu Yin get close to him to kick out. The man anticipated Lu Yin¡¯s attack and smoothly altered the course of his punch towards Lu Yin. This attack was different from all his other attacks, as even the air around it was distorting.

    With a boom, shockwaves radiated out through the swamp and mmed into the Giant Emperor that was at the bottom. Even the trial takers far away felt a wave of dizziness wash over them, and all of them coughed out some blood before retreating even further away.

    Zhuo Daynight looked on in shock as blood dripped out the corner of her lip. The punch that had sent her flying had been terrifying, but it had done almost nothing to the person before her. He had still not used his full strength.

    Lu Yin and the man in ck clothing fell into the bottom of the swamp alongside the Giant Emperor. Turbulent star energy forcefully repelled the swamp waters while the two of them stared intently at each other.

    The man did not expect that Lu Yin would be able to block his punch. When the two of them reached the bottom of the swamp, he immediately rushed forward with a palm soaring at Lu Yin. Sharp, ck ice immediately shot forth and sealed off the bottom of the swamp, causing an intensely cold fog to form above the swamp. Many of the trial takers were left shivering.

    Lu Yin was encased by the ck ice. It was remarkably hard and cold. Any other Melder and even many Limiteers from the Astral Combat Academy would be rendered helpless in this situation, but not Lu Yin. He merely lifted his right hand and covered it with battle force. Then, he violently grabbed the ice, exerted some force, and caused the ice to explode with a ringing sound.

    The man was shocked and muttered in a hoarse voice, ¡°Battle¡­ force.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. This person before him spoke in a very strange way. It was almost as if he had just learned to talk. However, Lu Yin disregarded this peculiarity and shed near the man before lifting his palm. Eight stars sparkled above his circting battle force, creating the perfectbination of his Cosmic Palm technique and his battle force. When faced with this attack, the man¡¯s pupils constricted and his body was immediately mmed to the bottom of the swamp. Even the Giant Emperor was pushed aside.

    A loud shing sound was heard from within the swamp, and the area around them copsed. The mud surged in from all sides, creating a whirlpool

    From above, Ah Mu watched on in shock while the rest of the trial takers didn¡¯t even dare to approach the maelstrom.

    Zhuo Daynight watched the marshes closely.

    During Astral-10¡¯s New Student Competition, Lu Yin had used his Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palmbined with battle force to defeat Darkvoid in one blow. That Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm was at mostparable to his seven star Cosmic Palm, and it was definitely much less powerful than the eight star Cosmic Palm. Lu Yin believed that this pale-faced man would absolutely lose to thebination of his eight star Cosmic Palm and battle forcebination attack.

    Lu Yinnded on the back of the Giant Emperor and was wondering where the third eye could be when a terrifying force emanated from deep underground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed and he looked at the ground seriously, only to see the man slowly crawling out from the mud. His robes had been torn apart, revealing a firm set of well developed muscles. A red palm print was visible at the ce where Lu Yin had struck, but the muscles writhed strangely, causing the palm print to disappear.

    When he saw this, Lu Yin¡¯s face darkened. It was a huge surprise that this person¡¯s physical body was this strong. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know the upper limits of his own body yet, but this person¡¯s physical defenses would not be easily prated.

    The man suddenly looked up and revealed a pair of scarlet eyes.

    At that moment, Lu Yin felt a shiver go down his spine, and every part of his body stiffened. Those eyes caused his expression to drastically change. This is a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance. He¡¯s a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance!

    Roar!

    An inhuman cry filled the sky out as the man charged at Lu Yin. The Corpse King then punched out, causing the air to crack again.

 Chapter 172: Present

    <h4>Chapter 172: Present</h4>

    The Corpse King¡¯s attacking pattern was simple yet brutal. Lu Yin avoided it by shing away, while the Giant Emperor was pushed even further underground. It had been knocked out previously, but this new round of beating awakened him again. Its body was also pierced through, causing blood to gush out of its wounds.

    The ck-garbed man¡¯s attack was fruitless. But he merely turned around to stare at Lu Yin with his chilling scarlet eyes and slitted pupils before rushing at him again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes also burned with rage; the Neohuman Alliance was the greatest enemy of the human race. He wanted to test the strength of a trained elite Corpse King. With that intent in mind, Lu Yin swung his fist in reply. He still didn¡¯t know his own physical limits, and this Corpse King was a great opponent to test his limits against.

    Bang!

    The entire swamp trembled as a terrifying shockwave that rocked the entire swamp erupted from the bottom of the swamp and nearly covered the entire sky. Everyone, including the Giant Emperor, was swept away by the force and thrown into the distance.

    Ah Mu¡¯s legs were so numbed by the shockwave that he was rendered immobile. He could not even begin to fathom the level of the battle taking ce below the ground right now. He had once witnessed a battle between Limiteers of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, but even that had not been as terrifying as this.

    The ck-garbed man had exposed his identity as a Corpse King. He had an extremely strong physical body, but even so, Lu Yin¡¯s punch stunned the Corpse King. It was so powerful that the Corpse King felt like he was being sent to hell as he was forced back.

    Lu Yin had a strange expression on his face as he remained standing in his original spot, having not moved an inch. It seemed that this bastard was actually not capable of pushing Lu Yin¡¯s physical abilities to their limits.

    In the ported battles, he had always wanted to test his physical limits with his opponents, but he had always been unsessful. Since the ported battles only valued the ultimate result, once Lu Yin¡¯s opponent sensed the terror of his physical body, they would generally change their method of attack as few were willing to go head to head against him in terms of physical strength. Even now, Lu Yin¡¯s physical body had yet to be severely injured and only his internal organs had been slightly rattled.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Lu Yin called out, trying to probe into this person¡¯s background.

    The ck-garbed man had been staring intently at Lu Yin with his scarlet cat eyes. But when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, his murderous intent dramatically rose in his eyes and he threw a vicious leg sweep at Lu Yin. His impressive strength caused the space to distort, causing a small spatial crack to appear again. Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. He had already lost interest in this fight. Outside of the swamp, that Daynight n woman had crept up beside the Giant Emperor, and she seemed to be trying to sneakily aplish something.

    Lu Yin opened his right hand, causing eight stars to sparkle while the vague image of a ninth appeared as well. They revolved around his palm to form the image of a perfect gxy, which he then mmed towards the ck-clothed man. This attack was on apletely different level from the previous attacks. If an eight star Cosmic Palm was still an attack that belonged in the Melder realm, then this pseudo nine star Cosmic Palm was freakish enough to belong in the Limiteer realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded squarely on the man¡¯s body, and his mouth dropped open as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His tough and sturdy muscles tore apart like paper, and his entire body seemed to be on the verge of disintegrating into dust. He fell onto the ground miserably and coughed out another mouthful of blood. His scarlet cat eyes lost their fire, and he seemed to bepletely defeated.

    Lu Yin walked beside the man and carelessly wondered if he should finish the Corpse King off. A Corpse King was not a human as every one of them had a terrifying physique, and they could also swallow elemental energy crystals to obtain Innate Gifts. They walked apletely different path of cultivation and could be abnormally strong in their own right. The Ten Arbiters Council had also dered that anyone who killed a member of the Neohuman Alliance would receive a great amount of glory as a reward.

    Honor and glory were very important to Lu Yin, and they would greatly help him regardless of what region of the universe he was in. But for Lu Yin, this reward wasn¡¯t the mostpelling incentive. With his status as a Lockbreaker, he did notck for any amount of glory. But when he considered it from the perspective of the human race, he really should dispose of this Corpse King.

    Lu Yin crouched down, took the fallen Corpse King¡¯s cosmic ring from his hand, and then essed it by swiping some of the defeated man¡¯s blood onto it. There were a few hundred star energy crystals and a bunch of ck crystals that emitted a biting coldness. There was also a heap of unrecognizable items, but there was really only one item that attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention: a ring. The ring was pitch ck with an iid center of silvery grey metal. Engraved onto the silvery metal iy was a delicately carved pair of flying wings and a sword with ten shadows around it. This was an Outerverse Youth Council member¡¯s ring.

    The Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s ring was a ck border with a silver-white center iy while the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s was a ck border and a grey-silver center iy. This Corpse King actually joined the Outerverse Youth Council? What a joke. How could no one notice it?

    Aside from the ring, Lu Yin found another familiar item; it was an artificial scarlet eye identical to the ones from the skull he had taken from Silver.

    This Corpse King was indeed from the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin breathed out heavily and he looked at the gadget on the man¡¯s hand. There was a familiar name attached to the bottom-most notification¡ªPuyu.

    ¡®Go to the Umbral Butterfly Weave and obtain the third eye of the Giant Emperor¡ªPuyu.¡¯ These were the ck-garbed man¡¯s orders. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw this message as it meant that this Corpse King was actually Puyu¡¯s subordinate.

    Does this mean that Puyu also belongs to the Neohuman Alliance? No, that can¡¯t be right. If Puyu really was a member of the Neohuman Alliance, then he wouldn¡¯t have brazenly given this Corpse King a mission, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t have admitted him to the Outerverse Youth Council. It would be meaningless to have two members from the same organization in the same location. That meant that, if this person really was Puyu¡¯s subordinate, then the only possibility was that Puyu did not know his true identity as a Corpse King.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he pondered over the ramifications of this new discovery. Puyu was Bazeer¡¯s backer, and the humiliation that he had suffered from Bazeer could only have been ordered by Puyu. That made Puyu a great enemy of Lu Yin¡¯s, and if that was so, then he could not simply finish off this Corpse King.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how his future interactions with Puyu would go if he allowed this Neohuman Alliance Corpse King to continue working with Puyu. So the majestic Outerverse Youth Council member had actually roped in a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King. Lu Yin hoped that Puyu would like this present, and a smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face as he anticipated that day¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to rise up from the bottom of the swamp. After all, he didn¡¯t know where the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye was. However, there was a high probability that both the Corpse King and Zhuo Daynight knew, which was why Lu Yin had left the girl alone when she tried to surreptitiously approach the Giant Emperor¡¯s corpse.

    Back above the swamp, Zhuo Daynight carefully observed the Giant Emperor before finally thrusting her sword into the back of its head. After digging around for a few seconds, she retrieved a white, half-moon shaped crystal. She nced beneath her and then dashed off into the distance without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened and he charged out, instantly shing next to Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight saw Lu Yin¡¯s seemingly teleport next to her and frowned. She had wanted to use her extreme speed to escape, but her speed was far inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s. Theoretically, Lu Yin¡¯s sh had no upper limit to its speed. He had once observed the Sandmaster use his own sh to tear open the void, and Lu Yin effortlessly caught up to Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight swept out with her longsword and shed at Lu Yin, immediately using her White Phantomsword technique. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t polite either, and he covered his hand with battle force before pping the de aside. The blow forced Zhuo Daynight to retreat and the remnant force jostled her organs. She had already been injured by the ck-clothed man, and now, she had been struck again with a battle force infused blow. She spat out some blood and stumbled back several steps, turning paler by the second.

    Lu Yin stood before her and stretched out his hand. ¡°Hand it over.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s gaze was chilly but also filled with helplessness. ¡°This is useless to you. I can buy it from you, since you seem to be rathercking in star crystals.¡±

    ¡°I am indeed extremelycking, but this is useful to me. Hand it over.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned cold.

    She gritted her teeth as her eyes zed indignantly. Then, forck of a better choice, she threw the white crystal at Lu Yin and turned to leave.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Lu Yin said as he moved to block Zhuo Daynight again.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°What use does this have?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered disdainfully. ¡°You don¡¯t know? You rushed here from the Innerverse¡¯s Daynight n, across an endless distance to this small Umbral Butterfly Weave, all for this thing. And yet, you don¡¯t know what it¡¯s used for? I don¡¯t appreciate people who lie to me. Speak.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight gripped her sword tightly and resentfully muttered, ¡°This is the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, and it is what awakens the Giant Emperor¡¯s intelligence. No other giant race member has this. My n¡¯s elder asked me to bring it back for research as he may be able to uncover the source of human intelligence with it.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He did not believe it, but Zhuo Daynight¡¯s words seemed logical on the surface. Humans had been trying to discover the source of their own intelligence for countless years. How do humans think? Or how are thoughts created? These questions have gued the human race for eons and there was nothing wrong with researching the subject. Lu Yin thought about her answer for a brief moment and then allowed Zhuo Daynight to leave. This was something that Old Cai wanted, so he didn¡¯t spend any more energy on thinking about its uses. Also, he could not try to force her to reveal anything as she was still someone from the Daynight n. Lu Yin might not have liked the Daynight n, but he still had to concede that the n¡¯s absolute might was not something he could contend against.

    In the monitoring room in the heavens above the, most of the disys showed normal scenes of the trial takers, but the feed of the top-ss trial takers in the swamp had been interrupted some time ago. When the feed was repaired, the Giant Emperor had already been killed, and no one knew who had killed the Giant Emperor.

    Many trial takers imed that they were responsible for the Giant Emperor¡¯s death, but no one could verify their ims. After much debate, this weave trial ended in everyone¡¯s failure. The best results ended up going to Ah Mu, as he had publicly released the location of the Giant Emperor¡¯s tracks. Ah Mu had never, even in his wildest dreams, thought that he would attain the best results; he had only wanted to survive the trial. Honestly, he felt like he was still dreaming.

    Ah Mu had nothing but praise for the calm Lu Yin beside him. ¡°Seventh Brother, let¡¯s be friends.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he gently patted Ah Mu on the shoulder. ¡°Take care. We¡¯ll meet again if fate wills it.¡±

    Ah Mu nodded.

    Before long, the duo returned to their own respective spacecraft. Lu Yin did not say much to Ah Mu and immediately left on his Aurora spacecraft since he was afraid of being discovered by the trial observers. Although they would not do anything to him, it would be a troublesome situation since he had interfered in their weave¡¯s trial, and that was not even mentioning the fact that he had extorted quite a few of the trial takers.

    His cosmic ring now held over 5,000 star crystals, all of which had been extorted. It was a pity that it was still too little for Lu Yin¡¯s appetite. For him, he would not feel secure about his finances unless he had at least 10,000 star crystals. Otherwise, every die roll would be useless except for Possession. This was also why he had not rolled his die in a long while.

    It had been nearly two months since he had left the Frostwave Weave, and about three months since he had left Astral-10. It was time to return.

    His harvest this time was quite good. Not only had he be a one star Junior Lockbreaker, but he had also indistinctly manifested the ninth star of his cultivation technique, and he had even found a backer for the trial zone in the form of Charon. He could not wait to see the Area Master¡¯s expression when they finally met.

    Ah Mu finally rxed after Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora spacecraft left. He took out an object that did not seem to follow anyws and emitted a faint green radiance. This was what the Giant Emperor had taken from the central giant tribe, and it was also why the ant colony had been searching for the Giant Emperor. Ah Mu had covertly obtained it, and even Lu Yin was unaware of this fact.

    ¡°This is useful to me, so please pardon me, Seventh Brother. I can¡¯t give it to you.¡± Ah Mu then swallowed the object in his hand, and a trace of burning ambition shed in his eyes. His heart snarled, ¡°But-ter-fly-We-ave.¡±

    No one knew howrge the universe was, and the so-called ¡°Innerverse¡± and ¡°Outerverse¡± were just the divisions of the humans¡¯ territory. The four great star Domains were simr in that humans had not explored beyond those areas yet.

    [1] In chapter 12 it originally stated that there was figure of a human skull. The skull had scarlet eyes. This has been made more clear in the old chapter now.

 Chapter 173: Promise

    <h4>Chapter 173: Promise</h4>

    Lu Yin had long since noticed that his Cosmic Art¡¯s simtion of the stars¡¯ orbits had be much faster, and the ninth star was already distinctly visible. With just a bit more effort and time, he would be able to stabilize the ninth star. A month seemed about right, and that was coincidentally how long it would take him to travel back to Astral-10.

    He didn¡¯t know how far his fellow students back in Astral-10 had progressed in their cultivation, as he had been absent for about four months in total. They should have all experienced a rather huge jump in improvement, and some of them had perhaps already entered the trial zones. When he thought of what the other Astral-10 students¡¯ experiences in the trial zones would be, Lu Yin felt a hint of schadenfreude surface in his heart. He had suffered so badly as the top student¡ªthe others would definitely have it much worse.

    Not two dayster, while Lu Yin was cultivating his Cosmic Art, rms suddenly rang throughout his spacecraft. ¡°Warning, a spacecraft is obstructing the route ahead. Warning, a spacecraft is obstructing the route ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin looked out and saw a warship standing in his path. His heart sank, as he had previously witnessed the terror of a warship; it had destroyed a along with all the Explorers on it in a single strike. Generally, warships were the strategic weapons that belonged to the various great powers, so why would one appear here? And it was even obstructing his path as well!

    A sound emitted from his spacecraft, indicating that the other party wanted tomunicate. Lu Yin frowned, but still pressed the button to receive the call.

    ¡°Hand over the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye,¡± said a calm female voice through themunication device. Lu Yin was furious. So it was the woman from the Daynight n! She had somehow gotten a warship and was using it to block Lu Yin¡¯s path and rob him of the third eye.

    ¡°Zhuo Daynight, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a bit too shameful to use a warship to threaten me?¡±

    ¡°I repeat, hand over the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, and I¡¯ll let you go. If not, you can turn into a pile of space trash.¡± Zhuo Daynight¡¯s tone remained cold. When she finished speaking, Lu Yin felt a rising sense of danger from the opposing warship, and his heart rate spiked. The warship had locked onto his spacecraft; it¡¯s attack would obliterate him if he didn¡¯t agree.

    Lu Yin had no choice. ¡°Zhuo Daynight, if you kill a Lockbreaker that has no animosity towards you, will you be able to bear the consequences?¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaker?¡± Zhuo Daynight was shocked by Lu Yin revealing his status. ¡°You¡¯re a Lockbreaker?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. And not just any Lockbreaker, but a one star Junior Lockbreaker at that. I¡¯ve already made some contributions. The Lockbreaker Society will definitely not let you off if you murder me.¡±

    Back on the warship, Zhuo Daynight fell silent. Beside her, the soldiers were all shocked. They were troops from a nearby weave¡¯s empire. They had lent their warship to her because of the Daynight n¡¯s reputation as they thought that it would be used for some trivial matter. They never imagined that this woman actually wanted to use it to deal with an Astral-10 student. Discovering that had made them afraid, but not terrified since the Daynight n would bear the responsibility. However, attacking a student who was also a Lockbreaker was something unimaginable.

    This was a Lockbreaker, a treasured talent among the entire human race. It could be said that a Lockbreaker represented how deeply the human race had explored the universe. No one dared to kill a Lockbreaker, especially one who had made contributions. There weren¡¯t many of them in the entire universe, and killing one would doom the soldiers¡¯ empire. They were sure that the other party was already recording a video; it was already toote to hide this matter from the Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°Confirm your status.¡± Zhuo Daynight stubbornly refused to give in.

    Lu Yin smiled. The Lockbreaker Network let outsiders browse through thework as guests, and they could also message the Lockbreakers. He sent a message to Zhuo Daynight through the Lockbreaker Network to prove his identity and to force her to drop her demands. ¡°Alright, let me go now. This farce has gone on for long enough.¡±

    She clenched her fists and spoke in a low tone. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Hand over the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, or I¡¯ll bury you here in outer space.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°You¡¯re crazy if you want to kill a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°That Lockbreaker identity isn¡¯t enough to protect you. I¡¯m from the Daynight n, and the Lockbreaker Society will not cause my Daynight n that much trouble for just a tiny little one star Junior Lockbreaker like you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. They won¡¯t go after the Daynight n¡­ but what about the owner of that warship? Can they withstand the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s vengeance? Don¡¯t even try to spout any nonsense about controlling such arge warship by yourself.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes narrowed and she looked to the side at a middle-aged man in a military uniform with a gloomy expression. When he saw Zhuo Daynight look over, he shook his head.

    She was helpless as Lu Yin was right. The Daynight n might not fear the Lockbreaker Society since he was only a Junior Lockbreaker, but themander of the warship was different. There was no Outerverse power that could withstand the wrath of the Lockbreaker Society. Once they killed a Lockbreaker, the society would definitely investigate. They could not trivialize the death of a Lockbreaker, as that would affect their reputation of overprotecting all their Lockbreakers. Even the Daynight n would have to bear some responsibility to fully settle this matter, and it was too steep a price to pay for the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. Zhuo Daynight could not afford the risk.

    The conversation fell silent.

    Lu Yin was certain that Zhuo Daynight would not dare to act; the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye could not possibly be so valuable that it could offset the price that her n would need to pay to suppress the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s wrath. He was in no rush and was willing to wait.

    But this matter was also a sufficient wake-up call for him. He was powerful, but that was only within the Melder realm. He had not be an Explorer yet and could not wander the universe freely. Once he entered outer space, any random second-rate traveler could use any number of methods to eliminate him if they truly wished to.

    Just like Zhuo Daynight. She had clearly left Gigastar after him, but she had still been able to overtake him and block his path with the warship. The reason was that his spacecraft was just too slow as it had not been upgraded, and this oversight had ultimately endangered his life. An Aurora spacecraft without any upgrades was barely different from just an ordinary spacecraft.

    Lu Yin secretly decided that, after he got back to Astral-10, he would immediately upgrade his spacecraft and focus on improving its speed as much as he could. He could not afford to allow himself to fall into such a precarious situation again since not everyone would be cowed by the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s reputation. Furthermore, this region of the universe held many lunatics, and Lu Yin held no desire to gamble with his life.

    ¡°You must becking money.¡± Zhuo Daynight¡¯s voice came over the inte again.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve already tried this back on Gigastar. I¡¯m not selling.¡±

    ¡°You can keep the third eye, but I want to make a deal.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡±

    ¡°I have 50,000 star crystals. I¡¯ll give it all to you in exchange for a single Lockbreaking attempt by you. This will take whenever and wherever I demand it.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Lady, you must be crazy. 50,000 is an appropriate payment for the lowest level Junior Lockbreaker to attempt to unlock a Sourcebox. But to demand it whenever and wherever, that¡¯s just impossible. Even 100,000 star crystals would not be worth it. A Lockbreaker is not a servant that you can call upon at will.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll waste both of our times here. I won¡¯t kill you, but I can keep you here for quite a while. One, two, maybe even three years. I seem to recall that the Astral Combat Academy has its Astral Combat Tournamenting up soon. I don¡¯t know if you can afford to wait for long.¡±

    Lu Yin was angered by Zhuo Daynight¡¯s threat. ¡°I will report this matter to the society and have them step in.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t matter. My Daynight n has elders who are members of the society and their statuses are much higher than yours. As long as I don¡¯t kill you, restraining you in this manner is quite easy.¡±

    ¡°I can agree to your deal, but I have some conditions of my own.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡± Her voice betrayed a trace of expectation.

    ¡°You must give me six months of forewarning.¡±

    ¡°No more than one month.¡±

    ¡°No, five months.¡±

    ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°The universe is so big that even getting to your location could take more than two months. How about four.¡±

    ¡°Three, and that¡¯s all I¡¯ll concede. We just keep waiting here until you agree.¡±

    Lu Yin finally agreed. ¡°Fine, three months then. But I won¡¯t go to a dangerous ce that¡¯s beyond my abilities.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stronger than me. If I can go, then you¡¯ll be able to go there too,¡± Zhuo Daynight said. After these final words, she disconnected the call.

    Lu Yin had a sullen expression; he had been threatened for no reason and had even been forced to make a promise. He may have gained 50,000 star crystals today, but he would rather not have them. A promise to the Daynight n was definitely not going to be easily fulfilled.

    Back aboard the warship, Zhuo Daynight looked at Lu Yin¡¯s profile on the Lockbreakerwork. She had a curious expression on her face, as he was clearly a genius who had seeded in his first Lockbreaking attempt. In fact, the Lockbreaker Society had only approved of his qualifications a month ago, and before that, he had not had any connections to the society or Lockbreaking in general. He was an absolute genius, and he was worth far more than the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. What a profit.

    Soon after, Lu Yin received a transfer of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s 50,000 crystals. It was his first time realizing that money could burn him as well.

    Lu Yin ground his teeth as the warship moved aside. Girl, it¡¯s a small universe. We¡¯ll meet again someday.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s cold eyes held a trace of anticipation as she watched the Aurora spacecraft disappear into the darkness.

    Ever since Earth¡¯s trial, Lu Yin had always been suppressed by one person or another. Most had done so through their own overwhelming personal strength, but Zhuo Daynight had suppressed him while being weaker than him. The situation even caused Lu Yin to pout over the situation as this seldom happened. There was only one other time when he had felt like this. It had been when he had first arrived at Earth, and it was a vivid memory that still bothered him to this day.

    In the end, this had only happened because his spacecraft was too slow. Otherwise, Zhuo Daynight would have never caught up to him.

    ¡°Open the material conversion equipment.¡±

    Soon after he gave themand, a silver vortex half a meter in diameter appeared behind Lu Yin. This was the sole energy source that the Aurora spacecraft relied on for protection while it flew and jumped through space. Other spacecraft required a remodelling for its upgrades, but the Aurora spacecraft was able to take umon materials and disassemble, absorb, and integrate them into the spacecraft¡¯sposition, allowing the spacecraft to continuously upgrade on its own. This was also the foundation that had poprized the Aurora Company in the first ce.

    No one knew even the exact theory behind this material conversion device, not even the Aurora spacecraft technicians themselves. This technology actually hailed from the ancient ages, and the Aurora Company had only coincidentally stumbled upon it. They were merely distributors and disseminators of the technology and were not its manufacturers. Even so, this unique technology had allowed them to be a powerful organization that could rival the Mavis Bank.

    Lu Yin ced the materials that he had previously disassembled into the device. There were some he recognized and some he didn¡¯t, but they all went into the material conversion device. He even included the grey metal that he had received from his first Lockbreaking attempt.

    Rather than upgrading the spacecraft, it felt more like he was venting his anger.

    The material entered the device and disappeared. There was no sound as it happened; it was as if he had just thrown it all into the void through a hole in the spacecraft.

    There was a strange sensation as Lu Yin felt the spacecraft slowly decelerate before entering an idle state in the middle of outer space. It remained motionless as the blinking control panel disyed, ¡°Processing material conversion.¡±

 Chapter 174: Madam Nalan

    <h4>Chapter 174: Madam Nn</h4>

    Lu Yin was struck speechless. He had forgotten that, if too many materials or too rare of a material was used to upgrade the spacecraft, then the spacecraft would stop operating toplete its upgrade. There were no issues with most of the materials that he had tossed in, but that grey metal was definitely umon. After all, it had been locked away in a primordial treasure and was able to withstand the erosion of time.

    The materials were now being converted and then integrated into the spacecraft, but the problem was that he had no idea how long the spacecraft would be out ofmission for. Was he really going to just float in the middle of outer space like this? That was obviously a very dangerous choice because all sorts of disasters could ur anywhere in the universe at any given point in time, such as ck holes. Who knew what might appear? Something could even appear right in front of him right now¡­

    The person who was nearest to his location was Zhuo Daynight. How could I let that woman save me? That would be too humiliating.

    While Lu Yin was feeling extremely frustrated about his vulnerable situation, a luxurious spacecraft appeared. He had concluded that it was luxurious because it was ted with an outeryer of rare metallic material called Prium. This material was very recognizable as it was one of the key materials for creating cosmic armor, and it was very expensive.

    Before one became an Explorer, it was nearly impossible to freely move about through outer space with one¡¯s own power. The only option was to wear a set of cosmic armor, which was very expensive in its own right. These armor sets were also generally considered unnecessary since most people at that level did not need to freely move about in outer space. This was a key reason why few pieces of cosmic armor even existed, and only arge spacecraft would carry them.

    Prium was not only a construction material, but also a key maintenance material. However, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing it being used to te the outside of a spacecraft. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that the spacecraft before him was massive, which meant that an enormous amount of prium must have been used.

    As he watched the spacecraft draw closer, Lu Yin quickly sent out a distress signal and included the fact that he was a student from Astral-10. Under most circumstances, unless they were mortal enemies, most people would choose to save him as helping him would increase their favorability in the eyes of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Within themand center of the luxurious spacecraft, an operator looked up. ¡°There¡¯s a distress calling from a personal Aurora, one that can convert materials. He¡¯s requesting entry.¡±

    ¡°Find out who he is,¡± the middle-aged pilot said quietly.

    ¡°He¡¯s a student from Astral-10 by the name of Lu Yin.¡±

    The middle-aged pilot was shocked, ¡°A student from Astral-10? Ask him to give us a moment.¡± He then walked out of themand center.

    On the top level of the spacecraft, there was a lounge that hadpletely transparent walls. When inside the room, one would feel as if they were walking through space itself. All sorts of projections flickered across the walls, imitating various celestial phenomena. Currently, the pilot was asking for approval to rescue Lu Yin to an individual in the lounge. Only the beautiful silhouette of a female¡¯s back could be seen while her red lips took a sip of fruit juice. With an enchanting voice, she replied, ¡°Very well, let him aboard.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Madam,¡± the pilot answered politely before making his exit.

    Lu Yin had no idea that the luxurious spacecraft that he had run into belonged to the Nn family. The Nn family was publicly acknowledged as the most wealthy family in the entire Outerverse with businesses in dozens of regions. If one said that the Mavis bank and Aurora Company were huge, powerful organisations that were renowned throughout the entire universe, then the Nn family was a powerful organization renowned throughout the entire Outerverse. Nobody knew the true extent of their wealth.

    The Nn family was a legendary family that had be an economic powerhouse in the Outerverse over the course of several millennia. However, while they seemed to be blessed by the god of wealth, their family members also seemed to be gued by a terrifying curse. Over several millennia, the family¡¯s descendents had continually died from this curse, their numbers steadily dwindling. Thest survivor of the family had been the Nn family head, Nn Jun, who had unfortunately died on the day of his marriage. His bride had thus be the official head of the Nn Family even though she had none of the family¡¯s blood flowing in her veins.

    That woman became Madam Nn. Both beautiful and sexy, she was regarded as the wealthiest widow in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora entered the luxurious spacecraft while the pilot himself approached to wee and escort Lu Yin to the reception room; Lu Yin was a student of Astral-10 and deserved a certain level of respect. Also, the Nn family had never been arrogant and had always treated people with respect. This was an irond rule that the family always obeyed.

    ¡°Would you like something to eat, Mr. Lu? I can have my men to prepare something for you.¡± the middle-aged man asked with a smile. His tone was respectful, but not overly humble.

    Lu Yin was very thankful. ¡°Anything would be great. Thank you so much for letting me enter, sir. Otherwise, my spacecraft would have been stuck there for who knows how long.¡±

    The pilot grinned. ¡°Unless you drastically upgrade it, an Aurora will take at most a full day to disassemble all of the metal it¡¯s been given. Your spacecraft should be operational in one day as usual.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately asked, ¡°May I know who this spacecraft belongs to? I will definitely repay you for all the help I¡¯ve been given.¡±

    The middle-aged pilot smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal so don¡¯t mind it too much, Mr. Lu. We¡¯re from the Nn family.¡±

    ¡°The Nn family?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. He had heard of this family before as it was the wealthiest in the Outerverse, but it was quite a coincidence for him to identally run into them. ¡°Once again, thank you, sir. I¡¯ll remember this.¡±

    Before long, the middle-aged pilot left and arranged for someone to bring Lu Yin some food and beverages. Arge portion of the food was dishes that Lu Yin had only heard of and never seen; such as a caviar that emanated white rays and had a fresh scent to it. If he was not wrong, this was Endless Weave¡¯s famous Woody White Fish Caviar. There was also a food that looked like dried beancurd but constantly flickering with multicolored light. It must have been made with the ingredient called the jumping bean, which had the ability to conceal itself. These beans were rather difficult to catch.

    And the beverage in his cup had colored spots and gentle breezes wafting from it. Lu Yin had heard of this beverage before and knew that it came from the Innerverse. There were also ribs that shed with golden light on the te. Could this be meat from some gigantic astral beast?

    The table was filled with food, but those few dishes were the only ones that Lu Yin was able to recognize. He didn¡¯t know what the rest were, but he was certain that they were all exquisite delicacies. Every dish here cost over several dozen star crystals to make since the ingredients were all very rare.

    After realizing the cost of each dish, Lu Yin faltered. These dishesbined were probably worth at least a few hundred star crystals. If it were converted to universal currency, then they¡¯d cost tens of millions, which was shocking. Of course, the cost could not be calcted that simply, as universal currency was what ordinary people used. Cultivators rarely used universal currency as their medium of choice because the amount would be unnecessarilyrge. Usually, powerful organizations used star crystals as their preferred currency. For many, they were easily obtainable. The Nn Family, for instance, was rumored to own quite a few star crystal mines, so it would be rare for them to ever use universal currency.

    When Lu Yin saw a Mavis Bank for the first time, he had been in awe of how the bank hung universal currency up on the trees and let anyone pick up what the wind blew down. At that time, he had been shocked by how loose the Mavis Bank seemed to be with its money, but as he explored more of the universe, the scene no longer surprised him. This was because, in the eyes of the Mavis Bank, universal currency was nothing more than scraps of paper. That¡¯s right, they were merely scraps of paper.

    For this reason, only red and blue Mavis Bank crystal cards could carry universal currency. Cards that were ck or any other color used star crystals, as most of the bank¡¯s business was done with star crystals.

    For huge organizations that primarily dealt in star crystals, universal currency was a hyperinted currency¡ªit was just another economic tool.

    When greeted with a whole table of delicacies, Lu Yin did not hold back and began eating and drinking without caring for his image. Besides, it was all free. The Nn family regrly ate meals of this standard.

    Within the lounge on the top level, Madam Nn had a smile on her face as she looked to the side. ¡°What an interesting little guy. Have you determined what his background is yet?¡±

    From behind her, a young girl walked over and politely said, ¡°Yes. Lu Yin is from the Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire and holds the title of King Zishan. He passed the entrance exam there and entered Astral-10. He is currently the leader there.¡±

    ¡°The leader?¡± Madam Nn was shocked by thisst piece of news and looked at the young man on the screen again. ¡°It¡¯s only been about half a year since he joined Astral-10, right? In less than a year he¡¯s already be the leader. What¡¯s his background before that like?¡±

    The girl shook her head. ¡°We have yet to find anything there. There¡¯s no information from before he entered the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Madam Nn was surprised. ¡°Keep searching.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something else, Madam. He¡¯s a one star Junior Lockbreaker. It took him less than a month to go from being initially verified to sessfullypleting his first Lockbreaking.¡±

    Madam Nn turned around, her eyes shining like the stars. A smile appeared on her beautiful face as she remarked, ¡°He¡¯s a genius and a Lockbreaker with contributions already. It looks like I¡¯ll need to get to know our little guest a little better.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    Lu Yin had no idea that, the moment he got on this spacecraft, his identity had undergone a thorough investigation, and that even his identity as a Lockbreaker had been uncovered. The Nn family had their fingers in all kinds of industries, and the workers under the family consisted not only of businessmen, but also of quite a few regional organizations, empires, assassination squads, mercenaries, and even Lockbreakers. Uncovering everything on Lu Yin was a walk in the park for them.

    Not long after, Lu Yin finished his meal, finally full. He had polished off all of the food and was a little embarrassed about it, but it didn¡¯t matter as he would be leaving in a day anyway.

    After enjoying a good meal, he decided that it was a good idea to move around a little. Lu Yin left the room and headed towards the hallway. After thinking it over for a moment, he took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye; it was a white, half-moon shaped crystal. He inspected it closely. Zhuo Daynight and Puyu had both wanted it, so what should he do with it? Old Cai had suddenly ordered him to rush to the Umbral Butterfly Weave for it, so it had to be valuable.

    He gripped the third eye as he continued inspecting it. While he wasn¡¯t able to unravel its usage, Lu Yin quickly realized that he was able to see the entire universe a little clearer. It was as if a film had somehow been lifted from his eyes. It didn¡¯t extend forever, but things were somehow just clearer. He was suddenly inspired and gathered some surging star energy on his palm and allowed the third eye to absorb it. In the blink of an eye, everything he saw became much, much clearer, to the point where he could see the ambient star energy of the universe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened like saucers. Is this for real? I can actually see the ambient star energy! He was usually only able to see this sight when he activated his Cosmic Art, but now, he was now able to do so with the aid of the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. This was amazing!

    At this very moment, Madam Nn rounded the corner of the hallway. Lu Yin turned to look at her, his eyes still shining.

    The moment he saw Madam Nn, he was stupefied. The woman had a maturity to her that was impossible to replicate. And yet, her appearance also had a refreshing quality to it. The stark contrast caused Lu Yin¡¯s mind to feel numb. However, he also saw a greyyer covering Madam Nn¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin quickly retracted his star energy and stored the third eye away, causing his vision to return to normal. It felt like the light was now brighter, and Madam Nn¡¯s appearance was even clearer to him now.

    It had to be said that this woman was very alluring to young men of Lu Yin¡¯s age. It wasn¡¯t just her external appearance¡ªjust her elegance alone outshone most girls. Even Bai Xue¡¯s beauty was nothingpared to the tantalizing maturity of the woman in front of him. She was like a peach: delicious, juicy, and any man would want to take a bite.

    ¡°Greetings, Madam Nn.¡± Lu Yin was stupefied for a short moment, but he quickly regained his senses and offered his greetings.

    The woman smiled, ¡°How did you know that I¡¯m Madam Nn, Mr. Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°With your bearing, I don¡¯t know who else in this universe who would be suited to be called Madam Nn.¡±

    Madam Nn burst intoughter as she stared right at Lu Yin with bright eyes. She wore no make-up, but her face was still incredibly seductive. She did not strike any poses, but anyone would think she was enchanting at all times. The gaps in her clothing revealed teasing glimpses of her beautiful and fair skin, and she had an intoxicating aroma that intensified in Lu Yin¡¯s brain as she approached him step by step. This woman was definitely a tease.

 Chapter 175: Spacecraft Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 175: Spacecraft Upgrade</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯ll always be wee to visit the Nn family, Mr. Lu.¡± Madam Nn stopped about a meter away from Lu Yin and naturally stood in such a way that he could view her enchanting figure from a very tempting angle.

    She was not deliberately trying to seduce Lu Yin and was only acting normally. Yet despite her intentions, every step she took tested him. If Mira¡¯s beauty was rooted in her physical appearance and movements, then the beauty of the woman in front of him was all natural¡ªno, it was ingrained into her very bones.

    Lu Yin forcefully calmed himself down. He was a young and energetic man, so he found it a little difficult to handle this bewitching woman. He quickly said, ¡°May I know who gifted you the pendant on your neck, Madam Nn?¡±

    Madam Nn was surprised by his question and smiled. ¡°A good friend of mine.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded as he continued, ¡°It appears that your friend isn¡¯t as good of a friend as you believe them to be.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes glinted and she asked in a confused tone, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed before saying, ¡°Since you saved my life, I won¡¯t keep this a secret. I am a Lockbreaker and I was able to detect something that most would not be able to.¡±

    With that, he waved an arm. ¡°I have a minor stomach ache, so I¡¯ll have to excuse myself now, Madam. I¡¯ll see youter.¡± He then left hastily.

    It was truly difficult for him to handle this woman. She had only taken two steps towards him, but just that had flustered him. He suddenly remembered she was a widow. Did this woman tempt her husband into an early grave? It certainly seems to be possible.

    Madam Nn did not mind Lu Yin¡¯s abrupt departure and immediately yanked the pendant off. She had a cold glint in her eyes that seemed capable of freezing the entire universe. It was difficult to imagine how a person who had never cultivated could make such a chilling gaze. ¡°Look into this. I want to know what¡¯s special about the pendant.¡±

    A young girl appeared behind her and received the item politely. ¡°Yes, Madam.¡±

    Madam Nn did notpletely believe Lu Yin, but there was no harm in checking his words as they had the possibility of being true.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin walked into a private lounge and immediately called Old Cai. The Frostwave Weave wasn¡¯t that far away from the Umbral Butterfly Weave, so it was possible to contact Old Cai through his gadget.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Old Cai asked exasperatedly.

    ¡°I retrieved the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, Old Cai,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Ok. Are you trying to show off or something?¡± Old Cai was obviously annoyed by Lu Yin¡¯s call.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I¡¯d like to know what it does.¡±

    Old Cai made a sound of surprise. ¡°You still haven¡¯t figured it out? You¡¯re so useless! How did you ever manage to sessfully unlock a Sourcebox?¡±

    ¡°You know I¡¯m a Lockbreaker?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Obviously. How could I not know what my student is doing? By the way, the mission this time must have been a little tough. Quite a few people must have beenpeting for that third eye,¡± Old Cai said with a sly snicker.

    Lu Yin nonchntly answered, ¡°Not really. There weren¡¯t a lot of people aiming for it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! The news of the Umbral Butterfly Weave¡¯s trial was made public at all of the majors and should have attracted quite a lot of attention. People definitely would not have missed out on a chance to acquire the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. There should have been quite a few talented Melders who joined in topete for it,¡± Old Cai said.

    ¡°There were just two people who stood out. One was from the Daynight n and the other from the Outerverse¡¯s Youth Council,¡± Lu Yin stated ndly. He didn¡¯t mention the Neohuman Alliance. He was nning on concealing the fact that Puyu had a Corpse King under his supervision as a trump card for the future.

    Old Cai replied, ¡°That makes sense. So the Outerverse Youth Council interfered and nobody else had the guts to contest it, huh? You¡¯re pretty good if you were able to snatch that third eye away from someone in the Council, haha.¡±

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me its uses,¡± Lu Yin reminded.

    ¡°What an idiot. Haven¡¯t you heard of Lockbreaking tools?¡± Old Cai said sarcastically.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up and he asked in excitement, ¡°Are you saying that the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye is a Lockbreaking tool?!¡±

    ¡°Obviously. Once you pour your star energy into it, your vision will be somewhat different. What would it be if not a Lockbreaking tool? Alright, I¡¯ve got more important things to do.¡± After saying that, Old Cai disconnected without waiting for a response.

    Lu Yin stared at the third eye with renewed excitement. He had already formed his own hypothesis after he had tried pouring some star energy in it, and now, Old Cai¡¯s words had verified his guess. It seemed that this third eye was quite simr to Master Wusheng¡¯s two leaves. Lockbreaking tools were invaluable, so it was no wonder why the Daynight n and the Outerverse Youth Council had both wanted it.

    Half an hourter, in the top level lounge, the young girl walked over and deferentially said, ¡°Master Su has inspected all the other essories that Madam Liv has gifted you. One of them was found to have a substance that is harmful to you. It can cause you to feel fatigued and gradually deprive you of your sight.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s gaze grew cold. ¡°How long has it been there?¡±

    ¡°Three years. Master Su said that there are only traces of the harmful substance and that it would take at least ten years for it to start taking effect. Because of this, he would not have recognized its perniciousness unless he paid special attention to it, and he apologizes to you for this. Also, Master Su would like to meet the young Lockbreaker who saw through the problem in a single nce,¡± she answered respectfully.

    ¡°Tell him that he shouldn¡¯t take this matter to heart and that the young Lockbreaker has already left,¡± Madam Nn said.

    The young girl replied, ¡°Yes, madam.¡±

    Madam Nn clenched her fists. ¡°How dare that bitch try toy a hand on me. Sheid a ten year n to ruin me. How cautious! I¡¯ll make her wish that she was dead!¡±

    A day soon passed, and during that day, Lu Yin did not see Madam Nn again. A crew member asked him if he had any requests when bringing him food, to which he answered no. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the luxurious meal before him; it was clearly even more extravagant than the meal that he had been given before, and even the quality was a lot higher than before. Lu Yin started to salivate just from looking at it.

    After the meal, he went to the pilot and asked about his spacecraft.

    The pilot smiled. ¡°Your spacecraft will need seven days toplete its upgrade, Mr. Lu.¡±

    ¡°Seven days? Toplete its upgrade?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. The amount and quality of materials that he¡¯d put in the spacecraft shouldn¡¯t have merited thatrge of an upgrade.

    ¡°This is the madam¡¯s way of showing her gratitude to you. You can discuss it with her in more detail yourself,¡± the pilot told him courteously.

    Gratitude? So Madam Nn¡¯s pendant really did have a hidden problem. How extravagant! And to show her thanks, she had upgraded his spacecraft for him. Lu Yin was aware that arge amount of resources were needed to upgrade an Aurora spacecraft from the elementary grade to the radiant grade. Of course, this upgrade also came with a simrlyrge boost to its capabilities, and it would be ten times better than before in every aspect. That was the definite characteristic of a radiant spacecraft¡ªa speed ten times faster than a regr spacecraft¡¯s.

    But what did ¡°ten times¡± really mean? If it took him around a month to travel from the Frostwave Weave to the Umbral Butterfly Weave with an elementary spacecraft, then he could have made the same journey in a few days with a radiant spacecraft. That was the difference.

    Lu Yin had originally thought it would take him an exceptionally long amount of time to upgrade his spacecraft to the next grade, but in the end, all it had taken was ament from him and an order from Madam Nn.

    It was no wonder that Lockbreakers held high statuses; they could see what most couldn¡¯t. If he wasn¡¯t a Lockbreaker and merely a student of Astral-10, Madam Nn might not have even bothered meeting him despite his position as Astral-10¡¯s leader. Lu Yin was finally getting a taste of the exalted status that Lockbreakers held, and he was delighted to see that he had made the right decision.

    Lu Yin straightened his clothes in preparation to meet and thank Madam Nn. The woman may be extremely seductive, but he still needed to show some basic manners.

    Before Lu Yin could even request to meet her, however, someone led him all the way to the lounge on the top level. Everything in front of him was transparent and it seemed as if he could reach out and touch space itself. Before him sat Madam Nn, smiling at him.

    Compared to the day before, Madam Nn was now wearing a more conservative set of clothing, and her dazzling figure was hidden. Although she was still seductive, Lu Yin let out a quiet sigh of relief.

    ¡°Your gift is too generous, Madam Nn. I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to pay you back,¡± Lu Yin said with a wry smile.

    Madam Nn grinned and gestured for him to take a seat. ¡°Have a seat so that we can talk.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and did so without a second thought, sitting down opposite her. Like the previous day, the two of them were now less than a meter apart, and a tempting fragrance drifted over from her body.

    ¡°You saved me, Mr. Lu. Upgrading your spacecraft cannot quite express the gratitude that I have for you.¡± Madam Nn sounded earnest. While her smile was the same as always, Lu Yin could tell there was a hint of sincerity to it now.

    The Nn family depended primarily on trade, and everyone in that industry was cunning to the extreme. No matter what kind of person Madam Nn had been before, the fact that she had sessfully taken control of the Nn family¡¯s wealth showed that she knew how to maneuver around the industry and that she would unconsciously put on a facade in front of others. If a businessman wanted to get rich, then sincerity was the very foundation of their activity. Putting on a mask was only meant to deal with small fry, but there was no way around it because there were simply too many of them. Madam Nn rarely ever treated people withplete sincerity, but with Lu Yin, that mask of hers seemed thinner than usual.

    ¡°The value of a gift depends on who it is gifted to. For me, an upgraded spacecraft is already an enormous boon,¡± Lu Yin said earnestly.

    Madam Nn covered her mouth andughed. Her eyes curved up like bright crescents. ¡°Are you always so formal when you talk to people, Mr. Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin froze and thenughed awkwardly. He had indeed gone a little too far with his words. He had intended to talk with her formally so that he could retain his self control, but he had ended up overdoing it to the point of tantly exposing his intentions.

    Madam Nnughed again, personally poured a drink, and then offered it to him.

    Lu Yin took it. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Madam Nn looked at Lu Yin and the corner of her lips curved up again. ¡°I actually want to apologize to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was about to take a sip, but after hearing her words, he stopped and looked at her in confusion. ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°I investigated you,¡± she answered honestly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed and he resumed sipping his drink without saying a word.

    Madam Nn stared at Lu Yin and something shone in her eyes. ¡°In just half a year or so, you went from being an ordinary Sentinel in the outer regions of the Outerverse to bing the leader of Astral-10. You even became a one star Lockbreaker with contributions. You are quite interesting, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin put his cup down and gazed at her. He said in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate it when people investigate me.¡±

    Madam Nn merely smiled.

    ¡°But since I¡¯m on your spacecraft, it would make sense for you to do that,¡± Lu Yin said brightly, his tone changing rather abruptly.

    Madam Nn¡¯s lips arched up beautifully. ¡°That may well be, but I was still in the wrong. I am willing to make up for it.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head again. ¡°You¡¯re being very kind, Madam Nn. You¡¯ve already upgraded my spacecraft for me. You really don¡¯t need to do anything else.¡±

    ¡°Not even help you in the Astral Combat Tournament?¡± she asked enticingly.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°The Astral Combat Tournament?¡±

    ¡°The tournament this time will be a little different from the ones in the past. Humanity¡¯s defeat in the border wars of the star expanse region has enraged certain people. As a response, the Astral Combat Tournament is being held to restore morale. However, while some people have higher statuses, they cannot determine everything that happens in the universe,¡± Madam Nn said as she poured herself some more fruit juice. She licked her red lips before continuing, saying, ¡°Usually, a gadget can be linked across several regions. However, if the distance is greater than ten regions, then there will be some difficulty. Only specially-made gadgets can connect that far. The uing tournament will require awork that covers the entire universe, and that needs money. Hence, the Nn family is one of the tournament¡¯s sponsors.¡±

 Chapter 176: Thirteen Swords

    <h4>Chapter 176: Thirteen Swords</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows arched up in surprise; he had never expected that the Astral Combat Tournament would actually have sponsors. It seemed that the people at the Astral Combat Academy were smarter than he had given them credit for.

    ¡°Mr Lu, since you¡¯re Astral-10¡¯s top student, you¡¯ll definitely be taking part in the Astral Combat Tournament, correct? Would you like to know what the Nn family has prepared for the Astral Combat Tournament?¡± Madam Nn asked temptingly.

    Lu Yin smiled confidently. ¡°There¡¯s no need to tell me anything. No matter what the rewards are, they¡¯ll be mine if I win, or they¡¯ll mean nothing to me if I lose.¡±

    Madam Nn enticingly continued, ¡°The reward that we¡¯ve contributed is something that suits you very well.¡±

    Lu Yin finally grew curious.

    Madam Nn lifted up a finger, ¡°One harmless Sourcebox that¡¯s suitable for Intermediate Lockbreakers to unlock.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. A Sourcebox that was suitable for Intermediate Lockbreakers was already something umon, but for one to also be harmless was extremely rare. The previous Sourcebox that he had unlocked had immediately rewarded him with a one star contribution. If he could be an Intermediate Lockbreaker, then having an Sourcebox like this in his possession would almost certainly allow him to instantly be a one star Intermediate Lockbreaker. It was no wonder why she had said the reward was suitable for him; rather, it was suitable for all Lockbreakers.

    ¡°The Nn family is truly a prosperous n of the Outerverse. You are very generous,¡± Lu Yin praised.

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°This is but a small contribution. However, Mr. Lu, the Nn family has some connections with the Sword Sect of the Innerverse. I can give you some inside information about the sect to apologize for my earlier actions.¡±

    ¡°How is the Sword Sect rted to me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Mr. Lu interested in bing the champion of the Astral Combat Tournament?¡± Madam Nn enquired with a smile.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Madam, do you really believe that I can defeat those top geniuses and be the champion?¡±

    ¡°The universe is filled with mysteries, but that¡¯s what makes it interesting, no? There¡¯s nothing wrong with learning more, and this information might be of great use to you,¡± Madam Nn said persuasively.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±

    Madam Nn exined, ¡°There are countless disciples in the Sword Sect, but only two of them are monstrously talented. One of them is a member of the Ten Arbiters who rules over the universe, while the other remains reclusive, training in the n. However, I suspect that one will join one of the Astral Combat Academies in order to participate in the Astral Combat Tournament. Hence, he will be one of your opponents.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted fiercely. ¡°There¡¯s someone from the Sword Sect among the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Madam Nn exined, ¡°I cannot name a member of the Ten Arbiters¡ªthat¡¯s a rule as well as a sign of respect for them. If Mr. Lu wishes to learn more about the Ten Arbiters, you need to first join the Astral Academy Council as it is a subsidiary part of the Ten Arbiters Council.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched reflexively, but he stayed quiet,

    Madam Nn observed Lu Yin¡¯s expression as she continued exining. ¡°There¡¯s an ancient battle technique in the Sword Sect called the Thirteen Swords. However, nobody can learn this technique as they wish. Instead, the technique actually chooses a suitable inheritor of its own volition.¡±

    ¡°It will choose someone to inherit it?¡± Lu Yin was stunned. He had never heard of anything like this before.

    Madam Nn continued solemnly, saying, ¡°No one knows where this technique came from, but everyone is aware of how powerful it is. In the past, one of the former leaders of the Sword Sect defeated three of his peers using this technique. He also relied on the technique to contribute greatly to the border war. One could say that the most valuable experience for a Sword Sect disciple is to interact with the Thirteen Swords in hopes of receiving the inheritance. Normally, only one person from each generation can receive the Thirteen Swords inheritance. However, in this generation, two disciples have managed to receive the inheritance. One is a member of the Ten Arbiters while the other is the reclusive person that I mentioned previously: Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; he had heard of the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family before. They were a n with a primeval surname that faced hostility from countless people. They had never received an official status, but despite that, they had still managed to climb to the peak of the universe. This was a terrifying family. Liu was originally a royal surname. The Liu family was a noble family for sword wielders, and anyone who used a sword as their weapon yearned to join them.

    ¡°Liu Shaoqiu. The first thing he saw when he was born was neither his mother nor his rtives. He was abandoned beside a door and a rusty sword. From the moment he opened his eyes, that rusty sword became hispanion weapon,¡± Madam Nn said in a reminiscing tone.

    Lu Yin nced at Madam Nn in surprise.

    ¡°It was just a normal sword that could be easily broken by any cultivator. Nheless, this sword has defeated numerous powerhouses in the hands of Liu Shaoqiu. However, this sword hasn¡¯t been unsheathed ever since he inherited Thirteen Swords. None of his peers in the Sword Sect were worthy of him using his sword. He will be a scary opponent to face during the Astral Combat Tournament,¡± Madam Nn said earnestly.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as he felt a mounting sense of pressure. ¡°What realm is Liu Shaoqiu at, and how many swords of the Thirteen Swords can he use?¡±

    ¡°He should be at the Limiteer realm, but no one knows how many swords he can use. Some say that he has only learned two, while others say that he has learned three; the only thing everyone can agree on is that no one besides Liu Shaoqiu knows the actual number. However, he once injured an Explorer while he was travelling through the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin closed his eyes; this was a truly powerful opponent. Explorers could traverse outer space without a spacecraft. Lu Yin was still unable to interact with people of this realm, and yet, here was someone who could cross realms to challenge an Explorer!

    Madam Nn clinked her ss against Lu Yin¡¯s, causing a light sound to ring out which nudged Lu Yin out of his daze. ¡°Mr. Lu, I¡¯m not telling you this to cause you excess concern. Rather, I wanted to inform you of the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s top participants¡¯ abilities. Personally, I don¡¯t like taking a battle without making any preparations. You saved my life, so I will try to help you with the tournament. However, if you be paralyzed from fear of your opponents, then any preparations will be useless.¡±

    Lu Yinughed wryly. ¡°Madam, don¡¯t worry. No matter how powerful my opponents are, I will not be daunted. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m defeated as I¡¯ll always have another chance to rise in the future. Moreover, the date for the Astral Combat Tournament still hasn¡¯t been decided yet. I was able to be Astral-10¡¯s top student in just a few months, so I might still have a chance to catch up to these geniuses too.¡±

    ¡°Well then, here¡¯s to Mr. Lu bing the tournament¡¯s champion,¡± Madam Nn said as she raised her ss. Lu Yin lifted his ss, too, and gently touched it to Madam Nn¡¯s ss.

    The starlight shining through the room was refracted by fruit juice into a gorgeous glow that seemed to fill the room.

    After Lu Yin left, Madam Nn was looking at the starry sky thoughtfully when a young girl approached from behind. ¡°Madam.¡±

    ¡°What are your impressions of that young man?¡± Madam Nn casually asked, her voice filled with an unspoken dignity.

    The girl answered, ¡°A genius.¡±

    ¡°Is he only a genius? If he had been born in the Innerverse, then he might have already be iparable to everyone in the Sword Sect besides Shaoqiu. It¡¯s a shame that he was born in the Outerverse, and that he has only trained for such a short time. It¡¯s caused him to fall behind,¡± Madam Nn muttered.

    ¡°Madam, since you already know all that, then why did you still inform him of the Sword Sect?¡± the young girl curiously asked.

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°I just don¡¯t want him to be too depressed if he loses. As long as he focuses on Lockbreaking, he will definitely have a bright future. Although the Astral Combat Tournament is important, it¡¯s a stage reserved only for the top geniuses. He doesn¡¯t belong there as Lockbreaking is where he¡¯ll truly shine.¡±

    The young girl softly replied, ¡°There are still geniuses like Dao Bo even in the Lockbreaking world.¡±

    Madam Nn lifted her head. ¡°You¡¯re right. The universe is too vast and has given rise to too many geniuses. I just hope that he can continue to survive.¡±

    Seven days soon passed, after which Lu Yin bade farewell to Madam Nn after a huge feast. He then boarded his own spacecraft and continued flying towards the Frostwave Weave.

    The Nn family¡¯s spacecraft had been travelling at a rtively fast pace over the past seven days, and Lu Yin quickly realized that it would only take him twelve days to reach the Frostwave Weave with his newly upgraded Aurora spacecraft. The speed of his spacecraft had increased tenfold; the previously month-long journey could now bepleted in just five days. The additional seven days were due to the seven days that he had spent traveling in the opposite direction while aboard the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft, which also meant that the speed of their luxury spacecraft was the same as an Aurora spacecraft.

    They really are rich, Lu Yin thought to himself as he rubbed his belly with the suspicion that he had grown fatter.

    The twelve days quickly passed by as Lu Yin spent most of his time studying his star chart. He could feel his ninth star bing clearer and clearer with each day, and he could also feel the increase in power when he activated his Cosmic Art with all nine stars. If hebined his Cosmic Palm with both battle force and his physical strength, even he himself didn¡¯t know exactly how strong he would be, though he felt confident about going against an Area Master.

    He still clearly remembered Frankfurt¡¯s attack. He had been able to block it back then, but had been well aware that he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the second attack. Thus, he had chosen to bite the bullet and conceal his full power for the time being. Now, however, he was confident that he could hold his own against Frankfurt after he fully recovered his star energy.

    Lu Yin felt troubled whenever he thought about star energy as he was burning through star crystals too quickly. The Possession roll from his die was like an endless void; he felt like even if he gathered all of the star crystals in the Great Yu Empire together, he would be able to use it all up in a single instant.

    Beep beep beep

    The spacecraft started beeping, causing Lu Yin to lift his head up and see that he had arrived at Astral-10.

    He hadn¡¯t expected that this trip away would take almost four months toplete or that so things would happen: the Great Yu Empire, the Umbral Butterfly Weave, the Daynight n, and even the Nn family had gotten involved. He had gone through numerous incidents, and they all felt tooplicated. Astral-10 was still the best ce to be; he could peacefully train there without worrying about anything else.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraftnded, he stretched his legs. He felt as if he hade home.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Hui Daynight, who was nearby, red at Lu Yin with zing eyes.

    Lu Yin nced at him. ¡°What are you doing here? Are you leaving for a mission?¡±

    Hui Daynight sneered as arrogantly dered, ¡°Luckily, I ran into you here. Give up your position as top student. You don¡¯t have the right to hold that position.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Fine, here you go.¡±

    Hui Daynight was stunned.

    Lu Yin looked at him with an amused expression. ¡°So what if I give it to you? Can you keep it?¡±

    Hui Daynight was infuriated by Lu Yin¡¯s taunts. ¡°You¡¯re just a vagabond in the training realm! How dare you speak to me like that?!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°You¡¯re still as annoying as ever.¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong? The ze Realm has spread the news that you were killed by Frankfurt in one move and that you¡¯re the embarrassment of Astral-10,¡± Hui Daynight bellowed.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; now he was infuriated. Frankfurt, the ze Realm, Jared.

    ¡°You¡¯ve embarrassed Astral-10, and you¡¯re not fit to be the top student,¡± Hui Daynight roared as he charged at Lu Yin. Hui Daynight pointed his finger at Lu Yin; the finger gave off a sensation that waspletely different from the Daynight Soul Finger, but the soul-tearing feeling of that technique was even stronger this time.

    A cold glint shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he lifted his hand and crushed Hui Daynight¡¯s finger in the same manner as before. Hui Daynight was astonished by the oue; he had improved greatly under the guidance of the Trialmaster and had even learned a new battle technique from the Daynight n. Why had it still turned out like this? This person¡¯s physique was just too monstrous, to the point where the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques werepletely ineffective against him.

 Chapter 177: The Tournament Approaches

    <h4>Chapter 177: The Tournament Approaches</h4>

    Lu Yin exerted more strength through his arm and forced Hui Daynight¡¯s entire body to the ground. His voice was cold as he said, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t challenge me again. Otherwise, I¡¯ll cripple you the next time.¡±

    He unceremoniously tossed Hui Daynight aside, sending him crashing heavily into the wall.

    Hui Daynight clutched his finger in pain as he stared at Lu Yin in shock. How was it that every time he faced Lu Yin, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to even retaliate? He was a member of the Daynight n. This was not how things should be!

    Lu Yin calmly walked to the teleportation device, but stopped when he recalled something. He turned to Hui Daynight. ¡°In your n, is there a woman named Zhuo Daynight?¡±

    Hui Daynight replied through his pain, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°I don¡¯t like it when people lie to me.¡±

    Hui Daynight snorted. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to lie about this.¡±

    Lu Yin studied his face for a while, but didn¡¯t say anything more before he stepped into the device and headed directly to the treasury to see Old Cai.

    Old Cai beamed with joy as he fiddled with the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. ¡°Not bad. This emperor¡¯s third eye is a great lockbreaking tool.¡± He then tossed it back to Lu Yin as he said, ¡°Take it. It¡¯s very suitable for you.¡±

    Lu Yin caught it and stored it in his cosmic ring, but he was still puzzled. ¡°Mentor, how did you know this thing is a lockbreaking tool? It appears that the Daynight n and Buyou also knew, which is why they sent their underlings, though the people of the Umbral Butterfly Weave did not know. If they had, I doubt that they would have set the trial¡¯s mission objective as the Giant Emperor¡¯s death.¡±

    Old Cai stroked his massive mustache. ¡°There are many useful things in the universe, but they might not always be mature when we discover them, just like this Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. Do you think that it¡¯s easy for this treasure to develop? This thing has been passed down for many generations of Giant Emperors, and it was immature when we first discovered it. Even if it was useful at that time, it hadn¡¯t reached the level of being a lockbreaking tool. It worked out well for you that it matured this generation.¡±

    ¡°There was a Giant Emperor who became an Explorer and tried to break through the Umbral Butterfly Weave¡¯s blockade but was killed. So how was this thing still passed down to the next Giant Emperor?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Old Cai¡¯s gaze turned serene. ¡°Kid, make sure that you remember to never underestimate any lifeform. That space-exploring Giant Emperor was just cannon fodder that had reached the end of his natural life. He passed the third eye to the next Giant Emperor before he made that attempt in order to allow the sessor to thoroughly understand their situation. In other words, he used himself to probe the Umbral Butterfly Weave¡¯s response. The organization controlling the Weave didn¡¯t fully understand the situation and assumed that everything would be fine as long as no Giant Emperor became an Explorer. The truth is, since that time, no other Giant Emperor has be an Explorer. It wasn¡¯t because they couldn¡¯t, but rather because they didn¡¯t dare to.¡±

    ¡°No wonder the Giant Emperor was the first to escape when the trial takers descended,¡± Lu Yin murmured as he suddenly realized what had happened, causing a shiver to run down his spine. While the giant tribe wasn¡¯t sapient, the intelligence of the Giant Emperor could not be underestimated.

    Old Cai slowly said, ¡°The meaning of life is simple, and its existence is logical. There is only ever one Giant Emperor in the giant tribe, and the third eye is pivotal to their understanding of the meaning of life. Keep it safe. It must not have been easy to snatch it from the Daynight n and the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded obediently. ¡°Old Cai, what should I do next?¡±

    He looked at Lu Yin and burst into a weirdughter thatsted for so long that Lu Yin felt afraid. ¡°Astral-10 has been quiet for too long. The mentors will give you a mission, so to go to the trial zones and snatch up a training ground.¡±

    The look in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed. ¡°Snatch up a training ground?¡±

    Old Cai¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°That¡¯s right. Go on and grab a training ground for yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin was momentarily struck speechless. ¡°Old Cai, do you really think that I can go against those Area Masters?¡±

    He studied Lu Yin with a steady gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But just try it since you won¡¯t really die anyways.¡±

    ¡°They may have helpers.¡±

    Old Cai rolled his eyes indifferently. ¡°And you don¡¯t? Kid, don¡¯t you know the meaning of being the student leader of Astral-10? You¡¯re the leader of all the students here, so you¡¯re qualified to lead them.¡±

    ¡°They may not listen to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem, but the academy will close an eye to your actions due to your status as the student leader.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as the idea of the academy closing an eye sounded very appealing. He immediately thought of what had happened with Hui Daynight; if he didn¡¯t listen, then Lu Yin would simply beat him into submission. As long as the mentors did not intervene, it was eptable!

    ¡°Right, I also need to remind you to finish this mission quickly. The Astral Combat Tournament is quickly approaching. Those old fogies even got the Ten Arbiters to round up a bunch of sponsors, and they¡¯ve pushed the date forward greatly to implement the universalwork.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned; just the knowledge of Liu Shaoqiu was already rather pressuring, but now, the timing of the tournament had been pushed forward as well. How troublesome. However, it didn¡¯t seem logical to mobilize so many people and use so many precious resources to finish the universalwork for a mere Astral Combat Tournament. He had already guessed this before, but perhaps things were even moreplicated than he had initially assumed.

    He was just about to leave the treasury when he suddenly thought of something. He looked back at Old Cai. ¡°I remember that the list of missions had quite a few lockbreaking missions. Are those Sourceboxes in our academy?¡±

    ¡°Clear those thoughts away and go to the training grounds first.¡±

    Lu Yin thought Old Cai¡¯s response was strange, but he still turned around to leave.

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. ¡°What a joke. If those Sourceboxes were still in our academy, then that trial zone fellow would have unlocked them long ago. You wouldn¡¯t have had even a chance to look at them.¡±

    Lu Yin left the treasury and headed to the trial zone entrance. There was no one under the teleportation stone, and he only saw Little Pao there, chewing a de of grass, with a bored to death expression.

    ¡°Senior Little Pao, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Lu Yin greeted.

    Little Pao¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re back! I haven¡¯t seen you for a few months. You¡¯ve grown stronger.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Senior Little Pao, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m bored,¡± Little Pao replied with a smile. ¡°Right, did youe here to enter the trial zones?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Senior, Xia Luo should have gained ess now.¡±

    ¡°Not just Xia Luo. Everyone has entered.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished by this news. ¡°That fast?¡±

    ¡°Fast? Not really, it just takes a hundred victories to enter¡ªnot even a hundred consecutive victories. You guys have been in the academy for more than half a year, and even if you only meet one Sentinel a day in the teleportation battles, you would be able to obtain a hundred victories in around three months. Besides, they¡¯ve been training under the mentors¡¯ personal tutge for several months. If they still couldn¡¯t reach a hundred victories after that, they would be utter trash. Though their winrate is a little bad, they have still qualified to enter.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with what Little Pao said; although there were few Sentinels in the teleportation battles, it was still possible to meet one a day. But if a student relied on such luck to rack up a hundred victories, then that was quite pathetic.

    ¡°How¡¯re they doing?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had been killed off quickly when he had first entered the trial zones, and he was even the student leader of Astral-10. The others should have fared even worse than him.

    ¡°Not bad. They¡¯re making their way through pretty well.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked in astonishment. ¡°Not bad? How? Didn¡¯t they get surrounded and attacked?¡±

    ¡°Well, that did happen, but only to Schutz and Meng Yue. Everyone else has their own backing: Ten Thousand Swords Peak, the Mavis n, the Outerverse Youth Council, Windrift Hall, the Daynight n, and so on and so forth. Most of them have at least an Area Master supporting them,¡± Little Pao exined with an envious tone.

    Lu Yin hurriedly asked, ¡°What about Xia Luo? And Silver?¡±

    ¡°Xia Luo? His brother is Xia Ye, a crazy character and the Area Master of the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Machine Burial Mound. Silver has a sworn brother named Sha, who¡¯s a freakishly strong character as well as the Dao of ughter¡¯s Ice Domain Area Master,¡± Little Pao said as he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and sympathized with him. ¡°Out of the twelve new students, only the three of you have no backings, which is why each of you were surrounded and killed. Though, you have a backer now, too: the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Whitebones Gorge Area Master, Charon. He has announced that whoever touches you will die. Good for you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt depressed. Each of those brats had a smoothly paved path in front of them, but their student leader had the roughest path of them all. If not for the twist of fate that had given him the opportunity to ckmail Charon, he still would not have a backer in the trial zones. Such was life.

    ¡°Senior, I¡¯ll go in first.¡±

    Little Pao grunted. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around, retrieved the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, and poured star energy into it. He then turned back around towards Little Pao, but he was nowhere to be seen. Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°He left pretty quickly.¡±

    He had always suspected that Big Pao and Little Pao were not simple, and that they might be surprisingly powerful. He had wanted to observe them with the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, but he had no such luck. He was about to store the third eye away when an elder suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him quite badly.

    ¡°Good day, Trialmaster,¡± Lu Yin immediately greeted when he recognized the mentor in front of him.

    The mentor stared at the round, white, moon-shaped crystal in Lu Yin¡¯s hand and eximed, ¡°Not bad. Kid, did you retrieve this?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The mentor grunted before saying, ¡°Use it well. It has many uses.¡± And with that, he returned to his normal position.

    Lu Yin bowed again before stepping past the mentor and into the trial zone mountain.

    This was his second time entering the mountain. Previously, the mountain had been empty, but this time, he met Schutz as soon as he entered. Schutz was on his way out and had an agonized expression on his face.

    ¡°Killed?¡±

    Schutz nodded. ¡°How¡¯s the empire doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s stabilized, and it¡¯s doing okay for now.¡±

    ¡°Most of the Yu Academy students should have left. The second prince scouted out many talents for Yu Academy, so all of them should have left with him.¡±

    ¡°Do you still think that Yu Academy has talents even aftering here?¡±

    Schutz fell silent. He had been the strongest back at Yu Academy, but he was the bottom student here. The rest of the students from Yu Academy did not even need to be mentioned as none of the five Hall Masters had entered the Astral Combat Academy. Those Yu Academy students couldn¡¯tpete here as any random Sentinel in the teleportation battles would be able to sweep through them.

    ¡°There¡¯s too big of a gap between the Innerverse and Outerverse,¡± Schutz said with a sigh before turning around to leave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush to leave. The mentors gave me a mission to take over a training ground. Why don¡¯t you team up with me?¡±

    Schutzughed sardonically. ¡°Lu Yin, I thought that you were smart. When youst entered the trial zone, you were killed by the Spear Mountain Area Master. Don¡¯t you know the difference between you and them? Do you really think that you can do something with just Charon¡¯s backing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you who hasn¡¯t noticed the difference.¡±

    Schutz was shocked. What does that mean? Could he have grown strong enough to challenge an Area Master already? How is that even possible? It¡¯s only been four months!

    ¡°You really want to try and snatch a training ground away? Those Area Masters are the top students of their various academies. You¡¯ve personally witnessed the power of Spear Mountain¡¯s Area Master. Furthermore, they don¡¯t act alone and have assistants. Any student who trains in their area can be considered their underling.¡±

 Chapter 178: Astral River and Flowzones

    <h4>Chapter 178: Astral River and Flowzones</h4>

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I¡¯d do it by myself. Although Astral-10 only has a few students, each one has obtained a hundred victories in the ported battles. We aren¡¯t inferior to the other students at all.¡±

    Schutz ruefully shook his head. ¡°Those people won¡¯t bother helping you. Aside from Meng Yue and myself, everyone else already has their own backers. They have their own training grounds, so they won¡¯t feel any need to stir up trouble.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Astral-10¡¯s student leader, and I naturally have my own ways to get them to help me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, if this is what you want, then I¡¯ll join you. Besides, it¡¯s not like I can actually die.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it! That¡¯s the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation¡¯s number one powerhouse, Schutz, in my memories! Be fearless! I still vividly remember that scene of you challenging the Outerverse Youth Council,¡± Lu Yin marvelled as he reminisced about the past.

    Schutzughed bitterly; he had been too ignorant back then. Like Lu Yin had said, they could not evenprehend the vast difference that existed between the Outerverse Youth Council and themselves back then. Looking back, Ghostfire was just a failed examinee who could not even enter Astral-10, but he had still forfeited his Hall Master position at Yu Academy without any hesitation. The man behind him, Bazeer, was even an Explorer. While he wasn¡¯t an Explorer of the Astral Combat Academy, his strength shouldn¡¯t be too far off from one since he had joined the Outerverse Youth Council. Their vision had truly been too limited before.

    ¡°So which Dao are we headed to?¡±

    Lu Yin unhesitatingly replied, ¡°The Dao of Purgatory, Whitebones Gorge.¡±

    ¡°Whitebones Gorge¡¯s Area Master is Charon, your backer, right?¡± Schutz asked in shock. Charon had announced that Lu Yin was under his protection, shocking many. To the public, Lu Yin was someone who had taken liberties with Xi Yue, beaten up other academy students before extorting and threatening them, and alsopleted the most difficult Sentinel mission. He was not some random unknown character, but rather the leader of Astral-10¡¯s students.

    At the mention of Charon, Lu Yinughed again. ¡°He¡¯s my brother, a very good brother.¡± No one in the universe knew Charon better than Lu Yin did.

    Schutz nodded eptingly. ¡°I was just killed inside. You enter first, and I¡¯ll look for you after I¡¯ve recuperated.¡±

    Lu Yin walked up the trialzone mountain and looked into the distance. He vaguely saw Xia Luo¡¯s figure, who was sitting in a rather careless position. The rest had looked for secret spots to hide themselves even though their physical bodies would be protected after they entered the trial zones, but Xia Luo obviously did not care about that at all.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t concerned, either, and he chose a random ce to sit down before closing his eyes and entering the Dao of Purgatory. When he opened his eyes, he saw darkness all around him and a jet-ck pair of eyes. Lu Yin jumped in fright and immediately shot backwards. When his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he saw that there was a war spirit in front of him. The war spirit had no features and simply looked like a mass of darkness with ck eyes. It was easily recognizable. Lu Yin felt that his luck today was horrible since he had encountered a war spirit the moment he entered the trial zone. They had strong offensive abilities and were usually very powerful.

    When it sensed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, the war spirit immediately acted, materializing a ck sword. The de trembled, causing countless shadows to rush out from the sword in a hundred meters radius around it.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He knew that war spirits were powerful as they were remnant memory impressions of former powerhouses who had battled in the trial zone, but he had never imagined that the one before him would be this powerful. Its attack did not lose out to Zhuo Daynight¡¯s White Phantomsword in the slightest, and it was also able to mimic a domain. He believed that, when this war spirit¡¯s powerhouse had been alive, he had definitely grasped a domain.

    Lu Yin was about to act when his expression suddenly changed. He dodged aside with sh and reappeared a hundred meters away. Three students suddenly appeared and looked at the war spirit with delight. ¡°Charge! Leave thest strike for me,¡± one of them shouted while the other two attacked the war spirit together.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed: spirit hunters. Though he had not browsed through all of Charon¡¯s memories during his Possession, he had still seen some. Those select memories meant that this spirit hunter team was notpletely foreign to him.

    Although he understood what spirit hunters were, he still did not understand why they existed. While the leaders of the spirit hunter team may not be top-tier powerhouses, they definitely had a respectable background. Clearly, some of these elites would rather organize these hunting teams thanpete for the status of an Area Master, and they would even insist on delivering thest blow. It was very strange and there were all sorts of rumors as to their motivation.

    The spirit hunter team before him was a bit different from those in Charon¡¯s memories. The hunters that Charon knew were all very powerful, as all of the team captains were at least as strong as an Area Master. Otherwise, they would not dare to hunt war spirits. However, none of the trio before Lu Yin seemed impressive, and they would rank at the bottom of Astral-10¡¯s students at best.

    WIth a loud bang, the ck ground shattered as the two students pincer-attacking the war spirit were heavily injured and thrown back. Their faces paled as they said, ¡°Gu Er, this war spirit is too strong. It can even use a domain. We can¡¯t handle this one.¡±

    That leading student grew flustered as he continued to evade the war spirit¡¯s de. He saw Lu Yin and immediately shouted, ¡°Hey you! Come over and help us kill the war spirit, but remember, leave the final blow to me.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°Why should I listen to you?¡±

    Gu Er snorted derisively. ¡°You either kill this war spirit with us, or we abandon it and kill you. Make your choice.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned from one of fury to ridicule. This man was using such a domineering form of intimidation when he wasn¡¯t even that strong himself. This guy really knew how to sink his own ship.

    Lu Yin considered the situation some more, and then moved to join in on the attack against the war spirit. This wasn¡¯t because of Gu Er¡¯s threat, but rather because he wanted to kill the war spirit. This captain badly wanted to deliver the killing blow, and Lu Yin simply wanted to see why.

    Gu Er truly believed that his threat worked and secretly had the other two to retreat. He wanted Lu Yin to act as bait while they waited for an opportunity to counterattack.

    After fighting against Zhuo Daynight, Lu Yin now knew the signs of an iplete domain. He immediately used his Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm technique, causing nine explosions to ring out. It first shattered the war spirit¡¯s ck sword, and then it directly exploded against the war spirit,pletely destroying it.

    This scene shocked Gu Er¡¯s trio. They were incapable of defeating the war spirit even after working together, but this person had killed it in just one blow.

    The moment the war spirit perished, it shattered into numerous ck fragments that vanished before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This was nothing abnormal, but on a whim, Lu Yin activated his Cosmic Art. Nine stars revolved around his body, forming a perfect gxy. With his Cosmic Art, he saw something different as the final ck fragment was about to vanish. A strange symbol appeared, or rather, a diagram formed from multiple lines. The ck fragment consisted entirely of these diagrams, but it quickly vanished into nothingness .

    Lu Yin frowned. What was that? Was that what war spirits are made of? They are formed from the battles of previous powerhouses that took ce in the trial zones. Do these strange diagrams somehow capture the strength of the powerhouses and form them into war spirits? How strange¡­

    No matter how Lu Yin thought about what he had just witnessed, he stillcked too much information to know anything. There was nothing he could understand for now, but he did need to deal with the wrath of the trio behind him.

    Gu Er clenched both fists and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You dare to steal the final blow?! I told you to leave the final blow to me!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at Gu Er with a bemused expression. ¡°Buddy, there must be something wrong with your head. Why should I listen to you? Do you think that just the three of you can deal with me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s words caused a guttural reaction within the other two as a sh of fear passed through their eyes. The person in front of them had instantly destroyed the war spirit, and he should be extremely close to the level of an Area Master. This was not someone who they could casually provoke.

    Gu Er also understood this and forcefully suppressed his rage. He had grown too ustomed to his arrogance and had even forgotten to check the power behind the person. But then, his gaze swept across the backs of Lu Yin¡¯s hand and saw a ¡°10.¡±

    Gu Er was blown away and did a double take. Sure enough, it was a ¡°10.¡± He smiled and his arrogance resurfaced. ¡°You¡¯re from Astral-10?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t deny it. With his current power, as long as he didn¡¯t meet an Area Master or Realm Master, no one else could even hope to kill him.

    Gu Er¡¯s lips curled up, and he stared at Lu Yin with renewed arrogance. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. This person¡¯s attitude had changed many times throughout the past few minutes, but thergest change was after he discovered that Lu Yin was from Astral-10. At that point, his arrogance had spiked even higher than before. It seemed that he had some background, and it might even be connected to Astral-10.

    ¡°Please, tell me more,¡± Lu Yin answered casually.

    Gu Er snorted and raised his head proudly. ¡°My father is Elder Gu De, the current Astral River Flowzone Envoy. Listen carefully. I said, ¡®Astral-Riv-er-Flow-zone-En-voy.¡¯¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Gu Er. This was too much of a coincidence. Then, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze started turning colder by the second.

    The Human Domain was split into the Innerverse and Outerverse, and the Outerverse was further separated into seventy two vast weaves, but the Innerverse was not small by any means. These two regions of humanity¡¯s territory were separated by an iparablyrge Astral River that flowed like a ribbon. This Astral River was formed from various liquid energies and was not a true river of water; it was just a visible flow of liquid energy that coursed through the universe. This Astral River was the border between the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    The Astral River was chaotic and no spacecraft could pass through it. Only a specialrge vessel could cross the Astral River and connect the Innerverse with the Outerverse.

    The Outerverse had no Astral River, but the Innerverse was filled with the Astral River¡¯s tributaries. These tributaries divided the Innerverse into countless regions which were termed Flowzones, with the tributaries of the Astral River between each Flowzone.

    The only known way to cross the Astral River was to use a giant vessel that could navigate across the Astral River. A person who controlled one such vessel was known as a Flowzone Envoy, and the controllers of vessels that traveled across the Innerverse¡¯s tributaries were known as Flowzone Tributary Envoys. The individual who controlled thergest vessel that moved across the Astral River between the Outerverse and the Innerverse was the Astral River Flowzone Envoy. Elder Gu De was the current Astral River Flowzone envoy, and he had the unique privilege of controlling the Outerverse¡¯s gate. Unless one had a special identity, anyone who wanted to leave or enter the Innerverse required his approval. Although he was just a doorman, his authority was vast. The person who held this position was always at least at the Cruiser or even Hunter realm.

    It was no wonder why Gu Er acted so arrogantly; his father controlled something that countless people of the Outerverse could only dream of: the opportunity to enter the Innerverse.

    Gu Er was quite pleased with himself as he looked at Lu Yin and waited for Lu Yin to apologize. It was quite pleasurable to force powerhouses to submit to him, and this was not his first time forcing one to do so. When he was on his father¡¯s Astral River ark in the Astral River, an Outerverse Explorer had once even kneeled down to enter the Innerverse. Gu Er did not care about one¡¯s personal power; as long as they did not have a special status, his father could suppress them all.

    Lu Yin looked deeply at Gu Er. ¡°How much longer will your father hold his position as the Astral River Flowzone Envoy for?¡±

    Gu Er sneered as he replied, ¡°My father hasn¡¯t even been there for ten years. It will be at least fifty years more before he retires, and even then, he may continue to control the Astral River¡¯s giant vessel.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s great news to hear. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t get a chance to chop him down on the Astral River¡¯s giant vessel.¡±

    Gu Er was furious. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Remember this: I¡¯ll kill you every time I see you.¡± He then shed over, pressed down on Gu Er¡¯s head, and exerted some strength. Gu Er¡¯s head instantly shattered as he died without a chance to resist.

    Gu Er¡¯s twopanions felt their skulls go numb. This person obviously wanted to sow discord with Elder Gu De. They rushed to escape, but Lu Yin easily chased them down and finished them off with a single palm each.

 Chapter 179: Conflict

    <h4>Chapter 179: Conflict</h4>

    After watching Gu Er¡¯s body gradually fade away, Lu Yin looked up. He gazed at the dark skies with a ferocious glint in his eye. If Elder Gu De hadn¡¯t intentionally stalled for time back then, he wouldn¡¯t be in this state right now. Lu Yin would take revenge sooner orter.

    This interaction with Gu Er put Lu Yin in a bad mood. He looked around for another student and asked some questions before finally finding out that he was about two days away from Whitebones Gorge.

    The trial zones were very interesting. Whenever someone reentered after dying, the location that they appeared at would be random. However, if someone left the trial zones willingly rather than dying, they would reappear exactly where they had left the trial zones.

    Lu Yin did not waste any more time dawdling around and headed straight to Whitebones Gorge after hearing that it was two days away. The Dao of Purgatory was pitch ck for as far as the eye could see, and its scenery quickly became boring.

    The Dao of Purgatory was a good fit for Lu Yin since nobody would want to go against him once they found out that he was a Lockbreaker. The Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master was Dao Bo, a talented Lockbreaker who was even better than Charon. Hence, in the Dao of Purgatory, Lockbreakers had a higher status than in any other trial zone.

    However, Lu Yin did not want to reveal too many of his cards. The Astral Combat Tournament was quickly approaching, and he was certain that the tournament would not be set up in an impartial manner. Many of the stronger contenders would be analyzed and targeted before the tournament, just like Liu Shaoqiu whom Madam Nn had informed Lu Yin of. The moment he revealed too much of his strength, others would take notice of him and start devising effective strategies against him.

    A Lockbreaker did enjoy a very high status, but it was far too easy to hatch ndestine schemes against someone. Lu Yin was of the opinion that keeping a low profile before the tournament and avoiding gathering unnecessary attention from other people was his best course of action.

    Unfortunately for him, Old Cai had given him a mission to steal a training ground, which was considerably difficult and eye catching. Every Area Master was strong enough to be in the top ten or even top five of their academy. These top students were certainly being observed day and night before the tournament, and if he defeated one of them, then trouble would definitelye for him. What should he do? Lu Yin had a headache just from thinking about it.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin saw at least thirty students fly past him, all of them headed in the same direction. It was slightly off from the direction that Lu Yin was traveling in, but he was unable to restrain his curiosity and followed them

    Before long, a vast, darkke filled with oddly lucid ck water appeared before him. There were dozens of students hiding around theke and staring intently at theke¡¯s center, where five individuals were fighting and sshing water everywhere. Their stray attacks thatnded on the shore created small tears in space.

    Lu Yin was shocked. This was a battle at the level of Area Masters, or perhaps even Realm Masters.

    The only Area Master that he had faced before was Frankfurt. Even now, he could still recall the power of thatnce as if it had happened yesterday. That person also had two lines of battle force. Although Lu Yin was confident that, with the strength of his physical body and his sh technique, Frankfurt wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him, he knew that it was also impossible for him to defeat Frankfurt. The people who were currently fighting above theke seemed to be slightly weaker than Frankfurt.

    Lu Yin looked around, found a student, and asked him some questions. Of course, the process didn¡¯t go that smoothly, but when threatened by Lu Yin¡¯s iron fist, the student ended up telling Lu Yin what he wanted to know.

    This training ground was known as ckwater Lake. The previous Area Master had ascended to be an Explorer and left the academy, which meant that this area no longer had a master. The people fighting above theke were battling for the position of Area Master.

    This information caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to light up. Old Cai had ordered him to get a training ground, but he had never specified that Lu Yin had to defeat an Area Master to get it. And now, there was now a masterless training ground before him, ripe for the taking.

    The problem was that too many people were vying for the training ground. While Lu Yin wasn¡¯t afraid of a one-on-one battle against any of the battling students, even he would find it troublesome to fight against all of them at once. After all, each of them were nearly as powerful as an Area Master, and they were all peak Limiteers.

    While Lu Yin was still thinking about how he should proceed, a strange ripple spread out from the bottom of ckwater Lake. At that same moment, chanting could be heard. Lu Yin¡¯s expression quickly changed, and he looked closely at theke¡¯s depths.

    Everyone around theke heard the chanting, and they all directed their focus towards the bottom of theke. This was a phenomenon. Within the trial zones, there were often ancient phenomena, and they often represented an inheritance from the primordial era. Many students had obtained powerful battle techniques or deep insights from these phenomena, and they were the most valuable experience one could find in the trial zones. Right now, one such phenomenon was happening right before their eyes.

    Everyone rushed in without a second thought, and Lu Yin did not hold himself back either.

    The five who were battling at the middle of theke also charged in. However, now, they started working together to dy the other students as much as they could. Their coordination was so impable that it felt like they¡¯d nned this out beforehand.

    Within the ckwater Lake training ground, the number of people in the region rapidly decreased as the phenomenon became increasingly clear. Lu Yin could hear and feel things more clearly. The reason why he had been first attacked in the Dao of Purgatory was because of this rity that always apanied phenomena. Now, for the same reason, everybody was being driven away by these five.

    All the spectators were either killed or tossed to the bottom of theke. The five whose strength approached an Area Master¡¯s were not people that the other students could handle.

    One of them targeted Lu Yin, moving behind him andunching an attack by jabbing his spear at him through the water. Lu Yin frowned and dodged with sh. He then grabbed the spear, causing the attacker to snicker insidiously. The spear became scorching hot to the point of boiling the surroundingke water. A thin thread of gas twined around it and tried, though in vain, to wrench the spear away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Battle force! This person could use battle force and, like him, was at the elementary grade. It made sense that this spear-wielder had the guts to fight for the position of Area Master.

    Boom!

    Theke waters were forced away, creating a vacuum as Lu Yin and the spear user both retreated.

    The attacker was a male in grey clothing. He looked at Lu Yin in shock, most likely because he could not imagine that a Melder could match him.

    Lu Yin shook his numb hands to restore some feeling. Using just his physical body and not his own battle force to contest against his opponent¡¯s battle force filled move meant that he had been at the disadvantage. However, he had managed to hold his own.

    The man stared at Lu Yin before attacking once again. The spear still had battle force coiling around it, and its tip jabbed forward with a startling speed, even tearing space apart. Lu Yin flexed his calf muscles and dodged by a hair¡¯s breadth, the tip almost touching him. His body and the spear brushed past each other as he then aimed a palm strike at the man. The man quickly retrieved his spear back and held it horizontally to defend himself. Lu Yin lifted his palm as stars appeared around it. Nine stars began revolving; it was the perfected Cosmic Palm.

    With a boom, huge waves broke theke¡¯s previous calm. The sheer air pressure differential pushed everyone away, including the four vying for the position of Area Master. They retreated with shocked looks in their eyes.

    The man¡¯s spear had been bent in half by Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm, and his entire body was smashed into theke.

    Only after a long while did theke returned to its original, calm state.

    The other four stared at Lu Yin in shock. A Melder who could defeat one of them was surely a monster.

    At that moment, a chilling sensation surged from above. They looked up and saw a ¡°sky¡± filled with white ice crystals.

    ¡°Crap, that¡¯s Mystifying Ice. The twins are here!¡± someone shouted beforeunching an attack at the ice that had sealed off theke¡¯s surface as the rest quickly followed suit.

    At the bottom of theke, the spear-wielder in grey was enraged as he charged out. Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Palm was powerful, but it was not able to seriously injure someone who had almost reached the level of an Area Master.

    ¡°Stop fighting. Everything can wait until after we get out!¡± someone else yelled. The man in grey nced at Lu Yin, unresigned to his defeat, but then aimed his spear at the ice barrier.

    Lu Yin attacked as well. He had a bad feeling about this because, while he was battling with the man in grey, the phenomenon at the bottom of theke had vanished.

    A deafening sound echoed across the surface of theke. However, the attacks of these six who were nearly at the level of an Area Master were unable to destroy theyer of ice on the surface, which meant they were all trapped inside of theke.

    After attacking for a while, they stopped. At that point, two beautiful girls appeared atop theke. One wore a white dress while the other wore a light pink one. What made Lu Yin surprised was the fact that they were identical in appearance. Twins?

    ¡°Hehe, you all fought so hard in there. How is it? Is the water cold?¡± The girl in a white dress asked with a smile.

    Not too far away from Lu Yin, a man with a crew cut was furious. ¡°Can Xue, was that phenomenon at the bottom of theke caused by the two of you?¡±

    They weren¡¯t stupid. The phenomenon had vanished right before the Mystifying Ice appeared. They could all guess that the phenomenon had been nothing more than bait to lure them to the bottom of theke and that this pair was the mastermind behind the scheme.

    Can Xue burst intoughter. ¡°Please don¡¯t malign me, Gus. I just saw you fighting and causing such a ruckus that I was afraid that you¡¯d destroy the tranquility of ckwater Lake. So, I sealed off all the stray attacks.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then let us out now,¡± the man in grey said in a low voice.

    Can Xue smiled but did not reply. Instead, the girl dressed in pink next to her spoke out. Her name was Can Mei and her tone was much colder. ¡°We can let you out. You just have to leave ckwater Lake and leave this ce to our young mistress.¡±

    ¡°Your young mistress? Yue Xianzi? I don¡¯t think she entered any branch of the Astral Combat Academy,¡± a man not too far from Lu Yin said.

    ¡°She just entered one. This is our gift to her,¡± Can Mei stated matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin frowned unhappily. The tournament had enticed arge number of powerhouses. Liu Shaoqiu from the Sword Sect and these girls¡¯ young mistress, Yue Xianzi, were likely only a few of the hidden powerhouses that had emerged to participate. These twins were able to create a mystifying ice barrier that even all of the students gathered together could not destroy.

    Another man with a pale face and a cold look in his eyes said, ¡°Your young mistress needs you to gift her something? She just needs to seduce a Realm Master, and she¡¯ll get a training ground. Isn¡¯t that what your Frostmoon Sect is the best at?¡±

    Can Mei disdainfully nced at him. ¡°Pfft, you¡¯re just a loser who got chased out of the Daynight Flowzone. You¡¯re too weak to get revenge so all you can do is talk.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that. If you have the strength, then let him out and you can fight him as many times as you want,¡± Gus said, fanning the mes.

    Can Xue grinned as she replied, ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath, Gus. You can leave ckwater Lake or be sealed within ice. Though there¡¯s another way out¡ªkill yourself.¡±

    ¡°Kill myself? Why would I do that? The next time Ie to ckwater Lake, the Area Master will be someone else.¡± Gus rolled his eyes.

    The man in grey suddenly said, ¡°Your Frostmoon Sect is pretty bold to mess with a Lockbreaker here in the Dao of Purgatory.¡±

    Everyone was shocked. A Lockbreaker? There was a Lockbreaker here?

    Lu Yin saw the man shift his gaze to him and froze; this person shouldn¡¯t have known that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker.

    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin from Astral-10, right? I saw you at Spear Mountain,¡± he said icily.

    Everyone else looked at him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Lu Yin? That name sounds a little familiar. I might¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± Gus was doubtful.

    Above the ice, Can Xue and Can Mei¡¯s expressions changed and they exchanged a pensive look. They recognized his name. Isn¡¯t Lu Yin the person that Charon announced was under his protection? Crap, this means that Charon is going to get involved.

    This situation normally wouldn¡¯t be a concern, but Charon was a Lockbreaker, and Lockbreakers were not to be trifled with in this realm. If they messed with one, a second or third one mighte. More importantly, the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master was Dao Bo, a Lockbreaker. He was also someone who took care of his own.

    ¡°I remember now. He¡¯s Charon¡¯s lover!¡± Gus shouted. Everyone shot strange looks towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately red at Gus. ¡°Charon is my friend. Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡±

    Gus was embarrassed. ¡°Sorry, the words just slipped out of my mouth. That¡¯s wrong, I meant to say soon-to-be lover. Wait, no, that¡¯s not right either. Sorry, haha...¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. This guy was looking for a fight.

 Chapter 180: Inheritance

    <h4>Chapter 180: Inheritance</h4>

    ¡°You should let us out immediately. I¡¯m sure that you can¡¯t handle Charon¡¯s wrath. Don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s Dao Bo as well,¡± the man in grey threatened. The twins¡¯ eyes gleamed and they looked at Lu Yin. This person was the crux of the issue.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright. I¡¯m fine where I am right now. I don¡¯t really want to leave quite yet,¡± Lu Yin said nonchntly.

    The rest immediately stared daggers at him. ¡°Hey, are you crazy? Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± Gus was growing anxious and the man in grey red at Lu Yin. He really wanted to be the Area Master, and being stuck under theke wasn¡¯t a part of his ns.

    Lu Yin snickered. He hated being used by others, especially someone from Spear Mountain.

    ¡°If you help us, the Frostmoon Sect will remember what you¡¯ve done for us,¡± Can Xue said as she smiled at Lu Yin with shining eyes.

    The man in grey red at Lu Yin. ¡°Think this through. With Charon backing you, they don¡¯t dare to keep you sealed in here. If you let us out, then we can help you absolve your grudge with Frankfurt.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Frankfurt? I know him, too. I can say a few words on your behalf if you want,¡± Gus said. The others also spoke up, clearly desiring to escape from theke.

    Lu Yin contemptuous spat back, ¡°Frankfurt? Who does he think he is? Does he have the guts toy his hands on me?¡±

    The man in grey grew even more furious, but he couldn¡¯t say much in response. It was true that, with Charon backing Lu Yin, Frankfurt really wasn¡¯t much of a threat to him anymore. The rest were at a loss for what to do as well as well. Lu Yin had a backer, and nobody could force him to do anything.

    After waiting for a while, Lu Yin stared at theplicated expressions on the twins¡¯ face and suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s not that hard to get out. I have a way to escape even without asking Charon for help. However, why should I bring you with me?¡±

    ¡°What are your terms?¡± the man in grey asked coldly.

    Lu Yin casually answered, ¡°Give me two hundred thousand crystals per person, and I¡¯ll take you all with me.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Gus agreed immediately. Two hundred thousand crystals wasn¡¯t a small amount, but for the elites from the Astral Combat Academy, it was an eptable sum. They¡¯d be able to earn this amount of money by justpleting a few missions.

    The rest agreed as well. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t afraid that they would go back on their word since they were all powerful elites. If they went back on their word, it would actually cause them unnecessary problems by affecting their cultivation. This was a matter of the mind and nobody was willing to let a mere two hundred thousand crystals affect their path to the peak.

    Lu Yin whispered his method to the other five, causing them to freeze in ce. Will that actually work?

    His idea was straightforward. Just as the twins had baited them into theke¡¯s depths, they would now create a phenomenon of their own at the bottom of theke.

    Phenomena were quitemon everywhere within the trial zones, not to mention a training ground like ckwater Lake. The moment a phenomenon urred, the twins would definitelye in to check it out even if they were almost entirely sure that it was fake. A phenomenon was far too important to discount because it could allow one¡¯s strength to rise meteorically.

    This was a clever scheme because, even if Lu Yin told the twins that they had faked the phenomena, the two girls might still break the Mystical Ice on theke surface to check it out for themselves. This was just the mentality of humans. The method was simple, but the most difficult part was identifying it.

    There were a total of six people trapped at the bottom of theke. To prevent the twins from growing too suspicious, they quickly separated after discussing the n.

    Back above theyer of Mystical Ice, the twins exchanged doubtful nces before staring at the bottom of theke. They were fairly certain that the trapped students would not be able to break through the ice, but their sudden, coordinated movements were making them feel uneasy.

    ¡°When will the young mistress arrive?¡± Can Xue asked quietly.

    Can Mei shook her head in response. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact time, but she should be arriving shortly.¡±

    ¡°Each one of them is powerful enough to contend for the title of Area Monster. Who knows, they might actually have a way to break through the Mystical Ice formed from ourbined Innate Gifts. I hope that she gets here soon.¡± Can Xue was worried about the situation.

    Right after she said that, a burning light shed at the bottom of theke. There seemed to be a figure pushing at the water with an ancient aura surrounding the scene. Above the ice, the air started to distort and synchronize with the movement at the bottom of theke, forming a huge tornado.

    Everybody around ckwater Lake was surprised by this scene and watched on, shocked. Is this a phenomenon?

    At the bottom of theke, Lu Yin was appalled as this seemed a little too real. They must be real geniuses¡­ Wait, no!

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that there was something strange about the phenomenon. Is this actually real?

    He immediately nced around and saw that Gus and the pale-faced man had not returned yet. They were the ones who were in charge of creating the phenomenon, and ording to the n, they were supposed to return as soon as the phenomenon appeared so that the twins wouldn¡¯t discover the truth. However, they had yet to appear, which meant the phenomenon was real!

    Lu Yin immediately swam towards the bottom of theke, and the others all reacted in the same way as well. The man in grey stabbed his spear into the waters, swimming to the bottom of theke as his spear pushed the water in his way apart.

    Above the surface of theke, the twins exchanged astonished gazes before immediately breaking the Mystical Ice and charging into the water.

    Many of the spectators in the surrounding area darted forth as well. The various phenomena in the trial zones could make a cultivator very powerful, and the quality of these images meant that there must be something powerful in theke.

    At the bottom of theke, Gus and the pale-faced man excitedly watched the area in front of them. The water had gathered into a vortex, and a vague figure quietly stood up inside of that vortex. It was impossible to make out that figure¡¯s details, but it was clear that it was the source of the hugemotion at the bottom of theke. The water vortex shifted as it merged into the figure, causing the asional spatial tear to streak past it as it did so. Lightning seemed to be shing within the water as well.

    The pale-faced man charged forward, intent on merging with the figure so that he couldprehend this amazing battle technique.

    Gus did the same, but was slightly slower.

    But right as the pale-faced man charged into the vortex, he was instantly torn to shreds. The shocking sight caused Gus¡¯ expression to change as he immediately retreated. Meanwhile, Lu Yin and the others had just arrived in time to see the pale-faced man¡¯s death. They were shocked because every single person here was almost as strong as an Area Master, but one of them had been easily killed by the ancient phenomenon. It was a terrifying sight.

    Soon enough, the twin sisters appeared behind them shortly after. This time, nobody bothered with them and they all merely stared at the developing phenomenon.

    More and more people appeared and stared at the figure in the distance in excitement. All of them hoped that they would be able to obtain the inheritance and see their cultivation soar, allowing them to rush to the peak of the Astral Combat Academy.

    The ancient figure stood at the bottom of theke as the vortex around it grew increasinglyrger, until it eventually covered the entirety of ckwater Lake.

    Lu Yin and the others had long since retreated to the safety of the shore, but their eyes were still glued to the figure.

    More and more people tried to charge in and merge with the figure, but they all failed. The man in grey had also made his attempt, with the result being both him and his spear being torn to shreds.

    The twins had simrly tried to test the waters with their Mystical Ice, but even that was not able to withstand the vortex¡¯s sheer force. At this point, the revolving streams of water had be the most powerful weapons in the world in that figure¡¯s hands. Nobody could go up against them.

    Lu Yin had long since activated his Cosmic Art to better observe the phenomenon. What everyone else saw as streams of water, he saw as a horrifying, indescribably concentrated form of bloodlust. It was shaped like a vortex, but it was actually the manifestation of a battle technique. By remaining unchanging, the battle technique could actually adapt to any changes. Anybody who entered the vortex would be torn apart, regardless of their battle technique. This was a battle technique that had been designed by the wisdom of ancient, intelligent minds, and it was likely a simplified version of something even more profound and powerful.

    Lu Yin was growing antsy; if he could somehow merge with that figure and experience the battle technique for himself, then his power would immediately soar. At the very least, his method of using battle techniques would transform, but unfortunately, he was not sure if he could break through the vortex.

    Yet another student was torn apart by the deadly vortex, but the crowd could only watch on; their frustration and anxiety were simply indescribable.

    Lu Yin was no different, and he also wanted to give it a go. In the end, the worst that could happen would be dying, but even that just meant being forced out of the trial zone. After steeling himself, Lu Yin charged into the vortex. Gus moved forward at the same time since the figure was starting to grow indistinct. If they missed this opportunity, then they might never have another chance like this ever again.

    Many students charged at the same time, like moths flying to a me. Even though they knew that they were rushing in towards almost certain death, they still chased after that sliver of light. For cultivators, strength was their sole pursuit. The universe was cruel and practical, but that was just the reality of their world; sometimes, cultivation meant running towards death.

    Lu Yin activated his Cosmic Art and his battle force. He charged straight in, intent on reaching the figure in a single leap, but he was forced back by a huge force. His battle force was blown away as was his Cosmic Art. The nine stars exploded, but not even that managed to mitigate the vortex¡¯s ripping force in the least. The next moment, extreme pain shot through his nerves as his body began to be shredded apart.

    Gus was already gone, and everyone else who had been fighting to be the Area Master of ckwater Lake had died as well.

    Lu Yin yelled as he barely managed to hold on for a second. The muscles in his calves tore apart as he forcefully used sh. At the same time, he struck himself with Nine Stacks. That,bined with his sh backwards, was enough to force himself out of the vortex and send him crashing into the shore.

    Aside from Lu Yin, everyone else who had entered the vortex had died. Not a single other person had managed to escape. This scene shocked everyone once again.

    The twins narrowed their eyes as they stared at Lu Yin in shock. This person had managed to survive for two seconds within the vortex, which was even better than Gus and the others. Furthermore, he was a mere Melder. What a monster!

    Lu Yin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but his entire body was streaked with blood. This was the first time that he¡¯d been this badly injured after bing a Melder. He had no idea what the limits of his body were, and his physique had even surprised the Sandmaster. However, this vortex had been able to injure him seriously in just two seconds. Thankfully, he had held on for those two seconds, which was more than the others had been able to do.

    Injuries taken inside a trial zone healed very quickly, and he didn¡¯t need to worry even if that weren¡¯t the case. Everything would be fine as long as he didn¡¯t die.

    At this moment, a white figure flitted past everyone staring at the figure and charged straight into the vortex. Everyone assumed the white figure would be torn to bits like everyone else, but the ancient figure within the phenomenon forced the vortex to stop the moment the white figure made contact with the vortex. The white figure easily crossed the vortex and merged with the ancient figure, and a momentter, the vortex resumed spinning once more.

    This sudden development left everyone shocked. Someone had received the inheritance, or to phrase it differently, the inheritance had been waiting for that person.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Was this opportunity set up for that person? He couldn¡¯t make out any details inside the vortex, and the only thing that he was able to determine about the white figure was a veil and a beautiful side profile. It was a girl.

    ¡°Young Mistress!¡± the twins eximed in delight as they stared inside the vortex.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened into saucers. Young Mistress? Is this Yue Xianzi from the Frostmoon Sect whom Gus and the others were talking about? She¡¯s received the inheritance, which means that ckwater Lake is fated to be hers.

    After realizing this, Lu Yin stood up and left despite it causing him extreme pain. This opportunity did not belong to him, and there was no need to force things as such behavior would only bring him troubleter on.

    Lu Yin found an area to rest and heal not too far away from theke. He took no more than half a day to fully recover. As long as one didn¡¯t die in the trial zones, one would be able to regenerate from their injuries very quickly. No one here was using their real body, after all, and between their increased healing abilities and the properties of the trial zones, it meant that battles here typically resulted in death. Battles had two options: fight to the death or not fight at all.

    Two hours before Lu Yin finished recovering, the phenomenon in ckwater Lake disappeared. From that point onwards, the Area Master of ckwater Lake was officially Yue Xianzi, a powerful person who had entered the Astral Combat Academy to participate in the Astral Combat Tournament.

 Chapter 181: Whitebones Gorge

    <h4>Chapter 181: Whitebones Gorge</h4>

    The ze Realm could not evenpare to the Frostmoon Sect. One general characteristic of the universe was that, the closer one was to the Innerverse¡¯s center, the greater the likelihood that stronger powerhouses and scary geniuses would appear. The ze Realm was in the peripheral zing Mist Flowzone, and it shared the flowzone with the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n. To the Innerverse, however, while the zing Mist Flowzone was thergest of the eight Great Flowzones, it wasn¡¯t much better in quality than the Outerverse and it was treated as nothing more than the Innerverse¡¯s doorman.

    The Frostmoon Sect, on the other hand, was located in one of the most central flowzones, the Daynight Flowzone. Even though there were many rumors that the Frostmoon Sect relied on marital ties to survive in the Daynight Flowzone, the fact that they were able to survive nheless meant that they had some degree of power. No matter what, Yue Xianzi¡¯s status was far above Jared¡¯s, and she wasparable to a genius disciple of Ten Thousand Swords Peak or the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin had no ns to fight Yue Xianzi for the title of ckwater Lake¡¯s Area Master; who knew what inheritance she had received from the recent phenomenon. But what worried Lu Yin even more was that she had entered the Astral Combat Academy to participate in the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Lu Yin regained his bearings and headed for Whitebones Gorge after he recovered.

    One dayter, Lu Yin finally arrived at Whitebones Gorge. He looked at the freezing valleys before him and the white bones that were scattered everywhere haphazardly. This ce caused people to shiver involuntarily, and Charon was the Area Master of this ce.

    The Whitebones Gorge was littered with countless bleached bones. There were rumors that, every full moon, these white bones would start dancing of their own ord, and that they might even disy battle techniques. Others said that the dance was a sacrificial offering, and many thought that it was just an ordinary song and dance routine. No one knew why this strange phenomenon urred, but Whitebones Gorge was the only one of the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s training grounds where a strange phenomenon regrly urred.

    From Charon¡¯s memories, Lu Yin knew about the desperate fight to control Whitebones Gorge. To obtain the title of Area Master Frankfurt and his cohorts had acted, and other people with the strength of an Area Master from other academies had also joined in. Finally, the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master, Dao Bo, had intervened and chased away the rest, allowing Charon to be the Area Master of Whitebones Gorge. Without Dao Bo¡¯s aid, it would have been extremely difficult for Charon to seed.

    A Lockbreaker did enjoy a high status, but they were not above all other living beings. Also, this was a trial zone, a ce of battle and conflict.

    Charon was a genius Lockbreaker and those who trained in Whitebones Gorge were mostly Lockbreakers from the Astral Combat Academy. There were only a few of them, but each one of them was an elite.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival quickly attracted the attention of the students training in Whitebones Gorge. When Charon first saw Lu Yin, his face visibly darkened, but he quickly forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Brother Lu, wee to Whitebones Gorge.¡±

    When Lu Yin saw Charon¡¯s insincere smile, he stepped forward and passionately replied, ¡°Brother Charon, I thought that you¡¯d forgotten about me!¡±

    ¡°How could I? Once I found out that Brother Lu entered Astral-10, I immediately ordered that no one harm you on pain of continuously being hounded to death.¡± Charon emphasized thest few words quite heavily. He seemed to hold a great hatred, and it was quite obvious that it was directed towards no one else besides Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled happily. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Brother Charon. Ah, right, my uncle sends his regards as well.¡±

    Charon¡¯s face twisted and he instinctively grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s clothes out of rage before he came back to his senses. Heughed hollowly as he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°How is he? Not dead yet, I hope.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and patted Charon¡¯s shoulder back. ¡°Of course! He¡¯s doing quite well. The darkness of night is his quilt, and the stars are his bed. He¡¯s living a very carefree life now and goes for strolls in a ckhole whenever he¡¯s free.¡±

    Charon stared at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as if he was trying to interpret something, but he couldn¡¯t make anything out.

    ¡°Please pass my wishes to your uncle that he takes care of himself and that he is not swept away by a ckhole. The universe isrge, and it is not limited just to the Human Domain,¡± Charon spat out through ground teeth even as he beamed widely. His expression looked rather strange, and it made the surrounding people tremble and back away.

    After the surrounding people left, Charon stared at Lu Yin and quietly snarled, ¡°Brat, let me warn you to not run your mouth. Else, I¡¯ll show you the true terror of offending a genius Lockbreaker. You won¡¯t be able to hide, even inside Astral-10.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows quirked up. ¡°Is that so? Are you saying that, after those letters be public, you¡¯ll still be a genius Lockbreaker?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Charon was furious.

    ¡°Alright, I have no interest in those trivial personal matters of yours,¡± Lu Yin said as he pushed Charon aside before ncing sideways at him. ¡°While your love life is quite unlucky, as long as you cooperate quietly, I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    Charon snorted and fell into a foul mood. He had been ckmailed, and he would never be freed unless he was willing to let his hidden affections be publicized. Otherwise, he would be stuck under Lu Yin¡¯s thumb forever.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw an endless trail of white bones. He didn¡¯t know why, but these bones gave him a sense of deep sorrow, and he could vaguely hear what sounded like the wails of countless people beside his ears fading in and out. This was a strange ce.

    ¡°Charon, what enlightenments have you had here?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    This was an extremely rude question that could easily start a fight as this was equivalent to asking someone to reveal their secrets and their strength. However, Lu Yin already knew Charon¡¯s biggest secret, so he didn¡¯t care. ¡°Domain.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked: a domain was a strength that could rival battle force and innate gifts. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s battle technique had imitated a domain, as had that war spirit that he encountered earlier. When he had Possessed Charon earlier, he didn¡¯t have much time, so he had only been able to review his memories and experiences that were rted to Lockbreaking. As such, Lu Yin only had a vague impression of Charon¡¯s battle memories, so Lu Yin was unsure about what Charon¡¯s domain actually was.

    A domain was very mysterious and something that only apex elites could develop as a domain would give the wielder absolute control within their domain¡¯s sphere of control.

    A domain could not be measured and divided into levels like battle force, as every person¡¯s domain was unique. Those who had developed one could perceive everything in their vicinity with heightened senses. They could also lower their heart rate, merge with their surroundings, or even manifest unique abilities, though that was nothing but a rumor.

    The Rainmaster had given Lu Yin a chip that contained an introduction to star energy. It had listed the realms of star energy control from the first step of absorbing star energy to cleansing impurities, materializing the energy, and finally, reaching the realm of infinite changes, which was Lu Yin¡¯s current level control. After that, one could infuse their star energy with their own willpower, altering the color of their star energy. The final step was establishing one¡¯s domain, where only the wielder would reign supreme.

    As for domains, the chip had only mentioned them briefly. Too few people had mastered one, and they perhaps numbered even fewer than the number of those who had mastered battle force. Needless to say, each and every domain user was an absolute powerhouse.

    Lu Yin recalled the circumstances of when Charon had unlocked that sword-shaped Sourcebox. It was no wonder that, with his familiarity of star energy, he had seeded in his lockbreaking. In fact, this should be the foundation of Charon¡¯s domain.

    ¡°What¡¯s your domain?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard.¡±

    Lu Yin turned away and stopped questioning Charon, as he had indeed gone too far.

    Charon suddenly thought of something and beamed before asking, ¡°Do you really want to know about my domain?¡±

    Lu Yin turned back with an astonished gaze.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible, but only if we have a duel. That way, you can experience it yourself.¡± A strange smile crept up Charon¡¯s face, clearly not an amicable one.

    Lu Yin wisely decided to reject, as he did not enjoy being beaten one-sidedly. Although he really wanted to duel against a domain wielding expert, that could wait. He had his die, and he was hoping that he would be lucky enough to Possess an expert with a domain the next time he rolled Possession.

    Charon was disappointed. ¡°You don¡¯t have a warrior¡¯s spirit.¡±

    Lu Yin just ignored him. His dedication towards training was greatlycking whenpared to people like Zhang Dingtian or Schutz.

    ¡°Schutz should have arrived by now,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself before asking, ¡°Charon, am I free to wander about in Whitebones Gorge?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you. Just don¡¯t bother me.¡±

    Lu Yin heard more screams as he walked across the dry bones. Madness, sorrow, desperation¡ªall sorts of negative emotions permeated Whitebones Gorge. He did not know if other people could hear them as well, but he definitely could. This sort of environment was not suitable for people to live in, lest they ran the risk of going mad.

    Lu Yin found a protruding valley and sat down within it. He circted his Cosmic Art and patiently waited for Schutz.

    Two days passed, during which no one sought out Lu Yin. Charon left the trial zone, and those training within Whitebones Gorge all kept their distance and did not interact with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not afford to continue waiting for Schutz, and he even felt that it was strange that he had waited so long. So, he left the trial zone and reappeared back at the trial zone mountain. He saw Schutz wiping his de when he opened his eyes.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t entered yet?¡± Lu Yin was bbergasted.

    ¡°I entered. Then I died.¡±

    ¡°That fast?¡±

    ¡°I appeared in the center of a group of war spirits.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, speechless. Schutz¡¯s luck was just too horrible. Even Lu Yin himself would be helpless if he was surrounded by war spirits. He watched Schutz calmly clean his de as he muttered under his breath.

    All of Astral-10¡¯s students had obtained a hundred victories in the ported battles, but they were only stronger than the average student from the other academies. Schutz, Coco, Zora, and the rest were not much stronger than the other academies¡¯ students at their same level. If they fought against an opponent with powerful innate gifts, then they would be defeated easily. Astral-10 only had a few students who couldpete against the other academies¡¯ elites.

    It hadn¡¯t been the best idea to ask Schutz for help to snatch a training ground. He would not be able to contribute much help, and could be easily killed after he entered the trial zones. Lu Yin could not afford to continue waiting around.

    This new development gave Lu Yin a headache. There were twelve new students, and less than half of them could even stand up against the elites of the other academies. Even Hui Daynight was not strong enough to do so.

    After thinking his predicament through, Lu Yin decided to not ask for Schutz¡¯s help in his quest to snatch a training ground. However, since he had already asked Schutz for his help, rejecting him now would just humiliate him.

    Coincidentally, Michelle entered the trial zone mountain right then. She was still as enchanting as ever, and her red eyes swept across Lu Yin and Schutz before she indifferently headed to another area of the mountain.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Lu Yin suddenly called out.

    She paused and turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°What?¡±

    Lu Yin stood up and walked to Michelle. He looked her straight in her red eyes and seriously said, ¡°I want to snatch a training ground. Interested?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°How about battle force? Interested?¡±

    Her eyes lit up. ¡°Battle force?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, he raised his hand, and let a translucent stream of air flow around it. He saw Michelle¡¯s passionate gaze as there was no one who did not want to learn battle force. ¡°Xi Yue alsoprehended battle force.¡±

    This sentence immediately changed Michelle¡¯s mind. The two of them had had a terrible fight when Michelle was chosen to enter the Ten Arbiters Council over Xi Yue. They had been equally matched, and while Michelle appeared indifferent, she actually acknowledged Xi Yue as her main rival. She had thought that, with her recent improvements, she hadpletely surpassed Xi Yue since their battle. But if Xi Yue had truly learned battle force, then that might not necessarily be true.

 Chapter 182: Selection

    <h4>Chapter 182: Selection</h4>

    ¡°How do you know this?¡± Michelle¡¯s voice was cold and a little anxious.

    Lu Yin dissipated his own battle force. ¡°I helped herprehend it at the second level of the Sand Ocean.¡±

    Michelle stared at Lu Yin before asking, ¡°What are your conditions?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Help me snatch a training ground.¡±

    Michelle frowned as she replied, ¡°You should know how scary an Area Master is since you¡¯ve experienced Frankfurt¡¯s power for yourself.¡±

    A cold glint shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes; everyone knew that he had been killed by Frankfurt. He needed to repay this debt one day. It was a pity that Spear Mountain was not suitable for him. Otherwise, that training ground would have been his first choice. ¡°Are you afraid?¡±

    Michelle indifferently replied, ¡°At worst, I¡¯ll die. I¡¯m alright.¡± Her tone then turned serious as she continued, ¡°But I¡¯ll only help you once. I can¡¯t help you forever.¡±

    He smiled at her agreement. ¡°Sure, just once will do.¡±

    ¡°Where are we headed?¡±

    Schutz also looked over.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed before he said, ¡°The Dao of Purgatory, the Fathomless Pool.¡±

    The Fathomless Pool was the worst training ground of the Dao of Purgatory, though ¡°worst¡± merely referred to its scope. In reality, the Fathomless Pool was very useful as it helped cultivators develop and refine their battle force; the deeper they went into the pool, the greater the pressure they would face. However, its small size could only amodate two people at a time. Thus, not many students practiced there. Also, there were other trial zones that were also suitable for training one¡¯s battle force. Thus, the Fathomless Pool garnered rtively little interest, as almost no one trained there besides its Area Master, Uro.

    However, Lu Yin had another motive for choosing the Fathomless Pool; Uro was a good friend of Jared.

    ¡°The Fathomless Pool might only have the Area Master Uro, but he is very strong and has a biological innate gift¡ªhuan qi. He also has one line of battle force and he won¡¯t be easy to deal with. Who else have you found to help you?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Schutz. Michelle frowned as she thought to herself, This person is useless.

    ¡°The Sand Ocean¡¯s secondyer can help oneprehend battle force?¡± Schutz suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s where I picked it up.¡±

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t help you snatch a training ground this time.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. Schutz had the heart, but not the strength. ¡°You¡¯re going to head to the secondyer of the Sand Ocean?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you after I learn battle force,¡± Schutz said with a nod before he left.

    Lu Yin frowned, as the secondyer of the Sand Ocean was no trivial ce. Even Xi Yue had to rely on his help before she was able to withstand the ravaging winds that eroded at one¡¯s body. Schutz definitely wasn¡¯t strong enough to endure those winds, but Lu Yin knew that anything he said would be useless as Schutz had a fighter¡¯s heart, just like Zhang Dingtian.

    ¡°You should just forget it if the helpers you¡¯ll have are all like that. Uro has truly reached the level of an Area Master, and his innate gift is also very powerful. He¡¯s not much easier to deal with than Frankfurt, and just the two of us won¡¯t be his match.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on other people. He may be able to master battle force before he returns.¡±

    Michelle¡¯s gaze shifted; she obviously did not take Schutz seriously. Although her words were harsh, they coldly reflected reality. Only the top few elites in Astral-10 could face an Area Master, and Lu Yin needed to find people like Xia Luo, Yin, Darkvoid, or Lulu to help him.

    ¡°First, go in and head twenty kilometers north of the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Fathomless Pool. I¡¯ll gather the rest before we start.¡±

    Michelle was puzzled. ¡°Twenty kilometers north? What¡¯s there?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re making me go there regardless?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you choose somewhere else nearby the Fathomless Pool that you¡¯re familiar with then?¡±

    Michelle was struck speechless by Lu Yin¡¯s casualness, and she directly stepped towards the trial zone mountain. ¡°I¡¯ll wait there for five days at most. The deal is off if you don¡¯t appear within five days, but you¡¯ll still have to help meprehend battle force.¡±

    Lu Yin was helpless; this girl was difficult to deal with.

    After Michelle entered the trial zone, Lu Yin walked around the trial zone mountain and found the areas where Xia Luo, Yin, Lulu and Darkvoid had essed the trial zones. Now that he had located them all, he would not need to search around aimlessly. He sat down at the entrance of the trial zone mountain and waited for them to awaken.

    Half a dayter, someone woke up, but it wasn¡¯t who Lu Yin was waiting for. Rather, Coco and Zora, the two disciples of Windrift Hall, walked out. There were other experts of Windrift Hall in the trial zone, and even though none of them were an Area Master, Coco and Zora experienced no issued under Windrift Hall¡¯s protection. The Hall had an excellent reputation within the Innerverse. That,bined with Coco¡¯s cute appearance and eager kindness, meant that the two were not bullied inside the trial zones.

    Coco was d to see Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯ve been gone for a long time. Where have you been?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he answered, ¡°Out for missions. Coco, congrattions on obtaining a hundred victories in the ported battles.¡±

    Coco stuck out her tongue. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me, Brother Lu. My record is bad.¡±

    ¡°To attain a hundred victories is already an improvement.

    ¡°Coco, which Dao did you guys go to?¡±

    ¡°The Dao of Heaven, but we¡¯re headed to the Dao of ughter next, or perhaps the Dao of Purgatory.¡±

    Lu Yin was envious. Having a backer waspletely different from not having one. If Lu Yin hadn¡¯t managed to find a backer in the form of Charon, he would have been murdered regardless of where he went.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Coco. The mentor¡¯s waiting for us,¡± Zora said as she nodded at Lu Yin in greetings.

    Lu Yin watched them leave as he had no ns of recruiting them for his mission. Although a healer was important, they lost their value in the trial zones. As long as one didn¡¯t die, they would quickly recover to their peak state without any external aid. With Coco and Zora¡¯s strength, they might be even less useful than Schutz against an Area Master.

    Not long after, Darkvoid woke up and nced at Lu Yin before indifferently walking out of the mountain.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Darkvoid, are you interested in snatching a training ground with me?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Darkvoid replied simply. He was a man of few words.

    ¡°I can help youprehend battle force and allow you to train at Whitebones Gorge.¡± Lu Yin offered up many incentives in his attempt to tempt Darkvoid, but he remained unfazed and walked towards the exit of the mountain without a word before vanishing before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. If it had been Hui Daynight, then Lu Yin would have simply beaten him into submission, but with Darkvoid, Lu Yin felt like he held absolutely no authority over this fellow student. This person was like a steadfast rock; no one knew what he was thinking.

    A student leader could supervise and even discipline the other students within reasonable limits, but Lu Yin did not feel that forcibly conscripting them for his personal mission would fall within those limits.

    However, Lu Yin was not disturbed by his failure to recruit Darkvoid. He never expected to actually seed, and his hopes were much more focused on the rest. He had to seed with them.

    Another day passed, and Lu Yin finally managed to encounter Silver.

    He was still wearing that fox¡¯s smile, not letting a single sliver of emotion slip through. During the New Students¡¯ Tournament, he had easily eliminated Hui Daynight with a butterfly knife attack that Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been able to understand at all. While the knife hadn¡¯t moved that quickly, it had still sliced through Hui Daynight¡¯s battle technique as if it weren¡¯t there. It was a very strange attack.

    Lu Yin still could not forget that moonlit night back on Earth when his Cosmic Palm had shed against that butterfly knife. That moment seemed to have locked their fates together.

    ¡°Long time no see, Student Lu,¡± Silver beamed as he stretched his body.

    Lu Yin still needed to be courteous to Silver, so he asked, ¡°I want to grab a training ground. Want to join?¡±

    Silver smiled. ¡°Alright, I can spare a third of my strength to help you.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered before replying, ¡°A fifth will be more than enough.¡±

    ¡°A tenth will probably be fine.¡±

    Their meaningless banter was pointless, so Lu Yin simply said, ¡°Go to the Dao of Purgatory. I¡¯m nning to take over the Fathomless Pool. Head twenty kilometers north of there and wait for me there.¡±

    ¡°Twenty kilometers north? What¡¯s there?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just a random ce.¡±

    Silver shrugged, sat down a dozen meters away from Lu Yin, closed his eyes, and reentered the trial zone.

    After Silver, Lulu was the next to awaken. When she came out, her eyes shed when she saw Lu Yin. ¡°Come on, let¡¯spare our strengths!¡±

    ¡°Sure, but the loser has to agree to one condition.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    They walked out of the mountain to the trial zone mountain¡¯s entrance.

    There were many ways topare strength, but for Lu Yin and Lulu, the simplest was a pushing contest.

    Astonishment shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes when he sped Lulu¡¯s soft, white hand. There was a different feeling about it, as if her hand was more tenacious. This was a strangely familiar sensation¡ªcould it be? Battle force?

    Lu Yin stared at Lulu in shock, and she merely grinned in response. Her already beautiful face became even more vibrant as she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. The Mavis n will not lose to anyone in terms of strength.¡± With that, battle force erupted from her body and distorted the void.

    Lu Yin instinctively responded in kind, and their battle forces intertwined as they challenged each other. After just a split second, their terrifying strength caused a dull explosion to ring out, and with the two at the center, the earth suddenly sank down as sparks flickered dangerously in their surroundings. The air was calm around the two of them, but a turbulent stream of air spun upwards before sting down at the area a hundred meters away from them, heavily pressuring the surrounding ins.

    Lulu¡¯s strength had greatly increased, reaching a freakish level, but Lu Yin¡¯s physique was even more terrifying. He still had not reached the limits of his physical body yet, but he had witnessed a glimpse of its power during the ckwater Lake phenomenon. He had withstood the whirlpool for two seconds while that same whirlpool had torn the students who were almost as strong as an Area Master, like Gus, to shreds. This proved that his physical abilities had already surpassed an Area Master, and Area Masters were among the top ten students of their respective academy. This clearly demonstrated the terrifying strength of his physical body.

    And Lu Yin¡¯s body was still improving. Lulu possessed the Mavis n¡¯s innate gift and was constantly growing in strength, but Lu Yin was the same. Ever since he had broken that seal after breaking through to be a Melder, his physical innate gift had shocked even the Sandmaster.

    Lulu¡¯s eyes widened when she didn¡¯t instantly tten Lu Yin, and she looked at Lu Yin as if he was a freak. She had used all her strength, but her opponent was still standing.

    Their battle forces were nearly the same, with Lulu¡¯s being slightly stronger. She had, after all, trained with the Sandmaster for nearly four months. But even with her advantage in terms of battle force, she still couldn¡¯t beat Lu Yin and was being slowly pulled over by him.

    Suddenly, the two were sted back without any warning. In the distance, the clearly unhappy Trialmaster said, ¡°I¡¯ve told you this multiple times. Don¡¯t wreck the grass, and don¡¯t fight here.¡±

    The two students shook hands as they exchanged a stare, both thinking that the other was a monster.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost. So what do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Help me snatch up the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Fathomless Pool.¡±

    Lulu was shocked but then quickly grew excited. ¡°You want to snatch a training ground? Great! I¡¯ve wanted to do so as well for a long time. The Fathomless Pool, huh? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s an excellent ce to cultivate battle force.¡±

    Michelle, Silver, Lulu, and Lu Yin. There were now four of them, and they were only missing Xia Luo.

    Lu Yin would never underestimate an Area Master. He was confident that he would not be defeated even if he went by himself, but he knew that it was basically impossible for him to win alone. Only bybining forces could Astral-10 students snatch a training ground away.

 Chapter 183: The Academyâ€™s Tabloid

    <h4>Chapter 183: The Academy¡¯s Tabloid</h4>

    While Lu Yin was busy recruiting students to help him snatch a training ground, above the Sand Ocean, Big Pao and Little Pao both faced the Sandmaster with solemn looks on their faces.

    ¡°Have you both made your decision? This is no joke. With your abilities, it will be almost impossible to win,¡± the Sandmaster said in a concerned tone as he looked at the both of them.

    Little Pao was determined. ¡°Mentor, we have decided. My brother and I are orphans who were taken in by Astral-10. Astral-10 is our home, and we won¡¯t allow some new disciples who have been here for less than a year take up this responsibility.¡±

    Big Pao then said, ¡°Old Cai gave Lu Yin a mission. As long as hepletes it, we will proceed, even if we can¡¯t win. We need to find out their true abilities, no matter what.¡±

    The Sandmaster nodded his head in understanding. ¡°There are too many young powerful people in the universe. It turns out that some of them have concealed their abilities, so having the two of you probe their abilities is a good thing. This recent batch of new students are all quite promising, and it might be possible for Astral-10 to move back to the Innerverse in the future.¡± After he said that, however, the Sandmaster¡¯s gaze turned stern. ¡°However, the two of you must remember this; you will both be thoroughly exposed after this, and it will lead to both of you being studied in great detail by the other academies in anticipation of the Astral Combat Tournament. Do you understand this?¡±

    Big Pao and Little Pao looked at one another, smiled, and then answered, ¡°We¡¯ve already thought it over. We¡¯re ready.¡±

    In the Innerverse, there was a barricaded region beside an Astral River tributary. This was where Astral-6 was located.

    Inside Astral-6, Frankfurt looked at Liu Ji with admiring eyes as he said, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen the Lockbreaking process from up close. You¡¯re truly a genius Lockbreaker.¡±

    Liu Ji frowned. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this Sourcebox¡¯s contents were destroyed by time long ago and that there was no harvest.¡±

    "It doesn''t matter," Frankfurt replied with augh, "You''ve already fulfilled your duty by showing me your lockbreaking abilities."

    Liu Ji looked at Frankfurt. ¡°Senior, what do you think about Astral-10?¡±

    Frankfurt was surprised at his question. ¡°Astral-10? The banished academy? Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to understand them a bit more.¡± She could still remember the shock she had received during her visit to Astral-10. Xia Luo, Darkvoid, Silver, and Lu Yin were all extraordinarily talented.

    Frankfurt considered her question for a bit before letting out a wry chuckle. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about them, but I do know that the students there have some backers. The Daynight n, the Mavis family, Windrift Hall, and various other organizations. Oh, and also, there are some who rely on the Lockbreaker Society for protection as well.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Liu Ji asked, eager to find out. The first people she thought of were Xia Luo and Lu Yin. Both of these two were Lockbreakers.

    ¡°I think that his name is Lu Yin,¡± Frankfurt said as a cold glint shed across his eyes. He was not unfamiliar with the name. To appease Jared, Frankfurt had been tasked with killing Lu Yin. And after the students of the ze Realm spread the news of him defeating Lu Yin, the two of them had be irreconcble enemies. Not that it mattered¡ªLu Yin was just some random student from the Outerverse.

    Liu Ji was not surprised by this news at all. Lu Yin had be a member of the Lockbreaker Society, so having them as a backer waspletely within her expectations. However, she was actually not aware that Lu Yin had not revealed his status as a Lockbreaker to the others. Frankfurt was also unaware that the Outerverse student that he had be enemies with was also a Lockbreaker with contributions.

    Two more days passed before Xia Luo woke at the trial zone mountain, leaving Lu Yin with only two days of the agreed upon five day period that he had with Michelle.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, Xia Luo was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Brother Xia, I need your help to snatch a training ground.¡±

    Xia Luo paused to think. ¡°Who else is involved?¡±

    ¡°Michelle, Silver, and Lulu are also joining me,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Xia Luo nodded his head. ¡°Alright then, when do we leave?¡±

    ¡°Right now. We will meet up around twenty kilometers north of the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Fathomless Pool,¡± Lu Yin said

    Xia Luo was just about to say something, but he was immediately interrupted by Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s there either.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled gently and then reentered the trial zone.

    Wherever there were people, there was always news, and where there was news, there would always be journalists. Wu Da was one such journalist. It had been his ambition since childhood to be the best journalist in the universe. To fulfill his dream, he had trained very hard and had finally managed to enter the Astral Combat Academy with his innate gift. Everything seemed to be going ording to n for him.

    However, after he entered the Astral Combat Academy, Wu Da had discovered that he was too naive. He wanted to report on the news, but what kind of news would there be in the Astral Combat Academy? There was no celebrity gossip or neglected periodicals; there were only constant battles between powerful figures. What was there to report on with these battles? The answer was nothing. Nobody wanted to let others know too much about them or their battle techniques, especially with the Astral Combat Tournament fast approaching. Wu Da thus felt miserable, as if his dreams had all been dashed away. He even reported on two battles in great detail once. After that¡­ he had been pursued by assassins for a month.

    However, Wu Da did not give up and he had even established the Astral Academy Journal in order to fulfill his dreams. Even though he was currently the only staff member, he refused to give up.

    Since he could not report current events, Wu Da decided to focus his attention on the trial zone, which also had many battles going on. Besides, so what if people tried to kill him there? He had no fear of such a death and his only regret would be if he was unable to record the battle. Unfortunately, no devices could be taken into the trial zones, but Wu Da wasn¡¯t concerned about such limitations. He had great confidence in his ability to urately describe a battle with only a few words while allowing his readers an in depth look into a battle.

    On this day, Wu Da decided to go to the Dao of Purgatory, but his mind was still ruminating over the article that he had recently published. The news regarding ckwater Lake was one that had garnered a lot of attention. More specifically, the news that Yue Xianzi had gained an inheritance had caused countless people to be rmed, which meant that the sales of the Astral Academy Journal had gone through the roof.

    Even though the people of Frostmoon Sect were after his life, he wasn¡¯t very concerned about that. More importantly, he had finally received some financial backing; a group ofworkpanies had extended an olive branch to him. To Wu Da, their financial support was secondary. What he cared about more was their recognition. He felt that he was mere inches away from realizing his dream of bing the universe¡¯s greatest paparazzi.

    He grew increasingly excited as he continued to think about it. Wu Da stood at the same spot and scanned the scenery intently. After mumbling to himself for a moment, he turned to sprint off in a specific direction. His journalistic intuition was saying that there was hot news to be found in that way.

    The Fathomless Pool seemed like an unremarkable pool, but the water inside was pitch ck. If it were not so far away from ckwater Lake, then many would have thought that the two were connected.

    Twenty kilometers north of the Fathomless Pool, Michelle and two others sat, resting calmly against a huge ck tree. In the distance were a group of wandering war spirits. Lu Yin was not aware of this, but the location that he had chosen at random was actually a gathering ground for war spirits.

    When Lu Yin appeared, he was surprised to see the roaming war spirits there.

    ¡°You picked a good spot,¡± Michelle said coldly.

    Lu Yin was slightly embarrassed. ¡°Keep your voices down! We want to keep a low profile. They are war spirits after all.¡±

    Michelle grunted, but did not speak.

    A few hourster, when Xia Luo arrived, he looked at the group of war spirits in astonishment. ¡°What a good ce for spirit hunters.¡±

    ¡°It is unlikely that any spirit hunters would dare to do anything here,¡± Lulu said.

    Xia Luo shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t understand the longing the spirit hunters have for war spirits. These war spirits must have only started to gather here very recently, otherwise, they would already have be a target for the spirit hunters.¡±

    ¡°Why do spirit hunters hunt these war spirits?¡± Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    ¡°I do not know either. It¡¯s said that they hunt war spirits as a tradition that has been practised for ages,¡± Xia Luo responded.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s head to the Fathomless Pool. We have no time to waste,¡± Michelle said as she started walking toward the Fathomless Pool.

    With their speed, they reached their destination very quickly.

    The Fathomless Pool was within a secluded valley, and it had been initially discovered purely by coincidence. At this time, there was only one man inside the pool: Uro. He was one of only three Area Masters from Astral-6.

    The Dao of Purgatory¡¯s training grounds were Spear Mountain, ckwater Lake, Fathomless Pool, Whitebones Gorge, and the Sky tform. Four out of the five training grounds were upied by Astral-6, and only ckwater Lake had been snatched away by the Frostmoon Sect.

    The number of Area Master-levelbatants in each training ground was around the same, but that was only because there were not that many training grounds to begin with. This was also the main reason why Lu Yin had decided to snatch the Fathomless Pool. Snatching a training ground would likely escte to war against the powerful figures from the academy that used to own the training ground, and in severe cases, Realm Masters could even get involved. The only exception to this was the Dao of Purgatory. This was because Lu Yin, like the Realm Master, Dao Bo, was a Lockbreaker.

    ¡°Attack,¡± Lu Yin growled lowly before immediately charging viciously at the Fathomless Pool without giving any indication that he was about to attack. This was a trial zone where only the strongest survived, and there were no rules to speak of.

    A few meters away from the Fathomless Pool, a half naked man with messy hair suddenly looked into the direction of Lu Yin and his cohort. When he saw Lu Yin rush at him with the intent to attack, his gaze turned icy. ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re messing with.¡± As he spoke, he stretched out his right palm, causing translucent streams of air to circte around his body. Soon, visible currents enveloped his entire body like tattoos. This was his battle force.

    Lu Yin raised his palms into the air, activating the Skybeast w technique. A bestial roar caused the void to tremble as the Ny Sixth form of Skybeast w swept down upon Uro.

    With a loud bang, the Skybeast w was easily shattered as Uro swiped at Lu Yin. The Area Master¡¯s star energy then soared out from his palm as it transformed into a scorching wave of mes. The high temperature instantly scorched the ground ck as it radiated in all directions.

    Lu Yin took a step back as a silver shadow slid past him. Silver¡¯s butterfly knife shed and the star energy mes from Uro¡¯s palm rushed towards the knife, attempting to deflect it, but they were unable to do so. A look of astonishment shot through Uro¡¯s eyes and he forcefully changed the direction of his palm strike, pping the ground. At the same time, his battle force surged and forced Silver to retreat.

    From above Uro¡¯s head, Lulu released a loud yell as she pounded down with a heavy fist.

    Uro narrowed his eyes and evaded her attack, causing her to strike the ground. But then, starting from Lulu¡¯s fist, the entire valley split in half, visibly shocking Uro.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡± Lulu cried out. She snapped out with her leg, revealing a slender calf that carried a tremendous strength within it. While her leg looked deceptively fragile, Uro didn¡¯t dare to underestimate the girl¡¯s physique after just witnessing the strength of her fist. He lifted his leg to counter her kick. Since both legs were charged with battle force, a violent explosion rang out, nearly deafening everyone¡¯s ears.

    Uro and Lulu both retreated at the same time.

    Uro was shocked by how powerful these strange people who had just appeared out of nowhere were. They all had the strength to rival an Area Master. Could it be that another academy is trying to snatch this training ground in the Dao of Purgatory away?

    After receiving the diligent instruction of Astral-10¡¯s few mentors over the past four months, all of the students had seen their abilities rise meteorically. They were no longer the green, inexperienced novices that they had been before. Even Lu Yin was stunned by his fellow students¡¯ improvements as their natural talents that already allowed them to fight those above their levels had been amplified even further.

    It could be said that the gains that Astral-10¡¯s students had made over the past few months equaled what students from the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy would need several years to attain. After all, the other academies did not have dedicated mentors who would personally instruct the students. Being admitted to Astral-10 had indeed been an exceptional bit of good luck for them.

    ¡°Who the hell are you people?!¡± Uro cried out in confusion. Just as he finished speaking, however, a numb feeling crept across his back and he hurriedly dodged to the side. A red lotus arrow pierced the ground, causing him to squint into the distance to see who had shot it. Was that Senior Red Lotus Witchbow Mira just now? No, if it was Senior Mira, then I would¡¯ve died by now. That woman must be Mira¡¯s younger sister, Michelle. That means that this group of troublemakers is from Astral-10.

 Chapter 184: Battling Against an Area Master

    <h4>Chapter 184: Battling Against an Area Master</h4>

    Lu Yin appeared in front of Uro with a sh. ¡°Sorry, but please give up the Fathomless Pool to us.¡± He then pped out with a palm that had stars revolving around it and battle force flowing over it. Uro¡¯s gaze changed sharply as he blocked the attack with both arms. There was another loud bang, and his body was hurled against the mountain wall, causing him to barrel straight through it before finally mming heavily into the ground. Uro pushed himself to his feet even as an intense spike of pain shot through his shoulder.

    He was infuriated and gritted his teeth in rage. A battle force user! How does Astral-10 have so many talents?

    Suddenly, a shadow flitted above him as another palm pressed down upon him. It was Xia Luo¡¯s turn.

    Uro growled and raised his palm to use a battle technique of the ze Realm¡ªthe Heavenly Sea of mes. He used mesposed of star energy to engulf Xia Luo and the area a thousand meters around him in a sea of fire, as if he wanted to burn the entire valley down. Uro had targeted Xia Luo with his attack, but as his palm neared Xia Luo, his star energy was inexplicably dissolved.

    If he were from another academy, then Uro would have been stumped as to what had happened. But he was a student of Astral-6, which was home to nearly all of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Lockbreakers. He was familiar with this scene, as this was how a Lockbreaker dissolved star energy. So these challengers even had a Lockbreaker among their ranks.

    Uro was once again forced underground.

    The five continuously attacked this peak Limiteer with a never ending barrage of attacks. Even if they were surpassing realms to challenge him, any Area Master would find it difficult to deal with this onught of attacks. In some sense, it was very impressive that Uro had not already perished.

    Lu Yin and his group stood silently as they all looked at the hole in the ground. Uro had a strange biological innate gift, and they had just felt him activate this power.

    Uro¡¯s Huan Qi manifested into a mutant beast with red fur that looked simr to a fox. Its body was covered with licks of mes, and it also had a third eye on its forehead. Extremely high temperatures radiated from its body, and it was clearly very powerful.

    There was a piercing cry as the earth split asunder and mes leapt up from within the cracks. Uro¡¯s hair was even more dishevelled than before as he rushed up to the surface with a sinister look on his face. His huan qi formed a phantom behind him.

    ¡°You Astral-10 trash! I¡¯ll ughter all of you!¡± he cried as his one line of battle force became even more distinct around him. He then ferociously charged at Lu Yin since he could tell that Lu Yin was the person who wanted to snatch the training ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision shook, but he still countered with his Cosmic Palm that had nine revolving stars and his battle force winding around it. He shed head-on against Uro. When their battle forces collided, a shock wave rippled across the earth and traveled far into the horizon, shredding the ck ground wherever it went.

    Wu Da stared at the scene before him in shock, even though he was more than ten kilometers away from the center of the battle. A crack had appeared below him, and he was excited at the prospect of reporting on a huge battle, so he immediately charged over.

    Bang!

    The earth copsed, and Lu Yin was forced underground along with Uro. Lu Yin¡¯s battle force was inferior to Uro¡¯s by one level, but his Cosmic Palm made up for that difference and more. In the end, Lu Yin¡¯s attack was actually stronger than Uro¡¯s.

    Uro¡¯s organs shuddered as he forcefully endured the force of Lu Yin¡¯s attack. His eyes grew serious as, behind him, the third eye of the huan qi phantom closely followed Lu Yin¡¯s figure. Lu Yin felt threatened by the huan qi and tried to escape with sh, but Uro grabbed onto him, refusing to let go.

    Just as the huan qi phantom shot out a red beam of light at Lu Yin, Silver¡¯s butterfly knife flickered again, sending a brilliant white attack at Uro. He didn¡¯t target Uro directly and instead aimed towards the red beam, slicing at it and causing its trajectory to deviate by several inches. It swept past Lu Yin¡¯s forehead and into the ground, causing the ck earth to directly melt away.

    Uro was furious that his attack had been interrupted and sent a palm strike towards Silver.

    Another red lotus arrow was fired at Uro from behind. Its scope of attack was aimed not only at the Area Master, but also Silver. Silver did not retreat, but rather endured Uro¡¯s palm while he held onto him tightly. He smiled faintly as he whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s die together.¡±

    Uro¡¯s pupils shrank. What a lunatic.

    The huan qi phantom behind him turned its head so that its third eye¡¯s red beam of light shone upon the red lotus arrow, melting it. Uro then kicked Silver away, but at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s palm smashed into Uro¡¯s abdomen. Lu Yin¡¯s battle force was blocked by Uro¡¯s battle force, but the explosion of the nine stars revolving around the palm heavily injured Uro.

    Uro¡¯s body was sent flying once again. This time, he spat out a mouth of blood in midair before crashing onto the ground.

    Xia Luo and Lulu simultaneously appeared at Uro¡¯s side and attacked with all their might. Uro¡¯s mouth was filled with blood again, and he growled angrily. The phantom image made from huan qi exploded behind him, causing an extremely high temperature bubble to distort the space around him and show signs of cracking, forcing Xia Luo and Lulu to retreat. Uro quickly absorbed this extreme heat as his body burst into mes. He raised his hands into the air and condensed a fireball that melted the ground away.

    Wu Da had just arrived and was shocked by the scene. He easily recognized Uro, the Fathomless Pool¡¯s Area Master and someone who ranked within Astral-6¡¯s top five students, and yet, he was being beaten this badly.

    ¡°You all are not qualified to kill me,¡± Uro howled as he flung the fireball in his hands towards Xia Luo and Lulu.

    The fireball condensed by Uro¡¯s innate gift had reached an extremely high temperature, and it even scorched the void as it flew forth, causing cracks to appear in its wake as all the water in the air evaporated away. This was Uro¡¯s full powered strike, and there were even some traces of battle force twisting around the fireball,pressing its power even further. Only someone who was truly at the level of an Area Master could withstand this attack.

    Wu Da was shocked to witness an Area Master¡¯s full force attack.

    Xia Luo expression turned grave as he jumped up to face the fireball with a palm. His arm seemed to move randomly, but his actions immediately slowed down the fireball a great deal. At the same time, he disintegrated the battle force revolving around the fireball while he himself was forced backwards several hundred meters by the fireball. But by ceding this distance, the fireball shrank substantially.

    Uro was stunned as even a normal Lockbreaker could not disintegrate his attack that easily. This person was definitely not normal. Is he really from Astral-10?

    A green figure shed past Xia Luo as Lulu appeared in front of Uro. She then raised her leg up and mmed it down fiercely in an axe kick.

    Uro had depleted most of his strength and battle force in his previous attack. His reaction speed was also dyed, and he couldn¡¯t dodge Lulu¡¯s kick, which left him with no choice but to raise both of his arms in an effort to defend.

    With a bang, the fissure in the ground widened again. Uro was sent even deeper underground as the surrounding valley shattered.

    Wu Da was nearly buried alive by the attack, but he still stared excitedly at the scene. A battle at the Area Master¡¯s level was rarely seen, and yet, he had managed to observe the contest over ckwater Lake¡¯s Area Master title, not to mention this battle now.

    The moment that Uro was pushed into the ground again, Silver reappeared near him, and his butterfly knife shed radiantly as he crossed by Uro¡¯s body, causing a trace of blood to appear around his neck. This de had not been excessively fast, and Uro had seen it, but he was still unable to defend against it for whatever reason. Silver hadpletely seen through Uro¡¯s weaknesses. At the same time as when Silver attacked, a beastly howl traveled through the void as a Skybeast w pressed down upon him while a red lotus arrow shot from the distance sted the ground, causing the entire area to tremble.

    By this point, Xia Luo hadpletely dissolved Uro¡¯s full strength fireball after retreating 300 meters.

    The battleground fell silent as they all looked underground and inhaled in unison. Uro could not have survived thatstbination attack, even if he was an Area Master.

    Even though they were all only Melders, every one of them could challenge cultivators above their rank, and it was not a normal sort of bypassing ranks. They were all crazy geniuses, and while they may not individually be an Area Master¡¯s match, theirbined force could not be underestimated.

    The Sandmaster had once said that Astral-10 had recruited a batch of true geniuses who would fare excellently even in other academies.

    At this point, in a sunken area somewhere on Astral-6¡¯s trial zone mountain, Uro opened his eyes, his eyes bloodshot with rage. In a frenzy, he howled, ¡°Astral-10, Astral-10¡­¡±

    Uro¡¯s cries shocked many on the trial zone mountain as they looked up.

    There were unwritten rules for the trial zone mountain; the stronger one was, the higher they could go. Only the strong could climb above the rest.

    Uro was one of the strongest students in Astral-6, and he was actually second only to the Realm Master. He ranked among the top five in Astral-6, and thus, his position on the mountain was naturally among the highest.

    Not far below Uro, Gus rolled his eyes; such an insane reaction had startled him. He once again calcted how much time had passed and happily noted that he would be able to reenter in a little while. He had been unlucky and had actually died during the chaotic battle at ckwater Lake.

    In the valley surrounding the Fathomless Pool, all of Astral-10 students confirmed Uro¡¯s death. Lu Yin could finally rx. Fortunately, he had been smart enough to gather all these people together as, in the end, he had not needed to do too much in this assault. If he had recruited students like Schutz and Coco, then he would have had to be the primary attacking force himself.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what¡¯s next now we¡¯ve snatched the Fathomless Pool? Uro won¡¯t ept this lying down,¡± Xia Luo said with a normal expression. He gave off the impression that he hadn¡¯t used much of his strength during the battle against Uro.

    The rest also turned to look at Lu Yin.

    In general, snatching a training ground had to be done as an individual, and it was rare for students to band together to do such a thing. Even if an Area Master was defeated, they could return any time for revenge. Even if a group snatched a training ground, they would not be able to stay together forever, rendering their aplishment meaningless.

    Lu Yin shrugged aimlessly. ¡°Old Cai¡¯s mission was just for me to snatch it. He never said that we had to defend it. If Uro returns, then we can just give it back.¡±

    Silver grinned. ¡°Then all of our efforts would go down the drain.¡±

    Lulu snorted before dering, ¡°There¡¯s no logic in giving away what belongs to me.¡±

    Michelle didn¡¯t speak, but her attitude was obvious; she also had no intention of returning the training ground.

    These few were proud elites. Since they had snatched this ce, it would be embarrassing if they meekly returned it afterwards.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s like this, then the only way is to leave some people here to guard the Fathomless Pool. Who¡¯s willing?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°I can, since I wanted toprehend battle force anyways. It¡¯s very useful.¡±

    Lulu held her head high. ¡°I¡¯ll stay. The Fathomless Pool is suitable for me as well.¡±

    Silver smiled. ¡°I can stay too.¡±

    Michelle looked at Lu Yin and merely said, ¡°Honor your deal.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go report to Old Cai and whoever wishes to stay, can. This is now our territory,¡± Lu Yin simply said as he waved his hands before exiting the Dao of Purgatory.

    Michelle immediately left as well.

    Xia Luo and the rest looked at each other before walking towards the Fathomless Pool that now belonged to Astral-10.

    In the distance, Wu Da was excited beyond belief. He constantly muttered words under his breath, as if he was reciting and repeating the quotes that he was about to publish. He made sure to memorize everything down to the letter, as the results of this battle for the Fathomless Pool would definitely cause a stir. These people even hailed from Astral-10, and now it was time to check out their backgrounds.

    In the treasury of Astral-10, Old Cai raised his brows. ¡°You snatched the Fathomless Pool?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Old Cai grunted. ¡°Good, it looks like you¡¯vepleted the mission.¡± He then stared at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Brat, do you know why we gave you this mission?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°The Astral Combat Tournament is not just about fighting. Besides determining the strongest students of the ten academies, it also serves to determine the rankings of the ten academies themselves.¡± Old Cai saw that Lu Yin did not understand and continued exining. ¡°The Astral Combat Academy is, at its foundation, still an academy. It¡¯s not just a fighting organization. The most important thing for an academy is education, and that epasses not just an individual, but rather the entire group. An academy¡¯s education can only be considered sessful if it produces a sufficient number of sesses.¡±

    Old Cai nodded. ¡°Of course. Even if you are publicly recognized as the strongest in the ten academies, you won¡¯t even be able to reach the final battle without the other students¡¯ help.¡±

    Lu Yin mulled over this new revtion.

 Chapter 185: The Geniuses Of Astral-10

    <h4>Chapter 185: The Geniuses Of Astral-10</h4>

    ¡°The Astral Combat Tournament is divided into four rounds. First, every academy will designate one of their students as a seed individual, who will directly enter the fourth round. This is also when the lots are drawn.

    ¡°The first round is called Three Academies Guarding the Gate. Three academies are chosen at random and each one will send one participant to guard a region. Competitors from the other academies will then go on the offensive and try to break into the guarded region, though they are barred from using any battle techniques or innate gifts. As long as the attacking students can break into the guarded area, they move to the next round. If more than half of the participatingpetitors break through, the three guarding academies will be judged as to have failed and will drop out of the tournament.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Old Cai paused before continuing, saying, ¡°The second round is called Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door¡ªit is also known as Sounding the Battle Drums. The battle drums represent the origins of the Astral Combat Tournament, and every academy will station someone at the drums. After all of an academy¡¯s participants arrive from the first round, the stationed student must sessfully beat their drum. Those who cannot make any sounds will be judged to have failed, and their academy will be kicked out.

    ¡°The third round is known as Tribute to the Ancestors. Like the previous one, every academy must station one student for the third round. Once the first two rounds have concluded, the students stationed at the third round must light incense sticks and pay tribute to the ancestors of the ten academies. Those who cannot light their sticks will be judged to have failed, and their academy will be knocked out.

    ¡°As for the fourth round, it consists of drawing lots and deciding the strongest of the academies.¡±

    ¡°The battle drum and incense stick rounds must not be as simple as they sound, right?¡±

    Old Caiughed strangely. ¡°Of course not. The battle drums are made from the leather of giant astral beasts. To beat one and make a sound is no simple task. One needs to have at leastprehended battle force. Otherwise, the drum will not make a single sound.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What about the incense?¡±

    ¡°The same idea goes. Those who have not reached a certain level of strength will not be able to even touch one.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Between the seeded individual, the one to break through the three academies, the one to knock on the dragon door, and the one to pay tribute to the forebearers, every academy will be, at the least, short their three strongest individuals while three academies will be short four.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one way of understanding it, which is why we gave you the mission of snatching a training ground. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t even know who¡¯s capable of what. If that were the case, how would you evenpete in the Astral Combat Tournament?¡± Old Cai admonished as he rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin silently calcted their chances and concluded that Astral-10¡¯s current formation was enough. ¡°Old Cai, what should I do now?¡±

    ¡°Conceal your strength and bide your time. Don¡¯t let others see through you before the Astral Combat Tournament begins, and always activate your battle force without letting others perceive it.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding. He could revolve his battle force around his body and then constrict it so that it would not show through his clothes, preventing others from sensing it. But maintaining it in this form was very tiring.

    Michelle was waiting not too far from the treasury when he exited.

    ¡°Do you want me to help youprehend battle force now?¡±

    She muttered, ¡°Give me a month. I¡¯ll see you at the Sand Ocean then.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lu Yin readily agreed as one month was enough time for him to earn some star crystals, and he had not rolled his die for a while now. Without enough money, it would just be a waste if he rolled Possession, so he needed to gather at least 100,000 crystals. Possession could allow him to fundamentally transform himself, so he should do his best to not waste it.

    The next day, some shocking news rocked the Astral Combat Academy. The Fathomless Pool in the Dao of Purgatory had been snatched away by Astral-10¡¯s students.

    This news was published by the Astral Academy Journal with the headline, ¡°Astral-10¡¯s Resurgence to Glory: Snatching the Fathomless Pool!¡±

    This article vividly described the battle between Uro and Astral-10 students. The editor, Wu Da, had penned down a lively battle scene with his seasoned experience and his flowing words made the readers feel as if they had witnessed the battle themselves. More importantly, the introductions of Astral-10 students shocked many others from the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Xia Luo is a new student of Astral-10¡¯s. As a newly minted Lockbreaker, this rising star easily dissolved a full force blow from Area Master Uro and yed a pivotal role in Uro¡¯s defeat. This author believes that, without Xia Luo, victory would not have been secured that easily. He dealt the decisive blow to Uro and received Uro¡¯s most formidable attack as well. His power can rival an Area Master, and more importantly, he is still just a Melder, a superb genius buried in Astral-10.

    Silver, is another new student of Astral-10¡¯s. He is a smiling killer with a deceptive butterfly knife that injured Uro multiple times and cut off all paths of escape. His final sh beheaded Uro and his smile provokes the fear of death in his enemies. His de can rip through the void and it¡¯s impossible to know when or how he will attack. This author believes that he has obtained the strength of a domain. He was the student who limited Uro¡¯s attacks and prevented him from freely attacking. He is also a Melder, another superb genius left disregarded in Astral-10.

    Lulu Mavis is a female genius of the Mavis family who inherited the terrifying innate gift of the Mavis family. Every strike of hers can shatter heaven and earth, and her beautiful and delicate appearance belies the strength of a deity. Her strikes could not be blocked by Uro, and she even beat Uro into the ground multiple times. And that¡¯s not even mentioning the fact that she drilled a hole through a mountain in a single blow! Her participation made Uro helpless, and even more terrifying, her mastery of battle force makes her iparably powerful. She is also just a Melder, another superb genius of Astral-10.

    Michelle, AKA the Red Lotus Witch. She needs no introduction as she is the younger sister of the Red Lotus Witchbow, Senior Mira. She has a charming appearance but an icy cold heart. An exception was made for this female genius, allowing her to join the Ten Arbiters Council as a Melder. Additionally, her red lotus arrows can prate the void. That,bined with her ability to precisely calcte every one of Uro¡¯s steps, allowed her to deliver Uro a final, decisive blow. She¡¯s the goddess in this author¡¯s heart with her perfect looks, and it¡¯s worth mentioning that she¡¯s also a Melder. Astral-10 has concealed too many geniuses. What a pity.

    Lu Yin, the supposed student leader of Astral-10 who is well known for defeating Hart Phoenix, a strong individual on the ze Realm Rankings. He also is known to have taken liberties with Xi Yue. His power¡¯s not bad, but he did not exhibit any decisive or remarkable strength in the battle against Uro. This author believes that Astral-10 is just using him as a smokescreen to conceal the other existences. If his performance in the battle with Uro is used as a benchmark, then this person may not even be within the top fivebatants of Astral-10. Of course, his power is not too bad, and he can definitelypete against the average students from the other academies. However, his battle results were too different from his reputation, so this author believes that the results from before need to be reevaluated.

    These were Wu Da¡¯s introductions of Astral-10 students in the academy¡¯s tabloid in an article describing the battle at the Fathomless Pool. These wordspletely elevated Astral-10¡¯s reputation and exposed Xia Luo, Silver, Lulu, and Michelle¡¯s abilities to the entire Astral Combat Academy. Of course, Wu Da had long since learned that he should not describe anyone¡¯s unique battle characteristics in detail, but his vivid description of the battle was very interesting in and of itself, and many students viewed the article like aic.

    It was a pity that Wu Da had only appeared when the battle was about to end and thus had to fabricate the first half of the battle. This also meant that he had not seen Lu Yin¡¯s exchange with Uro. There was some exaggeration in Xia Luo and the rest¡¯s introduction, but this was not important as his tabloid had finally be popr.

    Be it celebrity gossip or battle news, there would always be high and low-rankings. For example, Xia Luo and most of the other Astral-10 students had been elevated by Wu Da, but Lu Yin was the sole person to be denounced. The point of the story was to be as eye-grabbing as possible. And Wu Da really did not think that Lu Yin was strong to merit a detailed investigation. His Skybeast w technique had not been shocking, and Wu Da did not believe that his observations were wrong; Lu Yin had obviously been used by Astral-10 to mislead the other academies. How could anyone from Astral-10 possibly suppress the terrifying Xia Luo and the other strong individuals that Wu Da had observed?

    In Astral-2, Liu Tang looked at the report with some interest. ¡°Not bad! Astral-10 defeated Uro, even though they had to join forces to do so. They¡¯re all Melders and can be considered to have some power. But I thought that this Lu Yin was also a genius Lockbreaker! Didn¡¯t she say that? Why didn¡¯t they mention his identity as a Lockbreaker?¡±

    In Astral-6, Charonughed delightedly. He couldn¡¯t personally do anything to Lu Yin, so he felt ecstatic when he saw how the article belittled Lu Yin. ¡°Very good! This tabloid has great potential.¡±

    Liu Ji, meanwhile, frowned when she finished reading through the article. She only recognized Xia Luo and Silver from the report, and their appraisals seemed to be rather on point. But the introduction for Lu Yin seemed way off the mark, though she had never expected this brat to actually be Astral-10¡¯s leader. Why did they not report that he¡¯s a Lockbreaker? And he¡¯s a one star Junior Lockbreaker at that. This writer must be rather irresponsible.

    Liu Ji hadn¡¯t been able to properly assess Lu Yin¡¯s strength. To her, it was entirely possible that Astral-10 might really be using him to mislead the other academies. Her impression of Astral-10¡¯s true terrors were the smiling Silver and that ck-haired male.

    In Astral-8, Craynor firmly closed the newspaper. This idiot Wu Da better not show himself in front of me if he knows what¡¯s good for himself. He dared to state that Lu Yin¡¯s battle history should not be believed, but Craynor himself had been crushed by Lu Yin. That person¡¯s power was definitely not as simple as this article made it out to be.

    In Astral-10, Big Pao, Little Pao, and the others had also seen the article and were delighted to see that Astral-10¡¯s fame was taking a step back towards what it used to be.

    Michelle knotted her brows since she did not think that someone would have been spying on them. Moreover, Lu Yin¡¯s power had been severely underreported. If he hadn¡¯t depleted Uro¡¯s battle force at the very beginning, the battle would not have gone that smoothly. Uro¡¯s first severe injury had been caused by Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had not been injured despite the chaotic battle. His power could not even be measured, to the point where he could have conceivably defeated Uro by himself. And yet, he had been libeled harshly. Did that paparazzi not see the first half of the battle at all?

    At the same moment, Uro was in a horrid mood. The article¡¯s description had basically made him out to be the viin. He vowed that he would kill this scoundrel, Wu Da.

    He nced through the newspaper again before he finally focused in on Lu Yin¡¯s introduction. Others might not be aware of Lu Yin¡¯s true strength, but Uro knew full well how much trouble this person had brought him. His battle force powered blows had not harmed this person even when he used all of his battle force, and Lu Yin possessed battle force himself and a very sturdy physical body on top of that. The palm that had severely injured Uro was etched deeply in his memory. He could not stand it; this Wu Da was truly blind.

    Uro closed the newspaper and focused on plotting out his revenge. He wanted to snatch the Fathomless Pool back, so he ignored his splitting headache and reentered the trial zone.

    While many of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students were discussing this article, Lu Yin left Astral-10 and appeared in outer space. When he saw the article, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from bursting intoughter. He had wanted to pass the time smoothly, and Wu Da¡¯s article would tremendously help him with this. Even if Astral-10 announced that Lu Yin had won the position of student leader with his own power, no one would believe it!

    However, the evaluation of Xia Luo and the rest was also rather urate. Wu Da had thought that he had exaggerated their introductions, but conversely, Lu Yin felt that their introductions were still underestimating them. He had a feeling that Xia Luo and Silver were both still hiding various trump cards. At the very least, Lu Yin had never seen them use their specialized battle techniques.

 Chapter 186: Challenging A Realm Master

    <h4>Chapter 186: Challenging A Realm Master</h4>

    In the Dao of Purgatory, near the Fathomless Pool, Uro appeared, nning on secretly attacking whoever was there.

    Due to the recently published news article, many students were now paying attention to this area. If he was discovered, then he would immediately attract unwanted attention. Obviously, he did not want arge crowd following behind him when he went to snatch the Fathomless Pool back.

    Currently, Xia Luo and Silver were standing near the Fathomless Pool while Lulu was already submerged within its depths.

    A chill shed through Uro¡¯s eyes when he saw the duo. They were not easy to deal with, and even though his battle against the five Astral-10 students had been exaggerated by Wu Da, it wasn¡¯t by much. These two were truly strong, and after Uro contemted the situation some more, he left the Dao of Purgatory to look for Frankfurt.

    ¡°You need my help?¡± Frankfurt was shocked.

    Uro¡¯s face sank. ¡°If those Astral-10 students join forces, I can¡¯t do it myself.¡±

    Frankfurtughed before saying, ¡°I guess it won¡¯t be easy then. Was the report true? Did those Melders really beat you to a pulp?¡±

    Uro¡¯s expression turned gloomy as he replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be frank, they aren¡¯t my match individually, but together, they¡¯d kill you too.¡±

    Frankfurt was arrogant and of the few Area Masters from Astral-6. In his mind, he believed that Uro was at the bottom, ranking wise, followed by Charon. Frankfurt personally saw himself as second only to Astral-6¡¯s Realm Master, Dao Bo.

    ¡°There¡¯ll naturally be a reward if you help me, so just make your decision,¡± Uro impatiently urged.

    Frankfurt sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t want to create internal strife within Astral-6.¡±

    Uro was infuriated. ¡°What do you mean?!¡±

    Frankfurt looked at Uro as he said, ¡°You must have heard that, among the five that attacked you, one is named Lu Yin. Charon is backing him, so if I attack, Charon won¡¯t simply watch from the sidelines.¡±

    Uro was shocked as he really did not know about this since he had been cultivating non stop in the Fathomless Pool previously. ¡°Why is Charon helping him?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. You could invite Jared¡ªdon¡¯t you have a good rtionship with the ze Realm? Your battle technique evenes from there.¡±

    Uro left without answering since Frankfurt evidently did not wish to lend a helping hand; there was no need for him to continue pleading. Did he really need to resort to asking the ze Realm? His rtionship with the ze Realm was indeed good, but it was a rtionship of equals. If he asked Jared to help for this matter, then it would be troublesome down the road.

    He thought about it some more before finally deciding to go to Jared for help. The Fathomless Pool was very important to him, and with the Astral Combat Tournament fast approaching, his foremost priority was to achieve a good ranking there and be known throughout the universe.

    Not long after, near the Sky tform in the Dao of Purgatory, Jared appeared where he had previously left the Dao of Purgatory. Aplicated gaze entered Jared¡¯s eyes as he stared at the distant Sky tform. He had initially wanted to fight for the Sky tform, but he had ultimately been rendered helpless in front of that freak, Dao Bo.

    Whoever upied Sky tform would be the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master. Jared was not satisfied with merely being an Area Master; his true goal was to be a Realm Master. However, regardless of whether it was the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Dao Bo or the Dao of Illusion¡¯s Feng Shang, their power was beyond hisprehension. Currently, he could only stare at the distant Sky tform.

    ¡°Sooner orter, I will be the Realm Master,¡± Jared determinedly muttered before gazing into the distance onest time. He lifted his feet and headed towards the Fathomless Pool. He had agreed to Uro¡¯s request and hade to help him teach those Astral-10 people a lesson.

    He had initially wanted to smother the students of Astral-10 because of Lu Yin, but each one¡¯s background was even more intimidating than the next, forcing him to personally take action¡ªthe ze Realm was not timid.

    Suddenly, Jared stopped in his tracks when he noticed a person in front of him. A man was leaning on a ck tree trunk, looking at him with a smile. Jared¡¯s eyes zed as he instinctively clenched his fists, but he then unclenched them and lowered his hands. ¡°Realm Master Dao Bo.¡±

    The person before him was Astral-6¡¯s strongest student as well as a member of the Astral Academy Council¡ªthe Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master, Dao Bo. He was a widely epted genius of the Lockbreaker Society, one who greatly surpassed Charon, and a freak who had defeated Mira once, before she broke through and became an Explorer.

    Dao Bo had silvery-grey hair and an ordinary appearance. A cursory nce at him would not attract anyone¡¯s attention, but this was the same person who had beaten all of Astral-6¡¯s students into submission until no one even dared to think about rebelling. One look at him now left Jared involuntarily trembling with fear; this person was a real freak. Dao Bo could obviously break through and be an Explorer and graduate from the Astral Combat Academy, but he chose not to. Many of the Realm Masters in the Astral Combat Academy were the same. Only few people could cause Jared to feel despair, and normally, he would not have stepped into the Dao of Purgatory unless it was absolutely essential.

    ¡°Long time no see, Jared.¡± Dao Bo continued to lean on the tree trunk with a smile as he stared at Jared. Despite his seemingly harmless appearance, Jared only saw a monster who could kill him on a whim.

    ¡°Realm Master Dao Bo, long time no see,¡± Jared hoarsely replied.

    Dao Bo¡¯s smile didn¡¯t change in the slightest. ¡°Why are you in the Dao of Purgatory?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m helping out a friend.¡±

    ¡°Uro?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Jared did not dare to lie.

    ¡°Go back. There¡¯s nowhere left for you here,¡± Dao Bo said in an overbearing manner.

    ¡°Under the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s rules, everyone is qualified to step into any trial zone they wish without being suppressed by the Realm Master¡¯s jurisdiction. Realm Master Dao Bo, I have the right to step into the Dao of Purgatory.¡±

    ¡°Of course, rules are rules. You can enter... but I can also kill you.¡±

    Upon hearing those words, Jared¡¯s pupils shrank, and he clenched his fists while staring directly at Dao Bo¡¯s face. However, Dao Bo couldn''t care any less as killing any Area Master was a trivial matter to him.

    After a while, Jared lost his courage. ¡°I got it. As long as Realm Master Dao Bo is in the Dao of Purgatory, I will not return.¡± He then exited the Dao of Purgatory.

    Dao Bo continued smiling, though his gaze had long since turned cold. ¡°Trash. How foolish to even think that you can bully the people of my society.¡±

    When Jared exited the Dao of Purgatory, a shocking event jolted the rest of the Astral Combat Academy. The impact of this event far surpassed that of Lu Yin and the rest snatching the Fathomless Pool.

    Astral-10¡¯s Big Pao and Little Pao hadbined forces to challenge the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master.

    Realm Masters were individuals who could look down upon everyone else in the Astral Combat Academy. Even a genius of the ze Realm like Jared could only avoid Realm Masters; they had no hope ofpeting against them at all. Every Realm Master was created from a bloody process that included the massacre of multiple geniuses of their generation, allowing them to truly disdain any and everything under them. Many looked up to them, and any Realm Master could break through to be an Explorer and be directly epted into the Ten Arbiters Council. They would have a certain level of authority even after they left the Astral Combat Academy. This was a Realm Master; an existence who could converse even with the Ten Arbiters.

    The Dao of Heaven had the Ocean of Death. Anything thatnded in the ocean would sink, and no one could walk across it. Even birds would find it hard to fly over it, and only extremely powerful beings could through it.

    On the opposite shores of the Ocean of Death, it was rumored that there was an ind buried under the bones of countless powerful individuals, as well as an ancient inheritance. But rumors were merely that, and no one had ever proved or disproved it as no one had ever crossed the ocean and stepped foot onto the ind. Even the Ten Arbiters avoided speaking about it after they crossed the Ocean of Death.

    The Ocean of Death was thergest training ground in the Dao of Heaven, and it was also where it¡¯s Realm Master resided.

    At this moment, dozens of people were gathered at the Ocean of Death¡¯s shore. They were all students who cultivated in the Dao of Heaven, and they were all staring at the seaside in shock, feeling like they were dreaming. In front of their very eyes, the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master was being suppressed.

    Boom!

    The coast shook again as Big Pao leaped into the air with a stern gaze, his demeanorpletely different from his usual self. He carried an ancient pike on his shoulder as he dashed along the coast. His pike shot out countless bullets that emitted steam and tore the void apart as they sped towards the coast. The rain of bullets caused the earth to shatter and the coast to lower as the water from the Ocean of Death flooded over.

    Little Pao simrly jumped up and raised his palm. The veins in his palm seemed to transform into ck mes that spread out from the center of his palm. It formed an enormous ck ze that suppressed everything as it mmed into the coast, leaving a giant ck palm imprint behind in the shoreline. This was Little Pao¡¯s battle technique¡ªthe ck zes Palm.

    The coast fell silent even as more and more students appeared and were stunned by the scene. The Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master was actually being suppressed, and by the widely epted trash of Astral-10 no less. It was rumored that these two had had such poor aptitudes that no other academies would ept them. But how could such talentless people possibly suppress a Realm Master?

    In the sky, Big Pao and Little Pao exchanged doubtful nces; would the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master really be suppressed by just this? Could it really be that easy? The Realm Masters were all freaks, and the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master was no exception. He hailed from one of the eightrge Flowzones of the Innerverse¡ªthe Beast Tamers Flowzone. His tamed beast was an Azure Dragon, and it had not even appeared yet.

    A strong gale blew through the battlefield and churned up waves in the Ocean of Death as it swirled around the coast.

    Everyone stared as a figure slowly rose up from within the waves. He bent his back and coughed several times, scattering the waves as he stood up. He revealed his coarse and powerful face before heughed at the heavens. He was the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master¡ªKuang Wang.

    ¡°Arrogant Kuang Wang.¡± This was a nickname that he would never deviate from, and one that he never even considered changing. He was the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master.

    ¡°I never understood why anyone would ever want to hide their powers. The two of you are obviously strong, so why did you hide it all the way until now?¡± Kuang Wang raised his head and stared at Big Pao and Little Pao with an excited gaze.

    Big Pao and Little Paonded beside the coast. ¡°It¡¯s our nature.¡±

    ¡°And so why have you exposed it now?¡± Kuang Wang was curious.

    Little Pao shrugged before answering, ¡°Our juniors have created such a stir¡ªhow could we seniors continue holding back? We want to show everyone that Astral-10 is not empty and that anyone who overreaches against us will be chopped up.¡±

    Little Pao¡¯s words caused an ugly expression to appear on one of the onlooker¡¯s face. He was from the ze Realm, which had be a great enemy of Astral-10¡¯s.

    ¡°Hahahaha,¡± Kuang Wangughed before replying, ¡°Well-spoken! Your words are to my liking. With such a magnificent attitude, I¡¯ll allow you to experience the difference between a Realm Master and the normal students like you today.¡± He raised up his arm as everyone stared at the tattoo on it. That was where cultivators from the Beast Tamers Flowzone sealed their tamed beast in their body, and it was where Kuang Wang had sealed his beast, the Azure Dragon.

    A resonant dragon-like roar shook the earth, dazing everyone present. Kuang Wang stood beside the coast as the tattoo on his arm gradually expanded until it became a hundred meters long Azure Dragon. The beast had appeared in an instant, and its majesty astonished everyone. With its appearance, even the space around them seemed to solidify slightly. The Azure Dragon seemed to be around the same size as a sylvan dragon, but there was no growth on its tail, and its entire body was colored silver-grey. It was also much more dominant and imposing than a sylvan dragon. This was the Azure Dragon.

    Many retreated, dumbfounded at the shocking scene. This Azure Dragon was a type of giant astral beast and was extremely powerful. It was not something that the average cultivator could handle. Even in the Beast Tamers Flowzone, only freaks from the Divine Grade Hall could tame such beasts, which of course, Kuang Wang was from.

 Chapter 187: Robbed

    <h4>Chapter 187: Robbed</h4>

    Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s expressions were iparably solemn. They had investigated Kuang Wang before this fight and naturally already knew about the Azure Dragon¡¯s existence. But when they actually met this enormous creature face to face, they could not stop themselves from being shocked.

    The Azure Dragon rose into the sky and settled into a coiled stance above the coast, its two massive eyes ring at Big Pao and Little Pao as it cast a massive shadow over the duo.

    Kuang Wang pointed his finger at them, causing the Azure Dragon to roar and smack its gigantic tail towards the two challengers. The onlookers went numb with terror and they all instinctively backed away, afraid of being smashed to pieces.

    Big Pao and Little Pao both dodged to the side as a giant crack formed along the coast before quickly being filled with the waters of the Ocean of Death. The Azure Dragon brandished its ws and the air visibly condensed into a terrifyingly sharp de that sliced towards the duo, tearing through the void as it did so. To the Azure Dragon¡¯s ws, the void was just like paper.

    Big Pao pointed his pike at the Azure Dragon and let loose. Countless bullets rained down upon the Azure Dragon¡¯s body, causing it to tremble. However, the dragon merely snarled and turned to face Big Pao¡¯s attack; its body waspletely undamaged.

    Kuang Wangughed as he proimed, ¡°Throughout the entire Astral Combat Academy, no more than twenty can hurt this Azure Dragon. This is what it means to be a Realm Master. Do you two understand now?¡±

    Big Pao was still determined to win and desperately attacked the Azure Dragon. The beast was infuriated by his attempts and pushed down with its ws, causing the entire coast to quake.

    Right at this moment, Little Pao appeared above Kuang Wang with a raised palm before smacking downwards with his ck zes Palm. This was the brothers¡¯ strategy; one would hinder the Azure Dragon while the other dealt with Kuang Wang.

    Of the nine Realm Masters, only Kuang Wang came from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. Cultivators from that flowzone typically concentrated most of their power in their tamed beasts¡¯ thus, as long as the beast could be stalled, defeating the opponent would be much easier. The Azure Dragon should contain the majority of Kuang Wang¡¯s strength, so Little Pao was confident that he could defeat the unaided Kuang Wang.

    At this point, the spectating students also understood the duo¡¯s strategy of one distracting the Azure Dragon while the other attacked Kuang Wang. These two from Astral-10 hade well prepared.

    More importantly, Little Pao had still been hiding his true strength throughout the course of the battle. This ck zes Palm was apanied by ck veined lines that flowed across his body. These lines were battle force, and two lines of battle force at that. His battle force had reached the same level as Frankfurt¡¯s.

    Boom!

    Little Pao¡¯s ck zes Palm knocked Kuang Wang to the bottom of the coast once more, and Little Pao charged downwards to follow up on his strike. He seemed intent on determining victory and defeat right then and there.

    ¡°Little Pao! Watch out!¡± Big Pao suddenly shouted.

    Little Pao¡¯s face suddenly twisted and he instinctively changed his offense stance into a defensive one as he blocked with both of his arms. In the next instance, his entire body was struck by an enormous force, and even his two lines of battle force were directly shattered. A crack could be heard from both of his arms, and his pupils shrank. Through the smoke, he could make out Kuang Wang¡¯s cold smile and the purple veins on his ck battle force. It was three lines of battle force.

    Little Pao had never expected that Kuang Wang would have actually cultivated his battle force to three lines¡ªin fact, no one in the entire Astral Combat Academy was aware of this. Little Pao was directly tossed into the Ocean of Death by the terrifying force. No one could survive in the Ocean of Death, and falling into it meant certain death.

    Big Pao¡¯s face paled, and he used the force from the Azure Dragon¡¯s ws to fly a hundred meters away before he turned around and stared at Kuang Wang in shock.

    It wasn¡¯t only Big Pao who was stunned but everyone. When had the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master achieved three lines of battle force?

    Kuang Wang slowly rose into the skies, his dazzling ck battle force with its purple lines striking fear into everyone. This was a Realm Master, a frightening existence that far surpassed an Area Master. He was a member of the Astral Academy Council and a genius who was qualified to meet with the Ten Arbiters.

    They did not know how strong the other Realm Masters were, but the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master made them acutely feel the difference in power between them all. An unbeatable Azure Dragon and a cultivator with three lines battle force; how could anyone defeat such a terrifyingbination?

    Big Pao and Little Pao were very strong in their own right, and they would be top-notch even among the Area Masters. But even though they had joined forces, they still could not defeat a Realm Master.

    Kuang Wang looked at Big Pao and marvelled, ¡°You guys are pretty good. I don¡¯t like hiding my strength, but it¡¯s a pity that Astral-5 has nothing but trash. No one there was able to force out my true strength, but you people from Astral-10 have seeded in doing so. Not bad at all.¡±

    Big Pao replied in agony, ¡°We¡¯ve long known that Realm Masters were all freaks, but no one ever knew to what extent. Is this the true extent of your strength?¡±

    Kuang Wangughed. ¡°Come find out for yourself if you can. You two are still too weak.¡± He then waved his hand, prompting the Azure Dragon to roar as it wed a hole through Big Pao¡¯s body.

    Now, Astral-10¡¯s Big Pao and Little Pao were both dead: they could not defeat a Realm Master. But no one belittled them for their attempt, as they had nheless forced the Realm Master¡¯s hand to a never before seen extent. Not many students in the Astral Combat Academy could do this. It was clear to everyone that even if two, three, or even four students at Uro¡¯s level worked together, they might still not be enough to force Kuang Wang to such an extent. These two ¡°pieces of trash¡± from Astral-10 could obviouslypete against the best of the Area Masters, and they had proved with their strength that Astral-10 still had talented fighters.

    The dark void of outer space was as entrancing as it always was, and the beautiful scenery was only enhanced by meteorites streaking through it. Lu Yin was holding onto the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, but he stored it away as he gazed at his surroundings.

    After leaving Astral-10, he enveloped his body with battle force and activated the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye as he observed the cosmos. He was using this time to cultivate his battle force and further improve his understanding of the stars. His ninth star had also be more distinct from before, and it had already stabilized. The universe that he currently perceived waspletely different from what others saw. He was confident that if he attempted to unlock something in this state, he would have a great chance of sess.

    Right now, he was headed to Darkmist Weave toplete a Lockbreaking mission there. He had a whole month of free time, and it would be ideal if he could improve his Lockbreaking abilities in this time.

    What shocked Lu Yin the most during the most recent group battle against Uro was Xia Luo¡¯s improvement. He had dissipated Uro¡¯s all-out attack, and his control over star energy far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s own. While it was rather unlikely for Xia Luo to alreadyprehend a domain, he should be quite close with how precise his control of star energy was. His natural talent was monstrously highpared to Lu Yin, who had to Possess Da Lei before his control over star energy had reached the realm of infinite changes. But despite Lu Yin¡¯s fortune, Xia Luo had still surpassed Lu Yin in the aspect of star energy control. His talent was truly terrifying, but Lu Yin still did not want to fall behind.

    There was a medium-sized spacecraft ahead of Lu Yin that was slowly ambling along. There were hundreds of people on the spacecraft, though most were Seekers carrying weapons. There were only a few Sentinels, Melders, and a single Limiteer aboard.

    ¡°Captain, there¡¯s a signaling from up ahead. There¡¯s a spacecraft approaching us at a fast speed,¡± a viinous-looking man excitedly reported as he leaned over the control panel in the control room.

    The middle-aged man, the ¡°captain,¡± had a fierce face. He held a machete in his hand and seemed to emanate a viinous aura. His eyes gleamed as he listened to the report. ¡°How fast?¡±

    ¡°At least seven to ten times faster than our spacecraft.¡±

    He was delighted by the anwer. ¡°Alright, make preparations to rob him. Seems like we¡¯vended upon a cash cow.¡±

    ¡°Yes, captain.¡±

    After the orders were given, the hundreds of people in the spacecraft began bustling about. They were a recently formed group of pirates which had not even conducted five pirating raids yet. Although they were not even close to being experienced pirates, their strength was not bad, and they at least had a Limiteer among their ranks.

    Generally, most small-scale interster pirates did not have any Limiteers, as only experienced,rge-scale groups would have any Limiteer pirates. Sometimes, such groups would even have Explorer level powerhouses. Thus, for an inexperienced pirate group, their strength was not too bad. Of course, because they were not experienced, their knowledge was poor. At the very least, they did not recognize the Astral-10 insignia that was emzoned on Lu Yin¡¯s personal spacecraft.

    ¡°Warning, warning, the region ahead has been sealed. Warning, warning, the region ahead has been sealed. Please make preparations. Please make preparations.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished and looked outside the spacecraft. Did someone seal me in?

    Pirates had a way to seal space, and many pirate spacecraft had undergone modifications to seal arge area. After all, they had to have some tricks up their sleeves if they wanted to plunder others for a living.

    Through the spacecraft¡¯smunications device, Lu Yin heard the middle-aged pirate captain speak. ¡°Friend, give up and do not resist. You should know who we are by now, and as the captain, I guarantee that we will not hurt you so long as you cooperate. Listen, immediately fly your spacecraft into mine. And I do mean ¡®immediately.¡¯ Don¡¯t make me repeat myself.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted; he was being robbed! He looked into the distance to see a medium-sized spacecraft silently hovering in the middle of outer space. It seemed sinister on the outside, but there was also a strange design on it. It was a pirate ship.

    A strange fluctuation filled the space around him. These were the fluctuations that were sealing the void. His ship would be damaged the moment he tried to barge his way through this area since these fluctuations would interfere with the spacecraft¡¯s system and cause it to malfunction. Thus, he had no choice but to stop here.

    ¡°Friend, are you testing my patience? Immediately bring your spacecraft over.¡± The middle-aged pirate captain¡¯s tone had be more stern.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply and guided his spacecraft towards the pirate ship.

    His spacecraft swayed, but itnded firmly. When the cabin door opened, Lu Yin immediately saw dozens of star energy guns aimed at him. There were a dozen pirates ready in formation for him, and there were at least five Melders among them.

    ¡°Get out,¡± someone barked as they all fiercely stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly walked out as a cruel-looking man approached to frisk him.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t have a habit of being touched by another man.¡±

    ¡°Behave yourself,¡± the man barked dismissively before reaching out towards Lu Yin while another man went to search the small spacecraft.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t hold himself back any longer. He lifted his leg, kicking the man approaching him and sending him flying before he turned around to kick another pirate. The next moment, the dozen surrounding star energy guns were trained on him. ¡°Don¡¯t move, kiddo, and don¡¯t bother trying to resist.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at his personal gadget and saw that the highest local power level indicated was 7,000: a Limiteer, and not even a peak Limiteer at that. His lips rose arrogantly. ¡°Sorry, but you only invited trouble onto your ship.¡± He then unleashed his star energy and knocked all of the pirates around him unconscious before heading straight for the control room.

    At that moment within themand room, the middle-aged pirate captain stared at the screen in disbelief. The ruffian beside him was dazed as well. ¡°Captain, this brat¡¯s definitely not simple. It looks like you¡¯ll have to intervene personally.¡±

    The middle-aged captain¡¯s face was twisted, as he had noticed a crucial detail; that brat had nced at his gadget before acting. He must have been looking at the local power levels. The captain had not hidden his power level, so that meant that his opponent definitely knew his power level. If this kid still dared to act, then it could only mean that he was confident in his own abilities and that he was not afraid of a Limiteer. This brat was clearly only a Melder, but he was confident about battling above his rank? Those who could do so were known as Realmbreakers and were rarely seen, but each one was a genius.

    The captain was regretting his actions as he realized that they should not have provoked such a genius. There was an adage in their pirate circles that said that they should not provoke any young or extremely old people who travelled alone. He had only remembered this saying now, but it looked like he had already angered one of those geniuses.

    ¡°Captain, he¡¯s here!¡± the ruffian screamed in shock.

    The captain grit his teeth and walked out of the control room. He had to defuse the situation that was on the verge of blowing up in his face. He did not have to wait for long before Lu Yin appeared in his sight, with a trail of unconscious pirates in his wake.

 Chapter 188: I Am Seven

    <h4>Chapter 188: I Am Seven</h4>

    Lu Yin was not fond of killing, and he had also not sensed any bloodlust from these pirates. This indicated that they only plundered and rarely killed, which meant that their crimes were not a capital offense.

    ¡°Friend, this is just a misunderstanding,¡± the middle-aged captain said. Behind him, the frightened ruffian licked his lips.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°There are no misunderstandings here.¡±

    ¡°Friend, we were in the wrong in this matter. Conducting operations in the dark will result in idental mistakes sometimes. Your humble servant is willing to serve some wine and give you a toast to allow this matter to pass. How about that?¡± the captain spoke as he looked pleadingly into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin smirked; this bastard was probably probing him. If Lu Yin really did not pursue the matter, then the captain would definitely think that Lu Yin was an arrogant pushover and might even poison the wine. ¡°I¡¯ve already said it; there are no misunderstandings here. This is a robbery, so hand over all of your assets and I can spare your lives.¡±

    This sentence stunned the middle-aged captain and the ruffian. Robbery? Isn¡¯t that our line?

    ¡°You¡¯re also a pirate?¡± the captain spoke in equal parts shock and disbelief as he studied Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin sneered darkly. ¡°The strong prey on the weak in this universe. Since you can¡¯t rob me, then it¡¯s my turn to rob you. Your money or your life. Make your choice.¡±

    ¡°Kid, since we¡¯re all in the same profession, you shouldn¡¯t go overboard. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be awkward when we meet again.¡±

    ¡°You can try and see if you have the means to embarrass me.¡± After Lu Yin finished speaking, a beast howled through the void as a Skybeast w wed out at the captain¡¯s face.

    The Skybeast w was not a powerful technique in the eyes of Uro or the other elites from the Astral Combat Academy, but it was still a battle technique passed down within the Yu Academy by the Great Yu Empire. When the captain¡¯s sidekicked saw the 96th form of the Skybeast w, he was nearly frightened to death. Although the captain was a Limiteer, he had just be one, and he did not know how to defend against Lu Yin¡¯s Skybeast w. The w mercilessly mmed into the pirate captain, throwing him against the wall and leaving him in a sorry state.

    Lu Yin retracted his hands in astonishment; this man was so weak that he could barely be considered a Limiteer.

    The reality was, after entering the Astral Combat Academy, Lu Yin¡¯s perception had changed drastically. Before, even when he was a Realmbreaker, the Skybeast w had been one of his more powerful attacks. Now, his Skybeast w had reached the 96th form, which was more than anyone else in Yu Academy. How could these mere pirates even begin to withstand this top-notch battle technique of Yu Academy?

    Even if Uro was unfazed by the Skybeast w, he still had to defend against it as the attack was strong enough to injure a typical Limiteer from the Astral Combat Academy. This pirate captain, on the other hand, was just an average Limiteer. He could not evenpare to Gerbach, let alone a Limiteer from the Astral Combat Academy. The difference was just too overwhelming.

    Lu Yin immediately realized this, and his face held aplex look. He now understood why Wendy Yushan could not even be bothered to look at the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation, as they were just too lousypared to her. Even though Schutz had already trained at the Astral Combat Academy for a time, he was still only second-rate in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, let alone Gerbach and the rest of them back in the Great Yu Empire, where the difference was even bigger.

    Countless youths in the Outerverse had thought that Astral-10 would be a stepping stone that would propel them to power. Their beliefs weren¡¯t without merit. For example, Schutz, if he returned to the Great Yu Empire, would be able to make even Bazeer take notice of him now. Schutz had surpassed the Outerverse¡¯s standard during his time at Astral-10 and couldpare to those of his level in the Innerverse.

    Of course, not everyone from the Outerverse was like Gerbach and the others; there were bound to be some monsters, like Darkvoid. Although they had not entered the Astral Combat Academy, their innate gifts allowed them to roam unhindered and for others to take note of their strength as well.

    The ruffian was stunned when he saw Lu Yin injure his captain with just one blow. He fell to the ground in shock, depressed, From the moment he joined the pirates, he knew that he would not have a good death. He had thought he could at least enjoy life for some time, but damn, how long had it been? They had only robbed others five times. Just five, but now they were caught between a rock and a hard ce. What rotten luck.

    Lu Yin walked behind the ruffian, towering over him.

    The ruffian looked up at Lu Yin with a fearful expression. ¡°Friend, no, Boss- Big Boss, this is a misunderstanding. Please, let us off. We are a newly established pirate group and we haven¡¯t killed anyone yet.¡±

    ¡°Hand over all of the loot that you¡¯ve plundered.¡±

    The ruffian immediately agreed, taking the cosmic ring from the captain with a swipe of his hands. He then used the unconscious captain¡¯s blood to open the ring before pouring out a pile of items. The majority was a messy assortment of medicines, furs, ores, along with a few bank cards from the other weaves. The star crystals that Lu Yin cared about the most only totaled to around 2,000.

    He frowned. Are pirates this poor? They must have hidden it. His eyes swept over the ruffian with an unkind expression.

    The ruffian was very smart, and he immediately said, ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve only plundered others five times, and this is all we have. Oh, right-¡± He seemed to remember something and quickly flipped up the captain¡¯s cor to reveal a hidden Mavis Bank crystal card. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened as he recognized the ck card; the card that he had Pilfered with ¡°Yao Gu¡± embossed on it had yielded 10,000 star crystals. This type of card used star crystals as its medium and not universal currency.

    ¡°This was plundered from a merchant ship. Apparently, there¡¯s 10,000 star crystals in it with no need for a gic password,¡± the ruffian introduced as if it were a priceless treasure.

    Lu Yin was delighted as he took it, beaming. ¡°Really? 10,000?¡±

    ¡°Yes, definitely,¡± the seedy pirate assured.

    Lu Yin nodded and swept through the messy pile of items on the floor, but found nothing useful. He stood there with his flickering eyes as he considered his situation. He had looted the pirates and had made much more money than he would working. They were pirates, after all, and he had no qualms about robbing them.

    The ruffian waited for Lu Yin, not daring to move and only asionally ncing at him nervously with a pained expression. If the captain woke up now and saw this scene where he was being robbed, the thug did not know how Lu Yin would handle it. The ruffian¡¯s thoughts stopped at that point as he felt like the sky was falling down around him. In the end, nothing mattered until this monster was persuaded to leave.

    ¡°You,¡± Lu Yin said as he turned to the ruffian. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The goon smiled amodatingly. ¡°I¡¯m Little Seven, boss.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°No, that name¡¯s no good. From now on, you are Little Eight.¡±

    The ruffian stared at Lu Yin nkly, seemingly at a loss for what to say.

    Lu Yin coldly asked, ¡°Why? You¡¯re not willing?¡±

    ¡°No no no, I¡¯m Little Eight. Thank you, boss, for giving me a new name. I¡¯ll be called Little Eight from now on,¡± he hurriedly said after Lu Yin¡¯s expression gave him a bad premonition.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I am Seven. From now on, this ship will be under mymand.¡±

    The goon was stunned. ¡°Yourmand?¡±

    ¡°This pirating profession doesn¡¯t seem to be that bad, and I believe that it has a bright future. I like it. So, take me to meet some other pirates.¡±

    The ruffian opened his mouth to protest, but then he saw Lu Yin¡¯s dazzling smile and he looked back at the floor. He suddenly understood that this brat wasn¡¯t satisfied after robbing them and now wanted to plunder other pirates. No, he couldn¡¯t do this. Pirates had their own principles, and they would not betray their brothers in the same profession. While a pirate could long for the death of their ¡°colleagues,¡± acting on that longing would mean being emunicated from the pirate circles. If their actions went too far, they might even incite the wrath of the pirate king.

    ¡°Boss, please don¡¯t joke anymore. Us pirates are a bunch of vulgar scoundrels without any culture or manners. We smell bad, and our word is worthless. We can barely even be called people. You shouldn¡¯t seek us pirates out,¡± he pleaded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold as he stared at the ruffian. ¡°I¡¯ll only repeat myself once. Take me to meet the other pirates. If you don¡¯tply, I¡¯ll just get someone else to take me. There are several hundred people on this ship, so I¡¯m sure that there are a few who would definitely be more than willing to guide me.¡±

    The ruffian¡¯s face turned bitter as he cried without letting any tears out. There were only two options before him. The first was to choose life, betray his fellow pirates, ept being exiled from the pirate circles, and risk being chased down by any pirate crew he encountered in the future. The other was to choose death and be a valiant pirate who died in the line of duty. Of course, like he had just said, pirates were not really people, and he had no wish to die as a pirate. No one would choose death when life was an option, so the ruffian yielded.

    The middle-aged captain was locked up, and from that point on, the thug Little Eight wielded the most power on the pirate ship. At the very least, he had satisfied his dream of bing a captain. He even abused his authority and imprisoned the pirates who had offended him before this.

    Lu Yin had no interest in these petty feuds and was instead staring at his gadget incredulously. Big Pao and Little Pao joined forces to challenge the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master? That¡¯s outrageous!

    Astral-10 had definitely be known throughout the Astral Combat Academy after this news broke. First, everyone had heard of the five new Melder students who had joined forces to defeat Area Master Uro and snatch away a training ground. Then, two Astral-10 students had challenged the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master and even forced him to expose his three-lined battle force, shocking the entire academy.

    Not long ago, Astral-10 had been considered to be a banished academy that no one cared about; it had even been on the verge of copsing. With the arrival of the new students from the Outerverse, Astral-10¡¯s reputation had started rising once again. Then, Astral-10¡¯s students had gone on toplete the highest difficulty Sentinel mission, defeat members of the other academies, be Lockbreakers, defeat an Area Master, challenge a Realm Master, and more. This shocking series of events forced the other academies to take Astral-10 seriously, especially the final exploit, which had caused Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s prestige to definitely shoot up through the roof.

    The Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master, Kuang Wang, had said that the two possessed the power of a top-notch Area Master, and this appraisal was quoted by Wu Da in the Astral Combat Academy Journal, greatly increasing the sales volume once again. At this critical juncture, right before the Astral Combat Tournament, Astral-10 seemed to be working on catching up to the other academies.

    In contrast to Astral-10¡¯s meteoric rise, the ze Realm seemed to be sinking into a swamp of embarrassment; someone had leaked that Jared from the ze Realm had entered the Dao of Purgatory to help Uro, but had been cast out in a pathetic manner. This news caused his region¡¯s reputation to drop greatly.

    Lu Yin raised his head and seemed to have an excited gaze. As expected, those two seniors of his were not simple at all¡ªthey were actually as strong as Area Masters! They had even forced a Realm Master to reveal his true strength. Very powerful.

    But the two of them had still been defeated despite them joining forces, which made Lu Yin¡¯s heart sink. Is a Realm Master really unconquerable?

    Five students had joined forces to defeat Uro, and that team could probably defeat any Area Master. But if they tried to fight against a Realm Master, even with Big Pao and Little Pao helping them, it would probably be impossible for them to emerge victorious. The freakish nature of these Realm Masters was not just idle boasts.

    The Astral Combat Tournament was approaching, and even though there was still no concrete date, everybody knew that it was going to take ce within half a year. The Realm Masters were also students of the Astral Combat Academy, and they would be opponents just like the other students.

    Actually, besides the Realm Masters, there were many other powerhouses in the ten academies. Due to the special nature of this Astral Combat Tournament, terrifying geniuses like Liu Shaoqiu would also enter the tournament. There were definitely more than nine super powerhouses with strength at the Realm Master level. In other words, one needed the strength of a Realm Master to even dream about ranking in the top ten of this Astral Combat Tournament.

 Chapter 189: Graduation And Expulsion

    <h4>Chapter 189: Graduation And Expulsion</h4>

    The power level of a Realm Master was too difficult to reach. Lu Yin was confident that he could attain the level of an Area Master in half a year, and even surpass it after that. However, reaching the strength of a Realm Master was just too difficult. Could it be that he was destined to lose in this Astral Combat Tournament?

    The Astral Combat Tournament took ce once every twenty years, which meant that a member of the younger generation could generally only participate once. But with Lu Yin¡¯s young age, he could participate in the next one as well, though he did not wish to wait for twenty years.

    While considering his options, he raised his hand and caused his die to appear. ¡°Hopefully, you¡¯ll be able to bring me a miracle.¡±

    But right at that point, the thuggish Little Eight rushed in and excitedly shouted, ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve found some other pirates!¡±

    Lu Yin casually dismissed the die and stared coldly at Little Eight. ¡°In the future, knock before you enter. Next time, I¡¯ll chop your hand off.¡±

    The thug jumped in fright and immediately acknowledged the order.

    ¡°Pirates? Howrge is their group?¡±

    Little Eight nervously replied, ¡°There¡¯s a pirate group about half a region ahead of us called the ¡®Flying Fish.¡¯ This group is several years older than ours, and they can be considered professional pirates.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Professional pirates? So are there amateur ones?¡±

    ¡°Boss, most pirates are actually not real pirates. Being a pirate is somewhat like putting on a mask. Someone might be broke, have poor cash flow, or have some other special goal, but there are always new pirates rising to the asion. Once they¡¯vepleted their goals, these pirates usually disappear back to their old life. This is a very normal urrence.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze twinkled as he remarked, ¡°The dark side of the universe.¡±

    Little Eight nodded in agreement. ¡°Boss, so what do you think of this Flying Fish group?¡±

    ¡°Approach them and then rob them,¡± Lu Yin said simply before walking out towards the control room with Little Eight hurriedly following behind. This amateur pirate had decided that, since he could not resist, he might as well put on a good performance. If he was lucky enough, he might even find some opportunities in future to make some profit for himself.

    The various great weaves of the Outerverse had never rxed their clean-up operations of the roaming pirate groups. The presence of pirates severely hindered the finances of the various weaves, and quite frequently, news would emerge of some important figure being killed by pirates. Hence, each weave had its own set of professional troops that specialized in exterminating pirates. But the pirates were just too sneaky. Besides the exceptionally strong pirate groups that were difficult to fight against, the smaller scale groups never stayed in one ce for too long, and the Flying Fish pirate group was no exception to this rule.

    ¡°What methods do they employ?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at the medium-sized pirate spacecraft in the distance.

    ¡°They¡¯re not much different from us. They only plunder and never kill.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell, but it seems that you people still have some principles,¡± Lu Yin remarked, somewhat astonished.

    Little Eight grimaced. ¡°Boss, being a pirate is already hard enough. Plundering has its risks, but killing is even riskier. Due to the weave¡¯s clean-up troops, many pirates have an iron rule to plunder and never to kill. If we ever vite that, the weave¡¯s troops would ce us on their must-kill list. Thus, any killing on our part would attract the attention of powers we can¡¯t contest. The risks are just toorge for a little group like ours to even think about taking them on.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as Little Eight¡¯s words were logical. Though the universe was cruel, that was only true for cultivators and those who walked in the dark, like pirates. For the average person, aside from natural disasters, they could expect to live a long and uneventful life. In short, the great weaves were closely linked and had developed robust systems to protect themselves and their denizens.

    Not long after, Lu Yin leisurely stretched out as he looked at the two fallen Limiteers in front of him. He was now on the Flying Fish pirate spacecraft, and in the middle of plundering it.

    These small-scale pirate groups did not have many powerhouses, the couple of Limiteers that they did have were only as strong as the average Melder from the Astral Combat Academy, roughly around Gerbach¡¯s level. They were just too weakpared to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Boss, here¡¯s our harvest,¡± Little Eight said as he obsequiously handed Lu Yin a Mavis Bank ck card as if he were presenting treasure, earning him a furious look from the Flying Fish¡¯s captain.

    ¡°How much?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips twitched upwards.

    ¡°Hehe, 60,000 star crystals.¡±

    ¡°So little? Hasn¡¯t this group been running around and looting for a couple of years?¡±

    ¡°Boss, a pirate group¡¯s expenses are quite high. Besides the costs that go along with a crew member¡¯s death, there¡¯s also the constant cost of maintaining their weapons and spacecraft, medicines and information, paying off the stronger pirate groups, and even paying the cultivators within their own group. 60,000 is a pretty decent haul, all things considered.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across the pirate captain and grunted when he saw his ashen face. He kept the card. ¡°Not bad. Go ahead and split everything else among your men.¡±

    Little Eight was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Boss!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s way of doing things truly shocked Little Eight, as Lu Yin had not imed everything for himself. This was a good way of umting goodwill among the crew and showed that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t a fool despite his youthful appearance. The pirates all cheered and they gave their all inpleting their assigned tasks.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t care less about the rest of the loot, but he did care about the money. He had not be so desperate that he would act unscrupulously for money, but he was willing to use force when necessary. He was expecting these pirates to have arge fortune; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain a good harvest from robbing all these pirates. He was willing to face the additional risk. Although this pirate group could no longer offer him any benefits, they did represent the risk of spreading the news about his activities and causing him to be chased around by the other pirate crews.

    Over the next half month, Lu Yin visited multiple regions with Little Eight¡¯s lead. There were ny seven regions in the Dark Mist Weave, and ording to Little Eight, this was the weave where most of the pirates in the Outerverse gathered. In just half a month¡¯s time, they had already robbed more than ten pirate groups. They were practically sailing through a den of thieves, and their harvests reflected it. Lu Yin himself had already obtained about 700,000 star crystals, which sounded like an enormous fortune. Every pirate following him had also obtained enough wealth to live extravagantly for the rest of their lives. They could even quit being a pirate and live as a richmoner if they so desired it.

    ¡°Brother Eight, isn¡¯t the territory of Knight Pirates ahead? Let¡¯s go rob them!¡± a pirate eximed excitedly in themand room.

    Little Eight smacked the pirate heavily on his head. ¡°Are you crazy?! You want to rob the Knight Pirates? Scram!¡±

    Lu Yin was coincidentally walking by and overheard the conversation. ¡°Why can¡¯t we rob the Knight Pirates?¡±

    Little Eight jumped in fright when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s voice, and he quickly turned around to exin. ¡°Boss, the Knight Pirates are the strongest pirate group in this entire region. They have at least five Limiteers in their ranks, and their captain, the Mad Viper Knight, is an absolute powerhouse. He graduated from the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°He graduated from Astral Combat Academy? He¡¯s an Explorer?¡±

    Little Eight shook his head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no way an Explorer would linger in this poor region. He¡¯s a peak Limiteer.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed. As long as the opponent wasn¡¯t an Explorer, he would be fine. It must be a false rumor that this captain had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, as the rules stated that a student could only graduate after they became an Explorer. Anyone who could not reach that stage would be expelled when they came of age, which was not considered graduating.

    The Astral Combat Academy was split into ten academies. Aside from Astral-10, the other academies had an average of a thousand students each. Not even a third of those students would be able to sessfully graduate, and each graduate was an absolute elite of the universe. Even those who had been expelled were not weak. Bing an Explorer required both fortuitous opportunities and innate talent. Without a five-stage formcast model, it was too difficult to be an Explorer by the academy¡¯s required age. But even their expelled students would remain outstanding wherever they went. There should be no need for one to ever be a pirate, which meant this Mad Viper Knight was probably a fake.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll plunder these Knight Pirates. Since they¡¯ve been able to dominate the few surrounding regions, they should give us a decent harvest.¡± Lu Yin held high expectations for the uing loot.

    Little Eight¡¯s face turned bitter. ¡°Boss, these pirates really can¡¯t be provoked. They were once surrounded by soldiers, but they ughtered almost half of them. Their blood even turned the oceans of the beneath them red! The Mad Viper Knight even managed to sneak in and kill an Explorer! This guy¡¯s scary!¡±

    Lu Yin beamed as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s our target! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Little Eight was left helpless, and he could only re furiously at the pirate who had opened his mouth earlier. The spacecraft changed course and headed straight at the Knight Pirates¡¯ territory.

    It was no easy task to find a pirate group, as they would not stay in the same ce for long. It required some luck, but since both parties were pirates, Little Eight had a good chance of tracking their prey down.

    By this point, Lu Yin had long since forgotten about his Lockbreaking mission. Although Lockbreaking was important to him, these star crystals were much more important. His die was his shortcut to rapidly increasing his strength. He had already gathered 700,000 star crystals, so after thisst mission, he could head back to Astral-10 and patiently wait for the Astral Combat Tournament to start.

    The Knight Pirates roamed across several regions, so Little Eight initially expected it to take awhile to find them. But contrary to his expectations, they spotted arge spacecraft in the middle of a meteoroid field after just a day. It was the Knight Pirates¡¯ spacecraft.

    Under Lu Yin¡¯s stern gaze, Little Eight sent a docking request to the Knight Pirates. Quickly, their spacecraft was given permission to board by therger spacecraft.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget when he heard the two spacecrafts connect. He could see the power levels of the various people on thisrge vessel and saw that there were nearly a thousand people here. There were three Limiteers, but more importantly, one had a power level of 10,000. This impressive number caused Little Eight to nearly faint in fear. This was a peak Limiteer and should be the Mad Viper Knight. It seemed that he was only a single step away from breaking through to be an Explorer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face became slightly grave, but he did not pay too much attention to this number. He had met many peak Limiteers and had even fought against some of them in the ported battles. While their superior star energy had strongly suppressed him, they were not unbeatable like an Explorer was. Uro had been a peak Limiteer, and so had Spear Mountain¡¯s Area Master, Frankfurt.

    ¡°B-boss, there¡¯s still time to retreat. I think that it¡¯d be best if we don¡¯t provoke the Mad Viper Knight. We can leave after giving him some tribute,¡± Little Eight nervously stammered out.

    Lu Yin waved away the suggestion and calmly walked out of their spacecraft and onto the Knight Pirates¡¯ vessel. He had already made sufficient preparations before arriving, and if this Mad Viper Knight was too strong, he could still retreat. However, this pirate captain should still be within Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities. If the fight did turn out to be impossible, then he could use his status as a Lockbreaker to save his life.

    He first used his status as a pirate captain to request a meeting with the Mad Viper Knight. This was not an excessive request, and Lu Yin was quickly taken to a lounge where he saw a Limiteer standing outside.

    Just as the Limiteer was about to speak, however, his gadget beeped, and his face changed. His entire bearing shifted and he quickly left. The pirate who had escorted Lu Yin left in a hurry as well, leaving just Lu Yin by himself. Lu Yin frowned, but did not pay the two¡¯s actions any mind. He directly opened the lounge door and stepped inside.

    The Mad Viper Knight was a middle-aged man, of a simr age as most of the pirate captains. He wore an elegant aristocratic coat and sped a cane in his hand. On his face was a fearsome snake tattoo, and his appearance was rather intimidating at a nce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entrance did not disturb the captain since he was looking at something on his gadget, but his eyes seemed to carry a trace of worry.

 Chapter 190: The Palm In The Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 190: The Palm In The Darkness</h4>

    Lu Yin turned around to look around the lounge. He immediately noticed that there was a star chart of the surrounding regions, and it was stamped with the symbol that represented the Astral River, and the chart showed their distance from the Astral River. There was also a special symbol on the chart apanied with thebel, ¡°pirate port.¡±

    Pirate port? Lu Yin looked at the area more closely and saw that they were no more than ten regions away. It would only take about five days of wormhole traveling to arrive. That port was most likely a secret harbor where countless interster pirates gathered and one of the dark pits of the Outerverse.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± a heavy voice sounded from next to Lu Yin. The Mad Viper Knight had stood up, and his face was stern as he spoke to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and smiled back. ¡°I heard that Mr. Knight graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, so I wanted to learn a bit more about him.¡±

    The Mad Viper Knight¡¯s eyes widened and a sh of killing intent crossed through his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a good n to use the light to hide the dark, but it won¡¯t be that easy to get rid of my Knight Pirates.¡±

    The star energy in his body exploded out at that moment, shattering the lights in the lounge. It was so thick that Lu Yin could, with his naked eye, see the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s star energy congeal into a python. The star energy python then opened its mouth and hissed at Lu Yin. He immediately retreated, and the ce that he had just been standing in a moment ago shattered as it was struck by star energy. A viscous green liquid spread out in every direction, corroding the metal walls.

    Poison? Lu Yin raised his brows and shifted sideways to avoid the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s cane as it thrust forward as the area had been sealed by star energy. Lu Yin was surprised by the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s strength. The fact that his control over star energy had reached the realm of infinite changes was evident of that. He was a Limiteer who must have received higher education, and he might truly be an alumnus of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Bang!

    There was a thunderous sound that apanied the lounge¡¯s explosion. The vessel simply could not withstand the attacks of an Limiteer.

    Lu Yin avoided using sh. This Mad Viper Knight¡¯s strength was good, and he greatly surpassed every pirate that Lu Yin had encountered before. He had been able to crush every peak Limiteer that he hade across in the Outerverse as they were all of average strength. However, the Mad Viper Knight hadn¡¯t only reached the realm of infinite changes; he also cultivated a powerful battle technique that released poison. Unfortunately, all of this was useless against Lu Yin as this level of power was not enough to threaten him. If the Mad Viper Knight had really been a student of the Astral Combat Academy, then he would have definitely been ranked among the weakest.

    Lu Yin let out a fierce shout as he tore through the star energy python and mmed his hand into the Mad Viper Knight. The Limiteer ring armor that the pirate captain had just donned was shattered, and his star energy was dispersed. His body was forced up against the wall, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as a dumbfounded look surfaced on his face.

    ¡°Realmbreaker.¡± The Mad Viper Knight finally realized the situation that he was in when Lu Yin¡¯s palm had caused him to recall his time in the Astral Combat Academy. The Mad Viper Knight had paled inparison to those freaks who had made him despair whenever he saw them. And now, he had met another one yet again.

    The lounge was shrouded in darkness, but Lu Yin steadily walked straight towards the Mad Viper Knight step by step by relying on the indistinct starlight to guide him, ready to obtain his spoils. At that moment, a stray strand of light shed out from a sword de, and Lu Yin evaded to the side. The lounge was cleaved in two by the de strike, and Lu Yin felt a heavy aura behind him. It was an aura that desired to slice everything to pieces.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened as he throught to himself, Is this a domain? He raised his hand and enveloped himself in battle force as a precautionary measure. He then activated his Cosmic Art as a sword stabbed towards him from behind. He easily evaded before retaliating with a Cosmic Palm.

    The nine stars exploded, empowered by an overwhelming battle force, and Lu Yin snapped the attacker¡¯s de in half before directly attacking their body. This person was sent flying out of the lounge and into the distance. There was no telling how many walls they had sted through.

    Bang!

    The broken de fell to the floor, attracting Lu Yin¡¯s attention. As he looked at it, he frowned. Red? It looks very familiar. Could it be Zhuo Daynight?

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed and he rushed out of the lounge in a hurry.

    Back in the lounge, the Mad Viper Knight spat out another mouthful of blood before he peeled himself off of the wall with great difficulty. He panted heavily and stared in the direction that Lu Yin had taken off in fear. Where did all of these terrifying youthse from? One has a domain and the other battle force. With their young age, they must be freaks from the Astral Combat Academy!

    He grit his teeth as a bone-deep hatred shed across his eyes. He hated those arrogant, freakish geniuses as their very existence prevented people like him from making a name for themselves.

    Cough cough.

    The Mad Viper Knight dragged his heavily injured body out from the lounge.

    At this moment, the entire vessel was permeated with a thick bloodmist as countless pirates had died. The corridor was painted with blood, and the other two Limiteers had already been beheaded.

    Lu Yin dashed through a few shattered lounges before he finally saw Zhuo Daynight, fainted, a hundred meters away. Her face was pale and she was still sping the hilt of her broken de.

    ¡°It really is you,¡± Lu Yin said with a grimace. He had not been able to see in the darkness of the shattered lounge and had thus retaliated with an excessive amount of force. However, he was not at fault as Zhuo Daynight had been the first to attack.

    Lu Yin took out some medicine and fed it to Zhuo Daynight. She coughed twice and forced her eyes open. When she saw Lu Yin¡¯s indistinct figure, she mumbled, ¡°It- it¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhuo Daynight looked at him despondently as a thin line of blood flowed out of the corner of her lips. Her pure face was devastatingly pale. ¡°You- why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I happened to get robbed.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked around and saw her broken de. She breathed out and coughed again, causing a fresh gush of blood to cascade down her lips. Her eyes zed over and she fainted again.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to rouse her, but it was useless. Her internal organs had been too heavily wounded by his attack. She had been struck with a terrifyingly powerful nine star Cosmic Palm. Even Uro had been overpowered by that palm, so there was no need to mention Zhuo Daynight. She was already lucky to not have died immediately upon direct.

    Lu Yin was left helpless as he held her against his body. He could not let her die here. While it was true that she had schemed against him before, she was not a bad person at her core. With her background, she was probably cleaning up pirates while on her way back to the Innerverse. In fact, it was not that strange to have run into her here.

    Wait, the Mad Viper Knight! Lu Yin suddenly remembered this person and carried Zhuo Daynight back to the lounge, but the pirate captain was nowhere to be found.

    A personal spacecraft flew out of the pirate ship. The Mad Viper Knight had managed to drag his injured body into a personal spacecraft and was now gazing malevolently at his own pirate ship. ¡°Go and die. Be buried with my spacecraft.¡± He then pressed a button to destroy the entire vessel.

    A red light flickered within the pirate¡¯s spacecraft. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically when he heard the urgent rm, and he hurriedly carried Zhuo Daynight as he shed towards where he had docked his own spacecraft.

    Little Eight and the rest had also seen the shing red lights and had immediately realized that the vessel was about to explode. Little Eight had immediately given orders to leave,pletely disregarding Lu Yin¡¯s current status, but fortunately, Lu Yin had arrived at thest moment.

    Little Eight immediately weed him aboard with a rich expression. ¡°Boss, it would¡¯ve been toote if you didn¡¯t arrive just now. These people insisted on leaving, but I was the one who wanted to wait for you no matter if we lived or died.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and find a doctor,¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Little Eight quickly ordered the crew to quickly leave the field of meteoroids and seek a doctor.

    Not long after their departure, the entire cluster of meteorites exploded, and the Knight Pirates¡¯ spacecraft was vaporized. Apart from the Mad Viper Knight, not a single other from that pirate group survived.

    Lu Yin sighed, as this trip had been a fruitless endeavor.

    ¡°Boss, we saw a spacecraft departing. That should have been the Mad Viper Knight,¡± Little Eight spoke apprehensively.

    Lu Yin nodded and then seemed to remember something. ¡°I recall you saying that the Knight Pirates has more than five Limiteers, so why were there only three there?¡±

    ¡°The Knight Pirates have two pirating vessels. Normally, they only send one out at a time to raid other ships.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°They certainly are sly. This pirate group can¡¯t be regarded as strong in the scope of the entire universe, but they are rich enough to squander their money on two pirate ships. A sly individual can fall back since they have multiple ns. It¡¯s no wonder that they were able to orchestrate the death of an Explorer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he escaped. Otherwise, with his status, Boss¡¯s harvest should have at least doubled,¡± Little Eightmented.

    Lu Yin felt his headache resurface when he heard thisment. His misfortune was all thanks to Zhuo Daynight. Things had been going so smoothly too; it was such a pity.

    ¡°Boss, Brother Eight, that woman¡¯s injuries are too heavy. We can¡¯t treat her with our equipment, and there are no nearby regions where her injuries can be treated either. Our only option is to take her to the pirate port,¡± a pirate reported.

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°Go to the pirate port.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°Boss, is she your woman?¡± Little Eight asked, trying to probe the situation.

    Lu Yin derisively red at him. ¡°Why, did you recognize her?¡±

    Little Eight knew he was being mocked and his eyes held some fear. He might be an inexperienced pirate, but he had still heard of the famous ns of the universe, and he had immediately recognized that this woman was from the Daynight n. Why had a Daynight woman appeared among the Knight Pirates? Little Eight didn¡¯t dare to even wonder.

    ¡°It¡¯s best that you forget this matter, or else I don¡¯t know what trouble might befall you.¡±

    Little Eight put on a confused face. ¡°Matter? What matter? I don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled lightly¡ªthis fellow was quick-witted alright. ¡°Tell me more about this pirate port.¡±

    Little Eight exined, ¡°The pirate port is a safe harbor where pirates can replenish their supplies. It¡¯s called a port, but it¡¯s actually a, and all kinds of underworld powers of the universe have gathered there. Pirates, murderers, escaped convicts, rebels¡­ You name it, you¡¯ll find them there. Of course, you¡¯ll also see people simr to the Daynight cl- no, disciples from powerful families such as the Mavis family training there¡­¡±

    With Little Eight¡¯s introduction, Lu Yin gained a greater understanding of the pirate port. In the end, it was a gathering point for people from all trades. The Dark Mist Weave was filled with seedy individuals, and the pirate port seemed to be the soul of the weave. Many there did not even bother using their real names, as if they were exposed, they would need to pay a steep price and might even be targeted by others for revenge.

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t anyone care that the pirate port is so close to the Astral River?¡±

    ¡°Of course they care, but they can only asionally mobilize some troops to intimidate the ce. After all, the pirate port provides services for not only pirates, but also for the troops and travelers traveling to and from the Innerverse. As long as you have the money, you can find what you want there. So while it¡¯s the pirate port for pirates, it¡¯s also a popr resupplying point that¡¯s under the protection of the Leo n.¡±

    ¡°The Leo n?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Little Eight¡¯s grew serious as he exined, ¡°The pirate port was actually established by the Leo n. This n was once iparably powerful and even governed a weave at one point. But as the number of their geniuses dwindled, their ancestors eventually came up with a daring idea. They moved their entire n to the Dark Mist Weave and established a pirate port there. Think about it¡ªwho can destroy a pirate port that¡¯s supported by a n that was once strong enough to govern an entire weave? Moreover, at one point, the Leo n had Hunters among its ranks. Even though their circumstances have deteriorated significantly since then, a Cruiser still guards the pirate port.¡±

    Lu Yin now understood the situation better. No wonder the pirate port had been built in such an obvious ce. The Leo n, huh?

    ¡°Little Eight, you seem to be quite well informed.¡± This time, Lu Yin was doing the probing.

 Chapter 191: Pirate Port

    <h4>Chapter 191: Pirate Port</h4>

    Little Eight was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s inquiry, and he unconsciously grimaced. ¡°Boss, please don¡¯t scare me like that. You can learn all of this just by asking around. At least half of the people on this ship know more than me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lu Yin replied nomittally. When he had initially chosen him to control these pirates on his behalf, he had already noticed that Little Eight¡¯s personality was different from that of the typical fugitive. His rough, ruffian demeanor also seemed deliberately crafter, but this had nothing to do with Lu Yin. They would all go their own ways when they reached the pirate port. And anyways, he was currently more concerned about that woman, Zhuo Daynight, and was hoping that she would not die.

    He left the control room and went to check in on Zhuo Daynight in the sick bay. She was currently soaking in a nutrient bath that enveloped her entire body. Her vitals, such as her heartbeat, were all normal. ¡°She won¡¯t just die on us, right?¡±

    The ship¡¯s doctor replied, ¡°No. While her injuries are serious, they have stabilized and won¡¯t deteriorate as long as her body receives no further damage. However, within a month, she will definitely die without receiving proper treatment.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed and looked at Zhuo Daynight.

    He thought back to the first time that he had met her and seen her murderous expression. He still remembered all thoseplicated emotions that had apanied it; desperation, remorse, and helplessness, all intermingling with rage in her eyes. How had she fascinated him so much so that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to just abandon her? Was it because of their agreement? Lu Yin didn¡¯t even know himself. He could have left her to die and burn to ash along with the Knight Pirates, but he had instead saved her without hesitation even though he himself did not know why.

    Within the nutrient bath, Zhuo Daynight frowned. The distorted expression on her slender and pale face was enough to cause others to feel distressed for her. Her looks were naturally innocent, and her current state lent an additional trace of helplessness and fragility to it; the her that was a Daynight powerhouse who had massacred countless pirates seemed to be aplete other person.

    ¡°Please, please, release them. Release my parents. The Sealed Cage Technique, please release it, please¡­¡± Zhuo Daynight was unconsciously muttering something under her breath and seemed to be incessantly pleading.

    Lu Yin approached her and indistinctly heard phrases like ¡°parents¡± and ¡°Sealed Cage Technique,¡± but the fragments that he caught weren¡¯t enough to make anything out. He shook his head and walked to the door, but turned around to look at her when he reached the entranceway. His heart trembled. In the few moments that had passed, a trail of freshly shed tears traced their way down Zhuo Daynight¡¯s tightly face. Such grief, such desperation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes burned with emotion, and his gaze kept flickering. This trail of tears moved his heart, and he stared at her figure for a while before he took a deep breath and finally left the sick bay.

    The pirate port was flourishing, and in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, it was at the very least no worse than Zenyu Star. The space station was especially impressive, and there weren''t just one or twonding stations, but rather a whole procession of them with lines of docking berths.

    The pirate spacecraftnded at one of the more covert space stations with Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora spacecraft still stored aboard.

    Lu Yin formally bid farewell to Little Eight and the rest, not the least bit reluctant to part ways with them. For Lu Yin, the only important thing he had done during this time period was earn money.

    Little Eight and the rest rejoiced when Lu Yin left, and they also needed to discuss what to do with their newfound freedom. They had to retire as pirates since they had been exposed and there were rumors that the pirates who they had robbed along the way were nning on joining forces to hunt down the rogue crew. Thus, their first priority was to escape.

    Lu Yin carried Zhuo Daynight as he walked out of the space station. He stopped by a random aircraft and ordered, ¡°Head to the nearest hospital.¡±

    The pilot, who had slightly elongated ears and arms, immediately started the vehicle upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin gazed at the stream of people that they passed by. The scenery here was poor, especially since there was no sun, causing the entire to be covered in a gloomy atmosphere. The asional thick patches of fog that blew past them made the scenery even eerier. Explosions could be heard from time to time, but the pilot remained calm as if he was ustomed to it.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s attention-grabbing hair had been covered by Lu Yin, and her entire body was protected while in Lu Yin¡¯s embrace. Her forehead was burning like fire, and her heartbeat was sluggish.

    Lu Yin felt helpless and leaned back against the seat, waiting to arrive at a hospital.

    After just a few minutes, the aircraft stopped. ¡°We¡¯re here, sir.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the short bungalow in front of them in astonishment. ¡°This is a hospital?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. This must be your first time here. All of the hospitals are kept underground on this. Not only hospitals, but the shopping centers, businesses, public facilities, etcetera, are also built underground. You must have heard why.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood. That¡¯s right, this is the pirate port. There are vicious criminals to be found everywhere, and fightsmonly break out at a moment¡¯s notice.

    He paid the pilot one star crystal and carried Zhuo Daynight out of the aircraft. As he was about to leave, however, the pilot blocked him with a stern gaze. ¡°Sir, this doesn¡¯t cover the fare.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose as he asked, ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°Ten energy crystals.¡±

    Lu Yin could not stop himself fromughing, and he gently pressed his hand down on the man¡¯s shoulder. In that instant, the pilot''s face changed as he felt an intense pain in his shoulder, as if a mountain were pressing down on it.

    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m not in a great mood right now. I don¡¯t have the energy to take a joke.¡±

    The pilot¡¯s forehead broke out in ayer of cold sweat and he forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have disturbed you. Have a pleasant trip.¡±

    Lu Yin released his hand, stepped past the man, and entered the bungalow.

    The man panted heavily as he cursed, ¡°Damn it, what shit luck! I actually provoked such a troublesome person. He was just a Melder, but he was definitely more terrifying than a Limiteer. That brat must be a disciple of some great power that was sent out here for training.¡± He shook his head and quickly left with his vehicle.

    Although the pilot had tried to tantly extort money out of Lu Yin, he had actually taken Lu Yin to a decent ce. When Lu Yin stepped into the building, he followed the flow of people and quickly reached the underground hospital. Its construction was simple, but the facilities were quite good and even seemed to be superior to the facilities that had been used to treat Undying Yushan.

    After all, this was a rest stop along the passageway that connected the Outerverse and Innerverse. No one could guarantee that they would not be injured, and that even included Innerverse powerhouses. Thus, the pirate port¡¯s medical facilities had to be top-notch to treat such guests. The Leo n had paid a high price to build these facilities, and in the process, they had attracted countless patrons with their high quality medical conditions. At least, that was what Little Eight had said.

    Many people were queued up for treatment, and each had a gloomy face. Some did not even expose their faces and had wrapped their figures in thick cloaks. Lu Yin did the same and covered his body, not wanting to reveal his identity.

    An entire hour went by before it was his turn.

    Suddenly, it became noisy outside as dozens of fierce looking people rushed in. One viciously roared, ¡°Where¡¯s the doctor? Hurry! Our boss is almost dead!¡±

    They then began to disperse the surrounding crowd as they carried a big man covered in blood forwards.

    Lu Yin frowned, as these people all strongly reeked of blood.

    Cough cough.

    Zhuo Daynight suddenly coughed, and Lu Yinfortingly patted her back. At the same time, the gangsters arrived before Lu Yin and tried to push him aside. But Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold, and he raised a single hand. Crack! One of the gangsters¡¯ arm was twisted, and he was tossed a dozen meters away as the rest simultaneously looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    They grew furious and attacked together,pletely tossing aside any notion of negotiating.

    The hospital staff quickly took shelter, as did the patients.

    Lu Yin was enraged, and his palm turned into a w. It was apanied by a beast¡¯s howl that resonated through the void. His Skybeast w killed a dozen of the attackers while the rest were knocked onto their backs, where they stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    At this point, the troops had arrived. It was the private army of the Leo n. They surrounded everyone and said, ¡°The use of force is forbidden in the hospital. Everyone raise your hands.¡±

    Amidst the surrounding chaos, Lu Yin frowned and looked around. He wanted to find a doctor since Zhuo Daynight had experienced some jostling just now, and her injuries seemed to be worsening slightly.

    Suddenly, therge man drenched in blood stood up, retrieved a fist-sized metal ball from beneath his clothes, and smashed it against the ground. Lu Yin¡¯s hair instantly stood up and he instinctively evaded with sh. There was an intense explosion, and air currents ripped the atmosphere apart and directly shattered the lights in the area. The violent st sent all of the troops flying away, killing quite a number of them in the process.

    Lu Yin used sh consecutively and rushed away with extreme speed before finally breaking through the roof with a palm strike and escaping. He had just reached the surface when the earth shook, and then caved in, burying everyone in the hospital alive.

    Lu Yin stared at this scene in horror. What just happened?!

    Smoke filled the air as rms rang out in all directions.

    Lu Yin used sh again and fled with Zhuo Daynight.

    Cough cough.

    Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes, and feebly spoke out, ¡°Do not¡­ get shot.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re awake,¡± Lu Yin replied in a muffled voice. He didn¡¯t know what was going on in all the chaos.

    Zhuo Daynight feebly said, ¡°That¡­ was¡­ the great powers¡¯¡­ contest.¡±

    ¡°Contest?¡± He was puzzled.

    ¡°Some¡­ great powers¡­ take¡­ extreme measures¡­ to gain¡­ great profits.¡± Zhuo Daynight had to push out each word with great effort. When she was done, she fell unconscious again.

    Lu Yin breathed in deeply and stood in a dark corner as he stared in the hospital¡¯s direction. The great powers¡¯ contest? What about all those soldiers? So those doctors and patients were all pawns in their game!

    Truthfully, Lu Yin had long since admitted to himself that he was no saint. The deaths of others did not concern him too much, and he was not afraid to adopt some extreme measures for his own personal gain. But this was his first time viewing such a bloody scene from such a direct and inferior perspective. It was even more drastic than what had happened on Earth.

    If he had been any weaker, then he would have been sacrificed just like the rest of them. Strength was a good thing, and it influenced everything else in one¡¯s life.

    He nced at Zhuo Daynight, whose condition was even more feeble than before, and felt a pressing need to find a new hospital.

    The heavens seemed to be ying a joke on Lu Yin as dozens of explosions rang out that day on the pirate port. They all targeted hospitals, which threw the port into an unprecedented panic. The Leo n even dispatched Explorers to quell the attackers, but that wasn¡¯t enough to calm the terror.

    How could the pirate port attract anyone without any hospitals? This was the pirate port, the dark underbelly where people were injured and where blood was shed everyday.

    The first step was the hospitals, and the second would naturally be the businesses focused on food, clothing, or amodations.

    Lu Yin reconsidered his options as he did not want to continue running into areas targeted by the terrorists, but Zhuo Daynight¡¯s condition required immediate attention.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of Coco. It was rumored that the members of Windrift Hall frequently wandered the universe. If there were any Windrift Hall members in the nearby weaves, he could take Zhuo Daynight to them for treatment. From what he had heard, they did not even require advanced medical facilities to treat someone, so after a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin contacted Coco.

    Outsiders could not use their gadgets to contact students who were within the Astral Combat Academy, but other students were allowed to do so.

    Coco didn¡¯t pick up. It was possible that she was in the trial zones. Lu Yin tried Zora next, but it was the same result. The duo were in the same team, and they were always together. Lu Yin had no choice but to wait.

    He found a random building that seemed remote and somewhat abandoned and entered it with Zhuo Daynight.

 Chapter 192: Desperate Straits

    <h4>Chapter 192: Desperate Straits</h4>

    Lu Yin was unable to contact Coco for the next three days. During this time, he found that he had guessed correctly; the attacks had shifted from hospitals to hotels and popr shopping centers. The space stations were soon crowded with countless people trying to flee the. Additionally, people were only allowed to leave, but not enter the pirate port.

    Food and drinks were rushed over along with other supplies, as even a local branch of Shamrock Enterprises had run out of its inventory.

    The most disturbing news, however, was that a branch of Darkmist Weave Bank had been evacuated. This portended something dark brewing on the horizon.

    At noon, three dayster, Lu Yin finally managed to get into contact with Coco.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Lu Yin was flustered as he asked, ¡°Coco, my friend¡¯s been heavily injured. Do you know anyone in Darkmist Weave?¡±

    ¡° Darkmist Weave? I¡¯ll check,¡± Coco immediately searched through her contacts, enlisting Zora¡¯s help as well.

    Coco quickly raised her head and replied, ¡°Yes, Brother Lu. A senior of mine is currently at a strange of Darkmist Weave.¡±

    ¡°Great, give me their location,¡± Lu Yin said in a delighted tone.

    Coco fidgeted as she answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know his location, but I can send you his contact information. Go ahead and call him as I¡¯ve already let him know that you¡¯ll be contacting him.¡± She then passed Lu Yin a string of numbers. Lu Yin hurriedly disconnected from the call with Coco and entered the numbers.

    A voice quickly replied, ¡°Windrift Hall, Zeng Die.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m Lu Yin. Coco should have mentioned my situation already,¡± Lu Yin greeted politely.

    ¡°Yes, you cane find me. I¡¯m at the pirate port in Darkmist Weave. You should know where it is.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, but then quickly became delighted. ¡°I¡¯m also at the pirate port.¡±

    The other side was obviously stunned as well. ¡°Tell me your position and we¡¯ll meet halfway.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately sent Zeng Die his location and then headed north with Zhuo Daynight. He even used an aircraft to reach the meeting point sooner.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s condition seemed to be worsening as her face had paled even further. Her consciousness was also growing fuzzier as she started continuously murmuring something unintelligible.

    Lu Yin did not know why he felt so anxious. He kept thinking about her deste and helpless expression even though he wasn¡¯t looking at her, and her weak and pale face came up quite often as well. He grew increasingly worried.

    The pirate port wasrge, but the distance between the two was not that great, and they met after an hour of traveling.

    Zeng Die appeared to be an elegant man who was older than Lu Yin and was likely not of the younger generation. There was a woman apanying him who was most likely his partner as the Windrift Hall seemed to mostly operate in pairs.

    Lu Yin did not bother with pleasantries and gently ced Zhuo Daynight down.

    Zeng Die examined her and was shocked by her condition. ¡°Such a powerful strength, and continuous explosions at that. It¡¯s pretty good that shested for this long.¡± He then removed Zhuo Daynight¡¯s coat and saw her ck and white long hair. He eximed, ¡°The Daynight n?¡±

    Zeng Die¡¯s female partner was also astonished. ¡°Someone from the Daynight n?¡±

    The two simultaneously looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s from the Daynight n.¡±

    Zeng Die nodded and did not ask any further questions. The Windrift Hall treated people regardless of their ancestry. The hall differentiated between good and bad, but not between backgrounds. This was a major reason why the Windrift Hall had such an excellent reputation in the universe.

    ¡°How does her situation look?¡± Lu Yin was nervous.

    The originally silent Zeng Die raised his head and smiled proudly. ¡°There¡¯s no patient that a Windrift Hall member cannot save.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. This man before him had seemed dull, but his arrogance had suddenly rocketed just now. The contrast was very intense.

    The woman spoke up, adding, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt him. He¡¯s saved patients with heavier injuries than your little girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± She clearly did not believe Lu Yin and turned away.

    Lu Yin was startled¡ªapparently, he looked too anxious. He stood up and walked outside to gaze at the dark pirate port. This was a battlefield for the contest, and the countless number of lives being sacrificed to fulfill it was too tragic to him.

    ¡°I heard Coco mention that you¡¯re Astral-10¡¯s leader,¡± the woman said in a curious tone as she walked up from behind Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m Kaname, an expelled student of Astral-7.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked by the admission, but he quickly realized that Kaname held no negative emotions towards her expulsion. ¡°I was lucky.¡±

    Kaname measured Lu Yin and smiled, ¡°To be able to defeat the freaks in the Astral Combat Academy isn¡¯t luck. Coco has shared the situation of Astral-10¡¯s twelve new students, especially you. Thank you, for without you, she might not have made it in.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite. Coco¡¯s innate gift for extreme speed means that, one day, she¡¯ll be unstoppable.¡±

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t really know Coco. That girl is very timid. If she heard that someone from the ze Realm was obstructing the entrance examination, then she would have given up, not daring to carry on. No matter what, the Windrift Hall owes you a favor.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, but did not disagree. A favor from Windrift Hall was very valuable.

    Kaname¡¯s eyes swept across Zhuo Daynight, who was being treated, and spoke again. ¡°She¡¯s really not your girlfriend?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°We met by chance.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    Lu Yin thought that her response was slightly strange, and he asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Kaname gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°Don¡¯t allow any feelings for her to grow. If they already exist, then immediately wipe them out. Otherwise, it will cost you more than what you can bear in this life.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered and he nced at Zhuo Daynight before again asking Kaname, ¡°Why?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°This involves the matters of the Daynight n, so it¡¯s not my ce to speak. But heed my warning: never, ever let your heart be moved by her, or else the price will surpass your imagination.¡± She then turned around and walked back towards Zeng Die.

    Lu Yin turned around, and his mind shed back to the scene of Zhuo Daynight crying while muttering the words ¡°them,¡± ¡°parents,¡± and ¡°Sealed Cage Technique.¡±

    After slightly more than half a day, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s injuries were stabilized by Zeng Die.

    He got up, wiped sweat off his forehead, and with an exhausted look, said, ¡°Alright, she just needs to rest for several months before she¡¯ll be fully recovered.¡±

    Lu Yin was very grateful. ¡°Thank you, Brother Zeng.¡±

    ¡°No need. I¡¯ve yet to thank you for the matter with Coco.¡±

    Kaname spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that Windrift Hall owes him a favor.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand. ¡°You¡¯ve helped me save her, so this favor has been returned.¡±

    Zeng Die¡¯s face grew serious as he replied, ¡°Brother Lu, that¡¯s not the case at all. Saving others is Windrift Hall¡¯s mission, so even if Coco hadn¡¯t asked me, I would have helped her if we had met the two of you. After all, the more we save, the better our fortune, and the greater our longevity.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. These words sounded very familiar as Coco had once spoken them as well. These people were very heavily indoctrinated by their master.

    ¡°We should leave,¡± Kaname reminded Zeng Die.

    Zeng Die looked at Lu Yin as he said, ¡°Brother Lu, this¡¯s very dangerous right now. You two should leave immediately if you can.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Zeng Die and Kaname quickly left, and Lu Yin carried Zhuo Daynight away, as the girl had finally stabilized and could be moved withoutplications. He considered his options for a moment, and then piloted the aircraft towards the space station. It was time to leave.

    More and more explosions engulfed the pirate port as numerous people escaped in a panic. Lu Yin sat down in his vehicle and gazed down at the chaotic crowds withplex thoughts.

    Suddenly his eyes narrowed as he spotted a familiar figure in the crowds. Was that¡­?

    He parked the aircraft on a rooftop and left Zhuo Daynight inside before charging into the crowd. A man among the crowds was quickly grabbed by Lu Yin. The man was startled and turned around to knee his assant, but was easily stopped by Lu Yin. ¡°Big Chong, it¡¯s me.¡±

    The man stared in amazement at Lu Yin before crying out, ¡°What are you doing here?!¡±

    Lu Yin pulled the man out of the crowd and happily eximed, ¡°Why are you here, too?¡±

    This man called Big Chong was anxious. ¡°Did the family send you here? No, that¡¯s impossible. Why would they send you here?¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin started to grow uneasy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask any more questions. Just leave now! Quickly!¡± Big Chong grabbed Lu Yin, wanting to take him to the space station.

    Lu Yin shook off Big Chong¡¯s hand as he had many questions. Suddenly, a burst of rushing traffic separated Lu Yin from Big Chong. Lu Yin¡¯s scalp grew numb as he saw a ring light descend from the sky. Everyone looked up to see the final scene of their lives. A solitary light beam had descended from the void to st the ground into oblivion. This was a warcraft¡¯s attack.

    Big Chong shouted, ¡°RUN, LITTLE SEVEN!¡±

    Desperate cries echoed throughout the crowd as buildings on both sides of the street copsed. But Lu Yin couldn¡¯t hear any of themotion. He had been instantly struck by the light beam and had instinctively activated his Cosmic Art. Yet all defenses were ineffective in the face of this attack that was strong enough to kill Explorers.

    Boom!

    The entire street was vaporized while Big Chong was swept away by the intense impact. Lu Yin had managed to evade the beam with sh at the final, critical juncture and had not received a direct blow. Even still, he was swept up by the attack¡¯s aftermath, and he spat out a mouthful of red blood. His hair, clothes, and everything else had beenpletely burned away while his body had been wed to shreds and scorched. His blood was instantly congealed and charred to a ck ash before hended against a distant wall like a pile of rotten meat, and then he lost consciousness.

    Another beam of light followed closely behind it, bombarding the adjacent street, and then the next. Each of these beams were attacks that could destroy a, and everyone was insignificant when faced with such an attack. Only a powerhouse who could explore space on their own could block it, which did not include the average Explorer. Originally, these light beams were supposed to be used to deal with the Cruisers of the Leo n.

    The entire pirate port was plunged into a sea of death. The beams of light shone out mercilessly time after time, killing an unknown number of people.

    On the now non-existent street, Lu Yin¡¯s body had been wrecked to such an extent that there was no longer any intact portion of his flesh. Logically, these injuries should have killed him, but the peculiar seal on his back that had originally prevented him from breaking through to the Melder realm had reappeared and was now emitting a faint radiance. It brought him back from death¡¯s door and was slowly restoring his body.

    After some time, Lu Yin faintly heard someone speaking. ¡°There¡¯s still someone alive. Grab him.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. There¡¯s not even a piece of meat left on his body. He¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°How does that concern you in any way? Take him to Driftcharge. The higher-ups have given orders to take away everyone who hasn¡¯t died yet.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡­

    Boom.

    Lu Yin painfully opened his eyes, only to see a ring light that immediately forced his eyes back shut. He could not see anything clearly. What¡¯s happening?

    ¡°This person survived even with those injuries?¡±

    ¡°He should have been struck directly by the attack. He¡¯s really lucky to still be alive.¡±

    ¡°Someone like this still has to be saved?¡±

    ¡°Pshh, of course they¡¯re not going to be saved. They¡¯re for the cannibals.¡±

    ¡°What cannibals?¡±

    ¡°The Driftcharge¡¯s ves can¡¯t be considered people. They eat anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that¡­? Eew...¡±

    ¡­

    When Lu Yin regained consciousness for the third time, he saw that he was at a high altitude. He had been thrown down from the sky and was breathing in some kind of unpleasant gas. The surroundings were dark red, and lightning streaked past him from time to time. He had seen this scene before. This was what usually happened tos that were about to be destroyed. He lowered his head and his pupils shrank. He saw countless ck dots waiting below him and indistinctly thought, Are they¡­ people?!

 Chapter 193: A Planetâ€™s Final Stage

    <h4>Chapter 193: A¡¯s Final Stage</h4>

    A few others had also been thrown down from the sky along with Lu Yin, and they were all alive for the moment. Or rather, they were soon-to-be dead people as they had been thrown out as food for those miner ves below.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth and looked at his arm. His cosmic ring and gadget were both missing, leaving him with nothing. There was only a meager amount of stray star energy in the atmosphere, though fortunately, his body still had some star energy stored within it. He could not allow himself to fall to the ground in his current condition. Even if he managed to survive the fall, he would be eaten; he had already heard those crewmembers talking about the ¡°cannibals.¡±

    The distant ground drew closer and Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew malevolent when he saw the appearance of those ves; they could not even be considered human. They had beast-like mouths that they used to pick up mangled corpses and directly swallow them whole.

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had seen such a scene; he had witnessed a simr one during Earth¡¯s trial. But at that time, he had been removed from it as he had held a powerful position. Now, he was the one waiting to be eaten.

    He approached the ground at a dizzying pace, and just as those ves were about to grab Lu Yin, he growled, forced a palm in front of his body, and released a Shockwave Palm.

    Bang!

    The ground was sundered by his palm strike, and a shockwave spread in all directions for dozens of meters, crushing all of the ves within its range. Lu Yin tried to preserve his life by using Roving Steps, but he nheless tumbled to the ground, panting heavily while his body was wracked with intense pain. The nearby ves tried to escape as they stared at Lu Yin in horror. They were merely regr humans and not a single one of them was a cultivator. Even with his severe injuries, they didn¡¯t dare to approach him.

    Lu Yin did not dare to faint, as he knew that he would die if he fell unconscious. He tried to move his body, but he didn¡¯t even know when he hadst eaten, and he had no strength. All he could do was twitch his fingers.

    He looked around and realized that all of his hair had been burnt off and that he wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes. It was possible that the people from before had stripped him so that it would be easier for the ves to eat him. Regardless of the reason, Lu Yin was now lying on the floor, naked, and ring in all directions to scare all the ves away.

    A pungent smell wafted up from the dusty ground. This was unsuitable for habitation, and only strange bugs crawled out from the dry dirt. Lu Yin was starving and forced himself to swallow one of the bugs. It was disgusting, but it was all that was avable. If Lu Yin didn¡¯t go to such extremes to survive, he would starve to death and be food himself.

    He had never imagined that he would one day experience such a thing. This was an indescribable and inhuman torture.

    Lu Yin faced off against the ves in this manner for days. Despite his critical condition, Lu Yin remained awake and desperately kept his bloodshot eyes open.

    On the fifth day, all of the ves surrounding Lu Yin mysteriously dispersed as a skinny, hunchbacked old man appeared before Lu Yin. This old man slowly stepped up to Lu Yin, one foot at a time, until he reached Lu Yin, where he slowly squatted down.

    The old man was so close to Lu Yin that he could even smell a rotten stench. ¡°Scram,¡± Lu Yin tried to growl as star energy sparkled on his fingertips and he tried to form mes to scare the old man away. A strand of battle force even appeared along his hand, though it quickly vanished.

    The elder was shocked and said in a hoarse tone, ¡°Battle force? Kid, are you a disciple of one of the great powers?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer and stared at the elder in desperation. His heart sank; this person was definitely not amon person if he had recognized battle force. The old man was most likely a cultivator, so Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to scare him away either. Was he finally going to be eaten? Lu Yin felt aggrieved as he had never expected to end up dying as a sacrifice in a contest between the great powers. He did not even know which group had been behind what had happened to him. He was just like a pawn that could be easily disposed of.

    ¡°Do you want to eat?¡± the elder asked, his two skeletal eyes shing with a bright light.

    The elder¡¯s words shocked Lu Yin, and he continued to stare at the old man while desire filled his bloodshot eyes.

    The elder¡¯s lips quirked up and formed a strange expression in tandem with the two deeply sunken eye sockets on his sinister face. He approached Lu Yin some more and hoarsely said, ¡°Human meat, also called white meat... do you want some?¡±

    Lu Yin fiercely growled, ¡°Get lost.¡±

    The elder let out a mischievousugh and sat down in front of Lu Yin. He did not do anything, but he did not leave either.

    Another strange bug crawled out of the ground. This one was about the size of a palm, and its tail even had a green reverse hook. Lu Yin bit down again. Even though the reverse hook pierced his lip, nothing was more terrifying than starving to death.

    Green liquid dribbled down his lips while he continued to stare intensely at the elder.

    The elder did not move, but he continued staring at Lu Yin, waiting for the young man to run dry andpletely copsed. Lu Yin did not know if he was dying or fainting, but this might be thest time he ever closed his eyes.

    The moment Lu Yin lost consciousness, the elder stood up, walked behind Lu Yin, and then tapped his back with a finger. His two hands then wandered around Lu Yin¡¯s body in a strange route, apanied by star energy. It seemed as if he were tracing the operational routes of the star energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Half an hour passed before the elder stopped. He then fell to the ground as he continued to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°Your life and death now depends on how good your luck is. If you don¡¯t die, then my n will have a glimmer of hope.¡±

    At this same time, an announcement was finally released, stating that the Astral Combat Tournament would begin in three months. The Astral Combat Tournament was the biggest event that the ten academies hosted, but it did not have much effect on the outside world. At most, it would attract some of the great powers looking to recruit talented youths, but even that could not be considered a great effect as almost all of the geniuses who could enter the Astral Combat Academy already belonged to the various great powers. But this specific Astral Combat Tournament was rted to the star expanse war and was a recruitment scheme put forth by some significant characters of the universe. Hence, they wanted to spread the news throughout the entire universe, causing it to have a very big influence on the entire universe.

    This time, the Astral Combat Tournament would be broadcasted to people of all walks of life, regardless of their status.

    Due to the far-reaching influence that this Astral Combat Tournament would have, the originally hidden geniuses of the great powers hade into the light and joined the Astral Combat Academy in anticipation of the great tournament three monthster.

    However, Astral-10 was overcast by a new shadow. Elder Cai looked at the scene on his gadget and sighed. He then shook his head as he forced a smile onto his face. The screen disyed the moment that Lu Yin was struck by the beam of light in the pirate port. It was just a clip without any followup, but no one had any hope that Lu Yin had survived, since he had been hit by a weapon that was designed to kill Cruisers. Even Explorers would find it hard to survive a direct hit, let alone a mere Melder.

    ¡°Why did that brat have to coincidentally appear in the pirate port?¡± he sighed.

    Michelle stood beside the Elder and watched the video of Lu Yin being struck. She frowned and said, ¡°He¡¯s Astral-10¡¯s leader. In any case, we can¡¯t let him die for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Revenge can¡¯t be exacted in that ce.¡±

    Michelle didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°That¡¯s the pirate port. Those who are killed there are forever stained with the reputation of being a pirate. No matter who it is, they will bear that reputation, which is why these people were able to kill without restraint on that.¡±

    Michelle was furious, ¡°So that¡¯s it then?¡±

    Elder Cai wrung his hands as he replied, ¡°Of course not. Rest assured, someone will do something about this.¡±

    Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, and he even had acquired contributions. His death would definitely incite the wrath of the Lockbreaker Society. The society would not let those who had killed him off, unless they discovered he really was a pirate.

    Soon, all Astral-10¡¯s new students heard about Lu Yin¡¯s matter as Elder Cai did not conceal it. The Astral Combat Tournament was quickly approaching, but Lu Yin was the student leader of Astral-10. News about him could not be hidden.

    ¡°What? Brother Lu¡¯s dead?¡± Coco was saddened and she took out herrge syringe. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not being beside him. Otherwise, I would have saved him with one jab.¡±

    Zora was dumbfounded. ¡°Coco, this ispletely unrted to you.¡±

    Coco worriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, Brother Lu met with some of our seniors on that, right? Are they okay?¡±

    ¡°Rx, they¡¯re fine.¡±

    Xia Luo looked at the disy and a rarely seen expression of helplessness appeared on his face. ¡°He died that easily? Such a pity.¡±

    Lulu became depressed. She treated Yin as one of her closest friends since they had walked to this point together after Earth¡¯s trial. Who would have thought that he would suddenly die now? Life was too fragile.

    It was rare to see Silver without a smile, but there was an endless iciness in his eyes. Lu Yin¡¯s death had clearly disrupted his rhythm.

    Astral-10 wasn¡¯t the only ce that had obtained the footage of Lu Yin¡¯s supposed death, and the other academies could as well. This was, after all, a student of the Astral Combat Academy, and his death was more than sufficient to attract the attention of the other branches.

    ¡°We thought that Astral-10 was about to rise from the ashes, but their leader died so easily and in the pirate port too. Haha!¡±

    ¡°The people of ze Realm are going to be happy. Hey, could they have been behind this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. They don¡¯t have the guts to plot against an Astral Combat Academy student. This fellow was just too unlucky and was caught in the crossfire while other powers were trying to eradicate the pirates.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t guess wrongly before, then. This person was definitely used by Astral-10 to distract the other academies.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be deceived¡ªthe strongest in Astral-10 isn¡¯t this Lu Yin, but rather the others like Xia Luo and Lulu Mavis.¡±

    ¡°Wrong, it¡¯s got to be Big Pao and Little Pao. They joined forces to challenge the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master and are definitely top experts equal to the Area Masters.¡±

    ¡­

    In Astral-6, Charon was excited beyond limits. ¡°He¡¯s dead! Really dead! Great. Wait, what does this bastard¡¯s death have to do with me? His uncle¡¯s more important, that bastard.¡±

    In another corner, Liu Ji frowned. ¡°He was even a Lockbreaker, but he actually died in a pirate port. This matter will not be dropped by the Society.¡±

    In Astral-8, a smile was stered across Jared¡¯s face, as Lu Yin¡¯s death had freed him of his worries. ¡°Go and inform Xi Yue of this news. She will be pleased.¡±

    Meanwhile, in the Innerverse¡¯s Soul Seal Flowzone¡¯s Souldream Tribe, Xi Yue watched the scene of Lu Yin¡¯s death, but somehow, she was not happy. She kept reminiscing about the events that had taken ce in the Sand Ocean¡¯s secondyer as a mncholic sadness filled her heart.

    At the same time, when Master Wusheng received the news, he became furious. ¡°Go and check who dared to touch a member of my Lockbreaker Society! I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s the Leo n or whoever¡ªcheck all their details. My society must receive an answer for this.¡±

    Because of Lu Yin¡¯s supposed death, the massive entity that was the Lockbreaker Society began to move. Any Lockbreaker was a treasure of the universe, and they would not allow a single one of them to simply die. If a Lockbreaker¡¯s death was not investigated, then the Lockbreaker title itself would lose its prestige, which was uneptable to the 630,000 registered Lockbreakers. Even a Lockbreaker without any contributions would have their deaths investigated vigorously, let alone a one star Junior Lockbreaker. This was the terror of the Lockbreaker Society.

 Chapter 194: Stonewall Scriptures

    <h4>Chapter 194: Stonewall Scriptures</h4>

    After an unknown period of time, Lu Yin woke up to the sound of dripping water as well as a strange buzzing noise that sounded like a cicada rubbing its wings together.

    He slowly opened his eyes and saw a strange bug in front of him. He thought of eating it, but he ended up licking his parched lips that were as dry as sand. He needed to drink water. But at that moment, the insect pped its wings and flew off.

    Rays of deep red light blinded him, causing Lu Yin to instinctively close his eyes. When he reopened them, the emaciated elder had appeared before him yet again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed when he saw the elder, and he tried to stand, but he couldn¡¯t feel his entire body. Wait, no sensation¡­ Could it be gone?! He strained to look down at his body, and to his relief, found that it was fortunately still intact.

    Arge chunk of roasted meat was thrown in front of Lu Yin. ¡°Eat. You haven¡¯t eaten anything in a month.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the meat in front of him and tried to suppress his saliva but found that he had none. He resisted the urge to take a bite and continued staring malevolently at the elder.

    The elderughed strangely. ¡°Rx, it¡¯s not white meat.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted, his eyes flickering with indecision.

    The elder shook his head and moved to the side. Behind him there was a giant, three meter long insect. It was missing several legs and traces of meat being cut out could be vaguely seen.

    After Lu Yin ascertained that the roasted meat was not white meat, he immediately bit down. He swallowed the meat without chewing and quickly devoured the giant piece of meat, but an unbearable thirst soon followed.

    The elder raised a finger, causing some of the trickling water droplets on the wall to slowly fly into Lu Yin¡¯s mouth. This was a wee shower after a long drought, and Lu Yin slowly drank the water for a long time. He then licked his lips and in a hoarse voice, asked, ¡°Why did you save me?¡±

    The elder sat down before Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s not for charity.¡±

    ¡°State your terms.¡±

    A chilling smile crept into his skeletal face, ¡°I need you to take some things to the Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin was at a loss.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know what that is for now. When you are able to reach the first Flowzone of the Innerverse, you will naturally know everything about the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Do you really think that I can enter the Innerverse? I can¡¯t even get off of this.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Where there¡¯s a will, there¡¯s a way,¡± the elder replied before he suddenly recalled something. ¡°I nearly forgot¡ªin order to ensure that you¡¯ll uphold your end of the bargain, I¡¯ve ced a dark seal on you. Only the person that I¡¯m sending you to can remove it. No one else, not even Hunters, can help you. You can let them try if you don¡¯t believe me, hehe.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t care about some dark seal. He had been on the verge of death and couldn¡¯t be bothered about some trivial restriction.

    ¡°What is this ce?¡±

    ¡°Driftcharge. It¡¯s a in its final moments, and one that¡¯s about to be destroyed,¡± the elder replied. He then lifted a hand and began carving something into the stone wall with star energy. Lu Yin watched for a moment before a strange expression appeared on his face. The old man was carving words, and while he recognized the words being carved, he did not understand their meaning.

    Half an hour passed before the elder finally stopped and let out a breath. He looked at the stone wall with aplex expression before turning to Lu Yin. ¡°Memorize it.¡±

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m making you memorize it,¡± the elder barked with an unkind tone.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°You wrote for an entire half an hour, but you want me to memorize it all? How long do you think I¡¯ll take?¡±

    The elder stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You can either memorize it, or you can go outside and be white meat.¡±

    Lu Yin did not have a choice. ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t me me if I take too long.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be quick even if you wanted it to.¡± The old man sighed again, no longer in a mood to continue conversing. He soon left the burrow.

    Lu Yiny on the floor, motionless, and stared at the wall. ¡°To be good atmunicating, the Dao of Heaven refuses. To jump and lie in the heavens, the Dao of Heaven epts. To jump and lie in the horizon, to condense gas, to swallow rivers¡­¡±

    After Lu Yin had reached the Melder realm, all aspects of his body had been greatly upgraded, and memorizing a segment of words was not difficult for him at all. But this text was strangely difficult, and he even felt a sense of oppression while trying to memorize it. It almost felt as if something was staring at him in the dark. It wasn¡¯t obvious, but his head grew dizzier as he read it over and over, and after twenty minutes he fainted.

    The elder stepped into the cave and looked at the unconscious youth. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t dismantled for you to memorize, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to remember even a single sentence.¡± He then gazed at the stone wall. ¡°I really hope that this can truly be inherited.¡±

    Lu Yin woke up with a splitting headache after spending half a day knocked out. What happened? What was that text? Did it actually give me a headache just from me memorizing it?

    ¡°Continue,¡± the eldermanded from where he was sitting nearby.

    ¡°May I ask what¡¯s the point of memorizing this text?¡±

    ¡°You will have to go to the Neoverse and transcribe it to the person that I¡¯m sending you to meet.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll also benefit you to memorize all this. Haven¡¯t you felt the pressure increasing as you memorize more of it?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed even though his brows had been burned off. ¡°What¡¯s so good about the pressure?¡±

    ¡°Humans areposed of their body and their spirit. Some forces focus on the body, while others on the spirit. This pressure will polish your spirit so that you will have no weaknesses.¡±

    Lu Yin was reminded of the Daynight n and the unique characteristics of their battle techniques. For example, Ghostfire had been immune to every physical attack, but he had not been able to withstand the Daynight Punch. This was because the Daynight n¡¯s battle technique damaged both the body and the spirit, which was Ghostfire¡¯s weakness.

    ¡°Alright, continue memorizing the text,¡± the elder ordered after giving Lu Yin a taste of knowledge.

    Lu Yin breathed in deep, looked towards the stone wall, and continued reciting. Hested for almost half an hour this time, which was a few minutes longer than the previous time. However, he had only memorized a small portion of the text on the wall so far.

    Unknowingly, half a month passed with Lu Yin constantly reciting the words on the stone wall in his mind. From his initial limit of twenty minutes, he could now hold out for an hour. The elder had also indicated that if Lu Yin memorized the entire passage, no one weaker than a Hunter would be able to damage his spirit.

    These words had been said to motivate Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had realized this, but he still epted them as true. This was because he could already see the results. He could acutely sense that his spirit had be more durable, and the most obvious example was that he could now suppress his hunger.

    By the end of the half month, he had memorized half of the Stonewall Scriptures. Although he had been reprimanded by the elder for being talentless, Lu Yin was satisfied with his progress. Even if there had been someone watching all this, they would not have been able to understand the pain that he had endured during this half month. He had only focused on memorizing the scriptures from the moment he woke up to the moment he passed out. These days had been very painful for him, but fortunately, his body had recovered quite a bit as well.

    That warship¡¯s light beam had nearly destroyed his body. No one knew why, but his body had recovered slightly by the time he hadnded on this, and with each passing day, it continued recovering a little more. It had now reached the point where he could move his arm a bit.

    ¡°Your body¡¯s strange. It¡¯s very strong.¡± These were the first words that the elder said to Lu Yin for in half a month. Besides monitoring Lu Yin¡¯s memorization, he also periodically left to do some unknown errand, but he was always more downcast upon his return.

    Lu Yin nced at him. ¡°Strange?¡±

    ¡°Few could have survived an injury like yours. It doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re from the Outerverse, the Innerverse, or even the Cosmic Sea. An injury like that would have been a death sentence in a hundred out of a hundred cases. It¡¯s a miracle that you survived.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred, as he also felt that his body was strange. This oddness had only manifested after he broke through to be a Melder, and his body had continued bing even more frightening, to the point where it was scarily powerful now. It had always been continuously strengthening itself, and even the Sandmaster had praised it in admiration. During Lu Yin¡¯s first visit to the Dao of Purgatory, Frankfurt¡¯s spear had not prated his body and only shattered his organs. In the ported battles, besides Explorers who could instantly obliterate him, no one else could harm his body. These changes were too great to be exined by his advancement into the Melder realm, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t know what else could have happened during his breakthrough.

    ¡°You can see the oddness of my body?¡± Lu Yin was hopeful.

    The elder shook his head. ¡°Continue memorizing.¡±

    Lu Yin begrudgingly looked back towards the stone wall.

    The elder lowered his head, but kept his eyes trained on Lu Yin. This person¡¯s body was actually even stranger than he had let on. This youth must have eaten some miraculous treasure, or else it was the innate gift of some strong n. But to his knowledge, there was no n whose innate gift could allow one to survive that serious of an injury.

    The elder continued pondering things over before retracting his gaze and forcing a smile onto his face. He had no ability to snoop around, so it was fine as long as he maintained a glimmer of hope in his heart.

    In the blink of an eye, another half month passed by. Now, Lu Yin had memorized all of the words on the stone wall. But he could only recite it section by section, and it waspletely impossible for him to memorize it as a singr passage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed when he saw the elder leave. He slowly sat up, finally able to move around by himself. He wiped his body, causing a piece of skin to fall off. His body was shedding. It had recovered from his heavy injuries, and now, all of his dead skin was molting. He rubbed his still-bald head and felt the nearly imperceptible hair-roots poking out. He should be able to grow hair again soon.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand, and his expression cooled. The attack on the pirate port was unforgettable, and it had been much crueler than the events that had taken pce during Earth¡¯s trial. He had even almost been turned into white meat. Lu Yin looked out of the cave and walked out to stare at the sky.

    Thickyers of dark red clouds piled together as lightning streaked through them, forming an apocalyptic image. Thick smoke spouted from the ground, and asionally, there was an intense and audible rumbling that shook the very ground.

    Lu Yin looked at the ground and followed the footprints to find the elder. He found the old man sitting in front of a small mound of earth, tearfully grieving, and constantly speaking. Lu Yin listened in for a while and discovered that the elder¡¯s grandson was buried here.

    The old man left the cave each day to hunt, but he also came to this ce to grieve.

    ¡°Grandpa knows that it¡¯s cold in there. Don¡¯t worry. Grandpa will be with you soon and won¡¯t let you be lonely.¡± After the elder said his final sentence, he slowly stood up.

    Lu Yin immediately left.

    When Lu Yin returned to the cave, the elder had not yet arrived as he was most likely hunting insects. Lu Yin tried his best to absorb some ambient star energy, but it was just too sparse. He unconsciously activated his Cosmic Art, causing nine stars to revolve around him.

    The nine stars meant nine times the absorption speed. Even if the stray star energy was sparse, all of it would still be swept towards Lu Yin in a vortex, even though it felt pitifully inadequate.

    The elder was dragging a giant bug¡¯s carcass towards the cave when he sensed something unusual. He dropped the bug¡¯s corpse and walked inside, where his gaze changed as soon as he saw Lu Yin. ¡°This is¡­ a Cosmic Art?¡±

    Lu Yin, meanwhile, was unaware that his Cosmic Art had been discovered. He had wanted to recover his strength and was still blissfully absorbing star energy.

 Chapter 195: Changing The Future

    <h4>Chapter 195: Changing The Future</h4>

    The old man¡¯s expression changed as he looked at Lu Yin. Sometimes, his expression was strange while at other times, his eyes twinkled as if he were contemting something abstruse. When he saw the perfect gxy that was produced with Lu Yin¡¯s ninth star, the surprise on his face became even more apparent. This did not seem like the true Cosmic Art.

    ¡°The true Cosmic Art requires one to open up thirty six meridians andpletely rid themselves of all weak points. This youngster activated his Cosmic Art forcefully and managed to draw out most of its power, but that¡¯ll only work for a while. The Cosmic Art isn¡¯t something that just anyone can simte. He¡¯ll need to go to the Cosmic Sect at some point.¡± The old man then fell deep in thought, his eyes twinkling the entire time.

    A whileter, he seemed to make a decision, and with a light tap of his finger, a strong wind blew forth and struck the back of Lu Yin¡¯s head, causing him to faint again. During his time on this, it seemed that Lu Yin had never managed to fall asleep normally; he kept cycling between a conscious and unconscious state.

    The old man walked to Lu Yin¡¯s side and lifted up the soles of his feet. ¡°This is where the thirty-six meridians lie. To learn the authentic Cosmic Art, it¡¯s necessary to open all of them up. I wonder what those old guys at the Cosmic Sect would do if they saw what¡¯s on the bottom of your feet. Unfortunately, I wouldn¡¯t be able to see their faces.¡± After saying this, he activated his star energy and began carving something into the soles of Lu Yin¡¯s feet.

    ¡°The moment the drawing on the bottom of your feet is exposed, your fate will be changed. I hope that you¡¯ll be able to handle it when the timees,¡± the old man muttered to himself as he stared at Lu Yin with aplex expression. He had long since undone the dark seal within the youth since there was no longer any need for it. He had merely wanted to foster a sliver of hope for himself, but now, everything depended on this kid¡¯s luck. He had the Cosmic Sect as his background and a lot more opportunities than most. However, why would a disciple of the Cosmic Sect be in the Outerverse? It didn¡¯t make any sense. On top of that, Lu Yin had said that he didn¡¯t know anything about the Cosmic Sea and had been so convincing that the elder had actually believed him.

    Whatever the reason, it didn¡¯t matter even if the kid was a traitor to the Cosmic Sect. As long as his Cosmic Art was not destroyed, there would be a chance. Besides, the fact that this kid had managed to cultivate the technique to the stage of manifesting nine stars meant he had somebody powerful backing him up.

    The old man would have never even dreamed that Lu Yin had actually stolen his Cosmic Art and that he genuinely knew nothing about the Cosmic Sea. The Cosmic Sect treated the Cosmic Art as a treasure, and the old man did not think that it was even possible to steal that technique; it was all a huge misunderstanding. Whether or not Lu Yin would visit the Cosmic Sect in the future or if the drawings at the bottom of his feet would ever be revealed was something that nobody knew.

    Sometimeter, Lu Yin regained consciousness and rubbed his temples. What¡¯s going on? I randomly fainted again. Could it be an aftereffect of memorizing the Stonewall Scriptures?

    Lu Yin looked up at the scriptures, but what he saw only left him more confused. All of the text had been erased and all that was left were numbers. What was going on? He looked around, searching for the old man.

    A piece of meat flew in front of him. Lu Yin grabbed it and looked towards the entrance of the cave as the old man walked over. ¡°Eat that and keep memorizing.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Seriously? Even the numbers?¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap and just do what I tell you to,¡± the old man shouted back.

    Lu Yin felt an urge to curse the old man; the numbers covered the entirety of the stone wall. It had taken him nearly a month to memorize all of the text from before, but now there was a set of numbers too?!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. These numbers won¡¯t put much pressure on you, and you¡¯ll be able to memorize them very quickly,¡± the old man exined when he saw Lu Yin looking increasingly dispirited.

    Only after hearing that did Lu Yin perk up a bit. If there wasn¡¯t any spiritual pressure, then it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to memorize all of these numbers. He was a Melder, after all, and his five senses had be much more sensitive than before.

    ¡°By the way, I remember you said that you hadprehended battle force. Give it a go,¡± the old man suddenly said.

    Lu Yin was slightly confused, but he did as the old man asked. Streams of air circled around him. Then, ck battle force immediately covered his entire body before purple lines emerged within that. ck battle force with purple lines¡ªthis was the hallmark characteristic of three-lined battle force.

    Lu Yin looked at his own body in disbelief. Three lines? How did I improve so much? He should have only been at the initial stages of battle force.

    The old man, on the other hand, was not surprised at all. ¡°As I thought, your body has very good potential, and you managed to jump from the beginning stages to three lines, which isn¡¯t too bad. Compared to the people in your generation, you¡¯re rtively strong.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s this possible?¡± Lu Yin was still confused.

    The old man snickered. ¡°Because you died.¡±

    Lu Yin was bewildered.

    The old man¡¯s lips curved up as he matter-of-factly exined, ¡°There¡¯s a very strange technique that exists in the universe called the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival. This technique isn¡¯t difficult in and of itself, but the requirements to train in it are very specific. Almost nobody in the universe can do it, as it¡¯s meant for the dead.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at the old man.

    ¡°When you first fell to this, you activated your battle techniques to the extreme so that you wouldn¡¯t get eaten. You then had a stand-off with those ves for days. When I finally found you, you immediately fainted, though fainting is the wrong word. You actually died there.¡± The old man observed Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. When he saw that Lu Yin was still confused, the old man continued, saying, ¡°I manipted your energy to activate the Fatal Revival. The technique can¡¯t heal your injuries. Rather, it actually makes things worse. I tested that technique on you out of curiosity, but you somehow lived, so I guess you managed to seed in learning this technique.¡±

    ¡°How did I survive?¡± Lu Yin asked with a frown.

    ¡°How would I know? Either way, you¡¯re alive. I told you before that, with your injuries, most people wouldn¡¯t survive for more than a day no matter how powerful they were. Being that severely injured is as good as being dead. I made you use that technique purely out of curiosity, but since you¡¯re alive, you¡¯ll be able to reap the benefits from it,¡± the old man said enviously.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯ve already trained in many other techniques. It¡¯ll be impossible for me to work on any more.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t need to put any time into training it because only the dead can do so. It¡¯s only use is to make onest gamble. If you die, that¡¯s it, but if you live, then congrattions. You¡¯ll undergo a huge transformation, just like now,¡± the old man said.

    Lu Yin looked at his hands, which still had purple lines flowing through them. He could sense that he¡¯d gotten markedly stronger. This was what he had received in exchange for gambling with his life.

    ¡°Does this mean that I can keep using Fatal Revival to upgrade my battle force?¡± Lu Yin asked. If his battle force could improve this much with each usage, anybody would be eager to use such a technique again.

    The old man shook his head. ¡°Like I already said, it can¡¯t be trained at will, which means that you can¡¯t deliberately use it. It¡¯s a gamble. At the moment of your death, itpresses and ignites all of your potential. Everyone has some regenerative ability, but Fatal Revival does not activate this potential, and it actually suppresses a person¡¯s regenerative abilities so that their injuries will worsen. The potential will then be transformed into strength. When you die, you lose everything, but if you live, all that strength will return to you. You don¡¯t need to be so surprised that your battle force grew so much stronger, because you received that in exchange for nearly dying.¡±

    Lu Yin eyed the old man, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that you used the technique on me not because you wanted to save me, but because you were curious?¡±

    The old man proudly admitted to it.

    Lu Yin looked away. Nobody would believe such a fantastic tale. This old man had clearly been hoping to find someone who was able to memorize those scriptures so that he could send them to a specific person. However, the ce that the elder was speaking of was far too dangerous, which was why he had kept gambling on trying to find someone who could survive through Fatal Revival. Whoever managed to survive would be much stronger and would naturally have a better chance of sess of fulfilling his mission. Lu Yin definitely wasn¡¯t the only one whom the old man had used the technique on, but he was almost certainly the only one to have survived.

    The old man was truly quite merciless. When he had found Lu Yin, the young man had been practically dead, but the old man had still used a technique that suppressed his regenerative abilities. It was essentially murder, and the fact that Lu Yin had been able to survive was truly a miracle.

    ¡°Back in the day, there was someone who was envious of the technique, but was too afraid to train in it. However, to satisfy his curiosity, he found ten thousand geniuses and used the technique on them after killing them. Unfortunately, they all died. From that point on, the technique was forgotten,¡± the old man muttered as he looked at Lu Yin with envy in his eyes.

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°With your current state, it seems like you¡¯re already ready to train in the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival. Keep working on it. Who knows, you might get a lot stronger and be able to fly out of here.¡±

    ¡°Fly out? Kid, do you seriously think that I¡¯m not even an Explorer? Let me tell you this¡ªat my peak, I was able to vaporize over a hundred ofs like this with a single p,¡± the old man said disdainfully.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Who would believe that drivel? Even a Hunter would be hard-pressed to destroy so manys in one move!

    ¡°Enough of that. Cut the crap and keep memorizing the scriptures.¡± The old man pushed him forward.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to look at the stone wall and continue memorizing the numbers that seemed to have no pattern.

    Although there were a lot of numbers, he managed to memorize everything rtively quickly because there wasn¡¯t any spiritual pressure. To ensure that he wouldn¡¯t forget it, the old man even forced him to recite all of the numbers and text that he had written down on stone wall before. The numbers weren¡¯t difficult to memorize and recite, but the text was more of a challenge. Each time, he could only recite a little before fainting, after which he would wake up and start over. This cycle continued for another half month.

    For thest ten days, Lu Yin had done the daily hunting. While Lu Yin was well aware that the old man was very powerful, he still felt ufortable making an elderly man go out and find food. When he saw the desated ground and the nearby ves digging up ore, Lu Yin felt rather pressured. He looked up at the sky where thick, dark-red clouds covered the. This ce felt like a graveyard.

    Tzz tzz

    Lu Yin heard a chilling sound behind him, and when he turned around, he saw some strange, gigantic bugs with gigantic jaws lunging at Lu Yin. Each bug was strong enough to bite through metal and tear through the earth with a single snap. The ves could only run away when they saw these bugs, but these creatures were Lu Yin and the old man¡¯s food.

    With a boom, Lu Yin killed a bug. As he retracted his hand, he looked at the three lines of battle force covering his body in wonder as he could clearly sense how powerful he had be. What level would he be at in an academy? An Area Master? An ordinary Area Master was definitely no longer a match for him. Frankfurt only had two-lined battle force. Lu Yin might even be strong enough to im the title of the strongest Area Master.

    He wondered when he would be able to return to the academy. Lu Yin looked up again and then dragged the huge bug back to the cave.

    At this point, there was only half a month left until the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Lu Yin left the bug at the entrance to the cave, where he saw the old man gazing at the sky. He asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    The old man frowned. ¡°Something¡¯s strange. Nobody¡¯se to collect the ores for a whole month.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Collecting ores? Who does this belong to? Who collects the ores? And how frequently?¡±

    The old man eyed Lu Yin. ¡°You really want to go back?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    The old man burst intoughter before replying, ¡°Don¡¯t you know how much stronger you¡¯ve be over thesest two and a half months?¡±

    ¡°Does it matter even if I be invincible? There¡¯s no point if all I can do is stare at your face.¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    The old man monotonously answered, ¡°This belongs to the Leo n.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°The Leo n?¡±

    The old man nodded.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. I was attacked in the pirate port, which means that the Leo n should have been attacked by enemies and might have even been destroyed. How could the perpetrators be the Leo n?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    The old man contemptuously answered, ¡°Don¡¯t dismiss all the possibilities beforeing to a conclusion. The truth is that this really does belong to the Leo n.¡±

 Chapter 196: Your Name

    <h4>Chapter 196: Your Name</h4>

    After listening to what the old man had to say, Lu Yin sighed. The Leo n, the pirate port, the attack¡­ He felt like he had stumbled upon something important, but it didn¡¯t really make sense yet.

    The old man matter-of-factly continued on, saying, ¡°If a person meets an enemy who¡¯s too powerful, he¡¯ll first hide himself while eliminating any traces that could lead back to him.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone with understanding as he clenched his fists. Yes, if this really did belong to the Leo n, then the only reason why they would ever attack their own pirate port would be to fabricate a battle so that they could destroy all evidence that could lead back to them. By doing so, the entire n could disappear into the vast universe, and the events would also help them escape from stronger enemies. He had simply been unlucky enough to be at the wrong ce at the wrong time. An unimportant person was pitifully forgettable¡ªnobody would try to help them even if they had been identally injured. Lu Yin believed that when the Leo n realized that Zhuo Daynight was there, they would definitely not throw her onto this kind of. When it came down to it, status determined everything, and now, Lu Yin found himself desiring it.

    He did not want to be sacrificed this easily again in the future. So what if he was powerful? Unless he was invincible, he would only ever be a chess piece. That was not what he wanted; he wanted to be the yer. Lu Yin¡¯s recent misfortunes had left an indelible mark on him, and this inhumane torture had changed the way he thought.

    The old man looked into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and saw something change, causing the corners of his lips to curve up. Sometimes, just one sentence was enough to spark someone¡¯s transformation.

    ¡°You just said that the Leo n hasn¡¯t been here for a month to collect ores, which means they¡¯ve left, right?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    The old man shook his head. ¡°This is well hidden, and the Leo n won¡¯t easily give it up. However¡­¡± The old man paused as his eyes darkened. ¡°The moment they give it up, the entire will turn to dust.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What do you mean? Is this going to be destroyed?¡±

    The old man nodded. ¡°Large organizations like them have their own methods of removing their trail. You said that you were thrown onto this after the attack on the pirate port. If the Leo n truly wanted to disappear, then there shouldn¡¯t have been any moves from them after the attack, but you were thrown on this. Your existence alone is proof that the Leo n still exists. In order to destroy all evidence, they¡¯ll definitely abandon this and will obviously destroy it in the process.¡±

    ¡°The Leo n doesn¡¯t even know if I¡¯m alive,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The old man disdainfully replied, ¡°They don¡¯t need to know that. They simply want to destroy all possible evidence that could show that they still exist. Even if it¡¯s a piece of unfinished white meat, it¡¯s still possible to analyze it and determine what kind of meat it is and how long it¡¯s existed for.¡±

    ¡°What about you? Why are you on this?¡± Lu Yin suddenly changed the topic. With how incredibly calm this old man was, he might have a way to escape.

    ¡°You may or may not learn more about me in the future, but now is not the time.¡± All of a sudden, the old man¡¯s expression changed. ¡°I was right, kiddo. Pray, because whether or not you¡¯ll survive depends solely on this moment.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up and his pupils shrank. He saw a beam of light strike the ground. It was such a familiar, memorable sight, as it was those same exact beams of light that had nearly imed his life before.

    Boom!

    The earth trembled and shockwaves rippled out towards them from the distance as violent winds dispersed the thick clouds. This was the first time Lu Yin was able to see outer space from the¡¯s surface.

    Large cracks spread across the ground as rivers of steaming redva appeared from deep underground. The old man grabbed Lu Yin and soared into the sky. While many of Lu Yin¡¯s injuries had healed, and even though he was able to use battle force now, his innards were still gravely injured, and it was impossible for him to escape from the destruction on his own.

    ¡°Kid, there¡¯s a spacecraft five li north of where my grandson¡¯s buried. Good luck.¡± He suddenly flung Lu Yin away and brought his palms together. An indescribable chant filled the air. It seemed to havee from the ancient past or the distant future, crossing through time and space to charge straight into the universe.

    Above Driftcharge, a huge warcraft floated in orbit as it shot out a stream of light beams, attempting topletely destroy the.

    Within the spacecraft, a youth¡¯s eyes shone as he watched Driftcharge being bombarded with attacks. He sighed in praise, ¡°Thank you for letting me watch, Grandpa Sam! I rarely get the chance to watch a be destroyed. It¡¯s beautiful!¡±

    Somewhere nearby, a middle-aged man smiled while arrogantly gazing at the. ¡°This is one of our properties, but we have to give it up or else our enemies will discover that it belongs to us.¡±

    ¡°Are there any people on the?¡± the youth asked curiously.

    The middle-aged manughed. ¡°They¡¯re not really people, only ves.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t see the moment where they get smashed to bits,¡± the youth sighed regretfully.

    The middle-aged man chuckled, ¡°There¡¯ll be many more opportunities for that in the future. When we get to some other regions, I¡¯ll capture more ves for you to y with.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Grandpa Sam!¡± The youth was delighted.

    All of a sudden, a mysterious chanting resounded throughout Driftcharge¡¯s atmosphere and burst out into space.

    The ultrarge spacecraft swayed and everyone watched on in shock. Grandpa Sam¡¯s expression changed before bing excited. ¡°It¡¯s an inheritance! An ancient inheritance! I didn¡¯t expect that an abandoned would actually have one!¡± After saying that, he rushed out of the spacecraft and charged towards Driftcharge along with numerous other people, all of them rushing toward the at maximum speed.

    They were all members of the Leo n who had the ability to travel through the universe without a spacecraft. Amongst them all, Grandpa Sam was the only Cruiser in the family. They were all guardians of the Leo n and had noticed the old man rushing forward, which led to all of them darting towards the as well. For people like them, the destruction of a could not threaten their lives at all. Only this inheritance mattered right now.

    Lu Yin crashed into the ground, far away from the skinny old man. Right next to him was the old man¡¯s grandson¡¯s grave. Lu Yin gazed into the distance, at the old man who had created such a huge ruckus. What is that old man trying to do?

    ¡°Go, kid. Remember to keep memorizing and reciting the Stonewall Scriptures; it¡¯ll be good for you. I¡¯ve already undone the dark seal in you, so forget everything that¡¯s happened here and live on,¡± the old man¡¯s voice sounded next to Lu Yin¡¯s ear.

    Lu Yin stared at the old man with mixed feelings. The two of them had spent two and a half months together. Things had started with Lu Yin¡¯s distrust for the old man, followed by annoyance, and now¡­ Lu Yin didn¡¯t actually know what his feelings toward the old man were. It wasplicated. Whatever they were, this person had saved his life and helped him improve greatly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The old man turned around, and even though his face was so gaunt that he looked like a skeleton, he managed to smile brightly. Lu Yin even saw some kindness and happiness in his sunken eyes. ¡°That¡¯s all I needed to hear. Live on, my child. Go, and I¡¯ll pave the way for you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strong currents of wind rise around him and push him towards the north. There was a spacecraft there that had been prepared for him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lu Yin yelled.

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve roamed the universe freely all my life, but now, I¡¯m going to die in some pathetic ce like the Outerverse. What a joke. What a joke the heavens have yed on me.¡± The old manughed maniacally after saying these words. Several peoplended at this moment: the powerhouses from the Leo n.

    When they saw the old man, they were all shocked beyond belief. Why is there such a powerful cultivator here?

    ¡°It¡¯ll be your honor to die with me.¡± The old man waved his arm and the entire Driftcharge seemed to change. It felt like time had stopped, and all of the Leo n powerhouses were rendered powerless in front of the old man, including the Cruiser realm powerhouse. They were all seemingly frozen in time and space.

    Lu Yin hit the ground once more and saw this scene when he nced back. He did not understand how the old man had managed to do such a thing as the gap in strength between them was too massive. Immediately after, the void erupted, and a ck spatial crack devoured everything in its way as it condensed into a ck hole.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he pped the ground with one palm, revealing a personal spacecraft. He entered without hesitation and turned it on.

    The spacecraft wobbled unsteadily as it slowly rose into the air. Off in the distance, the ck hole¡¯s event horizon continued growing; it had already devoured the old man and the Leo n powerhouses. Soon, it would devour the entire.

    The surface of the had already been ravaged beyond recognition, with plumes ofva spewing out haphazardly everywhere. Soon, the ckhole ate it all up, causing it all to vanish. Far off in the distance, some ves screamed, but nobody could save them. Lava flowed towards them like a tidal wave, wiping everything out.

    The spacecraft made a clunking sound as it took off at full speed, escaping from the ck hole as it shot through the atmosphere and appeared in outer space. Lu Yin turned around and watched as Driftcharge gradually disappeared from view.

    In front of him, an ultrarge spacecraft entered his sight. It was the Leo n¡¯s spacecraft.

    A pulling force took ahold of the personal spacecraft that Lu Yin was on, dragging it into the Leo n¡¯s spacecraft.

    Everyone in the Leo n was anxiously staring at where the used to be. The was almostpletely devoured now, so why hadn¡¯t the powerhouses from their family still note back yet?

    The personal spacecraft jerked and Lu Yin opened his eyes. As soon as the door opened, dozens of cultivators from the Leo n surrounded him, staring at him cautiously. ¡°Get out immediately.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly walked out. He was only wearing a tattered rag and looked like a primitive Cro-Magnon. His hair was long, and his face was ck, making him indistinguishable from amon ve.

    ¡°Take him to the young master,¡± someone said. It was one of the at least five Limiteers on the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin did not move; with his Invisible Aura Technique, these people had no idea how powerful he truly was. At the moment, all they could think about was finding out what had happened down on Driftwood. All of the powerhouses from their n had gone down there, which was a disaster for them. Without that protective shield, the n would not be able to move their resources.

    This ultra-huge spacecraft wasparable to a small city with a poption of more than a hundred thousand people, all floating in space. The one in charge had been the Cruiser, but now that he had disappeared along with the, the Leo n was in a state of panic. They were anxious to discover what had happened from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was pushed through a door and into a main hall where he was encircled by people of the Leo n.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over the people here. These were the ones who had caused him to nearly die. That single beam of light had cast him into the abyss while they werepletely oblivious to the consequences of their actions.

    ¡°What happened on Driftcharge?¡± a middle-aged man asked while staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. This person was fairly strong and gave him a sense of danger. The man should be a peak Limiteer who wasparable to an Area Master. Additionally, there were many other peak Limiteers around him.

    These people weren¡¯t as talented as the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students who had reached that level of strength at a young age. However, with time, they¡¯d managed to attain a strength that was at the level of an Area Master or even stronger. Thankfully, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t discovered any Limiteers nearby who gave him a sense of extreme danger, which meant that the Leo n no longer had a Limiteer that wasparable to a Realm Master.

    The most powerful person had been the Cruiser who died on Driftcharge.

 Chapter 197: Creating An Explosion

    <h4>Chapter 197: Creating An Explosion</h4>

    ¡°My father asked you a question. Answer him,¡± the young man shouted as he gestured with a hand. Someone then walked over from behind Lu Yin and raised his hand to strike Lu Yin¡¯s stomach. But Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone at that moment. When the person behind Lu Yin lifted his arm, blood sttered on the wall¡ªthe man was already dead.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Numerous Limiteers were about to attack Lu Yin, but as his eyes narrowed, three-lined battle force appeared around him, shocking everyone present. This was especially true for the most powerful Limiteer, whose pupils shrank as he felt a chill crawl down his spine.

    Ordinary battle techniques were nothingpared to three-lined battle force. Even though Lu Yin was seriously injured and unable to use his battle techniques, just his battle force alone was enough for him to annihte these two Limiteers without breaking a sweat. The most powerful Leo n Limiteer shouted as star energy flowed across his body like violent lightning as he punched out at Lu Yin. Lu Yin raised a hand and tried to block the punch, but his entire body was forced out of the room and into the hallway.

    Numerous soldiers of the Leo n surged in the direction that Lu Yin was thrown, and multiple star energy spears wereunched at him. However, they weren¡¯t able to harm him at all.

    Another crackle of lightning shook the room as another punch emerged in front of Lu Yin. His eyes narrowed as he twisted to the side to dodge it. Lu Yin then activated his Cosmic Art, allowing him to see the lightning even more clearly than before. He turned to the side once again and evaded the third strike. Battle force gathered at the tip of his finger, and with a single tap, was sent straight to the man¡¯s heart. However, this man was worthy of being the Leo n¡¯s most powerful Limiteer. He managed to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s attack it as he continuously retreated.

    From the left and right of Lu Yin, more and more Limiteers swarmed him.

    Lu Yin coughed up some blood as his organs couldn¡¯t handle such an onught of attacks. Although these Limiteers couldn¡¯tpare to the Area Masters from the Astral Combat Academy, they were all rich in terms of battle experience, which meant that Lu Yin could not handle all of them at once. He could only take advantage of the fact that everyone had moved to attack him to use sh to move next to the young man who had ordered them around earlier. He forcefully endured the pain from his injuries, grabbed him by the throat, and then turned to face the others.

    Everyone from the Leo n stopped what they were doing. ¡°Let the young master go.¡±

    ¡°Release my son!¡± the middle-aged man shouted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°If you let me go, I¡¯ll let him go as well.¡±

    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll let you go, so let him go first,¡± someone yelled.

    Lu Yin snickered. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot? Screw off.¡±

    Everyone slowly moved backwards while still ring at him. Meanwhile, that young master had been scared stupid; he¡¯d never been in a hostage situation before and could not stop himself from trembling.

    Lu Yin held him tightly and whispered in his ear, ¡°Take me to the warehouse.¡±

    The young man was surprised by the demand. ¡°Wh-What are you nning?¡±

    Lu Yin gripped his throat tightly, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, keep your mouth shut. I just want to destroy the mechanical section so that you won¡¯t be able to chase my spacecraft. Do it immediately, or I¡¯ll tear a limb off.¡±

    The young man was terrified and immediately led the way.

    Lu Yin was not at all worried about the young man trying anything funny. It would be very difficult for anyone to deal with Lu Yin in a closed area, such as inside a spacecraft. One way was to overwhelm him with numbers, but all of the important people in the Leo n were here, and it would be easy for Lu Yin to capture one as a hostage. Additionally, all he wanted to do was leave this ce. Revenge would have to wait until hepletely recovered from his injuries. As long as he could use his battle techniques again, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if he was fighting against twice the current number of people.

    ¡°Are you the head of this family?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at the middle-aged man.

    The man nodded calmly and then said, ¡°As long as you let my son go and tell me what happened on Driftcharge, I can let you leave safely.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Prepare ten million star crystals in exchange for your son¡¯s life.¡±

    Everyone was shocked, including the young man who was being held.

    ¡°Ten million? Are you crazy?¡± The middle-aged man bellowed. The others also red fiercely at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glimmered. Is that considered a lot? Ever since Undying Yushan had mocked him for thinking that he had extorted ¡°bribes¡± from the Great Yu Empire officials when it was truly just wee gifts, Lu Yin had decided that he would be more liberal when it came to money. But by the looks of it, he¡¯d gone a bit overboard in this case. As the emperor of the Great Yu Empire, Undying Yushan had only given him a hundred thousand star crystals. No matter how powerful the Leo n was, it could not possiblypare to the Great Yu Empire. After Lu Yin had robbed those pirates who had been in the business people for years, he had only gotten a couple hundred thousand crystals. Although ten million crystals was an amount that the Leo n could afford, they definitely wouldn¡¯t pay that much for the person he was currently holding hostage.

    ¡°How much can you give me?¡± Lu Yin coldly asked.

    The middle-aged man grit his teeth. ¡°Five hundred thousand at most. I don¡¯t have any more than that.¡±

    The man had cut the price by arge amount, but Lu Yin thought it over briefly before nodding. ¡°Alright, get it ready.¡±

    The middle-aged man gave one of the Limiteers behind him a look, and the person immediately left.

    With his hostage leading the way, Lu Yin slowly made his way over to the mechanical section. This was the core area of the ultrarge spacecraft where the delicate workings of the ship were housed and maintained.

    When Lu Yin got closer to the core ce, the expressions of the Leo n members changed, especially that of the middle-aged man. He red hard at his son, because he was the person guiding Lu Yin.

    ¡°What are you nning, kid? Let my son go, and I can let you leave!¡± the middle-aged man eximed. He could not let Lu Yin continue moving in this direction.

    Lu Yin stopped where he was. ¡°Where¡¯s my money?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s here. Take it.¡± The Limiteer who had gone to get the money tossed a cosmic ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sent out a gust of wind and blew the cosmic ring into the mechanical section. It went through the door andnded near the core machinery.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression drastically changed. ¡°Get it!¡±

    The Limiteer instantly paled and charged after the ring.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze remained frigid. ¡°I knew that you would do something like this.¡± He then pushed that young man into the mechanical section while he made a hole in the ceiling and escaped through it.

    The middle-aged man bellowed angrily and chased after Lu Yin as a red alert warning resounded throughout the spacecraft.

    After the warning, an explosion came out from the mechanical section. The middle-aged man stopped where he was and his expression changed. He stopped pursuing Lu Yin and instead darted back toward the mechanical section. That was the one ce where they could not afford to take damage.

    Lu Yin did not leave the spacecraft. Instead, after thinking things over, he rushed towards the outermostyer of the spacecraft, where the armory was located.

    Along the way, numerous troops pursued after him, and quite a few Limiteers tried to stop him, but their attempts all failed. Despite the pain of his injuries, Lu Yin wanted to try to get some revenge. He had initially wanted to take revenge in the future, but the Leo n was obviously very adept at concealing itself. If he let them go right now, who knew when he¡¯d be able to find them again?

    He had evene up with a n to exact revenge¡­

    The explosion in the mechanical section had finally been contained. However, the moment the middle-aged man heard that Lu Yin was headed towards the armory, his expressionpletely changed. He no longer cared about what damage the spacecraft would sustain, and like what Lu Yin had done earlier, he smashed through the walls straight towards the armory.

    However, Lu Yin still arrived first, and he easily dealt with the Limiteers guarding the area. The weapons had not been sealed off and were still aimed at Driftcharge. He had originally intended to turn the weapons that had attacked the onto the spacecraft itself, but the spacecraft had its own protective mechanisms, and it was impossible to train the weapons onto itself. However, every warcraft also had self-destruct mechanisms to prevent it from being taken over by enemies.

    Lu Yin did not know where the self-destruct trigger was, so his only option was to create a huge explosion with the weapons themselves.

    By the time the middle-aged man arrived, the armory was already set up to explode, causing him to shout out in rm, ¡°Stop!¡±

    All of a sudden, the spacecraft gave an unexpected warning that the self-destruct system had been activated.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter; he was too lucky today. The spacecraft¡¯s self-destructive system was actually right inside the armory!

    The middle-aged man bellowed in anger and immediately rushed towards the system, wanting to disarm it.

    Lu Yin matched his momentum, and with a bang, the two collided and were both sent flying backwards.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the middle-aged man yelled in anger, his eyes bloodshot.

    Lu Yin icily replied, ¡°Someone who was forced into hell by your Leo n.¡±

    ¡°I can make up for it,¡± the man yelled as he desperately charged towards the self-destruct system once again.

    Lu Yin lifted a leg and kicked out. Three-lined battle force was just too terrifying. Even though he had no star energy and couldn¡¯t use any battle techniques, he was still able to suppress the head of arge family. The middle-aged man was renderedpletely helpless against Lu Yin¡¯s three-lined battle force. Each move left him injured, but as more and more powerhouses from the Leo n appeared, Lu Yin eventually realized that he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them all, and so, he had no choice but to escape.

    Only two Limiteers chased after him while the rest all rushed to the system. However, because of the residual damage from the recent battle, the system had malfunctioned and the self-destruct sequence could no longer be stopped.

    The middle-aged man shouted, ¡°Hurry! Get the young master and escape!¡±

    The entire spacecraft was enveloped in terror.

    Lu Yin did his best to endure the pain wracking his entire body as he tore through all the walls in his way. He quickly found the location where the personal spacecrafts were stored, turned around, and then punched out with both fists. The two Limiteers attacked at the same time. One of them had an innate gift and emitted a disturbing noise that caused Lu Yin¡¯s brain to momentarily short circuit. His attacks froze in midair and he was struck. He hit quite a few personal spacecraft and spat out a mouthful of blood. The three-lined battle force on him also gradually vanished.

    Battle force was not unlimited. To begin with, his body had already been gravely injured, and he could no longer handle the physical stress of being damaged further.

    The two Limiteers immediately went after him to finish him off.

    Lu Yin looked up and punched forward. A Nine Stacks Ninefold Shockwave Palm sent one of the Limiteers staggering, but the other one¡¯s attacknded. However, Lu Yin still managed to grab that attacker¡¯s arm, and with a low growl, sent them flying. This was done through pure physical strength. However, this ced a massive burden on his inner organs, and he coughed up blood again.

    The moment he downed the two Limiteers, Lu Yin got into a personal spacecraft and immediately started it up.

    The two Limiteers attacked again, and this time, Lu Yin retaliated by shouting, ¡°This spacecraft is about to explode! Do you really want to die with it?¡±

    They froze and exchanged looks.

    At this point, most of the Leo n¡¯s troops arrived, all looking for a spacecraft. The two Limiteers grit their teeth and then headed to a personal spacecraft to escape as well.

    These ultrarge spacecraft generally kept hundreds of individual spacecrafts on board. However,pared to the number of Leo n members on board, there were still way too few. At this moment, there were less than fifteen seconds before the spacecraft self-destructed.

    The spacecraft that Lu Yin was seated in was the first to be activated, and it quickly charged out of therge spacecraft and into outer space. Shortly after, the other spacecraft escaped one after another.

    Sadly enough, perhaps because of the system¡¯s malfunction, only a dozen or so spacecraft were able to sessfully escape. The rest were all trapped next to the door of the hangar as the imminent self-destruction of the spacecraft neared. All that could be heard were mourning yells of despair.

 Chapter 198: Lu Yinâ€™s Benefactor

    <h4>Chapter 198: Lu Yin¡¯s Benefactor</h4>

    Within therge spacecraft, the middle-aged man was deep in anguish. The Leo n that had existed for so many years was done for, and it was all because of some random person who hade out of nowhere. The n head refused to take this lying down, and he turned to look outside the spacecraft, just in time to see Lu Yin fleeing inside a personal spacecraft.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes were filled with bloodlust. ¡°If we¡¯re going to die, then don¡¯t even think about surviving.¡± As he shouted, he aimed a weapon at Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb as a desperate chill overcame him. He sensed extreme danger, the same feeling that he had felt moments before he was struck by that light beam back at the pirate port. He turned around, and his gaze seemed to pierce through space to see the crazed head of the Leo n.

    ¡°DIE!¡± the middle-aged man shouted, and like a madman, he fired the cannon.

    Rumble!

    All of a sudden, the first explosion struck the ultrarge spacecraft, causing the entire vessel to sway slightly and the weapon to lose aim. The beam of light brushed by the personal spacecraft that Lu Yin was in and shot off into empty space. Shortly after, the ultrarge spacecraft burst into mes and the entire spacecraft was consumed by a final explosion.

    While Lu Yin had not been directly hit by the beam of light, it had nheless still damaged the hull. He could feel an extreme force pulling at him as the small spacecraft started rattling dangerously. Air was being rapidly sucked out, and the low pressure made it difficult for Lu Yin to breathe. Things were bad and this personal spacecraft was done for.

    As the ominous nking sounds intensified, Lu Yin frowned. So, in the end, I still wasn¡¯t able to escape from the cmity on Driftcharge. My death is imminent.

    As his spacecraft broke apart, Lu Yin found himself drifting through outer space. The huge pressure differential nearly caused his body to explode, but fortunately, thanks to his body¡¯s astounding physical strength, he did not die right away. He tightly held onto the hatch door. When the shockwaves from the ultrarge spacecraft¡¯s explosion reached them, the hatch door was mercilesslyunched deeper into space like aet.

    By this point, Lu Yin had already lost consciousness. He was merely a Melder and could not survive in space on his own. Death was just a matter of time, and in this situation, he unconsciously activated the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival.

    Not too far away, another ultrarge spacecraft was cruising through space. Within the control room, someone eximed, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s been an explosion on our starboard. I think that a spacecraft exploded!¡±

    ¡°Ignore it. We¡¯ll keep going.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±

    But then, there was another sudden shout. ¡°S-Sir, look! There¡¯s someone floating through space!¡±

    Everybody in the control room looked at the disy in shock as it revealed the image of a spacecraft¡¯s hatch door drifting by, on which clung a young man dressed in rags. He looked to be quite young and was gravely injured.

    ¡°Zoom in!¡± the pilot said as he frowned.

    The image on the screen expanded until everyone could see who the young man was.

    The pilot was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s him?! Save him immediately!¡±

    Meanwhile, inside a luxurious lounge, a beautiful woman was looking at a star chart, deep in thought. The pilot¡¯s voice suddenly came through from her gadget. ¡°Madam, please take a look at this.¡±

    The woman looked at her gadget and the disyed image. Her expression changed quickly as shemanded, ¡°Save him immediately! I¡¯ll be right there.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin was secured and brought into the spacecraft. Someone quickly transported him to the sickbay, and a number of doctors began treating him.

    ¡°Madam, this child¡¯s injuries are too serious. It¡¯s a miracle that he¡¯s even alive.¡±

    ¡°What a powerful body. It¡¯sparable to an Explorer¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°His innards are seriously injured, and his injuries seem to be getting worse. It¡¯s as if his regenerative abilities are being repressed.¡±

    ¡°Huh? He¡¯s only a Melder? It¡¯s a miracle that he even managed to survive in space.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d end up meeting him again so soon, madam,¡± the pilot whispered.

    This woman was Madam Nn. As she watched the doctors discussing amongst themselves, she had a strange look in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fate. In this vast universe, it¡¯d be unlikely to run into an entire even with your eyes closed, and yet, we have managed to run into this same person twice. And on top of that, each time was at a moment when he needed help the most.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re his benefactor,¡± the pilot said with a grin.

    Madam Nn watched as Lu Yin was being treated, and the corner of her lips quirked up. ¡°His benefactor? Perhaps I am.¡±

    There was still about half a month left before the Astral Combat Tournament started, and currently, Lu Yin was being treated by Madam Nn.

    For seven consecutive days, every doctor on the Nn Family spacecraft did everything in their power to treat Lu Yin, and they barely managed to keep him alive. The price that they had to pay was immense, and many precious herbs from the Innerverse had been used on him.

    ¡°How is he?¡± Madam Nn inquired as she observed Lu Yin lying naked in the nutritional fluid without even blinking.

    A doctor whispered back, ¡°The child¡¯s injuries are quite serious, and he doesn¡¯t have the ability to heal himself. However, despite all that, he¡¯s managed to remain alive. After all of our efforts, he¡¯ll live, but it¡¯s hard to tell when he¡¯ll wake up.¡±

    Madam Nn acknowledged his report with a nod.

    At this moment, the door opened, and a girl in a long white dress with refined features walked in. The most attention-grabbing aspect about her was the sword on her back. It wasn¡¯t an ancient, detailed sword like those from Ten Thousand Swords Peak, but rather, it was attention-grabbing in its simple design. One could even say that it had no style.

    ¡°Who is this person?¡± the girl asked. She also looked straight at Lu Yin, as if she didn¡¯t even acknowledge that he was of a different gender.

    Nn smiled. ¡°He¡¯s your ssmate from Astral-10, Lu Yin.¡±

    The girl was surprised. ¡°Astral-10? I thought that it had disappeared.¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know much about the Outerverse. This child is much more than he seems. He¡¯s the leader of Astral-10, just like how you are the leader of your academy,¡± Madam Nn said.

    The girl was surprised and eyed Lu Yin once more. Regardless of what state Astral-10 was currently in, bing a leader was no easy feat. However, he was a mere Melder.

    ¡°Since Astral-10 still exists, I don¡¯t need to rush back to the Innerverse anymore. I¡¯ll go straight to Astral-10,¡± the girl firmly stated.

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Of course! How could I have forgotten? Astral-10 is closer, so I¡¯ll contact them.¡±

    Meanwhile, within Astral-10, the Sandmaster stood quietly in the sand while sizing up Big Pao and Little Pao. The two brothers were exchanging nces.

    ¡°You know, Little Pao, I¡¯m getting old. Why don¡¯t you give the position of Astral-10¡¯s seed to me? I¡¯ll remember it forever.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to be the seeded student.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know anything about humility?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I should be saying. You shouldn¡¯t be bullying someone younger than you! Don¡¯t think that I haven¡¯t noticed this: you just want everyone¡¯s eyes on you so that you can be famous. The top ten will be up on that tform, and there¡¯ll be a hugemotion about them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re heartless.¡±

    ¡°If you keep arguing, I won¡¯t let you listen to Xi Yue¡¯s albums anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡­!¡±

    ¡­

    The Sandmaster grew irritated at their bickering. ¡°Shut up, you useless things.¡±

    Big Pao and Little Pao immediately shut their mouths.

    At this moment, the Sandmaster¡¯s gadget rang, causing him to frown. Truthfully, he hated this thing, but he had been put in charge of running Astral-10 team as the other old men couldn¡¯t be bothered with such things.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± The Sandmaster sounded like he was in a terrible mood.

    On his gadget¡¯s disy, a girl frowned and said, ¡°Greetings, Sandmaster. I¡¯m the leader of Astral-7, Liu Xiaoyun.¡±

    The Sandmaster was astonished. ¡°The leader of Astral-7? Why are you contacting me?¡±

    Big Pao and Little Pao were just as shocked by this call. If she was the leader of Astral-7, then wouldn¡¯t that make her a Realm Master? And a member of the Council of Astral Academy as well? This was someone who possessed real authority, and it had been a long time since anyone from Astral-10 had talked to someone this important.

    ¡°I would like to enter the tournament from Astral-10. Please approve it,¡± Liu Xiaoyun said.

    The Sandmaster was confused. ¡°Why not enter from your own academy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m currently not in the Innerverse, but rather the Outerverse,¡± she exined.

    The Sandmaster made a sound of understanding. ¡°Alright then, juste over.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, sir. There¡¯s one more thing. The leader of your academy, Lu Yin, is currently with me. We¡¯ll head over together,¡± Liu Xiaoyun casually added on.

    The Sandmaster was shocked. ¡°Lu Yin? He¡¯s still alive?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s alive, but very badly injured. However, he should be able to recover in time for the tournament.¡±

    ¡°When are you arriving?¡±

    ¡°Based on our speed, it¡¯ll take us about ten days to arrive. The tournament starts in seven days, so we¡¯ll most likely only arrive when the drawing of lots actually begins.¡±

    The Sandmaster said in a low voice, ¡°Got it. Hurry over.¡± With that, he ended the call and looked up to see Big Pao and Little Pao,pletely bewildered.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to fight over it anymore. The seeded position is going to Lu Yin¡¯s. He can¡¯t make it before thepetition¡¯s start, so he can only be a seeded student. He¡¯ll be in time for that, at least,¡± Sandmaster exined.

    ¡°He¡¯s not dead? That¡¯s amazing! It¡¯s a miracle that he managed to survive after being struck by that beam of light,¡± Big Pao said admiringly.

    Little Pao also said, ¡°Let him be the seeded student then. But he¡¯s pretty unlucky to have to stand next to the Realm Masters from the other nine academies. Hehe, it¡¯s gonna be stressful.¡±

    The Sandmaster started to get annoyed by them again. ¡°Okay, enough of this. Scram.¡±

    When the tournament started, each academy had to pick a seeded student who would take part in the section of drawing lots. Usually, the leader of each academy would take this position, but Astral-10 only had a leader among its new students, and he wasn¡¯t actually the leader of all of Astral-10. However, when Astral-10 submitted Lu Yin¡¯s name, it stirred up quite a ruckus. News of Lu Yin being killed at the pirate port had already spread far and wide, but Astral-10 had still submitted his name, so this shocked quite a number of people.

    Everywhere, there were people wondering if Astral-10 was trying to confuse everyone with this. However, neither Astral-10 nor Lu Yin received news of this.

    Seven dayster, within Zenyu Star¡¯s pce in the Great Yu Empire, a huge screen had been erected. This was connected to the universalwork and would be livestreaming the entire Astral Combat Tournament.

    This urred not only at the pce, but also on almost all of the screens in Zenyu Star. Almost everybody would be watching this tournament as it was a huge event for the entire universe.

    Within the Huo Family¡¯s mansion, Huo Xiaoling looked at the screen with aplicated look in her eyes. She had participated in the entrance exam for Astral-10 but had failed. Otherwise, she would be among the people on that screen. While she thought about this, Huo Xiaoling recalled Schutz and Lu Yin. One was the most powerful of his generation in the Great Yu Empire while the other was King Zishan. These two would probably appear in this tournament!

    The Auna Family was also watching their screen. They were going to view the full tournament.

    A list of the seeded students from the ten academies appeared, and the tenth seed was Lu Yin.

    ¡°There are rumors that he died, but not only did he not die, he even became a seeded student!¡± Rocky Auna told Xueshan Auna in excitement.

    Xueshan Auna watched the screen with just as much excitement and exhaled happily. ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. I¡¯m just d that he didn¡¯t die.¡±

    Not too far away, Jenny Auna stared at the screen in surprise.

    Within Yu Academy, Gerbach, Tian Ming, and the others were all crowded around a screen. Everyone was watching for fun, but they were also watching to see the difference between them and the students of the Astral Combat Academy. This was an order from Wendy Yushan. The Astral Combat Tournament was a battle between the strongest of their generation, and Wendy Yushan wanted them to see just how far they were away from them.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that King Zishan would be Astral-10¡¯s seeded student. That¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    ¡°Right. Schutz isn¡¯t even seeded. Does that mean that he¡¯s stronger than Schutz?¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t be. Schutz is the strongest in our Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Sixth Squadron¡¯s hall, Peach kept smacking her lips as she shoveled in snacks by the handful and stared wide-eyed at the screen. Hurry up! I¡¯ve been waiting for ages for this. Good luck, Lu Yin!

    A spacecraft floated through space. Inside, the second prince, Duke Yushan, intently watched the screen. At this moment, he was not as rxed as he had been on Zenyu Star. He exuded fatigue from every pore of his body, and he seemed rather upset.

    On another spacecraft, an armed mercenary group was also looking at a screen. During this Astral Combat Tournament, all civil strife was forbidden in the entire human star expanse so that everyone could watch in peace.

    ¡°Ian, pour the wine,¡± Danamanded with crossed legs.

    Behind Dana, Ian stared dumbfoundedly at the screen. Lu Yin? That shameless looter? How the hell did he climb all the way up there?!

 Chapter 199: Earthâ€™s Fame

    <h4>Chapter 199: Earth¡¯s Fame</h4>

    In the northern region of the Frostwave Weave, there was a water-blue that was dazzling to the eye. It was called Earth.

    Lu Yin and the rest had left Earth quite a while ago. When they left, Earth had still been swarming with waves of zombies, and huge changes had happened since then.

    When the Great Yu Empire sent its troops to eliminate the zombies on Earth, they had also refrained from interfering with its private matters. Thus, the current Earth had entered an era of unprecedented peace.

    In Jinlin, a giant screen rose as countless people looked on with envy. There were rumors that the tournament that was about to be broadcasted had been organized by the universe¡¯s greatest institution¡ªthe Astral Combat Academy. They would be able to clearly witness the strength of the universe¡¯s powerhouses. Earth had undergone a thorough transformation and stepped onto a new path, but they had only taken their first step, and they still could not fathom how long it truly was.

    A row of words appeared on the screen, listing the names of the ten seeded students.

    Zhou Shan was calmly drinking water, but he spat it out the moment he saw the list. The bottom entry showed that Astral-10¡¯s seed was Lu Yin: the Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire¡¯s King Zishan from the Earth.

    These words shocked everyone on Earth who saw them, as their¡¯s name had appeared at the universe¡¯s most important event. The word ¡°Earth¡± was clearly seen and countless individuals throughout the universe could see it too.

    The entirety of Earth fell into a deathly silence at that moment. This included everyone in the capital, like Huan Sha, to the old northeast blue camp, Zhao Yu, Jinlin, Zhou Shan, Feng Hong, Luo Yi, Qin Xuan, and even the green ins residents like Wu Sheng, and more were stunned speechless; everyone who knew Lu Yin was stunned. His name had actually made it onto the most dazzling list in the universe¡¯s top tournament and had brought Earth¡¯s name to countless eyes.

    Besides China, everyone in Europe, the Americas, and Africa, regardless of their rtionship with China, was cheering fanatically. They were proud of the name ¡°Earth¡± and proud of Lu Yin; he was one of them, and someone who had entered the universe by himself and obtained glory.

    A dispensable, insignificant had suddenly been thrust under the spotlight in front of the entire universe, and it brought another immense change to Earth. Just a simple row of words had motivated countless Earthlings.

    In Jinlin, a mesmerizingly beautiful teen¡¯s gaze brightened as she stared at the scene.

    In the capital, an ashen-faced youthy on the ground as he stared at thest row of words on the screen. Neither the obstructing crowds nor the filthy gutters could darken his bright gaze.

    In the forest, a teenager raised his head with an excited look upon his face.

    ¡­

    This was the universe¡¯s most glorious stage, and they all yearned to reach that ce as well.

    Within the Outerverse, on a vast continent, there was a city floating in the sky called San Dios. This was where the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s headquarters was located.

    When the list of seeded students was posted, Wendy Yushan had been looking at her screen with a curious expression. Thest line especially shocked her, as the insignificant bug had really climbed straight upwards and was now qualified for her to nce at.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Outerverse that was watching; the various major Flowzones in the Innerverse and countlesss there also had theserge screens, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the start of the Astral Combat Tournament. This was a grand asion where thework spanned the entire universe. The purpose of this tournament was to inspire the human race itself and motivate them to make preparations for the future star expanse wars by showing that humans were not weak.

    ¡­

    Within the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft sickbay, all of the treatments targeted towards Lu Yin¡¯s condition were proceeding methodically.

    ¡°His heartbeat has obviously sped uppared to before. That means that he should recover soon.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°The five viscera are doing well. This kid¡¯s vitality is shocking.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°There¡¯re three days before we¡¯ll reach Astral-10. The madam has ordered that he must regain consciousness within these three days.¡±

    ¡­

    Intermittent noises entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and he frowned as his eyelids twitched. Where am I? What¡¯s happening? Driftcharge, explosion, mutual destruction, the Leo n¡­

    Various scenes reyed themselves in Lu Yin¡¯s mind until he suddenly saw a light beam descending from the sky that sent him into the abyss. His eyes snapped open and the sickbay exploded with a bang. The nutrient fluid scattered in all directions, and Lu Yin gasped for air as his eyes widened while the fluid dripped down from his hair, drop by drop.

    Everyone around him fell silent and stared at him.

    After a while, Lu Yin raised his head and surveyed his surroundings. Confused, he asked, ¡°Where am I?¡±

    ¡°Hurry and inform the madam that the patient has regained consciousness and that his regenerative abilities have returned,¡± someone barked.

    Lu Yin was dazed. The madam?

    Not long after, in the luxurious lounge, Lu Yin once again met with Madam Nn. This alluring beauty had saved his life again.

    Lu Yin bowed solemnly. ¡°Thank you, madam, for doing me the kindness of saving my life. I, Lu Yin, will never forget this. As long as madam needs me, I, Lu Yin, will not hesitate to offer my aid.¡±

    Madam Nn beamed at him. ¡°You¡¯ve matured greatly since west met.¡±

    After his life and death crisis at Driftcharge, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze had be deeper, and his features seemed to have matured as well. After surviving two consecutive close brushes with death, anyone woulde out changed.

    Not long ago, he had been in control of many things, including even Earth¡¯s development, but the previous months¡¯ experiences had transformed both his world view and his power.

    ¡°You¡¯ve saved my life, and now I¡¯ve saved yours. So, we¡¯re even now,¡± Madam Nn said with a smile as she poured Lu Yin a ss of wine.

    Lu Yin epted it and breathed in the alluring fragrance that seemed to cloud the mind. It was pleasant-smelling, but this fragrance could cause one to be numb if they indulged in it for too long. ¡°Lu Yin will never forget the kindness that you¡¯ve shown in saving me.¡±

    Madam Nn pursed her lips, smiled, and then measured Lu Yin with her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the same serious expression, but you¡¯re apletely different person who you werest time we met. It seems that you¡¯ve experienced many things.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled enigmatically. ¡°Everyone must experience life. That¡¯s right, madam, do you know how long there is until the Astral Combat Tournament starts?¡±

    She pointed at the nearby screen as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s already begun.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked and hurriedly looked at the screen. It was showing a narrow and remote valley with many people standing on each side of the valley. They were all students. ¡°Madam, is this it?¡±

    ¡°Three Academies Guarding the Gate. You should know about this.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless and could only force a smile onto his face. Of course he knew what it was. Three academies would be chosen randomly, and of those three, the top ranked academy would send a student out, who would then select a student from each of the two lower ranked academies to help defend the valley. To continue on in the tournament, the three students had to intercept and stop at least half of the students who tried to cross the valley. Otherwise, the three academies would be eliminated.

    But the fact that this event was starting meant that the Astral Combat Tournament had indeed begun and that Lu Yin had not made it in time.

    ¡°I never thought that I would miss the Astral Combat Tournament,¡± Lu Yin saidmentably.

    Madam Nn gave a small smile. ¡°You haven¡¯t. You are Astral-10¡¯s seeded student. You won¡¯t y any part in these next three days, and we¡¯ll reach Astral-10 by the time you do need to appear.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked by this piece of news. ¡°I¡¯m the seed?¡±

    Sheughed in response. ¡°You¡¯re the student leader, so of course you¡¯re the seed.¡±

    Lu Yin felt awkward as Astral-10 also had Big Pao and Little Pao. One of them should have been prioritized for the seed position before him. Wait, hold on. ¡°Madam, you said ¡®reach Astral-10?¡¯ You¡¯re headed toward Astral-10?¡±

    ¡°Not me, but her,¡± Madam Nn said as she pointed behind Lu Yin. Coincidentally, the door opened just at that moment, and a young woman with a sword strapped to her back stepped through beforeing face to face with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as the girl¡¯s eyes seemed to sparkle with a sword¡¯s reflection. This woman was definitely not simple.

    The young woman seemed to hold no interest in Lu Yin and quietly kept to herself. She wordlessly sat down in front of the screen and calmly watched the events of the tournament unfold.

    ¡°Lu Yin, let me introduce you two. She¡¯s Astral-7¡¯s leader, Liu Xiaoyun, and a seed as well, like you,¡± Madam Nn said.

    Lu Yin was astonished. Astral-7¡¯s leader, so a Realm Master?

    ¡°Due to certain reasons, she missed the beginning of the tournament, and she now needs to borrow Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain to ess the Lifeseek Realm, as that¡¯s where the tournament is being held.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°So I can enter the tournament from there too.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Madam Nn replied with a smile.

    At that point, three people appeared in the valley on the screen. The foremost was a proud-looking man from the Daynight n, as his ck-and-white hair was ringly obvious. Not far behind him stood a slightly older student, andstly, there was Silver.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Astral-10 was selected to guard the gates?¡±

    ¡°The first student is Astral-3¡¯s Chilian Daynight, the second is Dai Ao from Astral-7, and the third is Astral-10¡¯s Silver. Your Astral-10 had simr luck before and was selected to guard the gates in thest tournament as well, but they actually ended up causing the other two academies to bepletely eliminated,¡± Madam Nn exined.

    ¡°Of which Astral-7 was one,¡± interjected Liu Xiaoyun, who had been quietly watching the screen.

    Lu Yin felt a little embarrassed, but it had nothing to do with him as he hadn¡¯t even been in the academy at that time.

    ¡°But there¡¯s no worries this time. Chilian Daynight alone should be enough,¡± Liu Xiaoyun continued.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. Chilian Daynight? He does indeed look powerful.

    ¡°Chilian Daynight is one of the top five students in all of Astral-3, and he is also one of the Area Masters of the Undying Realm. He specializes in area-controlling techniques. No matter how many people rush at him, if they are unable to defeat him, he can obstruct them all,¡± Liu Xiaoyun said indifferently.

    ¡°The students attempting to break through can only defend themselves. They cannot retaliate, use innate gifts, or use battle techniques. Under these circumstances, Chilian Daynight¡¯s advantage will be amplified even further. Hence, he chose two random students from Astral-7 and Astral-10 to defend with him.¡± Madam Nn voiced her opinion as well.

    Silver had been randomly chosen. In other words, in Chilian Daynight¡¯s eyes, it didn¡¯t really matter who the other two students supporting him were.

    Lu Yin beamed and stared at therge screen. During the two women¡¯s exnations, the tournament had formally started.

    With a loud bang, all of the participating students from the remaining seven academies charged out from the valley¡¯s northern side. As long as they could pass through this valley, they would sessfully enter the next section of the tournament. This was also an opportunity to be famous throughout the universe. Whether it was through strength or luck, if a student could stand out and show their face even just once during this tournament, it would be enough for them to boast about for the rest of their life. For this single chance, all of the students here were prepared to push themselves to their utmost limit.

    Chilian Daynight had a look of disdain as he stared at the students charging into the valley. He slowly squatted as his two palms began to vibrate. Star energy suddenly rushed from the sky, causing the void to waver. A momentter, green seaweed abruptly sprouted from the ground and instantly shrouded the valley in a green veil.

 Chapter 200: Breaking Through The Three Academies

    <h4>Chapter 200: Breaking Through The Three Academies</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened when he saw Chilian Daynight¡¯s innate gift. This forest of seaweed was obviously poisonous, so it was no wonder why he specialized in holdingrge groups back.

    About a thousand students from the ten academies were participating in this tournament, and this was only because participation was limited. Otherwise, every single student would have chosen to join.

    Astral-3, Astral-7, and Astral-10 had to send students to defend the valley, which left around 700 students from the other academies to charge into the valley. One versus 700 plus students from the Astral Combat Academy: it was a pressure that could only be imagined. But Chilian Daynight¡¯s face remained calm as two-lined battle force appeared all around his body.

    It was no surprise for an Area Master to possess two-lined battle force, but in the context of the poisonous seaweed-filled valley, it caused many students to despair.

    The dozen of students that were leading the charge ran right into the poisonous seaweed. As soon as they made contact with it, they directly copsed to the ground, dead. However, despite their near instantaneous death, their bodies gradually vanished from view. All of thepeting students wanted to charge straight through the valley, but they first had to face the intense poison of the seaweed forest.

    Countless people throughout the universe saw this scene depicted on their screens, and they could all feel the terror of the intense poison.

    Nobody knew how the Astral Combat Academy was able to broadcast what was happening in the Lifeseek Realm, but because they were, Chilian Daynight¡¯s name immediately became known by many. He, by himself, was enough to deal with nearly half of all the students here.

    In the rearmost area of the valley, Silver leaned against a wall in a rxed pose with his ssic wolfish grin. Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed the moment he saw Silver¡¯s grin. He had an odd premonition that this fellow, or perhaps actually the Neohuman Alliance behind him, wanted to mess things up!

    Suddenly, the scene in the valley changed once again; a blue aura had covered the skies and frozen the poisonous seaweed. Blue had reced the green as far as the eye could see.

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s face shifted; this drastic change was a result of someone forcefully using star energy to simte ice, to the point where even the color of the sky had changed. A powerhouse had joined the battle.

    In the middle of the valley, Chilian Daynight¡¯s face also shifted, and he gritted his teeth as he stared into the distance. ¡°Sha.¡±

    Sha was from Astral-4 and was the Dao of ughter¡¯s Ice Domain Area Master. He had also been Silver¡¯s backer when Astral-10 student first entered the Dao of ughter.

    ¡°You want to help these people cross through and thus instantly eliminate our three academies? Impossible,¡± Chilian Daynight shouted as he rose into the skies. He then pressed both palms down and in a low voice, growled out, ¡°Blossoming rain.¡±

    The previously frozen poisonous seaweed shook as they tried to break free from theyer of ice to reach the students.

    The crowd of students did not wait for his attack tond and continued charging toward the back of the valley as quickly as they could.

    When Chilian Daynight had acted earlier, he had eliminated almost a hundred students. But now, he was now obstructed by Sha. Even more importantly, a giant beast had suddenly appeared, overshadowing almost half of the valley. It rose into the air, covering the sky and separating Chilian Daynight from the students below him.

    Outside the valley, the students watching the battle eximed, ¡°It¡¯s Long Ze, the sylvan dragon n¡¯s powerhouse! He¡¯s one of Astral-4¡¯s Area Masters as well.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Astral-4 is doing their best to help half of the students pass through so that all three academies guarding the gate will be eliminated. It would reduce the number of opponents.¡±

    ¡­

    To the south of the valley, there was a high peak that stood above all the others. Ten seats had been ced there for the seeded students from the ten academies. The seeds represented the academy leaders, as was tradition. Aside from the first, seventh, and tenth seats, all of the others were filled.

    A girl sat in the third seat, her ck-and-white long hair undting in the gentle breeze. Half of her face was covered by her hair, revealing only her purple eyes. She was Astral-3¡¯s leader, the Undying Realm¡¯s Realm Master, Nightqueen Yanqing.

    As she watched the scene unfold before them, her purple pupils nced coldly to one side. ¡°Was this your idea?¡±

    A male was sitting on the fourth seat, not far from Nightqueen Yanqing. He had shocking red hair, a cold expression, and a thin, indistinct red aura emanated from his body. He was Astral-4¡¯s leader, Dao of ughter¡¯s Realm Master, Xue Liuyun.

    Xue Liuyun did not say anything when he heard Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s usation, though a scarlet red glint appeared in his eyes. He was the most detached among the gathered academy leaders.

    Nightqueen Yanqing frowned and did not speak further. Even further down along the row of seats, Kuang Wangughed. ¡°Daynightdy, after so many years, you still don¡¯t understand the old blood, do you? Does he look like the plotting sort? Obviously, someone further down is ignoring him.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing snorted. ¡°Humans change. It¡¯s no secret that Astral-4 has always wanted to take my Astral-3¡¯s position, but unfortunately, Astral-7 will go down together with them.¡±

    Xue Liuyun¡¯s eyes widened slightly, and he hoarsely replied, ¡°I will make Long Ze pay, but I¡¯m not familiar with the other person.¡±

    Kuang Wang said, ¡°You mean Sha. He¡¯s a bit of an oddball.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing stopped talking, as Xue Liuyun¡¯s meaning was clear. The actions currently taking ce went against his instructions. The sylvan dragon was simply too haughty and dared to ignore his Realm Master¡¯s wishes. It really thought that its race had established itself in the human realm, but really, it was only a race that had betrayed the astral beast star expanse and then been forced to settle down in a fiery fringe Flowzone.

    In the northernmost area of the valley, the rampant forest of poisonous seaweed finally broke through the ice seal and descended to once again attack all of the charging students. But unfortunately for Chilian Daynight, a good portion of the seaweed was blocked off by Long Ze¡¯s enormous body. The dragon had an enormous body, but it also had extreme speed. Though it was not allowed to attack Chilian Daynight, it could still defend itself.

    A momentter, the blue ice seal expanded once more and rose above the dragon to cover the sky and iste Chilian Daynight from the students.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s face turned ugly as she remarked, ¡°That fool.¡±

    In the middle of the valley, the student from Astral-7 had a solemn expression on his face. He had thought that this stage would be easy to pass, and he had not expected that Chilian Daynight would be targeted. When Astral-4 used its full force, even the power of the Daynight n was not enough topete against them.

    Dai Ao could hear Chilian Daynight¡¯s furious roar, but it would be very difficult for him to break through the defenses of two Area Masters who were each as strong as himself.

    Back on the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft, Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s face turned ugly as she watched the scene. This sort of incident rarely happened in the past during the first stage of the tournament. The Astral Combat Tournament paid great attention to fairness, and this first stage was only meant to eliminate the students who did not qualify for the next stage of drawing lots. It was very rare for someone to intentionally attempt to knock out the three defending academies, as this would incite conflict between the academy branches. This had urred in thest tournament because Astral-10 student had been too lousy and burdened the other two. Now, even though Chilian Daynight had acted, more than half of the students had managed to break past him. This was already equal to them half-sessfully breaking through the three academies.

    ¡°Xiaoyun, how¡¯s the student from your Astral-7?¡± Madam Nn asked.

    Liu Xiaoyun solemnly replied, ¡°Dai Ao is strong and no weaker than Chilian Daynight. However, he specializes in one-on-onebat and not against a crowd. Astral-7 has a battle technique called the Starburst Palm that allows the user to use their entire strength in every attack without excessive energy consumption. This technique is very potent in single handedbat, but not so much in arge battle setting. Also, Dai Ao himself is not adept at extreme speed.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that they did not have much hope. In this situation, a slow guard could essentially be disregarded; how many students could Dai Ao possibly block with a slow speed? These Astral Combat Academy students each had their own unique skills, and it would not be easy for even an Area Master to defeat them. Many of the students were Limiteers, even though there were a few Melders.

    Lu Yin thought about it some more and then shifted his gaze towards the rear of the valley, where Silver was still leaning against the mountain in a rxed manner, though a butterfly knife had appeared in his hand at some point.

    No matter how furious Chilian Daynight was, his blockade had already been broken through, and he was now tangled in a fight against two Area Masters. It would be difficult for him to chase after the students now.

    In the middle section of the valley, Dai Ao took a deep breath. His face was peaceful despite facing the horde of students attempting to charge through the valley.

    When the first student stepped within a hundred meters of him, Dai Ao attacked. It was not the Starburst Palm that Liu Xiaoyun had mentioned, but instead¡ªa gravity field.

    When the ck gravity field descended upon the valley, the ground shattered, shocking countless people. The students from Astral-7 were especially shocked because Dai Ao had never revealed his innate gift of gravity. Additionally, his field immediately intensified gravity by a hundred times, which was so powerful that even a Limiteer would find it difficult to endure.

    Not even Liu Xiaoyun had known that Dai Ao possessed an innate gift of gravity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. Gravity, and an energy-efficient Starburst Palm... Thisbination reminded him of someone, Invincible Palm, whom he had met in the ported battles. They had exchanged twenty three strikes before Lu Yin¡¯s organs had been crushed by the opponent¡¯s gravity.

    Lu Yin grimaced as he watched Dai Ao actpletely unhindered in the valley. He had only been able to hold out against this person for so long due to pure luck; Invincible Palm had never revealed his full strength during their battle. Rather, it would be more urate to say that Starburst Palm was only a portion of his strength. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had been finished the moment he had unleashed his innate gift of gravity.

    Within the valley, Dai Ao consecutively eliminated seven students, though the eighth managed to block his attack.

    Dai Ao was shocked and nced at the surviving student. It was an Area Master who immediately slipped away. The goal of the three academies guarding the gate was to eliminate half of the students, and an Area Master was obviously not chaff to be tossed away.

    If the Astral-7 students were shocked, then those who had barged into the valley felt condemned to doom. They had all thought that the second student would be easy to deal with, but they had actually run into another freak. His innate gift of gravity affected the entire region, and they could not avoid it even if they tried.

    This Dai Ao was no easier to deal with than Chilian Daynight.

    Outside the valley, Coco was shocked. ¡°There are so many powerful people here. Sister Zora, are we really going topete against them?¡±

    Zora felt helpless as she replied, ¡°These are the cream of the crop of the Astral Combat Academy. We don¡¯t have topete with them.¡±

    Michelle¡¯s gaze burned as she stared at themotion inside the valley. The stronger the students were, the greater her desire to do battle.

    The entire valley was trembling. Regardless if one was present in the valley or merely observing the events through a screen, they could all feel that stifling strength.

    Within the Great Yu Empire pce, Undying Yushan sighed as he remarked, ¡°This goes to show the disparity that exists within the younger generation.¡±

    Gerbach and the rest were speechless. If they were the ones running through that valley, they would not even be able to react before they were killed and eliminated.

    On Earth, everyone watched the screens and marvelled at the terror of the universe¡¯s powerhouses.

    Dai Ao¡¯s sudden eruption of strength had elevated the Astral Combat Tournament to even higher heights. From the very start, this tournament was fated to be different from the previous ones.

    Just as everyone assumed that Dai Ao would be able to persevere and hold the line, a melodious tune pierced through the air, stunning him. In the sky, an absolute beauty sang and captured everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°That, that¡¯s Xi Yue! The celebrity!¡±

    ¡°The Souldream Tribe¡¯s young leader has made her move. Xi Yue¡¯s music can¡¯t be considered an attacking technique. And since it¡¯s not based on star energy either, it¡¯s also not a battle technique. At its core, it¡¯s just music.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Astral-8 and Astral-4 are intent on eliminating Astral-3 and Astral-7 here.¡±

    ¡­

    Xi Yue¡¯s music was extremely unusual. Even though it held no star energy, her dreamlike tunes caused the unprepared Dai Ao to fall right into her trap. This was not an attack, but it dragged him into an inescapable vortex of desire.

    Student after student streaked past Dai Ao and charged towards the end of the valley. Everyone was very excited as there was only an Astral-10 student left blocking their path. In their minds, they had already won. Astral-10 was nothing in their eyes. The academy newspaper had stressed that there were powerhouses amongst Astral-10 students, but ultimately, everyone had deemed it impossible for Astral-10¡¯s students to trulypete against the other academies¡¯ students.

    Xi Yue¡¯s music could not hold Dai Ao for long. He suddenly opened his eyes and saw that a student was trying to sneak past him. Without hesitation, he struck that student with a Starburst Palm. That student pursed their lips and lifted their leg before sweeping it across.

    Bang!

    The void was torn apart as a spatial crack extended towards the sky, tearing through the valley.

 Chapter 201: Silverâ€™s Art

    <h4>Chapter 201: Silver¡¯s Art</h4>

    Everyone was frozen when they saw a student tear through the void.

    There were few who would go so far during the initial tournament stage of Three Academies Guarding the Gate. The stronger students would usually breeze through unprovoked as attempting to stop them would only prolong the battle. Dai Ao¡¯s one attack made many truly understand the power of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s top students.

    The student was unfortunately eliminated. It was because their actions had been deemed an attack even though they had held the strength of an Area Master.

    Dai Ao sighed when he realized that he had actually tried to go all out against an Area Master.

    At this time, only about a hundred students had been eliminated. Most of them had died to Chilian Daynight¡¯s poison, but some had also died to Dai Ao¡¯s gravity field.

    It seemed that this first round was doomed to be a repeat of the previous Astral Combat Tournaments. In that tournament, the three guarding academies had all been eliminated, and from what everyone could see, this year¡¯s first round seemed to be going the same way. No matter how strong a student from Astral-10 was purported to be, was it possible for him to stop so many students?

    Many of the students from Astral-7 had fallen into despair.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had a cold look on her face. This was the one Astral Combat Tournament that everyone was focused on, but she might not even have the right to participate. What a bunch of fools.

    At that moment, on a spacecraft in space, Liu Xiaoyun was also frowning as her eyes shed with helplessness.

    Madam Nn sighed. ¡°Forget it, Xiaoyun. You¡¯ll get plenty of opportunities in the future.¡±

    There was nothing that Liu Xiaoyun could do.

    ¡°Do you honestly believe that Silver can¡¯t hold his own?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Xiaoyun nced at him coldly, not even bothering to reply.

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes lit up at Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°Do you think that he can do it?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged as he replied, ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but it¡¯s definitely possible.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how deep the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strength went, but he knew that Silver was more than he appeared to be. Even now, when Lu Yin looked at the screen, Silver¡¯s sly, wolfish grin had yet to disappear from his face.

    Outside the valley, the people from Astral-10 were simrly at a loss. They also thought that Silver was helpless.

    There were people chatting amongst themselves not too far away. ¡°Look at that disgusting smile on that Astral-10 bastard¡¯s face. I wish that I could tear his face off and smash it.¡±

    ¡°Right? His smile is so sneaky. It¡¯s horrifying.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s obviously not a good person.¡±

    ¡­

    The people from Astral-10 silently took several steps backwards.

    Within the valley, four hundred or so students excitedly charged towards the end. When they saw that thest guard, Silver, was nonchntly leaning against a hill, their excitement peaked. Did he give up? Awesome! That¡¯ll save us a lot of energy.

    Among the crowd, Liu Ji instantly paused the moment she saw Silver. It¡¯s him? He¡¯s the person who made my scalp go numb and who made me realize that Astral-10 had secrets in it! Liu Ji remembered this person well and was sure that he was very powerful.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Liu Ji? Let¡¯s go!¡± Gus tried to hurry her along. Liu Ji¡¯s eyes shed, but she did reply.

    The first batch of students had already charged over to Silver. Many were furious and had started cursing Astral-10 for sending this piece of trash over; this student was about to be defeated, but he still didn¡¯t have the courage to attack them.

    Outside the valley, Wu Da¡¯s eyes widened. A piece of trash? That person is definitely extremely strong despite him being only in the Melder realm.

    Wind blew by as dozens of students rushed past Silver. Someone even mocked him as they passed him, calling him a piece of garbage.

    At that moment, Silver¡¯s eyespletely opened. An indescribable chill that prated all the way to the bone spread out in all directions around him. All of the students felt a shiver creep down their spines from the startling change in Silver. Everyone who had run past Silver had died without a sound or struggle. All they had seen was a shing butterfly knife stained with blood.

    How quickly had Silver killed all of those people? Out of all of the numerous students in the immediate vicinity, only the Area Masters were able to tell. Most hadn¡¯t seen anything, and even the dead had only been able to grasp the moment they died when they saw the butterfly knife slide across their necks. The only evidence of Silver¡¯s attack was a light redness on their necks afterwards. There were no other signs of injury on their body.

    In just ten seconds or so, at least twenty people had fallen. Silver, meanwhile, was still standing in the middle of the valley as he smiled at the rest of the students with his same horrifying, wolfish grin.

    If Chilian Daynight¡¯s attacks were morous and Dai Ao¡¯s attacks were shocking, then Silver¡¯s attacks that were delicate and left no trace were the most startling.

    The valley was smothered in silence now. All of the students stared at Silver in shock. In just an instant, he had killed more people than Chilian Daynight or Dai Ao, and he had done it without batting an eye.

    Atop the peak to the south of the valley, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°How interesting. His attacks were extremely fast¡ªeven most Area Masters can¡¯t reach his level of speed. Is this the level of power in Astral-10? Not bad.¡±

    Kuang Wang was shocked as well. ¡°I thought that only those two senior students who remained in Astral-10 despite its scandal were powerful, but he¡¯s pretty good as well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very excited to see what kind of person the leader of the tenth academy is.¡± Far away, the man in the eighth seat mentioned Lu Yin with curiosity. His name was Feng Shang, and he was the leader of Astral-8 and the Realm Master of the Dao of Illusion. He was also one of the people whom Jared feared.

    After making thisment, Feng Shang nced at the person on the ninth seat. A man with a huge pair of headphones sat there, bobbing his head. He was the leader of Astral-9, the Dao of Change¡¯s Realm Master, Liu Yin.

    ¡°Can you hear me, Liu Yin?¡± Feng Shang shouted.

    Liu Yin continued obliviously swaying his head about, leaving Feng Shang speechless.

    Silver¡¯s ability to kill so many people so quickly had shocked everyone, including the ten academies¡¯ students and mentors who were all watching the tournament. They had never imagined that there could be somebody this outstanding in Astral-10.

    Within the spacecraft, Madam Nn looked at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°This student is amazing.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun was surprised as well.

    Lu Yin merely smiled in response. ¡°He¡¯s definitely very good. Even I don¡¯t know how powerful he truly is.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the leader of Astral-10?¡± Madam Nn asked curiously.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. ¡°My title came out of nowhere. He might have even been the one who gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Madam Nn refrained from asking any more.

    Within the valley, Liu Ji¡¯s eyelids continuously twitched. She knew it! She knew that this guy was more than he seemed.

    Even though Silver had revealed a surprising strength when he killed all those people incredibly quickly, the other students were still Astral Combat Academy students that had enrolled based on their own merits. Silver was still merely a Melder, which meant that his strength wasn¡¯t terrifying enough to freeze all the other students in ce. Before long, they resumed the charge forwards.

    Silver grinned as he watched the tide of students approach. His butterfly knife twirled around like a dancer, and with each glint of light that it reflected, more people died. He was killing people way too quickly, and his attacks seemed to alwayspletely disregard his targets¡¯ defenses.

    However, the people that Silver chose to attack were never Area Masters. He wasn¡¯t crazy enough to think that he could stop everyone. Chilian Daynight and Dai Ao had adopted the same tactic, all of them choosing to avoid obstructing the Area Master-level students.

    As the butterfly knife shed out again, Gus clutched at his neck. He had nearly reached the level of an Area Master, and yet, he had also been killed. Beside him, Liu Ji also grew pale. She was weaker than Gus, and when she looked up, she found herself staring straight into Silver¡¯s icy gaze.

    Silver smiled at her, and after that, his butterfly knife shed.

    Liu Ji grit her teeth as her eyes flitted around. With the help of her innate gift, she was able to see the trajectory of the butterfly knife, but she still was not able to block his attack.

    With a ng, the butterfly knife was blocked by a palm that suddenly appeared in front of Silver; Charon had stopped his attack.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but she¡¯s not someone who you can touch,¡± Charon said coldly.

    Silver smiled and fluidly transitioned to attack another nearby student. The butterfly knife struck his neck, and the unfortunate student copsed in disbelief before disappearing from the Lifeseek Realm.

    The rear of the valley was now the site of a gigantic massacre. For Silver, killing was an art form, but in the eyes of the general popce, he was a terrifying murderer. This became even more true when his butterfly knife wondrously split from one de into two, and then from two into three. Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. ¡°It¡¯s a domain! That guy hasprehended a domain!¡±

    Quite a few were shocked by this scene. Not just anyone couldprehend a domain, and even a genius Lockbreaker like Charon had only just begunprehending his own.

    At this moment, everyone understood why this Melder had been able to cut down everyone in his path with ease, even those above his level. For those who hadprehended a domain, battling above their realm was not a problem.

    A lucky few students managed to slip through the valley while many others copsed. Though Silver was thest line of defence, he killed more people than even Chilian Daynight and Dai Aobined. His domain was extremely suited to ughter.

    As the audience watched Silver, even the Realm Masters seated atop the peak looked grim. Anybody who hadprehended a domain was not to be underestimated, even if they were only a Melder.

    On the sixth seat, Dao Bo¡¯s eyes twinkled; he was interested in all variations of domains.

    To the south of the valley, there were tenrge battle drums. There was one person standing in front of each one. They were the students who had been selected for the second section of the tournament, one from each of the ten academies. These battle drums had ten arenas marked out behind them, and at this moment, the first students were beginning to arrive.

    The first arrivals were all Area Masters from the various trial zones, and they were all very powerful. The three students guarding the valley had not attacked them, which was why they¡¯d managed to reach this point without much difficulty. When the rest of their fellow academy branch students who passed through the valley arrived, they could immediately start striking their drum.

    In front of Astral-10¡¯s drum, Lulu was looking up at the screen, shocked. She never expected that Silver, who had never revealed his skills, would actually be this amazingly powerful. He had activated a domain of all things, and he could even easily kill those who were a realm above him. He was definitely no weaker than Lu Yin¡ªno, he might even be stronger. While Lu Yin had indeedprehended battle force, his was still only at the elementary level. Silver¡¯s domain was clearly not something recentlyprehended, which made him terrifying. It was no wonder why he was always grinning in such a disturbing manner.

    With this in mind, Lulu nced at the war drum that was the furthest away. That was Astral-1¡¯s war drum, and a girl stood in front: Grandini Mavis, someone else from the Mavis family.

    Perhaps she felt Lulu¡¯s gaze on her, but Grandini turned around to smile at Lulu.

    Lulu pursed her lips pensively and scanned the rest of the students standing in front of the war drums. They were among the strongest of their respective academies, and they might even be second only to the realm masters. This was because it took an inordinate amount of strength to make these war drums sound out. Only those with the strength of an Area Master had the required power.

    The other students standing by the drums didn¡¯t really stand out, but the person from Astral-5 caught Lulu¡¯s attention. It wasn¡¯t that he seemed particrly powerful; rather, he seemed far too weak. This man gave Lulu the impression of extreme frailty. Could someone like him even strike the war drum? It required great physical strength.

    Lulu looked away and nced to the side. Astral-9 had chosen a grim young man with a pale face. He emanated coldness from every pore of his body. If his eyes were closed, Lulu might have even assumed that this person was a corpse. The Astral Combat Academies really took in all sorts of people.

    In the middle of the valley, Dai Ao managed to stop a hundred or so students; his innate gift of gravity had reached the limit. These students were all powerful, and even if they did not fight back, they had all kinds of different methods to save themselves. Dai Ao had a menacing expression as the gravity covering the middle part of the valley vanished. Right after, he pushed his speed to the maximum and even applied antigravity to himself to increase his speed even further.

    Without the gravity holding them back any longer, a new wave of students immediately charged forward.

 Chapter 202: Knocking On The Dragonâ€™s Door

    <h4>Chapter 202: Knocking On The Dragon¡¯s Door</h4>

    Visible clouds of green, toxic gas could be seen floating through the air. Chilian Daynight had broken through the ice seal, releasing a poison gas that filled the valley. It covered an enormous area, which also meant that it was much more dilutepared to before. With Dai Ao and Silver¡¯s strength, however, most of the students would not be able to pass through the valley unless they were a top ranked fighter of their academy.

    Twenty minutes passed before thest student exited the valley, thus ending the tournament¡¯s initial segment of Three Academies Guarding the Gate.

    A total of 362 people had managed to break through, which was nearly half of the starting number. If just a few more had slipped through, then the three Astral academies guarding the gates would have been eliminated from the tournament.

    Nightqueen Yanqing heaved a pent up sigh of relief. Thankfully, the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage was mainly for entertainment purposes. If the Area Masters had seriously attacked, then even if all three of the students from Astral-3, Astral-7, and Astral-10 had worked together, they would not have been able to stop the other academy students from breaking through.

    This portion of the tournament allowed the spectators to see just how powerful the students of the Astral Combat Academy were. It wasn¡¯t just the students guarding the gates, but also those who broke through. Many of the spectators had realized that they wouldn¡¯t have been able to get past those three defenders themselves. They had used poison, gravity, and a killing domain¡ªeach terrifying in their own right. Even some of the Explorers had a grim look when faced with the reality that the young generation was growing increasingly powerful.

    Out in space, Liu Xiaoyun sighed in relief that her academy had passed this initial stage. She looked at Silver on the screen, who was still wearing his perpetual smile that gave her the chills. He was merely a Melder, but in his domain, he was able to fight against Limiteers as an equal. Even though the Limiteers weren¡¯t allowed to counterattack, few could even block his moves. The moment Silver became a Limiteer, he would definitely be someone to watch out for in the battles for the Realm Master titles.

    It was not just Liu Xiaoyun; the other Realm Masters sitting atop the peak at the south of the valley had their eyes on Silver as well.

    And within the Great Yu Empire, Jue Lang had arge frown on his face as he considered Silver¡¯s mysterious origins. Although Silver was from the Great Yu Empire, there was a pathetically small amount of information about him, and it even seemed that his information had been covered up. Who exactly is he?

    On the screen of Undying Yushan¡¯s gadget, Silver¡¯s background information was disyed. It was very normal and simple, and also very mysterious.

    Within the valley, Chilian Daynight and Dai Ao curiously sized Silver up. This person was terrifying; he was personally responsible for nearly half of the students¡¯ deaths. Although they were in the Lifeseek Realm, they had a strange feeling that Silver wouldn¡¯t hold back even if he were actually killing people. In other words, he was a madman.

    Silver had an enormous grin as he looked up at somebody.

    When the participating students reached the areas behind the battle drums, the next stage, Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door, started.

    All the students from Astral-4 gathered together right away. On the screen, under the gazes of countless people in the universe, a man grunted as his palm expanded and the air around him distorted. His battle technique caused the ground to crack beneath his feet, and there were even some spatial tears that reached into the sky, leaving the onlookers in dumbstruck in awe.

    Boom!

    A startling sound echoed throughout the arena as soundwaves that were visible to the naked eye rippled through the air. The ones who were first affected by the soundwaves were the participating students from Astral-4.

    This was a form of initiation by battle drums. During ancient times, when wars were waged, an army would always strike their drums before entering battle. Only those who were able to withstand the drum¡¯s heavy soundwaves were allowed to enter the battlefield. And here, the Astral Combat Tournament could be considered a battlefield as well.

    The dozens of participating students from Astral-4 could not move as the heavy soundwaves passed through them. Even if blood flowed out of their eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, they had to endure it. At this moment, they refused to copse no matter what.

    The soundwaves passed through the students from Astral-4 and spread outwards, gradually epassing all of the participating students. This included the students from Astral-3, Astral-7, and Astral-10, who had just arrived.

    The ground cracked, and shards of stone flew into the air before being pulverized into dust.

    At that moment, another drumbeat rang out from the direction of Astral-1¡¯s side. Right before Lulu¡¯s eyes, Grandini Mavis attacked the drum with a punch. Although her attack didn¡¯t create spatial tears like the man from Astral-4, her attack was just as shocking because she was beating the drum with pure physical strength.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The deafening sounds caused the very air to distort, and the explosion of concentrated sound waves caused a huge ruckus in the arena. In front of Grandini, the three valleys from the previous segment had been destroyed. The other variousbat academy students who were watching from the side were also affected by the stacked soundwaves. They covered their eyes as their faces scrunched up in pain.

    Behind Astral-10¡¯s battle drum, Coco bit her lip, Meng Yue¡¯s face turned red, and Schutz clenched the handle of his sword. These soundwaves had forced them to the brink of fainting.

    Lulu let out a sound, lifted her hand, and punched forward. It was only when her little white fist made contact with the drum skin that she finally understood why she had been told to go all-out. The battle drum was so tough that ordinary people wouldn¡¯t even be able to cause the drum to make a sound.

    Boom!

    The soundwaves from the drums kept ovepping, until finally, some students copsed from the power of the vibrations. These students had managed to pass through the previous segment by sheer luck, but that alone was not enough for them to qualify to pass through this stage. The Astral Combat Tournament was a ce where only the truly powerful and not those who were merely lucky would shine.

    In front of Astral-5¡¯s battle drum, the man who Lulu had assumed was frail raised his hand. Water gathered in the sky until it formed a giant ball. As time passed, the size of the ball continued to increase. Many were startled by how much water had gathered, and the water ball was clearly horrifyingly heavy.

    Boom!

    Astral-5¡¯s battle drum produced an earth-shattering sound that overpowered the sound from Astral-9¡¯s drum. It also caused at least twenty students to cough up blood and copse.

    Behind Astral-10¡¯s battle drum, Darkvoid looked up at the frail-looking man. His name was Tu Bo, and like him, he was an individual who was being nurtured by Shamrock Enterprises. This meant he had a terrifying innate gift.

    All the battle drums were beat resoundingly, but this also caused everything within a radius of ten thousand meters to be destroyed. The ground turned to dust as smoke and dust filled the air. Above the war drums, the sky itself had cracked, as if it were unable to withstand the pressure from the beating drums, with more cracks appearing with each passing second, like raindrops.

    The numerous people spectating throughout the universe watched on in shock. The participants were merely hitting drums, so was there a need to make such a hugemotion? Wasn¡¯t tearing the void something that only cultivators who were at the Explorer realm or above could do? How were these students casually causing such a terrifying phenomenon to appear?

    At this moment, Gerbach and the rest of the Yu Academy students who were watching the screen finally understood the vast difference that separated them and the top geniuses of the universe. It wasn¡¯t something that could be measured with just numbers¡ªthere was simply no way topare them. It now made sense why Wendy Yushan had thought nothing of the Yu Academy¡¯s students in the past.

    Lulu was not a topic of major conversation because her identity was obvious to anyone who looked. The Mavis family had an innate gift of strength, and they were also known for their extreme talent. Her abilities were nowhere as surprising as Silver¡¯s earlier reveal.

    At this point, Wu Da¡¯s focus had shifted toward the south, where there were towering incense sticks that were five hundred meter tall. These incense sticks were very difficult to light up, not because of their material, but rather because of the ancestral bloodlust that surrounded them. It was hard to exin this bloodlust with words, but it was simr to a domain. Regr people would not even be able to approach the incense sticks.

    Lighting up these giant sticks of incense might seem simple, but in actuality, it was the most difficult stage of them all. Throughout the storied history of the Astral Combat Tournament, quite a few academies had been disqualified at this stage because none of their students had been able to sessfully light up a stick. Hence, anybody who could do so was definitely a powerhouse of the Astral Combat Academy.

    The other academies definitely had their trump cards for this stage, but what about Astral-10? Who from their academy would light the incense? It was possible for Big Pao and Little Pao, but these two were only capable of barely doing so. One¡¯sbat power was not an indicator for one¡¯s ability to light the incense sticks. Just the brothers¡¯ personalities were enough to reduce their chances of sess greatly, as lighting the incense was a form of paying tribute to their forebearers, which required a reverent heart.

    As the soundwaves gradually dissipated, the sky regained its calm. The video feed cut to another scene, refocusing all the spectators¡¯ vision onto the ten towering ancient incense sticks in the distance, as well as the ten figures standing a thousand meters away from the sticks.

    In the previous tournaments, it had almost always been the leaders of the academies who took this challenge on. Thus, these ten figures were the ones with the most eyes on them.

    The ten solitary figures stood in front of the incense sticks that were a thousand meters away from them. This was their test.

    Everyone looked at Astral-1¡¯s representative, who was a woman, and she was standing in front of the incense stick. There was a veil covering her face, but despite that, her cold aura that had a hint of an ancientness to it still emanated through. Nobody dared to underestimate her. Astral-1 had been the top academy for many years, and historically, they possessed the most monstrous powerhouses.

    Next was Astral-2, whose representative was a man with a sword who quite a few people recognized. His name was Liu Tang, and he was a disciple of the Sword Sect. While he wasn¡¯t an Area Master, he was not any weaker than one, and he might even be more powerful. There was no need to exin his talent; the two words ¡°Sword Sect¡± were enough to exin everything.

    Astral-3 had sent someone from the Daynight n and so did Astral-4. The Daynight n represented power, so nobody bothered wondering how powerful those two were as it was patently obvious.

    Astral-5¡¯s representative was an Area Master, and he had a gentle demeanor, had smiling eyes, and overall, seemed rather calm. Quite a few people already knew of him. He was called Xia Ye, and he was the Area Master of the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Mechanical Mound. Even though he was widely recognized, almost nobody knew his true strength. However, the fact that he was standing there proved that he must be very powerful.

    Astral-6 sent out a fresh face. Many powerhouses in the academies did not readily show their strength, and perhaps only their respective Realm Masters knew how strong these students really were.

    Astral-7 and Astral-8 also sent out unknown students, so it was simrly hard to gauge how powerful they were. However, if they were chosen topete on the stage of Tribute to the Ancestors, it meant that they were sure to be superstars by the end of the tournament.

    Quite a few recognized the person that Astral-9 had sent out. To be more specific, his family was very well-known: the traitor of the Phoenix Family, the ck Phoenix Family. The representative was Bonny Phoenix, who had be a Limiteer.

    Behind Astral-5¡¯s battle drum and among the dozens of other participants, Hart Phoenix''s eyes zed as his lips curved upwards. He¡¯d gone through hell before finally sessfully metamorphosing. His most ardent desire was to tear Lu Yin and this traitor apart with his own hands during the tournament so that everyone could see the splendor of the Phoenix n once more.

    Everyone gaped when they saw who was standing a thousand meters away from Astral-10¡¯s stick. A Melder? They actually sent a Melder?

    Many had guessed that Astral-10¡¯s representative would be Big Pao or Little Pao as these two had challenged a Realm Master before and were as powerful as an Area Master. While it would be difficult for them to light the incense because of their temperament, it still made more sense than sending a Melder of all things!

    Yes, Astral-10 had sent Xia Luo. He calmly smiled as he stood there even as numerous people in the universe doubtfully looked at him. His expression remained unchanging and he even seemed rxed.

    Wu Da was excited when he saw Xia Luo. ¡°That¡¯s the one! He¡¯s the one who easily dispersed Uro¡¯s full force attack. He¡¯s definitely very powerful. It¡¯s even possible that heprehended a domain, and on top of that, he¡¯s a Lockbreaker! The moment he seeds at lighting the incense, he¡¯ll definitely shock the ten academies. He¡¯ll be the first Melder in history to seed at this stage. Hurry up! You¡¯ve got to seed!¡±

    Out in space, Madam Nn froze and turned towards Lu Yin. ¡°Your Astral-10 really has boundless courage.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s very strong.¡±

    ¡°How strong is he? As strong as Silver?¡± Madam Nn was very curious. Her inquisitive nature had been piqued by Astral-10; the academy that had been expelled from the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Though I will say, I don¡¯t know exactly how strong he is since he hasn¡¯t revealed it.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun disdainfully replied, ¡°It seems that you really are what the rumors im to be, nothing more than a false front for Astral-10.¡±

    Madam Nn hurriedly eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t be rude, Xiaoyun!¡±

    Lu Yin just chuckled, not minding the derogatoryment at all.

    At that point, the pilot announced, ¡°We are about to reach Astral-10, madam.¡±

    Both Lu Yin and Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s eyes lit up. It was finally their turn to take to the stage.

 Chapter 203: Lu Yinâ€™s Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 203: Lu Yin¡¯s Arrival</h4>

    In the Great Yu Empire, Huo Qingshan and Jue Lang exchanged nces at each other. This Xia Luo was also from the Yu Empire, and he had a simr background to Silver¡¯s. When had the empire be so powerful? Astral-10¡¯s representatives so far, for Three Academies Guarding the Gate, Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door, and now Tribute to the Ancestors, had alle from the Great Yu Empire. Even Astral-10¡¯s seeded student was Lu Yin. This was just too strange.

    Neither of them could stop themselves from gazing towards the pce when they thought about this. The crown prince, Dorren Yushan, had tried to investigate Xia Luo¡¯s background when he first passed Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam, but he had been informed that he did not have the authority to do so. Perhaps His Majesty was the only one who could look into Xia Luo¡¯s history.

    Meanwhile, Undying Yushan was looking up Xia Luo¡¯s background on his gadget, but the disy only showed two words: ¡°top secret.¡± He also had no authority to probe, because Xia Luo¡¯s identity was kept confidential from the entire Outerverse. Undying Yushan sighed as he rubbed his temples. ¡°It looks like quite a few outstanding people came out of the empire over thesest few years.¡±

    In the Lifeseek Realm, while the various academy leaders sat up atop the tallest peak, the next stage, Tribute to the Ancestors, officially began.

    The ten selected students each raised a foot and started approaching the ancient incense sticks.

    The power and effects of these ancient incense sticks was no secret. Descriptions of the incense sticks¡¯ suppressive field that was scarily simr to a domain were widely spread, but even so, it was still shocking for the audience and the students who were experiencing it for the first time.

    Liu Tang¡¯s gaze grew cold when he stepped within the incense sticks¡¯ range. He saw an endless amount of sword qi that tore through the heavens. This was the remnant aura of the ancient elders¡¯ bloodlust. Each sliver of sword qi sliced through the void as they headed towards Liu Tang. Despite this infernal world before him, he steadily moved forward step by step, unwavering and majestic in his bearing as he seemingly walked towards his death.

    As the Astral Combat Academy students approached the ancient incense sticks, each of them felt the pressure on them mounting with every step. By this point, the differences between the students were clear for the audience to see. Of the ten students, the girl from Astral-1, Liu Tang from Astral-2, the Daynight n members from Astral-3 and Astral-4, Xia Ye from Astral-5, and Xia Luo from Astral-10 were the only ones who were able to steadily take multiple steps forward while everyone else had paused in their march.

    Xia Luo¡¯s performance astounded many, as moving forward this smoothly without any breaks as a Melder was really not easy.

    Silver leisurely stepped out from the valley and stared at the screen in the air. The smile of his lip curved up even wider. ¡°So you cannot resist it either. Some people are born to be powerless while others are destined to be outstanding. Are you the same as me? Let me see it clearly.¡±

    The ancient incense sticks were only a thousand meters away from the students, but they felt as distant as the sky. When Xia Luo and the rest reached the hundred meter mark, they all stopped.

    The bloodlust emanating from the incense sticks was like a raging torrent, and the remnant auras from the ancient elders meant that the students saw something different from the spectators. At this moment, even the girl from Astral-1 had paused to look at the sky in shock, awed by the scene before her.

    At the same time, the Nn family spacecraft finally docked at Astral-10¡¯s space station. Lu Yin took the lead to exit as soon as the cabin door opened, followed right behind by Liu Xiaoyun. Only they two were allowed to enter the academy.

    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ll be leaving first,¡± Liu Xiaoyun said as she waved goodbye to Madam Nn.

    Lu Yin also thanked Madam Nn again.

    She smiled, looked at Lu Yin, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I have a feeling that you¡¯ll surprise me.¡±

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Lu Yin replied with a smile of his own. He saw Liu Xiaoyun look back at him, clearly anxious to leave. He immediately walked out towards the teleportation device.

    Soon, the two arrived at the trial zone entrance, where they saw the Trialmaster. He didn¡¯t say much and quickly allowed them to quickly enter the trial zone mountain.

    Liu Xiaoyun did not say another word as she directly flew to the highest point on the trial zone mountain. She was Astral-7¡¯s Realm Master, and as such, deserved to sit at the highest point.

    Lu Yinughed. Are all powerhouses this proud? His gaze burned as he wondered what expression she would have if he stomped that pride to bits. He was anticipating seeing this Realm Master¡¯s strength for himself.

    Meanwhile, in the Lifeseek Realm, the girl from Astral-1 took the lead and continued approaching her ancient incense stick. Liu Tang was close behind her while the rest sessively reached the hundred meters point. None of them stopped for long before steadily continuing on towards the sticks.

    The bloodlust did not cause substantial harm to their body as it only affected the students¡¯ state of mind; however, it tested both their strength of body and of mind.

    There was a disparity between the personalbat strength of the students that the ten academies had sent out for this stage, but the difference was not huge. The one who hadgged behind the most was Xia Luo, who had stayed outside the hundred meters mark for the longest, but he had still caught up to the other students and was now advancing step by step with them.

    At that moment, Lu Yin appeared in a forest within the Lifeseek Realm and looked at his surroundings. He saw some figures streaking towards the east, so he instantly moved in front of one of them, startling him badly. ¡°Student, may I ask where the location for the Astral Combat Tournament is?¡±

    This was a student who had been eliminated during the Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door stage and had forcefully endured the mental fatigue from dying to reenter the Lifeseek Realm. He was in a very bad mood and instinctively wanted to scold this person for blocking his path, but then he thought of how this person had strangely appeared before him and realized that the person in front of him might be a powerhouse. ¡°It¡¯s straight east.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lu Yin said with a curt nod before immediately vanishing, leaving behind a thin crack that extended deep into the void.

    That student was dumbfounded. What kind of freak is this person? He was so fast that just his speed tore the void apart! He can¡¯t be an Area Master since he¡¯s just a Melder. When did the ten academies have such a freak? Or is he one of the ancient powerhouses who emerged from a frozen slumber? The student was d that he had held back and not offended Lu Yin, as he would not be able to return to the Lifeseek Realm if he died a second time.

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s luck was much better than Lu Yin¡¯s, and when she appeared in the Lifeseek Realm, she was not far from the tournament. When she appeared at the highest peak where the other academy seeds were sitting and walked to the seventh seat, the first incense stick had already been lit, and it was emitting a green smoke that rose to the sky. ¡°Astral-1¡¯s entire student body pays their eternal tribute to the forebearers.¡±

    When the girl from Astral-1 paid tribute, everyone in the entire Astral Combat Academy remained solemn and bowed together, even the leaders of the academies and the observing mentors.

    ¡°Astral-2¡¯s entire student body pays their eternal tribute to the forebearers.¡±

    ¡°Astral-5¡¯s entire student body pays their eternal tribute to the forebearers.¡±

    ¡­

    Xia Luo was thest of the ten to reach the ancient incense stick. He had originally nned to light it as soon as he arrived, but then he paused and looked into the distance. At the same time, many spectators saw a ck dot appear in the distance, moving towards the tournament site at a normal speed. It was Lu Yin, who had intentionally slowed down when he neared the tournament site. He directly walked onto the highest peak.

    Astral-5¡¯s Realm Master Kuang Wang frowned and waved a hand. ¡°Scram. Do you think that just anyone cane up here?¡±

    Kuang Wang caused a gale to sweep up that then rushed at Lu Yin with an unstoppable force.

    Lu Yin waved his hand in a simr manner, effortlessly neutralizing the attack. ¡°I¡¯m Astral-10¡¯s leader. Lu Yin pays his respects to my seniors.¡±

    Kuang Wang was stunned. ¡°You are Astral-10¡¯s leader?¡±

    The others also looked at Lu Yin with renewed interest.

    Coincidentally, at that moment, Xia Luo¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Astral-10¡¯s entire student body pays their eternal tribute to the forebearers.¡±

    When all ten lines of green smoke billowed into the air, the crowd seemed to hear a bloodlust-filled snarl echo out, as if countless ancient elders were expressing their intent.

    This was an extraordinary phenomena that was unique to the Lifeseek Realm, and it could not be transmitted through the video feed to the screens of the viewers throughout the universe.

    At that moment, countless eyes in the universe could only watch the ten lines of green smoke rising into the sky and the nine shadows sitting atop the highest peak.

    Wu Da looked excitedly at Xia Luo. He seeded! This Melder actually managed to sessfully light up the incense stick! In the future, Xia Luo will undoubtedly be one of my greatest stories. Well, along with Silver, that is. Astral-10 definitely has more gems to uncover. What a great ce!

    The Astral Combat Academy students watching the tournament bowed once more towards the incense sticks and then went back to staring at the highest peak. Many focused their gaze on Lu Yin, who had sat down in the tenth seat, as they mocked him. ¡°Astral-10 is really treating everyone as a fool with their y of exhorting a weakling as their leader. The truly strong ones from Astral-10 are Big Pao, Little Pao, Silver, Lulu Mavis, and Xia Luo. Though it must be said, Astral-10 truly isn¡¯t weak.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. He defeated Craynor, who¡¯s the number two on the ze Realm Rankings. He even took advantage of Xi Yue once and extorted many people afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Obviously, one of the other students must have helped him out since he¡¯s a fellow Astral-10 student. It¡¯s even possible that a mentor might have stepped in.¡±

    ¡­

    Behind Astral-5¡¯s battle drums, Hart Phoenix stared at the screen. ¡°He¡¯s finally here. Just wait for me to tear you to shreds.¡±

    Not far from Hart Phoenix, there stood a man with a simple sword on his back, also staring at the screen. ¡°So that¡¯s senior¡¯s fianc¨¦? He shouldn¡¯t be too weak since he¡¯s also a seededpetitor.¡±

    Behind Astral-6¡¯s battle drums, Charon clenched his teeth in fury. That bastard didn¡¯t die?!

    Frankfurt¡¯s face sank. The person who had been instantly killed by one of his spears was now standing at the highest spot with the other Realm Masters. It was humiliating to him.

    Uro was about to vomit blood, as this was the brat who had been the first to sneak attack him.

    Behind Astral-8¡¯s battle drums, Jared¡¯s had a forlorn look in his eyes as he clenched his fists tightly.

    Xi Yue¡¯s eyes widened when she saw Lu Yin. Pervert, just wait for me to make you pay the price! Then, subconsciously, she looked at her chest. Hmph, it¡¯s obviously not a washboard.

    ¡­

    In the Great Yu Empire, Undying Yushan was pleased to see Lu Yin on the screen. This child had actually risen to the point where he could now stand face to face with the other academy leaders. Undying Yushan hoped that Lu Yin would be able to handle the pressure, but it was simply too difficult. It was an impossible dream for Lu Yin topare to the other academies¡¯ leaders after just a year of cultivation at the academy.

    In the Auna n, Xueshan Auna and the rest watched the screen with bated breath as they nced at Jenny Auna. Their brat was truly shocked, as this level of glory waspletely unattainable to her. Lu Yin had actually be his academy¡¯s leader.

    Peach clenched her fist tightly. ¡°All the best, friend.¡±

    On Earth, Zhou Shan and the rest were basically panting with excitement. Without a doubt, that was Lu Yin who was sitting in the tenth seat. This was the difference of just a single year, but he had actually climbed to the peak of the universe¡¯s greatest institution and was representing Earth.

    Not many on Earth personally knew Lu Yin, but almost everyone had heard of him. Because of him, the countless cultivators of Earth had been spared from the bleak fate of being sent to a frontier battlefield and were able to continue living on Earth. Lu Yin¡¯s reputation had long since surpassed the Seven Sages, but today, many of Earth¡¯s cultivators finally realized the terror of the universe¡¯s powerhouses for the first time. And on top of that, Yin was now one of those same powerhouses!

    On a vast maind, at the border of a city floating in the skies, Wendy Yushan looked at her screen, pondering something.

    Three Academies Guarding the Gate had eliminated half of thepeting students, leaving 362 of them. After the participating students from Astral-3, Astral-7, and Astral-10 joined, that number had grown to a total of 598. After Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door eliminated another hundred-some people, there were 434 left. The Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s final stage of drawing lots would take ce with these 434 people.

    The giant incense sticks had burned away as green smoke and vanished, leaving everyone¡¯s gazes to turn to the south, which was right below the high peak where the ten academy leaders were seated. There was a giant field there, and a gale suddenly swept across it, carving the in into 217 arenas without countless air des. Each arena was surrounded by an invisible barrier of wind that prevented any attacks from spilling out. The stage of drawing lots would be held here, not far from the highest peak. That peak represented the students¡¯ goal: the ten academy leaders.

    The ten of them represented the Realm Masters of the trial zones, and they also represented the Council of Astral Academy. Even more importantly, they represented the Ten Arbiters Council, as they were the only students who were qualified to directly discuss issues with the Ten Arbiters Council.

 Chapter 204: Repeatedly Emerging Powerhouses

    <h4>Chapter 204: Repeatedly Emerging Powerhouses</h4>

    The Ten Arbiters Council was one of the most powerful organizations in the entire universe. No matter who they were, or what power or what region they were from, every member of the younger generation was within the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s scope of influence. Not only did the council have the authority to judge and evaluate them all, but it even had its own subordinate army. The council was the greatest change to the human race since it had been founded with the advent of the formcast model.

    Many people dreamed of joining the Ten Arbiters Council and writing a new chapter of the human race with those ten great characters. Right below the Ten Arbiters Council was the Council of Astral Academy, which was very close to the Ten Arbiters.

    There were nearly ten thousand students spread out among the ten branches of the Astral Combat Academy, and among them were innumerable hidden powerhouses. Each one of them had been patiently waiting for this moment, where they would defeat the academy leaders before the universe¡¯s eyes. They wanted to enter the sights of the Ten Arbiters and be a young powerhouse famed throughout the universe.

    Under everyone¡¯s watchful gazes, there was a constantly changing number in front of eachpetitor. After a bit, each shing image eventually stopped onto a single number.

    ¡°ce your hands on your number,¡± a loud voice rumbled from the sky.

    All of thepetitors raised their hands and touched the number in front of them. The scene before them changed, and all 434 of them suddenly appeared within the arenas. Each arena held two people, evenly dividing all of thepetitors up into pairs. With the exception of the academy leaders who remained seated atop the highest peak, everypetitor was facing off against an opponent.

    The loud voice came out again. ¡°The one who kills their opponent first is the victor.¡±

    All of the spectators stared excitedly at the array of arenas strewn across the ins. There were unparalleled Area Masters, soul hunter team members, hidden experts, and ancient geniuses here, but everything would bepletely exposed in these arenas. At this point, no one could hide their strength anymore. This was the most dazzling stage in the entire universe.

    With a loud bang, 217 arenas shook as the battlesmenced. On the screens, everyone could see any arena they wished.

    The battles started quickly, and some ended just as quickly, as the disparity between some of thepetitors was too great.

    In the trial zones, every student had the number of their academy marked on the back of their hands.

    Ma Ruo felt that her luck was great because she had actually run into an Astral-10 Melder for her first round. He was obviously a fresh recruit of the academy, but his appearance was a little scary. There were many strange people in the universe, but that did not necessarily mean that they were strong. From Astral-10, the only strong students should be the ones who had been highlighted in that newspaper article that came out awhile ago. The rest should only be participating to make up the numbers.

    The person facing Ma Ruo was actually Darkvoid, who was very calm. His hair that was so ck that it seemed to swallow the light around him was indeed scary. His demeanor and unique appearance had initially drawn a great deal of attention to him, but the crowds¡¯ attention had quickly shifted elsewhere. The eyes of many observers had been attracted by a scene that was unfolding not far from their arena.

    In that arena, the Daynight youth who had been Astral-4¡¯s participant for Tribute to the Ancestors was facing off against a very normal-looking youth. However, contrary to expectations, this seemingly average person had actually avoided multiple attacks from the Daynight youth.

    The male from the Daynight n was called Tiankong Daynight, and he was one of the top five strongest students in Astral-4 as well as one of the Dao of ughter¡¯s Area Masters. Unless an Area Master met another powerhouse of the same power level, they would be able to instantly defeat any other opponent that they faced. But Tiankong was currently stuck in a deadlock against this unknown opponent. He was not a seasoned student of the Astral Combat Academy, but rather someone who had only just recently joined Astral-3.

    News that the Astral Combat Tournament would be broadcast to the entire universe had attracted countless freakish talents, and this youth was one of these hidden geniuses whose interest had been piqued, as no one recognized him.

    Bang!

    There was a fearsome shock wave as Tiankong Daynight¡¯s attack enveloped the entire arena. It even ruptured the sky above him, distorting the space to the point where the invisible air barrier had to actively block it. This attack would definitely hit the youth.

    But when the smoke cleared, the youth was still standing properly with a stiff expression, as if the attack had not affected him in the slightest.

    Tiankong Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. Impossible!

    At the same time, in another arena some distance away, Frankfurt gripped his spear and looked at the vortex facing him. All of his attacks had been rendered useless, and his battle force had been easily shattered by the beautiful Yue Xianzi who was standing in the middle of the approaching vortex.

    ¡°This is the battle technique that you inherited from ckwater Lake?¡± Frankfurt¡¯s voice was hoarse, and there was a hint of disbelief within it.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s expression remained cold as she looked at Frankfurt with her beautiful eyes. ¡°Disappear.¡± The vague image of a cold moon appeared above her head, causing an icy chill to rush through Frankfurt¡¯s body before the vortex swallowed him.

    The first Area Master had been defeated, shocking all of the other students.

    An Area Master was only second in strength to a Realm Master, and there were several in each academy. No matter how weak they were, they always ranked within the top ten of each academy. Despite their impressive strength and standing, one had nheless just been easily eliminated from the tournament.

    Everyone had known from the outset that this Astral Combat Tournament would not be normal, but no one had imagined that an Area Master would be defeated right from the start. This Yue Xianzi from the Frostmoon Sect was yet another student who had recently joined the Astral Combat Academy.

    Ma Ruo was also defeated without muchmotion, and in an inexplicable manner that shocked her as well; she had been blown to shreds by a void explosion. That Astral-10 male could actually tear the void apart with ease, which was inconceivable. Astral-10 had concealed its strength too much.

    Darkvoid had won his first battle, but Schutz had lost. Despite the grueling hard work that he had put intoprehending battle force, Schutz had failed this time. He had sufficient battle experience, but he could only ept his bad luck of being easily squashed when he was matched up against an Area Master.

    It was not only Schutz who suffered this fate; Zora and Zhao Yilong were also defeated without much suspense. Although they had been personally guided by their respective mentors for a few months, all of the students who had reached this stage were powerful in their own right. They, on the other hand, had only been truly cultivating for a few months, and it was not enough to make up for the disparity that existed between them and genius Limiteers. Sometimes, 99% of hard work just could not make up for what 1% talent gave.

    In another arena, Coco was running away nonstop while a de-wielding man chased after her. Their game of cat and mouse had gone on for a while, and this scene also attracted many people¡¯s attention. They were enraptured by Coco¡¯s cuteness. Did this childe even here topete?

    ¡°You, you, stop running! This is a fight, not a race,¡± the man shouted while panting heavily as he gave Coco a helpless look.

    She adamantly pursed her lips. ¡°I won¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°Then admit defeat.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an option. There is only victory or death.¡±

    ¡°Then die. You can¡¯t beat me anyway.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m scared of pain.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be gentle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±

    ¡°Just behave, it¡¯ll only be a single stab.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be painful.¡±

    ¡­

    The people in the nearby arenas had originally been focusing on their own battles, but they all ended up staring at this strange fight. Are these suitable words to be exchanged in this scenario?

    On the highest peak, Liu Xiaoyun looked at Lu Yin strangely. ¡°Your fellow students from Astral-10 sure have some unique personalities.¡±

    Lu Yin was embarrassed. ¡°Coco¡¯s still young, very young. But she¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    ¡°Terrifying?¡± Kuang Wang was incredulous. ¡°How so?¡±

    Lu Yin pointed downwards. ¡°She has a terrifying innate gift.¡±

    Kuang Wang peered downwards and his eyes widened in shock. ¡°What¡¯s that toy? A syringe?!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just him¡ªLiu Xiaoyun and the other student leaders were all intrigued, and even more of them looked at Coco. This cute child was hugging a giant syringe and aiming its tip directly at the attacking man. A smile blossomed on her small face. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s stab each other.¡±

    The man was simrly astounded. What is this toy?

    There was argemotion, and the man did not even react when the needle tip pierced his body. Coco¡¯s eyes grewrge, and she quickly apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that you were so slow. You were even chasing me before thus! I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Her opponent¡¯s face twisted indignantly as he watched Coco helplessly. He felt that his reputation had been ruined by this brat; he had been stabbed to death by a needle! He was probably the first in history to be stabbed to death like this, and he could already hear the jeers from the entire universe. He really wanted to die right now.

    As the man¡¯s body vanished, Coco patted her chest, released a pent up breath, and then smiled sweetly towards the highest peak.

    Lu Yin grinned. This kid was just too adorable.

    Coco¡¯s victory was unexpected. By the time her battle concluded, most of the first round battles had already finished. The most shocking battle was Tiankong Daynight¡¯s, as his opponent had easily avoided all his attacks. To some extent, his reactions even seemed to be inhuman. Some observers felt that something was off the longer they continued to watch.

    ¡°How strange! The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques are very powerful, but that person has dodged everything so far very smoothly. It¡¯s almost as if his body is instinctively avoiding the attacks.¡±

    ¡°Why do his movements and reactions seem so familiar? I feel like I¡¯ve heard of a simr skill before.¡±

    ¡­

    Suddenly, someone shouted out, ¡°Chaosgod Mountain! It¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain.¡±

    Many were horrified when they heard this exmation, and they all took a closer look at the youth. At that moment, he was easily avoiding Tiankong Daynight¡¯s finger attack when he suddenly raised a hand. He made a grabbing motion towards Tiankong Daynight, and although his hand wasn¡¯t very fast, Tiankong Daynight couldn¡¯t avoid it and was easily grabbed by the man. An instantter, Tiankong Daynight¡¯s entire body was hurled so deep within the ground that nobody could tell where he was, causing the arena to shatter into pieces as a side effect. His pupils alternated between dting and contracting as he spat out mouthfuls of blood. A massive force followed up with another attack and nearly pierced through his body, but that still wasn¡¯t the end. The impression of a ck shadow appeared before his eyes, and then all of his strength drained away in the next moment. He was surrounded by darkness, and when he reopened his eyes, he had already appeared at Astral-4¡¯s trial zone mountain.

    Tiankong Daynight growled angrily, as he had been defeated due to his own mistake. His opponent was from Chaosgod Mountain, and the disciples of that ce specialized in disrupting their opponent¡¯s breathing rhythm. Only the lunatics from Chaosgod Mountain could have such insane evasive instincts.

    Outside the valley, Wu Da was so excited that he found it somewhat difficult to breathe. Chaosgod Mountain! Great, another hot headliner! Chaosgod Mountain was one of the Innerverse¡¯s dark powers.

    At Astral-10¡¯s space station, within her spacecraft, Madam Nn¡¯s gaze flickered. This Astral Combat Tournament had indeed attracted a bunch of freaks, and even someone from Chaosgod Mountain had shown up.

    Many in the universe were confused by the result, and they could not understand how Tiankong Daynight had been grabbed or why he had been defeated so easily. It almost seemed as if it were staged.

    Atop the high peak, Lu Yin¡¯s expression was solemn. Chaosgod Mountain? He had heard of them and their terrifying methods. Their disciples cultivated bizarre techniques that gave them nigh-superhuman reaction times, and they also had the ability to disrupt the opponent¡¯s breathing rhythm. Finally, they taught their disciples to pour all of their strength into a single attack. This was a Chaosgod Mountain disciple, someone who had an unimaginable ability to dodge attacks. To defeat them, one would have topletely crush them and not get grabbed. Once a Chaosgod Mountain disciple grabbed their opponent, it was the end for them.

    Among the eightrgest Flowzones in the Innerverse, there was one called the Chaos Flowzone, which was home to the universe¡¯s dark forces. Chaosgod Mountain was one of the masters of the Chaos Flowzone.

    Astral-3¡¯s leader, Nightqueen Yanqing, had a terrible expression on her face. Even though Tiankong Daynight was from Astral-4, he was first and foremost someone from the Daynight n. However, he had been strung along in a string of missed attacks before being defeated in one move by that Chaosgod Mountain disciple, essentially reducing him to a mere stepping stone. This could not be forgiven.

    Astral-4¡¯s leader, Xue Liuyun, remained as indifferent as before as he stared at the Chaosgod Mountain disciple, who¡¯s name was Cang Shi.

    Even before the shock from this upset had dispersed, another Area Master was killed. This again incited cries all around, as Hart Phoenix was the one who had killed the Area Master. He was still at the Melder realm¡ªjust a Melder! Thus, his victory over a powerful Area Master jolted the entire Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°Phoenix? If I remember correctly, there¡¯s a powerful member of that n among the Ten Arbiters,¡± someone cried out.

    He was immediately silenced by someone beside him. ¡°Do you want to die?! The Ten Arbiters¡¯ names cannot be casually spoken. They are one of the peak powers in the universe.¡±

 Chapter 205: Bright Stage

    <h4>Chapter 205: Bright Stage</h4>

    Hart had undergone such a drastic transformation that others could no longer even recognize him. He raised his head to gaze at the peak above him, with a tantly haughty expression. His brother had been a Realmbreaker in his challenges, and he had even challenged Explorers as a Melder. For Hart, defeating a Limiteer Realm Area Master was not his limit. He had already metamorphosed through his phoenix bloodline and be another lifeform. His new goal was to defeat a Realm Master; Lu Yin was no longer sufficient.

    Many knew that this Astral Combat Tournament would attract many powerhouses topete, but they never expected that the first elimination round of the tournament would result in so many Area Masters being eliminated. They were Area Masters! And in previous tournaments, Area Masters would generallyst till at least the third round before one of them was matched up against a Realm Master. But now, multiple Area Masters had been eliminated in the first round, which was unprecedented.

    At this time, a zing inferno roared to life and enveloped the skies, changing the temperature of both heaven and earth. Countless spectators looked over to see a man floating high in the sky and arrogantly looking downward. The fiery ze roared all around him, as this was not just a firestorm simted through star energy, but rather a true congration. The mes had a tinge of ck at their center, and the inferno created a distortion in the void. A ck color apanied the inferno as it distorted the void; the temperature had climbed high enough to cause cracks to appear in space.

    On the stage below the mes, a woman was kneeling with a terrified expression on her raised face.

    The man in the skyughed wildly and he flew further up until he was eye level with the peak overlooking the valley. Then, as if he were an equal to the student leaders seated there, he said, ¡°Feng Shang, I never thought that you would be a Realm Master after not seeing you these years.¡±

    His words shocked many people, but on the peak, the leader of Astral-8, Feng Shang, was puzzled. ¡°You are?¡±

    The manughed before replying, ¡°Old friend, have you really forgotten me? It was I who burned you to a crisp back then. It¡¯s been so many years. Do you have anything to say?¡±

    Many were dumbfounded when they saw the exchange unfold on the screen.

    Feng Shang¡¯s face suddenly turned cold. ¡°I remember now. So it¡¯s you, Arikar.¡±

    ¡°Finally! I never thought that that impulsive junior would end up bing a Realm Master. You¡¯re really capable.¡±

    ¡°When you lost that battle for the title of Realm Master to Brother Neru, you actually dared to mount a sneak attack after that. If you rejoined the academy after going missing for so many years, it seems that you must have frozen yourself to preserve your bone age.¡±

    Arikar¡¯s eyes beamed as a frigid expression shed across his face. ¡°Don¡¯t mention the matters of the past to me. I only came out of hibernation this time to erase the shame from that year. Neru already died on the frontier battlefield between the star expanses, so you¡¯ll have to stand in for him and pay me back for everything that happened to me.¡± Arikar then pped down with his palm, causing the void-shattering inferno to transform into a ck palm that covered the entire arena. With a bang, the woman battling Arikar vanished along with a good portion of the arena floor.

    Many were shocked by this reveal; this person had actually fought against the previous Realm Master of Astral-8, and he was a frozen genius as well.

    Feng Shang¡¯s face sank. As he scanned over the destroyed arena, he recalled the battle scene from when he had just joined the Astral Combat Academy. That battle had overturned his conception of strength, and this person had been one of the participants in that battle.

    ¡°What a powerful attack,¡± Lu Yin marvelled, ¡°Why is this person¡¯s attack so simr to the ze Realm¡¯s?¡±

    Feng Shang replied, ¡°Because he¡¯s from the ze Realm. He was the previous champion before Jared on the ze Realm Rankings.¡±

    ¡°No wonder he seems to need a beating,¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    Beside Lu Yin on the ninth seat, Liu Yin removed his headphones with a dazed expression. ¡°It¡¯s so hot. What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at him strangely. Is this fellow really a leader of his academy?

    The first round of the lottery battles had eliminated half of the students, with 217 advancing onto the second round. The arenas on the ins changed again, and the 217 arenas from the previous round merged into 108rger arenas. A number once again appeared before eachpetitor, and without the need for any reminders, they all lightly grasped the number before them. The scene shifted before their eyes as they appeared in an arena facing their next opponent. One short male remained in his original position with a nk look on his face, confused.

    ¡°Uhh, Mentor, what about me?¡± asked the short male as he raised his head.

    ¡°You¡¯ve advanced onto the next round.¡± The loud voice made the crowd jump.

    The short youth was delighted by this news. Since there was an odd number of contestants, it was normal for one to receive a bye and advance to the next round withoutpeting. He was the lucky one in this instance.

    Coco looked at him enviously and almost cried when she saw her opponent. Before her stood a huge, muscled man who was at least three meters tall. He had a square face and did not look like a pushover. Why did I end up with such a person?

    ¡°There will be a three hour break. Then, the tournament will resume,¡± the loud voice dered once more.

    A strong wind suddenly appeared in the middle of each arena, separating the two opponents.

    This break was not just for thepetitors; it had also been implemented out of consideration for the countless spectators. With such arge audience, it was not appropriate to end the Astral Combat Tournament too quickly.

    From the start of Three Academies Guarding the Gate to the conclusion of the first elimination round, a full day had passed. The Astral Combat Tournament had tost for at least three days, which meant that there would naturally be a break between each set of battles, and the breaks would also be longer and longer as the finale approached.

    A sense of superiority filed Lu Yin as he sat on the tenth seat atop the highest peak. It was quite reasonable for him to feel this way as this seat was a goal of all students.

    Since thepetition was temporarily on pause, everyone looked at the ten student leaders, as they were the ten strongest, or at least, so it was on the surface.

    Aside from the first seat, all of the other nine seats received intense scrutiny, especially Lu Yin, who was sitting on the tenth seat. After all, he was the only Melder among them.

    Many now held the opinion that Astral-10 had a gift for creating miracles. Silver had sessfully defended the final section of the valley, Lulu had beat the battle drums, and Xia Luo had lit the ancient incense stick. These were activities that usually could only be aplished by Limiteers, but Astral-10 had sessfully sent out Melders toplete it all. But no matter how good they were at creating miracles, a Melder could not possiblypare to an academy leader. Throughout the history of the academy, only the Ten Arbiters had been able to do so. In that case, what qualifications did this person have to join the other leaders?

    Lu Yin¡¯s identity was revealedyer byyer, but there was nothing exciting to discover. The Great Yu Empire was just a weak power to the Innerverse, and no one had even heard of Earth before. Even so, countless people in the Great Yu Empire and Earth were cheering for him. However, there were just too few of them, and they were like specks of dust to the rest of the universe.

    Despite all that, Lu Yin sat there with a clear conscience. He did not mind what others said, although he did feel that his chair was a little stiff.

    Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin curiously. Lu Yin could feel his stare, so he turned around, smiled, and said, ¡°Senior Feng, do you have any advice for me?¡±

    Feng Shang smiled. ¡°I had thought that I was ambitious, but I never thought that someone would surpass my drive. Junior, how does it feel to be seated here?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Not bad. Everything is great, aside from this stiff chair. Oh, and it would be nice if they provided some snacks for us.¡±

    ¡°Haha, how interesting,¡± Feng Shang said with a smallugh, speaking no further. He could not sense any significant power from Lu Yin, so this person was either extremely adept at concealing his strength, or he truly was just a distraction sent out by Astral-10. Regardless, only the Ten Arbiters had ever been able to stand besides the Realm Masters when they were mere Melders. It was impossible for this person to be the same as an Arbiter; Astral-10 was most likely just being too careful. They must be afraid that others would target them and destroy their dream of rising up again.

    On the other side of Feng Shang, Liu Xiaoyun was intently focusing on a particr arena where a very young man was sitting. He seemed to be about the same age as Lu Yin, and he was sitting down, cross-legged, with a rusty iron sword on hisp. That sword was actually condensed purely from star energy. He only sat silently there, but Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s attention never left him once; that person was Liu Shaoqiu.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over Feng Shang and the other student leaders before itnded on Nightqueen Yanqing. Apart from the leader of Astral-1, Lu Yin was the most curious about Nightqueen Yanqing. This woman was from the same Nightking n as Qingyu, and she was miles above the rest of the Daynight n.

    He still remembered the topmost name inscribed on the stone when he had walked into the Daynight n¡¯s corridor of inheritance, Nightking Zhenwu. He still wondered what sort of status that person held.

    When Nightqueen Yanqing sensed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, she nced over with a frown.

    Lu Yin averted his gaze, closed his eyes, and quietly exhaled.

    Nightqueen Yanqing snorted, disgusted that trash like him was actually allowed to be seated alongside her. It was a pity that they had not been allowed to wipe out Astral-10 back then and that they had only chased them out of the Innerverse: a true pity in her eyes.

    Within the Innerverse, in the Erudite Flowzone, the massive Astral River¡¯s tributary flowed through it, decorating the heavens. It looked beautiful beyondparison, but it was a danger that could take even a Hunter¡¯s life.

    Outside of the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Astral River tributary, there was a giant protective formed froms. It extended out for an unknown distance and was one of the boundaries that separated the human star expanse and the astral beast star expanse.

    Within the control room of a giant war spacecraft, a thin man of average height stood there. Although his height was average, his mere presence seemed to emit a boundless charisma that caused the surrounding soldiers to be more zealous. He was Shui Chuanxiao, the Grand Marshal of the warfront at the Human Domain¡¯s border and praised as the best strategist in human history.

    As he looked at the screen depicting the Astral Combat Tournament, he smiled strangely as thoughts that no one could decipher ran through his mind.

    Three hours quickly passed by before the energy dividing the arenas dissipated, signalling that the second battle round was about to start.

    At this point, most of the spectators had targets of interest that they were fully focused on. Feng Shang was staring intently at Arikar, Nightqueen Yanqing was looking at Cang Shi, and the crowd and spectating organizations watched the various well-known Area Masters that they supported.

    Jared¡¯s face was sullen, as Arikar¡¯s appearance had stolen his limelight. The ze Realm had concentrated all its resources into Arikar when he emerged from hibernation, and even the ze Realm¡¯s inherited battle technique, the Karmic me Sword, had been given to Arikar. Jared had been stripped of everything, but he was not resigned to this fate.

    He looked at the student charging towards him, and his suppressed anger exploded. He waved his hands and sent out a peculiar ripple that phased through his Limiteer realm opponent. A mere instantter, the student¡¯s eyes lost focus and they immediately dropped to the floor, dead.

    Many witnessed this scene, especially Craynor. He had been watching Jared, and a chill ran down his spine when he saw that scene.. This was a battle technique that Jared had inherited while in the Dao of Illusion, and it was immeasurably strange and confusing.

    Jared was not the first Area Master who revealed a hidden card in this round. The appearance of Arikar and other such hidden experts had caused the various Area Masters to feel a hint of danger. As more hidden experts began to reveal themselves, manymonly mentioned battle techniques were revealed, giving the eyes of the countless spectators a visual feast.

    The Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s effect was beginning to show as more and more people believed that, with so many powerful students in the Astral Combat Academy, the other star realms definitely would not be able topare to them. Many others were even dreaming of one day showing off their own abilities on this glorious stage.

    Now that a considerable portion of the universe was connected to thiswork, this glorious stage would be avable for all future tournaments. This possibility of universal glory aroused dreams and ambitions within youths everywhere.

 Chapter 206: Ten Arbiterâ€™s Mount

    <h4>Chapter 206: Ten Arbiter''s Mount</h4>

    The human race¡¯s loss in the war at the Human Domain¡¯s frontier was unrted to the Astral Combat Tournament, but their tournament was nheless still being used to recruit new troops for the war effort. This method had results, as many people who could not enter the Astral Combat Academy would choose to be soldiers. This was good enough, as the greater goal was for this tournament to inspire humankind and mollify the negative effects from their recent defeat.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, this tournament was more of a cover up than a response to the defeat, but it was all the same to him. He knew that, at times, the higher echelons¡¯ decisions were forced. Besides, the students were still able to enjoy this incredible stage because of the situation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he watched all the proud geniuses battling it out from his position on the highest peak. He thought back to his experiences on the pirate port and his desperate straits on Driftcharge. Despite therge jump upwards, he still was not satisfied with his current position.

    He nced over at the other nine student leaders besides him, who were also watching the battles from above. In truth, they were just pawns of certain parties who had been ced here to receive adoration from the crowds. The backers of these student leaders could actually strip them of everything they had at the snap of a finger. Those masterminds in the dark possessed the true powers that Lu Yin firmly desired.

    Lu Yin smiled, knowing that he was overthinking his position. He did not yet hold the qualifications to entertain such thoughts.

    At that point, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression suddenly soured.

    Lu Yin looked downwards at the arena where many spectators had also focused their attention¡ªHui Daynight had been defeated.

    A Daynight n member would draw attention wherever they walked. Even though he was from Astral-10, Hui Daynight had attracted everyone¡¯s attention from his first battle, and his defeat just now had roused surprise among the crowd.

    A girl had defeated him. Although she seemed to be a very normal girl, she had calmly defended against every one of Hui Daynight¡¯s battle techniques. Eventually, his inability to break through had driven Hui Daynight to his wit¡¯s end until he finally fell.

    There were too many geniuses in the Astral Combat Academy who were participating in this tournament, and Hui Daynight¡¯s defeat was not exceptional in any sense.

    Not too far from Hui Daynight¡¯s arena, another falling corpse attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention. Astral-6¡¯s leader, Dao Bo, suddenly stood up and stared at the same arena as well. His sudden movement caused the other leaders to also direct their attention to where he was focused.

    The falling body was Uro¡¯s.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned serious as he observed the man standing near Uro¡¯s corpse. It had been an unbelievable battle where Uro had been instantly eliminated in a single strike. His opponent had moved at an incredible speed¡ªno, instead of speed, it was more like his movement had broken through space itself, just like¡­ a domain. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. Right, that man¡¯s movements had been very simr to Silver¡¯s domain, which was something that had been condensed purely for the sake of killing others.

    When the crowd looked at the person who had killed Uro, they were all dumbfounded. No one recognized this stranger even though he had instantly killed Uro, an Area Master. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air and had apletely ordinary appearance, but all that belied his thunderous move. Just who was he?

    ¡°So it¡¯s him. I didn¡¯t think that he would also show up here,¡± said a melodious, ringing voice from near Lu Yin. He turned around and his pupils shrank. When did she arrive?!

    There was a girl sitting in the first seat that had been empty all this time. Her face was covered with a veil, but she had a simr appearance to the girl who had paid tribute to the forebearers for Astral-1. Her demeanor was so mild that it felt as if a soft breeze would blow her away. However, Lu Yin had not even sensed this girl¡¯s presence until she opened her mouth and spoke out.

    This girl was Astral-1¡¯s leader.

    ¡°You know him?¡± Dao Bo slowly asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s Calcifer, an assassin from a hundred years ago.¡±

    Feng Shang was astonished. ¡°You know someone from a hundred years ago?¡±

    The girl turned around, revealing pupils that sparkled like stars with the faint trace of a smile, as if the stars themselves were smiling at them. ¡°It¡¯s because he assassinated Starsibyl.¡±

    Her exnation shocked all of the student leaders, and even Liu Yin shook his head nonstop. They all stared in disbelief at Astral-1¡¯s leader.

    ¡°You said that he assassinated Starsibyl?¡± Liu Xiaoyun was amazed.

    Astral-1¡¯s chairperson calmly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Although he failed in his attempt, there are records of it. To think that he froze himself for a hundred years and then joined the Astral Combat Academy after he was unsealed. Who knows what he¡¯s thinking¡ªhe¡¯s an assassin who was exposed to the eyes of the entire universe.¡±

    ¡°You people allowed him to live on?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing gave the Astral-1 leader a strange look.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± Astral-1¡¯s leader replied with a breezy smile.

    Lu Yin was puzzled, but he did not jump into the conversation. These people still had not acknowledged him, and it would be embarrassing if they just ignored his questions. But Lu Yin couldn¡¯t push Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s question from his mind. Just who was ¡°you people¡± referring to? And what did Calcifer¡¯s assassination attempt on Starsibyl have to do with Astral-1¡¯s leader?

    Calcifer¡¯s power shocked many, but few recognized him, so his identity was not revealed to the general public.

    Soon after, a different battle overshadowed Calcifer¡¯s that drew everyone''s attention; Big Pao was in danger.

    Ever since the two brothers from Astral-10 had teamed up to challenge Kuang Wang, Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s reputations had spiked up as a result of the academy newspaper¡¯s popr article on them. They had received attention from not only the entire Astral Combat Academy, but also the outside world. After all, anyone from the younger generation who could directly confront a Realm Master was a genius.

    But despite his burgeoning reputation, Big Pao found himself in a tough spot. He was panting heavily, and his body was in a dismal state. His shoulder had been stabbed though, and fresh blood dripped down his arm.

    Additionally, his sorry state was a direct result of the Melder realm sylvan dragon standing in front of him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he was familiar with these dragons. But if a Melder realm dragon could force Big Pao into this miserable state, then it implied that this dragon¡¯s strength wasparable to Xia Luo¡¯s.

    Feng Shang eximed, ¡°It¡¯s Long Yi! It looks like the sylvan dragon n is also taking this Astral Combat Tournament seriously.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Feng Shang smiled. ¡°Of course, this dragon¡¯s famous. Fifteen years ago, he challenged one of the lords that now presides in the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. The ¡°Ten Arbiters¡± specifically referred to this generation¡¯s Universe Youth Council¡¯s authority figures, as the councils of previous generations had never been referred to as ¡°the Ten Arbiters.¡± This also meant that this dragon had once challenged a member of the Ten Arbiters, even if it was fifteen years ago.

    ¡°I recall him now. Fifteen years ago, a peak genius emerged in this dragon n with a terrifying innate gift. His n named him the symbol of their emergence. That should be him,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing haughtily added on.

    Feng Shang nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Fifteen years ago, that Ten Arbiters lord was just a Sentinel. The two fought, but it resulted in this dragon being crushed. Based on their agreement, he should have be that lord¡¯s mount, but the dragon n refused to acknowledge the bet and unceremoniously whisked him away. After being sealed in ice for fifteen years, he¡¯s finally returned.¡±

    Kuang Wang sneered. ¡°He can¡¯t havee out now just to attend this Astral Combat Tournament. It¡¯s quite possible that he wants to repair his rtionship with the Ten Arbiters. After all, bing the mount of one of the Ten Arbiters isn¡¯t embarrassing. This race is getting more and more shameless as time goes on.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°You guys seem to all hate this dragon n.¡±

    Feng Shang nced at him, but only smiled in response.

    ¡°No one likes traitors,¡± Dao Bo duly replied.

    Lu Yin nodded and stayed quiet.

    Below them, Big Pao looked at the sylvan dragon with a grimace. He had been too careless in this battle. He had assumed that he would have an easy victory, but he had ended up being injured by a strange ray. If he had known this would happen, he would have mercilessly tried to end the battle immediately.

    Opposite Big Pao, Long Yi¡¯s giant body exerted a formless pressure before he split into five dragons. This was the sylvan dragon race¡¯s extreme speed technique that caused phantom images indistinguishable from the actual body to appear from the void. Each of the five dragons then opened their mouths.

    Big Pao¡¯s scalp turned numb, and two-lined battle force instantly covered his body. He had used his most powerful defense, but he was still struck by a ray that pierced through his body, causing him to die instantly.

    Many sighed at this scene, as a two-lined battle force was very powerful. Big Pao was definitely at the level of an Area Master, but he had still been defeated so early on.

    Lu Yin squinted and stared downwards. That ray attack was Long Yi¡¯s innate gift.

    Big Pao¡¯s corpse fell to the ground, but before itpletely vanished, Long Yi pounced on top of it. He raised his head, let out a fierce roar that shook the void, and then turned back around to look at the peak above him.

    ¡°This pet is still so disgusting.¡± Kuang Wang¡¯s eyes were cold, as if he hated the entire dragon n.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes also took on a steely glint. Long Yi stepping on Big Pao¡¯s corpse was an insult to him. This unruly pet needed to be put in its ce.

    In the second round of the random match battles, Coco had been defeated by the muscled man. Despite her zing fast speed, the muscled man calmly enveloped the entire arena with his attacks, leaving no room for escape. The power behind his attacks was also more than Coco could handle. Thus, she could only resign herself to defeat, just like Zhao Yilong back in the first round.

    Multiple Area Masters were also defeated in this second round, exposing more hidden powerhouses, many of whom had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy.

    This result frustrated all of the academy leaders, as these hidden powerhouses who had recently joined the Astral Combat Academy could not be considered fellow students. Instead, they were outsiders who were continually provoking the true students of the academy.

    Lu Yin could feel that several of the student leaders sitting here at this peak were on the verge of exploding with anger. These neers were far too arrogant, and they believed that, by defeating the Area Masters, they could dominate the entire Astral Combat Academy. However, the strongest were undoubtedly here, at the very top.

    Astral-10¡¯s results were unexpectedly good. Xia Luo, Silver, Darkvoid, Lulu, Little Pao, and Michelle all won their second round matches. Although Astral-10 only had fourteen students even with Lu Yin, half of their students had made it to the third stage. Proportionally, their academy was unmatched.

    The Sand Master and Rain Master were watching the tournament and were very satisfied with their students¡¯ results. They had only mentored them for half a year, so it was already quite good for them to achieve these results. If they had entered this tournament with the strength that they had when they first joined Astral-10, not a single one of them would havested to this point.

    There was another three hour break after the second round to allow both the spectators and thepetitors to rest.

    After the break, the arenas shifted again, reducing to a total number of fifty four arenas. There were only 108petitors left as one person had directly advanced.

    At this stage of thepetition, almost nobody hade this far through sheer luck. Only the true elites of their respective academies remained, and most were among the top ten of their academy. Nearly a quarter of those remaining were Area Masters, which meant that all the otherpetitors had a good chance of encountering one of them.

    Apu felt that he was lucky beyond belief as he earnestly thanked the heavens. He had melted into the crowds and passed the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage like that. Then, he had faced a Melder during the first round of the stage battles. Any Melder who could reach this stage was definitely a genius, but even geniuses needed time to mature. His opponent had not been very strong, and Apu had slowly defeated him, allowing him to proceed to the second round of battles. Then, as one might expect, he had been lucky enough to receive the second round bye and directly advance to the third round.

    Apu¡¯s original goal had been to reach the second round and bring honor to his ancestors. Although he was one of the top fifteen students in his academy, he was aware of how strong the other students who had reached this stage were. He was not greedy and was already satisfied with his results. However, at this moment, his thoughts changed when he saw the youth opposite him. He felt that the god of luck had descended for him once again.

    He was facing another Melder, and his opponent was young as well. Although he was probably not a teenager anymore, his immature face indicated that he should still be around twenty and that he was just a youth. It seemed that this youth had reached this third round through luck as well, but unfortunately for him, he had encountered Apu. Although Apu had also reached this stage by luck, it didn¡¯t feel like his luck would run out any time soon.

 Chapter 207: The Realm Mastersâ€™ Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 207: The Realm Masters¡¯ Entrance</h4>

    From Apu¡¯s perspective, the results of his third round battle were already determined, but what about his fourth? Just the thought of that gave Apu a headache, as the ten academy leaders would join them for the fourth round of battles. But then, he suddenly had a thought as he looked up at the peak high above him. If he recalled correctly, there seemed to be one person among the ten academy leaders who was there just to fill out the numbers. That¡¯s right, it was Astral-10¡¯s leader, that youth! There were many rumors that Astral-10 had just sent him out as a distraction. Given his current lucky streak, he had no doubt that his next match would be against Astral-10¡¯s leader.

    Apu grew more and more excited at his prospects as he hoped that he would continue to receive heavens¡¯ blessing. Could he reach the fourth round? Maybe even the fifth? That would be enough to make him famous throughout the universe! His gaze wavered as he imagined a glorious scene of him returning to his home. How would those lofty figures wee him? Would that loaded, snobby second uncle finallye fawn over him? And that beautiful Liana¡ªoh the Liana of his dreams! He would definitely marry her this time, as after this, he would be a super powerhouse who had reached the fifth round in the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Apu was still daydreaming about the future when the energy in the middle of the arena vanished, indicating that the battle had started. Suddenly, a light shed in front of his eyes.

    What is this toy? Apu was dissatisfied by this light. Who interrupted my dreams of living with Liana?

    But then, in the next instant, Apu¡¯s eyes readjusted to his surroundings and he blinked. Isn¡¯t this the trial zone mountain? Did I die?

    Apu¡¯s name indeed became famous throughout the universe, but not because he was powerful. Rather, he had broken the record time for the fastest defeat.

    Nobody who had reached the third round was average, and almost no one would be instantly killed. However, despite the general high leveledpetitors, Apu had instantly died, and he hadn¡¯t even noticed the moment of his death.

    This scene dumbfounded many as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s name appeared as the victor.

    Lu Yin looked closely at the arena and at the youth who had instantly killed Apu. So that¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu. Isn¡¯t he supposed to be a Limiteer?

    Liu Xiaoyun also closely examined Liu Shaoqiu, whose eyes had turned to look at the highest peak, sweeping across each of the seated figures. This was no ordinary gaze; he actually seemed to disdain all ten of these student leaders.

    Compared to Arikar or Long Yi, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s appearance was too ordinary. However, it was precisely the incongruity between his appearance and his true abilities that rendered the academy leaders speechless. Liu Shaoqiu truly was qualified to look down on them like that; he was a powerhouse from the Sword Sect in the Innerverse¡¯s First Flowzone. It was because of him that Liu Xiaoyun had been forced to join the Astral Combat Academy. Otherwise, she would have been forever suppressed by him in the Sword Sect.

    Liu Xiaoyun did not care about this Astral Combat Tournament at all; to her, only Liu Shaoqiu mattered.

    Astral-1¡¯s student leader marvelled, ¡°The Sword Sect has produced two top geniuses this generation. One is a member of the Ten Arbiters and the other is right before us. I really want to experience the terror of the Thirteen Swords.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret it,¡± Liu Xiaoyun coldly replied as she clenched her sword¡¯s hilt tightly.

    Astral-1¡¯s leader smiled but did not reply.

    Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu looked towards Lu Yin with a bizarre expression that also contained a hint of bloodlust.

    As the distance was too far, no one knew who Liu Shaoqiu was looking at. Only Lu Yin felt his animosity, as Liu Shaoqiu had directed his gaze straight at him.

    Can this person sense my strength? Lu Yin felt that Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s reaction was strange, as the Invisible Aura Technique that he had learned from Undying Yushan was very useful. Even Liu Xiaoyun and those sitting beside Lu Yin could not sense his true strength. Of everyone so far, only Liu Shaoqiu reacted differently.

    Bang!

    In another arena, Michelle was defeated by her opponent, Yue Xianzi. All of Michelle¡¯s attacks were rendered useless against the ckwater Lake Area Master¡¯s vortex, leading to Michelle¡¯s defeat. The disparity between them was just too great.

    Xi Yue also lost. Even though her strength neared that of an Area Master, she was stillcking when faced against a genuine Area Master.

    Darkvoid was also defeated, but his defeat had been rather baffling. This battle had opened Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, not because of Darkvoid¡¯s powerful abilities, but rather because of his opponent, who had been very timid.

    In Darkvoid¡¯s arena, a pool of ck ink slowly vanished, eventually revealing a youth in long robes. In one hand, he gripped an ink brush, an ancient writing tool, that gave him the aura of a schr. This was the person who had defeated Darkvoid.

    Many were amazed by the battle, and most could not understand this person¡¯s attack methods.

    On the highest peak, Astral-2¡¯s leader, Han Chong, smiled. He never thought that those rotten archaic relics would allow their precious disciple to join thispetition. How interesting.

    But out of all the battles in the third round, the most attention-grabbing battle was a violent confrontation. One of the fighters was Astral-7¡¯s Dai Ao, who had been Astral-7¡¯s defender during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage. And his opponent was Astral-10¡¯s Lulu Mavis.

    No one expected that, when they had collided, a real fire would emerge. Lulu¡¯s terrifying strength directly shed with Dai Ao¡¯s Starburst Palm, and their fight was a fierce struggle from the start. Countless onlookers felt their blood surging from watching, especially since one of thepetitors was from the Mavis family.

    The Mavis family had always been synonymous with wealth, and while everyone knew that this n was powerful, no one was sure how well their members would perform. This battle served as a clear demonstration of their strength, and it showed that their power had no need to be concealed as it was able to shatter even Dai Ao¡¯s Starburst Palm.

    Dai Ao endured the intense pain coursing through his body and stared intently at Lulu; the girl was very strong.

    Lulu rubbed her reddened wrist. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re not going to use your innate gift of gravity?¡±

    Dai Ao frowned as he replied, ¡°Then be careful.¡±

    ¡°How boring. You¡¯re too confident.¡± Lulu pursed her lips and then vanished. She had used White sh, and when Nightqueen Yanqing saw this, her brows lifted as the technique felt very familiar to her.

    Dai Ao¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as he did not expect that this girl would be able to use an extreme speed technique. However, gravity was the very nemesis of speed, and a momentter, the entire arena was enveloped by a ck gravity field. A gravitational force no weaker than 150 times that of normal gravity caused the ground to crack and Lulu¡¯s body to waver as she reappeared on the stage. Dai Ao then attacked her with another Starburst Palm. This time, Lulu did not find it as easy to withstand as before; the gravity had greatly impacted her attack speed. She copsed after taking several blows.

    Dai Ao pressed down with his palm in an attempt to crush Lulu through pure power.

    Traces of battle force appeared around Lulu¡¯s body as she continued to resist the pressure. Her battle force cancelled out a portion of the effect that the increased gravity had on her, allowing her to counterattack with a fierce uppercut at Dai Ao.

    He lowered his eyes and the gravity field in the arena suddenly seemed to vanish. But in reality, it had concentrated into a ck halo that surrounded his palm as he suddenly struck out.

    He met Lulu¡¯s fist directly with his gravity-powered Starburst Palm, and the shockwave that resulted tore the void to shreds. Although it was not able to break through the barrier that surrounded the arena, the force was redirected upwards, causing it to sweep into the sky and shatter a square region of space. It was a shocking sight to behold.

    Lulu was pressed into the ground by Dai Ao¡¯s attack. The ck halo of intense gravity had greatly increased Starburst Palm¡¯s power, allowing the attack to reach her heart and crush it. Lulu had been defeated.

    In an arena a bit further away, Grandini Mavis shook her head. Lulu was still young and had yet to grasp the true strength of the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift. She had also learnt other ns¡¯ methods in an attempt to increase her strength, resulting in her branching away from the main path.

    A few meters away, in an arena neighbouring Grandini Mavis¡¯s, a man looked at Grandini in rm. At this moment, there was practically no more arena left underneath her feet, as it had all been smashed to dust along with her opponent. What a freak!

    Neither Xia Luo, Silver, or Little Pao¡¯s battles were exciting, perhaps because their opponents were not very strong. Either way, they smoothly passed the third round of the elimination battles. The uing fourth round was when the ten academy leaders would join the battles.

    In the Lifeseek Realm and outside the field of arenas, all of the observing students grew solemn; the start of the true Astral Combat Tournament had finally arrived.

    Most of the audience watching across the universe were indescribably excited as they stared at the screens, enraptured. The ten academy leaders were about to enter the fray. It was stimting just thinking about if these pirs of the Astral Combat Academy would be able to prevail against the freakish geniuses who had only recently joined.

    Wu Da was also excited, as this Astral Combat Tournament had already given him enough material to publish five weeks¡¯ worth of articles.

    Back at Astral-10¡¯s space station, Madam Nn was sipping her tea inside her spacecraft while she watched her screen. She was also full of expectations, as she had refrained from telling Liu Xiaoyun about how she had picked up Lu Yin in the middle of outer space because the story was just too unbelievable. No one would ever believe that a lowly Melder could actually survive in outer space, and because of this, Madam Nn had huge expectations for Lu Yin¡¯s uing performance.

    Within the Great Yu Empire, Undying Yushan sat up with a grave expression; Little Yin was about to enter battle.

    In the Auna n, Jenny Auna was rendered speechless for a long time. She had long since heard that the Astral Combat Academy students were all freaks, but only now had she realized what this statement entailed. Was Lu Yin really going to fight against such freaks now?

    On Earth, countless people were also excited as they focused on the screens before them.

    At this moment, as long as one was near a screen, they would pause whatever they were doing in anticipation of the start of the true Astral Combat Tournament.

    There was a full five hour break before the fourth round of the elimination stage began. After those five hours passed, Lu Yin and the rest of the leaders on the highest peak stood up.

    At this point, the arena ins had transformed yet again. There were fifty fourpetitors remaining after the three elimination rounds, and with the ten seeds, there were now a total of sixty fourpetitors. Therefore, one would naturally expect there to be thirty two arenas dotting the field. But instead, the ins showed no sign of change. They remained the same without any traces of the previous fierce battles.

    Someonemented, ¡°The battles must be taking ce one by one. That way, we won¡¯t have to split our attention.¡±

    ¡°True, the previous tournaments were also like this. There was only ever one arena from the fourth round until the end.¡±

    ¡°No one reached this round with luck.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. There¡¯s one guy who managed to get here through pure luck¡ªLu Yin. Not only did he defeat Craynor and Hart Phoenix with outside help, but he also stirred up a disgraceful scandal to boost his fame. He fabricated news that he had died at the pirate port, and he even released a doctored video. He¡¯s pathetic.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! But the higher he climbs, the harder he¡¯ll fall. This stage will take ce before the entire universe. I can¡¯t wait to see how he mucks this up.¡±

    ¡­

    Atop the highest peak overlooking the valley, the number ¡°1¡± suddenly appeared in front of Feng Shang. He raised his head, lightly tapped the number in front of him, and was promptly transported to the center of the arena field.

    Lu Yin was astonished; he didn¡¯t expect that a Realm Master would fight in the very first battle. It appeared that the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s mentors felt that they had held themselves back for long enough; Feng Shang¡¯s opponent was Arikar.

    Everyone was stunned, but they quickly grew frenzied at the thought of witnessing this match. Feng Shang vs Arikar was a long-awaited match.

    Arikar¡¯s identity had been exposed after the first round of battles. It was now widely known that he was Feng Shang¡¯s senior, a genius who had been frozen by the ze Realm. He had once fought for the position of Realm Master for Astral-8, but he had ultimately been defeated. This match would definitely be a highlight of the tournament, and it would also showcase the difference in power between Feng Shang and the previous student leader of Astral-8.

    Arikar looked at Feng Shang excitedly. ¡°I never thought that I would be able to face you in the first match! It turns out that the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s mentors are very understanding.¡±

    Feng Shang calmly replied, ¡°Begin.¡±

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re very confident, but even Neru had to be careful against me,¡± Arikar said with a sneer.

 Chapter 208: Karmic Flame Sword

    <h4>Chapter 208: Karmic me Sword</h4>

    Feng Shang¡¯s eyes narrowed and a light shed across them after he heard Arikar¡¯s words. ¡°You aren¡¯t fit to mention Brother Neru¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°I lost to Neru back then because the ze Realm hadn¡¯t given me the Karmic me Sword¡¯s sheathe yet, but I brought it today, little junior. You can once again experience the sensation of being burned into a crisp,¡± Arikar jeered condescendingly. He then rose into the sky before a ck dot pierced the earth, causing a surging wave of zing hot heat to descend, just like the scene from the previous battle round.

    On the other side, Feng Shang remained in his original location, calmly watching Arikar rise into the air and attack him with a palm.

    The fiery palm silhouette enveloped an area of a thousand meters. On the screens, the spectators watched on as everything in the inferno¡¯s area of effect burned to ashes, and the heat even caused the void to distort. Thin spatial cracks spread out from the mes as theypressed into themselves, intensifying their destructive potential as they continued burning even within the void. It was a stunning scene.

    Outside of the ins, Jared¡¯s face paled; this was Arikar¡¯s Endless Darkgold Palm. Arikar¡¯s innate gift of darkgold meant that he only needed a small amount of heat to coax violent mes with extremely high temperatures to life. When these mes werebined with the ze Realm¡¯s battle technique, it formed a uniquebination battle technique that had allowed Arikar to dominate the Astral Combat Academy in the past. This attack was also his trademark skill.

    Ripping apart the void was a sign of a powerhouse. Generally, only experts at the Explorer realm or above could tear through the void, but it had be amonce sight in this Astral Combat Tournament.

    The void was formless, and a normal person could not even fathom how much strength was needed to tear through it. For mes to distort the void and even cause it to copse, the temperature of the ze needed to be impossibly high. The sight caused many to feel numb, especially the members of the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation. This palm represented the hopeless disparity between them and Arikar, who could even surprise space-exploring powerhouses with his attacks.

    Boom!

    The earth was powderized under that domineering Endless Darkgold Palm. As the dust settled, the screen revealed a jet-ck palm silhouette while the remnant mes engulfed the arena in all directions and steadily continued to burn.

    When the scorching heat wave swept over them, a portion of the students in the audience outside the arena involuntarily took a step back.

    Even the student leaders still on the nearby peak were affected.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the arena. What a powerful strike, what high temperatures! Compared to Arikar, Craynor and the others were nothing.

    Everyone looked inside the arena as the mes on the ground died down. What had happened to Feng Shang?

    A breeze blew across the battlefield and dispersed the final fire, exposing a shade of green. In the thousand meter rectangle that the palm imprint had incinerated, only that smear of green remained unckened; it was actuallypletely unharmed.

    A hurricane twisted around Feng Shang, and he slowly raised his head. ¡°Your power¡¯s only reached that level?¡±

    Many students cheered and started chanting Feng Shang¡¯s name.

    Countless spectators among the universe took in a deep breath of fresh air while standing in front of their screens. That attack, which could be considered to be the apex of a Limiteer¡¯s strength, could not even singe a hair against this person. This was a leader of the ten great academies, a trial zone Realm Master.

    In the sky, Arikar¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. ¡°Impossible! Not even Neru from back then could have received the Endless Darkgold Palm that easily. How can you bepletely unharmed?!¡±

    Feng Shang¡¯s eyes remained ice cold. ¡°The times have changed. Frozen geniuses? How pathetic. In my eyes, they¡¯re nothing more than a group of pitiful bugs who have fallen behind in the times.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re just Neru¡¯sckey! I¡¯ll show you the ze Realm¡¯s top-notch battle technique!¡± Arikar roared as his veins bulged all over his entire body. A trace of dark red energy could be seen flowing over his figure.

    This was the Karmic me Sword, the strongest ancient battle technique inheritance that the ze Realm had. Only its top disciples were allowed to learn it, but learning it was just the first step. To use it in itsplete form, one needed a sheath. This so-called ¡°sheath¡± was not a material item, but rather something that had been sessfully unlocked by an almighty figure from the ze Realm many years ago. More specifically, the sheath was an indescribably powerful me, and only those who absorbed this me could disy the full might of the Karmic me Sword.

    Once this me merged with a cultivator¡¯s star energy, it would cease to be an external force, so it could be disyed within the trial zones like an innate gift. This sheath, this me, was what Arikar had received instead of Jared.

    The ze Realm¡¯s disciples had consumed this me for countless ages, so there was not much left. Even the region¡¯s top disciple was no longer guaranteed to receive a trace of it.

    Countless people from the Innerverse knew that the ze Realm had a top-notch battle technique, the Karmic me Sword. But few knew the truth of the technique and why there could be such a disparity in the power of the battle technique even when used by people of simr strengths.

    In the sky, Arikar straightened his right arm as a dark-red thread writhed within his body as if it was alive. Finally, itpletely gathered together in his right index finger. In the very next moment, an indescribably terrifying aura emerged from that finger. It caused the void to ripple dangerously as an endlessly climbing heat wave engulfed heaven and earth and it a dark red color.

    Many were shocked, as they knew that the strength of this attack would be terrifying beyond belief even before it was released.

    Arikar stared fervently at his right index finger; this was the feeling. This inherited strand of me was what allowed the Karmic me Sword to be truly terrifying. At this moment, he even felt confident about challenging an Explorer, let alone a mere Feng Shang. But then, Arikar¡¯s scalp suddenly turned numb as he instinctively tried to dodge to the side, but it was toote. Feng Shang¡¯s figure appeared before him as an intense pain spread out from his abdomen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t strike a pose for too long in your next battle¡± were thest words that Arikar heard before he died.

    The Karmic me Sword was indeed very powerful, and there was a good reason why it had be the inherited battle technique of the ze Realm, which was an ancient power in the Innerverse. Its power could shock many, but Arikar was still too weak to fully disy its power. It took him too long to ready it, and Feng Shang could have killed him more than ten times in that time span. Nobody was foolish enough to wait patiently and receive such a devastating attack.

    Feng Shang¡¯s actions had shocked many, to the point where the audience couldn¡¯t even react.

    ording to the popr stories that they had all heard of, shouldn¡¯t one allow their opponent to disy their ultimate moves before calmly dispatching them, to demonstrate the power of the protagonist? Was that just now a sneak attack?

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, found the scene hrious. He chuckled not at Feng Shang¡¯s abrupt attack, but rather at Arikar, who had been frozen for so many years that it seemed that his brain had be stupid. For some reason, Arikar had thought that Feng Shang was an idiot who would wait for him to disy his strongest attack. But Feng Shang¡¯sst strike had been so fast that it was unbelievable. Arikar had reacted extremely quickly, but he still had not been able to dodge Feng Shang¡¯s attack. In fact, Feng Shang¡¯s speed had even overtaken Lulu¡¯s.

    This was a Realm Master¡¯s strength. Graceful at a nce, but strong enough to shock people¡¯s hearts.

    The other student leaders¡¯ expressions did not change. Kuang Wang arrogantly dered, ¡°Another piece of trash. Anyone who can¡¯t disy their battle techniques, no matter how strong that technique is, is trash.¡±

    Feng Shang returned and casually sat down at his seat. Although he had not disyed anything particrly terrifying, his battle had still stunned others. Arikar was so powerful, but he could not even handle a single strike from Feng Shang.

    The arena in still had a jet-ck giant palm imprint from Arikar¡¯s Endless Darkgold Palm. But then, the earth squirmed, and the arena quickly regained its normal appearance.

    Beside Lu Yin, a number ¡°2¡± appeared in front of Liu Yin, who was rhythmically bobbing his head.

    Lu Yin was astonished. The first battle had included a Realm Master, and the second one would be the same.

    Liu Yin didn¡¯t even take off his headphones when he touched the number. He suddenly appeared in the arena below, where Little Pao was already waiting.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that Liu Yin¡¯s opponent was actually Little Pao.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t the only one surprised; everyone from Astral-10 was stunned. Little Pao was up against a Realm Master?

    Liu Yin had a youthful appearance, and he even had a delinquent¡¯s demeanor, but no one dared underestimate a Realm Master, not even Astral-9¡¯s Realm Master.

    Of the Nine Trial Zones, the Dao of Change was deemed the trial zone with the most ancient and strange bloodlines. There were actually many inherited bloodlines there, just like how the other trial zones had battle technique inheritances and other teachings. But as the Dao of Change¡¯s Realm Master, Liu Yin had never shown any strange bloodline innate gifts. Nobody knew whether or not Little Pao would be able to force it out by himself.

    Little Pao had a serious expression, as everyone knew that the nine Realm Masters were all very powerful. Even if this Liu Yin was calmly bobbing his head, Little Pao did not dare underestimate him.

    Little Pao considered his options and rose into the sky. He then raised a hand as his star energy condensed into simted mes and ck veins bulged out on his raised hand. He barked, ¡°ck zes Palm,¡± as a giant ck me mmed downwards, straight at Liu Yin.

    Many were shocked, as this strike appeared to be rather simr to Arikar¡¯s Endless Darkgold Palm. However, one was a true me formed from an innate gift while the other was simted through star energy. However, Little Pao¡¯s ck palm simrly scorched the void with its high temperatures and caused it to distort. Even if the observers were watching from a screen, they could still sense the insanely high temperature of that simted me.

    Liu Yin suddenly raised his head, opened his mouth, and let loose such a ferocious roar that everyone watching jump up in fright.

    His roar was so loud and resonant that it directly caused the void to fracture. The sound wave was visible to the naked eye as it tore through the ck zes Palm and continued on towards Little Pao.

    Little Pao¡¯s pupils shrank as he tried to dodge, but the sound wave had ripped through space and caused a crack to form. It was as if an abyss had been gouged out of the sky. The shocking scene stunned everyone.

    Liu Yin raised his head and breathed in deeply. Following his actions, another queer sound wave was released into the sky. Sound, obviously, had no material substance, but this sound forcefully caused the air to condense into strange lines that twisted together.

    Little Pao felt something was amiss and summoned his two-lined battle force to cover his body before he charged towards Liu Yin in a bid to interrupt this sound attack.

    But it was toote, or rather, Liu Yin was too fast. Those lines of air formed by the sound waves fell down like rain drops, covering nearly half of the entire arena ins. Little Pao could not avoid the falling lines and was easily pelted by them. Each line had little to no destructive ability, but when they entered his body, they caused a sound wave to ring out within his body. When multiple lines entered Little Pao¡¯s body, they reverberated against each other, causing his body to quickly shatter into a million pieces.

    The ground was also struck by the lines of sound waves, causing multiple fissures that were immeasurably deep to appear.

    Countless spectators were stupefied by this scene. This was a Realm Master, one who had truly disyed his abilities and as a result, won in an instant.

    Liu Yin continued to bob his head rhythmically as he made his way back to the high peak.

    Some who had previously treated him with contempt were now frightened. This brat was silent and odd, but also extremely terrifying.

    Lu Yin nced at the person sitting next to him. Had he been serious just now?

    Little Pao was strong, without a doubt. He hadbined forces with Big Pao to force Kuang Wang to reveal a hidden card, which was testament to Little Pao¡¯s strength. However, when he had to face a Realm Master by himself, he had not been able tost for even a single strike, as the disparity was just toorge.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something, and he looked at Kuang Wang, who was sitting there with a calm expression. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; the other nine student leaders must roughly know the difference in power between each of them. Kuang Wang was not at all shocked by Liu Yin¡¯s power, which meant that he was just as powerful. This meant that when Big Pao and Little Pao had joined forces to fight Kuang Wang, he had never been serious.

    The Astral Combat Academy hadsted for countless years, and it was logical to say that it stood at the top of the universe. The Ten Arbiters Council had designated the Council of Astral Academy as one of its strongest subsidiary councils, and the council could even stand by the Outerverse Youth Council on equal footing. Lu Yin had never really understood what this implied before, but based on what these Realm Masters had shown so far, they were indeed qualified to have such a lofty position.

    Once these Realm Masters broke through and became Explorers, they would immediately be able to challenge the Top 100 Rankings, and they would definitely not ce low either. Even with their current power, they might even be already able to step into the Top 100 Rankings.

    These Realm Masters were absolutely within the top hundred of the universe¡¯s younger generation rankings, with the exception of the Ten Arbiters of course.

    The next three matches had no Realm Masters, and Lu Yin did not recognize any of the participants either. Finally, for the sixth match, a number ¡°6¡± appeared before him.

 Chapter 209: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 209: Shock</h4>

    At the same time, outside the arena ins, a number ¡°6¡± appeared before Long Yi as well. The dragon licked his lips rapaciously.

    When Lu Yin appeared in the arena ins, countless onlookers grew excited as two camps of opposing extreme emotions rose.

    Many Astral Combat Academy students were delighted at Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune; they believed that all of Lu Yin¡¯s battle results were fabricated and that Astral-10 had appointed him as its student leader to distract the rest of the academies.

    On the other hand, when countless people throughout the universe saw that another academy leader was stepping out to do battle, they grew excited upon the thought of seeing another high leveled battle.

    At this moment, Gerbach and the rest in the Great Yu Empire were watching with grave expressions.

    Undying Yushan had a calm expression.

    The Auna n, Huo family¡ªamong the three rings of territory surrounding Zenyu Star, everyone was staring intently at their screens at the thin figure who represented the Great Yu Empire as King Zishan.

    On Earth, Zhou Shan and the rest were so nervous that they could hardly breathe. They had never imagined that Lu Yin would participate in a battle at this level, as this battle represented vying for the very peak of the universe¡¯s younger generation.

    On a vast continent, in a city floating in the sky, Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes wandered as she looked calmly at Lu Yin.

    On Astral-10¡¯s space station, Madam Nn put down her teacup and her gaze deepened immeasurably.

    ¡­

    Behind everypetitor were countless people supporting them. Lu Yin was no different, and the sight of his appearance on the battlefield lifted many hearts.

    Long Yi¡¯s giant body appeared before Lu Yin, and the sylvan dragon revealed a grinning expression. ¡°Another one from Astral-10, and the leader at that. Interesting. This time, I won¡¯t kill you too quickly. I¡¯ll crush your body and then crush Astral-10 beneath my feet.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned frosty as he recalled the sight of Big Pao¡¯s corpse being trampled. ¡°You like to step on people?¡±

    Long Yi released a long, maniacalughter.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Is it because you¡¯re going to be someone¡¯s mount?¡±

    This sentence angered Long Yi to no end. The battle that he had lost in the past had scarred him for life as it would be an evesting shame upon his name if he were reduced to being a mount. Although his n had released him so as to borrow his status as a mount to approach the Ten Arbiters, it was still a humiliation for him no matter what the context was. Hence, he had developed aplex for stepping on other people, and the word ¡°mount¡± had also be taboo for him.

    Long Yi immediately opened his mouth and shot out a ray at Lu Yin. It was a great sylvan dragon ray, the very same attack that had severely injured Big Pao. Long Yi had used this attack to be famous in the universe as it was his powerful innate gift.

    Lu Yin abruptly vanished before instantly appearing above the dragon. Long Yi¡¯s body split in response; one became two, and then two became five. This was the sylvan dragon n¡¯s innate gift of extreme speed, and this was the same speed that had rendered Big Pao helpless.

    Boom!

    The center of the arena suddenly shattered as giant cracks spread out in all directions, stirring up a heavy cloud of dust and smoke. The audience had yet to react to the dragon¡¯s extreme speed, but the battle had already ended.

    As the smoke dispersed, countless students were stunned. Long Yi¡¯s giant body had been ripped into multiple pieces, and each piece was embedded deeply into the ground, his blood staining the ins. A footprint could be clearly seen on its shattered head; this was where Lu Yin¡¯s deadly stomp hadnded.

    In an instant, all of the student leaders sitting atop the peak overlooking the valley were moved; it had been such a quick speed, and a powerful strike as well.

    Lu Yin silently floated in mid-air with a calm expression for a few seconds before slowly returning to the high peak and gently sitting down in his seat again.

    No one spoke, as the battle had ended far too fast for them to even react. This was an expected oue to the people who were watching the tournament through their screens, as Lu Yin had indeed disyed the power of a Ream Master. However, this result was too shocking for the Astral Combat Academy students. After all, wasn¡¯t this fellow supposed to be a distraction propped up by Astral-10? But didn¡¯t he seem a bit too powerful to just be a distraction?

    Outside the ins, Liu Ji stared at Lu Yin closely. He truly was Astral-10¡¯s leader who had actually been hit by the beam of light that was meant for Explorers at the pirate port. How had he survived? And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning his abnormal strength; Liu Ji had not even been able to see his movements.

    Countless students were shocked, and many more spectators in the rest of the universe were stunned, including the Great Yu Empire. Gerbach and the rest could not evenprehend what had just happened; the gap between them had grown much toorge.

    Undying Yushan smiled. Not bad, not bad at all.

    In the outskirts of San Dios, a city in the sky, Wendy was amazed. This speed was rather excessive even for a Limiteer, but Lu Yin was just a Melder. She suddenly realized something; Lu Yin was currently Astral-10¡¯s leader, but once he truly became a Realm Master, he would automatically join the Council of Astral Academy. The status of a student council member was the same as her own¡­

    Wendy Yushan was not the only one watching the match on San Dios; Puyu was as well, though his mood waspletely different. He could even be considered to be in a towering rage. ¡°Why did that trash, Bazeer, not just ughter him back then?!¡±

    A figure was silently standing behind him: it was the man known as Vulture, the corpse king who had fought against Lu Yin on the Giant. Vulture was also staring at the screen, at Lu Yin.

    The shock that Lu Yin had created among the spectators had not yet dissipated when another two figures appeared on the ins. The first was Grandini Mavis and the other grasped a simple sword, clearly from Myriad Swords Peak. Lu Yin was interested in the capabilities of the disciples of Myriad Swords Peak, as he would one day have to interact with this monstrous organization.

    Outside the arena, Lulu grit her teeth as she stared at Grandini. That damned woman just has to show me up.

    This battle also ended quite quickly, creating a bit of a stir among the audience again. The Myriad Swords Peak disciple, Na Mu, had the ability to fuse 3000 des into one, greatly surpassing Zhao Yilong. However, Grandini had still forcibly smashed his technique apart. She, like Lulu, used pure strength, but Grandini¡¯s strength seemed limitless. Each shockwave that apanied her punches had sent cold shivers running down the audience¡¯s spines.

    There were no highlights in the next few battles. All of them werepletely one-sided, even when Area Masters were fighting. At this point, and on this stage, an Area Master was nothing much. Little Pao also had the strength of a top-notch Area Master, but he had still been killed near-instantly in his match.

    Lu Yin only perked up when he saw Xia Luo appear, as he still had not seen how deep this person¡¯s strength truly went yet.

    Xia Luo¡¯s opponent made Lu Yin feel that luck was on his side today; he was actually matched up against Jared.

    The rivalry between Jared and Astral-10 had started when the ze Realm tried to take over Astral-10. But now, Arikar had been wiped out by Feng Shang and Long Yi had been stomped upon by Lu Yin, leaving only the Ross Empire¡¯s Jared still in the tournament of the ze Realm¡¯s three powers.

    Jared was not worried about Xia Luo even if his performance during the Tribute to the Ancestors stage had been exceptional. Jared felt that, at best, Xia Luo had a firm willpower. However, his misconception was only because Jared did not clearly understand the details of that the Tribute to the Ancestors stage entailed.

    The opponent who he wanted to face the most was Lu Yin, as they had a grudge between them. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that Lu Yin was definitely the weakest out of all the student leaders. If Jared beat Lu Yin, he would be famous throughout the universe, but unfortunately, he had not been that lucky.

    ¡°Senior, you seem disappointed,¡± Xia Luo said with a warm smile, his expression the same as always.

    Jared shot a disdainful re at Xia Luo. ¡°There¡¯s no need to spout nonsense. Just die.¡± He then raised his right arm. This posture was very familiar to the onlookers: wasn¡¯t this Arikar¡¯s Karmic me Sword that had never been fully disyed? Did this person want to have a repeat of that?

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes shed, and he eagerly watched Jared.

    As an Area Master, and also as the strongest ze Realm disciple in his generation, Jared would naturally not make the same rookie mistake that Arikar had made. Jared had not received that strand of ancient me, but his preparation time was much faster. As soon as his arm lowered, a strand of fire shot out of his fingertip and emitted a strange sword radiance that sliced towards Xia Luo while being propelled by star energy. As it moved through the arena, it scorched everything ck, tore cracks through the void, and caused the ground to burn and melt.

    This was the Karmic me Sword. Although this attack was not catalyzed with the ancient me, it still possessed a powerful strength.

    Many students backed away from the arena as they felt a searing heat wave wash over them.

    Just this strike alone demonstrated Jared¡¯s power as an Area Master. He could easily tear through the void, which was something that only someone with the strength of an Area Master could do.

    Xia Luo took a single step forward with his right leg to confront this Karmic me Sword as heshed out with a palm. The sword and palm collided, and the resulting shockwave rippled through the field, overturning the ground and shattering the nearby hills. However, the Karmic me Sword was stopped by Xia Luo¡¯s palm, and when his palm started to vibrate, the sword shrank at a visible rate before finally vanishing.

    Jared was shocked by the sight. ¡°How is that even possible?! You actually dissolved the Karmic me Sword?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t only Jared; all of the observing powerhouses from the ze Realm felt a cold sweat appear on their backs. Even Arikar was gaping with his mouth open. Someone had actually dissolved the Karmic me Sword with ease.

    Xia Luo waved his hand and smiled calmly at Jared as he extinguished thest strand of fire. ¡°Has no one ever told you that the Karmic me Sword is not really that special? If even you can do it, then it means that it¡¯s not veryplicated.¡±

    These words were shocking to Jared, but he could only stare at Xia Luo in disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s the peak inherited battle technique of my ze Realm.¡±

    Xia Luo shook his head, seeming disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The ze Realm has passed that technique down for countless generations. If the Karmic me Sword only amounted to this, then the realm would have been exterminated long ago. I could feel the power in Arikar¡¯s previous sword, but the most important aspect isn¡¯t the battle technique itself, but rather something else. In other words, it¡¯s the primer, which youck. Such a pity.¡±

    Jared¡¯s heart was shaken by Xia Luo¡¯s words as he continued to stare at Xia Luo. ¡°Such big words. You¡¯re just a new student of Astral-10, but you actually want to spout off nonsense about my ze Realm.¡± He barked loudly, causing the star energy in his body to started simting mes that burst out, engulfing his body in mes. After immting himself, Jared swatted out with a palm at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo easily dodged Jared¡¯s continuous attacks. Jared smoothly used various battle techniques of the ze Realm, and even some that did not belong to the ze Realm, but each and every one of them was easily neutralized by Xia Luo.

    Atop the peak overlooking the valley, Dao Bo sighed. ¡°Such astonishing Lockbreaking talent.¡±

    Lu Yin also sighed as he thought back to how Xia Luo had entered Astral-10 with him and had searched for the gift at the Rain Observatory. Later, after Lu Yin Possessed Da Lei through his die, Lu Yin had been the first to grasp the realm of infinite changes of star energy control, but he had still been quickly surpassed by Xia Luo during the new students¡¯petition. Now, he did not even know how far Xia Luo¡¯s grasp of star energy had be. This was Xia Luo¡¯s real power.

    In the arena, Jared panted heavily and stared at Xia Luo as if he were looking at the devil. Where did this bastarde from? He¡¯s a terrifying fighter, and clearly a Lockbreaker. His method of dissolving attacks is definitely something that only a Lockbreaker could do. So Astral-10 actually has a Lockbreaker among its ranks.

    There were around twenty Lockbreakers in the entire Astral Combat Academy, though only a few could reach this level of control. Xia Luo¡¯s performance even astounded Dao Bo, let alone the other Lockbreakers. Liu Ji waspletely stunned, as she could sense that Xia Luo was much stronger than her. How is this possible?

    Jared¡¯s eyes red and he charged at Xia Luo again. Strangely, Xia Luo¡¯s eyes also shed when he saw Jared¡¯s hands movements this time. The scene before them copsed and then transformed. This was apletely different battle technique, an inherited one from the Dao of Illusion. Disying this battle technique showed that Jared had be serious.

    The two figures passed by each other, though there were no injuries on either. Following that, Jared¡¯s body copsed to the ground, leaving Xia Luo victorious.

    No one saw how Xia Luo had achieved his victory aside from Lu Yin. He was keenly aware that Xia Luo¡¯s unexpected attack was incredibly powerful. It was actually the attack that had once defeated Lulu. Even Lu Yin had only barely managed to avoid this attack. This guy seemed pure and kind on the surface but was actually very cruel at his core.

    Xia Luo had beat Jared. He then turned around and smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt that it was quite funny, as it seemed that Xia Luo also had a driving ambition for victory. Silver must be the same; Lu Yin just could not see through these two Astral-10 students.

 Chapter 210: Domain

    <h4>Chapter 210: Domain</h4>

    The next match was Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s turn. Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing her true power, but her opponent was merely an Area Master, and the disparity was too great; the Area Master was easily dispatched.

    After Liu Xiaoyun was Han Chong, Astral-2¡¯s leader¡­

    ...His battle ended in a simrly rxed manner.

    The fourteenth match made the crowds perk up. On one side was Sha, and on the other was Hart Phoenix, the genius of the Phoenix n who had defeated an Area Master as a Melder.

    Every Melder who had reached the fourth round of matches was a freak. The few Melders still in the tournament were Lu Yin, Liu Shaoqiu, Xia Luo, Silver, andstly, Hart Phoenix. Also, Hart had a brother who dominated the universe: one of the Ten Arbiters, Serati Phoenix.

    Ever since Hart had been defeated by Lu Yin, he had vanished, only reappearing now. Lu Yin was very curious as to what the young man had experienced during his time away and how he had grown so powerful. Hart¡¯s entire temperament seemed to have changed, bing much more refined.

    Many were waiting to see how Hart would fare in this battle and only a few were concerned about Sha, such as Lu Yin or Silver. Only those two knew that Sha was from the Neohuman Alliance, an iparably frightening organization.

    For Hart, Sha did not even qualify to enter his eyes. Hart was like Jared and was of the opinion that only those who he had targeted were worth his attention, such as Lu Yin or Bonny Phoenix.

    Sha had a calm expression, as if he did not care about anything in the world. His entire body gave off an icy-cold impression, as if he were a block of ice. After all, he was the Ice Domain¡¯s Area Master in the Dao of ughter.

    Hart finally looked at Sha and then immediately frowned¡ªhe hated the cold. Hart didn¡¯t even speak before making a move. Following a high pitched whistling sound, gigantic golden mes engulfed the entire arena ins. No one thought that Hart would cause such a huge spectacle with his first move, and many students retreated in fear, not even daring to touch the golden mes. These mes had already burned an Area Master to a crisp once before.

    The golden mes surged as they wrapped around Sha. Hart reckoned that this guy would not be able to cope with the intense heat, but reality shocked everyone. The golden mes gradually froze over and were encased with ice. Then, the blueyers of ice started extending outwards, slowly but steadily freezing any and all golden mes that it came into contact with. Eventually, a marvelous disy of golden mes encased in blue ice that covered the entire ins was formed.

    Hart¡¯s pupils constricted. He knew better than anyone how terrifying his golden mes were. It shouldn¡¯t have been possible for this person to seal them.

    Sha did not make any unnecessary moves. An area of extreme cold had formed beneath his feet before spreading out, freezing everything as it inexorably creeped towards Hart.

    Hart felt furious at this development, as this was his stage. He could not allow himself to be suppressed by anyone.

    In the next moment, the rion call of a powerful bird shook heaven and earth. From within the sturdy ice, the golden mes roiled and quaked. Its sudden liveliness shattered the ice before rising into the skies to assume the form of a golden Undying Bird. It spread its wings, and the high temperature that it released caused the void to twist and rupture. This scene was much more horrifying than Arikar¡¯s Endless Darkgold palm, as it felt that a real astral phoenix had been born before their very eyes.

    Lu Yin leaned forward expectantly; Hart¡¯s Undying Bird had changed once again, and it was even more majestic and powerful than before. The golden mes of the Undying Bird practically evaporated everything that they touched, overwhelming many students who continuously retreated from the arena.

    But no one noticed that the extreme cold beneath Sha never stopped spreading. The star energy in his body exploded out, triggering his blue ice to suddenly sweep out and seal everything within a thousand meters, which included the golden Undying Bird and Hart Phoenix.

    Nobody had evenprehended what had just happened when Sha raised his hand and caused a sturdy ice spear to form in it. He then thrust it directly through Hart¡¯s body and into the ground, instantly killing him.

    With Hart¡¯s death, the golden mes vanished, leaving only an icy-blue world in the arena ins.

    No one thought that even the Undying Bird could be frozen. The confrontation between ice and fire had resulted in apletendslide victory.

    Up on the highest peak, all the student leaders had somber faces.

    ¡°What a strong domain. So even the Phoenix n¡¯s Undying Bird was frozen by it. Xue Liuyun, did you know that this Area Master below you was this powerful?¡± Feng Shang asked with a strange expression. The others also shifted their gazes towards Xue Liuyun.

    Xue Liuyun calmly stared at Sha, but there was a rarely seen glimmer of shock in his eyes. He really had no idea that this person was this strong.

    Outside the arena ins, Xia Luo¡¯s brows creased in frustration. He hated this Sha purely because his aura was simr to Silver¡¯s; it was extremely disgusting.

    Off in the distance, Silver¡¯s smile was splendid. He was standing alone as most of the surrounding students had avoided him out of fear that he would go crazy with his butterfly knife. This person had killed almost two hundred people by himself during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage, after all.

    The next two matches were battles between Area Masters. Normally, these battles would be attention-grabbing, but they were not dazzling in the slightest on the current stage. Wu Da could not even be bothered to record them. While these battles were taking ce, his small eyes were scanning all the otherpetitors, and nobody knew what he was thinking.

    The seventeenth match was a long-anticipated one. Before their screens, countless people in the Innerverse cheered when they saw the appearance of their goddess, Yue Xianzi.

    Yue Xianzi was another student who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy. Although she was pretty, many students still regarded her as an outsider since she had also snatched the ckwater Lake inheritance not long after she joined. Hence, many students did not like her. Facing her was her opponent, Charon.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw Charon walk out; this was a sure victory.

    The only thing that the spectating audience knew about Charon was that he was a powerful Area Master. Otherwise, he would not have been able to upy Whitebones Gorge. Among everyone, only Lu Yin knew about Charon¡¯s true strength; between his mastery of a domain, his star energy control, and his Unveiled Sword, he was more than qualified to roam the universe unhindered. He was definitely the ideal candidate to challenge a Realm Master, but he had not yet revealed his power. Additionally he could not bring his sword into the Lifeseek Realm either.

    Yue Xianzi slowly bowed as she faced Charon. ¡°Senior, forgive my impropriety.¡±

    Charon duly replied, ¡°It is my honor to battle against the young mistress of the Frostmoon Sect.¡±

    ¡°The Frostmoon Sect is just a small sect, and it is not worthy of senior¡¯s notice. I ask that senior please show mercy.¡± Yue Xianzi¡¯s words were respectful, and when that was coupled with her beautiful face and sweet voice, she caused many in the audience to admire her bearing.

    But Charon remained unaffected; the only woman in his mind was his sister-inw. But that thought caused him to think of Lu Yin, and he unconsciously raised his head only to coincidentally lock eyes with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Charon and then at Yue Xianzi. At this moment, this woman had shed her prim manners and mercilessly disyed the battle technique that she had inherited from ckwater Lake.

    Her star energy simted the flow of water and produced a vortex, which protected her in the very center of the field. An extremely dazzling cold moon rose in the sky, giving Yue Xianzi the bearing of a true lunar deity.

    Charon remained calm as he stared at the gradually expanding vortex, which had twisted more than one Area Master to death. The normal-looking flowing water actually had a terrifyingly destructive strength, and no one was capable of withstanding it regardless of how tough their body was. This was the fearsome nature of this inherited battle technique that hade from ancient times. Charon could not forcibly sh with the vortex, and he could only try to dissolve it from the outside. Fortunately, Charon was a genius Lockbreaker who greatly surpassed both Xia Luo and Lu Yin in terms of contributions.

    When Charon¡¯s star energy expanded out, mysterious ripples swept out across the field one after another. Yue Xianzi was shocked: a domain! She did not know that Charon hadprehended a domain.

    For the first time, the power of a Lockbreakerbined with a domain was witnessed by countless people.

    Charon then easily stepped into the vortex and walked in front of Yue Xianzi. ¡°Are we going to continue this?¡±

    Many could not understand what had just happened. How had Charon broken through Yue Xianzi¡¯s battle technique so easily?

    Yue Xianzi was initially stunned, but her shock quickly turned to disappointment. ¡°It seems that my battle technique cannotpare to yours. Thank you, senior, for showing me mercy.¡± Her figure then vanished as she left the Lifeseek Realm.

    Charon and Yue Xianzi¡¯s battle had been one of the simplest in the entire tournament, as they had not exchanged any blows. Only a very select few could understand what had transpired during their battle.

    A domain contained a very mysterious strength; not only could it help one merge into their surroundings, but it could also forcibly affect those surroundings and increase one¡¯s power almost limitlessly. It could form a visible forcefield, alter one¡¯s heartbeat rate, enhance their five senses, and other abstruse effects. Every person¡¯s understanding of a domain was different.

    Sha¡¯s domain had altered his surroundings to turn everything to ice, while Charon¡¯s focused on enhancing his five senses as he was a Lockbreaker. Within the range of Charon¡¯s domain, he was able to clearly sense the activity of every single strand of star energy. This was the reason behind Yue Xianzi¡¯s defeat. Even though her battle technique was very strong, it was nheless still powered by star energy. As long as he was facing someone on the same level as him, there was almost no star energy activity that Charon could not see through.

    Absolute mastery within the domain¡¯s region of space for the wielder¡ªthis was a domain. Not all Lockbreakers couldprehend a domain, but any Lockbreaker who did would undoubtedly be very powerful.

    Up on the peak overlooking the field, Dao Bo¡¯s lips curved upwards; Charon was qualified to battle against him.

    Not far from Lu Yin, an ¡°18¡± appeared in front of Astral-1¡¯s leader.

    Everyone looked at her; it was finally time for the most unfathomable and mysterious Realm Master of them all to battle.

    Lu Yin was naturally curious as well, since the ten academies and their respective student leaders were all ranked by strength. This woman had to be able to suppress Nightqueen Yanqing, Dao Bo, Feng Shang, and other such super powerhouses for her to take the position of first. Lu Yin was eager to see her power.

    However, the battle did not even take ce as the opponent readily admitted defeat.

    None of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students found this strange. This student had been matched up against Astral-1¡¯s leader, the person who could be considered the strongest within the entire Astral Combat Academy. Not even most Area Masters would be qualified to exchange blows with her.

    Lu Yin was disappointed, but his spirits were quickly refreshed because the next battle was nearly as exciting as the previous one. It was Chilian Daynight. Countless people had seen his powerful moves during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage, especially his amazing crowd control abilities. It would be difficult for anyone weaker than him to defend against his attacks. And his opponent for this neenth match would be Liu Shaoqiu.

    Liu Xiaoyun shivered when she saw Liu Shaoqiu appear in the middle of the arena ins.

    She wasn¡¯t the only one who was excited. Before countless screens, especially within the First Flowzone of the Innerverse, many experts from great powers watched this uing battle intently. There was not much information readily avable about Liu Shaoqiu, but everything that had been found out was shocking to the extreme. He was the second person in the current generation of the Sword Sect to have received the Thirteen Swords inheritance, and he was also an abnormally strong genius who had once injured an Explorer at the Melder realm.

    In the First Flowzone, on a duskynd, countless people were kneeling down. The crowd extended far into the horizon, and they were all facing towards the north. There, a tall g fluttered in the wind, emitting an iron-scented bloodlust. There was one word on the g¡ª¡°Y¨­u.¡±

    Below the g sat a girl with an exquisite face. She was wearing a dark-colored gown as she looked at the screen that disyed Liu Shaoqiu calmly standing in the arena ins.

    Behind the girl, an old maid knelt down deferentially. ¡°Princess, he is your fianc¨¦, a genius of the Sword Sect¡¯s current generation, Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    The girl continued to look at the screen as curiosity filled herrge, resplendent eyes. Her gaze seemed calm, but her eyes had a strange glint within them.

    Many around the arena field looked at Chilian Daynight with uncontainable excitement. They did not recognize Liu Shaoqiu and only saw Chilian Daynight. He was a top-tier powerhouse from Astral-3 who was qualified to represent his academy during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that he was an expert from the Daynight n.

 Chapter 211: Formidable Battle Force

    <h4>Chapter 211: Formidable Battle Force</h4>

    Chilian Daynight also did not recognize Liu Shaoqiu, but since he had reached this stage, Liu Shaoqiu was definitely an expert from Astral-2. He would not be a simple opponent.

    Even as Liu Shaoqiu faced Chilian Daynight, his eyes swept upwards towards the peak above them. He then gripped his sword hilt and swept out with the rusty de once before gently sheathing his sword once more. He turned and slowly walked out of the arena.

    Many were dumbfounded by his actions. What was that? Was this guy an idiot? Had he just admitted defeat after randomly moving around? Although, it was not that embarrassing to admit defeat against a Daynight n member.

    But then, right as everyone was wondering what had just happened, Chilian Daynight¡¯s body split in half, and he vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

    Everyone fell silent and stared, aghast, at the scene; Chilian Daynight had just died.

    At this moment, neither the spectating Astral Combat Academy students nor the countless people staring at their screens across the universe could believe what had just happened. How had Chilian Daynight died? His death had been too sudden and without warning. Had his opponent killed him?

    On the highest peak, all ten student leaders had grave expressions. They could understand that sword sweep even if the others couldn¡¯t. It had transcended space and attacked without a trace, but it had still been extremely precise. It had not damaged the space in the slightest, but this slice had still easily dispatched Chilian Daynight.

    Lu Yin frowned. It was a very formidable sword technique.

    ¡°This is the first sword of the Thirteen Swords,¡± Liu Xiaoyun said with an agonized yet also envious and dissatisfied tone. The Thirteen Swords technique was the Sword Sect¡¯s most powerful inherited sword technique, but she was not qualified to receive it. It was akin to being a thirsty wanderer in a desert and then seeing an oasis in front of them. However, they were unable to take even a single step forward. This level of desperation was unimaginable to the average person. It was also the same reason why she had joined the Astral Combat Academy and stepped away from the Sword Sect; it was in anticipation of, one day, defeating Liu Shaoqiu and proving that the Thirteen Swords was not that extraordinary.

    However, even after all these years, when Liu Xiaoyun saw the Thirteen Swords once more, she instantly realized that she could not let go of her desire for it. Her longing for Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s power only grew the more he disyed it. And yet, she was not qualified to bear such power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed when he noticed that Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s right hand was tightly gripping her sword hilt. He wanted to face the Thirteen Swords technique himself, and he even wondered if he could learn it himself. Logically, it should be impossible, as the Sword Sect was no weaker than the Daynight n. It had already been extremely difficult for him to learn just a few of the Daynight n¡¯s standard battle techniques, let alone this peak Thirteen Swords inherited technique.

    No matter how confused the audience was, the tournament still had to go on. There was no need for the arena to repair itself this time, as it had not been damaged whatsoever.

    The next match was Bonny Phoenix against Qu Feng, the humble looking person who had defeated Darkvoid. No one could even understand his attacking approach.

    In the first Flowzone, the Sword Sect members were not even watching the screen, as they werepletely confident that Liu Shaoqiu would definitely sweep through the tournament and take first ce.

    In that duskynd, the beautiful girl pped. ¡°How powerful! Grandma, he¡¯s my fianc¨¦! So powerful!¡±

    She deferentially replied, ¡°Yes, his battle technique is called Thirteen Swords. What you just saw was only the first sword.¡±

    The girl became happy. ¡°Really? I hope that I¡¯ll be able to see all Thirteen Swords.¡±

    The old woman forced a smile onto her face. Even the person who had joined the Ten Arbiters had notprehended all Thirteen Swords. It was unknown how many Liu Shaoqiu hadprehended so far, but it would be at least dozens of years before anyone could see theplete version of the Thirteen Swords, unless it was demonstrated by the previous generation¡¯s sect master of the Sword Sect.

    The battle between Qu Feng and Bonny Phoenix again left many at a loss. Qu Feng¡¯s attack style was too strange, and he won the battle by incessantly scattering ink around the battlefield. Bonny Phoenix was still a fallen Undying Bird, but he had died even more miserably than Hart Phoenix. At least Hart had released his golden Undying Bird.

    Bonny was sullen, but he simply had no way to fight back against Qu Feng.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°What a strange attack. It seems to be rather simr to Han Chong¡¯s.¡±

    Not far away, Feng Shang smiled before saying, ¡°Qu Feng and Han Chong are both from the Innerverse¡¯s Erudite Flowzone. That Flowzone has a unique heritage in that they pass down the previous generation¡¯s schrs¡¯ calligraphy methods. Thus, their attack methods are very often different from the other Flowzones.¡±

    ¡°No wonder,¡± Lu Yin remarked in an understanding tone.

    These two consecutive matches had puzzled many, but the next revitalized their excitement once more. One of the fighters was Cang Shi from Chaosgod Mountain. He had defeated Tiankong Daynight and used the Daynight n as a stepping stone to spread his fame throughout the universe.

    His opponent was Xia Ye from Astral-5; the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Machine Domain¡¯s Area Master.

    An Area Master was supposed to be second in strength only to a Realm Master, but this Astral Combat Tournament was unique in that half of the Area Masters had already been eliminated. Conversely, it was the freaks like Cang Shi who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy who made people feel apprehensive, as no one knew how strong these neers really were.

    Xia Ye¡¯s performance in Astral-5 had not been too eye-catching, and he was just an average Area Master. Otherwise, he would not have just ruled over a ce like the Machine Domain. To most students, that area didn¡¯t hold much value and was basically treated like an abandoned factory. Thus, not many audience members held high hopes for Xia Ye, as they estimated him to be no stronger than Tiankong Daynight.

    However, Lu Yin viewed him seriously. This was because Xia Ye had the same primeval surname as Xia Luo. If this person went all out, Lu Yin was certain that his disy would be so terrifying that it would cause others to doubt their eyes.

    Cang Shi was of the same view as Lu Yin and waited for his opponent to attack.

    Xia Ye did not remain polite and charged towards Cang Shi with a fist. Many were disappointed by his attack, as it was not as strong as Tiankong Daynight¡¯s, which in their mind meant that his overall strength was definitely notparable either.

    Cang Shi remained calm and dodged several times before suddenly attacking himself. His body swayed as if he were trying to disrupt Xia Ye¡¯s attacking rhythm. Xia Ye did not do anything unexpected, and was grabbed by Cang Shi. His body was then smashed into the ground.

    Many students sighed as they thought that Xia Ye had been defeated too quickly, seeing it as a pity.

    But then Cang Shi jumped out of the deep pit and looked at his own fist. His expression was strange, and he seemed to be slightly lost and not as confident in himself as when he previously defeated Tiankong Daynight. He looked back into the deep pit with an odd expression.

    Xia Ye¡¯s body had not vanished, as he had not died yet. He slowly stood up, rubbed his abdomen, andmented, ¡°You¡¯re indeed worthy of being a disciple of Chaosgod Mountain. Your attack¡¯s super strong.¡±

    Cang Shi stared at Xia Ye strangely and spoke for the first time. ¡°You¡­ Your heartbeat¡¯s not right.¡±

    Xia Ye simply smiled strangely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s just a personal habit.¡±

    Cang Shi squinted and clenched his right fist. He then unexpectedly took the initiative to attack. His fist directlynded on Xia Ye¡¯s chest, right over his heart, and sent him flying. Xia Ye¡¯s back parted the air like an arrowhead, and hended heavily against the side of the peak. He had been struck with such force that his body continued moving even after colliding against the peak, piercing straight through the mountain before finally crashing onto the ground.

    Countless people watching from their screens sharply breathed in, as this attack was too vicious. If Arikar and the others¡¯ attacks had been eye-dazzling, then Cang Shi¡¯s attack was nothing more than overwhelming strength. This was not the same as Grandini¡¯s overbearing strength, but more like a sharp explosion of strength.

    Everyone thought that Xia Ye was dead, but once again, he calmly stood up and walked back to the center of the ins. He rubbed his chest, causing his heart rate to suddenly speed up. At soon as Cang Shi noticed this, his expression changed as he made a blocking motion with both arms. The Xia Ye in front of him had not vanished yet, but another Xia Ye had appeared in front of him. This was a phantom image created from an extreme speed that was too fast to track with the eyes, but not fast enough to prate the void.

    Thump!

    A dull sound filled the air as the shock waves from Xia Ye¡¯s attack rippled out from the impact and tore the ground apart. Cang Shi was sent flying in a simr manner to Xia Ye and crashed into the ground. Xia Ye leapt up before his body plummeted downwards, causing the fissures in the ground to expand once again. Bang after explosive bang filled the crowds¡¯ ears while it felt like the entire arena ins was about to be flipped on its head.

    Many were dumbfounded, as no one had imagined that the seemingly gentle Xia Ye would fight in such an explosive manner. His attacks looked even more terrifying than Grandini¡¯s, since at least both Lulu and Grandini¡¯s battle intent had been tantly revealed.

    Cang Shi retaliated with an angry roar as his fists collided with Xia Ye¡¯s. The resulting shock waves travelled through the arena and even instantly killed a fair number of the observing students. The peak overlooking the field was also torn apart by the air waves. Despite the destructive sh, the two figures rose from beneath the surface of the ground and into the sky. They collided again in midair, both tearing through the void.

    The disciples of Chaosgod Mountain all had perverse reaction times and could effectively evade most battle techniques. For example, Tiankong Daynight¡¯s attacks had beenpletely ineffective against Cang Shi. However, Xia Ye did not attack straightforwardly, or rather, it would be more urate to say that his attacks factored in Cang Shi¡¯s evasive movements. Thus, Xia Ye¡¯s attacks sealed off all avenues of escape, forcing Cang Shi to directly sh against him.

    ¡°For the Chaosgod Mountain disciple to be forced to fight with his body, this Xia Ye is very strong. Kuang Wang, your Astral-5 has hidden its talents well,¡± Nightqueen Yanqingmented with a sneer.

    Kuang Wang¡¯s face remained solemn, as he had beenpletely unaware of Xia Ye¡¯s strength since the two of them had never crossed paths. But it was evident from this battle that Xia Ye had a rather tough body as well as a great deal of battle experience. At the very least, Kuang Wang himself was not confident in beating a Chaosgod Mountain disciple in a physical confrontation.

    There was another loud boom as Cang Shi¡¯s body turned purple. This time, the resulting shock waves swept out all directions and nearly caused the void to copsed.

    ¡°Four lines... That¡¯s four-lined battle force!¡± someone cried out in astonishment.

    The first powerhouse with four-lined battle force had appeared in this Astral Combat Tournament.

    After Cang Shi revealed his battle force, Xia Ye¡¯s entire body was thrown underground, once again suppressed like how he had been at the start of the battle.

    Cang Shi¡¯s eyes were as malevolent as ever. Chaosgod Mountain was one of the top organizations among the dark powers, and his attacks never showed any mercy. He lifted his right fist as purple battle force condensed on it before mming his fist down. This fist filled with battle force truly did topple the arena ins, and the entirety of the violence was centered on Xia Ye¡¯s point of impact. The entire arena field was flipped over as the strength of the purple battle force passed through the ground and swept out in all directions along the deep fissures in the ground.

    At this point, an unseen force descended and separated the battle ground from the observing students so that they would not be affected.

    Many of them panicked, knowing they would die as soon as the four-lined battle force touched them.

    The ground had a faint purple sheen to it because of the four-lined battle force that had just coursed through it.

    Cang Shi did not seem satisfied and punched down with his fist again, but this time, it was caught by a hand. The two hands met, and another shock wave swept out from underground, tearing everything in its path to shreds due to the reinforcement of the battle force. Even the nearby peak overlooking the fields where the student leaders were seated started to tremble.

    Xia Ye reappeared, and his body was simrly shrouded with four-lined battle force. The two battle forces shed and caused the void to boil as hairline cracks extended outwards, centered around the two in the middle of the maelstrom of chaos. Countless people viewing this scene were dumbfounded.

    Before their screens, numerous spectators were shocked by what they were seeing. Those who understood battle force knew that four-lined battle force usually only ever appeared on Explorers with extremely few Limiteers able to grasp it. Yet two such Limiteers had appeared today, and when the two¡¯s battle force collided, even the void could not withstand it. This was an absolutely terrifying scene that even a normal Explorer wouldn¡¯t be able to interfere in if they wished.

    These two possessed a strength on par to an Explorers¡¯!

    Cang Shi stared at Xia Ye¡¯s looming gaze and felt that something was amiss even though he had his four-lined battle force surrounding his body. He instinctively tried to distance himself from Xia Yu.

    Xia Ye slowly released a breath, and his heart rate changed once more. This time, it returned to a normal rate that Cang Shi could hear. From the very start, he had felt that this person¡¯s heart rate was abnormal. Right now, it had returned to a normal rate, but a momentter, an intense pain spread out from the fist that Xia Ye had gripped earlier.

 Chapter 212: Starsibyl

    <h4>Chapter 212: Starsibyl</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve used my full strength. Thank you for allowing me to refamiliarize myself with it before the final battle,¡± Xia Ye simply said as he kicked out. The Chaosgod Mountain disciple quickly reacted and let out a kick of his own the moment Xia Ye finished speaking. The two were only half a meter apart, and Xia Ye¡¯s right hand was still tightly gripping Cang Shi¡¯s right fist. As they kicked out simultaneously, the void shattered with a boom. Many of the spectating students covered their ears because they could not handle the sound. At that instant, the void around the two students was distorted for a distance of a thousand meters with traces of ruptures appearing.

    Xia Ye¡¯s monstrous kick had caused the battle force on Cang Shi¡¯s leg to split before it connected with Cang Shi¡¯s abdomen. At the same time, Xia Ye released the fist that he had captured previously. As a result, Cang Shi¡¯s body was sent flying and vanished in midair.

    Everyone stared in amazement at the arena ins, and then at the calm Xia Ye. This battle had been the most intense one yet of this Astral Combat Tournament, not to mention the highest quality. There had been a collision of terrifying physical force, amazing evasive movements and instincts, dazzling attacks, and of course, the shocking four-lined battle force.

    No more than a hundred students in the entire Astral Combat Academy hadprehended battle force, and only Area Masters had managed to cultivate two-lined battle force, which was no more than twenty or even fifteen people. Even fewer had cultivated their battle force to the three-lined realm, and Xia Ye was the only one who had revealed four-lined battle force thus far. Even the student leaders of the ten academies had never revealed four-lined battle force before.

    This was the Astral Combat Academy, the best training institution in the entire Human Domain. If one widened the scope to include the younger generation of the entire universe, then the probability of encountering someone with four-lined battle force would reduce infinitely close to zero. At this moment, Xia Ye had be the object of worship for countless people.

    Atop the peak overlooking the field, Kuang Wang had a serious expression, and it could even be called a little ugly. Xia Ye¡¯s power had far exceeded his expectations, and he was no longer even confident of defeating Xia Ye. Why had this person kept such a low profile until now?

    The other student leaders had a simr reaction. Cang Shi was already very powerful, and none of them would dare to im that they would definitely prevail over his four-lined battle force, but despite that, Xia Ye had won. His battle force¡¯s intensity had even surpassed Cang Shi¡¯s; this was a person who had deeply hidden their true strength. Additionally, Xia Ye had received the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s teachings and was an elite who had walked to this step with his own merits.

    ¡°There¡¯s a legend that one of the Ten Arbiters broke through and reached the realm of five-lined battle force while in the Astral Combat Academy, allowing him to crush Explorers with pure power as a Limiteer. Xia Ye¡¯s not too far off from that point,¡± Dao Bo marvelled.

    Astral-1¡¯s leader smiled. ¡°The distance of a single step can be like a vast abyss. In its countless years, the Astral Combat Academy has produced many freaks and geniuses. Although only a few Limiteers have ever achieved four-lined battle force, they still exist in the academy¡¯s history. The aplishment of reaching five-lined battle force as a Limiteer, however, belongs solely to the Ten Arbiters. No one from the younger generation can surpass them who symbolize this era.¡±

    ¡°They were also the start of an era,¡± Lu Yin suddenly interjected. He saw Astral-1¡¯s leader, Dao Bo, and a few others look at him strangely, but he merely smiled and said no more.

    Nightqueen Yanqing snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t make any rash presumptions about the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    A number then appeared before her. It was her turn.

    Nightqueen Yanqing got up and tapped the number to appear in the arena ins.

    Many students silently watched Nightqueen Yanqing from within the Lifeseek Realm while countless more watched on their screens. This was a Nightqueen of the Daynight n.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s opponent instantly admitted defeat. Her opponent was an Area Master who knew that he would be powerless against Nightqueen Yanqing. He did not even dare to show his face.

    Next was Xue Liuyun, although this Astral-4¡¯s leader also had no opponent, as the person had also immediately admitted defeat.

    Another two new faces appeared in the following match. They could not be consideredplete unknowns, however, as one of them had been Astral-5¡¯s representative during the Knocking on the Dragon¡¯s Door stage. His name was Tu Bo, and his opponent was a pretty girl.

    When the girl¡¯s name was transmitted, Lu Yin was stumped. Angie? Where have I heard that name before?

    After digging through his memories , Lu Yin finally remembered where he had heard the name before. Ah Mu had mentioned that she was the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress and also a student of the Astral Combat Academy. It turned out that this was her.

    The Umbral Butterfly Tribe could absorb the strength of nearby nts to limitlessly strengthen themselves, but this was also their weakness. Lu Yin looked around at the battlefield. Although this was not a swamp filled with poisonous nts and there were quite a few ordinary nts lying about, these nts would not be able to provide much strength and could only give Angie a small boost. He was rather curious to see how much Angie would be strengthened by the present flora.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was disappointed as the battle ended too quickly. Angie¡¯s power was decent and approached the level of an Area Master, but the battle ended instantly since she had been matched up against Tu Bo.

    Lu Yin shook his head as the Outerverse¡¯s Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress was just too weak. It could only be said that the Astral Combat Academy held too many talented students that had been gathered from all over the universe. It resulted in a situation that was unfathomable to the average person, where the disparity between geniuses could be seen from someone like Schutz. He was the top expert of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation, but he could not even get past the first round of this tournament.

    Soon after, another person appeared on the arena ins. It was Silver, and his appearance immediately attracted a great deal of attention as his performance during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage had been too dazzling. His killing domain was just too disturbing.

    His appearance even drew the attention of Dao Bo and some of the other leaders. He had reached this stage even though he was only a Melder. This made his feat even more impressive.

    Silver¡¯s opponent was from Astral-9. He was not an unknown student, and was someone else who had participated in the Sounding the Battle Drums stage. His name was Zong. He had a pale face, and his body emitted a deathly aura, giving him the appearance of a walking corpse.

    One side smiled horrifyingly while the other gave people the chills just by standing there. Many thought that the two were rather simr.

    In the Great Yu Empire, Undying Yushan looked at his screen seriously. Ever since Silver had joined the Astral Combat Academy, the Great Yu Empire had ceaselessly been trying to investigate his origins, but they hadn¡¯t made any progress. His background was too ordinary, to the extent that it was actually extraordinary. This person was definitely not simple.

    No trash talk was exchanged on the ins as the two figures simultaneously attacked.

    A momentter, the spectating crowd was amazed. Their fighting styles were also very simr; Silver had a silent murderous cold aura while Zong emitted an eerie killing intent. It was like they were watching two specters shuttling and flitting about on the ins.

    Xia Ye and Cang Shi¡¯s battle had been earth-shattering, but Silver and Zong¡¯s battle was like watching ghostly demons tangling with each other. Many spectators quickly grew bored as they could only see two shadows criss-crossing nonstop and could not see any shy special techniques.

    But a small portion of the audience had serious faces and were even shocked by the battle. Silver had already activated his domain, but he still could not get a hold of Zong simply because Zong was enveloped in ayer of grey flowing air¡ªthree-lined battle force.

    Everyone¡¯s understanding and use of power was different. Xia Ye and Cang Shi¡¯s use of power focused around destruction while Zong¡¯s was defense. What¡¯s more, he was even using a flowingyer of iprehensible grey air to cover it, so as to conceal it from others. On the other hand, Silver¡¯s domain was like flowing mercury. It moved everywhere even as it remained imperceptible, with its only distinguishing mark being the shes of the butterfly knife.

    The butterfly knife yfully danced about, as if it were truly a butterfly flying around a flower. It carried a beautiful silver brilliance as it blossomed in the arena ins. Every one of Silver¡¯s stabs was aimed straight at Zong¡¯s vital points. Additionally, the smile on his face never vanished despite Zong revealing his three-lined battle force. It was as if everything was going as nned.

    Atop the high peak, Liu Yin suddenly spoke. ¡°He¡¯s almost at his limits.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Feng Shang asked.

    Liu Yin replied, ¡°The man with battle force.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Liu Yin pointed to his ears. ¡°I heard it.¡±

    Dao Bo interrupted, ¡°Zong should be another frozen genius, but he was sealed away for too long. It¡¯s caused his body to be unustomed to his battle force, so he¡¯s almost reached his limit.¡±

    Sure enough, before long, multiple traces of blood appeared on Zong¡¯s body. Silver¡¯s smile grew broader as he shed past him one final time, splendidly killing Zong.

    The appearance of three-lined battle force should have been shocking, but it had been hidden by Zong, who was then defeated. This meant that, to the general audience, Silver¡¯s victory was not that impressive. Only those who had seen through the concealed battle force would know the true terror of Silver and his butterfly knife that had sliced through the three-lined battle force. Silver was no less of a threat than Xia Ye.

    The battle made Lu Yin feel helpless, and he unconsciously rubbed his temple. He did not know whether these people had been just concealing their power, or if they had truly made such vast improvements over the past few months. Each one had be terrifyingly powerful, and neither Xia Luo nor Silver seemed to have any limits in terms of their progress.

    Lu Yin¡¯s own advancements had also been abnormal, as only a rare few could match up to an Area Master after joining the Astral Combat Academy for just a year. But these two had also surpassed an Area Master. He really did not know how these two had managed to aplish such a feat.

    The next few battles were rather dull, as Dao Bo and Kuang Wang were also paired up against Area Masters, and like before, these Area Masters would automatically withdraw since they were not students who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy. Thirty one matches had concluded, leaving only one remaining. Calcifer appeared in the arena ins, and his opponent was a rather ordinary-looking young girl from Astral-9.

    Calcifer¡¯s origin had been exined by Astral-1¡¯s leader, or else no one would have known it. He had instantly eliminated Uro and attracted a great deal of attention, but only the select group sitting on the peak overlooking the field knew his origin through Astral-1¡¯s leader. He was a powerhouse who had been sealed in ice for a hundred years and even tried to assassinate Starsibyl in the past at one point.

    ¡°Starsibyl¡± was just a title, and no one knew her original name. What was known was that she represented the future, divination, and the hopes of countless people. Her sect was also called the Super Sect, as this was the impression that the outer world had towards Starsibyl. However, no one knew anything more besides that.

    Over the countless years, Starsibyl had be a name that was passed on as a belief. Lu Yin had heard of her predictions, such as when Starsibyl had prophesied huge changes in the universe dozens of years ago. For this reason, great powers of the universe had frozen their geniuses, sealing them in ice in anticipation of the day the portended great changes came. At that time, they would be unsealed so that they could fight for their destiny. This clearly showed how far Starsibyl¡¯s influence went.

    Calcifer was definitely insane to dare to assassinate Starsibyl. Regardless of his sess or failure, no one would let him off, and he would not be able to hide anywhere in the entire universe.

    And yet, this person had now overtly appeared in the Astral Combat Tournament and even joined Astral-1, making his actions even more iprehensible.

    Lu Yin had heard news of Starsibyl more than once. The first time was from Jeraldine, the student from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s First Military School. Even a remote region like the Great Yu Empire had heard of Starsibyl, which showed how wide the scope of her influence was.

    Calcifer was a powerhouse who had instantly killed Uro, so no one believed that this girl would be able to stand up against him. That is, except for Calcifer.

    He stared at the girl, puzzled, as he felt a great sense of danger ovee him as he approached her. It was as if there was a giant de hanging over his neck that could fall down anytime he even thought about taking another step forward, and the precarious feeling caused his heart to palpitate wildly. This was a killer¡¯s intuition, and he had experienced this more than once before. He had withdrawn every single time he had experienced this feeling before, with the exception of Starsibyl. But now, this feeling had appeared when he was facing this girl.

    He instinctively wanted to retreat, but this was apetition, and retreat meant defeat.

    The two stared at each other strangely in the battlefield. Calcifer did not move, and the girl also remained motionless, but the two hadpletely different demeanors. Calcifer stared intently at the girl while the girl¡¯s gaze moved about, as if she had not a single care in the world.

 Chapter 213: The Wind Of Seasons

    <h4>Chapter 213: The Wind Of Seasons</h4>

    At this moment, the ten academy leaders had also sensed that something was off. The leader of Astral-1¡¯s eyes twinkled as she knew that most of the people here were greatly mistaken; that woman was very powerful.

    Xue Liuyun knitted her brows.

    Liu Yin had a puzzled look in his eyes. Since when did Astral-9 have such a strong powerhouse? That perilous sense of danger was something that he could sense even from this distance.

    Lu Yin squinted his eyes. This woman is not as simple as she seemed.

    As an assassin, Calcifer had plenty of patience, but something about this woman was different. After some time passed without either of them making a move, the girl finally looked over and slowly raised her arms. With a just casual wave of her arms, a strong gray gale rose out of nowhere and engulfed the entire arena ins.

    Goosebumps appeared on Calcifer¡¯s skin, and he instinctively knew that an extreme cmity was headed his way. Without any hesitation, he appeared behind the woman with the intention of ending the battle as quickly as possible.

    The woman was still standing at her original spot, not having moved an inch. Calcifer¡¯s dagger stabbed towards her, fortified with his innate gift and star energy. But when it was just a centimeter away from the woman¡¯s neck, Calcifer¡¯s clothes started to decay. The rot quickly spread to his hair and skin, until finally, his entire body decayed and turned into dust that fell to the ground with a soft sigh.

    Everyone fell silent. This was the umpteenth time that they had been shocked by something they saw in the tournament. And yet, this time, their shock also came with a new sense of fear; what the hell had just happened? Did they actually just see an individual who had been alive and kicking just moments ago, be reduced to a pile of ashes in a matter of seconds?

    Feng Shang suddenly stood up and looked at the woman in disbelief. ¡°Wind of Seasons! What we just witnessed was the Wind of Seasons.¡±

    ¡°The Wind of Seasons?¡± Kuang Wang asked in a confused tone.

    Feng Shang gravely responded, ¡°It is a battle technique that has been lost to the annals of time. It uses the elements of the four seasons to cause everything around it to decay into nothingness. This battle technique should have been lost, so how did she learn it?¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. The Wind of Seasons and decay¡­ Surely, this did not involve the aspect of time, did it!?

    ¡°This time, the Astral Combat Tournament really has attracted a whole bunch of monsters. Calcifer himself was already quite powerful, powerful enough to kill an Area Master, but even he was rendered powerless against this monster,¡± Dao Bo eximed.

    Lu Yin took a look at Dao Bo. It was true that these few individuals were absolute monsters in the eyes of others. However, attempting to kill Starsibyl did not represent how powerful someone was; it only proved that they were vicious. From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, the sense of danger that Calcifer gave off was not as strong as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s. And yet, this woman gave off apletely different scent of danger; she posed a hidden threat.

    The fourth round of battles that had been chosen by drawing lots had now finished with this shocking performance by this woman named Chao Zhi. The fifth round would also be chosen by drawing lots, and it was scheduled to take ce twelve hourster.

    Lu Yin immediately left the Lifeseek Realm and reappeared on the trial zone mountain.

    Many other people left the Lifeseek Realm as well. With such a lengthypetition, it was tiring even as a spectator. However, everything was worth it as they had been able to see many powerfulpetitors and many more battle techniques; even four-lined battle force had made an appearance.

    In front of their screens, many people heaved sighs of relief. The exciting disys shown during these battles had kept these viewers restlessly glued to their screens. At this moment, many were starting to feel tired and took this opportunity to rest.

    On Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes. The first thing that entered his eyes was Michelle¡¯s visage, who was not too far away from him. She had also woken up. Michelle¡¯s eyes quickly met Lu Yin¡¯s, and apart from a slight look of surprise on Michelle¡¯s face, she held no other expression.

    Coco opened her eyes as well, and she happily rushed to Lu Yin when she saw him. ¡°Big brother Lu, we all thought you were dead! Is there any truth to what they say happened in the pirate port?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Of course not! If I was really hit by a weapon like that, then nobody could have saved me.¡±

    Coco stuck out her tongue. ¡°I was also skeptical of the news. The mentor said that the power of those light beams is enough to kill powerful people at the Explorer level. You wouldn¡¯t stand a chance as a Melder.¡± After saying that, Coco suddenly started to study Lu Yin¡¯s body more closely. Then, with a face full of longing, she asked, ¡°Big brother Lu, are you hurt?¡±

    ¡°Nope, not a scratch,¡± Lu Yin replied simply and firmly, disappointing Coco.

    Big Pao and Little Pao arrived as well, and they both cast strange looks at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, did you feel a lot of pressure from sitting up there with those Realm Masters?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged nomittally. ¡°Not really, they¡¯re pretty easy to get along with.¡±

    Big Paoughed oddly. ¡°Really? You can tell us if you felt pressured. We are all brothers here; there¡¯s nothing to hide.

    Lu Yinughed.

    Xia Luo appeared as well, and his appearance was immediately met by Coco¡¯s admiration. His easy victory over Jared had astonished everyone.

    Although Lu Yin had easily crushed Long Yi, Jared¡¯s strength was well above the sylvan dragon¡¯s. Having said that, Lu Yin¡¯s crushing of Long Yi had also slightly moved Big Pao, causing him to see Lu Yin as someone dear to his heart.

    ¡°Senior Little Pao, how did you feel after you were defeated so easily by that no good little punk from Astral-9?¡± Zora asked Little Pao as she suddenly appeared.

    Little Pao pasted an obviously fake smile on his face. ¡°What pleasant weather we have today.¡±

    ¡°Senior Little Pao, please don¡¯t change the subject!¡± Coco cried out.

    ¡°Yes, Senior Little Pao, don¡¯t change the subject,¡± Silver added on as he appeared with his usualrge, sly smile.

    His sudden appearance caused Coco to hop behind Zora. Even Schutz, who had just arrived, was put on edge. This man was terrifying and he gave off the vibe of a bloody butcher of men.

    ¡°Now that everyone is present¡­ Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and Fox face, let me remind you all once. If youe across that bitch Grandini, do not go soft on her! Use your full force to attack her. Don¡¯t give her any room to catch her breath,¡± Lulu yelled once she appeared.

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°Do you have some sort of grudge against her?¡±

    Lulu was miffed. ¡°That woman dared to mock me! She said that I was small.¡±

    Everyone reflexively shifted their eyes down to Lulu¡¯s chest.

    Lulu¡¯s face turned red as she bared her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, creating cracking sounds. Everyone sensed the atmosphere quickly turning awkward.

    ¡­

    Not far away, Hui Daynight looked at the group disdainfully and thought to himself, What a gathering of low ss life forms. The powerful figures of the Daynight n were used to traveling alone.

    Zhao Yilong, Meng Yue, and Darkvoid also woke up, not far from where the other students had gathered on the trial zone mountain. They were all going to rest until the fifth elimination round began in twelve hours.

    At the peak of the realm mountain, Liu Xiaoyun watched the scene down below her. Once Lu Yin appeared, everyone had rushed to gather around him. It was a natural charisma and not his strength that had attracted everyone; this man had a certain maism to him.

    ¡°Oh yeah, who has a spare personal gadget on them? I need to borrow one,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lulu readily threw him one. ¡°Here, take it.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow, a limited edition one! This is made from a metal that can survive a powerful Explorer¡¯s attack! It must have cost a fortune,¡± Coco cried out in rm.

    Everyone grew envious when they saw Lu Yin holding his new personal gadget.

    Lulu raised her chin proudly; she was a Mavis and did notck for money.

    Lu Yin did not stand on ceremony and immediately equipped the gadget. As for whether or not he needed to pay for it, that was a matter that they could discusster!

    After logging in to view his messages, Lu Yin saw that many people had tried to contact him. Among them were Undying Yushan, Gerbach, Coco, and the others. There were also some unknown numbers that Lu Yin guessed came from his home. There were more than a hundred of these unknown numbers in total, and it seemed like his family must be very concerned about him. However, there was no need to contact them now; the whole universe could see him.

    Eh? There¡¯s actually another person who tried to reach me? It¡¯s Mira, the Red Lotus Witchbow.

    When Lu Yin saw that Mira had been trying to contact him, he subconsciously nced at Michelle. Between these two beauties, Mira was more alluring and Michelle colder.

    Mira had once told Lu Yin that, if he produced some results at the Astral Combat Academy, she would give him a rmendation for the Outerverse Youth Council. Lu Yin considered his options; it would be difficult to choose between the Outerverse Youth Council and the Council of Astral Academy.

    A short whileter, everyone dispersed to get some rest.

    Lu Yin did not bother thinking about extraneous matters. His current priority was the Astral Combat Tournament; everything else could wait.

    At the same time, atop the peak of Astral-3¡¯s trial zone mountain, Nightqueen Yanqing had a solemn expression that contained a trace of fear as she looked at the screen before her. An imposing man was looking back at her. ¡°Remember, you cannot be defeated in the Astral Combat Tournament. No matter who the opponent, the Nightking n must prevail.¡±

    Apprehension shed through Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes when she looked at the screen, but she responded simply. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Within the disy, not far behind the imposing man, there was another figure respectfully bowing slightly. Nightqueen Yanqing did not recognize him, but if Lu Yin were present, he would have seen the man in an instant and be furious¡ªLiu Shaoge. He should have been following Nightking Qingyu, but he had appeared behind this man on this day.

    On Astral-6¡¯s trial zone mountain, Charon awoke, and less than a kilometer away, Frankfurt regained consciousness as well.

    Originally, since both of them were Area Masters, their positions had been equal. However, Frankfurt now subconsciously avoided Charon¡¯s gaze. This Astral Combat Tournament had revealed their true strength to the public. Frankfurt could only be considered to be an average Area Master while Charon was definitely a top-tier one who could rival a Realm Master.

    The twelve hours passed quickly, and soon, everyone reappeared within the Lifeseek Realm.

    The very first match of the fifth round featured a Realm Master.

    Nightqueen Yanqing against Qu Feng.

    Qu Feng had been very crafty in his few previous battles. Darkvoid and Bonny Phoenix were not weak by any means, but neither of them had been able to disy their full powers against Qu Feng. His attack movements were characteristic of a Erudite Flowzone denizen, and he conducted himself modestly. He certainly lived up to being a person of culture.

    A schr would pay attention to righteousness, but the Daynight n¡¯s style consisted of darkness. Qu Feng¡¯s face grew heavy when he saw that he was facing Nightqueen Yanqing.

    ¡°Use it, your domain,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing said arrogantly as soon as she appeared into the arena.

    Qu Feng had a solemn expression, and his star energy formed a brush. A strange fluctuation swept across the field as the ck, ink-like star energy swept out.

    The crowd stared at this scene even though they had be familiar with its power. Darkvoid and even Bonny had been defeated with this attack, neither of them able to use their innate gifts.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes remained condescending. ¡°Your domain is strong, but do you really think that you can seal my Nightking n? The people of the Erudite Flowzone are really too naive.¡± She then directly charged towards Qu Feng, sweeping out with a leg. Even while the leg was flying through the air, purple veins appeared as an iparably tough four-lined battle force covered heaven and earth before exploding and crushing everything, including Qu Feng. The entire arena exploded.

    Many were stunned by what they saw, as another four-lined battle force wielder had appeared; this time, they were from the Nightking n.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s power shocked many. This was a Nightking powerhouse, one whose strength was enough to instantly take out an expert who had reached the fifth round.

    Atop the high peak overlooking the field, Han Chong shook his head. Qu Feng¡¯s domain was too one-sided; it strove to limitlessly increase his battle technique while also trying to seal everything. It could be instantly wiped out when he was faced against a stronger opponent.

    Nightqueen Yanqing calmly returned to the high peak. At that moment, it felt as if she had finally revealed a sliver of the Nightking n¡¯s true terror. Those of the Daynight n possessed more than just supreme battle techniques.

    The next battle was Feng Shang¡¯s, and it was another easy victory for him. Tu Bo was next, and he also won effortlessly. His water flowed gently yet it was unstoppable.

    The fourth battle attracted all eyes, as Astral-1¡¯s student leader was next in line, and her opponent was Liu Tang.

    Liu Tang was one of the more outstanding disciples from the Sword Sect. and his power had shocked many. However, Astral-1¡¯s student leader was even more mysterious, as no one even knew her name.

 Chapter 214: Thirteen Swords

    <h4>Chapter 214: Thirteen Swords</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity was piqued by this matchup as he looked at the battlefield. He turned to Feng Shang and asked, ¡°What¡¯s Astral-1¡¯s leader¡¯s name?¡±

    Feng Shang¡¯s lips bent upwards into a weird smile as he replied, ¡°Starsibyl.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. ¡°Say what?¡±

    Feng Shang¡¯s strange smile deepened as he repeated, ¡°She¡¯s Starsibyl.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Lu Yin immediately rejected Feng Shang¡¯s answer even though he had no proof to the contrary. Starsibyl was definitely a space-exploring powerhouse no weaker than one of the Ten Arbiters. How could she possibly just be a Limiteer?

    Feng Shang smiled as he replied, ¡°I knew that you would be shocked. Let me exin. Sometimes, the title ¡®Starsibyl¡¯ does not refer to just a single person. Of course, any given generation will only ever have one Starsibyl. However, before the final selection is made, there can be a few Starsibyls, and she¡¯s one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned by Feng Shang¡¯s words. Did this mean that the final Starsibyl had not been selected yet? So, it turns out that the Starsibyl who Jeraldine had seen in the Great Yu Empire was just one of several and might not have even been a space-exploring powerhouse.

    While the two were speaking, Starsibyl and Liu Tang¡¯s battle had begun.

    Liu Tang was the first to attack, and he started by forming a sword of star energy and activating a powerful sword technique of the Sword Sect. Endless sword qi swept out and covered the entire arena ins. Many of the onlookers retreated even though there was a wind barrier covering the arena ins; after all, it still felt like they would be sliced to bits at any time.

    Each strand of sword qi tore through the void as the scope of the attack continuously expanded until it finally enveloped Astral-1¡¯s leader, Starsibyl. However, the attack never touched Starsibyl. Instead, Liu Tang suddenly turned around and stabbed out with his sword. In front of his sword, the void rippled, revealing a pure, white finger stretching out towards him. The finger and sword shed with a loud bang, hurting the crowd¡¯s eardrums. An instantter, the ground rapidly dried up. The endless sword qi had permeated the ground below, forcing Starsibyl to step out from the void. Finally, at this time, the figure of Starsibyl standing in the distance gradually dissipated.

    Many were dazed by what they saw. When did Starsibyl merge into the void?

    On the high peak overlooking the field, Lu Yin reached out, touched the sword qi, and felt a light sensation of pain shoot up his fingertips. He frowned; this domain had beenbined with a sword technique that gave off a sense of destion, which was a concept of autumn.

    Liu Xiaoyun was also amazed; she had underestimated this junior from her own Sword Sect. His power was not much weaker than her own.

    ¡°I would like to know the name of your sword technique,¡± Starsibyl suddenly said while easily dodging the sword qi.

    Liu Tang imposingly stared down at her as he answered, ¡°Tang¡¯s Sword of Autumn.¡±

    Starsibyl marvelled, ¡°A very strong sword technique, domain, and battle technique. It has even incorporated your personal emotions to disy the technique wonderfully. Your power rivals that of previous Realm Masters, but it¡¯s a pity that this generation is somewhat different.¡± She then tapped out with a finger.

    Liu Tang¡¯s eyes remained unchanged as he firmly thrust his sword out in response. But right after he did so, his body gradually vanished into the air. He had not even sensed when he had been severely injured or even died.

    The crowd watched on nkly, notprehending what their eyes had just seen.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as he also could not understand it. Starsibyl¡¯s attack was beyond his understanding, not because the power level was too strong, but rather because it belonged to another battle style altogether. It was something very mysterious and amazing.

    The other student leaders were already ustomed to such scenes; this was Starsibyl.

    Soon after Liu Tang disappeared, Starsibyl returned to her seat on the high peak. Lu Yin gave her a serious nce while Starsibyl smiled back at him.

    While the crowd was still immersed in shock over Starsibyl¡¯s mysterious disy, three consecutive battles passed, with Grandini Mavis, Xia Luo, and Dao Bo achieving victories. This fifth round of battles was about to have its eighth match when a person appeared in the arena¡ªLiu Shaoqiu.

    At the same time, on the high peak, a number appeared before Kuang Wang.

    Everyone felt a shiver of excitement as a Realm Master had finally been pitted against the Sword Sect¡¯s monster. Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s grip on her sword hilt unconsciously tightened again, and the rest of the student leaders also looked at Kuang Wang.

    Kuang Wang had a rxed appearance as he smiled and licked his lips. ¡°How nice, I¡¯ll be able to get a taste of the purported strongest of the Sword Sect.¡± He then tapped the number before him and appeared in the arena ins as well.

    In the Innerverse, many fell silent as the true test of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s strength was about to begin. Could the godlike Thirteen Swords beat even an Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Realm Master? This was the deciding moment.

    In the duskynd, the old maid woke the small girl up. ¡°Little princess, Young Master Liu¡¯s battle is about to start.¡±

    The girl rubbed her bleary eyes as she looked at the screen.

    In the arena ins, Kuang Wang¡¯s expression was grave. He had no intention of underestimating Liu Shaoqiu; this person gave him a great sense of danger. Liu Xiaoyun had been forced to join the Astral Combat Academy because of this person, which went to show how terrifying his strength was. Kuang Wang immediately released his Azure Dragon as soon as the battle started.

    The Azure Dragon was not some foreign entity that had been sealed within Kuang Wang¡¯s body. Instead, it was more like an exotic battle technique, which meant that Kuang Wang could use the beast within the Lifeseek Realm.

    With a deafening roar, the Azure Dragon froze the void and cast a shadow over Liu Shaoqiu. The beast struck out with its sharp ws, causing the air to condense into a wind de that sliced through the void and towards Liu Shaoqiu.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes remained calm as his star energy formed the familiar rusty iron sword. He shed out with it, easily shattering the wind de. This was just a normal sword sh, but the Azure Dragon had felt an unusual strength behind it.

    The Azure Dragon pressed down with its sharp ws and tried to use its body to directly oppress the swordsman.

    At the same time, three-lined battle force appeared around Kuang Wang¡¯s body. When he had faced thebined forces of Big Pao and Little Pao, it was precisely this three-lined battle force that had easily repelled Little Pao. Most of the powerhouses from the Beast Tamers Flowzone focused on improving their tamed beasts, leaving themselves without muchbat ability. Kuang Wang, however, was terrifying in his own right with his three-lined battle force.

    Liu Shaoqiu rose into the air and easily avoided the Azure Dragon¡¯s attack. The iron sword that he had simted with star energy circled around his body once. He then grabbed the sword with his right hand and stabbed out towards the Azure Dragon, his body perfectly aligned with the de in a straight line. the Azure Dragon¡¯s movements froze and Kuang Wang spat out blood at the same time. His face paled, and he stared in disbelief at the sky, where Liu Shaoqiu slowly appeared. Liu Shaoqiu still seemed as indifferent and calm as ever while the Azure Dragon shockingly copsed behind him.

    One sword strike had destroyed the Azure Dragon, astounding everyone.

    Kuang Wang was Astral-5¡¯s leader and the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master. When Big Pao and Little Pao had joined forces to fight him, they hadn¡¯t even been able to retaliate against just the Azure Dragon. The dragon had the strength and defense of an Explorer realm cultivator, but it had just been routed by this Melder, Liu Shaoqiu. It wasn¡¯t just Kuang Wang; the other student leaders and even the academy mentors were in disbelief at this development.

    Liu Xiaoyun gripped her sword hilt even more tightly as she stared at Liu Shaoqiu. This was the first sword of the Thirteen Swords, the same move that had instantly killed Chilian Daynight. It was only the first sword, but it was alreadypletely unfathomable to her.

    Even Astral-1¡¯s leader, Starsibyl, had a solemn expression. The overwhelming power of the Sword Sect was universally recognized, and Liu Shaoqiu was the most outstanding disciple of this generation. His current performance was befitting of his status.

    Lu Yin slowly released a breath; this person would be rather troublesome to fight against.

    Outside the arena, Big Pao and Little Pao were rendered speechless. This was the same dragon that had suppressed them with a single swipe of its tail and forced them to gasp for breath. This was an astral beast that would only yield to those monsters from the Divine Grade Hall in the Beast Tamers Flowzone, but Liu Shaoqiu had exterminated it so easily.

    Those watching from the screens could not even imagine what they had just witnessed. That was a dragon that Liu Shaoqiu had just in, and even fools knew of a dragon¡¯s terror.

    Liu Shaoqiu peacefully stared at Kuang Wang, slightly disappointed. ¡°If this is the extent of an academy leader¡¯s power level, then you aren¡¯t fit to hold that seat.¡±

    Blood dripped down Kuang Wang¡¯s lips, and strangely, heughed maniacally. ¡°I never thought that I, Kuang Wang, would one day be challenged by a Realmbreaker Melder! I¡¯m not afraid of anyone in the same realm as me, even in the entire universe, but a Melder is actually looking down upon me, hahaha!¡± Beneath him, a dark-green grass field appeared within the sundered earth, gradually flourishing and spreading. One, two, three¡­ ten meters. With each sway of the green grass, it expanded until it gradually formed a butterfly-like pattern. As it unfurled, a green light spread out in all directions, enveloping the entire arena and even intruding on the high peak above.

    Everyone felt that something was not right. There was a strange, slightly monstrous, and yet also slightly awkward feeling that filled the air with a hint of danger.

    The wind barrier surrounding the arena prevented any shock waves from reaching and harming the observing students, but it could not block these green lights, which were reminiscent of daytime fireflies drifting through the air. It was beautiful.

    ¡°Butterfly topgrass! That¡¯s butterfly topgrass! Don¡¯t touch those lights!¡± someone anxiously cried out. It was a person from the Beast Tamers Flowzone who had just remembered a terrifying legend.

    But many lives had already been lost.

    On the peak, Starsibyl¡¯s expression changed. ¡°No wonder it seemed so familiar. So that¡¯s butterfly topgrass. It looks like Kuang Wang¡¯s using his full strength.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s butterfly topgrass?¡± Han Chong was puzzled.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°It¡¯s a nt-type astral beast. It has a very beautiful appearance, like a butterfly, but the moment it forms, it disperses all the star energy within its range and forms a true star energy vacuum. It is a very special nt and is also very powerful. Who knew that Kuang Wang had this trick up his sleeve.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun replied, ¡°That won¡¯t be of any use. Although the Thirteen Swords technique is propelled by star energy, it uses very little. As long as an area has even a sliver of star energy, the Thirteen Swords can be disyed.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled before saying, ¡°The butterfly topgrass¡¯s most terrifying aspect is its tyranny. Its existence is mutually exclusive with star energy, which means that any star energy released from an attack will be repelled as soon as it touches those green light points without exception. To put it more simply, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword qi will be reduced to a tenth of its power before it reaches Kuang Wang.¡±

    Everyone was shocked, as this was truly a tyrannical effect. Kuang Wang had hidden such arge trump card! It was no wonder why he had raised his battle force to the realm of three lines; it was all so that he could ignore star energy and rely purely on his physical body to fight against Liu Shaoqiu.

    Many gazed in astonishment at Kuang Wang as the butterfly topgrass continued to spread. He was truly a monster from the Divine Grade Hall of the Beast Tamers Flowzone since he had even tamed this butterfly topgrass.

    ¡°Is this your trump card?¡± Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s tone was still as indifferent as ever, and he did not seem to be particrly shocked by the grass.

    Kuang Wang stood atop the grass and quietly replied, ¡°I know that you¡¯re not powerless just because your star energy has been sealed. After all, the Sword Sect does not just rely only on star energy. However, I have enough confidence to battle you as long as your Thirteen Swords technique is sealed.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu slowly raised his iron sword. ¡°The sword serves the soldier. Weapons are ssified into long and short-ranged weapons. However, you seem to have forgotten that the sword was originally a melee weapon.¡±

    When he finished speaking, Liu Shaoqiu rushed forward, his body right behind his sword. His speed was so fast that he almost pierced through the void. He immediately stabbed at Kuang Wang, whose eyes had opened wide. Kuang Wang had three-lined battle force and was thus not afraid of meleebat in the slightest.

    Liu Shaoqiu streaked past Kuang Wang like a blur, causing droplets of fresh blood to scatter onto the ground. Liu Shaoqiu slowly turned around. ¡°You¡¯re strong since you forced me into close-rangedbat. Unfortunately for you, the Thirteen Swords technique has no weaknesses.¡±

    The green lights of the butterfly topgrass slowly dissipated from the Lifeseek Realm, leaving Kuang Wang in agony. He was actually the first academy leader to fall, although he wholeheartedly epted his defeat in this battle.

    No one dared to believe that Liu Shaoqiu had only shed out with his sword thrice from start to end to defeat Kuang Wang, Astral-5¡¯s leader. This was a very thrilling battle!

    On the high peak, the other academy leaders remained silent. Liu Shaoqiu was different from the other geniuses who had joined the academy recently; he was truly capable of seizing the crown.

    Additionally, a seat on the high peak had be vacant. Defeat meant that that student leader was no longer qualified to return to the high peak.

 Chapter 215: Lu Yinâ€™s Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 215: Lu Yin¡¯s Appearance</h4>

    Kuang Wang¡¯s defeat had shattered the notion that the academy leaders were unequalled in this tournament. The ten of them were powerful, but they could still be defeated. Once this thought entered the general public¡¯s mind, it could not be contained. The remainingpetitors all looked up towards the high peak without fail, wondering how many seats would remain after the Astral Combat Tournament concluded.

    One of the key points that attracted students to the Astral Combat Academy was the Council of Astral Academy. The council members were under the Ten Arbiters¡¯ wing after they joined. Only the respective academy leaders were able to join this Council.

    Although Liu Shaoqiu had defeated Kuang Wang, that did not necessarily mean that he could join the Student Council. He would need to formally challenge his own academy¡¯s leader and win before he could join the Council of Astral Academy. However, by defeating an academy leader in the Astral Combat Tournament, he had demonstrated that he was capable of seeding in a formal challenge. Everyone¡¯s gazes turned fiery at the thought of Liu Shaoqiu sessfully taking a spot in the council.

    The next two battles were very ordinary, and Han Chong and Xia Ye both won their battles. As for Xia Ye, many already saw him as someone who was just as strong as the student leaders, as he was a freak with four-lined battle force.

    After Xia Ye¡¯s battle was Xue Liuyun¡¯s. The leader of Astral-4 had a cold face, and everyone expected that his battle would end quickly, like Han Chong¡¯s, but surprisingly, the situation that unfolded far surpassed their expectations. The battle quickly turned into a deadlock, as Xue Liuyun¡¯s opponent was Sha.

    Sha had shown a powerful performance in his previous matches, and he had also defeated many powerhouses throughout the course of the tournament, including Hart Phoenix in his previous match. The shocking scene of him sealing the golden Undying Bird in ice and then skewering Hart to the ground with an ice spear had left asting impression in many people¡¯s minds, but despite that, no one believed that Sha could defeat Xue Liuyun. They were both from Astral-4, but Xue Liuyun was the Academy¡¯s Realm Master while Sha was only an Area Master.

    But as the battle developed, it opened the audience¡¯s eyes, as Xue Liuyun could not get the better of Sha.

    Out on the arena ins, the two powerhouses from Astral-4 had engaged in a chilling confrontation with neither side giving any ground. The difference was that Sha¡¯s performance was an icy block of ice while Xue Liuyun was more like a blizzard.

    Atop the high peak, Dao Bo faintly said, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that when Xue Liuyun was born, his suffered a devastating massacre where even the oceans were stained red. He is the only survivor from his.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. ¡°Was it revenge?¡±

    Dao Bo shook his head. ¡°A¡¯s evolutionary trial.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled and looked down at the arena again. Just then, Xue Liuyun¡¯s eyes had turned red. They weren¡¯t like Mira¡¯s pretty red eyes but instead a sanguine blood-red.

    Soon after, an ufortable aura filled the ins. It made the spectators crease their brows as their faces turned red and their blood flow speeded up.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Xue Liuyun¡¯s domain was what had affected the audience. It allowed him to control the blood in other people¡¯s bodies, which was a terrifying ability.

    The blueyer of ice on Sha¡¯s body grew even colder as the icy blue chill continued to spread through the arena ins. At the same time, the diforting aura of Xue Liuyun spread in a simr manner until the two domains finally collided. It was a formless yet fatal collision as whoever¡¯s domain prevailed would be the victor.

    So far, during this Astral Combat Tournament, the highest level of battle force that had been demonstrated was four-lines, and the strongest domain belonged to Charon. During this battle, the two students were shing in terms of their domains, and the battle between the icy blue and the sanguine red colors slowly became more and more apparent.

    The entire arena ins was enveloped by the two domains, causing even the color of the air to change. It affected everyone, and thebination of the cold chill and quickened blood flow causing many to quake in fear. It felt like their body could explode at any moment.

    ¡°These two have focused all their strength in their domains. They¡¯ve staked everything on this battle, and the oue will soon be determined,¡± Feng Shang said with a sigh.

    There were no obvious demarcations between each domain¡¯s strength like with battle force. Everyone¡¯s understanding and use of their domain was different. Although Charon had only recentlyprehended his domain, its ability to increase the sensitivity of his five senses had great synergy with his Lockbreaker abilities. The two together meant that it would be very difficult to defeat him with any battle technique that was fueled by star energy, especially if it took ce within the scope of his domain.

    The two currently battling on the ins hadplete control over every inch of space that had entered their domains. Now, they were each trying to invade the other¡¯s domain. As time passed, the void above the ins began vibrating and traces of spatial cracks appeared, especially at the boundary line between the two domains. The originally formless nature of their domains had formed a shockinglyrge crack in the void between them. The separation between them bore a striking resemnce to a pitch ck river that gradually extended as time went on.

    Many people in front of their screens could not understand what was happening and merely stared nkly at the image in front of them. The two students had not taken a step, but the skies hadpletely changed color. This was the power of an Astral Combat Academy student leader.

    On Earth, Zhou Shan and the others did not even dare to believe what they were seeing. Zhou Shan could not even fathom how much power was required to tear the void or what horrifying effects it would have.

    In the First Military School of the Great Yu Empire, Jeraldine was simrly shocked by what she was seeing. This was the level of Lu Yin¡¯s opponents, and it was too scary.

    In the city in the sky, San Dios, even Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze turned solemn. The Outerverse Youth Council and the Council of Astral Academy had always been at the same level, and all members of both councils had agreed to this, but she had never feltfortable about it. After all, the members of the Council of Astral Academy were at best Limiteers while the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s members were all space-exploring powerhouses. Even their subsidiary members were Explorers, like Bazeer.

    She had always believed that the Council of Astral Academy was able to hold such a prestigious position because a few members of the Ten Arbiters had once studied at the Astral Combat Academy. However, as she continued to watch this Astral Combat Tournament, she finally got a grasp on just how powerful the strongest academy leaders at this top-notch institution were. Once they broke through to be Explorers, their power would definitely surpass ordinary Explorers, and they would even be qualified to immediately aim for a ce within the Top 100 Rankings.

    The Astral Combat Academy was just an institution, and those student leaders were still just students, but their current power only proved how extraordinarily talented they were. Once they gained more battle experience, they would improve even faster until they became powerhouses who could shock the heavens. It was no wonder why they were able to stand side by side with the Outerverse Youth Council.

    The conflict between the two students¡¯ domainssted for several minutes. The blue color was no longer as pure as it had been in the beginning, and neither was the red color.

    Sha suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, but then, the blood halted in midair and formed into a sharp de that then sliced at Sha himself. Sha managed to dodge to the side at the critical moment, but the blood de nicked his neck. The droplets of blood that dripped out also formed themselves into countless miniscule sharp des that shot towards Sha, attempting to rip open more blood vessels. Sha¡¯s face paled as ayer of sturdy ice spread across his body and sealed half of his neck in ice, stopping the vicious cycle from continuing any further.

    Many trembled at this scene as they stared at Xue Liuyun in horror. This power was too scary; one couldn¡¯t even shed blood when battling against this person! If they did, then their own blood would turn into his weapon, a weapon that was very difficult to defend against. Even more frightening, Xue Liuyun¡¯s domain also supplemented his innate gift, as he could cause a person¡¯s blood to explode within their own body. This killing method was simply impossible to defend against.

    However, the situation was quickly reversed even though Sha was severely injured and had been forced to seal half of his neck in ice. Xue Liuyun¡¯s entire body became sealed in ice a momentter. The ice blue domainpletely devoured the sanguine red domain as the ice sealed the entire arena, just as it had previously sealed Hart Phoenix.

    A gale swept across the arena ins, and the cold flow of air continued on into the distance. Lulu shivered. ¡°How cold.¡±

    The other spectators also felt the nearly unbearable extreme coldness. A river in the distance even froze when the freezing gale wafted over; this was Sha¡¯s domain.

    When Xue Liuyun copsed, it signified the second academy leader¡¯s defeat.

    Many Astral Combat Academy students were rendered speechless by what had just happened. The academy leaders were supposed to be insurmountable, but two of them had already been defeated after just a few matches. It was very worrying for them.

    Sha¡¯s power had beenpletely exposed as he had revealed that he was strong enough to defeat a student leader.

    The next battle was between Liu Xiaoyun and a normal Area Master-level powerhouse who could not even receive two de strikes from Liu Xiaoyun. After she returned to the high peak, a ¡°13¡± appeared in front of Lu Yin. His turn to fight hade in the thirteenth battle of the fifth round.

    At the same time, a girl appeared on the arena ins. She had an ordinary appearance and a calm expression. It was Chao Zhi.

    When the matchup was revealed, much of the audience grew excited. The scene of Chao Zhi defeating Calcifer had been deeply imprinted into their memories. That image of Calcifer rotting to nothingness was enough to cause nightmares and that battle had been one of the most shocking in this season¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament. And now, Chao Zhi was going to face Astral-10¡¯s student leader.

    Lu Yin also appeared in the arena ins.

    Neither the spectating students surrounding the ins nor most of the people watching on their screens believed that Lu Yin could win. Chao Zhi¡¯s battle had caused a huge stir across the universe, and her victory had been so stunning that even outsiders could see that she was strong enough to pose a significant challenge to the academy leaders.

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, was just a Melder, making him one level inferior to the other student leaders. Moreover, he was from the worst ranked academy, Astral-10. Even though he had crushed Long Yi, his match had not caused the same shock that Chao Zhi¡¯s victory over Calcifer had. Many still held the opinion that Lu Yin¡¯s position as Astral-10¡¯s leader was a distraction and that he could notpare to either Xia Luo or Silver.

    On the high peak, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Dao Bo, and the rest all stared closely at Chao Zhi. They also did not think that Lu Yin would win this fight. This was especially true for Feng Shang; ever since he had recognized her battle technique as the Wind of Seasons, he had assumed that Chao Zhi would be his strongestpetitor, as only he knew the true terror of the Wind of Seasons.

    Lu Yin breathed in deeply as he stepped onto the arena ins for the second time. The Astral Combat Tournament had shaken the outside world greatly, but he was still a stranger in the broader universe as he had only fought once.

    He raised his head to look at Chao Zhi. Her two eyes were still wandering all over the arena, just like when she had faced Calcifer. She acted as if she had no cares in the world.

    Lu Yin frowned and thought back to the Wind of Seasons that Feng Shang mentioned. It couldn¡¯t be so terrifying as to even include concepts of time within it, right?

    The Astral Combat Tournament was being broadcast to the entire universe, which meant that Lu Yin could not use the Cosmic Art or the Cosmic Palm. If an Astral-10 mentor could recognize their origins, then other terrifying powers in the universe would also be able to. After all, this technique did not have a proper origin, and it would be bad if those seeking the technique started hunting him down. Lu Yin felt a headache developing. If he couldn¡¯t use his Cosmic Art, then did that mean that he would have to reveal his battle force already?

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin, who was deeply pondering his situation, and wondered what he was trying to do.

    ¡°Haha, Astral-10¡¯s leader must be scared. Chao Zhi instantly wiped out Calcifer, and Calcifer defeated Uro. That¡¯s the same Uro who multiple people from Astral-10 had to team up against to defeat him, as described in that newspaper article. This Lu Yin probably won¡¯t even dare to even make a move since he¡¯s facing Chao Zhi.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite possible, but he¡¯s still rather strong. After all, he was able to stomp Long Yi to death with one kick. That¡¯s not bad at all.¡±

    ¡°Long Yi¡¯s just a Melder, so how can he possiblypare to Chao Zhi? Chao Zhi instantly killed an Area Master!¡±

    ¡­

    Everyone from Astral-10 was looking at Lu Yin with curious eyes, as even they did not know how strong he currently was.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes twinkled as he hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be disappointed.

    On Earth, almost everyone was fervently watching Lu Yin on the giant screens. The further he went in this tournament, the higher Earth¡¯s reputation grew, as Lu Yin¡¯s introduction had stated that his home was Earth.

    On San Dios, Wendy Yushan remained calm. In her eyes, this person would only be able to walk to this point. She had seen Chao Zhi¡¯s earlier battle, and this girl was definitely capable of rivaling the student leaders, well, aside from Astral-10¡¯s. Lu Yin could not be considered as a true academy leader since the disparity in strength between him and the rest was just too great.

    The Invisible Aura Technique that Undying Yushan had acquired in the Innerverse was too excellent; no one had seen through Lu Yin¡¯s true strength thus far. It was impossible to gather any concrete data on Lu Yin even while he was battling.

    Perhaps too much time had passed, but Chao Zhi was the first one to be impatient, and she casually waved a hand towards Lu Yin.

    Many hearts skipped a beat as that familiar grey squall appeared again. It was this same grey squall that had caused Calcifer to rot into nothingness in her previous battle. He had not been seen again since.

 Chapter 216: Lu Yin vs. Chao Zhi

    <h4>Chapter 216: Lu Yin vs. Chao Zhi</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Since he wasn¡¯t able to use his Cosmic Art, he was unable to see through the true form of the grey wind. Without any other choice, he could only do what Grandini and Xia Ye had done before him; ck battle force lined with purple stripes exploded out and covered his body. A momentter, he used sh to disappear into the void before reappearing before Chao Zhi and kicking out.

    ¡°Three-lined battle force?¡± someone eximed in surprise.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in shock when he revealed his battle force; there were very few students in the Astral Combat Academy who possessed this much power.

    Frankfurt gaped in shock. He only had two-lined battle force himself, and yet, he had killed Lu Yin in a single blow some time ago. How had this person advanced so far in such a short period of time?

    There was a loud rumble, and Chao Zhi took several steps backwards. The ground cracked from the sheer impact of Lu Yin¡¯s kick. As the gales of grey wind swept over Lu Yin, the battle force covering his body cracked. Shockingly, even three-lined battle force was not able topletely resist the destructive effects of this wind. It was no wonder that Calcifer had instantly died to it.

    The gales continued to buffet the arena ins until even the void wasn¡¯t able to take it anymore. Small lines of shattered space streaked down like raindrops, tearing through the ground.

    The three-lined battle force covering Lu Yin¡¯s body started to disappear. Once it waspletely gone, his body would have to bear the full brunt of the eroding force. At most, he had about five seconds left.

    Atop the peak, the leaders of the various academies were not at all surprised by how the fight was going. Feng Shang sighed. ¡°Even three-lined battle force can¡¯t withstand the Wind of Seasons. I wonder where that woman learned that battle technique.¡±

    Starsibyl nonchntly replied, ¡°Chao Zhi should be the genius who was chased into the Astral Wilderness thirty years ago.¡±

    ¡°You know her?¡± Feng Shang was surprised by this piece of information.

    She smiled. ¡°I divinated that bit.¡±

    Feng Shang rolled his eyes, obviously not believing her.

    ¡°If Chao Zhi really is that same girl, then things are about to get interesting. Back then, she was able to escape because of another technique, not this Wind of Seasons,¡± Starsibyl said with a curious gleam in her eyes.

    Han Chong, Dao Bo and the others were all astonished. So the Wind of Seasons isn¡¯t even her most powerful technique?

    As the three-lined battle force broke down, everyone thought Lu Yin was done for. Even Undying Yushan was no different. The fact that Lu Yin had been able to get to this point with just a year¡¯s work showed that he was definitely a genius, but that just meant there was a difference between him and these monsters because they hadn¡¯t had the same starting point.

    Within Astral-10¡¯s space station, Madam Nn sipped her tea and calmly watched on without blinking, the ghost of a smile at her lips. How could someone who had survived in outer space as a Melder be taken down by the erosion of some mere wind?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s three-lined battle force broke down, the grey winds began to erode his body. But an instantter, purple streams of air appeared around him that shocked everyone.

    Numerous people gaped in disbelief. ¡°Fo-fo-four-lined battle force!¡±

    All of the student leaders¡¯ eyes went wide. How is this possible?

    Nobody thought that Lu Yin had actually cultivated his battle force to four lines. This included both the students and mentors of Astral-10. They were far more surprised than anyone else as they knew that Lu Yin had only recentlyprehended battle force.

    Outside the ins, Xi Yue covered her mouth in shock when she saw the dazzling purple lines circting around Lu Yin. It really is four lines! How did he do it so quickly? Even with the help from her family, she had only been able to cultivate one line.

    On the ins, Chao Zhi was shocked, and for the first time, revealed a serious look. Four-lined battle force was a symbol of pure, overwhelming physical power. Any opponent who had four-lined battle force was sure to be a very powerful foe and not to be underestimated.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and grinned. His near-death experience on Driftcharge had caused his strength to undergo an incredible transformation. Before that, he had been about as strong as an Area Master; he could not even win against Uro by himself and had needed Xia Luo and the others¡¯ help. But after his experience on Driftcharge, Uro had be someone who Lu Yin could trample over without too much effort.

    It was at this time that he finally understood why the Ten Arbiters were so far from everyone¡¯s reach. They were all of the same generation, but the difference between them was so vast that it was unimaginable. In the past, he had merely thought that the Ten Arbiters were powerful, but still in the same generation as him. Now, however, that puerile understanding had turned into a heated anticipation and fervor, as he now saw the possibility of approaching their level.

    Yet another person with four-lined battle force had appeared in the Astral Combat Tournament. This disy of power startled all of the powerhouses in the academies watching from their screens. Regardless of whether it was in the outer or innerverse, battle force was the symbol of a genius, and another one had emerged from the Astral Combat Academy. It was shocking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s four-lined battle force¡¯s robust defense was able topletely block the Winds of Season. After confirming his status, Lu Yin stared at Chao Zhi for a second before slowly raising his right fist and punching out. He was already quite strong, and now, his physical strength was even greater than Lulu¡¯s. With his battle force added on top of that, each of his punches were able to shatter the void even if he didn¡¯t use any battle techniques. Visible shock waves rippled throughout the entire arena, destroying everything in their path.

    Chao Zhi¡¯s gaze turned cold as she quickly pulled back. In front of her, the force from Lu Yin¡¯s fist had caused space to splinteryer byyer, which intensified its power even further. If the mentors outside the ins had not stopped the spread of the spatial cracks from reaching the audience, even the spectating Area Masters might have died from this attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s single punch was more powerful than even Xia Ye¡¯s or Cang Shi¡¯s.

    Chao Zhi suddenly stopped in ce as her Wind of Seasons disappeared. What appeared next was a purple battle force that rose into the skies, just like Lu Yin¡¯s. Like an unstoppable tornado, the battle force swept through the entire area and canceled out the shock waves from Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Yet another person with four-lined battle force had appeared!

    Many people were shocked speechless once more. Another person with four-lined battle force? Since when was four-lined battle force thismon?

    Up on the peak, Starsibyl chuckled fascinatedly before saying, ¡°Yes, the reason why she was able to sessfully escape from her pursuers was thanks to her battle force. However, she only had three lines back then. Now, it seems that she has four.¡±

    Chao Zhi¡¯s strength left everyone shocked. She was definitely powerful enough to be a leader of an academy, just like Lu Yin. Once again, two people with four-lined battle force had been matched up against each other, just like Cang Shi and Xia Ye before them.

    Lu Yin sighed in admiration. ¡°Four-lined battle force! You¡¯re pretty good.¡±

    Chao Zhi still had a calm expression. ¡°You¡¯re no match for me.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Lu Yin was baffled by her confidence.

    Chao Zhi slowly turned around. ¡°Even though we both have four-lined battle force, there are various levels within each realm. The body is what houses battle force, and my body is something that I am very confident in.¡± After that, shepleted her turn and viciously kicked at Lu Yin, but he simply lifted his left arm and smiled.

    Boom!

    With an explosive sound, the ground was fractured as a huge, deep pit that was over a hundred meters in circumference appeared out of nowhere. Then, a huge fissure snaked past Lu Yin¡¯s feet until it sliced off a section of the mountain peak. Clouds of dust filled the skies.

    Chao Zhi¡¯s pupils constricted as she looked at Lu Yin in disbelief. She was still in her kicking stance with one leg out even as Lu Yin maintained his stance of using only his left arm to block her leg. The area under his feet was pristine and he hadn¡¯t moved at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m confident that my body is stronger than yours,¡± Lu Yin said nonchntly before he lifted a leg and kicked out. His kicknded right on Chao Zhi¡¯s abdomen, causing her to cough out some blood as her entire body was sent flying. She wanted to twist her body to dissipate the blow, but was prevented from doing so by some terrifying force. Then, nine distinct, consecutive explosions rung out from within her body.

    It was a Nine Stacks powered kick. The ninth explosion nearly forced her into a spatial tear.

    Lu Yin bent his knees, and his entire body vanished. When he reappeared, he was already above her, punching down once again.

    Chao Zhi¡¯s pupils shrank even more as she hurriedly met the fist with her right knee. The concussive st sent out another round of shock waves rippling out, tearing up the ground and sending billowing clouds of dust into the sky as the entire arena ins shook. Chao Zhi¡¯s right leg was shattered, and her entire body was smashed deep into the ground by Lu Yin. He lifted his right fist again before saying, ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    As he spoke, he punched out onest time, causing everything within a hundred meters of him to disintegrate into powder. Next, everything within a thousand meters of him followed suit before, finally, the entire ins was pulverized. Everything had been turned to dust.

    In front of their screens, countless people stared at the scene in shock. The destructive power that they had just witnessed was enough to horrify anyone. This was the Lifeseek Realm of the trial zones. No matter how powerful someone was, even with battle force, they should only be able to destroy a small area. However, Lu Yin had destroyed the entire stage and the entire ins with a single move. Even the peak of a hill far off in the distance had been affected and turned to dust as well.

    Numerous students from the Astral Combat Academy looked at Lu Yin in fear. This was the so-called figurehead of Astral-10? What a load of crap! What figurehead was this terrifying? This person was definitely strong enough to im the title of leader. He even had four-lined battle force! He was basically a monster in human form!

    With that single punch, Chao Zhi had ceased to exist within the Lifeseek Realm. Even though both students possessed four-lined battle force, Chao Zhi had been rendered virtually powerless against Lu Yin. Lu Yin¡¯s body was much too powerful, and even he himself did not know the true limits of his body.

    The Great Yu Empire was going crazy with excitement as numerous people chanted King Zishan¡¯s name exuberantly. Even though they did not personally know him, he was still the King Zishan of their empire. This name had once been a household name in the Great Yu Empire because of the Undying duo. And now, the fifth princess, Wendy Yushan, had a reputation that was just as great in the rest of the universe and a King Zishan with the same level of fame had appeared as well.

    People were also going crazy back on Earth. Compared to the citizens of the Great Yu Empire, Zhou Shan and the others were more shocked and surprises at how quickly Lu Yin had improved. They might not understand battle force, domains, or even what the Lifeseek Realm was, but they did know that Lu Yin had won.

    At this same time, on Saint Dios, Wendy Yushan looked at her screen in surprise. She gazed at the calm Lu Yin with a pondering expression on her face.

    Elsewhere, Bazeer had gone pale. How could this have happened? A tiny ant managed to reach that point!? Impossible! That¡¯s four-lined battle force! Bazeer himself hadn¡¯t even grasped battle force at all, but an ant that he had once looked down upon had already reached four-lined battle force! Arge feeling of regret for how he had handed some matters in the past welled up within him now.

    The ins had beenpletely destroyed in that battle, but with the mentors¡¯ amazing abilities, it was quickly restored to its previous state.

    Lu Yin returned to the high peak and calmly sat down in the tenth seat.

    This time, nobody doubted or mocked him. There was nothing other than respect, worship, and fear in the audience¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin had truly obtained the glory that this seat represented.

    p p p!

    Feng Shang loudly apuded as he looked at Lu Yin in admiration. ¡°That was amazing, Brother Lu. Your performance was very impressive.¡±

    Calling him ¡°Brother Lu¡± was a sign of Feng Shang¡¯s approval.

    Lu Yin chuckled before replying, ¡°It was just a warmup. Please, don¡¯t think too much of it.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing surreptitiously studied Lu Yin with a bit of apprehension and did not speak.

    Liu Xiaoyun still had a look of shock on her face; she¡¯d judged him wrongly! She had assumed that Lu Yin was nothing more than a figurehead, but in reality, he was a very powerful person no weaker than she herself. How had she not noticed anything at all? This person must have cultivated a terrifying technique that hid his strength.

    Starsibyl looked at Lu Yin with twinkling eyes, smiling but not speaking.

    The next round was between Silver and Long Ze. Long Ze had proven himself during the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage when he managed to stall Chilian Daynight for a period of time. At that moment, many people had been surprised by his strength that had reached the level of an Area Master. But now, however, the tournament had progressed so far that an Area Master was no longer anything special. Rather, it would be more urate to say that, at this stage of the tournament, an Area Master was nothing. The real surprises were people like Lu Yin, Liu Shaoqiu, and Chao Zhi.

    Silver¡¯s domain was enough to defeat Long Ze, and nothing surprising happened.

    The next two rounds featured Ka Long and Liu Yin. There were no surprises during these battles, and they both won. And with that, the fifth elimination round had ended; sixteen people still remained.

    Those who had reached this stage in the current tournament were as strong as the finalists of past tournaments. However, this tournament had not even reached its semifinals yet.

 Chapter 217: Lost And Found

    <h4>Chapter 217: Lost And Found</h4>

    The number of strong contestants in this Astral Combat Tournament made the other strong organizations that had long held desires of taking over the Astral Academy feel a deep sense of despair. They had btedly discovered that even the strongest of their younger generation was only at the level of a regr Area Master, and none of them had reached the current stage of this Astral Combat Tournament. This was the sad reality of the situation.

    The most outstanding participants in this tournament weren¡¯t monsters like Liu Shaoqiu who had only recently joined the academy, but rather, it was those from Astral-10. Ever since the director of Astral-10 had gone crazy a thousand years ago and nearly destroyed Astral-10, that branch of the Astral Combat Academy had lost its splendor. But now, three of the sixteen people who had reached the sixth round were from the previously fallen academy. This was simply a jaw-dropping result.

    Even during the fifth round, a lot of students had started looking at the students of Astral-10 strangely, which frightened Coco so much that she had immediately left.

    Silver smiled as he surveyed his surroundings. His unsettling grin made a shiver run down everyone¡¯s spines.

    Xia Luo¡¯s expression was just as gentle as always, and he had even captured quite a few girls¡¯ hearts during this tournament.

    Up on the peak overlooking the fields, Lu Yin stood up. He wasn¡¯t that tall, but he still managed to dominate the atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯ll see you all during the battles of the final sixteen.¡± After that, he disappeared.

    Feng Shang stretched outzily as hemented, ¡°Did you hear that? He¡¯s challenging us, haha.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing narrowed her eyes. Although Lu Yin had shown that he had four-lined battle force, she still did not see him as someone who could truly rival her. At most, she felt a bit of caution towards him. The opponents who she was the most concerned about were Starsibyl and Han Chong.

    The sixth round of the elimination battles would start after a day so that both the participants and spectators would have ample time to rest.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes on the trial zone mountain and was immediately greeted by a crowd of surprised faces. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°¡®What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ What do you mean, ¡®what¡¯s wrong?!¡¯ Dude, tell us if you have some secret way to train your battle force!¡± Big Pao eximed in an exaggerated manner. Everyone stared at Lu Yin with a curious expression.

    Lu Yin nodded and simply replied, ¡°Yup.¡±

    Everyone was shocked. Was he being serious?

    ¡°What is it?¡± Big Pao asked.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Die.¡±

    Everyone rolled their eyes as they thought that Lu Yin was joking. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a joke. His hellish experience on Driftcharge was what had allowed him to transform and reach his current state. When he used Arcane Art - Fatal Revival for the first time, it had dug out his huge potential and raised his battle force to three lines. He had only gained the fourth line after he used the technique for a second time. He had died, and that was a fact. Unfortunately, there was no way to safely replicate those experiences. He had suffered true deaths, and even Lu Yin had no idea how he¡¯d managed to survive both times.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to protect me from now on, Brother Lu.¡± Coco drew close and looked up at Lu Yin with an adorable smile on her little face. Lu Yin burst intoughter and fondly patted her on the head.

    Lulu raised her fist. ¡°After I raise my battle force to four lines, let¡¯s fight again.¡±

    Off in the distance, Michelle looked at Lu Yin, the awe in her eyes yet to dissipate. She saw him in apletely different light from when she had first entered the academy. At that time, she had truly wanted to rmend that the academy be expelled, but now, she really did approve of Astral-10, especially after realizing that many of its students weren¡¯t weak. Even the weakest students, Coco, Schutz, and the rest, were no weaker than the average student from the other academies, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the mysterious Xia Luo, Silver, and the strongest of them all, Lu Yin.

    Liu Xiaoyun walked down from the peak of the trial zone mountain, her presence shocking everyone.

    ¡°Why¡¯s there another living person here?¡± Zora yelped in shock.

    Liu Xiaoyun frowned as Zora¡¯s phrasing hadn¡¯t been very nice. She looked at Lu Yin and quietly said, ¡°I apologize for looking down on you before.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun then matter-of-factly said, ¡°The trial zone mountains are the entrances to the trial zones. The higher you are on the mountain, the higher your position. I¡¯ll let you have the peak.¡± After that, she quietly walked away.

    Lu Yin casually nced at the peak. It was high, but he didn¡¯t really like it. It felt too arrogant to upy that position, and it wasn¡¯t time for such things yet. ¡°Take the peak if you like it. Astral-10 doesn¡¯t have any rules about stuff like this.¡±

    Nobody here really cared about their appearances. Astral-10 only had fourteen students in total, so who cared about who sat at the top of the mountain?

    Meanwhile, at the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao sped his hands behind his back and looked out into space. Numerouss had been lined up to form a, and outside this line of defense was the Astral Beast Domain, where humans had difficulty stepping foot into. It was vast and mysterious.

    ¡°We only need to show two more battles. There¡¯s no need to reveal all of our cards to the entire universe in one sitting. They¡¯ll be the future heroes of the human race, and we don¡¯t need them to get on the Heaven-Devouring List already,¡± Shui Chuanxiao said.

    Behind him, an officer respectfully said, ¡°I¡¯ll let the Astral Combat Academy know right away, sir.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Shui Chuanxiao suddenly turned towards the huge map and pointed at one of the lines of defense. ¡°Who¡¯s the guardian for this point?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s from Culture Flowzone¡¯s Lost Radiance Academy, and his name is Qu Ao.¡±

    ¡°What about here?¡±

    ¡°The Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s First Hall¡¯s Sir Gloria.¡±

    ¡°What about here?¡±

    ¡­

    As he studied the map, Shui Chuanxiao suddenly said, ¡°Notify the Astral Combat Academy that all top sixteen participants are toe to the Human Domain border, with the final four being the groups¡¯ leaders. They¡¯ll be in charge of guarding our line of defense.¡±

    The officer was shocked. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s way too dangerous out there. The academy won¡¯t agree to this.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao snickered as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s a direct order from me. I don¡¯t need their approval for this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡°By the way, is there another powerhouse on the other side right now?¡±

    The officer sternly answered, ¡°Yes, Yao Gu. He¡¯s a Void Thunderbeast who¡¯s third on the Beast Region¡¯s Heavenly Beast List.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao was shocked. ¡°Yao Gu? You mean the one who got on the Skymender List and was able to fight evenly against Serati Phoenix of the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao frowned. This was a troublesome matter, as Yao Gu was someone who was able to single handedly reverse the course of the entire war. ¡°Inform the Ten Arbiters Council right away. We¡¯ll need the Ten Arbiters for this as well. Let them know about Yao Gu.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the officer answered, but then he hesitated. ¡°Since Yao Gu¡¯s here, the borders will be even more dangerous. Those students¡­¡±

    ¡°Do as I said.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in space, a spacecraft drew close to Astral-10. The people aboard had been ordered by a girl from the Daynight Family to deliver a cosmic ring to the leader of Astral-10, Lu Yin.

    As it neared Astral-10, the spacecraft jolted before quickly steadying itself. The people inside did not mind this small disturbance, though nobody noticed that there was now another individual in their hold¡ªsomeone very important as well.

    The spacecraft sessfully docked in Astral-10, and Little Pao came out to wee them.

    ¡°Please tell the leader of the academy, Lu Yin, that Miss Zhao Daynight has asked us to return this cosmic ring to him,¡± a person courteously told Little Pao.

    Little Pao epted the ring and nodded, but just as he was about to respond, a figure suddenly appeared in the space station. It was the Rainmaster.

    Little Pao was shocked. ¡°Rainmaster?¡±

    Nearby, Madam Nn was able to see Rainmaster from her spacecraft.

    The Rainmaster had a serious expression as he scanned the space station. A cold gleam suddenly appeared in his eyes. ¡°I sense a familiar aura.¡±

    As he spoke, the star energy within the space station started going crazy until the outline of a huge being rejecting the star energy could be seen. This activity made it impossible for him to hide, so he took arge step forwards, attempting to charge out into space, but it was all in vain.

    The Rainmaster mockingly taunted, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, don¡¯t leave, Void Thunderbeast.¡±

    Void Thunderbeast? The rest were startled. They¡¯d heard of this creature¡¯s name before. It was the number three race on the Beast Region¡¯s Heavenly Beast List. Each one was a powerful astral beast. Was this mysterious creature a Void Thunderbeast?

    Roar!

    An earth-shattering cry filled Astral-10. Sparks of electricity arced into the void, trying to destabilize space so as to carve out a path of escape. This was a Void Thunderbeast that had attained the power of a Cruiser.

    The Rainmaster was not at all surprised; the reason why these beasts were ranked third was because every mature Void Thunderbeast would naturally gain the ability to traverse the universe without a spacecraft. It was a very powerful race. ¡°Stay here.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t make me stay here, human!¡± the Void Thunderbeast eximed furiously. A bolt of lightning zigzagged through the air, and the beast disdainfully red at Astral-10 before charging into the void.

    This was a Void Thunderbeast¡¯s survival method, which made them quite difficult to kill. For example, even though this beast was merely a Cruiser, he had mysterious escape methods that even a Hunter could not stop.

    But the Rainmaster suddenly raised his hand and tapped the space before him. The void distorted as the previous tear reappeared once more. Then, a shower of blood and a huge beast in a pitiful state suddenly emerged from nowhere. This was the true form of the Void Thunderbeast.

    The Void Thunderbeast was bewildered. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! This is just a human academy and the worst one out of them all at that! How can Astral-10 possibly force me to use my true strength? This is impossible!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself. Even your ancestors don¡¯t have the guts toe to Astral-10. How dare you?!¡± Rainmaster eximed.

    The Void Thunderbeast trembled as he realized something, ¡°You¡¯re an Enlighter! A human Enlighter! No! I don¡¯t want to die! Yao Gu is my master! You can¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m just searching for something that he lost at his request. Please don¡¯t kill me¡­¡±

    Boom!

    The Void Thunderbeast exploded without receiving a response, and his huge body disappeared into space.

    Little Pao, Madam Nn, and the rest all looked on in shock. This was a battle that they could not understand at all. Everything had taken ce in the void, which was an alien environment they could notprehend at all. The beast had died so quickly, and the Rainmaster hadn¡¯t even asked him anything.

    Little Pao had never seen the Rainmaster with such a grim look before.

    Madam Nn looked at the Rainmaster gravely. At some point, everyone had assumed that Astral-10 was a just regr academy and that the mentors who had stayed behind were nothing more than Hunters. Now, however, the Rainmaster had disyed a strength that definitely superseded that of a mere Hunter. Right before his death, the Void Thunderbeast had said that this man was an Enlighter. That meant that the mentor was an Enlighter, which was an entire realm above Hunter.

    Why was there an Enlighter in an academy that had been chased out of the Innerverse? Could the rumors be true? After the director had gone crazy a thousand years ago, had Astral-10 actually been turned into a prison?

    The Rainmaster watched the twisting void settle down as he regained his calmness. He turned towards Little Pao and then left without saying a word.

    Little Pao let out a pent up breath. That was terrifying! That power, which was able to destroy the void with just a tap of the finger, was horrifying.

    That Void Thunderbeast had been pretty unlucky as well. He had been ordered to look for the bank card that Yao Gu had lost, but he had just ended up being killed for its efforts.

    The bank card itself wasn¡¯t all that important, but its owner¡¯s identity was. Yao Gu was the one who had lost it, and he was an Astral Beast powerhouseparable to the Ten Arbiters of the Human Domain. Thus, someone who could steal his bank card without him noticing had to be more than they seemed. Yao Gu had initially just wanted this Void Thunderbeast to investigate in secret, but hisckey had underestimated Astral-10 and tried to barge straight in, resulting in his very pitiful death.

    Within the Human Domain, there were very few who were able to kill a Cruiser realm Void Thunderbeast. It was just this beast¡¯s rotten luck that he¡¯d run into one.

    Not long after, Lu Yin excitedly epted the cosmic ring from Little Pao; he never thought that he¡¯d be able to get it back.

    ¡°Apparently, a woman from the Daynight n got someone to send it to you,¡± Little Pao said.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Thanks, LIttle Pao.¡±

    Little Pao nodded and then went back to get some rest.

 Chapter 218: A Battle Between Lockbreakers

    <h4>Chapter 218: A Battle Between Lockbreakers</h4>

    Lu Yin searched through his cosmic ring as a smile slowly spread across his face. He never thought that he would actually recover what he thought had been lost forever, as there were plenty of valuable items he had painstakingly umted. There were 97,500 star crystals and another 710,000 crystals in the form of a Mavis Bank card in it. It was a huge sum, and it was a huge boon that he had recovered it all. At least he hadn¡¯t saved Zhuo Daynight for nothing.

    Lu Yin raised his head. He had been rtively certain that the Leo n would not dare to kill Zhuo Daynight when they found her. And it seemed like this woman had indeed escaped safely due to her background.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned peaceful. If he had the Daynight n as his background, then he would not have experienced that deste nightmare on Driftcharge. Instead, he would have been rescued by the Leo n before being respectfully escorted to the Innerverse. He would never have been dropped onto some ve to be white meat.

    Unknowingly, Lu Yin¡¯s wandering thoughts reached into his past and reminded him of something else. He retrieved a ring from the returned cosmic ring. This was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Ring of Authority. If Undying Yushan died, then anyone with this ring would be able tomand the empire¡¯s troops. He had originally wanted to reject this ring, but his mindset had changed after surviving that cmity on Driftcharge. He put the ring on his finger and found that it fit him surprisingly well.

    A day quickly passed by, and everyone once again gathered at the arena ins to watch the tournament. The entire Human Domain seemed to quiet down as everyone watched the broadcast screens with rapt attention. The round of the top sixteen was about to begin.

    Atop the high peak overlooking the fields, Xue Liuyun and Kuang Wang did not appear at their previous seats since losers were not qualified to sit there. This was the harshness of reality.

    When Lu Yin appeared, many gave him looks of fear when they remembered how he had killed Chao Zhi, a four-lined battle force user.

    The battles between the strongest sixteen would undoubtedly be much more exciting than the battles of the previous rounds, and more people came to watch as well. The first match already included one of the student leaders. Dao Bo was Astral-6¡¯s leader, the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Realm Master, and one of the brightest up-anding genius Lockbreakers in the Lockbreaker Society. Like Charon, he was a single step away from raising his rank to that of an Intermediate Lockbreaker. The main difference between the two was that Dao Bo onlycked the power while Charoncked both power and actual lockbreaking ability. Hence, Dao Bo was much more terrifying than Charon.

    His opponent was Xia Luo.

    When he saw Xia Luo, Dao Bo¡¯s eyes gleamed. He admired this shocking lockbreaking genius from the next generation, but he knew that Xia Luo had not quite matured yet.

    Lu Yin frowned when he saw the matchup. Xia Luo was definitely quite powerful, as he had easily dissipated Jared¡¯s Karmic me Sword and inherited battle technique from the Dao of Illusion, but this battle would be against Dao Bo. He was on an entirely different levelpared to Xia Luo¡¯s other opponents, and Lu Yin wondered how far Xia Luo would be able to go.

    Everyone in Astral-10 looked at Xia Luo sympathetically, but Xia Luo had a rxed expression as he stepped onto the ins in a rxed manner. He faced Dao Bo and cordially said, ¡°Senior, please guide me.¡±

    Dao Bo smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a Limiteer, and you¡¯re a Melder. This battle¡¯s not too fair for you. Since we¡¯re both Lockbreakers, why don¡¯t wepete by mutually trying to dissipate the other¡¯s star energy?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll follow senior¡¯s suggestion then.¡±

    Dao Bo nodded. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    As soon as Dao Bo finished speaking, the two simultaneously attacked each other. They both struck out with seemingly casual palms that collided without any no earth-shattering tremors. But between them, two seas of star energy shed, as if heaven and earth had been split into two halves. This included not only the star energy within their bodies, but also the ambient star energy within the arena. The two students constantly dissipated the other¡¯s star energy as if they were trying to take control of heaven and earth. This was a battle between Lockbreakers.

    Lockbreakers only had eyes for star energy, and they specialized in dissipating all forms of star energy. This was the basis of Lockbreaking, and right now, in Dao Bo and Xia Luo¡¯s eyes, their opponent was like a sourcebox, an item that had been sealed away by star energy.

    Gradually, the two bodies of star energy formed vortices and began attacking each other. They collided in the sky, and although the impact was obviously formless, it still felt like heaven had crashed into the earth. Many audience members became dizzy from the massive impact, but before they could recover, two abnormal waves swept out almost simultaneously¡ªdomains.

    Impressively, Xia Luo had alsoprehended a domain.

    A simr scene had once appeared before, when Sha fought against Xue Liuyun. Their battle had also been a confrontation between domains. The difference was that their battle had been one of direct confrontation where each tried to suppress the other, but in this current battle, the domains were trying to dispel each other. This was something at least a few levels more difficult than suppression.

    The sky and earth contorted in a strange manner, as if one was looking into a running stream. One student couldn¡¯t restrain his curiosity and extended his hand past the energy barrier separating the stage from the audience and into the space beyond. His entire body was instantly shattered, causing the nearby students to jump in fright.

    Normal people could not understand a battle between Lockbreakers, only Lockbreakers could.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the arena had be very dangerous. Between the two fighters, Xia Luo was on the losing end as his star energy was gradually being dissolved and reced by an almost invisible silver grey energy.

    Not long after, the two canceled their domains at the same time, and Xia Luo smiled. ¡°Congrattions, senior. You win.¡±

    Dao Bo replied, ¡°You¡¯re pretty good. No worse than Charon.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled and left the Lifeseek Realm while Dao Bo silently returned to the high peak and sat down.

    Many were perplexed by what had happened, but no one asked for rification. Some people needed to act like they understood even if they didn¡¯t.

    Lu Yin nced at Dao Bo and silently praised him admiringly. If Lu Yin did not use his Cosmic Art, he wouldn¡¯t even be qualified to take part in such a battle. His control of star energy was still far too low.

    After the first battle ended, the second one started, featured Liu Xiaoyun and Tu Bo.

    Liu Xiaoyun had not originally thought much about Tu Bo. Although her opponent had also reached the top sixteen stage in the tournament, in her eyes, he was still just an Area Master and not at the Realm Master level. However, she realized that she had underestimated Tu Bo soon after their match started, as her opponent¡¯s use of water was inconceivable.

    Lu Yin and the other academy leaders were shocked as well. This Tu Bo is quite powerful.

    On the arena ins, streams of sword qi criss-crossed while rampaging rivers wreaked havoc. An unstoppable sword qi battle technique was continuously blocked by the soft flow of water, neutralizing all of Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s attacks.

    Minutester, Liu Xiaoyun looked at Tu Bo in astonishment. She solemnly raised her sword as her clothes fluttered on the windless ins. Her eyes gleamed as a shock wave burst out from beneath her feet. A cold shiver ran down many people¡¯s spines, as if a knife was hanging above their necks. This was a domain, but among the student leaders, it was not umon to have a domain.

    The void in the sky split open in a sword shape that covered the entire arena ins.

    Countless spectators felt their jaws drop open as they stared at this scene in shock. Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s domain had shaped the void into a sword that epassed the entire arena ins, including the void. Tu Bo had no choice but to face it directly.

    Outside the arena, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes remained calm, and they even held a hint of disdain.

    Then, an endless storm of sword qi descended on the arena. It was as if countless shards of the void were falling onto the earth. The entire space became unstable, making many observers feel numb. Each de in this sword rain could instantly kill an Area Master by itself, and this move could easily eliminate a magnificent army.

    The countless audience members viewing their screens throughout the universe were also shocked; this was a terrifying sight that had been caused by a mere Limiteer. Once Liu Xiaoyun became an Explorer, what would this move of hers look like? If it were able to destroy battleships, then she would definitely be an important strategic powerhouse.

    A portion of the arena ins was destroyed by her domain, and Tu Bo was forced to crouch on the ground. Only the ground beneath him was still intact, even if he appeared rather unsightly.

    Liu Xiaoyun looked at Tu Bo, who had not died yet.

    At this point, a strong gale blew over and shredded the back of Tu Bo¡¯s jacket. The torn cloth pped in the wind, revealing three green leaves, the symbol of Shamrock Enterprises.

    ¡°Shamrock Enterprises? He¡¯s a seed from Shamrock Enterprises!¡± someone cried out.

    Many gazed at Tu Bo in wonder. It was widely known that Shamrock Enterprises actively looked for children with fantastic innate gifts in the universe and then marked them before allowing them to mature naturally. They would then join Shamrock Enterprisester on in the future. These people were called ¡°seeds,¡± and each seed was an absolute genius. Astral-10¡¯s Darkvoid was one, and this Tu Bo was obviously another.

    Liu Xiaoyun was shocked by this development; it was no wonder why he had been so powerful as to stand up to her endless torrent of swords. He was a seed of Shamrock Enterprises.

    Tu Bo slowly stood up, revealing countless bloody marks on his body even though he did not seem to be severely injured. He calmly looked at Liu Xiaoyun before suddenly raising his hand. Streams of water flowed around Liu Xiaoyun before tightly binding her. The ball of water sealing her then spun rapidly, directly isting the void. WIth a wave of Tu Bo¡¯s hand, the water ball was thrown into a spatial tear. Regardless of how strong someone was, it would be very difficult for anyone beneath the Explorer realm to escape from the void of nothingness.

    Tu Bo did not need to defeat Liu Xiaoyun; his n was just to throw her into the void.

    But just before Liu Xiaoyunpletely entered the void, a sh of light streaked through the arena, and Tu Bo copsed directly; he had died. But not even two seconds after he died, Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s body fully entered the void. That meant that she could only leave the Lifeseek Realm by dying. This match had ended in mutual destruction.

    Many stared at Tu Bo¡¯s corpse in shock, unable toprehend how he had perished.

    Only Liu Shaoqiu, standing outside the ins, understood. With gleaming eyes, he marvelled, ¡°Elder sister, you actually managed to imitate the first sword of the Thirteen Swords. You¡¯re still as stubborn as ever.¡±

    No one had expected this match to end in both fighters¡¯ deaths. In reality, if not for Liu Xiaoyun¡¯sst sword strike, she would have been defeated. However, since Tu Bo had died before Liu Xiaoyun, it was actually her victory.

    Feng Shang had an ugly expression, as every academy leader besides him had already fought a challenging battle. With Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s death, three of them had died, and their prestige was gradually eroding. They could not afford to suffer any more defeats in the subsequent matches.

    For the next match, a number appeared before Han Chong. Another academy leader was set to fight, although many felt strange that there hadn¡¯t been any matches yet that featured two academy leaders. The Astral Combat Academy was being too tant about avoiding such a match.

    Han Chong¡¯s opponent was Xia Ye. A lot of people gazed at Xia Ye respectfully as he had actually cultivated four-lined battle force; could Han Chong stand up to him?

    The current rankings of the ten academies followed the previous season''s tournament rankings. Aside from Astral-1 and Astral-10, whose positions had not changed for a thousand years, the other eight academies almost always saw some shifting in their positions. Although Han Chong was Astral-2¡¯s leader, that did not necessarily mean that he could defeat Dao Bo or Feng Shang, two leaders of lower ranked academies.

    ¡°Old Chong, gain some face back for us,¡± Feng Shang said as Han Chong tapped on the number and appeared in the center of the arena. Xia Ye was already down there, waiting.

    Many of thepetitors¡¯ trump cards had already been revealed by this stage, and Xia Ye was one of them. He immediately activated his four-lined battle force when he saw Han Chong. Xia Ye leaped across the arena and punched out, with the clear intention of using his physical strength to directly crush his opponent.

    At the same time, on the peak, Starsibyl, Nightqueen Yanqing, and the few other remaining leaders stared at Han Chong. None of them had seen any of Han Chong¡¯s hidden trump cards so far; just how far did his strength go?

    Lu Yin also stared at Han Chong. This person¡¯s strength-concealing technique was not inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s own in any way. Rather, it could be said that all of the student leaders had various methods to conceal their strength, but for some reason, Lu Yin felt that Han Chong had hidden his strength especially deeply.

    Xia Ye¡¯s fist split the void, traveling straight for Han Chong.

 Chapter 219: Big Windy Bro

    <h4>Chapter 219: Big Windy Bro</h4>

    Han Chong had a calm expression as he spread out his arms. His star energy emerged from his body and took on the form of a picturesque scenery of mountains and seas. Xia Ye¡¯s four-lined battle force covered first was directly blocked by this thin-looking star energy that had been shaped into mountains and seas. He was shocked, but then a strange expression flickered across his face when he saw this mountains and seas painting. A trace of ecstasy seemed to enter his eyes.

    Boom!

    Thendscape painted with star energy rushed at Xia Ye, expanding limitlessly as it crashed down into the earth. Xia Ye foolishly stood in his original spot, letting his body be smashed into pieces by this star energy painting of mountains and seas.

    Everyone was stunned; this battle had been too fast! A four-lined battle force user had been wiped out just like that.

    Han Chong was also slightly stumped by what had happened, as Xia Ye should not have been that weak. Still, a victory was a victory.

    Nightqueen Yanqing frowned; she also could not understand what had happened. Han Chong¡¯s attack had been very powerful, but it was not to the extent where Xia Ye could not avoid it. Why had he been killed so easily?

    Starsibyl, Feng Shang, and the others simrly could not understand it.

    Lu Yin was the same as the rest even though he had acutely sensed the depth of Han Chong¡¯s attack style. Painting was an extremely unconventional battle technique, and Han Chong could be said to be a true artist.

    Soon after, another two students appeared on the arena ins, and yet another student leader hade out to battle. It was Astral-9¡¯s Liu Yin, and his opponent was Grandini Mavis.

    When Liu Yin saw Grandini, he took off his earphones as a serious expression appeared on his face. No one dared to look down on the powerhouses from the Mavis family.

    Grandini clenched her two fists and immediately attacked Liu Yin as soon as he appeared. Her demeanor seemed to be simr to Lulu¡¯s, but even more violent.

    Liu Yin opened his mouth and let loose a tremendous roar that caused the void to immediately copse, as quickly as a bowstring could be snapped. The sound waves also caused a shock wave to spread out in all directions. Even with the energy barrier, many students still fainted from its effects.

    Grandini¡¯s fist crashed into the sound wave, but it was unable to continue any further. Her right leg stomped on the ground and caused an explosion to ring out. Her body moved forward by an inch. Then, another explosion caused her body to inch forward again. With thisst bit of progress, the giant sound wave was split apart.

    Lu Yin was shocked by what he had just seen. Nine Stacks? That¡¯s right, that was definitely Nine Stacks. He never thought that Grandini would also know the Nine Stacks technique. But, after thinking about it, it wasn¡¯t actually that much of a surprise. Even though the Nine Stacks technique could not bebined with other powerful battle techniques, it could be used to stack physical attacks. Since the Mavis family had an abnormally high physical strength, they were one of the best users for this battle technique.

    Lu Yin could already envision Liu Yin¡¯s tragic end after Grandini¡¯s strength was channeled through Nine Stacks.

    After eight explosions, Grandini was able to tear through the sound wave and punch Liu Yin¡¯s abdomen, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. In response, he grabbed Grandini¡¯s arm and roared out once again. This time, it was the sound of many birds crowing. The void fluctuated briefly before Grandini¡¯s eyes lost their focus as she was dragged into and of fantasy.

    Liu Yin was the Dao of Change¡¯s Realm Master, and he had obtained an ancient bloodline of the Fantasy Crow. His voice could create illusions.

    But Grandini quickly broke free from the illusion. At this point, Liu Yin and Grandini had separated again, and Liu Yin¡¯s sound waves had converged into lines that then formed into a ball that suddenly dropped onto the ground. Many students unconsciously covered their ears while Grandini¡¯s eyes widened and she struck out with a fist. Nine booms directly rang out, and then a tenth, eleventh, until it finally stopped at the thirteenth explosion. She had not learned the Nine Stacks technique, but rather, the Thirteen Stacks technique.

    Her terrifying strength was magnified even further with Thirteen Stacks, and it forcibly tore the sound wave apart. Even then, its offensive power had not lessened by much. The visible shock wave formed from the soundwaves was then sted back towards Liu Yin.

    The hitnded on Liu Yin again, and he spat out anotherrge mouthful of blood. In front of him, Grandini had jumped up and raised her right leg, ready to m it down.

    Liu Yin¡¯s eyes quivered as he closed them. As everyone watched on attentively, the space around them trembled. With Liu Yin at its center, a ck circle with a radius of a hundred meters appeared in the arena. This was the Soundless Field.

    Supposedly, all creatures under the sky had an innate sound. Once their innate sound was removed, a Soundless Field would form, where humans could hear everything, even the flow of their own blood within their veins. This was the noise that formed the basis of Liu Yin¡¯s attack method.

    Grandini turned pale as she covered her forehead and fell to the ground. Her entire body trembled as though she was trying to bear a torturously loud noise.

    Liu Yin panted heavily, as it was very difficult for him to sustain the Soundless Field. Between the two of them, this had be apetition between who would be able tost the longest.

    But Liu Yin had forgotten about something. If Lulu Mavis hadprehended battle force, then it went without saying that the stronger Grandini Mavis had as well.

    As a three-lined battle force shrouded her entire body, Liu Yin¡¯s Soundless Field waspletely shattered, and he became yet another fallen academy leader.

    Many students released their pent up breaths. They were relieved that they would not have to bear another one of Liu Yin¡¯s roar attacks, which had been painful even for them as spectators.

    Grandini also rxed, as the torture of the Soundless Field was indeed unforgettable. She had resolved herself to use all her strength and immediately crush her opponent if she ever fought against another person who possessed an innate gift of sound. She did not wish to endure such torture again.

    On the high peak overlooking the ins, there were now four vacant seats among the ten seats present. Although Liu Xiaoyun had won, a pyrrhic victory that had ended in mutual destruction was too weak for her to reappear among the rest of them.

    In the previous Astral Combat Tournaments, only a few academy leaders would have been defeated at this point, but this tournament was exceptional. Not only were there monsters who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy, but there were also students like Xia Ye, Tu Bo, Grandini, and other hidden powerhouses. These hidden experts had caught Feng Shang and the others unawares.

    For the next match, Starsibyl was pitted against Silver.

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he even wondered if the academy mentors were purposefully targeting Astral-10. Xia Luo¡¯s opponent had been against Dao Bo, and now, Silver was matched up against Starsibyl. Neither one had even a glimmer of hope of winning. Even if Lu Yin was confident in Silver¡¯s power, he did not think that Silver could beat Starsibyl.

    Although the Neohuman Alliance was powerful, Starsibyl¡¯s sect was equally monstrous. Moreover, Starsibyl herself was a very mysterious character; no one had managed to understand how she had defeated Liu Tang so far.

    Unsurprisingly, Silver simply admitted defeat and exited the Lifeseek Realm.

    The crowd felt that it was a pity, but they were not surprised at all as no one believed that he could beat Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he had been staring at Silver the entire time. At the moment Silver left the Lifeseek Realm, his eyes had clearly held a grudging reluctance. It seemed that he had wanted to make some achievements in this Astral Combat Tournament, but unfortunately, he had only been able to reach this stage.

    At this point, Astral-10¡¯s Xia Luo and Silver had both been eliminated. Only Lu Yin was left.

    These results finally allowed the other academies¡¯ students to rx. This felt right, as this round would determine the eight strongest. If there was more than one person from Astral-10 in this group, even after some academy leaders had been eliminated, then it would be too embarrassing for them. After all, it was widely known that Astral-10 had been expelled from the Innerverse.

    The ze Realm students such as Jared had even uglier expressions; Astral-10 had already achieved ster results and definitely would not be driven out after this tournament. They would have to abandon their n of recing Astral-10.

    For the next match, Feng Shang stepped out to face Sha.

    Many wore solemn gazes when they saw this match. Sha had defeated Xue Liuyun and was a powerhouse that had reached this point by stepping on an academy leader¡¯s corpse. Feng Shang should have been facing a lot of pressure when the matchup was announced.

    But at this moment, Feng Shang was smiling happily, abnormally happily?, as he directly appeared on the arena ins. Many people were stumped when they saw his expression.

    After the fourth round, the academy leaders had started participating in the battles. The first battle featuring one had been a resounding victory for Feng Shang where he had crushed Arikar with an overwhelming power that made people realize what it meant to be a student leader¡ªa Realm Master. But progressively, the pressure that each academy leader faced had mounted, and that was especially true now that there were four vacant seats atop the high peak. The prestige of the academy leaders had fallen greatly, and Feng Shang had been aching to face off against the students who had defeated other academy leaders. He had finally received his wish.

    ¡°Senior Dao Bo, what do you make of this match?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Dao Bo unhesitatingly replied, ¡°Feng Shang is sure to win.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Feng Shang is not Xue Liuyun, who specializes in researching his innate gifts and only focuses on upgrading his own. Instead, Feng Shang loves to duel with all sorts of people, and he has quite the reputation in the teleportation battles. He definitely has the most battle experience out of all of us. He already came up with a way to deal with Sha at his first appearance, not to mention now, after seeing so many of his battles.¡±

    ¡°Is Senior Feng Shang famous in the teleportation battles?¡±

    Dao Bo nodded. ¡°He is Big Windy Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked and numbly looked at the ground. So this bastard was actually Big Windy Bro. Lu Yin would never forget his experience when he first entered the teleportation battles. He had been wiped out instantly before he had even been able to stabilize himself. The person who had killed him was Big Windy Bro. He had met him again during a streak of consecutive victories, which had been promptly ended by Big Windy Bro.

    Lu Yin had always thought that Big Windy Bro was an Explorer, and even in his dreams, he would have never thought that he would be Feng Shang. This fellow had actually instantly killed him twice in the teleportation battles.

    Out on the ins, the two stood there for a brief moment before Feng Shang acted without hesitation. The sky and earth suddenly turned green as a violent wind suppressed the entire ins from above. Sha¡¯s eyes quivered as the sturdy blue ice beneath him extended out. This was very simr to his previous battle with Xue Liuyun, where the two had shed through their domains. However, Feng Shang was quicker by one step. He had altered the atmosphere with his own domain and caused the entire ins to be a windy territory.

    Even the star energy in the ins had changed color and be green, inhibiting the hard, blue ice. Sha¡¯s domain waspletely suppressed from the start. Although the air was still freezing cold, his domain could no longer spread out across the ground as it pleased.

    Feng Shang raised his hand, causing a green gale that revolved like a sharp, spinning de to appear over his palm. It was spinning so quickly that it constantly sliced the void open, causing ck spatial cracks to extend outwards. Shivers ran down many people¡¯s spines. Even with their distance from the two battling students and the barrier separating them, they could feel the deadly power that Feng Shang held within his palm right now.

    Feng Shang then casually struck out at Sha, who had a gloomy expression from being suppressed from the very start. When Sha saw the strike descending upon him, he immediately dodged. At the spot where he had been standing, a long furrow was carved out, its depth unknown. The spatial cracks came together to form a crescent moon shape that tore into the distance, as if it was connecting heaven and earth. At this same time, Feng Shang appeared at Sha¡¯s side and raised his hand, roughly pping him.

    Sha turned around to defend against the palm as the hard blue icepletely encapsted him.

    Boom!

    Sha was smashed into the ground, and the sturdy ice around him cracked before being pulverized by the two shing domains.

    Everyone was surprised by the battle, as it Sha had been thoroughly suppressed from start to end. Feng Shang had not given Sha any respite and had directly attacked him until his death. This battle had beenpletely one-sided not due to a difference in power, but rather to the difference in battle experience and ability to control the pace ofbat. Feng Shang had been much stronger than Sha in all these aspects.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as Feng Shang¡¯s final palm had not been simple; it had even contained a miniscule wind de¡¯s edge. It was this de that had shattered the sturdy ice around Sha¡¯s body. Otherwise, Sha would not have been defeated that easily. Had Feng Shang calcted all this from the very start? This person¡¯s battle experience was too monstrous.

    This was a high-quality match, but not many spectators could appreciate its full beauty. To the majority of the crowd, Sha simply had not lived up to his reputation. Some even thought that Sha had thrown the match; after all, he had defeated Astral-4¡¯s Xue Liuyun.

    Feng Shang silently returned to the high peak and arrogantly nced down below.

    ¡°Big Windy Bro?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I never thought that you would be Big Windy Bro.¡±

    Feng Shang¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°So you¡¯ve fought against me in the teleportation battles before? I don¡¯t recall.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but spoke no further. He felt a burning desire to fight Feng Shang and avenge himself for those two instant kills during the teleportation battles.

    [1] Feng means "wind."

 Chapter 220: Lu Yin And Liu Shaoqiu

    <h4>Chapter 220: Lu Yin And Liu Shaoqiu</h4>

    Nightqueen Yanqing stood up for the seventh match. It was her turn, and her opponent was Charon.

    When the audience saw Nightqueen Yanqing and Charon appear on the ins, many of them were not paying attention to the two about to fight, but were instead focused on the final two: Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu. Theirs would be the final match of the top sixteen.

    Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin sympathetically. ¡°Brother, your seat hasn¡¯t even been warmed up yet.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any confidence in me?¡±

    Dao Bo sighed inwardly. Against Liu Shaoqiu, aside from the unfathomable Starsibyl and Han Chong, who else could they put their confidence in? Until now, Liu Shaoqiu hadn¡¯t even used the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. He had relied solely on the First Sword to reach the round of the top sixteen, and he had even defeated Kuang Wang with that sword. His power was just too terrifying.

    Liu Xiaoyun stood quietly outside the ins while staring at Lu Yin atop the high peak. They all believed that this would be Lu Yin¡¯s limit and that he would go no further. No one understood the terror of the Thirteen Swords better than Liu Xiaoyun herself. Of the academy leaders, perhaps only Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Nightqueen Yanqing could possibly force Liu Shaoqiu to use the Second Sword. Well, Dao Bo and Feng Shang also stood a chance of doing so, but it was definitely impossible for the rest. Also, the Second Sword was not Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s limit. Liu Xiaoyun knew something that others did not; Liu Shaoqiu had actually learned the Third Sword a year ago! He was the one with the highest chances of ultimately emerging victorious and winning the entire Astral Combat Tournament. Even Starsibyl may not be able to directly contest the Third Sword. This was the tyranny of the Thirteen Swords.

    The Liu family of the Sword Sect was a n with a primeval surname that had held their own against the universe. Their family had relied on the Thirteen Swords to tower over numerous others organizations in the universe for countless years. Also, because of their Thirteen Swords technique, countless swordmasters had sought out and joined the Liu family, which was widely seen as a holy ma for sword users. This was the prestige of the Thirteen Swords technique.

    Off in the distance, Xia Luo and the others also felt that Lu Yin¡¯s matchup was a pity. Lu Yin definitely had the strength to reach the top four, but unfortunately, he had run into Liu Shaoqiu at this stage.

    Many thought that the top eight was already decided: Dao Bo, Liu Xiaoyun, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, Starsibyl, Feng Shang, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Liu Shaoqiu.

    Within the Innerverse, at the Sword Sect, where sword qi pervaded the air, there were some people watching a screen. ¡°Go and report to our superiors. The strongest eight in the Astral Combat Tournament has been decided. There¡¯s the Erudite Flowzone, the Mavis family, the Lockbreaker Society, the Nightking n, Starsibyl, and two from my Sword Sect.¡±

    In a duskynd, beneath therge ¡°Y¨­u¡± g, the small girl raised her head, pointed to Lu Yin who was sitting on the high peak on the screen, and then naively asked, ¡°Grandma Du, is he going to be Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s opponent?¡±

    Grandma Du smiled. ¡°Yes, little princess, but you don¡¯t need to pay much attention to this sort of ordinary person. He¡¯s fated to be Young Master Qiu¡¯s stepping stone. The others are the young master¡¯s true opponents.¡±

    The girl blinked in confusion. ¡°Liu Shaoqiu will definitely beat him? What if he loses?¡±

    Grandma Du as well as those kneeling in front of them all smiled. Their little princess was just too innocent. Grandma Du continued smiling as she exined, ¡°Little princess, you¡¯re being too kind. To ordinary mortals, that ce is already the top. Not only are they inferior to Young Master Qiu in terms of position, but they are also inferior in terms of innate gifts as well. Those mortals can¡¯t even begin to imagine how powerful the innate gifts that Young Master Qiu and yourself, who are destined to rule over all others, possess.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± the little girl answered simply. She then stared curiously at Lu Yin on the screen. Although she hoped that this person would win his match, it was impossible. It was such a shame; if someone defeated Liu Shaoqiu, then it would be a good thing for her as she would no longer have to marry into the Sword Sect.

    But regardless of what the rest of the universe was discussing in terms of the final battle, the current battle taking ce on the arena ins was between Nightqueen Yanqing and Charon.

    This battle was very disadvantageous for Charon. The Nightking n¡¯s battle techniques used not only star energy, but also another, immeasurable power that seemed to tear through the soul itself. Even a genius Lockbreaker like Charon could notprehend this energy, and he was injured by Nightqueen Yanqing just under a minute after their battle began.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had cold eyes, and there was a trace of grey within her long, ck and white hair. That grey streak represented her status of Nightking within the Daynight n. There was also a faint purple color within the irises of her eyes, giving her a seductive yet still noble look. The outfit that she had on exposed her pair of snow-white thighs, and her skin was so white and unblemished that one could almost see the scarlet blood pumping through beneath it. Her entire body seemed to exude a lofty,manding aura, as if she were a queen.

    Everyone knew of the Nightking n¡¯s power; it was even above the Daynight n¡¯s, which was already one of the top ns in the universe. However, many people had no concept of exactly how powerful the Nightkings were, including Charon. This was because the strength that Nightqueen Yanqing had revealed so far seemed to be very average yet also unstoppable.

    Atop the high peak, Dao Bo watched on begrudgingly. Although the rankings of the ten academies had changed throughout the academy¡¯s history, the top three had always been monopolized by the same branches. This was because they controlled the three top realms of the trial zones.

    Astral-1¡¯s Starsibyl was unfathomable, and Astral-2¡¯s Han Chong was her equal. Even though Astral-3¡¯s Nightqueen Yanqing was not as mysterious as the other two, the strength that she disyed waspletely overwhelming. Charon did not even qualify to make her disy her true strength. The Nightqueen Yanqing that everyone saw during this battle was not even using a third of her whole strength.

    On the ins, Nightqueen Yanqing looked at Charon coldly as she said, ¡°Your use of your innate gift isn¡¯t bad, but it¡¯s wasted on just improving your power level. Join my Nightking n, and I can request the ancestors to guide you in lockbreaking. You should know the prestige of my Nightking n¡¯s lockbreaking ability.¡±

    Charon had a fervent gaze when he heard her words, as there was no n more qualified than the Nightking n when it came to lockbreaking. Since ancient times, the Nightking n had never stopped researching the process of lockbreaking, and there were multiple ancestors of the Daynight n within the Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°Lockbreaking is indeed my dream, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t like to be ordered around by others.¡± Charon¡¯s eyes suddenly changed as a deep battle intent surged forth and he looked back at Nightqueen Yanqing with equally cold eyes. The current Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s aura was very simr to ¡°that woman¡¯s,¡± and his deepest desire was to break free of the influence that ¡°she¡± held over him andpletely walk away. The thought of it made his eyes quiver with emotion, and a fluctuation swept out from his body; Charon was about to unleash his full strength.

    Nightqueen Yanqing frowned. ¡°What a waste of time.¡± Her purple eyes shed, and then she turned around. Charon¡¯s body stiffened on the spot before his body gradually turned grey. He had been petrified.

    Many were shocked, as they thought that Charon was just about to explode with power. But then, he had been instantly killed. What just happened?

    Atop the high peak, Dao Bo and Feng Shang had solemn expressions, and even Starsibyl and Han Chong frowned. This was Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s innate gift. The question that they were all pondering was how they could avoid it.

    Lu Yin was also horrified. He understood Charon¡¯s power, who had been able to easily dissolve Yue Xianzi¡¯s inherited battle technique. Compared to the other Area Master-levelbatants, he had surpassed both Big Pao and Little Pao and was an absolute powerhouse; however, despite all of Charon¡¯s aplishments, he had been taken out in an instant. Was this Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s true power? It didn¡¯t even seem like she used much if any of her strength.

    This was clearly an innate gift, as any battle technique that used star energy would not be able to shake Charon, who could easily dissolve such attacks with his domain. However, an innate gift was different. Strength was strength, and weakness was weakness. The results meant that there was simply a crushing disparity between the two.

    At this point, as everyone looked at Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s arrogant figure, it felt as if she had finally bared her fangs.

    In the Astral Combat Tournament, Tiankong Daynight, Hui Daynight, and Chilian Daynight had all been defeated already. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s lightning-like victory was not necessarily to redeem the prestige of the Daynight n, as her goal was to be the ultimate champion of the tournament.

    Outside the ins, Wu Da was continuously recording all the battles as well as the conversations and discussions all around him. This would be the base material for the uing edition of his tabloid, and it would help himpare the different matches and highlight the most captivating moments of the tournament.

    ¡°The list of the strongest eight is already determined. Thest match will go to Liu Shaoqiu without a question. Haven¡¯t you heard? He¡¯s the most talented monster of the Sword Sect and a candidate to join the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°One of the Ten Arbiters is also from the Sword Sect and that person even inherited the same Thirteen Swords as Liu Shaoqiu. Since they share the same technique, Liu Shaoqiu is definitely suitable to be in the next Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°Kuang Wang could not even force Liu Shaoqiu to reveal the Second Sword. Lu Yin may be strong, and his four-lined battle force may allow him to match up to Kuang Wang, but he can forget about forcing out the Second Sword. Only the leaders of the first three academies¡ªStarsibyl, Han Chong, and Nightqueen Yanqing¡ªhave any hope of challenging him.¡±

    ¡­

    Wu Da fervently gazed at the ins. Come on, it¡¯s the final match of the round! Brother Lu, you must persevere even if you are defeated! If Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword could be forced out, then Wu Da¡¯s newspaper would definitely sell like hotcakes. Best of luck to you, brother!

    In the city in the sky, San Dios, someone walked behind Wendy Yushan. It was Member Puyu.

    ¡°Councilor Wendy, I¡¯ve specially invited someone to bring some good astral beast meat from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. Shall we have a drink together?¡± Puyu gracefully asked with a smile.

    Wendy calmly looked at the screen as she replied, ¡°There¡¯s still one battle left.¡±

    Puyu could not control hisughter. ¡°The result of this match has already been decided. Although, it has to be said that your Great Yu Empire has indeed produced many geniuses. For this King Zishan to reach this stage already is no mean feat. Unfortunately,pared to the other frontrunners of this tournament, neither divine providence nor hard work is enough to make up for the disparity between them.¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned. While she was allowed to look down on Lu Yin, others could not. After all, she was supposed to be Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e, and even if that news was only limited to the Great Yu Empire, she still held some respect towards Lu Yin due to the fact that he had walked to his current point. If not for her destiny that had allowed her to join Myriad Swords Peak, then she would not have done any better than Lu Yin from just training in the Outerverse. She approved of this King Zishan and disliked others disparaging him.

    However, Puyu was also right. Liu Shaoqiu was a famed genius whom even she needed to look up to. She was just a little older than Liu Shaoqiu, and once he broke through to be an Explorer, they would be on equal footing. The Thirteen Swords technique even enabled Liu Shaoqiu to be a Realmbreaker, and his title as a Ten Arbiters candidate was no joke. Lu Yin had done well so far, but he stood no chance against Liu Shaoqiu.

    Wendy Yushan suddenly thought of the words that her father, Undying Yushan, had once spoken to her. Perhaps her father was right, and she should meet with Lu Yin at least once.

    Under the gazes of countless viewers and spectators, Lu Yin¡¯s figure appeared on the arena ins. At the same time, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s figure appeared opposite him. The two stood a hundred meters apart from each other, serenely looking at each other.

    At this point, perhaps only those from Earth were still sincerely rooting for Lu Yin. This was only because they had not heard of Liu Shaoqiu before and had no idea what the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords signified. They only knew that Lu Yin represented Earth and that their had been named as his ce of origin.

    The twopetitors did not speak at all, which the audience took as Liu Shaoqiu disregarding Lu Yin. Only Lu Yin knew that, from the first time they saw each other, Liu Shaoqiu had always been very focused on him. This focus was only now made obvious when Liu Shaoqiu met Lu Yin on the battlefield; he immediately used the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords.

    Chilian Daynight and Kuang Wang had both died to the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. The difference between those two was that Liu Shaoqiu hadpletely ignored Chilian Daynight while he had faced Kuang Wang head on. His attitude of using the First Sword immediately showed that he respected Lu Yin as his opponent.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s star energy transformed into an iron sword that nted downwards, mirroring the movement that had killed Chilian Daynight.

    Many hearts were pounding as they stared at Lu Yin together. Had he already died?

 Chapter 221: Extreme Shockwave Palm

    <h4>Chapter 221: Extreme Shockwave Palm</h4>

    At the spot where Lu Yin had been standing, his body seemingly dissolved into nothingness. He had chosen to evade Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s First Sword, but just experiencing the technique for himself was enough to nearly startle him out of his skin. This was the Thirteen Swords.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the void and stared in amazement at Liu Shaoqiu. Against that sword, every single cell in his body seemed to be trembling. It was not from fear, but rather from excitement. Lu Yin had finally met an opponent who he could battle with all his heart after oveing death twice. He considered the situation for a moment before four-lined battle force covered his body without any further hesitation. ¡°Again.¡±

    With a whoosh, Lu Yin¡¯s body tore through the void and appeared in front of Liu Shaoqiu after he used sh at his top speed. He pressed down, releasing a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm.

    Liu Shaoqiu remained calm and merely shifted his heels, but then, his body suddenly vanished. Lu Yin felt his scalp tingle before instinctively dodging right as a giant crack appeared in the void where he had been standing. After Liu Shaoqiu started his attack with his iron sword, Lu Yin extended his index finger that was flickering with purple battle force and tapped at Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s forehead. The sword genius followed through with his attack, causing the two young men to essentially swap positions. Each of their attacks hadnded in the same patch of empty air at the same time, and they ended with their backs to each other. One de had sliced through the void, and one finger had pierced nothingness. Two indescribably terrifying attacks had been used at the same time, dividing the arena ins into two neat halves.

    Their first exchange had taken ce in a single moment, but it was already enough to amaze many. Even those who could understand what they were watching were all stunned. The power of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords went without saying, but most of the audience members could not understand how Lu Yin had managed to avoid the First Sword.

    If the Thirteen Swords were that easily avoided, then Chilian Daynight and Kuang Wang would not have died to a single move. Since Lu Yin had relied on pure speed to avoid the First Sword, then just how fast was his extreme speed?

    On the high peak, Feng Shang was astonished by what he had just seen. ¡°His speed is so high that he can actually tear through the void by just moving. His physical body is too tough. This guy really hid his abilities well.¡±

    Dao Bo marvelled, ¡°He actually avoided the First Sword and even made Liu Shaoqiu dodge his attack in turn. This junior is much stronger than what we thought.¡±

    Starsibyl merely revealed a slight, mysterious smile as she watched on, surprised.

    Not only were the academy leaders shocked, but many of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students were astonished as well. The most surprised out of all of them, however, were those from the Sword Sect, as they had never thought that someone here would be able to avoid the First Sword, let alone a mere Melder.

    In the Sword Sect, someone yelled in disbelief, ¡°How is this possible? How could anyone in this universe in the same realm as Liu Shaoqiu avoid his First Sword?¡±

    ¡°This person is very quick, and his attack was rather sharp too. Look, he concentrated all of his battle force onto his fingertip. This shows that he has a very deepprehension of four-lined battle force. Of course that attack would be enough to make even Liu Shaoqiu afraid of receiving it head-on.¡±

    ¡­

    Under the ¡°Y¨­u¡± g in the duskynd, the little girl pped her hands and cheered while Grandma Du was dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed. ¡°A Melder actually dodged the Thirteen Swords? Such impressive speed. This fellow¡¯s not ordinary.¡±

    The little girl, on the other hand, was delighted. ¡°Grandma Du, don¡¯t brag about Liu Shaoqiu anymore. The Sword Sect has elevated the Thirteen Swords¡¯ power too highly. In reality, it looks like there are many battle techniques in the universe that can rival or even surpass the Thirteen Swords. Our Y¨­u family-¡±

    The girl was hurriedly interrupted by the old maid, whose face had paled. She stared in horror at the little girl. ¡°Little princess, don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡±

    The girl pursed her lips in annoyance, but she nheless stopped speaking.

    In the arena, Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu turned around at the same time to face each other. They were not even three meters apart.

    ¡°As expected, your power is astounding.¡± Liu Shaoqiu was the first to speak when their eyes met again. He had a burning battle intent in his eyes, clearly no longer carrying the calmness that they had held before.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up when he sensed this intense battle intent that seemed ready to explode at any moment. He still had not had a chance to use his full strength after oveing that cmity, and he had barely suppressed his desire to test his new limits all this while. ¡°Come, let me experience the Second Sword.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Liu Shaoqiu had an indifferent expression as he gripped his sword hilt. ¡°But let me give you a warning¡ªno amount of speed will help you against the Second Sword.¡± He then closed his eyes. Although nobody else felt like anything had changed, in Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s mind, the entire arena had turned into a world of swords that was centered around Liu Shaoqiu himself. This was the domain that the Thirteen Swords created. Or rather, it would be more urate to say that to understand the Second Sword, one had to firstprehend the basics of a domain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned grave, and he scanned his clothes, but he could not see any changes. Through the surrounding star energy, he could feel that cracks had appeared everywhere. These cracks weren¡¯t restricted to just his clothes; they covered his body, the entire arena¡¯s ground, and even appeared in the sky. It was as if nothing could withstand the Second Sword¡¯s oppression.

    At the same time, the energy barrier that protected the audience from the arena had actually started twisting. Before, no matter how intense a battle had been, that barrier had never shaken, but it was actually distorting before an attack had even beenunched. Many students were horrified by the sight and quickly retreated.

    On the high peak, Feng Shang and the rest were watching seriously, as they also felt an acute sense of danger.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He wanted to act, but there were no openings for him to take advantage of. Liu Shaoqiu was still standing with his eyes closed, motionless, but Lu Yin felt as if he could not make a move. The Thirteen Swords had no gaps, even if Liu Shaoqiu was just standing there like that.

    Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu opened his eyes, and his gaze intensified a little more as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re more interesting than I expected. You didn¡¯t even try to attack just then. Did you sense it?¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied with a question of his own. ¡°Let me ask you this, how many swords have youprehended?¡±

    As soon as these words were spoken, everyone focused on Liu Shaoqiu. Lu Yin was not the only one curious about this; everyone was. Even those in the Sword Sect wanted to know exactly how many swords this young genius had learned.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes brightened as he clearly answered, ¡°Three.¡±

    Many people felt afraid, as if their dreams had been trampled upon. The First Sword was already enough to y an academy leader. The second could at least rival the strongest moves of the top academy leaders and was enough to trample the entire Astral Combat Academy. So then just how strong was the third? The rumors that Liu Shaoqiu had travelled through space and injured an Explorer by himself must be true then.

    Although a Limiteer was only one realm below an Explorer, it was still a vast difference. Many Sentinels or Melders could be Realmbreakers, but there were almost no Realmbreaker Limiteers who could crush an Explorer as the difference between the two realms was essentially twice that of any other two realms. Only the Ten Arbiters had been Limiteer Realmbreakers who could crush Explorers.

    Outside the ins, Liu Xiaoyun gripped her hilt with a look of disbelief. Three swords. It¡¯s actually three swords... She had already suspected that Liu Shaoqiu hadprehended three swords, but having those suspicions verified as true was different. She felt an unbearable pressure crush her as she could at most rival the First Sword. She would be powerless against the second, and she would not even be qualified to force out Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword.

    This was the Sword Sect¡¯s monster, the Ten Arbiters candidate.

    On the sidelines, Kuang Wang was in agony. As the leader of Astral-5 and the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master, he had not even been able to force Liu Shaoqiu to reveal the Second Sword. It was too humiliating to him when he realized that he could not evenpare to a Melder junior.

    Wu Da could hardly control his own excitement, as Lu Yin had indeed forced out Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword and even caused such valuable information toe out. While Liu Shaoqiu may or may not have spoken the truth, it was highly likely that he hadprehended three swords. It was rumored that not even the Sword Sect member of the current Ten Arbiters hadprehended past the tenth sword.

    ¡°Three swords, what terrifying talent. In that case, I won¡¯t shrink back. I will take the Second Sword straight on,¡± Lu Yin said as he raised his head and lifted his right arm. There was a gentle boom as the void rumbled ominously before rippling out and formingyers that smoothly spread out. ¡°Nine Stack, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Not too long ago, before Lu Yin hadprehended the ninth star, his strongest attack had been a fusion between his battle force and the Nine Stacks technique in the form of Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm. Today, since he was restricted and unable to use his Cosmic Palm, he had increased his Shockwave Palm to fifteen stacks. The muscles in his right arm gave out a mind-numbing ripping sound; his right arm was nearly at its limit, but the four-lined battle force¡¯s purple color continued to darken.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes grew fervent when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s movements. ¡°Second sword.¡± As his words finished, the sky darkened, and an endless sword qi covered the sky. This was the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. It was a sword that could not be dodged even if one hid in the void.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as he struck out with his palm.

    A pressure that could crush mountains swept out in all directions and sundered the earth. The void copsed as infinite lines of sword qi pierced through space, even affecting the high peak where the other academy leaders were seated. Feng Shang and the rest had to retreat from the high peak and appear outside the arena ins.

    The initial energy barrierid down by the mentors did notst for even five seconds before being shredded to pieces; only the second energy barrier managed to withstand the Second Sword.

    No one could understand what was going on in the battle on the ins, as the void had distorted so badly that they were unable to make anythingprehensible out. On the screens, all the viewers could see was distortion spatial cracks.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes were grave. The collision of the twobatants¡¯ attacks was definitely enough to threaten her. She could ept Liu Shaoqiu being this powerful, but what was Astral-10¡¯s leader relying on to contend against the Second Sword?

    Her question was simrly shared by those in the Sword Sect. The Second Sword easily tore through the void, and every Astral Combat Academy student leader should have been instantly vanquished when struck by this sword. However, to their disbelief, the current situation on the ins was a clear indication that Astral-10¡¯s leader was still alive.

    Lu Yin had acutely sensed the power of the Second Sword even before Liu Shaoqiu struck out, and he knew that the omnipresent terrifying cutting edge would be able to rip anyone to shreds. It reminded him of what he had witnessed at the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s ckwater Lake inheritance, the flowing vortex. Unfortunately, Yue Xianzi could not disy even one percent of that vortex¡¯s power; otherwise, she would not have been crushed so easily by Charon. At this moment, the power of the Second Sword that Lu Yin was facing was about the same as that flowing vortex. If not for his four-lined battle force, then even his tough physical body would have suffered severe injuries. That is, if it could even withstand the attack.

    As the shock waves from their attacks reverberated through the entire arena, the high peak nearby shattered as it was turned to dust. Most of the arena ins no longer existed, but Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu still stood facing each other, a hundred meters apart.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s white clothes had not been dirtied by the dust storm in the slightest. However, as he held his sword made of star energy, he stared across the arena in shock.

    Lu Yin was panting heavily, his right arm trembling non-stop. The recoil force from Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm could only be withstood by an Explorer¡¯s body. The current Nine Stacks was something that his physical body could already barely handle with. Fortunately, this gamble had stopped the Second Sword.

    Everyone fell silent as they stared at Lu Yin as if he was a monster. This person had actually managed to block Liu Shaoqin¡¯s Second Sword when Astral-5¡¯s leader had not even been able to withstand the First Sword. No one had ever thought that Lu Yin wouldst to this point.

    Wu Da gaped nkly with an open mouth while a daring idea lit up his brain. He had just thought of the newspaper¡¯s biggest headline¡ªThe Preemptive Final Battle.

    In the city floating in the sky, San Dios, Wendy Yushan and Puyu were silent as they stared at the screen in shock.

    In the duskynd where the ¡°Y¨­u¡± g was pping in the wind, the little girl pped merrily. ¡°Well done. Look, Grandma Du, he didn¡¯t lose.¡±

    The old maid was shocked beyond belief, ¡°Some mortal actually blocked the Second Sword... But that¡¯s all he can do. The Third Sword will wipe him out.¡±

    The girl pouted unhappily.

    In the arena, the ins no longer existed. The ground had been sted into smithereens and even sunk by a dozen meters. The two students were now floating in mid-air, still staring at each other.

    Liu Shaoqiu eximed, ¡°You really didn¡¯t disappoint me. You¡¯re the first person in the same realm as me that¡¯s forced me to bring out the Third Sword.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his right arm. ¡°Truthfully, your Second Sword is already absolutely terrifying¡ªjust my four-lined battle force would not have been able to receive it. It really does live up to the reputation of the Thirteen Swords. If possible, I really want to fight you in the real world.¡±

 Chapter 222: The Third Sword

    <h4>Chapter 222: The Third Sword</h4>

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded. ¡°I also hope that we can battle in reality some day. Let¡¯s make an agreement. If you can block my Third Sword, then after we eventually break through and be Limiteers, we will challenge the Top 100 Rankings together. Sound good?¡±

    Lu Yinughed happily. ¡°Sure. The hundred strongest in the universe¡¯s younger generation¡ªI¡¯ve long wanted to experience them. It will be very liberating to challenge them together with the Sword Sect¡¯s genius.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu smiled in response. ¡°The prerequisite to that is you can block my Third Sword.¡± He then turnedpletely calm as a strange radiance appeared in his eyes. Star energy billowed away from his body like ocean waves, but his star energy was colorless. It was as if a pure sword qi had directly manifested in the sky; its power pressed down upon the entire arena and caused the very earth to tremble. Countless tiny dust particles floated into the air before disintegrating into nothingness.

    Outside the ins, many students looked down at the field below them, but they could only see a dust cloud whirling about as it rose into the skies. At this moment, everyone had a dangerous premonition that not even the mentors¡¯ energy barrier could block Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s killing de. This was the Third Sword.

    In the Astral Combat Academy, many mentors were shocked by what they were seeing. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the Third Sword in a while. This is the end for that student.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but the Third Sword is a domain that nearly none of these students canprehend. Normal students won¡¯t even be able to withstand it. Of those present, perhaps only Starsibyl might be able to.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s Nightqueen Yanqing as well. Don¡¯t forget that the Daynight n has many battle techniques that have more or less integrated that kind of power.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not enough¡ªthis is the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords that we¡¯re talking about. Just havingprehended the Third Sword proves that this child has a rare talent, or else he would not be able to exhibit the Third Sword. The Nightking n is powerful, true, but that girl would still fall to this Third Sword.¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword fell once more, just like how the First Sword had. This time, however, no one knew what was happening. Only Lu Yin knew, as he was the one who had been struck by a viciously, formless attack. The attack contained a very familiar aspect: spiritual force oppression. The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques and the secondyer of the Sand Ocean had the same type of oppressive force, but there was arge disparity when they werepared to the Third Sword.

    Whether it was the Daynight n¡¯s battle technique or the secondyer of the Sand Ocean, while they were both able to suppress something as formless as spiritual force, neither of them had reached a deadly threshold. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword, on the other hand, had utilized that same concept and formed it into an invisible attack that directly attacked a person¡¯s spiritual force, though Lu Yin was notpletely sure if the attack was spiritual force itself. That elder on Driftcharge had said that humans could be seen as a fusion of their physical bodies and their spirit. Lu Yin did not know if that was true, but regardless of whether a human was at rest or in motion, there was always an ethereal energy supporting the body. That energy should be spiritual force, and it was this same energy that the Third Sword targeted.

    Liu Shaoqiu sheathed his de, as in his mind, the match had already ended. Even a peak Limiteer or an Explorer might not be able to withstand this strike of his, let alone a mere Melder. He had relied on this Third Sword once to severely injure an Explorer. Starsibyl was quite possibly the only student in the entire Astral Combat Academy who he thought could withstand this attack. As Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s thoughts drifted towards her, he looked outside the arena ins and exchanged nces with Starsibyl.

    Suddenly, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s body trembled, and his head snapped back. He saw a calm pair of eyes looking back at him, shocking him to the core. ¡°You- you¡¯re fine?¡±

    Lu Yin feigned ignorance. ¡°Did you attack yet?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints as he gazed at Lu Yin in astonishment. This was the first time since he had inherited the Thirteen Swords that he had ever been so bbergasted.

    It wasn¡¯t just Liu Shaoqiu; even the academy mentors were astonished, and so were the ancestors of the Sword Sect who were watching through the screens. Also, there was the old maid standing under the ¡°Y¨­u¡± g. Many stared in amazement at Lu Yin. They were all elite who understood the terror of the Third Sword, and it was this understanding that caused them to be so shocked. What about Lu Yin allowed him to withstand the Third Sword?!

    If this was before he overcame his near-death experience on Driftcharge, then Lu Yin definitely would not have been able to resist Luo Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword¡ªhe would have dropped dead long ago. But on Driftcharge, he had spent his days memorizing those strange, ancient stone scriptures. Compared to when he had only been able to recite those scriptures for twenty minutes, he was now able to recite them for an hour before fainting. Although he was still far from being able to recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety, his spirit had already be much more durablepared to before. The elder had even said that, if he could ever recite the Stonewall Scriptures in its entirety from memory, then no one beneath the Hunter realm would be able to harm his spirit.

    Lu Yin had not believed his words and had just taken those words as encouragement, but now, he fully believed that elder as the Third Sword had only nudged him slightly and was far from being able to harm him. This sword of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s waspletely ineffective against Lu Yin.

    Liu Shaoqiu stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°How is this possible? You¡¯re immune to the Third Sword!?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted before duly saying, ¡°Your attack¡¯s ended, so it¡¯s my turn now.¡± He then used sh to appear before Liu Shaoqiu, pressed down with a palm, and immediately used a Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm. This was a terrifying attack that rivaled the Second Sword. Liu Shaoqiu had no choice but to raise his sword and directly disy his Second Sword to parry it. The endless de radiance filled the sky above the arena ins as the terrifying attack ruptured the void; the scene from before had reappeared once again.

    Countless audience members stared at the stage, but they were only able to see Lu Yin using sh to move around at extreme speed while Liu Shaoqiu followed Lu Yin¡¯s actions with his rusty sword. The two constantly collided in midair, apanied by brilliant shes and giant spatial cracks that reached far into the distance.

    Suddenly, during one of their exchanges, two ck shadows appeared before quickly charging into the distance. They were war spirits.

    War spirits were created when powerhouses battled within the trial zones. Lu Yin never expected that he would one day personally witness a war spirit of himself being birthed.

    Many students felt numb when they realized what had just happened. ¡°Hurry! Take out those two war spirits, or else, anyone who meets them will die.¡±

    Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s war spirit were far too terrifying for the other Astral Combat Academy students to handle. Not even the other Realm Masters were confident of defeating them. No, there was no possibility of them defeating those war spirits; only Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Nightqueen Yanqing had a chance of standing up to them.

    But unfortunately, the war spirits were too fast for anyone to catch, and they both vanished into the distance.

    Bang!

    The two fighters in the arena collided and then separated, their movements synchronized. Liu Shaoqiu no longer seemed as confident as before, and he was panting heavily now. Even the hand gripping the hilt of his rusty sword was trembling, as Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were not easy to block.

    Lu Yin was not faring much better, and traces of blood had appeared all around his body. Liu Shaoqiu had harmonized the first two swords into a singr strike against Lu Yin, which made his attacks much more difficult to defend against. Each of the two swords by themselves was already enough to kill an academy leader like Kuang Wang. Together, they were so dangerous that Lu Yin had nearly suffered severe injuries multiple times.

    Nearly all of the observers throughout the universe were glued to their screens in nervous excitement. This battle was definitely this season¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s highlight match, but they could not understand it no matter how many times or how intently they watched. Still, the viewers¡¯ck of understanding did not stop them from appreciating the terror of this battle. Even the peak that the student leaders had been sitting upon had been destroyed, to say nothing of the first energy barrier set in ce by the mentors.

    The four-lined battle force on Lu Yin¡¯s body gradually dimmed, but Liu Shaoqiu was also starting to feel the aftereffects of using the Third Sword; both fighters¡¯ deterioration was evident from their pale faces andbored breathing.

    However, Liu Shaoqiu smiled, and it was an exceptionally joyful one. He was a Melder who had never met a worthy opponent within the same realm as him. This was something that few would ever experience, and it was the very reason why Liu Shaoqiu had joined the Astral Combat Tournament: to find a worthy opponent. He had thought that it would be someone like Starsibyl, Han Chong, or Nightqueen Yanqing, but Lu Yin had inexplicably appeared out of nowhere, and he was even immune to the Third Sword! He was truly an opponent who was worthy of his interest.

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, had a headache. He wanted to end this battle, but Liu Shaoqiu was not an easy opponent.

    ¡°It looks like I won''t be able to beat you that easily. I¡¯ll have to use the Fourth Sword,¡± Liu Shaoqiu calmly said while still smiling.

    This sentence caused everyone¡¯s hearts to skip a beat. The Fourth Sword? He¡¯s alreadyprehended the Fourth Sword?!

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s face turned deathly white when she heard this. Impossible! How could a Melder possiblyprehend the Fourth Sword?

    Starsibyl and the other student leaders¡¯ faces also changed drastically.

    Silver¡¯s eyes popped wide open. Impossible!

    Xia Luo¡¯s smile vanished.

    Coco covered her mouth.

    Everyone was struck speechless by the terror of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin raised his brows questioningly. ¡°You¡¯veprehended the Fourth Sword?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu looked down at his sword. ¡°Not yet, but I can try.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his face grew abnormally solemn. Through just the first three swords, he had been able to feel the potential of the Thirteen Swords. The Sword Sect had dominated the universe with just this Thirteen Swords technique and be emperors of the sword. Each sword was invincible, and if Liu Shaoqiu reallyprehended the fourth, then Lu Yin would be finished.

    A fresh gust of wind blew through the arena, swirling up the dust on the ground and obscuring the scarred ins.

    Liu Shaoqiu raised his sword and slowly turned in midair, leaving behind a series of profound afterimages.

    Lu Yin watched this happen in shock. These afterimages had not been created by extreme speed; rather, it was more like each image was locked to its original position and bound to that space. Lu Yin did not wait for Liu Shaoqiu to make a move and immediately appeared at Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s side with a sh. He then raised his palm and pped down.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword shifted to one side, and one of the phantom sword afterimages unleashed the First Sword. As Lu Yin¡¯s palm descended, he suddenly changed directions to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s right side by turning his body and sweeping his leg out. Liu Shaoqiu had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly change his stance after exchanging more than ten moves. His sudden shift in tempo caught Liu Shaoqiu unawares, and his move was a beat blower, allowing Lu Yin¡¯s kick to squarelynd in his abdomen and viciously stamp him into the ground.

    Lu Yin rushed to the ground right behind Liu Shaoqiu, his two palms striking out simultaneously as he endured the intense pain in both arms. He used the Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm again, causing the arena floor to sink even lower. A giant fissure snaked along the ground and outside the ins. An explosive strength broiled within the spreading cracks, powered by four-lined battle force.

    Below the ground¡¯s surface, Liu Shaoqiu was kneeling down on one knee as a thin stream of blood flowed from the corner of his lips. He had used the multiple sword images to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Then, as his sword spun around, his eyes brightened the moment the tip pointed upwards. At that instant, an indescribable sense of terror descended upon the ins. This was it¡ªthe Fourth Sword.

    Everyone saw the image of a sword flying over from the west that was enough to make them all tremble in fear.

    Starsibyl and the rest observed at the arena very closely, as this sword would decide the oue of this battle.

    But then, there was a sudden bang, and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword of star energy shattered. His pupils constricted onest time as Lu Yin pressed down upon the Sword Sect¡¯s genius¡¯s head. The ground rumbled as Liu Shaoqiu vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

    Lu Yin had won the battle.

    Everyone remained silent, as no one had ever expected that Lu Yin would actually emerge victorious from this battle. He had beaten Liu Shaoqiu, the Sword Sect¡¯s monstrous genius.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in a daze, their mindspletely empty.

    In front of the giant screens on Earth, everyone was cheering wildly as Lu Yin had entered the round of the final eight.

    Countless others were celebrating in a simr manner in the Great Yu Empire. Only a sparse few had been able to understand this battle in the entire Great Yu Empire, such as those powerhouses who had traveled to the Innerverse like Undying Yushan or Huo Qingshan. Only they could understand the depth of this battle and how remarkable Lu Yin¡¯s victory had been. From this day on, Lu Yin¡¯s name would shake the heavens.

    Xueshan Auna was trembling with excitement as he looked at Jenny Auna as if she was a treasure. He could already see Lu Yin¡¯s future glory; it was clear to him that Lu Yin would not remain in the Outerverse. After all, he had just beaten one of the Innerverse¡¯s top geniuses.

    In San Dios, the city in the sky, Wendy Yushan¡¯s lips imperceptibly curved upwards before she turned to leave the room.

    Puyu remained in the same spot with both fists clenched tightly together. He stared at the screen and at the man still standing in it. This person was fated to be a thorn in his side.

 Chapter 223: Nemesis Of The Daynight Clan

    <h4>Chapter 223: Nemesis Of The Daynight n</h4>

    Within the Innerverse, in the Sword Sect, the disciple who had preemptively reported the results to the sect leader now had a deathly pale face. No one could have imagined that Liu Shaoqiu would actually lose, let alone lose even using the Third Sword. He had even been defeated by a Melder! This was just too unimaginable, as it defied what they saw as the natural order of the world.

    An elder in a white gown was staring at the screen from behind everyone else. His eyes flickered with a strange light as he said, ¡°What an interesting kid. So he was actually unaffected by Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword. Pass a message to Astral-10. Tell them that my Sword Sect will take on this child as a personal disciple with the same position as Shaoqiu.¡±

    Many of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples were shocked to hear thismand. Direct disciples held the highest position amongst all the disciples as they were able tomand countless members of the Sword Sect. But Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s position as a personal disciple was second only to that of the Sword Sect disciple who was one of the Ten Arbiters. There were not many Flowzones in the universe, but the difference between each one of them was stunning. This youth had just skipped past countless peaks in one step and be a lord of the Innerverse¡¯s First Flowzone.

    Under the dimly lit ¡°Y¨­u¡± banner, the little girl pped and cheered as she excitedly looked at Lu Yin with a strange zeal. The shock in the old maid¡¯s eyes had not faded yet, as she had just seen a mortal trample over the heavens.

    In Astral-10¡¯s space station, Madam Nn was also absent-minded. She hadn¡¯t even noticed that she had spilled her wine as she stared at the screen in shock.

    She recalled the first time she had met Lu Yin and when she had brought up the legendary Liu Shaoqiu to him. At that time, she had only wanted to give Lu Yin some context and prevent him from being too dispirited after he lost. That way, he would be able to focus on lockbreaking, where his talentsy. Who could have predicted that, in such a short time, that person would grow to the point of being able to defeat Liu Shaoqiu?

    Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Liu Shaoqiu had created more than just a stir within the entire Human Domain. He was unaware of this, but his battle with Liu Shaoqiu had actually drawn the attention of the Ten Arbiters.

    But no matter how shocked the onlookers were, it was just the end of the sixth round of battles. The top eight had been determined: Dao Bo, Liu Xiaoyun, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, Starsibyl, Feng Shang, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Lu Yin. These eight were the strongest of the Astral Combat Academy, and the seventh round to determine the top four would begin one dayter. The tournament¡¯s finale was approaching closer and closer.

    What was worth mentioning was all the geniuses who had only recently joined the Astral Combat Academy had been defeated without exception.

    Before the Astral Combat Tournament started, countless people had believed that the original students of the Astral Combat Academy would be swallowed by the various monsters like Liu Shaoqiu, Yue Xianzi, Chao Zhi, Calcifer, and Cang Shi. But as these various new geniuses sessively appeared, they had been beaten back one by one. As the tournament progressed, the true strength of those who had hidden themselves within the Astral Combat Academy had been revealed, such as Sha, Xia Luo, Silver, Lu Yin, Grandini Mavis, Tu Bo, and others. They had firmly suppressed all of the recently joined geniuses.

    These results shocked many of the powers in the universe. Although the Astral Combat Academy was also known to be the best academy, it was still just a school. Many great powers had elected to not send their elite disciples there as they felt that the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s tutge could not possibly be better than their own. However, the results were too obvious to refute: there were many talents within the Astral Combat Academy, and they were all monstrous to the extreme. And now, even the widely acknowledged top-tier talent, Liu Shaoqiu, had been defeated.

    The Astral Combat Academy was very pleased with the results of its students in this tournament. Although they had separated the academy leaders on purpose to prevent self-eliminations, it was clear to see that the leaders could crush those outside geniuses from various powers.

    It was quite likely that, after this tournament, many powers would value the Astral Combat Academy more and consider sending their outstanding disciples there.

    At the frontier of the Human Domain, at the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Shui Chuanxiao stared in disbelief at the screen before marvelling, ¡°Not bad. The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s not bad at all. It actually trained up a student who managed to defeat Liu Shaoqiu. When hees, let him be a war drummer.¡±

    Behind Shui Chuanxiao, a golden-haired girl in a military uniform immediately spoke up. ¡°The war drummer must have a body capable of traveling through outer space, or else they won¡¯t be able to pick up the mallet much less defend against the astral beasts¡¯ assault.¡±

    ¡°The Third Sword waspletely ineffective against him. He is qualified to grasp the mallet.¡± Shui Chuanxiao did not care about the woman¡¯s concerns.

    The golden-haired woman frowned before saying, ¡°Chief, I must remind you, the agreement that we have with the Astral Combat Academy only covers letting these students experience the cruelty of the battlefield, and does not include sending them to their deaths. During your time at the battlefront, a total of 172 powerhouses have perished while beating the war drums. This student is far from qualified to be a war drummer. You¡¯d be sending him to an early grave.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao sighed. ¡°En Ya, when I first recruited you, it wasn¡¯t for you to oppose me.¡±

    En Ya coldly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not opposing you. I just don¡¯t want to see this student die a tragic death.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiaoughed. ¡°Fine, let me tell you then. Do you really think that the Astral Combat Academy is only rushing these students onto the battlefield for them to gain first-hand experience? The Astral Combat Academy itself is about to transform.¡±

    ¡°Transform?¡± En Ya was confused.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s lips curled up as he exined, ¡°The Astral Combat Academy has held the title of the best training institution for far too long. At this point, it can only fall and not rise any further. As more time passes, the ten academies will only continue to drift further apart¡ªthey might evenpletely separate and formpletely independent institutions. The best example is of Astral-10 being targeted by those insects. So, the Astral Combat Academy has shifted focus to send its students to the battlefield and have them survive at the Human Domain¡¯s war front for as long as possible. They have already begun to transform and have made contact with the troops. The academy will be a top-notch institution that delivers geniuses to the warfront.

    ¡°Why?¡± En Ya could not understand why this was happening. Even if the academy wanted to increase the students¡¯ battlefield experience as quickly as possible, there was no need to send them to the warfront as soldiers.

    Shui Chuanxiao sighed. ¡°Do you know how high the current mortality rate is for the graduates of the various institutions in the universe? Let me tell you.¡± Then, Shui Chuanxiao stared straight into En Ya¡¯s eyes as he enunciated, ¡°Nine out of every ten graduates die at this frontier.¡±

    En Ya was shocked, as she had never heard of this statistic before.

    ¡°Now you should know why. The Astral Combat Academy has very few graduates, and regardless of if a student graduates or is expelled, they still have to go to the domain¡¯s warfront, where less than a tenth of them will survive. The other academies are no better. This is the fate of these students. Even if a youth does not enter an academy, they still muste here and experience the Human Domain¡¯s warfront so as to gain some experience about the universe before they can grow stronger. This also includes the descendants of great powers, as this is an inviblew of the Human Domain. The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s transformation is actually inevitable, as its purpose is to help the students preserve their lives for as long as possible. Protecting the students is akin to protecting the academy itself, so it¡¯s a must for them to make a move at the time the students arrive at the battlefield.¡± Shui Chuanxiao then paused for a moment before patting En Ya¡¯s shoulder and saying, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Go on and carry out your orders.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± En Ya answered respectfully as she watched Shui Chuanxiao leave. Suddenly, she felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right¡ªthe Astral Combat Academy¡¯s transformation waspletely unrted to this student being assigned to be a war drummer. This bastard had yed her like a fool.

    On Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes and slowly stretched his body. The others immediately gathered around him, and Coco praised, ¡°Brother Lu, you were fantastic!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and looked over everyone. His gaze paused on Hui Daynight¡¯s face, who turned away awkwardly.

    Silver walked over to Lu Yin with a beaming expression. ¡°Very awesome! You can force me to use about a third of my strength now.¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°I only used a fifth.¡±

    ¡°I would only need a tenth of my strength to defeat that Thirteen Swords guy.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even use a tenth.¡±

    The others were confused at the two¡¯s strange back-and-forth.

    At this point, Liu Xiaoyun approached them, causing everyone to involuntarily make some room for her. She looked at Lu Yin seriously with a trace of disbelief still present in her eyes. ¡°How was the First Sword?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it seriously before replying, ¡°Very sharp and very swift.¡±

    ¡°The second?¡± Liu Xiaoyun continued.

    Lu Yin blurted out, ¡°Arge scope and a powerful attack.¡±

    ¡°And the third?¡± Liu Xiaoyun stared closely at Lu Yin, but he just smiled slightly.

    Liu Xiaoyun was disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and said, ¡°Madam Nn saved me once, so I don¡¯t mind telling you this. The Third Sword¡­¡± Everyone stared at him in anticipation as he spoke his next words. ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t feel a thing from it.¡±

    The others were caught off guard by his response, and they simply could not understand his words. Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s disappointed expression deepened as she bitterly said, ¡°It seems that this universe really does have geniuses like you who are immune to the Third Sword. You might actually be a natural nemesis of the Daynight n.¡±

    This sentence shocked Hui Daynight, and he whirled around with a puzzled face. Why was being immune to the Sword Sect¡¯s Third Sword indicative of being the Daynight n¡¯s nemesis?

    Lu Yin understood what Liu Xiaoyun was saying; the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques all had a simr effect to the Third Sword, which was targeting one¡¯s spiritual force. If he was truly immune to attacks against his spiritual force, then the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques would be normal battle techniques when used against him. Of course, despite Lu Yin¡¯s understanding, he did not express it and instead looked at Liu Xiaoyun with a puzzled face, like Hui Daynight.

    ¡°Be careful of the Nightking n,¡± Liu Xiaoyu said after taking a long, careful look at Lu Yin. She then turned around to leave.

    Lu Yin sighed, as he realized that he might have made a mistake. He should not have revealed the fact that the Third Sword had beenpletely ineffective against him. If even Liu Xiaoyun believed he was the nemesis of the Daynight n, then what about the Daynight n itself? He involuntarily recalled what he had seen when he had entered the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance corridor as well as the topmost name on the stone tower outside the long corridor¡ªNightking Zhenwu. He had a feeling that this name was perhaps a mountain that he would inevitably have to cross one day.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to go and rest, his expression changed. He briskly walked out of the trial zone mountain and to the entrance, where he respectfully bowed to the Trialmaster. ¡°Mentor, were you looking for me?¡±

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes, revealing a trace of shock on his wizened face. ¡°Little brat, you caused a great deal of astonishment when you defeated an inheritor of the Thirteen Swords.¡±

    Lu Yin remained humble. ¡°My luck was good. He could not disy the Fourth Sword.¡±

    The Trialmaster shook his head as he smiled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that he could not disy it, but rather that it was ruined by you.¡±

    A light shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The mentor looked at him seriously. ¡°You intentionally damaged but did not destroy the star energy sword that he materialized. Thus, his sword would not be able to bear his full strength at a key moment, and when his sword dissipated, his energy would spiral into chaos and allow you to unleash the fatal strike. Correct?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. ¡°Mentor, I can¡¯t hide anything from you.¡±

    The mentor smiled back in response. ¡°Little brat, that was very smart. Even in that heated battle, you did not reveal that technique.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He had a feeling that these mentors had seen through his Cosmic Art. The Rainmaster and Sandmaster had vaguely mentioned it, and the crazy headmaster had even simted the ninth star for him. However, this was the Trialmaster¡¯s first time mentioning it. ¡°Mentor, please give me your guidance.¡±

    The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you obtained this technique. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s from the original source, as it¡¯s unrted to us. However, let me give you this reminder: this techniquees from an extremely terrifying sect. That sect¡¯s power surpasses even the Sword Sect¡¯s.¡±

 Chapter 224: Cosmic Sect

    <h4>Chapter 224: Cosmic Sect</h4>

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned by the Trialmaster¡¯s words even though he knew that his Cosmic Art was not simple. However, its origins supposedly surpassed the Sword Sect, which was the leading sect of the First Flowzone and publicly acknowledged as the strongest sect in the Human Domain. Just what kind of sect could surpass that?

    ¡°Although the average person cannot see anything when the Cosmic Art is active and in use, during the live broadcast, there will definitely be someone who will notice the origins of this technique if you use it. It¡¯s good that you have not revealed it yet, but your next few opponents will be very strong. You must make a decision before the next round¡ªto strive for victory by revealing this technique or to continue fighting without it,¡± the Trialmaster advised in a solemn tone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered with indecision. He had already considered both options but had note to a conclusion yet. ¡°Mentor, what would happen if that sect discovers that I have learned their technique?¡±

    The mentor¡¯s lips rose up in a faint smile. ¡°You want to know if Astral-10 will protect you.¡±

    Lu Yin was embarrassed. The Trialmaster seriously replied ¡°I can tell you this inly. Astral-10 will definitely protect you. Not only will Astral-10 do so, but the entire Astral Combat Academy will work to protect you.¡±

    Lu Yin released a sigh of relief, as that was good news to hear.

    ¡°But there is no guarantee of sess,¡± the Trialmaster finished in a strange tone.

    Lu Yin was stunned by thisst sentence, and he looked at the Trialmaster without knowing what to say.

    ¡°That sect is called the Cosmic Sect. It is one of the strongest sects in the Human Domain. You¡¯ve already experienced the power of the Cosmic Art for yourself, so you should know how terrifying it is. Who can possibly resist such a technique? Any elder from that sect can dominate the entire Outerverse with a single wave of their hand. You can¡¯t pin your hopes on our protection,¡± the mentor spoke inly.

    Lu Yin felt helpless in this situation. ¡°I understand, mentor. I won¡¯t reveal the technique.¡±

    But the Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin and raised a single finger. ¡°Just the next battle. As long as you don¡¯t reveal it in the next battle, you¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled, but the Trialmaster closed his eyes and went back to rest, not bothering to reply.

    Lu Yin was perplexed by what he had just learned. What¡¯s so special about the next battle? He had no clue, so he simply stopped thinking about the matter. Lu Yin then shook his head to clear his mind as he stepped back onto the trial zone mountain, awaiting the arrival of the seventh round of battles.

    At the same time, in Astral-3, Nightqueen Yanqing was bowing down, not even daring to raise her face towards the young man on the screen.

    ¡°Remember, you must think of a way to deal with that Lu Yin. Someone who is immune to the Sword Sect¡¯s Third Sword is someone who should not even exist. I have talked to those old bats of the Astral Combat Academy, and your next opponent will be him,¡± the man on the screen said in a deep voice.

    Nightqueen Yanqing firmly replied, ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident?¡± the man asked.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had a stern look on her face. ¡°I have cultivated the Nightking¡¯s Body. He will be defeated for sure.¡±

    The man nodded with satisfaction. ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Third Sword is an extreme attack that focuses on the spirit while the Nightking¡¯s Body focuses on the physical body. He may be immune to the Third Sword, but there is no chance that he¡¯ll fend off the Nightking¡¯s Body as easily. The next battle will be hisst, and I want you to crush his soul.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing clenched both her fists. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Before long, the seventh round was about to start.

    The arena ins had beenpletely restored, and even the high peak had been repaired back to normal. This time, however, it was ced outside of the arena ins and not inside. The recent battles had been very intense, and theplete destruction of the ins had bemonce; of course the sensible academy mentors would not ce the high peak back inside the arena.

    A student was disgruntled by this decision. ¡°What¡¯s with the high peak being over there? It¡¯s irritating.¡±

    Someone else replied, ¡°It¡¯s a status symbol, and only the victors can sit atop it. This is what the academy has constructed for the students and countless more in the universe to look up to.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s basically just a big decoration,¡± Big Pao interjected as he popped out of nowhere.

    ¡­

    On the high peak, one figure after another appeared. Of the top eight, besides Grandini Mavis, the rest were all student leaders of various academy branches. Despite so many hidden geniuses appearing since the very start of the tournament, seven out of ten students still remained atop that peak. This was something that the Astral Combat Academy was already very proud of. Of course, the unavoidable battles between the student leaders were about to begin as well.

    The first match was between Starsibyl and Feng Shang.

    Feng Shang¡¯s face sank when he saw that Starsibyl was his opponent. He had rich battle experience and feared no one; he would even fight against Liu Shaoqiu if he was matched up against him. But against Starsibyl, Feng Shang really did not know where to start; this woman¡¯sbat style was aplete mystery to everyone.

    Starsibyl smiled faintly at Feng Shang. ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever having faced off against you. This must be our first time.¡±

    Feng Shang had nothing to respond with. ¡°If I knew that this was going to be the case, then I would have fought a hundred battles against you.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes twinkled mysteriously. ¡°Battle experience is no use against me. My fighting style is based on divination and seeing into the future.¡±

    Feng Shang rolled his eyes; only an idiot would believe such words.

    Soon after, the battle between the two started.

    Lu Yin and the rest all intently stared down towards the arena as they all focused on Starsibyl. What was the secret behind herbat style?

    A momentter, they were shocked to see Feng Shang¡¯s attacksnd on nothing. Even when he enveloped the entire arena with his domain, his attempts to suppress Starsibyl were all rendered futile. She really seemed as if she could divine the future as she would always dodge Feng Shang¡¯s attacks by being a single step ahead. Before long, Feng Shang¡¯s face paled. Starsibyl was still standing in front of him, but absolutely none of his attacks had connected. It was such a depressing feeling that he almost wanted to vomit blood.

    ¡°Really now. Can¡¯t you face me directly for just two moves?¡± Feng Shang shouted out of exasperation.

    Starsibyl beamed. ¡°Sure.¡± She then gently floated towards Feng Shang.

    Feng Shang pressed down with his palm as he shouted out, ¡°Cyclone Strike.¡± This was the attack that had defeated Sha. Feng Shang did not hold back at all against Starsibyl, and the wind de edges spun out of his hand as they tore through the void. It was an overwhelming attack.

    But the result was the same as before; the wind des cleanly went past Starsibyl andnded on the ground behind her, carving out a huge crater on the arena ins. ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Feng Shang said as he revealed his other palm that was holding another Cyclone Strike.

    However, Starsibyl dodged it all the same. One thing was different¡ªthis time, she did not move away to avoid it. Instead, she approached Feng Shang and flitted past him.

    The audience fell silent as they watched Feng Shang¡¯s body slowly dissipate into nothingness; a chill creeping into their hearts. When did she even attack?!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he still did not understand Starsibyl¡¯s fighting style at all. Starsibyl¡¯s speed was not particrly fast, but she had easily dodged Feng Shang¡¯s extremely quick attacks. Lu Yin definitely had not seen her attack, but she had still defeated Feng Shang. Just what had happened?

    Han Chong and Nightqueen Yanqing simrly could not understand anything either; Starsibyl was just too mysterious.

    Outside the arena ins, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes twinkled as he stared intently at Starsibyl. He was the only one out of all of the observing students who had felt even a trace of killing intent. It was because Starsibyl¡¯s attack was very simr to the Third Sword. But between the two, it was even more secretive than the Third Sword, which was why the sect leader had cautioned Liu Shaoqiu about Starsibyl when he had left the Sword Sect. This woman would have been the best battle opponent for him to improve the Third Sword. It was a pity that he had run into Lu Yin before her.

    As his thoughts churned, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes swept back up to the high peak.

    Lu Yin frowned; he could feel that Liu Shaoqiu had looked at him all of a sudden, so he turned around to face him. The two exchanged nces, and at that moment, an idea urred to Lu Yin. He looked back to Starsibyl. Is her attack simr to the Third Sword?

    Starsibyl returned to the high peak, beaming as she nced at everyone. She appeared very mysterious.

    Lu Yin gathered his thoughts. It waspletely possible that her attacks targeted spiritual force, as Starsibyl was definitely mysterious enough to do something like that. That kind of attack would undoubtedly be both effective and have a refined appearance. It was a pity that Lu Yin¡¯s only attack that could target spiritual force was the Daynight Punch, and it wouldn¡¯t be of much use either.

    Soon after Starsibyl and Feng Shang¡¯s battle concluded, the fighters for the second round were announced¡ªHan Chong and Liu Xiaoyun.

    Han Chong was also a very mysteriouspetitor, especially after his battle with Xia Ye that had left many audience members puzzled. His painting attacks were obviously a gentle battle style, but it was also deep beyond measure. Many looked at Liu Xiaoyun and wondered how far she could force Han Chong.

    ¡°At this stage of thepetition, everyone¡¯s baseline has more or less already been revealed. You are not my opponent,¡± Han Chong said faintly out on the arena ins.

    Liu Xiaoyun clenched her sword hilt. ¡°At the very least, the gap between us must be shown.¡±

    Han Chong casually waved his hand. ¡°Everyone calls me the Art Sage. I¡¯ll draw a vast mountain and sea for you to destroy.¡±

    At that moment, a painting made from star energy appeared in front of Han Chong. Mountains, rivers, forests, cottages, and other ssical subjects all came together in a picturesquendscape painting that used star energy as its ink.

    Liu Xiaoyun gripped her sword hilt tightly as the air beneath her roiled and spread out in all directions. Those fluctuations gradually extended across the entire arena ins. This was her domain, Sword¡¯s World, and its attack range had extended to cover the entire arena ins.

    Han Chong¡¯sndscape painting expanded until it covered the entire arena ins as well.

    Within the endless rain of falling swords, the void was torn into countless cracks that shed against the harmonious aura of thendscape painting. The scene before the audience¡¯s eyes became obviously distorted within the void¡¯s shattered frame. And yet, despite the rain of swords, thendscape painting forcibly withstood the countless spatial cracks encroaching upon it.

    It was a rather magnificent sight, as Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s attack that covered the entire arena ins could easily crush an Area Master. At that instant, the newly restored arena ins had been destroyed once again.

    On the high peak overlooking the arena, Lu Yin frowned. Liu Xiaoyun had widened her attack scope too much in an attempt topensate for the difference between their speeds, and her thoughts had been too optimistic. The strength of her attack was not even close toparable to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s First Sword; it was no wonder why she had distanced herself from the Sword Sect. Since she was Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s older sister, everyone in the Sword Sect wouldpare her to Liu Shaoqiu to form a rtive judgement.

    Liu Shaoqiu frowned as well. This endless rain of swords made him feel somewhat ufortable. His big sister was walking down the wrong path.

    Suddenly, Liu Xiaoyun chopped down with her sword towards Han Chong. Many remembered Tu Bo and how he had been instantly wiped out by this strike. It was an attack that imitated the Thirteen Swords.

    Han Chong¡¯s eyes gleamed with interest as he extended one hand. A mountain was summoned from within thendscape painting. Although it instantly fell apart, it was still enough to counter Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s sword strike.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad sword strike, but it¡¯s useless against me,¡± Han Chong confidently stated.

    Liu Xiaoyun sheathed her sword. ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    She then left the Lifeseek Realm. She had given the fight her all, but it seemed like Han Chong had not used much of his strength. The difference between the two was ringly obvious.

    Two battles had already seen the defeat of two academy leaders. The third match was set to be between Grandini Mavis and Dao Bo.

    Many looked towards the high peak and the two remaining leaders¡ªLu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing.

    The scene felt strangely simr to the previous round where Lu Yin had also participated in thest battle of the round.

    Nightqueen Yanqing did not feel surprised, as she had been informed of this matchup beforehand. She had simted this battle multiple times after analyzing Lu Yin¡¯s power in his match against Liu Shaoqiu. She was sure of victory.

    Lu Yin nced at Nightqueen Yanqing. Is this a coincidence? He was actually facing off against the Nightking n right after Liu Xiaoyun warned him to be careful of the Nightking n. Were they testing him?

 Chapter 225: Lu Yin vs. Nightqueen Yanqing

    <h4>Chapter 225: Lu Yin vs. Nightqueen Yanqing</h4>

    Out on the arena ins, Grandini Mavis clenched her fists as a very obvious green aura covered her from head to toe.

    Dao Bo felt helpless. Of all the possible opponents he could have run into during this tournament, the ones who he wanted to avoid the most were the Mavis family members. He was a Lockbreaker, which meant that his control and understanding of star energy naturally surpassed all others¡¯. He was confident in his chances even against Han Chong, but the Mavis family members were an exception. This n focused purely on strength, and even he had no way of dealing with their abnormal physical strength.

    Outside the ins, many of the academy¡¯s Lockbreakers sighed. There was no doubt about Dao Bo¡¯s power; he had even defeated Mira once. He was definitely a powerhouse, but he had run into the wrong opponent in this match as the Mavis n could be considered the nemesis of Lockbreakers.

    ¡°Bring it on!¡± Grandini shouted fiercely as she punched out at Dao Bo.

    Dao Bo was speechless. He did not enjoy verbal sparring while he fought, and he would much rather be fighting against Xia Luo right now. In his opinion, that fight had been a contest between two civilized humans and was much more elegant. This woman gave him an impression that they had regressed back to a barbaric age.

    He hurriedly dodged to the side as the spot where he had been standing was sted into a giant pit. Several sessive booms sounded out as the diameter of the pit increased and a shock wave rippled towards him.

    Dao Bo sighed. When both of his feet touched the ground again, heaven and earth changed, turning a silver-grey color as another terrifying shock wave swept over the arena ins. Dao Bo was using his domain to suppress Grandini.

    Now that she was within the domain, Grandini¡¯s every action was under Dao Bo¡¯s observation. The power behind her moves, their trajectory, and even the direction that she was dodging in was all revealed to Dao Bo as long as she was inside his domain. Grandini would not be able to beat Dao Bo with her current strength, but she still had her battle force.

    Right after Dao Bo activated his domain, a dominating purple battle force soared into the sky, shocking everyone. Another four-lined battle force had appeared in this tournament.

    Dao Bo looked at Grandini¡¯s eyes which were filled with battle intent. He didn¡¯t have much of a choice, so he calmly raised his hand and directly admitted defeat.

    Grandini was just about to charge over and rush into battle, but she froze when she saw Dao Bo¡¯s action. She was furious. ¡°Are you a man?! How can you admit defeat so quickly?!¡±

    Dao Bo sighedmentably. ¡°My attacks cannot break through the defense of a Mavis n member who has four-lined battle force. However, you can¡¯t win either, as your attacks simply cannot hit me.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you admit defeat?¡± Grandini was not at all satisfied by Dao Bo¡¯s answer and was still eager for battle.

    Dao Bo begrudgingly replied, ¡°Since neither of us can win, and a real man will not fight a woman, I admitted defeat.¡±

    ¡°Are you looking down upon women? Go and die!¡± Grandini charged over again with a raised fist.

    Lu Yin lifted his head; this scene was very familiar to him. Back during Astral-10¡¯s new studentpetition, Lulu had trashed Schutz in a simr manner and then forced him apologize to her.

    Dao Bo, however, very quickly left the Lifeseek Realm, causing Grandini¡¯s fist tond on thin air. She was unhappy about what had just happened. Although she seemed more refined than Lulu on the surface, it seemed that the Mavis family could never shake off certain bad habits, such as being too eager for a fight.

    While she stewed in her thoughts, Grandini¡¯s eyes swept up to those on the high peak, and she especially focused on Lu Yin as her purple battle force soared even higher.

    Lu Yinughed when he noticed Grandini¡¯s aggressive gaze. Instead of responding to her, he got up and looked at Nightqueen Yanqing. ¡°It¡¯s our turn.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing got up as well and shot Lu Yin an arrogant look. ¡°I¡¯ll warn you beforehand¡ªyou better not admit defeat. Otherwise, my Nightking n will show you what true desperation is.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile faded until he responded with a cold tone, ¡°Is that so? It seems to me that you¡¯re targeting me.¡±

    ¡°The Nightking n has no need to target anyone. In fact, it would be difficult to find someone who is qualified to be crushed by me. I simply don¡¯t want it to end too quickly.¡± Nightqueen Yanqing then stepped forward and appeared on the ins.

    Lu Yin had a depressed look on his face. It felt as if he had been entangled with the Nightking n from the very start. On Earth, there had been Qingyu. In the Umbral Butterfly Weave, there had been Zhuo Daynight. In Astral-10, there was Hui Daynight. And now, Nightqueen Yanqing had appeared as well. It was as if fate enjoyed throwing him together with this n.

    ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t mind her. That¡¯s just her personality. Women are bound to act irrationally on certain days.¡± Feng Shang had reappeared and shamelessly returned to the high peak. He was the only defeated student leader who had thick enough skin to return.

    Starsibyl turned to Feng Shang. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Feng Shang quickly turned embarrassed. ¡°That- I did not say anything, haha.¡±

    Starsibyl looked at Lu Yin but did not say anything.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and appeared onto the ins to face Nightqueen Yanqing. Many people thought that this Astral Combat Tournament would have a special event for thest few battles between the top contestants. But in reality, only a few knew that this was thest match that would be publicly broadcast.

    If Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Sword Sect was not very well-known, then the Nightking n was the exact opposite. Their trademark characteristic was long, ck-and-white hair with a single strand of grey in the center. In some sense, this had be the symbol of the Nightking n, the strongest n of the entire universe.

    Be it the Outerverse or the Innerverse, the Nightkings of the Daynight n represented unparalleled terror with their n¡¯s countless geniuses.

    In the Great Yu Empire, Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, Jeraldine, Geine, Eddy, and everyone who had battled against Qingyu watched on with wide eyes. They could still vividly recall the final battle during Earth¡¯s trial and Qingyu¡¯s stunning power. Back then, it had Lu Yin who defeated Qingyu, and even though he had arduously climbed to his current level, Lu Yin now had to face this n once again.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was not the same as Qingyu. Qingyu had only entered the Nightking n after awakening the power of a Nightking as a Daynight n member. Nightqueen Yanqing, on the other hand, had been born into the Nightking n. The resources that were avable to her for cultivation and battle techniques were iparable to Qingyu¡¯s.

    The battle between Liu Shaoqiu and Lu Yin had not emotionally impacted the audience, but this one with Nightqueen Yanqing brought an inner chill that crept into all their hearts. The Nightking n¡¯s fame made all the difference.

    The two stood in the arena, facing each other on the ins without making a move. Lu Yin stared intently at Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes; he still had not forgotten the scene of Charon being instantly petrified in her previous battle. That was Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s innate gift, and if Lu Yin could not break through that innate gift, then there was no chance of him being able to withstand Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s lips curled up enticingly as she maintained her ever-present haughty expression. A purple color flickered within her pupils, and Lu Yin felt as if his scalp was about to catch on fire. He covered his body with four-lined battle force as a sense of imminent danger filled his heart. Right after, a strange wave of force was blocked by the battle force shrouding his body. But even so, his four-lined battle force had ayer stripped off, causing it to dim.

    Many were shocked by what they had just seen; Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s terrifying innate gift alone was enough to make them tremble. Just one look from her could weaken four-lined battle force.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you canst,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing tauntingly said to Lu Yin. She had gone over how she would battle against him multiple times. Although he was strong and fast enough to dodge the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords, could he possibly move faster than her eyes? Her innate gift of purple pupils was the nemesis towards fast fighters, and this person had zero chances of defeating her.

    Lu Yin frowned as he vanished with sh. He pierced the void and directly charged towards Nightqueen Yanqing.

    But Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s purple eyes never left Lu Yin as they continuously scanned back and forth across the battlefield. His four-lined battle force was constantly being weakened. Once it vanished, he would be petrified and suffer the same fate as Charon.

    This was a battle with no escape. Lu Yin¡¯s only option was to strike swiftly and defeat Nightqueen Yanqing before his four-lined battle force ran out. Otherwise, he could only wait to be petrified.

    Thus, Lu Yin went with the first option and charged towards Nightqueen Yanqing while forcefully enduring the effect of her innate gift of purple eyes. He struck out with a Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm that caused the void to crumble. His palm pressed down with an indomitable strength that could rival the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. He did not believe that Nightqueen Yanqing would block it easily.

    But Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s arrogant look never left her face. Her purple seductive eyes flickered as she stood in the same spot before suddenly raising her head. Then, from beneath her, a purple battle force erupted upwards. ¡°Nightking Punch.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Four-lined battle force?

    Boom!

    The ground sank as a terrifying shock wave coursed through their surroundings, instantly tearing through the first energy barrier that sealed off the arena ins. Fortunately, the second energy barrier that the mentors had installed managed to block it; otherwise, just the remnant shock waves would have killed many of the students in the audience.

    A dark night descended as the Nightking Punch had even changed the sky¡¯s color. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s vision was filled with a single punch.

    He closely watched the Nightking Punch approach; it was familiar, very familiar. When he had touched the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance, he had seen this very punch, from which he hadprehended the Daynight Punch. And now, Nightqueen Yanqing had just disyed an even stronger Nightking Punch.

    Day and night alternated in a perpetual cycle, tearing apart his spiritual force. This was the most powerful punch that Nightqueen Yanqing could unleash with her four-lined battle force. Even though this punch could notpare to the Third Sword of the Thirteen Swords, it was very close to reaching that level, and even Liu Shaoqiu was moved by it.

    Thump thump thump¡­

    More than ten explosions rang out in the arena as the Nine Stacks, Fifteen-Fold Shockwave Palm collided against the Nightking Punch, causing heaven and earth to explode. The sheer impact caused the surrounding void to copse while spatial cracks appeared and swallowed the stirred up smoke and dust. Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing easily navigated through the cracks with their extreme speed before directly colliding.

    Lu Yin had originally assumed that Nightqueen Yanqing would use abination of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques and her innate gift to deal with him. However, he had not expected her to actually also be adept at battle force or for her physical body to be terrifyingly tough, to the point where it surpassed even Chao Zhi¡¯s.

    Bang!

    There was another loud boom as Lu Yin tightly grabbed both of Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s fists. The two were hurled deep into the ground as they grappled each other. Nightqueen Yanqing stared at him with her purple eyes, continuously sapping away his four-lined battle force. ¡°You really are immune to my Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. Tell me, what¡¯s your innate gift?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s knee rushed at Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s abdomen while her pure white thigh raised itself to calmly block Lu Yin¡¯s strike. ¡°Your battle force won¡¯tst for much longer. You¡¯re dead meat.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s try again,¡± Lu Yin barked intensely as he released his grip on Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s hands. He pulled back his right hand as his muscles clenched like iron rings. Intense pain wracked his nerves as he howled through gritted teeth. ¡°Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm!¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was ovee with horror as she barely had time to say, ¡°Impossible.¡±

    Boom!

    The shockwave just from Lu Yin¡¯s right elbow moving shattered the void as he struck forward and shoved his palm into Nightqueen Yanqing, forcing her body deeper into the earth. Seventeen loud booms exploded within her body and nearly broke through her four-lined battle force. Nightqueen Yanqing spat out a mouthful of blood and her face had a deathly white palor as she flew into the sky.

    Lu Yin also slowly rose into the sky, panting heavily. Fresh blood dripped down his right arm as the Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm was his right arm¡¯s absolute limit. It would be very difficult for him to unleash it again in his current state.

    Everyone stared at their screens silently, unable to tear their eyes away. This battle had been a rollercoaster of fiery exchanges from the very start, and there was even a collision between four-lined battle force. Who held the advantage now?

    In the Innerverse, within a dark room, a young man swirled his wine ss and looked at the screen with a tepid expression. His long, ck-and-white hair and a single strand of grey hair resting on his shoulders could shock one¡¯s soul.

    Behind the young man, Liu Shaoge stood attentively, simrly watching the screen that contained Lu Yin¡¯s figure. His eyes shed as a miniscule trace of astonishment could be seen within them.

    Above the arena ins, Nightqueen Yanqing wiped away the thin trail of blood from the corner of her lips. Her originally enticing purple eyes had turned frosty cold as she looked at Lu Yin now. ¡°Your physical body is stronger than I expected. Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm¡ªeven an average Explorer wouldn¡¯t be able to unleash such an attack.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°You¡¯re not too bad either. You actually took it without dying.¡±

 Chapter 226: The Strongest, Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 226: The Strongest, Lu Yin</h4>

    Nightqueen Yanqing quirked her lips up and smiled as she arrogantly looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°¡®Took it?¡¯ You miserable ant, where did you find the audacity to speak like that? I thought that I would easily dispose of you, but it seems that I have no other choice but to use that move. Open your eyes, you pathetic ant, and see what it means to be a Nightking, as only a Nightking can understand this battle technique. Nightking¡¯s Body!¡± With a low growl, the grey air circting around Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s body extended before gradually merging with her four-lined battle force. Soon after, a strong gale swept out in all four directions, crushing the earth and distorting the void. This time, even the second energy barrier installed by the academy tutors flickered.

    Many watched on nervously. What is this battle technique? Is it another Nightking n battle technique?

    Outside the arena ins, Chilian Daynight had a fiery gaze as he stared at Nightqueen Yanqing. Nightking''s Body was a superb battle technique that only the Nightking of the Daynight n couldprehend. The technique brought the physical body¡¯s power to the next level and was equivalent to unconditionally increasing one¡¯s battle force by a whole line. Essentially, Nightqueen Yanqing now had five-lined battle force.

    Many gasped in surprise when they realized just what effect Nightking¡¯s Body had. Clearly, every one of the Nightking n¡¯s battle techniques could shock the entire crowd. Nightking''s Body was rather well-known, although there had only ever been a few individuals who had managed to sessfully cultivate it. Who here could have expected Nightqueen Yanqing to actually seed.

    In the Sword Sect, the white-clothed elder eximed, ¡°I never would have thought that a female child could actually sessfully cultivate the Nightking''s Body. That technique can even rival the Third Sword of the Thirteen Swords. Every Nightking battle technique has an overwhelmingly suppressive force. That little brat is immune to the Third Sword, but I wonder if he can also block the Nightking''s Body which is just as strong as the Third Sword.¡±

    At this time, Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Grandini all had ugly expressions when they saw the current Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s true terror. She had hidden herself very deeply.

    From the moment Nightqueen Yanqing revealed her Nightking''s Body, she had ascended to the same level as Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Liu Shaoqiu. From the perspective of the elites who understood the Thirteen Swords, Lu Yin had only triumphed over Liu Shaoqiu because of his special constitution that rendered him immune to the Third Sword, which had no physical offensive capabilities. It could even be said that Lu Yin¡¯s power had not been epted by many of the audience members, much like how Grandini Mavis had not been epted either. To them, the ones who were truly at the pinnacle were Starsibyl, Han Chong, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Liu Shaoqiu.

    Lu Yin also had an ugly expression, as he could feel Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s power rising rapidly. Her strength was as deep as the ocean, and also as immovable as a mountain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so scared that you admit defeat. Then, I¡¯d have to personally go to Astral-10 and crush you there,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing dered in an icy voice. Her body suddenly disappeared from view, and a momentter, Lu Yin felt an intense pain blossom in his abdomen. The scene in front of his eyes flew away from him at a terrifying speed. He had been struck by an overpowering strength that mmed his body into the ground. The power of that blow had shattered his four-lined battle force, causing him to cough up blood.

    Nightqueen Yanqing stood above the ins and looked down at where Lu Yin had been sted an unknown depth into the ground. She raised her head and looked around outside the ins, where she saw Liu Shaoqiu, Starsibyl, Han Chong, and all the other peakbatants. She smiled slightly. This was the strength of her Nightking''s Body. It pushed her physical strength to the level of five-lined battle force and allowed her to crush all her opponents like ants.

    Watching his screen, Undying Yushan sighed. The Nightking n was just too terrifying.

    On Earth, Zhou Shan and the rest all clenched their fists and nervously stared at the screen. Lu Yin had actually been smashed into the ground by a single strike. At this rate, everything was pointing toward disaster.

    Over a billion Earthlings fell silent in unison as they nervously watched the screens.

    On San Dios, the floating city, Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes flickered as she unconsciously clenched her sword hilt. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s arrogant demeanor was too much for her¡ªit was just unsightly.

    At Astral-10¡¯s space station, Madam Nn calmly set down her wine ss. ¡°But can the Nightking''s Body give one the ability to survive in outer space?¡±

    A shadow appeared behind her and answered her question. ¡°If one is not an Explorer, then they cannot survive in space. The Nightking''s Body can at most raise Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s battle force to the level of five lines, but even that will only increase how long she can survive in outer space by a small amount, which is already very short. Thus, she still would not be able to survive in outer space.¡±

    ¡°Are there absolutely no cases of someone beneath the realm of Explorer surviving in outer space?¡± Madam Nn was curious.

    ¡°It¡¯s rumored that, when the Ten Arbiters were Limiteers, they could kill Explorers while in space, but rumors are rumors. Those stories were never verified.¡±

    Madam Nn frowned: the Ten Arbiters, it¡¯s always the Ten Arbiters. After the universe¡¯s transformation, the Ten Arbiters had be the standard against which every youth was measured. Every single past move and action of theirs was something to bepared to, but no one could actually measure up.

    If even Nightqueen Yanqing could not survive in space with her current physique, then what did that signify about Lu Yin? Madam Nn still had not forgotten the shock that had struck her when she realized that Lu Yin had not perished even after floating through outer space.

    Above the arena ins, Nightqueen Yanqing stood in the sky, alone and arrogant. She then gently stepped down. Her pure white thighs shed with a gleam as a shock wave rippled out before the ground suddenly exploded as she attempted to force Lu Yin out. ¡°Get out here!¡±

    Everyone watched on nervously. They could feel that the match was about to be decided.

    Deep in the ground, Lu Yin released a slow breath with a grimace. He did not want to expose this so soon, as it was a stage that only the Ten Arbiters had ever stepped on while at the Melder realm. No one else had ever done what he was about to do in the entire history of the Astral Combat Tournament. However, the current situation was out of Lu Yin¡¯s control, especially since he could not use his Cosmic Palm. Otherwise, a nine-stars Cosmic Palm powered by with four-lined battle force would be able to contest Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s Nightking''s Body. After a moment of consideration, Lu Yin decided to throw caution to the wind. He would end this season¡¯s tournament with a shocking reveal. Lu Yin focused his thoughts, and his eyes trembled. The four-lined battle force that had crumbled away reappeared around his body before then seeping through the cracks in the ground to form a purple halo that distorted the void.

    Nightqueen Yanqing felt contempt for Lu Yin¡¯s struggles, as his four-lined battle force was unable to withstand a single strike from her.

    Countless audience members frowned as they watched on; was he still going to try to use four-lined battle force? In previous tournaments, a four-lined battle force user would have for all intents and purposes been the strongestpetitor, but the bar in this tournament was wildly higher. Four-lined battle force was actually somewhatmon.

    But then, a stunning sliver of a dark-gold radiance flickered within the purple aura before shooting into the horizon, dying the entire sky the same dark gold color even as the purple was wiped away.

    Everyone was amazed by what they were seeing. Is that¡­ five-lined battle force?

    Starsibyl and the rest of the peak fighters narrowed their eyes and unconsciously stepped forward, only to look into the ground in disbelief. How was this possible? Five-lined battle force was something that only the Ten Arbiters had ever achieved while still in the Astral Combat Academy.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s body trembled, and she involuntarily retreated several steps in shock. Beneath the earth¡¯s surface, the dark gold radiance had umted into a breathtaking, dazzling brilliance.

    In the sky, a dozen mentors appeared, including Astral-10¡¯s Sandmaster. They all stared at the scene on the ground in shock. ¡°Other than the Ten Arbiters, another five-lined battle force user has actually appeared in the academy. This person¡¯s talent is no weaker than the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°Another Ten Arbiters candidate.¡±

    ¡­

    Countless viewers were shocked as they stared at their screens, even space-exploring powerhouses. Battle force was very difficult toprehend, and only the top-notch institutions such as the Astral Combat Academy could consistently churn out battle force users. In the Outerverse, any battle force user could stand above all others, while five-lined battle force was so difficult toprehend that even space-exploring individuals could not do so easily. Five lines was considered to be the sign of a powerhouse.

    Anyone who could cultivate five-lined battle force was destined to be a space-exploring powerhouse who can easily crush anyone in their realm. But now, a lowly Melder had actuallyprehended five-lined battle force, shocking the heavens.

    Step by step, Lu Yin pulled himself out of the ground with a calm expression. He had survived two cmities at Driftcharge. After involuntarily activating the Technique of Life and Death, he had survived his first encounter with death and upgraded his battle force to three lines. After his second brush with death, the technique had upgraded his battle force to five lines. Even now, Lu Yin still found it hard to believe that he had reached such a step, but that technique was just too mysterious. His current strength was all thanks to that elder back on Driftcharge. Without him, the two unavoidable disasters that had struck Lu Yin would have merely resulted in his death. Lu Yin was only able to climb up to this point because of that mysterious Technique of Life and Death.

    Unfortunately, this sort of technique could not be cultivated. Lu Yin had no clue how he had survived his first life and death ordeal when he had almost be white meat. But during his second life and death cmity, he would have definitely died if the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft hadn¡¯t coincidentally passed by. Both of these experiences were things that he never wanted to go through again.

    He clenched his right fist, causing the purple battle force to form a mark that covered his body. Outside of this imprint was a dark-gold circle. His entire body was lined with a thinyer of dark-gold aura. Lu Yin could feel an iparably terrifying strength coursing through him. This was the strength that he had obtained after risking life and death. He was now going to use this strength at the very end of this season¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament.

    Not far away from him, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes grew huge as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. As he slowly walked out from the ground, her face turned deathly white. ¡°Impossible, how could you reach five-lined battle force? That¡¯s something that only the Ten Arbiters can do. It¡¯s impossible for you to do the same.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at his arm as he stood in front of her. Her innate gift of purple pupils no longer had any effect on him. ¡°Impossible? Then try it yourself. I hope that you can take it.¡± He suddenly vanished only to reappear right before Nightqueen Yanqing. His right hand had already stretched out in front of her forehead, and Lu Yin lightly tapped it, causing a soft thump to resound through the arena. A shock wave tore through the void as Nightqueen Yanqing was sent flying. Her mind was still nk even as her surroundings blurred into an indistinguishable blur.

    Lu Yin raised his lips into a sly smile before vanishing and reappearing next to the still-flying Nightqueen Yanqing. He pped down with a palm, and there was a loud, rumbling tremor as the earth was pulverized into dust. Nightqueen Yanqing had been viciously pped deep into the ground, where she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her clothes had been torn, and her smooth belly was exposed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget¡ªyou still have the Nightking''s Body that can rival five-lined battle force,¡± Lu Yin reminded her in a cheerful tone.

    From her position in the ground, Nightqueen Yanqing suddenly opened her eyes and revealed a fierce look. She roared out loudly and forcefully endured her injuries as she charged out, only to spit out another mouthful of blood. She stared fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s right! I still have the Nightking''s Body that can rival five-lined battle force. The oue hasn¡¯t been decided yet!¡± She then charged ferociously at Lu Yin as she roared out, ¡°Nightking Punch!¡±

    Lu Yin stretched his neck, as this was exactly the reaction that he wanted. How could he improve his five-lined battle force if he didn¡¯t have an opponent to fight against? It was not easy to upgrade one¡¯s battle force, and one naturally had to experience many battles to do so. Nightqueen Yanqing was simply his first suitable battle target.

    Bang!

    Bang, bang, bang!

    Bang!

    Bang, bang!

    ¡­

    The ring radiance illuminated the void as the two figures collided at a speed that couldn¡¯t be followed. Most of the audience could only see their phantom images slowly dissipating in the air and only Starsibyl and a few others could make out the two¡¯s real bodies. Even then, all they could see was blurry shadows.

    Regardless of whether it was Nightqueen Yanqing or Lu Yin, they were both clearly at the same level as Starsibyl and Han Chong in terms of strength. No one dared to say who was the strongest out of the four, but Starsibyl¡¯s and Han Chong¡¯s battle styles leaned towards domains and spiritual force while Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing tended towards utilizing their physical body and battle force; these were two entirely different styles.

    Boom!

    A giant crack extended into the sky and tore straight through the second energy barrier that had been ced by the mentors. Fortunately, a mentor appeared right in time to block the shock wave. Otherwise, it would have killed many of the spectating students.

 Chapter 227: The Forbidden Names Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 227: The Forbidden Names Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Shock waves pulsed through the sky and reached deep underground, where a deep pit had already formed. All of a sudden, a ck figure rushed out from the hole in the ground and attacked two people.

    Nobody could have foreseen this. There had been a war spirit hidden deep underground. During the previous battles, it had not been affected at all, but during Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s, the ground had been damaged too much, freeing it.

    The ck war spirit used its star energy to materialize a long staff that it grasped in its hands. As it swept out, the staff thrust the entire area into shadow even as more ck shadows emanated out from the staff. This move was both a domain and a battle technique.

    Up in the sky, one of the academy mentors was shocked. ¡°That¡¯s the battle technique of Astral-2¡¯s leader from centuries ago.¡±

    With the shrill sound of howling wind, Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s figures flitted past the war spirit, which froze before crumbling apart. Even the shadows from its staff had vanished.

    Quite a few of the spectators felt their scalps go numb. The war spirit of the former Astral-2 leader couldn¡¯t evenst for a second! The disparity between it and Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing was just toorge.

    Thud thud!

    Two dull sounds rang out in the arena as Lu Yin blocked Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s punch with his left arm while grabbing her elbow with his right hand. ¡°So is this the Nightking¡¯s Body that¡¯s supposed to beparable to five-lined battle force?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s breathing wasbored, and a line of blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth as she red at Lu Yin. He ruthlessly mocked, ¡°So, is this all the Nightking n amounts to?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing bellowed in rage and tried to kick him, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t even bother dodging. With a flick of his wrist, he mmed her into the ground and stared into her eyes. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ names?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled by this unexpected response. ¡°He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked at Lu Yin in confusion before snickering. ¡°So you didn¡¯t know? Nightking Zhenwu is a genius beyond any we¡¯ve ever seen. He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters and my older brother as well.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. It did make sense that the strongest family in the universe, the Nightking n, would produce a member of the Ten Arbiters. He had only asked about this person out of curiosity, but he had unexpectedly managed to find out that he was one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Do you have the guts to kill me? Can you even win? I¡¯m the princess of the Nightking n and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s younger sister¡ªthe younger sister of one of the Ten Arbiters,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing provokingly said.

    Lu Yin shot her a look of contempt. ¡°And here I thought that you were strong. I never expected that you would have such a pathetic side. Regardless, it¡¯s over.¡±

    After saying that, he used Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm with a single hand to crush both the ground and the girl into dust.

    Everyone went silent as they watched Lu Yin slowly rise into the air. He had won the match.

    Then, everyone from Astral-10 started cheering.

    Wu Da was so excited that he nearly started jumping out of joy. There was now hope for his academy newspaper to reach an unprecedented level of sales! He watched Lu Yin with passionate eyes. This was a person who he needed to keep following, as Lu Yin would definitely be the subject of more shocking news in the future.

    Starsibyl and a few others gave Lu Yin meaningful looks. Only now did they truly acknowledge and treat him as an equal with the same level of strength as them.

    Up in the sky, a dozen mentors exchanged nces, the shock in their gazes still present. This Astral Combat Tournament hadpletely exceeded all of their expectations. Thankfully, a decision had already been made that the tournament would end before the semifinals. It wouldn¡¯t be good for the Human Domain if the final four¡¯s true abilities were exposed.

    In front of their screens, numerous people stared at Lu Yin¡¯s figure in shock. He was a Melder from Astral-10 who had cultivated five lines of battle force. He was incredibly powerful, but at the same time, he was merely a nobody from the Outerverse who had managed to achieve something that even people from the Innerverse¡¯s most powerful organizations were incapable of aplishing. Who ever said that miracles don¡¯t exist in space?

    The entire poption of Earth was cheering ecstatically. The people might not understand the full implications of what had happened, but even they could tell that thisst battle had been on a whole other level. After all, it had been a fierce battle between two people who were both qualified to enter the final four.

    On Saint Dios, Wendy Yushan was just as shocked as everyone else. Lu Yin was merely a Melder, but once he became a Limiteer, or better yet, an Explorer, he would definitely rise into the heavens and be qualified to challenge the Top 100 Rankings.

    In the Innerverse, within a dark room, a wine ss shattered into tiny shards. ¡°What a piece of trash.¡±

    Behind the young man, Liu Shaoge kept his eyes trained on Lu Yin¡¯s figure on the screen as a dark glint flickered across them.

    In the Lifeseek Realm, outside the arena ins, all of the students looked into the sky. This was the first time that an Astral Combat Academy mentor hade out and made an appearance.

    Studying in the Astral Combat Academy came with a lot of freedom. For example, the battles in the teleportation arena and the trial zones took ce without any guidance or supervision. The mentors would generally only give a small bit of guidance to the students, and many students might not even have the chance to ever interact with any of the mentors. Rather than calling them mentors, they were more like the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s guardians.

    ¡°All students, listen up! This is a joint decision that was made by the Mentor Association of the Astral Combat Academy and the Ten Arbiter¡¯s Council. The tournament will go on a hiatus until further notice. Additionally, the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students must respond to a summons and go to the Human Domain¡¯s warfront. The final four will be the leaders of this team, and they will also oversee these teams at the Human Domain¡¯s border while umting contributions for humanity. The dates of the final matches will be announcedter.¡± The mentor then repeated himself. ¡° The tournament will go on a hiatus until further notice. Additionally, the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students must respond to a summons and go to the Human Domain¡¯s warfront. The final four will be the leaders of this team, and they will also oversee these teams at the Human Domain¡¯s border while umting contributions for humanity. The dates of the final matches will be announcedter.¡±

    The students were astonished by what they had just heard; the tournament was going to end just like that?!

    In front of their screens, countless people were swearing and cursing. They had just found out who the final four were before the tournament was indefinitely postponed! This was terrible news.

    Lu Yin sighed. It was over. The Trialmaster had already hinted to him that this would be thest round of the tournament. As for when the tournament¡¯s semifinals and finals would really be held, it depended on what the higher-ups decided. However, what would happen to the rewards from the sponsors? He remembered that the Nn family had donated a harmless sourcebox that was suitable for a medium-ranked Lockbreaker to unlock. It was also rumored that there were also many powerful battle techniques avable. Many people had joined the tournament and even the academies just for these rewards.

    Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Grandini appeared on the arena ins and approached Lu Yin.

    ¡°The date for the final battle hasn¡¯t been decided yet, so let¡¯s get as strong as we can in the meantime,¡± Starsibyl said with a slight smile. She was very gentle and her voice caused people to unconsciously rx when they heard it.

    Lu Yin swung his arms around. ¡°I¡¯m pretty beat from fighting so much over the past few days. I¡¯ll probably use this time to rx a bit.¡±

    Grandini snickered. ¡°Rx? It seems that you¡¯ve never been to the Human Domain¡¯s warfront before. People at the Explorer realm and above die there everyday, and you want to rx there?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°We¡¯re actually going to the warfront?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? With our strength, it¡¯s very possible. At the very least, we won¡¯t lose easily, even to Explorers,¡± Han Chong added on.

    Starsibyl looked at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°Here¡¯s a word of advice. Nightqueen Yanqing is a very petty woman. You beat her, so you should be careful of her from now on.¡± After that, she waved her hand and exited the Lifeseek Realm.

    Han Chong nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s very petty.¡± He also left after saying those words.

    Grandini Mavis stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. Lu Yin was a bit puzzled and asked, ¡°Are you going to warn me as well?¡±

    Grandini shook her head. ¡°No, I want to ask you something.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship like with Lulu?¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°What do you mean? Are you asking whether we¡¯re ssmates or friends?¡±

    Grandini was rather disappointed by Lu Yin¡¯s answer. ¡°I thought that you two were a couple. What a pity¡ªI don¡¯t get to rip you apart.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless by her shocking words. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    Grandini snorted. ¡°It¡¯s hard for a Mavis family member to marry outside the family, so what do you think I meant?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes before leaving the Liveseek Realm as well. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Xia Luo and the rest had already left the trial zone mountain. Hui Daynight was the only one who had stayed behind, and he was looking at Lu Yin with aplicated expression on his face.

    Lu Yin returned the look and asked rather detachedly, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    Hui Daynight shook his head before leaving the mountain as well.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, quickly left the mountain, and headed straight for Astral-10¡¯s space station. Unfortunately, the Nn spacecraft had already left, and he wasn¡¯t able to bid farewell to Madam Nn.

    Then, he received a message from his gadget telling him to go to the treasury to meet Old Cai.

    ¡°Old Cai.¡± Lu Yin respectfully bowed to the mentor when he reached the treasury.

    Old Cai looked Lu Yin up and down with evident surprise. ¡°You¡¯re quite something, kiddo.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I just got lucky.¡±

    Old Cai nodded and did not prod any further. ¡°There¡¯s been a summoning from the warfront. The final four of the tournament are to lead the rest. Get some rest and head out tomorrow.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°This soon?¡±

    Old Cai rolled his eyes in annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s a summoning from the warfront, so it¡¯s obviously going to happen soon. Did you think that this was just another mission?¡±

    ¡°So where am I going?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Old Cai answered, ¡°To the battlefront at the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Conan.¡± Then, he seemed to remember something and tossed a cosmic ring to Lu Yin. ¡°This is your reward for reaching the final four. You¡¯re quite lucky.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He was actually just about to ask about the reward.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother checking it. There¡¯s five hundred thousand star crystals and a harmless sourcebox inside,¡± Old Cai said with a slightly envious and annoyed tone.

    Five hundred thousand star crystals wasn¡¯t much, but Lu Yin was quite surprised by the sourcebox.

    ¡°Old Cai, who provided this sourcebox?¡± Lu Yin asked even though he had his guesses.

    Old Cai snickered. ¡°It¡¯s from the Nn family. By the way, kid, since when did you be friends with that rich Nn widow? This reward is meant for the winner, but she gave it to you now.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s face appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind and his heartbeat sped up. But after seeing Old Cai¡¯s thick beard, he replied, ¡°She¡¯s my benefactor. It¡¯s all thanks to her that I managed to return here.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Well, whatever, your personal issues have nothing to do with the academy. Though I do need to remind you that she has connections with the Sword Sect, so don¡¯t overdo it,¡± Old Cai said.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t really care since he had known about this since a long time ago. That was the only way Madam Nn would have known about Liu Shaoqiu, and she most likely wouldn¡¯t have given Liu Xiaoyun a ride if she didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with the Sword Sect. However, this had nothing to do with Lu Yin.

    ¡°By the way, speaking of the Sword Sect, a letter arrived yesterday from them. Apparently, the sect leader is willing to take you in as a personal disciple. What do you think? Do you want to go there?¡± Old Cai asked.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s leader? Be his personal disciple?¡±

    Old Cai nodded and grinned as he stroked his beard. ¡°Yes, you¡¯d be a personal disciple of the sect leader. That would mean that you¡¯d have the same status as Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. The Sword Sect was a very powerful organization in the Innerverse that controlled the First Flowzone and was far more powerful than Myriad Swords Peak. The moment he became a personal disciple of the Sword Sect, his status would surpass even Wendy Yushan¡¯s, who was from the Myriad Swords Peak. This was an extremely tempting offer.

    Old Cai continued stroking his beard as he observed Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin pondered over it for quite a while, but then, he sighed. ¡°Forget it. The Sword Sect isn¡¯t for me.¡±

    Old Cai was surprised to hear this response. ¡°Think it through, kiddo. That¡¯s the Sword Sect you¡¯re talking about! The Sword Sect from the First Flowzone. If you agree, you¡¯d instantly be a part of the rich and powerful in the Innerverse. With one word, you¡¯d be able to make the master of any Outerverse territory bow down to you, and your status would vastly eclipse what you currently have as King Zishan. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want this?¡±

    Lu Yinughed wryly before responding, ¡°Please stop tempting me, Old Cai. It¡¯s not that easy to say ¡®no.¡¯¡±

    Old Cai sized him up before seriously asking, ¡°Tell me why.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. The Sword Sect just isn¡¯t suitable for me. The reason why they value me is probably because they saw that I was immune to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword. In reality, other than that, I¡¯m worth nothing to the Sword Sect even though I have five-lined battle force. They¡¯re an organization that has even raised a disciple who became one of the Ten Arbiters. If I go, I¡¯ll just be someone for them to study. Besides, their training environment doesn¡¯t fit me,¡± Lu Yin honestly answered.

 Chapter 228: Five-Stage Formcast Model

    <h4>Chapter 228: Five-Stage Formcast Model</h4>

    Old Cai praised Lu Yin, saying, ¡°Not bad, you¡¯re not bad at all to resist this tempting offer. You¡¯ve improved, kiddo. Go on and get some rest. Someone will eventuallye over to bring you to the Erudite Flowzone. Once there, you¡¯ll get a better understanding of the Innerverse. It¡¯spletely different from the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin left soon after. He was feeling rather annoyed as he felt like he was missing out on a great opportunity. He really did want to enter the Sword Sect for no other reason than to obtain a better status. However, it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to go there right now, and it would have to wait until he had the ability to protect himself. Since the Sword Sect was willing to take him in, this wouldn¡¯t be his only opportunity, and he would definitely go once he was stronger.

    Right after leaving the treasury, Lu Yin was stopped by Michelle. ¡°When are you going to fulfill your promise to me?¡±

    Lu Yin was put in a rather awkward position. He had asked Michelle to help him snatch a training ground, and in return, he had promised to help herprehend battle force. However, he still hadn¡¯t done so. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to go to the warfront tomorrow. Can you wait until I get back?¡±

    Michelle gave him a long stare, obviously annoyed by his response.

    Lu Yin sighed helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m really not doing this on purpose. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m leaving tomorrow.¡±

    Michelle turned around and left without saying another word.

    Lu Yin had no interest in chatting with the other Astral-10 students. He found a quiet ce for himself and began to roll his die. He actually wanted to wait a bit more before doing this, but he was about to leave, and he had no idea if anyone would be observing him once he got on the spacecraft. Thus, he had no choice but to roll the die now.

    Quite a bit of time had passed since thest time he had rolled the die. Taking it out now gave him a minor sense of nostalgia. Lu Yin had actually tried to use the die in the trial zones once. Most people were able to use their innate gifts in the trial zone, but for some reason, his hadn¡¯t activated. It was rather odd.

    He had 597,500 or so star crystals on hand right now, so it was enough for a few rolls.

    He rolled the die and watched it spin. It felt slightly odd to Lu Yin, which was understandable as he hadn¡¯t rolled the die once since leaving Astral-10.

    When it stopped rolling, it revealed three pips.

    Lu Yin was very excited to see that he had rolled Enhance! It was a very umon roll; besides this one, it had only ever appeared twice. It was quite a surprise that he¡¯d roll it on his first try this session.

    Wait a second¡­ Lu Yin hesitated. Do the chances of getting the number that I want increase the longer I wait before each roll of the die?

    It had been nearly impossible to roll a threest time. He had rolled the die so many times, but he rarely ever obtained the result that he wanted. When he was in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s pce desperately trying to roll a three, he had only seeded after using Time Stop. Even now, he could still remember the fatigue that he had gone through to seed. It seemed that the longer he waited between each roll, the better his chances of getting the number he wanted were. This was a clear pattern.

    As he looked at the two nes of light, one at the top and one at the bottom, Lu Yin did not think twice. He immediately took out his formcast model and threw it inside the topmost ne. He had already used over ten thousand star crystals to start upgrading it, so the amount needed to fully upgrade it had gone down a bit. This time, Lu Yin tossed 290,000 crystals in right away. The crystals were quickly absorbed as the formcast model fell down until it reached the bottom ne of light. It then released a brilliant, dazzling radiance.

    Lu Yin grabbed it with trembling hands as he looked at the transformed formcast model with excitement. This was a five-stage formcast model! He had actually managed to obtain a five-stage formcast model! This model could help him be an Explorer. Formcast models like these were incredibly expensive, and he¡¯d never imagined that he would one day get his hands on one.

    Although upgrading the formcast model to this stage had cost him 300,000 crystals, what he had received was actually invaluable. A five-stage formcast model was something that money alone might not be able to buy.

    He excitedly stored the formcast model away and looked at the two nes of light as he thought about what he should do next. He didn¡¯t have anything else that he wanted to upgrade at this moment, but he still had 300,000 crystals left. If he rolled the die again, would he be able to get six pips, Possession? The thought of that made Lu Yin grow excited again, and after using a star crystal to refresh the die, he rolled again.

    The triangr nes of light vanished, and the die quickly spun before finally stopping on four pips: Time Stop.

    The scenery around him changed, and Lu Yin once again found himself in a familiar space. He took a deep breath and tossed out a sizable sum of star crystals to change the appearance of his surroundings. It immediately turned into a picturesque view of mountains and flowing water. Although none of this was real, it was much more pleasing to the eye.

    He then took out another hundred thousand star crystals, crushed them, and began to absorb the energy. He was going to cultivate to the peak Melder realm.

    In the past, he had once spent seven days absorbing a hundred thousand star crystals, but that hadn¡¯t been quite enough for him to be a peak Melder. However, that cultivation session had boosted his energy by quite a bit. By his current estimates, it would only take around a hundred thousand more crystals to reach the peak Melder realm.

    When his Cosmic Art was at only seven stars, it had taken him about seven days to absorb a hundred thousand crystals. Now, with nine stars, the efficiency was nearly double that of before. He needed less than two hours to finish absorbing all of the energy from the star crystals. With this in mind, he manifested nine stars around his body, forming a perfect gxy that absorbed the star energy surrounding him at a crazy rate. While absorbing it, he also constantly filtered out the impurities.

    Two hours quickly passed by, at the end of which all hundred thousand star crystals had been absorbed. However, it still wasn¡¯t enough for him to reach the peak Melder stage.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. His star energy storage capacity seemed to be much greater than anyone else at the same realm as him. This is still fine, he thought to himself as he crushed another hundred thousand star crystals.

    Another two hours passed by, after which Lu Yin¡¯s star energy was surging crazily, almost to the point where it was about to go out of control. He could feel that he had be a peak Melder. Although there wasn¡¯t much of a differencepared to before, when battling against powerhouses, even a tiny advantage could sometimes spiral into a huge difference. If he¡¯d been a peak Melder when he fought against Nightqueen Yanqing, then his Nine Stacks, Seventeen-Fold Shockwave Palm would have been even more destructive. He might have even been able to kill her with a single strike.

    But he had only reached the peak Melder realm from an outside perspective; there were still too many impurities within his energy for him to be satisfied. Lu Yin closed his eyes and began refining his energy and ridding himself of the impurities.

    The uncontroble, surging star energy on the surface of his body slowly dissipated over the course of two days. At the end, he opened his eyes, took out another hundred thousand crystals, and crushed them. This time, he was definitely going to be a peak Melder.

    One dayter, Lu Yin left the Time Stop Space. During the time he had spent cultivating, only a second had passed for the rest of the universe.

    He looked at his hands. He had finally be a peak Melder after consuming around 400,000 star crystals. If it weren¡¯t for his Cosmic Art and supply of star crystals, then it would have taken him forever to fill up his energy capacity through just absorbing the stray star energy wandering about in the universe.

    Cultivation was something that required both resources and talent. Many people said that having resources was even more important than having talent, and Lu Yin was beginning to understand what they meant by that now.

    It generally took around 150,000 or so star crystals to push an ordinary person to the Melder realm in a short period of time. This was a huge amount of money, or at least, that was how it was seen in the Outerverse. Even though the Outerverse consisted of numerouss that had star crystal mines, it was still difficult for therge organizations to support such a high rate of consumption. It was no wonder why so many soldiers were merely at the Sentinel or even Seeker realm.

    150,000 star crystals was the amount required to raise a mere Melder. To raise a Limiteer, that amount was ten times higher, and the resources required to raise an Explorer was even higher beyond that.

    There were two main obstacles towards bing an Explorer. One was the star energy requirement, and the other was actually breaking through. Lu Yin had once asked Uncle Reuben about the difference between an Explorer and a Limiteer. Uncle Reuben had vaguely mentioned that the body of an Explorer was qualitatively different from that of a regr human and that there was also a state of ¡°Exhaustion.¡± He hadn¡¯t really exined much, but it was enough for Lu Yin to realize that it was not easy to be an Explorer.

    Of course, within the scope of the entire universe, there was arge number of Explorers despite the vast amount of resources that it took to raise each one. Even if each Explorer consumed all of the resources of an entire, there would still be countless Explorers within the Human Domain.

    It was true that there were numerous Explorers throughout the entire Human Domain, but the majority of them were undoubtedly at the warfront.

    Lu Yin switched his gadget on and started to browse through it, searching for reports on the Human Domain¡¯s warfront. Besides some general news, there wasn¡¯t much else avable, though he did manage to find some recent pictures. Through them, he saw how merciless the situation at the warfront was. Many of the pictures had captions exining that the dead people in the pictures were all Explorers or even Cruisers.

    He then searched for Conan, but there were no results.

    Lu Yin set his gadget down and retrieved the harmless sourcebox from his cosmic ring. He activated his Cosmic Art and took out the Emperor Giant¡¯s third eye as well. He then focused intently on the sourcebox, causing his senses to sink into an entirely different world filled withplicated structures.

    This was a worldposed of star energy with all sorts of other energy mixed in. Lu Yin had Charon¡¯s lockbreaking experience, so he was already qualified to try unlocking this sourcebox, but he didn¡¯t have enough time. It took a long time to unlock every sourcebox, and there were too many uncertainties in the process. Master Wusheng had told him that there was no such thing as a harmless sourcebox and that every one of them could potentially kill a Lockbreaker. Lu Yin was nning to take things one step at a time with this sourcebox, so there was no need to be overly ambitious. The most important thing to do right now was to get some rest and wait to leave for the Erudite Flowzone.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped a couple hourster, prompting Lu Yin to open his eyes. It was time.

    When Lu Yin arrived at Astral-10¡¯s space station, he saw arge warship docked there. It was massive and covered with fierce-looking weapons that exuded an intimidating aura. The spacecraft had an emblem of a bloodstained book on it, which was the symbol of the Human Domain¡¯s Erudite Flowzone Border Allied Troops and proof that this warship belonged to the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s troops.

    Nobody came to wee him, and Lu Yin entered as soon as the doors opened. The first thing he saw was Silver¡¯s smiling face.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re also going to Erudite Flowzone¡¯s allied army?¡±

    Silver smiled as he replied, ¡°Yes. You¡¯re my captain now.¡±

    Lu Yin loosened up his shoulders. ¡°We¡¯re just foot soldiers in the army. Did you really think that I¡¯ll be a captain?¡±

    ¡°You can be a small captain,¡± Silver joked with a bright grin, as if he was delighted with their circumstances.

    Lu Yin checked out the spacecraft¡¯s interior. The decorations were simple without any excess luxury. The troops who were patrolling around inside had a stern look and emanated a subdued bloodlust. Lu Yin realized that every person here had spilled blood before.

    The two of them were led by a soldier to a cabin at the bottommost level. ¡°Before we arrive at the warfront, this will be your room. The two of you will share it.¡± After saying that, the soldier left.

    Lu Yin opened the door and entered the room. Despite both of them being assigned to a single room, it was very small. After looking around a bit, he chose one of the beds and sat down on it. It wasn¡¯t too bad, all things considered.

    At this point, the warship jolted as it started to depart, leaving Astral-10 and heading straight into space.

    Silvery on his bed and smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you disappointed, captain?¡±

    ¡°Disappointed about what?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Silver smiled. ¡°Even though you¡¯re one of the final four fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament and one of the top students in the Astral Combat Academy, you were still assigned to a cabin on the bottom floor and have to squeeze in together with a footsoldier like me. Aren¡¯t you disappointed? Don¡¯t you feel like you¡¯re not getting the treatment you deserve?¡±

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. ¡°We¡¯re just students and not anybody famous. Why should they give us any special treatment? Besides, in the eyes of soldiers, only the strong are worthy of respect.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you one of the strong? On this spacecraft, I would think that only the Explorers stand a chance of defeating you. And how many Explorers do you think there are on this spacecraft?¡± Silver asked with a grin.

    For some reason, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the betrayal that had happened when he had travelled from Earth to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s capital star. He stared intently at Silver. ¡°What are you nning?¡±

    Silver chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re looking nervous, captain.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly grabbed Silver, causing the grinning youth¡¯s eyes to go wide. Those wide eyes held an endless cold edge, and his butterfly knife suddenly swung towards Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Lu Yin easily dodged the de as four-lined battle force covered his hand that was holding Silver. Lu Yin then said in an icy tone, ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t try anything funny.¡±

 Chapter 229: The Tragedy Of Civilization

    <h4>Chapter 229: The Tragedy Of Civilization</h4>

    Silver put away his butterfly knife and innocently spread his hands. ¡°What are you saying, captain?¡±

    Lu Yin stared deep into Silver¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know who you are and how easy it¡¯d be for you to take care of a bunch of Explorers if you really wanted to. However, you should know the consequences of those actions. If anything happens to this spacecraft, then numerous powerhouses of the Human Domain will focus their attention here. Everything about you will be exposed in that case.¡±

    Silver smirked. ¡°So what?¡±

    ¡°You worked so hard to get into Astral-10 from the Great Yu Empire. I¡¯m assuming that it¡¯s not just to destroy this warship,¡± Lu Yin said icily.

    Silver¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Since you know that, then why attack me? Are you afraid?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer. He was indeed fearful of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s methods as well as their incredible power.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be worried about this warship, captain. Instead, focus on yourself,¡± Silver suddenly said with a teasing glint in his eye. ¡°Your experience at the pirate port must have traumatized you¡ªyou¡¯re afraid that there¡¯ll be trouble on this spacecraft and that you¡¯ll have to experience the same thing all over again.¡± Lu Yin did not reply, so Silver continued rambling. ¡°You¡¯re also afraid that we¡¯ve set our sights on your innate gift and that we might even try to steal it from you.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him, released his hold on Silver, and then sat down on his bed.

    Silver was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re not going to say anything?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°What exactly are you after in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You¡¯re changing the subject.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, but I¡¯m still very curious. You¡¯re way too focused on the Great Yu Empire, or to put it in other words, you¡¯re putting too much effort into infiltrating it. Your organization is huge, but even for them, it would take a lot to raise someone like you. You¡¯re definitely not some bottom feeder in the Neohuman Alliance. I¡¯m very curious as to what exactly attracted so much of their attention that they sent you to a fringe region like the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Silver stretched a bit and thenid down. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things that we like. For one, the food there is delicious, and as I¡¯ve said before, I¡¯m a gourmet.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. Silver actually had a very conspicuous tell¡ªwhenever someone saw through him, he¡¯d unwittingly start talking about food. Perhaps food really was something tempting for him and was the only thing that could calm him down. However, Lu Yin knew that the moment Silver mentioned food, it meant that he had guessed right; there was indeed something special about the Great Yu Empire.

    The two stopped talking as they both heard a noise from behind the door.

    Not muchter, Lu Yin left the cabin and entered the corridor. He stared at the starry expanse surrounding him while deep in thought.

    The allied troops of the Human Domain came from all parts of the universe, including both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. To help speed up troop movements, there were well-established routes through wormholes in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. This was the quickest route for the military to travel, and only border troops had the right to use it.

    With this special passageway, it only took the warship two days to arrive at the border between the Inner and Outerverse, the Astral River.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the Astral River, but he was still blown away by the majestic sight. The Astral River was unbelievably vast, like a wide ribbon dividing the Innerverse and Outerverse. It¡¯s currents wereposed of all kinds of violent, liquid energies as well as indescribably strange creatures. Of the entire Human Domain, there was only a single, massive vessel that could traverse the Astral River.

    This huge vessel was necessary if one wanted to cross the Astral River, and the person who managed the vessel was the Astral River Envoy, Elder Gu De.

    Lu Yin still remembered Ge Er, whom he had killed in the Dao of Purgatory. He was Elder Gu De¡¯s son.

    As Lu Yin watched the Astral River Ark draw closer and closer to them, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. He would never forget what had happened in the past. The situation back then had been quite simr to today. The Astral River Boat had drawn closer, but then suddenly stopped. That was when the endless cries of despair as well as that unforgettable scarlet color had filled the skies.

    If Elder Gu De had not intentionally decided to stall for time, then they would not have been forced into such a pitiful state. Lu Yin would definitely take revenge one day.

    The Erudite Flowzone Border Troops¡¯ warship had priority and was the first to enter the vessel. Behind them, there was a whole line of floating spacecraft, waiting to enter.

    The vessel was huge, so huge that Lu Yin could not understand how it had been constructed by human hands.

    However, he did not give it a second look and immediately turned away. If he spent too much time looking at the vessel, he was afraid that he would do something stupid. This was not the time yet.

    After crossing the Astral River and entering the Innerverse, Lu Yin could sense the clear difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    It was often said that, the further one went in the universe, the greater the chances of encountering a powerhouse. While there was no definitive way to prove this, it was true that the Innerverse¡¯s general level was much higher than the Outerverse. Hence, a lot of powerhouses from the Outerverse wanted to enter the Innerverse.

    The Astral River surrounded the entire Innerverse and its tributaries flowed throughout the Innerverse. These tributaries were the borders that demarcated the eightrgest flowzones of the Innerverse. Currently, their warship was in the zing Mist Flowzone and travelling to the Erudite Flowzone.

    Not muchter, right when the warship was about to leave the zing Mist Flowzone, Lu Yin sensed an invisible wave of energy ripple through space at the front of the spacecraft. The energy wave hade from a rather antique looking spacecraft, and outside of the ripple was a huge spacecraft. This antiquated spacecraft must have been made by some civilization that was entering the universe for the first time. Within that spacecraft, numerous people stared outside and studied the universe curiously.

    Spacecraft like these would not be able tond on nearbys, much less dock on the huge spacecraft that could detect such primitive ships with such ripples.

    This was the tragedy ofing from a tiny civilization. From their point of view, the universe only contained a single sapient race, themselves. They believed that they were the heart of the universe, but in reality, there were huge civilizations watching them from just a few meters away. They were like pets trapped in a cage who didn¡¯t even know they were being observed by the truly powerful for entertainment. To the small civilizations, the powerful people and organizations were invisible and untouchable, and even the space that they saw in front of them was not real.

    ¡°Do you think that we¡¯re just like them? Trapped in an unseen cage by even more powerful civilizations while being observed, captain?¡± Silver suddenly walked to Lu Yin¡¯s side while still smiling at him.

    There was no real answer to this question: perhaps, perhaps not. Lu Yin looked up and thought to himself, Right, could there be a pair of eyes staring at me while right in front of me that I can¡¯t see? The universe is huge. Who can know for certain if they are the most powerful being around? That civilization trapped within those ripples had left their world and were convinced that they were the most powerful and intelligent lifeforms in the universe, but the further they explored, the closer they inched towards a cmity.

    ¡°This civilization is in danger. Once they realize the truth, it won¡¯t be long before their is turned into a trial zone,¡± Silver said. For once, he was not smiling.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone as he watched the archaic spacecraft draw further and further away from them. The people inside were still looking around curiously, but everything that they saw was fake.

    The zing Mist Flowzone was one of the eightrgest flowzones in the Innerverse. It covered a total area that was asrge as numerous fments of the Outerverse. The most powerful organizations here were the ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and the Sylvan Dragons. As the gatekeepers to the Innerverse, these three great organizations seemed to be the most powerful to the Outerverse.

    The zing Mist Flowzone was huge, but they passed through it after just a day of travel. The ultra-efficient route had saved them a huge amount of time.

    Lu Yin stopped staring at the stars passing them by and went to the training area. Battles in the trial zones only took ce virtually, so he still needed to temper his real body and be ustomed to five-lined battle force as soon as possible.

    The training area on the warship was huge. Within this single warship, nearly half of the thousands of troops onboard were training at any given time. There was all kinds of equipment here as well as a special training area meant to simte various unique environments.

    Lu Yin went straight to the gravity training zone, where there were dozens of gravity training rooms. These were different from the gravity training rooms on the ultrarge spacecraft that had brought him from Earth to the Great Yu Empire. Here, the gravitational intensity differed by room and was not adjustable. This way, the troops could choose the room that was most suitable for them to train in.

    As Lu Yin walked towards the gravity training zone, quite a few people started to converse amongst themselves after noticing him.

    ¡°He¡¯s a genius from the Astral Combat Academy! That¡¯s Lu Yin, one of the final four participants of the Astral Combat Tournament. He¡¯s already cultivated five-lined battle force. He¡¯s terrifying.¡±

    ¡°Someone like him can easily tear apart the void on an ordinary. In fact, he might even be able to sunder the stable space in the Innerverse. He¡¯s so strong.¡±

    ¡°Have a go at him, Fatso. See who¡¯s stronger.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Once he activates his battle force, even a full force blow from you will be nothing to him.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin burst out in a fit ofughter. He liked soldiers because the genuine and solid rtionship that they had was something that could only be found among soldiers. The battlefield was the best ce to cultivate trust.

    ¡°110! Look, he¡¯s already heading to the room that has 110 times gravity. Regr Melders have a limit of sixty times and regr Limiteers have a limit of a hundred times. He¡¯s actually able to withstand more force than a Limiteer! And he¡¯s still walking forward!¡± Some soldiers were startled by what they were seeing.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to make such a big fuss. Didn¡¯t you watch the tournament? The students who reached the round of the final thirty two could all easily tear space apart. Their bodies are far more powerful than an ordinary cultivator¡¯s, and as for those with high leveled battle force¡­ My guess is that he might be able to withstand the 120 times gravity room already,¡± a tall and sturdy soldier said quietly.

    The soldiers around him all took in a deep breath. ¡°No wonder so many people are doing everything they can to enter the Astral Combat Academy. Those students really aren¡¯t on the same level as us; any of them can kill all of us.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re actually pretty lucky already! All of the soldiers on this warship were able to train with formcast models. We¡¯re way better off than those grunts who weren¡¯t even able to get that much. They¡¯ll just be cannon fodder on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡­

    After attracting everyone¡¯s admiring gazes, Lu Yin headed to the gravity training room at the end of the corridor. The number 130 was disyed on the door.

    In the Time Stop Space, he had once increased the gravitational force to 100 times the normal level before feeling anything. If he was right, then the limit of what he could currently endure should be 110 times, but that was just his physical body¡¯s limits. If he activated his five-lined battle force, then he should be able to withstand up to 150 times gravity. However, since the room with the highest force was 130, he stepped in without a moment¡¯s hesitation.

    ¡°Hey, I think that there¡¯s somebody in there already.¡±

    ¡°The pilot¡¯s inside.¡±

    ¡­

    The moment he entered the room, Lu Yin felt like the ceiling was copsing and the ground sinking as his innards were nearly crushed to pulp. At the same moment, a hand smacked towards him and Lu Yin immediately activated his five-lined battle force. A golden aura covered his hand as he counterattacked, and his palm collided with the palm rushing towards him.

    With a boom, the walls of the training room were reduced to dust as cracks appeared on the floor. A warning sounded out from the training room, and Lu Yin took a step backwards. He looked up to see a middle-aged man with an extremely shocked expression.

    The 130 times gravity suddenly vanished, and the door opened as a group of soldiers rushed in.

    ¡°What the hell are you all doing? Get out!¡± the middle-aged man shouted.

 Chapter 230: The Ten Arbitersâ€™ War King

    <h4>Chapter 230: The Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King</h4>

    All the soldiers immediately bowed and shouted out, ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The troops then pulled back like a tide as the increased gravity in the room quickly returned. Just like before, Lu Yin felt a stifling restriction cover his body.

    With the help of his five-lined battle force, Lu Yin managed to endure the 130 times gravity and politely greeted the middle-aged man. ¡°My name is Lu Yin. Nice to meet you, sir.¡±

    The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yin with fascination in his eyes. ¡°I watched you on the live broadcast. You¡¯re very powerful. Comprehending five-lined battle force at your age is incrediblepared to others in the universe.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too kind, sir,¡± Lu Yin remained polite.

    The middle-aged man gently knocked Lu Yin¡¯s decorum aside. ¡°I¡¯m not being kind. The fact that you can still speak proves that you can withstand more than 130 times gravity, although your limit should be close. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, agreeing with what the man had just said. Thankfully, he had tried entering this room first. If he had directly entered a room with 150 times gravity, then he might have been seriously injured. The higher the gravitational force, the greater the pressure that every part of his body would have to endure. He¡¯d underestimated the toll this pressure took on his internal organs.

    ¡°Can you still walk?¡± The middle-aged man smiled as he observed Lu Yin¡¯s condition.

    Lu Yin grinned and took a few steps forwards. The 130 times gravity was difficult to bear, but not enough to cause any major problems for him.

    The middle-aged man smiled. ¡°130 times gravity is something that even Explorers find difficult to endure. The fact that you can do so as a Melder is astonishing! I now understand why the Ten Arbiters are so terrifying even though they are so young. With how quickly you¡¯re improving, it looks like you won¡¯t be any weaker than the Ten Arbiters in the future.¡±

    ¡°I hope so too. By the way, I trust that I¡¯m not bothering you, sir,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The middle-aged man shook his head. ¡°I was just warming up, so there¡¯s no need to worry. I thought that you just came in because of a mistake or something, so I was trying to push you out earlier. I assumed that no one else on this warship could endure this level of gravity, but I forgot that you were onboard.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but did not respond.

    The middle-aged man also stopped talking and continued warming up his body. Lu Yin looked at the man enviously. If he could move around freely under this amount of pressure, then that meant that this man was no ordinary Explorer. At the very least, he must have transformed his body four times already.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin went to the 130 times gravity training room multiple times to train. Gradually, he became able to endure the gravity with just four-lined battle force. During these times, he would chat with the pilot every once in a while, but most of the time, he listened on while the pilot talked about the astral wars.

    Lu Yin was very eager to learn more about this topic. The Human Domain¡¯s border wars were humanity¡¯s most important battlefield, and the fighting there had never stopped. For countless years, far too many powerhouses had fallen here.

    ¡°I remember once chatting with a genius ten years ago. He also came from the Astral Combat Academy. We didn¡¯t meet in the training room with 130 times gravity, but rather the room with 110 times gravity. He was very powerful and was a student leader at the Astral Combat Academy, but he never managed to return from the battlefield. He died there.

    ¡°There was also a pretty girl who talked to me. She told me that she was going to the battlefield for experience as she was going to marry the man she loved when she returned. Unfortunately, she was ripped to shred when a giant beast tore through the void. I nearly died at that time, too.

    ¡°The frontier wars are very cruel. Regardless of how talented and powerful you are, there are still millions of ways that you could die. So many geniuses have died there that I¡¯ve long lost count. Truthfully, I don¡¯t agree with your academy sending you all here. Commander Shui agreed to this for some reason, but he didn¡¯t ount for it in his ns. Of all the expelled students whoe to the warfront, about a third of them end up dying. Of the graduates, about a fifth of them die at the warfront.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°The person who I remember the most vividly is a young man who I met around ten years ago or so. He was very excited to fight in the war and was very kind. I sent him to the frontier, and then¡­¡± The middle-aged man hesitated at that point.

    Lu Yin was bncing his body on just a single finger, but when he heard the pilot pause, he asked, ¡°Did he die, too?¡±

    The middle-aged man shook his head. ¡°No, he became one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Upon hearing that, Lu Yin nearly fell to the ground out of shock. He looked at the middle-aged man in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve met one of the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    The middle-aged man smiled. ¡°Of course! This warship frequently transports guests. That young man really was terrifying. Even in a training room with 150 times gravity, he was still able to move around like normal. He was a bit too tall for his frame, though he was very sturdy. And loud! It was so hard on my ears.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his name? And his race?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously. All of the Ten Arbiters were shrouded in mystery, and even now, he only knew that, among them, there was someone from the Sword Sect who had inherited the Thirteen Swords and Nightking Zhenwu. Right, and there was also someone from the Phoenix Family. From what Big Pao had told Lu Yin, Hart was the younger brother of the Phoenix Family¡¯s Ten Arbiter member. Other than those three people, he knew nothing at all about the rest.

    Nobody dared to openly talk about the Ten Arbiters, which made Lu Yin even more curious as to their identities. Unfortunately, he had been dragged to the Human Domain¡¯s warfront right after the Astral Combat Tournament. Otherwise, he definitely would have gone to the Council of Astral Academy to find out more about them.

    The middle-aged man said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you his name, because that¡¯s forbidden. I don¡¯t know what his race is, but I do know that he¡¯s absolutely terrifying beyond a shadow of a doubt. I met him when I just became an Explorer, but even then, I felt my heart thumping whenever I sparred with him. Right, many people call him the War King.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. The War King? He¡¯s someone who could even make an Explorer¡¯s heart palpitate? ¡°What was his cultivation level back then?¡±

    ¡°He was a Limiteer,¡± the pilot answered.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. Good, good. Lu Yin was already a peak Melder. If the Ten Arbiters had been stronger than his current level when they were at the Melder realm, then he really would have no idea of how he could possibly surpass them.

    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really know how to deal with you either. Having five-lined battle force at your cultivation really is amazing,¡± the middle-aged man said while eyeing at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Tell me more about the warfront. What do I need to take note of?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much you need to do, mostly because no matter what you do, the beasts will still appear all the same. Just fight as hard as you can and do your best to stay alive,¡± the middle-aged man answered nonchntly. His words sounded rxed, but Lu Yin could hear the bitterness and misery implicit in his tone.

    There were many ways to wage war, but against the astral beasts, the humans didn¡¯t have many options. There were just too many of the beasts, and they also had numerous species with strange innate gifts. No matter how powerful their technology became, the beasts could never be fully stopped. The only way to hold them back was by paying the price with human lives. This was also the cruelest method. Themand center for the warfront wasn¡¯t safe either, because there were many beasts that could tear through the void or even crushs.

    ¡°Tell me about Conan, sir,¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked. After all, his destination was Conan.

    The middle-aged man nodded before exining,  Conan is one of the thirty seven protectors to the right of the Erudite Flowzone. It was originally a very ordinary, but all of the native humans were forcefully transported away to fight in the Human Domain¡¯s border war, so all of them have since left. All that remains behind are the local creatures that have no intelligence, so that is basically destroyed. The zone¡¯s most powerful guardian there is Mentor Qu Ao from the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Yihuang Academy. He¡¯s the director of that academy and is also a Hunter. Conan¡¯s guardian is Nappa, who¡¯s a very valiant Explorer¡­¡±

    With the pilot¡¯s exnation, Lu Yin developed a basic understanding of Conan as well as the general situation surrounding the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s frontier. Conan was one of the thirty sevens on the right side of the frontier, and there were another thirty seven on the left and a hundred or so in the middle. Theses were linked together into a huge that acted as the Human Domain¡¯s main line of defense against the Beast Region, and each had an Explorer guardian protecting them. Additionally, each zone in this defensive had a Cruiser, or sometimes, even a Hunter protecting them.

    These powerhouses had either joined of their own will or been forcefully drafted. Of course, there were also prisoners on death row and other simr captives. The troops on each were also split into two groups: rangers and ordinary soldiers. There was also the cannon fodder, who were even lower ranked than rangers, and they mostly came froms that were undergoing their evolutionary trial.

    If Earth had not been protected by Lu Yin with his status as King Zishan, then Earth¡¯s cultivators would have suffered the fate of being conscripted into a battlefield as cannon fodder. It would have been either a battle between the Great Yu Empire and other organizations or the even crueler Human Domain¡¯s warfront.

    Multiple days passed. Then, one day, the pilot told Lu Yin, ¡°In front of us is the intersection between the Tempest Flowzone and the Erudite Flowzone. After we pass through this flowzone, the warship will stop at a space station for maintenance before entering the Erudite Flowzone. We¡¯ll be at the warfront in no more than a day and a half.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly had a thought ur to him. ¡°Is there a Mavis Bank at the space station, sir?¡±

    He shook his head in response. ¡°Not at the space station, no, but there is one on a that¡¯s not too far away from it. ces like this flowzone intersection usually have Mavis Banks. What¡¯s up? Do you need to withdraw some money?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I used up all of my star crystals when I became a peak Melder, so I wanted to withdraw some.¡±

    The pilot said, ¡°I¡¯ll have someone take you there.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, sir,¡± Lu Yin said gratefully.

    Not long after that conversation, Lu Yin boarded a small spacecraft and left the space station. He was headed towards a nearby while guided by a Limiteer.

    The Mavis Bank was always overt about unting their wealth. They casually hung universal currency bills in front of their banks that anyone could pick up, treating it like waste paper. However, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, that was exactly what the bills were.

    After entering the bank, Lu Yin initially wanted to withdraw all of the star crystals avable to him, but then, he suddenly remembered that he might not have enough space in his cosmic ring for it all. Thergest one that he had on him was the one with 500,000 star crystals in it, which was his reward for doing well in the tournament. That ring only had enough space for those 500,000 star crystals while Lu Yin still had a total of 711,000 star crystals that he could withdraw. It seemed that he would need to keep his crystals in more than one cosmic ring.

    At this moment, a girl with an elegant appearance walked over to Lu Yin, offered him a drink, and greeted, ¡°Hello, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°You know me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve be a celebrity throughout the entire universe! We all saw the Astral Combat Tournament. It was very exciting!¡± She then smiled. She gave off a very refined aura, and she had a pleasant fragrance about her. One could not help but view her favorably.

    ¡°And you are?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    The girl reached out a hand and said, ¡°My name¡¯s Mandy, and I¡¯m the manager of this branch.¡±

    Lu Yin extended his hand and shook hers. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. Is there anything that you need from me, Manager Mandy?¡±

    Mandy produced a purple crystal card and handed it to him. ¡°This is for an ount that our Mavis Bank has opened for you. Please ept it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s purple?¡± Lu Yin was surprised. He¡¯d never seen a purple bank card before.

    ¡°The purple represents a star essence ount. We don¡¯t give them out in the Outerverse and only do so in the Innerverse,¡± she exined.

    Lu Yin now understood. Star essence was formed when star crystals werepressed to a certain degree. After beingpressed, the resulting star energy would be purified before condensing into star essence. In terms of purity and quality, they were far superior to star crystals. The two could even be said to be iparable. It was likeparing amon metal to gold, and the exchange rate between them was astounding.

    ¡°Manager Mandy, I don¡¯t have any star essence stored in my ount,¡± Lu Yin remarked with a wry smile.

 Chapter 231: Warfront

    <h4>Chapter 231: Warfront</h4>

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯sment about hisck of star essence, Mandy chuckled before saying, ¡°This is a gift from us. We¡¯d like to thank you for taking care of our family.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Lulu?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mandy smiled and nodded. ¡°The Mavis family has always had very few members, and we are well aware that you have been looking after Ms. Lulu all this time. The amount of star crystals that you withdraw today will be rounded up as a bonus from the Mavis family. That''s the most I can do.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    Mandy smiled. ¡°The conversion rate between star essence and star crystals is one to one hundred thousand. Regardless of how many star crystals you withdraw from this branch, we will round that up to the nearest multiple of ten and give you the equivalent in star essence.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped. ¡°I have 710,000 star crystals.¡±

    ¡°Then we can give you ten star essences. You can also keep ten thousand star crystals for some pocket change,¡± Mandy said with a smile.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. He felt like he had judged this woman too quickly. From what she had just said, this woman was going to give him ten star essences even if he only had a single star crystal. She was basically giving him free money. These people were way too rich! And this woman was only the manager of this branch!

    ¡°Your gift is too much for me, Manager Mandy. Besides, Lulu doesn¡¯t need my protection anymore. She¡¯s far more powerful than I am. When she was just a Melder, she was already able to tame Explorer level beasts,¡± Lu Yin gently declined.

    ¡°This is a show of goodwill from the Mavis Family. Please do not reject it,¡± Mandy said with a smile. As she spoke, a staff member briefly took the purple card away before quickly returning. ¡°This is yours now, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin epted it and took in a deep breath. Ten star essences: that was the same as a million star crystals! He had suddenly gained 300,000 star crystals out of nowhere, and this was something that just a mere manager could hand out as a gift! The Mavis Bank was really incredibly wealthy. He even had the urge to start chasing after Lulu with the intention of bing a son-inw of this family.

    Mandy left after that, as she had only introduced herself to give him the money. Meanwhile, Lu Yin withdrew the ten star essence and ced them inside of his cosmic ring. He also withdrew the ten thousand star crystals for pocket change. Although he still had quite a few Mavis Bank cards on him, he didn¡¯t have any actual money on him.

    Star essence and star crystals had an exchange rate that could go as high as one to one hundred thousand. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of quality; more importantly, it was much quicker to absorb star essence than star crystals. Many disciples fromrge organizations would directly absorb star essence, which greatly lessened any chances they had of encountering obstacles on their path to bing an Explorer. In addition, getting used to structural forms of energy star essence was very important in the Innerverse. This was because the Astral River was made of pure energy. If one cultivated in the Innerverse, it was impossible to guarantee that they would never fall into the Astral River. No matter if it was a main current or a side tributary, bing ustomed to high energy structures meant a better chance of surviving in the Astral River. This made the value of star essence especially high, even higher than its direct equivalent of star energy.

    Lu Yin had always wanted to get his hands on some star essence before he arrived in the Innerverse, but his funds had been too limited, and he had never found a good way to increase them. To his surprise, the Mavis Bank had suddenly given him exactly what he needed. He¡¯d definitely remember this favor.

    He looked back and took ast look at this Mavis Bank. Lu Yin had to tip his hat to the way these people treated money. By using universal currency as trash, they unted their wealth while also reducing the risks that they faced. They would sometimes show goodwill to cultivators like him with powerful innate gifts, treating it as an investment. They didn¡¯t lose much money while doing so, and if they ended up benefiting a future powerhouse, then they would reap a huge return. They invested a small amount of money to buy a favor that would be difficult to return. The Mavis Bank had survived for this long in the universe by relying on not only money, but also the manner in which they conducted business.

    Just as he left the bank and was about to leave, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget received a call. Lu Yin took a look and saw that it was from an unknown contact. He seemed to remember something and quickly epted. ¡°Hello.¡±

    ¡°Little Seven.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re finally contacting me, Uncle Reuben!¡± Lu Yin was delighted.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re fine, Little Seven.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but what happened at the pirate port? Why was Da Chong there? What happened to him?¡± Lu Yin shot out a barrage of questions.

    ¡°Do you remember when we escaped from the Innerverse to the Outerverse? We were also pursued in the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and he said in a chilly tone, ¡°You mean¡­ the Leo family?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was the Leo family that tried to kill us. However, we weren¡¯t certain before that, which was why we sent Da Chong to investigate the pirate port. Unfortunately, he was discovered. The Leo family didn¡¯t want that incident to be exposed, and so, they destroyed the ce themselves before going into hiding. That was what happened at the pirate port.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°It was no secret that the Leo family ruled the pirate port. Would revealing that matter really affect them in any real way? They¡¯re probably trying to protect someone else.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, or it could even be that someone ordered them to do it. However, we don¡¯t have any clues for now. The Leo family¡¯s gone. Do you know who did it?¡±

    The old man on Driftcharge appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he quietly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know his name, but an old man managed to drag down all the Explorers and other powerhouses in the Leo Family to the, where he died alongside them. I was the one who destroyed their spacecraft.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m d that you managed to survive! Da Chong was very upset that he didn¡¯t save you back then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d that he¡¯s fine,¡± Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    ¡°Are you going to the warfront?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡±

    The line fell silent for a moment before Uncle Reuben said, ¡°Do your best to survive. Don¡¯t think that having five-lined battle force will ensure your survival. Cruisers and Hunters die all the time at the warfront. Your defenses aren¡¯t nearly strong enough to protect you from the attack of a powerful beast.¡±

    ¡°I know, Uncle.¡±

    ¡°Also, try your best to get some Honor Points if you can.¡±

    ¡°Honor Points? Those are useless to me, I¡¯m a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re a one star, Discerning Junior Lockbreaker, but while that title can save your life, honor is power. I can¡¯t exin too much right now but try to get as many Honor Points as you can. But, as always, don¡¯t overdo it. If the opportunity arises, don¡¯t hesitate to take the points.¡± Uncle Reuben sounded solemn.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Got it.¡±

    Uncle Reuben then hung up without saying another word.

    Lu Yin put his gadget down. Many of the questions that he¡¯d been pondering over had finally been answered. However, this call had dredged up some bad memories as well. He shook his head and left, following the Explorer realm soldier back to the space station.

    It had taken the warship just fifteen days to travel from the Frostwave Weave¡¯s Astral-10 to the warfront of the Innerverse¡¯s Erudite Flowzone. The speed at which they had crossed this vast distance with the expedited military route was astonishing. It also made it obvious how vitally important the Human Domain treated the ongoing battle at the warfront for them to have created this expedited route for the soldiers.

    After crossing the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Tributary Astral River, Lu Yin saw a spectacr sight from the warship. There was a whole line ofs right beside the Tributary Astral River. This was the Human Domain border, and with so many warships in the area, it was enough to send a chill running down anyone¡¯s back.

    A single warship had enough power to kill an Explorer, and there were so many of them here.

    The entire region¡¯s space had been sealed off, and there were defensive formations everywhere, all centered around thes. At times, startling beast howls could be heard off in the distance, resounding throughout outer space.

    ¡°Themander of our Erudite Flowzone Allied Troops is Shui Chuanxiao. The strongest astral beast that¡¯s fighting against us is called Emperor zewhiz.¡± The pilot had walked up to Lu Yin¡¯s side at some point and started speaking.

    ¡°Emperor zewhiz?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ultra astral beast that controls three different mes: ck, white, and red. It¡¯s also one of the seven strongest beings in the Beast Domain¡¯s Deste Beast Alliance. It has a terrifying power level that¡¯s over 200,000,¡± the pilot exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised. A power level over 200,000? That meant that it was much more powerful than a Hunter. In the human region, reaching that level meant being an Enlighter, every one of which was considered all-powerful. It was a surprise to hear that such a terrifying being was on the other side of the battlefield.

    ¡°Did you just say the Deste Beast Alliance?¡± Silver asked curiously as he walked up.

    The pilot nced at him and said, ¡°The Deste Beast Alliance is an organization made up of the seven strongest astral beasts. It¡¯s meant to deal with us humans and is the Beast¡¯s version of the ze Realm and Sword Sect. Don¡¯t underestimate them; their intelligence isn¡¯t any worse than ours. In order to invade the Human Domain, they¡¯ve been constantly probing us for weaknesses. They even habitually use star energy to forcibly alter the structure of their bodies to gain a human form. Sometimes, they even imitate humans and set up their own academies to discuss ways to fight humans. They are always evolving.¡±

    It was not difficult to use star energy to forcibly alter one¡¯s body structure, but the pain that one had to endure to do so was intense. If these beasts were actually willing to endure such agony, then the threat that the Human Domain was facing was even worse than what the two students had imagined.

    With a loud boom, the warshipnded on the barren ground. A huge field had been marked out, and the edges of the field rippled, showing that the space had been sealed off. Not too far away, there was a metallic base with glinting light reflecting off of it.

    ¡°We¡¯re here. This is one of Conan¡¯s bases. The boss ordered me to send you two here,¡± the pilot told Lu Yin and Silver.

    Lu Yin was filled with gratitude. ¡°Thank you so much for all your help, sir.¡±

    The pilot smiled and patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°Remember, you need to be careful if you want to survive here.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and slowly exited the warship.

    Not long after, it rose and flew away.

    Lu Yin looked at his surroundings, but there was only brown earth everywhere and a violent gale blowing through it. There was no greenery to be seen anywhere, and the ground under their feet was incredibly desated. As the wind whipped up around them, ayer of fine sand blew away and revealed the dark red soil hidden underneath. It was the color of dry blood. This was the battlefield.

    There were quite a few troops patrolling the area. The asional aircraft came and went from the sky; a bit further away from them, another warshipnded. It looked like it hade to deliver some supplies.

    Lu Yin and Silver were taken to the bottom of a cliff. There were already people there waiting to receive them, and among them was a veteran who was training new troops.

    ¡°Astral-10¡¯s Lu Yin reporting for duty.¡±

    ¡°Astral-10¡¯s Silver reporting for duty.¡±

    Everyone looked at the two of them in awe. They weren¡¯t surprised to see the two students since the Astral Combat Tournament had been broadcast across the universe. Countless people now knew these two.

    The veteran nodded. The only expression on his aged face was one of calm. ¡°My name is Gildor, and I¡¯m one of the centurions at this base. From now on, I¡¯ll be your instructor. I won¡¯t be teaching you how to fight, but rather how to survive on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lu Yin answered seriously.

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Silver answered as well, though there was still a smile on his face.

    Gildor nodded. ¡°Go to the barracks over there and change into the clothes on your bunks. You¡¯ve got one minute. All misceneous items should immediately be stored in your cosmic ring.¡±

    Lu Yin and Silver immediately entered the barracks and changed into their uniforms.

    Gildor looked towards the barracks with a surprised expression. He had assumed that these two would be problematic since they were talented geniuses from the Astral Combat Academy, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    When new soldiers first arrived at the barracks, Gildor did not teach any battle techniques, just as he¡¯d said before. All he did was ask them to stand up, instruct them on various methods to adapt to various scenarios at the battlefield, and introduce them to different kinds of astral beasts.

 Chapter 232: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 232: Attack</h4>

    This new group of troops were all volunteers. Some hade fromrge organizations or were disciples ofrge families who had been sent here for training. There were also others like Lu Yin who hade from academies and had considerable individual power. The only thing that these rookiescked was experience on the battlefield.

    ¡°Have any of you seen blood before?¡± Gildor suddenly asked.

    From among the new troops, a male voice loudly responded, ¡°Sir, I am Trifa from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. I¡¯ve killed beasts before.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I am Keyao from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. I¡¯ve killed beasts before.¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Many of the cultivators present had grown up in very cruel environments. Gildor¡¯s question was pointless, since everyone present had seen blood.

    ¡°Have any of you killed before?¡± Gildor asked once again. This time, he sounded more serious than before.

    The crowd fell silent. Trifa was the first to speak up again. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve killed two before.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve killed pirates before. I killed about ten or so of them.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve killed criminals before.¡±

    Quite a few looked at Lu Yin, waiting for him to speak.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Sir, I came from a¡¯s evolutionary trial.¡±

    Arge number of people were shocked, including Gildor. A¡¯s evolutionary trial was a very cruel climate. The fact that Lu Yin hade from one meant that he had been a native, and for a native to reach Lu Yin¡¯s current status was astounding.

    Gildor gave Lu Yin a meaningful look and then told the rest, ¡°The reason why I¡¯m asking you these questions is because I want to know if you¡¯ll be able to do what¡¯s needed if you¡¯re thrown into a situation where you have to kill yourrades.¡±

    ¡°Sir, why would we have to kill ourrades?¡± someone asked. His name was Feng Tao, and he was from the Tempest Flowzone. It was a small flowzone, but there were perennial powerful winds, causing the weather to always be terrible.

    Gildor answered, ¡°Because you¡¯ll often be met with two choices; one is to kill yourrade and the other is to let them be eaten by astral beasts. Tell me, what would you choose?¡±

    Everyone went silent.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. This was the warfront with the Astral Beast Domain. Since they were fighting against astral beasts, being eaten after losing was amonce urrence.

    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sure that they¡¯d all be very happy to choose death,¡± Silver answered with a grin, causing many to feel a chill when they heard his words.

    At this moment, everyone was forcefully reminded of the fact that it wasn¡¯t just the final four of the Astral Combat Tournament who hade to the warfront¡ªthere was also the demonic killer. During the Three Academies Guarding the Gate stage of the tournament, Silver had killed as many students as the other two guardsbined. The domain that Silver hadprehended was specifically aimed towards killing and was very terrifying, although many of the rookies weren¡¯t quite sure what a domain actually was.

    The first day of training passed without any issues. Once they were finished for the day, Lu Yin wandered around the base. The defenses here were very solid, but the troops still patrolled and inspected every single corner of the base, especially the areas that were dark. No ce was safe; that was what the pilot had told him.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Lu Yin of the Astral Combat Academy Tournament¡¯s final four? Let¡¯s have a duel!¡± The man named Trifa appeared in front of him, eyeing Lu Yin in abative manner. There was an entire group behind him that was mainlyposed of the newly arrived troops whom Lu Yin had been training with earlier. Many of them were now looking at Lu Yin with curious expressions.

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Trifa clenched both of his fists. ¡°I heard that the Astral Combat Academy is the best in the universe. I want to see how strong you students really are.¡±

    Lu Yin found his reason hrious. ¡°Didn¡¯t you watch the tournament?¡±

    ¡°What can I see through a screen? There were a few students who won by just standing there without even moving. What a joke! That tournament felt more like a fake show put on by the Astral Combat Academy,¡± Trifa arrogantly replied as he looked up. Quite a few people nodded, clearly agreeing with his words.

    Lu Yin was caught speechless; these people didn¡¯t even know what a domain was! This meant they probably didn¡¯t understand battle force either, but that made sense. These cultivators from the Beast Tamers Flowzone mostly focused on taming beasts. There were very few like Kuang Wang who could cultivate three-lined battle force. Besides, Kuang Wang was from the Divine Grade Hall, while this guy probably couldn¡¯t even enter the First Grade Hall.

    ¡°Not interested.¡± Lu Yin then turned to leave.

    Trifa frowned unhappily. ¡°How dare you look down on me! In that case, I¡¯ll show you my strength!¡± He rolled up his sleeve, causing the strange fish tattoo on his arm to ssh to life as it soared into the sky. The aquatic beast then opened its mouth at Lu Yin in a threatening manner.

    Lu Yin tilted his head to one side and dodged without any difficulty. Just as he was about to counterattack, a miserable cry on the upper side drew everyone¡¯s attention. They all looked over, only to see a soldier¡¯s body crumbling away. In the blink of an eye, he had been reduced to a mess of flesh and blood.

    An rm pierced through the base as a huge crack appeared in the sky. Numerous single-footed sparrows flew out, bringing arge amount of rain with them.

    Trifa¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Crap, the beasts are attacking! It¡¯s the single-footed sparrows that have the ability to summon acid rain.¡±

    While the fresh troops were still processing what was happening, numerous beams of light crisscrossed in the sky. All of the weapons on the base had been activated, and they mowed down countless single-footed sparrows in an instant.

    However, the spatial crack was still open, and a vast number of single-footed sparrows were flying through with each passing second. All of a sudden, a strange, reptilian creature wrapped in metal crawled out of the spatial crack and struck the void with tremendous force. Forceful ripples spread through the void until it finally crumbled apart.

    An enraged roar came out from deep within the base. ¡°It¡¯s Void Wanderers! Attack and kill them first!¡±

    Void Wanderers were a unique kind of astral beast. They didn¡¯t have very high attacking power, but in exchange, they had the ability to easily tear space apart. This meant that they were involved in every surprise attack of the astral beasts. Most of the time, the astral beasts would initiate their attacks by having Void Wanderers pave the way. However, if the Void Wanderers were killed, then their spatial cracks would automatically close.

    There was more than one Void Wanderer attacking the base this time, and spatial cracks had been torn open everywhere. Besides the single-footed sparrows spraying acid rain everywhere, numerous other strange-looking beasts also charged out. They consisted of not only astral beasts, but also other beasts that were being controlled by the astral beasts. Those beasts were the other sides¡¯ cannon fodder.

    Trifa and the others no longer had the will to challenge Lu Yin as enemies were running rampant throughout the base now.

    Lu Yin never expected that there would be an attack on the base during his very first day on Conan. It was quite a unique feeling. He lifted his palm and struck out into the void with the nieth form of the Skybeast w, wrapping his hand in battle force as he did so. The w hurtled through the air and jolted a Void Wanderer so badly that it died.

    Trifa nearly died from shock when he saw this. Lu Yin was just a Melder, but he was already able to tear through the void. Someone like that was not a person that Trifa could fight against. What he had seen on the screen waspletely different from real life. He had thought that the Astral Combat Tournament was fake; how could so many young people possibly be able to tear the void?! That was ridiculous! It was only at this point that he finally realized that everything that he had seen during the tournament was real. Being able to crush the void was as simple as ying with a toy for Lu Yin.

    Not too far away, at the same time that Trifa was staring at Lu Yin in shock, silver rays of light shed through the void, cutting down the Void Wanderers one after another as they were all cleaved in twain.

    Everyone was shocked to see that it was Silver who had acted so decisively. Slicing through the void was a trivial task for him too.

    Gildor¡¯s shock was just as apparent as the new recruits¡¯. His boss had allocated some pretty amazing people to his group.

    There were a handful of soldiers in the base who were Limiteers, but not many could slice through the void. However, not that many Void Wanderers had apanied this surprise attack, and with Silver¡¯s rapid slices, nearly half of them were eliminated in no time at all.

    At the beginning, the beasts weren¡¯t able to react to Silver¡¯s lightning quick offense, but after they discovered Silver, they immediately focused all their efforts into killing him. Numerous beasts appeared from the void to target Silver. They were all giant beasts with powerful defensive abilities, and even with Silver¡¯s offensive strength, it would be difficult for him to break through their defenses.

    Lu Yin grabbed a nearby Void Wanderer and smashed it to the ground. With a swing of his hand, he used a Nine Stacks, Ninefold Shockwave Palm and caused the void to tremble for a hundred meters. Numerous Void Wanderers were sent flying, only to be destroyed by the light beams.

    A strange howl was heard from the void as a huge beast that looked simr to a mantis charged out from underground while brandishing nine des. It shed the void apart and destroyed quite a few of the base¡¯s weapons.

    Trifa and a few others were only a short distance away from the newly emerged beast. It gave them a look of obvious contempt before immediately attacking.

    Gildor bellowed in rage and brandished his sword to block the beast¡¯s sh. With a resounding ng, the ground copsed and shockwaves erupted forth, causing Trifa and the rest to be sted away. All of them coughed up blood while Gildor had been smashed into the ground, looking incredibly pale. Although Gildor was a peak Melder, he was just an ordinary cultivator. Against beasts that were at the equivalent of the Limiteer realm, it was difficult for him to block their attacks. This was especially true when the beasts were intelligent, like this mantis-looking one.

    After seeing that Gildor managed to survive its attack, the beast lifted three of its des and shed downwards again. This attack also cracked open the void. This beast had a strength that wasparable to an Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Area Master.

    Gildor watched on in despair as the des fell. There was nothing more that he could do.

    Right at this moment, Lu Yin used sh to appear in front of Gildor. He grabbed one of the des and broke it with a ng as he simultaneously swung out horizontally with his other fist, breaking the other des as well. Then, he exerted some strength through his hands, crushing another de before throwing the shattered shards at the beast.

    It retreated incredibly quickly and looked at Lu Yin with fear as star energy whirled around its body. The four des that had been destroyed grew out from its body once more. Those des were not external weapons like what humans used, but were rather formed from its own body. ¡°You¡¯re strong, human.¡± The beast¡¯s mouth did not move, but it nheless managed to speak by creating vibrations in the air with star energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but just as he was about to reply, Gildor quietly spoke up from behind. ¡°It¡¯s trying to stall for more time so that more beasts can exit from the void.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. He had actually forgotten that he was on a battlefield. With this in mind, four-lined battle force covered his body before he instantly appeared in front of the beast and mmed a Nine Stacks, Fifteenfold Shockwave Palm into it.

    The beast released a startling cry and lifted its nine des to sh at Lu Yin. At the same time, the void cracked open once more as numerous beasts as strong as Limiteers emerged and began to attack Lu Yin.

    Boom!

    The ground trembled as a huge crack separated the base into two halves. The void trembled violently as terrifying shockwaves pulsed out. Lu Yin¡¯s attack had torn numerous beasts to shreds and even caused the void itself to tremble, resulting in the deaths of countless Void Wanderers.

    This base did not have any Explorers or strong cultivators. Lu Yin was the strongest person there, and he was sure of it. Just one attack from him had caused everyone¡¯s scalps to go numb. At that moment, he had be the sole focus of the entire battlefield.

    Trifa and the others were frozen from shock and couldn¡¯t even make a sound. That attack had been so frightening that if they hadn¡¯t seen it themselves, they would have thought that it hade from an Explorer .

    The beasts had infiltrated everywhere within the base. Firearms exploded everywhere as all the soldiers rushed into battle. The entire area degenerated into a chaotic whirlwind of blood and metal.

    Even though Lu Yin was powerful and he did everything he could to kill the Void Wanderers, it wasn¡¯t enough to change the battlefield¡¯s state. He couldn¡¯t handle all the beasts in an area by himself. However, the otherbatants in the base were at mostparable to an Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Area Master.

    The beasts and soldiers intermixed indistinguishably on the battlefield. At this point, even if Lu Yin had powerful battle techniques that could strafe an area, he couldn¡¯t use it without fear of killing fellow soldiers.

    At this moment, a warship arrived above the base and aimed its cannons at one of the few areas that had no human soldiers. Soldiers jumped out of the warship to provide aid.

    Soon, other warships also appeared.

    All of a sudden, a gigantic spatial crack appeared in the sky. An enormous metallic hoof emerged from it and brutally kicked a warship, causing it to explode violently.

 Chapter 233: Cosmic Palmâ€™s Power

    <h4>Chapter 233: Cosmic Palm¡¯s Power</h4>

    ¡°Zi Tie, how dare you!¡± someone bellowed as the void was torn apart. A man then charged into the void that the giant hoof had emerged from. A shocking fluctuation rippled out soon after; this was a battle between space-exploring powerhouses.

    Densely packed ck dots fell down from the sky. Each one was a soldier, and some were even people who Lu Yin knew.

    The idea had been for the four strongest students as determined by the Astral Combat Tournament to lead the top thirty two students in battle at the borders of the Human Domain. Lu Yin was one of the four top students, and Silver was not the only student under hismand. Most of the other top thirty two students had not arrived yet. So far, only three had arrived: Chao Zhi, Liu Yin, and an Area Master named Tasha.

    Everyone who had reached the top thirty two, especially Chao Zhi and Liu Yin, was as strong as a typical academy leader. Their participation in this small battlefield had caused the astral beasts¡¯ forces to suffer great losses this time around.

    Chao Zhi¡¯s four-lined battle force and Liu Yin¡¯s Soundless Field were both amazing tools of ughter. From the very start, they continuously killed beasts without pause. Tasha was not weak either. Having the title of Area Master meant that she was strong enough to rank in the top five of her own academy, and she easily wiped out a batch of Limiteer astral beasts.

    When the reinforcements arrived, the Void Wanderers were quickly massacred by Lu Yin and the rest. Although the enemy¡¯s numbers had been reduced, a quaking aftershock soon followed afterwards, sweeping out and crushing the subdivision base. An iparablyrge astral beast emerged from the void, but it quickly left after tearing the void open again. This was a sign that the battle had finally concluded.

    The remaining beasts could not escape without the Void Wanderers and thus were left with no choice but to fight to their deaths. By the time thest beast fell, the ground had been stained a dark red by all the spilled blood. It was unknown whether the blood was from humans or beasts, although that felt strangely insignificant within this meat grinder of a battlefield.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first contact with a battlefield. Earth¡¯s evolutionary trial had also been a bloody battlefield, but this was his first time participating in the Human Domain¡¯s border wars. Just the aftershocks of the movements by the astral beasts that had reached the Explorer realm or above were enough to crush more than a hundred soldiers to death. This was the warfront; here, luck was equally as important as power.

    The surviving soldiers calmly started to clean up. There was no hint of terror, unease, or even grief in their actions. It was as if they had all epted that they would one day be the spilled blood that merged into thisnd.

    But for Trifa and the rest, this was the first time they had ever encountered such a gory battle, and they had almost died on top of it all. It wasn¡¯t just them; even veteran soldiers like Gildor had almost died.

    Lu Yin and the few other students from the Astral Combat Academy had the most outstanding performances today. Without them, the battle would not have ended that quickly as the number of powerhouses who could kill Void Wanderers at this base was too few. Furthermore, those few powerhouses had been targeted by the beasts. It had been an organized sneak attack, and Lu Yin and the others could be considered to be unexpected reinforcements.

    Gildor allowed Lu Yin and the rest to return to the barracks to recuperate while the rest of the soldiers cleaned up the battlefield. However, Lu Yin and the others didn¡¯t take advantage of this opportunity to rest and instead joined in to help the others clean up. At the warfront, they were all mere footsoldiers.

    Countless mangled corpses had to be cremated, regardless of if it was human or beast. The battlefield even contained the wreckages of some high technological weapons.

    ¡°Please, please, kill me, kill me...¡± a feeble voice pleaded, causing Lu Yin to look over with the others. There was a young soldier who only had half of his body remaining begging in agony. Those around the young man were at a loss and only looked at him nkly.

    Gildor walked forward and killed the soldier with a single strike. He looked at the onlookers and gruffly said, ¡°Remember, this is a battlefield. There was no chances of him surviving. To him, death was the best release.¡±

    The battlefield grew even quieter and everyone silently continued going about their own matters.

    Suddenly, a brilliant light shed past the group as Silver¡¯s butterfly knife flew right in front of a new soldier named Maggie, sttering blood all over a nearby metal wall. In front of the wall, the head of an astral beast fell down, truly dead this time.

    ¡°Tha- thank you.¡± Maggie¡¯s face was deathly white.

    Silver grinned. ¡°No problem.¡±

    Right next to him, Feng Tao stared at Silver in shock. So this was the power of a top student from the Astral Combat Academy. He had seen that beast at the same instant and wanted to save Maggie, but Silver had already taken care of it by the time he could even think to act. If he battled with Silver, then his oue would almost definitely be the same as that astral beast¡¯s; he would be instantly killed out before he could even make a move. The Astral Combat Academy had produced many freaks.

    Half a dayter, a newyer of sand covered the dark red ground. The fresh bloodstains had been buried underneath, restoring the battlefield to the same state that Lu Yin saw when he had first arrived. This newyer would also turn ck with the passage of time. Within the base, many soldiers were busy at work, repairing various structures. They had already be ustomed to this life.

    Gildor assembled all of the new recruits and spoke to them briefly before arranging for them to patrol a specific region of the base. Their captain was Lu Yin.

    Another half a day passed again when another warship arrived. This one brought someone who shocked the base, and quite possibly even the entire Conan: Liu Shaoqiu, the first-rate genius of the Sword Sect¡¯s younger generation, had arrived.

    Lu Yin was also astonished by the news as he never expected that Liu Shaoqiu would appear here on Conan.

    The most seniormander came out to personally wee Liu Shaoqiu in. This was a sign of respect to the Sword Sect, as it dominated the first Flowzone and was a peak power of the Innerverse. There was also a portion of the frontier¡¯s allied armies that hailed from the Sword Sect, and any of their disciples would receive simr treatment, least of all Liu Shaoqiu.

    Although Liu Shaoqiu had received this courtesy during his arrival, there was no other special treatment, and he also started as a normal footsoldier who was assigned under Lu Yin. Liu Shaoqiu himself did not act very arrogantly and calmly looked at Lu Yin after joining the group.

    Trifa and the rest no longer dared to challenge Lu Yin anymore. The previous battle had shown them what it meant to be called a freak, and now, their curiosity was turned towards Liu Shaoqiu. The fame of the Thirteen Swords was too overwhelming, and they really wanted to experience it for themselves since they could not understand what had happened in the tournament through the screen.

    But Liu Shaoqiu simply did not bother with them. The only thing he did was faithfully carry out his duties as a basic soldier.

    Another two Astral Combat Academy students arrived not long after Liu Shaoqiu. It was Xue Liuyun and another Area Master named Lanke.

    The four strongest students each led a teamposed of eight Astral Combat Academy students, which made for a total of thirty two students.

    Lu Yin did not know where Xia Luo and the others had been sent, but his team was definitely not simple. It was already astounding enough that the team had five members with the power of a Realm Master.

    The eight Astral Combat Academy students were joined by Trifa and the other new soldiers to form a new team captained by Lu Yin. They were assigned to patrol the base.

    The first day went by smoothly.

    The second day was simrly uneventful.

    On the third day, while the rookies were patrolling outside the base, they ran into a sudden ambush from underground beasts. One of the new soldiers died, and Lu Yin was chastised ordingly by Gildor.

    Lu Yin himself found it slightly difficult to tolerate this lecture as he had honestly not noticed the underground beasts. Those beasts had had a strange innate gift that allowed them to perfectly disguise themselves as stones. They had turnedpletely cold and erased all signs of life. Not a single person in their group had sensed them, which had led to the surprise ambush that resulted in one of the new soldiers dying.

    This matter made Lu Yin treat the battlefield even more cautiously.

    Liu Shaoqiu and the rest reacted in a simr manner as they simrly became more alert.

    Over the span of seven days, Lu Yin and the rest gradually adapted to military life and slowly began to learn who their fellow troop members were.

    No one knew how many regional bases were on Conan other than the¡¯smander. This was partially to blunt the surprise attacks of the mutant beasts, but more importantly, it was to prevent the beasts from ever taking root on Conan.

    Many of the bases had been hidden extremely well, and it was quitemon for a batch of newly arrived mutant beasts to be coincidentally spotted by a base. The beasts would then be exterminated by powerful weapons from a distance. There were many such instances; hence, the number and positions of the bases were all kept top secret.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s base had already been revealed. Gildor barely showed himself over thest few days, and it was widely assumed that he was researching where they should relocate their base to.

    But before their n could be put into action, they were struck by anotherrge-scale attack. Countless spatial cracks that were densely packed together appeared in the sky as they extended into the horizon.

    Soldiers throughout the entire base were dumbfounded, as the scale of this sneak attack was much greater than thest one.

    ¡°Attack! Eliminate the Void Wanderers!¡± a stern roar shouted out as the entire base began to tremble. Then, an iparablyrge mutant beast charged out from the void and crushed the base¡¯smand center with a single stomp, killing everyone inside, including Gildor, and reducing them to mere puddles of flesh and blood.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted; the base had fallen!

    At the same time that themand center was ttened, countless mutant beasts descended from the sky, heralding the start to one of the cruelest battles Lu Yin had ever participated in.

    Liu Shaoqiu was the first to act as he unleashed the Second Sword. The boundless sword qi covered the entire base and swept upwards, tearing through the void. With a single strike, he had killed almost a hundred Void Wanderers, shocking many.

    Chao Zhi then used her Wind of Seasons to sweep through the skies, killing another dozen Void Wanderers.

    Liu Yin opened his mouth and emitted visible sound waves that coalesced into lines before exploding in midair, haphazardly sting the sky without rhyme or reason.

    Xue Liuyun, Silver, Lanke, Tasha and the rest all acted as well. Their fierce wave of attacks exceeded the rest of the soldiers¡¯ wildest dreams, and it even surpassed the mutant beasts¡¯ expectations. This time, they thought that they had prepared enough forces to crush this base through overwhelming numbers, but they had been stopped by these Astral Combat Academy students. In fact, more than half of their Void Wanderers had already been wiped out in an instant.

    Lu Yin was just about to act when the ground suddenly quivered again. A massive pressure engulfed the base as a giant hoof encased in metal appeared once more. This time, everyone could see the rest of the beast¡¯s appearance, which was that of a giant bull, though many timesrger than normal. Its burning copper eyes stared downwards as itughed insolently. ¡°What great luck, I found some human geniuses! Go die!¡± It then pressed down with its iron hoof.

    Many soldiers in the base turned pale, as only a space-exploring powerhouse could possibly block this attack. They were all doomed.

    Liu Shaoqiu and the rest readied themselves to attack. They were all Realmbreakers, though they were still likely outmatched.

    In the end, it was Lu Yin who leaped into the sky with an icy cold expression. He had long since wanted to directly face an Explorer, as being able to freely explore space was a fundamental transformation of one¡¯s power. It wasn¡¯t only an increase in power; rather, it actually focused more on conditioning one¡¯s physical body. Once a human broke through to the Explorer realm, their body would change on a fundamental level. Everything, from the cells to the blood vessels, blood, heart, and organs, would be altered so that it was better suited to the vacuum of the grand universe. Lu Yin wanted to measure the gap between himself and one who had undergone these fundamental changes throughbat.

    If a Limiteer could actually break realms to challenge an Explorer, then they were truly an exceptional genius.

    In midair, five-lined battle force exploded out to cover Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. Purple lines decorated with dark-gold lines circted vigorously as a dark-gold radiance illuminated the void, the base, and even the astral beast¡¯s enormous eyes.

    ¡°A human with five-lined battle force?!¡± The beast was astonished by the sight of Lu Yin¡¯s battle force.

    But at that moment, Lu Yin had viciously unleashed his Cosmic Palm against the iron hoof. The void seemed to freeze for an instant. Then, a strong pulse of energy swept through the void and radiated outwards in a circle, ripping the void to shreds as it swept into the distance. Multiple Void Wanderers that were hidden within the void were instantly reduced to bloody pulps. At the center, nine explosions rang out as nine shockwaves caused the void to fluctuate wildly and a dark color to appear.

    The nine-star Cosmic Palm was Lu Yin¡¯s strongest battle technique, and even its physical force was close to the limit of what he could exert¡ªthe Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. More importantly, the Cosmic Palm did not burden his body, and he could even use the nine stars to absorb star energy and make up for what he had consumed. Just operating the Cosmic Art¡¯s operation was enough to reveal all the changes in the surrounding star energy. This was his most powerful state.

    When the ninth star exploded, Lu Yin was sted backwards, mming heavily into the ground. The giant astral beast named Zi Tie was simrly forced back. Its attack had actually been blocked.

 Chapter 234: Spiritual Academy

    <h4>Chapter 234: Spiritual Academy</h4>

    Many looked on with stunned expressions. A Melder had actually repelled an Explorer! This was something that only the Ten Arbiters had ever aplished throughout the course of human history.

    At that moment, even Liu Shaoqiu and the other Astral Combat Academy students were astounded. Although Liu Shaoqiu had also heavily injured an Explorer once, that was only with the Third Sword¡¯s special characteristics. On the other hand, Lu Yin had directly shed against the Explorer level astral beast with his physical body, and one look was enough to see that the beast had a tough body.

    Lu Yin picked himself off of the ground and shook his right arm. Blocking that attack had been very painful but also very satisfying. He now had a clearer understanding of his own defensive capabilities, and it turned out that his body could even rival an Explorer¡¯s. This was his current peak power.

    All of the student leaders of Astral Combat Academy¡¯s ten branches could challenge an Explorer with their peak Limiteer power, but the opponent mattered as well. None of them could defeat this Zi Tie, and Lu Yin had a feeling that this astral beast¡¯s defenses could even shake off Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords, unless it was something as strong as the Third Sword¡¯s attack.

    In the sky, Zi Tie was shocked by what had just happened, as it was not any average Explorer realm astral beast. Regardless, a Melder realm human had actually blocked its attack, causing its giant eyes to widen with excitement. ¡°A top-notch human freak! My luck is too good today! Now, stand still and die!¡± Its entire body then pressed downwards as it tried to forcefully crush everyone who was still in the base.

    Lu Yin clenched both fists, ready to attack again. Suddenly, a fluctuation came out from the void. ¡°Zi Tie, so it¡¯s you again.¡±

    Zi Tie did not even turn its head to acknowledge the Explorer realm human who had just arrived and continued trying to crush the base. As long as it could kill Lu Yin and the other geniuses, its death would be worthwhile. He had never heard of a Melder who could defend against an Explorer; this sort of freak absolutely had to die.

    Below, in the base, Liu Shaoqiu and the rest finally reacted. Liu Yin, Xue Liuyun, Chao Zhi, and the others all simultaneously attacked upwards, and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword was especially effective as it caused Zi Tie to be dizzy and involuntarily slow down. The Explorer realm human also interfered with the astral beast¡¯s descent, and the two powerhouses were soon entangled in battle in the sky.

    At the same time, above Conan, a giant, ming astral beast emerged from the void while a human figure also appeared to confront the beast.

    ¡°Soaring Firebeast, are you trying to start a war?¡± the human figure demanded. He was the guardian of the thirty sevens on the right side of the border: Hunter Qu Ao.

    Opposite the human, star energy vibrated from the Tan Gang Fire Beast¡¯s body as a gruff voice responded, ¡°Human, pull back to the Astral River. With the river as a boundary, we won¡¯t have to vite one another. Otherwise, this war will never end.¡±

    Qu Ao frowned. ¡°The allied human troops have existed on this side of the Astral River for many years. If your people have the strength to chase us away, then please feel free to try.¡±

    Once he spoke those words, a fiery ze filled the area above Conan. A battle between Hunters had started.

    A Hunter had a power level of at least 100,000. Their every action caused the void to quake, and since the battle between the two powerhouses was taking ce so close to Conan, their fight also affected the.

    Within the base, Lu Yin and the rest soon received new orders to retreat north towards another base that was located 5,000 kilometers away. They did not hesitate and immediately headed out.

    Loud explosions rang out in the skies above as a scorching heat wave oppressed Conan and increased the temperature.

    Tasha raised her head with a horrified expression. ¡°There¡¯s actually an extremely high-leveled battle taking ce up there! Thebatants are so powerful that it¡¯s actually affecting Conan! It should be a fight between Cruisers or even Hunters.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Just why did it have to be Conan? He was growing uneasy, as it hadn¡¯t even been a day since this base had been exposed, but it had already suffered tworge-scale surprise attacks. Even Zi Tie had chosen to attack this base out of all the others, and now, why were the extreme powerhouses battling right outside of Conan? There were so manys in the human¡¯s line of defense, but the astral beasts had specifically chosen Conan. There seemed to be an invisible hand manipting all of these events.

    There had initially been over 50,000 soldiers at the base, but only around 30,000 of them had managed to escape together with Lu Yin. The rest were either scattered to the winds or dead.

    Although Liu Shaoqiu and the rest of the students had stopped therge-scale attack from destroying the base, a considerable number of mutant beasts still continued to emerge from the void.

    In the distance, there were still more Void Wanderers appearing. This did not seem like a surprise attack, but rather more like a decisive battle that had been nned for a while.

    Up in the sky, Zi Tie was still battling it out with the Explorer when a fleet of warships appeared off in the distance. Reinforcements had arrived.

    Both heaven and earth had turned into a bloody battlefield as powerhouses battled both on and above the. Lu Yin and the rest felt like they were trapped within a furnace and that death could take them at any time.

    Dozens of spatial cracks appeared to the north of Lu Yin and the rest of the soldiers. They instantly reacted and managed to kill off more than half of the Void Wanderers, but even more spatial rifts opened up in front of them as more astral beasts spilled out to block their path.

    A flying bird cloaked in mes exited the void and hungrily stared at Lu Yin and his group. It then ferociously charged towards them with an excited look, as killing these people would be a huge contribution that it could then exchange to receive resources to strengthen itself. The bird was a student of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Spiritual Academy. As long as it could obtain the resources that it needed to ascend, it would be able to rival the top-tier powerhouses in the academy. It desperately wanted these contributions.

    The Spiritual Academy was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s best academy, and it was basically their version of the Astral Combat Academy. The biggest difference between them was that the Spiritual Academy was a single, unified academy, as opposed to the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s ten branches.

    All of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s students were astral beasts with innate gifts, and they all looked down upon Astral Combat Academy students, as the beast thought that their human counterparts were weakpared to them. This was because the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students would either graduate or be forced onto the battlefield while the Spiritual Academy¡¯s students frequently entered the battlefield of their own volition. This was what led to an overall sense of superiority.

    ¡°Die, Astral Combat Academy students!¡± The ming bird caused the air to shake as it emitted a flurry of star energy and screeched excitedly. It then fiercely flew towards Lu Yin, not caring at all if its fellow astral beasts were caught in the crossfire.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t even need to act as Liu Shaoqiu instantly replied by shing out with the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. This was the same strike that had instantly wiped out Kuang Wang, who was the current student leader of Astral-5 and Realm Master of the Dao of Heaven. In terms of status, Kuang Wang wasparable to the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Academy Lords while this ming bird was just one of the experts under an Academy Master, Hua Yishou. It was much weaker than an Academy Master itself and couldn¡¯t even react before being exterminated by the first sword.

    It wasn¡¯t just the ming bird; many of the stronger mutant beasts immediately targeted Lu Yin and the others, but they were all easily eliminated.

    The battlested for three whole hours, and at the end, there was a row of corpses that extended towards the north. Tens of thousands of soldiers had died, and numerous astral beast corpses littered the ground while a thick stench of blood pervaded the air. Even the skies seemed to have reddened a bit from all the bloodshed. All the spilled blood flowed in rivulets into the yellowed ground as it seeped deep underground through the cracks in the earth.

    The scattered astral beast army had fled in all directions.

    There were endless wails filling the air.

    Lu Yin was forced to kill a suffering soldier. The man only had one side of his body remaining, and he had been pleading with Lu Yin to kill him.

    Lu Yin had killed quite a few people during Earth¡¯s evolutionary trial, but they had all been people who he felt deserved to die. This soldier was the first respectable person that he had killed as an act of mercy.

    The Explorer obstructing Zi Tie was Conan¡¯s guardian, Nappa. He had been heavily injured during this battle, but fortunately, he had managed to endure his injuries and repel Zi Tie.

    After the bloody battle, Lu Yin and the rest of the soldiers took a warship to the base 5,000 kilometers north of where they were previously stationed.

    5,000 kilometers was not very far, and they easily reached it with their current speed. This base was the closest to where their destroyed base had been, and it was also where the reinforcements hade from.

    Lu Yin and the rest settled into the camp and waited, as the other arrangements had not been made yet. A base being destroyed was no small matter, and all the soldiers had to report everything that they had seen or heard to their superiors.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s report, he included his suspicions that the surprise attack this time was actually a targeted attack against Astral Combat Academy students, as that ming bird had said, ¡°Die, Astral Combat Academy students!¡± How had it known that they were from the Astral Combat Academy? Why had it specially targeted them? It wasn¡¯t just the ming bird either; the other powerful astral beasts had also targeted the students. This was no simple matter, and Lu Yin even wrote down, ¡®It is likely that there is a traitor within our midst who is divulging information about the human race¡¯s happenings.¡¯ But then he thought about it twice and crossed it out; he was not qualified to make such conjectures. If someone wanted to cause problems for Lu Yin, then a single contentious word could cause him to be damned.

    He breathed out and rubbed his forehead. He had only been at the frontier battlefield for a few days, but he had already been involved in tworge-scale surprise attacks that had prevented him from ever catching his breath.

    Gildor, the strict veteran instructor, had also died in this surprise attack. Even though they had not spent that much time together, Lu Yin still respected him. It was rare to find a seasoned soldier who had survived at the warfront for that many years, and each one was a treasure trove of experience for the Human Domain. And yet, Gildor had tragically died without even the time to react.

    Lu Yin now understood what the pilot on the warship that had delivered him to the warfront had been talking about; countless elite geniuses died at the warfront, and not just from ack of strength, but sometimes from simplycking luck.

    In this battle, many of the corpses also belonged to new soldiers. Both Ke Yao and Maggie, who had arrived with Trifa, had died. Maggie had not been able to escape from her fate in the end, as Silver had not been able to save her for a second time.

    Lu Yin had only learned about their deaths after the battle. Just one conflict had snuffed out so many lives.

    On the other side of the battlefield, the mes on the Tan Gang Fire Beast surged. ¡°Why did so many students from the Spiritual Academy die? How will I exin this?!¡±

    ¡°Are those students from the Astral Combat Academy really that strong? Have the Ghost Monkeye out. I really want to know how an Academy Master will fare against those students.¡±

    ¡­

    After a short span of just three days, spatial cracks flooded the sky once more as anotherrge-scale battlemenced.

    Lu Yin and the rest walked out and stared at the sky in shock. There was definitely something suspicious going on, and they were now certain that this series of attacks was targeting them. Their identities had somehow been revealed. The Astral Combat Academy was a top-notch institution in the Human Domain, and they were the top thirty two fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament. When these students matured in the future, they would overshadow even Explorers like Nappa. These students could already be considered as great enemies to the Astral Beast Domain. Thus, the astral beasts would naturally rather make some sacrifices and vanquish these youths now, especially Lu Yin, who had ended in the top four,prehended five-lined battle force as a Melder, and was publicly recognized as a Ten Arbiters candidate.

    The rm rang out, and Nappa immediately appeared to wipe out the Void Wanderers, but he was blocked by Zi Tie yet again. This giant astral beast appeared from the void and blocked Nappa while trying to crush this base as well.

    From underground, a giant light beam shot up towards Zi Tie, causing it to retreat slightly. Even though this was a weapon designed to be used against Explorers, Zi Tie¡¯s defense was too strong. Nappa couldn¡¯t do much against the astral beast either. The weapon could only push it aside, but that was enough to give Lu Yin and the rest the space to avoid Zi Tie¡¯s sudden attack, leave the base, and attack the void together.

    Crack after crack appeared in the void, but even with so many hands working together to destroy the Void Wanderers, there were just too many of them. They numbered no less than the previous surprise attack, but this time, an evenrger Void Wanderer had appeared. It tore through the void and released countless astral beasts into the base.

 Chapter 235: Ghost Monkey

    <h4>Chapter 235: Ghost Monkey</h4>

    Lu Yin and the rest of the soldiers had been thrown into a veritable ocean of astral beasts. This base originally had tens of thousands of soldiers, and their numbers had swelled to almost 80,000 after the addition of the soldiers who had escaped from the destroyed base. However, they were hardly worth a mention whenpared to the group of astral beasts swarming them, especially when each individual astral beast was stronger than multiple soldiers and had strong defenses. Without weapons to restrain the astral beasts, the troops would have been quickly routed.

    One after another, warships rose into the air as theirser cannons strafed the earth. At this point, they could no longer afford to care about coteral damage; they simply targeted the areas with the densest packed astral beasts.

    These warships didn¡¯t have any weapons that could threaten an Explorer, but even so, they were able to massacre Limiteers effortlessly. The raw power of the weapons and the resulting explosions killed many human soldiers, but they managed to somewhat hold back the tide of astral beasts.

    Lu Yin and the rest had also caused considerable damage to the astral beasts, especially Liu Shaoqiu. His sword was like a meat grinder that continuously tore a bloody path through the crowd of astral beasts with each strike, greatly surprising the others.

    Suddenly, a few warships exploded in the sky from an invisible attack that destroyed all of the spacecraft.

    In the sky, Zi Tie and Nappa were still battling. Aside from the two Explorers, the strongest on this battlefield had been Lu Yin¡¯s group, but now, another Explorer had now appeared: an astral beast that had been hiding in the shadows.

    The Astral Beast Realm had an academy known as the Spiritual Academy. It ranked its students based on the amount of territory that they controlled. There were five strong astral beasts that dominated the Spiritual Academy, and one of them was a Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin and the rest did not know that an astral beast that could rival a Realm Master from the Astral Combat Academy had joined the battlefield until Chao Zhi was heavily injured. Her four-lined battle force was nearly shattered by a single strike, and she almost died when the Ghost Monkey finally revealed itself.

    ¡°You¡¯re worthy of being called a human elite. You actually survived one of my strikes,¡± the Ghost Monkey said in an eerie tone from the shadows.

    Chao Zhi had a cold look on her face as a grey flow of air swept out in all directions from her body, corroding everything in its path. Even Xue Liuyun, who was the closest to her, had to avoid it.

    The Ghost Monkey was not fast enough to evade the Wind of Seasons, and its hiding spot was revealed. Chao Zhi¡¯s gaze turned frosty and four-lined battle force covered her body again as she struck at the Ghost Monkey with a palm.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s true form was revealed; it was a short monkey with a terrifying face and faintly red fangs. As it watched Chao Zhi attack it, it did not retreat. Instead, it swatted out with a w.

    The palm and w collided, causing the ground to sink and a shockwave to sweep out in all directions, clearing the surroundings for a hundred meters around them. Chao Zhi and the Ghost Monkey were both blown back at the same time. The difference was that Chao Zhi was repelled with fresh blood dripping from her palm while the Ghost Monkey seemed to borrow the strength of the sh to merge back into the shadows. In this confrontation, Chao Zhi had been at a disadvantage.

    Lu Yin noted the brief confrontation from a distance and was shocked at the Ghost Monkey¡¯s power, but it ended there, as Liu Shaoqiu had turned his focus towards the short monkey.

    While the Ghost Monkey hid in the shadows, it closely evaluated the strength of the human students. It believed that, as long as it could sneakily attack from the shadows, it could wipe them out one by one. It had done the same in the Spiritual Academy as, even though it was the weakest of the five Academy Masters, it was also the hardest to track down due to its innate gift.

    But then, the Ghost Monkey suddenly felt its body go numb and it stared into the sky. Its expression changed in an instant as sword qi filled the skies. What is this?

    The Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords expanded into a domain andpletely disregarded speed and stealth as it sliced through the void. Its attack range could extend endlessly as long as Liu Shaoqiu desired it. He could strike out with an attack that covered the entire battlefield.

    Although the Ghost Monkey was hiding in the shadows, it was the most afraid of precisely this sort ofrge scale attack. Generally, the more scattered an attack was, the weaker its power. However, the Thirteen Swords did not follow this general rule. It seemed to cover an endlessly expanding area with a fearsome sword qi that powered every strike with terrifying sharpness. The Ghost Monkey escaped at extreme speed, but it could notpletely avoid the endless sword qi.

    The attack epassed an area over a thousand meters in radius as the void ruptured and the earth was sundered. The sea of astral beasts was reduced to blood. Fortunately, there were no soldiers in the area, as no one could withstand Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack aside from Lu Yin.

    This sword even attracted Zi Tie¡¯s attention in the skies. The beast scanned the lower battlefield, and sure enough, it was another human freak. It had to kill them all!

    As smoke rose into the air, countless astral beasts looked on in horror at the destroyednd, not daring to approach it for fear of death. In the void, there was still shes of remnant sword qi that could easily wipe out a Melder.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the Second Sword in the real world, and it was even more terrifying than what he had seen in his battle against Liu Shaoqiu within the Lifeseek Realm. If Liu Shaoqiu hadpletely disyed the Fourth Sword, then the oue of that battle would have been undecided, even if Lu Yin revealed his five-lined battle force.

    There was an explosion as everyone raised their heads to see another giant crack in the sky.

    Nappa¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Another Explorer realm astral beast.¡±

    Zi Tie roared excitedly and viciously mmed one hoof into Nappa¡¯s abdomen, sending him crashing into the ground while its other hoof smashed towards the spatial crack to help the reinforcing astral beaste out. The two Explorer realm astral beasts emitted a terrifying might as they both red at Lu Yin¡¯s group on the ground below them. A momentter, the two astral beasts charged downwards.

    Lu Yin¡¯s back was drenched with sweat, and he clenched both fists. It was time to risk it all.

    Liu Shaoqiu also had a cold gleam in his eyes and he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword. A vague, indescribably terrifying fluctuation swept out through the battlefield, though the energy was not foreign; it was the Fourth Sword.

    Silver continued to smile, but his smile had taken a sinister turn.

    Against two Explorer astral beasts, even Lu Yin felt that things were about to turn disastrous.

    At this moment, a red arrow pierced through the void and directly soared towards Zi Tie. It yelped in surprise and tried to dodge, but it couldn¡¯t evade the arrow as even the void had been frozen. The red arrow directly pierced through Zi Tie¡¯s body without any difficulty and continued traveling through the sky without slowing down at all.

    This scene shocked everyone. Zi Tie was too strong for even Nappa to fight, but this beast had just been pierced through by an arrow.

    Lu Yin was moved. He knew who had arrived due to the red lotus arrow¡ªthe Red Lotus Witchbow, Mira.

    Lu Yin had joined the Astral Combat Academy and learned of her terror there. Mira was a graduate of Astral-6, and she had fought against Dao Bo in the past, proving that her strength at that time had been at the level of a Realm Master. She had long since broken through to be an Explorer, and her power now could possiblypare to a Cruiser or even surpass that level. This woman was among the Astral Top 100.

    A charming figure appeared in the distant heavens and stepped through the sky, barefoot, with white hair cascading down to her heels. Short bangs adorned her forehead, giving her an adorable appearance. She looked exactly the same as before and was dressed in revealing summer clothes that exposed her sparkling skin. A smile could asionally be seen on her face while her hands held her characteristic red lotus bow as she approached.

    Nappa sighed in relief when he saw Mira, and he peacefullyy down on the ground, awaiting rescue.

    Zi Tie endured its intense pain, aghast at the new developments. ¡°The Red Lotus Witchbow from the human¡¯s Astral Combat Rankings. Retreat!¡±

    The other astral beast was even quicker to retreat; it had torn the void open the moment it had seen Mira.

    Mira¡¯s lips curled upwards mockingly, making her beautiful face appear even colder. She raised her Red Lotus Witchbow and fired a second arrow. It was even faster than the first arrow and simrly froze the void, trapping both Zi Tie and the other astral beast. They were forced tobine forces to block the second arrow.

    ¡°Red Lotus Witchbow, we¡¯ve lost this battle, but no matter what, we¡¯re still Explorers. It¡¯s two against one! Don¡¯t force us to fight you,¡± Zi Tie bellowed fiercely as blood dripped down from its giant body, scattering onto the ground below. The other astral beast ferociously red at Mira as well, seeming ready to give its all.

    Mira spoke in a contemptuous manner. ¡°Does that mean that we¡¯re fighting to death? I like it.¡± She then released her third arrow.

    The battle between the three Explorers in the sky drew the attention of many on the battlefield below, and even the astral beasts paused as they gazed upwards.

    The Ghost Monkey was panting heavily underground, as its body had been torn apart by the many wounds it had suffered. Its body was powerful enough to rival even four-lined battle force, so even the Fourth Sword had not been enough to kill it.

    When the Ghost Monkey raised its head and saw that Zi Tie and the others would not be able to hold out for much longer, its gaze turned sinister as it knew that it was time to leave. However, it could not allow the battle to end like this, with an Academy Master of the Spiritual Academy not being able to kill even a single student of the Astral Combat Academy. That was just too embarrassing! The Ghost Monkey looked upwards again, immediately skipping over Liu Shaoqiu and Chao Zhi as it knew from personal experience that these two would not be easy to defeat. It eventually fixed its gaze on Lu Yin; this person was the furthest away and only had a faint aura, so he should be the weakest.

    Lu Yin was calmly observing the fierce battle in the sky when a chill ran down his spine. The Ghost Monkey had emerged from the shadows and thrust its ws at him.

    Lu Yin merely turned around and struck out with a casual palm. The Ghost Monkey was stunned as his palm also had four-lined battle force. Still, the Ghost Monkey did not pay it any mind and directly met Lu Yin¡¯s counterattack head on. In that instant, it discovered that there were differences within four-lined battle forces. Chao Zhi¡¯s battle force had been about the same as the Ghost Monkey¡¯s physical strength, but Lu Yin¡¯s had an unstoppable feeling to it. Just a palm from him sent the short monkey crashing into the ground. The attack had even carried Nine Stacks. It spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Lu Yin in horror. What¡¯s going on? This person was the most terrifying all along?!

    Lu Yin was amused by the monkey¡¯s expression. This idiot had almost been killed by Liu Shaoqiu. But instead of trying to escape, it had actually tried to sneak attack Lu Yin. However, this monkey was extremely powerful, and it could actually rival one of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders.

    However, the Ghost Monkey could not be med. To many astral beasts, humans could only be differentiated by gender, height, and girth. They couldn¡¯t make out any other distinguishing features, and most humans appeared to be more or less the same to them. Humans had a simr difficulty when it came to differentiating between astral beasts.

    At this point, the Ghost Monkey had finally guessed Lu Yin¡¯s identity as the most powerful student present from the Astral Combat Academy, a freak who had fought his way into the top four of the Astral Combat Tournament.

    ¡°Get over here,¡± Lu Yin barked as he made a grabbing motion towards the Ghost Monkey. Only an Explorer could escape from Lu Yin at such a distance. Although Lu Yin did not dare to say that he was invincible beneath the Explorer realm, he was nearly at that point.

    The Ghost Monkey stared hatefully at Lu Yin before suddenly smiling. It bared its fangs and revealed a terrifying appearance. ¡°Human, I guess that you¡¯re just unlucky.¡±

    The monkey then pulled something out of its cosmic ring and fiercely swatted at Lu Yin with it. Lu Yin watched closely, but his pupils suddenly constricted as his mind was struck numb. The item that the monkey had swatted at Lu Yin with was a piece of skin that had some words written on it. Those words were like a heavy attack that hit Lu Yin.

    At the same time, outside the human¡¯s line of defense in outer space, a pair of eyes opened on a giant meteoroid. They were so deep that it felt like they could swallow even the void. ¡°How could this aura be here?¡±

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t fast enough to defend himself and was struck by the attack, giving the Ghost Monkey the opportunity to grab a Void Wanderer and tear through the void while dragging Lu Yin along, capturing him. The entire process took no more than three seconds. The intense battle continued raging in the skies, and Liu Shaoqiu and the rest were still absorbed in watching the battle. Nobody noticed what had just happened to Lu Yin as no one imagined that the Ghost Monkey, who had been suppressed by Liu Shaoqiu, could actually defeat Lu Yin. And yet, that was exactly how things had ended up unfolding; Lu Yin had been captured by the Ghost Monkey.

    When the group finally reacted, all they saw was an empty patch of ground.

 Chapter 236: Animal Hides And Progenitor Wushang

    <h4>Chapter 236: Animal Hides And Progenitor Wushang</h4>

    Lu Yin only fell unconscious for a moment, and he quickly awakened. He then immediately took action while still in the void. The Ghost Monkey wanted to directly bring the captured Lu Yin to the Astral Beast Domain, but he was suddenly attacked by Lu Yin while still en route. The two were thrown out of the void and crashnded in an abandoned tribal settlement.

    Theynded heavily on the ground and immediately separated from each other.

    The Ghost Monkey was stunned, ¡°How did you wake up so easily? Not even an Explorer could recover that quickly fast.¡±

    Lu Yin casually crushed the Void Wanderer. Since humans had no use for such an astral beast, he might as well destroy it and prevent the Ghost Monkey from escaping with it.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s eyes widened even further. ¡°Human, you¡¯re asking to die!¡± He then retrieved the skin from before and thrust it towards Lu Yin once again. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed and he retrieved a simr skin and brandished it at the Ghost Monkey. Lu Yin had just recalled that he also had a simr-looking piece of skin that he had once obtained from Pilfer. Also, the piece of skin that Lu Yin had was much bigger than the monkey¡¯s.

    The Ghost Monkey never expected that Lu Yin would also have a skin, and it shrieked in disbelief. Lu Yin firmly pressed the short monkey into the ground. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    ¡°You- how can you have that?! That¡¯s impossible! It belongs to our star realm. Why does a human have it?!¡± the Ghost Monkey wailed.

    Lu Yin frowned, snatched the Ghost Monkey¡¯s skin, and stored it in his cosmic ring. One could not look at this thing without being affected.

    ¡°What is this thing?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey ignored him and kept muttering in disbelief. ¡°Impossible, why does a human have that?¡±

    Lu Yin pressed his foot down onto the Ghost Monkey¡¯s chest, causing it to spit out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Speak, what is this?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey mournfully wailed and then red at Lu Yin. ¡°Human, don¡¯t think that you can get any information out of me!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light. ¡°Then you can go and die.¡±

    He pressed down with his palm, causing the Ghost Monkey¡¯s fur to stand on end. ¡°Human, do you really want to kill me?! No one can tell you about this object¡¯s origins if you kill me. Even in the entire Astral Beast Domain, only absolute powerhouses know anything about this object, and you won¡¯t be able to get any information from them!¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°Since you won¡¯t tell me, then there¡¯s no point in keeping you around.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I can tell you a little!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried as it stared at Lu Yin, horrified.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°How will I know if you tell me the truth?¡±

    ¡°I can swear!¡± the Ghost Monkey hurriedly promised.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point, as only a little information is useless to me. And you even said that it¡¯s an object of the Astral Beast Domain, and I can¡¯t actually go there, right?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his palm again as the overwhelming pressure descended again, causing the Ghost Monkey to scream, ¡°Human! Don¡¯t be mistaken! This object is rted to Progenitor Wushang. Do you really not want to know what it is?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated. ¡°Progenitor Wushang? Who¡¯s Progenitor Wushang?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s eyes turned round as he proudly exined, ¡°Progenitor Wushang is my ancestor! It is one of the most terrifying beings in the Astral Beast Domain. It¡¯s rumored that if you gather all the beast hides, then you can find Progenitor Wushang and receive its inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. ¡°If it¡¯s your ancestor, then why do you still need to gather the beast hides? Don¡¯t you know where your own ancestor is?¡±

    ¡°Our Ghost Monkey n has too many beasts, and I¡¯m only from a subsidiary branch. It was only by chance that I obtained this small piece,¡± the Ghost Monkey meekly replied.

    ¡°How strong is Progenitor Wushang?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°Very strong. It can swallow stars ands, it can tear through the Astral River, and it¡¯s even rumored that it has an indestructible body that¡¯s be andmass that other beasts live upon. The legends say that if one obtains Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance, then their power level will soar to the heavens and that Realmbreakers, the powerhouses on Skymender¡¯s List, and Ten Arbiters alike will all be trash before them.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused by the description. ¡°That was a good speech. Very smooth and it had a good flow to it too. It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t believe you and you¡¯ve said too much. Just die.¡± He then swatted mercilessly at the Ghost Monkey.

    ¡°Human-¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out sharply, but it could not avoid its fate of being pped to death by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the Ghost Monkey¡¯s corpse and thought to himself, This bastard probably fabricated most of that, but Progenitor Wushang itself must exist, as it would not dare lie about such an obvious thing when facing death. Rather, it must have spouted some random facts to make Progenitor Wushang look more appealing. But the rest of the information must be fake, and since I can¡¯t be confident that it was telling the truth, I¡¯ll just forget about it.

    Lu Yin did not feel that he would be so lucky as to one day go to the Astral Beast Domain and obtain some Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance; he was not some darling child of the universe.

    He nced at the Ghost Monkey¡¯s corpse again, looked around himself, and then at his gadget. There was no signal, or perhaps the battle outside of Conan had scrambled the surroundings so much that even Lu Yin¡¯s gadget could not receive any iing signals. He couldn¡¯t even determine his own location and he wasn¡¯t even sure if he was still on Conan.

    He contemted his situation briefly before turning to leave¡ªhis first priority was undoubtedly to figure out his location.

    As he started walking away, he had a strange feeling that something was not right. He frowned, took out the emperor giant¡¯s third eye from his cosmic ring, and shrouded his body with the Cosmic Art. He then turned around to see a shadow squirming right below the ground¡¯s surface. ¡°You¡¯re really not dead. This must be your real body.¡± He then grabbed at the underground shadow.

    The shadow shrieked, ¡°Human! Spare me! It really is rted to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance! I can even tell you where his grave is! Don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too crafty. Sorry, but you must die.¡± Lu Yin then prepared to attack.

    The shadow contorted when it saw that Lu Yin was about to act. Then, it suddenly jumped onto Lu Yin¡¯s palm and extended up his arm. Next, Lu Yin felt his arm turn scorching hot as if he had been burned. Given his current cultivation, it was very difficult to burn him, and this burning sensation had even been caused by someone who he had already defeated. Lu Yin quickly tore off his sleeve only to see a bizarre monkey tattoo on his arm. It had an adorable appearance, but what was it?

    ¡°Human, I¡¯m your tamed beast now! You can¡¯t kill me,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice floated into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, shocking him.

    ¡°Tamed beast? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I once killed some cultivators from the Human Domain¡¯s Beast Tamers Flowzone and acquired their technique for taming beasts. I just imprinted myself onto your body as a tamed beast, which means that my life is in your control. You can rest assured now. I¡¯ll tell you whatever you want to know,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined helplessly.

    Lu Yin looked at the new tattoo on his arm in wonder. So this is how it works too? He had always been curious about the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s techniques, as he could never picture how Kuang Wang had managed to imprint such arge creature like Cang Long onto his body, but now, he had one too. ¡°The Beast Tamer technique should set the human as the master.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice. Since you were about to kill me, I could only try this, and luckily, it seeded.

    ¡°Human, my injuries are too heavy right now, and I need to rest first. I won¡¯t wake up anytime soon, but regardless, my life is in your hands now, and you can kill me whenever you desire.¡± After the Ghost Monkey said this, he fell silent.

    Lu Yin breathed out and felt struck in a dilemma; should he kill or not?

    He thought about it some more before ultimately deciding to not act. The more he looked at the adorable, life-like monkey tattoo on his arm, the more he felt like he could ept this turn of events.

    However, a cute monkey tattoo was a bit entric for a man to have, and Lu Yin could not help but feel slightly disappointed. Kuang Wang had the earth-shattering azure dragon, but Lu Yin had a cute monkey¡­ What kind of crappy power did this monkey even have?! Fortunately, Lu Yin could tame more than one beast. Kuang Wang, for instance, also had a butterfly topgrass. Thus, Lu Yin should also be able to tame more than one beast. He would set aside some time to visit the Beast Tamers Flowzone in the future.

    Since the matter with the Ghost Monkey had been resolved, it was now time for Lu Yin to find his way back.

    This ce was obviously an abandoned tribal vige, and if he was still on Conan, then the local civilizations¡¯ progress should be rather backwards and primitive.

    He followed the small path out of the vige and looked around. The surrounding earth was still deste and showed obvious signs of battle. There were also signs of burning, which should have been from the cleanup after a battle. This meant that this was still under the allied troops¡¯ protection. It might even be Conan, as the Ghost Monkey had not been able to use the Void Wanderer for very long.

    At that moment, outside the thirty sevens to the right of the border, a meteoroid appeared. ¡°The first breath was here, and the second breath appeared there...¡± Its eyes swept across the thirty sevens before finally settling on Conan. ¡°The second breath was much richer than the first, so there might be more than one.¡± Then, the meteoroid firmly rocketed forwards.

    Suddenly, a sigh echoed out in space. ¡°Brother Yao, please reconsider this.¡±

    The meteoroid suddenly stopped as an enormous Void Thunderbeast appeared. The beast then forcibly shrank its body into a two-meter tall humanoid male who stared into the distance in shock. ¡°Wen Sansi, I never thought that you¡¯d be here too.¡±

    The void ahead trembled as a young man walked out. He had a gentle smile and was garbed in white clothes, carrying scrolls, and even had a folding fan in his waistband. ¡°Brother Yao, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. I¡¯m curious as to why the Ten Arbiters have appeared on this frontier battlefield. Have there been any great battles happening here?¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°Since there haven''t been any great battles, then as a powerhouse on the Skymender List, why are you appearing here? And you even want to force your way into a protected?¡±

    ¡°I was just curious. I heard that there¡¯s a human student from the Astral Combat Academy who inherited the Thirteen Swords and another whoprehended five-lined battle force as a Melder. Shouldn¡¯t we observe such young elites?¡± Yao Gu asked.

    Wen Sansi shook his head and ced his hands behind his back. ¡°If I¡¯m here, then no.¡±

    Yao Gu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s rumored that the Ten Arbiters have never had any conclusive battles between their members. I¡¯m curious to find if you¡¯re stronger than that fire bird.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled again. ¡°Of course he¡¯s stronger while I¡¯m weaker. I, Wen Sansi, am just a mere schr. I don¡¯t like to fight.¡±

    Yao Gu looked closely at Wen Sansi but did not speak.

    Wen Sansi continued to smile at Yao Gu and did not speak up again. The heavens almost seemed to turn to stone from theck of movement.

    Off in the distance, Shui Chuanxiao nced at his screen as his female deputy joyously shouted out, ¡°Fortunately, the Ten Arbiters arrived in time. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have a powerhouse to obstruct Yao Gu.¡±

    ¡°Why does Yao Gu want to barge into the thirty seven rightmosts? Even those students from the Astral Combat Academy shouldn¡¯t be worth him doing that,¡± Shui Chuanxiao muttered to himself, puzzled by the recent events.

    ¡°Could it really be because of Liu Shaoqiu? Legend has it that Yao Gu was once heavily injured by the Thirteen Swords,¡± the female deputy offered up.

    Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. ¡°No, the Skymender List and the Ten Arbiters would not casually start a war. They have a mutual understanding of each other, and past battles stay in the past. Once they start waging war, both star domains will be dragged in. It wouldn¡¯t end with just a border skirmish.

    ¡°Right, how¡¯s Conan doing?¡± Shui Chuanxiao continued.

    The female deputy answered, ¡°Mira killed two Explorer mutant beasts by herself. The battlefield has stabilized, but Lu Yin is missing.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin is missing? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s uncertain, but it appears that he was captured by an astral beast.¡±

 Chapter 237: Beast Annihilator

    <h4>Chapter 237: Beast Annihtor</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. He wouldn¡¯t be captured that easily by any astral beast weaker than an Explorer. He even directly exchanged blows with Zi Tie and is qualified to be a war drummer. What about his gadget? Can his position be tracked?¡±

    ¡°Huge battles have repeatedly taken ce on Conan, and there are still undispersed clumps of various unstable energies in the atmosphere. Gadgets are temporarily unusable.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao felt helpless, and he could only look at the screen.

    After a while, Yao Gu left without battling Wen Sansi. The female deputy finally rxed. Yao Gu and Wen Sansi were both technically still members of the younger generation, but theirbat power was too terrifying. If they battled, then the entire border defense would be in trouble. If their fight ended up implicating morebatants from the Skymender List or the Ten Arbiters, then it would be even more difficult to protect the border. It was even possible for their defenses to be permanently ruined.

    ¡°Go all out to find Lu Yin. Also, remain vignt against anybody who could be controlled. I must find out the positions of those strange astral beasts.¡±

    ¡°Yes,mander.¡±

    Lu Yin had guessed correctly; he was indeed still on Conan but at a rather considerable distance from his previous position.

    The Void Wanderer had originally intended on entering the Astral Beast Domain through a single spatial jump, but it had been interrupted by Lu Yin. Although they had only spent an instant in the void, that already moved them a great distance from their previous position.

    Conan was a thousand timesrger than Earth, so even a slight deviation in location could mean a difference that greatly exceeded Earth¡¯s diameter.

    Lu Yin walked across the deste ground, unable to find a single trace of green between the yellow sand and the dusty sky.

    asionally, he ran across some strange astral beasts. He did not know if they were native creatures from Conan or cannon fodder that a Void Wanderer had brought along.

    He looked at his gadget, but there was still no signal. He still couldn¡¯t calcte his position.

    After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yin noticed a spacecraft slowly moving across the sky. Lu Yin was delighted and about to ascend to meet it, but then, an angry bellow sounded out as a giant astral beast flew out of the ground and bit the spacecraft, splitting it in half. There was an intense explosion and most of the people inside died instantly.

    Lu Yin was furious, and raised a palm to strike the astral beast. Although it was huge, it was only at the level of a Limiteer and was easily struck dead by Lu Yin. Unfortunately, the spacecraft had beenpletely destroyed, and there were no survivors.

    It had only been a small patrolling spacecraft with a few people in it, and it was unable to survive any sneak attacks.

    Lu Yin did not discover any effective means ofmunication even after searching for half a day. His luck was especially bad as the spacecraft had been destroyed too thoroughly.

    Despite the fact that he could not find any human bases, the appearance of such a spacecraft meant that there was a base not too far away from him, as even the distant regions would be patrolled by the bases. There should also be some more troops arriving soon to investigate this area.

    Lu Yin did not n to leave, and he patiently waited beside the spacecraft¡¯s wreckage.

    However, a full day passed by without any change. Lu Yin found it strange. Logically, if this area was truly within the scope of a base¡¯s patrols, then he should have run into some soldiers by now, but there had been nothing. He looked at the direction that the ruined spacecraft was facing and remembered that it had seemed to be flying towards the west. He would try his luck.

    He did not have to walk very far before the metallic stench of blood hit him. Lu Yin¡¯s face changed, and he immediately used sh to streak through the void. He reappeared hundreds of kilometers away, where he saw an endless nket of astral beast corpses lying on the ground, as well as dead human soldiers. Most of the bodies had been mutted beyond recognition.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became even uglier. A battle had just urred here, and the human soldiers had nearly been wiped out, with the surviving humans having been carried off by the remaining astral beasts for food. The footprints led further west.

    Intelligent astral beasts would not eat humans while non-intelligent beasts would only feast on living humans, avoiding the dead. If some humans had really been taken away as food, then they must still be alive.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to continue pursuing the footprints to the west. He was not always a good samaritan, but he could not bear to let his fellow humans be eaten alive by astral beasts if he could help it.

    The jumbled set of footprints stretched off far into the west. After this fierce battle between the astral beasts and humans, the beasts were most likely unable to leave because the humans would have destroyed all the Void Wanderers first, leaving the beasts without any way to escape after they arrived. Only some of the stronger astral beasts would carry personal Void Wanderers along with them and be able to escape, while the remaining astral beasts would be forced to roam Conan and continue fighting against the humans.

    There were many wandering astral beasts on Conan, and some had even banded together tounch attacks on humans. The entirety of Conan was a battlefield, and the indigenous creatures had all perished already.

    The footprints reached all the way to the bottom of a yellow mountain before they vanished. Lu Yin investigated the site some more and confirmed that the astral beasts had moved underground. Right when he was about to head into the tunnel, the yellow mountain before him suddenly swayed. It actually turned around, revealing itself to be a towering astral beast right before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and there were countless droves of astral beasts that could be seen on it. They all stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hair stood on end as countless astral beasts stared at him; his entire body trembled.

    The enormous, towering astral beast swatted at Lu Yin.

    It was extremelyrge, but it was just a Limiteer. Still, it was not much easier to deal with than Zi Tie. Any of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks against the beast would likely have a very limited effect due to its sheer size. No matter howrge the scope of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were, it would likely be a bruise to the massive body at worst.

    Boom!

    The ground shook as the giant beast roared, causing shockwaves to radiate outwards and the yellow earth to buckle. The fine soil flew into the air and merged together to form a giant w that then grabbed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth and covered himself with five-lined battle force. The dark-gold color then swept into the skies as he used sh to appear behind the giant astral beast. He immediately struck out with a palm strike: Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. This was one of his strongest attacks, as the already terrifying Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm was amplified even further by the Nine Stacks. Although this beast was enormous, its defenses were not fantastic. Lu Yin¡¯s palm easily pierced through its giant body, but to Lu Yin¡¯s surprise, he quickly found out that, bizarrely enough, the beast actually had no blood. It seemed to bepletely formed by soil. Hold on. Soil? Lu Yin thought to himself as he nced at the herd of astral beasts on top of the mountainous beast.

    If his guess was correct, then this was no astral beast but rather a mound of dirt that had been shaped and controlled by these astral beasts. He had been frightened by its sight, but it was illogical to think that such arge beast could exist on Conan without being discovered by the human forces.

    The giant beast roared again as its enormous body mmed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned and used the Cosmic Palm to tear open a path by directly piercing through the giant beast¡¯s body. He then used sh to tear through the void and reappear right before the captured soldiers who were floating in the air.

    These soldiers had given up all hope when they were captured, but they sprang back to life when they saw Lu Yin appear.

    Lu Yin charged downwards without using any battle techniques. He relied purely on the strength that his five-lined battle force provided to whip up a strong gale behind him, pulverizing countless astral beasts.

    The ground rumbled and splintered as Lu Yin¡¯s power was just too strong. Unless it was a space-exploring astral beast, the average beast was simply not his opponent.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to sessfully rescue the group of captured soldiers, a wave of dizziness swept over him and he lost his hearing for an instant. An indescribably loud sound was being emitted from a palm-sized astral beast. At the same time, simrly sized astral beasts appeared in all directions and emitted the same, strange sound.

    This series of sound waves was much stronger than Liu Yin¡¯s attack, and it also had an extremely prative nature. A stream of blood trickled down Lu Yin¡¯s lips as his eyes became bloodshot. He was suddenly struck in the back and spat out a mouthful of blood. He retaliated by striking out with both palms, destroying many astral beasts.

    Lu Yin crashed to the ground and looked back up in shock. This herd of astral beasts was not simple and was much stronger than the two droves that had previously attacked the bases. Additionally, a strange astral beast that could injure him had also appeared.

    He was among the top four in the Astral Combat Tournament and had a good chance to im the top position. With his five-lined battle force, even the Ten Arbiters might not have necessarily have been able to stand up to him when they were at the Melder realm, but he had just been injured by this crowd of astral beasts.

    Many strange astral beasts that he had not seen before appeared from all directions. There were only a few of them, but they all had strange innate gifts. Additionally, the strange beasts that he had seen before started quivering again, ready to unleash another sound wave at him.

    Lu Yin squinted, clenched his fists, and shrouded his body with the Cosmic Art. At that moment, he saw an invisible attack headed towards him, or rather, an invisible astral beast. Its body was small, but it was what hadunched the strike that had heavily injured him.

    Thump!

    Lu Yin squarely struck the invisible astral beast with a fist. The ground shattered, and the surrounding astral beasts simultaneously pulled back. Lu Yin took a single step back while the invisible astral beast took seven steps back and stared at Lu Yin in shock. It had not expected Lu Yin to actually see it, and probably did not expect Lu Yin to block its attack either.

    What kind of trick was this? Lu Yin was astounded that this invisible creature had actually taken a full force, five-lined battle force blow while another strange creature could release a dizzying sound wave. The coordination between these two astral beasts had actually led to him being injured; why did Conan have such powerful beasts roaming around on it? A sneak attack from these two could even take an Explorer by surprise!

    Since his body was injured, Lu Yin immediately retrieved a Melder ring armor and put it on while also swallowing some medicine. The invisible creature suddenly acted, clearly not wanting to give Lu Yin an opportunity to treat himself.

    Lu Yin remained in his spot, and when the invisible creature¡¯s w entered the range of his Cosmic Art, Lu Yin was able to clearly see all of its actions and easily dodge the attack. He then grabbed the creature¡¯s right w with his right hand while his left hand grappled its body. He activated the Cosmic Palm, causing stars to revolve above his right palm while he pushed down, sending the invisible astral beast deep underground as it took the full brunt of Cosmic Palm.

    A nine-star Cosmic Palm was not something that just anyone could withstand, and Lu Yin had even coated that attack with five-lined battle force. Regardless of how strong the invisible astral beast¡¯s defenses were, its abdomen had still been directly prated by the palm. The palm-sized creature growled, causing the dizzying sound waves to reappear in all directions. Lu Yin endured a splitting headache as he pped the creature¡¯s head again, shattering its skull and driving it into the body of the massive beast formed out of soil.

    There were countless astral beasts surrounding him outside the dirt beast, and he was once again injured. He no longer had any hope of saving the soldiers outside, as they had been killed during his battle with this horde of beasts. The astral beast¡¯s methods had been even more ruthless than he had imagined.

    He hid within the giant beast¡¯s dirt body and restrained his aura, preparing to charge out into the horde.

    But then, the beast¡¯s body suddenly melted away as the soil copsed to the ground.

    Lu Yin squinted, and he was just about to dash out when the sky was torn apart by a formless attack. He instantly paused as more sound waves filled the skies one after another. As soon as he charged out, he would be struck by those waves, and he was unsure if he could actually escape. This was not an attack that targeted his spiritual force; these sound waves targeted his physical body and his brain.

    What should he do? Charge out or not?

    At this time, his hand happened upon a hard object that had been revealed when the soil beast copsed. It was arge shell that seemed to have been left behind after some creature molted. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, and he decided to hide within the shell. He then restrained his aura once again. At that moment, the soilpletely fell apart as smoke billowed in all directions. Lu Yin popped out, hurled the shell towards the distance, and charged in the opposite direction.

    The visible sound waves sted the void apart and instantly shattered the shell while Lu Yin used sh to hide within a living astral beast. More urately, he hid between the scales of an astral beast, though the creature gave off an unbearable stench.

 Chapter 238: Sheng Ao

    <h4>Chapter 238: Sheng Ao</h4>

    Even after sting the shell that Lu Yin tossed out as bait to smithereens, the palm-sized astral beasts still did not give up. They continued bombarding the general area with sound waves until everything was reduced to dust.

    Lu Yin endured the extremely foul stench of the astral beast he was hiding by as he stared at the palm-sized astral beasts. Although they were small, their sonic attacks were even more powerful than Liu Yin¡¯s strikes. It had to be said that their innate gift was very strong, allowing them to survive in battle against the humans until today.

    But these beasts were a bit too strange. Nothing this powerful had appeared during the sneak attacks on the bases, and yet, they had appeared here. There was definitely something strange going on.

    The more powerful astral beasts were no less intelligent than humans. During the many days he had spent at the base, Lu Yin had heard on multiple asions that the astral beasts were also sent on missions, like the human troops. By this point, he felt that this group of astral beasts were definitely not simple; had they been in the middle of a mission?

    He could not be med for thinking this, as this group of astral beasts had trapped even him. There were no Explorer realm astral beasts in this group, either, which was definitely rare. Additionally, this group was strong enough to wipe out a base in an instant if they attacked, but they seemed to be intentionally avoiding the bases. They were most likely either trying to team up with other groups to attack a specific area, or they had some special mission.

    Lu Yin could have escaped after he dodged those palm-sized astral beasts¡¯ sound waves, but after thinking things through, he decided to stay. If these beasts really were on some kind of special mission, then he might be able to earn some contributions if he stayed.

    Although he was just a student, the reason why he hade to the warfront was still to learn through experience. If he could earn some contributions, then he would definitely not give up, especially not if all he had to pay was enduring a loathsome stench.

    Before long, the group of astral beasts started to move westwards again. Therge group did not run on the ground; rather, they manipted the soil to carry them along, as if it were a vehicle carrying them. This method also meant that they left no footprints behind.

    They were indeed very smart. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed when he saw this. The beasts had clearly realized that he had tracked them down by following their footprints; thus, they had switched to this mode of transportation specifically to avoid being followed in the future.

    Half a dayter, the group of astral beasts stopped moving. The astral beast that Lu Yin was hiding in, along with all the others of the same type, moved towards the center of the group. The horde of beasts methodically separated in a practiced motion to form a defensiveyout. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed when he saw that there was actually a human in the center of the formation, though it was unknown if he was alive as he was justying there. Beside him was a strange-looking, earthworm-like astral beast with twisting threads that undted in a dancing motion around its body. Under Lu Yin¡¯s observant gaze, one of the threads inserted itself into the person¡¯s ear.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as his scalp went numb.

    After a moment, the threadpletely vanished into the person¡¯s brain. The person lying on the ground then slowly opened his eyes and stiffly stood up. He calmly walked out of the crowd of astral beasts, and not a single beast made any move to stop him. After he walked out, his eyes gradually regained their rity, and a smile appeared on his face. Then, he flew away.

    Lu Yin was dazed. What had just happened? Was the person that he had seen just now under the astral beasts¡¯ control? That shouldn¡¯t be the case. How could an astral beast have such a strange innate gift?

    After that person left, the astral beast group returned to its previous state with the earthworm-like astral beast protected in the center. Fortunately, the creature that Lu Yin was hidden within was not too far from the center, and he could clearly make out the earthworm-like astral beast.

    They did not move very far before the group suddenly changed directions when the top of the earthworm beast¡¯s head emitted a faint light.

    Lu Yin continued to follow the group in this manner as they roamed across Conan.

    At the same time, Shui Chuanxiao was dealing with another headache. ¡°Commander, another warship has been destroyed. Over 2,500 soldiers were killed on that spacecraft,¡± En Ya, his female deputy, reported solemnly.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s eyes grew frosty. ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer. The number of controlled people is increasing with every day that passes. Any longer and my spacecraft will also run the risk of being destroyed.¡±

    En Ya hesitated. ¡°Are we really going to use that? There aren¡¯t even twenty people in the entire frontier allied troops who are qualified to use it, and it¡¯ll be a huge loss if an ident urs to any one of them.¡±

    ¡°Pass down mymand and have them all assemble. They¡¯ll start from the hundreds guarding the center and sweep out. They will thoroughly explore each. Request help from the Erudite Flowzone as well.¡±

    En Ya acknowledged themand.

    ¡°Right, aren¡¯t the students from the Astral Combat Academy here as well? There should be quite a few of them who can help out, so let them participate too,¡± Shui Chuanxiao suddenly said as an afterthought.

    En Ya was immediately put in a difficult position. ¡°This mission is a bit too difficult for them, sir. Even if the students can find a drove of astral beasts protecting the Sheng Ao, they might not be able to escape with their power. Last time, we even discovered that there were the two Guais in a drove. When those two beasts fight together, even an Explorer needs to be careful. It¡¯s too dangerous for a mere student.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. ¡°I know, but there¡¯s no choice. Go, the safety of the frontier is the most important priority. Carry out your orders.¡±

    En Ya nodded helplessly and turned to leave.

    Not long after, Liu Shaoqiu, Silver, Xue Liuyun, and Liu Yin received new orders and were shipped off to Cangyuan, which was one of the hundreds in the center of the defense line.

    The four were shocked by this development as they were just students. However, they were indeed very powerful. There were other powerhouses among the soldiers who could match the strength of these elite students, but they had relied on time and experience to slowly build up their power. And why were these students carrying out this important mission? What about Chao Zhi, Tasha, and Lanke? In terms of justbat strength, Chao Zhi was definitely no weaker than the selected students¡ªthe only difference separating the four from the rest was that they had allprehended a domain.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s mission for them was simple. He assembled all of the soldiers who could use a domain and had them infiltrate a drove of astral beasts to find the species that was called Sheng Ao; they were the ones that could control humans.

    There were too many astral beasts on the protecteds for the soldiers to eliminate every single one of them. The only option was to send skilled people to infiltrate each group to find out the Sheng Ao¡¯s weakness. With that, they could then n a reasonable strategy.

    This mission was quite dangerous, and the astral beasts were not foolish, either. Every single Sheng Ao was protected by strong powerhouses.

    Shui Chuanxiao and the rest naturally did not know that Lu Yin was the closest person to a Sheng Ao at this time. He had even found this thing¡¯s weakness, or rather, its natural tendencies.

    Every living thing had its own natural tendencies that became its strengths and weaknesses. For example, humans had an inherent ability to adapt to anyplicated environment and could use tools. Astral beasts simrly had their own tendencies, which even determined whether they lived in groups or in solitary. Lu Yin guessed that this earthworm-shaped astral beast that could control humans lived by itself, to the extent that it did not even want to meet other members of its own species. Every time its head glowed, the astral beast drove would change directions. Even if the horde only changed directions three times over multiple days, it was still enough for Lu Yin to make a calcted guess.

    It might be changing directions to avoid something that it loathed, a human base, a simr race, or maybe something else entirely. Lu Yin could deduce no other reason for its glowing head.

    It was the most likely that it could either sense human bases or other members of the same species.

    Lu Yin decided to continue observing the strange, earthworm-like beast, as he had grown ustomed to the stench over these few days. Even if he did not use his Invisible Aura Technique, he might not be exposed at this point as he had also started to stink.

    There were over a hundreds thatposed the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border, and they were divided into three groups: left, center, and right. The left and right each held thirty sevens while there were a hundreds protecting the center. Cangyuan was thergest as well as the one closest to Shui Chuanxiao.

    Currently, the soldiers had discovered thousands of humans who were being controlled. Almost every along the entire warfront had discovered at least one person being manipted, which added up to quite a substantial number. Shui Chuanxiao was thus forced to make a decisive move, and he had assembled all of the domain users under hismand to carry out this mission.

    A domain was extremely difficult toprehend, and even a top-notch institution like the Astral Combat Academy could not produce many of these experts, let alone the rest of the universe; the probability was just too small. Throughout the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s entire frontier allied troops, there were around twenty domain experts under the Explorer realm. This was already a rather sizable number.

    On Cangyuan, within a burning forest, Liu Shaoqiu hid inside a tree that had been hollowed out as he watched a giant drove of astral beasts rush past him. He suddenly moved and hid inside one just like Lu Yin was doing. He then frowned as the smell was too horrible.

    On another, Xue Liuyun simrly encountered a drove and hid within it.

    For domain experts, infiltrating a drove of astral beasts was not very hard as their domain could change their odor andpletely integrate them into their environment. Only super-intelligent astral beasts would notice them, and any other would simply be oblivious to their presence.

    Zhuo Daynight had once used this ability to sit on the back of an ant in the Umbral Butterfly Weave without ever being noticed.

    Liu Yin was still searching for a group of astral beasts to infiltrate while Silver stepped across countless floating corpses as the herd trembled and rushed to escape into the distance.

    ¡°What a headache. Lu Yin suddenly went missing. So, is he really that person¡¯s descendant? Or was his Zishan bloodline a facade from the start?¡± Silver muttered to himself as he stepped past the rivers of blood and headed into the distance.

    Lu Yin remained hidden for ten days on Conan, and the herd of beasts that he was hidden within had changed direction five times. Every time, it was triggered when the top of that earthworm-looking creature¡¯s head glowed. There were two times when the herd had remained stationary until the radiance on its head gradually dimmed down. This confirmed to Lu Yin that the astral beast herd was changing directions not when it encountered a human base but rather when they ran into another creature of the same species, since a base could not possibly move on its own.

    Just as Lu Yin was considering whether he should continue hiding, beams of light sted the ground. The drove of astral beasts had been discovered by some soldiers.

    The enormous sound waves converged and shot towards the sky where it collided with the light beams. The resulting after shocks distorted the void.

    From the sky, multiple warships incessantly bombarded the group of astral beasts with their energy weapons.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he instantly appeared directly behind the earthworm-like creature before casually striking it. The earthworm-like creature immediately died since its defenses were pitifully weak; however, his actions agitated the palm-sized astral beasts who abandoned their anti-aerial assault to focus their attacks on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already obliterated the earthworm creature¡¯s corpse and found the reason for its glowing head. It was a round ball that was probably the creature¡¯s brain.

    Countless sound waves continued to bombard the area while Lu Yin sneered disdainfully. After observing them for so many days, he had long since seen through the sound waves. He easily used sh to continuously dodge them. The all-epassing sound waves could destroy a portion of the astral beasts, but they could not harm him at all. This was the power of his Cosmic Art. Given enough time, no matter how strong his opponent was, Lu Yin would eventually fully analyze their techniques ande up with an appropriate countermeasure.

    The warships in the sky continued to bombard the ground, but they purposefully avoided Lu Yin¡¯s location.

    Not long after, Lu Yin used sh and a Cosmic Palm to ughter the remaining palm-sized astral beasts. He then flew up to meet the warships.

    A person walked out of a spacecraft and grimly confronted Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Lu Yin.¡±

    That person was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin? Didn¡¯t you go missing?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±

    The soldier looked suspiciously at Lu Yin and then at the ground, hesitating about something.

    Lu Yin was suspicious, but he did not speak and only watched on silently.

    Not long after, that person spoke, ¡°Did you kill the Sheng Ao?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s a Sheng Ao?¡±

    ¡°An astral beast that can control humans.¡± He then stared closely at Lu Yin, clearly suspicious of whether Lu Yin had beenpromised.

    [1] Guai - literally, strange thing; oddity.

 Chapter 239: Decisive Battle

    <h4>Chapter 239: Decisive Battle</h4>

    Lu Yin nodded after he heard the captain¡¯s exnation. ¡°So that toy¡¯s called a Sheng Ao? That¡¯s right, I killed it.¡±

    The soldier did notpletely believe Lu Yin since the people who had fallen under its control would do anything to gain the troops¡¯ trust. He could not ascertain if Lu Yin was speaking the truth, but he also could not take the responsibility of killing him because of Lu Yin¡¯s status. ¡°Get on. I¡¯ll take you to see Lord Qu Ao.¡±

    The guardian of the right thirty sevens was none other than Qu Ao, a Hunter. Lu Yin recalled his battle in space against the Tan Gang firebeast. Their battle had affected the entire Conan, and the signal still had not been restored even now.

    Lu Yin got on the warship and many of the soldiers transferred to another spacecraft. This was a precaution being taken in case Lu Yin had beenpromised.

    Lu Yin did not pay it any mind, and he calmly stood in the corridor as he watched the ground grow more distant. As it turned out, he had indeed still been on Conan.

    While travelling, no one disturbed Lu Yin. He was in no hurry, but less than an hour after they left, the spacecraft docked onto a giant warship that held Qu Ao.

    On the other end of the humans¡¯ border, in the dark void, a tripartite of ck, white, and red mes intertwined as they burned in outer space. They were even more dazzling than the stars, and within the tricolored fire, there was a giant beast; it was Soaring Firebeast, themander of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces that were shing with the humans at the border.

    A group of powerful giant astral beasts circled around the me beast, their asional roars distorting the void.

    Suddenly, the void was torn apart, causing all of the giant astral beasts to turn vignt.

    Yao Gu emerged from the void and silently stood in front of Soaring Firebeast. ¡°Emperor, may I have a word with you?¡±

    The three mes covering Soaring Firebeast¡¯s body surged as it replied, ¡°It is my Wilderness Beast Alliance¡¯s honor to receive a powerhouse on the Skymender List.¡±

    Yao Gu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°No, not the Wild Beast Alliance. This time, I want to speak to Soaring Firebeast.¡±

    ¡°Yao Gu, it was the alliance¡¯s agreement that initially allowed you toe to my frontier. What do you want now?¡± Soaring Firebeast was dissatisfied with Yao Gu¡¯s response.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anything. I came just to give Soaring Firebeast some good luck.¡± After saying this, Yao Gu¡¯s mouth continued to move, but no voice came out. Instead, it directly entered Soaring Firebeast¡¯s ear.

    After a while, the three fires extinguished themselves, revealing the Soaring Firebeast¡¯s giant body. ¡°What did you say? You¡¯re actually willing to help my zewhiz n move up in the Heavenly Beast List?¡±

    ¡°This all depends on your sincerity. I don¡¯t know how far you are willing to go in exchange for this Yao Gu¡¯s promise.¡±

    The void fell silent, but shortly after, the emperor¡¯s loud voice reverberated out once more. ¡°We haven¡¯t had a decisive battle against the human allied troops for a while. Now¡¯s a good time as any.¡±

    In the darkness of outer space, Lu Yin met with Qu Ao on the giant warship.

    Somehow, everyone in the Erudite Flowzone seemed to have simr characteristics; they all had a schrly demeanor and a very gentle mien. Qu Ao was the guardian of the right thirty sevens, and it astonished Lu Yin that he could maintain this calm of a temperament despite overseeing such a bloody battlefield.

    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡± Qu Ao¡¯s tone was gentle yet firm.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied,  Conan soldier Lu Yin reports to the guardian.¡±

    Qu Ao nodded in satisfaction and studied Lu Yin. Like many, he had thought that the students of the Astral Combat Academy would have an arrogant attitude since they typically had powerful backgrounds. Even Lu Yin was a prince back in his home empire, even if that empire was just a fringe weave in the Outerverse. It was not a given that the students would quickly adapt to military life, but Lu Yin¡¯s performance was very satisfactory.

    From the previous two base attacks, Qu Ao had already seen the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s battlefield performance and knew that they were strong fighters. This was especially true for Lu Yin, who had repelled the Explorer realm astral beast, Zi Tie; it was truly a marvellous feat.

    ¡°Tell me about your experiences over this period,¡± Qu Ao said.

    Lu Yin recounted what he had gone though at the Human Domain¡¯s warfront from start to end, but he specifically left out the part about the Ghost Monkey, Progenitor Wushang, and the inheritance. He focused mostly on the time he spent hiding within the astral beast drove, and especially on the two unique astral beast species that had given him a great amount of difficulty.

    Qu Ao¡¯s face turned heavier the more he listened to Lu Yin¡¯s story. When Lu Yin finished speaking, he and he studied Lu Yin¡¯s face carefully. ¡°That invisible astral beast is called a Yin Guai and those sound-based astral beasts are called Sheng Guai. Together, they are termed as the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s two Guais. Their coordination can mow over many powerhouses within the same realm. The two hardly ever appear together, but here, their appearance was to protect the Sheng Ao.¡± At this point, Qu Ao stared at Lu Yin intently. ¡°Give me a reason to believe that you are not controlled by a Sheng Ao. Otherwise, we have no choice but to iste you.¡±

    Lu Yin spread his hand and revealed the round ball that he had retrieved from the Sheng Ao¡¯s head. ¡°Have you seen this before, guardian?¡±

    Qu Ao retrieved the sphere, studied it a little, and then shook his head. ¡°Where did you get it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the object in the top of the Sheng Ao¡¯s head. I discovered that every time this thing lights up, the Sheng Ao changes directions and avoids that area. While I was hiding in the astral beast drove, they were forced to change directions five times because of this phenomenon. My guess is that it¡¯s rted to sensing other Sheng Aos,¡± Lu Yin exined with a serious tone.

    Qu Ao was shocked. ¡°Are you saying that this thing reacts when it nears other Sheng Aos?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s just my guess. The specifics will have to be tested and verified.¡±

    ¡°Conduct the test,¡± said a voice from behind Lu Yin. It was from a screen that showed the image of an imposing man. It was themander of the Human Domain warfront¡¯s allied troops, Shui Chuanxiao.

    Lu Yin turned and immediately bowed.  Conan soldier Lu Yin pays respects to themander.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded. ¡°If this theory of yours is true, then you¡¯ll have made a great contribution.¡± With that, the screen directly turned off.

    At the other end of the room, Qu Ao immediately ordered someone to take the sphere onto a warship and fly towards Conan to then search it area by area.

    Lu Yin had hidden amongst the astral beast drove for many days and had witnessed it change directions five times, which indicated that there were quite a few Sheng Aos on Conan.

    ¡°The Sheng Ao is a very strange creature that has only appeared in recent years. The people that it maniptes are perfectly aware of themselves, have clear memories, and act no differently than before. Even the people themselves do not know that they are being controlled, but all of their actions are being influenced by the Sheng Ao,¡± Qu Ao solemnly said, seeming as an exnation to Lu Yin, but also possibly to remind himself. Lu Yin did not interrupt.

    ¡°Since the Sheng Ao has appeared, the death rate has increased by a third because of manipted humans, and a great deal of damage has been caused to our facilities as well,¡± Qu Ao said before looking at Lu Yin and then suddenly switching topics. ¡°How would you evaluate Qu Feng¡¯s strength?¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard and perfunctorily replied, ¡°Very strong.¡±

    Qu Aoughed. ¡°Strong? He couldn¡¯t even enter the top sixteen in the tournament and is still too far too weakpared to Han Chong.¡±

    ¡°Is Qu Feng a member of your n¡¯s younger generation?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a descendent of the Qu family.¡±

    The room fell silent.

    Lu Yin had felt that Qu Ao was being rather friendly, just like Han Chong. He had also been quite friendly to Lu Yin during the Astral Combat Tournament. Could it have to do with his n name? The Erudite Flowzone reportedly had the highest amount of ns with primeval surnames, but they had all hidden themselves. Could the Qu n be one of those ns as well?

    ¡°Lu Yin, what about your family?¡± Qu Ao suddenly asked, still gazing calmly at outer space.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Although Qu Ao wasn¡¯t directly facing him, he felt that he was being carefully observed. ¡°I have no family. I¡¯m an orphan.¡±

    ¡°You were born with the bloodline of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s King Zishan?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Yin answered with a nod.

    ¡°Why the family name Lu?¡± Qu Ao asked as he suddenly turned back around. Lu Yin¡¯s brain rumbled. His mental state was disturbed, and his body suddenly turned limp. In that instant, Lu Yin felt like he had returned to Driftcharge and was reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. That same overbearing pressure had reappeared: the might of a Hunter. If this had urred before his experiences on Driftcharge, then Lu Yin would have lost all of his reasoning ability and be muddle-headed, but after reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, his mind was able to hold onto a trace of rity.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just feel that I should be called Lu,¡± Lu Yin painfully bent at his waist as he involuntarily answered.

    Qu Ao frowned but did not speak as he continued to study Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin vigorously shook his head, panting heavily. He then looked at Qu Ao in a daze. ¡°Guardian, what about you?¡±

    Qu Ao raised his hand to halt the conversation. ¡°Forget about what happened just now and forget about your reply.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and continued breathing heavily. If Qu Ao had tried to force him any further, then he would have truly fainted; his pressure surpassed even Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword. And he had been subjected to this pressure just because his family name was Lu.

    Actually, even Lu Yin himself did not understand why he had the surname ¡°Lu.¡± When he was first rescued by his family, everyone had told him that this was his name, that he should be called Lu Yin. He had never felt any rejection towards the name either. This surname, ¡°Lu,¡± that he carried had given him and his family much trouble, but he had never regretted having this name.

    Not long after, a message was delivered, confirming that the experiment had been a sess. The sphere that had been retrieved from a dead Sheng Ao still lit up in the presence of other Sheng Aos, and the warship had been sessful in eradicating another horde of astral beasts and obtaining another sphere.

    Qu Ao was delighted by the results and immediately ordered an Explorer to personally hunt down the Sheng Aos with the spheres.

    The Sheng Aos and their guardian astral beasts were not Explorers, which was why they had to hide on the variouss. This had originally been the source of a huge headache for the humans, but now, Lu Yin¡¯s discovery had nullified these astral beasts hordes¡¯ concealing ability, which was a great contribution for the warfront.

    This border zone was not just an area or territory but rather a warfront that concerned the rise and fall of the entire human race. Any contributions made at the warfront would be recorded in the annals of history.

    ¡°Good job, Lu Yin,¡± Qu Ao praised as he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    Lu Yin exhaled lightly. ¡°It was all luck, good luck.¡±

    Qu Ao smiled. ¡°Sometimes, luck is more important than strength on the battlefield. It seems that you¡¯re the bringer of good fortune.¡±

    Not far away from them, a screen turned on, showing Shui Chuanxiao gazing gratefully at Lu Yin. Before themander could speak, however, the spacecraft jerked violently, causing the connection to dissipate. A session of explosions tore through the spacecraft¡¯s metal hull as its structure fell apart. A terrifying shockwave swept through the ship, distorting the void and making everyone feel as if the entire universe were falling apart.

    Qu Ao¡¯s face instantly changed. ¡°Not good! It¡¯s Yao Gu!¡± Then, the clear sound of a voice reading some esoteric text caused Lu Yin¡¯s entire body to go numb. For an instant, he felt as if the heavens were copsing, and he could not even hear Qu Ao¡¯s shouts. There was a rumbling sound in Lu Yin¡¯s ears and a massive crack appeared in the warship.

    In the vastness of outer space, Wen Sansi¡¯s figure appeared. ¡°Brother Yao Gu, you should reconsider your actions.¡±

    ¡°Wen Sansi, this will be the decisive battle! Let¡¯s see if you can stop me,¡± Yao Gu shouted as the void exploded again. From the depths of space, the shadows of a dozen enormous beasts emerged. They were all space-exploring astral beasts.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Decisive battle?

    Qu Ao barked, ¡°Land the spacecraft on Conan. The Explorers will battle in the heavens. The war has begun!¡± He disappeared immediately after giving those orders.

    The spacecraft shook and charged straight for Conan.

    [1] Yin: hidden, concealedSheng: soundGuai: oddity/strange thing

 Chapter 240: War Drummer

    <h4>Chapter 240: War Drummer</h4>

    Lu Yin froze in ce as he watched the great battle take ce in the splendor of outer space. It was on another level entirely, and he was unable to make anything out clearly.

    The Erudite Flowzone wasn¡¯t just fighting in outer space; its entire defensive perimeter was undergoing aprehensive preparation for the uing decisive battle. Numerous Void Wanderers appeared next to each and opened up multiple holes in the void, unleashing countless astral beasts against the human forces.

    Many warships were destroyed in the first moments of the battle, but at the same time, countless beams of light bombarded the hordes of astral beasts. In that brief instance, an uncountable number of souls departed on both sides.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s face was extremely ugly; he just could not understand why the normally stable Soaring Firebeast would suddenly initiate a decisive battle.

    The tricolored mes descended upon the battlefield. En Ya was shocked and dumbly said, ¡°Commander, it¡¯s the Soaring Firebeast!¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao snorted and then stepped out into the sky. ¡°Soaring Firebeast, why the sudden push for a decisive battle?¡±

    ¡°This is a border war. Do I need a reason?¡± Soaring Firebeast¡¯s loud voice resonated through the region.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°Then prepare to drown.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you.¡±

    The next second, the entire voidbusted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s excitement over making some contributions from his actions hadn¡¯t even faded yet, but a major battle had already started.

    Qu Ao¡¯s warship arrived in the sky directly above Conan¡¯smand center. This was where the most intense battle on Conan was taking ce.

    Astral beasts filled the skies while countless spatial cracks extended into the horizon as beams of light swept out in answer to the snarls of the astral beasts.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the warship, and an astral beast immediately burrowed out from underground to bite at him. He casually swatted the Melder realm beast dead and looked out to see the entire battlefield drenched with smoke and a mist of blood. Countless strange innate gifts and battle techniques dazzled the scenery as bloodlust filled the eyes of the human soldiers and astral beasts alike.

    On this battlefield, there was no arguing over fairness, only massacre. Lu Yin quickly joined the fray, as his strength was second only to Explorers who were all battling in outer space; he was practically invincible on this battlefield.

    Countless astral beasts were pped dead by Lu Yin, and he did not need to use his five-lined battle force or his battle techniques. Just his raw, unadulterated physical strength was sufficient to dominate the battlefield. There were no powerhouses amongst the astral beasts, and the ones present simply could not stop Lu Yin.

    All of thes along the border were embroiled in this decisive battle. Themand centers and bases were quickly destroyed one after another, as there were just too many astral beastspared to humans soldiers, and they all had strange attacking styles as well. Over the countless years, the humans had lost track of the different types of astral beasts as they were constantly evolving.

    On Cangyuan, within a wilting and burning forest, Liu Shaoqiu beheaded a Yin Guai with a sword even as arge piece of flesh was torn out of his left arm. A momentter, multiple palm-sized Sheng Guais screeched, unleashing their sound wave attacks. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes widened as he sliced out with the Third Sword. The attack was formless, but all the Sheng Guais were knocked unconscious by that strike while Liu Shaoqiu was struck by their sound waves, suffering heavy injuries.

    Even Lu Yin found it hard to bear the Sheng Guais¡¯ sonic attacks, let alone Liu Shaoqiu. He had only faced half the numbers that Lu Yin had faced, but he had still been heavily injured by them.

    Without the two Guais, this group of astral beasts was no longer a match for Liu Shaoqiu.

    After finishing them off, Liu Shaoqiu quickly retrieved the sphere from the top of the Sheng Ao¡¯s head. He had just received the information about how this sphere detected other Sheng Aos and how it had been discovered by Lu Yin.

    Although Liu Shaoqiu had lost to Lu Yin during the Astral Combat Tournament, he was unreconciled with his loss. Lu Yin was immune to the Third Sword, but that was just a matter of constitution. Also, Liu Shaoqiu had not been able to disy the Fourth Sword. It had been like fighting a battle with his limbs bound, and he still felt sullen about it. His goal at the warfront had been to surpass Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had once again managed to take the lead.

    He gripped the sphere as his gaze firmed up. Since he refused to ept his loss, this vaguepetition had to continue. Also, he had an agreement with Lu Yin to challenge the Top 100 Rankings together.

    Some distance away from Liu Shaoqiu, there was a muddy and turbulent oceanposed of a strange liquid that could corrode all living beings. Silver slowly walked along the coastline. He raised his head to gaze at the sky as he basked in the rising temperature. He never thought that he would actually encounter such a rare environment as a decisive warfront battle. This was not a wasted trip. Lu Yin was also fine; it seemed that providence was on his side.

    Xue Liuyun and Liu Yin were also on Cangyuan, as they were also experts who hadprehended a domain.

    Chao Zhi and the others were still back on Conan, fighting for their lives against droves of astral beasts on some base.

    Dong!

    A deep, reverberating sound washed over the, as if a tsunami had enveloped the skies. This was the sound of a war drum whose sound resounded throughout the entire. Another loud resounding boom came out shortly from the neighboring as the beating war drums on each started sounding out in sync, forming a line of pulsatings.

    On the battlefields, all of the human soldiers heard the beats of the war drums, and their morale soared. An invisible strength seeped into the soldiers¡¯ bones while the astral beasts wailed in anguish in reply. The louder the drumbeats, the greater the harm to them.

    At Conan¡¯smand center, when the first war drums began to beat, Lu Yin felt as if he could see the bloodlust of his distant ancestors as an invisible strength flowed into him. This was a human inheritance that ceaselessly aroused the spirits of humans through the beating war drums. His battle force covered his body, and he rose up before pressing down with a Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. A portion of the battlefield copsed as a giant palm imprint crushed many of the beasts.

    Roar!

    Several angry howls sounded out on the battlefield as several strange beasts leaped at Lu Yin. Each one was a Limiteer, and they all possessed extreme speed. Some had powerful attacks and others tough defenses; all in all, five beastsbined forces to face off against Lu Yin.

    A coldness bloomed in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. His fighting spirit had been ignited by the beating war drums. He unleashed five consecutive Cosmic Palms that obliterated all five beasts running at him, scattering their fresh blood onto the ground to the shock of countless onlookers.

    At this point, themand center was suddenly split open as an enormous beast emerged from the void. Lu Yin had never seen such a fearsome beast before, but a mental cry came from the Ghost Monkey tattoo on his right arm. ¡°That¡¯s a Void Thunderbeast! Run!¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    ¡°Stop spouting nonsense and escape! That¡¯s a Void Thunderbeast! Any mature Void Thunderbeast is at least at the Explorer realm. This one¡¯s already very close to maturity, so don¡¯t fight it,¡± the Ghost Monkey desperately urged.

    But it was already toote, as that Void Thunderbeast was barreling straight at Lu Yin after destroying themand center. It was still a great distance away when it wed at him, but its attack seemed to pass through the void to appear directly in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed; such a strong attack was definitely no weaker than a full strength blow from one of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders.

    Bang!

    Powerful shockwaves undted in all directions as everything within a thousand meters of Lu Yin was crushed, and all living things were blown away. This created an empty and deste arena where Lu Yin confronted the Void Thunderbeast as the void copsed all around them.

    ¡°Why is there a Void Thunderbeast here? There aren¡¯t even 10,000 of these top tier astral beasts in the entire Astral Beast Domain, but one just had to appear here. Could this be rted to Yao Gu?¡± the Ghost Monkey murmured strangely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted. ¡°What did you say? Yao Gu?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Yao Gu. He¡¯s on our Star Domain¡¯s Skymender List and is a super powerhouse of the younger generation who is able to rival you human¡¯s Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shifted as he thought to himself, Yao Gu, Yao Gu. He then recalled the time he had rolled Pilfer and obtained a ck Mavis Bank card with the name Yao Gu carved on it. Could it be the same beast?

    The Void Thunderbeast snarled fiercely. It seemed that it had locked onto Lu Yin as its prey as its enormous body suddenly vanished, shuttling directly through the void to attack him again.

    The Ghost Monkey panickedly shrieked, ¡°Why has it targeted you?! Hurry up and run! There¡¯s no use trying to fight it! You won¡¯t be able to kill it even if you win, and if you lose, you¡¯re dead. There¡¯s no reason to even try to fight this thing.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Could this Void Thunderbeast be targeting him because of that bank card? But he had no time to look into this now. As he watched the Void Thunderbeast w its way over again, Lu Yin indignantly covered his body with five-lined battle force, distorting the void. He then activated his Cosmic Palm and stars appeared above his palm before exploding, the resulting vibrations causing the void to tremble. The Void Thunderbeast howled in grief; its ws had been directly snapped off by that Cosmic Palm.

    Lu Yin leapt up and appeared on top of the Void Thunderbeast. He then mmed another hand down as he tried to kill the beast.

    ¡°Human, I¡¯ll remember you. You carry our n¡¯s aura,¡± the beast snarled before piercing through the void by spitting out a p of thunder. Its entire body then vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm met nothing, crushing only the ground.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. How could that beast vanish with merely a thought?

    ¡°That¡¯s the ability of a Void Thunderbeast, ranked third on the Heavenly Beast Rankings. Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you. A Limiteer realm Void Thunderbeast is difficult for even a human Hunter to capture,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with an envious tone.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask some more questions about Yao Gu, but then he saw themand center¡¯s outer wall copse as a tall tform appeared. Above the tform, he could see one side of a war drum along with two giant war hammers, one ck and the other grey.

    Conan¡¯s war drummer, Lu Yin,¡± a loud voice reverberated throughout the battlefield.

    Lu Yin was stunned; he was the war drummer for Conan?

    ¡°Lu Yin, follow your orders.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and used sh to appear next to the war drum. He could feel the iron blood and the steel willpower of his ancestors as he gripped the ck war hammer with one hand. It was heavy and just gripping it caused an unusual energy to seep into his brain. It felt simr to when he faced Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword or Qu Ao¡¯s voice. It was an energy that could rip apart spiritual force.

    Dong dong dong dong¡­

    As the war drumbeats resonated across the various protecteds of the Human Domain¡¯s border, they merged together to form an extended sound wave that swept across the enormous stretch of space. Not only did the sound influence the astral beasts fighting on thes, but also those in outer space.

    Out in space, not far from Conan, Yao Gu and Wen Sansi were facing each other. The sky was torn to shreds around them, and a set of peculiar words had formed a chain that seemed to imprison Yao Gu to one area. Yao Gu waved out with a hand, causing an extremely dark ck spatial crack to extend outwards, break apart the chain of words, and then directly descend upon Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± A momentter, the dark spatial crack vanished.

    Yao Gu frowned as he remarked, ¡°You¡¯re even more detestable than that undying bird.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°Brother Yao Gu, please reconsider your actions. This decisive battle is not beneficial for either of us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s of no matter, as this can also be considered as training the army. If I can defeat one of the Ten Arbiters today, then I wonder how much that would influence your Human Domain?¡± Yao Gu then raised his head and began to transform. He forcefully undid his current humanoid shape and returned to his original form of a Void Thunderbeast. He then raised his head and snarled fiercely.

    Wen Sansi sighed again and his previously soft gaze became imposing, ¡°The Wen family has continued on, from generation to generation since the ancient times. Let me show you my Wen family¡¯s battle technique that has inherited the strength of the ancient schrs¡¯ character. I¡¯ll bury you in the heavens. Literary Prison.¡±

    ¡°Dream on! Even the almighty figures of your Human Domain don¡¯t dare to im that they¡¯ll bury me,¡± Yao Gu howled as a formless wave spread out, directly shattering all of Wen Sansi¡¯s word chains. It distorted space, and its enormous power even altered the atmosphere of the protecteds.

 Chapter 241: The Scholar Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 241: The Schr Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    There were two terrifying battles taking ce in outer space; one was between Yao Gu and Wen Sansi, and the other was between Soaring Firebeast and Shui Chuanxiao. These two battles were so intense that they even impacted the nearby defensives¡¯ climates. Only the steady beats from the war drums were able to stabilize the defensive line and allow the human army to take the upper hand.

    Currently, the ones in the most danger weren¡¯t the soldiers but rather the drummers. Every drummer became the beasts¡¯ foremost target.

    Usually, the war drummers were Explorers who had astounding auras and robust physical bodies. However, the drummer for Conan was a Melder. He was merely at the Melder realm, which in turn had made him the target of quite a few powerful beasts. Killing a war drummer was a huge achievement for any beast.

    Lu Yin grabbed the ck warhammer and slowly lifted it, his grimace deepening as it grew heavier and heavier. He steadily raised his battle force, and after all five lines were activated, he mmed down on the drum.

    Boom!

    An earth-shattering reverberation emanated throughout the battlefield and even reached into space, where the vibrations harmonized with the reverberations from the drums on the others. At this moment, numerous soldiers on Conan felt their morale soar and strength strangely rise.

    On the other hand, countless beasts howled in misery.

    On Lu Yin¡¯s right arm, the Ghost Monkey was speechless. He had be Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast and was thus unaffected by the drums. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re a drummer! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you know how many drummers die at the warfront every year? Let me tell you: at least twenty. Twenty physically powerful drummers, each of whom have terrifying auras. You¡¯re just a tiny weakling that any powerful beast can kill instantly!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin eximed. The weight of the warhammer and the fiendish rebounding force coursing through his body required all of his focus. Boom! The drum was struck again, and the resulting soundwaves reached into the sky.

    Outside Conan, the Tan Gang fire beast that was fighting with Qu Ao was enraged. ¡°Kill that thing!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he felt another bout of dizziness hit him. However,pared to the dizziness that he had endured while memorizing the Stonewall Scriptures, this was not even close to making him copse.

    The drumbeats on Conan grew louder, and the beating of the drums on nearbys joined in as well. Soon, all of these drums had joined together into a single rhythm that surged, amplifying their effect on the beasts.

    All of a sudden, a wave of bloodlust descended upon the war drum, and a sharp w flew right at Lu Yin. The bloodlust was unavoidable, for it came from a powerful beast that was able to travel through space on its own. Lu Yin was also unable to dodge it even with sh as the void around him had solidified. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened as he valiantly ignored the attack while the Ghost Monkey yelped in fear. At that moment, a Red Lotus Arrow appeared out of nowhere and collided with the w. Remnant shockwaves struck Lu Yin, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood thatnded on the war drum. However, he ignored it and continued steadfastly beating the drum. Mira emerged from the void and stood next to him with a serious face, ready to protect him from any would-be threats.

    Lu Yin nced at her, and she smiled back. ¡°You¡¯re doing well. Continue beating the drum, and don¡¯t worry. Even if you die, it will be after me.¡±

    Lu Yin grew solemn and his battle force intensified even further as he mercilessly beat the drum without pause.

    As the reverberations of the drumbeats continued spreading through the battlefield, the humans grew stronger and started suppressing the beasts bit by bit.

    While there were some drums that suddenly stopped beating, those localized disturbances did not have a huge effect on the overall situation.

    Up in space, Yao Gu attacked wantonly in all directions. There were a total of sixty four ancient characters around him, and together, they formed the Wen n¡¯s powerful battle technique, the Literary Prison, and had imprisoned Yao Gu.

    Yao Gu was shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to cultivate the Literary Prison to the 8x8 level. Even within your family, there are very few who have reached simr heights.¡±

    ¡°My ancestors are not people who you beasts have the right to judge!¡± Wen Sansi eximed. The Literary Prison in space shimmered as the light from the surroundings reflected off of it.

    Each one of the sixty four characters were linked together to form the Literary Prison that had imprisoned Yao Gu and locked down this section of space. This was a huge surprise to many powerhouses, including Soaring Firebeast.

    Yao Gu bellowed in rage and shot out a beam of electricity that pierced the void and destroyd the Literary Prison. Its huge body then rushed straight for Conan.

    Wen Sansi was shocked. ¡°It¡¯s actually this powerful? No wonder it was able to fight against Serati.¡± As he spoke, his Literary Prison that had just been destroyed reformed. This time, it was even stronger than before, as it could now illuminate tens.

    Even Lu Yin, who was down on Conan, looked up in shock. Who could do something this amazing?

    With a shriek, the void fluctuated like a rolling wave and formed a gigantic ck hole that devoured everything in its path. Yao Gu instantly fled without looking back, though right before he left, he fearfully nced at Wen Sansi onest time. This man who was known as the Schr of the Ten Arbiters and his mysterious methods scared it to the core.

    After even Yao Gu left, Soaring Firebeast felt that there was no longer any need for him to stay, so the battle ended quickly. Just like that, all the beasts fled in various directions, leaving behind a huge number of corpses.

    The soldiers then started cleaning the battlefield, numbly burning the bodies as everything went back to normal.

    Lu Yin set the ck warhammer down with a trembling arm. He had overexerted himself. It had been difficult for him to beat the war drum, and it was no wonder that only Explorers with physically powerful bodies could beat the drums. Perhaps even Mira would find such a task difficult.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you would actually be able to make a sound,¡± Mira remarked as she looked at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. ¡°It took everything that I had to do it.¡±

    Mira sized him up and down as she replied, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long, but you¡¯re already able to do so much. To be honest, even the Ten Arbiters couldn¡¯t have done much more than what you¡¯ve done when they were still at the Melder realm. Treat what I said before as empty air; you have already attained the right to speak to the members of the Outerverse Youth Council as an equal.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised and looked straight at Mira. ¡°Are you talking about the Council of Astral Academy?¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°The Council of Astral Academy has a simr status as the Outerverse Youth Council. As one of the final fourbatants in the Astral Combat Tournament and the leader of Astral-10, you¡¯ll definitely be able to join the student council.¡±

    ¡°No, I need to join the Outerverse Youth Council as well,¡± Lu Yin suddenly said.

    Mira was confused. ¡°Why?¡± But right after asking that, she let out a charmingugh. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because of your fianc¨¦e?¡±

    Lu Yin burst intoughter as well and nodded. ¡°Kind of.¡±

    ¡°What a petty man.¡± Mira rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin did not exin the situation any further to Mira. His family must have had good reasons for them to require that he join the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. Now that he had gone beyond that and could stand on equal ground with the Outerverse Youth Council members, he wondered if it would affect anything. Whatever it was, joining the Council of Astral Academy meant that he would also be able to join the Outerverse Youth Council as there was no conflict of interest. One was the Astral Combat Academy while the other belonged to the Outerverse; he could join both.

    Lu Yin still remembered how Bazeer had humiliated him in the past. When he went back to the Outerverse¡¯s floating city of San Dios, he would settle the score then.

    ¡°You won¡¯t go back on your word, right?¡± Lu Yin asked while looking at Mira.

    She smiled, and her eyes curved into crescents as she clearly answered, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked but did not answer.

    Mira tilted her head. ¡°I have a question for you. If I like your answer, then I¡¯ll submit a rmendation for you to enter the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    ¡°Go on,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Mira drew closer to him with an impish grin. ¡°Who¡¯s prettier: me or Michelle?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. He never thought that Mira would ask such a question; they were still on the battlefield! However, he reacted quickly and immediately answered, ¡°You¡¯re obviously prettier.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, really?¡± Mira giggled happily.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Yin said as he nodded seriously.

    Mira came even closer to Lu Yin and whispered, ¡°How about I marry you then?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stopped beating for a moment. It was a very tempting proposal. He gazed at her figure, and her pale neck and beautiful curves entered his eyes while her enchanting fragrance tantalized his senses.

    However, he froze for just a brief moment. After only a second, he hastily pulled himself away. Mira wasn¡¯t quite as attractive as Madam Nn, so in a way, Lu Yin already had acquired some experience and was able to somewhat restrain himself.

    As he saw a cunning glint sh through Mira¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin suddenly grew furious as he realized that he was being teased. He¡¯d gone through multiple near-death experiences before, and he was not one to let himself be affected by a woman. With this thought, he immediately moved forward and lifted her chin with a single finger. Under her startled eyes, he seriously stated, ¡°If you have the courage to marry me, then I will ept.¡±

    Mira froze. She had always liked teasing others, but this was the first time she had even been on the receiving end. She was Mira, the Red Lotus Witchbow and someone who ranked in the Top 100 Rankings. More importantly, she was supported by the Ten Arbiters. It was precisely because she held such an exalted status that numerous disciples fromrge organizations did not dare to treat her disrespectfully, but right now, she was being teased by a mere youth. Mira couldn¡¯t help but be shocked by this experience.

    Lu Yin enjoyed the sensation when the tip of his index finger rubbed over her smooth skin as he slowly retracted his hand. He could not overdo things, or else the joke would be a prank. Above all else, he was still not a match for Mira.

    ¡°Enough with the jokes. Will you keep your word and submit a rmendation for me to enter the Outerverse Youth Council?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mira was still frozen in shock at what had just happened, but then she red at him. ¡°You¡¯re very daring. Aren¡¯t you worried that the person behind me will settle this score with you?¡±

    ¡°The person backing you?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed curiously.

    Mira¡¯s lips curved up. ¡°He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters. Scared yet?¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mira pointed at the sky. ¡°The Schr of the Ten Arbiters, Wen Sansi.¡±

    ¡°The Schr of the Ten Arbiters?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone calls Wen Sansi. I¡¯ll only warn you once¡ªdon¡¯t be rude to me, or you¡¯ll be in trouble when he finds out. All men are petty,¡± Mira threateningly said to Lu Yin, but then she smiled. ¡°By the way, I recorded your answer just now. I¡¯ll send it to Michelle, so be careful.¡± After that, she stepped back into the void and disappeared.

    Lu Yin froze in ce. That woman had tricked him, and she wanted to send his answer to Michelle? Lu Yin could already feel a headache developing just from thinking about it. He could already imagine Michelle¡¯s fury when seeing the video. He hadn¡¯t even helped herprehend battle force yet, which was something that he had promised. With this matter piled on top, he would have to carefully choose his future words with Michelle.

    ¡°That woman is pretty interesting,¡± the Ghost Monkey said as his voice drifted into Lu Yin¡¯s ear.

    Lu Yin hadpletely forgotten about the tamed beast. ¡°So you¡¯ll be staying with me from now on?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. You were about to kill me, so I had to save myself somehow,¡± the Ghost Monkey answered sadly. Currently, it was impossible for him to die while he was someone¡¯s tamed beast.

    ¡°Can I summon you to fight for me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the beast answered matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin contemptuously said, ¡°Then why should I keep you around? I should just kill you as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Think this over. I might not be able to fight for you, but I do know a lot of ancient secrets, like about Progenitor Wushang. Don¡¯t you want his inheritance? Once you get it, you¡¯ll be invincible throughout the universe!¡± the monkey said temptingly.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t really care. ¡°The inheritance that you¡¯re talking about is in the Astral Beast Domain. Do you think that I can go there with my strength? Besides, that thing holds no interest for me.¡±

 Chapter 242: Yao Gu And The Skymender List

    <h4>Chapter 242: Yao Gu And The Skymender List</h4>

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so naive. Once you reach a certain level of strength, race ceases to matter. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance is something that both beasts and humans can obtain. You know, the moment any information about it spreads, the entire universe will be intrigued. I¡¯m talking about the entire universe, including your Human Domain and even the Technocracy!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    ¡°Regardless of how tempting it is, for now, it really doesn¡¯t interest me. On the other hand, I am quite curious about Yao Gu. Tell me more about him,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Ghost Monkey was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re interested in Yao Gu? Right, that Void Thunderbeast before had its sights on you, and it even said that you carried their aura. What did you do? Logically speaking, a human Melder shouldn¡¯t have had any dealings with Yao Gu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone grew chilly as he threatened, ¡°If I order you to do something, then just do as I say. Listen up, your life is in my hands, so the moment you cease to have any value, I¡¯ll destroy you without hesitation. Also, you¡¯d better pray that I get strong, because if I die, you die as well.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey could only meekly reply, ¡°I know, I don¡¯t need a reminder. You want to know about Yao Gu right? He¡¯s a Void Thunderbeast, which is ranked third on the Celestial Beast List. He¡¯s also a fully mature Void Thunderbeast. That¡¯s all anyone knows, though any intelligent beast could have told you that.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the Celestial Beast List?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    ¡°The Astral Beast Domain has a terrifyingly powerful organization known as the Heavenly Fiend Empire. There was once a great schr from the Celestial Beast Empire who went by the name of Skymender. He was a very mysterious beast. Nobody knew his true form, and the only aspect of his that was verified was that he could foresee the future by calcting the power of the universe. In some ways, he was quite simr to your Starsibyl.

    He came up with the Celestial Beast List that ranks the top races in our Astral Beast Domain. Any species that is on that list will have tremendous fame throughout the Domain, and even the entire universe.¡± After a pause, the Ghost Monkey continued exining, saying, ¡°The Skymender List is simr to your Ten Arbiters; only the strongest beasts in the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s younger generation can enter it. Yao Gu is on this list and is naturally someone who can fight against a Ten Arbiter on equal footing.¡±

    Lu Yin now understood. The Skymender List was the astral beasts¡¯ way of measuring their younger generation¡¯s strength while motivating them at the same time. Large organizations, academies, and even the astral domains and territories; all of them had simr ranking lists. It was a fact that these rankings lists were very effective, to the point where even the Astral Beast Domain had copied the idea.

    ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something else you need to know. Before you be an Explorer and are able to protect yourself, it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t stand out too much. Otherwise, you might end up on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List,¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly said.

    Lu Yin was baffled again. ¡°The Celestial Vanquisher''s List?¡±

    ¡°Skymender once said that the entire universe shares a single sky. The beasts were given life with the power of the heavens. Thus, we astral beasts are the children of heaven, while you humans rebel against the heavens or even consider yourselves to be the heavens. That¡¯s why you all are described as ¡®celestial vanquishers.¡¯ The word ¡®celestial¡¯ refers to humans, and the Celestial Vanquisher''s List is a list of the humans who pose the greatest threats to the astral beasts as a whole. Regardless of whether the people on the list are of the older or the younger generation, they¡¯re all threats. Each and every beast will try to kill any human on the list even at the cost of their own lives. That means that the moment you are put on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List, you¡¯ll have an endless number of enemies targeting you,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined.

    Lu Yin pondered it over before asking, ¡°Can Skymender really make such divinations?¡±

    ¡°Nobody knows for sure. It¡¯s like the Starsibyl Sect of you humans. Just one sentence from the Starsibyl back then resulted in many people freezing and sealing themselves so that they could take full advantage of theing change in the universe. This even included many beasts from the Astral Beast Domain, but nobody knows for sure whether or not it¡¯s truly urate.¡±

    Lu Yin had heard of this before. A Starsibyl from many generations ago predicted that there would be a huge change within the universe in the future, and that single prophecy had led to many people freezing and sealing themselves, waiting for the huge change that she had spoken of. Many years had since passed, and her prophecy had ultimatelye true, and the appearance of the Ten Arbiters was the best proof of it.

    In the past, the younger generation had not been able to contend against the older generation no matter how hard they worked or how wondrous their innate gifts were. This was because cultivation was a steady umtion that took time. However, when formcast models appeared, one¡¯s cultivation time became greatly reduced. This was a huge change. The great power that the Ten Arbiters grasped was an indescribably huge change in the universe. These two matters were supposedly proof that the universe had undergone a huge change, but Lu Yin felt that it had merely been a coincidence. Could people actually predict the future?

    Conan¡¯smand center had beenpletely destroyed during the battle, and only the war drums remained unharmed.

    During this battle, Lu Yin had gained the respect of numerous people; war drummers had always held one of the most respected positions at the warfront. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that he¡¯d also found the method of locating Sheng Aos, which had prevented countless losses. This achievement had even granted him the right to meet Shui Chuanxiao.

    Within a warship, Lu Yin gazed up into space. During thisst battle, five of the thirty sevens on the right side of the defensive line had been destroyed. All of the troops on thoses had been sacrificed, and it was difficult to even calcte the number of deaths. It was devastating.

    The brutality of the warfront was unimaginably cruel. Lu Yin now understood why his family and the pilot who had sent him here had all told him to be careful. Even with his great strength, he had still nearly died. If Mira hadn¡¯t been there, then he would have been in grave danger.

    Of the students who hade from the Astral Combat Academy, Tasha, Lanke, and Xue Liuyun had all died.

    Xue Liuyun¡¯s death was quite a surprise to Lu Yin. An academy student leader had casually died in such a cruel manner. Xue Liuyun had essentially died while taking down a few powerful astral beasts with him. This included the two Guais and a Sheng Ao. After the battle was over, the army had not been able to find Xue Liuyun¡¯s body; all that remained of him was a puddle of blood. News of his death was sent to the Astral Combat Academy.

    A Realm Master was able to look down upon everyone else in the Astral Combat Tournament, but they were so fragile here at the warfront. Perhaps only the Ten Arbiters could be assured in their own safety here.

    ¡°Hey, how did you get that beast skin?¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro? Do you have six other siblings?¡± the Ghost Monkey was slightly confused.

    Lu Yin simply ignored him.

    The Ghost Monkey could only change his form of address. ¡°Fine, how did you get that beast skin, Seventh Bro?¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand and rubbed his cosmic ring. The Ghost Monkey quickly stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t take it out! Please, don¡¯t take it out!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he nced at the adorable tattoo on his right arm. ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°No matter what, you shouldn¡¯t take it out. My life is in your hands now, and everything I do or say is for your own good,¡± the Ghost Monkey hastily said.

    Lu Yin snorted derisively. ¡°I¡¯m going to take it out if you don¡¯t tell me why.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, why are you so stubborn? Fine, I¡¯ll tell you. At least then you will know what it means to obtain Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance. Do you know why this massive, decisive battle suddenly took ce? It¡¯s because of that beast skin,¡± the Ghost Monkey sternly said.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°It was because of that?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I already told you that it¡¯s rted to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance. The moment it¡¯s taken out, anyone else who possesses a simr beast skin will be able to sense it. Yao Gu also has a beast skin like this. Why else do you think it appeared at the frontier? It¡¯s looking for others like it. I¡¯ve hid from it so many times and never revealed that skin. I only took it out to save myself because I didn¡¯t have any other choice.

    ¡°It sensed the beast skin, which is why it started a decisive battle and continuously targeted Conan.

    ¡°Do you finally realize how important this thing is? You shouldn''t take it out before you be a Hunter or else you¡¯ll be in great danger! It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re in the Astral Beast Domain or the Human Domain; after your strength reaches a certain level, race won¡¯t matter anymore,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined.

    Lu Yin slowly processed this new information. It seemed that he¡¯d gotten ahold of something pretty incredible, but who had he stolen that beast skin from? It was a quiterge piece, and the person who possessed it before him must be even stronger than Yao Gu.

    With a sudden jolt, the spacecraft docked onto an ultrarge warship. This was the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s bordermand center where Shui Chuanxiao stayed.

    Ten minutester, Lu Yin met the person who was known as the best strategic mind in human history: Shui Chuanxiao.

    His appearance was nothing special, but he emanated an unforgettable demeanor. His aura contained some kind of unique charisma that could be seen in every action, and especially when he interacted with other people. Whether male or female, he could befriend everyone.

    Charisma was oftentimes the determiner in who held the upper hand, and Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s charisma was the kind that allowed him to handle anything with just one word.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin, the war drummer from Conan. It¡¯s nice to meet you, sir,¡± Lu Yin politely greeted as he bowed.

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded and smiled. ¡°Lu Yin, eh. I knew that you were going to do well here as soon as I saw your battles in the Astral Combat Tournament, and you indeed didn¡¯t let me down. There really are very few people who are able to beat the battle drums as a Melder.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the praise, sir,¡± Lu Yin graciously responded.

    Shui Chuanxiao made a sound of acknowledgement, ¡°Anybody who makes a huge contribution in the frontier will be rewarded ordingly. This is a reward given to you by the entirety of humanity. Take a look and see what you¡¯d like.¡± After saying this, Shui Chuanxiao motioned towards someone, and a screen flickered on. There was a whole variety of rewards disyed on it, including star essence, cultivation skills, battle techniques, gems, weapons, all kinds of authority, and even territories. At the bottom of all these rewards was something called honor points. Lu Yin could only get one point.

    Lu Yin looked at it all in admiration. There were at least a hundred different possible rewards on the screen, and the sheer variety of choice had left him bewildered.

    Shui Chuanxiao smiled at Lu Yin. He had seen many people reacting this same exact way multiple times before. Even that future member of the Ten Arbiters had reacted this way back then. Humanity gave the warfront an endless amount of resources, and as themander of the frontier, Shui Chuanxiao was very generous with his rewards. From the get-go, Lu Yin¡¯s contribution surpassed even what that person had done, and Lu Yin¡¯s current options were only the basic ones. Themander was quite curious as to what Lu Yin would choose.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He wanted to take everything, but that was obviously impossible.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made my choice, sir. I¡¯ll take this,¡± Lu Yin pointed at the bottom-most option that only contained three words: ¡°Honor Points: One.¡±

    Many people were surprised, and Shui Chuanxiao was simrly astonished. ¡°This is what you want?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. I would like the Honor Point.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao steeled himself and looked Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Why?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer.

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded even without an exnation. ¡°Fine. Since you¡¯ve made your decision, then it¡¯s yours. En Ya, inform the Hall of Honor and add Lu Yin¡¯s name. From now on, he is somebody who has an Honor Point.¡±

    En Ya nodded and threw a curious glimpse at Lu Yin before she left and got to work.

    Lu Yin stared at Shui Chuanxiao in confusion, wanting to ask something but not actually saying it.

    Shui Chuanxiao gazed back at him. ¡°One Honor Point isn¡¯t difficult to obtain, but getting a second point is quite difficult. You¡¯ve still got another month here, and you¡¯ve just finished a battle. There won¡¯t be another one anytime soon, so you won¡¯t be gaining any more military contributions. In other words, you won¡¯t be getting a second Honor Point here at the warfront.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand, sir.¡±

    Some timeter, En Ya reported back. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s name has been added, sir. He now has an Honor Point to his name.¡±

 Chapter 243: Lu Yin vs. Silver

    <h4>Chapter 243: Lu Yin vs. Silver</h4>

    Shui Chuanxiao grunted before saying, ¡°Take him to Cangyuan, where he will continue his service for another month.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± En Ya acknowledged before bringing Lu Yin away.

    Shui Chuanxiao quietly mumbled to himself as he watched Lu Yin leave. Themander had thought that Lu Yin was merely an ignorant person from a fringe weave, but choosing the Honor Point showed that he was notpletely clueless.

    Once in the corridor, Lu Yin asked about Cangyuan¡¯s situation.

    Cangyuan is one of the hundred defendings in the center of the warfront, and it¡¯s location in space is much more important than Conan¡¯s, and thus, it naturally holds more powerhouses. One of the guardians is an elder from the Sylvan Dragon n¡­¡± En Ya gave a simple introduction, allowing Lu Yin a slightly better understanding of Cangyuan.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t feel too concerned about thising month, as there won¡¯t be much action. Both sides need to rest for a period after a decisive battle, so there will be hardly any conflict,¡± En Ya exined.

    Not long after, Lu Yin took the warship towards Cangyuan.

    Compared to Conan, Cangyuan was much bigger, and its environment was alsopletely different.

    Lu Yin was assigned to a base and thus began his month of service.

    En Ya was right, as there were almost no conflicts after the decisive battle. When he first arrived on Conan, Lu Yin had fought hectic battles nearly every few days, to the point where the soldiers could not even catch their breaths. Now, however, Lu Yin had turned into an ordinary soldier, and he began to truly adapt to the nervous yet dull lifestyle of a frontier soldier.

    He could use his gadget on this, and after arriving, Lu Yin checked the information on his identity. As expected, an Honor Point had been added to his name.

    ¡°Truly foolish.¡± The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice sounded in his mind, but Lu Yin did not bother with him.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m saying that you¡¯re really foolish! There were so many rewards, but you chose the most useless out of all of them!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried.

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you,¡± Lu Yin nonchntly replied. He was currently outside the defensive perimeter and on sentry duty.

    ¡°I feel bad for you. I know about you humans¡¯ Honor Points, since our Sheng Ao were given special missions to kill humans with Honor Points.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Anyone with Honor Points is obviously someone who¡¯s made significant contributions to the Human Domain. Who should we target if not them? And people like you with just one Honor Point are our victim, as we can obtain a great contribution for our race with minimal risk. You are really stupid,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined mockingly.

    ¡°Continue.¡±

    ¡°Continue? Continue what? Continue scolding you?¡±

    ¡°I really want to kill you right now.¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t threaten me. My existence is of great help to you. Because of me, you can be a super powerhouse that storms through the universe.¡±

    ¡°You talk too much. I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. From your tone, you don¡¯t seem like you know what Honor Points are used for anyway. It¡¯s such a shame that I actually have to exin to an enemy what their Honor Points are worth. Don¡¯t you think that this is quite ironic?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fist, causing star energy to surge through his body as he reached towards his right arm.

    The Ghost Monkey immediately cried out, ¡°Alright! I¡¯m afraid, and I¡¯ll tell you. You human¡¯s Honor Points are indeed useful, but only after getting two points. The more points you have, the greater the authority it represents. From what I¡¯ve heard, some people have even used their Honor Points to lessen their sentences formitting grievous crimes. For example, even if the allied troops¡¯mander, Shui Chuanxiao, betrayed the human race, he could use his Honor Points to reduce his punishment as long as his crimes were not too extensive. And if he dies, then your human race would send out countless experts to investigate his death, and there would be no way for the killer to escape unscathed.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°It can do such a thing? Then what about that Hall of Honor that he mentioned? I couldn¡¯t find anything about it in my gadget.¡±

    ¡°The Hall of Honor is the organization that appraises Honor Points. I don¡¯t know much about them either, as only space-exploring powerhouses are qualified to know anything about them. But I do know this; within the entire Human Domain, the Hall of Honor is one of the strongest powers. There are even rumors that a half-progenitor oversees it,¡± the Ghost Monkey solemnly answered.

    ¡°Half-progenitor?¡± Lu Yin was slightly stunned. ¡°I overlooked it earlier, but you mentioned Progenitor Wushang before, and now there¡¯s this half-ancestor. Is ¡®progenitor¡¯ a cultivation realm?¡±

    ¡°¡®Progenitor¡¯ is a word that represents an unsurpassed individual of the previous generation as well as the Progenitor realm. It is the apex domain that humans can reach and the endpoint of cultivation. Over the countless years, the universe has only birthed a few Progenitors. I don¡¯t know about your human race, but for the Astral Beast Domain, I only know of Progenitor Wushang.¡±

    ¡°What about now? Are there any Progenitors?¡±

    The Ghost Monkeyughed wryly. ¡°How would I know that? Truthfully, I don¡¯t even know how you cultivated to this point without anyone teaching you these things.¡± It paused for a moment before changing topics. ¡°Though that¡¯s not that much of a surprise when I think about it. You humans do like to conceal things and generally only share information with those closest to you. It means that even now there are many people who don¡¯t have even the most basic knowledge about the universe.¡±

    Just like that, Lu Yin chatted on and off with the Ghost Monkey, peacefully passing hisst month of military service. This month was very tranquil, and this was perhaps the military life that the soldiers hoped for the most, as no one wished for a bloody war to break out.

    Over the course of this month, Lu Yinpletely adapted to his peaceful military life and built up several friendships with fellow soldiers. However, when he next visited the warfront, these soldiers might not even be alive anymore.

    Even Xue Liuyun had died, let alone the ordinary soldiers. These new friends were mostly foot soldiers who were considered cannon fodders They had no formcast models, cultivated slowly, and had poor talent.

    During this time, Lu Yin also picked up a habit of standing quietly in the spacecraft¡¯s corridor and gazing into the heavens. Everytime he stared into the darkness of outer space, he could feel his own insignificance.

    ¡°Long time no see, captain,¡± a grinning Silver greeted from nearby Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve made quite a few contributions.¡±

    ¡°Captain, don¡¯t say it like that. My contributions are nothingpared to yours. I heard that you even met Commander Shui Chuanxiao,¡± Silver marvelled.

    Lu Yin turned towards his fellow student. ¡°Have you heard of the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened a little as his smile momentarily vanished, but it quickly returned. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s one of the strongest human powers.¡±

    ¡°How do theypare to you guys?¡±

    ¡°Captain, what are you saying? I¡¯m only a regr student! How could Ipare to the Hall of Honor? Captain, stop joking with me!¡± Silver acted shocked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a match.¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened as he readily replied, ¡°Alright.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled; he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. From his first ever meeting with Silver, the two had only seriously exchanged blows twice. The first was under the pale moonlight outside Jinlin city, and the other was during the assassination attempt on Zhang Dingtian¡¯s life at the capital on Earth. After leaving Earth, they had not seriously fought again. It was time to smash his firt into this guy¡¯s sly, foxy face.

    There were preset dueling arenas on the warship, and Lu Yin casually chose a gravity training room for their battle.

    ¡°This is a gravity training room that¡¯s specifically designed for duels. How would you like the gravity to be set?¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°Whatever.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately increased it to a hundred times gravity, which was the highest that an average Limiteer could withstand.

    The moment the increased gravity took effect, the smile on Silver¡¯s face vanished. His palm shed as his butterfly knife emitted a white radiance.

    Lu Yin turned around as his eyes shed. He instinctively retreated as a powerful shockwave pulsed through the room straight towards him, even slicing into the wall of the gravity training room. The wall was fully capable of withstanding a battle between peak Limiteers, but it had been torn open with the first atack.

    This was Silver¡¯s domain, and it represented his art of killing. Even Lu Yin had not sensed Silver¡¯s approach, and this was under a hundred times gravity as well. Silver¡¯s speed under normal gravity could only be imagined.

    Consecutive brilliant shes could barely be seen in the room as the butterfly knife sliced through the void. The ephemeral de shed, and traces of spatial cracks appeared around it as it approached Lu Yin. He calmly stepped back and closely observed the de¡¯s trajectory while nine stars revolved around his body. When the butterfly knife appeared within the range of Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art, each possible trajectory was clearly reflected in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. That de seemed normal as it streaked past, but it was filled with a strength that could shake the void.

    Lu Yin reached out and grabbed Silver¡¯s wrist, causing Silver¡¯s eyes to widen in shock. The butterfly knife on his hand rapidly spun towards Lu Yin¡¯s palm, but Lu Yin sted out with his palm. The Nine Stacks shook the void, causing the de to deviate and sh through empty space. At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s left palm struck out towards Silver¡¯s abdomen. But Silver seemed to have predicted Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and he avoided it before Lu Yin even moved. Silver¡¯s entire body vanished as he reappeared a few meters away from Lu Yin. Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded on nothing, causing the void to distort as the resulting shockwaves caused a loud rumble in the gravity training room.

    This sound attracted many of the nearby soldiers¡¯ attention, but no one dared to enter as very few of them could withstand a hundred times gravity.

    This duel had no earth-shattering explosions, and it even felt gentle as the two circled one another.

    ¡°Captain, not using battle force is rather condescending,¡± Silver casually said with a smile.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned solemn. ¡°You¡¯ve seen through my attack pattern?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Silver shot back with a beam.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Not only was Silver reading his attack pattern, but Silver¡¯s domain also had an immeasurable ability that gave absolute control to the wielder within the space of the domain. This was no exaggeration, as Silver had only used his butterfly knife and no battle techniques to block all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin had been wondering if he could defeat Silver while at the peak of the Melder realm and without using battle force. However, it seemed that this would not be easy as this person was too crafty, but not all hope was lost yet, as his Cosmic Art could make anything possible. Lu Yin thought about it before advancing again with an exploratory palm.

    Silver was stunned. Still not using battle force? He¡¯s really confident in himself.

    The butterfly knife streaked forward in a weird arc before passing through the void and heading straight for Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Lu Yin dodged the path of the knife and steadily retreated to the wall. One palm mmed into the wall and tore out a chunk of metal while the butterfly knife coldly shed before slicing towards his neck again. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted as he firmly struck at Silver with the chunk of metal.

    Silver¡¯s pupils constricted. This trajectory is¡­? He immediately retreated and then stared at Lu Yin in shock. Silver was truly shaken this time, and a rarely seen dumbfounded expression appeared on his face. Even Starsibyl had not stupefied him to such an extent. This was because Lu Yin had justpletely copied Silver¡¯s own attack trajectory.

    ¡°You have learned my attack path?¡±

    Lu Yin spun the chunk of metal around on his finger as he smiled. ¡°Possibly. Try again.¡± With that, he struck out with a Nine Stacks, Ninefold Shockwave Palm. The void rumbled ominously as Silver¡¯s butterfly knife spun rapidly in his own palm. One turned into two, and then two turned into three. An invisible force seemed to descend upon the gravity training room as killing became an art, and multiple phantom images of the butterfly knife sliced out at various trajectories that tore through the void.

 Chapter 244: Target

    <h4>Chapter 244: Target</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and the muscles in his right arm swelled up. Since he could use sh with his legs, then he could also use it with his arms. His right arm trembled rapidly after he activated sh with his arm as multiple afterimages appeared. The chunk of metal in his hand soon split into two, and then three images,pletely blocking Silver¡¯s attack trajectories with banging sounds.

    Sparks flew throughout the entire gravity training room as the speed of the two steadily increased. Silver had been able to rely on his domain and his innate gift of seeing through weaknesses to remain undefeated up until now, but Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art was his natural nemesis, as every move of Silver¡¯s was in turn seen through by Lu Yin.

    A minuteter, the two simultaneously retreated, breathing heavily.

    Silver¡¯s face fell, and he shook his butterfly knife once to remove all the sweat that had gathered on the de.

    Nicks had appeared in the piece of metal in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, but it still remained sharp.

    ¡°I was overthinking it. You haven¡¯t seen through my attack trajectories. Rather, you¡¯ve only reversed my trajectories to block my attacks.¡± Silver¡¯s face sank for a moment, but then hemented on their exchange in a rxed manner.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m indeed unable to replicate your attacks that are abination of your domain and innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Captain, this won¡¯t do. If I don¡¯t act, then will you not be able to attack either?¡± Silver asked with a teasing smile.

    Lu Yinughed before saying, ¡°Fine, then let¡¯s see whether you will act.¡± With those words, Lu Yin lifted a hand that transformed into a w as the 96th form of the Skybeast w technique suppressed the entire gravity training room. The howl of a beast rang through the void.

    Silver¡¯s eyes shed, and his butterfly knife swept out, directly slicing the Skybeast w apart. However, Lu Yin had already appeared in front of Silver, and the metal piece in his hand was streaking forward. Silver raised his butterfly knife in an attempt to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and a loud bang rang out as the shockwave from the collision distorted the void. Multiple spatial cracks extended out and tore at the walls as the piece of metal in Lu Yin¡¯s hand snapped in half. However, Lu Yin was not shocked at all, and he took advantage of this opportunity to strike out with his palm. The palm squarely hit Silver in the chest, and Lu Yin followed up by using Nine Stacks to forcefully pin Silver to the ground as he was unable to resist the pressure.

    After the ninth stack disappeared, Silver spat out a mouthful of blood and stared intently at Lu Yin. He smiled, though he looked rather miserable with his bloody teeth. ¡°Captain, it¡¯s only a spar. There¡¯s no need to be so ruthless.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly looked down at Silver. ¡°I¡¯m running out of patience. Tell me. What is it about the Great Yu Empire that attracts you people? What exactly is your identity?¡±

    Silver remained on the ground as he put away his butterfly knife before casually replying, ¡°You want to kill me?¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes.¡°I¡¯m someone who has made contributions at the warfront.¡±

    Lu Yin then squatted down beside Silver. ¡°I have Honor Points.¡±

    Silver¡¯s expression did not change. ¡°So what? You can try killing me whenever you want.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Silver and sighed. He then stood up as there was nothing he could do to this person who seemed to bepletely unafraid of death.

    Silver stood up too, and marvelled, ¡°Captain, I¡¯m really curious. How did you read the trajectories of my attacks?¡±

    ¡°Tell me your identity, and I¡¯ll exin it to you,¡± Lu Yin casually replied as he clenched his fist.

    Silver wiped the trickle of blood from his lips. ¡°I thought that I would be able to give you a good fight if you didn¡¯t use battle force, but I never thought that you were this strong even without battle force. You¡¯re about at Starsibyl¡¯s level.¡±

    Upon hearing these words, Lu Yin was reminded of when Silver had immediately given up when he was matched up against Starsibyl in the Astral Combat Tournament. ¡°Why did you admit defeat in your match with Starsibyl?¡±

    Silver helplessly replied, ¡°I can see through weaknesses, but Starsibyl can see the future.¡±

    It was that same phrase once again. Lu Yin had heard it many times, but he still did not truly believe in divination. If Starsybil could really see the future, then the woman would be unparalleled. Instead, it should be the power of some innate gift or battle technique that outsiders did not know about, although it sounded like Silver actually knew. The Neohuman Alliance was truly powerful and secretive.

    Before Silver left, he warned Lu Yin, ¡°Be careful of Undying Yushan.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand what Silver was saying. Undying Yushan was indeed powerful as he was a Hunter who had even entered the top twenty in the Astral Battle Rankings. But still, he had long since retired from the universe¡¯s stage and was now only an emperor in his twilight years. If not for Lu Yin himself, then Undying Yushan would have already died. Was there some kind of underlying meaning behind Silver¡¯s warning?

    Lu Yin wanted to ask for more details, but Silver had already left.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s his ranking in your Astral Combat Academy?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    ¡°None of your business,¡± Lu Yin coldly replied.

    The Ghost Monkey continued talking, saying, ¡°With his strength, he could challenge one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Academy Masters. Although he¡¯d probably be defeated, it would still be worth a try. He should be at the level of one of your academy¡¯s student leaders.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother talking with the monkey and instead returned to his quarters where he started to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. This had long be a habit, and he now made sure to recite a little of the Stonewall Scriptures every day.

    His days at the border warfront as well as his battles during the Astral Combat Tournament had made him realize the usefulness of the Stonewall Scriptures. The elder from Driftcharge had been right; reciting the scriptures would allow Lu Yin to transform. Even if the scriptures held no offensive capabilities, they would still help him build up a resistance to any attacks that targeted spiritual force.

    Using one of the expedited military routes, their warship quickly returned to the Frostwave Weave and docked at Astral-10¡¯s space station.

    Lu Yin and Silver disembarked and looked around at the familiar space station and could not help themselves from feeling emotional. Although their time at the border had been short, they had gained a great deal of experience.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re back!¡± Coco cried out with a cheer.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Coco, why are you so happy?¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, hurry up and tell me about your battle stories from the warfront! I¡¯m really curious!¡±

    ¡°Curious?¡±

    ¡°Yes, some of the seniors of our Windrift Hall visit the border warfront every year. I¡¯ll probably have to go there someday too, so it¡¯s better for me to learn while I can.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Got it. Are Xia Luo and the rest back yet?¡±

    Coco shook her head. ¡°No, and Sister Michelle and the rest aren¡¯t back either.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Michelle? She went to the border?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Coco nodded. ¡°Yes, to the warfront battlefields.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be only the top thirty two talents have been sent there?¡±

    Coco considered her response before saying, ¡°It¡¯s because there were students like you who made achievements and received great appraisals. Thus, other students were also requested to serve for at least a month.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. This situation worked out for him, and although it was a minor detail, it was still better for the students to grow ustomed to the battlefield earlier if possible. Lu Yin was more eager to know when the battles for the final four of the Astral Combat Tournament would start. The final rankings still needed to be determined.

    Lu Yin met Old Cai at the treasury.

    Old Cai gave Lu Yin an odd look. ¡°Little brat, you¡¯re really quite capable. You achieved such a great contribution at the warfront after spending just two months there. You were even able to gain an Honor Point. Not bad. This gives some face to Astral-10.¡±

    Lu Yin remained respectful. ¡°Mentor, when will the battle for the top four begin?¡±

    ¡°Why, are you eager?¡± Old Cai nced at him.

    Lu Yin did not deny it.

    ¡°There are many benefits to be had since the battle for the top four hasn¡¯t started yet. Did you really think that you¡¯re invincible just because you have five-lined battle force? If this was a previous season, then even a four-lined battle force user would have easily dominated everyone else. However, the tournament this time is different; you were matched up against the toughest opponent.¡±

    ¡°Starsibyl?¡± Lu Yin tried to find out more.

    Old Cai shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not just her; there¡¯s also Han Chong from the Erudite Flowzone, and that Mavis girl as well. Do you think that any of them are easy to handle? Your biggest opponent might not be Starsibyl but Han Chong instead.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. He knew that Han Chong was definitely powerful, but he had never imaged that it would be to that level!

    ¡°It¡¯s no use telling you just this, but the Erudite Flowzone is not simple, and one of the Ten Arbiterses from there. That¡¯s a level that you cannot understand. Those cultured schrs may look delicate, but in reality, they are quite ferocious.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s still some time before the battle of the top four begins. It seems that they¡¯re waiting for some sort of event to ur, but I¡¯m not sure either,¡± Old Cai impatiently answered.

    Lu Yin muttered and seemed to recall something. ¡°Old Cai, I¡¯ve entered the top ten in this tournament, and I¡¯m also Astral-10¡¯s student leader. Can I enter the Council of Astral Academy now?¡±

    Old Cai¡¯s face fell, giving Lu Yin a bad premonition.

    ¡°After the tournament, one of the Ten Arbiters, Nightking Zhenwu, ordered that those who have not yet be Limiteers cannot join the Council of Astral Academy,¡± Old Cai said, seeming a bit unhappy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows quirked up. ¡°What does that mean? Is he targeting me?¡±

    Old Cai looked at Lu Yin. ¡°By defeating Nightqueen Yanqing, you have stepped on the Daynight n¡¯s face. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s action is clearly targeting you, but you have no choice but to bear it, as he is one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    A cold glint shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Just his victory over Nightqueen Yanqing should not have been sufficient to cause one of the Ten Arbiters to act. It must have been the fact that he had been immune to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword that had caused the Daynight n to grow cautious and want topletely suppress Lu Yin. He thought about it before inhaling deeply and saying, ¡°I understand, Old Cai. I will break through to be a Limiteer as soon as I can.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Let nature take its course. The Council of Astral Academy is very appealing, especially for our Astral-10 since no one from Astral-10 has entered the council for a long time. That brat Nightking Zhenwu, is just trying to use this as an obstacle to disturb your mental state and obstruct your breakthrough. He¡¯s hoping that you won¡¯t ascend smoothly, or that you might even fail. Take your time.¡±

    ¡°Since he wants to harm me, then it won¡¯t end with just this.¡±

    Old Caiughed weirdly. ¡°I know, but so what? Astral-10¡¯s already been driven out, so does he still want to directly suppress us? Alright, don¡¯t bother worrying about all this and just do what you can to sessfully break through to the Limiteer realm.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Lu Yin acknowledged before leaving with an ugly expression.

    The Ten Arbiters had the authority to educate and judge the younger generation, and they even had the power to dismiss or judge the various educational institutions. Not even the Astral Combat Academy could escape from their authority, and Astral-10 had been exiled to the Outerverse precisely because the council had submitted a report to the Ten Arbiters Council in favor of it. Nightking Zhenwu knew how strongly Astral-10 desired to have a student enter the Council of Astral Academy, and this was an overt plot to stymy their rise back to power.

    However, Lu Yin would definitely break through to be a Limiteer; it just required some time, and he would enter the Student Council sooner orter. There was definitely someone behind this move specifically targeting him.

    Lu Yin did not want to wait anymore and wanted to quickly break through to be a Limiteer. After he joined the Council of Astral Academy, everything would be settled, and not even the Ten Arbiters would be able to do much.

    It looked like his best chances were rolling Time Stop; something that he had rolled nearly every time he had rolled his die. This time was no exception.

    In the early stages of cultivation, the first hurdle that one had to cross was breaking through from the Sentinel realm to the Melder realm. It wasn¡¯t as difficult for a Melder to break through to the Limiteer realm; it just required the feeling of a breakthrough. The second bottleneck was when a Limiteer attempted to reach the Explorer realm. Bing an Explorer was also thergest obstacle on one¡¯s path of cultivation, though Lu Yin did not have to worry about that just yet.

    It merely required some time to break through and be a Limiteer. The Daynight n also needed more time to plot against Lu Yin, so the two sides were actually fighting to see who was quicker. Fortunately, Lu Yin was not afraid of such a race.

 Chapter 245: Rune Technology

    <h4>Chapter 245: Rune Technology</h4>

    ¡°By the way, you seem to have quite a few enemies, and even the Ten Arbiters are against you. I feel like I¡¯ve been tricked into something.¡± The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice sounded out in Lu Yin¡¯s mind again.

    If the tamed monkey hadn¡¯t spoken, then Lu Yin would have forgotten that there was something he did not have total control over in the Time Stop space. He absolutely could not let this astral beast see him rolling his die. Who knew if it would one day escape from his control. With this in mind, he turned around and headed towards the entrance of the teleportation arena. He wanted to speak with Kuang Wang and learn more about beast taming.

    Soon after, Lu Yin appeared next to the Ocean of Death within the Dao of Heaven. Kuang Wang wasn¡¯t there, so Lu Yin found someone from Astral-5 and requested to meet with Kuang Wang inside one of the trial zones.

    When they saw that it was Lu Yin making the request, the person''s face took on an expression of worship as they immediately agreed.

    After the recent Astral Combat Tournament, the treatment that Astral-10¡¯s students received in the trial zones had improved drastically now that nobody dared to make life difficult for them. Regardless of whether it was Big Pao, Little Pao, Xia Luo, Silver, or Lulu, all of them were very strong. Lu Yin, in particr, was more powerful than most academy leaders, and was one of the strongest people in the entire Astral Combat Academy. Even Area Masters would be very polite when they met Astral-10 students.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time visiting the Dao of Heaven. The trial zones were a simted world, but they contained ancient inheritance within themselves. It was a strange ce where even the Ghost Monkey could apany Lu Yin. Having a tamed beast was apparently considered a type of ability.

    ¡°Is this one of the so-called trial zones that belong to the Astral Combat Academy? Hey, have you killed a war spirit before?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked, sounding very excited.

    Lu Yin nonchntly answered, ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°What did it feel like? What did you see?¡± the Ghost Monkey eagerly asked.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to answer, he suddenly had a random thought. How did the Ghost Monkey know about the war spirits here? Also, there were so many other things that he could ask about, but he was specifically inquiring about war spirits. Why?

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything other than¡­¡±

    ¡°Other than what?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey seemed anxious to hear his next words, which caused Lu Yin to smirk. ¡°...Other than some strange things that I couldn¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°What was it?!¡± The Ghost Monkey became increasingly distressed.

    With that, Lu Yin was able to confirm that the Ghost Monkey actually knew something about the war spirits. However, the monkey was just a student of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Sky Academy. Even if it was a top student there, he¡¯d still only beparable to an academy leader from the Astral Combat Academy. How did he know the secrets of the trial zones? Even Hunters weren¡¯t this knowledgeable.

    ¡°Go on! What exactly did you see?¡± The Ghost Monkey was getting frustrated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone suddenly turned cold. ¡°What do you know? Spit it out.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey froze before responding in a mocking tone. ¡°Me? What could I know? I was just curious, that¡¯s all! Don¡¯t overthink things.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned in displeasure. ¡°You¡¯ve been with me for long enough to know my general characteristics. I don¡¯t like it when people hide things from me. You know a little too much for a mere student. I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Tell me what you know, or I¡¯ll end you.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine. You always use this move on me. Just wait. I won¡¯t let you do this again.¡± The Ghost Monkey was left with no choice.

    Lu Yin chuckled. He had finally seen through this guy¡¯s character. This astral beast may seem fierce, but he was all talk. When he did know something, he would easily spill the beans with a minor threat. It was a wonder how he¡¯d managed to survive in the Astral Beast Domain for as long as he did.

    ¡°Actually, the trial zones that your Astral Combat Academy own came from a unique civilization known as the Runemasters.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Are you saying that they cultivated by drawing runes on paper?¡±

    ¡°Who said anything about drawing runes on paper? I don¡¯t know anything about that, but the Runemasters¡¯ cultivation method was essentially linking runes together and creating space with them. In their eyes, whether it was a being, an environment, or a, everything was formed from runes. Their battle power was a representation of how many runes they could see. For example, a person might only be able to see a hundred runes at first, but the stronger they grew, the more they could see. Take a, for instance; it might consist of a million runes. It was a very interesting civilization. These trial zones should have been left behind by them. Their characteristic ability was to see through thews of this world and change material things into a simted reality. They could also turn these virtual simtions into material items,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised, ¡°Such a civilization existed? Does that mean that they were able to create miracles?¡±

    ¡°You can put it like that. This civilization was very powerful and had a very unique way of fighting. They focused on erasing their opponents¡¯ runes, which was the same as disrupting the essence of their opponents¡¯ attacks. But then, their entire civilization mysteriously disappeared without a trace one day. Regardless of if it¡¯s their cultivation methods or their bodies, nothing remains other than some scattered ruins. These trial zones are one of the few things that were left behind,¡± the Ghost Monkey said ruefully.

    Lu Yin recalled what he had seen with the Cosmic Art after killing a war spirit; there had been some strange characters formed from lines. Could those have been the aforementioned runes?

    ¡°How do you know so much?¡± Lu Yin found this matter strange.

    The Ghost Monkey was very proud of himself. ¡°I know a lot of things. If you want to know what I know, then you¡¯d better treat me well. I even know about Progenitor Wushang and the Runemasters, and Progenitor Wushang is an even older existence than the Runemasters.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; there was something off about this Ghost Monkey. Not even a Hunter would know all of this ancient history, much less a Limiteer. This guy was definitely worth milking more information.

    ¡°Maybe you could try killing a few more war spirits. You might even obtain some kind of Rune Technology inheritance from these runes! It¡¯s a very strange way of attacking, but don¡¯t tell anyone about this,¡± the Ghost Monkey suggested.

    Lu Yin had no interest in such things. He knew that it was better not to bite off more than he could chew. If he had extra time, then he was better off training and refining his battle force. He wanted to raise his battle force to nine lines and see how powerful it would be.

    While the two were conversing, Kuang Wang arrived. ¡°I heard that you were looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I wanted to ask about the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Sea of Death.¡±

    Kuang Wang¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You want to steal the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Realm Master position?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just curious about it. I¡¯ve heard that the Ten Arbiters have been here before,¡± Lu Yin hastily responded. He wanted Kuang Wang¡¯s help, so it wouldn¡¯t be wise to offend him here.

    After confirming that Lu Yin really wasn¡¯t there to take his position, Kuang Wang sighed in relief. He wasn¡¯t sure if he could win against Lu Yin¡ªno, it was more than that; he was certain that he wouldn¡¯t be able to win. While Kuang Wang might have been reckless, he also knew his own strength. ¡°The Sea of Death is the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s strangest training ground. There are rumors that¡­¡±

    Lu Yin actually held no interest in the Sea of Death and had only brought it up as a conversational topic. After listening to Kuang Wang¡¯s exnation about the Sea of Death, Lu Yin asked, ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve always been curious about how you guys from the Beast Tamers Flowzone fight. Do you let your tamed beasts out?¡±

    Kuang Wang nodded. ¡°Kind of. Actually, tamed beasts don¡¯t have bodies of their own, and you need techniques to tame them. Why are you asking about this?¡±

    ¡°If I had a tamed beast, is there a way for me to hypothetically block off its senses?¡± Lu Yin asked. This was what he really wanted to know.

    After hearing this, the Ghost Monkey eximed, ¡°Hey, what are you doing?! Stop it, bro, we¡¯re sharing one body. Everything I do is for your own good¡­¡±

    Kuang Wang looked at Lu Yin oddly. ¡°You have a tamed beast?¡±

    Lu Yin casually shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just interested in it, and I was thinking of learning about it at the Beast Tamers Flowzone.¡±

    Kuang Wang burst intoughter. ¡°Sure. If you go to Beast Tamers Flowzone, you¡¯ll definitely be able to join the Divine Grade Hall. They¡¯ll even teach you the technique there.¡±

    ¡°Can you briefly tell me how it works?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Kuang Wang gave Lu Yin a strange look and focused on his right arm. After considering things a moment, he answered, ¡°Well, it¡¯s very easy to block off its senses. You just have to cut off its ess to your star energy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°What did you think it entailed? Taming beasts is just one of the myriad forms of battle techniques. And without star energy, battle techniques are useless. This applies to tamed beasts as well. Every action that a tamed beast takes requires star energy, so the basic principle of controlling it is controlling its star energy,¡± Kuang Wang exined.

    ¡°Bro- no, Seventh Bro, please don¡¯t do anything! I want to be able to see the outside world! I don¡¯t want to die without knowing how it happened! Please, Seventh Bro, I¡¯m begging you. Don¡¯t block me¡­¡±

    The monkey¡¯s voice gradually faded away after Lu Yin had cut off all star energy from going into his right arm. After the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice disappeared, Lu Yin suddenly felt refreshed.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not necessary, there¡¯s no need to block a tamed beast¡¯s senses. That¡¯s because once you sessfully tame a beast, they definitely won¡¯t be able to leave you. If they do, they¡¯ll immediately die since you¡¯ve be one entity,¡± Kuang Wang said.

    Lu Yin knew that Kuang Wang had guessed that Lu Yin had a tamed beast, but Kuang Wang had purposefully not exposed him; Kuang Wang wasn¡¯t dumb. ¡°Thank you for letting me know, Kuang Wang.¡±

    The person being addressed stretched leisurely. ¡°When are you joining the Council of Astral Academy?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head in response. ¡°Not now. It¡¯ll have to wait until after I be a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. Nobody can go against a decision made by the Ten Arbiters. By the way, if you manage to break through on time, you can go straight to the Tilting Tower and have them notify the other academy leaders. They¡¯ll then hold a student council meeting there since that¡¯s where they¡¯re usually held,¡± Kuang Wang said before moving to leave.

    Lu Yin thanked him once more and then let the Ghost Monkey regain ess to his senses. ¡°You and I have one body, Seventh Bro. There¡¯s no need to block me out.¡± The Ghost Monkey felt maligned.

    ¡°You babble too much,¡± Lu Yin dryly replied.

    The Ghost Monkey had no response to that. ¡°If you block me out, then I won¡¯t be able to tell you about a lot of things.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me. I¡¯m happier without you.¡± Lu Yin acted nonchnt about the Ghost Monkey¡¯s supposed benefits.

    The Ghost Monkey tried to test the waters. ¡°Is there something that you¡¯re trying to hide from me?¡±

    Lu Yin blocked off the star energy in his right arm again. It was time to roll his die.

    In an abandoned area of Astral-10, Lu Yin let out a light breath and spread his fingers as his die appeared, whirling slowly in the air. It had been around two months since he hadst rolled it, and there seemed to be a rtionship between how long he waited between rolls and how likely it was for him to get the result that he wanted, such as Six: Possession or Three: Enhance. He hadn¡¯t rolled six pips in a while, so it was probably about time.

    Lu Yin rolled his die, and as he watched it spin, he had a strong feeling that he really might get six pips.

    When it stopped spinning, Lu Yin saw six pips on the die¡¯s face, and the scenery before his eyes changed. He saw the familiar darkness filled with little specks of light.

    He was more experienced now, and he knew that the more attractive a speck of light was to him, the better it was as a match. The specks of light quickly flitted through the dark space. Lu Yin had ten star essence in his cosmic ring, which was equivalent to about a million star crystals. It might seem like a lot, but he could use them all up in a single moment. Lu Yin did not dare waste too much time in this dark space as he would rather spend the star essence on extending the time he Possessed another person for.

    He did not hesitate, especially since he couldn¡¯t tell who he would be Possessing anyway. Lu Yin chose a random speck of light that was fairly attractive and charged over to fuse with it.

    When Lu Yin opened his eyes again, he saw he was in a room with an ancient air to it. There were wooden tables and stools, papernterns, and copper mirrors. This was an ancient civilization.

    A few momentster, Lu Yin finished going through the basic memories of the person whom he¡¯d fused with. This man¡¯s name was Wu Xia, and he was the butler for the Shenwu Empire¡¯s Crown Prince Residence. He was a peak Fighter, which meant that he was the same as a peak Melder. He was also on the verge of breaking into the Martial King realm, which was the equivalent of a Limiteer.

    [1] Shenwu - Divine Martial

 Chapter 246: Shenwu Continent

    <h4>Chapter 246: Shenwu Continent</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. It was no wonder why he had been drawn to this person; they were both Melders on the verge of bing Limiteers. However, why hadn¡¯t he gotten someone stronger? Someone who was just a peak Melder would not be of any help to him.

    Lu Yin slowly stood up and caught a glimpse of Wu Xia¡¯s appearance in the reflection of the copper mirror. The man had a pale face and narrow eyes, giving him a slightly gloomy appearance. He seemed to be around thirty years old and had a butler¡¯s demeanor, which made sense as that was his job in the Crown Prince¡¯s residence.

    The Shenwu Empire was the Shenwu Continent¡¯s sole empire. After assimting Wu Xia¡¯s memories, Lu Yin slowly gained an understanding of his current environment.

    He eventually became quite surprised when he realized that this empire was much more than it initially seemed. It had gone to war against some other civilizations, and once, a formidable cultivator from this very empire had used fives to shield the entire continent, sealing it off from the other civilizations.

    While parsing through Wu Xia¡¯s memories, Lu Yin was astonished to discover that this continent definitely contained cultivators who had the ability to travel through the universe without a spacecraft. The fives that sealed this continent were huge, and their arrangement reminded him of the Human Domain¡¯s borders. The fact that this continent had birthed someone who had aplished the same concept with only fives was something that no ordinary Explorer could achieve.

    Knock knock knock!

    However, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t given much time to review his new host¡¯s memories, and a voice sounded out from behind the door. ¡°His Highness would like to see you in the study, Butler Wu.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement but was left speechless. He had Possessed the body of a servant and now had to attend to others. This was quite a novel experience for Lu Yin.

    After leaving Wu Xia¡¯s room and breathing in the fresh new air, Lu Yin looked up to see the vague outline of the fives, the same ones that were shielding the Shenwu Continent. The emperor, Ming Zhaotian, lived on the central. Wu Xia did not know exactly how powerful the emperor was, but he was able to travel through the void, and the space in this continent was abnormally stable. Even Martial Emperors, which was what this civilization called Explorers, could not tear space and move through the void, so the emperor of this continent had to at least be at the Cruiser realm.

    The crown prince, Ming Hao, was a Martial Emperor, which meant that he was an Explorer.

    After taking a deep breath, Lu Yin followed Wu Xia¡¯s memories and entered the crown prince¡¯s study.

    Along the way, various servants that he ran into greeted him, as Wu Xia held a rtively high position. Despite technically being a servant, he still was the crown prince¡¯s trusted aide, and even the governors of the various territories would have to be polite to him.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time experiencing something like this, and everything felt new to him.

    The crown prince¡¯s residence was extensive, and there were many experts present here. Lu Yin knew that Wu Xia regarded these people as experts, but from Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, at most only one or two of these so-called ¡°experts¡± couldpare to an Area Master of the Astral Combat Academy. The rest were essentially the same as ordinary Limiteer students from the Astral Combat Academy.

    If they were all young people, then such a group of geniuses would be terrifying. However, most of the experts in the crown prince¡¯s residence were past the age where one would consider them a part of the younger generation. Many of them were middle-aged or even elderly.

    In Wu Xia¡¯s memories, there were at least a hundred people in the crown prince¡¯s residence who were at the Martial King realm. In other words, there were over a hundred Limiteers here. This was quite a terrifying amount of strength to congregate in one location.

    Lu Yin finally understood how the Shenwu Continent had managed to defend themselves from the other civilizations¡¯ attacks; there were an incredible number of experts on this continent.

    Before long, he passed by a pavilion and arrived at the entrance of an elegant study. ¡°Your loyal servant, Wu Xia, has arrived, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Come in.¡± Ming Hao¡¯s voice called out from within the study.

    Lu Yin gently pushed the door open and entered the study, not even daring to lift his head. His every action was purely based on Wu Xia¡¯s memories. Lu Yin absolutely could not reveal that he was not truly Wu Xia. Who knew if a Hunter or another such terrifying existence could harm Lu Yin through Wu Xia¡¯s body. Lu Yin had no understanding of what kind of power such people wielded.

    ¡°Besides you, who else entered my study yesterday, Wu Xia?¡± the crown prince asked while staring straight at Wu Xia.

    Lu Yin kept his eyes on the ground as he recalled what had happened the previous day. At that moment, he felt a chill crawl down his spine as he remembered something horrifying from the day before. Wu Xia had seen something terrible then.

    Ming Hao¡¯s eyes remained trained on Lu Yin, and he noticed his strange reaction. Lu Yin did his best to calm down and fearfully answered, ¡°Nobody entered other than me, Your Highness.¡±

    Ming Hao stared at him. ¡°Raise your head.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his heart quiver and slowly did as ordered. Before him was a pair of eyes that held wisdom and exerted a pressure that seemed able to crush everything.

    A terrifying, mountainous pressure crushed down on Lu Yin. Wu Xia¡¯s cultivation was not enough to block any of it, and he was forced to the ground. It felt like the world itself was trembling. Lu Yin was shocked, for he¡¯d encountered Explorers and even Hunters before, but Ming Hao¡¯s pressure was definitely stronger than what an ordinary Explorer possessed. Were the Martial Kings on this continent even more powerful than the Explorers in the rest of the universe?

    As another wave of pressure washed over Lu Yin, and the extreme fear that Wu Xia held for Ming Hao manifested itself and unconsciously made Lu Yin kneel on the ground.

    The sight before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed again; first, he saw the dark ce with the floating lights, followed shortly by the image of Astral-10 after he experienced a brief feeling of travelling through a vast distance.

    He opened his eyes, still shocked by what he had just experienced. The pressure that Ming Hao had exerted was so immense that Lu Yin still felt fearful at the thought of it. Ming Hao was definitely as powerful as a Cruiser, and shockingly enough, he had been able to awaken Wu Xia¡¯s subconscious and forcefully eject Lu Yin from the body!

    Lu Yin took a look at his cosmic ring and found that three star essence had been used up, which was the equivalent of 300,000 star crystals. The rate of consumption was astounding. If he¡¯d continued Possessing Wu Xia just a little longer, then even ten star essence might not have been enough to cover the cost.

    After moving on from the heartache of consuming so much star essence, Lu Yin immediately searched the universalwork for any information regarding the Shenwu Continent.

    He discovered that it was a continent that floated in an alternate dimension near the Darkmist Weave. It wasn¡¯t a but rather a continent that drifted through space withs orbiting around it. A millennium ago, a powerful being had been born on the Shenwu Continent who tore through the alternate dimension with astounding strength. His actions had exposed the continent to the universe and thus triggered a long war.

    There were countless organizations in the Darkmist Weave that tried to take over the continent, but they had all failed and suffered massive casualties in the process. They had been left with no choice but to seek help from the Innerverse.

    There wasn¡¯t much information online about the battles between the various organizations of the Darkmist Weave and the Shenwu Continent, which meant that some powerful organizations must have buried things. However, the powerful being who had maneuvered the fives to reseal the alternate space had appeared again at ater time, which brought the Shenwu Continent peace once again. Though it seemed that this being had died in the process.

    Even after all these years, some organizations in the Darkmist Weave and the Innerverse still wanted to get their hands on Shenwu Continent and were still attempting to do so. However, they had been stopped by the Ten Arbiters, and thus, the continent had be one of the Outerverse¡¯s examination trial zones.

    Lu Yin raised his head from the screen. He never expected that the Shenwu Continent would have such a storied history. The foreign civilizations in Wu Xia¡¯s memories must have been the Darkmist Weave¡¯s organizations. For a mere continent to contend against the powerful organizations from the Darkmist Weave and the Innerverse was an amazing feat.

    Needless to say, the Shenwu Continent was one of the most difficult exam trial zones in the Outerverse. There were only two ways to pass the exam: one was to find out where that powerful being¡¯s bones were kept, and the other was to find the node of the fives seal and destroy it. Destroying the node would reopen the continent to the rest of the universe.

    This examination had been conducted multiple times already, but no one had seeded so far. Those who had gone through this exam all had a surprisingly simr evaluation of the Shenwu Continent; the martial power that the continent¡¯s locals trained in was more powerful than the star energy that wasmonly cultivated throughout the universe.

    After reading so much, Lu Yin turned his gadget off and blinked. He actually knew where the node was located, for Wu Xia had unwittingly seen it. And after assimting Wu Xia¡¯s memories, Lu Yin now knew about it as well. It was quite surprising that it was located where it was. It would be a wonder if any of the examinees had actually discovered where it was.

    The mortality rate of the examinees who participated in the trials at the Shenwu Continent was rather high. Many did not understand why, but Lu Yin now knew that the martial power that the continent¡¯s cultivators trained in was denser than star energy and easily distinguishable.

    Ever since some examinees had been captured and interrogated, the Shenwu Continent had gained a certain level of understanding of the greater universe. They had even formed departments that were dedicated to finding invaders and foreign weapons.

    ¡°If I sell the information regarding the node¡¯s location, I¡¯ll definitely get quite a lot of money,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself, but then he chuckled bitterly. Sell it? That was impossible. First, there was the question of who he could sell it to, but the moment he did so, the fives of the continent would be doomed to destruction, and the continent would suffer an iparable bloodbath. Lu Yin had no desire to be such a sinner. While he did not especially care about morality since the universe was a dog-eat-dog world, he still needed to weigh the pros and cons behind his actions.

    The Darkmist Weave wasn¡¯t too far away from Frostwave Weave. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed as he recalled something interesting.

    Lu Yin reset the die and rolled it again.

    He rolled a one this time, and a basic firearm fell out. It was useless, so he threw it away without a second thought. He rolled the die again and ended up with two pips. Lu Yin was left speechless because he didn¡¯t have anything he needed to disassemble either. He tried again.

    When the die stopped spinning this time, four pips appeared before his eyes: Time Stop.

    As he watched the familiar greyish white space appear around him, Lu Yin used a few star crystals to change the environment as well as increase the time limit to a month. Now that he had money, he was free to do as he wished.

    In this one month, he was nning to go review all of his battle techniques and be a Limiteer. He¡¯d been a Melder for quite awhile now, and his breakthrough was long overdue.

    At this time, there was a warship that had stopped outside a gigantic within the Frostwave Weave.

    Countless cries could be heard from the. With a roar that echoed into space, a man tore through the void and red at the spacecraft. ¡°Do you seriously want this war to affect the entirety of Frostwave Weave, Duke Yushan? The various organizations in Frostwave Weave won¡¯t let you off easily!¡±

    The spacecraft responded by firing a weapon. Batson used a finger to flick at his cap and blew at the smoking muzzle while a bloody hole appeared in the middle of the enraged man¡¯s chest. An Explorer had been killed with a single shot.

    As the former seventh captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Imperial Squadron, Batson had the strength of a Cruiser and a power level of at least 60,000. He was not someone who an Explorer could match up to.

    Duke Yushan stood on the balcony and looked into space. ¡°There¡¯re so many beautifuls here. They should have all belonged to my Great Yu Empire, but unfortunately, we were suppressed by those people from the Innerverse for so many years.¡±

    Batson smirked. ¡°The Frostwave Weave doesn¡¯t have many people who have reached the Cruiser realm. There are even fewer who are as powerful as us. With your current strength, it¡¯s certainly possible for us to conquer Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Duke Yushan smiled. ¡°Father has set his sights not on Frostwave Weave, but rather on the Innerverse itself. Taking over just Frostwave Weave isn¡¯t that difficult. Those bastards from the Innerverse are on the verge of being expelled, and I¡¯m guessing that Father might already have some n in store for them. Where do you think he¡¯ll aim? Grandtop Weave? Larso Weave? Or¡­ us?¡±

    ¡°None of those. He¡¯s aiming for Firesmelt,¡± the former captain of the eighth imperial squadron, Shalosh, interrupted as he walked over from nearby.

    ¡°Firesmelt?¡± Duke Yushan was confused by his answer.

    Shalosh nodded. ¡°While it¡¯s just a, it¡¯s managed to raise geniuses like Yan Feng, who entered the Outerverse Youth Council. The leader of the, Yan Wujiu, is a Hunter and is one of the few powerhouses in Frostwave Weave who can hold his ground against His Majesty, Undying Yushan. If he¡¯s not taken care of, then His Majesty won¡¯t be able to focus on taking over any of the other weaves.¡±

    Duke Yushan nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, Firesmelt it should be. Come to think of it, Yan Feng wants to woo my little sister. I hope that she doesn¡¯t kill him.¡±

 Chapter 247: Breaking Through to The Limiteer Realm

    <h4>Chapter 247: Breaking Through to The Limiteer Realm</h4>

    The Time Stop Space¡¯s scenery was changed after Lu Yin used some star crystals. Though it was just a facade, it was still pleasing to his eyes.

    One month quickly passed by within this space, and during this time, Lu Yin did aplete audit of his various battle techniques. His five-lined battle force could not be improved any further at this point in time, and currently, his Cosmic Palm and Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm were his two strongest attacks. Each one had their own distinct advantages, as one was outstandingly ferocious while the other was iparably mighty. As for sh, as long as his body could withstand the recoil, he could even tear through the void. The 96th form of the Skybeast w technique was already his weakest attack, but he did not want to abandon it quite yet, as he felt that the Skybeast w was not as weak as it seemed to be. After all, it was a battle technique that Undying Yushan had brought out from the Fallen Star Ocean in the Innerverse.

    Of his various battle techniques, he had focused the most on the Invisible Aura Technique. From the Astral Combat Academy student leaders to various space-exploring powerhouses, none of them had been able to see his cultivation base. The technique that received the next most attention was the Cosmic Art.

    The Cosmic Art was irreceable when facing a strong enemy. It was not only the nemesis of extreme speed, but it could also slowly learn and predict the opponent¡¯s attack movements. For example, the Cosmic Art hadpletely countered Silver during their battle.

    Regarding the Cosmic Art, Lu Yin longed to obtain the next portion of the technique. However, ording to the Trialmaster, the Cosmic Sect was an absolutely terrifying monster of an organization, and since he had stolen this technique, there was no way he could reveal it publicly. This caused him to have a massive headache.

    As for the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival, it only needed to be sessfully triggered once, and now, it would take effect whenever he faced death.

    Lu Yin would rather not have this technique as it suppressed his body¡¯s recovery potential, which made it very dangerous to use. However, now that he had already learned it, he did not know how to unlearn it.

    During this month, Lu Yin did not feel any sensation of breaking into the Limiteer realm. He felt helpless by hisck of cultivation progress and thus could only extend his time by another month. He was in a race against time, as he had fallen into the sights of the Daynight n. In order to deal with Lu Yin, Nightqueen Yanqing would do her best to prevent him from entering the Council of Astral Academy while he needed to be a Limiteer before she took action.

    Time ticked away, second by second, until Lu Yin had spent two whole months in the Time Stop space. After training under increased gravity, his physical strength had increased again, and his body could now easily withstand a Nine Stacks, Eighteenfold Shockwave Palm, or even possibly a Neenfold. However, he was still nowhere close to breaking through.

    Lu Yin was starting to grow slightly anxious, as some people took years or even decades to break through from the Melder realm to the Limiteer realm. With all the time that Lu Yin had spent in the Time Stop space, he had been a Melder for over a year, and he thought that that amount of time was more than enough given his qualifications.

    As a result, he was in a fidgety state of mind and could not calmly cultivate. Lu Yin pondered over what he could do and then began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. ¡®To be good atmunicating, the Dao of Heaven refuses. To jump and lie in the heavens, the Dao of Heaven epts. To jump and lie in the horizon, to condense gas, to swallow rivers¡­¡¯ He passed out soon after starting.

    Reciting theplete Stonewall Scriptures just once would cause Lu Yin to faint multiple times, but it also calmed his state of mind down. This scripture had an unimaginable power.

    Lu Yin extended his time in the space by another month.

    He had more than enough star crystals to spend, and he had set his heart on breaking through to the Limiteer realm in the Time Stop space; he would not leave until he broke through.

    He opened his eyes and sighed. He had already spent three months in the Time Stop space, and although his power had grown in this time, it was not by much. Only his physical strength had shown significant improvement, but he still wasn¡¯t any closer to breaking through into the Limiteer realm.

    Do I really need to spend multiple years cultivating before I¡¯ll break through? Lu Yin helplessly thought to himself.

    Suddenly, he thought of the Ghost Monkey; that guy was a Limiteer. Also, since it was a tamed beast and thus a part of Lu Yin, it should be able to exist in this Time Stop space.

    Lu Yin stopped blocking the monkey¡¯s senses and looked at the cute, intricately detailed monkey tattoo. He unenthusiastically asked, ¡°Still alive?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not dead,¡± the Ghost Monkey replied in a foul mood. The flow of time for the beast was not rtive to the outside world, but was rather the same time that Lu Yin experienced. Of course, Lu Yin¡¯s bone age and body characteristics would not change while he was using Time Stop, but he would still experience the passage of time. This was evident with the Ghost Monkey, as Lu Yin had cultivated for three months, which meant that the short monkey had been isted for three whole months, causing him to be in a bad mood.

    ¡°Let me ask you something,¡± Lu Yin started.

    The Ghost Monkey snorted, which sounded like he was mocking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at the tattoo. ¡°If you don¡¯t answer, I¡¯ll continue to screen off your senses.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey hurriedly changed his stance and replied, ¡°Sure, sure, go ahead and ask.¡±

    ¡°How do you breakthrough to the Limiteer realm?¡± Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    ¡°Breaking through to the Limiteer realm? Oh, that¡¯s right, you¡¯re still a Melder. How revolting, I actually lost to a Melder realm junior...¡±

    ¡°I ask, and you answer,¡± Lu Yin impatiently interrupted.

    The Ghost Monkey sighed. ¡°I suppose that one has to be humble when they¡¯re trapped in an inferior situation.

    ¡°Whatever, breaking through is easy. As long as you feel like you¡¯re breaking through, it¡¯ll be done. You should know.¡±

    ¡°How do I find that feeling?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey paused, ¡°Do you feel like you¡¯re near the peak of the Melder realm and full of star energy?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Actually, your body¡¯s not filled with star energy as the potential of the body is endless. Even now, your body is still automatically absorbing star energy, precisely because it¡¯s not full yet. Let me tell you something else¡ªeven an Explorer won¡¯t be able to fill their bodies to the brim with star energy, let alone a Melder.¡±

    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Forcefully fill your body with it. The word ¡®Limiteer¡¯ means reaching the limit. The instant your body is filled with enough star energy, take that opportunity to break through. That¡¯s the simplest method. However, the star energy and speed of absorption required to do so are both very great, as it requires at least five times the average rate. Otherwise, you can also take your time and slowly absorb star energy. Eventually, you¡¯ll have a feeling of fullness and you can break through at that time,¡± the Ghost Monkey unhurriedly exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. Five times? His rate of absorbing star energy was nine times the average! ¡°You¡¯re not lying?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! You and I are one body now. What good would lying to you do me?¡± The Ghost Monkey was impatient with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin thought that his answer was quite logical. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± He then paused before asking, ¡°Is there anything else that I should be aware of?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ve sensed it when you broke through to the Sentinel and Melder realms, so the Limiteer realm shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you. Actually, breaking through to be an Explorer is the hardest bottleneck.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up before he cut off the star energy to his right arm without any hesitation. He would not let the Ghost Monkey see anything, though he could imagine the monkey¡¯s current mood; he was probably cursing to the high heavens right now.

    There were about five cubes of star essence still left in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring since he had spent nearly 200,000 cubes of star energy crystals over the course of these past three months. Without the profits he had obtained from robbing the pirates and receiving the Mavis Bank¡¯s generosity, he had no idea how long it would have taken him to acquire so many star crystals.

    Lu Yin thought about it some more and then took out a piece of star essence before shattering it. He wanted to use five star essence for his breakthrough to the Limiteer realm.

    The five cubes of star essence were not equivalent to 500,000 star crystals, and they were actually less in terms of raw star energy quantity, but they made up for it in terms of purity. Even if they weren¡¯t equal to quite that many star crystals, it definitely would not be any less than 400,000, which was roughly the same amount that he had used to break through to the Melder realm.

    Lu Yin grimaced when he realized that he had spent nearly one million cubes of star energy to cultivate from the Melder realm to the Limiteer realm. It was a shocking amount as, typically, the most exorbitant use of star energy was to cultivate battle techniques. A normal Melder would reach the peak of their realm after consuming merely 100,000 cubes of star energy, and they might even break through to the Limiteer realm. Lu Yin¡¯s overall star energy consumption was approximately ten times that of an average Melder.

    Surging star energy flooded the grey-white space and almost condensed into a tangible liquid state. This was a feature of the Astral River, which wasposed of pure energy. This time, Lu Yin had used five cubes of star essence to create a simr phenomenon. Although the quantity was not much, it still had nearly condensed into a liquid state.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply and activated his Cosmic Art. Nine stars twinkled as he began to frantically absorb star energy. As he did so, his originally saturated body seemed to break through its limits as the nine stars brightened and the perfect gxy that they formed began revolving. The star energy was absorbed by the gxy in a vortex before quickly vanishing as Lu Yin¡¯s body started to emit a faint radiance.

    Suddenly, a strange sensation floated up from deep within him, which was the feeling of breaking through. Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes; he was about to break through, but he could not do that here. He had not forgotten about the abnormal circumstances that he had encountered when he had broken through to the Melder realm. He had clearly felt the sensation of a breakthrough at that time, but he had still ended up failing somehow. If the Rainmaster hadn¡¯t intervened at that time, he would have failed. This sort of matter did not ur very often if at all, but there must be some reason behind it. He did not know the exact reason, so he did not dare to be hasty with this breakthrough.

    Lu Yin suppressed the impulse to use his formcast model to break through right then and there and instead continued to use the gxy formed by his Cosmic Art¡¯s nine stars to rapidly absorb the star energy. Although the effect right now was not very great, his body would go through vast changes as he ascended to the Limiteer realm. It would be more suited to outer space, and its capacity for star energy would increase again, although it was difficult for him to absorb anymore at this present time.

    Lu Yin was also afraid that this sensation of breaking through would disappear, so he sighed and waved, causing the scenery of the Time Stop space that had been brought about by star energy to extend further into the distance. He was trying to use up all of the star energy in hopes that he could exit the Time Stop Space quicker.

    As the final seconds trickled away, the scenery before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed, and he reappeared in Astral-10. In reality, only a second had passed. Lu Yin did not hesitate and immediately charged towards the Rain Observatory. Compared to Old Cai, Lu Yin felt that the Rainmaster was slightly more reliable.

    The scenery of the Rain Observatory never changed, and the constant pitter-patter of rain hitting the limestone tform was there, the droplets sshing and disintegrating like a miniscule world shattering into nothingness.

    At the moment, the Rain Observatory was not empty as Schutz was there. His results during the Astral Combat Tournament had been lousy, and he was not qualified to serve at the warfront.

    After experiencing the Astral Combat Tournament, Schutz had clearly realized his own shorings. Regardless of whether it was his control of star energy or his physical strength, he could not hold a candle to Lu Yin and the rest of the students in any aspect. He had only increased his battle experience and physique under the tutge of the Sandmaster, and although he had improved greatlypared to before, it was too slowpared to the others. He had therefore decided to start training again from the most basic fundamentals: the control of star energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival sparked Schutz¡¯s attention, and the almost unsuppressable, surging star energy caused him to tremble. That pressure¡ªis he a Limiteer?

    Lu Yin found a random limestone tform and sat down, cross-legged before retrieving his formcast model by cutting open his finger. He was very excited; it was time to break through and be a Limiteer!

    As the formcast model integrated into his body, intense pain wracked his entire being. Lu Yin growled roughly as he could feel his star energy channelsbusting as his cells were rebuilt. This was the feeling, the feeling of breaking through.

    Suddenly, an expansive darkness appeared before him. Strangely enough, he saw the dark expanse of outer space and in it, an iparablyrge battleship. Within the battleship, a figure looked out into the distance as his magnificent strength caused the void to shudder. The scene then changed, and that same magnificent strength pressed down upon Lu Yin like a mountain, almost crushing him to death.

 Chapter 248: The Divine Fist

    <h4>Chapter 248: The Divine Fist</h4>

    Nearby, within the falling rain, Old Cai and the Rainmaster appeared simultaneously. Following them, the Sandmaster, Trialmaster, and Starmaster also appeared together.

    ¡°Strange, why has it not appeared?¡± the Rainmaster mumbled in a puzzled voice.

    Old Cai nced over. ¡°Are you sure that the seal on his body will impede him?¡±

    Rainmaster shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m actually not sure. I¡¯ve not seen a seal quite like it before. Even the headmaster was not familiar with it, and he was only able to break it open by force.¡±

    ¡°Although his breakthrough to the Melder realm was impeded, it may not necessarily be the same when he breaks through to the Limiteer realm, as it¡¯s not a critical breakthrough. In general, as long as one has enough star energy, they will naturally seed. Breaking through to the Explorer realm is much more important, and if that seal still exists then, this child will find it extremely difficult to seed in breaking through to be an Explorer,¡± the Starmastermented.

    ¡°Even the headmaster had to squander his energy to break the seal, so it goes without saying that the person with the seal would find it impossible by himself,¡± the Trialmaster added on.

    The Sandmaster frowned. ¡°Who would be so harsh to a mere child?¡±

    ¡°This child does not have an average background. He has a terrifying innate gift that bolsters his physical body to the point where he can rival even an Explorer as a Melder. At the warfront, he used the strength of his physical body to exchange a strike with an Explorer level astral beast. That¡¯s a feat that only the Ten Arbiters can match. This child is definitely not simple and may have evene from the Neoverse,¡± the Rainmaster said.

    ¡­

    Boom!

    A giant shockwave rippled out across the sky and tore the rain curtain apart. Lu Yin let out a shout filled with exhration as fresh blood dripped down his body before instantly vaporizing into mist. His body was changing, and he felt as if he could touch the heavens. This was the Limiteer realm; someone who had stepped closer to the starry sky than a Melder ever could.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes, and with a whoosh, a gale swept out in all directions. The limestone tform that he was sitting on shattered and even the tree branch supporting the tform bent.

    Schutz wasn¡¯t far away from Lu Yin, and the gale that was released nearly blew him away. He started to breathe raggedly as well, as the pressure that Lu Yin was exerting was too much.

    Breaking into the Limiteer realm from the Melder realm did not involve any specific great transformations, but the degree of transformation also depended on the individual. For Lu Yin, he underwent some significant changes. In particr, his physical body had taken another leap forward. There was a special brilliance that emanated from his body that shocked the mentors who were secretly observing. This was a phenomenon that only urred once a physical body reached a certain realm of strength, and generally only appeared on the bodies of Explorers.

    The brilliance vanished in a sh and soon disappeared.

    Lu Yin slowly raised both hands and clenched his fists; it felt like he had be physically stronger once again. Right now, he deeply desired to battle against that Zi Tie who had attacked Conan. He wanted to know if he could defeat the Explorer realm astral beast with his current strength.

    There were very few Realmbreakers amongst Limiteers, as the gap between a Limiteer and an Explorer was enormous. Even the student leaders of the Astral Combat Academy would find it hard to contend against Explorers, but Lu Yin really wanted to give it a try right after bing a Limiteer. However, there were no Explorers in Astral-10 for him to test his strength against.

    Although, he was in the Rain Observatory, so perhaps he could try to challenge the Rain Observatory again.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and quite a long time passed before he reopened them. The star energy within his body was changing, shifting between simting wind, fire, water, and lightning. This was the realm of infinite changes, but Lu Yin had not reached his limit yet. He had grasped an even deeper level of understanding of star energy. When the star essence had released its energy and condensed liquid star energy, it had given Lu Yin an altogether different sensation.

    He raised his hand and wrote his name in the void with star energy before pushing it out. The two words ¡°Lu Yin¡± rushed out into the rain curtain and firmly pushed through the falling raindrops. Then, without any obstruction, the words vanished into the distance, flying past the Rain Observatory.

    The Rainmaster, who was hidden within the rain curtain, shook his head. This was still not enough for Lu Yin to leave his name on the Rain List. Ever since the ancient times, only individuals who had attained an extremely deep understanding of star energy had managed to force their ways onto the Rain List. The Rainmaster was unclear about the other academies¡¯ requirements, but only powerhouses who hadprehended a domain could appear on Astral-10¡¯s Rain List. This was proof of Astral-10¡¯s former standards.

    When Lu Yin and the rest had first arrived at Astral-10, they thought that it would be a simple matter to leave their names on the Rain List. In reality, it was far more difficult for Astral-10¡¯s students to leave their names on Astral-10¡¯s Rain List than a simr list of another academy. Astral-10 possessed a glory that other academies could only hope for, and they had birthed numerous unsurpassed powerhouses who had each left their names on the Rain List.

    Lu Yin watched as his own name vanished and was astonished. This still isn¡¯t enough? He felt that he was only a single step away fromprehending a domain, so did that mean that all hundred names on the Rain List belonged to cultivators who hadprehended a domain? What did a hundred domain users represent? There were less than twenty of them during this season¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament, and this season actually had vastly stronger participantspared to all the previous ones.

    As Lu Yin was reflecting over this, the Rainmaster walked out from the curtain of rain. ¡°You need to at leastprehend a domain to leave your name on the Rain List. You are stillcking.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, ¡°Yes, your student knows.¡±

    The mentor looked at Lu Yin and marveled, ¡°It¡¯s not bad for you to reach such a stage during the Astral Combat Tournament. I helped you derive Nine Stacks before. We can continue deriving it today if you wish.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted, as he had wanted to leave his name on the Rain List precisely so that he could continue further deriving the Nine Stacks technique . He had not expected the Rainmaster to still be willing to help him even though he had failed to get onto the Rain List. He knew that this was how Astral-10 was rewarding him for his results, and he did not reject it out of courtesy. ¡°Thank you, mentor.¡±

    ¡°Raise your arm.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his left arm, and the Rainmaster did not suspect anything when Lu Yin used a different arm. He began tapping Lu Yin¡¯s left arm. The taps conveniently made nine soft echoes within Lu Yin¡¯s arm; this was Nine Stacks. However, closely following the ninth echo was a soft, tenth sound.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s experience, he could not directlyprehend how the Rainmaster had derived the tenth stack and could only directly experience the technique of the tenth stack.

    However, an eleventh soft echo quickly exploded forth and shook the void. Although this vibration was gentle, it was strong enough to distort the void. When the twelfth soft sound rang out, the void began to crack. But this was not the end yet as the mentor¡¯s finger had reached Lu Yin¡¯s wrist, still moving. The thirteenth stack¡¯s explosion seemed to have an understated power that caused no fluctuations, but Lu Yin also had a feeling that this final stack was actually the strongest. Lu Yin felt as though he could destroy anything with that power.

    During the Astral Combat Tournament, Grandini Mavis had disyed the Thirteen Stacks technique against Liu Yin. At that time, Lu Yin had longed to master such a technique, and now, that dream had finally been fulfilled.

    ¡°Thirteen Stacks. That should be enough for you to use for now.¡±

    Lu Yin was very grateful. ¡°Thank you, mentor, for taking the effort of deriving it for me.¡±

    ¡°You should know this already, but Thirteen Stacks is not the limit. Someone once used a Hundred Stacks to shatter a, and they are even in the same generation as you. He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters and is referred to as the Divine Fist. So in some sense, he¡¯s your role model.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked¡ªa Hundred Stacks? That level of physique could be simply described with the word ¡°terrifying,¡± as the further one progressed in the Oveying Stacks Path, the greater the physical requirements. Divine Fist, huh?

    ¡°Humans are creatures that can create endless miracles. There is no such concept as ¡®final limit¡¯ in some peoples¡¯ minds. The path that you¡¯ve yet to walk is still very long,¡± the Rainmaster said before leaving.

    Lu Yin remained standing in the same spot. He flipped his palm over and then struck out. Ten soft echoes tore through the rain curtain, but the eleventh did not appear. He needed to ponder and refine this technique more before he could use it in battle, but he did not have much time.

    His strongest attack right now was his Shockwave Palm when it was superimposed with multiple stacks and boosted by his battle force. With his current power, he would not even need to reveal his five-lined battle force to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing.

    In the end, he was the one who was benefiting the most from the battle of the final four being dyed. The other three semi-finalists were already peak Limiteers while he had been the only Melder. Previously, he had not been fully confident of emerging victorious even with his five-lined battle force, but now, Lu Yin was now confident that he could beat the other three: Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Grandini Mavis.

    Lu Yin did not stay at the Rain Observatory any longer as he dearly wanted to visit the trial zones¡¯ Dao of Immortality¡¯ Tilting Tower and finally join the Council of Astral Academy.

    The Tilting Tower was the Dao of God¡¯s unique training ground. The tower was nted at a 45¡ã angle, as if it had been pushed aside, and yet, it towered over the ground. It was not tall since it only had six levels, but countless students nheless fought over it. This was because one could frequently hear singing voices within the Tilting Tower. These voices were not inheritances, but they could open one¡¯s mind.

    The Tilting Tower had helped Liu Xiaoyun create a technique that imitated the power of the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. Without the tower¡¯s aid, the Thirteen Swords that dominated the universe would not have been so easily imitated by a Limiteer student.

    Whoever controlled the Tilting Tower was the Dao of Immortality¡¯ Realm Master.

    When Lu Yin reached the Tilting Tower, it was full of people. Every day was the same, and the closer one got to the Tilting Tower, the clearer the sound of the singing voices. Everyone was separated by a certain distance, and all of them practised their own battle techniques alone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance drew a great deal of attention. Ever since he revealed his power during the Astral Combat Tournament, the rankings of the strongest Astral Combat Academy students seemed obvious to many students. Starsibyl was undoubtedly the first, followed by Han Chong and Lu Yin. The two were given equal status as one was mysterious while the other had five-lined battle force, but both were undeniably terrifyingly powerful. Inparison to those two, although Grandini Mavis was strong, her strength was not as well-defined.

    Lu Yin was ranked in the top three in terms ofbat power in the entire Astral Combat Academy.

    Powermanded respect, and Lu Yin no longer required Charon¡¯s protection. On the contrary, he could now protect Charon.

    The two life and death cmities that he had experienced had dramatically shortened the time that he needed to be stronger. If not for activating the Technique of Life and Death twice, Lu Yin had no idea how long it would have taken him to reach his current state.

    Not far away, Frankfurt noticed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, and his face changed before he left without saying a word. However, no one¡¯s movement here could be hidden from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin saw Frankfurt, and his eyes turned cold. Back then, this person had used a single spear to kill him so as to gain some face for the ze Realm. However, his action had also caused Lu Yin himself to be aughingstock for countless others.

    ¡°Frankfurt,¡± Lu Yin spoke out.

    The other students gazed at Lu Yin as Frankfurt¡¯s face turned purple-green. He froze in ce and then asked Lu Yin, ¡°Brother Lu, is there anything that you need?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Frankfurt. ¡°Call the other student leaders to the Tilting Tower.¡±

    Frankfurt clenched his fists. He was an Area Master, not some mere messenger, and there were also so many other students around! Yet at this moment, the choice was not his to make. Lu Yin exerted an overwhelming pressure, and his terrifying aura had suppressed everyone in the area.

    The students suddenly realized that Lu Yin had changed; he had broken through and be a Limiteer!

    Frankfurt was stunned. As a Melder, Lu Yin had already been one of the most powerful fighters within the Astral Combat Academy, so how much more powerful was he now that he had ascended to the Limiteer realm? Frankfurt didn¡¯t dare to imagine and was left helpless. ¡°Astral-6¡¯s leader, Dao Bo, has not returned from the warfront. Actually, no other student leader has returned the trial zones yet.¡±

    ¡°Fine, you can go.¡± Lu Yin then looked past Frankfurt and towards the Tilting Tower.

    Frankfurt nodded and left. He had not objected to Lu Yin¡¯s order out of fear that Lu Yin would snatch Spear Mountain away from him.

    Under many watchful gazes, Lu Yin continued walking towards the Tilting Tower.

    No one dared to stop him, not even the Astral-7 students who were close to Liu Xiaoyun; they simply allowed Lu Yin to freely enter the Tilting Tower. This was a ce that only the Realm Master of the Dao of Immortality could enter, but that did not matter to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 249: Hoodwinked

    <h4>Chapter 249: Hoodwinked</h4>

    The Tilting Tower was angled at 45¡ã degrees, and its interior was naturally sloped as well. Lu Yin felt a strange sensation the moment he stepped into the Tilting Tower; it was as though his entire body had tilted to the side as well.

    Suddenly, he heard a melodious voice echoing in his head. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and both his heart and spirits were lifted as an eleventh soft explosion quietly rang out.

    ¡°What a good ce! It allowed me to quicklyprehend Eleven Stacks. It really lives up to its reputation of being a unique training ground,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. He suddenly felt an urge to snatch this ce up as well.

    ¡°Since you came here unannounced, should I treat you as an enemy?¡± Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s voice rang out from within the tower. She was the Dao of God¡¯s Realm Master, and the Tilting Tower was where she had been when she left the trial zonesst, so she naturally reappeared here when returned. She was also the first student leader who Frankfurt had found.

    Lu Yin turned around and greeted Liu Xiaoyun with a weak smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so serious. We¡¯re not strangers anymore.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s tone remained indifferent. ¡°Without the permission of the Realm Master, entering any training ground controlled by another Realm Master is considered an act of provocation.¡±

    ¡°Come on, senior. It can¡¯t be that serious. I¡¯m still new here, and there are many rules that I¡¯m not yet aware of,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Liu Xiaoyun stared at him and thought to herself, If he were anyone else, I would have already attacked by now. However, since it was Lu Yin who was trespassing in the Tilting Tower, attacking would have just embarrassed herself; this man was not someone who she could handle. ¡°I never thought that you would break through to the Limiteer realm so quickly. Congrattions, you will be able to join the student council soon.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and turned around to examine the inside of the Tilting Tower while feeling the wall with his hand. The building had an ancient aura to it.

    ording to the Ghost Monkey, these trial zones were the remnants of an ancient civilization, and everything here was constructed from the ancient runes of the Runemasters. If this was indeed true, then it was a genuine miracle. After thinking of this, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the Ghost Monkey, so he hurriedly released the tamed beast¡¯s senses.

    ¡°YOU SON OF A BITCH!¡± the Ghost Monkey cursed the moment his senses were restored. Lu Yin instantly cut off the flow of star energy to his right arm again. This monkey really didn''t learn quickly.

    ¡°Senior, regarding the attack that you used to kill Tu Bo, was that an imitation of the Thirteen Swords?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Xiaoyun grunted in response. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Impressive. You managed to imitate an art form that the Sword Sect did not pass down to you,¡± Lu Yin praised.

    But Liu Xiaoyun remained unmoved. ¡°It¡¯s merely an imitation, and it isn¡¯t the real thing. Besides, my imitation pales inparison. It has less than twenty percent of the genuine technique¡¯s strength. It¡¯s useless against powerful figures.¡±

    ¡°Tu Bo is not just anyone¡ªhe¡¯s a seed from Shamrock Enterprises. If he was killed by an imitated technique, it just goes to show that your technique is quite impressive,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Are you trying to praise yourself? You defeated Liu Shaoqiu and even took the Third Sword head on,¡± Liu Xiaoyun replied as she cast a suspicious look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°If Liu Shaoqiu had disyed the Fourth Sword back then, I would¡¯ve been the one to lose.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun shook her head as well. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple, and what he said at that time wasn¡¯t wrong either. He had only grasped up to the Third Sword at the time; the Fourth Sword was still out of his reach. It¡¯s impossible for someone who isn¡¯t even a Limiteer toprehend the Fourth Sword. Having said that, you aren¡¯t wrong either; if the Fourth Sword had appeared at that time, then your defeat would have been guaranteed.¡±

    One¡¯s cultivation realm was always a major deciding factor in this universe. However, the mentors who were overseeing the tournament in the trial zone had noticed that Lu Yin had deliberately damaged Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s star energy sword during their battle. Lu Yin had specifically stopped short of destroying the sword as a backup in case Liu Shaoqiu was actually able to demonstrate the Fourth Sword. If Liu Shaoqiu had actually grasped the Fourth Sword back then, then the previous damage done to his sword would have actually given Lu Yin a tiny window of opportunity to steal victory. This minor detail was something that Liu Xiaoyun and many other students had neglected, and many of them still held the misconception that Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s star energy sword had simply not been able to withstand his own attack.

    In other words, Lu Yin had held the upper hand throughout the entire course of his battle with Liu Shaoqiu. Liu Shaoqiu grasping the Fourth Sword was also irrelevant as Lu Yin would have still emerged victorious. This was because Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s ability to use the Fourth Sword did not rest on his abilities alone; Lu Yin also had a say in whether he would allow it to appear. This was perhaps a major reason why the Sword Sect had decided to offer to ept Lu Yin as a disciple.

    Lu Yin did not exin the battle to Liu Xiaoyun, but it was unfortunate that she could not realize the facts herself. It was likely that the Sword Sect would not exin this to Liu Shaoqiu either, and the entire matter had likely spiraled to be amon understanding.

    Lu Yin chose a random spot to sit down as he calmly listened to the warbling melody in his ears. He thought back to the Thirteen Stacks technique. If he was in this ce, then perhaps he couldpletely grasp all Thirteen Stacks.

    Liu Xiaoyun gave Lu Yin aplicated look. Despite sensing that he had broken through to the Limiteer realm, she was utterly unable to gauge how strong he truly was. This man was able to hide his abilities very well. It had been the same back when they were aboard the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft; she hadpletely missed his power then. Could it be that her aunt had seen through his strength? Was that why her aunt had saved this person?

    Before long, Kuang Wang arrived. He looked at Lu Yin with a tinge of bewilderment in his eyes. Not much time had passed, but Lu Yin had already be a Limiteer.

    The third student leader to arrive was Nightqueen Yanqing. Lu Yin opened his eyes wide to stare at her the moment she stepped into the Tilting Tower. The reason why he was only able to join the student council now was because of the Daynight n¡¯s obstruction. This woman had definitely yed a hand in the matter.

    Nightqueen Yanqing walked straight towards Lu Yin, her snow white thighs gleaming. Lu Yin looked at her calmly.

    ¡°I heard that you did well at the border,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing drily said.

    ¡°I did pretty well,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes shed before she said, ¡°I would like to invite you to visit the Daynight n.¡±

    Once she said these words, the expressions of everyone present changed. This invitation to the Daynight Tribe wasced with malicious intentions. Even a fool knew of the ill will that the Daynight n held towards Lu Yin. An invitation could only mean two things; it was either an intention to have him surrender and join them or just an opportunity to kill him. This was the way the Daynight n operated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze remained cold. ¡°Thank you for the invitation. However, I have no immediate ns to visit the Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression turned frosty. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to reconsider your choice. The Daynight n is extending an invitation for you to be our guest.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I was not clear before. I have no immediate ns to visit the Daynight Flowzone.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone of voice was even colder this time.

    Nightqueen Yanqing sneered. ¡°No one dares to reject an invite from the Daynight n, and yet you have already turned down an invitation twice.¡±

    Lu Yin matched her gaze and refused to back down. ¡°I tend to have mood swings at times. Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°If that is your decision, then you can forget about joining the Council of Astral Academy,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing said duly.

    Kuang Wang¡¯s eyebrow twitched at those words. ¡°Hey, what is that supposed to mean? Since when do you make the decisions of the Council of Astral Academy?¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun also looked at Nightqueen Yanqing with contempt.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s mouth twitched disdainfully. ¡°The Council of Astral Academy is made up of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s most exemry students . The members are required not only to have exceptional abilities, but also outstanding morals. Lu Yin has not exercised restraint in his actions, and there are suspicions that he has ties to pirates and that he frequents the pirate port. I am sure that neither of you want a pirate to be a member of the Council of Astral Academy.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang both looked in Lu Yin¡¯s direction.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew gloomy; so this was the y that Nightqueen Yanqing had chosen to make. The scene of him being attacked by that light beam back at the pirate port had long been made public. In the past, many students used to have no qualms about going to the pirate port to train, but after this matter had blown up, it had be a frowned upon activity. Things were made even worse with the Daynight n¡¯s relentless pursuit of the matter, and the irond evidence was enough to put Lu Yin in a very tight spot.

    The Daynight n had no need to uncover the full details of what had happened at that time; all they needed to do was make a big deal about the fact that Lu Yin had been at the pirate port. This was the influence of a powerful organization.

    Lu Yin could not defend himself and could only stare icily at Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Yanqing continued pontificating. ¡°One person alone cannot make a decision for the student council, but I will bring this matter up to the Ten Arbiters Council and ask them to pass judgement. I believe that the Ten Arbiters will also not be eager to let someone who has ties to pirates join the Council of Astral Academy. Am I right, Student Lu?¡±

    ¡°You are absolutely right. The truth will be revealed one day. No individual or n can hoodwink the entire universe. I am still young, and I have the youth to y your game. However, my only concern is for you, Miss Nightqueen Yanqing. You are not getting any younger. Do you really want to squander your remaining youth fighting with me?¡± Lu Yin said in a mockingly tone.

    Nightqueen Yanqing flew into a rage. ¡°You know too little about the universe! There have indeed been cases of individuals who hoodwink everyone. Even now, such people exist, and they are people who you could never even dream topare to. Lu Yin, you are insignificant!¡±

    Lu Yin slowly walked out of the Tilting Tower step by step. ¡°In the past, I felt that a powerful figure of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation was far out of reach for me, and yet, I surpassed them. After that, there was an Area Master of Astral Combat Academy, followed by a Realm Master. The Dao of Heaven is a cycle, and it is an invible truth that no one will stay undefeated forever... And no one can truly hoodwink the masses forever.¡± After saying thatst sentence, he walked out the Tilting Tower and left the Dao of God.

    There was no need to waste any more time there. Above Nightqueen Yanqing, there was still Nightking Zhenwu. If things went along ording to the typical procedures, no one would act against the Daynight n in this matter. Unless Lu Yin could prove that he had nothing to do with the pirates, there was temporarily no way for him to get around this obstacle that the Daynight n had created. Furthermore, Lu Yin was far from innocent. It was an undeniable fact that he had indeed acted as a pirate when robbing other pirates. If he agitated the Daynight n any further, they would eventually expose this fact, and if it came to light, then there would no longer be any way to salvage the situation.

    Lu Yin never expected that he would one day be backed into a corner by the Daynight n. Additionally, he was only viewed as an enemy of the Daynight n because of his immunity to the Third Sword¡¯s spiritual force attack. It was such a silly reason since he did not even have some special constitution as everyone believed¡ªhe had just recited the Stonewall Scriptures. Even though he did not know what the scriptures meant, any fool could tell that they were more precious than some misunderstanding over a special constitution.

    An individual¡¯s special constitution could only pose so much of a threat to the Daynight n, so Lu Yin felt that the Daynight n was only interested in him for research purposes. But even if that was the case, he was still in great danger. It wouldn¡¯t just be the Daynight n; many other powerful groups in the universe might also attack him. What he needed to do right now was to find some powerful backing, just like how he had used Charon to enter the trial zones.

    Lu Yin¡¯s biggest backer right now was the Lockbreaker Society. Lu Yin walked out of the trial zone mountain, and after muttering to himself for a moment, he walked towards the entrance of the teleportation arena.

    ¡°Greetings, Trialmaster,¡± Lu Yin said as he bowed respectfully.

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes wide. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s you, young fellow. What are you here for?¡±

    ¡°I wish to unlock a sourcebox here. Would you allow me to do so?¡± Lu Yin probed.

    The Trialmaster was astonished. ¡°Here?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head.

    The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin carefully and then let out an oddugh. ¡°Young man, what a shrewd one you are! You know that lockbreaking is risky business, so you came here for me to help you minimize those risks and possibly even save your life if the situation calls for it.¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny any of the mentor¡¯s ims, and he bowed once again. ¡°I hope that you can help me with this.¡±

    The Trialmaster pondered the situation for a moment. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll help you. After all, you are Astral-10¡¯s top student, so I should help you out in some manner.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, mentor.¡± Lu Yin was overjoyed by the Trialmaster¡¯s response, and he quickly retrieved the harmless sourcebox that the Nn family had given him from his cosmic ring. He then started preparing himself to begin the lockbreaking process.

    The Trialmaster immediately stopped him. He then looked sternly at Lu Yin. ¡°Young man, is this the sourcebox that you want to unlock?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head.

    The Trialmaster knitted his brows. ¡°You are being too impatient. We Lockbreakers are always fighting for our very lives during a lockbreaking attempt, and the profession is dangerous enough as it is. Despite all that, you want to try surpassing realms with your lockbreaking? Do you think that you¡¯re at war or something?¡±

 Chapter 250: Finding A Backer

    <h4>Chapter 250: Finding A Backer</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll seed,¡± Lu Yin replied. He had Possessed Charon before, who was an incredibly experienced five-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. If Charon was capable of unlocking an intermediate sourcebox, then Lu Yin was sure that he could do the same.

    ¡°If you were truly confident, then you wouldn¡¯t have asked to make this lockbreaking attempt in front of me.¡± The Trialmaster sounded very stern, and he continued exhorting Lu Yin. ¡°All I¡¯ll say is this: when you fight against people, you can create miracles. However, if you fight against the heavens, you¡¯ll definitely die. Countless powerhouses have been born over the years, but there¡¯s no such thing as immortality. All of those experts have ended up being buried in space without exception. Lockbreaking is just a process that rushes you towards death more quickly than the others. You¡¯re still only a one-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, but for some reason, you¡¯re confident that you can unlock this sourcebox even though it¡¯s vastly more difficult than what you can currently handle. Within the Astral Combat Academy, nobody except Dao Bo can open this sourcebox; not even you will be able to seed.¡±

    ¡°Charon can¡¯t do it either?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Trialmaster closed his eyes and ignored Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that the Trialmaster was actually angry, and he cautiously put the sourcebox away before bowing to the Trialmaster. ¡°I was too reckless. I¡¯ll look for a sourcebox that¡¯s suitable for a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Please don¡¯t be angry.¡± With that, he immediately left the area.

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes and sighed. ¡°The path of a Lockbreaker is far more treacherous than you¡¯d expect. Even the same person might not be able to sessfully unlock the same sourcebox twice. He¡¯s being too egoistic¡ªhe thinks that he can unlock a sourcebox that¡¯s too difficult for him when he hasn¡¯t evenprehended how one¡¯s-star energy control affects their domain. Even a harmless sourcebox could result in him losing his mind. Still, at least he¡¯s not irredeemably stupid since he knows enough toe here to unlock a sourcebox. I hope that he won¡¯t go down the wrong path.¡±

    The Trialmaster¡¯s stern scolding had caused Lu Yin to sober up, and he quickly realized that he really had been too arrogant. Lockbreaking wasn¡¯t like battling. Regardless of how high a person¡¯s power level reached, it was useless in a lockbreaking attempt. Charon had barely be a five-star Discerning Elementary lockbreaker, and he was still far from actually bing an Intermediate Lockbreaker. Meanwhile, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t evenprehended a domain, and he did not have much personal experience with lockbreaking. He had thought too highly of himself and had nearly tried to do something far beyond his abilities. Even if trying to unlock that harmless sourcebox might not be inherently dangerous, the vast, pure world of energy that the sourcebox was condensed from actually had the potential of destroying him.

    Lu Yin was thankful that he¡¯d spoken to the Trialmaster before making the attempt. If he had tried to unlock that sourcebox right away without contacting anyone, then he would have been in deep trouble.

    However, where could he go to find a suitable sourcebox?

    Lu Yin switched his gadget on and entered the Lockbreakerwork. There, he discovered that quite a few people had contacted him. Most of the messages came from various organizations and the rest came from his acquaintances, such as Bazeer.

    ¡°Hello, and sorry to bother you, Mr. Seven, but may I know when you might be free? Council Member Puyu has invited you to visit San Dios.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Hi there, Mr. Seven. I have a harmless sourcebox and would like your help in unlocking it.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Mr. Seven¡­¡±

    ¡­

    There were a dozen unread messages from Bazeer. It seemed that he had set his sights on recruiting Lu Yin, although Lu Yin found it quite strange that Wendy Yushan hadn¡¯t discovered who he was yet.

    Madam Nn and many others had found out his true identity, and Old Cai had done the same. It seemed that nearly everyone knew who he was, which meant that a Lockbreaker¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t truly a secret. Since that was the case, then why hadn¡¯t Wendy Yushan tried to find out? Was it just that she hadn¡¯t told anyone? That didn¡¯t seem very likely.

    There was also another possibility. It could be that her foundation wasn¡¯t exactly solid and that her position as a council member of the Outerverse Youth Council wasn¡¯t enough to investigate the Lockbreakerwork. She would need a Lockbreaker for that, but it was possible that she had yet to find a Lockbreaker willing to work under her.

    If this was the case, then it would be proof that Wendy Yushan¡¯s position was not actually as morous as it seemed. It was even possible that she had to answer to someone else on the council.

    At the thought of even Wendy Yushan answering to someone else with her level of strength, Lu Yin¡¯s desire to find powerful backers intensified.

    In the end, it didn¡¯t actually matter if a Lockbreaker¡¯s status was secret or not. Liu Ji already knew, and a lot of other people could find out if they wanted to. Even if Lu Yin tried to keep his identity a secret, it wouldn¡¯t work. Perhaps the best choice was to make his Lockbreaker status public to dissuade those plotting against him in secret. At the very least, revealing it would cause some of the people plotting against him to give up.

    Lu Yin ignored Bazeer¡¯s messages and started searching for a lockbreaking mission that was close to him. It was possible to filter the avable missions to those that were closest and most suitable for him. This was something that the Lockbreaker Society had created after investing arge amount of resources. Anyone who signed into thework only needed to provide sourceboxes and rewards before they could issue missions.

    Lu Yin browsed thework list for a bit before finding a mission close to him that had been issued by someone called End Of The Road. This person wanted someone to unlock a sourcebox, and the reward was fifty thousand star crystals.

    The sourcebox had been verified by Lockbreaker Researchers as a two-star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. It did not have a high grade, but it was somewhat dangerous. Within the Outerverse, a price of fifty thousand star crystals was reasonable; it wasn¡¯t too high, but it also wasn¡¯t too low.

    Back when he had helped someone disassemble metal, it had taken him two days to earn around three thousand star crystals. Now, unlocking a two-star Bright Eyed elementary grade sourcebox would earn him fifty thousand star crystals. It made sense that all Lockbreakers were rich.

    Lu Yin epted the mission and then asked the person called End Of The Road to go to Astral-10.

    End Of The Road was just the person¡¯s username on thework. The fact that the person had a sourcebox meant that they weren¡¯t just any ordinary person.

    ¡°Astral-10? Are you a mentor there, Mr. Seven?¡± End Of The Road was rather curious.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for such questions. Come if you want to. Otherwise, forget it.¡±

    End Of The Road quickly answered, ¡°My apologies. I¡¯ll head over right away.¡±

    Based on where thework showed his location to be, the person was within range of Astral-10 and would take at most half a day to reach the academy.

    Lu Yin went to the space station and patiently waited there.

    There were many people who possessed sourceboxes, and as such, there were naturally many missions. However, there were just far too few Lockbreakers.

    On thework, there were only around ten Lockbreakers in the Frostwave Weave who had made their locations public. This was the Frostwave Weave, which included a hundred fments. The universe¡¯s organization went from a to a sr system, gxy, cluster, supercluster, and then finally fment. Within this huge territory, there were only around ten or so Lockbreakers who had revealed their presence. Even if one included the Lockbreakers unwilling to reveal their locations, there would be at most fifty of them altogether.

    There were 630,000 registered Lockbreakers in the Human Domain, which meant that, on average, there were less than fifty of them in any single given weave, which was a very small number. Manys had Explorers, which proved that there were far fewer Lockbreakers than Explorers in existence. This was also one of the reasons why Wendy Yushan had been so shocked to see a Lockbreaker reveal his location as being on Zenyu star. It had been a long time since there had been a Lockbreaker on Zenyu star.

    There were many missions but few Lockbreakers, which led to many of the people issuing missions to increase the rewards. All they wanted was for a Lockbreaker to help them. Thus, Lu Yin did not even have to leave the academy. With just a word from him, there would be people willing to send the sourcebox straight right to him. After all, he was a one-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, which was on apletely different levelpared to a Lockbreaker with no achievements.

    Roughly half a day passed, but Lu Yin still did not see any sign of End Of The Road, though he did see Hui Daynight. Hui Daynight had also been ordered to go the frontier ahead of time, and he had returned at around the same time that Lu Yin had. It was entirely possible that the Daynight n had interfered.

    When he saw Lu Yin, Hui Daynight appeared calm and no longer tried to immediately challenge Lu Yin as he quietly left the space station.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that Hui Daynight had changed; he seemed more mature and his gaze no longer contained that crazed and arrogant glint from before.

    Not long after Hui Daynight left, Lu Yin received a message from End Of The Road. Lu Yin sent him his coordinates and guided him to the space station.

    As he watched a mid-sized spacecraft dock, Lu Yin suddenly sighed ruefully. His Aurora had disappeared, and it had even been upgraded once! What a pity¡­

    End Of The Road turned out to be a very mild businessman. When he saw Lu Yin, he was-startled, but he did not doubt Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. He greeted him and then had someone bring out the sourcebox.

    The sourcebox was kept in arge box made from Qiansi soul crystals. Metals such as this were very durable and difficult to destroy, which made such materials perfect for storing sourceboxes.

    ¡°This sourcebox has some offensive abilities, Mr. Seven, and it emanates an energy that can cause hallucinations. Please be careful.¡± End Of The Road then had someone pass the sourcebox over to Lu Yin since Astral-10 did not allow outsiders to enter.

    Lu Yin took it and nodded. ¡°You should be aware of themon lockbreaking rules. I¡¯ll show you the entire process, but you can¡¯t me me if I fail.¡±

    End Of The Road respectfully answered, ¡°Of course. Nobody would dare im that they¡¯ll definitely seed at a lockbreaking attempt. I just hope that you won¡¯t get injured. Everything else is secondary.¡±

    The man¡¯s words made Lu Yin feel pretty good. As a businessman, it was semi-expected that the man would be most concerned about the sourcebox itself, but his words made it sound like he cared more about Lu Yin¡¯s safety. If one failed during a lockbreaking attempt, the sourcebox might be destroyed, but the person who requested the lockbreaking attempt would still have to pay a sizable amount of money. That would be a total loss for him, but that treatment was exactly what Lockbreakers deserved.

    Lu Yin carried the sourcebox towards the trial zone entrance. He wanted to unlock the sourcebox in front of the Trialmaster, and in order to prevent any mishaps from happening, he would definitely not waste an opportunity to safely unlock a sourcebox. He just needed to be a bit more thick-skinned.

    End Of The Road looked extremely nervous. Every lockbreaking attempt was a gamble, and no matter how strong a sourcebox¡¯s energy fluctuations were, there was always a chance of it beingpletely empty. This was very normal. Back when he first obtained this sourcebox years ago, he hadn¡¯t been courageous enough to risk asking someone to unlock it. However, as he¡¯d recently run into some cash flow problems, he had been left with no choice but to take a gamble. If he obtained something valuable this time, he would sell it and thus resolve his financial issues. Otherwise, he was done for.

    Lu Yin dragged the sourcebox to the trial zone entrance and sat down a short distance away from the Trialmaster. He stared hard at the box made of Qiansi soul crystal. End Of The Road had said that this sourcebox could cause hallucinations, which meant that it was a harmful sourcebox. He had to be extremely careful this time.

    With this in mind, he turned his gadget on and started a video chat with End of the Road through the Lockbreakerwork. This allowed End Of The Road to watch the entire lockbreaking process, and it was also a rule that had been put in ce to prevent any unscrupulous Lockbreakers from stealing the possible item within the sourcebox.

    Inside the space station, End Of The Road¡¯s breath was ragged as he intently stared at the screen.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then opened the box. After a brief moment, a unique aura floated out that caused his vision to go hazy. There was also a very nice scenting from the box.

    The Trialmaster shifted his attention towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin kept shaking his head vigorously. The illusory energy here wasn¡¯t enough to threaten him. When it came down to it, the sourcebox had been evaluated to only be at the two-star Discerning Elementary level, so its offensive abilities couldn¡¯t possibly be that strong. More importantly, he had to focus on unlocking the sourcebox.

    Lu Yin produced the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and activated the Cosmic Art. Nine stars swirled around him as his palm held a half-moon crystal that made him appear even more mysterious.

    While End Of The Road could not see the nine stars revolving around Lu Yin, he grew very excited when he saw the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. He had heard of this item before and knew that it was a lockbreaking tool. The fact that Mr. Seven possessed this tool gave End Of The Road a huge boost of confidence in the chances of this attempt seeding.

    With the help from the Cosmic Art and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, Lu Yin gazed at the sourcebox. The sourcebox that had initially seemed to be just the size of an arm now looked like an incrediblyplex world. All kinds of energy intermingled and mixed together inside of it, and there was a gas-like substance constantly being dispelled from within. If he was not wrong, then this wasing from the item within the sourcebox.

 Chapter 251: Two-stars

    <h4>Chapter 251: Two-stars</h4>

    Generally, the hardest part about lockbreaking was seeing through all the various energies thatposed a sourcebox. But this was a trivial task for Lu Yin; due to his Cosmic Art and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, he could see the energyposition of sourceboxes even more clearly than Charon. Although Charon hadprehended a domain, it was still impossible for him to see the energies as clearly as Lu Yin. After one perceived the energies that made up the sourcebox, the next step was to unravel them all.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand, causing his star energy to enter the sourcebox. At that moment, the previously bnced energies within the sourcebox underwent a huge transformation. It was as if a huge rock had been thrown into a calmke, causing huge waves to disturb the formerly calm surface.

    Lu Yin nervously stared at the sourcebox and did not dare to rx in the slightest. There were innumerable videos in the Sourcebox Catalog showing Lockbreakers being killed by supposedly harmless sourceboxes. This was because the energy that made up a sourcebox was maintained in a delicate equilibrium, and when it was disrupted, even a harmless sourcebox could very well explode as the deadliest weapon.

    Not too far away from Lu Yin, the Trialmaster nodded, not the least bit surprised at what the Cosmic Art was capable of. It was a technique that was incredibly suited to lockbreaking. Even though Lu Yin hadn¡¯tprehended a domain yet, the speed and uracy with which he could unlock sourceboxes was far better than most Lockbreakers who hadprehended domains. Compared to other Lockbreakers, Lu Yin basically had a cheat in his Cosmic Art that was much better than any lockbreaking tool. The Cosmic Art paired with a lockbreaking tool¡­ This kid onlycks experience. Once Lu Yin filled in for his inexperience, he would definitely be a five-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. With more training, he might even be able to challenge intermediate sourceboxes.

    The process of lockbreaking was extremelyplicated, but it went smoothly this time. The sourcebox slowly grew smaller as theplex energies on its surface steadily dissipated.

    End Of The Road looked on and grew very excited as he stared intently at the screen. His palms were incredibly sweaty right now.

    After ten hours, Lu Yin let out arge, pent up breath; he was on the verge of seeding. During his first unlocking attempt, it had taken him twenty seven hours to seed, and that experience had been carved into his memory. Right now, he was working on a moreplex sourcebox, but he was much quicker than before. This was primarily due to the fact that his Cosmic Art had been cultivated to nine stars, but it was also due to the fact that he had acquired a lockbreaking tool. Finally, thest reason for his improvement was that he had also gained Charon¡¯s lockbreaking memories and experience from Possession, and that included the time that Charon had unlocked the Unveiled Sword. These three aspectsbined with Lu Yin¡¯s general increase in strength caused his lockbreaking to be nearly twice as efficient as before. He believed that, even if Charon could unlock this sourcebox, he might not be any quicker than him.

    Of course, a person¡¯s lockbreaking speed was not the only way to judge their abilities. Still, it was a rather direct way of makingparisons. At the very least, people like End of The Road could only judge a Lockbreaker¡¯s abilities by their speed.

    It seemed that there was only a little bit of work left before the sourcebox would be opened and the contents within revealed. End Of The Road was incredibly excited and didn¡¯t dare to even breathe too loudly in case he bothered Lu Yin.

    After about ten more minutes, with a wave of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, the surface of the sourcebox that was about as long as a person¡¯s arm seemed to be blown away by the wind. In front of him, there was a green nt that was giving off green rays of light. Some kind of strange gas lingered above the nt along with a strong fragrance.

    ¡°So it¡¯s a scent shrub...¡± the Trialmaster said as he stared at the nt.

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°A scent shrub?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a medicinal nt that bes more valuable the longer it lives. This one is probably over ten thousand years old, so it¡¯s sure to fetch a good price if it¡¯s sold,¡± the Trialmaster said.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°If it¡¯s not that valuable, then why was it sealed?¡±

    The Trialmaster answered, ¡°That¡¯s because of natural changes in the environment. There aren¡¯t any specific requirements for an item to be sealed in the universe¡¯s dust, but generally, the more worthless an item, the easier it is for that item to decay. However, that doesn¡¯t always happen. There are no two sourceboxes in this universe that are exactly the same. Since no two sourceboxes are the same, it means that anything could happen. Who knows, a powerful family might have a sourcebox in their collection that holds nothing more than a rock. It¡¯s actually normal for something mundane to turn up.¡±

    Lu Yin came to a realization and then burst intoughter. ¡°It seems that this person is pretty lucky to be able to get this then.¡± After saying that, he picked up the scent shrub and took it to the space station.

    End Of The Road had been waiting anxiously, so when Lu Yin arrived, he jogged over as quickly as he could before taking the scent shrub with sincere gratitude. He then ordered his men to carefully store it.

    Lu Yin repeated what the Trialmaster had told him, and End Of The Road didn¡¯t seem disappointed at all. ¡°A scent shrub that¡¯s been around for over ten thousand years is sure to sell for a good price. Shamrock Enterprises is always searching for rare medicinal nts that have existed for a long time. This is enough. It¡¯s definitely enough.¡± After saying that, he took out a Mavis Bank card and handed it to Lu Yin as payment; it held fifty thousand star crystals.

    Not long after, End Of The Road left Astral-10.

    Lu Yin took the bank card and nced at his profile in the lockbreakerwork. He had already posted the video of him unlocking that sourcebox onto his catalogue. All that was left now was to wait for his work to be verified. Oh? Lu Yin suddenly saw some numbers under his first video: 18,500. What was that?

    He investigated it further and was delighted to find that it was money; it represented 18,500 star crystals. It was the amount that he had earned from people viewing his first video. Each view cost 500 star crystals, which meant that thirty seven people had purchased the right to view it. Wait, perhaps that wasn¡¯t exactly the case. It had been purchased thirty seven times, but it might not have necessarily been thirty seven separate people. If a person wanted to view the same video multiple times, they would have to buy it each time.

    Lu Yin grew very excited. This was actually a great way to earn money! How many people were there in the universe? There were far too many to count. Those who could ess the Lockbreaker¡¯swork were not ordinary people. Each one was very rich, especially other Lockbreakers. It was very normal for a Lockbreaker to watch someone else¡¯s video. Just having people purchase the right to view it thirty seven times had earned him nearly 20,000 star crystals. What if 370, 3,700, or even 37,000 people wanted to view his videos? He couldn¡¯t even imagine it; it was too much money for him to calcte.

    Lu Yin had gone throughary trials and multiple near-death situations. Even after going through all those trials and tribtions, he was still shocked by this path to wealth. After a moment, he sighed and calmed down. It had been about half a year since he¡¯d sessfullypleted his first lockbreaking attempt, and in the past half a year, the video had only been viewed thirty seven times. If he looked at the amount of time that had passed, this process was far too slow to gain any significant wealth.

    His heart sank.

    Within the universe, there were very few Lockbreakers. However, there were still hundreds of thousands of them registered in thework. Although this number might be rtively lowpared to other organizations, there were still at least a hundred thousand Lockbreakers with achievements to their names. Why had his video attracted any attention at all? It was very difficult for one Lockbreaker to stand out amongst a hundred thousand. Why had these people all viewed his video? With this money, they could have chosen an Intermediate or even an Advanced Lockbreaker¡¯s video. Those people had also started out from the very bottom, so their videos should theoretically be the most valuable.

    Things took time. After half a year, his video had only been purchased thirty seven times, which was just too few. This meant that nobody knew about him. What he needed to do was to make himself known. If he became somewhat famous, then more people would be willing to spend money and buy the rights to view his videos.

    ¡°Take it slow,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. He scanned the list of avable missions that were nearby. The next one that he decided to take on was a sourcebox owned by someone with the handle ¡°Lost.¡± The sourcebox had been verified to be at the two-star Discerning Elementary grade, so it was suitable for him to attempt.

    Lu Yin epted the mission, but just as he was about to ask the person toe to Astral-10, the mission was cancelled. Lu Yin froze for a second and was rather annoyed that this person did not trust him, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. A mission went both ways, and the requestor could choose another Lockbreaker if he so desired. End Of The Road had been in too much of a hurry and his offered payment wasn¡¯t very high, which was why he had agreed to let Lu Yin make the lockbreaking attempt. To him, the matter was like a gamble. Many people were willing to pay a hefty premium to have Lockbreakers with achievements unlock their sourcebox.

    Lu Yin epted three missions, but he was rejected from all of them. He was merely a one-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and it made more sense for him to go after one-star Discerning Elementary grade sourceboxes. When he tried to ept a mission with a two-star grade sourcebox, most requestors would not trust him. Besides, he only had one video which meant that he had only unlocked a single sourcebox so far. He simply wasn¡¯t trustworthy enough.

    Two hourster, the second video that Lu Yin had uploaded was verified. He did not hesitate to upload this second video of him unlocking a sourcebox and immediately made it avable at the lowest price.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin remembered something vital. Had he exposed his Cosmic Art in the video? He hastily reviewed the video and then heaved a sigh of relief; thankfully, he hadn¡¯t. The angle in the video from his gadget had not captured his body. All that could be seen was a pair of hands unlocking the sourcebox, and not much of the surroundings could be made out. The only recognizable things in the video were his hands and the sourcebox.

    Lu Yin was rather disappointed that his achievements weren¡¯t enough for him to reach two-stars. It wasn¡¯t easy for a Lockbreaker to increase their rank unless they unlocked a very difficult sourcebox. Lu Yin thus had no choice but to take things slow. Even if he managed to unlock two two-star Discerning Elementary grade sourceboxes, it would not be enough. He still needed to unlock at least one or two more of these before he even had a chance of bing a two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    The only other possibility of advancing was if he straight up unlocked a three, four, five-star, or even an intermediate-grade sourcebox. That would be a huge achievement, and it was what Charon had done. Charon had unlocked the Unveiled Sword and had be a five-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker right away.

    Now that he had been verified as being able to unlock a two-star Discerning Elementary grade sourcebox, Lu Yin quickly found a second mission. It was also a two-star Discerning Elementary grade sourcebox and the reward was 70,000-star crystals¡ªeven more than what End Of The Road had offered.

    For the next ten days, Lu Yin spent his days unlocking sourceboxes. After every unlocking session, he also needed to rest for a day. Over ten days, he unlocked four sourceboxes. Of those four, his slowest lockbreaking session went on for neen hours, and his shortest only took him seven hours. Two of the sourceboxes had been empty while the other two had actually contained something. One was a small bottle that appeared to be ancient, but he had no idea what was inside of it. The other one was a tattered book that should contain a technique within it. However, for the sake of professionalism, he did not look inside.

    The reward for sessfully unlocking those four sourceboxes raised his achievements to two-stars and also earned him 400,000 star crystals. On the Lockbreaker¡¯swork, there was now an additional star attached to Seven¡¯s name; he¡¯d officially be a two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    The process of lockbreaking was veryplicated and painful. After Lu Yinpleted his fourth lockbreaking attempt, he slept for three full days.

    ¡°Lockbreaking is very difficult. Even when there¡¯s no danger, your body still might not be able to handle it. Do you want to keep going?¡± the Trialmaster asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No, my head hurts.¡±

    The Trialmaster burst outughing. ¡°That¡¯s a smart answer. If you keep going, then you¡¯ll either go crazy or faint. Did you think that lockbreaking was an easy thing to do? Did you think that you¡¯d be able to unlock as many sourceboxes as you wanted? If that were the case, then Lockbreakers would have be invincible long ago. The unlocking process wears down on a Lockbreaker¡¯s mind. It¡¯s the same with those schrs¡ªnobody can continue with such a draining task for a long period of time.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed towards the mentor. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not too bad. Two, three, or even four-star Discerning Elementary grade sourceboxes won¡¯t be a threat to you. If youe across the opportunity, then you can try a four-star sourcebox. Don¡¯t waste your time, but also don¡¯t be in too much of a rush. A five-star sourcebox can still pose a threat to you,¡± the Trialmaster warned.

    Lu Yin acknowledged the warning.

 Chapter 252: Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 252: Exchange</h4>

    Beep beep beep beep

    A series of soft beeps sounded out from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget.

    He looked down and his gaze changed; this was incredible. How did this happen?

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters have ruled that Lu Yin has no blemishes on his record and that he is allowed to join the Council of Astral Academy.¡±

    Being able to join the Council of Astral Academy was hugely significant to Lu Yin. First, this meant that he was no longer just an ordinary student; rather, he had be a subsidiary member of the Ten Arbiters Council. This status gave him the Ten Arbiters¡¯ protection, and there was no better backer than the Ten Arbiters. Even the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s backing could notpare to the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s.

    However, Lu Yin was slightly puzzled. Nightqueen Yanqing and Nightking Zhenwu had clearly made their moves. He was one of the Ten Arbiters, so how could Lu Yin still be able to join the Council of Astral Academy? At this moment, Lu Yin was feeling less ted and more apprehensive, as something unexpected had happened.

    Suddenly, someone called him through his gadget, and Lu Yin answered. A cold and arrogant voice came through, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression sank when he recognized it as Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s. ¡°Congrattions on entering the Council of Astral Academy.¡±

    ¡°You must be very baffled at how you were able to enter.¡± Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s tone was a little lofty and indignant. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good. You even colluded with a Daynight girl and got her to step up and testify for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat and a name suddenly appeared in his mind¡ªZhuo Daynight. Aside from her, there was nobody else who could testify for him. He had gone to the pirate port back then in order to save her, so she was naturally the only person who could testify and clear his name.

    When he was at the Tilting Tower, Lu Yin had already considered requesting Zhuo Daynight¡¯s help, but he had ultimately decided against it. First of all, she might not even appear since she was also a member of the Daynight n. Secondly, he did not want to owe Zhuo Daynight any favors, as he already had made her a promise. He wasn¡¯t sure how he could pay her back if he owed her any more.

    He never expected Zhuo Daynight to spontaneously testify on his behalf and allow him to sessfully join the Council of Astral Academy. What was she thinking?

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with that woman?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing barked interrogatively.

    A cold glint shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he responded, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Anyways, I¡¯ll have to admit that you have your ways. But so what? That girl has betrayed my brother and been imprisoned in the Daynight n. Here, take a look for yourself.¡± A video file was then sent to Lu Yin¡¯s gadget.

    Lu Yin apprehensively tapped on the video, and it was indeed Zhuo Daynight, whom he had not seen for a few months. In the video, she was wearing a prisoner¡¯s outfit, and her face had a deathly pallor to it. She seemed to have fainted within the dark prison holding her. Old bloodstains could also be seen on her clothes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew heated, and a re of anger erupted from within him like never before. This fury was ten or even a hundred stronger than the humiliation he had felt after suffering under Bazeer. He was ovee by a wild impulse to destroy the entire Daynight n.

    With this surge of rage, his star energy turned unstable and even the void surrounding him warped.

    At that moment, the Trialmaster lifted his gaze and spoke. ¡°Be quiet.¡± The deep sound that was reminiscent of a drumbeat shocked Lu Yin back to his senses. He breathed in deeply and suppressed his star energy. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    At that moment, his voice was so calm that it was terrifying.

    On the other end of the connection, Nightqueen Yanqing involuntarily felt a chill creep into the bottom of her heart, but she paid it no attention. ¡°I¡¯ve already given you a chance, but you¡¯re not discerning enough to ept it. It seems that you really think that you can resist my Daynight n by yourself. It doesn¡¯t matter if you are the strongest person in the entire Astral Combat Academy; my Daynight n can still easily wipe you out.¡±

    ¡°Is she still alive?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone was icy, and his eyes hid an even deeper chill.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was pleased by his question. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll keep her alive properly. She has colluded with outsiders and betrayed my brother; her crimes deserve decades of torture.¡±

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply. ¡°I¡¯ll give up on joining the Council of Astral Academy. Do not torture her.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing snorted disdainfully. ¡°Lu Yin, you think too much of yourself. Do you really think that my Daynight n cares about you? To my brother, dealing with you is as easy as lifting a finger. In fact, he¡¯s already forgotten you. However, this woman has gone against my brother¡¯s wishes too many times, and this incident was just the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. You¡¯re still not at the level where my Daynight n would worry about you. As for the Council of Astral Academy, you can join if you wish. It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s all just a game to my brother.¡± She immediately ended the call after saying herst word.

    Lu Yin stood where he was, motionless for a long while. The image of Zhuo Daynight being imprisoned in a dark cell filled his mind, as well as her bloodstained clothes. It was too disturbing and so¡­ heavy.

    He did not even know where his emotions wereing from, as he had only met Zhuo Daynight three times. The first was a brief encounter while the second had been hostile. It was their third meeting that had left a deep impression on him¡ªher helplessness, destion, and nearly silent whispers. He remembered it all deeply. The two of them had not interacted much, but Zhuo Daynight¡¯s suffering was all due to Lu Yin. This responsibility was too heavy to bear.

    It was possible that Zhuo Daynight had only testified to repay Lu Yin for the favor of saving her life. Even still, Lu Yin felt an invisible burden weigh upon his shoulders, and he hoped that he could rescue that girl.

    The Trialmaster sighed. ¡°The Daynight n. Once again, it¡¯s the Daynight n.¡± He looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression.

    Lu Yin was shocked and hurried towards the mentor. ¡°Trialmaster, do you have any ideas of how I could save my friend?¡±

    The mentor looked at Lu Yin through his old, murky eyes and there was an unprecedented seriousness in his bearing. ¡°Little brat, tell me. What¡¯s your rtionship with that girl?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped. Rtionship? He actually did not know what he considered her. A friend perhaps? Probably not, but was she an enemy? That was also not the case. After a moment of consideration, he replied, ¡°We can be considered to be reluctant friends.¡±

    ¡°The Daynight n does not allow its n members to marry outsiders. It¡¯s aw that¡¯s been passed down since ancient times. Brat, you should know that, right?¡±

    Lu Yin muttered, ¡°Trialmaster, she¡¯s just my friend, but I do want to save her.¡±

    The mentor sighed again. ¡°Save her? You¡¯ll need a core elder of the Daynight n to personally intervene. I know a Daynight elder, but what can you offer to request their help?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and wondered what he could use to enlist the help of an elder of the Daynight n. That person was an elder of one of the strongest ns in the universe. This was someone who Lu Yin was not even qualified to converse with.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something and his heart quickened. He looked at the mentor. ¡°Trialmaster, could you please contact the Daynight elder? I do indeed have something that I can exchange.¡±

    The Trialmaster sneered as he replied, ¡°Little brat, the Daynight elders are all great beings who are at least at the Hunter realm. They¡¯ve seen all sorts of treasure, so don¡¯t attract their ridicule.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously said, ¡°Trialmaster, rest assured. I¡¯m quite confident that this will move the elder to help.¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll contact him.¡± He then retrieved a rather ancient-looking gadget from under his buttocks.

    Lu Yin withdrew a certain distance from the Trialmaster and stopped blocking the star energy to his right arm. ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense or else I¡¯ll block you again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being too much. We are one body! How could you do this to me?¡± The Ghost Monkey was furious.

    Lu Yin had an ice-cold gaze on his face. ¡°I have no time to deal with your nonsense. Tell me, is that beast hide really rted to Progenitor Wushang?¡±

    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s something that I went to great trouble to obtain. Why else do you think Yao Gu triggered the decisive battle at the border and repeatedly targeted Conan? All of that was just to obtain this one thing. Why are you suddenly asking me about this?¡± The Ghost Monkey was suspicious of Lu Yin¡¯s motives.

    ¡°I need to use this thing to trade for a person right now. If what you say is false, then I will instantly obliterate you.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered and shouted, ¡°What did you just say? Exchange it? You¡¯re crazy! Do you know what that thing is? That¡¯s Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide! Pro. Gen. I. Tor. Wu. Shang. It¡¯s Progenitor Wushang¡¯s... You don¡¯t even understand what Progenitor Wushang¡¯s name means. Exchange? Only you would think of something that harebrained. Even if you sell your entire Astral Combat Academy, it wouldn¡¯t be worth a single hair from that hide.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood was heavy. ¡°I don¡¯t have any choice. This is all I have.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was desperate to change Lu Yin¡¯s mind, ¡°What are you trying to exchange for the hide for? An art? A battle technique? A treasure map? Just say what you need, and I can help you get it! I know where many powerhouses¡¯ graves are. I can be of great help with robbing tombs!¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. Since that beast hide really did seem to be rted to Progenitor Wushang based on the Ghost Monkey¡¯s reaction, it was definitely priceless. To the Daynight n, it greatly surpassed Zhuo Daynight in terms of value, but to Lu Yin, measuring value was not as straightforward. Zhuo Daynight was suffering because of him, and so he would do all he could to rescue her. He would even not hesitate to exchange therger beast hide for her freedom. This was just him following his personal code of conduct.

    A screen appeared in front of the Trialmaster that showed a deste ground contrasting against a grey sky. An old man with a downcast expression appeared, his ck-and-white long hair falling to his waist. He looked aged, but his skin also seemed to have a roaming brilliance. ¡°Old Tan, how are you? You¡¯re not dead yet?¡±

    The Trialmaster duly replied, ¡°How could I die before you?¡±

    The elder sneered. ¡°I¡¯m much younger than you.¡±

    The mentor walked in front of Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time to talk trash with you. This fellow¡¯s the one who wants to talk to you this time.¡±

    The elder appeared astonished when he looked at Lu Yin, who could feel the old man¡¯s powerful aura even through the screen. If felt as if it could suppress everything in the endless void. He took a deep breath and bowed at the waist. ¡°Student Lu Yin pays his respects to Senior.¡±

    The elder sized Lu Yin up and down before turning to the Trialmaster. ¡°So this is your grandchild? Do you have that ability as well?¡±

    The Trialmaster ignored the Daynight elder.

    Lu Yin respectfully continued, saying, ¡°This junior is Astral-10¡¯s student, and I shamelessly requested for Mentor to contact Senior so that I might request your help.¡±

    The elder seemed like he could not be bothered. ¡°My help? Little brat, do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°A Daynight elder.¡±

    The elder arrogantly replied, ¡°I am Nightking Yuanjing, a Nightking elder! Not just some elder from the Daynight n. Little brat, don¡¯t be mistaken about my status.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed again. ¡°It¡¯s my mistake to have to trouble Senior.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t have the time to waste chatting with you. Since you dared to contact me, then you must be confident in being able to enlist my help. Speak, and if I¡¯m satisfied, I¡¯ll naturally help you.¡± Nightking Yuanjing had little patience.

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to speak, but the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his mind. ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re trying to make an exchange with the Nightking n? Why didn¡¯t you tell me this earlier? I¡¯ll give you some information that they¡¯ll exchange anything for.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up. I have no time to waste talking to you,¡± Nightking Yuanjing said with a frown.

    The Trialmaster also looked at Lu Yin, as he was very curious what Lu Yin would use to plead with a Nightking elder. There were just too few things in this universe that could actually move this old thing¡¯s heart.

    Lu Yin trembled as he asked, ¡°I don¡¯t know if Elder wishes to know the whereabouts of the Third Nightking.¡±

 Chapter 253: Third Nightking

    <h4>Chapter 253: Third Nightking</h4>

    All three people were silent, as Lu Yin¡¯s sentence had stunned not only Nightking Yuanjing, but even the Trialmaster¡¯s attention had been captured. The academy mentor¡¯s pupils constricted, and he appeared in front of Lu Yin as he blurted out in disbelief, ¡°What did you say? You know where the traces of the Third Nightking are?¡±

    ¡°Little brat, what did you say? Repeat yourself,¡± Nightking Yuanjing hollered anxiously.

    Excitement shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he spoke again. ¡°Mentor, Senior, I served at the Human Domain¡¯s border warfront for two months, and during that time, I unexpectedly overheard a mutant beast talking about the tracks of the Third Nightking ancestor.¡±

    ¡°Quick, state the location!¡± Nightking Yuanjingpletely lost himself and was intently staring at Lu Yin like a lunatic.

    The Trialmaster also seemed shocked. ¡°Where is the Third Nightking?¡±

    Lu Yin breathed in deeply and then looked at the elder on the screen. ¡°Senior, this junior hasn¡¯t mentioned his conditions yet.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing forced himself to calm down and then looked at Lu Yin with his scarlet eyes. ¡°Speak! What are your conditions? As long as you can state them, I will be able to fulfill them. However, I must warn you¡ªdon¡¯t even think about deceiving me. If I find out that you were spouting nonsense, even then the Astral Combat Academy will not be able to save you. You can ask that old fart next to you.¡±

    The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°Do you really know where the traces of the Third Nightking can be found? Do not attempt to hoodwink them; the Nightking n naturally has their own methods to validate the information.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded towards the Trialmaster and then looked back at Nightking Yuanjing. ¡°I hope that the Nightking n can release a person: Zhuo Daynight. She was imprisoned because of this junior¡¯s actions, and I deeply regret it. If Senior can help erase all of her wrongdoings and protect her from your n¡¯s persecution, then I will tell you where to find the Third Nightkings¡¯ traces.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just a junior within the n, so even betrayal can be forgiven, let alone crimes. As long as you can tell me where the Third Nightking¡¯s tracks can be found¡ªand prove that they are real¡ªthen not only will I protect her, but I will even adopt her as my daughter. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Lu Yin did not mind whether or not Nightking Yuanjing would adopt Zhuo Daynight as his daughter. He just wanted no harm toe to her. ¡°The Third Nightking is in the Profound Void Realm.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The Profound Void Realm is where the Void Wanderer n is. Although they are ranked ninth in the Heavenly Beast List, that¡¯s because of their unique nature and their numbers. They cannot obstruct the Third Nightking.¡±

    The Trialmaster simrly had a look of disbelief on his face, and he looked at Lu Yin. He really hoped that Lu Yin was not trying to pull a fast one over Nightking Yuanjing. Otherwise, even Astral-10 would not be able to protect this student.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Does Senior really think that the Void Wanderer n relies on their numbers and innate gift to be ranked ninth on the Heavenly Beast List? The list is ranked by Skymender, and he would not carelessly arrange it ording to such reasoning. The most basic principle in the universe is strength. There¡¯s an old ancestor of that n who has survived for tens of thousands of years and has gone through multiple evolutions. Its power is groundbreaking, and that is who has trapped the Third Nightking.¡±

    The look on Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face flickered, evidently unable to ept the information.

    ¡°How do you know this?¡± The Trialmaster could not resist asking.

    ¡°At the warfront, I was captured by a Ghost Monkey, and it was one of the five lords of the Spiritual Academy. It idently let the information slip, though I don¡¯t know how it got ahold of this knowledge in the first ce.¡± He then looked at Nightking Yuanjing. ¡°Senior, I have told you who I wish to be saved. If I were deceiving you, then wouldn¡¯t I be afraid that you would harm my friend?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded and looked seriously at Lu Yin. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll believe you this time and search the Profound Void Realm with full force. Still, it will take time to verify your information, though I can assure you that the girl wille to no harm during this time. However, if I find out that you are intentionally deceiving me, then not only will that girl suffer, but you will also die.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°If there¡¯s any false information, then Senior may punish me as you wish.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked at Lu Yin intently onest time before ending the connection.

    The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin with aplex expression.l ¡°Little brat, I¡¯ll ask you again. Is this news real?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    The Trialmaster was moved, and he lifted his face. ¡°For so many years, we assumed that the Third Nightking had been eliminated. If he¡¯s truly found by the Nightking n, then the Innerverse¡¯s structure will undergo great changes.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°Trialmaster, I had no choice. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The mentor shook his hand, ¡°This is somethingpletely unrted to you. The Third Nightking initially attacked the Astral Beast Domain on the human race¡¯s behalf. He is someone honorable and should be rescued. Alright, you can move along now.¡±

    ¡°Mentor, what of my friend?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nightking Yuanjing is someone who honors his promises. He will definitely protect your friend since he said that he would. He is extremely important in the Nightking n, and few can suppress him. They would not ignore rescuing the Third Nightking just because of some girl.¡± The Trialmaster seemed exhausted and his reply was rather absentminded.

    Lu Yin bowed, but he did not leave the trial zone entrance. Instead, he went directly to the trial zone mountain.

    Once at the trial zone mountain, Lu Yin quietly asked the Ghost Monkey, ¡°Will the Nightking n really be unable to save the Third Nightking?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey confidently replied, ¡°It¡¯s definitely impossible. That Void Wanderer elder has lived for tens of thousands of years. The Void Wanderers are very special beasts, and once they enter some unknown cycle, they will be able to live on eternally. This is a race that cannot be understood. Even the weakest Void Wanderer, if it lived for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years, would have aplete change in its power. The proof of that ancestor¡¯s strength is its ability to suppress the Third Nightking. Just the existence of that Void Wanderer elder is enough to raise the n to the ninth position of the Heavenly Beast List.¡±

    ¡°Can the Nightking n prove that the Third Nightking is actually in the Profound Void Realm?¡± Lu Yin asked, as this was what the point he was most concerned about.

    ¡°Rest assured. A n of their strength and history will definitely have their own unique methods. As long as you tell them a specific location, they can definitely verify it.¡±

    ¡°What kind of person is the Third Nightking for him to be able to make the Nightking n so frantic?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°He¡¯s publicly recognized as the third strongest member of the n ever since the Nightking n started passing on its inheritance. During his time, the Daynight n was at its peak, and they even overshadowed the Sword Sect. His arrogance can be seen from the fact that he directly attacked the Astral Beast Domain, although unfortunately for him, he met that mysterious Void Wanderer elder and has been trapped there until now.¡±

    ¡°And that Void Wanderer elder did not kill him either, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it couldn¡¯t kill him and could only trap him. The other powerhouses from the Astral Beast Domain also can¡¯t intervene, as any interference from them would allow the Third Nightking to easily escape. It¡¯s a tricky situation.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that the monkey knew too much and suddenly asked, ¡°How do you know about all this when even the Nightking n doesn¡¯t?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey had been expecting this question, and he smoothly answered, ¡°Actually I¡¯m an archaeologist.¡±

    ¡°Stop bullshitting me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re a tomb raider!¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    The Ghost Monkey fell silent before replying, ¡°... I guess?¡±

    ¡°Are astral beasts also buried in tombs when they die?¡± Lu Yin was caught off guard by this thought.

    The Ghost Monkey felt disgruntled, ¡°Human, don¡¯t look down on us astral beasts! When the universe was first born, humans hadn¡¯t even appeared yet. This region of the universe is actually still considered to be a part of the Astral Beast Domain. In the end, humans themselves are just another species of astral beast, just a degenerated form.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re an improvement,¡± Lu Yin was unhappy with the Ghost Monkey¡¯s words.

    ¡°Believe whatever makes you feel better, but to us astral beasts, you humans are degenerated astral beasts. You humans can¡¯t freely explore outer space from birth while other astral beasts can. You humans don¡¯t have powerful defensive abilities at birth while other astral beasts do. And you humans have to undergo training to awaken your innate gifts, and even then, the urrence of an innate gift appearing among you is very rare. Astral beasts are different, and some species can inherit their innate gifts. Even the intelligence that you humans are so proud of isn¡¯t that amazing from our perspective since many astral beasts have an intelligence no lesser than you humans,¡± the Ghost Monkey replied with a sneer.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t retort, as the greatest intellectual ability that humans had was their creativity. The Ghost Monkey was right; humans werecking in many areaspared to the astral beasts. And yet, humanity had relied on their creations topensate for those shorings. If they were truly a regressive form of astral beast as the Ghost Monkey had said, then the human race would not have been able to upy such a massive astral domain and be able to rival the Astral Beast Domain.

    He didn¡¯t feel like mentioning all this to the monkey, and so, he allowed the astral beast to continue living in its dream that humans were lesser than them. Sooner orter, the human race would leave the astral beasts unable to cry even if they wanted to.

    ¡°So, astral beasts are entombed when they die?¡± Lu Yin continued his previous line of questioning.

    ¡°Of course. No intelligent creature would befortable with its corpse being used by others for their gain and will find ways to bury itself. After countless eons pass, their bodies will naturally turn to dust. Those ces are the best ones to go to, since the tombs naturally hold the objects that were buried together with the dead. That beast hide was obtained from arge tomb, and all the information that I know was recorded within that tomb as well,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined.

    This exnation was wless, and Lu Yin could not argue against it. It should be the truth, as there was no other exnation as to how a Limiteer could possibly obtain such secret information as well as hide the beast hide that Yao Gu was seeking. There was still something that deserved attention, which was how the Ghost Monkey had opened these tombs. If those tombs belonged to powerhouses, then they would definitely not be easily broken into.

    But Lu Yin did not ask about this, as he would find out sooner orter. Besides, the Ghost Monkey would only fabricate stories if he was asked about it now, and Lu Yin had more than enough time on his hands.

    For now, he needed to wait at the trial zone mountain for a while before seeking revenge.

    He was not someone who liked to patiently endure insults, and even though his name contained the ¡°Yin¡± character, his personality waspletely different. When possible, he would take revenge on the spot; otherwise, he would wait when forced to.

    It was just like how, when Bazeer had humiliated him back in the Great Yu Empire and Lu Yin was unable to do anything against him at the time, he hadter destroyed Ghostfire during Astral-10¡¯s examination. That had been his revenge. Nightqueen Yanqing had acted against Lu Yin this time, and now, he had to repay this debt.

    Zhuo Daynight would now be protected by Nightking Yuanjing, so she would be fine. Lu Yin had no other concerns, so his retaliation would be wiping the Daynight n from the trial zones.

    Two dayster, in the middle of a training ground that had the shape of a green forest in the Dao of Heaven, Rou Daynight slowly opened her eyes. As a child of the Daynight n, she had been given the green forest and raised into an Area Master, which was already a decent aplishment. However, she had not even entered the top thirty two during the Astral Tournament and had been harshly criticized by her n. Even she herself felt that she had been too rxed in her training.

    Still, at least she had done better than Tiankong Daynight. He was also an Area Master, but he had been the first one to be eliminated. How humiliating.

    She stood up and scanned her surroundings as many students scattered. The closer one was to the center of the training zone, the more benefits one could obtain. Unfortunately, this green forest training ground was no longer of much help to her, and she wanted to exchange it with another Area Master, but who would be willing?

    At that moment, an oppressive aura swept across the area, shocking many as everyone looked up at the sky at the same time.

    Rou Daynight looked up as well, as this aura made her feel uneasy. Who could it be?

    [1] Yin - hiding/hidden

 Chapter 254: Lu Yinâ€™s Tyranny

    <h4>Chapter 254: Lu Yin¡¯s Tyranny</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure soon appeared above the forest as he stared down at Rou Daynight. His eyes held an endless chill within them.

    Many were stunned when they saw Lu Yin, but they all recognized him as an absolute powerhouse who had reached the top four in the tournament.

    Rou Daynight¡¯s heart sank when she saw Lu Yin. She had heard her nsmen talking about how Nightqueen Yanqing had recently made a move against Lu Yin by trying to stop him from entering the Council of Astral Academy. Rou Daynight didn¡¯t know all the details, but she had a bad premonition about him suddenly appearing in the green forest.

    ¡°From now on, this ce no longer belongs to you.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone was icy cold, without a single trace ofpassion for her.

    Rou Daynight was furious. ¡°Lu Yin, you dare to be hostile towards my Daynight n? Do you know what the consequences of your actions will be?¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his gaze and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t need to know.¡± He then pressed down with a single palm while a berserk aura filled the area. He immediately unleashed a Nine Stacks, Fifteenfold Shockwave Palm which instantly killed Rou Daynight as she was unable to mount any sort of resistance.

    Lu Yin would have been able to easily kill Rou Daynight at the Melder realm, let alone the Limiteer realm. There was just too much of a gap between the two.

    The surrounding students were stunned at the scene, and they were still processing what had just happened. Only a few of them had heard of the rumors saying the Daynight n had plotted against Lu Yin.

    The Dao of Heaven only held Rou Daynight. Lu Yin¡¯s next target was Tiankong Daynight in the Dao of ughter.

    News of Rou Daynight being killed quickly spread, though Lu Yin already appeared at his next destination by the time Tiankong Daynight received the information.

    ¡°Lu Yin, do you really want to make the Daynight n your enemy?¡± Tiankong Daynight was nervous; the pressure that Lu Yin was exerting was too much for him to bear.

    Lu Yin pressed down with his palm in a simr manner as before, not allowing Tiankong Daynight to escape with extreme speed. The difference between the two was also too vast, and his second target was thus easily wiped out.

    The next target was in Undying Realm, which was the trial zone with the most amount of Daynight n members. It was also the realm that Nightqueen Yanqing was Realm Master of.

    The entire Astral Combat Academy was boiling with excitement when all the students learned that Lu Yin had killed two Daynight n Area Masters one after the other and that he had even announced that Daynight n members were not allowed to enter the trial zones. This was an act of war against the Daynight n, whose authority had gone unchallenged for so many years.

    Kuang Wang almost spat out a mouthful of water when he heard of this news. He was in disbelief. ¡°Lu Yin actually challenged the entire Daynight n!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s banishing all the Daynight members from the trial zones. He¡¯s gone crazy!¡± another female student eximed. She was one of the students who had been training in the green forest, and she had personally witnessed Lu Yin crushing Rou Daynight to death.

    Liu Xiaoyun frowned when she received the news. The Astral Combat Academy is getting livelier, but what is Lu Yin trying to achieve? He might be able to suppress the Daynight n in the Astral Combat Academy, but what about when he eventually leaves? The Daynight n is a powerful n that can dominate the universe and he¡¯s not being very prudent about his actions. Hold on. Liu Xiaoyun suddenly stood up as a sh of understanding went through her eyes. She knew that Lu Yin was no idiot, so he definitely had something to rely on if he dared to go up against the Daynight n, but just what was he relying on?

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time visiting the Undying Realm. The Three Realms Six Daos were collectively called the Nine Trial Zones, but the Three Realms surpassed even the Six Daos. This realm would belong to Astral-10 in future.

    Not far away, a figure rushed off into the distance; it was a Daynight junior. He had just entered the Undying Realm, but then, he had seen Lu Yin. He immediately avoided Lu Yin as the news of him attacking the Daynight n was already widespread.

    However, he was quickly intercepted by Lu Yin and beaten down with a single palm.

    The man regretted ever entering, and he would have immediately exited the Undying Realm if he had known what kind of fate was awaiting him. But it was toote, as it was impossible to leave the trial zones during a battle. He was summarily killed by a single palm from Lu Yin.

    The star energy from Lu Yin¡¯s body extended outwards as he continued to search for more students.

    Another was quickly captured by Lu Yin, and he had a bitter expression as he was forced to take Lu Yin to the Heavenly Drum, which was the most famous training ground within the Undying Realm. upying the Heavenly Drum was equivalent to possessing the Undying Realm and bing its Realm Master. Naturally, Nightqueen Yanqing was the master of the Heavenly Drum.

    At this time, members of the Daynight n were entering the Undying Realm one after another and congregating at the Heavenly Drum.

    Not only were the Daynight n members gathering there, but many other students had arrived as well. A whole crowd had formed next to the Heavenly Drum, all of them awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    The Heavenly Drum was a giant battle drum that was a thousand kilometers wide on one surface. It was tly ced within a mountain range, and it was formed from mutant beast hides. It was beat every month, and its sounds would cause a battlefield to appear. Anyone in the area at that time could observe the ancient battlefield and view all sorts of battle techniques. The luckier ones would be pulled within and get to personally witness the battle techniques. This was the inheritance.

    The Heavenly Drum was the Undying Realm¡¯s greatest treasure, and it had always been controlled by the Daynight n. And most of the Daynight n members had joined Astral-3 because of the Heavenly Drum¡¯s benefits.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was furious by the recent news, as she never expected that Lu Yin would be so daring as to actually take action against the Daynight n. And now, he even wanted to snatch the Heavenly Drum away from them. Was he really willing to go this far just to seek revenge for that slut, Zhuo Daynight?

    A figure appeared in the skies; it was Feng Shang, Astral-8¡¯s student leader and the Realm Master of the Dao of Illusion.

    Feng Shang slowly descended to alight atop the Heavenly Drum where more than twenty Daynight n members were gathered. He looked at Nightqueen Yanqing with aplex expression. ¡°The favors that I owe you will all be returned today, regardless of whether or not Lu Yin appears. After today, there will no longer be any rtionship between us.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing had a cold gaze, ¡°Fine.¡±

    Feng Shang slowly released a breath and then closed his eyes. He really did not want to make Lu Yin his enemy, as he rather admired Lu Yin¡¯s style. Also, Feng Shang felt that the Daynight n had truly gone overboard this time. However, he owed the n too many favors, and he could not just ignore his debts.

    Surrounding the Heavenly Drum, many students were anticipating the big incident that was about to ur.

    Wu Da had also arrived, and he was hardly able to contain his excitement. His newspaper was selling well, and he still had enough material from the Astral Combat Tournament to publish another two issues. However, he was rather troubled about what he could release after that. He had initially thought that he would have to wait for someone like Grandini Mavis to challenge another student leader for their position, but this rumor suddenly popping out of nowhere had eased his worries away.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re really my lucky star. I¡¯ll love you for a thousand years,¡± Wu Da muttered to himself as he excitedly stared at the Heavenly Drum. He was already mentally prepared to exaggerate the descriptions of this battle since it would definitely be famous throughout the Astral Combat Academ- no, throughout the entire universe!

    ¡°Nightqueen Yanqing actually brought Feng Shang along since she knows that she can¡¯t beat Lu Yin by herself.¡± Some students were discussing the nearby events that were unfolding.

    Wu Da hurried over, as these discussions were treasured opinions from the audience that could supplement his article on the event. He needed to collect more information on these spective discussions.

    ¡°Nightqueen Yanqing already lost to Lu Yin during the Astral Combat Tournament, and she can¡¯t have improved that much in just two months. Lu Yin¡¯s different¡ªhe even ascended from the Melder realm to the Limiteer realm. He won¡¯t be suppressed by Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s star energy anymore, and his physical body will also have qualitatively transformed and be even stronger. It¡¯d be strange if she was still be his opponent.¡±

    ¡°Can the Daynight n win with Feng Shang on their side? He¡¯s not in the top four.¡±

    ¡°Feng Shang¡¯s not weak either. If he hadn¡¯t run into Starsibyl, then he would have battled against Grandini Mavis. Amongst the ten student leaders, he¡¯s probably in the upper half.¡±

    ¡­

    Wu Da muttered to himself as he recorded down all thements being exchanged around him.

    ¡°Hey, do you think that Feng Shang and Nightqueen Yanqing had an affair? If not, why would he help her?¡±

    When Wu Da heard that conjecture, his eyes lit up as he immediately wrote it down. This gossip was rted to the battle, and there was definitely something newsworthy among all this gossip.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk crap. How is that even possible? The Daynight n members don''t marry outside of the n. That rule has been passed down for ages.¡±

    ¡°Feng Shang is the third son of the Feng family, and he doesn¡¯t have a weak position himself. Despite that, he still can¡¯t match up to Nightqueen Yanqing. It¡¯s impossible.¡±

    ¡­

    Amidst the ongoing discussions, a heavy feeling of oppression suddenly swept across the area, causing everyone to look up and see Lu Yin appear.

    All of the Daynight n members rose up from the Heavenly Drum and stared at Lu Yin with fury carved in their faces.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s gaze was cold.

    Feng Shang¡¯s was helpless.

    Lu Yin towered above them in the sky and looked down as his gaze swept across all the Daynight n members before finally stopping on Feng Shang. ¡°Brother Feng, you¡¯re helping the Daynight n?¡±

    Feng Shang smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. I owe Nightqueen Yanqing a favor, and I have no choice but to repay it today.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just a duel, so I won¡¯t bear any grudges against you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I, Feng Shang, have no enmity with you either,¡± Feng Shang shouted back.

    Nightqueen Yanqing frowned and looked at Lu Yin with her cold and arrogant purple eyes. ¡°You actually dared to appear here and challenge the Daynight n. This will be thest bit of regret you feel in your life.¡±

    ¡°Just try and make me feel regret,¡± Lu Yin savagely barked back. A purple aura marked with dark-gold lines shrouded his body. His five-lined battle force burst forth from his body as he ferociously dropped down towards the Heavenly Drum.

    At the same time, Feng Shang waved his hand and caused the entire area to turn green; this was his domain. Nightqueen Yanqing also activated her four-lined battle force as she yelled out, ¡°Nightking¡¯s Body.¡±

    Around the two of them, more than twenty Daynight n members leapt up to attack Lu Yin.

    Boom!

    A shockwave pulsed through the Heavenly Drum, creating a visible hurricane that swept outwards from the Heavenly Drum. A portion of the nearby mountains copsed, and a sinkhole appeared in the ground as more than ten students were instantly shredded to pieces.

    The force of this collision was astounding.

    Seven Daynight n members had already been obliterated; their participation had not made much a difference in this battle. The main force that was contending against Lu Yin was formed from thebined forces of Feng Shang and Nightqueen Yanqing.

    There were only a few instances in the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s history of two Realm Masters uniting to fight against one person, but another case was happening right now.

    Lu Yin swept out with one leg and directly sent Nightqueen Yanqing flying. He then turned around to swat at Feng Shang with his palm, who had also thrust out with his palm. ¡°Cyclone Strike.¡±

    The sheer force of this hurricane had defeated Sha during the tournament, and today, this same vortex was now colliding with Lu Yin¡¯s Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. The first de of wind was instantly crushed while the second de could only resist eight stacks. The strength of the ninth stackpletely dissipated the third wind de and went on to crash into Feng Shang¡¯s body, forcing him to m into the Heavenly Drum, which emitted a thunderous noise.

    Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force was invincible, or at the very least, it was against these two; Lu Yin had only made one move, but Feng Shang was already heavily injured. Even though this was not as shocking as when Starsibyl instantly wiped Feng Shang out, it was simrly horrifying.

    The dozen or so remaining Daynight n members all used their own battle techniques to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin snorted and vanished with sh. He then mmed down on the various Daynight n members with a palm attack that engulfed them all. He instantly closed his hand, disregarding the fact that there were even some Area Masters among his targets. Still, they were nothing to him, and were utterly unable to escape their fate of being crushed to death.

    Outside the Heavenly Drum, Xia Ye was shocked. This was Lu Yin? Five-lined battle force was just too overpowering! Even though they had awakened their battle force at around the same time, the disparity between them had be too great.

    At that moment, Nightqueen Yanqing appeared behind Lu Yin and violently shouted, ¡°Go die!¡± She then instantly let loose a Nightking Punch.

    Lu Yin turned around and raised his hand. A shockwave pulsed straight down into the ground, splitting it open. The shockwave itself was an attack, and it shattered the void, causing a long spatial crack to extend into the distance.

    Everyone stared at the sky in amazement; Lu Yin had single-handedly received Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s strongest blow, but he hadn¡¯t even taken a single step yet.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. How is this possible? She recalled their battle two months earlier, when this person had used his five-lined battle force to defeat her. But at that time, he definitely would not have been able to deflect her strongest punch so easily. That was her Nightking Punch after being powered up by her Nightking¡¯s Body and four-lined battle force!

 Chapter 255: Lu Yinâ€™s Background

    <h4>Chapter 255: Lu Yin¡¯s Background</h4>

    ¡°From now on, this ce belongs to me,¡± Lu Yin proudly proimed as he grabbed Nightqueen Yanqing. He exerted some strength through the hand holding onto Nightqueen Yanqing and easily shattered her right shoulder. Another punch passed through the void to connect with her abdomen, sending her flying into a distant mountain range.

    Lu Yin felt a chill from behind him as Feng Shang suddenly appeared. ¡°Sorry, but this will be myst strike.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother turning around since he had always been on guard against Feng Shang. He had seen how fast Feng Shang was, and this person¡¯s battle experience surpassed all the other student leaders. Feng Shang would not be that easily defeated, though Lu Yin still did not understand how Starsibyl had instantly killed Feng Shang. Regardless, by no means was he weak.

    The green domain filling the earth and sky dissipated as Feng Shang struck at Lu Yin¡¯s neck with his palm. His The speed transcended the void and sliced right through it.

    Lu Yin did not move and allowed Feng Shang¡¯s attack to strike him unimpeded. But then, Lu Yin¡¯s body slowly dissipated, as it had been only a phantom image. He himself had already vanished.

    Feng Shang¡¯s eyes widened in shock. When did he do that?

    Suddenly, he felt an intense pain in his back before his body disappeared from the Undying Realm.

    Lu Yin reappeared as the phantom afterimage slowly vanished. When he had broken through to the Limiteer realm, his physical body had be even stronger. His speed when he used sh had naturally increased as well, so what did it matter if an attack could slice through the void? Lu Yin could rip through the void with his body now, the same as a space-exploring powerhouse.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was in a sorry state as she charged out of the copsed mountains, screaming. She frantically red at Lu Yin as she yelled, ¡°I want you dead!¡±

    Lu Yin was unconcerned as this woman was no longer worth his consideration, although the current situation did need a proper conclusion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body shimmered as Nightqueen Yanqing suffered the same fate that Feng Shang had. Her body dissipated and disappeared from the Undying Realm as she had immediately perished.

    Everyone fell silent; the Daynight n had been entirely wiped out, including even Nightqueen Yanqing. From now on, Lu Yin was the Undying Realm¡¯s Realm Master.

    Many swallowed nervously, as this matter was too monumental. The Daynight n would not take this lying down, and they might even make moves outside of the Astral Combat Academy. Was Lu Yin really this fearless?

    Xia Ye was stunned; she could only feel Lu Yin¡¯s dominating aura.

    Wu Da was staring excitedly at Lu Yin. This person would never stop providing him with newsworthy material.

    Liu Xiaoyun left after watching the battle¡¯s conclusion from a distance. There was nothing else to see aside from Lu Yin¡¯s improvement in strength, although there would undoubtedly be trouble after this. The Daynight n¡¯s revenge would not be simple.

    From afar, Kuang Wang raised a thumb at Lu Yin. He was simrly vicious and arrogant, but even still, he did not dare to provoke the Daynight n. This Lu Yin was truly a freak.

    Even further away than Kuang Wang, a girl in white clothes with a cloth covering her face silently stared at Lu Yin. No one noticed her presence; in fact, they didn¡¯t even remember her being there, but if they rewatched the Astral Combat Tournament, then they would realize that this girl had been Astral-1¡¯s representative during the Tribute to the Ancestors section. She had vanished after that and not participated during the battle of drawing lots.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw countless eyes. Shock, admiration, surprise, ridicule, sympathy, and many other various emotions were emanating from those eyes.

    He knew the consequences of his actions, but he did not regret them. As a man who wanted to live in this universe, he could not act cowardly or be overly cautious. While the Daynight n might retaliate harshly against him, he could not stand idly by and remain actionless out of fear, as that would affect his mental state.

    He had an Honor Point, the identity of a Lockbreaker, and the status of an Astral-10 student. His family would also help him from the dark, although it was unlikely that the Daynight n would personally act against him. It was possible that the Great Yu Empire might be implicated, but his rtionship with them was not that deep either. Also, the Great Yu Empire was definitely not as simple as it seemed; there were members of the Neohuman Alliance there, and it was also a point of interest for his family. Perhaps the Daynight n could even help to tear away its disguise.

    He was even less worried about Earth, as a high profile conflict between students would never implicate such a remote fringe. The Daynight n might do something to him if they feared his constitution, but they would never make trouble for Earth.

    Still, since his special constitution had never been confirmed, they might guess that his constitution had something to do with Earth. Lu Yin fell deep into thought. He had to resolve this matter too. He could not be too willful about this, or else he would just be painting a target on Earth. The only way was to divert their attention.

    But after all was said and done, what really gave Lu Yin the confidence to act this unbridled was none of the aforementioned reasons but rather a single person¡ªNightking Yuanjing. The squabbles of the n¡¯s juniors were insignificantpared to the importance of the Third Nightking. Unless the Third Nightking was saved, Lu Yin himself would always have value, and he would continue to be protected as long as he had even a trace of usefulness. The Daynight n would not act against him because of this, and this was what gave him the confidence to uproot them in the trial zones.

    As a result of this single battle, all of the Daynight n members were banished from the trial zones, and the Realm Master of the Undying Realm had also changed. News of this spread quickly, shocking even those who were not from the Astral Combat Academy.

    As the news continued to spread, the Daynight n grew increasingly humiliated.

    Atop the peak of Astral-3¡¯s trial zone mountain, Nightqueen Yanqing shrieked crazily with bloodshot eyes, ¡°I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU! SLAUGHTER YOU...¡±

    Below the trial zone mountain, Cang Shi suddenly opened his eyes. He had joined the Astral Combat Academy solely for the Astral Combat Tournament, but then had developed an interest in the trial zone after the tournament. Thus, he had thus decided to temporarily stay in the academy. Fortunately, he had not left yet, or else he would not have been able to witness such an interesting matter.

    Chaosgod Mountain was one of the rulers of the Innerverse¡¯s dark side. Dark was always paired with light, and there could be no darkness without light. Many of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s powerhouses had been forced into the darkness, as the Daynight n¡¯s manner was too vicious and overbearing for them to bear. They had forced many powerhouses to desperate straits and left them with no other choice but to walk the path of darkness. Today, Cang Si felt like Lu Yin was the next powerhouse to be forced on that path, so he quickly left to send an urgent message to Chaosgod Mountain. He could not allow the Daynight n to toy Lu Yin to death; his innate talent was too good.

    After screaming her lungs out, Nightqueen Yanqing suddenly opened her gadget and contacted the Daynight n. She wanted to make Lu Yin rue this day by taking her revenge on that slut.

    ¡°What did you say? Not enough authority? I am Nightqueen Yanqing, but I don¡¯t have the authority to put her on trial? I am Nightqueen Yanqing!¡± She was furious at the response that she received.

    ¡°I apologize, but Zhuo Daynight has been temporarily imprisoned. No one can put her on trial. These are Elder Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s orders.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was stunned. How could an insignificant Zhuo Daynight have possibly received Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s backing? He was an elder with an extremely lofty status in the n, and it made no sense as to why he would intervene in this matter.

    She closed her gadget and muttered to herself under her breath. She had a bad premonition that the reason why Lu Yin would dare to act so tantly against her n was directly rted to Nightking Yuanjing. How had they forged a connection? Or rather, was there someone behind Lu Yin who had ties that reached that far deep into the Nightking n?

    Nightqueen Yanqing became more terrified the more she thought about it; there were only a few powers that could influence the Nightking n. She thought about how Lu Yin had mastered five-lined battle force after being in the academy for barely over a year. Could the Great Yu Empire be behind this person? That was impossible, so there must be someone or something else. He had hidden his connections well.

    But no matter how deeply Lu Yin hid his background, it could not dissolve the fury in Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s heart. She was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s younger sister, so no matter how strong the power behind Lu Yin was, she did not fear it. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ power was not just in their personal strength but also in their authority. Even the great powers of the Neoverse had to show the Ten Arbiters respect! She did not believe that Lu Yin could suppress her.

    After ruminating over the situation some more, she quickly used her Nightking status to order the Daynight n to meddle in a war within the Frostwave Weave. She wanted to use the Great Yu Empire as the focus of her retaliation.

    Suddenly, her gadget beeped. She frowned and a surprised gaze surfaced on her face. Why is she calling me?

    ¡°Can we talk?¡± A melodious voice rang out through her gadget.

    ¡°About what?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s tone was gloomy.

    ¡°Your feud with Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with him?¡±

    ¡°Do I need to have a rtionship with him?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Otherwise, why would Starsibyl herself speak up for him?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing sneered.

    The person who had contacted her was Astral-1¡¯s student leader, Starsibyl. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m helping him. Rather, I made some divinations about him. With the final oue of the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s rankings, I will be able to extrapte whether or not this person will be of aid to me in the future. I do not wish for your grudge against him to affect the battle of the final four in the Astral Combat Tournament.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯spletely unrted to me.¡± Nightqueen Yanqing directly rejected Starsibyl¡¯s request.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already lost, and the Undying Realm¡¯s Heavenly Drum now belongs to Lu Yin. This is an indisputable fact. The Daynight n¡¯s experts have all been banished from the trial zones by Lu Yin, and this is all because of you alone. While you, Nightqueen Yanqing, might not care about the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones, this matter is still an irredeemable stain on your name. This affects not only your reputation, but also Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing frigidly responded, ¡°I will snatch back the Heavenly Drum back andpletely resolve the matter with Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Lockbreaker, a two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°What did you say? He¡¯s a Lockbreaker?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You can verify it yourself. He¡¯s not just a mere Lockbreaker¡ªhe also has an Honor Point. Additionally, Astral-10 is not as simple as it appears. You can deal with the Great Yu Empire and the people around him, but you will be rendered helpless against that person unless Nightking Zhenwu personally acts. Although, do you really think that he will risk offending the entire Lockbreaker Society for a single Lu Yin? All you are trying to take revenge for are two defeats while he can harm your rtives, friends, and your reputation.¡± Starsibyl had urately deduced all of Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s thoughts, as nothing was more important to the members of the Nightking n than their reputation. This was the main reason why Nightqueen Yanqing was so crazily focused on taking revenge against Lu Yin.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was indeed discouraged by Starsibyl¡¯s words, as Lu Yin¡¯s identity as a Lockbreaker was enough to make even her wary of striking back. However, it was still possible to assassinate him from the dark, as then, there would be no evidence for the Lockbreaker Society to retaliate with.

    ¡°Treat it as giving me some face, and let this matter end here and now. In return, I will allow you to use the Mirror of rity.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was stunned, as the Mirror of rity was the Lifeseek Realm¡¯s most valued training ground, just like how the Heavenly Drum was the Undying Realm¡¯s valuable training ground. Whoever controlled the Mirror of rity was the Lifeseek Realm¡¯s Realm Master. For as long as she could remember, Starsibyl had held this Mirror of rity, and no one else had been allowed to use it. Who would have thought that she was willing to pay such a price just for this Lu Yin.

    ¡°How about it? I¡¯ll let you use the Mirror of rity, and the Daynight n will no longer be targeted in the trial zones. Let¡¯s treat this as a truce within the Astral Combat Academy, each side taking a step back.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing took in a deep breath. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let him off for now.¡±

    ¡°Much appreciated,¡± Starsibyl said before disconnecting from the call.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes flickered as she snorted coldly. Despite agreeing on the surface call, she would use other, underhanded means, to get revenge as she would not definitely not let this matter end like this. She decided to find some other powers to act on her behalf and settle things with Lu Yin.

    But everything seemed to be going against Nightqueen Yanqing this day. Just as she was thinking about who she could look for, an order was transmitted that left her trembling. ¡°Do not touch Lu Yin. From the Nightking n elders.¡±

 Chapter 256: Council of Astral Academy

    <h4>Chapter 256: Council of Astral Academy</h4>

    Not long after Lu Yin snatched the heavenly drum from Nightqueen Yanqing, Starsibyl arrived at the Undying Realm¡¯s best training ground.

    Lu Yin was sitting atop the heavenly drum when he saw Starsibyl slowly walking towards him. His gaze remained calm. ¡°I was wondering who would be the first to show up. Never thought that it would be you.¡±

    ¡°You guessed that someone would appear?¡± Starsibyl smiled at Lu Yin and casually sat down beside him, not showing any trace of aloofness despite the difference in their statuses.

    Astonishment shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Everyone in the universe knows that the Nightking n ces great importance upon its reputation. It was basically guaranteed that someone would speak up for Nightqueen Yanqing since I took the heavenly drum from her. I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intentions of returning it.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m only here to ask you one question. Do you really think that your identity as a Lockbreaker canpletely protect you?¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. It seemed that his identity as a Lockbreaker could not be hidden from people after all, as those who wanted to investigate him would be able to easily find this information. The Lockbreaker Society did not value the secrecy of their members¡¯ identities very highly, as to them, a Lockbreaker was a treasure amongst humans, so there was no need to conceal it. This was the society¡¯s reasoning, and at this point, Lu Yin had no reason to continue concealing his status.

    His identity as a Lockbreaker could help Lu Yin differentiate between two types of people. Wendy Yushan had not been able to discover his identity, which signified that her authority was either not very great or at least unable to contact the Lockbreaker research association. Starsibyl and the alluring Madam Nn had easily discovered his identity, which just went to show the difference between these two groups of people.

    ¡°A two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker is indeed enough for Nightqueen Yanqing to restrain herself openly, but she can still easily take action in secret. Even though the Lockbreaker Society will defend their members even when they are in the wrong, they aren¡¯t so foolish as to be enemies with the Nightking n over a dead person. Even if there¡¯s any evidence, nothing will happen to Nightqueen Yanqing, and the matter will be resolved with somepensation and an apology at most. The Nightking n can also easilye up with a justification for the Lockbreaker Society. As for Astral-10¡¯s protection, you cannot expect to never leave Astral-10.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her straight in the face. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but sometimes, I can¡¯t control my temper. Also, since you¡¯re here, it means that you must¡¯ve made a deal with that insane woman Yanqing.¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t show mercy with your hands or your words. After all, she¡¯s still a girl.¡±

    Lu Yin was not swayed. ¡°More like a lunatic.¡±

    ¡°The people behind you, your friends and rtives, will not be able to withstand the pressure of the Nightking n. You must spare a thought for them.¡±

    Lu Yin leisurely stretched as he said, ¡°Cut to the chase.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t pit yourself against the Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Just that?¡±

    Starsibyl nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her curiously. ¡°Although I haven¡¯t known that insane woman, Yanqing, for very long, I understand her well enough. She will not end a battle without exacting some sort of price.¡±

    ¡°I have already paid the price for you.¡±

    ¡°You did? Why?¡±

    Starsibyl sighed before replying, ¡°You must know that there¡¯s a president of the Council of Astral Academy. I am the current president. The stability of the general student body within the Astral Combat Academy is my responsibility, and it is one that was ced upon me by the Ten Arbiters Council. As such, I must pay some price to assure its stability.¡±

    Lu Yin was not naive, so why would he believe such words? However, if Starsibyl had really paid the price for them, then there was another problem looming on the horizon: there was no such thing as a free lunch in this universe. What did this woman want from him?

    Starsibyl stood up, and a gentle fragrance wafted over to Lu Yin. She smiled at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink things. I¡¯m not plotting against you.¡±

    Lu Yin got up as well. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not getting the short end of the stick anyways.¡±

    She smiled, ¡°You¡¯re very amusing.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ve always believed that I¡¯m emotionally insensitive and slow-witted.¡±

    Starsibyl turned around and slowly started walking away. ¡°You¡¯re already a member of the Council of Astral Academy, so find some time to meet everyone and formally establish your new position.¡± She then directly exited the Undying Realm.

    Lu Yin watched her vanish as he pondered the situation. Although the Astral Combat Academy was a single institution, the politics brewing beneath its surface were not simple. Starsibyl was immeasurably mysterious while Nightqueen Yanqing was tyrannical, and there was also that deceptively simple Han Chong hiding in a corner. With all the various powers vying for dominance, it was less of an institution and more of a microscopic reflection of the struggle between the various powers of the universe. Hence, him joining the Council of Astral Academy was akin to skewering himself to be roasted over the fire. Perhaps someone would contact him soon.

    ¡°That¡¯s Starsibyl? It can¡¯t be, she looks like a student. Isn¡¯t Starsibyl a powerhouse? Someone who can rival the Ten Arbiters?¡± The Ghost Monkey had his misgivings.

    ¡°Starsibyl is not just a single person. Multiple candidatespete for the title.¡±

    ¡°Competition for the job, huh? Interesting... you should stay careful of that woman. Even our star domain has heard a great deal about Starsibyl, and none of it is very pleasant. She has her own plots and schemes, so don¡¯t end up working for her or else you¡¯ll just end up being used and betrayed by her,¡± the Ghost Monkey cautioned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was also thinking of this possibility. He really was not confident in facing against her schemes. This was mainly because of Lu Yin¡¯s limited understanding of the universe¡¯s power structure, which allowed others to easily plot against him. The only method that he had to resist her schemes was to simply limit his contact with her.

    ¡°Speaking of which, bro, you¡¯re really ruthless. You even destroyed the Daynight n¡¯s reputation!¡± the Ghost Monkey marvelled, but Lu Yin remained silent.

    ¡°Still, the oues should be sometimes considered as well. What if the Daynight n deploys some experts to assassinate you? I¡¯m also afraid, as that¡¯s a strong n that even dared to directly invade the Astral Beast Domain! You¡¯re just a Limiteer and will be easily crushed in the face of their might. I¡¯ll be so unlucky if that happens. I¡­¡±

    Lu Yin lost his temper at its incessant rambling. ¡°Shut up! Answer my question if you don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    ¡°What question?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that the Daynight n cannot save the Third Nightking?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you before. It¡¯s for sure, definite, and certain.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. As long as the Third Nightking can¡¯t be rescued, I¡¯ll still be valuable to them.¡±

    ¡°Valuable my ass. Do you really think the Nightking n believes that you can help them?¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s even a glimmer of hope, then the Nightking n won¡¯t be willing to allow anything to happen to me.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey agreed. ¡°That¡¯s also true. The Third Nightking is too important to them. Even if they¡¯re certain that you know nothing, they still won¡¯t let anything happen to you. This is just human psychology.¡±

    ¡°But what should I do if they look for me? I¡¯ll have to offer some useful intelligence.¡± This was Lu Yin¡¯s main concern, as if he didn¡¯t hold any value, Nightking Yuanjing would not continue to protect him. His opponents were not only Nightqueen Yanqing, as the next to act would be Nightking Zhenwu. He was the great threat.

    The Ghost Monkey fell silent.

    Lu Yin was not in a hurry, though. The two were already of one body, so if Lu Yin died, the monkey would not be able to survive either. And since he knew that there was a high chance that he would have to face Nightking Yuanjing some time in the future, Lu Yin had to prepare some contingency intelligence for him.

    Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s conflict had been temporarily resolved due to Starsibyl¡¯s intervention. Over the next few days, there were asionally some Daynight n experts who came to the heavenly drum, but it had already been upied by Lu Yin.

    Astral-10 students could now visit the heavenly drum whenever they wished, and Coco yed the drums there to her heart¡¯s content. However, Hui Daynight never visited even though he had not helped the Daynight n fight against Lu Yin either. He was stuck in an awkward position. Still, neither Nightqueen Yanqing or Tiankong Daynight had sought him out, and thetter had even protected Hui Daynight once.

    It felt as if Hui Daynight had been exiled.

    Just like that, half a month calmly passed by. Dao Bo and Han Chong returned from the warfront during this time, and Lu Yin was finally able to formally call for the Council of Astral Academy to convene with his identity as Astral-10¡¯s student leader.

    In the Dao of God, Lu Yin silently stood beneath the Tilting Tower. Not far away from him stood Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang, who were the first to arrive. Han Chong arrived soon after, and he looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression, or rather, an expression of surprise.

    Lu Yin had a peaceful look on his face, even though the Astral Combat Academy was still abuzz with the news of him and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s conflict.

    Starsibyl also arrived at that moment, and she smiled at Lu Yin before taking a stance nearby.

    Many students had appeared and gathered quite a distance from the Tilting Tower, gazing over in amazement. This was a gathering of the ten student leaders: the Council of Astral Academy. Such a thing was a rare sight.

    Wu Da also arrived, as he would not miss any newsworthy event for his life. However, he wasn¡¯t qualified to listen to the council¡¯s discussions and could barely see or hear anything, as the void around the meeting area was distorted.

    Next, Dao Bo and Liu Yin arrived.

    Feng Shang arrived as well, and he smiled apologetically at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not bothered by the past incident with Feng Shang, especially since he had not been disadvantaged in any way. He had only found the battle somewhat ridiculous, as his first opponent in the ported battles had been Feng Shang, and he had instantly destroyed Lu Yin. That incident had caused Lu Yin to lose some confidence, but that debt had been paid back with interest now.

    There was only one person left: Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Xue Liuyun had died at the warfront, so Astral-4 was temporarily devoid of a student leader. Lu Yin felt that Sha was the most likely sessor, as his power spoke for itself and he had even defeated Xue Liuyun. He was publicly recognised as Astral-4¡¯s strongest student, but he had not returned yet either.

    Nightqueen Yanqing appeared with a whoosh and arrogantly stared down at the rest of the student leaders. She was seething with anger when she nced at Lu Yin, but she ultimately refrained from saying anything. She then descended with an aura that clearly expressed her annoyance.

    ¡°Alright, excluding Xue Liuyun who was killed in action, all the other Academy leaders have gathered here today. I shall represent the Ten Arbiters Council and Astral Combat Academy to formally announce that Lu Yin has joined the Council of Astral Academy, which has the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the students of the Astral Combat Academy. Along with the authority of the Ten Arbiters Council, the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the younger generation and to uphold the Ten Arbiters Council¡­¡± Starsibyl had many formalities to go through. The others had all heard it all before, but it was Lu Yin¡¯s first time.

    He paid some attention to one sentence, though. What did ¡°along with the authority of the Ten Arbiters Council, the responsibility to supervise, test, and protect the younger generation¡± mean? Was the Council of Astral Academy responsible for more than just the Astral Combat Academy?

    A thought suddenly urred to Lu Yin, and he quickly realized that it was possible that Nightqueen Yanqing had spent so much energy to keep him from joining the Council of Astral Academy for another reason besides the special constitution that they believed him to have. It was possible that the Council of Astral Academy was not as simple as it initially seemed to be.

    Soon, Starsibyl finished her customary speech and then looked at Lu Yin. She smiled and asked, ¡°Student Lu, is there anything that you don¡¯t understand?¡±

    ¡°Almost everything.¡± Lu Yin was very direct.

    Starsibyl was stumped by his response while Kuang Wang and Dao Bo bothughed and shook their heads.

    Nightqueen Yanqing contemptuously looked down at Lu Yin with a trace of ridicule.

    Starsibyl gently said, ¡°It seems that you have absolutely no understanding of the Council of Astral Academy.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed, saying, ¡°No one has told me anything about it before.¡±

    Starsibyl had a helpless expression as she exined, ¡°Very well then, I¡¯ll give you a brief introduction. Generally, the student council helps the academy supervise the student body. However, the Astral Combat Academy is rather unique, as the mentors rarely test us and we students are primarily self-governed. Over time, the Council of Astral Academy¡¯s authority has expanded, and with the formation of the Ten Arbiters Council, the Council of Astral Academy¡¯s responsibilities have grown to include not only the Astral Combat Academy but the rest of the universe as well.¡±

 Chapter 257: Fallen Ring

    <h4>Chapter 257: Fallen Ring</h4>

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The entire universe?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. You should know that the Council of Astral Academy¡¯s position is equal to the Outerverse Youth Council. Did you believe that this position is just for show? The Astral Combat Academy is the Innerverse¡¯s top institution and is equivalent to the Outerverse Youth Council in its ability to handle the Innerverse¡¯s matters. You can treat the Council of Astral Academy as the Innerverse Youth Council, as it supervises the younger generation of the smaller Flowzones aside from the eight great Flowzones.¡±

    Only now did Lu Yin understand just what sort of privilege had been bestowed upon him. The Innerverse contained eightrge Flowzones that upied arge area of the Innerverse. However, there were also many smaller Flowzones, and although the Council of Astral Academy had no authority over the eightrger Flowzones, their authority over these smaller Flowzones was enough to elevate the student council¡¯s position to the point of it rivaling the Outerverse Youth Council. This was, after all, the Innerverse, and there was a fundamental difference between it and the Outerverse.

    Dao Bo spoke up, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away, though. We¡¯re only administrators. We hold these positions, but we¡¯re ultimately unable to make any real decisions. If there¡¯s a problem, we still have to report it to the Ten Arbiters Council. Just us students alone are not able to handle the Innerverse¡¯s matters.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing sneered. ¡°Even though we are only administrators, our authority is not small either. Those bumpkins from the fringe weaves can never understand the concept of our sort of authority.¡±

    Lu Yin had no time to bother with her. He now held a clearer understanding of the Ten Arbiters Council in his mind.

    There were two major subsidiary councils under the Ten Arbiters Council. The first was the Outerverse Youth Council, and it supervised the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation with its members being assigned to different weaves or even different powers, such as the Great Yu Empire Youth Council which had been set up to oversee the Great Yu Empire.

    The other subsidiary was the Council of Astral Academy, which aided the Ten Arbiters Council in supervising the Innerverse, and their domain was everything aside from the eight great Flowzones. This council could only supervise the younger generation of the other Flowzones and could not take any independent actions.

    The Ten Arbiters Council itself focused on the eight great Flowzones of the Innerverse.

    The threebined formed the terrifying Universe Youth Council that was ruled by the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Any other questions?¡± Starsibyl asked Lu Yin.

    ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°By the order of the Ten Arbiters, you, Lu Yin, a member of the Council of Astral Academy, are to supervise the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students as well as the younger generation of the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°The Northline Flowzone?¡± Feng Shang was astonished by the appointment and gave Lu Yin a strange look.

    Lu Yin felt something was off from Feng Shang¡¯s attitude and was puzzled as well. ¡°Where¡¯s the Northline Flowzone?¡±

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°The Northline Flowzone lies between the zing Mist Flowzone and the Beast Tamers Flowzone. It¡¯s simr in size to the Frostwave Weave, and the flowzone is controlled by seventeen ns and a military school, the Shangwu Academy. You can look up the other details.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but then nced at Feng Shang and then at Starsibyl. ¡°I have another question.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡± Starsibyl seemed to treat Lu Yin well, although Nightqueen Yanqing appeared dissatisfied by it.

    ¡°By joining the Council of Astral Academy, am I still able to join the Outerverse Youth Council?¡±

    The rest looked at him in shock, and Nightqueen Yanqing took the opportunity to mock him. ¡°Such ambition! A bumpkin will always remain a bumpkin. Do you think that the Outerverse Youth Council is the same as the Council of Astral Academy? The Ten Arbiters may have given us simr statuses, but in terms ofbat power, all of the members of the Outerverse Youth Council are space-exploring powerhouses in the Top 100 Rankings. What can you offer to stand beside them?¡±

    Dao Bo spoke, ¡°It¡¯s theoretically possible, as long as you have the strength.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted before then asking, ¡°Can I meet the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Everyone fell silent.

    Han Chong finally responded, ¡°Not for now. Even we haven¡¯t met them yet, so there¡¯s no need to think about this.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless as he knew that this was how the Ten Arbiters maintained their secrecy. He had not thought that, even after joining the Council of Astral Academy he would still not be able to meet the Ten Arbiters. Even now, he could not know of their identities.

    Starsibyl gave Lu Yin a series of numbers, which was how he could contact her through her gadget. The rest gave him their numbers as well, though Nightqueen Yanqing left right after.

    Kuang Wang patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and sympathizing said, ¡°Brother, you shouldn¡¯t provoke women. Especially a woman from such a powerful family.¡±

    ¡°Take care.¡±

    Starsibyl politely nodded at Lu Yin and then left the Tilting Tower.

    The rest left one after the other. Feng Shang walked over to apologize to Lu Yin again before leaving as well. In the end, the only one remaining was Liu Xiaoyun.

    ¡°Did you receive the invitation from the Sword Sect?¡± she asked in astonishment.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but after thinking about it for a moment, he remembered that Elder Cai had indeed told him about such an invitation after the tournament. ¡°Yes, although I¡¯m not nning on going to the Sword Sect for the time being.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun did not say much, but there now seemed to be a trace of approval in her gaze. Not everyone could bring themselves to resist the Sword Sect¡¯s allure, especially when they offered to treat Lu Yin as well as Liu Shaoqiu along with other great conditions. If the first Flowzone was considered a dynasty, then Lu Yin would have be its crown prince. It was scary that he was actually able to resist this, which made Liu Xiaoyun admire him.

    ¡°Right, out of curiosity, do the student leaders usually stay at the academy all year long?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She shook her head in response. ¡°Not most of the time. We¡¯ll generally find an agent to handle academy matters for us.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the Flowzone assigned to us by the Ten Arbiters Council?¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun looked at Lu Yin seriously and thought to herself for a moment before answering. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to tell you this, as each person has their own preferred methods and personality. You can figure it out yourself, or you could wait for orders from above.¡±

    Lu Yin watched Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s figure vanish into the distance and fell deep into thought. There seemed to be no strict guidelines on how the Ten Arbiters Council wanted them to handle their responsibilities. His current impression of the Ten Arbiters Council was that their authority seemed to be positioned in the middle of the universe¡¯s power structure and that they were directly controlling the younger generation so as to gain control of the universe in future.

    It was amazingly bold that ten youths would dare to do such a thing.

    Lu Yin breathed deeply and smiled. He raised his head as he realized that he had finally reached this step. One paper with the name ¡°Lu¡± on it had sent seventy-two others to their graves, and this had been a result of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ ruling. There woulde a day when he confronted those ten for that matter in the past.

    In the distant skies, a giant spacecraft rushed to the north while carrying the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation elites. These people were on their way to undergo training, and those who passed would be eligible to join Yu Academy. This was the Yu Academy¡¯s selection method.

    After watching the Astral Combat Tournament, the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire had be extremely excited, and all of them were looking forward to joining the Astral Combat Academy. They all hoped to step onto the glorious stage of the wider universe, as King Zishan had already be a role model who they wanted to emte.

    Jenny Auna hugged her knees and sat down in her room. She was at a loss for what to do, and her eyes were unfocused while her long hair hungnk. She did not know if she wanted to wait for Lu Yin to return to marry her, or to boldly go out and search for the happiness that she had once longed for.

    Ever since she had returned from the Fireforge, she had been unable to forget that zing king of a man. Those two scorching eyes had thawed her heart, and she now often dreamed of reuniting with him. She longed to marry him, and she didn¡¯t even mind that the Fireforge¡¯s environment was not suitable for Auna n members.

    But right now, she was further from her dream than she had ever been. Lu Yin was like an untraversable mountain obstructing her path. This feeling had only intensified ever since the Astral Combat Tournament, as everyone worshipped him while being envious of her for being his future wife. But all of this supposed glory was just an intense nightmare for Jenny. The more brilliant Lu Yin became, the deeper she sank into the nightmare.

    She sighed withplicated emotions as she took out an exquisite ring. This ring had been given to her by Lu Yin, and although it was beautiful, it was hideous to her.

    She walked outside and paused at the corridor, where she saw meteorite after meteorite streak past her.

    At that point, her gadget beeped with a new notification.

    Jenny Auna looked at it and her eyes widened as she grew ecstatic. ¡°Yan- Yan Feng, is that you?¡±

    Not too far away from Jenny, Jeraldine was distressed and frowning. For this Yu Academy¡¯s selection test, she held no confidence in herself and did not know if she would be able to join it. Although she was a top student in the First Military School, she was too far behind those elites. Whenever she stared at the sky, she remembered that bastard, that repulsive bastard who had hoodwinked, threatened, and ckmailed her. And yet, somehow, he had managed to walk onto the most dazzling stage of the entire universe. How was this possible?

    ¡°Mm, Brother Yan Feng, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± A nearby excited voice sounded out, causing Jeraldine to pause as she peeked around the corner. Jenny Auna was excitedly running to her room while she had left an exquisite ring on the floor behind her.

    Jeraldine grew curious since she knew this woman was Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e. She had been paying attention to her ever since she had boarded the spacecraft. Thus, she knew that Jenny had originally been worried and pensive, but now, she had suddenly turned happy. Yan Feng... Who is that?

    Jeraldine was still mulling things over when a gust blew past her, as Jenny Auna had quickly sped past her and off into the distance.

    Jeraldine walked up and picked the ring off of the ground. It was beautiful, and she sighed as she inspected it more carefully. A great n was indeed a great n, and they could even afford to disregard such a beautiful piece of jewelry. She could even sell this ring for a pretty profit. Hold on, this is exactly what that scoundrel would do! A vile feeling welled up when she realized that she was also having such crooked thoughts.

    One dayter, on the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star, in an office of the Auna n, Xueshan Auna violently threw his teacup to the floor. ¡°That fool actually dared to do something like that! Bring her back!¡±

    Rocky Auna had an ugly expression on his face. ¡°Brother, this is a delicate situation. We can¡¯t forcefully capture her and gather too much attention to us. Otherwise, our Auna n will be theughingstock of the entire Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Xueshan Auna gasped for air and closed his eyes before speaking again in a pained manner. ¡°I never thought that I, Xueshan Auna, would have lived such a shrewd life only to have it be ruined by this brat. She actually dares to abandon us and elope with that Fireforge youngster! It¡¯s too absurd!¡±

    ¡°Jenny¡¯s too young and naive. Yan Feng¡¯s target has always been Princess Wendy, so why would he be suddenly willing to elope with Jenny? But brother, why would Yan Feng coax Jenny away from us? What good does that do for him? Has His Highness¡¯s n to attack Fireforge been leaked?¡± Rocky Auna made some guesses at what had happened, but he was bewildered by what could have possibly motivated Fireforge to do this.

    Xueshan Auna shook his head. ¡°That can¡¯t be. Only a few know about these military ns, and they would not be leaked that easily. Besides, His Highness will not abandon his invasion ns just for Jenny.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then what are Yan Feng¡¯s goals?¡±

    Xueshan Auna thought about it for a moment, trying to recall who was associated with Jenny. He suddenly thought of something. ¡°Try to contact Schutz and ask him if anything has happened recently at the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    ¡°Brother, do you think that this might have something to do with King Zishan?¡±

 Chapter 258: Northline Flowzone

    <h4>Chapter 258: Northline Flowzone</h4>

    ¡°Aside from this, Jenny could have no other use for Yan Feng. King Zishan ced in the top four in the Astral Combat Tournament, and I heard that there is a Council of Astral Academy that holds an equivalent status to the Outerverse Youth Council. If King Zishan has joined the Council of Astral Academy, then it¡¯s very possible that Yan Feng would be moved to act.¡±

    Rocky Auna immediately left.

    Xueshan Auna had an agonized expression on his face as he watched Rocky Auna¡¯s retreating figure. He hoped that his guesses were not the truth, or else the Auna n would end up being drawn into an unimaginable crisis. Even a Hunter like himself could be trapped and ripped to pieces since this matter involved the Ten Arbiters Council.

    No matter how hard the Auna n tried to suppress it, news of Jenny Auna leaving her n inevitably spread. More importantly, someone from the Fireforge was taking care of her, and there was also a Daynight n member with her. This news shocked many, as why would the Daynight n be involved with Jenny Auna and the Fireforge?

    In the Great Yu Empire¡¯s pce, Undying Yushan was busy pondering the recent events. He had just formted his invasion ns for Fireforge, but then, the Daynight n had suddenly gotten involved. What was going on? The Daynight n and Jenny Auna werepletely unrted to this, so why had they suddenly appeared in the picture? Could this have something to do with little Yin?

    The case of an ordinary girl running away from home had suddenly escted to be an event that affected the entire Frostwave Weave.

    Back at Astral-10, in the Rain Observatory, Silver was calmly watching the continuous drizzle of rain when a smile suddenly bloomed on his face. It was too enjoyable, and although he wanted to wait for a while longer, an opportunity had already appeared, and the answers could soon be found. Brother Lu, it looks like we won¡¯t be able to spend much more time together.

    Lu Yin was also in Astral-10, and he had not contacted the world outside, and no one from outside had taken the initiative to contact him either. He was entirely unaware of what was happening back in the Frostwave Weave, though he was currently puzzled by the messages he was receiving on his gadget.

    He had logged into the Ten Arbiters Councilwork, where there was a lot of information stored. However, he could not ess much of it due to his limited authorization.

    With his current clearance, he could only ess information regarding the Northline Flowzone and the Outerverse. The only information that he could ess was rted to his authority. For these matters, he could either propose his own ns for them, solve them himself, or report the matters upwards to the council for them to resolve.

    But Lu Yin was still at a loss for what to do. There were ten pages for each of the Ten Arbiters, but he didn¡¯t know which one to send his opinions to.

    Lu Yin had been able to guess some things the moment he saw those ten pages. Among the Ten Arbiters, all ten of them were also striving for power against each other. The universe was like a cake that the ten were squabbling over. Whichever one of the Ten Arbiters that Lu Yin submitted his proposals to would be the one who he would be subordinate to in future.

    No wonder Liu Xiaoyun had advised him to wait. It wasn¡¯t for the possible proposals that he could submit, but rather because he should wait for the Ten Arbiters to make their positions on him clear.

    He had to choose one of the Ten Arbiters, but they also had to choose him.

    Lu Yin was caught in a dilemma, as he did not know who most of the Ten Arbiters were. He only knew of Nightking Zhenwu, Wen Sansi, Hart Phoenix¡¯s older brother, and also that person from the Sword Sect. He did not know the other six¡ªoh, right, there was also the one known as the War King and another called the Divine Fist. However, just knowing their titles was pointless.

    Should he just choose one at random? Lu Yin was thinking of the future, because once he made his choice, regardless of whether or not they epted him, his choice would be known. And if he was in fact rejected, it would be very embarrassing.

    There was also a one in ten possibility that he wouldnd on Nightking Zhenwu, which would be a joke.

    Mira had once said that she would rmend him as a candidate to join the Outerverse Youth Council, and that Wen Sansi was behind her. If Lu Yin had already been rmended, then did that mean that he would end up being Wen Sansi¡¯s subordinate?

    Lu Yin could not stop thinking what he should do, as this decision was crucial. He definitely needed the Ten Arbiters¡¯ support, or else him joining the Council of Astral Academy would not have much point.

    He looked at the Northline Flowzone page again, where most of his authority was disyed.

    ¡°Shangwu Academy¡¯s end-of-the-year tournament is about to start. May the Ten Arbiters Council member supervise it with fairness, impartiality, and publicity ording to their principles.

    ¡°Shangwu Academy has changed the trial at thest moment. May the Ten Arbiters Council member supervise it with fairness, impartiality, and publicity ording to their principles.¡±

    ¡­

    There were many messagesing from the Northline Flowzone, and most were regarding Shangwu Academy. It was the Northline Flowzone¡¯s best institution, and they needed a representative member from the Ten Arbiters Council to oversee their events ording to the rules. This concept was simr to what had been initially nned for Earth¡¯s trial, though at thest moment, the Great Yu Empire Youth Council had been disbanded, and Mira had appeared to supervise the trial.

    However, the Northline Flowzone had no Youth Council, so the Ten Arbiters had to assign someone to supervise. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have to personally go over.

    Generally, this sort of supervision was nothing more than a mere formality. Lu Yin could request the council to send a member there, but he did not know who he should send the request to. He had no time to do this himself, either, so he could only act as if he had not seen the messages. His only option was to stall until either the Ten Arbiters contacted him or until he had time.

    There were too many minor Flowzones like the Northline Flowzone. If each Flowzone¡¯s trial or tournament required a council member to supervise them, then there would not be enough members even if there were ten times as many subsidiary members of the Ten Arbiters Council. Hence, many supervisory requirements would be cancelled, depending on the member¡¯s wishes.

    ¡°If I had the time, I could go just to satisfy my craving to feel like a member, but I can¡¯t be considered a true member yet. In reality, I am not that much different from a regr student,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself as he browsed through thework.

    Over the next two days, Lu Yin remained inside and managed to learn some more things about the Ten Arbiters Council.

    Something big had happened in the Great Yu Empire, and the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ 13th captain, Liuying Zishan, had been severely injured.

    In the space above Zenyu Star, Undying Yushan stepped onto a spacecraft and soon saw the heavily injured Liuying Zishan. Her face was deathly pale, and she had many injuries covering her body.

    ¡°How is she?¡± Undying Yushan asked softly.

    ¡°Captain Liuying Zishan is not in any mortal danger, but she will need to rest for a while. Her organs have been heavily injured, and she won¡¯t be able to use her full strength for at least a year,¡± someone answered.

    A cold glint shed through Undying Yushan¡¯s eyes as he asked, ¡°Is there a recording of the battle?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, the space on one whole side of the battlefield was warped, and all of the records were destroyed. Only Captain Liuying Zishan knows the situation from that time,¡± a man beside the emperor spoke in a trembling voice.

    Undying Yushan looked at Liuying Zishan, who was lying within the nutrient bath and thought of the struggle taking ce within the Astral Combat Academy. He had found out about the situation within Astral Combat Academy and how Lu Yin had opposed Nightqueen Yanqing. Although Lu Yin had ultimately seeded in joining the Council of Astral Academy, it had caused a new enemy to rise up against the Great Yu Empire in the form of the Daynight n.

    But Undying Yushan had also heard that the hatred between Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing had been resolved by Astral-1¡¯s Starsibyl, so would the Daynight n itself truly have taken action? Even a fool could see that the Daynight member had appeared beside Jenny Auna due to the n¡¯s interest in Lu Yin.

    Undying Yushan was still thinking about the situation when a light beam suddenly appeared before him. His eyes widened drastically as a terrifying star energy exploded from his body and caused the heavens to freeze as a suppressive aura spread out. A single hand thrust through the treatment container, grabbing at Liuying Zishan¡¯s hair before snatching a flickering light chip away. Undying Yushan then tossed it away and tore the void open. Shortly after, the void off in the distance began to distort as a terrifying shockwave swept out, shattering many passing meteoroids.

    Everyone in the spacecraft was stunned. If that device had exploded inside of the spacecraft, then they would have all died. That explosion was powerful enough to easily kill Explorers.

    Undying Yushan¡¯s eyes were ice-cold, as this was the second attempt on his life in recent memory. It seemed that the person who had attacked Liuying Zishan was not satisfied with the current result and that they wanted to kill even more people of the Great Yu Empire.

    At that moment, the void distorted, and Huo Qingshan emerged. ¡°Your Highness, that object should havee from the Ross Empire in the zing Mist Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain?¡± Undying Yushan was taken aback.

    Huo Qingshan nodded solemnly. ¡°I once visited the ze Realm to train when I was young, and it¡¯s not far from the Ross Empire. Their weapons are easily identified.¡±

    ¡°Could someone have tried to copy the Ross Empire¡¯s weapons to try to shift the me onto them?¡±

    Huo Qingshan shook his head. ¡°That should not be possible. The Ross Empire¡¯s weapons are very difficult to copy, and based on the Innerverse¡¯s powers¡¯ attitude, they would not bother with such subterfuge.¡±

    ¡°Well done, Ross Empire.¡± Undying Yushan was furious. It did not take much to realize that the Daynight n was the one behind the Ross Empire¡ªwhy else would they act against the Great Yu Empire right now? The empire¡¯s students who had broken past the three powers during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam were not enough for the Ross Empire to act, especially since this much time had already passed; they would have intervened much earlier if they had wanted to.

    ¡°Your Highness, to be safe, we should put a hold on any external wars for now. The intervention of the Ross Empire will undoubtedly lead to more incidents like the one Captain Liuying Zishan suffered through,¡± Huo Qingshan advised.

    Undying Yushan sighed and nodded. ¡°Let the Duke know about this matter and caution him to be careful as well.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Shall we also inform Princess Wendy?¡±

    The emperor¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Since they¡¯ve acted against us, the opponent must have already factored her into their ns.¡±

    Huo Qingshan was right; there was no need for the Innerverse¡¯s powers to disguise their methods when acting against the Outerverse powers. The Ross Empire¡¯s powerhouses tantly stepped into the Frostwave Weave and joined the Great Yu Empire¡¯s enemies and began abined assault against the Great Yu Empire.

    Even if the Great Yu Empire ceased their war efforts, it was useless as the experts from the Ross Empire would continue with their attacks.

    Only then did Lu Yin finally learn of the matter. There was no need to guess who the primary culprit was. It was the Daynight n. Lu Yin¡¯s actions had drawn the Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s ire, as no one other than the Ten Arbiters could mobilize the Ross Empire.

    Although Starsibyl had resolved the dispute between Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing, she could not intervene between him and Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin had previously guessed that Nightking Zhenwu might act, but he had never thought that his actions would be so harsh and exaggerated; it was as if Lu Yin had beenpletely disregarded.

    To Nightking Zhenwu, there was no difficulty in suppressing the Great Yu Empire, as Lu Yin himself did not have the qualifications to meet any one of the Ten Arbiters as an equal.

    Lu Yin knew this himself, and he could not change Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s decision. Nightking Yuanjing could protect Lu Yin himself, but he could not protect the Great Yu Empire.

    However, did the Great Yu Empire really require protection?

    After learning more about the universe, Lu Yin had finally been able to grasp the general power level of the Outerverse. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s strength was definitely enough to conquer the Frostwave Weave and be its leading power. The only reason why it had not done so before was because it had been held back by the various Innerverse powers that had been struggling for the Undying Manual. If the Ross Empire underestimated the Great Yu Empire, then they would end up paying a steep price.

    Even so, this matter had initially arisen because of Lu Yin, so he had to think of a way to make up for it, or at least to shift the Daynight n¡¯s focus away from the Great Yu Empire. But he was only a student. How could he match up against the great Daynight n? They could easily dispatch a space-exploring powerhouse to eliminate him.

    He could not push for more with Nightking Yuanjing either, as the more information that Lu Yin revealed, the more danger he would end up inter on.

 Chapter 259: Outerverse Trial

    <h4>Chapter 259: Outerverse Trial</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s our valiant leader so stressed out about?¡± A voice sounded from behind Lu Yin, and when he turned around, he saw a cold foxy face in front of him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped when he saw Silver appear out of nowhere, ¡°The Daynight n is going to attack the Great Yu Empire. Are you guys not nning to do anything?¡±

    Silver feigned shock. ¡°Attack? Is this because you offended the Nightking n?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer, but that alone was tantamount to a tacit acknowledgement.

    Silver¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°This isn¡¯t an easy situation to resolve. That¡¯s the Daynight n that you¡¯re talking about, and you even offended their Nightking bloodline. That spells trouble.¡±

    ¡°If the Great Yu Empire is wiped out by the Daynight n, then your people will be in trouble too. Or at the least, your schemes in the Great Yu Empire will end.¡±

    Silver leisurely stretched out. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I do have some interesting information that I can sell you, although I¡¯m not sure if you can pay the price or not.¡±

    ¡°What information?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Silver beamed. ¡°Payment first, then the information.¡±

    Lu Yin took out a crystal Mavis Bank card. ¡°There are 450,000 star energy crystals in here.¡±

    Silver smirked. ¡°That¡¯s not what I want. I need information from you.¡±

    ¡°Information?¡± Lu Yin was astonished, but he could vaguely guess at what Silver was hinting towards.

    ¡°Since you were able to get in touch with a Nightking elder and even get that old fart Nightking Yuanjing to protect your little girlfriend, I want to know what price you paid to do so.¡± Silver¡¯s smile faded as he spoke seriously.

    Lu Yin considered the proposition; could he give Silver the information about the Third Nightking? This person was from the Neohuman Alliance and was an enemy of all humans. The Third Nightking was indeed from the Nightking n, but he was still a human who had bravely charged into the Astral Beast Domain on behalf of the Human Domain. Would telling Silver be akin to betraying the human race?

    ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you telling him?¡± The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin was at a loss for what to say.

    ¡°It looks like this brat isn¡¯t some virtuous person either. Only a few people know about the matter with Nightking Yuanjing, and apart from those directly involved, only the upper members of the Nightking n would know. And yet, this brat actually knows about it as well. Isn¡¯t that basically insinuating that he has ears in the Nightking n? That would be terrifying. Kid, is that what you¡¯re worried about?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin gently grunted.

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°So, is this price too high? Or would you rather sacrifice your Great Yu Empire to keep the price that you paid to the Nightking n secret? Or have you actually cast your lot in with the Nightking n?¡± Silver¡¯s voice was especially cold when he uttered thest sentence; Lu Yin had never heard him so icy before.

    ¡°This brat isn¡¯t easy to deal with. Just tell him about the Third Nightking,¡± the Ghost Monkey urged

    Lu Yin frowned, but he still refrained from answering.

    ¡°Rx, even if the news about the Third Nightking¡¯s tracks spreads into the Human Domain or even through the universe, no one will be able to save or harm him. The Astral Beast Domain has not managed to do so after so many years, so do you really think that your Human Domain can somehow do so? No one will be able to save or harm him, and the Third Nightking does not have a good character either. You can ask around¡ªthat guy wiped out many ns back in his days. The Nightking n¡¯s ruthlessness was in some part started by him,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin made his choice and looked at Silver, ¡°I gave Nightking Yuanjing a piece of information.¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened a bit more.

    ¡°The Third Nightking is in the Profound Void Realm of the Astral Beast Domain,¡± Lu Yin slowly exined. This sentence caused Silver¡¯s smile topletely vanish as a frigid coldness and a deep killing intent started surging forth from him.

    ¡°How do you know the location of the Third Nightking?¡± Silver asked solemnly.

    Lu Yin had never seen Silver like this before. ¡°I¡¯ve given you my side of the deal. You can tell me your information now.¡±

    Silver inhaled deeply and slowly calmed himself down. He then seriously answered, ¡°The Nightking n wants to extend their influence into the Outerverse and has decided to send experts to participate in the Outerverse trial. This trial is how the Outerverse Youth Council selects their members, and many people from both the Outerverse and Innerverse will participate, including dark powers like the pirates from the Astral River and the Chaos Flowzone. Even the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain may send their experts to participate.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lu Yin was bbergasted by this information. The Outerverse Youth Council had been established for many years, but this round¡¯s selection seemed to be exceptionally important.

    Silver shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the details, but many Innerverse ns want a foothold inside of the Outerverse Youth Council. They don¡¯t want one of their people n members to be just a subsidiary member, but rather an actual Councilor.¡±

    ¡°Councilor? What about the original ones?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Silver¡¯s lips quirked up in a disturbing manner. ¡°Half of the original ten are dead.¡±

    Lu Yin was badly shocked by this news. The Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s Councilors were all experts among the Top 100 Rankings, just like how Wendy Yushan was among the top twenty. There were members both weaker and stronger than her, but everyst one of them was an absolute expert. Now, however, half of them were dead.

    ¡°Is this shocking news to you? Don¡¯t pay it too much attention¡ªthis is a very normal matter. The universe is wonderful like that. No matter how strong you are, you can fall at any time, just like how the Third Nightking went missing and stunned the entire universe. Yet not long after that, everyone came to ept it. This is simply how the universe works,¡± Silver said with a grin before leaving .

    Lu Yin felt that Silver had specifically approached him to give him the news about the Daynight n. Why? Was it to provoke Lu Yin into stirring up trouble for them? The Neohuman Alliance already had someone in the Outerverse Youth Council, so why would they want to infiltrate it again?

    Lu Yin did not know what Silver¡¯s goals were, but he had at least received information that was useful to him. Right now, his n was indeed to make trouble and divert the Daynight n¡¯s focus away from the Great Yu Empire.

    Still, there would be quite a few space-exploring powerhouses vying for the members¡¯ positions. This was a troubling matter, and although Lu Yin was not afraid of battling against normal Explorers since he was a Realmbreaker, he might not necessarily be able to challenge an Explorer realm expert from the Daynight n.

    As he thought over everything he had just learned, Lu Yin contacted Mira. He wanted more urate news, as he needed to figure out the baseline of the people participating in this uing Outerverse trial. If the participants were all going to be Explorers, he would simply forget about it. He was looking to cause trouble, not die.

    Mira was a graduate of the Astral Combat Academy, so Lu Yin was able to directly contact her.

    ¡°A rare caller. If I recall correctly, this is the first time that you¡¯ve ever called me of your own volition.¡± Mira¡¯s gorgeous face appeared on the screen, and she smiled at him.

    When he saw her, Lu Yin was reminded of the moment when he had teased her on Conan; this woman had a troublesome, mischievous personality. ¡°Senior Mira, do you remember the matter that you promised me?¡±

    Mira raised her face and revealed an innocent expression. ¡°No, did I promise you something before?¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly said, ¡°You promised to rmend me for the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    Mira said, ¡°Oh, sure, but you must think about this carefully. If you join by my rmendation, then you¡¯ll be marked as being in Wen Sansi¡¯s camp.¡±

    If this had happened before the Astral Combat Tournament took ce, then Mira definitely would not have told Lu Yin this information because he would not have been qualified to choose and would have had no choice in the matter. Bing the subordinate of any one of the Ten Arbiters was an unequaled privilege. But it was different now since Lu Yin was a member of the Council of Astral Academy as well as an extremely gifted young expert. He was now qualified to have a choice.

    ¡°Is that how it has to be?¡± Lu Yin felt helpless.

    Mira smiled. ¡°Of course. Consider things carefully.¡±

    ¡°What if I join on my own? Such as through the Outerverse trial?¡± Lu Yin probed as he watched Mira closely.

    Mira¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The Outerverse trial? Who told you about that?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer.

    Mira¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°Was it your fianc¨¦e? Princess Wendy?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged, but he did not admit or deny anything.

    ¡°Indeed, there''s been an Outerverse trial that was recently scheduled. If you don¡¯t want to be tagged by one of the Ten Arbiters when you join the Outerverse Youth Council, then this would be the opportunity to do so.¡±

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°Is this a trial to select Councilors?¡±

    Mira shook her head, ¡°There are only five Councilors on the Outerverse Youth Council right now. An election should be held, but it won¡¯t be by this trial. That¡¯s because no one in the Outerverse currently qualifies to be a Councilor.¡±

    ¡°Outerverse? Even the people from the Innerverse don¡¯t?¡± Lu Yin felt that this was strange.

    Mira smiled. ¡°Joining the Ten Arbiters Council requires not only prestige, but also warmth and support. And as for support, you¡¯ll need to solicit it. Since this is the Outerverse¡¯s matter, it should be handled by the Outerverse. Although all ten previous Councilors trained in the Innerverse, they were all originally from the Outerverse, which is why they served as its members. Right now, no one from the Outerverse is qualified to take on the post of a Councilors. Since there are insufficient numbers, we can only rely on our subordinates to make up for the loss in manpower, hence this trial.¡±

    Lu Yin fell into thought. Since Innerverse powerhouses could not be Councilors of the Outerverse Youth Council, then what was the Daynight npeting for? Could they really only be recruiting subordinate members?

    ¡°Of course, if the Outerverse is unable to produce qualified Councilors, then we¡¯ll have to select them from the Innerverse. However, we¡¯re not considering that at this moment.¡±

    ¡°What qualifications are required to be a Councilor?¡±

    Her lips curled up as she simply replied, ¡°Get your name into the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. So it was the Top 100 Rankings after all. This was the base standard of the Ten Arbiters Council, who had two subsidiary groups underneath them. The first was the Outerverse Youth Council and the second was the direct subordinates of the Ten Arbiters. Almost everyone in these two groups were among the Top 100 Rankings, as the Ten Arbiters had gathered practically all of the top talents in the younger generation.

    ¡°So in other words, this trial has nothing to do with electing Councilors, and is just to find some subordinate members?¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but you¡¯ll still have a chance to join. Although there¡¯ll definitely be some Explorers who participate, there won¡¯t be too many. The council wants to limit the Innerverse¡¯s meddling in the Outerverse as much as possible in order to prevent the Outerverse from boycotting them. Hence, there will be extremely few Innerverse Explorer powerhouses participating. There are also only a few from the younger generation in the Outerverse who have be Explorers, so the trial should end up mainly being a contest between Limiteer cultivators.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes brightened at this point, and she looked at Lu Yin curiously. ¡°I must ask, if you manage to pass this trial and join the Outerverse Youth Council, then whose camp will you choose to join? Your fianc¨¦e¡¯s?¡±

    Lu Yin had not considered this question yet, and it caused him to frown. ¡°Even with my status as a Council of Astral Academy member, I can still only be a subordinate member?¡±

    Mira tilted her head. ¡°That is indeed a problem. There¡¯s never been a member of the Council of Astral Academy who has participated in an Outerverse Youth Council subordinate trial since their position is already equal to that of a full Councilor. Basically, there¡¯s no need to fight to be a subordinate member. You¡¯re quite the strange person¡ªothers fight to climb upwards while you charge downwards.¡±

 Chapter 260: A Surprising Training Ground

    <h4>Chapter 260: A Surprising Training Ground</h4>

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. He obviously didn¡¯t want to do this either, but he needed to create a diversion to distract the Daynight n. Besides, his family had told him to join the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Universe Youth Council, so there must be some reason behind it, and he couldn¡¯t ruin their ns. Finally, he also wanted to get revenge against Bazeer. Lu Yin still remembered Bazeer¡¯s insults, and he even thought that he could find a way to get revenge despite the fact that Bazeer was an Explorer right now.

    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business. I won''t interfere either¡ªyou can do whatever you want. However, I do want to remind you of one thing.¡± Mira¡¯s expression turned serious as she looked straight at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re invincible among Limiteers just because you defeated Liu Shaoqiu and Nightqueen Yanqing. Although the Astral Combat Tournament managed to attract many geniuses, the universe is vast and there are still more geniuses out there. Liu Shaoqiu is just a Melder, and Nightqueen Yanqing isn¡¯t even the strongest Limiteer in the Nightking n. Your current strength is still notparable to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ when they were Limiteers. The allure of the Outerverse Youth Council is far greater than the Astral Combat Tournament for some people, so take care of yourself.¡± After saying that, Mira hung up.

    Lu Yin smiled. Even without Mira¡¯s reminder, he already knew that the Astral Combat Tournament didn¡¯t include all of the geniuses in the universe. However, Mira had exaggerated the situation slightly, and he was sure that, within the younger generation, apart from the Explorer realm powerhouses, Liu Shaoqiu would stand at the peak once he became a Limiteer. Lu Yin was certain about this; no one would be more powerful than Liu Shaoqiu after he became a Limiteer, especially since he would have the Fourth Sword at that point.

    If Lu Yin was still able to defeat Liu Shaoqiu after he learned to use the Fourth Sword, he would undeniably stand at the peak above his peers and be able to match the power of the Ten Arbiters back when they had been Limiteers.

    Still, he would only beparable to the Ten Arbiters; it was much too difficult to exceed their standards.

    The Ten Arbiters were a milestone for the younger generation; they were the ten legends who had been born from the creation of the formcast models.

    At this same time, within Astral-3, Nightqueen Yanqing lowered her head with an expression of fear on her face.

    ¡°Because of you, our n has be involved in the Frostwave Weave¡¯s war, and now, everyone thinks that the Ross Empire attacked the Great Yu Empire on the Daynight n¡¯s orders. You were too stupid,¡± a man in a screen coldly rebuked.

    Nightqueen Yanqing didn¡¯t dare to raise her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, brother.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you want to humiliate someone, but you shouldn¡¯t have exposed the Daynight n. This short-term n of instant gratification has caused the n to gain a permanent enemy, especially since this enemy cannot be removed as of yet. It might even be an obstacle to us in future, although the probability of that happening is very low.¡±

    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s my fault,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing replied softly.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. The mistake has already been made, so we can only continue moving forward. Elder Yuanjing is protecting Lu Yin, not the Great Yu Empire, so it doesn¡¯t matter if we destroy it. We can¡¯t offend Starsibyl either, so just tell her that all of this was ordered by me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, brother.¡±

    ¡°Nevertheless, we must find the person who dared to use the Daynight n. They are very bold to use our n to vent their frustration,¡± the man said in an icy voice.

    Nightqueen Yanqing shivered again. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go to the Ross Empire immediately.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me this time! Those old farts have released Zhanlong Daynight after our failure during the Astral Combat Tournament, and he will be participating in the uing Outerverse trials as well.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing lifted her head, her eyes filled with hatred. ¡°Brother, I can¡¯t get rid of this hatred as long as this person is alive.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t me anyone but yourself. He has seeded in learning the Daynight n¡¯s most difficult battle technique, so it¡¯s normal that you can¡¯t defeat him. Still, he will never be able to surpass me. As long as I¡¯m alive, the Daynight n will never be able to hold their heads high. Just settle your own tasks and stop causing trouble for me.¡± The screen then went nk.

    Nightqueen Yanqing stood rooted in ce, her eyes zing with anger. Zhanlong Daynight had once greatly humiliated her. She was an elite of the Nightking n and the sister of a Ten Arbiter, but she had lost to a Daynight n member, causing her to be humiliated within her own n. That person was also the reason why she had joined the Astral Combat Academy. She had initially heard that he had been imprisoned for something that he had done, but now, he had been released due to her own failures. Both Zhanlong Daynight and Lu Yin were enemies whom she must remove.

    The Outerverse trial wasn¡¯t just a method for choosing the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s subordinate members, but it was also a tform to showcase one¡¯s abilities. Regardless of whether they were from the Innerverse or the Outerverse, or whether they wanted to join the Outerverse Youth Council or not, the results of everyone who participated in this trial would be submitted to the Ten Arbiters.

    To the younger generation, nothing was more appealing than the Council of the Ten Arbiters. Although the council was just an organization for the younger generation, its power would only continue to increase due to the existence of the Ten Arbiters. This wasmon knowledge; the Ten Arbiters had all obtained the acknowledgement of the universe, which gave their organization amazing potential. Many people would sacrifice their very lives just to show off their abilities to the Ten Arbiters. This wasn¡¯t merely to gain the Ten Arbiters¡¯ favor, but also to win support from their own native organizations as well. The better their performance here, the more resources they would win to aid their growth.

    In the middle of an ancientnd stood a towering stone monument. This was the ancestral grounds of the Daynight n.

    In a dim underground dungeon near the stone monument, a pair of imposing eyes snapped open, and the sound of iron chains grating against each other could be heard.

    Many members of the Daynight n stood outside the dungeon. They were quiet but held excited gazes.

    A figure soon walked out from the dungeon, his body wrapped withyers of nking iron chains. He looked haggard, but his eyes were still bright and full of aggression.

    ¡°Congrattions to Brother Zhanlong on your release!¡± dozens of Daynight people shouted out. Their voices attracted the attention of quite a few people, including the elders who were guarding the stone monument within the ancestral grounds.

    This young man was Zhanlong Daynight, a scion of the Daynight n. He was a genius who had no innate gift, but he had managed to reach the level right below Nightking Zhenwu on the stone monument through pure hard work.

    The stone monument didn¡¯t just measure one¡¯s ability; it also tested one¡¯s talent forprehending battle techniques. And thistter part was directly measured by how far one could go in the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance corridor. Zhanlong Daynight had surpassed Nightqueen Yanqing as well as many other elites from both the Daynight and Nightking ns.

    Zhanlong Daynight was a Limiteer who had a better understanding of battle techniques than even Explorers; this was the man who had driven Nightqueen Yanqing to the Astral Combat Academy.

    Zhanlong Daynight closed his eyes as if from exhaustion, but he soon opened them again. He roared out and maniacallyughed, ¡°I said that I would be out again, Nightking n! I, Zhanlong Daynight, told you that before! Hahahaha.¡±

    The few elders guarding the stone monument were annoyed. ¡°How dare he? He¡¯s just a young boy, and yet he dares to challenge the Nightkings.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why he was sent to the dungeons, but it seems that he¡¯s still unrepentant. We shouldn¡¯t have released him.¡±

    ¡°Leave him be. Let him help the Daynight n recover from our embarrassment. We need him to join the Outerverse trial. Otherwise, our move to force the Astral Combat Academy to send their top four to the trial will have been a waste of resources.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! We should have just used the Sealed Cage Technique on him.¡±

    ¡­

    In the depths of the universe, within the Sword n in the First Flowzone, a mountain peak copsed as sword qi tore the skies apart. A handsome man wearing jeans, a short-sleeve shirt, and a felt cap on his head walked out.

    An elder in the distant raged, ¡°Long Yun, you brat! You destroyed another mountain!¡±

    The handsome man called Long Yun rolled his eyes. ¡°So it¡¯s my fault that the mountains aren¡¯t sturdy enough?¡±

    ¡°You brat! Don¡¯t you leave just yet. I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson.¡±

    Long Yun immediately ran away. ¡°I¡¯m going to the Outerverse! I heard that Shaoqiu was defeated, so let me go out and teach the person who defeated him a lesson.¡±

    ¡­

    In Astral-1, Starsibyl looked at her gadget with a strange expression. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look at the Outerverse trial.¡±

    ¡­

    In Astral-7, Yue Xianzi curiously said, ¡°The Outerverse trial? Is the n trying to remove the Daynight n¡¯s influence? They¡¯re too naive if they think they can do so, but I don¡¯t mind heading over to take a look.¡±

    ¡­

    Although Silver hadn¡¯t specifically told Lu Yin about the Outerverse trial, the Astral Combat Academy had notified him anyways since the top four from the Astral Combat Tournament were required to participate for some unknown reason.

    Lu Yin was stunned when he received the notification. If he had just waited for a while more, he wouldn¡¯t have been teased by Mira. But where should he go for the Outerverse trial? He looked at his gadget. The Outerverse was huge, and there were several training grounds that had been predetermined to be used for the Outerverse trial, so he was checking to see which training ground he should be heading towards.

    Lu Yin¡¯ became gleeful when a particr name on his gadget popped out to him. The Shenwu Continent?

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t a stranger to the Shenwu Continent at all, since he had Possessed Wu Xia, the Shenwu Continent¡¯s Crown Prince¡¯s personal butler. This had given Lu Yin a basic understanding of Shenwu Continent. He never expected that the Outerverse trial would actually be held on the Shenwu Continent; this was definitely his lucky day!

    Although the Shenwu Continent was in the Darkmist Weave, it was in a separate dimension, and normally, no one would be able to see it if they just passed by. It was much like Astral-10 in that one needed to be sent into the Shenwu Continent.

    However, it was extremely difficult to enter the Shenwu Continent as it was sealed off by the fives. Moreover, one couldn¡¯t brazenly enter the continent as it wasn¡¯t like Earth; the people of this continent had already gone to war with other civilizations of the universe. Even the Darkmist Weave hadn¡¯t been able to do anything to this continent, as it held many skilled powerhouses, and one would definitely die if they were revealed to be from the universe.

    From Wu Xia¡¯s memory, there was even an organization called the Ming Constables. This organization had been specially set up to hunt down and kill trialtakers, and the members had special methods to discover foreigners from outside the continent. Hence, even Explorers wouldn¡¯t be safe in the Shenwu Continent, which was why it had been selected as a training ground.

    But no matter how dangerous the Shenwu Continent was, it being one of the options was still a godsend to Lu Yin, as he had alreadypleted one of the primary missions of the trial.

    There were two primary trial missions in the Shenwu Continent trial. The first was to find the coordinates of the five sealings and the second was to discover the burial ground of an elder of the Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin already knew one of the five sealings¡¯ coordinates through Wu Xia¡¯s memories. Thus, he had alreadypleted that mission. As long as he could safely leave the Shenwu Continent, he would definitely get first ce.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath; this was great luck. He took his die out and thought about how amazing his innate gift was. Pilfer had retrieved some extremely rare things for him, such as the Cosmic Art and the hide of Progenitor Wushang.

    Although ckhole Disassembly wasn¡¯t particrly useful, it still mighte in handy if he encountered any rare materials in the future.

    Enhance was quite scary; it could upgrade formcast models and had even enhanced the effects of a purple star.

 Chapter 261: Powerful Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 261: Powerful Innate Gift</h4>

    Timestop¡¯s usefulness needed no exnation.

    Gift Copy was not often utilized since he did not dare to roll the die where there were people nearby. The ten seconds he had to find someone were too short, but the roll did have a remarkable effect when used properly.

    Possession was often surprising and could allow him to improve his power by leaps and bounds, and it even had the possibility of providing unexpected results.

    And yet, others could use their innate gifts in the trial zones, but he could not use his die. Was this only in the trial zones, or did it also hold true in other, simr areas? This was important to find out.

    ¡°Hey monkey, I¡¯ve got a question for you.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was pleased. ¡°So you¡¯re finally realizing this monkey¡¯s importance! Go ahead and ask, as long as you don¡¯t seal off my senses for no reason.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned that the trial zones are the ruins of the Rune Technology legacy, so how can people use their innate gifts in there?¡±

    ¡°An innate gift is a part of the body, so they can naturally use it in there. Why? Do you want to analyze it? It¡¯s not just you, but even your Human Domain can¡¯t analyze it.¡±

    ¡°Then are there any innate gifts that can¡¯t be used there?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey paused. ¡°That¡¯s unheard of. The Runemasters¡¯ powers were absolute, and they could duplicate anyone, any technique, and any innate gift bloodline without exception. There was never a recorded case where they were unable to duplicate something.¡±

    ¡°What if there is?¡± Lu Yin continued his line of questioning.

    ¡°Then that means that that person¡¯s innate gift is simply too powerful and that it has exceeded their Rune Technology¡¯s scope and abilities.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he did not doubt this exnation; he was fully aware of how powerful his die was.

    ¡°Wait, does the innate gift that¡¯s unusable in the trial zones belong to you?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked probingly.

    ¡°Not me, but someone else.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± The Ghost Monkey was shocked. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. There¡¯s nothing that the Runemasters couldn¡¯t duplicate. They could even clone the universe¡¯s stars.¡±

    ¡°How do you know so much about all this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned this before¡ªI like to investigate history, and I¡¯ve studied records of these events.¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Lu Yin found this hard to believe. The Ghost Monkey knew too much for his status, but he avoided Lu Yin¡¯s questions about how he had gained his knowledge every time Lu Yin asked. Lu Yin did not trust the Ghost Monkey, although the Ghost Monkey did not ask anymore questions about the strange innate gift either.

    Not muchter, a set of coordinates was sent to Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. It was from the Sandmaster, with the following message. ¡°Head to this location and participate in the Outerverse trial.¡±

    Lu Yin stood up; it had finally begun. This trial was already unfair to the other participants even before it started; all he had to do was make it back alive. However, things would be different if his aim was to hinder the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin had a n, though it possibly required using Wu Xia¡¯s identity.

    Lu Yin quickly arrived in the treasury and started looking for Old Cai.

    ¡°Old Cai, I¡¯m headed to the Outerverse trial. Can I borrow a personal spacecraft?¡± Lu Yin was embarrassed to make the request, as his personal spacecraft had vanished at the pirate port, and he did not know where it had gone.

    Old Cai wasn¡¯t happy with the request either. ¡°You can¡¯t even protect your items, so be careful to not lose your life as well. Go on, but remember that you¡¯re just borrowing it and that you must return itter.¡±

    Lu Yin did not mind, as an average personal spacecraft only cost a few tens of thousands of star energy crystals, which was an amount that he could afford.

    When the spacecraft entered outer space, Lu Yin checked to see about how long it would take to arrive. He had visited the Darkmist Weave once before, but the universe was an unpredictable space, and routes often had to be recalcted. This time, it would take him neen days to travel from Astral-10 to the location of the coordinates, which wasn¡¯t too long.

    He thought for a moment and then took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, grasping it in his palm. He stared at the passing outer space as battle force shrouded his body and he started silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Time slowly passed in this manner, with eighteen days flying by as the personal spacecraft sailed across six regions.

    Lu Yin initially wanted to find somewhere to rest and roll his die, but in the end, he decided against it. He would use it in the Shenwu Continent so as to prevent any possible idents from urring.

    Another day passed, and Lu Yin finally reached an isted area of space that matched the coordinates that he had been given. A strange ripple swept through on asion, as this area of space had been severed from the universe.

    Lu Yin passed through after his identity was sessfully authenticated, and he entered without any trouble. Upon entering the isted space, he saw a giant space station that was made entirely out of metal, such that it looked like a steel fortress floating in the heavens. It was many times bigger than a superrge spacecraft.

    Many terrifying auras filled the region, everyst one belonging to a space-exploring powerhouse. There were also many more hidden auras, and they also caused Lu Yin to feel numb, as those auras belonged to the powerhouses beyond his imagination.

    This was the front line of the universe¡¯s invasion into the Shenwu Continent, and it was this space station that prevented the Shenwu Continent from connecting to the rest of the universe.

    A middle-aged man, Cang Yu, greeted Lu Yin. He was an Explorer.

    ¡°I never thought that I would be able to see Student Lu, one of the top four fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament. It is my honor,¡± Cang Yu said with a smile at Lu Yin, acting very courteously. The man was only an average Explorer and had originally been from the Darkmist Weave. He had never been to the Innerverse and had had no chance to enter a top tier institution such as the Astral Combat Academy. When greeting a top student like Lu Yin, this Explorer even sounded as if he was trying to win the youth¡¯s favor.

    Lu Yin smiled. No matter how strong the average cultivator was, the difference between them and a person of status would be obvious when they came face to face. Even though Lu Yin himself was not Cang Yu¡¯s match, he still had to be very amodating towards Lu Yin. What¡¯s more, Lu Yin had absolute confidence that he could defeat an average Explorer such as Cang Yu. After all, he had even held his own against an astral beast Explorer like Zi Tie, who prided itself on its defense.

    ¡°Sir Cang Yu, you don¡¯t have to be too courteous. However, could I trouble you to give me a brief introduction to the Shenwu Continent?¡± Lu Yin smiled and spoke politely as well.

    Cang Yu nodded and smiled brightly. ¡°Student Lu, you must have done some general research before arriving, so I will not overly borate on the general situation. There are a few matters, however, that you should take note of.¡± He paused, and when he saw that Lu Yin was listening attentively, he continued, saying, ¡°The first is your attire, as the Shenwu Continent¡¯s culture still has ancient outfits. We will provide Student Lu with an outfit that you can change into. The next, is its technology.¡± As he spoke, Cang Yu unfolded his hand.

    Lu Yin looked and blinked, but he did not see anything.

    Cang Yu smiled. ¡°There¡¯s a dust-sized camera in my hand. This tiny item can be installed into a person¡¯s muscles and avoid all forms of detection. During the trial period, all advanced technology such as gadgets must be removed, because the Shenwu Continent is antagonistic towards the greater civilizations. Anyone who¡¯s discovered to be colluding with us will die without exception.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this before.¡±

    Cang Yu nodded and continued. ¡°The third is star energy, as the star energy that we use to cultivate is different from the martial power that is cultivated on the Shenwu Continent. Upon arriving, it¡¯s best that you first hide in the countryside for a bit so that you can ensure your safety by dispersing your star energy and then recultivate using martial power. Otherwise, the Shenwu Continent¡¯s specialized organization will quickly track you down and instantly kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that Cang Yu was referring to the Ming Constables, but why did he not directly reference the name? Lu Yin understood it more as he thought about it. This was a trial, so it was not possible to exin everything. The meaning of a ¡°trial¡±y in separating the strong from the chaff, and a true training experience was always apanied by many deaths.

    ¡°The fourth point is that the trial¡¯s oue will be judged based on the video recorded by the dust-sized camera. It¡¯s up to the individual trialtakers to think of various ways to improve their results. However, I believe that Student Lu must know about the two permanent missions for any trial on the Shenwu Continent. Completing either one of them will naturally be a great merit,¡± Cang Yu said, with a tone that hinted at his expectations. ¡°I believe that Student Lu has great hope ofpleting those missions.¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced. ¡°Sir Cang Yu thinks too highly of me. I¡¯m only a Limiteer.¡±

    Cang Yu marveled, ¡°Ever since the Shenwu Continent was discovered, the trialtakers have arrived continuously, but no one has ever managed toplete those two missions. I believe that Student Lu will be able to do it, as your wonderful battles during the Astral Combat Tournament were truly stunning.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but spoke no more.

    ¡°In a bit, we will ask someone to tear open a spatial crack in order to send Student Lu to the Shenwu Continent. The descent point will be at one of the thirty six inds in the Shenwu Empire. As we are unable topletely control where you arrive, you must be fully prepared for all kinds of events. Historically, there have been situations where trialtakers were discovered uponnding.¡± Cang Yu was solemn.

    Lu Yin nodded before asking, ¡°How do I return?¡±

    ¡°I will provide a few locations to you, and they are all very hidden. We will have powerhouses appear there and retrieve all the trialtakers.¡±

    ¡°Then why not directly send us to those points?¡±

    ¡°The locations change sporadically and cannot be reused. The people of the Shenwu Continent may discover them as well, so the main goal is to ensure everyone¡¯s safety.¡±

    Lu Yin understood; this was a war. He silently reminded himself that although this was a war between humans, to the people of the Shenwu Continent, he was an invader. There was no real difference between this war and the war between the Human Domain and Astral Beast Domain.

    At that moment, Cang Yu¡¯s gadget made a beeping noise. He looked at it and was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s actually someone from the ze Realm here as well. They sent trialtakers too?¡±

    ze Realm? Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped as he asked, ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Someone named Arikar. Right, wasn¡¯t he defeated during the Astral Combat Tournament by Astral-8¡¯s student leader?¡± Cang Yu had only just remembered this, and he profusely apologized to Lu Yin. ¡°Please wait here a moment as I bring him here. We¡¯ll be sending a few trialtakers into the Shenwu Continent together since tearing open the spatial crack is extremely difficult.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and watched Cang Yu leave. His eyes flickered, as he didn¡¯t expect someone from the ze Realm to actuallye here. He wondered what Arikar¡¯s expression would be when he saw Lu Yin.

    It was not strange for someone from the ze Realm to participate in the Outerverse trial, and Arikar was the strongest among the ze Realm¡¯s younger generation. Himing here was very normal.

    He was much more arrogant than Lu Yin and was not very courteous to Cang Yu. In his eyes, an average Explorer such as Cang Yu wasn¡¯t worthy of his notice as this sort of person needed to curry favor with the Flowzone Envoy if he wanted to enter the Innerverse.

    Cang Yu could sense Arikar¡¯s arrogance, though he paid no heed to it. During every trial, he would bump into geniuses from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Actually, receiving courtesy from top geniuses like Lu Yin was a strange urrence.

    ¡°Student Arikar, another student had arrived before you. We¡¯ll wait for a few more and then we can send you all to Shenwu Continent,¡± Cang Yu smiled.

    Arikar grunted in assent. ¡°Who else is here?¡±

    ¡°You should know him since he¡¯s also a student from the Astral Combat Academy: Lu Yin.¡±

    Arikar stopped walking and stared at Cang Yu in astonishment. ¡°What did you say? Lu Yin? He¡¯s here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he arrived about ten minutes before you.¡±

    Arikar¡¯s expression soured as he did not want to be grouped with Lu Yin. Everyone participating in a trial was an enemy, and Arikar would rather be lumped in with unknown Explorers than provoke Lu Yin. He already knew of the animosity between the ze Realm and Astral-10, so he considered things carefully. After a moment, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for a few days before entering the Shenwu Continent. You can arrange for Lu Yin to enter first.¡±

 Chapter 262: Initial Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 262: Initial Encounter</h4>

    Cang Yu was ced in a difficult position when he heard Arikar¡¯s words. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Lord Tyrial has stated that, as soon five people gather, they must enter. This is one of the rules of this trial.¡±

    Arikar frowned, but he still followed behind Cang Yu and soon saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also noticed Arikar and smiled at him. ¡°Are you the only one from the ze Realm who¡¯s participating in this trial?¡±

    Arikar had once dared to challenge a Realm Master, but when he faced Lu Yin now, there was not a single trace of arrogance on his face. Apart from some slight distaste, his expression was rather calm. ¡°Just me.¡±

    ¡°Jared isn¡¯ting?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin did not ask more questions. Although his conflict with the ze Realm was not as deep as the one that he had with the Daynight n, it was by no means superficial either. However, this was not the time to provoke them, as the Great Yu Empire was already facing the assault of the Ross Empire. It would be troublesome if the ze Realm got involved as well.

    For his part, Arikar simrly did not want Lu Yin to take revenge against him in the Shenwu Continent, so he stopped speaking as well.

    Actually, the two of them did not have any conflicts between them, as Jared was the one who had started the dispute with Lu Yin. Arikar had been sullen about this, and he had cast countless curses upon Jared, hoping that the idiot¡¯s grudge with Lu Yin would not end up implicating him.

    Cang Yu saw that the two were not conversing, so he brought them to a room with transparent walls near the edge of the space station. ¡°Could the two of you remove your gadgets and put on the clothes of the Shenwu Continent? We¡¯ll leave once there are five people.¡±

    Lu Yin and Arikar quickly donned the clothes. The long gowns had an ancient feel to them, and the two trialtakers would have had a very schrly demeanor if they had had a fan.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s first time wearing such antique-looking clothes, and it felt rather novel.

    Arikar seemed to be quite preupied with something, and he nced at Lu Yin from time to time. He felt like a mouse that was trapped within the same room as a cat. He did not have the courage to resist Lu Yin, a freak of unknown origins who had five-lined battle force.

    The time that they spent waiting for the others toe was not pleasant, and the space station did not allow the trialtakers to enter and leave as they pleased either. Thus, Lu Yin could only sit down, cross-legged, and begin to meditate.

    Half a dayter, someone else arrived and was stunned when they saw Lu Yin and Arikar. They recognized the two of them, but did not speak much and went to their own corner.

    Another person arrived soon after; it was a girl with average looks and arge figure. She seemed rather detached, and only nced briefly at the others before sitting down to meditate as well.

    After some time, a chill swirled through the air. Lu Yin opened his eyes and nced to the side. Cang Yu had brought an ashen-faced youth to the room, and Lu Yin stared closely at the neer. Lu Yin felt strangely apprehensive about this person, as they seemed to give off a simr vibe to Liu Shaoqiu.

    Amongst the four people present, only Lu Yin felt this sensation from the youth, as Arikar and the rest did not pay too much attention to this youth.

    ¡°Lord Thalia will soon send the five of you to the Shenwu Continent. Let me give you all a final reminder; the Shenwu Continent is very dangerous and holds many experts. Although most of them are concentrated near the five sealings to defend them, you should not be careless. Countless trialtakers have died on this continent over the past thousand years, and we are not an unknown existence to the people there.¡± After Cang Yu finished speaking, he installed the dust-sized cameras for the five people before leaving.

    Lu Yin kept observing the youth who had arrivedst throughout this whole time, as he felt a slight bit of fear from this person.

    The youth sensed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze and turned around to face Lu Yin. His colorless eyes stunned Lu Yin; was this why was this expression and aura felt so familiar? His eyes was eerily simr to the Corpse King¡¯s from the Neohuman Alliance that Lu Yin had encountered on the giant.

    The youth casually nced at Lu Yin before turning away again.

    Lu Yin frowned. Was this person really a part of the Neohuman Alliance? They already had someone in the Outerverse Youth Council, so why would they attempt to send another person in? Logically, he couldn¡¯t be from the Neohuman Alliance. And after all, there were many organizations in the universe whose members had simrly cold emotions to the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s members. There were many techniques that could cause one to develop the same demeanor as well. Also, some people were just naturally very cold, and Lu Yin could not rely on just their aura to determine if someone was from the Neohuman Alliance.

    At this point, the transparent room trembled slightly as a great strength descended. The five trialtakers¡¯ hearts jumped; it had begun.

    Outside the halo, a crack appeared. It was small but enough to amodate a few people. ¡°Go in now,¡± someone¡¯s voice barked at them.

    Arikar charged in without hesitation, as he was unable to remain patient. Lu Yin and the rest followed closely behind. Lu Yin only felt an intense tearing force when his body went inside the spatial crack. Truthfully, he was not fond of entering in this kind of manner due to the inherent dangers, but they had no other options.

    Suddenly, a palm appeared in the void and swatted towards the trialtakers. The five people¡¯s pupils shrank; a terrifying powerhouse had just arrived and they were suddenly thrust into a dreadful crisis.

    ¡°Ming Zhaotian, you can¡¯t block me,¡± an angry howl sounded in the void. From Lu Yin¡¯s side, a palm appeared and pped against the first palm. At that instant, the void distorted, and one of the five youths was crushed in a sh. Lu Yin was also affected, as none of the five were powerful enough to withstand the blow.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymore! I¡¯m going to go into hibernation for now. Be careful with yourself! Don¡¯t die and drag me down with you,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice sounded out in his head.

    A shockwave swept out when the two palms met. As it rippled outwards, it scattered Lu Yin and the rest apart and fractured the void into multiple cracks. No one knew which one was safe, but regardless, they had no choice which one they were thrown into. They couldn¡¯t even lift a finger before the frightening shockwave separated them and they were helplessly swallowed by the spatial cracks. Before he vanished, Lu Yin managed to see an imposing man. He was the current emperor of the Shenwu Empire, Shenwu Emperor Ming Zhaotian.

    Lu Yin temporarily lost consciousness when he passed through the spatial crack. As his consciousness returned, he opened his eyes. Is this water? There was a brilliant white scenery before him. Is this a person? Lu Yin lifted his head and was immediately stunned when an exquisitely beautiful face came into view. He became utterly immersed within the entrancing visage. He did not know if any artist could preserve this face, though it would be an evesting regret if it could not be preserved.

    Within the room, in a tub with soft petals sprinkled about, one man and one woman exchanged gazes. Both were stunned.

    The man was enraptured in the woman¡¯s beauty.

    The woman was shocked by the man¡¯s sudden appearance.

    Both of them remained motionless for a few seconds, but then there was an rming cry. The girl had finally reacted, and it was in the most normal reaction possible¡ªshe released a shrill cry.

    Lu Yin immediately covered her lips and very awkwardly tried to say, ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to-¡±

    Suddenly, a group of people charged into the room, shouting, ¡°Mistress-¡± Lu Yin was about to do something when a loud boom sounded from above, and Arikar crashed down as well. Lu Yin hurriedly retrieved the girl¡¯s clothes from a nearby rack, wrapped the girl up in them, and then used sh while holding onto her tightly.

    While still in midair, she gave him a rather nk look. Her beautiful, star-like eyes stared at Lu Yin¡¯s face as petals fell around her.

    ¡°Outrageous! You actually dare to be indecent towards the young mistress!¡± There was an angry roar, and an enormous shockwave surged towards the falling Arikar.

    Arikar was in a miserable state, as he did not know anything about a young mistress; he had simply been tossed out of a spatial rift and had happened tond inside the tub.

    By now, Lu Yin had already wrapped the girl up tightly and thrown her onto a nearby bed. With a quick ¡°Sorry,¡± he grabbed a scarf, covered half of his face, and then rushed out of the room.

    ¡°Who dares to barge into the Reverent King¡¯s estate?¡± an angry shout sounded out as a terrifying force descended upon the area.

    Lu Yin and Arikar were both stunned by this presence; this was an Explorer! They quickly evaded.

    Thump!

    The void shuddered as a furious man appeared. He stared intently at Lu Yin and Arikar, who were escaping in either direction of him and raised both of his palms; one for each fleeing youth.

    Arikar gritted his teeth. He was a top member of the ze Realm¡¯s younger generation, and although he had been a Realmbreaker, fighting against an Explorer was different. It was too difficult for a Limiteer to jump realms and face off against an Explorer, but it was no issue for Arikar to preserve his life.

    ¡°Darkgold Palm.¡± A palm erupted with ck mes and then struck out at the middle-aged man. The dark gold palm was instantly vaporized, but the middle-aged man¡¯s palm strike remained strong and continued traveling through the void to viciously strike at Arikar. The ze Realm genius¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. How is this possible? This man is just a native! He spat out a mouthful of blood and then fell to the ground with a thump.

    At the same time, Lu Yin shed against the palm that had been sent after him. He responded with a Nine Stacks, Fifteenfold Shockwave Palm that was supplemented by five-lined battle force. The void rumbled intensely as the terrifying collisionpressed the ground and caused many of those who were pursuing Lu Yin to be forcibly scattered. Lu Yin borrowed the strength of the man¡¯s palm and retreated even faster.

    The man was shocked that this person had actually directly received his palm. This child was not simple.

    Arge part of the estate had been ruined by their exchanges, causing many to gather.

    The middle-aged man hurriedly rushed into the house to check on the girl and then dismissed the attendants.

    ¡°Father!¡± the girl cried out with reddened eyes and a wronged expression.

    The man rushed to hug her. ¡°Yan¡¯er, are you alright?¡±

    The girl nodded, tightly hugged her quilt, and then responded, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡±

    The man finally rxed. ¡°Everything is fine as long as you¡¯re alright. Rest assured, father will definitely not let that person off.¡±

    The girl responded with a soft sound of assent.

    In another area, after directly receiving that man¡¯s palm, Lu Yin quickly escaped by using sh to flee into the woods. This was not the city, but rather the outskirts in the country. Apart from that single sprawling residence, there were only about a dozen peasant families¡¯ homes.

    Lu Yin was d that he had notnded in the city, or else he would have faced the Ming Constables¡¯ pursuit. That organization had a unique item called heavenly globes that could detect star energy. It would have been very difficult for him to escape from such a situation.

    No one was pursuing Lu Yin, so he was finally able to rx. He removed the scarf that he had used to hide his face and thought of the girl who he had just encountered. She was too beautiful, and he had previously only ever seen that dazzling of an appearance in Bai Xue¡¯s face. Even Mira, Michelle, and the beautiful Madam Nn and Yue Xianzi were allcking inparison to this remarkably beautiful woman.

    Furthermore, this girl had a pure appearance, and Lu Yin could not even imagine trying to be flirtatious with her. It was like seeing the world¡¯s purest face, and it made him feel inferior.

    He looked at the silky cloth in his hand, and his nose could still vaguely smell her fragrance. It was fresh, elegant, and also rather intoxicating.

    Unaware of his own thoughts, Lu Yin carefully stowed the scarf away. He did not ce it in his cosmic ring, but rather in his robes and by his bosom.

    His most urgent task right now was to find some martial crystals, which were simr to the star crystals. They would allow him to conveniently and rapidly rece his star energy with martial power. After doing this, he would no longer be detectable by heavenly globes and would thus be able to enter the cities.

    In the manor that Lu Yin had just fled from, Arikar was painfully curled up within some ruins. The surrounding soldiers had all left, and there was a lone young man towering over the tormented youth. He was Tang Si, a powerhouse at the Martial King realm, which was the equivalent of the Limiteer realm, and he belonged to the Reverent King¡¯s residence. They were currently outside the main pce of the Reverent King¡¯s estate. The person who had attacked Lu Yin and Arikar was Ming Zhaoshu while the girl whom Lu Yin had encountered was the princess of the Reverent King¡¯s estate¡ªMing Yan.

    ¡°You¡¯re an alien from outside the continent?¡± Tang Si¡¯s voice was low as he stared at Arikar.

 Chapter 263: The Cosmic Sea And The Court Of Seven Names

    <h4>Chapter 263: The Cosmic Sea And The Court Of Seven Names</h4>

    Arikar suddenly attacked, mes erupting from his palm as he aimed at Tang Si. His Darkgold Palm could defeat even Explorers, so he was sure that a Limiteer realm native definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand his attack.

    Tang Si¡¯s eyes glinted, and his spear darted forward, shattered the Darkgold Palm, and then pierced straight into Arikar¡¯s abdomen. Blood sttered onto the ground from the spear¡¯s shaft.

    Arikar turned pale. How is this possible? How could a Limiteer realm native be so powerful as to be able to shatter Arikar¡¯s Darkgold Palm with a single attack? This native was so strong that he wasparable to the top students from the Astral Combat Academies. At that moment, Arikar remembered a warning he had received from a ze Realm elder¡ªDo not underestimate the Shenwu Continent! This continent had been able to defy the entire Darkmist Weave, and even powerful forces from the Innerverse hadn''t been able to defeat it. This was a very strong continent.

    St!

    Arikar spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly crumpled to the ground. He was in great pain and had nearly fainted due to the wound in his abdomen.

    The Reverent King, also known as Ming Zhaoshu, walked over and coldly looked at Arikar. ¡°Revive him and then bring him to my study once he¡¯s awake.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Tang Si replied respectfully.

    When Lu Yin entered the Shenwu continent, a battle broke out in the Great Yu Empire when a mysterious powerhouse suddenly ambushed Undying Yushan. The battle caused half of the city to be destroyed, and even changed Zenyu Star¡¯s weather, to the point where one of its three rings were slightly fractured. In the end, Undying Yushan was heavily wounded while Huo Qingshan and some of the other Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ captains were slightly injured as well. Fortunately, there were no fatalities from this battle.

    Not long after the battle, Undying Yushan announced that he would be going into seclusion to recover from his injuries and ordered Dorren Yushan, Wendy Yushan, and all of the other remaining members of the Yushan family to return to Zenyu Star.

    The Great Yu Empire was thrust into a state of panic and rumors began circting that Undying Yushan didn¡¯t have long to live and that he would soon be passing his throne down.

    Lu Yin was also included among the list of Yushan family members who were summoned; however, he had already entered the Shenwu Continent by that time and didn¡¯t receive the message.

    Back in Astral-10, Silver thoughtfully said to himself, ¡°You old fox, this only proves that you are one of the seven. Yu, you cannot escape.¡±

    The Cosmic Sea was formed from very simr elements as the Astral River and was filled with surging liquid energy. Butpared to the Astral River, the Cosmic Sea was wayrger, and many people believed that the Astral River actually originated from the Cosmic Sea.

    In a corner of the Cosmic Sea, an old man walked across a warship that was surrounded by the aggressive energies of the sea. Roars rang out from within the inundating sea from time to time, and shadows of huge beings frequently swam past the ship.

    If Lu Yin were here, he would have definitely recognized the man as Uncle Reuben.

    ¡°Undying Yushan might die after thisst battle that took ce within the Great Yu Empire. The person who attacked him hasn¡¯t been identified yet,¡± Reuben muttered in a low voice.

    ¡°Do we actually have to investigate this? It must have been someone from the Neohuman Alliance¡ªonly they would keep investigating the Court of the Seven Names,¡± an icy voice responded from the cabin. It was the high pitched voice of a woman.

    ¡°Could it be the Daynight n?¡± Reuben asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Little Yin¡¯s actions aren¡¯t enough to cause the Daynight n to send out a Hunter realm powerhouse. Moreover, they are focused on their expansion into the Outerverse, so they won¡¯t initiate any battles without a serious reason. The Ross Empire¡¯s attack on the Great Yu Empire shouldn¡¯t have been the Daynight n¡¯s influence either, since they wouldn¡¯t be so nearsighted. Oh right, where is Little Yin?¡±

    ¡°He went to the Shenwu Continent,¡± Reuben replied.

    ¡°It seems that he still hasn¡¯t forgotten his initial mission. We cannot give up on the Great Yu Empire. If he really is one of the Seven, then this is a huge matter. Once we discover the truth behind that issue, we¡¯ll be able to return home.¡±

    Reuben¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Understood, captain.¡±

    In the Shenwu Continent, crowds of people bustled about in the broad streets. Fives covered the sky above the passersby¡¯s heads while a huge sun radiated warmth, bringing life and energy to the continent.

    The monotone chirping of cicadas was enough to cause drowsiness within anyone.

    Lu Yin was lying under a tree and helplessly looking at his hand.

    The Shenwu Continent had its own ecosystem, which would cause one¡¯s star energy to gradually weaken and theirbat ability to slowly decrease. Martial powerpletely suppressed star energy here, and Lu Yin had been able to feel that from his previous fight with the Explorer. The effect of the star energy suppression was actually quite significant here. If it weren¡¯t for his five-lined battle force, then he would have suffered the same fate as Arikar.

    He definitely needed to get some martial crystals as soon as possible.

    He wondered how Arikar was faring. Information about Lu Yin would definitely be leaked now that Arikar had been captured by the natives. Lu Yin had immediately used star energy to change his appearance and also decided to assume a false identity. From now on, his name here would be Lu Qi.

    Crack crack.

    In the distance, a convoy was slowly rolling through the streets. There were quite a few people following it, and apart from someborers, the rest were mostly soldiers responsible for protecting the convoy.

    The animal dragging the carts resembled cows, but they were muchrger than any cow Lu Yin had ever seen. They had a gentle look to them, but they were probably quite strong since each of them was dragging a cart covered with white cloth towards the west.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed as he hid his aura and tailed the convoy from within the forest.

    Half a dayter, the convoy stopped when the sun set. ¡°We will reach Taicang City in Qiong Zhou in half a day¡¯s time, so let¡¯s take a ten minute break for now. We¡¯ll continue on after that,¡± someone from within the convoy ordered.

    The group paused to take a break.

    The soldiers automatically spread out and kept watch on their surroundings.

    Lu Yin slipped into a cart while the guards weren¡¯t paying attention. Since each cart waspletely covered by a piece of white cloth, no one besides the animal pulling the cart would be able to notice him under the cloth.

    A few tiredborers were eating their rations near Lu Yin¡¯s hiding spot.

    ¡°This work is inhumane. It¡¯s unpaid, and we even have to bring our own food! I hope that that damn city lord dies soon,¡± aborer ranted.

    Someone next to him sighed and replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice. It¡¯s just our rotten luck to have a city lord like this. Sometimes, I wish that these tributes would be stolen and cause some trouble for the city lord.¡±

    ¡°His Majesty¡¯s birthday is almost here, and these are tributes for His Majesty. Who would dare to steal these things? Besides, we¡¯re almost at Qiong Zhou and will reach Ming Zhou soon. That¡¯s the empire¡¯s capital, and it¡¯s filled with powerhouses. No one¡¯ll dare to touch this stuff.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.

    ¡°By the way, I heard that the people from Ming Constables were sent out again. It seems like there are more aliens running around nowadays. The world is too chaotic now.¡±

    ¡°I just want to get home quickly after we¡¯re done with transporting this stuff.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leaned against a crate while his eyes lit up. This convoy was carrying tributes! He was quite lucky with his find this time. There were probably some martial crystals in this convoy, and even if there weren¡¯t, there would still be some precious items that he could trade for martial crystals. This wasn¡¯t a bad haul at all; he hadn¡¯t stolen anything for quite some time either, so it was a good opportunity to refresh his skills.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head out and try to reach Taicang City before curfew,¡± the leader shouted as theborers all stood up.

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly attacked, mming his palm into the back of the leader¡¯s neck. Although the leader was a Limiteer, he could not even begin topare to Lu Yin. He fell unconscious from just one attack, causing everyone around him to be shocked before they all started attacking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked around him with disdain. He knocked all the guards into a daze within ten seconds, causing all theborers to run away in fear.

    Lu Yin walked to the first cart and pulled the white cloth away. He then opened the crates to reveal many gleaming metal items, which looked simr to the jewellery back on Earth. All of these items were useless to him. The second crate was filled with antiques, but the third crate was filled with martial crystals.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed at the sight of the martial crystals; this was exactly what he had been hoping to find. There were more than ten carts, and the other carts were all filled with martial crystals. After all, it was the perfect item to offer up as tribute.

    However, the more than ten crates of martial crystals only amounted to the equivalent of two star crystals, leaving Lu Yin sorely disappointed. Although it seemed like a huge amount, it was actually very little and it wasn¡¯t even enough to reach the Sentinel realm. However, Lu Yin assuaged himself and decided to take it slow; this was just the tribute from one city. Furthermore, martial crystals were quite rare in the Shenwu Continent and were restricted items. It was already quite lucky that he had found this much already.

    Lu Yin stored around two hundred martial crystals into his cosmic ring and ignored the rest of the items. He didn¡¯t have time to trade all of them away, and it would probably be faster for him to just go and rob more people. However, Lu Yin still had his principles, and he would only rob those who had a bad reputation, such as the lord who owned this current convoy. He wouldn¡¯t touch anything from people who carried a good reputation.

    He could only start absorbing the martial power after he had around ten thousand martial crystals, as that would ensure that he could battle for a solid period of time. Otherwise, he would be forced to absorb stray martial power from the environment, which would just be too slow.

    News of the robbery quickly spread, and troops from Qiong Zhou immediately blockaded the roads and started questioning the soldiers who had been robbed in hopes of finding some leads. However, Lu Yin was too quick, and between his speed and the dim light of dusk, no one had seen him clearly. Thus, the authorities could only blindly search for the criminal.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to enter a city, as he had learned some information about the heavenly globes from Wu Xia¡¯s memories. Each city had its own heavenly globes that could sense star energy. Because of their existence, Lu Yin would definitely be detected as soon as he entered a city. He didn¡¯t want to be chased around by the people of Ming Constables, as there were Martial Emperor powerhouses in that organization, which were equivalent to Explorers. It would be very troublesome for him if his identity as an alien was revealed, as those people from Ming Constables were very familiar with the greater universe.

    It waspletely dark when Arikar was led to the prince¡¯s study within the Reverent King¡¯s estate. His face was pale, and his abdomen had been bandaged, covering his heavy injury.

    The Reverent King, Ming Zhaoshu, looked at him coldly. ¡°Name, identity, and purpose.¡±

    Arikar panted heavily and honestly revealed everything.

    Ming Zhaoshu was surprised. ¡°So you¡¯re from the ze Realm. It¡¯s been a long time. Thest time the ze Realm sent anyone here was a hundred years ago.¡±

    Arikar wasn¡¯t surprised by this reaction. After all, he had been informed about this before arriving. The ze Realm had sent someone into the Shenwu Continent a hundred years ago and never heard from that person again.

    ¡°Who was the other person?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked with a stern gaze. This was what he was the most concerned about, since there weren¡¯t many people below the Martial Emperor realm who could withstand his attacks. That person had clearly been in the Martial King realm, and yet, he had been able to escape unscathed, which was proof that he was very powerful. Besides, that person had even done something unforgivable; he had seen the Reverent King¡¯s daughter bathing and even emerged from her tub. If this incident ever spread, then the entire the Reverent King¡¯s household would be humiliated.

    Arikar betrayed Lu Yin without any hesitation and told Ming Zhaoshu everything he knew about Lu Yin. He was very detailed and even told him about Lu Yin¡¯s battle style that had been shown during the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Ming Zhaoshu was shocked. ¡°Heprehended five-lined battle force while still in the Martial King realm? It¡¯s no wonder he was able to stand my attack. What is his personality like?¡±

    Arikar effortlessly ndered Lu Yin. ¡°He¡¯s despicable.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze turned cold and a huge pressure suddenly descended upon the room, shattering the tables and chairs around them. Arikar was crushed to the ground as blood dribbled out of his mouth. He looked up at Ming Zhaoshu in fear.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it when people lie to me. Tell me the truth,¡± Ming Zhaoshu coldly demanded.

 Chapter 264: Lu Yin And Ming Yan

    <h4>Chapter 264: Lu Yin And Ming Yan</h4>

    Arikar hurriedly responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know him that well. I¡¯ve only heard rumors about him, and he has some enmity with my ze Realm. He even scammed some disciples from my ze Realm, which is why I said that.¡±

    ¡°Scammed?¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes shed.

    Arikar nodded and then recounted how Lu Yin had ripped off Craynor and all the other students.

    Ming Zhaoshu muttered, ¡°I understand now. Take him away, but don¡¯t let him die.¡±

    Not long after Arikar was taken away, Tang Si entered the office.

    ¡°My King, the matter about the princess has been leaked and cannot be covered up anymore.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was furious. ¡°Those people whom Ming Hao nted in my home are too brazen! They are definitely acting on his word to smear Yan¡¯er¡¯s reputation. They are taking this too far!¡±

    Tang Si had cold eyes as well. ¡°Our top priority is to capture the alien, Lu Yin, and use his death to prove our princess¡¯s innocence.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes flickered as he sank into deep thought. Tang Si remained silent.

    ¡°You can retire first and then continue looking for that Lu Yin. But remember, do not ever endanger his life,¡± Ming Zhaoshu ordered.

    Tang Si immediately acknowledged his orders and withdrew.

    Ming Zhaoshu thought to himself for a while before walking out of his office and heading towards Ming Yan¡¯s room. ¡°Yan¡¯er, may Ie in?¡±

    ¡°Please enter,¡± Ming Yan said softly.

    Ming Zhaoshu opened the door and saw his daughter staring nkly into the mirror. The Shenwu Continent ced great importance on a woman¡¯s purity. If a girl¡¯s body was seen by anyone before marriage, then there would be severe ramifications and impede their ability to get married. This was a custom of the Shenwu Continent.

    Ming Zhaoshu was furious when his thoughts reached this point. That foreigner just had to choose Yan¡¯er¡¯s bath to appear of all ces! And now, the news was already being spread far and wide by Ming Hao¡¯s subordinates. This matter had not only caused Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s house to lose face, but it could even destroy Yan¡¯er¡¯s life.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, are you alright?¡± Ming Zhaoshu tenderly asked as he walked behind her.

    Ming Yan shook her head sadly. ¡°Father, what happened to that person?¡±

    ¡°He escaped, but rest assured. I will definitely capture him and make him pay the price.¡±

    Ming Yan fell silent, but it seemed like she was considering things.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at the side of her pale face and sighed. ¡°Yan¡¯er, do you remember that person¡¯s appearance?¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s body trembled and then she shook her head.

    But Ming Zhaoshu remained unconvinced. ¡°Father knows that you have had an excellent memory ever since you were young as you are skilled in the arts. How could you not remember his face?¡±

    Ming Yan blinked and pursed her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t remember¡ªit was just too chaotic at that moment.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at his daughter and nodded. ¡°Alright, it will be fine. Rest well and don¡¯t overthink things.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± Ming Yan agreed as she watched her father leave. The scene of Lu Yin standing in her bath and looking at her floated up in her mind, as well as when he wrapped her up in her clothes. It was embarrassing, but he was very interesting, although he also seemed a bit foolish. Ming Yan smiled involuntarily, but she quickly restrained herself. What was happening to her? She touched her fingers to her lips, as that was where he had touched her.

    She had resided in the Reverent King''s estate since birth and rarely seen anyone from the outside. The schemes of the royal descendants had left her friendless, and the Reverent King was her only rtive. She did not have any deep understanding of the outside world and had only ever had the arts to apany her. Lu Yin had been the first man to ever get that close to her, and he was actually the first man to ever see her. Ming Yan could not erase the stain that he had left on her heart.

    The next day, everyone from the Reverent King''s household set out on the journey towards Qiong Ind.

    Lu Yin remained in a distant forest, as all the soldiers from the Reverent King''s estate werebing through the countryside for him. Still, it was all in vain. Even if the Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu, who was a powerhouse in the Martial Emperor realm, personally came out, he would not be able to deal with Lu Yin, let alone the lower ranked soldiers. However, Lu Yin had still already run into an expert at the Limiteer realm who could rival the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders, causing him to be both shocked and impressed.

    Information flowed both ways, and since the Reverent King''s estate was looking for Lu Yin, he was naturally also able to learn some things about the Reverent King''s estate from those who were searching for him. Lu Yin learned that Arikar had been captured, and thus, his abilities must have been exposed as well since he did not believe that someone from the ze Realm would cover for him.

    ¡°How strange¡ªno one has shown up since yesterday. Did they leave?¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself as he looked in the direction of the estate. He was somewhat disappointed by this oue, and he once again started reminiscing about that girl with the ravishing face. She was too beautiful, and although Bai Xue was also very beautiful, Bai Xue could not move Lu Yin¡¯s heart the same way. This girl was different, and her purity was unforgettable. It was so impactful that he had been emotionally affected.

    He shook his head and told himself not to overthink things. This was the Shenwu Continent, a great power that could rival the entire Darkmist Weave. If he was not cautious enough, then death would inevitably take him. Some feelings could not be allowed to bud, as they were fated to never bloom. Forget it, he told himself as he refocused on his own matters and continued to loot martial crystals.

    Coincidentally, a convoy arrived at that very moment.

    Qiong Ind was right next to Ming Ind, at the very center of the Shenwu Continent. Out of the thirty six inds, at least seven of them required one to pass through Qiong Ind to reach Ming Ind, and how many cities did these seven inds hold? Lu Yin did not know, but the number should be quiterge. He was nning on watching over this ce for a few more days and carrying out some more robberies. With his power, as long as he did not run into a Martial Emperor powerhouse, he should be fine. Throughout the entire Shenwu Empire, most of the Martial Emperor powerhouses were gathered on the five sealings, so he should be safe as long as he acted cautiously.

    More than ten dayster, when the Qiong Ind troopspletely sealed off the border, Lu Yin left. He knew that he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. By this point, he had plundered five separate shipments of tribute and drawn a decent chunk of attention to himself. If he stayed any longer, then the people from the Daming Court might be drawn out.

    Taicang City was the gate to Qiong Ind, so entering Taicang City was the same as entering Qiong Ind.

    Lu Yin curiously observed his surroundings and looked up. The giant gates towered above him with an ancient style to them. Above them, there was a ssy,mp-like object emitting a faint fluctuating radiance that constantly emitted sweeping beams of light. This was a Heavenly Sphere, and it used martial power to constantly scan the city. The sphere would react the instant it detected star energy.

    During the time after the great battle a thousand years ago, many trialtakers had arrived at the Shenwu Continent, which had left the Shenwu Empire with no choice but to develop this Heavenly Sphere, which had resulted in the deaths of countless trialtakers.

    The heavenly globe¡¯s martial power scanned Lu Yin, but it had no reaction. He had dispersed all of his star energy and reced it with martial power, so there was naturally no rejection.

    He had used some random person¡¯s ID to enter Taicang City. The ce was bustling, and he could see that the Shenwu Continent had developed significantly since the great battle from a thousand years ago, and there were almost no traces of that war. Peddlers were selling their wares on the streets, and a hotel that was almost as tall as the city walls proudly stood in the distance. Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he slowly sauntered along the main street.

    Troops charged past him, letting out a harsh aura.

    ¡°Did you hear? Someone is targeting the tributes and five shipments have already been plundered. The king¡¯s residence is furious and has ordered the soldiers to thoroughly investigate and seal off the territory from the neighboring cities. Even the king¡¯s household has been searched! I even heard that there was a battle.¡±

    ¡°Shh, speak softer. The plundered tributes have nothing to do with the king¡¯s household. There was an alien that peeped at the princess while she was bathing, and I even heard that he was discovered in the same bath as the princess. That¡¯s what caused the battle to break out.¡±

    ¡°What? So isn¡¯t that princess¡¯s reputation gone now? Who would dare to marry her after that?¡±

    ¡°Right? It¡¯s such a pity. One of the empire¡¯s twin beauties has been ruined just like that. No matter how pretty she is, this incident is more than enough to dissuade countless suitors.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was stumped; was the incident really that extreme? He had only taken a look, though he frowned as he tried to sift through Wu Xia¡¯s memories. It seemed that the Shenwu Continent ced great importance on a girl¡¯s reputation, which was troubling. Did this mean that he had harmed that girl?

    Lu Yin absent-mindedly walked into the hotel. He chose a position near a window and sat down before ordering some dishes. The news that he had just heard upset him greatly, and the girl¡¯s countenance kept appearing in his mind. He felt rather apologetic now.

    The Shenwu Continent¡¯s war technology had advanced extremely quickly, and it could even rival an Outerverse weave¡¯s, but the continent was much more conservative in its social ideology. This matter must have left an unerasable scar in the girl¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Your food is here,¡± a waiter said politely as he poured some wine for Lu Yin before turning and leaving.

    Lu Yin looked at the troops dashing by outside the window as they kicked up a cloud of dust. He frowned and reached over to close the window.

    ¡°Friend, don¡¯t close the window,¡± a voice sounded from behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin paid no heed to the voice and continued moving to close it.

    Behind him, the man raised his hand and pushed against Lu Yin¡¯s arm. ¡°Let me repeat myself¡ªdon¡¯t close the window.¡±

    Lu Yin finally nced at him. The man was in his thirties and had an experienced air, though he had a beaten expression as well. His entire body gave off a rebellious attitude, and he did not seem like a good person.

    At this point, the dust had settled, so Lu Yin no longer cared about the window. He withdrew his hand and went back to minding his own business.

    The man simrly withdrew his hand and did not cause any more trouble.

    Suddenly, a ring light reflected off of something and into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He curiously looked out into the distance. Is that an arrow?

    Whoosh! The arrow sped quickly through the air. It was aimed not at Lu Yin, but rather the man behind him.

    The man lunged towards Lu Yin, wanting to use him to block the arrow. Lu Yin was infuriated by his bold maneuver, and he immediately raised his fist to block the man¡¯s palm. A soft echo rang throughout the room as the shockwave split the table and caused all the railings on the second floor to splinter. The man was pushed back by Lu Yin¡¯s palm, leaving him startled. At that moment, the arrow streaked past the man¡¯s shoulder and into the second floor of the hotel, where it was embedded straight into the floor, causing it to split apart.

    ¡°Heng Luoshun, surrender,¡± a loud voice sounded out from outside. From above, outside the window, and from everywhere else, many people charged at the man, who was apparently named Heng Luoshun.

    Heng Luoshun gave a deep look to Lu Yin before he leaped out the window. ¡°What a joke, the Shenwu Court Guard¡¯sckeys want to catch me, Heng Luoshun. Dream on! I¡¯m not seventeenth on the List of Tempering for nothing.¡±

    Not long after, a battle could be heard off in the distance.

    The hotel had met with an unexpected disaster, and there had been a great deal of damage to the building. The boss had toe out and offer his apologies to the customers with a forced smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I hope that you weren¡¯t too startled,¡± the boss apologized to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°What¡¯s this List of Tempering?¡± He recalled no such list from Wu Xia¡¯s memories, though those memories had been very extensive, and Lu Yin had only had a limited amount of time to review them. Hence, he had missed this bit.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The boss was shocked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I was raised in the wilderness from a young age, and this is my first time here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you don¡¯t know about the List of Tempering. It¡¯s a listpiled by the Crown Prince Ming Hao using information from the Demon Hunters Society. It includes everyone under the Martial Emperor realm regardless of age. It ranks them ording to their level of cultivation, and that Heng Luoshun from earlier is ranked seventeenth on the list,¡± he exined.

    Lu Yin instantly understood. A list like this could easily incitepetitiveness and even encourage people to grow stronger, regardless of whether it was in the universe or on the Shenwu Continent. However, it was definitely not easy for the Crown Prince Ming Hao topile a list like that. ¡°Boss, where can I buy the List of Tempering?¡±

 Chapter 265: Murder From The Sky

    <h4>Chapter 265: Murder From The Sky</h4>

    The boss immediately had someone go buy one for Lu Yin. This list was avable everywhere in the Shenwu Empire and was not expensive at all.

    Lu Yin left a piece of martial crystal as a tip and left the hotel afterwards.

    There were other ways for the trialtakers to obtain results in the Shenwu Continent trial apart frompleting the two permanent missions. Leaving one¡¯s name on the List of Tempering could improve one¡¯s results by quite a bit since this was the most prestigious list on the Shenwu Continent for those below the Martial Emperor realm, which meant that it was a list for those who were not at the Explorer realm yet.

    For this Outerverse trial, there were quite a few who were participating. There were definitely more than a few cultivators who had likely set their sights on getting their name on the list, so Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to find those from the Daynight n and cause them to fail. In that way, they would be wasting their time with the Outerverse Youth Council and their attention would be split.

    The top name on the List of Tempering was¡­ hidden?

    Lu Yin was shocked, as the top name of a ranking list was seldom hidden. The second name on this list was Li Zimo, and it was also noted that he was amander of the Ming Vanguard, which was the division of the Ming Constables that ughtered the outsiders. The fact that this person could be themander of that division indicated that he was very strong and that he should be able to match up to the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders. With Lu Yin¡¯s current power, he reckoned that he should be able to reach the top eight on the list fairly easily, as there was someone among King Mu''s followers who ranked eighth. That was the expert that he had been cautious of. What was his name again? Tang Si?

    The third on the List of Tempering was Dai Zong, and the notes stated that he was themander of the Demon Hunters Society.

    Lu Yinughed, as it seemed that this List of Tempering was less of a way for Crown Prince Ming Hao to gather powerhouses, and more of a means to showcase the Shenwu Empire¡¯s power. The top name definitely belonged to someone from the empire, and the next three were clearly official powerhouses of the empire as well. Just this list¡¯s existence was a huge mental blow to the surviving members of the ns that had been nearly exterminated a thousand years ago.

    Lu Yin headed west after leaving Taicang city. He wanted to go to Ming Ind, which was the Shenwu Empire¡¯s central zone. All the trialtakers would eventually congregate there.

    Lu Yin quickly moved around on his own, while King Mu''s entourage was much slower. The caravan would remain in each city that it passed through for two days, and with such dys, Lu Yin easily caught up to their convoy in Bo City.

    The troops cleared the way as many experts oversaw the convoy. There were both overt and covert forms of protection, as well as Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s Explorer level strength that would sweep out asionally to intimidate any seeking to cause trouble.

    Lu Yin set down his wine ss and watched the convoy move past. Incidentally, he spotted Ming Yan through a gauze curtain; her breathtaking face could not be hidden.

    The procession quickly passed by. The next city was Shanhai City, which was the capital of Qiong Ind. The Reverent King''s pce was within Shanhai City.

    Lu Yin set down a martial crystal as payment and booked a room to rest in for the night. The next day, he would head towards Shanhai City as well.

    At night, the Shenwu Continent¡¯s skies were pitch ck with only the five sealings offering any light in the sky. They looked just like giant pearls hanging above the continent as they emitted a faint radiance.

    As he looked at the heavens, Lu Yin suddenly thought back to his days on Earth when he had led a peaceful life before the trial had started.

    At this same time, on the other side of Bo City, Ming Yan suddenly woke up from a dream. She had a flustered expression and blushing cheeks. She had once again dreamed of that day when the two had met in the bath. It was so shameful! She looked up at the skies. Her gaze was naturally bright and unstained without a trace of impurity. She was intoxicatingly beautiful.

    She stared at the night sky and then stared some more until her gaze dimmed. Perhaps they would never meet again!

    He was a stranger whose name she did not even know, but he had barged into her heart in an unforgettable ident. It was impossible for the average girl to forget such a thing, but it was even more so for Ming Yan. In her entire life, that man was the only one who had gotten so close to her, and it had given her an indescribable shock. It was disgraceful, yet also novel, and she silentlyined to herself.

    Ming Zhaoshu also had a headache since his daughter Ming Yan was covering for Lu Yin. He could understand her kindheartedness, but she was young and did not know the repercussions that this event would cause for her future. This concerned her entire life, and this matter could very possibly cause her to suffer heavily.

    Ming Zhaoshu had a cold glint in his eyes as he looked at the sky. If not for Ming Hao¡¯s subordinates intentionally leaking news of the matter, the rumors definitely would not have spread as far as they had.

    Under the pure dark night, many were looking at the skies. Suddenly, signs of a crack that connected the heavens and the earth appeared before multiple figures spilled out, shocking Ming Zhaoshu. Foreigners?

    At the city gates of Bo City, the heavenly globe rippled, causing signs of rejection to emerge on the bodies of those who had emerged from the spatial crack. Their bodies shone with a radiance that made them light up like a light bulb.

    Countless cries rang out. ¡°Aliens! Seal the city! Leave none alive!¡±

    ¡°Kill the aliens!¡±

    ¡­

    Regardless of if they were officials of the empire or wandering cultivators who were unbound, aliens were an enemy to everyone from the Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin was shocked. This group was just too unlucky as they had directlynded within a city. Their entry must have been somehow influenced by the experts of the Shenwu Continent, much like Lu Yin¡¯s own entry, and had thus appeared in the city.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion resounded through Bo City as a fierce battle erupted. Those who had joined the Outerverse trial were all extraordinary people; the weakest of these new arrivals was at the Limiteer realm, and one of them was even an Explorer.

    Ming Zhaoshu was forced to act, seeing as he was the only Explorer in Bo City.

    High up in the sky, Ming Zhaoshu initiated an intense battle with the alien Explorer. Below them, many other simr fights broke out as well. The entire city was roused to deal with the intruders, and since their bodies had been marked with the rejection of martial power, the trialtakers had nowhere to hide.

    In the blink of an eye, two were killed. One of them died no more than a kilometer away from Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, the heavenly globe on the city gate exploded. Lu Yin was shocked, as someone had actually managed to hide from the detection of the heavenly globe. He retrieved the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and looked towards the city gate. He indistinctly saw a familiar figure sweeping past the gate and rushing away from Bo City. Was that Han Chong?

    The heavenly globe had been destroyed, and the remaining trialtakers immediately hid themselves. Only the Explorer was blocked by Ming Zhaoshu and left unable to escape.

    Bang!

    A rumble shook the skies as a strong gale swept through the earth, crushing many houses. The soldiers took out their shields to withstand the st.

    ¡°You natives clearly are seeking death by daring to obstruct me,¡± a loud voice shouted as a strange force pressed downwards.

    Ming Zhaoshu was furious. ¡°All foreigners must die!¡±

    Lu Yin stood beside the window and gazed upwards. The Explorer had used a battle technique that Lu Yin had never seen before, and it was not a familiar energy either. Ming Zhaoshu did not use any battle techniques. Instead, he thrust forward with palm after palm as he brutishly used martial power to reinforce his battle prowess in an unsophisticated manner. Even the Explorer¡¯s battle techniques could only barely fend off Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s rush of attacks.

    ¡°How is this possible? Your palm technique is so simple! Why can¡¯t this space be torn apart?¡± The Explorer was stunned.

    Ming Zhaoshu snorted, ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t understand the Shenwu Continent at all. You¡¯re all brawn and no brain.

    ¡°Time to die.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just a native!¡± the Explorer bellowed fiercely while forcing out his full strength.

    Bang!

    A shockwave pulsed out from the epicenter of their battle, destroying over a hundred soldiers¡¯ shields. A giant fissure was torn open in the ground as the shockwave continued to sweep out over for thousands of meters, crushing countless buildings in its path.

    At this same time, on the five sealings high in the sky, a beam of light shed out. In that instant, the Explorer stopped moving as his body was split into twain before his fresh blood sttered onto the ground.

    It was a shocking scene where a strike from the stars wiped out an Explorer.

    Lu Yin raised his head to look at where the fivesy. The Shenwu Continent had gathered almost all its experts on those five spheres to defend against external forces. That strike just now had been from someone the equivalent of a Cruiser or even a Hunter. It was just too terrifying! This trial was unimaginably dreadful; countless dangers could appear from above at any time, and even Explorers could be wiped out without any resistance.

    Ming Zhaoshu raised his head and snorted once before descending.

    Lu Yin closed his window and inhaled deeply. Hey on his bed and secretly reminded himself to maintain a low profile and not be exposed.

    The matter that had taken ce this night was just an interlude to the people of the Shenwu Continent and something that happened often.

    The next day, the city¡¯s troops expertly sealed off the battlefield and rescued the injured. It was all methodically handled, and the city master even personally thanked Ming Zhaoshu before sending them off from the city¡¯s gates.

    Lu Yin left several hourster. After the previous night¡¯s battle, the city guards had be much more stringent. Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s stolen ID still allowed him to easily pass through the security check.

    Was it Han Chong who had destroyed the heavenly globest night? Lu Yin suspected that it was him as the silhouette was too familiar. The top four of the Astral Combat Academy were all participating in this trial, so Starsibyl and Grandini Mavis should be here somewhere as well. Lu Yin did not know if they would meet on Ming Ind, but he was looking forward to it.

    Shanhai City was Qiong Ind¡¯srgest city, and it had an immense moat and hundreds of thousands of troops stationed within it. There were countless experts, and it was rumored that more than ten experts from the List of Tempering resided in this city. The list consisted of 200 names, so for Shanhai City to house ten of them was fairly decent.

    Lu Yin had only been in the city for a short while when he heard that King Mu''s entourage was recruiting experts to protect the caravan of tribute carts for their journey to the capital, Mingdu. He immediately made his decision and rushed towards the convoy.

    The convoy was resting in the central region of Shanhai City, and it had taken residence in not just a singr mansion, but rather arge property with a scendscape. The river around King Mu''s property was not much narrower than the moat encircling the city. It upied arge area, and it was rumored that the average person could not walk its circumference in a single day.

    Shenwu Emperor Ming Zhaotian was celebrating his birthday, so King Mu naturally had to attend and offer his congrattions. Hence, the king had to enlist experts for protection as well as coachmen to drive the carts.

    Lu Yin applied for the coachman position, as the requirements were not too high and the examination was not very strict either. It would be troublesome if he joined as an protecting expert and then had to meet Ming Zhaoshu.

    ¡°Kid, do you even know how to feed horses? If you don¡¯t, then get lost and don¡¯t waste my time,¡± a man shouted at Lu Yin. This person was the head coachman of King Mu¡¯s household. He was called Butler Seven. The responsibility of selecting coachmen had fallen onto him.

    Lu Yin lowered his brows and looked at the horse before him. He really did not know how to feed them, but he saw that Butler Seven was quickly growing more unhappy. He immediately shook his hand and dropped something on the ground with a soft thump.

    ¡°Butler Seven, are these five-fortune coins yours?¡± Lu Yin pointed at the ground in astonishment.

    These coins were themon currency used in the Shenwu Empire.

    Butler Seven greedily looked at the five-fortune coins and picked them up. He smiled. ¡°They¡¯re mine, they¡¯re mine. Luckily, you saw them. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome if I lost them, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled apologetically. ¡°It¡¯s Little Seven¡¯s honor to be able to serve with Butler Seven.¡±

    Butler Seven was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re called Little Seven?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Lu Seven, but many call me Little Seven.¡±

    Butler Seven sized him up and down, and then marvelled, ¡°Not bad, I guess it¡¯s fate. Alright, you don¡¯t have to feed the horses, but do you at least know how to drive a cart?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I¡¯m the best at it,¡± Lu Yin immediately replied. Driving was too easy; he just had to whip the animal if it wasn¡¯t being obedient, and he could even use martial power to forcefully control it as ast resort. Driving was definitely easier than feeding the horses.

    Bribing his way into gaining work as a driver in exchange for a stack of five-fortune coins was something that Lu Yin felt was beneath him. Still, it was a good thing that he had managed to infiltrate Prince Mu¡¯s caravan. All he needed to do now was to follow the caravan to Mingdu.

    However, a driver had an extremely challenging profession, or at least, that was how Lu Yin saw it.

 Chapter 266: Driver Little Seven

    <h4>Chapter 266: Driver Little Seven</h4>

    Lu Yin had already been at the Reverent King¡¯s pce for two days. Just the afternoon before, the convoy from the Reverent King¡¯s estate arrived. The convoy stretched on for several kilometers and even had watercraft carrying countless supplies within it, and it was all headed towards the capital. On both sides of the convoy, there were guards from Shanhai City¡¯s military as well as the king¡¯s private army. They were fortified in the outer perimeter by skilled warriors recruited by Ming Zhaoshu. There were easily over a thousand people in this convoy, and almost all of them were highly skilled individuals in the Martial King Realm.

    Lu Yin did not understand how the Shenwu Continent could produce so many highly skilled warriors. If it solely had martial crystals as a cultivating aid, then it should have been impossible to produce this many skilledbatants in the Martial King Realm. Even though the Great Yu Empire was made up of thirteen fments and contained countlesss, it would still be challenging for it to gather over a thousand Limiteers and let them cultivate freely. Credit should be given to the natives of this continent for their speed in absorbing the ambient martial power; it was possible that the Shenwu Continent¡¯s natives absorbed martial power much quicker than they aliens.

    As his mind wandered, Lu Yin found that his carriage had be slightly uncentered from the rest of the convoy. Lu Yin raised his hand to crack the whip, realigning the carriage to its correct position within the convoy once again. He had gotten to know the horses better over the past few days, and although they had initially been so hard to control that he had been forced to use martial power, with some practice, he had found that the horses were actually not that difficult to guide. In fact this had ended up being quite an interesting experience for him. Since he could not train during his time with the king¡¯s entourage, he decided to just immerse himself in his role as a coachman.

    His performance had even won praises from Butler Seven, who was slowly growing fonder of Lu Yin as they spent more time together. He had even approached Lu Yin with the intent of persuading him to stay on as a member of the king¡¯s household.

    Three more days passed without incident. By then, the Reverent King¡¯s convoy had already left Shanhai City. They were now making their way towards Ming Ind. The roads were t and the convoy was also protected by additional regional troops along the way.

    Lu Yin did not see Ming Yan at all during the past three days as she remained in her private carriage the entire time.

    Her carriage was being operated by a gentle beast known as the He beast, and they were usually used by the Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu. During this journey, Ming Yan stayed with Ming Zhaoshu in the private carriage.

    There was also a hierarchy among the drivers in the king¡¯s entourage. Lu Yin was in the lowest caste as he was a cargo vehicle driver. There were other drivers in charge of operating the supply vehicles, military wares, and driving the carriages of noble families. The highest caste were those who drove the private carriages. Lu Yin had initially wanted to drive a private carriage, but those drivers were all elites and cultivators. Even Butler Seven had to defer to them, so it was a post that was currently out of reach for Lu Yin.

    While he was deep in thought, a sudden wave swept across them. It was a wave of martial power emitted by a heavenly globe. This wave was something that Lu Yin had already experienced many times. All of a sudden, a tea stall at the roadside red with light. This was a negative response to the heavenly globe, and it caused Lu Yin to look over in astonishment.

    A youngdy suddenly stood up from where she had been seated at a tea stall. Her expression abruptly changed as she rushed off into the distance.

    ¡°Grab her!¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s low growl sounded out from inside his private carriage.

    Tang Si immediately leaped up and swung thence in his hand. It made an arcing motion, and the space within the arc rippled like a wave as it pulsed out and ferociously charged towards the fleeing woman.

    Thedy gritted her teeth, and she turned around while brandishing her sword as a whistling sound rang out. Right after, blinding sparks filled the air, and her sword was shattered by thence, the tip of thence continuing to strike the woman¡¯s arm. It caused her to bleed, and she was flung several meters backwards beforending hard on the ground and spitting out blood.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; this woman was far too weakpared to Tang Si. Tang Si was as strong as the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders, whereas this woman¡¯s abilities didn¡¯t even match up to an Area Master¡¯s. She was likely someone from the Outerverse, and it appeared that she was doomed.

    Tang Sinded on the ground with hisnce in hand as he inched closer to the woman.

    Her face held a pained expression, and she was regretting joining the trial this time around. The Outerverse trials were indeed only meant for truly exceptional individuals. While she might have been the most outstanding cultivator in her home, when it came to trials of this magnitude, she was just too weak.

    ¡°Surrender or prepare to die,¡± Tang Si said in an icy voice. The tip of hisnce was just a mere inch away from the woman¡¯s face. The woman had no choice, and she helplessly rose to her feet, unwilling to die.

    At that very moment, various shadows could be seen rushing over from the distance. Tang Si looked at them, and a glint of panic could be seen in his eyes. He quickly turned around to look at the private carriage. Ming Zhaoshu lifted the drapes to see several figures appear. These people were the Ming Vanguard from the Ming Constables.

    There were five of them in total, and they were all powerful individuals in the Martial King Realm; none of them were weaker than the captured woman. When they looked at the private carriage, they respectfully said, ¡°The Ming Vanguard pays their respects to the Reverent King.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked curiously.

    ¡°We have been pursuing this alien. Thank you, Your Highness, for helping us to capture this fugitive.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu closed the drapes once more. ¡°Leave.¡±

    Tang Si swept a cold re across the Ming Vanguard before walking away from the woman without another word.

    The woman¡¯s face turned a deathly white. She might have been granted the opportunity to live if she had been captured by the Reverent King. However, there was absolutely no such chance of surviving with the Ming Vanguard. She had already been on the Shenwu Continent for half a month and had heard many rumors about this organization, and she knew that they were a bloodthirsty group whose sole goal was to kill all trialtakers. When her thoughts reached this point, the woman felt as if she had fallen into apletely hopeless situation.

    Lu Yin looked at her with pity, as he knew full well how cruel the Ming Vanguard could be. This woman was bound to suffer horrifically, and yet, there was nothing that he could do to save her.

    The convoy continued to move forward, and very soon, the woman and the few members of the Ming Vanguard disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s view.

    At this time, Lu Yin focused on Tang Si, who was ranked eighth on the List of Tempering. This man was very powerful, and if he hadpeted in the Astral Combat Tournament, then he would have likely reached the round of the top sixteen, making himparable to the various student leaders. The Shenwu Continent was a mystical ce with martial power that surpassed the stars. It was home to many powerful warriors, and when its forcesbined, it was no surprise that they were able to stave off the Darkmist Weave and even the powerful forces of the Innerverse.

    The more he learned about the Shenwu Continent, the more Lu Yin wanted to get more out of his time in this trial. The Shenwu Continent was not too far away from the Frostwave Weave and the Great Yu Empire. It was even closer to the Astral River, which made it a very strategic location. Making a name for himself here would only put Lu Yin in a more advantageous position.

    The only thing that this continentcked was technology. When the technology of this ce caught up with the rest of the universe, the power that this continent would hold would be enough to raise the entire Darkmist Weave to the next level.

    As night approached, the convoy stopped to rest as they were still quite a distance away from the next city. They had to cross two mountains to reach that city, and it was impossible to do so before dusk. It looked like they would have to spend the night where they were.

    The space in this continent was so stable that even Explorers were unable to tear through it. To the invaders from the Darkmist Weave, however, this was not a good thing. Another reason why this sturdier space was not a benefit for the Shenwu Continent was that it meant that spatial storage items could not be made there. Thus, items such as Cosmos Rings could not be produced there. Hence, people could only carry their belongings on their person, which was a real hassle.

    As night fell, the cries of beasts could be heard everywhere in the distance. Large flying creatures sometimes flew by, raising violent gales as they did so.

    Lu Yin rested inside his cargo cart, and before long, Butler Seven walked over.

    ¡°Damn it! That snobbish prick. If it wasn¡¯t for my rmendation back then, he would have never been able to rise up and be a private carriage driver. But now, he has the gall to tell me not to go near him. Ugh!¡± Butler Seven angrily spat on the ground and sat down beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was curious, ¡°Who would dare offend you, Butler Seven?¡±

    ¡°That private carriage driver! I wanted to pay my respects to the king and princess, but he turned me away. Ugh!¡± Butler Seven was so angry that his face had turned ashen.

    Lu Yin nced over at the huge private carriage some distance away where he saw a middle aged man behind the He beast. He was the private carriage driver. ¡°Why do the king and princess not want to get down?¡±

    Butler Seven distractedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s to protect the princess¡¯ reputation.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the princess?¡± Lu Yin asked. He then suddenly recalled the rumor that he heard back in Taicang City.

    Butler Seven carefully checked the surroundings before quietly answering, ¡°The princess¡¯ innocence waspromised, so she doesn¡¯t dare toe out during this journey. Her main fear is that Crown Prince Ming Hao might get a hold of her and try to use her as a bargaining chip to cause trouble.¡±

    ¡°Crown Prince Ming Hao? He is from the younger generationpared to His Highness, right? Do they have some conflict?¡± Lu Yin asked, nowpletely interested in the conversation. As he asked the question, he pulled out a jar of wine that he had specially bought to gain Butler Seven¡¯s favor.

    When he saw the wine, Butler Seven smiled and took a giant swig. He wiped his mouth before continuing to exin, saying, ¡°This isn¡¯t a secret in the empire. Ever since His Majesty went to the central to fight off the foreigners, all state matters were ced under the Crown Prince¡¯s authority. The excessive authority that his household now holds is something that some of the older members of the royal family are unhappy about. These people feel that the authority should still rest with the emperor¡¯s pce and not anywhere else. Because of this, many of the older members have started trying to push the king aside. As a result, Crown Prince Ming Hao started to hate His Highness and now often goes against His Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin pondered all this information for a moment as none of this had been in Wu Xia¡¯s memories. Even though Lu Yin could not remember all the details within those memories, he could still remember most of it. He recalled that Crown Prince Ming Hao had been using various methods to instill fear into some person. If the person really did turn out to be the Reverent King, then this was no ordinary feud; the fear was being instilled to restrict thepetition for the throne.

    ¡°In the Reverent King¡¯s household, there are many people who work for the Crown Prince. His Highness is aware of this, but he does not investigate it either. He never imagined that a foreigner would break in and rob the princess of her innocence. This event was made known to the Crown Prince by some spies, and he then spread the news widely. This in turn caused her highness¡¯ name to be dirtied, and now, no one knows what will happen,¡± Butler Seven exined with a sigh.

    Lu Yin felt very sorry upon hearing this; a mere ident on his part had caused an innocent girl to be pulled into a power struggle. This was something that she would now have to deal with for her entire life since the Shenwu Continent was very conservative in how they treated a woman¡¯s reputation. This was the trouble with narrow-minded viewpoints.

    ¡°Oh yes, what¡¯s the deal with Tang Si? He seems like a formidable person,¡± Lu Yin casually asked.

    Butler Seven nodded his head in agreement. ¡°No one knows much about where he¡¯s from, but he is indeed very formidable. There¡¯s probably no one who can match him in the Martial King Realm¡ªhis rank of eighth on the List of Tempering is no exaggeration. Do you know how many powerful figures there are in the Martial King Realm? The members of the older generation who are still in the Martial King Realm are far superior to the younger generation in terms of both experience and ability, and yet, Tang Si is still more powerful than many of them. Achieving the eighth position is no mean feat. Within the entire household, he¡¯s second only to the Reverent King in terms of his strength.¡±

    ¡­

    The roads were bumpy, but the troops paving the way in front made the journey quicker. After a day, the king¡¯s convoy entered the city.

    ¡°After we pass Fan City, we will enter Ming Ind next. After another month of travel, we will finally arrive at the capital.¡± Butler Seven was delighted as he informed Lu Yin of the news. He enjoyed talking to Lu Yin as he felt that Lu Yin was smart, generous, and knew how to properly tter himself. He liked Lu Yin so much that he was determined to bring the youth into the king¡¯s household after they returned and even held thoughts of grooming Lu Yin as his sessor.

    Lu Yin looked up at the lofty city in front of them. As he gazed above, he saw a heavenly globe that asionally let out waves of martial power. He did not know if there would be other trialtakers in this city as well.

    Fan City had already prepared amodations for the king¡¯s convoy, and right after Lu Yin finished his meal, Butler Seven pulled him aside. ¡°Little Seven, His Highness just asked me to get a few drivers to apany the princess out for a short walk to clear her mind. Do you want to go?¡±

    Lu Yin was overjoyed upon hearing this request. ¡°Of course I will go! Thank you so much, Butler Seven!¡±

    Butler Seven chuckled happily. ¡°Any excursion involving the princess must be taken with extra caution. Apart from Tang Si, there will only be one handmaid and a few drivers. Remember, be on your toes and do not cause any trouble!¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly agreed with everything that he was told.

 Chapter 267: Yue Xianzi

    <h4>Chapter 267: Yue Xianzi</h4>

    ¡°A coachman¡¯s main job is to carry items for the princess. Do not look at her, speak to her, and watch the surrounding people at all times¡­¡± Butler Seven gave Lu Yin a lot of instructions. Before long, Lu Yin went outside and saw Tang Si standing silently in front with a serene expression.

    Lu Yin lowered his head and quietly moved to stand behind Tang Si. A few other coachmen followed his lead and stood beside Lu Yin.

    Not long after, the princess walked out with a veil covering face and a maid following after her. She nced at her surroundings curiously, as she hardly ever was allowed to step out of the house. If not for the king sensing her poor mood, he would not have let her out this time either.

    Ming Yan cherished this opportunity to see the world. Even though Fan City was not big and could notpare to Shanhai City, it was still very exciting to her, and she was delighted with whatever she saw.

    Tang Si closely followed behind Ming Yan and did not dare to move even half a step away from her. Lu Yin and the other coachmen followed closely behind, and all the items that the princess bought were given to them to carry.

    Lu Yin was only five meters away from Ming Yan, but Tang Si stood in between the two. Lu Yin dared not approach them for fear that Tang Si would sense something off. Although Lu Yin¡¯s Invisible Aura Technique was effective, he did not want to test its limits since he was not familiar with martial power.

    While Ming Yan was happily strolling about the town, there was a hubbub of activity ahead of them, and Ming Yan was immediately drawn towards it.

    Lu Yin and the rest hurriedly dispersed the people in her path and then looked inside the crowd. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. What is this?

    There were several burly men in front of them, and they had surrounded a woman and were loudly scolding her and even asionally punching her. The people around them were all pointing at them, but no one dared to step forward and intervene.

    Ming Yan pitied the woman and looked at her maid, who then went forward to stop them. Soon enough, the group of people was dispersed, and the bullied girl was brought to Ming Yan.

    ¡°Your humble servant Yue¡¯er thanks Young Miss for her kindness in saving me,¡± the girl gratefully said as she kowtowed and expressed her thanks through tears.

    Ming Yan could not bear the pitiful sight and immediately helped the girl up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why was that group bullying you?¡±

    ¡°This servant came to Fan City to look for her rtives, but they were long gone when she arrived. This servant was even poisoned mid-journey and lost all of her cultivation. They even wanted to sell this servant to a brothel! If not for Young Miss, then this servant would have been done for.¡± Yue¡¯er expressed her gratitude and then kneeled down again.

    From behind Ming Yan, Tang Si suddenly grabbed Yue¡¯er¡¯s arm with a cold look. Ming Yan was angry. ¡°Brother Tang Si, what are you doing?¡±

    Yue¡¯er looked at Tang Si in rm.

    Tang Si stared at Yue¡¯er and then ced his thumb on her wrist. He palpated her pulse for a moment before releasing her hand. He then respectfully said, ¡°Miss, this girl¡¯s cultivation was not weak, but she was indeed poisoned, and her martial power has dissipated.¡±

    ¡°She already said that. Look at you, hurting others.¡± Ming Yan was obviously upset with Tang Si¡¯s actions, and she then turned and looked at Yue¡¯er apologetically. ¡°Yue¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry, but that¡¯s just how he is. He does not realize how forceful he is being sometimes.¡±

    Yue¡¯er replied, ¡°Dangers lurk behind every corner. Could Young Miss not me her brother? He was just trying to protect Young Miss.¡±

    Ming Yan nodded and looked at Tang Si. ¡°Can Yue¡¯er¡¯s poison be neutralized?¡±

    In a deep voice, Tang Si replied, ¡°Yes, but the antidote will need to be verified by the king before she can use it.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll look for my father, His Highness,¡± Ming Yan had no further thoughts of shopping and immediately took Yue¡¯er away.

    Yue¡¯er immediately spoke up, ¡°Young Miss, did you just say, ¡®His Highness?¡¯ Are you the princess?¡±

    Ming Yan stuck out her tongue and smiled. ¡°Yes! I forgot to tell you that. Let¡¯s go and see my father.¡±

    Yue¡¯er was starting to panic, but she was still dragged away by Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan was ted. She had heard many storytellers talking about this sort of matter, but she had never thought she would actually be able to personally save a girl from prostitution. This was too fun! The princess grew happier the more she thought about it.

    Tang Si and the rest hurried along behind Ming Yan.

    Lu Yin looked at Yue¡¯er and felt like cursing. Damn it! Isn¡¯t she just Yue Xianzi? She had slightly altered her appearance, but it wasn¡¯t enough to prevent Lu Yin from recognizing her. This woman hade to Mingdu and directly charged towards the Reverent King''s pce, but what were her intentions? She could not possibly think that this silly ploy would be enough to deceive the king.

    However, the facts revealed were beyond Lu Yin¡¯s wildest expectations. Everything that Yue Xianzi had said was proven to be true, and even her rtives who were supposed to provide her with shelter were found to be in Lin City! There were no problems with her story.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, and his eyes flickered with a thoughtful light. It appeared that these great powers had settled down in the capital and taken root here long ago, possibly even several hundred years ago, just to make their future trialtakers¡¯ cover stories more believable. Yue Xianzi had the Frostmoon Sect behind her, and they had people who had stepped onto the Shenwu Continent so long ago that they now even had some semnce of a lineage. It was always good for one to have some supporting power behind themselves.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s story caused Ming Yan to express her sympathy. ¡°My father has found your rtives. Do you still want to go to them?¡±

    Yue Xianzi bitterly shook her head, ¡°They¡¯re only concerned with themselves. It¡¯s no use for me even if I look for them.¡± She then bowed towards Ming Yan. ¡°Thank you, princess, for your kindness in saving me. Yue¡¯er is unable to return the favor, so my next life will be used to repay your kindness.¡±

    Ming Yan then looked at Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Yue Xianzi. ¡°Where did you cultivate your strength?¡±

    Yue Xianzi replied, ¡°I was tutored at home by Pingshan Shuiguai.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was shocked. ¡°The same Pingshan Shuiguai who challenged a Martial Emperor while still at the Martial King realm?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Where is he now?¡± His interest was piqued.

    Yue Xianzi revealed a pained expression. ¡°He died over a year ago and was buried at Pingshan.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded and sighed. ¡°What a pity. Your master was a rare breed for him to be able to cross realms. Although he lost that battle, it was still an honorable defeat. His death may be rted to that battle back then.¡±

    Then, Ming Zhaoshu looked at Yue Xianzi. ¡°You¡¯re Yue¡¯er, right? Are you willing to stay in the Reverent King¡¯s household?¡±

    Yue Xianzi was stumped for a moment, but then she looked at Ming Yan. She bowed her head in gratitude. ¡°Yue¡¯er¡¯s willing to use her remaining life to repay her gratitude to the princess.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, Yue¡¯er! From now on, you¡¯ll follow me,¡± Ming Yan was delighted and she looked at Yue Xianzi with gleaming eyes.

    Yue Xianzi smiled back at the princess.

    Ming Zhaoshu watched the two girls leave and then ordered, ¡°Go and investigate Pingshan¡ªnot just Pingshan Shuiguai. Include this Yue¡¯er¡¯s family history and search back for a thousand years.¡±

    ¡°Is Your Highness afraid that she¡¯s an alien?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu snorted disdainfully. ¡°These aliens have rooted themselves so deeply in the Shenwu Continent that forging a simple identity is no longer difficult for them. I¡¯m still not sure if she¡¯s an alien, so let¡¯s just investigate.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why is Your Highness allowing her to stay with the princess?¡± Tang Si could not understand Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s reasoning.

    Ming Zhaoshu did not reply, and Tang Si left, not daring to speak any further.

    Lu Yin and the rest set down Ming Yan¡¯s purchases and left as well.

    After they all departed, Yue Xianzi suddenly looked over towards Lu Yin. That person seemed to have intentionally avoided her, and his aura also felt rather familiar. However, she could not recall if she knew this person. Is he also a trialtaker?

    Lu Yin had not altered his appearance too much, so he was afraid that Yue Xianzi might recognize him. He had subtly avoided her, but the woman¡¯s intuition was just too sharp. Lu Yin¡¯s small actions might have escaped the detection of experts, but they could not escape from this woman¡¯s eyes. Although she had not recognized him, she had noticed his irregrity.

    Ming Ind was the central ind of the Shenwu Empire as well as the central region of the entire Shenwu Continent. Ming Ind was also entirely encircled by a giant river called the Ming River.

    ¡°The Ming River encircles Ming Ind and countless tributaries extend from it. After Fan City, it will take us about two days before we reach the Ming River. After we cross that, we¡¯ll be within the boundaries of Ming Ind,¡± Butler Seven exined in a puffed-up manner. He was rather proud that he had visited Ming Ind before.

    No matter where it was, discrimination would always exist. The people from Ming Ind looked down upon those from the other thirty five inds, just like how the people of the Shenwu Empire looked down upon the other regions of the Shenwu Continent.

    Every ind in the Shenwu Empire was massive, and many had never even ventured beyond the boundaries of their ind throughout the entire course of their life. Butler Seven was no martial expert, but he had entered Ming Ind and was rightfully proud of it.

    Lu Yin immediately ttered him, causing Butler Seven to be extremely happy.

    ¡°Right, Butler Seven, since the princess is one of the empire¡¯s twin beauties, has no one proposed marriage to her?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Butler Seven rolled his eyes. ¡°Of course there have been some, but not many have done so ever since His Highness¡¯s rtionship with Crown Prince Ming Hao soured.¡± Butler Seven then carefully moved closer to Lu Yin¡¯s ear and softly whispered, ¡°Think about it. No matter how pretty the princess is, it won¡¯t matter if you¡¯re dead.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that Crown Prince Ming Hao will attack His Highness?¡±

    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t spout nonsense. I don¡¯t know either,¡± Butler Seven¡¯s face paled and he stopped speaking.

    At that moment, Butler Seven was called away by someone, and Lu Yin continued to drive the cart.

    Not muchter, a fragrance blew by, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, though he continued to drive the cart. A girl rode up beside him on her horse. It was Yue¡¯er, or rather, Yue Xianzi. ¡°Haven¡¯t we met before?¡± she inquired as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gave a humble smile. ¡°I¡¯m just a coachman, so how could I have had the honor of meeting miss before?¡±

    Yue Xianzi sized him and still felt that he gave a familiar vibe. She was relying on her woman¡¯s intuition, and felt that he was purposefully avoiding her gaze. ¡°Raise your head.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly looked up as he had no choice.

    At that point, Butler Seven arrived. ¡°Little Seven, a coachman behind us is sick and can¡¯t move. Go and take his ce.¡±

    A burden lifted from Lu Yin¡¯s heart as he bowed to Yue Xianzi and then immediately left.

    ¡°Miss Yue¡¯er, I hope that Little Seven was not rude to you,¡± Butler Seven tried to probe into what had just happened.

    Yue Xianzi gave a faint smile. ¡°Of course not. Butler Seven is being too harsh. I just felt that he seemed familiar.¡±

    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll rest assured. After all, Little Seven¡¯s a rural person who doesn¡¯t know the customs of us city folk.¡±

    ¡°Butler Seven, has Little Seven always been in the Reverent King''s household?¡±

    ¡°He joined us just a few days ago. I epted him since he seemed to have some skill in taming horses.¡±

    Yue Xianzi nodded, smiled at Butler Seven, and then left.

    Butler Seven took a deep breath, seemingly infatuated. ¡°She¡¯s too fragrant. It¡¯s a pity that she wasn¡¯t sold, or else I would have yed with her even if I had to sell everything I own. Such a pity...¡±

    Yue Xianzi was very pretty, and many cultivators had be infatuated with her back at ckwater Lake. Even if she had altered her appearance, she was still a top-tier beauty and was naturally extremely attractive to people like Butler Seven.

    Joined just a few days ago? Yue Xianzi looked at Lu Yin who was eagerly driving a different cart. Her eyes sparkled. Is he another trialtaker? If so, then why did he seem to have no cultivation? Had he hidden it? It would be terrifying if he could truly conceal his cultivation so well. She tried her best to match him to all the experts that she had met, but she ended up drawing a nk. After all, she was the young mistress of Frostmoon Sect and had met far too many young elites. She naturally could not recall all of them.

 Chapter 268: Probe

    <h4>Chapter 268: Probe</h4>

    Even if Yue Xianzi could not recall Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, she saw no harm in probing him. Every so often, she would seek him out and chat with him, leaving Lu Yin helpless. He wondered if he should start thinking of a way to get rid of this girl.

    However, trouble wasn¡¯t the only thing that Yue Xianzi had brought to Lu Yin. For example, at this moment, Lu Yin was currently situated right behind the private carriage and was only a few meters away from Ming Yan. Yue Xianzi had purposefully arranged this cement for him since Ming Yan treated her extremely well, and she was even allowed to enter the private carriage. She had ultimately declined because of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s existence and was instead riding alongside the carriage by horseback.

    ¡°Is there anyone else in your family?¡± Yue Xianzi asked Lu Yin as she rode alongside.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twisted into a grimace. ¡°No, there was an epidemic in my hometown, and they all died.¡±

    ¡°Oh... How old are you this year?¡±

    ¡­

    Within the private carriage, Ming Yan asionally nced out in astonishment. ¡°Father, it seems that Yue¡¯er treats that coachman pretty well.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was going through his scrolls and smiled at his daughter. ¡°Perhaps they were brought together by fate.¡±

    Ming Yan did not really understand what was happening between the two and sneaked another nce at Lu Yin. She blinked; this man seemed quite familiar for some reason.

    By this point, Lu Yin was itching to stuff Yue Xianzi¡¯s mouth shut with a smelly sock. They were right next to the private carriage with Ming Zhaoshu inside! Lu Yin would be discovered the instant he answered incorrectly; however, this woman just kept asking questions as if they were on a blind date. She was so nosy, but he could not ignore her. It was nauseating.

    ¡°The way you steer the cart seems rather strange. You don¡¯t seem like an ordinary person. Have you cultivated before?¡± Yue Xianzi asked and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped. At that moment, Tang Si happened toe over and say, ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve reached the Ming River. The boat¡¯s been prepared for us beforehand.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Yue¡¯er, repeat that question again,¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s voice was heard from within the private carriage. At that moment, Tang Si carefully looked at Lu Yin as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched, and Yue Xianzi repeated herself.

    All those nearby turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t cultivated. All that I¡¯ve learned is from Qianshan vige. His Majesty once passed through that vige, and his entourage demonstrated a few forms to the vigers there, which I learned a bit fromter.¡±

    The drapes of the private carriage were drawn back, and Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin. He was shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve been to Qianshan vige?¡±

    Lu Yin bowed respectfully. ¡°Yes, I passed through it in my youth. I learned a few moves under an old tree to better protect myself.¡±

    ¡°What did you learn? Demonstrate the forms that you learned.¡± Ming Zhaoshu seemed rather intrigued by Lu Yin¡¯s supposed chance encounter.

    Lu Yin did not dare to refuse and immediately disyed it in the open. It was just three simple movements that appeared to be very ordinary, but Ming Zhaoshu took on a reminiscing expression as he watched. This form had been created during Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s youth when he coborated with Ming Zhaotian. And now, it had spread even to that little vige. Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin with a much warmer gaze after he finished demonstrating the forms. ¡°It must be destiny that you were able to learn these forms. After His Majesty¡¯s birthday celebration, you can remain within my household.¡±

    Lu Yin gratefully replied, ¡°Many thanks, Your Highness, for the offer.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Let¡¯s cross the Ming River now.¡±

    Ming Yan cast a curious look at Lu Yin with pursed lips before dropping the curtain.

    Yue Xianzi frowned. This person couldn¡¯t be a trialtaker, as why would he know about such a trivial matter if he was? Forget it, this was just a waste of my time. She thought about the matter a bit more, but then shook her head as she had no further interest in Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rxed. Luckily, Wu Xia had seen Crown Prince Ming Hao practice and demonstrate those forms for Ming Zhaotian before. It was practically monkey see, monkey do; fortunately, he had somehow managed to hoodwink the Reverent King. If not for this, then he had no other way to bring Yue Xianzi¡¯s meddling to an end. He looked at her and decided that she would need to be put in her ce one day.

    In the depths of the universe, inside the Daynight n¡¯s prison, a grating sound woke Zhuo Daynight up. She raised her head, her facepletely drained of blood.

    An elder walked in and looked down at her. ¡°What rtionship do you have with Astral-10¡¯s Lu Yin?¡±

    She looked at the elder and shuddered. ¡°None.¡±

    ¡°Why are you helping him?¡±

    ¡°Because he saved me.¡±

    ¡°You should be aware that the Daynight n will not allow any marriages with an outsider.¡±

    ¡°This junior has no such rtionship with Lu Yin. We¡¯ve only met thrice.¡±

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll believe you. Still, he was willing to tell us the hidden location of the Third Nightking to save you, so he isn¡¯tpletelycking in feelings for you. From today onwards, you are the disciple of me, Nightking Yuanjing.¡±

    She raised her head, shocked. ¡°The Third¡­ Nightking?¡±

    His lips quirked up in amusement. ¡°That¡¯s right, he provided the Third Nightking¡¯s information to me in exchange for your release, and I agreed.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight was stunned. The Third Nightking¡­

    The Ming River was wide, and its surface was glimmering with light. It was divided in multiple channels, and each held boats made to transport people and goods.

    The Reverent King''s household alone took up five channels. The military cleared the way as they floated towards the gate of Ming Ind: Antai City.

    As the boat crossed the bobbing river, Lu Yin walked across the deck. To his surprise, it was very smooth and steady even as it floated across the water.

    Lu Yin was a coachman and technically not important enough to be aboard the same vessel as Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu. However, since it required manualbor to move some of the valuable goods on the boat, Lu Yin had the honor of being selected for the task.

    Butler Seven¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin hadpletely changed after he had demonstrated those basic forms to Ming Zhaoshu. From initially appreciating Lu Yin, to being friendly, Butler Seven was now even a bit fawning towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin found it amusing; this was the perk of authority. Ming Zhaoshu had only shown a little kindness to Lu Yin, but just that small amount was enough to cause many in the household to try and get into Lu Yin¡¯s good books. Even the butler was doing the same! Authority was a good thing to have.

    Just as the ship was about to set off, a group of riders on giant beasts charged over, kicking up a cloud of dust in their wake.

    ¡°Student Bei Qing requests a meeting with the Reverent King.¡± Lu Yin and the rest all turned around to see a young schr. He was good-looking, wore a white gown, and carried a fan as he smiled gently at the people aboard the boat.

    Bei Qing? Lu Yin vaguely recalled him being the son of someone important.

    ¡°So it¡¯s nephew Bei.¡± Ming Zhaoshu walked out and smiled warmly at the man. He raised his hand, and a giant nk was ced down. ¡°If nephew Bei is also going to the capital, then we can travel together.¡±

    The schr, Bei Qing, was delighted and bowed. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± He then stepped aboard the boat without a second thought.

    At the other end of the vessel, Ming Yan frowned within a luxurious cabin, appearing rather unhappy.

    ¡°Princess, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Yue Xianzi asked.

    ¡°This Bei Qing once asked my father for my hand in marriage, but I don¡¯t like him.¡±

    ¡°Why not? I recall that you shouldn¡¯t have had much interaction with the outside world since you were young, right?¡±

    Ming Yan tightly sped her teacup and tightly pursed her lips. ¡°He has a poor reputation¡ªhe often visits the red light districts!¡±

    Yue Xianzi nodded sagely. ¡°Princess, if that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s not go out in order to avoid bumping into that sort of person.¡±

    Ming Yan agreed and turned to face the river. Suddenly, her eyes were attracted towards some movement in the river. ¡°Yue''er, look over there. Why are there branches on the river?¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s expression immediately shifted. ¡°Not good! There are assassins under the water!¡± Right at that moment, the entire boat swayed as wave after wave of energy swept up from below the river surface and pierced holes through the bottom of the boat. The white shockwaves even burst out onto the boat¡¯s deck, forcefully sweeping across it.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s face changed; he had been too careless. He moved his right leg, causing a majestic martial power to shoot out from his feet and straight into the bottom of the river. There was a dull echo as the entire Ming River began to boil over.

    At that moment, Ming Zhaoshu seemed to be a deity with total control over the nearby area. The air grew heavy, and even Bei Qing nearly fainted from the sight.

    The surface of the river quickly reddened, and corpses floated up from below like dead face. They had all perished without exception after just a single attack. Ming Zhaoshu was a Martial Emperor and could crush all the present opposition.

    Lu Yin looked at the river and saw that there were only about a dozen corpses, although they were widely strewn about, and there was even one in the next channel. They seemed to have wanted to destroy the boat, but they had not been able to do so in time as they had vastly underestimated Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s power.

    To a powerhouse like the Reverent King, numbers held no meaning.

    ¡°Quickly, go and check if there are any more evil sect members in the other channels,¡± Ming Zhaoshu ordered. The surrounding troops immediately leaped into action and sealed off the Ming River. Even Antai City¡¯s troops moved out to investigate.

    Bei Qing was supporting himself on a railing and let out a relieved breath. He had thought that he was doomed; the pressure had been too intense for him to bear.

    ¡°Nephew, are you alright?¡± Ming Zhaoshu looked at the schr with concern.

    Bei Qing bowed graciously. ¡°With Your Highness around, rabble such as these are mere ants. I am fine.¡± He then suddenly added, ¡°That¡¯s right, Your Highness, where is the princess? Is she alright?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°Yan¡¯er is fine, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll arrange for someone to take you to your quarters where you can rest.¡±

    Bei Qing nodded, his face still a little pale.

    He was actually not that weak and was actually a Martial King himself. He had used countless resources to climb his way up to the 132nd position on the List of Tempering. However, he was too inexperienced and had not fought many battles throughout his entire life. Being that close to a Martial Emperor and experiencing their strength himself was something that was difficult for him to adapt to.

    Ming Yan¡¯s face was also a bit pale within her cabin, where she was being consoled by Yue Xianzi. ¡°Princess, don¡¯t worry. Everything¡¯s fine.¡±

    Ming Yan nodded, although she still felt a lingering fear in her heart. ¡°Thank you, Yue''er. If not for you, I would have been in danger.¡±

    Yue Xianzi smiled brightly. ¡°If not for the princess, Yue''er would have been sold into prostitution. Please don¡¯t be polite, as Yue''er¡¯s life belongs to you.¡±

    Ming Yan forced a smile onto her face and clenched Yue Xianzi¡¯s hand harder.

    The ship was slightly damaged by the ambush, but there were no major setbacks since Ming Zhaoshu had acted so quickly, preventing the attackers from causing any real harm. It only took them half a day to repair the boat before they were able to peacefully cross the river.

    ¡°These evil sects are unending, and they¡¯ll do anything. They even dared to try to assassinate His Highness.¡± Butler Seven was still rather nervous about the whole affair since he had almost been killed by the energy wave.

    Lu Yin acted as if he was fearful as well. ¡°Bu- Butler Seven, how do you know that they¡¯re from the evil sects?¡±

    Butler Seven angrily replied, ¡°If it weren¡¯t them, who else could it be? A thousand years ago, the empire¡¯s strongest person, Lord Ming Taizhong, founded his dynasty and swept aside all the sects. Since then, there have been no more sects in the entire continent, and all battle and cultivation techniques were handed over to the empire. Although Lord Ming Taizhong perished together with the foreign invaders, His Majesty, the current emperor, is even more powerful than the previous one. Everyone around here acknowledges his superiority, and no one dares to resist the empire. Only the evil sects would continue to hide like mice and still cause destruction.¡±

    ¡°I heard that there are Demon Hunters Society who specialize in dealing with the evil sects, right?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Butler Seven nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but I don¡¯t know what the Demon Hunters do for a living. They haven¡¯t exterminated these few remaining evil sect members even after all these years. How useless!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. Useless? Not necessarily... The Demon Hunters Society would be disbanded once they served their purpose. Once the evil sects werepletely eradicated, there would be no further use for the Demon Hunters. Hence, they would never go all-out in their assignment unless they were truly foolish.

 Chapter 269: Lu Yinâ€™s Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 269: Lu Yin¡¯s Revenge</h4>

    The Ming River was wide, but the convoy quickly crossed over it. Not long after, Antai City came within sight of the entourage, and they also sawrge-scale troops sealing off the shore.

    ¡°How unfortunate! Ming Ind¡¯s been sealed off, and no cultivators can enter. Even our Reverent King''s household will have to wait for two days,¡± someone exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Ming Ind had been sealed, which made Yue Xianzi¡¯s motivations for sneaking in and joining the Reverent King¡¯s entourage clear. She was nning on following them onto Ming Ind so that she could escape detection while also gathering some information at the same time.

    The extent of the Frostmoon Sect¡¯s influence in the Shenwu Continent had finally been considered exposed to Lu Yin. They must have received information about Ming Ind being sealed off far in advance, to the point where they were even able to forge an identity for her so that she could join the king''s entourage. It seemed that their influence was quite impressive.

    The convoy had to wait for two more days aboard the boat. Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu stepped off first and entered Antai City alone. He did not take anyone along with him, and even Princess Ming Yan was left on the boat.

    Lu Yin leaned against some supply goods and stared into the sky. Without him noticing, the sky had darkened considerably, and it seemed like it was going to rain any time now!

    On the deck of the boat, Ming Yan was staring at the river¡¯s surface. There was no sunlight, and the atmosphere was gloomy, but it was still better than being trapped inside the cabin; she could not bear that stuffy room anymore. Yue Xianzi was standing silently by her side.

    Bei Qing walked over to them, and his eyes brightened when he saw Ming Yan. He immediately approached to pay his respects. ¡°Bei Qing salutes the princess.¡±

    Ming Yan turned her head around, and her beautiful face hidden beneath the thin gauze veil made Bei Qing¡¯s gaze turn even more heated. Ming Yan frowned and smoothly retreated two steps. ¡°So it¡¯s Brother Bei. I heard that Senior has received an appointment as an official, so how do you have the time to return to Mingdu?¡±

    Bei Qing smiled. ¡°It¡¯s His Majesty¡¯s birthday celebration, so I must be here no matter how busy I may be. In fact, my father has repeatedly implored me toe and personally congratte His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Lord Bei is earnest,¡± Ming Yan politely responded. She then turned away and stopped speaking.

    Bei Qing¡¯s eyes swept across her back. What a beautiful woman. She definitely lives up to her reputation as one of the empire¡¯s twin beauties. She¡¯s much more beautiful than when she was younger. I must obtain this woman. He was the son of the cab minister of defense, someone who even the crown prince had to show some face to. It should not be too difficult for him to win over this beautiful princess.

    Ming Yan frowned as she could feel Bei Qing¡¯s lustful eyes sweeping over her back. She was immediately put into a foul mood and turned to head back into her cabin.

    Bei Qing bowed again to send her off. ¡°My regards, princess.¡±

    Yue Xianzi nced at Bei Qing, and he coincidentally raised his head at the same time to exchange nces with her. He nodded amicably while Yue Xianzi smiled faintly before walking away with Ming Yan.

    This woman isn¡¯t bad either, and she is very pretty as well. Bei Qing¡¯s breath had been taken away by Yue Xianzi¡¯s appearance, and his heart skipped a beat as thought began to swirl in his head.

    Lu Yin was standing at a nearby corner, watching all this happen, and was rather unhappy that this person seemed to be scheming against Ming Yan. Lu Yin grew increasingly dismal the more he thought about it. Eventually, he decided to casually wave a hand and cause a gust of wind to sweep under Bei Qing¡¯s feet. The gust was created through pure strength, but it still was enough to cause Bei Qing to fall to the floor. Lu Yin left after venting his displeasure.

    Bei Qing cried out in rm as he fell onto the deck. He had a strange expression on his face. What just happened to me?

    Ming Yan and Yue Xianzi were still nearby and they naturally nced back when they heard Bei Qing fall onto the deck. They exchanged delighted nces at his small misfortune and quietly discussed something before returning to the cabin.

    ¡°My Lord, are you okay?¡± someone asked with concern as they lent Bei Qing a hand from behind to help him up.

    Bei Qing shook his head and looked around. What had just happened? He had been tripped by a strange wind, but no one else had felt anything? The gust couldn¡¯t have been caused by martial power, so it wasn¡¯t from a cultivator. How strange.

    Bei Qing quickly dismissed the incident in his mind as his thoughts once again moved towards how he should approach Ming Yan. He also considered Yue¡¯er in his scenarios, who seemed to have a different vor.

    He tried inviting Ming Yan for a meal at midday and again in the evening, but it just made her feel even more pestered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood grew even worse as he was forced to continue watching someone else flirt and ogle a woman he was interested in. It was an unpleasant feeling. Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled in disdain and an irresistible, mischievous mood overcame him. ¡°No, I can¡¯t let you continue so happily like this.¡±

    The sky grew dark as theke reflected a white, round circle. The asional fish broke through the surface of the water, creating sshes in the night.

    A dejected Bei Qing was drinking his wine alone in his room. His various invitations had all ended in failure. It would be alright if just Ming Yan had rejected him, but that Yue''er had not given him any face either; how ridiculous!

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he called out when he heard someone quietly step up to his cabin.

    ¡°I¡¯m here on Miss Yue''er¡¯s orders to gift something to Lord Bei.¡±

    Bei Qing¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Let him in.¡±

    Lu Yin entered Bei Qing¡¯s cabin and respectfully lifted his hand. In it, he held an exquisite-looking, scented sachet. ¡°Lord Bei, Miss Yue''er instructed me to deliver this to you.¡±

    Bei Qing was delighted as he received the sachet. ¡°Yue''er? Why didn¡¯t she bring it herself?¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t say.¡±

    Bei Qing looked at the sachet, and his lips greedily curled up. It was no big deal if a girl was shy and embarrassed. The empire ced great importance on a girl¡¯s reputation, so it was already not easy for her to gift him this sachet. It was normal for her to not make more of a move. ¡°Alright, I understand. Here is your reward.¡± With that, he tossed a martial banknote to Lu Yin. It was a note that was worth five fortune coins.

    Lu Yin delightedly epted the banknote. ¡°Thank you, sir. Ah, right, the miss also requested that sir keeps this matter a secret. She will not admit to it even if you say something to her.¡±

    Bei Qing smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be concerned, I understand.¡±

    Lu Yin then left.

    Bei Qing inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of the sachet with an infatuated expression. He knew how desirable he was towards girls who came from modest backgrounds. After all, he was the son of the empire¡¯s sole minister of defense. This sort of background was far out of reach of thosemon girls. That, coupled with his handsome looks and eloquent words, made many girls in the empire desire him. Yue''er could be considered to be quite tactful, as she had made her advances when he was lonely. As long as she performed well, he could still ept her.

    Right, he could even use this girl to improve his rtionship with the princess, which was the more important matter. ¡°Can somebody send one of the curated wines from my collection to Miss Yue''er¡¯s cabin?¡±

    ¡°Yes, My Lord.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled in the distance. Yue Xianzi had caused him no small amount of trouble before, so he was just returning the favor now. That scented sachet was indeed hers, and now, he just had to patiently wait for a good show to y out.

    The next day, the sky remained overcast. In fact, it had grown even darker off in the distance, as if foreshadowing troubled days ahead. Theke had also cooled down substantially.

    Ming Yan was talking to Yue Xianzi when Bei Qing suddenly arrived at their door. ¡°Princess, this Bei Qing hase to specially invite the princess to have lunch together. I hope that the Princess will not decline.¡±

    Ming Yan frowned. ¡°Very well. Thank you, Senior. Yan¡¯er will be there shortly.¡±

    Bei Qing was delighted. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting patiently.¡±

    ¡°Yue''er, that man¡¯s detestable,¡± Ming Yanined quietly.

    Yue Xianzi smiled. ¡°If you despise him so much, then why did you agree to dine with him?¡±

    Ming Yan helplessly replied, ¡°My father and his elder brother, the Crown Prince, have a bad rtionship. Although this Bei Qing is detestable, his father¡¯s authority permeates all levels of the government, and he has a certain level of influence. Even if I don¡¯t like him, I can¡¯t create trouble for my father. Furthermore, we¡¯ve already rejected quite a few of his invitations, and it would be offensive if we continued to decline.¡±

    Yue Xianzi looked at Ming Yan with pity in her eyes. She seemed like a noble princess, but she did not even have a say in her own future. Her words had forced Yue Xianzi to view her in a different light. She had originally assumed that this princess was not well-versed in worldly affairs and that was only a pretty face and destined to be used as a tool in marriage. However, these self-aware words proved that Ming Yan had her own thoughts and understanding of the situation. Although her thoughts were rather simple, that was only because of her limited interaction with the outside word. Still, there was a strong perseverance within her heart.

    ¡°Princess, don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll just treat the lunch as dealing with him,¡± Yue Xianzi reassured the held Ming Yan as she held the princess¡¯ hand.

    Ming Yan nodded and stood up, causing even Yue Xianzi to marvel at her figure. Perhaps only these undeveloped, archaic civilizations could produce such a wonderful specimen of a girl. Yue Xianzi was envious of the person who would eventually end up with this princess; he would definitely be the world¡¯s luckiest man.

    A cold gust of wind blew across the deck. Bei Qing had rearranged the area for dining. As he waited for the two girls to arrive, he recounted the various histories of the Ming River and verbally described the future, as if he were determined to fix the world. When the girls were just about to arrive, he had even waved his hand and started boldly reciting some of his poetry.

    ¡°My Lord¡¯s poetry is amazing and will definitely impress the residents of the capital in the future,¡± a servant marvelled.

    Bei Qing smiled and then saw Ming Yan and Yue Xianzi arrive. He immediately approached and gestured at the chairs. ¡°Princess, Miss Yue''er, please be seated.¡±

    Yue Xianzi immediately declined the invitation. ¡°My Lord is too courteous. I¡¯m merely a maid and will stand aside to wait upon you two.¡±

    Ming Yan hurriedly pulled Yue Xianzi towards the table. ¡°Yue''er, you¡¯re no maid.¡± She then escorted Yue Xianzi to a seat.

    Lu Yin was one of the servants who had been called upon to wait upon the diners. Bei Qing had mistakenly taken Lu Yin to be Yue Xianzi¡¯s confidant, and based on his experiences in courting girls, he naturally knew how to quietly demonstrate that he was attentive to what they held important.

    He had even arranged for someone to change Lu Yin¡¯s attire so as to make him seem more spirited.

    To Bei Qing, this was an important meal that would decide if he could gain these two girls¡¯ favor or not. During the meal, he constantly racked his brain on how he could show his best schrly side, and the servants beside him would praise him from time to time as well. Lu Yin was internally rolling his eyes the entire time. What an idiot this person is, performing a y all by himself.

    Ming Yan and Yue Xianzi were truly only eating and could not bother to respond to Bei Qing¡¯s acts. At best, they would give him a slight smile to save him some face so that he would not feel too awkward.

    Bei Qing felt that something was amiss, and even though the meal was about to finish, he felt like he had not made any progress yet. Thus, he pped his hands and had a servant retrieve an exquisite wooden box that was handed to him. He then ced it on the table and slid it towards Ming Yan. He fervently said, ¡°Princess, this is a treasure of the highest quality from the endless Eastern Sea¡ªthe purple rose love pearl. They are very rare and I wanted to give this one to you.¡±

    Ming Yan was stunned, as she had indeed heard of these purple rose love pearls before. ording to the legends, it could be used to pray for one¡¯s loved ones when worn, and it was a treasure prized by many girls. She slowly opened the box, and a ray of purple light shone out. She saw a small, brightly-colored pearl that seemed transparent with even fog mysteriously drifting around it.

    ¡°This gift is too extravagant. Please take it back. Yan¡¯er cannot ept this.¡± Ming Yan resisted the temptation and immediately closed the box before pushing it back towards Bei Qing.

    Bei Qing smiled. ¡°There are only a few of these pearls in the world. Aside from you, I cannot think of anyone else who would deserve to wear this treasure.¡±

    ¡°This was found only after our lordbed through the endless seas. It¡¯s rumored that even His Majesty back then could not find one to give to his beloved,¡± a servant behind Bei Qing praised. But almost immediately afterwards, everyone¡¯s faces changed, as this was using Ming Zhaotian as a foil for Bei Qing; this servant was being too audacious!

    Lu Yin looked at that servant in admiration.

    Bei Qing was just about to scold the servant, but another servant was a beat quicker. ¡°Shut up! Are you suggesting that His Majesty is inferior to our lord?! Or that His Majesty¡¯s sincerity wascking? Scram!¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this person was even more ruthless than the first, although their sharp retorts did define the situation. These two were geniuses with their words, and they pushed Bei Qing closer to death with each sessive sentence that they uttered.

 Chapter 270: Lu Yin And The Reverent King

    <h4>Chapter 270: Lu Yin And The Reverent King</h4>

    Bei Qing was so furious that he was almost rendered speechless. ¡°Get out, the both of you! Remain silent for ten days!¡±

    ¡°Yes, My Lord,¡± the two said before immediately retreating in fear.

    After theparison between Bei Qing and Ming Zhaotian was made, the precious purple rose love pearl could no longer be given out under any circumstance. Bei Qing was not foolish enough to give it away anymore, as that would be inly disrespecting Ming Zhaotian. He inwardly hated those two idiotic servants for ruining his ns.

    ¡°Senior, Yue''er and I have finished eating. We¡¯ll retire to rest first,¡± Ming Yan spoke courteously.

    Bei Qing hurriedly stood up to bow. ¡°Stay well, princess.¡±

    He watched as the two girls vanished from sight before loudly verbally abusing the two idiots who had ruined this important opportunity. If this matter spread to those who wished to cause problems for him, it could bring misfortune upon his family. Those foolish ves!

    Lu Yin coughed to break the tension. ¡°Lord Bei, don¡¯t be angry. Those around us are all from the Reverent King''s household.¡±

    Bei Qing¡¯s heart jumped¡ªthat was right, they were all subordinates of the king''s household. They were far from the capital and were far removed from his family¡¯s enemies, so this matter should not spread.

    ¡°However¡­¡± Lu Yin hesitantly spoke up.

    Bei Qing was taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°However what? Hurry up and speak.¡±

    ¡°However, it was reported that there are some people hidden within the Reverent King¡¯s household who belong to the crown prince, but we haven¡¯t verified the veracity of those reports.¡±

    Bei Qing¡¯s heart sank, and he had the feeling that he had just been trampled over. His father had steadily sat in his seat as cab minister for such a long time precisely because of his neutral position. If the crown prince caught wind of this matter, then it would definitely spell trouble for both him and his father. Although the incident was nothing threatening, the crown prince was no longer a young, naive man. It would be hard for him to avoid conflicts with His Majesty if the rumors from the capital were to be believed. It was said that the crown prince wanted to push the date of his session closer as much as he could and that he already had the support of quite a few ministers. Once a conflict broke out, Bei Qing¡¯s father¡¯s position would be vitally important to both sides.

    Bei Qing now had a headache, as he had actually brought two dunces along to the dinner, and now, they had dug such a huge hole for him. He continued to think, and he even felt a rash impulse to throw the purple rose love pearl into the river.

    Forget it, this isn¡¯t the time to think about this right now. He looked around; were there really any people of the crown prince here?

    ¡°You¡¯ve done well. Here is your reward.¡± Bei Qing passed Lu Yin another martial banknote, which had a value much greater than the previous one. Lu Yin hurriedly thanked him.

    ¡°Right, why did Miss Yue''er have no reactions towards me today?¡± Bei Qing asked with a puzzled tone.

    ¡°She was apanying the princess.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, the princess was here as well. Then, should I look for Miss Yue''er by herself?¡± Bei Qing asked in a hesitant manner.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been with Miss Yue''er for a while, and she once mentioned that she¡¯s looking for a man who¡¯s either stronger or more educated than her. Otherwise, how could he ovee her?¡±

    Bei Qing¡¯s eyes brightened at Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°Very well, I do enjoy a challenge. Here is your reward for the information.¡± He then passed Lu Yin yet another martial banknote and left.

    Lu Yin was amused. This aristocratic lord was no fool, but his ego was simply toorge. He actually believed that a girl would fall in love with him at first sight! Still, this was the Shenwu Continent, and Bei Qing had a unique status, so it was notpletely impossible.

    Not long after, news spread that Bei Qing had challenged Yue''er.

    Lu Yin was speechless; Bei Qing had actually been this direct?

    Yue Xianzi, on the other hand, felt like she was cursed; Bei Qing had ridiculously confronted her and challenged her to a battle. What a madman!

    ¡°Yue''er, what did you do to provoke Bei Qing?¡± Ming Yan quickly summoned Yue Xianzi and questioned her.

    Yue Xianzi shook her head,pletely at a loss as to how the situation had developed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He approached me himself and then requested topete with me.¡±

    Ming Yan was furious with what she heard. ¡°What is wrong with this person? Yue''er, you aren¡¯t an expert on List of Tempering, so what¡¯s he challenging you for? I¡¯ll go and speak to him.¡±

    Yue Xianzi quickly stopped Ming Yan. ¡°Forget it, princess, I¡¯ve already rejected him, so just leave him be.¡±

    Ming Yan snorted; this person was too insane.

    However, Yue Xianzi had underestimated Bei Qing¡¯s patience. From the moment she rejected Bei Qing, he had set his sights on subduing her. Thus, he continued to entangle himself with her all the way until they entered Antai City. He had a never-give-up attitude that caused Ming Yan endless exasperation while Yue Xianzi herself wished to ughter him.

    The night after they entered Antai City, a downpour rained down upon the city, trapping the king¡¯s convoy who had originally wanted to immediately depart.

    Ming Ind was sealed off, and no cultivators could enter, to the extent where even those from the Reverent King''s household were thoroughly checked before being released. Yue Xianzi saw the uninterrupted rain, but she had already achieved her goal of mixing into the king''s household to enter Ming Ind. Her next step was to leave.

    Thud thud thud

    ¡°Miss Yue''er, are you there? It¡¯s Bei Qing.¡±

    Yue Xianzi was irate at the disturbance. This despicable bastard, why is he bothering me so much? She had already changed her appearance and was iparable in terms of appearance to the princess, so why could he not just leave her alone? One moment he wanted topete by fighting, and the next moment, he wanted topete in a literary contest. He was aplete nutjob!

    ¡°Lord Bei Qing, Yue''er has a weak constitution and is merely the princess¡¯ maid. Why does my Lord keep pestering Yue''er aboutpeting?¡±

    Bei Qing was taken aback. He really could not understand this girl. It had already been two days; hadn¡¯t he shown her his sincerity by giving her all this attention during this time? She had even been the first to show interest by giving him her scented sachet. Very well, since she was putting up such an attitude, then he couldn¡¯t be med if he were more upfront. He was about to take out the sachet to question her, but at that moment, the city master of Antai City arrived to seek an audience with Bei Qing.

    ¡°Miss Yue''er, please take a rest. I must go and meet with a guest,¡± Bei Qing spoke courteously.

    Yue Xianzi nodded and closed the door. This person was getting on her nerves.

    Antai City was the closest city to the Ming River, and so, it had an abundance of aquatic products. This was especially true during downpours, as oolong fish, which were a great delicacy, would swim up from the bottom of theke, encouraging many to fish for them.

    Lu Yin was loudly summoned by Bei Qing. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this sachet really hers?¡± Bei Qing demanded with an ugly expression.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s hers.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s true, why does she refuse to acknowledge my attention?¡± Bei Qing was unhappy.

    Lu Yin lowered his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. However, I have a n that may be worth a try.¡±

    ¡°Quick, tell me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. He had been pondering his next step since the previous day. He could not continue hiding in the Reverent King''s household for the entire duration of this trial, or else it would be meaningless. He also would not be able to find anyone from the Daynight n this way. It would be better to rely on others and walk another path, and Bei Qing was the path that he had chosen.

    Initially, he had only wanted to tease Bei Qing and Yue Xianzi, but now, Lu Yin truly wanted to elevate his worth in Bei Qing¡¯s eyes. This person was the child of an influential minister whom even Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu had to treat with respect.

    ¡°During this timely rainfall over Antai City, my lord can invite the princess and Miss Yue''er to go fishing. I have heard that the Oolong fish in this area is quite famous and also delicious. Miss Yue''er hase from afar, so she will definitely be moved by it. I can help deliver a letter to Miss Yue''er on your behalf to express your sincerity.¡±

    Bei Qing¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Good idea. Alright, we¡¯ll do as you say.¡± He then sized Lu Yin up. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good and are much morepetent than my two idiots. Any interest in joining me?¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted to hear his question. ¡°Thank you, my lord, for favoring me so. I am willing.¡±

    Satisfied, Bei Qing nodded. ¡°You can seek me out in the Crown Prince¡¯s pce after His Majesty¡¯s birthday celebration.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡± Lu Yin immediately expressed his gratitude.

    Lu Yin smiled as he watched Bei Qing leave. If he entered the Martial Residence, then he would have no fear ofcking results in this trial. In the worst case scenario, he could just steal some secret documents, which would definitely improve his performance.

    However, his ns were destined to not bear fruit. Lu Yin had racked his brains before finally deciding to disguise himself as Yue Xianzi to lead Bei Qing on, but Bei Qing left Antai City and headed for Mingdu, the capital, that very same night, causing all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts to be washed down the drain.

    ¡°Bei Qing¡¯s sudden departure must be rted to the letter he received. It should be a letter from his father, Bei Hong, instructing him to not have too close a rtionship with the Reverent King,¡± Tang Si said to Ming Zhaoshu as he stood nearby.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°There¡¯s more to it. Someone must have told him about the incident with Yan¡¯er.¡±

    Tang Si was shocked. ¡°Could it be someone from the crown prince¡¯s residence?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded in agreement. ¡°Ming Hao doesn¡¯t want us to establish a rtionship with Bei Hong. This is the most effective manner of ensuring that.¡±

    A girl¡¯s reputation was exceptionally important in the Shenwu Continent. No matter how much Bei Qing liked Ming Yan, once her reputation was stained, he would not longer be able to court her, so he had simply left.

    ¡°Your Highness, then-¡± Tang Si was in a difficult position.

    Ming Zhaoshu raised a hand and looked at him. ¡°Go and call Lu Seven here.¡±

    Tang Si was confused. ¡°Lu Seven? The coachman?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Go get him.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin was brought to an office. He did not understand why Ming Zhaoshu wanted to see him. ¡°Coachman Lu Seven pays his respects to His Highness.¡±

    ¡°Come in,¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s voice sounded out, seemingly rather stern.

    Lu Yin pushed the door open and entered. He immediately bowed. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu waved his hand and the door closed on its own. A formless wave then swept out and sealed the office.

    At that moment, Lu Yin nearly acted to defend himself, but he forcefully suppressed the urge. He trembled as he asked, ¡°Your Highness, do you have any instructions for me?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin and then coldly said, ¡°Bei Qing views you with importance.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Your Highness, I beg your pardon. I don¡¯t understand what your meaning is.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu raised his hand, and in it was a scented sachet.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and all of his muscles turned taut, ready to escape at any given moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen all that you¡¯ve done during this time and heard everything as well. Do you really want to keep trying to hide it from me?¡±

    Lu Yin lowered his head and his eyes glinted with surprise. Seen? Heard? Could this be¡­ a domain? This person had actuallyprehended a domain! This was something that only a few out of the countless experts of the Innerverse were capable of. There were less than twenty domain users in the entire Astral Combat Academy, which included the top elites of the entire younger generation. He could not figure out how this Ming Zhaoshu had actually achieved such a feat.

    The atmosphere became strangely silent.

    Lu Yin did not speak and only adjusted his own breathing. He was ready to act at any time.

    Ming Zhaoshu studied him for a moment and then set down the sachet. ¡°You¡¯re not bad.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head in astonishment and looked at Ming Zhaoshu with a puzzled expression.

    An expression of bemusement entered Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s cold eyes. ¡°You were able to create a rather good rtionship with Bei Qing in such a short time. If not for him leaving over an unexpected matter, you might have built an even deeper rtionship. You¡¯re smart, and you¡¯re not willing to settle down and live in seclusion.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°I know my mistake.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. No one is willing to remain impoverished for their entire life. You¡¯ve walked out of a small world and learned the styles that His Majesty created together with me. All of this is your own destiny, but to be able to build a rtionship with Bei Qing is your own ability. You are someone with both destiny and ability.¡±

 Chapter 271: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 271: Exposed</h4>

    After hearing what Ming Zhaoshu said, Lu Yin lowered his head again and did not dare to answer.

    ¡°Are you willing to work for me, Lu Seven?¡± Ming Zhaoshu suddenly shouted while staring directly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt something jostle within his head. It was that same pressure from Ming Zhaoshu once again. Powerhouses who were able to traverse the universe without a spacecraft might not all be able to use spiritual force attacks, but their bodies had fundamentally transformed, and they were all able to naturally exert pressure on those weaker than them. This was one of the many reasons why so many geniuses were unable to leap realms and challenge powerhouses above them once they became Limiteers. However, this pressure had no real effect on Lu Yin.

    ¡°I am willing to work for you, my lord.¡± Lu Yin pretended to copse and quickly blurted out a response.

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Good. Lift your head.¡±

    Lu Yin did asmanded and felt a strong gust of winding towards him. His expression changed quickly as he restrained his urge to make a move while a pleasant scent was inhaled into his body, bringing him a sense of numbness along with the aroma.

    ¡°This is a unique medicine of mine that will increase your power and the sensitivity of your five senses. However, there are some side effects. You¡¯ll need to absorb it regrly, or else you¡¯ll be reduced to a puddle of blood and pus,¡± Ming Zhaoshu coldly informed him.

    Lu Yin trembled in fear. ¡°I understand, my Lord.¡±

    ¡°As I said before, you¡¯ve done no wrong. Help me to aplish something, and I can remove this medicine from you forever. Otherwise, you already know the consequences.¡± After saying this, Ming Zhaoshu stood up, walked over to Lu Yin, and whispered, ¡°Enter the crown prince¡¯s household.¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The crown prince¡¯s household?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu had a cold glint in his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve been to Qianshan Vige, which means that you should have a slight connection to the royal family. You¡¯re smart, so you will definitely be able to get inside and obtain the trust of the crown prince, Ming Hao. His butler, Wu Xia, died recently, so there is a ripe opportunity for your picking.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Lu Yin answered. So Wu Xia had died already? That wasn¡¯t that much of a surprise. After all, he had discovered the location of the node that kept the fives sealing the continent safe. Wu Xia was already being threatened back when Lu Yin was Possessing him, and it wasn¡¯t a surprise at all that Wu Xia had been killed.

    Ming Zhaoshu was very pleased with Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. More importantly, the secret medicine could not be eliminated without a certain amount of strength. The king also couldn¡¯t sense anything abnormal about Lu Yin; he appeared to bepletely ordinary. Thus, it should be impossible for the youth to purge the medicine himself. Lu Yin was also very intelligent and aware that, even if he informed Ming Hao about this, the man would not do anything about it on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf; it would be a dead-end.

    ¡°If you do well, I will arrange for Yue¡¯er to marry you,¡± Ming Zhaoshu nonchntly added on.

    Lu Yin looked up in surprise. Yue¡¯er?!

    Ming Zhaoshu smiled condescendingly. ¡°Did you think that only young men of noble blood such as Bei Qing had the right to marry her? You¡¯re wrong¡ªyou could have the opportunity as well. I can promise you that Yue¡¯er will never leave the Reverent King Estate and that she won¡¯t marry anyone else. She will be yours and yours alone.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly made a sound of acknowledgement. Ming Zhaoshu had a very tight grasp on human behavior. If Lu Yin truly were an ordinary coachman, then he would have definitely been pumped full of vigor at the prospect of obtaining the woman that he had once only been able to admire from afar. Few would ever receive an opportunity such as this. A beautiful woman paired with a debilitating drug¡ªthis was Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s way of entrapping Lu Yin.

    ¡°That¡¯s all. You may go,¡± Ming Zhaoshu stated.

    Lu Yin bowed once more before leaving. When he reached the door, he heard Ming Zhaoshu say, ¡°I must ask that you leave before we arrive at the capital. I¡¯ll send men to keep in contact with you. Also, you would do well to remember this: don¡¯t try anything funny and never meddle in my business.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed onest time and then exited the study.

    Outside, Tang Si watched him with an indifferent expression.

    Lu Yin bowed towards him as well before walking away.

    Tang Si¡¯s eyes remained trained on Lu Yin¡¯s back as he left before entering the study. ¡°Was that necessary, my lord?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu smiled. ¡°He¡¯s very smart, ambitious, and lucky. Having him attempt to infiltrate the crown prince¡¯s household could very well turn out to be an unexpected boon for us.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°Besides, he now has a connection to Bei Qing as well. That may prove useful to us in the future as well.¡±

    ¡°Bei Qing won¡¯t pay any attention to him at all. To him, Seven¡¯s merely a ve who was trying to gain his favor,¡± Tang Si said.

    Ming Zhaoshu smiled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re on good terms or not. What¡¯s important is maintaining that connection between them.¡±

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had already moved away from the study. His mind had not stopped racing ever since. The crown prince¡¯s household did not hold any interest for him; the biggest secret there was the location of the node, and after what had happened to Wu Xia, Ming Hao must have be even more cautious about guarding this secret. It would be very difficult for Lu Yin to obtain that information with his own abilities, and there was no need for him to go to that residence anyway. The drug, on the other hand, was something he could force out of his body on his own as well.

    He was now wondering what Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s motives truly were. Based on Wu Xia¡¯s memories and the rumors circting amongst themoners, Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu was an upstanding person who was staunchly loyal to the emperor, Ming Zhaotian. He seemed to live solely for thend and the people. The only thing against him was that he was slightlycking in battle power. His older brother, Ming Zhaotian, wasn¡¯t much older than him, but he was already in the Martial God realm. And Crown Prince Ming Hao, was a Martial Emperor just like him, but it was rumored that, despite being in the same realm, Ming Zhaoshu''s battle prowess was greatly inferior to the crown prince.

    This was the one bit of Ming Zhaoshu that had been a disappointment.

    However, things would be very different if he had trulyprehended a domain. Lu Yin did not believe that anyone who couldprehend a domain was weak. Ming Zhaoshu was also a very urate judge of people, and yet, he had allowed Bei Qing to continue attempting to woo Ming Yan. From this, it was apparent that he was a very calm person who was not easy to deal with. He was hiding way too much from the public.

    Everyone knew that the king¡¯s position was being eyed by Crown Prince Ming Hao, and that quite a few people had been sent to sneak into Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s household. When he had first heard of this, Lu Yin had been rather confused. Ming Hao was no fool, but he had still somehow let everyone know that he was sending people into Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s household. But now, Lu Yin was starting to think that those rumors were actually a way for Ming Zhaoshu to reduce Ming Hao¡¯s support.

    Of course, this was all merely conjectures by Lu Yin and were perhaps nothing more than nonsense. However, some of it could be true. Lu Yin pondered over this newfound information while walking, and just when he was rounding the corner, he crashed into someone.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    After hearing the shout, Lu Yin reached forward, intending to wrap his arms around the girl who he had run into. He smelled something fragrant and rather familiar. Was this¡­ Ming Yan?

    Time seemed to stop. Right at the corner, Lu Yin had his arms around Ming Yan, and the two stared at each other for an indeterminate amount of time.

    Yue Xianzi was the first one to react and did so by hitting Lu Yin on the shoulder, forcing him to move back. ¡°How dare you do this to the young miss!¡±

    Lu Yin took several steps backwards and began begging for forgiveness with a bowed head.

    Ming Yan looked at him curiously. ¡°Are you that coachman? Lu Seven, was it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Lu Seven,¡± Lu Yin quickly answered.

    Ming Yan gazed at him. ¡°Raise your head.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. These were the exact same words that Ming Zhaoshu had spoken to him. He slowly did as ordered and looked at the princess with a feigned expression of fear.

    Ming Yan stared right into his eyes, and something shed through her own, as if she was thinking of something.

    ¡°How dare you look straight at the Young Miss!¡± Yue Xianzi shouted as she raised her hand once again.

    Ming Yan hastily stopped her. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yue¡¯er. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Yue Xianzi shot another angry re at Lu before leaving with Ming Yan. Ever since Lu Yin had demonstrated those forms, she had lost all interest in him. She believed from the bottom of her heart that he was a native of this continent, and so, she hadn¡¯t even used any martial power in her attack.

    Lu Yin ducked his head and waited until they left before raising his head once more. He rubbed his shoulder. Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t used much strength, or else it would have been extremely obvious that he hadn¡¯t been injured.

    Two dayster, the sun shone brightly and a white mist rose from the ground. Clean air covered the earth.

    A row of carriages left the king¡¯s pce in Antai City and continued heading towards the center of Ming Ind.

    Not too long after the entourage left Antai City, a crack that extended all the way into the forest opened in the sky. After the crack appeared, several figuresnded.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. More trialtakers had appeared.

    ¡°My Lord!¡± Tang Si eximed.

    Ming Zhaoshu soared up into the air. ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll handle this.¡± He lifted an arm as a fierce martial power distorted the air and spread out in all directions.

    Not too far away, a simr force appeared that contended against his attack.

    ¡°There¡¯s a Martial Emperor realm powerhouse around? They¡¯re looking to die!¡± Ming Zhaoshu shouted as he leaped up and charged out.

    Right after Ming Zhaoshu left, dozens of figures appeared from underground. Tang Si eximed, ¡°Evil sect members! Kill them all!¡±

    The carriages were all thrown into disarray. The evil sect members had taken advantage of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s preupation with the trialtakers tounch an attack on them. It wasplete chaos.

    Butler Seven hid under the private carriage, trembling in fear. They were in the very middle of the entourage and surrounded by the troops, so they were temporarily safe.

    All of a sudden, a sharp attack came rushing their direction, streaking through the air. Tang Si leaped up and counterattacked with hisnce. There was a resounding ng, and powerful shockwaves struck the ground, knocking dozens of people unconscious. Tang Si was forced to take about ten steps back and looked up in shock.

    The trialtakers were making their moves; they were Limiteers from the Innerverse.

    Many of the people who trained in the Innerverse were very powerful, and this person was as strong as a student leader from the Astral Combat Academy. For his move to force Tang Si to stagger backwards was proof in and of itself that the person had the ability to contend with the top sixteen fighters of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Some distance further away, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s battle with the Explorer was bing increasingly heated. The cracks on the ground had even reached the carriages, splitting the entourage in two. Lu Yin and the rest were thus forcibly separated from Tang Si.

    Blood spurted out from underground as Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°There are more people underground!¡±

    Right after that, another ten experts appeared and rushed towards them. Lu Yin clenched his fists and watched the situation very carefully.

    The carriage was overturned, and Yue Xianzi burst out, carrying Ming Yan with her. She coldly looked ahead to where there were about ten Martial King realm experts attacking them and pushed the princess to the side of the carriage. ¡°Take care of her.¡±

    An intense battle had broken out in all directions.

    A force tore through the void, aimed right at Ming Yan. Lu Yin grabbed her and pulled her aside. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Ming Yany in his embrace and looked up at him. Her eyes flitted about as she said in a very low voice, ¡°Why are you following us?¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°What are you talking about, mydy?¡±

    Ming Yan pursed her lips and repeated herself. ¡°Why are you following us?¡±

    With a light thud, Yue Xianzi sent a couple Martial King realm experts reeling, but just when she was about to rush over to the princess, she was stopped.

    Experts started gathering around Lu Yin and Ming Yan. Compared to all the other carriages, Ming Yan¡¯s safety was far more important.

    Even during this chaotic battle, Ming Yan did not seem at all afraid for her life and continued to stare right at Lu Yin. ¡°What exactly is it that you want, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°You know me?¡±

    ¡°Someone once told me that your name is Lu Yin. Why are you following us?¡± Ming Yan stared at him, stubbornness clouding her beautiful face. She fully understood what it meant to have her reputation tarnished in this era and was unwilling to be obsessed with the incident. What had happened had happened, but she did not want to be looked down on.

    When it came to anyone else, she could continue to pretend as if nothing had happened. However, it wasn¡¯t the same when this man was in front of her. He had destroyed her pure reputation, and she would never be rid of this stain. He had created trouble for her and disturbed her mental state. Even her dreams were no longer pure, as she had dreamed about this person for ten consecutive days.

 Chapter 272: Lu Yin vs Yue Xianzi

    <h4>Chapter 272: Lu Yin vs Yue Xianzi</h4>

    All of Lu Yin¡¯s words were caught in his throat. He saw the stubbornness, sorrow, anger, and a myriad of other emotions in her eyes, but there was nothing that he could say to her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°Leave. Don¡¯te close to us ever again or else my father will not let you off.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know who I am,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ming Yan shook her head. ¡°You underestimate him. Both you and Yue¡¯er underestimate him.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You know everything?¡±

    The corner of Ming Yan¡¯s lips curved up and sheughed deprecatingly at herself. ¡°Does a native such as me appear to be very stupid to you, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished by her words. Stupid? He seemed to have misjudged this girl. She was kind, beautiful, and definitely not stupid. When it came to her wit and instincts, she was absolutely much sharper than most. Yue Xianzi had created a fake identity with the help of her sect¡¯s connections, and while the Reverent King might have some suspicions about her, he would still need to investigate to be sure. Ming Yan, on the other hand, was alreadypletely certain. She was definitely much smarter than the king.

    ¡°How did you recognize me?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Ming Yan blushed before hesitatingly answering, ¡°M-my smell is on you.¡± After that, she struggled out of his arms since Yue Xianzi had finished taking care of the battle. The power that she had disyed was formidable.

    Lu Yin felt an emptiness inside his now-empty arms. He looked at Ming Yan and had a sudden impulse and desire to stand atop the world and pull her into his arms. This girl had stolen his heart.

    ¡°Are you hurt, mydy?¡± Yue Xianzi asked worriedly.

    Ming Yan shook her head. She nced back at Lu Yin and discreetly pointed at Yue Xianzi as she stuck her tongue out. It was so adorable that Lu Yin froze at the sight. Her cheeky grin was simply that stunning.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s dazed look, Ming Yan giggled and turned back away.

    Yue Xianzi did not notice anything and was still looking around cautiously, fearful that more enemies might appear from nowhere.

    When the battle in the distance ended, the evil sect members that had also ambushed them had beenpletely annihted. Two of the trialtakers had been killed, but the Explorer trialtaker had escaped; Ming Zhaoshu had not been able to capture him.

    ¡°Are you hurt, Yan¡¯er?¡± Ming Zhaoshu anxiously asked his daughter.

    Ming Yan shook her head. ¡°I had Yue¡¯er here to protect me, so I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu made a sound of acknowledgement. ¡°Pack up. We¡¯re going to continue moving forward.¡±

    Butler Seven finally crawled out from underneath the private carriage, his expression still that of abject terror.

    ¡°Are you alright, Butler Seven¡±¡± Lu Yin asked with concern.

    Butler Seven was rather embarrassed and coughed to cover up his fear. ¡°Uh, I checked under the carriage for more evil sect members, but I didn¡¯t find any. You can rx now.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. What a great excuse!

    The king¡¯s entourage was not the only group that had been attacked. All of the carriages in the Shenwu Empire that were heading towards the capital had been attacked. Most of the attacks were carried out by evil sect members, and the Demon Hunters were so overwhelmed that they were forced into a passive state. It was their job to deal with the evil sect members, but the evil sects were bing increasingly aggressive, and even the crown prince, Ming Hao, was enraged by their actions. Ming Zhaotian¡¯s birthday was just around the corner, but now, it seemed that there were people who were nning on turning this joyous celebratory event into a gruesome bloodbath.

    But none of this had anything to do with Lu Yin. His only wish at this moment was for this journey to never end. Ming Yan¡¯s existence had caused him to forget about a lot of things. The asional eye contact between the two of them often made his heart race. It was a great feeling.

    Unfortunately, no matter how much he wished otherwise, time could not be stopped. After around ten more days passed, the carriages stopped.

    ¡°My lord, we¡¯ll reach Mingdu once we cross the road up ahead,¡± Tang Si reported.

    Ming Zhaoshu made a sound of acknowledgement and then nced at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded back at him. Following Tang Si¡¯s instructions, he left the carriages. He was to leave, head for the capital on his own, and then find a way to enter the crown prince¡¯s household. Before he left the convoy, he sadly looked at one specific carriage onest time. After this farewell, he had no idea when they would be able to meet again. This was a sealed continent that was under heavy surveince, so he did not know if he would be able to return or even leave this ce alive.

    With a sigh, he left.

    Within the carriage, Ming Yan looked outside through the drapes while seemingly deep in thought.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Yan¡¯er?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked, surprised by her ruminative behavior.

    Ming Yan shook her head and bitterly asked, ¡°Is the grudge between us and the foreign aliens really irresolvable?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was dumbfounded. ¡°Why would you ask something like that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious. This war has gone on for too long,¡± Ming Yan quietly answered.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed and replied, ¡°A millennium ago, an ultimate powerhouse appeared on this continent. He was the uncle of my brother and I. His name was Ming Taizhong, and he was a Martial God realm powerhouse. With his aid, the empire was invincible, and he even had the ability to tear through the void. The goal had been to create an era of prosperity, but s, it was all in vain as this act only attracted the alien invaders to our continent. His Majesty eventually died after sealing the continent with the fives. Now, after a millennium, countless powerhouses from this continent have died to protect thoses and our continent as an extension. This grudge has been reinforced with so much blood from both sides that it will not be easily resolved.¡±

    Ming Yan appeared downcast from the answer and tightly clenched her handkerchief.

    ¡°Every family has a member who has died at the hands of the invaders. Whether they¡¯re from the empire, the evil sects, or the inds in the boundless East Sea, everyone views the aliens as amon enemy. Once they¡¯re discovered, they must die without exception.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s heart leaped, and her face paled. A thousand years had passed since the start of the war, but that wasn¡¯t enough to resolve the grudge. Now, here she was hoping for reconciliation. In the eyes of the people living on the continent, perhaps she was a traitor.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at her with warm eyes. ¡°I know that you¡¯re a kind person, but this is a grudge that hassted for a millennium. Don¡¯t dwell on this too much. I will take care of everything.¡±

    Ming Yan looked at her father again before lowering her head. ¡°I do not wish to be wed, Father.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned. ¡°Why is that?¡± After a moment, he seemed to remember something and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yan¡¯er. I will find a way to cleanse your reputation. I won¡¯t allow you to suffer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, father,¡± Ming Yan said in a small voice.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed and patted her on the shoulder, not thinking much of the situation. He assumed that his daughter was worried about her reputation and also reluctant to be separated from him.

    Mingdu, the capital, was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and the tall peaks towering into the sky protected it. They formed the wall of an imprable fortress that was rumored to have Martial Sovereigns at its core, protecting the capital.

    Lu Yin crossed through a forest and looked up. When he saw that the mountains off in the distance were growingrger, he stopped, leaped up into a tree, sat down cross-legged, and began cleansing his body of the drug.

    While the drug that Ming Zhaoshu had given him was rather lethal, that was only for non-cultivators. Ordinary Martial King realm cultivators would not be able to eliminate the drug, but it wasn¡¯t much of a problem for Lu Yin.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. It was ck and filled with concentrated poison, to the point where it instantly corroded the bark of the tree and let out a terrifying sizzling sound. After wiping the corner of his lips clean, Lu Yin checked his body again. It was actually a pity since that drug truly was able to enhance his strength and five senses, but unfortunately, the side-effects vastly outweighed the benefits. Otherwise, it would have truly been a useful item.

    Just as he was about to leave the tree, he saw a figure quickly darting in his direction. Lu Yin temporarily hid himself, remaining in the tree still.

    Soon enough, a beautiful figure flitted by, and Lu Yin was shocked to discover that it was Yue Xianzi. She, too, had parted ways with the convoy.

    The reason why she had joined the convoy in the first ce was to enter Ming Ind after it had been sealed off as well as to avoid the Ming guards who were searching everywhere for aliens. Now that she had reached the capital, she had already achieved her goal and would naturally part ways with the convoy.

    She considered it a huge pity that she had no choice but to part with Ming Yan. She quite liked this kind and innocent young girl.

    Right when she passed by the tree that held the hiding Lu Yin, Yue Xianzi suddenly paused and turned around; she noticed the patch of tree bark had been corroded by poisonous blood. Her gaze grew cold and she turned around, looking right at the tree that Lu Yin was hiding in.

    Lu Yin knew that she had discovered him, so he jumped down and directly looked at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Yue Xianzi eximed in shock. Never had she expected to run into the coachman here.

    Lu Yin looked the same as before and still appeared to be Lu Seven. ¡°What a surprise, Miss Yue¡¯er! I didn¡¯t think that we¡¯d meet here!¡±

    Yue Xianzi watched him cautiously before asking, ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re definitely not some ordinary person.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Take a guess.¡±

    Yue Xianzi snorted. ¡°Do you want to die?¡± She then thrust out with an attack at Lu Yin. Her fair palms followed up with a quick barrage of attacks, leaving multiple afterimages in her wake as she quickly worked to seal off Lu Yin¡¯s escape paths. The entire area¡¯s space seemed to tremble from her might. At the same time, Lu Yin lifted his arms and struck back against every single one afterimage that Yue Xianzi had created. There was a boom as shockwavespressed the ground and caused ten or so of the nearby trees to copse.

    Yue Xianzi was forced back by Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, and her face turned ashen. She was the young mistress of the Frostmoon Sect and an absolute genius of the wider universe¡¯s younger generation. While she couldn¡¯t bepared with the strongest freaks, she was not someone whom regr people could match up against. While there were also many powerhouses on the Shenwu Continent, those who were able to match up against Yue Xianzi were only those within the top ten or even top five percent of the List of Tempering. But now, this mysterious person was actually able to block her attacks with ease.

    ¡°Who in the world are you?¡± Yue Xianzi shouted, staring at Lu Yin with a guarded expression.

    Lu Yin grinned and used sh to reach her side. He then bent his hands into ws and used the 96th form of the Skybeast w technique. A beast howl echoed through the void as the attack went straight for Yue Xianzi. A cold look appeared in her eyes as the distinct image of a moon appeared on her forehead.

    ¡°Congealing Moon!¡± she cried, causing moonbeams to envelop the area, Lu Yin felt the surroundings¡¯ temperature plummet drastically. His Skybeast w was also frozen to the point where it began to shatter and break apart. He took a step back and directed a curious gaze at Yue Xianzi. So this was Yue Xianzi¡¯s innate gift, Coldmoon, which allowed a moon to illuminate the area.

    ¡°Icy Plum Vale Technique!¡± Yue Xianzi used the power of her Coldmoon to freeze everything around her. The air turned icy as white streaks formed in the air. As she attacked Lu Yin, these white streaks transformed into shapes that resembled plum flowers for a thousand meters in all directions.

    Lu Yin easily dodged her attacks. Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, Yue Xianzi had lost to Charon because he had seen through the battle technique that she had gained from the ckwater Lake inheritance and instantly killed her. At that time, she hadn¡¯t been able to show off her other battle techniques, and her inner gift had little effect on her opponents. Just now, she was finally able to disy its power, but it was nheless fruitless against Lu Yin. He was quick enough to tear through the void, and while he wasn¡¯t able to do so on the Shenwu Continent, his speed still wasn¡¯t something that Yue Xianzi could contest.

    The more they fought, the more shocked Yue Xianzi became. This person was far stronger than she had expected, and his power was at least at the level of the top sixteen in the Astral Combat Tournament. This was not someone to underestimate during the Outerverse trial on the Shenwu Continent. With this in mind, she did not hesitate to use her strongest battle technique that she had received from ckwater Lake¡ªPoseidon¡¯s Garments.

    Martial power simted the flow of water and began encircling the two of them. Lu Yin leapt out of its area of influence and calmly watched the battle technique unveil itself.

    The water spirals gradually expanded to cover arger area, turning all of the trees within a thousand meters of Yue Xianzi into powder and causing even the earth to be shredded apart. Even the clouds in the sky were affected by her technique. This phenomenon also ended up attracting quite a few passersby¡¯s attention.

    Yue Xianzi stood at the middle of it all and stared straight at Lu Yin. ¡°Speak, who exactly are you? If you don¡¯t answer, you¡¯re dead.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked as nine stars started revolving around him. He continued observing the swirling water as he slowly closed in on Yue Xianzi, step by step.

    Yue Xianzi frowned. ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    Then, Lu Yin stepped within the swirls. As soon as he did so, four-lined battle force appeared around his body, protecting him from the powerful tearing force of the water. He easily sauntered over to Yue Xianzi, and when he was about half a meter away from her, asked, ¡°Do you still want to fight now?¡±

 Chapter 273: Threat

    <h4>Chapter 273: Threat</h4>

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes widened as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. This was a very familiar sight to her. During the Astral Combat Tournament, Charon had been able to walk towards her with simr ease andpletely defeated her as a result. Now, the same thing had just happened to her again. The difference was that Charon had used a domain to counter her technique while this person had forcefully resisted it through pure battle force. ¡°You-you''re Lu Seven. Lu- Lu Yin?!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed as he shifted back his original appearance. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Yue Xianzi.¡±

    The swirling water surrounding them disappeared, and Yue Xianzi closed her eyes. When she reopened them once more, her face had already changed back to the beautiful Yue Xianzi, the young mistress of the Frostmoon Sect. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Brother Lu.¡±

    ¡°Come with me,¡± Lu Yin said before leaving without a second nce. Their battle here would definitely attract arge amount of attention from other people, especially those from the Ming Constables. The two of them could not linger here any longer.

    Yue Xianzi did not want to stay with Lu Yin since all trialtakers viewed each other as enemies. After all, nobody was willing to stay with someone who could decide their fate. However, she didn¡¯t have a choice; Lu Yin only needed a single move to kill her.

    About ten minutester, Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi stopped and faced each other next to a stream. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lu Seven to actually be you. No wonder I kept getting a familiar feeling from you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to you, Ming Zhaoshu didn¡¯t discover me,¡± Lu Yin jested.

    Yue Xianzi smiled wryly. ¡°Sorry, Brother Lu. I was just trying to test you a bit and never expected to actually cause you trouble.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m quite curious. What are your ns after entering the capital?¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s expression changed slightly as she stared straight right at him. ¡°This has nothing to do with you. We¡¯re both trial takers, so we shouldn¡¯t interfere in each other¡¯s business. Why are you even asking me this?¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°But you¡¯ve already caused me enough trouble. Because of you, Ming Zhaoshu has his eye on me, and now, he even tried to send me to join the crown prince¡¯s household as a spy. I¡¯m sure you know what kind of ce that is. If I¡¯m not careful, I could easily die there. This is the situation that you¡¯ve ced me in, so aren¡¯t you going to make up for it?¡±

    ¡°You overestimate the people of this Shenwu Continent, Brother Lu. With your strength, you¡¯ll be fine so long as you don¡¯t run into a Martial Sovereign. And the capital doesn¡¯t have any Martial Sovereigns in it anymore since they¡¯re all on the fives, guarding the continent.¡± Yue Xianzi quickly changed the topic.

    Lu Yin disdainfully answered, ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be forced to kill you.¡±

    Yue Xianzi clenched her fists and her eyes shed with a trace of bloodlust. However, it soon dissipated. There was no chance of her beating this man, so she had no choice but to answer. ¡°Are you really going to bully me?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°That won¡¯t work on me. Tell me your ns.¡±

    ¡°What ns are you talking about?¡± Yue Xianzi was feigned confusion.

    Lu Yin walked closer to her step by step. The closer he got, the more intense the bloodlust in his eyes. ¡°I already told you this. Don¡¯t make me kill you. The Frostmoon Sect must have had undercover agents lying low in the continent for close to a millenia. Your identity was borately crafted, so you must have a reason to head into Mingdu. I want to know why.¡±

    Yue Xianzi could only respond, ¡°Even if I have a goal, it has to do with my sect and nothing to do with you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m curious,¡± Lu Yin nonchntly replied.

    Yue Xianzi froze but thenughed. ¡°You¡¯re very direct. Fine, I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯m going to join the Demon Hunters Society.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°The Demon Hunters Society? Why?¡±

    ¡°Besides the two permanent missions in the Shenwu Continent trial, your results also depend on what you manage to aplish. The Demon Hunters Society is an assassination organization meant to eliminate the evil sects. The moment you enter, you¡¯ll definitely get better results. You entered this trial to get good results and not toplete those two missions, right? Those are impossible to finish, so it¡¯s better to be realistic,¡± Yue Xianzi earnestly exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t get in my way, we¡¯d be willing to create a fake identity for you to get inside the Demon Hunters Society as well so that you can raise your results.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re willing to let mee with you?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Yue Xianziughed before replying, ¡°Of course! My only goal was to enter the Demon Hunters Society and nothing more than that. If you¡¯re there as well, then I¡¯ll have someone around to give me a hand if ites to that.¡±

    ¡°Besides the Demon Hunters, are there other ces that you could help me enter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Yue Xianzi thought it over before answering, ¡°Other than the imperial pce and the crown prince¡¯s residence, anywhere else should be fine, short-term at least. Even if anyone finds out, it¡¯ll be monthster.¡±

    ¡°I want to join the Ming Constables,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yue Xianzi was thoroughly surprised. ¡°The Ming Constables? What for?¡±

    The Ming Constables was an organization specifically set up to eliminate trial takers. Lu Yin wanted to enter the organization so that he could specifically seek out people from the Daynight n and kill them, though he wouldn¡¯t tell Yue Xianzi that part. ¡°It¡¯s more difficult to enter the Ming Constables than the Demon Hunters. If I get in there, I¡¯m guaranteed to receive good results. I want to join the Outerverse Youth Council, so I should at least get into the Ming Constables.¡±

    ¡°You want to join the Outerverse Youth Council?¡± Yue Xianzi looked confused as she asked, ¡°You¡¯re already a part of the Council of Astral Academy, so why do you want to join the Outerverse Youth Council?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Lu Yin coldly replied.

    Yue Xianzi looked at Lu Yin closely and carefully considered his request. ¡°The Ming Constables aren¡¯t the Demon Hunters. With the identities that we¡¯ve created, Demon Hunters will find out there¡¯s something wrong after around two months, but it¡¯ll only take a month for the Ming Constables to discover the discrepancies. Have you already thought this through?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Yue Xianzi took a letter out from her cosmic ring and handed it to Lu Yin. ¡°All you have to do is hand this over to the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters, and you¡¯ll be able to get in. Everything¡¯s written in detail there, and you can keep using the name ¡®Lu Seven¡¯ ore up with something else on your own. It doesn¡¯t matter. However, in no more than a month, that letter will be discovered to be false. Also, don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you about this¡ªthe Ming Constables have a Martial Sovereign, so once you get found out, you¡¯re dead meat.¡±

    Lu Yin took the letter and opened it; he still didn¡¯t trust herpletely. At first, she had said that there weren¡¯t any Martial Sovereigns in the capital, but then, all of a sudden, she had mentioned that there was one in the Ming Constables. She wasn¡¯t trustworthy.

    The contents of the letter left Lu Yin rather shocked. Everything about him had been written down in detail, and it even contained the seal of the former head of the Ming Constables. There were also a bunch of other seals that belonged to former members of the Ming Constables. He sighed in admiration as he looked at her. ¡°It¡¯s indeed great to have connections. I can¡¯t believe that you managed to forge something like this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not forged. It¡¯s real. Other than the seal of the previous head of the Ming Constables, everything else is real,¡± Yue Xianzi earnestly answered.

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow, as this method was quite sly. These people might not have even realized that they were working for the Frostmoon Sect. ¡°We¡¯re even now.¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Actually, we can still work together.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How so?¡± Lu Yin asked, interested in what she had to say.

    Yue Xianzi answered, ¡°Actually, after that battle that took ce a millenia ago, manyrge organizations in the outer universe have left pockets of people hiding in the Shenwu Continent, lying low. The Frostmoon Sect is actually a tiny sect that¡¯s working under the Daynight n, and we don¡¯t have any real rights. If you agree, then we can work together and act against other organizations.¡±

    ¡°For example?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    Yue Xianzi sighed before bluntly answering, ¡°The Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He had been hoping to get some information on the Daynight n¡¯s movements in the Shenwu Continent from her, and yet, here she was offering him everything. It appeared that the Daynight n was rather despised among the other organizations. ¡°Is the organization that the Daynight n uses in this continent very powerful?¡±

    Yue Xianzi could only smile wryly before exining, ¡°They¡¯re powerful in the entire universe. From your Frostwave Weave to ces even further away, everyone knows that those with ck and white hair are from the Daynight n. That is the extent of their influence.¡±

    ¡°Who did they send here?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    A hint of terror shed across Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes. ¡°Zhanlong Daynight, a genius who managed to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing in one move.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°He defeated Nightqueen Yanqing?¡±

    Yue Xianzi nodded. ¡°Yes, though that¡¯s a secret, and only a few people in the Daynight Flowzone are aware of it. That includes our Frostmoon Sect. He hasprehended a battle technique that nobody else in the n has in countless years¡ªthe Daynight Restoration Technique. He was deemed a genius second only to Nightking Zhenwu. He¡¯s the true opponent we are facing during this trial.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew full well the extent of Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s abilities. The fact that this Zhanlong Daynight had been able to easily defeat her meant that he had to be on a simr power level as him. This was the ability of a great n of the universe; there was a never ending stream of geniuses avable to them.

    ¡°Did the Daynight n send any Explorers here?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    Yue Xianzi shook her head. ¡°Probably not. Explorers attract too much attention. Their ultimate goal is to have a Daynight n member join the Outerverse Youth Council and then take advantage of that position to meddle in the Outerverse¡¯s matters. If they send an Explorer, then the Ten Arbiters would have had internal conflicts.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that the Ten Arbiters had their own internal conflicts. If the Daynight n had really sent an Explorer to the Outerverse trial, then the other Ten Arbiters would definitely do the same. That would create chaos in the Outerverse.

    ¡°One more thing.¡± Yue Xianzi stared at Lu Yin with a serious look in her eyes. ¡°They want to wash away the humiliation that Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s defeat caused them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted coldly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find things strange? The top four from the Astral Combat Tournament were all required to enter the Shenwu Continent¡ªthat was caused by the sole intervention of the Daynight n. Your battle with Nightqueen Yanqing was also arranged by the Daynight n.¡± Yue Xianzi said.

    Lu Yin was well aware of this. He was nothing more than a chess piece being moved about ording to the Daynight n¡¯s desires.

    ¡°The Daynight n needs Zhanlong Daynight to defeat the top four tournament fighters and achieve outstanding results during this trial. This would reverse their humiliation that came from Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s defeat and the shame of you banning the Daynight n from the trial zones,¡± Yue Xianzi exined.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying too much,¡± Lu Yin told her.

    Yue Xianzi lowered her voice before continuing. ¡°The Daynight n is incredibly tyrannical and acts openly. We know them too well. That¡¯s all I have to say, Brother Lu. Whether you¡¯re willing to work with us or not is your choice. I¡¯ll be at the Demon Hunters Society¡¯s headquarters and I¡¯ll be going by the name ¡®Xiao Yue.¡¯¡± After saying that, she left.

    Lu Yin burst into a fit ofughter. Yue Xianzi had done everything that she could to ensure that he viewed the Daynight n in a bad light, but there was simply no need for any of that! The grudge between him and that n could never be resolved except by blood. The moment he had met Qingyu Daynight on Earth, there was no way for this grudge to be dissolved.

 Chapter 274: Gathering At Mingdu

    <h4>Chapter 274: Gathering At Mingdu</h4>

    Within the capital, one could always find multiple banks open for business in the major metropolitan areas. The local branch of just one bank took up two of the main roads, and other simr branches could be found everywhere. Its main building covered arge area, and there were even experts guarding it. This was the Bank of Wuyun, and it was one of thergest banks in the entire Shenwu Empire.

    After the battle that had urred a thousand years ago, the Bank of Wuyun had suddenly be popr while all the other banks in the empire had copsed. Right when the empire was about to personally intervene, the bank epted the imperial family¡¯s investment and became subservient to the imperial family. Still, the bank was able to independently influence the economy even after being restrained by the imperial family. After so many years, the Bank of Wuyun financed everything from army rations to financial aid for the empire, sries, and even rewards. After a thousand years, the Bank of Wuyun had be an unfathomably powerful force that was not to be reckoned with.

    While the people in the Shenwu Continent typically thought little of businessmen, the Bank of Wuyun was an exception.

    Behind the bank and within a huge manor, a middle-aged man slowly drank a cup of tea while surveying his surroundings. His name was Ming Zhaocai, and from his name alone, it was clear that he was from the imperial family and of the same generation as the current emperor, Ming Zhaotian.

    Although he was a member of the imperial family, he was very different from Ming Zhaotian and the other imperial family members. He was good at managing money and was so proud of this fact that he had even changed his name to Ming Zhaocai. Ming Zhaotian had punished him for that matter, but it was to no avail. In the end, Ming Zhaotian let Ming Zhaocai handle the empire¡¯s financial matters and even appointed him to the position of the minister of finance.

    As he heard light footsteps approaching his room, Ming Zhaotian turned around and saw a girl with an innocent mien and a light smile on her face. She made him feelfortable and rxed.

    The girl slowly walked over to him and bowed. ¡°Greetings, my lord. I am Ah-Lan.¡±

    Ming Zhao helped her back up with eyes full of praise as he said, ¡°You¡¯re Ah-Lan?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± she answered respectfully.

    Ming Zhaocai grunted in understanding as he looked her up and down. ¡°Not bad at all. To be able to be the supervisor of the Bank of Wuyun¡¯s branch in Mingdu at the tender age of twenty means that you must be very talented.¡±

    Ah-Lan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re being very kind, my lord.¡±

    Ming Zhaocai looked very satisfied. He made a gesture, and the two of them took their seats.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of why I¡¯m here at the Bank of Wuyun today, Ms. Ah-Lan.¡± Ming Zhaocai got straight to the point.

    Ah-Lan nodded seriously. ¡°Of course. The foreigners from the endless Eastern Sea are invading us, and the empire doesn¡¯t have enough warships to fend them off. The Bank of Wuyun is naturally willing to lend its aid and provide some army rations to thank the empire for all its help over the years.¡±

    Ming Zhaocai¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°To what extent would the bank be willing to aid us?¡±

    Ah-Lan pped, causing a servant to step forward and hand a list to Ming Zhaocai. He nced at it, and his expression changed as he eximed in surprise, ¡°This is way too much, youngdy!¡±

    Ah-Lan smiled demurely. ¡°Not at all. His Majesty¡¯s birthday is just around the corner, so you can treat this as a gift from us at the Bank of Wuyun.¡±

    Ming Zhaocai smiled broadly. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll offer you my thanks, Ms. Ah-Lan.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m d that you appreciate it. It¡¯s a bit of a pity, though¡­¡±

    ¡°A pity? About what?¡± Ming Zhaocai raised an eyebrow as he looked at her curiously.

    Ah-Lan sighed. ¡°Ie from a humble background and am a mere merchant. I have no right to enter the pce and participate in the celebration.¡±

    Ming Zhaocai chuckled. ¡°I understand. That¡¯s not an issue at all! If you¡¯re willing, then you can follow me, and I¡¯ll escort you to the pce for the celebration.¡±

    Ah-Lan was delighted. ¡°Really? Would you truly be willing to do such a thing for me on such an auspicious day?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s no problem at all. I can even take you to meet my brother. He spends most of his time overseeing the five sealings and will onlye down here on that one day. If you¡¯re lucky, then you might even get the chance to speak to him.¡± Ming Zhaocaiughed.

    Ah-Lan quickly thanked him, and Ming Zhaocai left soon after.

    Within the bank, Ah-Lan watched upon his figure fade into the distance. Her expression turned solemn as her appearance gradually changed. If any trialtakers were around, they would have easily recognized her as one of the final four fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament: Grandini Mavis.

    Just as Grandini was about to enter the building, the sound of a drum echoed through the city. Numerous people walked out and onto the main road to gaze into the distance with expressions of awe.

    Grandini was rather curious and returned to her appearance of Ah-Lan. It was only after she left the bank and asked around a bit that she found out that, because His Majesty¡¯s birthday was right round the corner, one of the schrs who had passed the exams this time wanted to enter the academies and pray for the emperor. She was a bit confused. A schr? It was quite a traditional way to address someone, but the people who had managed to gain the title of schr here were definitely the cream of the crop. In ancient times, someone who was called a schr was definitely someone who held quite a bit of power.

    As the sound of the drums grew closer, the troops cleared the way for a man riding a huge beast who waved at themoners on his left and right while smiling happily.

    Grandini¡¯s expression quickly turned glum, and she looked like she¡¯d eaten a dead housefly; it was Han Chong. Even though his appearance had been altered, she was still able to recognize him just from his aura. With just one look, she was certain that this so-called ¡°schr¡± was none other than Han Chong. How disgusting. He should havee to the Shenwu Continent to participate in the trial, and yet, he somehow became a schr.

    From atop the giant beast¡¯s head that was striding through the middle of the road, Han Chong coincidentally saw Grandini, and something shed through his eyes. He smiled gently without missing a beat and waved at her.

    Grandini merely clicked her tongue in annoyance before turning around to return to the Bank of Wuyun.

    Han Chong snickered to himself as he nced at the Bank of Wuyun. He then continued on his way without giving their meeting much thought.

    The crown prince¡¯s pce was on the other side of the capital, not too far away from the imperial pce. The crown prince, Ming Hao, had a rather nervous expression as he stared at the end of a path. He wasn¡¯t waiting for the schr to arrive, but rather, a mysterious girl who came from a family with a history dating back for a thousand years. This was the family that had created the heavenly globe, and she was the heir to the family¡¯s secrets.

    After the ancient battle with the foreign aliens, numerous foreigners had descended upon the continent without the empire¡¯s knowledge. Someone who called themselves Tian Ji had been worried about this situation and decided to create the heavenly globes to help the empire seek out foreigners. With the heavenly globes in hand, the empire had managed to stabilize its situation.

    Tian Ji was not a sect, but rather some kind of inheritance. Nobody knew exactly what it was, but they did know that it involved divination in some way. Even the emperor, Ming Zhaotian, thought highly of Tian Ji. Unfortunately, this person could not be found.

    Ming Hao never thought that Tian Ji woulde looking for him one day.

    ¡°Your Highness, someone-¡± a person eximed as they stared at the end of the road. A young woman wearing a veil while being surrounded by fog was slowly drawing closer.

    Ming Hao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately approached the woman. A group of people followed behind him.

    ¡°Greetings to His Highness. My name is Shao Shu.¡± She spoke gently while bowing to the prince.

    Ming Hao was confused. ¡°Are you the current Tian Ji?¡±

    The girl bowed again. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid that this must be disappointing to you seeing as my cultivation isn¡¯t very high, Your Highness.¡±

    Ming Hao quickly responded in a serious tone. ¡°You¡¯re being too kind. Your ancestor who created the heavenly globe back then was nothing more than a Martial Emperor when he passed away, but he still possessed such a unique power. Cultivation is nothing inparison.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes twinkled brightly as she looked at the prince. ¡°You¡¯re being too kind, Your Highness. I still can¡¯t live up to the name of ¡®Tian Ji,¡¯ so please call me Shao Shu as that is my original name.¡±

    Ming Hao nodded. ¡°Please enter the pce, Ms. Shao Shu.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin had no idea that quite a few of his acquaintances had already appeared in Mingdu. One nightter, Lu Yin entered the city himself and finally saw the most flourishing city in the entire Shenwu Continent. There were four tall peaks surrounding the city while the five sealings hung in the sky above a wide moat that glittered as it rippled in the starlight.

    The capital was where everybody gathered. Nearly half of the top ten on the List of Tempering were here, and numerous experts appeared here both in secret and out in the open. If one actually looked for experts, then they could be found everywhere.

    Outside the gates of the capital, dozens of heavenly globes emitted dull rays of light without taking even a second to rest. They constantly radiated martial power that covered the entire capital, cing every square inch under the detection of the heavenly globes. The moment star energy undtions appeared, that person would be discovered almost immediately.

    The Ming Constables and the Demon Hunters Society¡¯s headquarters were both within the capital. Even Hunters would find it difficult to escape from the city if they were discovered inside.

    Lu Yin gaped at how lively the city was as he headed towards the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters.

    Four hours after Lu Yin entered Mingdu, the Reverent King¡¯s convoy arrived and slowly entered.

    Ming Yan looked through the curtain covering the window of one of the carriages, and her face lit up. It appeared as if she had found something she was looking for.

    Ming Zhaoshu had his eyes closed and was currently resting.

    At that point, Tang Si¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°The results of our investigation are in, my lord.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu opened his eyes a crack. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Yue¡¯er¡¯s ancestry seems fine, but it can only be traced back eight centuries. There¡¯s nothing before that,¡± Tang Si answered.

    After hearing that there was indeed a problem with Yue Xianzi¡¯s background, Ming Yan¡¯s expression changed, and she ducked her head.

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned. ¡°Is it difficult to find the information, or is there nothing at all?¡±

    Tang Si stayed silent for a while before answering, ¡°I think that there¡¯s nothing at all. Whether in terms of ancestry or locational records, nothing can be traced beyond eight centuries.¡±

    ¡°Have Yue¡¯ere see me immediately,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said sternly.

    ¡°She¡¯s left,¡± Tang Si said in a chilly tone.

    Ming Zhaoshu grew furious and exited the carriage. He looked at Tang Si and asked, ¡°What did you say? She¡¯s gone?¡±

    Tang Si hung his head. ¡°Yes, my lord. The moment I received this information about her background, I immediately went to look for her, but I found to my dismay that she was no longer with us.¡±

    ¡°She was here yesterday, but she¡¯s gone today. What convenient timing,¡± Ming Zhaoshu scoffed and then looked around. Quite a few of the capital¡¯smoners who were next to them had nced over, and he rxed his expression. ¡°Forget it.¡±

    Tang Si looked up. ¡°Are you not going to send men to capture her, my lord?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s most likely a foreigner with powerful connections since they¡¯ve been able to stay on the continent for the past eight centuries. Besides, she can change her appearance, so we won¡¯t be able to find her even if we try. Just forget it.¡± After saying this, he climbed back into his carriage.

    Ming Yan heaved a heavy sigh of relief and then grinned, feeling slightly happy. She had quite liked Yue¡¯er even though the girl had lied to her. Yue¡¯er was her very first friend, so she held a rather special ce within Ming Yan¡¯s heart. The princess did not know much about the millennial grudge between the Shenwu Continent¡¯s natives and the foreigners, and thus did not feel much hatred.

    Ming Zhaoshu sat down in his own carriage, looking fatigued. He happened to nce at Ming Yan, and to his surprise, he saw that his daughter was... smiling? Had she uncovered Yue¡¯er¡¯s origins long ago?

    ¡°Since His Majesty¡¯s birthday is fast approaching, all of the experts here, the Ming Constables, the Demon Hunters Society, and the army have all gathered here, trying to seek out any traces of foreigners. It¡¯s even rumored that the inheritor of Tian Ji has shown himself. As long as this moat is here, there¡¯s no way any foreigner will be able to escape once discovered,¡± Ming Zhaoshu calmly stated as if he was addressing himself, yet also informing Ming Yan.

    She turned pale after hearing what her father said. ¡°Tian Ji¡¯s heir? Are you talking about the same person who invented the heavenly globes and has the ability to predict the future?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Tian Ji has the power to predict the future. No foreigner will be able to escape here alive. It¡¯s very likely that Yue¡¯er is a foreigner, and if so, she¡¯ll definitely die here. That also means that there¡¯s no need for us to go out of our way to capture her,¡± Ming Zhaoshu replied.

    Even the tips of Ming Yan¡¯s fingers turned white as she clenched her seat tightly while looking uneasy.

    Ming Zhaoshu gave her a wry look. This reaction confirmed his suspicions that his daughter had found out that Yue¡¯er was a foreigner long ago. He merely shook his head and did not say anything more. He already knew his daughter best; she was too kind.

    However, Ming Zhaoshu had no idea that the person who Ming Yan was worried about wasn¡¯t only Yue Xianzi but also that man¡ªthe man whom she¡¯d never be able to forget.

    [1] The character of "cai" was changed from one that meant "talent" to "wealth," but both sound the same.

 Chapter 275: Lu Yin vs. Han Chong

    <h4>Chapter 275: Lu Yin vs. Han Chong</h4>

    The Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters were located in a forgettable corner of the capital. Many people knew that they were located here, but none of them had the courage to approach the building. This was partially because there were two sculptures of aggressive-looking beasts at the entrance. They weren¡¯t real beasts, but they still somehow emanated auras that chilled one to the bone, and they were even capable of casting a terrifying illusion that could cause one to lose their wits.

    Lu Yin calmly walked towards the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters. As he gazed at these two strange beasts carved from some unknown material, he grew increasingly surprised. Aren¡¯t- Aren¡¯t these two things sourceboxes?

    Others might not be able to tell, but he could. These two sculptures were obviously sourceboxes, but they had somehow been unlocked only to the point where they looked like beast statues.

    Lu Yin got closer and closer and inspected one of the statues up and down. He activated his Cosmic Art, which caused the two aggressive-looking beasts to change into a deep, sea-like, solid energy in his vision. Not even a third of the energy on these beasts had been unlocked.

    This had to have been on purpose! Lu Yin guessed. Otherwise, how was it possible that these sourceboxes would be partially unlocked to where they looked like beasts? However, were there even Lockbreakers on the Shenwu Continent? Or had a true Lockbreaker of the greater universe visited this sealed continent and tried to unlock these sourceboxes only to run into some trouble part way through the process?

    ¡°Who is it?¡± a stern voice sounded out from the Ming Constables¡¯s headquarters. Nobody appeared, but Lu Yin sensed a cloud of bloodlust surround him. If he acted even slightly oddly, he would be in trouble.

    Lu Yin did not say a word and slowly took out the letter. He lifted his hand, and the letter immediately disappeared. Lu Yin patiently waited outside the building.

    Quite some timeter, the stern voice sounded once more. ¡°Enter.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and stepped into the Ming Constables. This was the ce that the trialtakers feared the most. It was filled with the blood of their fellowrades, and there were rumors that itsmander was a Martial Sovereign who wasparable to a Cruiser realm cultivator. Lu Yin presently had only two options¡ªeither enter this building or die.

    ¡°Wait, this is such a cold ce. Hey, where did you go?¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice suddenly sounded out in his head, startling Lu Yin. However, he did not have the luxury to reply to the beast and entered the building in silence.

    ¡°What a strong sense of bloodlust! This is a great ce to bury someone. Also, why does it feel dangerous to me? Wait a second, there¡¯s someone here who¡¯s powerful enough to threaten your life. Damn it, Lu Yin, what are you doing? Don¡¯t you know that you should be avoiding these people?¡± The Ghost Monkey started ranting in an annoying manner.

    Lu Yin frowned. He wanted to screen the monkey¡¯s senses, but he really didn¡¯t dare to do anything at this moment. All he could do was allow the monkey to keep screeching inside of his head.

    The inside of the building was decorated quite simply. The entirety of the capital was jubnt due to Ming Zhaotian¡¯sing birthday, but none of that cheer could be sensed here. It was simply dark and gloomy.

    All of a sudden, a miserable cry could be heard in the distance. Lu Yin looked up, and a cold edge appeared in his eyes. He walked a short distance forward and briskly rounded the corner. What appeared before Lu Yin was a whole line of people standing there quietly, to the point where it felt like they weren¡¯t even breathing. There were bloodstains covering the entire ground, and there was presently a man thrashing about. Blood flowed from the man¡¯s neck, dying the ground red.

    ¡°Foreignerse here everyday, trying to enter the Ming Constables. The blood of countless foreigners have dyed this floor red,¡± a stern voice exined from somewhere out of sight.

    Lu Yin headed over and lined up with the rest of the people.

    ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t that the guy who came in with you?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked, surprised.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned to the side and nced at the person who the monkey was talking about. There were three people between him and the person who the monkey had pointed out, and that person seemed unfamiliar. There was a cold look on his face, and he seemed utterly emotionless.

    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s him. This guy can change his appearance as he pleases, but it doesn¡¯t matter how he tries to disguise himself. I¡¯m still able to recognize him at a nce,¡± the monkey said, pleased with himself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a single chance. If you¡¯re a foreigner, step out. If you tell us everything, we promise not to kill you,¡± the stern voice spoke out.

    Nobody stepped out.

    ¡°Fine. I hope that none of you get found out.¡± After those words, a wave swept past the people lining up. It was weak, but it was extremely thorough. Compared to a normal heavenly globe, it was ten times more urate in terms of its ability to detect star energy.

    Lu Yin felt d that he had luckily thought to disperse all of his star energy and hidden away any of his items that might have ever had contact with star energy, including his cosmic ring. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to pass this test.

    All of a sudden, there were signs of rejection from someone nearby. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew cold, and he smacked the man who was disying these signs. The person that the monkey had recognized attacked at the same time as well. The two of them had the quickest reactions, and before the others could even make a move, their attacks hadnded. With a bang, the man was sent flying far away.

    The rest of the people gaped in surprise.

    Lu Yin and the man who had also attacked exchanged nces, and then they both looked at the man whom they had sent flying.

    The man stood up, patted his body clean, and then looked at Lu Yin and the other man in admiration. ¡°Not bad. The fact that you attacked me proves that you really want to kill the foreigners. You two pass. The rest of you fail, so get out.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and sized the man up.

    The man chuckled before saying, ¡°I¡¯m Ming Zhaochen.¡± After speaking this, his appearance warped as he took on the appearance of a middle-aged man who looked somewhat simr to Ming Zhaoshu.

    ¡°Greetings, my lord.¡±

    The other person who had attacked immediately bowed, and Lu Yin did the same. ¡°Greetings, my lord.¡±

    The master of the Ming Constables was Ming Zhaochen. He was of the same generation as Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu. He was a Martial Sovereign and was the sharpest de of the empire.

    Ming Zhaochen scanned the two of them. ¡°The Ming Constables recruits a lot of people every year, but there are very few who are truly qualified. Both power and a strong mind are necessary, but besides that, courage and flexibility are also required. The foreigners who invade our continent are extremely strong, and to them, the Shenwu Continent is merely a trial zone. All who dare to enter here are experts. What you need to do is be stronger than them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± the two of them answered.

    Two dayster, outside the capital, Lu Yiny on the ground with a heavenly globe in his palm that asionally emitted undtions.

    Many of the Ming Vanguards were hidden outside of the capital, and they constantly patrolled the surroundings in search of foreigners.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, this most likely did not yield many results. Most foreigners knew to switch from using star energy to martial power and would not be found through this crude method. However, this was the vanguards¡¯ job, and they could not let their guard down.

    Within the Ming Constables, the name that Lu Yin went by was ¡°Seven.¡± The other person who had joined along with him went by the alias Wu Shang.

    ¡°Are you sure that this guy came to the Shenwu Continent with me?¡± Lu Yin asked once again.

    The Ghost Monkey seemed very annoyed. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. How many times do you want me to repeat myself? Nobody can hide from me. That goes for you as well.¡±

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Lu Yin suddenly whispered. He peered into the distance and suddenly activated his Cosmic Art. The space in the air started trembling slightly. There was a person moving about so quickly that the void itself was distorting.

    To be able to do this in the Shenwu Continent, the person Lu Yin was observing had to be either an Explorer or a genius Limiteer. Lu Yin had the feeling that he was also capable of such a feat, but there were very few trialtakers who were at his level.

    With a whoosh, a strong wind blew past him, and Lu Yin focused on the moving figure. It was a female, but he chased after her without any hesitation. He moved with pure physical strength and concealed his aura so that she wouldn¡¯t discover him.

    The further he traveled, the stranger Lu Yin found the situation. This girl was moving about using only her physical abilities and not any martial power, which meant that she would not attract attention either.

    For someone to move around like this and even cause the void to distort instantly reminded Lu Yin of the Mavis family. If he wasn¡¯t wrong, this girl was likely Grandini Mavis.

    There were four mountains surrounding the Ming Capital, but there were quite a few other mountains around the capital.

    She dodged a crowd and stepped into a little house with a thatched roof. Lu Yin paused and then slowly crept closer.

    ¡°You¡¯rete,¡± someone from inside the house said.

    ¡°I had too much to deal with, so it couldn¡¯t be helped. At least I¡¯m here, unlike a certain someone else.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. On the day of the emperor¡¯s birthday, the Darkmist Weave willunch an attack. All the experts who are at the Explorer realm and above on this continent will have their hands full. This includes the four protectors atop the mountains. Our mission is to attack the Tower of Resonating Light.¡±

    On the roof, Lu Yin calmed himself and looked down.

    There were fewer than ten people inside the small room. Once he heard the term ¡°Explorer,¡± Lu Yin had confirmed that these people were definitely trialtakers.

    ¡°Are you sure that the Tower of Resonating Light is one of the five points?¡± thest girl to arrive asked.

    Lu Yin merely caught a glimpse of each of the participants as he did not dare to stare too hard at anyone. Experts like them would definitely be able to sense someone staring at them, which was why he couldn¡¯t confirm if the woman whom he had tailed was really Grandini Mavis.

    ¡°I¡¯m 90% certain. Our sect has had people lying low here for the past millennia. One of our ancestors even protected the Tower of Resonating Light centuries ago, so the information should be true.¡±

    ¡°Good. I don¡¯t want to help only to find out that it was all for nothing.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Someone else was here.

    The house fell quiet, and everyone stared outside.

    This new person made no attempt to hide their approach and boldly walked straight inside.

    ¡°Oh my, isn¡¯t it the schr? How did you find the time to join us here?¡± the girl mockingly asked.

    The person who had just entered the house was Han Chong. ¡°If the manager of the Bank of Wuyun doesn¡¯t mind freeing up some time toe here, then a mere schr like me should be able to do the same.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that Han Chong, who¡¯s one of the top four of the Astral Combat Tournament, would be a schr in the Shenwu Empire. That alone shows that your results will be quite something,¡± someone spoke enviously.

    The girl disdainfully countered, ¡°What¡¯s so special about someone from the Erudite Flowzone bing a schr?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Let''s get back to the point. But before that, we need to clean up a little.¡± After saying that, Han Chong looked up at the roof.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, and he tried to use sh to get away. The house crumbled as shockwaves spread in all directions. Han Chong nced around and then focused on the ce where Lu Yin had been before vanishing. With a simple wave of his hand, he used martial power to conjure an image of vast mountains and rivers. Nobody could escape from it.

    Lu Yin was rather shocked when he saw that unique battle technique appear in the void. This was Han Chong¡¯s ability.

    ¡°Who is it?!¡± With a shout, the girl punched at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and kicked out. With a boom, a violent shockwave spread out from their collision, damaging the mountains and pulverizing the ground into dust. The two of them retreated at the same time, and Lu Yin used his left hand to bring out Emperor Giant¡¯s third eye. After activating his Cosmic Art, he stared at what Han Chong had drawn and then attacked. The martial power was easily dispelled, allowing Lu Yin to dart away.

    Han Chong was shocked to see his battle technique being dispelled with such ease. Although he hadn¡¯t gone all out, his technique should still have been able to stop even an Explorer, but it had not been able to stop that person. He had to be a Lockbreaker!

    The girl had been forced back by Lu Yin¡¯s kick as well. In her fury, she wanted to chase after him, but Han Chong stopped her. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. You won¡¯t catch up.¡±

    The girl was rather annoyed and looked at Han Chong while clenching her fists, feeling surprised. That person had blocked her punch and also dispelled Han Chong¡¯s battle technique, which meant that he had to be very powerful. He wasn¡¯t even an Explorer yet, but he was already had the ability to match up against them.

    The rest charged out. ¡°How did it go, Han Chong?¡±

    Han Chong shook his head in dismay. ¡°He¡¯s very powerful, and I didn¡¯t manage to get him.¡±

    ¡°What should we do? He definitely knows about our n now,¡± someonemented, but none of them med Han Chong. Amongst those present, he and Grandini were the strongest. If even they couldn¡¯t stop that person, then the rest of them could say nothing.

    Han Chong calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know who it is. What if he¡¯s from the Ming Constables?¡± someone asked in a wondering tone.

    Han Chong decisively replied, ¡°He¡¯s definitely a trialtaker.¡±

    ¡°I think so too. The way he attacked waspletely unlike a native¡¯s attacks,¡± Grandini added.

    The rest exchanged looks and could only sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s try to confirm it then.¡±

 Chapter 276: Deputy Commander

    <h4>Chapter 276: Deputy Commander</h4>

    Lu Yin looked back once he had sessfully escaped. He had never expected that Han Chong would be able to discover him. This person¡¯sprehension of his domain was quite high, and even Lu Yin¡¯s Invisible Aura Technique had not been able topletely avoid its detection. Lu Yin felt that he should also try to learn toprehend a domain, or else he would remain vulnerable to others¡¯ domains in future.

    Still, after his interruption, it was not very likely that they would continue with their ns to mount an attack on the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Is that one of the nodes for the five sealings? Lu Yin wondered to himself.

    Back at the now ruined house, Han Chong and the rest each left separately. Grandini had a solemn expression, and she sought out Han Chong afterwards. ¡°That person dissolved your technique, so he should be a Lockbreaker.¡±

    Han Chong nodded and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to think about it any further. I already have a guess as to who he is.¡±

    ¡°Me too. Since he was able to match my strength, is a Lockbreaker, and also has such great speed, it can only be him,¡± Grandini said with an excited tone.

    ¡°Who would have thought that the top four would all gather in Mingdu¡­ This will be interesting,¡± Han Chong murmured.

    Grandini was shocked. ¡°Top four? Starsibyl¡¯s here as well?¡±

    Han Chong nodded. ¡°She should be. Besides us, there are other trialtakers who havee to the capital, and some of them are no weaker than us. There are even those who are more powerful than us. The day of celebration will definitely not be peaceful.¡±

    There were only twenty three days remaining until the celebration. As the days counted down one by one, the Demon Hunters called inrge numbers of experts to the capital, though the Ming Constables¡¯ Ming Vanguard¡¯s numbers dwindled. Reportedly, they had been deployed at thest minute to protect important personnel.

    Various high ranking officials had gathered from all across the Shenwu Empire. Crown Prince Ming Hao naturally could not let anything happen to them, as the consequences would be severe even in the lightest case. Hence, he had used his authority as the crown prince to mobilize the Ming Vanguard to protect them all.

    ¡°Recently, there have been great changes in the List of Tempering. Many experts have emerged, and they could very well be foreigners. The Ming Constables master has ordered us, the Ming Vanguard, to select powerhouses to defeat those who have recently joined the list. Who here is confident in their ability?¡± stated the Ming Vanguardmander, Bei Zhigui, as he scanned the gathered Ming Constables members.

    Lu Yin was a subordinate under Bei Zhigui, who was an Explorer. Themander was not qualified to challenge the members of the List of Tempering even though the list was a method that Crown Prince Ming Hao used to disy the empire¡¯s strength. Even if they suspected that these new members were all foreigners, the Ming Vanguard could not capture the people on the list without good reason, or else people would suspect the List of Tempering of being manipted fair. Hence, they could only kick them off the list before they gained any more influence.

    Bei Zhigui spoke simple words, but the List of Tempering was a fair and honest ranking. Any expert who was able to step foot onto the List of Tempering had done so by challenging a previous member, so their strength could not be underestimated. Even though those in the Ming Vanguard had decent strength, they were still not confident in challenging those on the list.

    Bei Zhigui felt helpless, as there were very few experts in the entire Ming Constables who could challenge the List of Tempering. The list contained the top 200 Martial Monarch experts of the empire, and when these 200 were dispersed throughout the empire, it meant that there were few left on Ming Ind, let alone the Ming Constables. Fortunately, there was still Li Zimo in the Ming Constables, who was ranked second on the List of Tempering.

    ¡°Does no one dare to step up to the challenge? The Ming Constables master has given the order that those who enter the top twenty on the List of Tempering will be made into deputymanders while the top ten will be mademanders,¡± Bei Zhigui called out again in an attempt to incentivize the soldiers.

    Lu Yin felt eager at the offered benefits, but he still did not move, as he felt a trace of unease.

    Wu Shang stepped out. ¡°This subordinate is willing to volunteer.¡±

    Bei Zhigui looked at him with a surprised look, but he quickly nodded and said, ¡°Alright, here is the most recent List of Tempering.¡± He passed one to Wu Shang.

    Wu Shang scanned it and then walked out of the Ming Constables.

    There were twelve names on the list that had changed recently, and two had even entered the top twenty of the List of Tempering. One was in Mingdu while the other was one city away from Mingdu, in Huaiqi city. Wu Shang headed for thetter.

    After leaving the capital, Wu Shang looked at the top of the List of Tempering as his eyes twinkled. His eyes narrowed, and then he quickly moved into the distance.

    At that moment, Bei Zhigui appeared in front of Wu Shang, blocking his path. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Wu Shang respectfully replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble themander.¡±

    Bei Zhigui looked at Wu Shang before suddenly making a move. A sword swept out from themander¡¯s palm while Wu Shang¡¯s eyes turned icy cold and his umted martial power suddenly burst forth. In an instant, multiple cracks appeared in the sky as more trialtakers arrived; they were actually coincidentally being dropped off at the capital.

    The numerous members of the Ming Vanguard who had apanied Bei Zhigui were shocked, and they immediately took out their heavenly globes

    Lu Yin pitied these neers, which unlucky bastards had descended here? This coincidence had simply sent them straight to death¡¯s door!

    Five individuals dropped out of five cracks; there were three Limiteers and two Explorers. One Explorer even fell on top of Bei Zhigui¡¯s head. Themander immediately retaliated, shouting, ¡°Alien! It¡¯s time to die!¡±

    ¡°Native,¡± the fallen Explorer disparagingly shot back. There was a loud rumble as the earth shook.

    At the same time, one of the four mountain peaks surrounding the capital lit up with a dazzling radiance as a terrifying martial power swept across the sky, shocking the entire capital.

    Ming Zhaoshu raised his head as he muttered, ¡°Martial Sovereign.¡±

    In the Bank of Wuyun, Ah-Lan, who was the disguised Grandini Mavis, raised her head. ¡°So the rumors are true. Every peak has a Martial Sovereign overseeing it.¡±

    Within the academy, Han Chong was in the midst of praying for Ming Zhaotian, and he looked up as well. ¡°Cruiser.¡±

    In the crown prince¡¯s pce, Ming Hao raised his head and disdainfullymented, ¡°Know your ce.¡±

    Not far away from the crown prince, the current Tian Ji, Shao Shu, gazed at the sky with an expression as if she were lost in thought.

    Just when everyone assumed that the battle was about to end, a sword qi sliced through the area, tearing the void apart. The attack left a shocking spatial crack in its wake that seemed to cause the heavens to copse. Many were stunned by the sight and felt their hair stand on end.

    Crown Prince Ming Hao was the first to stand up, and his expression had changed drastically. ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was simrly shocked as he crushed his ss in his hands. ¡°A super powerhouse.¡±

    ¡°So the Sword Sect¡¯s Long Yun was here, hahaha!¡± A tremendous sound wave engulfed the capital before spreading out into the distance. At the same time, terrifying attacks shot out from the other three peaks towards the east.

    ¡°Goodbye, hahahaha.¡± Another sword qi swept out, causing the simultaneous attack from all four Martial Sovereigns to be stopped and even directly eradicated. Long Yun had not shown himself from the start of the confrontation to the end.

    This was a shocking scene, and many were utterly terrified. One foreign alien had held his own against four Martial Sovereigns; this was an absolute powerhouse.

    The experts of the Shenwu Continent believed that while the foreigners may be strong, their top powerhouses were nothing much, and that they were even slightly weaker than the strongest powerhouses of their continent. However, Long Yun¡¯s sword hadpletely shattered those assumptions. It was as if he had torn through a veil and shown those of the Shenwu Continent what reality was.

    Crown Prince Ming Hao was also stunned beyond belief; that foreigner was a Martial Emperor like him, but the foreigner had withstood abined attack from four Martial Sovereigns. How? He could not understand it. Even if he used all of the Shenwu Empire¡¯s resources for his own cultivation, he would never be able to reach this terrifying level of strength.

    Ming Zhaoshu had a downcast expression, and a thought that he had long sealed away in his heart now resurfaced; he was going to take the Shenwu Continent out with him. From his view, the Shenwu Continent had never truly stopped the foreigners¡¯ invasion, but had instead simply been ced under supervision. The natives were all to be pitied.

    Outside the capital, Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped up. The Sword Sect, Long Yun? So he was a genius Explorer who was actually able to withstand an attack of four Cruisers. Although the four had not used their full strength, not even a normal Cruiser would have been able to resist thatbined attack without suffering injuries, let alone an Explorer. This person was definitely an expert at the very top of the Top Hundred Battle Rankings, and was someone who even surpassed Wendy Yushan.

    Lu Yin had specifically checked once before and verified that Wendy Yushan had not yet be a Cruiser and that she was still an Explorer. Despite that, she had still used her own strength to be the captain of the Second Imperial Squadron and had once defeated a Cruiser.

    ¡°Long Yun? That¡¯s a familiar name. He¡¯s one of the human powerhouses that has a ¡®must kill¡¯ status on the Heaven-Devouring list. It¡¯s disgusting to see that someone like that is here as well!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Long Yun¡¯s sword had not only shocked the entire capital, but it had also saved those who had arrived with him.

    Besides the two unlucky fellows who had dropped directly into the capital, the rest had escaped, and Wu Shang had run away as well.

    This angered Bei Zhigui greatly, as Wu Shang had definitely been a foreigner. Those experts who had suddenly appeared on the List of Tempering out of nowhere were also possibly foreigners, yet only Wu Shang had the confidence to challenge them. He had also only recently joined the Ming Constables. Clearly, he was also a foreigner. What a pity it was that he had slipped away.

    The Ming Constables had always strictly examined every member who joined the Ming Vanguard, and even if Lu Yin had a stamp of approval from the previous court master, the Ming Constables would still investigate whatever they could. Lu Yin himself had nearly been discovered as well.

    The top ranker of the List of Tempering had never been revealed, but that might just be a strategy devised by Crown Prince Ming Hao to reveal any foreigners who tried to challenge the List of Tempering. The leader would simply challenge whoever was suspect, which meant that they always had some insurance in the form of a peak powerhouse who was so terrifying that few could withstand them at the top of the list.

    Since the List of Tempering had been created by the crown prince, he definitely preferred to leave no loopholes than let the Ming Constables take advantage of it. Lu Yin had just realized this logic, but it seemed that Wu Shang had only thought of it after leaving the city. Unfortunately, he had been noticed by Bei Zhigui and would have been in great danger if not for Long Yun.

    Ten days quickly passed by, during which Lu Yin made a great contribution. He captured a trialtaker who was from the Innerverse¡¯s zing Mist Flowzone on behalf of the Ming Constables. If someone had a good reputation within the ze Realm, then they were automatically an enemy of Lu Yin¡¯s. He showed no mercy.

    The Ming Constables had established itself with the sole goal of ughtering trialtakers, but not many were uncovered each year. As time passed, the trialtakers had gradually learned how to conceal and hide themselves better, which meant that the Ming Constables was rarely able to capture trialtakers alive. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s contribution caused Ming Zhaochen to praise himvishly. As Lu Yin had already demonstrated sufficient strength, he was directly promoted to a deputymander under Li Zimo¡¯smand.

    Lu Yin simply did not believe that Ming Zhaochen would promote him that easily without ulterior motives¡ªperhaps he wanted to use Li Zimo to silently monitor Lu Yin. Lu Yin was not bothered by this in any case, as he had always been nning on using the Ming Constables to deal with the Daynight n¡¯s members. Doing so would even gain him contributions from the Ming Constables.

    Li Zimo was a naturally cold person who was an expert in the sword. His entire body resembled a sharp, unsheathed de; he openly revealed his danger and ability, but he never hurt anyone. It was as if he had concealed his aura within a very confined space.

    Liu Shaoqiu was very talented with the sword, but he had a subdued aura even though he had mastered a sword technique simr to the Thirteen Swords. This Li Zimo was number two on the List of Tempering, so his strength could not be overlooked. However, his sword technique was unknown.

    Lu Yin dared not remain too close to the man, for fear that he might detect Lu Yin¡¯s true strength.

    ¡°For now, we¡¯ll head out with three people each to provide security for the Reverent King''s Pce,¡± Li Zimo informed Lu Yin after receiving a mission.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°The Reverent King''s Pce?¡±

    ¡°The Reverent King''s Pce is not far from the imperial pce. Let¡¯s go,¡± Li Zimo replied indifferently. He then led six people from the Ming Vanguard towards the king¡¯s pce.

    Lu Yin never thought that he would return to the Reverent King''s household this soon. Fortunately, he had changed his appearance prior to joining the Ming Constables, or else he would be definitely recognized by the Reverent King''s household members.

    The pce was rather courteous to the Ming Constables members, and they requested them to protect the backdoor. This also meant that the Ming Vanguard members could escort any important members of the household to safety if so needed.

    ¡°Your Highness, the crown prince has ordered the Ming Vanguard to protect our Reverent King''s Pce. Is he trying to monitor us?¡± Tang Si asked solemnly.

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not that stupid. He¡¯s only doing this as a show for others. He wants to prove that our uncle-nephew rtionship is harmonious. He¡¯s actually rather invested in this, to the point where the Ming Constables even deployed amander this time.¡±

 Chapter 277: Brilliant Sword Genius

    <h4>Chapter 277: Brilliant Sword Genius</h4>

    ¡°Right, have you found Lu Seven yet?¡± Ming Zhaoshu suddenly asked.

    Tang Si shook his head. ¡°No, he hadn¡¯t even set foot in the crown prince¡¯s pce, so he may not even have entered the capital.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned at the unexpected news. ¡°Did he die?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, he¡¯s just amoner. There wasn¡¯t much use even if he did make it into the crown prince¡¯s household.¡±

    ¡°I know, but it¡¯s precisely because he¡¯s amoner that he should be even safer. No one would ever expect me to send an ordinary person into the crown prince¡¯s household. He¡¯s a scapegoat that I meticulously arranged. Forget it. It¡¯s alright even if he didn¡¯t make it.¡±

    Tang Si remained there, standing silently, as if he had something to say.

    Ming Zhaoshu nced at him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Tang Si half-kneeled as he said, ¡°Your Highness, your subordinate wishes to challenge Li Zimo.¡±

    ¡°No, the gap between the two of you is toorge.¡± Ming Zhaoshu explicitly rejected the request.

    Tang Si¡¯s face dimmed. ¡°Even still, I wish to personally try my hand against the number two on the List of Tempering.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Tang Si. ¡°Li Zimo has fascinating de techniques, such as the killing technique, Silence, that he has honed from a young age. Also, Crown Prince Ming Hao does not allow the top ranker on the list to appear for two reasons: the first is to eliminate the hidden threats within the List of Tempering while the second is to have the top person avoid Li Zimo. He is very strong and can rank at the top of all Martial Kings.¡±

    Tang Si raised his head with a firm look within his eyes. ¡°Your Highness, I beg for your permission. I¡¯ll die without any regrets.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed and looked up. He then grimaced as hemented, ¡°Ming Hao, oh, Ming Hao. It looks like you made the correct decision when you created this List of Tempering. How many on this Shenwu Continent will sacrifice everything they have just to leave their name on the list, and how many experts have you found through it? You have my respect.¡± The king then looked at Tang Si before finally saying, ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll agree to your request. Go now and don¡¯t have any regrets about challenging him. I¡¯ll try to preserve your life.¡±

    Tang Si was delighted. ¡°Many thanks, Your Highness.¡±

    The Reverent King¡¯s pce in the capital was veryrge, and it even had a specialized training ground.

    News of Tang Si¡¯s challenge to Li Zimo quickly spread throughout the Reverent King''s pce, and even outside the pce. It piqued the interest of many.

    Tang Si was ranked eighth on the List of Tempering, and he was widely known to be invincible with his spear. Li Zimo was second on the list, and even Ming Zhaotian marvelled at his self-created Silence technique. He was one of the strongest members of the Shenwu Empire¡¯s younger generation. The battle between these two was enough to excite anyone, and even the four powerhouses atop the high peaks would be watching their battle.

    Ming Zhaoshu sensed that the time had arrived, and he looked up to look around in all directions before focusing on the battlefield. ¡°A battle between ranked members of the List of Tempering is a battle of life and death.¡±

    Outside the grounds, Lu Yin closely stared at the scene. He was very curious about Li Zimo who was ranked second on the List of Tempering. This person represented the standard of the Shenwu Continent¡¯s entire younger generation. He stood above all the other Martial Kings, not only those of the younger generation.

    Li Zimo had apletely indifferent expression on his face as he held his long sword and quietly stared at his opponent.

    Tang Si, on the other hand, gripped his spear as his eyes widened with intense focus. He charged out at an extreme speed and stabbed straight at Li Zimo, the tip of his spear causing the void itself to tremble. A sharp aura streaked past Li Zimo and tore through the void while the shockwave rent the earth and caused sparks to fly out. This attack could not be blocked. Lu Yin was shocked, because he could see that this attack could rival three-lined battle force.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Li Zimo¡¯s eyes lit up and even held a hint of admiration within them. He gripped his de and calmly lifted it before letting it fall downwards as his body vanished. The de returned to its scabbard in one smooth motion, though there was no sound nor any abnormal movements.

    Everyone was stunned as they could not understand what had just happened.

    Ming Zhaoshu narrowed his eyes and looked apprehensively at Li Zimo¡¯s figure.

    Bang!

    Tang Si¡¯s spear broke. Half of it fell onto the ground with a crisp ringing sound. Tang Si seemed to bepletely stunned as he remained rooted in ce while a look of extreme unwillingness and also respect blossomed in his eyes.

    Lu Yin was rmed. In his mind, Li Zimo¡¯s figure was superimposed over that of Liu Shaoqiu. That sword had been nearly identical in form the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. The only difference was the First Sword did not require any movement and that it could travel through the void. Li Zimo¡¯s body had followed behind his sword, and this technique required both of them to travel a certain distance, but the speed of this attack was about the same as that of the First Sword. This difference was probably a result of the space in the Shenwu Continent being more stable than the rest of the universe¡¯s. If this attack had beenunched in the greater universe, then it may not have required any movement either, and would be almost identical to the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords in every facet.

    Li Zimo, a native of the Shenwu Continent, had created a technique that could rival the First Sword! If the Sword Sect were to discover this, they would trip over their heels to recruit him as a core disciple. This was an outstanding level of natural talent, and he was a brilliant genius in every sense of the word.

    Liu Shaoqiu was a genius who had inherited the Thirteen Swords, but this Li Zimo was a genius who had created the First Sword. Who knew which was stronger, though Lu Yin was leaning towards Li Zimo, as this person¡¯s talent for the sword was too terrifying; he onlycked a solid starting point. If he had been given the Thirteen Swords, then his speed ofprehension might have even surpassed Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s.

    Lu Yin had finally witnessed the true strength of the Shenwu Continent¡¯s younger generation. Li Zimo could definitely match up to the top eight in the Astral Combat Tournament. If that just now was not his strongest attack, then he may even be equal to the top four and be a match for Lu Yin himself.

    This was the second rank on the List of Tempering. Lu Yin wondered how strong the top person was.

    The surrounding audience had not even recovered from their shock yet, but Li Zimo had already left.

    Tang Si was ranked eight in the List of Tempering, but he could not even take one strike from the second rank. The difference was too staggering.

    Tang Si was agonized and was still panting heavily. He looked at the broken half of his spear lying on the ground, and he closed his eyes. Before this battle, he had hoped to learn of the disparity between them so that he could chase after it. But now, he no longer entertained any such thoughts; the gap between them was just too great.

    Ming Zhaoshu walked over to Tang Si. ¡°This is why I didn¡¯t want you to challenge him. Can you still use your spear?¡±

    Tang Si gripped the spear handle and pondered for a moment before raising his head. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded. ¡°When you can shake off the shadow of that sword, you¡¯ll be able to challenge him again.¡± He then turned to leave.

    Lu Yin looked deeply at Tang Si and left. He had to guard the pce¡¯s back door.

    ¡°Damn! Is this really a primitive continent? That sword was way too vicious! That guy can even rival our five Academy Masters,¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed in surprise.

    Lu Yin leaned against the door. ¡°The Shenwu Continent has resisted the covert attacks of the Darkmist Weave for a thousand years. It is just one continent, but it has birthed so many experts. There¡¯s definitely more than just one genius at Li Zimo¡¯s level.¡±

    ¡°What a pity. If only this continent belonged to you. I still remember your identity as King Zishan, but with the strength of this continent, you would have had a respectable ce amongst your human¡¯s Outerverse,¡± the Ghost Monkey casuallymented.

    The monkey¡¯s words moved Lu Yin, as he had not thought of this before. Yes, it would be great if this continent belonged to him, but he could only dream about such a thing. This continent held Hunters, and more than just one at that. Its vast strength could be seen by how it had held back the entire Darkmist Weave. Against that sort of strength, even the entire Great Yu Empire might not be enough to rule it, let alone just Lu Yin himself.

    The next few days were very ordinary. There were some changes made to the List of Tempering, as those who had recently won their spots on the list were torn down over and over. Many grew interested in what was happening, though Lu Yin guessed that all this movement was a result of the mysterious number one pulling them down. He also believed that the person who was ranked number one kept changing, but that their name had been hidden to maintain the mystery.

    This genius was Crown Prince Ming Hao¡¯s final bit of control that he had ced when he set up the list.

    The Ming Constables had been sent out less than usual over these past days, and the Ming Vanguard was mostly sent out to protect important people. However, this was all just on the surface, as Crown Prince Ming Hao would never rx on his hunt for foreigners. After all, they were the true enemy.

    Each ind sent their congrattory gifts to the pce, and it was rumored that there were so many that they had overflowed to several drill grounds within the imperial pce. The magnificence of the gifts was astounding.

    Countless experts had gathered in the capital, and even soldiers had entered the city to maintain order. The entire capital seemed cheerful for the birthday celebration, but there was also a palpable nervous tension that hung in the air that even Lu Yin could sense.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin did not see much of Li Zimo. This person was as cold as a block of ice, and he was especially guarded while within the king¡¯s pce, so they hardly ever crossed paths.

    The Reverent King had returned to the capital, so logically, he should have received many visitors. However, during these few days, no one visited the pce, shocking Lu Yin. The rtionship between Ming Zhaoshu and Crown Prince Ming Hao seemed to be extremely poor, and even those officials who had forced Ming Zhaoshu to resist the crown prince were nowhere to be seen right now. This was politics.

    Fireworks exploded in the sky from time to time, and the entire capital seemed to be exceptionally lively.

    Li Zimo walked out of the pce and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°The princess is going to the Tower of Resonating Light to pray for blessings upon His Highness and His Majesty. Seven, go and ensure her safety.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed obediently. ¡°Yes,mander.¡±

    Not muchter, Ming Yan walked out of the pce while apanied by a maid. Tang Si followed closely behind the two of them with a neat arrangement of soldiers around them. An armored carriage had also been brought along for the princess.

    From when he first arrived at the Reverent King''s pce in the capital, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing Ming Yan. Although she was wearing a veil, her pure beauty still could not be concealed. Her eyes seemed to shine through the thin fabric, bright and pure. Yet Lu Yin noticed that her face seemed to have paled slightlypared to before, which made him feel a bit uneasy.

    Ming Yan walked out of the main gate and was about to climb in the armored carriage when she suddenly paused. Her eyes shed with delight as she turned around to look at the people surrounding her, as if searching for something.

    Tang Si was puzzled. ¡°Princess, please get in the carriage.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s gaze swept across all of their faces before finallynding on Lu Yin, where she briefly locked eyes with him. Lu Yin saw Ming Yan¡¯s expression be delighted, and his heart jumped, but he then quickly lowered his head.

    A mischievous light seemed to sh through Ming Yan¡¯s eyes, as well as a bit of shyness. She spoke up. ¡°Brother Tang Si, my father¡¯s safety is more important, and Yan¡¯er already has your protection. There¡¯s no need for Brother Li¡¯s protection anymore. Would Brother Li please stay behind to protect the pce?¡±

    Li Zimo shifted his gaze. ¡°The safety of the princess is important.¡±

    Ming Yan raised her hand and pointed at Lu Yin. ¡°These people are from the Ming Vanguard as well, so please allow them to protect me. Brother Li, protecting my father is much more important.¡±

    Tang Si immediately tried to assuage her stance. ¡°Princess, there is no need to worry about His Highness¡¯ safety. This is the capital, and His Highness is a Martial Emperor. No one would dare recklessly attack him.¡±

    Ming Yan stubbornly shook her head. ¡°Can Brother Li please stay behind to protect my father? Otherwise, Yan¡¯er will feel troubled.¡±

    Tang Si looked at Li Zimo and was ced in a difficult position.

    Li Zimo simply nodded and turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Seven, bring a few people to guard the princess. Don¡¯t show any carelessness.¡±

    Lu Yin was both startled and pleased. He felt a strange sweetness and found that he was strangely looking forward to this task. ¡°Yes,mander.¡±

    Ming Yan lowered her head, and a faint red blush overcame her covered face. She then hurriedly got back in the carriage.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply and walked beside the cart. He was separated from Ming Yan by just a mere wooden nk; he was even closer to her than Tang Si was right now.

    Ming Yan found an excuse to send her maid away, and she yed with her fingers as she sat apprehensively inside the carriage. From time to time, she nced at Lu Yin who was walking right beside the carriage. She had a cheerful expression.

 Chapter 278: Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight

    <h4>Chapter 278: Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight</h4>

    Since Tang Si was driving the carriage, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t able to talk to Ming Yan. However, there was a very strange atmosphere between the two. Despite how noisy it was in the street, the only thing that Lu Yin could hear was Ming Yan¡¯s steady heartbeat, and the only thing that he could smell was her delicate fragrance. It was a very wonderful feeling of closeness that left him feeling intoxicated.

    ¡°Your heart¡¯s racing. Did you get poisoned?¡± the monkey suddenly asked, startling Lu Yin and forcing him back to the real world.

    ¡°No, you weren¡¯t. That¡¯s strange, what¡¯s wrong with your heart? Everything else in your body is working normally. That¡¯s really odd...¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have the time to exin what he was feeling to a monkey. However, what the Ghost Monkey had said did sober him up quite a bit; he couldn¡¯t allow himself to get drunk over this infatuation. Ming Yan was the daughter of the Reverent King, who was a leader of the Shenwu Continent, while Lu Yin was a mere trialtaker. The difference between their statuses was just too stark, and the blood-feud between the sides that they belonged to had existed for an entire millennia; it was not something that could be easily resolved. The two of them were like two trees on opposite sides of a road; they might be able to see each other, but they would never be able to touch each other. His emotions were like the moon¡¯s reflection in a stillke.

    After his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his head, chilling him to the bone.

    He was merely a student and had neither the power nor the influence to affect the Darkmist Weave, much less the Shenwu Continent. Ming Zhaoshu alone was someone powerful enough to prevent Lu Yin from ever getting close to Ming Yan. This budding rtionship was doomed to fail before it could even sprout.

    Lu Yin was well aware that emotions were very important to a girl. Someone like Ming Yan, who was intelligent but also rather inexperienced in the matters of the world, would easily lose themselves in their emotions. The instant things fell apart, the amount of pain that she would feel would be far beyond what she could fathom at the moment.

    Things couldn¡¯t go on like this. Before anything even happened, Lu Yin had already realized that he could not allow this rtionship to continue developing. With this in mind, Lu Yin resolutely stared ahead, quickening his footsteps to step in front of the carriage. He did not look back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood change was very apparent to Ming Yan, and her heart jolted. She was ovee with a sense of fear and difort that she¡¯d never felt before, and at that moment, her eyes started to burn with tears.

    There were some people who one could spend their entire lives with but still feel like strangers. And there were also others who one could instantly know that they were meant to be after a single nce.

    For Ming Yan, Lu Yin was that kind of person. Their meeting hade along the wings of a butterfly, bringing happiness and dreams with it. At this moment, however, the illusion had shattered. Women were much more intuitive than men, and the subtle shift in Lu Yin was very obvious to the princess. She could already tell that he had made up his mind.

    But why? Ming Yan lowered her head, her wet eyes betraying her sadness and frustration as her fists rightened. You still have my scent on you.

    She was very intelligent, but intelligence and emotions were pr opposites.

    Lu Yin sighed, filled with frustration, sadness, and pity as well for Ming Yan. Right now, his most ardent desire was to climb to the top of this continent and pull her into his embrace.

    All of a sudden, a sh of ck and white passed through his vision. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he turned to the side as a procession of carriages from the crown prince¡¯s pce moved past them. One of the men inside turned around to look at Ming Yan¡¯s carriage, his eyes filled with a burning bloodlust.

    Lu Yin felt a chill crawl down his spine, and he quickly pulled back to be flush with the side of the princess¡¯ carriage. The man raised a fist andunched an attack while a boundless chill surged through the air. Wind and clouds swirled around each other as a vicious and terrifying martial force descended along with a domineering aura. Tang Si¡¯s scalp went numb, and he found himself rooted in ce out of fear. This pressure was even more terrifying than the attack that he had faced from Li Zimo!

    The entire group of carriages from the Reverent King¡¯s pce¡ªno, everyone on the entire street felt as if they¡¯d been punched in the head as they all coughed out blood. That man¡¯s attack had destroyed the carriage¡¯s walls, and he was about to enter its insides. Hepletely disregarded the soldiers standing to the sides. It made sense for him to do so. After all, even Tang Si had been subdued and rendered unable to lift a finger.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth as all of his muscles went taut. He lifted a palm, disregarding the fact that he might expose himself by doing so. All he wanted to do right now was to save this girl. Without any hesitation, he activated his five-lined battle force, causing dark-gold rays to emanate out from his body. Nine stars revolved around him as a gxy appeared in his palm; it was the Cosmic Palm.

    The man noticed the attack that Lu Yin had sent his way, and his eyes narrowed, never expecting that someone would actually be able to react to his move. This is¡­ five-lined battle force? The man did not dare to let his guard down against such a destructive attack and instantly altered the course of his attack to sh against Lu Yin.

    The two palms collided, and with a bang, shockwaves distorted the air above before exploding high in the sky, scattering the clouds. On the ground, the pavement under their feet splintered. Rampant martial power flew about as they continued to contest each other. The shockwaves resulting from their exchange seemed to envelop both of them in a bubble as they continuously tried to dispel the other¡¯s attack. Lu Yin and the man exchanged a look, and they both saw shock in the other¡¯s eyes. It was at that moment that they recognized each other.

    This person must be the genius from the Daynight Family who had defeated Nightqueen Yanqing: Zhanlong Daynight.

    Zhanlong Daynight had also recognized Lu Yin. Amongst all the Limiteers, there were very few who could defeat him. Of those people, only Lu Yin hadprehended five-lined battle force. This was the person who the Nightking n had ordered Zhanlong Daynight to kill no matter the cost.

    The two of them never expected to meet the other under such circumstances. Their hands that were still pressed together twisted at the same time, and with another bang, a new round of shockwaves cut through the ground like a sharp de. The two of them retreated simultaneously, but neither had gained an upper hand through the exchange.

    This was not the only ce where a fierce battle had broken out. The same scene was repeating itself all across the capital, and loud booms could be heard in all directions.

    Zhanlong Daynight looked at Lu Yin seriously while his eyes revealed confusion, shock, and even bewilderment; his Technique of Immunity had been subverted. He licked his lips savagely.

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again,¡± he said before fleeing.

    The entire battle had consisted of nothing more than just their palms colliding. Everything had taken ce in less than five seconds. On top of that, chaos was breaking out all over the capital, allowing Zhanlong Daynight to flee with ease. As he departed, he left a trail of unconscious people behind him. Even Tang Si swayed a little and nearly fainted. He wasn¡¯t strong enough to take even a single attack from Zhanlong Daynight.

    Even so, he¡¯d seen the entire event and witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s true strength. This person was most definitely a Martial King, but he seemed to be even stronger than Li Zimo.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have the time to worry about anything else as he charged into the carriage and immediately checked to see how Ming Yan was faring.

    Thankfully, she had only fainted and was just fine. He heaved a sigh of relief. It was quite a relief that she hadn¡¯t been hurt even after being within such close proximity of a battle technique from the Daynight n.

    With a loud whoosh, a sharp glint shed through the air before Lu Yin calmly grabbed a spear that wasing his way. He turned around to nce at Tang Si. ¡°Are you trying to die?¡± He then exerted some minor force, causing Nine Stacks of power to vibrate through the spear and hit Tang Si. The Reverent King¡¯s vassal could handle Five Stacks, but nothing beyond that. He was forced to let go of the spear and take a step back. With a ¡°ng,¡± the spear crumbled to pieces.

    Lu Yin loosened his hold and gently set Ming Yan down. He was just about to exit the carriage and leave when he saw that Ming Zhaoshu had suddenly appeared and was eyeing him coldly.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and bowed. ¡°My lord.¡±

    At that moment, some strange force surged down from the mountain peaks surrounding the capital and reached them. However, Ming Zhaoshu calmly raised a hand and dispelled the force. He then nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Come with me.¡±

    Lu Yin had no way to hide or run. Ming Zhaoshu hadprehended a domain and must have seen his battle with Zhanlong Daynight. Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force was extremely eye-catching, but thankfully, the king had not immediately attacked. This indicated that negotiations were still possible.

    Tang Si looked at Lu Yin with eyes filled with disappointment in himself. He had just lost to Li Zimo, and now, he had also been defeated by this person. It was quite a huge shock.

    Within the king¡¯s study, Lu Yin stood there, waiting quietly.

    Ming Zhaoshu had his back to him with his brows firmly furrowed, clearly deep in thought.

    After quite a while, Ming Zhaoshu turned and carefully appraised Lu Yin. ¡°Should I address you as the Ming Constables¡¯ vicemander, Seven, or as the coachman of my residence, Lu Seven, or¡­ as the trialtaker, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°How did you know that I was Lu Seven?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot. Appearances can be changed, but your bones can¡¯t be altered. Besides, you didn¡¯t even change your external appearance by much. It was pretty simple to make the connection since the two names are so simr.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°Thank you for not attacking me, my lord.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu snorted. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t saved Yan¡¯er, I wouldn¡¯t have let you off.¡± At that moment, Ming Zhaoshu revealed his anger as he red at Lu yin. ¡°You ruined my Yan¡¯er¡¯s reputation.¡±

    Lu Yin could only bitterly answer, ¡°My apologies, my lord, but I could not choose where Inded. I never thought that that incident would go on to ruin her reputation.¡±

    ¡°That means nothing to me at this moment. How are you going to take responsibility for that incident?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked coldly.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°I can still take responsibility?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu sat down while staring straight at Lu Yin. ¡°What do you think this Shenwu Continent is?¡±

    ¡°A prison,¡± Lu Yin answered without any hesitation.

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded as a dark look clouded over his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re correct. It¡¯s indeed a jail. It might seem as if we have sessfully weathered all the attacks from the Darkmist Weave, but in reality, our fates were decided the moment we were exposed. It¡¯s nothing more than a matter of time.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°You¡¯ve analyzed the situation very urately. The Darkmist Weave is just one of the seventy two weaves in the Outerverse. The Innerverse is the ce where the true powerhouses dwell. No matter how powerful the Shenwu Continent is, it won¡¯t be able to hold out against all the powerful organizations from the Innerverse. It really is just a matter of time.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°That¡¯s why I would like to work together with you, who is powerful beyond your realm. In this way, my continent will remain safe as we merge into the greater universe.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°There have been countless disciples from many powerful organizationsing here over the course of the past millennia. Why didn¡¯t you seek them out, my lord?¡±

    ¡°Would you want to partner with the people who held your fate in their hands?¡± Ming Zhaoshu retorted.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°If that¡¯s how it is, then so be it. For example, right now, you hold my life. As for the continent, the Innerver¡¯s powerful organizations can eradicate you with ease. You have no right to make any choices.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to find a way to resolve things.¡± Ming Zhaoshu got up as he continued, saying, ¡°You¡¯re the leader of the Astral-10 branch of the Astral Combat Academy. I¡¯ve heard that the Council of the Astral Academy holds a great deal of power. The goal of this trial is for the trialtakers to join the Outerverse Youth Council. I¡¯m willing to help you increase your score so that you can stand on your own two feet in that ce. With your status as a member of the Council of the Astral Academy, you¡¯ll definitely have the right to speak up and even influence the Darkmist Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°You know quite a lot about the greater universe, my lord.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a whole millennia since we were exposed, and since then, we¡¯ve captured quite a few trialtakers. Not all of them are as hard to open up, such as that disciple from the ze Realm. He told me everything that he could and even the secret of the ze Realm¡¯s ultimate battle technique, the Karmic me Sword,¡± Ming Zhaoshu calmly said.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Arikar had turned out to be pretty useless.

    ¡°If I manage to enter the Outerverse Youth Council and also use my status as a member of the Astral Combat Council, then I do indeed have the right to speak up. However, I won¡¯t be able to decide the future of the Shenwu Continent anytime soon,¡± Lu Yin exined, not sugarcoating the truth at all. Ming Zhaoshu was smart, and if Lu Yin tried to pull any tricks on him, it would only lead to a quick death.

 Chapter 279: An Eternal Promise

    <h4>Chapter 279: An Eternal Promise</h4>

    Ming Zhaoshu was very satisfied with Lu Yin¡¯s response. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing will happen to the Shenwu Continent for now. Even if Hunters or stronger cultivators attack us, the fives can protect us for at least another year, and it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll even attack in the first ce. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sure that, for the next decade at least, the continent will bepletely fine. I¡¯m giving you these ten years to train. That should be enough time for you to obtain the right to speak your mind and make decisions. You¡¯re one of the final four in the Astral Combat Tournament and one of the top geniuses amongst humans after all.¡±

    Lu Yin was rather confused. ¡°Why are you pinning all your hopes on me?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. He finally replied in a low voice, ¡°Because of Yan¡¯er.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and his expression changed.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er likes you, and I can tell that you too feel some affection for her in return. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have exposed your true identity in order to save her,¡± Ming Zhaoshu stated.

    Lu Yin did not deny a thing.

    ¡°There¡¯s a huge difference between the two of you in terms of status. Only by letting the Shenwu Continent peacefully enter the greater universe will everything return to normal. At that point, you two can be together. I can promise you that,¡± Ming Zhaotian spoke gravely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers trembled as his heart burned intensely; Ming Zhaotian¡¯s words were extremely tempting to him. Emotions were uncontroble, and yet, they were also the easiest to control others with, and Lu Yin was no exception to this rule. He could sense Ming Zhaotian¡¯s ambition, but because of his feelings for Ming Yan, Lu Yin was still willing to make an attempt. If the Shenwu Continent were to truly merge with the greater universe, then it would be possible for him to be with Ming Yan.

    At the thought of being with the young girl, Lu Yin felt his heart race. He couldn¡¯t control himself at all.

    The corner of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s lips curved up. This was the reason why he had chosen Lu Yin. There was no restraint better than raw emotion. He believed that his daughter would be able to tie this person to their interests, but Lu Yin was not the only person who he would choose, though he would never say that aloud. The Shenwu Continent needed a revolution, and it needed him to save it. It was worth sacrificing some things for this lofty goal.

    ¡°How are you nning to help me improve my trial results?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ming Zhaoshu nced at Lu Yin¡¯s finger. ¡°Destroy that thing in your flesh. I¡¯m sure that you don¡¯t want our conversation to be exposed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He lightly flexed his muscles and destroyed the tiny camera without any issues.

    ¡°I will now tell you the ce where Ming Taizhong is entombed to help you climb up the ranks,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said seriously.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The ce where Ming Taizhong is buried? You¡¯re willing to tell me this?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded. ¡°I can tell you, and you can even tell others if you want. It doesn¡¯t matter. Even my brother has to be careful if he goes there. If you¡¯re not a Martial God, which is what you call Hunters, then it¡¯s extremely difficult to survive in that ce.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me,¡± Lu Yin politely asked.

    ¡°Have you heard of the Tower of Resonating Light?¡± Ming Zhaoshu began with a question, saying two words that Lu Yin never expected to hear.

    ¡°The Tower of Resonating Light?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Ming Zhaoshu smiled. ¡°Unexpected, right?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Are you actually saying that Ming Taizhong died in the Tower of Resonating Light?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded.

    ¡°How can that be? If Ming Taizhong really died there, then everyone in the capital should know about it.¡± Lu Yin was bewildered.

    Ming Zhaoshu took out a map and exined, ¡°The Tower of Resonating Light that we see is just a small part of the full tower. Its main structure is actually underground and is evenrger than the entirety of the capital. When Ming Taizhong died, he buried himself within the tower. Very few people are aware of this.¡±

    Lu Yin gazed at the map with a shocked expression. So the Tower of Resonating Light is a tower that¡¯s evenrger than the capital, Mingdu? Wait, Han Chong and the rest had been nning to attack it, believing it to be one of the nodes for the five sealings. It now seemed that their information was false.

    ¡°I once heard a rumor that the Tower of Resonating Light was one of the five nodes that controlled the sealings,¡± Lu Yin probed.

    Ming Zhaoshu burst intoughter. ¡°Ming Hao spread that news on purpose so that he could capture all of the trialtakers in one go. He¡¯s well aware that the trialtakers will try to attack the Tower of Resonating Light on my brother¡¯s birthday. And in reality, that ce isn¡¯t one of the five controlling nodes¡ªit is where Ming Taizhong died. Even Hunters wouldn¡¯t survive there, much less someone like you. Although it¡¯s easy to enter the tower, they won¡¯t get very far once inside.¡±

    Lu Yin fell quiet. Was everything going right ording to Ming Hao¡¯s n?

    Ming Zhaoshu looked right at Lu Yin and said, ¡°This is considered a public secret as well as the fairest fight between us and the outsiders so far. During my brother¡¯s birthday celebration, the foreigners will use all they have to attack the five sealings. Every expert above the Martial Emperor level has already gathered on the fives. The continent is where Martial Emperors and those weaker will fight. And on the continent, the most important battlefield will be the Tower of Resonating Light.¡±

    ¡°Ming Hao won¡¯t intervene?¡± Lu Yin tentatively asked.

    Ming Zhaoshu smiled. ¡°Long Yun from the Sword Sect arrived some time ago, and both of them have their own trump cards. It¡¯s just one battle, so he definitely won¡¯t interfere. However, all of the trialtakers attacking the tower are done for. I can guarantee at least this much.¡±

    Not long after their talk, Lu Yin left the study and sighed while looking in another direction.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s voice then sounded from behind him. ¡°Yan¡¯er¡¯s awake.¡±

    Lu Yin paused to think for a moment. He took a deep breath and then headed in that direction.

    The door to the study opened. As he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s fading back, Ming Zhaoshu grinned. Taking advantage of this youth¡¯s emotions was the best way to handle Lu Yin, and there was nothing that could stop him. With Yan¡¯er around, Lu Yin would definitely work his hardest for the king¡¯s sake no matter how amazing the young man¡¯s talents were.

    Within Ming Yan¡¯s bedroom, a maid nervously stood near the princess while holding a cup. ¡°Does your head still hurt, mydy?¡±

    Ming Yan knitted her brows and started rubbing her forehead as she felt her head throbbing. She couldn¡¯t remember what had happened. All she knew was that, at the most critical moment, Lu Yin had defended her. Right, Lu Yin. Was he alright? Ming Yan hastily stood up, only to nearly fall down again. Just as the maid was about to help Ming Yan up, a figure suddenly appeared and caught her.

    A familiar fragrance reached Lu Yin¡¯s nose as he tightly hugged the beauty in his arms. He felt like he had the entire world in his arms at this moment.

    ¡°Wh-Who are you? Release mydy!¡± The maid eximed in shock as she grabbed him tightly, wanting to pull him away from Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan stared nkly at the man who was hugging her, the man with a familiar face and scent.

    Lu Yin casually flicked a finger and made the maid copse, unconscious. Still tightly holding onto Ming Yan, he asked, ¡°Does your head still hurt?¡±

    Ming Yan gazed at him, but then suddenly recalled something and pushed him away hard. ¡°It- It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡± After saying that, she sat back down on her bed with her head turned away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly, knowing that she remembered what he had done. He sat down beside her on the bed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes grew red, but she remained silent.

    ¡°The difference between our statuses is too great: we¡¯re from two differentnds with entirely different cultures. More importantly, there¡¯s a blood-feud between our people that hassted for an entire millennia. I don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± Lu Yin said sadly.

    Ming Yan turned, and she pursed her lips. ¡°I know.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and began running his fingers through her hair. ¡°Still, I won¡¯t give up on you.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes lit up as she looked at him nervously. The anticipation in her eyes was almost enough to almost melt Lu Yin¡¯s resolve. It was impossible for him to perfectly describe the feelings coursing through his veins, but the feeling of being relied upon, being desired¡­ From this point onwards, this girl in front of him was his. He had gained one more person in his life.

    Lu Yin hugged her tightly. ¡°I won¡¯t let you go. I promise.¡±

    Ming Yan smiled gently. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    All of a sudden, Ming Yan eximed, ¡°You should leave! My father will know that you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°You mean my future father-inw?¡± Lu Yin teasingly replied.

    Ming Yan was embarrassed, ¡°What do you mean, your future father-inw? Stop joking around! You need to leave or else my father will discover that you¡¯re here!¡±

    Lu Yin tousled her hair lovingly as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s the one who allowed me toe to you.¡±

    Ming Yan was astonished. ¡°How can that be? My father hates all foreigners. You¡­¡±

    ¡°I have my ways. Besides, my future father-inw is very intelligent and has great insight. You should know your father¡¯s disposition well,¡± Lu Yin gently responded.

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes showed that she was lost in her thoughts. She finally nodded after recalling some matters. However, she couldn¡¯t help herself from frowning and cast an anxious look at Lu Yin. ¡°Did my father demand something from you in return?¡±

    Lu Yin hugged her rightly. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink things. You¡¯re your own person, and your father is his own person. I already said that I definitely won¡¯t let you go, so even if your father doesn¡¯t keep his word, I¡¯ll still take you away.¡±

    Ming Yan giggled happily. She had never been this happy¡ªno, this blessed before. At this moment, her cheeks were colored a rosy red, and she was absolutely stunning. Lu Yin found himself so distracted by her radiance that he lowered his head, bringing their lips together into a gentle touch. The two of them lost themselves in the tenderness of the moment.

    A loud p of thunder suddenly shocked the two of them, and Ming Yan hastily pushed Lu Yin away and shied away from him. ¡°H-How dare you!¡±

    Lu Yin looked outside, knowing that this was Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s way of warning him. However, he continued gazing at Ming Yan, unwilling to part from her. He picked out a lock of his hair. ¡°Let¡¯s exchange locks of your hair.¡±

    Ming Yan was caught off guard, but did not hesitate to cut off a section of her luscious ck hair and give it to him. However, she did not turn back around, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t force her to do so either. He ced the lock of his hair in her hands and took her hair from her with a serious expression. ¡°Remember, I won¡¯t let you go. I never will.¡± And with that, he vanished.

    Ming Yan tightly clenched the lock of hair that he had left her, giggling happily even as tears welled up in her eyes. She was very smart, and she knew that it would be difficult for the two of them to ever get together. However, Lu Yin had given her a lock of hair in hopes that she wouldn¡¯t give up on him. And if he didn¡¯t give up on her, then she would do the same no matter how much time passed.

    After leaving Ming Yan¡¯s bedroom, Lu Yin looked up, thinking to himself that the sky felt incredibly tall and vast. He reached out with a hand. One day, this will all be mine¡­

    The battles in the capital had ended very quickly. The fight between Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight was astounding, butpared to the destruction caused by everyone else, it did not stand out.

    Zhanlong Daynight had fled, but quite a few of the other Daynight n members who had been arranged to stay in the capital had been captured and killed. These people meant nothing to Zhanlong Daynight as to him, , because there were too many ants like them in the n.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t seed, Zhanlong?¡± a girl from the Daynight n eximed in an isted room, unable to believe the oue.

    The other people from the Daynight n were just as shocked. They had been certain that this operation would seed, and they had sacrificed nearly half of their expendable forces to assure their victory. But in the end, they had failed.

    In contrast to everyone else¡¯s surprise and confusion, Zhanlong Daynight was actually extremely excited. He clenched both fists, unable to hold back the excitement that he was feeling. ¡°It¡¯s him! I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d meet him this quickly. He really did defeat Yanqing. That attack was pretty powerful!¡±

    ¡°Who are you talking about, Zhanlong?¡± someone asked.

    Zhanlong Daynight chuckled and swept his gaze over everyone present. ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± a few people eximed in surprise. ¡°You met him?¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight clenched his fists, causing a small explosion to ring out in the air.

 Chapter 280: The Ghost Monkeyâ€™s Conjecture

    <h4>Chapter 280: The Ghost Monkey¡¯s Conjecture</h4>

    ¡°How was it? Is he very strong?¡± someone asked.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s face sank, and his expression turned serious. ¡°Very, very powerful. Even though we only had a single exchange, it was enough for me to tell that his strength exceeds that of a Limiteer. It¡¯spletely normal that Yanqing was not able to match up against him. After all, even my Daynight Restoration Technique was nearly broken.¡±

    The faces of the surrounding Daynight members immediately changed. ¡°Brother Zhanlong¡¯s Daynight Restoration Technique is invincible. It can¡¯t be broken through.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as an invincible technique. This Lu Yin nearly broke through my technique with just one strike. He¡¯s much stronger than Yanqing. If I hadn¡¯t been imprisoned in the ancestral grounds and forced to increase my strength, then I wouldn''t have any confidence in winning a sh against him. Even now, the victor has yet to be decided.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s words shocked everyone, as he could be considered the strongest Limiteer within the Daynight n. Lu Yin must be incredibly powerful for Zhanlong to say such things; no wonder Lu Yin had been able to defeat the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu and Nightqueen Yanqing to enter the top four of the Astral Combat Tournament. This person was very frightening.

    ¡°Those old farts actually have some pretty discerning eyes. Aside from me, no other Limiteer in our Daynight n could possibly be Lu Yin¡¯s opponent. It looks like I get to have some real fun this time,¡± Zhanlong Daynight eximed excitedly as the desire to battle Lu Yin surged within him. That palm of his had been too strange; no one had given Zhanlong Daynight such an exhilirating feeling before, and even his Daynight Restoration Technique had almost been broken. This was something that had never happened in the records of the Daynight n¡¯s history.

    The matter of Lu Yin shing against Zhanlong Daynight was fiercely suppressed by Ming Zhaoshu, and Lu Yin continued to guard the back gate of the king¡¯s pce.

    Seven very peaceful days passed, tranquil to the extent where it felt strange, as if everyone was preparing for something.

    What disappointed Lu Yin the most was that he had not caught so much as a glimpse of Ming Yan in these seven days. She had most likely been grounded and restricted from even walking to the main gate.

    Lu Yin was disappointed, but he also rejoiced at this. He wanted to see Ming Yan, but he was also afraid of revealing himself in front of Li Zimo. Ming Zhaoshu had actually handled the situation correctly.

    On the eighth day, Lu Yin and the others were called back to the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters, and all the Ming Vanguard troops left the Reverent King''s pce, including Li Zimo.

    After the Ming Vanguard left the pce, Lu Yin and the rest were ordered to put on blindfolds and other such devices meant to iste their five senses. They were then taken to a dark and gloomy ce where Li Zimo also underwent the same procedure.

    ¡°You guys are being brought to the Tower of Resonating Light,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin peeled off his blindfold, only to see that it was pitch-ck all around them. He could only vaguely make out a few others figures. Li Zimo was not that far from him, and they were definitely beneath the Tower of Resonating Light. That was to say, they were the ambush that had been prepared for Han Chong and the other trialtakers.

    There was a mutual understanding between both sides that, on the day of celebration, they wouldpete in strength. From Han Chong¡¯s perspective, as long as they could bring down the Tower of Resonating Light and destroy the node controlling the five sealings, then the external experts would swarm in and upy the entire Shenwu Continent. To Crown Prince Ming Hao, this was a trap designed to capture the vast majority of the trialtakers.

    ¡°Everything is in position to move out once the order is given. For now, everyone can rest in ce,¡± Ming Zhaochen ordered in a sonorous voice.

    Lu Yin remained silent and he looked around as the map that Ming Zhaoshu had shown him of the Tower of Resonating Light floated up in his mind. The Tower of Resonating Light had thirteen levels in total, and only five were above the surface, which made up the Tower of Resonating Light that everyone could see. The other eight levels were hidden underground, and the area became wider the further down one went. The thirteenth level was nearly as expansive as the capital on its own. Of course, Ming Taizhong was buried on this lowest level.

    Lu Yin looked down; a great powerhouse was buried some distance beneath his feet. There should be precious battle techniques, treasures, and training materials buried down there, but it was a shame that he could not reach them. Ming Zhaoshu had mentioned that even Hunters would find it hard to return from Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb alive, which should be in the thirteenth level. Lu Yin¡¯s current position was somewhere in the seventh level.

    Crown Prince Ming Hao had leaked information saying that the control node for the five sealings was located underneath the Tower of Resonating Light. Since Han Chong and the other trialtakers already knew about the sixth level, the ambush had been set up on the seventh level. Of course, the trialtakers had also probably already guessed that there was more than one subterranean level.

    Why is Crown Prince Ming Hao so confident that this will capture all of the trialtakers? Lu Yin wondered to himself as he curiously looked around.

    The scope of the seventhyer was massive and very dark since it was underground. There were no traces of sunlight anywhere, and all he could see were the solid bs of stone beneath his feet.

    However, the martial power here was abundant and almost felt like it was overflowing. This allowed the Ming Vanguard to maintain their peakbat state while they were waiting.

    ¡°How strange, this ce feels very odd,¡± the Ghost Monkey mumbled.

    Lu Yin could not speak and thus could only listen to the monkey muttering to himself.

    ¡°Aside from the abundant martial power here, there are various other energies mixed in as well, and that¡¯s not even mentioning this ce¡¯s massive size. This feeling is like¡ªhow should I put it?¡ªright, a sourcebox!¡± The Ghost Monkey finally made this connection as he cried out in realization.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shed as a bolt of lightning seemed to streak past his brain. He recalled the two strange-looking mutant beast statues at the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters¡¯ entrance, which were both sourceboxes as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely the case. We¡¯re surrounded by sourceboxes!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out again.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin softly asked as he moved to the edge of the area that they could roam around in.

    The Ghost Monkey muttered back, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to exin this. Hmm, if you consider the entire Tower of Resonating Light to be a giant sourcebox, then we would currently be trapped inside it.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded by the exnation. ¡°How is that even possible? Can the sourcebox still be used?¡±

    ¡°Of course, let me tell you this: the human race isn¡¯t the only group that has Lockbreakers. Our Astral Beast Domain has some as well! We can also unlock the treasures sealed by the universe. Your Lord Hou here is also a Lockbreaker!¡± the Ghost Monkey proudly dered.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Lockbreaker?¡± Lu Yin was truly taken aback this time. This monkey was supposed to be a Lockbreaker? What a joke!

    The Ghost Monkey sternly replied, ¡°I¡¯ll warn you again. Don¡¯t look down on us astral beasts. Never. Since the dawn of the universe, astral beasts have existed for ages, and our history far surpasses you humans¡¯. And I¡¯ve also mentioned this before, but humans really are just another species of astral beasts. From our perspective, all of humanity is just one branch of the beasts. Naturally, astral beasts can do anything that the humans can, and lockbreaking is no exception. Many astral beasts have strange innate gifts that far surpass the humans¡¯ as well.¡± The monkey was boasting again. ¡°Such as myself, Lord Hou.¡±

    ¡°How do you lockbreak?¡± Lu Yin asked in a puzzled tone.

    The Ghost Monkey was unhappy at the question. ¡°What do you mean?! My grasp of star energy is extremely advanced, and I almostprehended a domain! But regardless of all that, Lord Hou was born with special eyes, and I can see the changes in star energy that normal beings cannot. Based on your human grading of Lockbreakers, I should have reached the standard of a five-star Junior Lockbreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, as he did not believe the monkey one bit. However, he knew that this monkey did indeed have a sharp pair of eyes that could pierce through any disguise. On second thought, it may actually be possible for the creature to lockbreak.

    ¡°So are you saying that we¡¯re trapped in this giant sourcebox, the Tower of Resonating Light?¡±

    ¡°Of course, the Tower of Resonating Light is not actually a sourcebox. Rather, it¡¯d be more urate to say that there are sourceboxes ced all around us that have caused this underground area to develop a strange environment that is concealed by various energies. This environment has been fundamentally changed, and it has even caused the entire underground area to be sealed, which is very simr to the solid coating of energy that the dust of the universe forms on a sourcebox.¡±

    Lu Yin had a much better understanding of the situation now. It seemed that Ming Hao was nning on using this method to entrap everyone, but where had he found this many sourceboxes? Did the Shenwu Continent somehow have a vast number of them?

    ¡°Can we escape if we¡¯re trapped by these sourceboxes?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It depends on the intensity of the energy.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He then closed his eyes, waiting for the day of the emperor¡¯s birthday celebration to arrive.

    Three dayster, there was a loud rumbling in the sky. Fireworks blossomed above Mingdu, and various cities in the different inds throughout the Shenwu Empire alsounched fireworks. The birthday celebration had finally begun.

    Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu was dressed splendidly for the asion as he escorted Ming Yan towards the pce. High-ranking officials from all over the empire had converged here like tributaries feeding into a single, massive river as numerous experts carefully watched the proceedings. The soldiers had also sealed the city gates.

    The entire empire was celebrating on this day, but only the upper echelons knew that this day was also the day where they would have a decisive battle against the foreigners.

    Lu Yin was waiting in the dark, not knowing what was happening outside the Tower of Resonating Light. All the members of the ambush party were waiting for the possibility of battle to break out.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, the ground vibrated as a ray of light burrowed through the ground towards them. An intense sonic boom soon followed behind it, prompting Li Zimo to unsheathe his sword and move out from his hiding ce underground. Blood soon spread through the earth.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, and he looked up. The ceiling had been split apart, causing the dust from the floor above them to drift down. The entire Ming Vanguard stood up and rushed up and out of the seventh level.

    At the same time, a happy celebration filled with songs and dance had started in the imperial pce. Ming Zhaotian had not appeared yet, so Crown Prince Ming Hao was overseeing the event and hosting the celebration. Ming Zhaoshu asionally looked into the distance at the direction of the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Ming Yan sat behind him with a worried look.

    Not far away from them, Bei Qing stared passionately at Ming Yan. Unfortunately, at that moment, he was interrupted by a middle-aged man who was standing beside him. This man was the empire¡¯s minister of defence, Bei Hong.

    At the other end of the proceedings, finance minister Ming Zhaocai was beaming from ear to ear. Behind him sat Grandini Mavis under her pseudonym, Ah-Lan. She intently stared ahead at a woman behind Crown Prince Ming Hao. She had never imagined in her wildest dreams that Starsibyl would actually be sitting there. She really was too brazen and determined.

    Suddenly, a crack extended across the sky, seemingly splitting it asunder. A boundless and terrifying aura dropped down upon them.

    A cold glint shed across Ming Hao¡¯s eyes.

    The four peaks surrounding the capital emitted a shining radiance thatbined to stop the aftershocks shaking the city. The protecting figures then dashed out of the void and joined the battle.

    Aside from these four experts, many other figures shot into the sky from the capital, rushing towards the five sealings to participate in a decisive battle against the foreign invaders.

    Many powerhouses from various ces across the entire Shenwu Continent also headed towards thes. This was a rather moving scene to most, as regardless of if they were friend or foe, everyone in the Shenwu Continent was charging up together to fight to the death for their homnd. It was anyone¡¯s guess as to how many would perish in the heavens this day.

    Within the Tower of Resonating Light, dozens of trialtakers charged down with a simple goal: destroy the control node of the five sealings that was hidden beneath the tower. When they broke it, the Darkmist Weave¡¯s powerhouses would be able to enter in full force, and the Shenwu Continent¡¯s independence would finally be ended.

    Yue Xianzi frowned in a corner; it should not be like this. Even if the Darkmist Weave had ced a great deal of pressure on the Shenwu Continent, there shouldn¡¯t be aplete absence of Explorers here. This was the control node¡ªthe most important ce on the entire continent¡ªand the trialtakers had made very detailed ns before carrying out their attack. They had even made preparations for if a Cruiser appeared, so why was there not even a single Explorer here?

    Yue Xianzi wasn¡¯t the only one who had a feeling that things were odd; Han Chong and the other hidden members of the Daynight n held simr thoughts. But since they had already arrived, there was no longer an option of retreat.

    Lu Yin shed with a trialtaker, but he did not end the fight quickly. He forced the trialtaker around the area so that he could observe the rest of the battles taking ce.

    That trialtaker was bewildered by Lu Yin, as he had used all his strength but could not get rid of this brat before him. This person was even idly looking all around and was obviously not taking the trialtaker seriously. ¡°Go and die, idiot!¡±

    Lu Yin retreated several steps and frowned at the inexplicably angry male. ¡°Huh?¡±

 Chapter 281: Daynight Restoration Technique

    <h4>Chapter 281: Daynight Restoration Technique</h4>

    ¡°Huh?!¡± The man was so angry that he startedughing. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m your sparring partner or something? Show your true strength!¡±

    Lu Yin spotted Yue Xianzi standing in the corner and quickly eliminated his annoying opponent. The man only felt a dizziness overtake him before everything turned dark. He had been knocked unconscious.

    There was a bang as the floor shook from the impact. A sword qi was sweeping throughout the field, and it had already killed a trialtaker. Li Zimo was unstoppable.

    ¡°Die, native!¡± a Daynight male shouted as he charged out and raised his palm towards Li Zimo. ck and white colors swirled within his palm, causing those around him to feel faint.

    Li Zimo¡¯s eyes brightened, and he reversed his sword. He swapped positions with the Daynight n member, who spat out a mouthful of blood as he fell to the floor; a sword scar had appeared across his chest that was so deep his ribs were revealed.

    Whoosh!

    An enormous pressure descended from above, causing Li Zimo¡¯s hair to stand on end. He subconsciously avoided the attack, though the explosion covered the entirety of the Tower of Resonating Light¡¯s sixth level. Zhanlong Daynight walked out from the smoke and sneered at Li Zimo. ¡°You¡¯re not half bad.¡±

    Li Zimo shivered; this was a terrifying expert!

    The two immediately charged towards each other without exchanging any pleasantries. As soon as they collided, the area around them became deste¡ªno one dared to approach their brawl.

    Li Zimo was the only Limiteer among the Ming Vanguard¡¯s threemanders. The other two were Explorers, and as such, they had gone to the five sealings. Their deputies, however, were Limiteers and thus were here, resisting the trialtakers.

    The Ming Vanguard was not alone, as the Tower of Resonating Light had its own defensive force, which was not weak in any way. There were a few experts among them who were on the List of Tempering, and even the trialtakers had to expend a serious amount of effort to deal with such experts.

    The sixth level was quite spacious, so the battlefield was not crowded in the slightest. All of the trialtakers were rushing to charge into the level below.

    Lu Yin darted about the battlefield before suddenly appearing before Yue Xianzi. She was shocked to see that someone had suddenly approached her, and subconsciously activated her inherited battle technique, Poseidon¡¯s Garments, to protect herself. Unfortunately, Lu Yin tore through it with a single palm. This scene stunned her, and she immediately thought of Lu Yin. Although he had changed his appearance, his attack methods were still about the same, and there were also very few people who could tear through her Poseidon¡¯s Garments that easily.

    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?!¡± Yue Xianzi barked as she stepped back while remaining cautious.

    Lu Yin had a cold gaze. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about this part where you all invaded the Tower of Resonating Light.¡±

    ¡°I did not know until I arrived at the capital either.¡±

    ¡°Is that so,¡± Lu Yin did not bicker, ¡°Since you helped sneak me into the Ming Constables, I can pass anyst words that you may have to the Frostmoon Sect.¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s gaze turned frosty, and she retreated a few more steps back. ¡°You want to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Not me, but Ming Hao. Don¡¯t you get it? This news of the Tower of Resonating Light being the control node for the five sealings was leaked by Ming Hao. This invasion of the Tower of Resonating Light is part of a mutual understanding between the Darkmist Weave and the Shenwu Continent: you all are just pawns.¡±

    She frowned. ¡°No one would dare to use us as pawns. The Darkmist Weave is no exception.¡±

    Lu Yinughed harshly. ¡°The Darkmist Weave contains the darkest powers of the entire universe. Although it cannotpare in strength to the Innerverse¡¯s Chaos Flowzone, it''s notcking in temperament at all. If they act like they don¡¯t know about this incident, then what can the organizations behind you possibly do? After all, this is a trial, not a game.¡±

    ¡°How do you know all this? What else do you know?¡± Yue Xianzi felt that things were too strange. This person had to rely on her to join the Ming Constables, so how did he know so much about their situation?

    Lu Yin looked into the distance and indistinctly saw Han Chong sh through the battlefield. He thoughtfully replied, ¡°Unforeseen events will unfold tonight. Take care of yourself.¡± He then immediately left.

    Yue Xianzi was unsure if Lu Yin was telling the truth, or if he was merely trying to hoodwink her. If that was the truth, then one of the trialtakers in the Shenwu Continent had yed a sly hand by gambling the lives of everyone who had charged into the Tower of Resonating Light. If they seeded, then the merit would belong solely to that person. If they did not, then that person would not even show their face. She, and even Han Chong and those from the Daynight n, had all be pawns of that person.

    It was impossible; no one would treat people with backgrounds asrge as theirs as pawns. Yue Xianzi thought about it some more and then suddenly found a problem. All of the trialtakers had attacked the Tower of Resonating Light without any prior agreement, so just who was leading the charge? Han Chong? That was impossible since their batch had only recently arrived in the continent. They definitely did not have the time to gather the information about the Tower of Resonating Light let alone form a group and formte a n. Things must have been orchestrated over a longer period of time, but who was behind it?

    Han Chong entered the seventh level of the Tower of Resonating Light and was immediately weed by two des aimed at his throat. He easily dodged them and waved a hand, using his martial power to create a painting that crushed the two Ming Vanguards in front of him. He continued looking ahead, but could see only ckness. The radiance from the sixth level only barely illuminated the lower level. Where is the node?

    Back on the sixth level, Li Zimo and Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s battle was growing more and more intense with each passing minute. Or rather, Li Zimo¡¯s sword attacks were bing more frequent. He was already using his full strength, but Zhanlong Daynight still seemed to be taking it easy, as there was not a single sign of injury on his body.

    At this point, there was an indescribable shock in Li Zimo¡¯s heart. As the second on the List of Tempering, such an opponent in the Martial King realm should not exist, with the possible exception of the mysterious first. He had fought against many foreigners over the years, but not a single one of them who was in the same realm as him had been an opponent for him. This man before him was just too terrifying; Li Zimo could not even wound him, much less defeat him.

    Zhanlong Daynight grinned and tore his clothes apart. ¡°Your sword techniques aren¡¯t too bad. Come on, hack at me,¡± he taunted as he pointed towards his chest with an arrogant expression.

    Li Zimo pulled his sword back and stood straight, staring intently at Zhanlong Daynight. He flipped the hilt of his sword around and replied with a single word. ¡°Arrogant.¡± He then strode forwards with a series of light steps as his de streaked out. The surroundings fell silent as his de had practically isted the space around them. This strike was stronger than any of his previous ones, and its power had even surpassed Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords. This was the Silence, Li Zimo¡¯s strongest technique.

    Zhanlong Daynight had been too careless and assumed that Li Zimo had already used all of his strength. He never expected that Li Zimo would take this opportunity tounch the strongest attack so far. His chest was torn apart by the de, and his blood was scattered across the floor.

    Lu Yin jumped atop a broken stone to look at Zhanlong Daynight. Should I use this opportunity to kill him?

    Drip, drip, drip.

    The fresh blood sttered onto the floor as Zhanlong Daynight lowered his head. There was intense pain radiating out from the wound in his chest. He slowly turned around, ¡°Impressive strength, kid. You¡¯re the first Limiteer who¡¯s been able to hurt me.¡±

    Li Zimo trembled and stared nkly as the wound on his opponent¡¯s chest gradually vanished. Within a few seconds, the skin was unbroken, as if his strike had nevernded. Apart from the fresh blood staining the floor, there was no trace of any injury on Zhanlong Daynight. How?

    Lu Yin felt numb as well. What kind of trick is this?

    ¡°That technique seems so familiar. I must have seen it in some border warfront record before,¡± the Ghost Monkey muttered.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Daynight technique.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey cried out, ¡°Oh! It must be the Daynight Restoration Technique. Someone actually managed to learn that heaven-defying technique?¡±

    ¡°You know about it?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°I¡¯ve gone through many records of various powerhouses and their unique bodies. One such peak physical tempering technique is the Daynight Restoration Technique. A long time ago, perhaps ten thousand years ago, there was a heaven-defying genius of the Daynight n who battled against five Cruiser level astral beasts while only at the Explorer realm. That battlested for days and ultimately ended with five deaths¡ªfour Cruiser level astral beasts as well as that Daynight genius. The surviving astral beast, who was also a powerhouse, went on to describe the Daynight Restoration Technique in detail.¡±

    The monkey paused a moment and then continued exining, saying, ¡°This technique is not a battle technique per se, but more of a recovery technique. It¡¯s an almost perverted level of regeneration. If a normal person¡¯s regeneration rate was given a score of ten, then those who learned this technique would be rated at a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand. They can recover from all kinds of grievous injuries in the blink of an eye! It¡¯s extremely messed up. Those astral beast powerhouses only killed that Daynight genius by deliberately dragging out the battle until he ran out of energy.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Such a technique exists in the world? Wouldn¡¯t such a thing make this guy invincible?¡±

    ¡°More or less. He can¡¯t be killed by anyone in the same realm as him. Also, the longer the technique is practised for, the more every aspect of the practitioner¡¯s body will be improved¡ªand there¡¯s no upper limit! It¡¯s very, very twisted, and that powerhouse advised us to kill any known user of the Daynight Restoration Technique as soon as possible in order to prevent them from living for too long.¡±

    Regeneration sounds very familiar... Right! The Technique of Life and Death! Lu Yin recalled this strange technique could also greatly upgrade one¡¯s power. It worked by suppressing a person¡¯s natural regenerative abilities and converted that into strength. It was actually theplete opposite of the Daynight Restoration Technique. Lu Yin suddenly thought back to when he had collided with Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s palm. There had been a sort of suppressive effect; could that have been the Technique of Life and Death suppressing the Daynight Restoration Technique?

    If this were really the case, then this brat was just too unlucky! Lu Yin had managed to obtain this obscure technique after countless others had failed over the course of countless years. He should be the only one in the universe who could be considered the natural nemesis of a practitioner of the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    Li Zimo reluctantly conceded the battle after witnessing Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s recovery. No matter how strong his attacks were, they were all rendered useless against him. Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s battle style had naturally evolved into a mutually destructive style, and it didn¡¯t take long for Li Zimo¡¯s sword to be damaged.

    He spat out some blood, his face deathly pale.

    The ambushing party within the Tower of Resonating Light was slowly being whittled away at. Lu Yin did not want Li Zimo to be killed, but more importantly, he did not want Li Zimo to die at the hands of a Daynight n member. If he did nothing, then this achievement might give Zhanlong Daynight an opportunity to join the Outerverse Youth Council.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin used sh to charge towards the battlefield and casually threw arge rock at Zhanlong Daynight.

    Zhanlong waved his hand and crushed the rock. He looked coldly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin tucked his head in andnded roughly on the floor, causing a cloud of dust to fly up into the air.

    Zhanlong Daynight disdainfully remarked, ¡°Worthless.¡±

    Li Zimo looked at Lu Yin and said in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t intervene. Leave!¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to respond, but then a noise sounded out. Li Zimo heard it as well. The two exchanged nces and charged back up to the Tower of Resonating Light¡¯s fifth level.

    At the same time, the defending Ming Vanguard and all the other experts from the Shenwu Continent pulled back one after one another. Zhanlong Daynight and the other trialtakers were all confused by their sudden retreat.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s heart leaped, and she had a bad premonition, ¡°Brother Zhanlong, this is a trap! They want to seal us in here!¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight raised his head. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on their abilities.¡± He then leaped up, following Lu Yin and the rest of the defenders to the fifth level.

    Li Zimo struck downwards with his sword in an attempt to block Zhanlong Daynight. However, this top genius of the Daynight n had more than one trick up his sleeves; his extreme speed was also astounding and defied all expectations. When Li Zimo and the rest arrived at the fifth level, Zhanlong Daynight followed right behind, along with a few other trialtakers.

    ¡°Knock him down!¡± Li Zimo barked as he attacked Zhanlong Daynight.

    Lu Yin attacked together with Li Zimo, and they simultaneously unleashed an attack towards Zhanlong Daynight.

    Zhanlong Daynight grunted and struck out with both hands. ck and white colors interchanged; this was the Daynight Punch. With a bang, Li Zimo¡¯s sword shattered, and he was sted back a dozen meters. Then, Lu Yin¡¯s palm collided with Zhanlong Daynight, and there was another loud band as shockwaves rippled in all directions. The shockwaves ended up hitting the Daynight n members rushing upwards, forcing them back down again.

 Chapter 282: Sweeping Through

    <h4>Chapter 282: Sweeping Through</h4>

    This scene shocked everyone, including Li Zimo. Never in his wildest imaginations would he have dreamed that Lu Yin could block Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punch.

    Lu Yin himself was stunned as well. He hadn¡¯t put much force into that attack as he was afraid that Zhanlong Daynight would recognize him. However, the moment that their attacks collided, power had uncontroblye out of his body, as if its sole purpose was to suppress the Daynight Restoration Technique. The result of this was Lu Yin being unable to control his strength and releasing that powerful counterattack.

    Zhanlong Daynight stared hard at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This is bad! It seemed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide his identity any longer, so his best course of action was to prevent Zhanlong Daynight from even speaking.

    While Lu Yin was in the midst of processing the situation, the void distorted as martial power and all sorts of other energies swept through the area. The energy became tangible and surrounded the fifth level of the Tower of Resonating Light, sealing off the sixth level.

    Back down on the sixth level, Yue Xianzi was just about to charge over, but she was stopped by the rampant shockwavesing from Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s battle. By the time she was able to head over, it was already toote. All she could do was helplessly watch on as the sixth level was sealed off.

    Han Chong rushed up from the seventh level while waving his arms in the air. He used his martial power to draw a painting of mountains and seas that surged forth at the materialized energy seal. However, his efforts were in vain, and the seal did not budge in the slightest.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the target of this operation, Han Chong? The Shenwu Continent¡¯s done for the moment our objective is destroyed. If weplete this task, someone will eventually save us,¡± a trialtaker said.

    Han Chong had a sullen expression. ¡°The area below is too big, so I haven¡¯t found it yet.¡±

    Yue Xianzi recalled what Lu Yin had said to her earlier, and her heart sank. However, it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea to bring it up right now since the information would likely drop morale. She could only treat what Lu Yin had said as a lie and keep searching.

    ¡°Let¡¯s all work together and see if we can break the seal!¡± a girl eximed. She seemed to be quite popr, and about a dozen trialtakers immediately attempted to follow her suggestion and rose to attack the seal. However, it still refused to budge.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do anything unless a Lockbreaker is directing the energy. This is a materialized set of various mixed energies that havebined together to form this unique seal. Only a Lockbreaker has a chance of undoing this sort of thing,¡± Han Chong said sternly as he eyed the fifth level. Amongst all the trialtakers on the continent, it appeared that the only Lockbreaker here was Lu Yin.

    ¡°We¡¯d have a better chance of finding the control node,¡± someone shouted out.

    ¡°Since they have the gall to seal us here, they clearly aren¡¯t worried about us finding it. All of this will be for nothing,¡± someone else retorted.

    ¡°Then should we just wait here to die?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Stop arguing. Let¡¯s just try to find the control node for now. It might be our only way out,¡± Han Chong stated firmly before darting back down towards the seventh level once again. The others were left with no other choice but to follow him.

    The fifth level was still rife with intense battles. Seven trialtakers had managed to escape from the seal¡¯s grasp in time, and they were currently stuck on this level. Aside from Zhanlong Daynight, there were two other members of the Daynight n and five additional trialtakers who were currently caught in battle with experts from the Shenwu Continent.

    Earlier, during the battles on the sixth level, both sides had suffered considerable damage. However, there were now less than a dozen people left on the trialtakers¡¯ side to contest against all of the remaining defending experts from the Shenwu Continent. Furthermore, the defenders had four people who were on the List of Tempering. Their battles had nearly destroyed the fifth level.

    Rumble!

    A loud explosion sted out, causing the very air to distort. Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight both pulled back at the same time while keeping their eyes on each other.

    With a whoosh, Li Zimo swiped his sword at Zhanlong Daynight. He had switched to a new sword after hisst one was damaged.

    Zhanlong Daynight used his fingers to tap it away. He retreated a few more meters and snickered, ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot! You can¡¯t even tell who¡¯s your friend and who¡¯s your enemy.¡±

    Li Zimo paused, frowning hard. He nced back at Lu Yin with a guarded expression. He had a clear idea of Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s strength, and even he found it difficult to block his attacks, but this person seemed able to do so with ease. Since when had a powerhouse like him existed on the Shenwu Continent?

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Li Zimo suddenly said as he red and pointed his sword at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of this. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am, Commander Li. Rather, what¡¯s more important is the fact that the person before you is our true enemy. He¡¯s definitely a foreigner, and the responsibility of our Ming Vanguard squad is to eliminate them.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynightughed maniacally. ¡°Are you still trying to hide even now, Lu Yin? I can¡¯t believe that you had the guts to sneak into the Ming Constables as a foreigner! You¡¯ve got balls.¡±

    Li Zimo had a stern look as he focused hard on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I thought that the Daynight n was filled with only condescending assholes, but you¡¯re pretty blunt.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight disgustedly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in with those morons.¡± He then nced at Li Zimo. ¡°Things have gotten pretty interesting now, sword guy. So, who are you going to fight?¡±

    Li Zimo narrowed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll kill both of you!¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡±

    Lu Yin and Zhanlong Daynight both attacked Li Zimo at the same time. Regardless of the circumstances, it was an undeniable fact that they were both foreigners, and as such, could be considered to be on the same side. Li Zimo wasn¡¯t weak either, so they wanted to end the battle as soon as possible before other reinforcements had a chance to arrive.

    When Li Zimo saw two experts simultaneously attacking him, his gaze went cold as he shed downwards with his sword before then shing it across horizontally as well. There was a ng, and the sword was shattered into bits by Lu Yin while Li Zimo himself was hit in the stomach by Zhanlong Daynight. Li Zimo spat out a mouthful of blood as he half-knelt on the ground. He was obviously slightly weaker than either of them, so the final result was nothing surprising.

    Lu Yin was about to continue attacking when Li Zimo interrupted and said, ¡°You can kill me, but the two of you will still be enemies.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight became surprised, and even as Lu Yin¡¯s attack towards Li Zimo continued, the ck-and-white haired young man fired off an attack to his side. Lu Yin suddenly turned around. ¡°I knew that you people from the Daynight n couldn¡¯t be trusted!¡±

    There was a loud crash, and the fifth level nearly copsed. Lu Yin was also forced back several steps by Zhanlong¡¯s attack. With a wave of his right hand, Lu Yin sent shockwaves pulsing through the area as five-lined battle force burst out. Its dark-gold radiance illuminated the entire level and left everyone in awe.

    At this moment, there were only about a dozen or so people still engaged in battle. The foreign trialtakers and the native experts of the continent were on rather even grounds. Crown Prince Ming Hao had not arranged for very many experts to lie in ambush at the Tower of Resonating Light so as to avoid alerting the foreigners beforehand. Hence, without the seal, the Shenwu Continent experts would have stood no chance against the trialtakers. Even now, the two groups were only evenly matched at best.

    Lu Yin¡¯s explosive power shocked everyone on the fifth level, and he drew much attention to himself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you my true strength today,¡± Lu Yin said with a cold glint in his eyes. He then used sh to approach Zhanlong Daynight before striking down with a palm. When he had advanced to the Limiteer realm, the Rainmaster had helped him upgrade his Nine Stacks technique to the Thirteen Stacks technique. Some time had passed since then, and he was now able to use it.

    ¡°Thirteen Stacks, Twentyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    ¡°Daynight Restoration Technique.¡±

    Boom boom boom¡­

    Rampant shockwaves snaked throughout the entire fifth level of the Tower of Resonating Light like a rampaging python. The fifth level soonpletely copsed, causing the ground itself to tremble. The soldiers who had been guarding the tower pulled back and watched as the tower copsed.

    Meanwhile, within the imperial pce, Ming Hao turned around, and something shed across his eyes as he fought back the urge to act.

    Elsewhere, Long Yun was leaning against a hill. If Ming Hao or any other Explorer intervened, then he would do the same.

    At the celebrations within the imperial pce, Ming Zhaoshu abruptly stopped moving while in the middle of taking a drink. After a brief pause, he continued.

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression changed as she sensed an extraordinary aura.

    Behind Ming Zhaocai, Grandini Mavis raised her eyes.

    The copse of the tower caught the attention of quite a few experts, but nobody moved to interfere. This was because the numerous battles covered toorge of an area, and the sky was periodically tearing. The entire capital was being affected by the battle, and Ming Zhaoshu asionally had to take action to block the remnant shockwaves.

    It felt as if the sky of the continent itself was being torn open. It looked like the apocalypse.

    The fifth level of the Tower of Resonating Light had beenpletely reduced to dust. The damage extended into the fourthyer as well. During this chaos, Lu Yin had managed to critically injure Zhanlong Daynight with one attack, causing thetter to copse atop the energy seal. Even after receiving Lu Yin¡¯s attack, the seal had merely cracked a little, but it repaired itself in an instant.

    Li Zimo lowered his sword and gazed at Lu Yin in shock. Hisst attack had left the Ming Constablesmander thoroughly terrified, especially since he knew that there was no way he could ever withstand such an attack himself.

    He nced over at Zhanlong Daynight, who was still lying motionless on the seal. There was a deep palmprint that had nearly prated through his chest, and it looked as if the young man was dead.

    The rest stared at Lu Yin in shock. Where had a monster like hime from?

    When Lu Yin was just a Melder, he was already able to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing with just his Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. Although Zhanlong Daynight was much stronger than Nightqueen Yanqing and even possessed the Daynight Restoration Technique, Lu Yin had advanced to the Limiteer realm and attacked with a Thirteen Stacks, Twentyfold Shockwave Palm. It would be a miracle if Zhanlong Daynight had managed to survive!

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily nearby. That move had taken a lot out of him. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to use Thirteen Stacks, but he had gone all out purely because he did not want to give Zhanlong Daynight a chance to recover. His right arm was currently aching terribly.

    He nced over at Li Zimo. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for deceiving you, but I have my reasons.¡± He then used sh to appear next to thetter.

    Li Zimo naturally wouldn¡¯t sit there and wait to die. He turned his sword horizontally and attacked everything around him, but Lu Yin had activated his Cosmic Art and was able topletely see through the attack. The sword qi that Li Zimo had used had too many gaps, and Lu Yin easily maneuvered past it to smack Li Zimo on the back. The Ming Vanguardmander was sent crashing down and ended up falling on the seal, right next to Zhanlong Daynight.

    The onlookers were all stunned.

    The two remaining experts from the Daynight family were enraged. ¡°HOW DARE YOU!? LU YIN!¡±

    Lu Yin snickered and used sh at the highest speed that his body could handle. In just a few seconds, there was nobody else standing on the fifth level besides him. On his own, he had managed to sweep through the entirety of the fifth level, defeating both Zhanlong Daynight and Li Zimo, who were both regarded highly due to their exceptional power within their own realm.

    Was there anyone in the Limiteers realm who was even a match for Lu Yin? He had no idea as to the answer, but Lu Yin was sure that no Limiteer of the Daynight n could hold their own against him.

    ¡°Bro! Seven, I admire you so much! My admiration for you is like water that keeps flowing, like¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Lu Yin curtly cut the monkey off. The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice could be incredibly irritating at times.

    ¡°Do you really not realize what it means to defeat the Daynight Restoration Technique, Seven? That¡¯s the Technique of Immunity! And you took him out with one attack!? Damn, those Daynight n people will probably kill themselves if they find out about this,¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed in an exaggerated manner.

    Lu Yin looked down at his own palms. He was certainly more powerful than Zhanlong Daynight, but he didn¡¯t actually have the strength to destroy the Technique of Immunity in a single move. He had only defeated Zhanlong Daynight with a single palm because his Fatal Revival was able to suppress the Daynight Restoration Technique. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to seriously injure Zhanlong Daynight in just one move.

    Lu Yin did not bother to respond to the monkey, and he merely stood silently above the energy seal. He looked through the seal to the sixth level, waiting for Han Chong and the others to approach him.

    There had to be a connection between the Darkmist Weave¡¯s all-out attack and the trialtakers¡¯ attack on the Tower of Resonating Light. Additionally, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t worried about Ming Zhaotian and the othersing over. The two sides had already mutually agreed that this battlefield would decide the results of the ongoing war between the continent and the foreign invaders.

    Han Chong and the rest were just too important. Even if the Darkmist Weave wanted to use them as chess pieces, these pieces couldn¡¯t actually be sacrificed. Their deaths would affect many organizations in the Innerverse, and the cons far outweighed the pros.

    Not long after, a figure on the sixth level appeared within Lu Yin¡¯s vision. It was a trialtaker who had failed to find the location of the control node.

    The person looked up and gazed at Lu Yin through the energy seal. At that point, Lu Yin had returned to his original appearance, and the trialtaker thought that he looked familiar. After staring for a bit, the trialtaker¡¯s eyes widened into saucers. ¡°Y-You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin looked downwards as he smiled. The materialized energy that made up the seal was transparent, and he could clearly see the look of shock on the trialtaker¡¯s face. ¡°And who are you?¡±

 Chapter 283: Seal

    <h4>Chapter 283: Seal</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m An Shaohua of the Watermoon Vi, from the Soulseal Flowzone,¡± the trialtaker breathlessly replied. After speaking, he shifted his attention to the unconscious Zhanlong Daynight who had copsed atop the energy seal. His pupils shrank, and when he looked back at Lu Yin, the expression on his face now included fear.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not trapped down here, why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± An Shaohua asked probingly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll talk in a bit.¡±

    An Shaohua gave Lu Yin an odd look, but he sat right down afterwards. It was pointless to think too much right now, as he had already been captured.

    Soon enough, another man appeared, and he was just as shocked as An Shaohua to see Lu Yin above the seal.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m Alfonso from Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Starphant Mountain.¡±

    A few momentster, a woman appeared.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Doro from Bard Weave¡¯s Evenground Pce.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Shi Sandao from the Suna Weave¡¯s Moke Sword Sect.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Xun Jiong from the Ascension Flowzone¡¯s Xun family.¡±

    ¡­

    Anyone who dared to take part in the Outerverse trials was definitely not an ordinary person. Even so, Lu Yin did not expect so many people from so many organizations to have gathered here. There were at least ten organizations from both the Outerverse and Innerverse represented here, including both Han Chong¡¯s Han Family and Yue Xianzi¡¯s Frostmoon Sect. The Darkmist Weave would be in major trouble if these people died.

    Lu Yin was now growing increasingly certain that there must be some kind of prearranged escape n for these people, but he was also bing even more certain that the defense of this ce was far above their expectations. After all, this was Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you didn¡¯t leave?¡± Yue Xianzi eximed as she looked through the solid energy seal in surprise. She nced over at Zhanlong Daynight, and her eyes widened in shock even more as she looked back at Lu Yin. This person became more terrifying every time she saw him.

    Han Chong also appeared at this time, and he was just as surprised as Yue Xianzi when he saw the scene. He then smiled, ¡°This is the second time that we¡¯ve met in the Shenwu Continent, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I never expected us to meet under these circumstances.¡±

    Han Chong also caught a glimpse of Zhanlong Daynight. This person was incredibly strong, even more so than Nightqueen Yanqing. Han Chong wasn¡¯t sure if even he could defeat Zhanlong, but he¡¯d already been defeated by Lu Yin. Han Chong sighed and shook his head. ¡°The Daynight n did all it could to force the final four of the Astral Combat Tournament toe to the Shenwu Continent, all so that Zhanlong Daynight could defeat all of us. Unfortunately for them, they lost their bet. Your power was far above their expectations.¡±

    ¡°But I''m still just a Limiteer. In their eyes, I¡¯m nothing more than an ant.¡± Lu Yin did not be arrogant and merely spoke the truth. There were too many powerhouses in the Daynight n, such as Nightking Zhenwu. However, he only represented the peak of the younger generation; there were obviously much more powerful experts in the older generation. The n held an inconceivable amount of power.

    ¡°Cut the crap and stop jabbering. Let us out already.¡± Not too far away, a man spoke up in an annoyed tone. He was from the zing Mist Flowzone, which had a good rtionship with the ze Realm. This person had always found Lu Yin to be an eyesore.

    The rest gave this person a strange look. He must be a moron!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze chilled. ¡°Sorry to bother you, but could you please make this young man shut up, Brother Han.¡±

    Han Chong did not answer, and instead merely smacked down with a hand. The person from the zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s strength was onlyparable to an Astral Combat Academy Area Master at the best. He waspletely incapable of even attempting to counter Han Chong¡¯s attack and was instantly knocked unconscious.

    ¡°Is there something that you¡¯d like to tell everyone, Lu Yin?¡± Han Chong asked in a deceptively kind tone.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°First of all, all of you are sealed down there. Therefore, I have a proposal for you. I¡¯ll do my best to help you all leave, but all of you have to in turn make a deal with me and help me do something as long as it¡¯s something that¡¯s possible for you to aplish. Of course, I also won¡¯t ask you to do anything that goes against your principles.¡±

    Han Chong¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°For example?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯te up with anything yet.¡±

    Han Chong fell quiet. Lu Yin was requesting a promise, and he was wary of rashly agreeing to anything too quickly.

    The rest exchanged looks, and then An Shaohua spoke up. ¡°Will you stop us from trying to find a way out of here ourselves?¡±

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°You think too little of me. Please, do as you wish.¡±

    Yue Xianzi blinked. Seriously? This didn¡¯t seem like something Lu Yin would agree to. From what she knew of him, Lu Yin was no gentleman, and he would definitely take advantage of any situation that he could. He had even robbed quite a few people in the past. Right, he had also harassed Xi Yue. This guy was about as clean as a filthy piece of trash. He wouldn¡¯t stop them? What a joke.

    ¡°Are you really not going to stop them, Seventh Bro? By the looks of it, they seem pretty confident in their chances of getting out,¡± the Ghost Monkey mentioned. However, contrary to all expectations, Lu Yin remained silent.

    On the sixth level, An Shaohua took a deep breath and solemnly took an item out of his cosmic ring with a serious look in his eyes.

    Everyone watched him closely, but when they saw what he took out, an expression of bewilderment overcame them all.

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, that¡¯s a trumpet that I see in your hands. right. Shaohua?¡±

    An Shaohua chuckled and then took out something else. It was another trumpet, but a muchrger one than the previous one. He connected the two together before taking out yet another trumpet.

    After fitting all three trumpets together under everyone¡¯s confused gazes, An Shaohua sighed. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±

    Whaty before them was an ultrarge trumpet made up of dozens of smaller trumpets. It stood tall and had been erected with its bell directed upwards.

    Doro from the Bard Weave was shocked. ¡°Are you trying to call for help?¡±

    An Shaohua was struck speechless by his assumption. ¡°Of course not! My hometown, the Watermoon Vi, has a unique battle technique that can amplify sound. My brother is hidden somewhere within the capital, and after I amplify my voice with this instrument, I¡¯ll be able to ask him to help and work together with us from the outside. He¡¯s an Explorer, and he¡¯s definitely powerful enough to break the seal.¡±

    Everyone was surprised. This was quite an interesting battle technique.

    Lu Yin was astonished as well. It seemed that all kinds of strange things existed in the universe; after all, even a battle technique like this had been developed.

    ¡°As we discussed before, you¡¯ll take care of any Explorer realm powerhouses that appear. Right, Han Chong?¡± An Shaohua asked Han Chong as he nced over.

    Han Chong appeared quite solemn. ¡°If the seal is destroyed, I¡¯ll deal with any Explorers thate here.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Here I go.¡± An Shaohua took a deep breath, and under everyone¡¯s shocked look, blew hard into the trumpet.

    A booming sound phased through the seal of materialized energy. It wasn¡¯t some kind of offensive soundwave, but rather just pure sound. In other words, it was extremely loud. Even Lu Yin was startled.

    The monkey was furious. ¡°He scared the crap out of me!¡±

    Outside the tower, as those trumpet ¡°toots¡± rang out, the surrounding troops were just as surprised as the trialtakers, and they began to carefully observe the tower.

    Meanwhile, a thousand meters away from the Tower of Resonating Light, a man who was lying atop a tree heard the sound, and his eyes shed. He quickly opened his mouth and made the same sound in response. However, unlike what happened when An Shaohua made the sound, this time, an immense martial power swept through the sky and violently mmed into the Tower of Resonating Light.

    In the imperial pce within the capital, Ming Hao¡¯s expression changed. He then abruptly stood up and violently flung the cup in his hand at the floor. However, instead of smashing into the ground, it instead tore a hole through space and appeared right outside of the Tower of Resonating Light, heading straight for the man atop the tree.

    The man paid this teacup no mind as the soundwaves mixed with his martial power before vigorously mming against the materialized energy seal. There was a huge crash sound as the entire tower shook.

    Lu Yin took several steps back as he looked at the point that had been struck in shock. The others did the same and focused on the seal, but the point of impact barely had a mark on it.

    An Shaohua¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    ¡°Do it again,¡± Han Chong stated. ¡°We¡¯ll attack at the same time, hitting it from both sides this time.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± An Shaohua answered.

    Tooot!

    Outside the tower, the man had been struck by the thrown cup, causing him to cough out a mouthful of blood. When he heard another ¡°toot¡±e from inside the tower, he grit his teeth and responded in kind once again. His martial power swept out for a second time, this time taking the shape of a tornado that could be seen by the naked eye as it struck the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Within the pce, Ming Hao snickered. ¡°What an idiot.¡± This time, he flung a chopstick away.

    Boom!

    The Explorer had coordinated his attack with Han Chong and the rest of the trapped trialtakers, causing two immense forces to strike the exact same point on the energy seal. At this moment, Lu Yin grew slightly worried. Han Chong was definitely not weaker than an Explorer, and right now, he was also being helped by Yue Xianzi and the other trapped trialtakers. That meant that there were at least two attacks at the Explorer level strikinging from within the tower. With the attack from outside added in, there were essentially three Explorers attacking the seal at the same time. It was impossible to tell if the seal would be able to hold on.

    Crack!

    The seal cracked.

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows. It made sense that such a powerfulbination attack would be able to crack the seal, but Ming Hao still hadn¡¯t appeared, allowing that Explorer on the outside to attack. That was proof that he still had other cards hidden up his sleeves.

    All of a sudden, five odd-looking sculptures rose into the air above the fifth level. Actually, they were right above Lu Yin.

    The five sculptures were linked together, and they suddenly connected to the energy seal and repaired it, making it far more durable and powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. This made him recall the five sealings. Could this seal be the same formation as the fives seal? Those five statues are sourceboxes, which means that¡­ Lu Yin suddenly came up with a terrifying idea. Could those fives be five terrifying sourceboxes?! But that was impossible. How could a sourcebox of such a monstrous size exist, let alone five of them?

    But before Lu Yin could consider this idea any more, the seal was fully mended, crushing Han Chong and the others¡¯ hopes of escaping. Meanwhile, the Explorer outside had been impaled by a chopstick through his stomach. He crumpled to the ground and was quickly captured. He was nothing more than an ordinary Explorer and was even weaker than Ming Hao. Even without being physically present, Ming Hao was still able to finish off this man.

    However, before the man was taken away, Long Yun appeared and rescued him. Ming Hao didn¡¯t stop him, because the Tower of Resonating Light was the most important objective at the moment.

    When he saw how everyone¡¯sbined force was still unable to break the seal, Lu Yin sighed in relief and nced down at the trialtakers.

    Coincidentally, Yue Xianzi looked up at the same time and caught his gaze. After seeing him smiling, she felt her heart drop. What a bastard! she thought to herself. He¡¯s delighted that we¡¯re stuck in such a terrible situation.

    ¡°We can start discussing terms now, Lu Yin,¡± Han Chong kindly informed him, as if what had just happened was not a big deal.

    An Shaohua pursed his lips. ¡°Why him? Do you actually think that he can break the seal?¡±

    Han Chong earnestly answered, ¡°I believe that he can.¡±

    Han Chong had spoken very sincerely. It wasn''t just the other trialtakers; even Lu Yin himself was surprised by his candor. Before the five statues had repaired the seal, he had been quite sure that he could open the seal himself, but now, he wasn¡¯t quite as sure anymore. However, Han Chong seemed to be even more confident than Lu Yin in his own abilities at the present moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said this before. I¡¯d like all of you to help me with something in the future. That¡¯s my sole condition,¡± Lu Yin told them.

    Shi Sandao from the Suna Weave¡¯s Moke Sword Sect looked up. ¡°What would this help entail?¡±

    ¡°Rumors in the Astral Combat Academy have it that you don¡¯t have a good rtionship with the Daynight n, not to mention the fact that you just beat up Zhanlong Daynight and some other n members. If you want to influence the organizations that we belong to into attacking the Daynight n, I can tell you right now with absolute certainty that that¡¯s impossible,¡± Alfonso from Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Starphant Mountain apathetically stated.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I naturally won¡¯t ask you to do that. How about this¡ªI will have you all do something for me that is possible for the organizations you represent. Does that work? Of course, I¡¯ll need you to swear by it.¡±

    Everyone fell silent. While swearing by something was merely a verbal agreement, cultivators typically considered such an action to bepletely binding unless they were a pathological liar.

 Chapter 284: Domain

    <h4>Chapter 284: Domain</h4>

    The moment a person who considered themselves trustworthy broke a promise, it would have an adverse effect on their mind. Oaths like these might seem like nothing, but they actually had quite a profound effect on those whose ultimate goal was to cultivate to a very high level.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll agree to your terms.¡± Han Chong was the first to agree.

    Lu Yin found this situation strange. Why was this guy being so nice?

    Yue Xianzi also found it very strange. ¡°Are you trying to stall for time, Han Chong?¡±

    The others all nced at Han Chong with strange looks in their eyes. Han Chong was being way too nice and friendly to Lu Yin, and it had actually reached the point where it was too much.

    Han Chong smiled. ¡°When you meet new people, there will be some who you instantly feel like you could very well be good friends with, and then there are some who you¡¯ll seemingly never be able tomunicate with during your entire life. Lu Yin and I seem to be fated.¡±

    ¡°Does this guy like you or something? Gross.¡± The monkey¡¯s voice rang in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless by Han Chong¡¯s exnation, and he surveyed the rest of the trialtakers. ¡°What about the rest of you? You need to answer quickly¡ªthere¡¯s no telling when Ming Hao and his men will show up, and when they do, not even an Explorer will be able to stop them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Yue Xianzi resolutely replied.

    The rest exchanged gazes and then, one by one, agreed.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Good. Make an oath, though I¡¯ll also need it to be written down.¡±

    ¡°Written down? What kind of people do you think we are? Since we promised, we¡¯ll definitely follow through on our word!¡± Xun Jiong from the Ascension Flowzone was furious.

    Lu Yin merely shrugged in response. ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t believe in verbal promises.¡±

    ¡°A bastard like him isn¡¯t worth your friendship. Are you really saying that someone like him is a friend of yours, Han Chong?¡± Xun Jiong looked very ufortable.

    Han Chong smiled. Without saying a word, he took out a piece of paper from his cosmic ring as if it was the most natural thing to do. The rest were left with no choice but to follow suit and write down their oath on paper.

    Lu Yin was very satisfied when he saw this. The universe was a very practical ce, and for the organizations behind these people, profits outweighed everything else. They wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to give up on one of their most elite disciples if necessary. At worst, they could just nurture another. An oath would only bind the person in question and not the organization that they belonged to, and Lu Yin had no desire of being made a fool of. Of course, even if a promise was written down, it still wouldn¡¯t transform into a binding contract for the organizations involved. However, it was still better than nothing, and he didn¡¯t have any other choice.

    These things would only truly be usable if he had the strength to back it up. While these papers would not have that much of an effect on the organizations behind the trialtakers, they would still be useful once Lu Yin became powerful enough.

    With this in mind, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. Right, why hadn¡¯t he thought of this before? It would be a good idea to collect some more of these written oaths. They could prove to be very useful in the future.

    ¡°Please help me collect them, Han Chong,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The rest flung their written oaths at Han Chong in annoyance.

    It actually somewhat looked like Han Chong was Lu Yin¡¯s underling.

    The five statues had sealed off the sixth level of the Lightshaking Tower just like how the fives had sealed off the Shenwu Continent. It was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing sourceboxes this unique. He wasn¡¯t very confident that he¡¯d be able to open the seal, but he could still give it a try.

    With the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye in one hand and nine stars revolving around his body, Lu Yin closely observed the materialized energy seal with excited eyes. What he saw was simr to what he usually observed when looking at a sourcebox, which was a vast sea of energy. However, this time, things were different as this sea was actively moving. On the surface, it seemed that this energy seal only had a singleyer, but there was actually a circuit of energy snaking between the five statues, forming a unique domain. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing something like this.

    ¡°Usually, only high-ranked Boundless sourceboxes would exhibit a domain like that on the surface. Sourceboxes like these are practically alive and very extraordinary. There have even been cases where the high-ranked sourcebox causes unique phenomena to manifest. Seventh bro, that seal isn¡¯t something that you can deal with,¡± the monkey grimlymented.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the five gigantic statues. ¡°It¡¯s a man-made seal, so it should be possible to make a crack in it.¡±

    On his arm, the adorable monkey tattoo shimmered. ¡°You can¡¯t do it! I¡¯m sorry to say this, but you really don¡¯t have the ability to do this.¡±

    ¡°I should at least give it a try,¡± Lu Yin firmly replied. He had a lockbreaking tool, his Cosmic Art, and Charon¡¯s experience, so he really wanted to give this a shot. He was slowly bing a true Lockbreaker, and he now had the urge to unlock any difficult sourceboxes that he chanced upon.

    Lu Yin pressed both of his hands against the energy seal as martial power surged out in a series of continuous pulses. At that moment, ripples began to appear on the energy seal!

    Everyone looked on excitedly. Their strongest attacks had been rendered useless against this formidable seal, but Lu Yin had managed to garner an immediate reaction after ying his hands upon it. That was a real Lockbreaker: someone with extraordinary methods.

    Currently, in Lu Yin¡¯s vision, the huge sea of energy had suddenly been disturbed by huge waves, and these waves were very rough. This was something that no one else besides Han Chong could see, as he was the only one who hadprehended a domain. Even ordinary Lockbreakers might not be able to see this scene. This vision was restricted to only those who had cultivated the Cosmic Art.

    Cough

    Lu Yin coughed up a mouthful of blood. The five statues had retaliated against his interference by aggravating the vast sea of energy that constituted the surface of this sourcebox. The monkey was right; this was not something that he could handle at his current level. He might be a Bright Eyed Junior Lockbreaker, but even an Imperial Intermediate Lockbreaker might not be able to handle a seal of this level.

    ¡°Like I said before, you should just give up. You won¡¯t be able to crack it much less break it. It¡¯s a self-contained system of energy that¡¯s essentially be its own lifeform, which is the signature characteristic of a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. Even if this is a man-made seal, it¡¯s not something that a mere Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker can sessfully unlock.¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin half-knelt on the ground while panting breathlessly. Blood was dripping down from the corner of his mouth. Thatst energy attack had been terrifying, and it was definitely no weaker than an attack from an Explorer. He had basically just withstood an attack from an Explorer. Lockbreaking was a very dangerous task, and if it weren¡¯t for his strong defenses, then he would have likely died from just that first attack.

    He had merely prodded the sea a little and hadn¡¯t even started trying to unlock anything! But just that little nudge had already created such a powerful fluctuation that he had nearly died.

    Below him, everyone wore expressions of disappointment. They weren¡¯t idiots and could naturally tell that theyout of these five statues were very simr to the fives¡¯ No matter how weak they seemed to be, they had already blocked attacks from great powerhouses. Blocking attacks from Explorers or even Cruisers would be no issue for it at all, and Lu Yin was far too weak inparison.

    Han Chong¡¯s gaze remained unchanging, and he kept looking up at Lu Yin.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin felt an intense bloodlust emanate out from behind him. A metal glint shed as it bounced off of the seal. This meant that there was an ultra-powerhouse hiding here.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. The moment the de reflected that tiny re, it hade within range of his Cosmic Art, and he could see everything within that range. The sword moved quickly, but thanks to his Cosmic Art, it appeared to be moving in slow motion.

    Lu Yin twisted aside and narrowly dodged the sword as it shed past him, though it left behind a thinceration on Lu Yin¡¯s face. Within the sword¡¯s reflection, Lu Yin managed to catch a glimpse of the attacker¡¯s face. He was a young man with a wooden expression, though his eyes seemed to tell a story.

    With a whoosh, the sword once again shed at Lu Yin, this time with an upwards trajectory. It destroyed the entire fourth level, allowing more light to shine into the tower. This allowed everyone to see the identity of the attacker.

    He gaped at Lu Yin. ¡°You dodged that?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold as he touched his cheek, surprised that this person had managed to wound him. Not even Zhanlong Daynight had managed to do that. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you must be the number one fighter on the List of Tempering.¡±

    The young man grasped his sword tightly and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s a good guess.¡±

    ¡°Remove your disguise,¡± Lu Yin said quietly.

    The corner of the young man¡¯s mouth curved upwards as his facial muscles twitched. The young man¡¯s face then transformed into that of an old man. ¡°After I became a Martial King, I killed 365 people over the past 137 years, and every one of them was strong enough to be on the List of Tempering. There were three who were powerful enough to reach the top five of the list, but even they could not block my attack. That attack that I just used might have killed Li Zimo if targeted at him, but you managed to dodge it.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Your attack was quick, your de sharp, and you hid yourself well. However, none of that works on me. If that¡¯s the only attack that you have, then you¡¯ll die today.¡± After that, he used sh to reach the old man.

    The man widened his eyes and suddenly struck one of the statues, startling Lu Yin. ¡°Stop it!¡±

    The old manughed maniacally. ¡°Since you managed to defeat Li Zimo and that foreigner, I already know that I¡¯m no match for you. However, I can sense that there¡¯s a very strange domain here. Once it¡¯s triggered, it¡¯ll tear everyone in its vicinity to shreds. Die. Let¡¯s die together! At least that will mean that I¡¯ve paid my dues to His Highness.¡±

    Although his one attack didn¡¯t damage the statues whatsoever, the previously peaceful energy sea had been thoroughly disturbed. The energy surged and roiled as itshed out randomly. The old man himself was quickly torn to shreds by one of the energy fluctuations.

    Lu Yin himself also had to endure an attack as he coughed up more blood. His five-lined battle force was nearly destroyed.

    ¡°That old guy¡¯smitting suicide! We need to find a way out!¡± the monkey eximed.

    If it were possible, Lu Yin would have fled a long time ago, but that wasn¡¯t possible. The energy sea had gonepletely rampant, and he could only avoid its attacks until it calmed down. Otherwise, he would die here.

    Lu Yin was now personally experiencing what sort of dangers could apany Lockbreaking. He recalled some of the sourcebox videos that he had watched before. Some Lockbreakers had been torn to shreds just for approaching a sourcebox. His current situation was probably very simr to what had happened in those videos; the lockbreakers had most likely unwittingly disrupted the energy domain on the surface of the sourcebox.

    Lu Yin used sh and moved several meters to the side as an invisible energy attack hurtled past him. He sighed, but there was already another surge of energy heading his way. He kept dodging, and when he was struck by the asional stray energy surge, he would cough out some blood.

    Below him, everyone was rather confused as they watched Lu Yin run around. They could not see the wild energy, so all they saw was Lu Yin dodging left and right for no apparent reason, though he did cough out some blood once in a while. It was like they were watching a performance.

    Only Han Chong, Yue Xianzi, and a few others had grim expressions on their faces. They knew that Lu Yin was currently suffering from an unimaginable cmity. This was actually the mostmon cause of death during lockbreaking attempts.

    For an entire half hour, Lu Yin kept evading the energy surges. The five statues had merged with the seal to form a continuous cycle of energy, and the resulting boundless strength of the energy sea nearly drowned Lu Yin. He was out of energy, but the surging energy attacks continued to strike at him.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Lu Yin was hit by yet another attack, and he crumpled to the floor, out of breath. He stared hard at the seal. Nobody else could see what he was seeing, which was a scene of energy dripping and sshing as it hit the floor. At that moment, Lu Yin felt as if he was back at the Rain Observatory in Astral-10. He could see a light drizzle raining outside, but every raindrop felt like its own separate world. As each drop sshed down onto the ground, the world kept expanding. The area that he was focused on kept expanding, and at the same time, so too did what he could hear, feel¡­

    Strange undtions emanated out from Lu Yin¡¯s body that caused his aura to suddenly change. There was no longer any need for him to look up. Lu Yin had already ¡°seen¡± the energy surgeing his way even before he looked in its direction. He felt as if he was seeing the energy surge at a microscopic level, and then, he saw something else. He tilted his head slightly, and the energy passed by him, only sending a few strands of his hair flying. However, he waspletely unhurt.

    Was this sensation¡­ a domain?

 Chapter 285: Secret Sidestep

    <h4>Chapter 285: Secret Sidestep</h4>

    Lu Yin was ecstatic; he never imagined that he wouldprehend a domain under these circumstances. Mastering a domain meant that the wielder had absolute mastery within their domain¡¯s boundary. Within a hundred-meter radius of him, Lu Yin could sense every sway that each de of grass made when the gentle wind caressed them without looking. He could also hear every heartbeat of everyone trapped down below. He even knew what each one of them was looking at.

    It was no wonder why the Rainmaster had once said thatprehension took but a moment, though Lu Yin was more willing to believe that hisprehension stemmed from his Cosmic Art. It was just like the Second Sword of the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, which was the manifestation of a domain. It could even be said that Liu Shaoqiu had toprehend a domain before he could disy the Second Sword, or that the Second Sword had helped himprehend a domain.

    And Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art came from the Cosmic Sect, which surpassed even the Sword Sect ording to the Trialmaster. With the word ¡°Cosmic¡± in the technique¡¯s name, it was likely a top technique from that peak sect, so there was nothing mysterious about it assisting him inprehending a domain.

    Eh? Lu Yin looked towards Han Chong. He could now clearly sense Han Chong¡¯s strength, which he had not been able to do so before. He could tell that there was an ever-ready reserve of strength. Also, there was an indescribably mighty force present on Han Chong¡¯s body. This strength felt strangely familiar to Lu Yin, but he could not recall where he had encountered it before.

    The instant Lu Yinprehended his domain, Han Chong¡¯s eyes brightened. He could sense the collision between their domains, and his lips curled upwards. Five-lined battle force and now a domain. This person did not disappoint him in the slightest.

    Lu Yin had no time to think about what was going through Han Chong¡¯s mind as waves of energy continued to crash over him. Lu Yin stood up and inhaled deeply as his eyes widened. His right leg precisely shifted a few centimeters to the right, allowing him to barely avoid the impact from the energy surge. He then shifted a few centimeters back left to dodge the fluctuations of the next wave. His movements seemed perfectly natural and carefree, aplete changepared to before.

    If Lu Yin had previously been a rock trapped under a torrent, then he was now a dancing skiff that could not be capsized no matter howrge the seething waves were.

    ¡°No, no, impossible! You, Seventh Bro, when did youprehend the Secret Sidestep?¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out in disbelief.

    Lu Yin nced around. ¡°What¡¯s the Secret Sidestep?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Lockbreaker¡¯s supreme footwork! Countless Lockbreakers ce it upon an unreachable pedestal! It¡¯s an infinitely desired footwork that can allow one to avoid fatal danger during lockbreaking¡ªthat¡¯s the Secret Sidestep! Don¡¯t tell me that youprehended it just now?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled as well. ¡°I don¡¯t know. In any case, these energy surges are now useless against me. Also, my vision has be more piercing, and I¡¯m much more confident in my chances of unlocking this seal and releasing the people trapped down below.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, you reallyprehended the Secret Sidestep! What the¡ªhow is this even possible!? That¡¯s the Secret Sidestep, a supreme technique like no other. It can improve one¡¯s safety while lockbreaking by a hundred times! This is nothing more than a dream for many Lockbreakers, but you learned it just like that!? Disgusting, how disgusting!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed with jealousy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed mysteriously. Comprehended? That shouldn¡¯t be the case¡­ He had relied on abination of the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, the Cosmic Art, and his new domain to calcte his movements. This shouldn¡¯t be the real Secret Sidestep but rather a forgery. If any one of the three parts were missing, then Lu Yin would not have been able toe up with this version of the Secret Sidestep.

    Then, what was the true Secret Sidestep? Lu Yin suddenly thought of one of the sourcebox catalog videos that he had seen during his first viewing sessions. In one of those videos, someone had been unlocking a mountain-like sourcebox, and that person had incessantly patted the sourcebox while their body trembled slightly. Could that have been the Secret Sidestep?

    However, he didn¡¯t have the time to consider the possibility any further. He easily dodged all of the surging energy fluctuations like a fish swimming through tumultuous rapids. He then used a single hand to press against the materialized energy seal as his eyes sparkled. After gaining a domain in addition to his lockbreaking tool and Cosmic Art, his perception was now able to prate through the sea of energy even more, visually dissecting ityer byyer.

    Below him, the trialtakers were all watching with gaping mouths. They could see the energy seal visually dissipating and vanishing as specks of light drifted away. Even if this was restricted to a small area, the fact that Lu Yin was sessfully able to do this meant that he had the potential to unlock this seal.

    Lu Yin¡¯s left hand pressed up against the energy seal, and he raised his right hand as the muscles in his arms swelled. ¡°Nine Stacks¡­ Twentyfold¡­ Spacerender Palm.¡± With a deafening roar, his martial power pierced the void and exploded over the copsed Zhanlong Daynight¡­

    ¡­Who suddenly opened his eyes and tried to dodge. He was still struck by the aftershocks of the attack, and he spat out another mouthful of blood as his body was sted some distance away.

    Lu Yin sneered. The moment heprehended his domain, he had sensed that Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s heartbeat was not that of an unconscious person¡¯s; the Daynight n genius had been feigning unconsciousness this entire time. The Daynight Restoration Technique was truly terrifying and could withstand even the strongest strike, but Lu Yin¡¯s palm had still inflicted a grievous injury upon him. And his Spacerender Palm truly knocked him outpletely this time.

    The crowd had apprehensive looks. That was Zhanlong Daynight who was being tossed around, but who would believe them when they recounted this scene?

    Among Limiteers, Lu Yin should truly be matchless now. Everyone was thinking the same thing, and they were quite certain of his superiority.

    While Lu Yin waspletely focused on lockbreaking, Starsibyl, who had been waiting behind Crown Prince Ming Hao, left the celebrations without anyone¡¯s notice. Not even Ming Hao paid her departure any mind, as he greatly trusted Tian Ji¡¯s heir.

    Simrly, Grandini Mavis, who had been standing behind Ming Zhaochen, also vanished.

    The security detail around the imperial pce was very strict, and there was a sentry every few steps, each one an expert. However, the sentries weremon cultivatorspared to Starsibyl and Grandini. Given the absence of any Explorers, it was child¡¯s y for the two of them to enter and leave the pce.

    The two women met within a rock garden.

    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Grandini asked.

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°I asked you first.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m not obliged to answer.¡±

    ¡°You are truly detestable. You act mysteriously whenever there¡¯s nothing going on, but you¡¯re always the first to act when something actually happens,¡± Grandini mocked as she rolled her eyes.

    Starsibyl remained smiling. ¡°Our goal should be the same. I suspect that the Tower of Resonating Light is not one of the five control nodes.¡±

    Grandini frowned. ¡°It should be. This information was only discovered after spending hundreds of years investigating.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the Shenwu Continent. They even developed the heavenly globe. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for them to spend a few hundred years to mislead us.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve never trusted the people of the Shenwu Continent. We trust you, or rather, the previous Starsibyls. The Starsibyl back then was certain that there was something amiss with the Tower of Resonating Light, or else, the trialtakers would not have colluded. The others may not know this, but I¡¯m well aware that you Starsibyls are the ones leading this invasion of the Tower of Resonating Light. If the control node for the five sealings isn¡¯t there, then you will have implicated many important people.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that there¡¯s something wrong with the Tower of Resonating Light, but I also don¡¯t know what that problem is. I don¡¯t intend on letting Han Chong and the rest be sent to their graves. Hence, I¡¯vee here to investigate.¡±

    Grandini felt disgusted. The extent of the Mavis family¡¯s influence was not understood by everyone, but Grandini knew a bit more than the other trialtakers. Starsibyl had coordinated the attack currently taking ce on the Tower of Resonating Light to determine whether or not it was one of the control nodes. Starsibyl was certain that something was going on there. If the trialtakers seeded in this assault, then all of the merit would go to her. Failure, on the other hand, would lead to the others being wiped out. However, no one would be able to connect anything back to her as she had never appeared from start to finish. At most, people would me the Darkmist Weave.

    This woman is indeed vicious, Grandini thought to herself as she looked at Starsibyl with a great deal of caution.

    ¡°Don¡¯t jump to conclusions,¡± Starsibyl said helplessly as she looked towards the other girl.

    Grandini merely snorted coldly in response.

    At that point, a loud bang was heard in the distance. They both looked over to see multiple human figures that had been swatted onto the ground. It was unknown if they were still alive.

    ¡°They are trialtakers just like us. They must have been trying to sneak into the pce to look for the control nodes, but they clearly underestimated the pce¡¯s defenses. How could there be no Explorers standing guard here? And clearly, there was more than just one,¡± Starsibyl exined.

    Grandini raised her brows. ¡°What about us?¡±

    Starsibyl smiled and replied, ¡°You take one, and I¡¯ll take the other. Let¡¯s take care of things quickly.¡±

    Grandini scoffed, ¡°Those are Explorers you¡¯re talking about. Do you think that they are like Limiteers? And you talk about ¡®taking care of things quickly¡¯.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a Mavis. Let¡¯s not try to deceive each other¡ªyou understand me, and simrly, I understand you.¡±

    Grandini grimaced; the Mavis family had indeed dominated the universe and was now the financial lifeblood of humanity; it was a terrifying super-power. They could not have reached such heights by only relying on their strange innate brute strength, and many in the universe had tried to probe into their secret. However, it had never been revealed. This mysterious secret did not sit well with Starsibyl, as she simrly did not know their secret. Still, she could guess at it, and this made her very confident in Grandini¡¯s power level.

    ¡°Fine, one each.¡± Grandini then walked out of the rock garden with light steps. Her movements seemed deliberately slow, but the surrounding sentries noticed nothing and only felt a slight wind breeze blow past them.

    Starsibyl also made her way towards Ming Zhaotian¡¯s imperial study.

    The two walked towards the imperial study unobstructed and were only stopped by a voice when they reached the door. ¡°Foreigners! You dare to barge into the imperial study?! Die!¡±

    Starsibyl did not move and instead looked at Grandini, who rolled her eyes. She then closed them, only to suddenly open them very wide. A verdant green light illuminated the room¡ªit was the color of the Mavis family, the green of life. This green contained a vibrant vitality that relieved people of their worries, as if they had returned to the origin of life. It enveloped the study as well as the Explorer who had attacked them, freezing him mid-motion. He sluggishly looked at Grandini, then moved to one corner of the room, and stood there silently.

    This scene made Starsibyl¡¯s pupils shrink. Even if she had a guess as to what the Mavis family¡¯s secret power was, she could have never imagined the true terror of the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift. This was something that was able to even influence an Explorer¡¯s consciousness! This was the power that allowed the Mavis family¡¯s to be peerless and dominating throughout the universe.

    Suddenly, another vast pressure descended upon the two trialtakers; there was another Explorer.

    Starsibyl raised her head and extended a jade white finger that tapped against the void. The surroundings transformed into a starry sky that extended endlessly into the distance. At this moment, it felt like they were not in the imperial study, but rather the boundless heavens.

    Battle technique¡ªAstral Banishment!!

    This finger caused Grandini¡¯s blood to run cold. Even with the Mavis family¡¯s powerful innate gift, she was not confident in her chances of beating Starsibyl. This woman was just too mysterious, and she had beenpletely confident throughout the entirety of the Astral Combat Tournament. Although she had also been secretive at that time, she had still at least been within one¡¯s sight. Now, everything seemed like an illusion, as if Starsibyl was no longer Starsibyl, but rather apletely different woman.

    The second Explorer¡¯s pupils dted and contracted, and it seemed as if he was trying to sense something as he remained there, frozen stiff. He was lost in the Astral Banishment.

    The two girls exchanged nces, each feeling that the other was difficult to deal with.

    The deferment of the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s final four battles was indeed very beneficial to Lu Yin. Regardless of whether it was Starsibyl or Han Chong, all other three members had more unknown hidden trump cards. Even Grandini had an unrevealed secret of the Mavis family. If the battle amongst the top four had continued as scheduled, Lu Yin would have been defeated first. Even his five-lined battle force would not have been enough to win against a single one of them.

    Ming Zhaotian¡¯s study had two Explorers guarding it, and it should have been secure. However, these two girls had easily gained ess to it.

    And here, they saw the greatest secret of the Shenwu Continent. ¡°The Tower of Resonating Light doesn¡¯t hold a control node¡ªit¡¯s actually Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb! Those people are done for!¡± Grandini cried out in shock.

    Starsibyl¡¯s face turned ugly, and she silently memorized some more information about the Tower of Resonating Light before she sped away.

    Grandini did not stay long either and hurriedly left soon after.

    Within the Tower of Resonating Light, the materialized energy seal cracked open slightly. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened as he tipped his head to one side, casually dodging yet another energy surge. His hand produced a soft thump as he said, ¡°Brother Han, you cane out now.¡±

 Chapter 286: Arbiter Wenâ€™s Strength

    <h4>Chapter 286: Arbiter Wen¡¯s Strength</h4>

    The people watching from below revealed expressions of delight. Han Chong did not restrain himself and immediately leaped out of the sixth level to appear beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at him. He knew what Lu Yin wanted and pulled out the promised contracts from the trialtakers below before handing them over to Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, feel free to check them.¡±

    Lu Yin briefly scanned the papers before replying, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I trust Brother Han.¡±

    Below them, Yue Xianzi was rendered speechless when she saw that Lu Yin was actually shameless enough to say that right after he tantly looked through all the promissory notes.

    Lu Yin was much happier after he received those promissory notes. The crack suddenly grew a bit wider, and the previously trapped trialtakers emerged one after another. Many thanked Lu Yin, and only a few looked at him in a disgruntled manner, though they did not dare to say too much; Lu Yin was powerful enough to crush them with a single finger.

    ¡°Right, let me give you all a friendly reminder. Ming Hao has nted many scouts nearby, so don¡¯t get recaptured right after you escape,¡± Lu Yin added on with a smile.

    The group then left the Tower of Resonating Light one by one.

    Yue Xianzi looked at Zhanlong Daynight, and she seemed like she wanted to ask something, but in the end, she decided not to speak up.

    Han Chong smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m looking forward to the battle between the top four.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him seriously. ¡°You¡¯re very powerful. I couldn¡¯t sense it before, but now, I know that you¡¯ll be my greatest opponent among the top four.¡±

    Han Chong smiled gently. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re looking down upon Starsibyl and Grandini. Grandini may seem like the weakest one out of the four with her four-lined battle force and her strange strength, but in reality, she has not revealed the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift yet, and no one has grasped the true depths of Starsibyl¡¯s strength. Brother Lu, don¡¯t underestimate either one of them.¡± He then took onest nce at Zhanlong Daynight before leaving.

    The Daynight n had deployed Zhanlong Daynight for this mission, which was proof that they were not underestimating the top four, but it was a pity that their top genius had run into Lu Yin.

    From Han Chong¡¯s perspective, Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s defense was astounding, and Han Chong was not sure if he could win against him. Rather, it was highly likely that the two of them would end up being equally matched. Lu Yin was best suited to subdue Zhanlong Daynight since violence curbed violence.

    Lu Yin looked at Han Chong¡¯s figure and was reminded of how, back on Earth, Lulu had subdued a giant Explorer realm turtle as a Melder. He had forgotten about that incident and only recalled it now. Is that the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift? It would be rather terrifying if Grandini had a simr ability.

    Now that he thought about it, when was the battle of the top four going to start? Elder Cai had mentioned that the Astral Combat Academy was waiting for some sort of turning point. Lu Yin was looking forward to it.

    His gaze swept across the grounds, taking in Li Zimo and the rest of the natives. Lu Yin then grabbed Zhanlong Daynight and the other members of the Daynight n, as these people could not be safely released. His objectives during this trial was first to join the Outerverse Youth Council and second to distract the Daynight n and force them to shift their focus.

    However, the trialtakers who had left earlier would definitely spread news of him defeating Zhanlong Daynight as soon as they returned home, and that would be inconvenient for him as well. He did not want to be constantly entangled with the Daynight n, and he needed to join the Outerverse Youth Council before the Daynight n exacted their revenge. At that point, his position would be different as his words would carry some real weight within the Outerverse.

    Back in the Reverent King''s pce, Ming Zhaoshu brought Ming Yan towards the central mansion where Tang Si was.

    Lu Yin had given Zhanlong Daynight and the rest of the Daynight n members to the king.

    Tang Si retrieved the prisoners with a look of shock, and Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s presence quickly grabbed his attention. His gaze changed as he quickly recognized this person¡ªthis was the exact same powerhouse who had attacked Ming Yan on that day, and that powerful palm strike had imprinted itself deeply in his memory. It had paralyzed him and blown away an entire street with him. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°A foreigner. Tie him up, throw him into the prison, and don¡¯t let him escape,¡± Lu Yin instructed.

    Tang Si stared deeply at Lu Yin. ¡°The Reverent King''s pce is not a ce for you to settle your personal grudges.¡±

    Lu Yinughed before replying, ¡°You can ask for the Reverent King¡¯s instructions to see if he wants these people as prisoners. Even without mentioning their identities outside of this region, just their identities as foreigners should be enough to boost the Reverent King¡¯s prestige.¡±

    Tang Si took a deep breath and said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll arrange it.¡±

    As he left the Reverent King''s pce, Lu Yin reluctantly looked back. It was not that he hated bidding farewell to Ming Yan, but rather that he disliked the emotions that welled up whenever he parted with her. If he saw her even one more time, perhaps he would no longer want to leave this ce. However, there was no chance of him ever obtaining that girl if he stayed in the Shenwu Continent. His gaze hardened; he would return to the Shenwu Continent one day, and it would not be too far off in the future either.

    Ming Zhaoshu had given him ten years, but Lu Yin had given himself five. In five years, he had to return to the Shenwu Continent and bring her back with him.

    Crack!

    A ck spatial crack extended endlessly from the sky off in the distance. A surging force then swept over Mingdu, causing the entire capital to shudder, and even all of Ming Ind trembled.

    Ming Hao stood up with an ugly expression as he clenched both of his fists. He could sense Ming Zhaotian¡¯s aura growing more and more feeble by the minute. Are the foreign forces bing stronger?

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s face turned solemn, as he could also sense that Ming Zhaotian was weakening.

    Suddenly, arge crack appeared on one of the five sealings. This scene shocked all of the residents on the Shenwu Continent, and countless people dropped to their knees as they began praying to the heavens.

    Ming Hao did not even notice that the wine in his ss had spilled. He clenched his fists tightly. Persevere, you must persevere.

    Ming Zhaoshu grit his teeth at this sight. At this moment, no matter what political position they held or their status, no one on the Shenwu Continent hoped for the five sealings to copse.

    Ming Yan¡¯s face turned deathly pale, and she stubbornly bit her lips as she stared at the sky. No one was in the mood for celebration as they were all gazing upwards.

    The ck spatial crack expanded another step further, and peculiar words drifted through before forming what seemed to be a cage, entrapping a figure within them. That figure then let out a miserable howl as blood covered their body.

    Ming Hao suddenly stood up. Even his gums had started to bleed. That trapped figure was the Shenwu Empire¡¯s Ming Zhaotian, who had been reduced to his current sorry state.

    Countless were stunned; in the hearts of the Shenwu Continent¡¯s natives, the strongest being under the sun was Ming Taizhong, who had opened up a spatial crack a thousand years ago. The second was Ming Zhaotian, but now, he was being crushed before their very eyes.

    ¡°No matter the situation is, think carefully before you act.¡± A massive, floating, youthful face had appeared in the sky, and it seemed to cover the entire Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin was charging towards one of the designated departure points that Cangyu had provided to the trialtakers. He looked up in the skies, and his pupils shrank; that was the schr of the Ten Arbiters¡ªWen Sansi.

    The Darkmist Weave had actually invited Wen Sansi! It was no wonder why the five sealings had almost copsed; they were actually trembling before one of the Ten Arbiters. The seal could withstand attacks from other powerhouses, but this was one of the Ten Arbiters; a super powerhouse who had climbed to the peak of the younger generation.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s face was thus engraved into the Shenwu Continent¡¯s memory. This person had crushed Ming Zhaotian, and his feat would be deeply remembered by all.

    Suddenly, Wen Sansi¡¯s face vanished as the giant spatial crack began to slowly repair itself. The five sealings no longer trembled, and everything seemed to return to normalcy. All that had happened was that a thin spatial crack swept across the Shenwu Continent, taking away Lu Yin and most of the other trialtakers.

    This great battle had started abruptly and ended just as abruptly. It almost seemed as if the scene of Ming Zhaotian being crushed had been nothing more than a hallucination.

    ¡°That must have been an illusion just now. It¡¯s definitely a part of the foreigners¡¯ n. After all, how could His Majesty ever be defeated?¡± someone shouted fanatically.

    Many echoed the same sentiments.

    Ming Hao¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°Well said. That was just a fantasy created by a powerhouse.¡±

    Many rxed when they heard that that was indeed the case. His Majesty Ming Zhaotian was a Martial God who would not be defeated that easily.

    However, these words could only deceive themoners, and even Ming Yan did not believe them. Ming Zhaoshu smiled incredulously, but his expression soon turned serious again. He raised his head. How did things go in the ster battlefield?

    Everyone worriedly looked at the cracks on one of the five sealings.

    Not long after, a boundless martial power swept across the capital. ¡°The battle has ended. Let the celebrations begin,¡± a giant voice boomed from above Mingdu. Many cheered, as they could tell that this was Ming Zhaotian¡¯s voice. That previous scene had indeed just been an illusion.

    Within the secret chambers inside the imperial pce, Ming Zhaotian walked out from the void in a sorry state. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his entire body crashed to the floor. His eyes contained an unfading shock and incredulity. How could that young person have been so strong? He had been utterly crushed! He had cultivated martial power his entire lifetime and had taken the best resources in the Shenwu Continent to be a Martial God, but despite all that, he had been subdued by a mere youth! Is he one of the so-called Ten Arbiters? How can someone from the younger generation be that powerful?

    Ming Zhaotian had originally not paid much attention to the Ten Arbiters, but his heart was now full of respect for those ten, especially that schr from the Ten Arbiters who had crushed him¡ªWen Sansi.

    Lu Yin felt as if his entire body was going to be torn apart, but it was differentpared to when he had first entered the continent. Previously, he hadpletely been unable to detect the powerhouses through the void. This time, however, Lu Yin could observe the void, and his perception could even prate through it to see those experts. However, he didn¡¯t dare to do so as there was a risk of him being discovered. It was just like his five-fold formcast model; when a powerhouse created a formcast model, other experts would be able to glean information about the creator through the model. It was even possible for them to discover their weaknesses. This was why five-fold formcast models were so rare; higher level formcast models were actually a way for others to discover key information about the creator, and no one was willing to ce themselves in such jeopardy.

    Bang!

    Lu Yin heard a loud noise the moment he was thrown out of the void while another trialtaker was viciously flung against a wall. Lu Yin hurriedly used sh to avoid the same tragedy. There was arge invisible barrier surrounding the area where the trialtakers appeared one after another.

    Every time there was a trial on the Shenwu Continent, Cangyu would give different exit points to the participating trialtakers. After some time, a spatial crack would sweep across the continent and bring any surviving trialtakers back, but not as many managed to return this timepared to past trials.

    Lu Yin noticed Starsibyl in the group. This woman had a far superior aura than the others. Although she was silent, there was still a mysterious air that seemed to emanate from her entire body, attracting attention to her just like a beacon.

    ¡°It¡¯s Starsibyl! The humans¡¯ Starsibyl! If I kill her, then I¡¯d immediately be famous in the Astral Beast Domain! My status would even rise above the other four Academy Masters¡¯, and I would be the top student of the Spiritual Academy!¡± the Ghost Monkey wistfully sighed.

    Lu Yin was caught speechless. ¡°Aren¡¯t your eyes supposed to be very powerful? Tell me the mystery behind her.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell,¡± the Ghost Monkey replied extremely straightforwardly.

    Lu Yin unhappily shot back, ¡°Don¡¯t try to pull a fast one on me!¡±

    ¡°Of course not, how would I dare lie to the mighty Seventh Bro? You¡¯ve even learned the Secret Sidestep, so this universe¡¯s size can no longer contain you!¡±

    ¡°Shut up and tell me.¡±

    ¡°So do you want me to shut up, or to speak?¡±

    ¡°Tell me about Starsibyl.¡±

    ¡°Starsibyl? What about her?¡±

    ¡°Use your eyes to observe her.¡±

    The monkey begrudgingly replied, ¡°Seventh Bro, I already told you. I really can¡¯t see through her. Starsibyl is from the Starsibyl Sect, which is at a simr level as that freak, Skymender. They can divine the future! I simply can¡¯t see through her at all.¡±

    Lu Yin did not continue questioning the monkey anymore. The Ghost Monkey was most likely telling the truth; if it were so easy to see through her, then Starsibyl would no longer be Starsibyl. His gaze shifted as he saw many other familiar faces; those who had given him promissory notes as well as others.

    Grandini Mavis sized Lu Yin up and down from a distance. Lu Yin coincidentally met her gaze.

    Grandini Mavis raised her fist, and Lu Yin smiled. He knew that she was referencing the time they had exchanged blows at the thatched cottage.

 Chapter 287: Top Results In The Trial

    <h4>Chapter 287: Top Results In The Trial</h4>

    Han Chong had not returned yet, and neither had Wu Shang, who had infiltrated the Ming Constables along with Lu Yin. Long Yun, who had threatened Ming Hao and was touring Mingdu, also hadn¡¯t returned .

    Cangyu¡¯s figure soon appeared, and he sized the returning trialtakers up and down before nodding. ¡°Quite a few of you returned this time. However, returning does not mean that you¡¯ve passed, just as not returning does not mean that you¡¯ve failed. We¡¯ll go back and retrieve more trialtakers from time to time. You people aren¡¯t the first nor thest batch.¡±

    Cangyu continued, saying, ¡°Everyone, take out your particle-sized cameras. You people are lucky, as the Ten Arbiters schr will personally decide your results. Lord Wen Sansi will personally watch your performances.¡±

    Many of the trialtakers¡¯ gazes turned fervent when they heard that. The Ten Arbiters held far too majestic of a position in their hearts, and being recognized by one was an honor that countless spent their entire lives wishing to receive.

    Even Starsibyl was unable to remain calm when she heard that the Ten Arbiters schr, Wen Sansi, would be inspecting their results.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my particle-sized camera was ruined,¡± someone said as they raised their hand.

    Many hands followed, all indicating that their cameras had been wrecked.

    Cangyu said, ¡°That¡¯s quite normal. Since the Shenwu Continent knows about them, when the Ming Vanguard attacks foreigners, they focus all of their attacks on the physical body. It¡¯s normal that you were unable to protect your particle-sized camera. However, this also means that you¡¯ll be judged to have failed the trial.¡±

    Many became depressed, as they had not had an easy time in the Shenwu Continent, but their efforts had ultimately ended in failure.

    Lu Yin had personally destroyed his own camera. He nced towards the side. Starsibyl and Grandini¡¯s cameras had also been destroyed, so did this mean they also did not qualify?

    ¡°I request for the Ten Arbiters to decide the results.¡±

    ¡°I request for the Ten Arbiters to decide the results.¡±

    Starsibyl and Grandini Mavis spoke out at the same time, and they looked at each other in mild surprise. Grandini had a challenging gaze, but Starsibyl¡¯s was tranquil.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. What did these two know? Their cameras had been ruined, but they still dared to plead for the Ten Arbiters to judge their results. It was definitely some kind of top secret information. Was it rted to the control nodes of the five sealings? Or perhaps, the Tower of Resonating Light?

    When he thought of the Tower of Resonating Light, Lu Yin remembered the n that had been hatched in the thatched cottage. Grandini had been there, but she hadn¡¯t shown up to the attack on the Tower of Resonating Light. As for Starsibyl, Lu Yin did not believe that she would not know about the trialtakers¡¯ assault on the Tower of Resonating Light. These two girls had both been missing from that fight, so it seemed like they knew something. The most probable scenario was that they had found out about the Tower of Resonating Light being Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb and wanted to use this information to obtain some results.

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll request the Ten Arbiters to judge your results,¡± Cangyu replied.

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up as well. ¡°I would also like to request for the Ten Arbiters to decide my results.¡±

    Starsibyl and Grandini turned to Lu Yin, and they both seemed to consider something.

    Cangyu looked at Lu Yin and nodded again.

    The other trialtakers looked at the trio curiously. These two people must have obtained some incredible information for them to dare to request the Ten Arbiters to personally judge their results.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what ssified information are you going to share?¡± An Shaohua asked as he moved closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up as he replied, ¡°I¡¯ve told Yue Xianzi everything.¡±

    Yue Xianzi was nearby, and she revealed a stumped look as she stared at him. ¡°Told me what?¡±

    Lu Yin spread his hands helplessly. ¡°I told you that the Tower of Resonating Light was a trap, but you chose not to believe me.¡±

    She furiously shouted, ¡°Lu Yin, stop spouting nonsense! You only told me that when we were already in the Tower of Resonating Light!¡±

    ¡°You can only me yourself for concealing the matter about attacking the Tower of Resonating Light from me. Otherwise, I would have told you earlier,¡± Lu Yin replied matter-of-factly.

    Yue Xianzi was enraged. ¡°You bastard!¡±

    Quite a few people looked at Lu Yin, and then at Yue Xianzi. They felt that this disaster could have easily been avoided, but because of this stupid duo, the rest of them had been implicated in serious danger. This made them feel extremely unhappy, but they were in no position to butt in. In the end, why did they deserve to receive such information?

    An Shaohua had perfectly interpreted the situation and was so disgusted that he could not even speak. He walked to one side with an ugly expression.

    Yue Xianzi grit her teeth in frustration. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t spout such nonsense! My Frostmoon Sect is only a small sect, and it can¡¯t withstand the wrath of so many people.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother listening to her, as this woman was nothing more than a shrewd demon.

    Soon after, Cangyu came over. ¡°Starsibyl, Grandini Mavis, and Lu Yin. You threee with me.¡±

    Lu Yin waved to Yue Xianzi and left. Yue Xianzi¡¯s face was flush with anger. She had never met such an outrageous person before! She had met many young elites from a young age, and all of them had danced elegantly in her hand. How could such an infuriating person exist? He seemed to specialize in ruining things for her!

    The space station that monitored the Shenwu Continent was veryrge, and there was a projection disying what was going on outside the space station. Lu Yin could see the asional spatial crack spreading out from the strands of strength that had not dissipated yet as well as several corpses floating in the darkness of outer space. They all belonged to space-exploring powerhouses; some were from the Darkmist Weave and others from the Shenwu Continent.

    This was a battlefield that Lu Yin currently could not yet step foot on. He sighed.

    Wen Sansi stood in the starry sky and gazed down at Shenwu Continent. He had felt the peculiar aura from this continent, and it was the reason why he stopped his attack. However, even if he could not break through the five sealings, Ming Zhaotian had to die.

    What aura was that just now? Wen Sansi pondered to himself.

    The trio of Lu Yin and the two girls walked to the edge of the space station and looked at the nearby Wen Sansi.

    Although there were only a hundred meters separating them, the difference between them was like that of heaven and earth; one of them could explore space freely while the others could only stand in the space station and look outside.

    Lu Yin longed to enter the heavens and freely explore the universe without restraint. That day should not be too far off for him.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the guys who want to have your results personally judged?¡± Wen Sansi turned around and calmly looked at the trio. An intense schrly aura radiated from him; he did not seem like the Ten Arbiter who had single handedly suppressed the Shenwu Continent as he had no air of superiority about him.

    Starsibyl bowed graciously. ¡°May Arbiter Wen judge us.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled and nodded. The next moment, an invisible force spread out and isted Lu Yin and Grandini Mavis.

    Grandini was anxious, as she wanted the same results as Starsibyl and did not want Starsibyl to go first. ¡°Arbiter Wen, please let me go first.¡±

    Wen Sansi was bbergasted by this request.

    Starsibylughed before exining, ¡°Our descriptions are going to be the same, but that won¡¯t affect the judged oue. The results will be the same.¡±

    ¡°You both discovered the information at the same time?¡± Wen Sansi was interested.

    Grandini nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, we discovered it at the same time. Or to be more urate, I saw it before her.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled.

    Wen Sansi then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°And you?¡±

    The two girls also looked at Lu Yin curiously.

    Lu Yin gestured before saying, ¡°Ladies first.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°Such good manners. It¡¯s no wonder why Mira likes you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt sluggish and a little speechless as well. He forced out a smile and rified, ¡°There¡¯s nothing going on between Mira and me.¡±

    Wen Sansiughed and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide anything¡ªshe¡¯s mentioned you to me before. I can tell that she appreciates you greatly. I¡¯ve seen your record, and it¡¯s pretty good. Even when I was a Limiteer, I wasn¡¯t any stronger than you. You are indeed qualified to be a candidate for the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed, and he stared directly into Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes. Wen Sansi did not back down, but there was nothing else in his eyes besides cheer.

    Lu Yin did not really understand this person. He felt like a de of grass that swayed in the wind, but would not be blown away no matter how fierce the storm was. There was a quiet sense of resolution and great presence to him. Lu Yin believed that Wen Sansi¡¯s tenacious aura came from his self-confidence in his own strength.

    ¡°I say, what are you two men doing, staring at each other? How can the number one beauty in the universe, Starsibyl, put up with this treatment?¡± Grandini cried out.

    Wen Sansi and Lu Yin were unaffected by her words and calmly diverted their gazes.

    ¡°Grandini, you go first. I¡¯ll judge you first,¡± Wen Sansi said.

    Grandini looked at Lu Yin sharply. ¡°You can¡¯t listen.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he felt like he could see Lulu¡¯s shadow in this girl. Are the Mavis family members all the same? They managed to gain control of the universe¡¯s finances with those kinds of personalities?

    Wen Sansi isted Lu Yin and Starsibyl while he listened to Grandini¡¯s ount. He was shocked by the information she revealed. It didn¡¯t take Grandini very long to finish her report, and then Wen Sansi listened to Starsibyl¡¯s ount.

    The two had simr reports and had both discovered that the Tower of Resonating Light was Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb. Their aplishments could be considered aspleting one of the trial¡¯s biggest missions, so they would definitely receive good results.

    After isting Starsibyl and Grandini, Wen Sansi finally looked at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s your turn. What did you discover?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the two curiousdies and replied, ¡°The Tower of Resonating Light is Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb.¡±

    Wen Sansi curiously asked, ¡°They infiltrated the pce and manipted the Explorers in order to seize that information. How did you discover this?¡±

    ¡°This information is not limited to just the pce. Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu also knows this, and I was once a coachman in the Reverent King''s household.¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded and did not ask for any further details. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then the results of you three will be the same.¡±

    ¡°Please wait,¡± Lu Yin spoke and faced Wen Sansi seriously. ¡°I also know the secret of the Tower of Resonating Light as well as its configuration diagram.¡±

    Not long after, the results of this most recent batch of trialtakers that had left the Shenwu Continent were announced. Most people had assumed that Starsibyl would be ranked the highest, but the truth stunned them, and even Starsibyl herself was taken aback. The best results belonged to Lu Yin; Wen Sansi had verified that Lu Yin hadpleted the mission of finding Ming Taizhong¡¯s tomb.

    This result shocked the entire space station and astounded many others as the news spread throughout the universe. The two permanent missions of the Shenwu Continent had not beenpleted for a thousand years, but one of them had beenpleted on this day.

    Starsibyl and Grandini both stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°How did youplete the mission? We clearly gave our ounts, but you must have found some dirty secrets.¡± Grandini kicked up a fuss.

    Starsibyl gazed intently at Lu Yin, as this person was bing harder and harder for her to read. That had been especially true when he left the Shenwu Continent. There was now a familiar sensationing off of his body, which was almost definitely the sign of a domain. This person is getting stronger¡­ She was looking forward to the battle between the top four.

    The person with the top results from this trial would naturally be able to join the Outerverse Youth Council. Since Wen Sansi was one of the Ten Arbiters, he could not personally make arrangements for Lu Yin, even if he appreciated his rising talent. Instead, Mira was the one who made arrangements for Lu Yin. It turned out that Mira was also at the space station.

    When he faced Mira once again, Lu Yin felt ufortable. This woman was just too alluring, and it felt as if she was teasing him even though she was just looking at him.

    ¡°Congrattions on entering the Outerverse Youth Council. You were even ranked number one in this trial,¡± Mira marvelled as she beamed at him.

    Lu Yin had always felt that something was sinister about her smile, as if she were delighting in his misfortune. ¡°Senior Mira, your smile¡¯s very strange.¡±

    Mira chuckled, and the amusement in her eyes became even more pronounced. She walked towards Lu Yin, causing a fragrance to waft over him. ¡°Junior, this Senior must congratte you, since you¡¯re about to be reunited with a beauty.¡±

 Chapter 288: Changes In The Great Yu Empire

    <h4>Chapter 288: Changes In The Great Yu Empire</h4>

    After hearing Mira¡¯s words, Lu Yin¡¯s heart leapt and his first thought was of Ming Yan. Could someone else have discovered our rtionship? Impossible. He suppressed his shock and calmly looked at Mira. ¡°Who is Senior talking about?¡±

    Mira leisurely stretched out, revealing her perfect curves. ¡°Arbiter Wen can make the arrangements for the nearby weaves. Although you have not formally joined him, you are directly subordinate to him, and he has made arrangements for you.¡± Mira¡¯s then lips raised up as she gave Lu Yin a teasing look. ¡°For you to be a subordinate member under the Outerverse Youth Council Councilor Wendy Yushan.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned by this news. ¡°I¡¯m to be Wendy Yushan¡¯s subordinate?¡±

    Miraughed, ¡°That¡¯s right, Wendy Yushan, your little fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Wen Sansi must be messing with him, as everyone should know of his rtionship with Wendy Yushan, and yet, he had still made such an arrangement. Lu Yin thought about it a bit and then looked at Mira. It must have been this woman who had made this arrangement as Wen Sansi did not seem to have a sadistic personality.

    Mira resisted her instinct tough. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that! It¡¯s got nothing to do with me! Arbiter Wen arranged it all.¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly said, ¡°Arbiter Wen can¡¯t be that bored.¡±

    ¡°There must be a reason behind this arrangement.¡± Mira¡¯s face turned serious as she said, ¡°Something has happened to the Great Yu Empire, so you must be mentally prepared.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened as a murderous intent flitted across his eyes. ¡°The Daynight n?¡±

    Mira shook her head. ¡°During your time in the Shenwu Continent, Undying Yushan died from his heavy injuries and transferred his throne to Dorren Yushan. Wendy Yushan believed that Undying Yushan¡¯s injuries were caused by the Ross Empire, so she travelled there to battle them and was also seriously injured. She¡¯s currently missing, and her Outerverse Youth Council matters have been handed over to her subordinate, Bazeer. However, this person is too arrogant and is not fit to take on such a huge responsibility. Hence, Arbiter Wen has transferred you to work under Wendy Yushan, and you will rece Bazeer as an operating member of the Council of Astral Academy. You¡¯ll represent Wendy Yushan while handling her matters as a member of the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Undying Yushan died?¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°Dead. Even his corpse vanished. Wendy Yushan assumed that the Ross Empire snatched it, which is one of the reasons why she went there and battled them.¡±

    The Ross Empire was one of the greatest powers in the zing Mist Flowzone, which wasparable to the entire ze Realm. The empire definitely had Hunters within its ranks. Although Wendy Yushan ranked within the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings, she would still be rendered powerless against a Hunter or someone even stronger. If she was not dead, then perhaps that was because the Ross Empire was afraid of the Ten Arbiters Council.

    ¡°Wendy Yushan attacked the Ross Empire, and it has already formally dered war against the Great Yu Empire. Now, the entire Frostwave Weave has been drawn into the fire of war. Crown Prince Dorren Yushan, who seeded as the emperor of the Great Yu Empire, perished five days ago, and the second prince, Duke Yushan, perished just a dayter. All of the descendants of the Yushan Family have been massacred,¡± Mira gloomily informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, as a fierce killing intent rose up within him. ¡°Was it the Ross Empire?¡±

    Mira shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know, and even Undying Yushan¡¯s death is a mystery. The Ross Empire has denied the usations that they killed Undying Yushan, but the whole matter is very fishy. All of the corpses of the Yushan family members have either vanished or been taken away. And as of today, only Wendy Yushan remains of their bloodline.¡±

    Lu Yin had never expected so much to transpire during his trial on the Shenwu Continent. The Great Yu Empire could be considered to be practically destroyed. His mind was in utter chaos, and he was at a loss for what to do next.

    ¡°Due to the hostilities in the Frostwave Weave, even the Innerverse has been affected. The Ten Arbiters are behind Wendy Yushan, though the Ross Empire also has their support. This has resulted in internal discord among the Ten Arbiters, and even the people from the Ten Thousand Swords Peak, ze Realm, and the Daynight n have gotten involved. The matters of a single Great Yu Empire have rippled out to affect both the Innerverse and Outerverse,¡± Mira exined.

    Lu Yin was still in agony as he responded, ¡°It¡¯s not the Great Yu Empire, but rather Wendy Yushan. Without her, even if the Great Yu Empire was exterminated, the Innerverse wouldn¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Mira looked at him and frowned. ¡°Arbiter Wen has said that you can return to the Great Yu Empire first and then go to San Dios after settling the matters there. However, you cannot take too long to settle your affairs.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Wendy?¡± Lu Yin straightforwardly asked.

    ¡°Missing. She¡¯s probably in some secluded area within the Frostwave Weave. She¡¯s wiped her tracks clean.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Even Undying Yushan had been killed, so she was definitely not safe either. She was smart to cover her tracks.

    Not muchter, Lu Yin formally joined the Outerverse Youth Council and became a direct subordinate of Councilor Wendy Yushan, which gave him the same position as Bazeer. Still, his status was much higher than Bazeer¡¯s since he was equivalent to a council member.

    A high position did not necessarily mean being able to exercise authority. Bazeer was under Puyu¡¯s jurisdiction, but he was also one of Wendy Yushan¡¯s subordinates and had been for some time. It would not be easy to take over Wendy¡¯s authority from Bazeer, especially since he had Puyu¡¯s support.

    However, none of this was on Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Rather, he was only thinking of how he could return to the Great Yu Empire quicker and see with his own eyes how chaotic things had be.

    The starry expanse was very dark, and the road ahead of him was murky. The Great Yu Empire was Lu Yin¡¯s home, and if it was destroyed, then he would be a drifter without any roots. Deep in his heart, he was even more worried about Earth, especially since he did not know if the battle within the Frostwave Weave would affect that.

    He switched his gadget on and tapped it several times. A voice quickly replied, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re already out?¡±

    ¡°Silver, are your people at all rted to the situation within the Great Yu Empire?¡± Lu Yin gloomily asked.

    ¡°Oh, captain, how could you possibly say this? Do you have any evidence?¡± Silver replied with a rxed voice, his unctuous tone reminding Lu Yin of the sly smile that was sure to be on Silver¡¯s face.

    ¡°I cannot think of a reason why the Ross Empire would want to take away all of the Yushan family¡¯s corpses of the Yushan family¡ªonly your people would.¡±

    Silver sneered as he replied, ¡°Captain, there are too many mysteries in the universe. There¡¯s nothing strange about someone wanting to collect corpses, as the bodies of space-exploring powerhouses are worth studying.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the other members of the Yushan family? What motives does your Neohuman Alliance have for hiding within the Great Yu Empire?¡± Lu Yin asked sternly.

    Silver acted surprised. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance? Captain, don¡¯t say such irresponsible words! That¡¯s a serious felony. Do you have any evidence?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he disconnected the call without another word.

    He had not revealed anything to Mira before, but the moment Mira mentioned that all of the Yushan family¡¯s corpses had gone missing, Silver had popped up in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. The Neohuman Alliance had spent great efforts to gain influence in the Great Yu Empire, and would the Neohuman Alliance really expend so much energy if the Great Yu Empire was insignificant? Lu Yin¡¯s own family had shown the same interest, and he once again began considering what the Great Yu Empire could be hiding. His own family would not be able to adopt such extreme measures, but the Neohuman Alliance could.

    What secret could the Yushan corpses possibly carry? Lu Yin had a headache from trying to figure it all out. He really wanted to contact his family, but he could not take the initiative to do so.

    The Darkmist Weave was not too far from the Frostwave Weave, and it only took Lu Yin slightly more than ten days to arrive after a few reroutes.

    At the other end of the disconnected call, Silver ced down his gadget and rubbed his forehead to ease his own headache. ¡°We actually guessed incorrectly. The Yushan Family isn¡¯t one of the seven named families. It¡¯s such a pity that we wasted our time. Where did those with the surname Yu go to hide? Fortunately, this Lu Yin is rather interesting. He even became a Ten Arbiters candidate. We¡¯ll definitely meet again in the future.¡± And with that, Silver left Astral-10 and headed towards the Innerverse.

    In a distant part of the universe, great waves shook the Daynight n; Zhanlong Daynight had been crushed by Lu Yin during the Outerverse trial. Not a single Daynight disciple had returned from the trial, but this news had made it back, and it shocked the entire n.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had also heard the news, and she waspletely taken aback.

    She clearly knew just how terrifying Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s strength was, and while she could believe that Lu Yin was capable of defeating him, she could not believe that Lu Yin was capable of crushing Zhanlong. He had learned the Daynight Restoration Technique! She had believed that Lu Yin would eventually give up if the two battled, but the actual resultspletely astounded her. What exactly happened during that battle in the Shenwu Continent?

    All of the trialtakers who had attacked the Tower of Resonating Light had reported that Zhanlong Daynight had been subdued by Lu Yin and that Lu Yin had crushed him in less than two blows. This was a result that the Daynight n could not ept. They had always stood at the peak of the universe, regardless of if it was the elder powerhouses or the younger generation. Lu Yin¡¯s existence had be a thorn in their side. Nightqueen Yanqing was the first to be defeated by him, and Zhanlong Daynight had soon followed after. Now, aside from Nightking Zhenwu, the n had no other young powerhouses besides their Explorers.

    ¡°This brat is too reckless and obviously doesn¡¯t care about our Daynight n. Allow this junior Explorer to teach him a lesson.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. There are different levels within the younger generation as well. Although Zhenwu is also from the younger generation, he¡¯s too close to the edge. Since this brat just stepped out not too long ago, it would be a humiliation if our Daynight n sent junior Explorers out after him.¡±

    ¡°Why be afraid? Our Daynight n should have no qualms about acting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. No one under the Explorer realm is that brat¡¯s opponent.¡±

    ¡°Can you even ensure that one of our younger Explorers will win? Don¡¯t forget, be it Yanqing or Zhanlong, they are well-known even amongst the Explorers of the younger generation. They are both Realmbreakers.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, this is embarrassing. My Daynight n has always had Realmbreakers, and allowing someone else to leap realms and challenge one of our n members would be throwing away our ancestors¡¯ face regardless of if they win or lose. We need to first think of a way to bring Zhanlong back, as the Daynight Restoration Technique¡¯s potential hasn¡¯t yet been excavated yet. Also, no one is allowed to touch that Lu Yin, as he still holds value to us.¡±

    ¡­

    As Lu Yin traveled from the Darkmist Weave to the Frostwave Weave, he passed by many Ross Empire battleships. There were even powerhouses who asionally swept out with their star energy, but none of them caused any trouble for him.

    The spacecraft that he was using belonged to the Outerverse Youth Council, so no one dared to provoke him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn the more he watched the endless fleet of ships flying past him. Could the Great Yu Empire withstand such a force?

    The Ross Empire could establish itself in the Innerverse and was as famous as the ze Realm. Its power was not trivial in any sense, and the Great Yu Empire was only powerful enough to subdue a single weave inparison. It could not match up to the Ross Empire at all. Lu Yin had already counted more than five powerhouses who could threaten him.

    With his current strength, the average Explorer was not even worth his nce. Only someone whose power level surpassed 30,000 could threaten him. Byparison, Zi Tie, themander at the border warfront, had a power level that was definitely over 30,000.

    ¡°This internal war between humans is much different from the border warfront. There, any random battle could have Cruisers or even Hunters involved,¡± the Ghost Monkey contemptuously disdained the current lineup.

    ¡°There will be a few Cruisers in this uing battle.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? It might be a bit interesting then.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head and gazed out at the skies. The Ross Empire and the Great Yu Empire were about to break out in an all-out war, and who knew if the Great Yu Empire would survive this disaster. Perhaps he should think of a way to help preserve the Great Yu Empire. He pulled out a handful of promissory notes, and his eyes twinkled. Should he use them here?

    ¡°Right, are you certain that that guy, Silver, is from the Neohuman Alliance?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked curiously.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Definitely.¡±

 Chapter 289: Eye Of Cold Indifference

    <h4>Chapter 289: Eye Of Cold Indifference</h4>

    ¡°What a powerful background!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin was astonished by his reaction. ¡°Do you know a lot about the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    ¡°Not much, but I¡¯ve heard of them and seen records mentioning them. They have an incredible reputation, but I doubt that you¡¯d know about it, as it¡¯s something that no one from the Outerverse should know about.¡± The Ghost Monkey then paused for a moment before going on to say, ¡°the Humans¡¯ Three Dark Hands.¡±

    ¡°Three Dark Hands?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Wherever there¡¯s light, there will also be darkness. If the Hall of Honor is considered to represent the brighter side of humans, then the Neohuman Alliance is the dark side. It represents extreme darkness and evil. If our Astral Beast Domain encounters any members of the Neohuman Alliance, we are required to kill them on sight. Not only are they the enemy of humans, but they are also enemies of the entire universe.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Their strength scares even your Astral Beast Domain?¡±

    ¡°Any one of the humans¡¯ Three Dark Giants wields a strength that can topple all. I¡¯m not sure exactly how strong they are, but I saw that bit of information recorded down in the burial grounds of an almighty powerhouse.¡±

    ¡°What are the other two Dark Hands?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°This is a human thing, so why are you asking me?¡±

    ¡°Ghost Monkey Zi, don¡¯t lie to me, or else I¡¯ll cut you off again.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. A Ghost Monkey is a Ghost Monkey¡ªwhy add a ¡®Zi¡¯? That just makes it sound crude.¡±

    ¡°Then tell me what the other two Dark Hands are.¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know, Seventh Bro, I¡¯m not lying.¡±

    ¡­

    The dark void of the universe was lonely and dull. Lu Yin had already entered the Great Yu Empire, but it would take him another day of travel before he would enter the eleventh fment of the empire. He recalled that this area was under the blind monk¡¯s jurisdiction.

    Among the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, the blind monk and Huo Qingshan were the only Hunters while the others were all Cruisers. These two captains ranked among the top five strongest fighters in the Great Yu Empire in terms of power level.

    While Lu Yin was silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, the spacecraft jostled as if it had struck something. A grinding sound that caused his teeth to ache rang out, and then the spacecraft¡¯s internal rm sounded. Lu Yin felt that something was off and hurriedly checked his surroundings, but found nothing.

    Tzz tzzz!

    The grinding sound within the spacecraft grew louder, and sparks suddenly showered down from the roof. Lu Yin looked up, but he still could not see anything wrong. However, the feeling that something was amiss grew stronger, so he quickly activated the Cosmic Art and took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. With the additional support of his domain, he was able to make out a horse formed from an invisible energy extending into the distance. It seemed to be a channel, and the spacecraft had coincidentally bumped into this invisible passageway.

    Lu Yin immediately lowered the altitude of his spacecraft, and the grinding sound disappeared.

    What was that? Lu Yin was puzzled by this chance urrence. He could only see this passageway with the support of three sensory boosting aides. Normal people would not be able to even sense this phenomena; even Explorers or Cruisers might not be able to make it out. Was this a natural phenomenon of the universe?

    Suddenly, the sound of a warhorse¡¯s neighing rang out across the universe, and the space all around the creature fractured. In the distance, multiples exploded in a brilliant sh. Magma erupted from a¡¯s core and covered the entire surface.

    A fair distance down the formless passageway, the originally pitch ck darkness of the universe intensified even further, as if it had been burnt by an extremely dark fire. The mes annihted everything that Lu Yin could see, but he could barely make out the indistinct image of a ck warhorse zing with ck mes. It then began dashing towards him. A ck shadow was mounted upon the warhorse, and they carried a giant spear in their hand while a war g pped domineeringly on Their back. The shadowy figure rode the warhorse through the void as if it were riding from ancient times to now, prating the void.

    One person and one horse burned the void, leaving a ckened universe behind them as they traveled through the void. This was what Lu Yin saw. This warhorse had zed a trail through the universe that the average person could not see.

    Suddenly, the figure on the warhorse raised their head, causing their cold, serene gaze to swep over Lu Yin. The two exchanged looks, and Lu Yin felt his entire body turn cold, as if he had been transported to the icy underworld. This was a sensation that was colder than even death itself, and his blood seemed to freeze in his veins while his muscles trembled uncontrobly. Even the nine stars revolving around his body became unstable, and his domain gradually crumbled. This was a gaze of pure, cold indifference.

    The effects were not only that, as Lu Yin also felt as if his brain had been directly struck, like when he reached his limits while reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. He immediately started bleeding from all seven orifices.

    In the next moment, the mysterious person and warhorse had vanished, and the universe returned to normal. The fractured void gradually recovered, and that invisible passageway vanished. It was as if everything that had just happened had been an illusion, and Lu Yin would have even assumed that that was the case if not for the fresh blood still pouring out from his body.

    The spacecraft continued flying steadily along as Lu Yin looked at his palm stained with fresh blood. He felt incredulous. What the hell was that?! One person, one horse, one spear, one war g, one invisible passage, and one ck me that eradicated everything. And that one eye of cold indifference¡ªwas that a person?

    ¡°Hey, Seventh Bro, I¡¯m talking to you! Can you hear me?¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin was still stunned, and he slowly wiped his blood away. ¡°What happened?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey felt strange. ¡°I should be the one asking you what just happened! Did the spacecraft crash into something? Why are you bleeding from your seven orifices? Are you sick? You should get it quickly checked out!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was deep and profound. ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything?¡±

    ¡°What did you see? Did you see a ghost?¡± The Ghost Monkey could tell that something was strange.

    Lu Yin grimaced as he replied, ¡°Perhaps I really did.¡±

    In the eleventh fment of the Great Yu Empire, many abandoned spacecraft floated through the darkness of outer space, carrying a number of corpses within them. Some spacecraft even exploded violently, lighting up a portion of the heavens when they did so.

    Countless scraps from different machinery floated around the area as well, and it almost looked like a veritable river of machinery when viewed from afar.

    ¡°Can anyone tell me how this small empire in a fringe weave has withstood our Ross Empire¡¯s invasion even though we have more than one Hunter overseeing operations? Even a power that controls an entire weave would not be this powerful!¡± the Ross Empire¡¯s general, Angelo, shouted within a huge warship as he stared at a screen.

    The surrounding officers all lowered their heads.

    After they had dered war against the Great Yu Empire, the Ross Empire had assumed that things would be one-sided. However, who among them could have predicted that there would be so many experts within the Great Yu Empire? This was especially true for the captains of their Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, where each one was stronger than thest. Even Hunters had appeared! Damn it, how could a powerhouse of that caliber appear in a small empire that only upied thirteen fments?

    ¡°Marshal, that powerhouse hase back!¡± someone cried out.

    Angelo¡¯s expression became even uglier as a bald, blind man carrying an iron shovel appeared on the screen. The man was only slightly more than a meter tall and looked just like a miner, but this bastard had single-handedly destroyed three of their fleets. Each fleet could rival a Hunter, but they had been destroyed extremely casually. Five Explorers and three Cruisers had also died along with those fleets. This was the greatest loss the Ross Empire had suffered after initiating this war.

    Every Cruiser was extremely precious, regardless if one was in the Outerverse or Innerverse. The loss of those three fleets meant that Angelo would have to face a court martial trial when he returned even if he won this war.

    The bald, blind man was naturally the blind monk. He towered over the heavens and raised his shovel only to violently smash it down. His brutish movements caused the void to shatter, and the resulting massive spatial crack was like an enormous beast opening its maw wide to swallow the Ross Empire¡¯s fleet whole. One person moved out from the fleet and raised his hand, releasing an intense shock wave from his palm that then collided with the spatial crack.

    This entire region of space shuddered.

    The enormous impact caused the void to copse like a breaking wave. It rushed out in all directions and destroyed countless abandoned spacecraft. In that instant, even a few of the Ross Empire¡¯s warships were disabled.

    The blind monk slowly set his shovel down. On the other side, the Ross Empire¡¯s Hunter had a pale face. He was no match for the blind monk and felt greatly pressured. This person had a power level of at least 110,000 while his own had only just broken past 100,000.

    The shockwave from the collision between the blind monk and the Ross Empire¡¯s expert swept out, and Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft swayed violently as a result. He hurriedly steadied it and sped up to enter the eleventh fment.

    When he arrived, he found that it had already been sealed off and that those who wanted to enter needed to go through a security checkpoint.

    Lu Yin¡¯s identity immediately shocked the entire region. The descendants of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yushan family had been almostpletely wiped out. This had caused King Zishan Lu Yin to be much more politically important, as he now qualified to ascend to the throne of the Great Yu Empire.

    Coincidentally, at this time, Peach was also in the eleventh fment, and she was assisting the blind monk in fending off the Ross Empire¡¯s invasion.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re back!¡± Peach delightedly cried out as she rushed to Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin was happy to see Peach alive and well. He was most afraid that, upon returning to the Great Yu Empire, he would find that all of his friends were already dead. That would be the worst case scenario.

    Peach was Lu Yin¡¯s friend, and she had taught him sh as well as shown him great kindness.

    ¡°Peach, are you alright?¡± Lu Yin asked with a concerned tone.

    Peach shook her head, and her face that had been initially happy sank into despair. ¡°The war¡¯s just begun, but many have already sacrificed their lives, including His Imperial Majesty.¡±

    A bitterness rose up within Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He had even used his innate gift, the die, to save Undying Yushan¡¯s life once. However, the emperor had still ultimately been unable to escape from his fate of death.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright as long as you¡¯re fine,¡± Lu Yin said as he patted Peach¡¯s head.

    Peach usually did not like it when taller people approached her, and had therefore taken to standing next to the blind monk. However, she did not mind Lu Yin¡¯s actions right now. Jue Lang is dead and so is Di Ou.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed.

    ¡°Also, from the captains who joined the second prince¡¯s rebel army, Patterson and Felut are dead. If you include Dorren Yushan, then five of the original Thirteen Imperial Squadron captains are dead,¡± Peach said painfully. Her face had be slightly pale, and it made Lu Yin¡¯s heart ache. Although she was not young, she had the appearance of a child, and sometimes even seemed to have the temperament of one.

    Lu Yin grew serious. ¡°Rest easy. I¡¯m back now, and I¡¯ll end this battle.¡±

    Peach raised her head and looked at him expectantly. ¡°Really?¡±

    Lu Yin earnestly promised her.

    ¡°The extended rtives on the other side of the emperor¡¯s family are trying to usurp authority back on the capital star. You should hurry back or else it¡¯ll be toote,¡± the blind monk said in a heavy tone as he stepped out of the void.

    Peach was shocked. ¡°Right! Lu Yin, you need to hurry back to the capital star. Those extended family members of the Yushan Family are trying to gather officials in an attempt to take over the throne. It¡¯s too much! They can¡¯t even be bothered with this war, and our resources are almost gone. They¡¯re the ones who have cut off our resources in an attempt to force us to acknowledge their right to the throne.¡±

    A chilling coldness seeped into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Rest assured. When I return to the capital, not a single one of them will escape.¡±

    The blind monk turned around. ¡°You¡¯re that confident? All of them have the support of various powerhouses. They¡¯re not just from the Great Yu Empire. Some of them have persuaded the conquered forces of the Frostwave Weave. After His Majesty¡¯s death, all those people leapt out of the woodwork, and someone from the Fireforge even appeared and tried to use the name of the Outerverse Youth Council tomand Yu Academy to split apart the families of the academy¡¯s elites.¡±

    ¡°How did the Fireforge manage to use the name of the Outerverse Youth Council?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

 Chapter 290: Chaos on Zenyu Star

    <h4>Chapter 290: Chaos on Zenyu Star</h4>

    Peach snorted before replying, ¡°That¡¯s because Yan Feng joined the Outerverse Youth Council, and it¡¯s even rumored that he might be a member.¡± After exining this, she then looked at Lu, her eyes letting a fleeting light of apprehension slip through.

    Lu Yin knew what she was thinking, as her mentioning Yan Feng had indirectly brought up Jenny Auna as well. This woman had been engaged to Lu Yin, and yet, she had abandoned the marriage to elope with Yan Feng. To any man, this was an extraordinary shame.

    Up until now, Lu Yin had not paid much attention to Jenny Auna. Him gifting her a ring had only been to entice the Auna family. Now, however, it seemed that he would have to confront this problem despite his dismissive attitude. He had to do something regarding this matter with Jenny Auna as a show for others, or else his reputation would be ruined.

    Although Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s methods were narrow-minded, they were fatal against men, and Lu Yin had been forcibly pushed into bing Yan Feng¡¯s mortal enemy.

    However, now was not the time to think about such matters. Instead, Lu Yin turned to the blind monk. ¡°Can you stop the Ross Empire here?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The blind monk was very confident in his answer. The man was only about 1.5 meters tall, and Lu Yin did not know why, but he was very confident in the monk. He might not be much weaker than Qu Ao from the border warfront.

    ¡°Lu Yin, go to the capital star and focus on securing the throne.¡± Peach clenched her fist and waved it to cheer him on.

    Lu Yinughed, tousled her hair again, and then left. The most urgent matter right now was for him to resolve this current battlefield, and he didn¡¯t have much time to do so either. The Outerverse Youth Council did not care if a war broke out in his hometown and could appoint him at any time. Moreover, people like Yan Feng, Puyu, and Bazeer were all stirring up trouble on their own, so he did not have much time to act. His only choice was to respond with an iron fist. With his current power level, he was not afraid of anything as long as he did not run into a Cruiser, and the Thirteen Imperial Squadron captains who were at the Cruiser realm would not pay any attention to the power struggles of those extended rtives.

    The Zenyu Star of the Great Yu Empire had long since been reduced to a battlefield. Undying Yushan had been attacked there, and the Yushan family¡¯s descendents had also all been exterminated there. The multiple battles had marred thendscape of Zenyu Star, and the three rings had nearly copsed as a result.

    With the deaths of the Yushan family¡¯s descendants and Wendy Yushan¡¯s disappearance after her battle against the Ross Empire, the powers that the Great Yu Empire had once subdued were now rearing their heads in rebellion. They disseminated false rumors that the Yushan family had beenpletely destroyed, which exacerbated the pressureing from the powers like the Ross Empire and Fireforge. This propaganda had caused the people of the Great Yu Empire to be greatly rmed.

    Under such extenuating circumstances, the extended rtives of the Yushan family had appeared only to scrabble for the throne of the Great Yu Empire with the support of these foreign powers. There were three rtives in particr who held the greatest authority. This was because they had the support of Explorers and even Cruisers.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion rang out above a sea as an enormous shock wave distorted the void, sending a huge tsunami rushing towards the shore as many fled from the scene.

    Two figures were facing each other in the sky.

    ¡°Back off! The Great Yu Empire¡¯s throne belongs to Lord y,¡± someone spoke with a cold tone as the powerful aura of an Explorer rolled off of their body.

    The person opposite the Explorer did not show any weakness, as they were also an Explorer. ¡°y¡¯s only an extended rtive whose ties were established a thousand years ago! His family has even cut off all connections with the Yushan family. On the other hand, Lord Andong is a grandson-inw to the Yushan family by a marriage that took ce just a hundred years ago! He can legitimately seed the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Bloodline is forever, and time is irrelevant! You are too narrow-minded.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you people who are too foolish! This is an empire! To ascend to the throne requires the support from the people of the Great Yu Empire. How could some random extended rtive possibly achieve that?¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s power, then there¡¯s a way. We support Lord y.¡±

    ¡°What a joke! The power behind Lord Andong is no weaker than yours.¡±

    The two Explorers then began to fight once again.

    In other areas, there were fierce battles taking ce everywhere, from atop a great mountain to even within the three rings of the maind. Many extended family members had rushed out, all of them using whatever methods they could think of to entice court officials and powerhouses in their attempts to vie for the throne.

    Not far from the pce, the Huo Family¡¯s gate had almost been broken down.

    They were one of the top families in the Great Yu Empire, especially since the head of the Huo family, Huo Qingshan, was a Hunter as well as the fifth captain of a squadron. If one received the Huo family¡¯s support, it would almost guarantee them the throne.

    Huo Qingshan calmly sat down in the sitting room and did not bother meeting with the extended family members. They were all clowns leaping at an opportunity and did not qualify to talk to him. Currently, there were only two who could truly ascend to the throne: Wendy Yushan and King Zishan Lu Yin. He would support either of them, though he leaned towards Lu Yin. While Wendy Yushan had a pure lineage, she was a woman and was therefore unsuited to hold the position of king. Also, her ambition did not lie within the Outerverse.

    ¡°Father,¡± Huo Xiaoling called out as she leisurely strolled into the room. She was as beautiful as always with her fiery-red long hair falling to her waist. There was almost no difference between her current self and her appearance during the trial on Earth.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Huo Qingshan asked with a smile as he looked at his daughter.

    She pursed her lips. ¡°Father, who do you intend on supporting?¡±

    Huo Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°The chaos of the Great Yu Empire has caused too many people to suffer. Multiple criticisms are thrown at us on the universalwork, even as more deaths ur with every passing day. Six out of the thirteen fments have already broken away, and five of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons captains have died. Many im that the Great Yu Empire is finished, but I hope that that¡¯s not the case.¡±

    Huo Qingshan sighed and lovingly rubbed her head. ¡°Rx, the empire is not yet finished. There¡¯s still the Fifth Princess.¡±

    ¡°Father, are you intending to support Princess Wendy?¡±

    He smiled in response. ¡°She does not need support. When she appears, she¡¯ll be the empress.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling nodded. ¡°Hopefully, she will appear soon.¡±

    Huo Qingshan looked at his daughter¡¯s worried face. ¡°Xiaoling, do you remember your time during Earth¡¯s trial?¡±

    She was puzzled. ¡°Of course, but why are you bringing that up?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just moved by the fact that you were just a Melder back then, but now, you¡¯re already a Limiteer. You should be the top fighter in the entire Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation just based off of your innate gifts. Even if you can¡¯tpete in power level with those freaks from the Astral Combat Academy, your cultivation realm is no longer weak. It¡¯s a pity that you didn¡¯t qualify for the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    She was sad. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I disappointed you.¡±

    He smiled, and his eyes twinkled. He then probingly asked, ¡°Do you remember Lu Yin?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling was caught off guard, but then, she nodded. ¡°Of course, he was a native who defeated everyone and even defeated the heavily injured Qingyu Daynight. Actually, he should be called Nightking Qingyu.¡±

    ¡°His performance did not dim after Earth¡¯s trial. His performance in the Astral Combat Academy is even more splendid, and his name has rocked the very universe,¡± her father marvelled.

    Huo Xiaoling gave her father a strange look. ¡°Why did Father bring him up?¡±

    Huo Qingshan looked outside. ¡°Because His Imperial Majesty Undying Yushan once said that the empire can be shared with King Zishan. This means that there¡¯s one other person who is qualified to inherit the throne of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin?!¡± Huo Xiaoling cried out in shock.

    Huo Qingshan nodded and looked at her. ¡°If I betroth you to King Zishan, would you be willing?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling¡¯s eyes changed, and her expression became a little lost andplicated. Willing? Even she herself did not understand her ownplex emotions. Lu Yin had once saved her on Earth, but he had also threatened her, and they had had no interactions after that. After the Astral Combat Tournament had been broadcast across the entire universe, everyone knew of his name. Countless people in the universe knew of him, and his fame was no longer restricted to just being within the Great Yu Empire. People had seen his style of battle and heard his stories. The more she heard about him, the further she felt from him.

    Strangely enough, it was just like her rtionship with the Fifth Princess. She remembered ying with the princess a long time ago when they were both young. But now, she was no longer even qualified to speak to the princess. Lu Yin was the same, and his status did not fall far behind the Fifth Princess. Could she even touch this person anymore?

    Huo Qingshan looked at her with aplex look. ¡°Xiaoling, as long as you¡¯re willing, I¡¯ll arrange it.¡±

    ¡°Father, why?¡±

    ¡°Why what?¡±

    ¡°Why do you want to marry me off to Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t willing?¡±

    She fell silent.

    He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you aren¡¯t willing. My Huo family¡¯s influence has spread across the entire Frostwave Weave, so even if the Great Yu Empire bes extinct, nothing will happen to my Huo family. I¡¯ve never thought of exchanging you for anything. The main reason why I brought up this idea is because King Zishan is just too outstanding. If you marry him, you won¡¯t be any worse off. But if you really aren¡¯t willing, then just forget it.¡±

    She raised her head. ¡°Let me take some time to consider things.¡±

    He smiled and patted her shoulder. ¡°Go on, and don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself. Our Huo family doesn¡¯t need to pander to others.¡±

    As he watched Huo Xiaoling leave, Huo Qingshan muttered to himself and touched his cosmic ring. He retrieved a strange-looking ring that had an azure carved into its head and a pair of wings on both sides. ¡°It¡¯s finally time to reappear after being hidden for too long, but I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s willing to bear such a responsibility.¡±

    The Auna family was in a simr position as the Huo Family¡¯s. It was another elite family in the Great Yu Empire, so naturally, many extended family members of the Yushan family visited them. However, Xueshan Auna simrly rejected them all at the door.

    The sensible ones knew that there was still Wendy Yushan, but the extended family members had no idea what her current status was and had already assumed that she was no longer a threat after being seriously injured by the Ross Empire. In reality, if she had not taken the initiative to challenge the Ross Empire, then it would never have dared to harm her; the powers behind her were just too fearsome. Just the Myriad Swords Peak was enough to force the entire Frostwave Weave to bow its head.

    It would be fine if Wendy Yushan had died, but if she had not, then the Great Yu Empire was hers, and no one could take it away. Those extended family members were just clowns jumping at the shadow of an opportunity.

 Chapter 291: Return And Trouble

    <h4>Chapter 291: Return And Trouble</h4>

    ¡°Master, your subordinate has returned,¡± Torry Auna said as he greeted Xueshan Auna.

    Xueshan¡¯s face was gloomy. ¡°You still haven¡¯t found her?¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s hidden herself very well. The Fireforge¡¯s environment is unsuitable for me to search there for prolonged periods of time.¡±

    Xueshan smashed the table. ¡°That idiot! She wants to drive our Auna family into the grave.¡±

    Rocky Auna suddenly spoke up. ¡°Brother, since things have developed in such a bizarre manner, we originally assumed that Jenny¡¯s departure must have been rted to His Imperial Majesty¡¯s n to invade Fireforge or to King Zishan. However, His Imperial Majesty was suddenly attacked and killed, and not a single corpse from any member of the Yushan family remains. Could these two matters be rted? Could this be connected to the Daynight n?¡±

    ¡°The Daynight n is a powerful family in the universe, and there is no reason for them to fight for the Yushan family¡¯s corpses. We have also confirmed through Schutz that someone has resolved the conflict between King Zishan and the Nightking n, at least on the surface. The Daynight n¡¯s actions of taking Jenny away must be an attempt to take revenge on King Zishan and is wholly unrted to the attack on His Imperial Majesty,¡± Xueshan Auna exined. After saying that, he suddenly paused and looked at Rocky Auna. ¡°There will be others with simr opinions.¡±

    Rocky Auna nodded in agreement. ¡°If the attack on His Imperial Majesty has nothing to do with Jenny being captured by the Daynight n, then that means that the Daynight n is being used as someone else¡¯s scapegoat. There¡¯s somebody else making use of the grudge between the Daynight n and King Zishan to hide their true goal of attacking His Imperial Majesty. They must also be behind the disappearance of all the Yushan family¡¯s bodies.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not all¡ªeven the Ross Empire was dragged into this mess. When they first attacked Captain Liuying Zishan, they injured her seriously enough that she needed half a year to recuperate. The attack at that time was very strange and came out of nowhere. The Ross Empire¡¯s reaction when Princess Wendy attacked them was also very odd, and they acted as if they had been attacked for no reason. All these inconsistencies point to the fact that someone behind the scenes has been using the Daynight n to attack our Great Yu Empire,¡± Xueshan Auna analyzed.

    ¡°Does this have anything to do with King Zishan?¡± Rocky Auna asked.

    Xueshan Auna felt a headacheing on. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but King Zishan¡¯s connections are even moreplicated than we initially believed. He has multiple connections in the Innerverse, and any one of them is strong enough to annihte the Great Yu Empire. It¡¯s impossible for my intelligencework to find out everything about him.¡±

    Rocky Auna seemed like he had something else he wanted to say, but he held himself back.

    Xueshan Auna nced at him. ¡°Is there something that you want to say?¡±

    Rocky Auna reluctantly answered, ¡°What do we say to King Zishan if he returns?¡±

    The veins on Xueshan Auna¡¯s forehead started throbbing as he sighed, ¡°We need to tell him everything or else our family will be done for in the future. Even if he might not be able to do anything to the Auna family right now, he is someone with the right to inherit the throne.¡±

    Zenyu Star had be very lively. Many officials were surrounded by tempting offers to side with various other forces, such as the finance minister, Bailey. When Sicar was still around, Bailey had held no real power, but after Sicar left with the second prince, Duke Yushan, Bailey had regained his power. He had thought that his situation had taken a turn for the better, but when Undying Yushan died, the issue of extended rtives fighting for meager power had appeared. All of them were promising Bailey an astronomical amount of benefits to the point where he was feeling dizzy. He felt very vexed; should he support y, Andong, or Luke¡ªwho might be backed by the Ross Empire? What a headache this was!

    Within the imperial jail, a young man appeared in front of Sigmund Mathers and smiled at him. ¡°Let me introduce myself. My name is Luke, and His Imperial Majesty, Undying Yushan, was my uncle.¡±

    Sigmund Mathers eyed Luke silently.

    Luke smiled, and someone behind him fetched him a chair. He sat down. ¡°Untie General Mathers.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Get to the point, Mr. Luke. I¡¯m a criminal, and I don¡¯t have any right to ask anything of you,¡± Sigmund Mathers said in a hoarse voice.

    Luke nodded. ¡°Fine, I expected such bluntness from you, so I¡¯ll get right to the point. I¡¯d like you to support my ascension to the throne.¡±

    Sigmund Mathers was shocked. ¡°Ascension to the throne? You¡¯re going to ascend the throne?¡±

    Luke nodded. ¡°All of the Yushan family members are dead, so the next sessor is naturally me. I¡¯m rted to my uncle by blood, even if it¡¯s just a tiny bit, am I not?¡±

    Sigmund Mathers burst intoughter, chortling so hard that his old injuries opened.

    Luke grew solemn. ¡°What is the meaning of this, General Mathers?¡±

    Sigmund Mathers eyed Luke and snickered. ¡°A distant rtive like you with no blood rtions to His Imperial Majesty wants to ascend to the throne? What a joke! Isn¡¯t it obvious why I¡¯mughing? Hahaha!¡±

    A cold glint shed through Luke¡¯s eyes. ¡°The Yushan family is all dead. If I don¡¯t ascend to the throne, it¡¯ll go to one of those two idiots, y or Andong. They¡¯re distant rtives as well. If you choose me, then I can pardon you.¡±

    The disdain in Sigmund Mathers¡¯ eyes became even more apparent. ¡°You¡¯re pathetic. You don¡¯t even know what I did, do you?¡±

    Luke sneered and replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, even if you betrayed the country. As long as I ascend to the throne, I¡¯ll have total control over the empire and will naturally be able to release you.¡±

    Sigmund Mathers sighed despondently. ¡°The empire is done for.¡± After saying this, he nced at Luke and said, ¡°Mr. Luke, it¡¯s best that you go back and investigate what crime Imitted. Even His Imperial Majesty, Undying Yushan, wasn¡¯t able to pardon me, much less you.¡±

    Luke was shocked. ¡°Even His Imperial Majesty couldn¡¯t pardon you? Just what kind of crime did youmit?¡±

    Sigmund Mather grinned and slowly answered, ¡°I betrayed¡­ humanity.¡±

    Luke left. He was extremely confused and had no idea what Mathers meant when he said that he had betrayed humanity. These extended rtives had only dared to show themselves after all of the Yushan family members died, which meant that they had never held any high positions in the past and were badly informed on the truly important matters. They hadn¡¯t even heard of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Even if Sigmund Mathers had been ndered, everyone already believed that he hadmitted the crime. The merit of Lu Yin revealing the location of a Corpse King was enough to ensure that Sigmund Mathers wouldn¡¯t die, but it was also certain that Luke would not be able to do anything about this matter. The status of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s emperor would only help facilitate internal matters of the empire; it meant nothing when all of humanity was involved.

    Sigmund Meyers sighed. Like many others, he had no idea what would happen to the empire. Thankfully, his son, Wukai, had been lucky enough to enter the Innerverse for training before all this urred. Even if he died, Wukai¡¯s survival would ensure that the Mathers line would not be extinguished.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin entered his mind; the fact that he was still alive was all thanks to him. King Zishan had done too much for him, and it would be nice if he managed to ascend to the throne. At the very least, it would be better than any of those idiotic distant rtives winning the throne.

    The fact that Luke had attempted to get Mathers¡¯ support showed that the contest between the distant rtives was bing increasingly heated. But even as they continued bickering, the residents of Zenyu Star kept leaving. They were unwilling to stay when they were surrounded by warfare.

    If not for Huo Qingshan, Rocky Auna, Ban Jiu, and Liuying Zishan, the four remaining captains of the Thirteen Squadrons, then the battles would have been even worse.

    At this point, the spacecraft that Lu Yin was using arrived at the temporary station that was situated outside the three rings of the.

    ¡°Please identify yourself,¡± a soldier said as he bowed.

    Lu Yin exited the spacecraft and did as asked.

    At that moment, a squadron rushed over and surrounded Lu Yin. They pointed their weapons at him, and one of them said, ¡°This person is a spy from the Ross Empire! Hands on your head and don¡¯t move.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Who said that I¡¯m a spy from Ross Empire?¡±

    A soldier moved forward and red at him. ¡°Shut up! Take him away for questioning.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Invisible undtions spread out as he allowed his domain to spread out to cover an evenrger area. Some timeter, he noticed someone in a tall building about a hundred meters away from him. It was a familiar figure¡ªLong Chu. He was currently snickering and looking very pleased with himself.

    Bloodlust rose up within Lu Yin. It¡¯s him again! This is the second time he¡¯s done something like this now. Long Chu thought that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t kill anyone here, but the entire reason he had evene here was actually to kill Long Chu.

    Two soldiers grabbed Lu Yin by the arms, intending to arrest him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly widened before he vanished into thin air. The void was torn apart, and the ground was rent asunder. The soldiers were all very confused¡ªwhere had he gone?

    At that moment, in the tall building, Long Chu felt goosebumps appear all over his body. He was well-learned, and he could tell how fast Lu Yin had moved with one look. Just as he was about to flee, he heard a voice call out from behind him. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Commander Long Chu.¡±

    Long Chu slowly turned around, his face ashen as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Y-Y-Your Majesty! Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin approached Long Chu step by step, his voice icy cold. ¡°You must have been waiting for me for a long time, Commander. So who are you working for this time around?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, Your Majesty? I don¡¯t understand,¡± Long Chu answered fearfully. When he first met Lu Yin, he had thought nothing of this youth. Back then, Lu Yin had merely been a Sentinel while Long Chu had personally been a Limiteer, someone who was able to easily crush the young cultivator. However, during theirst meeting, Long Chu had felt like he was no match for Lu Yin, who had only been a Melder then. And this time, he only felt sheer terror. They were both Limiteers, so why was Lu Yin so much more powerful than him??

    He had watched the Astral Combat Tournament, and his first reaction had been that of disbelief. Like many others, he thought that the Astral Combat Academy had put on the tournament as a show. However, as Lu Yin closed in on him, the indescribable feeling of terror became even more apparent. This was a human¡¯s natural instinct, and it could not be faked in any way.

    Lu Yin suddenly grabbed Long Chu by the throat and lifted him up. Long Chu¡¯s feet iled about helplessly beneath him as his face grew flushed and his veins popped out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone was cold when he spoke out. ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about? You first pledged loyalty to King Zishan, then to Sicar, and then to the second prince after that. After the second prince left, you sided with the former minister of finance, Bailey. And now that the Yushan family¡¯s distant rtives are vying for power, I believe that you¡¯ve found yourself yet another person to serve.¡±

    Long Chu was shocked. ¡°H-how do you know all this?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered and replied, ¡°The fact that a person as greedy as you is still alive is a great humiliation to the Great Yu Empire.¡± After saying that, he ruthlessly flung Long Chu through the ss window and into the space station¡¯s square down below.

    Long Chu felt as if his body was breaking apart while he coughed out a mouthful of blood. They were both Limiteers, but he couldn¡¯t even fight back against Lu Yin. The difference between them was just too great.

    The soldiers in the space station quickly surrounded Long Chu in the square. ¡°It¡¯s Lord Long Chu! Save him!¡±

    ¡°Save Lord Long Chu immediately!¡±

    ¡­

    High up in the building, Lu Yin soared into the sky as multiple weapons were aimed at him. The void suddenly tore open, and a man walked out. ¡°Who dares to cause trouble at the space station?¡±

    It was a very familiar voice. Lu Yin looked over and called out, ¡°Bronsen?¡±

    The person who had torn through the void was numbered three on the First Imperial Squadron and someone who had known Lu Yin for a long time.

    Bronsen saw Lu Yin, and his face became one of delight. ¡°King Zishan? Greetings to His Majesty.¡±

    All the troops in the space station immediately bowed when they heard Bronsen¡¯s words. ¡°Greetings to His Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately helped Bronsen stand up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for all this formality. Why are you guarding the space station? Aren¡¯t you the number three in the First Squadron?¡±

    Bronsen sighed and replied, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. By the way, what is this mess all about?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the twitching body of Long Chu on the square below. ¡°He imed that I was a spy from the Ross Empire and wanted to eliminate me.¡±

    Bronsen was furious. ¡°Those external rtives are growing increasingly brazen with every passing day! I can¡¯t believe that he tried to attack you.¡±

    ¡°Who is he working with?¡± Lu Yin coldly asked.

    Bronsen frowned. ¡°Luke. I once saw Long Chu walking behind him. Luke has been going all out trying to curry favor with the various ministers, and he¡¯s been very generous in his attempts. I believe that he might have connections to the Ross Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin found this hrious. ¡°A spy from the Ross Empire tried to nder me by iming that I¡¯m a spy from the Ross Empire. How interesting.¡± Lu Yin unleashed an attack at the floor, and a powerful gale crushed Long Chu to death, leaving nothing but a mangled mess behind.

    The sight shocked everyone in the space station. Even Bronsen felt a chill run down his spine when he looked at Lu Yin again. In the time that they had been apart, King Zishan had changed.

 Chapter 292: Ring Of Authority

    <h4>Chapter 292: Ring Of Authority</h4>

    ¡°Please take me to Zenyu Star, Bronsen. I¡¯d like to meet those extended rtives,¡± Lu Yin coldly said.

    Bronsen was rather worried. ¡°Those rtives have support from various outsiders, and there are Explorers and even Cruisers backing them. You don¡¯t have much inparison, and you¡¯ll definitely lose if you go alone. Even now, they¡¯re preparing to eliminate you!¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. They have the support of other organizations, but I have the most support of them all. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Bronsen could only nod in response.

    Before Lu Yin arrived at this space station, Peach had already told him that there were four captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons on Zenyu star: the Fifth Squadron¡¯s captain, Huo Qingshan, the Ninth Squadron¡¯s captain, Rocky Auna, the Twelfth Squadron¡¯s captain, Ban Jiu, and the Thirteenth Squadron¡¯s captain, Liuying Zishan.

    These four did not support any of the extended rtives, but Lu Yin did not know if they would support him. The only thing that he could do was give it a shot. Even if they didn¡¯t support him, the organizations behind these rtives still wouldn¡¯t dare to attack him.

    Even if these rtives didn¡¯t understand the full scope of the situation, the connections that they had surely knew what the Lockbreaker Society, the Council of the Astral Academy, and the Outerverse Youth Council were. This was the main reason for Lu Yin¡¯s fearlessness. Any one of those backers was enough to ensure his safety here, and he had all three. There was only so much that a single person could do on their own, but his connections were certainly powerful enough to support what he wanted to do right now.

    Initially, Lu Yin only wanted Bronsen to take him to those rtives, after which he would take them out one by one. However, he did not do that. Instead, he had Bronsen take him directly to the imperial pce.

    ¡°The pce has been sealed ever since His Majesty died. Besides Princess Wendy, nobody else is allowed inside,¡± Bronsen told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin approached the pce, but when he arrived at the entrance, he was stopped. The person guarding the pce was Ban Jiu, the captain of the Twelfth Squadron.

    When the second prince had turned traitor, Ban Jiu and his vice-captain, Shalosh, had left along with the prince. That meant that he was a traitor to the Great Yu Empire, but Undying Yushan had never deemed him as such. Thus, he was still technically the captain of the Twelfth Squadron.

    Many could not understand the rationale behind this move, but Lu Yin knew that Duke Yushan had not turned traitor because he wanted to. Undying Yushan had forced his son to do so in order to shield his son from the oing cmity, and thus leaving the Great Yu Empire with a bit of hope.

    Rather than saying that Ban Jiu, Batson, Shalosh, and Felut had supported the second prince¡¯s decision to betray the empire, it was actually more urate to say that they had been sent by Undying Yushan to protect Duke Yushan.

    However, now that Undying Yushan was dead, Ban Jiu had returned and was now guarding the pce of his own volition. The other traitor captain, Shaolsh, had stayed at the frontlines of the empire¡¯s war against the Ross Empire. The Thirteen Squadrons had never betrayed Undying Yushan.

    ¡°Stop right there. The pce is an important ce that nobody is allowed to enter.¡± At the entrance, the vice-captain of the Twelfth Squadron, Shalosh stopped Lu Yin even though he had aplex look in his eyes. He obviously recognized Lu Yin since he had met him all the way back at the trials on Earth. However, even as King Zishan, Lu Yin was not allowed to step inside the imperial pce. After all, Undying Yushan had never officially announced that King Zishan had the right to inherit the throne.

    Lu Yin paid Shalosh no mind, looked up at the huge pce, and then stared introspectively at the Zishan Residence off in the distance that was second in size only to the pce. He sighed. Things had changed, but Undying Yushan had still died.

    For Lu Yin, Undying Yushan had been a benevolent old man who had protected, taught, and supported him. He had no idea how others viewed Undying Yushan, but he didn¡¯t care. All he knew was that he did not want everything that Undying Yushan had spent his entire life building up to be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

    After his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin took out a ring from his cosmic ring; it was the ring of authority that Undying Yushan had given him. With this, he had the right tomand the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops. It was a ruling symbol of the Great Yu Empire.

    The moment he saw the ring, Shalosh¡¯s eyes changed, and he bowed. Bronsen jolted and quickly followed suit. Right after that, the pce guards and even the captain of the Twelfth Squadron, Ban Jiu, came out and bowed to Lu Yin.

    ¡°May I enter now?¡± Lu Yin softly asked.

    ¡°Please enter, King Zishan,¡± Ban Jiu crisply responded. His voice was cold, and he wore a white garment. If this were Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting this person, he would have never thought that this captain was a Cruiser.

    Among the various captains of the Thirteen Squadrons, Huo Qingshan and the Blind Monk represented strength while Ban Jiu represented technology and wisdom. He had provided the Great Yu Empire with advanced technology that had made it possible for them to contest the various organizations in the Innerverse. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the empire to stop the Ross Empire¡¯s attack just based on their respective power levels.

    When Undying Yushan had assigned Ban Jiu to Duke Yushan, it was apparent that he had been in total despair and believed that he could not protect his empire.

    ¡°Announce to the public that the ring of authority is in my hands, Bronsen. If anyone wants it, then they cane and try to take it from me,¡± Lu Yin dered before stepping into the pce.

    Bronsen was shocked and wanted to say something, but instead, he merely watched Lu Yin¡¯s figure disappear into the distance. He then bowed and left.

    Ban Jiu eyed Lu Yin¡¯s back with sparkling eyes.

    ¡°It seems like something huge is going to happen soon. Should we stop the extended rtives if theye here?¡± Shalosh asked.

    Ban Jiu nced at his subordinate. ¡°Focus on your own work. This isn¡¯t your business.¡±

    Shalosh grunted in acknowledgment, but his eyes were shining with anticipation.

    From the outside, the imperial pce seemed the same as ever. It was solemn, dignified, and filled with bits of storied history. However, as soon as one entered it, one would only see the broken spears left behind, the crumbling walls, and the traces of old battles. This was just where the battle had been fought. The real battle to the death had not taken ce inside the pce, or else the stray shockwaves from a battle involving a Hunter would have destroyed the entire pce, or even the entirety of Zenyu Star.

    Even so, through the deep fissures in the ground, Lu Yin could tell how dangerous the situation had be over the course of the battle.

    He slowly crouched down and closed his eyes as he activated his Cosmic Art. His domain then spread down through the cracks in the ground like dripping mercury. With the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye in hand, he eventually found a familiar aura; it was Undying Yushan¡¯s. Even after so much time had passed, his aura still managed to shock Lu Yin to the point where he could not stop himself from trembling.

    He continued groping at the cracks on the ground until, all of a sudden, an extremely dark and chilling force rushed at him. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he released a punch, causing star energy to explode in all directions and distort the air. He then took a step backwards while panting hard. This chilling force hade from the enemy who had killed Undying Yushan. The force was very cold and extremely bloodthirsty. Lu Yin had a feeling that no living being could survive such a thing.

    It reminded him of the Neohuman Alliance because there was someone in that organization who gave him a simr feeling: Silver. While Silver¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t as dark as this, this energy was eerily simr to Silver¡¯s domain, which had been created specifically for killing.

    As he expected, the person who had killed Undying Yushan was not a powerhouse from the Ross Empire. Lu Yin was certain of that.

    His gaze swept across the ground. All of these cracks must havee from that singr attack in just an instant. He stepped past them and continued on towards the main hall.

    There were no guards inside the pce; they had only been stationed outside. The pce waspletely silent inside.

    The moment Lu Yin arrived at the hall, news of him possessing the ring of authority and entering the pce spread out, shocking Zenyu Star.

    Above the sea, the Explorers continued fighting. In the distance, two young men nonchntly spoke to each other. ¡°He¡¯s just some random guy who¡¯s not rted to the emperor at all, but he¡¯s still vying for the throne. Let¡¯s temporarily set our grudges aside and deal with that King Zishan or whatever first.¡±

    Ki looked glum. ¡°Fine, but that ring is mine, Andong.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. It¡¯s mine.¡±

    ¡°What did you say!¡±

    ¡­

    The two Explorers who were locked in battle exchanged looks of shock. Ki and Andong might be unaware of some things, but the two Explorers were well aware that King Zishan had shocked the universe during the Astral Combat Tournament; he had an unimaginable status now. Apparently he had even entered the Council of Astral Academy and was now directly subordinate to the Ten Arbiters Council. That meant he was definitely someone powerful. The organizations that had sent them here were afraid of no one except for two people - Wendy Yushan and King Zishan, Lu Yin. Now, thetter had returned.

    ¡°Young Master Andong, King Zishan is not to be underestimated. It¡¯s best if you treat him kindly and ask for his support and have him peacefully give you the ring of authority,¡± one of the Explorers advised Andong.

    Andong was surprised by this response. Before the Great Yu Empire had ended up in its current tragic state, he had only been able to be a disciple through his connections. He knew nothing about who was in power and hadn¡¯t even watched the Astral Combat Tournament. This was also why he had been chosen to be the emperor¡ªit would be easy to control him. However, there were problems with that as well. He had no idea who Lu Yin was, and he would be even more brazen than before after his recent activities.

    ¡°What, are you saying that King Zishan is very powerful?¡± Andong nonchntly asked.

    The Explorer had a grim expression. He had no idea how to go about persuading this moron. Sometimes, he hoped that this moron would stay this stupid, but his stupidity became a problem in situations like the current one; the fool always overestimated himself.

    Meanwhile, Ki was suffering from the exact same problem. As the person who had the highest chance of seeding the throne, there was no way he would treat someone outside the Yushan family with any courtesy. Still, he promised to be polite, just like how he had acted when trying to gather support from the empire¡¯s various ministers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll give him the treatment he deserves. As long as he doesn¡¯t betray me, he¡¯ll continue being King Zishan. Of course, that¡¯s only if he knows his ce,¡± Ki arrogantly dered.

    In another part of Zenyu Star, Luke had an ashen expression. ¡°Long Chu¡¯s dead? King Zishan killed him?¡±

    A powerhouse behind him answered, ¡°Yes, Young Master Luke.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, how dare he touch my men! Does he think that he¡¯ll still be able toplete his arranged marriage with the Auna family just because Undying Yushan used to protect him? Dream on!¡± Luke was enraged.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you treat King Zishan with courtesy. He holds the ring of authority, and there¡¯s quite a few people backing him. If he supports you, then there¡¯s a very high chance that you¡¯ll sessfully ascend to the throne,¡± the powerhouse whispered.

    Luke took a few deep breaths and somehow managed to calm himself down. ¡°I got it. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll win over his support with my sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Good, but I still need to remind you that while he¡¯s King Zishan in the Great Yu Empire, he also has other identities that are far more important than that. For instance, he¡¯s a member of the Council of Astral Academy as well as a Lockbreaker.¡±

    Luke was startled. ¡°He¡¯s a Lockbreaker?!¡±

    ¡°Yes. Before he returned to the Frostwave Weave, we investigated him and just recently discovered that he¡¯s a two star Bright Eyed Junior Lockbreaker. His status is not to be underestimated. He has also earned contributions at the border warfront and has even acquired Honor Points. He also recently joined the Outerverse Youth Council after cing first in the Outerverse trials. He wields a great deal of influence,¡± the Explorer exined. The more he spoke, the more shocked he himself became. Were these really achievements that a young Limiteer from a fringe Weave could aplish? Lu Yin had achieved so much that it was unbelievable!

 Chapter 293: Lu Yinâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 293: Lu Yin¡¯s Decision</h4>

    Luke was shocked. He was slightly better off than y and Andong since he knew what it meant to be a Lockbreaker. ¡°It looks like he¡¯s going to be a special case.¡±

    The powerhouse made a sound of acknowledgement. ¡°You could view him as the second Wendy Yushan.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re able to severely injure Wendy Yushan, but you¡¯re saying that we can¡¯t deal with this person?¡± Luke whispered in shock.

    The man¡¯s gaze grew cold. ¡°Young Master, please remember that we are at war with them.¡±

    Luke fell silent.

    ¡°Also, Wendy Yushan attacked our empire, which is why she was injured. Even then, the empire still hadn¡¯t dared to actually kill her. And King Zishan has connections that are even moreplicated than hers,¡± the man answered gravely.

    Within the imperial pce, Lu Yin was standing within the main hall. From what he could remember, he had attracted everyone¡¯s attention the first time he had stood here. He still remembered the pressure that he had been subjected to as if it had just happened yesterday. And yet, everything had changed now.

    After the empire is rebuilt, how many people will be able to return? Lu Yin sighed ruefully and looked up at the highest seat in the hall. If he sat up there, he would be the master of thirteen fments and hold countless lives in his hand. Naturally, that ce was the throne.

    Lu Yin stepped closer.

    Huo Qingshan, Luke Auna, and Ban Jiu all appeared in the imperial pce at this time. There was also another beautiful girl with them. She was Liuying Zishan, who had been gravely injured before and was staying on the capital star to recuperate.

    The four of them did not show themselves and merely observed the main hall. As they watched Lu Yin step closer to the throne, a strange look appeared in all of their eyes.

    Step by step, Lu Yin gradually crossed the hall and climbed up to the spot that stood above all else in the Great Yu Empire. He had finally arrived at the throne. When he looked behind the throne, he saw something that had been ced there a long time ago¡ªa star chart.

    This star chart had been drawn by Undying Yushan in the past when he first ascended to the throne. In the very beginning, the thirteen fments had not been a part of the empire, and he had slowly added them in. He had then ced this chart behind the throne as a reminder to himself. However, as his health deteriorated, the map had gradually lost its purpose and seemed to dull. At this moment, Lu Yin picked it up again. He patted it gently, wiped away the dust that covered it, and then looked at it in excitement.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally time for this to see the light of day again. What a pity it is that it only has the Outerverse drawn on it,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself with a smile. He then ced it on the throne, not even attempting to touch or sit on the throne. In his eyes, the throne did not mean much.

    This sight surprised Huo Qingshan. Lu Yin was obviously still young and merely a Limiteer, but for some reason, they could feel a powerful, maic charisma from him. That map represented Undying Yushan when he had been young and full of ambition. What did it represent now that it had been taken out once again?

    Outside the pce, quite a few people had gathered. Among them were y, Andong, Luke, and some of the other extended rtives. All of them wanted to enter the imperial pce.

    ¡°Let them in, Ban Jiu,¡± Huo Qingshan said unenthusiastically.

    Soon enough, all of the rtives charged into the pce with their hired powerhouses leading the way. When they arrived at the entrance of the main hall, they all saw Lu Yin standing next to the throne.

    ¡°How dare you approach the throne, King Zishan! Move away!¡± one of the rtives shouted.

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re all here?¡±

    Andong walked forward. ¡°Are you King Zishan Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze towards him. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Come down, and I won¡¯t pursue the matter of you being disrespectful to the emperor!¡± Andong loudly dered, as if he were doing Lu Yin a great service.

    Lu Yin burst into a fit ofughter. He couldn¡¯t even be bothered to ask who these people were. ¡°Are you all the rtives who are vying for the throne?¡±

    Luke stepped forward. ¡°We don¡¯t desire the throne, brother Lu. However, the Great Yu Empire is currently facing a powerful enemy even though it is filled with internal chaos. Nobody is in charge to deal with the situation, which is a huge disservice to the people of the empire. Additionally, the war has resulted in a high number of casualties among the citizens. Someone has to help them.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°That¡¯s a good reason. Keep going.¡±

    Luke¡¯s gaze grew cold. Just as he was about to continue pontificating, Andong interrupted with an upset face. ¡°Give me the ring of authority, Lu Yin! I can let you keep your title of King Zishan and even give you a fment. You¡¯ll be able to rule thatnd and enjoy the rest of your life in leisure. How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°I can give you two fments as long as you support my ascension to the throne.¡± y did not allow himself to be pushed aside and quickly spoke up as well.

    After that, numerous other extended rtives started throwing offers at Lu Yin, trying to tempt him into handing the ring of authority over to them.

    This entire mess just looked like a joke and felt very ironic to Lu Yin. This was the Great Yu Empire that epassed a total of thirteen fments. If it weren¡¯t for the Innerverse stopping Undying Yushan, then the empire would have conquered the entire Frostwave Weave. However, now, a bunch of trash was vying for it, and they even had the gall to preemptively give its territory away. This situation was just a joke.

    In one corner of the pce, Huo Qingshan and a few others watched on with ridicule in their eyes. This was the reason why they hadn¡¯t supported any of these rtives. If there was a single person among this group with even half a brain, then they captains would have definitely given their support to that person by now. Even if none of these people had the capabilities to be the emperor, it would still be possible for them to give orders in the emperor¡¯s stead. However, they were all too useless even for that.

    ¡°Shut up! The empire¡¯s territory isn¡¯t something that you can just give away thoughtlessly!¡± Luke roared.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know this! You give those ministers a lot of benefits as well. Take Bailey, for instance. You promised him the right to manage the imperial army, which means that you¡¯re even worse than us!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! I heard you even had the nerve to try to pardon a criminal. You went to Sigmund Mathers, but you failed. You must just be venting your anger on us,¡± someone else ridiculed.

    ¡­

    Luke snorted disdainfully. ¡°I went to officials who can help support the empire. Sigmund Mathers is a valiant general who has aplished a lot for the empire, and Lord Bailey has been working hard for the empire. They are both capable people.¡± After that, he turned to face Lu Yin. ¡°Brother, I might not be able to promise you wealth, but I can promise that, as long as I¡¯m around, the Great Yu Empire will not fall. This ce will forever be your home.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he surveyed everyone. ¡°This is very interesting. Some amongst you try to tempt me with benefits, some act like know-it-alls, and yet others pretend to be sophisticated. It¡¯s even more entertaining than watching an actual show.¡±

    The rtives all turned furious upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words. A cold glint appeared in Luke¡¯s eyes. That ¡°know-it-all¡± was definitely referring to him, and he silently clenched his fists. He really wanted to kill Lu Yin right now, but this youth was too special. Nobody, not even the people of the Ross Empire supporting Luke, dared to openly attack Lu Yin. He was like a porcupine.

    ¡°What are you trying to say, Lu Yin?¡± Andong shouted.

    The Explorer behind him immediately held Andong back. ¡°This person is very important, Young Master Andong.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have any time to waste on you all, so I¡¯ll only say this once: scram or die.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so full of yourself even though you¡¯re just a Limiteer!¡± Andong howled in anger. ¡°Sieze him!¡±

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin vanished. The powerhouse standing behind Luke made a look of surprise as he moved to push Luke behind himself. The void in front of him then tore apart as Lu Yin attacked with a palm. Andong was frozen in ce and couldn¡¯t move at all while the Explorer turned serious and desperately tried to kick his charge away. However, it was toote. Andong was instantly killed, and his entire body wasunched into the air before itnded on the floor while the Explorer¡¯s kick was simultaneously blocked by Lu Yin¡¯s left arm. There was a tremendous boom as shock waves spread out from the impact.

    There were three Explorers present, and each one protected one of Andong, y, and Luke. They were the only ones present who could withstand the shockwaves. All of the other extended rtives and their protectors were sent flying as they coughed up blood.

    Lu Yin grabbed the leg of the Explorer in front of him with his left hand and exerted some force through it. His muscles swelled, and the power of a Twentyfold Shockwave Palm flowed through his body. As the void copsed, the Explorer¡¯s eyes went wide and he cried out in misery as he tried to pull his leg out of Lu Yin¡¯s grasp.

    However, his efforts were all in vain. This protector was merely an ordinary Explorer, and his power level was merely at 10,000. He was nowhere as powerful as Zi Tie, who had been pushed back by Lu Yin back at the border warfront. This person¡¯s defenses were basically nonexistent to Lu Yin.

    ¡°You¡¯re too weak, Mr. Explorer,¡± Lu Yin coldly stated. He exerted some more strength with his left hand, and then, all of a sudden, there was a horrendous cracking sound as the Explorer¡¯s right leg splintered apart with a spurt of blood. His body was also sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Everything happened so quickly that everyone could only watch on in terror. y in particr was trembling from top to bottom. Andong¡¯s sudden death had shocked him to the core.

    Luke¡¯s face grew ashen as he staggered backwards. ¡°A devil. You- You¡¯re a devil!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around, and there was an obvious chilly glint in his eyes.

    The powerhouse protecting Luke took a few steps forward and stood before Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re going too far, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. This person was very strong and should be a Cruiser. A Cruiser with a power level of over 50,000 was much more powerful than that Explorer just now. Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew serious.

    Meanwhile, three figures appeared from the void. ¡°The Captain of the Fifth Imperial Squadron, Huo Qingshan, greets His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°The Captain of the Ninth Imperial Squadron, Rocky Auna, greets His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°The Captain of the Thirteenth Imperial Squadron, Liuying Zishan, greets His Majesty.¡±

    Of the three captains, one was a Hunter while the other two were Cruisers. Their appearance immediately shocked everyone. The Cruiser who was protecting Luke turned pale as well.

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°You three came just in time. Help me deal with these traitors.¡±

    Huo Qingshan eyed the Cruiser who was protecting Luke and who had paled even further. He immediately responded, ¡°I serve Young Master Luke. I¡¯m not a traitor.¡±

    ¡°Kill him,¡± Lu Yin casually ordered.

    Huo Qingshan suddenly attacked. A tendril of me transformed into invisible shockwaves. When it appeared, the void froze, and the sky darkened. This was Huo Qingshan¡¯s innate gift: ck mes. With his strength as a Hunter, as soon as he used his innate gift, nobody in this room was able to fight back unless they were also a Hunter.

    Luke and the Cruiser turned to dust in less than a moment.

    This scene was too shocking. The difference between someone with a power level of 50,000 and someone with 100,000 was just too great. Nobody could even understand Huo Qingshan¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. The moment that attack had beenunched, he had felt a boundless strength travel through his domain. Is this the power of a Hunter? So this is someone with a power level of 100,000, someone who is able to fight even in outer space?

    The Explorer protecting y trembled and looked at Huo Qingshan in terror.

    Lu Yin coldly surveyed the other extended family members and their protectors. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold back. Deal with all of them.¡±

    Everyone was shocked; this person was absolutely merciless.

    Even Huo Qingshan nced at Lu Yin with curiosity, but he did not say anything. He immediately acted and turned all of the distant rtives and their protectors to ash, eliminating anyone who had the nerve to vie for the throne.

 Chapter 294: Methods And Capabilities

    <h4>Chapter 294: Methods And Capabilities</h4>

    Liuying Zishan¡¯s beautiful eyes stared straight at Lu Yin. This was the first time she had ever stood face to face with him, as all of their previousmunication had been done through video calls. Right now, she finally understood what this person from the Zishan family was like. He was extremely tyrannical, ruthless, and very different from what she had imagined. He was also unreasonably powerful to the point where even Explorers were no match for him.

    ¡°Since the Yushan family is in trouble, and Princess Wendy is nowhere in sight though probably alive, I, King Zishan Lu Yin, shall be the interim emperor. Do any of you object?¡± Lu Yin matter-of-factly dered. He disliked beating around the bush and so spoke very directly.

    The result was obvious. The fact that Huo Qingshan and the other two had appeared was an answer in and of itself.

    ¡°The Fifth Imperial Squadron fully supports King Zishan,¡± Huo Qingshan answered.

    ¡°The Ninth Imperial Squadron fully supports King Zishan,¡± Rocky Auna answered.

    ¡°The Thirteenth Imperial Squadron fully supports King Zishan,¡± Liuying Zishan answered.

    ¡°The Twelfth Imperial Squadron fully supports King Zishan.¡± Ban Jiu, who had arrived at some point, also added in his support.

    Lu Yin looked up, with a tired face. ¡°Henceforth, I am both King Zishan as well as¡­ the Royal Regent.¡±

    For a long time now, it was impossible to rule as emperor just by simply ascending to the throne. Lu Yin could hold a certain amount of power since he had the ring of authority and the position of King Zishan. However, it was impossible for him to actually be the emperor. He did not have the right to inherit the throne; only Wendy Yushan currently had that right.

    Hence, he could not touch the throne at this moment. Instead, he would manage the Great Yu Empire as the Royal Regent.

    ¡°Your Highness, the empire is currently embroiled with both internal and external problems. Please make some decisions about this as soon as possible.¡± The very next day, a minister mentioned this matter during a morning meeting. It was a fact that Lu Yin had be the Royal Regent since he had obtained the support of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, the ring of authority, and the support of the Zishan¡¯s n¡¯s former subordinates. Thus, he had naturally taken over these meetings.

    Lu Yin sat below the emperor¡¯s throne and was the only one who was seated in the main hall. After hearing what the ministers had to say, Lu Yin took a look at his gadget. ¡°I have my ns.¡±

    The ministers exchanged looks, but remained silent.

    The extended family members¡¯ fight for the throne was the main reason why Zenyu Star was in its current state of chaos. Now that the rtives have all been wiped out, the empire had the bandwidth to focus on reiming its lost territory and repulsing the Ross Empire. As the Royal Regent, Lu Yin should have been making arrangements to handle these matters, but he had done nothing so far. It was very confusing.

    Rocky Auna nced at Lu Yin, and when he saw that Lu Yin was continuously checking his gadget, Rocky Auna frowned; Lu Yin really was too young. These meetings were very solemn asions, and this was not the time for the Royal Regent to be checking his gadget. Even Dorren Yushan and Undying Yushan had never done anything like this in the past.

    The ministers also felt rather ufortable. If this wasn¡¯t Lu Yin¡¯s first time attending a meeting as Royal Regent, then their tongues would have immediately started wagging.

    The hallpsed into a momentary silence.

    The monkey finally could not hold it in any longer. ¡°The ministers keep looking at you like you¡¯re stupid, Seventh Bro! Aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯ll scold you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept downwards. There were only a third of the original ministers remaining. Bailey was present, but only four of the thirteen captains were present.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pay them any mind. They don¡¯t think much of me right now, and anything I do will be considered pointless to them. Just wait¡ªthe oue will be clear quite soon,¡± Lu Yin replied, seemingly talking to himself.

    The secretary of the Empire, Garope, could no longer restrain himself. He stood up and eximed, ¡°My lord, this meeting is not a time for you to be on your gadget! Please focus on the matters of the empire.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Garope. ¡°Tell me this, Lord Garope. What is the most important problem the empire should be focusing on right now?¡±

    ¡°That would be the Ross Empire¡¯s war against us. I¡¯m sure that you aren¡¯t treating this as a mere joke. Right, my lord?¡± Garope briskly responded, obviously enraged.

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°Exactly. I¡¯m taking care of it right now.¡±

    Everyone was shocked by his response.

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Could you please rify what you mean by this, Your Highness? The Ross Empire is not a joke. You do hold a special position, so the Ross Empire cannot do much to you yourself, but you holding such a high position doesn¡¯t necessarily mean you have corresponding influence.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and his face lit up. With a loud chuckle, he said, ¡°Just in time.¡± As he spoke, he tapped on his gadget¡¯s disy. ¡°Please read this out, Lord Garope.¡±

    Garope examined the screen that was shown on Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, and his eyes widened as he read out, ¡°¡®The Soulseal Flowzone¡¯s Watermoon Vi has officially denounced the Ross Empire¡¯s campaign against the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire. Furthermore, they have stated that the Innerverse should not meddle in the matters of the Outerverse. The Ross Empire has used military force to suppress the Great Yu Empire, resulting in the loss of countless lives. The Watermoon Vi hereby officially warns the Ross Empire and asks it to halt its campaign and allow the universe to return to peace.¡¯¡±

    With a beep, another notification popped up. ¡°Ascension Flowzone¡¯s Xun Family has officially denounced the Ross Empire¡¯s campaign against the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire. Furthermore, they have stated that the Innerverse should not meddle in the matters of the Outerverse. The Ross Empire has used military force to suppress the Great Yu Empire, resulting in the loss of countless lives. The Xun Family hereby officially warns the Ross Empire and asks it to halt its campaign and allow the universe to return to peace.¡¯¡±

    These two notifications were rather stern warnings thatpletely shocked Garope speechless. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief, and everyone else was just as astonished as they all looked at the Royal Regent. ¡°Your Highness, this¡­¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just that others are also annoyed about this situation. The universe should be at peace and the Innerverse shouldn¡¯t be bullying the Outerverse, right?¡±

    Of course not, but many of the ministers were confused. It was very normal for organizations from the Innerverse to bully or even destroy organizations from the Outerverse. Peace in the universe? When had that ever existed? That im was utter crap. Also, these two notices were worded exactly the same, and the only difference between them were the names. Was it possible that Lu Yin had written this himself? Many were suspicious that this was actually what had happened.

    Lu Yin grinned. He had obviously written it himself and then collected on two oaths to get these notices published. It was impossible to use the oaths to force the Watermoon Vi or the Xun Family to wage war against the Ross Empire, but sending a warning wasn¡¯t a problem. When a couple more notices also popped up, the Ross Empire would be terrified. While they were confident that these organizations wouldn¡¯t actually intervene, they would still nheless have to stop the war after taking everything into consideration. This was because these two identical notices from powerful organizations were a clear indication that someone was trying to make their stance known, and it also meant that this person was more than what they seemed. The Ross Empire would surely be afraid of the possible consequences, because the universe was truly mysterious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped again, indicating that another notice had been published. ¡°The Outerverse¡¯s Bard Weave¡¯s Evenground Pce has officially denounced the Ross Empire¡¯s campaign against the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire. Furthermore, they have stated that the Innerverse should not meddle in the matters of the Outerverse. The Ross Empire has used military force to suppress the Great Yu Empire, resulting in the revolting loss of countless lives. The Evenground Pce hereby officially warns the Ross Empire and asks it to halt its campaign and allow the universe to return to peace.¡¯¡±

    This notice was worded slightly differently since the Evenground Pce was an organization from the Outerverse. However, its contents were very surprising since it included the phrase ¡°revolting.¡± With this, the Ross Empire would have no choice but to consider the possibility of several different Outerverse organizations banding together against them.

    After that, even more notices appeared, some from Innerverse organizations and others from Outerverse organizations.

    An hourter, all of the ministers in the hall were thoroughly stunned. A total of thirteen warning letters from thirteen different organizations had been posted, with each one addressed to the Ross Empire. The organizations came from both parts of the Human Domain, and some of them were no weaker than the Ross Empire. With so many of these notices being published, the Ross Empire would definitely need to consider withdrawing its troops if its leaders weren¡¯t stupid.

    The ministers looked up at Lu Yin, who was sitting idly next to the throne. For the first time, they had a feeling that this young Royal Regent should not be underestimated. He had single-handedly resolved this war that had affected the entire Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin kept looking at his gadget with a smile on his face, not minding the fact that all of the ministers were looking at him strangely. Nobody voiced any objections at this moment.

    Garope bowed low. ¡°Please forgive me for my earlier actions, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. You did well.¡± After saying that, he finally put his gadget down. He stood up, and his expression turned stern. ¡°The Ross Empire will probably try to end the war. But regardless of what conditions they put forth, reject everything.¡±

    One of the ministers below hastily asked, ¡°What if the Ross Empire demandspensation for the war?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, reject everything.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was cold.

    The minister was startled by the curt response and quickly bowed.

    ¡°This war was just a farce. We, the Great Yu Empire, have suffered the worst damage, and I¡¯m already being benevolent by not demandingpensation from them. They are now the ones in the passive position. Besides, with those thirteen warning letters, they won¡¯t want this war to wage on for any longer,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The rest acknowledged his words.

    ¡°Spread the news, announcing that the Great Yu Empire thanks everyone for their help. Say that the peace of the universe is what we of the Great Yu Empire value above all and that we hope to create a peaceful rtionship with everyone.

    ¡°Bring the residents that fled from Zenyu Star back and conduct a census of the poption. Console the family of those who died. I will use my status as Royal Regent topensate the families of anymoners who died.

    ¡°Arrange for the funeral of His Majesty, Undying Yushan. You must also construct a cenotaph for the members and descendants of the Yushan family.

    ¡°Repair the three rings of Zenyu Star and increase their defenses.

    ¡°Remove the traitor status from the second prince, Duke Yushan, and arrange for him to receive a royal funeral. Remove the traitor status from the Captain of the Seventh Squadron, Batson, and bury him as a captain. Remove the traitor status from the Captain of the Tenth Squadron, Felt, and bury him as a captain. Remove the traitor status from the Captain of the Eighth Squadron, Shalosh, and Captain of the Twelfth Squadron, Ban Jiu, as well.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gave at least twenty orders in one go, and the ministers hurriedly noted everything down.

    If Lu Yin had not managed to stop the war, then his orders would not have been carried out even if he had held a higher position. However, things were different now. He had managed to avert the empire¡¯s crisis with a wave of his hand, thus gaining the reputation of being mysterious, powerful, and worthy of respect. Nobody dared to go against any of his orders anymore.

    The meeting continued for a record-breaking three hours, which rarely happened during meetings between the Great Yu Empire¡¯s upper echelons. While everyone was leaving afterwards, Lu Yin asked Ban Jiu to stay behind.

    Huo Qingshan was very confused. Ban Jiu and Lu Yin had virtually never interacted in the past, but this person had been asked to stay behind for some reason.

    Ban Jiu also found this request very surprising. He wondered if it had something to do with Sicar, but that didn¡¯t seem very likely to him.

    ¡°I hear that you have some understanding of technology, Captain Ban Jiu. I have a question for you.¡± Lu Yin then walked closer to him and whispered, ¡°If I want to transfer an important document into the Ross Empire, is it possible to do it without letting them discover it?¡±

    Ban Jiu¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    Lu Yin handed him a document. ¡°Send this over to the Ross Empire and make sure that they don¡¯t find out where it¡¯s from. Can you do that?¡±

    Ban Jiu took a look at it, and his expression immediately changed. ¡°This is information regarding the military matters of the empire?¡±

    Lu Yin merely stared at Ban Jiu.

    Ban Jiu¡¯s first instinct was that Lu Yin was betraying the Great Yu Empire, but that didn¡¯t seem quite right. This youth before him stood above tens of thousands of people, and there was no need for him to betray them. Besides, with his position, there was no need to tter the Ross Empire either. ¡°Why are you sending this to the Ross Empire, Your Highness?¡±

 Chapter 295: The Yu Secret Art

    <h4>Chapter 295: The Yu Secret Art</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned frosty. ¡°This war has made us pay too high a price. This is revenge that must be carried out.¡±

    Ban Jiu was stunned. ¡°Your Majesty wants to use this military intelligence as an excuse to start the next war?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Ban Jiu before slowly asking, ¡°Does Captain Ban Jiu have no desire to enter the Innerverse?¡±

    Ban Jiu¡¯s pupils constricted, and he started to seriously assess Lu Yin. The scene of this person standing in front of the throne and retrieving the star chart reappeared in his mind. He had assumed that this youth was just another proud and arrogant person, but now, he knew that he was qualified to be this ambitious after learning more about him.

    With the Great Yu Empire¡¯s current ability, it was simply impossible tounch an expedition into the Innerverse while facing an enormous power like the Ross Empire. However, no one could predict the future with certainty, and the Great Yu Empire now had both Princess Wendy and Lu Yin. Even so, it would take dozens of years of preparation before their power would rise to the point where they could suppress the Ross Empire, which meant that this youth was making arrangements for dozens of years into the future!

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty, we can deliver this into the Ross Empire while avoiding detection,¡± Ban Jiu replied with a cold expression and an even icier tone that could cause others to shiver.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Good.¡±

    Lu Yin returned to a quiet corner of the pce where Undying Yushan had once taken him. This ce contained the trap that Undying Yushan had prepared to kill all the powerhouses from the Innerverse. But after the departure of those powerhouses, it had been concealed once again.

    Lu Yin moved underground, pushed the heavy metal door open, and entered the room.

    He hade to this location because he had seen ¡°Zishan¡± carved into the inside band of the ring of authority. The only ces rted to ¡°Zishan¡± were the King Zishan Pce and this ce inside of the imperial pce. These were the two locations that were rumored to hold the hidden treasures of the Zishan family.

    Undying Yushan had been a great strategist, and his vision and temperament had also been extraordinary. Because he was primarily concerned about the Innerverse¡¯s forces invading the empire, he had forced Duke Yushan to turn against him in an attempt to preserve a spark for the Great Yu Empire. Perhaps him giving this ring of authority to Lu Yin had been another attempt at preserving a spark of the empire.

    Lu Yin entered the spacious room and looked all around him before noticing a small depression in the northeastern corner. He retrieved the ring of authority and ced it within the depression, causing the walls to split open and four items to appear before him.

    Two of the items were memory chips while the other two were letters.

    Lu Yin retrieved the letters. Both had been written by Undying Yushan, and one had been addressed to Wendy Yushan¡ªwhich Lu Yin did not open¡ªand the other letter was addressed to him.

    ¡®Little Yin, if you are reading this letter, then it means that Royal Uncle is dead. Don¡¯t be surprised, and don¡¯t search for the Great Yu Empire¡¯s secrets. The less you know, the better. The Great Yu Empire is amon empire in a fringe weave that won¡¯t implicate any others. Remember this¡ªthe Great Yu Empire is very ordinary.

    ¡®One chip belongs to you, and the other belongs to Wendy. Your chip is the Yushan family¡¯s dowry for your marriage to Wendy.

    ¡®Do not reveal the contents of the chip. Let me solemnly remind you again; do not reveal it! At least, do not do so until you are capable of protecting yourself.

    ¡®One chip is sufficient to return the favor that This Emperor owes the Zishan Family. Cultivate diligently, and one day, you will be able to converse with the Ten Arbiters and even go to the Neoverse. That is where the peak of the human race resides.¡¯

    Lu Yin looked at the date at which the letter was written and saw that it had been written shortly after hisst departure from the Great Yu Empire, which showed that Undying Yushan had already been considering the possibility of his death back then. The Ross Empire had just been an ident, or rather, it had ended up being implicated through the Daynight n¡¯s resentment towards him. When he wrote this letter, Undying Yushan must not have been thinking about the Ross Empire but rather another power. Who? The Neohuman Alliance?

    Lu Yin could not guess what secrets the Great Yu Empire could be hiding that would cause even a Hunter like Undying Yushan to have a premonition of his own death.

    It was a pity that his family had not contacted him in a long time.

    He took the chip, inserted it into his gadget, and then looked at the disy. He thought that the chip would contain top secret information or some powerful technique. He was even hoping that it might actually be the Undying Manual that quite a few powers of the Innerverse were searching for. Instead, what appeared on the screen was not any technique or secret information, but rather somepletely iprehensible method for circting star energy.

    Lu Yin stared closely at the screen and then frowned. Strange, too strange. The written method of circting star energy went against all logic, and he could not understand it at all. Moreover, his body could not even attempt this method of circting the star energy, as it would cause many of the channels in his body to be clogged if he did so; it simply could not be circted at all!

    What in the world is this?

    The strange method of circting star energy soon vanished, and Lu Yin did not understand it at all. After the cirction method disappeared, several words appeared on the screen¡ªYu Secret Art - Void Transfer.

    The chip then shattered.

    Lu Yin was lost. What? Yu Secret Art? Void Transfer?

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, it¡¯s a secret art! Seventh Bro, you damn lucky bastard! No wonder the Great Yu Empire is full of trouble¡ªit was actually hiding a secret art!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted loudly as he became very agitated.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Speak clearly. What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know what a secret art is?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°Right, it makes sense that you don¡¯t. Those at your level shouldn¡¯t. You humans think that only those super powerhouses are qualified to know about secret arts. Even normal Hunters that have a power level over 100,000 wouldn¡¯t know about them, so it¡¯s not strange that you¡¯re clueless.¡±

    Lu Yin did not interrupt and continued listening silently.

    ¡°I can¡¯t clearly exin what these so-called secret arts are even if I try. Anyways, here I go: it¡¯s a unique method of circting energy that allows one to understand the universe, and they can even contain a method of circting star energy that allows one to disy unique innate gifts. These things are so rare that just hearing of one would make your hair stand on end, and their value is incalcble. That¡¯s as best as I can do,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin was lost. ¡°So are you saying that it¡¯s a man-made innate gift?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Innate gifts can¡¯t even begin topare to secret arts! You humans¡¯ innate gifts are indeed rare and wondrous, and possessing one is a huge edge in the path of cultivation. However, those innate gifts are not on the same level as a secret art. To put it another way, a secret art can only be created by a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrunk. ¡°A Progenitor?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, so you should understand just how precious and powerful this thing is now. A secret art can only be created by a Progenitor who has observed the changes of the universe. It is a very mysterious and powerful thing that a regr person can¡¯t evenprehend. Even if you memorize it and learn how to circte your energy ording to the method, you still won¡¯t be able to understand anything. Even if you were given a thousand or ten thousand years to ponder its mysteries, nothing would change. This stuff involves the deepest level of the universe, which is something that only a Progenitor can understand,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined with an excited look.

    Lu Yin breathed out and looked at the other chip. This should also contain the Yu Secret Art - Void Transfer.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange. If this family had this secret art, they shouldn¡¯t be too weak, but he died in this fringe Weave war? That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled by what the existence of this secret art signified and continued thinking out loud. ¡°Anyone who has practiced a secret art would find Realmbreaking as natural as drinking water. Throughout your entire Human Domain, there should be less than ten people who have grasped a secret art, which should be quite simr to your revered Ten Arbiters. Actually, if one or two out of the Ten Arbiters haveprehended a secret art, then that¡¯s already pretty good.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re that rare?¡±

    ¡°Bro, this is a secret art that we¡¯re talking about! A Progenitor can only create maybe one or two of these throughout their entire life. Only two or three Progenitors have even been birthed across the entire universe, so how many secret arts do you think there are? Don¡¯t assume that this is something that can be easily spread, as a secret art isn¡¯t easily learned. You should know about the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords¡ªa secret art¡¯s inheritance is ten times more difficult than that, and that¡¯s not even mentioning the fact that no one under an Explorer can cultivate one. You can only imagine how difficult it is to sessfully learn it.¡±

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and recalled the secret art¡¯s method of circting star energy. He had memorized the method and the route, but it would indeed be difficult to learn it, as there were many clogs in his energy channels.

    The body would undergo huge changes when one broke through to be an Explorer. Perhaps he would be able to circte his energy ording to the secret technique at that time.

    ¡°So does that mean that I can¡¯t use it even if I¡¯m able to master it now?¡± Lu Yin helplessly asked.

    The Ghost Monkey was dismissive, ¡°Master? You must be kidding! If a secret art could be mastered that easily, then experts would be mass-produced by the boatload! You can probably at most memorize this secret art¡¯s cirction path, but if you want to sessfully circte your energy through that path, then you have a long, bitter path ahead of you.¡± The Ghost Monkey suddenly grew excited. ¡°Seventh Bro, following you¡¯s not so bad after all! Although it¡¯s slightly more dangerous, I¡¯ve gained a lot as well, especially after I discovered your shocking innate gift.¡±

    ¡°What innate gift?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s brows leaped up. This idiotic monkey should not have discovered his secret die!

    ¡°You broke through realms at the border warfront and defeated an Explorer as easily as drinking water. As for your lockbreaking aplishments, youprehended the Secret Sidestep! Now, you¡¯ve even gotten your hands on a secret art! I feel like I¡¯m watching a new dazzling star of the universe being born! However, once your situation is made known, you¡¯ll definitely end up on the Heaven-Devouring List, and then you¡¯ll be dead meat.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°The high-profile Ten Arbiters are fine, and they are much more threatening than I am.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different; the Ten Arbiters are too strong. Although their names are on the Heaven-Devouring List, no one dares to attack them. Those ten arepletely immeasurable, and who knows what heights they¡¯ve attained. People like you are different, and many human geniuses die every year. Once your name is ced on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List, countless beasts wille for your life.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I¡¯m still not on that list?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe not, but I can¡¯t be too sure. Your performance at the border warfront was too brilliant, and you managed to gain an Honor Point after just two months. Just that level of contribution is enough for the Astral Beast Domain to make note of you. Be careful!¡±

    ¡°As an astral beast yourself, you should be able to sense when any others attack me. Don¡¯t forget that you can¡¯t survive if I¡¯m dead since I¡¯ll definitely kill you first.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. All you know to do is threaten me! Hurry up and cultivate more so that you can break into the Explorer realm and begin grasping this secret art! The universe isrge, and you can head to the other regions. That way, it won¡¯t be as easy for you to die even if the Ten Arbiters want to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cloudy. Breaking into the Explorer realm was a cultivator¡¯s greatest hurdle. He would never forget the obstacles he had encountered while breaking into the Melder realm, and because of that, he felt that it would not be easy to reach the Explorer realm.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Right, I should try and see if my die¡¯s Enhance can upgrade the grade of this chip. Lu Yin grew excited at this prospect and immediately screened off the Ghost Monkey without any hesitation.

    The more time that passed between each use of his die, the greater the probability of him rolling the desired oue. Perhaps the innate gift of the die was somehow connected to his heart, as it had been born with his body.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and his die appeared, emitting the same faint radiance. He tapped it, and it quickly spun before eventually stopping on five pips¡ªGift Copy. He instantly became annoyed; where could he find a cultivator with an innate gift in just ten seconds? Hold on! His right arm shook, and he removed the screen blocking the Ghost Monkey¡¯s senses. Instantly, his head was filled with the Ghost Monkey¡¯s scolding. ¡°Outrageous! I just shared so many secrets with you, but you dare to screen me off! Too shameless¡­¡±

 Chapter 296: Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 296: Meeting</h4>

    Lu Yin pressed his hand against the monkey tattoo on his arm, which the Ghost Monkey found rather strange. ¡°What are you doing? I didn¡¯t scold you on purpose, so don¡¯t take it to heart! Don¡¯t hurt me¡­¡±

    Lu Yin blocked the monkey off again when a shadow appeared on the fifth face of the die. The shadow represented the Ghost Monkey¡¯s innate gift.

    It made a lot of sense that he could borrow the monkey¡¯s gift, and now, he could finally make use of rolling Gift Copy. It would no longer be a waste to get this roll.

    After that, Lu Yin took out a star crystal to restore the die before rolling it once more.

    He wasn¡¯t disappointed this time. The die stopped on three: Enhance. With this, he was even more certain of his theory¡ªthe more time that passed between his rolls, the more likely it was for him tond the number that he wanted. Lu Yin thus made the decision to not roll the die too frequently; it should only be used when absolutely necessary.

    Two tes of light appeared, one top of the other. Lu Yin took a deep breath and ced the chip on the uppermost light te. He then took out five thousand star crystals, ced it inside, and stared intensely at the chip.

    Ten seconds passed, but there was no reaction whatsoever. The chip didn¡¯t appear to shift at all.

    Lu Yin was speechless. It had cost him 300,000 star crystals to upgrade the four-stage formcast model. 5,000 crystals would have made it shift 1/60th of the way down. Although that might not sound like much, the change would have at least been noticeable. However, the chip had seemingly not moved at all. Either the chip could not be upgraded, or the amount needed to upgrade it was so terrifying that 5,000 crystals wasn¡¯t enough for it to even budge.

    It was a secret art created by a Progenitor, after all. It did make sense for it to be unupgradable.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to wave his hand and dispel theyers, he suddenly recalled something and took out five fruits from his cosmic ring.

    These were the fruits that he had picked during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam. Lulu had given him five of the fruits that they had found, but he still had no idea what they could be used for.

    Since they had been found in a ce like that, they probably weren¡¯t that valuable. Still, he had nothing better to upgrade, so he might as well improve them.

    Lu Yin ced them on the topyer and then flung out a thousand star crystals. The fruits dropped quickly through bothyers, and soon enough, the light yellow sheen on the fruits seemed to intensify and reach a new level. The thousand star crystals that had been needed to enhance the fruits couldn¡¯t even be considered much to Lu Yin.

    These things really aren¡¯t very valuable. Lu Yin pondered things over and then flung another handful of star crystals into the light tes. With a thud, all five fruits dropped to the ground after being upgraded once again. The sheen on them had transformed from a light yellow to bright yellow. Again, again, again!

    After another thousand star crystals were consumed, the five fruits¡¯ sheen had changed to a golden color and were releasing a light fragrance.

    Lu Yin put another thousand star crystals in. This time, the five fruits weren¡¯tpletely upgraded. In other words, he now needed to use more than a thousand star crystals for each level he wanted to raise their quality by.

    He still had about five hundred star crystals left, so he threw those in andpleted the upgrade.

    The golden sheen became even more apparent.

    Lu Yin stored the fruits away. He had no idea what they were used for and should probably get them appraised, but for now, it was time to leave.

    While Lu Yin was doing this in the secret room, news that he had be the Royal Regent had spread. Even the Astral Combat Academy had heard the news, causing Lu Yin¡¯s reputation to grow even further.

    However, he was merely the Royal Regent of an empire in a frontier weave, which was nowhere near the level of status he enjoyed as a member of the Council of the Astral Academy. This news merely caused a few ripples in the academy.

    However, this same news had a very different effect in the Frostwave Weave.

    The Ross Empire had already withdrawn all its troops. When they had threatened the Great Yu Empire forpensation costs, the Blind Monk had bluntly told them that the Great Yu Empire would continue to fight if need be. Themander of the Ross Empire, Angelo, was at a total loss in this situation.

    Faced with the pressure from the thirteen organizations, the Ross Empire had ultimately chosen to simply leave the Frostwave Weave.

    After the Ross Empire¡¯s retreat, the Great Yu Empire was finally able to heave a sigh of relief as attention shifted back to the entirety of the Frostwave Weave.

    Firesmelt was one of the more uniques in the Frostwave Weave, as the entire was constantly engulfed in mes. Although it was only a single, it had managed to give birth to quite a few powerhouses. Even the Great Yu Empire was cautious of them.

    It could be said that, in the entire Frostwave Weave, Firesmelt was one of the greatest enemies that stood in the way of the Great Yu Empire unifying the weave.

    The¡¯s mes filled the skies and covered the ground. A person with his hands sped behind his back frowned at his gadget. He suddenly snorted, causing mes to shoot out of his nostrils. At that moment, all of the mes on the entire zed more fiercely.

    The man was Yan Wujiu, the master of Firesmelt.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that King Zishan has the ability to cooperate with thirteen organizations to force out the Ross Empire. He¡¯s good,¡± Yan Wujiu said brashly, the mes calming down as he spoke.

    There was a Cruiser, Yan Chong, standing next to Yan Wujiu who was simrly annoyed. ¡°Since the Ross Empire has withdrawn, why don¡¯t we move in, my lord? Undying Yushan is finally dead.¡±

    ¡°Undying Yushan may be gone, but there¡¯s still Huo Qingshan, the Blind Monk, Xueshan Auna, and Wendy Yushan, and not a single one of them is easy to deal with. Huo Qingshan in particr is a very tricky opponent. He¡¯s very mysterious. I could tell at least that much during the war with the ze Realm. He¡¯s definitely more than he seems,¡± Yan Wujiu solemnly said.

    He paused, and then seemed to suddenly recall something. ¡°Is that girl still here?¡±

    ¡°Are you perhaps referring to Jenny Auna, my lord?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s here waiting for the young master.¡±

    ¡°Contact Feng and have him deal with her. If possible, have him marry her.¡±

    Yan Chong was surprised. ¡°The person that the young master has affections for is Wendy Yushan.¡±

    Yan Wujiu snorted. ¡°Wendy Yushan is not someone who we can handle. She already has plenty of people pursuing her, and those people all have powerful connections. Even if Feng manages to be a member of the Outerverse Youth Council, he still might not be able to handle pursuing her. If he marries Jenny Auna, however, we¡¯ll have the Auna family in our hands. Xueshan Auna is a rather tricky fellow, and he also controls the Ninth Imperial Squadron as well.¡±

    ¡°But this would be a clear move against the Great Yu Empire. We had the young master reach out to Jenny Auna in the past because of the Daynight n, but if we actually do this, they won¡¯t give us any aid.¡± Yan Chong sounded very worried.

    Yan Wujiu could only reply, ¡°When ites down to it, we¡¯re just pawns to them. However, just because we are a pawn doesn¡¯t mean that we have no choices. Since the Daynight n is gone, we can now do as we wish. Go and have Feng promise to marry the girl. Then, contact any organizations willing to wage war against the Great Yu Empire. I refuse to believe that the Great Yu Empire can survive if the rest of the Frostwave Weave works together.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±

    After walking out from the underground area, Lu Yin nced behind him. He might never return to this ce again.

    The most important military power of the Great Yu Empire was the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and the most important connections that the empire held were with the Huo and Auna families. It was time to appease those families.

    Lu Yin left the pce, and Bronsen immediately appeared before him. ¡°I will protect you, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Bronsen hastily bowed and looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back. Who would have ever thought that the person holding the most power in the empire would end up being this young man who hadn¡¯t even been born in the Great Yu Empire?

    Bronsen still remembered the first time he had ever protected Lu Yin. Back then, the youth had merely been a Sentinel, and he could have been casually crushed to death at any given moment. Nobody had paid him much attention, and they were all waiting for him to screw up. The fact that he had helped Sigmund Mathers had nearly made him aughing stock among the upper echelons of the empire.

    Even at that time, however, this young man had been able to take care of any crises that came his way. Even as a Sentinel, this youth had been able to strike terror into Sicar. And now, Lu Yin had be so strong that even Bronsen had to admit that he was not a match for Lu Yin. How long had it been since those first days? Merely two years.

    This young man had changed so quickly.

    The Huo residence wasn¡¯t too far away from the imperial pce. When Lu Yin arrived, Huo Qingshan personally came out and greeted the Royal Regent. Behind Huo Qingshan stood Huo Xiaoling, whom Lu Yin had seen before, as well as an adorable little girl.

    ¡°Greetings to His Majesty.¡± Huo Qingshan immediately bowed, his tone humble.

    Huo Xiaoling only gave Lu Yin a look, but she bowed as well.

    The little girl clutched Huo Xiaoling¡¯s clothes curiously and bowed as well, imitating the older girl.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite. Once we are out of the throne room, you are my elder,¡± Lu Yin politely responded. He definitely would not presume that he stood above Huo Qingshan just because he was the Royal Regent. The main reasons why the man had acknowledged him was because of the ring of authority and because Lu Yin had lived in the Great Yu Empire for a while. A Hunter was powerful no matter where one went, and as such, Huo Qingshan certainly had the right to disregard Lu Yin¡¯s tiny bit of local authority.

    Huo Qingshan gravely said, ¡°Please,e this way, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and nced at Huo Xiaoling. Compared to the time during the Earth trials, this girl had be more mature and broken through to be a Limiteer. Lu Yin was rather surprised by her progress. The fact that she had cultivated so far at her young age meant that she was considerably talented. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling noticed Lu Yin staring at her, and after recalling what her father had said, she blushed. ¡°It has.¡±

    Some timeter, Lu Yin was led into the residence.

    It wasn¡¯t very big. Compared to the Auna family¡¯s estate, this residence didn¡¯t even seem like it belonged to a wealthy family.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be doing very well, Huo Qingshan,¡± Lu Yin said as he surveyed the surroundings.

    Huo Qingshan smiled congenially. ¡°There are only a few members of this family living here. Having a small home makes things convenient.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that Huo Qingshan¡¯s wife had passed away years ago and that the man had never tried to remarry. The Huo n¡¯s main family now consisted solely of Huo Qingshan and his two daughters. The rest of the Huo n, such as Huo Zhong, lived elsewhere.

    The most powerful family in the Great Yu Empire only had three people with a pure bloodline. This was something that nobody would believe. Beyond that, the family¡¯s sessor was female.

    Lu Yin had mainly visited the Huo family because he wanted to get Huo Qingshan¡¯s full support. Lu Yin wanted the Hunter¡¯s support not only because of the ring of authority, but also because Lu Yin wanted Huo Qingshan¡¯s personal support.

    During the time he had been in the Astral Combat Academy, Lu Yin had seen all kinds of organizations. While most of the students there were not stronger than him, many of them had connections that allowed them to send experts out as they wished. This was something that Lu Yin could not do. However if the Great Yu Empire gave Lu Yin its full support, then he would be able to grow more quickly. Of course, one thing to consider was that if he reached a position that was too high, the Great Yu Empire might not be able to keep up and would instead start dragging him down.

    ¡°Is it difficult for a Limiteer to break through and be an Explorer?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan nodded and seriously answered, ¡°Everyone has a different body and a different cultivation path. Simrly, breaking through the threshold of the Explorer realm is different for everyone. Given your current abilities, it will be much more difficult for you to be an Explorer than it was for me and most other Explorers. However, once you seed, you¡¯ll obtain a great deal of rewards and be much more powerful than your peers.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. ¡°I heard that Explorers and above will all experience something called a period of exhaustion.¡±

    Lu Yin had known about this issue for a long time, but he had never asked about it since it had never seemed applicable to him. But now, it was about time for him to learn more about it, seeing as he was just a single step away from that realm.

 Chapter 297: A Mysterious Sign

    <h4>Chapter 297: A Mysterious Sign</h4>

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s face turned incredibly grim. ¡°To be an Explorer, one¡¯s body must be adjusted to the universe, and the universe¡¯s cycle primarily depends on star energy. This is true for the human body as well. If your star energy cirction is not fast enough to support your body¡¯s regr functions, then you will undergo something called the ¡®period of exhaustion.¡¯ Once you pass through that period, you¡¯ll be fine. However, if you don¡¯t manage to get past it, then you¡¯ll die.¡±

    ¡°So is it impossible to get past this period by absorbing the ambient star energy in the universe?¡±

    ¡°No. The human body is too smallpared to the universe, and most Explorers cannot absorb star energy quickly enough to match the cycle of the universe. Thus, they will typically search out star crystals or some sort of powerful technique so that they can absorb enough star energy quickly enough to match the speed of the universe¡¯s cycle. That is also one of the reasons why star crystals tend to be scarce.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Huo Qingshan chatted for a long time, and as a result, Lu Yin gained a much better understanding of what being an Explorer entailed. The two of them also grew much closer.

    The more they chatted, the more surprised Huo Qingshan became. The amount of power that Lu Yin had was shocking. He had five-lined battle force, could withstand 130 times the usual amount of gravity, had an extreme speed technique that could tear through space, and a shockingprehension talent, seeing as he was able to imitate battle techniques after seeing them just once. This young man gave Huo Qingshan the chills. It felt impossible that a monster like him hade from the Outerverse.

    In her younger days, Wendy Yushan had cultivated at the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak to reach her current power level. But inparison, Lu Yin had still been struggling on Earth just two years ago. In these two years, he had climbed up to his current level. It was astounding.

    Lu Yin grinned slightly. This amazement was the effect that he had intended to have. The more valuable he seemed, the more support Huo Qingshan would be willing to give him.

    ¡°Have you heard of the Lockbreaker Society?¡± Lu Yin asked. He wanted to show off even more.

    Huo Qingshan nodded. ¡°Of course. The Lockbreaker Society is an immense organisation in the universe, and every Lockbreaker is considered a treasure of the human race that should never be humiliated, killed, or undermined. If any Lockbreaker is humiliated or killed, then the entire Lockbreaker Society will take revenge on their behalf. They have far too many powerhouses.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct. Do we have any Lockbreakers in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Huo Qingshan nced at Lu Yin. ¡°I heard from His Majesty that you are a Lockbreaker yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, but Lockbreaking is too dangerous, and it would be great if I could speak with some Lockbreakers from the empire.¡±

    ¡°I heard that there were a few in the past. By the way, may I know if you would be willing to divulge your current Lockbreaker ranking?¡± Huo Qingshan asked curiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m a two star Bright-Eyed Junior Lockbreaker,¡± Lu Yin confidently stated.

    Huo Qingshan was shocked. ¡°Two stars? You¡¯ve made achievements already?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and eyed Huo Qingshan in surprise. ¡°Didn¡¯t His Majesty tell you?¡±

    Huo Qingshan shook his head and sighed in admiration at Lu Yin. ¡°You truly are talented, Your Highness. Not only are you personally powerful, but you are also a Lockbreaker with achievements. There is nobody in the Outerverse who canpare to you. Even Princess Wendy Yushan only had her amazing strength when she was your age. She has no talent for Lockbreaking.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Princess Wendy is in the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings and isn¡¯t someone who I canpare to.

    ¡°Have you heard of Honor Points, Huo Qingshan?¡±

    Huo Qingshan stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you saying¡­ that you have Honor Points as well?¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t know how to use it. I just have one.¡±

    Huo Qingshan was rendered speechless.

    The Ghost Monkey couldn¡¯t take it any longer. ¡°Stop ying stupid, Seventh Bro! You¡¯ve said more than enough. I think that he¡¯s gone stupid from hearing everything that you have to say.¡±

    ¡°How about I give you a tour of my home, Your Highness?¡± Huo Qingshan did not want to discuss aplishments anymore. He really could not understand this young man; he was a two star Bright-Eyed Junior Lockbreaker who had Honor Points! If the conversation kept going, then he had a feeling that Lu Yin might scare him even more. He also had a suspicion that the Great Yu Empire would not be enough to contain this young man.

    Huo Qingshan was well aware that Lu Yin was already a member of the Council of Astral Academy and also that he had also joined the Outerverse Youth Council after getting first ce in the Outerverse trials. Those were horrifying results! Any one of of this youth¡¯s identities could scare anyone stupid.

    ¡°By the way, I suddenly remembered this¡ªI have something urgent to attend to. You can let Xiaoling give you a tour,¡± Huo Qingshan said, excusing himself.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°If you¡¯re busy, then you should get back to work. Xiaoling and I already know each other anyways.¡±

    Huo Qingshan hastily left.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter as he looked at his palm. His many identities were indeed terrifying, but they were still far from enough to satisfy him. He had yet to reach a point where even the Daynight n feared him. That would indicate that his influence had truly reached an untouchable level. To that end, being a highly regarded Lockbreaker and umting Honor Points were methods to achieve his goal. However, Honor Points were too difficult to obtain, so the only way for him to move forward was as a Lockbreaker. It seemed that he needed to spend some more time honing his Lockbreaking.

    Since his mind was on Lockbreaking, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the Shenwu Continent. The five sourceboxes that had trapped everyone in the Tower of Resonating Light had been setup in a simr manner to the five sealings that had sealed the continent away. He had had a very terrifying premonition back then that the five sealings were five unbelievably huge sourceboxes.

    Lu Yin shook his head once more. That can¡¯t be possible. No sourcebox can be that massive. However, the Shenwu Continent did seem to have quite a few sourceboxes, and there had even been two standing guard at the entrance of the Ming Constables¡¯ headquarters.

    ¡°Your Highness.¡± Huo Xiaoling came over and bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grinned at her. ¡°We¡¯ve only seen each other once since I came to the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling nodded, recalling how Bazeer had humiliated Lu Yin during the banquet back then. Bazeer was probably feeling rather uneasy now that the young man who he had humiliated back then had caught up to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a tour of the Huo family residence, Your Highness,¡± Huo Xiaoling said.

    Lu Yin nodded. When he stood beside this young woman, he unconsciously smelled the fragrance that wafted off of her. It was quite different from both Ming Yan and Madam Nn¡¯s. Huo Xiaoling¡¯s fragrance seemed to have a bit of heat to it, though he didn¡¯t know if it was real or imagined because of her fiery red locks.

    Huo Xiaoling¡¯s heart raced. The reason why her father had put her in this situation was quite obvious. He wanted her to interact with Lu Yin, and if possible, marry him.

    She wasn¡¯t romantically interested in anyone at the present, and she was totally fine with marrying this young man, but what were Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts? Did he want to marry her? Huo Xiaoling had no idea.

    ¡°I seem to remember that you have an innate gift. Is that correct, Ms. Ling?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Xiaoling nodded. ¡°My innate gift is a fire phoenix.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed in admiration. ¡°You have an innate gift and are a Limiteer as well. Did you know? With your qualifications, you¡¯d actually be able to join the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Huo Xiaoling looked up at Lu Yin and mulled over this information. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave my father.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. It was a bit of a pity since the girl had a fire phoenix as her innate gift, but it was normal for a daughter to not want to leave her family. What if he had a family as well? His family treated him very well, but they weren¡¯t his true family, and he hadn¡¯t actually been born to them. From his previous memories, the one ce where he had felt the most at home was Earth. Perhaps it would be a good idea to return to Earth at some point with some powerhouses.

    Behind the two of them, a little figure kept following them, sometimes hiding and sometimes peeking at them.

    Lu Yin had known that she was there from the very beginning due to his domain. However, he hadn¡¯t told Huo Qingshan about this because it was important that he leave something as a hidden trump card.

    ¡°Is the person behind us your little sister?¡± Lu Yin asked, finding the little shadow hrious.

    Huo Xiaoling was surprised and immediately turned around. She turned grim. ¡°What are you doing, Xiaoxiao?¡±

    The little girl yelped and tentatively walked out with her head hanging down low.

    Huo Xiaoling walked over, red at her, and then asked again, ¡°What are you doing, Xiaoxiao?¡±

    Lu Yin strolled over, chuckling. ¡°Is your name Huo Xiaoxiao?¡±

    Huo Xiaoxiao looked up at him, her gaze a mix of curiosity and a bit of fear. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Huo Xiaoxiao.¡±

    ¡°How old are you?¡± Lu Yin gently asked.

    Huo Xiaoxiao whispered, ¡°Seven.¡±

    ¡°Are you following us because you¡¯re worried about your sister?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    Huo Xiaoxiao nodded. She peeked at Huo Xiaoling and then ducked her head once again.

    Huo Xiaoling gazed at Huo Xiaoxiao gently and picked her up. With an apologetic expression, she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness. She¡¯s still young.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°I like children. Their innocence is always charming. You have a good sister.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling smiled in response. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    An hourter, Lu Yin left the Huo family¡¯s residence. As he left, Huo Qingshan and the rest stood up to see him off.

    ¡°What are your thoughts on him, Xiaoling?¡± Huo Qingshan asked as he watched Lu Yin leave.

    Huo Xiaoling pondered over it. ¡°We didn¡¯t really talk much, so I can¡¯t tell.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your first impression of him?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling blinked. ¡°He¡¯s decisive, ruthless, sly, talented, and willing to do anything to achieve his goals.¡±

    Huo Qingshan was astounded. ¡°Sly? He¡¯s willing to do anything for his goals?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling told him about thest battle during Earth¡¯s trial. ¡°This person never lets go of any opportunity he can find, and he knows how to make use of everything around him. He¡¯s quite scary.¡±

    Huo Qingshan burst intoughter. ¡°That¡¯s great! How can the Great Yu Empire survive if the one ruling it was a kind person? He¡¯ll do well as Royal Regent.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling did not speak any further. She had merely told her father her impression of Lu Yin. Currently, what kind of person he truly was had nothing to do with her, but in the future, perhaps it could be relevant if she ended up marrying him.

    After parting from the Huo family, Lu Yin grew sullen. He had discovered something unique in the Huo family¡¯s residence. It was a strange symbolposed of a blue ball and a pair of wings. He had never seen the symbol before.

    The symbol had been hidden very well, and if not for his domain, he wouldn¡¯t have discovered it. Huo Qingshan certainly had no idea that Lu Yin had seen it.

    If the symbol had been ced in a very obvious ce, then it might not have caught his attention. However, the Huo family had instead carefully concealed it. More importantly, Lu Yin had just searched this symbol up on his gadget, but there was no information about this symbol avable anywhere. The Huo family clearly held a secret that nobody was aware of.

    Lu Yin had initially assumed that they were just an ordinary noble family, but he had unexpectedly discovered that they were hiding something. Lu Yin was very ufortable with this new information. He disliked knowing that there were variables outside his control in the empire. He was now the person in charge of the Great Yu Empire, and he could not tolerate the fact that the Huo family had ties to another organization.

    However, there was nothing that he could do about it for now. Lu Yin took a deep breath and disregarded the difort brewing within him and instead looked into the distance, towards where the Auna family¡¯s estatey. He had originally been nning on visiting the Auna family right after the Huo family, but now, after thinking things over, he instead returned to the Zishan residence.

    The Auna family had let him down in the matter concerning Jenny Auna. If he rushed over too quickly, then it would make it too obvious that he needed the Auna family¡¯s support. They would definitely try to make use of that weakness if he made the wrong move.

    He would wait for them to visit him. If they didn¡¯t¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed dangerously. The Auna family will no longer need to exist. He¡¯d have the two sides fight each other to the death. Huo Qingshan would be his tool to control the Auna family. Simrly, the Auna family could temporarily be used to gain a bit of control over the Huo family. Lu Yin hoped that the Auna family would not disappoint him.

 Chapter 298: Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 298: Attitude</h4>

    For now, Ban Jiu was the only one whom Lu Yin could trust. This was because Undying Yushan had specifically sent this captain to protect Duke Yushan, which showed the captain¡¯s reliability. Actually, there was another captain whom Lu Yin could trust: Liuying Zishan.

    It was time to have a chat with this captain who also held the Zishan name. Now that the Thirteenth Squadron came to mind, Lu Yin wondered if Da Lei had joined it as well.

    Liuying Zishan¡¯s residence was not far from the King Zishan residence, so Lu Yin had Bronsen take him to the captain¡¯s home.

    Lu Yin was stunned when he saw the mansion ahead of him; the gate had the exact same design as the gate in the Zishan residence.

    Liuying Zishan stood silently before the main entrance. She was naturally very pretty, and even from a distance, her figure was sensuous and alluring. Lu Yin secretly sighed in admiration.

    ¡°The Thirteenth Captain, Liuying Zishan, pays her respects to the Royal Regent,¡± Liuying Zishan said as she greeted Lu Yin.

    ¡°Captain Liuying, there¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡±

    She looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Does the Royal Regent have any business with me?¡±

    Lu Yin looked towards the entrance of the residence. ¡°It¡¯s a familiaryout, but could I have a tour of the premises?¡±

    Liuying Zishan fell silent, but then nodded soon after. ¡°Please,e in.¡±

    A familiar man appeared before Lu Yin at the entrance. Lu Yin knew this young man from when he had first rolled six pips¡ªPossession. This young man was Da Lei, and he had been a guard in Liuying Zishan¡¯s residence. It turned out that he had joined the Thirteenth Squadron after all.

    Lu Yin and Da Lei looked at each other. For some reason, Da Lei felt that Lu Yin was very familiar, as if they had met before, even though he had no recollection of this person in his memory.

    Liuying Zishan saw the two men exchange nces and said, ¡°Da Lei, this is the King Zishan Lu Yin who rmended you to me.¡±

    Da Lei was pleasantly surprised and immediately saluted. ¡°Da Lei thanks King Zishan for his grace in saving my life.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. When he had Possessed this person, Da Lei had been wanted dead by powerful beings on his. If not for Lu Yin, then Da Lei definitely would have died there. That had also been the first time that Lu Yin had ever contacted Liuying Zishan. The two men could be considered to have been brought together by fate.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be overly polite. Captain Liuying, let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin said. He patted Da Lei¡¯s shoulder but then seemed to move on as he entered the mansion.

    Da Lei actually wanted to chat with Lu Yin quite badly. He truly wanted to know how Lu Yin had discovered the dangers that had been targeting him and also why Lu Yin had even bothered to contact Liuying Zishan on his behalf. But it was clear from that interaction that Lu Yin was not interested in chatting with Da Lei; thus, the guard could only helplessly withdraw.

    Liuying Zishan also wanted to understand more about this matter, but it was not convenient for her to inquire since Lu Yin had not made any furtherments.

    Lu Yin naturally did not want to chat with Da Lei. There was no logical reason for him to have been aware of Da Lei, and the actual answer was that his innate gift was too ridiculous.

    The Liuying Zishan mansion was smaller than the Huo family¡¯s, but since she lived here alone, such an area was sufficient.

    ¡°The Royal Regent must have something on your mind for you to havee here,¡± Liuying Zishan probingly asked as she followed behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and stared at her. ¡°You have nothing to say to me?¡±

    Liuying Zishan looked at Lu Yin and slowly bowed. ¡°Thank you, for the Zishan family¡¯s kindness in saving me. Liuying shows her thanks.¡±

    Right as she was about to kneel down, Lu Yin hurriedly propped her up. ¡°Captain Liuying, there¡¯s no need for that.¡±

    ¡°If not for the Zishan Family, I would have died long ago, and in a very miserable manner too. I¡¯ve always wanted to repay that kindness, but the Zishan family had withered away by the time I developed my strength. Hence, I could only change my surname to Zishan and try to preserve some of the Zishan family¡¯s reputation. I hope King Zishan doesn¡¯t take offense to my actions.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Many people had said that Liuying Zishan had changed her surname to Zishan in order to acquire the treasures of the Zishan family, but it had long since been proven that the Zishan treasure was a lie. Despite that, she had not gone back on her original actions, proving her sincerity.

    Liuying Zishan was a proud woman and did not see a need to exin her actions. She only did what she felt was right. This woman was quite admirable.

    Lu Yin knew that he should not y games when faced with such a forthright person. ¡°Captain Liuying, the Great Yu Empire is currently facing both internal and external troubles. I don¡¯t know your answer, but could you help me?¡±

    She solemnly nodded. ¡°The Royal Regent should feel free to ry his instructions.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll thank you in advance.¡±

    Two days quickly passed by, and during that time, Lu Yin had personally visited the Huo family, Liuying Zishan, Ban Jiu, the research base, and even many of the ministers. However, he had not sought out the Auna family yet, which made them feel rather uneasy.

    Xueshan Auna was gloomy. The matter of Jenny Auna had be a barrier between his family and Lu Yin. The Auna family would never be able to raise their heads if they did not resolve this issue.

    If it were only Lu Yin, then Xueshan Auna would have been confident in suppressing the youth. After all, he was a Hunter. However, Lu Yin¡¯s status was just too exalted. Even without considering his support in the Ten Arbiters Council, just his status as a Lockbreaker was enough to prevent the Auna family from rushing into action. Yet on top of everything else, Lu Yin also had the support of the Huo family, which gave Xueshan Auna a splitting headache.

    ¡°Brother, it¡¯s been two days. He¡¯s even visited Garope, but not our Auna family. What is the Royal Regent trying to say?¡± Rocky Auna was unhappy.

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes twinkled, seemingly thinking of something.

    Rocky Auna looked up. ¡°Brother, the Royal Regent is most likely dissatisfied with our Auna Family. Will he take action against us?¡±

    Xueshan Auna shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s not that foolish. He¡¯s waiting for us to seek him out.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°For us to approach and admit our mistake. The matter of Jenny was not settled in a satisfactory manner by our Auna family. If he personally visits us under such circumstances, then he¡¯ll either be seen as someone foolish who doesn¡¯t care about his prestige, or viewed as someone who can endure many things while being extremely conniving. He¡¯s still young, and his tolerance shouldn¡¯t have reached that extent. Thus, waiting for us to apologize to him is his natural temperament.¡±

    Rocky Auna frowned. ¡°Then let me go.¡±

    Xueshan Auna did not reply, as he was still mulling over another matter. The previous day, Yan Wujiu had contacted him, expressing that he wanted Yan Feng to marry Jenny Auna. This request had caused Xueshan Auna to be very hesitant. If he agreed, then his Auna family would be tying their fate to the Firesmelt, which would be equivalent to betraying the Great Yu Empire. But disagreeing, on the other hand, meant that Jenny would never be able to return to the family. This was a horrible dilemma. But even worse, if Jenny disappeared, news would spread and discredit Lu Yin. At that time, the Auna family would no longer be able to establish itself in the Great Yu Empire.

    It initially seemed as if agreeing to Yan Wujiu¡¯s request was the better option, but the Firesmelt¡¯s environment was not suitable for the Auna family either. If they all moved there, then the Auna family would gradually wither away, just like the Zishan family.

    It was a difficult choice, as both options involved steep drops.

    Xueshan Auna sighed as his expression turnedplex. Sometimes, it was not good to think too much about these kinds of decisions. It was difficult to deal with this youth Lu Yin, though he could hope that this youth was not a scheming person and that he would allow the Auna family to safely ovee this crisis. However, Xueshan Auna also wished for this new Royal Regent to be a great strategist who could bring the empire to even greater heights.

    ¡°Rocky, I recall that Millie should be of age now,¡± Xueshan Auna suddenly said.

    Rocky Auna was stunned, but he nheless replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes twinkled.

    Rocky Auna¡¯s face changed. ¡°Brother, are you going to try to marry Millie off to the Royal Regent?¡±

    Xueshan Auna had a determined expression. ¡°When our two families arranged this marriage, no names were mentioned. Thus, Millie can be treated as the same as Jennie.¡±

    ¡°With the Royal Regent¡¯s status, he cannot possibly marry my daughter. It must be the family¡¯s eldest daughter,¡± Rocky Auna replied in shock.

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s expression became pained. ¡°Go and bring me the family register.¡±

    A hint of understanding dawned on Rocky Auna, and his face paled. He asked in disbelief, ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve made your decision?¡±

    Xueshan Auna closed his eyes. ¡°Yes. This is the only way we can negate the Royal Regent¡¯s wrath and allow our Auna family to continue living on in the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Bu-¡±

    ¡°No need to say any more. For the Auna family, sacrificing one daughter is nothing. Now, go.¡±

    Rocky Auna grudgingly left the office.

    That night, at the King Zishan residence, Lu Yin¡¯s hands were sped behind his back as he gazed up at the night sky. One of the maind¡¯s three rings had partly copsed. When Undying Yushan had been attacked by experts, the resulting cmity had affected Zenyu Star so heavily that even the atmosphere had been altered. A battle between powerhouses was just too terrifying, and it was not something that an average person could approach.

    ¡°Your Highness, the Auna family¡¯s head, Xueshan Auna, is seeking an audience with you,¡± Bronsen reported from outside the room.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed expectantly. ¡°Let him in.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin met with Xueshan Auna in the courtyard of the Zishan residence.

    ¡°Your guilty subject, Xueshan Auna, pays respect to the Royal Regent,¡± Xueshan Auna immediately said with a salute when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurriedly stopped him and apologetically replied, ¡°I was intending on visiting Patriarch Xueshan Auna tomorrow, but my dys instead caused Senior Xueshan toe to me. This is very disrespectful as a junior.¡±

    ¡°The Royal Regent is working from day to night, so it¡¯s reasonable for this guilty subject to pay a visit,¡± Xueshan Auna sincerely said.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Senior Xueshan, why do you call yourself a guilty subject? I don¡¯t recall you havingmitted any crime.¡±

    Xueshan Auna sighed convincingly. ¡°There¡¯s an unfilial daughter within my family. The faults of a child are due to their parents¡¯ upbringing. Jenny¡¯s matter has shamed Your Highness¡ªthis is the Auna family¡¯s offence.¡±

    Upon hearing the man mention Jenny, Lu Yin¡¯s face changed unnaturally, and he became serious once again. ¡°Forget it, since it¡¯s in the past. Where is she now?¡±

    Xueshan Auna had started intently watching Lu Yin as soon as he mentioned Jenny and thus saw the unnatural change in his expression. Xueshan Auna¡¯s heart skipped a beat, as that was proof that Lu Yin had been brooding over this matter recently. He quickly spoke up. ¡°Your Highness, please allow us to atone for our crimes. Your guilty subject has already struck Jenny Auna from the family register. As of this day, she is no longer a part of my Auna family.¡± He then lifted the family register in a respectful manner.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He took the register and saw that Jenny Auna¡¯s name had indeed been struck from the family register. He marvelled at Xueshan Auna¡¯s resolve; this girl was his blood daughter, but he was vicious enough to follow through on his decision.

    ¡°Senior Xueshan, this is too excessive. Jenny¡¯s only been gone for a few days to have fun. There¡¯s no need to deliver such a serious punishment.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s index finger pressed against the stricken name and slowly streaked across the page. The originally erased name was gradually fully restored.

    This scene caused Xueshan Auna¡¯s pupils to constrict in shock. Their family register was made from special materials, and names could not be reinstated after being stricken off, unless a Lockbreaker intervened. Only they were perceptive enough to see through the changes in the register¡¯s star energy and restore it to a previous state. He had never expected Lu Yin to actually be capable of doing such a thing.

    ¡°Your Highness, yo- you really are a Lockbreaker,¡± Xueshan Auna gasped in astonishment.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Yes, a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.¡±

    Great waves rocked Xueshan Auna¡¯s heart. A Lockbreaker with contributions waspletely different from one with none. He had never expected Lu Yin to have walked so far on the path of Lockbreaking and had automatically assumed this young man was just a normal Lockbreaker without any contributions. The truth was too scary.

    Lu Yin gave the family register back to Xueshan Auna and gently said, ¡°Jenny¡¯s only looking for some fun, so there¡¯s no need to be so strict. She is your daughter after all. Even if she¡¯s in the wrong, she can always be corrected. Senior Xueshan, please revoke your decision.¡±

 Chapter 299: Assassination

    <h4>Chapter 299: Assassination</h4>

    Xueshan Auna emotionally received the register and took a deep breath. He was truly moved by Lu Yin¡¯s response. ¡°It¡¯s Jenny¡¯s loss to not be able to marry the Royal Regent. This is also my Auna family¡¯s loss.¡±

    Lu Yin faintly smiled. ¡°This matter still hasn¡¯t concluded yet. We can discuss things again once Jenny returns.¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Your Highness, please attack the Firesmelt! His Imperial Majesty had already drawn up ns to invade the Firesmelt back then, but he was dyed by the Ross Empire. If Your Highness attacks the Firesmelt, then I, Xueshan Auna, will be the first to charge forward.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright. With Senior Xueshan¡¯s words, I¡¯ll be able to rest assured. Please, return home. I¡¯ll have to think over your suggestion.¡±

    Xueshan Auna bowed to Lu Yin once more, and then left respectfully.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. Xueshan Auna, this chess piece, would continue to stay on the board for now. His existence would bnce the Huo family¡¯s power, and he could even be used to help deal with the Firesmelt. Lu Yin could also use the Auna family¡¯s strength to stabilize the Great Yu Empire. Although the incident with Jenny had displeased Lu Yin, it was still tolerable. However, she would have to pay the price in the future.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons and top families like the Huo and Auna family held all of the true power within the Great Yu Empire. Thus, Lu Yin had to settle his case with them first before he could truly begin tomand the Great Yu Empire.

    Back in the royal court, Lu Yin gave out a new set of orders. With Huo Qingshan and Rocky Auna leading the army, the empire would begin reiming its lost territory and also start recruiting external candidates to rece the fallen captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Each candidate had to at least be at the Cruiser realm. Lu Yin also appointed five cab ministers to oversee the Great Yu Empire once he left, as he had a nagging feeling that he would not be able to stay here for too long.

    Sure enough, after a week passed, San Dios sent a message to him, urging him to check in and report. The person who had urged him was actually Puyu. This councilor had overstepped his bounds by acting to represent Wendy Yushan and using her authority within her jurisdiction.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face dropped when he saw Puyu¡¯s name. This person had finally shown himself; he was the one behind Bazeer.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s power level was very formidable, and she was among the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings. Still, she could notpare to Puyu when it came to scheming. He was no weakling either; Wendy Yushan was ranked neenth while Puyu himself was ranked thirteenth. In terms of pure strength, he was one of the top three super powerhouses in the entire Outerverse Youth Council.

    As a neer, Lu Yin could not beat Puyu, but he did not intend to challenge Puyu at this time either. Without a solid foundation, rushing into battle was nothing more than courting death. Lu Yin only wanted to make his presence briefly known before taking a step back and waiting for his family¡¯s arrangements and for Wendy Yushan to appear.

    Puyu had not contacted Lu Yin this entire time, but he must know that Lu Yin was also the Lockbreaker, Brother Seven. Lu Yin thought that Puyu probably hated himself very much for wasting all those resources.

    ¡°Your Highness, Captain Liuying is seeking an audience,¡± Bronsen politely announced.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Send her in.¡±

    Liuying Zishan soon arrived before Lu Yin and urgently said, ¡°Your Highness, we just received intelligence that Firesmelt¡¯s young master Yan Feng may be promoted to be a council member of the Outerverse Youth Council in the near future.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned and stood up. ¡°What did you say? Yan Feng will be promoted to be a councilor?¡±

    Liuying Zishan solemnly answered, ¡°Yes, this information was ryed to us by a spy we nted on the Firesmelt. Although Yan Feng has not yet entered the Top 100 Rankings, there are too few councilors on the Outerverse Youth Council. Thus, the Ten Arbiters Council has decided to promote a bunch of people, one of whom will be Yan Feng.¡±

    Lu Yin became downcast. He had not mentioned this person not because he did not care, but rather because he currently had no time to deal with Yan Feng right now. After all, this person had snatched away Lu Yin¡¯s supposed fianc¨¦e¡ªhow could he not care? But with this new piece of news, Lu Yin could no longer afford to ignore Yan Feng. Once he became a councilor, his status and position would change greatly, and it would be very difficult to deal with him at that time.

    ¡°There¡¯s another bit of news, though we cannot verify it at this time.¡± Liuying Zishan had an ugly expression, as if she was abnormally furious.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the news?¡±

    ¡°Yan Wujiu ns to have Yan Feng marry Jenny Auna once he is appointed as a councilor,¡± she coldly answered.

    An overflowing amount of killing intent shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This move was directly targeted at him, as the object of Yan Feng¡¯s desires was originally Wendy Yushan; he simply had no desire to marry Jenny Auna. Firesmelt was doing all of this to forcibly rope the Auna family in and to embarrass Lu Yin. Also, this meant that the Auna family would no longer be able to cast their rtionship with the Firesmelt aside. It was a vicious move, one aimed to make the Great Yu Empire crumble from within.

    Once the Auna family defected, the Great Yu Empire would definitely suffer a heavy loss.

    Even if Xueshan Auna had previously made his intentions known, that was before this recent news. If Yan Feng really did be a member of the Outerverse Youth Council, then the situation wouldpletely change, and Xueshan Auna¡¯s original intentions may not be preserved.

    If Lu Yin had obtained this information, then Xueshan Auna definitely would as well. This Yan Feng had to be quickly taken care of, or else he would bring great trouble to Lu Yin.

    ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll resolve this quickly,¡± Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    Liuying Zishan looked at him with a worried expression, but she left King Zishan¡¯s pce afterwards.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glittered. He could not interfere with the Ten Arbiters Council no matter how high his status was. He then considered those around him, but there was only one person who could intervene in this matter¡ªNightking Yuanjing. He was perhaps the only one who could dy Yan Feng bing a councilor.

    But Lu Yin could not take the initiative to contact Nightking Yuanjing. The more Lu Yin reached out to him, the more likely it was that he would lose the ability to contact the Nightking. He could only wait for the Nightking to initiate contact, and Lu Yin hoped that it would be within the next two months.

    ¡°Yan Feng, that brat, really doesn¡¯t know how to behave! Not only does he want to snatch Seventh Bro¡¯s wife, but he even wants the councilor position! Go kick his ass!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out indignantly.

    Lu Yin indifferent replied, ¡°I¡¯m in a bad mood, so don¡¯t bother me.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m on your side!¡± The Ghost Monkey felt wronged, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t care about his feelings. For now, he had to report to San Dios and then secure his position in the Outerverse Youth Council. After that, he would wait for his family to reach out before considering his next moves.

    One dayter, Lu Yin sat down in his Aurora and left the Great Yu Empire, heading straight for San Dios.

    This Aurora had been gifted to him by the Great Yu Empire, and it had also been upgraded to a radiant-grade craft. The newly appointed finance minister had wanted to upgrade it one more time for Lu Yin. However, this spacecraft was not a personal ship but rather arge spacecraft. Lu Yin had rejected the offer since the empire¡¯s financial situation was so shaky that they didn¡¯t even have enough funds to cover the military¡¯s expenses. The price to upgrade an Aurora to the ckhole grade was just too terrifying, and Lu Yin could not be seen openly embezzling money. Thus, the spacecraft had only been upgraded to the radiant grade.

    Still, radiant grade was not bad. Lu Yin¡¯s lost spacecraft from before had been at the same grade, which meant that it was about ten times faster than a normal spacecraft and sturdy enough to withstand Cruiser-level attacks.

    There were twelve weaves separating the Great Yu Empire from San Dios. The journey normally took two and a half months toplete, but with the speed of a radiant grade Aurora, it would only take Lu Yin eight days.

    San Dios did not refer to a single area but rather the entire Outerverse Youth Council headquarters, which included both East and West San Dios.

    There were seventy two weaves in the Outerverse, and it was extremely vast. The Councilors could not possibly all congregate in one area. Hence, the council had been split between East and West San Dios.

    Wendy Yushan and Puyu were based in East San Dios while the other three councilors met at West San Dios.

    And since Wendy Yushan was missing, all of the authority of East San Dios was currently in Puyu¡¯s hands.

    Lu Yin looked at the map of the Outerverse and felt slightly strange. With the disposition of the Ten Arbiters, they would not possibly allow Puyu to grasp such great power alone. Promoting Yan Feng might be one way they were restricting him, or perhaps they would soon implement other measures soon to control Puyu. Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly thought of Wen Sansi. Will he personally appear to restrain Puyu? Otherwise, why would one of the Ten Arbiters personally appear in the Outerverse?

    Lu Yin continued muttering under his breath, and he eventually concluded that this theory was indeed possible. If Wen Sansi was personally restricting Puyu, then Puyu¡¯s control over East San Dios was not as solid as Lu Yin had thought it was; he should still have an opportunity to uproot him.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he felt a strange chill ovee him. A loud sound rang out within the spacecraft and the internal rm started flickering incessantly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, and he looked up. A face filled with cold killing intent had appeared, and then a sword stabbed out at him. Lu Yin did not move and only coldly stared at the sword as it stabbed into the spacecraft. There was a loud bang as an intense impact passed through the body of the spacecraft and headed straight at Lu Yin.

    This was an assassination attempt. An assassination attempt from two space-exploring powerhouses.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body jolted, but the vibration based attack from the space-exploring powerhouse was useless against him. The attacker was only at the Explorer realm, and as such, Lu Yin calmly raised his right hand and ced it against the Aurora¡¯s roof. His palm vibrated as aplimentary force was sent through the spacecraft towards the Explorer standing on the roof.

    That Explorer only felt his legs go numb before a terrifying force with multiple stacks and folds almost crippled his legs. He immediately leapt off of the vessel and into the starry sky.

    In front of the spacecraft, the other Explorer¡¯s sword attack had not damaged the Aurora at all. The second assassin cried, ¡°Radiant-grade spacecraft!¡± He then immediately left without a second thought.

    The two Explorer assassins both left without achieving their goal.

    From start to end, Lu Yin had not panicked in the slightest, as a radiant-grade spacecraft could withstand even Cruiser-level attacks. He had nothing to be afraid of, but who would dare to send assassins after him? It couldn¡¯t be the rebellious powers contesting against the Great Yu Empire, as none of them had the guts to kill a Lockbreaker. If Lu Yin died, not only would the Lockbreaker Society investigate the situation, but the Ten Arbiters Council would appear as well.

    Could it be a great hostile power from the Innerverse? Or maybe the Daynight n?

    ¡°An assassination attempt? Could it be that you¡¯ve been ced on the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List?¡± the Ghost Monkey wondered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Do you think I can get on that list with my current strength?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit, but if you reveal what you told Huo Qingshan to the entire universe, I guarantee that you will enjoy a luxurious experience of an endless buffet of assassinations as befitting of someone on the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Being monitored by an entire star domain would spell nothing but trouble. Forget Lu Yin, even the Ten Arbiters themselves would feel troubled by such a hindrance.

    The reason why the Ten Arbiters did not publicly reveal their identities might be to protect their authority, but there was also a chance that it was a precaution against the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List. If the Astral Beast Domain had its own list, then what about the Technocracy? They must have a simr list of assassination targets. Were his actions too high-profile?

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be an assassination resulting from the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List. They wouldn¡¯t be so stingy as to only send two Explorers,¡± the Ghost Monkey guessed.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, that¡¯s too stingy,¡± Lu Yin mumbled, deep in thought. Whether it was an assassination attempt from someone targetting people on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List or from a great Innerverse power, neither group would not send just two Explorer. Those who understood him also knew his power, and two Explorers were nowhere close to being able to take care of him. If that were the case, then who could be behind this attempt?

    Lu Yin had forgotten one crucial point. The rebellious powers contesting the Great Yu Empire may be afraid of the Lockbreaker Society and the Ten Arbiters Council, but they were even more afraid of imminent death.

 Chapter 300: The â€œYuâ€ Surname

    <h4>Chapter 300: The ¡°Yu¡± Surname</h4>

    When faced with two difficult choices, it was absolutely necessary to make a decision. For certain groups, between the Lockbreaker Society, the Ten Arbiters Council, and the Great Yu Empire, the empire posed a more immediate threat to them. They might be condemned to death the moment Lu Yin died, but they would at least be able to enjoy themselves for a period of time.

    When it came down to it, an ignorant person was not afraid of a tyrant because the concept was too far removed from their understanding of the world. Simply put, they would not be able to understand the significance of the threat.

    In the distant Astral Beast Domain, there was a huge ce called the Celestial Beast Empire, within which was an academy called the Spiritual Academy that had been formed in imitation of the Astral Combat Academy. The strongest members of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s younger generation were all gathered in this academy, where they learned and imitated the behavior of humans.

    The Spiritual Academy ranked their students from weakest to strongest by the number of territories that the students controlled, which had led to the rise of the five lords of the academy.

    Deep underground, quite a few pieces of prium fell to the ground. This was a material that was often used to create cosmic armor that could resist corrosion from the various energies of the universe. It was incredibly durable, and some high-grade prium armors could even block attacks from Explorers. However, the prium that had been scattered to the ground had numerous small, teeth-like incisions in it, as if it had been bitten by something.

    ¡°Make preparations to leave, Hua Yi. We are heading to the Human Domain,¡± a deep voice sounded out within the underground space.

    A pair of small, green eyes revealed themselves, releasing rays of demonic green light. From the meager light, one could see that the creature had an appearance simr to a mouse¡¯s. ¡°The Human Domain? What for? An invasion?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the reason. You only have one mission; to defeat the most powerful students in the human¡¯s Astral Combat Academy and spread your name through the Human Domain.¡±

    The green eyes of the mouse lit up in interest, and it grabbed a piece of prium with its teeth before casually gobbling it up like it was enjoying a fine dessert. ¡°Hehe, how interesting! I¡¯ll eat all of those powerhouses from the Astral Combat Academy. Hehehe.¡±

    Elsewhere, far away from the dark underground cave, there was a group of volcanoes where countless me beasts gathered. Hotva would spew forth every once in a while, distorting the very air.

    In the very middle of the volcanic region, under a massive, dark red volcano, a gigantic fiery, weasel-like creature was deep in sleep, evenly breathing in and out even as it asionally swallowed or spat out bits of magma. Each time he exhaled, he would let out a cloud of burning hot air.

    Additionally, every time the fire cat spewed out magma, the surrounding temperatures would increase. Quite a few fire beasts were not able to tolerate the intense heat and were thus forced to move further and further away from the central volcano. It was only when the fire weasel awakened that the temperature would decrease once again.

    ¡°Ember! Mane!¡± A deep voice rang out from above the volcanoes. The void suddenly distorted, shattering the heat bubble and instantly lowering the temperature.

    At the base of the volcano, the fire weasel sleepily blinked as it woke up, revealing dark red eyes. They contained a strange me within them that could somehow burn the magma into nothingness. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Make preparations. We¡¯re departing for the Human Domain.¡±

    The fire weasel stood up and looked at the sky. Its name was Embermane, and it was a Karmic me Sable as well as one of the five lords of the Spiritual Academy. ¡°Can you guarantee my safety?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡ªalthough the humans aren¡¯t trustworthy, they won¡¯t dare to attack you out in the open. Your safety is guaranteed.¡±

    Embermane thought it over. ¡°I would like to meet the disciples of the human¡¯s ze Realm and discover the true might of their Karmic me Sword.¡±

    ¡°No, we won¡¯t have time for that. However, I can gift you the ze Realm once we conquer the Human Domain.¡±

    Embermane nodded. ¡°Fine then, it¡¯s a deal.¡±

    Fire and ice were naturally extreme opposites. If there was light, then there was darkness, and if there was fire, then there was ice. A long distance from the chain of volcanoes, there was an icy region where everything froze over from the violent chilling winds. Even the wind turned to ice and fell to the ground at a rate visible to the naked eye. No living beings could survive here. At the very least, no creatures from the Spiritual Academy dared to live here.

    But in this extremely icy region, there was a beautiful ice phoenix that was seemingly frozen, almost as if it were a statue. Strangely enough, the phoenix had sparkling antlers that emanated three different-colored rays of light, giving it a very mysterious look.

    ¡°Wake up, Feng Jiu!¡± The deep voice resounded throughout the icy continent, butpared to the tone used in the other areas, it sounded a bit gentler.

    Beneath the ice, the ice phoenix opened its beautiful eyes, and with a sh, its body transformed into a beautiful girl with long, blue hair. She still had a pair of sparkling antlers atop her head that emanated tri-colored rays that enveloped her body, giving her a sacred aura. ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°Make preparations. We¡¯re going to the Human Domain. I¡¯ve already informed your family.¡±

    The blue-haired girl was surprised, and her eyes revealed her delight. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Human Domain? Really? Why?¡±

    ¡°Our Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy are banding together to hold apetition with the Human Domain to assess them. We¡¯re focusing on the younger generation. Four lords of the Spiritual Academy will gather at the human¡¯s Astral Combat Academy and fight the final four members of their Astral Combat Tournament. The Technocracy will also send four individuals to participate in this event.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ve been very curious about how powerful the Astral Combat Academy truly is! There¡¯s that mysterious Starsibyl, who seems weak but is actually a cultured, arrogant person, the powerful Mavis family, and also that person with battle force who managed to defeat the inheritor of the Thirteen Swords. I really want to fight them all, so this is great!¡± The blue-haired girl was ted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the humans. You have to be careful of everyone, especially that Starsibyl. Even the humans don¡¯t know much about her due to her being shrouded in mystery.¡±

    The blue-haired girl nodded politely. ¡°I got it, thank you for the reminder. By the way, there¡¯s five lords of the academy, no? So who¡¯s not going?¡±

    ¡°The Ghost Monkey has gone missing, but that¡¯s not a problem. He was the weakest of the five of us anyways, so it doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s here or not.¡±

    The girl was shocked. ¡°He¡¯s missing? When did that happen?¡±

    ¡°It took ce some time ago at the border warfront. He¡¯s probably dead since he ran into Lu Yin, who also defeated the inheritor of the Thirteen Swords. That monkey¡¯s definitely not a match for that human, and it would make sense if he died.¡±

    The blue-haired girl pursed her lips as her eyes glinted coldly. Lu Yin. She would remember this name.

    ¡°Were you close to the Ghost Monkey, Feng Jiu? You seem upset.¡±

    She hesitated. ¡°If it¡¯s possible, it¡¯d be for the best if we found him. He¡¯s very well educated and has acquired a lot of arcane knowledge that most have no idea even exist. He¡¯s also not that weak and has a unique innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re still as kind as ever. I understand.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    A great distance away from the Spiritual Academy was a territory called the Heavenly Fiend Empire. There was a ce there known as the Skymender Gates where a tutor by the name of Skymender taught his disciples. One of those disciples was called Tian Hou. It had been birthed in a strange manner and a wondrous innate gift. It also studied at the Spiritual Academy and was also one of the five academy lords; the strongest one to be exact.

    ¡°Make preparations to enter the Human Domain and challenge the top four from the Astral Combat Tournament, Sky.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    ¡°While some of the strongest young humans are gathered at the Astral Combat Academy, not all of them are there. Aside from Starsibyl, nobody should be able to force you to go all out. However, I have calcted your chances and found that there might be variables in your battles. I hereby give you permission to go all out as you deem necessary.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡± It seemed much more excited than before, for it had been restraining itself for a long time. There was nobody in the Spiritual Academy who was strong enough to handle its full strength. It hoped that the humans would not be too disappointing, and it was rather excited to discover the ¡°variables¡± that its master had spoken of.

    While the giant Astral Beast Domain was making preparations to send out the four strongest members of their younger generation, simr events were taking ce in the Technocracy. Both sides were sending out four members of their younger generation to participate in the assessment battle of the Human Domain.

    At this time, Lu Yin still had not received word about the uing battle yet. He had no idea it was nearly time for the final four to fight. The Daynight n had exerted their influence on the Astral Combat Academy after thest round of elimination matches in the tournament to forcefully send the final fourpetitors to the Outerverse to participate in a trial. This had been done in hopes that Zhanlong Daynight would be able to reverse the humiliation that Nightqueen Yanqing had brought to the n. Unfortunately, Zhanlong Daynight had also been defeated by Lu Yin, and their efforts had been rendered for naught. The final four¡¯s true opponents were young experts from the other two domains.

    It had been two days since Lu Yin had left the Great Yu Empire. By now, he was far, far away from the Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin was quietly reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and studying an astral chart at the same time. His gadget quietly beeped, and he looked down to check the notification. His eyes lit up in excitement when he saw that it was an unfamiliar number¡ªit must be someone from home!

    Without a second thought, he answered right away and was greeted simply. ¡°Seven.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Uncle Reuben!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions on joining the Outerverse Youth Council and also bing the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire,¡± a hoarse voice replied. There seemed to be background sounds of energy wavesing and going on the other side of the call.

    Lu Yin was very excited. ¡°Do all of you already know about this?¡±

    ¡°Of course, everyone at home knows about every single thing that you do. Did you think that we had forgotten about you?¡±

    Lu Yin felt a warmth blossom in his heart. After losing his memories, he had awoken to the sight of these people. While he called them his family, he knew that there was no blood connection between them. The time that he spent with them was not as long as the time that he had spent on Earth, but they were still the most important people to him.

    ¡°Are things going well at home, Uncle? And is Big Sis¡­ is she still smoking?¡± Lu Yin asked apprehensively.

    There was a moment of silence from the other end. ¡°She heard you, Seven.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°You didn¡¯t even tell me she¡¯s next to you, Uncle! I want to talk to her!¡±

    ¡°She can¡¯t talk to you. You know why.¡±

    Lu Yin could only respond, ¡°Fine. In that case, I¡¯ll just say more terrible things about her. It¡¯s not like she can do anything about it anyways.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I dare you to keep talking.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted as the image of a cool girl casually holding a cigarette in her mouth appeared in his mind. He trembled inside. ¡°Uh, um, uncle, I never said anything about her! You¡¯ve got to defend me!¡±

    ¡°Okay, enough of that. It¡¯s already difficult enough for us to contact you. Listen up: there are some things that we need to warn you about.¡±

    Lu Yin froze, knowing they were moving on to serious matters. ¡°Is this about the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Uncle Reuben replied, ¡°Before we talk about the Great Yu Empire, I need to tell you about something. Have you heard of the Three Dark Hands before?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows, and the Ghost Monkey¡¯s adorable little face on his right arm jerked. ¡°The Three Dark Hands? We¡¯ve talked about them before. Seventh Bro, I didn¡¯t know that you had connections like this! If they know about the Three Dark Hands, then this group has to be quite something. Why didn¡¯t you tell me? They-¡± Before the monkey could finish talking, Lu Yin screened his senses off. He didn¡¯t want the monkey to discover too much about his background.

    ¡°What¡¯re the Three Dark Hands?¡± Lu Yin innocently asked. The Ghost Monkey had only mentioned the Neohuman Alliance before, and he still did not know what the other two were.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal for you not to have heard of them before now. There are few even in the Innerverse who¡¯ve heard of them. One is the Neohuman Alliance, which you should already know about. They¡¯re basically enemies of the entire universe. There¡¯s also one called the Court of Seven Names, which is made up of the seven unique surnames. Each surname represents an unimaginably terrifying organisation, and one of them is called ¡®Yu.¡¯¡±

 Chapter 301: The Tournament Of The Strongest

    <h4>Chapter 301: The Tournament Of The Strongest</h4>

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°The same as the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it could be. Nobody knows for sure.¡±

    ¡°So you sent me to Earth after that incident and even fabricated my identity as a descendant of King Zishan all so that I could infiltrate the Great Yu Empire and find out if they¡¯re actually from the Yu Court?¡± Lu Yin slowly began to discover the truth of why he had been sent to the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°Yes. We weren¡¯t the only ones poking around either. The Neohuman Alliance never gave up on trying to find them either, and they put quite a lot of effort into investigating the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Wait. Since the Court of Seven Names are one of the Three Dark Hands, then why are you investigating them? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll die?¡± Lu Yin was quite curious as to his uncle¡¯s answer. He knew how powerful the people back home were, but even some of the more powerful Innerverse organizations would be difficult for them to handle, not to mention a peak group like one of the Three Dark Hands.

    ¡°If the Seven Courts were at their prime, then nobody would have the guts to investigate them. However, they¡¯ve since deteriorated, and quite a few of the courts have disappeared. You don¡¯t need to know why. All you need to know is why we sent you to the Great Yu Empire. Though from the looks of it, the Yushan family has nothing to do with the Yu Court. Otherwise, they would¡¯ve already been massacred by the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. He was quite certain that the Yushan family was actually from Yu Court¡ªwhere else could that secret art havee from? It was no wonder why Silver had paid so much attention to the Great Yu Empire. Undying Yushan had also nurtured quite a few experts in the empire. If he were a descendant of one of the Three Dark Hands, then it would be a trivial task to raise some local experts.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for themotion that the Undying duo caused in the Innerverse back then, nobody would have set their sights on the Great Yu Empire. Many infiltrated the empire and thenid low in the Great Yu Empire seemingly in order to obtain the Immortal Manual, but what people were truly after were people of the Yu Court. If it were confirmed that the Yushan family was part of the ¡°Yu¡± surname from the Seven Courts, then things would have gotten interesting. I doubt you can fully understand how amazing the technique passed down by the Yu Court truly is.¡±

    I know! I know it very well, and I even learned it. Lu Yin wanted to shout this out, but he didn¡¯t dare to speak up. Somebody might be listening in on this call. He trusted his family, but not his gadget¡¯s technology, or else his sister wouldn¡¯t remain so quiet.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s been confirmed that the Yushan family isnt a part of the Yu Court, do I still need to stay in the Great Yu Empire?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Just stay there for now. Your sister said that it¡¯ll be good for you to learn how to rule an empire well, get a wife, and have some kids. That¡¯s better than some other options and will even allow our family line to continue on. By the way, Wendy Yushan¡¯s not too bad either. Your sister asked me if you wanted her to grab Wendy for you and take her by force. When ites to women, you just need toplete thatst step, and they¡¯ll be yours.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. ¡°And here I thought she was a woman¡ªshe¡¯s more like a man.¡±

    ¡°She heard you.¡±

    ¡°You tricked me!¡± Lu Yin cried out mournfully. He could already imagine how that brutish woman would deal with him the next time they met, and it definitely wasn¡¯t going to be pretty.

    ¡°Alright, enough of that. Let¡¯s talk about you. It isn¡¯t easy to obtain influence in the Outerverse Youth Council. Puyu isn¡¯t someone easily dealt with, and we can¡¯t do much for you either. Don¡¯t rush things and just take it one step at a time. We¡¯ll talk again once you get more settled. We¡¯ll help.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already thought of some ns, and I can handle him. I¡¯ve left something nasty near him.¡±

    ¡°What? How?¡± Uncle Reuben was shocked.

    Lu Yin smirked. That nasty ¡°thing¡± from the Neohuman Alliance was definitely enough to send Puyu into total despair.

    ¡°Whatever it is, be careful of Puyu. Don¡¯t underestimate him. There isn¡¯t much time left, so I won¡¯t say any more about that. Oh, one more thing¡ªthere¡¯s going to be a joint battle of the strongest between the Human Domain, Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy. The final four from your Astral Combat Academy will face off against students from the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Spiritual Academy and some modified beings from the Technocracy. More importantly, some people from the Cosmic Sea might participate as well. One of them has even been publicly acknowledged as a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate! Be careful! You have to be careful.¡± After saying that, the call ended.

    Lu Yin waspletely confused by thisst bit of information and wanted to ask some more questions, but he quickly realized that the call had already ended. He had no choice but to put his gadget down. Is the battle of the final four finally about to arrive? This was a tournament spanning the entire universe where power would reign supreme. Could this be an opportunity for him?

    To be honest, Lu Yin was very excited about this uing tournament. He felt that he had already aplished everything possible for a Limiteer. Many had said that he wasparable to the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers, but he had no idea if that was actually true. The Ten Arbiters were incredibly powerful, and ever since they had appeared, nobody had been able to match up to them. However, some so-called Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates had recently popped up, which almost made it sound like reaching the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level was an easy task.

    However, Lu Yin felt that this kind of thinking didn¡¯t make much sense. The Ten Arbiters were a product of the changing times. If it were that easy to reach their level, then they wouldn¡¯t just be the Ten Arbiters. He really wanted to take this chance to fight against some of the most powerful Limiteers in the universe. Then, he would be able to see if he could truly take another step further and possibly step onto the same level as the Ten Arbiters or even surpass thempared to when they had been Limiteers.

    After undoing the screen blocking off the Ghost Monkey¡¯s senses, the monkey, who had be ustomed to such treatment, tiredly said, ¡°I¡¯ve told you this so many times, bro. We share one body, so your secrets are my secrets. Why do you keep blocking me off when I¡¯m so innocent and kind?¡±

    Lu Yin abruptly asked, ¡°Have you heard of the Court of Seven Names before?¡±

    ¡°The Court of Seven Names? That sounds familiar. I think I¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± The monkey sounded rather surprised, but also a bit confused. Some timeter, it blurted out in shock, ¡°I remember now! I saw this name mentioned in some records that included a powerhouse¡¯s biography. It mentioned the Seven Courts, but just the name and nothing else. What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°The Seven Courts is one of the Three Dark Hands,¡± Lu Yin answered gravely.

    The Ghost Monkey was surprised. ¡°One of the Three Dark Hands? No wonder it was so tough to get into that powerhouse¡¯s grave.¡± As if realizing that it¡¯d let something slip, the monkey awkwardly coughed twice. ¡°So, what kind of connections do you have, Seventh Bro? Tell me! I might have heard of them before.¡±

    ¡°What was that powerhouse¡¯s surname?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey considered the question. ¡°I don¡¯t remember, but there was a word on the cover of his biography¡ª¡®Ku.¡¯¡±

    Ku? Is that one of the Seven Courts? Lu Yin wondered if there were any primeval surnames among the Seven Courts.

    ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t tell me about your connections, bro. Are they powerful? Wait, if they know about the Three Dark Hands, then they have to be doing well in your Innerverse,¡± the monkey rambled on.

    ¡°Tell me about the other four lords from your Spiritual Academy,¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The Ghost Monkey was bewildered by this question. ¡°Why are you asking about them? They all lost to me, so don¡¯t even bother about them.¡±

    With a beep, a notification popped up on Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. It was the type of notification that woulde through no matter what filters he had set up. Thest two times he¡¯d received something like this was when Astral-10 was about to arrive in the Outerverse and when Wendy Yushan had be an Outerverse Youth Council member.

    ¡®Lu Yin of Astral-10 must immediately return to the Astral Combat Academy and prepare for the battle between the strongest academies in the universe, which will take ce in two months. The participants will be the Human Domain¡¯s Astral Combat Academy, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Spiritual Academy, the Technocracy¡¯s modified beings, and the Cosmic Sea¡¯s people. You must perform well on behalf of the Human Domain and achieve great results.

    Best of luck,

    Ten Arbiters Council.¡¯

    Lu Yin sucked in a cold breath; the official notice had finally arrived. ¡°Look at this yourself.¡±

    ¡°What? Those four from the Spiritual Academy are going to participate in this tournament that involves the other two Domains? That¡¯s weird, why didn¡¯t anyone inform me? I¡¯m the strongest of them all! Those bastards¡­¡± The monkey was enraged at being neglected and kept cursing.

    Lu Yin frowned, ignored the monkey, and immediately contacted Mira.

    Not too long after, he gave up. The Ten Arbiters Council had already sent him an official notification, so Mira would definitely take care of matters in the Outerverse Youth Council in his stead for now. She was currently located in East Saint Dios as well. Lu Yin changed route to go straight to Astral-10, which was currently located in the Frostwave Weave. He would prepare for the uing tournament there.

    There weren¡¯t that many people involved in the tournament, but the fact that the Ten Arbiters had sent an official notification meant that this tournament was much more important than the Astral Combat Tournament. These participants would be the strongest from the best academies in the universe, and this tournament would be viewed by not just those in the Human Domain, but also those in the Giant Beast Astral Region, Technocracy, and even the Cosmic Sea.

    The rewards were naturally extremely generous as well.

    If he achieved good results in this tournament, Lu Yin had a feeling that his status would rise yet again. He would be making a vital contribution to humanity, so perhaps he would be able to get another Honor Point.

    Two Honor Points would make a world of a difference. Lu Yin remembered that Uncle Reuben had mentioned that this was a very rare opportunity.

    ¡°Alright. Since they¡¯re so heartless, they shouldn¡¯t me me for doing this.¡± The monkey was finally done cursing at this point. He paused and then informed Lu Yin, ¡°I¡¯ll give you an introduction to those four, Seventh Bro. Heh, those guys have no idea how well I know them. Feng Jiu, in particr¡­ every time she transforms, that body, that face, and those sacred three-colored rays¡­ It¡¯s beautiful...¡±

    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Lu Yin rushed the monkey.

    The Ghost Monkey coughed awkwardly. ¡°First up, there¡¯s Hua Yi. He¡¯s a mouse with gold-green eyes. He¡¯s only as big as a fist, but he can eat anything. His greatest weapons are his teeth, and he can also fit things that are multiple times his size into his mouth. His father once ate some of the phoenixes from your human¡¯s Phoenix n, and the Phoenix n now see these mice as their mortal enemies. Hua Yi¡¯s extremely quick, and that¡¯s exactly what he makes use of the best. But with your speed, you¡¯ll bepletely fine.¡±

    ¡°Next up is Embermane, who is a Karmic me Sable. He¡¯s a fire sable, but it¡¯s said that he was born from a gem. When he was first born, he was apparently a bundle of fire that incinerated everything near him. This guy isn¡¯t going to be easy to deal with. You¡¯ll have to be careful and not let those mes get on you.¡±

    Lu Yin interrupted, asking, ¡°A Karmic me Sable? Why does that name sound so simr to the ze Realm¡¯s Karmic me Sword?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re asking the right person! Others might not know about this, but I secretly investigated him a bunch of times. He¡¯s obsessed with the human¡¯s ze Realm, so he really might know a secret about that Karmic me Sword.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He still hadn¡¯t forgotten about the Karmic me Sword that Arikar had tried to use, but never revealed as Feng Shang had defeated him before Arikar could even use the move. It was a fact, though, that just a single move from that technique was very powerful. If it had actually been used, then Feng Shang wouldn¡¯t have been able to block it. If the Karmic me Sable had a move rted to that technique, then he would be very dangerous.

    ¡°Go on,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    ¡°The third is Feng Jiu, who is an Celestial Ice Phoenix, which are numbered seven on the Celestial Beast List. They¡¯re a unique race since Celestial Ice Phoenixes have antlers on their heads. What¡¯s more terrifying is that their antlers constantly emit tri-colored rays that can melt anything! Think about it¡ªthey have ice that can seal everything and rays that can melt everything! And yet, the tri-colored rays won¡¯t melt her own ice, so I¡¯m sure that you can already tell how troublesome she will be,¡± the monkey gravely exined.

 Chapter 302: A Womanâ€™s Trap

    <h4>Chapter 302: A Woman¡¯s Trap</h4>

    Lu Yin felt a headache just thinking about it. It seemed that there were all kinds of monsters in the universe. A phoenix with antlers? What the hell? And one that shot out tri-colored rays of light as well? And that race is only ranked seventh on the Celestial Beast List? It appeared that there was a reason why the Astral Beast Domain had been able to withstand Human Domain¡¯s assault for so many years.

    ¡°Um, if you get matched with Feng Jiu, do you think that you could show her some mercy?¡± the monkey asked hesitantly.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the request. ¡°Why? Is she your friend?¡±

    ¡°Ahem. The only thing left for us to do is confess,¡± the Ghost Monkey whispered.

    This shocking statement made Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widen like saucers. ¡°You? A ghost monkey and an ice phoenix? How would that even work?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± the monkey fiercely rebutted.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Fine, I guess I have nothing to say about that. ¡°So Feng Jiu likes you?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± The Ghost Monkey was very confident in himself.

    ¡°Tell me about thest one of the five academy lords.¡± Lu Yin said. He wasn¡¯t going to argue with the monkey over this matter.

    ¡°Thest one is called Tian Hou. He¡¯s the only one of the four that I don¡¯t know much about. I once snuck onto his area, but I was quickly found out. There¡¯s only one thing that I know, which is that he¡¯s Skymender¡¯s disciple,¡± the monkey earnestly answered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows jumped up. ¡°Skymender? As in the imperial tutor from the Celestial Beast Empire? Are you talking about that mysterious beast that¡¯sparable to Starsibyl?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Within the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender holds a supreme position¡ªeven the emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire addresses him as teacher. No one knows what species he is, only that he possesses unfathomable strength. Tian Hou is his disciple, so you can basically think of him as the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Starsibyl,¡± the monkey simply said.

    Lu Yin frowned. These four astral beasts sounded pretty troublesome; not a single one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s four lords would be easy to deal with. There was also the Technocracy. Lu Yin had no idea what to expect from this domain since they had the best technology that originated from ancient times. Modified beings¡ªjust these two words alone already sounded intimidating.

    Finally, there was also the Cosmic Sea. That was a ce with more unknown powers than even the Innerverse. His family had also warned him that the Cosmic Sea might even send out a few ultra powerhouses who had been publicly acknowledged as Ten Arbiters candidates. They would probably be at least as strong as Liu Shaoqiu.

    This would truly be the Tournament of the Strongest. The academy leaders who had been defeated, such as Liu Xiaoyun, did not even qualify to participate. The only ones who did were the absolute top Limiteers among the entire universe¡¯s younger generation.

    ¡°Your real opponents this time should be Starsibyl and Tian Hou. The rest don¡¯t seem like much to me,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin shook his head. Han Chong would not be an easy opponent, and the same went for Grandini Mavis. The Mavis family definitely had innate gifts beyond their brute force. Every stage of this tournament would be a huge challenge for Lu Yin, and he had no room forcency.

    Five-lined battle force was no longer enough to guarantee victory. He had very recentlyprehended a domain, so he wasn¡¯t very familiar with it yet. The tournament would be held in a trial zone, so he would not be able to use the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, which also meant that Lu Yin would not be able to use the Secret Sidestep or his Cosmic Art. His abilities would be seriously restricted, which did not bode well for him.

    By the looks of it, this uingpetition would be quite simr to the Astral Combat Tournament; Lu Yin would only be able to use his stacking technique on the Shockwave Palm, but Thirteen Stacks wouldn¡¯t be enough to defeat these people.

    Lu Yin looked up at the starry skies. It was about time he went to the Rain Observatory and tried to leave his name on the list. That would allow him to win some guidance from the Rainmaster, so it was definitely worth a try.

    The Tournament of the Strongest was going to be broadcast differently from the Astral Combat Tournament. It wouldn¡¯t be broadcast to the entire Human Domain; rather, one could only watch if they possessed a certain amount of power.

    Thanks to Lu Yin, the Great Yu Empire was among those eligible to view the tournament. Five of the empire¡¯s ministers made the arrangements for Earth so that the Earthlings would be able to watch the tournament.

    Back in Astral-7, Yue Xianzi had been feeling unwell ever since she had returned to the academy. She had essentially been pranked by Lu Yin during the Outerverse trials on the Shenwu Continent, but the conversation that they had had in the space station had caused a lot of people to be annoyed with her, and she didn¡¯t even have a chance to exin herself.

    ¡°We¡¯re back, Young Mistress!¡± A pair of beautiful twins appeared and respectfully called out to Yue Xianzi. They were Can Xue and Can Mei, the twins who had sealed ckwater Lake back when Yue Xianzi had taken control of the training zone.

    Yue Xianzi opened her eyes. ¡°What do you need?¡±

    ¡°We just got word that the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s participants in the Tournament of the Strongest will enter through our academy¡¯s trial zone mountain,¡± Can Xue said.

    Yue Xianzi was surprised. ¡°Our academy¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Our academy is the closest one to the Erudite Flowzone, so they¡¯ll enter the trial zones through our trial zone mountain,¡± Can Mei replied.

    Yue Xianzi nodded. ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t cause any trouble.¡±

    ¡°Apparently a lot of people want to challenge the participantsing from the Astral Beast Domain before the tournament starts. They believe that the four lords of the Spiritual Academy hold empty titles and that their academy is merely a shadow of an imitation of our Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Yu Xianzi disdainfully answered, ¡°The Spiritual Academy was created by the Celestial Beast Empire, so how could those four have empty titles? The power of those lords is definitelyparable to us ten student leaders. Ignore those people. If they want to die, then let them.¡±

    This manner of thinking was very simr to how the Astral Beast Domain thought nothing of humans¡ªmany humans likewise thought nothing of the Astral Beast Domain. In fact, many of Astral-7¡¯s students were eager to fight against these four contestants, hoping to beat up the lords of the Spiritual Academy.

    A personal spacecraft gently touched down in Astral-10¡¯s space station. Lu Yin had returned, and the first person who he saw was Xia Luo.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while. You¡¯ve grown stronger yet again.¡± Xia Luo sighed in admiration after looking Lu Yin up and down.

    This time, Lu Yin could sense a very obvious and unique aura emanating from Xia Luo. It was a domain, which was something he hadn¡¯t sensed before. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m headed out toplete a mission,¡± Xia Luo spoke gently.

    Lu Yin nodded and did not say more. Time was of the essence. ¡°I¡¯m heading in.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Xia Luo shouted. As he stared at Lu Yin, he slowly said, ¡°Silver¡¯s gone missing.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Xia Luo exined, ¡°He suddenly left the academy. He didn¡¯t take any missions or tell the mentors¡ªhe simply left. I haven¡¯t been able to contact him either.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and tapped his gadget, only to find that all information on Silver was now unavable. He had really disappeared. ¡°When did this happen?¡±

    ¡°It was while you were participating in the Outerverse trials. To be more precise, it was after the Great Yu Empire¡¯s emperor, Undying Yushan, died,¡± Xia Luo gravely answered.

    Lu Yin looked baffled. That didn¡¯t sound right; he had contacted Silver after leaving the Shenwu Continent. If what Xia Luo said was true, then Silver must have left Astral-10 right after Undying Yushan¡¯s death, blocked off all contact with the people from Astral-10, but not blocked off Lu Yin¡¯s calls. But now, Silver had also blocked Lu Yin¡¯s calls.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯tpletely stunned. Silver was originally from the Neohuman Alliance, and the death of Undying Yushan must have allowed the Neohuman Alliance to confirm that the Yushan family wasn¡¯t rted to the ¡°Yu¡± of the Seven Courts. Naturally, after that, they had paid Lu Yin no further mind, so it made sense that Silver had left. ¡°Got it. Let''s just leave things be for now. He¡¯s always been the mysterious type.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled, nodded, and then flew away in his personal spacecraft.

    Lu Yin stepped into the teleportation device, wanting to head straight to the Rain Observatory. But then, all of a sudden, he paused and turned to observe the spacecraft that Xia Luo was in. He fell deep into thought.

    He had missed something. Nobody should have noticed that Silver had left Astral-10 that quickly, but Xia Luo had even known that Silver had left right after Undying Yushan¡¯s death. How had he found out? There was only one possibility: he had been observing Silver this entire time. As Lu Yin recalled Xia Luo¡¯s attitude towards Silver, Lu Yin found the entire matter rather strange. Xia Luo must have known something. But if Xia Luo knew about Silver, then why hadn¡¯t he reported the matter? It had always been very apparent that he had disliked Silver.

    Also, Lu Yin had managed to improve very quickly from his time during the trials on Earth to the Astral Combat Tournament. It had all been thanks to his luck as well as his innate gift. As for Silver, he had managed to do so with help from the Neohuman Alliance. But what about Xia Luo? He was definitely not weaker than either of them, and was actually somehow even more powerful than Silver. Where had hee from? Who was backing him?

    If Xia Luo had the guts to keep his eye on someone from the Neohuman Alliance, then the organization behind Xia Luo must be rather powerful as well. Xia Luo also looked quite simr to Xia Ye from Astral-5, and they were most likely from the same organization. What organization was it? Why had he been in the Great Yu Empire? Had he been investigating the Court of Seven Names as well?

    Lu Yin stood next to the teleportation device, seemingly lost in thought. The more he thought about this, the more suspicious Xia Luo seemed. What exactly did he represent?

    ¡°Xia¡± was a primeval surname. The first time he had seen Xia Luo outside of Beijing, he had felt that there was more to Xia Luo than met the eye. Even now, Lu Yin had no idea as to what the youth¡¯s true identity was.

    While Lu Yin was deep in thought, someone else arrived in the teleportation device a few centimeters away. Lu Yin stared at the person in aplete daze.

    It was Michelle. She had epted a mission and was about to leave, but had run into Lu Yin by chance. The two were so close to each other that they could feel each other¡¯s breath.

    Michelle immediately took a step backwards and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Why are you blocking the way?¡±

    Lu Yin took a few steps backward as well and awkwardly responded, ¡°Sorry, I was just about to go in.¡±

    Michelle red at him, snorted, and then passed by. She suddenly paused after taking a few steps and turned around to glower at him once again.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Michelle narrowed her eyes and coldly asked, ¡°Do you really think my sister¡¯s prettier than me?¡±

    Lu Yin froze, blinked, and then gulped. ¡°Uh, that¡¯s obviously false. You¡¯re obviously much prettier than Mira! I just said that to appease her. She can¡¯t bepared with you, you know.¡±

    Michelle eyed him seriously. ¡°Relly?¡±

    Lu Yin quickly nodded. ¡°Really.¡±

    Michelle grinned and lifted her gadget. ¡°I¡¯ve recorded your answer and sent it to my sister. Good luck!¡± With a flick of her long hair, she departed, leaving a slight fragrance in her wake.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. What was this? Were they just harassing him?

    ¡°You¡¯re so dumb, dude. It¡¯s a woman¡¯s trap. A trap, you hear me?¡± the monkey screeched.

    Lu Yin scowled at the beast. ¡°Shut up.¡± After that, he headed to the Rain Observatory with a slightly depressed feeling.

    Lu Yin could no longer remember how many times he had visited this training ground in the academy. But every trip here was like a brand new experience. This was the ce where he had morphed from a child from the fringes of the universe who knew nothing to one of the top four fighters in the Astral Combat Tournament. He had broken through here twice, bing both a Melder and a Limiteer here. This ce held a special meaning to him.

    There was an endless soft drizzle of rain here. A thickyer of deep green moss covered the slippery, rocky tform.

    When Lu Yin stepped out of the teleportation device, the first person he saw was Little Pao, who immediately flew over.

    ¡°You¡¯re back, Lu Yin!¡± Little Pao greeted.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten stronger!¡±

    Little Pao burst intoughter andnded in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you stealing the Heavenly Drum. We¡¯ve all benefited from it, but you haven¡¯t actually gotten anything out of it yet.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll head over soon. Where are you headed to?¡±

 Chapter 303: Leaving Oneâ€™s Name On The Rain List

    <h4>Chapter 303: Leaving One¡¯s Name On The Rain List</h4>

    Little Pao answered, ¡°The Sand Ocean, I¡¯m going there to upgrade my battle force. Two-lined battle force is still too weak, and it¡¯s vastly inferior to yours. It¡¯s very embarrassing as a senior.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wish Senior good luck in improving your strength sooner.¡±

    Little Pao nodded when he seemed to remember something. He turned to Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Was your grudge with the Daynight n resolved?¡±

    Lu Yin felt it was a little strange for Little Pao to suddenly ask him this. ¡°For now. What happened?¡±

    Little Pao muttered. ¡°Nothing much, but if someone from the Chaos Flowzone contacts you, then just ignore them. That ce does not suit you.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°The Chaos Flowzone? Senior, are you talking about Cang Shi?¡±

    ¡°Not only him. The Chaos Flowzone represents the dark side of the Innerverse. Those people are very skilled at targeting and enticing desperate experts. Since you are an enemy of the Daynight n, they will see you as the perfect target to seduce into joining them. Do not contact them casually, or you will find that you won¡¯t be able to fling them away,¡± Little Pao warned before walking away with aplex look on his face.

    Lu Yin watched Little Pao leave, but did not pay it much mind. The Chaos Flowzone was too far away for him, and he had even rejected the Sword Sect¡¯s invitation let alone the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s.

    But Little Pao¡¯s reminder had caused Lu Yin to think of Cang Shi. He admired Cang Shi¡¯s instinctive reaction speed that gave him the ability to easily dodge all sorts of fatal threats. In a battle against opponents of the same realm, the advantage was ringly obvious. Although Tiankong Daynight had tried his best, he had not been able tond even a single strike on Cang Shi. It was a very fearsome ability, and Lu Yin wanted to learn it.

    Little Pao wasn¡¯t the only one who was at the Rain Observatory; Schutz was there as well. He had stayed in the Rain Observatory for a long time after he had decided to retrain from the very basics and walk forward one step at a time.

    Lu Yin randomly chose a limestone tform and sat down cross-legged. He immersed himself in his meditation and acutely sensed the infinitesimally small world within each scattered raindrop. The world of star energy was deep and profound, and he had alreadyprehended a domain, which he had initially thought that meant that he had already walked to the end of this path. Now, however, he realized that his understanding of star energy had only reached the beginning.

    Every raindrop was unique in its own way. Previously, Lu Yin had not been able to perceive these subtle differences, but he could now. He remained motionless as the raindrops prated his domain, bringing a slight chill with them. He then looked up and gazed into the distance. He had a vague feeling that, perhaps, the entire Rain Observatory was a sort of domain in and of itself.

    Each domain was unique; some enhanced a cultivator¡¯s five senses, others upgraded an individual¡¯s power level, aided one during their lockbreaking, or even boosted their defenses. Some individuals¡¯ domains were based on their natural surroundings, while othersprehended theirs at the brink of death. Just like sourceboxes, every domain in the universe was different, belonging uniquely to a single person.

    Lu Yin felt that his own domain acted to enhance his five senses. He could hear extremely soft voices and even sense the changes in another human¡¯s body through their heartbeat. However, he had only taken the first step in hisprehension of his domain.

    He did not know how to upgrade his domain, but perhaps the Rainmaster could give him an answer. That was, given that Lu Yin could leave his name on the Rain List.

    Since ancient times, of all who had visited the Rain Observatory, only the top hundred with the deepest understanding of star energy could leave their name onto the Rain List. Lu Yin took a deep breath, wondering if he was qualified to seed this time.

    He slowly raised his hand and carved ¡°Lu Yin¡± in the void before pushing it out into the curtain of rain.

    At that moment, the Rainmaster opened his eyes. He could feel the aura of a domain, and he looked at Lu Yin in wonder. ¡°Five-lined battle force, and he¡¯s also able toprehend a domain. Could this person possibly inherit Wujiang?¡±

    The name ¡°Lu Yin¡± pushed through the curtain of rain while traveling steadily. forward. The raindrops could prate Lu Yin¡¯s domain, but that was under the premise that Lu Yin allowed it to do so. The characters flying out contained most of his understanding of star energy, as well as the essence of his domain. It glistened within the curtain of rain as all the raindrops automatically avoided the writing.

    The Rainmaster saw this scene and shook his head. ¡°Not enough, still not enough. To leave one¡¯s name on the Rain List is topete against not only the previous generations of Astral-10¡¯s students, but against the entirety of Wujiang. Within one generation, Wujiang will always give birth to the most geniuses. From the perspective of star energy, this kid cannot yet enter the top hundred, even if he relies on the Cosmic Art.¡±

    Lu Yin stared with wide eyes ahead and frowned. How? He had alreadyprehended a domain. Did this mean that everyone from Astral-10 who had left their names on the Rain List had a deeper understanding of their domains than him? That was inconceivable, as that would imply that there had been more than a hundred people of the younger generation in the past who had surpassed his understanding. That was impossible! After all, in the current ten branches of the Astral Combat Academy, almost no one could surpass Lu Yin¡¯sprehension of a domain, let alone just among Astral-10¡¯s students.

    Lu Yin was not convinced, and the Cosmic Art revolved around his body. Nine stars surrounded him, and once again he wrote out ¡°Lu Yin¡± and pushed it into the rain, shattering his previous attempt.

    The Cosmic Art allowed one to see through even the smallest of energy fluctuations, and this ¡°Lu Yin¡± was much sturdier than the previous one, and it even distorted the void.

    The Rainmaster shook his head. ¡°Still not enough!¡±

    Lu Yin stood up, stunned. Why? When he used the Cosmic Art to write his name while being supported by his domain, only Starsibyl and Han Chong from the ten academies stood a chance of surpassing him. Dao Bo did not even have the Cosmic Art to supplement him, so why could Lu Yin still not enter the Rain List? Was his current self still unable to join the top hundred?

    Astral-10 had been driven out of the Innerverse, but even if it had had its glory days in the past, it could have at most rivaled the current top three academies. With Lu Yin¡¯s current abilities, he could stand arrogantly even in Astral-1, but for some reason, he could not enter the top hundred of Astral-10¡¯s lineal Rain List. Moreover, the formcast model was a recent product of an evolving universe that had not existed in the past. Why was he unable to enter the top hundred on the Rain List? This was just the Rain List, not a ranking of all Astral-10 students since ancient times.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists; he did not want to give up. He widened his eyes. The Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye appeared in his left hand, and he stared closely at the curtain of rain. In the rain, he could see the raindrops, and past that, he could even see something even deeper. This was not true rain, as each raindrop wasposed of energy, just like the Astral River. These were raindrops formed from pure liquid energy, and there was even an ancient charm about them, which was what gave the Rain Observatory its mysterious atmosphere.

    This should be the predecessor¡¯s domain. This person should long be dead, yet their domain still persists even after countless ages. This must be the work of one of Astral-10¡¯s previous almighty powerhouses.

    The Rainmaster stood up, and with a respectful tone, said, ¡°The apex of former generation powerhouses have found their way into the rankings. Getting onto the list is harder than scaling the heavens.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot, and he raised his right hand yet again, writing his name and pushing it out for the third time. He could feel the trace of an ancient charm, and his body shed as his fingers continuously gestured within the void. He did not write his name in a single ce, but rather wrote it while surveying the entire Rain Observatory.

    The Rainmaster widened his eyes at this sight. This kid is actually able to see the ability of the predecessor. Is this a result of thebination between the Cosmic Art, his domain, and a lockbreaking tool? No wonder... Despite being slightly suspicious that Lu Yin had used some tricks, it didn¡¯t really matter as it was not against the rules.

    When the words ¡°Lu Yin¡± reappeared within the curtain of rain for the third time, the rain stopped everywhere, and a formless radiance distorted within the void. A list finally appeared, which was the Rain List. On it were the names of the top hundred with the deepest understanding of the Rain Observatory¡¯s star energy in the history of Astral-10.

    Lu Yin did not scrutinize the list. Instead, he stared solely at the top and saw a name¡ªShao Chen.

    A momentter, the Rain List vanished after Lu Yin¡¯s name barely squeezed in.

    The Rain Observatory returned to normal, and the rain once again fell incessantly, sprinkling the limestone tform.

    Lu Yin rxed and put away the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye away and discontinued his Cosmic Art. He had an agonized expression, as he had never expected that getting into the Rain List would be so difficult. He had done his utmost, but even then, he had nearly failed to get onto the list. How had that topmost name, Shao Chen, done it?

    ¡°Although you used a couple of tricks, you still got onto the Rain List. That¡¯s a fact. Lu Yin, what do you wish to obtain from the Rain Observatory?¡± the Rainmaster calmly asked Lu Yin as he walked out of the rain curtain.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, ¡°This student wishes to increase my oveying stacks.¡±

    ¡°Thirteen Stacks isn¡¯t enough?¡± The mentor was astonished, as he had helped Lu Yin derive Thirteen Stacks not too long ago.

    ¡°No. Since the Tournament of the Strongest is fast approaching, I wish to improve one step further.¡±

    The Rainmaster nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his arm, and just like before, the mentor pressed against Lu Yin¡¯s arm and caused the void to explode. The Rainmaster immediately started with Thirteen Stacks, which caused cracks to appear in space. This was just a simtion, and not the actual attack. Fourteen stacks, fifteen, all the way up to¡ªTwenty Stacks.

    The Rainmaster had simted the oveying stacks path all the way up to Twenty Stacks, which Lu Yin¡¯s arm found hard to bear, but he was excited by what it represented. Twenty Stacks would be enough, although, with his current physical body and battle force, Fifteen Stacks was his limit. Going beyond that would be very troublesome.

    The Rainmaster gasped in amazement at Lu Yin. ¡°Human life and the universe do not revolve around the individual. There are countless living things in the universe, so there will definitely be a way of life that suits you. Your training style is too independent.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost. ¡°Please enlighten me.¡±

    The mentor gazed at the sky. ¡°Among the Ten Arbiters, there¡¯s a person known as the Divine Fist. It¡¯s rumored that, before he broke through to be an Explorer, he had mastered Thirty Stacks.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. How is that even possible? His physical body was already very strong, to the point where, except for Zhanlong Daynight who could not be killed, there was no one within the same realm who could rival him. Even so, his physical body, with the support of his battle force, could only withstand Fifteen Stacks. Thirty Stacks? How?

    ¡°Mentor, how did that Arbiter manage to attain Thirty Stacks?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    The Rainmaster raised his hand, and star energy appeared within his palm. It then formed itself into unusual diagrams. There were tree leaves, fruits, waterfalls, mountains, oceans, and even boiling magma. ¡°I¡¯ve said this before, but your training style is too independent. Humans are notplete individuals, and asionally, they need to draw on external support. It¡¯s just like how, when you left your name on the Rain List, you borrowed a lockbreaking tool.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the Rainmaster¡¯s palm and at the diagrams. He had always neglected the fact that the universe had birthed countless natural treasures that could be used to aid one¡¯s cultivation. Many disciples of great powers were so strong precisely because of those treasures; they had not relied solely on their innate gifts. Hence, part of the credit for their achievements had to be given to those treasures. And amongst mercenaries, there were specialized treasure hunters who provided the great powers with various natural treasures.

    Some could upgrade one¡¯s physical body while others could raise one¡¯s spirit. There were countless other mysterious effects, but Lu Yin had actually neglected them all.

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance.¡± Lu Yin was moved, as he now saw another path shortcut to strengthening himself. This shortcut could only be used by him because of his die, as Enhance could upgrade any item.

    The Rainmaster nodded, as he hade to acknowledge Lu Yin. After so many years, this youth was the first student to put his name on the Rain List.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something and retrieved the five fruits that he had upgraded with his die¡¯s Enhance. They all emitted a golden radiance now. ¡°Mentor, could you please check what use these fruits have?¡±

    The Rainmaster took one and puzzlingly examined it, not quite understanding what he was holding. After a while, he gave Lu Yin a strange look. ¡°Where did you get these from?¡±

    ¡°On the path during Astral-10¡¯s entrance examination.¡±

 Chapter 304: Little R1Oâ€™s Chip

    <h4>Chapter 304: Little R1O¡¯s Chip</h4>

    The Rainmaster¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°During Astral-10¡¯s examination, there were a few nts that were transnted from the Sand Ocean that could indeed strengthen the physical body. They were ced there for the students topete over them while also improving some students¡¯ chances of passing the examination. However, those nts were very normal, so how did this happen?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Student doesn¡¯t know what happened either.¡±

    The Rainmaster immediately contacted the Sandmaster. When the Sandmaster saw the five gleaming fruits, he was left rather speechless. ¡°Kid, tell me the truth. Where did you get these toys? These are definitely not from the examination grounds since we only moved a batch of very average strengthening fruits back there. I would guess that these fruits have survived for over ten thousand years, which is rather rare.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Do they have any use for the physical body?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. These things are used to temper the physical body. Those ordinary strengthening fruits would only be effective on Sentinels and Melders, but these ones will help even you. It will have a considerable effect, but it¡¯s a pity. If they were improved just a step further, they would be top-notch strengthening fruits, which would greatly enhance your physical body. They might even allow your body to approach the physique of an Explorer who has adapted to the universe.¡±

    ¡°Where can one obtain such top-notch strengthening fruits?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    The Sandmaster shook his head. ¡°Those strengthening fruits can only be found in the herbal gardens of certain great powers after maturing for 50,000 years. They aren¡¯t something that you can wish for, so obtaining a strengthening fruit at this level is already pretty good.¡± With that, he tossed the five fruits back to Lu Yin and left, not bothering to ask Lu Yin any more questions about where the fruits hade from.

    ¡°Rainmaster, are the effects of every natural treasure better the older the natural treasure is?¡± Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Theoretically, yes. However, the universe is constantly changing. Even if you ignore what humans may do, many natural treasures cannot survive for very long and will end up bing sourceboxes.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood. It was like the scent shrub that he had once unlocked for a client; that nt had been umon during some era of the universe, and hence, it had been turned into an sourcebox. In the current era, however, it was no longer as rare. If not for its ancient age, that scent shrub would not have even been worth the cost of the lockbreaking.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Hand of God had been able to use Thirty Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path when he had been a Limiteer, but nobody knew how many natural treasures he had eaten. Lu Yin envied him, but it was still alright as Lu Yin had his die. As long as he had money, even the worst strengthening fruit could be upgraded to the extent where it would arouse others¡¯ suspicions.

    ¡°Any other questions?¡± the Rainmaster asked.

    Lu Yin thought of his domain. ¡°Mentor, how can we cultivate our domain?¡±

    The Rainmaster muttered, ¡°Neither domains nor battle force have any fixed methods of cultivation. You have upgraded your battle force to five lines, but that didn¡¯t happen one step at a time. A domain is the same¡ªfated coincidences could cause it to be exaggeratedly powerful, or it could remain at the same level for your entire life.¡±

    ¡°Mentor, is the Rain Observatory a domain?¡± Lu Yin asked as he raised his head.

    The mentor smiled faintly. He rarely smiled, and he looked at Lu Yin with approval. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Rain Observatory was created by a predecessor¡¯s domain. It allows you to disy your own domain, and it can even forcefully alter the environment and force the environment to cater to you. It can even be expanded limitlessly and epass a, a fment, or even the entire universe. Of course, thatst part is just a theory as nobody knows if anyone¡¯s domain can truly epass the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin was excited. It would be too mysterious if a single domain could hold the universe!

    Lu Yin left the Rain Observatory after that. He had originally wanted to head to the Sand Ocean to cultivate his battle force, but he had changed his mind. He needed some money to finish upgrading his strengthening fruits to the peak level. Then, he would be able to upgrade his physical body and use more oveying stacks. If he could use Thirty Stacks, there would be no need to worry about the Tournament of the Strongest.

    His previous conjecture had indeed been correct, as the title of Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate was just an overstatement. The Hand of God Arbiter had been able to disy Thirty Stacks while still at the Limiteer realm, which was a power level that definitely surpassed the current Lu Yin. If he had reached such heights, then what about the other Ten Arbiters? They should all have been at around the same level; thus, the current so-called Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates were still quite far from the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level of strength when they had been in the Limiteer realm.

    He wondered how powerful Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword had be by now. Perhaps that technique would disy a strength that could rival the power of the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers.

    There had been 450,000 star energy crystals left in Lu Yin¡¯s Mavis Bank card. Lu Yin had withdrawn them all, and it had reached a point where his cosmic ring could barely hold them all, and there was not much space left. He needed to spend some time acquiring a bigger cosmic ring, though one of higher quality could not be obtained very easily.

    It hadn¡¯t been long since he had rolled the die, so Lu Yin wondered if he could even roll three pips¡ªEnhance.

    Lu Yin felt rather confused after returning to Astral-10. It was difficult to roll, and that was true the more frequently he rolled his die. He recalled his previous experience in the Great Yu Empire when he had to enter Time Stop. It had been very painful for him, and he had to rest for ten days after each roll, or else he would have fallen unconscious for five days.

    Lu Yin thought about it, but he still decided to attempt it in the end. He randomly found an abandoned piece ofnd and sat down cross-legged on the ground.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you can¡¯t be nning to screen me off?¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke out, as if he had felt a bad premonition.

    Lu Yin grunted in the affirmative. ¡°Brace yourself, I¡¯m about to screen you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, please! What secret do you have that you do not wish for me to discover? We¡¯ve even shared the secret of Progenitor Wushang, so what secrets could there be that surpass the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance? No, please no! Please don¡¯t screen me,¡± the monkey begged desperately, but Lu Yin ignored his pleas and immediately blocked him.

    Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance was indeed the greatest secret that he had, but it was useless to Lu Yin since it was too distant at the moment. The secret of his die also might not be any worse than Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance; it could freeze time, enhance and upgrade material objects, and steal items from other peoples¡¯ cosmic rings. These abilities exceeded that of a normal cultivators¡¯ innate gift, and if this information were to be revealed, Lu Yin believed that he would have nowhere to hide no matter how vast the universe may be.

    He tapped on the die, which quickly spun before stopping on one pip: Pilfer. Lu Yin was not surprised, as Pilfer was amon roll.

    Thump! Lu Yin looked at the ground, and his eyebrows jumped in surprise. Who puts roasted meat in their cosmic ring?! There was even steaming off of the meat; who would be this senseless? He obliterated the meat with one hand. Again.

    The second roll was Pilfer once again, and a piece of clothing dropped out. It was a beautiful set of women¡¯s clothes. Lu Yin subconsciously looked around and felt that he was extremely lucky that no one was around to witness this. He destroyed the clothing immediately. Again.

    The third time was Pilfer yet again, and he was rendered speechless at the result. Why is it always Pilfer? Although, this was to be expected when he rolled the die too often.

    However, something unique fell out of the space channel this time.

    Lu Yin picked up the chip that had fallen on the ground and inserted it into his gadget. Countless unknown symbols appeared on his screen, all surrounding a humanoid shaped machine that had a very refined appearance. Even as a technologically inept person, he could tell that this machine was quite sophisticated andplicated. The entire memory bank of the chip was filled with a few designs of humanoid machinery technology and even more strange symbols.

    Lu Yin put the chip aside. It didn¡¯t really matter that he could not understand the information; he could just hand it over to Ban Jiu when he returned to the Great Yu Empire. He should be able to decipher the information.

    At the same time, in the depths of the universe, within the Technocracy¡¯s territory, enormous machines popted the heavens.

    This was an important day for Little R1O. He was going to show those people his blueprints for thetest model of human transformation technology that he had sessfully developed. He wanted to obtain the highest allocation of resources and make his name known throughout the universe.

    Since a young age, Little R1O had been known as an inventor. He had created many things, though not many had practical uses. Finally, ten years ago, he had coincidentally chanced upon some ns for human transformation. From that point forward, he had decided to devote himself to this research subject. Ten years of blood, sweat, and tears had passed, but he had finally seeded in his research.

    His proposal to transform humans would surpass the other trash. In the future, those transformed humans that waged war against the Human Domain woulde from his own hand. He wanted to be known everywhere, and he wanted the entire universe to worship him!

    He became more agitated as he thought about the possible future and stood motionless as he tried to suppress his emotions. He had even revised his speech multiple times; of course it had needed to be looked through. He was certain that this speech would change the structure of the entire universe.

    Hold on, where¡¯s the proposal chip? Little R1O searched through his cosmic ring. Eh, it¡¯s gone? Really gone? Where did it go? Where¡¯s the proposal chip?!

    Little R1O¡¯s face turned deathly pale white; had he not brought it? Impossible, he had checked his ring a dozen times before he had left. How could he have left it behind? Could he have dropped it? Was his cosmic ring that unreliable?

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin took a deep breath as there was only one roll left after his third one. He tapped the die, causing it to slowly spin around. Then, the scenery before his eyes changed and he appeared in the Time Stop Space.

    Lu Yin was rather disappointed, but this was still a good oue.

    He did not think about any more what-ifs and quickly extended his time in the space to thirty days, consuming over a thousand star energy crystals in the process. He then recited the Stonewall Scriptures and quickly fell asleep.

    Within the Time Stop Space, ten days quickly passed by. He opened his eyes and raised his hand, allowing his die to reappear. He tapped on it, and itnded on five pips: Gift Copy. Useless. He continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures, falling asleep, and then rolling his die.

    Just like that, he repeated this cycle several times, and soon, fifty days had passed in the Time Stop Space.

    Lu Yin had already resolved to himself that this would be hisst roll, and that no matter the result, he would leave afterwards. He could not handle this space anymore, and the lonely environment was too unbearable.

    The die slowly spun, and when it finally stopped, two screens appeared, one above another. Lu Yin was ecstatic; he had finally rolled three pips: Enhance.

    When he had upgraded these fruits in the Great Yu Empire, it had cost him 1500 star crystals for the strengthening fruits¡¯st upgrade, and that had improved the five fruits to the point where they had taken on a golden sheen. This time, Lu Yin did not n to upgrade all five at once, as each consecutive upgrade would only consume more and more resources. Instead, he would upgrade them one at a time from now on.

    He ced one strengthening fruit on the upper screen and casually threw out more than 10,000 star crystals. The strengthening fruitnded on the ground with a thump, and the golden radiance intensified even brighter while more than half of the crystals had been depleted. Again, and again, and again. For the fifth upgrade, Lu Yin threw out another 200,000 star crystals, and this was enough to cause the strengthening fruit to drop more than halfway down. At this point, Lu Yin only had about 180,000 star crystals left.

    He grit his teeth and threw out another 100,000. This caused the fruit to move a bit more, but it needed a little more to finish its upgrade, so he threw out 20,000 more crystals. The fruit finallypletely fell through the screen, and it no longer emitted a golden radiance. Instead, it seemed transparent, and just its presence caused the void to distort. There was also the indistinct sound of blood pumping through veins.

    Thrilled, Lu Yin snatched up the fruit. He had no more money to upgrade the fruit any further, and it had taken him nearly 400,000 star energy crystals to upgrade just one strengthening fruit to this level. Any further upgrades would cost him multiple times what he had spent on thisst upgrade, and he wouldn¡¯t dare to try it unless he had a billion star energy crystals. Still, this level of a strengthening fruit should be effective on him.

    It had only taken him 30,000 star energy crystals to upgrade the four-stage formcast model to the fifth stage; inparison, this strengthening fruit had consumed much more.

    Lu Yin was rather exuberant. He briefly considered his options and then increased the time in the Time Stop Space by ten more days before swallowing the strengthening fruit in a single mouthful.

 Chapter 305: Battle Force

    <h4>Chapter 305: Battle Force</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart suddenly let out a violent thump, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire body hurt terribly, as if someone had stabbed him a thousand times. It wasn¡¯t just his flesh that was in pain, but rather, it felt as if his very veins were on fire. The experience was oddly simr to breaking through, though even worse.

    Across the surface of his body, Lu Yin¡¯s veins bulged out like wriggling worms as his body went through a transformation that seemed to alter even his veins.

    Lu Yin drew a single ragged breath and grit his teeth before he started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Some timeter, the pain finally subsided. He opened his eyes, and it looked like he had just been dragged out of a pool of water; his entire body was drenched in sweat. He looked down at his hands, clenched his fists, released his strength ording to the Oveying Stacks Path, and felt an explosive bang in the void.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin sighed. Thankfully, he hadn¡¯t endured all that pain for nothing. His limit before ingesting the fruit had been Fifteen Stacks, but now, he had just used Seventeen Stacks without anyplications at all, and it didn¡¯t even feel like he had touched his limit. His physical limits had been expanded once again, and he was able to move even faster now.

    As he eyed the other four strengthening fruits, Lu Yin carefully stowed them away. Before he could obtain better natural treasures, these strengthening fruits would be good enough to enhance his strength.

    He raised his hand, causing the die to appear once again, and Lu Yin sighed in admiration at it. Every time he saw his die, it astonished him. Others would have needed to spend excessive amounts of effort to get an ingredient like the strengthening fruit he had just consumed, but all he needed to do was throw money at it. While it had cost him quite a bit, it meant that anything was possible.

    Based on what the Sandmaster had said, a strengthening fruit needed to be at least 50,000 years old before it would be useful for a Limiteer. Manyrge organizations could not wait that long, but he had managed to obtain one for merely 400,000 star crystals. He was much luckier inparison.

    After his body was strengthened once more, Lu Yin was now heavily anticipating the Tournament of the Strongest. He wondered what kind of expression Nightqueen Yanqing and the others would have when they saw him use Fifteen Stacks. When he defeated her, he had used less than Thirteen Stacks. Actually, he had only used Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm. He was clearly much stronger now than before.

    Lu Yin took a few days to rest and then left the Time Stop Space. When he breathed in the outside air for the first time in a long while, Lu Yin felt incredibly refreshed.

    To others, it might seem as if only a second had passed, but it had been a long time for him. It had been nearly two months. In two more months, the Tournament of the Strongest would begin.

    After Lu Yin removed the screen on the monkey¡¯s senses, it tiredly spoke up, ¡°We share the same body, Seventh Bro. You shouldn¡¯t go so far.¡±

    Lu Yin was currently in a very good mood. ¡°From what you know, what kind of power should the strongest Limiteer possess?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was baffled. ¡°The strongest? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the strongest Limiteer since ancient times,¡± Lu Yin rified.

    The monkey thought it over and then replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Those monsters on the Skymender List were already unimaginably powerful when they were Limiteers, but you humans¡¯ Ten Arbiters were basically the strongest since ancient times as far as Limiteers are concerned. There¡¯s no question about that. They¡¯re the result of the advancements made in the universe.¡±

    ¡°How do you know about all this?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. Rather, is there anything that I don¡¯t know? I¡±ll tell you this as well¡ªthe Ten Arbiters were not all born during the same time period. Some of them were frost-sealed and only released when there was a huge change in the universe. Those ones are the worst,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin paid no mind to thatst bit. He was now incredibly confident in his abilities, so all he wanted to do was fight the strongest Limiteer around. He wanted to know if anyone was willing to take on his most powerful attack.

    Actually, no. His current level was still far from enough. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist had been able to use Thirty Stacks while in the Limiteer realm. Lu Yin¡¯s current strength still wasn¡¯t enough. He then contemted earning more money so that he could upgrade the rest of the strengthening fruits until he could use Thirty Stacks.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the time for that. That had to wait until after the tournament. He looked around himself before deciding to head to the Sand Ocean in an attempt to upgrade his battle force.

    When he arrived, Lu Yin found out that there were only seven levels beneath the Sand Ocean. The seventh level corresponded to five-lined battle force, which meant that this ce would no longer be of much help to him anymore.

    For a student, five-lined battle force was practically the maximum that one could achieve. When the Ten Arbiters had attended the Astral Combat Academy, they had only raised their battle force to five lines as well.

    ¡°Battle force corresponds to its wielder¡¯s aura. It can be upgraded through experience in battles as well as by cultivating in certain areas. However, even without those, a person¡¯s spirit can achieve the same results,¡± the Sandmaster earnestly told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°A person¡¯s spirit?¡±

    The Sandmaster grinned. ¡°Amongst the younger generation, the Ten Arbiters possess the boldest spirit, as they want to control the next generation of the universe with the power of ten people. That requires a tremendous amount of tenacity. Even I don¡¯t have such ambition. That is what we call ¡°spirit,¡± and it can upgrade your battle force. Back then, the Ten Arbiters had no more than five-lined battle force, but nobody knows how far they¡¯ve gotten now. Nobody can predict howrge the spirit of someone who can surprise the universe in such a manner is.¡±

    Lu Yin could feel his excitement surging. After all, it made sense. What sort of spirit must ten people who desire to rule over an entire generation of people possess? It was to the extent where they were even able to affect the universe! He started bing excited just thinking about it. With such spirit, how could one¡¯s battle force not be upgraded? The best way to understand it was that one¡¯s spirit alone could take over the universe.

    They were unspeakably strong because they were the Ten Arbiters, and they were the Ten Arbiters because of their strength. This was a tenacity that only humans could have.

    While the Astral Beast Domain had Skymender''s List and although the individuals on the list were said to beparable to the Ten Arbiters, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that they were notparable in the slightest. The Ten Arbiters were a product of the universe¡¯s changes, and nobody knew how powerful they actually were.

    However, it was impossible to estimate how powerful the Ten Arbiters were just from their battle force alone.

    The Sandmaster sighed. ¡°Compared to people from ancient times, the Ten Arbiters can be considered to be monsters. Nobody amongst the younger generation can best them.¡± After saying that, he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You may be called a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, but you¡¯re still far from approaching their strength when they were in the Limiteer realm. Nobody can replicate their achievements.¡±

    ¡°But I can best them,¡± Lu Yin interrupted. After saying that, he froze, and yet for some reason, he really felt as if he could do it.

    The Sandmaster stared at Lu Yin with a strange look and then burst intoughter. ¡°Young people need to have ambition! Try your best to surpass them, and you should indeed train your battle force with the intention of surpassing them. You really might be able to do it then.¡± After that, the mentor left.

    Lu Yin could tell that the Sandmaster had merely been joking and that he didn¡¯t really believe that Lu Yin was capable of surpassing the Ten Arbiters. It made sense, because who in the universe was capable of doing so? Lu Yin was about ten years younger than them, and there were already quite a few candidates around his age. However, all of them were rathermonce. The Ten Arbiters were clearly far and above any candidate.

    After leaving the Sand Ocean, Lu Yin headed to the Stargazing Deck. He¡¯d been there once before, which made this his second visit.

    There was definitely a reason why the Astral Combat Academy was considered to be the top academy in the universe, and the Stargazing Deck was something that existed in all ten branches. Perhaps there was something special about this ce.

    When he had firste there, the Starmaster had told Lu Yin something that he still remembered. ¡°Go down. The Stargazing Deck shows you the stars, your gratitude and grudges, the world through the ages, the cycle of causality, and the part of the heavens that belongs to you.¡± Remembering the words was one thing, but understanding them was an entirely different matter altogether. Lu Yin had no idea what the words actually meant.

    Did those huge, ancient warships and those mournful battle songs have anything to do with him? Also, what was the Endless Weave? What about that jade finger that had pierced through the universe towards him? How were any of those things rted? Or did the future that he had seen have nothing to do with him?

    ¡°Sir, I am Lu Yin, and I would like to enter the Stargazing Deck,¡± Lu Yin respectfully called out.

    ¡°A person can only enter the deck once. It¡¯s pointless to enter a second time. What you see will be either nothing or what you saw before,¡± the Starmaster replied.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°I¡¯d like to see what I saw before. I didn¡¯t manage to clearly see what was there my first time, and I would like to take a look once more.¡±

    The Starmaster widened his eyes, stared at Lu Yin, and then nodded. ¡°You can give it a try.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed and then slowly climbed up.

    He sat down cross-legged, calmed himself down, closed his eyes, and modted his breath. Nine stars began revolving around him, and as he held onto the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, undtions from his domain began to spread out.

    The Starmaster was shocked at the sight. Not much time had passed, but Lu Yin had improved by a great deal.

    Just like before, it was hard for Lu Yin to tell if he was awake or asleep. He once again saw that unfamiliar space that had an ancient, deste feel to it. There was also a battle chant pounding in the distance, where he saw an enormous warship. Ahead was still the Endless Weave.

    One ship after another passed by and flew ahead. Where are they going, and who are they fighting?

    Lu Yin could now see even further than before. While he still saw the same scene, he could tell that there were a few figures on the ship who were stained red with blood. A jade finger burst through space, and Lu Yin felt a strange sense of fury overtake him, and he unconsciously shouted, ¡°How dare you!¡±

    All of a sudden, he seemed to remember something, and he ignored the finger. Instead, he stared at the deck and realized that there was a familiar wmark there: it was from the Skybeast w.

    The wmark had been imprinted deeply within the deck, and blood flowed along the mark before spreading.

    After a moment, Lu Yin was startled.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± he shouted again as he stood up, fury zing within him.

    ¡°Shut-¡± A booming voice started answering, but Lu Yin was pulled out of the vision by the Starmaster. While still panting, he bowed to the mentor before slowly descending down the stairs. Before he left, he asked, ¡°Do people see the same vision in each of the astral academies¡¯ Stargazing Decks?¡±

    Starmaster widened his eyes. ¡°Perhaps. Perhaps not.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and left.

    He had managed to see even more during this visit to the Stargazing Tower. He had seen that Skybeast w imprint on the deck, and he was certain that he had not been mistaken; he was very familiar with the sensation of that technique.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and shaped his fingers into ws. The 96th form of the Skybeast w technique was very familiar to him by now, but this time, there was a slight difference in his Skybeast wpared to before. He was now demonstrating the 108th form: theplete version from the Great Yu Empire. However, this was still far from enough. Compared to the wmark on that warship, his version was still far, far too weak. What he had seen in the vision was the true Skybeast w, something that could endure the passage of time just from being carved into the ship¡¯s deck.

    Why did the Great Yu Empire have the Skybeast w? Or rather, why had Undying Yushan had the Skybeast w? No, he hadn¡¯t been Undying Yushan, but rather Undying Yu. Yu, one of the Court of Seven Names, which was one of the Three Dark Hands. With the truth in mind, it was actually of no surprise that he had possessed the Skybeast w.

    Lu Yin sank deep into thought. The Skybeast w clearly had more than 108 forms. It was impossible to take another look from Astral-10¡¯s Stargazing Tower, as the chances of the Starmaster allowing him to go in again were slim to none, but what about the other academies? He had a feeling that the Skybeast w might be extremely powerful if he ever managed toprehend it in its entirety, and he might even be able to find out a bit about what had happened in the past.

 Chapter 306: Experts From The Cosmic Sea

    <h4>Chapter 306: Experts From The Cosmic Sea</h4>

    There was less than a month remaining before the tournament started. In the Human Domain, at the borders of Erudite Flowzone, there was a gigantic, white bone soaring through space. It was headed across the border and towards the Erudite Flowzone. The white bone was the spacecraft that hade from the Astral Beast Domain and was carrying the beasts as it headed to thepetition in the Human Domain.

    Shui Chuanxiao watched as the giant bone disappeared into the distance with a pondering look in his eyes.

    ¡°Do we really not need to check them, sir? Things will get bad if there are strange beasts onboard like those Sheng Ao from before,¡± Enya anxiously asked from behind Shui Chuanxiao.

    Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. They¡¯re not that stupid. The Erudite Flowzone is under surveince by many epic powerhouses, and every single thing they do is under heavy surveince. They won¡¯t be able to fool anyone. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Enya was confused. ¡°Why was this Tournament of the Strongest scheduled all of a sudden?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao narrowed his eyes. ¡°The war has to stop for a time.¡±

    Enya was surprised. ¡°We¡¯re stopping the war?¡±

    ¡°This tournament is just an excuse for the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy to enter the Human Domain and conduct negotiations. The border wars that have gone on for countless years have reaped arge number of casualties from both sides, and both sides also have matters that they must deal with. That¡¯s why the war will be temporarily stopped, but exactly who will be heading the efforts is an important matter that must be negotiated,¡± Shui Chuanxiao answered. He was saying quite a bit, which was rather unusual for him. It was as if he was instructing her.

    Enya was still confused. ¡°I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anything in our domain that we need to handle. Won¡¯t they take this opportunity to attack us?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao snickered. ¡°Who said that we¡¯re fine? The truth has merely been concealed. Once the cunning party dies, another one will be cast aside.¡± At this point, Shui Chuanxiao seriously said, ¡°Remember this well, Enya. No matter when or how, do not ever let your guard down when ites to defending the border. Never let that happen.¡±

    Enya nodded and nced at Shui Chuanxiao with a strange look in her eyes. Themander was acting very strangely today.

    Within the Erudite Flowzone, the white bone moved just like a universal spacecraft as it shot through space, catching quite a bit of attention as it did so. Ripples formed around the bone as it traveled through space, and they prevented the beings within the bone from making direct contact with the outside universe.

    Not very far away from the bone, a massive, pen-shaped spacecraft slowly drew closer to the bone. Within it were students from the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Lost Radiance Academy who were about to take part in certain trials.

    Not too long after that, the two spacecraft met, making for quite a strange sight. Both ships had unique structures; one was a bone, the other was a pen, and both were on the same path, although it appeared that neither was willing to give way for the other.

    At the frontmost tip of the bone, a purple-haired beautyzily opened her eyes. Then, she lightly tapped out with a single finger, causing the entire local region of space to be covered with snow as everything froze. The other spacecraft was also frozen, after which it slowly dropped down.

    Within the frozen spacecraft, Ying Tang was shocked. As a mentor of Lost Radiance Academy, he had the strength of a Cruiser. However, there was absolutely nothing he could do against this seemingly delicate snow. He could only watch on as the academy¡¯s spacecraft fell down, giving way to the other spacecraft.

    ¡°Have mercy, Lc Snow,¡± a voice boomed through outer space, causing ripples to spread out and melt the snow into nothingness.

    At the end of the bone, the purple-haired beauty disdainfully replied, ¡°Why are you hiding? Is this the so-called character of a cultured person?¡±

    A middle-aged man walked out from within the void and fearfully gazed at the beauty. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯de, Lc Snow.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that your family would have sent you here either, Wen Yao. Or perhaps¡­ Are you here to keep an eye on us?¡± Lc Snowzily answered with apletely nonchnt expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m not keeping an eye on you. I¡¯m just helping you finish the tournament without any issues,¡± Wen Yao stated.

    Lc Snow sneered. ¡°How hypocritical. Enough of that. Stop blocking us. Make them leave.¡±

    Wen Yao waved his arm, gently lifting and pushing the huge spacecraft aside, and making a path for the bone vessel from the Astral Beast Domain.

    At this point, Ying Tang walked out from within the spacecraft and whispered something to Wen Yao. Wen Yao¡¯s eyes shone as he nced at the bone spacecraft. ¡°There¡¯s a youth who would like to challenge someone from the Spiritual Academy. Would you be willing to permit that?¡±

    Lc Snow was rather interested as well. ¡°You humans are so hypocritical. Are you trying to test the waters before the tournament? Fine.¡± After speaking, she nced at the bottom of the bone spacecraft. ¡°Who wants to fight? It¡¯ll just be for fun.¡± After that, with another casual wave of her hand, white snowkes appeared in the void, forming an icy white route that extended into the distance. This would be the battlefield.

    A young man exited the giant spacecraft. He looked quite simr to Han Chong.

    ¡°Who is he?¡± Wen Yao asked.

    Ying Tang answered in a hushed tone, ¡°That¡¯s Han Kui, Han Chong¡¯s younger brother. People call him the Little Art Saint.¡±

    Wen Yao was caught off guard. ¡°He¡¯s Han Chong¡¯s brother? What a surprise.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s always wanted to surpass Han Chong, which is why he asked to challenge a student from the Spiritual Academy,¡± Ying Tang exined.

    Wen Yao shook his head. ¡°The Spiritual Academy has no easy targets. Even Han Chong might not be able to win. This kid¡¯s in trouble.¡±

    A green-eyed golden mouse climbed out from within the bone spacecraft, slowly made its way towards the ice tform floating in space, and then furned to face Han Kui.

    Han Kui was furious to see that he was facing off against a mouse. To him, this was a clear sign that these astral beasts were underestimating him! He immediately struck out, using his star energy to draw pictures of huge mountains to pressure the mouse.

    This mouse was Hua Yishou, and he stared at Han Kui with beady green eyes that were filled with contempt. Against the huge mountains that were exerting pressure on him, the mouse simply opened its mouth, causing an suction force that was so astonishing that it distorted the void and caused spatial cracks to appear. Han Kui was startled by the sight and felt his scalp go numb. This mouse was able to create spatial tears just by opening its mouth? Creating spatial tears was the mark of a powerhouse amongst Limiteers.

    Therge mountain formed from star energy was swallowed by Hua Yishou in a single gulp. After that, Hua Yishou disappeared.

    Han Kui¡¯s eyes widened and he hurriedly dodged. The ce where he had been standing looked as if something had bitten through it, leaving only a ck hole behind. Hua Yishou disappeared once more, and while Han Kui had been able to avoid the first attack, he was unable to do so for the second one. He could only watch on, unable to move, as Hua Yishou closed in on him with a gaping mouth.

    Nearby in space, Wen Yao waved his arm and stopped Hua Yishou. ¡°Enough. We admit defeat.¡±

    Han Kui panted heavily as he gazed at the disproportionately huge mouth of the tiny Hua Yishou. That mouth was able to burrow through the void and he couldn¡¯t do anything to block it. This was the first time in his life that he had felt himself be so close to death, since it was clear that he had nearly been eaten.

    Back atop the bone spacecraft, Lc Snow contemptuously said, ¡°If you don¡¯t fear a fight, then you shouldn¡¯t be afraid to die. I can¡¯t believe that you saved him. This is the reason why you humans keep getting weaker with each newer generation.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak too soon,¡± Wen Yao shot back.

    Before long, the white bone spacecraft left.

    Within the spacecraft, Han Kui¡¯s expression was incredibly bitter. The difference between him and the mouse was just too big. He had always held the belief that he would one day surpass his brother, Han Chong, and that the gap between them wasn¡¯t that much. However, it was only now that he understood that it wasn¡¯t that the gap between them wasn¡¯trge but rather that his brother hadn¡¯t made the difference between the two of them clear. One could say that Han Kui was not even able to see the difference between him and his brother. It was no wonder why he was stuck in Lost Radiance Academy while his brother was one of the most powerful students in the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°That¡¯s the power of the universe¡¯s cream of the crop. Don¡¯t feel down. You still have a chance to surpass your brother,¡± Ying Tang said to console the youth. He thought very highly of the young man.

    Han Kui nkly nodded and stared at the starry skies with aplex look in his eyes. The universe was huge, and that mouse was definitely not the strongest within the Limiteer realm.

    The Astral Beast Domain was located in the extreme east, while the Technocracyy to the extreme west. These two domains were separated by a huge astral river, and the Technocracy shared a border with the Chaos Flowzone.

    The spherical spacecraft from the Technocracy passed by the Human Domain¡¯s border armies there and appeared on the astral river¡¯s huge ark.

    The humans did not know very much about the Technocracy because, since ancient times, nobody had been able to enter it, regardless if one tried to sneak in or barge straight in. This was because there were rumors that, within the Technocracy, there was arge, primordial brain that was able to scan everything in the entire domain at all times. That rumor was very exaggerated, but it was not impossible. After all, it was a fact that nobody had ever sessfully entered the Technocracy.

    This meant that the humans knew very little about them.

    Within the spherical spacecraft, a half human, half robot female stared at the passing scene of outer space from within the spacecraft. Deep within her eyes, there was a strong sense of disdain and contempt that originated from her very soul. She was not looking down upon the Human Domain specifically, but rather, she was looking down upon the entire known regions or even the entire universe.

    Next to her, a wolf-shaped roboty on the ground, seemingly very obedient to her.

    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯ll be anyone who can block me once I unveil my true form. All of them are nothing but useless ants in front of me,¡± the girl said with a slight grin. The Tournament of the Strongest was merely a game to her.

    The Sword Sect was definitely the leading sect in the top flowzone. The Thirteen Swords were famous throughout the entire universe, and while their disciples might not be able to inherit all Thirteen Swords, they still possessed powerful techniques that were enough to shock the universe.

    The Lightning Sword Technique was considered to be one of the most difficult ones to learn, and its power was second to none.

    Amongst the many disciples of the Sword Sect, very few had actually managed to learn it. Of those who had, Yan Hua was one of them. He was a Limiteer from the Sword Sect who was second only to Liu Shaoqiu. He even stood above Liu Tang and held the same status as Liu Xiaoyun.

    It was a pity that he was a bit old; he was about a decade older than Liu Xiaoyun and the rest. While he could still be considered as a member of the younger generation, nobody mentioned him anymore. In just a few more days, he would have to retire from that title. It would be fine if he had be an Explorer, but if he was unable to do so, then he would be nothing more than a joke.

    Yan Hua sat atop the peak of a lofty mountain with aplex expression. He had given up too much for the Lightning Sword. With his talent, he could have easily be an Explorer if he had chosen to learn a different technique. However, him choosing the Lightning Sword meant that he had no way out. He could either seed or fail and be forgotten. Those were his only choices

    As he stared at the sword in his hands, Yan Hua tightly clenched the hilt. Lightning shed in the sky above him as a reaction. Yan Hua was powerful, but unfortunately, he was out of time.

    All of a sudden, the void in the distance shattered. An arrow streaked towards Yan Hua after piercing through the void. Yan Hua¡¯s eyes widened, and he immediately counterattacked with his sword. Thunder boomed as a frightening streak of lightning struck the ground. The arrow was turned to dust while the lightning was simultaneously dispersed.

    Yan Hua stood up and gazed into the distance in shock. That arrow had been shot by a Limiteer, but since when was there such a powerful expert in the Sword Sect? That arrow had been released from a great distance away, but it had still destroyed his attack. Even Liu Xiaoyun wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve that.

    With this in mind, Yan Hua soared into the sky and charged in the direction that the arrow hade from.

    Far away, quite a few disciples were standing around the Sword Sect¡¯s space station as they red intensely at a young man.

    The young man was half-naked, and the few bits of clothing that he did have were extremely casual. His body was covered with scars, and his demeanor was arrogant and snobbish as he nced around at his surroundings. ¡°So you all are the best of the Sword Sect? What a joke.¡±

    Right after he said that, a female disciple stepped out and red at the young man. ¡°I request a duel with you.¡±

    The young man snorted. ¡°You¡¯re not my match, little girl.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± she yelled as she swept out with her sword horizontally. Sword qi spread out and froze the void. This attack wasn¡¯t weak at all and was practically able to tear through the void. This young woman wasparable to an Area Master from the Astral Combat Academy.

    A glimmer of surprise shed through the young man¡¯s eyes, but his figure disappeared like a fish swimming through the ocean as he dodged the sword attack. By shaking the void, he had effectively dispersed all of the star energy and sword qi in the area that had been sealing the void. He then shot out another arrow at the female disciple.

    At that moment, an indescribable sense of danger could be felt. The void broke down as an arrow shot into the distance.

    The girl¡¯s face turned deathly pale. She wasn¡¯t able to defend against this attack, and perhaps even her beloved seniors from the sect would not be able to either.

 Chapter 307: Heavenly Drum

    <h4>Chapter 307: Heavenly Drum</h4>

    The youth arrogantly dered, ¡°Remember my name. I am Nate, a member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew. I can¡¯t bepared to spoiled disciples like you all from the Innerverse.¡± He then released the string in his right hand, and although the arrow did not move, the sharp aura still left a cut across the young female disciple¡¯s cheek. After that, the arrow flew out.

    All of the disciples were dumbstruck by this scene. This arrow targeted not only the female disciple, but also all the other disciples of the Sword Sect.

    In the sky, multiple disciples who could explore space were about to act, but they suddenly stopped. A sudden p of thunder roared as a bolt of lightning crashed down and smashed that arrow to pieces, causing an intense explosion to burst forth. The lightning flickered, dazzling many people and tearing the void apart. However, the space quickly restored itself in the next moment, and the deafening sound transformed into shockwaves that swept out in all directions, pushing the Sword Sect disciples aside. The person called Nate was also pushed back a step, and he looked on in shock.

    There was now one more person on the battlefield. Thunderbolts were wrapped around his entire body, and he carried a long sword on his back as he stared coldly at Nate. This person was Yan Hua.

    Nate quickly grew serious. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Sword Sect disciple Yan Hua.¡±

    Many disciples started to whisper behind Yan Hua. ¡°It¡¯s actually him. He still hasn¡¯t broken through to the Explorer realm after a dozen years and is still waltzing about as a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°Shh, regardless of his cultivation level, Senior Yan Hua has learned the Lightning Sword technique and can¡¯t be underestimated.¡±

    ¡°When Senior Yan Hua first learned the Lightning Sword, he was full of energy and was second only to that female senior. It¡¯s such a pity that he gradually fell more and more behind. While that senior became one of of the Ten Arbiters, Senior Yan Hua is still a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°Even so, he¡¯s second only to Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    ¡­

    Yan Hua heard the furtive discussions around him, but he had long since grown ustomed to it. His senior whom he held in high esteem had climbed to unreachable heights. But inparison, he was just Yan Hua, a Sword Sect disciple. No matter what the people from his own sect said about him, he still had to protect the sect¡¯s dignity. He could not allow it to be trampled upon by some stranger.

    ¡°Senior Yan Hua, thank you.¡± The female disciple who had attacked Nate before looked at the neer appreciatively.

    Yan Hua ignored the crowd and stared at Nate. ¡°You¡¯re from the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    Nate arrogantly replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Compared to the Cosmic Sea, your Innerverse is too peaceful. People like you wouldn¡¯t survive past a few days in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Yan Hua frowned. ¡°Surviving in a harsh environment is not the only factor that determines one¡¯s strength.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s the most important factor,¡± Nate coldly retorted as he aimed his bow at Yan Hua. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good since you were able to receive one of my arrows. Let¡¯s see if you can take another one.¡± Then, the arrow unleashed such a terrifying aura that even Yan Hua¡¯s scalp turned numb. At that moment, he realized that he was not this person¡¯s opponent. Of the Sword Sect¡¯s Limiteers, perhaps only Liu Shaoqiu could defeat this person. He truly lived up to the hype of hailing from the Cosmic Sea.

    But Yan Hua would not retreat. He was a disciple of the Sword Sect; he was Yan Hua!

    Crack!

    Lightning exploded forth, and a dazzling radiance covered the area once again. The void shattered in a spider web-like pattern. Meanwhile, the arrow pierced through the void and distorted the storm of lightning before arriving in front of Yan Hua¡¯s eyes. Yan Hua had nowhere to run, and he did not intend to dodge the arrow either.

    Whoosh!

    The arrow skimmed past Yan Hua¡¯s cheek and into the void, gradually vanishing.

    Yan Hua continued to stare straight at Nate.

    Nate looked at Yan Hua in amazement, and respect appeared within his eyes. ¡°You lost, yet you didn¡¯t retreat. I admire that.¡±

    Yan Hua was not satisfied, but he waspletely powerless against a powerhouse from the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°You¡¯re the Sword Sect¡¯s strongest Limiteer?¡±

    Yan Hua shook his head. ¡°The strongest is Liu Shaoqiu. You can wait for him to return.¡±

    Nate shook his head. ¡°I admire your spirit, but your power iscking. Nevermind Liu Shaoqiu¡ªnone of the Sword Sect¡¯s Limiteers are my opponent. The only worthy opponents are still only those from the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    At that point, another youth appeared. ¡°Nate, it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Nate looked at Yan Hua. ¡°If you have the guts, thene to the Cosmic Sea and leave your mark there. That ce is a paradise for powerhouses. This Innerverse is too peaceful.¡± And with that, he left.

    The purpose behind the two¡¯s appearance seemed to be to probe the strength of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples. The two of them were from the Arcadian Arrow Crew of the Cosmic Sea, and they were representing the regiment in the Tournament of the Strongest. However, they did not seem to care about thepetition in the slightest.

    The environment of the Cosmic Sea was extremely harsh, and the two people from the Arcadian Arrow Crew felt that neither the Inner nor the Outerverse could ever produce powerhouses that could match up to them.

    Many Sword Sect disciples were left unsatisfied, but no one could stop the two from the Cosmic Sea. Even Yan Hua, who was second only to Liu Shaoqiu, had lost. There was no need to even mention the rest.

    Yan Hua watched on as Nate and hispanion left the Sword Sect on their spacecraft. He shook his head; the two were way too arrogant. The Thirteen Swords was not a battle technique that he could even dream of matching with just his Lightning Sword. If the two used him as a standard to measure Liu Shaoqiu, then they would suffer a terrible fate; Liu Shaoqiu was much stronger than him.

    Be it the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, or the Cosmic Sea, a flood of experts came to the Innerverse one after another. However, Lu Yin did not know about all these individuals appearing since he had entered the Undying Realm. That was where his territoryy, the Heavenly Drum that he had snatched away from Nightqueen Yanqing. He was the Realm Master of the Undying Realm.

    The Heavenly Drum stretched across a thousand kilometers, and it was set t within a mountain range. The beating of battle drums rang out from it once a month, which allowed everyone within range to see an ancient battlefield and experience all sorts of battle techniques. The luckier ones would even be directly pulled into the battlefield and experience firsthand the battle techniques of that ancient battlefield. This was the inheritance of the Heavenly Drum.

    There had originally been many Daynight n members training around the Heavenly Drum, but they had all left by now. They were too ashamed to appear in this area, unless Nightqueen Yanqing managed to defeat Lu Yin and reim the training zone.

    Lu Yin had be the Realm Master of the Undying Realm, which meant that all of the Undying Realm now belonged to Astral-10. It was a pity that there were too few people from Astral-10 to utilize it. Additionally, Xia Luo was not interested in the trial zones, and Silver had vanished. Thus, the Area Masters of the Undying Realm had barely changed.

    There were only two Astral-10 students at the Heavenly Drum when Lu Yin arrived. One was Darkvoid and the other was Meng Yue. The other students present were not from Astral-10.

    Boom!

    A loud sound filled the air, signalling that the monthly beating of the battle drums had started.

    Many students¡¯ eyes grew fervent.

    Darkvoid and Meng Yue stood at the front of the crowd. Darkvoid was qualified to be here, but Meng Yue¡¯s presence was rather forced. Still, no one caused trouble for him due to their fear of Lu Yin.

    The battle drums sounded out, and the ancient battlefield appeared. An endless bloodlust swept out and pervaded the entire mountain range.

    The battle drum was a thousand kilometers across and seemedrge, but it was still much smaller than a grand battlefield of the universe. This was just a miniature battle, but many strange battle techniques were disyed within it as it was from the ancient times. Just its aura caused many students to feel overwhelmed.

    Each battlefield that appeared would be different from all the others, and the time that theysted for would vary as well. The longest hadsted for several months while the shortest no more than a fleeting moment.

    Meng Yue stared hard at the Heavenly Drum battlefield. Suddenly, the scene before his eyes transformed as the solemn sounds of hand-to-handbat resounded around him. He had managed to enter the battlefield as a soldier.

    At the same time, Lu Yin arrived at the Heavenly Drum and directlynded at the front, where he also stared at the battlefield. He didn¡¯t even have time to react before his body vanished, as he had simrly been pulled within the battlefield.

    He also merged into the body of a powerhouse, but a different one than Meng Yue¡¯s¡ªthis one was an Explorer.

    Lu Yin could not control this body, and he could only witness everything from a first-person point of view.

    The Explorer that he was in raised his hand, causing a peculiar star energy to take the form of a horrifying imprint that suppressed the entire battlefield. Ahead, another powerhouse tore through the void and sliced at the Explorer carrying Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness with a sword.

    The powerhouse whom Lu Yin had merged with battled against this swordsman for five days.

    At first, Lu Yin was not very used to the strength of an Explorer, but after spending five continuous days basking within the ughter of the ancient battlefield and hearing the painful cries from those beside him, he slowly became ustomed to the battlefield. Additionally, he also became used to the sorrow from the deaths surrounding him.

    He gradually forgot his own identity; it was as if this battlefield had be his home.

    Finally, the swordsman was killed on the seventh day. The Explorer that Lu Yin had merged with roared at the heavens as blood continuously flowed down like rain.

    This Explorer was not extremely powerful and had no strong battle force, outstanding domain, or even any mysterious innate gifts. He had relied purely on his battle techniques to carry himself through the battle.

    Lu Yin could sense this Explorer¡¯s passion and enthusiasm.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s perspective changed; he had merged with another body, and from his new perspective, he could see the roaring Explorer with whom he had merged with before.

    At that moment, the powerhouse whom he had merged with pointed out with a finger. Stars exploded from his fingertip and reduced the roaring Explorer to a mere puddle of blood.

    The difference was too great. Now that he had merged with another Explorer, Lu Yin could feel the power of this person. He possessed a domain that allowed him to survey the entire battlefield. With a light tap of his finger, he could cause the void to copse. This finger carried a strange, ancient charm to it, and the domain around his body surged. This was a personal forcefield.

    The Rainmaster had once mentioned to Lu Yin that, once one¡¯s domain grew strong enough, they could develop their own forcefield. The strength of the forcefield depended on one¡¯s spirit, and this person¡¯s forcefield was able to suppress the entire battlefield. He truly possessed a spirit that could quell an entire area.

    The greater one¡¯s forcefield, the greater the suppressive effect upon one¡¯s enemies. At an extreme level, even the environment would be altered to better suit oneself, rather than the cultivator adapting to their surroundings. These alterations were a real, physical effect.

    The entire battlefield was suppressed by this Explorer¡¯s forcefield, and the Explorer flipped his palm over to crush the earth. One finger of his could pierce through the void, causing countless to die at his hand. The more that died, the stronger this person¡¯s forcefield became. Within his domain, Lu Yin could sense the Explorer¡¯s bloodlust. It fed on the battlefield¡¯s murderous aura, and this aura strengthened his domain over and over again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire being was immersed into this person¡¯s powerful domain as he experienced the killing intent emanating from the battlefield.

    Without their notice, a few days had passed before the battlefield vanished. Lu Yin, Meng Yue, and a few other students were standing atop the Heavenly Drum. They were the lucky chosen ones who had been drawn into the battlefield.

    Some students had grasped battle techniques through the battlefield while others had seen a path to growing stronger. Lu Yin had grasped a strand of killing intent, and his domain had taken a dramatic change, as it now caused others to shudder.

    The students closest to Lu Yin felt numb, almost as if they had returned to that ancient battlefield. In just a moment, all of them left.

    Meng Yue looked at Lu Yin in shock. This person was just too powerful, almost excessively so. Is this his current strength?

    In the distance, Darkvoid simrly stared at Lu Yin in shock. During Astral-10¡¯s new studentspetition, he had not felt such a disparity between himself and Lu Yin, but now, he felt that he could no longer even see how wide the gap between them was. Darkvoid thought of the mission that hispany had given him, and felt his hopes ofpleting it fading. This person would never be that desperate.

    Atop the Heavenly Drum, Lu Yin closed his eyes. He was still immersed in that battlefield. Even if it was invisible, his domain had been strengthened by a significant amount and had been incorporated with that ancient battlefield¡¯s bloodlust. It now caused everyone who came in contact with it to feel a chill. Through experiencing this battle, Lu Yin had seen the path he should take to develop his domain.

 Chapter 308: Provocation

    <h4>Chapter 308: Provocation</h4>

    On the other end of the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s bone spacecraft finally arrived at Astral-7¡¯s space station. The astral beastpetitors would enter the Lifeseek Realm through Astral-7¡¯s trial zone mountain and then head to the specific area inside the realm where the Tournament of the Strongest would be held.

    The average Astral Combat Academy student would only head to the border warfront after graduation or expulsion, so most of the present ones had not had any contact with any of the beings from the Astral Beast Domain. Thus, their curiosity was piqued when they heard the news that students from the Spiritual Academy would be visiting their academy.

    A few were rather worked up by the desire to beat down the astral beast students. They were just savage beasts, but they wanted topete against the top four of the Astral Combat Academy? Dream on.

    Many students had gathered at Astral-7¡¯s space station and were gazing at the bone spacecraft in wonder. This toy was a spacecraft?

    Atop the white bone, Lc Snow stretchedzily and stood up. Her beautiful face was exposed to the crowd of onlooking students.

    Many were stunned; weren¡¯t the visiting students supposed to be beasts? What was this beauty doing on the beasts¡¯ ship? Was she human?

    Lc Snow frowned at the crowd of low-grade humans. ¡°You guys should take care of yourselves. Ask if you don¡¯t know the way, but y nice.¡±

    From within the spacecraft, a green-eyed golden mouse jumped out. It was Hua Yishou, who was about the size of a palm and had an adorable appearance, but many girls were freaked out by it.

    The students were stunned again. A mouse? What¡¯s going on?

    Embermane followed closely behind Hua Yishou, revealing his appearance as a zing red sable.

    Many were now rendered speechless. First, it was a mouse, and now, a sable. Were these the so-called astral beasts?

    ¡°Excuse me, but where¡¯s the trial zone mountain?¡± Embermane asked. The beasts¡¯ mouths did not move when they spoke, as they ¡°talked¡± by making the air around them vibrate, which seemed very strange.

    No one answered.

    Embermane grew unhappy. ¡°Humans, answer me or be burnt to death.¡±

    ¡°Embermane, be more amiable. You can¡¯t be too excessive when dealing with weaker creatures,¡± a blue-haired beauty said as she walked out of the spacecraft behind the sable. This was Feng Jiu, whose appearance seemed much more normalpared to the beastly mouse and sable.

    ¡°Who are you calling weaker beings?¡± a female Astral-7 student barked unhappily.

    Feng Jiu nced at her. ¡°You¡¯re too weak.¡±

    That female got angry. ¡°Let¡¯s duel!¡±

    Hua Yishou spoke up, ¡°You humans are really interesting. You¡¯re clearly trying to probe our strength, and yet, you¡¯re still looking for excuses to do so. Whatever, I¡¯ll take on anyone who wishes to fight.¡±

    ¡°Hua Yishou, you¡¯ve gotten a battle. It¡¯s my turn next,¡± Embermane growled.

    Feng Jiu frowned. ¡°Elder was right. Humans are just asking for a good spanking. No one answers when we ask politely, so they all can only be beaten into obedience.¡±

    Atop the bone spacecraft, Lc Snow had already fallen asleep again.

    This exchange had thoroughly riled up the Astral-7 students. They had tried to use the pretext of being insulted for a duel, but that no longer seemed necessary. They could have an open fight the way the situation was developing.

    ¡°Whoever wants to fight, juste on up. Order doesn¡¯t matter¡ªwe can take all of you on at the same time if you so wish,¡± Feng Jiu said as she nced at the crowd.

    At that point, a figure d entirely in ck walked out from behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble. Just ask for directions.¡±

    Feng Jiu seemed very afraid of this ck-garbed figure, and she did not speak any further.

    Hua Yishou and Embermane also fell quiet. This was Tian Hou, the one who the Ghost Monkey had said was the strongest Academy Lord of the Spiritual Academy.

    ¡°Oh, another one that acts all mysterious. This one¡¯s just a savage beast with a bizarre shape. Why even bother acting like that,¡± a student disdainfully insulted with a sneer.

    Feng Jiu, Hua Yishou, and Embermane simultaneously looked at that student with sympathy written all over their faces.

    Tian Hou raised his head from beneath his ck robes. No one was able to clearly see his appearance, but the student who had ridiculed him suddenly turned deathly white while his pupils instantly constricted and he was paralyzed.

    ¡°Please, how do we get to the trial zone mountain?¡± Tian Hou quietly asked.

    The many students of Astral-7 looked at him in fear without moving. They hadn¡¯t even felt a tremor of star energy, but a Limiteer of the Astral Combat Academy had been scared so thoroughly that they had lost their fighting strength. Whatever method Tian Hou had used, it was too crafty.

    ¡°I can guide you,¡± Dai Ao said as he walked out from the crowd with a serious expression and looked at Tian Hou.

    The cloaked figure nodded. ¡°Many thanks.¡± He then walked out of the space station, following behind Dai Ao.

    The appearance of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s fourpetitors attracted even more students, and even some mentors watched the procession below from the void above.

    The mentors of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s various branches only had one role: to act as guides. Thus, they did not meddle in the management of the academy, and the administration was handled entirely by the students. The mentors had not even appeared to wee this group from the Astral Beast Domain.

    Dai Ao escorted Tian Hou and the rest through the teleportation device, after which they arrived at an empty grasnd. Dai Ao then turned to Tian Hou. ¡°I want to challenge you guys, and I will take you all to the trial zone mountain after the challenge.¡±

    Hua and the others were not surprised. Feng Jiu coldly asked, ¡°Are these your conditions?¡±

    Dai Ao shook his head, and with a somber expression, said ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t ept. I can take you there now if you wish.¡±

    Feng Jiu sneered and started to walk away, but Embermane leapt out in front of Dai Ao before she could leave. ¡°I¡¯ll bite.¡±

    Feng Jiu did not argue. To the astral beasts, their true battle would be at the Tournament of the Strongest. The people they were currently meeting were just failures of the Astral Combat Academy, and they were not even qualified to touch them.

    ¡°Show some mercy,¡± Tian Hou softly said.

    Many students gathered nearby and looked on in excitement. They wanted to get an idea of the so-called ¡°four lords¡± of Spiritual Academy¡¯s power; what were these four relying on to challenge the top of the Astral Combat Academy?

    Embermane was rather small in size. He was just slightlyrger than Hua Yishou and did not appear very threatening. However, when Dai Ao stood in front of the sable, he felt an intense chill cover his entire body. He had the preposterous notion that he could be turned into nothingness at any moment.

    The air around them became scorchingly hot, and Dai Ao¡¯s expression grew solemn. He then rxed both fists to expose his palms before he charged at Embermane. ¡°Starburst Palm.¡±

    Embermane seemed indifferent to Dai Ao¡¯s attack and merely thrashed out with his tail. The seemingly delicate tail carried an indescribably intense heat with it, as well as a strange force. Embermane released a battle technique through his tail to directly sh against Dai Ao¡¯s Starburst Palm.

    With a bang, the inferno soared into the skies and burnt the void away, causing it to violently erupt. In the next moment, a boundless heat melted almost all of the spatial cracks while Dai Ao was sted backwards by the heat wave. A bit of his right palm had even been charred.

    He looked at Embermane in shock, as that intense heat had nearly melted him into nothingness.

    Embermane flew into the skies and stared down at Dai Ao. ¡°Human, you¡¯re not my match.¡±

    Outside the battle zone, most of the Astral-7 students were taken aback. Dai Ao¡¯s power was obvious, and he could rival an Area Master in power. His performance in the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s Three Academies Guarding the Gate had been dazzling. The Starburst Palm was also Astral-7¡¯s top technique, but it had been dispersed by a mere flick of the tail.

    Dai Ao raised his head and inhaled deeply. A trace of unwillingness ran through his eyes. ¡°Gravity.¡±

    An indescribable darkness extended across the ground, and a terrifying force descended upon the grasnd. Embermane had been flying in mid-air, but he was suddenly pulled down by a strange gravitational pull, causing him to crash into the ground. Dai Ao raised both hands. ¡°Gravity¡ªStarburst Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    The grasnd split apart as a giant fissure extended in all directions. Dai Ao¡¯s star energy followed along the cracks and swept up into the sky. The smoke was scattered, and the very air warped, causing the area to be fuzzy.

    Many were knocked back by the aftershock and felt a giant wave of pressure blow past them.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was focused on the battlefield. This was Dai Ao¡¯s strongest attack, so the battle should have ended with that.

    Feng Jiu stared at Dai Ao in astonishment. ¡°Not bad! He actually has an innate gift of gravity.¡±

    Tian Hou silently stood to the side.

    Dai Ao was panting heavily outside the crater. He had put everything into that palm, and all of his star energy had been drained, but he still felt uneasy for some reason.

    Suddenly, Dai Ao¡¯s chest tightened as he reflexively dodged to the side. A fiery ze burned the space where he had previously been standing to a crisp. He felt numb; if he had been just an instant slower, then he would have been fried.

    The zes coalesced into the shape of Embermane, and he stared at Dai Ao with fury in his eyes. ¡°Human, you¡¯ve angered me! Burn to death!¡± He then raised his tail as an iparable congration streaked towards Dai Ao. The high temperature formed a cage that sealed off all directions, and even Dai Ao could not stop it despite his power. He could only watch on as the mes burned across the grasnd; they were more than sufficient to reduce him to ash.

    Tian Hou raised his head as if he were about to prevent a death, but then, he suddenly looked to the other side. At the same time, Feng Jiu and Hua Yishou looked in the same direction as well; a sharp sword aura had rushed out from the void in the direction of the battlefield. The target of the sword attack was actually not Embermane but rather Dai Ao.

    The appearance of the sword attack was so sudden that Embermane did not even have any time to react. Not only was the timing of the attack exceptional, but it also sliced straight through the burning cage that had trapped Dai Ao, allowing him to break free at thest moment and avoid being roasted to death.

    ¡°Who is it? Get out here!¡± Embermane shouted as he stared in the direction that the sword attack hade from.

    Dai Ao panted heavily as he fearfully looked at Embermane. He then looked towards the other end of the grasnd. There was only one person in their academy who was both that powerful with a sword attack and also qualified to intervene in this battle. It was Astral-7¡¯s student leader, Liu Xiaoyun.

    Liu Xiaoyun slowly walked across the grasnd with her sword in hand. A powerful sword auraposed of star energy swept out from her, leaving aftershocks in the wake of her domain. What a powerful woman! Her appearance shocked Feng Jiu and the other Spiritual Academy Lords.

    Embermane warily gazed at Liu Xiaoyun; he could also feel that she was very formidable. That aftershock was, without a doubt, from a domain. This woman was far stronger than the man with the innate gift of gravity that he had been fighting.

    Dai Ao gazed at her. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun nced at him. ¡°Leave with the other students. These are guests from far off, so do not act disrespectfully towards them.¡±

    Dai Ao nodded and left. The other students grudgingly dispersed as well. Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s word wasw within Astral-7; after all, she was the academy leader.

    ¡°Woman, is it your turn?¡± Embermane said as he stared at her.

    She frowned. ¡°My apologies, your hosts have been rude. I¡¯ll escort everybody to the trial zone mountain where you can enter the Lifeseek Realm.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. You just cut me with your sword, but you want to leave just things just like that?¡± Embermane was unsatisfied with Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s response.

    Tian Hou did not stop him, as Liu Xiaoyun had piqued his interests as well. This human female was the strongest human Limiteer that he had encountered so far.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s voice was cold.

    Embermane, however, was in high spirits. ¡°Let¡¯s duel, or you can take one of my attacks.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun looked over at Tian Hou and the rest, and then back at Embermane. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty direct, so let me warn you beforehand¡ªthere¡¯s no way you humans can withstand my mes. Offense or defense, it¡¯s up to you,¡± Embermane haughtily dered before rising up.

    Liu Xiaoyun had never looked down upon Embermane and the rest of the astral beasts, as she had been to the border warfront and personally witnessed too many powerful astral beasts. Many of them had strange innate gifts and were no weaker than humans. Additionally, she had heard of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s reputation before. She felt as if she were facing an Astral Combat Academy student leader now that she was directly facing this Spiritual Academy Lord.

    A heavy atmosphere suppressed the entire grasnd while the loitering students further away looked back at the battlefield. Dai Ao was still there as well. He had not underestimated Embermane, but he had still been easily defeated, so he wished to witness the disparity between them.

    Sparks suddenly appeared from the void and spread out, causing the temperature to spike dramatically. Many looked at the skies in shock, but all they could see was the sky distorting.

 Chapter 309: Regiment

    <h4>Chapter 309: Regiment</h4>

    Embermane looked at Liu Xiaoyun, and the strange inferno from before moved to cover his body. Liu Xiaoyun instinctively felt that this ze was very dangerous, and she automatically swept out with her sword. She had instinctively responded to Embermane¡¯s threat by attacking rather than defending. However, her sword qi was nheless burnt to nothingness when it approached Embermane.

    The next moment caused the onlookers¡¯ hearts to tremble as they felt an intense pain overtake their bodies. The formless congration had covered the entire region and even caused the sky to turn dark red.

    Dai Ao¡¯s eyes popped open when he saw this familiar scene. The feeling that Embermane was emitting was the same as Arikar¡¯s during his battle against Feng Shang in the Astral Combat Tournament. This feeling was exactly the same as when the Karmic me Sword had been umting power. It was a scorching heat that could burn everything away to nothingness.

    Liu Xiaoyun noticed the peculiar simrity, and her gaze turned cold. She was a hundred meters away from Embermane and sliced out towards him with her sword. This technique was her imitated technique of the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. It sliced through the void and bypassed the mes to directly strike at Embermane.

    Feng Jiu was startled.

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes gleamed with surprise under his ck robes. What a powerful sword technique.

    Hua Yishou blinked; this sword was intimidating.

    Embermane was struck by Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s attack, and a sword scar appeared on his red fur. Fresh blood dripped out only to instantly evaporate into steam. He stared at Liu Xiaoyun in shock, as she had actually bypassed his zes to strike at him.

    Liu Xiaoyun frowned and gripped her hilt tightly. What a sturdy defense! Even her strongest attack had not been able to truly harm the fire sable.

    Embermane¡¯s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth. A red me that burned through the void shot towards Liu Xiaoyun, and she once again struck out with her strongest attack to sh against the fire. An unbelievable explosion erupted and caused the void to copse as countless shockwaves swept in all directions, burrowing through both the earth and the void while numerous spatial cracks appeared. Despite the bem, the inferno still descended upon Liu Xiaoyun before her own eyes.

    Liu Xiaoyun tightly clenched her de to defend herself from the st, but her sword was transformed into molten iron before it evaporated away. Her entire body was struck by the mes, and she spat out a heavy mouthful of blood. She was flung more than a thousand meters backwards, and a good deal of her clothes was burnt away. Her right arm was charred, and her skin had been scorched as well.

    She had been defeated by this one strike, by the sheer power of that fire.

    Across from her, Embermane marvelled, ¡°Human, you¡¯re still alive, and although I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re strong, you¡¯re not my match.¡±

    Many of Astral-7¡¯s students were stunned; their student leader, Liu Xiaoyun, a Sword Sect disciple, had been defeated. Was this the power of one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s four lords? It was no wonder why they were challenging the top four of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Multiple mentors shook their heads when they saw that scene from above the grasnd. Liu Xiaoyun had tried her best, but she had barely defended herself. The disparity between them was sorge that even after she had attacked to defend herself, she had still been defeated. The sword scar on the sable¡¯s skin also gradually recovered. He had taken Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s full force attack without any real defensive measure, making the disparity between them even more apparent.

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s right hand was injured, but she endured the pain as she looked at the sable. ¡°I lost, and you guys are indeed qualified to participate in the Tournament of the Strongest. I look forward to watching your matches.¡±

    The sable contemptuously replied, ¡°The Tournament of the Strongest? You humans aren¡¯t even qualified to enter my sight since none of you can withstand my inferno. Your top four will be no exception.¡±

    ¡°Alright, since things have ended, let¡¯s go to the trial zone mountain,¡± Tian Hou quickly said as he intervened.

    The fire sable did not provoke the students any further, as he feared Tian Hou. Truthfully, the entire Spiritual Academy feared Tian Hou, who was the strongest Academy Lord.

    Five dayster, the Technocracy¡¯spetitors reached Astral-5, where they were simrly challenged by Astral-5¡¯s students.

    The results were shocking. Astral-5¡¯s Namu, Rou Daynight, and Astral-5¡¯s leader Kuang Wang all lost without question, just like how Liu Xiaoyun had been thoroughly defeated.

    These results instantly made all the humans feel gloomy about the uing Tournament of the Strongest. Both Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang were academy leaders who could rank among the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s top sixteen students. They were even strong enough to match up against some of the champions from the tournament¡¯s previous seasons, and yet, they had been easily defeated. Many were unable to ept this oue, and it was an ominous portend for what the uingpetition would be like.

    Many had assumed that the top four from the Astral Combat Academy would win thispetition after watching the Astral Combat Tournament. They believed that the finals would be between two human participants. However, quite a few had changed their minds after witnessing the neers¡¯ power, especially since the strongest Academy Lord, Tian Hou, had not even shown his skills yet. Additionally, some random fire sable was capable of defeating Liu Xiaoyun. Reality was quite frightening.

    Not long after the Technocracy arrived at Astral-5, the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Arcadian Arrow Crew arrived at Astral-3. However, Nightqueen Yanqing had forbidden the academy students from challenging the visitors, which was much different from Astral-5 and Astral-7. The two from the Arcadian Arrow Crew seemed to have some history with the Daynight n, and their interactions with Nightqueen Yanqing were rather cordial.

    Although Nightqueen Yanqing was Astral-3¡¯s student leader, she could not control everyone, and Cang Shi was one of those whom she could not control.

    Cang Shi had no personal desire to challenge the visitors, but he had received an order from Chaosgod Mountain to probe the strength of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s two participants. This was because the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s motives in sending these two people to the Innerverse were not as simple as participating in the tournament.

    Cang Shi did not know much about the Cosmic Sea, but he had still heard some rumors about it. It was divided into various territories governed by different regiments, with four at the very top. These four regiments were so strong that they could even cause the Innerverse powers to feel fear. They were known as the Four Pirate Crews, and the Arcadian Arrow Crew was one of the few regiments that stood independent of the big four. Chaosgod Mountain had a suspicion that the Arcadian Arrow Crew was nning to withdraw from the Cosmic Sea and that they had joined the Tournament of the Strongest to both allow the Innerverse powers to see their strength and to attempt to find powers that were qualified to ept them. The Daynight n had their eyes on them, as did the Chaosgod Mountain.

    ¡°Chaosgod Mountain? You¡¯re someone from the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain?¡± Nate looked at Cang Shi in amazement.

    Cang Shi faced Nate. ¡°Yes, please guide me.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes shed murderously from beside Cang Shi. ¡°Cang Shi, as Astral-3¡¯s student leader, I order you to back down. Otherwise, I will have to use my authority to put you on trial.¡±

    Cang Shi frowned. He was not Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s match, especially since she had recently changed and be stronger. She was now worthy of ranking amongst the top four of the Astral Combat Academy, and he could notpare to her.

    Nate¡¯s lips curled up in interest. ¡°Miss Yanqing, there¡¯s no need to worry. Since this disciple of the Chaosgod Mountain wants to know the power of my Arcadian Arrow Crew, I am happy to oblige.¡± And with that, he walked out to face Cang Shi. ¡°You can attack now.¡±

    Cang Shi did not dare to be careless against someone who hailed from a fabled Cosmic Sea regiment. Nate was right when he imed that the Innerverse was too peaceful and that it could notpare to the cruelty of the Cosmic Sea. Anybody who could survive there was terrifying, which was why Nate despised those Sword Sect disciples.

    However, Nate would not dare to look down upon the Chaosgod Mountain, as the cruelty of their training far surpassed what the Sword Sect subjected their disciples to.

    The Sword Sect relied on their powerful sword techniques to lead the First Flowzone, and it was very powerful. However, to the people of the Cosmic Sea, they were more impressed by the Chaosgod Mountain as their disciples'' survival capabilities far outstripped those from the Sword Sect.

    There was a whoosh as enormous air waves blew apart. Cang Shi¡¯s four-lined battle force shot out as his terrifying strength distorted the void and caused traces of spatial cracks to appear.

    Behind Nate stood another expert from the Cosmic Sea, and his eyes gleamed as he looked at Cang Shi. ¡°Allow me.¡±

    ¡°Four-lined battle force, not bad. Silus, you can have fun.¡± Nate smiled and slowly backed off.

    The youth called Silus stepped out, and four-lined battle force simrly shot out from his body, though his battle force appeared to be more condensed and deeper than Cang Shi¡¯s.

    Boom!

    The two attacked simultaneously. Their collision was almost exactly the same as the scene from the Astral Combat Tournament when Cang Shi had collided against Xia Ye, both using four-lined battle force as well.

    Compared to Xia Ye during the Astral Combat Tournament, Silus appeared to be a lot more rxed. Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples were known for their abnormal instinctive reaction time, but Silus¡¯s reflexes were no worse. His movements were strange but very effective.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes gleamed. She did not care about four-lined battle force, but this Silus¡¯s defensive movements smoothly flowed from one to the next; it looked as if he was always one step ahead of Cang Shi¡¯s attacks, who had the reactions of a Chaosgod Mountain disciple.

    ¡°We face constant danger all year round in the Cosmic Sea, to the point where life and death crises have been engraved into us. Be it the atmosphere, liquid energy, native beasts, or other powerful regiments, grave danger can appear at any moment. Hence, there is no rigid structure to our battle style¡ªit remains simple and effective out of necessity,¡± Nate exined, seemingly having read Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s thoughts.

    The Daynight n had more of an understanding of the Cosmic Sea than others, but that ce became more terrifying the more they learned about it. It was a mysterious ce, situated between the Innerverse and the Neoverse. Aside from the regiments that perpetually dwelled in the Cosmic Sea, others would find it hard to even safely pass through. Just like the Neoverse, this was a ce that existed independently from the rest of the universe.

    Still, even if it was the smallest regiment, it was no simple feat for them to survive in the Cosmic Sea. Each regiment had an expert with at least a power level over 200,000 overseeing them, or else they simply would not be able to survive within the Cosmic Sea.

    It was precisely because of her respect towards the Cosmic Sea that Nightqueen Yanqing had put aside her status to try to form a rtionship with these two. Otherwise, she would not have even bothered to speak with such people. They were much older than her, and if they had been students of the Astral Combat Academy, their age would have forced them to either break through to be Explorers or be expelled. Either way, they would have had no chance to participate in thispetition.

    Still, these two were very powerful among the Limiteer realm, and Cang Shi was rendered helpless against Silus. The reflexive dodging that he was so proud of was useless in this battle, and he could not even take advantage of his four-lined battle force. He felt exceptionally stifled.

    Silus marvelled as he blocked another one of Cang Shi¡¯s kicks. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re a Chaosgod Mountain disciple. You qualify to train in the Cosmic Sea, and you¡¯re much stronger than those disciples from the Sword Sect.¡±

    Cang Shi retreated rather grudgingly, but he was truly at his wit¡¯s end against Silus.

    Silus¡¯s lips quirked up in amusement. "Don¡¯t take things to heart. I hadn¡¯t evenprehended four-lined battle force when I was your age. You¡¯re pretty good, but you¡¯re still too far from the current me.¡± The battle force surrounding his body suddenly morphed into a dark golden color. A terrifying strength exploded andunched Cang Shi backwards.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and Cang Shi were stunned; it was five-lined battle force.

    ¡°Do you want to keep going?¡± Silus said with a smile as the dark golden radiance enveloped him, making him appear mysteriously profound.

    Cang Shi¡¯s battle force dissipated around his body, and he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Silus simrly dissipated his battle force. ¡°You¡¯ll be able toprehend five-lined battle force in a few years.¡±

    ¡°I heard that someone in the Astral Combat Academy has alreadyprehended five-lined battle force. Is that true?¡± Nate suddenly asked as he turned to Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression became ugly as she duly replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. When the Ten Arbiters were in the Astral Combat Academy, they alsoprehended five-lined battle force. This person has been hailed as a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, so I want to see if he is qualified for such a reputation.¡± Silus raised his head, and some displeasure appeared in his eyes.

 Chapter 310: Looking Down

    <h4>Chapter 310: Looking Down</h4>

    Back in his youth, Silus had wished toprehend five-lined battle force at a young age and beparable to the Ten Arbiters. Unfortunately, he had only seeded several yearster, so he really wanted to test himself against this youth from the Astral Combat Academy who had alreadyprehended five-lined battle force.

    ¡°That person¡¯s name is Lu Yin. He should be at the Heavenly Drum in the Undying Realm. You can go look for him there,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing offered.

    Silus smiled coldly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Cang Shi nced at Nightqueen Yanqing. He then exchanged some pleasantries with the two Cosmic Sea individuals and left. Nightqueen Yanqing was just trying to instigate things and have these two to make trouble for Lu Yin. However, all Cang Shi had to do was watch things unfold. The Chaosgod Mountain weed all sorts of desperate experts with open arms.

    Five dayster, at the Heavenly Drum in the Undying Realm, in addition to the originally present Meng Yue and Darkvoid, Michelle also came since she hadpleted her mission.

    When Lu Yin saw her, he grew rather embarrassed as well as a little upset since he had been toyed with by this pair of sisters.

    ¡°When will you help meprehend battle force?¡± Michelle coldly asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°After thepetition.¡±

    Michelle red at him and headed to another area.

    ¡°Eh, why does this girl look so familiar? She looks pretty simr to that woman from the battlefront,¡± the Ghost Monkey asked curiously.

    ¡°She¡¯s Mira¡¯s younger sister,¡± Lu Yin quietly exined.

    ¡°No wonder they are so simr.¡± The Ghost Monkey then chuckled as he seemed to think of something. ¡°Seventh Bro, a man must have great ambitions and dreams. Do you know what mine is?¡±

    ¡°To be an unknown tomb raider forever?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was momentarily left speechless. ¡°Of course not, and how could an archeologist stay unknown forever.¡± The Ghost Monkey paused, coughed, and then answered, ¡°My dream is to acquire the entire Celestial Ice Phoenix n as my harem, hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his temple. A monkey and an ice phoenix. Just what¡¯s going on there?

    He stood up as it was time to leave. He had wanted to attend two beatings of the battle drums, but it seemed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to make the second one. The previous session had already helped him greatly. Should he travel around and visit all of the trial zones once? It might be rather offensive, but was he afraid of offending anyone? Lu Yin seriously considered it.

    At that point, a man stepped onto the Heavenly Drum amidst many shocked gazes, attracting Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    The Heavenly Drum was Lu Yin¡¯s territory, so no students besides those from Astral-10 were allowed to step onto it. And yet, there was a stranger who dared to step on it in front of Lu Yin. This was clearly a provocation.

    Meng Yue spoke first. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The man nced at Meng Yue with contempt in his eyes before turning to Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re the Undying Realm¡¯s Master?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Too bad. I¡¯ve taken a fancy to this Heavenly Drum, so let me have it,¡± he coldly dered.

    Lu Yin red at the arrogant man and felt something strange¡ªthis person gave off the air of a wandering nomad.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Meng Yue stepped forward with the intention of obstructing the man, but he was stopped by Lu Yin.

    ¡°Who are you and where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Silus, from the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    The Cosmic Sea? Lu Yin was stunned, and everyone else who heard this man¡¯s origins was shocked as well. Many from the Innerverse knew of the Cosmic Sea; it was an ominous ce with an unnaturally high death rate. Every year, many experts were buried there. It was difficult for any to survive in that ce.

    Among the many students present, those from Astral-5 and Astral-7 looked at Lu Yin with worry etched on their faces. They had witnessed the strength of the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy, whosepetitors had soundly defeated both Kuang Wang and Liu Xiaoyun. Now, it was the Cosmic Sea experts¡¯ turn, and they had decided to challenge Lu Yin. Once this academy leader was defeated, the reputation of the top four would be aughingstock.

    Although quite a number of students detested Lu Yin, despite everything, he was still from the Astral Combat Academy, so they hoped that he would emerge victorious.

    Michelle stared at Silus in astonishment when she heard that this person was actually from the Cosmic Sea. She had heard her sister speak of that ce more than once before, and especially about the Four Pirate Crews. The top organizations of the Cosmic Sea were so strong that even the Ten Arbiters Council feared them, and they were not to be trifled with despite their low member count.

    The deeper within the universe one ventured, the more powerhouses would be birthed. The Cosmic Sea was even deeper than the Innerverse, and intense battles and deaths wasmonce for those who lived there. Anyone from that area was undoubtedly abnormal.

    ¡°What, are you scared?¡± Silus condescendingly asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°If you want the Heavenly Drum, then sure. Come and take it.¡±

    Silus sneered. ¡°Rather big talk.¡± After saying that, his battle force appeared around his body. Many students gasped in wonder when they saw a dark gold radiance appear¡ªfive-lined battle force.

    Meng Yue, Michelle, and Darkvoid all backed away since a five-lined battle force user had appeared.

    Lu Yin squinted. This guy sure lived up to the reputation of the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Let me show you the terror of the Arcadian Arrow Crew,¡± Silus growled as he charged forward at Lu Yin. He punched out, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. Five-lined battle force erupted from Lu Yin with a bang, and the majestic power was no weaker than Silus¡¯s as Lu Yin responded to the attack with a punch of his own.

    Heaven and earth seemed to collide, and an intense rumbling sound apanied the fierce shockwaves that swept out across the Heavenly Drum, driving Michelle and the others to the edge. Even the students outside the Heavenly Drum were affected by the aftershocks of the battle.

    After one exchange of punches, the two fighting atop the Heavenly Drum simultaneously retreated. They then looked at each other in amazement.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually able to withstand my blow.¡± Silus was shocked. He was quite a bit older than Lu Yin, and he had originally assumed that Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force would barely be at the initial stages and that Lu Yin¡¯s physique would be iparable to his own. However, not only had this person taken his punch, but he also appeared to be extremely skillful. It was to the extent where Silus could not even see Lu Yin¡¯s level.

    Lu Yin looked at his fist. His punch carried a ferocious power, and more importantly, it had been imbued with several stacks, but it had all beenpletely dissolved. This person seemed to have an abnormal reaction time ability that was simr to that of the Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples, although his was unique in that only those who spent their lives in the Cosmic Sea possessed it after their sense of danger developed to an extreme.

    Whoosh!

    Silus kicked out at Lu Yin and carefully observed Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, as Silus was able to sense his opponent¡¯s next move from their eyes.

    Lu Yin did not avoid the attack and responded with a kick from his own leg. A loud bang sounded out, and a shockwave shot upwards as a giant spatial crack simrly extended from the point of impact. It was as if the skies had split into two halves. The scene was breathtaking.

    Bang bang bang bang!

    A chain of intense explosions rang out atop the Heavenly Drum. There had never been a case of students battling with five-lined battle forces in the history of the Astral Combat Academy. It was almost impossible for students toprehend five-lined battle force, so the peak battle force was usually four lines. Hence, a collision between two five-lined battle force users was practically never seen, and more and more students gathered at the Heavenly Drum to watch the spectacle.

    Lu Yin once again blocked Silus¡¯s strike. Thus far, he had only relied on his five-lined battle force and had not used his domain, Cosmic Palm, or even any oveying stacks. He wanted to experience the fighting ability of an expert from the Cosmic Sea, but he had finished testing the waters now. He then nced beyond the Heavenly Drum, after which his eyes shed. Someone would definitely describe this battle in detail afterwards, which would not be favorable for him in the uingpetition. He did not like being thoroughly investigated, and he forcibly suppressed his desire to use the Cosmic Palm or his domain. Instead, he raised a hand and unleashed a Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm.

    Silus¡¯s gaze changed, and he moved like a fish to slip past the attack as he violently struck out with an elbow in a counter against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his knee to sh against Silus¡¯s elbow. The impact resulted in an explosion, and a rippling shockwave pulsed out with the two of them at its center.

    Throughout all the battles Lu Yin had fought in, few had been able to dodge his attacks. His speed was extraordinary, and he could sense his opponent¡¯s movements through his Cosmic Art, thebination of which meant that his strikes had alwaysnded true. Now, however, Silus was actually evading Lu Yin¡¯s attack and had even forcibly taken one strike. It was an ufortable feeling, but Silus was not actually powerful enough to injure Lu Yin with his current strength.

    The two struck out and backed away simultaneously again, ring at each other as they panted heavily.

    Silus eximed, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. For you toprehend five-lined battle force so deeply at your age is not easy. It¡¯s a pity that you won¡¯t be able to continue with just this reputation.¡±

    Upon hearing these words, Lu Yin suddenly recalled what his family mentioned to him: a publicly recognized Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate from the Cosmic Sea would participate in the Tournament of the Strongest.

    ¡°How many people havee from the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Silus did not bother to hide the truth. ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°Is the other one at the same level as you?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    Silus frowned. ¡°Why bother asking? You¡¯ll naturally witness it for yourself during thepetition. Do you really think that I¡¯m using my true power?¡± Then, he raised his hand, formed a bow and arrow out of star energy, and pointed it at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m from the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Arcadian Arrow Crew, and every single member is a divine archer. This¡­ this is my true strength.¡±

    Lu Yin was in awe. He had a numb feeling just from Silus¡¯s bow being aimed at him. This feeling intensified even further when Silus¡¯s dark gold battle force enveloped the bow, and the void even began to split open. The arrow had not been fired yet, but the void already was not able to endure the pressure any longer, and Silus was just a Limiteer.

    ¡°You must be Lu Yin. The top four of the Astral Combat Academy are indeed not bad, but it¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s still a huge disparity between us. Things may be different in a few years, but there¡¯s no such thing as fairness in the universe,¡± Silus spoke coldly as the arrow was enveloped by his dark gold battle force. It naturally caused a spiraling turbulence that spun upwards to form, causing many students to turn pale.

    This was too powerful; this arrow would absolutely be earth-shattering. Could Lu Yin handle it?

    In the distance, a veileddy dressed in white clothes silently watched the Heavenly Drum.

    From beside the Heavenly Drum, Michelle and the rest grew nervous.

    Not far from Michelle and the rest, Xi Yue and Yue Xianzi were watching as well, as was Liu Xiaoyun and the others from even further away. Many had been attracted by this battle and their attention was focused here. The other star domains and the Cosmic Sea¡¯spetitors had consecutively challenged Astral Combat Academy students, and many from the Astral Combat Academy had been defeated. They hoped that Lu Yin would not be beaten as well.

    Lu Yin truly felt danger when facing Silus¡¯s arrow, but it was just a slight sense of danger; this attack was not enough to warrant his defeat. Although this arrow was powerful, it was useless if it could not strike its target.

    Twang!

    The arrow pierced through the void, faster than anything Lu Yin had ever seen¡ªeven faster than Lu Yin¡¯s sh Step. From Silus¡¯s perspective, no Limiteer could evade his arrow, and even an Explorer would find it hard to dodge and be forced to meet it head-on. He had concentrated his strongest battle force on it as well. Silus believed that even an Explorer would be hard-pressed to forcibly receive the attack.

    The arrow sessfully struck Lu Yin and continued traveling through the void afterwards, leaving arge spatial crack in its wake that looked like a dark river flowing across the skies. Everyone was shocked by what had just happened.

    All eyes were on Lu Yin. Was he dead?

    Silus¡¯s bow vanished from his hands, and his lips arrogantly rose up. No one had ever managed to receive his arrow, unless they were a six-lined battle force user.

    Just as Silus was about to speak, a face appeared in front of him, not even half a meter away. His pupils shrank in shock, and he instinctively cried out, ¡°You-¡± only for an intense pain to explode from his abdomen. His body curled up like a dried shrimp as his face paled and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Lu Yin looked down at him from above. ¡°You¡¯re no match for me.¡±

 Chapter 311: The Mysterious Woman

    <h4>Chapter 311: The Mysterious Woman</h4>

    Around the Heavenly Drum, numerous students were stunned to see that Lu Yin was still alive.

    Liu Xiaoyun and the rest were also astonished that he had managed to evade the arrow. The swiftness of that arrow was something that they all knew they would never have been able to evade at their current level.

    And yet, to Lu Yin, speed was not a factor. That was because the Cosmic Art was the natural nemesis of extreme speed. At the veryst moment, he had been left with no choice but to use the Cosmic Art to evade the arrow. If the battle had been a live broadcast of the Tournament of the Strongest, then he would not have been able to use Cosmic Art. In that situation, his only option would have been to take the arrow head on, which would then reveal his monstrous physical capabilities. Though, during the tournament, there would be no need to hide such a thing. However, restraint still needed to be shown at this time, or else he would risk being targeted.

    Silus was undoubtedly someone from the Cosmic Sea who was worthy of participating in the Tournament of the Strongest. He was powerful enough to defeat a vast majority of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders, but unfortunately, he had challenged Lu Yin. Having said that, he was still slightly less powerful than the other top four fighters of the Astral Combat Tournament. It was not known how much more powerful the other person from the Cosmic Sea was, the one who had been epted as a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, but that person was undoubtedly the greater threat between the two.

    Silus knelt down on the drum with one knee, panting heavily. The intense pain radiating from his abdomen almost made him spew out bile. Although this was a sensation that he had often encountered in the Cosmic Sea, he had never expected a younger student from the Innerverse to force him to this position. This individual was way stronger than him! Could this be the standard of the top four from the Astral Combat Academy? If the top four were all at this standard, then he and Nate would not stand a chance.

    After a long while passed, Silus finally managed to recover his strength. He stared intensely at Lu Yin before leaving the Heavenly Drum without a word. He hadpletely lost this battle. His finishing arrow had not been able to hit its target, and there was no way he could continue to fight.

    Many students looked towards where Lu Yin was standing, and as they did so, they felt that he possessed iprehensible power and that his speed seemed to have actually increased somehow.

    Lu Yin nced at his surroundings and left the Undying Realm afterwards. The Heavenly Drum would no longer provide him with much help, and since thepetition was only seven days away, he felt that it was more important to rest than continue training. There were times where rxing oneself was very important.

    As for the other party, Silus did not immediately leave the Undying realm after stepping off of the Heavenly Drum. He intended to review the details of the battle, and more importantly, he needed to understand how Lu Yin had evaded his arrow. Speed was probably not the only factor, as the void in that area had shown no changes beyond those caused by the arrow itself. Could it be that Lu Yin had predicted his arrow¡¯s trajectory?

    The thought of that possibility sent chills running down Silus¡¯s spine. If that was truly the case, then Lu Yin¡¯s power was no less than that of the demon from the Cosmic Sea, Ye Xingchen. The only difference was that one had evaded his attack while the other had taken his arrow head-on.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Silus suddenly stood up and cautiously turned around. A woman with her face covered by a thin piece of cloth had suddenly appeared behind him and was silently watching him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Silus asked again, raising his brows. The woman had beautiful eyes.

    ¡°Your five-lined battle force¡ªuse it to try and stop me,¡± the woman said in a gentle but indescribably icy tone. After she said that, the air around them turned much colder, and even the void started to distort as its color changed.

    This scene caused Silus¡¯s pupils to contract. ¡°This domain... are you another one of the top four from the Astral Combat Academy? Which are you, Mavis or Starsibyl?¡±

    ¡°Try and stop me,¡± the woman quietly ordered a second time. When she took a step forward, a great sense of danger rose up within Silus¡¯s heart. Without any hesitation, he activated his five-lined battle force, and at the same time, he drew his bow and shot an arrow at the woman. However, he was still too slow. The woman evaded his attack and disappeared while Silus and his five-lined battle force remained frozen in the same spot.

    This event would rock the entire Astral Combat Academy to its core if it were ever revealed. It was all because even Lu Yin had needed to expend a significant amount of effort to defeat Silus, whereas this maskeddy had done so seemingly easily. Her abilities were unfathomable, and furthermore, she was also a Limiteer.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting more and more difficult to control. This innate gift is very powerful, but it¡¯s also so hard to control¡± was all the woman said as the frozen Silus shattered into fragments and disappeared from the Undying Realm.

    In the next moment, Silus suddenly opened his eyes on Astral-3¡¯s trial zone mountain. His eyes were sparkling as he checked his body¡¯s condition, which had be extremely cold. The intensity of this cold was something that he had never experienced before. It was caused by an innate gift, and that woman had a shocking control over coldness. It was an extremely powerful innate gift. Was she also a student of Astral Combat Academy? Which Astral Combat Academy had such a powerful hidden powerhouse?

    Nate walked over. ¡°Silus, you lost?¡±

    Silus ignored Nate. His mind was still preupied by that unimaginable cold, and he had long since forgotten about Lu Yin.

    Nate frowned. ¡°Silus, I am talking to you.¡±

    Silus finally raised his head and spoke with a grave expression, ¡°Nate, I feel that we shouldn¡¯t take part in the Tournament of the Strongest.¡±

    Nate snorted in contempt. ¡°If you act so weak and depressed after suffering just one loss, how will you survive in the Cosmic Sea? I¡¯ll contact themander and have him expel you from the Arcadian Arrow Crew!¡±

    Silus shook his head. ¡°This is not just about Lu Yin. It¡¯s-¡± He did not know how to describe what he was feeling, and at a loss, he merely sighed. ¡°Forget it, Nate. However, let me give you a piece of friendly advice: do not underestimate the Astral Combat Academy. There are actually a lot of powerful individuals hidden there.¡±

    Nate remained unconvinced. ¡°You should adjust your attitude. Behaving this way is only going to make that woman, Yanqing, look down on you even more. Even worse, the entire Arcadian Arrow Crew will be looked down on.¡± He walked away after saying that.

    Silus forlornly watched Nate¡¯s back as he walked away. He was agonized that Nate had no idea what he had just experienced.

    Lu Yin spent several days at Astral-10¡¯s trial zone entrance. After he left the Undying Realm a few days earlier, he had intended to rest for a while. However, when he remembered what had happened at the Shenwu Continent, he felt that resting would not actually be productive. Thus, he had decided to look for the Trialmaster to see what he could learn in the time he had left before thepetition.

    Unfortunately, the Trialmaster was not of much help. He categorically stated that he did not know the answers to any of Lu Yin¡¯s questions, leaving Lu Yin speechless.

    ¡°Do you think that this old fogey is just ying dumb?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin rested on top of a tree while observing the Trialmaster. He had only asked him two questions. The first was whether or not a sourcebox could be bigger than a. The second was whether or not a sourcebox could be used as a means of defense. However, the Trialmaster had answered neither of his two questions, and Lu Yin had a feeling that it was because the Trialmaster didn¡¯t want to share the information.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, since you¡¯ve got nothing else to do, then why not do a few ported battles? I heard that those are fun,¡± the Ghost Monkey urged.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. It was true that he had not participated in any ported battles in quite some time. His current record in the ported battles was one hundred wins and seventy three losses. After entering the trial zones, he had not participated in a single ported battle. Maybe one would be a good warm-up for him.

    Lu Yin jumped off the tree and walked towards the area of the teleportation stone.

    The Trialmaster¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°If you start a teleportation stone war and manage to snatch a teleportation stone, I will answer one of your questions. Or, if you prefer, I can also give you an opportunity to lockbreak in front of me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He then bowed to the Trialmaster and said, ¡°Thank you so much, Mentor.¡±

    The Trialmaster let out a faint smile. ¡°Don¡¯t rush to thank me, kid. Don¡¯t forget¡ªthe only requirement for the ported battles is that you have to be a member of the younger generation. There is no restriction concerning one¡¯s cultivation realm. If you want to win a teleportation stone, then you first have to win fifteen consecutive battles. During those fifteen battles, if you¡¯re unlucky, you could even be matched up against one of the Ten Arbiters. Haha!¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°My luck shouldn¡¯t be that bad. Besides, I also had a streak of winning twelve consecutive battles in a row before.¡±

    ¡°Good luck.¡±

    Lu Yin then took a confident step into the teleportation stone¡¯s area.

    Immediately after, the scenery around him changed, and he appeared within a destend. A figure slowly appeared in front of him with the words ¡°I am Strongest¡± etched above his head.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows quirked up in surprise. What an arrogant name. Even as that thought passed through his mind, he waved his hand and a surging wave of pressure descended upon the area. The words ¡°I am Strongest¡± were instantly wiped out. The other man was just a Melder and was absolutely no match for Lu Yin.

    What a good feeling. Lu Yin instantly felt the adrenaline rush that that bastard Feng Shang must have felt when he defeated Lu Yin without breaking a sweat. That man participated in the ported battle not only to improve his battle experience, but also for that unbridled rush that came with instantaneously overpowering other individuals. It was such a pleasant feeling.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re such a bully,¡± the monkey remarked with an oddugh.

    Lu Yin left the ported battles only to immediately enter it once again. This time, he appeared in the ruins of a city. This battle was against a powerful Limiteer. As soon as he appeared, he attacked Lu Yin with a sword. However, another wave of Lu Yin¡¯s hand resulted in this man¡¯s instant defeat as well.

    Once, twice, thrice¡­ Finally, Lu Yin had achieved five straight instant victories. Lu Yin let out a deep breath. It was just too easy. It was only through these ported battles that he could feel just how much he had improved.

    He thought back to the past when he had approached the teleportation stone with an immense fear that he would encounter someone powerful. And yet, today, that fear no longer existed even when he considered the possibility of facing off against a powerful Explorer.

    Perhaps Lu Yin was too cocky in his thoughts, because his very next opponent was actually an Explorer. This battle took ce within a dark forest.

    The two words ¡°Grand Daddy¡±were prominently disyed above the Explorer¡¯s head. This was this particr Explorer¡¯s alias when he participated in the ported battles.

    ¡°Let me out, Seventh Bro! This guy¡¯s too cocky, and he¡¯s just asking to die! I¡¯m gonna destroy him!¡± the Ghost Monkey said angrily.

    Lu Yin was simrly enraged when he saw this name. This man¡¯s alias was so arrogant that he was just begging to be beat up.

    On the other side, Kao Ke was feeling particrly good about himself, especially about the two words hanging above his head, ¡°Grand Daddy.¡± He himself had already forgotten where he hade up with this alias, but it was a name that gave him an immense confidence boost. He would draw disgust from his opponents even if he could not defeat them, or at least, that was what Kao Ke believed. He would see who dared to admit defeat or be abused by someone named ¡°Grand Daddy.¡± He burst outughing; it was such a good feeling!

    As he looked at the young Limiteer in front of him with the name ¡°Seventh Bro,¡± he thought to himself that this young man also had an annoying name. He simrly felt that Lu Yin was cocky and was already imagining the pleasure he would get from defeating Lu Yin.

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin charged forth, throwing out an attack with his fist.

    Kao Ke was not bothered by the attack at all. His opponent was a mere Limiteer, so he did not see him as a threat. Hezily raised his hands and took a defensive stance. There was a loud thud, and Kao Ke¡¯s face quickly turned sour. He could feel that all the bones in his right arm had been shattered while his body had been sted into the forest, creating a huge hole.

    Lu Yin looked down at Kao Ke from up on high. The Explorer had truly underestimated him. He had been under the mistaken impression that, since he was an Explorer, he would hold an advantage over Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin¡¯s powers were now on par with an Explorer whose power level was over thirty thousand. During Lu Yin¡¯s time at the border warfront, he had even pushed back the astral beast Zi Tie, whose power level was far above thirty thousand.

    On the ground in the forest, Kao Ke was cursing angrily. Who was this person who had injured him so easily? Kao Ke was a veteran of the ported battles, and he seldom ever came across such a powerful person, but today was one of those days.

    Kao Ke decided to not hold back anymore. The star energy within his body rose up as strange veined patterns appeared on his arm. He instantly transformed into a seductive, beautiful woman. In just a moment, the entire dark forest had been lit up.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Surprisingly, this man was a skilled individual from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. It was no wonder why his physical body was so weak. Those experts from the Beast Tamers Flowzone mostly focused on taming their beasts. Hence, they typically found limited sess in increasing their personal strength. Kuang Wang, who had cultivated battle force, was a rare exception.

    Kao Ke stood in the forest, now with the appearance of an enchantingly beautiful woman, releasing strange emanations. The waves shot through the void and approached Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt faint, and the longer he looked down at the beautiful woman, the more he became enamoured by her beauty.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s a subus! Snap out of it!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

 Chapter 312: Ported Battles

    <h4>Chapter 312: Ported Battles</h4>

    Lu Yin shook his head vigorously while Kao Ke appeared before him and swatted at Lu Yin¡¯s head. Lu Yin instantly vanished, stunning Kao Ke. He actually woke up! Suddenly, an intense pain erupted on his back as Lu Yin struck him heavily, forcing him into the ground. Nine Stacks exploded forth, immediately crushing Kao Ke.

    Lu Yin felt that it was somewhat absurd that an Explorer had been defeated so easily. This idiot¡¯s defensive abilities were just too pathetic.

    ¡°Monkey, what¡¯s a subus?¡± When Lu Yin reappeared beneath the teleportation stone, he immediately asked the Ghost Monkey this question in a curious tone.

    ¡°It¡¯s an astral beast that can charm human hearts. It¡¯s physically weak, but very effective against those with weak willpower. That person must be some kind of prodigy for him to be able to tame that beast. He¡¯s got guts,¡± the Ghost Monkey marvelled.

    Lu Yin felt that it was actually somewhat expected for that Explorer to be ballsy. After all, he had named himself ¡°Grand Daddy¡± in the ported battles¡ªwas there anything that such a person would not dare to do? Besides his courage, he was also a talented cultivator from the Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Six consecutive victories. Lu Yin did not take a break and touched the teleportation stone once more to start the next ported battle.

    The Trialmaster sighed on the outside. Compared to a year ago, this kid¡¯s improvement was just too extreme and too fast. In perhaps just a few years¡¯ time, he might truly be a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. But would any of the Ten Arbiters ever abdicate? Even now, none of them were over forty, but they were quickly approaching that age. Once they became older than forty and ceased to be a part of the younger generation, would they allow others to take up their old titles? This was the concern of many.

    No one could stop Lu Yin in the ported battles. He was extremely powerful for a member of the younger generation, and only Explorers or experts within the Top 100 Rankings had a chance of defeating him.

    With a single palm strike, another figure vanished before him. Lu Yin had now umted fifteen consecutive victories, and his alias in this virtual realm had changed color to a bright red, which signified his fifteen consecutive victories.

    The next battle would be the bout for the teleportation stone. Victory would mean obtaining the opponent¡¯s teleportation stone while defeat would mean that he would have to start all over again.

    In the ported battles, anyone who saw a red name would naturally be troubled, as it indicated that their opponent had racked up fifteen consecutive victories. They would have to pay a price if they lost¡ªtheir teleportation stone.

    The scene changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and the setting for his sixteenth ported battle was revealed. They were above an ocean. The tranquil sea breeze blew by, carrying the salty scent of the sea and fish with it.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time battling above the sea.

    A figure soon appeared before him.

    Ah Fan felt that his luck today was horrible. He had been inexplicably scolded by his mentor, forced to rewatch the entire Astral Combat Tournament, and even been told to memorize the battle styles of eachpetitor.

    He was from the Shangwu Academy in the Northline Flowzone, and felt ratherpetitive towards Astral Combat Academy students. He did not have a problem with watching the Astral Combat Tournament, but that did not mean that he wanted to watch it everyday. He felt that his mentor was just thinking wishfully when he said that they could obtain victory just by memorizing others¡¯ battle styles. Those other students would continue improving.

    The one who had stood out the most to Ah Fan was called Lu Yin, and Ah Fan had even heard news that his duties in Council of Astral Academy were based in the Northline Flowzone. Didn¡¯t that basically make Lu Yin his superior?

    Ah Fan had studied Lu Yin¡¯s battle the most, but the more he watched Lu Yin¡¯s battles, the more he had felt that this person was a savage beast with a violent battle style. Lu Yin had only oveid battle force on top of his strikes, and he hadn¡¯t used any battle techniques. Ah Fan looked down on this sort of person.

    After watching some tournament battles, Ah Fan was looking forward to the Tournament of the Strongest and had decided to enter the ported battles to kill some time and bully some weaklings.

    However, as soon as he entered, he felt an urge to curse. What the #$! It was a person with a red name! This sort of encounter would not ur even if one battled for many years, but he just had to meet one now, leaving Ah Fan nauseous to the point where he nearly vomited.

    The red name meant that the opponent was very powerful, which was a given since they had racked up fifteen consecutive victories. If he lost to this person, it meant that Ah Fan would have to pay the price of his teleportation stone.

    The Shangwu Academy only had a single teleportation stone, and it had been acquired by a very powerful predecessor who had shamelessly taken it. Ah Fan¡¯s standing in the academy would be finished if he lost this one, as they were not the Astral Combat Academy that had multiple backups.

    Ah Fan could already imagine his mentor¡¯s face if he lost this match and the teleportation stone; he would be a sinner to the entire Shangwu Academy.

    Ah Fan encouraged himself. Do not lose.

    He was a Limiteer and ranked among the top in his academy. His status was simr to that of the ten student leaders of the Astral Combat Academy, although there were disparities between the student leaders.

    The moment Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded on Ah Fan¡¯s shoulder, the Shangqu Academy student seemed to see his future path darken; he had already been defeated without being able to mount any resistance at all.

    Lu Yin was amazed as he watched Ah Fan vanish. This person was not weak and had actually withstood Seven Stacks. He had had to go all the way to Nine Stacks to defeat him. This person was a rare expert within the same realm, and he could have easily entered the top thirty two of the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Still, such strength was insufficient from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, and there was a vast difference in strength even among the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students. The students were separated into multiple groups, and it wasn¡¯t just the student leaders who rose above the average students. For example, Starsibyl and the other final four fighters were in a different league from everyone else, even the other student leaders.

    Before he grasped his domain, Lu Yin had not been able to clearly sense this distinction. He had only been able to get a grasp on Han Chong¡¯s power at the Tower of Resonating Light and understand the chasm between the strong and the weak. However, he was on the side of the strong in this gap.

    As the red name returned to normal, Lu Yin was finally able to speak. ¡°Astral-10.¡±

    He could not speak after uttering those words, and the scenery before him changed once more.

    He opened his eyes and looked at the Trialmaster. ¡°Mentor, I¡¯ve won a teleportation stone.¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°Can sourceboxes be arranged in aplementary or even ovepping manner to form a defensive forcefield?¡±

    The Trialmaster¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Not bad. After achieving a certain proficiency of lockbreaking, sourceboxes can indeed be arrangedplementarily. This is a technique of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. It¡¯s pretty good that you found out about this, kid. Did someone else tell you this, or did you figure it out for yourself?¡±

    Lu Yin politely answered, ¡°I encountered five sourceboxs in the Shenwu Continent that were oveid to produce a sealing forcefield, so I arrived at this guess myself.¡±

    The mentor was astounded. ¡°The Shenwu Continent actually has Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers with such techniques? Not bad.¡±

    Then, he gave Lu Yin a serious look and said, ¡°Kid, your level is too low right now, so don¡¯t consider trying to do such things or else you might walk down the wrong path of lockbreaking, or even die.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged the warning and took a deep breath. He raised his hand and approached the teleportation stone to join a ported battle once again.

    As for the teleportation stone that he had won, the Shangwu Academy would have to send it to Astral-10 as soon as they were able to. This was predetermined ording to the rules, and they would not dare to break it.

    Although the strong preyed on the weak in the universe, under the authority of the top, there was still a functional set of rules. Everyone operated by those rules, no matter if it was the Astral Combat Academy, the Shangwu Academy, or even the Ten Arbiters Council, Daynight n, Sword Sect, and Cosmic Sea. This was the current state of the universe, where everyone obediently followed the rules set by the top powerhouses.

    Lu Yin¡¯s grind for the first teleportation stone went smoothly, and it only took him about half a day to acquire it. However, Lu Yin¡¯s good luck seemed to have been used up. This time, after three consecutive victories, he met an iparably terrifying powerhouse who was able to alter the weather.

    Lu Yin knew that things weren¡¯t looking good for his chances the moment he saw the Explorer start walking towards him, as the earth shuddered with every step he took. Every breath that the Explorer exhaled felt heavy and seemed to scorch the very air. Lu Yin dared not be distracted for even a moment, for fear of being wiped out instantly if he were careless.

    Bang!

    The earth trembled, and the person with the alias ¡°Alliance¡± formed a long spear from star energy and then smashed it against the ground. He raised his head to stare at Lu Yin, as if awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he tore through the void with sh before appearing right behind Alliance. Lu Yin then activated the Cosmic Art and sent out a Thirteen Stacks, Twenty-Twofold Shockwave Palm as a probing attack.

    Alliance¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and visible astonishment flickered across them as he stood up with his back to Lu Yin. He casually shifted his body sideways and dodged Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike right when it was about to make contact with him. His spear spun in a circle before stabbing out, though his movements didn¡¯t affect the void whatsoever. This spear had reached some profound realm where it did not destroy the void as its power had transcended the level of tearing the void apart.

    Within the range of his Cosmic Art, Lu Yin was able to perfectly observe the trajectory of the spear thrust. He knew that he could not dodge it and that it was locked onto him. He had a strange feeling that he would not be able to evade this spear even if he fled to the ends of the world. This spear had dazzled his spirit, and his body was pierced through before he even had a chance to react.

    Lu Yin felt bitter about his defeat; this was a top-level Explorer¡¯s power. The strength of this person¡¯s spear had probably already surpassed a normal Cruiser¡¯s level.

    Alliance could not restrain the shock in his eyes as he stared at the slowly dissipating body of Seventh Bro. This person was only a Limiteer, but his instincts were so sharp that he had tried to dodge his spear and had even maintained his consciousness after being struck. It was unbelievable! More importantly, his spear technique had the effect of suppressing everything before it, or else he would not have been able to stab that Limiteer. This person¡¯s body was extremely terrifying.

    And he was just a Limiteer. Alliance¡¯s true identity was that of Ke Nan, who was ranked in the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings. His reputation was enough to shock the universe. There were many space-exploring powerhouses who had died to his hands, but none of them had shocked him as much as this Seventh Bro. This person actually reminded him of the abnormal nature of the top ten; those people had possessed simr levels of strength when they had been Limiteers.

    A freakish genius: this was Ke Nan¡¯s evaluation of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin released a pent up breath when he saw the familiar scenery. That spear¡¯s power had caused him to die on the spot. That person was just too powerful.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that guy¡¯s an Explorer, and he¡¯s definitely in the top of that realm, so don¡¯t take the loss to heart,¡± the Ghost Monkey consoled Lu Yin, something he rarely did.

    Lu Yinughed wryly. ¡°I know, but this person¡¯s also from the younger generation. He should be on the Top 100 Rankings if he was able to instantly kill me.¡±

    ¡°He probably ranks pretty highly.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that the monkey was trying to encourage him, but he also knew that this was the cold truth of reality. He had used a top tier strengthening fruit to greatly improve his body, and he had been confident that even a Top 100 Rankings expert would not have been able to instantly kill him. However, this person had killed him with a single move. He was definitely ranked highly on the ranking, but it was unknown exactly what his ranking was. Could he be ranked above even Wendy Yushan?

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that the distance between him and Wendy Yushan had decreased once again. When he had first arrived at the Astral Combat Academy, he had not even been qualified to look up to the Top 100 Rankings. But with his current power, he could even guess whether an opponent was ranked higher or lower in the rankings. This was progress, and his improvement had taken ce in less than two years.

    Perhaps in another two years, he would be able to face off against those in the Battle Rankings and crush everyone, meet with the Ten Arbiters, and even quash Wendy Yushan¡¯s arrogance. Perhaps even Mira would no longer dare to tease him. He might even be able to face the Ten Arbiters then!

    The surname Lu on a piece of paper¡­ Seventy two lives lost... It was time to avenge his family¡¯s death and discover exactly which one of the Ten Arbiters had ordered the ughter that had spilled his family¡¯s blood across the starry sky.

    ¡°Again!¡± Lu Yin barked as he reentered the ported battles.

 Chapter 313: Lu Yinâ€™s Worth

    <h4>Chapter 313: Lu Yin¡¯s Worth</h4>

    After fighting in the ported battles for another half day, Lu Yin¡¯s name finally turned red again. Ever since he had had that unfortunate encounter with Alliance, Lu Yin had be more subdued. After all, it was even possible to match up against one of the Ten Arbiters in the ported battles. Lu Yin¡¯s craving to be lucky grew even stronger.

    Boom!

    The earth rumbled, and a figure vanished from a swamp.

    ¡°Astral-10,¡± Lu Yin said again as he gradually vanished from the swampy scenery of the battlefield. He had seeded in snatching a second teleportation stone.

    Now, his battle statistics were 134 victories to 108 defeats. His longest winning streak was neen, and if it were not for his loss against Alliance, he might even have reached thirty straight victories, which would give him the qualifications to challenge anyone on the Top 100 Rankings.

    ¡°Mentor, I¡¯ve won a second teleportation stone.¡±

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes and nodded. ¡°Ask away.¡±

    Lu Yin actually wanted to ask if a sourcebox asrge as a could exist, but it would be pointless to ask this question at the present moment. There would be plenty of opportunities to learn more about this in the future, so it would be better for Lu Yin to either ask about more relevant topics or obtain an opportunity to lockbreak a sourcebox in front of the Trialmaster.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I have no questions at this time and I would like to seek Mentor¡¯s permission to lockbreak before you.¡±

    The Trialmaster grunted. ¡°Sure, you get one opportunity.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Mentor.¡±

    He intended to continue taking part in the ported battles, but he was abruptly stopped by the Trialmaster. ¡°There¡¯s someone who wants to speak with you.¡± The mentor then pulled out his ancient gadget. Lu Yin immediately knew who wanted to see him¡ªNightking Yuanjing.

    Lu Yin had waited a long while for Nightking Yuanjing to contact him, as many things could only be solved with his help. ¡°Hey monkey, the person who we¡¯ve been waiting for is finally here.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey chuckled. ¡°Hehe, I never thought there would be a day when I would receive guidance from a Nightking elder.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing appeared on a screen and revealed a gentle expression towards Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, we meet again.¡±

    Lu Yin saluted respectfully. ¡°Student Lu Yin pays his respects to Elder Yuanjing.¡±

    Yuanjing casually waved a hand and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formalities. You¡¯re friends with Zhuo¡¯er, so you¡¯re also a friend of my Daynight n. I¡¯ll just call you Little Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already epted Zhuo¡¯er as my disciple. So Little Yin, you can rest assured now.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted by this news. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    ¡°Keke, Zhuo''er is intelligent and capable. Actually, I should be thanking you for finding me such a good disciple, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin looked down and did not speak.

    Behind him, the Trialmaster spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re already so old, but you still act like you¡¯re in a position of authority. Your anxiety will end up killing you.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing red at the Trialmaster, but didn¡¯t respond. Instead, he spoke to Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, I need to seek your help regarding a specific matter.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he replied, ¡°Please, Elder, let me know how I can be of service to you. Little Yin does not dare to promise that he can provide the help you are seeking.¡±

    ¡°Kid, there¡¯s no need to be so courteous. If you can actually help him, you can even get this old fart in front of you to call you Grandpa,¡± the Trialmaster casually interrupted, causing Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face to sour as if he had just swallowed a fly.

    ¡°Elder Tan, no one will assume that you¡¯re mute even if you stay silent!¡± heshed out.

    Lu Yin bent his head and acted meek.

    Nightking Yuanjing let out a sigh and turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, when you first heard about the tracks of the ancestor, the Third Nightking, did you hear about anything else? Such as an air current?¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his head and put on an expression as if he were trying to recall the details. Nightking Yuanjing did not interrupt and just continued to observe the youth.

    Lu Yin thought for a few seconds before responding, ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. When that beast was pleading for its life, it said a great many things, but I don¡¯t quite remember since so much time has passed.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s breathing became even more frantic, and he looked at Lu Yin with a fervent expression. ¡°Don¡¯t rush! Take your time¡ªyou must remember if this detail was mentioned.¡±

    The Trialmaster stared at Lu Yin with his murky eyes and aplicated expression.

    Lu Yin paused. ¡°Elder, my apologies. Too many things have happened during this period, and many troubles have arisen. Please allow Little Yin some time to go back and seriously think about this matter. I will immediately look for Elder after recalling the details.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing waved his hand. ¡°Troubles? What troubles? Just tell me¡ªGrandpa Yuanjing will take care of them for you.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned speechless; this shift in tone was a bit too sudden.

    The Trialmaster rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin became embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s not reasonable. Elder must have many things to handle within the Nightking n, and Little Yin¡¯s matters are too trifling to inconvenience Elder with.¡±

    The Nightking elder shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Little Yin, juste to Grandpa Yuanjing if you have any troubles, and Grandpa Yuanjing will take care of them all for you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, could Grandpa Yuanjing help the Frostwave Weave? Little Yin¡¯s home is being bullied by others. It¡¯s unbearable, but I¡¯m powerless to stop them.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the bully?¡± Nightking Yuanjing red as he asked in fury.

    Lu Yin considered answering, but he had been put in an awkward situation.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that girl, Yanqing.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed and then bowed. ¡°Senior Yanqing is not doing it on purpose.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that brat dares to butt into the matters of the Frostwave Weave even after I warned her otherwise. Alright, now that I know about this, you can rest assured that the Daynight n will not intervene in the military affairs of the Frostwave Weave.¡± Yuanjing then said, ¡°Little Yin, is there anything else that you need Grandpa Yuanjing to settle?¡±

    ¡°I wonder if Grandpa Yuanjing has any ways to dy the selection of members of the Outerverse Youth Council?¡±

    The Nightking elder was astonished. ¡°Dy the selection? Why?¡±

    ¡°One of Little Yin¡¯s enemies is about to join the Outerverse Youth Council. If he gets selected, I¡¯ll be in trouble, and it will even end up involving Little Yin¡¯s hometown.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°Alright, I can promise you that I will contact Zhenwu and have him dy the selection.¡± Then, once again, he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Anything else?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that he could not go overboard, as he had crushed Zhanlong Daynight and the others in the Shenwu Continent. Nightking Yuanjing must know about this incident, and the Daynight n must be seething with rage. And yet, they had endured the humiliation of that incident because of the matter regarding the Third Nightking. There was a limit, and Lu Yin could not go past it. Otherwise, just as the Trialmaster had said, even Astral-10 would not be able to protect Lu Yin.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s courteous attitude towards him today was mostly due to his status as a student of Astral-10 and also perhaps partially because of his contributions to the Lockbreaker Society. But respect and fear were two different things, and Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s attitude did not mean that the Daynight n was helpless if they wanted to act against Lu Yin. Two requests were enough.

    ¡°Thank you, Grandpa Yuanjing. There¡¯s nothing else bothering me.¡±

    ¡°Right, Little Yin has also recalled the details of that matter now,¡± Lu Yin said as he looked up and blinked. ¡°There are many currents surrounding the space around the Profound Void Realm. These currents of wind in the void are so strong that even almighty powerhouses cannot handle them. And of these currents, some are the entrance to the Profound Void Realm.¡±

    ¡°Right, so how can we find the correct entrance?¡± Nightking Yuanjing grew excited.

    The Trialmaster simrly looked at Lu Yin, but his eyes were no longer murky.

    ¡°I only know of a single way¡ªlook for the biggest current, and the smallest current nearest to it is a safe entrance.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°The smallest current nearest to thergest one? Are you sure?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not a hundred percent certain, but that¡¯s what the beast said when it was pleading for its life. I can¡¯t confirm its veracity, so I can only repeat what it told me.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°Alright, I understand. If this is true, Little Yin, you¡¯ll be an honored guest of the Daynight n in future.¡± The image on the screen then vanished without another word.

    Lu Yin squinted, as there was a hiddenyer of meaning in Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s words. If his information was false, then Lu Yin would be doomed. Nightking Yuanjing had not even bothered mentioning the matter with Zhanlong Daynight, and neither had he questioned why Lu Yin had not mentioned these details in the beginning. The n had a profoundly deep background, and if their upper echelon acted, then their moves would be like devastating thunderous strikes. If Lu Yin wanted to preserve his life, then he needed to demonstrate his value right now. Otherwise, once the Third Nightking was released, Lu Yin would not be far from death.

    ¡°Kid, Nightking Yuanjing is not one to be pushed around,¡± the Trialmaster slowly advised. He then closed his eyes and fell silent.

    Lu Yin bowed to the Trialmaster and then silently left the trial zone entrance. He was no longer in the mood to participate in any more ported battles, and there were only a few days left before the Strongest Competition. Thus, he wanted to use this time to recharge.

    ¡°Monkey, is there really no chance of the Third Nightking escaping?¡± Lu Yin uneasily asked.

    The Ghost Monkey answered, ¡°Nope, definitely not. You¡¯ve asked me this so many times. Both I and the Celestial Ice Phoenix n can vow that he will never escape.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°What rtionship do you have with that n?¡±

    ¡°They are this Ghost Monkey¡¯s future harem, so of course there¡¯s a rtionship between us. This is my most sacred vow. Have some confidence in that Void Wanderer Elder. After all, he can be considered to be one of the most ancient existences of the Astral Beast Domain. Forget the Daynight n¡ªeven those old fogeys from the Hall of Honor might not be able to rescue the Third Nightking, so just rx.¡±

    Even though the Ghost Monkey was confident beyond a shadow of a doubt, Lu Yin was still worried. The Daynight n¡¯s inheritance went far too back in time¡ªhundreds of thousands, or maybe even millions of years? One generation had emerged after another, and their line of inheritance had never been broken. Who knew what tricks they had stored up their sleeves.

    To Lu Yin, the deepest impression he had of the Daynight n was of their inheritance stone. Qingyu had stolen it, but the Daynight n had not even made a serious move to retrieve it. This showed that whoever obtained it would have to hand it over, or else they would meet with certain death. This demonstrated the absolute confidence of the Daynight n, which was a reflection of their power. This power was so unfathomable that Lu Yin could not even imagine it, as he found it hard to have such a carefree mindset.

    He decided to start making preparations for the possibility where the Third Nightking escaped, in order to guard against the worst.

    Not long after, in Astral-3, Nightqueen Yanqing received a notice from the n:

    From today onwards, all Daynight n members will be forbidden from intervening in military matters of the Frostwave Weave. All vitions will be investigated.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was shocked by thismand. Why? Why did this happen? They had warned her not to punish Zhuo Daynight, and then that girl had been taken in as Elder Yuanjing¡¯s disciple. And now, she was even being warned not to intervene in the Frostwave Weave. Lu Yin was the only one who could be behind this! But how could he have persuaded the elder group to speak up for him? They hadn¡¯t even hesitated to offend the sister of one of the Ten Arbiters!

    She looked at that notice, fear etched into her face. There was a hidden depth to Lu Yin, and it was deep enough to somehow influence even the Nightking elders.

    Not long after Yanqing received the warning, in East San Dios, within the Outerverse, Yan Feng also received a notice:

    The Outerverse Youth Council member selection will be dyed for six months. All potential members should make proper preparations.

    - Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters.

 Chapter 314: The Predecessorsâ€™ Strength

    <h4>Chapter 314: The Predecessors¡¯ Strength</h4>

    Yan Feng was at a loss when he read the notice. Dyed? Half of the Outerverse members were dead, so the Outerverse Youth Council urgently needed recements. Why was there a dy in the selection of members? This notice was even from Arbiter Zhenwu¡ªjust what had happened?

    No matter what guesses Yan Feng made, none of them were rted to Lu Yin. After Jenny Auna went to Firesmelt, the two had be sworn enemies. Even if Lu Yin never truly cared about Jenny, she was still his fianc¨¦e on paper. To Yan Feng, helping Nightqueen Yanqing and dealing with Lu Yin was supposed to be an effortless task, so this was an oue that he could not afford to let happen.

    Lu Yin was not nning to reveal his cards against Yan Feng at the current moment. Rather, when he eventually went to East San Dios, that was when he would finally settle his grievances with Yan Feng as well as deal with Puyu.

    Two days quietly passed by, and now, there were only three days left until the Tournament of the Strongest. On this day, Lu Yin suddenly received a message from Little Pao saying that someone was looking for him at the academy¡¯s space station.

    Lu Yin arrived to see the Nn family spacecraft, as well as the graceful and alluring Madam Nn.

    ¡°Madam Nn?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    She smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Never thought that I woulde here, did you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Indeed, why has madame to visit Astral-10?¡±

    ¡°To see you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°To see me? How can I help the madam?¡±

    She gestured at the spacecraft. ¡°Student Lu, let¡¯s enter and talk inside. It¡¯s too tiring to continue standing.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and followed the alluring Madam Nn into her spacecraft.

    They entered the same lounge, where there was already a luxurious feast set up, as well as a bottle of extravagant wine. ¡°Truth be told, I came here looking for Student Lu in order to get your help to lockbreak a certain sourcebox.¡± Madam Nn cut straight to the chase.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Madam is the head of the Nn family, which shouldn¡¯t becking in Lockbreakers. Why did youe all the way here to find me?¡±

    She smiled. ¡°You¡¯re unwilling?¡±

    ¡°Madam has saved my life twice. Don¡¯t even mention lockbreaking¡ªI wouldn¡¯t hesitate to cross mountains of des or brave seas of fire for you. I was just curious about this matter.¡±

    She smiled and fixed her beautiful eyes on Lu Yin. ¡°I would feel uneasy requesting help from other Lockbreakers.¡±

    Lu Yin became even more perplexed; he was just a two-star Discerning Junior Lockbreaker. Given the financial power of the Nn family, they could easily invite a Perceptive Intermediate or even a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. He did not ask any further questions and instead thought back to the moment when they had first met. Back then, someone had been secretly plotting against her. Huge ns had too much strife within them.

    Lu Yin responded after thinking for a moment. ¡°Since madam thinks so highly of me, I won¡¯t decline. Let¡¯s begin.¡±

    Madam Nn could not help but give Lu Yin a strange look. ¡°Student Lu is certainly fanatical about training. We just sat down.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled awkwardly, but he didn¡¯t remain courteous and picked up a sulent roasted thigh and began to eat. The shank was extremely delicious, as the meat was tender, vorful, and even held some star energy within it. The fragrant vors lingered in his mouth even after he swallowed, and he felt a strange sense of satisfaction spread through his body. He swallowed a mouthful of red wine and let out a rxed breath of contentment. ¡°Madam, this ss of red wine must be an exceptional luxury.¡±

    ¡°If you like it that much, I can gift you some,¡± she replied with augh.

    Lu Yin grinned but declined. This woman was too generous towards him, and her actions always caused him to be bewildered. He believed that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and this was already such an expensive meal.

    This woman was enchantingly beautiful, a peak magnate of the Outerverse, and her background was even connected to the Sword Sect; she could not be underestimated. He had even considered the possibility that the Sword Sect had specifically sent this alluring Madam Nn to entice him, but he soon dismissed that thought. He was just a Limiteer, and even if his innate gifts and his talent were more overpowered, he still would not be able topare to the Ten Arbiters. One of the arbiters was from the Sword Sect, so even if they appreciated Lu Yin¡¯s potential, they would not expend that much effort to rope him in.

    Besides, if she truly wanted to entice him, could he even reject her? Lu Yin recalled that this woman had actually saved his life on two asions.

    ¡°Are you considering whether or not I may have set up fancy schemes or you?¡± A fresh and beautiful mien with a limitless grace and attraction appeared in his sight, and he retreated in surprise.

    Madam Nn¡¯s alluring eyes twinkled with mirth. ¡°Student Lu, am I that scary?¡±

    Lu Yin forced augh out. ¡°You¡¯re too beautiful, and I can¡¯t take it anymore.¡±

    Her eyes formed into two thin crescent moons. ¡°You really know how to sweet talk ady. Oh, we¡¯ve already met several times, but I still haven¡¯t told you my name. I¡¯m Liu Fuxue.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Sure enough, this woman carried the surname ¡°Liu,¡± which was one of the primeval surnames, as well as the surname of the leading family of the Sword Sect. ¡°Clouds in the sky drift by like the snow of the four seasons, and the bitterness of this world can be found in a freshly brewed cup of tea. It''s extremely liberating.¡±

    The alluring Nn let out a gasp of surprise. ¡°Student Lu¡¯s poetry is impressive. In that case, perhaps you could interpret another name¡ªLiu Tianmu.¡±

    Lu Yin did not give the name much thought and blurted out, ¡°The stars in the sky fall like leaves from an autumn tree, cleansing one of impurities.¡±

    She covered her mouth as she chuckled, but then she gently pped her hands. ¡°You have quite a nimble imagination and could probably participate in one of the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s contest.¡±

    ¡°Madam Nn, who is this Liu Tianmu that you mentioned?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously. Those with the surname Liu were definitely not simple.

    Her lips curled up, and a trace of mischief shed across her eyes. ¡°You will find out in the future.¡±

    She then requested for Lu Yin to unlock three sourceboxes. Two had been verified to be at the three-star Discerning Junior level, and they were shaped like stones. The third had not been judged yet, and its size was roughly the same as the other two, though its form was different. It was a broken palm¡ªno, it appeared to be a broken palm.

    Thisst one heavily piqued Lu Yin¡¯s interest, as no two sourceboxes in the universe were identical. Every Lockbreaker would run into all sorts of strange treasures, but this sourcebox that was shaped like a broken hand certainly seemed to be more exotic than normal.

    Lu Yin spent two hours to unlock the first sourcebox. It was just graded at the three-star Discerning Junior level, so he did not even take out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and only used his domain and Cosmic Art to help him. He was thirteen times faster than during his first lockbreaking attempt, which showed his progress.

    However, the item within the sourcebox had already vanished, and thus, his efforts were for nothing.

    The second sourcebox took him another two and a half hours, and within it was an ancient-looking nk. There were vague characters written on it. Lu Yin could not understand the characters and quickly handed the nk to the alluring Madam Nn.

    She had some people carefully preserve and then deliver it to an archaeologist for research. Perhaps they would be able to extract some useful information from the item.

    Any item that was sealed within the dust of the universe meant that it was rted to an almighty-level super powerhouse, as that was the only way it would be worthy of being sealed. Thus, every item recovered through lockbreaking was not simple, and the most ssic example was held by the Ross Empire.

    The Ross Empire¡¯s founder had coincidentallye across a clothing item through lockbreaking. It was a long skirt designed for a woman, and since it seemed to be made from ordinary material and was utterly devoid of star energy, it had almost been tossed. However, the founder had not been willing to do so and had instead handed the skirt to their subordinates to study. Who would have guessed that within this long skirtid a great deal of ancient scientific knowledge. This data had given birth to the most dominating force in the zing Mist Flowzone, the Ross Empire, and it even qualified to go up against the ze Realm now.

    Of course, the Ross Empire¡¯s fortuitous opportunity had only happened by chance. Many powers had obtained valuable items through lockbreaking but could not evenprehend what was written on them. Even when they did decipher it, the information might not be suitable for the current era, or it might be findings that had long since bemon knowledge after so many years had passed.

    In short, any item that could be obtained from lockbreaking was valuable and would require careful research and consideration.

    Lu Yin looked at the broken-palm shaped sourcebox and touched it with his hand. His finger felt as if it had been pricked by something, and he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, something¡¯s not right. You shouldn¡¯t mess with this thing,¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly warned in a solemn voice.

    Lu Yin revolved the Cosmic Art and activated his domain as well while also taking out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. He carefully observed the severed palm sourcebox, and with the support of these three things, he finally noticed something different about it. There was a peculiar forcefield surrounding the broken hand that contained an inauspicious sensation. This forcefield was reminiscent of a scorpion¡¯s tail poised to strike, and this was what had pricked Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as this was his first time encountering such a sourcebox.

    He had seen many sourcebox catalog videos, but even sourceboxes that were dangerous to Lockbreakers would not have this kind of a prepared attack. Of course, it was possible that he simply was not able to see such details through the videos.

    Many Lockbreakers had died in bizarre situations, and some of them might have even been due to situations like this scorpion tail-looking forcefield.

    Lu Yin considered the situation some more, and then remembered that he had one opportunity to unlock a sourcebox in front of the Trialmaster. He weighed his options, and then spoke to the bright Madam Nn. ¡°Madam, I want to bring this sourcebox into the academy so that I can unlock it in front of my mentor.¡±

    Her eyes shed with delight, and she nodded. ¡°Alright. Be careful, Student Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and noted that the tempting Madam Nn already knew that this broken-hand sourcebox was peculiar. This incident had merely been her probing his abilities, and if he truly tried to unlock the broken hand, then she would have stopped him. It seemed that she was truly aiming for him to ask his mentor for help. Did she know about the Trialmaster¡¯s existence? It was certainly usible, since he was a super powerful Lockbreaker whom even Nightking Yuanjing respected. If Madam Nn knew of the Trialmaster¡¯s existence, then it was logical for her to request for Lu Yin¡¯s help in unlocking this sourcebox.

    At this moment, Lu Yin finally understood what this woman wanted. Sure enough, he could not even understand the tricks that people at her level were employing and could only figure things out after being taught a lesson.

    The severed-palm sourcebox had no offensive nature, or else Madam Nn would not have been able to hand it to Lu Yin so casually. If a sourcebox had an offensive nature, then one would be attacked if upon making contact with it.

    When Lu Yin brought the sourcebox to the Trialmaster, his eyes widened as soon as he caught sight of it. ¡°That¡¯s a trick from some old expert. Kid, you can¡¯t open this sourcebox.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully said, ¡°Please teach me.¡±

    ¡°Some sourceboxes contain a bit of remnant power from their previous owners. It might be some of their innate gifts, battle force, domain, or even battle techniques. These bits of power that can persist through the ages are the biggest threat to Lockbreakers.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that this severed palm contains some of the strength that a certain powerhouse left behind?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    The mentor closed his eyes. ¡°Unlocking something like this requires one to at least be at the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker stage. You¡¯re still too green, kid.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Could Mentor help me with this?¡±

    The Trialmaster shook his head. ¡°Facing the strength of a predecessor is too risky. You can consider it like an ancient powerhouse transcending time to challenge those of the present era.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin returned the broken palm to Madam Nn and repeated the Trialmaster¡¯s words to her.

    She sighed and then forced out a smile. ¡°Student Lu, to be honest, I¡¯ve found a few other Lockbreakers, but I was simrly rejected by all of them.¡±

    ¡°My mentor says that only a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker can sessfully unlock this sourcebox.¡±

    [1] Fu = Floating/driftingXue = Snow

    [2] Tian = SkyMu = Bathe/Cleanse/Given

 Chapter 315: True Prodigy

    <h4>Chapter 315: True Prodigy</h4>

    Madam Nn shook her head. ¡°Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers hold such an esteemed status that our Nn Family does not qualify to invite one. It¡¯s fine. We can discuss this matter at another time.¡±

    As Lu Yin watched her store the broken-hand sourcebox away, he could not help himself from blurting out, ¡°Madam has saved me twice. One day, when I reach the Boundless Advanced level, I will help Madam unlock this sourcebox.¡±

    She smiled happily at Lu Yin. ¡°Then I¡¯ll await the future exalted Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face, as the Boundless Advanced level was too distant for him at this time. He had just unlocked two sourceboxes and was not far from bing a three-star Discerning Junior, but bing a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker was still a distant dream for now.

    ¡°Here is your reward.¡± The alluring Madam Nn passed a Mavis Bank crystal card to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t look down upon me.¡±

    She smiled faintly and casually put the card away again. She then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°If you don¡¯t want that reward, then let me give you some information that may interest you.¡±

    ¡°What? Another Sword Sect genius?¡± Lu Yin teasingly enquired. She was the first person who had mentioned Liu Shaoqiu to him, and the information had shocked Lu Yin at the time. Now, after defeating Liu Shaoqiu, Lu Yin could not help but be a little cheeky.

    Sheughed. ¡°Close, but not a Sword Sect genius. This time, it¡¯s about the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin turned serious. ¡°The Cosmic Sea?¡±

    She nodded and sashayed forward temptingly before looking back at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you know about the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    He shook his head. ¡°Not really.¡±

    ¡°How should I exin this? Those who hail from the Cosmic Sea gather in groups called regiments, and all kinds of people who cannot live in the Innerverse or Outerverse have gone to that ce. Those who can reach the Cosmic Sea are all experts, and theirbined strength is something that even a powerful organization such as the Sword Sect cannot ignore. The four strongest regiments are truly terrifying and are known as the Four Pirate Crews. Any one of them wield a power that can shock the Sword Sect, and there are still many smaller but strong regiments below the top four. In order to survive, every year, the smaller regiments must offer tribute to the Four Pirate Crews simr to a protection fee. Of course, there are some that refuse to offer gifts, such as the Arcadian Arrow Crew or the Unyielding Corps, which I will exin to you in detail today.¡±

    The Arcadian Arrow Crew? Lu Yin recalled his battle with Silus atop the Heavenly Drum. That person seemed to be from the Arcadian Arrow Crew.

    ¡°It¡¯s very hard to survive in the Cosmic Sea, and even powerhouses from ces such as the Sword Sect or Daynight n would meet their deaths there. The regiments that have survived until today are unbelievably fearsome. Of them all, the Unyielding Corps is the most incredible since their regimentalmander is only a Limiteer.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°A Limiteer?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Correct. That person is a Limiteer who is publicly recognized by the entire Cosmic Sea as a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. It¡¯s said that this person possesses enough strength to rival the Ten Arbiters when they were Limiteers. This person is an absolute expert with terrifying talent.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled that his family had also mentioned an expert from the Cosmic Sea; could it be this same person? Uncle Reuben had not given any clear details at that time.

    ¡°Madam, what¡¯s this person¡¯s name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She turned around, and her eyes flickered as she answered, ¡°Ye Xingchen.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. A good name.

    ¡°Logically, a regiment led by a mere Limiteer should not be able to survive in the Cosmic Sea, but the Unyielding Corps has managed to survive until now, and it has sessfully attracted the attention of therger regiments. It has actually be a target for capture.¡±

    ¡°Will this Ye Xingchen take part in the Tournament of the Strongest?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been reported as a possibility, and recently, there have been some changes in the Cosmic Sea. Several regiments have left one after another and seem to be seeking a different path. Ye Xingchen may also leave the Cosmic Sea, and if he intends to do so, then his first order of action would be to demonstrate his value to other organizations. This Tournament of the Strongest is an excellent opportunity for him to do exactly that.¡±

    No wonder Uncle Reuben mentioned that this person might join. Lu Yin now understood. If this was the case, then the Arcadian Arrow Crew was likely participating in thepetition for simr reasons. The Cosmic Sea, huh? I¡¯ll head over there sooner orter.

    ¡°Thank you, madam, for the information,¡± Lu Yin gratefully said.

    She pursed her lips and smiled. ¡°I hope that you will also defeat Ye Xingchen this time around. Next time, I¡¯ll tell you the names of the Ten Arbiters, and then wait to see if you can defeat them, hehe.¡±

    When he heard her bewitching giggle, Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly restrained his wandering thoughts.

    Madam Nn was in no hurry to leave Astral-10, but she was not allowed to enter it either. Lu Yin could not apany her for an extended period of time, so he left not long after.

    The next day, Astral-3 burst into an uproar. Liu Shaoqiu had appeared.

    To participate in the Astral Combat Tournament, Liu Shaoqiu had joined Astral-2, so he was also technically a student of the Astral Combat Academy. However, he rarely spent any time at the academy. Despite his usual behavior, he had shown up at Astral-3 with the sole intent of challenging one of the experts from the Cosmic Sea.

    It was not surprising for Liu Shaoqiu to appear here, especially after considering the fact that news of the Cosmic Sea experts¡¯ behavior at the Sword Sect had spread.

    If not for his previous battle with Lu Yin, Silus would never have taken Liu Shaoqiu seriously. However, after learning that Liu Shaoqiu had lost to Lu Yin by a very narrow margin in an intense fight, Silus became much more cautious. However, this battle was not with him, as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s target was instead Nate.

    Nate did not avoid this battle and was actually very excited. Liu Shaoqiu was one of the two inheritors of the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords in this generation, and Nate wanted to personally see how powerful this renowned technique was.

    ¡°Be careful, Nate,¡± Silus softly reminded.

    Nate frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted themander. You¡¯re no longer qualified to participate in thispetition.¡±

    Silus fell silent. He was indeed not qualified. Since he had already lost to Lu Yin, there was no meaning in him participating in the tournament. But what about Nate? Could he win against the Thirteen Swords?

    Many students excitedly gathered at an empty region in Astral-3, and even Nightqueen Yanqing showed up. She did not stop this battle, as all else aside, the Sword Sect was one of the Daynight n¡¯s mainpetitors. She was looking forward to seeing the Sword Sect bing enemies with the entire Cosmic Sea.

    Nate arrived and stood a hundred meters away from Liu Shaoqiu. ¡°You¡¯re the inheritor of the Thirteen Swords? You have a verymon look.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu calmly observed him. ¡°Are you the one who defeated Senior Yanhua?¡±

    Nate nodded. ¡°That person¡¯s got guts, but unfortunately, he joined the Sword Sect.¡±

    A chilling look shed across Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Nate sneered, but he did not hesitate. Although he despised the Sword Sect disciples, he was no fool, as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s name and reputation as a Ten Arbiters¡¯ Candidate had spread even to the Cosmic Sea. Despite the fact that, in the hearts of those from the Cosmic Sea, the only true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate was Ye Xingchen, Nate did not dare to look down on the Thirteen Swords. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s strength was also equally renowned, and he was definitely outstanding in his own right.

    Nate raised a hand as his star energy materialized into a bow and arrow. Lightning exploded forth, and a terrifying shockwave swept across the entire expanse, causing many students to go numb and unconsciously back off.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s face turned solemn; this was a powerful arrow shot.

    Liu Shaoqiu whipped out his rusty sword to face Nate¡¯s arrow. He raised his de and directly chopped down in front of him. In that instant, Nate¡¯s hair stood on end as he loosed the lightning arrow. It collided with a formless energy just two meters in front of Nate. As arcs of electricity swept out in all directions, the collision resulted in a shockwave that suddenly exploded. Nate was too close to it and was sted back even as a giant pit opened up in the ground.

    Nate looked at Liu Shaoqiu in shock. Was that just now the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords? What strong power! Suddenly, a shiver ran down Nate¡¯s spine. His instinct for danger that had been honed over many years of fighting for survival in the Cosmic Sea caused him to look up in time to witness an inconceivable scene. The entire region was enveloped by a sea of sword qi. This was a domain.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword soon followed, unleashing a pressure upon everything as countless strands of sword qi pierced through the void and pervaded the area within a thousand meters of him.

    The students retreated time and time again, as they could also feel the danger from the Second Sword.

    Nate grit his teeth and chose not to defend, but to instead loose another arrow. Oddly enough, he did not aim his bow and seemingly released it at random, but Liu Shaoqiu was shocked to see that the arrow carried the sensation of a domain with it. Nate had alsoprehended a domain.

    Layer afteryer of earth was stripped away as Nate forcibly took on the full might of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword. He did not attempt to dodge or redirect it, but he was also unable topletely block this sword. Nate¡¯s domain was an archer¡¯s dream, as it allowed him to see what others could not. However, his domain did not directly improve his defenses, so he could only aim for mutual destruction.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword eliminated everything in its path and turned all to nothingness. Multiple spatial cracks appeared before merging back into the void. It was a long time before space stabilized once again.

    Off in the distance, Silus¡¯s eyes went wide. This was the Thirteen Swords, which not even they with reflexes honed in the Cosmic Sea could evade.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes narrowed; this sword was enough to defeat Nate, but Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s condition was unknown. She considered her options and then waved her hand, causing a gale to sweep through the battlefield. A bloodsoaked Nate was revealed. He had been severely injured. Meanwhile, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s right arm had received some slight damage, but he had no other injuries aside from his arm.

    The onlookers were shocked; this was Liu Shaoqiu! He was the Sword Sect¡¯s preeminent genius, the inheritor of the Thirteen Swords, the one who had used just the First Sword to defeat Kuang Wang and many others. If not for Lu Yin, he would have definitely been one of the top four in the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Nate spat out a mouthful of blood, and with great difficulty, raised his head to look at Liu Shaoqiu. He could not ept this oue. He had not underestimated the Thirteen Swords, but he had still lost. The moment the Second Sword was disyed, his defeat had been guaranteed. He did not possess the strength to match it.

    Silus walked over to Nate and helped him up to his feet.

    Nate felt miserable. If our Arcadian Arrow Crew had a battle technique as powerful as the Thirteen Swords, would we still have to hide? We¡¯re nothing but stray dogs.

    Silus felt helpless. ¡°Nate, we¡¯ve been defeated, first by Lu Yin, and now by Liu Shaoqiu. This is the strength of the top four.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing more to say since we¡¯ve already lost. Let¡¯s go.¡± Nate suppressed his heavy injuries and bade farewell to Nightqueen Yanqing. The two members of the Arcadian Arrow Crew would now leave Astral-3 and return to the Cosmic Sea. There was no longer any need for them to participate in the tournament since they had already lost here.

    Nightqueen Yanqing tried to convince the two of them to stay, but they left since they were too ashamed.

    Afterwards, she turned to Liu Shaoqiu with a somber expression and said, ¡°You¡¯ve improved yet again.¡±

    His eyes passed over her with clear disdain that could even be seen by the students who were some distance away. This caused Nightqueen Yanqing to feel unbearably furious. ¡°Liu Shaoqiu, what are you implying?¡±

    ¡°In the Daynight n, only Zhanlong Daynight might be my match,¡± he softly replied.

    She clenched her fists as four-lined battle force surged out from her body. ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant!¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu turned around and looked at the rest of Astral-3¡¯s students. He then said, ¡°Pass my message on to Lu Yin: I, Liu Shaoqiu, will be waiting for my battle with him with my Fourth Sword.¡±

    Many were stunned. The Fourth Sword was unfathomable, as Lu Yin had only forced out Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second and Third Sword during the Astral Combat Tournament, and the Second Sword had even defeated those stuck up experts from the Cosmic Sea. And now, Liu Shaoqiu was saying that he had actuallyprehended the Fourth Sword?

 Chapter 316: Changes On Earth

    <h4>Chapter 316: Changes On Earth</h4>

    When Nightqueen Yanqing heard Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s deration about the Fourth Sword, a cold shock filled her heart. Without her four-lined battle force, she was not even confident that she could withstand the Third Sword, much less the Fourth Sword. This was Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s current level.

    After making this deration, Liu Shaoqiu left Astral-3.

    From start to finish, Nightqueen Yanqing had not dared to make a move. Just like what Liu Shaoqiu had said, among the Limiteers of the Daynight n, only Zhanlong Daynight could be considered to be his match. No one else was worthy.

    Zhanlong Daynight: it was this person yet again! He should have died after his defeat in the Shenwu Continent. His name should have never been brought up again. Nightqueen Yanqing hated even hearing his name, but the Daynight Technique of Immunity was something that she understood very well.

    News that Liu Shaoqiu had defeated a strongpetitor from the Cosmic Sea quickly spread. Following that, more news came out that the two experts from the Cosmic Sea had pulled out of the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Lu Yin was astonished by the news on his personal gadget. Those two people were truly unfortunate; one had been eliminated by him and the other by Liu Shaoqiu. Having said that, they only had themselves to me for purposefully offending the Sword Sect and the powerful Liu Shaoqiu by proxy.

    It also had to be said that Liu Shaoqiu had shown tremendous improvement. The fact that he had mentioned the Fourth Sword showed that he had alreadypletely grasped this next step of the Thirteen Swords. In their next battle, Lu Yin would have to face off against apleted Fourth Sword, which caused excitement to bubble up within his heart. He also felt a certain longing for the battle to happen sooner rather thanter, as he was curious about the Fourth Sword.

    When he saw the news about Liu Shaoqiu, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Li Zimo from the Shenwu Continent. That man¡¯s talent for the sword was definitely not inferior to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s in the slightest. Li Zimo was a true master of the sword, and if he ever went to the Sword Sect, it would be an interesting development.

    There was a ding from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget and a notification popped up. Lu Yin opened it and was shocked by what appeared before him.

    Thepetitors of The Tournament of the Strongest have been confirmed. From the Human Domain¡¯s Astral Combat Academy: Starsibyl, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, and Lu Yin. From the Astral Beast Domain: Embermane, Hua Yishou, Feng Jiu, and Tian Hou. From the Technocracy: Cloud, Ben, Duo Mi, and Yar Pater. From the Cosmic Sea: Liu Shaoqiu and Zijun.

    Lu Yin looked at the notification and was a bit puzzled. Liu Shaoqiu is representing the Cosmic Sea in the tournament? This came as a bit of surprise. The Sword Sect was truly despicable foring up with something like this. Also, who was this Zijun character?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, where are you hiding?¡± Lulu cried out in her lovable voice, appearing out of nowhere.

    When he saw Lulu, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He waved his arms, creating a violent gale.

    Lulu carefully sidestepped the gust of wind before turning around to look at Lu Yin, the sides of her mouth curling up. ¡°Ah, so you were hiding here? Are you afraid to take part in the tournament?¡±

    After saying that, she hopped up into the tree andnded less than three meters away from Lu Yin. She swung her snow white legs around with a carefree expression on her face.

    Lu Yin gave a smile. ¡°Coming back to tease me as soon as you finished your mission?¡±

    Lulu giggled. ¡°I¡¯m not here to joke around. Actually, it¡¯s the opposite¡ªI¡¯m here to pass you some important information.¡±

    ¡°Information?¡± Lu Yin asked, caught off guard.

    Lulu pointed to herself. ¡°Mavis.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Are you going to tell me some information about Grandini?¡±

    Lulu nodded.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°But both of you are from the Mavis family. Why would you want to betray her?¡±

    Lulu snorted disdainfully. ¡°That woman dared to strut around in front of me after showing her skills off, so I want to teach her a lesson. Anyway, ¡®betray¡¯ is too strong a word. I¡¯m just filling you in on some basic facts about her. Things that many others are already aware of. Only a friendless, person with no background who has had no fortunate encounters such as yourself would be unaware of what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. It was true that he had no background to speak of, but when did he be friendless? He had many friends¡­ Oh wait, he didn¡¯t actually have that many... Regarding his fortunate encounters, there had been several, but none he was willing to share.

    ¡°What a plucky girl. The Mavis n is indeed terrifying,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    ¡°Alright then, what do you want to tell me, you little traitor?¡± Lu Yin teased.

    Lulu rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Do not underestimate Grandini, and do not just think that she is an easy target just because she only has four-lined battle force. Let me tell you something¡ªyou didn¡¯t see any more only because she either never went all out or never used her innate gift. If she does end up using it, none of you will be her match.¡±

    ¡°Innate gift?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Lulu rolled her eyes again. ¡°If you¡¯re expecting me to tell you about the Mavis n¡¯s innate gift, you can forget about it. All I can say is that when she actually uses her innate gift to increase her powers, the change will not be gradual. It will bepletely unlike how she fought during the Astral Combat Tournament; not even close to that. Having said that, if she does not use her innate gift to increase her powers, everything that I just said will be inconsequential.¡±

    As he stared at Lulu, Lu Yin thought back to the time he had spent on Earth. Back then, this girl had used her innate gift to tame and bring back an Explorer level turtle. Despite the creature being at the Explorer realm, which was far higher than their cultivation realms, it had still been easily tamed. This was something unfathomable to Lu Yin, but he knew that this matter was definitely somehow connected to the Mavis n¡¯s innate gift. However, he still did not have even the slightest idea as to what the Mavis n¡¯s innate actually was. All he knew was that it was terrifying.

    ¡°I understand. I will face her seriously,¡± Lu Yin told her.

    Lulu lifted her head. She considered something for a bit before speaking. ¡°Actually, it is not that bad of a thing if she increases her strength. If I know those old foxes at the Astral Combat Academy, they probably won¡¯t letpetitors from the same domain fight against each other. If you fight her, it will only happen in one of theter stages.

    ¡°You seem very confident that I¡¯ll be able tost to the very end,¡± Lu Yin asked in a probing manner, feeling that something was strange.

    Luluughed before replying, ¡°I¡¯m not. I just hope to see it happen. After all, you are the student leader of Astral-10, so it will reflect badly on us if you lose.¡± Once she was done speaking, Lulu hopped down and left.

    ¡°Monkey, what¡¯s the Mavis n¡¯s innate gift?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how would I know what that n¡¯s innate gift is?¡± the Ghost Monkey answered.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Lu Yin asked suspiciously; this damn monkey knew everything!

    The Ghost Monkey helplessly replied, ¡°My knowledgees from the records of dead powerhouses. These experts have had no record of the Mavis n¡¯s innate gift, and as such, I really don¡¯t know what their innate gift is. However, there is one thing that is for certain: the Mavis n is more terrifying than you can possibly imagine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just stating the obvious. For them to control the financial lifeline of the universe means that they clearly must have ancient powerhouses within their ranks who have power levels of several hundred thousand,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Ghost Monkey replied in a grave tone, ¡°Several hundred thousand? You are still underestimating the Mavis n. Even though there are no records of such, they definitely have powerhouses whose power levels are in the millions. And not just one; there should be several in the Mavis n.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. A Power level in the millions¡­ What does that even look like? That kind of power was not just equivalent to hundreds of Explorers; it was a fundamental transformation. Such powerhouses could destroys with a mere breath; one nce could destroy an entire fleet. Absolutely anything could be destroyed by such a cultivator. That was how powerful they were.

    Bit by bit, time passed by until there was only one day left until the Tournament of the Strongest began.

    On this day, the Zenyu Star of the Great Yu Empire once again erected many screens, ensuring that everyone would be able to watch the tournament. Lu Yin was currently the empire¡¯s Royal Regent, and he wielded the highest authority within the Great Yu Empire. Thus, thispetition had be the most important event in the Great Yu Empire. It was to the extent where even the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons put everything aside in order to fully support Lu Yin.

    The Tournament of the Strongest was unlike the Astral Academy Tournament where the viewers were unrestricted. During that tournament, everyone in the universe could watch thepetition if they wanted to, and everyone in the Great Yu Empire had had the freedom to watch Lu Yinpete. But for the uing Tournament of the Strongest, only those with great status could watch it.

    Earth was one of the few ces that was fortunate enough to be able to watch the tournament. Since Lu Yin¡¯s files recorded that Earth was his birthce, the Auna n had specifically sent some people over to ensure that screens were erected there in order to please Lu Yin.

    The current Earth waspletely different from what it had once been, and the technology there was developing at a rapid pace. This was especially so after Lu Yin had be the empire¡¯s Royal Regent, since his ascension had greatly elevated Earth¡¯s status. Many battle techniques and technology of the Great Yu Empire had been poured into Earth, and the had even built a space station. Furthermore, a select group of talented people from Earth had been chosen to join thetest round of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s training in order to boost Earth¡¯s strength.

    Many of the Seven Sages of China¡¯s subordinates from back then had been chosen to go to Zenyu Star. These included individuals like one of the snow girls, Zhao Yu, Huan Sha from the Capital, Jinlin¡¯s Feng Hong, Luo Yi, Qin Xuan, and many others. It was a pity that Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng had decided to not go because they were reluctant to leave Earth.

    Also, among those who had been selected, there were even a few who disyed innate gifts, which had shocked the Great Yu Empire. Innate gifts were rare, but so many people from Earth had disyed them in such a short period of time. Even Ban Jiu, the captain of the Twelfth Imperial Squadron, had started to take an interest in Earth.

    Wendy Yushan was on a fractured within the Frostwave Weave, her face pale. As she looked at her personal gadget, she saw that the Tournament of the Strongest was about to begin. Her injuries would also soon finish recovering.

    At East San Dios, beneath a massive screen, many spectators gathered to watch the tournament. Lu Yin was supposed to be at East San Dios, but he had been recalled to Astral-10 for this event. Lu Yin¡¯s recement was Mira, but to Bazeer and the others, it didn¡¯t matter who was present as long as the person legitimately wielded Wendy Yushan¡¯s authority.

    On Firesmelt, Jenny Auna¡¯s face was bright red with emotion. She had just received news that Yan Feng would marry her in the very near future. She had been waiting for this day for far too long and had even broken ties with her n for this.

    In the distance, burning mes covered the ground. This was Firesmelt¡¯s natural climate. Even though she felt ufortable and out of sorts while on the, Jenny Auna felt that it was all bearable as long as she could be together with Yan Feng.

    As she saw the giant screen rise up, Jenny Auna grew puzzled. After asking around, she came to realize that the Tournament of the Strongest, which was a follow up to the Astral Combat Tournament, was about to take ce. This hugepetition would feature not only the top four from the Astral Combat Academy, but alsopetitors from other astral domains.

    As she looked at the screen, Jenny Auna thought about Lu Yin. For some reason, after the nuptial joy of marrying Yan Feng passed, she suddenly felt a strange hesitation seep into her heart. It was as though she was at the edge of a cliff, and no matter what direction she stepped in, she could only fall down. She suddenly thought of something and fumbled about in her cosmic ring. It was only then that she remembered that she had thrown the ring that Lu Yin had given her away.

    It did not matter anymore, as it was gone now. However, that was not exactly a bad thing since Big Brother Yan Feng might misunderstand if he saw it. All theseplex thoughts filled Jenny Auna¡¯s head even as her eyes stayed glued to the screen.

    In the Innerverse, inside the huge Sword Sect, many disciples focused on the screen. Liu Shaoqiu had challenged Lu Yin afterprehending the Fourth Sword and also joined the Tournament of the Strongest. At this moment, countless Sword Sect disciples were certain that Liu Shaoqiu would prove himself as the strongest. The Thirteen Swords were unparalleled, so Lu Yin was bound to lose this time around.

    In the depths of the universe, past the Innerverse and above the vast Cosmic Sea where the waves were strong enough to tear a spacecraft apart, a huge, ancient warship bobbed up and down among the waves.

    Aboard the warship was a melded, mixed aura of many powerful people. The aura of each individual was enough to send shivers down the spine of Explorers and even stronger cultivators. Furthermore, above this indistinct aura, there was another aura that reigned supreme among all others. Although it was faint, it was unspeakably dominant. It felt as if the mere presence of this aura was enough to bring the universe to its knees.

    ¡°Captain, the kid won¡¯t let you down.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, captain. The kid made it all the way there all by himself and without any help. It couldn¡¯t have been easy.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, captain. Just sit back and watch.¡±

    Dong!

    There was a tremendous ringing sound as waves spread out, covering the entire warship before crushing back into the Cosmic Sea. The waves spread over an unknown area before finally being subdued by a powerful force.

    ¡°What does he have to do with me? Why should I be concerned or disappointed by him? Shut up, all of you! If you keep talking, I¡¯ll kill the lot of you!¡± A man¡¯s booming voice reverberated across the vast sea, causing many sea creatures to tremble in fear.

    The voice belonging to this man was feared by everyone in the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Mighty captain, please don¡¯t be angry.¡±

    ¡°We were just joking; don¡¯t mind us, captain.

    ¡±

    ¡°Captain, would you like some alcohol?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Shut your mouths, you useless swill.¡±

 Chapter 317: The Monkeyâ€™s Goal

    <h4>Chapter 317: The Monkey¡¯s Goal</h4>

    That night, all of the students from Astral-10 gathered around the trial zone mountain to cheer Lu Yin on.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter at the top of the mountain. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself in the Lifeseek Realm, where the Astral Combat Tournament had been held. Quite some time had passed since then, but there was still a strange familiarity about this ce. This would be his first step to bing renowned throughout the universe.

    All of the students from the Astral Combat Academy had gathered together, and they were waiting outside the tournament grounds for the tournament to begin in a day.

    Of the participants, Lu Yin was neither the first nor thest to arrive. Not too far away from him, Han Chong smiled at Lu Yin, who responded in kind.

    Elsewhere, Liu Shaoqiu had already arrived. Upon seeing Lu Yin, his eyes grew cold. This was the same ce where he had once been defeated, but he was going to repay the humiliation that he¡¯d suffered twofold.

    Even further away from them, there were a few beings with strange appearances that caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention. One of them had a humanoid appearance, but most of its body seemed to be made of machinery, and he looked quite simr to some of the people from the Ross Empire. There was also a wolf-shaped robot and¡­ a book? Lu Yin was struck speechless. Thest person in that group had the appearance of a normal person. She looked like a girl, though her face had some kind of device on it.

    Perhaps the girl felt his gaze, but she nced over for some reason. The disdain and contempt emanating from her made Lu Yin feel extremely ufortable. What right did she have to look down on him? No, she wasn¡¯t looking down on him¡ªshe was looking down on everyone and everything! Lu Yin found this strange. Was she crazy?

    ¡°They are the participants from the Technocracy.¡± Han Chong walked over to Lu Yin¡¯s side and introduced the strange-looking participants to him.

    Lu Yin was baffled. ¡°Is that book a participant as well?¡±

    Han Chong could not help butugh. ¡°They¡¯re from the Technocracy, and all sorts of things exist there. If they wanted to, they could have even entered a brick as a participant.¡±

    ¡°By the way, I heard that no human is allowed to enter the Technocracy. Is that true?¡± Lu Yin was rather curious.

    Han Chong nodded and earnestly replied, ¡°Even since ancient times, nobody has ever been allowed to enter. The only way to go in is by force.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that we know nothing about them at all?¡± Lu Yin asked with a frown.

    ¡°You can¡¯t really say it like that. Once in a while, a powerhouse from the Human or Astral Beast Domain will force their way there as a test of their strength. Otherwise, there could be a huge disaster if the Technocracy ever manages to create a weapon that¡¯s able to destroy the universe,¡± Han Chong exined.

    Lu Yin understood this reasoning. It made sense, as it was not wise to just leave one¡¯s enemiespletely alone. However, one had to pay a huge price to force their way into the Technocracy. Wendy Yushan had paid an immense price for merely trying to force her way into the Ross Empire. And even now, she was still missing. Although her situation could not bepared to a powerhouse¡¯s, and the Technocracy was iparable to the Ross Empire in every sense, it was also a fact that the humans had lost quite a lot to the Technocracy over the years.

    Compared to the Technocracy, the Astral Beast Domain seemed much more normal. At the very least, the humans felt that they had a general gauge of the Astral Beasts¡¯ strength.

    With this in mind, Lu Yin nced to the side and blinked. Are they normal? Perhaps. At the very least, they are all living creatures.

    There was a rat, a me sable, a guy dressed in ck robes and a beautiful girl.

    ¡°Feng Jiu! It¡¯s Feng Jiu! I haven¡¯t seen you in so long! Let me out, Seventh Bro! I want to talk to her about life!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Next to him, Han Chong¡¯s expression shifted, and Lu Yin hastily tried to exin. ¡°Sorry, Han Chong. I wasn¡¯t talking to you. Please don¡¯t pay me any mind.¡±

    Han Chong smiled. ¡°I understand, Lu Yin. This tournament is very important, so let¡¯s all be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and watched Han Chong walked away.

    ¡°This is all your fault! I offended someone for no reason!¡± Lu Yin hissed.

    ¡°But that¡¯s Feng Jiu, bro! What would you do if Ming Yan suddenly appeared in front of you? You¡¯re even worse than me. Let me out already! I want to go talk to her!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin angrily replied, ¡°If you¡¯re going to keep screaming like this, I¡¯ll screen you so that you can¡¯t even see your beloved Feng Jiu.¡±

    The monkey felt very wronged. ¡°You can¡¯t bully me like this, Seventh Bro! I¡¯ve helped you out so much. Just let me talk to her!¡±

    ¡°No! Shut up! If you keep talking, then I¡¯m really going to block you,¡± Lu Yin threatened.

    At that moment, the girl called Feng Jiu saw Lu Yin, and with an icy glint in her eyes, she started walking towards him.

    ¡°Why¡¯s sheing over here? Did you somehow manage to get into contact with her?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly as he red at his right arm. If the Ghost Monkey was truly able to contact her, then he¡¯d immediately kill the monkey once and for all. He could not allow his secrets to be exposed.

    ¡°No! I swear it, Seventh Bro! I didn¡¯t! If you don¡¯t let me out, then I can¡¯t contact anyone!¡± The monkey immediately defended itself.

    Lu Yin frowned and watched Feng Jiu approach closer. She had a strange expression on her face. Was she looking to get revenge?

    Quite a few students were surprised by this development and watched on in excitement. Were these two going to fight before the tournament even began?

    Han Chong and the other participants were also watching curiously. Did Lu Yin know this participant from the Astral Beast Domain?

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡± Feng Jiu asked in a hostile tone.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Have you been to the border warfront before?¡± Feng Jiu coldly continued.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°Are you the one who killed the Ghost Monkey?¡± Feng Jiu used Lu Yin, her voice taking on a murderous edge.

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows as he nced at his right arm with a confused expression. What was the meaning of this? Was she really trying to take revenge? Did she actually like that monkey? So the monkey truly didn¡¯t have a one-sided love?!

    ¡°I¡¯m here, my lovely Feng Jiu!¡± the monkey shrieked. Lu Yin¡¯s right arm even became slightly warmer.

    Lu Yin was furious, but all he could do was grind his teeth.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you answering me? Were you the one who killed the Ghost Monkey?¡± Feng Jiu asked again.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Noment.¡±

    Feng Jiu snickered. ¡°You killed him, but you¡¯re too afraid to admit it. That¡¯s exactly how you humans are¡ªhypocritical and cowardly!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Humans are hypocritical! I¡¯m right here, Feng Jiu!¡± the monkey shouted once more.

    Lu Yin was getting a headache just from the monkey¡¯s screams. There was a person in front of him jabbering on about one thing or another, and there was another one making a fuss in his mind. The entire situation was causing him to grow increasingly annoyed. ¡°If you have the capabilities, then just avenge him. If you step onto the battlefield, then you should be prepared to die.¡± And with that, Lu Yin turned away. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to reason with this crazy couple.

    Feng Jiu moved in front of Lu Yin, blocking him. She grit her teeth and demanded, ¡°Tell me what he said before he died. He¡¯s always been scared of death and would have definitely tried to save himself, but you still killed him. You¡¯re ruthless!¡±

    ¡°Scared to die? How dare you! I¡¯m the epitome of courage, okay?!¡± the monkey yelled.

    Lu Yin was left speechless and immediately left the Lifeseek Realm.

    Feng Jiu clenched her fists. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill you, Lu Yin.¡±

    Atop Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin heard the Ghost Monkeyining the moment he recovered. ¡°Let me out, Seventh Bro! I want to see Feng Jiu. Let me out! I want to go see her!¡±

    Lu Yin had a pounding headache by now. ¡°She obviously doesn¡¯t like you, but for some reason, she doesn¡¯t like the fact that you died.¡±

    The monkey was enraged. ¡°She likes me! All of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes are a part of my harem! Progenitor Wushang arranged it!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Stop talking crap! You keep this up, and I¡¯ll block you and make sure that you¡¯ll never see Feng Jiu again.¡±

    The monkey cried mournfully, but he finally stopped talking.

    Gaining an enemy even before the tournament even began did not seem like a good start.

    ¡°Huh? Why did youe back? Did you get scared off already?¡± Lulu asked after seeing Lu Yin. She hadn¡¯t even entered Lifeseek Realm yet.

    Not too far away, Coco clenched her fists. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Lu Yin! If you get injured, I¡¯ll just give you an injection!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids unconsciously twitched. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Coco. By the way, how are Ceng Die and Kaname doing?¡±

    Coco smiled. ¡°They¡¯re doing well! They¡¯re delighted that you¡¯re fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Lu Yin smiled. The two of them had been with him back at Pirate¡¯s Port, so they must be pretty strong if they survived the attack from the warship. Of course, they might also have been spared because of their connections like how Zhuo Daynight had survived.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going in?¡± Lulu asked, baffled.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s too noisy in there. I want some peace and quiet, so I¡¯ll just head in right before the tournament begins.¡±

    After responding, Lu Yin was rather surprised when he noticed something odd. ¡°Where¡¯s Zora, Coco? Aren¡¯t you two in the same team?¡±

    ¡°She went back to Windrift Hall for training,¡± Coco said.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Training? What kind of training?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s battle training by the Windrift Hall. As you know, people there are assigned in pairs, with one person focused on healing and the other on fighting. The Windrift Hall¡¯s style of battle is unique, but very powerful,¡± Lulu exined.

    Upon recalling the memory of Zora¡¯s Pulse Severing Finger, Lu Yin had to admit that their battle style was indeed unique. This meant that Zora would be very different upon returning. He took a deep breath. It must be amazing to be a part of a huge organization. Everything was already prepared for their sessors.

    Before long, Lulu and Coco both entered Lifeseek Realm. The others from Astral-10 had also gone in, leaving Lu Yin alone atop the trial zone mountain.

    He leaned against the mountain to rest and patiently waited for the Tournament of the Strongest to begin.

    The crowd roared as they stood around the battlefield where the Astral Combat Tournament had formerly been held. Students from the Astral Combat Academy could be found everywhere, and every once a while, someone would die to a war spirit.

    Four barriers rose from the ground and sealed off an area within the mountains that separated the spectating students from the battlefield.

    During the Astral Combat Tournament, some of the battles had been so intense that some spectating students had been killed. Thus, this time, the mentors of the academy had made ample preparations beforehand. Any of the battles in thispetition could be considered to be a battle between the strongest.

    The participants from the four different areas stood in four different areas. Those from the Astral Combat Academy were in the east, the Astral Beast Domain the south, the Technocracy the west, and the Cosmic Sea the north.

    The areas that had been blocked off by the barriers were huge. Lu Yin was currently on the east side, and if he did not use his star energy, he could barely see the participants from the Technocracy.

    With a huge bang, fourteen lots began revolving in the sky. They were split into two colors and were very eye-catching. The color of each individual lot was not fixed, and instead constantly changed.

    ¡°The participants will now draw their own lots,¡± a voice boomed, causing the entire battlefield to go dark. This was an ultra powerhouse speaking.

    Many students were startled and felt a tremendous pressure suppressing the area around them.

    In the east, the participants from the Technocracy frowned, and contempt shed across their eyes. It seemed as if they thought nothing of the ultra powerhouse¡¯s voice.

    After that, all of the participants used their star energy to form illusory arms that stretched into the sky. They did not fight over anything, and instead casually took whatever lot they first came across. Everyone felt confident in themselves.

    There were seven colors and fourteen participants. Those with the same color would be matched against each other, and the first battle ended up being between the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Grandini Mavis and the Technocracy¡¯s Domi.

    So Grandini is going to be in the first round. Lu Yin looked very sullen. The Mavis family¡¯s terrifying innate gift ensured that they were all extraordinary. This battle would definitely show off how powerful Grandini had be at present. It was certain that she had improved since the Astral Combat Tournament.

    At the base of a mountain, Grandini Mavis and Domi faced off each other. Everyone watched on with bated breath. The Technocracy was a very mysterious ce to the humans. Aside from the troops at the border, no one else knew anything about the people from that astral domain.

 Chapter 318: Gaze Of Contempt

    <h4>Chapter 318: Gaze Of Contempt</h4>

    ¡°How can a robot enter the Lifeseek Realm? Isn¡¯t it considered a foreign item?¡± Lu Yin asked, confused.

    Beside him, Starsibyl replied, ¡°The trial zones acknowledge anything that¡¯s merged with a cultivator, which includes even the tamed beasts from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. All this means is that the Technocracy has already discovered how to merge machines into their own bodies.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. Being able tobine robotics and a biological body so perfectly was a terrifying technique. The Ross Empire was the top empire in the Human Domain when it came to technological advancement, but they could not even attempt to do such a thing. Otherwise, such an expert from the Ross Empire would have alreadye to the trial zones.

    Boom!

    There was a huge rumble that sounded as if the heavens and the earth had collided and the ground had split asunder. A tremendous force surged into the sky and blew the clouds away. When the twopetitors collided, a huge spatial crack spread out, scaring quite a few students to the point where they even turned pale. Thankfully, the barriers held firm.

    Smoke filled the sky, and quite a few miniscule spatial cracks flickered in the arena. Grandini Mavis and Domi appeared once more before the audience¡¯s eyes. The two punches had cancelled each other out, and with another huge boom, they simultaneously retreated.

    Grandini¡¯s right fist shook as blood dripped onto the ground. She had been injured.

    Domi, on the other hand, looked the same as ever.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened as he stared intensely at Domi¡¯s right fist. What a durable metal! The metallic hand lookedpletely fine.

    A momentter, two strange rays of light shot out of Domi¡¯s eyes and swept towards Grandini, which she hastily dodged even as the ground waspletely pierced through. Those rays did not seem to be very powerful, but Grandini was obviously afraid to make contact with them. Domi then raised both hands and shot out two more rays, using a total of four rays of light to sweep through the battlefield, chasing after Grandini.

    Quite a few students from the Astral Combat Academy nervously grit their teeth. Anyone could tell that Grandini was on the losing end of this exchange so far.

    The Mavis family was well known for their strong bodies and monstrous strength. However, these two advantages barely mattered against Domi. His durable metal was not something that Grandini Mavis could destroy.

    ¡°Those rays don¡¯t appear to be very strong, but they can prate through most materials without causing any spatial damage. This is an attacking method that many Limiteers from the Technocracymonly use. Even still, there¡¯s no way to contend against it other than running away, unless you have some special method,¡± Han Chong exined with a serious look on his face.

    Lu Yin eyed Domi. With his domain, Lu Yin was able to clearly sense just how terrifying those rays were. In contrast to what Han Chong had just said, Domi¡¯s rays were much more powerful than what regr Limiteers in the Technocracy used, or else Grandini would not have been forced to the pitiful state that she was currently in.

    Perhaps it was because she had been driven into a corner, but Grandini¡¯s battle force finally exploded forth. Her four-lined battle force wound around her body and she cocked her right fist back, her feet lightly tapping on the ground. In less than a moment, she had appeared in front of Domi and released a punch. Domi did not dodge, and just like before, received the attack head-on with a punch of his own. He was absolutely at ease in close-quartersbat.

    Boom boom boom¡­

    Thirteen explosions sounded out in session. With Grandini¡¯s four-lined battle force and Thirteen Stacks, she managed to pound Domi into the ground. When she had only used three-lined battle force, she had managed to defeat Liu Yin, and after she revealed four-lined battle force, Dao Bo had immediately admitted defeat. This meant that the students from the Astral Combat Academy actually had no idea how terrifying Grandini Mavis¡¯s true power was. Now, they could finally bear witness to it.

    The earth was shattered as terrifying spatial cracks spread out from the point of impact, causing even more spatial ripples to fill the arena, as if it were ake¡¯s surface during a storm. The two fighters continued to tear the void apart even further with every exchange, and the spatial tears spread out like raindrops, covering arger andrger area until even the mentors¡¯ barriers started shaking. Quite a few students stepped back from the battlefield in shock.

    A figure leapt up from amidst the dust and thennded solidly on the ground after performing a flip. It was Grandini. She was panting hard and checking her fist while staring at the dust cloud. She had hit her target, but she had no idea what the results were.

    Everyone eyed the area shrouded by dust.

    Lu Yin, meanwhile, watched the people from the Technocracy. Their expressions did not change at all, and the woman called Yun still had an overbearing look of contempt in her eyes.

    A light thud was heard from underground as a figure slowly walked out. With a wave of his hand, the dust was blown away. Domi appeared once more, causing everyone to suck in a breath of cold air. He lookedpletely fine. Even after taking Grandini¡¯s full force attack that had been reinforced by her four-lined battle force head-on, he was stillpletely fine. Thispletely shocked all the Astral Combat Academy students.

    That was a punch backed by four-lined battle force! During the Astral Combat Tournament, the most powerful battle force that they had seen was Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force during his battle against Nightqueen Yanqing, who had used four-lined battle force. The others had only ever used up to four-lined battle force, and in past interacademy tournaments, four-lined battle force was already considered the highest level one could reach. However, this peak strength turned out to bepletely useless against this participant from the Technocracy.

    Even the beings from the Astral Beast Domain were stirred by this sight.

    ¡°What a strong defense. It¡¯s unbelievable!¡± Hua Yishou was shocked.

    Feng Jiu looked glum. ¡°The Technocracy is indeed a huge mystery.¡±

    On the north side, Liu Shaoqiu narrowed his eyes as his gaze swept across the beings standing in the west, the individuals from the Technocracy. He had originally paid them no heed, but this sight hadpletely changed his mind. It was no wonder why the Technocracy had been able to hold the humans back for so many years.

    Outside, Lulu looked glum; her Mavis family¡¯s reputation was being challenged right now.

    Chao Zhi and the others were also carefully observing Domi. If they were the ones on the battlefield, they would also have no chance of winning. This was the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Of them all, Grandini was the one who was the most shocked. She stared at Domi, obviously unable to ept what she had just seen. She once again clenched her fists tightly, baffled that her attacks had had no effect on him.

    Domi¡¯s expression remained as cid as ever. He raised his arms, and four rays shot out once more, scouring the battlefield as they went straight for Grandini, like a cat chasing after a mouse.

    Grandini slowly breathed out. As she saw the four rays approach towards her, she raised her arm, causing the four rays to suddenly disappear. Meanwhile, cold, dark lines appeared on her arm. This was the sign of five-lined battle force. At the same time, dark-gold rays surged into the sky. Grandini had finally entered her peak state.

    Domi¡¯s eyes shone; this was the first time his expression had changed so far in the battle.

    The beings from the Technocracy were surprised, as they had not expected this human to be hiding her strength at the start of the battle.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t very surprised at all. He had never assumed that having five-lined battle force would be enough for someone to reign supreme in this tournament. While having five-lined battle force was powerful, it was something that others were capable of attaining as well.

    After Lu Yin revealed his five-lined battle force during the Astral Combat Tournament, everyone had called him a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. Soon after, however, he had realized that it was merely ttery and not the truth. When the Ten Arbiters were Limiteers and still students of the Astral Combat Academy, they had also only managed toprehend five-lined battle force, but that didn¡¯t mean that a person could be a Ten Arbiter as long as they had five-lined battle force. The Rainmaster¡¯sment had forced Lu Yin to ept the harsh reality. The Ten Arbiter¡¯s Divine Fist was a monster who had been able to use Thirty Stacks while still at the Limiteer realm. Five-lined battle force was nothingpared to that achievement. That feat was representative of how awe-inspiring the true might of the Ten Arbiters was back when they were Limiteers.

    That amount of strength was something that nobody of the current younger generation had been able to replicate so far. Grandini¡¯s five-lined battle force was the bare minimum requirement for her to reach the level of a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. But even so, many were still surprised by this reveal.

    With a whoosh, Grandini charged towards Domi once more. This time, however, Domi did not stand around and wait for her attack tond. Instead, his eyes shed red and he easily blocked her attack. He moved like a willow in the wind, allowing Grandini to attack as she liked while avoiding every single attack.

    He wasn¡¯t quick, and he seemed to barely dodge every one of Grandini¡¯s attacks.Others might be surprised, but Lu Yin, Han Chong, and the other top students could see what was truly happening. This level of awareness and precision that Domi was disying was simr to a domain, as Domi was not only dodging Grandini¡¯s fists, but also the force from her punches and even the entire trajectory of her attacks. This was essentially another version of a domain.

    ¡°They have sensory systems that can enhance their five senses to a simr level as a domain¡¯s,¡± Starsibyl said. Lu Yin was shocked by this information. Domi had given him quite a few surprises today, showing the true ability of the Technocracy.

    The border warfront had been broken through, and war had descended upon the Endless Weave, forcing the humans to organize a tournament to boost morale. This was how terrifying the Technocracy was.

    It was true that Domi was able to evade Grandini¡¯s attacks. However, when Grandini started attacking in a wider area, he was no longer able to dodge every attack. There was a huge crash as Grandini used her five-lined battle force as well as Thirteen Stacks to strike the entire battlefield. The four barriers distorted as the barriers forcibly stopped the tremendous shockwaves, redirecting them into a square-shaped force that shot straight up into the sky. Numerous spatial tears spread out like a beast descending upon the field, causing quite a few students¡¯ faces to turn ashen.

    Wu Da gulped as he trembled. What a violent woman.

    The attack had crushed the ground, and the inhuman strength behind it had distorted the sky. This time, nobody believed that Domi could be fine. If he was, then Grandini had already lost.

    Everyone stared at the battlefield. The ground had caved it, leaving a huge pit behind. Domiy inside of it, with half of his body cracked. He could not move at all; five-lined battle force was not something that he could take on.

    ¡°Round one. Victor: Grandini Mavis.¡±

    Many students cheered. Fortunately, she had won. The disgusting defense disyed by the Technocracy participante was unfathomable, but thankfully, in front of five-lined battle force, any defense was trash.

    ¡°It seems that those robots¡¯ defensive limit is five-lined battle force. We still have Lu Yin, and heprehended five-lined battle force even earlier than Grandini. He¡¯ll definitely be able to win his first battle. The humans are sure to win!¡± The spectating students excitedly predicted victory as the oue of the tournament. Wu Da¡¯s ears pricked up, and he listened very carefully; this was all important information that he could use.

    ¡°Nobody knows for sure. Look, that woman over there is clearly the leader of those monsters from the Technocracy. The moment she showed up, she¡¯s been acting like she¡¯s the boss, and her demeanor hasn¡¯t changed even now. Damn.¡±

    ¡°Hey, did you notice that she¡¯s basically been looking at the sky this whole time? She needs to be taught a lesson!¡±

    ¡°I saw that too. She¡¯s crazy. She¡¯s even more arrogant than Kuang Wang.¡±

    In the distance, Kuang Wang felt awkward when he heard this.

    Within the crowd, Lulu let out a light sigh of relief. Thankfully, that stupid woman had not let the family down. That would have been uneptable.

    At this moment, the barriers separating the viewers from the battlefield shifted back and pushed everyone away as the area of the battlefield expanded.

    Before long, the battlefield was repaired, and the second round began. On one side was Han Chong, and the other, another participant from the Technocracy. It was the woman who had her nose perpetually stuck in the air: Yun.

    Upon seeing Han Chong enter the battlefield, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. Back in the Shenwu Continent¡¯s Tower of Resonating Light, he had witnessed for himself how powerful Han Chong was. That unfathomable and iparable pressure had shocked him to the core back then. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just because Han Chong had been more powerful than Lu Yin; their abilities were different as well. However, Han Chong¡¯s strength could not be underestimated in any situation.

    Quite a few students were disappointed when they saw that Han Chong¡¯s opponent was Yun. The participants from the Technocracy all had the same standard fighting style that centered around powerful defenses. To most people, this would be a very boring match. Of course, there were still people cheering for Han Chong in hopes that he¡¯d teach Yun a lesson. That arrogant expression of hers was simply disgusting; she was basically nakedly mocking everyone!

 Chapter 319: An Interesting Battle

    <h4>Chapter 319: An Interesting Battle</h4>

    ¡°That girl¡¯s expression makes me want to kick her ass!¡± the monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin burst out inughter. Everyone was wondering if this woman from the Technocracy had had her eyes altered. The contempt in them was so tant that it seemed to be asking for a beating.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡± Lu Yin asked Grandini as he nced at her.

    Grandini looked at her fair little fists. ¡°Those modified humans are very tough. They¡¯re hard even when you hit them.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. She said that they were tough, but she had nearly crippled Domi.

    At that moment, the second battle began. Han Chong stretched his arm out and started drawing with star energy as the ink. He drew mountains and seas, and the boundless high peaks released a huge pressure.

    Yun nced over at him, the disdain in her eyes still as overbearing as ever. Just as everyone thought that she would take Han Chong¡¯s attack head-on with brute force, she reached out. Her arm briefly danced in the air and destroyed Han Chong¡¯s technique.

    The entire field went quiet. Every one gazed at this scene in astonishment, including Lu Yin.

    What in the world?

    Lockbreaking! She had used a lockbreaking technique, and not just any technique either.

    Lu Yin took several steps forward and purposefully activated the Cosmic Art while observing Yun. That woman¡¯s Lockbreaking skill was even higher than his own. It was so quick and proficient that it had easily dissolved Han Chong¡¯s drawings as if they were nothing more than simple lines.

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression changed, and she eyed Yun nervously. Disbelief was evident in her eyes. She could not find anything to use for a divination on this woman. One could say that Yun was beyond such things.

    Han Chong gazed at Yun in shock. The star energy drawing above his head gradually melted away and dissipated.

    ¡°Is that all you have?¡± Yun mocked, appearing bored.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Lockbreaker?¡± Han Chong was startled.

    Yun sneered. ¡°Perhaps. I¡¯ll give you one more chance. If you don¡¯t have anything more to show, then just scram.¡±

    Outside the arena, many students became enraged, and even the creatures from the Astral Beast Domain were agitated. Yun was just too arrogant, and her arrogance was aimed at every person here, not just Han Chong. It wasn¡¯t merely arrogance either¡ª-there was another strange sensation that she was giving off.

    Han Chong frowned. This battle was not ying out the way that he had expected it to. He could not predict what this woman would do, so he stopped hiding his true abilities. He began drawing once more, but at a slower speed than before. However, with each line that he added in, the drawing let out a strange pressure, and it felt as if the very sky was turning dark.

    Outside the arena, Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold. This was the same exact feeling that he had experienced in the Tower of Resonating Light. Han Chong had hidden this immense pressure that he was able to intentionally emanate when he wanted. The painting that he was drawing was enough to make Lu Yin feel a great sense of danger.

    Starsibyl looked up and stared intensely at Han Chong¡¯s hand.

    Outside the arena, Xia Ye¡¯s eyes twinkled with curiosity. This was the technique that had crushed him during the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Inside the battlefield, Yun just watched on as Han Chong continued drawing. The disdain in her eyes had disappeared, and what reced it was shock that was soon followed by an overwhelming bloodlust. She instantly appeared before Han Chong, raised an arm and pressed down with it. Han Chong¡¯s eyes widened, and he flicked a finger in response. Ever since he had learned this drawing technique, nobody at his level had been able to defeat him. Even Xia Ye¡¯s four-lined battle force had been crushed.

    Yun¡¯s palm kept pressing down against the drawing. Somehow, heaven and earth seemed to shake, and a strange undtion swept across the Lifeseek Realm. It was so subtle that nobody aside from Han Chong and Yun sensed it. Even Lu Yin, with his domain and Cosmic Art active, did not sense it.

    The undtion only took ce for a brief moment, but the instant afterwards, Yun tore through the painting and pressed her palm against Han Chong¡¯s chest. Han Chong was defeated, and he disappeared even as an expression of disbelief was etched on his face.

    The battle was very quick, but it had been life-changing for the audience. Yun, who was from the Technocracy, had defeated Han Chong with such ease and even shown off her expertise at Lockbreaking. Nobody had expected this result; it was too astonishing.

    Yun pulled back her hand, and the bloodlust in her eyes gradually disappeared only to be reced by her usual contempt for the universe. ¡°Trash.¡± And with that, she left the battlefield.

    ¡°Round Two. Victor: Yun.¡±

    All the human students had glum expressions.

    Within the crowd, Xia Ye was shocked. He had been certain that Han Chong would not lose and that his drawing was invincible. Despite that, how had he still ended up losing?

    Lu Yin was surprised as well. That drawing had given even him a sense of grave danger¡ªthere was no denying that. However, the drawing had seemingly met its natural nemesis in the form of Yun¡¯s attack and had been torn to shreds. How exactly had Yun done it?

    Watching Yun battle was like watching Starsibyl; they were both extremely mysterious.

    The battle had not taken very long nor had it caused much damage to the arena. Soon enough, the next battle began, and this time, Hua Yishou appeared inside the battlefield.

    Facing Hua Yishou was Liu Shaoqiu.

    Upon seeing Liu Shaoqiu, Hua Yishou became slightly annoyed. He really did not want to be matched up against Lu Shaoqiu because the mouse wasn¡¯t confident of emerging victorious. The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords had killed a fair number of astral beasts, and this person was considered to be a genius and had just defeated a powerhouse from the Cosmic Sea a few days ago. Then, he had challenged the human Lu Yin and also announced that he hadprehended the Fourth Sword. This swordsman was sure to be a headache.

    On the other side, Liu Shaoqiu didn¡¯t mind who his opponent was. However, after seeing the mouse that was the size of a palm, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. This mouse wasn¡¯t even asrge as his sword!

    Amongst the spectating students, one person became downcast and red at Hua Yishou with sorrow and bloodlust. It was Hart Phoenix.

    For the Phoenix n, their number one enemy from the Astral Beast Domain, the species that they most wanted to eradicate, was Hua Yishou¡¯s race. Those mice had eaten quite a number of the Phoenix n disciples, which had led to them bing mortal enemies.

    It was a pity that the astral beasts did not pay the Phoenix n much attention. It wasn¡¯t that they thought nothing of them, but rather that they had so many enemies that they could not be bothered to distinguish between them.

    ¡°Is Huayi a match for that human, Tian?¡± Feng Jiu asked Tian Hou as she nced at him in his ck robes.

    Tian Hou answered in a low voice, ¡°He can only block three moves at the best.¡±

    Feng Jiu responded, ¡°The humans will grow arrogant if we lose this first round.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because humans are hypocrites. There¡¯s no such thing as absolute fairness in tournaments, which is why it wouldn¡¯t make sense for two humans to be matched against each other,¡± Tian Hou exined.

    Feng Jiu was surprised. ¡°Are you saying that somebody tampered with the lots?¡±

    Tian Hou did not answer, but that was an answer in and of itself.

    Feng Jiu grit her teeth as she red at Lu Yin. That guy was aplete piece of trash.

    ¡°Look, Seventh Bro! She misses me! She¡¯s looking over here!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in excitement.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless once more. ¡°It¡¯s not like she knows you¡¯re on my arm. She¡¯s not looking at you!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Then who¡¯s she looking at?¡± The monkey grew enraged at Lu Yin¡¯s reply, but then came to a sudden realization. He started whining, ¡°You¡¯re not going to steal her away from me, are you?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. He should probably screen the monkey.

    Not too far away, Starsibyl nced at Lu Yin with a strange look in her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you sighing because Han Chong was defeated?¡±

    Lu Yin froze, but then nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s strange how he lost.¡±

    Starsibyl eyed Yun. ¡°It¡¯s not that strange. That woman is more than she appears to be.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°I know because I can¡¯t divine anything about her.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had never believed in Starsibyl¡¯s so-called divination; it was all an act to him.

    At that exact moment, the battle began. Hua Yishou took the initiative to attack, and his palm-sized body vanished in an instant as he travelled through the void to bite at Liu Shaoqiu. The mouse was going all out and had attacked as quickly as he could, as Hua Yishou did not want to even give Liu Shaoqiu a chance to pull out his sword.

    Unfortunately, speed was not an issue for the Thirteen Swords. This was because the Second Sword was able to counter speed, and besides, Liu Shaoqiu also had his domain. No matter how quickly Hua Yishou moved, he would not be able to escape from Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s senses.

    Liu Shaoqiu took several steps backwards and avoided Hua Yishou''s attack. He then raised his sword and shed downwards as the sword released a grating, metallic sound. There was a shriek, and then Hua Yishou was sent flying by an invisible strand of sword qi. His body violently struck a mountain, shot through it, and then collided with the barrier before he started to slowly slide down.

    Everyone stared at Hua Yishou¡¯s limp body. Was it already over? That technique had been the first of the Thirteen Swords, and it had previously been enough to defeat an Astral Combat Academy student leader like Kuang Wang.

    The person who was hoping for Hua Yishou to be defeated the most was actually Kuang Wang. He had been defeated by the First Sword during the Astral Combat Tournament, so if Hua Yishou blocked it, then didn¡¯t that mean that he, Kuang Wang, was even weaker than a rat? It was for this reason that he stuck his head out and stared intensely at Hua Yishou, hoping that the mouse was done for.

    Unfortunately, things rarely ever go as people wish then to. Hua Yishou twitched slightly and leapt up to disappear into the void once again. Meanwhile, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s gaze grew cold, and he shed out horizontally with his sword. There was a nging sound, and then the void distorted as a huge spatial tear opened up, splitting the arena in half. Hua Yishou was forced out of the void and sent tumbling to the ground, his beady green eyes staring at Liu Shaoqiu in fear.

    This person was too terrifying. Those two consecutive attacks had been the limit of what he could handle, and this was only the First Sword. If Liu Shaoqui used the Second or even Third Sword, then Hua Yishou had no idea how he could survive.

    Lu Yin sighed in admiration as he gazed at Liu Shaoqiu. Lu Yin had be a Limiteer, and Liu Shaoqiu had naturally be one as well. His First Sword was definitely much more powerful nowpared to what it had been during the Astral Combat Tournament. If Liu Shaoqiu had been this powerful back then, Lu Yin might not have been able to defend against the Second Sword. The First Sword alone would have been enough to force him into using his five-lined battle force.

    While Hua Yishou was wondering how he could deal with Liu Shaoqiu, goosebumps suddenly covered his body as he was struck by an immense sense of danger. He looked up, and his pupils shrank as he saw innumerable strands of sword qi pierce through the void and cover the entire battlefield.

    Just like how Mavis had dealt with Domi, Liu Shaoqiu was using his Second Sword tounch an area attack. Speed was pointless against the Second Sword.

    ¡°Round three. Victor: Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    The results of this battle were not surprising to anyone. Even the participants from the Astral Beast Domain did not think that Hua Yishou would be able to block Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attacks. As Tian Hou had said, the battle was concluded in just three attacks.

    After leaving the arena, Liu Shaoqiu nced at Lu Yin. It looked like he wanted to say something, but it was hard to tell due to the distance. However, due to his domain, Lu Yin was able to read Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s lips. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± These three words expressed the utmost confidence that Liu Shaoqiu had in his own abilities. They also fired up Lu Yin¡¯spetitive spirit. This timing was great, because he was in the next battle. His opponent was Feng Jiu.

    This was quite the coincidence. These two had apparently had some issues even before the tournament started, and coincidentally enough, they were now facing off against each other.

    Everyone held their breath as they looked at the arena.

    Lu Yin stood in the middle and gazed at the ice phoenix while feeling a headacheing on. The monkey kept shouting in Lu Yin¡¯s head, ¡°Be merciful, Seventh Bro! That¡¯s your future sister-inw¡­¡±

    In front of Lu Yin, Feng Jiu had an excited expression. She never expected to be able to avenge the Ghost Monkey so soon. In all honesty, she was not interested in the Ghost Monkey at all, but since he had helped her quite a bit previously, she was grateful to him. Thus, it made sense for her to avenge him. Besides, that ape also knew quite a few secrets...

 Chapter 320: Lu Yin vs. Feng Jiu

    <h4>Chapter 320: Lu Yin vs. Feng Jiu</h4>

    ¡°Please, Seventh Bro, go easy on her¡­¡± the monkey continued to yell at Lu Yin inside his head.

    ¡°Tell me what the Ghost Monkey said before he died and I can let you lose without too much humiliation, Lu Yin,¡± Feng Jiu said as she stared hard at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Please, bro, let her lose without humiliating her too much!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin became enraged. ¡°Shut up! If you keep talking, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin enjoyed silence once more. However, Feng Jiu was furious since she thought that Lu Yin had said that to her.

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± As she spoke, her long blue hair danced in the wind that had suddenly sprung up. The sky turned white as an extreme chill permeated the entire battlefield. The cold descended from above, and it felt like a gigantic block of pure ice had been tossed down from the sky. Everything instantly froze.

    All of the students were shocked, and their limbs went stiff. The extreme chill made it so that they couldn¡¯t even speak. Even the mentors¡¯ barriers glistened with shards of ice.

    From a distance, the battlefield looked like a gigantic ice cube. As the wind continued to blow, an unspeakable chill swept through the rest of the Lifeseek Realm.

    Lu Yin did not expect Feng Jiu to go all out right from the start and was caughtpletely off guard. The surface of his body was frozen over by the sheer cold.

    In front of him, Feng Jiu¡¯s gaze became as cold as the ice surrounding them as she lifted a finger. ¡°This is the beating that you deserve.¡± After saying that, blue rays shot out from the tip of her finger, freezing the void as it shot towards Lu Yin. The blue rays instantly broke through space and disappeared into the void. At this moment, even the remnant void cracks seemed to be glistening from the cold.

    Nobody could have expected this battle to start so quickly and so fiercely. This chill was even stronger than Ao¡¯s during the Astral Combat Tournament. It was truly horrifying.

    What about Lu Yin? Was he already dead?

    In the eastern area, Starsibyl had a serious expression. That chill was terrifying, as expected of the Celestial Ice Phoenix n. The sheer coldness was something that even she had to be careful against.

    On the western tform, the Technocracy¡¯s Yun expression became slightly impressed for a moment, but it quickly switched back to her typical contemptuous gaze.

    Amongst the observing students, Big Pao, Little Pao, Michelle, and all the others from Astral-10 looked glum. That chill was too strong. Kuang Wang, Liu Xiaoyun, and a few other student leaders also had very serious expressions. They knew that they would find it extremely difficult to deal with this cold and that they might not be able to dispel it. This was the power of a powerhouse from the Astral Beast Domain.

    To the south, Tian Hou¡¯s eyes were hidden under his robes, but they were focused on Lu Yin, who had been sealed within the ice. Tian Hou had a serious expression because he could tell that Lu Yin was fine.

    Feng Jiu was second only to him among the participants from Astral Beast Domain. Tian Hou had expected her to easily win this round, but after observing Lu Yin, he had a strange feeling that this person might not be a soft target.

    Everyone on Zenyu Star in the Great Yu Empire watched their screens in shock. Had the Royal Regent been defeated just like that?

    At this moment, numerous people were staring at the battlefield. The area waspletely silent. Everyone had their eyes on Lu Yin, especially Feng Jiu.

    ¡°Uh, Seventh Bro, uh¡­ Don¡¯t get angry. Don¡¯t over do it! Please don¡¯t be angry¡­¡± the monkey was still babbling on at this moment. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew icy, and he withdrew the star energy from his right arm and screened the Ghost Monkey off from his senses. He was furious.

    Blocking the monkey meant that he had to cut off star energy to his right arm. In other words, his right arm was useless right now.

    Crack!

    The thick ice cracked, and Feng Jiu¡¯s eyes narrowed. He¡¯s not dead? Her ice should have frozen everything; even Embermane¡¯s mes couldn¡¯t stop her ice. She had assumed that, of all the participants here, aside from Tian Hou and Starsibyl, no one else would be able to dispel it without great difficulty.

    With another crack, the ice covering Lu Yin¡¯s bodypletely shattered. His body had been encased in severalyers of ice, proof that Feng Jiu had managed to score a direct hit. The shards of ice seemed serious, but none of it had actually managed to break through his defenses or even pierce his body. Lu Yin waspletely fine.

    Lu Yin raised his head to look at Feng Jiu. His body then suddenly vanished. At the same time, there was a blue sh in Feng Jiu¡¯s eyes. With her body as the center, she sent out a wave of extreme cold in all directions. This cold was so intense that it even froze the void solid. In theory, no matter how fast Lu Yin was, there was nowhere for him to hide, not even within the void.

    All of a sudden, a palm appeared in front of Feng Jiu¡¯s eyes and pushed down on her. Lu Yin walked out of the void while his body shone with a dark-gold light that was indicative of five-lined battle force. With one punch, Lu Yin managed to both st away the chilling wave and appear right in front of Feng Jiu. She never expected this person to be able to tear through her coldness so easily, but she retreated without missing a beat and then let out a chirping noise. Her body transformed, and she morphed into a beautiful blue ice phoenix. With a p of her wings, an even more terrifying chill descended upon the battlefield.

    The chill this time was even worse than before. Just looking at it was enough to cause someone to freeze over. This was the extreme chill that originated from a Celestial Ice Phoenix revealing their true form. Feng Jiu did not need toprehend a domain, because just her chilling presence alone was enough to freeze everything.

    The moment her main form appeared, Embermane and Hua Yishou assumed that the battle was over. There were very few people, even among the participants in thispetition, who could endure this freezing cold, and they were certain that Lu Yin was not one such person.

    This chill left Lu Yin stunned. It was indeed very difficult for him to handle, and if his power level was what it had been during the Astral Combat Tournament, then he might have found it difficult to defeat Feng Jiu. Now, however, this cold still did not approach the limit of what his body could handle. In fact it was far from it.

    His palm that tore through the ice was not frozen, and it solidly connected with Feng Jiu¡¯s huge body. With a mournful cry, Feng Jiu was sent flying, and she even spat out some blood while still in mid-air. The blood quickly solidified into a chunk of red ice that fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin walked out of the void and casually waved his arm. This action caused all the cold to gather into gusts of wind that swirled up into the sky before falling down once more. But this time, it had be nothing other than normal ice and rain that gradually dissipated.

    To the south of the battlefield, Embermane was startled. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Am I to believe that Feng Jiu¡¯s chill didn¡¯t affect him in the slightest?¡±

    Tian Hou stared hard at Lu Yin. ¡°That human is very powerful.¡±

    Many of the onlookers were simrly shocked. Everyone could tell how terrifying Feng Jiu¡¯s coldness was, but it hadn¡¯t had much of an effect on Lu Yin. The power that he had just disyed had shocked even Yun. Of course, it was only for a moment. He was still nothing more than an ant in her eyes.

    There was a rumbling sound when Feng Jiu¡¯s body hit the ground, leaving a huge crater in its wake. Ayer of ice spread out from her body and covered an area ten thousand meters around her.

    Lu Yin did not chase after her and instead calmly stared straight at Feng Jiu.

    The Celestial Ice Phoenix¡¯s wings were bloodied, and she made for quite a pathetic sight, lying there on the ground. It took her quite a while to work her way to her feet, and once she was upright, she looked at Lu Yin with clear shock in her blue eyes. ¡°Why weren¡¯t you frozen, human?¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°If that¡¯s all you have to show, then it looks like this battle is already over.¡±

    Feng Jiu had barely managed to stand up with some difficulty. Lu Yin¡¯s stacked attack had crushed quite a few of her inner organs, but the battle wasn¡¯t over quite yet. Celestial Ice Phoenixes also had other innate gifts.

    ¡°Die! Tricolored rays!¡± Feng Jiu let out a fierce cry, and rays shone out from her antlers that were aimed directly at Lu Yin.

    These were the Celestial Ice Phoenixes¡¯ powerful tricolored rays. Ice phoenixes were able to emit an extreme chill that could freeze everything as well as shoot out these tricolored rays that could melt anything apart. It was precisely these two innate gifts that allowed the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, despite their very low membercount, to rank number seven on the Heavenly Beast List.

    Lu Yin had heard the Ghost Monkey mention these tricolored rays before. As he watched theme towards him, he stepped to the side and let rays brush by his side. To his surprise, they were able to dispel his battle force, but even with his domain, he still couldn¡¯t figure out how it worked. He would only be able to do so if he used the Cosmic Art and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye in conjunction with his domain.

    Feng Jiu looked like an insane person as she froze the earth and the sky while aiming the tricolored rays at Lu Yin.

    Many people could feel their hearts thumping loudly as they attentively watched on. These tricolored rays were way too powerful, and even though they should have dispelled and melted everything in their path away, they did not melt the ice that Feng had Jiu produced. The two innate giftsplemented each other perfectly.

    Lu Yin kept dodging, but even after touching the rays a few times, he still could not understand how they worked. After he realized what he was trying to do, he couldn¡¯t help himself from bursting out inughter. This was someone else¡¯s innate gift, but as a mere Limiteer, he was trying to see through it. This was something way beyond his capabilities. With this thought in mind, he stared straight at Feng Jiu.

    It was time to end the match.

    Lu Yin hovered in midair for a moment and then charged right at the ice phoenix.

    Feng Jiu had a cold look in her eyes as her antlers created more tricolored rays that swept out towards Lu Yin. At the same time, a freezing chill powered by her full power surged into the sky, aimed straight at Lu Yin. She was going to use the tricolored rays to dispel the five-lined battle force from the surface of Lu Yin¡¯s body and then freeze him with the intense cold.

    Lu Yin snickered as he allowed the rays to strike his body, causing his five-lined battle force to rapidly dissipate away. Feng Jiu grew incredibly excited. This was how she could win! Without his five-lined battle force, she was certain that the freezing chill from her true form would be able to freeze him solid.

    It was a pity that there was something that she had forgotten. There would be a short moment of time between the tricolored rays dissipating Lu Yin¡¯s battle force and the chill freezing him. It was no more than two seconds, but that was more than enough for Lu Yin. So what if he didn¡¯t have his five-lined battle force? From the very beginning of the battle, he hadn¡¯t used his battle force to dispel Feng Jiu¡¯s freezing chill when she was in human form.

    After pushing past the rays, Lu Yin appeared in front of Feng Jiu, and despite seeing Feng Jiu¡¯s expression of astonishment, he attacked. ¡°Nine Stacks, Seventeenfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    The ground split open, and another deep crater formed where Feng Jiu¡¯s body hit the ground. A huge spatial crack spread out from her back and radiated in all directions. A loud explosion was heard from underground, and the ice that had been about to freeze Lu Yin suddenly shattered. However, in the very next moment, Feng Jiu¡¯s body vanished. She had not been able to receive Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Everyone stared on in shock. Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force had been dispelled, but he had still been able to defeat a Celestial Ice Phoenix with a physical attack. Just how strong was his body?

    ¡°Round four. Victor: Lu Yin.¡±

    After watching on from a distance, Nightqueen Yanqing tightly clenched her fists. This was the same attack that had sent her reputation spiraling down the drain during the Astral Combat Tournament. Lu Yin had attacked her with that monstrous physical strength while using his five-lined battle force back then, but now, he no longer needed that support. He was now able to activate that attack by relying purely on the strength of his physical body and had managed to use it to defeat Feng Jiu. In other words, he had grown even more powerful.

    At that point, someone realized something. ¡°Did you guys notice something? Lu Yin didn¡¯t use his right hand at all during this match.¡±

    After that was said, everyone felt a chill run down their spine as they nced at Lu Yin. That person was right; Lu Yin hadn¡¯t used his right arm at all and had only attacked twice over the course of the entire battle, both times with his left hand.

    Wu Da was shocked. ¡°Damn, bro, you beat her with just one arm.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun and the others had noticed this detail as well and looked at Lu Yin with admiration. How powerful had he be?

    Lu Yin walked out of the arena and allowed star energy to flow back into his right arm. He immediately heard a cacophony of shrieks from the monkey. ¡°Feng Jiu! My baby¡­ What did you do to her, man?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Lu Yin definitively said.

    The Ghost Monkey immediately started bawling.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°If you keep this crap up, I¡¯ll block you off again!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your future sister-inw, Seventh Bro!¡± The monkey felt very wronged.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless.

    Not too far away from him, Starsibyl was eyeing Lu Yin curiously.

    Lu Yin found her stare rather ufortable. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Believe it or not, but I can see two different results from you.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin furrowed his brows.

    Starsibyl merely chuckled and stepped onto the battlefield. She was next.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. This girl was such a tease.

    When Starsibyl appeared in the battlefield, everybody from the Astral Combat Academy grew incredibly excited. She was basically guaranteed to win this round.

    There was no need for any exnation behind this sentiment. Starsybil was invincible in their eyes; this was simplymon sense for the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students. She was the student leader of Astral-1 as well as the Realm Master of the Lifeseek Realm. While most students did not know that this person was Starsibyl, the public still held more confidence in her than Lu Yin regardless of who her opponent may be.

 Chapter 321: Divination Attack And Forcefield

    <h4>Chapter 321: Divination Attack And Forcefield</h4>

    Tian Hou slightly raised his body when he saw Starsibyl appear. This woman was his only opponent in this tournament.

    On the west side, the Technocracy¡¯s Yun nced at Starsibyl. This woman had given her a very strange feeling, and she felt strangely hateful towards her.

    Starsibyl¡¯s opponent was Yar Pater, apetitor from the Technocracy. It was not a humanoid, but rather a wolf-shaped machine that followed closely beside Yun, like a docile pet.

    Many spectators became angry when they realized that Starsibyl¡¯s opponent was actually only that arrogant woman¡¯s pet; they could not ept such a match.

    Yun sneered coldly. These people don¡¯t even deserve to be called pets.

    Starsibyl showed no such reaction and only silently observed the wolf-shaped Yar Pater before taking action. She suddenly shifted to her left, and sharp ws bore through where she had been standing just moments earlier. The void copsed, and a second Yar Pater appeared after boring through it. Only then did the original Yar Pater gradually vanish.

    This was an extreme speed that surpassed even Hua Yishou¡¯s, and it shocked arge portion of the audience members as they hadpletely missed the wolf¡¯s movements.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart also skipped a beat upon seeing such speed, but what was even more staggering was Starsibyl, as she had actually dodged the mechanical wolf¡¯s attack. No, that was incorrect. She had not dodged the attack, but rather, she had stepped away in advance. How did she do that?

    Lu Yin was not the only one astounded, as many others were simrly perplexed at how Starsibyl had been able to avoid Yar Pater¡¯s attack that had beenunched at such incredible speeds.

    Yar Patar¡¯s first strike missed, and it immediately turned around to attack again. But before it could move, lightning flickered around its body, followed immediately by an explosion. Its body then vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

    The audience fellpletely silent, and this even included the spectators watching on the screens throughout the universe, such as those on Zenyu Star, East San Dios, the various powers of the Innerverse, Sword Sect, etc. They were all shocked that Yar Patar had been defeated so inexplicably, as no one had even seen Starsibyl attack. But if she hadn¡¯t attacked, then how had the mechanical wolf been defeated?

    Yun had a solemn face, and her expression quickly changed as she stared at Starsibyl. She seemed to be deep in thought about something.

    Tian Hou stepped forward and raised his body. ¡°The power of divination, to take action before the attack. This is the Starsibyl Sect.¡±

    Everyone waspletely astounded by Starsibyl¡¯s showing, including Lu Yin.

    He had never believed in this so-called ¡°divination,¡± but there was no other exnation for Starsibyl¡¯s movements at this moment. Yar Patar¡¯s speed had been so fast that not even Lu Yin had been able to discern the wolf¡¯s movements at that moment. If Lu Yin had been in that battle, then he would have had to forcefully receive the attack, but Starsibyl had managed to sidestep it as it came out. What could it be besides divination? And Lu Yin had not even been able to see the attack that had defeated her opponent, which was just like what had happened during the Astral Combat Tournament battle from before. This woman always won in an iprehensible manner, and it was very astounding every time.

    ¡°Fifth match. Victor: Starsibyl.¡±

    Many were taken aback again. Starsibyl? She¡¯s Starsibyl? It wasn¡¯t just the foreign participants in the tournament; even many students of the Astral Combat Academy had not realized that this girl was Starsibyl.

    Disregarding the audience¡¯s shock, Starsibyl walked out from the battlefield and smiled gently at Lu Yin. Her gaze was clearly tender, but Lu Yin only felt his back turn cold. Divination was such a mysterious and unfathomable ability. Could it really exist? But then how had she attacked? Even with his currentprehension of his domain, he had not been able to see it at all. He would have to also activate the Cosmic Art and use Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye to even have a chance of observing it. How would he fight against her if he had been in Yar Patar¡¯s ce?

    Many were thinking this same question; how could they fight against Starsibyl? How could they defend? There was no answer!

    While everyone was still lost in their shock, the next battle had already begun. It was the Cosmic Sea expert, Zi Jun, facing off against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Embermane.

    As for Embermane, this sable was not unknown to the students from Astral-7. Not only had he defeated Dai Ao, but he had also defeated Astral-7¡¯s student leader Liu Xiaoyun, dazzling all of Astral-7.

    Meanwhile, although someone like Zi Jun seemed normal, no one understood her identity or strength besides the fact that she clearly represented the Cosmic Sea.

    The original two who were going to represent the Cosmic Sea in the Tournament of the Strongest had both withdrawn. Zi Jun and Liu Shaoqiu had appeared afterwards.

    From the audience¡¯s perspective, despite Zi Jun being an unknown power, she should not be a match for Embermane, as the sable had easily defeated Liu Xiaoyun. However, the battle ended up exceeding their expectations, and Zi Jun easily dealt with Embermane¡¯s inferno that could burn everything.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled when he saw Zi Jun¡¯s familiar-looking movement, which seemed to be something one learned after living in the Cosmic Sea all year round. Silus, the previouspetitor from the Cosmic Sea, had also used the same technique. Was this woman really from the Cosmic Sea as well?

    The most upset person at this moment was Embermane, as he had believed that his zes would burn everything down and could even ignite the void. However, every time he attacked this woman, a green radiance would stop him in his tracks. It was very perplexing, but he could not break through the strange radiance no matter what he tried.

    Whoosh!

    Embermane¡¯s tail fiercely swung out towards Zi Jun, as he was trying out a different attack pattern.

    In his previous battle against Dai Ao, Embermane¡¯s tail had sent Dai Ao stumbling in retreat. But against Zi Jun, his tail could not even make her move. The shockwaves from their collisions rippled out, tearing the ground to pieces and scattering the clouds. Zi Jun¡¯s hands were covered with a green aura, and they moved in an odd manner only to m against Embermane¡¯s body, causing him to be swatted away.

    Embermane adjusted himself in midair while an iparably scorching heat wave filled the void. Countless glittering sparks filled the air, as if another sun had appeared in the sky.

    Many students felt defenseless; first, they had witnessed freezing cold, and now, they were experiencing unbearable heat, neither of which the audience members could resist. Thesepetitors were all Limiteers who had reached the peak of strength within their realm, and their battles were terrifying beyond belief to the regr students.

    mes shed across Embermane¡¯s eyes before he opened his mouth to release a strand of fire that tore through the void as it shot straight at Zi Jun.

    From afar, Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This was the firestorm attack that had melted her sword, burned her battle technique away, and nearly burned her to ashes as well.

    In another area of the crowd, Jared¡¯s breath was also snatched away. How is this possible? This inferno could not be any more familiar to him, as this was the congration that was unleashed from the inherited battle technique, the Karmic me Sword. Why did this fire sable have this me?

    Zi Jun¡¯s face changed slightly when she saw these extreme mes that could burn everything heading towards her, and seemed to be a bit surprised. Her right foot took a step forward as the dark green radiance extended from her entire body and dispersed the heat. The next moment, everyone felt a groundbreaking change as the entire battlefield was transformed into dark-green jade.

    Starsibyl, Lu Yin, Tian Hou, and the others were all stunned, as well as many of the spectating powerhouses like Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang, whose faces all quickly drained of color. This was a forcefield, and it was something that could only be disyed after one¡¯sprehension into their domain reached such a high degree that they could change the natural environment to better suit themselves at will. The fact that Zi Jun had a forcefield was proof that this woman was currently the most outstanding domain user in thispetition.

    Many powers simrly stared at the screen in shock. It was terrifying that a Limiteer had unleashed their own forcefield.

    From the movements of a single hand, Embermane¡¯s mes were solidified and then transformed into jade. They fell to the ground, appearing quite lifelike, almost as if they were a sealed sourcebox.

    All of the onlookers were stunned and speechless as they stared at the battlefield.

    Embermane¡¯s pupils shrank as he could only look on in horror. His mes had been solidified into jade, and even though he could not exhibit the true power of his mes with the strength of a Limiteer, his mes still should not have been able to affected that easily. While still frozen with shock, he was enveloped by a jade finger. Embermane could no longer think of anything else, as he had also been turned into jade.

    This was an innate gift that could turn everything into jade, and it showed off Zi Jun¡¯s strength; she was able to release her own forcefield to change the environment around her. She was also the only one to date who had achieved such a thing at the Limiteer realm. She had greatly surpassed the domains of all the otherpetitors that had been disyed during the Astral Combat Tournament.

    ¡°Sixth match. Victor: Zi Jun.¡±

    Zi Jun calmly stood within the battlefield and raised her head to scan across everyone present. ¡°I¡¯m Zi Jun of the Longevity Brigade of the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Countless people were astonished once again, as ¡°great regiment¡± referred to one of the Four Pirate Crews of the Cosmic Sea. The unparalleled Four Pirate Crews were the four strongest regiments, and the great Longevity Brigade was one of them.

    Lu Yin was astonished to hear that she truly was from the Cosmic Sea. The Longevity Brigade? Her power was far beyond Silus, and more importantly, she was about the same age as the otherpeting students. Lu Yin had exchanged blows with Silus before, but that person was significantly older, and strictly speaking, was not of the same generation as him. However, this woman was an expert from the same generation as the Astral Combat Academy students. This showcased the true top-notch power of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s younger generation.

    Lu Yin suddenly recalled Ye Xingchen, who must be even stronger than this woman. He was the publicly recognized Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate from the Cosmic Sea.

    There was one battle left for this first round of the drawn lots. Thestpetitors were Tian Hou from the Astral Beast Domain and Ben from the Technocracy.

    Both of these two had eye-catching appearances. Tian Hou was d entirely in ck and not much of him could be seen. Ben¡¯s appearance was even stranger, as it was just a book that floated around. Many were interested in this battle, and people¡¯s attention quickly shifted from the previous battles of Starsibyl¡¯s and Zi Jun¡¯s to this next match.

    Few knew that this ck-garbed Tian Hou was the strongestpetitor from the Astral Beast Domain, but Ben was one of the few who were privy to this information. This wasn¡¯t because the book had insider information, but rather because it had been informed as such by Yun right before the match. ¡°You¡¯re not his match.¡± These words caused Ben to firmly believe that it was no match for Tian Hou.

    Outside the battlefield, Starsibyl, Yun, and Lu Yin all watched Tian Hou with serious expressions. This was a strong person, and even the arrogant Yun viewed Tian Hou in a different light, simr to how she viewed Starsibyl.

    Amongst the observing students, one¡¯s face turned particrly pale the moment they saw Tian Hou. He was from Astral-7, and was coincidentally the student who had initially ridiculed Tian Hou before being paralyzed by just one look. This had left a traumatic psychological shadow thatsted to this day and the student didn¡¯t dare to even look towards the battlefield.

    Tian Hou did not act first, and only faced Ben quietly.

    Ben wobbled in mid-air and watched with vignt eyes while a strange fluctuation shed around the book.

    From where he was watching in the east, Lu Yin quietly asked. ¡°What¡¯s this Tian Hou¡¯s power?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I don¡¯t know. I know the strengths and weaknesses of all the other students from the Spiritual Academy, but I couldn¡¯t find out anything about this Tian Hou. He¡¯s Skymender¡¯s disciple, which means that he can rival Starsibyl with just his status alone. I couldn¡¯t find out anything else about him,¡± the Ghost Monkey replied.

    Lu Yin looked at the battlefield and watched Ben attack first. Since it was just a book with neither hands nor legs, it was not so much attacking as releasing a undtion that enveloped the entire battlefield without the onlookers¡¯ notice.

    One student curiously touched the mentors¡¯ barrier that isted the battlefield to feel the undtions. The next moment, he started to bleed dreadfully from his seven orifices before quickly disappearing from the Lifeseek Realm.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fantasy realm; don¡¯t touch the barrier,¡± someone loudly called out to remind everyone.

    Everyone felt slightly numb; this fantasy realm was a terrifying attack that was both invisible and formless. No matter how strong someone may be, they could end up helpless against this fantasy realm. The majority of people would be frightened by the mere prospect of facing this sort of fantasy realm.

    [1] "Ben" means book.

 Chapter 322: Oppression

    <h4>Chapter 322: Oppression</h4>

    Out of all the Astral Combat Academy students, Jared was the most well-known for his expertise in fantasy realms. He had be an Area Master with his fantasy realm battle technique and had even be the strongest in the ze Realm¡¯s younger generation with it. However, his fantasy realm battle technique was too weak, and he had ultimately been defeated by Xia Luo.

    At this moment, Ben¡¯s fantasy realm made everyone feel apprehensive. It felt as if it could instantly defeat the average Limiteer from the Astral Combat Academy, which was very terrifying indeed.

    As time continued to tick by, everyone felt that something was amiss. Ben¡¯s fantasy realm had shrouded the entire battlefield, but Tian Hou still showed no abnormal reactions. He remained so calm that it was almost frightening.

    On the west side of the battlefield, Yun¡¯s expression grew heavier as the disdain in her eyes gradually morphed into shock. It seemed as if she had discovered something extraordinary.

    Suddenly, Tian Hou raised his head, and while the body underneath the ck gowns remained hidden, everyone felt as if his body had be distorted the moment he raised his head. And then, he vanished.

    This was not due to extreme speed or tearing through the void. It was more like he had merged into the void as one.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, as he had never seen such an extraordinary method before. A space-exploring powerhouse could tear through the void to cross enormous distances while Lu Yin himself could rely on extreme speed to shuttle through the void. However, he had never met someone who could merge into the void like that.

    A momentter, Tian Hou¡¯s figure appeared above Ben, and he kicked down at the book with both legs. His attack was so forceful that Ben was directly buried underground. Then, the void distorted once again as Ben¡¯s body vanished. The book-likepetitor had been swallowed by the void, just like what had happened during Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s battle against Tu Bo during the Astral Combat Tournament. Even though Liu Xiaoyun had won, she had still been banished into the void by Tu Bo, which meant that the match had ended with mutual destruction.

    ¡°Seventh match. Victor: Tian Hou.¡±

    The crowd finally reacted after the battle had already ended. This battle had been one of the quickest, second only to Starsibyl¡¯s, and it had taken around as long as Yun¡¯s battle against Han Chong. The oue had been decided in an instant, as the difference between the two sides was just too significant.

    Was Ben weak? That was impossible. Of the fourpetitors from the Technocracy, Yun¡¯s power was unfathomable, Domi had forced Grandini Mavis into a difficult position, and Yar Patar¡¯s speed had been overwhelming. The overall strength of the four definitely surpassed that of the vast majority of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders, but unfortunately, they had run into the wrong opponents, and now, only Yun remained.

    Three out of the fourpetitors from the Astral Beast Domain had also been defeated. Like the Technocracy, the beasts were not weak, and theirpetitors¡¯ strength greatly surpassed the average Academy leader¡¯s, but they had also encountered the wrong match ups. It could only be said that the participants in the Tournament of the Strongest were at an extremely high level, where even a student leader such as Kuang Wang could not hope topete.

    Only Han Chong of the fourpetitors from Astral Combat Academy had fallen, as he had faced Yun. Bothpetitors from the Cosmic Sea had advanced.

    The sevenpetitors to enter the next round of drawing lots were Starsibyl, Grandini Mavis, Lu Yin, Tian Hou, Yun, Liu Shaoqiu, and Zi Jun.

    ¡°The first round of battles is over. The next will begin in one day.¡±

    One day was enough to allow everyone to recover; since the tournament was taking ce in the Lifeseek Realm, the participants¡¯ recovery rate was extremely quick.

    Although there had only been seven battles this round, each one had been a feast for countless eyes.

    The Astral Combat Tournament had only been a tournament for the students from Astral Combat Academy, and it was not sufficient to represent the wider universe¡¯s selection of elites from the younger generation. The Tournament of the Strongest was different; whether one looked at Starsibyl, Tian Hou, or Yun, they were all the top elites of their respective star domain. Within the same generation, few could rival them. Through these battles, one could truly witness the peak power of a Limiteer.

    It was a pity that this level ofpetition was not suitable for the general public to spectate.

    Fortunately, the Great Yu Empire, Earth, East San Dios, and variousrge powers could watch it, though normal folks had no way to ess the tournament.

    While the Tournament of the Strongest was being held, the negotiation between the three star realms was also underway.

    ¡°Continuing this battle has brought all three sides irreparable losses. It¡¯s absolutely necessary to stop this war.¡±

    ¡°You humans are so hypocritical. You fight when you want to and stop when you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what your Teacher Skymender intends? Otherwise that Tian Hou of yours wouldn¡¯t have been allowed to step foot in our star realm.¡±

    ¡°Teacher is benevolent, but that shouldn¡¯t be the tform for your human hypocrisy.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether we fight or not, we will not return the territories that we have captured.¡±

    ¡°Although your Technocracy has inherited some powerful ancient technology, your resources will be exhausted one day. Your resources are your foundation, and once you run out, you can only wait for your slow but inevitable demise.¡±

    ¡°Before that, we willpletely conquer your Human Domain.¡±

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need for such nonsense. Before this negotiation begins, the general direction has already been set for us. Let¡¯s talk about the details.¡±

    ¡­

    Atop Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and the other Astral-10 students awakened one after another as well. They all turned to Lu Yin. None of them disturbed him, except for Xia Luo who walked up to Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s chat.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Xia Luo gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°How strong do you think Han Chong is?¡±

    Lu Yin was baffled, as Xia Luo and Han Chong were strangers. Why would he ask about Han Chong?

    ¡°Very strong,¡± he replied.

    ¡°And yet, he still lost.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Lu Yin asked. At the space station, before he left, Silver had made certain remarks about Xia Luo that made Lu Yin harbor suspicions about Xia Luo. As such, and Lu Yin had taken some precautions.

    Xia Luo smiled slightly. ¡°During the Astral Combat Tournament, Xia Ye fought Han Chong but was crushed. That final painting of the mountains and seas is very special, and ording to Xia Ye, it holds an unavoidable power. And yet, Han Chong lost to Yun. I¡¯m here to remind you to not underestimate that Yun, as she is extremely terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin was deep in thought. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t.¡± Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin¡¯s surprised expression and then continued, exining, ¡°There''re many mysterious matters in this universe, such as natural phenomena, sceneries, historical remnants, and other such things. The average person will not encounter these mysterious matters, or they won¡¯t be able to remember or replicate them. However, once such a thing has been mimicked, that imitation gains an unfathomable power. Han Chong¡¯s scenery painting is precisely that. You did not exchange blows with him, so you can¡¯t understand the level of oppression it contains.¡±

    Xia Luo¡¯s words reminded Lu Yin of the Stonewall Scriptures. It was just a string of characters, but it could not be recited in full. This was essentially a non-memorizable, non-readable mysterious power.

    ¡°Brother Lu, we walked out together, and I hope that you¡¯ll be able to tread a further path,¡± Xia Luo sincerely said to Lu Yin before turning to leave.

    Lu Yin had felt lost from start to finish, not knowing what Xia Luo meant by his words.

    After Xia Luo left, no one else bothered Lu Yin. He enjoyed a good rest, and when he opened his eyes again, it was time to reenter the Lifeseek Realm.

    Everyone else was already present, and the battlefield had been returned to its original state as well.

    ¡°Seven lots. There is a single nk one that represents directly advancing through a bye. Help yourselves,¡± a giant voice boomed out.

    Lu Yin raised his head as lots of three different colors spun in the air, the colors constantly changing. It was the same lot drawing method as the first round, though this time there was one colorless lot that also did not change, evidently the one that represented a bye to the next round.

    Under the countless gazes of the audience, all the tournamentpetitors felt like it would be pathetic to grab that nk lot, aside from Lu Yin, and of course, someone else: Grandini Mavis. Their two star energiespeted against each other as they fought for that nk lot while the rest of thepetitors randomly picked a colored lot.

    Their two star energies collided above the nk lot, but Lu Yin was slightly faster and managed to snatch it first. Grandini furiously grit her teeth. ¡°Hey, are you a man? If you are, then go and have an honorable battle.¡±

    Lu Yin looked sideways. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Mavis familyposed of brawlers? Why don¡¯t you fight?¡±

    Grandini Mavis was furious, but was left with no choice since the nk lot had already been taken by Lu Yin. She snorted and finally took thest colored lot.

    At this point, the Astral-10 students were all embarrassed. The rest had grabbed a random lot, but Lu Yin had deliberately snatched the nk lot, clearly saying that he was not interested in fighting this round. This caused many to feel that he had no confidence in winning. Even the viewers on Zenyu Star were struck speechless.

    ¡°The Royal Regent sure does things as he wishes,¡± one minister carefully said after considering the matter.

    ¡°Yes, the Royal Regent is trying to preserve his strength.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s smart, he should. Haha!¡±

    ¡­

    On Earth, Zhou Shanughed as he remembered his experiences with Lu Yin on Earth. This fellow was still the same and refused to be at a disadvantage or do more than what was necessary.

    Wendy Yushan watched Lu Yin on her screen, and her eyes lit up. This man was approaching her level, and now that the Yushan family had been wiped out, he was perhaps the only kin she had left, which meant that it was impossible for them to marry. Still, she could be his elder sister!

    In East San Dios, Yan Feng rxed for some reason when he saw Lu Yin going straight for a free pass. From his perspective, this was Lu Yin revealing a sign of weakness. Although this person was far weaker than himself at this moment, the two were bound to be irreconcble enemies. Yan Feng was also nning to wed Jenny Auna, who was technically Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e. This matter would definitely incite a never ending conflict between the two of them.

    In the Lifeseek Realm, Grandini Mavis red unhappily at Lu Yin. It turned out that she was in the first match, and her opponent was Tian Hou.

    Lu Yin shrugged and gave Grandini a sympathetic expression. Although she was from the Mavis family, she most likely wouldn¡¯t be able topare to Tian Hou in terms of power. If Lu Yin had yielded that nk lot to Grandini, then he would be the one facing Tian Hou in the arena right now.

    ¡°Just wait for me to get back,¡± Grandini softly threatened Lu Yin. She then waved her fist and entered the arena.

    Lu Yinughed. This woman did not seem confident, since the fiery nature of the Mavis family typically meant that any of them would always be itching for a fight.

    Boom!

    The ground vibrated, and smoke rose up. A giant crack appeared along the surface of the ground as multiple spatial cracks flickered above it, giving off the impression that lightning had torn through the heavens.

    Grandini¡¯s five-lined battle force flickered with a dark-gold radiance. Just like when she had dealt with Domi, her attack covered the entire battlefield.

    Many were left speechless; this woman had erupted with her entire strength from the very start! The pressure of facing Tian Hou was clear to all those watching.

    Lu Yin shivered in expectation. Five-lined battle force reinforcing Thirteen Stacks was the technique that Grandini had used to defeat Domi of the Technocracy. Lu Yin wondered how Tian Hou would fare against this attack.

    When the smoke dispersed, the void distorted, and Tian Hou slowly stepped out, not a w to be seen on his robes.

    Grandini¡¯s pupils constricted, and she clenched her fists and charged forward with another punch.

    Tian Hou¡¯s body distorted as he merged into the void once again, causing Grandini¡¯s attack to strike nothing but air. The sheer force of her punch pierced the void and tore out arge spatial crack. It was a mighty attack, butpletely useless.

    Everyone was overwhelmed with shock, as this Tian Hou was just too mysterious. Grandini had used all her power, but she could not even touch him.

    Suddenly, Tian Hou appeared behind Grandini Mavis and used a single hand to press against her shoulder, causing the void to distort. This scene was very familiar. Ben from the Technocracy had been simrly banished into the void with this one move. The book had beenpletely powerless against Tian Hou.

    Grandini felt Tian Hou¡¯s hand transmit an unimaginable tearing force into her as her green clothes tore apart. She growled softly as her five-lined battle force revolved around her body, and she forcibly flung Tian Hou away before spinning around tosh out with a kick. Tian Hou merged into the void again to retreat, staring at her with an amazed look.

 Chapter 323: Tian Hou And Pressure

    <h4>Chapter 323: Tian Hou And Pressure</h4>

    Five-lined battle force might not necessarily dominate in the Tournament of the Strongest, but it was still very powerful within the Limiteer realm. Tian Hou had assumed that he would be able to easily defeat Grandini, but his thoughts had been too simple. After all, she hadprehended battle force and cultivated it all the way to five lines.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on the Mavis family!¡± Grandini shouted and the void vibrated with a thump. She charged at Tian Hou with a raised fist as her five-lined battle force burst forth to sweep through the void, attempting to seal Tian Hou in ce and prevent him from merging with the void.

    Tian Hou did not vanish this time, and instead, he raised his hand shrouded in his ck robes to meet Grandini¡¯s punch head-on.

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, the intense shockwaves from the resulting explosion crushed the ground and destroyed the entire battlefield. An enormous spatial crack that led to the void appeared, opening from above and tearing down into the ground once more, releasing an ear-splitting sound.

    Lu Yin and the rest¡¯s eyes narrowed as they stared on in horror. This was impossible. Grandini had exhibited an inhuman strength that was strengthened even further by five-lined battle force and Thirteen Stacks, and yet, her attack had been blocked by Tian Hou! What was more even more terrifying was that he had not taken a single step back.

    This scene shocked Lu Yin as well as everyone else, including Yun who had belittled everyone else with her gaze.

    This strike was extremely powerful! It was backed by five-lined battle force, fused with Thirteen Stacks, and propelled by the Mavis family¡¯s unique strength. This punch already surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s peak attack when he had fought against Nightqueen Yanqing during their battle. This singr punch was definitely enough to contest for the championship in any of the previous Astral Combat Tournaments. And yet, such a powerful punch had been easily received by Tian Hou, to the point where his clothes had not even fluttered.

    Grandini¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Impossible, yo-¡± But before she could finish speaking, Tian Hou grabbed, twisted Grandini¡¯s right hand, and released a ck shine. An intense pain rushed through her body, and Grandini¡¯s face changed. She waved her left hand to decisively sever her right arm and then quickly retreated. The next instant, her right arm vanished into the void.

    Many students were stunned while Lulu stared on in disbelief. That woman was being suppressed to the extent where she could not even retaliate. Despite all else, they were both from the Mavis family.

    Tian Hou released his hand, and his eyes that were hidden beneath his ck robes shed with admiration. ¡°Pretty good battle awareness. Just a moment more, and you would have been defeated.¡±

    Grandini panted heavily as fresh blood flowed down from her amputated right shoulder and dripped onto the ruined ground. She stared at Tian Hou in amazement. ¡°What is your actual body? You must be at least one of the top five existences in the Heavenly Beast List to be able to receive my punch so easily.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not on the Heavenly Beast List,¡± Tian Hou faintly replied.

    Grandini¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°An umon race?¡±

    ¡°Shall we continue? The Mavis family is powerful, but it¡¯s a pity that you haven¡¯t used your innate gift yet.¡±

    She frowned. ¡°You even know about the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Skymender¡¯s disciple.¡±

    She took a deep breath. During this battle, she had been suppressed from start to finish and hadn¡¯t even had a chance to catch her breath. Now, her right arm was even gone, but she was still unwilling to forfeit. Just like what Lu Yin had said, the Mavis family was born with a strange strength and a thirst for battle to match. Since she had already fought to such an extent, she would stake her all on this fight.

    The air swirled around Grandini before sweeping upwards as a verdant green color shed through in her eyes, just like when she had dealt with that Explorer in the Shenwu Continent¡¯s imperial pce during the Outverse trial. The green in her eyes was not obvious, but it was like a firefly in the night to Tian Hou, who had been carefully observing her. ¡°You want to forcibly disy your innate gift? Even if you could disy it in full force, it would still be ineffective against me.¡±

    ¡°The Mavis family is unparalleled!¡± Grandini shouted valiantly as her eyes opened wide. She looked at Tian Hou and then charged forward with her left palm extended. All of her five-lined battle force was concentrated onto her left palm as she mmed it downwards. ¡°Seventeen Stacks.¡±

    From the sky, a hand covered in a dense, dark golden radiance pressed down with Seventeen Stacks, shaking the void. Nearly causing the entire heavens to tear apart and causing many to be overwhelmed with horror.

    Tian Hou slowly raised his head, but he did not move. Instead, he allowed the palm to m straight into him.

    In that instant, even thepetitors from the Astral Beast Domain felt numb, as this attack had shocked them greatly. If they were the ones on the battlefield, then they would have definitely been instantly crushed to pieces.

    Thepetitors from the Technocracy simrly stared at the battlefield in shock. This was a very powerful strike, and the Seventeen Stacks exploded at the same time as Grandini¡¯s five-lined battle force.

    Lu Yin, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Liu Shaoqiu, Zi Jun, and the rest all watched on with somber expressions. This strike would determine the oue of this battle.

    Grandini¡¯s palmnded on Tian Hou¡¯s head, causing his ck gown to rip apart as the shockwaves disturbed the entire battlefield, flipping it over and warping the void. The majestic and terrifying strength of this attack had transformed into ripples that affected even the mentors¡¯ barrier around the arena.

    ¡°Wha- what is that?¡± Some students stared upwards, their expressions looking as if they had seen something inexplicable.

    Up in the sky, beneath Grandini¡¯s left palm, stood a silent, ck humanoid being. It looked like a human shaped spiral but without any physical body or skin. And yet, the figure had seven orifices as well as limbs.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. What kind of trick is this?

    Lu Yin was lost as well. What is that?

    Starsibyl abruptly stepped forward, and her face grew extremely solemn. So it was this living creature. No wonder it was so terrifying.

    Yun from the Technocracy was shocked as well. Such a creature has actually been born.

    The otherpetitors from the Astral Beast Domain were shocked as well, as this was their first time seeing Tian Hou¡¯s true body.

    Countless audience members were stunned, and even though they could notprehend this scene, many of them seemed to realize something as their faces paled.

    ¡°The Astral Beast Domain has actually given birth to such a creature once again. Immediately send a request to destroy it,¡± an Astral Combat Academy mentor spoke up.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point. The higher-ups have already reached a consensus. Since this creature dares to appear, it must be confident that we won¡¯t kill it. No wonder it¡¯s called Tian Hou.¡±

    ¡­

    Throughout the Human Domain¡¯s great organizations, many astonished elders stared at the screens in front of them disying thepetition. ¡°The Astral Beast Domain actually dares to bring such a creature over! It looks like this truce is inevitable, but the humans don''t have the initiative.¡±

    The Sword Sect¡¯s leader stared at the screen with a profound bitterness. This being had once left an indelible stain on the Sword Sect. This was because a previous sect leader had been swallowed by such a creature.

    At the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Shui Chuanxiao watched as Tian Hou appeared andughed grimly as he released his wine ss. ¡°It looks like that bunch of elders has reached amon understanding. My time is over.¡±

    ¡°Hey monkey, what¡¯s this toy?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey was appalled. ¡°It¡¯s appeared again... no wonder he¡¯s called Tian Hou. How did I not realize this earlier?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up! What is this thing?¡± Lu Yin was curious, especially since he had seen an expression of shock appear on Starsibyl¡¯s face¡ªit was his first time seeing such an expression on her.

    ¡°Cosmic Hou. It¡¯s a bizarre lifeform. You can think of it like a lifeform born from natural phenomena. It once appeared tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, it also swallowed the Sword Sect¡¯s leader.¡± The monkey didn¡¯t say very much, but hisst sentence was enough to send chills running down Lu Yin¡¯s spine.

    ¡°Is it very powerful?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just powerful, but extremely formidable as well. This thing can train, has a consciousness, and can do anything that normal beings can do. Within the same realm, very few canunch an attack that can surpass its upper limits of resistance. You remember the Daynight n¡¯s Technique of Immunity¡ªyou can think of this as having an upgraded version of that. There¡¯s almost no attack that this thing can¡¯t withstand.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared up at the mysterious creature in horror. Grandini had put all of her strength into that strike, yet Tian Hou showed no change. That had been a punch powered by five-lined battle forcebined with Seventeen Stacks, but not even that could make Tian Hou retreat a single step. This was Tian Hou.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re really unlucky. Any of you would have been considered to be the strongest before the universe¡¯s great changes, but everything changed when formcast models were developed. The Ten Arbiters were birthed, and now, people like you have be normal. There are more and more monsters like Tian Hou appearing every day now. I pity you.¡± The Ghost Monkey seemed to rejoice in Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune.

    Lu Yin remained silent and only gazed upwards.

    Everyone else also looked upwards.

    Tian Hou raised his head. Apart from the creature¡¯s seven orifices, its face was a pitch ck vortex, though its eyes still flitted about. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that it¡¯s pointless. Even if you use your innate gift to forcibly seal me, you still can¡¯t harm me.¡±

    Grandini withdrew her left hand with a pained look. ¡°So you¡¯re actually a Cosmic Hou. There should be no one who¡¯s your match in thispetition. I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Tian Hou unhurriedly raised his hand and ced it upon Grandini¡¯s forehead. A ck vortex appeared within his palm, distorting the void as Grandini was banished.

    ¡°The first match of the second round. Victor: Tian Hou.¡±

    No one spoke, as everyone had been overwhelmed by the reveal of the Cosmic Hou. This battle had been too oppressive; Grandini had started out at full force, but she had only managed to destroy Tian Hou¡¯s robes and couldn¡¯t injure him in the slightest.

    Before Tian Hou left the battlefield, his eyes swept across Starsibyl and Yun, and then, he slowly exited.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, he¡¯s blowing you off!¡± the monkey shrieked unhappily.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, deep in thought. The pressure that he felt from this Tournament of the Strongest was growing stronger with every match he watched, especially since no one knew how far the strength of a mysterious lifeform like Tian Hou went. It seemed as if his preparations had still been insufficient, and that he needed to upgrade his strength even further, but how could he do it? He first thought of the strengthening fruits, but he had no money left. Did he need to take out a loan?

    As Lu Yin thought about it, he started looking around; who would lend him some money?

    ¡°Brother Lu, fortunately, you snatched that nk lot, or else you would have been the one fighting this battle.¡± Han Chong smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sized Han Chong up and down. Is this fellow loaded?

    Han Chong felt ufortable when ced under Lu Yin¡¯s avaricious gaze. ¡°Brother Lu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Lu Yin turned around.

    Han Chong felt strange, but he did not press the matter any further.

    At that moment, the second match of the round was about to start, and this battle seemed that it would be even more interesting to watch than the previous one. On one side was Liu Shaoqiu; the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords had always been one of the biggest attractions in this tournament, especially since Liu Shaoqiu was reported to havepletelyprehended the Fourth Sword. Everyone wanted to witness the might of the Fourth Sword. His opponent was Yun.

    Her familiar contempt reappeared on her face, and Yun remained as haughty as before even when facing Liu Shaoqiu.

    In front of their screens, many viewers were seething with excitement, especially the Sword Sect disciples who wished for the Thirteen Swords to directly eliminate this arrogant woman.

    Against Yun, Liu Shaoqiu did not dare be careless, and he quickly used star energy to form his de. The tip flickered as the de distorted the void without even moving at all.

    Yun was astonished. ¡°Not a bad sword technique. What¡¯s the name?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu indifferently replied, ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.¡±

    Yun instantly understood. ¡°So it¡¯s the Thirteen Swords. How many can you use?¡±

    ¡°That depends on how many you can take.¡± Liu Shaoqiu slowly raised his sword.

    Yun sneered. ¡°How foolish. I heard that your Sword Sect has proimed itself to be the emperor on the path of the sword. Well then, let¡¯s see if you can unleash a sword technique that can defeat me.¡± Then, a single finger of hers tapped towards Liu Shaoqiu. It was very clearly one finger, but it released a sudden thunderp as an extremely sharp energy tunnelled through the void, aimed directly at Liu Shaoqiu.

 Chapter 324: Formidable

    <h4>Chapter 324: Formidable</h4>

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes changed as he shed out with his sword. With a bang, a torrential amount of sword qi inundated the battlefield, creating multiple minute spatial cracks that then scattered like raindrops.

    Liu Shaoqiu was astonished, as a casual finger strike from Yun had actually stopped his attack from proceeding.

    Yun was also stunned. ¡°Not bad. Again.¡± She tapped out once more, but this time, she used two fingers. An even sharper de of energyposed of wind sliced through the air at Liu Shaoqiu. No exnation was required, as the wind de shredded the void as it sped towards Liu Shaoqiu.

    Countless watched on, dumbfounded. Just Yun¡¯s finger alone could execute an attack that could rival the Thirteen Swords! How could such a terrifying battle technique exist?

    Liu Shaoqiu did not dare to be careless here, and he seriously swung his sword as vast amounts of sword qi shot out from the void to collide against the wind de. Suddenly, just like the previous battle, the entire battlefield was reduced to a state of ruin. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword offset the wind de, but he was still at a disadvantage.

    When had the Thirteen Swords ever been suppressed to such an extent?

    Countless disciples of the Sword Sect were confused by what they were seeing. They were fully aware of just how powerful the formidable Thirteen Swords were, but its first two swords had been easily dissolved by this person, and one could even say suppressed. How had this woman from the Technocracy managed to do such a thing?

    Even the Sword Sect¡¯s leader frowned. This shouldn¡¯t be possible, as this woman had not even disyed any overly powerful battle techniques. How was she suppressing the sword qi of the Thirteen Swords?

    The disdain in Yun¡¯s eyes only grew stronger. ¡°You¡¯re already at the Second Sword? Hurry up, I want to see theplete version of your so-called Thirteen Swords.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished by what he had just witnessed. He personally understood the might of the Thirteen Swords very well. What was this woman relying on to block Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attacks? The energy emitted from her fingertip was not some powerful battle technique, or was it just that he could not see through her battle technique? He suddenly thought of the possibility of a secret technique; could this be an example of those absolute techniques?

    At that moment, within the battlefield, Yun raised her entire hand. A soaring energy ripped through the sky and caused the very ground to tremble as the boundless force suppressed the entire battlefield, overwhelming even the students outside the barriers.

    It was Yun¡¯s first time revealing her horrifying strength. Her previous battle with Han Chong had not shown the crowd her true strength outright, and only now were they able to clearly observe it.

    ¡°My strength is not something that can be understood by you people. I¡¯ll give you onest chance to disy all the remaining sword forms. Otherwise, you can go and die,¡± Yun arrogantly dered.

    Liu Shaoqiu did not be angry upon hearing her words. Within the Human Domain, he stood among the top Limiteers of the younger generation, but he had never been arrogant. His opponent was simrly one of the strongest from one of the other star domains, so he was not at all taken aback by this scene. All that was left was to see if his Fourth Sword could truly suppress all others.

    Against those from the Technocracy, Liu Shaoqiu decided to skip the Third Sword, as a spiritual attack would not be very useful against them. Thus, the Fourth Sword was next to appear.

    The energy undtion created by Yun¡¯s single palm became even more terrifying and extreme as it nearly pierced through the sky.

    Liu Shaoqiu stood tall and raised his sword. The star energy that had originally covered his body suddenly dissipated as he closed both of his eyes.

    Yun snorted coldly. ¡°Time to die.¡± She then pressed down with a single hand, and the entire battlefield seemed to be suppressed, affecting the audience to the point where they could not even breathe. Even the mentors¡¯ barrier isting the battlefield started to warp, demonstrating the raw power of Yun¡¯s palm. But at that moment, Liu Shaoqiu opened his eyes, and a formless energy swept across, forming a sweeping gale. Many looked up at the iparablyrge de that had suddenly appeared. This was a forcefield, which meant that Liu Shaoqiu was now the second powerhouse in the Tournament of the Strongest to reveal that he hadprehended a forcefield.

    That single palm collided against the massive sword, and the impact caused the void to explode. The earth and sky pulled back as an impossiblyrge spatial crack appeared in the center of the battlefield; it looked like a river of stars had appeared, dividing the two regions.

    A powerful suppression descended upon the audience members. It was formless, but alsopletely overwhelming, and it caused quite a few students to spit out blood and fall to the ground in pain.

    Even Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew sluggish when he looked up at the skies, bbergasted at the scene before him. He could feel the terrifying might of this collision in his bones, and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s technique lived up to the reputation of the Fourth Sword. Fortunately, Lu Yin had correctly estimated Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s ability during their match in the Astral Combat Tournament, or else Lu Yin would have been defeated by this Fourth Sword. This was something that not even five-lined battle force could withstand.

    But Yun was even more horrifying. Her single palm strike was enough to rival the Fourth Sword, which confused many, including the Sword Sect¡¯s leader. This girl¡¯s attack was so formidable and powerful; it felt as if it had a natural suppressive effect.

    On the battlefield, Yun grew excited. ¡°How interesting! Your Thirteen Swords is not bad at all, but it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯ve reached your limits.¡± The shadow of a mountain appeared above where the Fourth Sword and Yun¡¯s palm collided. At that same moment, the Lifeseek Realm trembled once again, though no one noticed it.

    This mountain was majestic and imposing, and its peak could not be seen, simr to Han Chong¡¯sndscape painting. This mountain was a bit more monotonous than the painting, but even still, the Fourth Sword copsed when this illusory mountain appeared, the materialized star energy that made up Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword crumbling away as the sword disappeared. After that, his body also crumbled apart, and he vanished from the Lifeseek Realm.

    The shockwaves reverberated high up into the sky, and then visible lines of star energy came sprinkling back down like rain, almost as if they were in the Rain Observatory.

    ¡°The second match of the second round. Victor: Yun.¡±

    Everyone was still dumbfounded with shock. Liu Shaoqiu had lost once again. He had even learned the Fourth Sword this time, but he had still been defeated in the Tournament of the Strongest. It was not that he was weak, but rather that his opponent was just too powerful.

    Yun was arrogant, but she was in a position to look down on all others, just like a queen.

    Starsibyl was solemn, and her eyes flickered continuously. Sure enough, Yun was not within the scope of her divinations either.

    Tian Hou had put his ck gowns on once again and was staring closely at Yun with a hint of apprehension.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Sure enough, he had to improve his own strength. This Yun could not be understood; she had even crushed the Fourth Sword.

    Although Liu Shaoqiu had lost this battle, he should have no regrets this time since he had unleashed his most powerful attack. This defeat was even more thorough than his loss to Lu Yin.

    However, the Sword Sect was fired up. They did not know why Liu Shaoqiu had lost, nor what that palm had relied on to crush the Fourth Sword. Even their leader could not understand this matter.

    In the depths of the universe, atop a lonely cliff on an inverted, a white, long sword was stabbed into the ground. Underground was a space-exploring astral beast howling in grief while suffering from being suppressed. Above the white sword was a screen that was disying the Tournament of the Strongest.

    ¡°Hahahaha, the Thirteen Swords have been suppressed! To think that your Sword Sect would have such a day as well! Hahahaha, Arbiter Liu, your Thirteen Swords isn¡¯t invincible¡­¡± The astral beastughed maniacally even as it was suppressed by the white sword while the entire fell apart. This beast had the strength of a Hunter.

    Beside the white de stood a young female with long, ck hair andrge sses. She stared at the screen, entranced, while her left hand pressed down on the sword¡¯s hilt. A blinding light streaked out as the de was unsheathed and instantly resheathed, slicing the Hunter realm astral beast to pieces.

    There were only twopetitors left to battle in the second round of the tournament: Starsibyl and Zi Jun.

    When faced with Starsibyl, Zi Jun¡¯s originally indifferent expression became much more solemn. The Cosmic Sea experts looked down upon the Innerverse and Outerverse since the two regions did not have anyce that could match the danger of the Cosmic Sea aside from the border warfront. However, no matter how much Zi Jun looked down on others, she did not dare to underestimate Starsibyl. This woman was famed for her power throughout the universe, and herbat abilities werepletely mysterious.

    In particr, Starsibyl¡¯s previous battle against Yar Patar from the Technocracy had made the mystery surrounding her even deeper. She seemed to be able to divine her opponent¡¯s attacks and evade them before they even came out, which was a terrifying ability.

    No one liked having their every move be predicted, and Zi Jun was no exception. Hence, she used her full strength the moment she stepped onto the battlefield, as her dark-green forcefield quickly swept across the entire field in an attempt to suppress Starsibyl.

    A forcefield was formed from the foundation of a domain, and it was an extension of the person¡¯s spirit. It was also a physical manifestation that only appeared after one¡¯sprehensions into their domain reached a sufficient level. A powerhouse could use a personal forcefield toplement their battle skills and techniques, which increased their power rather significantly.

    Zi Jun was the same, and she could even merge her innate gift into her forcefield. She leapt up and pressed down with her palm. ¡°Jade Sieving Technique.¡±

    The battlefield seemed to solidify and turn into indestructible jade that could not even be broken. Starsibyl was seemingly oppressed by this jade and could not dodge no matter how she tried. Divination could allow her to dodge many attacks, but not one that enveloped the entire battlefield and even sealed the void.

    There was a loud explosion as the entire battlefield was crushed. Large spatial cracks snaked out of the void like pythons, causing the audience to tremble in fear. Zi Jun¡¯s full-force explosive power shocked many, as this attack rivaled Yun¡¯s single palm that had defeated Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword. The oppressiveness of this attack even caused a few students to vomit blood.

    This was the power of an expert from the Cosmic Sea.

    But what about Starsibyl? Was she dead?

    Outside the battlefield, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened. Something wasn¡¯t right. Starsibyl was not in her original spot! Lu Yin had even risked revolving the Cosmic Art to observe Starsibyl¡¯s movements, and what he had seen was Starsybil¡¯s body being pulverized, but only a phantom image had been hit and not her actual body. From the very start of the attack, Starsibyl had already left her original location. She had evaded the attack in advance and was standing high in the sky.

    Lu Yin looked up, and at the same moment, Zi Jun¡¯s entire body trembled as she suddenly raised her head only to see Starsibyl¡¯s indifferent expression. ¡°Astral Banishment.¡±

    This battle technique rooted Zi Jun to the ground. Starsibyl¡¯s palm thennded on Zi Jun and directly banished her from the Lifeseek Realm.

    ¡°Third match of the second round. Victor: Starsibyl.¡±

    From these three battles, people had seen Tian Hou¡¯s body, which was overwhelmingly frightening, Yun¡¯s unbelievable power level, and Starsibyl¡¯s strange abilities that caused everyone to tremble. Every battle of hers appeared to be rxed, as if she could truly divine the future.

    Since Zi Jun understood Starsibyl¡¯s battle style, she had used her full force from the start, and her attack had targeted the entire battlefield and even sealed the void. However, Starsibyl had anticipated all that Zi Jun had done and had fled from the Cosmic Seapetitor¡¯s attack range from the very start. It could only be said that Zi Jun¡¯s moves had beenpletely predicted, resulting in a battle with no suspense and a great deal of injustice.

    It wasn¡¯t just Zi Jun; even the audience felt frustrated by this oue. Lu Yin was the same, as he had no idea what he could do if he had to face off against Starsibyl in the next match. Attack early? Or wait to be attacked?

    Tian Hou, Yun, and Starsibyl were all too powerful. Over the course of three battles, they had solidified their rankings in the Tournament of the Strongest, leaving Lu Yin as just a prop. Compared to them, his five-lined battle force was too weak, leaving Lu Yin in a simr situation to Grandini Mavis. Many thought that he would be crushed no matter who he was paired against in the next round.

    On Zenyu Star, Huo Qingshan sighed, as Lu Yin was indeed amazingly powerful within the Limiteer realm, but he was still too weak whenpared to those freaks.

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s gaze flickered as he looked at his screen and then at his gadget. The gadget was disying Yan Feng¡¯s wedding date with Jenny Auna.

    On Earth, many just stared at the screens. This tournament consisted of battles that they could not even begin to understand. At the very least, they could tell that Lu Yin had snatched his top four position for free in thispetition while the other three had easily crushed their opponents. No one spoke; this was an undeniable fact.

 Chapter 325: Borrowing Money

    <h4>Chapter 325: Borrowing Money</h4>

    ¡°The third round of drawing lots will begin in one day,¡± the giant voice boomed across the Lifeseek Realm.

    Many were roused and looked at Lu Yin with sympathy in their gazes before leaving one after another.

    Han Chong turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t overthink. Just prepare well.¡±

    Beside him, Grandini Mavis shook her head helplessly. ¡°Even I feel luckier than you since they won¡¯t make such obviousparisons.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you confident? Actually if you use your Secret Sidestep, you¡¯ll be able to easily deal with any one of them¡¯s attack, but to win against these people is way too difficult. No one knows the upper limits of Tian Hou¡¯s resistance, and that woman, Yun, is way too weird. Even you humans¡¯ Starsibyl seems to be disgustingly strong.¡± The Ghost monkey seemed to take joy in Lu Yin¡¯s current predicament.

    Lu Yin released a breath and immediately screened the monkey off before leaving the Lifeseek Realm.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes atop the trial zone mountain. This time, there were no students of Astral-10 surrounding him. They wanted to give Lu Yin some peace and quiet to rest since he was about to face off against one of those three freaks.

    Lu Yin stepped out from the trial zone mountain, bowed to the Trialmaster, and then headed for the space station, hoping that the beautiful Madam Nn was still there.

    The mentor watched Lu Yin¡¯s figure disappear; this kid had done very well, but he was still just a shade weaker than the remaining participants. If he could truly reach the level of strength that the Ten Arbiters had attained while they were in the Astral Combat Academy, Lu Yin would be able to face anyone and even suppress everyone. The title of ¡°Ten Arbiters candidate¡± was just a bit of ttery, as the only Limiteers in the younger generation who could truly qualify to be a Ten Arbiters candidate were still only those three.

    The Nn family¡¯s spacecraft was still docked at Astral-10¡¯s space station.

    Lu Yin entered and saw the stunning Madam Nn.

    This time, she wore an even more enticing set of clothes thatplemented her already enchanting figure. Lu Yin felt heated at the sight, growing rather embarrassed.

    ¡°The semi-finals are tomorrow, so why has Student Lue to seek me out today?¡± she asked curiously as she poured Lu Yin a drink.

    Lu Yin felt awkward, but when he thought of those three freaks, he decided to speak up. ¡°Madam Nn, could I borrow some money?¡±

    She was astonished by his request. ¡°Borrow money?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s very embarrassing, but honestly, I am urgently in need of money right now.¡±

    Madam Nn smiled faintly as she pursed her lips. ¡°Very well. How much?¡±

    Lu Yin did some quick mental math. He had used about 400,000 star crystals during hisst upgrading session for that strengthening fruit, and even then, it should not have reached its peak state. If he extrapted from that and rounded up to the nearest million¡­ He tried to test Madam Nn¡¯s limits. ¡°Two million star crystals.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°So not much.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Not much? When he had been at his wealthiest, he had only possessed ten star essence, which was the equivalent of one million star crystals. And now, when he asked for two million, it was ¡°not much?¡± No wonder she was the Outerverse¡¯s wealthiest widow¡ªshe was just too rich!

    Not long after, a Mavis Bank crystal card was delivered to him.

    Lu Yin hurriedly asked, ¡°Madam Nn, do you have the actual goods? I need the actual crystals.¡±

    She sped her forehead and smiled. ¡°My mistake. Since you urgently need money, you will naturally require the physical form.¡± She then instructed someone to deliver twenty star essences to Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t have two million star crystals on me, so are these essences alright?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you, madam. Oh right, how much is the interest?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Student Lu, do we have to calcte interest even with our rtionship?¡± She beamed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. He hurriedly stood up and bade farewell to Madam Nn.

    Her lips quirked up as she watched Lu Yin leave. This youth was very interesting. While two million star crystals were not much, it was still not an amount that just anyone could borrow. As an investment in this youth, two million star crystals was indeed not much.

    More than half a month had passed since Lu Yinst rolled the die, which was a considerably long time. Lu Yin found a secluded area and hoped to roll three pips: Enhance. But before he began, he ced his cosmic ring to the side.

    The more time that passed, the greater the probability of rolling a good number. If he rolled six pips: Possession, then he would lose all hope of being able to upgrade the strengthening fruit this time around since Possession could use up all of his star crystals in the blink of an eye.

    He raised his hand, and the die appeared over his palm. He tapped on it, causing it to quickly spin. When it finally stopped, the surrounding scenery changed for a moment before returning to normal.

    Lu Yin let out a pent up breath; this was the sensation of rolling Possession. He had expected to roll this, and fortunately, he had ced his cosmic ring to the side, or else all of his hard-earned star crystals might have already been consumed.

    Possession was useful, but currently, his best chance of improving his strength was by upgrading the strengthening fruit. Possession was a gamble, as he might Possess the body of a powerhouse and greatly increase his own power, or he might just as likely Possess someone like Wu Xia. He could not afford to gamble at this time.

    He used a cube of star crystal to restore the die and tapped it again. He also picked up his cosmic ring in case he rolled Time Stop.

    As the die slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin¡¯s breathing quickened, and he saw the rolled number. He was rather moved as it was three pips: Enhance. He had actually rolled it already! Sure enough, the more time that passed between each roll, the higher the chances of rolling something good.

    As he watched the two screens appear, Lu Yin took out a strengthening fruit and threw it on top of the upper light screen along with one star essence.

    As the strengthening fruit underwent a repeated chain of upgrades, it started to change just like the previous one.

    After four star essences were consumed, this strengthening fruit¡¯s upgrade slowed down a bitpared to the previous time Lu Yin had upgraded a fruit. Although a star essence¡¯s energy was of much higher quality than a normal star crystal, that did not mean that they held the same amount of energy. But Lu Yin was helpless to do anything about it. He could only retrieve another star essence and continue upgrading this strengthening fruit to the same extent as the previous one.

    Five star essence was valued to be the same as 500,000 star crystals, and it had all been used to upgrade a single strengthening fruit.

    As he watched the strengthening fruit release ripples that started distorting the void, the star energy started automatically circting through his meridians.

    He considered his situation for a moment, and then threw the strengthening fruit onto the light screen one more time, immediately followed by two star essence. The strengthening fruit fell down once more, but only about half way this time. He calcted that he would need to use three more star essence if he wanted topletely upgrade the fruit one more time. This meant that it cost double the amount of star crystals each time Lu Yin wanted to upgrade a fruit to a higher level.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth and threw out another three star essence. The strengthening fruit fell to the ground with an audible thump, and the pumping energy circting through Lu Yin¡¯s meridians became even louder and clearer, as if it had be tangible. All the while, the ripples that distorted the void became more noticeable.

    Lu Yin had wanted to upgrade the fruit even further, but when he saw that he had only ten star essence remaining in his cosmic ring, he reckoned that he might not have enough topletely upgrade it one more time. The further he upgraded something, the more resources the upgrade required. This strengthening fruit was even better than the previous one, and it should be able to strengthen Lu Yin to a level where he could deal with thispetition.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he immediately swallowed the strengthening fruit.

    One dayter, in the Lifeseek Realm, all of the students arrived and excitedly looked into the distance. The semi-finals were about to begin.

    All thepetitors had arrived on scene, except for Lu Yin.

    ¡°What happened? Is Lu Yin noting?¡± some students wondered.

    ¡°Could he be afraid? He¡¯s ted to face those three freaks.¡±

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t spout nonsense. Those Astral-10 people are looking at you.¡±

    ¡­

    In the distance, Xia Luo remained calm while Michelle frowned; Lu Yin had not arrived yet.

    ¡°Senior, should we go look for him?¡± Coco asked.

    Little Pao shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    On the west side of the battlefield, Yun sneered. Her contempt for everyone was readily apparent, save for a slight modicum of respect that she showed towards Starsibyl and Tian Hou. The rest, however, were not worthy of her attention. Oh, there was also that kid from the Sword Sect. His sword technique wasn¡¯t bad, but of course, that was all. It was merely not bad.

    In the east, Starsibyl remained calm.

    Grandini Mavis frowned.

    On the north side, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes narrowed. Lu Yin was about on par with him in terms of power, so Lu Yin¡¯s chances of victory were slim against those three, especially Yun. Even now, Liu Shaoqiu still could not understand what she had used to crush his Fourth Sword.

    At that moment, four wooden lots flickering with color appeared in the sky. The lot-drawing was about to begin.

    Beside Grandini Mavis, Lu Yin suddenly appeared, startling her quite badly.

    ¡°Why did you only arrive now?¡± she shrieked.

    Lu Yin grinned, but even that small movement caused him to experience an intense pain. He felt rather helpless, as the effects of the strengthening fruit had been too startling. He had forcibly endured a day of wracking pain. Even now, the pain had not lessened in the slightest. He could not casually eat these high leveled natural treasures in future.

    ¡°I overslept,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Grandini rolled her eyes in disbelief.

    Starsibyl studied Lu Yin, and her eyes then gleamed. This person had changed a bit.

    As the four star energies rushed out, the four lots were drawn. The first match was determined to be Lu Yin against Yun.

    Lu Yin had no change of expression when he saw his opponent, though the looks of everyone else changed abruptly.

    Could this be a predestined confrontation?

    Many immediately remembered the battle between Lu Yin and Liu Shaoqiu during the Astral Combat Tournament. That battle had propelled Lu Yin to fame, and now, his opponent was Yun, who had knocked Liu Shaoqiu out of this tournament.

    On the north side, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes shed, and he carefully observed the scene. He believed that Lu Yin stood no chance in this battle, as Yun was too bizarre.

    Many of the other students thought so as well. Of the final four, the three besides Lu Yin were on a different level where their strength couldn¡¯t even be gauged. Only Lu Yin was slightly weaker, as Grandini Mavis, a user of five-lined battle force, had been defeated even after using Seventeen Stacks. From what most people knew, Lu Yin had only used Nine Stacks to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing, so there was nothing more that he could do in this tournament.

    In the distance, Nightqueen Yanqing sneered. Lu Yin would lose without a doubt, and she hoped that Yun could give that worm a humiliating experience.

    On the other side of the stage, the other student leaders looked solemn. This tournament had progressed to a point where there were clear delineations between thepetitors. Those three were top-notch Limiteers of the younger generation, and they could be considered to be absolute experts even when ced beside an Explorer. Lu Yin was slightlyckingpared to them.

    Even further away from the battlefield, the veileddy focused on Lu Yin. She was the woman who had instantly eliminated Sai Luo.

    ¡°Since these two are battling, Hou, it means that your opponent is that human, Starsibyl,¡± Feng Jiu said.

    Tian Hou growled, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this for a long time.¡±

    Feng Jiu looked at Lu Yin, then at Starsibyl as she pondered who would emerge victorious in this tournament. Nothing was for certain, but she already knew that Lu Yin would be the first to be knocked out.

    Out on the battlefield, it was painful for Lu Yin to even walk. He had not yet recovered from the pain of ingesting the strengthening fruit, and did not know how it would influence this battle, but he hoped that it would not be too severe.

    In front of him, Yun had already appeared, still with that expression of absolute disdain towards everything under the sky. It was as if she had her eyes fixed on only the very top. She sneered, as she did not even see Lu Yin as her opponent.

    When the duo appeared, the battle started.

 Chapter 326: Lu Yin vs Yun

    <h4>Chapter 326: Lu Yin vs Yun</h4>

    Lu Yin did not move, even as Yun, who was opposite him, snorted and raised a finger to release a sharp burst of energy.

    This was a very familiar scene, as this was the same technique that had been used against Liu Shaoqiu in Yun¡¯s previous match. One finger had countered the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords, and the seemingly gentle finger held a terrifyingly, matchless power.

    Lu Yin shivered and stared at the void as he watched the sharp energy tear through the void. He raised his hand, wanting to use oveying stacks to disperse this force. However, as the suppression from the energy drew closer, the pain in his body surprisingly diminished. This amazed him, and the hand rising up to meet the attack unconsciously slowed down. The energy hit him directly on the shoulder and sent him flying a hundred meters backwards.

    Many felt their hearts skip a beat. Could this be it? Had he been defeated that simply?

    Yun felt contempt for Lu Yin and the fact that he could not even withstand a single strike of hers.

    Trash.

    Starsibyl¡¯s gaze trembled as she watched from outside the battlefield.

    The grin on Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s face grew even wider. This was the result she wanted to see: the greatest humiliation that Lu Yin could receive.

    On Zenyu Star, Huo Qingshan and the others all had grave expressions. Lu Yin should not have been defeated so easily, as he had also defeated Liu Shaoqiu once.

    Many Earthlings watched their screens with simrlyplicated emotions.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s head was bent down after receiving the impact of the st. The pain in his right shoulder actually lessened a little after receiving the blow. It was effective! He raised his head and said to Yun in a delighted tone, ¡°Continue!¡±

    Yun¡¯s originally derisive expression sank. ¡°Are you challenging me?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Whatever you want to think. Continue.¡±

    Many released their pent up breaths when they heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. He had not been defeated yet, and it seemed that he could still endure many more blows.

    A killing intent formed in Yun¡¯s eyes. ¡°How audacious.¡±

    She next struck out with her finger in a series of consecutive jabs, releasing multiple energy des that sliced through the void, towards Lu Yin. He could dodge them, but he consciously made the decision not to do so since they were effective in dulling the pain that wracked his body after consuming the strengthening fruit. This battle couldn¡¯t be any better for him!

    Bang bang bang bang¡­

    In front of their screens, countless individuals watched this remarkable scene. Lu Yin was like a sandbag enduring Yun¡¯s countless attacks. His clothes had long since turned to rags, and some parts of his body had started to bleed. And yet, despite all of this, he did not attempt to dodge or resist in the slightest. What was going on? If he could not withstand these attacks, then he should have been subdued by them long ago.

    More and more people felt that something was amiss as Lu Yin was sted beneath the ground.

    Yun¡¯s brows bunched together; she was furious. She had unleashed countless strikes, and all of them had hit this person, and yet, this bastard was still alive. His physical body was a little too tough, so she decided to stop wasting her time. She raised a single palm high into the air, and a frightening force pressed down. Many students felt the pressure even in the stands and spat out blood the moment they did.

    It was this pressure that had smashed Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword apart. This was Yun¡¯s most powerful attack.

    Liu Shaoqiu subconsciously stepped forward. He could not make sense of how this palm worked, but it was extremely powerful.

    Everyone stared at Yun, as she had be serious with this attack.

    As Yun¡¯s palm pressed down, everyone felt their hearts thump as a great strength swept out, startling many students.

    The groundpletely shattered, and the palm strikended squarely on Lu Yin. His entire body was forced underground, and a giant spatial crack ruptured in all directions, and even the mentors¡¯ barrier was distorted.

    Everyone stared underground as their hearts sank. Even Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword had crumbled against this palm, so how could a human body possibly withstand it? Lu Yin had clearly been overwhelmed.

    Starsibyl¡¯s brows wrinkled subconsciously. This can¡¯t be. How could he be defeated this easily?

    The people on Zenyu Star, Earth, East San Dios, and the Sword Sect as well as the various powers of the Innerverse and even Wendy Yushan all stared closely at their screens. This battle was simply too strange, as Lu Yin had not retaliated from start to finish. He hadn¡¯t even tried to dodge an attack once. Many had guessed that he was being controlled by some special technique of Yun¡¯s, such as a fantasy realm.

    Yun silently glowered at the ground from up in the sky, waiting for the giant voice to announce her victory. She could not even be bothered to spare a nce at the corpse below.

    But no voice rang out even after she waited for quite a while.

    She looked downwards to see a gale sweep out while a crushed rock was tossed up from deep underground. A figure suddenly sat up, and with a deep breath, shouted, ¡°Great!¡±

    Many mouths hung open in shock. What did they hear? ¡°Great?¡± Did they hear him wrongly?

    Yun¡¯s pupils shrunk as she stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Great? Could she have heard wrongly? This bastard actually dared to take pleasure in receiving her attacks? In that instant, Yun flew into a blind rage. She felt humiliated, and her eyes turned bloodshot. ¡°You¡¯re asking for death!¡± She vanished with a sh only to appear right above Lu Yin. She pressed down with a ferocious palm that caused the void to tremble. The force of this attack was no less than that of her previous attack.

    Lu Yin looked up, as Yun¡¯s actions could not be concealed within the range of his domain. At the same time that Yun¡¯s palmnded, Lu Yin turned to face it without any intentions of evading and mmed out with a palm of his own. ¡°Seventeen Stacks, Twentyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Bang!

    The violent rumbling shook the void, and countless spatial cracks flickered like lightning. A dazzling light spread out along with an irrepressible shockwave that filled the entire arena. The students in the audience were blown backwards by the force of the shockwave, even if they were a good distance away from the battlefield. The mentors¡¯ barrier distorted and nearly dissipated while everyone stared on in horror at the battlefield. Even if the void was distorted and unclear, the twopetitors still remained standing in their positions.

    Yun was infuriated, and the image of a giant, phantom mountain had appeared beneath her palm. This was the full strength that she had used to defeat Liu Shaoqiu, and she had concentrated it all onto her palm. She was going to crush this worm that dared to humiliate her.

    The moment the mountain appeared, a knot formed in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, giving him a palpable sense of oppression and wrath. He reflexively used a stronger attack this time. ¡°Twenty Stacks, Twenty-fivefold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Countless explosions shook the void as everything within the arena shattered. The mentors¡¯ barrier nearly vanished, and four figures suddenly appeared from the sky as four Hunter realm mentors worked together to reseal the battlefield.

    In the next instant, the violent shockwave was sealed by the mentors¡¯ strength and redirected upwards instead.

    The terrifying wall of air erupted in the sky and released an indescribably majestic power that then descended upon the audience. Many students were severely injured and were left with no choice but to flee from the Lifeseek Realm.

    Sometimes, even observing a battle required one to have sufficient strength.

    Crack!

    The collision of Lu Yin and Yun¡¯s palms caused a giant spatial crack to appear between them. The two of them poured more strength into their palms at the same time, both attempting to shake their opponent off. Due to their increased effort, the giant spatial crack transformed into a ck current that streaked past them before gradually vanishing.

    Everyone fell silent when they bore witness to this scene. That palm collision had been too sudden and too powerful.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to be able to withstand Yun¡¯s palm, as this was the same palm that had caused Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword to crumble, and yet, the power levels of these two were nearly identical.

    Starsibyl¡¯s gaze trembled, as the situation was developing in a certain direction she had divinated.

    Grandini Mavis¡¯s mouth fell open. Had Lu Yin always been this dominating?

    Han Chong was astonished as well; Lu Yin¡¯s progress was just too fast.

    On the south side, Tian Hou took several steps forward. The number of qualified opponents had increased again; this person was much tougher than what he had previously estimated.

    Inside the battlefield, Yun raised her head and revised her assessment of Lu Yin. He was stronger than any opponent she had faced so far as he was able topletely resist her palm attack. This went beyond all her expectations, and she knew that she would have to fight seriously to win this battle.

    Lu Yin shook his hands; this woman¡¯s strength was incredibly ferocious. However, he also felt something strange, as if there was another oppressive force within her attacks that was very revolting.

    However, thanks to Yun¡¯s attacks, the pain on his body had almostpletely dissipated, and his physical strength had now been greatly boosted since the strengthening fruit¡¯s effect had been fully absorbed.

    No one had thought that Lu Yin would actually be able to receive Yun¡¯s attack, so the impact of this development earth-shattering. Those in the Outerverse were all staring at their screens,pletely dumbfounded.

    Zenyu Star was cheering, and so was all of Earth.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Yun asked Lu Yin.

    ¡°Figure it out yourself.¡± For some unknown reason, Lu Yin loathed Yun. He used sh to appear beside her and kicked out at her.

    Yun¡¯s eyes turned cold, and she simply replied, ¡°Maggot.¡± At the same time, the image of the illusory giant mountain appeared. It floated in midair, and when her entire body passed through it, she seemed to absorb something, and her entire demeanor seemed to change. She became as steady as a stone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s kick missed, and Yun appeared behind him and kicked out in a simr manner. The entire battlefield trembled along with the void. This kick was even stronger than Yun¡¯s previous palm attack and was absolutely horrifying.

    Lu Yin did not know how Yun was able to unleash such terrifying attacks so frequently. Could it be rted to the image of that illusory mountain? However, this was not time to stop and think about his opponent¡¯s abilities, so he simply responded with his own kick that was powered by Twenty Stacks, Thirtyfold strength, shattering the void as well.

    Boom boom boom¡­

    Lu Yin and Yun were like beasts destroying the void as they continuously collided with each other. Each attack was enough to terrify the spectating students, making them feel like they had stumbled upon the apocalypse.

    Lu Yin was secretly delighted that he had managed to upgrade his physical body yet again. Otherwise, he definitely would not have been able to withstand the bacsh from repeatedly using Twenty Stacks like this.

    ¡°Where did this perverse womane from? She¡¯s too damned strong!¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice sounded out within Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were the same; Yun was just too disgustingly strong.

    Yun¡¯s astonishment was simr to Lu Yin¡¯s, and perhaps even greater than his. The strength that she was so proud of and confident in was proving to be ineffective in her attempts to vanquish this man. This strength had ripped apart Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword, which approached the power of her techniques, and yet, she gained no results when using the same attack against this person. In fact, this was what shocked Yun the most.

    Bang!

    Countless spatial cracks spread out across the battlefield after a powerful shockwave exploded, like ebony fragments distorting the void. The two right palms were tightly bound together, as neither could push the other back.

    Yun barked, ¡°I remember now¡ªyou¡¯re Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°What kind of human are you? How are you impervious to my strength?¡± Yun growled softly, intentionally lowering her voice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred. What did this question mean? Did this woman have a unique background?

    ¡°Same as you,¡± Lu Yin quickly answered.

    Yun¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Bullshit! The basic nature of our strengths are different, but you actually have the cheek to lie to me!¡± A crimson red shed within both of her pupils as two swift strikes flew at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin cocked his head back and casually dodged the attack. With the support of his domain, none of Yun¡¯s actions could be concealed from Lu Yin. He had forgotten that this woman was from the technological star realm and that her entire body was made of machinery. Wait a moment¡ªsince she was basically a machine, how was she using all these terrifying battle techniques?

    Sizzle~

    The two collided with another bang, and as knee shed against knee, Lu Yin suddenly erupted with five-lined battle force. The dark-gold radiance glittered around his body as he clenched his left fist tightly. ¡°Twenty Stacks Thirtyfold Shockwave Palm.¡± His fist then opened to be a palm attack thatnded squarely on Yun¡¯s abdomen. At the same time, Yun¡¯s body once again released the image of the illusory mountain that collided against Lu Yin¡¯s palm. The dark-gold battle force released countless spatial cracks that shot outwards like scattered raindrops, stunning everyone watching.

    Many who saw this scene felt that the battle was too intense.

    Suddenly, Yun¡¯s skin began to split. Lu Yin had used battle force along with his oveying stacks technique to finally overwhelm her defensive limits. After all, since her body was made of machines, there was definitely an upper bound to her sturdiness.

 Chapter 327: The Final Round

    <h4>Chapter 327: The Final Round</h4>

    ¡°Maggot, I refuse to ept this result! You are the first person to defeat me! Watch out, I will make you regret this in the future!¡± Yun screamed shrilly, and with that, the phantom image of the giant mountain crumbled away. Lu Yin¡¯s palm, which was pressed against Yun¡¯s abdomen, caused her entire body to shatter into a million pieces. Fragments of metal scattered everywhere, but there was no blood. All that remained were shattered bits of machinery.

    Everyone was stunned; it was finally over.

    The participants from the Technocracy were all stunned.

    ¡°The first match of the third round. Victor: Lu Yin.¡±

    Every match in the Tournament of the Strongest was mind-blowing; however, Lu Yin¡¯s match against Yun was by far the most shocking one so far. The main reason for this was the sheer level of destruction and oppression that the battle had reached. The violent shockwaves from their battle were so extreme that even the Astral Academy mentors had been forced to step in to stabilize the barrier.

    Compared to Starsibyl or Tian Hou¡¯s battles, although they were terrifying in their own right, they were not as tangibly oppressive. This most recent battle had shown countless people the true disparity between them and these peak Limiteers.

    This battle also solidified Lu Yin¡¯s position. His actual power level was still above Yun¡¯s, and he had proven his right to be called a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate,

    On the east side, Starsibyl¡¯s eyes lit up, as reality was getting closer to matching the results of her divination.

    Grandini was shocked; Lu Yin was bing more and more powerful with every passing day, and he was well on his way to bing an unbeatable cultivator.

    In a distant location, Nightqueen Yanqing gripped her fist tightly. This bastard was still growing stronger. Even though she had grown stronger as well, the disparity between them was still enormous. In the Daynight n, there was already no Limiteer who could match up to her, and in fact, even many Explorers would find it hard to defeat her.

    Everyone in Astral-10 was ted by the result.

    Wu Da mumbled to himself incessantly as he stared at Lu Yin in excitement; this person was a great source for his news articles.

    In the Outerverse, many powers watched their screens in stunned silence as well.

    At Soulseal Flowzone¡¯s Watermoon Vi, An Shaohua had his head bowed down and did not dare to breathe.

    ¡°Is this the Lu Yin whopelled you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

    ¡°With his abilities, even if your powers were multiplied tenfold, you would still not be a match for him. I shall not punish you for what happened back then.¡±

    An Shaohua heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you, Father.¡±

    ¡°Keep in touch with this man.¡±

    An Shaohua was troubled by this order. ¡°Father, the promissory note has already been used.¡±

    ¡°Use your heart to try to win his favor. This is about building a binding rtionship, and there are no explicit benefits to it. This man is worth your effort.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.

    ¡­

    Deeper in the universe, within the First Flowzone, at the Sword Sect, someone ordered, ¡°Send out an invitation: the Sword Sect would like to invite the kid to join us. We will treat him as a young master.¡±

    Many of the disciples within the Sword Sect echoed simr sentiments; this battle had made them truly realize the disparity in power between them and Lu Yin. He was just too strong, as his abilities had already surpassed the Fourth Sword.

    ¡­

    At the Daynight n¡¯s Ancestral Grounds, Nightking Yuanjing looked away from the screen to nce behind himself to ask, ¡°Have youpleted the mission?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight stood behind Nightking Yuanjing, and she looked away from the screen to respond, quelling the shock she felt in her heart. She respectfully answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Very well then, you can go ahead and do whatever you wish now. No one in the Daynight n will stop you,¡± Nightking Yuanjing sad in a gentle voice.

    Zhuo Daynight bowed and slowly took her leave.

    ¡­

    The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament had not been enough to strike fear into that many powers, precisely because it had merely been apetition between the academy¡¯s students, so it was not an urate representation of what the cream of the crop of the entire universe¡¯s younger generation¡¯s capabilities were. However, the Tournament of the Strongest was different as it represented something else entirely.

    Even though this tournament seemed to be just apetition among the younger generation of the universe, it was actually a ploy for the three domains to negotiate. However, many people saw thepetitors as candidates who would one day take over for the Ten Arbiters. The true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates represented something different entirely, especially for anomalies with no background such as Lu Yin. He would belong to anyone who managed to sessfully recruit him into their n. Lu Yin was now a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate who existed outside the controlling influence of the various powers. He held a huge attraction to many powers.

    Perhaps the only ces that honestly wished Lu Yin well were Zenyu Star and a few ces back on Earth.

    Within the Lifeseek Realm of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones, Lu Yin walked out of the battlefield.

    ¡°Brother Lu, congrattions,¡± Han Chong said.

    Lu Yin let out a pained smile. ¡°It was a difficult fight. That woman is very strong.¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying,¡± Grandini said, rolling her eyes.

    Lu Yin felt like this girl was bing more and more like Lulu. Was everyone from the Mavis n this plucky? But if that was true, then who was overseeing the economy?

    The next battle was between Starsibyl and Tian Hou. At that moment, Tian Hou had already appeared within the battlefield.

    Starsibyl was in no hurry to enter. Instead, she walked over to Lu Yin and whispered something into his ear before entering the arena.

    Lu Yin turned around and stared at Starsibyl¡¯s back in shock. Starsibyl had shockingly offered to let him use the Mirror of rity within the Lifeseek Realm. The Mirror of rity was just like the Heavenly Drum, Tilting Tower, Sky tform, and the other top training grounds within their respective realms. It was the best training ground in the Lifeseek Realm, and whoever controlled the Mirror of rity was the Realm Master of the Lifeseek Realm.

    Ever since Starsibyl had taken control of the Mirror of rity, she had only ever allowed Nightqueen Yanqing to use it. And now, at such a crucial moment in the Tournament of the Strongest, she had shockingly agreed to let Lu Yin use it. What did this mean? Lu Yin could not understand why she would voluntarily make such an offer to him.

    On the battlefield, Starsibyl smirked. Since the results of her divination were bing more and more clear, there was no harm if she pushed matters in the direction that the divination indicated.

    The battlefield had already been restored, and this was the umpteenth time that this had happened. Whether it was the battles during the Astral Combat Tournament or the Tournament of the Strongest, this battlefield would always end up being destroyed over and over again.

    Limiteers had powerful destructive abilities to the extent where, given enough time, they could even bring about the destruction ofs, much less a small piece ofnd.

    ¡°Starsibyl of the human race, your reputation precedes you. Even those at the Spiritual Academy have heard of you,¡± Tian Hou said from where he stood on the battlefield. He was usually a reticent individual.

    Starsibylughed, unamused. ¡°You have quite a storied reputation yourself since a long time ago, Cosmic Hou.¡±

    ¡°I hope that this battle will not disappoint me,¡± Tian Hou indifferently responded.

    Starsibyl gave him a brief nce. ¡°I guess that I will have to let you down then. My attacking capabilities cannot surpass the upper limits of what you are able to withstand.¡±

    ¡°But the Starsibyl n has never relied on their attacking capabilities.¡± After he finished speaking, Tian Hou¡¯s body merged into the void. When he reappeared, he was already at Starsibyl¡¯s side. He stretched out a hand, attempting to banish her into the void, but his attempt was thwarted. His arm exited from a ck vortex only to pass through Starsibyl¡¯s image. She had already moved. It could even be said that she had never been there to begin with.

    ¡°Astral Banishment!¡± A voice cried out from above Tian Hou¡¯s head. He lifted his head slightly, but he did not try to evade the attack. He allowed Starsibyl to reach out and tap him, and at the same time, Tian Hou stretched out a hand to grab Starsibyl. Both of them touched the other at the same time.

    Everyone watched on intently. Although this battle was not as intense as the previous one between Lu Yin and Yun, it was still just as dangerous. A slight mistake from either one would result in their instant defeat.

    The entire audience fell silent as bothpetitors had sessfullynded attacks on the other. Then, Tian Hou¡¯s ck robe was visibly torn apart, revealing that strange ck vortex that everyone recognized as his body now. On the other side, Starsibyl was engulfed by the void that had opened up behind her.

    Countless spectators felt their heart skip a beat; had Starsibyl been defeated?

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. He refused to believe that Starsibyl would be defeated this easily.

    With a swoosh, Tian Hou suddenly released his hand and whirled around. Starsibyl, who had been engulfed by the void, slowly vanished, leaving nothing but a white coat behind.

    Many people heaved sighs of relief; Starsibyl was fine.

    ¡°Your attacks are useless against me,¡± Tian Hou said. He was unimpressed and spoke as though he was stating the obvious.

    In front of him, Starsibyl helplessly replied, ¡°Yes, but you are unable to defeat me as well.¡±

    ¡°That remains to be seen.¡± Tian Hou arrogantly raised his head into the air as a newyer of the ck vortex spread out beneath him. ¡°This battleground is limiting you. If this was a battle to the death, then perhaps there would be no winner. However, in this restricted area, your defense is useless even if you can divine my attacks. My attacks will engulf the entire area, and given your defenses, you won¡¯t be able to withstand them.¡± After he finished speaking, the vortex started expanding at an even more rapid pace. It was as if a ck hole had appeared above the ground.

    As the audience watched the vortex expand, some of the students¡¯ pupils spasmed, and then afterwards, they copsed to the ground. They merely lost consciousness and were not dead.

    ¡°Everyone! Do not look at the vortex!¡± The booming voice of a mentor came from high above. He could no longer stay silent at this moment.

    Everyone was horrified; this was too terrifying a scene. The students of Astral-7 suddenly thought back to the student who had strangely copsed when thepetitors from the Astral Beast Domain had first arrived. They looked at Tian Hou with terrified looks on their faces; this creature¡¯s attacks were capable of reaping lives in such a swift fashion that it was scary to even think about.

    Starsibyl took to the sky, but as she looked at the vortex that was slowly swallowing the entire arena, a helpless look shed through her eyes. ¡°Stop the battle. I admit defeat.¡±

    As soon as she said this, Tian Hou lifted his head, and the vortex beneath his feet started to disappear. ¡°You made a wise choice.¡±

    Many students had concerned looks on their faces; Starsibyl had been defeated! Even though Starsibyl was not known as an unbeatable individual, she still wielded the power of divination and could predict the future. Now that she had been defeated by a member of the Astral Beast Domain, it was a bitter pill for many to swallow.

    What Tian Hou had said was correct; this battleground limited Starsibyl¡¯s abilities. Unless Tian Hou could swallow the entire universe, he definitely would not be able to defeat Starsibyl in the wild. This had been an unfair battle.

    ¡°This was not what I wanted to do. I hope that we can do battle in space next time,¡± Tian Hou grumbled loudly.

    Starsibyl gave a faint smile before leaving the Lifeseek Realm.

    ¡°The third match of the third round. Victor: Tian Hou.¡±

    At the same time that the voice dered Tian Hou¡¯s victory, he turned around to look at Lu Yin.

    Everyone who was outside the battleground also looked at Lu Yin. The final battle in the Tournament of the Strongest would be between these two individuals. Who would be victorious? Who was stronger?

    One wielded unbelievable destructive capabilities while the other had unfathomable defensive abilities. One was an unstoppable spear while the other was an imprable shield. They couldn¡¯t wait for the tournament finals to start!

    The screens werepletely filled with images of Lu Yin and Tian Hou, and the figures of the two appeared all over the universe.

    The Tournament of the Strongest was being held to bring the Human and the Astral Beast Domains closer together. As fate would have it, a representative from each side had managed to make it to the finals.

    In the Zephyr Flowzone, Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s eyes lit up as he watched Lu Yin on his screen. His time had passed, but this young man¡¯s journey had only just begun.

    In the Innerverse, atop a cliff, there was a long, white sword. A woman with long ck hair stared at the screen as an indescribable sh of brilliance passed through her eyes.

    At this moment, many people¡¯s attention was now focused on Lu Yin. He was not just representing himself¡ªhe also represented the entire Human Domain now.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you must be under a lot of pressure,¡± the monkey suddenly said.

    Lu Yin stopped staring at Tian Hou and looked in the other direction. That was where the Mirror of rity was located.

    ¡°The final match will take ce in one day.¡± A booming voice echoed out through the Lifeseek Realm.

    Tian Hou immediately left the Lifeseek Realm, and the others also left in quick session.

    Han Chong took one look at Lu Yin before he left as well.

    No one bothered Lu Yin, and no one knew what the oue of thest match would be. However, many people were not optimistic about Lu Yin¡¯s chances.

    Lu Yin flew into the sky and disappeared with a sh. He was headed to the Mirror of rity. Even though he did not believe that Starsibyl could truly divine the future, he had decided to go and check out her training zone since she had offered it to him.

    ¡°Monkey, the final battle is very important, so tell me everything you know about this Cosmic Hou,¡± Lu Yin ordered in a grave tone.

 Chapter 328: Lu Yinâ€™s Ability

    <h4>Chapter 328: Lu Yin¡¯s Ability</h4>

    The Ghost Monkey felt powerless. ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve already told you everything that I know. Basically, this guy¡¯s very hard to deal with, and from what I know, no one in history has ever defeated a Cosmic Hou while in the same realm as one. When they killed that first Cosmic Hou, it was because theyunched a group attack, just like when the Astral Beast Domain assassinated the Daynight n¡¯s Technique of Immunity years ago.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Not even those almighty human powerhouses who far surpass Tian Hou can kill it?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that a Cosmic Hou is bred? They are the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s treasures, and every single one of them is protected by other powerhouses. Historically, every time a Cosmic Hou has made an appearance, they have all ended up dying after suffering from the weird plots you humanse up with. They¡¯ve all died strangely.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was odd. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then the Astral Beast Domain must be very bold to send this Cosmic Hou here.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey agreed. ¡°It really is strange! It¡¯s as if the powers in the Astral Beast Domain arepletely certain that the humans won¡¯t act against Tian Hou. Could this have been predicted by Skymender? It¡¯s too crafty.¡±

    Not long after, Lu Yin arrived at the Lifeseek Realm¡¯s Mirror of rity, and he looked around. There was nothing too mysterious about this ce; it was just a glossy mountain wall that looked just like an unblemished mirror that could perfectly reflect one¡¯s appearance. However, this same ce had been contested over by countless experts. Whoever controlled this wall was the Lifeseek Realm¡¯s Realm Master.

    It was rumored that the Mirror of rity could simte a cultivator¡¯s battle techniques to the next level and help perfect them, but it was unknown if this rumor was true.

    Even if it was true, Lu Yin could only spend a single day here, so he did not expect to improve by much.

    It would be great if he could bring this wall into his Time Stop Space. Then, he could endlessly simte his techniques. It was a pity that his die could not appear in the trial zones.

    He walked in front of the Mirror of rity and saw his reflection appear. The next moment, the image changed, seemingly bing real, and then it attacked.

    It felt as if Lu Yin had entered the Mirror of rity and was now battling against his reflected self. The Cosmic Art, Oveying Stacks Technique, Multiple Shockwave Palm, sh Step, and even the Skybeast w technique, Daynight Punch¡­ He witnessed all of the techniques that he had learned before.

    He was able to observe his own battle techniques from the perspective of his opponent, allowing him to better understand his own techniques. It was a very bizarre feeling.

    Two hourster, Lu Yin¡¯s body jolted as he unconsciously stepped out of the Mirror of rity. He looked at his own palm. While observing his battle techniques from an external viewpoint, he had realized that there were a few incorrect timings when he used sh Step, and his utilization of the Oveying Stacks was too wasteful, and¡­

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what happened? You¡¯ve been lost in thought for two hours. Have you gone crazy?¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin frowned. How annoying. He did not even spare a thought before immediately screening the monkey off. Then, he took another look at the Mirror of rity, only to reenter it and fight with his reflection once again.

    Just as he had predicted, if he could train in the Mirror of rity for an extended period of time, his power would definitely improve drastically. It was a pity that he could only stay here for one day; this short time span was not enough to allow him to qualitatively metamorphose. When Lu Yin stepped out of the Mirror of rity for the third time, this issue was foremost in his mind.

    There were less than fifteen hours until the finalpetition began, and he also needed to spend a few hours resting as well. He had less than ten more hours to spend here, which was insufficient.

    Could his attacks ovee Tian Hou¡¯s defenses? Lu Yin did not know, and neither did anyone else, mostly because no one knew how much Tian Hou could withstand.

    Wait a second. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened just when he felt like he had run into a dead end. Why did his offense need to surpass the upper limits of that Cosmic Hou¡¯s defenses? Was there no way to counter the creature¡¯s absurd defenses and directly strike at his body? His body is a vortex, vortex, vortex... Lu Yin fell deep into thought and involuntarily looked at the Mirror of rity. He saw the Cosmic Art revolving around his body and was reminded of that scene from long ago of nine stars being swallowed by a vortex. His own Cosmic Art held infinite possibilities.

    Over ten hourster, the screen that isted the tournament¡¯s battlefield vanished. At that moment, everyone from the Astral Beast Domain, Technocracy, and the people from the Innerverse and Outerverse, focused on the battlefield. The finals of the Tournament of the Strongest were about to begin.

    Tian Hou was already standing in the battlefield when Lu Yin¡¯s figure appeared. He also stepped onto the battlefield, just a hundred meters away from Tian Hou.

    Everyone¡¯s breath halted as they looked at the two of them. Many were nervous.

    ¡°Lu Yin is strong, but even Starsibyl lost to Tian Hou. Can he win?¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s how I see it, and I even asked an elder from my n to specially go and check on the legend of this Cosmic Hou. In singlebat, it¡¯s practically impossible to beat that creature.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ve looked into it too.¡±

    Tian Hou had defeated Starsibyl, and the legends about his species¡¯ abilities and powers had gradually spread. The Cosmic Hous were originally considered to be top secret information, but Tian Hou¡¯s reputation had spread due to the Tournament of the Strongest. Anyone who had heard about these creatures¡¯ history did not hold any hope for Lu Yin, partially because the legends were too exaggerated. One sentence was enough to describe a Cosmic Hou: unrivalled in singlebat. This was because no powerhouse in the same realm as a Cosmic Hou had ever broken through a Cosmic Hou¡¯s defense.

    One girl lost her patience. ¡°You guys are all such downers. Lu Yin¡¯s been predicted to ¡®definitely lose¡¯ every one of his battles, but he¡¯s always won.¡±

    The people around her were about to retort, but then they suddenly realized that they could not refute the girl¡¯sment. Her words were actually true.

    ¡°It¡¯s different this time. His opponent is a legend.¡± Kuang Wang had suddenly appeared in the crowd.

    Even Astral-5¡¯s student leader had said the same thing, causing all the students to grow even more worried. But no matter what their thoughts were, it would not affect the two already in the arena.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you feeling confident? Speaking of which, why do you block me off every time you upgrade your power? Is the process that shameful?¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows wrinkled. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, if you have the ability, then block me now! Seal off your right arm! Haha!¡± the Ghost Monkeyughed in an odd tone.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and moved forward, exchanging nces with Tian Hou.

    Tian Hou did not bother spouting nonsense, and he directly merged with the void before appearing right before Lu Yin. Tian Hou felt no need to evade Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, as he was confident that no one could break through his defenses. He directly tried to grab Lu Yin, just like what he had done with Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened; his ability to deal with Tian Hou depended entirely upon whether or not his theory was correct. With a sh, he appeared behind Tian Hou and stretched out his own hand, perfectly mimicking the way Tian Hou had just reached out towards himself, and then grabbed at Tian Hou¡¯s body.

    Everyone felt strange when they saw this scene. What is this, a mutual grappling match?

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes also revealed a trace of puzzlement, but he did not feel any vibrations. Had this human not attacked? An instantter, Tian Hou¡¯s eyes changed, and the ck vortex that made up his body suddenly stopped rotating. Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up, and he raised his left hand, only to m it down atop his own right hand. ¡°Twenty Stacks Thirtyfold Shockwave Palm.¡± Bang! A shockwave erupted forth and tore through the earth and the void, twisting everything apart in an instant.

    Tian Hou¡¯s ck robes were shredded, and his entire body was sent flying before he crashed into a nearby mountain. Twenty stacks had exploded consecutively, causing the ground to be sted into smithereens, the void to warp, and countless spatial cracks to shoot outwards in all directions.

    Stunned, countless viewers stared at the battlefield in disbelief.

    On the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s side, Feng Jiu¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

    During the Tournament of the Strongest, Tian Hou had faced several opponents, including Starsibyl, but he had not been injured in the slightest in any of his battles. And yet, he had been sent flying the moment today¡¯s battle began; what a joke!

    It wasn¡¯t only those from the Astral Beast Domain who had trouble wrapping their heads around what they had just seen, but everyone in the audience. How had Lu Yin managed to do such a thing?

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes brightened, as the results of her divination seemed to be drawing closer and closer to fruition.

    Nightqueen Yanqing, Kuang Wang and the rest all stared closely at the battle, but they could not understand what was happening.

    In the sky above the battlefield, the Astral Combat Academy mentors vaguely appeared, and Lc Snow¡¯s figure also appeared even further away as she looked at Lu Yin in astonishment. This human actually injured Tian Hou. Is he the variable that Teacher talked about?

    Smoke filled the sky, and Tian Hou was forced below ground.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance and then down at his hand. He had guessed correctly, but he was taken aback by the actual results. He had assumed that Tian Hou¡¯s body itself was a vortex, so he had used the revolution of the stars in his Cosmic Art to forcefully restrain that vortex¡¯s revolution to directly attack Tian Hou. The results had been sessful, but it seemed that the Cosmic Hou was not just a vortex; the essence of their strength was actually devouring.

    Also, there was only a slight moment where Tian Hou could actually be damaged. Lu Yin could not afford to let anyone see him using the Cosmic Art, so he could only ce his hand within Tian Hou¡¯s body and use his body to block anyone from seeing the nine stars. However, this also meant that, when Lu Yin attacked, his hand woulde out of Tian Hou¡¯s body and that he would no longer be able to restrain the vortex. At that moment, his own right hand would bepletely exposed, and he would not be able to use the Cosmic Art to restrain the vortex anymore. Hence, even though he had attacked with the strength from Twenty Stacks exploding, only the first stack had actually caused any damage. The rest had all been wasted.

    Devouring through a vortex; these two aspects were both parts of Tian Hou¡¯s strengths, and it was indeed very difficult to break through the creature¡¯s defenses even after Lu Yin pushed his strength to the absolute limit. With his current strength, it was still impossible for him to ovee the Cosmic Hou¡¯s defenses, so Lu Yin could only use this method to slowly break down his opponent step by step and damage Tian Hou¡¯s body while the vortex was disrupted.

    Luckily, Lu Yin¡¯s previous strike had been rather heavy, and Tian Hou should not be able to deal with this method that easily.

    A gale swept around, dispersing the smoke and revealing Tian Hou¡¯s vortex body underground. He stared at Lu Yin in shock, but then an intense excitement overtook him.

    Before his arrival, his master, Skymender, had mentioned that aside from Starsibyl, no one else would be able to force out his true strength. And yet, during yesterday¡¯s battle, Starsibyl had turned out to be disappointing. As such, he could only wait for the supposed variable to appear. This man before him now was that variable and was also the opponent that Tian Hou had been waiting for.

    ¡°You are the variable that Master mentioned!¡± Tian Hou eximed in an excited manner.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Variable?¡±

    Tian Hou stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You being able to damage me means that you are the variable. I look forward to experiencing your strength!¡± He then merged with the void and appeared behind Lu Yin again. This time, however, he did not carelessly attempt to grab Lu Yin as he had before; instead, he attacked with a battle technique. It was not that Tian Hou did not know any battle techniques, but rather that no one had ever been able to force him to use any, and that included even Starsibyl.

    Tian Hou¡¯s battle techniques were from the Spiritual Academy, and his ck arms took on a phantasmal appearance as shadows of multiple palms were seen, the scene sending out a chilling fluctuation.

    ¡°Phantom Soul Strike! Seventh Bro, be careful! This technique is like your Shockwave Palm and can be endlessly strengthened,¡± the monkey warned in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin did not dare to be careless and immediately retreated. The void where he had been standing suddenly ruptured, and the images of countless palms spread out and enveloped a wide area. Lu Yin was trapped within the palms, but even though endless palm shadows descended upon him, he did not retreat. Instead, he flung both arms out and mmed his left hand forward. ¡°Thirtyfold Shockwave Palm.¡± With a fierce shout, Lu Yin¡¯s left hand shed against Tian Hou¡¯s palm images. However, there was no shocking collision, as Lu Yin¡¯s attack silently vanished into nothingness. His attack had been swallowed.

    The next moment, an excruciating pain erupted in Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and he was sent flying. Tian Hou¡¯s Phantom Soul Strike had squarely struck Lu Yin, sending him flying underground.

    Many felt their hearts jump, as Lu Yin had lost this exchange. He had clearly dealt Tian Hou a solid blow before, but he had been overwhelmed just now.

    Boom!

    The earth rumbled as Tian Hou did not hesitate to rain down endless palms upon the ground, viciously striking at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 329: Struggle To The Death

    <h4>Chapter 329: Struggle To The Death</h4>

    Lu Yin leapt up, enduring the barrage of phantom palms. He then used sh to charge towards Tian Hou and unleashed attacks from both of his hands this time. Tian Hou shivered. Rather than counterattack with his Phantom Soul Strike, he instead evaded the attack. Lu Yin¡¯s hands missed, and they ended up tearing the void apart.

    Many were dazed as they could not understand this battle at all. No one understood if Lu Yin could or could not effectively attack Tian Hou.

    Lu Yin panted heavily as a palm imprint gradually faded from his chest. He looked at Tian Hou with a grave expression, as this fellow was very difficult to deal with¡ªit was way too challenging to even hit him.

    Tian Hou also looked solemnly at Lu Yin. ¡°If this is your limit, then this is a great disappointment.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly felt very sullen. If not for the live broadcast, he would have been able to use the Cosmic Art without restraint. If that were the case, then no matter what Tian Hou did, he would be attacked as soon as he approached Lu Yin, and he would be able to easily defeat this Cosmic Hou.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve already reached your limits. Still, for you to reach this step and strike me once can already be considered pretty good,¡± Tian Hou said in a quiet voice before once again merging with the void and attacking Lu Yin with another Phantom Soul Strike. Lu Yin used both hands in an attempt to counterattack, but Tian Hou easily avoided it. Although the creature could not use extreme speed, nothing could beat its ability to merge with the void.

    There was a bang as Lu Yin¡¯s handsnded on nothing. Once again, his entire body wasunched underground by Tian Hou, and this time, a trace of blood appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s back.

    Tian Hou¡¯s attacks were all very powerful, and he lived up to his reputation of being one of the finalists in the Tournament of the Strongest. If he were from the Human Domain, he would be a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate without a question. It was not easy to withstand his attacks once, twice, thrice¡­

    Under the watchful gazes of many observers, Lu Yin fell to aplete disadvantage. As soon as Tian Hou started fighting seriously and using his battle techniques, many experts from the Astral Beast Domain believed that the match was already over.

    Lu Yin was already doing pretty good, after all. Tian Hou had not disyed his battle techniques against anyone else in thispetition, and nor had he taken the initiative to evade anyone else¡¯s attacks, not even Starsibyl¡¯s. Lu Yin was the only who had been able to force him to this extent, but it seemed to end there.

    Lu Yin hit the ground with a bang and spat out a mouthful of blood. He had endured more than ten strikes from Tian Hou, and even if his physical body was tough, he still found it extremely difficult to tolerate such physical abuse as hey there, t on the ground.

    Many sighed. In the end, Lu Yin had still been defeated. In all the legends throughout history, no one had managed to defeat a Cosmic Hou of the same realm in singlebat. A Cosmic Hou could not be defeated by a single person.

    On Zenyu Star, Huo Qingshan and the others felt powerless. It was time to close their screens, as watching on would be disrespectful to the Royal Regent¡¯s image.

    On Earth, Zhou Shan and the rest felt sorrowful. Earth was too small, and they could not help Lu Yin at all. After stepping onto the universe¡¯s biggest stage, he could only count on himself.

    Some sighed, while others were secretly ted, but no one revealed such emotions. In spite of all the possible grudges out there, Lu Yin represented the Human Domain right now.

    Starsibyl¡¯s gaze flickered. Did her divinated result actually show a different path? She was not confident, as Tian Hou was just too difficult to deal with.

    There was an intense shout as Lu Yin spat out another mouthful of blood. However, he endured the intense pain and charged up from underground, only to pant heavily as he looked at Tian Hou.

    Tian Hou¡¯s gaze regained its indifference. ¡°Your physical body is powerful, and among all the Limiteers in the same generation as you within the Astral Beast Domain, even when including those famously tough beasts, few can rival you. But even if that¡¯s the case, if we drag things out, you will only end up being more embarrassed.¡±

    Lu Yin spat out more blood and heaved a few breaths. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been wondering. Is this all your attacks are capable of?¡±

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes widened, and all who heard Lu Yin¡¯s reply felt caught off guard as well. What did this mean? Was Lu Yin taunting his opponent?

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tian Hou grew serious.

    Lu Yin licked his lips. The bloodstains were unsightly, so he wiped them clean. He looked at his own blood and then grinned. ¡°If your attacks have only reached this level of strength, then the oue of this fight is still unknown. Let¡¯s put it all on the line and see whose luck is better!¡± With that, Lu Yin stretched out both hands, only to suddenly sp them together and interlock his ten fingers. His star energy even formed a chain that twisted around his hands as he firmly tied both hands together. ¡°This way, I can¡¯t separate them even if I wanted to.¡±

    Tian Hou was bewildered, and the many people who were watching were also confused.

    No one could understand Lu Yin¡¯s actions. How would tying his hands together help him deal with Tian Hou?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you crazy? Don¡¯t be discouraged! No one will me you if you can¡¯t beat Tian Hou. There¡¯s really no one who can win against him,¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out desperately.

    Lu Yin softly but firmly replied, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I believe that, if the Ten Arbiters were in the Astral Combat Academy right now, they would definitely be able to defeat Tian Hou.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey wanted to retort, but it could not find out the words to do so. The Ten Arbiters were ten freaks who represented the changes in the universe. Since ancient times, no one of the younger generation had ever been as terrifying as those ten. Their power was iprehensible to most people, and they would likely have been able to triumph over Tian Hou in singlebat even as Limiteers. The monkey did not believe others could do the same, but he was forced to ept that the Ten Arbiters were capable of this feat. Although it was said that those on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Skymender List could rival the Ten Arbiters, the Ghost Monkey knew that that was just a saying and that it was likely not true.

    This saying originated from Yao Gu¡¯s battle against the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Undying Phoenix, where they had been evenly matched. This had caused news to spread that the beasts on the Skymender List could match up against the Ten Arbiters. However, at the border warfront, the Ghost Monkey had seen that Yao Gu had been at a disadvantage against Wen Sansi and that he had not been able to match up to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Schr. No one could prove how the oue of the battle would have turned out if Yao Gu fought against another Arbiter.

    Lu Yin was certain that the Ten Arbiters would have been capable of winning because of the Rainmaster¡¯s remark that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist had been able to use Thirty Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path. What sort of level was that? Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current physical strength, it would be difficult for him to reach that degree of strength. That was the true terror of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Even if the Ten Arbiters could defeat Tian Hou back then, what do you want to do now? Do you think tying both your hands together will let you catch up to them?¡± The monkey felt that something was strange.

    Lu Yin did not bother exining. He readied his bound hands; one used Cosmic Palm while the other used Shockwave Palm. His reasoning was that, if his hands were separated, it would be easier for Tian Hou to disrupt a weaker attack and disperse the energy. By binding his hands, although Lu Yin¡¯s movements would be a beat slower, there would be a greater strength behind his attacks. He intended to burn all bridges and use his body to forcibly endure Tian Hou¡¯s attack in exchange for an opportunity to strike back on his own. He was staking everything on this method, and gambling on a bit of luck as well.

    ¡°Come on, Tian Hou!¡± Lu Yin growled as he charged towards the Cosmic Hou with sh.

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes lit up, and the phantom palm images that filled the skies descended. Lu Yin did not dodge the attack and instead used his bound hands to m a heavy attack at Tian Hou. He tried to dodge, and Lu Yin immediately evaded the moment he saw that. The Phantom Soul Strike missed, and Lu Yin¡¯s attack missed as well.

    Tian Hou was shocked; this person wanted to force them both down in mutual destruction!

    Lu Yin¡¯s n had been exposed, and if Tian Hou could figure it out, then many others would as well. But the situation was still a bit strange, as Tian Hou seemed afraid of Lu Yin¡¯sbined attack. Did Lu Yin really have the ability to cause the Cosmic Hou to be afraid? Many thought back to Lu Yin¡¯s strike at the beginning of the battle.

    ¡°Again!¡± Lu Yin barked excitedly, feeling as if he had found a path to victory.

    Tian Hou gritted his teeth. ¡°If you want to struggle, then so be it. A disciple of Skymender is not afraid of anyone!¡± The Phantom Soul Strike reappeared, and he mmed his attack towards Lu Yin. This time, Tian Hou did not dodge and neither did Lu Yin. His bound hands crashed heavily into Tian Hou, and the Cosmic Palm restrained the rotation of the vortex as the Shockwave Palm violently struck out. Tian Hou was sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s strike, though Lu Yin was also struck by the endless Phantom Soul Strike and thrown back underground.

    The two simultaneously exchanged blows, causing many in the audience to feel petrified with shock.

    ¡°Effective! Lu Yin¡¯s attack is actually working!¡± a student excitedly shouted.

    Many others became thrilled as well to see that Lu Yin had begun counterattacking after enduring more than ten strikes from the opponent. This determination stirred many.

    On Zenyu Star, Huo Qingshan, who had been just about to shut off the screen, released a pent up breath. Was this Lu Yin¡¯s counterattack?

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes gleamed in a hidden corner of the universe, and a trace of happiness shed across her face.

    In both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, many powers were moved. ¡°Such a strong battle awareness! If he had not tied his hands together, then his movements would have been less focused, and Tian Hou would have been able to evade him. This kid is not bad,¡± the Sword Sect leader praised in appreciation.

    At this point, the battle had just begun.

    Lu Yin¡¯s new battle style forced Tian Hou to struggle against him blow for blow, and their fight became a bitter struggle as both used their own bodies to forcefully endure their opponent¡¯s attacks.

    After ten minutes, even an extraordinary being such as the Cosmic Hou found it difficult to endure such powerful blows, and Tian Hou¡¯s attack rhythm noticeably slowed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was drenched in blood, and wounds covered his entire body.

    ¡°How interesting, that you actually forced me to such a point,¡± Tian Hou gasped in surprise.

    Lu Yin frowned, but he did not show any signs of weakness either. ¡°I¡¯m amazed that you can injure me as well.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Master was right! You¡¯re indeed a variable.¡± Tian Hou seemed ted.

    Outside the battlefield, Yun still had an expression that was filled with contempt, though all her hatred seemed to be directed towards Lu Yin. However, no one noticed her since they were all watching the final battle.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I must worship you! You¡¯re too awesome!¡± The Ghost Monkey was electrified by what he was witnessing. ¡°That¡¯s Tian Hou! You¡¯re the only one in the same realm who has ever forced him to such a stage. You¡¯re too amazing!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, he hasn¡¯t even used his true strength,¡± Lu Yin barked back.

    ¡°Impossible! That beast has shown an unnatural level of strength, but you¡¯re telling me that he hasn¡¯t even used his actual strength?¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin stared at Tian Hou¡¯s eyes and had a premonition that the legends about the Cosmic Hou¡¯s abilities extended beyond what Tian Hou had revealed so far. There were so many extraordinary innate gifts in the universe, some that could even form a ckhole, but even that was not enough to allow their wielders to be legends. So what did the Cosmic Hou race rely on? What Lu Yin had already seen so far had not reached that level, so Tian Hou must still be hiding something.

    ¡°I¡¯m very satisfied with this battle, but unfortunately, it muste to an end sometime,¡± Tian Hou said as he sighed and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You are now also someone who has experienced a legend.¡± Then, his body merged into the void only to reappear above Lu Yin. He struck out with both palms with no intention of evading.

    Lu Yin subconsciously attacked with his bound hands, and with a loud boom, a shockwave burst out behind Tian Hou¡¯s back to distort the void. Tian Hou gripped Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders with both hands. ¡°You can be frightened now.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he felt an indescribable chill crawl up his spine as he tried to attack Tian Hou in order to force him back. However, Tian Hou forcibly endured Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Their eyes met, and an ineffable feeling seeped into Lu Yin.

    Terror and fear suddenly manifested in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at Tian Hou. He trembled. He wanted to slink down and cower at the feet of this being.

    Why? They were clearly evenly matched, but Lu Yin now felt a deep sense of fear and the overwhelming sensation that he could not match up to Tian Hou. This feeling was like confronting the boundless universe, when humans felt so minuscule and overwhelmed where they did not even have the courage to raise their heads and look at the skies.

    Tian Hou continued to stare into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This was his ability: devouring. Not only could he devour physical attacks, but he could also devour his opponent¡¯s emotions. Courage was an emotion, and this man had just lost all of his courage.

 Chapter 330: Battling A Legend

    <h4>Chapter 330: Battling A Legend</h4>

    Cosmic Hous were a legend, and one that could not be hidden. No one in the same realm had ever defeated one, not a single person.

    Countless people stared in amazement as Lu Yin faced Tian Hou. His knees began to bend, and it seemed as if he was about to kneel down.

    If he knelt at this moment, Lu Yin would be finished for the rest of his life. The entire Human Domain would reject him because he represented all of them at this moment. To have humanity kneel at the feet of an astral beast was uneptable.

    On Zenyu Star, the expressions of Huo Qingshan and the rest changed, and their faces drained of all color.

    Wendy Yushan clenched her hilt tightly, and she suddenly stood up, her eyes zing.

    In the Innerverse, the face of the ck-haireddy with the white sword went cold.

    In the Daynight Ancestral Area, Zhuo Daynight nervously watched on.

    At this point, countless hearts seized as people stared on in a daze. Would Lu Yin kneel?

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes shed with pity. He knew that this person would be finished if he was forced topletely kneel. But for the sake of victory, this was necessary. This was the price, and it was heavier than even death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with horror as his knees gradually bent and approached the ground.

    Countless watched on with bated breath.

    In the sky above the battlefield, the Astral Combat Academy mentors were about to stop the match, but Lc Snow appeared at the first sign of movement.

    Outside the battlefield, the contempt in Yun¡¯s eyes grew even more intense.

    Starsibyl watched on gravely; her divination had revealed no such scene.

    The Astral-10 students clenched their fists, and Xia Luo¡¯s face dropped.

    Nightqueen Yanqing gleefully sneered.

    Right when Lu Yin¡¯s knees were about to drop, a sound suddenly reverberated in his mind. It was the Stonewall Scriptures.

    At the same time, Tian Hou howled in misery and retreated in a sorry manner. In that instant, he had been sent flying backwards by an indescribably majestic pressure. Lu Yin realized the circumstances that he was in and flew into a rage. Heshed out with his bound hands and sent Tian Hou flying again.

    Countless people let out their held-in breaths. Lu Yin had withstood the critical juncture and not kneeled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s back was drenched in sweat as he tore away, panting heavily. He still felt fearful, as everything would have been ruined if he had knelt down¡ªhis future would have been reduced to nothing if that had happened.

    ¡°Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro, can you hear me? Seventh Bro!¡± the monkey screamed without end.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. ¡°Yes, I hear you.¡±

    ¡°What just happened? You wouldn¡¯t respond no matter how hard I called for you.¡± The Ghost Monkey was panicking.

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but at that moment, my fear was amplified endlessly.¡±

    The monkey did not understand what had happened either. In the end, a legend was merely a legend and there were no precise records about them. No one knew exactly what abilities Tian Hou possessed.

    Lu Yin watched Tian Hou crash into the ground and grit his teeth. He still held some residual anger, as the worst result of this battle was not death, but rather being forced to kneel down to his opponent. This had angered him beyond all reason, and he charged out with sh and ruthlessly pounded down at Tian Hou.

    When Tian Hou¡¯s body was forced underground, his dazed brain finally seemed to awaken a bit. He saw Lu Yin¡¯s strikes descend upon him, and he raised a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s struggle to the death!¡±

    There was a tremendous boom, and the ground was once again smashed to powder. This shocked many students¡¯ hearts, as Lu Yin was now being held up by Tian Hou once again.

    Tian Hou grit his teeth and stared at Lu Yin; he wanted to devour his opponent¡¯s emotions once more. No one would obstruct him this time! He wanted to understand the attack that had sent him flying just moments ago; after all, he should be matchless!

    Terror reappeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, but this time he could hear the Ghost Monkey. ¡°Seventh Bro, you are terrified again. Damn, this is such an evil ability! Seventh Bro, your wife is being snatched! Your Ming Yan from the Shenwu Continent is being snatched away by the Daynight n!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes abruptly changed as he heard the monkey¡¯s words and the image of Ming Yan¡¯s dazzling beauty appeared in his mind. His fury spiked to new heights, and he mercilessly sent Tian Hou crashing underground again.

    Tian Hou was taken aback. Why is it not working? Impossible, no one is immune to my ability!

    Lu Yin did not pursue Tian Hou and instead retreated a hundred meters back, from where he cautiously watched Tian Hou. The lingering fear once again arose within his eyes. What sort of ability was this? It had actually caused him to freeze in ce.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is very bothersome. Tian Hou¡¯s ability can mess with your emotions. Even if there¡¯s no terror in your heart, you still have love or affection. Choosing any one of them will cause you to be unable to withstand his attacks. If Ming Yan is dead and Zhuo Daynight is ughtered by Nightqueen Yanqing, what will you do?¡± the Ghost Monkey seriously asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, and he watched Tian Hou¡¯s bloodlust increase. It was no wonder why this creature had be a legend; he truly was overpowering.

    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± Lu Yin asked quietly.

    The monkey was at a loss. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve already said that no one can face a Cosmic Hou alone, as they¡¯re pretty much invincible.¡±

    Lu Yin did not believe in invincibility, as no one was truly undefeatable, not even the Ten Arbiters.

    Across from Lu Yin, Tian Hou stood up. He was in a sorry state as he had been heavily injured. He looked at Lu Yin with a strange sense of apprehension. This person had not only found a way to attack him, but he could also resist having his emotions being devoured. This made Lu Yin Tian Hou¡¯s natural nemesis. His Master had mentioned that a variable might appear but that Tian Hou would definitely still win this battle. At most, he would drag out the battle. After all, his opponent¡¯s injuries were far worse than his own.

    The battlefield fell silent, and neitherpetitor attacked their opponent. They only watched each other fearfully.

    At this point, the countless observers rxed, as there was finally a temporary break in the battle. No wonder this was the final battle; it was a disy of both wits and courage.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel like you should stop struggling against him. At most, go for a draw,¡± the monkey suddenly said.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think that I can win?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. Tian Hou believes that you can ignore his ability to swallow your emotions, so he¡¯s scared and hasn¡¯t acted for now. But if you continue to struggle against him, and he randomly swallows your emotions again, then my reminders might not work then. If the fight progresses, you¡¯ll lose beyond a shadow of a doubt.¡±

    Lu Yin was confident in the toughness of his body, but this confidence had to be reevaluated in the context of facing Tian Hou.

    ¡°What a pity. If you had managed to learn the Daynight Technique of Immunity, you could have confronted him and made him doubt life itself. He might even suspect if you¡¯re the same species as him!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy to force a draw.¡±

    ¡°Try your best. It would already be awesome for you to get a draw. Throughout history, no one within the same realm has ever drawn against a Cosmic Hou, which means that you¡¯ll have made history.¡±

    ¡°Since I¡¯m making history, I might as well make a bigger story and beat him.¡±

    ¡°Wake up...¡±

    ¡°Since it can swallow emotions, then I¡¯ll fight it without any,¡± Lu Yin spoke coldly as a faint red aura covered his body. It was the color of blood, and the willpower of iron blood pervaded him until he was filled with bloodlust.

    The Ghost Monkey was stunned. ¡°The bloodlust of the battlefield... Right, this is the harvest you gained from the Heavenly Drum. You¡¯ve turned yourself into a soldier.¡±

    On the battlefield, the brave would prevail. No matter how timid one was, one had to forget themselves upon entering the battlefield and immerse themselves within the constant massacre. It was as if Lu Yin had be a seasoned soldier on the battlefield¡ªthe bloodlust pervaded his mindset, and he held no fear. He forcefully suppressed all of his emotions and was filled with nothing aside from bloodlust.

    Tian Hou was stunned, and a bad premonition surfaced in his heart as he watched the faint redness around Lu Yin spread.

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared before Tian Hou with a shout as his bound hands heavily pounded down. Tian Hou tried to dodge while retaliating with his Phantom Soul Strike and trying to devour Lu Yin¡¯s emotions. Even if this person could disregard his emotions, the mental effect could still dy his attack and create a favorable opportunity for Tian Hou. However, Lu Yin had shrunk his domain¡¯s area and was now the same as a veteran on the battlefield. This time, he resolutely blocked Tian Hou¡¯s devouring ability.

    Tian Hou was thrown underground by Lu Yin while Lu Yin was simultaneously hit by the Phantom Soul Strike. However, as Tian Hou¡¯s condition became more and more severe, his attacks weakened, and he was no longer able to cause as much harm to Lu Yin as he had earlier in their battle.

    ¡°Impossible! Even a veteran who has participated at the border warfront can¡¯t resist having their emotions devoured. Why are you able to do so?¡± Tian Hou was incredulous. A seasoned soldier did not fear death, but they would still have emotions. Just merging the bloodlust of the battlefield into one¡¯s domain would not stop his devouring ability. If it were that simple, the Cosmic Hou would never have be a legend.

    Of course Lu Yin was not relying solely on the bloodlust, as he also had the Stonewall Scriptures. When his domain spread out, he had begun reciting the scriptures in his mind. The Stonewall Scripturesplemented his domain that had absorbed the battlefield¡¯s bloodlust. Combined with the monkey¡¯s nagging, he had constructed a formidable defense against Tian Hou¡¯s emotion-devouring ability. All of these pieces were his own ability, and he had patiently cultivated them to this day. He had met all of these puzzle pieces by fate, and they now came together to allow him to defeat Tian Hou.

    Inequality existed between living beings, and an existence like a Cosmic Hou represented invincibility from birth. Lu Yin had no chance of even challenging one if not for his fateful destiny.

    Right now, Lu Yin¡¯s destiny had given him the ability to challenge Tian Hou. Lu Yin did not want to squander this opportunity, and he wanted to win. He wanted to be unrivalled.

    Thump thump thump¡­

    The void shattered as countless spatial fractures radiated out, leaving the audience members dumbfounded.

    Tian Hou was enraged; he had already used everything at his disposal as well as his full strength, but the battle had seemed to have reset to how they started, with the two of them each struggling to consume the other. He could not understand how a human had forced him to such dire straits, as this person was clearly nothing more than a mere human.

    Throughout the universe, many people watched on nervously. This deserved to be the final battle, as the intensity of it surpassed even Lu Yin¡¯s battle against Yun. It also had an atmosphere overflowing with a mystifying sense of fantasy.

    With a loud explosion, the two separated at the same time, only to collide once more. It felt like heaven and earth were continuously crashing against each other, and Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt light-headed, as he had almost reached his limit for reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. If he recited any further, then he would faint.

    Opposite him, the vortex of Tian Hou¡¯s body had slowed down, and he was also about to reach his limits. It was not that obvious, but Lu Yin could sense it.

    Neither dared to speak, for fear that it would affect their final confrontation.

    Everyone knew that this battle was finally about to end and that the oue was about to be made clear.

    Outside the battlefield, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, Feng Jiu, Yun, and all the rest of thepetitors watched on nervously. This was the final battle of the Tournament of the Strongest, and it could also be considered to be a battle between the two peak Limiteers of the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.

    On the Firesmelt, within the Frostwave Weave, Jenny Auna was in a daze as she stared at the screen. At her level, she simply could not understand this battle. However, when she watched Lu Yin¡¯s all-out struggle, she felt as if she were gasping for air, as if she had cast aside something that had once belonged to her. She did not like Lu Yin, but the more brilliant his life was, the more difficult it was for her to bear it.

    As the end of the battle finally came in sight, countless viewers in the universe were entranced by the battle and remained focused.

    Pop!

    Lu Yin spat out another mouthful of blood and growled. He then forcibly turned his body around and used sh to tear through the void. He appeared right above Tian Hou and struck downwards with his bound hands. Tian Hou¡¯s ck vortex of a body was smashed into the ground, and Lu Yin suddenly unbound his hands. He mmed downwards again, and when his right hand came into contact with Tian Hou¡¯s back, he pressed his left hand down on top. ¡°Twenty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom boom boom...

 Chapter 331: Insider Information About The Daynight Clan

    <h4>Chapter 331: Insider Information About The Daynight n</h4>

    Dozens of explosions rung out from deep underground, causing many faces to change. Lu Yin¡¯s right hand used the Cosmic Art to forcibly stop Tian Hou¡¯s vortex from spinning as his own body endured the bacsh from the extreme attack. He was sent hurtling underground along with Tian Hou even as an enormous spatial crack descended upon both of them.

    The battlefield returned to calmness as smoke pervaded the air.

    Everyone was stunned; who had won?

    Regardless of whether it was the Astral Combat Tournament or this Tournament of the Strongest, this was a top-notch battle. Even Explorers might not have been able to receive Lu Yin¡¯s double-handed strike.

    High above the battlefield in the sky, Lc Snow casually waved a hand to disperse the dust; she wanted to know the results as well.

    When the air was cleared, a figure gripping his knees with both hands and wheezing desperately was revealed. He then raised his head; it was Lu Yin.

    Everyone looked around, but Tian Hou had vanished.

    ¡°The Tournament of the Strongest¡¯s final round. Victor: Lu Yin.¡±

    The Astral Combat Academy mentor announced the results, and they astounded everyone.

    Everyone was momentarily dazed, and then many students started to cheer. Lu Yin had won, which represented victory for the Human Domain.

    Wu Da hollered excitedly.

    All of the students from Astral-10 were moved. Big Pao, Little Pao, Coco, and the rest were all cheering wildly.

    Starsibyl gazed at Lu Yin with gleaming eyes; her divination had been correct. No one had even considered the fact that Lu Yin might win before the start of the Tournament of the Strongest. Even right before the final match was held, his given chances of winning were worse than one in a hundred. However, Lu Yin had won, which meant that Starsibyl¡¯s divination had been sessful. Now, she knew which path to take in the future.

    Everyone on Zenyu Star was cheering as well, and even those regr citizens who could not understand the battle could tell how challenging it had been. Even Huo Qingshan and the other Hunters had been stirred by this match.

    Xueshan Auna also looked at the youth on his screen who was having trouble standing up. He then looked at his gadget and his gaze gradually grew firm. It seemed as though he had resolved himself to a decision.

    In the Cosmic Sea, on a warship that released such a tremendous aura that even the great sea was forced to acknowledge its allegiance, a thunderousugh was heard. It made the Cosmic Sea re up, and multiple powerhouses flew away in their individual spacecraft to rise high into the sky. ¡°Captain¡¯s lost control! Hurry and run!¡±

    ¡°The kid won and captain¡¯s too happy. Let himugh for a while.¡±

    ¡°Captain hasn¡¯tughed in a long time, not since she left.¡±

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t mention that! Let captain be happy for a bit.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the warship, there were a pair of giant eyes that were filled with delight and excitement. Theughter continued on for quite a while. Then, a giant de mmed heavily against the hull, causing formless ripples to spread out and the sea to be peaceful again. ¡°All of you, get back here now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, captain!¡± they all replied.

    ¡­

    Atop Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes and let out a rxed breath as he unwound; he had finally won. This battle had been no walk in the park.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you deserve my worship! You¡¯re too powerful! You actually beat a Cosmic Hou by yourself!¡± The Ghost Monkey was exuberant.

    Lu Yin grimaced. Actually, the top four finalists in the Tournament of the Strongest were all of roughly equal strength. He had to rely on the Cosmic Art to triumph over Tian Hou, or else he would have stood no chance at all. If his opponent had been Starsibyl, he might not have won either. It could only be said that Tian Hou had helped Lu Yin by removing his worst match-up, though he had coincidentally ended up bing Lu Yin¡¯s opponent.

    Even so, the degree of difficulty of thest battle had exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s imagination. He had thought that the strengthening fruit would allow his physique to be unparalleled, but that line of thinking had been too simplistic.

    However, there was still some lingering pain from the fruit. Fortunately, he had strengthened his body again, or else he really would not have been able to endure Tian Hou¡¯s attacks. As it was, he had only barely ousted Tian Hou.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how did you manage to attack Tian Hou¡¯s body? His vortex should push his endurance to terrifying levels, and logically, you shouldn¡¯t be able to ovee it,¡± the monkey asked curiously.

    Lu Yin did not bother responding since the other Astral-10 students around him had all opened their eyes.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re too awesome!¡± Coco was the first to run over and congratte him.

    ¡°Junior, congrattions. You¡¯ve be really famous throughout the universe, and not just within the Human Domain,¡± Little Pao said with a smile.

    The others congratted him in turns.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Luck, it was just luck.¡±

    ¡°Luck can¡¯t beat Tian Hou,¡± Xia Luo gently refuted.

    Lulu grimaced. ¡°Our disparity is growing bigger. It¡¯s annoying. No, I have to return home. I have to train.¡±

    Meng Yue nodded approvingly. He was also going to return to Vastdearth Sect to see if there was some way for him to improve his strength.

    Michelle gazed at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. When she had first arrived at Astral-10, she had nned on nitpicking at things until she was able to crack down on the academy with the regtions on her side. Yet, as time passed, she had begun to acknowledge Astral-10 in her heart, especially since someone so powerful had emerged right besides her. This person was truly a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate at this moment.

    The others offered their congrattions and left, as they could tell that Lu Yin was exhausted.

    Schutz walked up to Lu Yin. ¡°How¡¯s the Great Yu Empire doing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, but you should return to take a look and help me reorganize the Yu Academy.¡±

    Schutz considered the idea and then nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Schutz was a top expert of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s current younger generation. After spending this period of time in the Astral Combat Academy, his power could no longer be measured by the Outerverse¡¯s standards. Even in the Astral Combat Academy, he was above average and could be considered to be at the standard of the Innerverse¡¯s younger generation¡¯s elite. He was much stronger than those from the same generation in the Great Yu Empire. With his current power, he could defeat Gerbach in just two strikes.

    As he watched Schutz leave, Lu Yin suddenly wondered if he should bring the Great Yu Empire¡¯s young elites to Astral-10. He should think of a way to do so.

    There were two other figures on the trial zone mountain who had not left yet. One was Darkvoid, and the other was Hui Daynight.

    Of Astral-10¡¯s students, Darkvoid was reclusive, Michelle proud, Zhao Yilong apathetic, and then there was Hui Daynight. Lu Yin did not know how to deal with this person; although he had been arrogant from the very beginning, he had never shown Lu Yin any ill will. Hui Daynight tended to be provocative, but he had also been smashed rather miserably by Lu Yin.

    When Nightqueen Yanqing had appealed for the Daynight n experts to deal with Lu Yin, Hui Daynight had not made an appearance. Now, Hui Daynight had no support from either side; the Daynight n did not ept him, and neither could he get along with those from Astral-10. Hence, he could not mingle with either group.

    Lu Yin was looking at Hui Daynight when he suddenly opened his eyes and looked back at Lu Yin. He stood up to leave the trial zone mountain, not saying a word at all.

    Lu Yin suddenly said, ¡°Could you tell me something about the Daynight n?¡±

    Hui Daynight did not even turn around. ¡°What do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°The Sealed Cage Technique,¡± Lu Yin said. This term made Hui Daynight¡¯s face change dramatically, and he whirled around to face Lu Yin with a stunned expression. ¡°How do you know about that?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. How did he know? He had heard a dazed Zhuo Daynight mention the term a few times, but he could tell that it was nothing good. ¡°Could you tell me more about it?¡±

    Hui Daynight¡¯s eyes flickered, and he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as if trying to discern something. After a brief moment, he shifted his gaze away, and his face regained its indifference. ¡°It¡¯s top secret n information. It can¡¯t be shared with outsiders.¡± And with that, he left.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you want to know about the Sealed Cage Technique?¡± the monkey tentatively offered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped up. ¡°You know about it?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was pleased with itself. ¡°Of course! Many of the ancestors have records about it. After all, the Daynight n is not a small family, so there are many records rted to them.¡±

    ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    The monkeyughed mischievously, ¡°Sure, but you must promise to never screen me off again.¡±

    ¡°I promise,¡± Lu Yin immediately agreed.

    The Ghost Monkey was stumped, and his reply was a bit slow. ¡°What was that? Come again, Seventh Bro?¡±

    ¡°I said that I promise,¡± Lu Yin said quietly.

    The monkey fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Seventh Bro, that¡¯s not very sincere. You¡¯ve got to be lying.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t trust me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone took a downturn.

    The monkey felt helpless; the script had deviated from its expectations, and Lu Yin¡¯s agreement had been too straightforward. It was something that he simply couldn¡¯t believe. However, since Lu Yin had already agreed, the monkey could only continue, so he dejectedly said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll believe you for now.¡±

    He then coughed twice and exined, ¡°The so-called ¡®Sealed Cage Technique¡¯ is the method that the Nightking bloodline of the Daynight n uses to restrain the Dayking bloodline. In ancient times, there were two ¡®king¡¯ tribes that ruled over the Daynight n: the Dayking bloodline and the Nightking bloodline. But for some reason, the Dayking bloodline experts suffered a disaster, and the Nightking bloodline reacted ruthlessly. They created this Sealed Cage Technique to control all of the Dayking bloodline descendants. It¡¯s a malevolent form of control, and it¡¯s said that this technique can even control one¡¯s life and death.

    ¡°Every Nightking n descendant will be given control over a considerable number of Daynight disciples. A more urate term would be ¡®ves,¡¯ and this is the reason why the Nightking bloodline has always been elevated so highly, because of this Sealed Cage Technique. This is also why the Daynight n holds itself separate and acts decisively to intimidate the entire universe.¡±

    ¡°Can the Sealed Cage Technique ever be removed?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he thought of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s pale, helpless face.

    ¡°Of course, as there are many benevolent people who have emerged among the Nightking n throughout the years who have taken the initiative to remove the Sealed Cage Technique from their ves, but many people are still controlled. From my perspective, that Hui Daynight is probably a descendant of the Dayking bloodline, and he is most likely being controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique. Otherwise, he definitely would not have rejected that battle between you and Nightqueen Yanqing.¡±

    Lu Yin never expected that the Daynight n would have such a ruthless method of maniption. ¡°Is this Sealed Cage Technique a type of battle technique?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. The Sealed Cage Technique can only affect those with the Dayking bloodline, which is why many people avoid even mentioning the Nightking n. In order to gain control of their own n, they created a special bloodline envement technique. It¡¯s rather sinister, but it¡¯s useless against anyone else.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like he had gained a deeper understanding of the Daynight n, or rather, of the Nightking n. He truly detested the core nature of this n.

    ¡°Right, what of the Daynight n itself?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. ording to some records, the Daynight n had two extreme powerhouses: the Dayking and the Nightking. The two of them gave birth to the Dayking bloodline and the Nightking body while the rest should be considered in-between.¡±

    At that moment, Little Pao entered the trial zone mountain again. ¡°Junior, Old Cai is calling for you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and immediately left the trial zone mountain.

    Not longter, Lu Yin met with Old Cai in the treasury. The treasurer sized him up and down and marvelled, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not too bad to have reached this step.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Mentor¡¯s teachings,¡± Lu Yin ttered.

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. ¡°Brown-noser.¡±

    Lu Yin gave a wry smile.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s a few matters that I want to discuss. First, someone wants to ask about Tian Hou¡¯s abilities. Secondly, it¡¯s about the reward. You¡¯ll receive the rewards of being the champion of both the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Rewards? How much money?¡±

    Old Cai was speechless. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re too much of a money-grubber.¡±

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed, but he could not be med. His power was directly linked to his wealth. The richer he was, the faster he could improve his strength.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that Tian Hou¡¯s abilities first,¡± Old Cai said solemnly.

 Chapter 332: All Kinds Of Privileges

    <h4>Chapter 332: All Kinds Of Privileges</h4>

    Lu Yin nodded. Tian Hou was a legend, so its abilities would naturally arouse many¡¯s curiosities. It was very normal for the upper echelons of the Human Domain to want to know more. ¡°First of all, the nature of a Cosmic Hou¡¯s strength is not to dissolve but rather to devour. He possesses an attack that can swallow everything, they can merge with the void, and they can even devour human emotions¡­¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Yin to clearly describe Tian Hou¡¯s strengths and abilities, and everything caused Old Cai to grow solemn. At the end, he asked in a stunned manner, ¡°Devouring emotions... How did you withstand that?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged before responding, ¡°Every domain is special. I previouslyprehended the bloodlust of the battlefield at the Heavenly Drum, and I used the mettle of a seasoned veteran who was unafraid of death to battle against Tian Hou.¡±

    Old Cai evidently did not believe him, but he did not question him any further either. Everyone had their own destiny, and Lu Yin¡¯s seemed especially unique. Old Cai recalled that Lu Yin was also immune to the Third Sword of the Thirteen Swords and that he had been targeted by the Daynight n because of that matter. There was nothing strange about the kid being immune to Tian Hou¡¯s ability to devour emotions. It could also be rted to his constitution, as despite everything, Tian Hou was still just a Limiteer.

    ¡°Alright, the reward¡¯s next,¡± Old Cai eximed, ¡°Kid, if I must say something good about you, it¡¯s that your luck is too good.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by thisment.

    Old Cai¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°Use your gadget and check out the information about yourself.¡±

    Puzzled, Lu Yin activated his gadget, and keyed in his own name. A page appeared that he had never seen before, and it listed all of the information about his identity.

    Lu Yin stared at the new page in shock. He quickly saw that it didn¡¯t only list his preexisting statuses, but there was also new information and even¡­ privileges.

    Entitled to freely enter the Innerverse.

    Entitled to freely enter the Hall of Honor.

    Entitled to be epted into the Neoverse.

    Entitled..

    ¡­

    A series of entitlements dazzled Lu Yin. Everything listed here was his privilege.

    ¡°Old Cai, what is this?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Old Cai marvelled, ¡°Your Honor Points have changed as well. You now have two.¡±

    Lu Yin looked next to his name and saw that his Honor Points had indeed risen from one to two. Someone had once told him that there was a world of difference between having one and having two Honor Points. Now, Lu Yin understood what that person had meant.

    With this second Honor Point, he now had countless new privileges, many of which were difficult even for space-exploring powerhouses to achieve.

    Just the privilege of being able to enter the Innerverse as he wished was enough to make many space-exploring powerhouses envious. It should be known that even they often found it difficult to enter the Innerverse, and some even had to toss their dignity aside and curry favor with the Astral River Flowzone Envoy. But now, Lu Yin had gained this privilege, and with it, even the Astral River Flowzone Envoy would not dare to obstruct him no matter how bold he may be.

    Even if he killed the Flowzone Envoy¡¯s son, he would still be able to safely enter the Innerverse, and the Astral River Flowzone Envoy would even have to guarantee his safety while doing so.

    This was the privilege he had earned, and there was a huge pile of other, simr privileges.

    ¡°Your status has been rebuilt and even been made confidential. In other words, it won¡¯t be as easy for others to find out information about you.¡±

    Lu Yin was moved. ¡°Mentor, why did I get one more Honor Point?¡±

    ¡°You represented the Human Domain and defeated both the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy, not to mention your feat of defeating a legend. Giving you one Honor Point is not overboard, and this was directly granted to you by the Hall of Honor and not applied for by someone else. Kid, you are very lucky, as you have already entered the Hall of Honor¡¯s sight.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twisted as he was not ecstatic. Rather his heart sank low. The Ghost Monkey had just informed him, ¡°Seventh Bro, congrattions. You are now on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List.¡±

    ¡°Old Cai, have you heard of the Celestial Vanquisher''s List?¡± Lu Yin asked nervously.

    The old mentor nodded and his previously surprised gaze turned to a sympathetic one. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to think. You¡¯re definitely on it. Although your ranking shouldn¡¯t be too high, you¡¯re definitely on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s hit list.¡±

    Lu Yin had no other words. ¡°For sure?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Kid, the importance of the Honor Points awarded by the Human Domain is directly proportional to the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s desire to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, and his expression turned ugly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too discouraged. After thispetition, there will be a short period of peace between our two astral domains. Thus, even if they try to assassinate you during this period, they won¡¯t send any real experts after you, so you should be fine,¡± Old Cai consoled.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, but he could only do as Old Cai had suggested.

    ¡°Besides the Honor Point, you also have some other rewards,¡± Old Cai continued. ¡°One technique and one harmless, intermediate level sourcebox.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s even a harmless, intermediate level sourcebox?¡±

    ¡°The previous sourcebox was sponsored by the Nn family while this one was donated by the Technocracy. This technique is from the Astral Beast Domain and is called the Jade Meditation Technique.¡±

    ¡°Jade Meditation Technique?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°These two items are not here at Astral-10 and have to be delivered. However, the technique won¡¯t be very useful to you since it¡¯s used to help peopleprehend a domain. As you already have one, it¡¯s pointless to try to learn another one.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Three rewards from three great astral domains. Fair enough.

    ¡°Alright, you can go and wait for your rewards to be delivered. Right, kid, where¡¯s the personal spacecraft that the school previously lent to you?¡± Old Cai suddenly asked in a stern tone.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed since he had left it in the Great Yu Empire. ¡°Rest assured, Mentor. I¡¯ll bring it back next time.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s academy property. If you don¡¯t return it, then prepare to pay for it,¡± Old Cai threatened in an attempt to scare him.

    Not long after Lu Yin seized the championship, there was a great development at the boundary of the Erudite Flowzone. A youth descended and waved his hand to take away the frontiermander, Shui Chuanxiao, who was thenbelled a traitor to humanity.

    ¡°The Human Domain Erudite Flowzone frontiermander Shui Chuanxiao has colluded with foreign tribes to betray his native race, causing the Endless Weave to be defeated. He has been convicted of this heinous crime and will be detained at Gaia''s Swamp for ten thousand years.¡±

    Countless were stupefied by this news. Shui Chuanxiao had been the bordermander at the Human Domain¡¯s Erudite Flowzone and was heralded as the greatest strategic mind in history. His contributions were innumerable, and he had more than ten Honor Points. He was someone who stood at the peak of humanity, and yet, he had been casually detained, leaving many in disbelief.

    At the border of the Erudite Flowzone, the moment Shui Chuanxiao was captured, countless soldiers rebelled and stared furiously at the youth.

    ¡°Who are you? How can you just arrest themander?¡± a Cruiser barked, causing the skies to rumble.

    The youth turned back and smiled faintly. ¡°Nightking... Zhenwu.¡±

    The heavens fell silent as everyone looked at the youth in a daze. He was one of the humans¡¯ Ten Arbiters, Nightking Zhenwu.

    En Ya clenched her fists and stared at him. When did the Ten Arbiters gain the authority to intervene in the border warfront? Was this paramount power entrusted to them by the Hall of Honor? Those ten freaks were climbing higher and higher.

    News of the development at the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border quickly spread. Shui Chuanxiao was no ordinary person, and the interests of countless individuals and ns would be harmed if something happened to him. Regardless of his capability, his position was supported by many. And with his arrest, there would be drastic changes to many powers, and the entire structure of authority in the Human Domain would change to some degree.

    Even more stunning was that one of the Ten Arbiters had appeared to capture Shui Chuanxiao. Logically, such an action should have been carried out by the Interster Arbitrators, a subsidiary organization of the Hall of Honor. However, one of the Ten Arbiters had actually personally intervened, and it had been Nightking Zhenwu at that. This detail caused many to consider what it might represent; was someone influential in the Hall of Honor leaning towards the Daynight n?

    Lu Yin simrly learned of Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s arrest since his new privileges allowed him to receive the notification immediately. He was astonished; had Shui Chuanxiao really betrayed humanity? How was that possible? He was the bordermander! Or was he from the Neohuman Alliance as well?!

    Lu Yin did not really believe that conspiracy theory. Even though he had not spent much time interacting with Shui Chuanxiao, that person couldn¡¯t be someone from the Neohuman Alliance. Besides, with his position, there was no need for him to betray humanity.

    Lu Yin rubbed his temples as this news was just too staggering. However, it had nothing to do with him since he did not qualify to intervene in such matters at this time. What he cared about more was that Nightking Zhenwu was actually the one who had captured Shui Chuanxiao, which made Lu Yin worry that Nightking Zhenwu might intervene in the border warfront now. If that happened, then Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s influence would expand boundlessly. With the support of his Daynight n, there would be no one left in the universe to contest him.

    As the frontiermander, Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s duties had been extremely important, and yet, he had been easily captured. This meant that the humans¡¯ negotiation with the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy had ended and that the three sides were now in a temporary truce.

    A few dayster, in the emptiness of outer space, the white bone spacecraft began flying back towards the Astral Beast Domain. Atop the roof, Lc Snow was leisurely lying down, asionally looking down at Tian Hou as if waiting for something.

    Feng Jiu and the rest also asionally nced at Tian Hou.

    After a while, Tian Hou looked up. ¡°Master said that we can directly return.¡±

    Lc Snow rxed, as the pressure of her responsibilities was very great. Tian Hou¡¯s identity had been exposed, and now, countless people in the Human Domain wanted to kill him. There were too many hidden experts here, and she was not confident that she could repel all of them. It was better to return quickly.

    Tian Hou lowered his head and seemed to be lost in contemtion. He had not once considered encountering failure in this trip to the Human Domain, and now, his defeat was an indelible event. He had been pushed to his utmost limits but had still lost. The legends about the Cosmic Hou¡¯s invincibility had been shattered in his generation, and he was unable to ept this result.

    Feng Jiu walked next to Tian Hou. ¡°Did Teacher criticize you?¡±

    Tian Hou was downcast. ¡°No.¡±

    Fury shed in Feng Jiu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Although a temporary truce was established, battle will soon return. We¡¯ll definitely meet Lu Yin on the battlefield before long, and the oue of that battle is still unknown.¡±

    Tian Hou¡¯s eyes trembled. There were no rules on the battlefield¡ªthere was only life and death. He would redeem his lost honor there.

    Embermane and Hua Yishou exchanged nces that held a lingering fear. Fortunately, they had not fought against that perverted human who had even defeated Tian Hou. Truth be told, even they had not known that Tian Hou was the legendary Cosmic Hou, so the shock that Tian Hou had given them was even greater than what the humans had felt. Because of a Cosmic Hou¡¯s reputation within the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin¡¯s victory had been even more shocking to the astral beasts than it had been within the Human Domain. Lu Yin¡¯s ranking on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List was not as low as he believed. Even if he was just a mere Limiteer, he had still defeated a Cosmic Hou.

    In the other direction, the participants from the Technocracy also left the Human Domain.

    Yun stroked Yar Patar¡¯s head while the battle against Lu Yin kept floating up in her mind. She felt that it was strange. She should not have any opponents within the same realm as her given the power that she possessed. Even that Tian Hou who could endure unimaginable attacks would have been suppressed by her strength. So what was the deal with Lu Yin? Her own strength had not seemed to oppress him one bit; it was very strange...

 Chapter 333: Borrowing Money Once Again

    <h4>Chapter 333: Borrowing Money Once Again</h4>

    Back in Astral-10, Lu Yin felt a headacheing on. Madam Nn had told him that she would be leaving soon, but he still owed her arge sum of money. He truly did not want to be in debt to her, but he had no money to pay her back with.

    At the space station, Madam Nn pursed her lips, her eyes betraying her amusement as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu, you don¡¯t have to be in such a rush to return the money to me.¡±

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. He was indeed anxious, but he had no money to speak of. ¡°Madam, I¡¯ll return it as soon as I have the money.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin received a notification that caused his eyes to gleam. He immediately stopped Madam Nn. ¡°Madam, would the Nn family perhaps be interested in buying a technique?¡±

    She was surprised. ¡°Do you have a technique you wish to sell?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The Jade Meditation Technique can help oneprehend a domain. The Astral Beast Domain supplied this reward for the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest.¡±

    Her eyes brightened. ¡°Since this technique can aid one inprehending a domain and was supplied by the Astral Beast Domain, it definitely won¡¯t be cheap. Alright, our Nn family will buy it. How much are you willing to sell it for?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°How much is it worth?¡±

    Sheughed. ¡°Student Lu, you must not understand the value of a domain. If this technique can truly aid the user inprehending a domain, then even if the sess rate is low, it is still valuable beyond measure. Let¡¯s just say that this technique is worth more than what I¡¯ve lent you.¡±

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll offer this technique as a gift to madam.¡±

    She was taken aback. ¡°Student Lu, consider this matter very carefully. This technique is definitely worth more than a hundred star essence.¡±

    Lu Yin remained serious. ¡°Madam, you have helped me in my time of difficulty, and you have even saved my life on two asions. This technique is not enough to repay your acts of kindness, and so, I can only do this to show my sincerity.¡±

    Her enticing eyes focused on Lu Yin for a moment, and then she smiled. ¡°Very well, the Nn family will ept your sincerity.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No, this is not for the Nn family but rather for Madam Nn. Madam is my savior, and you are also the one who lent me the money.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Alright then. I, Liu Fuxue, will ept your sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Please wait a moment, madam. The technique will arrive shortly.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have a ss of wine first. We don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll meet next after this goodbye,¡± she said as she leisurely stretched her body, her every movement extremely enticing.

    Lu Yin immediately shifted his gaze as he nodded. He then stepped onto the Nn family¡¯s spacecraft, following right behind her.

    Before long, the Jade Meditation Technique and the Intermediate-level sourcebox were sent over. Lu Yin directly handed the technique to her, not even taking a look at it.

    In general, even if the Jade Meditation Technique was useless to a specific person themselves, it was still a rare technique, and as such, it held an inherent attraction to it. However, Lu Yin did not even look at it, which made Madam Nn¡¯s eyes brighten even more. She realized that Lu Yin had a strong virtue; he was very bold. It was to the extent where it far outstripped his age. Perhaps it would be good to cooperate with the Great Yu Empire.

    A short whileter, after the Nn family spacecraft left Astral-10, Lu Yin began making preparations to head towards East San Dios when he suddenly received a message from the Outerverse Youth Councilwork. He had gained ess to thiswork since he had already joined the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Outerverse Youth Council member Yan Feng will wed Miss Jenny Auna in twelve days¡ªBazeer offers his congrattions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank when he read the message, and his entire face sank as a roaring rage consumed him.

    With Yan Feng¡¯s status, he did not evene close to having the qualifications to have his marriage announcement be broadcast over the Outerverse Youth Councilwork. This had to be Bazeer¡¯s doing, and he had intentionally done this to provoke Lu Yin. Yan Feng was also openly unting the marriage in front of Lu Yin, as the youth from the Firesmelt was fully aware that the Auna family had arranged Jenny Auna to be Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e. However, he had still made such a prominent announcement and was clearly trying to provoke Lu Yin.

    Since he was the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, his prestige had spiked. Yan Feng¡¯s actions seemed to be an attempt to forcibly suppress Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, and this move was like him moving a knife towards Lu Yin¡¯s throat.

    Although this involved Yan Feng and Bazeer, there must be someone else behind them. If Lu Yin had guessed correctly, then Nightqueen Yanqing or perhaps even Puyu had a hand in this matter. Lu Yin had to analyze the entire situation carefully; he just had too many enemies. One wave crashed into him after another even before the previous one subsided. If he allowed Yan Feng to wed Jenny Auna, then he would be aughing stock in the near future.

    After Lu Yin thought everything through, he realized that he urgently needed to go to East San Dios. He hesitated a moment after realizing that he should have enough time since he had twelve days and then he headed towards the Rain Observatory.

    Regardless of everything else, Yan Feng was still a space-exploring powerhouse who was not any weaker than Wendy Yushan as far as innate gifts were concerned. However, even though he had not received the same opportunities that Wendy had, he was heralded as second only to her among the Frostwave Weave¡¯s younger generation. He was an elite who coulde into contact with the Top Hundred Rankings; otherwise, the Daynight n never would have pushed him into a member¡¯s position.

    Given Yan Feng¡¯s strength, Lu Yin tentatively estimated him to be about as strong as a Cruiser, but his current power was still insufficient to challenge a Cruiser. He could at most deal with someone like Zi Tie, an Explorer with a power level between 30,000 and 40,000¡ªperhaps even someone who was close to 50,000. Thus, if Lu Yin faced off against a Cruiser, an average one would still be alright, but anyone even a bit stronger than that would be troublesome, and Yan Feng was definitely no pushover.

    There was only one way for Lu Yin to challenge a Cruiser: the Oveying Stacks Path. He had to follow the same path as the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist and increase his Oveying Stacks to Thirty Stacks.

    The Rainmaster was shocked. ¡°You want to continue deducing Oveying Stacks?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded seriously. ¡°Mentor, please help me aplish my goals.¡±

    The Rainmaster eximed in surprise, ¡°You want to challenge the record left by one of the Ten Arbiters!¡±

    Lu Yin bowed respectfully. ¡°Yes, please assist me.¡±

    A rare smile broke out on the mentor¡¯s face. ¡°Kid, this means that you¡¯re finally approaching the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level. You even became the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. Astral-10 can be considered to be the top academy now, and you¡¯ve won much glory for us.

    ¡°This request isn¡¯t excessive. Stretch out your hand.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing turned sluggish, and he excitedly stretched out his left arm.

    Just like before, the Rainmaster used a single hand to help Lu Yin deduce the Oveying Stacks. This time, the number of stacks increased from twenty to twenty five, before finally breaking through to Thirty Stacks.

    When the thirtieth stack appeared, the void exploded as this stack held an iparably terrifying strength.

    ¡°Thirty Stacks is no small matter. This really is the upper limit that a Limiteer¡¯s body can handle. Even the Divine Fist from the Ten Arbiters was unable to break through this boundary. Kid, know your own limits,¡± the Rainmaster warned.

    Lu Yin nodded and then conscientiously took note of the strength of Thirty Stacks. If he had had this power during his previous battle, then it might have been possible for him to forcibly break through Tian Hou¡¯s defenses. No, it was definitely possible!

    The mentor looked at Lu Yin with shining eyes. ¡°Do you want to know the next limit of the Divine Fist?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Yes please.¡±

    The mentor gazed into the distance and paused for a moment before speaking. ¡°Explorer realm: One Hundred Stacks, shattering a.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°One Hundred Stacks?¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Yes, One Hundred Stacks.¡±

    He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you understand the terror of One Hundred Stacks? One palm is enough to cause even Hunters to be afraid, and even a Hunter might not have the ability to disy One Hundred Stacks. This is the level of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin suppressed his shock and bowed again to the mentor. ¡°Student now understands and will take my leave.¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°Go on. Though remember, advice to you is still the same. Know your own limits.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then left the Rain Observatory.

    The Ten Arbiters had truly made many great achievements. The further Lu Yin progressed along the Oveying Stacks Path, the more he understood that it became increasingly difficult. It was not as simple as one plus one equals two. The fact that the Divine Fist had disyed One Hundred Stacks as an Explorer was rather perverted. When Lu Yin broke through to be an Explorer, his physical body would transform, but his strength would at most reach the level of Fifty Stacks, not One Hundred Stacks.

    It was no wonder why the Ten Arbiters had been able to raise the Youth Council to such heights and were universally known as freaks. The higher he climbed, the more he understood the strength and terror of the Ten Arbiters. They could not be viewed with the same lenses that one used to examine the rest of the younger generation.

    However, it was not the time to think about this. Lu Yin¡¯s current top priority was to strengthen his physical body.

    He had ten star essences left and could upgrade a strengthening fruit to the same level as thest one. But would that be enough? Lu Yin decided that it would not, but he really had no more money.

    ¡°Eh? Lu Yin, where are you going?¡± someone called out as Lulu appeared from nearby.

    When he saw Lulu, Lu Yin felt as if she were a huge cash bag running towards him. He had forgotten that there was someone here who was a second generation member of a wealthy family. This girl was from a family whose name was practically synonymous with money: the Mavis Bank. Such a beautiful power¡­

    When Lulu saw Lu Yin¡¯s greedy gaze, she unconsciously backed away and vigntly checked her surroundings. ¡°Lu Yin, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, but then he regained his senses and awkwardly coughed. ¡°Wait, wha-? Lulu, were you calling me?¡±

    Lulu looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression. ¡°I heard that Silver¡¯s gone.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°What happened? Did he die?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t your rtionship with him rather good?¡± Lulu felt that something was off.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Who ever said that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie! That sly snake only ever treated you differently and always put on that disgusting expression for everyone else. You two¡¯s rtionship must have been pretty good.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any rtionship with him. Don¡¯t talk crap.¡±

    He paused a moment and then coughed awkwardly. ¡°Uhh, Lulu, do you have money by any chance? I need to borrow some.¡±

    ¡°Damn, Seventh Bro, why do you keep borrowing money? That¡¯s a bad habit,¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked, so loud that it sounded as if he had discovered a new.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin angrily barked.

    In front of him, Lulu¡¯s brows jumped up in shock. ¡°Lu Yin, who are you telling to shut up?!¡±

    Lu Yin quickly apologized.

    Lulu sized him up and down, and then her lips curled up in a mischievous manner. ¡°You want to borrow some money?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°How much?¡± Lulu asked as she raised her head proudly. When it came to money, she was extremely confident as the Mavis family would never be afraid of that topic. As long as one could name a price, they would be able to pay it.

    Lu Yin quickly made some calctions. It required ten star essence to upgrade one strengthening fruit to the next stage. Another level would require about twenty star essence, so he raised three fingers.

    Lulu rolled her eyes and felt that this amount was beneath her. ¡°300,000 star crystals?¡±

    ¡°Ten times that.¡± Lu Yin was a little embarrassed, as it was probably a bit too much. No, it was definitely too much.

    Lulu was shocked. ¡°Three million star crystals? Do you even have the ability to pay that much back? Do you realize how much that is? You¡¯re just a student!¡±

 Chapter 334: Avoiding Danger

    <h4>Chapter 334: Avoiding Danger</h4>

    Lu Yin grew serious. ¡°I will definitely return it. In fact, I borrowed two million star energy crystals before and paid it back just now.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lulu looked at Lu Yin suspiciously. ¡°Come to think of it, you wouldn¡¯t just vanish like that Silver guy, would you? That would make you even more despicable than him, since at least he didn¡¯t borrow any money before taking off.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. ¡°I already told you¡ªI¡¯m not friends with Silver. Do you have money or not? You¡¯re probably broke.¡±

    ¡°Broke? What a joke, I¡¯m a Mavis! A Mavis!¡± Lulu exploded before mboyantly taking out a purple card. ¡°Go and spend to your heart¡¯s content.¡±

    Lu Yin retrieved it with delight. He had seen this kind of card before, and he knew that it only stored star essence. It looked like this woman was rich indeed.

    ¡°Thank you! How much is inside?¡± Lu Yin was ecstatic.

    Lulu smiled and proudly raised her head, ¡°Forty star essences.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°What are you thanking me for? This isn¡¯t a free loan.¡± Lulu then craftily looked at Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s interest on this loan.¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced. ¡°Right, you represent the Mavis Bank, and a bank must collect interest. How much?¡±

    Lulu¡¯s face turned serious. ¡°I want to inspect the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial pce.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly turned sharp. ¡°What?¡±

    Lulu activated her gadget and showed Lu Yin her screen. ¡°This is an official document detailing Undying Yushan¡¯s loan from the Mavis Bank. Because of this loan, he gained the ability to seize thirteen regions. Additionally, it clearly states he would repay the loan in installments. If he fails to repay it, then the lives of all Yushan descendants would be forfeited.¡±

    Lu Yin studied the document seriously. It was indeed valid proof.

    ¡°There¡¯re many risks associated with being a creditor, so we set the lives of the Yushan family¡¯s descendants as coteral. But now, the entire Yushan Family has been wiped out, and this loan has defaulted. So, the family elders have asked me to think of a way to resolve this matter since this loan is no small sum, either. Lu Yin, this is my mission.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You mentioned the initial conditions of your loan and that the Yushan Family would repay it. However, now that the Yushan family has vanished, the Mavis Bank¡¯s agreement has been broken. In other words, since the conditions have not been met, this defaulted loan is no longer valid.¡±

    Lulu was helpless. ¡°Yes, no one can force a dead person to repay their debts. Hence, my mission. Lu Yin, if you help meplete my mission, I can lend you even more money.¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced. ¡°The Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy is declining, and there¡¯s no spare money to repay you.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need money, and the mission doesn¡¯t require the repayment to be made with money. Of course, you won¡¯t be able to repay it in any case, so it¡¯s just for show.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°So you want to inspect the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial pce?¡±

    Lulu nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve checked all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yushan family¡¯s various assets, except for the pce. As long as we can verify that the Yushan family has nothing that can be used to repay us, that¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    Lu Yin sniggered internally since yet another organization hade forward to probe the Court of Seven Names. If Lulu had not mentioned it, then he would have forgotten about the fact that this Mavis girl had also appeared in the Great Yu Empire at the beginning, just like Silver and Xia Luo. The trio¡¯s motives could only have been to investigate the Seven Courts, just through different methods.

    Silver had used the violence of the Neohuman Alliance, and the Yushan family¡¯s deaths were most likely rted to them.

    Lu Yin did not know what Xia Luo had done, and he did not even know which power was behind Xia Luo.

    The Mavis Bank was behind Lulu, and they had not attracted much attention.

    Three people and three methods, but they all shared themon goal of uncovering the Yushan family¡¯s secrets. It was a pity that he had already taken away the secret that they were all searching for: the Yu Void Transfer Secret Art. That should be what they were all hoping to find.

    ¡°Alright, check whatever you need to, but don¡¯t be too tant about things, or it will make me look bad,¡± Lu Yin straightforwardly replied, since the pce held no further secrets.

    Lulu was excited. ¡°Deal! I¡¯ll even lend you some more money. Fifty star essences for you, and if you return it early, I won¡¯t collect any interest.¡± And with that, she left happily.

    Lu Yin smiled subtly. The Mavis family would not find anything in the imperial pce, but shouldn¡¯t he hang on to them a while longer? If they became certain that the Great Yu Empire held no secrets, then they would withdraw, which would be a loss to his Great Yu Empire. They would only be useful if they stayed, but how could he hang onto them? That was the key question.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your abilities of borrowing money are almost on par with your battle prowess! Just a few fluffy sentences, and you were able to borrow so much money at no interest. Find someone else, borrow some more, and then you¡¯ll be rich!¡± The monkeyughed oddly.

    Lu Yin smiled as well.

    The Ghost Monkey was shocked. ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t smile. It¡¯s horrifying!¡±

    After that exmation, he was screened off by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin found a quiet ce and breathed in deeply. It had only been a few days since he rolled the die, but fortunately he had not rolled it four times. Otherwise, he would not be able to roll it now. Even so, rolling Enhance would be difficult, but he had no choice other than to try. There were only twelve days left, and this wedding could not be allowed to happen.

    He mulled things over for a moment and then tapped the die. He watched it spin before unexpectedly stopping at four pips: Timestop.

    He entered the frozen space, and Lu Yin became confident. Although it would be an arduous process, he could take his time now and rest for ten days before rolling his die again. With his current wealth, he could roll it many times, and he was bound to get three pips at some point.

    It was very painful to roll his die in the Time Stop Space, especially because he had to rest for ten days between each roll and because many of the rolls could not be effectively utilized in the space. It was an endlessly repetitive process of throwing money away that could easily cause one to go insane.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s determination to cultivate was firm.

    He did not know how much time passed, but soon enough, he had used up half of a star essence. He estimated that two or three months had gone by before the two light screens finally appeared. He had rolled three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh as his forehead beaded up with sweat. It was not from fatigue, but rather from suffering. It had been a painful process, but fortunately, he had endured through it.

    He took out a strengthening fruit and ced it onto the upper screen and immediately threw ten star essence onto it. The strengthening fruit released a pulsating sound that made Lu Yin feel like energy was circting throughout his meridians. The void distorted as the fruit instantly reached the previous one¡¯s quality. Lu Yin inhaled deeply and threw out another ten star essence. The distortion of the void grew even stronger and the pounding noise became even louder, as if someone¡¯s blood was actually circting. The fruit fell less than halfway through, where it started to vibrate in an odd manner.

    Lu Yin paid the vibration no attention; he only cared that the effect seemed to be improving further. He urgently threw out another ten star essence, which meant that he had now used thirty star essence upgrading this fruit.

    The degree of its trembling grew stronger, but it was not done yet.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He ran the numbers and then threw out four more star essence in a miserly manner.

    The strengthening fruit was now just a tiny bit away from fully reaching the bottom.

    Lu Yin threw another star essence onto the screens.

    The strengthening fruit finallynded with a pop as its radiance dwindled. Lu Yin felt that something was strange and moved to pick up the fruit, but then, it suddenly distorted the void and shifted to a nearby location, vibrating the entire time.

    Lu Yin was confused; what was going on?

    There were ripples that almost looked like flowing blood on the surface of the strengthening fruit, and it continuously twinkled. It seemed as if it was attempting to leave by piercing through the void. However, it was trapped in Lu Yin¡¯s Time Stop Space, and the fruit could not escape no matter what it did.

    This scenepletely stunned Lu Yin. Did this toy just gain sapience?

    He had no other option, and he immediately stopped blocking the Ghost Monkey¡¯s senses. The monkey sighed. ¡°Seventh Bro, can we just have a chat?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Look at that ything.¡± Lu Yin then pointed at the fruit with his left hand.

    The monkey casually looked over, but he almost bristled as soon as he saw the fruit. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned! A natural treasure that has developed a sense of self-preservation! Seventh Bro, where did you get this? You¡¯re lucky enough to even get this?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy to exin. How should I word it? The origin of all things in the universe-¡±

    ¡°Get to the point!¡±

    ¡°The point is that nts and animals share the same origin. If animals can cultivate, then too so can nts. You should know about this since you¡¯ve been attacked by some nts. However, most nts¡¯ attacks are instinctive. Some nts live for so long, and although they can¡¯t be sapient, they¡¯ve gone down another path¡ªthat of avoiding danger.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°There¡¯s no good exnation. These special nts have gained a certain understanding of the universe after surviving for so many ages and are able to avoid some dangers, which is different from those nts that attack instinctively. With the passage of enough time, these nts can even be intelligent¡­¡±

    Lu Yin felt like he was understanding less the more the monkey spoke. ¡°Just talk about this thing right in front of us!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s trying to escape! Can¡¯t you see? It doesn¡¯t want to be eaten by you!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked in frustration.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Escape? Are you saying that it¡¯s intelligent?¡±

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be intelligent yet. Given its behavior, it hasn¡¯t developed intelligence yet, though it¡¯s probably lived for at least over a hundred thousand years. Still, it can avoid danger, and it¡¯s really close to bing intelligent. Seventh Bro, where did you get this thing? Why do I keep seeing you obtaining items that are impossible for the average person to even see?¡±

    Lu Yin casually reached out, and the strengthening fruit tried to distort the void to escape yet again. But in this space, not to mention a fruit, even a Hunter would have to obey Lu Yin.

    He grabbed the strengthening fruit, but he did not know if he should eat it. He still remembered the agony that eating the previous one had caused him.

    ¡°Can this thing be eaten?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    In a low tone, the monkey replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Usually, only absolute powerhouses can obtain such a natural treasure. I¡¯ve never seen one before, but it should be possible. Anyway, eating it probably won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it some more; he still had fifteen star essences remaining, and there were two more strengthening fruits left. Thus, he should be able to barely make another one of this level even if he borrowed some more money. Things would be alright as long as he did not die from eating this fruit. He did not hesitate and swallowed it whole in one bite.

    An even more intense pain than before engulfed his entire body, and he felt like he was drowning in a flood of fire. The excruciating pain reminded Lu Yin of the Doomsday back on Earth and of the fiery suffering that he had experienced at Liu Shaoge¡¯s hands. But at this moment, the pain was even worse than that moment from his memories. His muscles swelled unnaturally, and his veins popped out. The blood in his arteries pumped so fast that his body released a shockwave that affected the void¡­

    With the previous strengthening fruit, Lu Yin had barely been able to endure the pain and participate in a battle. But this time, he could not even walk from the agony.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how do you feel? You won¡¯t die, right?¡± the monkey cried out anxiously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and when his sweat dripped down, it was sted into nothingness by the shockwaves before the drops could evennd. ¡°Can youe out?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡±

    ¡°Thene out.¡±

    The next instant, the monkey tattoo on Lu Yin¡¯s right arm warped, and a shadow rushed out before taking the form of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Ghost Monkey lord who had once attacked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth as he looked at the monkey. ¡°Attack me.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey felt strange. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Attack me, quickly!¡± Lu Yin ordered.

 Chapter 335: The Unfamiliar Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 335: The Unfamiliar Ten Arbiters</h4>

    The Ghost Monkey did not think any further into the situation and swatted at Lu Yin, causing him to fly a dozen meters backwards. Lu Yin let out a breath, as the area that the Monkey had hit lessened in terms of the pain¡¯s severity. It was effective, and Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Keep going.¡±

    The monkey was rendered speechless. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever received such a request, but I¡¯ll satisfy you.¡± He then lunged at Lu Yin, continuing to jabber on even while attacking. Lu Yin vaguely heard, ¡°For screening me!¡± ¡°For bullying Junior Jiu!¡± ¡°For not allowing me to reunite with Junior Jiu!¡± ¡°For¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pain was slightly ameliorated by each one of the monkey¡¯s frantic attacks, but it was not enough. The Ghost Monkey¡¯s attacks were much too weakpared to Yun¡¯s. ¡°Use more strength!¡±

    The monkey was furious. ¡°You¡¯re looking down on me!¡± He started using his battle techniques and attacking Lu Yin more seriously. As time passed, the monkey started feeling shocked and bbergasted, as Lu Yin waspletely unharmed, and all of his attacks werepletely ineffective. This human¡¯s physical defenses were too tough; no wonder he could fight against Tian Hou.

    Compared to their first encounter at the border warfront, Lu Yin¡¯s progress had since far outstripped the Ghost Monkey, to the point where he could not even imagine the difference separating them. Although Lu Yin could not yetpare to the Ten Arbiters when they were Limiteers, he could absolutely rival those on Skymender¡¯s List when they were Limiteers. For example, Yao Gu was definitely not as outstanding as Lu Yin when he was merely a Limiteer.

    Thump thump thump!

    Within the Time Stop Space, Lu Yin endured the monkey¡¯s beatings as his pain gradually dulled. The monkey¡¯s initial venting eventually turned into helplessness, and then deteriorated to sullenness after that. The Ghost Monkey felt an unspeakable agony tearing at it and wanted to stop beating Lu Yin, but it could not reject the human¡¯s orders. Lu Yin¡¯s order had forced the tamed astral beast to beat him. ¡°If you don¡¯t hit me, then I¡¯ll hit you!¡±

    This sentence ignited the monkey¡¯s fury once again, and it beat at Lu Yin for a few days until it waspletely exhausted.

    Lu Yinid down with a bang, breathing heavily. Although his body still hurt, it had reached roughly the same level as when he had consumed the previous strengthening fruit, which meant that he could at least walk now.

    He looked down at his two hands and kneaded them contemtively, feeling that he was much stronger now.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this should be enough now. I- I¡¯m too tired, and I can¡¯t hit you anymore.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and let the monkey reenter his arm. He then leisurely stretched his arms, releasing a shockwave that shook the surrounding space. Fifteen Stacks, Twenty, Twenty One, Twenty Two, all the way until he reached Twenty Five Stacks. The more stacks he oveid, the greater the burden that was ced on his body. The effect of using multiple stacks was the same as taking the monkey¡¯s beating. Thus, the internal pain wracking his body continued to reduce.

    Lu Yin grit his teeth and continued using more stacks until he reached Twenty Seven Stacks, which is when the void started distorting and splintering. The energy visibly spread out, making for quite the stunning sight. This was the effect of the strengthening fruit, which had pushed his physical limits to the point where he could now use Twenty Seven Stacks. He had notpletely absorbed the fruit, either, but once he did, he would definitely be able to withstand Thirty Stacks.

    Lu Yin was delighted, as the full force of Twenty Seven Stacks was much stronger than that of Twenty Stacks. He had improved by leaps and bounds in just a few days.

    The Ghost Monkey was very curious, and he asked, ¡°Seventh Bro, I want to ask¡ªwhere are we? This ce doesn¡¯t feel quite right.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°A training room within Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°A training room? Where?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± Lu Yin grew impatient.

    The monkey mumbled, ¡°Biting the hand that feeds you.¡±

    Lu Yin did not want the monkey to discover the secret of his Time Stop Space and thus blocked off his senses again, causing the monkey to be so angry that he was speechless.

    Lu Yin had two days left to spend in the Time Stop Space, so he warmed his body up. He then used some star essence to increase the gravity within the space. His previous limit after the Astral Combat Tournament had been 130 times the normal gravity, and he wanted to discover his current limit with his newly strengthened body.

    Just like the Oveying Stacks, it became more difficult to raise one¡¯s resistance to increased gravity the higher the gravity was. Lu Yin directly increased the gravity to 130 times, and his body slightly sank into the ground as he took a breath. It felt alright, so he continued to increase the gravity in small increments. Lu Yin only felt the pressure on his internal organs increase with each step. 135, 140, 145¡­ Finally, the gravity was increased to 170 times the normal amount. This level of gravity caused him to feel an ache that reduced his suffering from the strengthening fruit.

    Beads of sweat ran down his body in small rivulets, but Lu Yin did not move and continued to sit there, experiencing the doubled anguish from both the increased gravity and the strengthening fruit. Time slowly ticked by.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin opened his eyes and no longer saw the scenery of Time Stop Space. Instead, Astral-10¡¯s ruins appeared before him.

    He finally exited the space, and the agony from consuming the strengthening fruit had been significantly alleviated. He stretched his hand out, clenched his fist, and violentlyshed out at the air. Layers of ripples spread out before the void ruptured as a visible burst of energy pounded against nothingness and twenty seven loud booms roared out. Then, one final loud explosion rang out as the voidpletely shattered.

    Lu Yin smiled. Twenty-eight Stacks¡ªhe had improved quickly. Once the suffering from the strengthening fruitpletely faded, he would definitely be capable of unleashing Thirty Stacks.

    He looked forward to seeing how strong Thirty Stacks would be, as he believed that it would have been enough to surpass the limits of Tian Hou¡¯s defense and allow him to truly rival the strength of the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers.

    Furthermore, he had not even reached the peak of the Limiteer realm yet; there was still room for improvement.

    Perhaps he would actually surpass the Ten Arbiters¡¯ aplishments one day.

    Each and every record that the Ten Arbiters had left behind was extraordinary, such as the Divine Fist¡¯s Thirty Stacks. Lu Yin had to rely on his innate gift that was the die to catch up. Regr cultivators and astral beasts would not be able to ever reach such a standard on their own. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ records were great aplishments that stood unparalleled throughout the entire universe.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave Astral-10,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself as he pulled out his star chart. He was twelve weaves away from East San Dios, which would take less than ten days to travel there. There were eleven days left until Yan Feng and Jenny Auna¡¯s wedding, so there was still enough time.

    Without wasting any more time, Lu Yin boarded his personal spacecraft and left Astral-10, heading towards East San Dios.

    At this same moment, in East San Dios, decorations had been put up in the corner of the floating city in preparation for the wedding.

    In theory, Yan Feng¡¯s status did not qualify him to hold his wedding in the floating city, but Puyu had given special permission, which made Yan Feng extremely excited.

    Puyu smiled as he watched the decorations go up. He hoped that Lu Yin would arrive in time and act impulsively. Then, he would have an excuse to restrict that person¡¯s development in the Outerverse Youth Council as well as provide an exnation to the Daynight n.

    When he remembered his conversation with that Daynight lord, he grew incredibly excited.

    Because of Bazeer, Puyu was already at enmity with Lu Yin. He had been able to ignore it in the beginning, but as that person continued to develop and his position climbed higher, it soon became no longer as easy to deal with him. In fact, Puyu could have wiped him out, but that person was too shrewd and had used his identity as a Lockbreaker to uncover the fact that Puyu had been behind Bazeer.

    When Bazeer contacted the Lockbreaker Seventh Bro, Puyu had approved of his efforts to build a rtionship with the Lockbreaker and had even allowed Bazeer to reveal his existence. But when Lu Yin¡¯s identity as a Lockbreaker was revealed, Puyu no longer dared look down on him and specifically looked into it to verify that he was indeed Lockbreaker Seventh Bro. With that, Puyu knew that his identity had been exposed. The enmity he had with Lu Yin could not be resolved, and if that was the case, then he might as well do his best to suppress that person.

    The Daynight n had contacted not only Yan Feng, but also Puyu. Yan Feng was just a pawn used to humiliate Lu Yin while Puyu was Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s trump card against Lu Yin.

    ¡°Lord,¡± Bazeer greeted as he appeared behind Puyu with a bowed head, appearing terrified.

    Puyu indifferently asked, ¡°How are the arrangements?¡±

    ¡°Not bad. We¡¯re just waiting for Jenny Auna to arrive.¡±

    Puyu grunted. ¡°And Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°From what I¡¯ve discovered, he¡¯s left Astral-10 and is on the way.¡±

    Puyu gleefully smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be great that he¡¯sing. I was more worried that he might not show up.¡±

    ¡°Lord, does Yan Feng deserve our help? Even if you have to deal with Lu Yin, there¡¯s no need to go to this length. Although he possesses many titles, none of them are that important. As long as we don¡¯t leave any evidence-¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡± Puyu¡¯s eyes turned cold. He casually waved his hand, and Bazeer, with his 30,000 power level, wasunched backwards beforending heavily on the ground. He spat out some blood, but he did not dare to resist. Instead, he only knelt in trepidation. ¡°Lord, please spare me.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s voice was icy as he stared at Bazeer. ¡°If you did not initially humiliate him of your own initiative, things wouldn¡¯t be this troublesome today.¡±

    Bazeer¡¯s face paled. ¡°My apologies, lord.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s eyes narrowed and he snorted. ¡°Do you think that a puny Lu Yin can be a thorn in my side? He merely represents the displeasure of the Ten Arbiters towards the fact that East San Dios¡¯ authority lies within my hands. This person has been sent by the Ten Arbiters, and only Yan Feng can get us out of this current predicament.¡±

    ¡°Lord, I only feel that, since Yan Feng dared to lust after Wendy Yushan, he doesn¡¯t deserve your help.¡±

    Puyu sneered. ¡°Does he actually think that he can match up to her? He can¡¯t evenpare to Wendy Yushan¡¯s pinky finger.¡±

    He continued, saying, ¡°Pay attention to him for me. Firesmelt wields no small amount of influence within the Frostwave Weave, and we must use them to track Wendy down.¡±

    ¡°Yes, lord,¡± Bazeer respectfully replied.

    The darkness of space was infinitely lonely. Only the various stars would emit a beautiful radiance and light up the darkness.

    Lu Yin sat inside of his personal spacecraft and raised his hand, causing nine stars to revolve around him.

    Currently, his most powerful technique had be the Shockwave Palm supplemented by the Oveying Stacks Path; the Cosmic Art had be something of a supplement. Even if this supplementary power did not be outdated, he still hoped for the power of his Cosmic Art could increase.

    But he had no hope of ever achieving this.

    Not too long ago, he had thought that the gxy formed by the nine stars could have more stars infinitely added into it, but he had been too naive. The ninth star had been forcibly deduced by Astral-10¡¯s crazy headmaster, and it was not the true Cosmic Art. As such, its power output was severely limited.

    The Cosmic Palm, the Cosmic Art, the Cosmic Sect. Lu Yin gazed at the skies. In an infinitely remote region of the universe, there existed a super powerful sect called the Cosmic Sect, which had the true technique. He did not know if he would ever be able to learn the remaining portions of the Cosmic Art.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget let out an alert, and he immediately activated it. He was shocked to find that he had received not a normal message, but rather one through the Ten Arbiters Councilwork. Lu Yin was still unfamiliar with the interface since he had just joined the Council of Astral Academy and not been qualified to enter as a member. Despite thework being extremelyrge, his ess was restricted so that he saw almost nothing besides information regarding the Northline Flowzone.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ profiles normally consisted of ten empty pages, but now, one of the pages was gently beeping. One of the Ten Arbiters was trying to contact Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could only recognize one of the Ten Arbiters, the schr Wen Sansi. It should be him who was contacting Lu Yin right now.

    ¡°Greetings.¡± Lu Yin connected to the call.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lan Si,¡± a firm voice replied, causing Lu Yin¡¯s pupils to shrink. This was an unfamiliar name, from one of the unknown Ten Arbiters.

 Chapter 336: Long-Term Considerations

    <h4>Chapter 336: Long-Term Considerations</h4>

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    ¡°You probably haven¡¯t heard of my name before, but perhaps you know my title. Many refer to me as the Divine Fist,¡± Lan Si replied in a calm tone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, it sounds like you¡¯ve heard of me before.¡± Lan Si smiled.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he never expected that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Hand of God would actually reach out to contact him. This was a lofty Ten Arbiter! He was one of the most famous authorities overseeing the younger generation, and represented the peak power that the younger generation had inherited.

    ¡°So, are you surprised that I contacted you?¡± Lan Si asked.

    Lu Yin suppressed his astonishment and answered, ¡°Yes, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ reputation precedes themselves, and very few are qualified to even speak to you. I never thought that I would receive this honor.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re quite qualified,¡± Lan Si said solemnly. ¡°I witnessed the Tournament of the Strongest myself, and your progress in the path of Oveying Stacks isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°Not as good as your record though.¡±

    ¡°Do you want topete with me?¡± Lan Si¡¯s tone was calm, but there was a barely discernible trace of amusement.

    Lu Yin breathed out. ¡°I would like to try, though I don¡¯t know if I can reach Thirty Stacks before breaking through to the Explorer realm.¡±

    ¡°You should be able to with your ability. Do you know why I contacted you?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Because both of us are of the same kind.¡± Lan Si¡¯s voice had turned serious.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°The same kind?¡±

    ¡°There is no end to the path of Oveying Stacks. Thirty Stacks as a Limiteer and One Hundred Stacks as an Explorer, but what¡¯s next? A thousand? Ten thousand? There is no limit, but few walk this path. You and I are just some of the more well-known figures on this road, so we¡¯re naturally of the same kind.¡±

    Lu Yin probed. ¡°How many can you use?¡±

    Lan Si smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you. You can just guess yourself. But one thing I will say is that no one has ever broken my record.¡±

    Just this simple sentence demonstrated Lan Si¡¯s all-epassing confidence. His spirit reminded Lu Yin of the Sandmaster¡¯s words when he had first told Lu Yin about the Divine Fist¡ªthe Ten Arbiters possess the boldest spirit. They all had their own unique ambition and charisma. Even their personal auras were enough to put an indescribable pressure on others without battle force. This was one of the Ten Arbiters.

    With just this one sentence, Lu Yin had gotten a glimpse of Lan Si¡¯s spirit.

    But so what? Even if this person¡¯s spirit was stronger, Lu Yin had almost reached Lan Si¡¯s Limiteer record from when he had been a student of the Astral Combat Academy: Thirty Stacks. The current him could already use it; it was just that no one else was aware of this fact. And Lu Yin had not even reached the peak of the Limiteer realm yet. There was still room for him to improve further, and with the money that he could borrow and earn, his physical body would be strengthened once again. Lu Yin would definitely surpass Lan Si and go on to break each and every one of his records. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know if the Divine Fist would be as confident when that happened.

    ¡°I just wanted to contact you and say hello. Lu Yin, quickly break through and be an Explorer¡ªyou¡¯ll be able to challenge the Top Hundred Battle Rankings at that time. With your ability, you should even be able to climb within reach of the top twenty!¡± Lan Si eximed.

    Lu Yin was moved. ¡°Arbiter Lan, there¡¯s something that I wish to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°When you achieved Thirty Stacks back then, did you challenge anyone on the Top Hundred Battle Rankings?¡±

    Lan Si fell silent for a moment. ¡°At that time, I defeated someone at the very end of the list.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this feat was not as simple as crossing realms. The Top Hundred Battle Rankings represented the younger generation¡¯s absolute top one hundred elites. Any one of them could battle across realms, but Lan Si had defeated someone from the Top Hundred, which was essentially the same as defeating someone who was as powerful as a Cruiser, as a Limiteer. This was the strength of the Ten Arbiters, and it should also be Lu Yin¡¯s current strength.

    After the call with Lan Si, Lu Yin became even more eager to arrive at East San Dios.

    Puyu, Yan Feng, and the others were all definitely aware of Lu Yin¡¯s whereabouts, but their understanding of him was only based on the strength that he had disyed at the Tournament of the Strongest. Over the past few days, his strength had significantly improved again, and he would give them a huge surprise when he arrived.

    Lu Yin muttered as he looked at his gadget and then contacted Huo Qingshan.

    ¡°Your Highness, congrattions on winning the Tournament of the Strongest,¡± Huo Qingshan praised.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thank you. Uncle Huo, there¡¯s something that I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°What orders do you have, Your Highness?¡± Huo Qingshan turned serious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Help me gather proof of Bazeer¡¯s negligence in his duties.¡±

    ¡°Bazeer?¡± Huo Qingshan was stunned.

    ¡°Bazeer is a subsidiary member who represents Wendy Yushan in overseeing the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. He should have fulfilled his obligations as a subsidiary member, but did he? Or rather, how much did he do? Did he persecute anyone? Was there any injustice? I need detailed evidence of any misdeeds.¡±

    Huo Qingshan solemnly replied, ¡°I understand, Your Highness. Rest assured, I¡¯ll gather all the necessary information within seven days.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted and ended the call with Huo Qingshan. He then paused for a moment before contacting Xueshan Auna.

    On the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star, within the main office of the Auna family, Xueshan Auna saw Lu Yin¡¯s call request. He was stunned, but hurriedly epted it.

    Not long after, Xueshan Auna set down his gadget, now with a conflicted look.

    ¡°Brother, the Seventh Fment has been pacified,¡± Rocky Auna said as he entered the office.

    Xueshan Auna gave off a gloomy aura and had an ugly expression.

    Rocky Auna felt that something was strange. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Xueshan Auna rubbed his temples. ¡°I just spoke to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Rocky Auna¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What did he say?¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°He¡¯s heading to East San Dios, and he wants me to write a certificate of authentication.¡±

    ¡°A certificate?¡± Rocky Auna felt lost.

    Xueshan Auna looked up, his eyes now cold. ¡°A certificate that says that Jenny was forcibly taken away by the Firesmelt and that our Auna family does not agree to their wedding.¡±

    Rocky Auna pondered for a moment and then replied, ¡°Brother, that¡¯s not very surprising.¡±

    ¡°I know that it¡¯s no surprise, but I never thought he would move so quickly. When the Royal Regent was still at Zenyu Star, I had already dered my stance and even removed Jenny¡¯s name from the family register. But banishing Jenny is one matter, and publicly rejecting her marriage is another. There¡¯s also the shadow of the Daynight n lurking behind all this, and this matter might even implicate the Outerverse Youth Council. It¡¯s be veryplicated.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be so troubling if the Royal Regent had just agreed to you removing Jenny¡¯s name at that time.¡±

    Xueshan Auna was in agony. ¡°I underestimated him! I thought that he disagreed with the banishment simply because he cared for us, but I never expected him to actually be waiting for this moment. He must have known long ago that Yan Feng would marry Jenny Auna and that banishing Jenny would not change him being humiliated by Yan Feng. Thus, he stopped us from banishing her, and now, he intends to use the Auna family to stop this wedding with a reasonable excuse. Since it¡¯s justified, no one can stop him either. This kid is tooplex with his schemes.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s forcing our Auna family¡¯s stance.¡±

    Xueshan Auna smiled grimly. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s forcing our hand and using his reputation as the Tournament of the Strongest¡¯s champion to intimidate us. He really wants my old body to be his errand boy and break through the enemy lines to deal with the Firesmelt. He has made his ns countless moves ahead.¡±

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Rocky Auna asked.

    Xueshan Auna pondered for a moment and then took a deep breath. On one side was the Firesmelt and Yan Feng who could be a member of the Outerverse Youth Council and had the support of the Daynight n. On the other side was Lu Yin, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent who had multiple statuses, as well as his limitless potential for the future. He weighed his options and then his gaze grew firm. ¡°Since he wants it, then we¡¯ll give it. Let¡¯s see what he can do about this wedding.¡±

    ¡°In this way, there¡¯ll be animosity with the Firesmelt and we¡¯ll even offend the Daynight n.¡± Rocky Auna was worried.

    Xueshan Auna was helpless. ¡°This is the tragedy of a small family. Even though we have a Hunter, we still must fear a Limiteer.¡±

    Not much timeter, while flying through space, Lu Yin received the certificate from Xueshan Auna. His lips rose up; everything was going ording to n.

    Xueshan Auna had tried to banish Jenny Auna to make up for his own deficiency, but that would be far too light. Others could ignore whether or not Jenny Auna was banished, and they would only see Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e being taken by someone else. To Lu Yin, this matter had stained his reputation and could prevent him from standing tall in many areas in the future, so how could he possibly let Xueshan Auna off so easily?

    And now, with the certificate, Lu Yin would be justified in whatever action he took, but what would actually do was entirely up to Lu Yin himself.

    Jenny Auna. This woman had to pay the price. Although Lu Yin did not n to marry her himself, before his name was cleared, this woman could forget about marrying anyone else. Even if Lu Yin agreed to such a thing, the Auna family would not consent. This, she was destined to be lonely in this life.

    A few more days passed, and the area in East San Dios that Wendy Yushan had once controlledpletely changed, with countless congrattory gifts piled up in the courtyard. East San Dios was propped up by clouds and covered an entire maind below it. Past the mist were five arched doors, each representing one of the five council members.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s area was temporarily being controlled by Bazeer.

    Jenny Auna had now arrived at East San Dios under the protection of the Firesmelt¡¯s experts.

    When she looked back, she never thought that she would one day stand at such heights. This ce was a symbol of authority, a ce where many in the Outerverse dreamed to set foot in, and she had actually arrived here to marry the man of her dreams. At this moment, Jenny Auna felt like the luckiest woman alive, and thest thing in her mind was whatever Auna family or whatever Lu Yin to the back of her mind.

    A bit further away, Bazeer stood beside Yan Feng. They were both geniuses in the Explorer realm; Bazeer was an elite from the Helm Weave while Yan Feng was from the Frostwave Weave. If their current standings were ignored, then their positions in their respective weaves were actually rather simr and they would have inmon they could talk about.

    ¡°Once the wedding is over, Brother Yan will receive the full support of the Daynight n, and it¡¯s very likely that you¡¯ll be an Outerverse Youth Council member. Please ept my congrattions in advance.¡± Bazeer smiled courteously. There was no trace of him having ever ndered Yan Feng to Puyu nor the arrogance that he had disyed in the Great Yu Empire.

    Yan Feng smiled. ¡°Much thanks, though I will still require Brother Bazeer¡¯s support at that time.¡±

    ¡°Haha, of course, of course.¡± Bazeerughed, but a trace of satire shed across his face. This person was a genius and also shrewd, but Yan Feng¡¯s vision was still too narrow. He waspletely unaware of the current situation¡¯s full details. He was just a pawn for the higher-ups to use in their game and had been specially selected by someone to deal with Lu Yin. Once Lu Yin was disposed of, the next would be Yan Feng. However, this person even wanted to fight with Member Puyu over East San Dios! Dream on...

 Chapter 337: Encountering Zhuo Daynight Once Again

    <h4>Chapter 337: Encountering Zhuo Daynight Once Again</h4>

    Ding!

    Bazeer and Yan Feng both looked at their gadgets and smiled at the same time. ¡°That woman seems determined to help Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no matter. As long as Arbiter Wen doesn¡¯t intervene, that woman has no chance of changing the current situation.¡±

    Bazeer cautiously replied, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate that woman, She¡¯s ranked 53rd in the Top Hundred Rankings, so ourbined strength still might not be enough to deal with her.¡±

    Yan Feng had an ugly expression, as it was hard for him to concede to any woman, including Wendy Yushan. He longed to marry her, but reality had proven to be far from his dreams. Regardless of whether he admitted it or not, Wendy Yushan and Mira were both far stronger than him. ¡°In San Dios, it¡¯s not only about one¡¯s power, but also one¡¯s methods. That Lu Yin will definitely disrupt the wedding, and we¡¯ll personally act at that time and have him experience extreme humiliation. We¡¯ll see what face he has left then.¡± He then turned around and left.

    Bazeer smiled gleefully, as this was precisely the oue he wanted to see. If Lu Yin disrupted someone else¡¯s wedding, then he would be beaten harshly regardless of his status. Hopefully, he would actually be beaten to death, and of course, Bazeer would help a little as well. Lu Yin was just a Limiteer, so he should not be able to withstand thebined force of Bazeer and Yan Feng.

    Flying through the universe was an easy way to run into mishaps. Several days into Lu Yin¡¯s journey, the predetermined route was forced to change, as something seemed to have happened farther along the old route. Due to this, his arrival date at San Dios was pushed back by a day.

    Lu Yin frowned as he looked at the new route. One day was still fine, as that would mean that he would arrive one day before the wedding. However, he was now afraid that, if the route was changed again, he would be dyed until after the wedding. He did not want to beughed at for the rest of his life.

    At that moment, an rm sounded within his personal spacecraft. The surrounding space had been sealed. Lu Yin had encountered such circumstances before. There must either be a battle up ahead, or he had run into some interster pirates.

    When he thought of pirates, Lu Yin grew excited. Robbing pirates was a great opportunity to make some money, and he was suffering from a dreadfulck of cash at present, and he even had a massive pile of debt to pay off.

    But now was not the time, as he could not dy his journey any further.

    However, it seemed that the more one did not want to be dyed, the more likely it was for one to be dyed. The spacecraft he was traveling in was not from Astral-10, so there was no emblem upon it. This had led to the spacecraft quickly being blocked.

    When he saw the massive spacecraft in front of him, Lu Yin felt a headacheing on. With his previous experience in plundering pirates, it was very likely for this grade of spacecraft to carry a space-exploring powerhouse.

    ¡°We are the Remote Green Pirate Crew. Immediately dock your spacecraft. Do not resist, or you will be killed instantly,¡± an alert sounded.

    Lu Yin could only helplessly obey the other party. In outer space, unless one was an Explorer, it was impossible to use their full power no matter how strong they were.

    He was readily epted into therge spacecraft. When Lu Yin opened the hatch of his personal spacecraft, a group of pirates were cautiously watching him, with three Limiteers among them. This pirate crew was not weak at all.

    When they saw Lu Yin, one of the Limiteers who was holding a longsword frowned. This person seemed to be somewhat familiar!

    ¡°Kid, open your cosmic ring and take everything inside out. As long as you don¡¯t try to hide anything, we won¡¯t kill you,¡± one of the Limiteers loudly warned.

    Lu Yin looked around, and a formless ripple spread out. He raised an arm and then activated his gadget. He saw a rather eye-dazzling power level pop up: 23,000. This was the power level of an Explorer.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Not bad, you actually have an Explorer with a power level over 20,000.¡±

    ¡°Damn it, can¡¯t you hear me talking to you?¡± The Limiteer who had just threatened Lu Yin was irritated, and he immediately raised his hand to p Lu Yin.

    At the same time, the sword-wielding Limiteer¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Stop!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light, and even though he didn¡¯t seem to do anything, the Limiteer who had attempted to attack him suddenly had his arm snap clean off. Fresh blood spurted out and sttered in all directions, even sshing onto the faces of many of the surrounding pirates. After a moment, the Limiteer howled in anguish.

    All of the pirates were about to attack Lu Yin when the sword-wielding Limiteer hurriedly stopped them. ¡°Wait! He¡¯s a student from the Astral Combat Academy! That¡¯s Lu Yin!¡±

    The pirates were all dazed by this news.

    One of the other Limiteer¡¯s eyes shrank. ¡°Lu Yin? The guy who ced top four in the Astral Combat Tournament? That Lu Yin?¡±

    Everyone remembered the name as soon as the Limiteer said this.

    The Astral Combat Tournament had been broadcast to the entire Human Domain, and countless people had seen Lu Yin. These pirates often paid special attention to such events so that they would not try to rob someone whom they could not afford to offend. Lu Yin was definitely one of the worst people they could provoke.

    All of them stared at Lu Yin, dumbfounded. Sure enough, he looked the same as he had on the broadcast.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget; someone with over 20,000 power level would not be easy for him to deal with. After all, they were in outer space, so any Explorer could easily escape into the void, making it difficult for anyone below their realm to fight against them. Forget it, I don¡¯t have any spare time to dy.

    ¡°Can I leave now?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    The sword-wielding Limiteer hurriedly nodded and forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Yes, yes! Student Lu can leave now! Sorry to bother you.¡±

    Lu Yin was in a bad mood. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was extremely short on time, he definitely would not have let these pirates off. A pirate crew with an Explorer must be quite wealthy, so it was a pity.

    The moment Lu Yin exposed his identity, the amputated Limiteer did not dare to utter a single noise, as he could not afford to offend this person. Even if Lu Yin killed the Limiteer on the spot, the pirate knew that his captain would not stand up for him. The threat of the Astral Combat Academy was far too great; a mere pirate crew like them could not provoke such a monstrous organization.

    Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft and then quickly reappeared in outer space. He was just about to leave when he nced sideways and saw that the pirate crew had sealed in the area adjacent to him as well. In there, there were quite a few other spacecraft that were also trapped. However, he did not bother with them. After all, he was neither a good samaritan nor someone who stood for justice. Since these people were willing to risk traveling through space, they naturally had to take on the appropriate risks. These were the cruelws of survival that ruled the universe.

    Eh? Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled when he saw a familiar spacecraft; wasn¡¯t that his own radiant-grade Aurora?

    Lu Yin immediately went forward and stared hard ahead. Sure enough, it was actually his old spacecraft. Although Astral-10¡¯s emblem had been wiped away, there was still a tiny trace of it left behind. That was his spacecraft!

    It had been his reward forpleting the Sentinel¡¯s paramount mission. And after being upgraded by Madam Nn, it had be a radiant-grade spacecraft, which was very valuable. It had been lost at the pirate port, so what was it doing here?

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora was being taken into the pirates¡¯ spacecraft.

    Lu Yin immediately turned his spacecraft around and reentered the pirates¡¯ vessel alongside the Aurora.

    At the highest level of therge spacecraft, within the luxurious captain¡¯s quarters, the Remote Green Pirate Crew¡¯s captain frowned. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is Lu Yining back in?¡±

    The sword-wielding Limiteer stood behind the captain. ¡°Captain, could it be because we didn¡¯t give him any supplies?¡±

    The Explorer captain was rather disgruntled. ¡°Go and wee him again, but be more polite this time. Try to get rid of him quickly.¡±

    ¡°What if he wants to rescue the others?¡± The Limiteer became nervous. They had robbed a great many other people, so it would be unlucky if they ran into a righteous powerhouse here. Those cultivators were the kind that disgusted the pirates the most.

    The captain squinted. ¡°If he tries to forcibly intervene, then just let them go.¡±

    The Limiteer was puzzled. ¡°Captain, he¡¯s a student from the Astral Combat Academy, so while we can¡¯t touch him, we shouldn¡¯t have to amodate him.¡±

    ¡°When I tell you to go, you should go!¡± the Explorer barked, startling the Limiteer who then scurried off.

    If possible, the Explorer would rather not release these cash cows, but he had no other choice. The others might not be able to understand it, but the captain was absolutely certain that he was no match for Lu Yin. The youth was just a Limiteer, but with the battle power that he had disyed during the Astral Combat Tournament, he would have no problem beating the captain. This was the terror of a true genius.

    Crack!

    When the various spacecraft touched down within the pirate spacecraft¡¯s docking bay, Lu Yin did not get down. Instead, he simply watched on from the side. He wanted to know who had stolen his Aurora.

    The surrounding pirates did not dare be too reckless due to Lu Yin¡¯s presence and only surrounded the captives as they watched the other spacecraft be brought in.

    There were two vessels that belonged to interster mercenaries, and their power levels were not weak either, as they were Limiteers. However, they did not dare to resist the Green Remote Pirate Crew, so they obediently opened their cosmic rings with practiced motions.

    Then, the hatch of Lu Yin¡¯s stolen Aurora opened, which was the most eye-grabbing vessel present since it was a radiant-grade one. Even the Explorer captain stared at his screen intently, as he wanted to see who was in that spacecraft.

    A pure-white hand came out, followed by a red sword.

    Lu Yin instantly knew who it was. That red longsword definitely belonged to Zhuo Daynight.

    True enough, long, ck-and-white hair flew about as Zhuo Daynight¡¯s pure and gentle face emerged. She had that same apathetic expression that was touched by a trace of worry and indifference. As she looked at the surrounding pirates, her coldness turned into cruelty.

    Lu Yin pped his hand to his forehead. She was here yet again; this woman really hated pirates.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s a Daynight woman!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin could not be bothered with the monkey.

    In the captain¡¯s quarters, the Explorer captain¡¯s pupils shrank when he saw Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Not cool! It¡¯s the Daynight n!¡±

    A loud cry resounded through the spaceship. The surrounding pirates were not even able to react when Zhuo Daynight moved. Her sword cut through the necks of a dozen pirates, and their heads fell off. ¡°Green Remote Pirate Crew, you¡¯ve killed 579 people since you started operating. It¡¯s time to die!¡± Her red de danced about, overwhelming the pirates.

    A continuous stream of pirates charged into the docking bay, including multiple Limiteers, but they were all powerless before Zhuo Daynight. She was currently much strongerpared to when she had first battled against Lu Yin, or perhaps it was just that she had fullyprehended her domain. Within her domain, even a normal Explorer might not be able to beat her, let alone a Limiteer.

    The other few who were being robbed were all astonished at what they were witnessing and hid in their spacecraft.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, thatdy¡¯s pretty impressive!¡± The monkey was shocked.

    Soon, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s figure vanished, as she had charged deeper into the pirates¡¯ spacecraft.

    Lu Yin opened his spacecraft¡¯s hatch and silently followed her.

    At the highest level of the pirates¡¯ spacecraft, the Explorer captain¡¯s face sank, and he used a palm to tear through the void and appear in front of Zhuo Daynight.

    Her cold eyes fixed on him, and she raised her red sword.

    ¡°Daynight expert, my pirate crew has not offended you. Why have you attacked us?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight remained indifferent, but a streak of red could be seen within her pupils. ¡°All pirates deserve to die.¡±

    Then, she shed out at the captain.

 Chapter 338: Response

    <h4>Chapter 338: Response</h4>

    ¡°Lunatic!¡± the Explorer captain shouted. He then shed out with his own de. Bang! The two des collided, and a sharp shockwave swept across the area. A crack appeared in the void, causing the floor to split apart. Zhuo Daynight and the Explorer were both blown backwards at the same time.

    The Explorer grit his teeth and then raised his de again.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s gaze turned cold as her sword qi surged, causing countless sharp sounds to echo throughout the spacecraft.

    A Limiteer who crossed realms to challenge an Explorer could not be considered to be a normal Realmbreaker. Unlike a Sentinel challenging a Melder or a Melder challenging a Limiteer, there was a qualitative difference between a Limiteer and an Explorer. Once one became an Explorer, they would be able to tear the void with every attack because the cycle of their star energy was fundamentally different from a Limiteer¡¯s.

    If Zhuo Daynight had not improved from before, then even with her initial-stage domain and White Phantomsword battle technique, she would definitely lose out to an Explorer whose power level was over 20,000. But now, she hadpletelyprehended her domain. Even if she couldn¡¯t defeat an Explorer like this pirate captain, she could still hold her own against him for some time. If the battle was dragged out for lonce enough, since the Daynight n¡¯s battle technique could damage spiritual force, her possibility of winning would no longer be zero.

    However, she had not encountered a normal Explorer.

    A pirate plundered many things, and that included battle techniques. This pirate crew had operated for a rather long time, and the captain had received many items as the leader of the crew, especially sword techniques. By slowly amassing and integrating them over a period of a hundred years, he had developed a unique technique that suited himself best. The technique was sharp, ferocious, and crafty as well. A short whileter, Zhuo Daynight found it hard to defend herself.

    There was a white sh as the pirate captain¡¯s de overpowered her red sword. The de¡¯s edge streaked past and forced her sword into the wall.

    The captain stared coldly at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Leave immediately. Out of respect for the Daynight n, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight stared at the Explorer captain, unsatisfied.

    The captain was apprehensive, as it had not been easy to deal with Zhuo Daynight, and there had even been a strange sense of suppression from start to finish. It almost felt as if his attacks had beenpletely seen through. The Daynight n¡¯s sword techniques were also very powerful, and he had only won due to therge disparity between their power levels. In fact, if his power level had just been lower by 5,000 units, he might not have even been this woman¡¯s opponent. The elites from powerful ns were just too abnormal; he was an Explorer with a power level of over 20,000, but he was afraid of a Limiteer.

    Zhuo Daynight walked to the wall and grabbed her sword. She pulled it out and pointed it back towards the Explorer.

    He immediately grew furious upon seeing her actions. ¡°I may fear the Daynight n, but I won¡¯t lie down and die! Don¡¯t seek out that which is bad for you.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight continued to point her de towards the captain without moving. She was currently considering how she should proceed; the disparity between the two was simply too great. There were very few Limiteers in the entire Daynight n who were true Realmbreakers, and she was not yet one of them.

    ¡°You obviously can¡¯t beat him, but you still want to struggle. Do you want to end up severely injured again?¡± A third voice spoke out, and both Zhuo Daynight and the Explorer captain whirled around to see a beaming Lu Yin.

    Zhuo Daynight was shocked. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    The captain stared nkly at Lu Yin, as he had forgotten about this person. This person was the greatest threat to him and far surpassed the Daynight woman.

    ¡°Long time no see.¡± Lu Yin waved.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you know her? Hold on, she looks familiar... Wait, isn¡¯t she the chick that Nightqueen Yanqing used to threaten you?¡± The Ghost Monkey tried to dig into his memories.

    Zhuo Daynight stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I was passing by, and I saw something familiar.¡±

    She knew that he was referring to the Aurora. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t return it to you just yet.¡±

    ¡°Then buy it. How much are you willing to pay?¡± Lu Yin teased.

    Her expression turned sour; she was actually broke.

    That Explorer¡¯s face became even gloomier. From their interactions, he could tell that the two of them obviously knew each other. He saw that they wanted to continue chatting, so he decided to tear through the void in order to escape. To run away from Limiteers, especially Realmbreaking geniuses, the best way was to hide in outer space.

    Unfortunately for the captain, Lu Yin had been keeping an eye on him and would not let him escape so easily. The moment the Explorer tore through the void, Lu Yin took a step forward, and an intense vibration shattered countless metal tes on the pirates¡¯ spacecraft. The ripples that he produced travelled through the void and forcibly knocked the Explorer back onto the ship. He waspletely stunned. ¡°Student Lu, we have no animosity towards each other.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you need to die.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold. His body shed as he appeared right in front of the captain. He raised his hand and unleashed a Twenty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm. This had been his strongest attack during the Tournament of the Strongest, but right now, it was just a warm up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attack did not even fully emerge, but the void had already copsed as if it had caved in. This was a staggering scene, and the Explorer¡¯s face turned deathly pale. He could sense the terror of this palm, and he knew that he could only evade it since he did not dare to meet it head-on.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s palm could not be dodged that easily. Still, the Explorer captain managed to put his ring armor on at this crucial moment, and it was an Explorer-level armor at that. A defense that was equivalent to two Explorers stiffly resisted Lu Yin¡¯s palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm was imprinted into the Explorer¡¯s chest, and the ring armor instantly shattered. Then, a boundless force swept across the void that affected even the heavens as a tremendous gravitational pull came from outside the spacecraft and tried to drag everything out. The Explorer¡¯s eyes went grey; Lu Yin¡¯s palm had gone straight through his armor and crushed his heart.

    It was obvious that the average person could not resist Lu Yin¡¯s palm, but not even an Explorer at 20,000 power level could either. The power of the attack was too great.

    When Lu Yin first joined the Astral Combat Tournament, he had already been a Realmbreaker who could challenge Explorers. He had then forcibly fought against Zi Tie, who was an Explorer realm astral beast with a power level of around 40,000 at the border warfront. There was no need to even mention Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities now.

    To Lu Yin, this normal Explorer was not even as threatening as a Limiteer genius.

    The Explorer was killed in body and soul before the Twenty Stacks evenpleted their explosions, and his body was pulled into outer space.

    Everything had happened too fast; Lu Yin had only appeared and unleashed a single palm, but he had already killed that Explorer. This left Zhuo Daynightpletely amazed.

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Lu Yin cried, looking out of the spacecraft with an upset expression.

    Zhuo Daynight was roused. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I forgot to grab his cosmic ring! There must be quite a bit of money inside.¡±

    She was speechless.

    The Ghost Monkey could not help himself from interjecting. ¡°Seventh Bro, could you not mention money right now? Damn! You just rescued a girl, and a Daynight girl at that!¡±

    The battle with the Explorer had caused great damage to the pirate spacecraft, and it could only barely continue floating through space. As more time passed, the risk of it crashing before the damaged areas were repaired would increase. However, this did not concern Lu Yin, and he immediately left.

    ¡°Thank you for before.¡± Lu Yin turned around to speak to Zhuo Daynight.

    She looked out at the stars. ¡°It was because you saved me, so it should have been done.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I saved you because I injured you. Whatever, what¡¯s done is done. Now, what about my Aurora?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight threw a cosmic ring to him. ¡°This contains my entire fortune.¡±

    Lu Yin casually threw it back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight could not understand him. ¡°Don¡¯t you urgently need money?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I want others¡¯. I don¡¯t want yours,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s reply was firm.

    Zhuo Daynight fell silent.

    ¡°You can continue using my Aurora, since it¡¯s meant to be a mode of transportation after all. But I¡¯m curious about one thing¡ªwhy do you specifically seek out and kill pirates?¡±

    A chilliness shed into her eyes. ¡°Because pirates are the most repulsive scum in the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twisted. Although her answer was short, he saw a glimpse of the intense hatred in her heart.

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°But you can¡¯t overdo it. If I wasn¡¯t here this time, then were you intending on fighting it out with that pirate to the very end?¡±

    She looked at him, and her pure face revealed a hint of bewilderment. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m stupid?¡±

    Lu Yin paused, then replied, ¡°No, not stupid.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s that. I¡¯ll leave if I can¡¯t win. But I have my trump cards as well, and there¡¯s no harm in trying, since the pirates won¡¯t dare to kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°As long as you know.¡±

    She looked at him seriously. ¡°How did you find out the traces of the Third Nightking?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that she would ask him this, as very few outside the Daynight n would have even heard about the Third Nightking. Only some ancient existences would know about such matters. ¡°I¡¯ve already given Elder Yuanjing an answer to this question.¡±

    She had aplex gaze. ¡°You used that information to save me.¡±

    He nodded, and then noticed that her gaze was very strange. It was not joyful, but instead, seemed to be a little remorseful. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    She shook her head and turned away. ¡°You can go, but don¡¯t forget your promise from before.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. This woman had hidden her worries, but they did not concern him. She had willingly testified for him, which truly moved Lu Yin. In turn, he had done everything to repay her kindness, although it did not involve any romantic emotions. He didn¡¯t have the emotional capacity to worry about this woman¡¯s matters in addition to his own.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave now. You should as well, quickly.¡± After saying that, he left.

    After Lu Yin left, Zhuo Daynight looked up and closed her eyes in agony. ¡°I never thought that I, Zhuo Daynight, would be a sinner of the Dayking bloodline. I¡¯m sorry, Father, Mother.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what¡¯s the matter with that woman? She doesn¡¯t seem very happy that you rescued her.¡± The Ghost Monkey was seething.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone instantly turned cold. ¡°None of your business.¡±

    ¡°Woah, I¡¯m on your side! I realize that you always vent your anger at me, but I have my own dignity too.¡±

    Lu Yin could guess why Zhuo Daynight was unhappy, as the monkey had informed him that the Daynight n was split into the Dayking and Nightking bloodlines. The Dayking bloodline was controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique and were essentially ves to the Nightking bloodline. Now that he had revealed information on the whereabouts of the Third Nightking, the Dayking bloodline would never be able to escape from their predicament after the Third Nightking was freed. ming him was a very natural response.

    However, Lu Yin could not tell her the truth that it was impossible for the Third Nightking to escape, since he did not know if Nightking Yuanjing had messed with her body or not. Ever since he had learned of the truth about the Daynight n, Lu Yin had viewed the Nightking bloodline in an unfavorable light, and to some extent, he even detested them.

    He was not dyed that long by the pirates, and he continued on his path through the universe. There were only six days left until the wedding, but he would be able to rush to East San Dios within five days if his current route didn¡¯t change.

    But there were always infinitely many variables in the universe, and the route was changed yet again, pushing the arrival date back by yet another day.

    Lu Yin was a little flustered and could only hope that he would be on time.

 Chapter 339: Prairie Flame Continent

    <h4>Chapter 339: Prairie me Continent</h4>

    A few dayster, the floating city, San Dios, was flying high in the sky as usual when the void warped. Soon after, countless spatial cracks appeared. The fractures were followed by a series of colorful, strange lights. The lights were actually fireworks celebrating the day of the marriage; several powerhouses had shattered the void to create a firework-like disy of brilliant lights for Yan Feng and Jenny Auna.

    In the gigantic courtyard, Jenny Auna happily looked at her visage in the mirror while surrounded by manydies. Some of the women were from Firesmelt while others were servants serving at East San Dios. They had alle to help Jenny get ready.

    On this day, she looked exceptionally beautiful.

    It was the dream of many women to marry Yan Feng, and Jenny Auna constantly drew various looks of jealousy from other women. These looks only served to increase her joy since they were proof that she was marrying the right man, the most outstanding man.

    Although no one from the Auna n had shown up, and her n had not recognized the marriage, neither of those things bothered Jenny Auna at all. Jenny Auna sped a beautiful red ring to her chest¡ªthis ring was all that she needed, and Yan Feng would soon wear it for her. In just a few hours, she would be Yan Feng¡¯s wife, and after that, she would give Yan Feng everything, including her body.

    Outside the courtyard, Yan Feng stood there with a calm look on his face. He did not care about this marriage as the person he truly wished to wed was Wendy Yushan. s, that was nothing more than a wishful dream. However, as a constion prize, Jenny Auna was not a bad catch either. Even though he would not be able to secure the Auna n¡¯s loyalty through this marriage, he could at least gain some favor from the Daynight n, which was more than enough. As long as he became a Councilor, it would be possible for him toe into contact with the Ten Arbiters in the future. When that day came, he would truly be a truly influential figure in the universe.

    ¡°Congrattions, future Councilor Yan Feng.¡± An enticing figure moved towards him from not too far away. This woman had long, white hair that reached down to her ankles, and her feet were bare. Yan Feng watched as she floated down from the sky.

    Upon seeing Mira, Yan Feng¡¯s eyes were dazzled. He gave a faint smile and responded, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, Representative Mira. Thank you for your well wishes.¡±

    Mira shed a wide smile at Yan Feng as she looked at him. ¡°Have you thought about how you will care for your beautiful wife in the future?¡±

    Yan Feng smiled. ¡°Jenny is a good girl. Marrying her is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Of course I will take very good care of her.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes grew until they resembled two round moons; it was a very alluring sight. She continued, saying, ¡°Yes. Oh, before I forget, I heard a terrible rumor. Word has it that your new bride is someone else¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Yan Feng¡¯s expression immediately changed as the tone of his voice turned frosty. ¡°Representative Mira, you must have heard wrongly. Besides, in this day and age, any unmarrieddy is considered independent. The term ¡®fianc¨¦e¡¯ no longer exists.¡±

    Miraughed in spite of herself. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m sorry, future Councilor Yan Feng. I was just shooting my mouth off, so don¡¯t be angry.¡±

    Yan Feng forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I¡¯m not that easily angered. Representative Mira, please do not pay attention to the frivolous rumors of the underlings.¡±

    Mira smiled, nodded, and then turned around to leave.

    Yan Feng¡¯s face was downcast, and he let out a snort. He would harshly deal with this woman soon enough. However, he had to acknowledge that she was indeed very beautiful. It was a pity that they were walking down very different paths.

    ¡°What did Mira say?¡± someone suddenly asked from beside Yan Feng.

    Yan Feng had not sensed anyone behind him, and he quickly spun around. What greeted him was a familiar face, and he hurriedly bowed. ¡°Greetings, Councilor Puyu.¡±

    Puyu nodded, shed him a faint smile, and then continued, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no need for formalities today. This is the most important day of your life, so make sure to take it all in.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Councilor Puyu,¡± Yan Feng respectfully replied. His demeanor showed that he was truly afraid of Puyu.

    Bazeer was also standing next to Puyu, and he shed a smile to Yan Feng as well.

    ¡°What did Mira say?¡± Puyu asked again.

    Yan Feng repeated Mira¡¯s words. After he was done speaking, Bazeer let out a snort and said, ¡°Brother Yan, don¡¯t bother with her. I even stayed at Zenyu Star once, and I can confirm that there is no rtionship between Lu Yin and your fianc¨¦e. They are naught but rumors.¡±

    Yang Feng knew very well of the rtionship between Jenny Auna and Lu Yin. If not for that rtionship, Nightqueen Yanqing would not have used him. However, he could only keep what he knew to himself. Compared to Nightqueen Yanqing, this Puyu was the one with a truly sinister character. Yan Feng had told himself that he would make sure to restrict some of Puyu¡¯s power once he became a Councilor, and due to this self-promise, Yan Feng was always very cautious whenever he interacted with Puyu.

    In the sky, the void broke open once again as countless fissures spread out in all directions.

    To those on the maind, this looked like a miracle. However, to those within San Dios, this was merely the starting festivities for the marriage.

    Even though Yan Feng¡¯s status wasn¡¯t that high, his marriage had still attracted a lot of attention. Many important figures were attending the wedding ceremony, and apart from the people representing the various powerful ns of the Innerverse, there were also many powerful people from the Outerverse.

    However, these people had note for the wedding; they were here hoping to see someone specific appear.

    This was a detail that Jenny Auna did not understand. She truly believed from the bottom of her heart that everyone present hade to celebrate her union with Yan Feng. Only Yan Feng understood that all these people were actually waiting for Lu Yin. In fact, Yan Feng himself was waiting for Lu Yin as well. Even though the wedding was important, drawing Lu Yin out with the wedding and humiliating the Limiteer genius was even more important as that would garner Yan Feng the support of the Daynight n. If he aplished that, he would experience a meteoric rise in status.

    In a simple study, in a corner of San Dios, Wen Sansi quietly sipped some tea as he held an ancient book in a hand.

    Mira walked over and casually bowed. ¡°Arbiter Wen.¡±

    Wen Sansi set the book down and looked at Mira before asking, ¡°How are the wedding preparations proceeding?¡±

    ¡®Very well,¡± Mira answered.

    Wen San Si nodded and then resumed reading his book.

    Mira hesitated before asking, ¡°Arbiter Wen, does this have to be soplex? Regardless of whether it¡¯s Puyu or Yan Feng, you can easily crush either one of them.¡±

    Wen Sansi continued reading as he casually replied, ¡°We cannot be too harsh nor too mboyant in how we handle our affairs. I am neither Zhenwu nor Sierra; we schrs pride ourselves on our strength of character. I do not bully the weak, especially those who are so weak that they will never pose a threat to me.¡±

    ¡°But that is not the case. Puyu¡¯s influence has already started to affect you. The surrounding Weaves are obviously your domain, but despite that, the Daynight n still contacted Yan Feng. These are mortal crimes,¡± Mira argued.

    Wen Sansi let out a faint smile. ¡°They have merely bent some rules, and none of that is a mortal crime. I must say, however, that I am quite curious to see how Lu Yin will handle all this.¡± After saying so, Wen Sansi sized Mira up. ¡°What do you think? Will he choose to follow me?¡±

    Mira¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her head. ¡°I do not know.¡±

    Wen Sansiughed. ¡°You have a pretty good rtionship with him. If possible, you should try to rope him in. That kid has good talent and isparable to what we were like in the past.¡±

    Mira softly grunted in acknowledgment.

    Before long, many hours passed. ording to the customs of the Firesmelt, the wedding would take ce when a volcano erupted. Since there were no volcanoes on the maind, they had decided to use the most auspicious time in the evening, when the nines illuminated the maind with silver beams. This was also the time when San Dios was the most beautiful.

    Under the envious eyes of many young women, Jenny Auna made her way to Yan Feng while wearing a specially crafted, traditional Firesmelt wedding gown.

    Not far away from her, Yang Feng had a smile on his face. Under the watchful eyes of many, he simrly made his way towards Jenny Auna.

    At the same time, on Zenyu Star, the Huo and Auna ns were watching the proceedings. Yan Feng¡¯s wedding was being broadcast to the outside world, so many in the Outerverse were able to witness the on-goings as well.

    At that moment, in the sky above the maind, there was a fiery red sh as somethingnded heavily on the ground.

    Many figures took to the sky in an attempt to stop the approaching object. This maind belonged to San Dios, and trespassing upon itsnd was not permitted. All trespassers would be punished.

    With a loud thud, a huge crater appeared on the broken ground as dust and smoke billowed everywhere.

    A powerful Explorer and a dozen Limiteer cultivators stood around the crater and stared into it with murderous intent. They were curious to discover who would be so brazen as to trespass on the Prairie me Continent.

    Crunch!

    The hatch of the spacecraft burst open before Lu Yin stretched out a hand and shook his head. He rarely crashed his spacecraft straight into the ground, and he generally preferred to calmly dock at the space stations. However, he had no time to spare for a gentlending right now.

    Many figuresnded on the ground and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Who is so brazen as to trespass on the Prairie me Continent?¡±

    The Prairie me Continent was a vast maind within the domain of East San Dios. It was also known as the Aze Star. It was a gigantic whose surface area was far greater than Zenyu Star¡¯s.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings and raised his head to look at San Dios in the distance. It was high up, but fortunately, he had not strayed too far from his destination.

    Suddenly, a white light shed past his eyes. After Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer after being asked once, the powerful Explorer had attacked by throwing his spear straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his brows and lifted a hand to tightly grab the spear. The powerful Explorer was stunned and shocked to find himself unable to move. This new arrival¡¯s strength was beyond belief.

    ¡°Attacking before finding out what the situation is¡­ Is this the standard of San Dios?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly. He then grabbed the spear aside and casually broke it with Fifteen Stacks. He tossed the ruined pieces aside and struck down everyone surrounding him.

    One of the fragments embedded itself into the powerful Explorer¡¯s thigh. He knelt on the ground and looked at Lu Yin in fear. This man was definitely a monster who could crush any Limiteer. Wait a minute, why does he look so familiar?

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡± the powerful Explorer asked, astounded.

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°How is the wedding going?¡±

    ¡°It is taking ce right now,¡± the Explorer respectfully replied as he lowered his head. Lu Yin was someone who had been recognized by Arbiter Wen and given the authority to represent Wendy Yushan on the Outerverse Youth Council whereas this Explorer was just another Explorer. The disparity between their statuses was far too great. Naturally, the Explorer did not dare to offend Lu Yin.

    Another cold re shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Then, he took one step forward, tearing through the void and vanishing.

    The Explorer¡¯s pupils constricted; traveling through the void was the signature move of space-exploring powerhouses, and yet, Lu Yin had easily replicated the feat. So this was the power of the strongest individual of the Astral Combat Academy. He could not even imagine how powerful Lu Yin would be once he broke through to the Explorer realm, but he would definitely be a shoo-in for the Top Hundred battle rankings.

    High above, in San Dios, inside a beautifully decorated courtyard, Yan Feng was less than ten steps away from Jenny Auna. As he looked at Jenny Auna who was so close to him, Yan Feng could not stop his emotions from being stirred. Jenny Auna was very beautiful, and he had only been able to ignore this fact through his obsession over Wendy Yushan. Now that he was so close to the girl and looking at her face to face, Yan Feng discovered that he was starting to fall for her. This woman was truly breathtaking and had a distinct character to her. It must be some trait that was passed down within the Auna n. Furthermore, she also had an icy air surrounding her which appealed greatly to him.

    Yan Feng¡¯s heart started burning; this woman would belong to him tonight.

    Jenny Auna was so nervous that she found it difficult to breath. Years of longing had finally born fruit, and she was ten steps away from finally marrying the man of her dreams.

    Countless people stared intently at this scene, and even Wen Sansi ced his book down to look on with interest. As far as he was concerned, this was just an interesting situation to watch, especially because the main character was about to appear.

 Chapter 340: Tyranny

    <h4>Chapter 340: Tyranny</h4>

    San Dios had five arched entrances that were guarded by five powerhouses. Anyone who wanted to enter it had to pass through one of these arched doorways, as even space-exploring powerhouses were unable to enter the floating city by traveling through the void. This was because the guards were not from the Outerverse Youth Council, but rather, were experts employed by the Council. In other words, they were direct subordinate troops that were not necessarily part of the younger generation.

    San Dios represented the Outerverse Youth Council, but more importantly, the Ten Arbiters Council as well. Not just anyone could barge in, as that would cause the Council to lose face.

    Lu Yin tore through the void and was just about to charge inside San Dios when the guard stationed at the Wendy Yushan¡¯s arched entrance widened his eyes and raised a hand to shake the void. Lu Yin was forced out, and he cautiously stared downwards.

    ¡°Who are you, and how dare you trespass in San Dios?¡± a middle-aged male barked threateningly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart leaped as this person¡¯s power was very strong; he was at least at the Cruiser realm. Lu Yin did not want to dy any more, as Yan Feng and Jenny Auna were only a few steps apart.

    Lu Yin thought quickly, activated his gadget, and then showed the guard his screen. ¡°Look carefully. Am I qualified to enter?¡±

    The male looked at Lu Yin¡¯s information, and took special note of the two Honor Points beside his name. The powerhouse¡¯s gaze changed, and he slowly stepped aside. ¡°Please enter.¡±

    This was a privilege of having Honor Points, and two Honor Points had brought Lu Yin far too many privileges, one of which was that Lu Yin was unconditionally allowed to enter the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Lu Yin¡¯s own status was sufficient for him to enter, but the verification of his identity would take time, and he had none to waste. This was why he had used his Honor Points to clear his path. He quickly set his gadget aside, and his body vanished.

    In a corner of San Dios, Wen Sansi¡¯s lips quirked up. A good show was about to unfold.

    On the brilliant carpet, Yan Feng walked up to Jenny Auna and then slowly bent down. He reached out, with the intention of grasping Jenny Auna. Her face blushed, and a smile that almost seemed holy appeared on her face as she raised her hand.

    Suddenly, a powerful aura appeared that caused many to tremble.

    Yan Feng paused, and his eyes turned cold. The one who was supposed to arrive had finally made his appearance.

    ¡°Who allowed this marriage?¡± A voice rang out from behind Jenny Auna and covered the entirety of San Dios. Everyone looked at the origin of the voice; some were excited, some sneered, and some others felt anticipation.

    Jenny Auna froze when she heard the voice. She felt as if she had fallen and was being forcibly dragged out of her ocean of happiness. She was suddenly reminded of reality, and of a certain person.

    She slowly turned around and stared at a man not far away from her in disbelief. ¡°You- Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin coldly stared at her, but then, his gaze shifted to Yan Feng, and his brows creased. ¡°You¡¯re Yan Feng?¡±

    Yan Feng did not reply. Instead, Bazeer, who was nearby, stepped forward and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu, you¡¯re not on the guest list for this wedding. Leave now.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Bazeer. ¡°I will settle matters with youter. For now, beat it.¡±

    Bazeer was furious, and he sneered. ¡°You¡¯re quite smug. Tell me, how do you n to ¡®settle¡¯ matters with me?¡±

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯re the first dog to bite. If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll grant you your wish.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone was cold as he pulled up a screen. ¡°Outerverse Youth Council subsidiary member Bazeer, Representative of Member Wendy Yushan, you were tasked with supervising the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. However, during your tenure, you were absent without leave, engaged in nepotism, epted bribes, and ignored thews. The evidence is absolute. What do you have to say in your defense?¡±

    There was a hubbub as many nkly stared at the screen.

    Bazeer was furious. ¡°Bullshit! I didn¡¯t- This is nder!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°There¡¯ll naturally be an investigation into your guilt. For now, scram!¡±

    Bazeer clenched his fists. ¡°Give me your gadget.¡±

    Lu Yin ignored Bazeer and shifted his gaze to Jenny Auna. ¡°You¡¯re quite bold as well, to run away from your n and secretly elope. Return to the Auna family.¡±

    Her face turned deathly white as she trembled.

    Yan Feng stepped forward and red menacingly at Lu Yin. ¡°Just who do you think you are? How dare you disrupt my wedding ceremony!¡±

    ¡°Give me your gadget.¡± Bazeer suddenly grabbed at Lu Yin as he tried to signal Yan Feng with his eyes. He was not foolish, and he knew that he would not be able to snatch Lu Yin¡¯s gadget in front of so many other people. He only wanted to join forces with Yan Feng to deal with Lu Yin, not with the intention of killing him, but rather of humiliating him. A person¡¯s reputation was very important, and their master n was to make Lu Yin appear pathetic for appearing at his own fianc¨¦e¡¯s wedding to someone else. He would be a joke thatsted for his entire life.

    It was a very malicious n, but if it seeded, it would leave behind an indelible stain no matter how high Lu Yin climbed in the future. Yan Feng was intentionally broadcasting all of this live, which meant that Lu Yin would have no hope of reprieve if it yed out as nned.

    Additionally, they could even ¡°identally¡± kill him, since he was the one who was interrupting someone else¡¯s wedding. Such an offense was punishable by death, and no one would stand up for him if he did die in this way.

    In San Dios, Lu Yin had no support, and this was all to his disadvantage.

    This wedding ceremony had created a distinct opportunity to kill Lu Yin¡ªone that no one could stop, and one with no strings attached. This was a special opportunity that bypassed all of Lu Yin¡¯s various statuses.

    On the other side, Lu Yin had never believed that he would be able to resolve things just by saying a few words. He snorted when he saw Bazeer attempt to grab him, and he casually waved his hand, discharging a shockwave from off his clothes. He then raised a hand and swatted out.

    Bang!

    A rumble shook the heavens as a majestic, tsunami-like shockwave exploded and enveloped the entire courtyard. It even continued spreading further, covering all of San Dios.

    On the Prairie me Continent, many looked up and saw a spherical shockwave spread out and disperse the clouds.

    Many experts had to act together to withstand the aftershocks, and Yan Feng pulled Jenny Auna behind himself.

    Lu Yin and Bazeer both fell back with a bang, but Lu Yin only took five steps back while Bazeer retreated seven steps.

    This scene shocked many, as Bazeer was an elite Explorer whose abilities far surpassed the average cultivator¡¯s. He had also joined the Outerverse Youth Council, which was proof of his status as a genius of the younger generation. This sort of person¡¯s power undoubtedly greatly exceeded a normal Explorer¡¯s, but he had just been forced back by one of Lu Yin¡¯s palms when Lu Yin had actually been on the defensive.

    This one palm shocked all of San Dios, and even Wen Sansi shivered; Lu Yin¡¯s physical body exceeded the Arbiter¡¯s imagination. This person had improved once again, but how had he managed to do so this quickly?

    Bazeer stared at Lu Yin in shock. Although he knew that Lu Yin would be able to challenge him with the power that he had disyed during the Tournament of the Strongest, he never thought that it would be that effortless for him. The youth¡¯s power seemed to have transformed in just a few days.

    Yan Feng simrly looked at Lu Yin, appalled. This was the first time they were meeting; he had only first heard Yan Gang mention Lu Yin less than three years ago, but this person had already be so powerful. This person could not be left alone.

    ¡°You deserve to die since you dared to disrupt this wedding,¡± Yan Feng shouted as he ferociously charged at Lu Yin. He retrieved his sword from his cosmic ring and shed out at Lu Yin as me swirled around the de.

    At the same time, Bazeer bellowed fiercely and made his move as well. A phantom image of a giant, savage bear appeared behind him. This was the Star Devouring Bear that was rumored to devours, and it was also Bazeer¡¯s innate gift.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly, and a loud crack was heard. He was excited, as when he had first met Bazeer on Zenyu Star, the pressure from him had been nearly unsurmountable. Bazeer had represented a strength that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even imagine at the time since Bazeer had the strength to challenge a Cruiser and an innate gift as well. But in less than three years, Lu Yin had reached the point where he could challenge and even surpass him. Nothing was impossible in the future!

    He had not forgotten the indescribably stifling humiliation that Bazeer had given him. Today, he would return everything back with interest; he had waited too long for this moment.

    Yan Feng¡¯s sword sliced the void open with a swish and thennded in front of Lu Yin. This person¡¯s power level was 30,000, and he was another genius Explorer who was at the same level as Bazeer. Yan Feng far surpassed the Explorer pirate captain who Lu Yin had run into on his way to San Dios.

    Lu Yin did not carelessly dismiss Yan Feng, and he raised his hand, only for it to turn into a w. Firesmelt was just a in the Outerverse, and the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Skybeast w Technique was more than enough to deal with someone with such a background.

    Bang!

    A broiling inferno burst forth as the Skybeast w and the fiery sword shed. The scorching shockwave roiled about as the void distorted beforepletely copsing. Multiple spatial cracks radiated outwards, leaving raging mes in their wake.

    On the other side, Bazeer punched at Lu Yin, his Star Devouring Bear innate gift supplementing his battle technique. This punch was enough to threaten a Cruiser and force one to evade it, but Lu Yin did not even think of retreating a single step. ¡°I¡¯m going to turn you into a dead bear on this day!¡±

    As he raised a palm to attack, Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Twenty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Bang!

    Earth-shattering explosions rung out through the city once again, and the terrifying force from the collision sent even Yan Feng retreating. Many of the spectators felt their chests tighten, and some of them even spat out blood before hurriedly backing off.

    Some distance away, Puyu stepped forward, but just when he was about to act, Mira appeared. ¡°Councilor Puyu, you shouldn¡¯t be thinking of intervening.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s face was solemn. ¡°This is San Dios, not a yground.¡±

    ¡°Yes, this is San Dios, not a wedding venue,¡± Mira ridiculed back.

    Puyu¡¯s eyes went cold.

    Many screens lit up throughout the universe as people watched the wedding.

    On Zenyu Star, Xueshan Auna was extremely nervous.

    In the Innerverse, Nightqueen Yanqing sneered. No matter how strong Lu Yin was, he could not possibly defeat two Explorers who were qualified to join the Outerverse Youth Council. As long as the wedding was sessfully held, Lu Yin would be finished, and his reputation would be ruined. The higher the Tournament of the Strongest raised him up, the further down he would plummet.

    Many powerhouses appeared around San Dios to block the shockwaves from dispersing and harming others.

    The courtyard was already ruined, and Lu Yin and Bazeer once again shed and broke apart at the same time. The end result was still the same; Lu Yin held the upper hand.

    Bazeer stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. He was already using his full force, and his power even surpassed that of a normal Cruiser, but he could not defeat this person.

    ¡°I already said that I¡¯m going to beat you to a dead bear today!¡± Lu Yin shouted as he used sh to appear in front of Bazeer before kicking out. Bazeer bellowed, and a shockwave exploded from his body as he attempted to push Lu Yin back. At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force materialized, and the dark-gold radiance appeared in the sky of San Dios for the first time, like a holy phenomena. It easily swept Bazeer¡¯s shockwave aside as Lu Yin ced both of his hands on Bazeer¡¯s chest. ¡°Twenty Five Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Bazeer¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. Twenty-Five Stacks?!

    A loud boom could be heard throughout the entire city as Bazeer violently spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire body was sent flying backwards, but at that moment, the skies turned red. Yan Feng¡¯s sword burned with an indescribable scorching heat as it sliced at Lu Yin. ¡°Heart¡¯s Burning Sword.¡±

 Chapter 341: Thirty Stacks

    <h4>Chapter 341: Thirty Stacks</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. The sword attack had beenunched at him while he was in the middle of attacking Bazeer. The de was extremely fast, and Lu Yin had nowhere to hide. However, he had no reason to evade it either. He calmly watched the mes approach him before simply raising his right hand and flipping it over rapidly. The inferno disappeared bit by bit until there was nothing left.

    Many were stunned, what sort of battle technique was that?

    Puyu quivered as well; that had been a lockbreaking method just now. How was this person¡¯s lockbreaking ability so skilled already?

    Mira was also stunned, as she had never expected Lu Yin to be so proficient in his lockbreaking.

    Even Wen Sansi was astonished. He had met many genius Lockbreakers, but Lu Yin¡¯s aptitude for the subject was particrly impressive. Although he had not been a Lockbreaker for very long, he could already dissolve his opponent¡¯s battle technique in the midst of battle.

    Yan Feng¡¯s talent was far too inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s. Even though he was a genius from the Firesmelt who enjoyed exceptional advantages and had trained in a protected environment, those advantages only allowed him to barely touch the Top Hundred Rankings. However, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had already firmly entered that level. ording to Lan Si, Thirty Stacks even gave him a chance of defeating those at the bottom of the list.

    The strengthening fruit¡¯s repeated upgrades meant that Lu Yin could nowpletely turn his nose up at the masses. He did not believe that any Limiteer was a match for him now, including even the Ten Arbiters when they were Limiteers.

    Yan Feng¡¯s sword was easily shattered by Lu Yin, and his right shoulder was also struck, sending him flying just like Bazeer.

    Whether they were watching this take ce on a screen or live in-person on San Dios, everyone was stunned. A Limiteer named Lu Yin was not merely disying his strength as a Realmbreaker, but he had also defeated two genius Explorers at the same time. This was a scene that was almost impossible to witness in the Outerverse, and yet, it had just urred.

    The difference between the Innerverse and Outerverse was too clear, but even if he were from the Innerverse, Lu Yin¡¯s results would still be staggering.

    A short distance away, Jenny Auna trembled and stared at Lu Yin in fear. Why had everything turned out like this? This was supposed to be her most blessed day when she should be basking in happiness! But then, this person had appeared to ruin her life! No, she could not allow this to happen! As soon as she made up her mind, she leaped to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes froze; this woman had gone crazy! He flicked a finger and pinned Jenny Auna to the wall. ¡°This wedding has not been recognized by the Auna family and is henceforth to be cancelled immediately!¡±

    Jenny Auna¡¯s face turned deathly pale. ¡°Lu Yin, this is my personal matter. How can you cancel my wedding?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted, activated his gadget, and then dug out Xueshan Auna¡¯s certificate. ¡°Your father, family head Xueshan Auna, has asked me to escort you back to your family. Due to this marriage not being approved by the Auna family, you are not allowed to make decisions in your own matters.¡±

    ¡°Either way, it¡¯s not up to you!¡± Yan Feng pathetically rose up in the distance. He stared at Lu Yin with a ferocious expression. ¡°You disrupted my wedding, and I, Yan Feng, will kill you!¡± He fully unleashed his power, and Bazeer snarled as he simrly erupted with all the strength of his Star Devouring Bear.

    On Firesmelt, Yan Wujiu¡¯s eyes were filled with killing intent. San Dios did not allow outsiders within its borders and only epted youths. Otherwise, he would have personally gone long ago to ughter Lu Yin. When he looked at Lu Yin, he felt a premonition of fear, as if Firesmelt would be ruined at this kid¡¯s hands. Feng¡¯er, this child must be killed.

    Yan Feng and Bazeer acted simultaneously, bothunching vicious attacks at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and raised his right hand. He clenched his fist and then loosened it, releasing a powerful strength that distorted the void. As everyone in San Dios and the countless spectators staring at their screens watched on, Lu Yin disyed a stupendously horrifying strength. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    In that instant, everyone who witnessed the scene felt numb. Thirty Stacks was something that normal cultivators could not evenprehend, and they would not even be aware of how strong it was. Only a rare few understood, such as Wen Sansi. He instantly stood up in his study, thoroughly stunned.

    In the past, many experts had been given the title of a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, such as Liu Shaoqiu, Nightqueen Yanqing with her Nightking body, and even Zhanlong Daynight. However, only a few were truly recognized by the Ten Arbiters themselves. Those few people were the ones who could rival the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength within the same realm, such as Ye Xingchen from the Cosmic Sea. These few elites were true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates, and even Liu Shaoqiu fell short of reaching that standard.

    Lu Yin had once been at the same level as Liu Shaoqiu, and had been given the title of ¡°Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate¡± as a form of praise and encouragement, but not as a form of true approval. The moment he disyed Thirty Stacks, however, his statuspletely changed. He had met Lan Si¡¯s achievement as a Limiteer, and now, he truly rivaled the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers. He had be a true Ten Arbiters candidate, one of the select few.

    The strength of Thirty Stacks was terrifying, which Yan Feng and Bazeer were experiencing first hand. It carried an indescribably overpowering strength within it, which Bazeer had once experienced from a powerhouse in the Top Hundred Rankings. Lu Yin¡¯s current strength easily rivaled that ranked powerhouse.

    Yan Feng and Bazeer were both struck by a single palm and flew away, severely injured. The impact caused them to crash to the floor like puppets with their strings cut.

    The masses couldn¡¯t even react. Lu Yin was merely a Limiteer, and yet, he had thoroughly smashed thebined force of two elite Explorers. It was like something out of a fantasy novel, and those from the Outerverse in particr could not imagine how a Limiteer had obtained such strength.

    Off in the distance, many from great powers from Innerverse looked at one another in shock. The current Lu Yin gave them the impression of an unequaled Limiteer, something that had only appeared once before. That person was called Mu Rong, and he had been recognized as an unequaled Limiteer.

    In San Dios, such urrences rarely happened, as no one dared to be violent in San Dios. Lu Yin could actually be considered the first person to do so.

    Puyu finally could not contain himself any further and looked apprehensively at Mira. He then stepped out. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin, right?¡±

    Lu Yin looked right back at Puyu. ¡°Are you Puyu?¡±

    A chilling look shed through the Councilor¡¯s eyes. ¡°This is Yan Feng¡¯s wedding.¡±

    ¡°Which is invalid,¡± Lu Yin bluntly replied.

    Puyu¡¯s eyes instantly turned frosty. ¡°This wedding was approved by my San Dios.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and raised his head. ¡°And San Dios is represented by you alone?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Puyu was furious, as no one had spoken to him in such an insolent manner in a long time. Even when his status as a Councilor was disregarded, he was still ranked thirteenth in the Top 100 Rankings, and could easily crush many others.

    Lu Yin sneered, as this person had pitted himself against Lu Yin since a long time ago; they werepletely ipatible, so there was no need to worry about offending him. Lu Yin did not see the Neohuman Alliance member he had fought in the Umbral Butterfly Weave, which caused him to involuntarily frown. Had he been discovered? That would be bad, as he intended for that reveal to be the final nail in Puyu¡¯s coffin.

    ¡°Puyu, you are a Councilor and not some elder of her n. The matter of a mere wedding should not concern you so much.¡± Mira stepped out in front of Lu Yin, giving Puyu a teasing look.

    Puyu¡¯s eyes narrowed. San Dios only allowed the younger generation to enter. Thus, after Yan Feng and Bazeer had both been defeated, nobody aside from Puyu himself was Lu Yin¡¯s opponent. But he was being impeded by Mira, which meant that his chance to kill the brat had already passed. Wen Sansi was also closely watching this ce, so there was no need for him toplicate matters.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t put up with it anymore. Lu Yin, is this the code of conduct that the Astral Combat Academy taught you? To ruin the wedding of two lovebirds?¡± Puyu loudly berated.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see this certificate?¡±

    Puyu was enraged once more, as this Lu Yin simply refused to give him any face. ¡°Alright, you are a member of the Council of Astral Academy that simrly represents the Ten Arbiters, but what you are doing tarnishes their reputation. I, Puyu, will not bother with this anymore since someone will deal with you in future.¡± He then nced at the pathetic looking Bazeer, and a trace of light glinted in his eyes before he left.

    Jenny Auna was simrly pinned to the wall by Lu Yin¡¯s energy and could not escape. She stared desperately at Puyu¡¯s departing figure and the severely injured Yan Feng. Today should have been a day of great jubtion for her, but it had ultimately turned to one of pure grief.

    Lu Yin surveyed everyone around him. ¡°All those who are not subordinates of Wendy Yushan can leave now. From now on, I, Lu Yin, will temporarily represent Member Wendy and wield her authority in the Outerverse Youth Council. Are there any objections?¡±

    There were five others aside from Bazeer and Yan Feng who were subordinate representatives under Wendy Yushan. Each one was an Explorer, and they were also a bit older and could barely be considered part of the younger generation anymore. At this moment, each one of them nced at Lu Yin, feeling a little lost.

    They did not know who to choose, as they had previously agreed that while they would not aid this youth, they also would not be excessive in moving against him either. This was also the reason why they had not joined forces with Bazeer and Yan Feng to deal with Lu Yin; they did not want to offend anyone. Still, they were not yet convinced that they had to acknowledge their allegiance to this new person.

    Mira stepped forth in a timely manner. ¡°Arbiter Wen has ordered that Lu Yin will temporarily take over Wendy Yushan¡¯s duties. Are there any objections?¡±

    ¡°We pay our respects to Representative Lu.¡± The five Explorers bowed together.

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. Fortunately, he had greatly improved his strength; if he had directlye to San Dios from the Great Yu Empire as soon as he heard about the wedding, he would have been suppressed by Yan Feng and Bazeer. Not a single one of these people would have given in to him at that time, but it was different now. He had single-handedly defeated Yan Feng and Bazeer. His power trumped the others, and no one in San Dios was his match aside from Puyu and the other three Councilors.

    This was the most important point that allowed him to represent Wendy Yushan. No matter what was said, power was always the determiner.

    The wedding should have been a prime opportunity for many powers to make a move against Lu Yin, but it had been turned upside down by his absolute power. Additionally, he had not relied on anyone else. This matter spread out, and with it, Lu Yin¡¯s fame increased once again.

    At first, he had just been an Astral Combat Academy student who had participated in the Astral Combat Tournament. Then, the Tournament of the Strongest had propped him up as a mighty figure of the Human Domain. And now, this battle hadpletely cemented him as one of the true Ten Arbiter candidates and was enough to give him a reputation as someone unequaled within the Limiteer realm.

    Limiteers were not exclusively members of the younger generation, as there were many older experts who stayed in the Limiteer realm and never broke through. Some of them even had absolutely monstrous innate gifts, but could never break through to the Explorer realm. Thus, there were fearsome geniuses among the older generation of Limiteers as well.

    Even Lu Yin winning the Tournament of the Strongest had not been enough to qualify him as an unequaled Limiteer, though no one would ever admit to that. Today, he had received universal approval for this title because he had matched one of the records set by one of the Ten Arbiters while still within the Limiteer realm. The Ten Arbiters were synonymous with being unequaled. Thus, to match one of the Ten Arbiters was equivalent to being unequaled.

    ¡°Congrattions, Representative Lu.¡± Mira beamed at him.

    Lu Yin smiled back. ¡°If you had not helped me by obstructing Puyu, then today would have been quite worrisome.¡±

    Mira smiled. ¡°Thank Arbiter Wen, I wouldn¡¯t have helped you otherwise.¡± She then left, leaving only a slight fragrance in the air.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. Arbiter Wen, huh? It seemed like this person was trying to rope Lu Yin onto his side. He would eventually have to pick one of the Ten Arbiters, but who should he pick? Both Lan Si and Wen Sansi had expressed goodwill towards him so far, while Nightking Zhenwu was definitely an enemy. It was an agonizing choice to consider.

 Chapter 342: Right And Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 342: Right And Wrong</h4>

    Lu Yin arranged for Jenny Auna to be taken in custody and then sent back to Zenyu Star in two days. Her fate had already been determined, and she would live out the rest of her days in the Auna family like a caged bird. Lu Yin definitely would not marry her, and it was now impossible for her to wed anyone else either.

    Without a doubt, Bazeer was guilty, and Lu Yin had already arranged for him to be imprisoned. For Yan Feng, Lu Yin just wanted to be done with him as soon as possible. He hadn¡¯tmitted any crime, but rather just held an opposing viewpoint. Thus, Lu Yin could only have Yan Feng be healed and then prepare to deal with this person again in the future.

    There were quite a few people from Firesmelt on Saint Dios, and all of them were locked up without exception. Among them, Lu Yin saw someone he knew: Yan Gang. They had first met during the trials on Earth, and Lu Yin remembered that this person was Yan Feng¡¯s servant and that the two had an excellent rtionship. Now, however, Yan Gang didn¡¯t even have the right to participate in the battle since he was still a mere Melder. When he felt Lu Yin¡¯s gazend upon him, Yan Gang ducked his head, not daring to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for fear that he would be targeted. However, Lu Yin paid him no mind; someone like him was not worth his attention.

    Elsewhere, Mira walked up behind Wen Sansi. ¡°Arbiter Wen.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°The show was good, and the main character was even better.¡±

    Mira looked up at the Arbiter with a solemn expression. ¡°The fact that he¡¯s able to use Thirty Stacks means that only those two Limiteers can match up to him now.¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded. ¡°Yes. It means that he¡¯s truly invincible amongst the Limiteer realm and is a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. Haha! How interesting!¡± After saying that, Wen Sansi suddenly changed topics. ¡°Give Lu Yin some information about Mu Rong, Mira.¡±

    Mira was confused, but Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes had lit up. He was looking forward to seeing the battle between the two Limiteers. He was extremely curious to find out whether or not the person backing Mu Rong would be able to hold themselves back the moment Mu Rong was defeated.

    As a Councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council, Wendy Yushan supervised four Weaves, namely the Frostwave Weave, Grandtop Weave, Lars Weave, and Woori Weave. These four Weaves bordered each other, and all the members of the younger generation in them were under the jurisdiction of the Outerverse Youth Council. There were arge number of issues that had to be handled.

    The Ten Arbiters Council¡¯swork was linked to the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯swork, so Lu Yin was able to login and ess the Weaves that Wendy Yushan supervised through the Ten Arbiters Councilwork. His responsibilities now included these four Weaves in addition to the Innerverse¡¯s Northern Flowzone.

    Each Weave was massive. The total area of the four Weaves was simply unimaginable to the average person. Each Weave contained countless academies, and numerous trials and exams urred on a daily basis. Just the number of issues that regrly cropped up within the four Weaves were more than enough to give Lu Yin a headache. He wasn¡¯t suited to this kind of work, and just like what he had done with the Northern Flowzone, he was nning on leaving these matters alone.

    What he needed now was the title as well as the influence to undermine Puyu¡¯s power. Everything else took second ce to that.

    After searching through thework, he suddenly saw a strange piece of news regarding a trial: Some youths from Darkstar Gorge will head to the Woori Weave to take part in a trial in ten days.

    The information didn¡¯t mean much to him, but the mention of ¡°Darkstar Gorge¡± made Lu Yin think of Puyu, because Puyu had been born in Darkstar Gorge.

    Lu Yin quickly opened thework and started looking for information about Bushtree.

    The more he found out, the more excited Lu Yin became. Bushtree was a very strange ce. All of its water sources were hidden underground, and its surface was covered with numerous nts. There were no animals there and only lush green vegetation. Some of these nts had developed the ability to attack people while others were rare treasures.

    s like this one where treasures naturally grew were typically prized. Unfortunately, most of the nts on this particr would not live for more than a decade; after ten years, they would slowly wither away. Many schrs had investigated this matter before in hopes of finding out the reason, but they had all failed. Since the nts could onlyst for ten years, even the rarest nts were rendered useless by this defect.

    For this reason, Bushtree had eventually been abandoned and relegated to being a training ground.

    Precious nts that only had a lifespan of a decade weren¡¯t of much use to powerful cultivators, but they were still effective for Sentinels and even some Melders. In addition, some nts that had gone extinct in ages past would asionally appear here as well. If one was lucky, they might find a nt that could improve a person¡¯s physique. For this reason, many organizations in the Woori Weave wished to send their young geniuses to train on Bushtree. Unfortunately for them, Puyu was in charge of it.

    Lu Yin was struck speechless when he found out that Bushtree was a training ground for Darkstar Gorge even when Wendy Yushan was around. There could only be two reasons why this was possible. Either Puyu had total control over Wendy Yushan, or she did not care about this at all. She must never have tried to snatch control of this from him, or else it would have be the Great Yu Empire¡¯s training area long ago.

    It was no wonder why Wendy Yushan hadn¡¯t discovered that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker; there was nothing on her mind other than cultivation. It actually made sense that Bazeer had decided to join Puyu.

    Lu Yin cancelled that training session right away. In other words, Bushtree¡¯s training zone would no longer belong to Darkstar Gorge. He would give it to anyone he wanted. More importantly, he thought quite highly of this. Others might only be able to harvest nts that were no more than ten years old, but as long as he had money, he could obtain nts that were a hundred thousand years old. This ce was perfect for him!

    A dayter, Lu Yin heard a beep from his gadget as he was looking at an introduction to Bushtree. A message had arrived from Mira.

    Lu Yin tapped on it and took a look. His expression quickly turned to shock. What was Mira trying to do? Why had she given him information about this person?

    Within the universe, there were quite a few geniuses who were considered Ten Arbiter candidates. However, most of these titles were merely words of praise and nothing more than that. It was just like how Lu Yin had been referred to as a candidate purely because he hadprehended five-lined battle force. At that time, he had only been about as powerful as Han Chong and the others at that level¡ªhe would have been no match for Tian Hou. However, among these people praised as candidates, there were a few who were eventually truly acknowledged to actually have such capabilities.

    Mira had sent Lu Yin information about one such person: Mu Rong. He had been viewed by the Ten Arbiters Council as a genius with a powerful innate gift. Out of everyone in the entire younger generation who was below the Explorer realm, he was most certainly the most powerful. A certain member of the Ten Arbiters had even called him invincible among the Limiteer realm.

    The Astral Combat Tournament and Tournament of the Strongest had allowed Lu Yin¡¯s name to spread throughout the entire universe, giving him a glorious reputation. Mu Rong, on the other hand, was not very well-known to the public, but all the top organizations were aware of him. This person had never lost in a battle against one of his peers.

    Every once in a while, there would be a genius who stood a whole head above the rest of their generation, and Mu Rong was one of them.

    Lu Yin had not earned the right to know of him in the past. Even after he was crowned champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, those in the know still had not thought that he would be a match for Mu Rong. However, the moment Lu Yin used Thirty Stacks, he had gained the right, for he had matched the record that Arbiter Lan had set back when he was a Limiteer; with his aplishment, Lu Yin had finally, truly be a candidate to be a future Arbiter.

    Lu Yin sighed. Would Mu Rong be his enemy? Among the true candidates, there was Mu Rong, Ye Xingchen from the Cosmic Sea, and¡­ who else? He¡¯d finally stepped onto this level, surpassing Liu Shaoqiu and officially being noticed by the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin mused to himself that it had definitely been a good idea to increase his strength beforeing to San Dios. Him being able to use Thirty Stacks had caused a huge shift in his position.

    ¡°Mr. Lu, Ms. Jenny would like to see you,¡± a maid informed him respectfully from behind.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see her.¡±

    ¡°Um, Ms. Jenny has said that she¡¯llmit suicide if you don¡¯t go and see her,¡± the maid exined anxiously.

    Lu Yin snorted and thought it over. ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    While he didn¡¯t care for Jenny Auna, his rtionship with her family would grow troublesome if she died because of him. It was not worth getting into more trouble because of a woman who he didn¡¯t even care about.

    When he arrived, he saw Jenny Auna leaning against the wall with an ashen pallor. The moment she saw Lu Yin, a bone-deep hatred shed within her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. It was instantly overwritten by a pleading expression. ¡°Please, please let me go!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her coldly. ¡°Are you aware that I nearly died because of you?¡±

    Jenny Auna shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that, but all I want to do is to marry the person I love. Is that wrong?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted, and he went quiet as he studied Jenny Auna¡¯s mournful face. It¡¯s true that she only wants to marry the person she loves. Is that wrong? The person in the wrong was the other person, not her. From the very beginning, she had never admitted to any wrong-doing. All she had done was agree to what had been asked of her. She was actually very pitiful.

    All the dissatisfaction and annoyance that Lu Yin felt towards her evaporated in an instant. She had not actually wronged him at all. It was not wrong for a woman to marry the person who she loved. It was just a pity that she had been born into the wrong family.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, but you fell in love with the wrong person.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned softer when he spoke to her this time.

    Jenny Auna closed her eyes. ¡°Firesmelt and the Great Yu Empire are not enemies. I like Yan Feng, so what¡¯s wrong with that? The only wrong that happened is that my family promised me to you. Can you really say that you like me, Lu Yin? I can tell that you¡¯ve never liked me. That ring never represented love; it was just a promise between you and the Auna family. In your eyes, I¡¯m just a tool for a political marriage.¡±

    Lu Yin could not speak. Jenny Auna was actually wrong; she had never been a tool for a political marriage since he had never even considered marrying her.

    ¡°You¡¯ve destroyed a woman¡¯s happiness, Seventh Bro!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    ¡°Father has never cared about my desires and only ever wanted me to marry you. He obviously knows that you don¡¯t like me, but that¡¯s never mattered to him. What he wants is to gain a rtionship with you by trading away my marriage. I want to escape and be free of this cage¡ªwhat¡¯s wrong with that? What¡¯s wrong with me marrying someone I love? I never wanted to hurt anyone!¡± Jenny Auna screamed, looking at Lu Yin in abject despair.

    Lu Yin did not look at her. He had nothing to say because everything that she¡¯d said was true. She had merely intended to take responsibility for herself and marry Yan Feng. She hadn¡¯t even considered whether or not it would hurt Lu Yin, because neither she nor Lu Yin mattered to each other.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Yan Feng never cared about you.¡±

    Jenny Auna¡¯s tears dripped to the ground, and she copsed. ¡°I know. I know that the person he wants isn¡¯t me, but I still don¡¯t care. All I want to do is marry him and be free of this cage, even at the cost of my own life.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know what to say. Men and women had different principles, with the former being more rational and thetter being more emotional. The issues that they suffered were simrly different.

    However, he could not let Jenny Auna do as she wished. ¡°Go back. If it¡¯s possible, I¡¯ll have Xueshan Auna allow you to live in a good ce so that you can be an ordinary woman and live a simple life.¡±

    Jenny Auna began to cry silently while clutching her head.

    Lu Yin turned around and left.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Jenny looked up at Lu Yin¡¯s back and whispered, ¡°I never wanted to hurt you.¡±

    Lu Yin did not stop as he left the room.

 Chapter 343: Registered Names

    <h4>Chapter 343: Registered Names</h4>

    At this point, it was pointless to talk to Jenny since her fate had already been decided. The only thing he could do for her now was to help her have a decent life. She wasn¡¯t wrong; she¡¯d merely been born into the wrong family and stumbled into the wrong situation. For a woman, marrying the person whom she loved was extremely important.

    Lu Yin was reminded of Ming Yan. What would happen if, one day, she was disallowed from marrying him? Just the thought of that situation made Lu Yin feel like he was suffocating. He didn¡¯t want that to happen, because Ming Yan had to belong to him. He wouldn¡¯t allow anyone toe between them.

    Still feeling annoyed, Lu Yin went to Bazeer, who was locked up in prison. He wanted to vent his frustrations upon someone.

    After going through a whole day of treatment, Bazeer¡¯s injuries had somewhat healed, and he had regained consciousness. Upon seeing Lu Yin, he red hard at him. ¡°I regret not killing you back then.¡±

    Lu Yin released a minor amount of force and pierced Bazeer¡¯s shoulder. Blood flowed down and stained Bazeer¡¯s clothes red. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that you can do about the past. Are you telling me this, hoping that I¡¯ll kill you?¡±

    Bazeer sneered and bellowed despite the extreme pain. ¡°Kill me? Do you even have the guts to do so? All of the criminal usations you levied towards me are fake. Lord Puyu has already sent his men to gather evidence of the contrary in the Great Yu Empire. Your usations will quickly be seen through. If you kill me, Lord Puyu definitely will not let you get away scot-free.¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his forehead. ¡°You¡¯re really an idiot.¡± He then pressed a hand against Bazeer¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I wonder¡­ If I exert a bit more force on your old injuries, would it be possible for me to create the impression that you died because your injuries couldn¡¯t be treated?¡±

    Bazeer narrowed his eyes. ¡°Do you dare to try? Don¡¯t assume that you can do whatever you want just because you¡¯re representing a Councilor in-name. Everyone listens to Lord Puyu, and the status of my injuries has already been reported to him. If you do anything, he¡¯ll definitely find out about it.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That makes sense. Still, worsening your injuries should be fine. For instance, I can destroy your meridian points.¡±

    Bazeer¡¯s expression quickly changed, and he red hatefully at Lu Yin, though he remained silent.

    Lu Yin eyed the prisoner for a while before bursting intoughter while shaking his head. He pulled his hand back and said, ¡°I¡¯m actually quite thankful towards you. Without you, I wouldn¡¯t have been so motivated to cultivate this hard. Look at how much of a difference excellent talent makes: in less than three years, I¡¯ve already surpassed you. But what about you? You¡¯ve cultivated for decades and have a biological innate gift, but so what? You were still defeated.¡±

    ¡°What exactly is it that you want?¡± Bazeer sounded grim.

    Lu Yin gazed at Bazeer. He didn¡¯t really want anything other than to get some revenge. After all, Bazeer had done something terrible to him back then. However, as Bazeer had said, it was impossible for Lu Yin to do whatever he wanted. Puyu was keeping a close eye on Lu Yin. In fact, Puyu might even be hoping for Lu Yin to do something to Bazeer so that he could use that opportunity to report him to the Ten Arbiters Council and get rid of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Regardless of what happens in the future, you¡¯ll be staying here until those allegations are cleared.¡± Lu Yin then turned around and left.

    Bazeer heaved a heavy sigh of relief while glowering at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating back. He¡¯d definitely kill Lu Yin some day.

    After leaving the jail, Lu Yin gazed up at the sky. He hadn¡¯t felt any excitement from obtaining revenge, because Bazeer meant nothing to him now. It was no wonder why so many people rushed to take revenge; after all, the intense fury that Lu Yin had felt back when Bazeer humiliated him had long since dissipated after so much time had passed. Now that he had actually achieved his revenge, he was no longer emotional.

    ¡°I expected you to kill Bazeer.¡± An eerie voice sounded out, causing Lu Yin to get goosebumps. He whipped around and stared right at a person leaning against the wall. It was Puyu.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lu Yin was on guard.

    Puyu gazed at Lu Yin, and a cold glint shed through his eyes. ¡°Why did you cancel Darkstar Gorge¡¯s trial at Bushtree?¡±

    ¡°Bushtree is located in the Woori Weave and is therefore under my jurisdiction. I can do whatever I want with it,¡± Lu Yin answered coldly.

    Puyu stared at him. ¡°You¡¯re testing my patience.¡±

    Lu Yin did not back down. ¡°And you¡¯re testing the patience of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s expression changed, and he looked off into the distance. He started to leave, but before doing so, he said, ¡°If you rush ahead too quickly, you¡¯ll tumble to your death.¡±

    ¡°And if you¡¯re too slow, someone else might crush you,¡± Lu Yin shot back with a rejoinder.

    He would absolutely not return Bushtree to Puyu. This was very important to him; he would personally head there himself at some point.

    Within the Innerverse, there was a ce called Gaia''s Swamp. There was no way for anyone to escape from that ce, and it was known as the prison that existed in the deepest part of the whole universe.

    Shui Chuanxiao was to be imprisoned inside Gaia''s Swamp, and it was where he would serve out his sentence of ten thousand years.

    Outside Gaia''s Swamp, Nightking Zhenwu was personally escorting Shui Chuanxiao into the prison. With a forlorn expression, the Nightking ruefully said, ¡°A famousmander who can¡¯t help the human race expand its territories can only be jailed in Gaia''s Swamp where night and day merge together. What a shame.¡±

    Someone walked over from behind Nightking Zhenwu and slowly bowed. ¡°He asked for it. Nobody can save him since he betrayed humanity.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu lifted his gadget, took a look, and then groaned. He nced at the man behind him. ¡°You were born on Earth. Do you think that you can deal with Lu Yin?¡±

    The bowing man was Liu Shaoge, and he was now under Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡±

    The corner of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°You hold a huge grudge against him. I hope that you don¡¯t die.¡±

    Liu Shaoge looked up with twinkling eyes. ¡°I will win.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu nodded. ¡°Then make preparations to leave. I¡¯ll merge my power with you so that you¡¯ll be able to temporarily use my abilities. This will ensure that you¡¯ll be powerful enough to contend with experts at the bottom of the Top Hundred Rankings. It should also be enough for you to win against Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Liu Shaoge answered as his eyes lit up.

    For the next two days, Lu Yin strolled through San Dios, which also gave him a better understanding of the Prairie me Continent. The maind was huge and had once given birth to arge number of experts. However, ever since the Outerverse Youth Council had designated this location as their headquarters, the continent had basically been colonized. Many experts who rebelled against the Council were killed, and the rest could only submit to San Dios, much the way they would towards a god.

    This continent had essentially be a doorman for San Dios.

    There were no restrictions outside of San Dios, and anybody could request entrance, but only those of the younger generation could actually enter. This was the reason why no experts from Firesmelt had appeared at Yan Feng¡¯s wedding.

    In this way, San Dios had ensured that the status of the younger generation would be upheld here. Perhaps this was the reason why the Ten Arbiters Council had been able to do so well in the universe; once all of the youths banded together and gained a certain amount of influence in the universe, they had gained a stable way to climb up thedder of power.

    As of now, there were only five Councilors in the Outerverse Youth Council. East San Dios only had Puyu and Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan wasn¡¯t very suited to wielding authority. No matter howzy Lu Yin was, he would still at least look through all of the information that he needed to verify. Wendy Yushan, however, had basically handed everything over to Bazeer, which basically meant that she had given all of her authority to Puyu. She was dumb. At least, that was what Lu Yin thought of her actions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been going over that information for two days already, Seventh Bro. Didn¡¯t you say that you weren¡¯t going to bother with it?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin could feel a headacheing. ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. Who knows what Puyu¡¯s already done to the four Weaves?¡±

    ¡°You should get someone to manage things for you,¡± the monkey replied.

    Lu Yin was well aware that he was not the right person for this job, but who else could he ask to do it? The person had to be someone he trusted absolutely, but there wasn¡¯t anyone who fit the bill.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin recalled the people who had participated in the Outerverse trials in the Shenwu Continent with him. Where were they now?

    With this in mind, Lu Yin immediately found a subordinate council representative.

    The person who appeared before Lu Yin was Barley, an Explorer with a power level of 23,000. He had been born in the Grandtop Weave and was one of Wendy Yushan¡¯s representatives.

    ¡°Were you looking for me, Mr. Lu?¡± Barley respectfully inquired.

    Lu Yin grunted in response. ¡°There should have been some people who passed the Outerverse trials, so why don¡¯t I see anyone listed here?¡±

    Barley answered, ¡°They merely registered themselves. Most of the disciples from the Innerverse take part in the trials to demonstrate their abilities and attract the attention of the Ten Arbiters. Few of them actuallye to San Dios. Of course, there are some who dide, but they were all either grabbed by Councilor Puyu or went to West San Dios.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that none of them are here?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Barley wryly answered, ¡°Yes. After Councilor Wendy Yushan went missing, the remaining trial takers who joined San Dios chose not toe here.¡±

    Lu Yin was at a loss. Those who had managed to pass the trials were definitely not people to be trifled with, and most of them had good connections. If he managed to handle them properly, then they¡¯d definitely be able to help him with a lot of things. Puyu really did work very efficiently.

    ¡°By the way, which names are registered under us?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at Barley.

    Barley had a strange look in his eyes. Those whose names were registered here usually weren¡¯t required toe to San Dios. This was an unspoken rule, so even Puyu hadn¡¯t looked at the list. This was because nobody could force the people on this list to do anything since they all had strong connections. However, since Lu Yin wanted to see the list, Barley did not reject and brought the list out.

    When Lu Yin took a look, his eyes lit up. This list was quite interesting. There were people such as Yue Xianzi, Zhuang Shaohua, and a few others whom he already knew. There was also somebody called Hui Chuan, who hade from the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall, just like Kuang Wang. There was another person called Zhan Jin who¡¯d been born in the ze Realm, as well as Tieshan Daynight and some others. There were about three or four people from the Daynight n.

    ¡°All of these people registered here?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Barley quickly answered, ¡°Yes. They all passed the trials, but none of them came here.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. These people all had strong connections and backgrounds, which meant that they were not individuals who could be provoked. Even Puyu didn¡¯t dare to meddle with them, so who was Lu Yin to try?

    ¡°Are there any more?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Barley showed him another list. ¡°These are the trial takers who registered under Puyu¡¯s name.¡±

    Lu Yin took a quick look. ¡°Who is Wen Qing¡¯er?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a disciple from the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Wen Family. She¡¯s said to be Arbiter Wen¡¯s cousin,¡± Barley replied.

    Lu Yin was shocked, but then he continued looking through the list. Yan Hua, a disciple from the Sword Sect. Lucina, a First-Grade Hall disciple from the Beast Tamers Flowzone. Ah-Fan¡­ huh? Oh, so he¡¯s a student from the Northern Flowzone¡¯s Shangwu Academy. After skimming through the list, Lu Yin continued staring at it. The names registered here were ones with great value.

    The reason why the Ten Arbiters Council held so much power in the Human Domain was not only because of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ terrifying battle power, but also because they had the support of young people with powerful connections, such as those on this list. If anyone provoked the Ten Arbiters Council, then it would also implicate the benefits of countless people. These organizations would definitely not take such a matter lying down.

    Lu Yin had the feeling that the Ten Arbiters Councils was another avenue for the great powers of the universe to hold their contests. If he managed to gain a high status in the Council, then he¡¯d gain ess to things far beyond his current imagination.

    The reason why these people had registered their names with the Outerverse Youth Council at all was in preparation to vie for power in the Council in the future. It was obvious that this was an act of foresight, but this also showed the importance of the Ten Arbiters Council.

 Chapter 344: War

    <h4>Chapter 344: War</h4>

    ¡°Actually, quite a few other people have registered as well. Even before the Ten Arbiters were established, the Universe Youth Council already existed. However, its influence back then was meagre, and there were also people who registered and never turned up,¡± Barley said.

    ¡°Those people aren¡¯t considered part of the young generation anymore, I imagine,¡± Lu Yin added.

    Barley answered, ¡°Yes, but some of them have sealed themselves in ice. As far as the age of their body is concerned, they¡¯re still a part of the younger generation.¡±

    Lu Yin paid no mind to that bit. He knew of quite a few people on this list, and there were even a few that he personally knew. After studying it for a while, he nced at Barley. ¡°Is there any way to register all of these people under my name?¡±

    Barley blinked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°Well, um, you are merely representing Ms. Wendy, so your authority isn¡¯t enough for you to do that.¡±

    Lu Yin was momentarily at a loss for what to do. He¡¯d already forgotten that he was merely a substitute. ¡°Then what about this? Is it possible to register all these people under Wendy¡¯s name?¡±

    Barley briefly considered Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°Of course. Mr. Puyu won¡¯t care about that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also talking about all the names registered in West San Dios,¡± Lu Yin said in a low voice.

    Barley¡¯s facial muscles twitched. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone find out.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Barley answered before moving as if to leave. However, after pondering for a moment, he nced at Lu Yin with a hesitant expression.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Is there something else?¡±

    Barley hesitated and then whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve discovered something that I believe I should report to you.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡± Lu Yin looked at Barley.

    Barley¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I found that Yan Feng has contacted people from the zingmist Flowzone¡¯s ze Realm concerning whether or not Firesmelt may enter the ze Realm.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Where did you hear this?¡±

    ¡°My battle technique is rather unique, and it allows me to read air vibrations. This makes it possible for me to hear certain things,¡± Barley exined.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and looked Barley up and down. He had a new understanding of this person now. He¡¯d originally assumed that all of the representatives who were his subordinates were just ordinary people, but now, he had discovered that they were far from ordinary¡ªit was just that they knew how to survive. The reason why Barley was sharing this information with him was very obvious.

    ¡°I got it. Thank you for telling me, Barley.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Barley hastily replied, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to be able to help you, sir.¡±

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Barley¡¯s shoulder, and Barley¡¯s heart lurched. For some reason, he recalled the pitiful scene of Yan Feng and Bazeer that everyone had seen. Barley¡¯s instincts screamed at him to dodge, but he restrained himself.

    With a smile on his face, Lu Yin patted Barley on the shoulder. ¡°I remember people who do me a favor. I¡¯m just wondering how far you¡¯re willing to go to help me.¡±

    Barley was thrilled. ¡°I¡¯d be delighted to help.¡±

    Barley had originally believed that he had peaked in terms of influence within the Outerverse Youth Council. His innate gift wasn¡¯t unique, and he¡¯d only managed to enter the council after much difficulty and be Wendy Yushan¡¯ subordinate. It was a pity that Wendy Yushan didn¡¯t really care about anything and that she had left everything to Bazeer, who was stronger than Barley. However, he didn¡¯t dare to side with Puyu. If things continued on like they had, he¡¯d forever remain an ordinary representative.

    It might seem like he held a position of honor, but he didn¡¯t wield much influence, and he also had to constantly be mindful of people like Bazeer.

    Before Lu Yin arrived, Barley had thoroughly investigated him. The fact that Lu Yin had reached his current heights in less than three years was astounding to Barley and had convinced him to side with Lu Yin.

    Before Yan Feng¡¯s wedding, Barley had decided that, if Lu Yin safely emerged from the crisis unscathed, he¡¯d unconditionally side with Lu Yin in hopes of a better future. To his surprise, Lu Yin¡¯s achievements had gone far beyond his expectations, which made Barley certain in his decision to work with Lu Yin.

    Since Lu Yin was new to San Dios, he didn¡¯t have anyone he could use yet. If Barley showed some willingness and ability to help, he would surely seed.

    The only issue was that Lu Yin was very arrogant and had offended Puyu right after arriving at San Dios. It was very likely that he would die because of that offence. However, after thinking it through, Barley still decided to side with Lu Yin. He didn¡¯t want to remain ordinary forever, and this person might provide him with a means to transcend his limits.

    As he watched Barley leave, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled; he could use this person for now. An Explorer was slightly weak at the moment, but that was not a problem. Nobody would easily offend a member of the Outerverse Youth Council even if that member was merely a Seeker.

    Lu Yin switched his gadget on, and Huo Qingshan soon appeared on the screen.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to know what His Majesty¡¯s n for conquering Firesmelt was, Huo Qingshan.¡± Lu Yin immediately cut to the chase.

    A few dayster, on Firesmelt, Yan Wujiu had a sullen expression. Behind him, mes swept through the area as a Cruiser, Yan Chong, approached him. ¡°The young master has sent news that the ze Realm is interested in us and will probably agree to us joining them, my lord.¡±

    Yan Wujiu sighed and bitterly responded, ¡°I never thought that there¡¯de a day where Firesmelt would be forced to rely on outside support.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of Lu Yin. Without him, we wouldn¡¯t have been forced to these desperate measures. Once we have a good standing in the ze Realm, we must take revenge!¡± Yan Chong hissed.

    Yan Wujiu¡¯s eyes shed with bloodlust. ¡°Lu Yin and the Great Yu Empire. We¡¯re definitely going to take our revenge.¡±

    At that moment, another figure appeared. ¡°My lord, the Crimson, Zhongan, and Shia have all been sealed off by the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    ¡°What? On what grounds?¡± Yan Chong was furious.

    ¡°It¡¯s rumored that the Outerverse Youth Council found traces of Corpse Kings from the Neohuman Alliance in thoses, and for that reason, sealed them off right away.¡±

    Yan Wujiu¡¯s eyes twitched, and he frowned before lifting his gadget. ¡°Have the troops on Crimson, Zhongan, and Shia gather and retreat from thoses.¡±

    However, Yan Wujiu¡¯s orders were rejected; the threes had already beenpletely sealed off.

    ¡°Our most powerful troops and ships are stationed on those threes! With them sealed off, our power level has been reduced by at least half!¡±

    Yan Wujiu¡¯s eyes shone as he quickly turned his gadget on once again. He was nning on contacting Yan Feng and telling him that he had to enter ze Realm right away without arguing for any conditions. This had to happen quickly because something felt off to him. But at that moment, Yan Chong¡¯s device beeped with an alert, causing him to take a look.

    However, he became startled at what he saw. ¡°The military on thes is in chaos. None of the ships can be mobilized!¡±

    Yan Wujiu ignored Yan Chong and stared at his own device. Right now, it was impossible for him to send anything from his device because Firesmelt itself had been sealed!

    A momentter, the mes on Firesmelt seemed to soar as ck mes descended, headed straight for Yan Wujiu.

    Yan Wujiu looked at the sky with a stern expression. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Huo Qingshan?¡±

    Above the, Huo Qingshan had a cold look on his face as he responded, ¡°Back then, the victor between us wasn¡¯t decided during that battle in the ze Realm. Your current power level is 170,000, but I¡¯m still far from that. Would you like to battle with me, Yan Wujiu?¡±

    Yan Wujiu was absolutely furious. Countless experts from Firesmelt tore through the void and attacked the opposing forces in outer space. Meanwhile, the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ captains from the Great Yu Empire, Rocky Auna, Liuying Zishan, and the rest, all attacked. This force included the vice-captains, and each one of them was at the Explorer realm at the minimum. Outside of Firesmelt, dozens of powerhouses engaged in battle.

    Yan Wujiu yelled, ¡°Does your Great Yu Empire truly wish to start a war with us?¡±

    ¡°The war began on the day of Yan Feng¡¯s wedding. By the order of the Royal Regent, we are to eliminate Firesmelt,¡± Huo Qingshan sternly responded before charging in.

    Yan Wujiu yelled and leaped straight at Huo Qingshan. A momentter, a sea of mes erupted, covering the entire. The ze distorted the void and spread far and wide.

    This was a battle between Hunters who were able to destroy the void.

    Countless people quivered in terror down below on Firesmelt as they watched the burning sky. The fire, blood, shockwaves, and remnant attacks from the battles breaking out everywhere left them cowering in fear. This was Firesmelt¡¯s doomsday, and all of its experts died pitifully.

    Yan Chong was enraged. He did everything he could to block Liuying Zishan¡¯s attacks, but his eyes turned bloodshot as he became extremely vexed. His battle power exceeded Liuying Zishan¡¯s, but why couldn¡¯t he win? It was because the sh Step technique that Undying Yushan had passed down to the Thirteen Squadrons was a movement-type battle technique that was too much for Yan Chong to handle.

    Even further away, on a near Firesmelt that was meant to protect it, Da Lei killed a Limiteer from Firesmelt. He was surrounded by other members of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Squadrons, and enraged shouts filled the air.

    Firesmelt¡¯s warships had all been sealed away, and many areas were being bombarded by explosives from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s warships. Numerous powerhouses had already died in the attack.

    Firesmelt was a powerful force that was second only to the Great Yu Empire within the Frostwave Weave. While its main headquarters consisted of just a single, it housed arge number of powerhouses on that. On this day, however, this would be the grave for all of them.

    This was the n that Undying Yushan hade up with in the past to eliminate Firesmelt. He had spent many careful years ironing out all of the details, and his n was wless.

    On Crimson, Firesmelt¡¯s army stirred, eager to join the battle.

    Lu Yin, who was standing in the front courtyard of San Dios, calmly watched the screen. With merciless eyes, he ordered, ¡°Kill all who oppose us.¡±

    One sentence. Five words. That was all it took to sentence countless people to death.

    There was no way for Firesmelt to win against the Great Yu Empire in a head-on fight. In the past, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t understood why that was so. Now, however, he had a deep understanding of how powerful the Great Yu Empire truly was. Undying Yushan was a sessor of the ¡°Yu¡± surname of the Seven Courts, which was one of the Three Dark Hands. The battle techniques that he had passed onto the Great Yu Empire were not something that any other organization in the Outerverse could equal.

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, sh Step was still as powerful as ever. It was evident how terrifying this movement technique was, as it allowed many experts from the empire to challenge enemies who were more powerful in terms of raw power level.

    Besides, Undying Yushan had given his squadrons more than just the sh Step technique; there were other battle techniques as well, and they were all skills that were out of reach of any ordinary organization in the Outerverse. Firesmelt was way too weak inparison to the Great Yu Empire.

    The entirety of Firesmelt was stained red. Countless organizations that were subservient to Firesmelt coldly watched on. Nobody in the Frostwave Weave could stop the Great Yu Empire right now. Although the empire had been weakened by the Ross Empire in the past, it was even more terrifying that they had been able to stand up against the Ross Empire at all. Nobody could have imagined such a thing.

    Lu Yin quietly watched the screen and then moved behind Barley.

    ¡°Just a word from you started a whole war, Seventh Bro,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented in aplex tone.

    Lu Yin appeared to be deep in thought as well. War brought cmity, suffering, death, and the loss of emotion with it. It was the most evil word in the universe, but today, he was the one who had initiated it.

    Firesmelt was doomed. The n that Undying Yushan hade up with was truly perfect, and at the moment, Firesmelt could only utilize about 30% of its true might. It was alreadypletely certain that they would be defeated here.

    The Blind Monk and Peach hadn¡¯t even taken part in this war.

    What followed Firesmelt¡¯s defeat would be numerous people bing homeless and countless families being broken.

    Lu Yin hated this, but what else could he do? This war was inevitable. If he hadn¡¯t done anything, then Firesmelt would have joined the ze Realm, putting great pressure on the Great Yu Empire. At that time, the people in trouble would have been the people of the Great Yu Empire.

    There was no right or wrong in this war; the only thing that mattered was which side was stronger.

 Chapter 345: Unofficial Ruler

    <h4>Chapter 345: Unofficial Ruler</h4>

    Blood filled the screen, but it was quickly burnt away by a sea of fire. All of the pain immediately vanished. This was just the first step of Lu Yin¡¯s ns. He needed to unify the entire Frostwave Weave under his rule, and once that was aplished, he would set his sights on the other Weaves.

    Lu Yin no longer wanted to be a mere ant, waiting to be sacrificed. He would never forget his near-death experience on Driftcharge. Although they had initially been in the same boat, Zhuo Daynight had been sent off without suffering any injuries while Lu Yin had been tossed onto a doomed to be eaten by ves. That was the difference that one¡¯s backing could make. This was the reality of the universe.

    I will never let such a thing ever happen to me again. Lu Yin clenched his fists as his heart grew cold.

    Barley observed Lu Yin and noticed the change in Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. Barley sighed; he wasn¡¯t afraid that Lu Yin would be too merciless. Rather, he was more worried that Lu Yin might be too kind. War was a verymonce urrence in the universe. Many organizations were crushed, and countless people died, all on a daily basis. If Lu Yin was too kind, then his future achievements would be limited.

    Lu Yin was still just a student, and Barley was afraid that he might have bet on the wrong person. But by the looks of it, he hadn¡¯t been wrong in supporting Lu Yin. This war would not only alter the situation in the Frostwave Weave, but it would also be a life changing experience for Lu Yin. This person¡¯s future achievements are sure to exceed everyone¡¯s expectations.

    At the other end of San Dios, Puyu looked down. Lu Yin had made use of his own influence as a representative of the Outerverse Youth Council to seal off Firesmelt¡¯s three most important military bases. This wasn¡¯t a huge issue, but it wasn¡¯t a trivial one either. Puyu immediately sent out orders to have a report generated and sent to the Ten Arbiters Council.

    Elsewhere, Wen Sansi and Mira watched a screen that showed the progress of the ongoing war in Firesmelt.

    ¡°He¡¯s pretty ruthless and decisive. That¡¯s good,¡± Wen Sansi sighed in praise.

    Mira frowned. ¡°Lu Yin made use of his authority in the Outerverse Youth Council for personal gain. That might be a problem.¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°If the position doesn¡¯t allow for even this small amount of authority, then there would be no reason for anyone to join the Ten Arbiters Council.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I understand, sir.¡±

    In outer space, near Firesmelt¡¯s main, ck and red mes collided and tore through space. Huo Qingshan was weaker than Yan Wujiu by tens of thousands of battle power. Technically, he should have been on the losing end. And yet, the two were currently on equal footing.

    Each and every one of their attacks burned the void and reduced it to nothingness.

    ¡°zeheart, zesword.¡± Yan Wujiu raised his sword straight up into the sky before shing down with his ming de. His attack destroyed the void and bisected space. It unleashed a boundless sea of fire that even caused the nearbys to start cracking.

    Huo Qingshan waved his arm, and ck mes spread out, apanied by an indescribable shockwave that went head to head against the zesword. Space rippled around the impact like ocean waves.

    ¡°Scram, Huo Qingshan! My Firesmelt has already made the decision to leave the Frostwave Weave. We will never take part in any decision taken by the Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes filled with bloodlust. ¡°You want to join the ze Realm.¡±

    Yan Wujiu¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    All of a sudden, he felt a chill engulf his back, as if his entire body had been frozen. Snow danced about in front of him, and his expression quickly changed as he shouted, ¡°Xueshan Auna!¡±

    There was a bang, and Yan Wujiu coughed out a mouthful of blood as his entire body froze. Xueshan Auna walked out of the void behind Firesmelt¡¯s leader.

    Huo Qingshan narrowed his eyes. He had never expected Xueshan Auna to make an appearance here.

    Yan Wujiu was even more shocked, and he red venomously at Xueshan Auna. ¡°How despicable!¡±

    Xueshan Auna calmly looked over at Yan Wujiu. ¡°You used my daughter to stir up a dispute within the Great Yu Empire. When ites to being despicable, you¡¯re no worse than I am.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, the winner is the one with the final say. There¡¯s nothing that I can do about that! However, do you two really think that you can kill me? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Yan Wujiu howled madly. He waved his hand and unleashed a wave of mes towards Firesmelt that were intense enough to burn the void. The next moment, the zed intensely, and its mes burned even hotter.

    Down below on Firesmelt, Yan Chong was battling with Liuying Zishan when he saw what Yan Wujiu had done. He was shocked to the core and cried out, ¡°You can¡¯t do this, my lord! Everyone will be burnt alive!¡±

    Liuying Zishan immediately fled from Firesmelt.

    Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna exchanged nces and then attacked at the same time. However, they were forced backwards by an even more powerful me.

    ¡°This is bad! Yan Wujiu is absorbing the forbidden mes of Firesmelt. He¡¯s going to destroy the entire to increase his strength!¡± Huo Qingshan had a glum look.

    ¡°We need to stop him!¡± Xueshan Auna sounded anxious.

    However, it was already toote. Firesmelt had transformed into an ocean of mes. Yan Chong had been burnt to death amidst his ear-splitting howls along with numerous other people on the who didn¡¯t even have the chance to scream.

    Countless lives had been lost on just one. It was a terrible tragedy.

    Yan Wujiu soared into the sky as the mes surrounding him increased in temperature. The void kept copsing around him, unable to handle the heat. ¡°You forced me to do this! Die! I swear that I¡¯ll definitely get revenge!¡±

    After saying that, he aimed his sword at Huo QIngshan and Xueshan Auna.

    Meanwhile, back on San Dios, Lu Yin became increasingly worried. Yan Wujiu had been incredibly merciless and killed all of his own people just to grasp a chance to escape. It would be an absolute cmity if he was not killed today.

    Yan Wujiu¡¯s brutal actions shocked even Wen Sansi. ¡°He¡¯s not suited for the Human Domain. His value would be brought out the most at the border or at Gaia''s Swamp.¡±

    ¡°Can the Great Yu Empire stop him?¡± Mira asked.

    Wen Sansi shook his head. ¡°With their abilities, those two aren¡¯t capable of that.¡±

    Mira frowned. Yan Wujiu was way too cruel, to the extent where even she felt a chill crawl down her spine from witnessing his actions.

    Within a room in San Dios, Yan Feng¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at his screen. ¡°Escape, Father! Escape, and we¡¯ll still have a chance to take revenge!¡±

    Boom!

    The sea of fire exploded in space, and Yan Wujiu forced Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna back with a single attack. He looked behind himself with a regretful expression and then fled. He would not continue this battle, for the power that he had gained from destroying Firesmelt would notst for much longer. It was just a, after all, and all it could do was supply him with enough energy to contend against two experts. Escaping, however, would not be difficult.

    All of a sudden, something shed through the void at extreme speed. Even with Yan Wujiu¡¯s abilities, he couldn¡¯t evade it. An attack sliced through his abdomen, and his ming sword crumbled, disintegrating into nothingness.

    The sudden reversal shocked quite a few people watching. Yan Wujiu let out a miserable cry as the terrifying mes that had formed with the help of Firesmelt quickly died down. He red in front of him and saw a girl walking out of the void, eyeing him coldly.

    Upon seeing her, many felt surprised. It was Wendy Yushan.

    On San Dios, Puyu¡¯s eyes grewrge; Wendy Yushan had returned.

    Wen Sansi was bewildered as well, not having expected her to appear at such a time.

    Lu Yin himself was stupefied as well, but his emotions soon became that of delight. The girl¡¯s timing was impable, but would she be able to stop Yan Wujiu? The disparity between them in terms of power levels was huge, but if she worked together with Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna, it might be possible for them to kill him.

    Waves of heat burned through space. Yan Wujiu red venomously at Wendy Yushan. ¡°It¡¯s you, bitch? You wanna die?¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes remained cold the entire time. ¡°Your power is already weakening. Your time is up, Yan Wujiu.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll at least take you down with me!¡± Yan Wujiu howled as he charged towards Wendy Yushan while wielding his broken de.

    With her battle power, Wendy Yushan was not capable of contending against Yan Wujiu. After all, Yan Wujiu¡¯s power level was over 150,000. However, Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna wouldn¡¯t let him get away again. Since Wendy Yushan¡¯s sudden attack had destroyed Yan Wujiu¡¯s boosted mes, the two could now restrain him.

    Right now, Yan Wujiu was even weaker than his state at the beginning of the battle, and he soon found himself at a disadvantage. Before long, he was gravely injured, and his blood was scattered across space.

    Nobody pitied him. Although the Great Yu Empire had started a war against Firesmelt, they had never nned tomit genocide against its people. However, Yan Wujiu had destroyed the entire purely for his own benefit, causing the deaths of countless people. The amount of damage that he¡¯d caused far exceeded that of the Great Yu Empire.

    Under thebined attacks of fire, ice, and Wendy Yushan¡¯s Ten Thousand Swords as One, Yan Wujiu¡¯s blood leaked out into outer space, and he died. A Hunter with a power level of over 150,000 had just died so simply under the gazes of numerous people.

    For the Innerverse, the death of a single Hunter wasn¡¯t anything special. However, the same could not be said for the Outerverse. Each Weave only had a small number of Hunters, and there were far fewer with power levels over 150,000.

    The confirmation of Yan Wujiu¡¯s death meant that no one in the Frostwave Weave would be able to contend against the Great Yu Empire anymore It was now certain that the Great Yu Empire would be able to unify the Frostwave Weave.

    In East San Dios, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and unclenched his fists. There were no longer any opponents standing against him in the Frostwave Weave.

    ¡°The Great Yu Empire has now taken over the Frostwave Weave! That makes you the unofficial ruler of the Frostwave Weave. Congrattions, Seventh Bro!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed in excitement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved up. Unofficial ruler? That sounded pretty good. The person who should rule the Weave was Wendy Yushan, but given her cultivation-obsessed personality, it was impossible for her to establish any real power. That meant that he would hold the true authority.

    Behind him, Barley bowed. ¡°Congrattions, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin waved him away. ¡°I¡¯ll need your help in dealing with the aftermath. I¡¯m sure you know what¡¯ll need to be checked at the three militarys that were sealed off.¡±

    Barley hastily answered, ¡°Of course, sir. Even if Firesmelt wasn¡¯t actually working with the Neohuman Alliance, they still developed weapons forbidden by the Human Domain. Their condemnation is guaranteed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in satisfaction.

    Elsewhere, Wen Sansi turned his screen off and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s getting more and more exciting every time. Lu Yin really doesn¡¯t disappoint. The fact that he has gained control of the Frostwave Weave is definitely not good news for quite a lot of people.¡± He nced over at Mira and then asked, ¡°Do you think that he¡¯ll stretch his hand out towards other Weaves?¡±

    Mira thought it over and seriously answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Wen Sansi burst into a fit ofughter. ¡°What an ambitious guy!¡±

    His gadget suddenly beeped, and Wen Sansi nced at it. ¡°Puyu¡¯s looking for me. He¡¯s saying that Lu Yin overstepped his authority in the Outerverse Youth Council to meddle in a Weave¡¯s internal issues and that he started a war for his own benefit.¡±

    ¡°Puyu is even more ambitious than Lu Yin. Even when Wendy Yushan was around, he essentially wielded all of the power of East San Dios. Although there¡¯s no real evidence, the deaths of the other Councilors from East San Dios might be rted to him,¡± Mira said.

    Wen Sansi nodded. ¡°He needs to be stopped, but Lu Yin needs to learn his ce as well. One can have ambition, but not too much. He might get out of control as a result of this matter.¡± He then rapped his fingers against the table. A whileter, he told Mira, ¡°Let Puyu investigate for now. You can supervise him and allow Lu Yin to suffer a little, but don¡¯t let Puyu win.¡±

    Mira politely acknowledged his order and left.

    There needed to be bnce when it came to power. It would not do to overly side with one party, nor would it do to leave things be. Wen Sansi¡¯s main worry was that Puyu currently had too much influence, and the Arbiter wanted to make use of Lu Yin to bnce out Puyu¡¯s influence. However, the Arbiter was also worried that Lu Yin might go out of control if he wasn¡¯t restrained. It wouldn¡¯t be impossible to resolve this matter, but it would definitely be troublesome. For Wen Sansi, if he lost control over two youths, there would be more trouble for him to deal with, and he disliked trouble.

 Chapter 346: Position and Privileges

    <h4>Chapter 346: Position and Privileges</h4>

    In the Innerverse, Nightqueen Yanqing soon learned of the Frostwave Weave¡¯s military movements as well as the oue. She was furious, as she had tried to use Yan Feng to humiliate Lu Yin and had even set it up so that there would be an opportunity to kill him at the wedding. It had all been to ruin that person. But who could have predicted that all her effort would be turned on its head and help him soar even higher instead. He had defeated two elite Explorers with his own strength. How had he managed to learn Thirty Stacks?

    It had only been a short while since the Astral Combat Tournament was held, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength had improved from the initial Nine Stacks to Thirty Stacks! His progress could chill anyone.

    Since she was a disciple of the Nightking n and the younger sister of Nightking Zhenwu, Nightqueen Yanqing knew exactly what being able to use Thirty Stacks entailed. Lu Yin had already climbed to the peak of the universe¡¯s younger generation. He could only be described as an unequalled Limiteer, and he had reached the same level as those freaks. She wanted to deal with this person as quickly as possible, but she had been stopped by her elders.

    Every day that this person was not eliminated was another day that Yanqing could not rest peacefully.

    The war in the Frostwave Weave was no small matter in the Outerverse, but it did not have much of an impact on the Innerverse. Not even the Ross Empire reacted in any significant manner. Even if the Great Yu Empire unified the Frostwave Weave, they would still be a weak power to those in the Innerverse.

    At this point in time, Huo Qingshan and the rest discovered something strange.

    Yan Wujiu had absorbed all of Firesmelt¡¯s mes to increase his strength, so everything on the should have been destroyed. However, after everything was said and done, they found a single person who waspletely unharmed, sealed within an extremely cold block of ice. This person was Yan Yan, an ordinary Explorer who had been on Firesmelt. He had somehow survived the inferno unleashed by Yan Wujiu, who had a power level of over 150,000.

    ¡°This, this is someone from the Royal Frost Continent!¡± Xueshan Auna was astounded as he stared at the ice on Yan Yan¡¯s body, specifically looking at a distinct symbol. The symbol consisted of a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms, and it left Xueshan Aunapletely stunned.

    Huo Qingshan was puzzled. ¡°The Royal Frost Continent?¡±

    Wendy Yushan was also lost, and she looked at Xueshan Auna.

    The Auna patriarch exined, ¡°You all wouldn¡¯t know this, but the Royal Frost Continent is a very powerful hidden force within the zing Mist Flowzone. That entire continent is hidden within an isted space that few can enter, but their power is extremely terrifying. They are definitely notcking even whenpared to the Ross Empire, the ze Realm, or the Sylvan Dragon n.¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to not be aware of such a power.¡±

    ¡°Princess Wendy, it¡¯s very normal that you don¡¯t know about them as the continent does not allow any outsiders entry. And any who do make their way in will be killed without question. I only unintentionally chanced across a description of this hidden force in a powerhouse¡¯s records, and they described the Royal Frost Continent as having almighty powerhouses, and not just one either. It is the sacrednd of ice and snow, and all those who train there will have these five rings of snowkes on their bodies of ice after they are done. This is the unique symbol of the Royal Frost Continent.¡±

    Xueshan Auna raised his hand and caused the wind to dance, which carried chilling and frolicking snowkes within it. ¡°The Blizzard Palm has been passed down in my family, and I¡¯ve always wanted to seek out the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s entrance in order to train there, but I¡¯ve never found it.¡±

    Wendy Yushan did not ask further; her interest in the Royal Frost Continent was nearly negligible.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was rather intrigued; the Royal Frost Continent caused him to recall Shenwu Continent. Since this hidden power could rival the three great forces of the zing Mist Flowzone, the continent¡¯s power must be even higher than the Shenwu Continent¡¯s.

    Lu Yin searched on thework for a while, but he truly could not find any information regarding the Royal Frost Continent. He thought about it and then decided to use his Honor Points privileges to search again. Only then did he finally find an introduction to the Royal Frost Continent. However, it was only a brief description and had the same information as Xueshan Auna¡¯s exnation.

    The Royal Frost Continent was hidden in a separate space. The other powers within the zing Mist Flowzone, such as the ze Realm, had once attacked the continent, yet had failed. What was different from Shenwu Continent¡¯s tragic fate was that the continent was home to multiple almighty powerhouses of the Royal Frost Continent who had acted and had forcibly beat back the other powers. This had allowed them to gain a mysterious reputation as the fourth power of the zing Mist Flowzone. Since they did not interact with the outside world, they had been forgotten for thousands of years.

    Not even the ze Realm could deal with the Royal Frost Continent, which showed that the continent was not simple. Lu Yin thought about the current matter some more, and then ordered Xueshan Auna and the rest to take Yan Yan back to the Great Yu Empire.

    The aftermath of the war with Firesmelt was veryplicated, but Lu Yin did not need to focus on such activities. Right now, he was on a call with Wendy Yushan; it was their first formal meeting even through their screens.

    Lu Yin never expected that his first meeting with Wendy Yushan would be under such circumstances.

    When he first arrived at the Great Yu Empire¡ªno, even before he arrived at Zenyu Star, someone had already mentioned the issue of Lu Yin¡¯s engagement to Wendy. When he finally arrived, he had discovered that there was a Fifth Princess and had learned about her amazing talent, absolute power, exalted position, world view, ambitions, circumstances, and heroism. Then, he had learned that this person was supposed to be his fianc¨¦e.

    Out of all the geniuses that had been birthed in the Outerverse, few could equal Wendy Yushan, and all the rumors surrounding her made her seem unsurpassable. Things had even reached the point where even the Great Yu Empire could no longer amodate her, and her position even surpassed Undying Yushan¡¯s. She was someone who truly stood at the pinnacle.

    Having a marriage contract with such a person put great pressure upon Lu Yin. This matter had also led to him tasting humiliation at the hands of Bazeer, which had been nearly unbearable. In some way, Wendy Yushan had contributed to the matters that led to Lu Yin¡¯s humiliation because of her detached and dismissive attitude and herplete disregard for Lu Yin.

    Sometimes, apathy could cause the greatest harm, which was fully embodied by Wendy Yushan. She herself had never even realized the harm that she had caused Lu Yin, and he did not want to admit it either. Deep down, Lu Yin wanted to forcefully rip off her apathetic demeanor by meeting her face-to-face and personally asking her, ¡°What makes you think that you can back out of this marriage?¡±

    But now that he was actually in a meeting with her, he was unable to say those words when facing this indifferent youngdy.

    Both of them remained silent for several minutes, but then Lu Yin finally spoke. ¡°My condolences.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression was cold, but a sliver of grief shone through the depths of her eyes. The entire Yushan Family was dead, and even their corpses had been taken. However, she still revealed no sorrow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He had initially intended tofort her, but it seemed that that was unnecessary. For her to reach her current standing was proof that her willpower was very firm. ¡°You¡¯re too impulsive.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I¡¯m the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, so as long as you belong to the Great Yu Empire, you are my concern.¡±

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin, and the two locked eyes for quite a while. Then, she coldly replied, ¡°Your power¡¯s not bad, but it won¡¯t be that easy to catch up to me.¡±

    Lu Yin was especially unhappy when he saw her detached expression. ¡°It won¡¯t take much longer.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes flickered, and she stared at him with a serious expression. She had no response as Lu Yin had taken less than three years to reach his current level. It was simply mind-bogglingly, but it showed that his innate gift might even surpass her own. If given another three years, what level would he reach? The Top Hundred Rankings? Top Fifty? Twenty? Or even the top ten? She could not make a guess.

    ¡°You¡¯re the Lockbreaker Seventh Bro?¡± She changed topics.

    Lu Yin nodded. He did not feel awkward for tricking her back then since their interests had been different.

    ¡°Your talent for lockbreaking is impressive.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll return to East San Dios in a while. Be careful of Puyu.¡± And with that, she disconnected the call.

    Lu Yin gathered himself. This woman was no fool, but her capabilities aside from cultivation were simply toocking. Once she returned, his own position would return to being a representative, just like Barley.

    Ding! Lu Yin looked down at his gadget and then back at Barley. ¡°Take good care of things when handling the matter with Firesmelt.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Representative Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin left the courtyard and headed for the Council headquarters, which was located on San Dios¡¯ highest tower. The Council¡¯s meeting room was also there, and it was the ce that housed the highest authority. Mira was waiting there for Lu Yin.

    The fact that Lu Yin had used the Council¡¯s authority to intervene in a war for his own personal gain was a weakness that Puyu would never allow to slip through his fingers. It was probably this matter that had prompted Mira to summon Lu Yin. However, he was not worried at all since Wen Sansi hade to San Dios specifically to restrict Puyu, and the Arbiter could not remain at East San Dios forever. The true counterbnce against Puyu was Lu Yin himself, so nothing would happen to him. At the most, he would receive a p on the wrist.

    And Lu Yin was willing to take on this risk in order to unify the Frostwave Weave.

    Before long, Lu Yin entered the council tower and raised his head. The peak in front of him was the highest point above the Aze Maind, and this ce represented the extreme authority of the Council. The view must be good from up there.

    Mira was standing at the top, her back towards Lu Yin as she stared into the distant sky. Even the clouds were below San Dios, so she only saw a boundless sea of clouds and the seven moons.

    She coldly said, ¡°Arbiter Wen has ordered Puyu to investigate the matter of you using the Council to intervene in the Frostwave Weave¡¯s war. Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡±

    Lu Yin was not ustomed to this new icy attitude from her. ¡°Representative Barley has investigated Firesmelt for a long time. He has discovered that they have been producing weapons banned by the Human Domain. Hence, with the excuse of investigating their rtionship with the Neohuman Alliance, the Firesmelt¡¯s three militarys were sealed.¡±

    Mira turned around and smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, and Arbiter Wen¡¯s no fool either. Your reasons are too basic.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply.

    ¡°But in the universe, strength is an indisputable truth. Thus, no one really pays any mind to the so-called ¡®reason.¡¯ You should be able to enjoy the benefits of whatever position you are given.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped. ¡°Is this Arbiter Wen¡¯s intention?¡±

    Mira smiled and walked beside Lu Yin, causing a fragrance to waft over him. ¡°Arbiter Wen¡¯s intention is simple. You¡¯ve gone overboard, so your status of acting councilor will be stripped for the duration of Puyu¡¯s investigation.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Give my thanks to Arbiter Wen for not pursuing this matter any further.¡±

    Mira giggled. ¡°The acting councilor position has been stripped, but you are still Wendy Yushan¡¯s representative. She will return soon, so you must work hard to stabilize your own position.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips lifted into a smile. ¡°Thank you, Senior Mira, for the reminder. I¡¯ve made suitable arrangements for myself. After all, all the councilors of the Council of Astral Academy are also members of the Universe Youth Council.¡±

    Mira was stumped, as she had forgotten that Lu Yin also held that position. She had originally wanted to follow through on Arbiter Wen¡¯s intention and temporarily kick Lu Yin from the circle of authority, forcing him to take a backseat. However, his position as a part of the Council of Astral Academy meant that his position was higher than any other representative, and he could even converse with Wendy Yushan as an equal. If this was the case, then how could he ever be pushed out of the circle of authority?

    Even if Lu Yin did not have the identity of an acting councilor, with Lu Yin¡¯s value and his identity as a member of the Council of Astral Academy, there would always be someone willing to obey his orders.

 Chapter 347: Extortion

    <h4>Chapter 347: Extortion</h4>

    What a headache! Mira looked at Lu Yin helplessly, as this was the first time she had realized how troublesome it could be when someone had too many influential positions. This Lu Yin had relied on his numerous statuses to fearlessly charge into San Dios all by himself. He was confident that no one would kill him even if he roamed the universe alone.

    ¡°You¡¯re rather annoying to deal with,¡± shemented.

    Lu Yinughed. He was a two-star Discerning Junior Lockbreaker, had two Honor Points, was a member of the Council of Astral Academy, and was a representative of the Outerverse Youth Council. Just one of these identities could safeguard his life, which made things much more interesting. It almost seemed like ¡°the more the merrier.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said what I needed to. You¡¯re like a hedgehog, able to retaliate no matter what direction someone approaches you from.¡± She rolled her eyes at Lu Yin.

    He smiled. ¡°No matter what, I still have to thank Senior Mira.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes lit up, and she lifted Lu Yin¡¯s chin with a hand. ¡°If you really want to thank me, then answer one question.¡±

    ¡°You are prettier,¡± Lu Yin replied seriously.

    She was left speechless. ¡°I haven¡¯t even asked yet.¡±

    ¡°No matter who you may bepared to, Senior Mira is still the prettiest.¡±

    She chuckled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ept yourpliment, and I¡¯ll pass it on to Wendy Yushan as well.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback by her response and left without saying another word. This woman was crazy in the head! It seemed as if she enjoyed sowing dissent.

    Lu Yin released his domain after leaving the tower and rxed his mind. San Dios¡¯ scope was not thatrge, and he quickly arrived at the boundary of the floating city. If one looked down from the edge of San Dios, they would see a pretty good view.

    The five arched entrances were obvious, and each guard was a Cruiser from the Prairie me Continent, not someone from the younger generation.

    Lu Yin walked out a short ways away from the arched entrance and looked down. Ayer of clouds was blocking his view, so he raised his hand and used a wave of energy to disperse them. Then, the vast maind finally entered his sight.

    The scenery from the top was indeed very different.

    At that moment, a figure bursting with bloodlust appeared about one hundred meters behind Lu Yin and stabbed at him with a sword. It was Yan Feng.

    Lu Yin had discovered him long ago, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to do anything.

    The guarding Cruiser at the arched door immediately reacted. His strength already easily eclipsed that of his peers, which was why he was qualified to guard San Dios. He quickly suppressed the severely injured Yan Feng and pinned him firmly down to the floor.

    Yan Feng raised his head and stared at Lu Yin with venomous eyes. ¡°Lu Yin, you won¡¯t have a good death! You caused countless to die on Firesmelt! I must return this favor!¡±

    Lu Yin walked over to Yan Feng and slowly squatted down next to him. ¡°You also watched the battle of Firesmelt. The one who killed countless people was your father, Yan Wujiu, not me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who instigated the war! My father was forced to those extreme actions against his will! Lu Yin, you will pay with your life for the countless lives lost on Firesmelt, as well as for my father¡¯s!¡± Yan Feng screamed maniacally.

    Lu Yin sighed and raised his hand to pat Yan Feng¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re clearly tired of living. Go on then, join your father.¡± As Lu Yin stood up, Yan Feng¡¯s eyes became bloodshot, and his head slowly drooped down. Lu Yin had applied some force,pletely shattering all of Yan Feng¡¯s organs and instantly killing him.

    The pupils of the Cruiser shrank. He gave Lu Yin an apprehensive look before returning to his post.

    Ambushing a representative was a rather serious offense. Lu Yin would not be held ountable for killing Yan Feng in the slightest.

    The final danger of Firesmelt had been eliminated, and Lu Yinzily stretched his body. From now on, Firesmelt was no more. He raised an arm and activated his gadget. ¡°Formte a battle n to the unify Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Huo Qingshan¡¯s voice could be heard in response.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you must have purposelye here to give Yan Feng this opportunity, right?¡± the Ghost Monkey probed.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Who knows? He went crazy long ago, and now, he¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so scary,¡± the monkey mumbled.

    The only person that could threaten Lu Yin in San Dios anymore was Puyu. Lu Yin could not deal with Puyu for now, but he was not in any hurry either. If Puyu was eliminated, then Lu Yin would be done for as well.

    For the next few days, Lu Yin peacefully stayed in San Dios, and no one created any trouble for him.

    Puyu spent that time investigating the matter of Firesmelt, but strangely enough, he did not cause Lu Yin any trouble. It could only be said that storms were brewing on the horizon.

    The other representatives under Wendy Yushan did not automatically express their goodwill to Lu Yin, but he did not pay them any mind. When Puyu previously roped them in, they had only merely feigned their approval. Their ardent desire to preserve their own lives was much stronger than any desire they held for power.

    Meanwhile, something happened that caused Lu Yin to feel more awkward¡ªMichelle contacted him.

    He had promised to help herprehend battle force. This would be the third time he had to postpone his promise, and he felt a little embarrassed about doing so.

    The battle ns for the Great Yu Empire to unify the Frostwave Weave had already been formted, and it developed inconceivably quickly. Lu Yin did not even need to look into it to guess that this n had already been in the works while Undying Yushan was still in power. The ns had not been executed due to various reasons, but now, it was their ideal opportunity to strike.

    Lu Yin had wanted to use this n to drag Wendy Yushan back to the Great Yu Empire, but unfortunately, her ambitions pointed elsewhere. She was already nning to return to San Dios in a few more days.

    Jenny Auna had also been sent back to Zenyu Star and had been handed over to the Auna family. Xueshan Auna was extremely grateful for this matter. After all, regardless of how he had tried to use Jenny, she was still his daughter. Thus, the Auna patriarch was deeply grateful towards Lu Yin for not simply killing her.

    Lu Yin spent two days perusing all the avable information concerning Bushtree since he nned to head over there and retrieve some natural treasures in a few days. However, there was another matter troubling his mind¡ªhis financial status. Without money, he would have no use for any of the natural treasures.

    The fastest way for him to earn money right now was through lockbreaking, so it looked like he could only focus on that for now.

    Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. They should have received many spoils of war from invading Firesmelt, so why had he not received a cut of anything?

    He immediately contacted Huo Qingshan, whose expression turned strange. ¡°Your Highness, the spoils of war from invading Firesmelt must all be handed into the empire¡¯s treasury.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even get a little?¡± Lu Yin was unsatisfied.

    Huo Qingshan considered the question. ¡°Your Highness, the empire currently requires too many resources to rebuild. With the recently formted ns to unify the Frostwave Weave, the greatest challenge to the empire is itsck of resources. You-¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it. Basically, there¡¯s no money,¡± Lu Yin impatiently interrupted.

    Huo Qingshan replied. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m not the one you should be asking about this. The new finance minister, Gavin, would know more.¡±

    Lu Yin directly disconnected the call. Surprisingly, the Empire was actually broke. Actually, it was very normal for it to have no money since war burned money like nothing else.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re too much of a money-grubber,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; no one could sympathize with his plight. If he had enough money, then his power would increase rapidly beyond measure. Unfortunately, that much money was too hard toe by, making him eternally wish that he had the support of arge financial group.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Darkvoid; he was a seed of Shamrock Enterprises and therefore should not becking in money. However, he was the most envious of Lulu, who was so rich that she could take out an absurd amount of money without even batting an eye.

    He still owed Lulu a significant sum, and he started wondering if that brat had already gone to the Great Yu Empire. She had wanted to search for information rting to the Court of Seven Names there, but it was bound to be a wasted trip.

    At this time, Barley requested an audience with him.

    ¡°Representative Lu, there are some registered individuals from the Innerverse who wish to formally enter San Dios,¡± Barley happily informed.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Registered members? Who?¡±

    ¡°Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What motives could they possibly have foring here now?¡±

    ¡°It should be due to hearing Representative Lu¡¯s fame, and they areing here on ount of your reputation.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled; attracted by his fame? It would be strange if Yue Xianzi didn¡¯t scold him upon seeing him since he had toyed with her a bit back on the Shenwu Continent. ¡°When will they arrive?¡±

    ¡°Within two days.¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his chin. ¡°Tell them that not just anyone who wishes toe cane. They can wait since they are so keen to register.¡±

    Barley felt lost. Lu Yin obviously wanted to pull these nominees over just a few days ago, so what had caused this change now?

    ¡°Go on and tell them.¡± Lu Yin shook his head.

    Barley immediately agreed.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what are you scheming?¡± The Ghost Monkey was very curious.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°What do you think they¡¯re trying to achieve bying to San Dios at this time? Logically, if they truly intended to join the Outerverse Youth Council, they would look for Puyu. Given their statuses as descendants of powerful Innerverse organizations, Puyu definitely would not treat them unfairly. However, they actually chose to approach me, and don¡¯t forget that Yue Xianzi holds a grudge against me.¡±

    The monkey guessed, ¡°Could it be because of the strength that Seventh Bro disyed?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Most likely. There¡¯s only a few Ten Arbiters candidates who are publicly recognized as such even when both the Innerverse and Outerverse are taken into consideration. Also, a few of the Ten Arbiters won¡¯t be part of the younger generation for much longer, so the contest for their positions will start soon.¡±

    ¡°Even so, it won¡¯t be Seventh Bro¡¯s turn next. You¡¯re just a Limiteer, and I believe that there are also Explorers who are Ten Arbiters candidates, like the top ten in the Top Hundred Rankings.¡± The monkey didn¡¯t believe Lu Yin¡¯s reason.

    Lu Yin raised his head. ¡°They¡¯re ying the long game. What would you know? You monkey.¡±

    ¡°If you truly wanted topete, then you should look to rope in those people.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m notpletely certain yet, but we can try for now. If they truly want to rely on me, then they¡¯ll need to show some sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be gullible, and don¡¯t forget that Yue Xianzi¡¯s Frostmoon Sect is in the Daynight Flowzone. Do you think that they will openly cast their lots with you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Every generation has its own issues. Even though Yue Xianzi is the Frostmoon Sect¡¯s young mistress, there are other disciples besides her, and they might even be more than ten years older than her. Those people might be assisting the Daynight n and can¡¯t be bothered with her. Regardless, she must have her own reasons foring to me.¡±

    The monkey mumbled, ¡°You¡¯re always so reasonable.¡±

    Nearby, Barley passed Lu Yin¡¯s message onto Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua. They had different reactions; An Shaohua was astonished and asked Barley how he could enter San Dios. Yue Xianzi, on the other hand, gnashed her teeth in outrage. However, the oue for both of them was still the same since she still wanted to be Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate.

    Lu Yin considered the matter. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for them to join me, but the Great Yu Empire¡¯s finances are strained right now, and I¡¯m a bit troubled over this matter. Let them wait for a little while longer.¡±

    Barley was stunned. Is he extorting them?

    The Ghost Monkey was also rendered speechless. ¡°Seventh Bro, this money-grubbing sickness of yours is really getting worse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up. He did not mind the monkey¡¯s words since it was just as he had said. Even if the Ten Arbiters gave up their positions, he still was not capable of recing them. Thus, he was in no rush to gather geniuses under himself. And no matter if it was Yue Xianzi or An Shaohua, neither one was an overly important character. It was up to Lu Yin to ept them or not since these two could look towards no one else apart from Lu Yin if they wanted to participate in the contest for the position of the next Ten Arbiters. Lu Yin was confident in his calctions.

 Chapter 348: The Elites From Earth

    <h4>Chapter 348: The Elites From Earth</h4>

    These two were merely the first of many who would soon start following in Lu Yin¡¯s footsteps. This change was due to power alone. The more powerful he became, the more people would want to follow him. Money? That was nothing to many Innerverse organizations.

    Such organizations were impatient for Lu Yin to fall into some kind of trouble so that they could help him. A perfect and powerful person was also the most terrifying kind of person.

    Within the Innerverse, in Astral-7, Yue Xianzi looked incredibly troubled after she heard Barley¡¯s news. She had expected Lu Yin toe up with all sorts of requests or to even ask for help from the Frostmoon Sect. But to her surprise, all he wanted was money. That didn¡¯t make any sense!

    Then, Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes lit up. It was impossible for Lu Yin to only want money, so with this thought in mind, she quickly contacted those in her sect and repeated what she had been told.

    The many elders that appeared on her screen were all esteemed members of her sect, and they all appeared incredibly solemn and deep in thought.

    ¡°With how things are right now, there are four Limiteer cultivators who truly have what it takes to be considered Ten Arbiters candidates. Of the Explorer realm cultivators, the Top Hundred Rankings must also be considered. However, amongst those hundred, only the top five truly stand a chance of seeding. In other words, there are nine people in total who can feasibly be one of the next Ten Arbiters. Our Frostmoon Sect has already shown our goodwill to three of these people, and of those three, if any one of them bes a Ten Arbiter, it will be a great boon for our sect. Lu Yin shall be the fourth,¡± an old woman dered.

    ¡°Yes, but of those nine, Lu Yin has the lowest chances of seeding. He doesn¡¯t have the necessary connections, and just the Great Yu Empire can¡¯t support him. Who cares if he unifies the Frostwave Weave? Just the Ross Empire from the zing Flowzone can easily wipe them out.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s growing stronger at an rming rate. Based on our current information, he has spent less than three years to reach his current strength. Three years! That¡¯s much quicker than any of his peers. In terms of strength, he¡¯s definitely surpassed any Limiteer. Thirty Stacks was a record that Arbiter Lan set when he was in the Astral Combat Academy, and to date, nobody other than Lu Yin has managed to achieve the same feat. Don¡¯t forget¡ªhe¡¯s not even a peak Limiteer yet. It¡¯s very likely that he¡¯ll be able to break Arbiter Lan¡¯s record. His future is very bright.¡±

    ¡°But he also has a huge grudge with the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s his one problem. He has no connections at all, but he still riled up the Daynight n just to save that Daynight girl who testified for him. It¡¯s terrifying that he managed to do that at all. Aside from the elder council of their n, no one else knows how he managed to aplish such a thing. He has a unique ability, and his methods are very clever.¡±

    ¡­

    Yue Xianzi stood in front of her screen as she watched as the elders discussed the matter.

    Quite some timeter, the discussion finally ended.

    ¡°We¡¯ll do as we initially nned. You¡¯ll be subordinate to Lu Yin and then be a subordinate member of the Outerverse Youth Council under him,¡± an old woman informed Yue Xianzi.

    Yue Xianzi was at a loss. ¡°Lu Yin brought up a very strange requirement. What do you make of it?¡±

    Quite a few of the olddies seemed like they were suffering from a headache. They had no idea what Lu Yin actually wanted. It did seem like he really was asking for money, but that couldn¡¯t be possible! Even an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t mention wanting more money, much less a young genius such as Lu Yin.

    ¡°Get the map of the Frostwave Weave,¡± one of them ordered.

    Not too long after, a number of old women studied the star chart when one of them lit up. ¡°I think I get it now! Lu Yin needs the money not for himself, but rather because he¡¯s taking the organizations that sit next to the Frostwave Weave into consideration, such as the Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect, for example. He¡¯s worried that they¡¯ll take advantage of the chaos to sneak into the Frostwave Weave, which would force the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops to be split up, stretching the empire¡¯s finances even thinner. He¡¯s hinting for us to help him deal with organizations like the Nine Stacks Sect, which are putting pressure on the Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! That makes much more sense. He¡¯s incredibly thorough. Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to guess his intent, but thanks to Elder Lin, who¡¯s taken part in many border battles and is incredibly experienced, we managed to understand.¡± One of the olddies sighed in admiration.

    Elder Lin looked very proud of herself. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s nothing. He¡¯s very calcting. How about this? We¡¯ll send a few experts over to warn the Nine Stacks Sect.¡±

    ¡°Of course. We should also warn some of the other organizations near the Frostwave Weave as well.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±

    ¡­

    Yue Xianzi pursed her lips, wanting to mention that she believed Lu Yin might actually need the money. When she recalled his disgusting face, she grew even more firm in her belief that he really only wanted money. However, that didn¡¯t make sense. Whatever. Elder Lin must have figured out his true intentions.

    Elsewhere, An Shaohua of the Watermoon Vi was deep in thought as well. The higher ups of his organization were even more puzzled than the Frostmoon Sect¡¯s elders.

    ¡°Is the Great Yu Empire in need of money because their economy crashed during the war? Or has the Mavis Bank abandoned the empire?¡±

    ¡°Did the Ross Empire do something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible¡­¡±

    ¡­

    After discussing all of their possible options, Watermoon Vi ultimately decided to send a team to the Great Yu Empire to help improve the empire¡¯s economy. Theypletely disregarded Lu Yin¡¯s request for money, thinking it was nothing more than a joke. Nobody would request money in such a tant manner; there had to be some kind of underlying meaning to his words.

    In San Dios, Barley found Lu Yin again. ¡°Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua have both responded, saying they understand your request and that will make preparations right away, sir.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. They¡¯re making preparations? Are they going to give me a lot? Theserge organizations are amazing. He became very excited, because having a lot of money meant that he¡¯d be able to cultivate at an even faster rate. This also meant that he would also be able to roll his die after gathering more natural treasures from Bushtree. The thought of such a future made him even more excited. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a lot stronger now, monkey!¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was confused. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°Nothing special. I¡¯m just going to break Arbiter Lan¡¯s record!¡± Lu Yin dered haughtily.

    Lu Yin remained in San Dios, waiting for Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua to send money over. Meanwhile, on Zenyu Star, arge spacecraft docked on the¡¯s space station. A bunch of youths looked outside the spacecraft in excitement. These youths were all from Earth and were the first batch of elites who had been selected to be formally educated at Yu Academy.

    They might be considered elites, but that was only with Earth¡¯s standards. In the Great Yu Empire, any random student would be more powerful than these Earthlings. Earth was still too weak, and even the strongest cultivator from Earth¡¯s trials, Zhou Shan, had only reached the Melder realm. And even that was after receiving help from the Great Yu Empire.

    Inside the space station, Tianming waited quietly and watched as the spacecraft docked. Behind him, a member of Yu Academy had an annoyed expression. ¡°It¡¯s just a from the border regions, Hall Master. Is it really necessary for us toe out and personally wee some Sentinels or even Seekers?¡±

    Tianming smiled. ¡°They¡¯re from Earth.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± the Yu Academy student responded.

    Tianming gave him an odd look. ¡°You¡¯ve never heard of Earth?¡±

    That member frowned. ¡°It sounds pretty familiar. Let me think.¡± Soon enough, his eyes went wide. ¡°Earth? The Astral Combat Tournament? Is that the Royal Regent¡¯s home!?¡±

    Tianming nodded. ¡°Yes, Earth is the Royal Regent¡¯s home.¡±

    The student sucked in a cold breath and his gaze towards the spacecraft dramatically changed. A person¡¯s hometown would always be very important to them, and the two people with the most authority within the Great Yu Empire were the Royal Regent and Wendy Yushan. It was a symbolic matter that people from the Royal Regent¡¯s home were arriving. It was no wonder why these cultivators had been considered important enough for Hall Leader Tianming to wee them himself.

    After the spacecraft finished docking, the hatch opened and a battalion lined up in two rows. After that, an Explorer walked out. It was obvious that he was a member of the military from his stern expression as he exited the spacecraft.

    Behind the Explorer was Zhao Yu.

    Two years had passed, but Zhao Yu had barely changed. She had be a bit more sullen, but that was in part due to her battle technique. As one of the Three Snowgirls under Bai Xue, she had crossed a doomednd on her own to arrive at Jinlin. This woman was very strong-willed in a way that few were able to match. She¡¯d only been a Sentinel at that time, which was also called the Realm of Earth back on Earth. Now, she had managed to be a Seeker.

    Behind Zhao Yu stood Feng Hong, the instructor for new troops back at Jinlin. He had a pretty good rtionship with Lu Yin and had also be a Seeker.

    Behind Feng Hong was Luo Yi, who had once tried to seduce Lu Yin and who had also suffered horrendously on doomsday. She was even more beautiful than before and had be a Seeker as well.

    Behind Luo Yi was Qin Xuan. She was from Jinlin as well and had only met Lu Yin a few times. Like the rest, she was now a Seeker.

    After her was Huan Sha, who was from Beijing. She had helped Zhang Dingtian stabilize the chaotic aftermath of the trial and hadn¡¯t originally wanted to leave Earth. However, after hearing that Zhang Dingtian had gone missing, she¡¯d made the difficult decision to leave Earth and search the universe for him.

    These five were all people whom Lu Yin knew. Feng Hong and Luo Yi, in particr, had a pretty good rtionship with him.

    Behind Lu Yin¡¯s five acquaintances were quite a few other young people from Earth, and most of them were Sentinels, though there were some Seekers as well.

    The mutations that had urred during the trials on Earth meant that bing a Seeker was not as difficult as it had been before, but it still wasn¡¯t easy to be one, either.

    In the distance, Tianming nced at his gadget. Information on all of the cultivators from Earth was disyed there, and there were only a few who were worth mentioning. Huan Sha had awakened the innate gift of imitation and analyzing, Qin Xuan had an innate gift of dissolving, Fu Xiaoshu had an innate gift of illusion, Zhen Tong had an innate gift of flowers, and Song Shi had an innate gift of wind.

    All five of them had awakened innate gifts, which was rather surprising to Tianming. Awakening an innate gift by chance was a one in a million event, and any cultivator who managed to do so was always wee to join the Universe Youth Council. That showed just how highly the universe thought of cultivators with innate gifts.

    There were very few cultivators in the Great Yu Empire who had awakened innate gifts, but five had emerged from a backwater like Earth. It was simply inconceivable, and even the captain of the twelfth squadron, Ban Jiu, was investigating Earth to look into this anomaly.

    As Feng Hong gazed at the huge Zenyu Star and the three massive rings that were clearly visible above them, he sighed ruefully. ¡°This is the view that Lu Yin saw two years ago. We¡¯re finally able to see the same sight now.¡±

    Luo Yi had a grim look in her eyes. ¡°He was just a Troop Leader back then, but now, he¡¯s a genius powerhouse who¡¯s known across the universe. We¡¯re way too far behind, Feng Hong.¡±

    Feng Hong burst intoughter. ¡°Don¡¯tpare us with him. Everyone is weakpared to him, haha!¡±

    Huan Sha nced around. What she saw was very different from what her peers saw. She was analyzing the space station, but no matter how hard she looked, the defense of the space station seemed to bepletely invulnerable to attacks from someone with her power level. This was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star.

    Zhao Yu looked up. She was actually only here so that she could search for Bai Xue. All the hopes of the many people from Blue Camp had been ced on her shoulders; they could not simply ept the fact that Bai Xue had suddenly gone missing.

 Chapter 349: Pirates?

    <h4>Chapter 349: Pirates?</h4>

    Not too far away from Zhao Yu, there was a beautiful woman who was surveying her surroundings with curiosity, her shining eyes betraying her excitement. She had finally left Earth! Back then, she¡¯d seen so many powerful powerhouses fighting on a screen. Those battles had all been incredibly exciting, and all of the interesting innate gifts and terrifying battle techniques disyed there had caught her attention. It was precisely because she¡¯d seen the Astral Combat Tournament that Zhen Tong had decided toe to Zenyu Star. She needed to leave Earth so that she could be like Lu Yin and one day reach a stage where videos of her would be spread throughout the universe.

    Most of the people here had a simr line of thought as Zhen Tong¡¯s. Elsewhere, Fu Xiaoshu looked calm, but there was a zing ambition buried deep within his eyes. His family had died from the mutation, and he no longer had anything worth living for. For a long time after that, he had scraped by as a beggar, merely scrounging for some food to eat while waiting to die. But then, he had witnessed something life-changing on that screen. The moment the word ¡°Earth¡± appeared, he had realized the ultimate meaning of his life. When he saw Lu Yin fighting, he had realized what he should be pursuing.

    Among the group, there was also a very brash young man. His name was Song Shi, and he too had watched the tournament through the screens on Earth. At that time, he¡¯d been in the forest, trying to understand how the wind flowed through the trees. He¡¯d watched the battles of the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest. During them, he had made the decision to follow this person for the rest of his life. Lu Yin would be his only goal and aspiration in life.

    Many of the cultivators from Earth waited, both anxious and excited for what was about to happen. They had managed to stand out amongst the millions of cultivators from Earth and would definitely be able to return in glory in the future.

    p p p!

    Tianming walked up to them and smiled as everyone turned around to look at him.

    ¡°Hello, cultivators from Earth. I am Tianming, and I¡¯m a Hall Master from Yu Academy. Starting today, you will be members of Yu Academy and will go through the harshest training avable in the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Dayster, back on San Dios, Lu Yin frowned as he looked at Barley. ¡°Did you really tell Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua what I said word for word?¡±

    Barley grew fearful. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Lu Yin was baffled. ¡°How did they respond?¡±

    ¡°They said that they needed to make preparations,¡± Barley replied.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Make preparations? Did they mention what kind of preparations they would be making?¡±

    Barley shook his head.

    Lu Yin was very confused. Why was it taking them so long? The Frostmoon Sect and Watermoon Vi shouldn¡¯t be so poor that they would take this much time to gather the amount of money that he¡¯d specified. That was impossible! These organizations clearly didn¡¯t value him in the extreme, so they definitely wouldn¡¯t give him too many resources. The whole situation was incredibly strange. Could they have lied to him?

    With this thought in mind, Lu Yin snorted. ¡°Go ahead and tell Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua toe to San Dios right away.¡±

    Barley quickly acknowledged his boss.

    The Ghost Monkey snickered. ¡°They¡¯re ignoring you, Seventh Bro. I told you¡ªyou¡¯re just a Limiteer. Even if a Ten Arbiter does withdraw from their position, it will have nothing to do with you. There¡¯s plenty of young Explorers alreadypeting for that spot! For instance, the top ten on the Top Hundred Rankings. It¡¯s hrious that you think that you even have a shot!¡±

    Lu Yin nonchntly blocked the monkey off; the beast was too noisy.

    Two days passed, and then Lu Yin received news from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s finance minister, Gavin, that Watermoon Vi had sent a team to the Great Yu Empire and announced that they would help the empire¡¯s economy to recover.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. He clutched his head, stifling the urge to curse. In the end, Watermoon Vi had misunderstood him because he¡¯d been too indirect! He could only ce his hopes on the Frostmoon Sect, but he had a bad feeling about what they would do as well.

    As he thought, Huo Qingshan contacted him that same day in the afternoon, informing Lu Yin that the Nine Stacks Sect had contacted him. The sect had promised that they would not attack the Frostwave Weave and were obviously trying to show their goodwill to the empire. They also passed on the fact that the Frostmoon Sect had sent people to request this of them.

    Lu Yin was incredibly disappointed. He had actually been too indirect, and it had led all of these fools misunderstanding him! Next time, he¡¯d have to ask for money even more directly.

    Thankfully, he¡¯d blocked the monkey off beforehand, or else he¡¯d be teased forever.

    Lu Yin tapped his gadget and started brainstorming the best way to earn money. All of a sudden, Mira appeared with a strange smile on her face, as if she was delighted to announce horrible tidings.

    After seeing her excited smile, Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched, and a bad feeling surfaced in his heart. ¡°What happened, Ms. Mira?¡±

    Mira chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re in trouble, Mr. Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he eyed Mira. He suddenly thought of Puyu. That guy had been looking into why Lu Yin had sealed Firesmelt¡¯s three militarys, which meant that the Councilor had been quieter than usual recently. ¡°Has Puyu already made his move?¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°Puyu has already made what you did to Firesmelt public. Right now, nearly a hundred organizations from the Grandtop Weave, Lars Weave, and Woori Weave have banded together to report you, iming you¡¯ve abused your authority by interfering in wars in the Outerverse. They say that you¡¯ve destroyed the bnce, used your authority for personal gain, and so on and so forth. There are dozens of usations that have already been sent to Arbiter Wen.¡± Mira then grinned widely in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Even I got mad from seeing those usations, Mr. Lu. Hehe.¡±

    Lu Yin went quiet, looking quite glum. Puyu had been in the Outerverse Youth Council for a long time and had built up numerous connections. The fact that he¡¯d managed to band together over a hundred organizations to go against Lu Yin was rather frightening and showed the amount of influence the Councilor possessed. Of course, this also had to do with the Darkstar Gorge that was backing Puyu. However, the Councilor himself was quite capable as well.

    After seeing Lu Yin fall silent, Mira grinned. She quite liked seeing Lu Yin with a disgruntled expression. For some reason, it felt refreshing. Ever since she¡¯d been teased at the border warfront after that battle, she¡¯d be slightly vindictive towards Lu Yin.

    Mira crossed her fair legs, revealing her perfect, bare ankles that dazzled Lu Yin. He looked up at her face with an earnest expression. ¡°How many organizations did you say there were?¡±

    ¡°Over a hundred.¡± Mira looked up with a satisfied expression, as if she was the one who had gathered them all together.

    Lu Yin suddenly chuckled in an incredibly happy tone, to the point where it sounded quite disgusting.

    Mira blinked. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her, lifted a hand, and used his star energy to create a chess board. ¡°If there were a thousand pieces on this chess board that belonged to you but then someone suddenly took a few, how would you react?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d cut off the hands of the person who touched them,¡± Mira answered matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Why?¡± he asked.

    Mira arched an eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s mine is mine. Nobody has the right to take it away from me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and sighed. ¡°Exactly, what¡¯s yours is yours. And I imagine that Arbiter Wen feels the same way.¡±

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s metaphor, Mira¡¯s expression suddenly changed before she stood up and hurriedly left.

    Lu Yin smiled as he watched her leave.

    Puyu had made the wrong move. If he had simply worked with a few organizations to pressure Lu Yin, then Arbiter Wen might have followed along and given some kind of punishment to Lu Yin to further pressure him. However, Puyu had banded together with over a hundred different organizations, revealing therge amount of influence that he wielded in the Outerverse Youth Council. Those organizations should have sided with the Ten Arbiters, but Puyu had been able to mobilize them all by himself. These Outerverse organizations were essentially a handful of chess pieces out of a thousand that the Ten Arbiters controlled. It was no wonder why Arbiter Wen would be annoyed that his chess pieces had been mobilized by someone else.

    Puyu had been too impulsive, or perhaps he had been driven mad by Lu Yin. The recent events had led to Puyu desperately trying to take care of Lu Yin once and for all. Unfortunately, he¡¯d gone too far.

    The next time Mira saw Wen Sansi, her heart lurched; he appeared to be in a bad mood.

    ¡°Sir,¡± Mira started.

    Wen Sansi grunted in acknowledgement. When he saw the list of organizations that had banded together on his screen, something had shed across his eyes. Puyu was truly capable since he had gathered so many organizations in just a few days. How were they benefitting from him? Is this really all just to punish Lu Yin? Puyu had gone overboard.

    ¡°Puyu isn¡¯t someone who¡¯d be easy to control. It¡¯s said that he wants to challenge the top ten of the Top Hundred Rankings and wants to be one of the next Ten Arbiters,¡± Mira said.

    Wen Sansi burst out in a fit ofughter. ¡°Be one of the Ten Arbiters? And just how is he going to do that? None of us are dying.¡±

    Mira opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but then, Wen Sansi raised his hand to stop her. ¡°Each one of the Ten Arbiters has attained a great number of connections and benefits to reach their position. Him receiving a spot? Who can force that? Age is just a number. So what if you¡¯re in the top ten on that list? There¡¯s still a huge gap between us.¡± After saying that, Wen Sansi stood up. ¡°Make some preparations. We¡¯re returning to the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°What about Puyu and Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Ignore them both. They can handle this on their own. Zhenwu sent someone over as well, so things are about to get very messy. Though, that¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing.¡± Then, Wen Sansi disappeared.

    Mira stared at the ce where Wen Sansi had been standing with bright eyes. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had been so delighted by the news. Puyu had gone too far, but that had actually improved Lu Yin¡¯s situation instead.

    Puyu had been waiting for Wen Sansi to punish Lu Yin, but the only answer he received from the Arbiter was, ¡°You talk too much.¡±

    Puyu froze when he saw Wen Sansi¡¯s response and felt indescribably humiliated. He¡¯d done everything that he could and had even used the power of Darkstar Gorge to cooperate with various Outerverse organizations. Even if he wasn¡¯t able topletely destroy the bastard, his n had been to thoroughly humiliate Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin was a part of the Council of Astral Academy, which meant that Puyu had to bepletely ruthless when dealing with this person. However, this was the unfortunate result.

    Puyu abruptly smashed his gadget to bits and howled in fury. He was a member of the Outerverse Youth Council and only a single step away from bing one of the next Ten Arbiters. However, thisst step was too difficult to take! It frustrated him to no end that these people could humiliate him as they wished. No matter what, he had to be one of the Ten Arbiters. Regardless of if it was Wen Sansi or Lu Yin, he¡¯d destroy them both.

    At that moment, a pale-looking man walked over. It was the person known as Vulture, the Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance who had fought with Lu Yin in the past.

    Puyu had no idea what this person¡¯s true identity was, and Lu Yin hadn¡¯t exposed him yet. This was the time bomb that Lu Yin had left next to Puyu.

    ¡°Something strange just happened, my lord,¡± Vulture reported coldly.

    Puyu was still furious, so he answered in a terrible tone, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Arge number of pirates have suddenly appeared at the Grandtop Weave, Lars Weave, and Woori Weave, and they¡¯re attacking the space stations of various organizations. They¡¯ve caused a lot of damage,¡± Vulture answered.

    Puyu frowned. ¡°What does that have to do with us?¡±

    ¡°The organizations that the pirates have been attacking are all those whom we cooperated with to put pressure on Lu Yin.¡±

    Puyu suddenly stood up, and his expression drastically changed. ¡°What? All of them?¡±

    ¡°Most of them,¡± Vulture replied.

    Puyu had a cold look in his eyes. ¡°Be precise. All of them, or most of them?¡±

    ¡°Most of them,¡± Vulture answered.

    Puyu frowned. This incident was indeed very strange. Pirates typically did not attack the space stations of therger organizations for fear that they¡¯d be attacked back byrge groups. However, this time, they had actually done so. What was going on? Why were most of the cooperating organizations being attacked? Was it possible that Lu Yin had connections with pirates?

 Chapter 350: Lu Yinâ€™s Backing

    <h4>Chapter 350: Lu Yin¡¯s Backing</h4>

    Puyu suddenly remembered something. Back when Lu Yin¡¯s performance had first started skyrocketing during the Astral Combat Tournament, before he joined the Council of Astral Academy, Nightqueen Yanqing had falsely used him of being a pirate. However, this usation had been put to rest after anotherdy from the Daynight n vouched for Lu Yin¡¯s innocence. This issue had caused a series of problemster on, but could Nightqueen Yanqing have possibly been right? Could Lu Yin really be a pirate? If he wasn¡¯t a pirate, then why were so many pirates helping him?

    Puyu was not the only one to have such thoughts. Wen Sansi had received the same news and shared Puyu¡¯s suspicions. Did Lu Yin have pirates backing him?

    Many people spected about the matter.

    Lu Yin felt very awkward at this moment, as if he had swallowed a fly. Many pirates had attacked the space stations of the various powers, and it just so happened that a majority of these powers were at odds with him. With such perfect timing, who would believe him if he said that he was not colluding with pirates? Who was trying to frame him?

    Barley gave Lu Yin a strange look. Is this man a pirate?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you a pirate?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked, curious about the matter.

    Lu Yin did not respond, but at that moment, his personal gadget lit up with a call from an unknown number. Lu Yin¡¯s face immediately changed, and he asked Barley to leave. While Barley was leaving, Lu Yin also screened the monkey off before epting the call, only to see Uncle Reuben appear on the screen.

    ¡°Little Yin, it has been a long time since Ist saw you,¡± Uncle Reuben greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt something was odd since Uncle Reuben¡¯s tone was peculiar. He usually spoke to Lu Yin in a cold manner, but right now, his tone now was that of forced cordiality. It made Lu Yin feel somewhat out of sorts. ¡°Hello, uncle. Is anything the matter?¡±

    Uncle Reuben coughed twice. ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just checking in to see how you are doing.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression revealed his increasing confusion, but then he suddenly thought of something and his expression grew serious. ¡°Uncle, what¡¯s your rtionship with the pirates?¡±

    Uncle Reuben was now the one with an awkward expression on his face.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°It really was you guys! No wonder I got a weird feeling from you today. Alright, tell me. What¡¯s the family¡¯s connection with the pirates?¡±

    ¡°Heh heh, Little Yin, the family has always treated you well. I am sure that you know this,¡± Uncle Reuben said with a dryugh.

    Lu Yin was horrified by the sound. ¡°Uncle, please do notugh anymore. It¡¯s way too creepy.¡±

    Uncle Reuben''s expression quickly returned to normal. ¡°Little Yin, you should know what Big Sis¡¯ wish has been all this time.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, Big Sister wants to go back to some ce.¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you about it now.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, uncle. Aren¡¯t you afraid that someone might be listening in on our conversation?¡± Lu Yin asked, bbergasted.

    Uncle Reuben shook his head and loftily replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve already returned to that ce. From now on, we won¡¯t need to fear anyone anymore. This includes you as well, Lu Yin. Remember, uncle is saying that we don¡¯t need to fear anybody.¡±

    A glint shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do I have some backing now?¡±

    Uncle Reuben smirked. ¡°You indeed have some backing now, and you are no longer alone. From now on, Lu Yin, you are now a member of Leon''s Armada.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Cosmic Sea? Leon''s Armada? One of the Four Pirate Crews?¡±

    Uncle Reuben nodded. ¡°Yes, one of the Four Pirate Crews. And it''s not just any regiment, but the regiment that has been publicly acknowledged as the strongest of the four: Leon''s Armada. We are a regiment that is feared throughout the universe. Our leader is Highsage Leon.¡±

    Lu Yin wrinkled his brows. Highsage Leon? He then cried out in rm, ¡°The pirate king?! That Highsage Leon?¡±

    Uncle Reuben pursed his lips and nodded. ¡°The Pirate King, Highsage Leon.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know what to say. He had just discovered that, shockingly enough, he was a subordinate of the pirate king. The family had never mentioned that they had any ties to the pirate king. ¡°Uncle, is Big Sis also a member of Leon''s Armada?¡±

    ¡°What a stupid question! Of course she is! Let me tell you something¡ªthe person who saved you back then was not Big Sis. When you fell into the Cosmic Sea, it was our leader who saved you, and Big Sis took care of you. After that, Big Sis and the leader had a falling out because of certain reasons, so she took you away. If not for those reasons, you would¡¯ve already undergone the training of Leon''s Armada. You would already be a proud warrior of the Cosmic Sea,¡± Uncle Reuben replied.

    ¡°More like a proud pirate.¡± Lu Yin grinned.

    Uncle Reuben¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Are you looking down on pirates?¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Uncle Reuben heaved a sigh of relief and then gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°Little Yin, regardless of whether it¡¯s our leader or Big Sis, both of them have taken very good care of you. You became a member of Leon''s Armada the moment the leader saved you. In other words, you are a subject of the Pirate King. This is a fact that you cannot change, though I don¡¯t think that you even have an inkling of the power that the Four Pirate Crews wield.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a great power. In the Tournament of the Strongest, just the Arcadian Arrow Crew caused the powerful Sword Sect the quake in fear,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Uncle Reuben nodded his head. ¡°The Cosmic Sea is a magical ce. It connects the Innerverse with the Neoverse. Anyone who wishes to travel to either region has to pass through the Cosmic Sea. Thus, any group that has the authority to travel unhindered within the Cosmic Sea is a regiment that wields great power. In fact, many powers throughout the universe have frequently tried to create their own regiments in the Cosmic Sea, but their efforts usually fail. Not many groups can survive in the Cosmic Sea, even including the Sword Sect and Daynight n. If they want to cross the Cosmic Sea in peace, it would be stupid for them to offend the regiments.

    ¡°And in the middle of all of this, the Four Pirate Crews stand as an insurmountable hurdle. Even if a powerful figure wants to pass through the Cosmic Sea, they still need to inform the Four Pirate Crews. It is just like the Giant Vessel in the Astral River which ferries people to and from the Outerverse, but the difference here is that the envoys of the Astral River must listen to the orders from the various powers whereas the Four Pirate Crews do not. They themselves are the masters of the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    After a short pause, Uncle Reuben continued, saying, ¡°I am wasting my breath by telling you all this right now since you still won¡¯t truly understand what the Four Pirate Crews represent. Let me put it in another way.¡± A haughty expression crept across Uncle Reuben¡¯s face as he exined, ¡°Let¡¯s say that the Ten Arbiters want to enter the Neoverse. They too would need to contact the Four Pirate Crews and seek permission before entering the Cosmic Sea. If they don¡¯t receive permission, then they would have to leave or else risk being killed by the Four Pirate Crews. That¡¯s how powerful the Four Pirate Crews are.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted. The Ten Arbiters Council wielded immense power. Their power was not only the individual power of each Arbiter, but it also included the collective power of their countless connections, which spanned the entire Universe. Puyu alone was capable of forging an alliance of over a hundred powers, which just went to show how much influence the Ten Arbiters enjoyed. If even those influential figures had to defer to the Four Pirate Crews, it was no wonder why a mere Arcadian Arrow Crew was enough to scare both the Sword Sect and Daynight n so badly.

    ¡°Why is it that the Four Pirate Crews can travel unhindered throughout the Cosmic Sea? Is it because of their familiarity with the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Uncle Reuben¡¯s attitude turned haughty once again as he replied, ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s because of their prestige and influence. The Pirate King, Highsage Leon, once charged into the Technocracy alone and returned without incident. That is how powerful our leader is.¡±

    Lu Yin inhaled a cold gust of air. That single feat of entering the Technocracy alone and exiting without issue was sufficient to show how powerful the pirate king truly was. Every now and then, there would be an extremely powerful human who tried to charge into the Technocracy, but this often ended up badly for them. However, anyone who dared to enter alone was definitely extremely powerful. Up to this moment, Lu Yin had not encountered anyone that powerful. Shockingly, Highsage Leon was the first person he knew of who had been able to perform such a feat.

    ¡°Now you know what kind of people are backing you,¡± Uncle Reuben dered, full of arrogance. Even though his tone still held a touch of coldness, the dejected feelings that Lu Yin had once felt from this person were now gone. Rejoining Leon''s Armada allowed Uncle Reuben to be even more confident than he had before.

    Lu Yin nodded his head. However, his expression quickly soured. ¡°Even if that is so, you guys didn¡¯t have to lie to me.¡±

    Uncle Reuben let out an awkward cough. ¡°We didn¡¯t lie. It¡¯s just that the leader was unhappy with what some of the powers were doing, so he decided to teach them a small lesson.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s still lying to me.¡±

    Uncle Reuben then gave Lu Yin a stern look and said, ¡°Little Yin, our leader has a message for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Tell me!¡±

    Uncle Reuben pondered for a moment before continuing, ¡°In his own words, ¡®Kid, you can do whatever you want and offend whoever you want. If anyone tries to bully you, I¡¯ll back you up. Remember, I got your back.¡¯ That¡¯s all he told me to say to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. Even though the message seemed to be admonishing Lu Yin, it left him with a warm feeling. A feeling of being protected.

    ¡°Little Yin, even though our leader¡¯s words may have been a bit coarse, the meaning behind them is clear. In this universe, no one can bully you. If you lose to anyone at your own level, then you¡¯re on your own. However, if anyone dares to try and use their elders to bully you, then our leader will back you up. You may not understand it, but for powers like the Daynight n, they understand what it means for our leader to get involved in these matters. Our leader¡¯s strength is beyond belief, so just do whatever you want. You have a strong backer,¡± Uncle Reuben earnestly exhorted.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp grow numb. Highsage Leon telling Lu Yin to do whatever he wanted was essentially asking him to wreak havoc. For example, take Lu Yin¡¯s current circumstances. If he had not handled it well, it would have created substantial problems for him in the future. Colluding with pirates would disqualify him from certain positions, and the Ten Arbiters were definitely one of them.

    ¡±Uncle, is the pirate king unreliable?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Uncle Reuben flew into a rage upon hearing his question. ¡°Do not spout nonsense! The leader is very reliable! There is nothing that he can¡¯t settle with his mighty sword!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. ¡°So basically, he solves everything with violence?¡±

    Uncle Reuben¡¯s mouth jaw dropped, and his previously arrogant look was reced with one of embarrassment. His reaction caused Lu Yin to lose all hope. He was now absolutely certain that the Pirate King was a musclehead who settled all his problems through brute force. He was a reliable backer, but if Lu Yin relied on him for help, then it would probably only make matters worse.

    ¡°Alright then, I already have said my piece. Just remember¡ªyou can do anything boldly, though our leader has reminded us not to actively assist you. You have to make your way on your own. After all, you are a member of Leon''s Armada.

    ¡°Also, before I forget, our leader has a gift for you.¡± Once he was done speaking, Uncle Reuben cut off themunications.

    Lu Yin tried in vain to stop the call from being ended, but it was already toote. He was dumbfounded; he had actually wanted to ask for money. Since he had no other choice, he could only wait to ask at ater time. As for the Pirate King¡¯s gift to Lu Yin, since it was a gift from a pirate, could it be money?

    At that moment, Mira contacted Lu Yin; Arbiter Wen wished to see him. Lu Yin released a breath. He already knew that Arbiter Wen would want to meet him.

    Very soon, at a corner of San Dios, outside of a simple study, Wen Sansi held a scroll in his hands. He exuded a gentle demeanor.

    Lu Yin walked over and greeted the Arbiter in a respectful manner, ¡°Arbiter Wen.¡±

    Wen Sansi set down his scroll and motioned for Lu Yin to take a seat.

    After Lu Yin sat down, he asked, ¡°Arbiter Wen, is anything the matter?¡±

    Wen Sansiughed gently. ¡°Nothing much. It¡¯s just that Puyuined about you abusing your power. There are a hundred different organizations that havee together to boycott you.¡±

    Lu Yin put on a helpless expression. ¡°Councilor Puyu is very biased against me. He keeps trying to frame me.¡±

    ¡°Frame?¡± Wen Sansi raised his head to look at Lu Yin, waiting for an exnation. He initially wanted to simply allow Puyu and Lu Yin to fight it out, not intending to look out for Lu Yin so as to warn this young Limiteer. However, after the pirates had attacked the various powers, it caused Wen Sansi to be more interested in Lu Yin. He did not know what sort of rtionship Lu Yin might have with the pirates.

 Chapter 351: One Slash

    <h4>Chapter 351: One sh</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s right. This isn¡¯t my first time interacting with Councilor Puyu. In the past, I received a mission from my mentor that required me to go to Gigastar in the Butterfly Weave. During that mission, I coincidentally met and interacted with a person who had been dispatched by Councilor Puyu to that. During that time, I mentioned that the person looked very simr to a Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse King, which perhaps caused Councilor Puyu to take greater notice of me.¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance? Who?¡±

    ¡°It was just a joke. The universe is sorge, and there are so many techniques. There should be quite a few people who appear simr to those people.¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡± Wen Sansi repeated, as a boundless frost arose from the depths of his eyes.

    Lu Yin put on an expression as if he were trying to remember a face. ¡°Someone called Vulture.¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded and retracted his gaze. ¡°So it¡¯s like that. He is indeed rather biased against you, and anyone implicated with the Neohuman Alliance will havemitted a great offense. Lu Yin, do not recklessly spout such words in future.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded to indicate his understanding.

    ¡°Right, the Outerverse has recently had some problems with pirates running rampant. Start tracking these events, and if possible, try to coordinate with some of the various powers to eliminate them.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then quickly left.

    Wen Sansi remained in the same ce as his eyes widened. An indescribable pressure suddenly enveloped the entirety of San Dios. The Arbiter was like the master of heaven, overlooking the entire area. He could instantly observe Lu Yin, Mira, Puyu, many others, and Vulture as well.

    No one could sense this pressure; even Puyu could only barely feel his heart be slightly stifled, but it was so minor that he paid it no heed.

    Wen Sansi closely observed Vulture with his sparkling eyes. He then quickly withdrew his gaze. His face sank, as it turned out that Vulture was indeed a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance. Wen Sansi had originally paid no attention to this person, and the Corpse King was quite brilliantly disguised. He had assumed that Lu Yin had been spouting nonsense. In fact, the main reason why he had done this was because of his mentality that preferred being overly cautious to risk missing something; unexpectedly, he had discovered something.

    Why was a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance following Puyu? What rtionship did the two of them have? Wen Sansi considered the situation carefully and elected to not act immediately. He finally stood up and left San Dios.

    Puyu¡¯s status was not insignificant, and even if Vulture was a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance, there was no evidence to show the two were colluding. This meant that Puyu could just im ignorance, ending the matter with Puyu being punished for being a poor supervisor with only Vulture being captured. Wen Sansi had thus chosen to not act; he would head towards Darkstar Gorge to investigate this matter further and see if Puyu had been hoodwinked. Otherwise, it was possible that the entire Darkstar Gorge was a foothold of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s expression grew cold. If it was proven that Puyu had colluded with the Neohuman Alliance, no further evidence would be required, and the Councilor would be directly eliminated.

    Lu Yin raised his head and released a pent up breath. For the sake of diverting Wen Sansi¡¯s attention, he had to reveal this trump card against Puyu. This nail in Puyu¡¯s coffin had been left unhammered for a long time, and he felt that it was a pity that it had to be used so soon, especially since releasing this information early would likely mean that Puyu would not be implicated. However, it was still enough to force Puyu to back off. Nothing was more important than dealing with the Neohuman Alliance. So, for now, Wen Sansi¡¯s attention should bepletely focused on Puyu and Vulture.

    Lu Yin wondered how Wen Sansi would handle the situation. If Lu Yin were handling this situation himself, he would not publicize anything until after he determined whether or not Puyu was innocent.

    However, Puyu¡¯s future no longer seemed as bright now that he had drawn one of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ attention.

    It was still a pity that such a great trump card had been used up.

    Lu Yin stopped screening the Ghost Monkey off, and the astral beast didn¡¯t make any noise this time since it was already ustomed to such treatment.

    ¡°Monkey, have you heard of the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    ¡°Obviously.¡± The monkey¡¯s tone was not friendly.

    ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    The monkey snorted. ¡°Not in the mood.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll ask and you answer.¡± Lu Yin paused before questioning, ¡°Who are the strongest powers of the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    ¡°The Four Pirate Crews.¡±

    ¡°Amd the strongest amongst them?¡±

    ¡°Each has their own merits, but the strongest individual power level should be that freak, Highsage Leon.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°If I told you that I¡¯m under Highsage Leon, what would you say?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey sneered. ¡°You? Seventh Bro, I don¡¯t mean to look down on you, but Leon''s Armada almost never epts any Limiteers unless they are exceptionally gifted. Even then, it¡¯s difficult for them to be valued by Highsage Leon since he doesn¡¯t care about geniuses. Even those who can match up to Liu Shaoqiu or Starsibyl would be unhesitatingly rejected if they tried to enter his crew.¡±

    ¡°How do you know so much about Highsage Leon?¡±

    ¡°One has to know about the Pirate King, Highsage Leon, to understand the Cosmic Sea. His might is iparable, and he is famous throughout the entire universe. Even our Astral Beast Domain fears him greatly, and the influence brought about by his existence isn¡¯t inferior to the Third Nightking¡¯s at all, so you can just imagine how terrifying he is. Otherwise, how else could he have be the Pirate King of the universe that can upset so many powers?¡±

    ¡°Has he upset a lot of organizations?¡±

    The monkey sniggered. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard? There¡¯s amon saying in the universe¡ªgive whatever the Pirate King wants to him if you have it, and go steal it for him if you don¡¯t. Whatever he wants, you better give it to him even if it¡¯s unrted to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was fascinated even as his spirits soared. How assertive and unscrupulous! But he liked this sort of bearing.

    ¡°Right, why did you suddenly bring this up?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m part of Leon''s Armada.¡±

    The monkey was not amused. ¡°Stop bragging. Leon''s Armada doesn¡¯t bother with geniuses.¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten Ye Xingchen? Rumor has it that Leon''s Armada wants to personally recruit him.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey mockingly replied, ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t me me for bringing you crashing back down to reality. Although you happen to seem to be in the same category as Ye Xingchen, you can¡¯tpare to him at all as far as others are concerned. He¡¯s created a reputation for himself in the Cosmic Sea and is much stronger than you. Let me put it in another way¡ªif the Sword Sect wanted to entice you, then they would give you a position simr to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s. But if they wanted to entice Ye Xingchen, then they would have to give him an elder position instead of a disciple¡¯s, despite the fact that he¡¯s also just a Limiteer. Do you understand now? Some things can¡¯t be measured just by power level, and this shows the influence of those from the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the skies. Yes, the Cosmic Sea is the ce where true powerhouses go to make a name for themselves. He hoped to go there one day and be able to personally meet the Highsage Leon, his boss.

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Adonis Weave, there was an area of darkness where countless stars appeared to be suspended, like an interster gorge. This was Darkstar Gorge, the greatest power in the Adonis Weave. This was also where Puyu had been born.

    Darkstar Gorge was rather overbearing in how it handled its business, and it had already unified the Adonis Weave. More recently, it had used Puyu¡¯s influence to gain control of some resource-richs in other Weaves, such as Bushtree in the Woori Weave. After Darkstar Gorge had taken that over, it had been treated as their personal training ground.

    At that moment, a figure appeared in Darkstar Gorge, raised a long de, and then suddenly chopped down. The famous blockade line of the Adonis Weave in Darkstar Gorge was severed. One single sh had sliced the stars apart and bisected this region of the universe, wrecking multiple fleets in the process. This singr, indescribably powerful slice was so overwhelming that even the Explorers there stood no chance of resisting it, and some Cruisers and even a Hunter had been caught by the de.

    This attack was shocking and stunned the entire Adonis Weave¡ªno, it had stunned the entire Outerverse.

    Darkstar Gorge was thoroughly frightened by this one sh.

    News of this sh that had split Darkstar Gorge quickly spread out, and Puyu shuddered uncontrobly as he learned of the incident. Who was this terrifying as to wield such power? Darkstar Gorge was considered a great power throughout all seventy two of the Outerverse¡¯s Weaves. Even an almighty powerhouse with a power level over 200,000 would not be able to avoid a tragic end if they faced off against Darkstar Gorge.

    But this sh had been nothing more than a warning.

    When Lu Yin learned of the matter, he knew that this was Highsage Leon¡¯s gift to him, but it was far too great a gift, to the extent that Lu Yin really couldn¡¯t ept it. This sh had actually split the universe! This sort of power was horrifying and was something that Lu Yin truly could not fathom.

    For Wen Sansi, this sh told apletely different story.

    As soon as he discovered Vulture¡¯s identity, he had started making his way to Darkstar Gorge, but he had been one step too slow and did not meet the person who had divided Darkstar Gorge. However, when he arrived, he could still sense their strength and the power of that de.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s face turned solemn; this sh had clearly beenunched by someone whose power level surpassed 200,000. Who was this formidable? Had this been just a warning to Darkstar Gorge? Darkstar Gorge had its own almighty powerhouse whose power level was higher than 200,000, but a number was, in the end, just a number. Wen Sansi could tell that this sh definitely exceeded the power of Darkstar Gorge¡¯s almighty powerhouse.

    ¡°May I dare ask, has Arbiter Wene to visit?¡± An aged voice rang out from the distance as an elder stepped out of the void, revealing a kind face towards Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi was respectful. ¡°So it¡¯s Elder Wu. I entered Darkstar Gorge of my own ord, so I hope that Elder Wu takes no offense.¡±

    Elder Wu was the Darkstar Gorge¡¯s almighty Enlighter powerhouse whose power level surpassed 200,000. He was a famous Outerverse powerhouse. Puyu had been taught by him, and even the Ten Arbiters had to treat such an expert seriously as all such beings were extremely powerful.

    Elder Wu smiled at Wen Sansi. ¡°Arbiter Wen speaks too seriously. It is Darkstar Gorge¡¯s blessing to be able to host Arbiter Wen.¡±

    Wen Sansi exchanged some pleasantries with the elder and then looked towards the region of the universe that had been sliced in twain. Elder Wu also looked at the damaged area and solemnly said, ¡°I admit that I cannot duplicate what this sh aplished. When did the Outerverse have such a person? And this seems to have been a warning to our Darkstar Gorge.¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded. ¡°Elder Wu, has your Darkstar Gorge offended anyone recently?¡±

    Elder Wu shook his head. ¡°Darkstar Gorge has always stood apart from worldly affairs, so it should not have offended such a powerhouse.¡±

    Wen Sansi suddenly realized something: pirates had attacked the alliance of Outerverse powers who had petitioned for Lu Yin¡¯s removal. Then, Darkstar Gorge was warned with this sh. Could it all have something to do with Lu Yin? The Arbiter racked his brain, recalling all the information he knew about Lu Yin, and his eyes narrowed. That person had taken a mere three years to meteorically rise to his current position, which was something impossible even for a crazy genius like Liu Shaoqiu. Was this young man truly only supported by the Great Yu Empire?

    Impossible. Wen Sansi immediately rejected that possibility. There was definitely someone else behind Lu Yin, and this slice had very likelye from that someone who was calling the shots for Lu Yin. They had delivered this warning to Darkstar Gorge, or rather, to Puyu.

    The power behind Lu Yin must be extremely terrifying if they were able to mobilize an almighty powerhouse with a power level over 200,000. It must be known that, even for a power at the same level of the ze Realm, almighty powerhouses were existences that were treated like strategic weapons and would not be sent out easily. It went without saying that such an expert would not lend a hand to a youth of the younger generation. Hence, if such a powerhouse could actually be mobilized at will, the power behind them must be truly terrifying.

    ¡°Has Arbiter Wen thought of something?¡± Elder Wu inquired.

    Wen Sansi smiled mysteriously. ¡°I was only thinking about the almighty powerhouses who have recently entered or left the Outerverse. I hope to glean some clues from those records.¡±

    Elder Wu had a grave expression. ¡°Thank you, Arbiter Wen, for caring about the safety of Darkstar Gorge.¡±

 Chapter 352: The Massacre Of The Past

    <h4>Chapter 352: The Massacre Of The Past</h4>

    Wen Sansi shook his head. ¡°Councilor Puyu was born in Darkstar Gorge, so Darkstar Gorge is a friend of the Ten Arbiters Council. We are duty-bound to help a friend in need.¡± Wen Sansi then suddenly changed the topic. ¡°Elder Wu, could you give me a tour of Darkstar Gorge?¡±

    Elder Wu immediately gave a weing gesture, and the two entered the gorge.

    Darkstar Gorge was not considered arge power in the Outerverse, but neither was its influence insignificant since it had connections to the Ten Arbiters Council.

    Conjectures concerning Lu Yin¡¯s background quickly sprang up, and the Daynight n sweetened the story by once again bringing up the matter of Lu Yin and the pirates, which fanned the wrath of many.

    It could not be denied that the pirates had attacked the joint powers which had resisted Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could not exin the attacks away either.

    However, Lu Yin was fine since there was no concrete evidence, and everything was based purely on spection.

    Wen Sansi stayed at Darkstar Gorge for two full days before leaving. He had not found any clues that could possibly link the Neohuman Alliance to Darkstar Gorge during his stay. Had it been Puyu¡¯s own decision to work with the Neohuman Alliance? If so, then he had some guts.

    ¡°Mira, use the Council¡¯s influence to suppress the rumors concerning Lu Yin and the pirates. No one is allowed to cause any harm to Lu Yin,¡± Wen Sansi ordered Mira.

    Mira was puzzled. ¡°Arbiter Wen, an investigation is required to look into if Lu Yin truly is a pirate. What if the rumors are true?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Immediately suppress those rumors.¡±

    Mira acknowledged her orders.

    Wen Sansi disconnected the call, and his eyes sparkled. Even if he did not uncover any evidence of Darkstar Gorge secretly contacting the Neohuman Alliance, that did not mean that there were no other powers behind Puyu. Wen Sansi did not want to alert the enemy, so he just needed to use Lu Yin to restrict Puyu. After all, the Arbiter could not remain in the Outerverse all the time.

    Even if Lu Yin was actually a pirate, nothing was more important than dealing with the Neohuman Alliance.

    Still, Lu Yin was not simple, either. He definitely had some other powers behind him as well. Wen Sansi needed to find someone to restrict Lu Yin as well so as to establish a steady system with bnced powers.

    Wen Sansi thought of the person whom Nightking Zhenwu had arranged to join East San Dios. He had originally wanted to transfer the new person away, but after thinking about it, he realized that a three-way power split was also eptable.

    In the Outerverse, on a giant that belonged to the Nn family, Madam Nn, Liu Fuxue, stared in shock at a screen that was disying Lu Yin¡¯s information.

    After the Astral Combat Tournament, Liu Fuxue had used the Nn family¡¯s influence to investigate Lu Yin, and the results that were finally revealed to her were unbelievable.

    On the surface, Lu Yin was a youth from the Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire, the current King Zishan, and thest descendant of the Zishan bloodline. He had entered the universe from Earth and appeared to be very ordinary, but his surname was not an ordinary one. ¡°Lu¡± was one of the primeval surnames, but the Nn family had uncovered information that was buried even deeper. They had discovered that Lu Yin had once been put to trial by the Ten Arbiters Council.

    It was unknown why or when it had begun, but at some point, the universe had started to view certain groups of people as hostile. These groups of people all had onemon point, which was their unique surname. They had surnames such as ¡°Lu,¡± ¡°Xia,¡± or ¡°Liu,¡± and they were all known as primeval surnames.

    Since they were viewed antagonistically, after many eons, those with such surnames had either gained legal statuses, such as the people of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Earth, which had many people with those primeval surnames, or they had unyieldingly resisted the antagonistic attitude, like the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family. However, most of the groups had perished over the course of time.

    Liu Fuxue had always paid close attention to Lu Yin¡¯s surname, and the Nn family¡¯s investigation had started with Lu Yin¡¯s appearance in the Great Yu Empire and then continued with his ancient surname. Because of her investigation into the recent matters with the various primeval surnames, Madam Nn had discovered the matter of Lu Yin being tried by the Ten Arbiters as well as the tragic massacre from five years ago.

    Five years ago, someone had reported that an organization had been voluntarily sheltering a group with a primeval surname. The Ten Arbiters Council had tried all those with the surname ¡°Lu¡± and then sent that organization into the Outerverse. Seventy two people had perished during the course of these events. This had not been a very impactful matter, so it had not attracted much attention. It should have been buried in the annals of time, but it had been dug up once again by Liu Fuxue.

    If Lu Yin was just an ordinary person, then such a matter would not have attracted any attention, especially since only a few dozen had died and there was nothing outstanding about the event. But the current Lu Yin was far from that; he held many statuses and had even be a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, so this matter now became an important bit of information; Lu Yin held enmity against the Ten Arbiters!

    Liu Fuxue quickly closed her screen, and there was aplex look on her face.

    Lu Yin had friction with the Ten Arbiters. He also climbed upwards step by step. This young man had ambition, strategy, and destiny. He had aplicated background and was even possibly connected to pirates. Could all of his actions be made towards an attempt to seek retribution for that event in the past?

    Liu Fuxue tightly clenched her wine ss. She desperately wanted to know which of the Ten Arbiters had proposed the trial of those with the ¡°Lu¡± surname. That person would be Lu Yin¡¯s greatest enemy.

    There were now two choices before Liu Fuxue at this moment; she could either give up on Lu Yin so that she would not be roped in with him. After all, this youth had a great enemy in the form of the Ten Arbiters, and his future was sure to be fraught with danger. Each Arbiter represented not only themselves, but also the countless powers entangled with them; otherwise, they would not possess such lofty statuses. The other option was to be an observer and help Lu Yin from time to time without bing too involved in order to avoid being thoroughly implicated with him in the future.

    Liu Fuxue stared at the wine in her ss; she did not know which option to choose. The second option was not really supporting Lu Yin. It would merely be helping him on asion. She felt slightly lost, as the Ten Arbiters were just too fearsome. Even the Sword Sect would not want to have them as an enemy.

    People often assumed that the Ten Arbiters had absolute military power as well as their powerful backers, but Liu Fuxue knew that they had more than just what was publicly revealed. Each one of the Ten had their own trump cards that were frightening enough to cause old freaks with power levels above several hundred thousand to fear the youths. Liu Fuxue had only incidentally heard of this matter, and it was extremely terrifying.

    To help or not to help?

    Liu Fuxue was really lost at this moment!

    Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Yin spent these days in extreme peace. Puyu did not trouble him, and the external universe¡¯s spections about his connection with pirates had gradually died down. Everything seemed to be returning to normalcy.

    Wen Sansi had also departed from San Dios several days prior to return to the Innerverse. In other words, all of San Dios was currently split between Puyu and Lu Yin.

    Regardless of if Lu Yin had been stripped of his status as a representative, he still held the highest status out of all of Wendy Yushan¡¯s subordinates, and in some sense, he could even be considered to be on an equal footing with her. Hence, her several subordinates still listened to Lu Yin, especially Barley, who was very obedient.

    Lu Yin had also settled some matters with Puyu in the San Dios tower.

    Puyu ultimately decided to ignore Lu Yin. If Wen Sansi could guess that the person who had delivered the warning to Darkstar Gorge was rted to Lu Yin, then Puyu could as well. His gaze towards Lu Yin was now filled with apprehension.

    Lu Yin did not cause trouble for Puyu of his own initiative since he knew that this person would not survive for very long. Vulture¡¯s very existence already meant that Puyu would be cast into the abyss sooner orter. Since Wen Sansi had not acted, then he should still be investigating the councilor¡¯s rtionship with the Neohuman Alliance. After all, Puyu would be finished if anything became clear.

    But if Puyu was finished, who would remain in power in San Dios? The Ten Arbiters would not deliver San Dios to Lu Yin or Wendy Yushan, so it seemed that new members would probably arrive soon.

    On that day, San Dios weed two new subsidiary members who would be under Wendy Yushan: Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua.

    The two arrived at almost the same time and reported to Lu Yin. Barley then escorted them to Lu Yin¡¯s courtyard to await his instructions.

    ¡°Bring Brother An in,¡± Lu Yin told Barley.

    The man nodded and indicated for An Shaohua to proceed.

    Yue Xianzi had an ugly expression. ¡°What about me?¡±

    Barley apologetically answered, ¡°Please wait, Yue Xianzi. Representative Lu will meet you both one on one.¡±

    Yue Xianzi snorted and unhappily stood to the side.

    An Shaohua was aware that Yue Xianzi had some old grievances with Lu Yin, and that Lu Yin had given her a hard time at Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station. An Shaohua then smiled and paid no attention to the girl as he entered Lu Yin¡¯s courtyard.

    His motive ining here was simple: he intended to worm his way into Lu Yin¡¯s inner circle. If Lu Yin could trulypete for a position as one of the Ten Arbiters in the future, then An Shaohua would have adder to climb higher on. After all, he was about the same age as Lu Yin, and the current Ten Arbiters were much older than the two of them. They would need to abdicate some day, and as long as no ident befell Lu Yin, he would be able to one daypete for such a position as well.

    Watermoon Vi did not want to fall behind.

    Lu Yin was not overly thrilled to see An Shaohua because Watermoon Vi had not given him any money. Still, the actions that they had taken were pretty decent.

    ¡°Brother An, I haven¡¯t seen you for a few months. How are you doing?¡± Lu Yin invited An Shaohua to sit down and poured him a ss of water.

    An Shaohua sighed and then courteously replied, ¡°It¡¯s been just a few months, but I never imagined that Brother Lu would be the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest and also be an acting councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council. Your aplishments are astounding.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Forget about the position of acting councilor, as it¡¯s already been taken away, haha.¡±

    An Shaohua smiled in response. ¡°Still, with Brother Lu¡¯s position on the Council of Astral Academy, losing the other position can¡¯t have been too bad. Even in the Outerverse¡¯s East San Dios, Brother Lu¡¯s status should be in the top five.¡±

    Lu Yin sipped some tea. ¡°Brother An, I¡¯m curious. How did you pass the trial back then? Your particle-sized camera was also ruined.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not like Brother Lu who dared to invite the Ten Arbiters to judge your results. I requested a space-exploring powerhouse to appraise me and also delivered some reports. That allowed me to pass the trial.¡±

    Lu Yin understood, as An Shaohua was from a great power after all. As long as a trial taker survived through the Shenwu Continent, there would be some way for them to pass the trial. The information that he had reported might have already been discovered before but not been revealed in order to give these disciples a chance to pass the most recent trial.

    These were the benefits of having a background, as everything would be prepared for their members.

    Over the next two hours, Lu Yin and An Shaohua chatted about many things, and Lu Yin even came to a better understanding of the situation concerning Watermoon Vi as well as the overall situation of Soulseal Flowzone. What Lu Yin was most concerned about were the peak powers like the Myriad Swords Peak rather than the Souldream Tribe.

    The Souldream Tribe was filled with beauties, and their members intermarried with countless other powers. The tribe¡¯s influence was not small, but Lu Yin was also not unfamiliar with it; Xi Yue was from the Souldream Tribe. Their initial misunderstanding had somewhat intertwined the two¡¯s destiny, but the two of them had not spoken in a long time, so Lu Yin did not know if that washboard had undergone any changes. Lu Yin privately decided to find another time to contact him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ll withdraw first, but feel free to let me know if there¡¯s anything that you need.¡± An Shaohua spoke respectfully since he recognized his own position. He was well aware that their statuses werepletely different.

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded before having Barley show An Shaohua out.

 Chapter 353: What Do You Think?

    <h4>Chapter 353: What Do You Think?</h4>

    As he gazed at An Shaohua¡¯s back, Lu Yin sighed in praise. Most people misunderstood the disciples of powerful organizations, thinking that they were nothing but trash who were good for nothing besides waiting for death. However, the reality was that they had received an elite education from a young age that was far more intense than what most people had ess to. From that, they developed a mentality and restraint that most could not even understand. An Shaohua was the sessor of Watermoon Vi, but he was still very polite to people from the backwater regions of the Outerverse and knew how to remain humble. This was something that was beyond most people from powerful backgrounds.

    The mental resilience that these people had cultivated to achieve their desires was the result of their education, and when that wasbined with a personality like An Shaohua¡¯s, it made it that much easier for him to achieve sess. Lu Yin admired An Shaohua and would not mind giving him a hand in the future.

    However, there was one thing about them that was quite annoying. These types of people tended to overthink things. Lu Yin had made it very clear that he needed money, but An Shaohua had assumed that Lu Yin was actually referring to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy. What a pain.

    Soon enough, Yue Xianzi walked in.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t as polite to her. The Frostmoon Sect and Watermoon Vi¡¯s strength were at simr levels, but the Frostmoon Sect was located in the Daynight Flowzone. Lu Yin was no fool and did not expect the sect to abandon the Daynight Family for his sake. Although Yue Xianzi was here to show her goodwill, it would be impossible to hope she would actually help him.

    ¡°Long time no see, Yue Xianzi. Have you been well?¡± Lu Yin asked casually.

    Yue Xianzi pursed her lips. ¡°Congrattions, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Lu Yin was baffled.

    Yue Xianzi forced out a smile. ¡°Congrattions on entering the Outerverse Youth Council.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly raised his hand to stop her. ¡°Are you trying to tease me? I don¡¯t actually have any real power, and I¡¯m just helping Councilor Wendy handle some matters. I¡¯ll return her seat to her as soon as she¡¯s back.¡±

    Yue Xianzi sat down in front of Lu Yin and looked at him with a pair of beautiful eyes. ¡°There¡¯s something that I¡¯m quite curious about. Would you answer a question of mine?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    Yue Xianzi narrowed her eyes. ¡°Bei Qing acted very strangely back in the Shenwu Continent. Do you happen to know why?¡±

    Lu Yin nearly spat out his tea and coughed. ¡°That¡¯s your business. Why would I know anything about that?.¡±

    ¡°Is that really the case? I seem to recall that Bei Qing and you spent a lot of time together. And each time after you two met, he acted even more strangely than before. Are you sure that you don¡¯t know the reason?¡± Yue Xianzi carefully observed Lu Yin with a searching look in her eyes.

    Lu Yin set his cup of tea down with a slightly embarrassed look. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.

    ¡°By the way, Yue Xianzi, I remember that you once mentioned that you had twin sisters. Why didn¡¯t you bring them here with you?¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes shed. She had only understood what had happened with Bei Qing after returning to the Astral Combat Academy. Bei Qing had acted very strangely and said some very odd things. It was impossible for his odd behavior to have nothing to do with Lu Yin. This person must have done something. ¡°Are you talking about Can Xue and Can Mei? Have you taken a fancy to them, Lu Yin? If so, I can have them warm your bed.¡±

    Lu Yin was struck speechless.

    ¡°Ooh, warming your bed! Quickly agree, Seventh Bro! It¡¯s a pair of twins who are cold on the outside but warm on the inside!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in glee.

    Lu Yin was developing a headache from how loud the monkey was yelling and immediately blocked it off. He quickly rejected Yue Xianzi¡¯s offer and had some people see her out.

    From that point on, Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua were officially a part of San Dios, and they began managing certain matters of the younger generation under Wendy Yushan¡¯s jurisdiction on her behalf.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin discovered that Wendy Yushan was about to arrive, which meant that he didn¡¯t have much time left at San Dios.

    The main reason why he had wanted toe to San Dios in the first ce was Jenny Auna and Yan Feng¡¯s wedding, and he had also wanted to find out why his family had told him to try to join the Outerverse Youth Council. And now, he had sessfully interfered with the wedding, dealt with Firesmelt, and his family had returned to the Pirate King¡¯s regiment and no longer seemed to need him to do anything. In other words, he was now free.

    Since Wendy Yushan was on her way over to San Dios, the Great Yu Empire would need someone leading it. Lu Yin thought things over and decided that he should return to the Great Yu Empire to unify the Frostwave Weave.

    Having control over an entire Weave would be quite an impressive feat.

    More importantly, when the Great Yu Empire managed to save up some money, he¡¯d be able to improve his strength. He would reach the Explorer realm soon, and then, he would be able to travel through space without a spacecraft. This was what Lu Yin wanted the most right now: money. What hecked the most was also money.

    Sometimes, things came the moment one thought about them. Just as Lu Yin was puzzling over how he could earn more money, the Lockbreaker Society announced that an internal trading event would soon be held on the Violent Ape.

    The Violent Ape was located in the Vastdearth Weave, and it was a very young that had no indigenous civilizations. The contained nothing but countless species devoid of sapience. The rulers of these mindless creatures were the Violent Apes, which looked like apes that reached a height of a hundred meters. They were extremely violent and very strong. Each Violent Ape had a power level that matched a Limiteer¡¯s, and some of the stronger apes even had power levels that exceeded ten thousand.

    The foremost organization of the Vastdearth Weave, the Vastdearth Sect, had once wanted to capture the Violent Apes and raise them as frontline warriors for their wars, but their endeavors ultimately failed. The creatures were far too violent and could not be tamed.

    Half a month ago, arge spacecraft had identallynded on Violent Ape, and the passengers had discovered a tree-shaped sourcebox that gave off a mysterious bloodlust. Even Explorers were unable to approach the strange item. Word of this strange phenomena then spread throughout the universe until it gained the attention of the Lockbreaker Society, which immediately sent a few Lockbreakers to head towards the with the intent of unlocking the strange sourcebox.

    This was not an umon urrence. Sourceboxes with no owners would frequently attract a number of Lockbreakers. The gatherings often turned into a trade event, and anyone who was capable of unlocking the sourcebox would be able to sell the recovered item for an astronomical price.

    The Vastdearth Weave wasn¡¯t very far from San Dios, so Lu Yin did not hesitate to immediately set out. He was in dire need of money, and if he was able to get more, he would surely be able to beat up Ye Xingchen and the other top Limiteers without a problem.

    Lu Yin had nned on traveling alone, but to his surprise, Yue Xianzi followed him. One after the other, two personal spacecraft made their way towards the Vastdearth Weave.

    He switched hismunication device on and asked her, ¡°Why are you following me, Yue Xianzi?¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaking seems very interesting, so I¡¯d like to learn more from you,¡± she answered.

    ¡°Right.¡± Lu Yin closed the connection and turned his gadget off before ncing behind him at the personal vessel closely following behind him. Both of the spacecraft were radiant-grade Auroras and could reach simr speeds.

    After ending the conversation with Yue Xianzi, Lu Yin contacted someone else: Meng Yue, the young master of the Vastdearth Sect.

    Lu Yin and Meng Yue weren¡¯t very close, but they were both students of Astral-10, and Lu Yin wanted to learn more about Violent Ape.

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± Meng Yue was baffled when he saw that Lu Yin had contacted him. The two of them hadn¡¯t interacted much, and the most that they had ever spoken was during the entrance exam for Astral-10, when he had been defeated by Lu Yin.

    ¡°There¡¯s something that I¡¯d like to ask you. You¡¯re the sessor to the Vastdearth Weave¡¯s Vastdearth Sect, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Meng Yue made a sound of acknowledgement. ¡°Yes. What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Are you familiar with the Violent Ape?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Meng Yue was surprised. ¡°The Violent Ape? How¡¯d you hear about that?¡±

    ¡°A sourcebox appeared there, and quite a few Lockbreakers are headed there to unlock it. I¡¯m going over as well.¡± Lu Yin got straight to the point without hiding anything.

    Meng Yue fell silent. ¡°You¡¯d best be careful. Quite a few of the experts from our sect died there.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know all the details, but the Violent Apes on that are incredibly fierce. While theyck the tactics and intelligence that astral beasts at the Explorer realm and above possess, their offensive and defensive abilities are both very formidable. There¡¯s even a Violent Ape with a power level that¡¯s over a hundred thousand that¡¯s been sighted there. If not for the fact that the apes aren¡¯t intelligent at all, the would be extraordinarily dangerous. You can think of it as your Frostwave Weave¡¯s Firesmelt,¡± Meng Yue answered in a serious manner.

    ¡°I see. Thank you very much.¡± Lu Yin said.

    Meng Yue made a sound of acknowledgement and ended the call.

    Lu Yin set his gadget down. The universe was an incredibly miraculous ce where intelligent beings could cultivate and travel through space. Even non-sapient creatures could cultivate, though the way that they disyed their power was different. They definitely couldn¡¯t tear through the void to move around and had no desire to explore outer space, but they were by no means weak. This trip would definitely be dangerous.

    It would take the two radiant-grade spacecraft about seven days to reach the Vastdearth Weave from San Dios. If he was using a regr spacecraft, then it would have easily taken him two or more months. The distance was considerable.

    The spacecraft kept changing routes throughout the journey, and by the time the two of them finally entered the Vastdearth Weave, nine days had already passed.

    Thankfully, during these nine days, the sourcebox had not been opened yet.

    Given the skill of the Lockbreakers in the Outerverse, it would not be an easy task for them to open a sourcebox that the Lockbreaker Society had acknowledged as difficult. It would probably take someone from the Innerverse to seed.

    ¡°You¡¯re a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker so you won¡¯t be able to do much here, will you?¡± Yue Xianzi asked in a rather polite tone. However, Lu Yin could tell that she was mocking him.

    ¡°It¡¯s been nearly three years since I started cultivating, and remember, I was just a regr person when I started. What do you think of that?¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Yue Xianzi was rendered speechless. That speed was something that even absolute geniuses from huge families like the Daynight n could not match. This was also the reason why the Frostmoon Sect wanted her to develop a close rtionship with Lu Yin. He was absolutely extraordinary.

    ¡°Cultivation isn¡¯t the same as Lockbreaking,¡± Yue Xianzi stubbornly retorted.

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°It took me about a year and a half to be a two-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and I started out as an ordinary cultivator. What do you think?¡±

    Yue Xianzi rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re just lucky.¡±

    ¡°During all the times that I attempted to open a sourcebox, I have yet to fail. What do you think?¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yue Xianzi suddenly found herself hating those four words: ¡°What do you think?¡± Every time Lu Yin said them, it felt as if he was mocking her, but she could say nothing in response. It was incredibly annoying.

    ¡°Even I¡¯m astonished that you managed to achieve so much. Are you proud of yourself, Seventh Bro?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked in an exaggerated manner.

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯ve done well, so I should be proud of myself.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you stay proud of yourself, but don¡¯t forget that everything that you¡¯ve achieved keeps raising you higher on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List. That Thirty Stack technique that you showed during the wedding is going to push you much higher on that list. You¡¯re going to be a prime target in the Human Domain.¡± The monkey snickered after saying that.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The monkey¡¯s words had instantly put him in a terrible mood. The Celestial Vanquisher''s List would always be an issue for him, and it would certainly mean quite a bit of trouble.

    With a boom, the spacecraft jostled as it crossed into the outer edge of the atmosphere, blossoming into a ball of fire that hurtled towards the ground.

    Not muchter, the spacecraft created a huge crater in the ground.

    ck!

    The hatch opened, exposing Lu Yin to the sweltering heat outside the spacecraft. He made his way outside where he saw a blue sky and a flock of strange-looking birds flying away. As they left, they released sts of hot air that distorted the air.

 Chapter 354: Zhao Ran

    <h4>Chapter 354: Zhao Ran</h4>

    At that moment, another fireballnded down not very far away from Lu Yin, causing him to frown. Yue Xianzi must have done that on purpose.

    He slowly flew into the sky, brushing past the fireball. These ming hot balls of air posed no threat to him.

    The second spacecraftnded with a boom, causing the earth to tremble as numerous strange life forms fled in every direction.

    The hatch opened. Yue Xianzi exited the vessel, stretched, and lit up at the sight of Lu Yin.

    She really was very pretty and had a stunning body. It was a pity that she was a member of the Frostmoon Sect which was allied with the Daynight n. Otherwise, Lu Yin definitely would not be treating her so coldly. Unfortunately, the two of them were destined to walk along different paths.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, the reason why Yue Xianzi was trying to get close to him was to help the Daynight n gather information on him, though she might not even be aware of such a task. However, this was merely a spection from Lu Yin at this point.

    ¡°The air here is so fresh! That¡¯s the one good thing about these primitives.¡± Yue Xianzi sighed in praise as a cute grin emerged on her face. Her entire being seemed to radiate an enchanting aura. Lu Yin looked away.

    All of a sudden, they heard an enraged roare from nearby, and a savage ape that was over a hundred meters tall appeared in the distance. Its body was ck, and its eyes were scarlet. It had a violent demeanor and charged straight at the two humans.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Are you going to attack it, or should I take care of it?¡±

    Yue Xianzi smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it. After all, I am your subordinate.¡± With a sh, her silhouette pierced through the void before she appeared in front of the ape. With a wave of her hand, a spiralling torrent of water appeared and began spreading out from her feet. It quickly covered a region of ten thousand meters. It distorted not only the air, but also the void.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changed; she¡¯d grown much stronger. Back when they fought on the Shenwu Continent, this battle technique of hers hadn¡¯t been this powerful. Now, she was able to use the technique she¡¯d received from ckwater Lake much more easily. If Yue Xianzi became able to use it perfectly, then she¡¯d definitely be very strong.

    The savage ape charged straight into the spiralling water and unleashed a tremendous punch. However, halfway through its attack, its fist was blocked by the water. The ape let out a miserable howl as blood spurted out from all over its body before it pathetically copsed onto the ground.

    Although this savage ape¡¯s strength had reached the same level as a Limiteer¡¯s, itcked any intelligence or battle technique, which caused it to be much weaker than Yue Xianzi. Any Limiteer¡ªno, any Melder from the Astral Combat Academy would be able to defeat this beast.

    ¡°It¡¯s a waste to use such an attack on it,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Yue Xianzi smiled. ¡°I used it so that you could see it. Do you think that my use of this technique has improved, Mr. Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded earnestly. ¡°You¡¯ve improved a lot.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Yue Xianzi smiled back at him.

    But at that moment, another enraged howl could be heard in the distance. It was quickly followed by several cries for help.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he abruptly disappeared, leaving behind a spatial crack that slowly increased in size where he had just been standing.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s eyes widened; his speed was incredible.

    It was one thing to watch himpete in the Tournament of the Strongest through a monitor, but now that she was actually next to him, Yue Xianzi could feel the crushing pressureing from his moves. This person was improving way too quickly, and she couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter at heart. The small bit of improvement that she had made was nothingpared to Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Far in the distance, under arge tree, a small figure cowered, quivering in fear as they stared at the massive savage ape attacking them.

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared, and with a nonchnt swipe, stopped the savage ape¡¯s attack mid-strike. After that, the beast was sent flying by a terrifying force. The sight of a huge, hundred meter tall body hurtling into the distance was rather majestic.

    Under the tree, the small figure sensed that the imminent threat had vanished and looked up to see that the ape was now gone. What appeared instead was a man looking at her in curiosity.

    Lu Yin was astonished. What was an ordinary person doing here?

    He stared at the girl under the tree. No matter how hard he stared at her, she was definitely an ordinary person. He could use his aura-concealing technique to hide his star energy and obscure his cultivation level, but even that would not be able to hide his physical strength. He could not sense any strength in this girl¡¯s body, which meant that she was really just a regr person.

    A regr person had appeared on a primitive that Lockbreakers would soon swarm. It was definitely a strange situation.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Both of them spoke at the same time and then froze. The girl pursed her lips. ¡°M-My name is Zhao Ran. What about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin,¡± he answered simply.

    At that moment, Yue Xianzi arrived and looked at Zhao Ran with surprise. ¡°A regr person?¡±

    Lu Yin appeared to be deep in thought.

    Perhaps it was because she was still in a state of shock due to her close call with the savage ape, but Zhao Ran looked a little dazed. After she saw Yue Xianzi looking at her, she unconsciously took a few steps backwards with the intent of hiding from Yue Xianzi, who was terrifying to the girl.

    Yue Xianzi nced at Lu Yin and then at the girl. She crouched down and gently asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name? Why are you on the Savage Ape?¡±

    The girl nced at Lu Yin before whispering, ¡°My name is Zhao Ran. I¡¯m looking for somebody.¡±

    ¡°How did you get here?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    Zhao Ran licked her lips as her stomach growled. She was clearly hungry.

    Yue Xianzi took out some food from her cosmic ring and passed it to Zhao Ran. The girl hastily grabbed it and immediately started eating.

    Lu Yin looked around. There were quite a number of savage apes on this. The two of them had just arrived, but they¡¯d already bumped into two of the beasts.

    All of a sudden, the sky rumbled, and quite a few ck dots flitted past, leaving rippling trails in the sky behind them.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s trying to seal the. It should be the local organizations,¡± Yue Xianzi said.

    Is it the Vastdearth Sect? Lu Yin guessed in his mind.

    ¡°Unfortunately, their actions are pointless and will only offend the Lockbreaker Society. This ce has already been designated as the location for the society¡¯s internal trading event, and these people¡¯s actions will just be taken as them trying to prevent the event from happening. Who would do such a foolish thing?¡± Yue Xianzi found the matter baffling.

    ¡°Um, thank you.¡± Zhao Ran got up, wiped her lips, and did her best to smile. She seemed ordinary, but there was something about her that made her seem very congenial.

    ¡°How did you get on this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhao Ran found it difficult to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I just woke up here.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were looking for someone just now?¡± Yue Xianzi asked.

    Zhao Ran nodded. ¡°Yes. When I woke up, I saw a diviner, and he told me my fortune. He was really good! I was going to pay him, but then he left. He¡¯s such a great person! I don¡¯t want to owe anyone, though, so I want to find him and pay him back.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°A fortune teller? Was he urate?¡±

    Zhao Ran nodded resolutely. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How did he do it?¡± Lu Yin asked. After the Tournament of the Strongest, he had be very interested in Starsibyl¡¯s abilities. Her attacks that used the power of divination were very disturbing. If not for the limitations created by the arena, nobody could tell whether Starsibyl or Tian Hou would¡¯ve won that semifinal match.

    Zhao Ran looked up and considered the question. ¡°He said that there¡¯s something wrong with me.¡±

    Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi both froze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t hear what you said. Could you repeat that?¡±

    ¡°The nice mister who told me my fortune said that there was something wrong with me.¡± Zhao Ran blinked, looking incredibly innocent.

    Lu Yin turned. The girl must be crazy to not realize that she¡¯d been mocked.

    Zhao Ran patted her head, seeming frustrated. ¡°For some reason, I frequently lose my memories. Most of the time, I have no idea where I am or why I¡¯m there. That mister was pretty urate when he said that there¡¯s something wrong with me. That¡¯s why I want to find him. I want to ask him what I need to do to regain my memories.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and frowned at Zhao Ran. There was a strange look in his eyes. ¡°Did you lose your memories?¡±

    Zhao Ran nodded while pouting, looking hurt.

    Lu Yin appeared glum. This woman was just like him. He had lost his memories as well, and it did not feel great. He constantly felt like something was missing.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yue Xianzi asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Then, he looked at Zhao Ran and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. An ordinary human like you won¡¯t be able to survive here for long, so I¡¯ll help you get out of this ce.¡±

    Zhao Ran was delighted. ¡°Really? I¡¯m so d! You¡¯re such a nice person. The fortune teller and you are both very nice people¡ªoh, this youngdy here is a nice person too! She gave me something to eat.¡±

    Yue Xianzi gave Lu Yin a strange look, but she did not pursue the matter further.

    Lu Yin merely pitied Zhao Ran because they shared simr unfortunate circumstances.

    The Lockbreaker Society had only specified that there was an event on the Savage Ape, but they had not disclosed the location of the tree-shaped sourcebox. This event was simr to a trial, where the participants were not given all the details. Instead, they had to find the information on their own.

    Lu Yin soared into the air with Zhao Ran and Yue Xianzi as the three of them headed towards the spacecraft that had sealed off the. Those people should know the location of the sourcebox.

    The Savage Ape was huge, evenrger than Zenyu Star. The space here was extremely sturdy, and Lu Yin¡¯s speed had naturally been reduced. He¡¯d noticed this earlier when he moved to save Zhao Ran. Given his speed as a Limiteer, it would take him some time to search the entire. More importantly, searching for the sourcebox would be quite troublesome.

    The next day, Lu Yin and the two women following him found the couple of spacecraft that had sealed the off. It was a pity, but the vessels had already been destroyed, and the ripples sealing off the had already dissipated.

    ¡°What a bunch of morons. How can these organizations in the Outerverse hope to stop Lockbreakers? They¡¯re just asking to die,¡± Yue Xianzi disparaginglymented.

    Lu Yin examined the symbol on one of the spacecraft and saw that it did not belong to the Vastdearth Sect. Thus, these people had to be from another Weave.

    Without anyone for them to question, the trio¡¯s only option was to search the on their own.

    The Savage Ape truly lived up to its name. The entire was filled with savage apes. Every once in a while, a savage ape would appear in front of the group. Some were strong, and some were weak. The strongest one that they had encountered so far had the raw strength of an Explorer.

    A streak of red appeared in the sky as another spacecraftnded.

    Not long after, the was sealed once more before being unsealed shortly after. It was like a never ending cycle.

    After three full days, Lu Yin and his team still hadn¡¯t found anyone. The Savage Ape was just too massive, and Lu Yin¡¯s domain could not cover such a huge area. The area that his gadget could search was also limited.

    On the fourth day, in a ce far away from the small group, a small spacecraftnded on the. When the hatch opened, a male and a female exited.

    If Lu Yin was here, he would have recognized them as Dao Bo and Liu Ji, both who he knew.

    ¡°Since we were out in the Outerverse doing missions, this ce was on our way,¡± Liu Ji sighed ruefully.

    Dao Bo stared at the sky. ¡°I wonder how many Lockbreakers wille here for this event.¡±

    Liu Ji chuckled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whoes. None of them will be as powerful as you.¡±

    Dao Bo chuckled while shaking his head. ¡°Our society has the Distinguished Five, and every one of them is stronger than me.¡±

    ¡°True, but they¡¯re all Explorers at the very least. You¡¯re merely unwilling to be an Explorer right now. As soon as you do, you¡¯ll definitely be stronger than them. In terms of status, you aren¡¯t any lesser than them, and you¡¯re a member of the Council of the Astral Academy as well. They definitely don¡¯t match up to you,¡± Liu Ji praised in a starstruck manner.

    Dao Bo did not reply. After all, Liu Ji waspletely correct. He was merely unwilling to break through to the Explorer realm. The moment he did, he¡¯d be able to enter the Ten Arbiters Council right away and would be able to work with the Ten Arbiters. At that time, he¡¯d definitely obtain an even higher status. In addition, his Lockbreaking ability would also improve along with his cultivation, and he¡¯d be able to reach the Perception Intermediate stage right away.

 Chapter 355: Break Down

    <h4>Chapter 355: Break Down</h4>

    Naturally, Dao Bo could not afford to be overly arrogant. There were still people at the same level as him who surpassed him. Lu Yin was one of them. Lu Yin was a very gifted individual, and even if his fighting ability were disregarded, his lockbreaking abilities alone were deep beyond measure. Although Lu Yin could not be considered to be a veteran Lockbreaker, he had already aplished many great things. Dao Bo was especially sure of this after he had seen the video of Lu Yin single-handedly dispelling Yan Feng¡¯s attack during the wedding affair in East San Dios. That sort of lockbreaking skill was extraordinary. That man was an enigma, and it was unknown if he woulde to this lockbreaking event since San Dios was not that far from here.

    In another area of the, a youngdy was flying through the sky. Although she behaved as if nothing was out of ce, the youngdy had a fish on top of her head. This alone was quite unusual, but what made it even more peculiar was that the fish was constantly nagging the woman. ¡°Hurry up! Other two legged beasts can lockbreak, but you have been an utter disappointment so far! Why did I have to be found by you back then? You¡¯re t-chested and not curvy at all¡ªwhat have you been eating your whole life? I told you to drink more papaya milk, but you wouldn¡¯t believe me¡­¡±

    A vein in the youngdy¡¯s forehead bulged out, seemingly ready to explode at any moment.

    Far away in the universe, aboard a huge spacecraft, there were more than a hundred fully armed soldiers pumped and ready. In the vessel''smand room, a beautiful but cold woman looked at a screen. ¡°How much longer until we arrive?¡±

    ¡°One day.¡±

    ¡°Try to hurry.¡±

    ¡°Affirmative.¡±

    Outside of Savage Ape, a fleet adorned with the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s crest appeared. However, this fleet did not cordon off the Savage Ape; instead, they merely expelled the various spacecraft that passed by, essentially isting Savage Ape.

    Of the various groups that tried to seal off Savage Ape, the Vastdearth Sect was not one of them.

    On the surface of Savage Ape, Lu Yin knocked a savage ape away with a swift kick. Zhao Ran was mesmerized by the scene. ¡°So cool.¡±

    Yue Xianzi rolled her eyes; this girl was too naive.

    Lu Yin was in a pretty good mood. After all, there was a pretty cute girl beside him who kept showeringpliments upon him. Any man would be happy to be in his situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that she¡¯s not much in the looks department. She does have a nice temperament, though. What do you think, Seventh Bro? Do you like her?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey.

    Before long, a dozen figures flew above the group in the sky. They were all wearing the same uniform, and it was obvious that they were from the same power.

    Yue Xianzi raised a hand, and a chilling air froze the void. ¡°Icy Plum Vale Technique!¡±

    The dozen people flying overhead were nothing more than mere Melders, so Yue Xianzi¡¯s attack easily froze them solid, causing them to plummet to the ground like blocks of ice.

    ¡°Where is the tree-shaped sourcebox?¡± Li Yin asked directly.

    The dozen people who had been frozen fearfully looked at Lu Yin. With quivering fingers, they pointed in the northwestern direction. ¡°Over- over at Nine Peaks Mountain.¡±

    Yue Xianzi snatched one of the people¡¯s gadgets and browsed through its information. She soon nodded at Lu Yin and said, ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgment. They left the Melders in peace and started out again, this time towards Nine Peaks Mountain.

    Nine Peaks Mountain was a very conspicuousndmark; it was a mountain with nine peaks, each in the shape of a Savage Ape skull. Nine Peaks Mountain were joined together by their valleys, altogether forming Nine Peaks Mountain. The name ¡°Nine Peaks Mountain¡± could not have been any more apt given the formation¡¯s appearance.

    Beep, beep, beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s personal gadget sounded with an alert. He epted themunications request and was shocked to see that Master Wusheng had contacted him.

    ¡°Greetings, Master Wusheng,¡± Lu Yin respectfully greeted.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you must be aware of the Vastdearth Weave¡¯s Savage Ape¡¯s Lockbreaking exchange event. Are you attending?¡± Master Wusheng went straight to the point.

    ¡°I am already on Savage Ape,¡± Lu Yin responded.

    ¡°Good. I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t dare attend. You should participate and get some experience. Witnessing others¡¯ attempts at lockbreaking will be helpful to you,¡± Master Wusheng replied.

    Lu Yin felt a warmth sensation rise in his heart. ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    ¡°This event has been approved by the society, so they intend to have the younger generation resolve this issue. The older generation is not allowed to interfere. Take full advantage of this, but also remember to not do anything overly rash. With your current abilities, it¡¯s impossible for you to sessfully unlock this sourcebox. It will also be difficult to rescue you if you make any mistakes. Remember that,¡± Master Wusheng warned.

    Lu Yin acknowledged Master Wusheng¡¯s warning. ¡°I understand and will remember your words.¡±

    ¡°Make sure that you do. Most likely, some very interesting people will appear on Savage Ape, so pay attention.¡± Master Wusheng then disconnected after leaving Lu Yin with those final words.

    Lu Yin was left speechless; why did everyone only give him a part of the information? Who were the interesting people that Wusheng was referring to? Master Wusheng didn¡¯t even bother rifying!

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin and the other two who were still hurriedly making their way to Nine Peaks Mountain were only a few hours away. Then, high above them in the sky, a spacecraft passed by. All of a sudden, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned apprehensive as he looked up. A gigantic shadow covered the ground, and a savage ape that was easily a hundred meters tall leaped into the sky, ferociously charging at the spacecraft.

    The spacecraft immediately tried to evade, but the savage ape still managed to crash into the vehicle, its attack even shattering the void.

    Zhao Ran was terrified, and her face turned bone-white.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s pupils constricted as well. Her personal gadget revealed that this savage ape had a power levelparable to a Cruiser¡¯s; it had a power level of 52,000.

    Lu Yin and the other two quicklynded and cautiously stared at the savage ape.

    Savage apes were fierce by nature and would even kill their own kind. Additionally, these apes knew their territory very well and were extremely skilled at sensing any intruder in their domain.

    This savage ape that was as strong as a Cruiser easily shattered the spacecraft with a single stomp of its foot. The bottom of its foot was slick with blood as it left the ground dyed red.

    This scene once again terrified Zhao Ran.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s face also turned pale. Even without any sapience, a creature with the power of a Cruiser was not something that she could fight against. As she considered this, she looked towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin squinted his eyes and looked at the savage ape¡¯s bloodshot eyes even as they swiveled over to meet his gaze. His scalp turned numb, but he had no choice but to go head-to-head with this Cruiser-level beast. It was a good thing that savage apes could not learn any battle techniques, or he might not be a match for it. Thirty Stacks was no joke.

    Dong!

    Dong!

    Dong!

    The savage ape drew closer step by step. When its huge shadow engulfed the three of them, Zhao Ran trembled in fear while Yue Xianzi screwed her eyes shut, not daring to look.

    The savage ape raised its foot, about to trample the three of them to death.

    Just as Lu Yin was about tounch an attack, a middle aged man suddenly appeared in the sky. He had rosy cheeks, and he gave off an outstanding aura of dignity. He appeared right in the savage ape¡¯s line of sight and shouted, ¡°You are courting death, you filthy creature!¡±

    The savage ape shrieked angrily and fiercely swiped at the man.

    The man gracefully evaded the beast¡¯s attacks, and with a sh, he appeared on top of the savage ape and forcefully shoved its head down. What happened next sent chills shivering down Lu Yin and the other two¡¯s spines as they witnessed a terrifying scene. The hundred meter tall savage ape was annihted. Whether it was its organs or flesh, everything evaporated into nothingness in an instant.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank; this man had used a lockbreaking technique to make the savage ape disappear.

    ¡°Damn! This guy is at least a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker! How cruel!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

    Zhao Ran looked at the man timidly. As far as she was concerned, this man was even more terrifying than the savage ape.

    A savage ape with the strength of a Cruiser had been eliminated by a lockbreaking technique so easily; not even its corpse remained!

    The man towered above them in the sky, and he swept his gaze over Lu Yin and the other two, pausing for a moment when his eyes saw Lu Yin. He then nodded his head in a friendly manner and left.

    As Lu Yin watched the man disappear into the sky, he realized the significance behind the man¡¯s greeting. He obviously knew Lu Yin and was not his enemy.

    ¡°Lu Yin, look at this,¡± Yue Xianzi said as she pointed to her personal gadget.

    Lu Yin looked over, and his expression changed. The gadget was stating that the man¡¯s power level could not be read. ¡°What does this mean?¡±

    ¡°My personal gadget can only probe power levels up to a hundred thousand. In other words, that man¡¯s power level is over a hundred thousand. He¡¯s a Hunter,¡± Yue Xianzi answered gravely.

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding. ¡°He would not have been able to execute that technique if he was not a Hunter. That man¡¯s very strong.¡±

    That incident soon became nothing more than an interlude to them. The three of them then continued making their way towards Nine Peaks Mountain. However, Zhao Ran became much quieter after the incident. She was probably still feeling shocked from what had just happened.

    A few hourster, the three of them were finally able to just barely make out the figure of Nine Peaks Mountain in the distance. The sight invigorated them, and they picked up their pace.

    The three of them had already been travelling at a swift pace that was almost enough to split the void. Now that they had increased their speed one step further, they quickly overtook all the other cultivators in front of them. The spatial tear they left behind them was an rming one.

    As soon as the three of them arrived at Nine Peaks Mountain, they stopped. Lu Yin raised his hand, as he had sensed an invisible ripple ahead of them, blocking their path. He frowned; there were some powers ahead who had closed off the path.

    ¡°This way has already been closed. Go back.¡± A loud voice boomed out, resounding throughout the entirety of Nine Peaks Mountain. It was followed by the void cracking, showing that this was the work of an Explorer.

    Before Lu Yin could speak, Yue Xianzi stepped forward. ¡°You dare to stop members of the Outerverse Youth Council from proceeding?¡±

    Right after she said that, two Explorers stepped out from the void in front of them. They looked at Yue Xianzi in astonishment. ¡°Are the three of you from the Outerverse Youth Council?¡±

    Yue Xianzi raised an arm, revealing her ck ring with silvery-grey edges. It was engraved with an outstretched pair of wings and a sword that had ten shadows surrounding it. This was the si ring worn only by the members of the Outerverse Youth Council. The only difference between this ring and Mira¡¯s Universe Youth Council ring was the color. This ring was silvery-grey whereas the one that represented the Universe Youth Council was silver.

    When they saw the ring, the two Explorers immediately allowed the three people through. They did not dare to impede members of the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Lu Yin had an Outerverse Youth Council ring as well. However, he also had a Universe Youth Council ring since members of the Council of Astral Academy wore the same rings as members of the Universe Youth Council.

    Like that, Lu Yin and the other two were able to easily enter Nine Peaks Mountain. Just then, a huge explosion urred in the sky, causing the two Explorers¡¯ faces to change as they immediately took to the sky.

    Soon after, the ripples which had previously sealed the Savage Ape were broken, and a huge spacecraft directlynded on Nine Peaks Mountain. There was the logo of an organisation engraved onto the spacecraft.

    ¡°Eh? This ship belongs to the Brightstar Corp.?¡± Yue Xianzi said in surprise.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°The Brightstar Corp.?¡±

    Yue Xianzi nodded. ¡°They are a massive enterprise, and theirwork has spread through the entire Outerverse. They make big bucks by manufacturing machine parts, handling logistics, and building machinery. They¡¯re a major yer in the tech sector.¡±

    ¡°Are they very rich?¡± Lu Yin asked, his eyes sparkling.

    Yue Xianzi nodded. ¡°Of course. They were one of the sponsors for the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s prizes. They¡¯re like the Nn family and are definitely considered a major corporation.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the huge spacecraft with envy. It would have been great if he had been born into such wealth and not needed to worry about money.

    Right after the Brightstar Corp. vessel appeared, another spacecraft appeared. The logo on the spacecraft was one that Lu Yin immediately recognized¡ªShamrock Enterprises.

    ¡°There are more and more powers gathering. It looks like Lockbreaker exchange events always attract a bunch of people!¡± Yue Xianzi eximed.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew heated as he looked into the distance. Everyone who hade was wealthy, so if he could sessfully unlock the sourcebox, he would be able to sell the contents at an astronomical price. After thinking about it some more, he rushed towards Nine Peaks Mountain; the tree-shaped sourcebox was almost within reach.

    At that moment, many people had already gathered in Nine Peaks Mountain. Of them, there were around thirty Lockbreakers. About ten of them were Lockbreakers with contributions, and all of them were looking into the distance, at the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    A thousand meters away from them, there was the tree-shaped sourcebox, and all that could be seen around it were dead bodies. Thend around it waspletely deste, and not even wild grass could be seen. It was truly an arid section ofnd.

 Chapter 356: Her Ninth Grandfather

    <h4>Chapter 356: Her Ninth Grandfather</h4>

    There were many experts next to the tree-shaped sourcebox, including almost a dozen Explorers. There were even some Cruisers floating in the sky while the Hunter powerhouses remained on the ground.

    Unfortunately, apart from a Lockbreaker, no one else could do anything to the sourcebox no matter how powerful they were. The Hunter powerhouses could approach the tree-shaped sourcebox without fear, but if they were to do so, the sourcebox might be destroyed. This was the reason why Lockbreakers enjoyed such a high status; they could do what others couldn¡¯t, and it waspletely unrted to cultivation.

    ¡°Brother Nan, as a three star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, aren¡¯t you going to make an attempt?¡± a young man in the crowd asked.

    A man standing on the opposite side snorted. ¡°Ryan, you should know that three star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers are among those who have died.¡±

    ¡°There are differences among people within the same level as well, and how could anyone everpare to Brother Nan? Everyone knows that Brother Nan is a genius lockbreaker from the Outerverse, so please let us witness your ability,¡± Ryan loudly replied. The other Lockbreakers around him started moring as well.

    People of the same profession would naturally be rivals, and nobody present wanted to give up on such a rare sourcebox. Thus, all of them naturally wanted someone else to go and test out the sourcebox first.

    ¡°Brother Ryan, since you want to witness my abilities so badly, then why don¡¯t youe along with me?¡± Brother Nan retorted.

    The man called Ryan was slightly tempted by his offer. It was definitely impossible for a single person to unlock this sourcebox by themselves, but there might be a chance if two or three of them made an attempt together. ¡°Fine, if Brother Nan agrees, then I¡¯m fine with cooperating. Is there anyone else who wants to join us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± A middle aged man appeared and offered to join them.

    However, this man was immediately pushed back by an invisible wave. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale.

    ¡°This event is only open to the younger generation. Go back.¡± The middle aged man in the sky who had recently eliminated the Cruiser-level Savage Ape coldly rebuffed him.

    But the middle aged man on the ground remained unconvinced. ¡°No one owns this sourcebox. Why can¡¯t I join in?¡±

    ¡°No means no. If you say anything else, I will remove your name from the Society.¡±

    The man below didn¡¯t dare to argue any further, and he just stood to the side while gnashing his teeth.

    The man in the sky swept his gaze across all the people standing below before shifting to the tree-shaped sourcebox with a face full of regret. He also wanted to try his hand at unlocking it, but this was an irond rule. He had enjoyed the society¡¯s protection when he was younger, since the society tried to give the younger generation more opportunities. It was precisely those such opportunities that had allowed him to reach his current heights, and now, it was his turn to create such opportunities for the younger generation.

    The inheritance had to be continuous, and the society treated this philosophy very seriously.

    The younger generation had their opportunities, and the older generation had their own as well. This had nothing to do with fairness, as everything was dependent on one¡¯s luck and ability.

    It wasn¡¯t just Lockbreakers of the younger generation that hade to Nine Peaks Mountain; there were some members of the older generation there as well. There were even some Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers within the crowd, but they hadn¡¯t made themselves known just yet.

    After some discussion, Brother Nan and Ryan stepped within a thousand meters of the tree-shaped sourcebox and attempted to unlock it.

    At the same time, Dao Bo arrived with Liu Ji, where both of them looked at the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    Every sourcebox was unique, and each one carried unique risks as well.

    Dao Bo coldly looked at a few of the corpses scattered around the tree-shaped sourcebox. These corpses werepletely desated and looked miserable. It was no wonder why not many else dared to attempt unlocking this sourcebox.

    Brother Nan and Ryan started approaching the tree, but they could not feel anything wrong. Since they had already walked past a corpse, they should have entered the danger zone, but they still weren¡¯t able to feel anything abnormal.

    Both of them were three star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers with contributions who had survived numerous dangerous situations, but despite their acute senses and keen star energy perception, they felt nothing at all at this moment.

    The middle aged man in the sky carefully watched the two young Lockbreakers walk forward. He could also sense that there was nothing abnormal about the star energy around the tree-shaped sourcebox. But if that were the case, then what had left those corpses behind?

    The two moved closer to the tree-shaped sourcebox until they were only about a hundred meters away. Excitement was clearly shown on their faces; they were almost close enough to touch the tree, which meant that they would be able to start their lockbreaking attempt soon.

    Then, Dao Bo suddenly shouted, ¡°RUN!¡±

    His shout surprised the crowd, and in the very next moment, two screams could be heard from Brothers Nan and Ryan. The two of them turned pale and then grey. Their hair started falling out of their scalps, and their skin dried before king off like ash. The entire transformation was terrifying.

    The middle aged man in the air tried to pull the two of them away from the tree, but he was toote. In less than three seconds, two new corpses had appeared as their bodies copsed to the ground.

    It was a horrifying scene.

    Liu Ji¡¯s eyes shed. This was what it meant to be a Lockbreaker; one had great power, but one also ran great risks. Sometimes, a Lockbreaker might even die without knowing the cause of their death.

    Dao Bo was the only one present who had detected anything since he was the only one with a domain. Even the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker in the sky hadn¡¯t developed a domain yet.

    Quite a number of people looked at Dao Bo with strange gazes since he had been the only who had detected any sort of abnormality and reacted.

    ¡°It¡¯s Dao Bo, Astral-6¡¯s student leader.¡±

    ¡°I remember that he participated in the Astral Combat Tournament but lost to Grandini Mavis.¡±

    ¡°Actually, Dao Bo didn¡¯t really lose that match. Grandini was just too powerful.¡±

    ¡°No wonder he was able to detect a problem¡ªhe¡¯s a top student of the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    ¡­

    The middle aged man in the sky appeared and looked at Dao Bo.

    The people in the crowd looked up and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s Master Jun!¡±

    ¡°Master Jun is here as well. It seems that the society is treating this sourcebox very seriously.¡±

    ¡°Master Jun is a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker and also a Hunter.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°You felt it?¡± Master Jun asked Dao Bo.

    Dao Bo nodded and respectfully answered, ¡°It¡¯s an indescribable feeling, and I could only feel it vaguely. And when I did, it was toote.¡±

    Master Junplimented, ¡°You¡¯re truly a genius as far as your domain is concerned. Dao Bo, you¡¯ll soon be able to join the ranks of the Distinguished Five within the society. Keep it up and be an Explorer soon. Then, we¡¯ll have the Distinguished Six of the society.¡±

    Dao Bo bowed and gratefully thanked Master Jun.

    The people around them looked at Dao Bo in envy. Not everyone was able toprehend a domain, and even Master Jun hadn¡¯t managed to achieve such a thing yet. The best time for one toprehend a domain was while they were young, which was another reason why the younger generation was so important in the universe.

    Although there were many geniuses in the Astral Combat Academy, which was the top institute in the Human Domain, not many of the students there were able toprehend a domain, which went to show how rare this ability was.

    Even though Master Jun hadn¡¯tprehended a domain, Dao Bo didn¡¯t dare to underestimate him. The older man was still a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and he definitely had a Lockbreaking tool that wasparable to possessing a domain.

    ¡°Are you going to try?¡± Master Jun asked Dao Bo.

    Everyone turned to look at him.

    Dao Bo shook his head. ¡°Master Jun, you think of me too highly. Only a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker would be able to unlock this tree-shaped sourcebox on their own. I won¡¯t be able to seed with my current abilities.¡±

    Master Jun nodded happily. ¡°Dao Bo, it¡¯s good that you know your own limits.¡±

    ¡°Brother Dao Bo, if even you can¡¯t do it, who can?¡± Liu Ji asked unwillingly.

    Dao Bo smiled. ¡°I only said that I can¡¯t do it alone. It should be possible if I cooperate with someone else. Let¡¯s wait and see. I¡¯m sure that more experts will join us soon.¡±

    Liu Ji curiously took in her surroundings, and her attention was drawn to someone who was oddly dressed. She stared at the person; it was a wretched old man dressed all in grey and carrying a wooden g pole. There was a starry sky pattern printed on the back of his robes, and his g carried the words ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandfather¡± on one side and ¡°Fortune Telling¡ªBelieve It If You Will¡± on the other side.

    Liu Ji tugged on Dao Bo¡¯s sleeve. ¡°That, that person is weird.¡±

    Dao Bo looked over in surprise. There were a lot of people staring at the old man, and the words on his g had grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. Everyone knew about Starsibyl, and this man actually dared to call himself Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandfather. At this moment, even Master Jun was looking at the old man in shock.

    ¡°Young man, you look energetic and outstanding! You will definitely have a bright future ahead of you! This moment is your opportunity to shine! Don¡¯t be scared! Go ahead! I¡¯ll protect you.¡± The miserable looking old man proudly patted a young Lockbreaker¡¯s shoulder.

    The people in the crowd stared at the interaction in surprise.

    ¡°Actually, I still haven¡¯t made any contributions,¡± the young lockbreaker mumbled shyly.

    The old manughed and casually put his hand on a nearby person before everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°Young man, I was actually talking about you.¡±

    The young man¡¯s face twitched. ¡°Old man, I¡¯m not a Lockbreaker.¡±

    The old man chuckled and pointed at Master Jun who was in the sky. ¡°Young man, I was talking about you.¡±

    Everyone was struck speechless.

    Master Jun was furious, and his gaze turned cold. The air around his body started warping as if he was about to erupt.

    At that moment, someone yelled, ¡°I remember now! This old guy is Xuan Jiu! He¡¯s a piece of trash who was thrown out of the Starsibyl Sect.¡±

    The old man immediately became furious. ¡°Who- who dares to nder me? I¡¯m not useless! I managed to learn the Xuantian Art! Who dares to challenge me!?¡±

    After the person called the old man out, more people in the crowd remembered that there had indeed once been a person who resembled this old man. He had be quite famous a few hundred years ago.

    Master Jun recalled this person as well, and he suppressed his anger since the old man was still quite close to the Starsibyl Sect despite being chased out. This elder called himself the Ninth Grandfather of all of the Starsibyls, but he still hadn¡¯t been punished by the Starsibyl Sect. This alone showed that this old man wasn¡¯t someone who Master Jun could casually offend.

    ¡°What Xuantian Art? Rumor has it that your fortune tellings are always wrong and that anyone who believes you will die!¡± someone sneered.

    Xuan Jiu grew livid, and he wildly waved his g about. ¡°Who- who dares to insult me?! Come and fight me! You trash! All of you are nothing but trash!¡±

    The people around him just rolled their eyes and ignored him.

    ¡°Hey, fortune teller gramps! It¡¯s you! I finally found you!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s trio arrived at that moment, and Zhao Ran was happily looking at Xuan Jiu. She waved her arm fervently. ¡°Gramps, I¡¯m Rotten Trash! It¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡±

    Most of the people present were stunned. Just what was going on?

 Chapter 357: Xi Qi And The Fish

    <h4>Chapter 357: Xi Qi And The Fish</h4>

    Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi subconsciously stopped a few steps behind Zhao Ran, afraid of being recognized since her words were just too embarrassing!

    Xuan Jiu was stumped when he saw Zhao Ran, but then his face became bitter. ¡°Brat, stop pestering me, alright?¡±

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t paid you yet,¡± Zhao Ran stated matter-of-factly. She rummaged about her body for a bit and then turned around to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, can you lend me some money? I need to settle the bill.¡±

    At this moment, everyone noticed Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi, which caused quite a few to cry out in surprise.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s appearance was not that shocking since she was much more well-known in the Innerverse than in the Outerverse. Lu Yin, however, was different since he had represented the Outerverse when he won the Tournament of the Strongest. Furthermore, he had been given the title of a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. Few geniuses had emerged in the Outerverse over the eons, so many people recognized Lu Yin.

    Dao Bo¡¯s eyes gleamed. So he came after all.

    Liu Ji looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression as she recalled the incident at Astral-10¡¯s space station. She was fully aware that this person was monstrously talented.

    In the skies, Master Jun looked at Lu Yin with an approving gaze. This person had a bright future ahead of him in terms of not just his cultivation, but also his lockbreaking potential.

    The surrounding crowd stared at Lu Yin, and he felt slightly awkward since he was apanying Zhao Ran, and the brat had just called herself ¡°Rotten Trash.¡±

    He immediately handed her some money. ¡°Hurry up and settle the bill.¡±

    Zhao Ran was ted. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re such a good person! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely repay you.¡±

    ¡°No need, just hurry up,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    Yue Xianzi pursed her lips and smiled.

    Zhao Ran immediately ran to Xuan Jiu, and the old man wrinkled his brow as he stared at Lu Yin. It seemed that he was thinking about something.

    The moment Lu Yin exchanged nces with Xuan Jiu, he sensed something strange. It was as if he had glimpsed a part of the dark, starry sky. It felt like a familiar scene that he had seen in the past, but one that he could not recall.

    Zhao Ran ran straight to Xuan Jiu and handed him the money. The old man epted it with a nk face even as he kept staring at Lu Yin. Finally, he spoke. ¡°Little kid, you¡¯vee face-to-face with the dead.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked,pletely lost. Royalty?

    Someone beside him said, ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t pay this old fogey any mind. He loves tricking people. Just now, he even tried to dupe a normal person into trying to unlock this sourcebox. He¡¯spletely immoral.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the immoral one! Your whole family is immoral, you useless goods!¡± Xuan Jiu scolded the person who had just spoken, reacting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. After making amotion, the old man turned around and ran off.

    Lu Yin was left speechless to the point where he didn¡¯t even notice the words on Xuan Jiu¡¯s worn g; otherwise, he would have been even more stunned.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve been cursed! Come face-to-face with the deada, haha,¡± the Ghost Monkey sniggered.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®royalty.¡¯¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the dead, hehe.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t bother with him. That person¡¯s always shooting his mouth off,¡± Dao Bo said as he and Liu Ji walked over to Lu Yin and the others.

    Lu Yin had not expected to meet Dao Bo here. He nodded amicably towards the older student. ¡°Senior Dao Bo, are you familiar with that person?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s famous for being a cast out disciple of the Starsibyl Sect.¡±

    The Starsibyl Sect? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Were his predictions urate?¡±

    ¡°Quite the opposite¡ªthey were very inurate! It was so bad that no one ever sought him out for fortune-telling,¡± Dao Bo replied with a chuckle.

    Lu Yin smiled as well. He then looked towards Liu Ji. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it has,¡± she replied.

    The two had not started off on friendly terms, but their little conflict had eroded away with the passage of time. This was especially so since the current Lu Yin had undergone a monumental change in status. Liu Ji no longer dared to act out too much in front of him anymore.

    ¡°Master Wusheng recently contacted me and asked me to attend this to gain experience.¡±

    Liu Ji was shocked. ¡°Master Wusheng contacted you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Master¡¯s really biased. He only thinks of you and not me,¡± Liu Ji grumbled.

    Lu Yin walked through the crowd to inspect the tree-shaped sourcebox. His face turned grave when he saw the strange, desated corpses on the ground.

    He was recognized by quite a few people in the crowd, and some even tried to tempt him. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest as well as a Lockbreaker! Go ahead and try¡ªyou¡¯ll definitely seed.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Brother Lu, go on.¡±

    ¡°Go on! Show us your abilities.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin smiled and turned around. ¡°I¡¯m only a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and I don¡¯t dare to exceed my limits. I can¡¯t unlock this sourcebox.¡±

    The crowd was disappointed by his response.

    More and more people gathered around them, and some new Lockbreakers once again tried to approach the tree-shaped sourcebox. This time, a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker stepped forward, but he failed just like the others had, turning into a dried out corpse before Master Jun could intervene and save the young Lockbreaker.

    At this point, there was a shout in the distance. It sounded as if someone outstanding had arrived.

    Lu Yin and the rest turned around to see a young girl approaching. On her forehead was¡­ a fish?

    Many rubbed their eyes, but they soon realized that it was indeed a fish. This girl was carrying a fish on her head?

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. After he arrived on this, he had picked up a randommenter, run into that conman fortune teller who had just left, and now, met this person who was wearing a fish on their head! Strange things kept appearing on this.

    ¡°It¡¯s Xi Qi, the genius Lockbreaker of the society! She¡¯s a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker and almost a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker!¡± someone cried out.

    Soon, more people gasped in surprise.

    Dao Bo was shocked. ¡°So she¡¯s here too.¡±

    ¡°Senior, do you know her?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Dao Bo smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not just me. You should have seen her before too. The videos that people see in the sourcebox catalog when they first join all belong to her. Even that fish on her head is something that she unlocked from a sourcebox.¡±

    Dao Bo¡¯s words made Lu Yin recall that, in the sourcebox catalog, there was indeed a particr video that only revealed a pair of hands and the sourcebox. At the end of the video, a fish had appeared after the person had sessfullypleted unlocked the sourcebox. He had wondered what that fish-shaped treasure actually was, but never expected it to actually be a fish.

    ¡°There''re so many two-legged beasts. It¡¯s so disgusting that all these maggots have to live together in social groups. Maggots!¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head spoke, and it even had a rather loud voice.

    Everyone¡¯s faces turned dark. Two-legged beasts? Was this how the fish referred to all of them?

    Xi Qi¡¯s face changed slightly. ¡°Little fish, stop speaking.¡±

    ¡°What, Lord Fish has helped you so much, but now I can¡¯t speak? If you dare to restrict Lord Fish again, then Lord Fish will change his mount.¡± The fish turned side to side and looked the entire crowd over. Eventually, it¡¯s gaze settled on Liu Ji, and it pointed out at her with a fin. ¡°Little brat, Lord Fish can see that you¡¯re not bad. Lord Fish will give you an opportunity to be Lord Fish¡¯s mount.¡±

    Liu Ji¡¯s face soured, and she quickly turned away.

    ¡°Bah, Lord Fish favors you, little brat. Don¡¯t fail to appreciate such kindness! Lord Fish has mounted so many two-legged beasts, so you shouldn¡¯t miss this chance to cherish it.¡± The fish¡¯s fins swayed continuously as it snarled at Liu Ji.

    Xi Qi covered her forehead. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sister Liu Ji.¡±

    Liu Ji stared vehemently at the fish. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everyone already knows about this fish¡¯s attitude.¡±

    ¡°What attitude? Is Lord Fish¡¯s attitude something that can be discussed by you two-legged beasts? How impudent!¡± the fish shouted petntly.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the scene. This was his first time encountering such an annoying creature. This fish could speak, and it had its own abrasive personality as well.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore! Seventh Bro, let me out so that I can teach that thing a lesson! It¡¯s too despicable! It even dares to call Seventh Bro a two-legged beast. Even though it¡¯s the truth, that¡¯s too blunt! Seventh Bro, let me out, and I¡¯ll give it a good thrashing!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out emotionally.

    Lu Yin felt a headacheing on. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    ¡°Brother Dao Bo is here as well.¡± Xi Qi waved at Dao Bo.

    Dao Bo smiled gently.

    ¡°What a sinister smile! Lord Fish hates these kinds of two-legged beasts the most. Brat, get further away from him. He¡¯s no good!¡± the fish cried out.

    Dao Bo¡¯s face twisted, and he turned away to look elsewhere.

    Xi Qi was lost as to what to do in her current situation. She suddenly noticed Lu Yin and was about to greet him, but Lu Yin directly turned away since he did not want to be mocked by the fish. He could see that the fish would mock whoever Xi Qi greeted.

    ¡°Eh, brat, go ahead and approach that two-legged beast,¡± the fish suddenly shrieked its orders with its beady eyes fixated on Lu Yin.

    Xi Qi was puzzled. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If I say go, then you go! Don¡¯t ask so much, or else Lord Fish won¡¯t bother with you in the future!¡±

    ¡°Wow, thanks,¡± Xi Qi mumbled sarcastically. However, she still obeyed the fish and walked over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, and he immediately wanted to move away, but before he could, the fish screamed, ¡°You two-legged beast, stay right where you are!¡± The fish¡¯s eyes were locked right onto Lu Yin with a suspicious expression.

    Lu Yin looked at Xi Qi, and then at the fish. ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Strange... Why does Lord Fish sense a familiar aura on your body?¡± The fish found it strange and it fanned its fins contemtively.

    Lu Yin looked down at himself, not understanding what it was saying.

    ¡°Bah, I can¡¯t take it anymore! Seventh Bro, this fish is obviously provoking you. Let me out so that I can beat it up!¡± the monkey shouted furiously.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Xi Qi looked upwards. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡¯

    The fish¡¯s small eyes narrowed. ¡°I can¡¯t recall. Lord Fish¡¯s been sealed for too long, so there are many things that I have forgotten. However-¡± At that point, it pointed at Lu Yin with a fin. ¡°Two-legged beast, remember Lord Fish! Lord Fish will find you in the future. Your body has a very familiar aura, and it is extremely detestable and depraved!¡±

    A coldness shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as a formless energy enveloped Xi Qi and the fish. He did not appreciate being scolded for no reason.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, beat it to death!¡± the monkey yelled encouragingly.

    Xi Qi only felt a chilling wave wash over her body, and she immediately retreated even as she vigntly kept her eyes on Lu Yin.

    Dao Bo quickly stepped in front of her. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t pay her any mind. That fish has a despicable personality and acts like that to everyone. Even the president was chastised in the past.¡±

    From high in the sky, Master Junnded next to Lu Yin and simrly ced himself in front of Xi Qi. He spoke to Lu Yin gently. ¡°Little brother, please let this matter go for my sake, alright?¡±

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze. ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t bicker with a fish.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say, two-legged beast. Such cocky words. Come on! Lord Fish is afraid that you won¡¯t make it. All you two-legged beasts here, beat him up!¡±

    Xi Qi could not take it anymore, and she could tell that Mr. Jun was growing increasingly displeased. She quickly left the area. The fish was just too obnoxious.

    Master Jun helplessly shook his head. ¡°If not for that fish helping Xuan Jiu to see through the changes in star energy, there would be no need for her to bring it around. No one knows if that thing is a blessing or a curse.¡±

    Dao Bo smiled bitterly. ¡°The president agreed to let her bring it around, and she has no choice, either, since that fish has acknowledged her.¡±

    ¡°That fish is equivalent to her lockbreaking weapon.¡± Mr. Jun smiled and then rose back into the skies.

    No one knew where Xi Qi went afterwards. Not long after, another person arrived and incited some new cries of shock. It was Tong Mi''er, a genius Lockbreaker who was famous in the Outerverse. His fame stemmed from the fact that he was one of the few Lockbreakers in the Outerverse who hadprehended a domain.

    His arrival caused all the Outerverse Lockbreakers to grow more hopeful.

    ¡°Lord Tong Mi''er, please bring me along in your attempt,¡± one Lockbreaker excitedly requested.

    Quite a few of the surrounding Lockbreakers looked at Tong Mi''er expectantly.

    [1] The terms in Chinese that refer to the "dead" and to "royalty" are homonyms, so Lu Yin is mishearing.

 Chapter 358: Casanova Of The Distinguished Five

    <h4>Chapter 358: Casanova Of The Distinguished Five</h4>

    Tong Mi''er nced coldly at everyone surrounding him. ¡°No one under four stars is qualified to cooperate with me.¡±

    Everyone felt embarrassed when they heard his words. It wasn¡¯t easy to be a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, especially for someone who was still a part of the younger generation. If this wasn¡¯t the case, then Tong Mi''er would not be hailed as a genius Lockbreaker. Out of all the young Lockbreakers present, only Dao Bo and Xi Qi had reached five stars. Below them, there actually weren¡¯t any four star Lockbreakers in the younger generation since even Liu Ji was merely a three star Elementary Lockbreaker.

    Since Tong Mi¡¯er was from the Outerverse, his status could notpare to that of a five star Discerning Elementary genius Lockbreaker like Charon. However, his reputation was not far behind either. This was partly because many people automatically considered Astral Combat Academy students as being from the Innerverse.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this brat¡¯s pretty arrogant. With your lockbreaking ability, besides that Dao Bo, no one else here canpare with you! This is especially true since you¡¯veprehended the Secret Sidestep. It¡¯s possible that not even someone from the Innerverse will be able topare to you!¡±

    Lu Yin made the Ghost Monkey shut up and then quietly watched as Tong Mi''er approached within a thousand meters of the tree-shaped sourcebox. Sensing that Tong Mi¡¯er was about to begin, Lu Yin activated his Cosmic Art as the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye appeared in his hand.

    With his domain supporting the Cosmic Art and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye improving his senses, when Lu Yin looked at the area around the tree-shaped sourcebox again, he saw a drastically different image of the destendpared to everyone else. The star energy in the area seemed to move with a life of its own, and it expanded outwards at a rather unhurried speed. Within that area of space, a strange fluctuation swept out from the sourcebox from time to time.

    Lu Yin trembled in shock. What is that thing? The undting energy waves really felt as if it wereing from something alive, like a python coiling within the star energy.

    Lu Yin knew that, aside from himself, no one else here was capable of seeing this scenery. However, every Lockbreaker had their own secret tricks, and although they might not be able to see the scene as clearly as Lu Yin could, the best among them could still sense the foreboding existence of that strange energy pulse given their understanding and familiarity with star energy.

    Tong Mi''er was in that situation. He could not clearly see the energy, but he did have his domain, and he used it to avoid one crisis after another. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the closer Tong Mi''er got to the tree-shaped sourcebox, the more dangerous it became. The waves seemed to multiply endlessly and shift more quickly the closer one was to the tree.

    ¡°Danger,¡± Lu Yin faintly whispered.

    Beside him, Liu Ji, Yue Xianzi, and Zhao Ran gave him a strange look since they only saw Tong Mi''er steadily walking towards the sourcebox without any hint of danger.

    Only Dao Bo frowned, as he was able to sense the animated star energy fluctuations with his domain, and those fluctuations seemed to be bing more violent.

    Suddenly, Tong Mi''er was sted away by a wave of force from Master Jun in the sky up above. Tong Mi''er was not able to react, but the star energy surrounding him had hastened its movements after the external force stimted it. Master Jun casually sent Tong Mi''er out of the tree-shaped sourcebox¡¯s effective area. ¡°Fortunately, I was quick enough this time.¡±

    Tong Mi''er was lost as to what had happened.

    Dao Bo said, ¡°Thank Master Jun. You would be another one of those corpses on the ground right now if not for him.¡±

    Tong Mi''er looked at the dried corpses, still notprehending what had just happened. Still, he was not foolish, so he promptly stood up to thank Master Jun.

    Master Jun did not mind, and he was looking at the tree-shaped sourcebox. It was unlikely that any of the Limiteer juniors here would be able to seed, unless one of those rare few elites came.

    ¡°Brother Lu, do you really not want to try?¡± Dao Bo asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°We can¡¯t unlock it.¡±

    ¡°We can give it a try if we join forces.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°Senior, why are you so certain about me being able to help you? I¡¯m just a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. The gap between my two stars and your five stars is toorge.¡±

    Dao Bo smiled. ¡°How can junior¡¯s ability be considered in a normal light? Also, I¡¯ve witnessed your domain. It has incorporated the bloodlust of the battlefield and was able to withstand Tian Hou¡¯s strength, which proves that you¡¯re familiar with it. In any case,¡± Dao Bo paused as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s hand before continuing, ¡°Unless I¡¯m wrong, that should be a lockbreaking tool.¡±

    Liu Ji was amazed. Lu Yin had a lockbreaking tool?

    Yue Xianzi was simrly astonished. Even if she wasn¡¯t a Lockbreaker, she was at least aware of the existence of lockbreaking tools and knew that, in addition to their valuable abilities, they were rare beyond measure.

    Lu Yin nodded and put the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye away. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little while longer. Even with the two of us, I¡¯m not too confident in our chances.¡±

    Dao Bo nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. Some more experts should being, so let¡¯s hope that they arrive soon.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°¡®They?¡¯¡±

    Dao Bo¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five.¡±

    ¡°The Distinguished Five?¡± Lu Yin was caught off guard.

    Liu Ji spoke up to exin. ¡°The five most outstanding Lockbreakers in the younger generation are called the Distinguished Five. They are all Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He was well aware that bing a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker while still being a part of the younger generation was indeed very impressive. Without the Cosmic Art, he would not have even been able to reach his current level. Even Charon, with his incredible talent, was still far from reaching the Perceptive Intermediate level. Improving by a grade was not as simple as going up a mere star.

    Being a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker also meant that the Lockbreaker had cultivated to a realm where they were capable of moving about the universe freely. The Distinguished Five were all space-exploring powerhouses of the younger generation. When their lockbreaking abilities werebined with their cultivation, it meant that all of them were on the Top Hundred Rankings.

    Over the next couple of days, several other Lockbreakers also attempted to unlock the tree-shaped sourcebox, and one was even just a single step away from reaching the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level. But despite him being more experienced at lockbreaking than just about anyone else present, that person also failed. Fortunately, he was rescued by Master Jun just in the nick of time. Of course, that person was significantly older than Dao Bo and Lu Yin and could barely be considered as a part of the younger generation.

    The Vastdearth Sect and other powers from other fringe weaves sent more and more experts to the, all of them gathering there.

    Technically, the Savage Ape was a part of the Vastdearth Weave, so anything on it should belong to the Vastdearth Sect. However, no one would try to bring this point up, and not even the Vastdearth Sect itself would make such a im. After all, it would be a trifling matter for the Lockbreaker Society to eliminate something like the Vastdearth Sect.

    The various organizations had gathered not to scheme for anything, but rather, to try and purchase any items obtained through the lockbreaking attempt, even if there was only a small possibility of someone seeding.

    Lu Yin, Yue Xianzi, and Zhao Ran were all sitting in a small hollow on Nine Peaks Mountain. Lu Yin had witnessed multiple people attempt to unlock the sourcebox, but all of them had rather mediocre star energy senses. He was quite interested to see how Dao Bo nned to unlock the sourcebox, but the senior Lockbreaker still had not made an attempt.

    Xi Qi was waiting a great distance away, not daring to approach the crowd, since the fish¡¯s words were too malicious, and it would ridicule the entire crowd as soon as it appeared. Not even someone like Master Jun was exempt from its verbalshing.

    ¡°That sister is pitiful,¡± Zhao Ranmented as she looked at Xi Qi¡¯s lone figure.

    Yue Xianzi looked over. ¡°She has no choice. That fish means that she¡¯s destined to live a lonely life.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve got a suggestion,¡± the monkey suddenly spoke up.

    Lu Yin leaned against the mountainside. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Stew that fish. It should have a pretty good texture,¡± the monkey said sternly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, and his eyes flickered. ¡°Monkey, you don¡¯t seem to like that fish very much.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, Seventh Bro. It mocked you, and that means that it also mocked me. Thus, I must definitely cook it,¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin frowned. He recalled that the fish had mentioned that there was a familiar aura on Lu Yin¡¯s body. Initially, he had paid no heed to the fish¡¯s words, but could the fish have sensed the monkey? Besides him, there was nothing else on Lu Yin¡¯s body, though it was also possible that the fish had sensed something from one of Lu Yin¡¯s techniques. However, the fish had been unsealed in the Outerverse, which was extremely far from the Cosmic Sect. It probably wasn¡¯t that technique. The monkey also had an extremely poor attitude towards the fish, so it was possible that they actually knew each other.

    But that shouldn¡¯t be possible either, as the fish had been unlocked from a sourcebox, meaning that it had survived for countless years. How old could the monkey be?

    Lu Yin pondered the matter some more as he casually looked at the ground. He unwittingly grew sleepy, and the skies had started to darken. He doubted that anyone else would make an attempt today.

    Just as Lu Yin started silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, he sensed a foreign aura suddenly appear within his domain. His eyes instantly sprang open, and he swatted at Yue Xianzi.

    No one there expected Lu Yin to suddenly attack, and his actions were too sudden, leaving Yue Xianze without a chance to react. All she could do was watch on as Lu Yin¡¯s palm approached. She was even able to make out each distinct line on his palm, but in the end, Lu Yin did not p her. Instead, he swatted behind her.

    At the same time, a wave of energy swept out that caused the void to rumble, and it even caused Nine Peaks Mountain to tremble imperceptibly. Countless people were jolted awake, and they all looked towards Lu Yin¡¯s direction.

    Yue Xianzi was knocked aside by an unstoppable force, and she took more than a dozen steps back. When she looked over, she saw that a man had appeared where she was just a moment ago and that the man¡¯s elbow had been blocked by Lu Yin¡¯s palm. The man had an astonished expression. ¡°Such powerful strength!¡±

    The man then clenched his fist, causing the veins in his forearm to bulge as he viciously mmed his fist at Lu Yin. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched, and he responded with Twenty Stacks.

    Boom!

    The ground split open, and the two dropped into the pit that formed. A momentter, a shockwave swept out in an arc across Nine Peaks Mountain, causing even Master Jun to feel rmed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s right palm ached, and he borrowed the force of the man¡¯s attack to move aside. His expression became much more cautious.

    The man pulled his elbow back and looked at Lu Yin in amazement. He leaped up to appear outside the pit.

    Lu Yin leaped out as well, and the two stood there, confronting each other.

    Many looked on, unable to understand what had just happened.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin asked. If not for his domain, he would not have ever discovered this person who had been so close to Yue Xianzi.

    The man rubbed his elbow. ¡°Brother, your palm strength is vicious. You¡¯re so young, but you can already disy such a violent Oveying Stacks technique.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Apparently, it¡¯s not powerful enough yet. You don¡¯t seem to be harmed at all.¡±

    The manughed. ¡°Harmed? Wait till you be an Explorer. Even a universally recognized so-called ¡®Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate¡¯ can¡¯t harm me if they¡¯re still a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled. This person didn¡¯t seem to be too old, but he was frighteningly powerful.

    ¡°Casanova?¡± Liu Ji cried out.

    Many seemed to recognize this person upon hearing her words, and the name ¡°Casanova¡± was repeatedly thrown about.

    Dao Bo appeared beside Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s just a misunderstanding, Brother Lu. He¡¯s one of the Distinguished Five of the Lockbreaker Society, Casanova. There¡¯s no malice.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°Casanova? That¡¯s his name?¡±

    In front of him, Casanova smiled confidently. ¡°Casanova is just Casanova. That¡¯s my name.¡±

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. Such a name exists?

    ¡°Hey, what were you trying to do just now?¡± Yue Xianzi only reacted just now, and she was still staring coldly at Casanova.

    Casanova looked over at Yue Xianzi, and his eyes immediately brightened. He suddenly vanished only to reappear in front of Yue Xianzi. He then took out a very beautiful flower and offered it to her. ¡°Beautifuldy, the moonlight is all the more beautiful tonight because of you. I wonder if I could have the fortune to invite you to go moon-gazing together? Or perhaps, we could find somewhere quiet to discuss life?¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s expression turned ugly, and a tightly clenched fist formed.

 Chapter 359: Joining Forces

    <h4>Chapter 359: Joining Forces</h4>

    Lu Yin frowned, stepped in front of Yue Xianzi, and stared at Casanova. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet one of the Distinguished Five of the Lockbreaker¡¯s Society.¡±

    Casanova unhappily directed his attention to Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin.¡±

    Casanova¡¯s gaze changed, and he started to seriously size Lu Yin up and down. ¡°So you¡¯re the one who disyed Thirty Stacks and matched Arbiter Lan¡¯s record. Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled faintly. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Casanova gasped. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate! That was just Twenty Stacks, but it was already rather powerful. You sure live up to the reputation of being the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply and only silently looked at Casanova.

    Casanova¡¯s tone changed. ¡°Still, no matter how much of a genius you may be, you cannot obstruct Casanova from chatting with a beautifuldy. Move aside.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, she¡¯s from the Outerverse Youth Council and also happens to be my subsidiary member.¡±

    Casanova rolled his eyes and threw the flowers away. He then vanished only to reappear at the edge of the danger zone surrounding the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    His conduct was rather abrupt, and Lu Yin was not really able to follow along.

    Dao Bo forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t bother getting worked up. That¡¯s just how Casanova is. He cannot resist beauties, is distinguished, not obscene at all, straightforward, and candid.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange; how was secretly approaching Yue Xianzi not obscene? Also, why were all the people he had met on this weirdos? This was Dao Bo¡¯s third time saying something like ¡°pay them no mind.¡± It seemed like Lockbreakers were much weirder than regr cultivators.

    ¡°Casanova is one of the Distinguished Five, and also twenty ninth on the Top Hundred Rankings,¡± Yue Xianzi softly said. Although she did not personally know Casanova, she had evidently heard of him before, and her expression gradually became more pleasant.

    Lu Yin now understood how this person had not been harmed after taking his attack backed by Twenty Stacks head-on. It turned out that Casanova was actually an expert in the Top Hundred Rankings, and his cing was even amongst the top thirty. If Lu Yin exploded with his full power, then he might be able to rival someone at the bottom of the list, around eightieth and below. He was still a massive distance away from someone like Casanova.

    Still, there was no hurry. It was just like Casanova had said; once Lu Yin became an Explorer, he would definitely be able to harm Casanova. And Lu Yin was also confident that it would not just be harming Casanova¡ªhe might be able to challenge even stronger opponents than this person.

    Lu Yin wanted to try sparring with Wendy Yushan when she returned to San Dios, just to experience what the disparity between them was.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯t solve this by myself.¡± Casanova¡¯s voice sounded from afar, and everyone started to gather around him.

    If anyone from the younger generation could sessfully unlock the tree-shaped sourcebox, it would be one of the Distinguished Five. After them would be Dao Bo, but he had already admitted that he held no confidence in doing so during the two days he had been present. Thus, everyone had pinned their hopes on one of the Distinguished Five arriving and saving the day, but Casanova¡¯s words had just destroyed their hopes. It turned out that even he could not unlock this sourcebox.

    Master Jun sighed. ¡°Even you, a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, cannot unlock this sourcebox. It looks like the sourcebox this time around is too difficult.¡±

    Everyone felt helpless, though some also became excited. They were the Lockbreakers who were no longer a part of the younger generation, and quite a few of them were at the Perceptive Intermediate level.

    Casanova grinned. ¡°I merely said that I can¡¯t solve it alone. I never said that we can¡¯t join forces to do so.¡±

    Master Jun¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Are you confident after joining forces?¡±

    Everyone focused on Casanova.

    Casanova¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Of course, I have confidence in the people I¡¯ll choose.¡± He then looked at the gathered crowd around him.

    Tong Mi''er stepped out first with a passionate gaze as he looked at Casanova.

    But Casanova¡¯s eyes passed right over him as theynded on Dao Bo. ¡°Get over here and stop pretending. I know how strong your Lockbreaking ability is, and as soon as you be an Explorer, you won¡¯t be any worse than the rest of us.¡±

    Dao Bo smiled and stepped out. ¡°Please take care of me, Brother Casanova.¡±

    Casanova sneered. ¡°After you be an Explorer, there won¡¯t just be the Distinguished Five in the society. Also, I won¡¯t have to take care of you anymore.¡±

    Then, he looked up and pointed. ¡°Xi Qi,e over here.¡±

    No one felt that this was unexpected either, as everyone was aware of Xi Qi¡¯s lockbreaking abilities. She was a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, which ced her on the same level as Dao Bo. Although the vulgar fish that apanied her annoyed people to no end, her ability could not be denied.

    ¡°Brother Casanova, it¡¯s been quite a while,¡± Xi Qi greeted as she walked over.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped as he subconsciously looked at the fish, just like many others. Casanova¡¯s luck was about to run out.

    As expected, the fish opened its mouth,zily raised its fin to point at Casanova, and said, ¡°Two-legged beast, you are very ugly.¡±

    That single sentence created an awkward silence.

    Many people looked at Casanova, who was not ugly; on the contrary, he was quite dashing.

    Casanova¡¯s face darkened, as this was not his first time encountering the fish. Because of his name, the fish called him ugly every time they met, which was rather obnoxious.

    Casanova barely held himself back from retorting when he saw Xi Qi¡¯s regretful expression and instead snorted. Xi Qi immediately apologized.

    The fish looked at the sky. ¡°Ugly is ugly. You can¡¯t hide the facts.¡±

    Casanova¡¯s mouth distorted as he irritably shouted, ¡°You worthless fish! You¡¯re the ugly one! Everyone knows that I¡¯m the handsome one.¡±

    The fish yelled back in an exaggerated manner, ¡°There¡¯s never been a connection between you and the word ¡®handsome¡¯ throughout your entire life. Wake up! You¡¯re hideous! Truly monstrous looking.¡±

    Casanova was about to retort back, but he was stopped by Dao Bo, who urged, ¡°Brother Casanova, lockbreaking is more important. Ignore the fish.¡±

    Casanova¡¯s chest heaved, and he snorted again before looking at the tree-shaped sourcebox. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s time to do some lockbreaking.¡±

    ¡°Brother Casanova, will three people be enough?¡± Xi Qi asked.

    Casanova was now in a bad mood. ¡°We can at least give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Brother Casanova, could I take part in this attempt?¡± Tong Mi''er walked out, seemingly with high expectations.

    Casanova shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t make the cut. Even though you¡¯veprehended a domain, you¡¯ve barely grasped it. If you can¡¯t even protect yourself, there¡¯s no need to mention you trying to help us.¡±

    ¡°Then what about me?¡± Lu Yin walked out and looked at Casanova.

    Many were bbergasted. Although they were amazed by Lu Yin¡¯s fighting strength, they did not know how his lockbreaking abilitypared.

    Tong Mi''er sneered. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re just a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Your level¡¯s far too low, so just step aside and watch.¡±

    Casanova looked at Lu Yin with some interest. ¡°A two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker isn¡¯t good enough.¡±

    Lu Yin took another step out. ¡°One¡¯s ability is not just their registered information, but also what one can actually do. You can test me.¡±

    Casanova shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to test you. You¡¯ve only recentlyprehended a domain as well. If it was Dao Bo, then I would not have been able to step that close to that beautifuldy. Your domain,paratively speaking, is not much better than that of the person before.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. ¡°And with this?¡±

    Many cried out at the sight of the lockbreaking tool, and even Casanova was shocked. ¡°You actually have a lockbreaking tool!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°A lockbreaking tool as well as a domain. I can see what many others can¡¯t.¡±

    Dao Bo looked at Casanova. ¡°I can vouch for Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.¡±

    Casanova nodded. ¡°Alright, you can join, but don¡¯t be a burden. I¡¯ll warn you now: I¡¯m not responsible for saving you. You better go and lick Master Jun¡¯s boots so that he¡¯ll watch over you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. Although his lockbreaking experience wascking, he was confident that he was not inferior to Casanova in any way. This was because he could see star energy much more clearly due to thebination of his Cosmic Art, domain, and lockbreaking tool. Out of everyone present, even Master Jun, Lu Yin was confident that no one could perceive the star energy more clearly than him. It would not be a problem for him to keep himself safe.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he did not understand the tree-shaped sourcebox, he would have already made a move.

    Tong Mi''er was not satisfied with this oue, and he hatefully red at Lu Yin. He wanted to see just how this person was more qualified than him. Although a lockbreaking tool was important, its efficacy depended greatly on who possessed it.

    ¡°Hold up, two-legged beasts. Lord Fish realized it just now, but is that the toy that you want to deal with?¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head raised its fin and pointed at the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    Casanova could not even be bothered to respond to the fish.

    Xi Qi replied, ¡°Yes, help us by looking.¡±

    The fish disdainfully answered, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to look at! There¡¯s no use. The few of you won¡¯t be able to seed. Leave quickly!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xi Qi asked.

    The rest looked at the fish as well.

    Its beady eyes swiveled around, and it seriously replied, ¡°Because this sourcebox has preserved the strength of the predecessors. Once it¡¯s unlocked, a cmity will befall this ce.¡±

    Many people were stunned by its words, and Casanova¡¯s brow furrowed as well. Only a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker could go against the strength of the predecessors, as that was not something that a typical person could deal with.

    In the sky, Master Jun frowned. The fish¡¯s ims shouldn¡¯t be the case, since if this sourcebox truly carried the strength of the predecessors, then the Lockbreaker Society would not have allowed it to be a training experience for the younger generation. Yet he had also heard that this fish could see things that normal people could not.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s fake! I dare to im that this despicable fish is lying! It¡¯s intentions must be to unlock this thing itself after we leave,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with absolute certainty.

    Lu Yin looked at the fish and then at everyone¡¯s solemn expressions. He then said, ¡°This sourcebox should not contain the strength of the predecessors, or else the Lockbreaker Society would not have encouraged us toe here and unlock it. They must have sent Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers here before us.¡±

    His words received much approval.

    The fish, however, became infuriated. ¡°This two-legged beast! Don¡¯t lie through your teeth! Would Lord Fish ever hurt you? Let me tell you something. This tree was nted by the predecessors, and it has naturally preserved their strength. What do you know, you fool?¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother with the fish, and instead looked at Casanova. ¡°We can contact some seniors in the society and ask them about this matter.¡±

    Casanova nodded and was about to move.

    The fish was unhappy. ¡°Go ahead if you guys want to die. A bunch of idiotic two-legged beasts. Go, go, go on!¡±

    Everyone felt strange; the fish was clearly trying to frighten them.

    Xi Qi immediately apologized.

    Casanova ruthlessly red at the fish, but then he stepped into the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone. Dao Bo and Lu Yin closely followed behind him as Xi Qi tried to pacify the fish. Then, she also stepped within the sourcebox¡¯s area.

    The fish angrily red at Lu Yin, as it loathed this two-legged beast. There was a detestable aura on the human¡¯s body, and his mouth was repulsive as well.

    The four Lockbreakers activated their gadgets to record their attempt as they stepped into the area, ready to begin their lockbreaking attempt. Their expressions turned serious, and the fish even stopped talking as it began to desperately scan around itself.

    ¡°Everyone, approach the sourcebox with your own abilities, but listen to mymands,¡± Casanova said solemnly. He took the lead and began making his way towards the sourcebox. He walked steadily, and his path was practically a straight line.

    Dao Bo stayed rather close to Casanova as he also slowly made his way forward.

    Xi Qi¡¯s expression was more solemn, and her demeanor changed. Her mien becamepletely different from before. The fish no longer spouted curses, and it instead started whispering in her ear as it steadily guided her forward.

    Lu Yin revolved his Cosmic Art and looked at the trio ahead of him. He could see that Casanova was walking a straight path, but his tempo changed as he moved; sometimes, he went quickly, and at other times, slow. The experienced Lockbreaker was avoiding the capricious changes of the energy wave quite nicely, and he was very confident as he led the way.

 Chapter 360: Lu Yinâ€™s Ability

    <h4>Chapter 360: Lu Yin¡¯s Ability</h4>

    Dao Bo had to take a more tortuous path, since his ability to sense star energy was clearly inferior to Casanova¡¯s. Dao Bo could perceive the energy wave when it was about three meters away from him, whereas Casanova could sense them from about five meters away and was thus able to alter his pace in advance.

    But what really caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention was Xi Qi, as this girl was actually able to sense the waves earlier than Dao Bo and was at about the same level as Casanova. Her perception was likely due inrge part to the fish¡¯s assistance.

    When Casanova turned around to look at Lu Yin, he saw that Lu Yin was no longer waiting and that he was now making his way forward as well.

    Tong Mi''er closely watched Lu Yin, hoping that he would be a dried corpse like so many others and would suffer a miserable fate of overestimating his own capabilities.

    Tong Mi''er wasn¡¯t alone, as many others were also carefully watching Lu Yin. He was only a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and the disparity between him and the other three was simply too vast in their minds.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s performance seemed rather normal, but this did not mean much as a few of the Lockbreakers from before had moved at the same pace as Lu Yin, and some had gone even faster. The most critical stretch was thest hundred meters. That was where idents were most likely to ur.

    The four of them approached the tree-shaped sourcebox, and as they approached closer, the energy fluctuations became both more frequent and faster. Lu Yin could only vaguely make out the waves now, but he was not worried since he could still easily avoid them. Only thest ten meters required a more serious effort from him.

    To the east, a smear of light appeared. The sun was rising, and it illuminated this side of the.

    At this moment, Casanova had already drawn within a hundred meters of the tree-shaped sourcebox, and the two dried corpses nearby were very eye-catching and horrifying.

    Even Casanova had to pay more attention at this time, since any single distraction could be fatal.

    There was no definite safe road when it came to the path of lockbreaking, and even Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers could die during their lockbreaking attempts. This was the price that one had to pay as a Lockbreaker.

    ¡°The next part will depend entirely on your own ability. You can back out now if you¡¯re not confident. The closer we get, the more dangerous it¡¯ll be. Take care of yourselves,¡± Casanova exhorted the other three once again before he stepped forward.

    Dao Bo, Xi Qi, and Lu Yin did not hesitate and also stepped past the hundred meter point.

    The moment they did so, the energy waves underwent a qualitative transformation. Lu Yin saw the image of a python twisting across the area, forcing him to asionally dodge to the side. Dao Bo and Xi Qi seemed to have met a simr difficulty level as Lu Yin.

    The onlookers could only see four people constantly shifting about, and it looked rather strange to them. Still, no one was bothered by their movements since this was a lockbreaking attempt and battling the unseen was a normal part of these attempts.

    ¡°That two-legged beast isn¡¯t bad. For him to reach this point is no simple matter.¡± From atop Xi Qi¡¯s head, the fish looked at Lu Yin in amazement.

    Xi Qi had a serious expression, and she spoke with a rather grudging tone. ¡°Can you stop talking! I¡¯m already friendless because of you.¡±

    ¡°Bah! With Lord Fish here, why do you even need any friends? That¡¯s why you two-legged beasts are all maggots¡ªyou all have to live in social groups.¡±

    As Casanova stepped forward and evaded the erratic energy rushing at him from time to time, he also looked back at the others, especially Lu Yin. He knew how strong Dao Bo and Xi Qi¡¯s lockbreaking abilities were, but he was very curious about Lu Yin¡¯s. This person¡¯s fighting strength was shocking, but Casanova did not know how Lu Yin measured up as a Lockbreaker.

    However, since Lu Yin had followed the three of them to this point, his ability to perceive the movement of star energy in advance must be pretty decent. It might even be possible that Lu Yin could rival Dao Bo.

    Eighty, seventy, fifty¡­ thirty meters.

    The four gradually started slowing down, and at times, they evenpletely stopped, only moving forward once more after stretching out their senses.

    No other Lockbreaker had reached where the four of them were currently at, so no one knew what would happen next. Master Jun had a serious expression on his face since it was possible that even he might not be able to rescue these youths if something happened at this junction. The Lockbreaker Society would definitely suffer a great loss if something happened to any one of these four young Lockbreakers.

    Another hour passed, and the four of them were now within twenty meters of the tree-shaped sourcebox. They had taken half the night to reach this point, but all the progress they had made was only in approaching the sourcebox; they had not even started actually lockbreaking yet.

    Dao Bo could not advance any further. His perception of star energy was heavily reliant on his domain, but the star energy ahead of him flowed in such a strange manner that he was no longer able to find a path to proceed along any further.

    Xi Qi¡¯s face was pale, and the fish¡¯s eyes flitted about. ¡°It¡¯s troublesome. Why are there so many?¡±

    Casanova frowned and turned around.

    Lu Yin squinted, as there were too many energy waves in this area. If they wanted to approach any closer, then someone would have to act as bait and draw out the flow of star energy, luring the powerful waves that almostpletely permeated the space before them. Only in this manner could the others approach. This was also the reason why Casanova had looked for other people to cooperate with. Lu Yin looked towards Casanova, and coincidentally, Casanova looked at him as well, and they exchanged nces.

    ¡°Who here has the confidence to proceed?¡± Casanova asked as he carefully studied the other three.

    Dao Bo looked up before looking at Xi Qi and Lu Yin. He then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not confident.¡±

    Xi Qi pursed her lips, but the fish spoke up for her. ¡°Lord Fish is confident.¡±

    Casanova looked at Lu Yin. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯m also confident.¡±

    The fish was grumpy. ¡°Two-legged beast, are you trying to pit yourself against Lord Fish!? You¡¯re by yourself, but you think that you can approach this thing? Dream on!¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that fish is too despicable. Let¡¯s throw it in a stew and cook it!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Not too far away, Casanova gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°Do you realize what you¡¯re saying?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I do. I said, ¡®I¡¯m also confident.¡¯¡±

    Casanova¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Fine, then tell me right now which directions I can travel in.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a finger and replied, ¡°Three directions.¡± He then pointed out in three directions.

    Atop Xi Qi¡¯s head, the fish was shocked. ¡°Damn! They¡¯re all correct. This two-legged beast is very strange. Could there be a simr life-form to Lord Fish helping him? No, that¡¯s impossible; Lord Fish is unique!¡±

    Casanova also looked at Lu Yin in shock, as this person was much better than he had originally expected.

    ¡°Brother Lu and Xi Qi can continue on, so I¡¯ll help everyone with what I can.¡± Dao Bo was smart, and he had already guessed what Casanova¡¯s ns were. He raised a hand and caused the air to vibrate in a peculiar pattern, causing all the surrounding star energy to rush towards him. The movement triggered a chain reaction, and a majority of the energy waves in front of them were attracted towards Dao Bo, allowing Casanova, Lu Yin, and Xi Qi to charge forward.

    Dao Bo had opened a path for them, but his help only allowed the trio to move forward another ten meters. At this point, the energy waves were no longer drawn towards Dao Bo since he was too far away.

    Casanova looked at Lu Yin and Xi Qi.

    ¡°That two-legged beast, know your ce and be the bait!¡± The fish arrogantly pointed a fin at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not have a chance to speak before the surrounding waves suddenly surged and enveloped the three of them.

    Casanova¡¯s eyes widened. Not good!

    In the sky, Master Jun was simrly caught off guard. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, but he merely shifted his head to the side, easily avoiding the wave as he effortlessly moved aside. He never shifted more than a meter from his original spot, but he was able to evade all of the energy waves that swept over him, escaping each one by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    His movements caused Casanova¡¯s pupils to shrink. ¡°Secret Sidestep?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Casanova; Master Jun, Xi Qi, Dao Bo, and everyone else watching from outside were all stunned. Tong Mi''er could only look on nkly. Someone who could use the Secret Sidestep had appeared in the Outerverse.

    To a Lockbreaker, there were several important aids to their profession, such as a domain, lockbreaking tools, and the Secret Sidestep technique. Of the three aids, the Secret Sidestep technique held a supreme position. Comprehending the movement technique would increase a Lockbreaker¡¯s abilities by a hundred-fold, or even a thousand-fold in some cases. Its worth to Lockbreakers was unimaginable for a normal person. Any Lockbreaker who knew the Secret Sidestep technique would be a great Lockbreaker in the future, as long as they didn¡¯t die.

    No one could have guessed that the Secret Sidestep, which was something that not even Casanova hadprehended, would be disyed by a mere two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. The shock caused by this reveal was no less than when one of the Distinguished Five had first appeared, and even Master Jun was stunned.

    Xi Qi was also bbergasted, and although fish atop her head opened its mouth, nothing vile came out. It knew full well whatprehending the Secret Sidestep indicated.

    Lu Yin stopped moving and looked around before releasing a pent-up breath. He looked at Casanova. ¡°This is troublesome. It looks like we¡¯ll need another person to act as bait.¡±

    Then, he and Casanova simultaneously looked at Xi Qi. There was no contest, as Xi Qi was the best candidate to be baitpared to Lu Yin, who could use the Secret Sidestep technique.

    Left with no choice, Xi Qi replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, that two-legged beast has no grace! How could you let a feminine two-legged beast be the bait? After all, you¡¯re a masculine two-legged beast,¡± the fish shouted as its tail iled about.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face darkened.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that fish is too much! What feminine and masculine things, it¡¯s clearly male and female!¡± the monkey screamed. It seemed as if he wanted to fight the fish.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Xi Qi hurried to apologize, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, really sorry. I¡¯ll be the bait!¡± She then stimted the star energy, causing all the waves within twenty meters of them to speed towards her.

    There was an unspoken rule among all Lockbreakers. In cases where they joined forces, whoever was weaker would act as bait when needed.

    As the waves surged towards Xi Qi, the fish shrieked before hurriedly whispering in her ear. Xi Qi immediately started moving and retreated from the energy waves.

    Casanova and Lu Yin rushed towards the tree-shaped sourcebox, and their speed was about the same. Casanova no longer looked down on Lu Yin, since his ability to use Secret Sidestep meant that Lu Yin could match and even possibly surpass the senior Lockbreaker¡¯s survival skills.

    The two quickly moved another ten meters, and they were now only ten meters away from the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    At this moment, neither one would give way for the other, so Casanova did not count on Lu Yin acting as bait to give him a better chance of unlocking this sourcebox. Now, everything was dependent on their individual abilities.

    At a distance of ten meters, the energy waves were at their densest. Lu Yin could use Secret Sidestep and move even closer, but moving around was one thing while unlocking this sourcebox was something else entirely. Lu Yin held no confidence of achieving any sess with this sourcebox.

    The tree-shaped sourcebox could evidently only be unlocked by Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, which was why Master Wusheng had advised Lu Yin to use this gathering to gain some experience. He had never expected that Lu Yin would not only be able to gain experience from observing more experienced Lockbreakers, but that he would even have the opportunity toe in contact with the target sourcebox.

    Lu Yin looked at Casanova and hesitated for a moment. He wasn¡¯t certain if he should charge across the final distance.

    At that moment, Casanova pulled out a pair of sunsses from his cosmic ring, ones that seemed very shy. He put them on, smiled, seemingly pleased with himself, and then charged in towards the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Is that also a lockbreaking tool?

    ¡°Wah, what a flirty lockbreaking tool! Seventh Bro, your spotlight¡¯s been stolen! Hurry up and move!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried.

    Lu Yin frowned, but he did not hesitate any longer. Since he had reached this stage, then could he really just watch on as Casanova attempted to unlock this sourcebox? Even if Casanova would share some of the rewards with him in the end, that was not what Lu Yin was aiming for.

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, one of the two youths put on a pair of sunsses before walking towards the tree-shaped sourcebox in a dazzling manner. The other youth disyed the Secret Sidestep and moved forward like a fish swimming through the ocean as he also charged forward.

    The two reached the tree-shaped sourcebox at almost the same time, and they even reached out to press against the tree-shaped sourcebox simultaneously.

    Suddenly, aplicated world of star energy appeared before Lu Yin. The sealed energy made the tree-shaped sourcebox greatly surpass any sourcebox that he had encountered before. In just an instant, the sensory overload nearly knocked him unconscious.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force it. Sourceboxes of the Perceptive Intermediate level arepletely different from those of the Discerning Elementary level. Given your experience, you probably won¡¯t be able to sessfully unlock this one,¡± Casanova said in a pleased manner.

 Chapter 361: Snatching Loot, A Great Change

    <h4>Chapter 361: Snatching Loot, A Great Change</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. In the past, he had relied on his Cosmic art and the dual support of his domain and lockbreaking tool to lockbreak. Meanwhile, a true Lockbreaker instead relied on their perception of star energy, which meant that Lu Yin was much worse off in the current situation.

    In the same realm, he held an iparable advantage, and his speed was very fast as well. However, once his external advantages were mitigated, hisckluster abilities would be exposed.

    Casanova used his tyrannical strength, powerful star energy awareness, lockbreaking tool, and his iparable lockbreaking experience to cancel out Lu Yin¡¯s advantages. Compared to Casanova, Lu Yin¡¯s base skills were stillcking.

    However, Casanova was wrong about one point; Lu Yin actually could seed in unlocking this sourcebox, but it would take him way too long.

    The tree-shaped sourcebox¡¯s danger zone spread out a thousand meters around itself, and its energy waves absorbed vitality from any life forms that approached it. If someone could avoid all of these dangers, then they could attempt to unlock this sourcebox, even if they were a Lockbreaker without any contributions. Of course, it was virtually impossible for a normal Lockbreaker to seed since the sealed energy was just too vast. It was so vast that even Lu Yin was nearly incapable of withstanding the sensory overload.

    As Casanova began to unlock the sourcebox, the energy waves in the surrounding area gradually surged outwards, and he was forced to continue weaving and bobbing as he continued his lockbreaking attempt.

    Lu Yin watched the attempt with bright eyes. Casanova had his own methods for lockbreaking, and Lu Yin could not really understand his moves.

    Casanova then said, ¡°Alright now, stop staring. No two sourceboxes are identical in this universe, so you need to figure out your own lockbreaking technique. For now, help me reduce the danger in the immediate area, and I promise that I¡¯ll give you the biggest reward after this sourcebox is unlocked.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze flickered. ¡°I don¡¯t want any reward.¡±

    Casanova¡¯s brows jumped, and he stared intensely at Lu Yin. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell earlier, but your appetite¡¯s pretty big. Alright, help me reduce the surrounding danger, and the moment I finish my lockbreaking attempt, you canpete for the contents¡ªif you¡¯re capable, that is. But just a word of warning: if you choose this option, there¡¯ll be nopensation from me.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go with that,¡± Lu Yin barked as he waved his hand, causing the waves to quickly surge towards him.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t be foolish! That person¡¯s an expert who¡¯s in the top portion of the Top Hundred Rankings! How do you expect to steal anything from him?¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin replied quietly, ¡°We won¡¯t know if we don¡¯t try. This is a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and it¡¯s even tree-shaped. The sealed items definitely won¡¯t be simple, and it might even provide me with a chance to quickly advance my strength.¡±

    ¡°You still want to speed up your growth? Let me tell you something¡ªa sourcebox that looks like a lifeform may have once held something good, but countless years have passed by since it was first sealed. The chances that whatever was in this sourcebox has already disintegrated is extremely high! Even if it hasn¡¯t disappeared, its potency still would have dropped, so it¡¯ll be useless even if you do get it. If this weren¡¯t the case, then do you really think that the Lockbreaker Society would be nice enough to leave something like that for you all? They would have unlocked this thing a long time ago!¡±

    Lu Yin understood the monkey¡¯s words, but he was gambling that the objects inside had notpletely vanished. As long as there was still something in there, he could use his die¡¯s Enhance function to upgrade it until the item regained its luster.

    He was looking forward to gaining a treasure from the ancient times that warranted being sealed away.

    One hour, two hours¡­ Five hours passed as everyone focused on Casanova. The tangled energy on the sealed surface of the tree-shaped sourcebox was reduced by a singleyer, but no one knew how manyyers remained.

    Casanova had a very serious look,pletely different from his usual demeanor. He seemed to havepletely changed.

    Nearby, Xi Qi and Dao Bo were still evading the energy waves. They had not retreated yet.

    Lu Yin was diligently drawing the energy waves away, preventing them from obstructing Casanova¡¯s lockbreaking.

    Up in the sky, Master Jun marveled at the youths. He was more focused on Lu Yin than Casanova, since Lu Yin knew the Secret Sidestep and was truly gifted. It was a pity that he was also very focused on his cultivation. In his opinion, Lu Yin¡¯s future would be much brighter if he focused purely on the path of lockbreaking.

    Master Jun was already considering taking Lu Yin as an apprentice.

    Another few hours passed, and Casanova¡¯s forehead was now covered in beads of sweat. At this point, the tree-shaped sourcebox was obviously much smaller than before, and it was not far from beingpletely unlocked.

    Lu Yin could also sense that the surrounding energy waves were dwindling in power. It had reached the point where Dao Bo and Xi Qi did not even need to distract the energy waves anymore.

    ¡°Watch carefully and get ready to snatch whates out at any moment!¡± the fish spoke excitedly.

    Xi Qi felt helpless. ¡°No, that¡¯s something that someone else unlocked.¡±

    ¡°Fool! Such a fool! This sort of thing will belong to whoever manages to grab it. Rx, with Lord Fish¡¯s help, you¡¯ll definitely be able to get it.¡± The fish¡¯s fins swung about nonstop, and it seemed very excited.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t do that.¡±

    The fish was furious. ¡°Such a foolish, feminine two-legged beast! You¡¯re infuriating! I¡¯m so mad that I¡¯m about to be a dried fish!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression twitched, and he looked at the fish on top of Xi Qi¡¯s head again. Dried fish? An intriguing thought suddenly urred to him; he should bring a cat along with him the next time he met this fish.

    ¡°Hey, masculine two-legged beast, what are you looking at? Have you not seen such a brilliant and majestic Lord Fish before?¡± it hollered as it pointed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not bother responding, as he could not bring himself to trade insults with a fish.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let me out! I¡¯m going to stomp that thing to pieces!¡± the monkey shouted.

    More time passed, and when the skies darkened once again, the tree-shaped sourcebox began to emit a faint, golden radiance. It seemed that Casanova was about to finish unlocking it.

    No one noticed it, but as the tree-shaped sourcebox¡¯s lockbreaking nearedpletion, multiple minute cracks spread out on the ground. Dirt and pebbles fell into those cracks, as if there was a vast space underneath the ground.

    Behind Nine Peaks Mountain, a fissure endlessly snaked across the ground.

    This scene should have been noticed and called out a long time ago, but since all of the Lockbreakers were at Nine Peaks Mountain, the observing cultivators assumed that the cracks were merely a result of the lockbreaking attempt. They duly ignored them, which meant that none of the cultivators near the sourcebox were aware of the current circumstances.

    The tree-shaped sourcebox¡¯s radiance intensified.

    Countless onlookers nervously watched on with bated breath. The radiance meant that there was something inside the sourcebox, but who knew what would appear from within it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he approached the sourcebox.

    Casanova¡¯s lips rose. ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s almost done. Are you ready?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t give you an opportunity. Count backwards from five. Start now!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand trembled. Five, four, three, two, one. When the countdown finished, the tree-shaped sourcebox¡¯s tangled energypletely dissipated as a strange tree appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. There was a single round fruit atop the small tree that gave off a soft, white light. That fruit was the most valuable object in the sourcebox.

    The moment the tree-shaped sourcebox was sessfully unlocked, Lu Yin¡¯s left index finger flicked, and a golden radiance rose from the ground as he forcefully flicked a fruit into the air. The faint golden radiance was blinding in the night sky, and since the fruit had appeared from beneath the sourcebox, it immediately grabbed everyone¡¯s attention.

    Gold was also naturally more eye-grabbing than white.

    Casanova originally intended to go straight for the white fruit, but he instinctively changed his mind the moment he saw the golden glow. Meanwhile, Lu Yin went straight for the white fruit.

    That golden fruit was a strengthening fruit that he had upgraded with his die¡¯s Enhance function, and he had buried it beneath the ground the moment he had decided topete with Casanova for the sourcebox¡¯s contents. Since he was already gambling on this sourcebox, he decided to go big. By tossing a strengthening fruit out, the golden glow would hopefully divert Casanova¡¯s attention long enough for him to snag the sourcebox¡¯s contents at a decisive moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s n unfolded as nned, and he indeed managed to touch the white fruit before Casanova. However, Casanova was in the top thirty of the Top Hundred Rankings, and his power was something that Lu Yin could not even imagine. His speed greatly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s, and as soon as he realized that the strengthening fruit was a distraction, he switched targets and touched the white fruit at almost the same time as Lu Yin.

    Thump!

    Lu Yin and Casanova both grabbed the fruit, and neither was willing to give up. The fruit couldn¡¯t withstand the opposing forces and was split in two. The two youths instinctively attacked each other; Lu Yin struck out with Thirty Stacks while Casanova pped out, using his lockbreaking techniques to dissolve Lu Yin¡¯s star energy.

    There was a boom, and the ground rumbled. The shockwave created by Lu Yin¡¯s palm sted the ground to pieces, and the small tree disappeared while both Lu Yin and Casanova fell underground.

    They each had grabbed half of the white fruit. After separating, Lu Yin raised his head to look in front of himself.

    Casanova had already stored both the strengthening fruit and the white fruit within his cosmic ring and was currently charging towards Lu Yin. ¡°Do you really think that you can escape? Hand over the fruit!¡±

    Lu Yin also stored his piece of fruit away, and he nned to use the monkey¡¯s innate gift of shadows to escape.

    But then, suddenly, an angry roar from deep underground shook the world as a terrifying and majestic aura covered the sky, sending both Lu Yin and Casanova scrambling into the atmosphere. It wasn¡¯t just the two of them¡ªDao Bo, Xi Qi, Yue Xianzi, and the rest of the spectating cultivators were all sent flying into the sky by the indescribable force.

    Master Jun¡¯s face changed. ¡°Not good! An existence with a power level over 100,000! Everyone, RUN!¡± He then charged below ground.

    Lu Yin stabilized himself in midair and stared at the hole in the ground in disbelief. He remembered that Ming Yan had told him that a savage ape with a power level over 100,000 units existed on this, but it should have long since been exterminated by the Vastdearth Sect. This creature lurking beneath the ground definitely exceeded a power level of 100,000, and Lu Yin was left looking at the old position of the tree-shaped sourcebox. Could the sourcebox have been left there on purpose? Or did the tree-shaped sourcebox cause a savage ape to mutate?

    No matter what, he had to flee.

    ¡°Hand over the fruit!¡± Casanova charged at Lu Yin and tried to grab him.

    Lu Yin immediately dodged aside. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to fight! Let¡¯s discuss this after escaping from Savage Ape.¡±

    Casanova helplessly red ruthlessly at Lu Yin. ¡°You really are capable¡ªyou actually stole half the fruit. Tell me, what¡¯s the golden fruit?¡±

    ¡°Casanova, I didn¡¯t take half the fruit without paying. That golden fruit is a strengthening fruit that has existed for over 50,000 years. It shouldn¡¯t be worth any less than the white fruit. Moreover, no one knows what function the white fruit may have, but its effect must have been greatly reduced by now.¡± Even as he spoke, Lu Yin sped away towards Yue Xianzi and Zhao Ran, intent on taking them away.

    Casanova was about to pursue Lu Yin, but the roars from underground intensified as a terrifying aura seeped out, frightening him to his core. This creature definitely had a power level over 100,000, and Casanova did not want to lose his life for no reason. ¡°Lu Yin, consider yourself lucky. I¡¯ll definitely make you pay the next time we meet!¡±

    Yue Xianzi brought Zhao Ran into the sky to escape from the terrifying aura emanating from underground. Lu Yin grabbed both of them and flew in the direction that they had originallye from. He had a feeling that the underground aura was abnormal, and its power was a bit too terrifying.

    With a boom, Nine Peaks Mountain copsed, and a giant crack appeared beneath it. Master Jun and a few other powerhouses emerged, but they were all in sorry states with pale faces.

    The next moment, two giant white ws emerged from the ground as an enormous savage ape appeared before them all. Shockingly, it had nine heads.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Nine Peaks and now nine heads? This was impossible¡ªhe had specially researched this ce to the point where it could not have been investigated any further! Since the savage apes did not even have a semnce of a civilization and this Nine Peaks Mountain had held its moniker for an unknown number of years, this nine-headed savage ape must have lived in this ce for a very long time.

 Chapter 362: Rabbit

    <h4>Chapter 362: Rabbit</h4>

    Lu Yin instantly thought of the tree-shaped sourcebox as he looked at the nine-headed savage ape. Could the two things be rted?

    Bang!

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s gadget suddenly exploded, and her expression changed. ¡°A creature with a power level over 200,000! LU YIN, HURRY UP AND RUN!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate and dashed into the distance.

    The nine-headed ape climbed out from the ground, revealing its full height of several thousand metres. The void shattered like ss, and the entirety of Savage Ape trembled.

    The average would not be able to withstand an impact from a creature with a power level of 200,000, and if viewed from space, the entire would be trembling.

    Lu Yin dragged Yue Xianzi and Zhao Ran along with him as he hurriedly fled from the, constantly avoiding various spatial cracks. His face was grim, and asional sts of the creature¡¯s aura swept out from behind him, making him take out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and clench it tightly as he used Secret Sidestep to dodge the sweeping aura.

    Countless cultivators were awed by the nine-headed ape¡¯s aura.

    Zhao Ran wept in horror and stared at the ground.

    Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi looked down as well to see that numerous cultivators had been smashed into puddles of blood by the ape. There was even an Explorer among the victims.

    In front of a being whose power level exceeded 200,000, an Explorer was nothing more than an ant.

    The nine-headed ape had no intelligence, so it was only moved by its instinct to ughter.

    Master Jun joined forces with a few Cruisers to try to wrangle the ape under control, but it was the same as a group of normal people facing a wild beast; intelligence could not make up for the incredible disparity in strength.

    At this point, Lu Yin still had not left what used to be Nine Peaks Mountain. Since the surrounding void was in a state of constantly shattering, he was unable to leave. Casanova and the rest were caught in the same situation.

    ¡°Everyone, attack the eyes!¡± Master Jun bellowed before attacking himself. The space-exploring powerhouses all acted together, targeting the ape¡¯s eyes.

    The eighteen eyes on nine heads were attacked simultaneously, and the nine-headed ape let loose a fierce bellow as it pounded at the void with its hand, causing a deafening noise that left countless people feeling numb. It felt as if the sky itself had been broken.

    Lu Yin only felt his heart drop, but Yue Xianzi spat out a mouthful of blood onto Lu Yin. And yet, on his other side, Zhao Ran seemed to bepletely fine.

    Above the, the fleet of spacecraft that had sealed the suddenly copsed, reduced to dust.

    Lu Yin raised his head, and his expression turned ugly. It turned out that he would not be able to leave until the giant ape was eliminated. Even if he managed to reach his spacecraft, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. With the ape¡¯s strength, its attacks could even reach distant points in outer space.

    There was another loud explosion as a boundless wave of energy swept out, distorting the void and causing everyone to helplessly tremble in the wake of the storm it raised.

    Lu Yin kept a tight hold on Yue Xianzi and Zhao Ran as a figure flew towards them from the front. He wanted to avoid this person, but then, another energy wave swept out from behind him, which meant the person in front of him would be shredded by the energy wave if he moved.

    With no other choice, Lu Yin told Yue Xianzi, ¡°Hold on tight.¡± He then stretched out a hand to rescue the figure inbound to the three of them before suddenly dropping down in order to evade the energy wave.

    He looked at the figure in his grasp. He could tell the person was a woman, but he did not have enough time to carefully look at her features since he had to move fast to dodge the iing energy wave.

    ¡°What a bunch of useless goods! I knew that it would be nothing good, but I still wasn¡¯t able to calcte that such a big fellow would be hiding there!¡± Lu Yin heard a familiar voice and turned around. Behind his group was indeed the unreliable fortune-teller, who was carrying his now-broken wooden pole as he dodged about in a pathetic state.

    Zhao Ran immediately shouted at Xuan Jiu, ¡°Gramps, RUN!¡±

    Xuan Jiu rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯ll take a miracle for us to escape. The entire Savage Ape¡ªno, the space surrounding the is within the attack range of this animal. Unless we can break through the void and escape to a surrounding, we might as well just wait for our deaths.¡±

    ¡°Then what can we do? Those uncles don¡¯t seem like they¡¯ll be able to beat that monster.¡± Zhao Ran had a bitter expression.

    Xuan Jiu incredulously replied, ¡°It¡¯d be strange if they could beat it! That¡¯s a creature with a power level of over 200,000. Do you know about the different cultivation realms? That¡¯s the equivalent of an Enlighter! What you guys frequently call an almighty powerhouse. Even without any intelligence, that thing can still suppress cultivators whose power level is below 150,000, and that¡¯s being conservative. Those people won¡¯t even be able to injure the beast.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°We¡¯re doomed unless the almighty powerhouse from the Vastdearth Sect acts.¡±

    Xuan Jiu replied. ¡°It¡¯s toote, the nine-headed ape has already awakened, so destroying this will only take it a few minutes. As soon as it escapes those people¡¯s control, we¡¯re finished.¡±

    At this point, the woman whom Lu Yin had grabbed and rescued woke up and looked around. When she discovered their current situation, she thanked Lu Yin, but no one had the time to bother with her.

    From deep underground, a red magma spread out; the entire was splitting apart.

    Master Jun and the rest were trying their best to withstand the destructive power of the ape, but it was all to no avail. Just as Xuan Jiu had said, the nine-headed ape would take only a few minutes to destroy the entire.

    For an Enlighter powerhouse, they only needed a single attack if they truly wanted to destroy a.

    The ape suddenly rose into the sky with a loud cry. Under the night sky, a giant shadow enveloped the entirety of Nine Peaks Mountain as it raised an arm.

    Xuan Jiu eximed, ¡°Now it wants to destroy this entire! This pile of rotten goods.¡±

    Master Jun and the rest were overwhelmed while Lu Yin clenched his fists. Was this going to be hisst day?

    No one would have thought that a social gathering held by the Lockbreaker Society would attract such a terrifying creature. No one, including the society, had noticed the existence of this terrifying beast since they had all been focused on the tree-shaped sourcebox.

    And now, once everyone died on this Savage Ape, the effects from the matter would be great. Disregarding a Hunter like Master Jun, the youths such as Casanova, Dao Bo, Xi Qi, and Lu Yin all carried impressive statuses to the point where this disaster would end up being recorded down in history.

    Everyone stared at the flying ape with despair in their eyes.

    One strike from a creature with a power level of over 200,000 would destroy everything¡ªnot just the would shatter, but even the surroundings might be destroyed as well.

    The ape hollered and raised its arm high. It seemed like it was about to strike the ground, but then, the mouths of everyone watching suddenly fell open as they saw what was behind the ape¡ªno, above it. A leg had appeared. No, not a leg, a paw¡­ Was that a rabbit¡¯s paw?

    Above the ape, the void suddenly split open, although at the same time, it seemed to still be intact. It seemed as if it was real and illusory at the same time.

    A giant rabbit, shrouded in flickering lightning, stepped onto the apes head before vanishing back into the void.

    The creature¡¯s actions seemed like it was merely stomping on something inconsequential before it vanished in the blink of an eye.

    Everyone stared into the skies; could that have been an illusion?

    But the next thing that they all witnessed confirmed that it had been no fantasy. The nine-headed savage ape fainted.

    Lu Yin was in disbelief. What is this?!

    Xuan Jiu opened his mouth and gestured with his finger. ¡°An ape with a power level of over 200,000 just fainted from a rabbit¡¯s stomp. Where did this rabbite from? Was that rabbit crazy?¡±

    The ape crashed to the ground with a loud thump,pletely unconscious. shes of lightning still arced across its body from time to time, and its body was releasing a singed smell.

    Everyone was stunned. After all, that ape was a powerful creature with a power level of over 200,000. Master Jun and the rest of the Cruisers had not been able to harm it in the slightest, but it had been stomped unconscious by a random rabbit. Everyone was wondering where that rabbit hade from? What kind of perverted rabbit was that thing?

    ¡°Br- Brother Lu, I think I saw a rabbit,¡± Zhao Ran said nkly.

    Lu Yin frowned, but was also still in a daze.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I saw a rabbit, too. Such a big and awesome rabbit,¡± the Ghost Monkey said sluggishly.

    Everyonended and stared at the mountainous nine-headed ape.

    Master Jun checked the beast and then solemnly said, ¡°It won¡¯t wake up for the time being. It¡¯s beenpletely subdued by the electricity.¡±

    Countless people rxed. This ape had nearly wiped all of them out.

    ¡°Ha, I don¡¯t understand what you two-legged beasts were so worried about. With Lord Fish around, forget a power level of 200,000¡ªnot even 2,000,000 would matter. One p of Lord Fish¡¯s tail would smack it dead!¡± the fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head began to speak once again, still just as abrasive as before. This time, even the giant ape was included in the fish¡¯s ridicule.

    Many rolled their eyes, as this fish had been scared silly just moments ago.

    Xi Qi grew embarrassed and fled the scene.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and approached the ape, but his fingertips turned numb before he could even touch it. Through this, he could feel the power of the rabbit¡¯s lightning. This wasn¡¯t just any normal lightning, as even Lu Yin with his robust physique did not dare to touch this electricity. It was no wonder how this rabbit had been able to electrocute the ape and cause it to faint.

    Master Jun used his gadget and seemed to bemunicating with someone, presumably the Lockbreaker Society. That rabbit was very abnormal, as it was rare to encounter powerhouses whose power level exceeded 200,000 units. But this bunny had trampled one silly with a single step, so even with a conservative estimate, its power level had to at least be 250,000. This sort of powerhouse was too fearsome, especially when it was just a rabbit.

    In the Human Domain, this matter was enough for the Hall of Honor to step forward.

    Master Jun said, ¡°Alright, everyone should leave now since the Savage Ape is at risk of copsing at any moment.¡±

    Many hurried to leave.

    ¡°Brother Lu, let¡¯s go as well,¡± Yue Xianzi said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I¡¯m a little injured, so give me a moment.¡± He then looked for a more secluded area where he could avoid the crowd.

    Yue Xianzi felt strange as she had not seen Lu Yin being injured. Still, she did not press any further and just silently waited for him.

    Xuan Jiu moved around the ape while chanting mysteriously. No one knew what he was doing. Zhao Ran followed the old man with interest since she believed that Xuan Jiu was very capable, but her behavior just frustrated the man.

    ¡°Useless goods, stop following me!¡± he barked.

    ¡°I am indeed useless. Thank you for always reminding me, mister kind-hearted fortune-teller.¡± Zhao Ran was thoroughly delighted.

    Xuan Jiu was left speechless.

    Casanova looked around for Lu Yin, but he ended up deciding not to pursue him. Since the white fruit had already been split apart, it was impossible to put it back together. Also, he had obtained the golden fruit, so he wasn¡¯t even losing out. Besides, he had also agreed to the contest with Lu Yin, so he really should drop the issue.

    In another area, Lu Yin hid in a secluded cranny and set his cosmic ring aside in case he rolled Possession. Then, his die appeared, and he tapped on it. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to roll it.¡±

    Thest time he had rolled the die had been in Astral-10, which was more than a month ago, so his chances should be pretty good now.

    The die spun rapidly before finally stopping on one pip: Pilfer. Lu Yin unconsciously looked around out of fear that someone was around in case something like a woman''s clothing would appear out of nowhere and create a misunderstanding. Fortunately, a firearm appeared, which he threw aside since it was useless. He recharged the die with a cube of star energy and tapped it again.

    The second time was two pips, which was also useless. Lu Yin quickly tapped it a third time.

    When the die stopped spinning, Lu Yin looked at the number and became ecstatic. Five pips: Gift Copy. Without any further thought or hesitation, he charged forward and nearly tore through the void as he approached the nine-headed ape, startling Xuan Jiu and causing the old man to jump in fright in the process.

    Lu Yin reached out as he approached the nine-headed ape, and even though his fingers went numb, a strand of electricity twisted towards him.

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Are you looking for death, you useless goods? Do you really think that you can y with that like a toy?¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°I was just curious.¡±

    Xuan Jiu rolled his eyes. ¡°Useless goods.¡±

 Chapter 363: Meeting Foes

    <h4>Chapter 363: Meeting Foes</h4>

    Lu Yin did not bother responding to Xuan Jiu¡¯s condescending words; he was too excited right now at this moment. On the five pips face of his die, which was Gift Copy, there was now an additional lightning symbol. Gift Copy allowed him to borrow others¡¯ innate gifts by making physical contact with a cultivator with an innate gift within ten seconds of rolling a five. This allowed Lu Yin to store their innate gift within his die and use it some time in the future. He had just managed to borrow the lightning rabbit¡¯s innate gift.

    The lightning rabbit had been so strong that it had knocked the nine-headed ape unconscious with a single stomp, which spoke volumes about its power. However, the power of its lightning was even more unimaginable. Even though Lu Yin had onlye into contact with a trace of it, he was looking forward to seeing the power of this lightning.

    Borrowing an innate gift was, after all, just borrowing. Lu Yin was not able to use it at the lender¡¯s power level. Even though Lu Yin had only borrowed the innate gift of lightning from the rabbit, he was still looking forward to using it. He felt that this lightning was not just any run of the mill lightning. His only concern was if his own body could withstand it.

    ¡°Mr. Lu, thank you again for saving me.¡± Thedy who had been saved by Lu Yin spoke up.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    She gave Lu Yin a row of numbers. ¡°I am Leng Yan, one of the Outerverse managers of Brightstar Corp.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Brightstar Corp.?¡± He had heard Yue Xianzi mention thispany before they arrived at Nine Peaks Mountain; it was a rather wealthy corporation.

    ¡°It looks like Mr. Lu has heard of Brightstar Corp. before,¡± Leng Yan said with a smile.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a major corporation that¡¯s famous throughout the universe, so of course I¡¯ve heard of it. I never expected that Miss Leng Yan would already be a manager at your young age. Very impressive.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯tpare to Mr. Lu, who¡¯s a champion of the Tournament of the Strongest and a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. With the sessful lockbreaking of this gathering, you¡¯ll certainly earn even more stars. Your future is limitless. I¡¯ll ask Mr. Lu to take care of this girl¡¯s business in the future.¡± She smiled courteously as she spoke.

    They could not stay on the Savage Ape any longer, so Lu Yin brought Yue Xianzi and Zhao Ran away despite Casanova¡¯s strange gaze.

    It had taken them several days to reach the location of the tree-shaped sourcebox. But on their return trip, Lu Yin used his extreme speed to pierce the void, and it only took them a few hours to return to their spacecraft¡¯snding site.

    As he looked at the crack on the ground, he saw that his spacecraft had started to fall in, and he involuntarily released a pent-up breath. On the way back, he had been worried that his spacecraft might have been destroyed. After all, the entire Savage Ape was on the verge of copsing.

    Not too long after, two personal spacecraft entered outer space.

    Lu Yin looked back and was stunned. The¡¯s appearance was drastically differentpared to when they had first arrived; it now sported the addition of massive cracks across its surface.

    They seemed like giant cracks from the sky, but from the surface of the, they were endlessly deep faults. The nine-headed ape had almost shattered the entire.

    Lu Yin had barely managed to survive after a narrow escape during this gathering on Savage Ape. He had nearly been finished.

    He looked at his cosmic ring, wondering what the white fruit¡¯s uses were. He would ask someone when he returned to the academy.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what did that fortune-teller actually mean? He¡¯s certain that you exchanged looks with the deceased, but when did that happen? Actually, how can the dead even look at you face-to-face?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Before Lu Yin had left the, Xuan Jiu had repeated to Lu Yin that the young man had exchanged looks with the dead. Lu Yin had heard the line properly thisst time, and it clearly wasn¡¯t ¡®royalty¡¯ but rather ¡®deceased,¡¯ which meant dead people.

    And Xuan Liu had even added on one more sentence; Lu Yin was an ominous person. The whole exchange was rather depressing, and it had caused Lu Yin to feel ufortable, so he was currently in a bad mood. ¡°So even you believe that old fart¡¯s nonsense!¡±

    ¡°Of course I know that he¡¯s spouting nonsense, but he¡¯s still from the Starsibyl Sect. Some of what he says might actually be right.¡±

    Lu Yin was not overly bothered since he could not recall when he had exchanged looks with a deceased person. The dead could not even see. Even if their eyes were opened, it was still useless. Having no soul meant that one was unable to look, unless the person could resurrect.

    Hold on, Lu Yin suddenly recalled something; could the old man¡¯s words be linked to the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival?

    But even then, that still wouldn¡¯t work. Lu Yin was the one who hadprehended that technique, not someone else. Did it mean that he had looked at himself?

    Lu Yin shook his head and put the strange words out of mind as he inputted San Dios into the spacecraft¡¯s auto-navigation features. He then closed his eyes and silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures since he had decided to take a break.

    More than ten dayster, at East San Dios, one personal spacecraft steadily approached and docked at the Prairie me Continent¡¯s space station. The hatch opened, and a youth exited with a smile as he surveyed the surroundings.

    From inside the space station, Puyu stepped forward with shing eyes. His movements were rather energetic.

    The youth stepped down and walked towards Puyu.

    ¡°Representative Liu, wee.¡± Puyu spoke first with a faint smile.

    The youth smiled and respectfully replied, ¡°I¡¯m just a neer, and will require much of Councilor Puyu¡¯s guidance.¡±

    Puyuughed, very pleased with the youth¡¯s attitude. Thest trace of worry in his heart vanished.

    Just as he was going to say something, two more personal spacecrafts docked at the spacestation from outer space, and Lu Yin exited from one of them.

    Lu Yin saw an unforgettable figure the moment he stepped into the space station. ¡°Liu Shaoge?¡±

    The youth who had greeted Puyu was indeed Liu Shaoge, the same person who had received Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s orders toe to San Dios. His objective was to thwart Lu Yin¡¯s development while serving the Nightking n.

    Liu Shaoge turned to Lu Yin and raised a hand. ¡°Long time no see, Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his body suddenly vanished only to reappear right in front of Liu Shaoge. Lu Yin pped out with a palm, aiming directly at Liu Shaoge¡¯s head. He held nothing back in his strike. Since Lu Yin had noticed Puyu, he intended to kill Liu Shaoge before Puyu could even react.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes went wide, but then his lips quirked up as a ck-and-white gust of air revolved around him. He retreated upon receiving Lu Yin¡¯s full strength attack backed by Thirty Stacks, and the ck-and-white air shattered and dissipated into the surrounding void. His body was like a leaf dancing in the wind as he easily dodged the entire force behind Lu Yin¡¯s attack. He ended up retreating about a hundred meters andnded directly behind Puyu.

    The void copsed at the point where Lu Yin¡¯s palm had connected with nothing but air. His hand released thirty streaks of air thatpressed the air and released a suppressive force throughout the space station that caused many to have difficulty breathing.

    Puyu stepped forward and red coldly at Lu Yin. ¡°Representative Lu, what is this about?¡±

    Lu Yin stared in amazement at the now empty spot before turning around in disbelief. He looked at Liu Shaoge, unable to understand how this man had dodged his attack. Thirty Stacks would solidify the void even before Lu Yin¡¯s palm arrived. Even Limiteers such as Dao Bo and Liu Xiaoyun would not be able to dodge that attack very easily, unless they were at the same level as Lu Yin. However, there were only a few publicly recognized true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates. Liu Shaoge was definitely not among those elite few, so how had he dodged Lu Yin¡¯s attack?

    It wasn¡¯t just Lu Yin; even Puyu was astonished by what had just taken ce. He had received news that Nightking Zhenwu was sending someone here to take the role of acting councilor. He also knew that the substitute was someone who also came from the Great Yu Empire and that he held a grudge with Lu Yin. However, Puyu had never expected the new arrival to be able to actually match Lu Yin¡¯s strength. As much as Puyu hated Lu Yin, he was fully aware of the Limiteer¡¯s almost matchless power, so he never expected a simrly perverted Limiteer to suddenly appear out of the blue.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s been so long since we¡¯vest seen each other, but your attitude towards me hasn¡¯t changed one bit.¡± Liu Shaoge smiled at Lu Yin in a rxed manner.

    Lu Yin withdrew his palm and looked at Liu Shaoge. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a few years, but you¡¯ve changed so much.¡±

    Liu Shaoge shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re the same. How about a drink to celebrate our reunion?¡±

    ¡°So that power is what gives you the confidence to be close to me?¡± Lu Yin squinted.

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°You could say that. I¡¯m actually afraid that you¡¯ll kill me with one p.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Puyu. ¡°Why¡¯s he here?¡±

    Puyu leisurely replied, ¡°Arbiter Zhenwu has ordered for Liu Shaoge toe and stand in as an acting councilor and to exercise the authority of the Outerverse Youth Council as a councilor.¡±

    Arbiter Zhenwu... Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes emanated bloodlust. Liu Shaoge had betrayed Earth during the trials and left the with Nightking Qingyu. Now, he was somehow connected to Nightking Zhenwu, and his power had also grown monstrously. He had clearly used a Daynight n battle technique just now just used to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s palm. It seemed that Liu Shaoge was taking full advantage of his new position.

    With Liu Shaoge¡¯s temperament, Lu Yin had never doubted that he would win a high position in the future, but he had never expected this man to be so efficient; his backing was actually Arbiter Shenwu!

    Yue Xianzi brought Zhao Ran alongside Lu Yin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lu Yin took the two girls away.

    Still within the space station, Puyu watched Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure. He could not shake off the mental image of the countless pirates attacking his allies, not to mention the strength of the person who had split Darkstar Gorge in two. He no longer dared to go overboard when dealing with Lu Yin, so it was fortunate that Arbiter Zhenwu had sent someone with a deep grudge against this person whom he could use. Thinking of this, Puyu turned to nce at Liu Shaoge. This person was not simple either, and the strength that he had disyed was enough to cause even Puyu to feel a bit apprehensive.

    In San Dios, Lu Yin used his status of a Representative to allow Zhao Ran in. The brat could not recall her past, but Lu Yin would not feel right if he simply threw her aside, so he had no choice but to bring her inside with him.

    Yue Xianzi had been inconvenienced since the two females had been crammed together within a single-person spacecraft, making the trip back an unpleasant journey.

    Zhao Ran was very curious about San Dios, and constantly craned her neck to take in the new sights. She clearly had no concerns about her amnesia.

    ¡°Do you fancy her?¡± Yue Xianzi asked Lu Yin.

    ¡°I just sympathize with her circumstances. Just help me find a ce for her for now.¡± Lu Yin then walked away, as the current events had left him uneasy.

    Initially, when he was still on Earth, his biggest foe had been Liu Shaoge, but that had been when they were still regr humans. Countless Earthlings had been turned into zombies, which caused Liu Shaoge to make the decision to bombard an entire city, which had given Lu Yin unforgettable scars. Although they had since vanished because of his cultivation training, he would never forget the suffering that he had gone through.

    One of Lu Yin¡¯s greatest regrets was that he had not killed Liu Shaoge back on Earth, and once again, he could not kill him today. This failure caused Lu Yin to be extremely depressed. He had trained so hard all these years in order to reach a higher level, but Liu Shaoge had not fallen behind one bit. His strength was actually at a simr level.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s appearance not only brought out a deeply-seated hatred from within Lu Yin, but it also increased his longing to see the others, such as Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Seruzen, and Xu San¡ªthe other four who had left Earth with him but had all gone missing. Lu Yin did not know if they had died, but even if they were still alive, where could they be?

    Lu Yin stood at the edge of San Dios, staring down at the clouds below. He stood far above so many, but that was just aparison. When hepared himself to the Ten Arbiters, he was still nothing more than an ant. And the Ten Arbiters themselves were nothing more than antspared to those old freaks with power levels in the hundreds of thousands. However, were those old freaks really standing at the apex?

    On his way to the border warfront, Lu Yin had seen something that he would never forget. It was a group of people who had just stepped foot into the universe but werepletely unaware that they were being observed by a higher civilization. The distance separating those people and their observers was nothing more than a step, but that step was so vast that those people would never be able to take it and see the truth. That was the tragedy of a civilization whose technology developed slowly, and they cultivators had their own version of that struggle.

 Chapter 364: Lu Yin And Liu Shaoge

    <h4>Chapter 364: Lu Yin And Liu Shaoge</h4>

    Lu Yin raised a hand and swatted at the air. Perhaps, at a distance of no more than a single step away from him, there was another, higher civilization that was observing him like ab rat. Heughed in spite of himself, since such a thing was not impossible.

    The heavens decreed one¡¯s fate, but who knew what the heavens really were? If Lu Yin was willing, then he couldpletely change the fate of a random person on the Prairie me Continent below him, and Lu Yin would be the heavens to that person. If that were the case, then who was the heavens looking down upon Lu Yin like an ant?

    Was it a powerhouse with a power level of several hundred thousand? Or that finger from his dreams?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, who¡¯s that person? You seem to hate his guts,¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood became depressed, and he looked out at the sky, seemingly overwhelmed by his thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    The monkey cried out, ¡°Damn it, Seventh Bro, you and me share one body! There¡¯s nothing of yours that isn¡¯t my business. If he¡¯s your enemy, then he¡¯s my enemy too. Just let me know, and I¡¯ll curse him to death!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as the monkey was bing stranger and stranger every day. Initially, he had had a cold disposition towards him, but as time passed, the monkey seemed to be much more garrulous. Was this the astral beast¡¯s natural demeanor, or was it because the monkey had be lonely after being trapped in Lu Yin¡¯s for so longarm? It almost felt like the monkey was venting in this manner.

    ¡°Monkey, are you lonely?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The monkey was stumped and did not respond for a while. ¡°Sev- Seventh Bro, what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, you have a lot to say.¡±

    The monkey didn¡¯t respond.

    Ding!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget sounded out with an alert, but it was an unfamiliar notification for Lu Yin. This time, it was a recorded conversation.

    ¡®Representative Liu has only just arrived at San Dios, so you may not be too familiar with how things operate around here. That Lu Yin is very arrogant. He abuses his power often and has even colluded with pirates. I understand Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s intentions in sending you here, but I still need to remind you to be cautious.¡¯

    ¡®Thank you, Councilor Puyu, for reminding me. Lu Yin and I are old friends, so I understand him somewhat.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s good. What does Representative Liu n to start with?¡¯

    ¡®Does Councilor Puyu have any suggestions?¡¯

    ¡®Not a suggestion, but since Representative Liues from the same ce as Lu Yin, then perhaps you could start thinking in that direction.¡¯

    ¡®Haha, thank you for the reminder, Councilor Puyu.¡¯

    ¡®Such a thing doesn¡¯t deserve to be called a reminder; it¡¯s just a few casual words. Right, there is someone that you can go to concerning many matters: Bazeer. He was the one in charge of the Great Yu Empire Youth Council, but he has been imprisoned due to his feud with Lu Yin. You should be able to understand the present situation more thoroughly through him.¡¯

    ¡®Understood¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    The recording detailed a conversation between Puyu and Liu Shaoge, but it was actually Liu Shaoge who had forwarded it to Lu Yin.

    ¡®Brother Lu, let¡¯s talk!¡¯ Liu Shaoge soon sent another message to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Sure.¡±

    They were both from Earth, but the two had taken opposing paths before meeting once again in another location.

    To Lu Yin, Liu Shaoge was someone he had to kill, but it was impossible to do at the moment. He was also curious about what Liu Shaoge wanted to talk about.

    Lu Yin remained where he was, at the edge of San Dios, and Liu Shaoge slowly walked over with a smiling face, radiating an indescribable charm. He stopped about three meters away from Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, the scenery here must be quite beautiful.¡±

    Lu Yin did not turn around to face Liu Shaoge. ¡°I refuse to believe that you can truly block my attack, so it¡¯s not impossible if I truly want to kill you.¡±

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s lips curled up as he walked next to Lu Yin. ¡°Yes, Brother Lu is unparalleled within the Limiteer realmand is also a universally recognized Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. Out of all those within the Limiteer realm, no more than five can withstand your attack, and I¡¯m definitely not one of them.¡±

    ¡°And yet, you still dare to meet me alone.¡± Lu Yin turned towards Liu Shaoge, revealing his naked bloodlust.

    Liu Shaogezily stretched out and then raised his right hand with the palm down. ¡°Brother Lu, do you want to guess what I see right now?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s spirits soared. ¡°Domination.¡±

    He then looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°From this position, one can dominate the Prairie me Continent in the same manner that Brother Lu used the authority of a councilor to determine the fate of Firesmelt. I watched it all.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered as he replied, ¡°Liu Shaoge, don¡¯t toy with me. I¡¯ve never dominated anyone.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re mistaken. Someone such as Puyu holds no interest to me. Although he¡¯s a part of the Outerverse Youth Council and is ranked within the Top Hundred Rankings, he¡¯s not on the same level as Brother Lu. I¡¯m not so short-sighted as to coborate with him to try to deal with Brother Lu.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s voice was practically dripping with disdain.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Dealing with me is not only Puyu¡¯s intentions, but also that of the person behind you. Your confidence stems from Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s backing, and that¡¯s who you¡¯re relying on to stop me from killing you.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°That¡¯s one part of it, but the actual reason why I¡¯m not afraid of Brother Lu attacking me is actually not because of Arbiter Zhenwu. I believe that, even if Brother Lu killed me, you would still be confident in avoiding Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s retaliation, just like when you saved Zhuo Daynight in the past.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sank. Clearly, Liu Shaoge knew more than Lu Yin imagined, which proved that his position in the Daynight n was not too low.

    ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s the same as me, someone who wants to dominate the world. That is what I rely on,¡± Liu Shaoge spoke with certainty.

    Lu Yin scornfully replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯ve never wanted to dominate anyone else.¡±

    Liu Shaoge seriously replied, ¡°Wrong. Brother Lu¡¯s actions screams with the desire of domination. Will Brother Lu really leave the Great Yu Empire¡¯s monarchy behind? Even if it¡¯s to Wendy Yushan, can Brother Lu give up the position of councilor? Can Brother Lu ept others in the same realm being ranked above you? All this just proves that Brother Lu¡¯s ambition is boundless.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop him from continuing. ¡°Liu Shaoge, there¡¯s no need to guess at my thoughts. Your words are ridiculous! Is this how you curry favor with Arbiter Zhenwu?¡±

    Amusement shed across Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes. ¡°Perhaps. Since Brother Lu doesn¡¯t wish to hear such things, then let me change topics.¡± He paused and then slowly said, ¡°Has Brother Lu ever thought about controlling all of East San Dios?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone as he stared at Liu Shaoge. ¡°You¡¯re crazy.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°Brother Lu can consider me crazy. I hope to cooperate with you and eliminate Puyu so that we can seize control of San Dios together.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered and instantly rejected the proposition. ¡°I understand clearly why Arbiter Zhenwu sent you here. Firstly, to deal with me, and secondly, to make preparations for the Daynight n¡¯s future moves upon San Dios. Compared to cooperating with me, why don¡¯t you consider how you can better cooperate with Puyu.¡± Lu Yin then turned around to leave.

    Liu Shaoge watched his retreating figure. ¡°From Earth to the Great Yu Empire, then to Astral-10, and now, even to San Dios. The shadow standing behind so much of what Brother Lu has done is the single moment where Puyu ordered Bazeer to humiliate you in the Great Yu Empire. Brother Lu cannot possibly have forgotten this matter.¡±

    Lu Yin did not slow his steps towards San Dios.

    Liu Shaoge continued, saying, ¡°Given Brother Lu¡¯s current conduct, since you¡¯ve already decided to act against Bazeer, you will definitely not allow Puyu to slip away. Previously, pirates attacked over a hundred powers, and a powerhouse even shed Darkstar Gorge in half. These matters should be rted to Brother Lu, but none of these are Brother Lu¡¯s way of dealing with Puyu. Such things are too heavy handed for your personality.¡±

    Lu Yin did not stop, but his eyes were filled with killing intent.

    ¡°I believe that Brother Lu has already made sufficient preparations to deal with Puyu and that you have even already taken action. However, it¡¯s only that Puyu cannot sense anything yet.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s tone was heavy.

    Lu Yin finally stopped and replied. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much into it.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I, Liu Shaoge, can enter the sights of Arbiter Zhenwu even as an Earthling. I reached the position that I hold today without any overwhelmingly powerful innate gift. However, I¡¯m rather skilled in assessing people, and I trust that Brother Lu Yin is alreadypletely confident that you¡¯ll be able to deal with Puyu. If that¡¯s the case, then why would I want to coborate with a failure?¡± Liu Shaoge was confident.

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°Since you were sent by Arbiter Zhenwu to deal with me, then aren¡¯t you afraid of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s retaliation if you coborate with me?¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°Dealing with you is the objective, but I decide on the methods to do so. Also, only I know your true objective, since Arbiter Zhenwu is not an omniscient being. How about it, Brother Lu? Do you have the confidence to cooperate with me and seize control of San Dios together?¡±

    Lu Yin folded his arms and leaned against the wall, looking at Liu Shaoge with renewed interest. ¡°I¡¯m very curious. Since you¡¯re certain that I¡¯ll be able to deal with Puyu, how are you so certain that you can cooperate and actually share San Dios with me? If I can dispose of Puyu, then shouldn¡¯t I also be able to take care of you?¡±

    Liu Shaoge spread his hands apart. ¡°It¡¯s simple¡ªit¡¯s because I¡¯m under Arbiter Zhenwu. Unless Imit a heinous crime such as betraying the human race, no one will dare to touch me. Brother Lu, do you think that you have the power to charge me with the crime of betraying the human race?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; betraying the human race? That was the crime that he had charged Puyu with.

    ¡°So long as you can¡¯t touch me, we can cooperate. At the very least, I won¡¯t obstruct Brother Lu from taking certain actions, and we can put on a good show for the Ten Arbiters. After all, we are both from Earth, and we will both serve Earth in the future.¡± Liu Shaoge smiled.

    Lu Yin looked at him closely, considering how he should deal with this person. Liu Shaoge was very troublesome, and his supporter, Arbiter Zhenwu, was rather unyielding. This was especially so ever since his prestige had soared after he arrested Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao and imprisoned him in Gaia''s Swamp. Liu Shaoge was right in that there was no way for Lu Yin to deal with him unless Liu Shaoge betrayed the human race, but that usation would not be so easily backed up. If it was so easy to discover traces of the Neohuman Alliance, then they would not have been able to remain hidden for countless years.

    Impatient, Liu Shaoge looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, it looks like you still hold that hatred from Earth in your heart.¡±

    A coldness shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I will never forget.¡±

    Liu Shaoge had no choice, so he simply activated his gadget and sent Lu Yin a few names.

    Puzzled, Lu Yin looked at them. There were four names in total¡ªAmethyst Exchange, Aegis, Nn family, and Endless Borders.

    ¡°Brother Lu should be clear on a certain principle. No matter what you do, money is critical.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened, as he unconditionally agreed with Liu Shaoge¡¯s words.

    ¡°No matter if it¡¯s for an individual¡¯s lifestyle or for a power struggle, nothing can be done without money. Since ancient times, whether one discusses the changing of an imperial authority or a battle between the Weaves, the most critical factor is not a power¡¯s experts but rather their resources. These four names represent the four wealthiest financial corporations, and they are going to have a conference very soon to discuss some sort of coboration,¡± Liu Shaoge said with confidence.

    ¡°What does any of that have to do with me?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s lips rose. ¡°Nothing at the moment, but no one can predict the future. Perhaps one day Brother Lu will require money.¡±

    Lu Yin internally mumbled to himself, It isn¡¯t ¡°one day,¡± but every day!

 Chapter 365: Show Her Whoâ€™s Boss

    <h4>Chapter 365: Show Her Who¡¯s Boss</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at the four names on the list. He was quite familiar with the Nn family, but their rtionship had not reached the point where he could receive their support. He still hadn¡¯t forgotten the loan document that Lulu had shown him, proving that Undying Yushan had taken out a loan from the Mavis bank. That document was a humiliation to the empire. What Lu Yin wanted was support, not a loan.

    Lu Yin had already set something up in the Ross Empire, so there was sure to be a war in the future. What gave him the biggest headache right now was hisck of resources. This matter could not wait any longer.

    Lu Yin eyed Liu Shaoge. ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°Tyrannical Weave. Millions City,¡± Liu Shaoge replied.

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°That hasn¡¯t been decided yet, so I¡¯ll tell you once things are confirmed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°We have a grudge between us, but it¡¯s settled for now.¡± With that, he turned around and left.

    Liu Shaoge watched as Lu Yin walked away, a confident smile on his face. His instincts about this person were definitely right. Lu Yin was ambitious and capable, which was the kind of person that Liu Shaoge liked to work with the most. Even if he had to pay a price at the beginning, he¡¯d be able to collect on it in the future. This person might even have a huge impact on the Daynight n, which was what he valued the most in Lu Yin. There was no way that Liu Shaoge was willing to remain as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s subordinate forever.

    The only thing Liu Shaoge wasn¡¯t certain of was whether or not Lu Yin had taken any actions against Puyu yet. What he¡¯d said earlier was merely his analysis based on what Lu Yin had done in the past, so he wasn¡¯tpletely certain.

    Whatever his n may be, Lu Yin was definitely not going to work with Puyu. The Councilor was an idiot who revealed all his cards up front; such a person had no right to work with Liu Shaoge.

    Lu Yin returned to Wendy Yushan¡¯s courtyard, but then, he suddenly recalled something: Nightking Qingyu. He¡¯dpletely forgotten to ask how that person was doing. From what he could recall, Qingyu had said that he would return to Earth in the future to take his revenge.

    Qingyu had been able to travel through the universe without a spacecraft even before the trial on Earth, and he must have been quite powerful. That fight had been rather difficult for Lu Yin, even with the Cosmic Art pushing him to the level of a Realmbreaker, he had still been suppressed by Nightking Qingyu. He had no idea if this person would really return to Earth.

    Probably not. He wanted to deal with Lu Yin for his revenge, so he would likely search out Lu Yin rather than return to Earth.

    The Tyrannical Weave was located quite a distance away from San Dios: twenty whole Weaves away. It was, however, quite close to West San Dios, which was in the center of the Outerverse¡¯s western region.

    Not much information was avable about the Tyrannical Weave on thework, possibly because of the distance. However, there actually was an entry on Millions City. The city was known as the richest city in the Outerverse. Even a beggar could be incredibly rich so long as they had enough to start begging in that ce.

    There was a saying that went around thework: as long as one managed to enter into Millions City, the city would definitely have a way of helping them be rich.

    Discovering that saying made Lu Yin so fired-up that he couldn¡¯t wait and wanted to immediately set off towards Millions City. He was in desperate need of more money.

    It was no wonder why the four financial powerhouses would gather there. Only a city like that could contain them.

    Lu Yin rubbed his chin contemtively. Should he go? With his current status, there wasn¡¯t much he could do in such a ce. While he might seem to possess a lot of identities, they merely represented what he could potentially be. Him being a Lockbreaker or a part of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council was nothingpared to those individuals who actually had the means to receive investments from the four financial powerhouses.

    However, nothing was ever certain. Lu Yin¡¯s identity was very special: he was the strongest Limiteer as well as a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate.

    While nobody knew for sure if the Ten Arbiters would abdicate their positions when they passed the age limit of the younger generation, financial powerhouses might still see him as worth investing in. The question was how much they valued his potential.

    Of the four powerhouses, Lu Yin was the most familiar with the Nn family. If he said something, then he was sure that Madam Nn would invest in him, but for some reason, Lu Yin didn¡¯t like the idea of using her money. Perhaps it was because the woman was a widow.

    There was one other question; if there really was a financial powerhouse who was willing to sponsor him, would it be for his personal cultivation and potential or for the Great Yu Empire? There was a huge difference between those two motivations.

    Liu Shaoge had officially be an acting councilor and gained control over Seven Weaves, which was three more than what Lu Yin had managed to get as someone working on behalf of Wendy Yushan. Arbiter Zhenwu had a lot of support, and after Puyu discovered that he¡¯d offended Arbiter Wen, he had started doing everything he could to win Zhenwu¡¯s favor. Thus, he was constantly being incredibly polite to Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge and Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship seemedpletely fine on the surface, and a neer would never have been able to tell that they used to have a bad rtionship.

    The grudge that Lu Yin was talking about was how Liu Shaoge had bombed a city and nearly killed him back on Earth. Lu Yin would also never forget how Liu Shaoge had betrayed Earth, but that wasn¡¯t his business. If Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue were still alive, then they would be the ones to redress that betrayal.

    Zhao Ran remained in San Dios as a servant. However, there was a slight problem¡ªshe forgot everything that had happened to her every few days, just like now.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Zhao Ran stared up at Lu Yin with wide eyes filled with confusion.

    Lu Yin was at a loss. ¡°Don¡¯t ask so many questions. Just stay here.¡±

    ¡°Okay. But where is this ce?¡± Zhao Ran asked.

    ¡°East San Dios.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. Why am I here?¡±

    ¡°I told you to stop asking. Just stay here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did I make you angry?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with me,¡± Zhao Ran said sadly as she lowered her head.

    Lu Yin was speechless. She could remember that sentence perfectly.

    This conversation happened twice over the next few days. Lu Yin had no choice but to record the entire conversation as a video and hand it over to Yue Xianzi with the exnation, ¡°Whenever she loses her memories, show her this video. Don¡¯t ask me anything else.¡± He left right away after that.

    ¡°You were the one who wanted her to stay here,¡± Yue Xianzi pouted as she looked at Zhao Ran¡¯s big, confused eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you around to help you familiarize yourself with your work.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother you. There¡¯s something wrong with me,¡± Zhao Ran apologized.

    Yue Xianzi didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°Don¡¯t say that in the future.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    On an ordinary day, an un-ordinary matter took ce.

    A personal spacecraft docked at the Prairie me Continent¡¯s space station. A girl who exuded natural beauty, wore a tight, white outfit decorated with gold trim, and carried a two-meter long sword in her hand walked out from the spacecraft. Her long ck hair clung to her waist, and she exuded a calm, ancient aura. It was Wendy Yushan. She had finally returned to San Dios.

    Lu Yin, Puyu, Liu Shaoge, and the rest were all waiting outside the space station, watching her arrival.

    Wendy Yushan was a legend. She was among the top twenty of the Top Hundred Rankings as well as the most powerful sessor of the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak. Her reputation was not limited to one region; she was famous throughout the entire universe.

    What was even more well known about her was her charm. Numerous people went crazy for her, and Puyu was one of her admirers.

    After staring at Wendy Yushan, Puyu hurriedly approached her.

    Liu Shaoge sighed in praise. ¡°You¡¯re very lucky, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. Lucky? That wasn¡¯t really so since this woman didn¡¯t like him.

    ¡°Wee back, Councilor Wendy.¡± Puyu walked up and greeted her with great enthusiasm.

    Wendy Yushan remained just as indifferent as ever and merely nodded towards Puyu. Her gaze then swept past Liu Shaoge tond on Lu Yin. ¡°I advised Arbiter Lan to instate you as a Councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council, but he said no.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. It¡¯s impossible to be a councilor without first bing an Explorer.¡±

    Wendy Yushan passed Puyu, took another step forward, and then vanished.

    Puyu felt very embarrassed, but he had long since gotten used to such treatment, so he left the space station as well.

    Meanwhile, Wendy hadn¡¯t even acknowledged Liu Shaoge.

    This was one of Wendy Yushan¡¯s ssic behavior traits; shepletely ignored people she didn¡¯t care about.

    As she looked around her courtyard, Wendy Yushan had the same indifferent look in her eyes as she calmly stared at Lu Yin. ¡°How¡¯s Bazeer?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s under supervision,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Wendy Yushan had an indifferent reaction even to that news.

    Lu Yin found that he actually hated her reactions. It felt like she thought of herself as always above everyone else, just like when she had brushed past him on Zenyu Star. The constant indifference on her face as she looked at him might hold a bit of praise now, but it only felt like an insult to Lu Yin.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council, and yet, you didn¡¯t even know that your subordinate was siding with somebody else, nor that you¡¯re only in charge of four Weaves. You¡¯ve failed at your job,¡± Lu Yin used without sugarcoating anything.

    Upon hearing his words, Barley and the others who had gathered to greet Wendy were startled and hastily retreated, afraid to get close to the two.

    Zhao Ran, who was standing not too far away, blinked while carrying some beverages forward. She couldn¡¯t tell if it was better for her to enter or leave.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin in confusion. ¡°Are you trying to micromanage me?¡±

    ¡°I guess?¡± Lu Yin stared right back, unfazed.

    ¡°Damn, Seventh Bro, you¡¯re amazing! Make sure she knows who¡¯s boss!¡± the Ghost Monkey cheered.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze gradually turned cold, and it soon felt like the void had frozen over, and her bloodlust almost seemed to manifest into a physical force. That force made many feel a chill inside their bones. This was Wendy Yushan¡¯s power. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    As he felt the overpowering pressure radiating from her, Lu Yin could do nothing other than lower his head and respond, ¡°I¡¯m the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire and a member of the Astral Combat Academy Council. Also, I¡¯m your fianc¨¦.¡±

    Barley and the rest froze for a moment before running away.

    The next moment, a powerful force swept through San Dios as Wendy Yushan unsheathed her de and coldly stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I acknowledge that you¡¯re the closest person to me as far as family is concerned, and you¡¯re the only person I¡¯ll admit to being my family, but you need to take that back. Don¡¯t ever call yourself my fianc¨¦ again.¡±

    Lu Yin stared into her eyes and released his domain. Wendy¡¯s bloodlust filled aura was forced back, and a golden radiance appeared around Lu Yin. It was his five-lined battle force. ¡°Your father, Undying Yushan, was the one who arranged the marriage with me, thest member of the Zishan family. It will remain effective for as long as I¡¯m alive.¡±

    Wendy Yushan narrowed her eyes and the void surrounding the two of them was shredded like a fragile sheet of paper. Sheunched no actual attacks, but the void, and even Lu Yin¡¯s clothes and cheeks, were flecked with tiny blood stters.

    ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant. I am your sister!¡± Wendy Yushan icily retorted, her face showing her fury.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened in response. ¡°I am your husband.¡±

    With a ng, a sword was pressed against Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Wendy Yushan clutched the hilt of her sword. ¡°You want to marry me? Fine, but only if you manage to take one attack from this sword of mine.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the sword. Although there wasn¡¯t any kind of aura to it, he was certain that Wendy¡¯s attack would definitely not be any weaker than Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords. On the contrary, Wendy Yushan¡¯s skills were far beyond Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s, and they were not something that Lu Yin could stand up to. Not being able to tell how amazing something was in and of itself proof of how great it was.

    ¡°Does that mean that I can marry you if I win?¡± Lu Yin asked boldly.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Lu Yin eximed. ¡°Give me a year and I¡¯ll challenge you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan snorted disdainfully. ¡°I meant right now.¡±

    ¡°Are you in that much of a hurry to marry me?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Wendy Yushan became absolutely furious, and her sword emanated a killing aura that made everyone in San Dios feel a chill. Even Puyu, Liu Shaoge, and the others were shocked by what they felt.

 Chapter 366: Wendyâ€™s Promise

    <h4>Chapter 366: Wendy¡¯s Promise</h4>

    The pressurested for no more than a brief moment, however. Wendy Yushan eyed the letter that Lu Yin had ced atop her sword de and realized that she recognized the handwriting; it was Undying Yushan¡¯s.

    ¡°This is a letter that His Majesty asked me to pass on to you. There¡¯s also this card as well.¡± Lu Yin took out a data chip and passed it to Wendy Yushan.

    This chip contained a treasure of the universe within its databanks: a secret technique. It should be the same one that Lu Yin had received, the Yu Secret Art. It was a secret art, which meant that, if Lu Yin was willing, he could sell it and earn enough to establish more than a hundred Great Yu Empires. If he handed such a thing over to the Hall of Honor, it would be enough to get him at least ten Honor Points, Ten!

    What did ten Honor Points mean? It meant that, so long as he did not die of natural causes, everything and everyone that had anything to do with his death would be thoroughly investigated by the Hall of Honor. They would not allow his death to be in vain, which meant that he essentially could not die in the Human Domain.

    Shui Chuanxiao had betrayed humanity and caused them to lose half of Endless Weave. But even aftermitting such a crime, his Honor Points prevented him from being executed out right. That showed just how valuable having ten Honor Points would be.

    After passing the chip to Wendy Yushan, Lu Yin could feel his heart bleeding. However, he wouldn¡¯t keep it for himself. This was something that Undying Yushan had left behind for his daughter, and Lu Yin¡¯s conscience would weigh too heavily on him if he secretly kept it for himself.

    ¡°Damn, Seventh Bro, you really gave it to her? I can¡¯t believe you! That¡¯s a secret technique! A. Se-cret-tech-nique!! That thing is worth enough for you to live out the rest of your days without any worries! Even if you killed Nightqueen Yanqing, the Daynight n wouldn¡¯t make any trouble for you so long as you gave them this technique. And yet, you¡¯re handing it to Wendy Yushan just like that?¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin frowned and decided to just block the monkey altogether since he was being too noisy.

    As Wendy Yushan read the letter, something shed across her eyes, and her fingers trembled slightly.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such an anguished look appear on Wendy Yushan¡¯s face. Perhaps this was the same emotional state she had been in when she had attacked the Ross Empire.

    After reading the letter, she immediately destroyed it and tightly clenched the chip. Looking up at Lu Yin, her gaze showed disbelief and various other emotions. ¡°Wh- Why are you willing to give me these things?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re yours,¡± he answered simply.

    Wendy Yushan looked down at the chip and then back at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied.

    Wendy Yushan looked surprised. ¡°Do you know how valuable this thing is?¡±

    Lu Yin became annoyed at that question. He was already feeling terrible over giving it to her, but she kept hounding the matter. ¡°Enough to get me a hundred more women who are more beautiful than you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan did not get mad at Lu Yin¡¯s words; instead, she looked him up and down. At this moment, she had an incredibly gentle demeanor and even seemed to give off a hint of warmth. She appeared to be touched and simply said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin did not mind. ¡°Hurry up and learn it. Don¡¯t let anyone take it from you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan gazed at Lu Yin earnestly before suddenly grinning beautifully. However, the smile disappeared in the next instant, so Lu Yinpletely missed it. ¡°Thank you for everything that you¡¯ve done for the Great Yu Empire and for the Yushan family. I promise that I¡¯ll give you time. As long as you can win against my moves while I am wielding this sword, I¡¯ll marry you.¡± After that, she turned around and left.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. In actuality, he had only spoken those words because Wendy Yushan had started to annoy him. He did not actually have any intentions of marrying her since he still had Ming Yan waiting for him back in the Shenwu Continent.

    ¡°Barley!¡± Lu Yin yelled out.

    Barley immediately ran in, and upon seeing that Lu Yin waspletely fine, asked in confusion, ¡°What do you need, Mr. Lu?¡±

    ¡°I need all the information you have on the Shenwu Continent,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Barley grunted in acknowledgement and scanned the courtyard. He didn¡¯t see Wendy anywhere, which meant that she had probably gone back into seclusion to train, which was normal for her. This behavior was why many of her representatives were not loyal to her and why Puyu found it so easy to sway them over to his side.

    Not too long after, all the information mentioning the Shenwu Continent was delivered to Lu Yin, which meant that he finally knew who had been targeting the continent.

    ¡°Mafioso, Battle Street, the Nine Allied Nations¡­¡± Lu Yin skimmed through the provided information regarding all of the different organizations involved with the invasion of the Shenwu Continent. There were about a dozen from the Darkmist Weave who were involved in the matter.

    Back when the Shenwu Continent had first been revealed, it had created a huge disturbance in the Outerverse. The Darkmist Weave had done everything it could to suppress the continent, but it had all been to no avail. With no other choice, it had asked for help from the Innerverse, which had then forced the Shenwu Continent to protect itself with the five sealings. These organizations were the ones that had led the movement against the continent.

    ¡°Why is Mafioso listed first?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Barley answered with a bit of fear in his voice. ¡°Mafioso is where many of the Outerverse¡¯s assassins gather. The is now home to numerous experts who¡¯ve even managed to kill ultra powerhouses in the past. Revenge was taken after those incidents, butpared to the rest of the Darkmist Weave, that is quite a terrifying power.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. ¡°What about Battle Street?¡±

    ¡°It might be called a street, but it¡¯s actually a string of over a hundreds that have been connected to form something that resembles a continent. Battle Street offers nothing besides a ce to fight. Many people in the Darkmist Weave have nothing to do, so they decided to create this ce where they could watch bloody battles of all kinds. For this reason, there are a lot of reckless people who appear there, and mixed in among them are various experts and people with unique backgrounds. It has a huge influence on the Darkmist Weave and has even attracted the attention of some important people from the Innerverse,¡± Barley exined.

    Lu Yin frowned. Battle Street sounded rather disgusting to him. It seemed like a ce that represented the worst parts of humanity.

    ¡°The Nine Allied Nations consist of nine fments, some of which even have Hunters in charge of them. There¡¯s also¡­¡± Barley exined the various groups one by one, seemingly very familiar with everything.

    Lu Yin felt a terrible headache developing. These organizations that made up the Darkmist Weave hadplex connections that extended into both the border regions and the Innerverse, which meant that it would be impossible topletely destroy them. However, that also meant that the Shenwu Continent would always be contested. A millennium ago, they had invited a powerhouse from the Innerverse to help deal with the continent, just like how they had invited Arbiter Wen Sansi not too long ago. Who knew who would be invited to help out the next time.

    Lu Yin was truly worried that the Shenwu Continent wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for much longer.

    ¡°Is there a problem with these organizations, Mr. Lu?¡± Barley asked curiously.

    Lu Yin nonchntly replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I justpleted a trial on that continent and wanted to learn a bit more about it.¡±

    Barley nodded and praised, ¡°You truly are the number one of the Outerverse trials. Arbiter Wen was the one who determined those results, which shocked the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. It was obvious that he was first, but nobody really cared about the actual results. Long Yun from the Sword Sect, for example, hadn¡¯t appeared at all during the trials. There was also that Wu Shang who might be from the Neohuman Alliance. There were bound to be many other people who had gone into the trials and hidden themselves in the shadows whose goal wasn¡¯t toplete the trial, but rather, to gain control of the continent itself.

    Upon thinking of these people, Lu Yin felt extremely frustrated. He wasn¡¯t afraid that they¡¯d destroy the continent¡¯s defense, but he was worried about the Reverent King, Ming Zhaoshu. The man was very talented and could see the big picture, so it was impossible for him to ce all of his hopes on Lu Yin. He might have even teamed up with other organizations-

    Crap!

    Lu Yin struck his forehead. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of this earlier? He had tossed Zhanlong Daynight into the Reverent King¡¯s residence, which would have given Ming Zhaoshu an excellent opportunity!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes red as he considered the possibilities. From what he knew of Ming Zhaoshu, not only would the king leave Zhanlong Daynight unharmed, but he would have also found a way to work with the Daynight n, precisely because the n wielded a huge amount of power in the wider universe.

    Lu Yin felt extremely frustrated. Back in the Shenwu Continent, he had been so preupied with the Daynight n that he hadpletely neglected this possibility. How was the Shenwu Continent doing now? Was the Daynight n cooperating with Ming Zhaoshu? What would happen to Ming Yan once they banded together?

    At this moment, Lu Yin had the same outlook as a gambler who was about to lose everything. In his eyes, every man was his love rival, including Zhanlong Daynight.

    Would Zhanlong Daynight fall in love with Ming Yan? Would someone else from the Daynight n fall in love with Ming Yan? Would Ming Zhaoshu use Ming Yan to make another deal?

    Lu Yin paced back and forth, feeling incredibly agitated. He should have killed all of those Daynight n members at the start. Then, he wouldn¡¯t be dealing with this mess now.

    As he gazed at a map of the Darkmist Weave, Lu Yin kept scanning it back and forth, trying toe up with a solution.

    Barley didn¡¯t dare to speak up and waited quietly.

    ¡°Oh? Barley, why¡¯s this area circled?¡± Lu Yin asked as he pointed at a corner of the Darkmist Weave.

    Barley answered, ¡°That¡¯s the Nine Allied Nations¡¯ territory, but it used to belong to the Woori Weave. Organizations from the Woori Weave often show up there to cause trouble in that region, trying to take it back. It¡¯s rather chaotic there.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s such a small zone, so why aren¡¯t they willing to let it go?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Barley chuckled. ¡°That zone is actually huge, Mr. Lu, and there¡¯s also a there known as Shuta. It¡¯s a unique with indigenous metallic lifeforms. A portion of them are made from prium, so it¡¯s an area that¡¯s very suited for trials and a great ce to get rich. That¡¯s why organizations from the Woori Weave and the Nine Allied Nations keep fighting; because of that Shuta.¡±

    Lu Yin lit up. ¡°Prium? Isn¡¯t that one of the primary production materials for universal armor?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Barley answered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled at that bit of news. Trials, prium, getting rich¡­ The gears in his brain whirred until, eventually, his gazended on a different corner of the Outerverse: Darkstar Gorge.

    Since I stole Bushtree from you, Puyu, I¡¯ll give you Shuta in exchange, he thought to himself as his eyes lit up.

    Wendy Yushan went into seclusion the moment she reached San Dios. Lu Yin knew that she was in a hurry to learn the Yu Secret Art. Everyone else thought that her behavior was normal, and Lu Yin continued to work in her stead.

    In a tall tower in San Dios, Puyu, Lu Yin, and Liu Shaoge sat together as they discussed some trivial matters.

    Lu Yin had a clearly annoyed expression. Most of the proposals that he¡¯d brought up were rejected by either Puyu or Liu Shaoge, which put him in a rather difficult position.

    Puyu smirked. This was exactly the situation that he wanted to see. With Liu Shaoge around, Puyu would be able to put Lu Yin back in his ce without needing to do much. Liu Shaoge had Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s backing, so Puyu was certain that the organizations backing Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t dare to attempt anything. However, it would be best if those organizations did make a move, as then, the Daynight n would have an excuse to retaliate and take Lu Yin out.

    Bang!

    Lu Yin mmed the table and red at Liu Shaoge, furious. ¡°You¡¯re dead-set on going against me, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re saying no to everything I bring up!¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiledzily. ¡°I just want us to find a better solution. For instance, you mentioned that the variousrge organizations can establish their own internal youth councils and nurture their members until they¡¯re able to enter the Outerverse Youth Council. It¡¯s a good idea, but it won¡¯t work for now, which is precisely why I said that it won¡¯t work.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes seemed to spark with mes as he snorted, though he remained silent.

    Puyu smiled and raised his hand to stop the two. ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯re all working for the Ten Arbiters, so let¡¯s calm down and end things here.¡±

    Liu Shaoge grinned at Lu Yin and then turned to leave.

    Just as Puyu was about to leave, Lu Yin suddenly stopped him. ¡°Please wait, Councilor Puyu.¡±

    Puyu looked at him in confusion. ¡°What is it, Representative Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin spoke in a low voice. ¡°I don¡¯t expect all the things that I brought up to be implemented immediately. I merely wanted them to be brought up to the Ten Arbiters. Please agree to it.¡± Only proposals that were approved by more than half of the acting councilors could be sent on to the Ten Arbiters.

 Chapter 367: Setting Up

    <h4>Chapter 367: Setting Up</h4>

    Puyu shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Representative Lu, but your suggestion is unrealistic and can¡¯t be carried out. We won¡¯t waste resources on an impossible n.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked at Puyu gravely.

    Puyu smirked. He wasn¡¯t scared of Lu Yin, and besides, the Outerverse Youth Council couldn¡¯t be swayed by a single person¡¯s power level. There were supposed to be five councilors in East San Dios, and a n would only be approved if three councilors agreed to it. There were only three people here at present, so even if Lu Yin joined forces with Liu Shaoge, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything here. It wouldn¡¯t matter even if Wendy Yushan showed up, as the two of them shared the status of a single councilor.

    ¡°Representative Lu, if there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Puyu smiled.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Please wait a moment, Councilor Puyu.¡± He then spread out his map of the

    Outerverse and gave Puyu a sincere look. ¡°I was too inconsiderate when handling the matter of Bushtree, and I hope that Councilor Puyu won¡¯t me me for it.¡±

    Puyu smiled. ¡°Oh, Representative Lu, are you going to return Bushtree to Darkstar Gorge as a training ground?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Councilor Puyu, I have already given my order, so I can¡¯t take it back.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s no point in discussing this any further.¡±

    Lu Yin anxiously continued. ¡°However, I can give Councilor Puyu another training ground that¡¯s even better than Bushtree.¡±

    Puyu turned around and looked at Lu Yin curiously. ¡°I¡¯m interested to hear more about your proposal.¡±

    Lu Yin pointed to a corner of the map. ¡°Shuta in the Woori Weave¡±

    Puyu¡¯s eyes gleamed; he had heard about Shuta before. The produced strange metal creatures and was even a source of prium. It truly was a great training ground as one could not only increase their power during a trial, but also gain some riches. ¡°Representative Lu, Shuta belongs to the Nine Allied Nations of the Darkmist Weave, correct?

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Of course not. This territory originally belongs to the Woori Weave¡ªit¡¯s just that this has been taken over by the Nine Allied Nations. However, it still belongs to the Woori Weave.¡±

    Puyu frowned. He was very attracted to this n, but he was also worried since he wasn¡¯t in charge of the Darkmist Weave.

    ¡°Councilor Puyu, the Council of the Ten Arbiters wasn¡¯t established to fight for territory. We are only here to oversee the younger generation in name, so that¡¯s the only thing we need. Shuta still officially belongs to the Woori Weave, and since I¡¯m the person overseeing the Woori Weave, I have the right to assign it to Darkstar Gorge as a training ground,¡± Lu Yin spoke confidently.

    Puyu looked at Lu Yin and then the map. He really couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of Shuta. Prium was extremely valuable, and more importantly, the loss of Bushtree had caused his reputation in Darkstar Gorge to drop. Furthermore, people were even more unhappy with him after the surprise attack on Darkstar Gorge. If he could use Shuta to salvage his reputation, then he was willing to temporarily make peace with Lu Yin. It would also help assuage the powerhouse who had attacked Darkstar Gorge.

    As for Lu Yin, he could just pass this problem to Liu Shaoge.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ept Representative Lu¡¯s offer,¡± Puyu graciously replied.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you, Councilor Puyu. What about my suggestion during the meeting?¡±

    Puyu beamed. ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all! I¡¯ll just report it to the Ten Arbiters. However, the details will still be decided upon by the Ten Arbiters, and it¡¯s even impossible for it to be carried out now, so Representative Lu will have to be prepared for such a possibility.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t actually care about that suggestion. His main goal all along had been for Puyu to ept Shuta and for Darkstar Gorge to start fighting against the Nine Allied Nations¡¯ forces. This would allow Lu Yin to remove some of the burden that was guing the Shenwu Continent, and although such a change wouldn¡¯t make a huge difference, it was still better than nothing.

    ¡°By the way, Representative Lu, do you remember that a person attacked Darkstar Gorge?¡± Puyu suddenly asked, staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked surprised. ¡°The attack on Darkstar Gorge? Councilor Puyu isn¡¯t suspicious of me, are you?¡±

    Puyu chuckled. ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s just that Representative Lu is very worldly, and I just wanted to ask.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Councilor Puyu, I¡¯m merely a student. How could I know someone so powerful? Haha.¡±

    ¡°Haha, then forget about it. Goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile faded away as he watched Puyu leave the tower. He hoped that Darkstar Gorge would attack the Nine Allied Nations. Since the Nine Allied Nations definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out against Darkstar Gorge, he was hoping that Mafioso and Battle Street would be embroiled in the brewing war.

    Outside the tower, Liu Shaoge had a strange gaze as he watched Puyu happily walk away. He had purposefully opposed Lu Yin after receiving Lu Yin¡¯s instructions to do so, all in order to help Lu Yin handle Puyu, but what was he looking to achieve through all these maneuvers? Lin Shaoge couldn¡¯t understand what Lu Yin was thinking. He turned around to look at the tower and coincidentally met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. The two youths nced at each other for a moment, and then, both turned to look at Puyu; he wouldn¡¯t stay happy for long.

    Shuta was extremely important to Puyu since it could help salvage his reputation with Darkstar Gorge. That same night, Darkstar Gorge immediately contacted the Nine Allied Nations, informing them that Shuta had be Darkstar Gorge¡¯s designated training ground.

    This announcement caused the Nine Allied Nations to erupt with fury.

    ¡°We have fought with the Woori Weave over Shuta for so many years, and now, Darkstar Gorge is trying to rely on the Outerverse Youth Council to force us to give up Shuta? Impossible!¡±

    ¡°The Outerverse Youth Council only has the authority to oversee the younger generation. They can¡¯t interfere in territorial disputes. How dare they ask us to give up Shuta!¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t agree. Darkstar Gorge is clearly trying to steal Shuta away from us.¡±

    ¡­

    The Nine Allied Nations¡¯s reaction was something that Darkstar Gorge expected. Puyu knew that a mere order from the Outerverse Youth Council wasn¡¯t enough for him to gain control of Shuta; however. the Nine Allied Nations were right as well. The Outerverse Youth Council didn¡¯t have the authority to determine the training grounds of each major force, and in the past, he had only gotten Bushtree by relying on Darkstar Gorge¡¯s military power.

    He knew that this was the only way to gain Shuta, but then, Puyu suddenly thought of something. Was Lu Yin deliberately trying to make him fight for Shuta so that he could report him to the Ten Arbiters?

    The possibility frightened Puyu, so he immediately changed hismand and used Lu Yin¡¯s name to issue the order that dered Shuta as a training ground for Darkstar Gorge.

    Lu Yin was the person in charge of the Woori Weave, and Shuta was a part of the Woori Weave, so nothing could go wrong if he issued the order in Lu Yin¡¯s name.

    Puyu smirked as he looked at the objection video that had been sent by the Nine Allied Nations. Keep objecting, whatever you do will only affect Lu Yin and not cause any problems for me.

    On the other hand, Barley was very anxious and immediately went to look for Lu Yin to report the incident. ¡°Representative Lu, we have to stop this issue from blowing up! We don¡¯t have the right to involve ourselves in territorial disputes! This will be a huge problem if word of it gets out!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Puyu wasn¡¯t stupid and had pushed all of the me onto Lu Yin. ¡°Barley, publicize my suggestion that Shuta should be made into a public training ground. This is being done in hopes that other parties will simrly provide other training grounds for the younger generation to enhance the power of the Human Domain¡¯s youths and contribute to developing the strength of our future generations.¡±

    Barley blinked in confusion. ¡°Suggestion? Encourage? Developing the Human Domain?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is just my suggestion. I never specified that Shuta must be the training ground for Darkstar Gorge. However, I won¡¯t reject them if Darkstar Gorge wishes to train there. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±

    Barley thought about Lu Yin¡¯s response for a moment and then promptly understood Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. As long as Lu Yin didn¡¯t confirm anything, no one would be able to me Lu Yin for this matter. At most, people wouldin about him, but the Council wouldn¡¯t be able to punish him. After all, he was just giving a suggestion for the greater good of humanity.

    After Barley left, Lu Yin immediately contacted Huo Qingshan and ordered him to open up some of the more renowned training grounds in the Great Yu Empire to all members of the younger generation in Frostwave Weave.

    He had to lead by example so that no one would question his reasons for issuing such an order. This way, people would at most think that Lu Yin was being inconsiderate.

    Puyu was ced in a different situation altogether. Darkstar Gorge had already started threatening the Nine Allied Nations, so they couldn¡¯t back down anymore. If they did, they would be humiliated. However, Lu Yin had never nned to use this incident to deal with Puyu; he only wanted someone else to share the Shenwu Continent¡¯s burden.

    Puyu soon learned of Lu Yin¡¯s orders, and he didn¡¯t get angry about the matter. His only goal had been to verify that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t trying to trick him. Besides, Lu Yin was the one being cursed by everyone, so the only thing left for Puyu to do was take over Shuta and make it the new training grounds of Darkstar Gorge, recing Bushtree.

    Lu Yin''s orders were soon publicized. Although the Outerverse Youth Council wasn¡¯t a threat to the stronger Weaves, the Council of the Ten Arbiters that was supporting them was too powerful. This caused any order given by a representative or councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council to always create a hugemotion. However, this time, Lu Yin¡¯s orders didn¡¯t just create a stir¡ªthey created mass outrage. This was especially true of the Nine Allied Nations. At the moment, they hated Lu Yin to the core.

    ¡°How could that bastard take Shuta away from us? Encourage? Encourage his head! Why didn¡¯t he make Saint Dios a training ground instead?¡±

    ¡°This is too much! Let¡¯s lodge aint to the Ten Arbiters Council in the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point. He¡¯s only suggesting and encouraging. There¡¯s no use trying to lodge aint against him.¡±

    ¡°The Great Yu Empire has already given up a fews to be used as public training grounds. Lu Yin is such a bastard. Who the hell would go to train in the Great Yu Empire? That bastard!¡±

    ¡­

    The Nine Allied Nations was filled with people throwing insults at Lu Yin. However, none of their insults meant anything to Lu Yin. He didn¡¯t care about the Nine Allied Nations, or even the rest of the Darkmist Weave. The Weave was the enemy of the Shenwu Continent, and since he was nning to take control of the Shenwu Continent in the future, he would eventually be enemies with them anyways, It didn¡¯t matter if they hated him now.

    Furthermore, his new identity as a part of Leon''s Armada gave Lu Yin a huge boost in morale. Although the Pirate King, Highsage Leon, was erratic, and his behavior caused him to have even more enemies, it was undeniable that he was an extremely strong backer. This gave Lu Yin the confidence to oppose even Nightking Zhenwu without worrying about the Daynight n. This was the power that Highsage Leon¡¯s name held.

    Just like what Highsage Leon had said, ¡°Do what you want. I¡¯ve got your back.¡±

    Nevertheless, the Nine Allied Nations were soon too busy to continue insulting Lu Yin as Darkstar Gorge had already sent their troops to Shuta as preparatory scouts. This move caused the Nine Allied Nations to be outraged, and they definitely couldn¡¯t allow such actions to ur. Still, they were quite clear about Darkstar Gorge¡¯s power. They were a major force with powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 200,000, which was something that the Nine Allied Nations didn¡¯t have.

    In the end, they could only contact the other forces that they were allied with, such as Mafioso and Battle Street, and attempt to oppose Darkstar Gorge together. Of course, they would have to pay a heavy price for such an alliance.

 Chapter 368: Disparity

    <h4>Chapter 368: Disparity</h4>

    It could only be said that the value of prium was too great. The Nine Allied Nations was supported by a considerable amount of prium production, and Shuta happened to produce the most prium in the Darkmist Weave. Without Shuta, the Nine Allied Nations¡¯ economy would copse, which would lead to unimaginable oues.

    Lu Yin released a breath as he watched the news on his screen. Darkstar Gorge was now entangled with all the powers connected to the Nine Allied Nations, which would temporarily lessen the danger that the Shenwu Continent was facing, which would buy him some time.

    Opposite Lu Yin, Barley looked at the instigator of the current fiasco. Although nobody else knew this, Barley was fully aware that Lu Yin was the mastermind behind everything. However, he could not think of a single reason why Lu Yin would want to start a war between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave. Had everything been done just to deal with Puyu? That was impossible, as the two sides would not go all out for just a single Shuta. They would merely go through the motions, and that wouldn¡¯t be enough to deal with Puyu. Barley just could not fathom Lu Yin¡¯s motives.

    Whether one considered Darkstar Gorge or the powers of the Darkmist Weave, a war could not be easily triggered. In other words, both sides were just wasting time at the present.

    In the eyes of the powers rted to the Nine Allied Nations, Lu Yin was an obnoxious brat who had set Darkstar Gorge up to confront them, only to then turn around and make a stand for righteousness on humanity¡¯s behalf. Thisst bit left them unable to vent their bitter suffering, which in turn caused them to be sullen.

    ¡°You want to know my strength?¡± Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin in astonishment.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°I really want to know the disparity between me and the top twenty in the Top Hundred Rankings.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Top twenty? I¡¯ll be higher than that soon.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°You¡¯ve already learned it?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy, but I¡¯m confident that it won¡¯t take me much more time.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! A secret technique can¡¯t be learned that easily! Otherwise, those terrifying powers with secret techniques would have been mass-producing experts since a long time ago!¡± The Ghost Monkey quickly refuted Wendy¡¯s im.

    Lu Yin also felt that it should be impossible. After all, he had never heard of anyone who had possessed the secret technique even now. If such a thing was so easily learned, then such techniques would have spread out a long time ago. However, this was Wendy Yushan. She had originally just been an insignificant being from a fringe weave in the Outerverse, but by relying on her innate gift, she had managed to force her way into the top twenty of the Top Hundred Rankings. More importantly, she was Undying Yushan¡¯s daughter and a descendant of the Court of Seven Names¡¯ Yu family, so it might actually be possible for her to learn the Yu Secret Art rtively quickly.

    Lu Yin studied Wendy Yushan. ¡°Some advice if I may. Even after you learn it, you shouldn¡¯t overly unt it. You won¡¯t be able to withstand the bacsh. Despite the Great Yu Empire¡¯s obvious power, it only managed to rule over thirteen fments. Remember His Majesty¡¯s fate in the Starfall Sea all those years ago.¡±

    Wendy Yushan replied, ¡°I know.¡±

    She then raised her hand while holding her sheathed longsword. ¡°You can feel it with just one sword.¡±

    Lu Yin grew serious, took a deep breath, and adjusted his condition. His muscles swelled, and his right hand pulsed like a heart. The air rippled as it settled into multipleyers, and even the void started to warp.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes narrowed at this sight as she silently marveled to herself. It was no wonder how he had ovee thebined attack of Bazeer and Yan Feng; this power could even rival the tail-end of the Top Hundred Rankings! Even she had not been this powerful when she was at Lu Yin¡¯s age. This was the power of a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate.

    ¡°You can attack first,¡± Wendy Yushan told him.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and used sh to appear beside her. A dark-gold radiance flickered around his body as he released his five-lined battle force without any hesitation. He raised a palm and then unleashed a Thirty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm. Wendy Yushan did not move as Lu Yin¡¯s palm approached her, but he nheless kept a close eye on her as nine stars revolved around his body and his domain waspletely released. He wanted to experience the disparity between Wendy Yushan and himself in his peak state.

    The palm continued to approach Wendy, growing closer and closer with each passing moment. Right when Lu Yin was about to hesitate and consider stopping his attack, he heard a whooshing noise. An endless amount of sword qi appeared before him that rushed through the void and turned into a white sword light that sliced through his domain, causing his dark-gold, five-lined battle force to copse. One sword had split apart his Oveying Stacks, and the tip was suddenly at Lu Yin¡¯s neck, exactly the same as a couple of days before.

    Lu Yin was still in his attacking posture, but his attack had been forcibly stopped due to an instinctive response to the crisis. He had a feeling that, as soon as he acted, his hand would be gone. That was how extreme the danger that was currently emanating from Wendy Yushan felt.

    The two exchanged nces, and the shock in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes slowly dissipated. He grimaced. ¡°Just one sword. I can¡¯t even take one sword from you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan put her de away and gracefully stood before Lu Yin. ¡°The Myriad Swords Peak¡¯s sword technique is very simple: all the swordsbine into one. What I just disyed was Ten Thousand Swords as One, which simplifies aplex path to return to a natural state.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand her exnation.

    Wendy Yushan spoke again. ¡°Our Myriad Swords Peak does not have as many sword techniques as the Sword Sect since we only seek one path: a single sword. To face any opponent, only one sword is required. If that one sword is defeated, then we¡¯re defeated as well. If that one sword wins, then we win. It¡¯s that simple.¡±

    ¡°Was that one sword your strongest attack?¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at him, and a crafty glint passed through her eyes. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    He had always assumed that Wendy Yushan was an ice princess, and he had yet to see any sign of emotion in her eyes besides disdain. He was momentarily stunned, since he seemed to see a fairy-like charm and beauty in her eyes at this moment.

    Wendy Yushan adjusted her expression and calmed down again.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, and thought of the sword that he had just seen. Could that attack really have been her strongest?

    Impossible. She ranked within the top twenty of the Top Hundred Rankings. Even a fool would not believe that someone could possibly reach such a level withoutprehending either a domain or battle force. And yet, that sword truly had neither. Right, there was still the matter of an innate gift. Lu Yin didn¡¯t even know if this woman had one. That sword only represented Myriad Swords Peak, not Wendy Yushan at full force.

    The Top Hundred Rankings became more terrifying the further one climbed. At this point in time, Lu Yin could consider himself as having experienced the strength of someone at the top of the list, but he had been defeated by a single sword. The crux of the matter was that he still did not know the disparity between himself and Wendy. His thinking had been too naive, believing that he could perceive the difference between them if he simply dueled her.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°Ever since the Top Hundred Rankings were created, there have been very few tail-end powerhouses who were able to rise to the top fifty purely through training longer. This is because every single person in the higher ranks is horrifyingly strong, so it¡¯s not something that time canpensate for unless one awakens an innate gift or obtains a tyrannical technique. However, those sorts of opportunities are not easily encountered.¡±

    Lu Yin probingly asked, ¡°How high do you think I¡¯ll be able to climb in the Top Hundred Rankings after I be an Explorer?¡±

    ¡°Top fifty to start, and perhaps top thirty after a year or so. You¡¯ll eventually end up within the top ten,¡± Wendy Yushan answered without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re that confident in me?¡±

    ¡°You are a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate. The Ten Arbiters stand far above the Top Hundred Rankings, so what I¡¯ve said is already a conservative estimate. The changes that everyone experiences after breaking through to the Explorer realm is different. If you maintain your current talent for cultivating, then one day, you¡¯ll surpass the Top Hundred Rankings.¡±

    Surpassing the Top Hundred Rankings... Just that thought was alluring in and of itself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, congrattions! Your fianc¨¦e has finally acknowledged you!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    However, he then quickly changed topics. ¡°But if even your fianc¨¦e, who¡¯s such a powerful woman, thinks that you have the potential to surpass the Top Hundred Rankings, then others such as the Astral Beast Domain will definitely have simr thoughts. Maybe our previous estimation of your position on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List is a little too low. It¡¯s possible that you¡¯re ranked higher than what we initially thought.¡±

    These words caused Lu Yin¡¯s good mood to be dashed to bits. He instantly screened the monkey off before asking Wendy, ¡°Is the Ross Empire very powerful?¡±

    Wendy Yushan silently nodded before turning to look outside. ¡°After all, it is one of the three great powers of the zing Mist Flowzone, and they definitely have a powerhouse with a power level of over 200,000. You¡¯re right, I was too impulsive.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re actually admitting that?¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned. Yes, she had admitted it, but why? There was no way she would have admitted such a thing just a few days ago, and no one was qualified to demand an answer from her. So why had she just admitted such a thing to this man? What was so special about him?

    The two did not get bogged down in this question, and Wendy soon returned to her seclusion to practice the secret technique. Lu Yin, meanwhile, focused on the dispute between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave, prepared to exacerbate the situation at any opportune moment.

    In another part of the Outerverse, at the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star¡¯s space station, Schutz had finally returned to the empire.

    He stared at Zenyu Star and the three mainds above him as he took a deep breath. He had finally returned, which caused him to feel vaguely homesick. Although he had not been gone for that long, the vast distance made it feel like time had dragged on endlessly, giving him the misconception that he had been gone for a long time.

    Schultz wondered how Yu Academy was doing at the moment. When the second prince, Duke Yushan, had betrayed the empire, he had taken a portion of Yu Academy¡¯s elites away with him. Were his friends and rivals from the past still around?

    As he walked out of the space station and prepared to visit home, a sharp gale swept out across the area. Someone was about tounch a sneak attack on him, and his eyes twitched as he dodged to the side. Schultz then turned around to look behind him, only to see another lightning arrow being shot at him.

    He knew who it was as soon as he saw the lightning arrow, and a slight smile appeared on his face. He raised a hand and lightly tapped forward, shattering the arrow into multiple pieces as it fell to the ground.

    ¡°Gerbach, get out here!¡± Schutz yelled out loudly.

    ¡°Hahaha, I knew that you would not forget your opponent!¡± Gerbach stepped out from a corner as Logan, Huo Zhong, and Tianming all appeared behind him. The former five Hall Masters of Yu Academy had all gathered here.

    Schutz smiled while looking at them. ¡°Judging from your looks, it seems like you guys want a fight?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t wait!¡± Huo Zhong barked even as he raised a hand, immediately releasing a Skybeast w. On the other side, Logan and Tianming did not act politely, since even when he was at Yu Academy, Schutz had been the strongest among them. Now, he was someone who had even studied at the Astral Combat Academy, so none of them believed that they would be able to deal with him on their own, even if they had all be Limiteers.

    Schutz smiled, as he missed this sort of feeling. During his time in the Great Yu Empire, he had been extremely inexperienced and had not even encountered a domain or battle force. His control of star energy had only been at the most primitive level, which he was reminded of as he watched Gerbach retrieve a flickering lightning fruit. As expected, these old friends of his still weren¡¯t able to imitate natural phenomena with their star energy. They were just too weak, and if he had not walked out back then, then he would have been just like them today.

    It was right for the Fifth Princess to look down on them. Schutz had only truly understood her disdain for the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire after he entered the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°Too weak.¡± Schutz raised a hand and easily crushed the Skybeast w. Next, he caught Huo Zhong and tossed him aside while simultaneously using a single palm to counter Tianming. Although Lu Yin had already helped Tianming upgrade his Oveying Stacks to Five Stacks, it was still instantly disintegrated by Schutz''s attack. Next, Logan was sent flying in a simr manner by Schutz¡¯s kick, and the freshly returned Yu Academy student dodged a lightning arrow as he whirled around to face Gerbach.

    Schultz raised his hand as a sh of lightning twinkled past his fingers and took on the form of a bow. He then used star energy to manifest a lightning arrow before loosing it. It grazed past Gerbach¡¯s cheek and left behind a thin trail of blood.

    In an instant, the four Hall Masters of Yu Academy, who had been able to duel evenly with Schutz in the past, had all been defeated beyond a sliver of doubt.

 Chapter 369: Battle At Northgate Platform

    <h4>Chapter 369: Battle At Northgate tform</h4>

    Gerbach and the others were awestruck. While they had already expected to lose, they were shocked that they had been so thoroughly and effortlessly crushed by Schutz.

    They were the best of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation. Losing to Lu Yin was an entirely different scenario since they had never really treated Lu Yin as one of their own, but being defeated by Schutz this easily made all of them feel disappointed.

    Even further away, there were other elites of Yu Academy watching on, including Geine, Jeraldine, as well as the recent arrivals from Earth: Zhao Yu, Huan Sha, Fu Xiaoshu, Zhen Tong, Song Shi, and many others. They had personally just witnessed Schutz crushing the Hall Masters and were just as startled as the other students. This was the power of someone who had once been hailed as the strongest of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s younger generation.

    ¡°This is the power of a student from the Astral Combat Academy. The difference is too extreme.¡± Tianming was apparently more casual about their loss and was the first to speak up, although his tone still betrayed his bitterness at their defeat.

    Schutz replied, ¡°There¡¯s a huge difference between the Innerverse and Outerverse in terms of star energy control, battle experience, battle techniques, and even the power that various individuals have. I¡¯m only considered average within the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Gerbach and the others¡¯ eyes went wide. ¡°You¡¯re only average there?!¡±

    Schutz nodded as he looked over all the gathered students. After seeing Geine and Jeraldine, he spoke a bit louder. ¡°The reason why I¡¯m back is because I promised Lu Yin to handle matters in Yu Academy and to increase the strength of the empire¡¯s younger generation. I¡¯ll also choose some of the best students from here to go to Astral-10 to be mentored.¡±

    Everyone was delighted. The Astral Combat Academy was a dream for numerous people in the Outerverse. After seeing what Schutz was capable of, many people became even more excited at the possibility of joining the academy.

    ¡°How strong is the most powerful person in the Astral Combat Academy?¡± somebody asked.

    Right after the question was asked, quite a few people looked at the speaker like he was a moron. That person had a confused expression as they asked, ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡±

    Song Shi snickered. ¡°The most powerful person is naturally the Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin. What, did you not watch the Tournament of the Strongest?¡±

    The person was astounded. ¡°The Tournament of the Strongest? No, I only watched the Astral Combat Tournament.¡±

    Huo Zhong spoke up, saying, ¡°Not everyone had the opportunity to watch the Tournament of the Strongest. The Astral Combat Tournament was publicly broadcast to the entire universe to watch while the other tournament was only broadcast in selected regions. Earth was special since it¡¯s the Royal Regent¡¯s birthce, which is why you were able to watch it.¡±

    Song Shi and the rest looked incredibly proud. Exactly! The Royal Regent had been born on Earth, so they had managed to see the power of the strongest student in the Astral Combat Academy even though they actually couldn¡¯t understand his strength.

    Schutz had a cold look in his eyes as he said, ¡°Seeing it one thing but understanding it is an entirely different matter. Even Explorers and above can¡¯tprehend how powerful the Royal Regent is, much less someone like you. What you need to do right now is increase your strength as much as possible so that you can enter Astral-10. When the timees, you can even ask the Royal Regent to take you into the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°The Innerverse? Isn¡¯t Astral-10 in the Frostwave Weave?¡± Gerbach asked.

    Schutz shook his head. ¡°The Royal Regent was the champion of the tournament, which means that Astral-10 is now ranked above the other academies. It will officially reenter the Innerverse.¡±

    Everyone went quiet. Just the influence of the Royal Regent, Lu Yin, alone was enough to allow Astral-10 to reenter the Innerverse. He truly was an existence beyond theirprehension.

    A few dayster, Darkstar Gorge and the Nine Allied Nations officially made contact. It was no surprise to Lu Yin that, while the two forces tried to restrain themselves, they both still deployed a substantial amount of their forces. The Nine Allied Nations were fearful of that powerful being whose power level was over 200,000 from Darkstar Gorge while Darkstar Gorge also feared the powerhouse from the Darkmist Weave.

    However, Darkstar Gorge had grown ustomed to being the strongest, so they felt like they had the right to act as they wished. In their minds, their opponents wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long, and they would definitely gain control of Shuta in the end. Puyu would also make a move as well, since this matter affected his reputation.

    Lu Yin observed the situation for a few days until he confirmed that the war was irreversible. The only way for the conflict to be resolved at this point was for one of the two sides to give up on Shuta. Otherwise, the conflict would continue on for a long time. He wondered if he should add some more fuel to the fire, but after thinking things through, he decided not to. He could not take actions that were too conspicuous, or else someone might discover that he was the one responsible for the entire situation.

    What he needed to focus on at this point was the Northline Flowzone.

    A few days ago, the Ten Arbiters Council had ordered him to arbitrate a contest at Northline Gate.

    Northline Gate was andmark in the Northline Flowzone. The Northline Flowzone held seventeen families, which had banded together due to a rule that had been passed down for generations: whichever family won the contest at Northline Gate would rule the flowzone. and the other families would not be allowed to voice any objections. Their solid unity had helped them develop to where even the Eight Great Flowzones did not dare to underestimate the Northline Flowzone.

    Back when the Northline Flowzone had first been assigned to Lu Yin, Feng Shang had reacted very strangely. This was because Northline Flowzone was very united against outsiders, so it would be difficult for Lu Yin to intervene.

    While looking over information pertaining to the Northline Flowzone, Lu Yin pondered over this matter.

    There wasn¡¯t much to his orders. All he had to do was supervise a battle. Then what? The Ten Arbiters were all trying to gain more territory. Since the Northline Flowzone had been assigned to Lu Yin, he would lose respect and opportunities to advance if he wasn¡¯t able to intervene in matters even within his assigned territory.

    In addition, the Northline Flowzone was situated between the zing Mist and Beast Tamers Flowzone. Representatives from the powerful organizations of these two flowzones would definitely spectate thepetition as well. Since Lu Yin did not have a good rtionship with any of the organizations from the zing Mist Flowzone, he could not afford to have anything go wrong during the event. At the very least, he could not bring shame to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ name.

    Lu Yin stared at the ceiling with a troubled expression. The region¡¯s unity against outsiders was the biggest issue on his mind.

    At that moment, he received a video call from Old Cai from Astral-10.

    Lu Yin was rather surprised. He had not been doing much for Astral-10 recently, and the academy hadn¡¯t assigned him any missions either, so why was the mentor suddenly contacting him?

    ¡°How¡¯ve you been doing, kid? I heard that you¡¯ve done some pretty incredible things recently.¡± Old Cai looked the same, and his smile stretched from ear to ear, decorated by his pointy moustache as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°Thank you for looking after me. May I know what it is you need from me?¡±

    Old Caiughed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Do you still remember what the Astral Combat Tournament was for?¡±

    The gears in Lu Yin¡¯s mind turned, and his expression brightened. He knew what was going on now.

    Old Cai frowned. ¡°That look in your eyes doesn¡¯t seem quite right.¡±

    Lu Yin enthusiastically looked up at Old Cai. ¡°The Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s purpose is to decide the rankings of the various academies. Since I ced first, does that mean that Astral-10 is now Astral-1?¡±

    Old Cai burst intoughter. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s technically the case. However, Astral-10 has been weak for such a long time that our faculty members, students, and resources can¡¯tpare to Astral-1¡¯s. It¡¯s pointless for us to be Astral-1, so we decided against it. However, Astral-10 can at least return to the Innerverse now, and it¡¯s all thanks to you, kid.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°It¡¯s great that we can return to the Innerverse. By the way, Old Cai, there¡¯s something that I¡¯d like to ask of you.¡±

    Old Cai narrowed his eyes as he looked Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m only telling you this because you have the right to know. It doesn¡¯t mean that you have the right to decide what happens to Astral-10. Think carefully about the next words you¡¯re going to say.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated and then bowed respectfully. ¡°I¡¯m aware of that. What I would like to request isn¡¯t anything too difficult. I¡¯m just hoping that Astral-10 can stay in the Northline Flowzone for a period of time after entering the Innerverse and that it can wait until the event at Northline Gate finishes before continuing on.¡±

    Old Cai was surprised. ¡°Is that starting already?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Old Cai stroked his moustache and grinned. ¡°Got it. You¡¯re trying to use your connections to intimidate them, eh? What, are you afraid that the organizations of the zing Region and the Ross Empire will make things difficult for you?¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°Not really. I represent the Ten Arbiters Council, so they won¡¯t dare to go overboard. Besides, I¡¯m also a part of the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? In that case, you can just go by yourself. Later.¡± Old Cai was obviously annoyed at Lu Yin¡¯s reply.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, ¡°Of course, my most important identity is being a student of Astral-10 and being your disciple. Nobody would dare disregard the reputation of Astral-10, much less offend you, sir.¡±

    Old Cai obviously rxed greatly after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s ttery. He thought it over and then said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do it. We¡¯ll go to the Northline Flowzone first, and after the battle is over, we¡¯ll leave.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very much, sir!¡± Lu Yin was delighted. With Astral-10 nearby, he would feel much more reassured. None of the mentors were someone to be trifled with. Lu Yin had seen for himself how powerful Hunters were, so he was certain that Astral-10¡¯s mentors weren¡¯t mere Hunters but rather Enlighters!

    He had never forgotten the rumor that Astral-10 was a prison. He had already guessed that the person being imprisoned was the crazy director, which meant that the mentors had to be incredibly powerful. Those people from the zing Region definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to cause trouble for Lu Yin with Astral-10 right nearby.

    Sometimes, a person¡¯s only purpose in life was to maintain a good reputation, and Lu Yin was afraid that some of the older experts from those organizations would do their best to embarrass him. If that happened, then the Ten Arbiters would be annoyed with him as well and would start to doubt his abilities. Hence, he did not want anything to go wrong in any way for this event.

    ¡°You achieved something incredible for Astral-10. We discussed amongst ourselves and were nning to give you a reward, but forget it. Astral-10 going to the Nortne Flowzone should be enough of a reward in and of itself for you.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless. He¡¯s so petty. ¡°The Rainmaster already helped me simte Thirty Stacks, so that¡¯s already enough for me. Thank you so much for your help.¡±

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re a smooth talker, kid. You¡¯ve got things wrong, though. As long as you manage to get to Nortnd Flowzone safely, those people will ensure your safety, and nobody willy their hand on you. Not even the zing Region will do anything. Know why?¡± Old Cai snickered as he looked at Lu Yin, as if he had seeded in some huge scheme.

    Lu Yin was confused.

    Old Cai continued on in a leisurely manner, saying, ¡°Within the Outerverse, it¡¯s very rare toe across an Enlighter. However, there are still Enlighters in the bigger flowzones within the Innerverse, and it¡¯s no different for the Nortne Flowzone. It has seventeen families, and among them, there are three Enlighters with power levels of over 200,000. They are Elder Northgate from the Northgate family, Granny Chan from the Lily family, and Tie Sa from the Barthe Jacques family. Since you represent the Ten Arbiters Council, those people will definitely not just watch on as you get bullied. Nobody will try anything under the watchful eye of those three Enlighters, so your worries are uncalled for.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Even then, just having the academy be in the Northline Flowzone will boost my confidence, so I don¡¯t regret making this request.¡±

    Old Cai chuckled, nodded, and then hung up.

    With Astral-10 close by, Lu Yin would have nothing to worry about. If anything huge did crop up, he also had Leon''s Armada backing him even if Astral-10 couldn¡¯t handle things. Highsage Leon led a great power, and he even had the guts to go up against the Daynight n.

    With such things in mind, Lu Yin realized that his connections were actually pretty solid.

    The battle at Northgate tform was an internal matter for the Northgate Flowzone, so it did not have a huge effect on the surrounding flowzones.

 Chapter 370: Huge Ruckus

    <h4>Chapter 370: Huge Ruckus</h4>

    Within the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s First Grade Hall, a middle-aged man opened his eyes, and a crushing force that caused the void to copse appeared. ¡°Thepetition in the Northgate tform is about to begin. This time, I will again be the one representing the Beast Tamers as a witness. I wonder if I¡¯ll be able to challenge those three with my current abilities.¡±

    Within the zing Mist Flowzone, the space was filled with mes. The heat there had clearly reached extreme levels, but it had no effect whatsoever on the void. This was the zing Region.

    ¡°Poison me, you¡¯ll be the one to spectate thepetition at Northgate tform as a representative of the zing Region.¡± An aged voice called out. It was impossible to tell how close or far away the person speaking was, and it was also impossible to tell if the voice even came from a real person at all. It almost felt like a transmission that had crossed over from ancient times.

    In a corner of the zing Region, the void distorted, and a man walked out, surrounded by turquoise mes. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    As the mes disappeared, Poison me¡¯s true appearance was slowly revealed. He was a middle-aged man with a malicious face. As he gazed deep into space, he asked, ¡°Is thepetition at Northgate tform about to start again?¡±

    After speaking, he took a step and left zing Region to next appear atop a stone tform that was floating in space. There was a whole row of people kneeling there, and in front of the group was Jared.

    ¡°I was unable to achieve good results in the Astral Combat Tournament. I¡¯ve let you down, master,¡± Jared said mournfully while he quivered.

    Poison me nced at him coldly. ¡°Where¡¯s the Karmic me?¡±

    Jared gritted his teeth, and a venomous glint appeared in his eyes as he answered, ¡°Arikar returned, so the sect gave him the Karmic me. If not for that, I wouldn¡¯t have been defeated so easily.¡±

    Poison me¡¯s gaze went cold. ¡°It seems that I¡¯ve been gone for too long. Some people have clearly forgotten how terrifying I can be.¡±

    Jared did not dare speak and only ducked his head, revealing fear in his eyes.

    ¡°When I return from the Northline Flowzone, you¡¯ll tell me who it was that gave the Karmic me away,¡± Poison me casually ordered.

    Jared¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Are you going to the Northline Flowzone? Is it for thepetition at Northgate tform?¡±

    Poison me looked at Jared curiously.

    Jared sucked in a breath and hastily exined, ¡°I have an enemy from the Astral Combat Academy called Lu Yin. He participated in the Astral Combat Tournament. Since then, he¡¯s joined the Council of Astral Academy and was put in charge of Northline Flowzone. He¡¯ll probably attend thepetition, and I-¡± But before he could finish speaking, Jared started coughing up blood due to the pressure that Poison me was giving off.

    The terrifying pressure forced Jared¡¯s entire body to the ground as he coughed out more blood.

    ¡°You want your master to interfere in your matter with someone of your generation?¡± Poison me icily questioned Jared. As the older man spoke, the mes in the area miraculously froze and took on a green shade.

    Jared¡¯s fear became more apparent as he trembled while staring at Poison me.

    A long whileter, Poison me let his pressure abate, releasing Jared before moving away.

    In another part of the zing Mist Flowzone, in the region controlled by the Ross Empire, a gigantic hawk flew through the vastness of space, passing bys and numerous bits of technology as it headed deeper into the universe.

    ¡°It¡¯s Duke ckhawk! Duke ckhawk seems to be heading towards the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°There are rumors that the next round of the Northline Flowzone¡¯spetition at Northgate tform is about to begin. Duke ckhawk must be attending as the Ross Empire¡¯s representative this time.¡±

    ¡°So they managed to get him to go? He¡¯s a powerhouse whose power level has reached nearly 200,000 units, and his innate gift, Glorious Hawk, shocked the universe when he first revealed it. He¡¯s one of the top figures within the Ross Empire, and this is just a tinypetition at Northgate tform. Did they really need to send him?¡±

    ¡°Who knows.¡±

    ¡­

    The Northgate tform, located within the Northgate Flowzone, wasn¡¯t just some tiny stone tform. On the contrary, it covered a huge area, and even though it was just a stone tform, it could hold numerous people. Shangwu Academy had also been built at this site.

    Shangwu Academy had been built by the seventeen families as a ce for them to nurture the younger generation of their flowzone. Thispetition at Northgate tform was primarily a means for the families to disy their contributions to the flowzone over the past few years, as well as to announce the direction that the Northline Flowzone would take in the future. The gathering was also used to allow the young generation topete against each other, as well as show off the most powerful people from each of the families.

    Only by rising above the others and fulfilling all four parts of thepetition would a family be able to gain control of Northgate tform.

    While the gathering was formally known as apetition between the seventeen families, merely three families were actually qualified topete for control, since only three families had powerhouses with power levels that exceeded 200,000 units. They were the Northgate family, Lily family, and Barthe Jacques family.

    In the past instances of the Northgate tformpetition, the victor had almost always been from one of the three families.

    Shangwu Academy had been built on the Northgate tform, and next to it were wide,mercial streets.

    Northgate tform was a stone tform with a strong foundation. Even those who were able to move in the universe without a spacecraft would have difficulty damaging this tform. There was no flowing water, mountains, or any seas on this tform, so it wasn¡¯t suitable for people to live on it. All of these resources needed to constantly be transported in from the outside world, and these items were all avable for purchase on themercial streets located on either side of Shangwu Academy.

    Currently, within one of the restaurants along amercial street, there were about a dozen young students engaged in heated discussion. The restaurant served authentic, traditional food, but it had a modern screen, and the decor was a fusion of some sort between modern and ancient styles.

    ¡°My mentor said that the Northgate Family will definitely win this time. Their family heir, Northgate Lie, is an Explorer who has a power level of over 30,000 and is ranked ny third on the Top Hundred Rankings. Nobody from the younger generation is a match for him!¡±

    ¡°Thepetition for the younger generation is just one part of thepetition. You also have to look at the family¡¯s contributions to the Northline Flowzone. No family can match the Barthe Jacques family in this area. They¡¯re a financial powerhouse even outside of the Northline Flowzone, and they have extensive dealings with the Outerverse. Even the four financial powerhouses of the Outerverse can¡¯t im to be superior to them. A huge portion of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s economy is supported entirely by the Barthe Jacques family.¡±

    ¡°But the Barthe Jacques family is amercial family that doesn¡¯t have much strength on their own. If they hadn¡¯t hired the Scarlet Mercenaries, then they wouldn¡¯t even have an Enlighter within their ranks.¡±

    ¡°So what? Scarlet Mercenary¡¯s leader, Tie Sa, has been working for the Barthe Jacques family for so many years that the mercenaries are practically a part of the family.¡±

    ¡°I still think that the Northgate family has the highest chance of winning. Many years ago, the Northgate n was an existence that even the Daynight n feared.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking about the past. You need to pay attention to the present.¡±

    ¡°The Lily family isn¡¯t doing too badly either.¡±

    ¡°The Lily family? They have a woman in charge, so there¡¯s a tiny possibility that they¡¯ll actually be able to win. Though, Granny Chan is pretty incredible as well. She¡¯s one of the three guardians of the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    ¡­

    In one corner of the restaurant, a man was drinking with an extremely depressed demeanor. As the alcohol hit his system, he overheard the discussion from the nearby table. Irritated, he mmed his own table and yelled, ¡°Shut up! The gathering at Northgate tform isn¡¯t something that people like you can talk about like that!¡±

    The young people nced at the man, froze, and then retorted in a mocking manner. ¡°I was wondering who would speak so arrogantly. So it¡¯s just Ah Fan? What¡¯s wrong? Are you still waiting for your mentor to expel you? I don¡¯t see any reason why you should still be in Shangwu Academy, huh?¡±

    ¡°Ah Fan? One of the top students at Shangwu? That Ah Fan?¡±

    ¡°Top student? Pfft, he¡¯s just a piece of trash who lost the only teleportation stone we had,¡± somebodymented in a condescending tone.

    ¡°Oh, I remember now. I heard that he lost it to Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Our academy spent so much effort getting a teleportation stone, but that piece of trash lost it so easily. And yet, he still has the gall to stay at the academy. How shameless!¡±

    ¡°Pfft. How shameless indeed.¡±

    ¡­

    Ah Fan took a sudden swig of the beer in his hands, stood up, and then flung the mug at the students. As it flew towards them, the cup shattered right before making contact. The students did not expect him to attack so abruptly, and the surprisebined with the vast difference in their strength meant that the students were injured by the cup shards before they could even react. They instantly crumpled to the floor in pain.

    The boss of the restaurant did not dare to say a word, and he merely watched on while hiding in a corner.

    ¡°I lost, I admit it. There¡¯s nothing toin about. Against that person, even the one you call the strongest, Northgate Lie, wouldn¡¯t be able to walk away unscathed. I was just very unlucky,¡± Ah Fan said coldly.

    The students on the floor gritted their teeth, but not one of them dared to refute Ah Fan¡¯s words. He was one of the most powerful students in Shangwu Academy, and even though the academy no longer treated him well, his strength had not diminished at all. In short, they were no match for him.

    ¡°How arrogant.¡± A few young men and women were walking to the upper floor from the restaurant¡¯s entrance, and the person at the very front of the group was holding a fan in his hand while looking incredibly rxed.

    Everyone nced over and were shocked to realize that the neers were from the Northgate and Lily families. Two of the three most powerful families in the Northline Flowzone had made an appearance.

    ¡°I¡¯m really curious to learn just who could be capable of preventing Northgate Lie from leaving a battle unscathed, Ah Fan.¡± The man with a fan in his hand looked at Ah Fan with an arrogant expression.

    Beside him, a beautiful youngdy put on an intrigued expression after hearing the question.

    This young man¡¯s name was Northgate Gang, and he was one of the Northgate family¡¯s sessors, as well as Northgate Lie¡¯s younger brother by blood. He was also studying in Shangwu Academy and was one of the most powerful Limiteers in the academy. He was nearly as powerful as Ah Fan.

    Ah Fan was silent.

    At this moment, the students who had been attacked all stood up, and they were now ring at Ah Fan venomously, eager for a fight.

    More and more students gathered on the upper level of the restaurant to watch the show.

    Northgate Gang snickered and politely told the surrounding students, ¡°Let me introduce someone to you all.¡± As he spoke, he stepped aside and revealed the beautiful young girl standing behind him. ¡°This is Lily Shu''er from the Lily family. She¡¯s the cousin of the family¡¯s heir, Lily Anne, and she just joined Shangwu Academy, so please take care of her.¡±

    The crowd cheered as their attention was captivated by the girl. She was quite young and had an adorable, teasing light in her eyes, giving her a lively demeanor. She looked around the room before looking straight at Ah Fan. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told us who¡¯s so powerful that even Northgate Lie would be hard-pressed to fight him and leave unscathed. He¡¯s a powerhouse who¡¯s on the Top Hundred Rankings, you know.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s attention instantly swiveled back to Ah Fan.

    Northgate Gang looked over. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You can¡¯t tell us who it is? We use aliases in the ported battles, so it¡¯s impossible to know who you¡¯re facing for sure. It¡¯s also impossible to talk during the battles. If you lost, then just ept it and keep training. And yet, here you are, ndering my brother in order to ameliorate your own humiliation. You¡¯re a fellow student of the academy, but even I think that you¡¯re an embarrassment.¡±

    Many of the people around looked at Ah Fan with contempt clearly written across their faces. He¡¯d lost, so that should be the end of the matter. However, he was still iming that the person who he¡¯d lost to was someone that even Northgate Lie would struggle against. Ah Fan¡¯s behavior was nothing short of despicable, and now, someone from the Northgate family had overheard him. He was a huge disgrace to the academy.

    Ah Fan clenched his fists tightly and looked up at Northgate Wang. ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense. The person who defeated me was Astral-10¡¯s Lu Yin.¡±

    The entire restaurant fell silent, and everyone stared at Ah Fan. ¡°Lu Yin.¡± They all had heard of that name before.

    Thus far, Ah Fan had only mentioned this matter to his mentor, which was actually the reason why he hadn¡¯t been punished too harshly and been allowed to remain in the academy. Yet at this moment, to preserve his dignity, he had no choice but to reveal the truth.

 Chapter 371: The Astral Ark

    <h4>Chapter 371: The Astral Ark</h4>

    Everyone knew who Lu Yin was¡ªthe champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. His final battle with Tian Hou had stunned all Shangwu Academy¡¯s students.

    If Ah Fan had actually been defeated by Lu Yin, then no one could me him. There were only probably two or three Limiteers who could withstand a single attack from Lu Yin.

    Northgate Gang smirked. ¡°Why should we believe your words? Fine, even if the person who managed to win the teleportation stone was really Lu Yin, my eldest brother is still an Explorer with a power level of 30,000. He¡¯s also ranked ny third on the Top Hundred Rankings. He¡¯d definitely easily defeat Lu Yin! Don¡¯t overestimate him just because of your own failure! Such a im is nothing but an embarrassment to the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    The people in the restaurant all agreed, as the Top Hundred Rankings was the best indicator of one¡¯s power. Although Lu Yin was powerful, in their eyes, he was still just a Limiteer who could barely challenge an Explorer. However, those in the Top Hundred Rankings were different. Even the person ranked hundredth on the list was someoneparable to a Cruiser.

    These people were unaware of Lu Yin¡¯s recent feat in the Outerverse¡¯s San Dios. He had matched a record set by one of the Ten Arbiters by using Thirty Stacks, and that was enough for him to defeat two elite Explorers at the same time. If they had known about this event, then they wouldn¡¯t have been so confident. Nheless, Ah Fan was also exaggerating; he couldn¡¯t tell who was stronger between Northgate Lie and Lu Yin.

    Lily Shu''er¡¯s eyes glinted with a special light when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s name. She seemed very curious about that person.

    Ah Fan didn¡¯t argue with Northgate Gang any further and left the restaurant. There was no point in saying anything further.

    Northgate Gang didn¡¯t stop him, but when he was about to ask Lily Shu¡¯er to take a seat, he realized that she had disappeared.

    Outside the restaurant, Ah Fan was sullenly walking away when Lily Shu''er caught up to him. ¡°Hey! How did it feel when you were fighting Lu Yin?¡¯

    Ah Fan ignored her.

    Lily Shu''er¡¯s brows creased together, and she jumped forward to block Ah Fan¡¯s path. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking to you.¡±

    Ah Fan reeked of alcohol, and he answered in a clearly irritated tone. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t the academy¡¯s teleportation stone won by Lu Yin? How could you not know? Were you lying about facing him?¡± Lily Shu''er shouted.

    Ah Fan stood there, rooted to the spot, his head hung low, and his eyes filled with memories.

    Lily Shu''er walked over and crouched down. She then looked up to make eye contact with him as she curiously asked, ¡°What? Was it indescribable?¡±

    Ah Fan sighed. ¡°One palm, multiple stacks.¡±

    Lily Shu''er¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°One palm? You lost to one strike?¡±

    Ah Fan nodded and then continued on his way.

    Lily Shu''er anxiously ran after him. ¡°You¡¯re one of the strongest students in Shangwu Academy. My cousin even mentioned you by name when she sent me to the academy, but you¡¯re saying that you couldn¡¯t even withstand one of his palms?¡±

    Ah Fan bitterly replied, ¡°You¡¯re right. I couldn¡¯t even take a single hit. I¡¯m useless.¡± He then continued walking towards Shangwu Academy.

    Lily Shu''er stood there, blinking in shock. ¡°Is he really that powerful? I need to tell my cousin and let her know about this Ten Arbiters candidate.¡± She then ran away with a yful smile.

    Outer space was always dark. By now, Lu Yin had left San Dios and was currently heading towards the Northline Flowzone in the Innerverse.

    The conflict between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave wouldn¡¯t end anytime soon, so Lu Yin had temporarily ced Zhao Ran under Barley¡¯s care. Yue Xianzi was staying behind in San Dios this time.

    Compared to Yue Xianzi, Lu Yin wanted to have more interactions with An Shaohua. Watermoon Vi wasparable to the Frostmoon Sect, but more importantly, Lu Yin had a better feeling about Watermoon Vi than the Frostmoon Sect. However, since An Shaohua had finally managed to leave the Innerverse, he didn¡¯t want to return just yet. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have brought him along.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how could you not bring along a pretty girl?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked cheekily.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Do you want to be blocked off again?¡±

    The monkey instantly fell silent. He knew that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t joking around and that he would really block off his senses. It was actually already quite kind for Lu Yin to warn the Ghost Monkey. Most of the time, he would just screen off the monkey¡¯s senses without any warning. The Ghost Monkey had sadly enough already gotten used to such treatment.

    Lu Yin was using an Aurora spacecraft that belonged to San Dios, and this one wasn¡¯t radiant grade, but a ckhole grade one.

    The ckhole grade Aurora was the dedicated transport vehicle for representatives of the Outerverse Youth Council. The spacecraft was strong enough to take attacks from even a Hunter and was a hundred times faster than a normal spacecraft.

    This was an unbelievable speed that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t have even imagined before this, but now, he was actually experiencing it for himself.

    One normally needed at least seven to eight months to travel from San Dios to the Northline Flowzone if they were using a standard spacecraft, and this estimate didn¡¯t even include any dys due to route changes. But Lu Yin, with this ckhole spacecraft, needed less than three days to arrive.

    This was what it was like, using a ckhole grade Aurora!

    Of course, these three days didn¡¯t include the time spent crossing the Astral River.

    Lu Yin estimated that he would arrive at the Northline Flowzone in less than five days.

    With enough money, the only thing restricting someone was their imagination; with enough money, anything was possible. With this ckhole grade spacecraft, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t need to waste so much time while travelling in future.

    Lu Yin sighed as he relished in the extreme speed of the spacecraft. Perhaps money couldn¡¯t get everything. At least for this spacecraft, not everyone could use it since some people wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the extreme speed.

    Normal Limiteers definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand this speed, and only Explorers and above would normally be capable of handling it.

    One dayter, the spacecraft suddenly stopped in the middle of space. Lu Yin looked into the distance, his eyes filled with memories. The ce he was looking at was the direction where the pirate port had once sat. It was also the ce where he had experienced a transformation after dying.

    That incident had been a watershed point for his mindset. He had realized that one couldn¡¯t remain an ant forever and allow others to determine their fate.

    If he hadn¡¯t gone through what he had after the pirate port, Lu Yin would, at best, beparable to an Area Master of the Astral Combat Academy right now. He would never have reached the standard of an academy student leader, let alone be the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Destiny was something that was truly unpredictable. Three years ago, he had just been amon student, but now, three yearster, he was famed throughout the universe.

    He wondered how much progress his family had made towards investigating that incident from many years ago. Since his family had now returned to Leon¡¯s Armada, the masterminds behind that incident were probably trembling in their boots at this moment.

    Lu Yin was almost at the Astral River, and he arrived soon after.

    When he wasst at the river, he had been traveling on one of the warfront¡¯s warships, and they had used the military¡¯s expressne. This time, he didn¡¯t bother revealing himself since he wanted to enter the Innerverse normally.

    The Astral River Ark was enormous, and there was a constant stream of spacecraft entering the ark through the checkpoints. They then entered the Innerverse and Outerverse via the ark.

    The Ark Envoy was Elder Gu De, and he would continue to hold this position for many more years.

    Secret dealings existed everywhere, and apart from using the standard channels to enter the Innerverse, many people had to pay attention to the attitudes of certain people on the ark in order to enter the Innerverse.

    Back when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s training zones, Gu Er had told him that even Explorers would have to kneel to him if they wanted a chance to enter the Innerverse. Right now, Lu Yin would have a chance to witness that scene for himself.

    Under the gazes of countless people, an Explorer took out his cosmic ring while begging for the opportunity to enter the Innerverse.

    The Innerverse held an irresistible attraction to people from the Outerverse. Many people held the opinion that they could only be a true powerhouse after entering the Innerverse, and this mindset had caused many Explorers to swallow their pride.

    They believed that they would be able to get revenge after bing a powerhouse in the Innerverse. However, the people on the Astral River Ark weren¡¯t worried about such a possibility. After all, there were only a handful of people who would sessfully be a powerhouse after entering the Innerverse. And besides, the people running the ark were quite powerful in their own right.

    Before long, it was Lu Yin¡¯s turn. He was idly looking around in boredom when he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette: Gu Er.

    Although they had only met once before, Lu Yin had a strong impression of Gu Er. When they first met, Explorers had still beenpletely out of Lu Yin¡¯s league, but he had heard stories about Explorers kneeling before Gu Er. That story had left a very strong impression on Lu Yin.

    Furthermore, Gu Er was Elder Gu De¡¯s son.

    Every spacecraft had to undergo an inspection since, apart from paying a certain fee, one had to have a valid reason to enter the Innerverse. The role of the Astral River Envoy was both to care for the ark and prevent too many people from entering the Innerverse. This was an unspoken rule of the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin watched people on the spacecraft in front of him dejectedly leave the line one after another. When he saw Gu Er¡¯s satisfied expression in the distance, Lu Yin smiled; it was finally his turn.

    ¡°Where are you from?¡± a voice asked from his spacecraft¡¯smunication panel.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°The Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to enter. Leave.¡±

    Lu Yin paused. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°No one from the Frostwave Weave can enter today. Come back tomorrow,¡± the voice replied in an irritated tone.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°What¡¯s the reason?¡±

    ¡°No means no.¡±

    At that moment, a voice rang out from the spacecraft behind him. ¡°Brother, this is one of the Astral River Ark¡¯s rules. Every day, they draw lots, and whichever weave is drawn is barred from entering for the day. They then draw lots again the next day. You won¡¯t be able to enter right now, so just leave and try your luck another day.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. How is this allowed?

    ¡°Fine, you seem to know quite a lot, and since you know so much, you don¡¯t have to enter either,¡± the inspector standing next to the track sarcastically informed the person behind Lu Yin.

    ¡°What? Sir, I just wanted to help you, sir, since I saw that you didn¡¯t feel like talking. That¡¯s why I gave him an exnation. Please don¡¯t me me, sir. Please let me in!¡± the person on the spacecraft behind Lu Yin cried out anxiously.

    The inspector smirked. ¡°I really don¡¯t feel like talking today, and since you¡¯re so helpful, you can stay here and exin things to everyone for me. You can head on in after my shift¡¯s over.¡±

    The person was helpless.

    Lu Yin watched this scene unfold with a frosty expression. The people on the ark had horrible attitudes, and they were constantly thinking of new ways to prevent people from the Outerverse from entering the Innerverse.

    ¡°Hey, why are you still here? It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t leave. Just stay there if you want. If you can stay here for a while, then I won¡¯t need to deal with so many idiots,¡± the inspector said haughtily.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Gu Er walked over to the inspector. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The inspector¡¯s attitude instantly became respectful when he turned to Gu Er. ¡°Oh, Young Master is here. Please have a seat, Young Master.¡±

    Gu Erzily sat down and waited for the inspector to serve him some refreshments, acting as if he owned the entire ce.

 Chapter 372: Lu Yinâ€™s Privileges

    <h4>Chapter 372: Lu Yin¡¯s Privileges</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up when he saw Gu Er. ¡°Hey, inspector! Come here.¡±

    When the inspector heard Lu Yin¡¯s voice, he turned towards him angrily. ¡°Shut up and get lost already.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°If you don¡¯te, then get the person next to you toe over.¡±

    The inspector became furious and ran over to his monitor in just a few steps to stare at Lu Yin. He spoke quietly in a threatening manner. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t cause amotion! That¡¯s the Young Master, the son of an official. If you offend him, then you can forget about getting into the Innerverse for the rest of your life!¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re toote. I already offended him a long time ago. Go and ask him if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    The inspector was astonished and turned around to look back at Gu Er.

    At the same time, Gu Er looked over at the same time and noticed Lu Yin. When he finally realized who he was looking at, a brilliantly stupendous expression appeared on his face.

    The inspector ran back over to Gu Er with a new smile stered on his face. ¡°Young Master, that kid says that he offended you in the past. Would you like me to seal his qualifications to enter the Innerverse?¡±

    The tea that Gu Er was just sipping was spat back out when he heard the inspector¡¯s question. He walked to Lu Yin and smiled rather reluctantly. ¡°Se- Senior Lu, what are you doing here?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Nothing much. I wish to enter the Innerverse, but that person says that I can¡¯t.¡±

    Gu Er turned back around to re at the inspector. ¡°Can¡¯t enter? Senior Lu can¡¯t enter the Innerverse? ording to you? What gives you the guts to stop Senior Lu from entering the Innerverse?¡±

    The inspector was stumped and immediately apologized. He knew that he had offended someone, and from how the situation was looking, this person¡¯s status couldn¡¯t be minor.

    Lu Yin chuckled inwardly as he watched Gu Er. This fellow could be considered to be smart, and he knew that he could not offend someone like Lu Yin. Even though Gu Er was the son of Elder Gu De, he was still a student of Astral Combat Academy. He was scared that, if he offended Lu Yin, Lu Yin would then smother him within Astral Combat Academy, just like how he had dealt with the Daynight n before.

    Lu Yin¡¯s guess was on point, as Gu Er was indeed afraid of Lu Yin.

    Other matters could be ignored, but Lu Yin had recently killed members of the Daynight n since it had offended him, and he had acted in a very open manner. Once he offended Lu Yin, Gu Er would find it hard to make any progress in Astral Combat Academy, and he did not believe for one moment that his father¡¯s position was more influential than the Daynight n. Also, this person was rumored to have recently be a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, and that was a status that frightened Gu Er so thoroughly that he didn¡¯t even dare to speak a single malicious word behind Lu Yin¡¯s back.

    The Ten Arbiters Council supervised the younger generation, and even someone like Gu Er, who was the son of someone with great power, did not dare to casually infringe upon such a matter.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t me him. I do have to ask, though¡­ Gu Er, why do you keep calling me ¡®senior?¡¯ If I recall correctly, you should have entered Astral Combat Academy before me.¡±

    Gu Er hurriedly smiled as he responded, ¡°Senior Lu is the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, and the most powerful person in the academy. Anyone who encounters Senior is beneath him, which is as it should be.¡±

    At this point, those waiting in line to enter the Innerverse were all stunned. It was very normal for an inspector to scold and humiliate them however they wished, and no one had ever seen someone who could scare an inspector, let alone Gu Er. Someone with this level of status should not have waited in this line and should have entered the ark a long time ago.

    ¡°Gu Er, I heard that others rely on luck to enter the Innerverse. Is that true?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gu Er¡¯s face changed; was Lu Yin indicating that he was about to intervene in this matter of the Astral River Ark? This person was overestimating himself! After all, he was still just a student. But then, Gu Er suddenly thought of Lu Yin¡¯s other positions, such as a member of the Council of Astral Academy and an acting Councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council. If Lu Yin made a fuss and levied the influence of those two positions, not even Gu Er¡¯s father would be able to ignore him.

    Lu Yin knew what Gu Er was thinking when he noticed that Gu Er did not immediately reply. ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not being that difficult. It¡¯s none of my business how you manage things, but since things are based on luck, could you give me some face and allow all those in the same line as me to enter the Innerverse?¡±

    Gu Er rxed. ¡°Of course, whatever Senior wants.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile and replied with a casual, ¡°Thanks.¡± He then continued along the track to enter the Astral River Ark.

    Lu Yin just wanted to taste how much authority he could wield through a mere suggestion. It was a wonderful feeling, and he found it to be quite to his liking. If he could one day control an enormous vessel such as this one day, then all the better.

    The Astral River Ark was exceptionally important to both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so, generally speaking, no one was allowed to move about as they wished once they were onboard. In fact, people were not even allowed to exit their spacecraft. Lu Yin was an exception, as his status meant that nowhere was restricted to him, especially since he had two Honor Points. One privilege that his points allowed him was to freely roam about the ark.

    However, he did not leave his vehicle since he was afraid of running into Elder Gu De. Lu Yin did not want the envoy to see the hatred in his eyes.

    It was still too soon for him to meet Elder Gu De. That encounter had to wait until he had at least gained the power to take his revenge.

    However, he felt strange about one point¡ªwhy hadn¡¯t his family¡¯s Big Sis and the rest acted against Elder Gu De? Were they afraid of the Innerverse?

    As for the other party, as soon as Lu Yin left, Gu Er contacted Elder Gu De and reported Lu Yin¡¯s presence on the ark.

    ¡°You did well, it¡¯s best not to provoke Lu Yin. Some newly-obtained information suggests that he might be linked to various Outerverse pirates, and he also has two Honor Points. Even my authority might not be able to deal with him,¡± Elder Gu De said.

    Gu Er was unsatisfied. ¡°Father, doesn¡¯t that mean that he can rampage across the universe to his heart¡¯s content?¡±

    ¡°With his Honor Points, he could. He also holds more than one title, which is why I want you to train diligently and graduate before heading to the border warfront. You must make your own contributions to the Human Domain and earn your own Honor Points.¡±

    Gu Er rolled his eyes, as only fools would willingly go to the border warfront. Even Xue Liuyun, a student leader from Astral Combat Academy, had died there. Not even ten lives would be enough for Gu Er to survive in such a ce. ¡°Father, the war at the border has already stopped.¡±

    ¡°Not for long. The three Domains haven¡¯t stopped their war in countless years, and even if the border war has truly stopped, there are still missions to explore the Astral Wilderness. Work hard. There¡¯ll always be opportunities to earn Honor Points.¡± And with that, Elder Gu De disconnected.

    Gu Er pursed his lips, as he did not want to do any such missions. Not many in the entire Outerverse had been awarded Honor Points, and Gu Er felt that Astral Combat Academy¡¯s domineering hegemony over the masses was morefortable. But when he thought of Astral Combat Academy, he was reminded of Lu Yin. Since he wanted to remain in thatfortable ce, he could not afford to offend Lu Yin. Damn it, I should have ttered him more.

    Hold on, it¡¯s not toote to do that! Gu Er¡¯s eyes gleamed, and he waved the inspector over. ¡°Go and check if there¡¯s anything that Senior Lu needs. If he makes any requests, then be sure to satisfy them as far as possible. His every need must be attended to, and he must have a pleasurable and enjoyable time here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master.¡± The inspector immediately acknowledged his orders and left his post. Since everyone in this line would be allowed entrance, there wasn¡¯t anything for him to do here anyways.

    The person who had exined things to Lu Yin when the inspector first started making things difficult now closely followed Lu Yin onto the ark, marvelling at his own good karma.

    The way the people running the ark determined how long they remained on either side of the Astral River was simr to how they determined who was allowed to board the ark. In other words, the timing was random, and travelers often had to rely on luck. The ark might stay on one side of the Astral River for a single day or ten, and this was also how Elder Gu De had deliberately stalled for time back then.

    Lu Yin did not know how long the ark would remain in the Outerverse this time, and he considered contacting Gu Er. Right at this moment, the inspector from before contacted him. ¡°Lord Lu, your journey¡¯s been tough, so please let me know if you require anything at all.¡±

    Since Lu Yin had received an offer for whatever he wished, he opened the hatch of his spacecraft to see that he had been arranged to stay in a private area that was reserved for VIPs. This area even featured a lounge and a kitchen, and everything was private to help him remain anonymous.

    ¡°When will the ark leave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The inspector courteously replied, ¡°I¡¯ll have to check on this matter. Is Lord Lu in a hurry?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The inspector activated his gadget and contacted someone. Not a moment passed before he deferentially said, ¡°If Lord Lu Lu wishes, we can leave immediately.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. Elder Gu De was treating him too well, which shouldn¡¯t be the case. Even though Lu Yin held many titles and had Honor Points, his status had not yet reached the point where he could cause problems for the Astral River Envoy himself. Even when Lu Yin¡¯s position under the Ten Arbiters Council was taken into consideration, he should at most be able to cause Elder Gu De to hesitate, but he should not be able to cause him any trouble. After all, the Astral River Ark represented the Innerverse, so it was not something that the Ten Arbiters Council could easily meddle with.

    But despite all that, Elder Gu De was actually giving Lu Yin so much face right now, which was very strange.

    However, Lu Yin did not know how much shock he had caused when he had dealt with the Daynight n within Astral Combat Academy. The Daynight n had too resounding of a reputation, but Lu Yin had actually managed to face off against them and remain safe and sound afterwards. Many guesses were being exchanged in the shadows about Lu Yin¡¯s identity, and those guesses were precisely what Elder Gu De was afraid of. The recent developments at San Dios had also caused Elder Gu De to believe that some great power was backing Lu Yin.

    Regardless, Elder Gu De was the one who decided whether or not the ark moved, so he might as well show Lu Yin some face. Such a favor could only benefit him if they met in the future, and his son was also still a student at Astral Combat Academy.

    The inspector continued speaking respectfully. ¡°Lord Lu, do you have any other instructions? Young Master has said that it will be some time before the ark arrives at the Innerverse bank of the Astral River, so any instructions from Lord Lu during this time will be carried out to the best of our abilities.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else, so you can go and take a break.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± the inspector acknowledged.

    But before he had walked more than a few steps away, Lu Yin spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that some people fish while on this ark. Bring me a fishing rod.¡±

    The inspector seemed distracted as he replied, ¡°Lord Lu, the Astral River is fraught with too many hidden dangers. Typically, only space-exploring powerhouses fish on the ark. And even they often suffer from idents, so I beg Lord Lu not to take such an unnecessary risk.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, so go on,¡± Lu Yin casually responded. He then walked over to a nearby transparent metal window and looked at the flowing Astral River outside of the ark. He had a curious gaze, as the sight reminded him of the Cosmic Sea, where Ye Xingchen had made a name for himself. Lu Yin was confident that would be able to survive in the Astral River since the Cosmic Sea was much more dangerous than the Astral River.

    The inspector did not dare to retort, so he hurriedly left.

    After about an hour, a special set of fishing gear was delivered to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Lord Lu, the ark is about to depart, so please make your preparations,¡± the inspector said before respectfully withdrawing.

    Lu Yin picked up the fishing gear, which looked quite different from themon form of the gear. After all, he was about to go fishing in the Astral River, so it made sense that the gear looked more like defensive equipment rather than normal fishing gear, though, the set also included a fishing rod.

    He picked up the fishing rod and tested his strength. The rod barely moved, its sturdiness astonishing him. He paused before trying again with more force, and he even used a bit of his Oveying Stacks to force the fishing rod to bend slowly, but no more than a tiny bit.

    When Lu Yin increased his force to Twenty Stacks, the fishing rod finally bent into an arc.

    He exhaled heavily. No wonder this fishing rod was meant to be used in the Astral River, as the amount of force he had exerted was something that the average Explorer could not withstand. This was no simple fishing rod! Even its toughness surpassed that of an average Explorer, so it was definitely a valuable piece of equipment.

 Chapter 373: Fishing In Outer Space

    <h4>Chapter 373: Fishing In Outer Space</h4>

    There were a few areas on the Astral River Ark that were reserved as fishing spots. A supervisor escorted Lu Yin to a section called the Yuelong Terrace that was reserved for fishing.

    The Astral River Ark¡¯s stop on the Outerverse bank had been rtively quick this time, so there were only a few people on the massive vessel. This meant that there wasn¡¯t a single other person on the Yuelong Terrace.

    It wasn¡¯t easy to receive the opportunity to fish on the Astral River Ark since one needed to have both a high status and sufficient strength to do so. There were countless incidents of unfortunate powerhouses being dragged into the Astral River every year.

    After donning the fishing equipment, Lu Yin cast a line into the river. Bait wasn¡¯t required when fishing in the Astral River, since one¡¯s star energy was the best bait as the creatures in this river actually ate cultivators.

    As soon as the fishing line entered the river, the fishing rod nearly slipped out of Lu Yin¡¯s grasp. The Astral River¡¯s currents were extremely strong, and it was also filled with an indescribable amount of energy. Its energies could cause fatal injuries or even death to anyone holding onto a fishing rod.

    Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was greater than Lulu¡¯s and even Grandini¡¯s, but even so, he nearly lost his grip on the fishing rod. This showed how powerful the Astral River¡¯s current was, especially when one considered the fact that Lu Yin was merely fishing and hadn¡¯t even made direct contact with the river.

    In a luxurious room within the ark, Elder Gu De and his son Gu Er watched the Yuelong Terrace while apanied by a few other experts.

    ¡°He actually held on to it! He truly is the top student of Astral Combat Academy as well as a true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate,¡± someone eximed.

    ¡°Even a Explorer wouldn¡¯t normally be able to keep the fishing rod stable! Now, let¡¯s see how long he can keep this up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that he¡¯ll be able to hold out for too long. I¡¯m a Cruiser, and even I can only endure for ten hours at most. It wouldn¡¯t be bad if Lu Yin held out for an hour.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good estimate, but if he really catches something, then he¡¯ll definitely be dragged into the river.¡±

    ¡°Sir, should we send someone in to protect him?¡±

    Elder Gu De stared at Lu Yin for another moment before he turned towards Gu Er. ¡°How¡¯s your rtionship with that person?¡±

    Gu Er was about to answer that they were on friendly terms, but then he remembered when Lu Yin had killed him within the trial zones. He also remembered what Lu Yin had said to him at that time, and Gu Er¡¯s expression changed. He had almost forgotten that Lu Yin had threatened to attack Elder Gu De and the Astral River Ark. Upon recalling the incident, Gu Er quickly recounted the incident to his father.

    Elder Gu De frowned. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this before?¡±

    Gu Er honestly answered, ¡°I forgot.¡±

    Elder Gu De snorted and looked back at the screen disying the Yuelong Terrace with a frosty expression. Did they already have some enmity with Lu Yin? It was certainly possible. Gu De had offended too many people to keep track of during his tenure as the Astral River Flowzone Envoy, so Lu Yin might actually be an enemy. ¡°Don¡¯t bother protecting him, but keep an eye on him.¡±

    The people around him immediately acknowledged his orders.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten his words to Gu Er within the trial zones; otherwise he definitely would not have taken on the risk of fishing in the Astral River. Still, he wasn¡¯t nning on actually fishing¡ªhe just wanted to try it out.

    Ten minutester, Lu Yin suddenly took the fishing equipment off and handed it over to the inspector under the man¡¯s surprised gaze.

    The inspector was speechless. Lu Yin only nned on fishing for ten minutes?!

    Lu Yin was smart. The moment his fishing line entered the river, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch anything from the river with his current power level. Trying to do so would be way too risky, so he had merely wanted to try out the experience.

    Gu Er was furious when he was informed that Lu Yin had already stopped fishing. After remembering that Lu Yin was his family¡¯s enemy, his attitude had taken aplete 180. He wanted Lu Yin to die on the ark, but Lu Yin held a very special status, which meant that they couldn¡¯t attack him. Gu Er had initially thought that Lu Yin might get injured while fishing, but he had never expected him to quit after no more than ten minutes.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re very smart. The Astral River isn¡¯t something that you can consider fishing in for now,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin returned to his personal spacecraft since it was the only ce where he felt safe and secure here, especially since Elder Gu De was nearby. He was even a Hunter. Lu Yin was slightly concerned that Elder Gu De might try to attack him, but fortunately, his spacecraft could withstand a Hunter¡¯s attack, which gave Lu Yin a tremendous sense of relief.

    ¡°Monkey, when do you think I¡¯ll be able to risk fishing in the Astral River?¡± Lu Yin asked out of boredom.

    The monkey thought about it before answering, ¡°You¡¯ll need to be at least at the Explorer realm, I think. With your crazy strength, you¡¯ll be able to defeat ordinary Cruisers as soon as you be an Explorer. At that moment, you should be able to hold your own against the Astral River.¡±

    ¡°Ye Xingchen is already adventuring in the Cosmic Sea. I¡¯m still a ways behind him,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The monkey disdainfully retorted, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could a mere Limiteer explore the Cosmic Sea? Even the Ten Arbiters weren¡¯t able to do that, so there must be some special reason why he¡¯s able to survive in the Cosmic Sea. It¡¯s just that we don''t know what it is yet.¡±

    Lu Yin realized that the monkey was right; Lu Yin was on the same level as Ye Xingchen, but he couldn¡¯t even protect himself from the Astral River. Thus, for a Limiteer to survive in the Cosmic Sea, there must be some unique circumstance behind it.

    It was a shame that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t contact his family. Otherwise, he would ask them about it. He also wondered how Big Sis and the others were doing in Leon''s Armada.

    In a distant corner of the universe, the Cosmic Sea was violently surging as normal, iming countless lives.

    This dangerous ce should have beenpletely silent, butughter could be heard in a dark corner of a certain strait.

    ¡°Big Sis, congrattions on extinguishing the Skywolf Battlegroup!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Big Sis!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Big Sis!¡±

    ¡­

    There was a bang, and an energy wave calmed the surging straits, causing the Cosmic Sea to enter a rare state of calm. ¡°Bring me some alcohol.¡±

    ¡°Captain, stop drinking. You always end up beating people when you drink too much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, captain, you shouldn¡¯t drink anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Shut up! Keep drinking!¡± A tremendous roar tore the sky apart and split the strait in two.

    In a certain corner of the deck, Reuben stared out at the sea with aplicated expression in his eyes.

    ¡°Thinking of Little Yin?¡± a melodious voice asked from behind.

    Reuben turned around, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Big, Big Sis, your looks have changed again.¡±

    An exquisite beauty was standing in front of Reuben. She was very alluring, but she had an extremely thick waist, which sharply contrasted with her beauty.

    ¡°Let it change. It changes several times a day. Such a pain!¡±

    Reuben miled bitterly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that you can do about it now. It¡¯s all because you didn¡¯t learn that skill properly, so now, your appearance constantly changes. It would actually be strange if it stopped changing one day.¡±

    ¡°Are you thinking of Little Yin?¡± Big Sis asked once again after taking a sip of alcohol.

    Reuben nodded. ¡°Little Yin has never received any help from our family, and he¡¯s reached his current position through his own power, but he also has countless enemies.¡± Reuben then looked at Big Sis. ¡°Let¡¯s bring Little Yin back! Or let¡¯s at least announce that Little Yin belongs to Leon¡¯s Armada.¡±

    Big Sis swallowed arge mouthful of alcohol. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Reuben asked. ¡°At first, we sent Little Yin to Earth because we were unable to protect ourselves. Although it was also to set up for him to investigate the Great Yu Empire, it was mainly to ensure his safety. Now that we¡¯ve returned to Leon¡¯s Armada and the captain has acknowledged Little Yin, why can¡¯t we announce it to everyone?¡±

    Big Sis grinned. ¡°Little Yin can¡¯t be connected to Highsage Leon. That man¡¯s too unreliable. I¡¯m different, but I still won¡¯t allow Little Yin to be connected to pirates.¡±

    Reuben was annoyed. ¡°Big Sis, please stop saying that! That¡¯s the reason why you had a falling out with the captain in the first ce.¡±

    Big Sis spat out the alcohol in her mouth. ¡°These pirates only look at short term gains, but they don¡¯t have a long term future in store. That old fart is short sighted. I won¡¯t allow Little Yin to go down this path.¡± She then turned around and left.

    The surface of the sea started raging once again, and Reuben grew worried. He knew that Highsage Leon had heard Big Sis¡¯ words. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t fight over the matter. Otherwise, Big Sis and the others might have been chased out of the armada once again.

    It seems like Big Sis is still angry that Highsage Leon sent pirates over to help Little Yin since that clearly revealed Little Yin¡¯s connection to the pirates. Reuben had also participated in that incident as well, and this was Big Sis¡¯ way of also warning him.

    The Astral River Ark needed one and a half days to cross the Astral River, but after Lu Yin finished his fishing adventure, no one from the ark bothered him again, but Lu Yin also didn¡¯t pay much attention to this slight.

    Once the ark touched down on the Innerverse, Lu Yin programmed his route into his ship and directly headed towards the Northline Flowzone.

    Elder Gu De wanted to eliminate Lu Yin here and now, but it was too risky due to Lu Yin¡¯s very special status. Hence, the Astral River Flowzone Envoy could only watch on as the youth left, not doing anything.

    Upon entering the Innerverse, Lu Yin emerged in the zing Mist Flowzone, which was near the Northline Flowzone.

    He hadn¡¯t noticed it during his previous trip through the Innerverse aboard the warfront warship, but this time, Lu Yin noticed that the zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s temperature was much higher than the Outerverse¡¯s. He wondered if it was because of the difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse or if the temperature was a unique phenomenon of the zing Region.

    There had been a few spacecraft around Lu Yin when he first moved away from the Astral River, but he soon left them all behind since his spacecraft was extremely fast. It was so incredible that its speed left many people surprised.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft soon disappeared into the stars,

    ording to the coordinates that he had received, he would soon reach the Astral River tributary where the zing Mist and Northline Flowzones intersected. At that point, he would have to board another ark in order to cross the tributary. That vessel would be considerably smaller than the Astral River Ark but still muchrger than any personal spacecraft.

    Although there were only a few arks along the tributary, Lu Yin could use thework to determine the current location of each ark in order to better n his route.

    ording to his route, he had more than five hours to go before he reached the edge of the tributary, and an ark would arrive two hours after that. Only then would he be able to board the ark and cross into the Northline Flowzone.

    The scheduling was pretty simr to his initial estimation.

    If not for his current status, he would still be stuck exploring the Outerverse and wouldn¡¯t have even had a chance to enter the Innerverse.

    In the direction that Lu Yin was heading along, there was an old man on a star who suddenly lifted his head. The man waspletely unaffected by the burning star. ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived. Undying Yushan paralyzed my limbs, so I¡¯ll take the life of his heir as revenge.¡±

    Lu Yin was busy reciting the Stonewall Scriptures in his personal spacecraft while considering all the things that he would have to do upon arriving at the Northline Flowzone. Actually, there wasn¡¯t too much that he needed to do; he simply needed to witness the Northgate tformpetition, which didn¡¯t even mean anything to him.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, there was still San Dios, the Great Yu Empire, and many other responsibilities that needed his attention. The more he thought about all the things on his te, the more Lu Yin felt like he had too many priorities and that he shouldn¡¯t be wasting his time in the Northline Flowzone.

    His heart beat suddenly started racing as he felt the portent of an imminent threat.

    Beep, beep, beep

    An rm rang out within the spacecraft as a sh of light appeared before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. A star shattered, and an enormous hand stretched towards his spacecraft.

 Chapter 374: The Power Of Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 374: The Power Of Lightning</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. The feeling from this attack meant that this person was a Cruiser¡ªno, a Hunter! A Hunter was attacking him.

    With a ng, the spacecraft released a deafening sound as Lu Yin felt his head ring. He looked up, and instantly saw an old man standing high above him in space.

    The old man had a furious, venomous look in his eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Undying Yushan stole all of my limbs, so you¡¯ll pay the price in his stead!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as the spacecraft immediately suffered another round of attacks, releasing a sharp, keening sound.

    Thankfully, an Aurora spacecraft was able to withstand attacks from a Hunter once it reached the ckhole grade. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t the least bit worried that the spacecraft would be damaged.

    The old man snickered. ¡°It¡¯s just a ckhole grade spacecraft. Do you seriously think that it can withstand attacks from someone truly powerful? It looks like I¡¯ll have to remind you that battle techniques exist in this universe!¡± After saying that, the old man used his star energy to form not just one, but multiple palms that started continuously bombarding the spacecraft.

    A ckhole grade Aurora spacecraft¡¯s ability to withstand a Hunter¡¯s attack was something that only applied to the average Hunter. When a true elite took action, such a spacecraft wouldn¡¯t be able to block their attacks. As the old man had said, there were still battle techniques that he could use.

    The image of myriad palms filled Lu Yin¡¯s vision as they smacked against the spacecraft. While the spacecraft could withstand the abuse, Lu Yin was not as sturdy. He coughed a mouthful of blood up onto the screen and loudly shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Lockbreaker Society and a part of the Ten Arbiters Council, old man! Are you sure that you want to kill me?¡±

    The old man chuckled maniacally. ¡°I don¡¯t have any limbs, and I can¡¯t regenerate them either. I¡¯m just a dead man walking. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Wendy Yushan¡¯s too powerful and that I¡¯m notpletely confident in my chances of killing her, I would have taken her down with me a long time ago. But it¡¯s not too bad if I take you down with me instead!¡±

    The blood drained from Lu Yin¡¯s face. There was nothing that he could do against a Hunter. Even if this old man was the weakest Hunter, he would still be able to kill Lu Yin without a problem.

    ¡°How did you know that I¡¯d be here?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The old man snickered. ¡°You¡¯re still trying to weasel information out of me even when you know that you¡¯re about to die? I¡¯m going to make sure that you die with a ton of questions that you wish you knew the answers to!¡± After that, berserk star energy filled the area and ruthlessly attacked the spacecraft. After being attacked so many times, the spacecraft was finally unable to resist any longer and cracked. Lu Yin looked stricken¡ªwas he really going to die here? He hated this feeling. An old man wanted to die with him? This was bullshit!

    ¡°Think of something, Seventh Bro! I don¡¯t want to die yet!¡± the Ghost Monkey screeched.

    Lu Yin coughed up another mouthful of blood. His physical body was on the verge of giving out, and he could already feel the vacuum of outer space trying to pull him outside.

    ¡°Hurry up and use Ancestor Wushang¡¯s Skin! A Hunter can¡¯t handle its pressure!¡± the monkey yelled.

    However, Lu Yin could no longer hear anything. He¡¯d lost control of his senses, and blood was pouring out of all of his body¡¯s orifices. His body and the spacecraft were akin to toys that could only wait for the old man to deliver the final blow.

    The old man arrogantly eximed, ¡°Your death will allow my descendants to prosper for a long time. Die!¡± After that, star energy shot through the void, letting out a crackling, thunderous rumble as it moved in to destroy Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin watched the spatial tears shred the area outside the spacecraft, but when he saw the lightning, he remembered something. He lifted his hand, causing his die to appear. He then activated the innate gift of lightning that he had borrowed from the rabbit and used it to sweep across the space in front of him, aiming deep into the dark depths of outer space.

    Everything fellpletely silent, and the old man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he gazed at Lu Yin in disbelief. How was such a thing possible? How had he been killed by a streak of lightning? This lightning bolt¡¯s power level was definitely over 200,000. But how could this kid have such a powerful thing? The old man would never know the answer, because he died as soon as the lightning struck him. His body flew away into theher, nobody knowing where it mightnd.

    That streak of lightning that Lu Yin had just used came from the terrifying rabbit that he had encountered on Savage Ape. It had rendered a nine-headed Savage Ape unconscious with a single stomp on the head, and that ape had had a power level of over 200,000. That meant that the rabbit¡¯s power level must be unimaginable inparison. Even though Lu Yin had only borrowed a tiny bit of that lightning, it was still enough to instantly kill a Hunter.

    Lu Yin heaved a heavy sigh of relief and felt a sudden wave of dizziness ovee him. There was a rattle as his spacecraft shattered, finally unable to hold on after suffering the Hunter¡¯s barrage of attacks. Lu Yin was now directly exposed to the vacuum of space.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time being directly thrown into outer space after escaping from a threat that could end his life. Last time, he had luckily been saved by Madam Nn, but this time, there weren¡¯t any nearby spacecraft that could help him.

    He closed his eyes in despair, knowing that things were over for him. He¡¯d thought that his safety had been assured due to his status and various titles, but when someone who didn¡¯t fear death came for him, all of that became worthless. Power was the ultimate basis of everything.

    At that moment, Lu Yin regretted not earning more money to increase his power.

    However, it was now toote for regret now. Lu Yin took in hisst surroundings. So this is what space feels like¡­ As thest scrap of air from the spacecraft dissipated, he found it hard to breathe. Then, he felt a building pressure within his body, which seemed like it was liable to erupt at any moment. This would be thest scene he saw in his life.

    A Limiteer would definitely die if they were exposed to outer space like this. Of this, there was no doubt.

    After waiting for a while, Lu Yin found it strange as he seemed to be¡­ okay?

    He raised his hand and looked at the lines on his palm. He could still see them very clearly. While there was a huge pressure differential between his body and outer space, he hadn¡¯t exploded, and although he wasn¡¯t breathing, he was still alive. Was he actually able to survive in outer space?

    He was astonished. Why? Was it because his body was incredibly strong? That was the only exnation that he coulde up with.

    The monkey had no response to any of this. Lu Yin looked around and found that there was no end to the dark space around him. There were only distant cosmic bodies, emanating soft rays of light.

    Although he wasn¡¯t dead, his movements were rather slow, and his ability to use star energy was heavily restricted. If he could use 100% of his abilities when he was on a, then in space, he couldn¡¯t even use 10% of his strength.

    I wonder how long I can stay alive for, Lu Yin bitterly thought to himself.

    There were disadvantages to a spacecraft being too advanced. His spacecraft had moved far too quickly, and the rest of the vessels were far behind him. He hadn¡¯t even had an opportunity to call for help.

    If he¡¯d known that this would happen to him, he would have kept a set of universal armor in his cosmic ring. That would be much better than leaving his bodypletely exposed like it currently was.

    There were all kinds of strange phenomena throughout the universe. Who knew if his body would be able to withstand those things.

    Perhaps it was due to the fact that Lu Yin was pretty lucky, but he soon saw a spacecraft speeding over in the distance. Lu Yin was thrilled and immediately used his star energy to create the universal distress symbol. However, the spacecraftpletely ignored him and simply sailed on past him.

    Lu Yin was at a loss. The spacecraft was traveling incredibly quickly while he was moving incredibly slowly. It was impossible for him to catch up.

    Right after that, some more spacecraft flew past, but not one of them moved to help him.

    Many knew that, when traveling through space, it was better not to seek trouble. Few people would take the initiative to help others. The concept of showing gratitude was nonexistent in the universe, and many pirates used simr methods to lure in unsuspecting travelers. This caused most people to be on guard during interster travel.

    Lu Yin stood no chance if things continued the way they were. After pondering things over for a long time, he decided on his next move.

    Star energy swirled around the tips of his fingers and formed tiny, string-like structures that extended into the distance until he was no longer able to control them. He then did his best to weave the strings together into a star energy web, of which he sat in the center, like a spider. As long as a spacecraft flew past and touched a string, he would be towed along.

    Lu Yin was gambling everything on his luck now. Would he die of hunger first, or would he run into a spacecraft?

    Compared to the vastness of space, the area that Lu Yin¡¯s star energy web covered was minuscule. Lu Yin¡¯s entire fate hinged on pure luck, but it was the only thing that he could do in this situation.

    Two more spacecraft flew past. They were too far away, and his star energy couldn¡¯t reach where they passed. Lu Yin waited there nervously, hoping that he¡¯d be lucky.

    Meanwhile, a spacecraft was traveling through outer space at high speeds. It seemed normal, but if one looked carefully, they would notice a stter of blood on the inside of one of the transparent pieces of metal that acted as a window on the spacecraft.

    Within the spacecraft, an emotionless young man with a cold look in his eyes wandered about, carrying an ordinary looking de in his hand. Blood ominously dripped off of it.

    Bang Bang!

    A gun formed from star energy was fired, and both metal bullets and beams of light mercilessly sted at the man. However, neither form of attack had any effect on the man beyond tearing some of his clothing apart.

    The man shed about with his de and another round of heads fell down. Headless bodies tumbled to the floor as the blood pooled into a scarlet stream. The man calmly stepped in the blood and continued forward, leaving bloody footprints behind.

    The stench of blood eventually spread throughout the entire vessel.

    Within the pilot¡¯s room, about ten people were gathered together, watching the man¡¯s inexorable progress on a screen while trembling in fear. ¡°Who is he? Why is he killing us?¡±

    ¡°Is he from the ze Realm? But that¡¯s impossible. They don¡¯t even know that we exist!¡±

    ¡°Whatever happens, Paige cannot die!¡± a middle-aged woman shouted in a determined voice as she nced at a young man trembling in the corner.

    Everyone else nced over at him withplex emotions in their eyes.

    ¡°Paige is the representative of the Gasfire Alliance. As long as he¡¯s alive, we¡¯ll definitely be able to go against the ze Realm. But the moment he dies, the Gasfire Alliance will fall apart,¡± she stated resolutely.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯ll protect him even if it means our death,¡± someone else said.

    Soon enough, the young man was forced to put on a set of universal armor. A middle-aged man crouched in front of the youth and bitterly said, ¡°Live on, Paige! You are the foundation of the Gasfire Alliance. As long as you are alive, we¡¯ll be able to hold out against the ze Realm.¡±

    The young man called Paige looked absolutely terrified. ¡°W-Will I ever be able to live a normal life?¡±

    Everyone around him fell silent.

    The middle-aged woman appeared sorrowful. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you carry the hopes of the older generation. You are the true sessor of the ze Realm, and your very existence is the entire reason why the Gasfire Alliance has the motivation to keep resisting them. Remember this: everyone will do everything in their power to protect you because you are the most important one out of all of us. Always remember this!¡±

    With a bang, the sturdy metallic door to the pilot¡¯s room was kicked from its frame, and the young man who was like an Asura walked in. He looked about the room, his emotionless gaze flitting past everyone until his eyes finallynded on Paige.

    The middle-aged woman¡¯s heart skipped a beat. So he really is here for Paige. But who in the world is he? If this man was from the ze Realm, then it didn¡¯t make sense for him to be here. Instead, they would have sent some ultra-powerhouse after them.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you killing us?¡± someone shouted.

    The young man¡¯s reply was to lift his sword and sweep out with it. The middle-aged woman gritted her teeth and waved her hand, causing mes to spring up that tore through the void. She was an Explorer, but her efforts were futile. The young man cut through her mes with a single stroke, and the de even continued on to sink into the person closest to him, cleaving the other man in two.

    The aura of fear in the room became even more palpable.

    Paige went pale and hid in fear.

    The middle-aged woman had a bitter expression. She was an Explorer, but she couldn¡¯t even fight back at all. Where had such a monstere from?

    The de continuously shed as it shed about the room. Even though the middle-aged woman stood in his way, the young man continued attacking everyone else. Blood, decapitated bodies, and dismembered limbs filled the room, creating a scene straight from hell.

    The thick stench of blood was enough to cause one to puke.

    The young man slowly stepped closer to the middle-aged woman and Paige, who was behind her. They were the only two left alive.

    Blood continued flowing across the floor.

 Chapter 375: Corpse King Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 375: Corpse King Transformation</h4>

    ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± the middle-aged woman shouted. Blood kept flowing from her abdomen¡ªshe¡¯d been injured.

    The young man remained silent as he continued advancing. He casually stepped through the puddles of blood, emanating a horrifying aura.

    Paige was on the verge of fainting.

    The young man stopped three meters away from Paige and the middle-aged woman before raising the de in his hand and slicing through the void.

    A crazed look appeared in the middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes as she grabbed Paige and tossed him towards the transparent metal window. ¡°RUN!¡±

    As an Explorer, the middle-aged woman was actually fully capable of tearing the spacecraft apart with her attacks, so it was easy for her to toss Paige out of the vessel. Although the young man attacking them was also an Explorer and would be able to chase Paige into outer space, she wouldn¡¯t let any chance for Paige to escape pass by. Paige could not die! That could not be allowed to happen.

    Paige felt a sharp pain in his back as the transparent metal cracked and he was flung an unknown distance away from the spacecraft and into outer space. What did space feel like? He didn¡¯t really know because he wasn¡¯t even a Limiteer¡ªhe was just a mere Melder. He was deathly afraid of the unknown aspects of outer space, but before he could even think about his fear, the scenery around him retreated and suddenly seemed to draw far away from him. Paige had been thrown back into the spacecraft by some outside force and bashed against the wall.

    The middle-aged woman was stunned. What was going on?

    The young man holding the sword had not even swung it yet, and he was looking to the side.

    Lu Yin was incredibly excited to finally encounter a spacecraft that hade near enough tond his star energy. The strings that he had made were incredibly sturdy, especially since he hadprehended a domain. Due to how quickly the spacecraft was moving, it was impossible for it to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s web. When the spacecraft ran into the strings, the huge force had caused Lu Yin to swing around in a huge circle beforending in the spacecraft itself.

    It was a bit like being on a swing.

    Lu Yin had been delighted and eager to enter the spacecraft, but then, a human-shaped figure had suddenly appeared in front of him, heading straight for him. He had be extremely irritated. What was this about? Was this person trying to kick him away? That wouldn¡¯t do! Without a second thought, Lu Yin kicked the figure hard and sent them flying right back inside the vessel. He then paused for a moment, not wanting to rush into the spacecraft right away. Thankfully, he was in front of the vehicle now, so there would only be a moment or two before it caught up to him.

    Lu Yin pathetically fell into the cockpit, entering through the broken transparent metal window that had been cracked open.

    Cough cough!

    It had been a while since he¡¯dst taken a breath, so Lu Yin huffed and puffed when he encountered air again. Finally. Finally! This was so difficult.

    The atmosphere in the room became rather strange. Paige was stuck inside a wall, and it was unknown if he was dead or alive. The middle-aged woman and the young man were both staring at Lu Yin. At that moment, nobody moved.

    Lu Yin took a few deep breaths and then frowned. The stench of blood was incredibly strong, causing him to look up. All of a sudden, he felt his scalp go numb, and he dodged to the side as fast as he could. A de swiped past his ear, nicking him and causing a thin line of blood to run down his cheek.

    Lu Yin became furious; that attack had been meant to kill him! He looked up, and the first person to enter his vision was a young man holding a sword.

    The youth seemed surprised that Lu Yin had managed to dodge his attack, and without any hesitation, heunched another attack that was even more malicious than the first. As the second attack tore through the void, Lu Yin could tell that, although it was very direct and didn¡¯t have much variation to it, it still gave off a sense of danger due to its sheer power. The attack carried an aura about it that was vaguely reminiscent of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s First Sword: vast, precise, and embodying the full physical power of the attacker. This person was undoubtedly an expert.

    Nine stars revolved around Lu Yin as he stared intensely at the sword¡¯s trajectory before dodging the attack. At the same time, he swept out with a foot. A heavy thud resulted from the collision as he kicked the young man out of the room.

    The middle-aged woman¡¯s pupils constricted as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. This person was incredibly strong. Wait a second, why does he look so familiar?

    Lu Yin retracted his left foot and frowned hard. He had felt a strange reaction when his foot had connected with the young man¡¯s body. That person had an incredibly tough body, and it almost felt like he had kicked a piece of solid steel.

    He turned to look at the middle-aged woman again as he checked his surroundings. Lu Yin seemed to havended himself in more trouble.

    But before he could say anything, a de shed out as the attacker from before swung his sword. Lu Yin quickly evaded this attack as well, but the transparent metal window of the spacecraft was torn apart even further, and the air within the vessel began leaving at an even faster rate.

    That young man passed through the void and struck out with his sword even more viciously than before. Lu Yin was given no time to think, but with the aid of his Cosmic Art, he managed to stop the sword before it connected by grabbing the attacker¡¯s left arm while counterattacking with his own right hand. Lu Yin struck the youth¡¯s chest with a Twenty Stacks Thirtyfold Shockwave Palm.

    There was a huge boom as the massive force destroyed the room. The entire vessel went dark, and the young man was sent flying through the walls of the vessel and into outer space.

    Lu Yin grimaced. He¡¯d used too much strength just now, and the spacecraft was done for after thatst attack. This wouldn¡¯t do! He¡¯d just escaped from certain death! He turned towards the woman. ¡°Are there personal spacecraft on board?¡±

    The middle-aged woman had already guessed who Lu Yin was by this point, and she nodded in response. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. He didn¡¯t care how many were present, just so long as there was one that he could use. After all, he¡¯d just saved this woman¡¯s life.

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡± she asked.

    Lu Yin just grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°This spacecraft is about to be destroyed. You should leave.¡±

    The middle-aged woman opened her mouth and was about to say something, but her expression suddenly changed to fear as she looked above Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin felt his heart thump hard, and he looked up as well. His eyes widened when he once again saw the young man from before. The youth should have been injured or even killed by Lu Yin¡¯s earlier strike, but there he was, standing atop the spacecraft looking perfectly fine as he calmly stared at Lu Yin. Those eyes¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Those eyes could only be from the Neohuman Alliance! He¡¯d only ever seen something simr in the eyes of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s members.

    Those entirely emotionless eyes that looked like they belonged to a zombie.

    Could this person be from the Neohuman Alliance? Lu Yin wasn¡¯t entirely sure. There were all sorts of battle techniques in the universe, and there were even a few that could cause the cultivator to lose their emotion. One could not generalize and say that having a cold gaze meant that someone was from the Neohuman Alliance.

    However, what happened next allowed Lu Yin to confirm that this person was from the Neohuman Alliance. That was because the youth¡¯s eyes transformed, taking on a scarlet color with vertical pupils.

    The slitted scarlet eyes were a distinct feature that only belonged to those of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t alone in this realization; the woman beside him also recognized these features and went pale. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    ¡°You. Must. All. Die.¡± The young man stared at Lu Yin with his scarlet eyes. The sword in his hands vanished as he charged straight at Lu Yin. The spacecraft jostled, and the young man threw out a strong punch. The terrifying force of the fist caused the entire spacecraft to start speeding out of control at a startling rate. The punch was enough to kill an ordinary Explorer.

    Lu Yin was careful to not underestimate a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance. These people were enemies of the entire human race.

    Boom!

    Lu Yin matched the attack with a punch of his own.

    Ferocious shockwaves spread out in all directions and caused cracks to appear all over the entire spacecraft. The area under Lu Yin¡¯s feet shattered, and the attack nearly tossed him back into outer space. He really didn¡¯t want to fall out of the spacecraft, so dark-gold light surrounded him as his battle force activated. Lu Yin then suddenly seized the young man by the wrist and exerted his full force. The young man was a Corpse King, and technically speaking, he should not have the lower hand in terms of physical strength against anyone of his realm. However, he was confronting Lu Yin, so there was little he could do.

    Crack!

    The Corpse King¡¯s wrist fractured, and he quietly howled in pain. His scarlet eyes stared at Lu Yin, leaving the Limiteer with a minor feeling of fear. But Lu Yin gritted his teeth and instead exerted even more strength. The extra forcepletely broke the Corpse King¡¯s wrist, and he howled in agony. The scarlet eyes vanished, or rather, they transformed, turning into grey eyes. They wentpletely grey, the kind of color that devoured everything in its path. Even the Corpse King¡¯s hair turned grey.

    At that same moment, the broken wrist became as good as new as an indescribably powerful aura descended, filling the area. Lu Yin felt his heart start to race. ¡°Seventh Bro, you need to attack! This is a Corpse King Transformation! This guy won¡¯t be an easy opponent, so you need to stop him before he finishes transforming!¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and nted his palm on the young man¡¯s chest, exactly where he hadnded his previous attack. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Everything seemed to go quiet for an instant. After that instant passed, the Corpse King was sted away by Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Thirty Stacks was a terrifying attack, and it was truly unbeatable within the Limiteer realm. It was also Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack and capable of sending the young man flying.

    ¡°RUN BRO! You won¡¯t be able to kill a Transformed Corpse King as long as you¡¯re still a Limiteer!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in a panicked voice.

    Lu Yin had no time to ask any questions and only nced at the middle-aged woman before racing toward the spacecraft¡¯s hold.

    The woman also knew that things had gotten serious, and she gritted her teeth as she pulled Paige out of the wall and carried him to the hold as well.

    Soon enough, two spacecraft soon flew away from the ruined vessel and headed in two different directions.

    After the two spacecraft had left, the young man returned. His appearance waspletely different from before. His entire body was now grey, and his strength was enough to warp the void. When he casually waved his hand, the ruined spacecraft was reduced to dust. After looking about, he quickly started pursuing one of the spacecraft.

    ¡°How¡¯d you get involved with the Neohuman Alliance again, Seventh Bro?¡± the monkey shrieked, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°I didn¡¯t get involved! This was aplete coincidence.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse! That means that trouble turns up wherever you go! A Hunter just tried to kill you! Wake up, man! Can¡¯t we just stay somewhere safe in the future? Don¡¯t leave home!¡± the monkey howled miserably.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve got a question for you. What¡¯s a Corpse King Transformation?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the ultimate battle technique of the Neohuman Alliance, and it was specifically created for the Neohumans. With each transformation, their power levels spike,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined listlessly, feeling like his future was bleak. The incident where Lu Yin had been attacked by a Hunter had traumatized him.

    ¡°How much stronger do they get?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously. The monkey knew how strong Lu Yin was, but despite all that, he had still immediately urged Lu Yin to escape. That had to mean that the increase in strength wasn¡¯t a small amount.

    ¡°Do you know why the entire universe fears the Neohuman Alliance?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you why. First of all, it¡¯s because of their philosophy, which is to turn all humans into Corpse Kings in order to obtain immortality. The second part is their strength. You already know how powerful that Corpse King just now was. Before transforming, his physical body was already incredibly strong. And after that transformation¡­ his strength increased to somewhere around ten times as strong than before,¡± the monkey stated grimly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Ten times?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Ten,¡± the monkey answered seriously.

    Lu Yin was shocked. What kind of technique was so terrifying that it could strengthen a person¡¯s body tenfold?

    ¡°Even a regr Corpse King¡¯s body has been enhanced through various means. With your abilities, you¡¯re definitely invincible amongst Limiteers. Even the other true Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidates are no match for you. You¡¯re at the top. However, that Corpse King isn¡¯t much weaker than you. Even a Limiteer Corpse King wouldn¡¯t be much weaker than you. That is the standard of the average Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance,¡± the monkey stated definitively.

 Chapter 376: Chance Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 376: Chance Encounter</h4>

    ¡°Their normal standard doesn¡¯tck much even whenpared to you, so you can imagine what that¡¯s like when that¡¯s multiplied tenfold! This should also exin to you why the entire universe views the Neohuman Alliance as a great enemy. Their power cannot be judged by normal conventions, and all of their members are automatically disregarded whenever the universe judges the strongest of the younger generation.¡±

    ¡°If the Neohuman Alliance is one of the Three Dark Hands, then the other two Hands must possess about the same power, right?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that since the Court of Seven Names has declined, but even then, its power cannot be fathomed by normal people. As for thest Hand, no one knows.¡±

    ¡°Then, are members of the other two Hands also eliminated when the universe evaluates the younger generation?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but they probably aren¡¯t at the standard of the Ten Arbiters. Those ten are the result of the universe¡¯s great change.¡±

    ¡°How do you know so much? You even know the characteristics of a Mutant Corpse King.¡± Lu Yin was baffled.

    The monkey was pleased by Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°Everything I know was written in those ancestors¡¯ records. They roamed the universe for many years, and they naturally ended up knowing a lot.¡±

    ¡°Then tell me what¡¯s above the grey eyes.¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    The monkey paused. ¡°Green eyes.¡±

    ¡°And above that?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you really think that I¡¯m an idiot? Only a ghost would know what¡¯s above green eyes. Anyone who¡¯s seen above that has died! They wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to record it down!

    ¡°Right, Seventh Bro, how did you survive? Last I remember, we should have been killed by a Hunter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You didn¡¯t see?¡±

    ¡°See what?¡±

    Lu Yin did not know if the monkey was faking ignorance since he hadn¡¯t had enough time to screen off the beast¡¯s senses before using the die. ¡°A powerhouse happened to pass by and saved us on their way.¡±

    ¡°A mighty powerhouse? They saved us? In that case, why didn¡¯t they send us somece safe? We even ran into a Corpse King!¡± the Ghost Monkey continued to nitpick at the details.

    Lu Yin grew impatient. ¡°Where are all these questionsing from? Any more and I¡¯ll block you off again.¡±

    The monkey was rendered speechless and could only mutter silently to himself.

    Lu Yin finally managed to get his hands on a spacecraft, but it was a very ordinary vessel and much slower than what Lu Yin had been travelling on before. Also, the spacecraft presented a new problem for him.

    While he was escaping, the personal spacecraft had been struck by something and damaged, so it would not be able to go all the way to the Northline Flowzone. Lu Yin had no choice but to look for the nearest transfer and hitch a ride on a merchant¡¯s ship to the Northline Flowzone.

    The closest transfer wasn¡¯t too far from him, and it would have taken his previous spacecraft less than ten minutes to travel there. However, his current spacecraft flew at a more leisurely pace, and the journey ended up taking an entire two hours.

    Lu Yin did not n on keeping this spacecraft since it was too slow. It also wasn¡¯t an Aurora, so it couldn¡¯t be upgraded.

    When he walked out of the space station, he looked up and took a deep breath. A cacophony of melodies and noises instantly assaulted his senses. The environment on this was eptable, and the development of its technology was pretty good. Overall, it had a rather lively atmosphere.

    He used the perks that came with his Honor Points to quickly seek out the person with the highest authority at the space station. Once they recognized him, they quickly expedited his processing through the checkpoints and gave him a new change of clothes. After only about ten minutes, Lu Yin was aboard a passenger flight headed towards the Northline Flowzone, and in a luxury cabin to boot.

    Lu Yin sat in a sleak, cozy recliner within the cabin, ready to check the news regarding the Northline Flowzone. But as soon as he opened his gadget, a message appeared with a bunch of words that caused ck lines to crease Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. ¡°Return the money, return the money¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. That brat Lulu was pushing him. She had probably gone to visit the Great Yu Empire, not discovered any clues rted to the Seven Courts, and then directed all her frustrations onto him.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Hang tight.¡±

    Not long after, Lulu sent him another message. ¡°You¡¯re so cruel to not pay me back.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face distorted. He had never even said that he wouldn¡¯t pay her back!

    He was about to retort when he noticed a fragrance waft towards him, and he looked up to see a beauty sitting in the sleek chair next to him. She nodded amicably towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. She was such a beautifuldy, and she only seemed to be about twenty or so. Her style was fashionable, but not too revealing, and her high-heels were very noticeable. Lu Yin had not seen any of thedies around him wearing high-heels before since they were not suited for battle.

    This woman was elegant and different from thebative females that Lu Yin was usually around. She had a gentle aura around her. It was not a pure gentleness like Ming Yan, but more like a concealed sharpness, where a tough interior was covered with a soft veneer.

    ¡°Nice curves, Seventh Bro. She¡¯s checking you out! Time to make a move!¡± the monkey shrieked within Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Since he had been in a hurry, Lu Yin had ended up boarding the lowest grade passenger vessel. Even though he was in a luxury cabin, it wasn¡¯t actually a single room and housed two people. He had been wondering who would be hispanion for this trip, but he had never imagined that he would end up paired with a beauty.

    Lu Yin nodded amicably towards the girl and then looked back to his gadget, ready to write an angry reply to Lulu.

    At that moment, the girl stretched out a slender, pure-white hand to Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu, it¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Lily Anne.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, but briefly grasped the girl¡¯s hand before quickly releasing it. ¡°Lily Anne? What an unusual surname.¡±

    Lily Anne stroked her lustrous hair with a smile. ¡°Student Lu is correct. I¡¯m from the Northline Flowzone¡¯s Lily family.¡±

    Lu Yin was immediately taken aback. ¡°So you¡¯re the heir of the Lily family. What a coincidence it is to meet you here.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°I thought so as well. I never expected to meet the strongest and most famous champion from the academy.¡±

    ¡°Miss Lily Anne is also from the Astral Combat Academy?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°I graduated. Now, I have nothing to do, so I roam about every day.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Lu Yin acknowledged.

    At that point, the spacecraft started moving towards the Northline Flowzone.

    This kind of passenger spacecraft had an agreement with the Astral River Tributary Ark so that it could cross at predetermined times. If one could afford to buy a ticket, then they would definitely reach the Northline Flowzone on schedule.

    Lu Yin had not paid any money, but he had still been able to casually board the spacecraft. Although it was a bit embarrassing, he would save money whenever he could, as even this small amount might allow him to Possess with someone more suitable whenever he rolled six pips: Possession again.

    Lily Anne was Lu Yin¡¯s senior by nearly ten years, and she was much more experienced than him as well as an Astral Combat Academy graduate. Lu Yin increased his knowledge by discussing a variety of topics with her within the luxurious cabin. Well, he at least discovered that not everyone within the Human Domain had the same features. There was amon phenomenon, simr to the natives of Firesmelt, where people¡¯s appearances would change to better suit the environment of the.

    Lily Anne introduced several monstrous-looking humans to Lu Yin; some had four hands, grew to be a hundred meters tall, were born with three eyes, or could only speak in song. Lu Yin could only stare at her nkly as he tried to wrap his mind around each introduction.

    This Lily Anne was clearly an Explorer since she had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, but Lu Yin found it very difficult to sense any ripple of star energy from her. She either had a simr technique to Lu Yin¡¯s Invisible Aura Technique, or she had developed a habit of concealing her aura. Of course, another possibility was that she hadprehended a domain and had merged into her surroundings.

    ¡°Previously, we caught wind that Student Lu would be managing our Northline Flowzone, and we are rather excited. Student Lu is not as arrogant as those from the Daynight n and is more easy to get along with,¡± she said happily.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Miss Lily Anne is exaggerating. I¡¯m only ¡®overseeing¡¯ the younger generation and not ¡®managing¡¯ them. The Ten Arbiters Council has no authority to meddle in the various administrations, so we¡¯ll only intervene if there are any youths who overstep their boundaries.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°That¡¯s already quite impressive. The brilliance of the Ten Arbiters has illuminated the universe, and I trust that Student Lu will reach simr heights in future.¡±

    Lu Yin could tell that this woman was trying to tter him.

    ¡°When will Student Lu break through to the Explorer realm? I heard that, during the Astral Combat Tournament, Student Lu made an agreement with the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu to challenge the Top Hundred Rankings together. I believe that Student Lu should already be powerful enough to challenge those on the rankings.¡±

    Lu Yin humbly replied, ¡°No, not yet. The Top 100 Rankings are the younger generation¡¯s best elites, and I¡¯m still just a Limiteer. I wouldn¡¯t dare to be delusional. However, Miss Lily Anne should be amongst the Top Hundred, correct?¡±

    Lily Anne shook her head. ¡°No. Of those from the Northline Flowzone, only Northgate Lie has stepped into the Top Hundred Rankings, and he¡¯s only ranked ny third at that. The rest of us are unable to qualify, so we wish for Student Lu to fight and bring glory to the Northline Flowzone since you are now a part of us.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately refuted her words with modest remarks.

    The conversation between the two had moved from something normal to something abnormal. Lu Yin didn¡¯t even notice when they had started ttering each other, but their talk became weirder and weirder until they soon stopped talking.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what does this woman want? To lick your boots?¡± The monkey could not understand the girl¡¯s behavior.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Lick my boots? It was certainly possible since he felt like this woman wanted to put him at a disadvantage through her ttery. However, it was also possible that his current status was high enough to attract sycophants who wanted to butter up to him. He turned to look at the woman next to him.

    Lily Anne was holding a book and reading it in an elegant manner. Under the soft illumination of the cabin lights, she looked like a goddess.

    Lu Yin turned away. It did not seem all that likely that this woman was trying to cozy up to him. However, he had also never offended her, and he wasn¡¯t losing out on anything either. Could it be that she wanted to ask him for some favor?

    He activated his gadget and began to research the Lily family. He quickly found some information about Lily Anne, and his eyes widened in surprise. This woman was actually the sessor of the Lily family, but she spent her time roaming about as she pleased? Were these families actually this carefree?

    He turned to look at Lily Anne once again. Now that he knew about her identity as her family¡¯s sessor, the woman¡¯s goddess-like aura became even more intense. To many, marrying such a woman would mean an abrupt rise in power as she represented the Lily family, one of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s three great families. They even had an almighty powerhouse watching over them whose power level was over 200,000.

    ¡°Student Lu, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Yin had been staring at Lily Anne this entire time, and his actions didn¡¯t go unnoticed.

    Lu Yin felt awkward. ¡°This- Miss Lily Anne, I would like to ask you something about the Northgate tform Competition.¡±

    She set her book down and smiled gently. ¡°Student Lu, you should have already learned about the general situation from thework, and with your authority, you should be able to find out some of the more confidential information as well. What does Student Lu wish to know more about? Feel free to ask me.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a few seconds before looking at her. ¡°The seventeen families stand united just because of this Northgate tform Competition? The three great families always control Northgate tform, which seems to imply that the other fourteen families are just their vassals. Am I understanding the situation correctly?¡±

    Lily Anne¡¯s eyes shed, and she started stroking her hair again. ¡°Student Lu¡¯s perspective is not quite the same as others¡¯. Generally, people watch the battles at Northgate tform to see which youths from the seventeen families are good-looking, or which powers they are friendly towards. However, Student Lu seems to be more concerned about the matter of the families being united, is that correct?¡±

 Chapter 377: Circling Wolves

    <h4>Chapter 377: Circling Wolves</h4>

    Lu Yin nodded, as he was truly curious about the matter. The Northgate tform Competition was really between the three great families, not all seventeen. The other fourteen families were essentially ying supporting roles.

    Lily Anne considered the question for a moment before then looking at Lu Yin. ¡°When wolves circle, thembs will still look to the hounds for the protection, even if they will be ughtered by the hunterster.¡±

    This one sentence clearly exined the state of the Northline Flowzone.

    Lu Yin shivered, as the woman had not mentioned the seventeen families a single time, but her simple analogy was so apt that he had instantly understood everything. The other fourteen families would rather seek protection from the three great families than be divided and conquered by the other Flowzones. It was the tragedy of the weak. The universe was filled with such motivations and behavior.

    Lu Yin looked away. He now had a much deeper understanding of the situation in the Northline Flowzone, as well as of the purpose of the Northgate tform Competition¡ªthe primary intention was undoubtedly to intimidate neighboring enemies.

    ¡°Brother Lu, many experts have been invited to attend the Northgate tform Competition as witnesses. Allow me to briefly introduce them all to you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as he was somewhat curious to discover who the zing Mist Flowzone had sent.

    ¡°First, there are the top-ss experts. The Beast Tamers Flowzone is the closest to the Northline Flowzone, and they¡¯ve sent a First Grade Hall Expert named Fayde. His power level is 170,000, and he¡¯s not far from bing an almighty powerhouse.¡±

    ¡°The zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s ze Realm has sent Poison me, whose power level was 160,000 over ten years ago, but his current power level is unknown.¡±

    ¡°The zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s Ross Empire is sending Duke ckhawk over. Like Poison me, hisst known power level was 160,000, and so, a conservative estimate of his current power level would be around 180,000.¡±

    ¡°The Tempest Flowzone isn¡¯t too far from the Northline Flowzone, and they are sending¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Many experts had been invited to attend the Northgate tform Competition, and two of the eight Great Flowzones had also sent people over. In total, there would be more than ten experts in attendance when the smaller flowzones, such as the Tempest Flowzone, were taken into ount.

    These experts were attending as witnesses, and they were not that powerful, as not all of them were even Hunters. The truly notable ones were the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Fayde and the zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s Poison me and Duke ckhawk.

    The enemies of the Northline Flowzone were cautious precisely because of these two Flowzones.

    Although the other Flowzones were notcking in Hunters, they were not able to casually dispatch them either. However, the eight Great Flowzones were different; they could even send out almighty powerhouses at a moment¡¯s notice, which were generally treated as ultimate guardians and protectors for the smaller Flowzones, which so they would not easily move about.

    The passenger spacecraft was not very fast. It took the vessel five whole days to travel from the transfer to the Astral River Tributary Ark, where it finally entered the Northline Flowzone. These five days were the same amount of time that Lu Yin had estimated his trip from San Dios to the Northline Flowzone would take.

    To cultivators, time was life. This huge dy caused him to consider procuring a ckhole grade Aurora of his own when he returned.

    Lu Yin had not noticed it when he first stepped foot in the zing Mist Flowzone, but the deeper in he went into the Innerverse, the firmer the space felt.

    He had travelled through the Innerverse before, when Big Sis had taken the whole family on a tour of the Innerverse. He had still been a regr human at that time and hadn¡¯t be a cultivator yet, so he had not felt anything abnormal. His second trip through the Innerverse had been when he had traveled to the border warfront in the Erudite Flowzone. Along the way, the warship had passed through the zing Mist Flowzone, but Lu Yin had only crossed through the outer boundary of the Innerverse the entire time, so the difference in how the space felt had not been that apparent. But on this trip to the Northline Flowzone, he could clearly sense the change in the void. The space felt much denser, but it was not a huge difference from what he was ustomed to.

    Upon arriving at the Northline Flowzone, Lily Anne started acting as a host for Lu Yin. A luxurious spacecraft belonging to the Lily family was already prepared for them even before they exited the passenger spacecraft. Lu Yin and Lily Anne were immediately taken into the luxurious spacecraft, which then headed towards the Northgate tform Competition.

    ¡°There¡¯s still about ten days until the Northgate tform Competition starts. I can first take Brother Lu to the Northgate tform so that you can familiarize yourself with the Northline Flowzone¡¯s customs.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately turned her down. This woman had been ttering him from the first moment they met, and he found it difficult to endure the obsequious schmoozing. He was certain that Lily Anne had some favor that she wanted to ask of him, so he tried his best to limit his interactions with her.

    ¡°Brother Lu, why are you so wary of me?¡± Lily Anne tried to probe into his thoughts.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not wary of Miss Lily Anne. It¡¯s just that Astral-10 has arrived in the Northline Flowzone, and I would like to return there first.¡±

    She smiled back in response. ¡°I understand. I must just be too apprehensive. Still, Brother Lu has referred to me by my full name this entire journey, and it feels a bit cold. Aren¡¯t we friends?¡±

    Lu Yin forced another smile onto his face. ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you Miss An¡¯er.¡±

    Lily Anne smiled in tacit approval.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Brother Lu, there¡¯s something that I forgot to tell you.¡± She then activated her gadget and turned the disy on. ¡°When Astral-10 first arrived at the Northline Flowzone, a wave of students from Shangwu Academy went to challenge them, and the challenges haven¡¯t stopped yet, though most of them were defeated.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the screen, and it was showing Zora¡¯s battle against a stranger, who should be a student from Shangwu Academy. The student wasn¡¯t weak, probably a Limiteer, and he seemed very familiar with the battle techniques that he was using. However, despite all that, he was still defeated by Zora.

    Lu Yin felt that there was something different about her. The Windrift Hall had its own style of battle, and it was rather unique. If their disciples touched an opponent with even just a finger, then they would be able to seal off their opponent¡¯s star energy. It was something that Lu Yin would look into if he had the time.

    In addition to Zora, Zhao Yilong, Meng Yue, Coco, and the others also battled. Shangwu Academy lived up to its reputation, and many challengers emerged, despite almost all of them losing. There were the asional victors as well, such as the person who fought against Meng Yue and easily won.

    ¡°That¡¯s Northgate Gang, the younger brother of the Northgate family¡¯s young master, Northgate Lie. He¡¯s one of the strongest students in Shangwu Academy.¡± Lily Anne introduced the standout student to Lu Yin.

    He nodded. Although Shangwu Academy could not bepared to the Astral Combat Academy, it was actually very normal for such an institute to have a few powerhouses. Meng Yue, Zhao Yilong, Schutz were all among the weaker students of Astral-10, followed by Hui Daynight, Michelle, and the others. Although Northgate Gang had beaten Meng Yue, he was not even close to being Michelle¡¯s match and was about the same strength as Hui Daynight.

    To be able to rival a Daynight n expert was pretty decent.

    The most hrious battle was Coco¡¯s. She ran about frantically with her giant syringe, as if she was going to jab whomever she caught. The giant syringe indeed looked terrifying, and Lu Yin, even now, did not dare to suffer its jabit. It looked very painful.

    However, she had still been defeated since her weakness was very obvious. She was vulnerable to ranged attacks and had not been able to hold out despite her syringe¡¯s impressive defense, since it could notst for too long.

    After Coco¡¯s defeat, Xia Luo was up next. Lu Yin knew this could not be considered a battle to Xia Luo. After all, the man was nearly invincible within Astral-10: second to only Lu Yin and about on par with Silver. If the two of them battled, the oue would not be easily determined, but either of them were able to crush almost everyone else. The Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s results had answered many people¡¯s questions about the two¡¯s strength. They were strong enough to battle against other student leaders.

    Lu Yin had never been able to get a clear read of Xia Luo¡¯s power, but his progress was unbelievable, just like Silver¡¯s.

    ¡°He should be one of the top students of Astral-10, right? Once he acts, even the strongest fighters in Shangwu Academy will be defeated without any suspense.¡± Lily Anne¡¯s eyes lit up as she watched Xia Luo¡¯s battle.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°He¡¯s second only to me.¡±

    Lily Anne was shocked. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s no wonder why even Northgate Gang wasn¡¯t able to force him to reveal his true strength with his current power.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Even he could not see through Xia Luo¡¯s true potential, so forget someone like Northgate Gang. Xia Luo had never seriously fought against Lu Yin before, and Lu Yin finally realized that their previous battles which he had considered serious had all been nothing more than jokes to Xia Luo.

    The wave of challenges that Astral-10 faced from Shangwu Academy was just a small distraction. Arrangements had already been made for Lu Yin to stay in the grandest hotel near the Northgate tform. Lily Anne tried to invite Lu Yin to stay at her house, but she was tactfully declined.

    When he saw the Northgate tform, Lu Yin was shocked. The square stone tform was iparablyrge and floating freely in the air. The vast universe indeed held many mysteries.

    Lily Anne did not bother Lu Yin much longer, and she soon left after making some arrangements.

    Lu Yin stood inside his hotel room, looking outside where there were many students exuding a youthful energy. For them, the Northgate tform Competition was a lively event, but that was mostly because they did not know that the gathering was actually a tragedy for the Northline Flowzone. A tragedy to intimidate external enemies, and a tragedy where they had to reveal their strength.

    Lu Yin contacted Old Cai, but he did not hurry back to Astral-10. Since he was already at Northgate tform, he naturally wanted to better understand the people of this academy. After all, it was under his direct supervision since the Ten Arbiters Council had appointed him as overseer for the Northline Flowzone when he had be a member of the Council of Astral Academy.

    Lu Yin rested for a day.

    His amodation had its own courtyard, and outside of that was the hotel lobby.

    Lu Yin casually ordered a few dishes while he sat in the lobby, observing the area. Since it was mealtime, more students started appearing.

    ¡°Why do you think the Astral Combat Academy students are so strong? Our Shangwu Academy has gathered all the top geniuses of the Northline Flowzone, but we¡¯ve racked up more losses than wins.¡±

    Not far away from Lu Yin, there were a few students stuck in a bad mood who were loudly discussing the recent fights. Lu Yin ignored them and kept to himself as he ate.

    ¡°Alright, stop getting a big head. What ¡®more losses than wins?¡¯ Almost no one from our academy won besides the top students like Northgate Gang.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. That girl can be beaten.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed that you¡¯re even considering fighting a girl?¡± a female student berated.

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t me him. It¡¯s really not good to provoke the Astral Combat Academy students. Don¡¯t you remember how the eldest daughter of the Lily family, Lily Anne, even rebelled against her family and insisted on attending the Astral Combat Academy? And Northgate Lie tried his best to enter the Astral Combat Academy, but ended up staying here after the Shangwu Academy Headmaster promised to groom him with more generous resources.¡±

    ¡°The difference between the academies is too great. The lowest mentors in that academy are Hunters while those at our Shangwu Academy are mostly Cruisers. Hell, some aren¡¯t even Cruisers!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that either. A good deal of the Top Hundred Rankings didn¡¯t attend the Astral Combat Academy. One¡¯s strength stillrgely depends on their personal aptitude.¡±

    ¡­

    Shangwu Academy¡¯s wave of challenges had triggered these students¡¯petitive spirit, but a sobering wave of reality had crashed down upon them soon after.

    Lu Yin smiled when he heard that Astral-10 was no pushover. Although the crazy headmaster had caused Astral-10 to decline, the current batch of students were different. Old Cai and the other mentors had made up their minds to individually instruct the students personally, which allowed Meng Yue and the others to undergo vast improvements. By now, they were able to match up to the average students from the other branches of Astral Combat Academy. Darkvoid, Michelle, and many others had even surpassed the average students and were closing in on the level of an Area Master. Also, there was Lu Yin himself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, isn¡¯t hearing the helplessness of others behind their backs very satisfying?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked with augh.

    Lu Yin drank a mouthful of his wine. ¡°It¡¯s pretty good.¡±

 Chapter 378: Decent Flavor

    <h4>Chapter 378: Decent vor</h4>

    It wasn¡¯t just those few students sitting near Lu Yin who were discussing Astral-10; practically all of Shangwu Academy¡¯s students were doing so.

    Lu Yin initially wanted to visit Shangwu Academy and look around a bit, but then, he suddenly received an invitation from Lily Anne to attend a small gathering at Northgate Mansion.

    Northgate Mansion was Northgate tform¡¯s most luxurious convention center, and it featured the Northline Flowzone¡¯s most delectable extravagances. This was where Northgate tform hosted their most important guests, and it was also used as a gathering area on a regr basis.

    Of course, an average person could not use the location since it was exclusively reserved for the seventeen families¡¯ use.

    Lily Anne had invited Lu Yin to attend a gathering of the younger generation from the seventeen families so that he could meet some peers. This gathering was a tradition that was often used to resolve grudges that arose before the Northgate tform Competition began.

    After hesitating for a bit, Lu Yin agreed. After all, he could not reject the various invitations forever, and he truly did need to have some interactions with the cultivators in his own generation. He was supposed to oversee the local youths and represent the Ten Arbiters, but he was actually quite new to this position.

    Northgate Mansion was not too far from Lu Yin¡¯s amodations since his hotel was second only to Northgate Mansion in terms of opulence.

    At this moment, quite a few youths had gathered at the mansion, and it seemed like the influential students were starting to arrive. There were a number of beauties standing outside the building, gazing at the entering students with expectant faces, hoping to be taken inside. If they could enter Northgate Mansion, then their status would skyrocket since this event was being watched by everyone on the Northgate tform. Hence, every time there was a gathering at the Northgate Mansion, countless beauties would gather outside in an attempt to make their way in. No matter the social circle, they all had their own internal struggles. Even if outsiders could not see the internal battles, they still existed.

    Right when Lu Yin arrived outside of Northgate Mansion, a beautiful woman emerged by his side and glued herself to him, intent on apanying him as shown by her seductive movements and passionate eyes.

    To be honest, Lu Yin had never encountered such a situation before. He was just slightly over twenty, young, and healthy. Thus, he was stunned when a beautiful girl wrapped herself around him.

    Fortunately, someone quickly arrived to rescue him: Lily Anne. ¡°Brother Lu, it hasn¡¯t even been a full day, but you¡¯re already paired up with a prettydy. It looks like An¡¯er will need to step up her game.¡± Lily Anne put on a brilliant smile as she walked towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t reply, but the face of the pretty girl next to him abruptly changed as she hurriedly untangled herself from Lu Yin¡¯s arm while frantically apologizing before fleeing the scene.

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°What just happened?¡±

    Lily Anne smiled at him. ¡°They¡¯re just trying to worm closer to people of influence. Brother Lu, don¡¯t bother with them.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately understood after thinking about it some more. As he looked around, there were many beautiful women briefly appearing near him and directing expectant faces his way. Lu Yin didn¡¯t hate these women; everyone took a different path in life, and both their methods and struggles would naturally be different. No one was qualified to look down on such people. However, ying with someone¡¯s feelings was another matter altogether.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Brother Lu. Everyone¡¯s waiting for you.¡± Lily Anne gestured towards the inside of Northgate Mansion, and Lu Yin followed her inside.

    He already had some expectation for what he would see upon arriving, but Lu Yin was still shocked at the extravagance before his eyes when he actually walked into Northgate Mansion. It waspletely different from the external world! It seemed as if everything pleasurable had been brought into this ce: gourmet food, fine liquor, beautiful people, and even glowing fruits. There was everything that one could imagine.

    Lily Anne looked at Lu Yin and saw his shock, as well as his slow recovery. Involuntarily, her brow furrowed; wasn¡¯t Lu Yin¡¯s identity soplicated that even the Daynight n had to be cautious of him? Why would he be astonished at Northgate Mansion¡¯s disy? Such luxuries and decorations might be beyond the imagination of amon citizen, but this should be nothing to an heir of a great power.

    Still, Lily Anne did not put too much thought into Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. Every family would nurture their young in their own way, so it was possible that Lu Yin had been raised in poverty!

    Lu Yin casually picked up a gleaming fruit and took a bite. It was sweet and juicy with an exquisite taste. It¡¯s texture felt wonderful as he swallowed and he admired the fruit as he picked up another.

    Lily Anne just smiled at him.

    There were more than a hundred youths from the seventeen families gathered in Northgate Mansion, and there were also some other youths from various powers that were on friendly terms with the Northline Flowzone. Most of them were in the lobby, although a select few were gathered in a private room on the top floor. This was a ce that was typically reserved for those from the three great families.

    At this moment, the ones in the private area wereughing as they watched a screen. ¡°This Lu Yin must not have much of a background. Look at his poverty-stricken face! It¡¯s as if he hasn¡¯t ever eaten anything good in his life!¡± someone ridiculed.

    Northgate Gang¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that. Maybe he¡¯s hungry.¡±

    ¡°Haha,¡± the crowdughed along.

    A pretty girl¡¯s eyes gleamed as she asked, ¡°Right, Brother Northgate, when is Senior Lie arriving?¡±

    Northgate Gang slowly answered, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. He mighte, and he also might note.¡±

    ¡°What a pity. There are rumors that this Lu Yin can match up to the tailend of the Top 100 Rankings, so I was hoping that Senior Lie woulde and teach him a lesson. It¡¯s a joke that someone like him is actually overseeing us!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Historically, the Ten Arbiters Council haven¡¯t ever intervened in our Northline Flowzone¡¯s matters, but now, they¡¯ve actually sent a student over to stand above us!¡±

    When this was mentioned, Northgate Gang lost his previous jovial mood. The Northgate family had spent a great deal of effort to nurture Northgate Lie in hopes that he would one day be able to make his way into the ranks of the Ten Arbiters Council and eventually supervise the Northline Flowzone and perhaps even the other surrounding Flowzones. This would greatly help reduce the pressure that the Northline Flowzone¡¯s neighbors ced upon it, but all of these ns had been destroyed by Lu Yin¡¯s appearance. This was the primary reason why Lu Yin was despised by the entire Northgate family.

    Thump!

    The door burst open as a youth excitedly rushed in. ¡°I heard that Lu Yin¡¯s here. Where is he? Where is he?¡±

    Many people felt their heads ache when they saw this youth, Lily Shu''er. She specialized in creating trouble, but she was also the second in line to the Lily family, right after Lily Anne. She held a rather high position in their family and was doted upon by Granny Chan, so she was able to act with impunity within the Northline Flowzone.

    Northgate Gang felt even worse than the others in the room; he had been ordered by his family to pursue Lily Shu''er, but the more he interacted with her, the more impossible he knew this task was. This brat had a fiery personality, and she could even cause problems over the course of a simple meal. He did not know what more he could do.

    ¡°Yes, your sister is ying hostess for him.¡± Northgate Gang pointed at the screen.

    She looked up and saw Lu Yin swallow an egg-shaped object, which was actually a delicious cake.

    Lily Shu''er blinked. ¡°That¡¯s Lu Yin? Is he that hungry?¡±

    The crowd burst intoughter.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin looked up at them, and they felt their hearts tighten, as if something had thrust through their chests. They instinctively avoided Lu Yin¡¯s gaze after being faced with it.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin only nced up briefly before lowering his head back down and continuing to sample the offered food.

    Northgate Gang narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. He had been frightened by just a look! This Lu Yin had to be taught a lesson.

    ¡°Not a bad expression. I like it! Northgate Gang, get Senior Lie to fight with him. I don¡¯t believe that this guy¡¯s as strong as they portrayed him to be in the Tournament of the Strongest. Those battles were definitely staged!¡± Lily Shu''er cried out.

    Northgate Gang had the same intentions as her, but he could only wait for his elder brother to show up. Hopefully, his elder brother would end uping!

    Lu Yin had been eating for a while since the food here was just too delicious. Even though the dishes were not made with ingredients that were as rare as what Madam Nn had shared with him, it was all still very tasty. ¡°Not bad, your Northline Flowzone has excellent delicacies. I have a friend who calls himself a gourmet, but I doubt that he¡¯ll be here.¡±

    Lily Anne smiled. ¡°If Brother Lu¡¯s friend visits us, then the Lily family will absolutely offer them a warm wee.¡±

    Lu Yinughed; he had been referring to Silver. If Silver really came, then how would the Lily family wee him? Did the Neohuman Alliance require a warm wee? The wee would consist not of a banquet, but rather of a death sentence.

    ¡°Brother Lu, have you eaten your fill?¡± Lily Anne asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go. Hopefully, the people that we¡¯ve been waiting for have arrived by now.¡±

    Her eyes shed. ¡°Who is Brother Lu referring to?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but doesn¡¯t the guest of honor usually show upst to these sort of gatherings?¡±

    Lily Anne smiled. ¡°Is Brother Lu referring to himself?¡±

    ¡°Miss An¡¯er, don¡¯t be mistaken. I¡¯ll wager that there¡¯s still someone who has yet to arrive.¡± Lu Yin was now interested, as he was graduallying to better understand these aristocrats¡¯ habits. The more important the gathering was, theter the self-important people would arrive. It was all done to showcase their value.

    Lily Anne politely declined the wager since she was well aware that Northgate Lie was still missing. Could Lu Yin be referring to him?

    Of the seventeen families, only the most important children of the three great families could gather at the top floor. Anybody who could step foot within the top level would attract attention, so Lu Yin was feeling the gaze of the entire Northgate Mansion lobby crowd on him, and especially so from some youngdies who desperately wanted to apany him.

    Entering Northgate Mansion indicated one kind of status, but entering the top floor was another.

    When they saw Lu Yin¡¯s face, quite a few people cried out. The Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest had caused Lu Yin¡¯s fame to skyrocket, and he was now an existence that most people were aware of. Even though not that many people had seen the Tournament of the Strongest, the entire Human Domain had seen the Astral Combat Tournament. Lu Yin was no longer able to go unnoticed unless he purposefully altered his appearance.

    ¡°It¡¯s Lu Yin! Lu Yin¡¯s arrived. The Ten Arbiters Council sent him here to oversee the younger generation of our Northline Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really Lu Yin. I really want to have a match with him and taste the power of the strongest student from Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    ¡°Brother, forget about it. If we can¡¯t even defeat those regr students of Astral-10, then you should forget about Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin did not even know the degree of influence that he currently wielded among the younger generation. Because of him, the number of youths who wanted to enter the Astral Combat Academy had dramatically spiked. Many youngsters were eager to be famous, and nothing could create fame faster than being dered the best in the entire universe at something. Lu Yin¡¯s achievements had built a standard, just like the Ten Arbiters had.

    Lily Anne soon escorted Lu Yin to the private room on the top floor of the mansion. The people inside had been watching Lu Yin the moment he stepped inside the mansion, so no one was surprised at his arrival.

    Lu Yin had just noticed the numerous monitoring devices in the lobby, so he had already known that he was being watched. He could even tell that quite a few of the people present did not want him here.

    ¡°Everyone, allow me to introduce Lu Yin, a member of the Council of Astral Academy. He¡¯s responsible for the Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation¡¯s education, supervision, punishment, and other such administrative issues.¡±

    After her introduction, quite a few stepped forward to exchange some greetings with Lu Yin, though others, such as Northgate Gang, did not bother.

    One girl was especially lively and rushed over to stare at Lu Yin withrge, curious eyes.

    Lu Yin looked back at the kid, feeling rather perplexed.

    ¡°Shu''er, stop ying around and get over here,¡± Lily Anne berated softly as she pulled the girl behind her. She then apologized to Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. This is my little sister, Lily Shu''er. She¡¯s a bit mischievous, so please don¡¯t be offended by her actions.¡±

    ¡°Sis, I¡¯m already old enough, so don¡¯t treat me like a kid!¡± Lily Shu''er was not happy with her sister¡¯s introduction.

    Lily Anne returned her sister¡¯s look with a re of her own.

 Chapter 379: An Arrogant Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 379: An Arrogant Lu Yin</h4>

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It¡¯s said that the Lily family is famous for its beautiful women, and it certainly seems to hold up. Miss An¡¯er and Miss Shu¡¯er are both very beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Now then, tell me. Who¡¯s prettier, my sister or me?¡± Lily Shu''er instantly asked while staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had just said that to be polite, but it felt like he had trapped himself with his own words. Lily Shu''er seemed to be genuinely interested in hearing the answer to her question.

    Lu Yin was speechless, but he sheepishly answered, ¡°Both of you are equally beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, please sit down. Don¡¯t just stand around.¡± Northgate Gang said as he pointed to an empty chair.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw that the seat he had been offered was not the top seat, or even the second seat. ording to the rules, the seats were ordered in terms of hierarchy. This meant that, at least as far as Northgate Gang was concerned, there were three people with higher standings than Lu Yin.

    Lily Anne¡¯s expression changed and she looked sternly at Northgate Gang. ¡°Young Master Northgate, it seems like you¡¯ve pointed to the wrong seat. Brother Lu should sit there.¡± She then pointed to the top seat.

    Northgate Gang sneered as he replied, ¡°Miss Anne, the top seat naturally belongs to my elder brother. However, my elder brother has gone to greet the witness from the Fire Scorpion Sect of the Tempest Flowzone, and I believe that their witness happens to be the chief disciple of the Fire Scorpion Sect. So tell me, Miss Anne, do you really believe that the chief disciple of the Fire Scorpion Sect is not fit to sit in the second position?¡±

    Amused expressions appeared on everyone¡¯s faces as they looked at Lily Anne and Lu Yin.

    Since Northgate Lie was ranked on the Top 100 Rankings, many of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s youths believed that he deserved the top seat. The question was really a matter of who qualified to sit in the second seat, since that would indicate that they were second only to Northgate Lie.

    Lu Yin¡¯s status as a member of the Ten Arbiters Council was in no way inferior to anyone from the Fire Scorpion Sect¡¯s. However, Northgate Gang simply did not like the sight of this representative of the Ten Arbiters. Furthermore, Lu Yin had no background and had even offended the Daynight n. Who knew how much longer he would survive for? In the eyes of many here, offending someone who could quite possibly be killed off at any time while risking the chance of offending the Fire Scorpion sect was a foolish thing to do. The Fire Scorpion Sect was a power second only to the Feng family within the Tempest Flowzone, and they were known for their cruel way of dealing with others. They were also a force that the Northline Flowzone could not ignore.

    Lily Anne¡¯s voice turned much colder. ¡°Brother Lu represents the Ten Arbiters Council. Young Master Northgate, do you really believe that the Ten Arbiters Council is inferior to the Fire Scorpion Sect?¡±

    Northgate Gang immediately retorted, ¡°This gathering right now is only for those in the younger generation, so there¡¯s no need to mention people¡¯s status. Even if we ignore the fact that my elder brother is a ranked individual on the Top 100 Rankings, Miss Anne, you are a powerful Explorer as well. Even you should be seated more prominently than Brother Lu. Brother Lu, are my words wrong?¡±

    Before Lily Anne could reply, Lu Yin raised his hand to stop her. He looked at Northgate Gang and then casually asked, ¡°Brother Northgate, correct me if I am wrong, but you¡¯re basically saying that the seating is done ording to our individual abilities, right?¡±

    Northgate Gang loftily replied, ¡°That goes without saying.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°If that is the case, you are right. I should not be seated in the third seat. I should be seated...¡± Lu Yin let his words trail off for a moment as he pointed at the top chair before continuing. ¡°There.¡±

    After he spoke, everyone¡¯s expression changed.

    Northgate Gang mmed his fist into the table and stood up, ring at Lu Yin. Everyone¡¯s face became worried.

    What arrogance! This man was iming the head of the table as his own even after being told that it was reserved for the most powerful individual! Did this not imply that Lu Yin believed that he was stronger than Northgate Lie, someone who was on the Top 100 Rankings?

    Lily Anne was stunned. During the few days that she had spent getting to know Lu Yin, she hade to believe that he was a humble and approachable man, and he had even downyed her manypliments every time they came. So why was he being so arrogant at this moment? Northgate Lie was a man in the Top 100 Rankings! He was someone who had received countless resources and who had spent his entire time being trained by the Northgate family and Shangwu Academy. Who was Lu Yin to im to be stronger?

    Meanwhile, Lily Shu''er¡¯s eyes were captivated by Lu Yin¡¯s image. What a suave man! Even though he didn¡¯t have much to boast about in the looks department, he had an exceptional heroic spirit. How smooth!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. He had initially intended to keep a low profile during this mission, but since he was representing the Ten Arbiters, he had to act with a certain amount of assertiveness. ording to the Sandmaster, the Ten Arbiters represented boldness and vast power. Since Lu Yin was currently representing them, then he could not back down at this moment. If he did, it would affect not just his seat at this table, but also how he was seen by the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters Council was not known for appearing weak or acting humbly. Since the Ten Arbiters imed to be undefeatable, then Lu Yin had to behave in the same manner while acting on their behalf. How else would they subdue the younger generation of the Northline Flowzone? Acting in a modest manner would only make the council more vulnerable to outside attacks.

    Before arriving at the Northline Flowzone, Lu Yin had already made up his mind that he would not y nice during this visit. He hade here to demonstrate the power of the Ten Arbiters to the Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation. He was certain that, instead of ying tricks in the dark and biding their time, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ style was one ofplete and utter dominance.

    Just the idea that any one of the Ten Arbiters had ascended to their current positions through petty acts of trickery and deceit was sphemous. Each one of the Ten Arbiters represented unsurpassed power and an enigmatic person.

    For Lu Yin to truly step into his current role, he needed to treat these youths the same way he treated those of the Great Yu Empire. Back then, he had stood far above everyone else. He had to act in the same manner here, especially when around those of his generation.

    Northgate Gang stared fiercely at Lu Yin, at aplete loss for words.

    Just then, the room door suddenly swung open, and a young man with a dignified presence entered. His eyes darted past everyone before fixing straight on Lu Yin, staring at him hard.

    ¡°Elder brother!¡± Northgate Gang cried out with joy.

    Everyone else in the room also looked at the young man with happy faces.

    The young man who had just entered was none other than Northgate Lie. He was ranked ny third in the Top 100 Rankings. He was also the strongest member of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation.

    Lu Yin raised his head and locked eyes with Northgate Lie. This was not the first time he hade across a powerful figure from the Top 100 Rankings. Puyu, Wendy Yushan, and even Mira were much stronger than this Northgate Lie. However, this was also the man who made Lu Yin the most excited. This was purely because Lu Yin was confident that he was able to defeat Northgate Lie.

    When Lily Anne saw Northgate Lie arrive, she hurried forward. ¡°Big brother Lie! It has been a long time since Ist saw you.¡±

    Northgate Lie did not shift his gaze away from Lu Yin to look at Lily Anne. Behind him, another young man walked into the room. This second person had a scorpion prominently tattooed on his face, and his eyes were dark red, giving him a rather sinister look.

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡± Northgate Lie asked, his voice resounding through the room like the toll of arge bell. One could tell from his tone that he was a firm, ruthless man.

    ¡°And you are Northgate Lie, someone in the Top 100 Rankings,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The corner of Northgate Lie¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°I have long heard about the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, Lu Yin. I heard that you can easily defeat powerful Explorers and even Cruisers. Now that I see you, I can see that your reputation is indeed well-deserved. In fact, you are even more arrogant than I expected.¡±

    Lily Anne¡¯s face changed. ¡°Big brother Lie-¡±

    But before she could continue speaking, she was stopped by Northgate Lie. ¡°Anne, the Northline Flowzone cannot be looked down upon.¡±

    After those words, Lily Anne could no longer speak up. She only shot Lu Yin aplicated look.

    With a smile on his face, Lu Yin said, ¡°Brother Northgate, I have never looked down upon anyone. It¡¯s merely that, on some asions, some people tend to underestimate me. Sometimes, respect needs to be earned on our own.¡±

    Northgate Lie cried out, ¡°Well said! I was under the impression that you were coasting along on the Ten Arbiters¡¯ prestige.¡±

    Lu Yin stopped smiling, and his face turned grave. ¡°While I may represent the Ten Arbiters here, I am still my own person. Brother Northgate, you should be well aware that I should have arrived at the Northline Flowzone a long time ago. If I relied just on the official seal from the Ten Arbiters tomand the respect of all of you here, it would be very difficult. Besides, I do not enjoy letting others fight my battles.¡±

    Northgate Lie lifted his head. ¡°Well said, Lu Yin. You are more bold than I imagined. The Council of Astral Academy rarely asks about the younger generation of Innerverse. They act more like clerks for the Ten Arbiters who do paperwork. They often rely on the Ten Arbiters Council to aplish their tasks, which makes all of us look down upon them. Since you have the courage toe here on your own and make such a brave promation, then I¡¯m willing to be your friend no matter what. However, I do hope that you aren¡¯t just spouting off empty words.¡±

    Northgate Gang immediately spoke up, ¡°Lu Yin, since you talked a good game, have a battle with my elder brother.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lu Yin. Fight him if you think you are so good!¡±

    ¡°Fight! Fight!¡±

    Everyone around immediately started to chant for a fight.

    The sinister man behind Northgate Lie sized up Lu Yin, his eyes full of amazement.

    Lu Yin released a slight smile. ¡°Sure, but first, let me state the conditions before we have a match.¡±

    Northgate Lie raised a hand. ¡°If you win, the younger generation of Northline Flowzone will do everything you ask. We¡¯ll also willingly cede control of Shangwu Academy over to you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°Alright then. If you win, then I, Lu Yin, will never ever ask about any matters concerning the Northline Flowzone. I will also get the Ten Arbiters Council to stay out of your affairs.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we have a deal,¡± Northgate Lie crisply replied.

    On the side, Northgate Gang was bing increasingly excited. He did not believe that there was any chance that Lu Yin could beat his brother. No, it was impossible! Getting into the Top 100 Rankings was no mean feat. Among the Northline Flowzone¡¯s entire younger generation, only Northgate Lie had managed to get on the list. As far as Northgate Gang was concerned, his brother was unbeatable within his own realm. There were only those hundred other cultivators within the entire universe that couldpare to him! That was how rare it was to get onto the rankings. It was something that most people would never be able to achieve in the course of their entire life, so it was obvious that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t defeat Northgate Lie!

    Northgate Gang was still struggling toe up with a way to get rid of Lu Yin, but he had never expected it to happen this easily. To think that he had struggled so long toe up with a n, only for Lu Yin to walk straight into this fight. Clearly, Lu Yin was not a cool-headed man.

    After settling the details of the battle, Lu Yin bid goodbye to Lily Anne and left. No one at the gathering liked him, so there was no need to stay any longer and take their looks of disdain.

    Just as he walked out of the Northgate Mansion, Lily Anne caught up to him and apologetically said, ¡°I am sorry, Brother Lu. I didn¡¯t think that things would turn out this way.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You have nothing to apologize for. I already expected something like this to happen.¡±

    Lily Anne sighed before saying, ¡°The Ten Arbiters Council is working to take control of the universe¡¯s younger generation. There will be no exceptions anywhere, and the Northline Flowzone is naturally included in their goals. That¡¯s why Northgate Gang and the rest are trying to get rid of you. However, they don¡¯t realize that, even if you leave, someone else will just rece you. The Ten Arbiters will not let go of any region.¡±

    There was a glint in Lu Yin¡¯s eye. It was obvious that Lily Anny had carefully thought things out before speaking. She had sensed somethinging.

    ¡°If you leave, your recement might be an individual who is ranked even higher on the Top 100 Rankings. So if and when that happens, even Northgate Lie will be rendered helpless. The Ten Arbiters Council will not let Northgate Lie gain control of the Northline Flowzone,¡± Lily Anne mused.

    ¡°Is Northgate Lie also a part of the Ten Arbiters Council?¡± Lu Yin asked, taken aback. He did not know about this.

    Lily Anne nodded. ¡°He joined them after he joined the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    ¡°Which Arbiter is he under?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Lily Anne shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s forbidden to speak the names of the Ten Arbiters, and Northgate Lie wouldn¡¯t dare to break that rule.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed. At the present, he only knew the actual names of three of the Ten Arbiters. The Arbiters that he was aware of were Nightking Zhenwu, Wen Sansi, and the Divine Fist, Lan Si. He had heard about some of the other Ten Arbiters, but he had not learned their names. All he knew was that one was from the Sword Sect, one the Phoenix n, and someone nicknamed the War King. Lu Yin knew nothing at all about thest four Arbiters. Did their true names really need to be shrouded in such mystery?

    Lu Yin was starting to wonder why the Ten Arbiters felt such a need to hide their names; what were they afraid of?

    ¡°Miss An¡¯er, please go back. With this gathering of the seventeen families, your presence as an esteemed member of the Lily family is important,¡± Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Lily Anne apologized once more, but she left soon after that.

    Lu Yin raised his head. Some things really had to be done with his own power. The Ten Arbiters were extremely powerful, and any one of the Ten Arbiters had the power to destroy a powerful force on their own. But in the end, that was the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength and not Lu Yin¡¯s own strength. If he relied on their prestige to get things done, then he would live in their shadow for the rest of his life.

    In fact, there were even members of the Ten Arbiters whom he saw as enemies.

    The massacre of those with the surname ¡°Lu¡± was something that he would never forget.

 Chapter 380: A Gap

    <h4>Chapter 380: A Gap</h4>

    After walking a short distance away from Northgate Mansion, Lu Yin stopped and called out, ¡°Come out.¡±

    A skinny person walked out from behind him. It was nighttime, and the man¡¯s silhouette could only vaguely be seen. However, Lu Yin hadprehended a domain, which dramatically heightened his senses. Despite that, even though he could clearly see the person in front of him, Lu Yin had no idea who the man was. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The person had started tailing him the moment he exited Northgate Mansion, but Lu Yin had never felt any bad intentions from the man.

    The silhouette approached Lu Yin, stopping about ten meters away from Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m Ah Fan. You might not know me, but I¡¯ve fought you before. You should have some recollection of that.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°We¡¯ve fought? When?¡±

    Ah Fan seriously answered, ¡°We fought in a ported battle. At the time, you had a red name.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re the one who I won the teleportation stone from?¡±

    Ah Fan reluctantly nodded.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how to respond. He had never thought that he would run into this person here. A ported battle could be between any two people who were in the younger generation and had ess to a teleportation stone. This person had been extremely unlucky to have met Lu Yin when he had a red name. Moreover, Ah Fan was from the Northline Flowzone, giving Lu Yin the extremely awkward opportunity to meet this person in real life.

    They looked at each other without speaking.

    Although Lu Yin felt awkward, he wasn¡¯t too affected by it, as teleportation stones were meant to be fought over. When the crazy headmaster had ruined Astral-10, many of the academy¡¯s teleportation stones had been robbed, and this was a normal urrence.

    ¡°What? Are you nning to get revenge?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ah Fan stared at Lu Yin and seriously stated, ¡°I want to fight with you again.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You should already know that you won¡¯t be able to defeat me.¡±

    A trace of bitterness appeared within Ah Fan¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know that, but I¡¯m still a top student from Shangwu Academy. I really can¡¯t ept that I was defeated in a single move. At the very least, I hope to be able to withstand a second move.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°Withstand a second move? That¡¯s ambitious.¡±

    Ah Fan was stunned; it was withstanding two moves from Lu Yin. Was that really that ambitious?

    Ah Fan didn¡¯t know that Lu Yin now used Thirty Stacks as a standard attack. There were only a few Limiteers in the entire universe who could withstand Thirty Stacks, and even some Explorers would be instantly killed by such an attack. This was why Lu Yin had said that Ah Fan was ambitious in his goal; even a grey-eyed Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance had been defeated by that move.

    Hang on, Shangwu Academy, Ah Fan? Lu Yin felt like he had heard this name before.

    ¡°Lu Yin, I, Ah Fan, personally challenge you to a duel,¡± Ah Fan dered loudly.

    Lu Yin finally recalled where he heard this name before. Ah Fan was one of the nominees from San Dios, and the records had shown that he was from Shangwu Academy.

    ¡°Did you participate in the Outerverse trials?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ah Fan nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding. Since this person had been nominated by San Dios and he had also exited from Northgate Mansion, he definitely had some background. This was the exact kind of person Lu Yin wanted to recruit. ¡°You want to challenge me?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ah Fan replied seriously.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment. ¡°I can ept your challenge, but I have a condition.¡±

    Ah Fan clenched a fist. ¡°It¡¯s just a battle, so why do you need a condition?¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°I only battle for personal gain or for self defense, so why should I battle with you? There are risks associated with battle, and I need to protect myself.¡±

    ¡°Fine, what¡¯s your condition?¡± Ah Fan exasperatedly asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°I¡¯ll give you two options. The first one is to join San Dios and be a subordinate member under me if you¡¯re defeated.¡± Lu Yin paused at this moment since he didn¡¯t know how to set a price. Back in Astral-10, when Craynor had challenged Lu Yin over Xi Yue, he had set a price of twenty thousand star crystals.

    Twenty thousand had been a considerable amount to him back then, but now, he already owed fifty star essence just to Lulu, which was equivalent to five million star crystals.

    Once he remembered that he still owed such arge amount to Lulu, Lu Yin steeled his gaze. ¡°The second option is one star essence. You can choose either one.¡±

    Ah Fan was stunned. ¡°What- what did you just say? A star essence?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but he had a bad feeling after seeing how stunned Ah Fan appeared. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t have that much?¡±

    Ah Fan shook his head. ¡°Star essence is way too precious. Normally, only the direct heirs of therger families have ess to such a thing. I don¡¯t have any.¡±

    ¡°Star crystals are fine too. You can just convert it,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Ah Fan thought about the two options for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll choose the first option.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you have ten thousand star crystals?¡±

    Ah Fan shook his head and bitterly answered. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to save up so much money. My family gives me a normal amount of resources, and star crystals are allocated based on our cultivation rate. Between absorbing star crystals to cultivate and using them to train battle techniques, there¡¯s not much left over. I simply don¡¯t have that kind of money.¡±

    Lu Yin could hear the bitterness in Ah Fan¡¯s answer. It turned out that life wasn¡¯t as good as he had thought it was for children fromrge families. Meanwhile, he was borrowing star essence from people. Wasn¡¯t that discrepancy a bit too big?

    However, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t have reached his current strength without money.

    If he gave those same families an opportunity to spend hundreds of star essence in order to grant their heirs the power to be the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, they would probably be overjoyed. Money served a different function for everyone. Although Lu Yin was always in need of money, Ah Fan just needed enough to continue training.

    A penniless pauper¡ªthat was Lu Yin¡¯s new impression of Ah Fan.

    ¡°Fine, since you have no money, it¡¯s natural that you would ept the first condition and join San Dios if you lose,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ah Fan didn¡¯t reject the condition. He wouldn¡¯t have that great a future if he stayed in Shangwu Academy anyways. He was still considering what to do in the future, and going to San Dios wasn¡¯t a bad option. Besides, he would be able to interact with Lu Yin more often and also be able to challenge him anytime.

    Their current location wasn¡¯t in in sight, but it wasn¡¯t very secluded, either.

    ¡°Do you want to go to another ce?¡± Ah Fan asked.

    Lu Yin slowly lifted his right palm. ¡°It¡¯s just one move. It¡¯ll be faster here.¡±

    Ah Fan widened his eyes; Lu Yin was just too arrogant! ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll attack now!¡± An oddly shaped weapon formed from star energy appeared in Ah Fan¡¯s palm, and he shed out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin disappeared only to instantly reappear in front of Ah Fan with his palm stopping mere inches above Ah Fan¡¯s head.

    Ah Fan¡¯s face turned pale. His attack had beenpletely dissolved! On the other hand, even though Lu Yin hadn¡¯t used his full power, Ah Fan could still feel the overwhelming strength behind Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Ah Fan had been defeated by Lu Yin in the ported battle after Lu Yin had used multiple stacks. But in this exchange, Ah Fan had seen the difference between the two of them even more clearly.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°You¡¯re too focused on your own attack. The gap between us is toorge, so your attack is something that I can ignore. You should have been thinking more about how you could dodge my attack instead.¡±

    Ah Fan smiled bitterly. ¡°So what if I can dodge one of your attacks? If this had been a fight to the death, then I wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid your second attack anyways. The gap between us is just too vast.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how to console the youth. After all, Lu Yin¡¯s speed, strength, battle techniques, experience, and every other battle-rted aspect far exceeded what Ah Fan possessed.

    ¡°Actually you¡¯re not too bad. There aren¡¯t that many people in this generation who can stay alive after taking a Seven Stacks attack from me, but you¡¯re one of them.¡± Lu Yin was referring to their ported battle, when Ah Fan had only died after Lu Yin used all Nine Stacks. Although he hadn¡¯t been using battle force at the time, it had still been an attack that was strong enough to kill an Area Master from the Astral Combat Academy. This showed that Ah Fan was at leastparable to an Area Master of Astral Combat Academy.

    Ah Fan was stunned. Is he trying tofort me? Ah Fan was well aware that he wasn¡¯t that bad. He was one of the top students in Shangwu Academy. However, he was still resentful; Lu Yin and he were at about the same age, so why was there such a huge gap between them? He had always been considered a prodigy, and even though he had been defeated in previous ported battles besides facing against Lu Yin, he had always consoled himself with the fact that his opponent was someone much older than him. However, his defeat to Lu Yin had been a harsh wake up call, and his perspective was no longer limited to the Northline Flowzone; instead, it now included the entire universe.

    Ah Fan was still full of resentment.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re too cruel! You could have cut him some ck,¡± the Ghost Monkeyined.

    Lu Yin nonchntly replied, ¡°What¡¯s the point? It¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t realize that there¡¯s a gap between us.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be your subordinate in the future.¡±

    ¡°It doesn''t matter. I just want him for his background. He can¡¯t evenpare to Yue Xianzi, and he¡¯s probably worse than An Shaohua.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so ruthless! Even I feel bad for that guy! By the way, Seventh Bro, are you confident that you¡¯ll be able to beat Northgate Lie?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin thought about it before replying. ¡°I think so. The Divine Fist from the Ten Arbiters told me that he was able to defeat people on the tail end of the Top 100 Rankings after he achieved Thirty Stacks, so I should be able to do the same.¡±

    ¡°The universe is huge, and there are countless people who are included within the younger generation. You can imagine how powerful some of those people must be to be ranked within the top hundred. These people have to have amazing battle techniques and experiences, so you can¡¯tpare them to those two idiots whom you defeated in San Dios.¡±

    Lu Yin was obviously aware of this. After all, he had sparred with Wendy Yushan before and had been instantly defeated.

    His nned battle with Northgate Lie was arranged to be held a few days after the Northline tform Competition, and there were only a few days left before therge gathering.

    The news of Lu Yin¡¯s uing battle with Northgate Lie was soon heard by everyone. The rumors had definitely been circted by Northgate Gang since he wanted the entirety of the Northline Flowzone¡ªno, the entire universe, to know about Lu Yin¡¯s defeat.

    ¡°Lu Yin is one of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ subordinates! Do you really believe that you can challenge someone like him whenever you want? Besides, he¡¯s from Astral-10 as well!¡± the n leader of the Northgate n, Northgate Kong, shouted.

    Northgate Lie and Northgate Gang both stood in front of him in a submissive manner.

    ¡°But Father, Lu Yin was way too arrogant! How dare he try to sit at the head of the table! He was clearly looking down on my brother!¡± Northgate Gang whined.

    Northgate Kong roared, ¡°Then let him have the seat! You¡¯ve offended the Ten Arbiters with this move! This is different from a student challenging Astral-10. Lu Yin is currently representing the Ten Arbiters. It wouldn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s defeated and there¡¯s no connection with us, but how will the Ten Arbiters feel about this mess? Do you realize what everyone else is saying about this? They¡¯re saying that the Northline Flowzone is trying to kick the Council of the Ten Arbiters out!¡±

    Northgate Lie frowned. ¡°Father, it can¡¯t be that serious, right?¡±

 Chapter 381: The Arrival of the Strong

    <h4>Chapter 381: The Arrival of the Strong</h4>

    Northgate Kong sighed. ¡°It really is that serious. Lu Yin alone might not matter too much, and our Northgate family could even take responsibility if he dies. The Lockbreaker Society, Astral-10, and Outerverse won¡¯t give us trouble just because of one fatal ident. However, since he¡¯s representing the Ten Arbiters here, anything that happens to him is a reflection on them. If he¡¯s defeated, then it means that the Ten Arbiters have made a mistake in who they assigned, and it might even cause them to beughed at. Have you thought of what might happen if the Ten Arbiters be angry? It won¡¯t be a student they send next time. Instead, it¡¯ll probably be someone at the top of the Top 100 Rankings. You two should know how many such experts the Ten Arbiters Council controls.¡±

    The two youths¡¯ faces changed.

    ¡°And if such a thing happens, Lie¡¯er¡¯s future within the Ten Arbiters Council will definitely be affected.¡±

    Northgate Lie spoke up. ¡°Father, Lu Yin has not be a subordinate of any one of the Arbiters.¡±

    Northgate Kong wearily replied, ¡°If you defeat him, then you¡¯ll offend whoever has arranged for him to be assigned here.¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s mind immediately jumped to a specific name: The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Schr.

    Even more concerning, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Schr, Wen Sansi, was from the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Wen family, and the Erudite Flowzone was not that far from their own Northline Flowzone. Or, in other words, the Northline Flowzone was within the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s realm of influence.

    Northgate Lie now regretted acting too impulsively at the gathering.

    ¡°Father, what should we do now?¡± Northgate Lie appealed, asking for advice.

    Northgate Kong frowned and was deep in thought. ¡°Try toe up with a way for Lu Yin to cancel this battle.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t. To do so would be too embarrassing.¡± Northgate Gang¡¯s lips curled up.

    Northgate Kong became infuriated and ruthlessly threw his son back a dozen meters. Northgate Gang spat out some blood, but before he could even take a breath, his father berated, ¡°Unfilial son! This is all because of you, and yet you still dare to speak?¡±

    Northgate Gang quickly choked back what he had been about to say and lowered his trembling head.

    Northgate Lie sighed. ¡°Father, I¡¯ll think of a way to save Lu Yin face while also canceling the appointed battle.¡±

    Northgate Kong rubbed his temples and waved his hand to dismiss his sons. He just hoped that things would go well.

    From start to end, they had never even considered the possibility that Lu Yin might win. Although Lu Yin¡¯s battle results were impressive, at the end of the day, he was still just a Limiteer. He might be a Realmbreaker, but that was just against ordinary Explorers. Anyone on the Top 100 Rankings was an entirely different story since each expert on the rankings was also a Realmbreaker. Fighting against one of those experts as a Limiteer was equivalent to crossing two realms and challenging a Cruiser. Thus, no one believed that Lu Yin had any hope of victory.

    At the same time,pletely clueless of the Northgate family¡¯s struggles toe up with a way to cancel the scheduled battle, Lu Yin returned to his hotel room to rest. But right when he closed the door, the earth and sky seemed to shudder from an earthquake. An iparablyrge astral eagle descended and let loose a keening cry, shocking everyone on the Northgate tform.

    Everyone looked up and stared up, horrified. This was the arrival of a super powerhouse.

    Lu Yin also saw the giant eagle whose wings covered the skies and knew that the Ross Empire¡¯s Duke ckhawk must have arrived. This was a powerhouse whose power level had almost reached 200,000. He was a peak Hunter who was onlycking the final step to break through and be an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure if the Northgate tform held any powerhouses who could keep Duke ckhawk in check. If not, Duke ckhawk would be considered the strongest person in the Northline Flowzone with his arrival.

    But before the crowd could react, another powerful strength descended that caused the skies to split in two.

    On Northgate tform, everyone¡¯s faces paled as they saw a floating mountain appear. No, it wasn¡¯t a mountain, but rather an astral beast that had the appearance of a mountain. This was the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s famous Giant Devil Mountain. Few could tame this beast, but the witness that the Beast Tamers Flowzone had sent to attend the Northgate tform Competition had tamed one as his beast. The appearance of this Giant Devil Mountain was indicative of Fayde¡¯s arrival.

    Duke ckhawk from the zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s Ross Empire and Fayde from the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s First Grade Hall had both appeared at around the same time, causing the situation at the Northgate tform to be somewhat unstable.

    Just based on power level alone, these two surpassed Firesmelt¡¯s master, Yan Wujiu. Even if battle techniques were taken into ount, Yan Wujiu still would not be able topare to these two at all. They were true super powerhouses. To Lu Yin, although he could see them, they werepletely out of his reach.

    ¡°Fayde, it¡¯s actually you.¡± The giant astral eagle stared at the top of the Giant Devil Mountain, where a man stood; it was Fayde. Just by standing there, he distorted the void.

    Fayde looked at the astral eagle with aplicated expression. ¡°I never thought that you woulde here as well. It¡¯s been a long time since west met.¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t met since the Chaotic Domain. You left a deep impression on me back then.¡±

    ¡°So did you. There are only a few from the Ross Empire who don¡¯t use firearms, but you¡¯re one of them.¡±

    Duke ckhawk sneered. ¡°Few cultivators from the Beast Tamers Flowzone are able to train their physical body to be so tough, but you¡¯re one of the rare ones as well.¡±

    The two stared at each other, and although no animosity could be heard from their conversation, many of the onlookers could feel the rising tension in the air. It seemed that thest meeting between these two had not been pleasant at all.

    On Northgate tform, the Northgate family, Lily family, Barthe Jacques family, and the other seventeen ruling families of Northline Flowzone looked up. They all had powerhouses that could try to force their way into the exchange overhead, but it would take an Enlighter to actually scare the two foreign powerhouses into backing down.

    The Northgate family¡¯s head, Northgate Kong, the Lily family¡¯s head, Lily Liana, and a few others looked towards the Barthe Jacques family.

    The next moment, Northgate tform turned a scarlet red hue as the air was visibly scorched. A deep pressure descended upon the tform, causing countless people to turn deathly pale.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, as he could feel an unimaginable pressure from above. He had felt something simr once before from the Nine-Headed Ape; it was an Enlighter¡¯s pressure.

    Duke ckhawk and Fayde simultaneously lowered their heads, but they did not see anything. Suddenly, they felt something that caused them to turn around, only to see that a man had appeared behind them and been silently watching them. He was wearing a scarlet-red outfit, and his appearance was sinister and terrifying, as if he had walked out from a pool of blood.

    ¡°Scarlet hand Tie Sa.¡± Fayde solemnly greeted the neer.

    The man looked at Fayde and then at Duke ckhawk before slowly speaking. ¡°Please give me some face. Don¡¯t fight in the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    Fayde and Duke ckhawk exchanged looks and could see the unwillingness in each other¡¯s eyes. However, there was no point as the person making the request was an Enlighter. Anybody who could reach such a realm was a genius and would have been a Realmbreaker in their younger years. They were considered freaks by countless people, and they became even stronger the higher they climbed. The two Hunters would not be confident in challenging such a person even if they were within the same realm, let alone when they were an entire realm below them. The difference of one realm could be as great as that of heaven and earth.

    ¡°My apologies. We don¡¯t have any intentions of starting a fight.¡± As Duke ckhawk spoke, his appearance changed as the enormous astral eagle vanished and a seasoned-looking middle-aged man appeared. He was the Ross Empire¡¯s Duke ckhawk.

    Tie Sa then looked towards Fayde.

    Fayde waved his hand, and the Giant Devil Mountain vanished, transforming into a tattoo that appeared on his arm.

    Both had left their battle state.

    Tie Sa nodded. ¡°My thanks. I represent the Barthe Jacques family, and I wee the two of you.¡± And with that, he vanished.

    After Tie Sa disappeared, both of the two Hunters released a pent up breath. The pressure on them had been a little too great when facing an Enlighter.

    The people on the Northgate tform also rxed since they would no longer need to worry about bing innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.

    An Enlighter was an existence of great power who could suppress everything, and an organization would not casually send one out. No one knew how much the Barthe Jacques family had spent to recruit Tie Sa, but no one dared to ask either.

    Regardless, Tie Sa¡¯s presence meant that the Enlighters of the three great families of Northline Flowzone had teamed up, which meant that outside forces could not easily provoke their Flowzone.

    Lu Yin watched as the sky returned to normal and released a breath. He was still too weak and was not even fit to view such a battle. He suddenly had a question¡ªif the Nine-Headed Ape had been stomped silly by a giant lightning rabbit, then what of this Tie Sa? If that rabbit came and stomped on this Enlighter, then would he be stunned as well? It seemed very possible.

    He longed for the day when he could once again see that lightning rabbit stomp on some creature, though he was looking even more forward to borrowing the creature¡¯s lightning again. After all, that electricity had been powerful enough to wipe out a genuine Hunter in the blink of an eye!

    Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the day of the Northgate tform Contest.

    The Northgate tform had a central za that had a radius of a few thousand kilometers. A normal person would take days to walk across it, and even a normal cultivator would not be able to see the whole thing at once; only space-exploring powerhouses could do so.

    The za, which was the location for every single Northgate tform Contest, was built on a sturdy area and surrounded by statues representing the seventeen families.

    Lu Yin had stopped at one of the tallest stone tforms beside the za. Next to him were the other witnesses for the gathering such as Duke ckhawk and Fayde.

    With the exception of Lu Yin, all of the other witnesses on the stone tform were space-exploring powerhouses.

    Duke ckhawk frowned when he saw Lu Yin, appearing to be rather unhappy. He was almost at the Enlighter realm, so he was not pleased to see a junior receiving the same treatment as he himself. However, he had already heard beforehand that Lu Yin represented the Ten Arbiters Council, and the Ten Arbiters were definitely qualified to be viewed on equal terms as someone like him.

    Still, being qualified was only the first step to truly bing considered equals. It also depended on each side¡¯s individual abilities, just like the Ten Arbiters.

    At this moment, the witnesses on the stone tform and everyone from the Northline Flowzone¡¯s families looked at Lu Yin. They all were eager to see if he would be able to take his seat.

    Lu Yin scanned the stone tform while his heart quivered and his mood plummeted. He was nothing more than a witness for this gathering, but now, he was being treated like the main character. He had no choice in the matter either, since his status and power did not match up. Currently, any discrepancy would be closely scrutinized. If someone like Northgate Lie was acting on the Ten Arbiters¡¯ behalf instead of Lu Yin, then such a situation would not have urred.

    Those who could move freely throughout the universe were in apletely different ss from those who could not. The higher one climbed, the greater the pressure.

    Duke ckhawk was not alone, as the others held simr feelings. Lu Yin was feeling a sense of rejection from the space-exploring powerhouses due to them feeling like their dignity was being stepped on if they sat with a Limiteer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed; it was not his first time facing such a pressure. Fortunately, possibly due to him frequently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, or maybe for some other reason, this pressure could not cause his spirit to copse. As long as he could maintain a sliver of his consciousness, he would be able to walk across the stone tform.

    Atop the tform, infinitesimal specks of dust floated up and disintegrated. The pressure had reached the point where it had visibly materialized.

    Northgate Kong walked out at this moment and stepped onto the stone tform. His step was like a stone breaking the calm surface of ake, and all of the pressure that Lu Yin was facing immediately dispersed.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the Northgate tform Competition is about to start. May all of you bear witness,¡± Northgate Kong spoke courteously as he nodded amicably to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin exhaled. If the pressure had increased any further, then his body might not have been able to withstand it even if his spirit had remained intact. These old folks were just too shameless! They had ganged up on him with numbers. If not for Northgate Kong¡¯s intervention, then Lu Yin would have had to resort to one of his hidden tricks.

 Chapter 382: The Strength of the Top 100 Rankings

    <h4>Chapter 382: The Strength of the Top 100 Rankings</h4>

    The seating on the tform was not arranged by who had arrived first orst, but rather with the strongest individuals sitting in the middle.

    Lu Yin maintained a low profile and sat to the side, and beside him was the cold-looking male from the Tempest Flowzone with a scorpion tattoo on his face. He seemed rather strange.

    This person paid no heed to Lu Yin, but he had not been included in the crowd¡¯sbined pressure when Lu Yin had arrived on the scene.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this bunch of scoundrels are shameless! You¡¯ll need to be more careful about people scheming against you.¡± The Ghost Monkey was unhappy with what had just happened.

    Lu Yin naturally knew all this. It was normal that he was not viewed favorably by Duke ckhawk since he was from the Ross Empire. Fortunately, the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Fayde had not acted against him. Otherwise, he may not have been able to resist thebined pressure.

    The stone tform where Lu Yin was seated was where the witnesses were watching from. There were also seventeen other tforms floating around the za where the seventeen families were located.

    The Seventeen families sounded like there were too many, and Lu Yin gave them nothing more than a nce. The only ones that were actually noteworthy were the three great families.

    And Lu Yin paid the most attention to the Barthe Jacques family, but that was just because they were the richest.

    His gaze swept across the crowd and towards the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s floating tform. His eyes met a scene of such wealth and opulence that his mind went momentarily nk.

    The floating tforms of the other families had conciseyouts, with the sole exception of the Barthe Jacques family. Their tform appeared to be simrly furnished as Northgate Mansion. No, their tform was even more luxurious than Northgate Mansion! It wasn¡¯t the tform¡¯s decorations that stood out, but more so the various delicacies and wines. Lu Yin obviously could not recognize anything, but there were actually fluctuations of star energying off of the food, which was evidence that it was astral beast meat.

    Lu Yin swallowed a gulp of saliva. This setting was just too luxurious and over exaggerated. Their family was clearly demonstrating to everyone else that they suffered from nock of money.

    On the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s floating tform, the family head, Henry, suddenly turned to exchange nces with Lu Yin. His lips rose in a faint smile as he raised his wine ss to offer a toast from a distance. Lu Yin nodded in reply and maintained a slight smile, but internally, he was screaming. Those people were too rich, and everything that they ate was precious resources. If Lu Yin was given all of the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s wealth, then he would dare to point at anyone in the Top 100 Rankings and challenge them.

    ¡°Father, that¡¯s Lu Yin,¡± said a youth from behind Henry. His name was Harold, and he was one of the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s heir. He was the same age as Northgate Lie, but he was still a Limiteer. The family did not care much about their heir¡¯s power levels since money could invite any powerhouse to act as their bodyguard, just like how they had hired Tie Sa.

    ¡°I know. He¡¯s an enthusiastic fellow who has great potential for investment,¡± Henry replied with a smile.

    Harold¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Does Father intend to rope him in?¡±

    Henryughed. ¡°Rope him in? Your thinking is too simple. This brat is not someone that we plutocrats can hope to rope in. Even the Sword Sect failed to entice him. We just have to maintain a good rtionship.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s offended the Daynight n,¡± Banico spoke up. He was another one of the family¡¯s heirs, as well as one of Harold¡¯spetitors.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a conflict between juniors,¡± Harold replied.

    Banico contemptuously said, ¡°Given the temperament of the Daynight n, Lu Yin will run out of luck one day.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. It was also someone from the Daynight n who proved Lu Yin¡¯s innocence, which just goes to show that there are also people within that n who support him,¡± Harold rebutted.

    ¡°But he offended Nightqueen Yanqing, Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s own sister. She¡¯s a powerful person with great influence within the Nightking n.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s turn to make decisions for the Nightking n yet.¡±

    ¡­

    Henry frowned. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s not time for either of you to argue about such things either. We are just a family focused on business, so we have no need to meddle in such matters.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know that his single nce of awe had incited two heirs of the Barthe Jacques family to argue about him. He was no longer a nobody, and the influence from his status was actually very impressive, especially within a specific context.

    The time left until the start of the Northgate tform Competition slowly dwindled away.

    Suddenly, the sky became boiling hot, and everyone looked up to see a blue-green me burning the void apart. A bone-deep chill struck everyone and caused their hair to stand on end. The chill was not from the cold, but was rather an innate response to the appearance of something life-threatening.

    Suddenly, the scarlet radiance shed once again and dispersed the bone-piercing chill. ¡°Mister Poison me, please sit atop the high tform.¡±

    Thest witness to appear was the ze Realm¡¯s Poison me. There were rumors that his fire was abnormal.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw Poison me. This Poison me was the person who posed the greatest threat to Lu Yin out of everyone gathered here. Duke ckhawk or Fayde would never act against a junior like him, but Poison me might not show such restraint since people from the ze Realm seemed to be more rash. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that Lu Yin had a grudge against his faction as well.

    The Astral Combat Academy acted as a miniature model of the universe, and the conflicts within the academy were often extensions of real conflicts between great powers. Lu Yin had suppressed the ze Realm within the Astral Combat Academy to a point where they could no longer raise their heads, so to them, he was their enemy.

    Poison mended on the high tform and looked straight at Lu Yin. In that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s heart raced, and his entire body tensed up.

    Poison me frowned. ¡°Why is there a Limiteer junior here?¡±

    Northgate Kong stood up with a smile. ¡°Mister Poison me, please don¡¯t mind him. That¡¯s our little friend Lu Yin, who¡¯s representing the Ten Arbiters as a witness for the Northgate tform Competition.¡±

    Poison me stared at Lu Yin with icy eyes while the scorching temperature from his mes caused the high tform¡¯s color to change. Lu Yin felt this crushing pressure even more acutely than the previous one since Poison me was targeting him. This was different from Duke ckhawk and the others; their pressure had been naturally exerted due to the difference between their realms, but Poison me had a grudge against Lu Yin, which caused the pressure he emanated to be different.

    Lily Liana, the Lily family¡¯s head, stood up and was about to intervene, but Lu Yin suddenly asked. ¡°Why are Astral-10''s mentors not present?¡±

    This one sentence caused Poison me¡¯s pressure to dissipate. He could suppress Lu Yin, but he did not dare to be disrespectful towards Astral-10. Even if others were unaware, how could those from great powers not know of Astral-10¡¯s terror? That ce was a prison, and those qualified to guard the prison were all freaks.

    Lily Liana smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve sent out invitations to Astral-10¡¯s mentors long ago, but they responded that they were busy with their duties there and are too busy to attend. My sincere apologies in forgetting to pass this news to Student Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and replied with some courteous remarks before sitting back down and directing an unsatisfied face towards Poison me. He rxed, delighted that he had had the foresight to bring Astral-10 to the Northline Flowzone. All of these old bats were shameless! He could not ce his hope on the Northline Flowzone¡¯s experts. They would eventually make a move to help him, but they would quite possibly be just a step toote. It was better for him to retain control of the initiative.

    All around the za, the descendants of the seventeen families gave Lu Yin strange looks, almost as if they were looking at a deity. This person was hated by so many people, and the stronger he became, the more he was targeted.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. This was all because he had obtained a position that did not match his current age and strength. Others his age were ying in the academy, not being ordered to join in the local ¡°fun¡± here. This had resulted in him being targeted.

    He suddenly envied Xia Luo and the others¡¯ carefree lives. No, he should be envious of Lulu; she was rich, but she still spent her days ying around.

    Not long after Poison me arrived, a loud boom rang through the sky. The Northgate tform Competition had officially begun.

    ording to the schedule, each family would take turns reporting their contributions to the Northline Flowzone and detail what their family had invested in the Flowzone and what returns they had obtained. It was nothing more than a self-praising session, and the entire process was arduously long. Many people started daydreaming and some even fell asleep.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw that even Fayde had closed his eyes and was recuperating his energy. Evidently, this was not these people¡¯s first time witnessing the Northgate tform Competition. Their appearance was purely to represent their organizations¡¯ friendship and to allow the Northline Flowzone to publicize its strength.

    Lu Yin had nothing else to do, so he started silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The man beside him with the scorpion tattoo on his face never even looked at Lu Yin a single time.

    A few hours passed, and when the seventeen families finallypleted praising themselves, they moved on to praising each others¡¯ achievements. The three great families had the most aplishments, especially the Barthe Jacques family. When it was their turn to report their contributions, Lu Yin specifically sat up and paid attention,pletely stunned. ording to the family¡¯s records, they sustained almost half of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s economy.

    They¡¯re too rich! Lu Yin estimated that he would not even be able to count the family¡¯s entire wealth.

    He looked at the family with an increasingly gentle and friendly gaze, impatient to run to their family¡¯s floating tform to have a chat.

    There were many details throughout the entire process of the Northgate tform Competition, but the only one that attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention was the Juniors¡¯ Tournament.

    There were more than a hundred cultivators among the younger generation of the seventeen families, and when it was time for the Juniors¡¯ Tournament, they all went onstage to battle. Quite frankly, the battles were nothing special, and they even fell a few levels short of the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s matches.

    Of course, there were space-exploring powerhouses even amongst the juniors, but one¡¯s power level was just one part of their strength. If judged with the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s standards, these Explorers were aboutparable to an academy leader, but those leaders were only at the Limiteer realm.

    The truly astounding one was Northgate Lie, and his appearance even roused Duke ckhawk, Fayde, and Poison me. After all, this youth ranked within the Top 100 Rankings, and even if he was at the tail end, he still was one of the Top 100 fighters in the younger generation. Barring any unforeseen events, this person¡¯s reputation would definitely eventually surpass their own. After all, these super powerhouses had never been able to step into the Top 100 Rankings in their youth.

    Northgate Lie was the poster child of the Northgate family, as well as the entire Northline Flowzone. The Northgate family had united with Shangwu Academy to pour all of their resources into grooming him, so he could not possibly be weak.

    Lu Yin also paid special attention to Northgate Lie. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist had once mentioned that his Thirty Stacks had been able to defeat an expert at the tail end of the Top 100 Rankings. However, times were different now, so even if Lu Yin felt like he could rival those at the bottom of the rankings, it was still just a feeling.

    In the middle of the za, Northgate Lie looked around before his gaze finally settled on Lu Yin.

    His family had tasked him with finding a way to have the battle agreement rescinded, so he had to let Lu Yin know how arduous the battle thaty ahead of him would be. As long as some other certain measures were used, both sides could save face. Of course, this was assuming that Lu Yin was not foolish and that he would understand that he was not Northgate Lie¡¯s opponent.

    Everyone looked at Northgate Lie. His opponent was the strongest youth of a family, and he was an Explorer with a power level roughly equal to Northgate Lie¡¯s: about 30,000.

    ¡°Brother Northgate, let¡¯s begin.¡±

    Northgate Lie remained calm. ¡°I won¡¯t hold back. As a sign of respect to you, I¡¯ll use my full strength.¡±

    His opponent¡¯s face turned ugly, as his power could only be considered above average within his realm. Actually, he could only barely be considered a genius within the Northline Flowzone even after his family had expended all of their resources on him. There was still too far a gap between him and Northgate Lie, but he had thought that they could have a few rounds. His heart sank when he heard that Northgate Lie would use his full strength, and he hurriedly responded with a smile, ¡°Brother Northgate, this battle¡¯s not that important is it? There¡¯s no need for Brother Northgate-¡±

    But before he could finish speaking, a round wheel whirled past his neck. Just a few inches more, and his head would have been separated from his body.

 Chapter 383: Mooching While Secretly Helping Others

    <h4>Chapter 383: Mooching While Secretly Helping Others</h4>

    That man¡¯s face paled, and he slowly retreated. He stared at Northgate Lie in shock before forcing out a smile and running away.

    Northgate Lie turned to Lu Yin with a smile. This was his battle technique, the Phantom Disc. Lu Yin, are you confident that you can take that?

    At this moment, Northgate Lie wasn¡¯t the only one looking at Lu Yin, as many others were as well. They could tell that Northgate Lie had demonstrated his full strength specifically for Lu Yin.

    On top of the stone tform, Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn. He had been studying Northgate Lie the entire time, but he truly had not been able to see Northgate Lie¡¯s sneak attack just now.

    ¡°The Northgate family¡¯s Phantom Disc is still very strong. It¡¯s able to shuttle through the void and leave no trace. Right from the start, this move caused so much suffering,¡± Duke ckhawk said with a sigh.

    Poison me solemnly replied, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that not only has Northgate Lie learned the Phantom Disc, but he¡¯s also learned Shangwu Academy¡¯s most powerful technique, the Dark Loosening Technique. It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s an expert within the Top 100 Rankings. If this kid bes a Hunter before we¡¯ve broken through, the victor of a battle between us and him would be unclear.¡±

    There were various discussions all around the tform.

    Lu Yin squinted. The Phantom Disc and Dark Loosening Technique were both integral parts of Northgate Lie¡¯s strength. He could not see it, but Lu Yin had never relied on his sight in battle. He had his domain and his Cosmic Art for that. Even if Northgate Lie¡¯s Phantom Disc was faster than that, it still would not be able to surpass the Cosmic Art¡¯s sensory abilities. That technique was the nemesis of extreme speed. The moment the wheel bore through the void, it would be sensed by the Cosmic Art. Moreover, Lu Yin still had the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and the Secret Sidestep, neither of which could be ignored.

    If Northgate Lie had intended to use the Phantom Disc to scare Lu Yin, then he had miscalcted.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that guy¡¯s trying to frighten you. Let¡¯s not be afraid so we that can give him a good beating!¡± the Ghost Monkey tried to tempt Lu Yin, but Lu Yin just grunted for him to shut up.

    Beside Lu Yin, the man from the Tempest Flowzone turned to look at Lu Yin, a perplexed expression on his face.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t intended for you.¡±

    ¡°I know. I didn¡¯t even speak.¡± As the man spoke in a cold voice, as the scorpion tattoo on his face squirmed, disgusting Lu Yin.

    Northgate Lie exited the za in high spirits, feeling proud of himself. There were only a hundred people in the younger generation across the entire universe who could step into the Top 100 Rankings. They were dispersed across the entire universe, and most people would never even meet one throughout the course of their entire lives. He, Northgate Lie, was definitely one of the top few in his generation, as not even the Ross Empire had any youths on the rankings.

    After Northgate Lie¡¯s battle, the others felt even more dull, as many were still mesmerized by his Phantom Disc.

    ¡°Sis, do you think that Lu Yin¡¯s afraid?¡± Lily Shu''er muttered as she approached Lily Anne on the Lily family¡¯s floating tform.

    The older sister looked at Lu Yin on the high tform. ¡°Probably not.¡±

    ¡°Such manliness. Sis, he¡¯s really heroic,¡± Lily Shu''er said longingly.

    Lily Anne did not reply. She could understand the apprehensions that Lu Yin held due to his position, but she was focused on other matters at the present moment.

    On the Northgate family¡¯s floating tform, Northgate Gang was excited. ¡°Bro, that Lu Yin must be frightened silly. Look, he¡¯s still staring at you.¡±

    Northgate Lie smiled and nced at his brother before quietly saying, ¡°There¡¯s a limit to how strong apetition amongst students can be. In the finals of the Tournament of the Strongest, Tian Hou was said to be a legend that no one in the same realm could defeat in singlebat. But from what I know, the Ten Arbiters could totally disregard that Cosmic Hou. If the legends were true, then Tian Hou would have never been able to return home.¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s all self-exaggeration put out by the Astral Combat Academy,¡± Northgate Gang said, agreeing.

    Northgate Lie did not deny the allegations. The Astral Combat Academy was the most significant institution in the entire universe, which already incited a great deal of discontent from the other academies. They had promoted the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest to ridiculous degrees, but that had only caused many to think that the strength disyed in the Tournament of the Strongest had been exaggerated.

    The Northgate tform Competition would go on for a few days, and the first day passed in the same manner as it had started.

    Even at the end of the day, the most eye-catching person was Northgate Lie. His strength and demeanor caused people to gasp, and he showed no mercy in his matches. Every time, he used his entire power as a show of respect for his opponent. This was the disposition of a true powerhouse.

    The person who had been instantly wiped out by Northgate Lie in the first round was now speechless. He had truly hoped that Northgate Lie would give him a chance to go for a few rounds, but he had not been able to even withstand a single strike. Fortunately, his family did not me him.

    The next day, the Juniors Tournament continued, but there were no attention-grabbing individuals on the second day. The Barthe Jacques family, one of the three great families, held very little interest in fighting. The only one that drew some remarks from the crowd was Lily Shu''er. She had just entered Shangwu Academy this year, but she was already able to defeat a fellow academy member many years her senior, which drew much praise from the crowd.

    On the third day, Lily Anne astounded the crowd as well, easily defeating a space-exploring powerhouse from her generation. Many had thought that she was not that powerful, but her match forced them to recall that she had actually graduated from the Astral Combat Academy.

    Being able to graduate sessfully from the Astral Combat Academy was proof that one was not weak.

    However, Lily Anne¡¯s record of having studied at the Astral Combat Academy caused many from the seventeen families to be angry at her sess, to the point where some even urged Northgate Lie to fight her in the next round.

    But Northgate Lie could not be bothered to do so. While the three great families were indeedpeting against each other, they actually shared a good rtionship, so they would not intentionally humiliate each other. The rapport between the three families was not that easily broken.

    Northgate Lie could no longer be considered a young person, and he would no longer be a part of the younger generation after just a few more years. The Northgate tform Competition was held every fifteen years, so at the next gathering, Lily Anne would still be a part of the younger generation. Clearly, during the next Juniors Tournament, Lily Anne would easily be the strongestpetitor there. In other words, it was highly likely that the champion of the next Northgate tform Competition would be the Lily family. This was the three families¡¯ rapport.

    However, Lily Anne had suddenly spoken up and challenged Northgate Lie, shocking many. Even the Lily family had not expected such a scenario to unfold.

    Northgate Lie was astonished. ¡°An¡¯er, you want to challenge me?¡¯

    Lily Anne smiled. ¡°Brother Lie, don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯m not challenging you per se¡ªI just want to test out Brother Lie¡¯s Dark Loosening Technique. I was unable to study in Shangwu Academy, which is truly one of my life¡¯s regrets. Can Brother Lie satisfy this junior¡¯s wish?¡±

    After her words, many felt their irritation towards her diminish. It turned out that she still cared about Shangwu Academy.

    Still, the older folks did not view it in the same light. If she really cared about Shangwu Academy, then she would not have gone to the Astral Combat Academy in the first ce. It seemed like this brat had another agenda.

    But Northgate Lie was clueless and readily walked onto the stage. ¡°Alright, since An¡¯er wants to try out the Dark Loosening Technique, then I will satisfy your wish. I¡¯ll stand still and let you beat me. As long as you can make me retreat by even a single step, it¡¯ll be your victory.¡±

    Lily Anne smiled. ¡°Brother Lie thinks too highly of me. The Dark Loosening Technique is famed for its defense as well as its ability to increase your star energy absorption rate. The one being attacked will appear to be imprisoned, but their mountain-like motionless has an underlying flexible strength that causes the opponent¡¯s attacks to dissolve. How could I cause Brother Lie to take a step back?¡±

    Northgate Lieughed. ¡°An¡¯er, just don¡¯t hold back when attacking me.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll start.¡± And with those words, Lily Anne mmed an unassuming palm into his chest, sending shockwaves coursing through the ground as a gale swept across the arena, which then rose into the air and released a soft rumble. Northgate Lie did not take even a single step back while Lily Anne had to take a few steps back.

    ¡°It certainly lives up to its reputation. My palm strike was reduced to a third of its strength, and there¡¯s also a retaliating effect. Brother Lie, is this a bacsh effect against my attack?¡± Lily Anne asked in astonishment, her voice extremely loud.

    Northgate Lie nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. An¡¯er can try again.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t hold back.¡± Lily Anne then disyed her battle technique, the Flower-Plucking Palm. Her star energy formed into petals that ovepped with her palm strike as she struck at Northgate Lie¡¯s chest once again. The void shuddered, and a giant spatial crack appeared beside Northgate Lie that stretched far into the distance.

    ¡°So this is the Dark Loosening Technique. It possesses a strength that diverts my attack, and this strength is roughly¡­¡±

    ¡°How powerful, Brother Lie¡¯s Dark Loosening Technique should even be able to withstand a Cruiser¡¯s attack. I wonder how strong an attack must be to break such a defense.¡±

    ¡°This must be the Dark Loosening Technique¡¯s secret defense, so it¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The crowd¡¯s gazes became stranger and stranger, as Lily Anne seemed to be talking too much. It almost felt like she was exining all of the Dark Loosening Technique¡¯s details. This seemed less like a consultation and more like an overt plot to reveal information about the Dark Loosening Technique.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s face grew uglier by the minute, as he could tell that this brat was testing him out for Lu Yin. In other words, she was trying to secretly help an outsider even though she was a native of the Northline Flowzone.

    ¡°Alright, Lie¡¯er, there¡¯s a limited time to the Northgate tform Competition. Stop ying around.¡± Northgate Kong finally could not take it anymore and firmly interrupted.

    Northgate Lie rxed and pushed Lily Anne aside. He forced out a smile. ¡°An¡¯er, this ends here. I¡¯ll coach you by myself in future.¡±

    Lily Anne nodded and replied, ¡°Thank you Brother Lie.¡± She then walked off without any subtlety.

    Northgate Lie was furious, but there wasn¡¯t really much that he could do. He red at Lu Yin with hatred filled eyes; what rtionship did that bastard have with Lily Anne that she was willing to do such a thing for him?

    On top of the tall tform, Lu Yin blinked. Even a fool would now know what Lily Anne had been doing. He wondered why this woman was helping him so much, and she had even revealed so many details of Northgate Lie¡¯s technique. Lu Yin had already known how the Dark Loosening Technique worked; it was a defensive style technique that diverted attacks. Thus, Lu Yin already knew how to deal with it.

    This Dark Loosening Technique was not even worth mentioning whenpared to the Daynight Restoration Technique, but it would still be difficult for Lu Yin to breach it if someone much stronger used it. Lu Yin calcted for a moment. Hmm, Thirty Stacks should still be enough to break through.

    ¡°Sis, that was brutal!¡± Lily Shu''er shot her sister a thumbs-up when Lily Anne returned to the Lily family¡¯s floating tform.

    In front of the sisters, Lily Liana barked, ¡°Nonsense! An¡¯er, go and apologize to the Northgate familyter.¡±

    Lily Anne acknowledged the family head¡¯s order.

    ¡°Sis, answer truthfully. Do you like Lu Yin?¡± Lily Shu''er slyly cozied up towards Lily Anne with gleaming eyes.

    Lily Anne tapped her sister¡¯s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense! We may need that person¡¯s help for certain things in the future.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, who are you trying to deceive? Our Lily family might not be that strong, but we still won¡¯t ever need help from someone from the Outerverse! Brother Lie is part of the Ten Arbiters Council, so we¡¯ll have no use for that person.¡±

    Lily Anne looked at Lu Yin. It was precisely because he was from the Outerverse that they might need him in the future.

    The Juniors Tournamentsted for another two days, though the majority of the onlookers were bored out of their minds by the end. Lu Yin was no different, and he passed the time by reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, though not to the extent of fainting.

    On the final day, Lu Yin was sitting around idly when he haphazardly nced at the man with the facial scorpion tattoo again. Curious, he searched him up on thework. Lu Yin quickly found the information that he was looking for. This man was part of the Fire Scorpion Sect, a powerful sect in the Tempest Flowzone. The sect¡¯s power was second only to the ruling faction of the Tempest Flowzone, the Feng n. The Fire Scorpion Sect also reared astral fire scorpions and harvested their poison. This meant that they were skilled in both fire and poison battle techniques.

 Chapter 384: A Terrifying Power Level

    <h4>Chapter 384: A Terrifying Power Level</h4>

    Lu Yin nced at the man beside him once again and involuntarily shifted away. Poison posed a thorny problem to most cultivators.

    Before long, Northgate Lie appeared once again, but this time, he did not disy any of his battle techniques. He used only pure star energy to domineeringly overwhelm his opponent, but it was still another instant victory. Northgate Lie was disying the full terror of someone on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Not long after Northgate Lie¡¯s battle, Lu Yin received a message from Lily Anne saying that she wanted to meet him in person. So, Lu Yin left the high tform and headed to the meeting point.

    His destination was close, and when Lu Yin arrived, he saw that Lily Anne was there, as well as Northgate Lie.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m really sorry to disturb you, but Brother Lie wanted to speak with you,¡± Lily Anne said apologetically to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded and looked at Northgate Lie. ¡°Is Brother Northgate looking for me so that we can arrange the time for our battle?¡±

    Northgate Lie shot a look at Lily Anne, wordlessly indicating for her to leave. With no other choice, she could onlyply.

    After she left, Northgate Lie looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°Brother Lu, there is no animosity between us. There¡¯s really no need for us to fight.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like something was strange. ¡°Did Brother Northgate ask me toe here just to say this?¡±

    ¡°Is Brother Lu confident in emerging victorious?¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself and then shook his head. ¡°No one would dare be certain of their victory against someone in the Top 100 Rankings. Also, I¡¯m still just a Limiteer after all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Brother Lu represents not only yourself, but more importantly, you represent the Ten Arbiters as well. If Brother Lu is defeated, then the Ten Arbiters will also be embarrassed, which would affect Brother Lu¡¯s position in the Ten Arbiters Council. What are your thoughts on this?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, immediately guessing at why Northgate Lie had called him out to talk. The Northgate family was afraid that Lu Yin¡¯s imminent defeat would embarrass the Ten Arbiters. Honestly, he had truly not considered this possibility, and it waspletely normal and almost expected that the Northgate family would have such apprehensions about the fight. Over the past few days, many rumors had circted through the universe, iming that the Northgate family was trying to kick the Ten Arbiters Council out of the Flowzone.

    For the Northgate family, if Lu Yin was defeated, then the rumors would definitely spread to the Ten Arbiters, and people would treat it as if the Northline Flowzone was challenging the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s authority. This might also cause the Northgate family to have to directly confront the Ten Arbiters, and that was just too big of a risk for them to take. The Ten Arbiters represented not just those ten individuals, but also the unimaginably enormous powers behind them.

    The Northline Flowzone already had to use the Northgate tform Competition to unite the seventeen families against the other surrounding Flowzones. They obviously did not dare offend the powers behind the Ten Arbiters.

    Even the Northgate family was afraid, but the more afraid they became, the more obvious their disdain for Lu Yin¡¯s abilities was. They had clearly never even considered the possibility that Northgate Lie might lose, which showed how much confidence they had in an expert who was in the Top 100 Rankings.

    After thinking things through, Lu Yin¡¯s mind became more nimble. It felt like he could see a path to heaven open up before him; he could see a new way of earning money!

    Lu Yin coughed twice and then replied in a righteous manner. ¡°Brother Northgate, a man in this universe must establish himself. It¡¯s been my lifelong dream to challenge someone in the Top 100 Rankings, and even a defeat would be honorable.¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s face twisted into an ugly expression. ¡°Brother Lu, you must consider this carefully. Once you¡¯re defeated, the reputation that you¡¯ve earned from the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest will be damaged. More importantly, you¡¯ll embarrass the Ten Arbiters, which might even ruin your future in the Ten Arbiters Council.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°No worries, there are some things that a man must do.¡±

    Northgate Lie was rendered speechless, as Lu Yin seemed inflexible and uncaring towards the aftermath of defeat. If they truly battled, then this person would definitely lose and cause the Northgate family to suffer heavy repercussions. However, it was also impossible for Northgate Lie to lose on purpose in order to preserve the Ten Arbiters¡¯ reputation. If he lost, then Lu Yin would rece Northgate Lie on the Top 100 Rankings, which was something that Northgate Lie could not ept no matter what else.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I heard that you previously made an agreement with the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu to challenge the Top 100 Rankings together. If you go back on your word at this time, then it wouldn¡¯t be too good, right?¡± Northgate Lie tried to probe.

    Lu Yin remained proud. ¡°There are some things that a man must do.¡±

    Northgate Lie was once again left speechless; were they even talking about the same thing?

    The conversation suddenly entered an awkward lull. One was racking his brains on how he could get his opponent to give up on the battle while the other was trying to bring up the topic of money.

    Lu Yin had lost his opportunity with Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua, not receiving any money from either of them because he had been too subtle. Still, he had to preserve some face, and he couldn¡¯t just straight up tell Northgate Lie that he wanted money; that would be too embarrassing.

    Both became rather depressed.

    At that moment, Northgate Gang walked over. Lu Yin saw the younger sibling, and his eyes gleamed. He intentionally positioned his back towards Northgate Gang and then rubbed his thumb and two fingers together in an obvious motion.

    Northgate Gang was stumped when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s fingers. He seemed dazed, but then he seemed to connect the dots in his head. He pulled Northgate Lie aside and whispered to him.

    Northgate Lie was incredulous at first, but then, he became skeptical when he nced at Lu Yin¡¯s hand behind his back. There were three fingers still rubbing together in a movement that was universally recognized.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was expectant. This should be obvious enough now!

    ¡°Brother Lu, are you short on money?¡± Northgate Lie asked in a probing manner, but Northgate Gang quickly said, ¡°Brother, that¡¯s too blunt!¡± He then directed a displeased look at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, since it¡¯s your first time visiting the Northline Flowzone, our Northgate family has prepared a wee gift for you that we hope you¡¯ll appreciate.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose up, and he gave Northgate Gang an appreciative look. Although this person wanted to oppose him, that had only been because he did not have a clear understanding of the situation. ¡°Well, since your Northgate family has extended such kindness, I¡¯ll dly ept it.¡±

    Northgate Lie was nowpletely certain that Lu Yin wanted money, and his respect for Lu Yin immediately dropped by a hundred levels. His internal disdain was almost written on his face; this person was the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest!? The Astral Combat Academy had certainly fallen in standards. He no longer even wanted to speak to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Brother Northgate, regarding what you just said about our uing battle, I¡¯ve thought it through, and you¡¯re indeed correct in that it¡¯s inappropriate. But given the rampant rumors, suddenly canceling the match would also cause some embarrassment for both myself and the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Northgate Lie coldly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Brother Lu. I will leave tomorrow, and then no one will be able to me Brother Lu. Just make sure to remember to announce that our battle will merely be postponed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That should be fine.¡±

    From a little ways in front, Northgate Gang shot an odd nce at Northgate Lie. The older brother then tossed a cosmic ring to Lu Yin. The ring had an odd design, but its unadorned features gave it its own charm. ¡°This is a cosmic ring that I picked up in the Fallen Star Ocean with an enormous capacity. It would require at least two cubes of star essence for an average person to purchase one like this. Will this gift be enough?¡±

    Lu Yin actually wanted star essence, but then he saw therge space within the cosmic ring, which was several timesrger than what he currently possessed. He had wanted to buy such a cosmic ring since a long time ago, but had never been able to justify the cost. After thinking it over for a few moments, Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s enough. Thank you, Brother Northgate.¡±

    Aside from a rich, second generation scion such as Lulu, the Innerverse¡¯s heirs generally did not have that much money. The fact that Northgate Lie could give Lu Yin a cosmic ring worth two cubes of star essence was already very unexpected. Lu Yin had actually wanted to chat with Northgate Kong afterwards, but Northgate Lie had resolved the situation with his timely departure, which did not require approval from the family head. Lu Yin knew to quit when he was ahead, and obtaining a cosmic ring of this size was still a pretty decent deal.

    Northgate Lie had no further thoughts of being involved with Lu Yin anymore, and he turned to leave. Lu Yin waspletely unscrupulous in his eyes. Northgate Gang simrly despised this extortionist.

    Lu Yin could not be bothered with either of them. So what if they looked down on him? Improving his own power was the most important thing.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, even I¡¯m embarrassed of you. You threw away not only your self respect, but also threw your character,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Is it really that embarrassing? The initiative of challenging someone within the Top 100 Rankings still lies with me, not Northgate Lie.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean, I can challenge Northgate Lie at any time I like. History is written by the victors. No matter what happened leading up to it, a victory is still a victory.¡±

    The monkey felt strange. ¡°Seventh Bro, you seem very confident that you¡¯ll win.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, or at the very least, I will after earning some more money,¡± Lu Yin casually responded. So what if he was despised by others? After he defeated Northgate Lie, who would still despise him? Money might seem like a crude desire, but who didn¡¯t need it? Lu Yin hoped that the many members of the Northgate family would spread news of his poverty throughout the universe; that way, he would be able to increase his power even faster.

    As for his reputation, power was also one¡¯s reputation. Once he reached the level of the Ten Arbiters, and simrly made his name taboo, who would dare to talk ill of him?

    Lu Yin suddenly had a wicked thought; had the Ten Arbiters restricted their names because their names were tied to too many evil deeds? Had they forbidden people from mentioning their names to prevent people from talking about such things?

    This season¡¯s Northgate tform Contest winner was almost certain to be the Northgate family, so Duke ckhawk and the rest were all ready to leave.

    Suddenly, on the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s floating tform, the eyes of the Enlighter, Tie Sa, widened as he stared northwards. Then, Poison me, Duke ckhawk, Fayde, Northgate Kong, and all the rest all looked northwards at the same time as the void shuddered.

    Lu Yin only felt his scalp turn numb, and he also turned to stare at the north in horror. Was this terrifying sensationing from a battle between powerhouses?

    The Northgate tform was trembling, and even the air was shaking. Or rather, it felt like the entire universe was quaking.

    Tie Sa¡¯s eyes gradually turned scarlet. ¡°Head, there¡¯s a battle between Enlighters nearby.¡±

    Henry dryly replied, ¡°To the north is the Northgate family.¡±

    Northgate Kong had an extremely ugly expression. The power fluctuations wereing from, without a doubt, the same direction as his family¡¯s holdings. And these aftershocks were definitely from a battle between almighty powerhouses whose power levels had reached at least 200,000 units. Otherwise, cultivators of their power level should not have been this fearful of the aftershocks. Fortunately, Elder Northgate was around, so things should be fine.

    Everyone could feel the heavy atmosphere. The battles between the juniors abruptly stopped as everyone stared northwards.

    Someone had attacked the Northgate family.

    Everyone¡¯s expression was different.

    Northgate Kong nced at everyone, as if he was trying to discover something.

    In the next moment, an indescribable strength streaked across the Northgate tform, and the very air seemed to burn to nothingness. Everyone shuddered as they felt an unprecedented, terrifying strength descend upon them.

    At this moment, even Tie Sa, the Enlighter, felt horrified. ¡°This, this is-¡±

    The pupils of Duke ckhawk and the others all shrank. This strength definitely surpassed 300,000, no, maybe even 400,000 units. When had such a powerhouse arrived in the Northline Flowzone?

    Northgate Kong¡¯s face paled. Just who had forced the Northgate family to such extremes?

    Lily Liana cast a fearful look at Northgate Kong. Legend had it that the Northgate family had an elder who was cryogenically sealed and whose power level was extremely terrifying. When the Northgate family governed the Northline Flowzone in the past, the elder had been alive back then and continued to live on into the present. She had never believed the legends herself, but the show of strength just a moment ago terrified her. She looked at Northgate Kong; did that rumored elder really exist?

    The entirety of Northgate tform fell silent.

 Chapter 385: Ancient Centipede

    <h4>Chapter 385: Ancient Centipede</h4>

    Lu Yin raised his hand and carefully felt the air. Every single thread of star energy in his body was being suppressed, and this was his first time experiencing such a devastating power. Inparison, the strength of someone like Poison me was nothing. This strength made Lu Yin feel like he was facing off against the entire universe.

    There was a boom, and it felt like the universe had exploded as a spatial crack appeared from somewhere in the north, extending all the way to the tform. The fissure emanated a raw strength that left everyone horrified. Their hearts leapt into their throats, and for the first time ever, many people became aware of how little control they had over their own lives.

    Lu Yin felt like he had been transported back to the apocalypse on Earth, when his life had been in someone else¡¯s hands.

    If the crack¡¯s course had been different by just a few degrees, then the entire Northgate tform would have been swallowed up, and nobody would have been able to escape.

    This was the most terrifying power that Lu Yin had ever witnessed.

    Everyone fell silent, as if they were waiting for heaven¡¯s judgment.

    Quite a whileter, Northgate Kong¡¯s gadget beeped. After taking a look, his expression changed, and he quickly left.

    Northgate Kong¡¯s departure was like a signal granting the rest of them permission, and the rest of the crowd also immediately left, heading towards the north.

    Explorers and above could tear through the void and freely enter outer space, but Lu Yin was still a Limiteer. With a rather dejected feeling, he knew that he would have to find a spacecraft.

    At this time, the Northgate tform Competition and whatever remaining battles were thest thing on anyone¡¯s mind. Everyone was curious about what had happened in the Northgate family¡¯s region.

    By the time Lu Yin found a spacecraft, it had already been twenty minutes since Northgate Kong left.

    ¡°Are you really going, Seventh Bro? The power level of that attack was definitely above three or four hundred thousand. An expert like that can kill you with a thought. You shouldn¡¯t go!¡± The Ghost Monkey tried to persuade Lu Yin otherwise.

    Lu Yin firmly answered, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. So many people already went, and Northgate Kong didn¡¯t speak up to stop them. Thus, there shouldn¡¯t be any more danger. Besides, the most valuable things are always found in ces of great danger.¡±

    The monkey did not reply. All cultivators lived on the edge between life and death, and if one was afraid to die, then they were better off not cultivating in the first ce. No one became strong by growing up in a luxurious environment, and every powerhouse had survived through extremely dangerous moments during their life. This was an indisputable fact.

    Lu Yin stole a spacecraft, but he felt no shame about it. Before long, he entered outer space and headed north with everyone else.

    The Northgate tform, where thepetition between the various families of the Northline Flowzone was held, sat at the heart of the Northline Flowzone and was surrounded on all sides by the seventeen families. It was a prime location for the Flowzone.

    Far to the north of the Northgate tform was the region governed by the Northgate family. A short distance south of their holdings was a gigantic, ferocious looking centipede floating in space. It was so massive that it was about the size of a continent.

    The gigantic size of the centipede was shocking, and it wasparable to hundreds of Zenyu Stars linked together. In fact, there was even enough room for numerousrge spacecraft tond on the creature.

    When Northgate Kong arrived at his destination, his face immediately paled upon seeing what was before him. ¡°An ancient centipede? I didn¡¯t think that they actually existed!¡±

    The closer he got, the more clearly he was able to feel the ancient centipede¡¯s overpowering strength. Thankfully, it had been dead for quite some time. Otherwise, just the creature¡¯s pressure alone would be enough to kill Northgate Kong if he took a single look.

    There was an indistinct figure beneath the ancient centipede, using both hands to hold the gigantic centipede back. This person was an elder of the Northgate family who rarely showed himself, but his power level was definitely over 400,000. He was Northgate Taisui, the living fossil whose existence allowed the Northgate family to retain their current power.

    Below him were two other elders from the Northline Flowzone¡¯s families and Tie Sa. The two elders consisted of a male and female one. The male was Elder Northgate, who was the Enlighter from the Northgate family, and the female was Granny Chan, the Enlighter from the Lily family.

    Elder Northgate, Granny Chan, and Tie Sa were working together with Northgate Taisui. The four most powerful people of the Northline Flowzone managed to hold up the weight of a dead ancient centipede. If not for them, the centipede would have fallen down and crushed the Northgate family¡¯s headquarters.

    ¡°What are you all standing there in a daze for? Get over here and help out!¡± Elder Northgate yelled at Northgate Kong upon seeing him arrive.

    Northgate Kong gritted his teeth and charged over to Elder Northgate. As soon as he arrived, he raised a hand and released his power at full force.

    Shortly after, Lily Liana, Duke ckhawk, Fayde, Poison me, and others arrived. Elder Northgate asked all of them to help as well.

    Lily Liana immediately moved forward to help. The rest of the new arrivals weren¡¯t from the Northline Flowzone and were much more interested in inspecting the ancient centipede than helping.

    At that moment, Northgate Taisui spoke up, ¡°Please help out, dear friends. The Northgate family will definitely disy our gratitude once this is all over.¡±

    Since an old monster with monstrous battle power had spoken, and since Duke ckhawk and the rest of the powershouses didn¡¯t dare to say no, the crowd immediately moved forward to give assistance.

    The witnesses for the Northgate tform Competition weren¡¯t the only ones to move; rather, everyone who was a Hunter with a power level of over 100,000 moved forward to help as well. With the help of dozens of people, the ancient centipede was slowly lifted up. However, it still wasn¡¯t enough. Next, Cruisers moved forward to try to help. Before long, there were more than a hundred people gathered beneath the centipede working together with Northgate Taisui to lift the massive centipede. They were attempting to redirect where the ancient astral beast corpse would fall to save the Northgate family¡¯s holdings.

    Cruisers were the lowest level cultivators that could help out. Anyone weaker than a Cruiser was of no real assistance.

    Lily Anne, Northgate Lie, and the rest of the younger generation weren¡¯t Cruisers yet, so although they were stronger than many Cruisers inbat, no one paid any mind to them. Everyone waspletely focused on the awe-inspiring ancient centipede. They all felt an irreverent yet ineffable terror towards the corpse. If this enormous beast was still alive, then the entirety of the Northline Flowzone would be doomed.

    Even a freak like Northgate Taisui wasn¡¯t able to move the beast on his own. It was impossible to tell just how terrifying this centipede had been while it was alive, but its power level must have had at least reached 500,000 units.

    ¡°Look! I think there are buildings inside its body!¡± someone eximed in surprise.

    At that moment, quite a few people saw the same thing. The ancient centipede had numerous legs, and one of them had broken off, revealing some structures within it.

    This discovery was shocking to many people. What sort of beings lived inside the body of a monster? Architecture indicated that there were intelligent beings there, and based off of the design, they should have been humanoid.

    Northgate Kong and the others made the same discovery, and their eyes gleamed.

    The centipede had fallen through the spatial cracks after a fight between Northgate Taisui and another powerhouse. It had initially been in another dimension, just like the Shenwu Continent. It was impossible to tell how old the body was, but since it was an ancient being with buildings inside of it, there must be other incredible things such as battle techniques, skills, and treasures inside. With this in mind, quite a few people¡¯s eyes lit up with greed.

    A gutsy Explorer suddenly charged towards the broken leg. Nobody stopped him. Instead, they all merely watched on, including Northgate Taisui.

    Soon enough, the Explorer safely entered the centipede and disappeared from sight.

    Everyone grew extremely excited now that they knew that it was possible to enter the centipede¡¯s body, and they all charged forward like maniacs. If the centipede was still alive, then it went without saying that no one would dare to approach it. However, now that it was dead, they had nothing to fear. Cultivators often encountered dangerous situations, but it wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t fear death. Rather, when the threat wasn¡¯t too greatpared to the potential spoils, they would be very willing to put themselves in danger.

    Even Northgate Lie darted forward to join with the others.

    One of the Hunters who was helping Northgate Taisui hold the centipede suddenly moved forward as well, but before he could get close to the leg, Northgate Taisui attacked him. ¡°All Cruisers and above are to assist me with the centipede! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    Everyone froze, afraid to make a move.

    He was a monster with a power level of over 400,000 who could kill Hunters with ease. Northgate Taisui was the most horrifying being here.

    For the Northgate family, all they needed to do was stop the Cruisers and above from leaving. This was the Northline Flowzone, so those who entered the centipede¡¯s body were primarily experts from the Northline Flowzone. Of them, Northgate Lie was the strongest, so they definitely held the upper hand in collecting the treasures.

    Northgate Kong trusted Northgate Lie¡¯s abilities and was certain that the youth would be able to obtain the best treasures. The family head only hoped that there weren¡¯t any dangers inside, but thankfully, Northgate Taisui was here.

    More and more people arrived in the area. Anyone who was a Cruiser or above was held back, but the rest of them all charged straight into the centipede¡¯s body. Included among those charging in were some Limiteers and even a few Melders. Nobody could resist the temptation of this ancient creature.

    When Lu Yin finally arrived on the scene, many had already gone ahead. He didn¡¯t hesitate at all and entered straight away with his spacecraft.

    ¡°It¡¯s a centipede? That thing¡¯s an astral beast from ancient times, and it¡¯s even one of the most terrifying ones!¡± The monkey trembled in fear. As an astral beast himself, he felt a special terror rise up in his heart when he saw the centipede, as if it was his natural enemy.

    ¡°Was this thing very powerful?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°Powerful? Let me put it like this: see that old man who¡¯s the closest to the centipede? His power level is astounding, but if that centipede were still alive, then that man would be instantly devoured,¡± the monkey stated.

    Lu Yin sucked in a cold breath of air. This creature had been able to swallow a being with a power level of hundreds of thousands when it was alive? How terrifying.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d see the centipede in this era. This is amazing! I¡¯m sure that it¡¯ll draw the attention of a lot of people and that there will be various expeditions, research, gathering teams, and so on¡­ Everything that you humans can think of will be done on to this body,¡± the monkey said.

    ¡°If you¡¯re lucky, you might even see a monster with a battle power of over 500,000. Those kinds of people are absolute powerhouses who can freely travel wherever they wish in the universe.¡±

    The spacecraft entered through the broken leg, but before Lu Yin could evennd, some people attacked him. A strange energy prated through the spacecraft to attack Lu Yin, and not too far away from him, a middle-aged man was standing there, snickering. Where did a person who wasn¡¯t even an Explorer find the courage toe here? They must have a death wish! This man was just an ordinary Explorer who had no intention of vying for treasures against people like Northgate Lie. He didn¡¯t quite have the courage to explore the area. Thus, he had stayed at the entrance, eliminating any of the approaching cultivators who weren¡¯t Explorers. It wasn¡¯t much, but he could still turn a bit of profit by doing this.

    He¡¯d already killed quite a few people and there was a whole pile of ruined spacecraft.

    However, this time, the battle technique that usually worked for him seemed to have no effect on his target. The spacecraft smoothly proceeded tond atop an abandoned building as its hatch opened. Lu Yin walked out, looking a bit put out as he surveyed his surroundings. Where¡¯s the attacker?

    The middle-aged man was no fool. After realizing that his attack had been useless, he immediately fled the scene. He was afraid that he might have run into one of those genius Realmbreakers. He¡¯d already heard that Lu Yin of the Astral Combat Academy was here, and he was exactly who the middle-aged Explorer was most afraid of running into.

    However, sometimes, fearing something meant that there was a high possibility of encountering it. The middle-aged man thought that he could still run away, but Lu Yin managed to hunt him down by tracing the man¡¯s star energy. The Explorer wasn¡¯t that quick, and he hadn¡¯t gotten very far. When Lu Yin caught up to the man, he immediately attacked. Following that, the Explorer died without any resistance.

    Lu Yin grabbed the man¡¯s cosmic ring, opened it, and was immediately delighted; other than some useless bank cards, there were 100,000 star crystals inside. It wasn¡¯t much, but it wasn¡¯t a small amount either. There was also a whole pile of useless items as well as a memory chip. He plugged it into his gadget and found that it contained a battle technique. Lu Yin tossed it aside since it was useless to him; he had far too many techniques already.

    After properly securing his spacecraft, Lu Yin carefully checked his surroundings again. The break in the centipede¡¯s leg was just a crack, but it had still exposed a ratherrge area, and the buildings extended far into the distance. However, most of them were in ruins from the passage of time.

 Chapter 386: Bizarre

    <h4>Chapter 386: Bizarre</h4>

    Whoosh! A figure streaked past Lu Yin. It was a space-exploring powerhouse.

    Figure after figure rushed by as various Explorers hurriedly charged towards the interior of the centipede.

    Lu Yin carefully examined the buildings. ¡°Monkey, can you tell which period these structures are from?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you must really think of me as an archaeologist. I only read the records of some powerhouses. I haven¡¯t researched anything at all about whatever periods.¡±

    Lu Yin casually pressed his hand against a wall, only for it to copse to the ground and turn to dust. Nothing could be preserved forever, and even the words on the buildings had long since faded.

    ¡°This civilization must have been rather powerful if they settled down in such an enormous centipede''s body. Their construction materials must also have been different from what we use. But despite all that, this building can do nothing but turn to dust today. The time that has passed since they were first built can only be imagined.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like something was strange. ¡°So why is this centipede¡¯s body perfectly preserved? Why hasn¡¯t it disappeared after all this time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Logically, this thing should have indeed vanished.¡±

    ¡°Right Seventh Bro, you can put that spacecraft in your cosmic ring,¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly suggested.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°It won¡¯t fit.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking about a normal cosmic ring. The one you have now is from Northgate Lie, so the thing might actually fit.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, and he hurried back to where he had parked the spacecraft to try the monkey¡¯s suggestion out. Unfortunately, the vessel still could not fit since it was too big. The ring¡¯s maximum storage size was a cubic meter, so the only way he might be able to store the spacecraft would be by tearing it apart.

    ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll try again after getting a better cosmic ring.¡±

    At that point, a spacecraftnded heavily nearby. Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped, and he slowly approached the vehicle.

    It was a small-sized spacecraft that could hold up to a hundred people.

    The hatch opened, and the upants walked out one after another. They all wore simr uniforms, and it was clear from just a nce that they were mercenaries, though not particrly strong ones.

    Thest one to walk out was a middle-aged man with thick muscles and a stern gaze. He looked at Lu Yin who was walking over. There was still smoke in his mouth, and as he exhaled, he puffed out a smoke ring that slowly vanished.

    ¡°Go, bring him over here,¡± the man ordered.

    Several mercenaries immediately moved to surround Lu Yin and escorted him back to the middle-aged man.

    ¡°When did you enter?¡± The man only nced at Lu Yin before casually asking him this question with a rxed attitude.

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°You should have a set of universal armor.¡±

    The man frowned. ¡°Answer the question. When did you enter?¡±

    ¡°Give me a set of universal armor.¡±

    The people surrounding him all gave Lu Yin strange looks.

    The leader of the group became furious. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question! Answer me honestly, or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, and a gust of air swirled around his body, sweeping everyone aside. An intense pressure enveloped everyone, and even the muscr man who was an Explorer felt it. Despite his realm, he was pushed back several steps by the pressure. He looked at Lu Yin in shock. How can a Limiteer be so powerful? Hold on, this person looks familiar.

    ¡°I said, give me a set of universal armor, and I won¡¯t make things difficult for you,¡± Lu Yin said without any rush.

    The middle-aged man immediately tossed a set to Lu Yin without any hesitation or words.

    Lu Yin examined it before nodding in satisfaction and turning to leave.

    The man rxed after he saw Lu Yin leave. It was absolutely terrifying that a Limiteer could have such strength, and he must be some great power¡¯s freak genius. Such a person could not be provoked, no matter how familiar he might seem.

    ¡°Captain, what do we do next?¡± one mercenary asked.

    The captain waved a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s head in. I doubt that there will be freaks like him all over the ce. With the strength of our group, we should be able to get some good stuff, and it¡¯ll be good for us to gain some experience as well. Right, make a record of the surroundings along the way too. It might be valuable.¡±

    ¡°Yes, captain.¡±

    After acquiring a set of universal armor, Lu Yin was no longer worried about being exposed to outer space in any further idents. With that issue sorted out, he proceeded into the depths of the centipede''s body.

    This centipede''s body was too massive, and no one knew what was inside, so everyone was making their way forward very cautiously.

    ¡°Monkey, do you think that there will be any living creatures in here?¡±

    The monkey muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to tell. Maybe, maybe not.¡±

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any, since the centipede died a long time ago. No living creatures should be able to survive here.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey didn¡¯t interrupt, since everything they were saying was nothing more than conjecture. After enough time passed, any object could undergo unimaginable changes.

    And regardless of what guesses they made, it was all pointless since they could only forge on ahead.

    Not long after, Lu Yin ran into a corpse that caused him to feel rather gloomy. The corpse belonged to a man who had recently died. Although death wasmon for cultivators, this corpse was very strange; the man seemed to have been scared to death!

    Both of the man¡¯s eyes were wide open, and his pupils were dted to the extreme. His face had even turned green and rigid. There was not a trace of injury anywhere on his body, but he had still died in such a strange manner. It almost felt like this was an empty shell that had been stripped of its soul.

    A chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine as he stared at the strange corpse on the ground. This person was an Explorer, someone who could be considered a powerhouse since Cruisers and above were not allowed inside. Even if Lu Yin had wanted to kill this person, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid leaving some trace of injury on the person¡¯s body, so how had this man died?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you feel scared to the point of being panicked?¡± the monkey asked in a sinister manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Cut the crap or I¡¯ll block you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, there¡¯s no need to try and scare me. You can¡¯t block me in a ce like this since it would mean crippling your right arm. After seeing this corpse, you still want to handicap yourself?¡± the monkey asked confidently.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother replying as he took a closer look at the corpse. Through the influence of his domain, he found that the person truly had no injuries, but his spiritual force had been depleted. This meant that there was still vitality within the corpse and that it was his soul that had perished.

    Did humans really have souls? Countless people in the universe had pondered this question. Some believed that spiritual force was the human soul, others believed that the soul was an uncontroble form of energy, while still others were certain that humans could reincarnate as long as they were able topletely merge their entire spiritual force into another body. If they could aplish such a thing, then that person would have sessfully reincarnated.

    Such discussions and debates hadn¡¯t stopped even after countless years. Lu Yin leaned towards the soul side of the debate, since didn¡¯t his die¡¯s Possession ability essentially strip away his soul and merge it with someone else¡¯s body? Also, the Daynight n¡¯s techniques that attacked the spiritual force were basically targeting one¡¯s soul.

    On Driftcharge, the unnamed elder had told him that humans were split into body and spirit. Was the spirit that the old man had mentioned the same as a soul? Lu Yin could not understand what had happened to this Explorer, but it seemed apt to describe it as the man¡¯s soul being wiped out. In other words, his soul had been obliterated.

    The monkey was right; Lu Yin had indeed panicked out of terror. He had never encountered an attack that could directly wipe out a person¡¯s spiritual force. Even the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques could only harm it, and Hunters could only pressure someone¡¯s spiritual force. If there wasn¡¯t some battle technique simr to the Daynight n¡¯s that was able to wipe out one¡¯s soul, then had this person died by someone¡¯s hand or some existence in the centipede''s body?

    ¡°Monkey, have you ever heard of a soul attack?¡±

    ¡°Soul attack? Seventh Bro, do you really believe in that stuff? It¡¯s just a superstition.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly walked forward. ¡°Then how do you exin the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques?¡±

    ¡°The human body has spiritual force, and their battle techniques target that. That does not mean that the spiritual force is one¡¯s soul. Spiritual force is more akin to an energy that¡¯s produced within the human body, and that humans just haven¡¯t discovered it yet. Seventh Bro, you¡¯re thinking too much into it. There are no souls, no ghosts, no reincarnation. Otherwise, how would Progenitor Wushang have died? He would have achieved eternal life.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a light sigh. Something that the ancestors had futilely researched for countless years was truly worthy of discussion.

    Whoosh!

    High above him, another Explorer hurriedly streaked past with a few more Explorers behind, apparently with some vendetta.

    Lu Yin was walking on the ground, and he asionally picked up his speed. Ever since he had seen the corpse of the person who had been scared to death, he had be a bit more apprehensive about this ce.

    An unknown amount of time psed before Lu Yin¡¯s gadget informed him that a day had already passed. More and more people rushed past Lu Yin, though he also discovered more and more corpses as he continued on his way. Most of the people here had died to other cultivators, but he also found another two people who had been frightened to death.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure if anyone else had noticed these oddities, but he was bing more and more afraid of whaty ahead of him.

    Even after a long period of traveling, it still seemed like he had not walked out of the centipede¡¯s broken leg. This showed the enormous size of the centipede''s body, and it was enough to shock the universe.

    There were more than just buildings within the leg, as there were also many shells that were covered with mud and other substances. Walking over them felt just like walking on solid ground.

    Gradually, Lu Yin caught up to the majority of the other cultivators who had entered since the people ahead of him had dramatically slowed down for some unknown reason. The people had even formed a small-scale bazaar where resources were being exchanged.

    Lu Yin did not greet anyone. He quietly minded his own business and sat in a corner to rest. He quickly discovered why the others were not advancing; it was because some living creatures had appeared: white earthworm-like creatures.

    These worms were huge, and their defenses were impressive as well. The slippery surface of their bodies were able to neutralize arge portion of any force directed at them. Although they did not have much of an offensive capability, there were simply too many of them. As soon as someone fell into the sea of worms, they would quickly be squashed to death. Quite a few Explorers had already died, and the worms had devoured the corpses in a terrifying manner.

    ¡°Those things should be parasites,¡± the monkey said solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows leaped up. ¡°This centipede''s been dead for countless eons. Where could these parasites havee from?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask someone here about that: who let these parasites out? You should know that some parasites can basically seal themselves, undergoing a cryptobiosis process that allows them to essentially survive eternally. They¡¯re different from humans, and there are some beings that can naturally truly attain immortality,¡± the monkey exined.

    The people gathered here were definitely waiting for more cultivators to arrive before attempting to charge further in together. Lu Yin changed his appearance to help him keep a low profile. He did not want to be recognized and forced into joining the vanguard that would charge the worms in the first wave.

    The area was very wide, and the group near Lu Yin was gathered in one section, while Northgate Lie and the rest of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation had gathered in another, distant section. They were all travelling forward together.

    Northgate Lie was the leader of the group, and although they were not from the same family, the Northline Flowzone¡¯s group was very united. This was all ording to the Northline Flowzone¡¯s rules: they were unanimously united against all foreign powers. Lily Anne, Northgate Gang, and the rest were all on this team.

 Chapter 387: Pattern And Pike

    <h4>Chapter 387: Pattern And Pike</h4>

    Lily Anne was not in a great mood. She had noticed that a few of the corpses that they had run into had died from strange circumstances. Their bodies had no signs of injuries, but when she ryed this situation to Northgate Lie, he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to her.

    ¡°Miss Anna, there are too many odd techniques in the universe. Some can leave no external wounds since they actually target the internal organs. So it¡¯s not that there are no injuries, but rather that we just can¡¯t see them. It¡¯s quite normal, and all it means is that there¡¯s an expert ahead of us.¡±

    She frowned; could it really be that simple? This wasn¡¯t her first time roaming the universe, so it was unlikely that she would miss even an internal injury on a corpse. But since Northgate Lie did not care, she had no choice in the matter.

    There was a rumbling off in the distance as a tower copsed into dust.

    The crowd was already ustomed to such things, as these buildings were just too ancient and they were no longer able to be preserved. It was to the extent that any trace of writing had disappeared from the buildings.

    Northgate Lie casually scanned the area, but just when he was about to leave, his eyes suddenly focused onto a stone b that had not beenpletely obliterated. It was impossible to tell which part of the tower the b had fallen from, but there were obvious traces of carvings upon its surface.

    His breathing became ragged as he suddenly charged forward. Lily Anne and the rest saw his abnormal behavior and rushed in after him.

    Northgate Lie tore through the void and appeared next to the stone b. He closely studied the pattern of the carving, trying to imprint it into his memory. As soon as Lily Anne and the others arrived, his eyes shed, and he sent out some star energy through his feet, reducing the b to dust.

    His actions were all done surreptitiously, and Lily Anne¡¯s group did not notice anything. By the time they arrived beside him, all they saw was a pile of dust.

    ¡°Brother Lie, what did you see?¡± someone enquired as everyone directed expectant faces to Northgate Lie.

    Northgate Lie sighed. ¡°I saw a pattern, but before I could get a good look, the stone turned to dust.¡±

    ¡°What pattern?¡± another person impatiently asked.

    Northgate Lie thought for a moment and then used his star energy to draw a rough pattern before everyone. Rather than a proper drawing, it seemed more like a bunch of random squiggles with nine circr images that were surrounding an unknown object in the middle. The crowd was lost, and no one could discern any meaning from the drawing at all.

    Northgate Lie grudgingly said, ¡°It¡¯s been too long, so the finer details and even the type of diagram had all faded away. These lines were all that I could see.¡±

    The crowd felt it was a pity, but of course, not everyone believed Northgate Lie, though they could not continue to question him. Even if they neglected Northgate Lie¡¯s strength, Northgate Taisui was still watching from outside as well.

    Lily Anne stared intently at Northgate Lie, but then he soon focused on other ces.

    The crowd did not spend any further time dwelling on the matter, and everyone split up to explore different areas. They all wanted to find some preserved ancient records or carvings. Since a diagram had been left behind, it was proof that not everything had been destroyed.

    Northgate Lie also put an act on and continued to search around, but his mind was preupied with that pattern. It had not beenpletely destroyed, and there was a certain shape and charm to it. Although he didn¡¯t know exactly what it meant, he was positive that there had been nine circr objects surrounding a flower in the center of the diagram.

    He had to share this pattern with his elders after he left this ce, since they might be able to recognize it given their extensive knowledge and experience.

    In another ce, not far from Northgate Lie, a few people from the Tempest Flowzone were making their way through. The man with the facial scorpion tattoo was leading them. He seemed slightly different than before; his face contained a certain level of excitement, and he even seemed a bit unhinged. The man was called He Zhong, and he was a senior disciple from the Fire Scorpion Sect.

    ¡°Senior, could this ce possibly be rted to that ce that our sect has always been searching for?¡± A female walked up and furtively whispered her question in a voice that was simrly excited.

    He Zhong looked at her coldly. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯ve warned you not to speak of that so many times! In the entire younger generation, only you and I know of this. If anything is leaked, then we¡¯ll die without a doubt.¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior, but someone really wants to know.¡± The girl then wrapped herself around He Zhong¡¯s shoulders and exhaled, her body releasing an alluring fragrance.

    He Zhong¡¯s breathing quickened, and he nced at the other disciples before quietly saying, ¡°Just hold on and let me confirm some things.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior.¡± The girl smiled coyly before squeezing He Zhong¡¯s shoulders even more tightly,pletely burying him in her bosom.

    Outside of the centipede''s body, powerhouse after powerhouse appeared with the intention of entering the centipede''s body to change their destiny, but all of them were stopped by Northgate Taisui. An old monster with a power level in the hundreds of thousands stood in their way, causing some Hunters who had previously felt self-important to reconsider their beliefs. They could only sullenly join the group who were holding the centipede up while dejectedly looking at the out of reach structures within the centipede¡¯s leg.

    One after another, spacecraft dashed into the centipede''s body, as if it were a giant treasure trove.

    No one knew if there was actually anything of value within the body, but at this moment, Lu Yin and the rest of the cultivators were in a bad mood. An Explorer had inexplicably fallen dead while in the sky from right above the gathering, his corpse crashing right into the crowd. His manner of death seemed to be exactly the same as the other strange corpses that Lu Yin had run into: frightened to death.

    Everyone was stunned, and their blood turned cold. No one knew how the man had died, which made it even more horrifying.

    Lu Yin retrieved the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and unleashed his domain while also activating his Cosmic Art. He vigntly looked around, suspecting that the man had been struck by an invisible attack, simr to the dangers that came with unlocking sourceboxes. It was possible that there were sourceboxes within the centipede¡¯s body, or perhaps the entire corpse was a sourcebox and everyone had already stepped into its danger zone.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, things are getting spooky. It¡¯s time to take off,¡± the monkey said nervously, now afraid as well.

    Lu Yin squinted and looked around.

    Bit by bit, the others started gathering in groups and walking with familiar faces as everyone looked around apprehensively. No one dared to speak, and it felt as if an unseen de were hanging over everyone¡¯s heads.

    At this point, a wretched cry jolted the crowd, and everyone looked into the distance to see a white wave sweeping towards them. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and a chill ran down his spine. What was approaching them wasn¡¯t actually a white wave, but rather a countless number of those white parasites. They were frantically wriggling their way towards the crowd of cultivators.

    Everyone hurriedly retreated even as countless attacksnded on the flood of the parasites, but only a small percentage of the attacks were effective while therge majority were not.

    The parasites¡¯ defenses were shocking.

    ¡°Only the attacks of Explorers are effective against them. Everyone else, get away!¡± someone shouted.

    Many of the cultivators who were not Explorers yet turned deathly white, and they all ran.

    Lu Yin used his Skybeast w as a test and directly tore through one of the parasites, and he was stupefied to discover that these parasites had no organs. Instead, they were filled with a milky-white fat substance that was rather disgusting.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s go! There¡¯s too many of them. Look up!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin raised his head to see that some powerhouses had flown into the air to assault the wave of parasites, but they were knocked down by even more parasites that leapt up to grab them. Some of the people even fell inside the flood and vanished in the blink of an eye.

    The white parasites covered the entire area, and the ground turned entirely white.

    Lu Yin never stopped retreating. He could kill the creatures, but there were far too many of them for him to wipe out. Attacking arger area meant a weaker attack, and it would also ce a heavier burden on his body. He was not so selfless as to help the others out like that.

    Numerous spatial cracks shattered the void as many tried to push the parasites into the fissures. Even so, the endless flood of parasites continued spilling forward, and the number of the creatures didn¡¯t seem to drop by any noticeable amount.

    Someone shouted, and multiple Explorers united to tear open a giant spatial crack thatnded directly within the wave of parasites. Many of them were sucked within the crack and never seen again.

    As soon as the crowd saw that the method was effective, many more cultivators joined in, and the number of parasites was soon visibly reduced.

    The situation appeared to be turning for the better, but the monkey¡¯s nextment caused Lu Yin¡¯s improving mood to plummet once again. ¡°How many parasites are there in a living being? It should at least be in the range of hundreds of millions, and it might even be incalcble. And to this centipede, these parasites must really be parasites. So, Seventh Bro, how many do you think there are?¡±

    Lu Yin felt his scalp turn numb. He suddenly imagined what hundreds of millions of parasites covering the entire space would look like. Even if more spatial cracks were opened up, they would never be able to eliminate them all. In fact, the cultivators would end up dying from exhaustion.

    Currently, there were at most a few hundred thousand parasites making their way forward, but if their numbers increased by a hundredfold, then no one would continue trying to fight them.

    The most worrying issue was that the appearance of these parasites meant that any buildings they ran into would bepletely destroyed along with anything that they might possibly hold.

    Many started considering leaving.

    Lu Yin retreated again and again, only attacking asionally. Although his attacks were not frequent, they were effective and much stronger than the attacks of the nearby Explorers. Every one of his attacks eradicated a significant portion of the parasites.

    Suddenly, in the distance, a phantom image appeared that pierced through the void and streaked across the area. An Explorer immediately fell into the flood of parasites below.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, since this time, he had finally seen the attack; it was a pike. A phantom image of a pike had stabbed the Explorer and instantly killed him. So it turned out that those frightened-to-death corpses had all been victims of this pike¡¯s attack.

    The pike was a phantom image that a normal person could not see. Lu Yin had to rely on his Cosmic Art, domain, and his lockbreaking tool to just barely make it out.

    Although the scene of the pike killing someone was horrifying, Lu Yin actually rxed when he saw it. At least he now knew how those people had died. The most visceral fear that all humans held was the fear of the unknown. If Lu Yin had not been able to determine the cause of those strange deaths, then even he would not have had the courage to continue forward.

    Still, where had the phantom pikee from? A new question had suddenly arose since there were definitely no living people inside the centipede. Could it be from the parasites?

    Lu Yin retreated as he carefully stared deeper into the centipede¡¯s leg. Before long, another phantom pike appeared. It streaked through the area and disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. This second phantom pike had not attacked anyone; could the attacks possibly be at random?

    In order to test his conjecture, Lu Yin greatly increased his efforts in attacking the parasites, and he also teamed up with the other powerhouses to shatter the void. The wave of parasites reduced visibly, their numbers clearly diminishedpared to before.

    The crowd had barely taken control of the flood of worms¡¯ progress.

    Another phantom pike shot out. This time, it streaked past an Explorer¡¯s shoulder, who didn¡¯t notice anything at all as he continued to attack the flood of worms.

    After that, every so often, the pike would shoot out in various directions, but there was only one other time that it shot towards someone. Fortunately for them, Lu Yin secretly pushed them out of the way. Otherwise, there would have been one more bizarre corpse upon the ground.

    He was now sure that these phantom pikes were not targeting anybody, but were instead randomly shot out. If so, then what wasunching them? All of the attacks were phantom pikes, so could there be a unique, original pike somewhere? Lu Yin was getting a little excited, and he hoped to retrieve such a thing.

    Some of the cultivators stayed behind to hold back the flood of worms since they wanted to continue exploring further while others simply left the centipede.

    The mercenary group that Lu Yin had encountered before was one of the groups that left.

    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re still the only sensible one. We definitely won¡¯t be able to kill so many worms, and who knows how many more there are further in. A timely retreat is the correct decision,¡± someone said, ttering their leader, and the people around him echoed simr sentiments.

 Chapter 388: Intent To Kill

    <h4>Chapter 388: Intent To Kill</h4>

    The middle-aged captain puffed and blew out some smoke rings. One, two, and then three rings appeared before gradually disappearing. He disappointedly replied. ¡°If not for you guys, I wouldn¡¯t have left. However, since you¡¯re with me, I¡¯ll make sure that you all stay safe. Nothing is more important to me than you guys¡¯ safety.¡±

    The dozens of people in the group were all very touched.

    Puff~

    The captain blew out another smoke ring, but this time, it morphed into another image. ¡°People should live for themselves, but I can¡¯t force myself to do that. So if we¡¯re going to survive, then we¡¯ll have to do it together.¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to die, we¡¯re going down together!¡± everyone yelled, their eyes filled with deep devotion as they looked at their captain. This was the person who they believed was worth following for their entire lifetime.

    The emotional atmosphere didn¡¯tst for long before it was abruptly cut off. About ten people or so appeared in the air above the group and looked down at them. One of the neers was an old man who red at the middle-aged captain. ¡°Were you further inside? How are things going in there now?¡±

    Before the mercenary captain could speak, a young soldier next to him immediately yelled, ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? Our captain is amazing! You¡¯d better greet him properly!¡±

    The captain nearly choked on the smoke in his mouth as he hurriedly pushed the young soldier aside. He then smiled sweetly at the old man and politely answered, ¡°Well, hello there, sirs from the ze Realm. There are waves of worms in there, and there are quite a number of them. Some people have even died from the shock. There¡¯s basically nothing in this area, but please stay safe on your way further in.¡±

    Up in the sky, the people from the ze Realm rushed away, heading deeper into the centipede.

    Below them, the dozens of troops stared at their captain in shock.

    The captain slowly lit a cigarette and regretfully blew out another smoke ring. ¡°Endure this and you¡¯ll be able to seed in the future. Remember these words: only people who can endure will be strong. Understand?¡±

    The rest were confused.

    The middle-aged captain sighedmentably. ¡°When I die, I¡¯ll make sure that it happens in front of all of you.¡±

    With just this one sentence, the atmosphere was lifted. Everyone looked at the man in devotion, and the young soldier who had interrupted earlier nearly burst into tears. The captain smiled.

    However, the mood was destroyed right away as a young man with a deadpan expression suddenly appeared, staring coldly at the captain. ¡°What happened in there?¡±

    The captain gulped as he looked at the young man, feeling like there was a knife to his throat. ¡°There¡¯s a wave of worms in there, and there are also people dying mysteriously.¡±

    The young person stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, he had already shot past everyone and was continuing on his way.

    Everyone stared, dazed. The previously jovial mood was gone once again.

    The captain looked forlorn, feeling ready to curse someone, Where¡¯d all these monsterse from? He blew out another smoke ring, wanting to say something touching to his soldiers, but then he blinked. Forget it! We need to go!

    The flood-like wave of worms had been greatly reduced thanks to everyone working together to drive them into spatial cracks. While there were still many new parasitic worms entering the area, they no longer posed a threat to the group of cultivators.

    Lu Yin watched on from the very back of the crowd, ready to carefully observe the phantom pike that appeared. He wanted to see just how powerful it was.

    Before long, the people from the ze Realm arrived at the front of the expedition.

    There were eightrge Flowzones in the Innerverse, collectively known as the Eight Great Flowzones. The ze Realm was simr to the zing Mist Flowzone in terms of its influence, so their appearance caused quite a few people to shudder in fear.

    The Eight Great Flowzones had achieved many things that the other tiny Flowzones could not even imagine. The Northline Flowzone had a monster with a power level of over 400,000, but there were certainly other,parable old freaks like him in the Eight Great Flowzones. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Northgate family to hide Northgate Taisui¡¯s existence, and they would have just dominated the other families.

    Upon seeing so many parasitic worms constantly rushing at the crowd of cultivators, the people from the ze Realm were astonished. This was their first time seeing creatures like these. The worms had defensesparable to an Explorer¡¯s, but theycked any offensive capabilities and were also unable to move quickly. They almost seemed like regr lifeforms that wore the shell of an Explorer.

    ¡°You,e here.¡± All of a sudden, a familiar voice rang out, and Lu Yin nced over. Jared?

    Jared pointed at Lu Yin. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? Get over here right now.¡±

    Lu Yin froze for a moment, but then, he remembered that he had changed his appearance. Ordinary cultivators would be discovered rather quickly when they changed their appearance, or else they would be able to easily wreak havoc in the universe. However, Lu Yin had cultivated the Invisible Aura Technique, which eliminated most of the issues that urred when one changed their appearance. It was also why he hadn¡¯t been found out yet.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lu Yin asked after walking over to the group.

    Jared¡¯s eyes were cold and he ordered, ¡°Go and fetch me a corpse of someone who died of mysterious causes.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Me?¡±

    Jared frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll repeat myself once: find me a corpse that died of mysterious causes or die.¡±

    Lu Yin was furious, but after scanning everyone from the ze Realm, his eyes lingered on the two elders in front, and fear flickered through his eyes. He then nodded and ran ahead to where there was a body. The man hadn¡¯t been killed by a phantom pike; instead, he had died when a parasitic worm rammed into him. Still, it didn¡¯t matter since Lu Yin just needed to do something for the people from the ze Realm.

    Soon enough, Lu Yin carried a body back and flung it to the ground.

    Everyone from the ze Realm nced over.

    ¡°He died from blunt force impact. This isn¡¯t a mysterious death,¡± an elder said. After that, he eyed Lu Yin coldly.

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°He must have died from mysterious causes, because he fell into the flood of worms and was run into. It must have happened very quickly.¡±

    The elder nced at the wave of worms and decided to ept the exnation despite how incredulous it sounded.

    ¡°Tell me then, what kind of death is considered mysterious?¡± Jared asked coldly.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°When someone dies from fright. There must be a ghost here.¡±

    ¡°How dare you answer with bullshit! Ghosts don¡¯t exist!¡± Jared angrily retorted.

    Next to him, one of the two elders scoffed, ¡°Enough of that. There¡¯s no need to argue about this.¡± After that, he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You can leave.¡±

    ¡°Wait a second. Have you seen this person before?¡± Jared raised his gadget and tapped it, only for Lu Yin¡¯s own face to appear on the disy.

    Lu Yin shook his head and resolutely answered, ¡°No.¡±

    Jared frowned and waved him away in annoyance. ¡°Leave.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t go too far and stopped at a ce where his domain was still able to cover the group from the ze Realm so that he could eavesdrop on their conversation.

    ¡°Do you really believe in ghosts?¡± Jared asked.

    An elder sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not about believing it. There¡¯s evidence that spiritual attacks do exist, so we need to be careful.¡±

    ¡°I still think that our main task should be to find Lu Yin,¡± Jared said.

    ¡°Lu Yin is indeed one of our targets. He offended the ze Realm in the Astral Combat Academy, and he also destroyed Firesmelt right when they were about to join our ze Realm. This proves that he thinks nothing of us. The two of us have been ordered to take care of him,¡± the elder in charge said.

    Jared looked incredibly excited. ¡°With both of you here, we¡¯ll definitely be able to kill Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need to go so far as to kill him. As long as he¡¯s willing to submit to the ze Realm, we can consider taking him in.¡±

    ¡°I know this person very well. He¡¯s incredibly arrogant and rude, and there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll join the ze Realm. We have to kill him immediately if we want to avoid trouble. This must be what the master wants as well.¡±

    The elder in charge gave Jared a pointed look. ¡°He has aplicated background. He¡¯s a part of the Ten Arbiters Council and the Lockbreaker Society. There are also rumors that he has even more powerful people behind him than that. Killing him will just create even more trouble.¡±

    Jared whispered. ¡°If we were outside, then killing him would indeed be difficult. But right now, since we¡¯re inside the centipede, thework will stop working once we go a bit further in. If you act fast enough, then he definitely won¡¯t be able to send a video out as evidence, so there¡¯s nothing to worry about. If you¡¯re willing to help me out, then I promise that I¡¯ll share the Karmic me Sword with you two.¡±

    After hearing the Karmic me Sword being offered, the elders¡¯ eyes lit up, and they exchanged a nce before nodding. ¡°Very well, but this matter needs to remain a secret. Otherwise, there¡¯ll be great trouble for our ze Region.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Jared smiled mysteriously.

    Far away from the group, Lu Yin¡¯s expression had turned grim. It turned out that he was actually being targeted by the ze Realm. What he¡¯d done to Firesmelt had caused the ze Realm to hate him. ording to what Lu Yin had just heard Jared say, the ze Realm would only be more willing to kill him as time passed.

    If that was the case, then there was no need for him to hold back any longer. If those two old fogeys had been sent here to deal with him, then they must be quite powerful. Lu Yin obviously didn¡¯t want to face them directly if at all possible. He checked the wave of the parasitic worms which was a ways off and used sh to vanish.

    There were about a dozen powerhouses attacking the parasitic worms in one area when they heard something whistle past before losing consciousness.

    Lu Yin quickly dealt with the dozen or so powerhouses. He then flung them away and let the parasitic worms push past the battle zone. With his domain, he hid his aura and concealed himself behind a parasitic worm.

    Numerous worms charged past, and the first people who they targeted were those from the ze Realm as Lu Yin had deliberately weakened the ce that was closest to them.

    They had previously been very rxed behind the defenders, but suddenly, to their surprise, numerous worms had suddenly appeared in front of them. Still, they paid no mind to the change. Their members were much stronger than ordinary Explorers, and even a Limiteer like Jared was strong enough to break through the worms¡¯ defenses and kill them. With the powerful battle techniques that therge organizations possessed, their members were much more powerful than what their power levels indicated.

    It didn¡¯t take long for a tremendous heat to be felt even kilometers away. The group from the ze Realm had attacked, killing the worms a lot more quickly than the other groups, though their attacks didn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe. Soaring temperatures spread out, affecting quite a few of the cultivators as well, resulting in a lot of cursing.

    However, none of the cultivators thought anything of the matter. Organizations from therger Flowzones never worried about being too overbearing when they were in a smaller Flowzone.

    Lu Yin hid among the parasitic worms and quickly got close to Jared and attacked. He hadn¡¯t gotten into a veryrge fight with Jared while in the Astral Combat Academy, but Jared had put Lu Yin on a kill list in the trial zones. When Lu Yin had dealt with the Daynight n, he had also taken the opportunity to teach the people from the ze Realm a lesson as well. He had thought that everything was done with that, but it turned out that these people wanted to kill him in the real world now, which was why Lu Yin was now bent on killing Jared. The universe had always been a ce where only the strong survived, so there was no way that Lu Yin would hold back.

    The attack struck Jared without any issue, and it should have killed him outright. However, Jared was very tough and was only sent flying. While coughing out blood, mes rose up around him, causing the metal to melt away.

    Lu Yin felt like this was quite a shame. Jared was wearing a ring armor that, by the looks of it, must be an expensive set unique to the ze Realm since it was even able to block an attack from an Explorer. In order to remain incognito, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t used the stacking method, but the weakening of the attack had saved Jared¡¯s life.

    Jared being gravely injured instantly drew the attention of everyone from the ze Realm, and numerous disciples started attacking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin easily dodged all the attacks headed his way and then once again charged towards Jared, intent on killing him. Before he could make it near him, however, one of the two elders from the ze Realm blocked Lu Yin. Surging mes morphed into a furious, growling lion that leaped towards Lu Yin.

 Chapter 389: Looking For Teammates

    <h4>Chapter 389: Looking For Teammates</h4>

    The amount of strength that the fire lion possessed was quite shocking to Lu Yin. The lion had four lines of battle force covering it, which distorted the air around it. Further away, the elder in charge of the group from the ze Realm raised a hand as his mes turned into another furious fire lion that was surrounded by four-lined battle force.

    The two me lions covered in four-lined battle force cornered Lu Yin, ready to kill him.

    Lu Yin had never underestimated those elders of the older generation. While older cultivators might have been average when they were younger, as time passed, some of them would be rather powerful and even beparable to their peers who were geniuses. Additionally, they also had the advantages that came with time that the younger generationcked, and that advantage culminated in the form of terrifying battle strength.

    The void around Lu Yin was incinerated by the mes, and there was no way for him to dodge this attack. He lifted his arms and grabbed a ming lion with each of his hands. With a frown, he exerted some force and caused the four-lined battle force surrounding the lions to explode. With a boom, the two lions dissipated, though less than a momentter, the two elders had closed the distance. ¡°How dare you attack our people from the ze Realm!? DIE!!¡±

    Lu Yin moved his arms in front of him to block their attack, and there was a huge boom as he was sent flying by a ridiculously high temperature heat wave. The two elders were used to working together and quickly attacked Lu Yin once again. However, Lu Yin did not fight back. He was well aware of their abilities and knew that it would be difficult for him to beat them without exposing himself. Therefore, he borrowed the momentum of their attacks to quickly flee the scene.

    If Lu Yin wanted to leave, the people from the ze Realm were incapable of stopping him. All they could do was watch as he disappeared.

    Some of the ze Realm¡¯s disciples helped Jared up as he coughed out some more blood. He was still shaken since he¡¯d nearly died just now. Thankfully, he had donned his armor beforehand.

    The two elders went over to check on Jared while looking serious. ¡°Who was that? He was able to leave you gravely injured and even escaped from us. He must be a monster amongst Limiteers.¡±

    Jared¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s Lu Yin. It has to be him.¡±

    The elder in charge shook his head. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have been him. If that person was Lu Yin, then you¡¯d already be dead.¡±

    Jared wanted to retort, but there was nothing that he could actually say since the elder¡¯s words were true. Given Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, he absolutely could kill Jared in one attack. But if that person wasn¡¯t Lu Yin, then who could he be? Jared was an Area Master from the Astral Combat Academy and a genius amongst Limiteers. The two elders with him were also cream of the crop Explorers and were even more of a force to be reckoned with when they teamed up. They were actually powerful enough to contend with a few cultivators at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings. Jared could not think of any other Limiteer who was powerful enough to escape from these elders.

    ¡°That person might still have been Lu Yin, since he could have not gone full force in order to conceal his identity. That would have been enough to allow Jared to survive,¡± one of the elders guessed.

    Jared shouted, ¡°Yes! That has to be what happened! He has to be Lu Yin!¡±

    The rest of the ze Realm disciples were busy exterminating all the parasitic worms around them, so the two elders did not waste any more time on random guesses. The attacker was already gone, and so what if he had been Lu Yin? It was just a huge pity that they hadn¡¯t been able to stop him from escaping.

    It was necessary that they move cautiously from now on. If Lu Yin decided that he was going to attack them in secret, then even the two elders were not certain that they would be able to hold their own against him.

    Jared shamelessly stole a ring armor from one of the other disciples. He was now terribly frightened after having such a close encounter with death. On top of that, he was currently gravely injured. Even the medicine from the Shamrock Enterprises would not allow him to heal fast enough. A part of him wanted to leave right now.

    Far off in the distance, Lu Yin revealed himself and nced back in shock. Those two elders were very powerful. They had four-lined battle force, battle techniques from the ze Realm, and ring armor. It would be impossible for him to take them out without exposing himself, so he would currently forget it. This matter could wait, because he was sure that they would not leave. There would be more opportunities to attack them in the future.

    He didn¡¯t want to waste too much energy in a ce like this, as who knew what kind of dangers were waiting for him in this centipede.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally experienced how incredible those huge organizations are, eh, Seventh Bro? Those two old dudes were probably just ordinary disciples when they were young, or else they wouldn¡¯t be merely at the Explorer realm at their current age. However, they¡¯ve been cultivating for so many years and can even use battle power, which means that they¡¯re powerful enough to hold their own against you when they team up. That¡¯s how powerfulrge organizations work. There are quite a number of disciples like them in those ces,¡± the monkey eximed, excited at the predicament that Lu Yin was currently in.

    Lu Yin calmly looked up. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. When I get stronger, it won¡¯t matter how many disciples like them there might be.¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that you can¡¯t keep fighting alone. If someone else had helped you just now, then that guy would have died already,¡± the monkey firmly stated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°What are you trying to get at?¡±

    ¡°I know that you want to rule the Great Yu Empire and slowly expand it so that you¡¯ll be more powerful. That¡¯s a big picture goal. However, you can¡¯t just go adventuring around the universe all by yourself¡ªyou need to find some teammates,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. The monkey was right. He really should find some helpers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to visit the Cosmic Sea? Do you n on going there all alone? Seriously? Even the Ten Arbiters wouldn¡¯t travel there alone.¡±

    ¡°What kind of teammates should I look for?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey rolled his eyes. ¡°How should I know? They can¡¯t be annoying, and they also have to be strong I guess. You know, sometimes, I think that you¡¯re too focused on titles. All you pay attention to are those disciples from big organizations. There are a bunch of other cultivators who aren¡¯t weak and also aren¡¯t restricted by any organizations. Your Top 100 Rankings isn¡¯t only made up of disciples from huge organizations¡ªquite a lot of them are independent. They¡¯ve got to be pretty lucky and have built up a lot of life experience.¡±

    What the monkey said seemed to open up new doors to Lu Yin. He¡¯d always focused on people with important identities, but if he could convince those who trained on their own to his side, they would be even more valuable. When all of the cultivators in the universe were considered as a whole, most of them had no real backing. Mercenary groups, for instance, were mostly formed from independent cultivators.

    The best thing about such people was that they weren¡¯t restricted by any sort of organization at all. There were no outside interests influencing them, so they were more easily controlled.

    ¡°You¡¯re being very helpful today, Monkey,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The monkey was incredibly proud of himself. ¡°Of course, Seventh Bro! I¡¯ll even give you a suggestion. If you listen to this piece of advice, it¡¯ll be very advantageous for you, and it¡¯ll be great for when you go to the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin excitedly replied, ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Get some girls with huge boobs! Nobody will want to kill them. Not only will they look pretty, but they¡¯ll also lower the enemy¡¯s desire to kill them. Also-¡± Before the monkey could even finish speaking, Lu Yin blocked him off. This monkey was rarely ever serious.

    Though it was a fact that his first suggestion was quite tempting.

    After a few days, the parasitic worms had been more or less eliminated. At this time, even the people from the ze Realm were exhausted, but nobody was willing to take a rest; everyone continued to move further into the centipede¡¯s leg.

    They were still near the cracked portion of the creature¡¯s leg, but they weren¡¯t too far away from the joint that connected it to the main body.

    Before too long, the crowd of cultivators ran into another group of people, and everybody headed deeper in together. Along the way, more and more people started to appear. These people had been very lucky and avoided the worms entirely.

    Although they didn¡¯t run into more worms, more and more people were killed by the phantom pikes. The further in they went, the more people who died of mysterious causes there were. Quite a few started to consider leaving.

    Half a dayter, the group passed by a huge pile of parasitic worm bodies and saw Northgate Lie and a few others up ahead. Northgate Lie and the others seemed to have stopped there for quite a while already and not headed any further in.

    One could deduce that this was the end of the leg, so if they continued any further, they would be in the centipede¡¯s body.

    The people from the ze Realm pushed past the others as Jared walked out. While he seemed a bit pale, he appeared to be in much better shape than before. Although it was impossible for him to be fully healed anytime soon, speaking wouldn¡¯t be a problem.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Mr. Lie,¡± Jared said politely to Northgate Lie.

    Northgate Lie looked at him, confused. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Jared did not get upset and simply answered, ¡°I am the disciple of Poison me from the ze Realm, Jared.¡±

    Northgate Lie made a sound of realization. ¡°So you¡¯re Lord Poison me¡¯s disciple? I remember now. We met in the zing Mist Flowzone before.¡±

    Jared smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. I still remember how awe-inspiring you were at that time. I didn¡¯t expect for us to meet again here.¡±

    Northgate Lie nodded and looked past Jared to see the rest of the group from the ze Realm. His gaze lingered on the two elders before he continued, saying, ¡°Why are you here, Jared? Did you run into the worms?¡±

    Jaredughed bitterly and told the young master of the Northgate family about how they¡¯d encountered the worm wave.

    ¡°I was actually just thinking that there weren¡¯t a lot of worms, but I guess most of them went your way and slowed you down,¡± Northgate Liemented.

    Jared felt confused. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you continue on?¡±

    Northgate Lie moved aside and waved his hand, indicating that the people up front should step aside. Everyone from the ze Realm looked over and saw that a pike had been erected in the ground a distance ahead. Around it there were about a dozen bodies, and they all seemed to have died from fright.

    Upon seeing the bizarre scene, the neers were shocked. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re all aware that there have been people mysteriously dying along the way. It¡¯s actually because of that pike. The closer you get to it, the more likely it is that you¡¯ll die strangely. It¡¯s an attack that can¡¯t be seen,¡± Northgate Lie said, at a loss on how to proceed.

    Around the two young masters, Lily Anne and the others were simrly out of ideas on how to proceed. The pike released attacks could neither be seen nor avoided, and of all ces, it had to be ced right where the leg and the body were connected. There was no way to enter the body from this leg, which made things ratherplicated.

    It was only now that they understood the reason for the mysterious deaths, and many could not help but shudder in fear. Invisible attacks meant the attack was based around spiritual force. Such attacks were the most terrifying.

    ¡°How can we get past here, Mr. Lie?¡± Jared asked.

    Everyone was trapped in the leg with nobody able to enter the body. The most powerful person present was Northgate Lie, and even though there were quite a number of older Explorers here as well, he was not somebody who could be easily surpassed even with time. After all, he was somebody on the Top 100 Rankings. It would only be possible for an older Explorer to beat him if they had also been a genius in their younger years.

    The two elders from the ze Realm could only contend with Lu Yin when they worked together, and that was also the case for Northgate Lie. Being in the Top 100 Rankings was symbolic in and of itself as it indicated that one was sure to be an expert in the future. With the influence that Northgate Lie held, most people were unwilling to offend him.

    Northgate Lie pointed at a middle-aged man in a corner and said, ¡°This person is a Lockbreaker. Only lockbreaking techniques are able to handle the invisible attacks of the pike.¡±

    Jared was shocked. ¡°Do we really need to bother a Lockbreaker for this? Is there only one lockbreaker here?¡±

    Northgate Lie nodded. ¡°One Lockbreaker won¡¯t be enough. We¡¯ll need at least a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker or several Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers. They can¡¯t be new Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers either.¡±

    ¡°Are we unable to get past here without Lockbreakers?¡± Jared did not like the current situation.

    Northgate Lie didn¡¯t bother answering, which was an answer itself. It was impossible to block the pike¡¯s attacks with an Explorer¡¯s strength. Only lockbreaking techniques would work on it.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already sent some people back to fetch some. The closer they are to outer space, the better thework connection. We¡¯ll request for some Lockbreakers toe in, but it might take them some time,¡± Northgate Gang replied.

    Jared excused himself and started discussing something with the other people from the ze Realm.

    Everyone was waiting for Lockbreakers to arrive. Unfortunately, Lockbreakers were just too rare. Even though there were thousands of people present, there was only one Lockbreaker out of all of them.

 Chapter 390: The Prestige Of Four Stars

    <h4>Chapter 390: The Prestige Of Four Stars</h4>

    Lily Anne suddenly spoke up. ¡°Brother Lie, Lu Yin is also a Lockbreaker.¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes shed, and he nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    He Zhong and the rest from the Tempest Flowzone soon arrived and also waited silently.

    Lu Yin observed the situation for a moment before quickly realizing that the gathered crowd was waiting for Lockbreakers. The monkey spoke up at that point. ¡°Seventh Bro, are you not going to show yourself? A bunch of people will be grateful to you right now.¡±

    Lu Yin unenthusiastically replied, ¡°People will only be grateful when someone appears at thest moment. If I go out now, then they¡¯ll believe that me helping them is expected.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually going to help them get past this?¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled.

    Lu Yin was still considering the matter. In his peak state, with his three methods that increased his perception, he could use the Secret Sidestep, which allowed him to avoid all dangers, to enter the centipede¡¯s body, but he had no idea what dangersy ahead after that. He was actually hoping to have someone carve a path forward for him, but if that happened, he would have to fight them if they found any good stuff. Northgate Lie alone was already plenty to deal with, but now, there were the ze Realm people to deal with as well as the possibility of hidden experts to deal with. He might not be able toe out on top.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll let them pass.¡± Lu Yin made his decision.

    The monkey could not understand. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t destroy the pike, then they¡¯ll need the assistance of Lockbreakers to enter as well as to leave.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up as he exined.

    The monkey was stunned. ¡°Making for easy targets, huh? Seventh Bro, you¡¯re evil."

    This was the situation that Lu Yin wanted. People were wee to leave or try their luck and barge forward on their own, but regardless of what they did, Lu Yin would be able to cause problems for whomever he wanted. This was currently his ying field, and that would only change if a stronger Lockbreaker showed up. His current problem was deciding how he should best take advantage of this opportunity since it would definitely be troublesome if a better Lockerbreaker appeared.

    He hesitated for a moment. Then, he returned to his normal appearance and appeared next to Northgate Lie and the others with sh, startling them quite badly.

    ¡°Sorry for beingte. I heard that you guys need a Lockbreaker,¡± Lu Yin announced with a smile.

    The crowd was speechless. How could he know that they needed a Lockbreaker if he had just arrived? He had obviously showed up earlier. Still, no one bothered to argue with him about the contradiction. Northgate Lie courteously said, ¡°Brother Lu, you should know what the entire situation is now. How about it? Are you confident?¡±

    Lu Yin looked around and saw the hateful res from the people of the ze Realm, the expectant looks from Lily Anne¡¯s group, and the look of disdain from the other Lockbreaker in the distance. He then started approaching the pike, step by step.

    Right when he was a hundred meters from the pike, the other Lockbreaker called out, ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t disturb its energy or else its attacks will multiply, leading to more casualties.¡±

    The crowd tried to stop Lu Yin upon hearing the man¡¯s words, afraid that a moment of his carelessness would affect them.

    Lu Yin frowned; this Lockbreaker was rather sinister and had forced Lu Yin into a corner as soon as he opened his mouth up. If his lockbreaking attempt was unsessful, then all of the me would fall onto Lu Yin. And this wasn¡¯t even mentioning the Lockbreaker¡¯s arrogant manner of speech.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t catch your name. You are?¡± Lu Yin looked at the middle-aged man.

    The man was unhappy and refused to say his name. ¡°A four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin quietly replied, ¡°What a coincidence. I¡¯m also a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.¡±

    Previously, on Savage Ape, Lu Yin and the rest had joined forces to unlock the tree-shaped sourcebox, which had raised him to the four star level. He had been just one step from three stars before the Lockbreaker gathering, and the sourcebox had been an intermediate one. If they had not worked together, and Lu Yin had instead sessfully unlocked it on his, it would have pushed him to five stars. Still, his current status of four stars meant that he had jumped up by two grades.

    The crowd cried out in surprise, as they had not expected for Lu Yin to be a four star Discerning Elementary at his age. There were not many Lockbreakers of his age in the society, and only the Distinguished Five had obtained four stars at such a young age. Even if Dao Bo and Charon were taken into consideration, there were still not that many young Lockbreakers who were as aplished as Lu Yin.

    Northgate Lie was also stunned. Lu Yin had only recently been promoted, so most people were not aware that he had already attained four stars. His talent for lockbreaking was as shocking as his martial prowess.

    ¡°What? You have four stars, too?¡± The man was shocked.

    Lu Yin lifted his gadget and activated the screen. When the middle-aged Lockbreaker saw Lu Yin¡¯s Lockbreaker profile with its four shining stars, he was stunned and could only speechlessly stare at Lu Yin. He no longer acted haughtily and instead put on a humble expression, as if he had just encountered a rising star of the Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry. I thought that you had no contributions. Instead, it turns out that you¡¯re actually a genius Lockbreaker,¡± the Lockbreaker spoke apologetically, his attitude experiencing aplete reversal.

    Lu Yin did not say anything more and turned to look at the sourcebox catalog section on his page. The number of views on the video of him unlocking the tree-shaped sourcebox was rather high, and it had earned him a bit of money. Although he had to split it with the Lockbreaker Society, his share wasn¡¯t too shabby.

    If he had not opened his profile page, then he might havepletely forgotten about this method of earning money. As his reputation continued to spread, his mary gains would simrly increase.

    He closed the disy, looked at the pike ahead of him, and then stepped forward.

    No one stopped him this time. Instead, they all looked on nervously.

    Compared to the tree-shaped sourcebox, the pike was much easier to deal with. Lu Yin dodged all of the phantom pikes that asionally shot towards him. He even warned the people behind him to dodge when necessary, which increased their confidence in his abilities even more.

    That middle-aged Lockbreaker gasped in surprise. At best, he could sense the danger before it struck him, but he could not determine the position or direction that the attacks were heading in. This showed the disparity between them.

    Lu Yin moved closer and closer to the pike. Soon, he could see that the void near the pike was surrounded by a sharp energy. The phantom pikes originated from this sharp energy, and this sharp energy was also what was currently blocking everyone¡¯s progress.

    He reached out to make contact with this fierce energy emanating from the pike. The energy then coalesced into star energy which formed a type of battle technique that had be eternal.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why it takes a Lockbreaker to approach this thing. This toy is a simplified version of a predecessor¡¯s strength,¡± the monkey eximed. ¡°However, it¡¯s been here for ages, and the strength has dissipated by a great deal. If you all came here right after this thing was left here, you¡¯d all be dead, Seventh Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm touched the sharp energy as he tried to resolve the star energy. It was effective, but he progressed at a snail¡¯s pace. It would take him at least several days to open up a path. He turned back to look at the Lockbreaker. ¡°Let¡¯s work together. Follow where I tell you to go, and I promise that you¡¯ll be safe.¡±

    The middle-aged Lockbreaker wanted to reject Lu Yin¡¯s request since he was hoping to work with more Lockbreakers, but Northgate Lie and the others red at him, drastically increasing the pressure that the man already felt. If he declined, then it would be embarrassing once news of the matter spread.

    With no other choice, he slowly moved towards Lu Yin step by step.

    Lu Yin gave him clear directions, and the man evaded the asional phantom pike. Soon enough, he arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s side. ¡°Alright, start unlocking it from this direction.¡±

    The man did not refuse and the two started to work in sync to unlock the sharp energy.

    Everyone outside anxiously watched on.

    Jared¡¯s face had a sinister expression, and he exchanged looks with the two ze Realm elders as he revealed a trace of helplessness. ¡°We can¡¯t act for now. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to get out after we enter.¡±

    The other two nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s y things by ear.¡±

    Just as the monkey had said, due to the weathering of time, the sharp energy from the pike had been greatly reduced. Lu Yin and the middle-aged Lockbreaker continuously worked on it for a day. On the second day, another Lockbreaker finally appeared. He was only a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, but another person helping out was definitely a good thing.

    After twenty more hours, Lu Yin finally said, ¡°Alright, you can pass now.¡±

    The two Lockbreakers were delighted. They stepped past the pike and into the centipede¡¯s body, the first ones to proceed.

    Northgate Lie and the others¡¯ eyes went wide, and they all turned to look at Lu Yin with expectant expressions.

    Lu Yin had notpletely removed the sharp energy. It was possible, but there was no reason to do so since he was hoping for the pike to seal the exit for everyone.

    ¡°I¡¯ll draw a path on the ground, and everyone will be able to enter by following the path. However, I must let you know that this path will only be effective for one day, and it won¡¯t be usable after that. We¡¯ll have to unlock the pike again in order to exit,¡± Lu Yin announced.

    Someone shouted, ¡°Brother Lu, why don¡¯t you just finish unlocking it? Then it¡¯ll be more convenient for everyone to enter and leave.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°You intend to have me stay here and keep unlocking this pike for you while you continue on and explore? Fine, but I want ny percent of whatever you obtain inside.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too much!¡± That person was astounded.

    The crowd didn¡¯t take Lu Yin¡¯s words seriously since there was no way that he would be foolish enough to help all of them bypletely unlocking the pike.

    Northgate Lie was the first to head towards the body of the centipede, and he had an admiring look on his face. ¡°Thank you, Brother Lu, for the help. Rest assured, when we get out, the Northgate family will reward you.¡±

    That¡¯s more like it, Lu Yin thought to himself, but he still acted very courteously.

    The rest moved in one after another. As Lily Anne passed by, she whispered to Lu Yin, ¡°Be careful of the ze Realm.¡±

    A clear path had been carved through the sharp energy, but the phantom pikes had notpletely vanished and would asionally appear. Fortunately, Lu Yin would remind people when that happened, which reassured them quite a bit.

    However, before long, another person died to a phantom pike, causing Jared to look at Lu Yin with a furious face. ¡°Brother Lu, why didn¡¯t you warn us?¡±

    The person who had died had been from the ze Realm, and the rest of the group looked at Lu Yin with burning eyes.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Didn¡¯t see it.¡±

    Jared was pissed, but he was held back by the elder in charge. The old man calmly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Little brother, to be of service to others is to be kind to oneself. I hope that you will do your best in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered as he replied, ¡°Allowing you to go past is already being kind to you. Anymore nonsense from you, and I¡¯ll just throw you out.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Jared was furious, but then, he had an intense coughing fit. His injuries were still too fresh, and his fury had aggravated his condition, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.

    Lu Yin cast a sidewards nce at him, but then ignored the group from the ze Realm as he made his way further deeper into the centipede¡¯s body.

    The people from the ze Realm could do nothing, but the two elders looked at each other with an icy bloodlust. This person had to die.

    The centipede''s body was huge, and the crowd did not know which direction to explore now that they had finally entered the main body through the broken leg. For the first time ever, the many cultivators separated. Some headed left, others right, and the rest continuing forward.

    Lu Yin followed behind Northgate Lie¡¯s group and headed to the left. Despite the group from the ze Realm¡¯s unknown motives, they also followed behind Northgate Lie, causing the overall group to swell to hundreds of cultivators.

    ¡°Strange, were these buildings built before or after the centipede¡¯s death? If before, then what happened to the internal organs?¡± someonemented.

    ¡°Probably after.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be right. This thing was hidden in another dimension after it died. If not for that Northgate elder¡¯s battle identally tearing through the void, this thing might have remained hidden there for who knows how many more years.¡±

 Chapter 391: Altar

    <h4>Chapter 391: Altar</h4>

    While the crowd was discussing the buildings¡¯ history, there was a rumbling sound as the ground tore open. The nearby buildings copsed into dust, revealing a white floor beneath them.

    Many cultivators ran over excitedly, thinking that they had discovered something, but they soon felt numb. ¡°It¡¯s nothing but parasites! Be careful not to disturb them.¡±

    Everyone looked below their feet. Could there be nothing but parasites below the ground? That would mean that they were standing within a flood of the worms.

    The thought horrified them all, and everyone rose into the air, no longer daring to touch the ground for fear of waking the parasitic worms.

    Someone suddenly asked, ¡°Do you think that the entire centipede might be filled with these worms?¡±

    Everyone felt their backs go cold, as such a thing would be absolutely terrifying. Given how tough these worms¡¯ defenses were, even a Hunter would find it hard to escape from such a situation.

    The centipede was so huge, so if it waspletely filled with parasites, then it would be enough to inundate severals. Such a number was a nauseating thought for any human.

    Northgate Gang barked, ¡°What are you afraid of? Our Northgate elder is outside. So what if this thing is nothing but parasites?¡±

    The crowd rxed. That was right¡ªthere was still that old freak outside whose power level was several hundred thousand. His attack could destroy the entire region at once.

    Everyone carefully flew along, as they were all worried that some idiot would startle the worms and unleash a disaster upon everyone.

    The further in they went, the greater the pressure they felt. Suddenly, someone ahead fell down and died instantly.

    Everyone was terrified, and they all looked at Lu Yin, who was in the back of the group. Lu Yin squinted. ¡°It¡¯s the same attack as before. There must be a pike up ahead.¡±

    The crowd stopped dead in their tracks.

    Northgate Lie said, ¡°Brother Lu, could we trouble you to warn us again?¡±

    They looked at Lu Yin with expectation in their eyes, but he dispassionately shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Northgate. I used too much energy to unlock the previous pike, so I don¡¯t have much energy left.¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Can we help Brother Lu recover some energy?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up and surveyed the crowd. He estimated that there were about three hundred people here, so if he asked for 10,000 star crystals from each person, then he would get three million cubes, which was thirty star essence. He had borrowed fifty essence from Lulu, so with this move, he would be able to recuperate more than half of what he owed her.

    He became emotional as he realized that he should havee up with this earlier. He could actually have charged an entrance fee instead of lockbreaking for free! There had been more than a thousand people who had passed by the pike earlier, so he could have easily cleared his debt to Lulu and even earned quite a decent amount for himself on top. What a pity that he had thought of it toote.

    Lu Yin coughed before slowly saying, ¡°Ah, everyone should know that lockbreaking takes a heavy toll on the body. I¡¯ll have to buy some supplements when I head outter, but I don¡¯t have any money.¡±

    He felt rather embarrassed. Had he been too blunt?

    The monkey also felt embarrassed. ¡°Seventh Bro, your greed has be a disease. You need be treated.¡±

    Northgate Lie smiled. Just as he guessed, this person liked money. It was fine since he was already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s preferences. He put on a thoughtful expression before asking, ¡°How much does Brother Lu need?¡±

    ¡°10,000 star crystals per person. That shouldn¡¯t be too much.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Northgate Lie nodded and then tossed Lu Yin a Mavis Bank crystal card. ¡°There¡¯s 300,000 cubes of star crystals in there. This is my Northgate Family¡¯s payment for all of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s juniors.¡±

    There were less than thirty people from the Northline Flowzone who had followed Northgate Lie, so 300,000 was more than enough.

    Lu Yin looked at the others. ¡°Everyone, as we continue on, there¡¯s a good chance that we¡¯ll encounter another pike, so the invisible attacks will be more frequent. Are you sure that you don¡¯t need me to warn you?¡±

    No one in the crowd hesitated. 10,000 star crystals was quite affordable.

    Lu Yin quickly collected all the money and felt rather refreshed. In the past, back in the Astral Combat Academy, he had wagered 20,000 star crystals with Craynor on their battle. To people from the Innerverse, this amount of money was basically loose change, though 100,000 would be too much. Lu Yin¡¯s experience with that broke guy, Ah Fan, had exined all this.

    The ze Realm elder also tossed a Mavis Bank crystal card to Lu Yin that contained the payment for everyone from the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew ragged. He had earned three million star crystals in an instant, and it had even been quite easy. Right, he should extort moreter on and increase his profits even more.

    Lu Yin felt like he had finally discovered the best earning opportunities in the future, as there was more than one way to earn money through lockbreaking. The true path to wealthy here; anytime a Lockbreaker was needed was a business opportunity.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯ve received our money, so please warn us in advance,¡± Northgate Lie politely reminded him.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Please rest assured, Brother Northgate, I will, I will.¡± His face suddenly changed as he reached out with a hand that turned into a w and pushed a young cultivator a hundred meters away aside.

    The crowd was confused.

    ¡°Fortunately, I was in time. Brother, your 10,000 crystals were definitely worth it.¡±

    The cultivator who Lu Yin had pushed aside was stunned, only just now realizing that he had nearly died. He looked at Lu Yin with an appreciative gaze. Trading 10,000 crystals for his life was definitely worth it. Those in the crowd felt their hair stand on end, and they subconsciously moved closer to Lu Yin, not daring to stray too far away from him.

    Lu Yin was pleased, as the situation was under his total control.

    The further in they went, the more often the phantom pikes appeared, and Lu Yin¡¯s warnings rang out more frequently.

    Gradually, people¡¯s expressions turned ugly since the warnings were just too frequent. Was it real or fake? No one could be sure.

    ¡°Look, what¡¯s that?¡± someone suddenly cried out.

    They all looked up ahead and saw that there was a tall building that appeared to be a sacrificial altar from ages past.

    Although there had been many buildings along the way, they had all been very normal and seemed to bemon residences. This altar, however, was different, as it should be the one of the ancient civilization¡¯s most important areas. The altar meant that they were in the center of the region.

    Everyone started to move faster.

    Lu Yin suddenly barked, ¡°Careful! The shortie up front, duck!¡±

    A dozen people ducked at the same time to avoid a phantom pike.

    Lu Yin was struck speechless by the scene. Were these people really that insecure about their heights?

    Of course, there were also those who were more confident, and a man who was shaped like a piece of bamboo charged forward first, unafraid of death.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s brows leaped up, and he intended to give chase, but he was also worried about the phantom pikes.

    The skinny person had no misgivings at all, and he quickly pulled ahead of the crowd.

    Many buildings had long since turned into dust in the area ahead of them, which made the distant altar and its surroundings even more conspicuous. There were many ancient buildings surrounding it, and they were much more impressive than the ones that they had seen before. If the earlier buildings were from a small tribe, then the buildings currently in front of them were from an ancient bustling city.

    That bamboo-looking man excitedly charged forward and dashed towards the altar. He was from the Tempest Flowzone¡¯s Fire Scorpion Sect, and he was iparably excited because he had identally overheard the ancient legend. He had specifically gone in a different direction from He Zhong and the others since he did not want He Zhong to take credit for everything. He Zhong, that fool thinks that he¡¯s the only one in the younger generation who knows about that secret. He doesn¡¯t even realize that there are others who are also aware of it.

    The moment he saw the altar, he had charged ahead without a care for his life. He was risking everything for this slight possibility. If it was real, then his future wouldpletely change. It was worth risking his life for such a chance. Death was not unwee, either, as having a dull future was even worse than death.

    He quickly closed in on the altar.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes went wide, and he clenched both fists, wanting to charge across.

    The skinny man stared excitedly at the altar. He saw the words and the design on it, as well as a numbing sight. There were five pikes stuck in the altar, and the man became so terrified that he did not dare to move any closer. There was a soft thump when his foot made contact with the ground, and at that moment, the entire city copsed into dust.

    Everyone stared on, dumbfounded, as none of them had imagined that such a thing would happen. Who could have expected an enormous, ancient city to disintegrate just because of a soft noise?

    Northgate Lie was furious. ¡°You asked for it!¡± He dashed up next to the skinny man and smashed him in the head. The man was still staring at the altar even as his eyes filled up with blood, and he slowly copsed to the ground, dead in every sense of the word.

    The others also rushed over and looked at where the city had been standing just a moment ago in pity. They felt no sympathy for the skinny man, since he had caused the city to copse, robbing them of a chance to observe and study it in detail. It might have even been possible to get some useful information since they had seen some writing earlier, but now, the city had crumbled to pieces, and there was nothing for them to look at except the altar.

    ¡°Everyone, be careful and move back,¡± Lu Yin warned as he pulled multiple people back. When they looked up, they finally discovered what the skinny man had seen before his death: five pikes. Beneath the weapons was a dried corpse, with its head, both hands, and both legs pierced through by a pike. It was obvious that the five pikes had pinned this person here and killed him.

    Everyone quickly pulled away as they felt their backs turn cold. After spending so much time in the centipede, they all had an idea of how much time had passed by, since even the writing on the buildings had faded. But right now, they were looking at a desated corpse that must have existed for eons.

    ¡°A corpse from ancient times, and five pikes pinning it down. That¡¯s too cruel.¡± The monkey was horrified.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and studied the altar. Who could have hated this person so much as to pierce him with five pikes, and to do so on an altar to boot. This had clearly been done to prevent this person from reincarnating.

    Northgate Lie and the others silently stared at the corpse with flickering eyes.

    There were also some words on the altar, and everyone tried their best to memorize the symbols.

    At that moment, a crack appeared on the altar. It then disintegrated into dust just like the rest of the buildings. Everyone¡¯s hearts pounded heavily as they watched the dried corpse, but fortunately, the corpse did not turn to dust like everything else.

    Such a corpse held great research value, but the five pikes pinning it down made everyone extremely unwilling to get closer. One pike alone was enough to kill everyone, let alone five.

    ¡°Eh? Look! There¡¯s something there!¡± Lily Anne cried.

    Everyone watched as the alter disappeared, and the corpse was ripped apart by the five pikes. They saw that there were ck words beside the left hand of the corpse.

    Three of the pikes fell about a hundred meters away from the corpse.

    The moment they saw the pikes, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. Lu Yin, Northgate Lie, the ze Realm¡¯s powerhouses, and the experts who had hidden themselves all rushed forward to snatch them up. Since the three pikes had fallen some distance away from the corpse, there was no threat whatsoever. Only a fool would not try to grab them.

    Suddenly, the centipede¡¯s body trembled as an aged voice rang out in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Everyone is to immediately leave. All vitors will be killed without question.¡±

    It was Northgate Taisui¡¯s voice. Since the united strength of the various powerhouses had stabilized the centipede¡¯s corpse, he would no longer allow anyone else to get a share of whatever was left inside the body.

    Lu Yin and the rest paid no attention to those words, and they all continued forward to grab the pikes. The closest people to the three pikes were Lu Yin and Northgate Lie.

    ¡°Brother Lu, the Northgate family is willing to pay a high price for these, so please don¡¯t intervene!¡± Northgate Lie abruptly avoided a phantom pike as he shouted at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 392: Trapper Qin Chen

    <h4>Chapter 392: Trapper Qin Chen</h4>

    Although Northgate Lie wasn¡¯t able to see the phantom pikes, he could still avoid them. It turned out that he had been concealing this ability.

    ¡°How much?¡± Lu Yin asked, though he did not slow down his mad rush towards the three pikes.

    Northgate Lie was feeling anxious and had no time to say anything. He raised a hand to attack Lu Yin. Since he had reacted a tiny bit slower, he could only respond to Lu Yin by attacking. Lu Yin did not dare to act carelessly either, and he turned around to exchange palm strikes with the young Explorer. A terrifying gale swept out and sted the ground apart, startling countless parasitic worms.

    But at that moment, the two elders from the ze Realm rushed over and tried to rush past both Lu Yin and Northgate Lie to win the pikes.

    Lu Yin and Northgate Lie pulled away from each other simultaneously as they each targeted one of the elders.

    One of them anxiously shouted, ¡°Northgate Lie, do you really dare to oppose the ze Realm?¡±

    ¡°ze Realm, do you dare to oppose the Ten Arbiters Council?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The elder was furious, and he raised his hand, releasing a fire lion that was reinforced with four-lined battle force and causing the temperatures to soar.

    In the distance, the rest of the crowd did not show any weakness as everyone rushed forward in a bid to take one of the three pikes.

    From beneath the ground, the parasites squirmed and charged up, casting the battlefield into chaos.

    Some hidden powerhouses suddenly revealed their concealed strength in an explosive burst. Aside from Lu Yin, no other Limiteer could even approach the area.

    The intense battle caused the star energy in the area to turn chaotic, and in the distance, the five pikes trembled. Right after that, phantom pikes appeared one after another, killing a dozen people in a row.

    Lu Yin seized the ze Realm elder¡¯s arm, raised his hand that was covered with five-lined battle force, and then unleashed a Thirty Stacks palm strike.

    When faced with Lu Yin, the two elders had to team up to stand against him. Now that this elder was alone, he was forced into retreating, but it was already toote. Lu Yin¡¯s palm mmed into the old man¡¯s back, and the elder spat out a glob of blood before dying.

    The other elder was also defeated by Northgate Lie but not killed.

    A phantom pike streaked forward, forcing Northgate Lie to hurriedly dodge it. When he looked up, he saw that Lu Yin had already made it to the three pikes and was about to pick them up.

    Northgate Lie became very anxious.

    Right when Lu Yin was about to collect the ancient weapons, danger suddenly surfaced. Before the two of them, a pair of emotionless, icy-cold eyes appeared alongside a ferocious wave of air that swept up from below, aimed straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin evaded with sh, raised his leg, and then kicked out. There was a thump as his attacknded on a figure,unching him back a dozen meters.

    Lu Yin focused his attention on the stranger, who was very strong.

    Whoosh! The figure rushed forward again,pletely disregarding Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Few people could disregard Lu Yin¡¯s attacks. Even if he didn¡¯t use any Oveying Stacks, his raw physical strength was enough to overwhelm even an elite Explorer. However, this person seemed to bepletely fine as he continued to battle with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. He used sh again while preparing to use Oveying Stacks with his kick this time.

    The figure¡¯s eyes were cold, and he growled softly. The next moment, his eyes turned scarlet as he unleashed a punch.

    Lu Yin squinted¡ªhe was a Corpse King.

    Bang!

    The violent collision released an explosive, thundering sound as well as a massive spatial crack that snaked through the battlefield like a lightning bolt, affecting quite a few cultivators. Even Northgate Lie, who had just rushed over, was stunned and instantly stopped in his tracks.

    Lily Anne and the rest were ovee with shock upon seeing this terrifying battle. Where had this powerhousee from?

    The Corpse King was once again sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s kick. As he flew away, he closed his eyes, determined to not let the others see through his identity. After this, he no longer tried to approach Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared apprehensively at the Corpse King. Truthfully, he was a little afraid of the Neohuman Alliance, especially after he ran into the transformed, grey-eyed Corpse King whose strength had reached a new level. That confrontation had horrified Lu Yin, and it would definitely be bad for him if this Corpse King also mutated.

    Cultivators died from mysterious deaths one after another as the phantom pikes continued shooting out incessantly, bing more frequent by the second. Many people had already withdrawn from the area.

    Northgate Lie was able to sense danger and quickly dodged a phantom pike. He panted heavily as he stared at Lu Yin with an unwilling expression. The next moment, Lu Yin waved his hand and swept all three pikes into his cosmic ring. He finally rxed after sessfully snatching them.

    Deep underground, countless parasites surged up, and the trembling of the centipede''s body also became more intense.

    Lu Yin did not want to stay here any longer, especially since he could not guarantee that Northgate Taisui would not kill him.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s go! I¡¯ve memorized it!¡± the monkey said. When Lu Yin had been trying to snatch the three pikes, he had instructed the Ghost Monkey to approach the corpse with his innate gift of shadow and record the ck words down. Lu Yin had thought that it would be a fruitless endeavor, but the monkey had actually just finished writing down thest bit of writing.

    Lu Yin nced to the side. Eh, where are the words?

    ¡°Stop searching. I erased them.¡± The monkey sounded excited.

    ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°If someone else also knows them, then the information will be less valuable. Don¡¯t you understand the concept of scarcity?¡±

    ¡°No one noticed you, right?¡± Lu Yin asked. Hepletely approved of the monkey¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Rx, these people will just assume that the words were destroyed by the battle. Other than me, no one else should have seen them.¡± The monkey was confident in its results.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin barked as he rapidly retreated along their original path.

    Northgate Lie shouted, ¡°Brother Lu, you can¡¯t hog everything for yourself! The Northgate family is willing to pay a high price for those pikes!¡±

    Jared did not have the time to think about how Lu Yin had killed his elder, and he also called out, ¡°Our ze Realm is also willing to purchase those things at a high price! We¡¯ll also guarantee Brother Lu¡¯s life and send you safely back to the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Many started to speak up as they all wished to obtain those pikes.

    Lu Yin did not bother answering any of them as he continued his mad charge out, only turning around to look at the Corpse King. Oddly enough, the man had vanished without a trace.

    Lu Yin felt a shudder go through his body, as the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse Kings were craftier than any human.

    The shaking ground intensified even further as the phantom pikes¡¯ attack frequency shifted to a higher gear. Soon, more people began to die.

    When Lu Yin ran at top speed, no one was able to keep up with him, not even Northgate Lie.

    Before long, Lu Yin reached the joint where the leg and the main body met, and he saw that there were a bunch of people anxiously waiting around. He also saw the middle-aged Lockbreaker from before, who was nervously trying to unlock the pike.

    When Lu Yin saw the scene, he was instantly delighted. Without his help, this bunch of people definitely would not be able to escape. Northgate Taisui had already taken care of the centipede''s body, so he would no longer permit anyone else to enter. In other words, Lu Yin was the only person who could let these people out.

    The middle-aged Lockbreaker was ted when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Mister Lu, please help me quickly get everyone out.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back as the boundless white wave approached them. Sure enough, parasitic worms had also appeared in the other directions. Not only that, but it was even possible for parasites to emerge from all parts of the centipede¡¯s body.

    ¡°Sure, but everyone needs to ept my condition first,¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    ¡°Tell us,¡± someone urgently said.

    Lu Yin had a solemn expression. ¡°Everyone needs to swear to change their appearance to look like me, Lu Yin, when they leave this centipede¡¯s body. No one can dy, and you will all have to rush to leave the Northline Flowzone as fast as possible.¡±

    These people weren¡¯t stupid and they all instantly realized that these conditions could only mean that Lu Yin had gotten ahold of something extraordinary that he was afraid the people of Northline Flowzone would seize. It was either that or he had offended someone. However, no one cared which one it was at this moment, and they all immediately agreed and quickly made their pledges.

    Lu Yin moved up alongside the middle-aged Lockbreaker and started helping him unlock the pike.

    Soon after, Northgate Lie arrived. As soon as he saw Lu Yin, he charged forward, only to be held back by the crowd. ¡°Brother Northgate, no matter what happened back there, Lu Yin is currently opening a way for our predicament. Brother Northgate, please set aside your grudges for now!¡±

    Northgate Lie frowned, and he tried to charge forward once again. No one could obstruct him from doing what he wanted.

    But before he was able to move much further, he suddenly stopped and stared ahead of him in surprise. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly turned around, stopping his lockbreaking attempt to shift his gaze. Was there someone here who was able to stop Northgate Lie?

    The others appeared simrly shocked. Northgate Lie was an expert on the Top 100 Rankings, but now, there seemed to actually be someone who could stop him, and the person was very young as well.

    ¡°Whatever grudges you have can be settled outside,¡± the youth who had stopped Northgate Lie coldly replied. He appeared to be extremely ordinary with simple clothes and no weapons. There was nothing about him that seemed outstanding in any way; he looked like a regr person in every sense of the word. But his appearance was actually enough to cause Northgate Lie to hesitate.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Do you think you can stop me? Qin Chen, you think too much of the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Behind him, many cried out in surprise. They had heard of this name before. Number eighty eight on the Top 100 Rankings: Trapper Qin Chen.

    Lu Yin was stunned upon realizing that there was actually another expert from the Top 100 Rankings present. There were more than a hundred Weaves and Flowzones in the Human Domain, so logically, not every area would produce someone in the rankings. Even if the Outerverse¡¯s weaves were disregarded, the Innerverse still had more than a hundred Flowzones of various sizes. The chances of bumping into a Top Hundred expert was absolutely miniscule, but two of them had appeared here.

    No matter what Northgate Lie said, he didn¡¯t act. If the rankings were meaningless, then no one would bother fighting over them. Since Qin Chen was ranked above Northgate Lie, then there had to be some truth to it.

    Soon after, Lily Anne and the rest arrived. When they learned that there was another Top 100 Rankings expert blocking their path, they were simrly shocked, and no one dared to act rashly.

    ¡°Brother Lu, think carefully. Even if you leave the centipede, you¡¯ll still be in the Northline Flowzone, and our Northgate ancestor is out there. Do you really think that you can escape?¡± Northgate Lie was not afraid of exposing himself, so he shouted threats at Lu Yin. This was the Northline Flowzone, and the mere existence of Northgate Taisui gave him a great deal of confidence.

    Lu Yin did not reply.

    In another direction, the Tempest Flowzone¡¯s He Zhong¡¯s eyes gleamed. What had Lu Yin obtained?

    ¡°Lu Yin, some things are not able to be taken away. It¡¯s better to be amodating!¡± Northgate Lie yelled again.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Everybody, the flood of worms is about to reach this point, but there are some people trying to interfere with your path to survival. They¡¯ll be able to leave on their own strength, but the majority of you won¡¯t be able to escape, so good luck to you all.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s words caused many hostile res to be directed towards Northgate Lie¡¯s group. Even those who had previously chased Lu Yin now stood to block Northgate Lie from approaching him.

    ¡°Brother Northgate, discuss your grudges outside. You don''t want all of us to die here, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Brother Northgate. Please give us some face.¡±

    ¡°Brother Northgate¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t act against you inside the centipede''s body. Brother Lu, it¡¯s best to be smart. We¡¯re still inside the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    To Northgate Lie, him seizing the pikes and presenting them to his family waspletely different from his family seizing them. However, he was unable to take them since Lu Yin¡¯s stubbornness and foolishness exceeded his expectations. He could only give up. As he had said, this was the Northline Flowzone, and he was certain that Lu Yin would not be able to escape.

    Lily Anne did not understand Lu Yin¡¯s behavior; he was no fool. He definitely could not escape, so why was he refusing to hand the pikes over?

    Qin Chen looked over at Lu Yin curiously. What exactly had this person obtained?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you sure that we¡¯ll be able to escape? There¡¯s an old freak with a power level of several hundreds of thousands waiting outside,¡± the monkey nervously questioned.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to escape. But handing them over to the Northgate family is an entirely different concept than handing them over to Northgate Lie.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother exining. If he could be that easily coerced to hand over those pikes, then no one would ever take him seriously in future. He wanted to let everyone know that he was no pushover. Even if he was walking along a futile path, he still wanted to try to find a way out of this predicament.

    He could not count on Astral-10 to deal with an old freak whose power level was in the several hundreds of thousands, and he didn¡¯t want to reveal his rtionship with Highsage Leon either. So, he only had one other option remaining. But before he used that, he would try his best to escape. Even if he ended up being caught, that old freak would need to put in some effort. He was doing all this to let everyone know that he, Lu Yin, would not be cowed by intimidation, that he was amenable to discussion but not coercion.

 Chapter 393: Itâ€™s Moving My Heart

    <h4>Chapter 393: It¡¯s Moving My Heart</h4>

    The flood of worms quickly appeared, and the crowd of cultivators restarted their messy battle against the parasites.

    The area around the pike had been unlocked before, so doing it for the second time was not nearly asplicated. After less than half a day had passed, Lu Yin opened up a path to the exit, though he found it a pity as he charged out. He had originally intended to collect exit fees, but that was no longer suitable in the present situation as he would incite the wrath of everyone present by doing so. If someone really died because of him, it would create an unnecessary feud, so it was just not worth it to try.

    However, since he had found a new method of earning money, there were even more possibilities in the future. He was rather looking forward to it.

    Northgate Lie actually didn¡¯t take any further actions against Lu Yin, though many were already growing curious as to what Lu Yin had obtained. However, no one believed that he would be able to escape with what he had found, and they all thought that it was only a matter of time before he was forced to give up whatever he had gained.

    Some more time passed, and Lu Yin was the first to arrive at the broken leg¡¯s opening. He immediately boarded his personal spacecraft even as various Explorers charged straight out of the leg. Many Limiteers simrly boarded their spacecraft before exiting the centipede.

    Neither Northgate Lie nor Qin Chen were that much slower than Lu Yin, and the two rushed out of the broken leg at around the same time. Northgate Lie was about to exchange some pleasantries with Qin Chen, but he was stunned to see that Qin Chen had transformed himself to look like Lu Yin.

    Northgate Lie blinked, rather dumbfounded. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Qin Chen simply replied, ¡°Goodbye.¡± He then charged away from the foot at an even greater speed as he flew into the distance.

    Northgate Lie was so stunned that he was rooted to the ground. It took him a while before he could react.

    Lily Anne appeared from behind and asked, ¡°Brother Lie, what happened?¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s expression changed, and he suddenly charged at a nearby personal spacecraft that was flying into the distance. He forcefully stopped the vessel and looked within the cockpit. There, he saw Lu Yin, or to be more precise, another person who looked like Lu Yin.

    Lily Anne was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Northgate Lie grew furious as he stared at the person within the spacecraft. ¡°Why did you make yourself look like Lu Yin?¡±

    That person trembled as he answered, ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s condition for helping us unlock the pike was for us to all vow to change ourselves into his appearance and immediately leave the Northline Flowzone.¡±

    Northgate Lie was shocked as he gazed outwards. Explorers were still flying out of the leg, and some of them had Lu Yin¡¯s appearance.

    The most hrious scenes were within a couple small-sized spacecraft, where there were multiple and sometimes a dozen people who all looked like Lu Yin.

    Most cultivators had a conscience. Since these people had made a promise, they would follow through as long as it was reasonably feasible, which was the cause for the scene before Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes. It was a shocking scene that had never urred before. For a few moments, Northgate Lie had no idea how to react.

    Aside from Northgate Lie, the Cruisers who had been helping Northgate Taisui hold the centipede''s body up were also stunned. Why were there so many ¡°Lu Yins¡± flying around?

    There were many people who had entered the centipede''s body, and as they all charged out now, some joined up with others while others immediately left by themselves, like Qin Chen. The various cultivators sped towards the distance like runaway horses, all of them looking exactly like Lu Yin as they fled.

    At this moment, the real Lu Yin had already flown quite a distance away. He turned around to look back while hoping that he would be able to escape. His escape attempt relied entirely on perfect timing.

    However, his excitement did notst for long as his spacecraft suddenly stopped. No, it would be more precise to say that the entire heavens froze and that the void was being dragged back by an indescribably terrifying force. All the spacecraft within a zone of unknown size was being pulled backwards.

    Lu Yin sighed when he realized that he would not be able to escape after all. That old monster with a power level in the hundreds of thousands wielded an unimaginable strength.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, just submit to your fate. Actually, those pikes aren¡¯t even that important. That corpse was pinned to death by those five pikes, but the pikes were never reimed, so you should already know that they aren¡¯t that important. Those words are the true treasure!¡± the monkey spoke helplessly.

    Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft, quite rxed. He knew that the monkey wasn¡¯t wrong, as the pikes were just weapons. He did not actually care about them, but there was one thing that was important¡ªhe did not want to be threatened. Surrender to his fate? Not necessarily.

    The centipede''s body was settled in the sky, not far from the Northgate family¡¯s home. The many powerhouses had used a as the foundation and built up a continent from nothing, all to hold the centipede''s body. At this time, there were over a hundred powerhouses standing high above, though they all remained silent.

    No one knew which direction Northgate Taisui was looking at in this region that he controlled.

    With Northgate Taisui at the center, the entire region of this part of the universe was like a giant whirlpool. As long as an object was within the heavens, it was pulled towards him - be it human, spacecraft, or even an astral beast or an astronomical phenomenon. Nothing could escape the strength of Northgate Taisui¡¯s pulling.

    Even Enlighters such as Elder Northgate, Granny Chan, and Tie Sa were frightened, as they were simply not on the same level.

    There was an explosion as a spacecraft exploded and the man inside returned to his original appearance due to panic. Northgate Kong simply waved his hand, and the man was flung back down. Then, another spacecraft exploded.

    One after another, everyone in a spacecraft was captured, regardless of if they had altered their appearances or not.

    Even the Explorers weren¡¯t able to escape. Every single individual who had entered the centipede¡¯s body could forget about fleeing.

    Even the people and spacecraft who were traveling around the region¡¯s edge were pulled in along with the region¡¯s soldiers. No one was left out.

    Everyone was forcibly set down on a nearby, and even Qin Chen had no choice but toply. When he touched down, he looked at the heavens with an empty expression.

    Jared sneered; Lu Yin had been ovee by greed. How could he expect to escape from such an old freak? He had been too naive.

    During this excursion within the centipede¡¯s body, the ze Realm had suffered heavy losses as both of the elders escorting the group had perished. One had been directly killed by Lu Yin, and although the other would have survived, Jared had sent him on his way. Still, Lu Yin would bebeled as the murderer for both. From this point onwards, the hatred that the ze Realm held for Lu Yin would only increase. This was Jared¡¯s greatest harvest from this trip.

    Northgate Lie stood next to Northgate Kong and focused on attentively looking at the people who had changed their appearances to match Lu Yin¡¯s.

    One small-scale spacecraft¡¯s hatch opened, and a dozen people who looked like Lu Yin walked out. All of them had an extremely nervous expression, which made Northgate Kong¡¯s face turn darker by the minute. He then impatiently waved for those people to be taken away.

    Everyone here was a captive, and Northgate Kong carefully examined them one by one. Normally, this sort of inspection did not require a family elder like him, but since Northgate Taisui had spoken, Northgate Kong had to personally handle the matter. Thus, his current bad mood.

    There was another bang as another spacecraft split open, revealing nothing inside at all.

    Northgate Kong frowned. No one? Where¡¯s the person?

    On the filled with captives, a simple-looking man silently stared at the heavens. Beside him was a middle-aged captain, who was blowing out a smoke ring, and another dozen mercenaries.

    ¡°Brother, you¡¯re very calm. Not bad. Only with this sort of attitude will you be able to survive in the universe. This uncle here hasn¡¯t seen a youth as cool as you for a very long time.¡± The middle-aged captain sighed as he looked at the silent man.

    Nearby, Qin Chen nced around.

    ¡°Actually, the universe is rather dangerous, but as long as your heart is as steady as a boulder, have the courage to face difficulties, and hold onto a sacrificial spirit, you¡¯ll be able to obtain your own territory some day.¡± The middle-aged man spoke up again, this time more emotionally. As he spoke, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a bit heavier.

    The silent man¡¯s expression never changed, and he just continued to stare at the heavens.

    The captain blew out a smoke ring. ¡°This uncle here has made many sacrifices for hisrades. Too many.¡±

    ¡°Captain, we pledge our lives to serve you!¡± the dozen mercenaries around the captain shouted, which drew a great deal of attention.

    Qin Chen frowned and nced over at the group with an odd expression.

    The nearby Jared growled, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The middle-aged captain pursed his lips.

    The simple looking male looked at Jared. ¡°You shut up. He speaks well, and his words have moved my heart.¡±

    Jared was furious as he clenched his fists. ¡°Kid, do you know who you¡¯re talking to? I¡¯m from the ze Realm!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from the Ice Domain.¡± The man¡¯s lips curled up as Jared trembled in anger.

    The middle-aged captain looked appreciatively at the simple looking man. ¡°Little brother, do you want to join this uncle¡¯s mercenary group? I like you.¡±

    ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a bright future for you if you follow the captain!¡± the surrounding mercenaries shouted together.

    Qin Chen nced over again. This time, he was speechless.

    ¡­

    At that moment, Northgate Taisui turned around while in the space above the, and his gaze swept past all the powerhouses and looked towards the that was being used to detain the captives. The void around his body distorted, and although no one could see his appearance, his pair of eyes seemed to appear in everyone¡¯s thoughts. They felt as if a boundless ocean of stars was oppressing them, which made their hearts pound wildly.

    Finally, Northgate Taisui¡¯s gaze lingered on the simple looking man. ¡°Reveal yourself, little brat.¡± The man was captured even as Northgate Taisui was speaking, and the man¡¯s appearance changed. That man was actually Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was powerless. He had deliberately put on the universal armor when his spacecraft was captured and then sneaked onto a small spacecraft to blend in with the ten people who had his appearance to reach the. Despite all his efforts, he had still been discovered.

    The moment he was captured, the middle-aged captain as well as all the surrounding people were stunned. Wasn¡¯t he Lu Yin? How did he sneak his way into their group?

    Qin Chen¡¯s eyes narrowed; this person was interesting.

    Jared was mad. So it was this bastard.

    The middle-aged captain choked on his own spit; had he said too much just now?

    In outer space, under the attentive gazes of countless others, ayer of star energy wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s body, taking control of him just like a marite.

    Theyer of star energy was there to ensure that he would not die in space, but it was also because Northgate Taisui was not aware of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. Even without this protection of star energy, Lu Yin would not die, because his physical strength even as a Limiteer was sufficient for him to survive in space.

    Northgate Lie sneered when he saw Lu Yin being captured. He had already warned Lu Yin that he would not be able to escape.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had indeed been too rash.

    Poison me¡¯s expression turned cold, as he had hoped that Lu Yin would actually escape, which would make it easier for their ze Realm to act. In the face of such huge gains, Lu Yin¡¯s titles and status was not enough to protect him.

    ¡°Alright, little fellow. As a representative of the Ten Arbiters Council, you witnessed my Northline Flowzone¡¯s Northgate tform Contest, and our Northline Flowzone has treated you extremely courteously. But now, you¡¯ve tried to leave without bidding farewell. That¡¯s going a tad bit too far,¡± Northgate Kong said firmly and without any rush. Everything was now under control.

    Lu Yin apologetically replied, ¡°My apologies, Northgate Elder. This student has some urgent matters that I must attend to.¡±

    Northgate Kong nodded. ¡°You may leave, but shouldn¡¯t you share with us what you managed to discover within the centipede''s body? Little fellow, you¡¯re a sharp one, so there¡¯s no need for me to state the obvious. Rx, I won¡¯t let you leave empty-handed.¡±

    If not for Northgate Taisui, Astral-10 would be enough to ensure Lu Yin¡¯s safety. But now, Lu Yin didn¡¯t even feel tempted to contact Astral-10. His objective was clear from the start, and he knew that, at best, he would only be able to keep one of the pikes. Even so, he would not allow himself to be threatened into handing them over. It had to be voluntary; this was his baseline.

    ¡°Elder Northgate, are you talking about the three pikes that were obtained from the centipede''s body?¡± Lu Yin asked loudly.

    Many were shocked, as it was indeed about the pikes.

 Chapter 394: Coaxing, Not Coercing

    <h4>Chapter 394: Coaxing, Not Coercing</h4>

    Ever since people started to leave the centipede¡¯s body, news of what had happened inside started to spread. The most exciting news was about the invisible attacks from the pikes, as they were definitely exceptional.

    Many also knew that Lu Yin had obtained three pikes, so they were not surprised at his words.

    Northgate Kong smiled. ¡°Little kid, speaking too much isn¡¯t good for you. Or, are you waiting for someone to take you away? You¡¯re looking down too much on my Northgate family.¡±

    Lu Yin stoically replied, ¡°Northgate Elder, I¡¯m very curious about one thing. Although the pikes have an attack that seems to target one¡¯s spiritual force, it¡¯s only effective on the weak. You can ask Northgate Lie behind you; he was able to avoid its attacks. Such a thing isn¡¯t of much use to your Northgate family.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about whether or not it¡¯s useful. Hand it over!¡± Northgate Lie shouted.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Northgate Elder, but you¡¯re toote. I¡¯m keeping one pike, and I already intend on giving the other two to specific people.¡±

    Northgate Kong¡¯s face sank. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t be too arrogant. Although your status might be a thorny issue, it¡¯s still not enough to render us helpless. It¡¯s naive to think that you can peacefully walk everywhere in the universe just through status.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s status could cause those in the Outerverse to be apprehensive, but it had not yet reached a level where it could restrain the great powers of the Innerverse. When benefits reached a certain level, one had to weigh the pros and cons. For the Northgate family, the ancient objects in the centipede''s body were extremely valuable, enough to warrant even offending the Lockbreaker Society and the Ten Arbiters Council. As long as Northgate Taisui was around, they were not afraid.

    The Ten Arbiters Council would not sh with an old monster whose power level had reached hundreds of thousands just over a single Lu Yin. Even if Lu Yin died, someone would just cover up the truth as long as both sides could ept things. The Northgate family would merely have to pay some rpense to settle the matter, and it would be the same with the Lockbreaker Society.

    The rules in the universe appeared to be fair, but some people would always be above suchws; it would only matter if it was worth it to do so.

    Normally, no one would break the rules for a conflict within the younger generation, but things were different now. The pikes had survived through ancient times, and the Northgate family had to get a hold of them.

    Lu Yin raised his gadget and activated the screen. ¡°Elder Northgate, the identity of the person who I want to present my gift to is rather sensitive. Why don¡¯t you talk with him?¡± An elder appeared on the screen with ck-and-white long hair mixed with a lock of grey. This was a symbol of the Nightking n, and this person was one of the n¡¯s elders: Nightking Yuanjing.

    Recently, the Daynight n had been keeping a low profile. This was because they were focused on the Astral Beast Domain and attempting to rescue the Third Nightking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s initial information had been urate, and they had indeed found the entrance to the Profound Void Realm. However, things were not that simple. Before they even entered that realm, they had realized that it would be extremely difficult to rescue the Third Nightking, as they had already run into all sorts of dangers. This matter gave Nightking Yuanjing and the rest a splitting headache. He had already been nning on contacting Lu Yin, even though he knew that Lu Yin really didn¡¯t know much. Still, he held some expectations.

    However, before he could even try to reach out to Lu Yin, the youth had contacted him first.

    Nightking Yuanjing was delighted when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, where did you find the time to contact Grandpa Yuanjing?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s appearance shocked Northgate Kong and the rest, and even Northgate Taisui looked over. The Nightking n was not a group that their Northline Flowzone could provoke.

    Many felt their hearts jump. Didn¡¯t Lu Yin have some kind of grudge with the Daynight n? How did he have the contact information of someone in the Nightking n?

    Lu Yin was also ted to see Nightking Yuanjing. ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, Little Yin obtained three pikes from an ancient centipede''s body, and I was nning on sending one of the pikes to Zhuo Daynight, but I wasn¡¯t able to contact her. Does Grandpa Yuanjing know where she is?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°An ancient centipede''s body? Little Yin, where¡¯s this ancient centipede''s body?¡±

    Lu Yin directed his gadget to a ce in the distance, and the giant centipede''s body entered Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s screen.

    He was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s really an ancient centipede''s body!¡± Then, when he caught sight of Northgate Taisui, his eyes suddenly shrank, and he fell silent.

    Northgate Taisui looked at the image of Nightking Yuanjing, and the distorted void around him regained its normalcy. Now, everyone could see the face of an ordinary elder.

    Nightking Yuanjing was hesitant when he saw Northgate Taisui on his screen. ¡°You look very familiar.¡±

    Northgate Taisui said in an old voice, ¡°So it¡¯s an expert of the Nightking n. You haven¡¯t appeared in a long time.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes flickered, and astonishment appeared on his face. ¡°Northgate Taisui.¡±

    Northgate Taisuiughed. ¡°You¡¯re rather experienced for you to be able to recognize me.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing eximed, ¡°It¡¯s rumored that Senior Northgate Taisui only nned to emerge after breaking through and that he has not appeared for many years. I never thought that I would one day have the honor of meeting senior.¡±

    Northgate Taisui shook his head and forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I¡¯m just an old man, nothing to be excited over meeting.¡± He then nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re pretty capable since you¡¯ve brought out the Nightking n. My Northgate family isn¡¯t greedy, so you can keep one for yourself and gift the other to the Daynight n. My Northgate family will buy thest one after you decide upon the price. How does that sound?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked at Lu Yin, and he was no fool, either. He knew full well that Lu Yin had used him to avoid a disaster, but he did not mind that. This was the prestige of the Nightking n; even an old freak with a power level in the hundreds of thousands had to show the Nightking n some respect.

    Furthermore, they had also obtained a pike for themselves.

    Nightking Yuanjing was rather curious to see if this pike could reveal some information about the ancient times since it hade from inside the ancient centipede''s body. Also, the centipede''s body was not something that the Northline Flowzone could monopolize.

    Lu Yin rxed, as his gamble had paid off; Northgate Taisui was also cautious of the Nightking n. Lu Yin did not know if he should be delighted or worried, as the Nightking n was way too overbearing. It would be very troublesome to be hostile with them, but he had already taken many steps towards being their enemy.

    Currently, Lu Yin¡¯s emotions were veryplicated. He had dragged Nightking Yuanjing out, causing the Northgate family to be afraid. He had aplished his goals, but the Nightking n was just too powerful, which caused him to worry about his future.

    However, this was not time to ponder over such things. He pulled out a pike and generously tossed it towards Northgate Kong. ¡°Since senior has spoken, this junior has no reason not toply.¡±

    The corners of Northgate Kong¡¯s mouth curled up. Why hadn¡¯t this kid been this obedient a moment ago?

    Northgate Lie¡¯s face sank, as this person¡¯s nature hadpletely changed. Someone who was just a puny Limiteer cultivator had managed to seize the initiative and even force their ancestor to personally speak up. The whole matter was too humiliating for their family.

    Lu Yin looked at Nightking Yuanjing. ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, one of the other pikes is for Zhuo Daynight. Do you know where she is?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing smiled. ¡°That brat has a wild temper, so I¡¯m not sure myself. Why don¡¯t you keep it for now? You can personally give it to her during the Daynight Feast.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°The Daynight Feast?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing smiled. ¡°It¡¯s an event organized by my Nightking n. It¡¯s a grand party for the younger generation where they can interact and learn from each other. Zhenwu will also be present, Little Yin, and you can speak to him then. After all, you¡¯re all top elites of the younger generation.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; even Arbiter Zhenwu would be at the Daynight Feast?

    He could not decline, as this could be considered an invitation from Nightking Yuanjing, so he could not embarrass the Nightking Elder. However, he was a little apprehensive about visiting the Nightking n, and concerns of being assassinated leaped into his mind. With the Nightking n¡¯s might, no one would dare to raise any suspicions even if Lu Yin died. No, he had to think of another way. Highsage Leon could protect him, but Lu Yin did not want to reveal his rtionship with the Pirate King, as that would destroy his reputation.

    He ended his call with Nightking Yuanjing and turned to Northgate Kong with a smile. ¡°Elder Northgate, how much is the Northgate family willing to pay for this pike?¡±

    Northgate Kong looked at the pike in the youth¡¯s hand, and although he could not tell what the material it was made out of, there was a sharp, invisible energy around the ancient weapon. The aura could target an enemy¡¯s spiritual force, though its effect was not that great. At best, it could deal with an ordinary Explorer, as an elite Explorer would be able topletely avoid the attack. There was nothing written on the pike, so it was not as valuable as the Northgate family had anticipated. It was no wonder why this brat was being so upfront about things.

    ¡°Brother Lu, how much do you want?¡± Northgate Lie spoke up, as it was not appropriate for Northgate Kong to negotiate with a junior.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°How much can you guys pay?¡±

    ¡°How much do you want?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll give me however much I want?¡±

    ¡°That depends on whether or not it¡¯s worth it.¡±

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t that the simplest way? Just tell me how much it¡¯s worth.¡±

    Northgate Lie grew irritated. He was an expert on the Top 100 Rankings, but he was haggling with a money-pincher now. It was very awkward.

    Northgate Kong tossed a cosmic ring to Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s a hundred star essence in there. That should be enough.¡± After that, he turned around and left without looking back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew a bit ragged. A hundred star essence! He hadn¡¯t ever seen so much money before. Combined with the amount that he had earned while within the centipede''s body, as well as what he had from before, his total wealth currently amounted to about 150 star essence! If he exchanged this to star crystals, it would be worth about 15 million cubes, which was a rather substantial sum. It was to the extent where the money would burn a hole in his pocket.

    That pike was definitely not worth that much, but Northgate Kong did not want his family to keep bickering with Lu Yin. He now realized that Lu Yin had gone to such lengths purely because he did not want to be threatened and did not want to set a precedent for the future. His Northgate family had been used as a stepping stone! They had severely miscalcted for them to have fallen into such a trap.

    Lu Yin had only wanted to show this effect, where even a powerful old freak would not be able to threaten him. Now, anyone else who wanted to act against him would have to first open their eyes.

    Unfortunately, this matter had also created a bit of animosity between him and the Northgate family. It would now be a bit difficult for him to smoothly gain control of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation. That was, unless he openly defeated Northgate Lie.

    Lu Yin looked up and coincidentally exchanged nces with Northgate Lie. Northgate Lie now seemed to hold a grudge against Lu Yin. If the Northgate youth had managed to seize the pikes in the centipede''s body, then this fiasco would not have happened. Even Northgate Taisui had appeared on the Northgate family¡¯s side, but he had not even been able to threaten a junior. It was just too embarrassing, and his family would me everything squarely on Northgate Lie¡¯s head.

    ¡°Brother Lu, we¡¯ll meet again at the Daynight Feast. I would like to learn from Brother Lu¡¯s moves at that time,¡± Northgate Lie said coldly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Alright. Then, until we meet again.¡±

    Northgate Taisui removed the spatial seal and allowed everyone to leave.

    Many were still amazed at what they had just seen and cast admiring looks at Lu Yin. The youth had guts, and not even Northgate Taisui had been able to intimidate him.

    Jared was even more shocked by Lu Yin upon seeing the final conclusion.

    Qin Chen seriously sized Lu Yin up and down and then left. He would appear at the Daynight Feast as well, so they would definitely meet again.

    There was another matter that was more awkward, as many people were left without a spacecraft, including the many Limiteers who had been captured by the Northgate family. Almost all the spacecraft had been destroyed, and now, everyone was looking for one.

    Lu Yin was fine, though, since Lily Anne had contacted him at first opportunity and gifted him a spacecraft to show her goodwill.

 Chapter 395: Graduation

    <h4>Chapter 395: Graduation</h4>

    Although Lu Yin had established some animosity with the Northgate family, he had also revealed his strength. Thus, there were still many who showed their goodwill towards him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, that pike should be useless for you since you haven¡¯t learned any pike techniques. Why don¡¯t you sell it to my Lily family?¡± Lily Anne seized the opportunity to ask him a question. She blinked as she looked at Lu Yin expectantly.

    But Lu Yin shrugged in reply. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I want to keep it as a souvenir.¡±

    Lily Anne rolled her eyes. ¡°Alright, my Lily family is well-off, so Brother Lu can contact me whenever you feel like selling it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. As long as he agreed, he would receive another hundred star essence. However, for the time being, he wanted to study the pike, as this rare weapon that could attack one¡¯s spiritual force was definitely worth looking into.

    ¡°Right, Miss Anna, the Northgate tform Competition should have ended, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Yes, the Northgate family has won. Brother Lu can report back to the Ten Arbiters now.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding and then steered his spacecraft towards Astral-10.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why don¡¯t you sell the pike? You don¡¯t have much use for it, and it¡¯s at most a standard military-issue weapon from ancient times. Didn¡¯t you see that that old fogey, Nightking Yuanjing, didn¡¯t really care about it? The Daynight n already has these kinds of weapons, and the Northgate family only wanted to buy it to facilitate their research into the centipede. Carrying this thing around is only going to draw the attention of people who are greedy for such things.¡±

    ¡°I got it, and I don¡¯t need your reminders. Right, have you tranted those words that were next to the corpse? What did they say?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m omniscient or something? Those are words from an unknown age, and it¡¯s even possible for several civilizations to have risen and fallen since that age. How can such a thing be tranted that easily? This actually involves all sorts of secrets about the universe, hidden knowledge, exotic cultures, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, take your time.¡±

    News of what had happened in the Northline Flowzone quickly spread out. Thework that now connected the entire Human Domain allowed the information to spread even faster than before.

    News regarding Northgate Taisui, the ancient centipede''s body, and the desated corpse pinned in ce by the five pikes within the centipede¡¯s body all became sensational. Much of the information piqued a great deal of interest from countless other organizations, such as the ze Realm, Ross Empire, Sylvan Dragon tribe, the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s First Grade Hall, Second Grade Hall, and more. Many powerhouses from the various great powers started heading towards the Northline Flowzone.

    Although Northgate Taisui could suppress many, he still had topromise with the other great powers since his family did not have the power or influence to monopolize the ancient centipede''s body.

    And within all of the news, Lu Yin stood out once again. He had seized three pikes and had even used the Nightking n to back him up. This incident caused Lu Yin¡¯s reputation to climb even higher.

    Among the publicly recognized geniuses who were regarded as true Ten Arbiter candidates, Lu Yin had jumped above them all to be the most well-known.

    In a study within the Northgate family, Northgate Kong had an ugly expression as he stared at Northgate Lie. ¡°We are very disappointed in you. You couldn¡¯t even handle a single Limiteer junior! All of the resources that this family has invested in you has been wasted!¡±

    Northgate Lie replied in a respectful tone, ¡°Although Lu Yin¡¯s a Limiteer, his power cannot be measured by conventional means. He definitely has the power to challenge experts in the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to quibble about such things. You¡¯ll face the family¡¯s punishments for not handling this matter appropriately.¡± Northgate Kong was impatient.

    Northgate Lie raised his head. ¡°Father, during this journey within the centipede''s body, Lu Yin was not the only one who obtained something.¡±

    Northgate Kong¡¯s eyes gleamed as he looked at Northgate Lie. ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    Northgate Lie spoke slowly, ¡°I saw a diagram inside the centipede''s body and memorized it. No one else saw it either.¡±

    He then used his star energy to draw the pattern of the diagram that he had seen in the centipede''s body.¡±

    He had destroyed the pattern himself just before Lily Anne and the others from the Northline Flowzone arrived, so he was definitely the only one who had clearly seen it.

    Suddenly, the void distorted, Northgate Taisui walked out, and he took a serious look at the pattern. Northgate Lie lowered his head and stood to the side.

    Even after a while, Northgate Taisui and Northgate Kong were not able to decipher anything. Northgate Taisui shook his head and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s too ancient, and all the rted information has been long lost in the river of history, so it can¡¯t be ascertained.¡± His body slowly vanished, but before he left, he said, ¡°Not bad, junior. Come with me and demonstrate the power of my Northgate family at the Daynight Feast.¡±

    Northgate Lie was ted, as the elder clearly wanted to personally mentor him. He looked at Northgate Kong.

    Northgate Kong nodded. ¡°Go on. Learn well from our elder. Every day that Lu Yin cannot defeat you is another day that he cannot control our Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation.¡±

    Northgate Lie solemnly nodded. He had previously beenpletely confident in his ability to defeat Lu Yin, and now, he would follow the elder. His goal was no longer limited to just Lu Yin, as he now wanted to target the higher positions of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Although the Northline Flowzone was a small Flowzone, it¡¯s area was still about the same as that of a weave from the Outerverse. Thus, it would take Lu Yin about a week to reach Astral-10 with the spacecraft that he had received since it had a normal speed.

    If he still had that ckhole-grade Aurora, it would have taken him just a few hours toplete the same trip. Lu Yin once again felt that the fact that his ckhole-grade Aurora had been destroyed was a pity.

    While traveling, he studied the pike. He hadn¡¯t had much time to study it before, and he was only now able to earnestly examine it in peace.

    It was cold to touch and was not light to pick up either. There were no words or diagrams on it, only darkened bloodstains which had gradually faded with time. The pike was made from unknown materials, and he felt a natural sense of suppression when holding it. Lu Yin exerted some force to bend it and could tell that it was abnormally sturdy. Even with his strength, he found it unexpectedly difficult to break it. He had a feeling that he could only break it if he used Oveying Stacks.

    It was a weapon that was very suitable for Explorers.

    ¡°This pike isn¡¯t very useful if you¡¯re facing anyone who¡¯s stronger than an Explorer. Does that mean that the corpse pinned down by the five pikes in the centipede''s body was just an Explorer? But how can an Explorer¡¯s bodyst for so many years without rotting? Even the words on the wall rotted away.¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The monkey replied, ¡°It¡¯s simple. Either these three pikes and those stabbed into the body are different, or an absolute powerhouse transformed something worthless into something extraordinary with their power. It could be that these pikes were used to crucify some powerhouse like pins and that that¡¯s why the corpse didn¡¯t decay through the eons. Think of it like how Seventh Bro can use chopsticks to easily kill an Explorer.¡±

    There were only these two possibilities.

    Lu Yin tightly gripped the pike, as thetter option was more likely.

    He was not sure what sort of powerhouse one had to be to reach the level where their body would not rot even after countless ages, and what¡¯s more, what sort of person would be able to kill such a powerhouse. The universe was so vast, and more than one civilization had been annihted before. A great deal of information was tightly controlled by powerful organizations, and suddenly, Lu Yin was very interested in such information.

    At that moment, his gadget sounded out a notification. It was one that could not be rejected, and it came from the Ten Arbiters Council.

    Lu Yin looked down to see that Wen Sansi had personally sent him a message. It instructed Lu Yin to turn in a detailed report going over everything that he had experienced while in the Northline Flowzone.

    Lu Yin knew that the Ten Arbiters wanted to learn more about the centipede''s body, as well as Northgate Taisui. Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate or make any attempt to hide any information. He wrote everything down and sent it to Wen Sansi.

    ¡°Right, Monkey, how long do you think that Northgate Taisui has lived for?¡±

    ¡°No idea. Those old freaks won¡¯t move for ten thousand years and will seal themselves in cryostasis when they have nothing better to do. No one knows in which era they will reveal themselves again, and it¡¯s even possible that he¡¯ll still be around after your grandson is dead.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as the beast¡¯s words were vulgar.

    ¡°Northgate Taisui or the Third Nightking¡ªwho¡¯s stronger?¡±

    The monkey cried out exaggeratedly, ¡°Seventh Bro, how can youpare Northgate Taisui to someone like the Third Nightking? You¡¯re talking about the Third Nightking, someone who stands in the top three among the entire history of the Nightking n. Although there¡¯s no strict record of his actual power level, it¡¯s safe to say that he definitely surpasses Northgate Taisui. They aren¡¯t even in the same league! Why else do you think Northgate Taisui fears Nightking Yuanjing? If Northgate Taisui couldpare to the Third Nightking, then the Northgate family would have long since stepped into the level of a powerful organization.¡±

    From Northgate Taisui, one could sense a strength that could topple the universe. Lu Yin now understood what him revealing the Third Nightking¡¯s existence to the Nightking n implied. If the Third Nightking safely returned, then the Nightking n would dramatically rise in power.

    ¡°Are you sure that the Third Nightking won¡¯t be able to escape?¡± Lu Yin was feeling nervous again.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain and sure. You must put your faith in that Void Wanderer elder and his perverse strength that¡¯s been polished through countless ages. Although his offensive power might not be that high, imprisoning one person is simple enough for him. Even the power of the entire Nightking n wouldn¡¯t be enough to haul him out. Also, do you really think that the other powerful ns in the Astral Beast Domain are just decorations?¡±

    Lu Yin was still not reassured. The Daynight n also had an ancient history, and who knew what strength they kept concealed. However, it was no longer up to him to decide this matter, so he could only leave it up to fate.

    If the Daynight n¡¯s Dayking bloodline knew that he had exposed information concerning the whereabouts of the Third Nightking, they would curse him to death.

    Dayster, Lu Yin finally arrived at Astral-10.

    As soon as he arrived, he heard the news: Big Pao and Little Pao had broken through and be Explorers, sessfully graduating from the Astral Combat Academy.

    The two had been adopted by Astral-10 at a young age, and they had been the only ones who had stayed behind after the other students had abandoned Astral-10. Actually, given their talent, they could have made their breakthroughs much earlier, but they simply did not wish to leave. Now that Astral-10 had stabilized and had Lu Yin to oversee it, the two had decided that it was time for them to both be Explorers and roam the universe.

    An academy was, after all, just an academy in the end. The universe was the soil that nurtured powerhouses.

    Lu Yin met Big Pao and Little Pao at the trial zone entrance, as well as Xia Luo, Michelle, Hui Daynight, and the other students of Astral-10.

    They were not too surprised to see that Lu Yin had returned, as they had already heard about the major events in the Northline Flowzone. Everyone had been shocked when they heard that Lu Yin had dared to negotiate with an old freak whose power level was in the several hundreds of thousands.

    ¡°Congrattions to both seniors for sessfully graduating.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Big Pao tossed his hair back. ¡°Graduation is a must, junior. Give me a while, and this senior will challenge the Top 100 Rankings. I¡¯ll clear a path for you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, stop boasting. Even if we join forces, we still won¡¯t be able to beat any experts even if they¡¯re at the tail-end of that list.¡± Little Pao was speechless at his brother¡¯s ims.

    Big Pao rolled his eyes. ¡°It isn¡¯t boasting¡ªit¡¯s goal setting. This is important for our youth!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I look forward to the moment you two seniors step onto the rankings.¡±

    ¡°Haha, junior still has good taste! Rest assured, Senior¡¯s Firesoul Gun is good at dominating the top from the bottom,¡± Big Pao joked.

    ¡°Dominating the top from the bottom? Seventh Bro, get away from him, this guy¡¯s got a dirty mind!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    ¡°Where do you two seniors n to go after graduation?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Little Pao replied, ¡°The Chaos Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°One of the eight Great Flowzones?¡±

    Little Pao nodded, but he did not borate further. He smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, we¡¯ll entrust you with Astral-10. This ce is like our brothers¡¯ home, so we hope that you¡¯ll protect it well.¡±

 Chapter 396: Standard Gesture

    <h4>Chapter 396: Standard Gesture</h4>

    Lu Yin nodded and nced around at everyone else. The moment he saw Michelle, he became a little awkward. ¡°Um, I¡¯ll help youprehend battle force.¡±

    Michelle frowned. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I already did that.¡±

    As soon as she said that, battle force appeared around her body. It had a simr appearance as Lu Yin¡¯s when he firstprehended it. While it wasn¡¯t enough to be considered one-line battle force quite yet, it was still undoubtedly battle force.

    Comprehending battle force and notprehending it were twopletely different states, and this meant that Michelle was now much more powerful than before.

    Recently, Lu Yin had improved by an exceptional amount, but the others had also seen progress of their own. Them entering the Astral Combat Academy indicated that they were talented, and most of them had already be Limiteers.

    Among the various Astral Combat Academy branches, Astral-10 was one of the stronger ones overall. However, this was only thanks to their current students. The new students entering Astral-10 might not be lucky enough to receive guidance from the mentors.

    After talking to everyone, Lu Yin was about to go look for Old Cai, but he was stopped by Xia Luo.

    ¡°Do you know where Silver is?¡± Xia Luo asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head in denial.

    Xia Luo could only reply, ¡°It seems like he¡¯s really gone missing.¡± As he spoke, he nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Will you go to the Cosmic Sea in the future, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Just curious,¡± Xia Luo answered.

    Lu Yin thought it over. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°If possible, please take me along when you do. I¡¯d love to tag along,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll let you know if it happens.¡±

    That was all Xia Luo wanted, and he walked away as soon as he received an answer from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no idea what the other youth was thinking, but Xia Luo had never shown any malicious intent towards Lu Yin nor harmed him in any way. More importantly, Xia Luo also had an ancient surname, but he was able to move around freely in the universe and had even entered Astral-10. That meant that his surname was legal. However, Lu Yin had researched his surname on thework before and had not been able to find any mention of any powerful Xia n.

    But that wasn¡¯t as important, as there were all sorts of organizations in the universe, and Lu Yin had no idea what kind of organizations actually existed in the universe. It would be impossible for him to guess at what Xia Luo¡¯s true identity was.

    Lulu had not returned yet, but Lu Yin had already gathered enough money to pay off his debt. He hated owing people money, but since she wasn¡¯t back yet, he could only postpone it forter and return the money whenever he saw her again. It was only fifty star essence, and Lu Yin had recently discovered a new method that made getting rich just too easy.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, Old Cai,¡± Lu Yin respectfully called out as he entered the treasury.

    Old Cai looked up. ¡°You¡¯re even better at causing trouble than I thought.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Causing trouble? I didn¡¯t do anything like that.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Unfortunately for you, I already heard about everything you did in the Northline Flowzone.¡± Old Cai rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°But I didn¡¯t really do much.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what it means for Northgate Taisui to show himself?¡± Old Cai asked in aid back manner as he stared intently at Lu Yin. ¡°Unless there¡¯s a specific incident at a specific ce, monsters whose power level is over 400,000 like him won¡¯t appear. However, once someone like that appears, they will be able to takeplete control of the situation. Within the Northline Flowzone, there¡¯s only a single Northgate Taisui. He¡¯s the pir of that flowzone, and the moment he appears, even organizations like the ze Realm and the Sword Sect have to concede to him, but you managed to make a profit off of him. That¡¯s even more amazing than you taking first in the Tournament of the Strongest.¡±

    Lu Yin had been aware that Northgate Taisui¡¯s appearance was cause for hugemotion, but he had beenpletely clueless as to just how big themotion would be. ¡°I just used my connection with the Nightking n to stop them from threatening me. I didn¡¯t really do much.¡±

    Old Cai seriously replied, ¡°The ¡®how¡¯ of the matter isn¡¯t important. What¡¯s important is the oue. The guts, methods, and connections that you currently have are far above what a student is normally capable of. Right now, you are no longer some mere student in everybody¡¯s eyes. Instead they see you asparable to geniuses with great connections, like Nightqueen Yanqing. Do you understand what that means?¡±

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s confused face, Old Cai snickered. ¡°It means that if someone attacks you, they won¡¯t be attacking just you, but also everything that you represent. If someone makes the decision to attack you, you¡¯ll definitely die without any chance of survival. Your enemies will approach the task of killing you with the same mindset they would if they were trying to kill Nightqueen Yanqing. They¡¯ll take all kinds of unexpected variables into consideration.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. On his way to the Northline Flowzone, he¡¯d been ambushed by a Hunter. Now, if someone attempted to kill him, it wouldn¡¯t just be the average Huntering after him. Instead, peak Hunters such as Poison me might be sent out. Sending such people would basically guarantee that Lu Yin would not survive and that he would die without ever knowing what had killed him. He wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to leak information about who or what had killed him.

    Lu Yin had done everything he could, and he had even used Nightking Yuanjing to establish that he was not someone to be threatened. In other words, he¡¯d actually been the one to push himself into a corner. If anyone chose to attack him now, then it was guaranteed to be fatal.

    However, Lu Yin did not regret his actions in the slightest. The power that he had disyed went beyond the protection that his various statuses gave him. After word of what he¡¯d done in the Northline Flowzone spread out, small-scale attacks on him would probablypletely stop. There were pros and cons to everything!

    Right now, what hecked was absolute power, such as that rabbit¡¯s lightning.

    When he saw Old Cai¡¯s bored face, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he respectfully asked, ¡°I¡¯m from Astral-10. Might I ask, is there any way for the academy to protect me?¡±

    Old Cai¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What do you mean? Are you asking us old folks to be your bodyguards?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s just that this is the treasury, and I¡¯d like to find some items to protect myself.¡± Lu Yin exined with anticipation.

    Old Cai¡¯s eyes narrowed as he licked his lips. ¡°Items, eh? There are some in the treasury, but¡­¡± Old Cai started tapping the table with his right hand as his voice drawled off. With each tap, his thumb brushed against his index and middle finger. He¡¯d then tap the table again and repeat the movement. It was so obvious that he wanted money, but he wasn¡¯t doing it in an in-your-face way. Also, the light tapping sound had some sense of unpredictability to it.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Cai¡¯s fingers and grew excited; that movement was too cool! He remembered how he had asked for money in the past, but his attempts had all been incredibly uncouth, inelegant, and petty. Old Cai¡¯s movements were incredibly sophisticated, but easily understood without appearing too crude. This way of asking money must havee from years of practice.

    Lu Yin stared at him in a daze, already knowing what his greatest profit today was. It was this movement¡ªthis almighty movement that tantly showed that he wanted money.

    Old Cai was confused when Lu Yin kept staring at his right hand. He coughed. ¡°Why are you zoning out, kid?¡±

    Lu Yin froze. When he regained his senses, he could not help but say, ¡°There¡¯s so much that I need to learn from you, sir.¡±

    Old Cai waspletely lost.

    It was only then that Lu Yin realized that Old Cai had been using what had happened in the Northline Flowzone to scare him. His words had all been said for the sake of coaxing money from him. The old man¡¯s desire for money was no less than Lu Yin¡¯s own.

    ¡°I managed to earn some money by selling the pike to the Northline Flowzone, and I¡¯d like to donate it to the academy. Would you be willing to ept it, sir?¡± Lu Yin asked, speaking very carefully, as if he was afraid of destroying the sophisticated aura that Old Cai had established with the way he was asking for money.

    Old Cai smiled, and his face became kind as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°So you¡¯ve grown up now and know that you should repay your school? Good. Very good. Hand it over to me. The academy is nning on taking in new students, so we do need the money.¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced and took out a Mavis Bank card even as he felt his heart bleeding. ¡°There are one million star crystals in this card. Please ept it on behalf of the academy.¡±

    Old Cai¡¯s eyes lit up, but he did not act very excited. He continued to tap the table in a leisurely manner.

    It was not enough, that was obviously what his actions meant.

    ¡°Is that your grandpa, Seventh Bro? It seems that greed for money must run in your family,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin grew annoyed and blocked the monkey off before taking out another card. ¡°There¡¯s a million star crystals in this card as well. Please ept it.¡±

    Old Cai started breathing faster as he grinned. However, he didn¡¯t reach out and instead continued staring into the sky.

    Lu Yin gulped, his expression bing even worse than before. This old man must know that he had received a hundred star essence from the Northgate Family. Was this old fart trying to take it all from him? That was a hundred star essence! That was the same as ten million star crystals! What a jerk.

    Still, Lu Yin was willing to part with money if it was a good investment. Since this old man had brought up the kind of troubles that Lu Yin might face in the future, that meant that he was already prepared to help him. However, the money that Lu Yin was offering Old Cai simply hadn¡¯t met his expectations yet.

    Lu Yin decided to throw caution to the wind. He took out thirty star essence and two million star crystals and offered them to Old Cai.

    Old Cai grinned and looked over at Lu Yin in praise. ¡°You¡¯re so loyal! What a good kid you are! The academy did well in nurturing you, and now, you¡¯ve contributed back to the academy. It doesn¡¯t make sense for us to not treat you well. Take this.¡± Old Cai tossed Lu Yin a strange-looking item. It was a cube about the size of a fist. It had a strange, jade-green bamboo frame, and there was a ck metallic ball floating in the middle. The frame had three seals on it, as well as one that was open.

    Lu Yin was rather surprised as he held the box. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s called a Money Bomb. Don¡¯t underestimate it, kid. Hold it tightly and open up that side while aiming it at your enemy. That thing has the ability to kill a Hunter in one shot. Of course, that¡¯s only if nothing goes wrong,¡± Old Cai said in a mysterious manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he looked at the item in his hands. ¡°This thing can kill Hunters in one blow?¡±

    Old Cai proudly answered, ¡°But of course! This is a special weapon of my own design, and I¡¯m the only one who makes them in the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly had a feeling that he had been cheated.

    ¡°What, don¡¯t you trust me?¡± Old Cai became annoyed.

    Lu Yin studied the Money Bomb. He really didn¡¯t trust this old man, but that was because this box was supposed to be something that could save his life. He had spent nearly fifty star essence on it. This was all? Lu Yin was a bit annoyed.

    However, the money had already been spent, and from what he knew of Old Cai, there was no way he was getting his money back. Lu Yin had no choice but to stow the box away and bitterly say to the old mentor, ¡°Thank you for this gift, sir.¡±

    Old Cai stroked his mustache. ¡°A Money Bomb costs fifty star essence. Two would cost eighty star essence, and three for a hundred¡­ You can have as many as you want. Make sure to buy them from me in the future, kid. Hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin skulked off in annoyance.

    He had used up fifty star essence just like that, and Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help but aggrieved. He had expected that Old Cai would give him something to scare his enemies away, but he¡¯d just gotten was this stupid little box.

    As he walked around, Lu Yin felt increasingly frustrated, but he didn¡¯t dare to ask the old man for a refund. Still stewing in anger, he headed to the Sand Ocean.

 Chapter 397: You Secret Art

    <h4>Chapter 397: You Secret Art</h4>

    Coco and Zora were in the Sand Ocean. As always, that giant syringe was rather attention-grabbing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance delighted Coco. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re back!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded at her. ¡°I heard that you dueled with some students from Shangwu Academy? How¡¯d it go?¡±

    Coco pursed her lips. ¡°I can¡¯t beat them.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. He was always put in a good mood when he talked to Coco; she was just too entertaining. ¡°There¡¯s no need to get discouraged. Your strength lies in treatment, not battle.¡± He suddenly paused. Is Coco¡¯s treatment actually useful?

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s encouragement, Coco hefted her syringe. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Lu. I¡¯ll be sure to take good care of my injuredrades.¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face. ¡°All the best. Work hard.¡±

    He greeted Zora and then headed deeper into the Sand Ocean to seek out the Sandmaster. It didn¡¯t take Lu Yin long to find him.

    The Sandmaster held the Money Bomb in his hands and had a rather exasperated expression as he looked at the small box. ¡°What is it that you want to ask?¡±

    ¡°This student would like to ask, if this thing is actually useful?¡±

    The Sandmaster casually tossed the Money Bomb back to Lu Yin. ¡°Yes, but be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The Sandmaster carefully considered his answer but replying, ¡°If possible, don¡¯t use it. And if you must use it, then try to hide your identity. This thing isn¡¯t good for your reputation.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell, and the feeling that he had been swindled grew even stronger. ¡°Elder Cai imed that this Money Bomb can instantly kill a Hunter¡­¡±

    The Sandmaster nodded. ¡°It can, if used by surprise. However, a weapon is only a weapon, and a Hunter will not stay in ce for you to attack him. Thus, you¡¯d have to catch them off guard.¡±

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as everything was alright as long as the weapon was effective. It turned out that he had not been duped. ¡°Mentor, what¡¯s the problem with the Money Bomb¡¯s reputation?¡±

    The Sandmaster muttered to himself, seemingly at a loss for words. Then he waved an arm. ¡°You¡¯ll find out in the future. Alright, move along. This ce has no more use for you.¡± After that, he disappeared.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. If the Sandmaster didn¡¯t want to talk about it, then he had no choice in the matter.

    He soon left the neglected Sand Ocean. He didn¡¯t try to find anyone else and instead went to an area of Astral-10 that was filled with ruins. It was time for him to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm.

    It had been some time since Lu Yin had broken through to the Limiteer realm. While others might find it difficult to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm, that was usually either because they had no money or their star energy absorption rate was too slow. Lu Yin had no such difficulties since he had the wealth and the will. Since his absorption rate was nine times the norm due to the Cosmic Art, he was guaranteed sess so long as he had money to back it up. In the end, it was all about money. That was the primary resource that he always needed.

    Lu Yin raised his hand in a familiar manner, causing his die to appear. He intended to roll four Pips: Timestop, enter the Time Stop Space, and then absorb all the star energy he needed in that ce. While thinking about it, he tapped the die and watched it spin.

    Strange, why did it feel like he had forgotten something?

    As he watched the die slowly stop, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shifted. Oh no, it¡¯s been a long time since Ist rolled. I can¡¯t possibly roll six pips: Possession, can I?

    The next instant, the scenery about him changed, and the scene that Lu Yin saw changed to a field of darkness that gradually filled up with balls of light. He had no words; he had really rolled six pips.

    The die¡¯s Possession ability consumed too much money, greatly surpassing the other rolls. Lu Yin considered merging with a random ball of light, as the most important thing right now was to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm. But after thinking about it, Lu Yin decided not to. Since he was fated to roll Possession, he would submit to his fate.

    Although it burned through an exorbitant amount of money, Possession was still very useful.

    Lu Yin felt an intense attraction tug at his body as he looked at a ball of light in the distance. He did not hesitate and immediately merged with it. If the light was that aggressive in pulling him in, then it had to be perfectly fut for him. He hoped to Possess a powerhouse¡¯s body this time.

    The scene before him transformed once again, and Lu Yin soon opened his eyes and looked around. Was he on a spacecraft?

    But before Lu Yin could finish observing his surroundings, he was startled by a jumbled bunch of messages that he had just received. After looking at the iing notifications, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and his body went cold. He had Possessed someone from the Neohuman Alliance.

    To be precise, this person wasn¡¯t just a part of the Neohuman Alliance, as the Alliance consisted of not only the Corpse Kings, but also other cooperative powers. This person was part of a powerful n, the Specter n.

    ¡°Here,¡± a hoarse voice spoke up from beside Lu Yin. He nced over and saw that the voice came from a Corpse King. This Corpse King was actually at the level of a Hunter and was someone who had be a Mutant Corpse King. This person was able to trample over normal Hunters and could even challenge Enlighters.

    In outer space, a spacecraft approached the spacecraft that Lu Yin was in. The iing vessel looked rather peculiar, and it looked to be a special spacecraft from some power. A word was engraved on the side of the spacecraft: ¡°Y¨­u.¡±

    Through the Possession, Lu Yin knew that the current operation had been jointly nned out by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s internal Corpse King and the Specter n. Their goal was to confirm one thing: whether or not the Y¨­u Court that had marriage arrangements with the Sword Sect possessed a secret technique.

    The Y¨­u n was one of the seven great ns of the previous Court of Seven Names. However, many years ago, the n with the ancient surname Y¨­u betrayed the Seven Courts and received the protection of the Sword Sect. Throughout all these years, they maintained marital rtions with the Sword Sect, such as the engagement between the current Sword Sect heir, Liu Shaoqiu, and the Y¨­u Court¡¯s little princess, Y¨­u Ye''er.

    The Y¨­u Court was a part of the Y¨­u surname of the Seven Courts, and logically, they should have the Y¨­u Secret Art. However, the Neohuman Alliance had obtained secret information from an undisclosed source saying that the Y¨­u family of the Seven Courts had no secret technique. They had been sent on this current operation because the Neohuman Alliance wanted to verify whether or not the secret technique was in the hands of the exiled Y¨­u Court.

    Lu Yin learned all of this through the reports that had been sent to the person he had Possessed. As it turned out, this person¡¯s identity was not simple. He held a rather high position In the Specter n and was qualified to stand beside this Corpse King Hunter as equals, even though the Specter n member was just an Explorer.

    Lu Yin had received a dizzying number of messages in a short span, and they were all rted to the Neohuman Alliance and the Seven Courts. Lu Yin had no thoughts of experiencing an Explorer¡¯s strength and only looked out at the starry sky in a daze.

    At this time, the Y¨­u Court spacecraft came to a stop in the heavens. Then, an intense explosion rumbled out. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s experts had begun assaulting the spacecraft, causing ripples to appear within the void. All of the attackers were space-exploring experts.

    Within the spacecraft, Y¨­u Ye''er buried her head in Grandma Du¡¯s bosom, seemingly terrified.

    Grandma Du had a determined expression. ¡°These entrails of the Neohuman Alliance actually dare to attack the little princess! The Y¨­u Court and the Sword Sect definitely will not let them off.¡±

    The eyes of one of the Corpse Kings turned scarlet red as it ferociously charged towards Grandma Du, greeting her with a punch. She shouted as star energy surged around her, blocking the Corpse King.

    Boom!

    The shockwave shook the spacecraft, and Grandma Du spat out a mouthful of blood. Despite the fact that she was a Cruiser, there was still toorge a disparity between her and the Corpse King for her topete against its physical strength.

    The Corpse King attacked again.

    Grandma Du frantically pushed Y¨­u Ye''er aside. ¡°Little Princess, RUN!¡±

    The old woman valiantly shed against the Corpse King as an indescribably terrifying luster surrounded her body. With her body at the center, the light shot out to engulf half of the spacecraft, including the Y¨­u Court¡¯s expert and the Corpse King. Everyone was immersed in Grandma Du¡¯s venom.

    Even the Explorer realm Corpse King could not withstand her fatal venom, and everyone melted away.

    Y¨­u Ye''er donned the universal armor and fled from the spacecraft as she sorrowfully watched Grandma Du¡¯s tragic death.

    There was another st as the second half of the spacecraft exploded.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was sent flying by the shockwave and gazed back once again. There was no longer a Y¨­u Court spacecraft in the heavens; only a Corpse King remained, with grey eyes.

    Hidden in a distant spacecraft, Lu Yin frowned. Grey pupils indicated that this person was a Mutant Corpse King, which meant that the Neohuman Alliance had sent two mutated Corpse Kings for this operation. One was even a Hunter, which showed that they regarded the Y¨­u Court as rather important. Even if it was just a suspicion, they had still sent out such formidable powerhouses. It was simr to the annihtion of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yushan family, where even the corpses had vanished.

    Lu Yin felt some sympathy for the surviving girl.

    With the numerous messages that the gadget on Lu Yin¡¯s wrist had received, he now knew why the Y¨­u family in the Seven Courts no longer had a secret technique. The Y¨­u family¡¯s secret technique could only be passed down to a single individual, which was vastly different from the Yu Secret Art that could be learned and cultivated by anyone with enough talent.

    Lu Yin was still going through the messages as Y¨­u Ye''er, who was floating in space, stared at the approaching Mutant Corpse King with his grey pupils. She suddenly became very calm, aplete change from her previous terror.

    ¡°So many years have passed, and yet, you people still discovered it. That means that there¡¯s someone from your Neohuman Alliance inside the Seven Courts,¡± Y¨­u Ye''er softly spoke to herself. She was obviously only around twelve and was a very young girl. However, the expression on her face and her cid tone was enough to cause even Lu Yin to tremble.

    Lu Yin could not scan through the iing messages anymore, and he intently stared outside the spacecraft.

    In another ce, that Hunter realm Corpse King¡¯s eyes went wide as he simrly stared at that point in space.

    ¡°Since you guys want to know so badly, I¡¯ll fulfill your desires. Understand at the price of your death.¡± Y¨­u Ye''er raised her pretty face, revealing eyes that were as cold as the depths of hell. Ripples emanated out, causing Lu Yin to feel waves of cold wash over him. This was not a reaction to overwhelming power, but an instinctual response to an unclear and unknown threat, a threat to all living beings.

    ¡°Y¨­u Secret Art¡ªAge Concealment,¡± Y¨­u Ye''er calmly stated. The next moment, an unbelievable change took ce before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as his understanding of the universe waspletely toppled; Y¨­u Ye''er grew up.

    This brat had been only about ten years old before, but the moment she used the secret art, her body matured until she was a twenty-some year old woman with a gorgeous appearance and cold eyes. It was just like seeing a venomous flower bloom in the heavens.

    This transformation shocked not only Lu Yin, but also the Hunter Corpse King beside him.

    Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s lips held a faint smile. ¡°Shocking, isn¡¯t it? This is the Y¨­u Secret Art, which allows the changes of time to be hidden away. It¡¯s passed down singly within the bloodline, but this is what you want. Now die, along with this secret.¡±

    An elder suddenly appeared next to Y¨­u Ye''er.

    The elder had appeared silently, almost as if he had always been there, existing forever.

    At the elder¡¯s appearance, the Hunter Corpse King beside Lu Yin was overwhelmed. ¡°Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u elder, Y¨­u Yifan.¡±

    The elder looked up and nced at the hidden spacecraft off in the distance. He then lightly tapped against the void, causing the entire region of the universe to quiver.

    The next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s vision turned to ash. Thes, natural phenomena, dark space, and everything visible vanished. This was a boundlessly terrifying strength, and it reminded Lu Yin of when he had encountered Northgate Taisui. This elder was an old freak with a power level in the hundreds of thousands.

    Beside Lu Yin, the Hunter Corpse King¡¯s eyes turned grey, then green, before he leaped up in an attempt to escape.

 Chapter 398: The Secret of Sky Platform

    <h4>Chapter 398: The Secret of Sky tform</h4>

    The elder disdainfully shook his head. ¡°Green-eyed mutant. You won¡¯t escape.¡± After that, both the Corpse King and the spacecraft, with Lu Yin still inside, all turned to ash, vanishing from the heavens.

    Y¨­u Ye''er looked at the stunning scene with envy. ¡°I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll possess such strength.¡±

    The elder scolded her. ¡°Stop being so wilful and disobeying the orders to hide the secret technique. If the Corpse King wasn¡¯t a Hunter but instead at the same level as me, then the secret would have been exposed.¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''erzily stretched out, revealing her exquisite curves. ¡°Grandpa Fan, do you know the feeling of being imprisoned by the secret technique? Ever since I inherited it, my body can no longer grow. It¡¯s very painful, and I need to be free from time to time.¡±

    The elder grunted. ¡°Fortunately, the secret was kept this time. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strength in the First Flowzone has been weakened, so it should be some time before they can act again. Take this opportunity to get close to Liu Shaoqiu so that you can borrow the Sword Sect¡¯s protection.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be associated with those losers.¡± Y¨­u Ye''er wasn¡¯t happy with the orders.

    The elder put on a helpless expression. ¡°The Thirteen Swords bes stronger the further the cultivator goes. Although Liu Shaoqiu lost, few will be his opponent as soon as he bes an Explorer. That Lu Yin and the person from the Technocracy are simply exceptions.¡±

    ¡°Ok...¡± Y¨­u Ye''er begrudgingly answered.

    In the distant Astral-10, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes. His forehead was beaded with cold sweat, as he had just experienced death at the hands of an old freak whose power level was in the hundreds of thousands.

    He had never been that close to death before, not even when he had faced Northgate Taisui. He never imagined that he would meet such a freak so soon.

    But more importantly, he had discovered an incredible secret.

    The First Flowzone¡¯s Y¨­u Court had once been a part of the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u family. They had betrayed the Seven Courts and sought refuge under the Sword Sect¡¯s wing, but the Sword Sect never found out that the Y¨­u family¡¯s secret technique was always in the hands of the Y¨­u Court. The elder who had appeared at the end was actually someone from the Court of Seven Names. In other words, the Y¨­u Court had never actually betrayed the Seven Courts. Otherwise, that Y¨­u family elder from the Seven Courts would have never appeared to protect the little princess.

    Also, the Y¨­u Secret Art was passed down as a blood inheritance to a single individual each generation through their bloodline, and the current heir was the little princess. She should be called Y¨­u Ye''er!

    That elder had destroyed an entire region of space with his boundless strength, and even theworkmunications had been crushed so thoroughly that not a single message could have been sent out. That elder had assumed that no one would learn of their secret, but Lu Yin had be one of the very few people who were aware of this secret.

    In addition to that secret, he had also learned many matters rting to the Neohuman Alliance and the Specter n. The Specter n member who he had Possessed had been someone of a rather high level, and Lu Yin had been able to read through a great number of messages. He had not been able to properly digest everything at the time, but even just the portion of what he remembered would be enough to shock the universe.

    Lu Yin panted heavily for a moment as he tapped on his gadget. He wrote down some coordinates, which were where the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases were located.

    Right, there was also the Specter n¡¯s secret.

    Lu Yin opened thework and tried to search for information on the Specter n, but he could not find anything in the results. He then used his Honor Points privileges to search again, but even then, he couldn¡¯t find any relevant information. The n was very secretive, and almost no one knew anything about them. However, they had a distinctive feature, which was that all of their n members innately had death energy within their bodies.

    Lu Yin recalled what it had felt like when he was Possessing that person, but then grudgingly realized that he had been bombarded by too many messages. He had had no time to actually experience what it was like being an Explorer.

    This Possession had revealed too many secrets to Lu Yin. He muttered to himself for half a day, wondering if he should divulge the locations of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases, but he eventually decided not to. No one would believe him, and even if someone did, the Neohuman Alliance would evacuate those bases long before they were searched. Lu Yin was certain that the Neohuman Alliance had spies within the upper echelons of humanity¡¯s great powers.

    Even the Seven Courts had been infiltrated, let alone the great powers.

    Lu Yin massaged his forehead. The more he knew, the greater the pressure he felt in his heart. The universe was just too vast, and there were countless diverse powers. The more he interacted with such powers, the more he realized how insignificant the Great Yu Empire actually was. It was truly negligible.

    The Outerverse had seventy two Weaves, and he estimated that there were no more than a hundred Enlighters among those Weaves. And what about the Innerverse? There were even those old freaks whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands. Beyond that, there was still the Cosmic Sea in the depths of the Innerverse, as well as the Neoverse that no one knew anything about.

    The various powers were like the numerous stars in the night sky, and the human lifespan also increased the further one cultivated. The more unfathomable the universe was, the greater the desire for exploration and expedition.

    However, the most urgent item on Lu Yin¡¯s agenda was to check how much money he had remaining!

    Lu Yin apprehensively essed his cosmic ring, and his heart sank, and he had to suppress the urge to curse. The star essence that he had received from the Northgate family as well as whatever he had saved up from before had all vanished. Even the million star crystals were gone.

    Lu Yin wailed in anguish, as he was broke once again. It had happened too fast; he had merely watched one scene and that had wiped out all of his hard-earned money.

    At the moment, he only had 100,000 star crystals and two million in universal currency remaining.

    He still intended to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm, but it would have to be dyed again, and he had no idea how long he would have to postpone it this time. Although the money-making opportunity in the centipede''s body had been good, he could not find such opportunities at a moment¡¯s notice.

    As Lu Yin looked at his empty cosmic ring, he suddenly felt an urge to sell off all the secrets that he had just uncovered.

    But there was no point inmenting about the missing money. Lu Yin calmed himself down and headed for the trial zone entrance. He recalled that there were many mysterious ces in the trial zones that the Ten Arbiters had reportedly once visited. Now, he wanted to give them a try as well.

    After greeting the Trialmaster, Lu Yin first headed to the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Sky tform.

    There was a saying in the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones¡ªcross the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death and ascend the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Sky tform.

    Lu Yin had unintentionally overheard this saying in the past, but he had not understood what it meant back then. In the Three Realms, Six Daos, there were only legends concerning the Ten Arbiters in the Dao of Heaven and the Dao of Purgatory. This made the Sky tform and Ocean of Death exceed the other training grounds in terms of mystery.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time in the Dao of Purgatory. When he had first entered the trial zones, he had chosen this Dao, and his first death had urred here as well. He would always remember the Spear Mountain¡¯s Area Master, Frankfurt.

    However, with how rapidly his power had grown, there was no longer any need to seek revenge, and Lu Yin¡¯s attitude had also changed. Finally, back at the Tilting Tower, he had already thoroughly embarrassed Frankfurt.

    News of Lu Yin appearing in the Dao of Purgatory quickly spread, and as more Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students heard the news, many of them started heading to the Dao of Purgatory together. They knew that there was only one area in that ce that could attract Lu Yin¡¯s attention¡ªthe Sky tform.

    Dao Bo had not returned to Astral-6, so Charon was currently representing Dao Bo in overseeing the Sky tform. The moment Charon saw Lu Yin, his expression became as interesting as could be. His expression was sometimes fierce, sometimes respectful, sometimes remorseful, and sometimes panicked. It was veryplicated.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Senior Charon, we haven¡¯t met in a while. Are you making a movie?¡±

    Charon swallowed his saliva and forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Where has Student Lu found the time toe to the Dao of Purgatory?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged and pointed ahead. ¡°Rumor has it that the Ten Arbiters ascended the Sky tform in the past, so I want to give it a try as well. Senior won¡¯t deny my wish, right?¡±

    Charon definitely would not. Even if Dao Bo were here at this moment, he would not be able to stop Lu Yin.

    The Astral Combat Academy had nine trial zones, and Lu Yin was not concerned about any of the Realm Masters aside from Starsibyl. Of course, Lu Yin would not act arrogantly, as he would abide by the rules that must be followed.

    Charon did not want to talk to Lu Yin any further, and he was eager to leave for fear that Lu Yin might reveal his private matters.

    Lu Yin was rather interested in Charon. Or rather, he wasn¡¯t interested in Charon per se, but rather in the Unveiled Sword that Charon had unlocked from a sourcebox. It was rather valuable, especially after he had learned that even those pikes could be sold for a hundred star essence. Even if the Unveiled Sword was a bit cheaper, it would still be rather pricey.

    The main value of the pikesy in research, not the pikes themselves. The Unveiled Sword gave Lu Yin a very sharp feeling.

    Lu Yin casually asked, ¡°Senior, when will you show junior the power of your Unveiled Sword?¡±

    Charon raised his brows. ¡°There¡¯ll be an opportunity in future.¡±

    At this point, more and more students had gathered around them.

    Lu Yin walked past Charon and then looked up above him. This was the Sky tform.

    The so-called Sky tform was not made of stone steps like most people would assume, and it wasn¡¯t some dignified and serene stairway to heaven either. It was just a series of spheres that were lined from the sky to the ground, and it appeared to be very normal. The higher up one went, the blurrier their vision would be, and eventually, the void would be distorted.

    The Sky tform¡¯s name was derived from these spheres that resembleds and the distorted void one saw at the top of the spheres.

    Legend had it that sitting atop the Sky tform would allow one to feel the strength of the ancient powerhouses. The higher up one climbed, the more clearly they would be able to sense it. ordingly, one of the Ten Arbiters had reached the highest point of the Sky tform, and their strength had undergone a huge and inconceivable transformation there. This was the legend of the Sky tform.

    Dao Bo had held control of the Dao of Purgatory for so long, but he had never been able to reach the top of the Sky tform. At most, he would sit on a sphere to cultivate.

    Each year, many students would receive Dao Bo¡¯s approval to try and climb to the top, but none of them seeded, not even Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin was now publicly recognized as the strongest student in the Astral Combat Academy. Hence, him challenging the Sky tform had attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Who knows if Lu Yin will seed. The higher up one climbs, the greater the chance of them vanishing. It¡¯s too strange.¡±

    ¡°When Senior Dao Bo approached the top, he strangely vanished as well. No one knows what happened to him.¡±

    ¡°My senior¡¯s second brother-inw¡¯s cousin¡¯s younger sister doesn¡¯t know either,¡± a fatty mumbled while those around him shot him unkind looks for spouting such crap despite not knowing anything.

    ¡­

    Someone suddenly piped up, ¡°Does anyone know which of the Ten Arbiters reached the top of the Sky tform?¡±

    No one replied, as even if they knew, no one would dare to speak about such a thing. It was taboo to randomly say the names of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin walked to the bottom of the Sky tform and looked up, observing where the void distorted at higher altitudes. He thought no further and stepped onto the first sphere, where he immediately noticed that his entire body suddenly felt different. An indescribable strength had appeared around him, one that was both invisible and intangible. It had no influence on his body, but for some inexplicable reason, it caused his heart to palpitate.

    He muttered to himself briefly and then stepped onto the second sphere.

    Just like that, one step at a time, he ascended to the higher spheres.

    Everyone watched Lu Yin, and more students gathered¡ªFeng Shang, Liu Xiaoyun, and even Starsibyl appeared.

    The higher Lu Yin climbed, the more clearly he was able to feel this indescribable strength. It did not affect him in any way, but he did not know where this strength came from, and he couldn¡¯t even tell what it belonged to.

    Even when he was facing Northgate Taisui or other old freaks such as that Seven Courts elder. Even though their power levels were in the hundreds of thousands and even though they were monstrously strong, their strength still had small signs and traces of where they hade from. But right now, the strength that surrounded Lu Yin waspletely traceless, which made him feel a bit of trepidation.

 Chapter 399: Changes In Both Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 399: Changes In Both Eyes</h4>

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to be careless at this moment, and he released the star energy seal on his right arm to return to his peak state. He also released his domain and even activated his Cosmic Art.

    With his strength fully revealed, the strange oppressive force he felt around him was inexplicably reduced. It was very puzzling.

    By this time, Lu Yin had already reached the middle section of the Sky tform, something that few students could manage. Those who had were all at least as strong as an Area Master.

    Below the Sky tform, people like Frankfurt, Tu Bo, Hart Phoenix, Uro, and Long Ze had appeared, and they were all staring up at Lu Yin.

    Ascending the Sky tform was a major event, and it was simr to someone crossing the Ocean of Death. Such an event would definitely attract arge audience.

    As Lu Yin neared the peak, the vague strength increased once again, and the distortion of the void became even more noticeable, but it was now obvious that the distortion was not caused by that indistinct force.

    After he climbed atop another sphere, the strange strength increased in intensity once again. Lu Yin felt like his entire body was being rejected, as if the void in this ce was repelling him, as if the entire void wanted to erase his very existence. This sensation was probably why those other students had vanished; it must have been because of this strange strength.

    Five-lined battle force suddenly appeared as a dark gold radiance blossomed around Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Many students cried out in surprise.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s battle force appeared, the indistinct strength was reduced yet again.

    The whole situation was very puzzling and strange, and this strange force made Lu Yin feel like he could be wiped out at any moment.

    From when he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had fought many battles and had even felt the enormous strength of that Seven Courts elder which was enough to annihte the heavens themselves. But no matter how powerful someone¡¯s strength reached, they always needed a bit of time to actually obliterate another person. Although that period of time might be extremely short, there was still a sliver of time that was needed. However, with this strange force surrounding him, Lu Yin had a feeling that the instant that he faltered, he would instantly vanish without any time to react.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what¡¯s this aura am I feeling? Are you at some incredible ce?¡± the Monkey asked.

    ¡°This is the trial zones¡¯ Dao of Purgatory, the Sky tform.¡±

    The monkey was lost. ¡°The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones?¡±

    Suddenly, it shrieked, ¡°The ruins of the Rune Technology civilization?!¡±

    ¡°You mentioned that¡¯s what this ce is.¡±

    ¡°No wonder there¡¯s such a feeling here.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What do you mean? Have you felt this sensation before?¡±

    The monkey hurriedly replied, ¡°Of course not! Anyone who dares to test the Rune Technology¡¯s strength is looking to die.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as the monkey was clearly lying; he had definitely felt this unique, indistinct strength before. This also meant that the strange strength came from the remnants of the Rune Technology civilization.

    However, this wasn¡¯t the time to investigate. He looked up and saw that there were only a few steps left before he would reach the peak.

    Everyone below was anxiously watching on. Lu Yin¡¯s current position was also Dao Bo¡¯s limit. Dao Bo was able to reach this same ce, where he was just a few steps away from the peak, but at that point, he always vanished from the trial zones, dying in an unknown manner.

    Lu Yin took another step forward, and the strange strength increased once more. It was not yet threatening to Lu Yin, but its danger became very noticeable with this step. The feeling of rejection became even more intense, and now, a sense of danger appeared that made his back shiver. Lu Yin breathed in deeply before taking one final step. At the top of the tform, there was the distorted void while that indescribable strength attempted to dissolve his domain, his battle force, and his entire being.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as an intense feeling of crisis welled up within his heart. He had a sense that he was about to be obliterated. There was no attack, but this feeling was very strong. He did not know how powerful that Arbiter had been when they were in the Astral Combat Academy, but since he was able to match the Divine Fist¡¯s record, Lu Yin believed that he was no weaker than the Ten Arbiters when they had been at his cultivation.

    The strange sense of crisis grew even more prominent. There were no marks on Lu Yin¡¯s body and no external attack either, but his entire body started to be transparent.

    Everyone held their breaths, as Lu Yin was about to vanish just like the others. They had witnessed this scene many times, and everyone who had failed had inexplicably vanished just like this.

    Lu Yin was shocked. This shouldn¡¯t happen. Was it possible that his strength still wasn¡¯t able to match up to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ of the past? How could that be possible? When that Arbiter had ascended to the top of the Sky tform, they had also been at the Limiteer realm, because no Explorers were allowed to enter the trial zones. Did this mean that his current power still could not match up to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ when they had been Limiteers? Exactly how strong had that Arbiter been? Was the Divine Fist¡¯s record a lie?

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that no one would ever reveal all of their hidden trumps. The Divine Fist¡¯s record had been left for future generations to surpass, but they could only surpass what they believed to be the Arbiter¡¯s record¡ªno one knew the true limits of his strength.

    Through the Sky tform, Lu Yin could acutely sense the invincibility of the Ten Arbiters. Everyone had underestimated the Ten Arbiters yet again; their true power was iparable and immeasurable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body turned more and more transparent as his very existence was being erased. He was not yet qualified to ascend to the top of the Sky tform.

    However, right before Lu Yinpletely vanished, his body suddenly solidified and that strange strength rapidly diminished.

    The crowd could not understand what had happened, but they could see the result: Lu Yin had reached the top of the Sky tform.

    Despite the countless years that the trial zones had stood for, almost no one had ever reached the top of the Sky tform, and there were only a few records of such students. Of the recorded sessful students, only that one Arbiter had done it as a Limiteer. All of the others had actually been Explorers where they had been allowed back into the trial zones on an exception. Now, Lu Yin was the second Limiteer student who had ascended the Sky tform since ancient times.

    The moment Lu Yin ascended the Sky tform, all of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s headmasters opened their eyes simultaneously. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s name had been recorded down in the history of the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°A Limiteer who can actually ascend the Sky tform. A genius from the heavens,¡± an elderly voice spoke from Astral-6.

    ¡°The Sky tform only exists for motivation and inheritance; it¡¯s not a test meant for Limiteers. All those who ascended in the past were Explorers, but two Limiteers have done so in recent years. The universe has indeed changed,¡± someone from Astral-2 said.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing. The sooner the younger generation matures, the sooner us old folks can be at ease,¡± a voice from Astral-5 replied.

    ¡°Maturing too quickly might not sufficiently polish their willpower. The Ten Arbiters Council is too overbearing and is possibly too impulsive,¡± someone from Astral-9 said.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. They¡¯re still young, and having some ambition is a good thing. This little fellow should go to the Ocean of Death next. Cross the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death, ascend the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Sky tform, keke,¡± an aged voice from Astral-1 said.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this child¡¯s from Astral-10. That old fogey doesn¡¯t even know that his own academy has produced a genius. What a pity,¡± a voice from Astral-4 rang out.

    ¡­

    Back in the Dao of Purgatory, Lu Yin rxed. Right before his body hadpletely vanished, he had suddenly remembered the Stonewall Scriptures. Every time he bumped into an unsolvable problem, he would recite the Stonewall Scriptures, which would sometimes result in miraculous effects. This time, it had produced a miracle once more. The Stonewall Scriptures had seemingly opened a path for him by forcefully dispersing that strange force, allowing him to sessfully ascend.

    It was a pity that he had not been able to rely on his true abilities, which showed that he was still inferior to that Arbiter as a Limiteer, though he was not sure just how far behind he was.

    Speaking of which, his current power was already rather abnormal. But despite his die, all the fortunate encounters he had experienced, and his bafflingly powerful body, he still could not match up to that Arbiter¡¯s strength from back then. He truly did not know how the Ten Arbiters had cultivated to reach such freakish strength.

    Regardless of the methods he employed, Lu Yin had seeded, and now, he felt as if he had ascended to another space. Half of his body was atop the Sky tform while the other half was within the distorted void. The scene before his eyes waspletely different, as he saw endless strange runes. It was as if the entire Dao of Purgatory had been divided into two.

    This was the true state of the trial zones, the true form of the remnants that the Rune Technology civilization had left behind.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what do you see? Tell me!¡± the monkey shouted. Lu Yin¡¯s upper body was atop the Sky tform, so the monkey could not see what Lu Yin saw.

    Lu Yin did not know how to describe what he was seeing; looking at it was one thing, butprehending it was another matter entirely. He was perplexed, as he did not know what good came from ascending the tform. He would rather witness an ancient battle between powerhouses.

    Countless stared up from below, dumbfounded. No one had witnessed that Arbiter ascend to the peak as everyone had been chased away, and no one even knew which Arbiter had seeded. Lu Yin was the only person to seed in recent years.

    Many expected him to extract an ancient inheritance that would allow them to broaden their horizons. However, contrary to expectation, there was no activity whatsoever even after they waited for a long time.

    ¡°Why does it look like Lu Yin¡¯s been split into two halves?¡± someone mumbled.

    The others continued staring, and the description seemed fairly quite urate.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your bottom half is exposed to those below! Don¡¯t you feel insecure?¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin stared at the endless runes in the heavens and wrinkled his brows. The more he saw, the dizzier he became, and the more tired his eyes felt. Two rows of clear tears involuntarily flowed down from his eyes, and he closed them, not daring to open them again. However, the moment he closed his eyes, his body started vanishing, which frightened him into opening his eyes once again.

    When he opened them for the second time, they felt so sore that he could not bear it anymore. It felt like someone was blinding him with a bright light.

    He wanted to close them, but at the same time, he didn¡¯t dare to do so. He was not foolish, and he knew that there must be a reason behind the fatigue he was feeling. His eyes would not be tired for no reason with his current strength. Perhaps this was rted to the reward of ascending the top.

    Lu Yin continued to endure the strain, and he even widened his eyes as he desperately stared at the countless runes. He grew more light-headed, and he tried to recite the Stonewall Scriptures again, but it was ineffective this time.

    Finally, he could no longer bear it and closed his eyes. His body instantly vanished from the Dao of Purgatory in the exact same manner as those failures from before.

    Everyone below remained silent. Had he seeded or not? No one knew, as no one had ever witnessed someone ascending to the top.

    On Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes and then reflexively closed them again as they were still too sore. What¡¯s going on?

    ¡°Brother Lu, how are you feeling?¡± He heard Coco¡¯s voice. Zora, Xia Luo, and the others were present as well, as they had all shown up to watch Lu Yin¡¯s attempt at the Sky tform.

    Lu Yin shook his head and closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I just need some rest.¡±

    Coco was worried. ¡°Brother Lu, how are your eyes? Are you sick? Coco can give you a jab.¡±

    Still with his eyes closed, Lu Yin immediately gestured that he was fine. He quickly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need, Coco. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a little tired, so I¡¯ll be fine after a nap.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Coco acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s words, but she still felt like it was a shame.

    They all had a feeling that they should not disturb Lu Yin in his current state, so they all separated and left.

    Lu Yin leaned against the trial zone mountain and tried to open his eyes. A trace of light entered his eyes, but there were also threads. Eh? Threads? Aren¡¯t these runes?

    Lu Yin jumped in fright, and his eyes instantly went wide as he observed his surroundings.

 Chapter 400: Second War King

    <h4>Chapter 400: Second War King</h4>

    Although Lu Yin could not see it himself, if someone else was looking at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes at this moment, they would see that they had changed. They were now deeper, like the vast starry sky, and they held an indescribable dignity.

    Lu Yin looked around some more, and true enough, what he saw now was different. There were more lines, or perhaps they should be called runes. What had happened to his eyes? Before, even when he used his domain, Cosmic Art, and the lockbreaking tool, he still couldn¡¯t see everything that he currently could. Yet, his transformed eyes were able to do it all on their own.

    When normal people looked at space, it was just space. Cultivators were able to see the movement of star energy, and their perceptive ability became clearer the stronger they became. Lockbreakers were special in that they could control the flow of star energy and levy their sensitive perception of star energy to unlock sourceboxes. Domain users could also sense such subtle changes in star energy. When Lu Yin had first obtained the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, his vision had expanded. When he had firstprehended his domain, thebination of all three had allowed his senses to surpass what many could perceive, and his senses possibly even surpassing the great majority of Lockbreakers.

    But all of that was different from what he currently saw: runes.

    Lu Yin did not know what these runes meant. Could they be some deeper representation of energy?

    Also, was there anything wrong with his eyes!

    He felt an urge to ask the Trialmaster about this matter, but for some unknown reason, he also did not want to inquire too deeply about this matter. It was possible that some changes had urred to his body but not to others, in which case there would be no benefit in revealing too many of his secrets.

    Lu Yin rubbed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He then looked around. I can¡¯t always see these lines when looking at things in the future. That¡¯s just uneptable.

    When he tried to withdraw the star energy from his eyes, the lines disappeared. Sure enough, star energy was the foundation of everything.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what did you see when you ascended the Sky tform?¡± The monkey was very curious.

    ¡°What do you think I saw?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡± The monkey rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother replying. The stupid monkey only seemed to respond to threats, but the reality was that the monkey understood what he should or should not say. He would not bother concealing things that Lu Yin should know, and he would also not utter a single word about things that he himself should not know.

    Xia Luo and the rest had left to give Lu Yin some time to rest. Indeed, he needed rest, and he truly wanted to find out if his eyes had any problems. From where he was resting, he could request the nearby Trialmaster for assistance if the problem persisted.

    In another corner of the universe, there was a covered withyers of enormous cyclones that constantly roamed about. They formed a strong protective, and there were powerhouses soaring beneath it. The weakest person in this group was an Explorer while the strongest, a man wearing a royal gown, was a Hunter.

    They appeared to be almost like normal people aside from their exceptionally long legs, which caused each one of them to be over three meters tall.

    This group of space-exploring powerhouses frantically looked at the skies, and their expressions were filled with expressions of unprecedented worry and terror.

    Outside the safety of cyclones, there was a long-haired youth with his hands in his pockets. He leisurely looked down and said, ¡°This is yourst chance. ept the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s authority in dealing with the trial, education, and oversight of the younger generation in the Cyclone Maind.¡±

    Beneath the protective of cyclones, the middle-aged man in the royal gown spoke in a deafening voice. ¡°Alien, the Cyclone Maind will never bow to any threats, and it has no wish to interact with the outside world. Please leave.¡±

    The youth raised his head arrogantly, and then rather grudgingly plucked at his hair with his fingers. ¡°Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t normally handle matters in such a dirty manner, but who asked you to appear in my territory.¡± The youth¡¯s figure then vanished. There was not the slightest change nor any sign of discement in the immediate nearby space. It was as if that youth had never even been there.

    The crowd beneath the protective was stunned. Where did he go?

    The next moment, the entire trembled. The cyclones that had revolved around the for countless years were stripped away,yer byyer, by some invisible strength. The middle-aged man wearing the royal gown squinted, and then suddenly stared at a section of the void in shock. He raised his hand to attack, causing the void to warp. The long-haired youth reappeared, but he didn¡¯t even look back, allowing the Hunter¡¯s attack tond.

    However, the Hunter¡¯s attack vanished inexplicably right when it neared the long-haired man. It disappeared without a single trace, and not even a hint of a ripple could be seen.

    All of the powerhouses of Cyclone Maind were overwhelmed, and their expressions turned to that of shock.

    The long-haired youth turned back around and smirked. ¡°The Ten Arbiters cannot be harmed.¡± He then raised a hand and aimed at the Hunter, who soon vanished from where he stood.

    The crowd was stunned; what had just happened?

    ¡°I gave you guys a chance, but none of you knew how to cherish it. In that case, there¡¯s no need for you all to continue living,¡± the long-haired youth leisurelymented. There was a faint smile on his face as he looked down at the giant.

    Not long after, the that had tornadoes constantly roaming about it vanished from the universe. It was like a grain of sand had been plucked from a beach; there were no changes whatsoever.

    The long-haired man seemed bored as he flipped through his gadget. Suddenly, his gaze froze, and he thenughed out loud. ¡°Someone actually managed to sessfully climb the Sky tform. Interesting, I wonder if his eyes have been opened. Perhaps I¡¯ll no longer be alone on this path.¡±

    Lu Yin stayed near the trial zone mountain for two days. By then, his eyes no longer felt unwell, which was a relief.

    During these two days, Coco and the others left him alone.

    Big Pao and Little Pao had already left Astral-10 and were heading towards the Chaos Flowzone.

    Once his eyes were feeling better, Lu Yin stepped away from the trial zone mountain and arrived at the trial zone entrance. He respectfully said to the Trialmaster, ¡°Mentor, I would like to ask for some guidance.¡±

    The Trialmaster opened his murky eyes. ¡°Go and get a teleportation stone first. Then you can ask me a question. One teleportation stone per question.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as this response was not unexpected. He headed towards the teleportation stone.

    Currently, Astral-10 had three teleportation stones. One had been there from the beginning while the other two had been won by Lu Yin. No one else had managed to win a stone yet.

    Xia Luo and the rest were powerful, but the chances of them being matched up against someone stronger than them in a ported battle was just too high. Lu Yin had also lost many times, to say nothing of Xia Luo and the rest.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ported battle record currently stood at 134 victories to 108 defeats, and his best winning streak had been neen matches. His statistics were rather impressive, but that was in the past. Now, after two upgrading his body twice with the strengthening fruits, his power had undergone overwhelming changes. He wanted to raise his winning streak to thirty matches, since that was one way to gain the ability to challenge those on the Top 100 Rankings.

    It was not possible to directly challenge the Top 100 Rankings whenever one wished, and that was because the opponent had the right to reject such challengers. The Astral Combat Academy even encouraged them to reject such challengers so as to preserve the authoritative nature of the rankings. If just anyone was allowed to challenge those on the list as they wished, then it would trivialize matters. The experts on the list would end up being pestered to death since there was no way they could kill everyone.

    As such, in general, those who did not qualify would not have their challenges epted. However, if such a challenge was epted, then the results would still be valid. If Lu Yin had fought and defeated Northgate Lie, then Lu Yin would have stepped into the Top 100 Rankings.

    Lu Yin had been thinking of this when he attempted to challenge Northgate Lie. Lu Yin wanted to enter the Top 100 Rankings, but he had let the matter slide after thinking about it. There were benefits that came with a greater reputation, but there were also disadvantages. Those targeting him would use a different level of power against him if he did so.

    He had not been threatened by Northgate Taisui because he had revealed his rather powerful connections. If an enemy wanted to deal with Lu Yin, then they would now also factor in Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s influence, which meant targeting Lu Yin¡¯s connections. If he entered the Top 100 Rankings, then the powers targeting him would send even stronger forces, as people would be attacking not just his connections but also Lu Yin himself.

    Being famous wasn¡¯t necessarily all beneficial.

    As Lu Yin stepped within the range of the teleportation stone, the scenery around him changed as he started a ported battle.

    It was no longer that difficult for Lu Yin to rack up a consecutive streak of fifteen matches, as long as his luck wasn¡¯t atrocious. At present, there were no more than a hundred people in the younger generation who could defeat him.

    In his sixteenth battle, when his name turned red, his opponent was actually a Sentinel. Lu Yin was speechless and even felt like he was looking at a sprout.

    At that moment, the young sprout¡¯s heart copsed. He became stupefied once he saw that he was facing a red named opponent nicknamed ¡°Seventh Bro.¡± The Sentinel¡¯s senior had exined what a red name indicated, and had also shared the information with a voice full of dread and worship. Now, he had actually encountered someone with a red name. He cursed internally. What the- and then his death caught up to him.

    Lu Yin released a breath since he had snatched another teleportation stone. Not enough. I have to keep going.

    Seventeenth match, victory. Eighteenth, victory. Neenth, victory¡­ Lu Yin quickly matched his previous win streak, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. Soon, he achieved twenty two straight victories. Twenty third, victory¡­

    Boom!

    The floating rock shattered, and the figure before Lu Yin disappeared. He looked up: thirtieth match, victory.

    He had racked up a winning streak of thirty victories, which was one way to be qualified to challenge the Top 100 Rankings.

    There were a few ways to qualify to challenge the experts on the ranking list, and achieving any one of them was enough. This meant that, right now, Lu Yin could challenge someone on the list, as long as he was confident enough to do so.

    Of course, the opponent could still reject him, but the meaning behind the rejection was different now. To bystanders, rejecting a challenge from someone who was qualified to issue it meant that the ranker was afraid.

    As long as one qualified, they could challenge any expert on the Top 100 Rankings at any time.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes. Liu Shaoqiu would probably achieve his qualifications soon as well, as his strength was enough to ensure a streak of thirty victories.

    Although there were many in the universe¡¯s younger generation, the differentiation between them was patently obvious. The Ten Arbiters would forever stand at the peak, followed by those on the Top 100 Rankings. It was possible for there to be hidden powerhouses, but there weren¡¯t that many of them.

    Lu Yin was confident that only a hundred or so people in the young generation could defeat him. He estimated there were no more than a few hundred who could defeat Liu Shaoqiu, and they were too sparsely scattered throughout the universe.

    More importantly, Liu Shaoqiu and Lu Yin were still just Limiteers. As soon as they became Explorers, even fewer people in the universe would be able to defeat them.

    There were only two more matches left, and Lu Yin would win a teleportation stone if he won the next one, so he continued on and started another ported battle.

    Just like the match before, the setting for this one was in the sky, and countless giant rocks floated in the backdrop. All around them, white clouds drifted by, making for a very beautiful scenery.

    A mighty figure appeared before Lu Yin with the words ¡°Second War King¡± boldly written above his head.

    Lu Yin was shocked by this person¡¯s nickname. War King? He remembered that one of the Ten Arbiters was known as the War King, but this person actually dared to call himself the Second War King. It was insane.

    What was even more baffling was that Lu Yin¡¯s opponent actually sat down on a rock and leisurely waved at him.

    The meaning was evident¡ªit was an invitation for Lu Yin to attack at will.

    Lu Yin squinted and earnestly observed his opponent. With such boldness, this person was either someone who greatly overestimated his own strength or someone who was truly powerful. Which category did this person fall into? Lu Yin could not tell, because he could not feel any hint of danger aura from this person. In fact, he seemed like just a regr human, which was actually even more abnormal.

 Chapter 401: Fourth on the Battle Rankings

    <h4>Chapter 401: Fourth on the Battle Rankings</h4>

    Lu Yin attempted to probe his opponent with a flick of his finger. Even if he shot out some energy with just his physical strength, a normal Explorer would not be able to ignore it.

    Contrary to expectations, his attack struck the Second War King straight on, but he only casually patted the ce he was hit and waved at Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He was now certain that this person was truly powerful.

    Lu Yin seldom met anyone who could ignore his attacks, which was something only those on the Top 100 Rankings could do amongst the younger generation. He just didn¡¯t know where this person stood in the rankings.

    He did not hesitate, and five-lined battle force covered his entire body, illuminating even the skies. Hepletely unleashed his domain as star energy filled his eyes. He could see traces of lines in the void, which were actually runes.

    When those lines appeared, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he stared at the Second War King in shock. At that moment, the runes representing the Second War King in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went far beyond what he had imagined, and they were even repelling the void.

    Mere star energy could not urately represent the Second War King¡¯s strength, and even power levels might not be able to do so. But the number of rune lines was a clear representation of his power, and it was extraordinarily formidable.

    It was simple¡ªthe more runes it took to represent a person, the more powerful they were. And the amount of runes that represented the Second War King greatly surpassed those that represented Lu Yin.

    The Second War King looked at Lu Yin with interest, and then he waved again.

    Lu Yin knew that this battle did not bode well for him. Hiding his star energy and power level might be enough to deceive others, but Lu Yin could not be fooled since he could see the rune lines. This person was way stronger than him, but there was no way he could retreat since this was a ported battle.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply. His body then vanished only to reappear right in front of the Second War King. He knew that this person would not hide, but still, he had to use his strongest attack here.

    The Second War King¡¯s eyes abruptly went wide, and an intense excitement appeared in the depths of his eyes. What a ferocious attack! Not bad, not bad at all.

    Boom!

    Shockwaves spread out in all directions as the rocks were shattered and the sky was sundered. Thirty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.

    This was currently Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack, and he held nothing back as he mmed his hand against the Second War King¡¯s body.

    The rxed Second War King was sent crashing into the rock that he had been sitting cross-legged upon moments earlier. His clothes were shredded, and his sturdy muscles underneath were exposed. Lu Yin¡¯s strongest strike had firmly connected with the Second War King¡¯s body, and it had left a deep imprint.

    The Thirty Stacks hadpletely suppressed the void, and they all erupted within the Second War King¡¯s body one after another.

    Lu Yin leaped up and pulled back a hundred meters before taking a serious look at the Second War King in the rock. Although it had been a strong attack, there was no way it would be enough to defeat this person, especially since the runes representing him had not been reduced by much.

    Lu Yin guessed that the rune lines represented not only a person¡¯s power, but also their vitality. If the runes disappeared, then it meant that that person no longer existed. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was correct, then the Second War King had only been slightly injured.

    Within the rock, the Second War King opened his eyes as his upper body slowly rose up. He looked down on the palm print on his body, then at Lu Yin. He slowly pped.

    A coldness shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes; he was being looked down upon.

    The Second War King slowly stood up and patted the dust off of his body. He looked at Lu Yin, then his lips suddenly curled as his body leaned backwards. He took a deep breath, to the extent where it seemed like he was trying to suck in all of the air in a given area.

    Lu Yin frowned and closely stared at the Second War King; was this a battle technique?

    As he inhaled, the Second War King¡¯s body visibly swelled up, and the palm print from before disappeared. No trace of Lu Yin¡¯s attack could be seen any longer.

    Lu Yin watched in astonishment. The area surrounding him started to distort, and he felt a strong sense of crisis.

    Suddenly, the Second War King looked at Lu Yin and ferociously opened his mouth, releasing a loud howl. Lu Yin only felt the void around him shatter before seeing a vast expanse of pure white. The Second War King seemed to have reincarnated as a devil as the void shattered. Everything that Lu Yin could see or hear vanished into nothingness, and by the time he blinked again, he had already reappeared at the trial zone entrance.

    Defeated, Lu Yin looked down at his own hands. He had been easily annihted; the Second War King was just way too powerful. Not only had he perfectly withstood Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack, but he had even instantly eliminated him. Facing off against the Second War King felt like facing Wendy Yushan; he had once again been renderedpletely powerless.

    That person was definitely an expert within the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings, and Lu Yin even had a vague feeling that he surpassed Wendy Yushan.

    ¡°Lu Yin: 164 victories, 109 defeats,¡± the Trialmaster suddenly announced, his aged voice reverberating through the area.

    Near the teleportation stone, Michelle was stunned at the announcement, and she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You were defeated?¡±

    Lu Yin had not expected Michelle to be here, but he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Michelle was incredulous, as there were extremely few people in the younger generation who could defeat Lu Yin. ¡°Did you meet a Top 100 Rankings expert?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Not sure, but probably.¡±

    ¡°What was their name?¡± Michelle asked.

    ¡°It was a ported battle. I only know their nickname, not their real name.¡±

    ¡°Then what was their nickname? I might know who it is.¡± Michelle was very curious, as Lu Yin had definitely been matched against one of the top experts of the younger generation if he had been defeated.

    ¡°The Second War King.¡±

    Michelle squinted, then shook her head. ¡°No wonder you lost. It should have been aplete loss.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who it was?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Michelle nodded and looked at him before faintly answering, ¡°I pity you, because you met the fourth on the Top 100 Rankings, Avery.¡±

    Lu Yin was blown away. He knew that the Second War King must be ranked very highly on the list, but he had never expected it to be to such a degree. Someone who was ranked fourth was firmly positioned to be one of the next Ten Arbiters. As long as the top ten experts on the rankings were still considered a part of the younger generation when the Ten Arbiters withdrew from their positions, the position of the Ten Arbiters would be as good as theirs.

    Being fourth also meant that no more than twenty people in the entire universe¡¯s younger generation could defeat him, even including the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Losing to Avery is nothing too strange. He should have allowed you to attack him, right? Were you able to injure him?¡± Michelle asked curiously.

    Lu Yin thought about it before answering, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    It was not an unexpected answer, and Michelle directly stepped into the range of the teleportation stone while Lu Yin was still immersed in his surprise. His luck had just been too bad. No, it would be better to say that it had been too good. He had already experienced the strength of the top five. Avery, huh? We¡¯ll definitely have another match in the future.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hopes of winning another teleportation stone had been dashed after being defeated by Avery. Of course, he could continue fighting in the ported battles, as the probability of running into a perverted powerhouse like Avery was not that high. He should be able to seize a few more teleportation stones, but he had no motivation to continue doing so.

    He walked to the Trialmaster. ¡°Mentor, I¡¯ve won a teleportation stone.¡±

    The Trialmaster grunted. ¡°Ask.¡±

    Lu Yin retrieved the halved strange white fruit from his cosmic ring. ¡°I wish to ask what the use of this fruit is.¡±

    The Trialmaster looked at the white fruit in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and his eyes seemed to be more tranquil. After a while, he replied, ¡°It¡¯s brimming with vitality, and it¡¯s a treasure that was used to treat serious injuries in an older age when we were not so technologically advanced. But now, with our advancements in science, we are able to treat illnesses and injuries much more effectively. At its current potency, this fruit isn¡¯t too valuable, and it can at most be used as an ingredient to manufacture medicines.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°What does mentor mean by ¡®not too valuable?¡¯ Is it because there¡¯s only half of it left?¡±

    ¡°First of all, it hasn¡¯t grown for long enough. Second of all, there¡¯s only half. Thus, it¡¯s not too valuable.¡±

    Lu Yin asked again, ¡°If a fruit like this that brims with vitality was grown for a long time, then would that be valuable?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m unable to determine that. There are some vitality fruits that can even resurrect people, but it¡¯s a pity that it takes much too long for a fruit to reach that level. Currently, only superpowers might have such objects, as a regr person will never see one.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he put the white fruit away. ¡°I understand. Thank you, mentor, for educating me.¡±

    To others, this half of a fruit was indeed useless, but it was very valuable for Lu Yin. As long as he had enough money, he could upgrade the fruit to the point where resurrection was no longer a dream. This ything was equivalent to a second life! Trading one of his strengthening fruits for this had been a great deal.

    Lu Yin felt like he should continue searching for more natural treasures when he could.

    But when he thought about it, there was no point to that since he had no money right now. He did not even have enough resources to cultivate right now, so his first priority was to find a way to make some money.

    The Great Yu Empire had expanded in all directions within Frostwave Weave, and while they had gained a great deal of resources, the war efforts had also consumed a great deal of them. They had just barely recovered from the budget deficit of the earlier battle with the Ross Empire, so it was temporarily impossible to get any money from the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin returned to the trial zone mountain, as he was now nning on crossing the Ocean of Death and discovering whaty on the other side.

    ¡°Cross the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death and ascend the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Sky tform.¡± This saying did note from nowhere. Since Lu Yin had returned to Astral-10, he naturally had to make an attempt at both. Otherwise, as soon as he broke through to the Explorer realm, he would not even be allowed to set foot in the trial zones.

    ¡°Brother Lu, are you heading to the Dao of Heaven?¡± Coco walked over from close by with Zora apanying her.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I want to take a look at the Ocean of Death.¡±

    Coco was moved. ¡°That¡¯s great! let¡¯s go together.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°You want to go too?¡±

    Coco nodded. ¡°The Ocean of Death isn¡¯t the Sky tform, and you can get help there. Both Sister Zora and I want to go.¡±

    Lu Yin did not refuse their request. He was reminded of the Cosmic Sea; perhaps the Ocean of Death could help him adjust to the conditions of the other. One person alone might not be able to achieve much.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re all going to the Ocean of Death, why don¡¯t Ie along as well?¡± Xia Luo walked over with a smile.

    There were only these four present at the trial zone mountain, and Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll see you all at the shore of the Ocean of Death.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Coco became excited.

    Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back and smiled. He sat down cross-legged and entered the Dao of Heaven.

    Ever since Lu Yin had ascended the Sky tform, many students had assumed that he would next head to the Ocean of Death. Given his strength, it was possible for him to break through and be an Explorer at any time. Then, he would require the academy¡¯s approval if he wanted to attempt to challenge the Ocean of Death. It was a rather inconvenient process, so there was a strong possibility that he would soon head over.

    Because of this guess, many students were preemptively waiting at the shore of the Ocean of Death.

    Their patience was rewarded, as they finally saw Lu Yin appear today.

    The Ocean of Death¡¯s water was murky, and everything thatnded in it sank into its depths, and even flying birds found it difficult to cross over it. It was rumored that, on the other end of the ocean, there was an ind with the buried skeletal remains of ancient powerhouses and even inheritances. No one could prove the rumors, however, as even the Arbiter who had crossed the Ocean of Death had remained silent about what was on the other side.

    Kuang Wang felt that it was a tragedy, as out of the nine trial zones, the Ocean of Death was the most useless. Even the Sky tform had a better chance of giving Dao Bo an inheritance. At the Ocean of Death, Kuang Wang could only enjoy the view, as there was nothing else to be done here.

    The entire time, Kuang Wang had held a grudge against the Ocean of Death. He had tried to cross it multiple times, but he had failed every attempt.

    This time, he nned to try together with Lu Yin.

 Chapter 402: Crossing the Dao of Heavenâ€™s Ocean of Death

    <h4>Chapter 402: Crossing the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death</h4>

    Many students grew excited when Lu Yin appeared. People could form teams to cross the Ocean of Death, and many wanted to stay close to Lu Yin in order to reach the fabled ind.

    As Lu Yin stood on the shore of the Ocean of Death, he stared into the distance. The water and sky were the same color, a vast, dark yellow. It was eerily reminiscent of the Yellow Springs that buried the living; it was a chilling scene.

    Was there really an inheritance on the other side of the Ocean of Death?

    Was the Arbiter who had ascended the Sky tform and the Arbiter who had crossed the Ocean of Death the same person? Or had more than one of them seeded? Lu Yin was very curious about all these things.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Kuang Wang walked over as he casually waved away the various students who were trying to chat with Lu Yin, behaving in an overbearing fashion.

    Lu Yin looked at Kuang Wang and smiled. ¡°It has been a while. Senior is more refined every time we meet.¡±

    Kuang Wang smiled. ¡°Everyone wants to cross the Ocean of Death with you, but they aren¡¯t qualified.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t deny Kuang Wang¡¯s words. He wasn¡¯t a bad person, but he was not the kind of person who would try to please everyone either. Bringing along one more person could very well increase the danger for the rest of the party, and there was no need to risk it for no reason. Aside from Coco and the others from Astral-10, anyone else who wanted to team up with Lu Yin needed to have the necessary power, such as the person currently in front of them, Kuang Wang. His appearance at this time clearly indicated that he wanted to cross the Ocean of Death with them.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ll cut to the chase. I wish to cross the Ocean of Death with you. You can state any conditions you may have.¡± Kuang Wang was extremely direct.

    Lu Yin was moved, and he looked closely at Kuang Wang, who should be rich. He thought about it and then answered, ¡°I heard that senior is from the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Kuang Wang was proud of his background.

    Lu Yin continued looking at him. ¡°Is the Divine Grade Hall very wealthy?¡±

    Kuang Wang was stunned, and he looked at Lu Yin with a dumbfounded expression. He had never dreamed that Lu Yin would ask him such a question.

    He saw Lu Yin¡¯s genuine interest in his answer, so Kuang Wang hoarsely replied, ¡°It should be rather wealthy. I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Lu Yin acknowledged. After that, his right fingers snapped against the void while three of his fingers rubbed together. With every snap, he would rub them together, just like Elder Cai¡¯s action from before. It was a very elegant, noble, but mysterious method of asking for money.

    Kuang Wang stared at Lu Yin, waiting for his reply. However, he found that Lu Yin was no longer speaking. He heard a strange rapping from the quivering void, and then he looked down at Lu Yin¡¯s moving hand. His lips grew stiff. ¡°Brother Lu, how much would you like?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose. Sure enough, this method was both obvious while appearing to be elegant, stylish, and noble. ¡°That depends on how much senior thinks it¡¯s worth.¡±

    Kuang Wang nodded and stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll transfer the money to you after we get out.¡±

    Lu Yin was excited as he gave Kuang Wang his Mavis Bank ount number, as he once again had money. Of course, it was not much, but it was still better than nothing.

    As for Kuang Wang, his emotions were ratherplicated. He hadn¡¯t expected the strongest student in the Astral Combat Academy to be like this. Wasn¡¯t it too tacky to ask for money? Shouldn¡¯t an expert have the bearing of an expert? When he saw Lu Yin¡¯s excited expression, Kuang Wang had to turn around. He might have misunderstood what truly powerful experts were like.

    Before much time passed, Xia Luo arrived, followed by Coco and Zora soon after.

    ¡°Senior, how did you guys attempt to cross the ocean before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Kuang Wang replied, ¡°The Ocean of Death has a special property that gradually dissolves star energy and living beings, but at an even faster rate. Hence, you can only use star energy to form a boat, and the main challenge is seeing whether or not your star energy canst all the way until the end. Also, illusions will appear.¡±

    ¡°Illusions?¡± Lu Yin and the rest were caught off guard by this, even Xia Luo. None of them had ever attempted to cross the Ocean of Death before.

    Kuang Wang exined, ¡°The illusions are the most troublesome. You¡¯re actually fully aware that they¡¯re illusions, but you¡¯ll still believe that they are real despite that. More importantly, the illusions can destroy a person¡¯s spiritual force.¡±

    Lu Yin and Xia Luo exchanged nces, as they could not guarantee anything when spiritual force was involved. With their current strength, they were not yet able to learn any techniques that could defend them against spiritual force attacks. When Lu Yin recited the Stonewall Scriptures, he would gain an imperceptible defense against spiritual force attacks, and Liu Shaoqiu had acquired a spiritual force attack through learning the Thirteen Swords. Many of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques carried a spiritual force attack, but all of these were passive in nature.

    Actually, with their true strength, they did not yet qualify to contact such battle styles.

    Lu Yin did not know if his current defense against spiritual force attacks could withstand the illusions, and his only hope was that the illusions¡¯ strength did not surpass the phantom pike¡¯s in the centipede''s body.

    Lu Yin felt that anything rted to spiritual force was not something that should be easily provoked.

    At this point, another figure flew over. It was actually Feng Shang.

    ¡°Hello everybody, can I join you in crossing the Ocean of Death?¡± Feng Shang hade of his own ord.

    They all looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Kuang Wang.

    Coco and Zora were lost; what did this look mean? Did Kuang Wang hold the power to decide?

    The corners of Kuang Wang¡¯s lips stretched, as he knew what Lu Yin meant. He hurriedly pulled Feng Shang aside and muttered to him in hushed tones.

    After Feng Shang heard what Kuang Wang had to say, he looked at Lu Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin acted in a cavalier manner. A gentleman who loved money must procure it in moral ways. If he put in the effort, then he should get his just rewards. After all, he would not take them across for nothing, as he was not their caretaker.

    Soon after, Kuang Wang and Feng Shang returned, and Feng Shang nodded towards Lu Yin with a face still showing surprise. ¡°Shall we?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll use star energy to form the boat and then take turns maintaining it. Zora, you can go first.¡±

    Zora acknowledged his words, and her star energy surged out before forming a small boat that floated atop the Ocean of Death.

    ¡°Senior Kuang Wang, why can¡¯t we fly across?¡± Coco asked.

    Kuang Wang replied, ¡°Because the further in you fly, the greater the restrictive force you feel. Given that, we can only sail across.¡±

    Coco grunted and then looked at Zora with some concern. ¡°Sister Zora, will you be able to endure this?¡± The others also looked at Zora.

    Everyone¡¯s strength was different, and the strength of their star energy varied as well. Thus, the Ocean of Death¡¯s star energy dissolution rate was also naturally different for each person.

    Zora seriously studied her star energy and then her expression turned ugly. ¡°At the most, three days.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll switch to someone else after three days,¡± Lu Yin said. They then boarded the small boat and headed into the depths of the Ocean of Death.

    Many students watched the group from the shore, and quite a few of them soon decided to team up and follow behind Lu Yin.

    Wu Da was among them. After he had reported on the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest, his newspaper had be very sessful. Although he still ended up being chased around on certain asions, the external funds were pouring in now. Also, quite a few students had joined the newspaper as his subordinates. There were now more than ten of them who had decided to team up and attempt to cross the Ocean of Death.

    Aside from Wu Da¡¯s group, there were also a few others that joined hands, as they perhaps felt that there was a greater possibility of them reaching the other side of the Ocean of Death if they followed behind Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    Lu Yin¡¯s small group remained silent as they sat on their star energy boat.

    Star energy appeared at Lu Yin¡¯s fingertip as he touched the water. He frowned, as what he had been told was not right. This water did not dissolve his star energy. Rather, it would be more urate topare it to the Sky tform, which rejected the star energy from the area.

    Star energy converged in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he looked far across the water. The entire Ocean of Death was filled with rune lines while the runes that represented Zora¡¯s star energy was just the small boat, like a skiff in an angry ocean that could break down at any moment. The further in they went, the more rune lines Lu Yin saw. He could not even assess how many there were, as the number greatly surpassed the runes that had represented Avery.

    This was the Ocean of Death¡¯s true colors. He looked around again; right now, the entire trial zone consisted of rune lines, and he was now able to see that it was not naturally created. The quantities that he was observing were enough to cause him to feel dizzy.

    The rune lines formed by a natural environment could never be so numerous.

    The Ghost Monkey had said that when the Rune Technology civilization was flourishing, their battle style had been very obscure, as they would directly wipe out their opponent¡¯s rune lines. This was a fundamental erasure of something. If Lu Yin wanted to wipe out the Ocean of Death, then he just had to directly erase the rune lines.

    However, Lu Yin did not know how to erase other peoples¡¯ rune lines since he did not understand how to utilize this strength.

    He removed the star energy from his eyes, causing everything to return to normal.

    The small boat steadily sailed towards the depths of the Ocean of Death with over ten small boats following behind them.

    After a day of travel, while they were resting, Coco suddenly cried out, ¡°Ah, if we die in the Ocean of Death, then won¡¯t we reappear here when we return to the Dao of Heaven?¡±

    Kuang Wang was startled by Coco¡¯s exmation, and he rolled his eyes. ¡°No, the Ocean of Death is unique. If you die here, then when you reenter the Dao of Heaven, you¡¯ll simply reappear at the coast.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Coco patted her chest in reassurance.

    Lu Yin looked at Zora and saw that she had an ugly expression on her pale face. He filled his eyes with star energy and looked at her again. Zora¡¯s star energy would at mostst for another half day.

    A day and a half? That was less than half of what she had predicted, which meant that the strength of the Ocean of Death¡¯s star energy rejection had doubled in this locationpared to the coast.

    Lu Yin looked back and saw that none of the boats weregging behind and that they were all still following him.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Feng Shang barked as he released his green domain. He raised a hand and pped to the left. Everyone looked over and saw a war spirit stabbing at them with a spear.

    Feng Shang¡¯s palm struck the war spirit¡¯s spear, and the boat shook. The war spirit¡¯s spear broke, and Feng Shang¡¯s eyes shed as a ripple of air revolved around his palm. ¡°Cyclone Strike.¡±

    There was a cry as the void shattered along with the war spirit. It was instantly killed by the Cyclone Strike.

    Zora rxed, but Coco cried out in rm, ¡°There¡¯re war spirits here?¡±

    Kuang Wang nodded and solemnly replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something earlier?¡± Zora had an ugly expression.

    Kuang Wang grudgingly answered, ¡°Forgot.¡±

    They were left speechless.

    ¡°A war spirit appearing means that the person who birthed it once sailed across the Ocean of Death. Be careful; if our luck is bad, we could even meet the war spirits of the Ten Arbiters,¡± Feng Shang said as he licked his lips.

    Coco grew afraid. ¡°Senior, don¡¯t try to scare us.¡±

    Feng Shang forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I¡¯m not. It¡¯s just that no one knows how war spirits are formed. You might form a war spirit in the next second as well. Remember the Astral Combat Tournament? In the middle of Brother Lu and Liu Shaoqius battle, their war spirits suddenly materialized and escaped.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled that scene, as war spirits had indeed formed during his battle with Liu Shaoqiu.

    ¡°Hehe, I heard that quite a few students have already died to the Thirteen Swords, which should be Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s war spirit. I wonder who¡¯ll have the bad luck of meeting up with Brother Lu¡¯s war spirit.¡± Kuang Wang rejoiced at the thought of others¡¯ misfortune.

    Feng Shang nced at him. ¡°No matter who it ends up being, they¡¯ll bepletely out of luck, even if it turns out to be you.¡±

    Kuang Wang pursed his lips. Feng Shang was right. With the strength that Lu Yin had disyed during the Astral Combat Tournament, his war spirit could easily crush them.

    ¡°If we meet the Ten Arbiters¡¯ war spirits, then this trip still won¡¯t have been in vain,¡± Xia Luo spoke with a bit of excitement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up, and he looked out at the Ocean of Death. He was hoping to run into the Ten Arbiters¡¯ war spirits so that he could get a sense of their strength from when they were Limiteers. He did not believe that the disparity between him and their past selves was that great.

 Chapter 403: Cocoâ€™s Deterrence

    <h4>Chapter 403: Coco¡¯s Deterrence</h4>

    Suddenly, another cry sounded out. They all turned around to see a small boat shatter. A few students had beenpletely suppressed by a war spirit, and they were practically unable to retaliate in any way.

    Kuang Wang¡¯s expression changed. ¡°It¡¯s as strong as a Realm Master! This war spirit was birthed from some previous Realm Master.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand towards the war spirit and then sted out with an attack. ¡°Spacerender Palm.¡±

    His Spacerender Palm formed a bullet ofpressed air that sped across the Ocean of Death¡¯s surface before directly impacting against the war spirit. The spirit turned around at thest second and extended both hands to sh against the pressurized air bullet from the Spacerender Palm. However, at that same moment, its body copsed, and it vanished from the Ocean of Death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s single Spacerender Palm had been enough to easily wipe out a Realm Master level student, which caused both Feng Shang and Kuang Wang to feel slightly fearful. How had this fellow be so strong?

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back. He didn¡¯t really want to help anyone outside of his group, but once a war spirit appeared, it would continue attacking everyone nearby until either it was defeated or everyone else had been eliminated. Since Lu Yin would eventually need to act, he might as well act sooner rather thanter.

    ¡°Thank you, Chief Lu, for your help.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Many students in the distance were grateful to Lu Yin.

    Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin in amazement. ¡°Brother Lu, your power has long since exceeded what the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s students can endure. Thirty Stacks is rumored to match the record of one of the Ten Arbiters. It¡¯s amazingly strong.¡±

    ¡°Pervert,¡± Kuang Wang mumbled.

    Lu Yin smiled as he shook his head. ¡°The records left behind by the Ten Arbiters are just mere legends, and no one knows the truth of the matter. So, Brother Feng, there¡¯s no need to pay too much attention to this.¡±

    Feng Shang sighed and looked into the depths of the Ocean of Death. ¡°The Ten Arbiters are the benchmark for the younger generation as well as the standard for the universe. Everyone¡¯s goal is to surpass the Ten Arbiters, but not one person has managed to do it. Thirty Stacks is the record left behind by one of the Ten Arbiters from back then.¡± At that moment, Feng Shang directed a serious face towards Lu Yin. ¡°If Brother Lu can surpass that, then your aplishments will definitely be recorded down in history.¡±

    ¡°That might not be a good thing,¡± Lu Yinmented unenthusiastically.

    Feng Shang continued to look at him seriously, but he didn¡¯t speak any further.

    On the other side, Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin, but he did not speak either. However, a strange smile seemed to linger on his lips.

    Half a day passed, and Zora¡¯s face had be deathly white. It was clear that she could not endure any further. Lu Yin said, ¡°Coco, take over for Zora.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Coco acknowledged. Then, she hurriedly used her star energy to form a boat.

    Zora apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I never thought that I wouldn¡¯t be able tost for even two days.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°The deeper in we go, the faster the Ocean of Death will wear away at our star energy. There¡¯s no need to me yourself. Anyone else would have been the same.¡±

    Feng Shang nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, those small boats behind us have already switched their pilots a few times. You¡¯re pretty decent to havested for this long.¡±

    ¡°About average,¡± Kuang Wang said carelessly.

    Coco frowned and stared at Kuang Wang. ¡°Sister Zora is not just ¡®average!¡¯ She ranks among the top within the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Kuang Wang sneered. He had not been teasing Zora, as it was just his natural reaction. Unfortunately, his contemptuous attitude bothered Coco, who rarely lost her temper. She would be serious as long as it involved Zora, and in her eyes, Kuang Wang had looked down on Zora just now. This infuriated Coco, and her syringe appeared as she stared straight at Kuang Wang.

    Kuang Wang and Feng Shang were stunned. ¡°What¡¯s this thing?¡±

    Coco stared at Kuang Wang. ¡°I want to give you a jab.¡±

    ¡°What a joke. I¡¯m not even sick!¡± Kuang Wang shrieked. Even for him, it was terrifying to see such a huge syringe, even if Coco was far weaker than him. There was a strange chill hanging in the air.

    Coco snorted. ¡°You have bad breath.¡±

    Kuang Wang was speechless.

    Zora forced a smile onto her face. ¡°Alright, Coco. Senior had no bad intentions, so put your innate gift away.¡±

    Coco suppressed the words that she wanted to say and stared at Kuang Wang again. The syringe vanished.

    Kuang Wang grudgingly said, ¡°Brother Lu, your academy is rather special. It has people with all sorts of innate gifts.¡±

    Feng Shang was simrly stunned. ¡°Such arge syringe is more intimidating than any weapon.¡±

    Every time Lu Yin saw the syringe, he felt the same fear. ¡°That¡¯s Coco¡¯s innate gift. She was born in Windrift Hall, and she¡¯s rather skilled in first aid. Do either of you wish to try it?¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    The two of them answered instantly and simultaneously.

    Coco was not as talented in battle as Zora, but her star energy was not that much inferior to Zora¡¯s. Even so, she was only able tost for one day. Things became more difficult the further in they went. After Coco, it was Xia Luo¡¯s turn.

    Feng Shang and Kuang Wang estimated that Xia Luo would onlyst for a day at best, which was a rather generous evaluation. In their current location, Coco wouldn¡¯t even be able tost for half a day. Lu Yin held more confidence in Xia Luo, as he had specially observed Xia Luo and noticed that his rune lines numbered no less than that of Kuang Wang and Feng Shang. This meant that, in terms of power, Xia Luo had the strength of an academy leader. He had been continuously improving all this time, and his rate of progress was impressive. He had possessed the strength of an Area Master during the Astral Combat Tournament, and he currently held the strength of a Realm Master. This was not a simple improvement.

    Of course, measuring one¡¯s strength by the number of rune lines was notpletely urate. For example, at the Sky tform, when Lu Yin activated his domain and battle force, his rune lines had increased. The amount of runes thatposed a person was not fixed, and this went for Xia Luo, Feng Shang, and Kuang Wang.

    It could only be said that, without considering any battle techniques or innate gifts, the three had around the same level of strength. Once external strength was included in the equation, it was no longer clear who was weaker or stronger.

    Xia Luo steered the boat. Now, there were only three boats that were still following them. One was the group from Wu Da¡¯s tabloid, and Lu Yin did not recognize the other two.

    ¡°They¡¯re not bad if they¡¯re able to keep up with us to this point.¡± Lu Yin nced behind.

    Feng Shang looked back as well. ¡°One¡¯s from the tabloid, and another¡¯s from Shamrock Enterprises. Thest is unknown.¡±

    Kuang Wang nced back. ¡°It¡¯s the spirit hunters.¡±

    These words caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention, as the spirit hunter teams had always existed in the trial zones. These groups were mostly formed from members of the great powers, but they did not bother with the training grounds. Instead, they focused on hunting down war spirits.

    ¡°What¡¯s their goal?¡± Coco asked.

    Kuang Wang replied, ¡°To hunt down war spirits, but no one knows why. Before I came to the Astral Combat Academy, the Divine Grade Hall ancestor told me that if I couldn¡¯t fight for the position of the academy leader, then I should form a spirit hunter team.¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t tell you why you should hunt the war spirits?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Kuang Wang shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s rted to the trial zone¡¯s inheritance, but despite so many years passing, I¡¯ve never heard of anyone obtaining any inheritance from hunting war spirits. At most, the hunters will get to experience the battle techniques of former powerhouses. There are many inheritances in the trial zones, and one can encounter them just by roaming around. So logically, there should be no need to specially hunt the war spirits.¡±

    ¡°It should be rted to the actual phenomenon. The formation of the war spirits involves the trial zone¡¯s greatest inheritance. Everyone wants to obtain it, so investing effort towards it isn¡¯t a waste,¡± Feng Shang said.

    Lu Yin looked at the spirit hunter team. They did not know the reason behind their actions, but he did. They were definitely hunting the war spirits to better sense the Rune Technology that the trial zones were created with. They were trying to use this method to obtain the Rune Technology¡¯s inheritance. However, their method was not very productive. Instead, it would be better to directly ascend the Sky tform. Of course, even the student leaders weren¡¯t capable of doing that, so there was no need to consider the spirit hunters. It was a rigid method, but it was also the only method.

    Those ancestors from great powers had instructed their members to form spirit hunter teams, so did that mean that they also knew about the Rune Technology Civilization?

    A day passed, but the shore of the Ocean of Death still could not be seen. Despite that, Xia Luo still looked fine, seemingly not at all affected by the ocean¡¯s dissolving effects.

    Feng Shang and Kuang Wang exchanged shocked looks, as they had been discussing who would rece Xia Luo next. But now, they had discovered that Xia Luo did not need anyone to rece him, which was quite strange. This person¡¯s power definitely surpassed the other students¡¯.

    They had not paid much attention to Xia Luo, as it was very normal for a few students in the Astral Combat Tournament to be able to rival Area Masters. However, they now had to reevaluate their view of Xia Luo, as a normal Area Master was not capable of this.

    At this point, there were only two boats still following behind Lu Yin¡¯s group. One was Shamrock Enterprises¡¯, and the other was the spirit hunters¡¯. Wu Da¡¯s group was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°It¡¯s beginning,¡± Kuang Wang warned sternly.

    They all looked at him.

    ¡°The illusions are about to start,¡± Kuang Wang warned.

    Coco was afraid, and she leaned up against Zora.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he started silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. He had long since developed a habit of reciting the Stonewall Scriptures whenever he encountered an unpredictable situation, as this strange scripture often had mysterious effects.

    A wave passed through the void, causing Lu Yin and the rest to look behind them. The boat belonging to the spirit hunters gradually disappeared; a war spirit had appeared beside them.

    Their team was definitely not weak, as one of them was at least as strong as an Area Master. However, they still found it hard to defend against the war spirit since it had the strength of a Realm Master.

    In this region of the Ocean of Death, it was quitemon to encounter a powerful war spirit.

    The boat carrying the team from Shamrock Enterprises was the closest to the war spirit, and Lu Yin and the others helplessly watched on as the war spirit attacked them. Tu Bo attacked the spirit first, but his attack passed right through the war spirit before fading into nothingness.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion!¡± Kuang Wang shouted in a deep voice.

    They were all shocked and looked back again. The spirit hunters¡¯ boat was unscathed, but the other students were looking at Lu Yin¡¯s group with strange expressions. On the other side, Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s boat showed no abnormalities either.

    Lu Yin frowned. If that was an illusion, did that mean that the Stonewall Scriptures were useless as well?

    ¡°In that illusion just now, if Tu Bo had not attacked, what would have happened?¡± Xia Luo asked.

    Kuang Wang¡¯s eyes went sharp. ¡°One of us would have died.¡±

    Coco¡¯s face turned deathly white.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°A transferred attack?¡±

    Kuang Wang replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been to the Ocean of Death multiple times, and I¡¯ve encountered such a situation before. The illusion seemed to attack Tu Bo, but it was actually attacking one of us. If a person is struck by the illusion, then the spiritual force of that person will bepletely eradicated, and they will die.¡±

    Zora hugged Coco, as girls were more inclined to be ufortable in such strange scenarios. Zora then unconsciously looked far across the Ocean of Death, as she wanted to see if the end was in sight. The moment she turned her head, a pair of bloodshot eyes appeared right next to her and intently stared back at her.

    Fresh blood flowed down from the eyes and onto Zora¡¯s hand. The blood was cold, and Zora¡¯s entire body was frozen. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and she shrieked in terror.

    Lu Yin and the rest looked over, but they saw nothing.

    Coco also jumped in fright, and she reflexively hugged Zora. ¡°Sister Zora, what happened?¡±

    Everyone else also looked at Zora.

    Zora was still in a panic, and her pupils flickered as she panted raggedly. Her pale face waspletely drained of blood. ¡°I- I saw a pair of bloody eyes.¡±

    Kuang Wang replied. ¡°It was an illusion. Remember, you must defend yourself against any illusion¡¯s attack. If you freeze, you¡¯ll only find death awaiting you.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned tightly. This was troublesome. Was there no way to sense the illusions before they appeared?

    He suddenly thought of something. Star energy surged into both of his eyes as he looked at the Ocean of Death. Now, the ocean transformed into countless rune lines, and many were gradually converging behind Coco.

 Chapter 404: Crisis In The Ocean of Death

    <h4>Chapter 404: Crisis In The Ocean of Death</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly moved and aimed an attack behind Coco. His strike pierced the void and scattered upon impact with the Ocean of Death, leaving no waves whatsoever.

    Kuang Wang looked at him, shocked. ¡°Did you see an illusion?¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how to exin it, as he had not seen an illusion exactly. Rather, he had sensed the gathering power right before an illusion manifested, and that was also what he had just destroyed. ¡°I can sense the appearance of the illusions.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. No one has ever been able to sense the illusions before they appear.¡± Kuang Wang immediately denied Lu Yin¡¯s im. ¡°Perhaps you saw what the illusion wanted you to.¡±

    The others agreed with Kuang Wang¡¯s thoughts.

    Lu Yin could not exin himself. The Ocean of Death had a simr origin to the Sky tform, and his eyes had changed after he climbed it. He had long since seen the rune lines that made up the Ocean of Death, and they were definitely not an illusion. However, he had no way of exining all this to Kuang Wang.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to bother about it. In any case, don¡¯t be worried. I can take care of the illusions in advance, so just focus on sailing across the Ocean of Death.¡± Lu Yin was adamant in this statement.

    Kuang Wang seemed to want to rebut, but he was interrupted by Xia Luo. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if Lu Yin is right or not. We can¡¯t change anything. Let¡¯s listen to him, and we¡¯ll just act whenever we see an illusion.¡±

    Kuang Wang nodded, as Xia Luo hadid out a sound n. ¡°Alright. Everyone, remember: attack as soon as you see an illusion.¡±

    Zora was still panicking even while Coco was trying tofort her. Kuang Wang and Feng Shang both had uneasy expressions as well.

    Only Xia Luo remained calm, as he seemed to believe Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this ce is haunted,¡± the monkey said. He hadn¡¯t spoken for a while and could no longer endure the silence.

    Lu Yin looked around and unleashed another attack, dispersing some more converging rune lines. This time, they had appeared beside Kuang Wang. For a second, he even believed that Lu Yin was attacking him and nearly retaliated.

    Their side was alright for now, but Shamrock Enterprises and the spirit hunters¡¯ boats had just entered the region with the illusions.

    Lu Yin turned around and squinted. The spirit hunters¡¯ boat was currently enveloped by the rune lines, to the extent where he could not even see the people inside, which indicated that a disaster had struck them.

    Sure enough, the spirit hunters¡¯s boat quickly capsized.

    Now, only the Shamrock Enterprises team remained behind Lu Yin¡¯s team.

    Not muchter, the Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ students also vanished from the Ocean of Death.

    Finally, only one boat remained.

    Their boat sailed deeper into the Ocean of Death, and soon, two more days passed. Xia Luo eventually became unable to endure it any longer, and Kuang Wang reced him. Compared to Feng Shang, Kuang Wang could not disy as much of his strength in the Ocean of Death.

    At present, they had been sailing for around five days in total, and the speed of the star energy boat was neither slow nor fast. They had traversed quite an impressive distance during these five days, but the end was still not in sight.

    The water grew more turbid, and looking into the ocean gave one a feeling of being engulfed.

    Lu Yin maintained the star energy in his eyes as he vigntly observed the surroundings, taking action from time to time.

    Kuang Wang and Feng Shang were now certain that Lu Yin truly could sense the illusions as they formed. This puzzled Kuang Wang to no end, as not even Starsibyl could do this; Lu Yin¡¯s sess had toppled his understanding of the world. He nearly asked about it several times, but he managed to control himself.

    ¡°Brother Xia, you¡¯re very tired. Do you want Coco to give you a jab?¡± Coco looked at Xia Luo with concern.

    Xia Luo shook his head with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need, Coco.¡±

    Even Xia Luo, who was always calm, did not dare to allow Coco to stab him with her syringe. Coco, who still had not managed to test out her method of treatment on anyone in the Astral Combat Academy, felt rather sullen.

    Zora couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Coco is from the Windrift Hall. Even though her syringe is ratherrge, it won¡¯t pierce your body. It uses the meridians to treat injuries, which then allows the body to recover faster. It¡¯s an innate gift that¡¯s famous for its treatment in Windrift Hall.¡±

    Coco immediately nodded and then expectantly looked back at Xia Luo.

    Feng Shang could not endure it either. ¡°Actually, your exnation makes things even more horrifying.¡±

    Zora had already made her best case for Coco.

    The cute little girl fell silent, as she had not been able to treat anyone in a long, long time.

    ¡°Careful, there¡¯s something abnormal up ahead,¡± Lu Yin suddenly spoke as he stared into the distance. It was the first time such an expression had appeared on his face since the group had started their venture across the Ocean of Death.

    Feng Shang and the others looked in the direction that Lu Yin was staring in. They shockingly saw a figure walking atop the Ocean of Death, heading straight for them.

    Coco screamed in fear as she stared at the distant figure in terror, while Zora¡¯s face was also deathly white, as if she had seen a ghost. This was the Ocean of Death, but someone was actually walking on it.

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°That should be a war spirit, but it¡¯s not an ordinary one.¡±

    ¡°It might be an illusion,¡± Kuang Wangmented.

    Lu Yin could not determine which one it was, because the figure had appeared in the distance and not materialized within his range of vision. It already had a solid figure when he first saw it, and since its rune lines had already appeared before he had noticed it, he could not tell its origins.

    ¡°How do you guys think the illusions are formed? The same way as a war spirit? Are they birthed from former students who came here before?¡± Xia Luo asked as he stared at the approaching figure.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Kuang Wang replied uncertainly.

    ¡°If so, then doesn¡¯t that mean that the illusion has the battle strength of someone who once visited the trial zones, along with a spiritual force attack?¡± Xia Luo continued.

    His words caused the others to shudder, as they were currently already rather deep into the Ocean of Death. Those who could reach this point had practically all been academy leaders, which meant that their strength was at least that of a Realm Master. A Realm Master powerhouse with a spiritual force attack; they looked involuntarily at Lu Yin. That was basically describing Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword.

    Lu Yin had also thought of that possibility. ¡°Everyone, be careful. From now on, no matter what we meet, whether it¡¯s a war spirit or an illusion, treat it as if you were confronting the strength of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword.¡±

    ¡°How can we even confront that? We might as well just die!¡± Kuang Wang was rendered speechless. Aside from Lu Yin, no one else could stand up to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword.

    The figure slowly approached them, and they finally made out that it was a war spirit.

    It suddenly attacked and targeted the entire group. Its finger shook, and the void suddenly split open to form a sharp edge that sliced forward.

    Feng Shang felt numb. ¡°An innate gift of space¡ªbe careful!¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand and tore the void apart, horizontally separating the space in front of him and shing against the spatial crack of the war spirit¡¯s attack. A cross-shaped spatial crack appeared above the boat formed from star energy as an enormous pressure descended upon the upants.

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Take care of yourselves!¡± He leaped up using sh to get close to the war spirit with startling speed. He then raised a hand and mmed it out.

    This war spirit actually had the rare innate gift of space. Although its exact nature was still unknown, any innate gift that involved space was bound to be annoying, like Darkvoid¡¯s spatial explosions that had even defeated Michelle¡¯s innate gift of the red lotus. Lu Yin had to hurry and destroy this war spirit.

    The war spirit had no thoughts, nor did it know what retreat was. As it watched Lu Yin attack, its hands waved again, and the manyyers of the void in front of it ruptured to form a mountain range-like forcefield. Lu Yin twisted his body to evade it before appearing behind the war spirit with sh. He then pressed down with an open palm.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a sense of crisis ovee him, and he quickly used the Secret Sidestep to change his body¡¯s trajectory. A long spear pierced through the void, striking at where he had just been. Another war spirit appeared close behind him.

    Lu Yin had unleashed his domain and Cosmic Art together. Now that he could enhance his vision, he no longer needed to use the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye to use the Secret Sidestep, which was extremely fortunate. Otherwise, he would have been struck by that spear.

    There are actually two war spirits- No. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze slid past the two war spirits, and he looked back at Feng Shang and the rest. War spirits had appeared inside the boat as well. Coco and Zora had already died, though there were no superficial injuries on their bodies. They had died simrly to those people back in the centipede''s body. It was a death resulting from the extinguishing of one¡¯s spiritual force. These figures were war spirits, but also illusions.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and used the Secret Sidestep to approach the two war spirits closest to him. The void before him peeled back again,yer byyer. The innate gift of space was difficult to deal with. However, it was not enough to stop Lu Yin when he used the Secret Sidestep. The spear tip stabbed out at him once again, but this time, Lu Yin did not dodge the attack. As long as he wasn¡¯t caught off guard, these two war spirits were not enough to threaten him.

    Lu Yin quickly took care of the two war spirits. After all, they were just Limiteers, and Limiteers could no longer be Lu Yin¡¯s opponents.

    Feng Shang and Xia Luo each faced a war spirit, and Feng Shang was performing well. Although Xia Luo was evidently not as strong as the rest of them, he could still barely hold out. Meanwhile, Kuang Wang was trying his best to maintain control of the boat.

    After Lu Yin dealt with the two war spirits in front of him, the battle on the boat no longer held any suspense. The other war spirits were simrly eliminated in short order by Lu Yin.

    Kuang Wang rxed. ¡°Four appeared in an instant, and they each had the strength of Realm Masters. That¡¯s just too ruthless.¡±

    On the boat, Zora and Coco¡¯s bodies had already vanished. They would appear at the coast whenever they reentered the Dao of Heaven.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. We shouldn¡¯t be too far from the other side,¡± Xia Luo sighed regretfully.

    ¡°The closer we get, the greater the danger. I believe that that won¡¯t be the greatest crisis and that there will be more up ahead,¡± Kuang Wang replied.

    Lu Yin agreed. If the difficulty in crossing the ocean was just this degree, then it would not have been enough to prevent the various monsters of the Astral Combat Academy from crossing over the years. For the Ocean of Death to have be a legend, the danger could not be limited to just these current war spirits, there had to be stronger ones up ahead.

    On the other side of the ocean, Wu Da hurriedly recorded what had transpired on the Ocean of Death¡ªnot only his own experience, but Lu Yin¡¯s and the others as well.

    Before the advent of the Wu Da¡¯s tabloid, anything that involved crossing the Ocean of Death had always been very mysterious, and news of it had only ever been shared through word of mouth between friends. But now, his tabloid would remove the veil covering the Ocean of Death¡¯s secrets.

    ¡°Not enough, it¡¯s still not enough! We know nothing about what¡¯s in the deeper regions. This info won¡¯t be enough to attract the notice of the stronger students.¡± Wu Da was distressed.

    While he was standing on the coast of the Ocean of Death, he suddenly noticed Coco and Zora. His eyes lit up, and he immediately ran over to them. ¡°Hello, fellow students. I¡¯m Wu Da.¡±

    The two girls had endured the headaches caused by their deaths and forcibly reentered the Dao of Heaven. They had appeared at the coastline, just like Kuang Wang had said.

    Coco looked at Wu Da curiously.

    Zora blocked him from approaching Coco. ¡°You¡¯re the founder of the tabloid, Wu Da. We¡¯ve heard of you before. What do you want?¡±

    Wu Da kneaded his hands in embarrassment. ¡°That¡­ How far did you two make it across the Ocean of Death before you died?¡± After he spoke, he saw Zora¡¯s face sour, and Coco revealed an uneasy expression. He instantly knew that he had misspoken. He immediately changed his tune. ¡°No, I wanted to ask the two of you how far you reached and what you saw. Please rest assured, I won¡¯t take your information for free. If you need anything in the future, you can alwayse look for me.¡±

    Zora calmly replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we were taken along by our academy¡¯s student leader. Unless he agrees, we cannot divulge anything that happened there.¡±

    Wu Da licked his lips. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Lu Yin, right? I¡¯m very familiar with him. Rest assured, he definitely won¡¯t have any objections towards you talking to me.¡±

    Zora did not believe him.

    Wu Da continued, saying, ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s the strongest student in the Astral Combat Academy, and he can ruin my life if I lie to you. Tell me, and in future, the two of you will be Wu Da¡¯s younger sisters¡ªNo, elder sisters!¡±

    Zora frowned; this person was really thick-skinned.

 Chapter 405: Averyâ€™s Test

    <h4>Chapter 405: Avery¡¯s Test</h4>

    Coco softly said, ¡°Sister Zora, it doesn¡¯t sound like he¡¯s lying. Should we tell him about the illusions?¡±

    ¡°Illusions? What illusions?¡± Wu Da¡¯s ears perked up, and his eyes gleamed. His sense of hearing was extremely sensitive.

    Coco jumped in fright and immediately stopped speaking.

    Zora looked at Wu Da in an unkind manner. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know about you. You¡¯ve already be ustomed to being chased every day. You¡¯re probably not afraid of anyone in the Astral Combat Academy, which just makes you a pain in the neck. We have noments, so you can ask Lu Yin himself if you wish to know more.¡±

    Wu Da¡¯s face soured. ¡°Come on, sister. I can guarantee that whatever you tell me won¡¯t lead back to you.¡±

    Zora no longer bothered with him after that.

    Wu Da¡¯s pleas fell on deaf ears, and his weedling went on for too long because a dozen students suddenly appeared, all intent on killing him. In the end, he could only run away faster than a rabbit.

    Wu Da was by no means alone. Everyone else was also curious about what Lu Yin and the rest had encountered. However, Zora and Coco only stood at the shore, silently staring into the ocean without speaking.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Michelle, Darkvoid, Meng Yue, and the other students from Astral-10 to arrive at the shore as well. They were all awaiting the results of Lu Yin¡¯s attempt to cross the Ocean of Death.

    Astral-10¡¯s current reputation waspletely different from when the students had first entered the Astral Combat Academy. Now, there was no one who dared to act against them. Even if Lu Yin graduated in the near future, Xia Luo and the rest still were not people who should be trifled with.

    Far across the Ocean of Death, Kuang Wang used his star energy to form a boat that wobbled on the surface. The water was even more murky here, and a dark yellow color covered the ocean surface.

    ¡°The Ocean of Death¡¯s rate of dissolving star energy is increasing,¡± Kuang Wang spoke solemnly.

    Feng Shang frowned. ¡°How long can youst?¡±

    ¡°At this rate, two days tops. If it gets any worse, then maybe not even one.¡±

    ¡°That means that, not counting Lu Yin, we have another three days or so left. Brother Lu, how long can youst?¡± Xia Luo asked as he turned towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin muttered, ¡°I¡±m not sure. The rate of dissolving might still increase. Conservatively, maybe a day.¡±

    ¡°Four days? Our group has spent around ten days sailing across this Ocean of Death so far, and it would be frustrating if we don¡¯t reach the other side even after all this,¡± Feng Shangined in frustration.

    A thought shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, but it quickly passed before he could fully grasp it. He was rather annoyed¡ªhe was sure that that thought was useful, but for some reason, he could not recall it.

    Suddenly, the Ocean of Death quivered, which left them at a loss.

    Lu Yin scanned his surroundings, and then finally looked towards the bottom of the ocean. His face drastically changed. ¡°Careful, something¡¯sing up from the bottom!¡±

    ¡°Impossible! Things can live at the bottom?¡± Kuang Wang was startled, as he had never heard of such a thing before.

    No one could answer him, as not even Lu Yin could tell what would emerge from the bottom of the ocean.

    The trembling intensified, and a momentter, a jet of water shot into the sky, forming a pir beside the small boat. It grazed past Kuang Wang¡¯s shoulder, which burst open, and then fell back into the ocean again.

    They were all stunned; there had been nothing there whatsoever!

    Xia Luo glimpsed a smear of red in the water, and as he turned to look at Kuang Wang, his face changed. ¡°You¡¯re injured.¡±

    Kuang Wang was shocked as well. He touched his face and was overwhelmed by what he had just witnessed. The pir of water had only lightly touched his face, but just that had been enough to injure him. That seemingly non-threatening pir of water had actually been that powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed, and he looked towards the bottom of the ocean again. He used his star energy to adjust the boat¡¯s position as another soaring water pir rose into the sky, only to also ssh apart, oddly reminiscent of a fountain.

    ¡°Senior Kuang Wang, speed up and let¡¯s leave!¡± Lu Yin ordered sternly.

    Kuang Wang did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately increased the boat¡¯s speed as the soaring pirs of water emerged from behind and chased after them.

    After travelling for half a day, the strange water pirs finally vanished.

    Kuang Wang panted heavily, and shook his hands. ¡°No more. Feng Shang, take over!¡±

    Feng Shang had no choice but to form a boat with his star energy and take over for Kuang Wang. Their rapid flight from the pirs of water had taken a heavy toll on Kuang Wang.

    Lu Yin had an ugly expression, as it had turned out that the Ocean of Death could actually attack autonomously, which was just too devious. He involuntarily turned around, which let him view something inconceivable and even horrifying; he saw a pair of eyes in the Ocean of Death, which were undoubtedly human eyes. There were people in the Ocean of Death.

    Lu Yin immediately raised his hand and unleashed a Spacerender Palm at the Ocean of Death, which caused a giant whirlpool to appear on the surface.

    The pair of eyes sank downwards and vanished from sight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart raced as a chill ran down his spine. He had just seen a human, but that was impossible, as no human could possibly survive inside the Ocean of Death. It should actually be a war spirit, just one that was iparably powerful and even had a sixth sense for danger. That ability must be an innate gift, or else the war spirit would not have been able to avoid his attack.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what happened?¡± Xia Luo and the others were bewildered as they turned to look at him, and then back at where he had struck the Ocean of Death.

    Lu Yin spoke in a low tone. ¡°Those water pirs were not an attack from the Ocean of Death, but rather from a war spirit.¡±

    ¡°A war spirit?¡± Kuang Wang was rmed. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! A war spirit wouldn¡¯t let us go after meeting us, and it wouldn¡¯t run from an attack either.¡±

    Xia Luo replied, ¡°Not necessarily. If the war spirit was birthed from someone with a strange innate gift, then it could actually use that to hide.¡±

    ¡°No wonder I keep feeling chilly; so it¡¯s actually the attacks from the war spirit. If it¡¯s in this location, the person who birthed it must have been terribly strong. Could it have been one of the Ten Arbiters?¡± Feng Shang guessed.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. If it was a war spirit from the Ten Arbiters, then it would have never remained hidden. Instead, it would have immediately moved to take us all out.¡±

    ¡°Brother Feng, please stop scaring us. The Ten Arbiters may have crossed the Ocean of Death, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that they formed war spirits. What can we do if we really run into one of them?¡± Kuang Wang was irritated.

    Those eyes had hidden themselves too deeply, and Lu Yin would never have seen them if not for his eyes being changed after he ascended the Sky tform. Even so, because the eyes were located too deep in the water, he had not been able to clearly see how many rune lines there were. Even though he couldn¡¯t determine the figure¡¯s strength, it was definitely not a war spirit of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Astral-10¡¯s Rain Observatory¡¯s Rain List. With his abilities at that time, he had barely been able to leave his name on the list. The Astral Combat Academy had once been extremely glorious, or rather, Astral-10 had once been iparably splendid. However, leaving one¡¯s name on the Rain List only represented their degree of star energy control and not their actual power level. However, one¡¯s control of star energy was in and of itself a portion of one¡¯s strength. Lu Yin estimated that the person at the top of the Rain List might not have been inferior even to the younger Ten Arbiters.

    He still recalled that person¡¯s name¡ªShao Chen.

    If just Astral-10¡¯s Rain List contained so many powerhouses, then what about the ten great academiesbined? There must have been many powerhouses who had attended those ces, and some extremely powerful beings must have been among that elite group, and any war spirits formed from those people would be absolutely dominant.

    Although the Ten Arbiters were rumored to be products of the great changes in the universe, the recent universe still had not birthed a member of the younger generation who could rival the Ten Arbiters. Rumors were rumors, and who knew if there had been simrly freakish geniuses in previous eras. Some people were extremely strong as Limiteers, but the power gap between them and their peers would drop after they became Explorers.

    Throughout the countless years of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s history, it wasn¡¯t necessarily the case that none of their students had been able to rival the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength in the Limiteer realm.

    That pair of eyes had caused a shadow to hang over everyone¡¯s hearts, and since Kuang Wang¡¯s star energy had been exhausted, it meant that they had one less day that they could travel.

    However, whaty ahead of them was still the unknown vastness of the Ocean of Death.

    Lu Yin was d that he had brought these people along. Else, even if his star energy was able to hold out, he would end up bing depressed.

    Another day passed, but their journey was peaceful this time. The Ocean of Death¡¯s star energy dissolving rate increased yet again, and Feng Shang was only able tost for half a day.

    ¡°This sort of aimless, endless journey is the worst,¡± Kuang Wangmented with frustration as hey in the small boat.

    ¡°Be happy; there¡¯ve been many students who wish to even make it this far. It¡¯s possible that we¡¯ll see the ind on the other side at any moment,¡± Feng Shang replied.

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. ¡°Senior Feng, your surname is Feng, so what rtionship do you have with the Tempest Flowzone?¡±

    Feng Shang replied, ¡°I¡¯m the third son of the Feng family.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thest name Feng is rather umon. I met someone at the border warfront named Feng Tao.¡±

    Feng Shang smiled. ¡°He¡¯s my younger brother, and he actually told me that you two met. He didn¡¯t know how high the skies were back then and even wanted to challenge you and Silver, haha!¡±

    Lu Yinughed. Although he had not spent much time at the border warfront, he had formed a rather deep impression of the ce. The strange creatures, the iron blooded soldiers, and the emotionless battlefield were all unforgettable. It was a ce where men should be.

    ¡°Right, Brother Lu, you seem to be especially short on money, right?¡± Kuang Wang asked. He had interacted with Lu Yin quite a bit over thest few days, and they had be more familiar with each other. Thus, he no longer had any qualms about asking this.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m used to it. Cultivation is rted to one¡¯s personal talent as well as obtaining various resources. We can¡¯t achieve anything without money.¡±

    Kuang Wang¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Actually, you could head to the Beast Tamers Flowzone and capture some astral beasts there. There¡¯s always someone willing to buy whatever you catch.¡±

    ¡°Ignore him. A lot of people capture astral beasts every year in the Beast Tamers Flowzone, and they can¡¯t even earn that much. Powers like the Divine Grade Hall, First Grade Hall, and Second Grade Hall all have their specialized hunting teams, so there won¡¯t be much room for outsiders to join in.¡± Feng Shang mercilessly exposed Kuang Wang¡¯s intentions.

    Kuang Wang became rather unhappy. ¡°Is Brother Lu average? With his abilities, he would be able to catch a rare astral beast every few minutes, and selling any one of those would fetch him a fortune.¡±

    Feng Shang smiled grimly. ¡°You yourself just stated that such beasts are rare. It¡¯s not just a matter of whether one can capture such beasts, but also whether one can even find them.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t curse others just because your life is unlucky. Is there any meaning inpeting in the ported battles all day and bullying those sprouts?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense! I¡¯m there to increase my battle experience. I¡¯ve died multiple times, and I¡¯ve even met an expert from the Top 100 Rankings before.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your own efforts.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Right, Brother Lu, have you ever run into anyone from the Top 100 Rankings in the ported battles?¡± Feng Shang suddenly asked Lu Yin. Kuang Wang and Xia Luo were very curious as well.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Avery.¡±

    ¡°Avery?¡± Kuang Wang and Feng Shang cried out as they shot sympathetic looks at Lu Yin. ¡°You must have suffered a tragic defeat and beenpletely suppressed.¡±

    Xia Luo softly said, ¡°Avery, fourth in the Top 100 Rankings. He has an extremely sturdy defense, and he calls himself the Second War King. He¡¯s from the Soulseal Flowzone¡¯s Dire Barbarian n and has an innate gift of sound.¡± At that moment, he looked at Lu Yin with interest. ¡°I¡¯m curious, did he attack you with a sound technique?¡±

    Feng Shang and Kuang Wang stared at Lu Yin too, as they were also very curious about his answer.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Yes.¡±

    The trio stared at Lu Yin in amazement.

    ¡°Brother Lu, your power must have reached a certain level if you were recognized by Avery!¡± Feng Shang eximed.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Lu Yin was lost.

    Feng Shang exined, ¡°Avery has a unique way of confronting his opponents. He first allows them to attack him, and he¡¯ll only respond with his sound attack if he recognizes your strength. If the opponent¡¯s power is not to his satisfaction, then he¡¯ll use his physical strength to crush them. Many in the universe call it Avery¡¯s Test.¡±

    [1] The "Tempest" in "Tempest Flowzone" is made up of 2 characters, and the second one is very simr to the "Feng" in Feng Shang''s name.

 Chapter 406: Finger

    <h4>Chapter 406: Finger</h4>

    ¡°In general, Avery doesn¡¯t reject challengers, and many wish to be recognized by him. However, it¡¯s difficult to achieve even that. Generally speaking, only other experts who are already on the Top 100 Rankings can meet Avery¡¯s requirements. Brother Lu, it seems that your power has already reached that level,¡± Xia Luo said in a congrattory tone.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Avery¡¯s really arrogant.¡±

    ¡°He has the qualifications to be,¡± Feng Shangmented.

    Kuang Wang rolled his eyes, as it was irritating just to hear his name.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you must teach this Avery a lesson some time. There¡¯s even this Avery¡¯s Test! He clearly thinks that he¡¯s something else. You have to beat him, and after we trash him, let¡¯s create our own criteria. We¡¯ll call it the Harem Test!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of a problem. ¡°Isn¡¯t Soulseal Flowzone where the Souldream Tribe is? They use musical battle techniques, which sounds rather simr to the Dire Barbarian n.¡±

    ¡°The Dire Barbarian n and the Souldream Tribe have a feud that¡¯ssted for generations. Their hatred for each other is deeper than anyone else¡¯s,¡± Xia Luo said.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing about this, and he was rather curious to learn more.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the Dire Barbarian n has a tradition of kidnapping beauties from the Souldream Tribe and then marrying them, and whoever seeds in doing this is considered to be a true warrior. The Souldream Tribe has their own tradition as well, which is to show no mercy to anyone they meet who¡¯s from the Dire Barbarian n. Killing them is considered as making a contribution to the tribe, which has about the same significant as the Dire Barbarian n members bing warriors. The famous massacres between the two ns havested for countless years,¡± Feng Shang exined.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Lu Yinughed.

    ¡°The Dire Barbarian n is arrogant, and that Avery¡¯s basically their poster boy,¡± Feng Shang continued.

    Kuang Wang rolled his eyes when he kept hearing his name being mentioned. ¡°Focus on controlling the boat, and don¡¯t let it wobble so much.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± Lu Yin stood up and loosened his arms. ¡°Get ready for a tough battle.¡±

    Feng Shang and the rest felt like his words were strange since they hadn¡¯t sensed anything.

    Lu Yin squinted and looked ahead. In his eyes, the entire Ocean of Death was surging wildly, and countless lines of runes were converging right in front of them. The runes gradually coalesced into humanoid figures. These were war spirits with the ability to attack one¡¯s spiritual force.

    At that moment, Feng Shang and the rest also saw them, and their faces turned ugly.

    ¡°One, two, three¡­ seven, nine,¡± Kuang Wang sluggishly counted them. ¡°Nine war spirits, and each one should be at least as strong as a Realm Master. This is gonna be tough.¡±

    Feng Shang smiled bitterly. ¡°This is probably as far as we go.¡±

    Xia Luo was even more serious than the two of them, as his face had also changed color.

    Lu Yin took a few steps to move in front of the others. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to draw some away, but you guys are going to have to take care of yourselves.¡± He then used sh and disappeared. Five-lined battle force appeared around his body and he started using his domain and Cosmic Art. He mmed a palm out towards the nine war spirits in front of him. The force of the attack was earth-shattering, and he tried to get all nine of the spirits within the scope of his attack.

    Given his power level, even if nine Realm Masters joined forces against him, he should still be able to handle their joint efforts all by himself.

    Just as Lu Yin intended, the nine war spirits all focused on him, ignoring Feng Shang and the other. However, other war spirits were already appearing around the boat.

    Kuang Wang said, ¡°Impossible! How can there be so many war spirits so far out in the Ocean of Death? Some of these have to be illusions.¡±

    Feng Shang shouted, ¡°Real or illusion, who cares? Just start fighting!¡±

    In an instant, a heated battle broke out in the middle of the Ocean of Death.

    During the Astral Combat Tournament, Lu Yin had already been able to crush a Realm Master, and his power had only reached even more terrifying heights since. One war spirit was immediately dispersed by his palm, but each war spirit was birthed from someone who had been able to enter these regions of the Ocean of Death, which meant that each one of them had their own unique abilities. They unleashed all sorts of innate gifts and battle techniques, as these war spirits represented the sessive generations of freakish geniuses. Although their absolute power level could not match those on the Top 100 Rankings, their methods did notck in variety, and even Lu Yin needed some time to eliminate them all.

    There were even Lockbreakers among the nine war spirits, and two at that. They used lockbreaking methods to dissolve Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks, and one Lockbreaker war spirit even gave Lu Yin a sense of familiarity. Surprisingly, its battle style felt exactly like Dao Bo¡¯s. Surely it can¡¯t be from Dao Bo¡­

    The war spirit unleashed a domain that shed with Lu Yin¡¯s. His battle force also collided with another one¡¯s, and the Ocean of Death was sted apart.

    Behind Lu Yin, Feng Shang¡¯s trio was experiencing an uphill battle; they had been surrounded by seven war spirits. The first to fall was Kuang Wang. He had released his azure dragon, but it was quickly dispatched by a war spirit with four-lined battle force. His emperor butterfly topgrass had then been torn apart by another war spirit, leading to the group¡¯s first death.

    Feng Shang did not fare much better. His Cyclone Strike quickly eliminated one war spirit, but in turn, he was heavily injured by another.

    Inparison, Xia Luo seemed to be taking care of himself the best. His lockbreaking methods were able to neutralize the war spirits¡¯ attacks, but he wouldn¡¯t be able tost for long either.

    Lu Yin defeated three war spirits consecutively, but from behind him, a ferocious attack surged toe down upon him. On one side, there was a war spirit wielding a sword that tore through the void, and on the other, there was a strange chilly breeze atop the Ocean of Death, which was trying to freeze him in ce.

    Although there were many attacks, not a single one of them was able to ovee Lu Yin¡¯s defenses. The war spirits were taken out one by one, and as he vanquished the final one, Xia Luo took a war spirit down with him.

    Sixteen war spirits had attacked them, and while eight had been fake, the other eight had been real.

    No one aside from Lu Yin could survive a joint attack from eight Realm Master-level powerhouses.

    As Lu Yin floated a meter above the Ocean of Death, he looked up; he could not remain hovering there any further. A boat of star energy formed beneath him, and he descended to stand on it.

    In the end, only he was left. The Ocean of Death really wasn¡¯t easy to cross.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure if that would be the most difficult hurdle of the journey, but he had a feeling that it wouldn¡¯t. From the many generations of students that had attended the Astral Combat Academy, there must have been a time when the ten Realm Masters had teamed up to cross the Ocean of Death, but even they had been defeated. This line of reasoning proved that the Ocean of Death was dangerous enough to extinguish thebined strength of ten Realm Masters.

    Thebined strength of ten Realm Masters from the Astral Combat Academy might even be enough topete against that of an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. However, the danger of that previous encounter had not yet reached that level.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit, and a war spirit slowly appeared before him.

    Lu Yin trembled, and he suddenly grew very wary as he stared at it. This war spirit was extremely powerful.

    The spirit approached Lu Yin step by step while carrying an umbre formed from star energy in its hand. It leisurely walked atop the Ocean of Death in this manner, stepping out from the dark yellow fog. It then lowered the umbre when it was about a hundred meters away from Lu Yin and pointed the tip at Lu Yin. One after another, strange bugs shot out from the umbre towards Lu Yin.

    The bugs looked like centipedes that were erged by more than a hundredfold. They were frightening and malevolent, and even the void that they traveled through was ripped apart.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb, and he instinctively waved his hand, unleashing a powerful wind that pushed the approaching bugs aside. He then raised his head as a giant umbre suddenly appeared above him, enveloping the entire area. On the other side of the umbre, there was a submerged bug over a kilometer long, and there was actually five-lined battle force emanating from it.

    Whoosh!

    The giant worm charged at Lu Yin as theyers of its body rotated grotesquely. It was trying to draw Lu Yin and the surrounding void into its maw.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt light-headed. Poison! He did not remain careless and avoided the attack with sh before mming a single palm against the worm¡¯s body that contained a Thirty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm. His attack split the worm into two; not even the five-lined battle force surrounding its body could withstand this strike.

    The war spirit with the umbre ferociously charged at Lu Yin and struck out with both hands. The star energy covering its palms changed in a strange manner, as if it had beenpressed.

    Lu Yin raised an elbow to forcefully block it, and the void transformed into waves that swept out from the collision point. Lu Yin only felt his arm hurt. What a powerful palm strength! And that was especially so for the suppressive force that had reduced his star energy to the Twenty Stacks level. The person who had birthed this war spirit must have been one of the strongest Realm Masters in the history of the Astral Combat Academy. Of the current batch, perhaps only Starsibyl couldpare to this spirit.

    This ferocious attack had also targeted Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, but it was a pity that such attacks were useless against him.

    A submerged bug approached Lu Yin once again, covering both the war spirit and Lu Yin with a strong poisonous gas that caused Lu Yin to feel dizzy.

    He did not hesitate and stretched both of his hands out: one for the war spirit and the other for the bug.

    The two palms caused both the worm and the war spirit topletely copse, and they turned into lines of runes that then dissipated into the Ocean of Death.

    It was truly difficult to find someone in the Astral Combat Academy who could match Lu Yin, even if one sifted through the long gone previous generations.

    It was a pity that Feng Shang and the others had died, or they might have actually been able to identify who had birthed that war spirit. It had some very distinct characteristics such as its umbre, worms, and five-lined battle force.

    Just as Lu Yin was considering taking a rest, the entire Ocean of Death surged. This time, it wasn¡¯t just one region that started boiling, but rather the entire ocean.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned deathly white, and he immediately leaped up into the sky. He endured the pressure and gazed into the distance, both in front and behind him. The entire Ocean of Death was ring up, and endless lines of runes flew up into the sky before converging.

    Lu Yinnded back in the star energy boat. He gritted his teeth as he looked at this foreboding scene. How had this happened? Almost the entirety of the Ocean of Death¡¯s rune lines were attempting to force him out. Given the intensity of this strength, how had anyone ever made it through to the end? How had that one Arbiter done it?

    Just like back at the Sky tform, Lu Yin once again sensed that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strengthy beyond their published records; their true strength still exceeded his scope of understanding.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why do I feel like you¡¯re afraid? Is something terrifying about to leap out?¡± The monkey started to panic.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. The whole Ocean of Death was churning, and even the students back on the coast stared at the Ocean of Death in fear as it had actually started surging.

    But the bystanders could not see the even more terrifying scene that Lu Yin was witnessing. From the bottom of the ocean, endless rune lines poured out, filling up the entire area. All of these rune lines represented power, and Lu Yin was being rejected by the entirety of the Ocean of Death at this moment.

    It¡¯s unstoppable, definitely unstoppable, Lu Yin continuously repeated in his heart. It was impossible to stop the strength of this Ocean of Death, or rather, the strength of the Dao of Heaven.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what¡¯s going on? I feel like I can¡¯t breathe!¡± On Lu Yin¡¯s right arm, the monkey¡¯s tattoo shouted with rm.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and then opened them wide once again as he sat down cross-legged. Since he could not block this strength, then he would gamble! ¡°To be good atmunicating, the Dao of Heaven refuses. To jump and lie in the heavens, the Dao of Heaven epts. To jump and lie in the horizon, to condense gas, to swallow rivers¡­¡±

    ¡°Why the hell are you chanting right now? Let¡¯s escape!¡± the monkey shouted desperately, but Lu Yin simply ignored him. From the start, he had never been able topletely recite the Stonewall Scriptures all the way through, and even now, he could only recite them bit by bit. The amount that he could recite at once had gradually increased, but there was always a limit. Once he passed that limit, he would faint.

    Since he was facing the Ocean of Death¡¯s full strength right now, he decided to use the limits of the Stonewall Scriptures to withstand it. The Ocean of Death possessed a destructive, corrosive power towards spiritual force, while the Stonewall Scriptures coincidentally negated such forces. All that he could do now was see if the Stonewall Scriptures¡¯ limit could ovee the Ocean of Death¡¯s strength.

    All around the boat, the water of the Ocean of Death started rising up, filling the entire space, drop by drop.

    Gradually, the runes lines in the sky formed an attack. This attack was actually a single finger. This finger engraved itself into Lu Yin¡¯s memory the moment it appeared. It was something that he would never forget and would never be able to break away from, but was also strangely unable to remember¡ªa singr finger.

    [1] Just a reminder, "arrogant" is pronounced the same as Kuang Wang''s name.

 Chapter 407: The Island At The End

    <h4>Chapter 407: The Ind At The End</h4>

    Every time Lu Yin fainted, this finger would appear in his mind to crush the heavens. It wanted topletely pulverize him, and he had seen it many times before. Not once had he been able to suppress his boundless anger at this finger.

    Now, the illusion of the Ocean of Death had prated Lu Yin¡¯s inner being, dredging up this finger, and for the first time ever, manifesting it outside of the realms of his mind.

    When the jade-green finger appeared above the skies of the Ocean of Death, the Dao of Heaven trembled, and all nine trial zones started vibrating as one. It was as if something iparably terrifying was approaching.

    All the headmasters of the Astral Combat Academy branches opened their eyes simultaneously as a strange feeling sprouted in their hearts. Heaven itself was copsing.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had almost reached his limits in terms of reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and was about to faint. But before he did, he opened his eyes, and they narrowed. This jade finger felt too familiar. He stared at it, watching it press down. The heavens rumbled, and Lu Yin saw a scene even deeper than the void. In fact, it was a scene even deeper than a ckhole. What was that? Also, he could sense something different in the nature of the finger that was pressing down towards him.

    He could not suppress his anger as he stared at that finger, but he continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. For some reason, he should have already reached his limit, but he somehow continued reciting. Even more strangely, Lu Yin did not feel like he was close to fainting. Reciting the Stonewall Scriptures allowed him to clearly visualize the many changes and details going on, and through this, he was able to observe the variations, nature, and power of this finger that was crushing the heavens; it was a battle technique.

    This singr finger had transcended the heavens and crushed the distant ages.

    The Ocean of Death was barely able to manifest this finger even with its boundless rune lines, but even this iplete form couldn¡¯t be withstood by the Dao of Heaven. All of the students were ejected from the Dao. Actually, it wasn¡¯t only the Dao of Heaven. All of the students in every single one of the Nine Trialzones died and were pushed out. It was as if no living thing could survive beneath this finger.

    It was a finger that reached the heavens and contained an unimaginable strength. Its only target was Lu Yin, and he was able to clearly observe it because of the Stonewall Scriptures. At this moment, he felt like he could even learn this battle technique.

    The finger in the sky above the Ocean of Death crushed down. A moment passed, but it felt like a long time had passed even as the Dao of Heaven continued trembling. The instance before the finger crashed into Lu Yin, it dissipated as the Ocean of Death was unable to support it any longer. Even if it had only been a phantom image, the entirety of the Dao of Heaven¡¯s runes could not support the image. It was a supreme level of strength.

    The moment right the finger vanished, Lu Yinpletely fainted. But right before he lost consciousness, he released the Ghost Monkey.

    The abnormal changes in the Nine Trialzones had captured the attention of the entire Astral Combat Academy. The nine headmasters moved out together to get a grasp of the situation, as the trial zones were vital resources of the Astral Combat Academy. Still, they were destined to be unable to make sense of the matter.

    In an unknown ce, at an unknown time, possibly in the future or in the past, or even possibly deeper in the long river of history, a pair of elegant eyes opened. ¡°So it¡¯s from that area of the universe.¡±

    No one knew the reason behind the changes in the Dao of Heaven, but some had guessed it was rted to Lu Yin. However, everyone from Astral-10 sang the same tune: Lu Yin had also been pushed out from the Dao of Heaven, and his fate was unknown.

    Just like before, a dark yellow fog covered the Ocean of Death¡¯s surface. Lu Yin was lying in his boat, still unconscious. The monkey nkly sat there, doing his best to keep the boat together.

    His strength, at best, could match up to a Realm Master, which meant that he was at Kuang Wang¡¯s level, who could not hold out for long in this location. Fortunately, the current boat was formed from Lu Yin¡¯s star energy, or else it would have broken down a long time ago. Even so, the monkey estimated that he would not be able to endure for more than a few days.

    ¡°What kind of broken ce is this? There¡¯s not a single shadow here. Monkeys aren¡¯t meant to row boats.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that any war spirits will show up, or else I¡¯m dead.¡±

    ¡°That thing just now was a finger, right? That was too terrifying. How did Seventh Bro¡ªno, this bastard, withstand it? What kind of curse was he reciting?¡±

    ¡°It looks like this bastard has a bunch of secrets, and that¡¯s why he¡¯s always screening me off. I¡¯ve told him this so many times, that we are one body and that we can¡¯t be separated, but he still insists on screening me. What kind of secret could he possibly have? Can it actually be bigger than Progenitor Wushang''s hide?¡±

    ¡°Eh, it looks like there¡¯s a ghost here!¡±

    ¡­

    The monkey just continued chattering nonstop as he guided the boat across the water. For the entire time that Lu Yin was unconscious, he continued to incessantly bber on in the same fashion, and he even constantly repeated himself. Just like that, he turned the lifeless Ocean of Death into a tea party of his own.

    The boat was visibly thinning, and the monkey desperately wailed, ¡°Seventh Bro, why haven¡¯t you woken up yet? I can¡¯t hold on for much longer!¡±

    ¡°No! Men can¡¯t say that they can¡¯t endure things! Speaking of which, I wonder how little sister Feng Jiu¡¯s doing. She must be very lonely¡ªbah, she can¡¯t be lonelier than me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this Ocean of Death actually made of? Is it drinkable? I¡¯m actually getting quite thirsty.¡±

    ¡­

    After some time, Lu Yin felt like his brain was about to explode. He awakened, but he felt very dizzy. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the Ghost Monkey in front of him.

    Lu Yin frowned and used a firm hand to smack the monkey.

    The monkey crashed against the boat with a bang and scolded Lu Yin, ¡°Bastard, are you crazy? Why¡¯d you hit me?¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his forehead. ¡°Ever since I let you out, you haven¡¯t stopped spouting crap, and now, you¡¯ve given me a headache.¡±

    The monkey felt wronged. ¡°How can you me me? Look at where we are! This ce is lifeless, and we still can¡¯t see the end. It¡¯s so terrifying, and it even feels haunted. A war spirit even appeared earlier to scare me.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°A tomb raider like yourself is afraid of ghosts? Speaking of, aren¡¯t you a ghost yourself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a mighty monkey, not a ghost! Also, I¡¯m not a tomb raider, but an archaeologist and a researcher. A researcher!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin had noeback for that. ¡°Alright, alright, I got it. A researcher.¡± He then checked the small boat and found that only a thinyer remained. In a few hours, the boat would have disappeared, and the monkey would have been in a difficult situation.

    Lu Yin acted and quickly restored the boat to make it sturdier. He then withdrew the monkey and looked into the distance. ¡°I wonder how far we are until we reach the end of this.¡±

    With that, he started guiding the boat further into the ocean.

    The boat forged across the Ocean of Death as Lu Yin¡¯s mind reyed the image of that phantom finger and the multitude of changes that he had observed. If not for the Stonewall Scriptures, he definitely would not have been able to see those changes. Also, if not for that finger, the Stonewall Scriptures would have made him forcibly pass out much earlier. Unexpectedly, the two forces had mutually countered each other.

    Lu Yin had always felt that the Stonewall Scriptures were unfathomable and that there was a great history behind it. That finger had further confirmed his suspicions, as that finger had transcended the void.

    Although he could not distinguish how strong an old freak with a power level in the hundreds of thousands truly was, he had a feeling that not even they had set foot in the realm that that finger came from.

    Whether it was in his dreams or at the Stargazing Deck, although he had seen that finger approaching him with the intent of crushing him, he had never seen it clearly. This time, however, he had clearly seen it, and he could tell that the finger definitely belonged to a woman and that it was a terrifying battle technique.

    Since it was a battle technique, that meant that he could learn it. Just that thought made Lu Yin light up. He had observed the various changes of that finger and knew that it could transcend the heavens. Such a battle technique easily surpassed any of thebat methods he currently possessed. At present, his Cosmic Palm could not keep up with his strength, the Skybeast w¡¯s power was too insufficient, and the Daynight Punch was not suited for him. His attack style had be overly simple, as he was currently only relying on the Oveying Stacks. Once he faced a strong opponent who could defend themselves against that attack, he would be at a severe disadvantage.

    There were still Limiteers who could rival him, and they might even be able to withstand Thirty Stacks, which meant that he stillcked a trump card.

    That finger had given Lu Yin some hope. He was certain that it was stronger than any other battle technique. This strange, irrefutable belief stemmed from his intuition.

    He had to learn it!

    However, it was useless, as just looking at that finger had caused him to faint, and a dream was not something that he could manipte.There was no way that he would be able to learn the variations of that finger in his dream.

    He thought about it deeply, but in the end, he could onlye up with one solution: the Stargazing Deck.

    The first time he had seen this finger had been when he ascended the Stargazing Deck. More importantly, the Stargazing Deck was dependent on his willpower, and he could even use lockbreaking tools there. Not only could the Stargazing Deck show him that finger again, but it could also show him theplete form of the Skybeast w as well, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

    Lu Yin decided to make a request to ascend the Stargazing Deck once again after leaving the Ocean of Death, and he hoped that the Starmaster would allow him to do so.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look ahead!¡± the monkey suddenly shrieked.

    Lu Yin looked up, where something different finally appeared in the distant scenery. It was the silhouette of an ind.

    Lu Yin stood up as his emotions surged; he had finally arrived.

    Ever since the Astral Combat Academy had taken over the trial zones, few people had managed to reach the end of the Ocean of Death. But right now, he had joined their ranks.

    As the boat slowly drew closer, Lu Yin could see the ind more clearly. It was a very normal-looking ind.

    As they got closer, Lu Yin became more cautious, as he was wary of whatever he might encounter here.

    When the boat reached the shore, Lu Yin felt that it was a bit surreal. Was he able to just get off of the boat that easily?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, hurry up! I want to see what the supposed end of the Ocean of Death contains!¡± The monkey was excited.

    Lu Yin stepped foot onto the ind, and the beach very much felt like real soil, though it was a little sticky. He squatted and touched it to examine it further, and his face instantly changed. It was blood; the soil was soaked in blood.

    His face turned solemn as he unleashed his domain, covering a radius of a hundred meters, then a thousand meters. Every single grain of soil was soaked with blood, and he could not find a single patch that had been overlooked. How many people had died here?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look. There¡¯s footprints over there,¡± the monkey pointed out.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw that, not far away from where they hadnded, there was a set of footprints leading towards the center of the ind. ¡°Those should have been left behind by that Arbiter from before.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s only one set, then does that mean that only one of the Ten Arbiters made it this far?¡± the monkey guessed.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure. He walked over beside the footprints and studied them. ¡°It¡¯s a small footprint. Either this person wasn¡¯t too old, or they were a girl.¡±

    ¡°Probably a girl. Didn¡¯t one of the Arbiters make it here before?¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin agreed with him and then turned to look into the depths of the ind. A gloomy canyon stretched across it. Perhaps he would truly enter the ind after crossing it.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and moved towards the canyon.

    When he just entered it, a chilly breeze swept across that caused Lu Yin¡¯s hair to stand on end. He was just about to speak, but then, suddenly, a rumbling loud voice was heard. ¡°This can''t be, this can''t be! What are you maggots relying on to kill me, what exactly¡­

    ¡°Five changed the sky. Five was reced with six. Since then, a fake veil has been draped across the heavens. We won''t allow it!

    ¡°The sky has changed. It has changed. We will revolt! We will massacre the heavens and turn it into a river of blood!¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin covered his head and panted as he stared ahead. This voice should be the will of some ancient remnant being transmitted along with that chilly wind. It was filled with deep resentment and unwillingness. It sounded as if it was in disbelief.

 Chapter 408: From Five To Six

    <h4>Chapter 408: From Five To Six</h4>

    The monkey cried out, ¡°Seventh Bro, did you hear that?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t even have a chance to reply as he quickly left the canyon. His eyes were immediately met by the sight of corpses littered everywhere, reduced to nothing more than white bones. The area was also decorated with the tattered remains of fluttering banners.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival came with a small squeak, but that tiny noise was enough to turn everything within a ten kilometer radius of him to dust. It was just like what had happened inside of the centipede¡¯s body, where nothing was able to resist the ravages of time over countless eons, except for the pikes that had been left stuck in the ground.

    Lu Yin stared in shock at everything before him¡ªthe entire ind was filled with corpses. How many people had died here? It could not be any less than 100,000.

    Explosions rang out in the skies as countless voices rumbled, ¡®I can¡¯t wait. The future generations are hopeless, so how could I be willing to wait?¡¯

    ¡°I am six, all fives must be killed.¡±

    ¡°The sky has changed, the sky has changed. This sky will be six from now.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin crouched down and forcibly endured the explosion of the sessive voices howling out. Blood leaked out from his eyes, ears, and nose, dripping onto the ind.

    The Ghost Monkey had stopped speaking by now, probably because he had fainted.

    Lu Yin panted heavily and opened his mouth in an attempt to reduce the intensity of the voices, but his efforts were for naught. He didn¡¯t even hesitate to rupture his own eardrums, but the voices seemed to be directly transmitted into his brain, which left him at a loss for how to handle the situation. Although the sounds were not attacks, the power that the voices innately contained was enough to harm Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force despite theming from ancient times. He could not even imagine the strength that these ancient powerhouses must have wielded.

    Lu Yin could not endure the voices any longer, and his body started trembling. He was truly at his limit. No! His gaze turned firm, and he charged ahead. Even if he died, he wanted to see what secrets the depths of the ind held.

    As he ran forward, the ancient items that he passed by turned to dust. This was a trial zone, but life in here mirrored reality.

    Lu Yin quickly reached deep into the ind since it was not thatrge. When he arrived at the deepest point of the ind, his pupils constricted when he saw five pikes pinning a dried corpse to the ground, the exact same scene as what he had seen in the centipede¡¯s body.

    What is this? Some sort of sacrifice ritual?

    Lu Yin could not make sense of what he saw, but before he could get a better look, a ferocious voice entered his brain. The countless noises caused him to spit out even more blood, and then his body vanished from the ind.

    Not far from where Lu Yin vanished from the trial zone, another set of footprints could be clearly seen. The tracks looked exactly the same as the footprints on the beach, and though they had reached the same location, the oue was unknown.

    Atop Astral-10¡¯s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes. A splitting headache immediately hit him as he instinctively clutched his head, almost falling over.

    Coco, Xia Luo, and the others were nearby, and they all rushed over when they saw Lu Yin open his eyes.

    ¡°Brother Lu, are you alright?¡± Coco asked.

    The few gathered students all looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took several deep breaths and stared at the ground. He gradually recovered and shook his hands. ¡°I¡¯m alright. Just let me rest for a bit.¡±

    ¡°Ok,¡± Coco acknowledged. Then, the few students there left the trial zone mountain and waited for Lu Yin outside. They were very curious to learn about whaty in the furthest reaches of the Ocean of Death. They were also certain that the recent abnormal changes within the Dao of Heaven were rted to Lu Yin, precisely because only Lu Yin had not been kicked out at that time.

    Lu Yin spent an entire day resting at the trial zone mountain before leaving. He was in very low spirits. The Trialmaster nced at him. ¡°Little brat, did you reach the end of the Ocean of Death?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and then he looked at the old man. ¡°Mentor, do you know something?¡±

    The Trialmaster shook his head. ¡°Nope.¡±

    Lu Yin did not believe him, but he didn¡¯t ask any further questions since Coco and the others had just shown up.

    ¡°Brother Lu, did you really reach the end of the Ocean of Death?¡± Coco hurriedly asked. Xia Luo, Zora, and Michelle were there. Even Darkvoid, Meng Yue, and the others had shown up, and they were all staring at him.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°Yes.¡±

    They were shocked; even if they had guessed at the truth, they still hadn¡¯t dared to believe it without confirmation. Even with Lu Yin verifying it now, they could still hardly believe it.

    ¡°What¡¯s at the end? Is it as the legends say? Is there an ind filled with corpses of powerhouses and an ancient inheritance?¡± Meng Yue asked anxiously.

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face. ¡°If there was an ancient inheritance there, I wouldn¡¯t be like this right now.¡± He surveyed the crowd and then exined a bit more. ¡°There¡¯s indeed an ind at the end of the Ocean of Death. And the ind is indeed littered with corpses of powerhouses, but aside from that, there¡¯s nothing else there.¡±

    The group obviously didn¡¯t believe him.

    ¡°Liar. There¡¯s an inheritance at the end of the Ocean of Death! That was verified a long time ago!¡± Coco waspletely straightforward.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, and I don¡¯t even have a reason to lie to you. Perhaps others received some kind of inheritance, but I didn¡¯t.¡±

    The crowd sighed. However, regardless of whether they believed him or not, they could not get any more information from Lu Yin.

    Xia Luo enquired, ¡°Were there any signs of someone else besides you reaching the ind?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. Their tracks were quite obvious, and didn¡¯t seem to be from that long ago.¡±

    ¡°That should be the rumored Arbiter,¡± Xia Luo said. He then left, seemingly holding no interest in the inheritance.

    The others left as well, allowing Lu Yin to rest.

    Lu Yin did not know whether or not they believed him, but there had indeed been no inheritance on the ind. Anyway, when hebined what he saw with what he had seen inside the centipede''s body, the only logical conclusion was that those pikes were from some power. And then there were those loud voices¡ªFive? Six? Changing the sky? Rebel? Fake? Massacre?

    These words reverberated through Lu Yin¡¯s mind for a long time, but he did not know what they meant.

    The Trialmaster might, but the old man did not n to tell Lu Yin.

    During the more-or-less ten days that he had spent sailing across the Ocean of Death, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest reward had to have been that opportunity to observe the finger and its details. Right, the Stargazing Deck.

    After resting at the trial zone mountain for another day, Lu Yin felt ready to head over to the Stargazing Deck, so he impatiently made his way there.

    The Astral Combat Academy was split into ten branches, but onemon feature that they all had was that they had their own Stargazing Decks. Many said that this was the most important feature of the tenbat academies, not the trial zones.

    Lu Yin had not understood why people would say this before, but now, he was graduallying to understand. It was because one could witness the past at the Stargazing Deck.

    He could even use his lockbreaking tool to perceive the details more clearly, which made the viewing experience even more immersive. The Stargazing Deck¡¯s abilities far surpassed the trial zones¡¯.

    ¡°Student Lu Yin requests to ascend the Stargazing Deck,¡± Lu Yin spoke in a clear voice from beneath the Stargazing Deck.

    The Starmaster opened his eyes. ¡°In principle, each person has only one opportunity to ascend the Stargazing Deck. I¡¯ve already allowed you two visits, so no more.¡±

    Lu Yin loudly replied, ¡°Mentor has said that the scene at the top of the Stargazing Deck will not change and that it will be the same image for each person, which is why students are not allowed to return. However, this student is confident that, even if it¡¯s the same scene, something more can be seen. Will mentor please give this student another chance.¡±

    The Starmaster calmly answered. ¡°Kid, do you think that the academy should make an exception for you?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    The Starmaster looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Since ancient times, there have been nock of powerhouses with unique innate gifts. There have been many people in Astral-10 who were as aplished as you are today. Even the Ten Arbiters, during their time in the academy, have had their requests to reascend the Stargazing Deck rejected by me. You may leave.¡±

    Lu Yin could onlyply, as even the Ten Arbiters had not seeded. ¡°Mentor, could you give this student a chance? The Ten Arbiters are the Ten Arbiters and were not students of Astral-10. This student has dedicated his time and effort to the academy, and has also shed blood for it.¡±

    The Starmaster merely replied, ¡°Leave.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. This elder was exceptionally stubborn.

    ¡°If this student wishes to ascend the Stargazing Decks of the other academies, will mentor stop me?¡± Lu Yin suddenly thought of something and had to ask.

    The Starmaster replied, ¡°I have nothing to do with the other academies¡¯ Stargazing Decks, but I must remind you that no academy will allow their students to ascend a second time.¡±

    ¡°That means that students can ascend other decks, but not the same one, just like Astral-10,¡± Lu Yin rified expectantly.

    The Starmaster did not reply.

    Lu Yin now understood. There were ten academies, which meant that there were nine more Stargazing Decks. This meant that he could ascend nine more times toprehend that finger, but also that he only had nine chances.

    Lu Yin respectfully bowed to the Starmaster and then left the Stargazing Deck.

    He could not wait to view that finger in the other academies¡¯ Stargazing Decks, as he was trulycking powerful battle techniques that could be used as hidden trump cards.

    Before he could leave Astral-10, Lu Yin was summoned by Old Cai. He learned that Astral-10 was nning on recruiting students in the Innerverse and that it would happen soon. Old Cai wished to find out when Lu Yin was going to return. After all, Lu Yin was the poster child of Astral-10.

    Lu Yin calcted the time, but then he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have any specific ns to return in the near future. The Daynight Feast is about to start, and I¡¯ve received an invitation.¡±

    Old Cai was astonished.¡°The Daynight Feast?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Old Cai had a strange look on his face, and his expression soon became even stranger. He muttered to himself, ¡°Since you¡¯ve epted their invitation, then declining it wouldn¡¯t be good. Alright, we won¡¯t need you at Astral-10¡¯s recruitment.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Old Cai,¡± Lu Yin said before turning to leave.

    Old Cai suddenly called out, ¡°Right, the Daynight Feast is very grand, so keep a low profile, kid.¡±

    Lu Yin felt awkward, but he still decided to acknowledge the advice. ¡°Sure thing. I¡¯ve always kept a low profile.¡±

    Old Cai¡¯s mouth twitched, as he had never seen this brat act low-profile. ¡°If someone mentions Astral-10, just say that you aren¡¯t familiar with it.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°But I¡¯m from Astral-10.¡±

    ¡°Just say that you aren¡¯t familiar with it. It¡¯s for your own good.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. This old bat must have some issues, as Lu Yin had felt the atmosphere turn strange the moment he mentioned the Daynight Feast. Could this guy have possibly stolen something from the Daynight n!?

    Old Cai felt uneasy under Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to hurry up and go where you need to go. I still need to make more Money Bombs and have no more time to waste on you. Right, under no circumstances should you use the Money Bomb while you¡¯re in the Daynight n¡¯s territory. Remember that¡ªunder no circumstances!¡±

    Lu Yin was now certain that this old fart had offended someone in the Daynight n. This was damning evidence, and Lu Yin simply hoped that he would not be implicated in the matter!

    He had no hope of prying any more information out from Old Cai, so he immediately sought out the Sandmaster to obtain some more information. However, the Sandmaster refused to answer, and his words were even simr to Old Cai¡¯s. ¡°Keep a low profile in the Daynight n. Remember, a low profile is the way to go.¡±

    ¡°But, mentor, you¡¯ve mentioned that we must conduct ourselves with boldness, as boldness is the fundamental key to upgrading our battle force,¡± Lu Yin answered seriously.

    The Sandmaster rolled his eyes. ¡°That also depends on your timing. Anyway, this is for your good. Follow whatever that old fart told you. He won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    ¡°Then please tell me what happened.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know about what happened to us of the elder generation. Remember, never, ever use the Money Bomb!¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°Alright, enough talk. Get moving now.¡±

    Lu Yin was chased away by the Sandmaster, but he refused to give up, mainly because Old Cai¡¯s attitude was just too sneaky. Lu Yin would not be dragged into someone else¡¯s mess without rhyme or reason, and this even involved the Daynight n. Even if he had the backing of Pirate King Highsage Leon, that man would only take revenge if Lu Yin died¡ªLu Yin could not be resurrected.

 Chapter 409: Tempest Flowzone

    <h4>Chapter 409: Tempest Flowzone</h4>

    Typically, Lu Yin would not expose himself to unpredictable dangers, but this was not a matter of cultivation. Instead, he was just attending a banquet, so there was no need to risk his life.

    However, the Rainmaster, Starmaster, and Trialmaster all refused to speak a single word about the issue.

    While Lu Yin was considering whether or not he should reveal his connection with Highsage Leon, at that moment, his gadget sounded; Lily Anna was contacting him.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned; how could she contact him while he was inside the academy? He quickly remembered that Lily Anna was also an alumni of the Astral Combat Academy, so she was naturally able to contact him here.

    ¡°Miss Anna, how are you doing?¡± Lu Yin greeted.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I took the liberty of contacting you, so I hope that it¡¯s no trouble,¡± Lily Anna replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s no trouble. Miss Anna, do you have anything on your mind?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Nothing much, but I recently recalled that I haven¡¯t visited Frostwave Weave yet. Since Brother Lu is an uncrowned king of Frostwave Weave, please take care of me when I visit there one day.¡±

    ¡°Miss Anna is being too excessive. I¡¯m no uncrowned king. Still, I look forward to hosting Miss Anna whenever you visit Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Hosting? Aren¡¯t we friends? Or is Brother Lu looking down on a girl like myself, who¡¯s from a small n from a small Flowzone?¡± Lily Anna sounded rather hurt.

    Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ve spoken badly. When Miss Anna arrives at Frostwave Weave, I¡¯ll do my best to show you around as a friend.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m just joking. Alright then, it¡¯s a promise. Let¡¯s meet in Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s meet in Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin disconnected from the call and fell deep into thought. Lily Anna was the heir of the Northline Flowzone¡¯s Lily family, and she was an Explorer as well. There was no need for her to give him prior notice if she wanted to tour the Outerverse. He recalled her attitude the first time they had met; she had praised him to no end, even though he didn¡¯t know if it was intentional or otherwise. Could it have something to do with Frostwave Weave? Why else would she suddenly contact me for such menial things? Is there still something of interest in Frostwave Weave? Lu Yin was very puzzled.

    Or perhaps he was over-thinking. Lu Yinughed in spite of himself and brushed it out of mind. Ever since he had be the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire, he had started overplicating many matters whenever he thought about them. Perhaps the Lily family just wanted to cement their rtionship with him, and the call had been just a casual chat.

    Lu Yin did not dwell on this matter any longer, and spent another two days resting at Astral-10. He then set off for Astral-7, which was the closest Astral Combat Academy branch to Astral-10.

    During these two days, Feng Shang and Kuang Wang both contacted Lu Yin, inquiring about what had happened in the Ocean of Death. Lu Yin sang the same tune as everyone else from Astral-10, iming that he had been forced out of the trial zone along with everyone else.

    Neither of the two doubted him, as they did not believe that something that had affected all Nine Trialzones could be rted to Lu Yin. The cause of the matter was something that even the headmasters had been unable to discover.

    Although they hadn¡¯t gained any results from their attempt to cross the Ocean of Death, they still transferred the money to Lu Yin. His Mavis Bank ount swelled with yet another 1,500,000 star crystals.

    It was neither too much nor too little, as the two of them were still students after all.

    Astral-7 was in the Erudite Flowzone. Lu Yin made some calctions and quickly realized that it would take him a long time to arrive there if he used a normal spacecraft. He did not have much time to spare, but he had no choice. Before leaving Astral-10, he headed to the treasury to buy an Aurora spacecraft. Supposedly, it had been in Astral-10¡¯s inventory for a long time, and it had even been upgraded to the radiant-grade.

    An average personal Aurora spacecraft could fetch a price of over ten thousand star crystals, but the price of a radiant-grade one increased by a hundredfold: a million star crystals.

    The production cost of a radiant-grade spacecraft wasn¡¯t that high, but the market was bnced by supply and demand. No matter where a radiant-grade spacecraft was sold, it would always be urgently needed. The Aurora Company limited the production of their Aurora spacecraft each year, and the price for each one was inted due to the urgent demand from many.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin could afford it. A million star crystals was as painful as cutting his own flesh, but he had just obtained over a hundred star essence, so it was not excessively painful.

    However, Old Cai¡¯scent attitudepletely irritated Lu Yin.

    With the radiant-grade spacecraft, it would now take him just a tenth of the originally estimated time to reach Astral-7, which was less than ten days. He could afford to spend ten days traveling.

    This time, Lu Yin did not wait with the civilians. Instead, he immediately used his Honor Points to board the Northline Flowzone¡¯s Tributary Ark and head out to Tempest Flowzone.

    Tempest Flowzone was unique, and it was rumored to have strange storms that could engulf even the void. These storms automatically avoideds, but they would not move away from spacecraft or space-exploring powerhouses. Furthermore, these storms would often appear without much warning.

    This meant that it was very dangerous to fly through Tempest Flowzone. Once one was sucked into a storm, there were few who could live to tell the tale.

    Over the passage of countless years, even the powers of Tempest Flowzone had not been able to discover the cause of the storms. Once, they had even specially invited an old freak with a power level in the hundreds of thousands to investigate, but to no avail.

    Ever since, many people had emigrated from Tempest Flowzone, and only a small number of powers had stayed behind. This caused the flowzone¡¯s overall strength to decline over time.

    Even then, the Tempest Flowzone¡¯s Feng family and Fire Scorpion Sect were both very powerful, or else they would not be able to cause Northline Flowzone to feel apprehensive.

    The fastest way to Astral-7 was through Tempest Flowzone since circumventing the flowzone would add another ten days to Lu Yin¡¯s travel time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current objective was to wander through the ten academies, which was the same as roaming through the entire Innerverse. A rough estimate of the time needed was between half a year to a year, so he had no time to waste. After all, he still needed to return to the Great Yu Empire at some point.

    He did not know if spending a year visiting the Stargazing Decks was worth it, but at least the year would not be wasted. Between each academy branch, he would be reciting more of the Stonewall Scriptures, and traveling would also give him some worldly experience.

    Also, the Daynight n¡¯s Daynight Feast was conveniently located along his journey.

    Lu Yin felt a little flustered when he thought of the Daynight Feast, as Old Cai¡¯s attitude had been just too strange.

    Tempest Flowzone¡¯s heavens were not like the starry skies of the other flowzones. It was dark, and only the celestial bodies emitted light within this darkness.

    Sometimes, Lu Yin considered spending his entire life traveling to the edge of the universe. What was at the end of the universe? Was there an obstructing wall? A field of chaos? A body of water? What existed at the end in the other direction?

    Even the Progenitor that the monkey always praised wouldn¡¯t know!

    ¡°Seventh Bro, have we left Astral-10?¡± The monkey had awakened now. He had been knocked unconscious by the voices on the ind that was at the end of the Ocean of Death and had only awakened now.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Yes. How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Headache.¡± The monkey sounded like he could not take the pain any longer. ¡°Seventh Bro, do you still remember those words? Did you ask your mentors what they meant?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Right, have you tranted those words from inside the centipede''s body?¡±

    ¡°No, when would I have found the time to do so? Also, my head is still spinning from those voices. Where are we now?¡±

    ¡°Tempest Flowzone,¡± Lu Yin casually answered.

    ¡°Where?!¡± the monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°Tempest Flowzone. Why? Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Of course there¡¯s a problem! Why did youe here? Don¡¯t you know where Tempest Flowzone got its name from? Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s dangerous and that you¡¯ll definitely die if you¡¯re swept up by those storms?¡±

    Lu Yin responded, ¡°It¡¯s not that serious, or else no one would live in this flowzone. The appearance of the storms is very rare, and someone once calcted that the probability of meeting one is one in a million.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you know that in the scope of an entire flowzone, a probability of one in a million is still very high? This basically means that, if you stand up high and look at the entire Tempest Flowzone, there are storms damned near everywhere!¡± The monkey was speechless at Lu Yin¡¯s answer.

    ¡°Rx, the Feng family, Fire Scorpion Sect, and other powers have been able to stay here for a reason.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they know the patterns of how the storms appear, and they must have mapped out some safety routes as well. But you dared to barge in here without knowing anything at all, and even thought that a one in a million chance was low!¡±

    ¡°How do you know that I don¡¯t know the patterns.¡±

    ¡°Does that even need to be said? Do you know?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey painfully said, ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s do things more cautiously next time. Given the size of the universe, anything can happen.¡±

    Lu Yin was unsatisfied. ¡°Did you really think that I entered without doing any research? Our current route has been mapped out by thework to be the safest.¡±

    ¡°Bull shit! Thework is umted from the experience of normal people. Those who can grasp the true safe routes are the few powerful organizations living here, and why would they publicize that information? Do you not wonder why nobody has invaded Tempest Flowzone for countless years? That¡¯s because of this exact detail: no one wants to see their own fleet gobbled up by a storm while traveling through this flowzone. These storms not only threaten the safety of Tempest Flowzone, but they also act as a barricade to defend them from external threats. Hence, no one would ever release information on the real safe routes, just like the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it, and then agreed, ¡°Let¡¯s just forget it. Since we¡¯ve already entered, we¡¯ll just let nature take its course.¡±

    The monkey had no other choice. ¡°I¡¯ve always had a sense that you¡¯ll one day be the death of us.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so afraid of the Tempest Flowzone¡¯s storms?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    The monkey muttered, ¡°An ancestor from my family was once swallowed by a storm, and there weren¡¯t even any remains left over. That ancestor was an Enlighter.¡±

    Lu Yin felt numb and a little regretful as well. If he had known about such an incident earlier, then he would not have taken the risk and would have headed towards one of the other academy branches first. Right, he might not know the safe routes, but he could ask someone who was more familiar with this region. Lu Yin thought about it and quickly contacted Feng Shang.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Feng Shang appeared on the disy.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Brother Feng, sorry to bother you. I want to travel across Tempest Flowzone. Are there any safe routes?¡±

    Feng Shang felt like something was strange. ¡°Why are you headed for Tempest Flowzone?¡±

    ¡°I want to go to Astral-7, and traveling through Tempest Flowzone is the fastest route.¡±

    Feng Shang¡¯s feeling intensified. ¡°What are you going to Astral-7 for?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°For an exchange trip.¡±

    This left Feng Shang unable toe up with a response. ¡°So what route are you currently using?¡±

    Lu Yin showed Feng Shang his nned route, and the Tempest Flowzone native said, ¡°Yes, there shouldn¡¯t be any problem as long as you don¡¯t deviate from the route. This route might not be the safest, but the probability of storms appearing there is far less than the other routes. It won¡¯t be easy even if you look for them.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no safer route?¡± Lu Yin tried his luck.

    Feng Shang¡¯s face grew serious. ¡°Knowing Tempest Flowzone¡¯s safe routes is the same as having a secret passageway straight to Tempest Flowzone¡¯s heart. Do you think that I can give such a thing to you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I got it. Alright,ter.¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡± Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you n on heading to the other academies after Astral-7?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Feng Shang shrugged. ¡°I guessed. Let me know in advance when you¡¯re nning oning to Astral-8.¡±

    ¡°You want to wee me?¡± Lu Yin asked with augh.

    Feng Shang had a rather serious expression as he replied, ¡°I want to escape earlier.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless as he directly ended the call.

 Chapter 410: Human Nature

    <h4>Chapter 410: Human Nature</h4>

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Feng Shang isn¡¯t bad. He¡¯s got the demeanor of a mediator.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as his own spacecraft outran another spacecraft, very satisfied with its speed. But then he was reminded of the ckhole-grade spacecraft that he had once used, and his mood sunk. He still owed the Outerverse Youth Council one ckhole-grade spacecraft. No, I owe Wendy Yushan. That spacecraft was reserved for Wendy Yushan¡¯s exclusive use, but it had been destroyed by him.

    Forget it, Wendy Yushan¡¯s a space-exploring powerhouse. She shouldn¡¯t care about it that much, Lu Yin thought as heforted himself.

    He recited the Stonewall Scriptures for a while before falling asleep.

    After some time, the monkey suddenly shrieked.

    Lu Yin was roused by the screams. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Look! The other spacecraft are all turning around and heading back!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin looked ahead of him and saw that every spacecraft was streaking past him and dashing in the opposite direction.

    Lu Yin felt that something wasn¡¯t right, especially when he saw a collision that subsequently caused two personal spacecraft in front of him to explode. He decisively changed their route and returned in the direction that they hade from.

    It should be known that spacecraft automatically recalcted their routes, so if two spacecraft approached the other too closely, both would reroute, making it normally impossible for vessels to collide. The only ways for such incidents to ur were if the spacecraft¡¯s system was uncalibrated or if the pilot was so panicked that they had set the spacecraft into manual mode.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± the monkey shouted anxiously.

    Lu Yin looked up and narrowed his eyes when he saw a grey flood engulfing everything in front of them. It moved rapidly, swallowing up one spacecraft after another. Every time it devoured one, the grey flood would pause briefly, but it would quickly rush forward once again.

    Lu Yin finally understood why the spacecraft had attempted to flee in such a panicked manner. This was a storm! That bastard Feng Shang had even said that it would be difficult for him to run into one on this route, but he had met one as soon as he arrived.

    ¡°RUN, SEVENTH BRO!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at his ship¡¯s system but then saw that the navigation system had been destroyed by the storm, leaving the spacecraft unable to calcte a new route. Lu Yin was left with no choice, so he selected a random direction and dashed forwards.

    Numerous spacecraft were swallowed one after another, all of them vanishing in the blink of an eye. The radiant-grade spacecraft was not that slow, and it flew about as fast as the storm advanced. Lu Yin rxed, as the storm should notst for too long, and at this rate, he should be able to easily escape.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, as his spacecraft had slightly tilted to the left and almost crashed into a nearby spacecraft. He was finished if he collided with another ship, since he would definitely be swallowed by the storm.

    At that moment, a small spacecraft simr to Lu Yin¡¯s turned around and flew in the opposite direction of the approaching storm. It was also a radiant-grade spacecraft and was much more valuable than Lu Yin¡¯s single-person vessel, though its speed wasparable.

    At this moment, only radiant-grade spacecraft were fast enough to escape the fate of being swallowed by the storm.

    Star energy filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he focused on the scene before him, afraid that he might collide with a spacecraft that randomly appeared in his way. Suddenly, he sensed rune lines on his right. He saw that many lines had abnormally started converging. When he turned around, he saw that there was a person standing atop a small spacecraft, staring at him with cold eyes. Within the man¡¯s palm was an attack, charging with energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed upon seeing this bad situation. This person wanted to use him to slow the storm¡¯s advance so that he would have a greater chance of escaping. From the amount of converging rune lines, this person was a Cruiser, and not just a normal one either. Otherwise, he would not have been able to afford a radiant-grade spacecraft.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, be careful!¡± the monkey shouted again.

    Lu Yin released the Ghost Monkey. ¡°You control the spacecraft!¡± He then retrieved an object from his cosmic ring, which was the Money Bomb that he had just bought from Old Cai. Since the opponent wanted to kill him, he would not just sit around and wait for his death. Old Cai, I hope that you weren¡¯t messing around and that this toy actually works.

    To his right, there were more than ten people in the small spacecraft. ¡°Captain, attack! Who knows how much longer the storm willst for, and we might not actually be able to escape.¡±

    That Cruiser atop the spacecraft had cold eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can only me your poor luck. Help us escape this cmity.¡± And with that, he loosed a ferocious attack from his palm, and an imprint traveled across space, heading straight towards Lu Yin¡¯s personal spacecraft.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide upon seeing this powerful attack, which carried a power level that should be over 80,000. He did not even think and immediately pointed the Money Bomb¡¯s unsealed end towards the Cruiser. The star energy within it surged forth, and the next moment, a ray of light shot out. It directly pierced through the Cruiser¡¯s enormous palm imprint before continuing on to directly strike the person himself.

    That Cruiser never expected that this Limiteer would be able to unleash such a deadly attack even in his wildest dreams, and he had not even attempted to avoid it. When he looked down, he saw that his abdomen had been pierced through and knew that he would certainly perish.

    How had it ended up like this? He was an existence who dared to cross realms to challenge Hunters, and his true strength allowed him to challenge those whose power levels were over 100,000. And yet, he had ended up dying to a Limiteer.

    Those in the small spacecraft were simrly stunned. The captain died just like that?!

    Lu Yin had never imagined that the Money Bomb would be so ruthless and that just one ray of light would instantly kill a Cruiser. The man hadn¡¯t been able to resist at all.

    No wonder Old Cai had said that these boxes could even instantly wipe out a Hunter. This destructive force could indeed eliminate the average Hunter, so fifty star essence was actually a reasonable price for one of these boxes.

    A Money Bomb could only be used once, and the metal ball inside would break after that one usage. The seals made of dark green bamboo would also have their color fade away.

    Lu Yin stored the used Money Bomb away and looked at the small spacecraft.

    Those in that small spacecraft were still staring at him in shock, their dead captain already having been engulfed by the storm long ago.

    They were not too far apart, and Lu Yin could clearly see their faces were filled with hatred and loathing.

    However, they soon had no time to bother with Lu Yin. The Money Bomb¡¯s attack had not only dispatched the Cruiser, but also damaged the roof of the small spacecraft, which was now continuously trembling. It didn¡¯t take long for the roof to start breaking down and the spacecraft to slow down.

    Lu Yin felt no sympathy for them. If that Cruiser had not attacked him, then he would not have acted against them. These people were the kind to sacrifice others to ensure their own safety. Even if there had been no animosity between them before, their captain¡¯s death could not pardon them.

    The small spacecraft gradually fell behind, and Lu Yin turned around to take back control of the spacecraft as the monkey merged back into his arm.

    Suddenly, the spacecraft quivered, and Lu Yin looked up. There was another person atop his spacecraft. Unexpectedly, there had been more than one Cruiser.

    This person tightly held onto Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft, as a Cruiser¡¯s speed was much slower than a radiant-grade spacecraft. This man intended to escape by tagging along with Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look! The storm is slowing down!¡± the monkey yelled.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw that the storm was indeed diminishing. The small spacecraft behind him was right about to be engulfed by the storm. Even though it had not been swallowed yet, it still would not be able to escape before the stormpletely dissipated.

    There was a rumble as the Cruiser atop Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora mmed his palm against the roof, causing the spacecraft to slow down.

    Lu Yin was furious, as this person even wanted to use his spacecraft as a sacrifice in order to buy more time for their own small spacecraft to escape.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, ughter him!¡± The monkey was also enraged.

    Lu Yin ced his palm against the spacecraft¡¯s roof, and a dark-gold radiance emerged from his palm. With the addition of his battle force, Thirty Stacks loudly burst forth. The radiant-grade spacecraft was sturdy enough to withstand the Cruiser¡¯s attack, but Lu Yin¡¯s Thirty Stacks passed through the metal, the powerful vibration squarely striking the Cruiser.

    The Cruiser only felt the approach of an enormous strength, and he was almost unable to withstand it. His internal organs were painfully jostled about as he stared at the spacecraft in shock. A Limiteer actually possessed the strength to injure a Cruiser; there were not many such people in the entire universe. Since he had already ended up provoking such a person, he had to follow through and make sure that the person in this spacecraft did not survive.

    Through the roof of the Aurora, Lu Yin and that Cruiser traded blows. Eventually, the roof was unable to withstand the force of these Cruiser-level attacks, and a crack appeared.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, stop fighting! The spacecraft can¡¯t take anymore,¡± the monkey warned.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as this opponent was not easily dealt with. After all, this person was a Cruiser with a power level of over 50,000.

    The exchange of blows between the two caused the spacecraft to slow down considerably, and it was soon equal in position to the small spacecraft, before slowly falling behind.

    Those in the small spacecraft rxed. As long as Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was swallowed, it would buy some more time for them, which would hopefully be enough for them to escape.

    That Cruiser panted heavily, and with one leap, he appeared on the roof of the small spacecraft. He looked at Lu Yin with an intense expression filled with fear and stress.

    A Limiteer who can take on a Cruiser. He could only think of a few names who was capable of this in the entire universe, and even if this person was not one of them, he would still be somebody of great influence in the future, not just some nameless nobody. Since he had provoked such a person, this Limiteer had to be killed. Otherwise, there would be no end to his troubles in the future.

    Everything had happened too quickly, to the point where Lu Yin had not even found the opportunity to threaten his opponent with his many titles and high status. However, under such circumstances, such threats would hold no weight since it was a matter of exclusive survival. Even if the Ten Arbiters themselves took revenge for him, that would be a future matter. So in the case, Lu Yin¡¯s status could not save him.

    The crack atop Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft spread even more, and his spacecraft slowed down another notch.

    ¡°We¡¯re screwed! We¡¯re going to be swallowed! Doomed! My Celestial Ice Phoenix n, my harem!¡± the monkey shouted in a grieving voice.

    Lu Yin clenched both of his fists and stared at the oing storm. He then gritted his teeth and turned to stare at the small spacecraft. He shattered his spacecraft¡¯s roof with a single punch, and with the help of his spacecraft, used sh to close in on the small spacecraft with his extreme speed. He then struck out with a palm.

    The people within the small spacecraft were not bothered, as there was a Cruiser with them.

    The Cruiser watched Lu Yin¡¯s palm attack and did not dare to be careless. He struck out with all his strength.

    Normally, it would not be easy for Lu Yin to deal with such a person due to the tremendous difference in their power levels. However, at this moment, something appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s palm: Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    When the Cruiser saw it, his mind was ferociously scrambled, and he directly fainted without the slightest sign of resistance. This was the power of Progenitor Wushang.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm had never been intended to cause mutual destruction. Rather, he wanted to use this small spacecraft to escape. He casually kicked the Cruiser into the storm and watched as the storm devoured both his spacecraft and the Cruiser. He panted heavily, as the storm grew slightly smaller. He felt like he could actually escape.

    However, not everything always goes ording to n. His attack with the Money Bomb had damaged the small spacecraft too severely, and the roof waspletely shattered, causing both the small spacecraft and Lu Yin to be swallowed by the storm next. The instant after, the universe turned silent once more, and the storm vanished without a trace.

    Dayster, in Astral-8, Feng Shang nkly watched the news from Tempest Flowzone and saw that a storm had emerged on that route. He immediately tried to call Lu Yin, as the emergence of the storm had urred not long after Lu Yin had called.

    However, he was unable to get in contact with Lu Yin.

 Chapter 411: A Strange Space

    <h4>Chapter 411: A Strange Space</h4>

    Feng Shang set his gadget down. He looked up and sighed at the sky. ¡°Could he really have been unlucky enough to run into it? Brother Lu, your luck is just too unfortunate.¡±

    Since ancient times, few people had ever managed to return alive after being swallowed by a storm of Tempest Flowzone. Of course, some survived, but everyone experienced different things. Some said that they fell into a bottomless abyss while others had ended up in a sealed space. Some hadnded in a forest, and even more had dropped into a golden ocean. But when they were asked how they returned, everyone was the same: no one could answer, as if their memories had been erased.

    However, with the passage of time, people hade to discover onemonality shared by everyone who had survived falling into a storm; they were all good people.

    It was not possible to definitively quantify what made a person ¡°good,¡± but everyone who had survived and escaped from a storm had kind hearts, and almost none of them had ever killed before. Not all good people woulde out alive, but all those who did were good people.

    Lu Yin would not call himself a good person, so he had tried everything in his power to escape the storm. But in the end, he had still ended up being swallowed by the storm.

    When he came to his senses, Lu Yin saw a forest all around him. The trees in this forest were not very tall, only about two meters in height. Lu Yin had never seen such a forest before, and he rubbed his temples. He had grown too careless after bing famous throughout the universe, and he no longer had the prudence and caution that he once possessed. With his previous caution, he would have never used that route even if the chances of encountering a storm were one in a billion.

    Still, at least he was alive.

    He looked around, noticing that it waspletely silent. He then looked up to see a light shining in the distance. He did not know if he was looking at the sky or outer space, because the light was simply too bright, and it was even a golden color as well.

    The golden radiance shining in the distance extended to cover the entire forest.

    Lu Yin stood up and tried to talk to the monkey, but he received no response. The stupid monkey was silent once again; its defenses must have been too pathetic.

    Lu Yin tried to fly into the sky, but he immediately realized that he was unable to. There was a suppressive force directed downwards, preventing him from rising more than half a meter up from the ground. He was unable to fly in this ce.

    And since the trees in the forest were between two and three meters tall, that meant that he could not rise above them.

    Then, was the forest forced to grow like this because of this peculiar pressure?

    Suddenly, there was a loud sound in the distance, and Lu Yin turned around to look. He thought about it for a moment, and then he decided to slowly approach the source of the sound. No matter what, he had to find someone first. He remembered that he had been swallowed by the storm before this. By all rights, he should be dead, but he had no idea where he currently was.

    He didn¡¯t walk for long before the trees ahead started to sway. A wide section of the trees were pushed to either side as a panicked man appeared in front of Lu Yin, and the two stared at each other.

    The man looked at Lu Yin with delight and frantically pointed behind him. ¡°The- there¡¯s a ghost!¡±

    Lu Yin felt nervous. ¡°A ghost? Are you sure?¡±

    The man nodded and looked behind him again. He hurried around Lu Yin and continued desperately running away.

    Lu Yin turned around, and his expression changed. Could it be a war spirit? War spirit, war spirit¡­ Yes, it¡¯s definitely a war spirit. If war spirits exist here, then could this be a part of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones? No, that¡¯s impossible. That man was clearly middle-aged and wouldn¡¯t be allowed in the trial zones. Not to mention that he¡¯s just a Seeker. That man hasn¡¯t even set foot on the path of cultivation, so there¡¯s no way he could enter the Astral Combat Academy.

    If this ce was not a part of the trial zones, then where was he? Why were there war spirits present?

    The war spirit only had the strength of a Sentinel, so Lu Yin simply waved his hand and caused it to vanish into lines of runes.

    The nearby man looked on at the scene and was stumped. He then stared in disbelief at Lu Yin. ¡°You killed the ghost?¡±

    Lu Yin simply replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a ghost. Alright, tell me. Where are we?¡±

    The man was afraid. ¡°Inside the storm.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Inside the storm? And there¡¯s a forest?¡±

    With a pale face, the man shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know! In any case, I was swallowed by the storm, and I woke up in this damned ce. I haven¡¯t seen anything else besides that ghost.¡±

    The man looked at Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring and hopefully asked, ¡°Do you have anything for me to eat? There¡¯s really nothing here, and I¡¯ve been starving for a few days.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but just as he was about to take something out for the man, an earth-shattering pressure swept across then that caused Lu Yin¡¯s expression to change. He instinctively used the Invisible Aura Technique to conceal his strength and then used his domain to merge into the surroundings. However, the man in front of him was directly smashed into a puddle of blood by the pressure.

    Lu Yin forced himself to remain silent and motionless.

    Not too far away, a war spirit streaked by without pausing.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to even look at it, as its pressure far surpassed a Hunter¡¯s. A Hunter realm war spirit; this ce was definitely not the trial zones. So, this ce was actually inside of the storm? A formation of runes made up a war spirit, so was this ce rted to the Rune Technology Civilization?

    Lu Yin sighed as he looked at the blood on the ground. If there were Hunter realm war spirits here, then it was possible that even more powerful war spirits would appear. He was in danger, and he had to be extremely careful.

    As he pondered his situation, he started heading in the direction of the dazzling gold radiance.

    He did not know how far this forest went on for, but it was beyond the limits of his sight, and he could not see its end.

    Lu Yin walked through the forest for two days, encountering some war spirits every now and then. Fortunately, not many of them could threaten him, and those that could threaten him, he hid from.

    However, he did not meet a single living person.

    Given the storm¡¯s speed, a Hunter might be able to outrun it, but a Cruiser would find it challenging to do so. Hence, there should be very few cultivators at the Hunter realm and above who had been swallowed by a storm, or it might have been an ident.

    Lu Yin also saw a few spacecraft of all different sizes within the forest. Onerge spacecraft was covered in signs of recent kills, as fresh blood stained the ground, seeping into the forest.

    The biggest difference between this ce and the trial zones was that if someone died here, they would truly die, unlike the trial zones, where you would simply vanish.

    Lu Yin casually eliminated a war spirit and looked at the corpse on the ground. This person was only a Melder, and he had not died that long ago. A corpse normally would not be enough to attract Lu Yin¡¯s attention, but this person was from the small spacecraft that he had fought with right before being sucked into the storm.

    Lu Yin could still remember some unique characteristics of these people¡¯s clothes, which meant that it must have been specially made for their organization. If this person had appeared here, then it meant that the others from their vessel could not be too far away.

    Bloodlust filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. If not for those two Cruisers, he would not have been stranded here. He had to take revenge for this.

    Anyone who fell into this forest would start heading towards the golden light, so Lu Yin believed that these people were no exception.

    As he continued on towards the light, he met more war spirits, but unfortunately, he still did not meet any living people.

    Along the way, Lu Yin eliminated more than twenty war spirits. This was only possible for him because of his fighting strength that rivaled a Cruiser, but death was amon fate for the majority of people who could not do the same.

    Before too long, Lu Yin saw smoke in the distance before it was quickly dispersed. His eyes gleamed, as this meant that there was someone else there. He charged ahead.

    In the distance, a small gathering of trees had been chopped down to make an open space where more than ten people had gathered.

    ¡°What are you doing? There are so many ghosts here, so what are we gonna do if they all get drawn over here?¡± someone admonished in a low and gloomy tone.

    The others around him all angrily red at a youth.

    The youth fearfully answered, ¡°So-sorry.¡±

    ¡°Alright, less bullshit. Let¡¯s get moving just in case,¡± someone suggested.

    A bystander was unhappy. ¡°It was difficult enough to clear out this space, and now we have to leave already?¡±

    ¡°Then just stay behind and say hello to the ghosts.¡±

    ¡°Two of us should head back to the spacecraft and bring over the supplies. Who knows how much longer we¡¯ll be stuck in this damned ce for.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rumored that only a few people can leave this storm alive, and those who did were all good people.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! There¡¯s still good people in the universe? Don¡¯t be so naive.¡±

    ¡­

    The group quickly fled the clearing.

    After they left, multiple war spirits appeared. They were smart to leave, but they had no luck and ended up running into another war spirit just a kilometer away, and this one was at the Cruiser realm.

    The group was ovee with shock, and they all scattered, trying to escape in separate directions.

    But against this Cruiser-level war spirit, these people could only dream of escaping. Just when the war spirit was about to eliminate them all, two figures appeared from different directions and attacked it.

    Boom!

    Bang!

    There were just two loud sounds, and then the war spirit ceased to exist.

    The two figures retreated several meters and looked at each other.

    Lu Yin looked at the other person who had attacked the Cruiser war spirit, and his face changed. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

    That person in front of him also looked at Lu Yin, and his face simrly changed. He was the Cruiser who Lu Yin had stunned with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide before then being thrown into the storm. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    The Cruiser was excited to see Lu Yin, and a fierce bloodlust lit up within his eyes. ¡°Alright! I never thought that I would be able to run into you here. The heavens themselves must be allowing me to get revenge for my brother.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted, and he trembled with bloodlust as well. ¡°You people tried to sacrifice others to pave the way for your escape. No matter if it¡¯s your brother or you, death cannot atone for your crimes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn to die!¡± the Cruiser bellowed, and his body changed as it became an iparably firm stone.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as this change was actually an innate gift. This Cruiser had actually been concealing his strength.

    Against a Cruiser with an innate gift, Lu Yin had no ns of fighting him head-on, and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide once again appeared in his hand. This thing was a great killing tool.

    Abruptly, an earth-shattering pressure swept across both of them, causing Lu Yin and the Cruiser to exchange shocked nces. It was that Hunter level war spirit again, and the two cultivators charged straight at the golden light without hesitation. Any personal grudges were immediately thrown to the back of their minds.

    Lu Yin wanted to conceal himself with the Invisible Aura Technique, but he knew that the Cruiser would not allow him to hide himself that easily. Thus, he could only escape into the distance with the older man.

    The pressure grew even greater, and a chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. He could sense the war spirit¡¯s aura, and the number of rune lines congregating behind him was increasing as well. The war spirit was about to act, but Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he gripped Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. He was in a dilemma, but he was hesitating about whether or not he should throw this thing out.

    He didn¡¯t have much time to think, but then, the Hunter realm war spirit suddenly changed directions and headed for the Cruiser.

    Lu Yin was stunned; why had it not attacked him? What could be the reason? Could it possibly be Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide?

    Based on what the monkey had said, Progenitor Wushang and the Rune Progenitor had both reached the Progenitor realm. Perhaps at that level, cultivators had an innate reaction towards the strength that they had left behind, and that might have been what had helped Lu Yin to avoid this crisis.

    No matter the reason, Lu Yin could rx as long as he was not targeted.

    When the Cruiser saw the war spirit turn to pursue him, his soul left his body. He was not a Realmbreaker like his elder brother, so he could not challenge a Hunter. He desperately tried to increase his speed in order to escape again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, and he did not leave the area. Instead, he maintained some distance from them and followed behind the Cruiser and the war spirit.

    Within the forest, a terrifying aura swept across and caused many trees to fall down. In front of the pressure, the Cruiser desperately fled for his life as a war spirit relentlessly chased after him. Even further behind them was Lu Yin.

    The space in this location was strangely firm, and not a single one of the three could move by tearing through the void, which caused the speed of all three people to be about the same.

    High above them, the golden radiance became even more dazzling.

 Chapter 412: Calculations

    <h4>Chapter 412: Calctions</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was fixed in front of him as he stared on in shock. With his altered eyes, he could see indescribable numbers of rune lines gathering in the distance. The amount that had congregated here was almost enough to pierce through the horizons, and it greatly surpassed what he had seen when that finger had formed in the Ocean of Death. Whatever this thing was, it had caused an extreme amount of rune lines to converge, and it was undoubtedly iparable to the Hunter war spirit.

    A sudden spike of pain stabbed into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and two streaks of blood flowed down his cheeks. He looked down and rubbed his eyes, unable to continue looking at the runes in front of him any more. He then expelled the star energy from both eyes.

    When he looked up again, this time, he saw a mountain towering in the distance, blocking most of the golden radiance. The mountain¡¯s dark outline sharply contrasted against the golden light and cast a shadow over the forest, dividing it in two.

    Currently, the trio was within the shadows, chasing after one another.

    Lu Yin could not imagine whaty in the distance, and he did not even dare to look. It must be a terrifying being of strength, and its power level was definitely more than a few hundred thousand.

    After some time, the war spirit gradually caught up with the Cruiser, who tried to probe the Hunter realm war spirit by exchanging some blows, but the Cruiser ended up being beaten to the point of spitting blood.

    The Cruiser also noticed that Lu Yin was following behind them, and he growled in indignation.

    Lu Yin immediately stopped. With the Hunter realm war spirit¡¯s presence, he should not be concerned about this person¡¯s anger.

    The man had no choice but to continue moving forward to escape. Since the war spirit hadtched onto him, the man¡¯s hopes of escaping were quickly dwindling.

    He pushed the trees of the forest aside and leaped forward. When he next looked up, he saw that the scenery around him had changed drastically. He was no longer a forest, but instead, a golden ocean.

    The Cruiser was shocked at the sight of this golden ocean.

    A terrifying strength approached him from behind, and the man¡¯s body turned to stone as he crossed both arms to block the blow. With a bang, the war spirit sent him flying before he crashed heavily into the white beach. The Cruiser spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up in terror, only to realize that the war spirit had not pursued him any further, remaining on the fringe of the forest.

    The man was ecstatic. It seemed that the war spirit was afraid of the golden ocean, not daring to approach it.

    Lu Yin had also discovered the ocean, and he flitted over to the white beach by going around the war spirit. There, he was able to fully view the distant, boundless golden ocean and the massive mountain towering up from within the ocean. This mountain was what had caused his eyes to bleed before, and it was definitely no ordinary mountain since its rune lines represented a power level that was more than several hundred thousand.

    Cough cough

    Lu Yin turned around.

    The Cruiser stood up with some difficulty and wiped the blood from his lips. He stared coldly at Lu Yin. ¡°Why didn¡¯t that thing attack you? Do you know how to get out of here?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up, and he slowly walked towards the man. ¡°If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t be thinking of how to get out. Rather, I¡¯d be thinking of how to save myself.¡±

    The Cruiserughed as he retrieved something from his cosmic ring and quickly swallowed it. ¡°You actually think that I can¡¯t beat you if I¡¯m injured! You¡¯re underestimating a Cruiser.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as this person was troublesome; his strength was not that of a normal Cruiser¡¯s. Based on power level, this person could probably rival an expert at the bottom end of the Top Hundred Rankings, and he wasn¡¯t inferior to Northgate Lie by much. Although Lu Yin could use Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to catch this person off guard and kill him, he had already used this tactic once in outer space while both of them were trying to escape from the storm. So, this person would almost have precautionary measures against Lu Yin using it for a second time.

    The Cruiser stared at Lu Yin, as he was aware that his own injuries were severe enough that they would not be easily treated even with Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special drugs. Moreover, this Limiteer in front of him was not weak, and was actually one of those top freaks in the Limiteer realm. More importantly, the Cruiser still remembered being inexplicably dazzled when they had fought in outer space. This person had some kind of strange weapon.

    He looked through his memories and then closed his eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped, and he smiled bitterly. Sure enough, this person was being vignt about being stunned again.

    Neither of the two acted immediately.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, it was not prudent to fight in this unsafe environment, which would be equally detrimental to both of them.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, where are we?¡± the monkey suddenly spoke up, startling Lu Yin since he was in the middle of a fight.

    On the white beach, neither Lu Yin nor the Cruiser spoke. The monkey rejoiced that he had not died and immediately started spouting nonsense about how he could be killed so easily. Lu Yin could not cut off the star energy to his right hand, as he had to keep his guard up against the Cruiser.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t right how we treated you in space, but you killed my brother, so let¡¯s cancel our grudges for now. How about it?¡± The Cruiser spoke first before continuing, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m afraid of you. Under these circumstances, neither of us will benefit from being injured. I¡¯ve traveled through the universe for many years, and I¡¯m much more experienced than you. You should listen to me.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a moment before answering, ¡°Sure.¡±

    The Cruiser opened his eyes, but he didn¡¯t dare to look directly at Lu Yin out of fear of being stunned by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. ¡°We¡¯re already inside the storm. It probably transported us to a secret dimension, so it¡¯ll be nearly impossible for us to get out.¡±

    ¡°What? Inside the storm? Secret dimension? Seventh Bro, you didn¡¯t escape?¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin was vexed, and he directly cut off the star energy to his right arm. ¡°It¡¯s rumored that people have walked out of here alive before.¡±

    ¡°They all lost their memories,¡± the Cruiser dryly replied.

    Lu Yin looked at the golden ocean and noted that it seemed as if all remnants of the Rune Technology Civilization had oceans, such as the Ocean of Death and this golden ocean.

    The Cruiser nced at Lu Yin, wanting to hear from this person himself why he had not been attacked by that war spirit from before. However, he knew that he would receive no answer even if he asked. He would recuperate first and then dispose of this kid.

    Lu Yin pointed at the tall mountain in the middle of the golden ocean. ¡°What do you think? Do you think that climbing that is the way out?¡±

    The Cruiser nodded. ¡°Possibly.¡±

    The two did not speak any further. The Cruiser only wanted to treat his injuries without dy. Meanwhile, Lu Yin walked over to the forest and snapped off a branch. He then approached the ocean and used the branch to probe the water.

    The Cruiser watched on carefully.

    The branch touched the water without event.

    Lu Yin hesitated and then shot star energy through his fingertip into the water. It created a ripple, but there were no other changes.

    ¡°It should just be normal ocean water,¡± the Cruiser spoke, hoping that Lu Yin would directly touch the water.

    Lu Yin was not fooled. ¡°Right, it¡¯s only normal water. However, there¡¯s a golden light, so there might be treasures under this ocean.¡±

    The Cruiser¡¯s eyes gleamed, as that option was indeed possible. He looked up at the sky and then at the gold color. As far as he could see, the entire ocean was tinted gold. At this point, it would be more unbelievable to him if there were no treasures here.

    He did not wait for Lu Yin to act and personally moved to test the water. As his finger probed the water, his hand felt cold, but his body itself was not harmed. He immediately became delighted, as it was indeed just normal water, which meant that there had to be treasure hiding on the seafloor or in the depths of the ocean.

    He emotionally looked into the distance; could this be an opportunity for him to profit from a disaster?

    But then, his face quickly sank, as he was not alone. He thought about it and then nced at Lu Yin, who was seemingly enthralled by the tall mountain. The Cruiser was puzzled. ¡°Why do you keep staring at that mountain?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°The treasure could also be hidden at the top.¡±

    ¡°The golden light is obviouslying from the other side of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Lu Yin replied with a nod after thinking about it. He then turned around to look in the other direction and showed his back to the Cruiser.

    The Cruiser¡¯s eyes quivered, and his fingers bent as he considered ambushing the youth, but he ultimately decided against it. He would wait a little longer for his condition to improve before acting. He definitely would not allow Lu Yin to survive, as this person had killed his brother.

    Lu Yin¡¯s back was to the man, but his eyes were twinkling. Then, he turned around and sat down cross-legged on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while.¡±

    There was no nighttime in this area, as everything was permanently illuminated by the golden light.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget. It must be under the influence of the space he was in, as it had stopped working. He silently estimated the time and concluded that five days should have passed since he had first arrived. He waited on the beach for another day, and the Cruiser also refrained from acting.

    Lu Yin gradually rxed his vignce as he was fascinated by the golden ocean more and more.

    ¡°Have you eaten?¡± the Cruiser suddenly asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m going into the forest to look for any spacecraft wreckages. What about you?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°We don¡¯t trust each other, so being together might not be the best idea.¡±

    ¡°This area is rather tricky. We should cooperate.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°How do you want to cooperate?¡±

    The Cruiser squinted. ¡°We¡¯ll take turns looking for food and exploring the ocean.¡±

    Lu Yin thought to himself for a moment and then nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    ¡°To show my sincerity, I¡¯ll go and look for food first. Rest assured, I won¡¯t hide any if I find some. I hope that we¡¯ll be able to find some treasures together and then get out of this damned ce,¡± the Cruiser said before walking into the forest.

    Lu Yin continued to stare calmly at the mountain as he fell deep into thought.

    Quite some time passed, but the Cruiser still did not return. Lu Yin rxed and closed his eyes to quietly rest.

    In the forest, a kilometer away from Lu Yin, the Cruiser¡¯s eyes widened as he stared ferociously at Lu Yin¡¯s back. He had never left from the very beginning and had instead been patiently waiting for the moment Lu Yin mentally rxed so that he couldunch an ambush. Rather than cooperating, the Cruiser felt that he might as well capture Lu Yin and use him as an extra life to search for a safe route.

    The man did not use any star energy as he was afraid that Lu Yin would notice his approach. He gripped a branch, and a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. He ferociously dashed out of the forest with the stick pointed straight at Lu Yin¡¯s back. With his strength as a Cruiser, even without star energy, his all-out physical strike should be enough to instantly kill a normal Explorer. Even if this person was a freak, the Cruiser did not believe that Lu Yin¡¯s defense could surpass an Explorer¡¯s.

    As the branch in his hand rushed towards Lu Yin, the branch struck Lu Yin¡¯s back almost before he could even react. However, the expected spurt of blood did not appear, and the man only felt the branch snap as if it had run into a boulder, and he even nearly injured his own hand. He stared in disbelief at Lu Yin¡¯s back; how could this kid¡¯s body be so sturdy? It was no weaker than a Cruiser¡¯s body.

    But before the man could gather his thoughts, the clothes on Lu Yin¡¯s back tore apart to reveal a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    The man looked directly at the hide, and his brain was heavily jolted. No longer able to control himself, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground with a deathly pale face.

    Lu Yin slowly stood up and looked down at the man. ¡°I waited a long time for you.¡±

    That was thest sentence the man heard before losing consciousness.

    Lu Yin definitely would not lower his guard when an enemy was nearby. He had instructed the monkey to use his innate gift of shadows to hide Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide on his back and then waited for the Cruiser tounch an ambush. The Cruiser was wary of the hide and would never open his eyes in a direct confrontation. Thus, the only path to sess was for Lu Yin to bait the Cruiser into sneak attacking his exposed back.

    Just as expected, the Cruiser had attacked Lu Yin¡¯s back, only to be stunned by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

 Chapter 413: Fish Bait

    <h4>Chapter 413: Fish Bait</h4>

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re too awesome! Your predictions were too urate!¡± the monkey shouted in worship.

    Lu Yin put Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide away and coughed. He had not fully blocked that branch and had actually been injured by it. He grabbed the man¡¯s cosmic ring and cut his finger before letting the man¡¯s blood drip onto the ring, unlocking it. From the ring poured out arge pile of items.

    The cosmic ring was not asrge as the one that Northgate Lie had given Lu Yin, but it was not small either. There were many things inside: about ten vials of special drugs from Shamrock Enterprises as well as other unknown medicines, weapons, star crystals, and even star essence.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this person possessed a considerable amount of wealth. His brother¡¯s power had not been simple, and this Cruiser was the same. They were elites among Cruisers and should possess some influence. Still, none of that mattered anymore since everything of his now belonged to Lu Yin.

    He looked through the pile, but it was still the star crystals and star essence that attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention the most. There were 220,000 star crystals, which wasn¡¯t much, and ten star essence, which was the same as 100,000 star crystals. Not bad, not bad. This is good enough for now.

    He drank a vial of the Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medicine and suddenly felt much better.

    The pile also held three Mavis Bank cards, one memory chip, and arge pile of objects that Lu Yin could not identify.

    For people who roamed the universe, nothing could surpass the importance that resources and medicines held, except for battle techniques and cultivation methods. This group had been led by this Cruiser¡¯s brother, so unfortunately for Lu Yin, the most valuable items had all been on that brother¡¯s body.

    Still, this was already a pretty good profit.

    The wealth of a single Cruiser could allow Lu Yin to temporarily break free from his frustration of being destitute. Although the Cruiser¡¯s ring didn¡¯t hold much wealth, it was at least enough to buy another radiant-grade spacecraft.

    He felt rather depressed, as his vessels never had happy endings.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what should we do with this bastard?¡± the monkey asked, fuming with rage. If not for this person, they would never have ended up in their current situation, with this unknown fate of if they would ever be able to escape from this ce.

    Lu Yin crouched down, ced a hand on the man¡¯s abdomen, and mercilessly unleashed Thirty Stacks. There was a soft boom, and the white beach shook as the man was crushed beneath the sand. The Cruiser woke up and opened his eyes as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    After opening his eyes, the man felt an intense pain in his abdomen, and it felt as if his organs had been crushed. He was now in a much worse condition than before.

    Lu Yin stood on the beach and looked down on the Cruiser from above with cold eyes.

    The man fearfully looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. I was trying to test your vignce. After all, if we are going to cooperate, I can¡¯t work with someone who¡¯s not alert.¡±

    Lu Yin felt nothing but disdain. ¡°So you tested me?¡±

    The man panted heavily and released a breath. ¡°Yes, tested. I¡¯d be happy to work together with you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Of course. Or at least, I¡¯ll be very happy.¡± Then, in full view of the man¡¯s panicked gaze, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy took the shape of a thread extending from his fingertip. Lu Yin then tied the man up before tossing him into the golden ocean as if he were fishing.

    The man was terrified. ¡°No! Please, let me go! I¡¯m begging you! I¡¯ll give you resources, battle techniques, weapons, anything! Please, let me go!¡±

    There was a plop, and the man¡¯s words were drowned out under the water.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this person¡¯s shameless,¡± the monkey ridiculed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingertip quivered while the man shivered in fear beneath the surface of the ocean. Although the water was normal, it was unknown if there was anything else in the water. Humans feared the unknown, and this man had just been tossed around by Lu Yin like bait.

    After quite a while, Lu Yin pulled him ashore.

    Ssh~~

    The man spat out another mouthful of blood. His entire body was drenched, and he justy there on the shore, shivering.

    When Lu Yin saw the man¡¯s unharmed state, he muttered, ¡°It looks like it¡¯s safe near the beach. But who knows if it¡¯s safe further out or if there are some terrifying organisms lurking in the depths.¡±

    The man¡¯s face paled, and he grew even more terrified. His extreme fear coupled with his serious injuries caused his eyes rolled back as he fainted.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re using him as bait to explore the ocean?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°This ce is too weird. I won¡¯t risk exposing myself to unknown dangers.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too cruel,¡± the monkey mumbled.

    Lu Yin was unhappy. ¡°It¡¯s either him or you. Your choice.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I actually think that you¡¯re incredibly brilliant. How did I not think of using this guy as bait? I should learn well from Seventh Bro and try to improve myself every day.¡± The monkey immediately started ttering Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin casually fed the Cruiser a special medicine since he did not want the man to die. After all, it would be difficult to find another Cruiser to use as bait in this ce.

    This person held a grudge against Lu Yin, so he acted without any reservations. If this Cruiser had been just another bystander, then he might not have been able to bring himself to do this, though Lu Yin himself readily acknowledged that he was not a good person.

    After some rest, Lu Yin awakened the man once more and threw him into the ocean to continue his noble fishing trip.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time fishing, as he had also fished while on the Astral River Ark before. Back then, he had been nervous every time he cast his line from the ark as he feared something freakish biting, and this current endeavor was no different.

    The vast ocean and the tall mountain held an indescribable terror to Lu Yin. The number of rune lines that a person or item possessed represented the amount of influence that they had on the universe, but both the ocean and the mountain had an absurd amount of runes converging around them. The amount was so high that his scalp turned numb at the thought, and he didn¡¯t dare to approach them personally.

    As he moved along the white beach, Lu Yin rotated between using the Cruiser as bait and looking into the distance to see if there was an exit.

    After two days, Lu Yin casually tossed the Cruiser into the ocean once again. After his initial period of fear, the Cruiser now felt only numb. He longed for death at this point, since he would no longer have to suffer if he died.

    ¡°It looks like either the coastal waters are safe, or the entire ocean is safe. You¡¯re very lucky,¡± Lu Yinmented. The Cruiser, still injured from Lu Yin¡¯s earlier punch, stood nearby.

    The man coughed up some blood and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Kill me. If you have the ability, then just kill me already.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°There¡¯s no need to try to agitate me. You don¡¯t really want to die. If you do wish to die, then just kill yourself. I won¡¯t stop you.¡±

    The Cruiser clenched both fists as his entire body quivered, either out of anger or fear it was unknown.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue fishing,¡± Lu Yin shouted as he tossed the Cruiser back into the ocean again.

    A dayter, Lu Yin looked behind him to check the path that they had taken, and he saw that his path had deviated, as expected.

    After he had started testing the ocean with his bait, he had walked along the beach in a straight line for three days. However, his path had deviated from a straight line, even though he had never moved further away from the forest or the ocean. This meant that the beach was curved in an arc. This further confirmed his guess that the entire sealed space was circr in shape, which included both the golden ocean and the forested area.

    Of course, this was just a conjecture of his. It could also be that just the ocean was curved. However, Lu Yin trusted his own intuition. When he calcted the arc and angle from his three days of travel, it was highly probable that this ce was circr.

    Lu Yin made the calctions again. If this space was actually circr, then it would take him at least half a year to walk around this ocean once with his current speed, which was too long.

    He turned around and looked at the mountain in the ocean, as that ce was the only variable he could see.

    He did not wish to be trapped in this sealed space forever. Thus, even if approaching the mountain was dangerous, it was still better than being trapped in this ce for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Monkey, have you tranted those words yet?¡± Lu Yin suddenly thought of this matter from before.

    The monkey was agonized. ¡°This monkey has reviewed all the journals and written records and used them forparison. I¡¯ve only tranted one character so far¡ª¡®hate.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Hate? Hate whom?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°I just said that I¡¯ve only tranted one word. There¡¯s thirteen characters in total, and this ¡®hate¡¯ word is actually four of them.¡±

    ¡°To pierce someone with five pikes is indeed an act of hate,¡± Lu Yin murmured, ¡°Alright, you keep tranting.¡±

    He then cast a malicious look at the bound Cruiser.

    At this moment, the man was still numb. His entire body was soaked in water, and the resentment in his eyes had only grown more intense.

    He sensed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze on him, and his heart sank. He actually felt some desire to jump into the ocean of his own ord.

    Lu Yin gently tugged on the star energy rope. ¡°Don¡¯t be so anxious to jump into the ocean. We¡¯ve worked hard to explore the coastal waters these past few days, so now, we need to set higher goals.¡±

    The man felt his scalp turn numb, and the resentment in his eyes was reced with dread. ¡°Wha- what is it you want?¡±

    Lu Yin grinned and casually tossed the man into the ocean. This time, the star energy rope kept extending. The man was thrown far out into the depths of the ocean by an enormous force, and his face went pale. The depths were an entirely new territory and were filled with the terror of the unknown. He recalled the fear that he had felt the first time he had been tossed into the ocean, and he could not stop himself from pleading for his life, but it was useless. Lu Yin had already made up his mind to start making his way towards the mountain.

    He felt that scaling the mountain might be the only way out.

    Plop!

    The man had been tossed dozens of kilometers into the ocean, which was a distance that could not be seen by any regr human. Only cultivators could see such a distance, though Lu Yin could see even further.

    Given the Cruiser¡¯s current condition, if Lu Yin wanted to maintain control of him, then he could not lessen the intensity of his star energy any more. This distance was Lu Yin¡¯s limit. Any further and the man would be able to break free from the star energy restraints and escape.

    Lu Yin stood on the beach and waited anxiously. An hourter, he suddenly pulled on the string and hauled the man back, who mmed onto the beach while panting heavily.

    ¡°It looks like there¡¯s really nothing in the ocean,¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    The man red fiercely at Lu Yin and then at the mountain, his thoughts unknown.

    After multiple days of probing the ocean with the man as bait, Lu Yin finally decided to enter it himself since he felt that things were safe.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, be careful. This ce is very weird. Let¡¯s keep exploring a while longer.¡± The monkey tried to dissuade him from entering the ocean.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°The furthest range I can still control this person at is only about ten kilometers. He can escape if I cast him out any farther. If we wish to keep exploring, then we can only do that by entering the ocean.¡±

    The monkey knew that Lu Yin was right, and he didn¡¯t want to stay trapped in this ce forever either.

    Lu Yin did not n to dy things, so he directly headed out across the golden ocean, moving straight towards the mountain.

    By his calctions, the mountain should not be that far from the beach. However, after traveling for a bit, Lu Yin tossed the Cruiser out to act as bait and test the water in front of him for half a day. Then, he would continue on only after determining that the path forward was safe.

    By repeating this routine, Lu Yin covered hundreds of kilometers and gradually approached the high mountain. It would only take him a few more rounds of fishing.

    Plop!

    The captive Cruiser was tossed out in the ocean again. He had already lost count of how many times he had been tossed out. He was now certain that there was nothing in the ocean and that it was very safe. His terror had gradually disappeared, and his thoughts had cleared themselves. Through the crystal clear water, he could see Lu Yin in the distance, cautiously scanning his surroundings.

    The Cruiser suddenly activated his innate gift and exerted his maximum strength to forcefully break free of the star energy restraints. Then, he quickly dashed in another direction.

 Chapter 414: Vanish

    <h4>Chapter 414: Vanish</h4>

    Lu Yin could feel his star energy being thrown off, and he hurriedly tried to interfere, but it was already toote. He had underestimated the Cruiser¡¯s recovery speed. Despite periodically injuring his captive, the man had still managed to recover enough energy to the point where he could break free of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy restraints. The Cruiser had only been enduring his captivity from the beginning, and he had escaped as soon as he was confident. By now, it was only a short distance to the mountain.

    Lu Yin helplessly watched on as the man slipped away like a fish and sighed. Forget it, I just lost some fish bait. He then raised his head and looked up at the mountain, the ce where he intended to go next.

    The path of cultivation was fraught with dangers, but that danger was unavoidable.

    Lu Yin nced at his right arm. Actually, he still had another piece of bait.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I suddenly noticed that you are very handsome.¡± The monkey suddenly ttered Lu Yin, who grinned. This damned monkey was too shrewd.

    Lu Yin could not head back at this point and started moving towards the mountain.

    The Cruiser male hid within the ocean off in the distance, watching as Lu Yin headed towards the mountain. Only then did he finally rx. His gamble had paid off, and this person wouldn¡¯t pursue him in this vast ocean.

    It was possible that the only exit from this space was atop that mountain, so the Cruiser needed to follow Lu Yin. The situation had reversed, and it was now Lu Yin¡¯s turn to act as bait.

    As he approached the mountain, Lu Yin was able to more acutely sense the gathering aura. Lu Yin did not know how exactly to describe the sensation. Tyrannical, sharp, unparalleled; he could think of many adjectives that were close to fitting, all of which involuntarily popped into his mind since he had nevere in contact with such an aura before.

    The mountain was cylindrical, and it almost looked like it had been directly tossed into the seabed.

    When Lu Yin reached the side and looked up, he could not see the peak. He then raised his hand, struck the mountain wall, and found that it was very sturdy. He used a bit more force but was still unable to damage the wall.

    The durability of the mountain could be easily imagined if he could not affect the wall even with his current strength.

    Endless rune lines had converged upon a mountain, so what exactly was this thing? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew heated, and he started manually climbing up since he could not fly in this space.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you think that this mountain is safe?¡± the monkey asked nervously.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it doesn''t matter if it¡¯s safe or not. We have to climb it since this is the only path.¡±

    As Lu Yin started climbing, the Cruiser on the seafloor started graduallying up, all the while maintaining what he felt was a safe distance from Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that bastard¡¯sing over to the mountain.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°When he starts climbing, go ahead and make a move. You can capture him, and we¡¯ll use him as fish bait again.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± The monkey was excited but also a little afraid since he had nearly been used as fish bait himself. This Cruiser bastard had to be caught, as that person was the only one who deserved to be bait.

    The man¡¯s eyes trembled as he watched Lu Yin climb higher and higher up the mountain. He soon grabbed a hold of the wall with both hands and started to climb himself.

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s pupils shrank, and an intense fear filled his eyes. His entire body started vanishing.

    ¡°Se- Se- Seventh Bro, look down!¡± the monkey shouted anxiously.

    Lu Yin lowered his head and his expression changed. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did he do?¡±

    ¡°Nothing! He only touched the mountain!¡± the monkey shouted,pletely terrified.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp grew numb as he stared at the disappearing man.

    At the bottom-most part of the mountain, the Cruiserpletely vanished from sight, bit by bit, until it was as if he had never existed. It was an extremely horrifying scene, as anyone would despair if they had to watch themselves vanish from existence.

    The Cruiser never could have even dreamed that he would die in such a manner. Even though it was a painless ordeal, the desperation and terror that he felt in his final moments surpassed everything else.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Cruiser who was terrified, but also Lu Yin. When his hand made contact with the mountain wall, he had felt like he was in front of the underworld. He realized that the Cruiser¡¯s existence in this space had been thoroughly rejected. This was what happened when someone fought against the cultivation path of the Runemasters; their very existence was directly erased from the universe in an act ofplete destruction.

    It was a rather strange and terrifying battle style.

    A healthy, living person, and a Cruiser at that, had soundlessly vanished in an instant. He had only touched the wall, just the side of a mountain! No one could have expected that a mountain would possess such an attack. It was so odd that it toppled everyone¡¯smon sense.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel like we should go now.¡± The monkey was starting to panic; he had almost used his innate gift of shadows to touch the wall. He was now terrified since he felt like he had nearly doomed himself to oblivion.

    Lu Yin nodded, as the cold cliff now felt like a freezing b of ice, and he could not wait to stop touching it. It felt like he was holding a grenade that could go off at any moment, or that he was walking along the edge of a precarious cliff. He was certain that he would never forget this feeling for the rest of his life.

    Lu Yin released his grip on the mountain with both hands and was just about to jump into the ocean, but at that same instance, his face went deathly pale. His clothes started disappearing.

    He instinctively grabbed the wall with both hands again and saw that the vanishing process had stopped.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what¡¯s going on?¡± The monkey was still in terror.

    Lu Yin was also at a loss. ¡°I can¡¯t let go! If I do, I might vanish!¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be¡ªit¡¯s the reverse?! That bastard vanished when he touched the wall, but you can¡¯t let go of it. What kind of trick is this? Try again! We can¡¯t die here!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin frowned and released one hand from the mountain wall. He was fine. But when he slowly pulled his other hand away from the mountain, his clothes immediately began to disappear. He hurriedly grasped the wall with both hands again and grimaced. ¡°I can¡¯t remove both hands at once. Monkey, it looks like our only choice is to climb up if we don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    The monkey fell into despair. ¡°During the many years I¡¯ve roamed the Astral Beast Domain, I¡¯ve gone to many strange ces and read many famous journals. I once even visited an Envoy¡¯s grave, and I managed to live through all that. I¡¯ve never heard of a mountain that can cause people to vanish, and I never dreamed that I would appear in such a ce. My dear Feng Jiu, my Celestial Ice Phoenix harem! Seventh Bro, this is all your fault!¡±

    ¡°Alright, enough with the melodrama. Why don¡¯t youe up with a way to help me climb up? The exit might actually be at the top.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. Seventh Bro, our destiny will determine whether or not we survive.¡± The monkey was extremely depressed.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, and his expression firmed. Since he had to climb, he would go all-out. He refused to believe that he would actually die here.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know exactly how tall the mountain was; he only knew that he could not see the peak and that he had no other fate besides climbing up.

    Eventually, he even lost sight of the ocean¡¯s surface. He could only make himself look upwards.

    One hour, two hours¡­ One day, two days¡­

    Lu Yin climbed for five days, only asionally taking a break whenever he became tired and exchanging some words with the monkey before continuing on with the climb. The scenery along the way remainedpletely monotonous. The higher he climbed, the further he could see. He could see the forest, the white beach, and once in a while, he could even see a ck dot that represented either a person or a war spirit.

    The people in the forest definitely could not see Lu Yin, and none of them would have ever thought that there was someone climbing up the sheer face of that tall mountain.

    As Lu Yin continued to climb the mountain, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s war to recapture Frostwave Weave wasing to a conclusion.

    The captains of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were all at least at the Cruiser realm, and there were few in the entire Frostwave Weave who could rival them. When Undying Yushan had been in power, he had worked hard to formte a strategy to unite the entire Frostwave Weave under the Great Yu Empire¡¯s rule. Just as when the empire eliminated Firesmelt, everything had already been nned out.

    As long as no other powers entered the fray, it would be nearly effortless for the Great Yu Empire to unite Frostwave Weave.

    Unification relied on military force while governance relied on stability and economy. The Great Yu Empire was experiencing an economic depression, and even though it received the financial support from Innerverse powers like the Watermoon Mountain, its military power was too great, causing the surrounding weaves to coordinate and embargo its economy. This led to Frostwave Weave¡¯s economy remaining handicapped, to the point where even if they managed to unite the entire weave, the empire would still crumble and decline because of the failing economy.

    Huo Qingshan and the others had tried to contact Lu Yin for several days to ask Lu Yin to make an executive decision, but they were unable to reach him.

    As for Wendy Yushan, she had gone into seclusion to practice the Yu Secret Art.

    Under these helpless circumstances, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s only choice was to slow down on their ns to unify the weave and begin to take advantage of the many captureds in order to maintain the economy.

    The Chaos Flowzone was one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great Flowzones, and it was also the ce where the Innerverse¡¯s dark side gathered. Within the Chaos Flowzone, order was disorder. and the cultivators there only respected the strong.

    There was a in the Chaos Flowzone called Deep Crimson that was governed by the Deep Crimson Hall, and it was also the hall¡¯s headquarters. Deep Crimson Hall was one of the powers living in the Chaos Flowzone, but it only governed one territory. It was nothingpared to Chaosgod Mountain, and it could be destroyed at any time. But even still, it had its own methods of survival.

    Within a giant city on Deep Crimson, there was an unending flow of flying machinery. The traffic was especially intense at night when the routes around the city were sealed in order to be used as race tracks.

    Everyone knew that this city¡¯s owner, Wu Pa, enjoyed exciting aircraftpetitions and raced every night. The races featured modified aircraft, and this night was no different than any other.

    Dozens of vehicles shuttled back and forth, causing the air to distort before vanishing further down on the race track.

    Wu Pa¡¯s face revealed an excited expression as his aircraft zoomed about, overtaking three of hispetitors, one after another. Heughed maniacally, as none of the other machines gave way to each other, but no one wouldpete with Wu Pa.

    Wu Pa¡¯s flying style was extremely brutal; he had a penchant for crashing into others, which caused the other racers to take extra care not to fly too close to him.

    Gradually, Wu Pa took the lead.

    Just as Wu Pa assumed that tonight¡¯s race was concluded, one aircraft suddenly shot past the rest to violently m against him.

    Wu Pa was stunned that someone on Deep Crimson would actually dare to ram him. His position in Deep Crimson Hall was not low, and he governed an entire city. On top of that, he was an Explorer whose power level was almost at 50,000. Thus, he was only a single step away from breaking through to be a Cruiser. He was among the top tenbatants even within the entire Deep Crimson Hall, and no one had ever dared to ram into him during one of these racingpetitions. Despite that, something new had just happened.

    Wu Pa licked his lips and ruthlessly flew his aircraft over. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    Boom!

    Bang!

    The two aircraft violently crashed against one another on the track, and sparks shot out.

    The racers following behind them were stunned. Someone actually dared to openly ram into Wu Pa? Are they looking to die?

    There was a mountain path ahead, and the two aircraft collided once again, and brilliant sparks sprayed out from the collision as the two vehicles streaked along the mountain path.

    The moment the two aircraft went around a curve, Big Pao looked up from within the aircraft that had rammed into Wu Pa¡¯s, and his eyes flickered with cold killing intent. His demeanor waspletely different from back at the academy, and it seemed as if he had changed. He raised a hand, and star energy surged as he shouted, ¡°Firesoul Gun!¡±

    Big Pao shot out a star energy bullet that was boosted by two-lined battle force, and it squarely struck Wu Pa.

    Wu Pa did not think that anyone would try to assassinate him here, and he reflexively raised a hand to block it. The bullet easily pierced through Wu Pa¡¯s palm and continued traveling through his arm. It tore through the void and split the mountain route behind him in two.

    Behind the two aircraft, many other racers hurriedly stopped their vehicles and sluggishly watched on as the entire mountain crumbled.

 Chapter 415: Envoy

    <h4>Chapter 415: Envoy</h4>

    Little Pao was in the same aircraft as Big Pao, and he raised a hand right after Big Pao attacked. ck veins that looked like mes spread across his hand as two-lined battle force appeared. Then, Little Pao¡¯s attack transformed into a giant ck fiery palm. ¡°ck zes Palm.¡±

    The ck zes Palm smashed Wu Pa beneath the ground, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    Although Wu Pa¡¯s power level had nearly reached 50,000, he was actually just an ordinary Explorer and could notpare to elite Explorers. Big Pao and Little Pao were also Explorers, but they were elites who had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy and received direct guidance from Astral-10¡¯s mentors. Thus, their strength was not represented fully by their power levels. When the two brothers joined forces, they easily overwhelmed Wu Pa.

    A gunshot echoed as a bullet from the Firesoul Gun pierced Wu Pa¡¯s forehead and caused a giant fissure to emerge along the ground, moving towards the city.

    ¡°Run!¡± Little Pao growled, and the two of them immediately fled the scene.

    Not long after the two left, the entire city was sealed, and an expert from Deep Crimson Hall was dispatched to search for the assassins. News of Wu Pa¡¯s murder was immediately reported to the Deep Crimson Hall Master¡ªBo Senior.

    Deep Crimson Hall had two Hall Masters, who were nicknamed the Bo Duo. They were both from the Bo n and were called Bo Senior and Bo Junior. They were both Hunters, and they had established Deep Crimson Hall along with almost ten Cruisers in the fringe territory of Chaos Flowzone. When Bo Senior learned about Wu Pa¡¯s death, he was furious, and he immediately ordered Deep Crimson to be put on lock down until the enemy was found.

    Big Pao and Little Pao had not left the region after their assassination. Instead, they had hidden themselves inside the city.

    Although Deep Crimson wasrge, it was a simple task for a Hunter to scour the entire. There were not many people who were strong enough to kill Wu Pa, and since the brothers were afraid of being found, they had chosen to hide inside of the city.

    ¡°Wu Pa¡¯s the first. Aside from the Bo Duo, we should be able to deal with everyone else,¡± Big Pao said gravely.

    Little Pao looked at the list of the experts in Deep Crimson Hall and shook his head. ¡°They have some Cruisers whose power levels are over 70,000. It¡¯s still dangerous for us to try and deal with them with our current strength.¡±

    Big Pao inhaled deeply. ¡°Old Cai only gave us two Money Bombs, and those are meant for the Bo Duo. We¡¯ll have toe up with some other way to take out the others on our own.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll be a way. We need to hurry up and take revenge for back then,¡± Little Pao coldly replied.

    Meanwhile, the golden ocean remained peaceful as ever, seemingly entirely devoid of any living creature.

    Lu Yin was still climbing the mountain, and he looked down. It had been quite a while since he had lost sight of the ocean, and now, even the distant forest seemed small enough to fit in one hand. When he thought about how long he had spent in this ce, Lu Yin quickly realized that he had been climbing for more than ten days and that he had been trapped in this strange ce for nearly a month.

    From his position and altitude, he felt like he could leap into the forest with but a single bound.

    He looked up again, but the summit was still out of sight.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why do I feel like you¡¯ve recently been spending your time either crossing oceans or climbing mountains. Did you offend the Rune Progenitor somehow?¡± The monkey was miserable.

    Lu Yin was speechless, as the monkey was right. Lu Yin had ascended the Sky tform, crossed the Ocean of Death, and he was now climbing this mountain, and all of these things were rted to the Rune Technology Civilization.

    ¡°Monkey, tell me what you know about the Rune Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything more than what I¡¯ve already told you. Progenitors are secret existences in and of themselves, so only a few people even know about them. I¡¯m not some archaeologist, so I can¡¯t get ess to information about all of them.¡±

    ¡°How many years did the Rune Technology Civilization exist for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said that I don¡¯t know, but based on some records by a powerhouse, it was short. Very short.¡±

    ¡°A sh in the pan?¡±

    ¡°Somewhat. Anyway, that powerhouse¡¯s journal described the Rune Technology Civilization in one sentence¡ªone sky covering another sky.¡±

    One sky covering another sky? What does that mean? Lu Yin could not understand the words¡¯ meaning, but he was suddenly reminded of the ind on the other side of the Ocean of Death where the ancient voice had mentioned the sky had changed from five to six. Could it be rted to that?

    ¡°Rune Progenitor? How much do you know about him?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    The monkey grudgingly responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Rune Progenitor lived in a bygone age long ago, and their civilization¡¯s even extinct. It¡¯s already pretty good that we have any records of them at all. You¡¯ll probably have to find a Neoverse power, such as the Three Dark Hands or the Hall of Honor to get more information than that.¡±

    ¡°How long can a Progenitor live for?¡± Lu Yin did not give up, and he continued on the same line of questioning.

    The monkey didn¡¯t immediately answer and muttered to himself for a while. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Logically, even the Third Nightking has lived for a long time and still won¡¯t die anytime soon. A Progenitor should probably live forever.¡±

    ¡°But in this part of the universe, there¡¯s no mention of any Progenitor¡¯s existence,¡± Lu Yin interrupted.

    The monkey did not reply.

    ¡°Could it be that all the Progenitors have already died?¡± Lu Yin guessed.

    ¡°I don''t know. Seventh Bro, don¡¯t dwell on this so much. Even after a thousand years, you still won¡¯t be able to reach the level of a Progenitor. No, it should be ten thousand¡ªno, a hundred thousand years. Anyway, it¡¯s not realistic to dream about reaching the level of a Progenitor in your lifetime. Let¡¯s just aim to reach the level of an Envoy.¡±

    ¡°Envoy?¡± Lu Yin was stumped, as he had only ever heard of this term. Right, the monkey had mentioned visiting an Envoy¡¯s grave.

    ¡°An Envoy is the term given to a powerhouse whose power level has surpassed 500,000 units. It stems from the idea that they are an envoy of the heavens. Such a person is basically unkible, and even that Northgate Taisui that we saw before probably only had a power level of around 400,000 at best. He¡¯ll never break through to be an envoy, or else he would never have gone into cryostasis and hidden himself within the Northgate family. To put it another way, there¡¯s no Envoy in the Outerverse, though the Innerverse might have a few.¡±

    Lu Yin longed to know what it would be like to have a power level surpassing 500,000. With just the passing of one¡¯s gaze, the stars would copse; that was an Envoy.

    ¡°Actually, the goal of bing an Envoy might be too high for Seventh Bro too. After all, you¡¯re from the Outerverse. What do you say? Why don¡¯t we lower the standard to match Northgate Taisui?¡± The monkey probed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°Cut the crap, and let¡¯s keep climbing.¡±

    The monkey lips curled up. ¡°Who knows how much longer we¡¯ll have to climb up this broken mountain for? It¡¯s just a waste of my time. If Sister Feng Jiu was here, my Feng Jiu¡­¡±

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, scaling a mountain was not a difficult task. However, once he reached a certain altitude, he realized that his star energy was being inhibited. His expression quickly changed as this task had just be a lot harder.

    Without star energy, he could only use his physical strength to continue climbing upwards towards the endless peak. Lu Yin started to grow more desperate.

    Also, no star energy meant that the Ghost Monkey was permanently screened off, so Lu Yin was by himself as he silently climbed the mountain.

    It was unknown whether anyone had climbed up this mountain in the past.

    As there were no traces of previous climbers, it led Lu Yin to think about the Cruiser who had vanished. It was possible that the average person would vanish once they touched this mountain and that Lu Yin was an exception. The reason for his exception would be either the Sky tform or the Ocean of Death¡¯s influence.

    Another ten days passed, and the ordeal was very arduous for Lu Yin. Given his physical strength, climbing was not difficult, but he had maintained the same position for twenty days, no matter if he was eating or taking a break. And yet, despite all his effort, he still could not see the top of the mountain.

    This repetitive life was incredibly boring.

    Below, the forest seemed to be just beneath him, and all he could see was a golden color spreading out in all directions, nothing else at all. He didn¡¯t even know if he was still within the same sealed space.

    More importantly, his spiritual force was now being suppressed, and he didn¡¯t know when that had started.

    A formless pressure gradually suppressed him more and more. Much like a frog being boiled in warm water, the pressure did not begin with much strength, but it became more intense the higher he climbed. At his current altitude, he was feeling a little tired despite his resistance against spiritual force pressure. It was impossible for a normal Limiteer to reach this point, and even normal Explorers would have a tough time doing so.

    The spiritual force suppression that he felt in this location was equivalent to what he had endured during the Astral Combat Tournament when he had received Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Third Sword.

    Lu Yin shook his head vigorously. No matter what, he had to continue on as he had no other choice. He could either climb up or die.

    Another five days passed by, and Lu Yin grew a bit dizzy since he was now resisting a rather significant amount of spiritual force pressure at this height. He was almost unable to take it any longer, but the peak seemed to be right in front of him; he had nearly reached it.

    Lu Yin was delighted, and he endured the giddy feeling and climbed up a thousand meters in a single breath. He pulled himself up, and his entire body crashed onto the peak. He panted heavily andy down t on the ground. He had reached the peak!

    He looked around and then behind himself, only to feel an even deeper sense of despair than before. This wasn¡¯t actually the end. There was still another peak beyond this point¡ªno, there were three more peaks that shot into the sky.

    This one mountain had three peaks, but he shouldn¡¯t be too far from the highest point of this mountain.

    Lu Yin did not concern himself with the mountain any further and fell into a deep sleep thatsted for two days. For the entire time he was sleeping, his two hands never risked leaving the ground out of fear that he would vanish.

    At this time, the Daynight Flowzone was growing even more lively, as the Daynight Feast was about to begin. The Daynight n weed many youths from all over, and Nightqueen Yanqing, Chilian Daynight, Tiankong Daynight, Rou Daynight, Zhuo Daynight, and the other young elites of the n had all rushed back.

    The Daynight Feast was a tradition of the Daynight n, and every time, they would send out invitations to some other members of the younger generation for this social event. It was a tactic to allow those of the Daynight n to interact with others. Thus, most youth yearned to be invited to the Daynight Feast, which was its own little social circle.

    Of course, an invitation was just an invitation, and not everyone would attend. After all, the universe was too vast. Some people were too far away, and it was not practical for them to attend.

    The experts on the Top 100 Rankings would all be invited, but at most, only four or five would attend. The rest would all politely decline.

    The Daynight Feast was held on the Daynight n¡¯s main, the Nightking. It was an iparably huge, and it was one of thergest in the entire Innerverse. It floated in the heavens like a monster, and it was rumored that the first Nightking had been birthed here. This was sacred to the Nightking n.

    The Nightking was rarely opened to the public, but there were countlesss nearby for outsiders to visit. Only on special asions such as the Daynight Feast would visitors be allowed to actually visit the Nightking, though only those with invitations could enter.

    At this moment, above Nightking, a dozen spacecraft hovered in outer space as they watched two figures confronting each other.

    Genius powerhouses were always invited to the Daynight Feast, and it wasmon for conflict to break out or for bitter enemies to meet. The Daynight Feast¡¯s rules said that all grudges had to be settled in outer space, above the, and not to be brought down onto the itself. Hence, during each Daynight Feast, it would be very lively right above the Nightking, as all sorts of battles would take ce there, and nobody on Nightking would not stop them either.

    In space, one man and one woman faced each other before savagely attacking each other.

    The two were not that old, only around thirty years of age, but both were Explorers. They were both from great powers, and although they could notpare to the people in the Top 100 Rankings, they were still in the top of the younger generation, which was a necessary qualification for them to attend the Daynight Feast.

    Their battle grew more intense, and it attracted even more attention as more people gathered to watch themotion.

 Chapter 416: Mister Mu

    <h4>Chapter 416: Mister Mu</h4>

    Just before the oue between the two was about to end, a small de tore through the void, miraculously appearing and flying a single circle around the two before vanishing again. The two contenders froze in ce, and a trace of blood appeared on their necks. They had almost been killed just then.

    Everyone stared foolishly at the scene, and then they looked in another direction. A unique spacecraft flew up, and the small de had shot out from within that vessel.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Lingling n¡¯s spacecraft.¡±

    ¡°The Lingling n? That terrifying n? That means¡­ Was that de the legendary Que¡¯s Mighty sh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That de isn¡¯t something that woulde from an Explorer, which means it¡¯s user is in the Limiteer realm. However, it was able to defeat two elite Explorers in an instant. Aside from that person, who else could aplish such a thing?¡±

    In the heavens, the man and the woman looked at each other in agony. They had given their all in this battle, but both of them had been defeated by someone else in an instant. What¡¯s more, they hadn¡¯t even been able to see the other person¡¯s face.

    On Nightking, Nightqueen Yanqing looked at her screen and incessantly reyed that exact scene, visibly moved by what she had seen. ¡°He actually came. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s Ling Que. He¡¯s here!¡±

    A member of the Daynight n who was behind her was puzzled. ¡°Que¡¯s Mighty sh? Sounds familiar.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s lips perked up. ¡°In the current universe, there are only three people in the younger generation who can be truly considered to be unequalled Limiteers: the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Ye Xingchen, the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s Mu Rong, and the Lingling n¡¯s Ling Que. Que''s Mighty sh is Ling Que¡¯s battle technique.¡±

    That Daynight m member was shocked. ¡°I remember now! This de once beheaded five Explorers, and one of them was even strong enough to challenge the Top Hundred Rankings. So this is Ling Que?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing nodded with an excited look on her face; she had invited Ling Que herself. Her objective was very simple¡ªto suppress Lu Yin. To her, Lu Yin was an unremovable stain on her brilliant life, as well as that Zhanlong Daynight. Unfortunately, Zhanlong had gone missing in the Shenwu Continent, or else she would have invited Ling Que to teach both of them a lesson.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin would definitely appear at this gathering since he had been invited. Everyone praised Lu Yin as an unequaled Limiteer, but she had learned from her brother, Arbiter Zhenwu, that Thirty Stacks was merely the publicized record left behind by the Divine Fist. Those who were truly unequaled would not stop at just Thirty Stacks, and Ye Xingchen, Mu Rong, and Ling Que had all received the Ten Arbiters¡¯ recognition of truly being unequaled Limiteers.

    In other words, Lu Yin was still a shade inferior to them, and she was nning on using this slight difference to magnify Lu Yin¡¯s shorings during this Daynight Feast and shatter the perception of his invincibility.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Cheers sounded out from one spacecraft in particr. The vessel carried a group of pretty girls who were gorgeously dressed, and they were all dancing about and shouting excitedly.

    This scene caused the crowd to be taken aback; were these groupies?

    Ling Que¡¯s appearance at Nightking caused quite an uproar. The Lingling n was based within the Soulseal Flowzone, and they rarely interacted with outsiders. Their race had an iparable innate gift which caused them all to be arrogant, but it also meant that they were so powerful that not even the Daynight n would lightly provoke them.

    Ling Que was one of the strongest Limiteers in the younger generation, but he had always maintained a low profile. No one thought that he would appear at Nightking for this gathering.

    Some guessed that his appearance was rted to Lu Yin since there were only four unequaled Limiteers throughout the entire universe¡¯s present younger generation. Lu Yin was one of them, so it was normal for Ling Que to take an interest in him.

    Due to Ling Que¡¯s appearance, more invited youths started heading towards Nightking, and many uninvited people gathered in the Daynight Flowzone, hoping to witness the potential battle between Ling Que and Lu Yin.

    In Astral-8, Xi Yue looked for Feng Shang, as she wanted to invite him to head over to the Daynight Flowzone¡¯s Nightking with her.

    However, she was turned down by Feng Shang, and he refused to budge on this issue.

    Xi Yue was speechless, but she nheless headed off for the Daynight Flowzone on her own.

    Feng Shang watched Xi Yue¡¯s departing figure and sighed. Everyone was looking forward to Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Ling Que, but only he knew that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t show up since he had been swallowed by a storm. His odds of surviving that encounter were just too low.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin slept for two days straight, and his brain became a little less fuzzy when he woke up. Afterwards, he started climbing towards the three peaks in the distance.

    He thought about it for a brief moment before gritting his teeth and resolving himself to continue climbing. He chose the middle peak since, in general, it was more likely for the most important feature to be at the center.

    He pressed both hands against the slope of the middle peak, and the oppressive pressure swept over him as the pressure on his spiritual force increased once again. At this moment, even Lu Yin found it difficult to resist the pressure, and his forehead beaded up with sweat. He gritted his teeth; he had to climb up to the top of this peak no matter what.

    One dayter, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had gone ck; the pressure was too much for him. He had no choice, so he began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures to resist the pressure as he climbed.

    One day, two, three¡­ five days. At this moment, Lu Yin had been unconscious for an entire day, and he was moving on pure instinct. After nearly a month of climbing, his body had developed an instinctual habit to climb, even though his consciousness had faded.

    At that moment, if Lu Yin suddenly became clear-headed and looked around, he would not see the mountain in front of him anymore. He had reached the peak.

    With a thump, Lu Yin finally arrived at the peak. His eyes were only open by a slit, but he seemed to see a figure in front of him. However, he could not remain conscious, and he slumped down to the ground,pletely unconscious.

    After he lost consciousness, the nearby figure gradually approached him. A schrly and gentle-looking middle-aged man appeared with both hands sped behind his back. He calmly looked at Lu Yin and then slowly bent down and waved, causing the clothes on Lu Yin to be shredded apart.

    He looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back in amazement. ¡°What a seal! Something that belongs to neither five nor six. Could it be-¡±

    He suddenly stopped speaking, stood up, walked to the edge of the peak, and looked at the gold radiance in the distance, but he still remained silent.

    After some time, Lu Yin awoke, overwhelmed by a splitting headache. He forced his eyes open and looked up to see the back of that schrly figure.

    He was shocked. There¡¯s someone else here? He hurriedly tried to stand up, but thebination of his physical fatigue and the spiritual force pressure rendered such a feat beyond him. He only managed to rise into a half-squat as he looked around.

    The figure slowly turned around and calmly gazed at Lu Yin. ¡°Ever since this space first came into existence, you¡¯re the first one to ascend here, aside from myself.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, though the figure in front of him still appeared indistinct since he was still suffering from the immense spiritual force pressure.

    The schrly man casually waved his hand, and a cool breeze blew past him. Lu Yin suddenly felt clear-headed, and all of the pressure that he had been under seemed to melt away. This person had easily dispelled the mountain¡¯s pressure on Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force. This person was unimaginably powerful.

    Lu Yin hurriedly stood up and slowly bowed. ¡°Lu Yin pays his respects to senior.¡±

    The schrly man sized Lu Yin up and down. ¡°You don¡¯t belong to five or six. Where are you from?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, as this person had mentioned ¡°five¡± and ¡°six¡± again. He was at a loss. ¡°Five? Six? This junior doesn¡¯t understand.¡±

    The schrly looking man stared at Lu Yin. Although there was nothing special about his eyes, they brightened a little. Lu Yin and the man looked at each other face-to-face, and though Lu Yin wanted to shift his gaze, he found that he couldn¡¯t. His eyes felt like they were glued to the man¡¯s eyes, and his vision was entirely focused on the man¡¯s gaze.

    The next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped, and he stepped back with a deathly white look. He looked at the man in astonishment, finally able to shift his eyes.

    ¡°May I know this esteemed senior¡¯s name?¡± Lu Yin asked very respectfully.

    The schrly man shifted his gaze away. ¡°You may call me Mister Mu.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed again. ¡°Mister Mu, this junior took the liberty of climbing this mountain and has disturbed Mister Mu¡¯s peace. Please, forgive me.¡±

    Mister Mu looked calm and refined. ¡°It¡¯s no matter. It¡¯s your own ability that allowed you to ascend to this height. Your cultivation is not bad for your age.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Mister Mu, for thepliment,¡± Lu Yin said deferentially. He then nced at his right arm, but there was no sign of the monkey waking up. He looked back at Mister Mu, but hesitated at whether he should speak his mind.

    ¡°You wish to leave?¡± Mister Mu asked calmly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Might Mister Mu help me?¡±

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Since ancient times, you¡¯re the second to have scaled this mountain. You can leave anytime you wish.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s an alternate choice.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped. ¡°Please enlighten me.¡±

    Mister Mu sped both hands behind his back and looked calmly at the distant golden light. ¡°ept the challenge and discover a way to be my disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he answered without hesitation, ¡°This junior wishes to ept senior as his master. Might senior help me aplish this?¡± Lu Yin was no fool, and he could see at once that this person seemed to be some kind of powerful recluse. He definitely would not offer inferior teachings, and even if they were, Lu Yin still wouldn¡¯t lose out. At the very least, this Mister Mu was obviously much stronger than Lu Yin.

    Mister Mu continued speaking, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to be my disciple, but you¡¯ve already passed the most difficult hurdle, which is to arrive at this peak. Only you have seeded since ancient times.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled. This mountain was able to cause that Cruiser from before to vanish just from touching it, which meant that there must be some special condition for people to even attempt to climb it. His guess was that this ce had something to do with the Rune Progenitor. His eyes had been altered by the Sky tform, and he had also crossed the Ocean of Death. Perhaps this moment was Lu Yin¡¯s opportunity, something that only he could grasp with his previous encounters.

    This person in front of him should not be lying either; Lu Yin had to be ¡°baptized¡± by remnants of the Rune Technology Civilization and then identally swallowed by the storm before he could appear at this ce. It was very difficult for so many unrted coincidences to ur, so it was possible that he was the only one to have fulfilled them all even after so many years.

    With this reasoning, this Mister Mu might actually be rted to the Rune Technology Civilization. Could he actually be an ancient Runemaster powerhouse?!

    ¡°The second hurdle can be difficult or simple. You just need to show me your destiny.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Show you my destiny? How?¡±

    ¡°Disy everything that you possess and attempt to shock me. Destiny is written by heaven and is something that cannot be controlled, but it¡¯s also a strength of sorts. I cannot ept a disciple who is stupid, unlucky, or has a poor personality. You may begin.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded as he now understood. Mister Mu wanted to see what Lu Yin knew, and this was a selection method that Lu Yin had not encountered before.

    ¡°This junior will show his ipetence now,¡± Lu Yin said. He then stepped forward with his right leg as five-lined battle force emerged from him, the purple veins covering his entire body while dark-gold lines sparkled around him, making for a dazzling scene against the golden radiance of the mountain¡¯s backdrop. Lu Yin was confident that not many hadprehended five-lined battle force at his age, as nobody had surpassed such a level in the history of the Astral Combat Academy; he had reached the extreme.

    With this five-lined battle force around him, Lu Yin looked expectantly at Mister Mu.

 Chapter 417: Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 417: Destiny</h4>

    Mister Mu watched Lu Yin¡¯s five-lined battle force cover his entire body and then nonchntlymented, ¡°That¡¯s normal. To cultivate to such a degree at your age is not bad, but it¡¯s not top-ss either. Youck boldness, so your progress upon this path is limited. To be invincible, you must have both a boundless courage and a spirit that soars above the heavens, but you cannot do this. Besides, this style of cultivation is not something unusual either. Thus, it does not show your destiny.¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his battle force, and his heart dropped. There were few Limiteers in the entire universe who could reach five-lined battle force, especially at his age. If five-lined battle force was not enough, then this person¡¯s selection criteria for his disciples must be extremely stringent.

    Still, he did not give up, and next, he released his domain and let it envelop the surroundings.

    Mister Mu frowned. ¡°Crude. This domain holds no concept of being unequaled, and neither does it carry a determination to emerge victorious. It has merely been umted from countless battles. No matter how you use it, it¡¯ll just be another pair of eyes. Absolute control within the domain¡¯s is the essence of this method. When cultivated to the peak, users can even include the universe within the bounds of their domain and change the sky. Although you haveprehended a domain, that cannot be considered a fortunate encounter. There are too many in the universe who haveprehended a domain.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank once again, as this was also useless. However, he had noticed a particr phrase that Mister Mu had used¡ªchange the sky. The echoing voices on the ind at the end of the Ocean of Death had also mentioned something about ¡°changing the sky,¡± and the monkey had mentioned it as well, saying that some powerhouse¡¯s journal had recorded the Rune Technology as one sky covering another. Was this saying actually rted to domains?

    He did not dwell on such thoughts at this time, and he nced at Mister Mu. This person¡¯s perverted selection criteria went far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s imagination, as even a powerful n such as the Daynight n only had a few geniuses who hadprehended both battle force and a domain, not to mention five-lined battle force at that.

    He thought about it for a moment, and then raised his hand and struck out at the void with a Thirty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm, causing an intense gale to sweep across the mountain peak. This was his most powerful attack.

    ¡°With physical strength as its foundation, such an attack can barely count as the embodiment of your physical destiny, but such a destiny is not that rare either. There are some strange ns in the universe who are blessed with iparably durable bodies from birth and can easily disy One Hundred Stacks once they mature. As a normal person, you¡¯re not bad, but this still cannot meet my standards.¡± Mister Mu was ruthless in his appraisal.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank again. Even his most powerful strike was useless. Did he have to disy his secrets that should not be revealed?

    Mister Mu did not push him, and he only silently looked into the distance, seemingly not concerned with Lu Yin in the slightest.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. His destiny had been determined by the heavens: he had been swallowed by the storm and climbed up this mountain with great difficulty, and now, the person before him seemed to be an unimaginable super powerhouse. He tentatively ced Mister Mu on the same level as Northgate Taisui. He had to seize this opportunity to gain such a powerhouse as his master.

    After thinking things over, Lu Yin decided to disy his Cosmic Art. Although it was not as strong as his Oveying Stacks Path, it was still a manifestation of his destiny because no one else in the Outerverse could learn such a technique. ording to the Trialmaster, the Cosmic Sect greatly surpassed the Daynight n in power, and no outsider could learn their Cosmic Art.

    His only worry was if this person revealed him to the Cosmic Sect, which would be the worst oue. If such a thing really happened, then he would have to reveal that he had Highsage Leon supporting him, as the Cosmic Sea was independent from both the Outerverse and the Neoverse. The monkey had once mentioned that even the great powers of the Neoverse feared the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews. Highsage Leon should be enough to protect Lu Yin, so he would take this gamble.

    As nine stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body, Mister Mu¡¯s eyes finally shed with a glimmer of amazement. ¡°The Cosmic Art, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s most guarded technique. It is not something to be divulged externally, and yet, you still learnt it. Not a bad manifestation of your destiny, but unfortunately, it¡¯s just one portion and the ninth star obviously does not belong to the true Cosmic Art. This version of the technique can be considered as your destiny, and if you had learned the entire version, then I would have immediately epted you as my disciple. Unfortunately, if you don¡¯t join the Cosmic Sect, you will never be able to learn it.¡±

    Lu Yin released his Cosmic Art and rxed. From Mister Mu¡¯s tone of voice, it sounded like he was not involved with the Cosmic Sect, so he would keep Lu Yin¡¯s secret. He thought about it, and then said, ¡°Disciple truly wishes to learn the Cosmic Art.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no use in talking to me. Continue,¡± Mister Mu responded calmly.

    Lu Yin was at a loss. Continue? With what? There were some things that he definitely could not reveal, such as his innate gift of the die, the Stonewall Scriptures, the Yu Secret Art, or Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Hold on, Progenitor Wushang''s hide?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, as he had been holding onto that hide the moment he had been swept into the storm, and he had only ced it in his cosmic ring after he awakened. Also, he had used Progenitor Wushang''s hide on that Cruiser down on the beach. Had Mister Mu not seen it?

    One¡¯s domain could allow one to clearly perceive their surroundings, and Lu Yin refused to believe that Mister Mu had notprehended a domain. If this man was at the same level as Northgate Taisui, then he would definitely be able to perceive everything that happened within this space. Hence, there was no need to continue hiding Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    Lu Yin raised a hand. ¡°Mister Mu, can this be counted as destiny?¡±

    Lu Yin was holding onto the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that he had obtained from the monkey, which was much smaller than his own. He would not reveal therger piece, as it would be less of a loss to lose the one that belonged to the monkey.

    Mister Mu¡¯s eyes seemed to stir, and he nodded. ¡°Progenitor Wushang¡¯s item can be considered as a sort of destiny. Remember, try your best to not expose it when you are in the heavens, as the astral beasts can sense it.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed, as he had not seen much surprise from Mister Mu¡¯s face. Even Progenitor Wushang''s hide was not enough to move this man, and it seemed as if he would not take Lu Yin as his disciple. It appeared that he did not have enough destiny.

    Lu Yin thought about his options. What else can I reveal?

    Mister Mu looked up. ¡°A reminder: if I don¡¯t ept you as my disciple, then everything that happened here will be erased from your memory.¡±

    Lu Yin shivered as he clenched his fists. He could not ept his memory being altered, as there were already gaps in his memory to begin with. He could ept being severely injured or even dying, but there was no way he would submit to having his memory wiped.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze firmed and he resolved to disy everything that he had and try his luck.

    He raised his hand and struck out, causing day and night to intertwine. This was the Daynight Punch that he had learned from the Daynight stone of inheritance. Although this move was nearly useless to him, it still showed his destiny since no one outside of the n was allowed to learn the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques.

    But Mister Mu remained indifferent. ¡°There¡¯s a powerful n in the Innerverse known as the Daynight n, and this battle technique should be from them since it disyed day and night intertwined and can harm someone¡¯s spiritual force. Not bad. Learning it is a form of destiny, but it¡¯s not moving enough, and it is far inferior to the Cosmic Art.¡±

    ¡°Junior understands. The Daynight Punch iscking in power.¡±

    ¡°No, notcking in power. Rather, you don¡¯t know how to use it. Any battle technique can have a stark difference depending on the user. When this technique is extremely refined, it can cause the heavens to change colors.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. Apparently, he had always underestimated the Daynight Punch.

    ¡°Mister Mu, with this junior¡¯s destiny, might I be your disciple?¡± Lu Yin probed.

    Mister Mu shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted, and he suddenly remembered what he had seen at the Stargazing Deck¡ªthe ancient ships and the appearance of a w imprint from the heavens. If the Skybeast w had appeared in such a scene, then it definitely was not as simple as Undying Yushan had made it out to be. After all, Undying Yushan was a descendant of the Seven Courts¡¯ ¡°Yu¡± ancient surname. Thus, Lu Yin decided to try the battle technique that Undying Yushan had imparted to him.

    He faced the sky and raised a hand as his palm turned into a w, and the 108 forms of the Skybeast w shook the void as a howl reverberated out. It seemed to being from the distant past, and it pierced through the void.

    Mister Mu¡¯s eyes finally seemed to stir again. ¡°A lost battle technique that vanished into the long river of history, but you have learnt it. This can be considered a sort of destiny, but it¡¯s still not enough to be my disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. Did he really have to reveal the Stonewall Scriptures? Right, there was still more.

    ¡°Mister Mu, my eyes can see what normally cannot be seen,¡± Lu Yin said. This was definitely rted to the ancient Rune Technology Civilization, and it also meant that his eyes held greatbat potential. He only did not know if this person had already taken his mutated eyes into consideration. Since he had been able to climb this mountain, it proved that he had previouslye into contact with the remnants of the Rune Technology Civilization, so Mister Mu might have already considered it! But no matter what, he still had to give it a try.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know. You can see rune lines.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank as he forced a smile onto his face. Of course, Mister Mu had already known it, and Lu Yin being able to ascend this mountain was quite possibly rted to his eyes.

    Next was his innate gift of the die, the Stonewall Scriptures, or the Yu Secret Art. Lu Yin was in a dilemma. Which should he choose?

    ¡°With your age, it¡¯s difficult to receive such destinies. I will not make things difficult for you and will take you on as a nominal disciple for now. We¡¯ll reconsider your status once you decide to reveal greater destinies, but for now, your memory can be preserved.¡±

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. ¡°Thank you, Mister Mu. No, thank you, Master.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded and casually waved his hand, causing a very strange lump of what looked like quicksand to appear before Lu Yin. It gave off a hazy radiance as it floated in the void.

    ¡°This is a sand that ys with life: Fatesand. This is your Master¡¯s gift to you. This sand is absorbed into the body very much like a formcast model, and it will awaken different abilities in different people. It can make you much stronger or much weaker. It ces a very heavy toll on one¡¯s vigor and star energy, but you can choose to use it if you wish.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at that lump of quicksand in amazement. Fatesand? He had never even heard of such a thing before, but he would definitely save it!

    In truth, Lu Yin did not understand how rare Fatesand was. It could be said to be an peak precious treasure not only in the Innerverse and Outerverse, but also in the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse.

    Mister Mu watched as Lu Yin casually stored the Fatesand away, not minding the youth¡¯s actions at all. ¡°Everything that you disyed just now did not include speed.¡±

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°Disciple¡¯s speed technique is called the sh Step. I¡¯ll show it now.¡±

    Then he used sh Step and vanished the next moment.

    Mister Mu said, ¡°It¡¯s merely alright. You can try tobine that technique with the one you use to conceal your aura. That would achieve the effect of concealing yourself within the void.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind seemed to sh, and he looked up in surprise. ¡°Thank you for the advice, Master. Disciple understands.¡±

    He then used the Invisible Aura Technique together with the sh Step. His speed did not change at all, but his presence became even more concealed.

    It was a simple technique, but it was also very practical. He had not considered using his techniques in such a manner before since sh used star energy as its foundation whereas the Invisible Aura Technique was used to restrain one¡¯s star energy. These two techniques had opposing effects, but it was not impossible tobine them. Since his star energy control had reached a certain level, he could use some of his star energy to shift a certain distance with sh Step and then hide the rest of his energy with the Invisible Aura Technique.

    It was simple in theory, but he had never thought of such a possibility before.

    Mister Mu shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too burdensome, but it¡¯s enough for you at the moment.¡±

 Chapter 418: Eyes Closed, Eyes Open

    <h4>Chapter 418: Eyes Closed, Eyes Open</h4>

    Lu Yin looked up at Mister Mu in anticipation. Since he had managed to be Mister Mu¡¯s nominal disciple, he¡¯d probably receive a battle technique or a skill in the future, right?

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was destined to be disappointed. Mister Mu merely took out a piece of jade and passed it to Lu Yin. ¡°If you find yourself in an emergency, all you need to do is break this, and you¡¯ll be able to contact me. However, you will only receive such an opportunity one time. As you are only a nominal disciple, I will only help you out once. Do what you will with this information.¡±

    Lu Yin had a feeling that Mister Mu was about to send him out, and he hastily spoke up after putting the piece of jade away. ¡°What might I do to be your official disciple, sir? Is destiny the only method?¡±

    Mister Mu gazed out at the forest beneath the high mountains. ¡°Not necessarily. There¡¯s a war spirit here that is from a Limiteer. If you defeat that spirit, I¡¯ll make you my official disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked ready for a fight. There was no one that he feared among Limiteers. ¡°Please arrange it for me, master.¡±

    Mister Mu waved his hand. The scenery around Lu Yin shifted, and he next found himself back within the forest.

    Climbing from the golden ocean to the peak of the mountain had taken Lu Yin a whole month, but he had been teleported back to the forest in less than an instant.

    Not too far away, a war spirit stood with its back to Lu Yin. After noticing the human, the war spirit slowly turned around.

    Since Mister Mu had given him this test, Lu Yin knew that this Limiteer war spirit definitely would not be easy to handle. He filled his eyes with star energy and focused on the war spirit. However, his pupils quickly constricted. Where were the runes? Why were there so few?

    What appeared before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was just a small number of runes, simr to what a regr person would possess. The runes were scattered all over the ce and couldn¡¯t evenpare to a Scout¡¯s¡ªno, not even a Seeker¡¯s. However, it was a fact that this war spirit was a Limiteer. How was this possible?

    The war spirit turned to face Lu Yin. The spirit¡¯s eyes werepletely closed, and instead of mindlessly rushing forward to attack like most war spirits, this one quietly stood in ce, almost as if it was waiting for something.

    Lu Yin frowned, feeling a bit uneasy. This war spirit was acting very strangely. In addition, there was a sensation like he was being seen through. It was simr to when he was in someone else¡¯s domain¡­ Yes! This was a domain.

    With a whoosh, Lu Yin¡¯s clothes fluttered about even though there was no wind. He released his domain and attempted to cancel out the war spirit¡¯s domain, but his efforts were in vain. He then used the Cosmic Art and filled his eyes with star energy. After his eyes had mutated, he was now able to use the Secret Sidestep without any lockbreaking tools. He was confident of avoiding any attack in this state.

    However, before he even had the time to react, his domain copsed. It had beenpletely dismantled.

    He had been crushed by a Limiteer?! While it was merely his domain that had been crushed apart, the crushing force was something that Lu Yin could not even contest. It felt as if the very ground had copsed from out under him.

    Compared to the war spirit¡¯s domain, Lu Yin¡¯s own domain seemed to be as fragile as an eggshell. Right before his eyes, the war spirit disappeared without any warning. Lu Yin reflexively used sh to move away, but while he was midair, his stomach was struck. Lu Yin was shocked and quickly used his battle force to counterattack against the war spirit. However, his attack was easily dodged while Lu Yin himself was smashed into the ground with a huge crash.

    From the time he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had rarely ever met such a situation. They were both Limiteers, and there didn¡¯t seem to be much of a gap between their strengths. However, Lu Yin waspletely helpless in front of this war spirit. More importantly, he had used both the Cosmic Art as well as his mutated eyes, but he still hadn¡¯t been able to dodge the war spirit¡¯s attack. He didn¡¯t have a clue as to what had just happened.

    Lu Yin believed that it had to be a lucky attack. He carefully eyed the war spirit before using sh to vanish. He struck out with a Skybeast w while closely observing the war spirit.

    The war spirit easily dodged the attack without any excessive movements. Even though Lu Yin had abruptly changed the direction of his attack midway, it had still avoided his attack. After that, the war spirit aimed both of its palms at Lu Yin, who kept a close eye on them. When the war spirit¡¯s two palms entered the range of Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art, their speed slowed down considerably. Lu Yin was able to see through all of the possible changes of the attacks, and he immediately retreated, confident that he would be able to evade this attack.

    In the end, however, he was still struck. It wasn¡¯t because the war spirit was quick, but rather because the war spirit had attacked along the path that Lu Yin had retreated in. It was almost as if it could see the future.

    This sort of attack reminded Lu Yin of Starsibyl. Could this war spirit have been birthed from one of the Starsibyls?

    Thankfully, the war spirit¡¯s attacks weren''t very strong, so it did not pose much of a threat to Lu Yin. Although being suppressed was quite annoying, Lu Yin was confident that he would not be defeated. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be able to win, either.

    Ever since Lu Yin had reached his current strength, this was the first time a Limiteer had caused him to feel so helpless. He was certain that, even if he bumped into those who were just as famous as him, such as Ye Xingchen or Mu Rong, he would still hold an absolute advantage over them. However, this war spirit was single-handedly crushing him because he could neithernd an attack nor dodge its attacks.

    Lu Yin took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and held it with his left hand, wanting to use the Secret Sidestep to avoid the war spirit¡¯s attacks. However, nothing changed. The war spirit¡¯s attacks were always directed exactly at where he was retreating to, and he would always be attacked before he could move out of the way. It didn¡¯t matter how quick he was unless he could move faster than time itself. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to dodge these attacks.

    The feeling of being crushed was something that Lu Yin found unbearable.

    Lu Yin could do nothing more than dodge to the best of his abilities and try to discover the war spirit¡¯s attack pattern in a desperate attempt at finding a way out of his current predicament.

    Lu Yin had extensive battle experience, so even though his every movement was being seen through, he could still manage to instinctively dodge some attacks without using the Cosmic Art or his mutated vision. He was also holding the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye in his hand. Every time the war spirit attacked, Lu Yin would pick a random direction to dodge in, and it didn¡¯t matter if the direction actually made sense. That had actually helped him evade a few attacks.

    However, he was still unwilling to ept such a result. What Mister Mu wanted was for Lu Yin to win, not to not lose.

    In the end, he chose to repeat what he had done against Tian Hou during the Tournament of the Strongest: mutual destruction. He stopped any attempts at dodging the war spirit¡¯s attacks so that, the moment Lu Yin was struck, he grabbed a hold of the war spirits¡¯ hands while using his Oveying Stacks force.

    The first time Lu Yin tried this, the war spirit was injured, which gave Lu Yin a glimpse of hope.

    Upon seeing that the war spirit was about to attack once more, Lu Yin moved forward to forcefully take the attacks from both of its palms. After seizing them, he nned on attacking with Thirty Stacks again, but right at that moment... the war spirit opened its eyes.

    He¡¯d nearly forgotten that the war spirit had kept its eyes closed this entire time. Lu Yin had assumed that the war spirit was blind, but it was at this moment that Lu Yin realized that he had been wrong. The moment the war spirit opened its eyes, Lu Yin felt like the earth and the sky had changed. Everything before him grew fuzzy, and he could suddenly hear some kind of low, dull sound ringing in his ears. Blood started flowing out of his seven orifices, and the arms of the war spirit that he had rightlytched onto suddenly used some strange force to drive him away before starting to move forward once more.

    This attack left Lu Yin instinctively quivering in fear; it had nearly cost him his life. He¡¯d vastly underestimated this war spirit. Its attacks after it opened its eyes werepletely different from its attacks from before.

    The war spirit¡¯s hands pushed through the void and destroyed a part of the forest. Right in front of the attack, Lu Yin vanished.

    The war spirit¡¯s attack did not manage to connect with Lu Yin, and it no longer felt the presence of any nearby living creatures. It closed its eyes, slowly turned away, and continued wandering.

    Back atop of a high mountain, Lu Yin panted heavily, his face pale. He looked out at the forest below in shock. Had he nearly died just then? He touched his ears and nostrils and found that there was blood everywhere. It was unthinkable to him that there existed a Limiteer whose attack was so powerful that it would give him the sensation of death. What¡¯s more, it had only been for a short instant. Who in the world had birthed this war spirit? They must be truly terrifying.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current defenses, even Cruisers would have a difficult time killing him. However, that war spirit had nearly killed him. It was impossible to suppress one¡¯s instincts, and Lu Yun knew that he had been at death¡¯s door earlier.

    He turned to Mister Mu and bowed respectfully. ¡°I was defeated, Master.¡±

    Mister Mu asked, ¡°How did that feel?¡±

    ¡°I cannot quite exin it. It felt like the war spirit could predict the future,¡± Lu Yin guessed in a tentative tone. He considered Starsibyl, but she shouldn¡¯t be as powerful as that war spirit.

    Mister Mu sped his hands behind his back. ¡°There is no limit in cultivation. Some people train in various battle methods while others focus on just one. Nobody can say for sure which is stronger or weaker. However, it¡¯s a fact that there are some people with unique innate gifts that allow them to attain feats that most people cannot even imagine. The war spirit that you just exchanged blows with is from someone who went far, far down the path of a domain.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°A domain?¡±

    ¡°A domain can merge into the surroundings and strengthen one¡¯s senses, power level, the area epassed by the domain, and possibly even the universe. If you enter someone else¡¯s domain, then everything about you bes clear to them. Those who are extremely proficient can even be considered to have the ability to¡­ predict the future,¡± Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin felt a chill crawl down his spine. Memories of the earlier battle appeared in his mind. Everything about him had been calcted, which was why the fight had been difficult. Could people proficient in domains perform divinations?

    ¡°This isn¡¯t divination. Through your breathing, the rhythm of your movements, battle habits, or even your thought processes, your next move can be predicted. That is the ultimate power of the domain.¡± Mister Mu seemed to guess at what Lu Yin was thinking and continued with his exnation.

    Lu Yin could notprehend how powerful a domain could actually be. ¡°I could not understand thatst attack, Master.¡±

    Mister Mu spoke with praise, ¡°To be strong, you must pay a price. This person was extremely skilled with their domain, but the price that he had to pay was to keep his eyes closed. However, the moment he opens his eyes, the light from the sun and moon will fade to nothingness, and everything will beid bare before him. That power, coupled with his domain, is intensified by a thousandfold when his eyes open, and normal people will not be able to stop him.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. A thousandfold? That was a terrifying concept. How extreme did a person have to be to blind themselves just to increase their domain¡¯s abilities? He was very curious about this person.

    ¡°May I know who this war spirit was birthed from, Master?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu answered. ¡°He was a young person. When he came here, he was about your age.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. He¡¯d assumed that the person this war spirit hade from was a Limiteer who had cultivated for a very long time but been unable to be an Explorer. There were numerous simr cases of people who, despite the passage of time, would never reach the Explorer realm. However, they would be absolute monsters among Limiteers. The fact that the person who had created that battle spirit was about the same age as Lu Yin meant that the man was a true freak of a Limiteer, even more so than Lu Yin.

    ¡°When was this war spirit formed?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    ¡°About a decade ago, I believe.¡± Mister Mu answered.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. A decade ago? That meant that it was possible that this person was still a part of the younger generation. If that person had possessed such astonishing power while still at the Limiteer realm, then what would happen once he became an Explorer or a Cruiser? If nothing went wrong, then that man was probably one of the top experts on the Top Hundred Rankings, or he might even be one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Would you happen to know his name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu eyed Lu Yin. ¡°Are you curious about it?¡±

 Chapter 419: Extreme Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 419: Extreme Improvement</h4>

    Lu Yin nodded, ¡°In the Innerverse and Outerverse, the number of Limiteers who can rival this disciple can be counted on one hand. There should not be any who can currently defeat this disciple, so I wish to learn who birthed this war spirit and how powerful they have be now.¡±

    Mister Muughed. ¡°You are too narrow-minded! Just taking the Innerverse and Outerverse into consideration is a very limited scope. If your view is forever restricted to such a ce, then you will never get anywhere.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    ¡°In the past, that youth was willingly swallowed by the storm,¡± Mister Mu said, shocking Lu Yin. ¡°His arrival was interesting, and he was unique. He did not climb the mountain, but I met him once and released him. Currently, he should be very strong. At least in your younger generation, including even the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse, there should not be anyone who can easily defeat him.

    ¡°Before forty years of age, one¡¯s cultivation progress tends to be very fast whereas after forty, the speed will drop. This is the dividing line, and the further one progresses, the longer one will take to raise their power level. Some have trained for thousands of years and increased their power level to several hundreds of thousands. Over a simr amount of time, the person who was previously here will have increased his power level many times over that. The further one progresses, the more powerful they will be.

    ¡°That¡¯s the power of those who are extremely proficient in the art of the domain.¡± At this moment, Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Master has given you a formal gift and has epted you as my disciple, but I have not taught you anything yet. At this time, you can make one request for me to upgrade some aspect of your abilities. However, I must warn you that once this guidance ends, I will not teach you anything else until you qualify to be my official disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin silently stood there as he pondered this matter.

    Mister Mu¡¯s figure distorted, and he slowly appeared further away while looking into the distance.

    After a while, Lu Yin firmed his resolve. He reviewed every skill that he had and also recalled the suppression that he had suffered in hisst battle. He looked up after making up his mind. ¡°Master, this disciple wishes to upgrade my physical body to the extreme.¡±

    Mister Mu turned around without a hint of surprise on his face. ¡°I already said that, on the path of cultivation, one must pay a price if a single aspect is too strong. The person that that war spirit originated from has a domain that is too powerful, so he must close both eyes and suffer from permanent blindness. This is because once he opens his eyes, he can no longer control his overly powerful domain. If your physical body bes too strong, then you will simrly not be able to control your strength. You will not only be capable of harming others, but also yourself.¡±

    ¡°What price must this disciple pay to suppress an extreme physical strength?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu simply replied, ¡°Fatesand.¡±

    ¡°Fatesand?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Fatesand will consume one¡¯s star energy and vigor. Themon person can absorb only one while absorbing two ces too much stress on one¡¯s body and is something that few can aplish. With this, you will be able to suppress the excessive strength from a peak physical body.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he processed this new knowledge. He found that he hadpletely yed into Mister Mu¡¯s ns, as the man had given Lu Yin Fatesand to begin with and then allowed him to experience the war spirit¡¯s extreme aplishments in the path of the domain. This had created a higher probability of Lu Yin choosing to upgrade his physical strength, and he had indeed fallen for the bait.

    Mister Mu should have long since seen what was the best choice for Lu Yin given his current level, which was to further upgrade his physical strength. However, the man had not directly said anything. He had guided Lu Yin step by step, and he had not grown tired during the process either.

    ¡°I ask for Master to guide this disciple in upgrading my physical strength,¡± Lu Yin requested respectfully.

    Mister Mu remained calm. ¡°It will take a considerable amount of time to upgrade your body to the limits of your current realm, so you must be prepared for that.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught in a dilemma, as the Daynight Feast would start soon. He considered his options carefully, but such an opportunity was hard toe by, so it would be a pity if he abandoned such a thing just for a mere Daynight Feast. ¡°This disciple understands.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded, and a small, wilted twig appeared in his hand. It was only about the length of a finger and waspletely desated. But for some reason, when he looked at it, Lu Yin felt like his body waspletely refreshed, and he even felt more clear-headed than before.

    ¡°From now on, exhaust your entire physical strength without keeping anything in reserve. When you reach the point where you cannot continue, this will restore your vitality,¡± Mister Mu exined as the twig floated from his palm over to Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    When Lu Yin made contact with the twig, his mind became even more alert, and he felt as if he had been enlightened. He instantly recognized this object as a precious treasure, as nothingmon could restore one¡¯s vitality. Unfortunately, he had no money. Otherwise, he would definitely use his die to upgrade the twig.

    Mister Mu¡¯s figure vanished, as if he had never even been there in the first ce.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply. Then, his eyes went wide as hepletely burst forth with his full physical strength. His powerful force caused the surrounding void to shudder, and visible ripples of energy spread out.

    No matter who it was, one could only burst forth with their full strength for a few moments, and nobody could do that for very long. Lu Yin was no different, and when he exerted his physical strength to his absolute limit, he couldst for a minute at most. After a minute, even if he was unwilling to do so, his strength would start to wane. However, he obeyed Mister Mu¡¯s words and persisted despite the painful effects. After some time, his body felt like it no longer belonged to him, and even Lu Yin himself didn¡¯t know how much of his strength he had used up.

    Suddenly, from above him, a refreshing flow descended upon him that rejuvenated Lu Yin¡¯s body. He immediately felt that his physical strength had been restored, and he now noticed just how much of his strength had waned without him being aware of it.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and burst forth with his full strength once again, causing his veins to swell. He exerted his full strength without holding anything back, not caring even if his body lost all sensation.

    It was a very painful process, simr to when a regr human sprinted at full speed and then continued to run despite reaching their limits. Lu Yin continued repeating this process over and over without any end in sight.

    The wilted twig not only restored his vitality, but it also gave him a unique energy. Lu Yin could not sense it, and he was also unclear about what it did exactly, but he was currently receiving an unimaginable fortune.

    In the distance, Mister Mu opened his eyes wide as he looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°Belonging to neither five nor six, an outsider hoping to change the game is too small a hope.¡±

    A month passed by like this as Lu Yin continued to burst forth with his most powerful strength, just like at the very beginning. Every time his strength faltered, it would be restored. It reached the point where his body went numb from the process.

    At the start, he could not feel it, but the more he repeated this process, the more he could feel his strength changing. This kind of training was intrinsically different from using a strengthening fruit. A strengthening fruit could indeed increase his physical strength, but it was only a superficial change as a fruit would never be able topletely integrate with his body. Every natural treasure had its own pros and cons, and the strengthening fruit was no exception.

    Using a strengthening fruit to increase one¡¯s physical strength was like covering a thin piece of paper with a sheet of metal. Although it seemed iparably durable, once theyer of metal was pierced through, the paper would be easily destroyed. The training that Lu Yin was currently undergoing was fundamentally different. This process would be like turning the paper itself into metal and improving the paper from within.

    Lu Yin recalled that when he had broken through to the Melder realm, his physical body had been greatly strengthened. In his countless battles, what injured him and brought him the closest to death was the destruction of his internal organs, and his musculoskeletal system rarely ever suffered true damage. At this moment, he was confident that his organs were much more resilient than they were in the past. Even if they were not as strong as his muscles and bones, they would not be destroyed as easily as they had in the past.

    After some time, Lu Yin could no longer differentiate between when he was actively exerting his full physical force and when he was not; it had simply be a habit. His consciousness seemed to be shrouded, and he could only instinctively chase after that trace of refreshment that rained down from above his head.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You¡¯ve reached the limit,¡± Mister Mu¡¯s voice sounded out.

    Lu Yin slowly opened his eyes, and he felt as if he had just woken up from a dream. He heard a rumbling sound from his pumping blood, and his body emitted a strange, faint radiance. Such a thing would only appear after one¡¯s body reached a certain degree of toughness.

    When he looked up, he saw that Mister Mu was holding the wilted twig, and although his body thirsted to receive that refreshment once again, he knew that it was impossible.

    He set a hand upon the ground. Crack! The ground split open, causing Lu Yin to look down at his right hand in shock. He had not tried to exert any strength, but the ground could not withstand his casual power.

    ¡°You can¡¯t control the extent of your own strength with your current level of cultivation. This is the price that you must pay for such power. You could even injure your own body if you touch yourself,¡± Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin frowned, but he no longer dared to touch himself now since he did not want to identally injure himself.

    Was the strength of his current physical body really something that was beyond a Limiteer¡¯s ability to control? His physical body had already rivalled an average Cruiser¡¯s before he came to this space, so was his body nowparable to a Hunter¡¯s?

    If a Limiteer could grasp even a portion of a Hunter¡¯s strength, then it would be no surprise if they identally caused harm to others or even to themselves.

    ¡°Master, should this disciple now fuse with the Fatesand?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu looked at him. ¡°You can choose. No matter if one fuses with one or two grains, the awakened ability will not change as one can only awaken a single ability. All that will change is merely its size. Some may gain unimaginable boons, though it¡¯s also possible to weaken from the Fatesand. The ¡®fate¡¯ in its name indicates that your gains will depend entirely on your luck and destiny.¡±

    Lu Yin pulled out a grain of Fatesand. ¡°Where should this disciple assimte this sand?¡±

    Mister Mu calmly answered, ¡°The heart.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. He immediately cut open the skin over his heart and pressed the grain of Fatesand into the wound. In an instant, an intense pain seared through his nerves, and he gritted his teeth as he forcefully endured it. The Fatesand burrowed into his body like a living organism, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

    But Lu Yin had no time to think. His heart loudly thumped once, and star energy flooded out like a tide even as his vigor was rapidly depleted at the same time. Lu Yin felt his body grow feeble, as if he had turned back to a regr person. His overwhelmingly powerful physical body gradually quieted down, like a hibernating dragon.

    The flowing radiance around his body soon faded, and the churning sound from his flowing blood gradually disappeared as well.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and clenched a fist. He then punched out at the void. A visible air wave flew out and distorted the void. Lu Yin was shocked at the power of his own punch, as it greatly surpassed what he had been capable of before this most recent increase in his strength. This punch had reached a level that was equal to Twenty Stacks.

    Mister Mu raised his hand and more Fatesand appeared. ¡°You can choose to continue and use this Fatesand to suppress your excessively powerful body. Actually, this is not a form of suppression, but is rather another method to improve your strength. This is simr to how, since that youth kept his eyes closed to strengthen his domain, opening his eyes allowed his strength to increase by a thousandfold.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart raced, and he looked fervently at Mister Mu. ¡°Is Master saying that this disciple¡¯s physical strength will improve vastly after experiencing the Fatesand¡¯s suppression?¡±

    Mister Mu nodded. ¡°The reason why Fatesand is so precious is not only because it can awaken a special ability, but also, and more importantly, because the user¡¯s physical strength will be unconsciously improved. The greater and longer the suppressionsts, the more powerful the released force will be.¡±

 Chapter 420: Fatesand

    <h4>Chapter 420: Fatesand</h4>

    Lu Yin was unaware of Fatesand¡¯s value, but just from these two points, he was certain that its value surpassed his imagination. He did not hesitate to slice open the skin on his left arm and fuse a second grain of Fatesand into his body.

    The intense pain from before still had not vanished yet, but Lu Yin was already starting a second round. The renewed suffering was so intense that it could cause one to lose their mind, but fortunately, it was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time experiencing such agony. The bacsh from consuming the improved strengthening fruits had been nearly as severe as assimting the Fatesand grains. Actually, those fruits might have even been more painful. There was also how the formcast model helped one break through realms, which was an extremely agonizing process.

    Some said that cultivators cycled between progress and pain, which was a view that Lu Yin shared.

    The second grain of Fatesand sessfully suppressed his physical body¡¯s strength by another level. When Lu Yin tested his strength again, he was rendered speechless yet again. His current physical strength still surpassed what he had before this, and a random punch was about as strong as one of his old Five Stacks attacks.

    Mister Mu¡¯s eyes shed, and shock appeared in their depths. At his level, there was not much that could surprise him, but Lu Yin¡¯s talent in his physical body was still enough to astound him; it seemed limitless. Such a physical body was like an innate gift in and of itself, and he had never seen a youth¡¯s body reach these levels before. This kid¡¯s future aplishments might end up being even greater than he had originally thought.

    A third grain of Fatesand appeared. ¡°Fusing with the third grain could reduce your physical strength to below your original condition, and it will also consume an enormous amount of your vigor and star energy. You can decide yourself whether or not you wish to merge with it.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate; since he had started, he might as well go all the way. In any case, he could definitely handle the third grain¡¯s suppression.

    Even as he thought about it, he directly sliced open the skin on his right leg and ced the third grain of Fatesand within the wound. As the grain fused with his body, another round of intense pain wracked him once more.

    There were very few even within the entire universe who could withstand three grains of Fatesand, which Lu Yin realized when he saw amazement in Mister Mu¡¯s eyes.

    If not for the extreme improvement that his physical body had just undergone, he would have only been able to withstand one grain of Fatesand at most.

    Mister Mu was right; the three grains of Fatesand had caused Lu Yin to be iparably weak, and his physical strength was now less than before all this. His star energy had also diminished, and even with the Cosmic Art¡¯s ninefold increased absorption rate of star energy, it barely allowed him to withstand the consumption of the Fatesand.

    He waspletely unable to battle in such a state.

    ¡°Master, how long will it be before the Fatesand is awakened?¡± the pale-faced Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu replied, ¡°It varies. There are many objects in the universe with no fixed patterns, just as there are no two perfectly identical leaves. Perhaps it will be one day, perhaps a year, or perhaps never. This is the aspect of the sand that is up to ¡®fate.¡¯ You will never be able to use it if it does not awaken, and the consumption of your vigor and star energy will be extremely overbearing as long as it does not. After it awakens, you¡¯ll be able to use the Fatesand to battle, and when you do, your physical strength will also explode while its consumption of your strength and star energy will decrease.¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile. ¡°There must be some people who were dragged down to death by Fatesand.¡±

    Mister Mu¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Some have never been able to awaken it and were forced to bear with the Fatesand¡¯s effects their entire lives. Those people were never able to evenpare to a regr person, and even a genius can suffer from such a fate. There¡¯s not just one such example of that either.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Your disciple understands. Thank you, Master, for clearing up my confusion.¡±

    ¡°It took you three months to increase your physical strength and one month to climb the mountain. With the amount of time that you spent here before that, you¡¯ve been in this space for nearly five months. It¡¯s time for you to leave.¡± Mister Mu cast a gentle look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he had not realized that he had remained in this space for so long. He was a little anxious now, as the Great Yu Empire, San Dios, and Astral-10 all would have been unable to contact him this entire time. Would they assume that he was dead? And the Daynight feast as well... Lu Yin suddenly felt powerless. That gathering must have already finished by now.

    ¡°This disciple must trouble Master to send me off,¡± Lu Yin spoke deferentially.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°Roaming the universe will force you to choose between life and death many times. Master hopes you will stay true to your heart, as only in that way will destinye knocking. Perhaps in the future, we¡¯ll meet again as true master and disciple.¡± He then tapped out, tearing the void apart. Lu Yin watched the strange scene, as the way that Mister Mu tore the void was different from the spatial tears that urred during battle.

    It onlysted for a moment, but Lu Yin quickly felt the scene change before his eyes as he suddenly saw a blue sky with white clouds. And nearby him was something that was very familiar: a grenade.

    Boom

    An enormous explosion erupted in the high altitude, and the pressure tore through theyer of clouds and swept downwards towards the ocean¡¯s surface. From a distance, the entire sky became distorted, and the center of the explosion reached a temperature that was high enough to melt metal.

    ¡°Experiment number one: the super grenade has been perfectly detonated. The power reading has beenpleted andpletely matches the predicted theoretical oue. Experiment is a sess.¡± A group from the military stared at the ocean¡¯s surface from a distant ind, their faces filled with excitement. Cold cking mechanical sounds rose up from the underground base at the center of the ind. They had finally manufactured a super grenade that could threaten the entire, and with it, they could now defeat any country. They had just be the most powerful nation on the.

    Lu Yin felt miserable in a distant part of the sky. He had been tossed next to this super grenade by Mister Mu. But fortunately for Lu Yin, while this toy packed a decent punch, it was limited to being used inary warfare by primitive civilizations. At best, it could rival a Melder¡¯s full-force strike, so such a thing was of no threat to him. However, it was nevertheless unpleasant to be unexpectedly sted in the face.

    Lu Yin dispersed the heat wave and casually moved towards the sea, though his action created a tsunami that engulfed the distant ind.

    It was a small scale rogue wave and not enough to drown the ind, but it was stillrge enough that it would drench everyone there, which was a small revenge.

    As he flew into the sky, he reduced his aura and looked at his gadget. He finally had reception to the universalwork, and his body vanished as he started looking for a ce where he could browse through his messages.

    This¡¯s civilization was only at the initial stages of development, and they had only just touched upon aviation research. There were more than a hundred countries of various sizes, and the situation was rather simr to Earth¡¯s back when Lu Yin first arrived there. Even the degree of technology wasparable.

    The ocean wasrge, but with Lu Yin¡¯s speed that allowed him to tear through the void, he quickly reached the shore, where he entered a cafe-like building. He ordered a beverage that the locals considered very refined. He took a taste and found that it was decent.

    Unexpectedly, during the five months that he had been stuck in that isted space, he had received many messages¡ªfrom the Great Yu Empire, San Dios, the other Astral-10 students, the Ten Arbiters Council, and even from Nightking Yuanjing.

    The Ten Arbiters Council had not sent him any missions and had onlymended his previous report concerning the events in the Northline Flowzone, as he had not humiliated the Ten Arbiters Council. Most of his kudos came from him fighting Northgate Lie to a standstill within the centipede''s body. This action had been witnessed by many people who had then spread the news that Lu Yin was powerful enough to challenge the Top Hundred Rankings.

    Aside from those messages, the Divine Fist and Schr Wen Sansi had also tried to contact him, but unfortunately, Lu Yin had not been able to pick up.

    The Great Yu Empire¡¯s Huo Qingshan, Gavin, Garope, and quite a few others had tried to contact him as well, and they had also transmitted various reports about the Great Yu Empire¡¯s conquest to him. Lu Yin casually browsed through the reports and frowned when he saw that the Frostwave Weave had been embargoed by the surrounding weaves. Fortunately, Watermoon Vi was helping to boost a bit of their economy, or else there would have been no way for them to continue fighting.

    Finance was not Lu Yin¡¯s strong suit, or else he would not be constantlycking money himself. Fortunately, even if the weave¡¯s trade was sealed off, the Frostwave Weave was self-sufficient. It was just that the war could not be continued.

    War was tooplicated, and it consumed too many resources. Some of these resources were not avable within the Frostwave Weave and had to be imported in. This was what the economic embargo had affected the most, as the war could not be maintained purely through the efforts of space-exploring powerhouses. Also, there were not enough of them readily avable either since the Frostwave Weave covered a rather considerable area.

    There was nothing much from San Dios. After Wendy Yushan had returned, Lu Yin¡¯s position there had be much more awkward. Thus, there was very little difference if he was present there or not.

    There was the Daynight Feast as well, and Lu Yin quickly discovered that it had already ended, just as he had anticipated. Lu Yin saw this news on thework, and along with the information regarding the Daynight Feast, there was another message that caused Lu Yin to feel helpless. Thework had frantically publicized news of his death, and they had even shown a simtion of how his route through Tempest Flowzone had ovepped with the storm¡¯s route, along with a small animated scene of him being swallowed by the storm.

    Few had believed it at first, but as Lu Yin continued to remain out of contact, more people had started to believe that he had been consumed by a storm. For an entire five months, no one had been able to get in touch with him, which had led many to believe that Lu Yin had indeed perished.

    It was very normal for a youth to die while traveling the universe, and it was not something that would typically create much of a sensation. However, Lu Yin¡¯s titles and status were toorge, so his death had caused some waves, though they were quickly settled.

    In the countless years of the universe¡¯s development, it had seen too many geniuses. Some had even been focused upon from the time they were born, and there were many who had been even more dazzling than Lu Yin himself. Thus, it was natural that not all of the universe¡¯s attention would be focused on just him.

    It had been almost a year since the Astral Combat Tournament had ended, and that topic had already long faded from the public¡¯s mind. Some people might still recognize Lu Yin if they saw him, or perhaps they would only feel that he looked familiar. However, no one would be as shocked as they would right after the Astral Combat Tournament had ended.

    Moreover, the Astral Combat Tournament had been hosted rather abruptly. Even though the entire Human Domain¡¯swork had been connected so that, in theory, everyone could view it, in reality, only specific regions in the Innerverse and Outerverse had been able to view it. Thework¡¯s connection was intermittent in other areas, so the people in those regions had not been able to properly watch the tournament.

    There was nothing too important from the Astral-10 students who had tried to contact Lu Yin, aside from them being concerned about him. However, Lu Yin noticed that in thest month, Xia Luo had frequently tried to contact him.

    Given Xia Luo¡¯s personality, he would not have relentlessly tried to contact Lu Yin like this unless there was something urgent. Lu Yin opened Xia Luo¡¯s most recent message, and his expression drastically changed. It turned out that Big Pao and Little Pao hadnded themselves deep in trouble in the Chaos Flowzone.

    Big Pao and Little Pao had initially been orphans from the Chaos Flowzone who were adopted by Astral-10, but their true identities should be heirs of some vanished power. They had returned to the Chaos Flowzone, presumably for revenge, but they had gone missing a month ago and were still unreachable. Xia Luo suspected that the two had either been captured or killed by an organization called the Deep Crimson Hall. Thus, all of Astral-10¡¯s students were currently rushing to the Chaos Flowzone.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to contact Xia Luo, but he could not reach him. He tried Michelle next, who had gone with Xia Luo, but he could not connect to her either.

    Finally, he managed to contact Old Cai. ¡°Old Cai, what happened to Senior Big Pao and the others?¡±

    Old Cai studied Lu Yin in amazement. ¡°Pretty good, little brat. You¡¯re not dead.¡±

    Lu Yin was anxious. ¡°This student was very lucky.

    ¡°Old Cai, what happened to the Seniors and the others?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fine for now. Deep Crimson is sealed, so they can¡¯t leave.¡±

    ¡°What about Big Pao and Little Pao? Xia Luo said he hasn¡¯t been able to contact them.¡±

    Old Cai shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Does the academy not care?¡±

 Chapter 421: Mishap

    <h4>Chapter 421: Mishap</h4>

    Old Cai sensed Lu Yin¡¯s dissatisfaction, and he sneered. ¡°Little brat, the Astral Combat Academy has its own rules. It can put up a front for you, and the other students can hide inside if they encounter difficulties. There are times when the academy will step up, but the academy cannot meddle in conflicts between the universe¡¯s powers. The academy is exactly as it name implies; it¡¯s not a power. Do you understand?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but then he quickly epted the idea. It was true that the Astral Combat Academy was just an academy. Astral-10 especially was just a prison and could not really help its students. ¡°This student understands. I will hurry to Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Deep Crimson.¡±

    Old Cai nodded and then disconnected.

    Lu Yin looked at the drink in front of him before his expression dropped. He was probably still within Tempest Flowzone, which was very far from Chaos Flowzone. Even if he had an Aurora, it would take him roughly a month of traveling, and that was even discounting any dys and pauses due to rerouting and the Tributary Arks. If there were any sudden developments, then even two months might not be enough.

    He rapped on the table while deep in thought and conservatively estimated that it would take him a month and a half to arrive at Chaos Flowzone. He might not even be able to help then, since the only aid he could offer was his own strength.

    Actually, Lu Yin was not that worried about Big Pao and Little Pao since Xia Luo and Lulu had gone. Lulu was someone from the Mavis Family, which Deep Crimson Hall would not dare to provoke. Xia Luo¡¯s background was even more mysterious, and furthermore, he always acted cautiously and prudently. With Xia Luo already there, it would not make much difference if he went.

    At this moment, his top priority was to get into contact with them.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and he hurriedly flipped through his cosmic ring. He found a letter of promise. This one was from Alfonso, who was from Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Starphant Mountain.

    In the past, during the trial on Shenwu Continent, Lu Yin had forced many of the trialtakers to sign promissory notes for favors, and this person was the heir of a power in Chaos Flowzone.

    There were various methods of contact written on the promised agreement, so it was rtively easy for Lu Yin to get into contact with Alfonso.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw Alfonso¡¯s constipated expression. ¡°Long time no see, friend.¡±

    Alfonso smiled dryly. ¡°Br- Brother Lu, you¡¯re not dead?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Why did you say that? Why would I die?¡±

    Alfonso pursed his lips, as he had seen the news about Lu Yin being swallowed by a storm. He had actually been truly relieved for a while, since Lu Yin had something on him. However, his tion had notsted for very long before the bastard appeared once again, looking as healthy as ever. He didn¡¯t seem to be injured in any way. ¡°Brother Lu, is there something that I can do for you?¡±

    Lu Yin shook the pact of agreement. ¡°Has Brother Alfonso already forgotten about this?¡±

    Alfonso reluctantly replied, ¡°Brother Lu, please state any request you might have.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°I have a fellow student who might have been captured by the Deep Crimson Hall. I hope that Brother Alfonso can save them.¡±

    Alfonso was shocked. ¡°The Deep Crimson Hall? How did your fellow student provoke them?¡±

    ¡°Probably for some revenge. Why, is this Deep Crimson Hall very powerful?¡± Lu Yin asked. He thought that Alfonso was deliberately rejecting him, as he had researched Deep Crimson Hall before. They only had two Hunters known as the Bo Duo. Such a power was considered weak in Chaos Flowzone, and it could not hold a candle to Starphant Mountain.

    ¡°Deep Crimson Hall is not powerful, but they are rather annoying. The Bo Duo are the type to fight to the death, and they also hand overrge amounts of star crystals to the Relentless yers as protection fees every year. Thus, the powerhouses from that ce are always keeping an eye on Deep Crimson. You might not know how formidable the Relentless yers are. To put it another way, in Chaos Flowzone, the Relentless yers are second only to Chaosgod Mountain.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as he could tell that Alfonso was not lying. This made things rather inconvenient, as this Bo Duo definitely knew their way around. The universe was cruel, and everyone had their own tricks to survive. This Bo Duo was uninterested in increasing their own strength and prioritized self-preservation. Such people were the most difficult sort to deal with.

    ¡°Is there really no way?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Alfonso shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not the only heir of Starphant Mountain, so the resources that I can mobilize are rather limited. The sect will not provoke the Relentless yers just for me.¡±

    ¡°But the Relentless yers are not Deep Crimson Hall since they are merely employed.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, you truly don¡¯t understand how things work here in Chaos Flowzone. As long as there¡¯s a reason, no matter how far-fetched it may be, it can be the spark of war. The Relentless yers act in a ruthless manner, and my sect will not wish to get involved with them whatsoever.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. ¡°With the current seal on Deep Crimson, do you have any way for me to contact my fellow students?¡±

    Alfonso¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Yes. About that pact of agreement¡­¡±

    Lu Yin directly tore it. ¡°How about this?¡±

    Alfonsoughed. ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s quite straightforward. Alright, in one day, you¡¯ll be able to contact your ssmate.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and disconnected from the call.

    It was a pity that he had to tear the pact like that, but it was important to make the best use of everything. He wanted to quickly find out what Xia Luo¡¯s current situation was like, and he also needed to evaluate whether or not he needed to head to Chaos Flowzone.

    He sent a message to Huo Qingshan and the others in the Great Yu Empire to let them know that he was safe. Since the war was currently at a standstill, he had no other options.

    Now, there was one other important matter: Nightking Yuanjing. Lu Yin had not gone to the Daynight Feast, which meant that he had missed an appointment. Thus, he needed to apologize.

    But before he made the apology, he needed to get some information from the Ghost Monkey. If the Daynight n could not rescue the Third Nightking, then they would undoubtedly look for Lu Yin again, which might even be the main reason why Nightking Yuanjing had invited him to the Daynight Feast in the first ce. However, Lu Yin could no longer provide any more information rted to the Great Realm of Nothingness, for if he did, Nightking Yuanjing would think of a way to kidnap him and take him to the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, if he had no information about the Great Realm of Nothingness, then he would be worthless to the Nightking n, which made things rather difficult.

    With the Great Yu Empire¡¯s current economic recession, they were unable to unify Frostwave Weave anytime soon. If the Daynight n allowed Nightqueen Yanqing to do as she wished, the woman¡¯s resentment might possibly drive her to meddle in Frostwave Weave¡¯s war, which would drag the entire Great Yu Empire down.

    Lu Yin took another sip of his drink and nced at his right arm and at the stupid monkey who had still not woken up.

    The sky soon went dark, and the shop was about to close. Lu Yin heard the approaching footsteps of the waitress, and he merely rolled his eyes before vanishing. When the waitress arrived, she saw only a vacant booth and an empty ss. Where is he? Did he dine and dash?

    The waitress cursed under her breath and tidied up the booth. Suddenly, a group of people entered the caf¨¦ with solemn looks and firm gazes as they neatly surrounded the area, clearly an indication of their training.

    The waitress was frightened.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the person who was just here?¡± The man in charge turned a stern face to the waitress.

    She trembled. ¡°I- I don''t know.¡±

    The leader frowned. ¡°Check all the surveince tapes along the coastline and activate the facial recognition software to search for the stranger.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin was not aware of it, but his gadget had broadcasted a signal to connect with the universalwork. Although this¡¯s technology had not yet reached the stage where it could enter the wider universe, it was still able to detect a foreign signal. He had not disabled the gadget¡¯s signal function, and so, he had been easily discovered.

    Two hourster, Lu Yin was deep in thought as he stared at the ocean from atop a tall tree. Troops surrounded him on the ground, forming rings as they aimed their weapons at him, all the while shouting incessantly.

    Lu Yin merely yawned and vanished again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength meant that he was essentially a deity on this. His existence waspletely hidden away by the higher echelons and only recorded in secret files, just like any records on Earth concerning alien spacecraft. Lu Yin had no interest in bullying the people of such a.

    When he next appeared, he was atop a tall building. Coincidentally, the monkey woke up at that time.

    ¡°Monkey, I want to contact Nightking Yuanjing. Are there any other ways for me to deal with him?¡±

    The monkey had notpletely woken up, so there was no response to Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin was not in a hurry, and he took a moment to enjoy the breeze atop the building.

    Shortly after, the monkey spoke, ¡°Seventh Bro, where are we?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably on some in Tempest Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you determine your position through the gadget?¡±

    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s probably broken.¡±

    ¡°Impossible, that can¡¯t be the case if you can connect to thework.¡±

    ¡°Whatever it is, I can¡¯t determine my location. So tell me, is there any way that I can retain Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s interest?¡±

    The monkey rolled his eyes. ¡°You still want to get more involved? Do you think that they¡¯re idiots? It was already a huge risk to use the Third Nightking¡¯s name with them. If not for Astral-10, you might have already been captured by the Daynight n. Anything more and they will definitely kidnap you.¡±

    Lu Yin reluctantly replied, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll just say it like it is. I¡¯ve already told them everything I can about the Great Realm of Nothingness. There¡¯s nothing more that I can say to them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how it has to be. Seventh Bro, it¡¯s dangerous to do business with these strong ns, especially since the Nightking n is rather tyrannical. It¡¯s better for them to think that you have no worth rather than for them to think that you¡¯re valuable. The higher your value is to them, the more likely it is that you¡¯ll be abducted.¡±

    Lu Yin did not believe that even Nightking Yuanjing would dare to touch him if he revealed his background. The Pirate King, Highsage Leon, was not someone who others would easily provoke. However, he would also not reveal this background if at all possible since it would drag his reputation down.

    ¡°Right, how did we leave that damned ce?¡± the monkey asked, as its mind had finally recovered somewhat.

    ¡°We climbed to the top and fell out of a spatial crack that happened to be there.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m not stupid,¡± the monkey said after a long pause.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you. I met a strong hermit, and he became my master.¡±

    ¡°I repeat, ¡®Seventh Bro, I¡¯m not stupid.¡¯¡± The monkey rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°That¡¯s the truth.¡±

    ¡°A truth to deceive me, I know. So how the heck did we get out?¡± the monkey asked again, unhappy.

    ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    The monkey finally believed him. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°You believe that answer?¡±

    The monkey grew serious. ¡°That ce is not something that a Limiteer can touch. Only an idiot would believe that you were able to leave by yourself. It¡¯s more reasonable that you don¡¯t know how you got out. In the past, some people managed to escape after being swallowed by the storm, but their memory was wiped after they returned. If you don¡¯t know, then you probably had your memory wiped.¡±

    ¡°How logical,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    The monkey was pleased. ¡°I roamed the Astral Beast Domain for many years and have experienced many such dangerous episodes. Thus, I should at least have that much insight.¡±

    ¡°One question: have you heard of Fatesand?¡±

    The monkey was astonished. ¡°How do you know about Fatesand?¡±

    ¡°I have fused three grains within my body.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m not stupid,¡± the monkey repeated again.

    Lu Yin smiled; it wasn¡¯t up to him whether or not anyone believed him when he spoke the truth.

    ¡°Fatesand is an extremely precious treasure. From what I know, there¡¯s very, very few people who possess Fatesand even in the scope of the entire universe. That thing can awaken different abilities within various people, and it can even improve one¡¯s physical body. I¡¯ve only seen details about it in journals since I¡¯ve never seen it myself.¡±

 Chapter 422: Ling Que

    <h4>Chapter 422: Ling Que</h4>

    Lu Yin felt like something was strange. ¡°You used to be one of five lords of the Spiritual Academy. So, logically, you should have been one of the strongest of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s younger generation. However, you still couldn¡¯t get a hold of any Fatesand?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve also defeated Tian Hou, who¡¯s the strongest at the Spiritual Academy, but that won¡¯t get you any Fatesand. Not just anyone can take out something like that, and even the grand prize for the Astral Combat Tournament wouldn¡¯t be something that precious.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that something like that can also ruin someone and cause their demise.¡±

    The monkey thought about Lu Yin¡¯sment and responded, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that, but I¡¯m not sure about the details. Alright, Seventh Bro, stop asking about that. You might not even see something like that over the course of your entire life. Think more practically and figure out where we are first.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up, as he had already thought about it. Any within the Innerverse or the Outerverse would be under the control of a great civilization, which meant that there would be traces left behind. Thus, he just had to find the location on this that featured the most legends.

    Before long, Lu Yin tore through the void and left.

    Not long after, the troops located and surrounded the building, but Lu Yin had already disappeared.

    His gadget could directly invade anywork on the, so Lu Yin quickly discovered that the most dangerous ce on the was an oceanic trench located at the junction of several continents. It was hexagonal and immeasurably deep. It was a ce where countless ships had gone missing since ages long ago. Other kinds of technology, such as aircraft, were no exception either. Anything that approached this oceanic trench would mysteriously vanish.

    The¡¯s most powerful country had explored this region, but they had found nothing at all and had no information on it. A country in the past had once sted the ocean ravine with its most powerful weapons, but the only oue had been a tsunami that caused countless deaths on the shores of the mainds. Its actions had been condemned by the entire, and the nation had eventually copsed shortly thereafter.

    Countless photographs of strange spacecraft had also been posted online, and they had all been taken close to the trench.

    Lu Yin rapidly sped through the void and soon arrived at the oceanic trench. His eyes filled with star energy as he looked down.

    He saw that there were many rune lines converging around the trench, and it represented a power that surpassed a Limiteer¡¯s just based on sheer quantity, and it had even reached the threshold of an Explorer¡¯s. This meant that there was something with an Explorer¡¯s strength within the trench, though it was not necessarily human. It was also possible that it was some collection of energy, though of course, the possibility of it being a human was much higher.

    Regardless, this ce presented no threat to Lu Yin.

    He shot downwards and into the ocean.

    An enormous whirlpool instantly swirled about the ocean. It possessed a strong force of attraction, the power of which was not inferior to a Melder¡¯s. This was also equivalent to the¡¯s most powerful weapons beingunched all at once, but it was no threat to Lu Yin at all.

    The bottom of the ocean was dark, but at the bottommost part, there was a small channel that sparkled slightly. Lu Yin used sh to approach that ce, and there, he saw a small warship outfitted with Explorer-level weapons. This spacecraft was what had generated those rune lines that had the power of an Explorer.

    Sure enough, this was under the observation of a great civilization, which was a tragedy for the people of this ce.

    He effortlessly moved into the spacecraft and unleashed his domain, which allowed him to see a dozen people bustling around. Most of them were Melders along with a few Limiteers, but there were no Explorers here.

    He casually captured one of the people, and under their terrified gaze, he threateningly asked, ¡°Where in the universe is this located?¡±

    That person looked at Lu Yin in fear. He had not expected for someone to suddenly appear on this spacecraft, but he replied in a trembling voice, ¡°The Zhengyang Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°The Zhengyang Flowzone? Where¡¯s that?¡±

    That man was puzzled, but he still answered, ¡°It¡¯s located at the junction between the Daynight, Soulseal, and Chaos Flowzones. It¡¯s a bit to the west of the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, as Mister Mu had tossed him far west in an instant. He had simply assumed that he was still in Tempest Flowzone, so this was quite an exaggerated shift. He felt that the concept of distance simply did not exist to Mister Mu. If that man had wished it, then he might have even been able to throw Lu Yin back to Earth.

    Still, this ce was convenient for him since he wanted to get to Chaos Flowzone quickly.

    He asked a few more questions before quickly knocking the person unconscious and hiding his limp body before heading to the captain¡¯s room. He had to gain control of this spacecraft first; otherwise, he had no way to leave this.

    As he approached the captain¡¯s room, he was surprised to hear his own name being mentioned.

    ¡°Did you hear about the Daynight Feast? That famous Lu Yin actually didn¡¯t show up.¡±

    ¡°Everyone says that he died.¡±

    ¡°What a pity. The Daynight n mentioned that the four strongest Limiteers in the universe¡¯s younger generation are Ye Xingchen, Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Lu Yin. If Lu Yin had showed up, then he could have fought with Ling Que to show who¡¯s stronger.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too naive. My friend¡¯s brother¡¯s ex-girlfriend¡¯s uncle¡¯s goes to the Astral Combat Academy. He heard that Lu Yin has some enmity with the Daynight n and that they intentionally invited him alongside Ling Que and the rest in order to instigate a battle between them so that they could use those three to suppress Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°But Lu Yin isparable to them, and he is even more famous. Why would the Daynight n be so certain of suppressing him?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin canpare to those three only because it¡¯s rumored that he matched the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist¡¯s record. In reality, another Arbiter has said that that record isn¡¯t genuine and that Lu Yin is still slightly inferior to that Arbiter¡¯s strength when he was a Limiteer. However, those other three are different. Let¡¯s not even mention Ye Xingchen, who roams the Cosmic Sea for now. Mu Rong is a part of the Ten Arbiters Council and has been recognized by the Ten Arbiters as the strongest Limiteer while Ling Que is someone from the Lingling n. You should know about the terror of the Lingling n. Lu Yin¡¯s truly slightly inferior to the three of them.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that they intentionally puffed him up?¡±

    ¡°It should be, but the Daynight n¡¯s scheme fell apart since Lu Yin didn¡¯t even show up. He even died, haha.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but this Daynight Feast raised Ling Que¡¯s reputation up too much. Now, everyone in the universe knows his name. It was reported that he¡¯s heading to the Starfall Sea to challenge an expert on the Top Hundred Rankings. After he wins, he¡¯ll be the only Limiteer on the list! That¡¯s too formidable.¡±

    ¡°Right, those freak geniuses can¡¯t be understood. For ordinary people, being able to withstand an Explorer¡¯s attack while still in the Limiteer realm is already pretty decent, let alone challenging the Top Hundred. Those Realmbreakers who can challenge Explorers are all freaks, but this person can actually challenge the Top Hundred Rankings while doing so. Although they¡¯re all a part of the younger generation, which one of them isn¡¯t a freak themselves? They are definitely some of the most powerful Explorers, to the point where even those old Explorers won¡¯t easily provoke them.¡±

    ¡°Right, and I also heard that, after the Daynight n ranked those four experts, it caused a bunch of youths to be unhappy. Ling Que headed to the Starfall Sea, and many young powerhouses followed him there to challenge him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, our Young Master went there as well.¡±

    ¡°Whatever, he isn¡¯t even a Realmbreaker that can challenge an Explorer. He¡¯s just there to watch the fun.¡±

    ¡°True, though it¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯t watch. The Starfall Sea¡¯s gotta be pretty lively right about now.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stood outside the captain¡¯s room and continued eavesdropping while he browsed through the official news rted to the Daynight Feast. He found many pictures, and many young elites had appeared there. The most eye-grabbing person there was naturally Ling Que, and his Que''s Mighty sh had shocked the entire audience. To him, even Nightqueen Yanqing had just been a prop. Quite a number of the experts who had attended the Daynight Feast had challenged him, but not a single one of them had been his opponent.

    Lu Yin opened a video to take a look, and his face quickly turned solemn. This person was truly strong, and his Que''s Mighty sh contained an unusual strength.

    Ling Que was from the Lingling n, which Lu Yin had not heard of before. Out of curiosity, he searched thework and found some basic information on them.

    The more he looked through the information, the more astonished he became. This Lingling n was a bit terrifying.

    It was an extremely rare race of humans, and every one of their members had the ability to absorb other people¡¯s innate gifts to use for themselves. Each person could absorb ten innate gifts at most, which would then merge into a kind of eternal innate gift. This eternal innate gift would be abination of the original ones, and it would be considerably powerful. Thus, each member of the Lingling n was a powerhouse with an amazing innate gift.

    Although the universe was vast and there were many umon races, there were still some people with innate gifts that went beyondprehension. Lu Yin never would have thought that a race like the Lingling n could exist, where their members could actually select others¡¯ innate gifts and thenbine them into one. This was so ridiculous that, upon hearing about it, people would forget to curse their luck.

    Fortunately, there were extremely few members of the Lingling n. Otherwise, not even the Daynight n would be able topare to them.

    However, no matter how rare their members were, that n was the true leading powerhouse that controlled Soulseal Flowzone, and any member that appeared there would be an absolute expert.

    Ling Que was an elite amongst experts, as his Que''s Mighty sh was his eternal innate gift that he had solidified through thebination of various other innate gifts.

    This was all information that could be found on thework. Next, Lu Yin used the authority granted to him by his Honor Points to search for even deeper records about the Lingling n, which allowed him to learn some information that was hidden to most. One thing that he discovered was that the Lingling n possessed a shocking inherited technique: the Soulsplitting Technique.

    Even after countless years, the war at the border of the Human Domain had not stopped even once. As such, no power was able topletely hide its inherited strengths. The Daynight n was no exception, as Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s Daynight Restoration Technique was something that had been recorded down. The Lingling n was the same, as their Soulsplitting Technique was their n¡¯s strongest inherited technique. Essentially, it let its user create a doppelganger, and each copy possessed the main body¡¯s strength. It was truly an iprehensible art.

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze upon learning that there was actually such a n. Their unique powers caused others to be speechless.

    ¡°Eh, Seventh Bro, are you looking at the Lingling n¡¯s information?¡± The Ghost Monkey was astonished.

    ¡°You know about them as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The Lingling n is a huge headache for the Astral Beast Domain, and those people have all sorts of innate gifts. Their Soulsplitting Technique makes them even more terrifying, and most powerhouses are rendered powerless against the Lingling n. Fortunately, there are only a few of them, and we haven¡¯t faced any of them at the border warfront in recent years.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± A voice barked, and a few people nearby suddenly stared at Lu Yin with evident surprise.

    Lu Yin casually pushed the captain¡¯s door open, and the two who had been conversing stared nkly at Lu Yin. They had been on this for quite a while, but they had never encountered any outsiders before. Thus, they were unable to react promptly.

    ¡°Activate the spacecraft and head towards Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Deep Crimson.¡± Lu Yin walked over to the screen and gave out some orders.

    At that moment, the people who had been outside the room charged in and aimed their weapons at Lu Yin. The two who had been in the room also finally reacted to his presence and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin turned around, and his gaze flickered as a strong gale swept out from beneath his feet. This was a pressure caused by pure star energy, and the crowd was instantly pinned to the ground as their star energy guns exploded. ¡°I need to trouble you, so start the spacecraft and head towards Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Deep Crimson.¡±

    The crowd were overwhelmed by Lu Yin, as his strength horrified them. They did not dare to resist, and they immediately voiced their assent.

 Chapter 423: Second Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 423: Second Encounter</h4>

    Lu Yin was satisfied as he looked at the screen. ¡°How long until we arrive at Deep Crimson?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t enter it, since the space around this has been sealed. If an anomaly, like a spacecraft, shows up there, it will automatically be attacked,¡± someone answered apprehensively.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°There¡¯s an Explorer guarding this space?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Invite that Explorer onto the ship. Tell them that you¡¯ve been taken over.¡±

    The crowd was stunned, and everyone was baffled by Lu Yin¡¯s words. But when Lu Yin red at them, they quicklyplied.

    After a bit of time, a powerful aura shrouded the spacecraft. Lu Yin continued staring at the screen while also asionally checking his gadget. It was about time to try calling Xia Luo again, and he hoped that Alfonso had held up his end of the deal.

    Lu Yin did not control the people on the vessel and allowed everyone to leave the captain¡¯s room. Before long, an Explorer entered and stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back. His face was downcast. ¡°You¡¯re the one who seized this spacecraft?¡±

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡±

    The Explorer looked at Lu Yin. He was confused at first, but then he grew shocked. He muttered to himself for a bit and then turned around to face the others. ¡°Take this gentleman wherever he wants to go.¡±

    The crewmembers were stunned. ¡°But our mission is to observe this.¡±

    The Explorer gloomily replied, ¡°Cancel the mission and immediately escort this gentleman to wherever he wishes to go.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± The others were still bewildered.

    Lu Yin nodded appreciatively. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The Explorer forced out a smile and then left.

    A short timeter, that Explorer stood at the bottom of the oceanic trench as he watched the spacecraft ascend and depart from the. His eyes flickered as he said to himself, ¡°So he¡¯s actually still alive. He somehow survived the storm and even managed to arrive in Zhengyang Flowzone. It¡¯s too much to believe that he did all that himself, so there has to be some super powerhouse guarding him. He can¡¯t be offended, but that means that Chaos Flowzone is about to get exciting. I hope that he¡¯ll fight with Ling Que so that we can see if he really is qualified to be considered as one of the four unequalled Limiteers.¡±

    Zhengyang Flowzone was close to Daynight Flowzone, so its denizens had closely followed the news about the Daynight Feast. Hence, this Explorer had quickly recognized Lu Yin, though this might not have happened if Lu Yin had ended up in a more distant flowzone.

    In outer space, Lu Yin activated his gadget and tried to contact Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo¡¯s figure soon appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen with a beaming smile. ¡°So it turns out that you really are still alive.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°How¡¯re you guys doing?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still alright. They haven¡¯t discovered who we are yet.¡±

    ¡°What about our two seniors?¡±

    ¡°Captured, but don¡¯t worry. Many other people on Deep Crimson were captured as well, so they were just unlucky,¡± Xia Luo said with a shrug.

    ¡°Alright, got it. I heard that Deep Crimson¡¯s been sealed.¡±

    ¡°There was a group that risked their lives to break into Deep Crimson, and they even crashnded their spacecraft, so the seal¡¯s been temporarily broken. However, it will be up again soon. Brother Lu, you chose the perfect time to contact me,¡± Xia Luo said with a smile.

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°I¡¯m in Zhengyang Flowzone, so I¡¯ll arrive at Chaos Flowzone soon. We¡¯ll join forces so that you all can escape from Deep Crimson then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to be easy. There¡¯s animosity between the Deep Crimson Hall and our two seniors. They want revenge, so it won¡¯t be easy to convince them to leave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s head hurt. ¡°The Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s Bo Duo are both Hunters. Our seniors won¡¯t be able to get their revenge just by themselves.¡±

    Xia Luo spread his hands. ¡°They don¡¯t have a choice since they couldn¡¯t take it any longer. Our seniors have already assassinated four influential figures from Deep Crimson Hall, which angered the Bo Duo enough into sealing Deep Crimson. All space-exploring foreigners have been captured.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered something to himself and then said, ¡°Tell our two seniors that there¡¯ll be plenty of opportunities to take revenge in the future. I¡¯ll take them away by force if necessary.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try. Meng Yue and Zhao Yilong have already snuck into their holding area, and they should have regrouped by now. We¡¯ll wait for you to get here.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then disconnected from the call. He looked at the space outside the vessel; every cultivator in the universe had their own conflicts and enemies. Lu Yin¡¯s own enemy was even more terrifying, as they were one of the Ten Arbiters. He could not blindly take revenge and had to n everything out step by step.

    Lu Yin believed that even Pirate King Highsage Leon would not be able to help Lu Yin take revenge. Even when the Ten Arbiters¡¯ power and trump cards were taken out of consideration, they were incredibly influential, and each one had countless powers backing them. Their authority was enormous; just the title of the Ten Arbiters alone was enough to mobilize half of the universe, and that was just a conservative estimate. It was this authority that attracted so many youths to join the Ten Arbiters Council.

    This organization held great authority over the younger generation, but they segregated their members and only epted others members of the younger generation. Lu Yin wanted to take his revenge on the Ten Arbiters, but it would be a very arduous path.

    Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s enemies were just this Bo Duo. If Lu Yin wished it, then he could just rely on just his own influence to take care of these two. However, his first priority was to make it to Deep Crimson.

    But he had other urgent tasks that also needed to be done, and Lu Yin focused his attention on his gadget once again. Soon, Nightking Yuanjing appeared on his screen with a delighted expression on his face. ¡°Little Yin, you¡¯re alive?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that the old man was not actually happy to see Lu Yin alive. If he held no value, then Nightking Yuanjing would not care if Lu Yin was still alive. Lu Yin understood his position perfectly well, but he still had to put on an act. Thus, he put on a remorseful expression and replied, ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, I¡¯ve worried you.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked at Lu Yin in amazement. ¡°Little Yin, were you swallowed by the storm?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Then how did you get out?¡±

    Lu Yin appeared dazed. ¡°I don''t know. I don¡¯t have any memory of the time I was inside the storm.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing was disappointed, but at the same time, not surprised. Those who had survived simr storms in the past had simrly lost all memory rted to their time in the storm.

    ¡°How¡¯s your body? Did anything happen?¡± Nightking Yuanjing asked in concern, truly ying the perfect part of a benevolent elder.

    Lu Yin put on an agonized look. ¡°I was injured, but nothing too serious. Thank you, Grandpa Yuanjing, for your concern. Little Yin failed to meet Grandpa Yuanjing¡¯s expectations, and I did not manage to make it to the Daynight Feast in time.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing shook a hand. ¡°As long as you¡¯re alright, nothing else matters.¡± He then paused before looking directly at Lu Yin. ¡°Right, Little Yin, have you remembered anything else concerning the Great Realm of Nothingness?¡±

    Lu Yin appeared astonished. ¡°The Great Realm of Nothingness? I¡¯ve already told you all that I know. I did not hide anything.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked at Lu Yin with clear expectation written on his face. ¡°Really? Nothing else? Nothing about that ancient Void Wanderer elder? Is there any way to deal with it?¡±

    Lu Yin was at a loss. ¡°The ancient Void Wanderer elder? I don''t know anything about it.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing stared closely at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and then sighed. He was clearly disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s alright. If you remember anything else, make sure to tell Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±

    Lu Yin sincerely replied, ¡°Rest assured, Grandpa Yuanjing, Little Yin will definitely tell you everything that I know.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded and then disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin rxed, as he was afraid that Nightking Yuanjing might have had a falling out with him on the spot. Fortunately, such old fellows had some manners and maintained their dignity.

    However, this also meant that Lu Yin was now worthless in Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes, and the old man would no longer restrict Nightqueen Yanqing just for Lu Yin. He frowned, as he now needed to think of some other method to increase his value in Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes. Otherwise, Frostwave Weave would be an endless battlefield since Nightqueen Yanqing could invite countless experts to deal with the Great Yu Empire at her whim.

    There were many important things that he had to do right now. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy was deteriorating from the embargos, and Nightqueen Yanqing had kept her eyes on it this entire time. At this moment, Big Pao and Little Pao required help to be rescued, and Lu Yin still needed to figure out a way to earn more money. All of these matters were important, especially the one concerning earning money. Lu Yin needed to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm as soon as possible. He did not want to umte his power slowly like others and only reach the peak of the realm after several years.

    As long as Lu Yin didn¡¯t be an Explorer, the universe would continue to be an obstacle that he could not step past. The ability to move freely throughout the universe was something that all cultivators desired.

    Lu Yin pondered for a long time, and then he decided to think of ways to improve his Lockbreaker identity after first rescuing Big Pao and Little Pao. That would help him earn more money as well as improve his status. After that, it might be possible to have a chat with the alluring Madam Nn and borrow some of her family¡¯s enormous wealth to support the Great Yu Empire. That was a matter that could be discussed after they unified Frostwave Weave.

    Right, there was also Bushtree as well. As long as Lu Yin had enough money, that would be how he would drastically improve his own power at a mind-boggling rate.

    As he thought about various things, the spacecraft flew onto the Tributary Ark and crossed the Astral River Tributary to arrive in Chaos Flowzone.

    The Tributary Arks were not asrge as the Astral River Ark, but they were not small either. Each one could transport at least 10,000 spacecraft, and the small battle spacecraft that Lu Yin had seized was just one more to them.

    As he watched the Astral River Tributary roar by outside, Lu Yin looked forward to visiting the Cosmic Sea. Ye Xingchen¡¯s prestige had been established in the Cosmic Sea, though few had witnessed his power. However, just roaming about the Cosmic Sea was enough to rank him among the top four Limiteers of the younger generation, which clearly demonstrated the Cosmic Sea¡¯s dangerpared to the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    The monkey was right; Lu Yin should organize a team and travel to the Cosmic Sea. Exploring the Cosmic Sea was something that everyone with passion would want to do some time in their life.

    On the ark, each spacecraft was fixed onto a rail. Once they arrived at the other side, the rail would extend out of the ark, allowing the spacecraft inside to depart.

    Generally, only a few people would exit their spacecraft to enter the rail, but there were always a few exceptions. The rails were very safe, and there were also many special services aboard the arks, which provided various pleasures that many people were obsessed with.

    Lu Yin stood in the captain¡¯s room and looked out at the asional spacecraft that streaked by, and he saw that almost every single one of them had beauties aboard.

    Even Lu Yin was a little aroused since he had never experienced it before. Still, he held no real interest in such things. He suddenly thought of Ming Yan and wondered how she was doing. After such a long period of separation, would her initial feelings still be there?

    He browsed through some information regarding Darkmist Weave on his gadget. The powers like the Mafioso, Battle Street, and the Nine Allied Nations were still embroiled with Darkstar Gorge, but it seemed like they had reached some sort of agreement since tensions had recently eased.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he felt like he should fan the mes some more.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin saw a familiar figure, but he was stumped by who it was. After a moment, he remembered. Isn¡¯t that the Mad Viper Knight?

    In the past, when Lu Yin had robbed the Mad Viper Knight Pirate Group, Zhuo Daynight had identally been injured. The events after, where he had taken care of her, had led Lu Yin to the pirate port, andter on, to Driftcharge. The Mad Viper Knight had escaped back then, and Lu Yin had never dreamed that he would run into him at such a ce.

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin gave chase and shuttled down the railway at extreme speed. He chased after the Mad Viper Knight, but he did not know why he wanted to eliminate this person. It was possible that it was some form of revenge for Zhuo Daynight even though it had been Lu Yin himself who had injured her back then.

    The Mad Viper Knight was differentpared to when he had been in the Outerverse; he had now broken through and was now an Explorer. He was all alone in his spacecraft, cruising along in a certain direction.

    Lu Yin chased after him from a distance, not at all worried about being discovered since the Mad Viper Knight did not have the ability to discover him.

 Chapter 424: Blackbeard

    <h4>Chapter 424: ckbeard</h4>

    Before long, the Mad Viper Knight arrived at a dim alley that was beside the rail. Two figures who were hiding in the dark appeared in front of him.

    Lu Yin leaned against the wall and concealed his aura.

    ¡°The location for the tribute payment this time will be Malu, 723rd Zhongxing Street. You better be prepared,¡± a low voice called out.

    The Mad Viper Knight replied, ¡°I was prepared since long ago.¡±

    ¡°Of course, our region won¡¯t be surpassed by others again this time,¡± the other person replied.

    ¡°Alright, the captain won¡¯t tolerate failure. You should know that by now.¡± And with that, one of the figures turned to leave.

    The other person eyed the Mad Viper Knight. ¡°Are you really prepared?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°The Innerverse is iparable to the Outerverse. It¡¯s very difficult to get a hold of a piece of it with your strength. You¡¯d best watch out for yourself.¡± Then, that person also left.

    The Mad Viper Knight did not wait around, and he also quickly left.

    Lu Yin did not move. Malu, 723rd Zhongxing Street. This address had piqued his interest. What interested him even more was the word ¡°tribute.¡± Doesn¡¯t that mean money? He connected the word with the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s status as a pirate and realized that the words were likely rted to paying tribute to a more powerful pirate group.

    This was interesting news, and he might possibly wait to fish for something bigger.

    Lu Yin left, and as he made his way back, he tried to remember the emblem that he had seen on the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s clothes. He had caught a glimpse of it, so he tried to search it up on thework through his gadget, but he couldn¡¯t find anything.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Yin to return to his spacecraft. Once there, he searched thework again, only this time, he used the status that his Honor Points gave him. With that, he was able to find the emblem; it was the insignia of the ckbeard Pirate Group, a powerful band of pirates.

    Since the universe had a righteous side, there was naturally a darker side as well. Pirate groups were one facet of that dark side, and the ckbeard Pirate Group was definitely one of the more well known representatives of them. Chaos Flowzone was already a territory filled with the Innerverse¡¯s dark side, and the ckbeard Pirates were actually the unofficial king of all the pirate crews within Chaos Flowzone. Any pirate group that sought to make a living in Chaos Flowzone had to pay tribute to the ckbeard Pirates.

    After receiving the tribute, the ckbeard Pirates would provide a certain degree of protection to the smaller pirate groups, but, of course, the amount of protection corresponded with the size of the tribute.

    Lu Yin had never thought that the Mad Viper Knight would actually join something like the ckbeard Pirates, or that he would qualify to bear their emblem. The man must have given them something extraordinary. It was a pity; if Lu Yin had managed to capture him back then, then that object would have been his.

    The ckbeard Pirates were the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s unofficial king of the underworld, and their power was evident for all to see.

    Pirates were generally a rxed bunch, and Highsage Leon could rely on just his reputation to control a portion of all pirate groups, such as those who had attacked the various Outerverse powers that supported Puyu. However, he definitely could not manipte all the pirate groups in the universe. This so-called Pirate King was nothing more than a title representing him being the strongest; it didn¡¯t actually hold any sort of authority.

    This ckbeard Pirates obviously did not answer to Highsage Leon, which meant that Lu Yin had no reason to resist plundering them.

    Lu Yin was emotionally moved; he wascking in money, and it was being offered in spades right here. However, he had to be careful. It would be alright if his opponent was an Explorer, but if a Cruiser appeared, then he would be rendered unable to act, or else he could be easily surrounded.

    These ckbeard Pirates could unify all the pirate groups within Chaos Flowzone, and they might even have an almighty Enlighter among their ranks, whose power level would surpass 200,000. Even if Lu Yin acted, he definitely had to make sure to not leave any trails that would cause him trouble in the future.

    Lu Yin was greatly anticipating this matter, and he grew very excited.

    When the Tributary Ark stopped, and its rail extended out, Lu Yin quickly changed the warship¡¯s route and headed towards Malu. He had done his due diligence and knew that Malu¡¯s location did not deviate far from his original path towards Deep Crimson.

    At the same time, the Mad Viper Knight¡¯s spacecraft also started heading towards Malu.

    Malu was just a with a basic civilization that had just reached the initial stages of exploring the universe. It was even more primitive than the where Lu Yin had been teleported to by Mister Mu. Malu had not even established contact with any higher civilizations yet, so there was no space station there.

    Lu Yin took a personal spacecraft and found anding site before leaving the warship with a rumble. When he entered Malu¡¯s atmosphere, the warship continued on its original route since they were not needed on the below.

    The personal spacecraft crashed into the giant hill. The hatch opened up, and Lu Yin casually drove the spacecraft another hundred meters underground before covering the area up with soil.

    Thending of the spacecraft had created a great disturbance that had definitely attracted attention. He did not want his spacecraft to be towed away by someone else.

    He checked his location since he had looked at Malu¡¯s map beforending. He quickly disappeared, leaving nothing but a spatial crack that continued to extend out for a few seconds after he left.

    The¡¯s civilization gave Lu Yin a sense of one whose technology was still budding. The people here had only recently learned to manufacture firearms, which was very primitive. 723rd Zhongxing Street was located within a city, and the building looked like a church.

    Lu Yin did not know if any experts from the ckbeard Pirates would be present, so he concealed his aura and found some clothes in the¡¯s style. He stood some distance away from the meeting ce and filled his eyes with star energy. He saw an enormous convergence of rune lines; there was a Cruiser there.

    Lu Yin averted his gaze and did not dare to observe that person anymore. Who would have imagined that the ckbeard Pirates would assign Cruisers to collect this tribute. This made things troublesome, since he could not deal with so many powerhouses by himself. It was even possible that stronger crew members would arriveter. These ckbeard Pirates were truly powerful.

    Lu Yin did not dare to stick around. Even though his Invisible Aura Technique and his domain were concealing his aura, he still did not feel at ease. His physical body was extraordinarily tough and it greatly surpassed what the natives of this could achieve. Even something like the strength of his heartbeat could give him away, but fortunately, he had kept his distance out of caution and had avoided being discovered.

    He distanced himself from the meeting ce and sighed. It was impossible for him to plunder from an existence like the ckbeard Pirates, and it was an even greater pity since the tribute definitely surpassed his wildest dreams.

    Hold on¡ªrobbing here might not be possible, but what about other ces? Like thending site.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and scanned through the surrounding regions. He had chosen tond in a hilly zone, and any cultivatorsing here would likely choose something simr. Also, since these people would be in a rush to deliver the tribute, they would definitely choose the closestnding site to the city.

    Around the city, there were ins, hills, and even a forest a bit further away. These were the three most likely spots for another cultivator tond their spacecraft.

    Most people would not pick hills, and the forest was a bit more likelypared to the ins since the trees were good for hiding.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he made some calctions centered around the city. His gadget¡¯s ability to detect power levels did not extend to the forest, which meant that any battle in the forest would not cause any reaction from his gadget.

    As long as there was no reaction, things would be alright. He thought about it for a moment and then quickly sped off.

    After some time, Lu Yin approached the fringes of the forest, where he was expecting some people to arrive with a spacecraft. He struck out at the void with a palm, only using a normal Limiteer¡¯s strength. He was trying to probe whether or not those Cruisers back at the meeting ce would react. If they didn¡¯t, then it meant that he would not attract any attention if he made amotion here. If they did, then he would still be able to escape since if he used his Invisible Aura Technique, the Cruisers would not be able to find him as even the average Hunter might not be able to detect him.

    The worst case scenario was being discovered, but Lu Yin could defend himself as long as a Hunter did not show up. If he was unlucky, and a Hunter actually did show up, then Mister Mu¡¯s token was not just for show. Although it could only be used once, it was an object that could save his life. This n was foolproof.

    He waited, but there was no reaction from the Cruisers. Lu Yin mulled over this result and then made another attack, this time with enough power that it surpassed what a normal Explorer was capable of. He waited for another period of time, but there was still no reaction.

    He released a breath; this area was safe. Even if a battle broke out, it would not attract the attention of those Cruisers.

    None of themprehended a domain; they were just average Cruisers.

    Not much time passed before Lu Yin excitedly looked up from the top of arge tree within the forest. Several red dots were approaching him, which were descending spacecraft. One of them was headed towards the forest while the other spacecraft descended in other directions.

    Fortunately, several spacecraftnded at the same time in various directions in order to avoid attracting the Cruisers¡¯ attention.

    Those who were appearing on Malu right now were likely making the trip in order to deliver their tribute to the ckbeard Pirates.

    Lu Yin hurriedly concealed himself and stared at the skies as he prepared to mount his sneak attack. After all, these pirate groups that made a living in Chaos Flowzone were not weak; a direct confrontation would be a serious fight.

    Rumble

    The ground shook, and an enormous air wave burned the forest in all directions.

    A small spacecraft crashed into the ground, and the hatch opened. A formidable-looking middle-aged man stepped out, quickly followed by a dozen other people. They were mostly Limiteers, but there were even some Scouts and Melders among them. Lastly, there were also two Explorers.

    That middle-aged man was a Cruiser.

    ¡°Captain, we¡¯ll wait for you here.¡±

    The man nodded and headed out towards the city.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate; this person¡¯s rune lines did not amount to much, and he could notpare to the Cruiser who had been thrown into the storm with Lu Yin. Thus, he was confident in being able to deal with this person.

    The fierce-looking male had just stepped out of the forest when he ran into many natives who were carrying water over to extinguish the fire. The Cruiser paid them no heed and was about to go around them when one native blocked him and fearfully asked, ¡°My lord, could you tell us if this forest fire isrge? Please, help us put it out.¡±

    The man stared at the native. ¡°Scram.¡±

    The native was anxious, but he wanted to keep the man from moving past him.

    Bloodlust shed in the Cruiser¡¯s eyes, and he casually waved a hand. ording to his understanding, this native should have died, but in the very next instant, he felt that something was amiss. His arm had been grabbed by an opponent with an abnormal strength, and he immediately realized that things were bad. His first reaction was to retreat, but it was already toote. His chest took a solid palm strike, and a strike with multiple Oveying Stacks crushed his organs and flung his body into the forest.

    The man spat out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes turned bloodshot. He flipped around and immediately donned his ring armor.

    Lu Yin used sh to appear behind the man and struck out again. Thirty Stacks crashed into him, giving the man no chance to call for help.

    The man was overwhelmed by the force and tried to dodge, but his organs had already been heavily injured, and he could no longer move his body dexterously. He was once again struck by a ruthless palm and sted into the ground. Fortunately, he had put on his ring armor, or else that palm strike would have killed him.

    Within the forest, two attacks wereunched towards Lu Yin, but he effortlessly dodged them both. He then used the Skybeast w to quickly take care of the two Explorers, while the rest of the group could not withstand Lu Yin¡¯s star energy pressure and simply fell unconscious.

 Chapter 425: Link-Up

    <h4>Chapter 425: Link-Up</h4>

    Lu Yin walked over to the formidable-looking Cruiser and inspected him. This person deserved to be called a pirate; he had very quick reactions, as any regr cultivator would have been killed by Lu Yin¡¯s ambush.

    He crouched down, retrieved the man¡¯s cosmic ring, took a bit of the man¡¯s blood, and then headed for the nearby hills. He did not kill the man, though he made sure that it would take the man at least two days to stir before he could leave for the hills.

    Lu Yin returned to his personal spacecraft and immediately activated it. He only rxed enough to pour out whatever was inside the ring when his spacecraft started to ascend.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic upon seeing what the cosmic ring held. There were actually more than a thousand star essence, which was just too ridiculous. If he exchanged them all, then he would have more than a hundred million star crystals.

    His breath quickened, as he had never seen such an enormous amount of wealth ever before. Even Lulu with her rich background would not carry this much money around. No wonder that pirate group was worthy of having a Cruiser oversee it.

    This was just one pirate group, and an unknown number of pirate groups offered tributes to the ckbeard Pirates on a regr basis. Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine how much wealth so many pirate groups would gather all together.

    These ckbeard Pirates were much wealthier than the Great Yu Empire, and they definitely lived up to their reputation of being the unofficial king of the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s underworld.

    These pirate crews made annual tribute payments. Even if there were only a hundred pirate groups offering tribute, it meant that the ckbeard Pirates had a fixed annual ie of more than 100,000 star essence. This was the true path to wealth.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Highsage Leon. Since that man was the Pirate King, he should be even richer than the ckbeard Pirates. It seemed that he would head for the Cosmic Sea sooner rather thanter. Whatever wee gift he received there should be rather significant.

    Aside from star essence, the Cruiser¡¯s cosmic ring also contained some more conventional items such as medicine and weapons. Lu Yin was not concerned about these items, and he casually flipped through them. For fear that he would even overlook something good, he used his Cosmic Art.

    The moment he used the Cosmic Art, he discovered something abnormal: there was a small tracking device mixed into the thousand star essence. He had not discovered it with just his domain. Rather, he needed thebination of his domain, the Cosmic Art, and his mutated eyes to do so, which meant that the tracking device was as difficult to perceive as the Secret Sidestep technique.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought of obliterating the device, but then, his hand paused midair. His eyes shed deviously before he quickly stored all of the star essence away, along with the tracking device.

    Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t been Mad Viper Knight who hadnded in that forest.

    If he had robbed the Mad Viper Knight, Lu Yin would not have received nearly as much, as it was unlikely that all of the pirate groups offered the same amount of tribute, though there was likely a minimum. The Mad Viper Knight was just an Explorer, so it would be pretty decent if he could offer even a hundred star essence.

    Lu Yin was rather excited at this moment as he looked out of his spacecraft and into the heavens. He had never obtained such arge amount of money before, so his confidence had swelled tremendously.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your plundering actions are rather nimble. Do you perform such deeds often? You couldn¡¯t have been a pirate before, right?¡± the monkey asked curiously.

    Lu Yinughed, as he was in too good of a mood. He did not even mind the monkey¡¯s words today.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, if we¡¯re rich, can we buy a better spacecraft?¡± the monkey asked again.

    Lu Yin looked up. Right, he had forgotten that this spacecraft was just an ordinary vessel and not of a decent grade either. He wanted to buy another Aurora, which only cost around ten star essence or so. Inexpensive, inexpensive.

    The ckbeard Pirates¡¯ spacecraft would definitely be very fast, so even with a head start of two days, he might not be able to sessfully beat them to Deep Crimson. Moreover, the pirates that Lu Yin had just robbed hadnded their spacecraft in the forest, so the Cruisers definitely would have seen itnd. Thus, it was quite possible that it wouldn¡¯t even take them two days to discover Lu Yin¡¯s actions. When his thoughts reached this part, Lu Yin immediately changed course for the closest with lots of traffic, quickly changing his route.

    The next time Lu Yin entered space, he was flying in a radiant-grade Aurora.

    With this new ship¡¯s speed, it would only take him about half a day to arrive at Deep Crimson; a tenth of the previously estimated travel time.

    When Lu Yin arrived at his destination, the fierce-looking Cruiser still had not woken up yet. Only one day had passed, and it could only be said that the ckbeard Pirates were so confident in themselves that they had lost their vignce.

    Deep Crimson was still locked down, so people could only enter but not exit. Lu Yin docked his spacecraft at the space station before trying to contact Xia Luo, but it was to no avail.

    Big Pao and Little Pao had thoroughly angered the Bo Duo, to the point where they had blocked all themunications signals on Deep Crimson and sealed the, all so that they could thoroughly search for the attackers.

    Deep Crimson¡¯s capital was a city called Han Da, where the Bo Duo resided. Lu Yin was not in a rush to find Xia Luo and the others. Instead, he simply headed towards Han Da.

    With his Invisible Aura Technique, nobody could detect his power level. He easily sneaked into Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s headquarters and then into a kitchen. Once there, he left the star essence with the tracking device embedded in it in a random area and then left.

    ¡°Next, I just have to wait for the ckbeard Pirates to arrive.¡± Lu Yin looked at the starry sky and sighed.

    The Ghost Monkey marveled, ¡°Seventh Bro, that¡¯s a good trick, but aren¡¯t you afraid that Deep Crimson Hall will just clear up the misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°How? The tracker is located inside Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s headquarters, and they¡¯ve blocked off all outside signals. Thest ce that the ckbeard Pirates would have received the signal from would be Deep Crimson. Thus, they have to invade Deep Crimson before they can pinpoint the tracker¡¯s position. When that happens, I¡¯ll be able to get in contact with Xia Luo and take them all away.¡±

    ¡°Deep Crimson¡¯s sorge, so will there be enough time for you to escape before those ckbeard Pirates and Deep Crimson Hall start fighting? It¡¯s going to be tough.¡± The monkey was doubtful of Lu Yin¡¯s n.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, ¡°It¡¯s not that difficult. They¡¯re rtively close by, and the Bo Duo¡¯s cultivation isn¡¯t that spectacr¡ªthey definitely haven¡¯tprehended a domain yet. They can¡¯t use their star energy to constantly monitor their surroundings, so the area that they can observe won¡¯t be veryrge. Deep Crimson Hall also has many captives that they have to keep an eye on while they¡¯re trying to ferret out Big Pao and Little Pao.¡±

    ¡°So Big Pao and Little Pao shouldn¡¯t be too far away from Han Da.¡± The monkey quickly understood.

    Lu Yin smiled, since that was the logical conclusion. Fortunately, not everyone couldprehend a domain, or else Lu Yin would have no sense of security no matter what he did.

    In the past, when he had been in Shenwu Continent, his actions had been discovered by Ming Zhaoshu. This demonstrated why a domain was so awesome. Without it, even a Hunter might as well be blind, as they would only be able to see a limited area.

    Not long after Lu Yin arrived at Deep Crimson, the fierce-looking Cruiser awakened. He had been taken to one of the nearby natives¡¯ homes, and he forcibly suppressed his severe injuries and contacted the ckbeard Pirates.

    Over the many years that the ckbeard Pirates had dominated the Chaos Flowzone, they had never been robbed. But today, their tribute had actually been stolen. This was not just a humiliation for the fierce-looking Cruiser¡¯s pirate crew, but also for the ckbeard Pirates. Nigh instantaneously, the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s ckbeard Pirates were mobilized, and they started to trace the signal, vowing to make the thief regret their actions for the rest of their life.

    A Hunter who had been enjoying his time on another became even more furious. He was responsible for collecting the tributes from this region, but such a thing had happened during his supervision. This made him theughingstock of the ckbeard Pirates, so he could not let this matter rest. He definitely would not let the bastard off.

    ¡°Found it! The signal disappeared in this area.¡± One pirate brought up a star chart on the screen, showing a point that was highlighted with a red light.

    That Hunter looked over, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°Deep Crimson. The Bo Duo are truly audacious. Contact the boss and tell him to let me handle this matter. I¡¯m not a man if I can¡¯t retrieve that tribute.¡± He then leaped up and charged into space.

    On Deep Crimson, within the capital, Han Da, Lu Yin found a slum where he could hide himself since he had decided to roll his die to pass the time. He was rich at this moment, so he was hoping to roll three pips: Enhance. His cosmic ring still contained a strengthening fruit that had previously been upgraded to a gold color, and there was also that half portion of the white fruit. He was not nning on using the strengthening fruit anytime soon, since his physical body had already been upgraded to the extreme, which meant that he could not upgrade it anymore while in the Limiteer realm. Instead, he was nning on upgrading the white fruit half in his possession.

    His mentor had previously mentioned that the white fruit was filled with vitality, and that such a fruit could even resurrect a person if it was old enough. Of course, resurrection was a bit of an exaggeration. However, Lu Yin believed that if the fruit was upgraded to a simr degree as the other strengthening fruits, then while it might not be able to resurrect a person, it would at least be able to let someone preserve their life. That was a valuable chance worth purchasing.

    Right, he suddenly recalled that he still had his universal armor, and he wondered if such a thing could also be upgraded. He also had Progenitor Wushang''s hide, and he wondered if that could be upgraded into aplete hide. He did not know how many pieces of Progenitor Wushang''s hide there were, and they were all different sizes as well. It would be virtually impossible for someone to collect all of them.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin felt like he had been bewitched¡ªhe wanted to upgrade everything. For a moment, he even thought about throwing himself onto the screen to be upgraded. Perhaps his entire being might be directly enhanced.

    Lu Yin walked deep into a side alley before using his domain to merge himself with his surroundings, concealing his aura. He no longer needed to worry even if a Hunter appeared. Suddenly, his domain distorted; another domain had appeared.

    Lu Yin suddenly widened his eyes, and he turned to look towards the west, in the direction of the other domain user.

    At the same time, in the west, Xia Luo looked up, and his lips perked up. He had just felt a familiar domain; Lu Yin had arrived.

    Lu Yin also felt the familiarity of the other domain. It was Xia Luo¡¯s. An involuntary smile spread across his face. Deep Crimson was so massive, but they had somehow managed to find each other in such a manner.

    The slums were extensive, and Lu Yin¡¯s domain could not envelop such arge area. At best, they could cover a third of the slums. This meant that Xia Luo and he had coincidentally selected the same general area of the slums.

    Soon after, Lu Yin pushed away a tattered wooden door to reveal Xia Luo, Lulu, Michelle, Zora, Coco, Darkvoid, and Hui Daynight. It was wonderful since not even one person was missing. They had all arrived safely. He would not have thought much of the others being present, but even Darkvoid and Hui Daynight hade along, which seemed strange.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re here!¡± Coco was delighted.

    The rest looked at Lu Yin as well. He was their backup, since his strength was equivalent to a Cruiser¡¯s.

    ¡°It looks like we think alike.¡± Xia Luo beamed at Lu Yin. He almost always had the same facial expression, except for when he looked at Silver.

    Lu Yin nodded towards Coco and the rest and then turned and shrugged towards Xia Luo. ¡°Just as I was worrying about where to look for you guys, it turns out that I guessed correctly. Our two seniors shouldn¡¯t be imprisoned too far from here.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded. ¡°So, shall we rest before we discuss how to rescue them? Meng Yue and Zhao Yilong have already scouted their location. They¡¯re being held beneath Han Da.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Underground?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a giant mine beneath Han Da, about a kilometer beneath the surface. Everyone who was captured was sent there, including our two seniors. The ce where Meng Yue sneaked in is right under our current position.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down, and his domain prated through the ground. Once his domain stretched a kilometer down, he was able to detect some noise and confirm that there was indeed arge mine.

    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lulu rolled her eyes. ¡°What n? Haven¡¯t we just been waiting for you? We can¡¯t escape from two Hunters on our own.¡±

    ¡°The academy didn¡¯t have a problem with letting all of you make this trip?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    Lulu grinned, and a Money Bomb appeared in her hand that she started tossing about.

 Chapter 426: An Exchange And A Secret

    <h4>Chapter 426: An Exchange And A Secret</h4>

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; it was no wonder why the academy had allowed their students to wander about like this. After all, not even the Bo Duo would necessarily be able to withstand an attack from a Money Bomb. As long as the weapon was used appropriately, there was actually a chance for their seniors to get revenge. Also, Lu Yin doubted that Lulu would only buy a single Money Bomb with her wealth.

    ¡°How many do you have?¡± Lu Yin could not help himself from asking.

    Lulu raised her head proudly. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Lu Yin flung fifty star essences over to her. ¡°Here¡¯s what I owe you.¡±

    Lulu grabbed it in amazement. ¡°That fast?¡±

    The rest were amazed as well. Lu Yin had paid Lulu with star essence, not star crystals. Fifty star essences had the equivalent value of five million star crystals, which was an enormous sum for a student. However, Lu Yin actually possessed so much as to casually toss it out.

    Lu Yin held his head up with pride. ¡°It¡¯s just a small sum, so it¡¯s easy to earn.¡±

    Lulu carefully observed Lu Yin. ¡°Not bad. Next time you borrow money from me, I¡¯ll consider charging you interest.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his teeth ache; he should have just kept his mouth shut.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your mouth¡¯s too loose,¡± the monkeymented.

    ¡°Xia Luo, tell Meng Yue and the rest to get ready. We¡¯ll make our escape attempt as soon as Deep Crimson falls into chaos,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The others were all puzzled. Michelle asked, ¡°Deep Crimson will fall into chaos? There¡¯s someone behind you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled mysteriously. ¡°Sort of. No more questions¡ªwe don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    Coco immediately ran over and eagerly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, tell Coco! Coco won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, but he went ahead and bent down towards Coco¡¯s ears before whispering into it. Coco then cried out, ¡°The ckbeard Pirates?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    The rest all looked at him in astonishment.

    A chill shed through Michelle¡¯s eyes as she stared intently at Lu Yin. ¡°So the rumors about you being connected to pirates were true?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Stop making wild guesses. I¡¯m not connected to pirates. I just obtained information that Deep Crimson Hall stole something from the ckbeard Pirates. Thus, they¡¯ll be here soon. It¡¯s got nothing to do with me.¡±

    Michelle clearly didn¡¯t believe him as her brows remained knitted, and she continued to stare at him. ¡°I hope that you don¡¯t end up being implicated with pirates. Otherwise, I¡¯ll get my sister to have the Ten Arbiters revoke your status.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and looked at Michelle as he calmly replied, ¡°You have no business nosing about in how I manage my affairs.¡±

    Michelle stared at him, and the room suddenly fell silent.

    Although the group of Astral-10 students had lived together for the past year, they were not extremely harmonious. Darkvoid did not speak with the others, Hui Daynight remained solitary, and Michelle also kept to herself. Everyone was aware of her motives when she had first arrived at Astral-10; not only had they not been pure, she had even been hostile to the academy. Although she no longer held any thoughts of cracking down on Astral-10, her fundamental perspective was not something that could be shifted.

    She was used to viewing things from the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s point of view, and her mannerisms could seem arrogant at times. Lu Yin would not cave to her, as he even dared to tease Wendy Yushan and Mira, let alone Michelle.

    Coco hurriedly tried to smooth things over, and she pulled Lu Yin over to the side of the room while Michelle silently sat on the other side.

    Xia Luo walked over to the window and looked up at the skies, waiting to watch Deep Crimson fall into chaos.

    ¡°Brother Lu, there¡¯s another troublesome issue. Based on how many great powers act, those who have been captured will likely have tracking devices nted within them. Even if we manage to rescue our two seniors, escaping is another matter entirely,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this again after we rescue them. There¡¯ll only be one such opportunity, and we won¡¯t get another chance after this.

    ¡°Right, Coco, why are Darkvoid and Hui Daynight also here?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Coco answered, ¡°This is an academy mission, and the reward is pretty generous.¡±

    So that¡¯s why. Lu Yin now understood. It seemed that the academy had notpletely refrained from meddling; the mentors had only changed their method. Given the status of the students such as Michelle, Hui Daynight, and Lulu, even if they were captured by the Bo Duo, those Hunters would not dare kill them. Thus, their lives were actually already guaranteed.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt sorrow for the Bo Duo; they could not kill their enemies, but they still had to suffer from others¡¯ attempts at exacting revenge. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that the ckbeard Pirates would be arriving soon. Altogether, the two men were in a rather pitiful situation.

    Lulu walked over after Lu Yin finished chatting with Coco. She pried the smaller girl away before giving Lu Yin a serious expression. ¡°Tell me honestly: did Undying Yushan leave anything behind?¡±

    Lu Yin put on a bewildered expression. ¡°Undying Yushan? What does he have anything to do with you?¡±

    Lulu stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb. Do you really not know?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°What should I know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already checked. After the pce was sealed, only you entered that ce, and Undying Yushan also left you with a ring of authority. There¡¯s definitely more than meets the eye to that ring. For example, it might allow you to ess some special items.¡± Lulu continued to stare into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin sniggered inwardly, as it seemed that Lulu had not managed to gain any benefits from the Great Yu pce, so she had no choice but to reveal all of her cards. ¡°You should ask Wendy Yushan about this. She was thest person to leave the pce, and that ce was already cleared out by the time I got there.¡±

    Lulu¡¯s eyes flickered. After a moment, she rolled her eyes, and a crafty smile appeared on her face. ¡°Lu Yin, aren¡¯t you really short on money?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°If you tell me Undying Yushan¡¯s secret, I can pay you a lot of money. If fifty star essences isn¡¯t enough to get your attention, how about a hundred? Two hundred? Or maybe you¡¯d be interested in a perpetual VIP status at the Mavis Bank that would allow you to take out an interest-free loan from Mavis Bank of up to 10,000 star essence?¡± Lulu tried to tempt him.

    Lu Yin was moved, and he immediately nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you a secret.¡±

    Lulu was stumped, as he had agreed so readily that she could not believe it. ¡°Tell me.¡±

    Lu Yin contemptuously derided, ¡°You¡¯re trying to cheat me! What if I tell you and then you don¡¯t deliver on your end?¡±

    Lulu red furiously at Lu Yin and then activated her gadget. ¡°Go ahead. As long as your secret¡¯s big enough, I will submit an application to my family right now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it! But let¡¯s make a deal before that.¡± Lu Yin looked expectantly at Lulu. ¡°How many Money Bombs do you have on you? I want to buy some.¡±

    Lulu¡¯s brows lifted as she proudly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You want to buy some? Are you using money to insult me? Do I look like someone who¡¯s short on money?¡±

    Mentioning money in front of a Mavis; Lu Yin felt like Lulu was practically shining as he looked at her.

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°That- um, I know that you¡¯re notcking in money, but I don¡¯t have any Money Bombs on me, so how about you give me some?¡±

    Lulu¡¯s lips twitched. Although she was rich, the Money Bombs weren¡¯t cheap, either. She was not foolish and definitely would give such things away freely. ¡°How many do you want to buy?¡±

    ¡°Money Bombs are so expensive, so I¡¯m guessing that you could only afford a few of them. Forget it, I¡¯ll buy just a couple,¡± Lu Yin muttered, though his voice was loud enough for Lulu to overhear. She bristled, and thirty Money Bombs appeared in her hands. The amount dazzled both Lu Yin and the monkey.

    ¡°What the... If each one costs fifty star essences, how much did she pay? 1,500 star essences? She¡¯s super rich!¡± the monkey shrieked in disbelief.

    Lu Yin was also stunned. He had already known that Lulu was rich, but to this extent? Old Cai¡¯s initial offer had been a hundred star essences for three, which meant that this pile was worth a thousand star essence, which just happened to be the same amount that he had stolen from the pirates. This brat had taken such an exorbitant amount of wealth out without blinking, and it was definitely not everything that she possessed.

    When Lu Yin looked at Lulu again, it was in a different light. This time, it was as if he was looking at a deity.

    Lulu proudly raised her head, as she would never be timid in a discussion involving money. If there was apetition for the richest student, then she wouldfortably ce first without any contest. Even if all the others pooled all their wealth together, she would still beat the group all on her own. She was unequaled in this field.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, beg for her support! Youck money, and she¡¯s rich! You guys are a match made in heaven!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I want to buy six.¡±

    Lulu was shocked. ¡°Can you afford that?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned ugly. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lulu casually tossed Lu Yin six of the Money Bombs and stuck out a pure-white hand. ¡°Deal! Three hundred star essences.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at her. ¡°Three hundred? Shouldn¡¯t it be two hundred?¡±

    Lulu contemptuously replied, ¡°Fifty for one. Can¡¯t you do simple math?¡±

    ¡°Old Cai told me one hundred for three,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Lulu¡¯s brows shot up, and her face distorted as an unhappy aura clearly appeared around her.

    ¡°Did you get scammed?¡± Lu Yin asked as his eyes widened.

    Lulu¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°Of course not! I know that it¡¯s a hundred for three, but I need to make some profit off of you.¡±

    ¡°I know Undying Yushan¡¯s secret,¡± Lu Yin confidently replied.

    Lulu¡¯s face became extremely ugly, and she snorted. ¡°Hand over two hundred.¡±

    With a beaming expression, Lu Yin handed the money over. He could guarantee that Lulu had been swindled, as Old Cai had not given her any discount. This brat simply refused to admit it so that she could save face, which fortunately had saved Lu Yin from overpaying.

    However, Old Cai¡¯s ability to determine someone¡¯s worth was nauseating. Lu Yin definitely would not unt his money in front of the old man, or else he would just be asking to get ripped off.

    ¡°Alright, tell me Undying Yushan¡¯s secret.¡± Lulu unhappily put away her remaining Money Bombs and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew solemn, and seriously said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, but you must promise to never to reveal this to others.¡±

    Lulu nodded, trembling. ¡°I promise!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lu Yin took a deep breath and then continued with a serious voice, saying, ¡°Undying Yushan was fond of women with long hair, thin legs, and small bosoms.¡±

    Lulu was stumped, and she stared at Lu Yin, unable to react. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Lu Yin scanned the surroundings like a thief, and then lowered his voice even further. ¡°Undying Yushan was fond of women with long hair, thin legs, and small bosoms.¡±

    Lulu grew furious and punched Lu Yin, who caught her fist, though his palm trembled from her fierce strength. It turned out that her power had increased once again. ¡°Hey! Why are you suddenly attacking me?¡±

    Lulu gritted her teeth. ¡°This is the secret that you wanted to tell me?¡±

    Lu Yin got angry. ¡°This isn¡¯t enough? Aside from you and me, there¡¯s no one else in the universe who knows this secret!¡±

    Lulu was enraged. ¡°You bastard!¡± She moved to take back her fist so that she could punch him again, but she couldn¡¯t remove her hand from Lu Yin¡¯s grasp.

    At that moment, Coco returned and yelped at the scene. ¡°Brother Lu, Sister Lulu, when did you two get together?¡±

    Coco could not be med for her misunderstanding, as their posture was just too dubious. Lu Yin¡¯s back was facing Coco, and although he was tightly gripping Lulu¡¯s fist, from Coco¡¯s point of view, it looked as if Lulu was about to fall into his embrace.

    Lulu¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°Girl! Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡±

    Coco¡¯s cry had attracted Zora and Xia Luo¡¯s attention, and even Michelle and Hui Daynight looked over at them.

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed, and he quickly released her hand and retreated several steps back. ¡°It¡¯s just a misunderstanding. It¡¯s all just a misunderstanding.¡±

    Lulu stared at Lu Yin with steady eyes. ¡°This matter isn''t over. Just wait and see.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to answer, but Xia Luo smiled from nearby. ¡°Congrattions, Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°It¡¯s really just a misunderstanding!¡±

 Chapter 427: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 427: Escape</h4>

    After this matter, Lulu came to hate Lu Yin. She vowed to teach this bastard a lesson in the future. How had she never realized how shameless he was before?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve offended a girl. You¡¯re on your own now,¡± the monkey cackled.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. He had not realized it before, but he really wanted some more of those Money Bombs. Given Lulu¡¯s wealth, she would not simply sell them off, so that had been the only way he was going to get them. After all, he could not truly tell Lulu Undying Yushan¡¯s secret. Fortunately, Lulu held no bad intentions, and at most, she would retaliate out of spite, which was something that could be settled through some coaxing.

    The group didn¡¯t stay in the shack for too long. A loud noise was soon heard outside, and the sky was torn apart. Lu Yin and the rest all stood up. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Outside of Deep Crimson, the Hunter from the ckbeard Pirates who was responsible for collecting the tribute in this region looked down at the with a fierce expression. In response, two Hunters quickly tore through the void and appeared in outer space. They were the Bo Duo.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you attacking our Deep Crimson Hall?¡± Bo Senior barked as he looked at the person in front of him with some caution in his eyes.

    The Hunter raised his head and spoke in a gloomy sounding voice. ¡°I am Ramus. Bo Duo, you two are really audacious! You even dare to touch what belongs to the ckbeard Pirates!¡±

    The Bo Duo exchanged surprised looks. ¡°You¡¯re from the ckbeard Pirates?¡±

    Ramus sneered, ¡°You¡¯re asking for death by still ying innocent.¡± He then raised a hand, causing the void to distort as his surging star energy transformed into a sharp wind that flowed over everything nearby. It tore apart the surrounding space before shooting down towards Deep Crimson.

    The Bo Duo hurriedly moved to block the attack since it was strong enough to destroy Deep Crimson.

    At the same time, chaos erupted beneath Han Da. Big Pao, Little Pao, Meng Yue, and Zhao Yilong had roused the other captured cultivators and started a rebellion. The few Cruisers of Deep Crimson Hall tried to restrain them, only to be met by Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and the rest of the students. Such a chaotic scene erupted beneath Han Da, and it quickly caused the earth to split open.

    One of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s Cruisers was sent flying by Lu Yin, both of his arms snapping off. He was shocked that this Limiteer was able to battle against him, a Cruiser, as there were not many such people even within the scope of the entire universe.

    Xia Luo, Lulu, and the others were not weak, either, and they joined forces to obstruct another Cruiser. Big Pao and Little Pao seemed to go crazy as they attacked some of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s powerhouses.

    Quite a number of the other captives were Explorers, and they all joined in, starting an intense battle against Deep Crimson Hall.

    Han Da had turned into a battlefield.

    Above the, the Bo Duo received a report about the situation, but they were too busy to pay attention to it since Ramus¡¯ power level surpassed their own. The pirate Hunter had repeatedly insisted they had stolen a tribute and wouldn¡¯t give them any chance to exin themselves, so they were only able to forcefully resist his attacks.

    Beneath Han Da, Lu Yin grabbed Big Pao. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Deep Crimson Hall has a good rtionship with the Relentless yers, so their experts will be here soon.¡±

    Big Pao nodded without hesitation. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Their group sped towards the space station, which was fortunately fairly close by to Han Da. They quickly moved to seize some spacecraft since numerous vessels had been impounded. However, a battle had also erupted at the space station, since the recently escaped captives were now fighting each other over who could obtain a spacecraft.

    Deep Crimson had been under lockdown for quite some time, and there were many trapped cultivators who wanted to leave. Thus, they all leapt at this opportunity.

    Numerous spacecraft entered outer space one after another, but they all exploded after flying out a certain distance. There were Cruisers from Deep Crimson Hall who were watching over the region, and they were attacking anyone who tried to leave.

    Even so, there were quite a few spacecraft that continued taking off and shooting into space in an attempt to escape.

    Most of the people who had been imprisoned on Deep Crimson were from the Outerverse. They were people who had wanted to enter the Innerverse to be stronger but had been captured by Deep Crimson Hall and forced to work as miners. Since they didn¡¯t have any strong backers, they had assumed that they would never be able to escape from their fate as ves. But at this moment, they saw the opportunity to escape, and many of them would rather die fighting for freedom than resign themselves to a lifetime of very.

    In outer space, above the, two of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s Cruisers led more than ten Explorers to intercept the fleeing vessels, causing explosions to ring out from time to time. asionally, other powerhouses would appear to fight against the Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s experts.

    Lu Yin felt helpless when he saw this scene, and he immediately abandoned his personal Aurora to join up with Xia Luo and the others. The only way they would be able to escape from this was by working together.

    They grabbed a small spacecraft that looked inconspicuous, but it wasn¡¯t fast. As soon as they left the, they were discovered by one of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s Cruisers, who attacked them with a strike that shattered the void.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t move. Instead, Big Pao and Little Pao moved to the top of the spacecraft, where they worked together to stop the attack. They could kill a normal Cruiser when they joined forces, so blocking this attack was no problem for them.

    That Cruiser had not expected them to sessfully block his attack, and he immediately felt that something was wrong. There were very few people on Deep Crimson who could battle against Cruisers. Thus, this group had the ability to possibly kill Cruisers, which meant that they might even be the people they had been searching for all this time. The moment he realized this, he immediately shot off in pursuit of the spacecraft while he informed the rest of Deep Crimson Hall of what had happened.

    Within the spacecraft, the group from Astral-10 watched the screen as it disyed number after number, representing the power level of all the experts nearby. Each number was over 10,000, and two of them even exceeded 50,000, which meant that Deep Crimson Hall had sent Cruisers after them.

    ¡°Lulu, it¡¯s your turn!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The youths all turned to look at her as her face turned ugly and she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it your turn? Aren¡¯t you a man?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have as many as you.¡±

    Lulu was indignant, but she nheless donned her universal armor and moved on top of the spacecraft.

    Big Pao and Little Pao turned to look at Lulu in shock. ¡°Why are you out here?!¡±

    Lulu was already in a bad mood, so she didn¡¯t even bother responding. She wordlessly pulled out two Money Bombs and aimed one at a Cruiser in front of them and the other at the Cruiser who had been chasing them from the beginning. Star energy condensed as two light rays instantly shot out, killing the two Cruisers before they could even react.

    This scene was shocking, and it caused all of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s members to freeze as they stared at Lulu in horror.

    ¡°GO!¡± Lulu raised her head and shouted before going back inside the spacecraft.

    Big Pao and Little Pao exchanged surprised nces. It turned out that Lulu actually possessed such powerful weapons.

    The experts from Deep Crimson Hall watched on nkly as the spacecraft left, not one of them daring to give chase.

    In another area of outer space, Ramus tore through the seal on Deep Crimson and descended into Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s headquarters. He followed the signal and soon discovered the star essence in the kitchen.

    The Bo Duo¡¯s faces were as white as death. ¡°Hurry up and check the security footage! Find out who hid this here!¡±

    Ramus was no idiot. Since only the star essence with a tracking device in it had been ced in this kitchen, it was enough to prove that the thief had discovered the device. In other words, Deep Crimson Hall had indeed been framed. Ramus crushed the star essence apart and stared at the Bo Duo. He then spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Find me that person at once, or your Deep Crimson Hall will join him in his grave.¡±

    So what if they had been framed? The ckbeard Pirate Group were tyrants. It didn¡¯t matter if someone had actuallymitted a crime or not¡ªanyone who had been implicated would be found guilty.

    The Bo Duo became rather sullen at thismand, but they had no choice since the ckbeard Pirates had given it. At that moment, a video was transmitted to them. It was the scene of Lulu killing two Cruisers with her Money Bombs.

    The Bo Duo was enraged at the sight. Deep Crimson Hall did not have many Cruisers to begin with, and now, two had been sted to death in an instant. This was practically creating a blood feud.

    Ramus also saw the video, and he frowned. Strange, why does that weapon seem so familiar? He felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

    ¡°Ramus, the people who robbed you of your tribute should be a part of this group that¡¯s created a huge mess on my Deep Crimson. They must have done this in order to escape,¡± Bo Senior said.

    Ramus squinted. ¡°Are you talking about the group on that small spacecraft?¡±

    ¡°Definitely,¡± Bo Junior replied.

    Ramus sneered, ¡°Do you know how strong the pirate captain who was plundered was? He was a Cruiser! His body received multiple powerful attacks that damaged his internal organs. Tell me, does that vessel carry an expert who can severely injure a Cruiser?¡±

    Bo Senior replied, ¡°They have that weapon that can instantly kill a Cruiser.¡±

    ¡°A weapon is a weapon, but the robbed captain was injured by a person. He was injured by a palm and not a weapon. There are only two Explorers on that ship, and the others aren¡¯t even Explorers! Or are you perhaps trying to tell me that a Limiteer can severely injure a Cruiser?¡± Ramus¡¯s tone was incredulous. ¡°Then tell me, are Ye Xingchen, Mu Rong, or Ling Que on that ship?!¡±

    The three of them could only think of those three Limiteers who could defeat Cruisers. To them, as far as they knew, Lu Yin was dead.

    The Bo Duo were unable to respond.

    ¡°Your Deep Crimson Hall has offended way too many people, and there¡¯ll be many Cruisers among your enemies as well. The other party must be trying to use my ckbeard Pirates to get rid of you. I¡¯ll make this clear: if that tribute¡¯s not delivered to me within a month, I¡¯ll do as they wish and take you out. This is how my ckbeard Pirates work!¡± Ramus left them with those words.

    Pirate groups didn¡¯t follow any fixedws; they only recognized thew of the pirate, which was to plunder. Deep Crimson Hall was worthless in the eyes of the ckbeard Pirates, but they also could not allow someone else to manipte their pirate crew in such a way. In this next month, not only would Deep Crimson Hall look for the thief, but the pirates would search as well.

    And they would prioritize investigating any Cruisers that Deep Crimson Hall had offended.

    The Bo Duo did not stop Ramus from leaving. ¡°Immediately request Mr. Mo to take action and stop that small spacecraft. We can track down the signals of all those that fled. Also, send a request to any allied powers located along their route and ask them to seal off any flight routes along the way. Regardless of if they are guilty, we still have them pay for killing two Cruisers of Deep Crimson Hall,¡± Bo Senior said.

    Bo Junior acknowledged his orders and immediately left.

    As they cruised through space inside the small spacecraft, Big Pao and Little Pao thanked the rest of the students for rescuing them.

    ¡°Senior, exactly what sort of enmity do you have with Deep Crimson Hall?¡± Coco asked, as the rest of them only had a general idea of the brothers¡¯ background. They were all unsure of the details.

    The two exchanged nces, and then Little Pao replied in a low tone, ¡°We were born in an organization known as ckfire Hall, a sworn enemy of Deep Crimson Hall. Both powers were of simr strength, and neither could do much to the other. However, the Bo Duo invited an expert from the Relentless yers to kill off our ckfire Hall, and us brothers were only rescued by Astral-10 through a stroke of luck. However, not one other person from ckfire Hall survived.¡±

    The youths fell silent, as any struggle between powers in the universe was cruel. It was often difficult to pinpoint who was right or wrong. If ckfire Hall had possessed the capability, then they definitely would have wiped out Deep Crimson Hall.

    ¡°The Bo Duo are both Hunters, so it¡¯s still too early for Seniors to think of revenge. Just give it some time. At least wait until you guys are Cruisers as well,¡± Lu Yin cautioned.

    The two were in despair. ¡°You¡¯re right. We were too impatient, and we even dragged in all you juniors into the fray.¡±

    Lulu waved her hand magnanimously. ¡°No biggie. We¡¯ll just treat this trip as a cruise.¡±

    The others looked at her strangely, though she was indeed qualified to say such things. Would it even matter if she was captured by Deep Crimson Hall? She would just need to tell them her name to make the Bo Duo politely send her off. Her background was something that they could not afford to offend.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, let¡¯s stop chatting. The path ahead of us has been sealed, so we need to think of another way through.¡± Meng Yue spoke up after staring at a screen.

 Chapter 428: Starfall Sea

    <h4>Chapter 428: Starfall Sea</h4>

    Lu Yin shifted his attention to Hui Daynight. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Hui Daynight was taken aback. He had not spoken much from the beginning and had instead been maintaining a low profile. He didn¡¯t expect that Lu Yin would suddenly call him out here.

    The others also looked at Hui Daynight, understanding Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. The characteristics of the Daynight n were too obvious, and it was universally known that it was not a good idea to provoke them. Thus, not many people dared to offend them.

    Hui Daynight didn¡¯t have a choice, so he walked over to the screen and talked with the powers who had sealed the space in front of them. Without much dy, their spacecraft soon sped off.

    Daynight Flowzone bordered Chaos Flowzone, so it was normal for Daynight members to appear here. The average person would not dare to provoke any n member, and no one would dare to impersonate them. This was because everyone who had made such attempts in the past had been exterminated without exception.

    The Daynight n abhorred impersonators, and they showed no mercy to such people.

    ¡°Hui Daynight, you can just sit in front of the screen since there¡¯ll definitely be more blockades up ahead,¡± Lu Yin called out from behind him.

    Hui Daynight felt helpless. He was practically being treated as a travel visa, but he did notin.

    ¡°Everyone, I think that we should change routes,¡± Xia Luo suddenly spoke up as he shivered.

    Everyone looked over at him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve received news that the Bo Duo have contacted a Hunter of the Relentless yers to track us down. Hui Daynight can intimidate these small powers into letting us pass, but that definitely won¡¯t work on the Relentless yers,¡± Xia Luo continued.

    The group trembled, as this meant that there was another Hunter chasing after them. In the end, it would not be easy for them to escape after all.

    They all opened a star chart and studied it while trying to map out various other routes. Xia Luomented, ¡°We can only flee in this direction, or else we¡¯ll either run into the blockades of other various powers or the expert from the Relentless yers. There are tracking devices in Seniors¡¯ bodies, so we can¡¯t escape. This direction is the safest.¡±

    Everyone looked at the ce that Xia Luo had pointed at, only to see that the only words there were ¡°Starfall Sea.¡±

    There was a mysterious ce in the Innerverse called the Starfall Sea. Legend had it that it was an enormous body of water, but it wasn¡¯t rted to the Astral River or the Cosmic Sea at all. This ce was a true ocean formed from multiple streams, and it had flooded a certain area of space. There, boths and mainds were submerged within the sea, and spacecraft could only travel over the water.

    ording to the legends, there was a stream inside the Starfall Sea that would cleanse the space at regr intervals.

    The legends also said that, in the Starfall Sea, weapons would frequently appear that did not belong to this universe. Supposedly, there were even battle techniques that came from ancient times.

    Legends had it that, in the Starfall Sea, there were super powerhouses whose power levels surpassed 500,000.

    Legends¡­

    In brief, there were too many legends and stories about the Starfall Sea. It was so overwhelming that no one knew which ones were true and which ones were false. Countless people in the universe wanted to explore the Starfall Sea, and it was seen as a paradise for powerhouses, because many cultivators had actually achieved amazing results after returning from the Starfall Sea.

    Lu Yin¡¯s deepest impression of the Starfall Sea was the Undying Manual. Years ago, together with Undying Zishan, Undying Yushan had roamed the Starfall Sea, and the two of them had even changed their namester on, bing the Undying Duo. Undying Yushan had even charged into the top thirty of the Top Hundred Rankings, shocking the heavens.

    Undying Yushan had been severely injured by others precisely because of the Undying Manual, but by a fluke, he had managed to return to the Great Yu Empire. Many powers from the Innerverse longed to obtain that manual, and they had even impeded his ns to unify Frostwave Weave for it.

    It could even be said that, if not for the Undying Manual, the Great Yu Empire would have long since unified Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin had a rather deep impression of the Starfall Sea, but he had never visited it himself. He had not realized that he had gotten so close to it; just to the west of Chaos Flowzoney the Starfall Sea.

    ¡°With our strength, it¡¯s still a bit too dangerous for us to roam the Starfall Sea,¡± Zhao Yilongmented in a low tone. He was from Myriad Swords Peak, which was located in Soulseal Flowzone. They weren¡¯t that far from the Starfall Sea, so he had some understanding of it. He continued on, saying, ¡°Those who qualify to explore the Starfall Sea are generally all space-exploring powerhouses, because there¡¯s a stream that washes everyone out of the sea at regr intervals. It¡¯s something that spacecraft can¡¯t withstand. It¡¯s not that easy to reach thes either, since even space-exploring powerhouses can barely defend themselves.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that we can get a coating for the spacecraft at the entrance of the Starfall Sea and that the film can withstand the power of that stream,¡± Zora said.

    Zhao Yilong shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s too expensive.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up and locked his eyes firmly onto Lulu. The others did the same, everyone turning to look at her.

    Her brows lifted, and she sneered proudly. ¡°Zhao Yilong, what did you just say? Too expensive?¡±

    The corners of Zhao Yilong¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Just pretend that I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Xia Luo pped. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we don¡¯t have any other choice. No matter what, there¡¯s only one direction forward, which is towards the Starfall Sea. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be caught by the Relentless yers¡¯ expert. We might be alright, but our two seniors will definitely die without a doubt.¡±

    Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s faces sank. ¡°We¡¯ll take our personal spacecraft and leave. Without us onboard, the Relentless yers and Deep Crimson Hall won¡¯t make things difficult for the rest of you. It¡¯ll take some time for us to remove the tracking devices nted inside of our bodies, so we definitely won¡¯t escape this time.¡±

    Xia Luo solemnly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no time. We¡¯re definitely already being tracked. The Relentless yers is Chaos Flowzone¡¯s most professional assassin organization, and they are hidden very deeply, so they¡¯re not afraid of anyone. No matter if it¡¯s the Astral Combat Academy, the Lockbreaker Society, Shamrock Enterprises, the Daynight n, or even the Mavis family, they would still dare to attack people from those groups. The name ¡®Chaos Flowzone¡¯ is not an empty title, while powerful ns can deter smaller powers like Deep Crimson Hall, they won¡¯t be able to intimidate groups like the Relentless yers.¡±

    ¡°Chaos Flowzone itself is fraught with danger. It¡¯s not like the Relentless yers haven¡¯t assassinated Daynight members in the past; they have no hesitation about doing such things,¡± Michelle added on.

    Coco was shocked. ¡°Sister Zora, they even dare to kill Daynight n members? Aren¡¯t they afraid of being annihted by the Daynight n?¡±

    Zora forced a smile onto her face. ¡°It¡¯s not just once or twice that the Daynight n has tried to ferret these people out. However, the Relentless yers have just hidden themselves too well. At most, the Daynight n was able to destroy some of their more obvious businesses, but they¡¯ve never been able topletely eradicate them. Moreover, external powers run into heavy resistance whenever they enter Chaos Flowzone, since Chaosgod Mountain won¡¯t just watch from the sidelines. After all, Chaos Flowzone has no fixedws, but it also has the greatest rules.¡±

    Lu Yin pped the table. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s head towards the Starfall Sea.¡±

    No one in the group opposed him since Lu Yin¡¯s prestige was the highest out of all of them. If he had made a decision, then the others would not fight him over it. Moreover, this was truly the only path that they could take, as they would be caught by the Relentless yers¡¯ experts if they headed in any other direction.

    Big Pao and Little Pao expressed their thanks to the younger students once again.

    Hundreds of people could be housed in a small spacecraft, and there were more than ten rooms, so there was plenty of space to go around.

    Lu Yin sat down in the study and watched outer space pass by. He touched his heart, his left arm, and his right leg; the grains of Fatesand had long since integrated into his body, which meant that he was no longer stuck in painful agony. However, he had no idea when they would actually awaken. Mister Mu¡¯s description had been rather horrifying, as the man had said that some people never awakened their Fatesand, which left Lu Yin a bit confused.

    His physical strength and star energy were being hindered by the three grains of Fatesand. This meant that his current power could not evenpare to his strength back when he had fought against Tian Hou during the Tournament of the Strongest.

    I¡¯ll just have to hope that it¡¯ll awaken eventually, though I do wonder what form it¡¯ll take. He was looking forward to it.

    Dong dong dong!

    Knocks sounded from the door.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zhao Yilong entered. His appearance caused Lu Yin to think of Wendy Yushan; she was a female disciple of Myriad Swords Peak.

    ¡°Brother Lu, do you have some time to talk?¡± Zhao Yilong asked with aplex look.

    Lu Yin nodded and gestured for him to sit.

    Zhao Yilong did not sit. Instead, he walked over to the window and stared out at the stars. He seemed to be organizing his thoughts, though he still did not speak.

    Lu Yin was amused by the situation. ¡°Did you want to talk about Wendy Yushan?¡±

    Zhao Yilong turned around, and the expression that he showed Lu Yin was very serious. ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Senior?¡±

    Lu Yin considered the question. ¡°Simr to familial affection.¡±

    Zhao Yilong was puzzled. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Rtives, basically. Why? Are you and Wendy Yushan very close?¡±

    Zhao Yilong shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s my senior as well as the strongest heir of Myriad Swords Peak. We don¡¯t qualify to even approach her. I¡¯m here to tell you that it¡¯s best not to try to woo her.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the problem with hitting on her?¡±

    Zhao Yilong replied seriously, ¡°As fellow students, I don¡¯t want to watch you die.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Zhao Yilong thought for a second before answering. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor in Myriad Swords Peak that Senior was only epted into the sect thanks to someone else. Senior is from the Outerverse, so no matter how powerful her innate gift is, Myriad Swords Peak cannot possibly give her too many resources. However, her cultivation in the sect always progressed smoothly. Though no one knows what the underlying reason is, it¡¯s rumored that she¡¯s rted to a certain person.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Zhao Yilong shook his head. ¡°Nobody seems to know exactly who that person is, but the rumors say that it¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°One of the Ten Arbiters? Which one?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. Only Master or an esteemed elder of Myriad Swords Peak might know, No disciple would be privy to that sort of information. ording to the rumors, Senior is unofficially betrothed to that Arbiter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shivered, and he grew unhappy. Although he had no ns of having a rtionship with Wendy Yushan, he still did not feelfortable watching her be someone else¡¯s woman. It was a man¡¯s natural possessiveness, and Lu Yin¡¯s feelings had intensified after he had handed the Yu Secret Art over to Wendy Yushan. Her gaze when she had looked at him at that time had subtly changed. Just the thought of that expression made Lu Yin want to hold onto her.

    ¡°Does Wendy Yushan follow that particr Arbiter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhao Yilong shook his head. ¡°I don''t know. After all, it¡¯s just a rumor, and it¡¯s hard to distinguish between what¡¯s true and what¡¯s false. If there really is an Arbiter who adores her, then she would not have been so severely injured when she went to the Ross Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as that was indeed true. If it were him, he would not be able to watch on unconcerned while his beloved was severely injured. Wendy Yushan was someone from the Outerverse, but she had truly received great treatment from Myriad Swords Peak. Given the prejudice that people from the Innerverse held towards anyone from the Outerverse, it was actually impossible for her to not have a backer. Rather, it was just a matter of whether or not there was a so-called admirer.

    Lu Yin looked at the gadget and suddenly considered contacting Wendy Yushan.

    Zhao Yilong left, as he had only told Lu Yin what he had out of a sense of camaraderie. It was none of his business whether or not Lu Yin actually listened to him. Although Lu Yin was very strong and had amazing talent, no one believed that he would be able to reach the level of the Ten Arbiters. Their existence was simply unsurpassed in the younger generation.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget and opened Wendy Yushan¡¯s page. He thought about contacting her again, but he did not know what to say even if she picked up. Speaking of which, he actually did not seem to have any rtionship with her, aside from their engagement which no one would recognize. However, Lu Yin simply had an uneasy feeling that he could not shake, especially when he recalled the look on Wendy Yushan¡¯s face when she had looked at him in San Dios. He really wanted to ask if she had some supposed lover.

    Wendy Yushan was absolutely beautiful, so it was normal for her to have admirers. In fact, Puyu was one of them. However, the Ten Arbiters were on a different level, as the disparity between them and Puyu was too extreme. Lu Yin could ignore Puyu, but he definitely had to be careful whenever the Ten Arbiters were involved.

 Chapter 429: Another Deal

    <h4>Chapter 429: Another Deal</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand remained frozen in midair for a while, as he could not make up his mind on whether or not he should contact Wendy.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t even ask. It¡¯ll just make you more depressed,¡± the monkey said sympathetically.

    Lu Yin did not respond.

    ¡°Some things are better left unknown. If you actually ask, what will you do if you¡¯repared to one of the Ten Arbiters? That would be embarrassing.¡± The monkey rejoiced at Lu Yin¡¯s dilemma.

    Lu Yin directly cut off his star energy to his right arm; that bastard¡¯s mouth was rotten.

    Dong dong dong!

    Another person knocked on the door, and Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Come in.¡±

    Hui Daynight walked in, and he immediately told Lu Yin, ¡°The Daynight n has already cancelled their restrictions concerning Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Hui Daynight calmly replied, ¡°The previous orders from Nightking Elder Nightking Yuanjing prohibited any Daynight n member from participating in Frostwave Weave¡¯s war. This restriction was removed in the past few days.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. This old fellow had tossed him aside and turned hostile as soon as Lu Yin lost value in his eyes.

    ¡°This restriction was removed by the Nightking Elders, but you don¡¯t need to be too worried. The Nightking n ces many restrictions on the n members, and new restrictions frequently appear. It¡¯s possible that no one even noticed it.¡±

    Lu Yin would not cling to such a hope since that woman, Nightqueen Yanqing, held a deep grudge against him. She was likely circling around him like a vulture. It was even possible that she had something to do with the restriction being removed; otherwise, even if Lu Yin had lost Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s favor, such a change would not have urred so quickly. At most, the Nightking elder would have no longer interfered in the matter.

    If Nightqueen Yanqing truly wanted to meddle in the military affairs of Frostwave Weave, it would cause huge problems for the empire. The Great Yu Empire was already dealing with issues rted to the economic embargo, so the Great Yu Empire might not be able to continue their campaign if the Daynight n¡¯s experts started interfering.

    Hui Daynight left after delivering his news.

    Lu Yin started muttering to himself. He could not allow a cmity to befall the Great Yu Empire just because of his personal matters.

    Dong dong dong!

    Another knock came from the door, and Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°Come in.¡±

    A fragrance wafted over towards him, and Michelle walked in as she directed an indifferent expression towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin studied her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I just contacted my sister. She knows that we¡¯re going to Starfall Sea, so she wants me to remind you about a certain matter.¡±

    Lu Yin had a bad premonition. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Previously, Undying Yushan caused numerous people to die while he roamed the Starfall Sea, so there are quite a few enemies who might create trouble for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank; Why is there nothing but bad news today? ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad. After all, Undying Yushan¡¯s trip to the Starfall Sea was so long ago.¡±

    ¡°Most of his enemies certainly aren¡¯t alive anymore, but not everyone who has a deep-seated hatred is among that group. Can you guarantee that none of the Innerverse powers that were monitoring the Great Yu Empire came from the Starfall Sea?¡± Michelle questioned.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of that armless Hunter who had ambushed him. When Undying Yushan had been at the brink of death, many powers from the Innerverse had indeed appeared.

    Lu Yin was upset, but that wouldn¡¯t prevent him from being forced to take on Undying Yushan¡¯s past grudges. He suddenly felt that going to the Starfall Sea had not been a wise decision after all.

    Michelle left after saying her piece, since she had specificallye to deliver bad news.

    Lu Yin did not close his door after she left. He felt like leaving the door open would be better since the knocking sound gave him a strange sense of panic.

    Unfortunately for him, leaving the door open was useless. Xia Luo arrived next, also with bad news. ¡°The Relentless yers sent Feng Mo after us, who¡¯s a Hunter with a power level of over 150,000.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked; this was really bad news, and it just piled on top of what he had heard earlier. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    Xia Luo had no suggestions. ¡°It all depends on our luck. Given Feng Mo¡¯s speed, we might not even make it to the Starfall Sea before he catches up.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and felt rather sullen. His status was now enough to make others apprehensive about killing him, and even the Daynight n would have to consider whether or not they should kill him. However, an existence like the Relentless yers had no such misgivings. This sort of assassin organization was simr to pirate crews, and they did not worry about status, causing them to often be the most problematic foes.

    As a n grew stronger, that sometimes also came with an increased pressure to put on a superficial front of effort. Even though the Daynight n were bullies, they did not dominate the universe; however, the same could not be said for the dark powers.

    ¡°How are you so well informed about the Relentless yers?¡± Lu Yin looked curiously at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo casually replied, ¡°One of my nmates has hidden himself within the world of killers and is very familiar with Relentless yers. He told me.¡±

    ¡°Can he issue missions for the Relentless yers?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    Xia Luo nodded. ¡°If he uses another identity, sure. Why? Who do you want to kill?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s along the way?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips perked up.

    Xia Luo didn¡¯t know how to react.

    Lu Yin whispered something to him, and Xia Luo eximed in surprise, ¡°Your brain works fast! With this, we can actually buy ourselves some time.¡±

    ¡°That will depend on your nmate.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded and left Lu Yin¡¯s room.

    Lu Yin turned around and closed the door. There shouldn¡¯t be any more bad newsing, as the remaining people in the vessel would not make an effort to help him out.

    ¡°Monkey, have you finished tranting those words?¡± Lu Yin asked after unscreening his right arm.

    The monkeyzily replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯ve only tranted one word. The other words are too ancient. Give me another year to work on it.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait. I want to use it already.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze quivered.

    The Ghost Monkey was stumped. ¡°Use it? How? What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and quickly tried to contact Nightking Yuanjing. However, this time, his call did not connect right away, and he had to wait for a bit of time.

    ¡°Little Yin? What¡¯s the matter?¡± The old Nightking looked at Lu Yin with a smile in his eyes.

    As he looked at Nightking Yuanjing''s smile, Lu Yin suddenly understood that this old fogey must have been the one who had lifted the restrictions preventing the Daynight n members from influencing the Frostwave Weave¡¯s war. This old fart wanted to use this method to coerce Lu Yin into giving up more useful information. Things were not how Lu Yin had originally believed them to be.

    Even if the Daynight n was certain that a young cultivator like himself knew nothing more about the Great Realm of Nothingness, this was their way of handling things¡ªcautiously and thoroughly.

    As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it was.

    ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, do you recall the ancient centipede corpse that appeared in Northline Flowzone?¡± Lu Yin asked respectfully.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°The centipede''s corpse? Certainly.¡±

    That incident had been a rather big deal, and even now, the Northline Flowzone was still very busy as numerous great powers such as the Daynight n, Lingling n, Sword Sect, Divine Grade Hall, ze Realm, and Ross Empire had congregated there to explore the centipede''s body. Even that old freak, Northgate Taisui, could not stop them, or rather, he did not dare to stop them.

    However, this matter was not being overseen by Nightking Yuanjing, so he had not paid too much attention to it.

    Lu Yin continued speaking. ¡°This student was one of the first people to explore the centipede''s body, and I saw certain scenes that I wish to share with Grandpa Yuanjing, in gratitude for Grandpa Yuanjing¡¯s kindness in protecting Little Yin.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face became a bit more serious. ¡°What scene?¡±

    ¡°Five pikes dividing a corpse,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Nightking Yuanjing calmly replied, ¡°We¡¯ve already seen that scene.¡±

    ¡°But there were also some words besides this corpse. Does Grandpa Yuanjing know about them?¡± Lu Yin spoke slowly, as these words were his bargaining chip. He wanted to use these words to obtain protection once more, and he did not even consider what these words would be worth. No matter what an ancient object was valued, they would diminish with the passing of time. However, an ancient n like the Daynight n needed such things, as they were a part of the history of civilization.

    Grandpa Yuanjing¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°There were indeed rumors of words being there, but no one recorded them down. Little Yin, did you record them?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Fortunately, yes, and I¡¯m offering them to Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjingughed and looked at Lu Yin appreciatively. ¡°Alright, at least Grandpa has not doted on you in vain. Not bad, not bad! I heard that you even snatched three pikes from Northgate Lie¡¯s hands. Little Yin, you¡¯re not too bad.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I must thank Grandpa Yuanjing for protecting Little Yin¡¯s Frostwave Weave. This allowed me to not worry about any troubles at home propping up. Otherwise, I might not have been able to beat Northgate Lie, as he¡¯s in the Top 100 Rankings after all.¡±

    Smiling, Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°Rest assured, Little Yin, safeguarding the peace of Frostwave Weave is an internal matter of my Daynight n. Now will be the same as before; it won¡¯t change.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed, as this promise was what he wanted to hear. ¡°This student will pass the rubbing of that writing on to Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±

    The old man nodded in satisfaction, not worried in any way that Lu Yin would try to hoodwink him. The Daynight n possessed many ancient objects, and a single nce at the words would be enough for them to verify if they were truly ancient words.

    Unfortunately, it seems that this brat really doesn¡¯t know anything more about the Great Realm of Nothingness, or else he wouldn¡¯t have revealed those words. A pity¡ªit seems that we¡¯ll need toe up with another method to rescue the Third Nightking.

    Lu Yin quickly sketched out the writing and showed the drawing on the screen so that Nightking Yuanjing could see it and take a picture.

    He ended his call with Nightking Yuanjing, and his face dropped. He did not know how long those words would be able to protect the Frostwave Weave for; it might be a few months or at most, half a year.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re trapped in a vicious cycle. The Daynight n is extremely tyrannical, and that old fellow¡¯s promise willst for no more than a few months. There¡¯s no way that it¡¯llst for a year. At that time, you¡¯ll need to take out another attractive offering, or else the Frostwave Weave will be toyed with by the Daynight n. Can you ensure that you¡¯ll have anything to attract their attention then?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed with a cold glint. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss it again at that time.¡±

    Ever since he had first contacted Nightking Yuanjing, he had been stuck in this endless loop. Unless the day came where he surpassed the Daynight n, he would have no way to break free from this coercion. Until then, the Daynight n would be able to continuously use the Frostwave Weave to take advantage of Lu Yin.

    The difficulty of surpassing the Daynight n could only be imagined, but there was one other way: Lu Yin could reveal his background. The existence of Highsage Leon was enough to give the Daynight n misgivings about taking advantage of Lu Yin, but doing so would also leave Lu Yin with no way to establish himself in the Innerverse or the Outerverse. Without even taking the Ten Arbiters into consideration, the status of being a pirate would be so bad that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t even be able to say in the Outerverse You Council; he would be immediately kicked out.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel like we need to find a stronger patron,¡± the monkey suggested.

    Lu Yin was in a bad mood. ¡°Obviously, I know that. But where are we going to look for one?¡±

    ¡°Rely on one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted, as relying on them was indeed one method, but even that would not be enough to make the Daynight n hesitate. Nightking Zhenwu was the most tyrannical even amongst the Ten Arbiters, as shown by the fact that he could even exert his influence at the border warfront.

    In the Daynight Flowzone, on Nightking, underneath the gentle caress of the moonlight and within a sprawling ancient castle, Nightqueen Yanqing silently sat in front of a piano, ying a sad piece.

    Figure after figure entered the castle before kneeling down on one knee towards Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Each of them had the power level of a Cruiser, and there were at least ten of them. Each one of them was also from the Daynight n.

 Chapter 430: The Mysterious Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 430: The Mysterious Lu Yin</h4>

    Nightqueen Yanqing continued ying the piano piece. As the number of figures continued to increase, the piece grew even more mncholic, and every note was full of bleakness.

    Suddenly, the music stopped, and Nightqueen Yanqing looked at the score in excitement. ¡°I¡¯m giving you all a mission: go to Frostwave Weave and massacre all of the space-exploring powerhouses of the Great Yu Empire. Don¡¯t let a single one get away.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the kneeling crowd acknowledged.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s lips curled up in a merciless smile. The n had finally lifted the restriction on interfering with Frostwave Weave. She had immediately acted, ready to make Lu Yin regret his entire life. She would not immediately destroy the Great Yu Empire, as she was nning on slowly toying with it instead. She had a great deal of spare time.

    Although the people before her were just Cruisers, the Daynight n¡¯s Cruisers were iparable to a Cruiser of the Outerverse. If these people united, then they could even challenge a Hunter. Thus, she was effectively sending a few Hunters, which would be more than enough to deal with the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Hunters and eliminate the entire upper echelon of the Great Yu Empire.

    But then, there was a sudden soft beep, and Nightqueen Yanqing looked at her gadget. Her face quickly changed, and an intense coldness shone through. She tried to make a call, and Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s figure quickly appeared on her disy.

    ¡°Elder Yuanjing, why did you reinstate the restriction concerning the Frostwave Weave?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing suppressed her rage when speaking to the elder.

    He replied in a deep voice, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know about that. I will exin to Zhenwu. The restriction stands.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing widened her eyes. ¡°What exactly is your rtionship with Lu Yin?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing did not bother replying, and he simply disconnected from the call.

    To every powerful n in the universe, the most important priority for them was always their inheritance. The Daynight n valued the submitted ancient words that Lu Yin had submitted, as these characters represented culture, which also stood for inheritance. Even if the content of the words held no intrinsic value, the words themselves were worth studying.

    One set of words in exchange for a period of noninterference in the Frostwave Weave¡¯s war had been Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s proposed deal to the elders of the n, and it was precisely this deal that had denied Nightqueen Yanqing her bloodlust. Nightking Yuanjing did not explicitly state how long the restriction wouldst, which meant that he could rip up the deal at any time.

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked at the hazy moonlight outside, and her entire body trembled in anger. Thrice she had tried to act against Lu Yin. And thrice she had been restricted, each and every time. Very well, she would wait. She refused to believe that the elders would continue to protect that person, which meant that, one day, she would trample him beneath her feet.

    At this time, she was not the only one shocked, as Hui Daynight was simrly stunned by the news.

    He was the one who had informed Lu Yin that the restriction concerning the Frostwave Weave had been lifted, and even though only a brief amount of time had passed, the restriction had already been reinstated. Just what exactly had Lu Yin just done?

    At this moment, Lu Yin became iparably mysterious to Hui Daynight. It was no wonder why he had dared to oppose the Daynight n in the trial zones.

    Behind Lu Yin and the others, a radiant-grade Aurora shot through space, carrying Feng Mo of the Relentless yers. He had epted Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s mission to capture Lu Yin and the rest.

    Even though he was uncertain about the information concerning Lu Yin¡¯s group, they had appeared on Deep Crimson, and their pictures had long since been transmitted to Feng Mo¡¯s gadget. With his strength as a Hunter, they would not be able to hide from him even if they changed their appearances.

    Despite the vastness of outer space, there were not that many habitables. With the Relentless yers¡¯ methods, details concerning any spacecraft thatnded on one of theses along the route had already been investigated. This method wasn¡¯t something exclusive to the Relentless yers, and most of the powerful organizations of the universe could employ simr methods. Otherwise, no one would be able to find someone who hid on some random.

    With Feng Mo¡¯s strength, it would not take him too long to cover a with his star energy. Hence, he could search through even uninhabiteds quite quickly, and this also ensured that his targets had nowhere to hide. He could follow the signals from the trackers on Big Pao and Little Pao, but there were no other such devices on the others. Thus, he had to manually search for them.

    ¡°The universe is vast, but there¡¯s only one path to escape.¡± Feng Mo¡¯s eyes remained cold as he stared ahead. As he passed by a, his star energy formed into a squall that swept over it, overwhelming all the Explorers on the. They merely trembled, not daring to resist.

    Feng Mo quickly scanned the entire and then continued on his way.

    If not for the need to scan every single, he would have long since caught up to the fleeing students as his Aurora traveled ten times as fast as a normal spacecraft.

    But at that moment, he received an assassination request. Although the mission¡¯s location was in the exact opposite direction of him, it wasn¡¯t too far from his current location.

    He hesitated as he looked at the enormous bounty on the request. He then turned the vehicle around and headed towards the location specified in the request.

    Space-exploring powerhouses could alter their physical bodies to adapt to the universe, but they also consumed star energy as an energy source; otherwise, their physical body would be exhausted. This was the so-called ¡°period of exhaustion,¡± and in general, an average Explorer had to consume at least ten million star crystals at the end of a cycle to avoid entering it. This was equivalent to about one hundred star essences. As a Hunter with a power level above 150,000, Feng Mo needed to consume at least 10,000 star essences if he wanted to keep his body frompsing into a period of exhaustion.

    This was also just the most basic consumption rate. The techniques that Feng Mo had cultivated actually required even more star energy than normal, so he required many times that figure, which meant that he needed to consume a terrifying amount of resources just to maintain his body.

    When his cultivation resources, breakthroughs, battle techniques, and other various transactions were added on, Feng Mo was short on money even though he was a Hunter.

    Otherwise, why would a grand Hunter turn into a killer? There were many powerhouses throughout the universe, but each one was helpless in their own way. Even a powerful n like the Daynight n did not allocate resources to their n members as extravagantly as an outsider might imagine, and the Mavis Family might be the only exception.

    Feng Mo felt strange as he looked at the mission details. The target was only an Explorer, so it should not be necessary for a Hunter like himself to act. The other party had also requested for him specifically to take on the job, and he had no reason to turn it down since it wasn¡¯t too far away from him either.

    Given the speed of his Aurora, it would take him at most two more hours to catch up to the fugitives. Thus, he could spend a few additional hours to finish this job before continuing his previous pursuit.

    Feng Mo was full of confidence as he headed towards the location of this mission.

    Two hourster, just as he was about to arrive at the site of the job and descend into the¡¯s atmosphere, the mission details suddenly changed, causing Feng Mo to frown. A mission update was umon, and the client would need topensate for any losses incurred due to the changes. However, the condition for thatpensation was that the killerpleted the mission; otherwise, the additionalpensation would not be paid.

    Feng Mo looked at the updated mission location. It was another hour away from his present location, so he still had time.

    With the fugitives¡¯ small vessel¡¯s flying speed, it would take them at least ten days to reach the Starfall Sea. Feng Mo thought about it and then confidently continued on his way.

    Lu Yin and the rest did not remain idle during this time. They had already changed their route and were nning on visiting the closest busy with the goal of buying a small Aurora. As for their funds, although Lulu was rich, she wasn¡¯t foolish, and she had no intention of paying for everything herself. This was especially so since a small Aurora was not cheap, as they cost at least fifty star essence.

    Her thought process was correct, but unfortunately, reality was different from her intentions; the other students were broke. Coco and Zora were poor, and Hui Daynight was the same. Xia Luo simply raised both of his hands to show his willingness to allow Lulu to search his body.

    Lu Yin wanted to do the same, but he was currently quite rich, and he could not hide it. Finally, he shouldered the burden along with Lulu, and they bought a small Aurora together. Their new ride allowed them to continue on towards the Starfall Sea at ten times their previous speed.

    Feng Mo did not have ess to any real information concerning Lu Yin¡¯s group, and he never would have thought that a bunch of youngsters could afford an Aurora, which cost at least 500,000 star crystals. Only great powers could be so wealthy, and their heirs would not have to run and hide like this.

    He would not know that it didn¡¯t matter to Lulu whether or not they hid, as their goal was just to protect Big Pao and Little Pao.

    At another, Feng Mo arrived at the new location for his assassination mission, only for the target¡¯s location to change once again. Feng Mo was not stupid, and he immediately realized that something fishy was going on and that someone was deliberately dying his pursuit. This shocked him; who could possibly have such a deep understanding of the Relentless yers that they could even track his whereabouts?

    Feng Mo wanted to continue, since a mission could not be changed too many times, and he would receivepensation after a maximum of three changes. However, the mission details this time had changed to a location that was even further out of the way. If he continued trying toplete this assassination mission, he would not be able to chase after the previous group of fugitives .

    Finally, after Feng Mo weighed all the pros and cons, he chose to abandon the mission. He then sped straight towards the Starfall Sea.

    On the small Aurora, Xia Luo put away his gadget and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Feng Mo¡¯s on his way.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. After living in the universe for so long, it would be strange if he couldn¡¯t realize that there was something strange going on. He¡¯s rather decisive, and it also seems that Deep Crimson Hall has offered him a significant payment for us.¡±

    Nearby, the others were listening, and they also knew about Feng Mo. Little Pao said, ¡°The powerhouse from the Relentless yers who helped Deep Crimson Hall extinguish ckfire Hall back then was also Feng Mo.¡±

    ¡°It looks like his rtionship with Deep Crimson Hall runs rather deep,¡± Xia Luomented.

    A cold glint shed through Little Pao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Almost half of Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s resources are given to him, so their rtionship is naturally not something superficial.¡±

    At that time, an rm sounded in the spacecraft, and everyone turned towards themand room. Michelle frowned. ¡°There¡¯s a ruined neb up ahead, so we need to reroute.¡±

    They looked at the screen, and their route kept changing for a bit before it finally settled on a new path.

    As they looked at the new route, their hearts sank; this rerouting had dyed their arrival at Starfall Sea by seven hours.

    ¡°Seven hours. Will Feng Mo catch up to us with this?¡± Coco asked in a worried voice.

    Michelle looked at their new route. ¡°The timing isn¡¯t what¡¯s important. Rather, it¡¯s that this new route needs us to retrace our path for quite a while, which means that we¡¯ll be heading back towards Feng Mo.¡±

    ¡°Which means that we might meet Feng Mo during that stretch,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Michelle looked at him. ¡°Or we could change our destination and not head for the Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°To the northwest of the Starfall Sea was originally the Outerverse¡¯s Endless Weave, but unfortunately, that area has been taken over by the Technocracy, so there¡¯s no other choice,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin forced out a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no other choice then. We¡¯ll head towards the Starfall Sea. We¡¯ll just have to hope that we¡¯re lucky and don¡¯t get caught.¡±

    The group felt helpless, but they really didn¡¯t have any other choice.

    Thework contained no information about Fatesand, and even Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points status weren¡¯t enough for him to find any information.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re searching for information about Fatesand? Didn¡¯t I already tell you that that thing¡¯s an ultimate treasure? It¡¯s possible to never even see it during your entire life. To rify, even the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings might not have some,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°I have three grains fused into my body.¡±

    The monkey didn¡¯t believe him in the slightest. Forget three grains, it would be an amazing stroke of luck to get just one.

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged and unleashed his domain. His eyes filled with star energy as he looked at his heart, his left arm, and his right leg. These three areas showed many converging rune lines, and the more lines that he saw, the greater the influence that thing had on the universe. These three areas converged towards Lu Yin¡¯s star energy and vigor, suppressing his physical strength. More shockingly, the converging rune lines had surpassed even those of his own body.

    Who knew when they would awaken.

 Chapter 431: Awakened

    <h4>Chapter 431: Awakened</h4>

    Lu Yin silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures in his mind. There were only about ten hours left before they arrived at the Starfall Sea. It was a short amount of time, and he actually wanted to take a nap, but he got the same overall result from reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    However, Lu Yin never expected that the moment he started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, his heart, left arm, and right leg suddenly became hot. It was so intense that the three areas felt like they were being seared by a high temperature me. The heat did not affect anything outside of his body, but he felt like he had been tossed onto a stovetop. He couldn¡¯t endure the painful heat for more than a moment.

    Lu Yin immediately stopped reciting, panting heavily as sweat beaded on his forehead. What¡¯s going on? Can the Stonewall Scriptures influence Fatesand too? That¡¯s so ridiculous!

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a moment before he heard the Ghost Monkey start inquiring about what had happened, but he quickly screened his right arm off. It was precisely because of this monkey that he had fused the Fatesand in his left arm, as he feared that screening his right arm might affect the Fatesand¡¯s fusion with his body.

    No, he had to try again. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze firmed. It would be ideal if the Stonewall Scriptures could speed up the integration process between his body and the Fatesand grains.

    As he continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin was once again thrown into the suffering feeling of being cooked alive. With his physical strength, he should be fine even if he was thrown into a star, but at this moment, he felt like he was melting. No, he was actually melting. The Fatesand grains were fusing into his body, which meant that it had not integrated at all before.

    The three grains of Fatesand were like three locks that had sealed away his physical strength, and they had not begun truly fusing with him yet. Without taking this next step, they would not awaken.

    Lu Yin rejoiced that he had decided to recite the Stonewall Scriptures and that the Fatesand grains were finally beginning to integrate into his body. Otherwise, his future might have really been destroyed by them. The three grains of Fatesand were enough to eternally trap Lu Yin within the Limiteer realm.

    The painful integration continued as Lu Yin endured the scorching heat and tuned his senses inwards, towards the Fatesand. At this time, he could acutely sense that the grain of Fatesand in his heart was gradually morphing into a new shape. Once it finished, it would fully awaken. He was excited to discover what form it would take. A powerful weapon? A psychic treasure? A cryptic ancient piece of art?

    Lu Yin could feel that the Fatesand in his heart was changing the fastest. No matter how many grains of Fatesand one fused into their body, they could all only take one form. This meant that, when the Fatesand around his heartpletely awakened, the remaining two grains of Fatesand would only increase its bulk or strengthen its power. They would not be new awakened forms.

    After some time, Coco¡¯s excited voice rang from outside his door. ¡°Brother Lu, we¡¯ve made it to the Starfall Sea! Come take a look, it¡¯s amazing!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s ears moved when he heard her voice, but he did not respond since he felt that his Fatesand was finally about to awaken.

    Unconsciously, Lu Yin¡¯s domain spread out further and further, until he could perceive the entire spacecraft. Aside from Xia Luo sensing Lu Yin¡¯s domain, no one else felt anything, and they all excitedly looked outside the spacecraft.

    The Starfall Sea was famed throughout the entire universe, and there were too many legends about this ce. The region¡¯s entrance was very unique: there was an enormous piece of seaweed growing there that was sorge that words could not describe its size. It was like a continent floating in space, and it covered an endless area in front of the group. Past the seaweed was the Starfall Sea, which took on the appearance of a fissure with an endless amount of surging water.

    No one knew where the Starfall Sea¡¯s water came from, and no one knew where it went either. The water flowed from a waterfall in an unknown part of the universe, and it all eventually drained out into a reverse waterfall that went to another unknown space. It was a mysterious location to the extreme.

    A powerhouse had once searched for the origin and the end, but they had achieved no results.

    The entire Starfall Sea was essentially a valley in space, simr to a giganticke connected to two unexplorable waterfalls that were its beginning and end.

    To those who arrived at the Starfall Sea for the first time, it was a rather magnificent sight due to the constant flow of water that engulfed everything and even covered the stars.

    Within the spacecraft, Hui Daynight grew excited. ¡°For us to enter the Starfall Sea, we should put on a coating with that giant seaweed, or else the spacecraft might be easily destroyed by a random current.¡±

    Lulu proudly raised her head and stepped forward. They had discussed this matter before, and it had fallen to her since she was wealthy.

    Aside from the students¡¯ spacecraft, there were quite a few other vessels sailing around the entrance. The closer they came to the seaweed, the slower they flew as they prepared tond on it.

    Suddenly, an endless pressure swept out like an astral storm, causing all the nearby spacecraft to shudder.

    The crowd¡¯s faces changed as they looked behind them to see a radiant-grade Aurora speed over without slowing down at all. Atop the spacecraft stood a man with killing intent nakedly disyed on his face as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft. There was even a trace of a sneer on his lips.

    Xia Luo¡¯s pupils constricted. ¡°Hurry over to the seaweed! It¡¯s Feng Mo!¡±

    There was actually no need for Xia Luo to say anything since Meng Yue had already raised the vessel¡¯s eleration to the limit. However, it was going to be very difficult for them to stay out of Feng Mo¡¯s reach even if they had almost reached the seaweed already.

    Feng Mo raised a hand, and a stifling feeling of danger pervaded the entire space before the spacecraft closest to him actually exploded. This was the strength of a Hunter, and it was enough to shock the heavens.

    Xia Luo and the rest felt their scalps go numb, and Big Pao and Little Pao exchanged nces and tore through the void to stand atop the spacecraft. ¡°Feng Mo, Deep Crimson Hall only wants us. If you want to kill, then just kill us. There¡¯s a Daynight n member in there. Do you really dare to attack them?¡±

    Feng Mo coldly replied, ¡°I can refrain from attacking the ship, but aside from you two, there¡¯s one more person I have to take away.¡± He waved a hand, and an image of Lu Yin appeared before him.

    It had been extremely simple for Deep Crimson Hall to investigate Lu Yin, precisely because there had been no one other than Lu Yin who had entered Deep Crimson in the time period between him rendezvousing with Xia Luo and the rest and the breakout.

    ¡°Feng Mo, do you know who that is?¡± Little Pao barked, but he was paralyzed by Feng Mo¡¯s star energy before he could finish speaking.

    ¡°I was hired to do a job. I don¡¯t need to know who he is,¡± Feng Mo replied indifferently. Abruptly, a ray of light shot out from the spacecraft. It was from a Money Bomb.

    The emotion in Feng Mo¡¯s eyes changed slightly, but he just shifted to the side, easily evading the ray. He then looked at the spacecraft. ¡°That¡¯s a familiar weapon.¡±

    Inside the spacecraft, Lulu distributed one Money Bomb to each person and then waved her small hand. ¡°Fire away!¡±

    The next moment, light rays shot out one after another, filling the heavens. Two of them were even aimed directly at Feng Mo¡¯s spacecraft.

    Feng Mo became furious, and a blood-colored knife appeared in front of him that sliced through all of the light beams before continuing on towards the youths¡¯ spacecraft, it¡¯s power undiminished.

    The group went numb, as this was Feng Mo¡¯s innate gift. A Hunter¡¯s attack was something that they were unable to resist.

    Lulu gritted her teeth and hardened her gaze. It seemed like she was preparing something.

    Xia Luo¡¯s face sank, and his eyes were as dark as the abyss.

    The rest were overwhelmed with horror, and they could feel death approaching them.

    At that moment, there was a loud sound from within the spacecraft as Lu Yin directly burst through the transparent metal and stood in front of hisrades. He reached out with both hands, and a special light sparkled before him. This was his Fatesand; it had awakened and consolidated its shape. The awakening of the Fatesand had not only changed the Fatesand itself, but it had also partially restored Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength. The muscles throughout his entire body swelled as he grabbed the morphed Fatesand and mmed it towards Feng Mo¡¯s blood-colored knife.

    Under everyone¡¯s attention, that glimmering light morphed into¡­ a clump of soil.

    For an instance, Lu Yin was caught off guard, and the rest were astonished as well. Even Feng Mo was bbergasted at what he saw. He wants to use a clod of dirt to block my innate gift? Is he trying to humiliate me?

    Lu Yin did not think that his own Fatesand would awaken into a clump of dirt. What is this?!

    Lu Yin had sensed Feng Mo¡¯s blood-colored knife through his domain long before it had approached the spacecraft. He had used his perception and mutated eyes that could see rune lines to gauge its strength, and he was certain that his Fatesand could withstand this attack. Moreover, this was just a casual strike from Feng Mo with his innate gift.

    Being able to withstand the knife was one matter, but the how was another one entirely. Lu Yin himself was embarrassed that he had used a clump of soil to block the attack.

    His awakened Fatesand had formed a clod of soil? Lu Yin still hadn¡¯t properly reacted to this sight.

    The blood-colored knife collided with the soil, and a strange scene unfolded. Even if it was a casual strike from Feng Mo, it was still an attack from a Hunter, but it waspletely resisted by that dirt pile. The blood-colored knife gradually vanished, and it released an unusual energy as it disappeared. Even Lu Yin could not sense this powerful energy, but it had happened once before during the Tournament of the Strongest; Yun had released a simr energy when she had attacked Han Chong in the trial zones.

    This powerful energy clearly existed, but at the same time, it was something that no one could sense. It almost seemed as if the two groups were isted from each other.

    Feng Mo stared at Lu Yin in shock. This person was clearly just a Limiteer, but he had blocked one of his attacks. Impossible! Even the top fifty on the Top 100 Rankings would have a tough time blocking such an attack. The pressure of a Hunter¡¯s star energy should have been enough to shatter this brat into pieces long before the knife even reached him. How had he done it? It was too absurd, and the scene had toppled Feng Mo¡¯s understanding of the cultivation system.

    Lu Yin coughed up a mouthful of blood. The Fatesand lived up to its reputation of being an apex treasure since it had actually been able to block that attack. However, the aftershocks from the collision were still enough to make Lu Yin spit out blood. Fortunately, by borrowing the momentum from Feng Mo¡¯s blow, the spacecraft had sessfully arrived at the seaweed.

    The Starfall Sea had a rule that no one was to battle upon the seaweed. Even an almighty Enlighter would not dare to break this rule, so Lu Yin¡¯s group was considered safe as soon as theynded upon the seaweed.

    Feng Mo could only stare nkly as their spacecraft was pushed onto the seaweed by his attack, but he had no other choice. His expression was cold, but there was an indescribable glimmer of apprehension within his eyes. A Limiteer had actually managed to block his attack, and even if the kid had relied on that clump of dirt, he had still survived the aftershock of the attack. That kid was an absolute freak, and he had to be killed. Otherwise, he would have no end of troubles in the future.

    Bang!

    A corner of the students¡¯ spacecraft exploded, and they were thrown out of the ship onto the seaweed.

    The clump of soil transformed back into a flowing light and reentered Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin spat out another mouthful of blood and then looked up with bloodshot eyes to see Feng Mo above the seaweed. He grinned. He had managed to stop a Hunter¡¯s attack; even if it had just been a casual strike, and even if he had relied on the Fatesand, so what? He, Lu Yin, had blocked it! What other Limiteer could match such a feat? Could Ye Xingchen, Mu Rong, or Ling Que do so?

    ¡°Brother Lu, how are you?¡± Coco asked in a concerned voice as she rushed over to help Lu Yin.

    Zora, Meng Yue and the rest stared at Lu Yin in shock. He had actually just blocked a Hunter¡¯s strike! It was too difficult for them to wrap their minds around what they had just witnessed. It should not have been possible. Had even the Ten Arbiters been capable of such a feat when they were Limiteers? Lu Yin¡¯srades could no longer see the Ten Arbiters as the supreme standard of strength within a realm since Lu Yin¡¯s performance just now had been too outstanding.

    Compared to the shock of Zora and the rest, Xia Luo and Lulu¡¯s astonishment waspletely different, and that was because they had recognized that the clump of dirt was actually Fatesand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned, Seventh Bro. You really do have Fatesand!¡± the monkey cried out in disbelief.

    At this point, Feng Mo maneuvered his spacecraft onto the seaweed as well. He arrived right after Lu Yin and the others touched down, and he stared at them with cold eyes from nearby.

    Xia Luo and the others could not control their shock even as they vigntly kept an eye on Feng Mo. Lulu pulled out two Money Bombs, ready to attack him at any time.

 Chapter 432: The Sea Kingâ€™s Dome

    <h4>Chapter 432: The Sea King¡¯s Dome</h4>

    But their worries were unfounded, as not even Feng Mo dared to act at this ce. Chaos Flowzone was adjacent to the Starfall Sea, and so the people from there were well aware of the Starfall Sea¡¯s might. The ban on battling on the seaweed was a rule set in ce by the Starfall Sea¡¯s ruler, the Sea King, and no one dared to vite it.

    When they saw that Feng Mo did not continue attacking them, the group rxed.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t dare to attack. If he does, the Sea King will teach him the meaning of regret,¡± Hui Daynight said in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin rxed, but then, the pain in his abdomen overcame him once again. He looked down and saw that the aftershock from the earlier impact had actually torn his skin open, and there was a bloody wound on his chest.

    ¡°Ah, Brother Lu, you¡¯re injured! Coco will give you a jab,¡± Coco quickly offered as she whipped out her giant syringe. Her face had a very worried expression.

    Lu Yin immediately turned her down. ¡°I have some medicine.¡±

    He hurriedly retrieved some of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medicine and consumed them, leaving Coco disappointed.

    Lu Yin stood up with Coco¡¯s support. They then walked out of the spacecraft and stepped down onto the giant seaweed, discovering that it was very soft.

    As they exited the vessel, there were many bystanders staring at them in amazement.

    This strand of seaweed was beyond enormous, and it was not that much different from a city, as countless buildings had been constructed atop the giant nt.

    At this time, a man wearing an azure ring armor descended. His bearing was proud, and he directly approached Lu Yin¡¯s group. ¡°You¡¯ve damaged the seaweed. Either pay restitution or ept the appropriate punishment for fighting on the seaweed.¡±

    Lulu casually tossed out a Mavis Bank card. ¡°Swipe it as you wish.¡±

    Such a dominating behavior stunned even the armored man for a bit, but then he tossed the card back to Lulu. ¡°No swiping.¡±

    ¡°How much is the fine?¡± Xia Luo asked.

    ¡°Seaweed maintenance costs five star essence.¡±

    The youths were shocked. ¡°Why is this thing so expensive? That¡¯s 500,000 star crystals!¡±

    The man remained arrogant. ¡°This was raised by the Sea King''s Dome, and it can be found nowhere else in the universe, only here, outside of the Starfall Sea.¡±

    The rarity of the object determined its value.

    Lulu¡¯s lips twitched, but she still casually tossed the man five star essence.

    The man put the money away, ignoring them as he quickly left. From start to finish, he had behaved arrogantly.

    ¡°That bastard¡¯s looking down on us,¡± Meng Yue was irritated.

    Hui Daynight felt nervous. ¡°He¡¯s qualified to since he¡¯s from the Sea King''s Dome.¡±

    ¡°The Sea King''s Dome?¡± Meng Yue was puzzled. Like Lu Yin, he was someone from the Outerverse, so he was not very familiar with the Starfall Sea. The average person would not be able to ess any information rted to the Sea King''s Dome on thework.

    ¡°The Sea King''s Dome is the seat of the Starfall Sea¡¯s ruler, and it governs the entire Starfall Sea. The master of the Sea King''s Dome is the Sea King, and his word is like the heavenlyw within the Starfall Sea, to the extent where no one dares to disobey him even outside of the Starfall Sea. It¡¯s rumored that the Sea King¡¯s power level is over 500,000,¡± Xia Luo exined.

    The group was immediately horrified; the strongest among them were Big Pao and Little Pao, who had just broken through, bing Explorers with power levels of just over 10,000. What did ¡°over 500,000¡± mean?

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped; 500,000 was the threshold of an Envoy.

    ¡°Alright, we need to move the spacecraft to another docking location and then get someone to give it a coating before we can enter the Starfall Sea. We are only allowed to stay on the seaweed for three days maximum, which means that, after this time, we need to either enter the Starfall Sea or leave,¡± Michelle informed the others since she had some understanding of the Starfall Sea.

    In the end, Hui Daynight, Meng Yue, and Zhao Yilong went to take care of the vessel while Coco helped Lu Yin to a building that looked like a bar along with the others. Upon entering, it seemed that this building was a ce for neers to gather information.

    Coco did not forget to offer Lu Yin an injection, but Lu Yin had only been superficially wounded. His injuries were rtively minor, so he would not agree to her offer no matter what, leaving Coco very disappointed.

    Feng Mo stared at them from a distance, his gaze a perpetual thorn in their backs.

    There were many people on the seaweed, and the bar had been established by some permanent residents. Bing a permanent resident on the seaweed involved an arduous application process. However, once one sessfully passed through the process, they would be able to discard any worries about any previous enemies they might have had since they would have the protection of the Sea King from then on. No one dared to act violently on the seaweed.

    The Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance could be said to be one of the more blessed ces in the Innerverse, because it was one of the few ces where people did not need to worry about thew of the jungle.

    Lu Yin and the rest sat down in three groups at the bar. The lights inside the building were kept dim, and there was no morous music. Everyone in the building tried to stay quiet, which was not quite the same atmosphere the group expected from a bar.

    After they sat down, Lulu impatiently asked, ¡°Lu Yin, where did you get Fatesand?!¡±

    On the other side, Xia Luo also looked at him curiously.

    Michelle, Coco and Zora did not understand the question since they had never even heard of Fatesand before.

    ¡°Right, Seventh Bro, where did you get that Fatesand?¡± The monkey was also curious.

    Lu Yin swirled his wine around in his ss. ¡°Someone gave it to me.¡±

    Lulu eximed, ¡°Who¡¯s so generous that they would give you Fatesand? That¡¯s Fatesand! A precious treasure of the universe!.¡±

    ¡°Sister Lulu, what¡¯s Fatesand?¡± Coco asked.

    Xia Luo spoke up to exin. ¡°It¡¯s a sort of treasure that can fuse with one¡¯s body. It can also awaken into a form that¡¯s the most suitable for the individual. It¡¯s very mysterious.¡±

    ¡°Fatesand might as well not even exist in the Outerverse, and there¡¯s very little of it even in the Innerverse. It¡¯s a coin toss as to whether even the Ten Arbiters have some,¡± Lulu said gravely.

    The others were shocked, as this was something that not even the Ten Arbiters might have. This showed how rare and precious it was. Where had Lu Yin gotten some?

    Michelle stared closely at Lu Yin, as she knew a bit more than the others and was aware that Lu Yin had possibly been colluding with pirates. Although it was true that the ckbeard Pirates had been lured out one way or another this time, that did notpletely eliminate Lu Yin¡¯s possible connection to pirates. The Outerverse¡¯s Darkstar Gorge had actually been split open by one slice from a super powerhouse¡¯s attack. Michelle had heard about the matter from her sister, and she knew that Lu Yin¡¯s background was not as simple as it appeared to be.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t try to exaggerate things. How could the Ten Arbiters not have it? Even if they really don¡¯t, it would only be because they don¡¯t want to use it.¡±

    Lulu retorted, ¡°It¡¯s no exaggeration! Even my Mavis Family only has a few grains of Fatesand, and we¡¯ve never stopped searching for more throughout the years. Despite that, we¡¯ve only managed to get a hold of those few grains. Do you really think that what I just said is exaggerated?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart leaped; it seemed that this thing was even more valuable than he had originally been led on to believe. It was no wonder why the monkey had not believed him in the slightest when he had told the beast that he had Fatesand. It also started to make sense why not even his two Honor Points were enough for him to grant him ess to any information on Fatesand through thework.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I already told you that Tian Hou is the strongest person in the Spiritual Academy, as well as Skymender¡¯s disciple, but even he doesn¡¯t have any Fatesand. You should realize how precious it is! I only learned of it from a powerhouse¡¯s records. I can tell you this¡ªnot even that Hunter who attacked you recognized that thing as Fatesand. Speaking of which, it¡¯s not really a surprise that the Mavis girl can identify it, but why does that Xia Luo know about it as well?¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were theplete opposite of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s, as he was certain that Xia Luo knew way more than Lu Yin did himself. This person had concealed himself rather deeply, but fortunately, he held no hostility towards Lu Yin.

    And Lu Yin had also noticed an important detail right before he had repulsed the Hunter¡¯s attack: both Lulu¡¯s and Xia Luo¡¯s bodies had converged with an exceptional number of rune lines, and this abnormality only had one exnation. They had been prepared to defend against the Hunter¡¯s blow.

    Lu Yin could still believe it if Lulu used the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift to withstand the Hunter¡¯s strike, but what about Xia Luo? Lu Yin was rather interested in hisrade¡¯s secret, especially since they both had primeval surnames.

    ¡°Brother Lu, your Fatesand¡¯s awakened form is rather unique. Congrattions.¡± Xia Luo suddenly smiled as he looked at Lu Yin.

    On the other side, Lulu blinked and recalled that clump of dirt. Then, sheughed impudently and in an extremely taunting manner.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. It was indeed true that his Fatesand¡¯s awakened form truly was just a clump of dirt. Real, authentic dirt. There were no marks or anything on it at all, which caused him to be rather speechless.

    ¡°Alright, stopughing. At least it has a strong defense,¡± Lu Yin said with a sigh.

    Xia Luo had a serious look. ¡°Brother Lu, I didn¡¯t mean to ridicule you. Fatesand may be a precious treasure, but it still isn¡¯t enough to make up for the disparity between a Limiteer and a Hunter. Moreover, he¡¯s a Hunter with a power level of over 150,000. Your Fatesand¡¯s awakened form was able to block Feng Mo¡¯s strike, which is unprecedented. Perhaps what we saw isn¡¯t urate, and we just weren¡¯t able to fullyprehend it.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and ultimately agreed. If everybody with awakened Fatesand were able to withstand a Hunter¡¯s attack, thenmon knowledge would bepletely ripped apart, so it should be impossible. So, why was his Fatesand able to do so?

    Although Feng Mo¡¯s casual strike could be thought of as an attack with a lower power level, and its force might not have surpassed 70,000, it still carried the might of a Hunter with it. It did not make sense for Lu Yin to have charged forth without thinking, and even he himself was in disbelief at his former actions, and even more so at the fact that he had been able to withstand the attack. Thinking back on it, the reason why he had charged out so boldly had been because Feng Mo¡¯s strike had not consisted of an excessive amount of rune lines, so Lu Yin had assumed that he could block it. However, could that have partly been due to the Fatesand affecting him?

    Lu Yin thought about it some more.

    He urgently wanted to speak with some other people who had fused with Fatesand and see if it was possible that it had influenced his subconscious. Or perhaps there had been some other ability that had shielded him from the pressure of a powerhouse¡¯s might. Otherwise, he could not exin why he had hot-headedly charged out, as he had not been able to feel that pressure at all.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to think about what¡¯s next. Feng Mo will not let us go, so he will definitely chase us into the Starfall Sea, and killing is not prohibited there. On the contrary, murders happen in there all the time, and we¡¯ll never be able to escape from him,¡± Michelle said gravely.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°There¡¯s a simple method. Feng Mo¡¯s target is me, Big Pao, and Little Pao. The three of us can each head out on our own, and he¡¯ll only be able to chase after one of us.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll probably chase after you,¡± Michelle said.

    Lu Yin fell silent, since that was very likely to be the case. Feng Mo had to capture Lu Yin alive, as his main objective was to hand Lu Yin over to the ckbeard Pirates. The Bo Duo was not foolish, either, and it was very likely that they had also investigated the matter of the ckbeard Pirates being plundered. Of course, they could not bepletely certain, which was why they had paid such a high price for Feng Mo to capture Lu Yin alive. The most important target was definitely Lu Yin himself.

    The gloomy gaze from the Hunter could still be felt. Feng Mo had not even bothered to conceal himself, and he had sat down in the same bar, about ten meters away from Lu Yin¡¯s group. He was entirely focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt a headacheing on; if he had known what would happen, he would have changed his appearance when he had arrived at Deep Crimson.

    His back went cold from Feng Mo¡¯s constant staring. He called the bartender over, pointed at Feng Mo, and said, ¡°Give that brother a drink as well.¡±

    Feng Mo sneered, ¡°You can¡¯t escape. Just follow me obediently, and I can still spare your life.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled amicably, but he felt a headache creep up on him again.

    He wondered if there were any experts from the Lockbreaker Society or the Ten Arbiters Council on the seaweed.

    If he was left with no other choice, then Lu Yin could still reveal his rtionship with Highsage Leon. Given the intimidation from the Pirate King, the Relentless yers definitely would not dare to touch Lu Yin. After all, Highsage Leon was not the Daynight n¡ªhe was the Pirate King. Such a person would have plenty of methods. But that was hisst option.

    He downed a mouthful of wine. At that moment, Big Pao ran over and sat down besides Lu Yin. He excitedly whispered, ¡°I¡¯vee up with a way where Feng Mo definitely will not dare to attack us, even if his courage is multiplied by ten!¡±

    The crowd felt strange upon hearing Big Pao¡¯s words. ¡°How?¡±

    Big Pao¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Have you heard of the Sea King¡¯s search for a son-inw?¡±

    ¡°The Sea King¡¯s looking for a son-inw?¡± Lu Yin and the rest were at a loss, as they had not heard about this.

    Little Pao, Meng Yue, and the rest also moved over to listen.

 Chapter 433: Sea Kingâ€™s Son-In-Law Selection

    <h4>Chapter 433: Sea King¡¯s Son-In-Law Selection</h4>

    Big Pao smiled mysteriously, and then he continued in a softer voice. ¡°I went out to gather some information just now, and recently, there¡¯s been a bigmotion in the Starfall Sea. It turns out that the Sea King is looking to select a son-inw. He wants his beloved daughter to get married, so this has turned into a huge matter. Powerful organizations from all over the Innerverse have sent young men to participate, hoping for them to marry the Sea King¡¯s daughter and build a rtionship with the Sea King.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with us?¡± Coco was bewildered.

    Big Pao grinned. ¡°Do you think that the Sea King would let anything happen to his daughter¡¯s fianc¨¦?¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that you want to participate in the selection?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Big Pao nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯ll be people conducting selection tests at fixed distances along the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance. As long as a person qualifies, they¡¯ll receive the Sea King¡¯s protection and be taken to the Sea King''s Dome. This is our chance to escape! With the Sea King¡¯s protection, forget Feng Mo¡ªeven if the entirety of the Relentless yerse after us, they won¡¯t dare to try anything.¡±

    The group muttered amongst themselves; this was a good idea.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s one bit that¡¯s rather troublesome,¡± Big Pao continued in a low tone.

    They all looked at him.

    Big Pao adjusted his hair and exined in a mncholic fashion, ¡°The Sea King is selecting a son-inw, which means that whoever is selected will be a member of his family and will have to stay at the Sea King¡¯s Dome from then on. I can¡¯t ept such a thing, but you guys do need to be safe. So I have toe up with a way to qualify to participate in the selection while not actually being selected as the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. It¡¯s tough.¡±

    Little Pao smacked his forehead. How embarrassing.

    Coco widened her eyes, appearing very innocent. ¡°Senior Big Pao, your confidence caught us unprepared.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused, as he remembered that Big Pao had been like this from the very first time they had met.

    Michelle¡¯s tone turned cold. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. You won¡¯t even qualify.¡±

    Big Pao¡¯s mouth twisted. ¡°Stop joking, I¡¯m so handsome! How could I not qualify? I need to tell you guys something: there are two ways of qualifying, and you just need to pass one.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°The first criteria is strength, as the Sea King doesn¡¯t like weaklings. Furthermore, the applicants need to be twenty five years old or younger, and their strength has to be close to that of a Cruiser.¡±

    The students were shocked.

    Zora could not help herself from saying, ¡°There¡¯s barely anyone who meets those qualifications in the entire universe! Brother Lu is the only one out of all of us who satisfies those qualifications.¡±

    Big Pao replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s why there¡¯s still a second method.¡± His lips perked up at this point. ¡°The second is to be handsome! The Sea King has dered that good looks can make up for all other shorings.¡±

    The crowd was stunned. Such a thing was possible? Physical attractiveness? That was important in a normal family, but this was the Sea King¡¯s family!

    ¡°Is the Sea King that superficial?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°That¡¯s just how it is! As long as you¡¯re handsome enough, you can be qualified to participate in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection even if you have practically no strength. Now you guys should understand why I¡¯m so confident. No one canpare to my looks!¡±

    Coco blinked. ¡°Brother Big Pao, don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s absolutely no way that you¡¯ll qualify.¡±

    Big Pao rolled his eyes. ¡°Little brat, you¡¯ve got no taste.¡±

    ¡°Based on those criteria, I¡¯m also very confident,¡± Little Pao said seriously.

    ¡°Blind confidence,¡± Zora mocked ruthlessly.

    ¡°That¡¯s still self-confidence.¡± Little Pao¡¯s expression grew even more serious.

    Meng Yue and Zhao Yilong could not help but look at each other; were they good-looking?

    Lu Yin did not like discussing such things. He was a bit above average, but he was definitely nowhere close to Xia Luo¡¯s looks. Arge number of people could beat him by a mile in terms of physical appearance. ¡°Let¡¯s investigate again. If the Sea King¡¯s really looking for a son-inw, then this could indeed be one path for us forward.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, aren¡¯t you confident? You¡¯re very handsome.¡± Coco looked at Lu Yin.

    Michelle scoffed. She would never forget Lu Yin¡¯s words when he had said that she could notpare to her sister. That was unforgivable.

    A harsh sound stung Lu Yin¡¯s ears. ¡°That- Wha- everyone appreciates beauty differently. Some prefer refined looks, and some like burly muscles. Perhaps the Sea King¡¯s daughter has unconventional tastes. It¡¯s best if we find out more first.¡±

    ¡°Right, let¡¯s go. The closest selection site is on the neighboring seaweed strand. With our speed, we can get there in half an hour. In the meantime, let¡¯s leave our spacecraft here to get the coating put on,¡± Big Pao suggested.

    The group stood up and nced at Feng Mo before heading straight for the nearby seaweed strand that Big Pao had mentioned.

    Feng Mo sneered, as it was impossible for these youths to escape from his clutches. He immediately followed after them, but his path was blocked before he had walked for more than a few steps. It was the bartender. ¡°Sir, please pay your bill.¡±

    Feng Mo pointed at Lu Yin¡¯s group. ¡°They ordered this drink for me. I didn¡¯t even touch it!¡±

    The bartender¡¯s face sank. ¡°Please pay up, and also pay for your friends¡¯ portion.¡±

    Feng Mo was enraged. It was no wonder why that brat had ordered a ss of wine for him and why they had waited for him at the bar. Their group even dared to leave without paying, all so that he was forced to foot their bill.

    Feng Mo thought of just leaving, but this was the entrance of the Starfall Sea, and he knew the consequences of such an action. Although he was a Hunter, that was not considered very powerful within the Sea King''s Dome. He was left with no choice but to pay the bill before rushing after the youths. He could not let this bunch of brats escape.

    Cultivators were allowed to fly above the seaweed, as it was not prohibited. The seaweed covered arge area, but only took Lu Yin¡¯s group about ten minutes to arrive at the other strand of seaweed with their speed. The selection site for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection was located about ten minutes away once they arrived at the correct seaweed strand.

    Lu Yin looked at the surrounding buildings and sighed emotionally. Anything could exist in the universe. There were so many buildings around that, if one did not look at the ground, it would be impossible to tell that everything had been built atop seaweed.

    He was suddenly curious about whaty beneath the seaweed.

    Feng Mo leisurely followed behind the group, not even bothering to conceal his killing intent.

    Lu Yin turned around and coincidentally exchanged nces with Feng Mo. ¡°Did Deep Crimson Hallmission you to waste your time here? If you can¡¯tplete the mission, then you will lose everything.¡±

    Feng Mo sneered. ¡°You can¡¯t escape.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I can guarantee you this. If you capture me, a great catastrophe will befall your Relentless yers.¡±

    ¡°No matter¡ªthat can be discussed after you¡¯ve been captured.¡± Feng Mo did not feel threatened. If the Relentless yers could be intimidated, they would have been disbanded long ago.

    Lulu looked at Feng Mo. ¡°How much did the Deep Crimson Hallmission you for? I¡¯ll pay double.¡±

    Feng Mo looked at her with disdain, clearly not believing her.

    Lulu grew annoyed. ¡°Hey, beggar, I¡¯m talking to you!¡±

    Feng Mo got angry. ¡°Brat, watch your tongue!¡±

    ¡°You dare to provoke me? I¡¯m Lulu Mavis!¡± Lulu was proud.

    Feng Mo was at a loss for a moment, and then he looked at her in astonishment. ¡°You¡¯re from the Mavis family?¡±

    Lulu raised her head proudly. ¡°Speak, how much is themission? I¡¯ll pay double.¡±

    Feng Mo no longer dared to underestimate Lulu. He suddenly remembered that this girl had paid for the coating for the group¡¯s small Aurora while they had escaped from Deep Crimson in just a regr spacecraft. That meant that they had upgraded to a radiant-grade Aurora while fleeing. If they could change to such an expensive spacecraft at whim, especially at such a young age, then it was indeed very likely that one of them was a Mavis.

    He definitely could not offend the Mavis family. They Relentless yers might not care about the Daynight n, as they could hide from them, but there was no way that they could ignore the Mavis family. After all, that family owned the universe¡¯s banks, and arge amount of the Relentless yers¡¯ wealth was held in Mavis Bank ounts. Although the bank could not freeze their ounts, they could absolutely track whenever the ounts were essed.

    Feng Mo decided that he could not touch this girl, so he instead decided to ignore her. The Relentless yers had their own rules, and their members would not be so easily swayed by a target.

    Lulu snorted when she saw Feng Mo ignore her. ¡°Beggar.¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes narrowed in fury, but he did not reveal his emotions. Compared to the Mavis family, the Relentless yers, even in its entirety, could only be considered as poor. Although it was unfair, that was life.

    ¡°Feng Mo, it wasn¡¯t smart to finish this mission. You¡¯ll offend both the Mavis family and the Daynight n at the same time,¡± Michellemented indifferently.

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°And who are you again?¡±

    Michelle did not bother replying, but Coco leaped at the chance. ¡°She¡¯s Michelle, from the Ten Arbiters Council. She¡¯s the younger sister of the Red Lotus, Witchbow Mira.¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyelids twitched once again, as there was another kid here who he could not afford to provoke. Mira was still within reason. He had heard of this woman who had been on the Top 100 Rankings before and knew that she had a powerful innate gift. However, it wasn¡¯t enough to threaten him. However, behind Mira stood the Ten Arbiters. Although it was unknown which one was her backer, each one of the Ten Arbiters represented iparably enormous powers. As soon as they approached the Chaos Flowzone, he would be out of luck.

    Like the Daynight n, the Relentless yers might not be afraid of such a group, but they also knew that if a power like the Daynight n was determined enough to seek out the Relentless yers, their assassination group would suffer heavy losses. It was best to just avoid provoking such enemies whenever possible.

    Alright, I won¡¯t touch this brat either.

    Michelle then said, ¡°Feng Mo, it¡¯s best to be clear about who you¡¯re dealing with.¡±

    Feng Mo grew sullen, and he looked at Lu Yin. He had already looked up all the information he could about Lu Yin while chasing the brats through space, and Lu Yin¡¯s many titles and status were the biggest reason why it was important to capture him alive. Such a person could not be killed by Feng Mo, or else things would be veryplicated.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. Those two have to die, and I am going to take this person away.¡± Feng Mo did not want to exchange any more nonsense with these youngsters. The more he listened, the more he realized that these kids had incredible backgrounds.

    Lu Yin stopped Michelle from speaking further and he then looked at Feng Mo. ¡°I must warn you: each and every one of us in this group is not simple, even including the two that you want to kill¡ªthey have Astral-10 behind them. Think about things for yourself, just for that insignificant Deep Crimson Hall¡¯smission, you¡¯ll offend the Mavis family, Daynight n, Astral Combat Academy, Lockbreaker Society, Ten Arbiters Council, Windrift Hall, Myriad Swords Peak, Vastdearth Sect, Shamrock Enterprises, ancient Xia family, and ancient Lu family. Think about whether it¡¯s truly worth it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s words stunned not only Feng Mo, but also Michelle and the others. They had not realized that their group represented so many powers, and each one sounded rather terrifying. Hold on, what were the ancient Xia and Lu families?

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Brat, don¡¯t think that you can defend yourself just by making up a few names.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered and replied, ¡°Think about it.¡± He then turned to leave so that no one would question him any further.

    At that moment, Feng Mo truly hesitated. He had not heard of the ancient Xia and Lu families before, but they sounded rather grand, as if they possessed some kind of ancient inheritance. It was very possible that they were families with legal primeval surnames, just like the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family. Feng Mo had heard of all the others, but what did Shamrock Enterprises, Myriad Swords Peak, Windrift Hall, and the Vastdearth Sect have to do with these kids? Why were there so many organizations all of a sudden?

    If these people really had backgrounds that involved so many powers, then Feng Mo truly felt like themission wouldn¡¯t be worth all this trouble. However, he had also never considered killing all of these people; he was only focused on three of them.

    Right, it would be fine as long as the others were unharmed. Who cares about how many powers they represent.

    He steeled himself about rethinking things in such a manner, but he still felt nervous. These kids really did have too many powers behind hem, and it left him feeling slightly numb.

 Chapter 434: A Vicious Tongue

    <h4>Chapter 434: A Vicious Tongue</h4>

    Up in front, Coco quietly asked, ¡°Brother Lu, what are the ancient Xia family and the ancient Lu family?¡±

    Zora, Michelle, and Meng Yue also looked over, curious.

    Lu Yin answered matter-of-factly, ¡°Just random names to deceive him.¡±

    Coco blinked. ¡°They sound real.¡±

    On the other side, Xia Luoughed. ¡°That¡¯s because ¡®Xia¡¯ and ¡®Lu¡¯ are both primeval surnames. Since we are ustomed to hearing those names, at first nce, they naturally sound like powers that truly exist.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, he¡¯s still following us. It looks like he hasn¡¯t given up.¡± Coco looked back.

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°Just ignore him. Let¡¯s go check out the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection.¡±

    After receiving such a fright, it was virtually guaranteed that Feng Mo would not kill everyone in their group. This was a positive oue, and if luck was on their side, the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection would give them the opportunity to escape. Although the Bo Duo would still give them trouble since they were being pressured by the ckbeard Pirates, it was starting to look like they would be forced toe to the Starfall Sea themselves. They were not like Feng Mo, who could pull back and leave at any moment, but they would definitely not allow the youths to escape. Hence, the group had to participate in the selection until the tracking devices in the seniors¡¯ bodies were removed.

    More and more people gathered nearby, as the seaweed strands were not arranged in straight lines; rather, they spread out in all directions. This meant that those on the surrounding strands of seaweed had also gathered at this ce to join in on the excitement.

    Even if they could not qualify for the selection, they still wanted to watch.

    In the distance, there was a rather magnificent ship anchored nearby. This was not a spacecraft, but a true ship that gave off a stern aura. A powerful strength seemed to spread out from it that caused those who approached to go silent.

    Countless people gathered around the ship and even more continued to converge around the area. The entire area was filled with cultivators outfitted in blue ring armors. These people were soldiers of the Sea King''s Dome, and they were the soldiers of the Sea King.

    The Sea King was the Starfall Sea¡¯s most dominant overlord, but these troops were almost entirelyposed of mere Limiteers and Explorers, which was puzzling.

    However, Hui Daynight simply exined, ¡°No one dares to go against the Sea King''s soldiers.¡±

    Countless people gathered beside the ship. Soon, Lu Yin and the others discovered that their group was toorge. Even if one of them qualified, each person was only allowed to bring along no more than four others. The group therefore split into three groups of four: Lu Yin, Lulu, Michelle, and Big Pao; Xia Luo, Darkvoid, Meng Yue, and Coco; and finally, Hui Daynight, Zhao Yilong, Little Pao, and Zora.

    They walked into the crowd and overheard numerous discussions about the selection process for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    ¡°Did you hear that? An expert from the Top 100 Rankings has appeared at another selection site.¡±

    Lu Yin and the rest stopped to listen attentively, as every expert in the Top 100 Rankings would receive attention wherever they went.

    ¡°I heard that it¡¯s Qin Chen, ranked eighty eighth on the list. Some call him ¡®the Trapper.¡¯¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just him who came. It¡¯s rumored that Northgate Lie is here as well. Two experts from the Top 100 Rankings have suddenly appeared.¡±

    ¡°Not only did experts from the Top 100 Rankingse here, but even the unequaled Limiteer, Ling Que, came. He came here to challenge someone, but he managed to rush here in time for the selection.¡±

    ¡°Those people are just the obvious ones. Who knows how many more hidden experts have arrived. There¡¯s also the various heirs of the great powers. If not for all the stringent criteria that the Sea King put forth for this son-inw selection, the number of expertsing would be many times what will actually show up.¡±

    ¡°Right, there¡¯s one that says that you have to approach the strength of a Cruiser by age twenty five at thetest. It¡¯s extremely rare toe by someone who matches those criteria.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had not thought that Northgate Lie and Qin Chen would bothe to participate in this selection, not to mention Ling Que. This selection had attracted quite a number of powerhouses, though Northgate Lie should have already surpassed the age limit.

    It could be said that Lu Yin had perfectly fulfilled the Sea King¡¯s criteria. Truthfully, since he had lost his memory, he was not certain of his exact age, but he should be under twenty five. Big Pao and Little Pao also appeared to be about twenty five. While their true strength surpassed many Explorers and they could barely hold their own against a Cruiser, they were definitely not Realmbreakers who could defeat a Cruiser. This meant that the two could not qualify by merit of their strength; only people whose talent were at the same level as the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders could qualify after breaking through to the Explorer realm.

    There was only one kind of person who could reach that level, which were the top-level disciples from great powers, such as Liu Shaoqiu. It was very normal for the strength of these youths to approach that of a Cruiser while still in the Explorer realm.

    The next level after that was the experts on the Top Hundred Ranking.

    The Sea King was very picky, as those who could qualify for the selection through their own power were all extremely powerful.

    Starfall Sea was in a remote location, so it was unknown how many experts would attend this selection event. But despite that, two experts from the Top 100 Rankings had already appeared.

    And there was also Ling Que. His strength as a Limiteer was actuallyparable to an expert at the tail-end of the Top 100 Rankings. He was just a Limiteer like Lu Yin, but he would be considerably difficult to deal with.

    ¡°Hurry up! The representative is on that ship!¡± Big Pao was extremely excited, and he pushed people in the crowd aside as he made a beeline towards the ship.

    Lu Yin and the others followed after him, and it didn¡¯t take them long to reach the front of the crowd.

    A squad of soldiers from the Sea King¡¯s Dome appeared as one young man stood in front of the ship with an ugly expression on his face. Additionally, there was a pretty girl dressed in a youthful style aboard the ship, and her haughty demeanor carried an innate air of pride and contempt.

    ¡°You look like that, but you still dared toe out? You¡¯re not just throwing your own face away, but also that of your parents and your unborn child as well. No, you won¡¯t even be able to find a wife with those looks, what¡¯s more a child. Hurry up and get lost! Don¡¯t ruin my eyes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s group had just arrived at the front when they heard those scathing words, leaving them staring at the girl on the ship in shock.

    Someone beside them whispered, ¡°This maid has a vicious tongue. These people are rather good-looking, or else they wouldn¡¯t have dared to go up there in the first ce.¡±

    ¡°Shh! Speak softer! That¡¯s the maid of the Sea King¡¯s daughter. She represents her mistress, so their tastes should be pretty simr.¡±

    ¡°But what a venomous mouth! Listen to her¡ªshe¡¯s ripped quite a few young men apart during this time, but she hasn¡¯t repeated herself once. Each and every one of those men is an heir to various powerful organizations too.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no choice. When it¡¯s the Sea King''s Dome, what needs to be tolerated will be tolerated.¡±

    ¡­

    At this point, another man walked forward with confidence. He ced his hands behind his back as he bowed towards the beautiful girl. ¡°Miss, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not nice to look at you. You make me nauseous,¡± the girl replied unenthusiastically.

    The man was stumped for a moment, and then he left in embarrassment.

    Quite quickly, someone else walked out. But before they could even speak, the pretty girl covered her eyes. ¡°My eyes hurt.¡±

    That person pouted and left.

    One after another, young men stepped forward, but no one managed to win the girl¡¯s approval. Each and every one of them was roasted to the point where they started doubting their life. Amazingly, no two insults were the same.

    Lulu looked at Big Pao. ¡°Senior, it¡¯s your turn. Go on!¡±

    Big Pao¡¯s face twisted, and he coughed awkwardly. ¡°Actually, I feel like I should mull over this decision a bit more, since this is rted to one¡¯s personality-¡±

    Before he could finish speaking, Lulu had already pushed him in front of the crowd, only for Big Pao to be greeted by a ruthless yet eloquent verbal attack. Big Pao returned with a pale face. ¡°It¡¯s my own fault for being born in this universe.¡±

    Luluughed.

    On the other side, Michelle smiled, and she then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his teeth ache. ¡°I want to qualify through my strength.¡±

    ¡°You can try. Maybe they prefer that method,¡± Lulu urged.

    Big Pao tried to push Lu Yin forward, but he couldn¡¯t make him budge an inch. ¡°Go on, Junior. Senior feels optimistic about your chances.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled grimly, as he would not go even if he was beaten.

    The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy, as no one dared to go up.

    The pretty girl looked down contemptuously from the ship. ¡°Just a bunch of clowns.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like this provocative girl deserved to be spanked.

    Suddenly, there was amotion in the crowd as a man walked out and gently smiled up at the beautiful girl.

    Lu Yin and the rest were stunned, as the man was simply too handsome.

    If a woman could be beautiful to a certain degree, then so too could a man be handsome to the same extent. Beauty was rtive, but there was a certain level of handsomeness that could attract other males and even turn them gay. Such a person had just appeared, and when he boarded the ship, the smitten girl turned to keep watching his back.

    The crowd suddenly erupted in various discussions. ¡°Even a trashy Sentinel can board the ship? That¡¯s just disgusting. Isn¡¯t the Sea King''s daughter afraid that she¡¯ll be humiliated to death?¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that she¡¯s very ugly, which is why she needs to find a handsome man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that as well. Apparently, the Sea King wants to improve the gene pool for the next generation and has been looking for a handsome man for a long time.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to change my appearance. I want to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.¡±

    ¡°Are you looking for death? Do you think that they can¡¯t tell? A few days ago, someone was discovered to have changed his appearance. He was beaten half to death for that! He was an Explorer too, but he didn¡¯t dare to retaliate, and he ended up disfigured.¡±

    ¡­

    One super-handsome man had boarded the ship, which caused a hubbub in the crowd below. However, it made them even more hesitant to step forward since the standards had be even more apparent.

    It took half an hour before a neer arrived and went forward.

    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about your parents; how is it that they have the confidence to allow you to go outside and scare people?¡±

    ¡°You look alright. At least I didn¡¯t vomit.¡±

    ¡°Your face is a biological weapon.¡±

    ¡°What are you smiling for? You look just like a fat buddha. Our Sea King''s Dome isn¡¯t short on money.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll trouble you to turn around in a circle and depart, just like how your face is round.¡±

    ¡°Did a cucumbere alive?¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin admired the girl, as she had truly not repeated a single insult even after going on for several hours.

    Strange, why haven¡¯t Hui Daynight and the rest appeared yet?

    Right as Lu Yin thought about Hui Daynight, he stepped forward. Lu Yin looked over and saw that the Daynight youth seemed a little apprehensive.

    In fact, Hui Daynight was decent as far as his looks were concerned. After all, the Daynight n members all had good genes. That,bined with their distinctive ck-and-white long hair, meant that they had an unconventional charm about them that many girls were fond of. This was the reason why they had divided into groups, so that Hui Daynight could qualify and take a group in with him. Now, he stared nervously at the beautiful girl, his expression looking like he was waiting for his trial to begin.

    The crowd broke into an uproar again. Someone from the Daynight n had actuallye.

    Everyone knew that the Daynight n did not marry externally. Bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw meant that one had to be a member of the Sea King¡¯s Dome. But despite such restrictions, a Daynight n member had actually appeared. This was too brazen; was he intending to betray his n for love?

    The charming girl was stumped as well, as she had not expected a Daynight n member to appear. She looked at Hui Daynight in shock. ¡°Your bravery ismendable.¡±

    Hui Daynight rxed inwardly. Fortunately, he had not been insulted, and her tone towards him had even been rather gentle.

    ¡°But bravery cannot rece looks. Here¡¯s a suggestion: in the future, use a mirror before you leave home,¡± the girlshed out with her caustic words once again, even though her tone remained gentle.

    Hui Daynight wanted to retort, but he found that he could not utter a single word. More importantly, he was afraid of being insulted again, so he simply turned around and left.

    Lu Yin and the rest watched him with sympathetic expressions. How cruel.

    Suddenly, a giant force struck Lu Yin from behind, and he was pushed in front of the crowd since he had been caught off guard. It was Lulu; that brat would do anything to watch Lu Yin be humiliated.

    The pretty girl turned her gaze towards Lu Yin.

 Chapter 435: A Woman Dressed As A Man

    <h4>Chapter 435: A Woman Dressed As A Man</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped as he could sense the disdain and mocking in the maid¡¯s eyes. So before she could say anything, he quickly spoke up in a loud voice. ¡°I wish to qualify through my strength.¡±

    The beautiful female had opened her mouth as soon as she had seen Lu Yin step forward, ready to throw out a new bevy of insults. Doing so delighted her, but just as she was about to speak up, she was cut off by Lu Yin. She looked at him in astonishment and said, ¡°Qualify through your strength? You¡¯re just a Limiteer, but you dare topare yourself to a Cruiser? Is something wrong with your brain? Or are you drunk?¡±

    Lu Yin raised a brow; this woman¡¯s words were caustic to the extreme. ¡°I¡¯m confident, so hurry up.¡±

    The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes as she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Alright then, wait there.¡±

    Just then, one of the Sea King Dome¡¯s soldiers walked over to the beautiful woman¡¯s side and spoke softly. The woman¡¯s eyes were filled with shock after hearing the message, and her attention soon shifted back to Lu Yin. ¡°Are you Lu Yin? The one who¡¯s hailed as an unequaled Limiteer?¡±

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin, bbergasted. The title of ¡°unequaled Limiteer¡± was not one that could be lightly thrown around. Ling Que¡¯s arrival had already sent shockwaves throughout the Sea King¡¯s domain, but now that Lu Yin appeared as well, everyone was shocked once again. Wasn¡¯t it rumored that he had died?

    Lu Yin nodded his head and let out a sigh of relief. It would be easier to discuss matters now that she knew who he was.

    The beautiful woman sized Lu Yin up, and her voice became much gentler, though her gaze was still as fierce as before. This contrasted greatly with her disy from earlier. ¡°Alright then, you qualify.¡± With that, she tossed a medallion to Lu Yin. ¡°With this medallion, you can board the ship at any time in the next five days.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Yin epted the medallion. He was unable to board the ship at the same time as the unbelievably handsome man; instead, he had to return to the crowd. On his way back, he red at Lulu.

    Lulu stuck out her tongue at him, but she thought to herself that things had turned out well.

    Michelle also felt that they had been lucky.

    Even Big Pao felt the same.

    From a distance, Hui Daynight and the rest also felt that they had encountered a stroke of luck.

    However, Feng Mo felt that it was unfortunate.

    After Lu Yin left, many others went forward as well. They were roasted in an unbridled fashion one after another before turning around and leaving. Everyone there could tell that the woman had be even more scathing with her insults.

    In the crowd, Coco¡¯s eyes went wide as she looked at Xia Luo. ¡°Big brother Xia, aren¡¯t you going to go forward?¡±

    Xia Luo gave her a faint smile and nodded. He then stepped forward and walked out of the crowd.

    Everyone was ready to watch a good show at Xia Luo¡¯s expense. In other words, the woman¡¯s words were very entertaining to the crowd, as long as they weren¡¯t the ones being roasted.

    However, everyone was let down this time. As soon as the womanid eyes on Xia Luo, she was smitten by his gentle smile. She raised a medallion in her hand and handed it to him as she said in a gentle voice, ¡°With this medallion, you can board the ship at any time over the next five days.¡±

    Xia Luo faintly smiled back and nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    And with that, he returned back to the crowd.

    Countless people looked at him with admiration; why was this guy so handsome? Or did he have some other redeeming qualities as well?

    Coco was simply in absolute adoration of him.

    Lu Yin and the others felt slightly resentful as they felt things were unfair. This was especially the case for Hui Daynight and Big Pao. They were now starting to look at Xia Luo with unfriendly expressions.

    ¡°If Hui Daynight fails, then there will be four people in our party who won¡¯t be able to board the ship. Feng Mo is still watching from the back. This won¡¯t do,¡± Lu Yin said solemnly.

    Big Pao lowered his head, ming himself for his ugly looks.

    ¡°What about the others?¡± Lulu asked.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. The others? Little Pao? Darkvoid? Meng Yue? Zhao Yilong? Not one of them was as good looking as Hui Daynight; at the least, he had the benefit of having a trendy hair color.

    ¡°Let me try,¡± Lulu said with an excited glint in her eye as she stared at the beautiful woman on the ship in the distance.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny.¡±

    Lulu raised her head high, snorted, and walked away.

    Lu Yin was worried, but Michelle just indifferently told him, ¡°Let her try. She might seed.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a woman,¡± Lu Yin replied in an unconvinced tone.

    Michelle calmly answered, ¡°And how do you know that this maid, who represents the Sea King¡¯s daughter, doesn¡¯t like women?¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned into silence as he found himself unable to retort.

    Forget it, he thought to himself. He would let Lulu try since she was so eager. In any event, it would not put her life in any danger. Besides, those from the Mavis n had mystical innate gifts, so perhaps she could pull off a miracle.

    ¡°With your looks, you are indeed pioneering uncharted territory for humanity. A new race of human-looking beasts.¡±

    ¡°Are you twenty five years old, or are you really fifty two? Even if you are fifty two, you would still bring shame to those of that age group.¡±

    ¡­

    All of a sudden, the beautiful woman fell silent. The person standing below her now was a person with bright red lips and perfect white teeth. This individual was indescribably wonderful to look upon. It was Lulu, a woman dressed up as a man.

    Everyone looked on distractedly as Lulu stepped forth. This was a woman! Could a woman also get a medallion?

    Lulu¡¯s appearance stunned the beautiful women into silence. Before she could speak, a jade green glow emanated from Lulu¡¯s eyes, and with a smile on her face, she said, ¡°Big sister, am I right to say that love has no boundaries?¡±

    The beautiful woman nodded with a nk look on her face. ¡°Yes, love has no boundaries.¡±

    After she spoke, she raised her hand to give Lulu a medallion.

    ¡°Thank you, big sister.¡± Lulu giggled naughtily as she walked away.

    From start to end, everyone was bewildered at what they had just seen. Did that really just happen?

    The beautiful woman shook herself out of her daze and gathered herself. She felt her face burning red in embarrassment; why had she just given the medallion to a woman? That had been a mistake, and she felt as though her integrity had beenpromised.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s all for today. We will continue tomorrow.¡± And with those words, the beautiful woman retreated inside the ship.

    Below, the crowd was stunned for a moment, but their silence was quickly followed by a raucous chorus of voices spiritedly discussing what had just said. All kinds of things were being said, ranging from discussions about the maid being a lesbian to her possible bisexuality. It didn¡¯t take long for all kinds of rumors to start spreading.

    In the back of the crowd, Feng Mo was shocked at what he had just seen. He had obviously heard of what criteria a person had to meet to board the ship. Since the group of youths he was chasing had managed to obtain three medallions, he felt as though he had made a wasted trip. There was no one who would dare to mess with a ship of the Sea King''s Dome.

    As Lulu passed by Feng Mo, she intentionallyughed sarcastically and mockingly said, ¡°Pathetic fool.¡±

    Feng Mo clenched his fists tightly. If not for the fact that they were at the entrance of the Starfall Sea and that the wretched woman was from the Mavis n, he would have killed her right there and then.

    There was a strange atmosphere inside the bar. Lulu had already changed back into her regr clothes and was happily drinking some fruit juice.

    Hui Daynight frequently shot dirty looks at her. He was still unresigned to the fact that he had lost to a woman.

    On the other hand, Big Pao was magnanimous, praising Lulu from time to time.

    ¡°We have five more days until the ship sets off for the Sea King''s Dome. We can only stay here for a maximum of two more days, so we need to board the ship within two days. What will happen to our spacecraft during this time?¡± Meng Yue asked.

    Lulu waved her arm, signifying her wish to just abandon the ship.

    Lu Yin was troubled by this. He had spent some of his money to purchase the spacecraft, but there seemed to be no way to take it along. They could just abandon the spacecraft, but would the others be agreeable to that?

    A thought suddenly popped up in his mind, Lu Yin turned around to look at Lulu. Xia Luo, who had seemingly thought of something as well, also looked at Lulu.

    Lulu¡¯s filled with caution as she slowly blinked. ¡°What do the two of you want?¡±

    ¡°We need your help to tell that woman that we want to bring our spacecraft along,¡± Lu Yin told her.

    Lulu frowned. ¡°No, I¡¯m tired.¡±

    ¡°The Sea King''s Dome isn¡¯t going to send us back, so if we don¡¯t take the spacecraft along, Feng Mo could trap us within the Starfall Sea,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Lulu had no choice but to agree with what Lu Yin had said. Given the speed of a radiant-grade spacecraft, it would not be easy to catch up to them if they managed to get enough of a head-start. If they could not obtain the protection of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, then it was almost certain that Feng Mo would catch up with them. Additionally, they were not actually trying to participate in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection; instead, they were just trying to take advantage of his protection.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll try. However, let me be clear that I might not seed,¡± Lulu replied lifelessly. The innate gift of the Mavis n was not that easy to use.

    ¡°Try your best. If we fail, we might really have to sacrifice someone to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw,¡± Xia Luo jokingly added on.

    Lulu rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin was not too bothered either. Even though he was very confident in his abilities, he was not arrogant enough to believe that he could defeat those who ranked towards the top of the Top 100 Rankings. Thepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw would definitely feature individuals who ranked in the top eighty of that list. Such individuals would probably be more powerful than Lu Yin, given that he didn¡¯t use his Fatesand.

    However, if he used his Fatesand, then Lu Yin was confident that he could defend himself from the attacks of even those who were ranked at the very top of the ranking list. After all, it had blocked an attack from Feng Mo. s, the Fatesand could only block such attacks, so it could not guarantee victory. Lu Yin could not count on a clump of dirt to defeat such powerful experts.

    Half a dayter, Lulu returned with disappointing news. She had failed in her mission since the servant girl had be cautious towards her.

    Their actions could not escape Feng Mo¡¯s attention. They could not hide what they were attempting even if they wanted to. Even though the Hunter had notprehended a domain, his star energy could cover toorge of a region. As long as a Hunter wished it, they could even envelope an entire with their senses. However, that was not something that a Hunter would do under normal circumstances. Still, with Feng Mo¡¯s abilities, it was impossible for the youths to hide their conversations from him.

    He walked out of the bar and opened his personal gadget to get in touch with the Bo Duo.

    For a Hunter whose power level was at 150,000, it was humiliating for him to be unable to capture the people who were right in front of him. All he needed was a single moment to subdue all of them, but it was something that he dared not to do in this ce.

    Physical attraction was an extremely subjective ideal that varied from person to person. And yet, be that as it may, Lu Yin and the others felt that the servant girl from the Sea King''s Dome had very high standards when it came to determining beauty.

    Men with power and wealth always pursued beautiful women. With a beautiful woman by their side, even if she had rtively weak genes, their offspring would at least be not bad-looking. This trend would improve over sessive generations, and typically, the number of potential beautiful partners for each generation would not diminish. As such, all of the influential powerhouses who were qualified enough toe to the Starfall Sea were young and good-looking.

    However, in the mouth of the servant girl, the word ¡°ugly¡± had been transcended. Her eloquent remarks made it clear how utterly revolting an individual was to her, and it was as though there was no one attractive in her eyes.

    It was a different feeling altogether when the group saw those on board the ship.

    As Lu Yin leaned against the side of the ship and watched the beautiful servant girl dole out her caustic judgments, he felt a certain sense of inexplicable happiness.

    The ship was very tall, and from the deck it was possible to see far into the distance. Big Pao came up to Lu Yin¡¯s side and looked into the distant horizon. ¡°It looks like Feng Mo isn¡¯t going to give up.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head, and they both looked over at Feng Mo, who had made no attempts to conceal himself. He coldly stared at them, certain that no one within their group would be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Therefore, all he had to do was to wait for the selection process to end. Then, he would be able to capture whoever he needed to.

    However, something was still puzzling Lu Yin. ¡°As a Hunter with a power level of 150,000, why is Feng Mo still so loyal as to keep working for Deep Crimson Hall? Can Deep Crimson Hall pay such a price?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very strange indeed,¡± Big Pao said with a frown.

    The snidements from nearby stopped momentarily, as the beautiful servant girl had be thirsty. She ordered someone to fetch her water, and a very handsome man respectfully walked to her side, bringing her a drink with a smile on his face.

    There was an extraordinary splendor in the servant girl¡¯s eyes as she happily took a sip. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The handsome man smiled as he shot a pompous look at the crowd while shing them a smile once again. In all fairness, the man was extraordinarily handsome, and his appearance caused a group of girls to scream in joy.

    ¡°I really feel like kicking him off,¡± Big Pao said as he ground his teeth. He had been acting bitter since he had always believed that he wasn¡¯t actually bad looking and that beauty was somewhat subjective.

    Lu Yin let out a shortugh. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with him.¡±

 Chapter 436: The Power To Protect A Planet

    <h4>Chapter 436: The Power To Protect A</h4>

    At this point, the handsome man turned towards the two of them and chuckled contemptuously. As he slowly walked past the two of them, he said, ¡°Stop dreaming and just leave. You guys are nothing more than a part of the show. What the Sea King is really looking for is a handsome person like me!¡±

    Big Pao¡¯s eyes looked like fire was about to pour out of them. ¡°I can¡¯t stand him any longer! I¡¯m going to beat his ass!¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the older youth. ¡°If you do that, you¡¯ll be going against the rules set in ce by the Sea King. That guy¡¯s just deliberately trying to provoke us and reduce the number ofpetitors he¡¯ll need to face.¡±

    ¡°Are we just going to let him go?¡± Big Pao was enraged.

    Lu Yin smiled and pointed ahead. Lulu appeared in her men¡¯s clothing and stood right in front of the hot guy.

    When he turned to the north, she would as well. When he turned to the south, she would follow.

    ¡°Oi, are you blind or what? Even a piece of trash wouldn¡¯t block my way like this!¡± Lulu shouted.

    The handsome man grew furious. ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°What? You¡¯re so ugly. What makes you think that you cane here? Where do you think this is? The ugly guy club?¡± Lulu yelled.

    The handsome man¡¯s eyes widened like saucers, and he pointed to himself in disbelief. ¡°Me? Ugly?¡±

    Lulu snorted and pointed at Feng Mo, who was in the crowd of onlookers. ¡°Even that guy¡¯s hotter than you!¡±

    Everybody turned towards Feng Mo, and his expression immediately turned sour.

    The handsome man started raging, and he pointed at Feng Mo. ¡°How can that ugly guy evenpare to me? You¡¯re just trying to insult me!¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes shed with bloodlust, and he fixed an intense re onto the handsome man.

    Lulu looked over. ¡°He has a mature charm that youck.¡±

    ¡°An old geezer like him already has one foot in the grave! Charm? Pfft. He¡¯s only waiting to die!¡± the handsome man shouted.

    Feng Mo clenched his fists, unable to restrain his bloodlust.

    ¡°That makes sense,¡± Lulu suddenly acknowledged. She then simply nodded and left.

    The handsome man snorted and returned to the ship without giving Feng Mo another nce.

    Below the spacecraft, everyone looked at Feng Mo with pity. He¡¯d been cursed at out of nowhere, and his situation was rather pitiful.

    Meanwhile, Feng Mo had already added the handsome man to his list of people who he intended to kill. As long as that kid didn¡¯t be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, Feng Mo would definitely kill him.

    Two dayster, the Sea King¡¯srge ship set off, leaving the entrance of Starfall Sea and heading towards the Sea King''s Dome.

    As it left, quite a few vessels closely followed behind it. Staying close to the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s ship would give them some measure of safety, and Feng Mo also joined the crowd.

    Over the past few days, the pretty maidservant had given out about ten medallions. Besides the one that Lu Yin had obtained by his strength, the rest had been given to handsome men. Of course, Lulu was another exception.

    This was just one of the many ways to enter the Starfall Sea. There were numerous other ways inside, and many medallions had been given out. This was not the first batch of candidates, and all of the ships for the selection event had set off for the Sea King¡¯s headquarters at around the same time.

    Hearing about the Starfall Sea was one thing but actually experiencing it was another thing altogether, which was why everyone became astonished.

    The Starfall Sea was located in a separateyer of space. After traveling for half a day, the ship arrived at the entrance to theyer. Far off in the distance, there was a gigantic, lowered region that looked like a part of space had sunk into itself. Even further out was the Starfall Sea. Water filled the space, and this was the area that had given rise to numerous legends: the Starfall Sea.

    It made sense why there was the word ¡°fall¡± in its name. The ship plummeted down into the spatialyer for five whole minutes beforending on the sea¡¯s surface. Lu Yin had no idea how such a ce could exist. Who could have imagined that there truly was a sea in outer space? There was water here, which made this cepletely different from the Cosmic Sea.

    The Cosmic Sea was filled with liquidized energy that wasposed of a mix of various energies. If someone fell into it, they would very likely die. On the other hand, the Starfall Sea was a real sea filled with all kinds of unique fish. Above it was a boundless dark space, and below it was more space. Within the sea itself, there weres.

    Besides the employees and soldiers of the Sea King''s Dome, the rest of the people on the ship stood on the deck and stared at the wondrous view. For most of them, this was their first time visiting the Starfall Sea, and they were awed by the scenery.

    The water roared, and something dripped onto Lu Yin¡¯s hand. He rubbed his fingers together, surprised to find that it was water.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, it will take us around thirteen days to arrive at our destination. During these thirteen days, you wille to understand what exactly the Starfall Sea is, how amazing it is, and how amazing the Sea King is. Do your best, and who knows¡ªthe Sea King¡¯s future son-inw might be amongst you.¡± The maidservant stood on the deck and spoke arrogantly. She then added, ¡°Though that doesn¡¯t seem possible.¡±

    Everyone had already experienced her venomous tongue and thought nothing of herment.

    Lu Yin scanned his surroundings. There were quite a few people standing on the deck as well as quite a few to the back. There were also dozens of people in the midsection of the deck, but only around a dozen of them had actually obtained a medallion. He was the rare one to do so amongst them, for he was the only one to have obtained it through his strength.

    ¡°Um, if I be the son-inw of the Sea King, will you, as his daughter¡¯s servant, follow her?¡± somebody suddenly asked.

    Everyone froze, and even the soldiers from the Sea King¡¯s Dome looked over at the man.

    The pretty maidservant immediately blushed and red at the man on the deck.

    Big Pao, Little Pao, Zhao Yilong, Lulu, Coco, and Zora all looked at the guy in shock. Big Pao, in particr, even gave him a thumbs up. ¡°You¡¯ve got balls, dude. I¡¯m surprised that you like her.¡±

    Everybody stared at the man.

    The man was incredibly confused, but after seeing that the maid didn¡¯t seem quite keen about what he had said, he hastily added on, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡±

    Big Pao patted him on the shoulder and spoke in an awestruck voice. ¡°Bro, a guy needs to be able to own up to what he says. It¡¯s normal to like a girl like her, just like how you told me earlier that that girl in red has a very perky ass. You¡¯re a real man.¡±

    Up on the deck, the girl Big Pao referenced immediately red hard at him in embarrassment. In front of her, an incredibly handsome man who had also received a medallion had a look of pure murder.

    The poor person who had misspoke was on the verge of tears, and he desperately wanted to exin himself. However, he was just a mere Sentinel, and there was nothing he could do to Big Pao. He looked even worse than if he just burst out crying.

    T<strong>he pretty maidservant</strong> snorted and left. She had had a good impression of this person before, so she was incredibly surprised to discover that he was such a frivolous person.

    The man stretched out a hand, wanting to stop her, but Big Pao prevented him from doing so. Big Pao was all smiles and appeared affable, but in this man¡¯s eyes, Big Pao was incredibly annoying. At that moment, he decided that, if he managed to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, this guy would be the first person he took care of.

    The fiasco ended quickly enough with the handsome man fleeing from the deck. He didn¡¯t dare to make another appearance.

    The pretty maidservant disappeared as well.

    Lu Yin found this a huge pity. He had wanted to ask her about the legends rted to the Starfall Sea, specifically about the Undying Manual, but whatever. He would be spending thirteen days on the ship, which was more than enough time.

    There were quite a few vessels following behind therge one that they were on. Just like therge ship, each one of them floated atop the surface of the sea. Not one of them dared to pass therge ship and risk losing their way, not even Feng Mo.

    ¡°When are you guys going to get here?¡± Feng Mo¡¯s voice was incredibly cold, and he was obviously in a bad mood. During his entire time in the Starfall Sea, everything had been miserable.

    Bo Senior¡¯s voice replied from the gadget. ¡°We just arrived at the entrance. We¡¯ll need two more days to get the coating on our vessel before we can enter the sea.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t forget what you promised me. Each one of these brats has strong connections, and I¡¯m still not sure if this is worth it,¡± he said in a low voice.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need to decide that for yourself, Mr. Feng. However, since you¡¯ve entered the Starfall Sea, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ve already made up your mind. Don¡¯t worry, that thing will be in your possession no matter what,¡± Bo Senior reassured the assassin.

    Feng Mo cut the connection and stared at therge ship in front of him with icy eyes. The journey to the Sea King¡¯s Dome would take thirteen days, and the selection process itself would take at most half a month toplete. Then, that item would finally be his! Just the thought of it alone was enough to excite him.

    The Starfall Sea had a unique scenery. While standing on the deck of a ship, one could look down and see more than one spacecraft flying by. Also, there was more than one way to travel through the Starfall Sea; for example, ships could sail on the surface or dive beneath it.

    ¡°Look! There¡¯s a huge at the bottom of the sea!¡± someone shouted. It was the girl in red.

    Everyone looked down and saw the faint outline of a huge.

    The handsome guy that the girl was following casually exined, ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot ofs in the Starfall Sea, but any that can survive here definitely has ultra powerhouses on it with power levels of over 300,000.¡±

    Quite a few were shocked, including Lu Yin. He had no idea that such a thing existed here. A power level of 300,000? That was rare even within the entire Innerverse. Even an Enlighter with a power level of 200,000 was a rare sight. Were such beingsmon in the Starfall Sea?

    Upon seeing quite a few people look over, the guy became cocky. ¡°Every once in a while, the waters in the Starfall Sea be quite violent. Spacecraft without the special coating will be destroyed, and simrly,s within the sea will be struck by powerful rogue waves. Only those with power levels of over 300,000 are able to block the waves and protect a. Otherwise, they¡¯ll be destroyed just like the spacecraft.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense. Does that mean that there are ultra-powerhouses with power levels of over 300,000 on that?¡± Little Pao asked.

    The guy nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Lu Yin and the rest nced down at the. 300,000? That kind of existence stood at the peak of the universe.

    ¡°I wonder how high the Sea King¡¯s power level is,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself, feeling slightly unsettled.

    The maid of the Sea King¡¯s daughter, walked by at that moment. After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s question, she arrogantly responded, ¡°Don¡¯t even try to guess how powerful he is. It¡¯s something that you¡¯ll never be able to understand!¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that you can understand his power?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    The pretty maidservant paused, but then she rolled her eyes. ¡°Weren¡¯t there rumors saying that you died? How are you still alive?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Did you watch me die?¡±

    She was stumped once more, which caused her to frown. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at aggravating people.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say that you¡¯re even better when ites to cursing at people.¡± Lu Yin grinned. He didn¡¯t mind offending this girl since he wasn¡¯t nning on bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. He still had Ming Yan waiting for him!

    The pretty maidservant snorted. ¡°Out of the four most powerful Limiteers in the universe, two of them are in the Starfall Sea. I¡¯m quite curious as to who¡¯s stronger¡ªyou or Ling Que.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°A lot of people would say that Ling Que is stronger since he¡¯s from the Lingling family. Isn¡¯t that what you think as well?¡±

    ¡°So what? Being from a good family isn¡¯t a sign of one¡¯s strength,¡± she said as she eyed him, looking slightly disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s no need to even check. It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re no match for him.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°Because he¡¯s hot,¡± she answered without skipping a beat.

    Lu Yin was speechless. In the end, he still hadn¡¯t managed to escape his fate of being mocked.

    ¡°How badly is this cecking in hot guys?¡± Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    The pretty maidservant looked up and seriously considered his question.

    Lu Yin hastily tried to stop her. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t bother thinking about it since I actually don¡¯t want to know anyways. However, I do have a question for you. Have you heard of the Undying Manual before?¡±

 Chapter 437: Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 437: Acquaintance</h4>

    The pretty maidservant was not thrown off guard by Lu Yin¡¯s question, as this was not the first time she had been asked that question. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a technique that¡¯s well known in the Starfall Sea¡¯s legends, but no one has ever obtained it.¡±

    ¡°Not even the Sea King?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    She rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. ¡°Hold on, let me just ask the Sea King for you.¡±

    Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, and Lu Yin choked again. He was irritated with the woman. ¡°Thanks, please help me ask him to lend me some money as well.¡±

    She stared at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin stared back. After a moment, the twoughed together.

    ¡°You¡¯re very interesting. The other people participating in the selection are either feigning nobility or trying to get off of their high horse to tter us. You¡¯re pretty good¡ªyou even dare to annoy me.¡± She pursed her lips.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Marriage is something that¡¯s determined by fate. What¡¯s destined for you will be yours, and what isn¡¯t can¡¯t be forced.¡±

    She snorted. ¡°It just sounds like you have no confidence, so you gave up. Or perhaps you¡¯re here hiding from an enemy?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stopped for a moment, and he subconsciously nced towards Feng Mo¡¯s personal spacecraft behind them. This brat was rather sharp.

    ¡°Looks like I guessed right. You are hiding from an enemy.¡± The pretty maidservant was pleased with herself.

    ¡°So what? I¡¯m still qualified.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. You are indeed qualified, and I personally verified it. To prove that my insight is correct, you¡¯ll have to give your all during this selection process. Don¡¯t let yourself be easily defeated by those from the other qualification sites, or else I¡¯ll lose face.¡±

    ¡°Based on what?¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Her lips perked up. ¡°I can tell you about what you want to know, such as information about the Undying Manual.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you don¡¯t know anything?¡±

    ¡°I lied. I know some.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    She replied, ¡°That¡¯s better. Alright, I¡¯ll tell you now: the Undying Manual does indeed exist, but, unfortunately, it was most likely taken away.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so certain?¡± Lu Yin was bbergasted.

    The beautiful maid replied, ¡°There are many legends about the Starfall Sea, and though some are baseless, a few are based in reality and were not randomly concocted. The Undying Manual is no different. There is indeed some basis for the legends regarding that manual, but such legends have vanished in recent years, so the Sea King came to the conclusion that it was taken by someone.¡±

    ¡°When did that happen?¡±

    ¡°How would I know? Such rumors aren¡¯t based on anything substantial, and no one knows how theye to be or why they go away, so no one knows when it might have been taken away. The Undying Manual supposedly disappeared a long time ago, and the Sea King believes that it wasn¡¯t taken away recently, but rather a few centuries ago.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. The Undying Duo had been roaming the Starfall Sea a few centuries ago. Could Undying Yushan really have taken it? But that wasn¡¯t very likely since the old emperor would have passed the manual down before his death. This was further supported by the fact that he had left the Yu Secret Art behind, so there was no reason why he would have destroyed the Undying Manual. Thus, the most logical conclusion was that it had actually been taken away by someone else.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s also possible that it wasn¡¯t taken away. Perhaps one day, one year, or one centuryter, the original source of the legends about the Undying Manual will reappear.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be old by then,¡± Lu Yin remarked with a sigh.

    The pretty maidservant became furious, and her eyes seemed to send out endless mes.

    Lu Yin smiled and waved his hands as he backed away from her.

    She was furious. ¡°Ugly, disgusting ghost, blockhead, idiot¡­¡±

    Many looked at Lu Yin from a distance with reverence on their faces. This guy was amazing; he had actually angered this girl in such a way. There were many back at the entrance of the Starfall Sea who would celebrate if they heard about this incident.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin¡¯s group only saw one underwater as they sailed across the sea. It was just like what the handsome man had said; there were very fews in the Starfall Sea, and there were no uninhabiteds. Those had been destroyed by rogue waves long ago.

    Atop the deck, Lu Yin was enjoying the sea breeze when an rm sounded from the ship. Everyone was ordered to return below decks since a rogue wave had appeared.

    In the distance, the soaring sea reached towards the sky, snarling towards them like a heaven-devouring beast.

    The passengers seeing a rogue wave of the Starfall Sea for the first time paled. They felt a despair akin to when regr humans faced a thousand meters tall tsunami; there was a feeling of helplessness and despair that could not be suppressed, and even the handsome man was trembling in fear.

    Lu Yin stood in the hold and watched on in shock as the towering rogue wave rushed over. His eyes were filled with star energy, and he saw an unimaginable number of rune lines. Blood dripped down from both of his eyes, and Coco screamed from beside him.

    Lu Yin hurriedly lowered his head and let the star energy flow out of his eyes. When he wiped the blood away, he saw the same scene as everyone else: the rogue wave had arrived.

    When Lu Yin looked at mountains, rivers, or buildings, he had noticed that they all possessed a limited number of rune lines. This was because these things could not really exert any influence on the universe with just their own power. But when Lu Yin had looked at this raging rogue wave, the force that it produced was just too incredible. Just like how a normal tsunami could tear a steel ship apart, the rogue wave before their eyes could rip an entire apart.

    It was no wonder why each had to have a powerhouse with a power level of over 300,000 to protect it. Only a person with such strength would be able to withstand the scouring power of such a rogue wave.

    The boat from the Sea King''s Dome bobbed up and down among the waves as it was buffeted by the rogue wave. Everyone inside grabbed a hold of something that was fastened down in order to stabilize themselves. Many people trembled in terror; could the ship withstand such a powerful force?

    Outside of the boat, a transparent membrane warped under the heavy pressure, but strangely enough, even though the membrane did not have a powerful defense, it was able to withstand the rogue wave¡¯s strength. The whole thing was very mysterious.

    It was not only therge ship that was struck by the rogue wave, but many of the spacecraft behind it were also hit hard by it. Fortunately, every one of them had received a special coating at the entrance to the Starfall Sea, so they all safely survived the rogue wave.

    It took a full hour for the rogue waves to subside, and afterwards, people could see that the sea level itself had changed. The ship from the Sea King¡¯s Dome no longer floated atop the surface of the water. Instead, it was now sailing within the sea, just above the seabed.

    Everyone rxed at this time since it was clear that they were now safe.

    A pale-faced Coco patted her chest. ¡°That was so scary! I thought that I was going to die.¡±

    Zora hugged Coco¡¯s shoulders tofort her.

    Michelle looked out and her eyes lit up. Her sister had passed through this ce before, and now it was her turn.

    ¡°This is a no man¡¯snd, but people can actually survive in this wretched ce. How impressive,¡± Big Pao remarked with a sigh.

    Little Pao immediately motioned for his brother to shut up, but the pretty maid was already ring at Big Pao.

    He smiled in embarrassment and turned to leave.

    Bleargh~

    Suddenly, a strange yet familiar sound was heard by everyone: someone had vomited.

    The beautiful maid¡¯s face changed. ¡°Quickly get out! No one¡¯s allowed to vomit in the hold.¡±

    The person in question had gonepletely limp and could not move. So, he was carried away by some of the soldiers from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The crowd was surprised; a cultivator could be seasick?

    The pretty maid was grossed out and quickly left.

    Not only could the membrane withstand the violent rogue waves, but it could also prevent the seawater from flooding in, which let the passengers still go up to the deck of the ship and enjoy the scenery of the Starfall Sea even though they had dove underwater.

    Lu Yin went to the deck, but he saw the same person still vomiting frantically there. He then silently turned around and headed to the ship¡¯s stern.

    There were quite a few people already there. When Lu Yin arrived, he brushed past a man. Then, he suddenly reached out and tapped on the man¡¯s shoulder. The man whipped around in irritation, but his face changed as soon as he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back. He had not expected to bump into an old acquaintance on this voyage. ¡°I seem to recall that you¡¯re Xun Jiong.¡±

    In the past, in the Shenwu Continent, Lu Yin had forced a group of trial takers to write promissory notes, and this Xun Jiong had been one of those people. However, Xun Jiong¡¯s note had been torn up long ago, as the Xun family had helped the Great Yu Empire by denouncing the Ross Empire for instigating a war. Thus, Xun Jiong no longer owed Lu Yin anything.

    In fact, Lu Yin had just been thinking of how he could obtain more of such contracts when he had coincidentally bumped into Xun Jiong.

    Xun Jiong was not at all happy to see Lu Yin. The scenes from the Shenwu Continent still asionally surfaced in his mind, and he knew that this person was not easy to deal with. ¡°Brother Lu, I never thought that I would bump into you here.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been on the ship for a few days. Why haven¡¯t I seen Brother Xun during this time? Have you been in the hold?¡±

    He nodded coldly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been to the Starfall Sea before, so this isn¡¯t a new experience for me. I was staying within the hold to cultivate. Why is Brother Lu here in the Starfall Sea? Also, I heard that you got swallowed by a storm. However, it appears that you didn¡¯t die.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. ¡°Those are rumors, just rumors put together to deceive others.¡±

    ¡°Since that¡¯s so, why did Brother Lu not attend the Daynight Feast?¡± Xun Jiong asked. He then sneered slightly before saying, ¡°Oh, Ling Que was there, so it¡¯s understandable why Brother Lu didn¡¯t attend. I have something else to take care of, so I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± He then walked away without looking back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow rose as he watched Xun Jiong leave. This person had a vile attitude, and it was a pity that his promissory note had already been used. This person had not held back in the slightest just now.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that bastard needs a beating! When that group was forced to write those contracts, An Shaohua and Yue Xianzi didn¡¯t kick up a fuss, but this brat had a problematic attitude. Even now, he was extremely sarcastic towards you!¡± The Ghost Monkey was quite annoyed.

    Lu Yin felt no resentment, as everyone had different views on various matters. He activated his gadget to look up some information about the Xun family.

    He was rather surprised after taking just one nce. The Xun family was based in the Ascension Flowzone, which he already knew. However, he had not known about their most famous, and peculiar, battle technique. It was known as the Gear Construction Technique.

    This so-called Gear Construction Technique was different from technology, since technology held boundless possibilities through its never ending development, though everything still relied on external energy. Even the Technocracy that had ess to ancient technology and countless advanced technologies could not rece the cultivation process that all living creatures went through. Bing stronger necessarily required one to undergo transformations.

    The Gear Construction Technique was different, as it focused on building up one¡¯s strength from smallponents. The technique used star energy to create refined mechanical parts, which the user would then assemble intoplex devices.

    Simply put, most used star energy to battle by using their star energy to simte other forms, such as wind or fire. The Xun family used their star energy to simte refined mechanical parts. The theory was simr, but their battle style waspletely different from that of most cultivators.

    And this was just one use of their Gear Construction Technique. The Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique was famous throughout the universe, as not only could they battle with it, but they could also construct other things such as defensive mechanisms or even traps like the ones found in tombs meant for raiders. Their technique could be applied extensively in all kinds of situations, and it waspletely different from technology.

    This Gear Construction Technique piqued Lu Yin¡¯s interest, but unfortunately, in order to keep this Gear Construction Technique safe, the Xun family minimized all of their contact with the outside world, and they rarely sent their members out. They were not interested in the conflicts of other universal powers, either, which was something that Lu Yin could not really understand.

    So why was Xun Jiong trying to participate in this selection process for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw? Lu Yin had taken particr note that Xun Jiong was very handsome, so he definitely had received a token.

    Thirteen days quickly passed by. During this period, two more rogue waves appeared, and the ship had passed by threes. When they passed by the third, they had coincidentally encountered a rogue wave, which gave the crowd a chance to see a powerhouse whose power level surpassed 300,000 in action.

    That boundlessly terrifying wave had shocked Big Pao, Meng Yue, and the rest, rendering them all and had rendered them speechless.

    It was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time encountering such a powerhouse, and he had even experienced being killed by an elder from the Seven Courts once, so he had a rather deep impression of such power.

 Chapter 438: The Sea Kingâ€™s Dome

    <h4>Chapter 438: The Sea King¡¯s Dome</h4>

    When Lu Yin thought of that elder from the Court of Seven Names, he suddenly remembered that there was a hidden base of the Neohuman Alliance hidden within the Starfall Sea.

    He requested a star chart of the Starfall Sea from the pretty maid to study.

    ¡°Brother Lu,e and take a look. It¡¯s amazing!¡± Coco called out to him from the deck.

    Lu Yin walked out of the hold and looked into the distance. Before them was a region where the sky was no longer dark. Instead, there was a blue radiance epassing the entire area, and beneath the blue sky was a towering, majestic mountain. There were multipleyers of white clouds circling around the mountain like streamers, while a faint trace of a seven-colored radiance could be seen in between the cloudyers.

    The mountain was conical, narrowing as one approached the peak. A warm patch of sunlight from some unknown origin illuminated the mountain, and it was adorned withrge green patches filled with vivacity.

    As the ship quickly neared the mountain, the crowd was gradually able to make the mountain out more clearly.

    The fog lifted, and it felt like they had arrived at paradise. A white ribbon spilled down from above, which was actually a stream of water. Every so often on its way down the mountain, the cascading river would split apart and start flowing across the mountain, separating into various mountain streams.

    Behind the mountain, the void rippled, spreading out inyers, almost as if someone was beating the void like a drum.

    The mountain was extremely massive and wide. After getting their first glimpse of the mountain, it took them half an hour to actually reach the area illuminated by sunlight, and even then, it still felt like they were a fair ways away from the mountain.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, congrattions on arriving at¡ªthe Sea King''s Dome,¡± the beautiful maid loftily announced, her face veritably shining with pride. It wasn¡¯t just her; all the soldiers on the ship from the Sea King''s Dome had proud expressions, as this was their home base. The master of the Starfall Sea resided here, and even though there was only a single mountain, it still was able to suppress the entirety of the Starfall Sea.

    Everyone stood on the deck of the ship and stared at the mountain excitedly. A nce was all it took to know that this was no ordinary mountain, but a sacred one.

    Lu Yin gradually filled his eyes with star energy, trying to look at the Sea King''s Dome, but it took less than a moment for his eyes to start aching, dissuading him from trying any further. The influence that the Sea King''s Dome had on the universe was too strong, and it had even reached a simr level as the mountain where Lu Yin had met Mister Mu; Lu Yin was simrly unable to observe the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The closer the ship came to the mountain, the more clearly the passengers were able to sense its boundless strength. It was gentle, yet extremely dignified. It gave the impression of a true deity.

    In fact, the Sea King was basically a deity to the people on the ship as even Enlighters would view the Sea King as a deity.

    Quite a few spacecraft followed behind the ship, as many of them were simrly from the Sea King''s Dome.

    The Sea King''s Dome did not prohibit outsiders from entering, but of course, they could only ascend a limited height on the mountain.

    Feng Mo sat in his spacecraft and stared at the Sea King''s Dome in shock. He hade here before in his youth, and he had never forgotten the feeling since. He had assumed that, with his current power level of 150,000, he would feel something different upon returning. However, he quickly realized that he had been gravely mistaken. The sensation that he currently felt from this mountain was no different than in his youth. It wouldn¡¯t matter if he were young or old; even hundreds or thousands of years in the future, he would always face the Sea King''s Dome with the same feeling of reverence and terror.

    The Sea King¡¯s power was enough to shock the universe. He was an absolute powerhouse, and people such as Feng Mo would never be able toprehend such strength.

    The seawater around the Sea King''s Dome was different from the rest of the Starfall Sea. Here, there was a touch of golden sunlight.

    Only those who arrived at the foot of the mountain could vividly experience the enormity of the mountain. As they looked up, they couldn¡¯t even see the peak. From their perspective, it didn¡¯t look like a mountain, but more like a vertical continent.

    On the mountain, the waterfall crashed down with a thundering roar.

    The pretty maid stood in a high area, overlooking the crowd. ¡°These are the Sea King¡¯s orders: three days from now, the selection will officially begin. During these three days, you can go sightseeing around the Sea King¡¯s Dome. With the tokens that you¡¯ve been given, all of your expenses will be reimbursed by the Sea King''s Dome.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly looked up, his eyes burning with a fervent radiance. Reimbursed? He had clearly heard that word.

    The others did not really care about being reimbursed since they hade here to actually attempt bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw; none of them had the nerve to ask the Sea King to foot their bills. Also, they were nning on mostly resting so as to preserve their energy in order to deliver their best possible performance. They wanted to at least appear to be generous and high ss.

    However, Lu Yin was different, and the way he looked at the Sea King''s Dome had changed. Himing here had turned out to be a great fortune, as he would have missed out on a golden opportunity otherwise.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reaction gave the pretty maid quite a fright, and she shot him a fierce look. She then escorted all of the people who had received tokens due to their looks off of the ship and told them that they could head straight for the upper levels of the Sea King''s Dome.

    Such discrimination felt unjustified to Lu Yin. There were definitely better things in the higher levels, but he could do nothing about that since he could not change anything.

    There were many ports at the base of the mountain that made up the Sea King''s Dome, and they provided docking for both spacecraft and ships that had sailed across the Starfall Sea. As soon as everyone set foot in the port where they had docked, they were astounded by the bustling scene that greeted them.

    There were not manys within the Starfall Sea, which would lead one to assume that the trade here would not be very prosperous. However, what appeared before their eyes was an iparably booming port, and there was one building in particr was extremely eye-grabbing: Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ local branch. A bit further from them were branches of other well-known organizations from various parts of the universe.

    ¡°Most of those whoe to the Starfall Sea are adventurers. There are too many legends about the Starfall Sea, and many peoplee here to try their luck at chasing those legends. Actually, there aren¡¯t that many people here at the Sea King''s Dome. Grayweed Continent is actually much more crowded. Countless powerhouses from all over the universe gather there, and mercenaries¡­¡± someone nearby introduced the ce to the neers.

    Lu Yin walked into the port alone and gazed up. He was nning on entering the port when Lulu caught up to him.

    Lu Yin was taken aback by her arrival. ¡°You didn¡¯t follow the maid?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that she would dare to take me along?¡± Lulu retorted.

    Lu Yin agreed, as their objective was to safely arrive at the Sea King''s Dome, not to actually be someone¡¯s son-inw. No matter how bold Lulu might be, she wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge the Sea King¡¯s dignity, and the maid was even more fearful of doing so.

    ¡°There¡¯s a prohibition in the Sea King''s Dome prohibiting fighting here, so we¡¯re very safe,¡± Lulu said.

    Lu Yin looked back, but he didn¡¯t see Feng Mo. However, he was confident that Feng Mo would not let them off that easily. The Hunter had probably hidden himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s n was to roll his die during these three days and to use the star essence in his possession to upgrade himself to a peak Limiteer. However, there was an important decision he had to make first: should he go shopping?

    Finally, Lu Yin decided to go on a shopping spree to prevent any idents, since he only had three days.

    ¡°Lulu, what are you intending to buy?¡± Lu Yin asked as his eyes swept around frantically. His greedy expression betrayed his calm tone.

    Lulu paused. ¡°The Sea King will reimburse us, so not buying anything would be wasteful. Let¡¯s go to an auction!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he looked at Lulu, his face clearly showing his admiration towards her. Going to an auction was a great idea.

    The two hurriedly made some enquiries, and then, they headed for thergest auction house, located halfway up the mountain.

    ¡°Pick one,¡± Lu Yin said. When the duo arrived, they looked up to see two giant auction houses on either side of the street.

    Lulu chose the one to the west, while Lu Yin went to the east. They had no intention of fighting against each other in the auction houses.

    The scenery around the Sea King''s Dome was beautiful, and the people there lived simple lives. At least, that was what Lu Yin had observed on his way up the mountain while picking up whatever caught his eye along the way. As long as he showed the token, everyone had been very cordial, so he felt that the inhabitants here were rather guileless.

    However, the most vexing concern for Lu Yin at this moment was that his cosmic ring was notrge enough, even though he had obtained an upgraded one from Northgate Lie that had originallye from the Starfall Sea.

    He bit down on a piece of local fruit and shed his token to effortlessly enter the auction house.

    Due to the Sea King searching for a son-inw, a great many disciples of great powers in the universe had gathered at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. They might not be the most powerful, but they did notck money. The auction master did not even need to fan their emotions, and any item being auctioned off was fought over.

    Those who could open auction houses on the Sea King''s Dome were not simple, which meant that the goods they dealt with were naturally not inferior. Lu Yin saw something good the very moment he stepped inside.

    ¡°One harmless Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. The seller has personally tested it, and it¡¯s definitely harmless. The auction begins now, with a starting price of¡­ three hundred star essence!¡± the auctioneer shouted.

    The people below him started topete, and each time that they raised their tiles, the price would increase by another ten star essence.

    With the Sea King¡¯s token, Lu Yin was guided to a room within the auction house that was reserved for distinguished guests. It was much more luxurious than the hall below. He did not even need to raise a tile to bid. Instead, there was a button beside the seat that let him enter a bid.

    There were more than ten types of fruit juice in front of him, and there were also beautiful women in the room to apany him, but Lu Yin declined everything. Although he did not care about the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, there was no way he would fool around with women while seeking safe harbor in this territory. No matter what, such behavior would basically be an insult to the Sea King, whom Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to offend.

    With the press of the button, Lu Yin joined the auction.

    In just a short while, the price rose to 500 star essence.

    There was no fixed value to a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Some could reach sky-high prices while others might have low value. It depended solely on whether or not anyone here needed one, as no one could put a price on such an object.

    Lu Yin did not bother paying attention to the price. He pressed the button incessantly, until the auction house¡¯s personnel actually had to approach him. They respectfully informed him, ¡°Sir, no one below ispeting with you anymore. You can stop pressing the button.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted, as it didn¡¯t matter to him since he wouldn¡¯t be the one paying for it anyways. As for what the price had reached, did he have to know? The auction house just needed to tell the Sea King.

    The next item to be auctioned was a universal armor, and not just a normal set of armor at that. A metal from the Cosmic Sea had been fused into it, making it exceptionally sturdy, to the point where it could even defend against a Hunter¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin did not truly believe this information, as it was the same as a ckhole-grade Aurora. Such a spacecraft could indeed withstand an attack from someone with a power level of 100,000, but Hunters were not idiots. They all had battle techniques and innate gifts, and such things could easily raise a cultivator¡¯s attack power beyond what a gadget showed. It was just like that armless Hunter who had attacked Lu Yin in the past. Still, a universal armor that could withstand an attack of 100,000 was pretty decent, and Lu Yin ended up casually bidding on it.

    Lu Yin continued to bid on quite a few items. Although they were likely not to be too useful, only the Sea King could be med for being too rich.

    However, the frequency of Lu Yin¡¯s bids were quickly noticed by the auction house. They specially dispatched someone to verify his assets, but that person was sent away by the Sea King¡¯s token.

    This matter served as a reminder for Lu Yin. What if the Sea King did not fulfill his offer of reimbursing the selection participants after learning of Lu Yin¡¯s situation? That would be uneptable! Lu Yin immediately decided to behave a bit more low key, promising himself that he would not bid on any more useless items. With that, the auction soon returned to normalcy.

    On the other side of the street, Lulu behaved in the opposite manner, and she was even more unrestrained than Lu Yin. She did not even bother with pressing the button, and she simply shouted out a number, generally doubling the most recent bid, allowing her to frequently seed. This scared the auction house, and they immediately sent someone to inquire about her financial status, but the person only received a rhetorical question in response: ¡°Do you think that the Mavis familycks money?¡±

    The sentence caused those from the auction house to be speechless. The Mavis name was synonymous with money, and they became even more excited after they learned that Lulu was from the Mavis family. This was an excellent opportunity for them to get rich.

    Lulu was pleased with herself, as she would not even end up using her own money since she had the Sea King¡¯s token! The Sea King should be pretty loaded.

    The Sea King himself did not know that, at this juncture of the selection, some people participating in the selection were simply aiming to spend as much money as they could, and they were enjoying themselves immensely as they did so.

 Chapter 439: Insane Expenses

    <h4>Chapter 439: Insane Expenses</h4>

    Compared to Lu Yin and Lulu, Big Pao and Little Pao behaved themselves quite well. Also, they had not received a token, so they would have to pay themselves if they wanted to buy anything, and their financial situation forced them to carefully consider any such expenditures.

    ¡°Next,dies and gentlemen, you can decide for yourselves what this next item is worth, because no one knows what it might be used for. All that I can reveal is that this next itemes from the Astral Beast Domain.¡± The auctioneer waved a hand as a beautiful, slender woman with a pale face walked out while carrying a ck box that was covered with a white cloth.

    The auctioneer walked over and immediately removed the white cloth.

    A very disgusting-looking piece of flesh was revealed to the crowd, and it even had traces of blood on it. Also, the asional bit of electricity could be seen on the flesh.

    The crowd was bewildered; what was that?

    The auctioneer covered the flesh once more with the white cloth. ¡°The bidding begins: a piece of flesh that holds lightning. The price begins at a hundred star essence.¡±

    Someone below shouted, ¡°Hey, do you think that you can sell just any random thing? No one knows what that thing can be used for, but you¡¯re setting the price at a hundred essence? Only an idiot would buy it! Does anyone else agree with me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! How can you put such a high starting price on an unknown object? Take it away!¡±

    ¡°Take it away!¡±

    ¡­

    The auctioneer was helpless. ¡°Everyone, the owner of this piece of lightning-imbued flesh requested us to auction it here. We can¡¯t refuse them, either, since they are a powerhouse with a power level over 200,000.¡±

    The crowd was shocked, but they did not heckle the auctioneer anymore. An almighty Enlighter with a power level of 200,000 was indeed a powerhouse in the universe. Such people rarely appeared in public, and they should be orded the appropriate respect.

    At this moment, someone in a guest room ced a bid, and the auction began.

    The others exchanged nces, caught off guard that someone could ignore the hundred star essence price and bid in such a cavalier matter. After all, the item being sold came from an Enlighter.

    There were too many wealthy people in the universe, and anyone who could visit the Sea King''s Dome was someone rich. Everyone present was willing to spend a hundred star essence to take the piece of flesh back to study.

    The auctioneer rxed, as this was at least better than having no bids.

    A new round of bidding began, and the flesh was finally won by the person in the guest room. Some in the crowd had recognized that the person in that room had bought quite a few items already, and they were curious as to who was inside.

    Not much time passed before Lu Yin received that piece of lightning flesh; he was naturally the one who had bid first on the item. He had ced that bid because the Ghost Monkey had told him to.

    ¡°Tell me, what is this thing?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at the lightning-imbued piece of flesh within the box. It seemed rather disgusting.

    The monkey, however, was excited. ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re pretty lucky! This thing carries a Void Thunderbeast¡¯s innate gift of lightning.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded. ¡°A Void Thunderbeast¡¯s innate gift of lightning?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s precisely this strand of lightning that gives a Void Thunderbeast the ability to shuttle through the void and escape. The person who provided this thing is not simple, since they were able to kill a Void Thunderbeast and even cut off this piece of flesh. It¡¯s just like what the auctioneer said: only an almighty Enlighter could¡¯ve done such a thing.¡±

    ¡°What can I use this for?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey rolled his eyes. ¡°Idiot! To escape, of course! If you release the lightning, then you can escape just like a Void Thunderbeast. Of course, the distance that you travel depends on how powerful this Void Thunderbeast was when it was alive.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Are you saying that I can use it¡¯s innate gift too?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Having this is the same as having an extra life! Your luck is just too good! Now, even if that Feng Mo catches up to you again, you can effortlessly leave him in the dust.¡± The monkey smiled.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as this piece of flesh was very valuable indeed. Even if its price was increased twofold, it would have been worth it.

    Before too long, the auction took a midway intermission. All the items that Lu Yin had sessfully bid on were sent to him. He shed the Sea King¡¯s token at them, and everything was quickly delivered to him.

    Lu Yin did not pause and left the auction house. He immediately headed for the next one so as not to gather too much attention on him.

    Inside the auction house on the west side of the street, Lulu acted in the same manner as Lu Yin. She confidently shed the Sea King¡¯s token, stuffed a pile of items into her cosmic ring, and then strutted off.

    ¡°Manager, don¡¯t we have to report this to our superiors?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Every month, all of the shops will send their bills to Lord Sea King at the peak of the Dome.¡±

    ¡°But that Mavis girl bought too much, I¡¯m afraid that the Sea King will me us.¡±

    ¡°You think too much. The Sea King is loaded.¡±

    ¡­

    If one looked down from the middle of the Sea King''s Dome¡¯ mountain, everything was clearly visible. There were countless buildings arranged in a terraced formation as well as trees and forests, and waterfalls and fields. It was extremely picturesque, making for an idyllic scenery.

    Lu Yin wondered if, after he resolved his personal matters, if he could even settle down here with Ming Yan.

    No, if he wanted to stay here in the future, then he could not stand out too much, nor could he offend the Sea King. In that case, he needed to make sure that his purchases amounted to a reasonable sum since he could not afford to draw the Sea King¡¯s attention.

    Coincidentally, at that moment, Lulu happily walked over, looking quite pleased.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw her, and he rushed up to wee her. ¡°Lulu, did you buy a bunch of good items?¡±

    Lulu became guarded. ¡°Why? They¡¯re mine!¡±

    ¡°I know! I bought quite a few things too. I bought everything from that auction house!¡± Lu Yin bristled with pride.

    Lulu was shocked! ¡°Everything? Are you crazy? Aren¡¯t you afraid of offending the Sea King?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°The Sea King is a super powerhouse and has unlimited resources. Why would he care about this little bit of money? It¡¯s even possible that the more you spend, the happier that senior will be.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lulu asked suspiciously.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Of course. Think about it. The richer one bes, the better they understand how to spend their money.¡±

    Lulu thought about it, but Lu Yin¡¯s words were right. Did that mean that she had spent too little? No, she could not lose face for the Mavis family! She raised her head and looked towards the other side of the mountain, where there was another auction house. She immediately came to a decision. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. I¡¯ll see you in three days.¡±

    Lu Yin beamed and waved a hand, bidding goodbye. Perfect. With Lulu tanking from the front, the Sea King would definitely not notice Lu Yin¡¯s spending. That brat was from the Mavis family, and the Sea King would be able to demand repayment from them. Lu Yin would spend much less than her and thus not attract too much attention.

    As he thought things over, he looked into the distance. Since Lulu had headed towards that direction, Lu Yin decided to head in the opposite direction.

    The Sea King''s Dome was shaped like a conical mountain, so it had ports in all directions. Not long after Lu Yin¡¯s ship had arrived, another ship arrived from a slightly different direction. Given the Sea King''s Dome¡¯ size, such a slight deviation had amounted to a vast distance.

    There were five waterfalls that fell down the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and they were known as the Skyfall Cascades. There were five Skyfall Cascades, each of whichy in one of the five main directions. They were also the destination for fiverge ships.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ship had arrived from the southeast of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and the second ship arrived from the southwest.

    Just like Lu Yin¡¯s ship, when the second one anchored, the ushering maid escorted ten handsome men to the upper regions of the Sea King''s Dome. Even more noteworthy was that there were actually three people aboard the second ship who had qualified for the selection through their own strength.

    One carried a simple wooden flute, and he stepped into the port with a calm and tranquil expression, while the other two were obviously traveling together.

    There were few people under the age of twenty five who could rival the strength of a Cruiser, and it was possible to not find even one within an entire Weave. But now, two such people had arrived together, which attracted a great deal ofmotion and spawned numerous conversations concerning the duo¡¯s identities.

    It didn¡¯t take long for one of the two to be recognized: Lan Yu, the top expert of the Boundless Continent¡¯s younger generation, was someone qualified to challenge the Top 100 Rankings. He was an influential figure in the Starfall Sea, but he also had another identity as the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist¡¯s younger brother.

    Lan Yu¡¯s appearance was not entirely unexpected, as there had already been rumors that the Boundless Continent wanted to establish marital rtions with the Sea King''s Dome, but they had never been agreed to by the Sea King. Now, it seemed that Lan Yu wanted to use his own strength to wed the Sea King''s daughter.

    However, although Lan Yu was strong, he was not actually in the Top 100 Rankings. From the perspective of many, the only ones who could reach the end of the selection process were the experts truly on the Top 100 Rankings, such as Qin Chen.

    The other person who had arrived with Lan Yu was also quickly recognized: Lan Dao. He was a genius who had been roped in by the Arbiter Divine Fist to support the Lan Family, and he was always following behind Lan Yu. He enjoyed some fame in the Boundless Continent, but more importantly, he was still only a Limiteer, which was something that shocked many people.

    In this selection, many could see that their odds of victory were higher when these two youths joined forces. No one, aside from the experts in the Top 100 Rankings, could challenge these two together.

    Lan Yu brought Lan Dao to the Sea King''s Dome. They were also informed that all of their expenses would be reimbursed, but the two did not pay any attention to that bit since they were notcking in money.

    Not long after the two arrived, another ship stopped at the northwest Skyfall Cascade, and the surface of the sea quickly froze. A cold-looking man with a long weapon on his back walked up, and he did not look back.

    Few would leave their weapons exposed, as such items were usually carried in cosmic rings. This man¡¯s strange appearance attracted a lot of attention and murmurs.

    Fortunately for him, too many strange people had arrived recently, and this was also not the first batch to arrive. Another batch had arrived before them, and they had experienced much worse luck than the current group; they had been waiting in the Sea King¡¯s Dome for three months already, but the most recent arrivals only needed to wait for three days before the selection process began.

    On the ship, the ushering maid escorted a few handsome men away before Qin Chen appeared on the deck.

    His appearance attracted a great deal of excitement: the reputation of any expert on the Top 100 Rankings was just too impressive. The Sea King had specified that, to qualify to participate in the son-inw selection, one could not be more than twenty five years old, and since most of the experts on the Top 100 Rankings were over twenty five, it meant that Qin Chen could practically be considered to be the strongest participant.

    Outside the port, many excited looks were thrown his way. ¡°Trapper Qin Chen! I¡¯ll defeat you during this selection and step onto the Top 100 Rankings!¡±

    The appearance of a Top Hundred expert caused many to bepetitive, but they also knew they could not attack at will. After all, the Top 100 Rankings was a merit-based appraisal system, and one¡¯s standing could not be faked.

    Ling Que had also arrived on the northeastern ship.

    He was blessed, as he qualified not only through power, but also through his looks. The Lingling n¡¯s innate gift was too unique, and regardless of if it was their looks or battle prowess, both were outstanding. Ling Que in particr was even more exceptional.

    On the way, the escorting maid¡¯s gaze never really drifted away from him. He was like a bright light in the darkness, and he was the center of attention wherever he went.

    The Daynight Feast had raised his reputation to the peak, as he had increased his standing by using Lu Yin¡¯s name as a footstool. He hade to the Starfall Sea this time with the intention of challenging an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. Coincidentally, he had arrived in time to participate in the selection. Since Qin Chen and Northgate Lie were also participating, he had rushed over. He wanted to step foot in the Top 100 Rankings, and he was not satisfied with just having Lu Yin alone as a stepping stone.

    Experts from all walks of life had gathered at the Sea King''s Dome, and the selection process had caused countless people to rush over. They were all expectantly waiting to enjoy this grand event that would decide the future of the entire Starfall Sea.

    There was only one day left before the start of the selection process, and many screens appeared in the sky around the Sea King''s Dome. They all disyed scenes of the Skyfall Cascades, and many people guessed that the waterfalls would have something to do with the selection process.

 Chapter 440: Various Upgrades

    <h4>Chapter 440: Various Upgrades</h4>

    At this time, Lu Yin looked at all the items stored in his cosmic ring, feeling a bit stressed out. There were too many items avable, and his cosmic ring could not store them all. It seemed like it was finally time to break through and be a peak Limiteer.

    As he thought of that, he turned around to see an extremely stylish vi. It was the most expensive residence in this region of the mountain. Since he had not rested the day before when sweeping up the various items that had caught his eye, he decided to enjoy himself for thest day before the selection process began.

    On the other side of the vi, a party walked over, and their leader was one of Lu Yin¡¯s old acquaintances: Hart Phoenix.

    As a member of the Phoenix family, he was blessed in the aesthetics department, and he could be considered to be quite handsome since he easily won over the escorting maid.

    He should have been in the upper regions of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, but those areas were not as lively as the lower levels. Hart could not stand the boredom there, so he hade to the middle part of the mountain. He was currently looking for a ce to rest since it was gettingte, and in this area, this was the only dwelling that, in his opinion, could barely match up to his status.

    Hart Phoenix had just entered the vi when he was taken aback; he instantly recognized Lu Yin.

    At that moment, Hart Phoenix¡¯s face turned ugly, as he hated this person. In the past, the supreme Sentinel mission that had been posted by the Astral Combat Academy had been stolen by Lu Yin, and Hart had also fought against him after discovering that Lu Yin had taken advantage of Xi Yue. After he had been defeated, Hart had gone to his family¡¯s most dangerous training ground. Even though he had sessfully returned, his power had only been elevated to the standard of an Area Master, but Lu Yin had already surpassed the strength of a Realm Master by that time.

    Hart could not get this person out of his mind; he desperately wanted to defeat Lu Yin, but he also knew that such a thing was not possible.

    This dichotomy had intensified after watching the Tournament of the Strongest. Hart clearly knew that he would never be able to defeat Lu Yin, and even his elder brother had said as much. Hart had recently been maintaining a low profile and kept his arrogance in check at the academy. He had decided to head to the Starfall Sea to participate in this selection for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, but who would have thought that he would run into this person here.

    As he watched Lu Yin enter the manor, Hart¡¯s face shifted, and he immediately decided to leave. He truly did not want to interact with this person, as Lu Yin could make himself appear cordial on the surface, but he would definitely not allow anyone to take advantage of him, and he could even be a bit two-faced at times. Hart felt that nothing good woulde of interacting with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not even know that he had scared away Hart Phoenix, as he was still admiring the vi¡¯s extravagant decor.

    The vi upied arge section ofnd, and behind ity the mountainside. The grounds were filled with all kinds of beautiful nts, and a soft fog floated out from within the vi. At the perimeter of the grounds, there were people employed to regrly crush star crystals so that the star energy concentration within the vi would be much higher than the surrounding area¡¯s.

    Just this detail alone showed that the price he had paid was high, and Lu Yin had never witnessed this method of luxury before. He believed that it had to be quite pricey to stay here even for just one night, but that was not his business since the Sea King could afford it.

    He chose the best courtyard in the entire vi, and it had a pavilion that was modeled in the style of an ancient era, and it held an interesting charm. There were even Explorers standing guard outside the courtyard with several high-tech machines inside. The style and decor perfectly weaved antiquity and modern technology together in a manner that was very pleasing to the eye.

    ¡°So this is how rich people live!¡± Lu Yin remarked with a sigh.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re also very wealthy now. If you sell what you obtained yesterday, you¡¯ll be able to multiply your wealth several times over,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips perked up, as he liked what the monkey had said. He originally had 800 star essence on him, but the value of items that he had bought the previous day should exceed 5,000 star essence, which was an enormous number. This amount was unbeatable, as even robbing the ckbeard Pirates¡¯ tributes for a second time would not match this amount.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so happy. Monkey, have you tranted those words from the centipede''s body yet?¡±

    The monkey grudgingly replied, ¡°Nope, it¡¯s too hard.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sank. ¡°You haven¡¯t tranted anymore even after such a long time. I see that you must be cking, so you should be appropriately punished.¡± And with that, he screened his right arm off.

    At that moment, the Ghost Monkey¡¯s heart was on the verge of copsing.

    After he screened the monkey off, Lu Yin instructed the Explorers outside to not let anybody disturb him. He raised a hand, and his die appeared. It was time to roll again.

    It had been some time since he hadst rolled the die, and Lu Yin did not intend to be careless today, so he ced his cosmic ring to the side before he started rolling. He was hoping to roll four pips instead of six this time. After all, he could not afford to squander his money even if he was rich since it would all vanish in an instant if he rolled a six.

    He tapped on the die, and watched it slowly spin before it finally stopped on... three pips.

    He was excited; his luck was just too good today. His first roll was three pips: Enhance, and it was a very good roll. 800 star essence was more than enough for him to spend itvishly.

    The two screens of light appeared before him, and Lu Yin casually threw the piece of white fruit on top. He calcted based on his previous experience, remembering that it had taken him about thirty five star essence to upgrade the strengthening fruit to the extent of showing signs of life. This piece of fruit should require about the same amount.

    He generously threw thirty star essence into the screen, and the white fruit became visibly more substantial. It continued to morph as its radiance became more gentle. A fragrance unexpectedly appeared, and suddenly, and the grass beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet started to grow wildly while the fish in the stream that flowed through the courtyard gathered to stare at the white fruit.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and immediately sealed his surroundings with star energy before looking at the screen again.

    When all thirty star essence werepletely depleted, the white fruit appeared to be just a ball of liquid, and Lu Yin could even see the pulsating flow of life inside of it. All he wanted to do right now was take a bite.

    This was what the Trialmaster had referenced, where the fruit contained the vitality of life. This white fruit was definitely extremely valuable now, and by conventional measurements, it was equivalent to one that had lived for over 10,000 years.

    Lu Yin hesitated as he considered whether or not he should continue upgrading the fruit, but in the end, he finally decided to continue and tossed out another ten star essence.

    This was untrodden territory, as he had already surpassed the degree that he had upgraded the strengthening fruit to, but he could tell that this white fruit had not reached its limit yet since it had not developed any instincts of fleeing from danger like the strengthening fruit had.

    Only after awakening that instinct could the fruit be considered top-notch. In fact, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t even consider that top-notch. He had a feeling that a fruit would only truly be top-notch after it actually came alive.

    After the light screens consumed sixty star essence, the white fruit suddenly unleashed a soft light that distorted the void as its fragrance became even richer. Lu Yin took a deep breath, and he feltpletely refreshed, as if he had taken a stimnt. There was a strange ringing sound in his ears, but he could not identify what it was. Could it be the rhythm of life?

    He had a sort of feeling that this fruit was about to try to evade danger.

    Sixty star essence had been used so far, which meant that the next upgrade would take at least forty more star essence toplete. All in all, it would cost at least a hundred star essence to upgrade this white fruit to the level where it would instinctively avoid danger, which was three times the amount that the strengthening fruit had needed. This proved that this white fruit was much more valuable than the strengthening fruits.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, but he went ahead with it since he had the money. He did not know if the Sea King¡¯s token allowed him to take out a loan from the Mavis Bank and borrow a few million star essence, but he was certain that if he attempted to do such a thing, the Sea King would personally appear to kill him.

    Suddenly, there was a whoosh as the upgraded white fruit attempted to escape by tearing through the void. Lu Yin was prepared for this and easily caught it in his hand since it was not his first time encountering such a situation. He watched the fruit struggle in his hand and quickly stored it away in his cosmic ring.

    This upgrade had only beenpleted after depleting a hundred star essence, and he did not know how great its effect would be once he ate the fruit. Even if it could not resurrect him like what the Trialmaster had mentioned, it shouldn¡¯t be too far off from that! At the very least, it could save his life once.

    He had 700 star essence left, and he expected it to take about a billion star crystals for him to reach the peak Limiteer state, which was the equivalent of about a hundred star essence. The energy conversion between the two currencies was not the same, so a conservative estimate would be 150 star essence, which meant that he could act as if he had about 500 star essence left to use.

    He thought about what else he should upgrade next.

    Right, the Money Bomb. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t even certain that the devices could be upgraded, but he was looking forward to finding out.

    Since he had thought of it, he would go ahead and try it out. He immediately ced a Money Bomb on top of the light screens and threw out a single star essence. He watched expectantly and saw that it dropped down slightly, leaving Lu Yin delighted to discover that it was indeed possible to upgrade these toys.

    Each Money Bomb was originally able to kill an expert with a power level of 100,000. Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing the amount of power it would possess after going through a round of upgrading.

    He took out more star essence and watched as the Money Bomb dropped to the bottomyer after it was repeatedly upgraded.

    There were not many changes on the surface of the cube, but Lu Yin could feel that the metal ball inside it had changed, and that its color had deepened even more, reminiscent of the heavens. He felt numb when he saw the cube. It had been upgraded five consecutive times, and he had gone through dozens of star essence before he had stopped upgrading the Money Bomb. When he touched the current Money Bomb, he felt uneasy. An overly powerful weapon was not good news for the wielder either, as it was important to reach a prerequisite level before one could safely use powerful weapons.

    He did not know how destructive this upgraded bomb would be, but he really wanted to try it out.

    He had six Money Bombs, and he upgraded three and left the other three alone, just in case the upgraded ones were somehow useless.

    Upgrading three Money Bombs took close to another 200 star essence, and Lu Yin was left with about 500. He had used up quite a lot, but it was well worth it. Each upgraded item could easily fetch extraordinary prices.

    What else can I upgrade? Lu Yin looked through his cosmic ring. There were way too many items in the ring, but there was one that stood out in importance: the universal armor.

    There were many enemies such as Feng Mo waiting for him outside of this ce, and he needed an appropriate method to preserve his own life. His thoughts had been too simplistic in the past, when he had assumed that his multiple titles and status were enough to make others afraid of killing him. However, the truth was that there was more than one way to kill someone, and there were many people who did not have any misgivings about killing others. In the end, Lu Yin could only rely on himself.

    He pulled out the universal armor that he had bought from the auction house. It was tough enough to withstand an attack from a powerhouse with a power level of 100,000, and it was plenty strong enough for a Limiteer. However, Lu Yin had offended just too many people, which meant that this level of protection was still insufficient. He dreamed of being able of withstanding attacks with a power level of a million, but that was not realistic.

    A set of universal armor was different from ring armor, as thetter had strength requirements for the wearer. If one did not have the sufficient strength, then they would only face disaster when they tried to put one on. However, the same was not the case for a set of universal armor. In some sense, they could be considered vessels for traversing outer space, simr to a spacecraft.

    Lu Yin ced the armor on the upper screen and generously threw a hundred star essence onto it. He would spare no cost when it came to preserving his life.

    He watched as the universal armor was upgraded multiple times; a hundred star essence were only enough for him to upgrade it twice. It was not quite enough to upgrade it a third time. This armor required even more star essence than the Money Bombs or the white fruit to be upgraded, which made sense since it had originally been able to defend against attacks with a power level of 100,000.

    Lu Yin threw out yet another hundred star essence, upgrading the armor two more times.

 Chapter 441: Peak Limiteer

    <h4>Chapter 441: Peak Limiteer</h4>

    Lu Yin touched the universal armor that had been upgraded four times, and then pped it with full force, but he couldn¡¯t even leave a trace of a mark. He put the armor on, and fortunately, nothing abnormal happened. He paused, but then, he threw out another hundred star essence, though that amount was only enough to upgrade the armor one more time, and that one upgrade used up nearly all of the entire hundred star essence.

    Lu Yin did some quick calctions in his head, and it would probably cost him at least a hundred, likely closer to two hundred, star essence to upgrade it an additional time.

    No, he had no money left since he only had 320 star essence remaining. It would be difficult for him to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm if he upgraded the armor one more time.

    He hesitated, but then decided against any further upgrades at this moment. He would upgrade the armor again in the future, but he just didn¡¯t have enough money right now. His eyes held a fervent light as he looked at his die; he really held great expectations for Enhance. He reckoned that, if he had the support of the Mavis family¡¯s wealth, he could upgrade the universal armor to the point where even the Sea King would be helpless.

    As he watched the two light screens vanish, Lu Yin sighed as he crushed another star crystal cube, and watched the die restore itself. He tapped out again, and this time he rolled one pip: Pilfer. There was a solid thump, and a stone fell out.

    Lu Yin smashed it apart with a fist. Who was stupid enough to store a stone in their cosmic ring?

    He tapped again, and this time, it was two pips: ckhole Disassembly. Lu Yin currently didn¡¯t have much use for this roll, but he had no guarantee that it would stay the same in the future since it had a reasonable function.

    He had one more chance. If he didn¡¯t roll four pips here, then he would have to wait ten more days.

    Logically, four pips should be a rtivelymon roll, so Lu Yin took a deep breath and then tapped the die. It slowly stopped spinning, and it indeednded on four pips. He rxed, quickly grabbed his cosmic ring, and entered the Time Stop Space.

    A familiar scene met his eyes, and he looked into the distance to see the numbers trickling down. Lu Yin instantly crushed a hundred star essence, and directed the released energy towards the numbers, increasing his time in the space to ny days.

    Given his current cultivation, it now took Lu Yin much longer to improvepared to in the past. Before, it might only have taken him a few days or weeks to greatly improve his strength, but now, even several months might not be enough for him to manifest any visible improvement.

    The further he went down the path of cultivation, the more time was required to progress. When he tried to break through to the Hunter realm, he might have to calcte the time needed to improve in terms of years.

    He had crushed a hundred star essence, and dense star energy quickly filled the space. Lu Yin took a deep breath as nine stars revolved around his body, and he quickly began to absorb the energy filling the area.

    Star essence contained purer energy than what star crystals contained. That,bined with Lu Yin¡¯s nine-fold star energy absorption speed, caused the star energy in this Time Stop Space to move like a whirlpool as it surged ceaselessly towards Lu Yin¡¯s body, and his star energy absorption rate substantially increased.

    When he had broken through to be a Limiteer, he had used up a million star crystals. At this moment, with his insane absorption of star energy, he had long since surpassed that amount, and it felt like his body¡¯s thirst for star energy had no limit.

    He had previously estimated that it would take him ten million star crystals to reach the peak of the Limiteer realm, but while he was absorbing the energy, Lu Yin gradually got the feeling that this initial amount would not be enough.

    His strength began increasing along with his rapid absorption of star energy. He was not a simple Realmbreaker anymore, as he was now someone who could challenge two realms above his own. His power level did not reflect a Cruiser¡¯s standard, but his true strength had already surpassed an average Cruiser¡¯s.

    The energy from the hundred star essence was rapidly consumed. So, Lu Yin opened his eyes, crushed another fifty star essence, and then continued to absorb the star energy.

    But even when those fifty star essence were consumed, he still could not sense the peak of the Limiteer realm. Continue.

    Cultivation depended on one¡¯s resources as only arts and techniques depended upon one¡¯sprehension. For Lu Yin, the most difficult thing at this moment was to break through to the next cultivation realm.

    To go from the initial Limiteer realm to the peak Limiteer realm, one merely required resources. Currently, the most difficult hurdle in Lu Yin¡¯s path was actually breaking through to the Explorer realm, as he himself did not know how to go about it. It was something that was even more difficult than he had initially imagined, because even the crazy headmaster had found it difficult to break his seal when he had broken through to be a Melder.

    He crushed another fifty star essence and then looked at the remaining time he had in the Time Stop Space. Surprisingly, a month had already passed. He had not even been aware that he had been absorbing star energy for this long.

    Even with his nine-fold absorption speed, it had taken him this long to absorb this much energy, so he could only imagine how slowly others would have taken. From just this experience, it could be seen how difficult it was for the younger generation to reach the Explorer realm, and how unattainable the Ten Arbiters¡¯ levels actually were.

    Perhaps the Ten Arbiters¡¯ absorption rate of star energy surpasses even mine.

    He only had the elementary level of the Cosmic Art, so what was the advanced level like? The more stars that could be simted, the greater one¡¯s absorption rate would be. He could not even imagine how quickly the Cosmic Sect¡¯s heir would absorb star energy. Could one of them be a member of the Ten Arbiters?

    He thought no further about such matters and instead focused more on absorbing star energy. When he only had twenty days remaining in the Time Stop Space, his rate of star energy slowed. He was approaching the peak of the Limiteer realm.

    Another two days passed, and the star energy in his body gradually filled up. Lu Yin widened his eyes, as he had finally reached the peak of the Limiteer realm. To proceed, he would have to repeat this procedure when he tried to break into the Explorer realm; use a one-time massive amount of energy. However, no one could actually cram star energy, and such thinking was merely an illusion.

    He raised a hand and clenched his fist, releasing a terrifying strength. When he punched out, Thirty Stacks exploded forth, tearing through the void.

    Lu Yin rxed, as he had recovered his former strength.

    The three grains of Fatesand had sealed his physical strength away, which had made it difficult for him to disy Thirty Stacks. Now that he had reached the peak of the Limiteer realm, he had finally regained his previous power. However, if he used the Fatesand now, his physical strength would be unsealed, and he might even be able to withstand unleashing Thirty Five Stacks. After all three were awakened and used simultaneously, his body would bepletely unrestrained. He wondered how many stacks he would be able to unleash in such a state. One thing was for certain¡ªhe would certainly surpass the Divine Fist¡¯s record.

    The Divine Fist¡¯s true record might have been hidden away, but it was definitely not something outrageous enough to surpass his current strength. After all, the Ten Arbiters were still human, not gods.

    The awakening of the other two grains of Fatesand proceeded rtively slower, and Lu Yin did not specially recite the Stonewall Scriptures to help them along. He was in no hurry, but by his estimations, it would take just a few days for it toplete. He was afraid that, if he continuously used the Stonewall Scriptures to quicken the awakening of the Fatesand, then there might be some unintended repercussion.

    He still had more than twenty days left within the Time Stop Space, and after Lu Yin thought about it, he raised his hand as a clump of dark soil appeared. It was the awakened grain of Fatesand that came from his heart.

    The moment it appeared, his heart rumbled and a powerful strength turned into flowing light that engulfed his entire body. The void shuddered as he clenched his fist and punched out again. The might of his fist that disyed Thirty Stacks was even greater than before, while the Shockwave Palm was upgraded to fiftyfold.

    The Oveying Stacks required a powerhouse to help deduce further stacks, but the Shockwave Palm didn¡¯t.

    Thirty Stacks Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm. At this moment, Lu Yin had truly surpassed his previous peak state. With the additional defense provided by the dirt, Lu Yin felt confident in defeating experts in thest twenty positions of the Top 100 Rankings.

    If it was a matter of pure defense, then Lu Yin was confident that he could withstand the attacks of even the very top experts on the rankings. After all, he had even managed to withstand an attack from Feng Mo. Even though that attack had been casually thrown out, it should have been about as powerful as the attacks those at the top of the Top 100 Rankings were capable of.

    ¡°Basically, even if I can¡¯t defeat the top few people on the list, they can¡¯t beat me either, which is pretty disgusting,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself with augh.

    Unfortunately, he could not use the Fatesand too often, as it was a precious treasure throughout the universe. If he used it, then others would move to investigate Lu Yin¡¯s background more thoroughly, and he was afraid of his connection with Leon''s Armada being discovered, or even worse, his past. If the Ten Arbiters discovered the paper listing the Lu family and the debt of seventy two lives, they might step out themselves.

    Lu Yin nned to stabilize his current strength over the course of the remaining days, and also to familiarize himself with how he could use the ck soil inbat.

    ¡­

    Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and the numbers disappeared as the scenery in front of Lu Yin changed back into the courtyard.

    Three months of cultivation made him feel like the courtyard was foreign, as not even a second had passed in reality.

    Although he had reached the peak of the Limiteer realm, he estimated that it would take him a long time before he could break through to the Explorer realm. The next step before him was to earn more money, as he could achieve many things if he had money.

    He only had 120 star essence left now, while not long ago, a million star crystals would have been enough to make him ecstatic. Now, as his strength improved, he even felt like ten million star crystals would be too few.

    He suddenly thought of Feng Mo; even if Lu Yin was handed over to the ckbeard Pirates, he had no money to return to them, unless he sold everything that he had bought with the Sea King¡¯s token, which amounted to a huge sum.

    He had to think of a way to unload the stuff he had bought, as he could not use all of those items himself. Speaking of which, spending a total of 5,000 star essence on the items that he had picked up shouldn¡¯t amount to too much for the Sea King, but how much had Lulu bought? Lu Yin was rather curious.

    ording to the stipted timing, Lu Yin still had two more days until the selection process started, which meant that he still had one more day for his shopping spree. Lu Yin considered spending another 5,000 star essence in the Sea King¡¯s Dome. If he kept the total amount he spent to no more than 10,000 star essence, then he probably wouldn¡¯t attract the Sea King¡¯s attention.

    For the moment, he nned to rest, as he was too fatigued.

    The climate in the Sea King¡¯s Dome wasfortable, and it had a very refreshing aura. At this time, the sun in the heavens vanished as night descended upon the mountain, and the temperature grew cool.

    In another area around the middle of the mountain, Big Pao and Little Pao did not rest. It had not been easy for them to reach this ce, so they nned to thoroughly enjoy themselves, despite having limited funds.

    Michelle was rich, but the items in this ce were too extravagant even for her, so she had only bought a few random items.

    Coco and Zora walked along with Michelle. Although thetter had a cold personality, the three girls had be familiar with each other during this escape, and Coco and Zora hade to realize that despite Michelle¡¯s cold front, her heart was warm. Although Big Pao could not realize it, his ignorance did not stop the girls from growing closer.

    ¡°Sister Michelle, look! The clothes here in the Sea King¡¯s Dome are beautiful!¡± Coco happily ran into a clothing store. A robot weed them at the entrance, where the shop was filled with special blue clothes from the mountain that were the same color as the sea. The intensity of the color would even change under the sunlight, and it was very beautiful. The patterns on the clothes even appeared to be alive.

    Michelle¡¯s eyes lit up, as the clothes were indeed beautiful.

    The store owner immediately walked out to greet them enthusiastically, while Zora also stepped forward to haggle. There was no choice, as the goods in this ce were too expensive. If they didn¡¯t haggle, they might even have a problem finding a ce to eat atter.

    Michelle was happily looking at a piece of clothing, as no woman would not be able to resist the allure of such beautiful clothes. Suddenly, she glimpsed a familiar figure out of the corner of her eyes. She squinted and then quickly rushed out of the shop as she had seen a man with a wooden flute slowly walk past.

 Chapter 442: Mu Rong

    <h4>Chapter 442: Mu Rong</h4>

    ¡°Sister Michelle, what happened?¡± Coco and Zora walked out of the store behind Michelle, looking at her with puzzled expressions.

    Michelle was still stunned. ¡°Why did hee to the Starfall Sea?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Zora asked.

    Michelle softly answered, ¡°Mu Rong.¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong?¡± Coco and Zora were both stunned. Most people in the younger generation would have at least heard Mu Rong¡¯s name since the four unequaled Limiteers in the younger generation were Ye Xingchen, Ling Que, Lu Yin, and finally, Mu Rong.

    Previously, their names had not been very well-known, as everyone had been focused on the Top 100 Rankings and the Ten Arbiters. But after the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest had taken ce, the universework had gradually connected, and these four names had be more famous.

    Of these four, Ye Xingchen stayed in the Cosmic Sea while Lu Yin was generally known throughout the universe. Ling Que had also appeared a while ago at the Daynight Feast, which made Mu Rong the most mysterious of the four. He had joined the Ten Arbiters Council long ago, and even whenpared to Ye Xingchen, most people held greater expectations for Mu Rong. This was both because he had joined the council at a very young age and because the Arbiters had asserted his status as an unparalleled Limiteer in the universe.

    They had not even limited their evaluation of him as being unparalleled among the Limiteers of the younger generation; rather, they ssified him as unparalleled amongst all Limiteers, even those of the senior generations.

    As such, the confidence that the Arbiters ced on Mu Rong was extremely huge. Even though Lu Yin had matched the Divine Fist¡¯s public record, Lu Yin was only praised as an unequalled Limiteer within the younger generation. There were also many absolute experts in the senior generations, and it was not popr belief that Lu Yin was more powerful than these people. However, for Mu Rong, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ words were the gold standard, and everyone had to ept that he was the unparalleled Limiteer even if they didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°Why is Mu Rong here in the Sea King''s Dome? Is he also participating in this selection?¡± Zora asked.

    Michelle¡¯s eyes flickered, as she was not sure of the answer either. It was rumored that Mu Rong had received an unforgettable scar in his romantic life and had vowed never to wed after that. So why had he appeared at this critical juncture for the selection? If he was here, then that meant that Lu Yin was in trouble. Even if Lu Yin never considered marrying the Sea King''s daughter, these two Limiteers had been termed as equals by countless people in the universe, and they would definitely bepared. That¡¯s right, there was also Ling Que present. Lu Yin was in trouble.

    ¡°Coco, tell Lu Yin that Mu Rong is here,¡± Zora said gravely.

    Coco acknowledged the suggestion and hurriedly activated her gadget.

    Lu Yin was resting within the courtyard of the vi when he was woken up by a notification from his gadget. He nced at it, and his expression instantly changed. He found it interesting that Mu Rong had shown up, as this meant that the only unequalled Limiteer not here was Ye Xingchen.

    Lu Yin wondered if Mu Rong was truly unbeatable, and a trace ofpetitiveness rose up within him.

    Most of the Sea King¡¯s subordinates¡¯ residences were located above the middle of the mountain, and most people were not allowed ess to the area.

    Beside one of the Skyfall Cascades, a tall youth stood there, silently watching the water roar past. He reached out, and the water sshed onto his hand, giving him a refreshing sensation.

    Behind the man, a veileddy appeared. Though her face was hidden from view, it could not shroud her gorgeous mien. She slowly stepped out of the void, taking a single step to arrive next to the youth.

    ¡°I never thought that this selection would even attract the renowned Starsibyl,¡± the youth said, his voice not containing even the slightest trace of surprise.

    The veileddy was Starsibyl, just not the Astral-1¡¯s student leader. This Starsibyl was the space-exploring powerhouse. She was the one who had previously sent out the invitations, and she was also someone whom even the Ten Arbiters could not ignore. There was a question that she had asked all of the top geniuses throughout the universe, but she had never heard the perfect answer. Her looks were enough to astound the heavens.

    Many would say that the most famous youths in the universe were the Ten Arbiters. Then, below them would not be the experts on the Top 100 Rankings, but rather Starsibyl. Some rumors even imed that whoever won Starsibyl¡¯s heart would obtain the future, because she herself represented the future.

    The transformation of the universe had birthed ten freaks, and Starsibyl was from the same generation as those ten, and she could simrly be considered a freak.

    ¡°Hai Dashao, you still haven¡¯t answered my previous question,¡± Starsibyl softly responded. Her voice was graceful and gentle, and it even caused the roaring Skyfall Cascade to quiet down significantly.

    The youth was the Sea King¡¯s son, Hai Dashao. He was an absolute genius and was 7th on the Top 100 Rankings.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer your question,¡± he casually replied.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes were indifferent, and she looked up at the screens in the sky. ¡°Who knows who¡¯ll be fortunate enough to wed Qiqi. Hai Dashao, what do you think?¡±

    Hai Dashao put on a disdainful expression. ¡°None of them are qualified.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Is that so? However, I¡¯ve seen a different future, and there might be an unexpected oue.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and he stared hard at Starsibyl. ¡°Stop trying to deceive people. Your so-called predictions are all mere deductions. At best, you can see details that others cannot and use them to deduce an oue. Don¡¯t believe that you actually represent the future. I¡¯m not Tai Yuanjun, and I won¡¯t believe your nonsense.¡±

    Starsibyl did not mind his words. ¡°Just wait and see.¡±

    He snorted. ¡°I know who you¡¯re referring to in your so-called ¡®different future.¡¯ Cheng Wu, ranked sixty ninth in the Top 100 Rankings. He thought that he hid himself well, but no one can hide themselves once they step onto the Sea King''s Dome. Indeed, he¡¯s the strongest one out of them all, but so what? He¡¯s still not suited to marry my sister.¡±

    Starsibyl did not retort, but her lips curled up as her eyes sparkled like stars.

    ¡­

    The sunlight shone upon the Sea King''s Dome again as Lu Yin stepped out of the vi while carrying the Sea King¡¯s token. He headed in a direction that he had already decided upon the night before, and he made a beeline towards his intended destination.

    There were quite a few auction houses around the mountain¡¯s half-way point, and Lu Yin walked into one, only toe out after three hours. He felt rejuvenated, as he had bought quite a few items once again. They would likely be useless to him personally, but he could earn a significant sum if he sold them, so he had soldiered on.

    During thest day before the selection started, Lu Yin spent all of his time participating in auctions, and he ended up buying so many items that the bill totaled more than 8,000 star essence at the end. In truth, he felt a little guilty, but that was because he was afraid that the Sea King might notice him.

    He felt that things would be alright so long as he did not surpass 10,000 star essence, so he definitely could not go over that.

    Beep beep!

    Lulu¡¯s voice sounded from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. ¡°Lu Yin, did you buy a bunch of good stuff?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°How about you?¡±

    ¡°Me? Hehe, I spent more than 10,000 star essence.¡± Lulu was proud.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Although he had already expected it, he still jumped in shock when he learned that Lulu had actually been so aggressive as to spend more than 10,000. ¡°I¡¯ve spent about that amount as well.¡±

    ¡°Really? I assumed that you¡¯d be afraid to spend since you¡¯re poor. I figured that would cause you to have some misgivings about buying things.¡± Lulu ruthlessly mocked him before abruptly ending the call.

    Lu Yin was speechless. What had she meant with those words? Was she trying to deliberately insult him?

    He looked over to the side; this auction house would be hisst harvest of the day, so he stepped inside.

    As soon as he stepped in, the boisterous atmosphere caused Lu Yin to involuntarily arch an eyebrow.

    He had already finished shopping in therge auction houses. Thisst one was just a smaller auction house, and it did not seem as high-end as the ones that he had already visited. However, he was not picky, so he entered the private room and casually looked down.

    ¡°The next auctioned item¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Bored, Lu Yin yawned as he listlessly drank his beverage as there was nothing in this auction that interested him.

    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the next item is a bit special. It has a unique origin, as ites from the Astral Wilderness!¡± the auctioneer shouted, attracting a great deal of attention, even from Lu Yin.

    The Astral Wilderness was the domain that humans had not yet explored.

    No one knew how vast the universe actually was. The Human Domain, the Technocracy, and the Astral Beast Domain had been established by intelligent civilizations. Outside of these three domains, there was the Astral Wilderness.

    Many individuals spent their lives exploring the Astral Wilderness, and there were often rumors that intelligent civilizations could be found in that ce, as well as extremely dangerous celestial bodies. In summary, the humans¡¯ understanding of it could be summarized in the name¡ªthe ce was an unexplored wilderness.

    Humans were afraid of the unknown; hence in everyday society, they tried their best to forget about that region. Lu Yin never would not have thought that he would see something from the Astral Wilderness in this small auction house.

    The auctioneer¡¯s introduction had caught the crowd¡¯s interest, and he pulled out a transparent metal amidst the crowd¡¯s shouting. Within the metal, there was a strange-looking gun.

    ¡°Are you tired of living? Trying to use a broken gun to fool us!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just an antique! I think you don¡¯t want to stay in the Sea King''s Dome anymore.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a broken gun? What Astral Wilderness? I can easily buy countless guns like this.¡±

    ¡­

    Countless curses echoed in the auction house, but the auctioneer paid no heed and raised his hand to quell the furious voices. ¡°Everyone, no matter how brave this auction house may be, we wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to everyone. This gun is indeed from the Astral Wilderness, and¡­¡± At that moment, he paused, and his lips rose before he continued. ¡°The attack of this gun has a power level of over 80,000!¡±

    This sentence shocked everyone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body went taut as he stared down in amazement. Was such a thing even possible? It was just a gun, and the strongest gun in the universe only had a destructive force of about a power level of 20,000. A gun was generally small, and they could only be made with a limited amount of materials. They were unlike warships, which could unleash destructive attacks with power levels of over 100,000.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, but our auction has already conducted a demonstration for everyone.¡± The auctioneer then pped his hands, and a screen rose up to disy the scene of someone aiming the gun. Then, a physical bullet flew out from the gun, which was an ancient style of attack. When the bullet made contact with the target, it instantly exploded and released an enormous destructive force that caused the void to distort.

    To the side of the target, the power level reading rose incessantly before finally stopping at 80,000.

    Everyone went silent, as this little thing truly possessed a destructive strength of 80,000.

    Suddenly, the crowd grew frenzied. The small size of the gun was not enough to attract attention, and no self-respecting powerhouse would bother paying attention to a gun. However, it was different if it truly had an attack power of 80,000. Such a weapon would give them the confidence to confront even peak Cruisers.

    There were not many Hunters in the universe, and such cultivators were not easily run into, but Explorers and Cruisers were different, and it was rtivelymonce to bump into either. This gun was the same as having the personal protection of a peak Cruiser.

    ¡°Are you selling the gun or the technique to manufacture it?¡± someone in the private room above asked.

    Everyone looked at the auctioneer.

    He replied, ¡°The gun. We don¡¯t possess the technique, as the powerhouse who provided this gun obtained it in the Astral Wilderness by happenstance. Thus, he does not possess the technique, either.¡±

    ¡°How many bullets can it fire?¡± someone else asked.

    ¡°There are dots of light on the handle, and each dot represents one bullet. There are twenty three remaining,¡± the auctioneer exined.

    Everyone took a cold breath. Twenty three bullets meant Twenty three attacks, each with a power level of 80,000. That was plenty for most people.

    ¡°Less bullshit, start selling!¡± someone eagerly yelled out.

 Chapter 443: Turning Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 443: Turning Enemies</h4>

    The auctioneerughed. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll begin the auction for this gun. Before that, I must warn everyone to not attempt disassembling it. It was manufactured very strangely, and rashly disassembling it will simply destroy this gun, and it might even cause the bullets inside to explode. Aside from a Hunter, no one else can possibly survive the power of twenty three attacks, each with a power level of 80,000.¡±

    Many faces paled, as some people had evidently been considering disassembling the gun, but they had been quickly dissuaded by the auctioneer¡¯s frightening words.

    In fact, most were not that foolish. If it were possible to obtain the technique through disassembling the gun, then the auction house would not sell it. If they dared to sell this gun, then it could only mean that they had not been able to obtain the manufacturing technique.

    ¡°The bidding will begin at five hundred star essence,¡± the auctioneer shouted, causing the bidding war to start.

    Five hundred star essence was rather expensive, but it was less than the value of one¡¯s life, and many were willing to spend such a sum for such insurance.

    Before long, the price rose to about 1,000 star essence.

    Everyone present was very wealthy, as those who dared to y in the auctions on the Sea King¡¯s Dome were not the normal sort of wealthy. Lu Yin marvelled at their ability to spend money.

    At this moment, he felt that the Treasuremaster¡¯s price for the Money Bomb had been too kind. Those weapons had a power level of over 10,000, and he had sold three for a hundred star essence each, which was a very generous price. He felt that he had been mistaken about the Treasuremaster, as the old man was not as greedy as Lu Yin had assumed.

    After the price rose above 1,000 star essence, the bidding started to slow down, as it was an enormous sum. Even the tribute that the ckbeard Pirates received from each pirate group rarely went above 1,000 star essence.

    ¡°1,200.¡±

    ¡°1,300.¡±

    ¡°1,500.¡±

    ¡­

    The number of bidders dwindled, until it was only those in the private rooms stillpeting, leaving the people below as mere spectators. It was not that they could not afford it, but rather that the price had already surpassed the value of the gun since the manufacturing technique could not even be obtained.

    Finally, no one dared topete against the booth to the left of Lu Yin, who had raised the price to 2,000 star essence.

    Lu Yin acted and pressed the button, adding another fifty star essence.

    The crowd did not think that anyone would continuepeting, and neither had the person in the booth to the left. He directly added another two hundred star essence, as he seemed determined to obtain the gun.

    Lu Yin pressed the button again.

    The other party then added yet another hundred star essence.

    In this repeated fashion, the price actually slowly rose to 3,000 star essence.

    Many people were stunned, as this price was actually enough to directly hire a Cruiser as a bodyguard for a substantial amount of time, and the number of times that they could defend their employer was not restricted. This price greatly surpassed the value of the gun, but the price was still continuing to increase.

    ¡°4,000 star essence!¡± The person in the booth to the left of Lu Yin finally grew impatient and drastically raised the price in one go.

    Lu Yin did not mind it at all, and he pressed the button to add another fifty. Bring it on, you¡¯repeting against the Sea King. Not only does this gun belong to me, but the entire Sea King''s Dome!

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this gun isn¡¯t even that useful for you. Why do you want it so badly?¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled. Lu Yin had taken off the screen on his right arm after bing a peak Limiteer, which meant that the monkey had been screened off for three months. He had refused to speak a single word out of anger so far, but at this moment, he could not hold himself back.

    ¡°For Ming Yan to protect herself.¡±

    The monkey rolled his eyes, as he had not thought of this option. ¡°Think about this carefully: you¡¯ve already spent more than 10,000 star essence. Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Sea King will take notice?¡±

    ¡°Afraid of what? Lulu already passed this amount yesterday, and after today, she might even hit 20,000.¡±

    The monkey thought about it and had to agree with Lu Yin¡¯s assessment.

    The left booth did not think that Lu Yin would continuepeting, and they directly raised the price by another 500 star essence. Lu Yin continued to press the button in a rxed manner. This was the way of the wealthy, as they did not care about the price. Rather, they just directly bought whatever they wanted.

    The crowd below was puzzled, as the price had climbed too high. Such a price had rarely appeared since this auction house¡¯s establishment, and even the auctioneer had paused.

    Thud thud thud!

    ¡°Come in,¡± Lu Yin looked down and said.

    A person entered the booth from the auction house and respectfully asked Lu Yin to show proof of his assets. Lu Yin directly disyed the token, and the other party immediately left for the other booth.

    The price soon rose to 5,000 star essence, and Lu Yin squinted. This was not right; how could this gun be worth so much? He had the Sea King¡¯s reimbursement, so did this mean that the other party did as well? That would be troublesome, as they would be locked in an eternal bidding war if they continued like this.

    If it wasn¡¯t the Sea King reimbursing the other bidder, then there were only a few other usible exnations. The other party either knew what the gun¡¯s origins were, or they were confident in their ability to disassemble and research it, which could bring them much greater wealth.

    However, what puzzled Lu Yin more was why the gun¡¯s owner had not attempted to sell the gun at arger auction house, where there would definitely be more people who would want to buy it for research. If he had done so, the price definitely would have reached even more absurd heights.

    Thud thud thud!

    Another series of knocks sounded out from the door to Lu Yin¡¯s booth, and a youth entered. He was stunned upon seeing Lu Yin, evidently recognizing him.

    Lu Yin was rather famous throughout the universe, especially among the younger generation.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Representative Lu,¡± the youth greeted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; if he was calling him Representative Lu, then did that mean that this person was from the Ten Arbiters Council?

    ¡°You are?¡±

    ¡°I am from Ascension Flowzone¡¯s Xun family, Xun Tao,¡± the young man introduced.

    Lu Yin quickly understood. ¡°I was wondering who could be so wealthy. So it¡¯s the Xun familypeting against me for that gun.¡± After speaking, he pressed the button again to continue bidding on the gun.

    Xun Tao felt awkward. ¡°We didn¡¯t know it was Representative Lu, either. If we did, we would havee over earlier for a visit.¡±

    The purpose of this visit was self-evident, as they were hoping that Lu Yin would give up on the gun. Lu Yin had interacted with Xun Jiong before, and they knew that the gun was not overly important to Lu Yin, so they were hoping that he could give up on it. However, Xun Jiong¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin on the ship had left a bad taste in his mouth. Although he did not particrly mind it, that incident meant that the two parties were not on friendly terms, so there was no need to remain amicable. They could each pursue their own interests, and a weapon that could fire attacks with a power level of 80,000 was also very useful for Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Xun, you¡¯re too kind. The Xun family helped the Great Yu Empire condemn the Ross Empire before, and we can be said to be the same sort of people.¡±

    Xun Tao¡¯s eyes lit up, but just as he was about to speak, Lu Yin continued. ¡°Right, Brother Xun, could you do me a favor? Give up that gun, as it¡¯s very important to me. Since we¡¯re already on friendly terms, I trust that Brother Xun will not refuse.¡±

    Xun Tao was stumped, as Lu Yin had said the words that he wanted to. He thought about it for a second and then said, ¡°Representative Lu should know that the Xun family specializes in the Gear Construction Technique. That gun is extremely useful to my Xun family, so could Representative Lu please go easy on us? If there¡¯s anything that you may need in the future, Representative Lu can contact our Xun family.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled inwardly. Xun Jiong¡¯s attitude towards him had clearly revealed everything, and this Xun Tao¡¯s status was obviously not as high as Xun Jiong¡¯s, so Lu Yin¡¯s words were just a ploy to deceive Xun Jiong. ¡°This is difficult, as this gun is also very important for me.¡±

    Even as he spoke, Lu Yin continued to press the button. The price had already surged to 6,000 star essence, which was an exorbitant sum.

    Xun Tao¡¯s face grew ugly. ¡°Representative Lu, could you give some face to my Xun family? After all, we did indeed help the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Has Brother Xun forgotten the matter at Shenwu Continent? I saved your Xun family¡¯s heir, Xun Jiong. Could Brother Xun go easy on me as thanks for saving Xun Jiong?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Xun Tao took a deep breath and his face fell. ¡°Since that¡¯s how things are, then we can onlypete in terms of wealth.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then pulled out the Sea King¡¯s token. ¡°Yes, we can onlypete in wealth.¡±

    Xun Tao was stunned upon seeing the token. How could theypete? Even the entire Xun family together could not beat the Sea King!

    Xun Tao had apanied Xun Jiong, so he was well aware about the matter of the token reimbursing all expenditures during the stay at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Xun Jiong had one as well, but he hade to earnestly participate in this selection, so he would not abuse the token. And now, it was toote even if they wanted to use it since Xun Jiong was not nearby.

    ¡°Representative Lu, the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection starts tomorrow, but you¡¯re here squandering money with the Sea King¡¯s token? Don¡¯t you fear his wrath?¡± Xun Tao could not help but threaten Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. The Sea King won¡¯t bother over just tens of thousands of star essence. It looks like the Xun family isn¡¯t too well-off since poverty has restricted your imagination.¡±

    Xun Tao was furious and shocked at the same time. After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, he was ready to throw away tens of thousands of star essence even though their family had not brought that much money here. ¡°Alright, since Representative Lu is not willing to give my Xun family any face, Xun Tao will report things as they are. Representative Lu, take care.¡± After speaking, he turned to leave.

    Lu Yin sneered, as his personality had always been like that. Xun Jiong¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had been poor, so Lu Yin had no intentions of remaining friendly with such a person. If Watermoon Vi had requested that he give up on bidding for this gun, he would have done so without a second thought. Xun Jiong could only me himself for having such a vile personality. Although Lu Yin had initially forced the trialtakers to write those promissory notes and had some intention of taking advantage of their misfortune, in the end, he had still saved them all, so it had been a fair exchange.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, good job! I disapprove of that Xun Jiong, though you have offended an entire family,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°There are many families in the universe, and if we¡¯re afraid of offending people, then we won¡¯t be able to roam the universe anymore. I¡¯ve already offended the Daynight n, so we can forget about this Xun family.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also true.¡±

    In the end, that gun was sold for 6,700 star essence. Compared to the item itself, it was a sky-high price. Even if Lu Yin did not need to pay for it himself, he still felt reluctant to part with such arge sum of money.

    With this gun, Lu Yin had spent a total of 15,000 star essence during his three days in the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Fortunately, that should be less than what Lulu had spent, since she had certainly spent more than 20,000 star essence.

    When he left the auction house and looked at the color of the sky, it was already dark. In just another ten hours or so, the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection would begin. These three days had been truly enriching.

    Still inside the auction house, Xun Tao¡¯s face was gloomy as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure. Behind him, a middle-aged man grunted, ¡°Our head tasked us with bringing that item back. Now that it¡¯s in that person¡¯s hands, it will be difficult to retrieve.¡±

    Xun Tao coldly replied, ¡°It¡¯s no matter. He definitely won¡¯t be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, so we¡¯ll have a chance when we leave the Sea King''s Dome.¡± He then suddenly thought of something that made his lips curl.

    Lu Yin wanted to return to the vi that he had used the day before to rest, but a giant screen rose into the sky and covered the entire area. Everyone looked up and saw the five Skyfall Cascades disyed on the screen. There were several names below each waterfall, and Lu Yin found his own name listed beneath the southeastern Skyfall Cascade.

    At the top of the Skyfall Cascade, there was a sluice gate, and behind that, a long spear was stuck in the ground.

    ¡°Make your way up the Skyfall Cascades and pull out the Sea King''s Trident to gain the qualification to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.¡± A giant voice rumbled throughout the Sea King''s Dome, causing the Starfall Sea to surge.

    Everyone grew excited. Was thepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw starting early?

 Chapter 444: Beautiful Cheerleaders

    <h4>Chapter 444: Beautiful Cheerleaders</h4>

    Once Lu Yin determined the direction he needed to go, he started moving towards the bottom of the southeastern Skyfall Cascade. The entirety of the Sea King''s Dome had jumped to life, and everyone stared excitedly at the screens in the sky, wondering what sort of powerhouses would appear in this selection. Some even vaguely recall that there had previously been a Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection event that had been held a long, long time ago.

    There was more than just one giant screen in the sky, as many other screens were floating up there, revealing every single section of the Skyfall Cascades. The event had be a grand festival that only the Sea King''s Dome could host.

    At the same time, at the peak of the Sea King''s Dome, a tall, slender woman appeared, dressed in cotton blue clothes, and looked down. She was the Sea King''s daughter, Hai Qiqi, and there were four maids following behind her.

    ¡°Sister Qi, it¡¯s about to begin,¡± one maid said rather excitedly.

    Another maid softly asked, ¡°Sister Qi, do you want to meet those handsomeds first?¡±

    The other maids were looking forward to that event.

    Hai Qiqi had a calm demeanor. ¡°We¡¯ll see. This time, one has to be selected. If not, I truly won¡¯t be able to leave.¡±

    ¡°Right, Sister Qi, since you must choose one, pick an extremely good-looking one who¡¯s easy on the eyes! Don¡¯t bother with those strong, courageous ones since no one would dare to harm Sister Qi anyway.¡±

    ¡°Yes, if you truly want someone powerful, why look any further than the first thirty of the Top 100 Rankings? Those people are much stronger.¡±

    ¡­

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes lit up as she looked down.

    In one section of the Skyfall Cascades, Hai Dashao and Starsibyl were still in the same ce.

    Above the middle section of the mountain, there was a beautifulke where everyone who had qualified through their good looks had gathered. Xia Luo, Xun Jiong, and Hart Phoenix were all there, watching the screens.

    About half-way up the mountain, Lulu, Big Pao, Little Pao, and the rest of the group gathered near a steep cliff along with a huge pile of snacks, ready to enjoy themselves.

    Everyone believed that the selection process for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw had simply started earlier than nned.

    However, when Lu Yin arrived beneath the Skyfall Cascade, he found that the area was sealed off and that he could not enter. This meant that the selection had not yet actually begun.

    Someone else had arrived before Lu Yin. He was a gentle-looking man who had arrived at the Sea King''s Dome a month before Lu Yin¡¯s group. The ships had made several roundtrips, and Lu Yin¡¯s group was among thest to arrive.

    There were a total of five names for each Skyfall Cascade. From this, one could guess that there were about twenty five people spread throughout all five Skyfall Cascades.

    To be able to qualify through strength, one¡¯s power had to rival a Cruiser¡¯s. There were extremely few such people in the universe who met that criterion power while still being under twenty five years of age.

    ording to the rankings of the participants¡¯ strengths, those who were on the Top 100 Rankings were the best. Those who were on the list and younger than twenty five years old were extremely rare, and the only known person to meet those requirements was Qin Chen. Someone had said that Northgate Lie had also appeared for this selection, but he was older than twenty five, so he was not eligible to participate.

    Ling Que closely followed behind those in the Top 100 Rankings; although he was just a Limiteer, he was an absolute freak, and his true battle strength surpassed that of a normal Cruiser. He could even rival an expert on the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that Ling Que had also reached that level. However, only an actual battle would be able to reveal the difference between Ling Que and Qin Chen.

    Below them were the genius Explorers who were under twenty five and who barely could match the strength of a Cruiser.

    There were not that many Realmbreaker Explorers who were younger than twenty five in the entire universe, but the person in front of Lu Yin seemed to be one of them.

    The man¡¯s eyes revealed a hint of hostility when he saw Lu Yin. He was an Explorer, but people did not see him as this Limiteer¡¯s equal. No one would ept such treatment, and this man longed to fight against Lu Yin and prove himself.

    Lu Yin stood in the water, and his gaze trembled when his domain sensed a powerful strength approach from a thousand meters behind him. A short man slowly walked over; he was another Realmbreaker Explorer.

    This man was not even one meter tall in height, which astounded the onlookers. Lu Yin had seen someone like this before, as there had been a student named Parlie during Earth¡¯s trial with a simr stature. Lu Yin recalled that Parlie hade from Third Gravitas. Also, the blind monk of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons was also from Gravitas and was simrly very short.

    Lu Yin paid great attention to the neer¡¯s physical strength, which seemed to be rather abnormal. Unfortunately, Lu Yin did not dare to fill his eyes with star energy while in the Sea King''s Dome, or else they would be overwhelmed. Even if he could not see this person¡¯s rune lines right now, he could still sense his extraordinary strength. With Lu Yin¡¯s domain, he could tell that this person¡¯s heartbeat was special.

    For a person to approach a Cruiser¡¯s strength at his age was no simple no matter what realm they had reached. To the other two, Lu Yin was the most unusual, as he was just a Limiteer. This meant that Lu Yin¡¯s strength had crossed two great realms, which even included the space-exploring realm.

    Beneath the northeastern Skyfall Cascade, quite a few people had appeared. They kept some distance from one another, and they actually seemed mutually afraid.

    Suddenly, a hubbub was heard. ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The voices had started cheering rather abruptly, which shocked many, including the nearby Northgate Lie. He watched on with an ugly expression as a group of gorgeously dressed girls appeared. They seemed to be the ones who had suddenly started cheering.

    Ling Que appeared, elegantly stepping out from the void. He casually waved a hand, and his Que''s Mighty sh revolved around his body and raised a gentle breeze. The wind split the seawater apart, and it looked as if it were heralding his arrival.

    The Lingling n¡¯s innate gift was enough to cause even the Daynight n to fear them, and Ling Que perfectly represented the embodiment of heaven and earth in one body. Not only were his looks exquisite, but he was also iparably powerful, making him the dream of countless girls.

    After the Daynight Feast, his reputation had grown extravagantly, and his group of beautiful female cheerleaders had also been expanded.

    Ling Que himself was not disgusted by their presence; on the contrary, he seemed to rather enjoy the girls¡¯ cheering.

    Beneath the originally solemn Skyfall Cascade, a scene of cheering groupies appeared right where a battle was about to break out,pletely destroying the previously heavy atmosphere. Ling Que ced his hand up to his lips and blew them a kiss. The cheerleading group screamed in ecstasy, and they fainted one after another.

    Countless people felt their heads hurt.

    At the peak of the Sea King''s Dome, Hai Qiqi looked on nkly. This works too?

    Hai Dashao had an ugly face. ¡°What does this person think this selection is? The Lingling n is too preposterous.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled faintly. ¡°They are a top n, after all, so some unique characters are to be expected.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    ¡­

    Watching from atop the cliff, Big Pao felt jealous. ¡°This scoundrel must have spent money to hire his own personal cheerleading squad. Hmm, shall we hire a group for Brother Lu too?¡±

    Coco got excited. ¡°Yes, we should! Let¡¯s go hire a group, that sounds like fun.¡±

    Lulu waved the Sea King¡¯s token. ¡°I¡¯ll pay.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t get reimbursed for this,¡± Michelle said indifferently.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Lulu was stumped.

    Michelle begrudgingly answered, ¡°As soon as the selection starts, that token bes useless.¡±

    Lulu snorted. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Then just go and hire them. I don¡¯tck money, so go and get some pretty ones.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there some readily avable? Let¡¯s go get that group,¡± Big Pao pointed at the cheering groupies behind Ling Que.

    Lulu waved generously. ¡°Go.¡±

    Michelle felt her head hurt. She had a feeling these people were about to stir up trouble, and she only hoped that Ling Que would not be offended.

    At the northwestern Skyfall Cascade, Qin Chen had appeared. As an absolute genius under the age of twenty five, and one who was in the Top 100 Rankings as well, he was like a firefly in the dark; he would shine no matter where he went. This was especially true since his ranking was not at the tail end, so he had many admirers. Although he did not have as many as Ling Que, he still had quite a few supporters. Hai Dashao also had quite a decent impression of Qin Chen since this person acted with principle and was honorable.

    Qin Chen¡¯s appearance also made the otherpetitors at the northwestern Skyfall Cascade raise their guards, and they nced at each other, mutuallying to a decision.

    At the southwestern Skyfall Cascade, Mu Rong slowly arrived with his wooden flute. He seemed to be very calm, and there was no hint of a powerhouse¡¯s aura on him at all. Even when he appeared beneath the Skyfall Cascade, he did not attract much attention. On the other hand, Lan Yu attracted a great deal of attention. Although his status was not as great as Qin Chen¡¯s, and nor was he someone on the Top 100 Rankings, he received more attention than others just because he was the Divine Fist Arbiter¡¯s younger brother.

    Lan Dao, who was standing behind Lan Yu, did not draw much attention.

    However, when the two of them arrived beneath the Skyfall Cascade, Mu Rong¡¯s eyes swept past Lan Yu and instead looked straight at Lan Dao, a trace of astonishment appearing in the depths of his eyes as he did so.

    The northern Skyfall Cascade was the most peaceful, as there were no famous powerhouses there. The location also had the fewest number of people present. Only four were waiting there, and only one of those four could attract any attention from the spectators. This man wore a mask. It was impossible to determine his age without seeing his face, but in order to qualify for this selection, he had to be younger than twenty five and possess a strength that rivalled a Cruiser¡¯s.

    All of the participants who had qualified for the selection through their strength appeared beneath the five Skyfall Cascades. Although some were not as well-known as Lu Yin, Qin Chen, and some of the others, they were definitely influential in the area of the universe that they hade from.

    Countless people in the Sea King''s Dome were watching this selection¡¯s battle, and each of the participants had their own supporters.

    Feng Mo stared coldly at Lu Yin¡¯s image on the screen. Bo Senior had rushed over to the Sea King¡¯s Dome some time ago and was standing beside him. The two did not speak, but both had made their own preparations. As soon as Lu Yin left the Sea King''s Dome, it would be time for them to take action. Big Pao and Little Pao would not be able to run either, as Bo Junior was focusing his attention on them.

    In another part of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Northgate Lie had not expected to run into Lu Yin here. He had followed Northgate Taisui and trained under his wing for several months. He believed that his power had improved by leaps and bounds to the point where he was confident in being able to defeat Qin Chen. Unfortunately, Northgate Lie was too old, so he could not participate in the selection. However, as soon as it ended, he could still challenge Qin Chen.

    There were a total of five people beneath the southeastern Skyfall Cascade. Aside from Lu Yin, the others were all Explorers.

    Lu Yin did not recognize any of the others, but they all immediately recognized him. When he had arrived at the Sea King''s Dome three days earlier, all of his information had already been distributed.

    This was the disadvantage of being too famous, as such people would often be targeted since defeating such a person would bring the challenger enormous prestige.

    There were still more than ten hours before the next day arrived, and Lu Yin silently stood beside the surface of the sea and waited for the moment dawn broke. The rest did the same, and no one interacted with anyone else during this time.

    No one could sleep well in the Sea King''s Dome that night, as they all apanied Lu Yin and the other participants as they waited for the next day.

    At the northeastern Skyfall Cascade, at the shore a thousand meters away from Ling Que, the female cheerleaders spared no effort in their praise, filling the area with a raucous noise. Of course, some liked to watch these young girls dance, as it gave the scene a youthful feeling.

    Then, Big Pao, Lulu, and Coco suddenly appeared.

    ¡°Senior Big Pao, is this really possible? If they truly support Ling Que, we can¡¯t buy them over with money.¡± Coco was worried.

    Big Pao pped his chest. ¡°Rx, Junior, this Senior is experienced! What you¡¯re saying is impossible. How could there be so many girls that would willingly wander around the universe just to follow a man? He¡¯s no sweetheart of the masses¡ªhe¡¯s just a pretty boy.¡±

    Lulu nodded. ¡°I feel the same way. Senior, go on and p them with money.¡±

 Chapter 445: Innocent Mu Rong

    <h4>Chapter 445: Innocent Mu Rong</h4>

    Big Pao¡¯s eyes gleamed, as he liked the sound of those words. This was the reason why he wanted to be friends with Lulu, as she could be absolutely tyrannical.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The cheerleaders¡¯ loud mor had cleared out a wide area around them. This made Big Pao¡¯s trio quite noticeable.

    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± A young woman who looked like the leader red at Big Pao. The other females looked over as well, but only a few of them did so. The majority continued chanting their rally. They were rather professional with their behavior.

    Big Pao coughed and then seriously asked, ¡°Everyone, how much would it cost to hire you girls?¡±

    Coco cast a worried nce towards Ling Que, as he was indeed rather handsome. It was actually possible that these girls genuinely liked him. Her senior was too straightforward and should have probed into this topic more gently.

    ¡°One star essence per person, per day,¡± the youngdy answered in a firm manner, stunning both Coco and Lulu. That had just been too fast¡ªcouldn¡¯t they restrain themselves a little?

    Big Pao was taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s too expensive!¡±

    Thedy contemptuously replied, ¡°We follow someone as they wander the universe. Is that really too expensive?¡±

    Big Pao felt that there was some truth to her words, as these girls did indeed have to follow Ling Que around as he wandered across the universe. A bit more than 300 star essences per year was not too much of a sum, as it truly did require great effort to shout and cheer, and the girls needed to risk their lives as well. However, there were just too many of these young women. There were at least a hundred of them here. Big Pao turned to look at Lulu.

    Lulu generously waved a hand. ¡°Hand the money over and hire them for a day.¡±

    The youngdy held up a hand. ¡°Hold on, we will betray Young Master Ling Que if we ept your employment offer. You need to pay the penalty as well. A hundred star essences.¡±

    Big Pao¡¯s lips stretched; there was a penalty to break their contract as well? Ling Que was too shameless.

    Lulu sneered as money appeared in her hands. It almost seemed as if she was truly made of money.

    Beneath the Skyfall Cascade, Ling Que was feeling quite content as he had fortunately showed up at the Starfall Sea at a good time. Otherwise, he would be suffering from boredom back at the Lingling n. His times there could notpare to the delights of braving the universe¡¯s dangers. He looked up and saw Qin Chen on the screen, and then looked across to see Lu Yin. He would have to defeat each one of them, and he was especially looking forward to fighting against Qin Chen, an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. Once Qin Chen was defeated, Ling Que himself would step onto the Top 100 Rankings, which would be a perfect chain of events.

    As for whether or not he actually wanted to wed the Sea King''s daughter, that depended on her appearance. He would never do it if she was unattractive. However, there was one aspect that made things a bit difficult¡ªif he ended up retrieving the Sea King''s Trident and then declining to wed the Sea King¡¯s daughter, Ling Que would undoubtedly offend the Sea King. Although the Lingling n did not fear anyone, it was still better to avoid offending the Sea King as he was famous for being extremely terrifying.

    As Ling Que thought about his situation, he noticed that the area had suddenly be very quiet.

    Hold on, where are the passionate cheers? Ling Que suddenly felt that something was amiss. When he turned to look at the shore, he saw that his cheerleaders were¡­ gone!

    ¡°Lu Yin, Lu Yin, I love you! Lu Yin, Lu Yin, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, Lu Yin, I love you! Lu Yin, Lu Yin, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Beneath the southeastern Skyfall Cascade, an impressive group of cheerleaders had arrived. Their fervent shouts chased everyone away, causing them to have a neat vacated area to do their formations.

    This didn¡¯t happen only at the shore, but also at the area underneath the Skyfall Cascade. Lu Yin and the other participants were frightened silly.

    Lu Yin looked sluggishly at the shore. What was going on?

    Suddenly, everyone within the Sea King''s Dome stared dumbfoundedly at the screens that were showing what was happening at the southeastern Skyfall Cascade before looking back around to Ling Que. What did this mean? Had the cheerleaders had a change of heart?

    No matter who it was, everyone was attracted by thismotion, including Hai Qiqi, Hai Dashao, and even Starsibyl. Everyone was bewildered.

    Michelle pped her forehead as expression turned to one of helplessness, while Hui Daynight, Zhao Yilong, and the rest all looked stupefied. They had assumed that Big Pao and Lulu had been joking, but they had actually followed through on their words.

    Lu Yin wanted to open his mouth to speak up, but he did not even understand what was going on. His face was a perfect mix of bewilderment and nkness.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve always felt that humans are the most shameless creatures. What did you do when you screened me? Also, why do I feel like I was screened for a long time, but only a day seems to have passed? Tell me, were you spending money to gather these women? That¡¯s too narcissistic,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt his head begin to ache when he saw Big Pao at the shore, who gave him a thumbs up. In that instant, Lu Yin realized what had happened and charged straight for Big Pao.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lu Yin asked indignantly. He felt like he had be theughingstock of the entire Sea King''s Dome, and he was truly angry about it.

    Big Pao puffed his chest out. ¡°Rx! With Senior around, no one can beat your momentum.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want them! Get rid of them!¡±

    ¡°No can do. We¡¯ve already paid. I mean, they really think you are the best and truly love you.¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit and have them ruin someone else¡¯s things! Don¡¯t forget¡ªwe¡¯re here to avoid being killed, not to actually participate in this selection.¡±

    ¡°Junior, whatever we do, we must give it our all.¡± Big Pao looked seriously at Lu Yin.

    Beside the two young men, Coco encouraged Lu Yin while Lulu held herself proudly. ¡°I¡¯ve already paid them, so don¡¯t waste it.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted, but he suddenly felt like something was off about the whole situation. Even if Big Pao and Lulu were bored, they would not have done such a thing, especially since they were currently being chased by killers. The only logical conclusion was that they truly wanted him to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and they had drawn the attention of the entire Sea King''s Dome onto him as a part of their n.

    ¡°Are you guys forcing me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned very cold.

    Big Pao¡¯s face changed, and he awkwardly asked, ¡°Junior, what are you saying?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone grew even colder. ¡°You guys are trying to make me the center of attention so that all of the Sea King''s Dome, including the Sea King, focuses on me. Your objective is to force me to go all out in this selection, right?¡±

    ¡°Junior, don¡¯t spout nonsense. No one¡¯s forcing you to do anything. Even if you intentionally fail, no one could say anything since you control everything,¡± Big Pao replied seriously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The focus right now is on that group of girls. They are Ling Que¡¯s, but

    you intentionally snatched them away. With his personality, he will definitely find some way to create trouble for me. If I don¡¯t go all out, then I¡¯ll be defeated without question, and the entire universe will then rank him as stronger than me. I can¡¯t ept that, which must have urred to you guys.¡±

    Big Pao appeared embarrassed, and he nced at Lulu, who rolled her eyes, though she did not reply.

    Only Coco looked at Big Pao in shock. ¡°Senior, weren¡¯t we just ying around?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, they were indeed ying around, but ying with me.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s attitude had soured now, as he disliked it when others tried to force him to do something. Big Pao and Lulu were right, as he definitely could not ept being ranked below Ling Que, and it was for no other reason than because Ling Que had previously been praised by the Daynight n during the Daynight Feast. He was the person who Nightqueen Yanqing had used to strike at Lu Yin¡¯s reputation.

    Big Pao spread his hands apart helplessly. ¡°Junior, you think too much. With Qin Chen around, you might not seed even if you go all out.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, don¡¯t think too highly of yourself,¡± Lulu added on.

    Lu Yin red at the duo. ¡°No matter what, get these girls away from me, or else I¡¯ll break off all rtions with you two.¡±

    ¡°Is it that serious?¡± Big Pao felt like the situation was ridiculous.

    Lu Yin turned to leave, as he truly could not stand the cheerleaders. Although each one was young and beautiful, the overall situation was just too embarrassing.

    However, there was actually someone else who was even more indignant than Lu Yin: Ling Que. He knew that he had just be a joke in the eyes of countless people, because they now knew that he had bought those cheerleaders. This reveal was just too embarrassing. ¡°Lu Yin, you idiot, watch out.¡±

    ¡°Senior, what should we do now?¡± Coco was lost.

    Big Pao had a headache, as he did not know what to do either.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already paid for the service, so we can¡¯t waste it,¡± Lulu said. She then looked at the screen in the air. She seemed to suddenly think of something as she looked at Coco. ¡°I remember you saying that Mu Rong is here too, right?¡±

    Coco nodded and looked at the screen showing Mu Rong sympathetically.

    Shortly thereafter, at the bottom of the southwestern Skyfall Cascade: ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Everyone was rendered speechless.

    Lu Yin and Ling Que were both stunned.

    Mu Rong had been calmly standing in the water up till now, and he had not looked up even once during themotion that had urred before. But at this moment, he was also stumped as he looked at the nearby group of girls shouting his name. He did not know what to do, and appeared to be momentarily at a loss.

    Michelle stared ahead of herself nkly, and then at Mu Rong¡¯s dazed expression. She didn''t even know what he was thinking, as Mu Rong had always had a detached mien. His cold aura had only intensified after his emotional episode, and he had sealed off his feelings. Who would have thought that this emotionally numb person would suddenly have a squad of cheerleaders? Michelle could not handle the intense contrast in image.

    ¡°Who would have thought that the final winner would be Mu Rong. One really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover,¡± someone sighed.

    The event was clearly the selection for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, but the entire atmosphere had been turned into a clown fest that involved snatching cheerleaders.

    Everyone discussed the cheerleaders, and they all forgot about the Sea King''s daughter.

    Hai Dashao was beyond furious, and he red at the group of cheerleaders.

    Hai Qiqi was also angered because she had been forgotten. She was the leadingdy of this event, after all.

    Ling Que red at Mu Rong. So it was you, you scoundrel. Don¡¯t even think of running.

    Just like Michelle thought, Mu Rong was indeed emotionally detached. Although he was embarrassed by the cheerleaders, he managed to regain hisposure and appeared topletely disregard them.

    The cheerleaders now had someone to support, and it was Mu Rong.

    At the bottom of the southwestern Skyfall Cascade, the shouts of ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡± persisted to the end of the selection.

    Lu Yin nced at the screen showing Mu Rong in admiration. So this is Mu Rong? He appears to be unflustered and looks quite impressive. As Lu Yin pondered the situation, he nced at Ling Que on another screen and saw that the man¡¯s rage could not be concealed. Lu Yin felt slightly sympathetic towards him, as it would be rather pathetic if this brat lost his marbles just because his cheerleaders had been stolen.

    This farce caused the night of the Sea King''s Dome to lose its peace as the minutes slowly trickled away.

    When the first ray of sunlight peeked out from the heavens, the strength that blocked the Skyfall Cascades finally vanished. Everyone eagerly looked at the screens, as the selection process had officially begun.

    Beneath the five Skyfall Cascades, all of the participants looked up towards the summit of the Skyfall Cascades in unison.

    Water rushed down the mountain, but it was nothing to these powerhouses. Each of them was normally extremely fast. However, right now, they were only slightly faster than regr cultivators since the space around the waterfalls had been stabilized to the point where no one could tear through the void.

    The entire void had been toughened through an unknown method so that it was sturdier than the outside world¡¯s. The participants could forget about tearing through the void here, and the space here was actually so sturdy that they couldn¡¯t even retrieve any of their items from their cosmic rings.

    This discovery stunned the crowd, as it was the first time they had seen such a situation.

    Cosmic rings were formed when super powerhousespressed space into a certain size. In theory, it was not much different from a secondary dimension like the Shenwu Continent. In order to retrieve something from within the ring, one had to break open the dimension. The space around the Skyfall Cascades had been suppressed through absolute strength, which meant that even cosmic rings were unusable.

    The effects weren¡¯t limited to just that; since the space in the area had been greatly stabilized, everyone¡¯s speed, strength, and destructive power had been reduced by just as much. For example, an Explorer may normally be able to destroy a with their strength, but if they were next to the Skyfall Cascades, there was no way they would be able to do that.

 Chapter 446: Lu Yinâ€™s Strength

    <h4>Chapter 446: Lu Yin¡¯s Strength</h4>

    Not only did the spatial suppression in the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s Skyfall Cascade function as a form of protection, but it also made sure that this selection would be fair, as it prevented anyone from bringing out a weapon that could unleash attacks of power levels of over 100,000. For example, Lu Yin himself had no shortage of such weapons.

    Lu Yin did not rush up the waterfall. Instead, he took his time to study the situation before dashing up the Skyfall Cascade.

    The moment he started moving up the Skyfall Cascade, his entire body sank. Even sh Step only allowed him to charge forward a thousand meters. Compared to that, how high was the Sea King''s Dome? The top of the Skyfall Cascade could not even be seen, but his speed had been severely restricted.

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s abnormal physical strength, he could only achieve such results while using sh, so the others were even worse off. Their speed was much slower than Lu Yin¡¯s, and even though they initially had a headstart on Lu Yin, he had gradually caught up to them.

    One of the participants saw Lu Yin approach and then pass him from behind, prompting him to raise his de, sh out, and unleash an attack that distorted the void, though it could not pierce it. Lu Yin easily dodged the attack and retaliated with a kick. There was a solid thump when his kick collided with the person¡¯s body. The resulting pressure also released a shockwave that swept across the waterfall, sting the water apart as it did so, and even ripping ayer of mud off along the shoreline.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as he had actually been countered by attack with battle force. Although it was only four-lined battle force, his opponent had supplemented his battle force covered sword with an unknown innate gift, which was what allowed him to block Lu Yin¡¯s leg.

    Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was rather high, and he already surpassed a normal Cruiser. The strength of his kick could not be blocked by any random Explorer, but the person in front of him had actually easily defended against his kick.

    Whoosh! The sword covered in battle force swept out once again, this time aiming at the entire space around Lu Yin.

    Those who could qualify for the selection through their personal strength were indeed not simple. This person¡¯s sword might not have reached the same standard as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword, but when just power was taken into consideration, it had certainly surpassed the Second Sword, which had an impressive prating force.

    Lu Yin enveloped his fingertip with five-lined battle force and lightly tapped out. There was another bang as his finger swept the sword aside, deflecting the sword qi towards the nearby shore. Those watching from the shore were awed by the scene even as they hurriedly retreated.

    The water within the Skyfall Cascade roared, and the others also began to engage in their own battles.

    A chaotic melee broke out involving experts who were nearly strong enough to step onto the Top 100 Rankings. The younger generation¡¯s elites had all converged at this mountain at this moment. A chaotic brawl had erupted on each one of the Skyfall Cascades in every direction.

    Qin Chen had already defeated one person and was headed towards the top of the Skyfall Cascade.

    Ling Que was indignantly facing two opponents by himself, seemingly venting his rage at having his paid groupies exposed.

    Mu Rong and Lan Yu were battling each other, as Lan Yu had specifically singled Mu Rong out as his opponent.

    Lan Dao was battling another person.

    The atmosphere of the entire Sea King''s Dome was quickly shaken up, and everyone looked at the screens in the sky to watch the intense battles.

    There was another bang as the sword was deflected once more. Lu Yin took two steps back, his gaze trembling. The person before him twisted his de, casually stabbing out yet again. The speed of this attack was so fast that it surpassed the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes; he had to use the Secret Sidestep to dodge it. Otherwise, he would have to directly receive the de, but it was also an extremely strong attack.

    The nine stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and when the sword entered the Cosmic Art¡¯s range, Lu Yin was able to clearly see its trajectory. He brushed the de aside, dodging the sword and cing his palm against the swordsman¡¯s abdomen as he unleashed a Thirty Stacks, Fortyfold Shockwave Palm. Another rumbling sound erupted as the water exploded forth. This time, the swordsman was sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s palm. Fresh blood scattered all across the Skyfall Cascade before merging back into the flowing water.

    Many were excited, as Lu Yin had just crossed realms to defeat an Explorer as a Limiteer, and he hadn¡¯t defeated some random Explorer at that. All of the Explorers participating in this selection were Realmbreaker powerhouses themselves and monsters in their own region of the universe. Lu Yin¡¯s victory meant that he had surpassed the level of a monster.

    Suddenly, the atmosphere became iparably heavy, as someone had activated their innate gift of gravity. The water running down the Skyfall Cascade was pushed aside in every direction as Lu Yin turned around to see the short man staring at him from the distance. The man pressed both of his hands against the Skyfall Cascade, and Lu Yin¡¯s body became even heavier. The current gravitational force he was experiencing was no less than 200 times that of normal gravity, and the stream beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet had already been swept dry.

    200 times regr gravity was enough to surpass the upper limits of the strength of an Explorer, but it did not have much of an effect on Lu Yin. His physical body was just too powerful. But right when he was about to break free, he felt a chill brush past his ankles. The stream seemed to gain a life of its own as it formed a chain that was linked together in an odd fashion, and it extended all the way back to the bank of the Skyfall Cascade.

    Someone had restrained Lu Yin from within the stream.

    Lu Yin expanded his domain, but he felt no one near him aside from the short man. He looked towards the man, who seemed pleased with himself. He then flicked his fingers and shot out a miniscule piece of metal that struck Lu Yin¡¯s leg. As soon as it made contact with his leg, it immediately began to morph into shackles that chained themselves to him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled, and battle force erupted around his entire body. Bang! The chains broke off, but each one of the snapped off chain pieces twisted around in midair, almost as if they were alive.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to struggle. You can¡¯t escape from thebination of the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique and the gravity imprisonment,¡± the short man barked as he leaped at Lu Yin with a raised palm. The ck air within the man¡¯s palm distorted, as he had converged a tremendous amount of gravitational; force within his palm. The power of this gravity palm was enough to cause the void to warp as he mmed his palm towards Lu Yin¡¯s forehead.

    If this strikended, Lu Yin would be severely injured, even with his absurd defense.

    Many people throughout the Sea King''s Dome cried out in rm as they watched this scene unfold.

    Even Big Pao and the rest grew nervous. Although they were confident in Lu Yin¡¯s strength, everyone who was participating in this selection was not simple. Each one was a gifted genius who had surpassed countless peers of the same generation. Even when considering students from the Astral Combat Academy, only ex-Realm Masters who had graduated and be Explorers couldpete against these people.

    As the attack approached him, Lu Yin had many methods at hand to neutralize the attack. He could even use his Fatesand to block it, but he didn¡¯t. The short man¡¯s words had angered him; the Xun family was actually backing him, and they were trying to use this person to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shifted the grain of Fatesand around his heart, and his true physical strength momentarily erupted,bining with his battle force. All of the chains were broken in an instant, and even the tremendous gravitational force could not withstand his strength. The water was swept back by Lu Yin¡¯s pure strength, causing visible ripples in the distance. Lu Yin raised a hand and grabbed the short man¡¯s palm, casually squeezing the gravity within it into nothingness.

    The short man¡¯s pupils shrunk in fright, and his face turned deathly white. ¡°How is that possible? How can you break through the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique?¡±

    Lu Yin replied coldly, ¡°You think too highly of the Xun family.¡± He then exerted the full strength of his hand, and a sharp crack rang out in the air as the short man¡¯s wrist was snapped. The man howled in grief even as he tried to release his gravity field so that he could make a desperate escape. However, Lu Yin was holding onto him tightly, and he could not escape at all.

    ¡°So, who are you in the Xun family? Why are you trying to deal with me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was filled with a killing intent.

    The short man gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not rted to the Xun family, but they looked for me just a few hours ago and asked me to deal with you. The Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique is famous throughout the universe, and I really wanted to learn it.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at this man and could tell that he was not lying. He kicked out with a foot and sent the short man flying. After smashing many trees apart, he finally crashed onto the Skyfall Cascade¡¯s shore. The man was left embedded deep into the ground with fresh blood flowing down from his lips and his arm bent at an impossible angle.

    This person was badly injured from Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and he had only survived because he had been shown mercy.

    Many people had heard the short man¡¯s words and were shocked to realize that the Xun family had acted against Lu Yin. The Gear Construction Technique was unique, so no one would believe that it wasn¡¯t the Xun family. Lu Yin had somehow offended even the Xun family.

    Lu Yin looked up, and a deep-seated hatred appeared in the depths of his eyes. He would remember the enmity of this Xun family. If memory served him correctly, they were friendly with the Daynight n, so it was impossible for him to be friends with them in the first ce.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Xun family is too spiteful! When we meet them in the future, we¡¯ll need to teach them a lesson.¡± The monkey was indignant, and Lu Yin grunted in agreement

    Since the Skyfall Cascade¡¯s flow was no longer being restricted by gravity, the current quickly resumed.

    As he watched the water flow by, Lu Yin felt his hatred for the Xun family grow, but he was also astounded at their Gear Construction Technique at the same time. If he had not released a portion of his true physical strength, then he would not have been able to break free even with his battle force. Their technique lived up to its well-known reputation. He would need to be careful of them in future, as they hadplex methods.

    Xun Tao had an ugly expression as he watched this scene from the middle of the mountain. Trash, he actually lost like that.

    Above the middle part of the mountain, around theke, Xun Jiong had a simrly unhappy look¡ªnot because of the short man¡¯s loss, but because Xun Tao. That idiot had directly intervened, affecting the Xun family¡¯s reputation and exposing the entire family. Lu Yin did not even fear the Daynight n, which meant that he had some backing. This matter might invite future troubles for the now exposed Xun family.

    ¡°Your Xun family¡¯s the exact same as before, plotting against others behind their backs. How despicable!¡± Hart Phoenix ridiculed Xun Jiong.

    Xun Jiong had an ugly look on his face as his gaze swept across the room. The people gathered in this ce were all those who had qualified through their looks. While most of them had some background, most of them could notpare to the Xun family. After all, their family enjoyed the backing of the Daynight n. Aside from Hart Phoenix, there were few others who dared to ridicule Xun Jiong.

    ¡°I heard that you lost to Lu Yin in the Astral Combat Academy before. And now you¡¯re standing in opposition to him again. Is this a tradition of your Phoenix family?¡± Xun Jiong coldly replied.

    Hart Phoenix sneered. ¡°My Phoenix family can ept victory or defeat, but we won¡¯t stab others in the back, unlike your Xun family. You actually like to get others to do your dirty work, but you still failed! Haha.¡±

    Xun Jiong had noeback to that.

    In another part of the gathering, Xia Luo smiled at Xun Jiong. He did not know how Lu Yin had offended another great family once again. Although this family did not participate in disputes between great powers that much, they were very troublesome. Their Gear Construction Technique had many applications and held great potential. And just like what Hart Phoenix had said, they were well practiced in plotting in the dark, and they had to be guarded against if they were one¡¯s enemies.

    At the bank of a Skyfall Cascade, Hai Dashao looked at Lu Yin on the screen, appearing to be deep in thought.

    ¡°What do you think of that person?¡± Starsibyl suddenly asked.

    Hai Dashao indifferently replied, ¡°A show-off.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t like him?¡± Starsibyl looked at Hai Dashao, her eyes gleaming.

    Hai Dashao sped his hands behind his back. ¡°He has nothing to do with me, and I can¡¯t say whether or not I like him. However, all of these people are merely youths, and being a show-off is better than remaining too deeply hidden.¡± He then paused for a moment before saying, ¡°I recall that he defeated the Cosmic Hou. Those creatures can¡¯t be defeated through just strength. This person¡¯s techniques are strange.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Reserve your judgement for now. He might just end up bringing you a surprise.¡±

    Hai Dashao did not think so. Lu Yin was undoubtedly powerful, as shown by the fact that his physical strength could even tear through the Gear Construction Technique, but so what? At best it would allow him to rival those at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings. Hai Dashao looked towards the northeastern Skyfall Cascade, where Ling Que and another person werepeting. That other person was Cheng Wu, ranked sixty ninth in the Top 100 Rankings. He was the strongest participant out of them all and also the one most likely to pull the Sea King''s Trident out.

    There was just too great a disparity between Lu Yin and Cheng Wu.

    However, Ling Que was the most pitiful. He would not be able to even reach the top of the Skyfall Cascade. Even until now, he was not even aware of Cheng Wu¡¯s existence.

    As he thought of this, Hai Dashao looked at Ling Que with interest. Compared to Lu Yin, Hai Dashao was much more interested in Ling Que, as the Lingling n¡¯s innate gift was too strong. If not for their sparse numbers, their n definitely would have surpassed the Daynight n. It was a terrifyingly powerful n.

    Only a few knew that, among the Ten Arbiters, there was also one from the Lingling n.

 Chapter 447: Blade

    <h4>Chapter 447: de</h4>

    Ling Que was in a very bad mood, as without his cheerleading squad, he felt out of sorts. And now, just when he started moving up the waterfall, two people had joined together to attack him. He had already seen Lu Yin defeat two experts on his own through the screen, but he, Ling Que, hadn¡¯t done so yet. Didn¡¯t this insinuate that he was inferior to Lu Yin? He was in a bad mood as soon as this thought urred to him.

    He sent out a Que''s Mighty sh, directly slicing off one expert¡¯s arm and causing fresh blood to scatter across the Skyfall Cascade.

    The Lingling n¡¯s innate gift was indeed terrifying. Que''s Mighty sh had been formed from thebination of ten different innate gifts. Even here on the Skyfall Cascades, where space was sealed and suppressed, Que''s Mighty sh was able to shuttle through the void with Ling Que¡¯s innate gift, which was the reason why he had been able to defeat his opponent in an instant.

    The other attacker felt his hair stand on end, and the countless legends about the Lingling n flitted through his mind as he subconsciously distanced himself from Ling Que.

    Ling Que sneered and looked up, only to see the cheerleaders now rooting for Mu Rong. His mood plummeted yet again as his Que''s Mighty sh flickered and vanished. His opponent¡¯s back instantly went cold, and he fled from the waterfall, but he was still too slow by half a step. A giant wound appeared across his waist, and he was nearly split in half. He made up his mind and immediately charged towards the shore, forfeiting from the selections.

    Ling Que¡¯s ruthlessness had defeated two experts in an instant, causing many to be stunned.

    Inparison, Lu Yin had defeated his opponents one at a time while Ling Que had turned the tables, despite being outnumbered. In the eyes of many, he was much stronger than Lu Yin.

    Mu Rong¡¯s battle with Lan Yu also attracted some attention, but their fight was not very intense. Mu Rong seemed to be on the defensive side, and he did not seem very intent on defeating Lan Yu.

    Lan Yu did not hold back with his attacks, but he just could not beat Mu Rong. He was an Explorer and the brother of an Arbiter; however, he could not take down a Limiteer! The current situation made him feel like a failure.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to hit back, then why did you participate in thispetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to withdraw?¡± Lan Yu shouted at Mu Rong.

    Mu Rong calmly spun the wooden flute in his hand around. ¡°If you can defeat me, then bring it on.¡±

    Lan Yu¡¯s eyes widened. He took a deep breath and bent both of his legs as he released a ferocious howl. Four-lined battle force appeared and wrapped around him in multipleyers as it reinforced the toughness of his physical body. He then raised both hands. ¡°Thirty Stacks Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Under the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s audience¡¯s shocked gazes, Lan Yu disyed the same attack as Lu Yin: Thirty Stacks. He then mmed his palm towards Mu Rong.

    Back when the Divine Fist was still in the Astral Combat Academy, his record amount of stacks had been Thirty Stacks. Additionally, Lu Yin had only been termed an unequaled Limiteer because he had matched that record. Lan Yu had to boost his physical attributes with his battle force and even be an Explorer before he could use this attack, but he had nheless still managed to do it. The strength of Thirty Stacks was not something that could be easily withstood by an average person, as Lu Yin had relied on one Thirty Stacks powered attack to defeat Yan Feng and Bazeer¡¯s united strength.

    Though Mu Rong¡¯s expression remained serene, his eyes revealed a hint of shock when he was confronted with Thirty Stacks. Even he would find it difficult to win if he was directly struck by this attack.

    The wooden flute shot out and spun around, causing a gentle wind to twist above Lan Yu¡¯s palm. Lan Yu¡¯s attack was blocked by Mu Rong¡¯s wooden flute and was even dragged away, causing the Thirty Stacks to directlynd on the shore, where it sted out arge crater. Lan Yu lost his bnce and was almost thrown off the Skyfall Cascade when Mu Rong redirected the attack.

    Countless onlookers fell silent, as Lan Yu had beenpletely suppressed.

    The Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent¡¯s younger generation top expert, Lan Yu, had been suppressed just like that. Sure enough, Mu Rong was just as the Ten Arbiters Council had dered: an unrivalled Limiteer.

    Even Thirty Stacks could not deal with him, and Lan Yu¡¯s failure hinted at a simr oue for Lu Yin, as Lu Yin¡¯s strength was also at about Thirty Stacks.

    The crowd subconsciously substituted Lan Yu for Lu Yin, and after doing so, they did not hold much hope for the battle between Lu Yin and Mu Rong. Most people felt that Lu Yin would suffer a simr fate.

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    A burst of noise broke through the silence, startling the crowd on the shore. They stared, dumbfounded, at the squad of cheerleaders that had caught up to the participants.

    Mu Rong calmly turned around, acting as if he had not seen anything.

    From behind the cheerleaders, Big Pao also encouragingly shouted, ¡°Shout! Shout and emotionally overwhelm him! Boost his ego!¡±

    Lulu rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s useless. This Mu Rong is different from Ling Que, and he won¡¯t be ttered no matter how much you cheer for him.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu is in danger. This person is very powerful.¡± Coco was worried.

    Big Pao felt helpless. ¡°Junior, don¡¯t me Senior! I¡¯ve already done my best.¡±

    The scene of Mu Rong defeating Lan Yu had been seen by both Ling Que and Lu Yin. They both had solemn faces, as Mu Rong had not revealed his true strength during his battle with Lan Yu. He was rather unfathomable.

    Lan Yu had been suppressed, but he had not been thrown off of the Skyfall Cascade yet. He panted heavily as he stood up. Then, he stared on as Mu Rong calmly walked towards the peak. He felt helpless, and he turned to the side. ¡°Lan Dao, join me.¡±

    In the distance, Lan Dao was fighting against an Explorer. When he heard Lan Yu speak to him, his long de flipped around and calmly sliced through the air, causing the void to distort to the extreme. The light reflected off the de and streaked past the Explorer¡¯s head to directly sh at Mu Rong.

    The light from the de shot past the Skyfall Cascade and went on to tten an area of the void. The aftershock tore across the shore and swept towards Mu Rong beneath many shocked gazes.

    Mu Rong paused and turned around. This time, his expression was serious, and it was even more solemn than when he had faced Lan Yu¡¯s attack. His wooden flute spun around his fingertips, and he ferociously waved it the moment the light started approaching him. It was redirected through unknown means, forced to m into the Skyfall Cascade, and slice it apart. Under many stunned looks, for an unknown distance along the waterfall, an entire stretch of water had been sliced in half by this sh.

    This scene caused many to fall into a daze, including Hai Dashao and Starsibyl. They had not expected the person following Lan Yu to be this strong, to the extent where he even surpassed Lan Yu.

    At that moment, Lu Yin felt a deep shock from the depths of his heart. This was his first time seeing Lan Dao, and him actually seeing Lan Dao¡¯s face for the first time was the source of his shock. His eyes sparkled as he thought, Who¡¯s Lan Dao? That¡¯s clearly Zhang Dingtian!

    The elegance of the de was breathtaking, and it had also attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention. It was only then that he had discovered that the person behind Lan Yu was none other than Zhang Dingtian.

    Back then, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen had all gone missing at the same time. Lu Yin had sent people to look for them, but they had all seemingly disappeared without a trace. However, Lu Yin just happened to encounter one of the missing people here in the Starfall Sea.

    Why was Zhang Dingtian at the Starfall Sea? He was also following Lan Yu, and his current strength was rather terrifying. Even Mu Rong had to take that de seriously, and he was someone who could be considered to have surpassed countless others in his generation; he stood at the very peak. Zhang Dingtian was just a Limiteer, but based just on his de, he could match up against Ling Que, Mu Rong, and Ye Xingchen.

    This was simply unimaginable to Lu Yin, and he wondered what exactly Zhang Dingtian had experienced after he went missing.

    On Earth, in the initial period after the apocalypse, Zhang Dingtian had been the strongest person on Earth, and he had possessed the strength of a Realmbreaker. He had guarded the capital of China by himself, and only a few of the elite trialtakers from the Great Yu Empire had been able to rival him. He had been nothing more than a native¡ªa true native¡ªand Lu Yin knew that Zhang Dingtian was particrly gifted in the way of the de. His future strength would not be weak, but Lu Yin had never thought that Zhang Dingtian would be this powerful already.

    Lan Yu was someone from the Grayweed Continent, and he was also the younger brother of the Divine Fist, Lan Si. Had Zhang Dingtian gone to the Grayweed Continent? How had he gotten there?

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eruption of strength caused many eyes in the audience to focus on the southwestern Skyfall Cascade. The person who was the most embarrassed was the participant who had been battling with Zhang Dingtian, and he felt his heart crumble. He knew that there was no way he could withstand that de, and it seemed that this brat had not been paying any attention to him this entire time. Should he withdraw, or not? If he did forfeit, it would be humiliating, even if he didn¡¯t, there was no way he could win. The question was which to choose.

    However, Zhang Dingtian did not let his opponent suffer from his momentary dilemma for too long. Zhang Dingtian raised his de again, and from his stance, it appeared that he was nning to unleash another sh just like the one from before.

    His opponent moved straight towards the bank of the cascade, as he was not sure if this de was aimed at him.

    The water of the Skyfall Cascade roared down from the top of the mountain, and as Mu Rong faced Lan Yu and Zhang Dingtian alone, his eyes gleamed with eagerness for the first time.

    There were six experts on this Skyfall Cascade, and one had already been frightened away by Zhang Dingtian. The other two had already passed the three who were battling and only had the goal of charging straight towards the top¡ªthey had not even attacked each other. Despite this, Mu Rong and the rest were not anxious since there was a sluice gate at the top. If their assumptions were correct, then it would not be easy to open that gate.

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The hubbub of cheers continued, and the trio moved at the same time. Lan Yu used Thirty Stacks and mmed both of his palms towards Mu Rong while Zhang Dingtian shed down with his de. The edge of the sword flickered with a cold glint that seemed unstoppable. Mu Rong merely touched it slightly and immediately backed away. He could not deflect thebined attacks with his strength.

    Lan Yu was excited, and he continued to m out with his Oveying Stacks, but Zhang Dingtian frowned and suddenly retracted his de.

    The abrupt change stumped Lan Yu. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian had a firm expression. ¡°Two against one is unfair.¡±

    Lan Yu grew anxious. ¡°This is the selection for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw! It¡¯s not a fair contest!¡±

    Zhang Dingtian did not bother responding, and he lifted his de and looked towards the top of the cascade. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the others for you.¡± After speaking, he leaped up and charged towards the top of the waterfall.

    Lan Yu almost cursed. If he did not already have some understanding of this person, then he would have assumed that Zhang Dingtian wanted to fight to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Also, if they couldn¡¯t even beat Mu Rong, then there would be no need to concern themselves with the others.

    Mu Rong did not stop Zhang Dingtian. Although they had only interacted briefly, he already had a feel for Zhang Dingtian¡¯s unyielding battle nature. This sort of person would not resort to cheap tricks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curved upwards; Zhang Dingtian was still Zhang Dingtian, and that kind of spirit went along with his de¡¯s will. Perhaps this was the fundamental reason the denizens of Earth had grown so strong. Humans had spirit, and the Sandmaster had once said to him that the root of battle force was in one¡¯s spirit. Zhang Dingtian¡¯s spirit towards the path of the de was iparable, and it had led him as his power grew. His power came from his perseverance, and while some might think it was foolish, those people simply couldn¡¯t understand him.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, hurry up and leave or it¡¯ll be taken!¡± the monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze from the screen. Zhang Dingtian had alsoe to the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and Lu Yin wondered if they would end up fighting on these cascades. All of a sudden, he was excited about this selection.

    Whether it was Mu Rong, Lu Yin, Qin Chen, or Ling Que, each one of them attracted great attention. There was only one Skyfall Cascade that had practically no spectators, which was the northern Skyfall Cascade.

    However, there was only one person left on that particr Skyfall Cascade.

    ¡°Eh? That¡¯s strange, why is there only one person left on the northern Skyfall Cascade?¡±

    Many people reacted once this peculiarity was mentioned, and many looked over at that screen simultaneously. Sure enough, only one person was still moving up on that Skyfall Cascade, and he was moving at a leisurely pace since all of the otherpetitors were gone.

 Chapter 448: Pathetic

    <h4>Chapter 448: Pathetic</h4>

    ¡°Look! Someone¡¯s made it!¡± Someone with sharp eyes on the shore of one of the Skyfall Cascades noticed that a man had appeared at the top. The man was pale, and there was a terrible gash across his chest. He had difficulty propping himself up from the ground, and there was an unshakeable terror and post-traumatic stress that could be seen in his eyes.

    ¡°Brother, how were you guys defeated? Why is there only one of you left?¡± someone shouted.

    The injured man spat out a mouthful of blood as he pathetically sat down on the ground. He forced out a smile. ¡°Try facing Faceless yourself.¡±

    ¡°Faceless?¡± Someone listening was lost.

    Beside them, another person shrieked, ¡°Faceless? The person ranked seventy second on the Top 100 Rankings? That Faceless?¡±

    The injured man nodded and then looked at the screen.

    Coincidentally, the single person left on the cascade looked up at the camera at that time. A frighteningly ugly face was revealed, scaring many.

    The man¡¯s facial features were t, and he was extremely hideous. There was a two meter long ck sword in his hand that drooped into the water, but it could not be seen even if one was not paying attention to it.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him, the one ranked seventy second, Faceless. He¡¯s the person wearing that mask,¡± someone called out when they recognized the ugly man.

    Suddenly, countless people looked over, as the strongest powerhouse had changed once again. Qin Chen was only ranked 88<sup>th</sup>, which was more than ten positions below Faceless¡¯s. No one had expected such a strong powerhouse to appear.

    At the peak of the Sea King''s Dome, Hai Qiqi covered her mouth in shock. ¡°How can such a person exist!? He¡¯s too scary.¡±

    Behind her, the four maids all had pale faces. ¡°Sister Qi, this person cannot be allowed to pull out the Sea King''s Trident! Otherwise, your entire life will be ruined!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Sister Qi, think of a way! He¡¯s the only one left in the northern Skyfall Cascade, so he¡¯ll definitely be able to pass through! We¡¯re doomed!¡±

    Hai Qiqi shouted in outrage, ¡°No kidding! Of course we have to think of a way. I, Hai Qiqi, am so exquisite-looking¡ªhow could I marry some tbread that came alive? This person must have angered the heavens somehow, and there has to be something wrong with his character.¡±

    The other maids were speechless, as being ugly should not imply that there was an issue with his character!

    Faceless¡¯ appearance did not surprise Hai Dashao, as he had known that this person had arrived since a while ago. No one could keep him in the dark about anything that happened here. However, he was not worried; even if Faceless managed to pull out the Sea King''s Trident, Qiqi could still just choose to not ept him. This was the Sea King''s Dome, and pulling out the Sea King''s Trident was just one step to qualifying; it did not mean that the person who pulled it out would definitely be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    Starsibyl stared at Faceless, and a trace of doubt and conjecture appeared in the depths of her eyes.

    The hidden experts in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection were gradually revealing themselves. Not only did Faceless appear, but Qin Chen also appeared at the northwestern Skyfall Cascade as the most eye-grabbing participant. Right before Faceless was exposed, Qin Chen had also encountered an unanticipated opponent.

    There was a section of the Skyfall Cascade that had been frozen into me-like shapes. As the white fog lifted, a portion of the water violently surged, only for another portion to freeze, which caused theyers of ice to increase in number.

    Beneath theseyers of ice stood a cold-looking young man holding onto a silver-white spear. On the spear, there was an engraved design of a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms. If Lu Yin saw this mark, he would have definitely remembered it since he already had an impression of it. When the Great Yu Empire had waged war against Firesmelt, one Explorer named Yan Yan had sealed himself within ice when Firesmelt was destroyed. Xueshan Auna had recognized that man as someone from the Royal Frost Continent, the symbol of which was a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms.

    The Royal Frost Continent was a hidden power within zing Mist Flowzone, and it was hidden in a secondary dimension much like Shenwu Continent. But it differed in that Royal Frost Continent was strong enough to rival the ze Realm, which meant that it had not been surrounded and targeted for invasion.

    Above theyers of ice stood Qin Chen. He was ranked eighty eighth in the Top 100 Rankings, but his face showed an unprecedented seriousness.

    Qin Chen had not expected to meet such a strong foe on his way up the Skyfall Cascade, but this person was very powerful.

    The cold-looking man suddenly stabbed out with his spear, which prated through the iceyer as it moved towards Qin Chen. It froze everything along its path, even the void. Qin Chen¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, and he raised his hands and caused his star energy to morph into an inescapable that covered the entire area.

    The cold man¡¯s spear stabbed into the, causing it to freeze slightly, but the spear was unable to move forward any further. Qin Chen was just about to act when he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He immediately retreated with extreme speed, only to see a sturdy ball of ice shaped like mes expand from where he had just been standing.

    The spearman spun his weapon around, and the tip slowly turned pure white due to the extreme frost. It formed the symbol of a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms and then ripped a small crack open in the. The man leaped forward and stabbed at Qin Chen with his spear once again.

    Qin Chen had avoided danger after danger so far, and he watched as the water around him froze into ice. He trembled, and then suddenly, the sturdy ice within the range of his domain cracked. Qin Chen¡¯s star energy erupted and formed another trap that engulfed everything from the bottom up. However, the cold man resolutely thrust his spear into theyer of ice. There was an explosion and then all of the sturdy icepletely shattered.

    An intense aftershock swept out across the battlefield, carrying with it an extreme cold that froze everything up to the shore. The st caused many of the nearby bystanders to tremble in fear and hurriedly leave the area.

    ¡°Qin Chen, someone¡¯s nearly reached the top of the Skyfall Cascade!¡± someone shouted, evidently a supporter of Qin Chen¡¯s.

    Qin Chen looked up, and sure enough, he saw that the other two men from his waterway had charged forward at full speed while he had been battling the spearman. Thus, the two had nearly reached the top.

    The cold man also looked up, and then he dashed up with a great leap.

    Qin Chen gritted his teeth and rushed after the man. It was not the right time for them to hold each other back. They needed to eliminate the other two first, or they might be left behind regardless of the oue of their battle.

    At the southeastern Skyfall Cascade, Lu Yin had defeated two participants by himself while another two were battling somewhere further ahead. One of them was eventually beaten, and the other charged towards the top of the cascade while enjoying a tremendous lead on Lu Yin. Unexpectedly, that person actually arrived at the sluice gate before Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin was not anxious, as it was highly unlikely that the gate would be easily opened.

    As Lu Yin dashed towards the top, he nced at the screens in the sky. He saw Faceless¡¯ appearance as well Qin Chen¡¯s encounter with a strong foe. A bunch of freaks had indeed appeared in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, and each one could be a top-tier talent no matter where they went.

    The Sea King''s Dome was very tall, and each of the Skyfall Cascades was very long. However, with Lu Yin and the others¡¯ speed, it didn¡¯t take them long to reach the top even if they couldn¡¯t pierce through the void to travel more quickly here.

    The sluice gate was almost within Lu Yin¡¯s reach, but the person ahead of Lu Yin had already arrived beside it. The other participant excitedly tried to open the gate, but it did not budge.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he slowly walked over as he watched the person desperately heave at it.

    Faceless had also arrived at the top, and he pressed a hand against the gate while he put on a pondering expression.

    At the northeastern Skyfall Cascade, Ling Que was also charging towards the top since he had been significantly dyed by his battle. When he passed by the middle section of the Sea King''s Dome, he nced to the side and saw two people near the cascade: one male and one female. Although he did not recognize the man, Ling Que recognized Starsibyl since he had met her before.

    Ling Que paused and looked at the bank of the waterway. ¡°I never thought that I would see the famous Starsibyl in the Sea King''s Dome. It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°It has indeed.¡±

    ¡°Does Starsibyl have any opinion about this selection? Who do you think will be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw?¡± Ling Que was curious, as he knew a little more about Starsibyl than most, as this woman had visited the Lingling n more than once. Obviously, it had not been because of him, but rather because of another person. It was precisely because he was a bit more familiar with her than most others that Ling Que wanted to discover Starsibyl¡¯s thoughts.

    Starsibyl did not reply, but Hai Dashao coldly said, ¡°Scram back into the river.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled faintly.

    Ling Que¡¯s face sank as he stared at Hai Dashao. ¡°Who the hell are you? How dare you speak to me like that!¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯ll say it again. Scram back into the river, or else I¡¯ll personally throw you off of this dome.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s brows rose, as his behavior was remarkable. This man was either a fool or someone of great influence. However, how could someone standing next to Starsibyl be a fool? It was impossible for a normal person to stand in such a position. That meant that this bastard had to be someone with a measurable amount of influence.

    Ling Que snorted, as this was the Sea King''s Dome, and it was not a smart idea to provoke someone with an unknown background. ¡°This master¡¯s condition isn¡¯t too good today, so I won¡¯t bicker with you. Starsibyl, let¡¯s chat again next time we meet.¡±

    Ling Que then dashed towards the top, almost as if he was fleeing in defeat.

    Starsibyl could not stop herself fromughing, and she looked at Hai Dashao with crescent-shaped eyes. ¡°Why did you have to scare him away? Although his personality is a bit odd, he behaves in an upright manner and is also from the Lingling n. He¡¯s a good match for Qiqi.¡±

    Hai Dashao ignored Starsibyl and looked back at the screen to watch Zhang Dingtian. He was rather interested in this person, and he greatly admired him as well. He liked this person¡¯s determination in his de, or rather, the persistence of his heart.

    Ling Que was very unhappy. He had been inexplicably scolded, but he didn¡¯t even dare to retort. As the strongest member of the Lingling n¡¯s younger generation, when had he ever endured such humiliation? He could only me those cheerleaders that were no longer behind him; it had truly put him out of sorts.

    As he thought about this, he red furiously at the screen disying Mu Rong. That scoundrel had definitely yed some trick behind Ling Que¡¯s back. It had to be because Mu Rong knew that he couldn¡¯t defeat Ling Que in a head on confrontation. Thus, he had to ambush him in such a manner.

    As Ling Que charged upwards, someone else was casually walking along ahead of him.

    Ling Que frowned. ¡°Scram! Good dogs don¡¯t block the path!¡±

    He immediately moved to flit past the person walking along the cascade, dashing upwards with even greater speed.

    Suddenly, a radiance shed before his eyes, and there was a bang. Ling Que seemed to have crashed into something. He rubbed his forehead; what was this thing? Why was there a wall in the middle of the stream?

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes went wide, and he looked in front of him, only to see something that felt like a joke: a clock? Who had thrown a clock in the middle of one of the Skyfall Cascades? Hold on! When he looked behind him, he discovered that he had been trapped by the clock.

    ¡°Thun-der-Punch!¡± A low voice sounded out near Ling Que¡¯s ears, causing his eyes to narrow as he responded with his Que¡¯s Mighty sh. The de did not strike the clock, and it instead rotated around his body at an extreme speed, nearly tearing through the void. In the next moment, there was a resounding explosion. The sound was like a thunderp that swept out in all directions. A portion of the Skyfall Cascade was even swept aside by a giant wave that destroyed the shore.

    Countless spectators were stunned by the giant explosion, and they looked over at the corresponding screen in shock.

    Within the clock, Ling Que was bleeding from his seven orifices, and he opened his mouth wide to withstand the noise. His Que''s Mighty sh continued to revolve around his body, as this was his best defense. As soon as he heard those words, he knew that he was in trouble. This time, he hade to the Starfall Sea with the primary objective of challenging a specific person: Cheng Wu, ranked sixty ninth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Someone had seen Cheng Wu in the Starfall Sea, which had led to Ling Queing as well. Cheng Wu¡¯s most famous skill was his Thunder Punch.

    Ling Que had thought that he would only be able to battle against this person after the selection ended, but surprisingly, he had been struck by his signature skill after falling for Cheng Wu¡¯s innate gift, which was therge clock that had trapped Ling Que. The clock was a sealed space, and it multiplied the intensity of the sound within it multiple times. Ling Que had been caught unprepared, and suffering from the entirety of Cheng Wu¡¯s strongest attack.

    Within the clock, the sound waves reverberated ceaselessly, and Ling Que¡¯s brain almost exploded. He spat out blood as his eyes turned scarlet. He roared again, and his Que''s Mighty sh sliced through the void before colliding with therge clock. However, the de just could not break it. Behind him, Cheng Wu raised a hand once again. ¡°Thun-der-Punch.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t stop there, huh?¡± Ling Que spoke furiously, but he did not hesitate at all to attack the ground beneath the water, escaping downwards.

 Chapter 449: A Fierce Battle

    <h4>Chapter 449: A Fierce Battle</h4>

    Cheng Wu aimed his fist at the bottom of the river. The impact caused sound waves to radiate outwards, distorting the void and almost tearing right through it.

    The sound waves were so intense that they could be seen by the naked eye. It once again caused the nearby section of the Skyfall Cascade to break apart into multiple streams. The water in the cascade even started to flow backwards, in the direction that it had been split.

    Ling Que was forced out from the ground, and he spat out another mouthful of blood as he did so. He gritted his teeth angrily as he stared at Cheng Wu. Right in front of his face, his Que''s Mighty sh constantly flickered about, appearing and disappearing from time to time.

    Many people were watching on, dumbfounded. It was easy to recognize Cheng Wu since he was the only one in the Top 100 Rankings whose innate gift was a clock. Since this clock had been able to trap Ling Que, many people had instantly thought of Cheng Wu.

    Nobody expected that the person ranked sixty ninth in the Top 100 Rankings would suddenly appear in this event, let alone for him to give Ling Que this harsh of a beating. This unforeseen event was something that drew the attention of even Mu Rong and Lu Yin.

    Hai Dashao had a calm look on his face. He had expected Cheng Wu to be the most powerful person who was ascending the Skyfall Cascade.

    Ling Que panted heavily, his head suffering from a rumbling pain. This asshole had attacked him without any warning! How despicable.

    Cheng Wu raised a fist for the third time as he stared at Ling Que.

    Ling Que¡¯s heart rate spiked. ¡°Wait! You attacked me by surprise. Give me some time to prepare if you¡¯re a real man!¡±

    Cheng Wupletely ignored Ling Que and struck down with his fully powered fists.

    Ling Que felt helpless; the previous two attacks had left him injured, and he was forced to recognize the disparity between him and Cheng Wu. While Ling Que possessed powerful innate gifts, the only move that Cheng Wu had used so far was his Thunder Punch, but just that alone was enough to restrain Ling Que. That,bined with Cheng Wu¡¯s clock, which possessed great defensive capabilities, and his power level of around 40,000, meant that Ling Que stood no chance against him, even if he utilized the Soulsplitting Technique that the Lingling n was renowned for.

    ¡°Hello? Who is this? What did you say? Repeat yourself¡ªdid someone dare toe and provoke the Lingling n? Alright then, wait for me to return to take care of it!¡± Ling Que suddenly yelled into his personal gadget. He then hopped onto the shore and stared at Cheng Wu as he shouted, ¡°I have something urgent I have to attend to now. Wait for my return, and I¡¯ll pay you back for those two surprise attacks.¡± After he was done speaking, he fled.

    The entire Sea King''s Dome fell silent; this was the best that the Lingling n had to offer? The unbeatable Ling Que who had unparalleled innate gifts? He had been defeated so easily.

    Cheng Wu was stunned as well. He had never, ever achieved such an easy victory before.

    Hai Dashao became a bit angry. That little hoodlum had dragged down the standards of this event. First, it had been his paid groupies, and now, it was his shameless escape. He would not let this issue end like this.

    Starsibyl had a vague smile on her face. ¡°What an interesting personality he has. I wonder what Ling Gong will do after seeing this.¡±

    ¡°Die of anger,¡± Hai Dashao said unceremoniously.

    ¡­

    ¡°Sister Qi, that Cheng Wu fellow really is something,¡± a maid praised in admiration.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Walking around with a clock is basically hastening the death of a loved one. How inauspicious.¡±

    The maid fell silent.

    Ling Que¡¯s hasty escape seemed to register something in Lan Yu¡¯s mind. He immediately tried to escape from Mu Rong and head for the top. However, he was stopped by Mu Rong yet again.

    Soon after that, Lu Yin approached the top of Skyfall Cascade. At this time, Lan Yu had already been defeated and swept off of the Skyfall Cascade.

    People started gathering from all directions in front of the sluice gate at the top of the Skyfall Cascades.

    In the waterfall to the north, there was no one topete with Faceless Man. Or rather, it might be more urate to say that they had all been eliminated by him.

    In the northwest, Qin Chen and the man with the innate gift of frost had arrived at the top of their cascade first. They had run into some formidable foes, but the duo had quickly defeated them all. Now, they were the only ones left on that Skyfall Cascade.

    In the southwest, Zhang Dingtian, otherwise known as Lan Dao, was first to arrive at the sluice gate. The powerfulpetitors who had rushed ahead of him had already all been defeated. Closely following behind him was Mu Rong.

    On the northeastern waterfall, there was a powerful Explorer as well as Cheng Wu there, and they both were gradually making their way to the top.

    At the southeastern cascade, there was only Lu Yin and a man with a pitch-ck tattoo on his face remaining. However, at this point of time, the tattooed individual looked at Lu Yin with a hint of fear on his face. ¡°Something is strange about this sluice gate. Let¡¯s team up to open it.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the sluice gate and moved straight ahead. The tattooed man felt his heart start to race. ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going over to take a look. Why? Are you going to stop me?¡± Lu Yin asked in a rather uncourteous tone.

    There was an uncertain look in the tattooed man¡¯s eyes. He had seen how Lu Yin battled, and even though he knew that he was more powerful than some of the other participants, he was aware that it wasn¡¯t by much. Furthermore, he was injured, and he knew that he was no match for Lu Yin right now. He started racking his brains for ideas. His first thought had been to get a head start, and after arriving at the sluice gate, team up some of the other skilled challengers to fight against Lu Yin. However, that n had failed since he had not been able to open the damn gate.

    As he watched Lu Yin get closer to the gate, a ruthless glint entered the tattooed man¡¯s eyes. He decided to attack immediately, betting on a wild hope that Lu Yin might also have been injured.

    A minuteter, Lu Yin was the lone figure standing in front of the sluice gate. The tattooed man from earlier was currently floating downstream along the Skyfall Cascade. He had merely passed out and not died.

    Lu Yin ced both hands against the sluice gate and pushed hard, but it did not budge. After some careful observation, he came to the conclusion that the only way to open this gate was by pushing it, but the strength that he had just used was clearly not enough. With that in mind, he immediately used the force of Twenty Stacks, but there was still no reaction.

    He raised his head to look at the screens. He saw that Faceless had also been standing in front of a gate for quite some time now, but he was also unable to open it.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, the location of the Sea King¡¯s Trident most likely has some kind of prerequisite condition that has to be met before it can be essed. I¡¯m betting that this gate will only open after those conditions are met. Only then will this gate allow us to pass onto the next stage,¡± the monkey guessed.

    ¡°What condition?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey made an educated guess, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that only one person will be allowed to pass through from each of the Skyfall Cascades. If the numbers don¡¯t match up, then it will be impossible to open any of the gates.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with the monkey¡¯s guess, and he turned his gaze towards the southwestern Skyfall Cascade. That was where Mu Rong was closing in on Zhang Dingtian.

    If there could only be one victor for each stream, Lu Yin hoped that it would be Zhang Dingtian. However, he knew that such an oue was not likely. Mu Rong had been viewed favorably by the Ten Arbiters Council for a long time. Lu Yin had also witnessed Mu Rong¡¯s power earlier, and he could only describe it as being unfathomable. It was virtually impossible for Zhang Dingtian to win against someone who was hailed as an unequalled Limiteer.

    As the two individuals drew closer to each other, Zhang Dingtian, who enjoyed the high ground, raised his de in an upright position. His eyes showed his eagerness to do battle, and his hands kept a tight grip on his de.

    Mu Rong twirled his wooden flute around his hands as he moved closer. Mu Rong was much more cautious of Zhang Dingtian than he had been of Lan Yu. People with such firm conviction and fervent spirits were often the most difficult to fight. No one knew when such individuals would disy rming feats of power.

    Although both men were Limiteers, they were also both exceptional experts in the eyes of others. This battle had garnered even more anticipation than many battles between Explorers or Cruisers.

    When the two of them were a thousand meters from each other, they both started charging at each other simultaneously. The glint of a sword shed as Zhang Dingtian sliced out horizontally with his de. It shed through the void and left a visible distortion in space where it traveled. Mo Rong spun the wooden flute in his hand around and redirected the sword towards the bank of the cascade.

    The shore of the stream was split into two again, and the huge gap caused the water to ssh out before slowly spreading further.

    The next moment, both men facing each other along a narrow path. Zhang Dingtian struck out with his sword once more, and though it no longer contained its previous sheen, it felt even more perilous to Mu Rong. While attacking, Zhang Dingtian was actively restraining the power of his sword and only fully unleashed it when it made contact. The edge of his sword carried the converged full power of the weapon, and right now, the void distorted whenever the edge of the sword passed through it.

    This attack, despite not covering the area of a domain, still enveloped a significant region. It was an attack that even Cruisers would struggle to evade.

    However, Mu Rong had no intention of dodging. In fact, this sword attack caused him to be even more excited about this battle.

    The sword edge shed against the wooden flute atop the Skyfall Cascade. In that instance, everyone witnessed a white glow contorting within the void before spreading out. Ripples appeared within the void, and a portion of the Skyfall Cascade vanished. The ripples from the battle spread further out until it reached the river bank, causing this area of the Skyfall Cascade to be greatly erged.

    Many people present could not determine if it was a strong gale or waves of sword qi that had crashed into the cascade banks and pierced the ground. It was fortunate that they had allnded on the midpoint of the mountain and that there was no one in close by. Otherwise, the aftershock definitely would have killed a bunch of people.

    Boom!

    With a thunderous sound, both the men plunged to the bottom of the waterway. The water in this section of the cascade waspletely sted away, and the two men shed even as the murky sediment at the bottom obstructed them. After a moment, another white ripple spread out. Since the sh had taken ce underwater this time, the Skyfall Cascade was split in two.

    With his wooden flute in his hand, Mu Rong pushed Zhang Dingtian towards the top of the Skyfall Cascade. Everyone watched on with bated breath; was this really a battle between two Limiteers? Since the space around the Skyfall Cascades had been reinforced, the various battles so far had not contained many visual effects to wow the spectators. Despite that, everyone could sense the terrifying power level that the two men possessed.

    Lu Yin looked at the screen; it was clear to him that Zhang Dingtian was suffering from the disadvantage in this exchange. Mu Rong was just too strong, and if Lu Yin was not wrong, Mu Rong had used a battle technique to evade both Zhang Dingtian and Lan Yu¡¯s attacks earlier. It seemed to be a formidable battle technique that helped him evade attacks from those whose strength was near what Mu Rong possessed. Furthermore, since Mu Rong had been able to match Zhang Dingtian¡¯s attacks with his own, it showed that even when there were not any battle techniques in y, Mu Rong still possessed impressive personal skill. Although Mu Rong looked deceptively weak, he possessed an unimaginable destructive strength.

    However, what scared Lu Yin the most was that wooden flute. A wooden flute should be used to y music, not to sh against a sword. Mu Rong still had not disyed his full strength yet.

    Atop this Skyfall Cascade, Zhang Dingtian was very close to Mu Rong. The long sword in his hand was no match for Mu Rong¡¯s strength, but Zhang Dingtian had an excited look in his eyes; this was a top-tierpetitor¡ªa Limiteer just like himself. Ever since Zhang Dingtian had made a name for himself in the Grayweed Continent, he had yet to meet such a challenging opponent within the same realm as him. He raised his eyes, and his gaze darted across the screens before finally stopping at the screen that showed the northeastern Skyfall Cascade, where Lu Yin was standing before the sluice gate.

    Lu Yin was not mistaken; this man was indeed Zhang Dingtian, though he was now using the name of Lan Dao. Zhang Dingtian knew that Lu Yin was here as soon as he had arrived at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, but he had not reached out to Lu Yin since he wanted to meet him during battle. Zhang Dingtian would never forget the moment back in the Great Yu Empire when Lu Yin had entered the Astral Combat Academy. Zhang Dingtian had only been able to watch on as a bystander while Lu Yin slowly scaled the ranks, from the Astral Combat Tournament to the Tournament of the Strongest. All of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments had been witnessed by Zhang Dingtian.

    No one could understand how unresigned he had been to the fate of watching Lu Yin climb to the apex. They had left Earth at the same time, but they were still worlds apart in terms of aplishments. This was something that Zhang Dingtian just could not ept; and yet, he felt no jealousy nor resentment towards Lu Yin. Instead, he steadfastly chose to focus on improving his own abilities. He had realized his dream at this moment by finally earning the chance and the right to be on the same tform as Lu Yin. This was not a chance he was willing to give up on.

    Crunch!

    Cracks suddenly started to appear on his sword, and Zhang Dingtian¡¯s pupils shrank as he looked at Mu Rong. With a calm look in his eyes, Mu Rong exerted even more force through the wooden flute, causing the cracks in Zhang Dingtian¡¯s sword to spread.

    Zhang Dingtian loss would be sealed if his sword broke.

    With a cold look in his eyes, a dark gold glimmer started to appear, and it sheathed the sword, reinforcing it.

    ¡°Five-lined battle force! It¡¯s five-lined battle force!¡± someone eximed.

    The Sea King''s Dome was suddenly sent into a frenzy. It was extremely rare for someone at such a tender age toprehend five-lined battle force, and this matter shocked even Hai Dashao. To date, the only individual known to have achieved five-lined battle force at such an age was Lu Yin. Even Lan Yu had only managed toprehend four-lined battle force so far. But now, there was a second person who had achieved such a feat.

    ¡°Is he the exception you were referring to?¡± Hai Daoshao asked Starsibyl, his eyes full of longing.

    When she saw Hai Dashao¡¯s gaze, Starsibyl smiled in reply. ¡°Are you hoping for me to tell you that he is the one?¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s gaze red for a moment before returning back to normal.

    ¡°It looks like you rather admire him,¡± Starsibyl casually .

    Hai Dashao remained silent.

 Chapter 450: Unequalled Status

    <h4>Chapter 450: Unequalled Status</h4>

    Starsibyl did not say anything else. Although Zhang Dingtian¡¯s performance was extraordinary, his opponent was Mu Rong, who was unequalled within the Limiteer realm. That designation had not been made by just one Arbiter, and even she had to acknowledge his power. Mu Rong¡¯s power fundamentally exceeded the Limiteer realm.

    Now that Zhang Dingtian¡¯s long de was supported by his battle force, he was able to withstand Mu Rong¡¯s blow. The tip of the de spun and sliced out in an instant, but Mu Rong leaped up to avoid the de while his wooden flute tapped towards Zhang Dingtian¡¯s skull. The swordsman raised a hand to grab the wooden flute, and with the support of his five-lined battle force, his strength surpassed the limits of what Mu Rong could bear. The de in Zhang Dingtian¡¯s right hand rose up as he firmly shed out. He knew that Mu Rong had not used his full power yet, but that didn¡¯t stop Zhang Dingtian from putting his all into this attack.

    Now that Zhang Dingtian had grabbed the wooden flute, Mu Rong only had two options avable. He could either abandon his flute and dodge the approaching sword, or he could attempt to forcibly withstand the attack.

    In the end, he decided to take the second option. Mu Rong made no attempts to evade the sword.

    Zhang Dingtian had survived countless battlefields. He had started off as a soldier on Earth, and he was not afraid of death or massacres. His de ruthlessly struck out, causing many to feel numb since it gave off an impression of being unblockable. Would Mu Rong die here at the Sea King''s Dome?

    Whoosh!

    Shockwaves rippled out in all directions, and the water beneath Mu Rong and Zhang Dingtian¡¯s feet was repulsed by the sheer force. Zhang Dingtian¡¯s de stopped less than a centimeter from Mu Rong¡¯s head, at which point it could not move any further. Additionally, the void in that area had gone deathly silent. A bizarre phenomenon had emerged; right beneath the twobatants¡¯ feet, within one of the Skyfall Cascades, green grass appeared as the vague image of a farmer boy herding cattle appeared in the void.

    Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at this scene. What was this?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was a forcefield, which could only be disyed after oneprehended their domain to a certain degree, and they were able to alter the natural environment. During the Tournament of the Strongest, a woman named Zi Jun, who was from the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Longevity Brigade, had revealed a forcefield, one which allowed her to change the environment around her into a jade color. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword was capable of a simr feat, but there were too few people who could reach such a stage. Lu Yin himself had made zero headway in this matter, but now, Mu Rong was disying such an impressive ability.

    Though both of them hadprehended forcefields, Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield was clearly much stronger than Zi Jun¡¯s. His forcefield even had a faint image of a farmer boy and cattle within a picturesque greenndscape, and the image almost seemed alive. This was a level of a domain that Lu Yin could not understand.

    It wasn¡¯t only Lu Yin who was lost; Zhang Dingtian simrly could not understand this forcefield. His de had just been blocked by an imperceptible strength.

    Suddenly, the wooden flute shook, causing Zhang Dingtian to lose his grip and retreat several steps back. A crack sounded out from his long de, and Mu Rong¡¯s wooden flute was pressed up against his chest before he could react. ¡°You¡¯re very strong to be able to reach such a step.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian still wanted to retaliate with his broken de, but he discovered to his shock that he waspletely suppressed within this space.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Mu Rong looked at Zhang Dingtian seriously.

    ¡°Zhang Dingtian.¡±

    Mu Rong had a solemn expression. ¡°I¡¯ll remember it.¡±

    He then exerted some strength through the wooden flute and sent Zhang Dingtian rapidly flying away. He was flung towards the bank of the waterway, crashnding in a mountain before finally falling into a field.

    Everyone in the Sea King''s Dome watched the scene unfold. They had assumed that Mu Rong was in a crisis, but the final oue was very different from their expectations. Zhang Dingtian was exceptionally powerful, and he clearly surpassed Lan Yu, but he had still been powerless before Mu Rong. The more strength that Zhang Dingtian revealed, the stronger Mu Rong seemed to be.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned grave; Mu Rong would be a formidable opponent, the likes of whom he had not encountered before. Just like Tian Hou, Mu Rong was on another extreme levelpared to his peers.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I never thought that there could be another Limiteer who could still threaten you. This person is scary!¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze and looked at Zhang Dingtian. Fortunately, even though his oldrade had suffered severe injuries, he was still conscious. He was looking at his broken de and seemed to be considering his options.

    In a hidden area of the Sea King''s Dome, Ling Que had a simrly grave face. A re ofpetitiveness appeared in his eyes; he was not convinced of Mu Rong¡¯s strength and truly wished to fight against him. Unfortunately, Ling Que had left the selection earlier than he had expected.

    All eyes were currently focused on Mu Rong, as he was the most dazzling participant up to this point. Even when Faceless, Qin Chen, Cheng Wu, or even Xun Jiong¡¯s group were taken into consideration, everyone was overshadowed by the strength that Mu Rong had just revealed.

    Even Hai Qiqi was stunned. ¡°What a powerful farmer.¡±

    The maid behind hesitated, ¡°Sister Qi, he¡¯s Mu Rong, not a farmer.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°He carries a flute and herds livestock. What is he if not a farmer?¡±

    The maid had noeback.

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    At the middle section of the mountain, the cheerleaders became even more energetic. Although they could not climb up and get any closer to Mu Rong, they were even more dazzling right now. Things had developed to the point where some of the screens were even providing closeup shots of the cheerleaders.

    The Skyfall Cascade returned to normal, and the water roared as it continued flowing down. Mu Rong stood above the water and looked at the screen, specifically at Qin Chen and Faceless. Then, he calmly turned around and headed towards the top of the mountain.

    From start to end, he had never even spared a nce for Lu Yin. It appeared that he could not be bothered to acknowledge either Lu Yin or Ling Que.

    Hai Dashao looked appreciatively at Mu Rong; once this person became an Explorer, he would immediately enter the very top of the Top 100 Rankings. Hai Dashao could not even guess what the limits of this person were , and he deserved his title of an unequaled Limiteer.

    If this person pulled out the Sea King''s Trident, then Hai Dashao would not oppose it. Could Starsibyl¡¯s exception be this person?

    Hai Dashao himself was not aware that even though he had repeatedly stated that he did not care about Starsibyl¡¯s divinations, deep down, he truly cared about the so-called ¡°unexpected oue¡± would be, which was a sign of his increasing belief in Starsibyl¡¯s abilities.

    Mu Rong had beaten Zhang Dingtian. As a result, he was the only person left on the southwestern Skyfall Cascade.

    At this point, on the five cascades, only the northwestern Skyfall Cascade still had two participants remaining: Qin Chen and the man with the innate gift of frost. Everyone turned their attention towards the screens showing those two.

    No one here was a fool. Since even Faceless was unable to open the sluice gate, the only possible exnation was that the conditions to open the gates had not been met yet. Those conditions should be for there to only be one person from each of the cascades at the top of the waterways.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Qin Chen asked the cold-looking man in front of him. Even when he racked his brain about all the experts on the Top 100 Rankings, he couldn¡¯t remember anyone who matched this person¡¯s characteristics. This person was no weaker than Qin Chen himself, so if he was not a part of the Top 100 Rankings, it meant that he was a hidden powerhouse who had never made an appearance before.

    The cold man replied, ¡°Che Han.¡±

    Qin Chen was bbergasted as he had indeed never heard this name before; this person was a genuine hidden expert. The universe was toorge, and the Top 100 Rankings did not include all the experts, so it was not too surprising that a hidden expert that could rival the Top 100 existed.

    ¡°Between you and me, only one of us can remain,¡± Qin Chen said in a low tone.

    Che Han hefted his long spear. ¡°I won¡¯t lose.¡±

    Qin Chen¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I won¡¯t, either.¡±

    Then, his star energy morphed into an inescapable that moved to envelop Che Han.

    Che Han had assumed that his spear would be able to pierce through the yet again, but Qin Chen had alreadye up with a response: a series of continuouss. However, Che Han raised his spear upright and ced it beside him, causing a cold pulse of ice to suddenly burst forth from his body in the shape of mes. The ice engulfed everything around him and was much stronger than any power he had previously disyed.

    Such a powerful frost energy stunned Qin Chen, and his was frozen in an instant. The frost continued moving along the lines of star energy that connected the trap to Qin Chen¡¯s body, forcing Qin Chen to immediately sever the star energy and retreat as fast as he could. Beneath him, the Skyfall Cascade¡¯s water rapidly froze, while at the same time, Qin Chen¡¯s face turned pale; the blood in his body had nearly froze over as well.

    Che Han grabbed the spear and stabbed out once more as the five ringed pattern appeared at the speartip again. Qin Chen continued backing away, as he had carelessly assumed that Che Han¡¯s innate gift would not be this powerful. His mistake hadnded him in his current disadvantageous position. It would take him at least a minute to dispel the frost that had invaded his body, so he could only endure Che Han¡¯s attacks for a minute.

    Che Han had a deeper understanding of how frost affected bodies than most. When he saw Qin Chen¡¯s expression, he knew that his opponent had been afflicted with severe frostbite, and that the frost was spreading at a much quicker rate than before. After making this judgement, Che Han¡¯s spear lit up with a cold aura that took on the shape of mes. This visual struck fear in the audience¡¯s hearts, and even Qin Chen knew that he would find it hard to go on.

    Based on absolute power level, Qin Chen was actually weaker than Che Han, who was a peak Explorer who would break through to the Cruiser realm with just one more step. This was why Che Han was currently holding the advantage. Qin Chen¡¯s had also been countered by Che Han¡¯s innate gift, and everyone felt that Qin Chen¡¯s defeat was just a matter of time.

    No one could have imagined that Qin Chen, who had been given the highest odds of sess in the overall selection, would not even be able to pass the sluice gate.

    No one in the Sea King''s Dome had thought that this would happen. Many people immediately tried to search for more information on Che Han¡¯s background, but they all found nothing.

    Northgate Lie stared at Che Han; he had originally wanted to defeat Qin Chen, but his target had suddenly changed. He now wanted to experience this person¡¯s innate gift.

    ¡°Sister was right. There are many people who are not listed within the Top 100 Rankings yet are no weaker than those who are,¡± Michelle muttered to herself as she looked at Che Han on the screen.

    Little Pao nodded. ¡°Mentor has said that the universe is too big. Even in just the Outerverse, there are hidden experts.¡±

    He then looked over at Bo Junior in the distance, and hatred appeared in his eyes. That person was like a viper. He had locked onto the brothers the moment he had arrived at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. However, there was a low probability that Bo Junior could actually capture them, as the Pao brothers had removed the tracker from their bodies a few days ago.

    At the northwestern Skyfall Cascade, Qin Chen¡¯s defense eventually fell apart under the onught of Che Han¡¯s attack. The coldness with the appearance of mes filled the air, and the froze the moment the strange cold aura appeared. The frost continued to invade Qin Chen¡¯s body by traveling back through his star energy, which forced him to not use his Inescapable Net anymore. His most powerful battle technique had been sealed away, and Che Han was using his spear to beat Qin Chen silly. He was sent flying backwards by a single strike, and he spat out a mouthful of blood when he raised his head in shock.

    Che Hanshed out with his spear once again, and the frost rose sharply as the rest of the Skyfall Cascade started to freeze. Qin Chen stared closely at the speartip, and his eyes suddenly went wide when the tip was only about a meter away from him. He pped both of his hands together, causing an enormous that covered both banks of the waterway and enveloped the entire area to appear. This was the true Inescapable Net.

    The frost rose like smoke, but it was obstructed by the Inescapable Net this time. Although the still started freezing over, it did not happen as quickly as before. Qin Chen had been hiding his strength all along.

    This was the second time he was shing against Che Han, and he was fully aware that he was at a disadvantage. He hadid out his Inescapable Net step by step, and as long as itpletely contracted, it could entrap Che Han within it and disy its most powerful strength.

    However, there was one thing that Qin Chen had not considered¡ªhad Che Han used his full strength? This was answered when his Inescapable Net was broken by the frostme, which even had a ceramic luster to it at this point. This was Firess Frost, which was Che Han¡¯s innate gift and also the manifestation of his power as the strongest member of the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s younger generation.

    The Firess Frost directly smashed into Qin Chen¡¯s Inescapable Net while the ice with the strange luster moved towards Qin Chen¡¯s direction, whose eyes shrank as he leaped towards the shore, panting heavily.

    Moving to the bank of the waterways was akin to admitting defeat. The Firess Frost stopped and gradually dissipated before the Skyfall Cascade bubbled and started flowing once again.

    There was only one person remaining on the northwestern Skyfall Cascade now: Che Han.

 Chapter 451: Tease

    <h4>Chapter 451: Tease</h4>

    Mu Rong¡¯s battle with Zhang Dingtian shocked the onlookers with their sheer strength while Qin Chen¡¯s battle with Che Han shocked them due to the contrasting reputations. Qin Chen was ranked eighty eighth on the rankings, but Che Han was unranked. This meant that a nobody had just created a miracle. Although such an incident did not call the validity of the Top 100 Rankings into question, it showed many just how vast the universe was and that not every powerhouse had a reputation that matched their skills.

    There was another matter as well; now that Che Han had defeated Qin Chen, he had reced Qin Chen at the eighty eighth rank. When the list was updated, those behind Che Han would be pushed back by one, and the person ranked at a hundred would be kicked off of the list.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel like the most miserable person must be the one ranked 100<sup>th</sup>. No matter whatever happens in front of him, that person will be gone. Don¡¯t you think that they must live a miserable life, day after day?¡± The Ghost Monkey found it strange.

    Lu Yin looked at Che Han on one of the screens. He had clearly seen the previous battle, and he had also seen a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms. This Che Han was from the Royal Frost Continent, but Lu Yin had thought that the people there never interacted with the outside world. So why had this person appeared here now? Also, there was no way that this person¡¯s status within the Royal Frost Continent was simple either.

    Five Skyfall Cascades meant the birth of five powerhouses, and everyone looked on expectantly, as this final exchange was the most awaited one.

    Starsibyl¡¯s gaze was deep. She looked at the sky, but it was unknown whom she was looking at.

    Hai Dashao was not satisfied with any of the final five participants, as he had been the most pleased with Zhang Dingtian and Qin Chen. However, they had both been defeated. There was always someone stronger no matter how powerful one became.

    As Che Han walked towards the gate, all of the Skyfall Cascades¡¯ sluice gates rumbled simultaneously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he raised a hand to exert a bit of force on the gate. The gate released a grinding sound, but it could move now. His eyes narrowed, and he used more strength, trying to force the gate open. Behind the gate were five canals that converged at the Sea King''s Trident. Whoever pulled it out would be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    The truepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw had begun at this moment.

    But everyone seemed to have forgotten that the people who were climbing up the Skyfall Cascades were just those who had qualified through their strength. There was actually still another batch of participants who had qualified through their good looks. The moment the sluice gates opened, the people who were a part of that second group received a notification. They all moved to a teleportation device that was right beside theke where they were gathered.

    Xun Jiong felt excited, as it was finally their turn to take to the stage. He was very confident in his looks, and as long as he received the Sea King''s daughter¡¯s admiration, the Xun family¡¯s status in the universe would undergo a tremendous change. He had to put on a good performance, and the thought of the potential future caused his lips to naturally rise into a dazzling smile that could enchant thousands of girls.

    Nearby, Hart Phoenix was a bit nervous since he did not know if he could capture the Sea King''s daughter¡¯s heart, what she looked like, or even if his elder brother would me him if he failed here. Looks could not be changed, though Hart Phoenix was truthfully very handsome.

    Xia Luo was much more rxed, as he had never intended on marrying the Sea King''s daughter in the first ce. He maintained his peaceful demeanor, and everything about him was calm.

    Many good-looking men were gathered beside theke. There were a few dozen of them, far more than the number of people who had qualified through their strength.

    Hai Qiqi looked at the screen expectantly while the four maids behind her also looked on eagerly. All of the men on the screen were handsomeds, and the group was visually stunning.

    ¡°Sister Qi, show some mercy with your words. They are very handsome!¡± one maid was smitten.

    The other maids nodded, simrly in agreement.

    Hai Qiqi snorted. ¡°As long as they are unattractive, clear them out. This princess doesn¡¯t care. Who asked them to be ugly and still dare toe out and scare others.¡±

    The maids felt helpless.

    However, Hai Qiqi and the others continued waiting, but not a single person arrived. Instead, these handsome figures appeared not far from the Sea King''s Trident, behind the sluice gates of the Skyfall Cascade.

    Everyone was stunned, including Hai Qiqi.

    What¡¯s going on? Xun Jiong looked around him before suddenly turning to face the other direction. It was then that he saw the Sea King''s Trident a hundred meters away from him. He had a bad feeling; where was the supposedpetition of their looks going to take ce?

    Xia Luo was astonished, but he merely blinked as his lips rose up in a smile. Interesting.

    The handsome man who Lu Yin had encountered on the ship while they were sailing to the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s felt his heart sink, and his face slowly paled. He was not stupid, and was a horrible premonition surfaced in his heart.

    These pretty boys had appeared in a very awkward location: right between the Sea King''s Trident and the five freaks who had just passed through the sluice gates. The freaks¡¯ target was precisely the Sea King''s Trident, and what would they do to get to the trident? Clear out all obstacles. In other words, the group of eye candy was about to face off against the five freaks.

    ¡°Wha- what¡¯s going on? Are we supposed to try to pull the Sea King''s Trident out as well? Is this a joke?¡± someone shouted, as he was just a mere Sentinel. His difficultyy in not whether or not he could pull out the Sea King''s Trident, but rather whether he could even hold it.

    Many of these pretty boys did not have a deep cultivation. Of course, there were those who were slightly stronger, such as Xun Jiong, who was a Limiteer, and an elite Limiteer at that. However, the word ¡°elite¡± was only in reference to average cultivators, not the people currently in front of them. Who were they? Freaks! Freaks among freaks!

    Hart Phoenix took a deep breath; the Phoenix family did not shy from battle, not even when against a monster like Lu Yin.

    ¡°Brother, what¡¯s happening? Wasn¡¯t it agreed that I could pick a handsome man? Why did things change?!¡± Hai Qiqi shouted into her gadget.

    At the edge of the Skyfall Cascade, Hai Dashao pursed his lips and instantly disconnected without even replying. What a joke! How could a super powerhouse such as the Sea King select a son-inw based purely on their physical appearance? Being attractive without having any power was no different than being a straw bag. Even if he was nothing more than a manservant for Qiqi to order about and enjoy, such a person had to have some power. Otherwise, their family would be aughingstock!

    Starsibyl was not surprised, and she interestedly looked at the group of handsome men gathered beside the Sea King''s Trident. It went without saying that when these people all stood together, it was indeed rather pleasing to a female¡¯s eyes.

    Countless people in the Sea King''s Dome were also stunned, as the scene had changed too drastically, to the point where they could not even ept the situation. How badly did the Sea King hate handsome people for him to have prepared this trick for them? However, countless people were cheering at this moment, especially the men. No one would feel good if one of these good-looking people became Sea King¡¯s son-inw just based off of their looks. After all, what use did a pretty boy have? Many people preferred for one of the five monsters to be chosen.

    Big Pao nearly set off firecrackers in celebration, as his confidence in his own looks had been trampled upon during the verbalshing he had received at the entrance of the Starfall Sea. But now that these handsome men had been made fools of, he was extremely happy.

    Michelle and the rest were all stunned as well. The Sea King truly knew how to fool around, and these pretty boys¡¯ must have reached the pits of despair now.

    Indeed, the current Xun Jiong felt a little hopeless, as the Xun family regarded thispetition for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw quite highly. As long as he was selected to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, the Xun family would be able to break away from the Daynight n¡¯s clutches. However, all of these hopes were dashed with this development, as one figure slowly walked over: Lu Yin.

    A smile crept onto Lu Yin¡¯s face when he saw Xun Jiong. It almost felt fated that they would meet, even in distant areas of the universe.

    There was a cry as a dashing man suddenly charged towards the Sea King''s Trident, his gaze firm. He was one of the rare Explorers in the group of pretty boys, and as long as he pulled out the spear, he would be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Thus, in his mind, there was no need topete against those freaks.

    Quite a few others came to their senses and hurriedly rushed over as well.

    However, right when they drew close to the Sea King''s Trident, the atmosphere suddenly became iparably heavy as the void distorted visibly. The group of handsome people who had charged forward were thrown backwards by an invisible attack, and countless wounds appeared on their bodies that perfectly resembled gunshot wounds.

    Everyone shivered with fright, as the Sea King''s Trident was not something that could be easily pulled out.

    Hundreds of meters away from the Sea King''s Trident, Faceless, Che Han, Mu Rong, Cheng Wu, and Lu Yin stood in five different directions. Each took one side as they faced both the Sea King''s Trident and the stunning men.

    The eye candy looked like a herd of sheep that was surrounded by tigers, their eyes filled with helplessness.

    Truthfully, there were some powerhouses who were both attractive and powerful, such as Ling Que and Mu Rong. However, the truly powerful ones could not be bothered to qualify through their looks, and they had all barged up the Skyfall Cascades. This meant that the visual disparity between the handsome group and the monstrous five was not too great.

    Their backs were to the Sea King''s Trident while in front of them were the five freaks. This was an inescapable situation.

    Lu Yin felt his respect for the Sea King increase by a thousand points, and he really wanted to see him. He was very curious about how ugly the man had to be, for him toe up with such a twisted prank for these poor, pretty fools.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, go on! Hehe. It must feel great to bully these delicate sheep.¡± The monkey urged with a strangeugh.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips quirked up as he stared at Xun Jiong. Then, he charged forward ferociously. His action was like a starting gun, and the other four all suddenly acted as well. In that instant, the crowd watched on as a disturbing scene unfolded. It was as if adults were ganging up to beat up little kids. Aside from a limited few who could endure a few strikes, the majority of the handsome men were directly sent flying.

    Lu Yin grabbed for Xun Jiong, whose eyes shrank. He had not brought the Gear Construction Technique¡¯s unique metal with him, so he could not exchange even a single blow with Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, please, everything was Xun Tao¡¯s schemes. The whole matter was entirely unrted to me. Please show some mercy to me for the sake of the Xun family¡¯s reputation.¡±

    Although the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection was not being broadcasted across the entire universe, if the scene of him being swatted into a sorry state was recorded and spread, it would still be a blemish in the future. Xun Jiong believed that he was destined for loftier aplishments, and there was no way he was willing to carry such a humiliation on his record.

    However, Lu Yin did not bother answering him. Instead, he gruffly grabbed Xun Jiong¡¯s shoulders and exerted some force through his palms. The sounds of breaking bones came out from Xun Jiong¡¯s shoulders, and he red at Lu Yin with vengeance in his eyes as heshed out with both palms. The star energy within Xu Jiong¡¯s hands morphed strangely, forming an abnormal round shape that suddenly exploded. This was the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique, which focused on expanding from a small size to a powerful attack through the assembly of refined star energy.

    Xun Jiong¡¯s power was pretty decent for a Limiteer, or else he would not have been qualified to participate in the Outerverse¡¯s trial in the past. However, the current disparity between him and Lu Yin was too great and his attack could not harm Lu Yin in the slightest. Lu Yin withstood the attack with just his body and his battle force. Then, he squeezed Xun Jiong¡¯s shoulders tighter until the Xun family heir was howling in grief as his shoulders broke.

    Lu Yin released him with a casual p, sending Xun Jiong flying across the area and crashing into the ground near the Sea King''s Trident.

    Lu Yin had thought things through, and he knew that openly killing Xun Jiong would provoke the Xun family. They were powerful, and he was unwilling to create a mortal feud with them. The hatred that he felt for Xun Jiong was not enough to push Lu Yin to kill the young man. However, if this person died from the Sea King''s Trident, then it would not be Lu Yin¡¯s fault. Although the Xun family would still me him, he would also have his own justifications to fall back upon.

    Xun Jiong felt half of his body go numb, but he could not escape. He could only look on, helpless, as he flew towards the Sea King''s Trident, only to be sent flying again after approaching within ten meters of the Sea King''s Trident. Xun Jiong spat out a mouthful of blood and crashnded in a distant canal, his status unknown. He fell into one of the Skyfall Cascades, and after the stream carried him along, he would eventually be found at the lower levels of the waterway.

    Atop the Sea King''s Dome, Xun Tao and the rest red furiously at Lu Yin before rushing for the lower regions of the mountain to look for Xun Jiong.

    ¡°Lu Yin, it¡¯s been a long time!¡± A golden colored Undying Bird soared behind Lu Yin right after he sent Xun Jiong flying. Hart Phoenix had never given up on his desire to challenge Lu Yin, and even in these current circumstances, he wanted to battle and prove his ambition. First, he wanted to satisfy his personal desire to fight Lu Yin, and secondly, the Sea King''s daughter might even be fond of people with zing determination.

 Chapter 452: In Front Of The Sea Kingâ€™s Trident

    <h4>Chapter 452: In Front Of The Sea King¡¯s Trident</h4>

    Lu Yin spun around to suddenly face Hart Phoenix. ¡°You have some balls to challenge me when you haven¡¯t even broken through to be a Limiteer.¡±

    Hart yelled out, ¡°It¡¯ll be more of a challenge this way!¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and curtly replied, ¡°You¡¯re just asking for a beating.¡±

    After saying that, Lu Yin stretched an arm out towards the gold-colored Undying Bird. Hart Phoenix did not expect that Lu Yin would use his bare hands to contest the Undying Bird¡¯s mes; that was simply courting death in his eyes. Lu Yin was up against the golden Undying Bird, the top innate gift of the Phoenix n, and its high temperatures were enough to melt anything in the bird¡¯s path. It was clearly a foolish decision to touch it with one¡¯s bare skin.

    Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, Sha had utilized abination of his domain and innate gift to freeze the golden Undying Bird. Back then, Hart Phoenix¡¯s understanding of his own power had not been as deep, as he was confident of defeating Sha now. As for someone using their bare body to contact the mes of the bird, just the idea wasughable. If the golden Undying Bird was something that could be handled in such a cavalier manner, the Phoenix n would not have be the terrifying force to be reckoned with that it was.

    And yet, Hart was destined to suffer a heavy loss this day. He had first been toyed with by the Sea King, and now, he was facing off against Lu Yin, whose actions managed to upend Hart¡¯s entire understanding of the world. That was because he sped the golden Undying Bird within his hand like a small chick before holding as if he was about to cast it aside like a piece of trash. ¡°Go and y somewhere else.¡±

    Hart¡¯s mouth dropped down, gaping wide open; why was this happening? Was Lu Yin¡¯s physical body really that strong? Hart was unresigned to the fact that Lu Yin could withstand the golden Undying Bird¡¯s me with his body, so he started preparing tounch a counter attack. However, the very next moment, a cold sensation filled his body. The golden Undying Bird had been frozen, and it fell onto the ground with a thud.

    Hart was dumbfounded. This time, his golden Undying Bird had been frozen by Che Han. When he saw his innate gift freeze over once again, Hart Phoenix was forced to question his life; why had his golden Undying Bird been frozen so easily?

    The frozen golden Undying Bird was reminiscent of an iparably beautiful art piece as it plummeted into the middle of the Skyfall Cascade. Hart soon followed, being washed away by the water just like Xun Jiong before him.

    Everyone fell speechless as they watched the events at the top of the Skyfall Cascade unfold. The sight of a handsome man being washed away by the river would entertain anyone. At the beginning of the selection, Lu Yin and the others had gathered at the middle of the mountain that was the Sea King''s Dome and then battled against each other as they slowly made their way up the Skyfall Cascades. This contrasted sharply against those people who had been given preferential treatment and taken straight up to the top level of the Sea King''s Dome. But now, they were all being wrung out of the mountain through the flowing waters of the Skyfall Cascades.

    It was theplete opposite of before, as the only thing that mattered now was one¡¯s personal strength.

    Many people were perplexed. What did the Sea King actually want? Had he ever been concerned about how attractive the potential groom was, or did he have some kind of vendetta against those who were too attractive? The entire matter was very strange, but one thing was certain; one¡¯s own abilities were still the most fundamental determiner.

    At the southwest section of the Skyfall Cascade, beside the water bank, Zhang Dingtian held his broken sword in his hand. As he raised his head and looked at the screens, another person was washed onto the shores of the river. Would Lu Yin be able to defeat Mu Rong? That was the question Zhang Dingtian was pondering.

    ¡°Xia Luo is in trouble! He¡¯s up against Mu Rong!¡± Little Pao yelled out with a terrified cry.

    Michelle and the others all looked in the same direction. Xia Luo was indeed getting closer to Mu Rong, and they were currently only merely three meters apart.

    Mu Rong did not go out of his way to attack Xun Jiong and the others, but he would attack whoever was in his path. And as it turned out, Xia Luo was standing right in front of Mu Rong with his back towards the unequaled Limiteer. Xia Luo was looking at Faceless, his eyes full of contemtion.

    Mu Rong raised his wooden flute and struck out, aiming at no particr target. Everyone had witnessed how powerful his wooden flute was, and even a random attack from it struck fear into the hearts of all who saw it.

    Xia Luo¡¯s expression changed when he sensed that something was amiss as he moved aside to evade it. Right in front of him, the wooden flute reappeared, headed straight for his upper arm. Mu Rong had not put much force behind this attack, and his attack could even be calledzy. Xia Luo responded in kind and dodged it without much effort, narrowly avoiding the wooden flute as he took a step back. He was not hurt in any way, aside from his cloak being slightly ruffled by the passing flute.

    Mu Rong was bbergasted. He immediately turned around and cast a stern look at Xia Luo. His attack had not merely been throwing the wooden flute, as he had also locked down the space around him since it was within the range of his domain. The fact that Xia Luo had been able to dodge it so easily caused Mu Rong to seriously reevaluate Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo spoke with a smile on his face. ¡°I am sorry for blocking your path.¡±

    Mu Rong scanned the man in front of him with his eyes and then stared cautiously at Xia Luo. His expression became increasingly astonished before he replied, ¡°I made an error in judgment. You are stronger than I had thought.¡±

    Xia Luo shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Still not as strong as you, though. Goodbye.¡± And with that, he turned around and left.

    Mu Rong did not stop him, but as he watched Xia Luo walk away, he had an irresolute look on his face; could his senses have been wrong? Mu Rong had felt his star energy being diffused earlier, and it had not been from some ordinary lockbreaking ability.

    Xia Luo and Mu Rong¡¯s brief skirmish had drawn the attention of many others, including Lu Yin. Xia Luo was truly strong if he could force even Mu Rong to take him seriously. Such a look on the unequalled Limiteer¡¯s face had only ever appeared when he faced off against Zhang Dingtian. Not even Lan Yu possessed the capability to force Mu Rong to be serious.

    Little Pao and the others heaved sighs of relief. It was a good thing that Xia Luo had not been embarrassedly thrown off of the mountain since they all had very good impressions of him. The man was kind to others, and although no one knew what he was ruminating about all the time, he did not give off a dangerous air. These qualities made him an ideal teammate.

    Xia Luo¡¯s distance from Mu Rong increased, but he did not leave the area within the sluice gates. Instead, he headed straight towards Faceless, the cold glint in his eyes condensing until it was a freezing look as he approached him. This cold re was directed away from the view of Lu Yin and the others, and only Faceless could see it.

    Faceless, with a swift attack from his sword, hacked at a handsome Explorer and forced him to the ground. With fresh blood sshing onto his feet, Faceless looked up as Xia Luo moved closer to him step by step. His ugly facial features were distorted, but his eyes remained calm.

    Xia Luo stared at the ugly man, his brows locked together. Although Lu Yin could not see it, Michelle and the others could see his expression on the screen. Xia Luo was showing an expression that they had never seen before.

    ¡°Hey, is Xia Luo really going to challenge this man to a fight? Even though that guy¡¯s really ugly, he¡¯s ranked seventy second in the Top 100 Rankings. That¡¯s even higher than Qin Chen¡¯s ranking!¡± Big Pao blurted out in an exaggerated fashion.

    Lulu clenched her fists tightly. ¡°Good luck, Xia Luo! Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    Coco was worried. She preemptively took out her giant syringe, obviously ready to heal someone at any given moment. However, her actions were in vain since she was not even allowed into the middle part of the mountain, let alone anywhere near the peak.

    At this moment, aside from Xia Luo, all of the other people who had gotten in due to their looks had been eliminated. There were now only six people in the area surrounding the Sea King¡¯s Trident, and Xia Luo was an anomaly.

    Among the six people, Che Han was the closest to the Sea King¡¯s Trident, merely thirteen meters away from it. Cheng Wu was the closest after Che Han while Lu Yin was more than a hundred meters away from both Cheng Wu and Che Han. However, Lu Yin was less than twenty meters away from Mu Rong.

    Mu Rong turned around and looked at Lu Yin before quickly redirecting his attention towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He still did not see Lu Yin as a serious threat. As far as he was concerned, this man was unlike Zhang Dingtian. Mu Rong had felt Zhang Dingtian¡¯s resolve and boldness the moment Zhang Dingtian drew his sword, but Mu Rong did not feel the same sort of resolveing from Lu Yin.

    Even though the two Limiteers had very simr reputations, Mu Rong was not the type of person who paid much attention to others¡¯ reputations. There were just too many people out there who fought for fame. Having said that, Mu Rong did not take Lu Yin lightly either, and he had to admit that Lu Yin was a worthy opponent. He might possess the same fighting strength as Zhang Dingtian, but he would not gain much from fighting someone at that level as victory would be nearly guaranteed.

    Among those with simr reputations, Ye Xingchen was the only one who interested Mu Rong. As a powerful Limiteer who dared to barge into the Cosmos Sea, his resolve and determination could only be that of an extraordinary person¡¯s.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I have this nagging feeling that that guy is looking down on you,¡± the monkey said in an angry voice.

    Lu Yin had sensed this as well, but he was not too bothered by it. Instead, he focused on the Sea King¡¯s Trident and began to slowly make his way towards it.

    With a swoosh, the tip of a de brushed past Lu Yin¡¯s side and into the ground. In the distance, Faceless and Xia Luo had begun doing battle.

    Lu Yin was puzzled as to why Xia Luo did not retreat. Even more surprising, he had started battling against Faceless. Even though Xia Luo was quite powerful, it was unlikely that he would be able to defeat the 80<sup>th</sup> ranked individual of the Top 100 Rankings. So, why did he want to fight?

    On the other side of the area, Che Han was now within ten meters of the Sea King¡¯s Trident. As soon as he reached that distance, he clearly felt a sharp, threatening aura emanate from the weapon. Even though the trident was stabbed into the ground, its aura still gave off attacks that were so threatening that even he was scared of them. Sharp attacks pierced through the void and left a giant tear in his clothes.

    This was the innate power of the Sea King¡¯s Trident. It¡¯s attacking prowess would grow the closer one moved closer to it. It was a good thing that it was still within a range that Che Han could handle. Since this was a part of the tasks for the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, the intensity was not that terrifying.

    In front of Che Han, his Firess Frost froze the air. The white cracks within theyer of ice intensified and widened the closer he drew towards the trident. Each attack from the trident also caused the cracks to deepen.

    Everyone watched on nervously. The Sea King¡¯s future inw would be one of these six young men.

    All of a sudden, Cheng Wu rushed into the ten meters range of the Sea King¡¯s Trident. Without any warning, he threw a punch straight at Che Han.

    Che Han had constantly been on guard against Cheng Wu, and he retreated as soon as therge clock touched any part of his body, allowing him to narrowly avoid being trapped by the clock. If he was trapped, he would have ended up in the same situation as Ling Que. As he spun his spear around and entered a horizontal blocking position, Cheng Wu threw another powerful punch at the spear. ¡°Thunder punch!¡±

    A deafening sound rang out that caused the air to implode the void to distort. Visible ps of thunder spread out in all directions as Che Han¡¯s spear was bent out of shape by the powerful punch. The impact of the attack forced Che Han to retreat a dozen paces, and he wore a pained look on his face as blood started pouring out of his ears.

    It was no surprise that Cheng Wu was the strongestpetitor there. He was ranked 69<sup>th</sup> in the Top 100 Rankings, but he showed no mercy to these weaker opponents. He was also an expert atunching sneak attacks.

    Che Han¡¯s head was still spinning when therge clock started creeping over towards him again. If he was caught by it and forced to receive one more Thunder Punch, he would suffer a fate no better than Ling Que¡¯s.

    Che Han hurriedly retreated more than ten meters away from the Sea King¡¯s Trident.

    Cheng Wu was suddenly all alone in front of the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He threw a nce at Che Han before moving his gaze to Mu Rong and Lu Yin. Finally, he looked at Faceless, who was still fighting Xia Luo in the distance. His gaze then moved back to the Sea King¡¯s Trident, and he started to make his way closer to the trident, hisrge clock encasing him within it.

    Che Han¡¯s eyes turned icy as he threw his spear straight at Cheng Wu, a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms appeared in a dazzling manner even as the void froze. The Firess Frost appeared again, shrouding both the sky and ground. The power of this attack was enough to send Qin Chen running for cover, but it had no effect against Cheng Wu. Che Han¡¯s attack was not even enough to pierce through therge clock. Cheng Wu continued inching closer towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident, until he was only about three meters away from the trident.

    The tip of a huge de violently swung down onto therge clock, the impact resulting in a resounding twang sound. Cheng Wu was momentarily stunned, and when he raised his head, he saw Faceless; Xia Luo had exited the area and left the battle.

    Cheng Wu narrowed his eyes. He exited from therge clock and threw a punch at Che Han, who was the closest to him. Meanwhile, therge clock flew into the air and formed a barrier between him and Faceless. He had unexpectedly chosen to fight against both of them at the same time.

    Cheng Wu¡¯s goal was to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. He had grown up in a poor environment, and if it were not for his innate gift and fortuitous encounters, he would never have made it this far. He had absolutely no background to speak of, and he understood how painful such a thing was. What he needed was a strong backer, something that the Sea King could undoubtedly provide him with. To achieve his goal, he had not concealed his identity when he entered Sea King''s Dome. Additionally, he had not hesitated tounch a sneak attack against Ling Que, just to ensure that he would not be hurt in their exchange. He was now literally a step away from his goal, so he was going all out to demonstrate his value before the entire Sea King''s Dome.

    The ones who threatened his position the most were Faceless and Che Han. The other two, powerful as they may be, were only Limiteers who could not even prate the defenses of hisrge clock. They were not worthy of his consideration; the Sea King¡¯s Trident was his to seize!

    The three powerful Explorers fought an intense battle merely ten meters away from the Sea King¡¯s Trident. In front of them were Lu Yin and Mu Rong, who calmly watched on. They did not join in the battle, but neither did they retreat.

    Mu Rong did not have much desire to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Lu Yin, on the other hand, was simply hoping that someone else would grab hold of the Sea King¡¯s Trident first.

 Chapter 453: Lu Yin And Faceless

    <h4>Chapter 453: Lu Yin And Faceless</h4>

    Lu Yin was certain that the Sea King¡¯s Trident would not be easily pulled out, or else thepetition might be upended by a freak ident. Ever since he had been swallowed by the storm, Lu Yin¡¯s cautious nature had returned. He would let the others go first while he stayed back, which meant that he could try after verifying that there was no danger. He was not too interested in pulling out the trident itself; it was merely his curiosity that was driving him to stay.

    He truly did not want to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw; Ming Yan was still waiting for him!

    So, under the countless gazes of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, a strange scene appeared around the Sea King¡¯s Trident. Three participants fought while the other two watched.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Mu Rong, go on and defeat that Lu Yin to be the true unequaled Limiteer!¡±

    ¡°Go on, fight, Lu Yin! Don¡¯t be scared!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned! Bastard, who are you saying is scared?¡± Big Pao rolled his sleeves up and stared at the nearby man.

    The man rolled his eyes. ¡°Of course it¡¯s Lu Yin! He doesn¡¯t even dare to move! He can¡¯t evenpare to Ling Que.¡±

    Behind them, Ling Que overheard the conversation since he coincidentally happened to be passing by, but he had somehow been implicated in the current situation. However, this Lu Yin really did appear to be scared; he should at least make a move!

    ¡°Which of your eyes saw that Lu Yin doesn¡¯t dare to act? He¡¯s thinking of countermeasures, unlike a stupid bull like yourself who would just recklessly charge ahead. Who knows how many times you would have died by now if you were there!¡± Big Pao raged.

    The man was speechless. ¡°What stupid bull?¡±

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t mind the details,¡± someone urged, who was Lulu.

    The man was stumped. ¡°You two must be together.¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The cheerleaders suddenly burst out with an energetic cry, drowning out all the other people¡¯s mor. Many stared at the cheerleaders nkly. Why had they started shouting again? How professional!

    ¡°Lu Yin looks to be quite apprehensive of Mu Rong,¡± Little Pao said gravely.

    Michelle¡¯s face had aplicated expression. ¡°Mu Rong is very strong. When my sister just graduated from the Astral Combat Academy and became an Explorer, Mu Rong was only a Melder. They fought, but their battle ended halfway with no clear oue. My sis said that it¡¯s very difficult to defeat Mu Rong.¡±

    Zora was shocked. ¡°Are you saying that Mu Rong as a Melder was able topare to an Explorer?¡±

    Michelle nodded.

    The crowd was speechless. ¡°Hold on, a Melder fighting against an Explorer? Why does that sound familiar?¡± Little Pao muttered.

    ¡°The border warfront, Lu Yin,¡± Meng Yue replied.

    Michelle was taken aback, and she looked at Lu Yin again. She had also forgotten that this person had fought at the border warfront, where he had exchanged blows with an Explorer while still at the Melder realm. Lu Yin had even repelled Zi Tie, an astral beast with a robust defense. Her sister, Mira had mentioned this to her before.

    The others also remembered that Lu Yin had aplished such a feat once it was brought up.

    The crowd looked at Lu Yin, as they had all forgotten Lu Yin¡¯s past glory after being intimidated by Mu Rong¡¯s reputation. Lu Yin¡¯s battle results were not inferior to Mu Rong¡¯s in the slightest.

    When the two were directlypared, it also became clear that the number of years that each had spent cultivating were quite different. These two were true geniuses.

    Cheng Wu, Che Han, and Faceless¡¯s battle became even more ferocious, and all three had left the ten-meter radius of the Sea King¡¯s Trident by now.

    The area covered by Che Han¡¯s Firess Frost widened even more, and it had already reached Mu Rong¡¯s feet. This had been done intentionally, as he wanted to drag Mu Rong and Lu Yin into the fray.

    Cheng Wu was not concerned about the two he was currently fighting; he was more worried about Mu Rong. That person made him feel uncertain about things.

    When he felt the frost creep beneath his feet, Mu Rong stepped forward, approaching within ten meters of the Sea King¡¯s Trident, and continued moving forward.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to him when he neared the Sea King¡¯s Trident, but Lu Yin made no sign of moving to stop him.

    Countless in the Sea King¡¯s Dome had already sworn at Lu Yin, as they believed that Lu Yin was terrified to fight against Mu Rong.

    Zhang Dingtian looked at the screen. He knew Lu Yin, and he felt that Lu Yin must have his own misgivings.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that brat¡¯s about to touch the Sea King¡¯s Trident!¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin still remained motionless, but that was because Cheng Wu¡¯s clock had appeared and was about to smash into Mu Rong.

    Mu Rong was only a meter away from the Sea King¡¯s Trident when the clock rammed into him.

    There was a loud crash, and Mu Rong was forced to retreat as he turned to look at Cheng Wu.

    Cheng Wu had a gloomy expression. ¡°Kid, you should do things in an upright manner. You can only touch the Sea King¡¯s Trident after you defeat us.¡±

    This sentence infuriated Ling Que who was watching through the screens. ¡°Shameless!¡±

    Mu Rong¡¯s eyes shed, and he casually waved the wooden flute in his hand, tearing the frost in front of him apart. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Hispetitive spirit had been triggered, as defeating any of the three people in front of him wouldnd him firmly within the Top 100 Rankings. Although he was not concerned about his reputation, he should do something for that person, as that person had always been protecting him. Among the Ten Arbiters, that person kept too low a profile, and did not have many geniuses working under them. The reason why Mu Rong had participated in this selection was precisely because of this matter: he wanted to improve that person¡¯s reputation.

    Mu Rong entered the battle and faced the three Explorers who were each within the Top 100 Rankings. He did not back down in the slightest, especially when his wooden flute tapped against the clock. The impact actually caused Cheng Wu to take a step back. Cheng Wu¡¯s view of this personpletely changed in that moment; Mu Rong actually possessed the ability to break through his defense.

    Since Mu Rong possessed such strength, then what about the other Limiteer still on the sidelines?

    Cheng Wu nced towards Lu Yin, feeling that he was a chaotic wildcard in the current situation.

    Lu Yin was watching this battle royale from the distance with no intention of intervening. However, when he saw Cheng Wu gaze over, he knew that something was amiss. Sure enough, the very next moment, the clock was crashing towards him.

    ¡°Either fight or scram!¡± Cheng Wu¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s ear. ¡°Who¡¯s this? Seventh Bro, smash him!¡±

    Lu Yin released a breath. Pathetic, I couldn¡¯t even manage to escape in the end.

    There was a crash as therge clock mmed firmly into the ground, causing the earth to split asunder and the waterway to shatter. Lu Yin kicked out with one leg and sent the clock flying back. The next moment, the tip of a de flew at Lu Yin as Faceless had also decided to act against him, even going so far as to leave the mayhem to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt that such a move was strange, but he had no time to ponder it over any further.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome was in high spirits at this moment, as thepetition had reached its boiling point.

    Michelle and the others never imagined that Lu Yin would not end up facing Mu Rong, but rather Faceless.

    Amongst the five remaining participants, Faceless¡¯ strength was second only to Cheng Wu¡¯s, which meant that he was terrifyingly powerful. Could Lu Yin even exchange blows with such an attacker?

    Lu Yin himself was uncertain, but he had his Fatesand, so he was confident that he would not be defeated that easily. As he watched Faceless sh out with his de, Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to be careless, and he released the Fatesand in his heart. However, he did not allow it to appear in front of everyone as instead kept it concealed within his clothes. He hadn¡¯t been forced to reveal it quite yet.

    Without the Fatesand suppressing his physical body, Lu Yin¡¯s power increased significantly and quickly reached the same level where he had shattered the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique. He stepped to the side and evaded the de before quickly retaliating with a strike, sting the void in the direction of Faceless with a Spacerender Palm.

    Faceless¡¯ long de swept over to defend him from the palm. There was a bang, and an enormous strength forced Faceless to take a step back. He stared at Lu Yin in shock, evidently frightened by his monstrous physical strength.

    The Mavis family was famous for their strength, but even before Lu Yin had met Mister Mu, his physical strength had already far surpassed Lulu¡¯s. Now, after releasing the Fatesand in his heart, not even Lu Yin was sure how powerful he was.

    Lu Yin was someone who was so strong that he could even harm himself if he did not control his strength, which was a bit ridiculous.

    Faceless sliced out with his de again, causing the void to quiver, as if the de was tearing through it. The tip of therge de streaked past Lu Yin¡¯s head and into the sky, slicing the clouds in two.

    Lu Yin did not dare to let himself be struck by this de, as whatever part of his body that wasn¡¯t protected by Fatesand would likely be cut. After all, this person was ranked seventy second on the Top 100 Rankings, which was higher than both Northgate Lie and Qin Chen, and Lu Yin did not want to be a disabled cripple. He lunged forward to directly suppress Faceless with a Thirty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.

    Faceless¡¯ de spun around and sliced up from below. He did not use the tip this time; instead, he gathered all of his force onto the edge of the de, which made it feel even more ferocious than before. Lu Yin used his powerful body to forcefully avoid it through the void. He moved his body through pure force, and even though it looked like he had only moved a small distance, the degree of difficulty was so high that even Mu Rong might not even be able to duplicate the feat.

    After sessfully evading Faceless¡¯ de, Lu Yin¡¯s palm directly connected with the ugly Explorer¡¯s abdomen at full force. Faceless was about to move again, but his expression became one of shock, and he paused. Then, his body was sent flying, and he was sted towards where the Sea King¡¯s Trident was stuck into the ground.

    Countless were stunned at this scene, as Lu Yin had actually repelled Faceless.

    Cheng Wu also never expected that Lu Yin could disy such strength; his power had wildly surpassed Cheng Wu¡¯s imagination.

    Mu Rong was even more shocked, as this person¡¯s physical body was just too powerful.

    Lu Yin remained standing in the same ce, also with a confused expression. Faceless¡¯ strength should not have been sent flying that easily, and he definitely should not have been injured that severely. However, Lu Yin suddenly thought back to the sensation he had felt when his palm had made contact with his body. Under his palm, Faceless¡¯ body had let a familiar power seep out. Although it had only been for a moment, Lu Yin was certain that he had felt that power before. But what exactly was that force?

    It felt both familiar and foreign to him. He had experienced it before, but at the same time, he could not recall it at all.

    From the moment he had first obtained a formcast model on Earth, Lu Yin had cultivated for about four years. That was not a long time, and so, Lu Yin believed that he should be able to remember everyone who he had fought again as well as all the forces and energies that he had experienced before. This force gave him a familiar feeling, and he had definitely felt it before, but where exactly?

    From afar, Faceless crashed towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident before flipping around in midair. He redirected the excessive force into the ground, and even after embedding his de into the ground, he continued sliding in the same direction for another ten meters before finallying to a stop. He looked up, and a trickle of blood stained his lips as he gazed at Lu Yin in amazement. This gaze was not due to Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but because he had encountered something unexpected.

    Without any hesitation, Faceless charged towards Lu Yin with extreme speed, raising his de to slice out in a straightforward manner. However, through the void, Lu Yin could feel that the power of this attack did not even reach a third of the previous, so he did not dodge. His five-lined battle force burst forth, and one of his hands grabbed the back of the de while the other pressed against Faceless¡¯ abdomen. Just as he was about to attack Lu Yin¡¯s opponent spoke. ¡°What is the purpose of your presence here? Have you been sent on a new mission?¡±

    This sentence caused Lu Yin to stop the Thirty Stacks that was about to erupt out, and he reduced it to a normal attack to push Faceless away. He kicked out, and Faceless was once again kicked far away.

    Many of the onlookers were stunned, as the expert ranked seventy second on the Top 100 Rankings was currently being suppressed by a Limiteer.

    Hai Dashao frowned and found the matter strange; the strength that Lu Yin disyed should not be enough to aplish such a thing.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes also flickered with a trace of puzzlement.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyes were even wider, and he was in disbelief at seeing Lu Yin actually fight against Faceless. Even after enjoying Northgate Taisui¡¯s guidance, Northgate Lie could at most rival experts ranked at around eightieth on the list. Faceless definitely surpassed him, so did this mean that Lu Yin was really that strong?

    Ling Que was even more incredulous, but the facts were right in front of him. He had been defeated by Cheng Wu, and after Lu Yin defeated Faceless, he would surpass Ling Que¡¯s own reputation. This also meant that Ling Que would step onto the Top 100 Rankings after Lu Yin, which was uneptable. Get it together, Faceless!

    Finally, Lu Yin remembered where he had encountered that force before: it was death energy. Lu Yin had once rolled six pips: Possession and then Possessed the body of a member of the Specter n, and that experience had familiarized him with death energy. It was no wonder why he had not recalled it until now; it was not his own strength.

    Since it was death energy, Faceless¡¯ identity was now obvious: he was from the Specter n.

 Chapter 454: Probing And Order

    <h4>Chapter 454: Probing And Order</h4>

    The Specter n was a branch of the Neohuman Alliance and was very mysterious. However, why was Faceless acting so courteously towards Lu Yin? It had even gone to the point where he was speaking deferentially to him.

    Lu Yin could not understand the situation, and he watched as Faceless attacked once again. Lu Yin leaped up, and battle force covered his body as he struck out against the tip of Faceless¡¯ de. An enormous shockwave swept out in all directions, and although it seemed intense, it was actually not that powerful.

    Faceless had not used that much strength when he swept his de out, but Lu Yin¡¯s right hand left a mark on his stomach for the third time as the Oveying Stacks prated his body. Lu Yin¡¯s face changed, as he felt the strange strength of that death energy again. This time, he also noticed that this energy was being suppressed by his attacks.

    Faceless was knocked into the waterway, raising a hugemotion among the audience.

    Even Che Han, Cheng Wu, and Mu Rong slowed their battle to look over. Lu Yin¡¯s performance was a little too mind-blowing since he was suppressing Faceless.

    Lu Yin jumped into the waterway and broke away from the stares of countless people. He pressed one hand against the hilt of Faceless¡¯ knife and stared at him. ¡°Quickly get rid of Feng Mo and the Bo Duo.¡±

    Since Faceless had acted so deferentially towards him, he had made this gamble to see if Faceless would obey hismands as well. It would be great if this person listened, and it did not matter if he didn¡¯t. After all, Lu Yin could just pass his words off as a mistake.

    Faceless softly and feebly replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have enough manpower for the mission.¡±

    ¡°Give up your mission,¡± Lu Yin barked in a voice that demanded deference.

    Faceless immediately acknowledged his orders. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jumped. Was that it? That had been too simple! Besides, why was this person being so respectful towards him? When he possessed that Specter n member in the past, he had not been able to go through that many of the person¡¯s memories since he had mostly been preupied with watching the event unfold before him, until his host body had died at the hands of that Y¨­u Elder whose power level was in the hundreds of thousands. Thus, Lu Yin had not gathered that much information from that Possession session.

    Lu Yin reviewed his battle with Faceless and realized that there was only one possibility: he was the one who was suppressing the death energy. That energy was the Specter n¡¯s distinctive trait, and no one else other than them could have it. Lu Yin was very clear on this point. Could the death energy also be what determined one¡¯s status within the n?

    Lu Yin had suppressed Faceless, which indicated that he held a higher status, so Faceless had to obey Lu Yin. But now, the question was, how could Lu Yin suppress his death energy in the first ce? He did not even understand the energy¡¯s principles, and he had not used any special battle techniques, so just how had he suppressed the death energy?

    Death energy, death¡­ Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Could it be the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival?

    The Fatal Revival Art had a suppressive effect towards a body¡¯s self-recovery abilities, and it had even restrained Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s Daynight Restoration Technique. Could it also possibly have a simr restraining effect on death energy?

    Lu Yin did not have too much time to dwell on the subject. The two young men dashed out of the waterway and shed again, both of them being knocked back simultaneously this time.

    It looked like a draw.

    This scene made Cheng Wu raise his brows, as Mu Rong and Lu Yin¡¯s powers were proving to be beyond his expectations. This situation was not what he wanted to see, so he immediately turned towards Che Han and Mu Rong. ¡°Let¡¯s take care of those two first.¡±

    Che Han and Mu Rong did not bother with him, but those words had been heard by Lu Yin. He turned around to stare at Cheng Wu and then looked towards Faceless. ¡°The clock man is the strongest. Get rid of him first.¡± Then, he attacked Cheng Wu himself.

    Cheng Wu¡¯s brows twitched. Clock man? Was that supposed to be him?

    Faceless did not hesitate and moved his de to hack at Cheng Wu.

    Not only did Lu Yin and Faceless attack Cheng Wu, but Mu Rong and Che Han also joined in at the same time.

    Cheng Wu felt like he was about to choke on a dead housefly. ¡°Stop!¡±

    But his words were drowned out by four powerful attacks¡ªChe Han¡¯s Firess Frost, Mu Rong¡¯s wooden flute, Lu Yin¡¯s Skybeast w, and Faceless¡¯ knife.

    Cheng Wu was strong, and he could overpower everyone else present, especially with the indomitable defense of hisrge clock. However, no matter how strong his defenses were, it still could not withstand these four powerful attacks at once. Even though he used the clock to block them, Faceless¡¯ knife stillnded squarely in Cheng Wu¡¯s chest, the gaping wound readily visible under the sunlight. Cheng Wu looked infuriated, and he howled angrily.

    ¡°Thunder Punch.¡± He then attacked his ownrge clock.

    There was a loud bang, and the sound wave transformed into a thunderp that pulsed outwards. A visible white shockwave swept out, disturbing the water within the canals and even shattering the surrounding areas.

    This was Cheng Wu¡¯s strongest strike, and the other four participants felt their brains being jostled against their skulls as they developed splitting headaches.

    Cheng Wu hated Lu Yin at this moment, as he had been the one to instigate all four people into ganging up on him. He knew that he was already doomed to lose this contest, but he was determined to at least eliminate this person with him.

    As he thought about it, he struck out with a punch again, this time targeting Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not move, but Faceless sliced out with his knife to dispel the intense sound wave, and the giant de continued on moving towards Cheng Wu.

    Cheng Wu¡¯s eyes narrowed. He used therge clock to surround his body, and another loud bang sounded out.

    Lu Yin was astounded, as this person indeed lived up to his sixty ninth rank on the Top 100 Rankings. The clock¡¯s defense was admirable, and its defenses still had not been broken yet. It was almost as strong as Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand.

    There were no cracks on the clock, but Cheng Wu was notpletely unharmed within it. Beneath him, the Firess Frost that looked like frozen mes spread out, and it slowly started to extend onto his legs. Cheng Wu¡¯s face was deathly pale, and his star energy vibrated to shatter theyer of ice, but in the next instant, green grass spread out from where the shattered ice had just spread to. This was not an unfamiliar scene, as it was Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield: the country boy herding cattle.

    Cheng Wu had experienced a powerful forcefield before, and he would not fear such a move if he was at his peak. However, he was currently heavily injured, and this forcefield made him feel like he was mired in a swamp. His entire body felt suppressed as the country boy herding cattle transformed into a very simple wooden flute that tapped against his chest. There was a thump, and Cheng Wu was pushed back,nding onto his own clock. The clock slowly dissipated, as Cheng Wu¡¯s strength could no longer sustain it.

    Plop!

    Cheng Wu spat out a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth. He looked at the four people in front of him. He knew that his momentum was gone, so he did not hesitate to directly dash towards one of the waterways and retreat with the flow of the current. He was not going to struggle without reason; he knew when to give up.

    The strongest in the selection, Cheng Wu, had been defeated. There were only four participants remaining.

    Everyone looked at the screens. This event was about to end.

    Hai Dashao did not feel any regret or sympathy over Cheng Wu¡¯s defeat. He was destined to only find trouble since he had been the strongest of the group. And since the strongest had been Cheng Wu, there was no way he would put up too dazzling of a performance. It could only be said that his ego was too inted.

    Starsibyl also didn¡¯t feel surprised at Cheng Wu¡¯s defeat, but she looked at the screen with interest as she watched the remaining four. How would they battle it out?

    At this moment, everyone looked on curiously. Four could be evenly split into two pairs which should then decide the two finalists. Logically, Che Han should fight Mu Rong while Faceless should be face off against Lu Yin. Mu Rong and Lu Yin would probably be eliminated, and the final winner would most likely be either Che Han or Faceless.

    However, the previous battle between Faceless and Lu Yin made the crowd now feel uncertain about that prediction, and it was in to see that the oue had yet to be decided. At this point, many people also realized that Mu Rong had not revealed his true abilities yet, as he had only shown a movement technique and his forcefield. He still had not used any attacking battle techniques or his innate gift.

    Mu Rong¡¯s abilities were just too immeasurable, and he had hidden his strength even deeper than Che Han or Faceless.

    Michelle and the others also looked at the screen withplex expressions. They had thought that Lu Yin had just been going through the motions here, so they had never expected him to reach this final stage.

    Since he had reached this point, they were hoping that Lu Yin would not fail at the final step. Being friends with the Sea King¡¯s son-inw had a terrific ring to it.

    ¡°Speaking of, if junior bes the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, will we still need to be afraid of Feng Mo and the Bo Duo?¡± Little Pao asked loudly, fully intending for Bo Junior to hear him.

    Bo Junior felt uneasy, and he looked apprehensively at the screen, hoping to see Lu Yin fail.

    In another area of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Feng Mo and Bo Senior felt nervous as well. So what if they were Hunters? Against the Sea King, it would be as if they were Lu Yin¡¯s group against themselves. No, Lu Yin¡¯s group had still been able to escape from them, but the Sea King would definitely not allow the three of them to flee.

    At the lower reaches of the Skyfall Cascade, the group of losers were rescued, and Xun Jiong was pulled out of the water as well. He had been beaten rather badly to the point of losing consciousness. Even after being rescued by Xun Tao and the others, he could barely open his eyes. He cast a venomous re at the screen. ¡°I, Xun Jiong, am not a man if I don¡¯t take revenge for this grudge!¡±

    Xun Tao felt helpless. You better pray that Lu Yin doesn¡¯t be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Otherwise, forget about revenge. You might even have to curry favor with him.

    On the other side of the mountain, Hai Qiqi frantically tried to contact Hai Dashao, but he would not ept any of her calls.

    The Sea King¡¯s Trident emitted a brutal aura, but the four finalists did not act right away. They only nced around at each other. It appeared that they were mutually restraining each other.

    Faceless suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and left without looking back. He had given up.

    Many watched on nkly.

    Che Han watched Faceless leave, and his eyes then shed as he looked vigntly at Lu Yin and Mu Rong. He was afraid of suffering Cheng Wu¡¯s fate. He was afraid that Mu Rong and Lu Yin would team up against him.

    However, he was overthinking things. The battle had reached its final stages, so Mu Rong did not intend to continue it any further. He did not want to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw; he only wanted to lift up that person¡¯s name. And in this battle royale, he had used one strike of his wooden flute to defeat Cheng Wu and disyed a nearly invincible forcefield, which was enough to satisfy his desires.

    Lu Yin did not n to act either, but he was rather interested in Mu Rong. He wondered if he should fight against Mu Rong to see who was the true unequaled Limiteer.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s time to show your might! Use your Fatesand and fight with that Mu Rong! Make him regret his own life!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted excitedly. He felt as if he was about to be the strongest Academy Master in the Spiritual Academy.

    Lu Yin was also a little moved. With his Fatesand, Mu Rong definitely would not be able to break through his defenses, so Lu Yin was sure that he would not lose. Also, Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield reminded Lu Yin of the war spirit that he had met in the separate dimension within the storm space, and he really wanted to fight against a forcefield expert.

    However, he could not fight for nothing. He thought about the situation and then looked at Che Han. ¡°I¡¯ll hold him back for you. You go and pull out that trident.¡±

    Che Han was stunned, and he just stared nkly at Lu Yin. He had originally been indifferent, but his expression now became slightly perplexed. ¡°Why?¡±

    Mu Rong also curiously looked at Lu Yin. Was this person really willing to give up on this chance to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw?

    Lu Yin looked at Che Han. ¡°I want you to owe me a favor. Regardless of if you be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, you must remember to return this favor in the future.¡±

    Che Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You know where I¡¯m from?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Che Han¡¯s gaze flickered. ¡°Alright. I, Che Han, owe you a favor.¡±

    He then directly charged towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident.

    Lu Yin turned to Mu Rong and prepared to fight.

    Mu Rong made no indication that he was about to move, and he only casually watched on as Che Han rushed towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident. ¡°There¡¯s no need to guard against me. I have no intention of interfering.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw?¡±

    Mu Rong had a calm gaze, but there was a rich sorrow that was hidden in the depths of his eyes.

    Only those from the Ten Arbiters Council knew that Mu Rong had been emotionally scarred in the past. That pain rendered him unable to form rtionships with females for the rest of his life.

    Countless people in the Sea King¡¯s Dome were lost as to what had just happened. Cheng Wu had been defeated and Faceless had left. The remaining three had then somehow reconciled, and no one nned to fight anymore. This was just too strange¡ªwhat had that life and death battle been for? It was an injustice to Cheng Wu and the rest that they had lost in such a manner.

 Chapter 455: Incorrect Posture

    <h4>Chapter 455: Incorrect Posture</h4>

    Xun Jiong was so furious that he almost spat out blood when he saw the scene. If these two scoundrels did not intend topete to the end, then why had they felt the need to beat the rest of them?

    Cheng Wu stepped out of the Skyfall Cascade, infuriated as well. Those two bastards didn¡¯t even want to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, but they had still worked together to eliminate him.

    The most furious one, however, was Hai Dashao. The space around him even became unstable, and a crack extended in the void that was obviously suppressed. ¡°What are these brats treating this selection as? They¡¯re asking for death!¡±

    Only Che Han truly wanted to pull out the Sea King¡¯s Trident, and he proceeded to do so.

    No one stopped him, and he effortlessly moved beside the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He endured the trident¡¯s threatening aura and grabbed it. There was a strangely gentle feeling when his hand made contact with it, and it did not feel as if he had sped a weapon used to kill.

    Everyone stared at him; Che Han was now only a single step away from bing the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw.

    Hai Dashao coldly stared at the arena, not at Che Han and instead focusing his gaze onto Mu Rong and Lu Yin. He did not seem to care whether or not Che Han pulled the Sea King¡¯s Trident out.

    Che Han exerted some force and tried to pull the weapon out, but it did not budge at all. He was stunned. He then looked at the ground and strained both legs, causing cracks to appear in the ground, and even a pit formed, extending outwards in all directions. Despite all his effort, the Sea King¡¯s Trident remained embedded in ce, and nothing changed within a meter of the weapon. The ground in that area had fully withstood Che Han¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin watched on in amazement, as he had already known that the Sea King¡¯s Trident would not be easily pulled out.

    Che Han exerted his strength again. His physical strength was not weak, or else he would not have wielded a spear as his weapon. However, even after he used all of his strength, the Sea King¡¯s Trident did not move a single inch. Furthermore, it didn¡¯t even quiver.

    Everyone watched Che Han, the same person who had defeated Qin Chen and was now ranked eightieth on the Top 100 Rankings at the minimum. Even this person could not pull out the weapon, which could only mean that this Sea King¡¯s Trident was special.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the Sea King¡¯s Trident is the Sea King¡¯s personal weapon. It has traveled throughout the universe, tasting blood, and countless people want to steal it.This trident itself is an invaluable treasure,¡± someone at the middle section of the mountain mentioned.

    ¡°I heard that all of the experts under the Sea King have tried to pull out this trident, but not a single one of them has ever seeded,¡± someone else added.

    A bystander was puzzled. ¡°Such a rumor exists? If that¡¯s true, then isn¡¯t the Sea King just fooling around by telling them to pull it out as the final challenge of this selection? If even his experts can¡¯t pull it out, then how could these kids seed?¡±

    ¡°Hush! Who knows? Look at what happened to that group of pretty boys¡ªthey¡¯re all covered in dirt now. It¡¯s pretty obvious that they were toyed with by the Sea King, so maybe the Sea King enjoys ying such tricks.¡±

    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be the case. I¡¯ve heard that the Sea King stays in seclusion all year round and doesn¡¯t y around.¡±

    ¡°It''s probably precisely because he¡¯s in seclusion all year round! He must be bored.¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t be that bored.¡±

    ¡­

    Big Pao was rendered speechless as he listened to all the discussions taking ce around them. ¡°I never thought that the Sea King would be such a person. Lulu, if your Mavis seniors iste themselves, then will they end up so bored that they¡¯ll want to y around by fooling others?¡±

    Lulu rolled her eyes. ¡°Of course not! Our seniors are all very serious.¡±

    Big Pao nodded.

    ¡°At most, they¡¯ll raise the prices and let everyone feel how difficult it is to earn money,¡± Lulu continued.

    Big Pao was dumbfounded. ¡°Lulu, those words would absolutely infuriate people if they heard it.¡±

    Coco widened her eyes. ¡°So the rise in price for being treated by our Windrift Hall is because of your Mavis family.¡±

    Lulu blinked. ¡°Little brat, what do we have to do with you people raising the price? Don¡¯t me the wealthy for everything.¡±

    Coco pursed her lips and then looked at the screen in worry. ¡°Will Brother Lu fight against Mu Rong?¡±

    Lulu was excited at such a possibility. ¡°They better! Then we can see who¡¯s really the unequaled Limiteer in the universe.¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Mu Rong, Mu Rong, I love you! Mu Rong, Mu Rong, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    In the back, the cheerleaders continued performing their job as they excitedly watched Mu Rong on the screen.

    Che Han exploded with his full power, and his Firess Frost distorted the void. Both of his hands were firmly ced on the Sea King¡¯s Trident as he strained upwards with a growl.

    Upon seeing this scene, Lu Yin and Mu Rong exchanged nces, and they felt that something was wrong. If Che Han failed, it would be their turn next, and if they were unlucky, they might actually pull the trident out, which would mean that they would be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. As Lu Yin continued thinking about it, he fell into a dilemma and began considering whether he should fight against Mu Rong or just retreat.

    Mu Rong reacted faster. He took the initiative to rush into the distance, clearly nning on withdrawing from thepetition.

    Lu Yin cursed under his breath and headed in another direction, as he had to leave the area before Che Hanpletely failed.

    However, even though their thought processes were correct, their goal could not be achieved. There were two loud bangs as both Lu Yin and Mu Rong were sent flying back at the same time. They had been sted backwards by an attack.

    Lu Yin retreated a hundred meters as an intense pain blossomed in both of his arms. The very moment he had tried to leave, a shadow had flitted by, moved in front of him, and then released a ferocious attack. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and blocked it with battle force reinforced arms. Otherwise, that strike would have directlynded on his face.

    Even with the support of his battle force, his physical body had nearly crumbled from that powerful attack. Lu Yin looked up and saw a furious young man.

    On the other side of the arena, Mu Rong was in the same predicament as Lu Yin. He had simrly been pushed back by an attack, also by that same youth.

    These two unequaled Limiteers who were still a part of the younger generation had been simultaneously sent flying by the same youth, which shocked them both. This person was terrifyingly powerful.

    At the middle part of the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s mountain, someone cried out, ¡°It¡¯s Hai Dashao! Hai Dashao made a move!¡±

    No one had expected Hai Dashao to suddenly appear at this critical final juncture.

    Michelle and the rest were stunned, as this person was Hai Dashao, someone who had been famous for a long time. He was ranked seventh in the Top 100 Rankings and was one of the youths closest to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength. It was no wonder why he had been able to easily repulse fling Mu Rong and Lu Yin back, as he was strong enough to casually crush the both of them.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at the youth.

    The youth sped both of his hands behind his back. He nced at Lu Yin and Mu Rong before settling his gaze on Che Han.

    Che Han was heaving, but he still had not been able to pull out the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He grudgingly released both hands, visibly disappointed.

    ¡°Give up. If you can¡¯t pull it out, you just can¡¯t. You can leave now,¡± the youth spoke arrogantly.

    Che Han frowned. ¡°Why?¡±

    The youth remained arrogant. ¡°Destiny is determined by the heavens, and this destiny does not belong to you.¡±

    Che Han was not satisfied by that answer as he continued to look at the Sea King¡¯s Trident, but in the end, he gave up. He had tried his hardest, but just like what this person had said, if he couldn¡¯t pull it out, then he couldn¡¯t pull it out. There was no use in trying to force things.

    The youth watched Che Han leave and then turned to look at Lu Yin and Mu Rong, his gaze gradually turning colder. ¡°You two, what do you take this selection for? A game that you can join and leave when and however you wish?¡±

    Mu Rong calmly asked, ¡°Are you Hai Dashao?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. Hai Dashao? The one ranked 7th in the Top 100 Rankings?

    Hai Dashao held his head high. ¡°Since you know it¡¯s me, then behave yourself and go pull out the trident. Otherwise, you won¡¯t need to leave the Sea King¡¯s Dome. No one can save you.¡±

    ¡°Why can Faceless withdraw, but not us?¡± Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help himself from asking.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s lips lifted. ¡°My word is thew here. If you¡¯re not happy with it, you can just challenge me.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this bastard¡¯s too arrogant! But you should also know your limits. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking down on you, but I really don¡¯t think you should fight this guy until after you be an Explorer,¡± the monkey cautioned.

    Lu Yin had no choice, as even revealing his Fatesand would not be enough to withstand the seventh in the Top 100 Rankings. Hai Dashao was a Realmbreaker, and he might even be strong enough to defeat Hunters. There was not too much of a difference between facing him and Feng Mo.

    Mu Rong did not hesitate. He immediately turned around and started walking towards the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He understood Hai Dashao better than Lu Yin, and he knew that there was no point in talking to him. One just had to follow this person¡¯s instructions, as Mu Rong would not be able to leave the Sea King¡¯s Dome even if that person came.

    Che Han could not pull out the Sea King¡¯s Trident, so Mu Rong probably couldn¡¯t either. He just had to go through the motions.

    Lu Yin did not say anything else, and he headed for the trident as well, just to keep up appearances.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes narrowed, though he did not expect either of these two to be able to pull the trident out. Still, the Sea King was entitled to a certain amount of prestige, and this selection would be a joke if people could just leave whenever they wished to. Even if it was just for appearance¡¯s sake, things had to be done properly.

    Mu Rong gripped the Sea King¡¯s Trident with both hands, and his eyes went wide as he exerted his full strength to pull upwards. Since Hai Dashao was right there, Mu Rong could not pretend and hold back his strength.

    Everyone watched on nervously.

    Quite quickly, Mu Rong let go of the weapon. ¡°I can¡¯t pull it out.¡±

    Hai Dashao snorted and looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no choice. He slowly walked over to the Sea King¡¯s Trident. He gripped the shaft of the weapon with his right hand, but unbeknownst to him, the moment he made contact with the trident, the awakened Fatesand that was hidden in his clothes quivered slightly.

    As he looked at the Sea King¡¯s Trident, Lu Yin felt that even if he could not pull it out, it would still be fine as long as he could get a slight sense of the Sea King¡¯s weapon. Just as he was thinking about it, and right before he was about to grab it with his left hand, there was a tearing sound as the Sea King¡¯s Trident left the ground.

    At this instance, the Sea King¡¯s Dome wentpletely silent. It had never been so quiet before.

    At this time, deep within the Sea King¡¯s Dome, a pair of eyes opened, and there was profound shock within them.

    At this point, Hai Dashao¡¯s mind was a mess.

    At this moment, Hai Qiqi fell into despair.

    At this instance, Lu Yin felt stunned. What was this? What was going on? The Sea King¡¯s Trident had been pulled out? He nkly stared at the ground; he had not even used any strength! He must have been in the wrong position when pulling the trident out. As he thought about it, he looked at Hai Dashao. ¡°Could you insert it in again? Then I¡¯ll pull it out again.¡±

    In that instant, the Sea King¡¯s Dome burst into an uproar, the mor even reaching the clouds.

    Feng Mo, the Bo Duo, Xun Jiong, Northgate Lie, and rest were allpletely stunned.

    Michelle, Big Pao, Little Pao, Lulu, and the rest were simrly speechless.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, congrattions,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin clenched the Sea King¡¯s Trident, feeling like he had been cheated somehow. How could everyone else have failed to pull it out, but then he had seeded without using any force? This whole thing must be a scam! He truly had not used any strength.

    Not far away, Mu Rong and Che Han both stared at Lu Yin, feeling as if he had just taken credit for all of their hard work.

    Beside the Skyfall Cascade, Starsibyl stared deeply.

    ¡°So about that, could you please put this back, and I¡¯ll try to pull it out again?¡± Lu Yin asked carefully and nervously.

    Hai Dashao stared at Lu Yin, the shock evident in his eyes. Others might not know how difficult it was to pull out the Sea King¡¯s Trident, but how could he not know? After all, he himself could not pull it out! His father had mentioned that this was unrted to one¡¯s strength, which meant that this kid¡¯s body possessed something that others did not.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m talking to you. Actually, Che Han or Mu Rong was probably the one who pulled it out, but it was just dyed and ended up in my hands.¡± Lu Yin tried to exin what had just happened, but even he could not quite believe the words that wereing out of his mouth.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to marry my sister?¡± Hai Dashao asked coldly, and with a rather nasty attitude.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that this is a mistake.¡±

    Hai Dashao sneered before waving a hand and causing all the screens in the sky to disperse. He stepped forward and appeared right before Lu Yin. ¡°Come with me to see Qiqi.¡±

    And with that, he grabbed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wanted to resist the young man, but he gave up after hesitating for less than a second. He could not resist even if he wanted to, so he allowed Hai Dashao to grab his shoulders and pierce through the void, the Sea King¡¯s Trident still sped in Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 456: The Sea King And Hai Qiqi

    <h4>Chapter 456: The Sea King And Hai Qiqi</h4>

    Mu Rong watched Hai Dashao take Lu Yin away before calmly turning around and leaving.

    Che Han¡¯s expression was veryplex. Things had actually turned out in such a way that he owed a favor to the victor.

    Michelle and the rest retracted their gazes and nced at one another.

    ¡°I feel that we have a rather impressive backer now,¡± Little Pao muttered.

    He suddenly thought of Bo Junior, but when he turned around, he found that Bo Junior had vanished.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to look. Feng Mo and the Bo Duo have definitely already left the Sea King''s Dome. They aren¡¯t stupid, so they won¡¯t wait for the Sea King to chase them down and kill them,¡± Michelle said as she looked at the peak of the mountain with aplex expression. Once Lu Yin became the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, his status would experience aplete reversal, and he would not be even one bit below Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Michelle was right, as Feng Mo and the Bo Duo had already left the Sea King''s Dome in a panic, as their world had been overturned. They had been the hunters for so long, but in the blink of an eye, their prey had be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw! It wasn¡¯t only them, but not even the ckbeard Pirates would dare to casually take action against Lu Yin now. The Sea King carried a formidable reputation.

    Zhang Dingtian gathered himself, but he thought that it was a pity that Lu Yin had not fought against Mu Rong.

    Ling Que also felt that it was a pity that the two had not fought.

    Xun Jiong was exasperated, as who would have expected that Lu Yin would ultimately be the one to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    No matter how much of amotion there was throughout the Sea King''s Dome, Lu Yin was dragged through the void by Hai Dashao until they stopped at a pavilion atop a cliff. Lu Yin saw a familiar face with wide eyes staring at him, though clearly unhappy. It was the pretty maid who had represented the Sea King¡¯s daughter on the ship that had brought Lu Yin to the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The two exchanged nces.

    ¡°Little sis, I brought your future husband here so that you two could have a chat,¡± Hai Dashao said, only to tear through the void and leave the very next moment. He gave off the feeling that he was fleeing, as though he was afraid of being captured.

    The maid reached out, but she could only grab the air since Hai Dashao had already left. ¡°Hmph! You run fast, but I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ll nevere back. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    Lu Yin nkly stared ahead; if he couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on by this point, he might as well have resigned himself to stupidity. The pretty maid who had escorted his group was the Sea King¡¯s daughter herself, Hai Dashao¡¯s little sister, Hai Qiqi.

    The Sea King''s daughter had personally run to the borders of the Starfall Sea to act as a maid representing herself, which was a little mind-boggling. More importantly, Hai Qiqi waspletely different from what he had envisioned.

    Rumors had it that the Sea King''s daughter was ugly beyondparison, which was why the Sea King was looking for a handsome husband¡ªto improve the genes of the Sea King¡¯s descendants. Of course, Lu Yin had not believed such rumors, as no heir of the various great powers would be ugly. But what was the matter with her vicious tongue? It insulted others incessantly and with great variety, and she even used novel sayings each time.

    ¡°Lu Yin, did you know that there¡¯s an evesting truth in the universe?¡± the pretty maid, no, Hai Qiqi asked as she looked at Lu Yin with a stern gaze.

    Lu Yin was stumped. A truth? He looked seriously at Hai Qiqi and wondered if this was rted to the Sea King''s Dome.

    ¡°What truth?¡± he replied solemnly.

    Hai Qiqi looked at the sky with a mncholic face. ¡°A flower can be thrown onto a dung heap¡­ A pile of dung such as you actually managed to grab a hold of me.¡±

    Pfft!

    Nearby, the four maids could not hold their gentleughter back.

    Lu Yin choked, but he couldn¡¯t even think of a retort for a moment.

    Hai Qiqi sighed, ¡°What exists between us is not some destined union, but is more what connects beauty and the beast together. A union between us is ill-fated, so¡­¡± At that moment, she directed a serious face towards Lu Yin before going on to say, ¡°Just give up. We won¡¯t ever be happy together. Even though you used all your strength to pull out the Sea King''s Trident, we won¡¯t ever be happy together. Maybe I can talk to father and allow you to spend your life with the Sea King''s Trident, so just don¡¯t bother me, alright?¡±

    Lu Yin was angered, as he had been struck by her poisonous tongue as soon as he arrived. Was there now in thesends? Also, when had he used all of his strength to pull out the trident? He could swear that he had not used any strength. It would actually be more urate to say that the trident had leaped up by itself.

    ¡°Rumors have it that the Sea King''s daughter, Hai Qiqi, is iparably ugly and can¡¯t wait to be married off. However, there¡¯s no need to create such a scam either. Let me tell you something¡ªthat trident practically jumped out on its own. I didn¡¯t use any force at all. This whole thing must have been set up by Hai Dashao so that he could marry you off. Speaking of things, how difficult is it to marry you off? To think that they needed to resort to such petty tricks,¡± Lu Yin retorted without restraint. He rarely verbally attacked anyone, but he had no choice when faced with Hai Qiqi. Otherwise, he would be abused by Hai Qiqi¡¯s malicious words until he started doubting his entire life. This brat was capable of generating caustic insults until the end of time.

    Hai Qiqi grew furious. ¡°Nonsense! Even my second brother can¡¯t pull it out, so how could he have set anything up?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Even Hai Dashao can¡¯t pull it out? In that case, how could I have possibly managed to do such a thing? Think about it¡ªthis must have been orchestrated by the Sea King in order to marry you off. What a scam!¡±

    ¡°His Majesty has been in seclusion for such a long time that there¡¯s now way he could have set it up! Your intelligence is even inferior to that trident¡¯s!¡± Hai Qiqi shouted.

    Lu Yin was about to retort again when a cough suddenly sounded out. The two stopped and turned to look to the side.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡± The four maids bowed respectfully.

    Nearby, a middle-aged man was silently watching Lu Yin with a gentle smile. He was tall and sturdy, though his appearance did not quite match up to his reputation. Lu Yin thought to himself, This is the Sea King? He doesn¡¯t seem that much different from some next door uncle. He doesn¡¯t have any of the prestige that¡¯s normally associated with a powerhouse! He can¡¯t evenpare to Northgate Taisui.

    When Hai Qiqi saw the Sea King, she ran over and pouted. ¡°Father, brother¡¯s gone too far this time! He wants to ruin me by marrying me off to this dung heap!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids twitched. You¡¯re the cow shit! Your whole family¡¯s cow shit!

    The Sea King lovingly patted Hai Qiqi¡¯s back. ¡°Be a good girl and don¡¯t cry. You can¡¯t say such things. He isn¡¯t a dung heap. Obedient daughter, don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t make such remarks, as people are not a pile of dung. That¡¯s offensive.¡±

    Hai Qiqi wiped the corners of her eyes, even though there were absolutely no tears there. She softly replied, ¡°Alright, he might not be a dung heap, but he barely counts as a person.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s better! One must have manners when speaking.¡± The Sea King was very happy as he looked at Hai Qiqi in a contented manner.

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded, but at least he now knew where Hai Qiqi had learned to speak so maliciously. This Sea King was nauseating!

    The Sea Kingforted Hai Qiqi for a moment, and then he turned to look at Lu Yin with a smile. ¡°Kid, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Lu?¡± The Sea King¡¯s eyes shed, but then his lips curled up. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very good. Change it to Hai Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, as he felt no desire to speak any further.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who pulled my trident out?¡± the Sea King asked. As he spoke, the Sea King''s Trident automatically flew into his hand, and he stored it away. Beside the Sea King, Hai Qiqi red at Lu Yin with an intimidating expression.

    Lu Yin grudgingly replied, ¡°Junior did not pull it out. Rather, that trident leaped out by itself. How about this, Sea King? Could you reinsert it and let me try to pull it out again? This junior promises that it won¡¯t be pulled out this time.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes gleamed, and she hurriedly tugged at the Sea King¡¯s sleeves. ¡°Yes! Father, look at how malnourished he is! It would be too much for him to even kill a chicken. How could he have possibly been strong enough to pull the Sea King''s Trident out? There must have been a mistake somewhere.¡±

    Even though Hai Qiqi¡¯s words were unpleasant, Lu Yin still epted them. At the moment, the thing he wanted the most was to get away from this father and daughter duo. In fact, the further away he was, the better!

    The Sea King beamed at Hai Qiqi. ¡°You¡¯re a good girl, and father understands. Alright, you go on ahead, and I¡¯ll think about how to handle this matter.¡±

    Hai Qiqi expectantly replied, ¡°Father, you can¡¯t throw your daughter to this dung heap! You¡¯ve said that the universe¡¯s truth is something to be destroyed.¡±

    The Sea King remained serene. ¡°Rx, father understands.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you really can¡¯t shake off the title of being a dung heap.¡± The Ghost Monkey was amused at the situation.

    Lu Yin nced to the side at this weird father-daughter pair. One day, if he was able to, he would definitely bury the entire Sea King''s Dome in cow shit.

    Hai Qiqi left and took her four maids along with her, leaving only Lu Yin and the Sea King atop the cliff.

    ¡°Kid, your surname is Lu, so where are you from?¡± the Sea King gently asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t remember. I lost my memory.¡±

    The Sea King was amused, and he looked deep into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin found that he could not shift his gaze away. He was stuck in the same situation again; it was just like when Mister Mu had asked if Lu Yin belonged to ¡°five¡± or ¡°six¡± and Lu Yin had answered that he didn¡¯t know. At that time, Mister Mu had looked into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and it was the exact same as this current scene.

    The Sea King also caused Lu Yin to be unable to shift his gaze, which showed the strength of a powerhouse. Compared to the two powerhouses, the current Lu Yin was like a small child tottering around.

    After a while, the Sea King shifted his gaze away, seemingly paying no heed to what had just happened. ¡°So, what did you feel when you pulled the Sea King''s Trident out?¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°Sea King, please overlook this matter. Junior truly did not use any force. It was that trident that leaped out on its own.¡±

    The Sea Kingughed. ¡°So are you saying that I arranged things in order to force you to wed my daughter?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! However, there must be some mistake in this matter. I request that the Sea King look into this matter, and this junior is willing to attempt to pull it out again.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I am the one who understands the situation concerning the Sea King''s Trident the clearest. Pulling it out once will cause you to be so weary that it will be impossible to pull it out the second time.¡± The Sea King spoke with certainty.

    Lu Yin was speechless, ¡°But senior, it¡¯s true. Junior did not even use an ounce of force.¡±

    The Sea King seriously sized him up and down. ¡°Don¡¯t mind what Qiqi says. That brat is hypocritical, so you don¡¯t have to feel inferior. I am selecting a son-inw today, and whoever is capable of pulling out the Sea King''s Trident will be my future son-inw. Even if they are a dung heap, they will be the universe¡¯s most expensive dung heap.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. So the crux of the matter was that he was still shit? Also, which eye did this guy use to see that Lu Yin felt inferior? He also enjoyed his own backing!

    He wanted to say something to recover some of his face, but the Sea King waved a hand. ¡°I know, I know. A man must keep up with appearances and needs some dignity. However, pulling out the Sea King''s Trident is an honor for you, or do you actually believe that you qualify to be my son-inw on your own merits? Let me tell you something. I would even dare to say that the direct descendants from the major ns are not qualified.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to speak, but then the Sea King red at him. ¡°Or, could it be that you do not want to be my son-inw?¡±

    That one sentence caused the entire Sea King¡¯s Dome to change.

    The sunlight above them vanished, the Starfall Sea started boiling, and the entire region became spatially unstable. It felt as if the apocalypse had arrived.

    Most people stared nkly at the sky, as only the people of the Sea King''s Dome understood that the Sea King was furious.

    In that instant, Lu Yin felt an unprecedented and terrifying strength envelop him. This strength was different from Northgate Taisui¡¯s, and it was even different from the Seven Courts Elder¡¯s. The Sea King¡¯s strength felt undefiable, as if he were the ruler of the heavens.

    This was the strength of an Envoy! Only a few Envoys existed throughout the entire universe. Even thework only contained some scattered pieces of information regarding Envoys, none of which could have prepared Lu Yin for this.

    Lu Yin could acutely feel the pressure, as just a nce from such a powerhouse was enough to cause a heaven-toppling scene.

    The Sea King¡¯s strength appeared quickly, but it disappeared just as fast. After no more than a split second, the Sea King''s Dome returned to normal while the Sea King resumed his middle-aged neighboring uncle¡¯s appearance that did not match his power.

    He smiled at Lu Yin.

    This time, Lu Yin felt terror well up in his innermost being. He had forgotten that this person was a super powerhouse who could toy with his life. Perhaps this was the strongest powerhouse he had ever met.

 Chapter 457: Pyrolyte

    <h4>Chapter 457: Pyrolyte</h4>

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to talk?¡± The Sea King smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, but the monkey¡¯s voice rang out in his brain at that moment. ¡°Seventh Bro, watch the attitude! You¡¯ve got to watch your attitude! This is the Sea King! The master of the Starfall Sea! Smile! Hurry up and fix your expression!¡±

    Lu Yin immediately screened his right arm off and faced the Sea King with a respectful demeanor. ¡°This junior does not know what to say.¡±

    The Sea King sped his hands behind his back and looked out at the Starfall Sea. ¡°Then you don¡¯t need to say anything. Since you have pulled out the Sea King''s Trident, then you will be the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw. It¡¯s fine if Qiqi doesn¡¯t acknowledge you, as you just have to do one thing now.¡± He then paused and solemnly looked at Lu Yin before continuing, saying, ¡°Cultivate well and quickly break through to the Explorer realm so that you won¡¯t bring shame to the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s reputation. Only then can you truly wed Qiqi.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped, and he was reminded of Ming Yan. He wanted to reject the Sea King, but he was not some hot-headed youth, and he knew that his own feelings meant nothing to the Sea King. In fact, the Sea King¡¯s wrath couldpletely destroy Shenwu Continent, and mentioning anything rted to her could bring disaster to Ming Yan or even the entire Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s small amount of status might be enough to cause the Daynight n to hesitate slightly, and maybe even some other powers as well. However, it was not enough to dissuade the Sea King in any way. The Starfall Sea was a very special area, and the Sea King was an Envoy. Regardless of if it was the Lockbreaker Society or the Ten Arbiters Council, nobody had the nerve to make a move against an Envoy. As for Leon''s Armada, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure, and besides, he still did not want to expose his rtionship with Highsage Leon. As for Mister Mu, Lu Yin was uncertain about how much power his master possessed.

    The Sea King was a true peak powerhouse who did not care about anything. He was someone who was truly free in this universe.

    Lu Yin had no choice in his decision at this time, but there was one detail that seemed very strange to him¡ªjust what did the Sea King see in Lu Yin? Lu Yin truly could not understand, as all he had done was pull out the Sea King''s Trident. His past battle results shouldn¡¯t be able to draw the Sea King¡¯s notice, and he might not even care about the Ten Arbiters. So, what was it about Lu Yin that the Sea King saw value in?

    It wasn¡¯t just Lu Yin who was wondering about this; Hai Dashao and Hai Qiqi could not understand this matter either. Was pulling out the Sea King''s Trident really enough to allow someone to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw? From many people¡¯s perspective, it seemed too frivolous.

    Lu Yin was basically grounded, as the Sea King had thrown him under a waterfall and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think of going anywhere until you¡¯ve broken through to the Explorer realm.¡±

    Those were thest words that Lu Yin heard from the departing Sea King.

    The Sea King¡¯s reaction caused Lu Yin to immediately suspect that there truly was no one who wanted to wed Hai Qiqi and that this really was a forced marriage.

    However, right now, Lu Yin really just wanted to get in contact with Zhang Dingtian and chat with him.

    The nearby waterfall rumbled loudly and beside the cascade was a wooden house that was Lu Yin¡¯s temporary personal residence.

    He sighed and headed into the house.

    In another area of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Hai Dashao sought out the Sea King since he could not understand his father¡¯s actions. ¡°Father, Lu Yin clearly does not wish to wed Qiqi. So why are you forcing him to do so?¡±

    The Sea King raised a hand and brought out the Sea King''s Trident. He spun it around one time and then impaled it into the ground. ¡°Come and try yourself.¡±

    Hai Dashao shook his head and said in an agonized manner, ¡°Your son cannot pull it out.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s gaze wasplex. ¡°Do you know why?¡±

    Hai Dashao shook his head.

    The Sea King slowly answered, ¡°This trident does not belong to this universe.¡±

    Hai Dashao was shocked. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know the specifics. However, just know that, since Lu Yin can pull this trident out, he will be of immense assistance to our Sea King¡¯s Dome in the future. Though, it¡¯s also possible that he could be a mortal enemy.¡±

    Hai Dashao still could not understand his father¡¯s words, but he did not ask any more questions since it was clear that the Sea King would not exin anything. He could only resort to his backup n and ask his elder brother, as only that person in the entire Sea King''s Dome could possibly know more.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask anyone else about this. You¡¯re not qualified yet. When you achieve the same strength as your brother, I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± The Sea King looked at Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao felt his heart sink, as it seemed like his brother definitely would not tell him anything either. He deferentially replied, ¡°Your son understands. So how should we handle this Lu Yin?¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°He¡¯s already reached the peak of the Limiteer realm and is just one step away from bing an Explorer. Allow him to cultivate in peace, and after he breaks through, he can take Qiqi to explore the universe. Qiqi really wants to go out, and that¡¯s the entire reason why she agreed to this selection in the first ce. She¡¯s going to wreak havoc if she¡¯s never allowed to go out beyond the Starfall Sea.¡±

    Hai Dashao frowned. ¡°Are we really going to have Qiqi marry him? Didn¡¯t Father just say that he might be our mortal enemy as well?¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s expression becameplicated. ¡°Future matters shall be discussed in the future.¡±

    ¡°Right. Father, you¡¯ve been in seclusion for too long, and there¡¯s something that I need to report.¡± Hai Dashao activated his gadget, and a star chart appeared on the disy. This chart did not depict the Innerverse or Outerverse. Instead, it showed a part of the Astral Wilderness.

    The Astral Wilderness had always been a main target of exploratory teams from the three great domains, and the various powers had their own private star charts of the Astral Wilderness¡¯ explored areas. Although the Starfall Sea did not intervene in the Human Domain¡¯s struggles and other matters concerning the Innerverse or the Outerverse, they had their own ways of acquiring such charts.

    ¡°Many years ago, a certain substance was discovered in the Astral Wilderness. It¡¯s a naturally urring substance that¡¯s beenpressed to the absolute limit. It¡¯s known as pyrolyte. This material is extremely vtile, and just one gram of it can cause an explosion with a power level of 10,000,¡± Hai Dashao exined.

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°One gram can cause an explosion that has a power level of 10,000?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Ever since this material was first discovered, various powers from the Innerverse and Outerverse have sent people into the Astral Wilderness. The Sword Sect, Divine Grade Hall, Daynight n, as well as the Lingling n, Xun family, Y¨­u Court, Wen family, and many more. Each group has sent experts into the Astral Wilderness. Should we act as well?¡± Hai Dashao asked.

    At this point, the star chart disappeared from the disy, and the image of a strange substance appeared instead¡ªpyrolyte.

    The appearance of pyrolyte was far more groundbreaking than what Hai Dashao had indicated. The normal person was not privy to any of the high leveled information that the powers actively exploring the Astral Wilderness had. A single gram of this material could unleash a power level of 10,000. Despite the fact that pyrolyte had a very low density, even a piece the size of one¡¯s thumb would cause even a Hunter to be afraid. How many Hunters were there in the universe? They might seem numerous, but there actually very few in the grand scope of the universe. The Great Yu Empire that had almost unified Frostwave Weave only had a handful of such powerhouses, but a thumb-sized piece of this pyrolyte could match such a person¡¯s attack.

    With the technology that the various powers had ess to, the more pyrolyte they got a hold of, the greater the destruction they could cause. It had even reached the point where such a weapon could threaten the old freaks whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands.

    This was pyrolyte¡¯s greatest value; there was no upper limit to its destruction. It could be considered a strategic resource.

    Of course, this so-called ¡°destruction¡± did not mean that ten grams would explode with a power level of 100,000 or that a hundred grams was equal to a power level of 1,000,000. Power levels did not increase linearly. Instead, it increased logarithmically, which meant that as the mass increased, the level of destruction increased exponentially.

    The Sea King waved a hand to dismiss Hai Dashao before returning to ponder the matter by himself. He did not care about the struggles of the Innerverse or the Outerverse, as there was no one there who dared to provoke the Sea King. However, he needed to obtain that pyrolyte so that he could secure a new path of hope. That path required an incredible amount of destructive power. Something artificial could not aplish such a thing, but this pyrolyte just happened to be suitable.

    The Sea King''s Dome needed to act.

    Although the Sea King had forbidden Lu Yin from going out, he was not prevented from getting into contact with the outside world.

    Beneath the waterfall, Lu Yin called Xia Luo through his gadget.

    ¡°Congrattions, Brother Lu,¡± Xia Luo¡¯s voice greeted through the connection.

    Lu Yin could imagine the group¡¯s gloating expressions at his misfortune. He was just supposed to participate in thepetition as a mere formality, but he had actually ended up as the victor. This was absurd, and Lu Yin had even be the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw! They were actually going to force him into this marriage.

    ¡°Stop spouting crap. I can¡¯t leave the Sea King''s Dome for now.¡± Lu Yin was helpless.

    Big Pao¡¯s voice spoke up. ¡°That much? The Sea King''s daughter is that impatient?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, senior! This is the Sea King''s Dome, and you¡¯re done for if the Sea King hears you,¡± Lulu¡¯s voice rang.

    ¡°Senior Little Pao, please control him a bit.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing.¡±

    ¡°Hey! You guys can¡¯t do this to me.¡±

    Lu Yin heard a scuffle take ce on the other end, and he sighed. ¡°Alright, I''m just letting you guys know. As for Feng Mo and the other two, I¡¯ll try to get the Sea King to take care of them.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother. Any powerhouse from the Sea King''s Dome would be enough,¡± Xia Luo replied.

    ¡°Feng Mo and the rest have already left the Sea King''s Dome, but we don¡¯t know if they¡¯ve left the Starfall Sea,¡± Little Pao said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to get the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s experts to make a move,¡± Lu Yin said, though he was not certain if he could mobilize anyone.

    ¡°Since the Feng Mo and the Bo Duo have already been taken care of, we¡¯ll leave the Sea King''s Dome now. We won¡¯t be able to attend your wedding celebrations,¡± Michelle chimed in.

    Lulu¡¯s voice quickly followed up with, ¡°A friendly reminder to you that you spent so much of their money that you won¡¯t be able to leave. Be careful about getting beaten up, hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin felt a headache when he heard herment. He had indeed wrongly assumed that he would be able to leave after the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, which had resulted in him freely spending 15,000 star essences without fearing for the consequences. But now, he was currently trapped, and he did not know when those expenses would be delivered to the Sea King. Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe that the Sea King would be stingy, though. It might be an enormous sum for others, but it shouldn¡¯t amount to much for the Sea King.

    But at the same time, Lu Yin was rather uncertain, as he had spent 15,000 star essences. He had never had more than 1,000 star essences at any given time, and he had only gotten that much from robbing the ckbeard Pirates. That incident had resulted in him being chased to the Starfall Sea, but now, he had spent fifteen times the amount that he had stolen. He was starting to feel apprehensive about the entire matter.

    ¡°Right, Lulu, how much did you end up spending?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°Me? Hmph, 30,000!¡± Lulu was pleased with herself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. He was finished if this bill was also pushed onto him! After all, they were members of the same group and had arrived together.

    ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry. If the Sea King asks you, just say that it¡¯s an investment into you. After all, you¡¯re his son-inw, so investing a little bit of money shouldn¡¯t be anything difficult,¡± Lulu said generously.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re from the Mavis family. You can spend money in such a fresh and refined manner.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    They chatted for a bit longer before ending the call when they ran out of things to talk about. Lu Yin thought of looking for the Sea King or Hai Dashao, as he would not be able to rest easy for Xia Luo and the others¡¯ sake unless Feng Mo and the Bo Duo were taken care of. Right, there was also Faceless, whom Lu Yin had ordered to destroy Feng Mo and Bo Duo while masquerading as a member of the Specter n. He did not know if his orders would be carried out. Speaking of which, if the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s experts happened to appear when the Neohuman Alliance was in the middle of destroying Feng Mo¡¯s group, it would be rather interesting.

    If such a scenario urred, would Lu Yin have a role to y against the Neohuman Alliance? Lu Yin thought about this potential scheme.

    For two days, no one in the Sea King''s Dome looked for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin steadily cultivated by himself under the waterfall. He wanted to leave, but there was an invisible force trapping him there that he could not break through with his current power. His entire situation made him feel very helpless.

    On the third day, Hai Qiqi arrived, and she looked at Lu Yin with a seething expression.

    Lu Yin felt a little headache appear when he saw her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Checking to see if you¡¯re dead,¡± Hai Qiqi replied.

 Chapter 458: Creeping Shadow

    <h4>Chapter 458: Creeping Shadow</h4>

    Lu Yin carefully looked at Hai Qiqi. ¡°It¡¯s easy to identally lose your friends if you keep talking like that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not worth it,¡± Hai Qiqi bluntly replied before walking over to the waterfall. Once there, she yed with the water in a vexed manner.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and retorted, ¡°Let me tell you something. Even if the Sea King forces me, you still won¡¯t obtain me.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Narcissism is an illness that must be treated.¡±

    ¡°I have the medicine.¡±

    ¡°To treat narcissism?¡±

    ¡°To treat you.¡±

    ¡°My illness is that I was too benevolent when I allowed you to board my boat,¡± Hai Qiqi spat out between gritted teeth.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you the medicine to treat your benevolence then.¡± Lu Yin threw a handful of mud at Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi red at Lu Yin, furious. ¡°Let me tell you something. Even if Father wants me to marry you, I won¡¯t agree! Just give up and stop dreaming of hitching a ride on the Sea King''s Dome.¡±

    Lu Yin replied seriously, ¡°I agree. But how do you think I can get your father to agree to break the marriage contract?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°You want to back out?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded with a serious expression.

    Hai Qiqi was delighted. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±

    Suddenly, she felt that something was wrong, and her face darkened. ¡°You want to back out? That¡¯s got to be a joke! I should be the one who wants to break off this engagement. After all, I came here just to tell you about this.¡±

    ¡°Go on,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Hai Qiqi moved closer. ¡°It¡¯s simple. You just need to make two cuts on your face and ruin your appearance. My father will definitely not allow me to marry an ugly person.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded. ¡°Are you saying that my attractiveness passes your standard?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s besides the point, and to be specific, your appearance does not meet my standards.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°There¡¯s no need to deny it. Your expression already told me everything.¡±

    ¡°You¡ªstop your nonsense! You¡¯re shameless!¡± Hai Qiqi was furious.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine. Then help me contact Hai Dashao. I¡¯ll think of some way to end this absurd marriage arrangement.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Hai Qiqi was in disbelief. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. You¡¯ve got to be lying. No one would turn down the chance to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.¡±

    ¡°You attach too much importance to the Sea King''s Dome. I, for one, don¡¯t care about it.¡± Lu Yin remained proud.

    Hai Qiqi was still in disbelief, but she had no other option. ¡°Alright, but remember what you said.¡± She then walked away after smacking her own butt.

    Although this brat was a noble princess, she did not tend to put on airs. Despite her venomous tongue, she was still better than those fake girls with a holier-than-thou attitude. Only the Sea King could produce such a unique daughter.

    Not long after, Hai Dashao arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s residence with a detached expression that contained a trace of arrogance. This was the attitude that an heir of the Sea King''s Dome should possess.

    ¡°Why are you looking for me?¡± Hai Dashao asked coldly, as he did not care much for Lu Yin. His disapproval stemmed from the fact that Lu Yin and Mu Rong had tried to slip away before Che Han had tried to pull out the Sea King''s Trident. Hai Dashao felt that their behavior was an affront to the Sea King''s Dome.

    Lu Yin enquired, ¡°Does the Sea King have to make me his son-inw?¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s face sank. ¡°Why? Does the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s princess not deserve you?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not it at all. Since I¡¯m the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, my personal safety should be guaranteed, correct?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I was hoping that the Sea King''s Dome could help me take care of a few people. I came here precisely because I was evading their pursuit.¡±

    Hai Dashao frowned. ¡°You¡¯re speaking of Feng Mo and the Bo Duo.¡±

    Lu Yin did not find it strange that Hai Dashao already knew this. The moment he had retrieved the Sea King''s Trident, all the avable information about him had been sent to the top members of the Sea King''s Dome. Aside from a few secret matters, nothing about him could be hidden.

    ¡°They have already left the Sea King''s Dome. Also, you can forget about going anywhere before you break through to the Explorer realm, so they won¡¯t be any threat to you at this time. Even if you meet them outsideter on, they won¡¯t dare touch anyone from the Sea King''s Dome.¡±

    ¡°But I have friends.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have anything to do with my Sea King''s Dome,¡± Hai Dashao responded coldly. He then turned around to leave. ¡°Remember this¡ªI have not recognized your position, and neither has the Sea King''s Dome. Unless you truly be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, you cannot mobilize any of our resources, not even to protect your friends.¡± And with that, he vanished.

    Lu Yin was helpless, as he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. At worst, he could have Big Pao and Little Pao stay with him in the Sea King''s Dome while the others left. Even if they ran into Feng Mo and the other two, they would still be fine. After all, each one of them had a powerful background.

    Within the Starfall Sea, a radiant-grade Aurora sped away from the Sea King''s Dome at top speed, charging towards the entrance of the Starfall Sea. This spacecraft was carrying Feng Mo and the Bo Duo.

    The moment Lu Yin pulled out the Sea King''s Trident, the trio had immediately fled, not waiting around to see if he would be acknowledged by the Sea King''s Dome. They had survived in the universe for a long time, and they would not willingly expose themselves to potential danger.

    At this point, the trio¡¯s emotions were exceptionallyplex, especially Feng Mo¡¯s. He had chased Lu Yin¡¯s group from the Chaos Flowzone to the Starfall Sea, and he had always thought that he had everything in the bag until the very end. Who could have known that something so unexpected would happen out of nowhere? Lu Yin had actually be the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw! Feng Mo was rather irritated about the entire matter.

    The trio had left in a hurry, and they had even left Feng Mo¡¯s personal spacecraft behind, instead boarding the Deep Crimson Hall¡¯s only radiant-grade Aurora to make their escape.

    ¡°If we had gotten rid of these people before they made it to the Starfall Sea, we wouldn¡¯t have sunken to such a state,¡± Bo Juniorined sullenly.

    Bo Senior red at him. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Not far away from the two, Feng Mo had an icy expression as he stared in the direction of the Sea King''s Dome, though it could no longer be seen. He clenched both of his fists. This was aplete humiliation for him! He had actually failed to chase down a group of juniors! This didn¡¯t only reflect poorly on him, but also on his Relentless yers. His mood worsened even further when he recalled that Lu Yin had straight up survived one of his attacks. That freakish innate gift made Feng Mo feel uneasy.

    Bo Senior walked over next to Feng Mo. ¡°Mr. Feng, this incident can be considered extraordinary, so don¡¯t pay it any mind.¡±

    Feng Mo coldly replied, ¡°The fact still remains that I didn¡¯tplete the task entrusted to me.¡± He looked at Bo Senior as he continued, saying, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. During thatpetition, even those who qualified through their looks were tricked by the Sea King. Given that sort of personality, it¡¯s almost impossible for Lu Yin to actually be his son-inw. So let me ask you once again. Do you want to capture him?¡±

    Bo Senior did not reply, but Bo Junior quickly responded, ¡°Of course! Only by capturing him can we justify ourselves to the ckbeard Pirates. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to survive in the Chaos Flowzone any longer. We¡¯ll be chased down for the rest of our lives.¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes remained cold. ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait here in the Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t know which direction they¡¯ll leave in,¡± Bo Senior countered.

    Feng Mo replied, ¡°My Relentless yers will assign people to monitor the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s ports. As soon as they leave, my men will report to me. In the meantime, we¡¯ll head towards the center-most route. That way, we can intercept those brats as soon as my men report back. There should be enough time to chase them down.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll listen to Mr. Feng. Rest assured, as long as you capture Lu Yin, we will immediately give you that item,¡± Bo Senior answered quietly.

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes shed with a hint of excitement. He then simply nodded and did not speak again.

    Beneath the small spacecraft, there was a ck shadow that crept tightly along against the belly of the vessel. Feng Mo and the Bo Duo had not noticed that there was someone hiding right beneath them.

    Two days passed, and during this time, Lu Yin had already informed Michelle and the others that the Sea King''s Dome would not provide them with any help. They had no choice but to go with Lu Yin¡¯s n; in the end, Big Pao and Little Pao agreed to remain at the Sea King''s Dome while Michelle and the rest of the students decided to leave.

    Big Pao could not bear to be separated from Lulu; she was just too rich and generous. With money, everything became simple. Why had he not built up his rtionship with Lulu more while they were still in the academy? This was Big Pao¡¯s greatest regret.

    Xia Luo reminded Lu Yin about their agreement to travel the Cosmic Sea together again.

    However, the youths weren¡¯t able to leave that easily. They had arrived here on the Sea King¡¯s ship, so the only way they could leave was by boarding a merchant ship headed towards the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance. Their only other option was to buy a boat that had the special seaweed coating.

    Lulu was wealthy and did not care about money, but that did not mean that she enjoyed wasting it. They already had a small radiant-grade Aurora, so buying another one would be too wasteful, even for her. They decided to wait and find a merchant ship heading towards the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance. There was no fixed schedule, but one headed out every few days.

    At this time, news of Lu Yin bing the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw started to spread throughout the universe.

    In the Starfall Sea, seawater filled its entirety, and spacecraft could either travel within the sea or atop its surface.

    Feng Mo and the Bo Duo quickly arrived at the middle section of the Starfall Sea. Now, when Lu Yin and the rest left the Sea King''s Dome, the three would have enough time to intercept them no matter which direction they headed in.

    Three Hunters were working together to capture one Limiteer; as long as the Sea King''s Dome did not intervene, no one could save the youths.

    The Bo Duo could not think of any other options; the ckbeard Pirates were like a de hanging over their heads.

    Within the small spacecraft, which wasrge enough to hold at least a dozen people, Bo Junior stared at the sky and silently cultivated as boundless amounts of star energy was absorbed into his body. He was holding some star essences in his hand.

    His power level was 110,000, and for each cycle of his star energy, he had to absorb more than 6,000 star essences to maintain his vitality. Otherwise, he would fall into a period of exhaustion. Given his normal star energy absorption rate, it was impossible for him to absorb enough star energy in a cycle with just his cultivation method, so he needed to use star essence.

    This was the same path chosen by many space-exploring powerhouses, because the ambient star energy in the universe was insufficient for them to maintain their vitality.

    Fortunately, it took decades for one cycle to take ce. Things would be fine for Bo Junior as long as he managed to absorb enough star energy during this period, which was not too difficult for him.

    Only certain powerhouses with extraordinary innate gifts would have cycles that passed by quickly and run the risk of not having enough time toplete a cycle. It was easy for such geniuses to fall into a period of exhaustion, so they generally had to work hard and earn money. Feng Mo¡¯s innate gift was much more powerful than the Bo Duo¡¯s, and he also had a power level of over 150,000. Each one of his energy cycles was only slightly longer than a decade, so he had to earn enough star essences to stay alive.

    Sometimes, having a weaker innate gift was a good thing. For those who didn¡¯t possess any background, but did have a powerful innate gift, it was easy for them to die after bing a space-exploring powerhouse.

    It should be known that entering this period of decline would cause one¡¯s entire person to change, and no one wished to enter such a state.

    Bo Junior collected his thoughts and tried to maintain his sense of calm. Not too far away from him, beneath the spacecraft, the shadow suddenly opened its eyes. ck gas poured into the spacecraft through its cracks, gradually appearing inside Bo Junior¡¯s room.

    The next moment, the spacecraft¡¯s rm sounded. Feng Mo, Bo Senior, and Bo Junior all stood up and looked around, bewildered. This rm signified that a strong enemy had boarded them.

    Suddenly, Bo Junior¡¯s pupils constricted when he saw a cloud of ck gas pass through the metal wall just behind him. It had the color of death, and Bo Junior instinctively froze as his legs became tangled and he broke out into a cold sweat. A pale, white face had appeared in front of him. The face contained no color and the eyes were deathly white. It made for a very bizarre scene.

 Chapter 459: An Unusual Mirror

    <h4>Chapter 459: An Unusual Mirror</h4>

    When Bo Junior saw these two pale eyes, his heart nearly stopped, and the blood retreated from his face like the tide. His expression seemed lost and his eyes went ck.

    Whoosh! A head flew up and crashed against the metal wall of the room while fresh blood sprayed out from the open wound and sttered the room.

    There was a bang as the door to Bo Junior¡¯s room was shattered by Bo Senior, who was standing outside the room.

    Bo Junior¡¯s quarters seemed like a scene from the underworld. A pale, faceless figure slowly turned around even as a pool of scarlet blood flowed out from beneath him. Behind him stood a headless corpse.

    ¡°JUNIOR!¡± Bo Senior roared as he recklessly charged at the decapitated figure. The entire spacecraft began splitting apart, as it was unable to withstand the might of a Hunter¡¯s full strength. Even the void around the spacecraft started warping.

    The pale figure did not move. Instead, a ck gush of air rushed out towards Bo Senior. His attack was swallowed by the ck cloud without creating any disturbances.

    The sight of this shocked Bo Senior. His scalp turned numb as he immediately retreated at top speed. At the same moment, Feng Mo arrived to see the ck flow of air. His pupils rapidly shrank; what was this thing?

    The figure moved away from the carnage, and the pure white eyes continued stared at Feng Mo. Feng Mo instantly turned around, facing his back towards the silhouette as he barked out, ¡°Specter n! You¡¯re from the Specter n!¡±

    The Relentless yers were a part of the universe¡¯s dark underbelly and was the Chaos Flowzone¡¯s top assassination group, perhaps even within the entire Innerverse. They were privy to a lot of hidden information, and since Feng Mo had barely stepped into the higher echelons of the Relentless yers, he had learned some of these secrets. One of which was information on the Specter n.

    The Relentless yers had crossed paths with the Specter n and the Neohuman Alliance on more than one asion, and they had also suffered heavy casualties from them.

    If Chaos Flowzone was said to be a gathering of the Innerverse¡¯s dark side and the Relentless yers were the darkness within the darkness, then the Specter n was the deepest darkness. Even the most fearless Relentless yers did not dare to provoke this darkness.

    Each of the Three Dark Hands was powerful enough to topple the Human Domain on their own; they were truly powerful behemoths. However, countless aspects of the universe had excluded the Three Dark Hands, such as the Ten Arbiters Council and the Top 100 Rankings.

    Faced with an expert from the Specter n, Feng Mo wanted to escape at the first possible opportunity. He did not even dare to nce at him, let alone make eye contact.

    Bo Senior did not know anything about the Specter n, and he actually hadn¡¯t even heard of them before. The only thing on his mind was taking revenge for Bo Junior. ¡°Mr. Feng, help me kill him! He¡¯s also a Hunter, so he can¡¯t block both of us. As long as you kill him, I¡¯ll give you that item immediately!¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The risk will be too great unless you hand it over first.¡±

    Hatred had already consumed Bo Senior, so he did not hesitate to take out an item from his cosmic ring and quickly hand it over to Feng Mo.

    By then, the Specter n member had already started approaching the two men. The ck cloud continued to spread through the area, and the spacecraft was falling apart, unable to continue moving any further.

    ¡°Mr. Feng, attack!¡± Bo Senior shouted as he charged at the Specter n member. He burst out with all of his strength as a Hunter, destroying what was left of the spacecraft. His strength even created a vortex that sucked in the surrounding seawater.

    Although the spacecraft had been destroyed, the ck gas surrounding them still did not dissipate. Feng Mo watched Bo Senior attack the pale man before raising a hand to target the ck has surrounding them.

    The white eyes of the Specter n member looked directly into Bo Senior¡¯s, and the charging Hunter¡¯s consciousness was instantly thrown into chaos, a repeat of what had happened to Bo Junior. However, Bo Senior was much more cautious than Bo Junior since Feng Mo¡¯s erratic behavior upon seeing this Specter n member had served as an advance warning. At the exact moment before his consciousness waspletely dazed, Bo Senior tore off a chunk of flesh from his thigh, and the intense pain allowed him to regain a bit of rity. However, that moment was still enough for the Specter n member to move forward and ce a palm against Bo Senior¡¯s chest.

    Bo Senior spat out a mouthful of blood and appeared to be shocked. The difference in power level between him and his opponent wasn¡¯t that great, but he had been thoroughly suppressed. He had never heard of this Specter n before.

    He turned to look at Feng Mo, but he found that Feng Mo was still attacking the ck gas.

    ¡°Mr. Feng, are you breaking your promise?¡± Bo Senior shouted vehemently.

    Feng Mo did not bother responding, and he only barely managed to open up a hold after using all of his strength. He was going to escape. Bo Senior bellowed fiercely and tore through the void to chase after Feng Mo, but the Specter n member simply waved a hand and caused the ck cloud of gas to vanish for just an instant before reappearing even further away. When it did so, it had grown to an evenrger size, forming a sphere that had sealed both Feng Mo and Bo Senior within.

    Feng Mo¡¯s face was deathly white by now, and he looked at the Specter n member with unconcealed terror on his face.

    ¡°Join hands with me to kill him,¡± Bo Senior snarled at Feng Mo.

    Feng Mo trembled; a powerhouse with a power level of over 150,000 was actually terrified. Bo Senior had never seen Feng Mo like this before, but he had no time to dwell on its significance since the Specter n member was already approaching them. The pale figure raised his hand and caused the ck gas to condense into a sickle. It sliced down at an extremely slow speed, but Bo Senior could not dodge it; there was nowhere for him to go, so he could only take it head-on.

    The scent of fresh blood filled the air as Bo Senior was sliced in half by the de. Right before his death, his eyes still showed signs of his malevolence and ignorance, as he could not understand why such a freak had appeared to kill him. Bo Senior did not know who he had offended, but if he had stayed at the Sea King''s Dome, such an abomination would not have dared to appear.

    Nearby, Feng Mo¡¯s scalp itched as he recalled the scene of his senior in the Relentless yers being killed. His terror returned in droves, and he gradually backed up until he had reached the boundary of the encircling ck gas.

    The Specter n member slowly approached him, reminiscent of the Grim Reaper. He raised his giant sickle and ruthlessly sliced it down, just like he had against Bo Senior a moment ago.

    Feng Mo suddenly took out a mirror and raised it up, using it to sh against the sickle. That mirror was exactly what Bo Senior had passed over to him before.

    The ck sickle firmly struck the mirror, but a strange scene urred soon after. From the mirror sprang forth another sickle, an exact copy of the first, and it sliced towards the Specter n member. For the first time, the pale figure showed shock, and he immediately retreated.

    Feng Mo changed the direction of his sickle attack, causing it to slice towards the surrounding flow of ck gas. The barrier was cut apart, and another gap appeared. Feng Mo jumped through it without turning back.

    The Specter n member did not give chase because there was a up ahead. In the Starfall Sea, any would house an old freak whose power level was in the hundreds of thousands, and this pale figure also could not handle any sunlight.

    Feng Mo let out a great sigh of relief when he saw the ahead of him, and he looked fervently at the mirror in his hand. Bo Senior, that idiot, had not understood how powerful this mirror was. Of course, Feng Mo himself did not either, but he understood a bit of the mirror¡¯s history. How could something that had fallen from that ce possibly be simple? He had gambled when he had used this mirror to block that sickle attack, but it had actually paid off, which had given him a second chance at life.

    Without the mirror, that sickle would have bisected him just like it had with Bo Senior. Even if Feng Mo had a power level of 150,000, he could not withstand such an attack from a Specter n member.

    With the mirror in his hand, Feng Mo was iparably excited since this item meant that his strength was no longer as simple as his power level of 150,000. He had helped the Bo Duo to chase Lu Yin¡¯s group precisely for this mirror. Now that he had it, and since the Bo Duo was also dead, he no longer nned to entangle himself with Lu Yin and the others any further.

    He had not forgotten about the youths¡¯ powerful backgrounds, especially Lu Yin, who was the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw. Feng Mo felt that his life still had more to give. He had no time to bother with the youths, so they would just have to consider themselves lucky on this matter.

    But why had that Specter n member attacked them? This incident made Feng Mo very puzzled and uneasy, as he was afraid that he would run into another Specter n expert in the future. There was bound to be an upper limit to the mirror¡¯s reflective strength, and once he ran into a Specter n expert whose attack surpassed what the mirror could withstand, he would certainly be finished.

    This wouldn¡¯t do. He would have to go into hiding for a period of time.

    Lu Yin did not know that the Bo Duo had already died and that the mission he had given to the Faceless Man had already achieved some results, but the Faceless Man was fated to not be able to report back to Lu Yin.

    Beneath the waterfall, Lu Yin was stuck in a difficult position. The Sea King wanted him to break through to the Explorer realm before he could leave, but Lu Yin knew that he wasn¡¯t anywhere close to breaking through. Even with his five-stage formcast model, it was useless unless he was both confident and had that unique breakthrough feeling. Additionally, the cost of failing was very severe.

    Lu Yin did not know when he would break through, so did that mean that he would be trapped here indefinitely?

    Also, he still had not forgotten about what had happened when he broke through to the Melder realm. Even though the incident was a bit hazy due to him fainting from the anguish, he still had some impressions of the event. His breakthrough had not been as easy as the others¡¯, even though he had also had that feeling of breaking through. This was the reason why he had gone to the Rain Observatory when he had broken through to the Limiteer realm.

    Lu Yin was certain that his breakthroughs needed to be overseen by a nearby powerhouse, especially when he tried to reach the Explorer realm. The Sea King was strong enough, but the problem was that Lu Yin could not afford to be trapped here for a few years!

    The grains of Fatesand that had fused with his left arm and right leg had awakened, and just like Mister Mu had said, they both took the form of a clump of soil. The three grains of Fatesand could bebined together to form arger clump.

    Lu Yin was speechless when he first saw that sight, but the defensive ability of this soil was simply astounding. Even if Lu Yin went against Cheng Wu one on one, he could guarantee that he would not be defeated since Cheng Wu would bepletely at a loss against his defense.

    Of course, it would not be easy for Lu Yin to pry Cheng Wu¡¯s clock open either.

    Lu Yin really wanted to test his current strength, and he also wondered how many times his Shockwave Palm had been improved by. When the grain of Fatesand around his heart had first lifted, unsealing his physical strength, he had been able to unleash a fiftyfold Shockwave Palm. When all three grains of Fatesand were unsealed, he might be able to hit sixty, seventy, or perhaps even eightyfold.

    Unfortunately, he could not conduct such experiments in this ce, as such arge disturbance would undoubtedly be noticed by the Sea King. Lu Yin did not naively believe that the Sea King would take him as his son-inw just from one look. There were likely other reasons for his current situation, and Lu Yin still did not know if he had benefited or lost out.

    As he looked through the items in his cosmic ring, his expression suddenly changed. He looked up as a beautiful woman tore through the void and appeared gradually before him.

    Was it Hai Qiqi again? No, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shivered, and he looked carefully at the girl in front of him. Her clothing was simr to the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Starsibyl¡¯s. Was she another Starsibyl?

    ¡°Are you shocked? Do you know who I am? Ah, that¡¯s right. You should be familiar with the other people who have the same title as me.¡± The new Starsibyl slowly walked over as her bright eyestched onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin never expected to run into Starsibyl here. Of course, this woman wasn¡¯t the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Starsibyl. Instead, she was the universally-famous, space-exploring powerhouse, Starsibyl. The first time he had heard of Starsibyl¡¯s name, he had still been on Earth. Zhou Shan had described Bai Xue as a goddess, and Jeraldine had mentioned Starsibyl in response.

    That had been the first time Lu Yin had heard this title, and Jeraldine should have been referring to the Starsibly presently standing before him back then.

    Of course, after he had left the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin had realized that Jeraldine had been lying. Given her status, it was impossible for her to have met Starsibyl. It was just the rumors floating around that caused her to worship Starsibyl. However, for an insignificant being in the remote Frostwave Weave to have heard of her name showed just how widespread the reputation of Starsibyl¡¯s name was throughout the universe. And now, Lu Yin had finally met her.

    ¡°You are wondering why I¡¯vee looking for you.¡± Starsibyl¡¯s eyes held a glint of a smile as she looked at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 460: Lu Yinâ€™s Answer

    <h4>Chapter 460: Lu Yin¡¯s Answer</h4>

    Lu Yin leaped up and walked over to Starsibyl. When the two were less than two meters apart, he spoke. ¡°That¡¯s what anyone would be thinking. Or did you divine that?¡±

    ¡°You are rejecting me,¡± Starsibyl said with a smile.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as he had always been doubtful of the idea of divination, and he did not believe in such a thing either. Thus, his disbelief had involuntarily surfaced. ¡°No, I¡¯m just asking.¡±

    Starsibyl stared deep into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I came here to ask you a question.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed in response. He had indeed heard that the space-exploring Starsibyl roamed the universe with an invitation letter, asking various young elites of the universe a question. He had never expected that today would be the day when Starsibyl came to direct her question towards him. ¡°What question?¡±

    Starsibyl was about to speak, but Lu Yin suddenly interrupted her. ¡°Hold on, isn¡¯t there supposed to be an invitation letter as well?¡±

    The smile in Starsibyl¡¯s eyes became even more apparent. ¡°Although you dismiss divination, it¡¯s not that you cannot ept it. That makes me very happy.¡± She then pulled out a very simple invitation letter and handed it to Lu Yin. Graceful letters adorned it, only spelling out ¡°Starsibyl.¡± The calligraphy was beautiful. It had clearly been written by a female, but it contained a simple and boundless charm to it, revealing an indescribable boldness.

    Lu Yin carefully studied the invitation letter. This was the famous invitation letter from Starsibyl, and it was something that was rumored to only be given to young geniuses who had reached a certain level. In the past, only a few students of the entire Astral Combat Academy had been able to receive this letter, and it was possible that not even all of the student leaders had received one.

    After staring at it for a while, Lu Yin passed the invitation back to Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl told him, ¡°Keep it, as you might have a use for it in future. With this, you can receive a certain amount of help from the Starsibyl Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reject the letter. As long as such free items were harmless, he generally did not reject them. Regardless, such a letter did not take up much space, but he was not too expectant towards the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s help either.

    ¡°You can ask your question now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes became deep as she gazed at Lu Yin again. He suddenly felt as if an area of the universe had been drawn into her gaze. ¡°How does one be strong?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, as he thought that he had misheard her. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s face grew serious, and she repeated herself. ¡°How does one be strong?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Why would you ask me that? It seems that you are much stronger than me.¡±

    Starsibyl was a part of the same generation as the Ten Arbiters, but she was not included within the Top 100 Rankings. This was not because her battle prowess was not sufficient, but rather because no one knew Starsibyl¡¯s true battle strength. Thus, her ranking could not be determined. Many believed that her strength was in no way inferior to the top ten, and Lu Yin was confident that he could notpare to her.

    ¡°You just have to answer my question. How can one be strong?¡± Starsibyl spoke serenely, but she looked very serious.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a bit, and the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice appeared in his brain, saying, ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t spout something ridiculous! This woman is trying to determine the direction of your cultivation and measure your spirit so that she can use it to calcte your future aplishments. These sort of divination folks are very scary! Just a word or two from you can be used by them.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, because the monkey¡¯s words caused his hair to stand on end. Her question couldn¡¯t possibly be that mystical. After all, his reply would just be a single sentence, and he could even lie if he wanted to. Besides, he truly did not believe in divination.

    Of course, disbelief was one thing, but that did not mean that he would fully confide his thoughts to Starsibyl, as only a fool would truly speak their mind.

    He nced at Starsibyl and thought about her question a bit. Before he answered, Starsibyl suddenly made a suggestion. ¡°Brother Lu, think before you speak. This question is not something that I wish to ask, but rather is something thates from my Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Sect Master. My Starsibyl Sect will adopt various attitudes towards you based on your answer.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°So if I answer badly, will the Starsibyl Sect kill me?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s face remained calm. ¡°Of course not. However, you are familiar with the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Schr, Wen Sansi. His answer pleased the Sect Master, and so, the Starsibyl Sect opened up to him, and he can now borrow our divination abilities. You are clever, so you should know what it means for someone to have ess to the Starsibyl Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn. The Starsibyl Sect was very mysterious, and no one knew how strong that group was. The sect had existed since ancient times, and everyone always seemed to trust in their divination ability. Even though many assumed that the Astral Combat Academy was the one behind the Top 100 Rankings, there were rumors that the actual people behind it was the Starsibyl Sect. Only that sect had the ability to divine the entire universe, including the hundred strongest youths.

    A sect that everyone trusted. One that could divine the future, but also one whose power was not coveted by other enormous powers such as the Daynight n and the Sword Sect. Just this matter alone showed how frightening the sect was.

    If Lu Yin could truly enlist their help, then the resulting influence they could grant him would be even greater than what he would receive from bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. The Sea King was strong and the master of the Starfall Sea. Neither the Innerverse nor the Outerverse dared to provoke him, but that was merely from apprehension. On the other hand, the Starsibyl Sect had the ability to influence the entire universe.

    It did not matter whether or not Lu Yin believed in their power and their supposed divination; their power existed so long as others did believe in it.

    It had to be said that Starsibyl¡¯s words had moved Lu Yin. He looked at her seriously and contemted the question.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, if we can truly get the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s backing, you will be very lucky. The Starsibyl Sect is just as famous as the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Skymender! That sort of existence causes other people to feel practically helpless. However, your reply could also be the key that allows the sect to divine your future, so consider your next words carefully,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he turned to stare at the waterfall.

    Starsibyl did not rush him. Aside from a select few, most people would think things over carefully before answering this question. Some would even mull it over for a long time, as the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s influence was far too strong. There were even some individuals who fantasized about winning over Starsibyl herself.

    Whoever could woo Starsibyl would obtain the future. Nobody knew who had started this rumor, but many people believed it. Thus, those people were always trying to think of ways to speak in an astounding manner in a desperate attempt to steal her heart.

    The crashing of the waterfall was very noisy, and as the water sshed upon the rocks, it sprayed onto Lu Yin¡¯s face, making for a rather refreshing sensation.

    He looked up and stared at the sky. Strong¡ªit was a word that covered the entire heavens. After all, everyone wanted to be strong. But how? Some people had unlimited resources from birth while others did not but gained them through continuous fortuitous opportunities. Others still cultivated painstakingly, but without exception, countless throughout the universe strove to be strong.

    Lu Yin thought of that Explorer who had knelt to Gu Er on the Astral River Ark. The man had not minded sacrificing his very dignity for the chance to head into the Innerverse and pursue his desire to be strong.

    He thought of the Explorers who had died within the centipede''s body, risking their very lives to be strong.

    He also thought of his seniors, Big Pao and Little Pao. They had desired revenge, and so, they had sought to be strong in the Astral Combat Academy.

    Memories of many people flitted through his mind. On Lu Yin¡¯s journey to reach his present strength, although the time that he had cultivated was not very long, he had encountered many people and situations. In conclusion, everyone who he had met had sacrificed something to be strong, and Lu Yin himself was no exception.

    Before cultivating, he had not really valued money. But now, he had thought up all kinds of plots and schemes to earn money. All of these things were different forms of sacrifice, but then, how did that rte to bing strong? Through sacrifices? Lu Yin himself felt lost.

    The monkey had said that Starsibyl might be able to use the answer to this question to divine someone¡¯s spirit and future. However, one¡¯s spirit was not destined. When ancient dynasties fell and new ones rose, the final victor might not have been someone who was born to inherit the throne, as they might have even been a beggar. It was impossible for just one answer to determine one¡¯s future.

    But if he thought about things another way, if Starsibyl could truly divine Lu Yin¡¯s future based on a single answer, then he was actually feeling some anticipation since his answer was rtively unconventional.

    After thinking for a long time, Lu Yin turned to Starsibyl. ¡°Could you tell me how others have answered?¡±

    ¡°Whose would you wish to know?¡± Starsibyl did not decline his request. Answers from different people could be identical, but they could also be different. If one¡¯s answer was modelled on someone else¡¯s, then their future would forever be under the first person¡¯s shadow.

    ¡°Wen Sansi,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Starsibyl smiled faintly. ¡°¡®One can be strong through studying more.¡¯¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as this was the answer that he had expected from Wen Sansi.

    ¡°How about Nightking Zhenwu?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°He said that he does not need to be strong, because everyone else is destined to be weaker than him.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. ¡°Those were his exact words?¡±

    Starsibyl nodded.

    Lu Yin frowned. What a bold spirit. Should Lu Yin also say that those words were worthy of Arbiter Zhenwu?

    ¡°How about Lan Si?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°¡®One step at a time.¡¯¡±

    It was another typical response, and it was unexceptional as well. However, it also reflected Lan Si¡¯s inner strength since he had never thought about how one could be strong. He just had to walk forward step by step, and he would naturally be the strongest.

    All along, Lu Yin had been asking about the Ten Arbiters, but he only knew the names of these three Arbiters. Finally, he focused his attention on Starsibyl. ¡°I wish to know your answer.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled faintly, and her deep eyes became unfathomable. ¡°I have no need to answer, as I don¡¯t intend on bing strong.¡±

    Lu Yin collected his gaze and looked up at the sky above the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Finally, he solemnly looked at Starsibyl. ¡°Alright, listen up, my answer is¡­¡±

    At that moment, Hai Dashao appeared nearby and stared at Lu Yin. The Sea King was also watching from an unknown area in the void to witness Lu Yin¡¯s response. Starsibyl had asked this question to too many people, but it had to be said that one¡¯s answer truly could embody their spirit, and their spirit could determine their future, and their circumstances.

    ¡°My answer is¡­ one can be strong by earning more money,¡± Lu Yin answered seriously and thoughtfully. His answer evidently caused Starsibyl to be taken aback. Were strength and money intertwined? One was rted to cultivation and the ideal peak of the universe while the other was just materialistic wealth.

    Cultivation required resources, but no one would admit that they cultivated for resources. Such a person would be seen as vulgar.

    Hai Dashao casually waved his hand. ¡°Peasant.¡± He then left with an ugly expression.

    The Sea King recollected his gaze, but he did not express his opinion.

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s answer is indeed unexpected. Is your answer serious?¡±

    ¡°Extremely,¡± Lu Yin answered. He had never been as serious as this moment, and he had actually shown his dedication to money to Starsibyl. His words were actually his truth, as the more money Lu Yin possessed, the stronger he would be. To him, such a statement was the truth. If he was given the Mavis family¡¯s wealth, Lu Yin dared to say that, with his die¡¯s Enhance ability, he could upgrade certain things to such an extreme that it would cause even the Sea King himself to doubt his existence. That was true strength.

    With enough money, Lu Yin could even upgrade his formcast model. With enough money, he could create all sorts of natural treasures. With enough money, Lu Yin could even consider whether or not he could throw himself on the light screen and upgrade himself.

    In short, money provided Lu Yin with endless possibilities. He was serious, and this was his true answer.

 Chapter 461: Fake

    <h4>Chapter 461: Fake</h4>

    ¡°I can see that you want to use money to buy the entire universe, Seventh Bro. Work hard, and who knows? Perhaps one day, you¡¯ll be able to go to the Starsibyl n and buy this Starsibyl to take home as your maid.¡± The Ghost Monkey snickered. He wasn¡¯t actually trying to mock Lu Yin since he could tell that Lu Yin was being honest.

    Everyone had their own pursuits. Starsibyl had heard all sorts of answers before, but Lu Yin¡¯s answer truly confused her. Those who qualified for her to ask this question were all freaks of the universe. Rich kids did not qualify to even meet her, but because of who she asked this question to, there had never been anyone who had answered that their dream was to be rich. Lu Yin was the first.

    She was slightly confused at this moment. She had the feeling that this man had given her the most pathetic answer, but at the same time, it might also possibly be the most daring one.

    ¡°Is my answer very strange?¡± Lu Yin asked while appearing curious.

    Starsibyl gazed at him and could only respond, ¡°Every person has a different pursuit.¡±

    Lu Yin made a sound of acknowledgement. ¡°How does my answerpare to Wen Sansi¡¯s?¡±

    Starsibyl was shocked, not having expected Lu Yin to ask such a question. Could the two answers even bepared? One was about learning and studying while the other was about making money, something even a fool could do! She had no idea where Lu Yin found the confidence to assume that he was on par with Wen Sansi.

    Starsibyl did not answer his question. Instead, she merely said, ¡°There is something that I need to do, so I need to leave now. Goodbye.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Just as she was about to leave, Lu Yin suddenly remembered something and yelled to her, ¡°By the way, I met Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    Starsibyl paused and turned around, her face suddenly ashen. ¡°Be careful of what you say, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Xuan Jiu your Grandpa Jiu? He carries around a huge banner that says that he¡¯s Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    Starsibyl frowned. She rarely showed such an expression to people, as she almost always had that enigmatic smile on her face. ¡°That person has nothing to do with me. Please do not bring him up again.¡±

    She then tore through the void and left.

    Lu Yin sighed. He hadn¡¯t intended on purposefully angering Starsibyl, as he had merely been trying to discover how much truth there was to Xuan Jiu¡¯s words. That man had once told Lu Yin that he had stared into the eyes of the dead. In the past, Lu Yin had no idea what those words were supposed to mean. But now, after having run into the Specter n and merged into one of the n member¡¯s bodies through his die¡¯s Possession, could it be that the Specter n represented ¡°the dead¡± since they possessed death energy? If that was the case, then Xuan Jiu had not been telling him about the past, but rather about the future. That would truly be divination.

    Lu Yin wanted to know if Xuan Jiu truly had the ability to divine the future. Based on Starsibyl¡¯s reaction, Xuan Jiu was more than he seemed to be. She clearly wanted nothing to do with that man and had tried to evade the matter.

    Also, Lu Yin felt like he had caught a glimpse of Hai Dashao, who probably had heard his answer. Hopefully, that guy had been so disappointed by Lu Yin¡¯s answer that he would try to get the Sea King to call off the engagement.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a question that I¡¯ve been wanting to ask you,¡± the monkey suddenly said.

    ¡°Are you going to ask why I¡¯m so eager to earn money?¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The monkey answered, ¡°No. I want to know where the money you¡¯ve earned has gone.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. That was a question that was very difficult for him to answer. ¡°That¡¯s private, so don¡¯t ask again.¡±

    The monkey was speechless. ¡°By the way, why have you been blocking me every time you spend money? If you need to block me¡­ Wait, have you been going to that kind of ce?¡±

    Lu Yin froze. ¡°What kind of ce?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that humans really like that kind of ce, and I mean, they really like it, so you should be the same. But is it really that expensive?¡± the monkey muttered to himself.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What kind of ce are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s where humans give in to their most primal urges! The ce that¡¯s considered the most stimting and exciting!¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood what the stupid monkey was getting at. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to those ces! Stop making wild guesses.¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t gone there? That¡¯s impossible. What else could you be spending your money on? Could it be that you spent it all on games and equipment?¡± The monkey felt absolutely certain in his guess this time.

    Lu Yin looked confused. ¡°Games? Equipment?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! You humans have created a bunch of different kinds of battle-games. A lot of young people are addicted to these games. You must have spent all your money on buying new techniques!¡± the monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t even want to respond anymore.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t get addicted to games, Seventh Bro. Those techniques are all fake, so you won¡¯t be able to use them in real life,¡± he sagaciously advised Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin blocked off the star energy to his right arm. That monkey was being a nuisance.

    As time passed, the news that Lu Yin was set to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw spread through the universe like wildfire. It was talked about everywhere within the Chaos Flowzone and Daynight Flowzone. This was one of the benefits of having a universalwork connect the Human Domain.

    When Nightqueen Yanqing found out about this matter, she was absolutely devastated. She¡¯d been patiently waiting for her n to stop bothering with Lu Yin so that she could thoroughly crush him, but then, all of a sudden, he¡¯d be entangled with such a powerful person. The Sea King no less! He was a person whom even the Daynight n had no wish to provoke without good reason.

    There was a bang as she punched the ground. Ruining Lu Yin had be her foremost priority by now, something that she absolutely had to aplish no matter what! She¡¯d never been defeated so thoroughly before. Not only had Lu Yin personally defeated her in front of an audience, but she also couldn¡¯t do anything to him even with the help from her n. She had the power to imprison someone like Zhanlong Daynight with her influence as a Nightqueen, but such power was useless against Lu Yin.

    She knew his weakness, but there was nothing she could do about it at all, and it was driving her mad.

    Such a thing had already happened multiple times in the past; whenever she wanted to make a move against him, she had been stopped by something. Lu Yin had already be her inner demon.

    At this moment, her gadget sounded out with a notification. She answered it and was met with a face she hade to hate. ¡°Be an Explorer as soon as possible. The n is going to send you into the Astral Wilderness to gather a certain substance.¡±

    The person on the screen was Nightking Yuanjing. This was the person who was always preventing her from destroying Lu Yin, and this was honestly killing her inside. However, there was nothing that could be done.

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± she answered in a low voice.

    Nightking Yuanjing stared at her intensely. ¡°I¡¯m warning you once again: don¡¯ty a hand on Lu Yin. He is not someone who you have the right to touch. The n has its own ns for him.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes shed with a cold glint as she ended the connection. She looked up and clenched her fists. She would wait. As long as her brother was still set to be the leader of the Nightking n, she would continue to reign above the others. Her day woulde soon enough.

    After contacting Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Yuanjing called Lu Yin right away. He was eager to talk to Lu Yin since the Sea King could be a strong ally of the Daynight n. The moment Lu Yin truly became the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, the Daynight n could make use of him to more easily enter the Starfall Sea and explore that area that numerous people wanted to know more about.

    Soon enough, the call connected, and Lu Yin appeared on the screen.

    Lu Yin had been reciting the Stonewall Scriptures since he had nothing else to do. It was quite surprising that Nightking Yuanjing would take the initiative to contact him.

    ¡°Hi there, Grandpa Yuanjing!¡± Lu Yin greeted the old man with an enthusiastic smile, as if he¡¯d forgotten about the scheming that had been gone on back on the spacecraft.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s wrinkles creased as he smiled kindly at the youth. ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re fine, Lu Yin. I heard that you took part in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection. Such an event will create a lot of enemies, so make sure that you don¡¯t overdo things.¡±

    Lu Yin looked touched, and he hastily replied, ¡°Thank you for the concern, Grandpa Yuanjing, but I¡¯m doing fine.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked happy at his answer. ¡°That¡¯s good. By the way, I¡¯ve tranted the text that you showed me before. Would you like to know what those words mean?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he stared at Nightking Yuanjing in shock. The old man was actually willing to share such sensitive information with him? It appeared that the Sea King had a reputation that was far beyond what Lu Yin had initially imagined! This meant that he no longer needed to worry about the safety of Frostwave Weave. It would be for the best if he could maintain his position as the Sea King¡¯s publicly announced son-inw until he was able to be more powerful himself.

    However, if Nightking Yuanjing was willing to share the trantion of that text with Lu Yin, then that also indicated that it wasn¡¯t all that important.

    ¡°That should be a top secret of the Daynight n, Grandpa Yuanjing. It¡¯s best if I don¡¯t know,¡± Lu Yin said, putting on an expression as if he was caught in a difficult position even though he really wanted to know.

    Nightking Yuanjing chuckled. ¡°Since you call me Grandpa, then the Nightking n can be considered as your home. Family members naturally have the right to this knowledge!¡±

    Lu Yin was about to vomit. The old man was so fake! Of course, Lu Yin was just as bad since he made sure to appear delighted. ¡°Thank you, Grandpa Yuanjing!¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing made a sound of acknowledgement, obviously pleased with such a response. ¡°It roughly trantes to: ¡®Hate cannot protect you! Await the end of rain. Hate! Hate! Hate!¡¯¡±

    Lu Yin was confused; what did that even mean? It sounded incredibly sinister.

    Nightking Yuanjing noticed Lu Yin¡¯s perplexed expression and exined, ¡°It probably has something to do with a grudge between some ancient powerhouses. We don¡¯t know much either. If you¡¯re lucky, you might be able to find out in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin could only smile. ¡°If even the Daynight n doesn¡¯t know, then there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to find out. Regardless, thank you for being so kind to me, Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re no outsider. By the way, are you currently at the dome?¡± Nightking Yuanjing inquired. This was what he was truly interested in discovering.

    Lu Yin nodded and sadly answered, ¡°The Sea King locked me up and said that I can¡¯t leave until I be an Explorer. I¡¯m in a bit of a sticky situation.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing solemnly answered, ¡°He¡¯s trying to help you. You will have to do something for him in thanks in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin adjusted his expression. ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing grunted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about your Frostwave Weave. As long as the Daynight n is around, nobody will be able to meddle in its affairs.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much, Grandpa Yuanjing!¡± Lu Yin eximed gratefully.

    ¡­

    Not much more time passed before Lu Yin ended the call. His face became contemtive. So it turned out that the Sea King¡¯s influence was actually this powerful, which meant that Lu Yin could rest easy. This was something that he had not expected at all. Even an elder from the Nightking n had called to butter up to him. This indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s status as the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw was definitely something worth having.

    Also, it was quite a surprise that the Daynight n had been able to trante that bit of text. The amount of time that had passed since it had been first written down was enough for even brick walls to erode into powder, but the Daynight n had already sessfully tranted it. Such an achievement showed just how terrifying the n truly was. It was far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s imagination. Was he destined to forever be the underdog and perpetually keep pretending with Yuanjing?

    To be honest, everything would be fine as long as Lu Yin became the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. However, that was not taking Hai Qiqi¡¯s terrible personality into consideration. After all, what would be of Ming Yan? The reason why Lu Yin had been training this hard all along had been because he detested being restricted by others. If he gave up on what he loved just because he wanted to forge a connection with the Sea King, then what was the point of training this far?

    A person should decide what was important to them and then follow through on that. Lu Yin didn¡¯t mind being humiliated if it allowed him to achieve what he wanted. However, he could never give up on what he truly wanted, not even if it meant death.

    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw either. It might seem like Lu Yin had received the Sea King¡¯s acknowledgement, but Lu Yin couldn¡¯t be certain what that man actually thought of him. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t so narcissistic that he believed that the Sea King would force him into this marriage. The future waspletely unknown to Lu Yin right now, as everything was in the Sea King¡¯s control. It was a terrible feeling.

    At this point, Lu Yin¡¯s biggest headache was how he could leave this ce. It felt like it would take him ages to break through and be an Explorer.

 Chapter 462: Northcastle Weave

    <h4>Chapter 462: Northcastle Weave</h4>

    The current universe was divided into four simple divisions that consisted of the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Astral Wilderness.

    No one knew howrge the Astral Wilderness was, or whether there were any other civilizations that were more advanced than the currently known ones. Of course, the civilizations from the three established domains were actively searching the Astral Wilderness for other civilizations.

    The Astral Wilderness was like a ck fog that covered the entire universe, and all forms of intelligent life wanted to remove thisyer of fog, but they did not know how big it was or what dangers it might contain. There was even a possibility that the threerge domainsbined only amounted to a hundredth, a thousandth, or even less of the Astral Wilderness.

    The universe followed thew of the jungle. Every intelligent civilizations could be seen as a hunter, and they preyed upon other civilizations in the darkness of the jungle

    In the Astral Wilderness, humans were at a disadvantage. They could only explore a small portion of the wilderness, but they had already made countless astounding discoveries. One example was the substance called pyrolyte. It was a rare substance, but when found, there would be a substantial amount of it in each location. It was incredibly destructive, and just one gram had a destruction potential that rivaled an attack with a power level of 10,000. Once arge amount of pyrolyte was set off, the unleashed destruction was inestimable. This was a strategic military resource, and also something that all powers would fight over once they learned about it.

    However, the amount of pyrolyte that had been discovered was too little. Even though humans hade up with various methods to find more, there was a limit to how much area they could cover. No power would give up on any pyrolyte, and they were certain that, in some region of the Astral Wilderness, there should be an extremelyrge amount of pyrolyte. Additionally, this substance seemed to only be found in a specific area of the Astral Wilderness whichy close to the Outerverse¡¯s Northcastle Weave.

    Northcastle Weave was not famous in the Human Domain, but that did not mean that it was unknown. It was one of the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse and it bordered the Astral Wilderness andy to the north of Frostwave Weave.

    In the dark sky, two enormous astral beasts calmly moved through it. One looked like a praying mantis and the other a python. Atop the head of each beast stood a person, and they were both wearing uniforms that did not belong to Frostwave Weave. They proudly looked ahead at a sorry figure that was attempting to escape.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to struggle. Your entire empire will be destroyed, so there¡¯s no reason to leave just you alone alive. On ount of your power level of 60,000, Commander Anfield can make an exception and allow you to join my Second Grade Hall. Why are you still not showing some gratitude?¡± The man atop the mantis beast head shouted, the sound waves from his voice spreading across the universe.

    Ahead of them, the pathetic escaping figure had a venomous gaze. ¡°Second Grade Hall, I, Ding Xing, will one day avenge the hateful act of destroying my empire!¡±

    ¡°What a joke! You wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with my Second Grade Hall even if your entire Northcastle Weave united together, let alone you by yourself, a puny Cruiser of Northcastle Weave. Since you can¡¯t appreciate our kindness, then just die!¡± The man exerted some strength through his leg, unleashing a strange ripple. At the same time, beneath him, the giant mantis beast raised its sickle-shaped forelegs and sliced out. This attack caused sharp winds to tear through this area of outer space. Its might surpassed a power level of 50,000 and was enough to even tear apart a, which caused an eruption of light and an enormous shockwave.

    Aary eruption was a significant event, and Ding Xing borrowed the power of the explosion to charge forward with renewed determination, even as he spat out blood.

    The sickles of the mantis beast danced about and tore through all of the ripplesing from the explosion. Then, the beast charged towards Ding Xing as it raised its forelegs and sliced down.

    Ding Xing¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he finally realized that this Second Grade Hall¡¯s expert had been toying with him all along. With the speed of this mantis, there was no way for him to dodge its attacks. ¡°I can¡¯t ept this! My Greatsword Dynasty cannot be destroyed like this!¡±

    The Second Grade Hall male merely sneered in response. ¡°Insignificant creatures!¡±

    The sickles sliced downwards and were right about tond on Ding Xing¡¯s head. However, at an unknown point in time, grains of sand had appeared in the heavens, floating in front of Ding Xing¡¯s eyes. His face was ashen; was he dead? Was this a hallucination? Was there sand in the underworld?

    Bang!

    An enormous impact sent both the mantis and Ding Xing flying backwards. Fine grains of sand were now floating between the two parties.

    Ding Xing had survived this desperate situation, though he was still dazed at what was happening. Meanwhile, the Second Grade Hall expert who had attacked fell sullen and looked to his right. In that direction, there was a floating silent figure with a single hand raised. The sand hade from this person, as it was his innate gift.

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you meddle in the affairs of the Second Grade Hall!¡± the expert atop the mantis coldly questioned. In the next moment, the giant python beast appeared, and the man standing atop its head also stared coldly towards the right.

    The sand separated and then gradually shrank to merge back into the figure¡¯s body. The newly arrived person looked up. ¡°Great Yu Empire, Eighth Captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, Shalosh.¡±

    Ding Xing was ecstatic since the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons had appeared. Right, he was already in Frostwave Weave.

    The two experts from the Second Grade Hall exchanged nces, though they remained arrogant. ¡°Someone from Frostwave Weave? Let me give you a word of advice: scram! We are from the Innerverse¡¯s Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Second Grade Hall, and you are not qualified to interfere in our affairs.¡±

    Shalosh¡¯s face sank. ¡°This region belongs to the Great Yu Empire, not the Beast Tamers Flowzone.¡±

    The man atop the python sneered. ¡°You still dare to talk back, huh? It looks like the Innerverse has not shown its might to the Outerverse in a long time since even these fringe natives dare to oppose us! Fine, I¡¯ll just ughter you, bring your head to your so-called ¡®Great Yu Empire,¡¯ and show it to the person in power. We¡¯ll see if they have the gall to take revenge for you!¡± Then, he gave an order to the python, which snarled at Shalosh.

    Shalosh¡¯s hand spun and the sand particles split from one into two, then into four, until it grew into a sandstorm that enveloped the entire area and swallowed the expert from the Second Grade Hall.

    This was no ordinary sandstorm, but rather one that contained Shalosh¡¯s star energy. Every grain of sand in it was powerful enough to pierce through an Explorer¡¯s body. This technique had been developed when Undying Yushan personally coached Shalosh, and it had be the captain¡¯s trump card.

    The man atop the python¡¯s expression dramatically changed when he sensed the terror of this sandstorm, and he hurriedly retreated. However, the mantis beast charged forward andshed out with its sickles in an attempt to cut through the sandstorm. However, when the sickles moved through the sandstorm, they raised sparks that tore through the void, but they could not slice through the sand.

    Such a result astounded the two beast tamers; when had Cruisers in the Outerverse be strong enough that they could face off against the two of them by themselves?

    No one was able to understand the power of the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. They had inherited Undying Yushan¡¯s dominating determination and ambition to conquer the surrounding weaves. Their power levels were not that impressive, but each captain had been personally chosen by Undying Yushan. He had roamed the Innerverse in years long gone and had even reached the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings. Such a person¡¯s insight could not be measured by the Outerverse standards. Also, Undying Yushan had passed down battle techniques inherited from his Yu family down to the captains.

    It could be said that the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons captains had transcended themon standards for the Outerverse¡¯s powerhouses and were capable of rivaling the Innerverse¡¯s elites. Of course, if not for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s intervention in the past, then Jue Lang, Di Ou, Bertson, Felut, captains of the Third, Fourth, Seventh and Tenth Squadrons, respectively, would not have died.

    The blind monk had been able to suppress the Ross Empire¡¯s Hunters all by himself, and just this single urrence illustrated the terror of these captains.

    The Second Grade Hall sat on the lowest rung of the Beast Tamers Flowzone, as there was the First Grade Hall and the most powerful Divine Grade Hall above them. Cruisers from the Second Grade Hall could only be at the general standard of the Innerverse, not the standard of the Innerverse¡¯s elites.

    The two Second Grade Hall experts nced at each other and then split up to attack Shalosh from two different directions. He remained indifferent; one hand spun as the sandstorm split from one into two, one of which then enveloped himself and Ding Xing within it. The other then swept outwards in all directions to epass arger area, confronting both the mantis and the python.

    The two astral beasts simultaneously howled in anguish before backing away and staring at Shalosh in fear.

    ¡°This is the territory of the Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire. Leave immediately.¡± Shalosh¡¯s tone was cold, and there was killing intent radiating from his eyes. The giant sandstorm made for an intimidating image that was exceptionally terrifying.

    At this point, Shalosh alone was enough to cause the nearbys to tremble.

    The two Second Grade Hall experts could not ept such results, and they looked at each other before looking at Shalosh. ¡°Great Yu Empire, our Second Grade Hall will remember the name!¡±

    With that, they both turned to leave.

    Ding Xing rxed. There was a trickle of blood flowing down from the corner of his mouth. However, he disregarded his own injuries and instead hurriedly moved in front of Shalosh to respectfully bow to the captain. ¡°Ding Xing of the Greatsword Dynasty pleads for an audience with the Great Yu Empire¡¯s emperor, Undying Yushan.¡±

    Shalosh frowned. ¡°His Imperial Majesty has already passed away. He has been reced by the Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan as well as the Royal Regent, Lu Yin.¡±

    Ding Xing was shocked. ¡°His Imperial Majesty has passed away?¡±

    Shalosh nodded.

    Ding Xing was shocked as he began reminiscing about that assertive emperor. When he had coincidentally crossed paths with the emperor in the past, those eyes definitely had not only held Frostwave Weave within them, but they had also included his Northcastle Weave in their sights. It had precisely been because of that that Northcastle Weave¡¯s powers had never established friendly rtionships with Frostwave Weave; they had been afraid of Undying Yushan. They had never imagined that on the day they came seeking help from that overbearing emperor, he would have already died.

    Since Northcastle Weave was located quite close to the Astral Wilderness, and since the weave¡¯s central powers were located in the northern section of the weave, they had ended up developing a bustlingwork connected to the Astral Wilderness. However, this had also led them to gradually neglect the nearby weaves¡¯ situation. It had reached the point where they no longer sought to discover what was happening in the universe. To a certain degree, they had been sealed, as they had not even heard about Undying Yushan¡¯s death in a nearby weave. If not for this unexpected encounter, the weave would have continued to seal itself off.

    ¡°I wish to seek an audience with the Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan,¡± Ding Xing said.

    Shalosh replied, ¡°Her Highness is in Adonis Weave¡¯s East San Dios, though I can try to help you contact her.¡±

    He immediately activated his gadget.

    Lu Yin was still in the distant Starfall Sea and waspletely unaware of the developments in the Great Yu Empire. From the moment he left that separate dimension with the golden ocean, Lu Yin had instructed Huo Qingshan and the others to not contact him unless there was something vitally important.

    To them, the developments in Northcastle Weave were still considered ¡°nothing important,¡± or at least, not as important as the matter of the Great Yu Empire unifying Frostwave Weave.

    However, nobody knew that the current Northcastle Weave had already undergone aplete change. On the surface, the same powers still were in ce and maintained control, and the Greatsword Dynasty was still there on the star charts. However, in reality, all of these native powers had already vanished. All of these changes stemmed from¡­ pyrolyte.

    A few days passed, but Michelle and the others still had not left the Sea King¡¯s dome. There had been a dy in the cycle of merchant ships going back and forth between the entrance of the Starfall Sea and the Sea King¡¯s Dome due to an order by the Sea King¡¯s Dome. This was a regtion and not rted to wealth, so for once, Lulu could not pay her way out of this situation and leave early.

    Fortunately, before they could leave, an astounding battle rocked both the Sea King¡¯s Dome and the universe: Mu Rong vs. Ling Que.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome forbade fighting, but not in all areas. Some spaces had been specifically reinforced so that even Hunters who could tear through the void could not cause too much damage. Such areas permitted fighting.

    Mu Rong and Ling Que stood beneath a cliff and faced each other. From a distance, countless people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome surrounded the area as they watched on in excitement. Some people in the audience even started recording the confrontation.

 Chapter 463: Soulsplitting Technique

    <h4>Chapter 463: Soulsplitting Technique</h4>

    This was a battle between universally famous Limiteers. Two of the four unequaled Limiteers in the younger generation were finally shed.

    Michelle and the rest were also present and watching, and Lulu in particr was very excited.

    Big Pao¡¯s face was positively radiant since this battle was wholly unrted to him.

    During the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection that had taken ce a few days before, he had urged Lulu to splurge and poach Ling Que¡¯s cheerleaders. In the end, the girls had cheered for Mu Rong. After the selection, the entire matter should have ended.

    Ling Que, however, seemed to have some screws loose in his head, and he was determined to retrieve his cheerleaders. ording to him, when no one cheered for him, he was unable to get into the right mental state.

    The problem was that the cheerleaders had be captivated by Mu Rong. Although they had been bought over by the allure of Ling Que¡¯s money, they had coincidentally walked past Mu Rong and involuntary screams had sounded from the group that had startled both Mu Rong and Ling Que. What had added oil to the fire were the rumors that Ling Que could notpare to Mu Rong, so the current battle had been arranged in fury.

    In the distance, the cheerleaders were caught in a dilemma. They liked both Ling Que and Mu Rong, so they were at a loss for who they should cheer on.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in battling you,¡± Mu Rong calmly replied. It almost felt like he did not take any matter seriously.

    Ling Que snorted before replying, ¡°So what? Are you trying to have your cake and eat it too? Don¡¯t even bother thinking about it! During the selection, you secretly stole away my cheering squad, and I still haven¡¯t settled that matter with you. If you hadn¡¯t snatched them away, my mood wouldn¡¯t have been as poor, and my mind wouldn¡¯t have been in such a miserable state. I definitely wouldn¡¯t have been ambushed by Cheng Wu otherwise. Everything¡¯s because of you!¡±

    Mu Rong frowned. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡±

    Ling Que was furious as well. ¡°You¡¯re still pretending! Today, my state is great, so I¡¯ll show you the results of your pretending!¡±

    Then, Ling Que lifted his hand and raised it a few times.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The cheerleaders maintained their professional conduct; they had epted Ling Que¡¯s money, so they would only cheer for him.

    The surrounding people were shocked and hurriedly moved away from the group of lunatics.

    Ling Que basked in the cheers as star energy erupted from his body and crushed the ground beneath him. Even the void shuddered as the surging energy was so strong that it pushed the air away, eventually blowing past the clouds in the sky.

    It looked like a smoke signal ascending to the heavens, and it attracted even more attention.

    Northgate Lie, Che Han, the still undeparted Cheng Wu, Qin Chen, and the rest all came to watch. Even Lan Yu and Zhang Dingtian were present.

    This was Ling Que erupting with all of his strength, and he was demonstrating the full terror of an unequaled Limiteer. Many felt that Cheng Wu¡¯s ambush on Ling Que during the selection had been unfortunate, as Ling Que hadn¡¯t even been able to disy the Lingling n¡¯s inherited battle technique¡ªthe Soulsplitting Technique. They had been waiting for this moment to finally arrive.

    The battle prowess that Mu Rong had disyed in the selection was astounding, and even Cheng Wu had believed that it would be difficult for him to defeat Mu Rong. This peerless Limiteer still had hidden trump cards, and he was unfathomable to the extreme. Unfortunately, he had not shed against Lu Yin, but many believed that Lu Yin was not Mu Rong¡¯s opponent.

    As a fellow user of Thirty Stacks who was even an Explorer, Lan Yu had been easily defeated by Mu Rong. Their battle seemed to prove that the Oveying Stacks method was ineffective against Mu Rong, which insinuated that Lu Yin¡¯s chances of victory were very low.

    Amongst the four unparalleled Limiteers, Mu Rong was believed to be the strongest since he had been publicly recognized by the Ten Arbiters.

    With a whoosh, Ling Que dashed through the void with extreme speed as his Que''s Mighty sh appeared in his hand. He sliced out, and his movements were apanied by a deafening crash.

    A sudden p of thunder rang out, and the air shattered as the thunder transformed into a visible shockwave that swept out across the t ground.

    Mu Rong¡¯s gaze was stern, as he could not be careless against Ling Que. The thunder and the shockwave swept forward together as one while Que¡¯s Mighty sh closed in on Mu Rong. The wooden flute spun around in his hand as he stepped to the side, easily dodging the Que''s Mighty sh. Then, he simply sidestepped once again to dodge the explosion of the thunder and the shockwave.

    The Lingling n members were able to absorb others¡¯ innate gifts and form their own evesting innate gift. Ling Que¡¯s Que''s Mighty sh possessed the strength of both thunder and sound, and it was rather terrifying.

    Ling Que sneered when he saw that not a single one of his strikes hadnded. ¡°Mu Rong, don¡¯t assume that your Floating Stride that allows you to avoid and dissolve your opponent¡¯s attacks, almost like a lockbreaking technique, is a secret or something. Additionally, even your Floating Stride has its limits!¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes flickered, and his entire body froze for a split second. The next moment, everyone stared at the battlefield as their faces turned to expressions of disbelief.

    Ling Que had split in two.

    This was the Soulsplitting Technique, the Lingling n¡¯s ancient inherited battle technique. No one knew whether the n had existed for 100,000 years or a million years aside from the n itself. During this time, numerous civilizations had risen and fallen in the universe, and multiple generations had passed. It was impossible to know if this n had existed since ancient times, or if it had been established upon the ruins of a past great civilization.

    However, the Soulsplitting Technique had always been the Lingling n¡¯s most terrifying battle technique, and it intimidated outsiders the greatest. No one else could learn it aside from the Lingling n¡¯s own members.

    This Soulsplitting Technique literally split the body into two, which meant that one could split themselves into two doppelgangers that each had the strength of the original body.

    This was the reason why Ling Que had been dered as an unequaled Limiteer.

    Two Que''s Mighty shes appeared and then vanished simultaneously, as regardless of how solid the void was here, it could not stop the Que''s Mighty sh from shuttling through it. This was just one of it¡¯s terrifying aspects.

    During the selection, if Cheng Wu hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to ambush Ling Que, heavily injuring him before he could retaliate in the process, then Ling Que may not have been so easily defeated.

    In the universe, there were always these genius freaks that defiedprehension, and Ling Que ranked at the top among these freaks.

    His Que''s Mighty sh was sufficiently powerful to cause countless people to feel numb, and most people would not even be able to react as both des chopped down simultaneously. Everyone stared at the field, their breathing about to halt.

    Michelle and the rest were also shocked. They were fellow Limiteers, but the disparity between them was too great.

    Mu Rong suddenly moved; he took one step forward with his right leg. There was obviously nothing in front of him, but then he suddenly shifted to the right, and in the next instant, Que''s Mighty sh appeared, streaking past along his neck and causing a trace of blood to appear. Mu Rong retreated right after that, and the second Que''s Mighty sh streaked past his forehead, leaving a simr thin line of blood there.

    The two Que''s Mighty shes had given Mu Rong two wounds.

    Ling Que was astounded; his dual Que''s Mighty shes had always sessfully injured his enemies before. If he had not been injured by Cheng Wu¡¯s ambush, then he was confident that even Cheng Wu would fall to this attack. However, it had only given Mu Rong a superficial injury.

    Mu Rong was slightly injured, but this was the first time he had been hit since arriving at the Sea King¡¯s Dome to participate in the selection. It could be said that this was also his first time being injured during a battle against someone from the same generation as him.

    He touched his wound and felt its shallowness, but his expression turned serious nheless.

    Beneath Mu Rong, dark green grass appeared, exuding an overflowing vitality, and in the surrounding void, the farmer boy riding on a cow appeared with a leisurely expression. This was Mu Rong¡¯s personal forcefield, a vision of the farmer boy herding cattle.

    The moment the forcefield appeared, the two Que''s Mighty shes were expelled from the void, and they moved back to revolve around the two Ling Ques. They could easily shuttle through the void, but they could not pass through Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield, which meant that his Que''s Mighty sh¡¯s strongest aspect had been nullified now that this forcefield had appeared.

    Ling Que did not think that Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield would have such arge restraining effect on him. If Cheng Wu had tried to control Ling Que through that invulnerable clock, then Mu Rong¡¯s method was to cut off his des¡¯ greatest advantage.

    It wasn¡¯t just Ling Que, as the entire audience had been enveloped by Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield as well.

    Michelle felt the forcefield oppress her entire body, and she even found it hard to circte her star energy. The moment she was enveloped by the forcefield, her power had dropped by two-thirds, leaving her dumbstruck. This powerful forcefield had shattered her previous understanding of domains.

    Lulu clenched her fists; her physical strength was still there, but it was also being suppressed.

    Xia Luo had a look of amazement, and he looked up to see the famer boy herding cattle through the void.

    Darkvoid raised a hand, only to discover that his innate gift was useless as it had beenpletely suppressed.

    Hui Daynight felt his scalp turn numb, as the feeling this forcefield gave him was too scary.

    ¡­

    Everyone could sense the terror of Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield, as experiencing it for themselves waspletely different from merely seeing it. At this moment, they truly understood the reason why Zhang Dingtian had been defeated. This was an irresistible strength, and even Northgate Lie and Qin Chen had to admit that they would be defeated without question if they were suppressed within this forcefield.

    Cheng Wu had exchanged blows with Mu Rong and experienced this forcefield before, but he was still shocked. Once Mu Rong broke through and became an Explorer, a great number of the experts in the Top 100 Rankings would have to take a step back. This was a true unequaled Limiteer; he was not just unequaled in his generation, but rather invincible among all the Limiteers in the universe.

    The shock that Ling Que had given the onlookers simply crumbled away after Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield enveloped them.

    Mu Rong raised a hand and pressed downwards, prompting the farmer boy who was originally wandering around to directly rush towards Ling Que. The farmer boy represented the entire forcefield, and Ling Que felt as if the heavens themselves were copsing upon him. Even the surrounding void was no longer stable, as distortions had appeared everywhere. Ling Que¡¯s star energy waspletely suppressed.

    Ling Que growled, and his doppelgangers vanished as they merged back into one body. Then, his body momentarily stopped moving once again. Under the rmed gazes of everyone present, he split into¡ªthree bodies. Three Ling Ques appeared with three Que''s Mighty shes revolving around them, and they all shed with the farmer boy.

    Boom!

    Everyone felt their minds being thrown into chaos, and many seemed to have been struck by an invisible attack and were forced to spit out blood. Many audience members even started bleeding from their seven orifices before fainting on the spot.

    This collision between the two Limiteers even caused the void to start rumbling. This was because Mu Rong¡¯s suppressive forcefield had already enveloped the void while Ling Que was disying his Soulsplitting Technique to its extreme, and he was using thebined force of all three bodies to withstand Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield.

    The ground ked apart inyers as a terrifying aftershock rippled outwards. The avnche of crushed rocks injured countless people.

    Xia Luo and the rest were also within the scope of this aftershock. The youths all worked together, but Michelle and the others were still blown back by just an aftershock from the battle from Mu Rong and Ling Que.

    The surrounding void was suppressed, and unless someone with a power level that surpassed a Hunter¡¯s attacked, the void would forever remain solid here. Even so, the ripples distorted the nearby space, causing all objects within a radius of 10,000 meters to disintegrate, including the nearby cliff.

    In the sky, Hai Dashao and Starsibyl stood far above everything as they looked down, watching the fight.

    And high above the entire Sea King¡¯s Dome, even the Sea King was observing.

    This battle between Limiteers could even attract the Sea King¡¯s attention; this was something that even a Top 100 Rankings expert might not be able to aplish.

    When the dust settled, the onlookers who were still conscious all looked over in shock. Mu Rong was standing in his original ce with a calm look while the three Ling Ques were panting heavily. They had managed to withstand a single strike from Mu Rong.

    The cheerleaders had all fainted by now, but Ling Que could not be bothered with them at this moment. The three Ling Ques howled withughter, in sync. ¡°Mu Rong, you¡¯re indeed powerful, but so what? No matter how powerful your forcefield may be, it cannotst forever! That strike should be your peak strength. Now, it¡¯s my turn!¡±

    Then, the three Ling Ques stood in a triangr formation that surrounded Mu Rong. The three Que''s Mighty shes released a sharp aura that warped the void. Not all ten of the innate gifts that made up Que¡¯s Mighty sh had been used by Ling Que in his fight. He felt that this was the right moment, and he merged all three des into one. No one could withstand this attack, as he had once used this de to defeat a Cruiser whose power level surpassed 70,000.

 Chapter 464: The Farmer Boy And Rankings

    <h4>Chapter 464: The Farmer Boy And Rankings</h4>

    The area waspletely silent. Everyone was focused on the three gigantic des that had merged together, which caused its power to increase exponentially.

    Even Cheng Wu had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand this attack now that Ling Que¡¯s three swords had merged into one. Thankfully, he had sessfully sneak attacked Ling Que during the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, so Ling Que had not been at his peak state in that battle. Otherwise, Cheng Wu would have gone through a difficult battle.

    Ling Que had lost to Cheng Wu while trying to make his way up the Skyfall Cascades. The fact that he had given up without a fight had severely damaged his reputation. However, this battle against Mu Rong was reversing that impression. He was a true monster. Those who had managed to climb up Skyfall Cascades had all been monsters in their own right. If Cheng Wu hadn¡¯t managed to ambush Ling Que, then nobody knew how their battle might have gone. Even if Cheng Wu had been able to win, he would not have been able to keep fighting at peak condition in the subsequent battles.

    Ling Que became incredibly excited. If he managed to defeat Mu Rong at this moment, then he would be widely acknowledged as the most powerful Limiteer. By then, would he even need to hire a squad of cheerleaders? Of course not! There would surely be crowds of hot chicks waiting to be his cheerleaders. The Souldream Tribe, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, the famous Kind Tribe, and¡­ And even those talented genius girls from the Charming Space would worship him! Ye Xingchen? Lu Yin? They were just trash.

    Ling Que became more and more excited as he thought about his potential future, and the three merged Que¡¯s Mighty shes shone even brighter.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, Mu Rong!¡± Ling Que shouted when his merged de was about tond. Mu Rong definitely would not be able to dodge this attack. Even if he tried to tear through the void to escape, his Que''s Mighty sh would simply crush the void.

    A sweet tune suddenly came out of nowhere, and it gradually filled the ears of the audience. It felt like the music had just begun, but also felt if it had always been there.

    Mu Rong gently blew on his wooden flute, and a renewed aura appeared in the void. A boy was herding some cattle while chuckling to himself. Verdant green grass grew from the earth, and lush fields could be seen extending far into the distance, past the battle field and into the void.

    When the song came out, Mu Rong himself transformed. He himself became the farmer boy, seemingly forgetting about all his worries.

    The song of a farmer boy while rxing within the pasture!

    Nobody could destroy this vision.

    Ling Que¡¯s merged attack never managed tond, as Ling Que immediately became immersed in the song. He had lost. The moment Mu Rong started ying his song, Ling Que had lost.

    Mu Rong was someone whom the Ten Arbiters had acknowledged as truly invincible among all Limiteers. So what if someone could merge ten innate gifts together? So what if someone could split their soul? They¡¯d still lose to Mu Rong.

    This battle had brought too many surprises to the audience. Nobody had expected that a fight between two Limiteers could be so amazing. Experts at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings would definitely lose to either one of them. They were definitely strong enough to be on par with Cheng Wu.

    Hai Dashao eyed Mu Rong with disappointment. Although he didn¡¯t like how this guy always had a miserable look about him, his personality was still much better than Lu Yin¡¯s, and he was even stronger than Lu Yin. Hai Dashao felt an urge to try to convince his father to let this Mu Rong try pulling out the Sea King¡¯s Trident again. Unless¡­ Was it possible that Mu Rong had been the one to actually pull out the trident, but then decided that he didn¡¯t want to marry Qiqi, and so let Lu Yin take it out? That kid, Lu Yin, had been repeating the fact that he hadn¡¯t used any strength at all; could his words actually be true? The more Hai Dashao thought about it, the more likely his suspicions seemed to be real.

    Starsibyl gazed at Mu Rong¡¯s figure as he left, recalling his answer to her question. ¡°Why should I be strong? It¡¯s enough if I can live every day happily.¡± That had been Mu Rong¡¯s answer. Unfortunately, such a dream would never happen. The more that kind of person wished to be happy, the more unhappy they would end up bing.

    The Sea King looked away with a wistful expression. These two Limiteers were both geniuses. That kid was supposed to be on par with them, so why hadn¡¯t hee to watch this huge event?

    Everyone left soon after, leaving Ling Que standing in the open arena by himself with his head hanging down, looking incredibly unwilling to ept his defeat.

    He¡¯d beenpletely and thoroughly beaten. He was from the Lingling n and therefore stood above all others, but he had just been defeated. Just the thought of it left him incredibly annoyed. Mu Rong really was the number one Limiteer¡ªthere was no doubt about it.

    Michelle and the rest left as well, and Coco anxiously looked at the peak of the Sea King¡¯s Dome. ¡°Mu Rong is so strong! I hope that Lu Yin won¡¯t have to fight him.¡±

    Big Pao held the same sentiment and sighed. ¡°If I had known that this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have participated in the first ce. Knowing always hurts more than not knowing. After news of this battle spreads, Mu Rong will definitely be regarded as the strongest Limiteer. Hopefully, Lu Yin won¡¯t take this matter to heart and won¡¯t try to challenge him.¡±

    Xia Luo had his ever-present smile on his face. I wonder how far you¡¯ll be able to go, Lu Yin. You¡¯ve defeated so many people that nobody ever thought you had a chance of beating. Will Mu Rong be one of them? He grew very excited at such a thought and had a feeling that Mu Rong and Lu Yin would most likely have a duel at some point. Additionally, Xia Luo even felt like their duel was not far off.

    Mu Rong had defeated Ling Que, and their battle had brought even more attention to the Sea King¡¯s Dome. However, people were paying the most attention to the rankings of the four unequalled Limiteers. The most secretive one was actually Ye Xingchen. He had been staying in the Cosmic Sea all this time, and nobody knew how strong he actually was. However, everyone still ranked Mu Rong as number one, and almost nobody objected to such a ranking.

    In second ce was either Ling Que or Ye Xingchen. Even though Lu Yin had attracted a lot of attention during the recentpetition by having a close fight against the Faceless Man, many people still believed that Lu Yin would lose to Mu Rong. Their judgement was mostly based on the fact that Lu Yin primarily used stacked attacks.

    If Lu Yin were to fight against Ling Que with his stacked attacks, Ling Que would merely need to split his soul in two. One could defend while the other attacked, and thus, Lu Yin¡¯s loss seemed assured. Ling Que wouldn¡¯t even need to split into three copies to aplish such a thing.

    That was why Lu Yin indisputably held the fourth ce in the public¡¯s eye. Even though he was the Sea King¡¯s soon-to-be son-inw, he could only be ced fourth when among such monsters. This was readily acknowledged.

    Before much more time passed, Big Pao contacted Lu Yin and described the fight between Mu Rong and Ling Que in great detail during their call.

    Lu Yin was still training under the waterfall and had no idea that such a battle had taken ce. The dome was huge, and only battles between Hunters would be able to shake the entirety of the mountain. Battles between anyone beneath the Hunter realm wouldn¡¯t be enough to cause enough of amotion. The reason why Mu Rong and Ling Que¡¯s battle had been able to attract so many people¡¯s attention was mainly due to their reputations.

    Lu Yin set his gadget down. He never expected that the rankings of the four strongest Limiteers would be such a hot topic at this time. Even back when he first learned that the four of them were considered the strongest Limiteers, he already knew that the day woulde where they would be ranked. He just hadn¡¯t expected it to happen so suddenly.

    Brains and brawn were equally important in such rankings. Cultivators were generally hot-headed and would refuse to admit that they were any inferior to anyone else. The stronger they were, the truer this tendency, especially for the younger generation.

    Lu Yin stood up and stared into the distance. To be honest, he was actually looking forward to fighting against Mu Rong and Ling Que. Out of everyone in his generation, only they were qualified to fight against him.

    His enemies included the Ten Arbiters, and the entity that posed the biggest threat to him at this moment was the Daynight n. However, there were plenty of other people who were his enemies as well. In the ns that Lu Yin hadid out for his revenge, reputation was extremely important.

    He had no idea if Leon''s Armada would help his Big Sis avenge the seventy two lives that had been lost, but Lu Yin would not ce his hopes on someone else; this was his fight!

    By truly bing an unequaled Limiteer, he would gain an amazing reputation. However, Mu Rong wasn¡¯t somebody who he could easily deal with. His battle techniques, talent, domain, and power were all things that only Ling Que actually understood. Lu Yin felt confident that he¡¯d be able to block powerful physical attacks with his Fatesand, but the move that had defeated Ling Que definitely possessed certain aspects that Lu Yin could not defend against with just his strong body.

    He didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d be able to win against Mu Rong for sure, so if he was going to fight, it would only happen after Lu Yin was confident in achieving victory. He wouldn¡¯t behave like Ling Que and rashly charge into battle. Ever since Lu Yin had been swallowed by that storm in the Tempest Flowzone, he¡¯d returned to being extremely cautious.

    While Lu Yin was busy calcting Mu Rong¡¯s strength, the Sea King had somehow caught wind of a rumor that Lu Yin and Mu Rong were going to have a duel. The moment such news broke out, the Sea King had been immediately alerted.

    ¡°Lu Yin really has the guts to challenge Mu Rong? He¡¯s not scared of losing badly even when he¡¯s right under the Sea King¡¯s nose.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s too ignorant if he thinks that he¡¯s really invincible after pulling out the Sea King¡¯s Trident! Apparently, that trident was actually pulled out by Mu Rong, but because he wasn¡¯t willing to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, he didn¡¯t pull it outpletely. Thus, Lu Yin was able to get lucky.¡±

    ¡°If I were him, I would definitely keep my mouth shut and wait until Mu Rong leaves. Why embarrass yourself?¡±

    ¡°Whatever the situation may be, Lu Yin will be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw soon, which means that he¡¯s pretty much already a part of the family. We still want him to win, even though it probably won¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°Somebody analyzed that Lu Yin¡¯s chances of winning are less than 1%. He relies on stacked attacks, speed, and his physical prowess. All of that¡¯s useless against Mu Rong! One could say that Mu Rong overpowers him in every aspect. Even Ling Que must be stronger than him.¡±

    ¡°What a pity. He¡¯s really too arrogant.¡± Somebody sighed as they sped their hands behind their back, looking like some kind of sophisticated person.

    All of a sudden, someone said, ¡°He¡¯s much better than you.¡±

    Everyone immediately looked over. The guy with his hands behind his back was stunned at being called out. After seeing that a young person with red lips and white teeth had said those words, he asked in confusion, ¡°Have I offended you in some way?¡±

    The youth hummed. ¡°You didn¡¯t offend me. If you had, you¡¯d already be dead.¡± And with that, the young woman left. She was Hai Qiqi, and she had changed her appearance to go out on a stroll. But after hearing all these people discussing Lu Yin¡¯s challenge towards Mu Rong, she¡¯d be annoyed with them. While she didn¡¯t like Lu Yin and enjoyed mocking him, hearing others ridicule him was irritating. And if she was annoyed, she had to speak up. Such was Hai Qiqi¡¯s way of life.

    ¡­

    Michelle and the rest immediately contacted Lu Yin upon hearing the rumors. Upon hearing it from them, Lu Yin was utterly confused. ¡°When did I ever say that I was going to challenge Mu Rong?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t you? Then who spread the news? They¡¯re clearly trying to cause trouble for you,¡± Michelle stated gravely.

    Everyone¡¯s first guess was Feng Mo and the others, but that didn¡¯t seem very likely since such a battle would not further their interests at all.

    The first person that came to Lu Yin¡¯s mind was none other than Hai Qiqi, who treated him with derision. He had a feeling that the girl was willing to do anything and was more than just the sharp tongue she was known for.

    ¡°News of your uing battle with Mu Rong has spread, and the location has even been set. It¡¯ll be in the middle of the mountain, here at Halfwillow Lakeside in two days. Do you think that you can win?¡± Xia Luo asked, sounding slightly excited, as if he found the entire matter rather hrious.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t really reply. It wasn¡¯t about whether he could win, but rather whether or not he could go there at all.

    Without wasting any more time with them, he shouted towards the sky, ¡°I would like to request an audience with you, Sir Sea King.¡±

    The entire area was under the Sea King¡¯s control, and while he might not have his eye on every single person at every single moment, Lu Yin was certain that the man was watching him every second.

    Sure enough, the scenery before Lu Yin distorted, and the Sea King¡¯s unremarkable face appeared in front of him. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully asked, ¡°May I know who spread the news that I am going to fight with Mu Rong?¡±

    The Sea King grunted in understanding. ¡°Me.¡±

    Lu Yin had thought that Hai Qiqi would be the one to spread the rumors. He had never dreamed that the Sea King himself could be responsible.

    He froze. ¡°Why?¡±

 Chapter 465: Let Me Give You A Lightbulb

    <h4>Chapter 465: Let Me Give You A Lightbulb</h4>

    The Sea King lifted his head high as he asked Lu Yin, ¡°Did you know that you are rankedst out of the four?¡±

    This was something that Lu Yin did not know. Big Pao and the others were probably afraid that Lu Yin would decline Mu Rong¡¯s challenge, which was why they had not told him.

    ¡°How can my son-inw be rankedst? If anything, he should be first. That being said, I want you to go ahead and fight. Losing is not an option,¡± Sea King spoke pridefully.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°Are you not afraid that I¡¯ll lose?¡±

    The Sea King stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Just challenge him again if you lose. I¡¯ll force Mu Rong to stay here at the Sea King''s Dome and will even make sure that he does not break through. I will see to it that you obtain victory before he leaves.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. What this man was proposing waspletely unreasonable!

    The Ghost Monkey eximed, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why those old guys warned us not to provoke the Starfall Sea¡¯s master. This old man is really a rascal!¡±

    The corner of the Sea King¡¯s mouth rose up, and he sped his hands as he said, ¡°Kid, let me teach you something today. The universe is too big, so nobody cares how things happened anymore¡ªall they care about are the results. Even if you decide to cheat to beat Mu Rong, the only thing the public will remember is that Mu Rong was defeated by you. That¡¯s all there is to it. This is the victor¡¯s prestige.

    ¡°You even have me backing you up, so even if you do cheat to win, no one will dare to say anything. On the other hand, if you didn¡¯t have me here you decided to cheat, then all the people backing him would drag you out and punish you. They would then ruin your public opinion. This is how power works.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s gaze turned stern, and he raised both hands and balled them into fists. ¡°Power and truth lies in the hands of a select few. Those select few people control public opinion and can even change the course of history. That is real power.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This brief monologue revealed the Sea King¡¯s core principles, as well as the truth about power. Even though it sounded like a scandalous action to take, this was the way the universe operated. History was written by the victors, and no one cared nor even dared to question how the victors had fought their way to the top.

    ¡°However, after having said all of that, cheating is not ethical, so I won¡¯t allow it. If you want to win, you¡¯ll have to depend on yourself.¡± The Sea King suddenly changed his tone when he made this remark. He then looked at Lu Yin and continued on, saying, ¡°In two days, I will send you to Halfwillow Lakeside. I hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    Lu Yin knitted his brows. ¡°I did not agree to battle him.¡±

    Sea King was unhappy with such a reply. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you. I am telling you that you will fight him in two days.¡±

    When he saw the reluctant look in Lu Yin¡¯s eye, he burst outughing. ¡°If you be stronger than me one day, I¡¯ll have no qualms if you treat me the same way I¡¯m currently treating you! Hahahaha.¡± Just as the Sea King was about to leave, something seemed to suddenly cross his mind. His face turned solemn, and he looked at Lu Yin with a face that seemed full of maliciousness. ¡°Kid, did you enjoy spending the money?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he acted confused. ¡°Money? What money?¡±

    Sea King snorted. ¡°You spent thirty-five thousand of my star essence. As a Limiteer, that¡¯s very extravagant of you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Senior, I only spent fifteen thousand star essence. Where is the other twenty thousand you mentioned?¡±

    ¡°Is the youngdy from the Mavis family not a member of your party?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is in my party, but how can I be ountable for her expenditures?¡±

    ¡°All of you came to the Sea King''s Dome to avoid being captured. Those in your party regard you as their leader. As such, who else would I hold ountable for their actions? Here¡¯s the bottom line. Lu Yin, we can have civil negotiations after you win this battle. However, if you lose, you will have let me down. If that happens, you¡¯d bettere up with a way to settle this debt.¡± As soon as he was done speaking, the Sea King left.

    Lu Yin remained frozen in ce as he felt like he was about to break down in tears. He had no way to reason with this powerful rascal. Lu Yin¡¯s previous worries had juste to fruition; the old rascal was really going to hold Lu Yin ountable for Lulu¡¯s debt.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your father-inw¡¯s a real character, and that Hai Qiqi is even worse! I foresee some exciting days ahead of you in the future.¡± The monkeyughed mockingly.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not want to fight, but rather that he wanted to have some practical assurance beforemitting to a battle. He hated forcing his way through the battle. Even though Lu Yin had a strong body, Mu Rong¡¯s style of fighting did not depend on brute force. Under such circumstances, if Lu Yin did not have a good strategy to counter Mu Rong¡¯s methods, he would not be able to win even if he did not lose. There would be no point in fighting under such circumstances.

    However, the Sea King¡¯s insistence that Lu Yin fight left him with no choice.

    As for the other main character in this battle, Mu Rong did not wish for this battle either. He had no interest in the rankings nor in doing battle with Lu Yin. s, he was left with no choice since he had been told that he could not leave the Sea King¡¯s Dome unless he fought with Lu Yin. This information also made himbel the Sea King as a rascal.

    After news was released that the fight had been confirmed by the Sea King''s Dome, a countless number of people in the Sea King''s Dome flocked to Halfwillow Lakeside. Although the majority felt that Lu Yin was destined to lose in an even worse manner than Ling Que, Lu Yin was still the strongest of the four unparalleled Limiteers in terms of physical strength. This reputation alone was enough to entice countless people to watch the battle.

    One dayter, Halfwillow Lakeside, which was situated half-way up the mountain, was already packed full of people. Many peddlers had even set up shop there.

    Michelle and the others had also arrived.

    Halfwillow Lakeside was a humongous area that was muchrger than the ce where Mu Rong and Ling Que had fought. After experiencing the previous battle, many people had learned the hard way that it was best to keep their distance from the battlefield. Of course, there were also quite a number who did not care to keep their distance since they felt that Lu Yin¡¯s limited abilities meant that he would not be able to cause too much damage. They felt that Mu Rong could achieve an easy victory.

    ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s just asking to be humiliated. I wonder if the Sea King will still recognize Lu Yin¡¯s status as his son-inw after he loses,¡± someonemented.

    ¡°He¡¯ll probably disown him. The Sea King has been unequaled for his entire life, so he probably doesn¡¯t want any blemishes in his reputation.¡±

    ¡°Actually, given Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities, he is a good match for the princess. It¡¯s just a pity that his light is being overshadowed by Mu Rong.¡±

    This sentence triggered Big Pao, who shoved the person who had just spoken. ¡°Brother, let me give you a lightbulb.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± The person was bewildered.

    Big Pao responded, ¡°You¡¯re very dim whenpared to me, so you can use it to illuminate yourself.¡±

    That person was stunned for a moment; the insult had rendered him speechless. He then snatched the lightbulb and tossed it away before angrily walking to the other side.

    Coco looked at Big Pao rather adoringly. ¡°I never noticed that Senior had such sharp remarks.¡±

    Lulu nodded her head, she shot a nce at Little Pao. ¡°Even though they are brothers, they are quite different. Senior Little Pao is more serious and reliable.¡±

    When Little Pao heard this, he stood up, walked over to Big Pao, and said, ¡°Let me give you a lightbulb.¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡± Big Pao said, not knowing what else to say.

    On the other side of Halfwillow Lakeside, Northgate Lie arrived. Since he had started training under Northgate Taisui, his confidence and ambition had soared dramatically. His initial n had been to challenge Qin Chen and enter the top ny before nning his next move. However, the battles he had witnessed at the Sea King''s Dome had toppled the very foundation of his previous understanding. Even the Limiteers in this ce had a battle strengthparable to the top eighty. He did not even dare to show his face after seeing such things.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s Northgate Lie! He¡¯s ranked ny third in the Top 100 Rankings,¡± someone eximed in the distance. Northgate Lie had instantly be the focus of many people¡¯s attention.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s ranked ny fourth now. Che Han defeated Qin Chen, so the new rankings will have him lowered by one.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t just stop at ny fourth ce. Given Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities, he¡¯ll drop to ny seventh as soon as he faces the more powerful people in the Top 100.¡±

    ¡°If there are even two more individuals who¡¯ve concealed their abilities like Che Han, he¡¯ll drop right off the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    ¡­

    Northgate Lie was enraged when he overheard these discussions. He had not fallen off the leaderboard yet, but these scumbags were already making snide remarks about him! However, he did not lower himself to argue with them, and instead walked to another ce and continued watching. Someone walked over towards him; it was Qin Chen. Even though he had maintained a much lower profile than Northgate Lie with a covered face, Northgate Lie still recognized him.

    ¡°Qin Chen, I challenge you to battle,¡± Northgate Lie solemnly proposed.

    Qin Chen rejected the challenge right away and left.

    Northgate Lie chased after him. He was concerned about falling off the Top 100 Rankings, and so he had decided that raising his rank and joining the top ny quicker would be a good n.

    Most of the various experts who had taken part in the Sea King¡¯s selection had also arrived to watch theing battle. Amongst them was Xun Jiong, whose hatred towards Lu Yin had now surpassed even Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s. When news of this battle spread, Xun Jiong had even sought out Mu Rong, intending to give him a weapon of the Xun family. It was the same weapon that the short Explorer had used to attack Lu Yin, and since Xun Jiong had had no chance to use it himself, he wanted to give it to Mu Rong so that he could deliver a crushing defeat to Lu Yin.

    However, Mu Rong had rejected Xun Jiong without even saying a single word in response. This made Xun Jiong despise Mu Rong as well. However, he was still rooting for Mu Rong to decisively defeat Lu Yin.

    Multiple grand asions had been held at the Sea King''s Dome in quick session. This caused many people in the Sea King''s Dome to be incredibly excited, and they felt as though they were celebrating a festival.

    At this moment, Lu Yin appeared with a dignified expression on his face. There was already a video of Mu Rong¡¯s battle against Ling Que on thework, but it was not a video that could be essed by ordinary folk. Lu Yin was only able to view it because of his Honor Points.

    Mu Rong¡¯s skills, counter attacks, adroit usage of his domain, and his finishing moves were all astonishing. Ling Que¡¯s innate gift, his Soulsplitting Technique, and his defensive strategies were all astonishing as well. They had been equally matched, and it was hard to tell who would win from watching the video.

    What caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention the most was Mu Rong¡¯s finishing move, which was when he had yed the song of the farmer boy. Whether it was a spiritual attack or a physical attack, Ling Que had been unable to utilize his three des that had merged as one as soon as he heard that song. This was something that could only be experienced in person and could not be replicated by a video.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze twinkled; if the farmer boy¡¯s song was really that strong, then it was likely a spiritual attack that could directly damage one¡¯s spiritual force. If that was the case, then it might not necessarily be effective against Lu Yin. Considering how well versed he was with the Stonewall Scriptures after reciting it for so long, he had developed a strong resistance when it came to spiritual force attacks.

    The battle was still one day away, so Lu Yin used his Honor Points to search thework for videos on how to counter unique innate gifts. He wanted to view as many as possible.

    One dayter, at the middle section of the mountain that was the Sea King''s Dome, Halfwillow Lakeside waspletely packed with people. There were even some who could not see what was going on since the Sea King''s Dome was not broadcasting this battle on any screens as it was just a battle between two members of the younger generation, not some grand affair hosted by the Sea King''s Dome itself.

    Despite that, everyone of significance was present, and even the Faceless Man had hidden himself among the crowd. Likewise, Lan Yu and Zhang Dingtian were also present.

    Zhang Dingtian, unsurprisingly, was very excited to watch this battle. He was curious to see how powerful Lu Yin had be. After having battled against Mu Rong, Zhang Dingtian understood very well how powerful the unequalled Limiteer was. The only question he had now was how well Lu Yin would perform.

    Ling Que hid in the corner, watching Mu Rong with a sullen expression. He wanted another chance to battle him, and to have a chance to defend against the farmer boy¡¯s song.

    When a ray of sunshine hit theke, a gleaming reflection bounced off thekeside. On the west side of theke, Mu Rong appeared. His face was calm, and he appeared to bepletely unconcerned about the uing battle.

    On the east side of theke, the void split open as Lu Yin walked out.

    Everyone was astonished at the manner Lu Yin chose to appear in. Halfwillow Lakeside was also a ce where space had been suppressed and where battles were allowed. Tearing the void apart in such an area was something only a powerful individual with a power level of over 100,000 could aplish. It was clear that Lu Yin himself was not capable of such a feat, so the only possible exnation was that the Sea King had transported him here. Apart from the Sea King, there was no one else who would dare damage the void in this ce, even if one was an Enlighter.

    In other words, it meant that the Sea King had allowed and even supported Lu Yin¡¯s decision to do battle.

 Chapter 466: Lu Yin vs Mu Rong

    <h4>Chapter 466: Lu Yin vs Mu Rong</h4>

    Many people from the Sea King''s Dome hadplex looks in their eyes. Many of them really wanted to support Lu Yin since he was, in a way, one of them. However, it was also a fact that he had almost no chances of winning.

    Xun Jiong looked at Lu Yin with jealous eyes. Under normal circumstances, he should have been the one to receive such treatment. If he had be the Sea King''s son-inw, he would have been the one tearing through the void and traveling about the dome with ease. However, this was a privilege that now belonged solely to Lu Yin.

    Halfwillow Lakeside was huge. From the east end to the western most part, the entire area stretched for dozens of kilometers. Regr people wouldn¡¯t even be able to see the other side from one side¡ªonly cultivators could.

    Upon seeing Mu Rong¡¯s calm expression, Lu Yin had no idea if it was because the man thought nothing of him, or if it was because Mu Rong simply didn¡¯t care about the duel at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled, and as countless people watched on, he charged towards the middle of theke. Across from him, Mu Rong did the same.

    The two of them approached each other with extreme speed. Soon enough, their star energy began interacting and affecting the other, even more so once the two of them met. Theke water was also affected by the shing star energy, and it sprayed in all directions. Lu Yin lifted a hand and attacked with the Skybeast w. Mu Rong easily dodged the attack before using a delicate set of footwork to instantly appear in front of Lu Yin with his wooden flute aimed straight at Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    Lu Yin grabbed at Mu Rong, confident in his physical strength. The moment he managed to grasp the flute, Mu Rong would find it difficult to retrieve. However, Mu Rong seemed to sense the danger. He waspletely aware of how terrifyingly strong Lu Yin¡¯s physical body was. But despite this, Mu Rong still dared to take the initiative and engage in closebat. Such a decision showed how confident Mu Rong was in his own battle abilities.

    Mu Rong managed to easily dodge Lu Yin¡¯s attack once again, and he appeared behind his opponent this time. The wooden flute twirled about before heavily striking Lu Yin¡¯s back. However, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t slow either. He merged his sh and Invisible Aura techniques, which allowed him to move without making a sound or even releasing any star energy, which was quite a surprise to Mu Rong.

    In the middle of theke, the two of them attacked and dodged each other¡¯s attacks at extreme speed. Numerous afterimages appeared and faded away over Halfwillow Lakeside, and as more and more afterimages appeared, the speed of the two even started to distort the area and heat up the entireke.

    Even after quite a while, neither of them had actually managed to hurt the other.

    Many people gaped, unable to even tell what was going on.

    During the previous battles against Zhang Dingtian and Ling Que, Mu Rong had held the upper hand in terms of movement techniques, and he had managed to deal with his opponent¡¯s attacks without much trouble. Ling Que had once said that Mu Rong¡¯s movement technique was called Floating Stride and that it wasparable to a Lockbreaking technique. It was first-rate when it came to dodging and dispersing an opponent¡¯s attacks. Meanwhile, Lu Yin had his domain and sh Step, both of which he was incredibly confident in.

    The two of them started moving faster and faster, and a hint of surprise appeared in Mu Rong¡¯s eyes. He was aware that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, but even a Lockbreaker rarely possessed such great physical techniques. Mu Rong could understand why Lu Yin had been able to disperse his star energy attacks since Lu Yin was renowned as a genius Lockbreaker. However, he was also able to keep up with his speed? That was a surprise.

    However, Mu Rong¡¯s Floating Stride had not reached its limit yet. Mu Rong increased his speed another notch, intrigued. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, there was a moment where he lost sight of Mu Rong.

    It wasn¡¯t just Lu Yin. Northgate Lie, Qin Chen, Cheng Wu, and the rest of the elites spectating could not see through Mu Rong¡¯s current speed either. He was moving at a speed that was far above what they had ever seen before. He was finally disying the full power of his Floating Stride.

    Ling Que felt bitter. Even during the battle with him, Mu Rong hadn¡¯t gone all-out, though he had never needed to reach such a speed. No matter how fast Mu Rong could move, he couldn¡¯t move faster than Ling Que¡¯s Que¡¯s Mighty sh since the des could travel through the void. Such a thought gave Ling Que a small amount offort.

    Above theke, Mu Rong had already disappeared, as he was just too fast.

    Everyone gasped. Lu Yin was in danger.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes revealed shock and surprise. Mu Rong is still able to go even faster? How interesting. Without any hesitation, he moved the grain of Fatesand from his heart to the inneryer of his clothes. This allowed him to keep the Fatesand concealed while still unlocking the true power of his physical body. The moment the wooden flute was about to strike him, a powerful shockwave appeared that spread out in all directions and pushed Mu Rong away. The powerful shockwave caused numerous onlookers around theke to stop breathing for a moment, nearly suffocating.

    Huge waves erupted across theke as the water swirled into the sky. Even the surrounding void became unstable.

    This was the level of physical strength that Lu Yin had reached after releasing the first grain of Fatesand. When climbing the Skyfall Cascades, this strength was what allowed him to get past the Xun n¡¯s Machinery Art and even defeat the Faceless Man. And now, it was what he was relying on in this battle. Lu Yin still maintained an advantage in terms of speed.

    His sh Step was a basic movement technique that utilized one¡¯s physical body. The stronger the body, the faster sh Step was. For the first time ever, Lu Yin fully understood this concept that the Sandmaster had introduced to him from the beginning. In theory, as long as the body kept growing stronger, there was no limit to sh Step¡¯s speed. Lu Yin even started fantasizing about the day when his speed would even surpass time.

    Lu Yin and Mu Rong couldn¡¯t even be seen above Halfwillow Lakeside anymore. The two of them were too fast, and it had reached the point where even Explorers couldn¡¯t see all of their movements. In terms of just pure speed, these two were far and beyond their peers.

    Everyone held their tongues. They¡¯d all thought that Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out for long. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected the two Limiteers to demonstrate such extreme speed. Also, these two were just too fast; how were they supposed to watch the fight? This made no sense.

    Michelle and the others were just as shocked. They had no idea that Lu Yin could move so fast, and the two of them fighting above theke were giving off such immense pressure that it was difficult for the rest of them to even breathe. When had the difference between them and Lu Yin grown sorge?

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes lit up as his gaze revealed his admiration.

    Lulu was quite envious. If she possessed this kind of speed, then she¡¯d be able to beat Grandini with ease.

    Far in the distance, Hai Dashao watched on with interest. The fact that Lu Yin, while still in the Limiteer realm, had managed to achieve such speed showed that he wasn¡¯t half bad after all. Within this entire universe, there were only a few people who could do the same. It was no wonder why Starsibyl had asked Lu Yin that question; he really did qualify.

    A boom suddenly erupted out, surprising the crowd. Everybody looked at theke to see water spraying out from the center, where Lu Yin and Mu Rong were now facing each other. Beneath their feet was a gigantic hole surrounded by cracks that reached out into the distance. Theke water was flowing into the still-growing cracks, trickling off somewhere.

    This was the first time that the two had actually made contact while fighting at close range. Based on the marks, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t retreated at all, but Mu Rong had taken five steps back. The victor here was obvious.

    Many weren¡¯t very surprised by the results. In terms of physical strength, it was a given that Mu Rong wasn¡¯t as strong as Lu Yin. Lu Yin could use Thirty Stacks, and that demanded a great deal from one¡¯s body. Few Explorers, and even fewer Limiteers could satisfy those demanding requirements. Lan Yu¡¯s ability to use Thirty Stacks had made him the top of the younger generation in Grayweed Continent, showing just how difficult it was.

    Where Mu Rong truly excelled was his domain, his forcefield, and also that mysterious farmer boy¡¯s song.

    Mu Rong no longer appeared as calm as he had before the battle. He looked at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Your body is incredibly powerful.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thanks for thepliment. Let¡¯s go again.¡±

    Mu Rong shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I don¡¯t like to attack someone else¡¯s weakness, and while I don¡¯t really care about the results of this battle, it¡¯s still a duel. I need to give it my all. You are strong enough for me to do just that.¡±

    Right after speaking, theke water flowed back towards Mu Rong, and green grass sprouted at the bottom of theke and spread across Halfwillow Lakeside.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s domain copsed. It was much too weakpared to Mu Rong¡¯s domain, and it had been crushed apart.

    This was not the first time Lu Yin had experienced such an overwhelming difference in domains. He clearly remembered the separate dimension with the golden sea where he had fought against the battle soul that had kept its eyes closed. From the very start of that fight, Lu Yin¡¯s domain had been crushed, and it had felt as if the sky had copsed. Right now, that same feeling had appeared once more.

    Without his domain, his perception of his surroundings became much weaker. Even worse, he had sumbed to Mu Rong¡¯s domain. Above him was an image of a farmer boy herding cows.

    Everyone held their breaths. It had appeared. Now that Mu Rong was using his forcefield, it meant that Mu Rong was taking this fight seriously.

    Zhang Dingtian grew incredibly serious. He¡¯d lost to Mu Rong¡¯s domain. It had felt as if space itself had been expelled from the area and as if the forcefield could affect even the heavens and earth. That unstoppable strength was something that Zhang Dingtian would never be able to forget.

    Ling Que, too, looked serious. He had split his soul to the maximum degree and created three doppelgangers, which had allowed him to block one attack from Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield. He knew full well how terrifying that one attack had been. For a Limiteer, it was like facing the end of the world.

    And now, Lu Yin was experiencing what the end of the world felt like. The farmer boy was trying to crush him from within Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield. No matter how quickly Lu Yin moved, at this moment, it felt like he was mired in a swamp and was being forced to face the attack head on no matter what. There was no way for him to dodge.

    However, was there a need to dodge it? Lu Yin looked up. Concerning this battle, he¡¯d never considered how he could dodge or block Mu Rong¡¯s attacks because there had never been a need for such a thing; he could just face it directly, that was how confident he was in his body. No Limiteer could do anything to Lu Yin¡¯s body. Not even Ye Xingchen, who was said to have an innate gift to make stars fall, could do so.

    Boom!

    The heavens and the earth collided, and the air was torn asunder, releasing thunderous shockwaves everywhere. Halfwillow Lakeside was destroyed, and water sshed everywhere. Right after that, there was a tremendous pressure wave that caused the nearby audience members to cough up blood. Powerful Limiteers were no exception, and even some Explorers could not help themselves from retreating in order to handle the pressure.

    Michelle and the others weren¡¯t that close, but they weren¡¯t far either, so they also felt the pressure.

    Was this a feeling that a battle between Limiteers could give off? While they¡¯d already experienced something simr just two days prior, it was still an incredible sight to behold.

    Space had beenpressed into a ball of vtile energy that, once it reached the limit, exploded and released a shockwave that could be seen with the naked eye. The scene was even more spectacr than the one from two days before.

    Hai Dashao narrowed his eyes. Next to him stood Hai Qiqi, who had just arrived in time to see this scene. She covered her mouth in shock and wondered to herself, Is this really a battle between Limiteers?

    Since the two had been fighting right above theke, the collision of star energy caused all of the water to evaporate and turn into steam.

    After the steam dissipated, everybody intently stared at theke. They first saw Mu Rong, and many saw that he appeared to be both shocked and shaken. Could it be¡­?

    Everyone turned to look at where Lu Yin had been standing before that had now be an enormous pit. Nobody knew for sure how deep it was, and it might even go deep inside the mountain. However, there was a palm-sized area that still stood tall like a stick. It was an area that had been protected by Lu Yin¡¯s abilities and that had not been destroyed. The man himself was standing atop that pir and calmly looking at Mu Rong.

    Everyone sucked in a cold breath. Two days ago, Ling Que had not been able to face this attack with such ease. Everyone remembered that most of Ling Que¡¯s clothes had been torn apart, but what about Lu Yin? There wasn¡¯t even a speck of dust to be seen on him!

    Ling Que took one step forward and red at Lu Yin in disbelief. How could this person¡¯s body be this powerful? Ling Que¡¯s body was still hurting from that attack. Was there really such a huge difference between them?

    Ling Que wasn¡¯t the only one who was stunned, as Mu Rong himself was utterly shocked.

    Lu Yin slowly flew into the sky and dispersed his battle force. He had not used his Fatesand and had actually taken that attack on with just his body and battle force. Mu Rong¡¯s attack had been very powerful and had even surpassed an ordinary Cruiser¡¯s attack. In terms of power level, it had perhaps reached 70,000. However, that wasn¡¯t enough to prate Lu Yin¡¯s body¡¯s defenses.

 Chapter 467: Extreme Shock

    <h4>Chapter 467: Extreme Shock</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s current physical state was simr to that war spirit with closed eyes. The moment that war spirit opened its eyes, heaven and earth would dim, and the sun and moon would fade. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was constantly being suppressed, so once it was unsealed, his strength would reach an extreme. At this moment, he had only released the first grain of Fatesand.

    Lu Yin did not know how strong Lan Si had been as a Limiteer, but he dared to guarantee that the Arbiter¡¯s strength back then could not surpass his current limit. Lan Si¡¯s public record was Thirty Stacks, and Lu Yin felt like it wouldn¡¯t matter even if the true record was Fifty Stacks. He believed that, when hepletely unsealed all three grains of Fatesand, he would be able to handle unleashing more than Fifty Stacks.

    The Oveying Stacks Path became more difficult the further one progressed, and Fifty Stacks was not as simple as just adding another Twenty Stacks on top of thirty. During the Astral Combat Tournament, Lu Yin had used merely Nine Stacks to defeat Nightqueen Yanqing.

    ¡°Your physical strength has surpassed my imagination.¡± Mu Rong was shocked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Just so long as you¡¯re not disappointed. Now, it¡¯s my turn to attack.¡±

    Many thought it strange as this exchange was nearly identical to Ling Que¡¯s battle with Mu Rong¡ªboth young men wanted to retaliate as soon as they sessfully blocked an attack from Mu Rong. However, Ling Que had been defeated by the farmer boy¡¯s song. Would Lu Yin face a simr oue?

    Mu Rong shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t wait for you to attack, and there¡¯s no need to think about resisting my blow; it¡¯s unavoidable.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded firmly. ¡°That¡¯s right, but I don¡¯t like to take a beating for nothing. You can think of this as my way of defending. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Lu Yin then charged at Mu Rong with full speed, the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye gripped in his hand as he took advantage of the fact that Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield had not recovered yet. His eyes filled with star energy, and in that instance, he reached the point where he could use Secret Sidestep.

    When Mu Rong yed the farmer boy¡¯s song, it brought forth the full strength of his forcefield, but it required time to y. Although it was very quick, Lu Yin had calcted the windup time through videos and determined that Mu Rong needed roughly three seconds to pull off his attack. This brief window of time was his best opportunity to attack.

    To reach the level where he could disy Secret Sidestep, Lu Yin needed to meet three of these four conditions: activate his Cosmic Art, his domain, have his eyes filled with star energy, or use a lockbreaking tool. Due to the Sea King¡¯s constant surveince, he did not dare to disy the Cosmic Art, and if he filled his eyes with star energy, he would be assaulted by so many rune lines that he would start bleeding from his seven orifices. However, as long as he didn¡¯t overdo it, he could still give it a shot.

    The moment his eyes filled with star energy, the terrifyingly enormous amount of rune lines entered his eyes, and scarlet blood began flowing out. At this moment, he had already arrived in front of Mu Rong, where he struck out with Thirty Stacks Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm.

    Mu Rong shifted his body back and stared curiously at Lu Yin; this person should know that he could notnd an attack on him if he just relied on just speed. However, Lu Yin had still made the attempt, and his eyes were even bleeding.

    Suddenly, Mu Rong felt his back turn cold. The Lu Yin in front of his eyes had vanished only to reappear behind him. This was not just speed, but was instead a high-level movement technique. He had seen it before, as it was the supreme technique revered by all Lockbreakers: Secret Sidestep. Shit! He can use Secret Sidestep!

    The sound of an explosion rang out when Lu Yin¡¯s palm firmly connected with Mu Rong, sending him tunneling through the ground. At the same time, Thirty Stacks erupted, causing consecutive shockwaves to burst forth and unleash visible white ripples that spread through the air. Mu Rong spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was forced beneath theke.

    Lu Yin hurriedly retracted his star energy from his eyes and wiped them clean since they were indeed bleeding. Being able to see rune lines was not always a good thing, as he was susceptible to being injured from seeing them.

    At this moment, Halfwillow Lakeside had fallen silent while everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Lu Yin. He had actually struck Mu Rong, which should be the first time Mu Rong had been hit squarely, and it had been with Thirty Stacks at that.

    Wasn¡¯t it said that Mu Rong would counter Lu Yin? What was going on?

    Most people could not understand what had happened, as only a few had clearly seen the sequence of events. Those rare few people had an indescribable look of shock in their eyes.

    ¡°Secret Sidestep¡ªit¡¯s actually Secret Sidestep!¡± Ling Que was astounded. Secret Sidestep was not just about speed; rather, it was a supreme evasion technique. It was something that any Lockbreaker could use to avoid crises during lockbreaking. It was the ultimate technique that they all wished toprehend since it would allow them to evade the many dangers that urred during Lockbreaking. It¡¯s highly sought after quality was a clear indication of Secret Sidestep¡¯s value, and Lu Yin actually could use it.

    Northgate Lie, Qin Chen, Cheng Wu, and the others were all stunned as well. The current generations of Limiteers were too freakish!

    Michelle and the others had not expected Lu Yin to haveprehended Secret Sidestep, as the only ones who knew were those who had participated in the Outerverse trial in the Shenwu Continent and those who had gone to the Savage Ape to unlock the tree-looking sourcebox. Even if they had publicized the information, it would not have spread across the entire universe since most people did not have ess to such privileged information. Hence, when Lu Yin used Secret Sidestep here, it caused a great stir among everyone.

    Hai Dashao was also shocked. Even within the entire Lockbreaker Society, there were extremely few Lockbreakers who could use Secret Sidestep.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome had their own Lockbreakers as well, and the value that Secret Sidestep represented to ordinary people could notpare with what it represented in the eyes of Lockbreakers. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s position had leaped to new heights in every Lockbreaker¡¯s eyes, and they were all certain that he would be someone of great value to the Lockbreaker Society in the future.

    The majority of people could not recognize Secret Sidestep, so they were more concerned with what had happened to Mu Rong.

    Since arriving at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Mu Rong had never been directly hit. Even the des of Que¡¯s Mighty sh had only given him a minor injury, so no one actually knew about Mu Rong¡¯s endurance.

    Lu Yin looked down as theke water gradually filled in the ce where Mu Rong hadnded. He wanted to fill his eyes with star energy and see how many rune lines Mu Rong had left, but he didn¡¯t. That knowledge would not make much of a difference because Lu Yin did not believe that Mu Rong would be defeated that easily. This battle would continue on, but being hit squarely meant that, even if Mu Rong had not been severely injured, he would not be very well off.

    At this point in the battle, Lu Yin had already surpassed Ling Que¡¯s performance. After all, Ling Que had never actually harmed Mu Rong. At most, he had been able to break his skin. Lu Yin, on the other hand, hadnded a direct attack on Mu Rong.

    Of course, this did not necessarily mean that Ling Que was weaker than Lu Yin, as their battle styles were different. Naturally, their results would not be the same.

    Theke water gradually returned to its previous state, until it eventuallypletely filled the area where Mu Rong had crashed.

    The crowd watched on with bated breath; Mu Rong still had not appeared. Were his defenses really that poor? Right, not everyone could easily withstand a strike of Thirty Stacks, which was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack. Even a normal Cruiser would not be able to ignore it.

    Many had neglected the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Thirty Stacks, because even if the Oveying Stacks Path was even more ferocious, it meant nothing if an attack missed. However, the reality waspletely different if the attacknded.

    Lan Yu¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Mu Rong lost. The might of Thirty Stacks is not something that can be taken by someone with a weak body like him.¡±

    Beside him, Zhang Dingtian held a different point of view. He had been thrown out of the Skyfall Cascades by Mu Rong¡¯s wooden flute, and in that instant, he had made an extraordinary discovery. Mu Rong was definitely not physically weak, even if his strength was notparable to Lu Yin or Lan Yu¡¯s.

    In the next moment, atop theke water of Halfwillow Lakeside, long grass began to grow. A simr scene to before reappeared, and Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield once again revealed itself. What followed was not just the image of a farmer boy herding cattle, but also that melodious song.

    The melodious song of a farmer boy floated through the long grass. It was an unbreakable illusion.

    Everyone who was entranced by this farmer boy¡¯s song experienced a different feeling.

    Ling Que was experiencing the song for the second time now, but he was still shocked to the core when he heard it. His three des as one had been defeated by this melody.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply, as the fight had indeed not ended yet. The farmer boy¡¯s song had finally made an appearance. This song was what Lu Yin feared most about Mu Rong, as he waspletely confident in being able to defeat Mu Rong so long as this song didn¡¯t make an appearance. Lu Yin¡¯s body was just too powerful. However, Mu Rong¡¯s attack method through this song was just too mysterious. It was his only path to victory against Lu Yin, and hence, it was the only thing that remained as a point of uncertainty for Lu Yin.

    But even though he was not certain, he still had to face it head-on.

    From beneath theke, Mu Rong slowly walked out, theke water parting automatically before him. When Mu Rong came into everyone¡¯s view, it was in to see that his clothes were tattered while fresh red blood trickled down from the corners of his lips. His face was pale, but he continued to y his wooden flute. There was even a palm imprint embedded into his chest, and his injuries were clearly not minor.

    Lu Yinnded upon the surface of theke and listened to the farmer boy¡¯s song that floated into his ears. His star energy was suppressed, and his body was paralyzed. The farmer boy¡¯s song was not a spiritual force attack; instead, it directly took control of one¡¯s body. This was Mu Rong¡¯s innate gift, and it was an utterly terrifying one.

    This was the reason why the Ten Arbiters had acknowledged Mu Rong as an unequaled Limiteer. Others could only break free of his innate gift¡¯s control if they had an innate gift that greatly surpassed Mu Rong¡¯s. Within the same realm, there were virtually none who surpassed Mu Rong. In other words, once he started ying this song, he would be victorious.

    Others had not experienced it for themselves, and Ling Que had not said anything about it, so none of the spectators understood the terror of this song. At this moment, only Lu Yin was directly experiencing it.

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Rong in shock; to his shock, an innate gift that could directly control someone else¡¯s body actually existed. That was too scary.

    Gradually, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy dissipated as it was dispersed by the farmer boy¡¯s song, leaving him as a tragic cultivator with depleted star energy. At this moment, Lu Yin had nothing he could use aside from his physical strength since he had no star energy left.

    Ling Que¡¯s eyelids twitched. Sure enough, Lu Yin could not withstand the farmer boy¡¯s song either. This sort of innate gift was the most terrifying.

    During Mu Rong¡¯s battle against Ling Que, at the final section of the video, the Que''s Mighty sh had vanished first, followed by Ling Que¡¯s doppelgangers. At that moment, Ling Que had decisively lost. However, this time, Mu Rong did not act immediately since he wanted to give Lu Yin the opportunity to admit defeat, which was why he had not sealed Lu Yin¡¯s ability to speak.

    ¡°What a terrifying innate gift. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re an unequaled Limiteer,¡± Lu Yin sighed in admiration.

    Mu Rong continued ying the wooden flute as he looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°You want me to admit defeat?¡± Lu Yin asked before shaking his head. ¡°However, I want to try and see if I can break through this unstoppable strength.¡±

    After he spoke, the song strengthened, and Lu Yin¡¯s left hand suddenly mmed into his own head.

    Everyone was dazed; was hemitting suicide?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he released the grain of Fatesand from his left arm and merged it together with the grain of Fatesand from his heart. The next moment, his physical strength suddenly erupted once more, and it jolted the void as a visible aura of strength rippled out. Even though they were quite some distance away, the crowd could sense Lu Yin¡¯s raw physical power. Halfwillow Lakeside could not withstand the tremendous force, and it began to split in half.

    This void in this area was also suppressed, and only powerhouses whose power level surpassed 100,000 could destroy the void and cause cracks to appear. But at this time, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was actually enough to distort and destabilize the void.

    At this point, not only was Hai Dashao astounded by what he saw, but even the Sea King became shocked. A tiny Limiteer could actually erupt with such powerful physical strength.

    When Lu Yin had faced off against that war spirit with closed eyes, the moment it opened its eyes, it had unleashed a suppression that could not be resisted. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s power was in no way inferior to Mu Rong¡¯s; he merelycked an innate gift simr to the farmer boy¡¯s song. This also meant that when that war spirit opened its eyes, it could simrly crush Mu Rong, which meant that there was still an extreme disparity between them.

 Chapter 468: The Strongest Limiteer

    <h4>Chapter 468: The Strongest Limiteer</h4>

    Lu Yin could do the same since, at this point, his battle strength already rivaled that war spirit¡¯s. With Mister Mu¡¯s help, the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had been upgraded to an extreme, where Lu Yin needed to pay a price in order to suppress and control his strength, just like the war spirit with closed eyes.

    Lu Yin had already reached that war spirit¡¯s level, as he had reached the pinnacle in one specific aspect. However, Mu Rong had not attained such a level yet.

    The farmer boy¡¯s song abruptly stopped while Lu Yin¡¯s left arm halted a centimeter away from Mu Rong¡¯s head. He had used his powerful physical strength to directly ovee the controlling power of the farmer boy¡¯s song.

    Lu Yin looked up at Mu Rong. He saw a confused look on his face, which was the first time Mu Rong had ever shown such an expression.

    The surprise in Mu Rong¡¯s heart could not be hidden at all. When Lu Yin forcefully broke through the farmer boy''s song, Mu Rong knew that he had lost. Lu Yin¡¯s move had brought him too intense a shock, and he had only felt this once before when he had met the Ten Arbiters in the past.

    Many hadpared Mu Rong to the Ten Arbiters and the strength they had disyed when they were Limiteers, but Mu Rong could not be bothered with such aparison precisely because he understood how terrifying those people were. Those ten freaks could not be understood withmon sense, as their strength simply defied any attempt made to understand them. Even with his farmer boy''s song, Mu Rong still did not dare topare himself to them.

    This was the reason why he had looked down upon Lu Yin; Lu Yin was too mboyant. He had only be a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate after the Astral Combat Tournament, and he seemed to reach his peak after the Tournament of the Strongest. Being able to use Thirty Stacks had made Lu Yin the most dazzling of the various Ten Arbiters candidates, but from Mu Rong¡¯s perspective, this person did not understand their strength at all. He had seen Lu Yin as nothing more than a clown.

    However, Mu Rong now understood that Lu Yin was no clown; rather, he was a rare true super powerhouse who could rival the Ten Arbiters. He was genuinely unequaled within the same realm, and Mu Rong was certain that even Ye Xingchen would be no match for Lu Yin. This person was so powerful while still in the Limiteer realm that it had reached the levels of iprehensible.

    Lu Yin had allowed Mu Rong to witness the birth of a new monster. Mu Rong had been dered as an unequaled Limiteer by the Ten Arbiters and represented their vision, but Lu Yin had surpassed that. He had risen to the same level that the Ten Arbiters had as Limiteers.

    Lu Yin lowered his left arm, relieved that he had broken free from the farmer boy''s controlling song. If he had encountered Mu Rong before entering that separate space with the golden ocean, he would have lost without question. The universe was indeed vast and contained all kinds of geniuses. After defeating Mu Rong, Lu Yin could be considered as one who stood at the pinnacle of all Limiteers. However, he secretly cautioned himself to not be careless, as he was still beingpared with just Limiteers. His true opponents were the Ten Arbiters themselves, those immeasurable freaks.

    Everyone stared dumbfoundedly, and all of Halfwillow Lakeside fellpletely silent. Before too much time passed, a voice called out, ¡°I admit defeat.¡±

    It was Mu Rong¡¯s voice. His wooden flute split apart after he finished speaking beforepletely vanishing.

    The countless people watching were stunned, but then the crowd erupted in cheers. No one had favored Lu Yin¡¯s victory before the battle started, and so when he achieved victory, the cheers they gave him were even more resounding. Moreover, Lu Yin was the Sea King Dome¡¯s future son-inw, so it made the audience feel glorious, as he was already partially one of them. The Sea King''s Dome was the strongest.

    Lu Yin quietly let the Fatesand merge back into his left arm and heart, causing his physical strength to rapidly decline.

    The only variable during this battle had been the farmer boy''s song. As soon as it had proven ineffective against Lu Yin, Mu Rong had no longer been able to retaliate.

    Lu Yin had not even used his Fatesand during this battle. Of course, the difference that would have been made would be rtively minor since even the Fatesand could not withstand Mu Rong¡¯s innate gift of the farmer boy''s song.

    Ling Que sighed in the distance, rather disappointed. He had thought that everything would end the moment the farmer boy''s song appeared, but he had expected that Lu Yin would be such a freak. How had he cultivated his physical strength to those levels? It was just too absurd.

    Cheng Wu, Northgate Lie, and the rest all left. They were afraid of being seen by Lu Yin and being challenged. That would be bad, as being defeated by a Limiteer would be absolutely humiliating.

    Michelle and the others hadplicated expressions as they watched Lu Yin. Was the difference between him and them really that vast? They had thought that they could still see his back, but after this battle, they felt like he was so far ahead of them that he was basically out of sight.

    Xia Luo smiled, and he looked at Lu Yin with a bit of excitement andpetitiveness.

    In the distance, Hai Dashao gathered his gaze, seemingly having fallen into deep thought. This Lu Yin had cultivated his physical body to an extraordinary degree, and as soon as he broke through to the Explorer realm, he would definitely rank within the top fifty on the Top 100 Rankings, or perhaps even higher. This person was truly a Ten Arbiters¡¯ candidate, which Hai Dashao himself had to admit. He could see that Lu Yin had the potential to eventually challenge the top ten on the Top 100 Rankings.

    ¡°Brother, let me ask you a serious question.¡± Hai Qiqi looked solemnly at Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao nodded, as he knew that Hai Qiqi must be experiencing various conflicting emotions after watching the fight. ¡°Shoot.¡±

    ¡°Have you guys ever considered the possibility of domestic abuse?¡±

    This one sentence threw Hai Dashao¡¯s mind into disarray. He waved his hand and tore through the void to leave, not even knowing how to reply to Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth in frustration. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a valid question? If I¡¯m really married to such a violent maniac, then what will I do if he beats me?¡± She then chased after Hai Dashao.

    Halfwillow Lakeside had been ruined by this battle.

    Mu Rong left, though he was not as disappointed as Ling Que by losing. Although Lu Yin¡¯s strength had shocked him, he quickly calmed down. To him, the oue of the battle wasn¡¯t that important. Since his strength had already been revealed a few days ago, it was already enough to satisfy his goals.

    Lu Yin stretchedzily; he had won. This time, even that old fellow, the Sea King, should be happy, which meant that Lu Yin would not need to take responsibility for the bill of 30,000 star essence, which was a relief.

    Zhang Dingtian slowly walked over from where he had been watching.

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at Zhang Dingtian. ¡°You-¡±

    After uttering just one single word, the scene before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed. He returned to the area beneath the waterfall once again.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Senior Sea King, please allow this junior to chat with that person.¡±

    ¡°Reflect well on this battle. If not for your extreme physical strength, how else could you have won?¡± the Sea King¡¯s voice sounded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart moved, and he sighed. His talk with Zhang Dingtian could only wait tillter.

    Beside Halfwillow Lakeside, Zhang Dingtian stared at the empty space in front of him for a moment and then turned around to silently leave.

    The entire Sea King''s Dome was discussing Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Mu Rong. As for the ranking of the four strongest Limiteers, Lu Yin was now ced firmly at the top while Ling Que had been moved down to number four, which left him very upset.. He could only concede that he had no chances of beating Lu Yin or Mu Rong, but why was even Ye Xingchen ranked above him? He could not ept such a thing.

    Ye Xingchen had roamed the Cosmic Sea as a Limiteer, which was indeed admirable. However, no one believed that he had used his own strength to survive there, as that was impossible. It wasn¡¯t even realistic for a Hunter to roam the Cosmic Sea by themselves, which meant that Ye Xingchen¡¯s time there had to have something more to it. As for his true strength, Ling Que really wanted to have a fight with Ye Xingchen.

    News of the battle quickly spread out from the Sea King''s Dome, and more people learned of it as time passed. However, it still took some time for it to spread to the rest of the universe since the battle had not been broadcast like the Astral Combat Tournament.

    However, the Ten Arbiters were among the first to learn about the details of this battle.

    In the Innerverse, in a certain area, Wen Sansi looked at the information he had received from the Starfall Sea, and heughed heartily. He had always maintained a certain elegance, and he hardly ever revealed such a joyous appearance, but Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Mu Rong had truly delighted him.

    Mu Rong was that guy¡¯s underling. The Ten Arbiters often recruited powerhouses with powerful innate gifts to work under them, but no Limiteer could avoid beingpared to Mu Rong. Within the Limiteer realm, the other nine¡¯s recruits were all inferior to that bugger, Mu Rong. This was why Wen Sansi had previously had Mira release some information about Mu Rong to Lu Yin, in hopes that Lu Yin would be able to defeat him.

    It didn¡¯t matter if Lu Yin was on Wen Sansi¡¯s side or not. As long as he defeated Mu Rong, the rest of them would be able to breathe easier as they would no longer need to bear that guy¡¯s suppression.

    Of course, everything was just a struggle in name, and it would not affect the overall situation. However, anyone who had been suppressed for so many years would think of resisting, and Mu Rong had finally been defeated.

    ¡°Mira, report this piece of good news to the Ten Arbiters Council.¡± Wen Sansi was very happy.

    On a screen, Mira nodded and gave a slight smile. ¡°Yes, Arbiter Wen.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for the video of Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Mu Rong to appear on the Ten Arbiters Councilwork, which caused quite amotion. Through the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s interface, it directly reached the ears of powerful groups such as the Daynight n and the Lingling n.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was stumped as she stared nkly at the video. All the air seemed to have been sucked out of her. ¡°Why is it like this? The disparity is actually that great?¡±

    She was currently in the ancestral region of the Daynight n, and there was a Nightking elder before her. Nearby, there was a figure who stood tall like an iron tower. If Lu Yin was present, he would be stupefied upon realizing that this figure was none other than Zhanlong Daynight, who should have still been trapped in the Shenwu Continent.

    In the Erudite Flowzone, the Wen family also saw the video. The younger generation only saw the fight as a struggle for the title of the most powerful Limiteer, but therge ns saw a different picture¡ªanother form of struggle. When the Ten Arbiters inevitably left the scene, a new batch of people would wield power over the younger generation. Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Mu Rong was a sign for this second phase of struggling to rule the younger generation.

    ¡°Qian¡¯er, you must now realize that there¡¯s always someone stronger, right?¡±

    ¡°Uncle, Qian¡¯er wants to experience the strength of the strongest Limiteer. Then I will break through as an Explorer. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be satisfied.¡±

    ¡°That isn¡¯t very easy. Why don¡¯t you get your cousin to take you to the Ten Arbiters Council? Then, you can battle with Mu Rong.¡±

    ¡°No, I must experience the most powerful. I want to fight against Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡­

    On a certain, countless broken swords were stabbed into the ground, and off in the distance there was a towering sword peak. Liu Shaoqiu stood at the top as he watched the video, his gaze revealing his shock. Lu Yin had already surpassed him by a great margin.

    As Liu Shaoqiu reflected on this, he closed the screen and looked up, his gaze firm. He would not forget his promise with Lu Yin to challenge the Top 100 Rankings together. He refused to be inferior to Lu Yin, so he would climb this sword mountain that his female senior had once trained on, and he would transform once again. The Sword Sect would always be the strongest.

    In a certain area of the Outerverse, Xi Yue also watched the video. When she finished, she looked up with aplex gaze. Perhaps this person would be able to help them.

    In a certain area in the Innerverse, a man closed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s getting closer.¡±

    Barely a few days after the battle at Halfwillow Lakeside, Michelle and the rest left the Sea King¡¯s Dome, leaving only Big Pao and Little Pao behind. The two brothers could only patiently wait in the Sea King''s Dome until they verified that the Bo Duo and Feng Mo would not cause them any more trouble, though that did not seem likely to happen anytime soon.

    Faceless also left the Sea King''s Dome, and after witnessing the battle at Halfwillow Lakeside, he felt that he had underestimated Lu Yin previously. This person¡¯s status in the n might be even higher than what he had previously imagined, as he had defeated Mu Rong without using any death energy. That was no simple strength, and perhaps only that person from the Neohuman Alliance could rival him!

    However, he could not talk to Lu Yin any longer, so he could neither report the news concerning the Bo Duo¡¯s deaths nor Feng Mo¡¯s escape.

 Chapter 469: War

    <h4>Chapter 469: War</h4>

    The Explorer Starsibyl had seen the battle as well. Lu Yin¡¯s answer kept returning to her mind. She didn¡¯t know what to make of his answer, but she felt it was necessary to return to the sect and report it. Lu Yin, Mu Rong, and the others all represented the younger generation to a certain degree. When the Ten Arbiters inevitably left the younger generation, it would be time for the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings to take their ce. Lu Yin and his peers would likely take the ces of the Ten Arbiters, and Lu Yin was obviously one of the very top ones, which meant that his answer was very important.

    Hai Qiqi kept to herself for a few days, but in the end, she decided to visit Lu Yin. ¡°Hey, how does that cowherd¡¯s song work?¡± That was the bit that she was the most curious about.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he looked at her. ¡°It controls people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! So why didn¡¯t you get controlled?¡± Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes were huge, and she blinked slowly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Because I¡¯m strong.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked like she was deep in thought as she focused on Lu Yin. After a long period of silence, she asked, ¡°Do you think cultivators are more likely to be perpetrators of domestic abuse?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    The Ghost Monkey sighed. ¡°I suddenly feel like Ming Yan suits you better, Seventh Bro. I know that you want more influence, but there¡¯s no need to sacrifice so much for it! Find somebody else. With your talent, I¡¯m sure that there¡¯ll be someone who¡¯s blind enough to want you.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification. He tapped the screen and found that Lily Anne was calling him.

    ¡°Congrattions on properly bing the most powerful Limiteer!¡± She grinned as she spoke.

    Lu Yin gave a short, modest response.

    Hai Qiqi poked her head over. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you,¡± Lu Yin retorted in annoyance.

    Hai Qiqi snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll tell father that you have a mistress.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, and so was Lily Anne.

    Hai Qiqi burst outughing. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it! I never nned on marrying you anyways. It works out better for me if you already have someone who you like. I¡¯ll have father allow you two to be together.¡± After that, she waved at Lily Anne and happily left.

    It was only after Hai Qiqi had gone far away that Lily Anne regained her wits. This was the first time she had ever met such a person, and she had obviously not been able to keep herposure. Just one sentence hadpletely changed the atmosphere.

    ¡°My apologies, Ms. An-er. That girl is a little¡­ a little¡­¡± Lu Yin didn¡¯t even know what to say. Regardless of all else, Hai Qiqi¡¯s thought process was all over the ce, her mind was not at all normal, and she also had a very sharp tongue. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to say any of this since he was sure that the Sea King was watching him.

    Lily Anne chuckled. ¡°That must have been the Sea King¡¯s daughter.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, clearly at a loss for what to say.

    Lily Anne smiled. ¡°She¡¯s very direct, and she¡¯s a good kid. You need to make sure that you hang onto her, Lu Yin. Being able to marry the Sea King¡¯s daughter is many people¡¯s dream. Not to mention that she¡¯s very pretty!¡±

    Lu Yin had no idea where Lily Anne had gotten the idea that Hai Qiqi was a good person. Was she pretty? This woman must be trying to suck up to him. However, Lily Anne possessed an intellectual beauty, and didn¡¯t seem like the type to do any bootlicking. Lu Yin still had not forgotten what had happened on their way to Northline Flowzone. That woman had sucked up to somebody without anybody realizing it. This time, she must be trying to suck up to the Sea King.

    ¡°Is there anything you need from me, Ms. An-er?¡± Lu Yin inquired.

    Lily Anne¡¯s expression suddenly turned grim. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s happened in Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°Frostwave Weave? What happened?¡±

    Lily Anne frowned. ¡°You haven¡¯t heard? The Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Second Grade Hall has dered war on Frostwave Weave, and their target is the Great Yu Empire. Apparently, quite a few captains from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Imperial Thirteen Squadrons have already headed towards the border, including that Hunter realm blind monk.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, because he honestly had no idea that such a development had taken ce. ¡°How did you find out about this?¡±

    ¡°It seems like you truly didn¡¯t know. Alright, I¡¯ll tell you. This is no longer a secret known only to the great ns of the universe.¡± She paused for a moment and then seriously said, ¡°Within the Astral Wilderness, somebody discovered an extremely dense substance called pyrolyte that is incredibly destructive. Just one gram of it can release a destructive power that matches an attack with a power level of over 10,000, which means that it is a strategic war resource. Securing arge amount of this substance could possibly be enough to alter the courses of certain circumstances in the universe, which is why many organizations have sent their people to explore the Astral Wilderness.

    ¡°At this time, the ce where we¡¯ve found the most pyrolyte is close to Northcastle Weave, which is coincidentally one of the ces in the Outerverse that¡¯s close to the Astral Wilderness. It also happens to lie directly north of Frostwave Weave. I hope that this makes sense to you, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that a number of organizations have sent people into Northcastle Weave and that the Second Grade Hall is trying toy their hands on Frostwave Weave?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure what¡¯s happening behind the scenes, but I know that the Second Grade Hall hasunched an attack against Frostwave Weave for sure. After finding out, I immediately contacted you,¡± Lily Anne exined.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°Thanks for letting me know, Ms. An-er.¡±

    Lily Anne knew that Lu Yin needed to immediately contact his people in the Great Yu Empire, so she did not drag the conversation out any further and quickly hung up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he immediately called Huo Qingshan. Soon enough, the man appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen.

    ¡°Is there something that you haven¡¯t told me?¡± Lu Yin asked while holding in his rage.

    Huo Qingshan was confused. ¡°What? Nothing is happening.¡±

    ¡°The Second Grade Hall is attacking Frostwave Weave, and you¡¯re trying to keep it from me? Or are you trying to say that I am no longer the regent of the Great Yu Empire?¡± Lu Yin demanded. He was now truly furious, feeling like he¡¯d been cheated.

    Huo Qingshan answered, ¡°Where did you hear these rumors, your highness?¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Rumors?¡±

    Huo Qingshan nodded. ¡°Some time ago, some experts from the Second Grade Hall pursued and tried to kill a survivor of Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty. They fought Captain Shalosh, but they were all defeated. So, they sent some more men to take revenge, but that¡¯s all that happened. There hasn¡¯t been any attack against Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°What about the Blind Monk? Why¡¯d he go to the border?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s because we were afraid that one of the Second Grade Hall¡¯smanders might personallye. A Hunter isn¡¯t someone who Captain Shalosh or the others can deal with. Please do not worry, your highness. The Great Yu Empire isn¡¯t weak, and this matter has already been reported to the Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan. She told us not to bother you.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. It seemed that Huo Qingshan and the rest had not intentionally hidden things from him. They had only done so because they did not realize just how serious the situation was. A while back, Lu Yin had told Huo Qingshan that they shouldn¡¯t contact him unless it was something very important. And Huo Qingshan saw this matter as an act of revenge, not war, which exined why he hadn¡¯t reported any of it to Lu Yin. But in actuality, this really was war.

    The Great Yu Empire definitely knew nothing about pyrolyte and thought that the Second Grade Hall appearing in Northcastle Weave was just a random coincidental matter. Thoserge organizations had managed topletely seal off all relevant information from the rest of the universe. It was likely that even that survivor from the Greatsword Dynasty had no idea about why his dynasty had fallen. Most of the organizations in the Outerverse knew nothing about the current situation, and only those in the Innerverse would have knowledge of the discovery of pyrolyte.

    Thankfully Lu Yin had managed to find out. Otherwise, the moment the Second Grade Hall started coveting Frostwave Weave¡¯s geographic location and attacked, the Great Yu Empire would have found itself waist deep in grave danger.

    ¡°This is an order: the Great Yu Empire is to cease all attacks. Gather all of our warships in the north. The captains of the Ninth Imperial Squadron, Rocky Auna, the Thirteenth Imperial Squadron, Liuying Yushan, and all the new recruits who are at or above the Explorer realm are to gather at the border between Frostwave Weave and Northcastle Weave. The moment enemies are discovered, make sure to intimidate them, but do not dere war on them. In addition, please have Xueshan Auna head over to the border to take charge,¡± Lu Yin stated sternly.

    Huo Qingshan was shocked, but when he studied Lu Yin¡¯s expression more, he realized that things were bad. ¡°Has something happened, your highness?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed for a moment before telling the man about pyrolyte. Huo Qingshan immediately realized where the issuey. Frostwave Weave was just south of Northcastle Weave, and they even directly bordered it. Their geographical location was very important, and the Second Grade Hall clearly wanted to take control of Frostwave Weave. That meant that Northcastle Weave was already done for.

    Reality didn¡¯t match that survivor¡¯s description, as he had said that only the Greatsword Dynasty had been destroyed. It might seem like many of therge organizations in Northcastle Weave still existed, but in actuality, the Innerverse had taken control of every major organization.

    The Second and First Grade Halls were both subservient to the Divine Grade Hall. And the Divine Grade Hall represented the entire Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    ¡°Understood. Please do not worry, your highness,¡± Huo Qingshan stated grimly.

    Lu Yin nodded, but just as he was about to hang up, a thought suddenly urred to him. ¡°Did you say that Captain Shalosh fought against some experts from the Second Grade Hall in order to protect a survivor from the Greatsword Dynasty? Where is that survivor?¡±

    ¡°On his way to Zenyu Star,¡± Huo Qingshan answered.

    Lu Yin stated, ¡°Keep him safe.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Many of therge organizations from the Innerverse had gathered in Northcastle Weave, making that weave very lively. Even the Lily n had gone there, and they were just a small family who weren¡¯t even from one of the Eight Great Flowzones. Thus, why shouldn¡¯t Lu Yin participate as well?

    Lu Yin was not actually expecting to actually get anything, but it would be nice if he managed to achieve something of note. Even if it was just a tiny bit, he would be able to upgrade any rare or unusual items he acquired with his die¡¯s Enhance. There was even a chance that he might strike it rich. At the thought of how much money he¡¯d made from those items he acquired inside the centipede¡¯s body, his eyes gleamed.

    However, handling the crisis in Frostwave Weave was of the utmost importance right now.

    With this in mind, Lu Yin contacted Wendy Yushan, but unfortunately, he did not manage to reach her. He thought about calling Mira but ultimately decided against it. The Ten Arbiters Council would not be able to exert any influence upon thepetition in the Northcastle Weave and the Astral Wilderness. Additionally, they would not be able to protect Frostwave Weave either.

    While standing beneath the waterfall, Lu Yin pondered over the matter for a long time before finally bowing towards the sky. ¡°I would like to request an audience with you, sir.¡±

    Soon enough, the Sea King appeared in front of Lu Yin. ¡°You haven¡¯t thought of a way to defeat Mu Rong without brute force?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No, I have not.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Just steal his flute,¡± the Sea King chided.

    Lu Yin froze. ¡°Steal- steal his flute?¡±

    ¡°His innate gift is that flute, and that farmer boy¡¯s song can only be performed if he ys the flute. Thus, so long as you steal it, you¡¯ll be able to stop him from ying the song! Since you managed to hit him once, that means that you should be able to hit him twice, though you might have to pay a price for it. However,pared to such a feat as defeating him, it would be worth it,¡± the Sea King exined.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°But since that flute is his innate gift, it should disappear even if I do manage to steal it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so stupid! Just steal it and then destroy it. An innate gift is something that ces a huge burden on the body if it¡¯s used enough. Nobody¡¯s innate gift can be used indefinitely. So naturally, if you destroy it, it will affect him greatly. It isn¡¯t that easy to perform that farmer boy¡¯s song. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have given Ling Que the chance tobine those three des into one. Perhaps if he had taken that attack, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to use the farmer boy¡¯s song,¡± the Sea King exined.

    Lu Yin recalled what had happened with Mu Rong in their battle and realized that the Sea King¡¯s words were true. Mu Rong had not given Lu Yin the chance to attack a second time and had hurriedly used the farmer boy¡¯s song. It was indeed possible that the attack took a lot out of him and that once he was injured enough, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it anymore. Destroying Mu Rong¡¯s flute would actually be able to hurt him at that point.

    Having thought things through, Lu Yin looked at the Sea King in awe. ¡°Thank you for the guidance, sir.¡±

 Chapter 470: Betrothal Gift

    <h4>Chapter 470: Betrothal Gift</h4>

    The Sea King held his head high and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s normal that you can¡¯t think of such a tactic. How many people in the universe are capable of such nimble thinking like myself? Qiqi has inherited my first-rate genes, so I hope that you won¡¯t ruin that inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as this father and daughter pair were very simr; they each had a venomous mouth and a favorable impression of themselves. ¡°Senior Sea King, this junior has two things to report.¡±

    The Sea King nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°First of all, it¡¯s about the betrothal gift. If this junior wishes to wed Qiqi, the gift must be presentable. Not only is this a matter of respect towards the Sea King''s Dome, but it is also an ounting of my hometown,¡± Lu Yin exined respectfully.

    The Sea King cast a sideways nce at Lu Yin. ¡°What sort of betrothal gift can you prepare? Why don¡¯t we just call it quits after you return those star essence you spent?¡±

    Lu Yin felt awkward. ¡°This junior¡¯s not that wealthy.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you talking about? If you don¡¯t even have that much money, what sort of gift can you possibly prepare?¡± The Sea King was disgruntled.

    Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°Although I¡¯m broke, I will try my best to prepare a gift that matches Qiqi so long as senior allows me to return to Frostwave Weave.¡±

    The Sea King sneered. ¡°Are you trying to leave? We¡¯ll talk about this after you be an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin deferentially replied, ¡°Senior may not know that junior¡¯s home has encountered danger, so I must return.¡±

    The Sea King disdainfully answered, ¡°What can you do as a Limiteer?¡±

    ¡°Even if I was a Seeker, so long as my home is in trouble, I cannot shirk my responsibilities. If I may ask, if the Sea King''s Dome were to face trouble, would the residents from here return to help? Even if it¡¯s useless, they would still be willing to bear the burden all together.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes showed that he was moved by Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he looked up at the sky. He thought for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright, you may go, but take Qiqi with you.¡±

    Lu Yin was rmed. ¡°Senior, this return trip will be fraught with danger. How can Qiqi be put in such a position?¡±

    The Sea King remained arrogant. ¡°Qiqi does not need your protection since no one dares to touch my daughter. Just take her along with you and don¡¯t worry about it. It may even turn out to be the case where she is the one to protect you instead.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to retort, but he was interrupted by the Sea King. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not going to negotiate with you. Either take Qiqi with you or wait until you be an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin was helpless, so he could only agree. ¡°Junior understands, and I will try my best to ensure Qiqi¡¯s safety.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said this, but Qiqi does not need your protection. Tomorrow, meet Qiqi at the port.¡± The Sea King then tore through the void and left.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you can¡¯t seem to get rid of that woman! I have a feeling that you might identally lose your mind if you spend too much time with her.¡± The monkey¡¯s schadenfreude at Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune was readily apparent.

    Lu Yin had no time to think about such things, and he quickly pulled up a star chart showing Frostwave Weave and its surroundings as he thought about how he could resolve this crisis. He could not just charge in recklessly, as the other side could effortlessly send out waves of Hunters. The best n would be to make use of the various powers and establish an equilibrium. After all, he had spent some time in the Innerverse, so his current social circles could not be measured with the Outerverse¡¯s standards.

    Moreover, he had Honor Points, so he could gather more information about the tangled rtionship between these powers than anyone else, which he could then use to his advantage.

    The one eyeing Frostwave Weave was the Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Second Grade Hall, so his first step was to research this power more thoroughly. Maybe he could use Kuang Wang.

    In another area, at the highest point of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, the Sea King stood as he stared out at the Starfall Sea. Behind him, Hai Dashao appeared and spoke in a low voice. ¡°Father, I¡¯ve checked it. Frostwave Weave is being targeted by the Second Grade Hall, and Northcastle Weave has practically already fallen into the hands of the various powers.¡±

    The Sea King nodded, but he had a peaceful look on his face.

    ¡°The Second Grade Hall will not be the only foe Lu Yin faces when he returns. With the lure of pyrolyte tempting the various powers there, it will be difficult for him to preserve Frostwave Weave¡¯s autonomy, and at best, he¡¯ll be able to maintain the Great Yu Empire¡¯s territory. This is also after taking the various powers¡¯ reservations with the Sea King''s Dome into consideration. With his strength as a puny Limiteer, it¡¯spletely impossible for him to reverse the situation.¡± Hai Dashao made his report with a contemptuous tone for Lu Yin.

    The Sea King smiled. ¡°Did you think that he¡¯s going there alone?¡±

    ¡°Why? Does he have helpers?¡± Hai Dashao was astonished.

    ¡°We are his helpers.¡±

    Hai Dashao was stunned. ¡°Does Father intend to personally intervene? This will attract the attention of the Hall of Honor. To start-¡±

    The Sea King raised his hand to stop Hai Dashao. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I was going to intervene, but this kid¡¯s not an idiot either. From his previous deeds, this kid has shown that he¡¯s adept at socializing, and that he¡¯s even better at borrowing power. Why do you think he mentioned preparing a betrothal gift? I dare guarantee that, as soon as he can¡¯t withstand the situation, this kid will definitely prepare a betrothal gift for the Sea King''s Dome as a means to intimidate the various powers. He already has all sorts of ways to save Frostwave Weave. It¡¯s even possible that he might offer Frostwave Weave to our Sea King¡¯s Dome as his betrothal gift.¡±

    Hai Dashao grew furious. ¡°Would that brat really be so bold? Father, we can¡¯t let him act so willfully! We have an agreement with the Hall of Honor.¡±

    The Sea King did not mind that matter. ¡°So what if we have an agreement? No one in the universe can stop me.¡±

    Hai Dashao knitted his brows. As he stared at the Sea King¡¯s figure, he suddenly seemed to think of something. ¡°Father, is having Qiqi follow him to indicate our Sea King''s Dome¡¯s position?¡±

    The Sea King smiled, but he did not reply.

    ¡°Father, do you want to obtain the pyrolyte?¡± Hai Dashao probed.

    The Sea King¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Whether or not it can be obtained depends on how that kid behaves. I hope that he won¡¯t disappoint me, or else I may have to act personally.¡±

    Hai Dashao was overwhelmed; if the Sea King took action, then those old freaks from the various powers would also appear, potentially snowballing into a disaster that would sweep across the universe. Was this pyrolyte really that important? Hai Dashao did not understand. Even if pyrolyte was a strategic military resource, no one in the universe dared to provoke the Starfall Sea or the Sea King''s Dome. Would he need to leave the Starfall Sea to obtain this material?

    If the Sea King moved out, then the Neoverse wouldn¡¯t remain silent either, and the entire universe would be thrown into chaos.

    Hai Dashao suddenly realized that Lu Yin¡¯s trip was actually very important, as he would have to obtain a sufficient amount of pyrolyte to satisfy the Sea King. Otherwise, a disaster would ur, and no one knew about this possible oue other than Hai Dashao and the Sea King himself.

    Lu Yin naturally did not know that the Sea King required pyrolyte, as it would already be an amazing oue if he could preserve Frostwave Weave with his return.

    Hold on. Hai Dashao suddenly thought of another possibility. Perhaps Father is allowing Lu Yin to leave in order to allow his future son-inw to be bullied after leaving the Starfall Sea. As soon as Lu Yin was unable to save Frostwave Weave, the Sea King would have enough justification to act, and no one would be able to argue against him.

    The Hall of Honor could not stop the Sea King from helping his own future son-inw.

    And if after helping his future son-inw he snatched some pyrolyte, no one would dare to say anything.

    As he watched the Sea King¡¯s smile, Hai Dashao was shocked. He reckoned that even the various powers who had taken over Northcastle Weave did not know that they were already being watched by the Sea King and that everything was going ording to his n.

    Hai Dashao left, still pondering some matters, though he knew that he could not stop anything.

    ¡°Father, it¡¯s time to tell Second Bro.¡± A screen rose up from a gadget beside the Sea King. The disy showed a man who looked very simr to Hai Dashao. He was the Sea King¡¯s eldest son.

    The Sea King¡¯s gaze grewplicated. ¡°Wait for him to be a Hunter.¡±

    ¡°Father, it¡¯s too radical an idea to use pyrolyte to st that path open. Nobody knows what will happen once that path is cleared, and the original tragedy might even repeat itself.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s expression grew heavy. ¡°So what? This universe is merely a pretense! Nothing can be worse than this oue. That path could be a dead end, but it may also be a source of hope. And so what if it¡¯s a dead end? At worst, everyone can die together without anyone escaping.¡±

    ¡°The Hall of Honor will not let you seed.¡±

    ¡°They are too conservative. They have no idea that, the longer the dy, the more we¡¯ll be suppressed. It¡¯s been too long since this universe has been devoid of a Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°Second Brother has probably gone looking for Lu Yin. Aren¡¯t you worried that he¡¯ll let something leak?¡±

    The Sea King sped his hands behind his back. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The kid can¡¯t even decide his own future. So what if he knows, and so what if he doesn¡¯t. Ignorance is bliss, after all.¡±

    ¡°Then, what about Qiqi? Do you truly n to marry Qiqi off to him?¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s not an enemy, sure. If he is, he¡¯ll be killed immediately.¡± The Sea King¡¯s tone grew cold. As he uttered those words, the atmosphere of the entire Sea King''s Dome changed, and the even Starfall Sea grew more despondent.

    ¡­

    Hai Dashao¡¯s emotions wereplicated. He did not understand why they needed pyrolyte. Given the power of the entire Sea King''s Dome, they should have no need for pyrolyte at all.

    The Sea King''s Dome enjoyed an exceptional status in the universe, partly because the Starfall Sea did not interfere in the struggles of the other powers. However, as soon as the Sea King''s Dome acted, there would be a bacsh from the various powers of the universe, which would then restrict the Sea King''s Dome status. This was not what Hai Dashao wished to see.

    He unwittingly walked to the waterfall where Lu Yin was, and saw that the Limiteer was deep in thought.

    Lu Yin was studying a star chart and considering what might help him as he contemted his future moves when he returned to Frostwave Weave. He gathered himself when he saw Hai Dashao approach.

    ¡°Are you leaving tomorrow?¡± Hai Dashao asked softly.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Hai Dashao looked at Lu Yin and hesitated. ¡°Your reply to Starsibyl was rather disappointing to me.¡±

    Lu Yin casually smiled. ¡°My apologies. It probably wasn¡¯t just you who was disappointed¡ªeven the Sea King should be very disappointed. Still, that is my reply, and it will not change.¡±

    Hai Dashao frowned, but he did not reply.

    ¡°Did youe here just to tell me this?¡±

    Hai Dashao stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°You should have heard about¡­ pyrolyte.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

    ¡°Father wishes for your betrothal gift to be pyrolyte,¡± Hai Dashao said. He could not reveal everything, so he had to leave his words vague.

    Lu Yin was astounded. ¡°The Sea King needs pyrolyte?¡±

    ¡°Whether he needs it or not is none of your business. In any case, your gift can only be pyrolyte, or else-¡± At this point, Hai Dashao paused since he did not know how to continue. Or else what? We won¡¯t let him marry Qiqi? This kid would actually be eager for such an oue, as Hai Dashao had not forgotten what had happened during the selectionpetition and was well aware that Lu Yin did not wish to marry Qiqi.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°The various great powers of the universe are all focused on pyrolyte. It¡¯ll be very difficult for me to get any of it. I¡¯m just a Limiteer, and although I may have some statuses and titles that will cause some to hesitate, it¡¯s not to the extent where they will concede this resource to me.¡±

    Hai Dashao turned to leave. ¡°That¡¯s your problem. Anyway, the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s required betrothal gift is pyrolyte. If you can¡¯t obtain it, then you know what price you¡¯ll have to pay.¡±

    And with that, Hai Dashao left.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that pyrolyte was far more important than what he had previously believed. Even the Sea King''s Dome, a power that did not involve itself in the universe¡¯s disputes, wanted it. Since the Sea King''s Dome wanted it, and since he had even used such a reason, then it was even more justifiable for him to borrow their influence, though that was still hisst resort.

 Chapter 471: Collapsible Spacecraft

    <h4>Chapter 471: Copsible Spacecraft</h4>

    The Sea King¡¯s guess had been dead on. From the very beginning, Lu Yin had expected Frostwave Weave to be in the worst-case scenario. He was not arrogant enough to believe that he alone could save Frostwave Weave. The Sea King¡¯s reputation was his trump card, and if things really took a turn for the worst, then he would hand the entire Great Yu Empire over to the Sea King. He was certain that nobody would want to go up against the Sea King just for a tiny Great Yu Empire.

    However, that would also mean that he¡¯d have nothing left. Then again, that would be better than having the empire be divided up between the other organizations.

    With no news about Feng Mo and the Bo Duo, Big Pao and Little Pao still had no choice but to remain at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status, Feng Mo and the others wouldn¡¯t dare to attack him. Even if they did, he had plenty of ways of getting away. Thus, Lu Yin was not worried at all. Hai Qiqi, on the other hand¡­ The Sea King¡¯s confident tone had not left Lu Yin with much of a choice.

    The next day, at the port, Hai Qiqi arrived even earlier than Lu Yin. She stood aboard a huge ship, looking incredibly excited as she stared towards the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance with sparkling eyes.

    She only noticed Lu Yin after he walked up behind her, causing her to roll her eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t make any sound.¡±

    ¡°How does nobody recognize you? Aren¡¯t you the Sea King¡¯s daughter?¡± Lu Yin was very curious about this. Hai Qiqi was standing at the ship¡¯s bow. Logically speaking, there should be a lot of people staring at her, but the area below them waspletely empty.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s gaze dimmed, and she haughtily replied, ¡°Precisely. I¡¯m the Sea King¡¯s daughter. Not just anyone can meet me.¡±

    Lu Yin thought nothing of her statement.

    At this point, a voice rang out from behind the two of them. ¡°The spacecraft is ready, Princess Qiqi.¡±

    The voice was unexpected and startled Lu Yin, because that person had spoken from right next to him.

    He unconsciously shifted a few steps away and looked over to see an old man who had suspiciously appeared out of nowhere.

    The old man looked at Lu Yin and gave him a kind smile.

    ¡°Okay. Got it,¡± Hai Qiqi answered before excitedly running into the ship.

    The old man watched on as she left before turning to look at Lu Yin. He smiled again. ¡°Take care of Qiqi, kid. While the words she speaks aren¡¯t very nice, she¡¯s very innocent and kind.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The old man kept smiling. ¡°I saw your fight. Not bad at all! Keep working hard, and hopefully someday, we¡¯ll be able to go against the current.¡±

    After saying that, the old man left.

    Lu Yin watched the old man¡¯s figure move away, not understanding what he had just said. At that moment, Hai Qiqi yelled out, ¡°Hey, what are you two doing? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The spacecraft that the Sea King had provided them was a very unique one. The manufacturer was Aurora Enterprises. It was a copsible small spacecraft that could carry three people, but when not in use, the vessel could be copsed into a form small enough to be stored in a cosmic ring.

    The moment he saw the spacecraft, Lu Yin told himself that he was definitely getting himself er. He¡¯d already lost quite a number of spacecraft and had even left an Aurora back on Deep Crimson.

    However, the cost of a copsible spacecraft was, in Hai Qiqi¡¯s words, ¡°something Lu Yin would never be able to afford.¡± However, Lu Yin did not agree with her opinion at all. Over the course of his entire cultivation journey, he¡¯d spent nearly twenty thousand star essence. This was just a spacecraft, and an ordinary radiant-grade spacecraft only cost ten star essence.

    However, when Hai Qiqi told Lu Yin the price, he realized that he might have been a bit too arrogant. It was indeed a fact that he couldn¡¯t afford such a spacecraft. This copsible, radiant-grade Aurora carried a preposterous price of twenty thousand star essence.

    ¡°Why is this thing so expensive?¡± Lu Yin asked in shock.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Calling you ignorant would be apliment at this point. Have you ever heard of a copsible spacecraft being sold? This is cutting-edge technique. The features of a copsible spacecraft isn¡¯t just limited to its ability to be stored¡ªit also has to meet certain standards in terms of speed, defenses,pleteness, and so on. That alone is incredibly valuable. Besides, do you really think that twenty thousand is too much for a radiant-grade spacecraft that you can take out at any moment and use to flee?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless; that wasn¡¯t considered expensive? It was way too expensive! It suddenly made sense why he¡¯d never heard of anyone using such a thing before. Even the rich young masters fromrge organizations whom he knew couldn¡¯t afford such an expense, and only those who wereparable to Hai Qiqi could disregard such a cost. However, what she had said also made sense. If Lu Yin had possessed such a spacecraft back then, then he wouldn¡¯t have been stuck and could have fled at any moment. It very well could have saved his life.

    Even then, such a spacecraft wasn¡¯t worth such a price, and it was mostly this expensive because it was rare. What was being sold was not just the product, but also a status that most people could only aspire towards.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one more thing. There aren¡¯t a lot of spacecraft like this one in the Outerverse. Every year, Aurora Enterprises builds a limited number of such products. Just having money doesn¡¯t qualify you to buy one,¡± Hai Qiqi stated arrogantly.

    ¡°Are you saying that even the Mavis family can¡¯t buy one?¡± Lu Yin joked.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression changed. ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with the Mavis family?¡±

    ¡°Their name is synonymous with money.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get confused. I never said anything about the Mavis family¡ªI¡¯m talking about you. Someone like you wouldn¡¯t be able to buy one even if you had the money for it.¡±

    ¡°How would you know if I have the means to buy one? We¡¯ll be splitting all of our individual assets properly before we get married.¡±

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth. ¡°Pfft, I don¡¯t care about the tiny bit of money that you might have, you poor fool. Wait¡ªwho said I¡¯m going to marry you?¡±

    Lu Yin pretended to sigh. ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m actually very rich, and I¡¯ll be even richer in the future.¡±

    Hai Qiqi snorted and promptly ignored him.

    The radiant grade Aurora was very fast, but even so, it would still take it more than two months to travel from the Sea King¡¯s Dome to the Outerverse¡¯s Frostwave Weave. The Starfall Sea was located at the westernmost part of the Innerverse, quite close to Endless Weave, while Frostwave Weave was located in the eastern quadrant of the Outervese and was close to the Astral Beast Domain. In terms of the Human Domain, one was in the southwest while the other was in the northeast. The two were just too far apart. If they had to change routes halfway through their journey, then they might not be able to arrive even after three or four months.

    However, they had pretty good luck and did not run into any trouble along the way, nor were they washed away by the waves. The things that they had been worried about, such as Feng Mo and Undying Yushan¡¯s enemies trying to take revenge, did not ur, though that was possibly because of the Sea King¡¯s emblem on the side of the spacecraft.

    This was basically a game of intimidation. Lu Yin believed that in Soulseal, Daynight, and Chaos Flowzones, nobody would dare attack a spacecraft that belonged to the Sea King. These three flowzones were close to the Starfall Sea, and the people there would naturally recognize the Sea King¡¯s emblem. Outside of the Innerverse, though, the situation would be different.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi did not make any stops anywhere, and they quickly passed through the entrance of Starfall Sea and Chaos Flowzone before reaching the Astral River. After crossing it, they would be in the Outerverse. Then, they would need to pass through dozens of more weaves to finally reach Frostwave Weave. Just the thought of it made it apparent to Lu Yin how far away his destination was.

    Lu Yin sometimes wondered how powerful Mister Mu was. The man had been able to instantly move Lu Yin from Tempest Flowzone to Zhengyang Flowzone, and such a distance wasparable to the distance between the Astral River and Frostwave Weave. Such a thing was simply terrifying, because this distance covered half of the entire Human Domain.

    The moment they left the Starfall Sea, Hai Qiqi¡¯s excitement reached a peak. She had never left the Starfall Sea before, and she nearly scared the Ghost Monkey out of Lu Yin¡¯s arm when she screamed in exhration. This prompted the monkey to let loose a string of curses for the next ten minutes, but unfortunately, only Lu Yin could hear his ranting.

    As they travelled further into the darkness of space, Hai Qiqi¡¯s excitement began to fade away. ¡°Hey, look! That¡¯s so colorful! It looks interesting. Can we go and take a look?¡±

    ¡°No. We¡¯re in a hurry.¡±

    ¡°Hey, look! There¡¯s a monster over there!¡±

    Lu Yin was startled and took a look¡ªit was an Explorer level astral beast. Astral beasts did not only live in the Beast Astral Domain, and there were many of them in the Human Domain as well, though they were usually culled by the nearby organizations. They were rarely ever dangerous to humans, and so, such creatures could be spotted every once in a while.

    That Explorer beast merely nced at the spacecraft before flying away.

    ¡°Chase it down! I want it to be my mount!¡± Hai Qiqi was exhrated.

    ¡°No. We¡¯re in a hurry.¡±

    ¡°Hey look, there¡¯s a fleet over there. It looks so big. Let¡¯s go and say hi!¡±

    ¡°No. We¡¯re in a hurry.¡±

    ¡­

    Hai Qiqi finally exploded and red venomously at Lu Yin. ¡°What¡¯s up with you? I¡¯m the daughter of the Sea King! You should be listening to me!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Sea King tell you that you needed to listen to me before we left?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she answered, still furious.

    Lu Yin could only exin, ¡°There¡¯s a war in my hometown, so there¡¯s no time to waste.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s part ways,¡± Hai Qiqi answered.

    The suggestion sounded pretty strange, and Lu Yin frowned. ¡°No, you need toe with me, or else I¡¯ll send you back to your father¡¯s ce.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grew frustrated and even started grinding her teeth, looking like she was about to bite Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin eyed her warily, ¡°Don¡¯t bite me. You¡¯ll break your teeth.¡±

    ¡°Duh, of course that¡¯ll break my teeth! You might be ugly, but you¡¯re clearly very thick-skinned. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to bite through that!¡± Hai Qiqi retorted viciously before turning away to look at the viewing port and ignore Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Everything would be fine so long as she didn¡¯t create a fuss. He really was in a hurry to return to Frostwave Weave and if it were anyone else trying to dy his return, he¡¯d have rendered them unconscious long ago. However, he couldn¡¯t do such a thing to Hai Qiqi.

    The Astral River had a scenery that waspletely different from what one could see in the Starfall Sea. While it was called a river, it was farrger and expansive than the Starfall Sea. One of the most unique characteristics of the Starfall Sea was that it truly was a sea with water, whereas the Astral River was formed from all kinds of liquefied energies.

    In the past, Lu Yin had assumed that there was only one Astral River Ark in existence, but it turned out that there were actually three. They were located to the east, west, and center of the barrier that separated the Innerverse and the Outerverse. This actually made a lot of sense; otherwise, it would be nearly impossible for anyone from the Outerverse to enter the Innerverse.

    Hai Qiqi sighed in praise as she gazed upon the Astral River. She¡¯d only seen it on thework before, so this was her first time seeing it in person.

    ¡°Hey, I want to go fishing,¡± Hai Qiqi suddenly stated, staring up at Lu Yin in anticipation as she blinked innocently.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°No.¡±

    Hai Qiqi blustered, ¡°How dare you! It¡¯s going to take some time for the ark to reach the other side. You¡¯re not to poke your nose into my business during this time, or else I¡¯ll get mad!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    Hai Qiqi froze and tried her luck again. ¡°Really? You can¡¯t meddle in my affairs.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°Okay.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was in disbelief.

    Lu Yin used the status he enjoyed with his Honor Points to quickly board the Astral River Ark, not bothering to join the line as he had in the past. They could board early with special treatment, though the emblem of the Sea King on the hull of their spacecraft startled even the Astral River Envoy.

    Their spacecraft was quickly allowed onto the track where it rested in line like the other spacecraft. Just as Lu Yin was wondering why they hadn¡¯t been ced on a private, VIP track, somebody appeared outside of their spacecraft. It was a Cruiser.

    The Cruiser was there to ask Lu Yin whether or not they wished to switch to a VIP track. This passage was isted from the rest of the spacecraft and still offered all the necessary facilities inside of it. There was everything they could need as well as servants to wait on them.

    Lu Yin decided against it, but he still made sure to inform the Cruiser that Hai Qiqi was an important person from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

 Chapter 472: A Unique Planet

    <h4>Chapter 472: A Unique</h4>

    The Cruiser¡¯s expression quickly changed, and he became exceedingly humble.

    And with that, Hai Qiqi¡¯s fishing dream was crushed.

    Not just anyone was allowed to fish in the Astral River. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, Old Gu De had felt that Lu Yin had a rtively high chance of being dragged off and dying. Without bing a Cruiser, the chances of one dying while fishing were very high. Even after bing a Cruiser, one could only persist for less than ten hours. This showed just how dangerous the Astral River was.

    Upon knowing that Hai Qiqi was somebody important from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, there was no way the envoy on the ark would allow her to fish. What she would be fishing for would not be fish, but rather his life. This was why Hai Qiqi had no chance of being allowed to fish.

    However, that was not the only thing. All of her movements on the ship started being monitored at all times so that she could be constantly protected.

    This was why Lu Yin had been so lenient and epted her request. The Astral River Envoy would be more worried about her safety than anyone else.

    Lu Yin spent all of his time on the situation in Frostwave Weave. Huo Qingshan reported to him practically every day. During this time, the Second Grade Hall had surprisingly stopped their acts of aggression, sending no more experts to Frostwave Weave, and they¡¯d even withdrawn the experts they had sent before.

    Such a move made no sense to Lu Yin.

    In the Outerverse, at the border between Northcastle Weave and Frostwave Weave, there were dozens of gigantic beasts flying about. Each beast was an Explorer level creature, and every single one of them carried an expert from the Second Grade Hall. Even further away, there was a fortress-looking warship floating through space, carrying a whole group of people from the Second Grade Hall.

    In order to secure a cache of pyrolyte, the Second Grade Hall had sent out quite a few powerhouses. The person who had been ordered to attack Frostwave Weave was a Hunter known as Anfield. Powerhouses like him were referred to asmanders within the Second Grade Hall.

    Anfield somberly studied the star chart. He never would have imagined that a tiny ce like Frostwave Weave would be able to defend against his attacks. It was only when he skimmed through the history of Frostwave Weave that he discovered that the Great Yu Empire, which covered most of Frostwave Weave, had previously managed to fend off an attack from the Ross Empire. It was then that he realized that the Great Yu Empire was more than it appeared to be.

    He had fought against a strange-looking Hunter, and to his shock, he had been at a disadvantage. Such a situation caused him to order the assault on Frostwave Weave to halt, especially since it had seemed like that Hunter hadn¡¯t even gone all out during their battle.

    While the Second Grade Hall was an organization from the Innerverse, it was ranked at the bottom within the Beast Tamers Flowzone, and they could not afford to squander their strength on needlessly attacking Frostwave Weave.

    Just the day before, Anfield had received word that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin, might be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Such news had been shocking to him and had made him even more reluctant toy hands on Frostwave Weave.

    However, as long as Lu Yin did not truly be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, they could not give up on Frostwave Weave. They also weren¡¯t the only ones with such thoughts. After all, it was not easy for someone to truly be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    Currently, it was not in any of the many organizations¡¯ best interests to reveal themselves. Hence, they¡¯d chosen a method that many organizations often used: they had recruited a batch of mercenaries and paid them to attack Frostwave Weave. At this moment, numerous mercenaries from across the Innerverse were heading to the weave.

    At this moment, the chaos in Northcastle Weave had be very dangerous. Manyrge organizations in Northcastle Weave had already disappeared or were now under the control of organizations from the Innerverse. Wars were a constant urrence and powerhouses could be seen everywhere. There were no less than ten Hunters who had been deployed, and Northcastle Weave was currently knee-deep in strife.

    After one passed through Northcastle Weave, they woulde to the Astral Wilderness. The Astral Wilderness was a ce with nowork connected and had no wormholes that could be used to expedite travel. It was filled with danger and beasts. Even if there were catastrophic natural disasters, there would be no way for someone to avoid them. This was the true universe where the threat of death was everywhere.

    Since no wormholes had been built in this region, traveling through the Astral Wilderness was an extremely lengthy journey, and it would take one several times longer to travel the same distancepared to the Human Domain.

    Only the speed of a Radiant-grade Aurora, at the least, would allow one to somewhat be able to explore the Astral Wilderness. Otherwise, a great amount of time would be wasted on just traveling.

    There were nearly ten Hunters fighting in Northcastle Weave, but there were even more in the Astral Wilderness. Just the Souldream Tribe alone had sent three Hunters.

    Most of these experts were not trying to fight against others, as they were actually exploring the Astral WIlderness. It was incredibly dangerous there, and every year, at least ten Hunters died there. This was a terrifying number, because a single weave in the Outerverse might not even have that many Hunters.

    Of course, the profits that they gained were also sizable. As the explored area of the Astral Wilderness increased, the Outerverse itself expanded. After a while, the region to the north of Northcastle Weave would be a new weave, and the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse would be seventy three.

    As techniques to find pyrolyte became increasingly sophisticated, the various organizations had finally found arge amount of pyrolyte on a gigantic in the Astral Wilderness. The was a dull red color, and there would asionally be loud explosions on the, which might very well be caused by pyrolyte.

    Above the, battleships hovered in space as many people closely observed the. The Daynight n, Souldream tribe, Sword Sect, and otherrge organizations in the Innerverse had all appeared, but none of them had descended onto the yet.

    Far in the distance, powerful undtions swept out every once in a while. These were caused by battles between Hunters, though they quickly died down after appearing.

    At this moment, a personal spacecraft rocketed out from the and charged towards a battleship. Halfway to the battleship, however, the tiny spacecraft was halted, and it soon exploded, revealing the frightened pilot.

    Dozens of people suddenly appeared in outer space, and every single one of them was a Hunter.

    ¡°This is a disciple from my sect. Please do not hurt him.¡± An elder stood in front of the boy and spoke in a long-suffering tone. The elder was a Hunter as well, but he was only an elder from an ordinary organization in the Innerverse. Surrounding him were the people of the Daynight n, Sword Sect, and Wen family, and none of them were people whom he dared to confront.

    A Hunter from the Daynight n moved forward and said with a cold look in his eyes, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid. We just want to know what¡¯s happening down on that.¡±

    The elder heaved a sigh of relief and then gestured towards the youth.

    The boy answered in terror, ¡°After- after I entered the, my star energy waspletely suppressed, and I couldn¡¯t sense any ambient star energy on the.¡±

    ¡°We already know about that. Tell us something that we don¡¯t,¡± the powerhouse from the Daynight n ordered in an icy voice, sounding annoyed.

    The boy became even more terrified. ¡°I was lucky enough to arrive not too far away from some pyrolyte ore when Inded. I didn¡¯t go too far from mynding site and left right after I retrieved it.¡± After saying that, he produced an ore the size of a fist from his cosmic ring and passed it to the elder.

    The Hunters around him looked incredibly disappointed. It was no wonder why the kid had left the so quickly.

    ¡°But I did see an Explorer whonded not too long ago self-destruct,¡± the boy whispered.

    The surrounding Hunters¡¯ eyes went wide like saucers. ¡°What did you say? They self-destructed?!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± the youth answered in a small voice as he ducked his head.

    It didn¡¯t take long for all of therge organizations to receive the news that any cultivator who was an Explorer or above would self-destruct uponnding on the; there were no exceptions.

    After discovering this, Hunters from different organizations had tried to investigate the themselves, but they had soon discovered that the moment they passed through the atmosphere, there would be violent explosions on the. This contained arge amount of pyrolyte, which any Hunter¡¯s power would set off. That was why all of the Hunters were unable to enter; they were afraid of destroying the entire with their mere presence, and if that happened, everybody present would be done for.

    It was, however, arge surprise to everyone that even Explorers were unable to explore this.

    After many days of research, the organizations finally came to the realization that there was arge amount of aerosolized pyrolyte suspended in the¡¯s atmosphere. Not only did it repel star energy, but it also entered the bodies of breathing creatures. Those who had not yet be Explorers were fine, but anyone who was at the Explorer realm or higher had a body that was intrinsically connected to the universe, so once the pyrolyte entered their body, it would start circting through their body just like their star energy.

    Pyrolyte was incredibly unstable, so once a certain amount of it built up in one¡¯s body, it would explode. Just one gram could detonate with a power level of over 10,000. If an Explorer stayed on the for a while and ended up umting more than a gram of pyrolyte inside their body, then they would suffer from an internal explosion. Even a Cruiser would not be able to handle such an event.

    In other words, only cultivators who were not Explorers yet could safely explore this. And of them, the best choice was Limiteers.

    This theory was tested rigorously and confirmed by the cultivators who left the periodically. They each stayed on the for a few days, and all of the Limiteers had their bodies examined. Although they¡¯d all inhaled quite a lot of pyrolyte, it had naturally been discharged from their body and did not umte.

    ¡°It has been confirmed that only Limiteers can explore the. Contact the n and have them send over arge number of Limiteers.¡±

    ¡°Inform the sect to send Limiteers over.¡±

    ¡­

    The exploration of the Astral Wilderness typically had nothing to do with Limiteers, but right now, thanks to this¡¯s unique environment, Limiteers had turned into the main force of this particr expedition.

    From far above the, numerous spacecraft dropped down. These ships carried troops of mostly Limiteers from variousrge organizations, though they were primarily frencers or mercenaries who weren¡¯t actually affiliated with anyone. However, by having such people explore the first, the organizations would gain a basic understanding of the¡¯s various regions.

    For several days, Hai Qiqi was incredibly depressed. Wherever she went, there would be people following her. It seemed thating outside with Lu Yin was nowhere near as fun as she had expected it to be. She couldn¡¯t use violence to get her way since she wouldn¡¯t be able to beat Lu Yin. Thus, with no other choice, Hai Qiqi decided to change her attitude.

    ¡°For some reason, you seem really handsome today, Lu Yin!¡± Hai Qiqi beamed at Lu Yin, looked delighted and adoring.

    Lu Yin immediately became cautious. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grew furious. ¡°You said that you were rich before¡ªno, I¡¯m not asking for money! Besides, I¡¯m richer than you.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Great, then go outside and y. Didn¡¯t you want to go fishing?¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Hai Qiqi¡¯s fury returned in full force. ¡°What kind of stupid ce is this? There isn¡¯t even a fishing rod! I said that I¡¯d do it myself, but those guys told me that they want to protect the environment, and so, fishing isn¡¯t allowed. They even put up a sign that reads ¡®Protecting the environment is everyone¡¯s responsibility.¡¯ This ce is killing me!¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. This Astral River Envoy was a lot more entertaining than Old Gude had been.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes shifted. ¡°Hey, do you wanna fish, Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Boring. Annoying. Irritating.¡± Hai Qiqi tapped her gadget to call someone.

    Soon enough, a voice replied from the gadget, ¡°You¡¯ve left the Starfall Sea already, Qiqi?¡±

    Lu Yin nced towards the girl. The person she had called had a nice voice.

    Hai Qiqi looked glum. ¡°Baobao, I need to tell you something. There¡¯s a rotten guy here. His looks are barely average. On top of that, he has a terrible personality, a potty mouth, and a bad attitude¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was struck speechless. He couldn¡¯t believe the nonsense she had suddenly started spouting.

 Chapter 473: Conspiracy

    <h4>Chapter 473: Conspiracy</h4>

    The person at the other end of the call quietly listened to all of Hai Qiqi¡¯sints. Then, they responded, ¡°Don¡¯t be so willful, Qiqi. The fact that the Sea King let you go out with him proves that he¡¯s not a bad person. Be nice, and he¡¯ll treat you well.¡±

    Hai Qiqi red at Lu Yin and snorted. She mumbled something into the gadget and then ran off while still muttering under her breath.

    Lu Yin found the whole thing absolutely hrious. Although Qiqi had a sharp tongue, she was indeed kind at heart. She had never attempted to use her status as the Sea King¡¯s daughter to pressure anyone, unlike the sessors of somerge organizations whose noses were perpetually stuck in the air. Compared to those people, she was actually pretty adorable. However, just who had she been talking to? The other person sounded quite sensible and gentle¡ªthe exact opposite of this girl.

    Lu Yin thought that he¡¯d finally be able to have some peace to himself, but Hai Qiqi soon returned with a sneaky expression on her face. She stared at Lu Yin, seemingly quite pleased with herself.

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows. ¡°I won¡¯t sell my body no matter how much you pay me.¡±

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t get mad. She knew full well that Lu Yin enjoyed riling her, as he wanted to upset her so that she would leave him alone. But this time, she took control of the situation. ¡°I remember that your hometown is in Frostwave Weave and is called the Great Yu Empire, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. That¡¯s also where you¡¯re headed to.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked up. ¡°Promise me something, and I¡¯ll tell you something about your hometown.¡±

    ¡°No thanks. Be good and go out to y,¡± Lu Yin quipped back.

    Hai Qiqi grinned. ¡°I just heard someone discussing your hometown. They¡¯ve been hired to start a war with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and his head snapped around to stare straight at Hai Qiqi. ¡°That¡¯s a joke you can¡¯t afford to make.¡±

    Hai Qiqi crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide whether or not you treat it as a joke.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her for a while as he spread his domain to cover the entire VIP track and even a bit further. He heard a lot of people talking, and one particr conversation on a spacecraft a kilometer away attracted his interest.

    ¡°Are you sure that we¡¯ll be paid? There¡¯s so many of us. Can they afford to hire all of us?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s arge organization from the Innerverse. Money isn¡¯t an issue.¡±

    ¡°Who exactly is it that¡¯s hiring us?¡±

    ¡°Shh! I can¡¯t tell you, but since they¡¯re hiring mercenaries in this area, they should be from the east of the Innerverse and not too far away from here.¡±

    ¡°That could be the Tempest Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, Number One Flowzone¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, stop guessing. Who said that they¡¯re from one of the eight Great Flowzones? Whatever it is, make sure that you protect yourselves. You¡¯ll only get paid if you survive.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Hey, what do you think? Promise me something, and I¡¯ll tell you what I know.¡± Hai Qiqi said in a pleased tone.

    Lu Yin looked at Hai Qiqi with a strange expression. These people had been talking in a spacecraft with sound-proofing equipment, so how had she managed to overhear their conversation? Those people must have been either so careless that they had talked outside their spacecraft, or Hai Qiqi must haveprehended a domain as well. Lu Yin thought that thetter was more likely. After all, she was the Sea King¡¯s daughter.

    Come to think of it, Lu Yin didn¡¯t know what Hai Qiqi¡¯s cultivation was, but from the looks of things, he might have underestimated her. She might not be as powerful as Lu Yin, but she was definitely not weak as she had apparentlyprehended her own domain. From the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s standards, she might have reached the level of an Area Master or even a Realm Master.

    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Hai Qiqi eyed him suspiciously and shyly tugged her clothes down. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, I¡¯m strong. Don¡¯t you dare try anything!¡±

    Lu Yin looked away. ¡°If I manage to protect my hometown, I¡¯ll take you out to have some fun.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Her eyes lit up.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯ll need to be good and not cause trouble.¡±

    Hai Qiqi snorted. ¡°You sound just like my brother. I¡¯ll have you know that I only agreed to the son-inw selection thing because I wanted to leave the Starfall Sea. I was going to get a hot guy to keep mepany as eye candy while I traveled the universe, but it¡¯s just my luck that I ended up with you. You look like you were made in a rush, and you also seem like the anxious type.¡±

    She continued on, saying, ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that, on a silver spacecraft a kilometer away, there¡¯s a bunch of people talking about how they¡¯re going to attack your hometown.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to do something exciting?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Just the sound of doing something was exciting to Hai Qiqi. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Lu Yinughed in a crafty way.

    ¡­

    In the Astral Wilderness, on a huge, there was a bit of dark red earth. The dry soil here had a pungent smell, and there were a dozen Limiteer cultivators cautiously advancing over the ground with detectors in their hands. These machines were able to detect pyrolyte.

    These cultivators were from the Dire Barbarian n of Soulseal Flowzone, which was also the n that Avery was from. He had once defeated Lu Yin during a teleportation battle.

    At that moment, a spacecraft smashed into the ground not too far away from the group.

    About a dozen Dire Barbarian n members suspiciously looked at the massive crater. The steam generated by the friction between the spacecraft and the atmosphere slowly dissipated as the hatch opened to reveal a beautiful pair of hands; it was a girl.

    The Dire Barbarian n members looked excited. As long as this person wasn¡¯t a disciple from a powerful sect, they could kidnap her and have their way with her. They¡¯d been on this stupid for over ten days, and it had been incredibly boring.

    The members of the Dire Barbarian n had terrible personalities and never considered the consequences of their actions, which perfectly fit the name of their n.

    As the hatch opened, a beautiful woman walked out and stepped onto the dark red ground.

    This woman was stunning, and she had long, dark blue hair that hung down to her waist. She seemed like a celestial who was superior to mortals, the kind of woman that men would go crazy over. However, the moment these Dire Barbarian n members saw her, they went pale before immediately fleeing.

    The girl looked up and leaped out, charging after the fleeing n members. While still in midair, she began to sing a beautiful song. This was the Enticing Soul Song¡ªthis girl was Xi Yue of the Souldream Tribe.

    Since ancient times, the Souldream Tribe and the Dire Barbarian n had been mortal enemies. The Souldream Tribe took pride in ughtering members of the Dire Barbarian n, and thetter prided itself in taking girls from the Souldream Tribe. Neither side had ever conceded to the other.

    Coincidentally, Xi Yue had been in the Outerverse and quite close to the Northcastle Weave when the battle for pyrolyte on this started. Hence, she had managed to arrive here quickly before the elite disciples of the other sects could arrive. At this moment, she was invincible on this.

    The reason why she¡¯d chosen tond in this particr location was specifically to kill off all of the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s members.

    The dozen or so Limiteers here had no way to fight back. They were the most ordinary sort of troops, and they had only barely received enough training to pass a test and be Limiteers. This was their limit, and they were no match for Xi Yue.

    She stood atop the dark red ground and crushed a stray detector to dust. She then raised her head and carefully felt the energy in the air. ¡°There isn¡¯t any star energy. Looks like I¡¯ll only be able to recover through using star crystals.¡±

    She then soared into the air and headed towards the region that the Souldream Tribe had staked out.

    The variousrge organizations had encircled the and marked out different territories. Only the strong had the courage to step into the zones that didn¡¯t belong to their faction. It was already amazing enough for the weak to explore the area that they had been assigned. At this point, Xi Yue was practically invinciblepared to all of the Limiteers who were currently on the.

    However, her advantage would onlyst until the sessors of the other organizations arrived.

    At that moment, a spacecraft was flying in the direction of Frostwave Weave. It was the same silver vessel that carried all of the mercenaries that had recently been hired. There were hundreds of cultivators inside, among which were even five Explorers and two Cruisers.

    It had been a few days since the Astral River Ark had arrived in the Outerverse. While still on the ark, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi had eliminated two of the mercenaries and impersonated them, using their identities to sneak aboard the silver spacecraft in order to learn more about who was targeting the Great Yu Empire.

    These mercenaries weren¡¯t properly organized, so nobody had noticed the two of them.

    In a hallway, there was a man and a woman meeting in secret. ¡°Hey, this is pretty exciting! Did you know that I was nearly discovered by that Cruiser cultivator just now?¡±

    The man was startled. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything out of line! I need to find out who hired them as well as how they¡¯re nning to attack Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°This is so stupid. Just capture everyone and then interrogate them. Those two Cruisers definitely know who hired them.¡±

    The man was left at a loss. ¡°How would you know whether or not they¡¯re lying? Anyways, all we need to do is to eavesdrop on them with our domains. We¡¯ll talk about what we¡¯ll do after we learn all of the important information.¡±

    The girl was caught off guard. ¡°How¡¯d you know that I have a domain?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡±

    ¡°Pfft, but you¡¯re not smart either. Instead of waiting, why don¡¯t you just pretend that you¡¯re the one paying them? You already know that their goal is to attack the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    The man¡¯s face lit up. That makes sense! If I use my domain, then I can grab their gadget¡¯s number, and even if they realize that something is up, no one will know that we¡¯re on this spacecraft. Besides, I can just kill them all if things go south. He gazed at the girl in admiration. ¡°You¡¯re actually pretty smart.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just stupid. You¡¯re in a hurry to get home, but you want to keep waiting. With this spacecraft¡¯s speed, it¡¯ll take at least another two months to arrive,¡± sheined.

    The guy pursed his lips. ¡°You¡¯re just doing this so that you can head out and y sooner.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m going to go y. You deal with this yourself.¡± The girl then ran off.

    The man was naturally Lu Yin. He returned to his quarters and used his gadget to contact one of the Cruisers and sent a message. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough manpower. Get more.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for the Cruiser to reply. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know. Get more people.¡±

    The Cruiser sighed. ¡°The mission you gave us was to destroy three inhabiteds in the Great Yu Empire. The Second Grade Hall is also recruiting some mercenaries to attack the Great Yu Empire. This will cause the Great Yu Empire to start a war with the Second Grade Hall. We¡¯ve already recruited enough people right now, but if we add more, we risk being exposed.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. They¡¯re nning on destroying thes? A has at least a billion people living on it! How ruthless! By the look of things, these people were nning on pushing the me onto the Second Grade Hall. Many of the people attacking the Great Yu Empire should have been hired by Second Grade Hall, but it turned out that a number of them had been hired by another organization as well. Another organization must have also set their sights on Frostwave Weave.

    As expected, the geographical location of Frostwave Weave had attracted the attention of more than just the Second Grade Hall. Though, the other organizations had not revealed themselves yet.

    It appeared that there were at least two organizations in y at the moment; one in the shadows, and one out in the open. The biggest question now was, who in the world was the hidden organization?

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget, unable to bring himself to put it down. These cultivators were very smart and would never reveal who their mysterious employer was. With his own limited experience, Lu Yin knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see through these mercenaries¡¯ lies and that there was even a chance that they might not know who their employer was.

    If they were put under too much pressure, then they might start lying, and that would be a total disaster.

    Besides, he wasn¡¯t sure how urate the information he¡¯d been sent was. Who even knew if this was real¡ªit might bepletely false.

 Chapter 474: Cruel Side

    <h4>Chapter 474: Cruel Side</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s head hurt, as he had already confirmed that quite a number of independent cultivators had been hired to invade the Great Yu Empire.

    He could not ascertain just how many there were, but the ones on this vessel were just a portion of them.

    He opened a star chart and looked at the areas around the Great Yu Empire that might have already been invaded.

    When Lu Yin had learned that there were cultivators about to attack the Great Yu Empire on the Astral River Ark, he had informed Huo Qingshan so that the Great Yu Empire could prepare themselves in advance. However, the number of cultivators that the empire could mobilize was limited, and it was very possible that they wouldn¡¯t be able to defend against all of the attackers.

    Since that was the case, then Lu Yin could not be med if he made a ruthless move. His gaze trembled, and he contacted Huo Qingshan once again to tell him a few things.

    Huo Qingshan was shocked when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°Got it.¡±

    Lu Yin disconnected and looked at the dark space passing them by. The universe could sometimes be very cruel, but it was just as cruel to others as it was to Lu Yin.

    He had ordered Huo Qingshan to have a bunch of people disguise themselves as unaffiliated cultivators and thenunch surprise attacks on Woori, Grandtop and Russell Weaves since all three of themy close to Frostwave Weave. Lu Yin had also leaked information that the various great powers of the Innerverse were preparing to carve a path from the Innerverse straight to the Astral Wilderness in order to more easily gather pyrolyte.

    Not only did Lu Yin reveal the existence of pyrolyte, but he also leaked news that the Second Grade Hall had hired independent cultivators to surreptitiously attack some of the surrounding weaves in order to drag them into the mess.

    This would cause the various mercenary groups to be targeted by the surrounding weaves, even if their sole target was Frostwave Weave. If there were cultivators targeting the nearby weaves, then it didn¡¯t matter what their true target was.

    Only by muddying the waters could Lu Yin gain an advantage in this crisis.

    Someone wanted to hide in the darkness and let the Second Grade Hall struggle with the Great Yu Empire before getting the greatest catch. Thus, Lu Yin had responded by dragging them all down together; not a single one of them could expect to escape now. Due to the iing targeted attacks against the surrounding weaves, the independent cultivators might not even be able to even approach Frostwave Weave.

    Even if his ns were ruined, and even if Frostwave Weave faced everyone¡¯s wrath, Lu Yin still held a final trump card: the Sea King¡¯s Dome. And if the Sea King¡¯s Dome didn¡¯t want to take action, then he could also rely on Leon''s Armada, as that was a power that even the Daynight n was afraid of. The various great powers would not provoke such powerful organizations for just a mere Great Yu Empire.

    The pirate king¡¯s monstrous reputation wasn¡¯t just because of his strength, but also because of how he handled his matters. He represented the universe¡¯s dark side.

    Right now, Lu Yin wanted to take care of this spacecraft full of mercenaries. He did not need to know who employed them, and he might not even be able to uncover that piece of information from them, so there was no need to worry about it.

    The two Cruisers were in a lounge on the top level of the spacecraft, as that room was restricted to only the two of them.

    Lu Yin donned his universal armor that had been upgraded five times and retrieved the gun that he had bought at the auction before slowly making his way towards the top level.

    Along the way, everyone he encountered was easily dispatched. It wasn¡¯t disgraceful that these cultivators were unaffiliated with any organization, as not everyone could obtain backing in the cultivation world. However, epting employment with the sole purpose of inciting war was more in line with a mercenary¡¯s job. It was also clearly not the first time these people had epted such a job, or else they would not have gathered together so quickly.

    Every person here had bloodstained hands, and Lu Yin did not show them any mercy while dispatching them.

    At the top level, within the captain¡¯s room, more than ten operating crew members stared at a screen in terror. The disy showed an image of Lu Yin crushing an Explorer against the wall with a single palm. A jolting pulse of energy shot through his hand and crushed all of the Explorer¡¯s internal organs, and even the metal wall behind the man cracked.

    ¡°Hurry up and immediately report that there¡¯s an intruder onboard!¡± The next moment, an ear-piercing rm reverberated through the spacecraft.

    The ranks of those within the spacecraft were obvious. Lu Yin watched as the life slowly bled out of the Explorer in front of him. This man had been thest Explorer on the vessel, and now, of the space-exploring powerhouses originally onboard, there were only the two Cruisers left.

    The ear-piercing rm startled everyone, and one of the Cruisers quickly went to the captain¡¯s room and took a look at the screen. However, his first reaction was to frown. ¡°This person is using universal armor and isn¡¯t even an Explorer. How bold.¡±

    The man then tore through the void, headed straight for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not walked far from where he had killed thest Explorer when the Cruiser appeared in front of him, the man¡¯s eyes gleaming with a cold killing intent. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re trying to make trouble for, but since you¡¯re here, just die!¡±

    The Cruiser pped out at Lu Yin. As far as he was concerned, even if Lu Yin was a Realmbreaker, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to defend against a Cruiser¡¯s attack. Such a person would have to be one of those universally renowned freaks, and those people found it below themselves to make life difficult for mercenaries such as them.

    However, this Cruiser had forgotten that Lu Yin came from the Great Yu Empire.

    The Cruiser¡¯s hand pped against the universal armor, but there was no damage whatsoever. The man¡¯s eyes immediately went wide with disbelief; he had never seen a set of universal armor that could withstand an attack with a power level of 50,000.

    The universal armor was originally intended to help those who were not yet Explorers survive in outer space. Many people wanted to explore secret areas, but they did not want to brave the dangers themselves. Hence, they would give their subordinates or ves a set of universal armor and have them brave the dangers in their stead. Generally, universal armor did not have very sturdy defenses and was only used to survive in outer space.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor had originally been merged with metal from the Cosmic Sea and was so sturdy that it could withstand a Hunter¡¯s attacks. After buying it, Lu Yin had even Enhanced it five times. At this point, not even Lu Yin himself knew how strong of an attack the armor could withstand, but at the very least, a Cruiser whose power level hadn¡¯t even reached 100,000 could only dream about prating this armor¡¯s defenses.

    With this universal armor, Lu Yin even dared to tussle with a Hunter.

    Lu Yin raised his gun and aimed it at the Cruiser. ¡°Poverty has limited your imagination.¡±

    With those words, he pulled the trigger. An ancient physical bullet struck the Cruiser¡¯s chest, and a terrifying strength distorted the void before exploding within the Cruiser¡¯s body. It pierced through his body, pulverizing a good half of it in the process.

    Lu Yin stared at the scene in shock. Even though he already knew that this gun could fire bullets that were equivalent to an attack with a power level of 80,000, he still had not expected them to instantly kill a Cruiser. When did Cruisers be so weak?

    The universal armorplemented the gun perfectly, and the current Lu Yin was almost ready to challenge the Cruisers on the Top 100 Rankings. These tools had been bought byrge amounts of money, and this realization caused Lu Yin to suddenly feel truly fearful of those wealthy powers. Perhaps they used simr methods, as this was different from cultivation; this was a method that purely focused on killing.

    The Mavis family was the wealthiest power in the universe, and Lu Yin could not even imagine how many simr methods they had.

    There was an explosion as one side of the spacecraft exploded; the final Cruiser had just escaped into outer space. When he saw this exchange between Lu Yin and hisrade, he had realized that he was not Lu Yin¡¯s opponent, and so, he had immediately fled. But so what if he was a Cruiser? He was still just an independent cultivator whose ess to cultivation techniques was extremely limited. When Lu Yin noticed that the man was about to escape, he released the grain of Fatesand around his heart, causing his full physical strength to erupt. He then used sh Step to its limit, causing a giant spatial crack to extend out from the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin appeared in front of the fleeing Cruiser, coldly looking down on the man as they both stood in the vacuum of space.

    With his current physical strength, the speed behind his sh Step was not something that could be contested by some random Cruiser.

    ¡°Wh- who are you?¡± the Cruiser asked in a trembling voice.

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°Haven¡¯t you guessed yet?¡±

    The Cruiser¡¯s eyes shrank. ¡°Not an Explorer, but able to easily kill a Cruiser. You must be Lu Yin!¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m the first person that pops into your head, then it seems that your target really is the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    The Cruiser begged with his eyes. ¡°Please, let me go! I promise I will never ept such a job again.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but then you¡¯ll need to tell me who hired you.¡±

    Without any hesitation, the Cruiser answered, ¡°The Second Grade Hall. The Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Second Grade Hall.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? What¡¯s your mission?¡±

    ¡°To attack the Great Yu Empire and destroy an inhabited to cause the Great Yu Empire and the Second Grade Hall to start an all-out war.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°That simple?¡±

    ¡°That simple,¡± the Cruiser spoke with certainty, though he continued to look at Lu Yin with pleading eyes. ¡°Stu- student Lu, I¡¯m actually from the Outerverse as well. You can¡¯t imagine how difficult it is for us to enter the Innerverse and cultivate! And we had no choice in this either. Please, let me go! I promise that, in the future, if I hear of any independent cultivator who has designs on the Great Yu Empire, I¡¯ll be the first to act.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, but then he sighed. ¡°Though I knew that you wouldn¡¯t be honest, I still carried a glimmer of hope. However, it looks like you''re really not honest. In that case, just die.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his gun, and the Cruiser¡¯s pupils shrank as he bolted off in another direction. A knife appeared in his hand as he fled while slicing out behind himself. However, Lu Yin¡¯s figure had already disappeared, reappearing past the various knife shes.

    The barrel of the gun lightly pressed against the Cruiser¡¯s back.

    Bang!

    Lu Yin looked at the vague image of the Cruiser¡¯s body¡¯s remaining half that slowly disappeared as he put the gun away. He had used his own gadget to contact the first Cruiser before, and he had already found out that there was a mysterious employer behind this group. This second Cruiser had not mentioned such a detail, but there was no reason to pursue the matter any further since the mysterious employer had definitely hidden their identity. Otherwise, this Cruiser would have instantly revealed any possible information out of desperation.

    No matter who that mysterious employer was, Lu Yin no longer cared since he had enemies throughout the entire universe.

    He returned to the spacecraft, where there were more than a hundred cultivators looking at him in fear. The fresh blood had already scattered throughout the top level of the spacecraft. They had discovered the Cruiser¡¯s corpse, and did not know what fate awaited them.

    Lu Yin found Hai Qiqi, who had a pale face, though she did not say anything as she stared nkly at him.

    He probed her, ¡°Have you never seen anyone being killed before?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips and gritted her teeth before answering, ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. The Sea King had protected his daughter well, too well, as she had never witnessed such matters before. But despite that innocence, the Sea King had allowed Qiqi to travel through the universe with Lu Yin at this time. It must have been in part to expose the girl to the cruelty of the universe.

    As he thought of this, Lu Yin retrieved the copsible spacecraft from his cosmic ring and let Hai Qiqi board it. They soon appeared in outer space before turning to face that universal spacecraft. ¡°You must grow ustomed to such scenes sooner orter. I¡¯ll treat this as helping the Sea King educate his daughter.¡±

    Lu Yin then put his universal armor back on, exited the vessel, and flew back towards the silver spacecraft. He ced a hand against the hull. ¡°Thirty Stacks Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    The next moment, the spacecraft exploded and disappeared from the universe. There was not even a single survivor. Everyone onboard had been an independent cultivator, even the ship¡¯s crew. Their objective had been to go to the Great Yu Empire and instigate a war, unleashing great harm upon the people of the empire. A war would not just bring about the deaths of the soldiers, but also that of numerous civilians. Lu Yin did not know how many people on this spacecraft had epted their secret employer¡¯s mission to destroy a, but he would not take any risks.

 Chapter 475: Lu Yinâ€™s Methods

    <h4>Chapter 475: Lu Yin¡¯s Methods</h4>

    As Hai Qiqi stared at the fading fireball in outer space, her face grew even paler; she had just been on that spacecraft a few moments ago.

    Before she stepped out of the Starfall Sea, she had already known that this journey would not be dangerous, because no one would dare to harm the Sea King''s daughter. However, when she saw a scene of life and death for the first time in her life, she felt a little panicked, and was scared as well. This was also the first time she appeared to bepletely lost. Did these people truly deserve to die? What about their families? The moment they faced death must have been agonizing for them! Many thoughts flew through her mind.

    Lu Yin did not speak with her. Instead, he set a course for Frostwave Weave, and they soon started speeding towards their destination.

    One dayter, Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°You don¡¯t have even a single ounce of hesitation?¡±

    Lu Yin looked out at outer space. ¡°Once, yes. Now, no.¡±

    ¡°Why? Did you be numb to it?¡± Hai Qiqi could not help herself from asking.

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Once you¡¯ve experienced death, you¡¯ll be the same. Can you imagine being seen as white meat by others?¡±

    ¡°White meat?¡± Hai Qiqi was lost.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up disdainfully. ¡°Food, for human consumption.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s gaze changed, and she looked at Lu Yin in shock. She had never imagined that the universally famous Lu Yin had lived through such an experience, and she had never expected such a dark matter to exist in the universe.

    ¡°You¡¯ve spent your entire life in the Sea King¡¯s Dome and have the protection of the Sea King, so no one in the entire universe will dare to provoke you. You¡¯ve never seen death, so you have no worries, and you¡¯re even so innocent as to assume that most people in the universe live simr lives. In reality, the universe is cruel. Do you think that those people never thought that they could die? The moment they left their homes, they had already mentally prepared themselves to die. Each one of them had hands stained with the blood of countless people¡­¡±

    Hai Qiqi silently listened on, as she had never heard Lu Yin speak so seriously before, and she had seen the true side of the universe for the first time.

    If not for the Sea King, Lu Yin would have no interest in teaching this girl about such things. He hoped that he would not corrupt her with his personal perspective. However, his perspective was quite normal, and he did not wantonly kill others either. He had his own bottom line and righteousness; he was just slightly addicted to money.

    After he had spoken on the subject for a while, Hai Qiqi leaned on her seat and looked at the heavens with a deep look.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, congrattions. You¡¯ve dragged a girl onto the wrong path,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a snigger.

    Lu Yin let out a pent up breath. He did not know what impact this conversation would have on Hai Qiqi, but she was an adult with her own thoughts. She should not be someone whose thoughts would be easily influenced by others. This was the reason why the Sea King only allowed her out at this point in time, as he wanted her to mature a bit.

    ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯m going to ask you a very serious question, and you must answer me honestly,¡± Hai Qiqi suddenly solemnly said as she turned around.

    Lu Yin nodded, and seriously replied, ¡°Ask away.¡±

    ¡°When we get to the Great Yu Empire, have you thought of which ces you¡¯ll take me to sightsee?¡± Hai Qiqi asked earnestly.

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°You¡¯ve alreadye to terms with things?¡±

    ¡°With what?¡± Hai Qiqi blinked.

    ¡°You just saw someone die for the first time, and it was a lot of people at that,¡± Lu Yin reminded her.

    Hai Qiqi proudly replied, ¡°I¡¯m the Sea King''s daughter! I was born as an elite among elites, so I¡¯m different from amoner like you. Do I need toe to terms?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you just thinking about everything I told you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m also thinking about who has such poor eyesight as to treat you as white meat. Food is chosen for its smell, looks, and taste. You don¡¯t pass a single bit of that criteria.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Actually, there¡¯re many cruel facts about the universe. Let me share them with you one by one.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, as nothing is crueler than being forced to deal with you. Hurry up and think about where you¡¯ll take me to y. Otherwise, I¡¯ll tell Father that you have a mistress,¡± Hai Qiqi threatened.

    Lu Yin realized that he was losing control of this brat. He had assumed thatmitting homicide in front of her would subdue her and cause her to behave better. But now, he had a suspicion that the event had actually intensified her mischievousness.

    Dayster, in Grandtop Weave, an important heir of the Nine Stacks Sect was killed by an independent cultivator when the sect was sneak attacked by a group of them.

    Another power¡¯s headquarters in Woori Weave suffered at the hands of a simr group as well.

    In Russel Weave, a transport spacecraft was destroyed, and all the supplies that it had been carrying vanished. The culprits were simrly proven to be independent cultivators.

    Not long after, the Great Yu Empire released a public announcement that independent cultivators had invaded them, and then they sealed the space at the borders.

    Quickly, news of independent cultivators being employed by the various great powers of the Innerverse spread, as well as their goal of clearing out the surrounding weaves. Initially, the surrounding weaves did not believe this information, especially the Nine Stacks Sect. However, as information concerning pyrolyte became more widespread, they began to act more cautiously and employed all sorts of measures. For one, they sent people to visit the Northcastle Weave to join thepetition for pyrolyte, and at the same time, they also sealed their borders in order to prevent any independent cultivators from entering their territory.

    When the Second Grade Hall learned of this, their first reaction was to stop it, but it was already toote. It tried to exin the situation to powers like the Nine Stacks Sect, but there was nothing they could argue about since the Nine Stacks Sect had indeed been attacked by independent cultivators. Even the Second Grade Hall was uncertain if they had been the one to hire that group. It was particrly so because the cultivators they had employed were no saints, and it would be perfectly reasonable for them to have taken advantage of a convenient situation to ambush the Nine Stacks Sect.

    As such, the surrounding weaves were all sealed almost simultaneously, and the independent cultivators employed by the Second Grade Hall were not able to approach Frostwave Weave. Powers like the Nine Stacks Sect headed towards Northcastle Weave, passing through the region of space where the Second Grade Hall had temporarily taken over, and a conflict between the two parties broke out. The Second Grade Hall¡¯s plot against Frostwave Weave had failed, and the failure even managed to drag them down.

    The Great Yu Empire followed Lu Yin¡¯s orders and did not participate in the struggle for pyrolyte. Instead, they pulled their forces back and watched the proceedings take ce.

    The Innerverse definitely would not allow the Outerverse to participate in the contest for pyrolyte; Lu Yin was certain of that. It was not a matter of which method the Outerverse powers used, but rather the disparity in their strengths. If the Great Yu Empire participated, then they might even be directly crushed. Powers like the Nine Stacks Sect had been momentarily dazzled by the allure of pyrolyte, but they would run out of luck sooner orter.

    However, the crisis wasrger than what Lu Yin could imagine. Someone had purchased pyrolyte in the dark at exorbitant prices, which made the various weaves unable to resist this opportunity. More Outerverse powers charged towards Northcastle Weave to participate in the contest.

    The Second Grade Hall could no longer control the situation. They were forced to request help from the Beast Tamers Flowzone, asking the other powers to send experts over to fight for pyrolyte.

    The highest level ofbat suddenly jumped from Hunters to Enlighters.

    The first Enlighter who appeared was a seniormander from the Second Grade Hall, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. His appearance intimidated the Outerverse forces, temporarily managing to bring the situation under control. For this reason, the powers from the surrounding weaves such as the Nine Stacks Sect had to pay a blood price with multiple fleets being destroyed. The Outerverse powers¡¯ casualties increased greatly.

    There were too few Enlighters in the Outerverse. Although the contest for pyrolyte was important, it had not reached the extent where the supervising Enlighters would leave their bases. Only the great powers of the Innerverse could send out such powerhouses for this asion, simply because they had more than one Enlighter among their ranks.

    With <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s appearance, the Nine Stacks Sect became more docile.

    But this was just temporary. Once the output of pyrolyte increased to the point where it made others envious, even the Outerverse¡¯s Enlighters would not remain still. A disastrous war that would sweep up the entire universe was brewing on the horizon.

    In the Astral Wilderness, the whererge amounts of pyrolyte had been found was officially named the Pyrolyte. At present, the strongest person on Pyrolyte was undoubtedly Xi Yue. She was the top disciple of the Souldream Tribe and was the only direct disciple who had appeared so far. Thus, she was able to suppress all the other Limiteers from the other great powers.

    This was especially so for the Dire Barbarian n, which had already lost more than ten of its scouting teams. This angered their Hunter, but he was helpless since it would still take some time for their n¡¯s Limiteer experts to arrive. Their top disciple, Avery, was a Cruiser, so he could not descend onto the even if he arrived.

    ¡°Slut, you just wait and see! Lord Avery will personally capture you and torment you to death just like what happened to your ancestors,¡± the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s Limiteers cursed as they perished under Xi Yue¡¯s Three-Note Eruption.

    Xi Yue¡¯s face showed her determination as she looked at the surrounding corpses; the more people she killed from this n, the merrier.

    In another month, the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s expert would arrive. The powerhouse currently closest to Pyrolyte should be the zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s expert. It was time to move the extracted pyrolyte out.

    Not long after, a spacecraft dashed towards the Souldream Tribe¡¯s battleship. Xi Yue was in the ascending spacecraft, and she had brought out the pyrolyte that had been mined by the Souldream Tribe.

    However, before she could arrive at the Souldream Tribe¡¯s battleship, the ugly Hunter from the Dire Barbarian n personally acted and destroyed her small spacecraft. Fortunately, the Souldream Tribe¡¯s Hunter acted in time and was able to rescue Xi Yue.

    But the Dire Barbarian n did not just let the matter drop there. The other powers were all focused on extracting pyrolyte, but only his n¡¯s members had been cleanly wiped out by Xi Yue.

    The Souldream Tribe was at a slight disadvantage for the battle in outer space. However, when Xi Yue used the extracted pyrolyte as a weapon and threw it at the Hunter from the Dire Barbarian n, the momentum of the battle suddenly shifted. The various powers recalled that pyrolyte was a strategic military resource that could be used to threaten any powerhouse, even those old freaks with power levels in the hundreds of thousands. It just required enough pyrolyte.

    In theory, pyrolyte¡¯s destruction potential could be stacked infinitely, as one gram was roughly equivalent to 10,000 power levels. However, even if fifty grams of pyrolyte was used at once, it would not be able to threaten a powerhouse whose power level had reached 500,000. This was because the destruction waves would partially cancel themselves out. At best, fifty grams could threaten an Enlighter, but even so, it was still extremely terrifying. Once the amount of pyrolyte reached one kilogram, ten kilograms, or even a ton, how fearsome would that explosion be? Such an event could truly threaten a powerhouse with a power level of 500,000.

    Xi Yue was carrying the pyrolyte, which meant that the Souldream Tribe now had the ability to resist the Dire Barbarian n. Although it was impossible for her to have brought out too much, no one was willing to bear the risk.

    Finally, the expert from the Dire Barbarian n retreated.

    Only then did Xi Yue rx. The Souldream Tribe had only mined about ten tons of pyrolyte, but that was not pure pyrolyte. The ore still needed to be refined. Ten tons of pyrolyte ore would at best produce a few grams of pure pyrolyte, as this was an extremely light substance.

    Fortunately, the Dire Barbarian n powerhouse was not sure how much pyrolyte the Souldream Tribe had mined. Otherwise, he would have acted without any reservations. After all, ten tons of pyrolyte ore exploding at once would, at best, be equivalent to an attack with a power level in the tens of thousands. There was actually nothing for a Hunter to worry about.

    The Souldream Tribe had mined so much, and the other powers had naturally managed to mine some as well. However, most had not been able to extract as much as the Souldream Tribe, as Xi Yue had raided quite a few pyrolyte mines.

    After news spread that Xi Yue had threatened the Dire Barbarian n with pyrolyte, the various great powers gathered to discuss the situation. Soon after, theyid down a new rule: they could not attack the juniors leaving Pyrolyte. Otherwise, the fighting would drag the gathered powerhouses in and might even possibly result in the destruction of Pyrolyte itself.

 Chapter 476: Intractable Feelings

    <h4>Chapter 476: Intractable Feelings</h4>

    This rule was first proposed by the Souldream Tribe, but the Sword Sect, Daynight n, and other powers soon agreed in session. Finally, it became a general rule that all the different powers recognized and followed. No one wanted to work hard only to receive no reward, especially the weaker powers whose higher level cultivators could notpare to the Sword Sect and the others¡¯. Such groups were afraid that their disciples would luckily chance upon a pyrolyte mine only to have their profits stolen in the final stretch.

    As for whether or not the disciples on the needed to refrain from using the pyrolyte ore there, no one made any suggestions. When faced with a crisis, no one would be foolish enough to not use a potential weapon that was in their hands. Even if a rule was implemented, it would have been of no use. Also, impure pyrolyte ore had a greatly reduced destructive strengthpared to refined ore.

    Just this one Pyrolyte had attracted many powers from the Innerverse, and Northcastle Weave thaty closest to Pyrolyte had also attracted quite a few powers from the surrounding weaves. At this moment, attention from the entire universe had converged on this ce.

    Finally, the reinforcements from the ze Realm arrived. Xi Yue was no longer the strongest Limiteer on Pyrolyte since the ze Realm had mobilized elite Limiteers like Jared and Craynor and sent them all to Pyrolyte.

    All of the powers were currently focused on transferring their strongest Limiteer disciples to this, and the various Limiteers were being forced to put down whatever they were doing and head towards Pyrolyte, even those who had been cultivating within the Astral Combat Academy like Kuang Wang and Liu Xiaoyun. Naturally, experts from the Ten Arbiters Council were sent in as well.

    Mira¡¯s spacecraft raced through space towards Pyrolyte. She looked at her gadget and was deep in thought while within the vessel. She then raised her hand to tap on her gadget and contact Lu Yin. At this time, the entire universe had been forced to admit that Lu Yin was the strongest Limiteer. After his battle against Mu Rong, his status as the strongest had been cemented in ce. Even the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Ye Xingchen was not thought to be his opponent, as countless experts had voiced their opinion, confirming that Lu Yin would win if the two ever came face to face.

    Also, many experts still held reservations concerning whether or not Lu Yin had used his full strength against Mu Rong. This uncertainty made Lu Yin appear even more mysterious, and many wished to know what the true limits of his strength were.

    If he decided to participate in this contest on Pyrolyte, it would be nothing less than the arrival of a boss monster.

    While traveling through outer space, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi frequently bickered back and forth. Since bing acquainted with her, Lu Yin had realized that his tongue had also be sharper. It was almost as if he had gained the power to shoot his mouth off. When he realized that Mira was calling him, he activated his gadget and picked up. ¡°Long time no see, Miss Mira.¡±

    ¡°Who is it? Mistress number three or four?¡± Hai Qiqi came over.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°Can you not use such terms? Besides, we don¡¯t even have a rtionship.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes and then returned to staring out at the passing space.

    On the other end of the call, Mira was sitting on her chair with her long, snow-white hair flowing behind her and her long legs folded in an alluring manner. ¡°Unless my guess ispletely wrong, the one with you must be the Sea King''s daughter, Hai Qiqi.¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Lu Yin was surprised. Am I being monitored?

    ¡°Michelle told me. She said that the Sea King''s daughter has a very fiery personality. Brother Lu, are you still at the Sea King''s Dome, or have youe out?¡±

    ¡°I left.¡±

    ¡°Headed back to Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged with a nod of his head. ¡°With such a big matter affecting my home, I can¡¯t not go back.¡±

    ¡°Will you be of any help if you do go back? Or are you bringing the Sea King¡¯s influence along with you?¡± Mira smiled and lifted a foot, showing off her exceptionally beautiful freshly painted red nails.

    Lu Yin directly asked the woman, ¡°Miss Mira, did you contact me just to ask about this? Is there no other matter? Or rather, does Arbiter Wen have something for me?¡±

    Mira muttered to herself for a moment before standing up and walking towards the transparent metal viewport. She gazed at the ck scenery passing by outside her vessel, and her expression turned solemn. ¡°Do you know about Pyrolyte?¡±

    Lu Yin was lost. ¡°What¡¯s Pyrolyte?¡±

    He had only learned about pyrolyte¡¯s existence and that the various powers were gathering in Northcastle Weave since it had been reported that arge amount of pyrolyte was discovered nearby in the Astral Wilderness. Could it be that this cache of pyrolye was on this so-called Pyrolyte?

    Mira briefly described the current situation at Pyrolyte to Lu Yin, while Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes lit up next to him. ¡°That sounds like fun! And only Limiteers can enter! I want to go, I want to go! Lu Yin, let¡¯s go there and y!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s back was facing her, and he only responded to Mira. ¡°You want me to go?¡±

    ¡°With your strength, it¡¯ll be a waste if you don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Are you representing the Ten Arbiters Council, Arbiter Wen, or the Erudite Flowzone behind Arbiter Wen?¡±

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking. However, I probably won¡¯t go.¡± Lu Yin quickly declined.

    ¡°Because of the Great Yu Empire?¡± Mira asked.

    Lu Yin fell silent, taking a moment before finally replying, ¡°To you people, Frostwave Weave is an insignificant ant. As soon as I take part in the contest for pyrolyte and provoke certain people, the Great Yu Empire will be in mortal danger, and I can¡¯t protect it with my current power. You should know that there are already people who have acted against Frostwave Weave. I can¡¯t be in two ces at once.¡±

    Mira sighed, as her charming eyes flickered. ¡°What if Arbiter Wen promises to protect the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply right away.

    ¡°Give it some thought.¡± And with that, Mira ended the call.

    ¡°Eh, why not go? Are you worried about your home? I¡¯ll get Father to speak up; I can promise no one will dare touch that ce,¡± Hai Qiqi spoke expectantly.

    Lu Yin shook his head with a bitter smile. It was not that simple; although it was true that the Sea King could protect the Great Yu Empire, the weave would be the Sea King¡¯s property if that happened. Unless the situation devolved to where he had no other option, Lu Yin was not willing to do such a thing. It was like how an ant entering a great storm was asking for a narrow brush with death.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s sense of caution, he would avoid participating in the scuffle for pyrolyte as far as he could. As for Hai Dashao telling him that the betrothal gift had to be pyrolyte, Lu Yin would just act as if he had not heard anything, as he could not afford to take such a gamble.

    Before much more time passed, an rm sounded out within the spacecraft. Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi looked in front of them and saw that a battle had broken out in their path. Countless battleships littered the region, and there were still quite a few space-exploring powerhouses fighting against each other.

    An aftershock from their fight rippled out, causing their spacecraft to shudder from top to bottom.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed. ¡°If this is the aftermath of a Hunters¡¯ battle, then we¡¯ll have to reroute.¡±

    Hai Qiqi stared at the mor in front of them. This was interster warfare, and it was her first time witnessing such an event. The entire area was constantly being bombarded with all sorts of attacks, causing the asional stray spacecraft to explode and even stars were destroyed every once in a while. When that happened, a ckhole would form that then swallowed everything nearby.

    A war and a battle were fundamentally different; as the saying went, all was fair in love and war. When Hai Qiqi saw a Cruiser casually destroy a and then borrow the energy from the copsing to annihte a fleet, she suddenly felt like she hadprehended a deeper meaning of that particr saying.

    There were corpses floating about in space, but they were quickly burned up by the remnant energy from various stray attacks. The constant explosions of the astral bodies also shocked her. How many people lived on a habitable? She felt like she could hear the screams of countless humans being extinguished.

    Hai Qiqi suddenly thought of the Sea King''s Dome. If one day warfare erupted there, would it also look like this? She turned to Lu Yin. Is such a war taking ce in his home?

    Lu Yin looked at their route, which had suddenly be five days longer than originally projected. Their estimated time of arrival had been twenty days, but now, it was twenty five.

    As expected, there were too many variables when traveling through the universe. Just a dy of five days was actually eptable.

    ¡°Has such a war happened in your home?¡± Hai Qiqi could not help herself from asking.

    Lu Yin nodded, and replied withplex emotions, ¡°It¡¯s actually more troublesome than this, as this is just a small battle within an Outerverse weave, whereas my home is being coveted by many great powers of the Innerverse. As soon as a war breaks out, the scale will greatly surpass this battle, and the oue will be much more bitter.¡±

    Hai Qiqi fell silent. It was not that she was insensitive, but rather that she had never been directly exposed to war before, only now experiencing what true warfare was. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Father toe and protect your home.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Hai Qiqi with astonishment. This was the second time she had said this, but the first time had merely been because she wanted to y. Right now, Lu Yin could feel the sincerity in her offer.

    He smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. The universe is much moreplicated than what you think it is. If the Sea King intervenes, then it would make the situation even messier. That¡¯s the final resort, so we don¡¯t have to rush straight to that point.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded, and gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°Since you look so ordinary, I couldn¡¯t tell that you have some wisdom after all.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around so that his back was facing Hai Qiqi. Was this bratplimenting or criticizing him? He couldn¡¯t tell.

    After they circled around the battle zone, the spacecraft continued on peacefully. Hai Qiqi fell asleep, and Lu Yin received amunication request from Lily Anne. Naturally, since Mira had contacted him, Lily Anne would not go down easily. It was also possible that more people would contact him; Lily Anne was not the first, nor would she be thest.

    Compared to Mira, who represented the Wen family, Lily Anne represented Northline Flowzone, which was a much weaker power.

    ¡°Brother Lu, have you left the Sea King''s Dome yet?¡± Lily Anne asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m rushing back to Frostwave Weave.¡±

    ¡°Frostwave Weave¡¯s situation has already stabilized. The Second Grade Hall enlisted various independent cultivators to attack the various weaves south of Northcastle Weave, which incited a great deal of anger. The independent cultivators can no longer enter these weaves, and since Frostwave Weave has not participated in gathering any pyrolyte, it¡¯s very stable at the current moment. Brother Lu, you can rest assured of this,¡± Lily Anne informed him with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled, ¡°Miss Anna, thank you for telling me about pyrolyte and Frostwave Weave¡¯s situation. However, I must make things clear in advance: I won¡¯t be participating in the contest on Pyrolyte.¡±

    Lily Anne fell silent for a moment. ¡°It sounds like someone has already sought out Brother Lu¡¯s aid before us.¡±

    Lu Yin did not conceal it. ¡°It¡¯s a friend, but I¡¯ve already rejected her. The Great Yu Empire is too small, and my participation would immediately spark conflict and leave me as a condemned criminal in my home¡¯s history annals. Miss Anna, you should understand this point.¡±

    Lily Anne sighed, ¡°It¡¯s the tragedy of the weak, I get it. Alright, but I still have to tell you Northline Flowzone¡¯s conditions for Brother Lu to help us. First, Northline Flowzone¡¯s younger generation will recognize Brother Lu¡¯s position on the Ten Arbiters Council, which means acknowledging Brother Lu¡¯s authority to supervise and judge the younger generation. Second, Northline Flowzone is willing to establish interster trade rtions with Frostwave Weave, and the Barthe Jacques family is also willing to give financial aid to the Great Yu Empire to help restore its economy. Third, as long as it¡¯s within reasonable limits and does not infringe upon Northline Flowzone¡¯s benefits, Granny Chan is willing to help act on behalf of the Great Yu Empire a single time.¡±

    Lu Yin was amazed, Northline Flowzone¡¯s proposition was extremely generous. The first condition was nothing much, as even if Northline Flowzone did not acknowledge his authority, he could openly defeat Northgate Lie and force them to recognize him. However, the weight of the second and third conditions were on another level, especially the second one. The Great Yu Empire urgently required economic aid, or else they would not be able to finish unifying Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin already knew that he could trust the economic prowess of the Barthe Jacques family, which could easily satisfy the Great Yu Empire¡¯s most urgent need.

    The third condition represented the attitude of the Lily family. Although the so-called ¡°reasonable limits¡± had not been clearlyid out so as to not ce any binding constraints on Granny Chan, since Lily Anne had proposed such a thing, it showed the Lily family¡¯s sincerity. If there was such a need in the future, then Granny Chan would help our the Great Yu Empire. After all, she was an Enlighter.

    These three conditions made it very hard for Lu Yin to decline her offer.

    ¡°I know that Brother Lu has a high chance of bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and so, you might not really care for my Northline Flowzone. However, even external rtives may find that they are required to borrow strength. As long as Brother Lu is willing to help out, my Northline Flowzone will be your friend,¡± Lily Anne intoned with an expectant gaze.

    Lu Yin breathed deeply and ultimately resisted the temptation. ¡°Miss Anna, your proposed conditions are very sincere. However, I must give my apologies. Under the premise that I cannot sacrifice the Great Yu Empire, I¡¯m unable to make such a deal with you. Otherwise, if the Great Yu Empire were to be eliminated, those conditions would just be for show.¡±

    His status was fake, but his feelings for the Great Yu Empire were genuine. Earth, Undying Yushan, the Zishan family¡ªhis rtionship to all of them could not be so easily dismissed.

 Chapter 477: Fierce Battle On Planet Pyrolyte

    <h4>Chapter 477: Fierce Battle On Pyrolyte</h4>

    Lily Anne was not surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s response, and she could only reluctantly reply, ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry to have disturbed you, Brother Lu. After this battle, the Barthe Jacques family will still head to Frostwave Weave to observe the situation and will try to help the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy recover in the process. This is how my Northline Flowzone will demonstrate its care for the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin expressed his gratitude once again and then ended the call.

    Mira had also promised that Arbiter Wen would protect the Great Yu Empire, but the credibility of her promise was still uncertain. Also, Lu Yin dared not guarantee just how far Arbiter Wen would go for the Great Yu Empire. Just like how the Second Grade Hall had been able to enlist independent cultivators to deal with the Great Yu Empire, other powers could employ all sorts of tactics to undermine the Great Yu Empire. Even something as straightforward as hiring the Relentless yers to assassinate the Great Yu Empire¡¯s strongest cultivators would be enough to destabilize the empire.

    Lu Yin felt powerless; even an empire that had nearly unified an entire weave was still so helpless.

    He fell sullen once again, feeling helpless, just like how he had felt when he was in danger of bing white meat. Such a feeling made him resentful and furious; he was about to explode.

    There were two sides to every matter. Lu Yin could gain many statuses and titles that would cause his enemies to be apprehensive, and his enemies could also use the Great Yu Empire to restrain him, which were the two sides of the same coin.

    If the Great Yu Empire was more powerful, then things would be better. For example, it could then unify not just one weave, but two, three, or even four or five. It would be just like Endless Weave, the strongest out of all seventy two weaves. At that point, he would no longer need to be so heavily involved in its protection.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, as something seemed to ignite in his heart once again.

    Not long after Lu Yin disconnected from his call with Lily Anne, anothermunications request came through. This time, it was through the internal system of the Astral Combat Academy, and the caller was Xi Yue.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as he had once teased this brat by calling her a washboard, and they had never interacted again since then. He never thought that she would contact him now, but he seemed to recall that she was from the Souldream Tribe.

    Lu Yin epted the request, and an elegant voice came from the other side, ¡°Is this Student Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Xi Yue?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Lan Yue, from the Souldream Tribe. Xi Yue has gone down to Pyrolyte and is currently unable to contact the outside world for now. Thus, I¡¯m contacting Student Lu in Xi Yue¡¯s ce.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged the exnation and then asked, ¡°Is Miss Lan Yue looking for something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point. The Souldream Tribe wishes to enlist the help of Student Lu topete for pyrolyte mines.¡±

    Lu Yin directly declined. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°Student Lu can listen to my Souldream Tribe¡¯s conditions first,¡± Lan Yue said, and then she immediately continued without waiting for Lu Yin to reply. ¡°My tribe is willing to establish marital connections with the Great Yu Empire, and we will also go all-out to help the Great Yu Empire join the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was amazed, as this proposal was extremely attractive. Countless powers in the universe wished to marry a member of the Souldream Tribe since they were all beauties. Also, their tribe was offering to help the Great Yu Empire enter the Innerverse. This was not just hot air, as this was something that even Northline Flowzone could not attempt.

    ¡°Miss Lan Yue, are you saying that you represent the Souldream Tribe?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Yue smiled. ¡°Of course. These are my Souldream Tribe¡¯s most sincere conditions. Does Student Lu still need to hesitate?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°When will the marriage ur? Can it be with anyone from the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    ¡°Of course, as long as it¡¯s someone designated by Student Lu.¡±

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°Our tribe has many regtions, and the timing could be dyed further, but the initial preparations can be made at any time.¡± Lan Yue did not borate any further.

    Beside him, the originally sleeping Hai Qiqi suddenly reached out to disconnect Lu Yin¡¯s call.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°This woman is obviously just stalling. She wants a marital connection not to the Great Yu Empire, but to my Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I can¡¯t see how you came to such a conclusion.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m superior to you in both looks and intelligence. Something like this is nothing for me.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was right; Lan Yue¡¯s objective was simple. The Souldream Tribe would dy any possible marriage until Lu Yin became the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and only then would they be willing to marry one of their members with the Great Yu Empire and form a rtionship with the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Otherwise, the Souldream Tribe would not be willing to pay such an extravagant price to establish marital rtionships with just the Great Yu Empire; such a rtionship would not be worthwhile even with the gains they would achieve from the pyrolyte mining.

    It should be known that bringing a power into the Innerverse was not simple.

    Of course, the Souldream Tribe knew that Lu Yin could guess as much as well, but it was still a win-win situation. If the Great Yu Empire became connected to the Souldream Tribe, then Lu Yin¡¯s power would increase once again, making this deal personally beneficial for Lu Yin as well. They were not worried that Lu Yin would decline their offer.

    Of course, even if Lu Yin didn¡¯t be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw in the end, the Souldream Tribe still would not be at a disadvantage. Their main objective was to have Lu Yin help them fight for the pyrolyte mines. After that, they would have all sorts of reasons to dy the proposed marriage.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and contacted Lan Yue once again. ¡°My apologies, Miss Lan Yue. There was a Hunters¡¯ battle just now, and it disrupted the signal.¡±

    ¡°No worries, Student Lu. How do you find my Souldream Tribe¡¯s offer?¡± Lan Yue said with a confident expression. No one in the Outerverse would be able to decline such conditions, as entering the Innerverse was the dream of countless Outerverse powers. Lu Yin would not decline either, because this would be something that would also bolster his personal power.

    Unfortunately for her, Lu Yin still declined.

    Lan Yue was shocked. ¡°Student Lu, you disapprove of these conditions?¡±

    ¡°Miss Lan Yue, the premise of your conditions should be for me to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and for the Sea King to appear and protect the Great Yu Empire. However, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, as the Sea King will not appear. If I act, then the odds of the Great Yu Empire being destroyed will be just too high, and I cannot take such a risk.¡±

    Lan Yue was unconvinced. ¡°The Sea King isn¡¯t willing to appear to protect the Great Yu Empire? But you¡¯re the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw.¡±

    Lu Yin apologized again before ending the call.

    The Souldream Tribe longed for the Sea King to appear. It was none of their business who the Great Yu Empire ultimately belonged to, as they merely wished to build a rtionship with the Sea King¡¯s Dome and to have Lu Yin help thempete for the pyrolyte mines. As for Lu Yin, he wanted freedom. If the Great Yu Empire fell under the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s influence, then he would no longer have a home. This was because he had never nned to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and he was constantly searching for a way to break away.

    Intimidating his enemies under the guise of other¡¯s banners was his main n. He would not forget that, on Shenwu Continent, there was still a girl waiting for him, as that lock of hair was still in his cosmic ring.

    He did not know why, but Lu Yin suddenly thought of Zhuo Daynight and her grieving and helpless expression.

    He subconsciously looked at Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes: mischievous, crafty, and full of annoyance.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Haven¡¯t you seen a beauty before? Your looks cannot match up to Miss Qi¡¯s.¡±

    Lu Yin turned back around as he had learned that he just had to ignore her no matter what she said. He could not allow her venomous tongue to have any effect on him.

    Three powers had already sought his aid, and he was rather looking forward to finding out who would call him next.

    Defeating Mu Rong had crowned him as the pinnacle of all Limiteers. Perhaps to other Limiteers, he was a monster.

    Five dayster, Huo Qingshan contacted Lu Yin on his own ord in order to inform Lu Yin that Enlighters had appeared one after another. The ze Realm¡¯s Huo Houye, Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan, Souldream Tribe¡¯s Elder Qing Han, and Second Grade Hall¡¯s <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had alle. There were already quite a few Enlighters who had entered the Astral Wilderness.

    As more and more Enlighters joined the fray, the Outerverse powers such as the Nine Stacks Sect were forced to back away, no longer daring to approach Northcastle Weave anymore. However, they still secretly wanted to unite, and they were nning on inviting the Enlighters overseeing the various Outerverse powers to act together and charge into the Astral Wilderness. Of course, they also asked the Great Yu Empire to join in, but their proposal was rejected by Lu Yin.

    Against the enormous powers of the Innerverse, it was useless even if the Outerverse powers invited one or two Enlighters. It should be known that the top elites of the strongest powers, like the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, and the Wen family, had not even appeared yet. Their Enlighters greatly outssed the Outerverse¡¯s, and it was not just as simple as how a cultivator in a higher realm could restrict the power level of those beneath them. It was more like the difference between Xi Yue and Lu Yin; they were both Limiteers, but the difference between them was wider than the heavens.

    When Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan arrived in the Astral Wilderness, she brought her flowzone¡¯s Limiteers along with her, like Northgate Gang as well as some Limiteers from the older generation whose battle power surpassed even Northgate Gang¡¯s. Ah Fan, who had initially reported to San Dios, had also been brought along since Northline Flowzone had gathered all of its strength topete for the pyrolyte mines.

    Lily Anne was already an Explorer, so she was unable to enter Pyrolyte. She could only apany Granny Chan and the rest as they waited above the.

    Northgate Lie was also rushing over.

    The other powers were investigating methods to see if they could somehow safely send their Explorers down to the. Even if they did not know whether or not their research would bear fruit, the various powers were still assembling their Explorers in preparation.

    The Wen family arrived soon after Northline Flowzone, and they brought hundreds of Limiteers of all ages with them, and they had even prepared personal spacecrafts for all of them to quickly dash down to the. Wen Qian''er was also among those gathered, and she was very excited, as she had long wanted to cross paths with the other powerhouses of the universe. This was her best opportunity to do so, and she was hoping for the ones known as the unequaled Limiteers toe so that she could experience their strength as well.

    In another area, the Second Grade Hall¡¯s Limiteers also rushed down onto the. It was no longer just the Second Grade Hall¡¯s experts, as people from the First Grade Hall and even the Divine Grade Hall hade along, Kuan Wang included. He had a helpless look, as he had been pulled out from the Astral Combat Academy in order to participate in this contest for the pyrolyte mines.

    He actually did not want to participate, but the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s orders had been simple: fight.

    Although Kuang Wang was arrogant, he readily admitted that he had principles and a bottom line, so he could not quite bring himself to do such things. He was nning on keeping a low-profile and being a bit less brazen.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so arrogant! We obviously discovered this ce first, so why should we give it to you?¡±

    Kuang Wang had justnded on Pyrolyte when he overheard this. He looked over unhappily at the group of Limiteers arguing, and when he heard the term ¡°arrogant¡± being thrown about, he frowned, rose into the skies, and looked down on the groups. ¡°You guys can argue, but don¡¯t mention my name!¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that, being so arrogant?¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡­

    Kuang Wang was furious, and he raised an arm, allowing his azure dragon to snarl at the world and shake the sky. Before many terrified faces, Cang Long shook its tail and sent everyone flying away. Some were even directly crushed underground, and they were all as miserable as could be.

    Kuang Wang proudly stood tall. Just a bunch of trash!

    A dozen cultivators behind him wanted to cry. ¡°Lord Kuang Wang, our own people are also in that group!¡±

    Kuang Wang rolled his eyes.

    More descendants from the various powers appeared, but the most dazzling were still those from the Eight Great Flowzones, particrly the Wen family¡¯s Wen Qian''er, the ze Realm¡¯s Jared, and the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s Kuang Wang and Hui Chuan. These few people used their overwhelming strength to dominate and take over pyrolyte mines that had previously been upied by others.

    Under these circumstances, Xi Yue unfortunately ran into Jared.

    Just a reminder, but "Kuang Shuang" sounds the same as "arrogant."

 Chapter 478: Pyrolyte Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 478: Pyrolyte Mountain</h4>

    Xi Yue¡¯s strength was not that much inferior to Jared¡¯s, but there was still a slight disparity. Xi Yue was currently about as strong as Michelle, but Jared had already been an Area Master when Michelle first joined the Astral Combat Academy. For this contest on Pyrolyte, the ze Realm had given him a portion of the karmic mes that were already low in quantity. This meant that he could now use the ze Realm¡¯s inherited battle technique: the Karmic me Sword.

    However, Jared did not use the Karmic me Sword against Xi Yue, as there was no need for him to do so. Instead, he used an illusionary battle technique that he had obtained from the trial zones, easily defeating Xi Yue since her musical technique could not react in time. Fortunately, her cosmic ring was filled with gathered pyrolyte ore, so Xi Yue simply detonated all of it, which made Jared apprehensive enough for her to make her escape.

    Xi Yue¡¯s time of being the strongest Limiteer on Pyrolyte hade to aplete end once the heirs from the other great powers demonstrated their power.

    Seven days passed, though Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were still traversing through the heavens. The situation in the Northcastle Weave had stabilized with the arrival of numerous Outerverse Enlighters, but the contest on Pyrolyte only intensified further, with the casualties continuing to mount.

    The various great powers¡¯ battleships were like monsters that were constantly monitoring every little thing that happened on Pyrolyte. Those on the vessels could watch every single battle from start to finish, such as when Wen Qian''er led the Wen family to defeat a certain flowzone¡¯s power, when Jared showed his dominance by massacring all the disciples from another power, or when Kuang Wang followed the Second Grade Hall¡¯s troops and kept a low profile, not even acting once. All of these scenes were disyed to everybody.

    Pyrolyte was rather barren, and not many nts grew on the. Those that did exist resembled cacti and were very tenacious at clinging onto life. There were not many indigenous animals, and most remained burrowed underground, only emerging to look for water on rare asions.

    The strong winds were filled with dark-red sand and constantly streaked across the skies. On one part of the, multiple tornadoes suddenly formed in the distance, headed towards a group of people.

    They were draped in cloaks, and each one was holding a pyrolyte detector. From time to time, they would draw close to each other to discuss something.

    When the group of tornadoes arrived, one member of the group casually raised their hand, causing powerful star energy to burst out and transform into an invisible hand that directly swept the tornadoes aside. In an instant, the area turned to a peaceful state.

    The others in the group were not surprised. If given enough time, a Limiteer was strong enough to destroy an entire, let alone suppress meteorological phenomena on a¡¯s surface.

    Suddenly, one member of the group cried out, and the others immediately ran over.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s a reaction indicating massive amounts of pyrolyte ore. There should be a huge aggregation ahead.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell how far?¡±

    ¡°Probably about a hundred kilometers away.¡±

    On Pyrolyte, a hundred kilometers was a minuscule distance, but it was still very far for ordinary humans. Most cultivators could not see that far, and only those with more extraordinary innate gifts could. Fortunately, one of the members of the group had sharp eyes, and he gazed into the distance. ¡°There¡¯s a mountain about a hundred kilometers in front of us.¡±

    ¡°Miss, that mountain should be where the pyrolyte ore is located. The reaction is rather strong, so there should be quite a lot there,¡± someone spoke excitedly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll talk after we upy that ce.¡± The group then charged straight towards the mountain.

    Coincidentally, on the opposite side of the mountain, also about a hundred kilometers away, another group also discovered the existence of this pyrolyte vein. This group appeared to be moreplex than the first, mostly because there was a strange-looking beast next to almost every single cultivator. This group was from the Second Grade Hall.

    Gadgets could not be used on Pyrolyte, so neither side was aware of the other¡¯s existence. Only when they arrived at the base of the mountain did they discover traces of the other party, and a battle soon started without any reservations.

    The Second Grade Hall quickly fell behind, because the girl in the opposing group was Wen Qian''er. Her star energy was abundant. and it filled the area with a feminine aura; this was her domain.

    Han Chong could draw a picturesque scenery of sea and mountains with his star energy while Wen Qian''er drew out a female skeleton.

    That was just a description; those who came in contact with Wen Qian''er¡¯s star energy while she was supported by her domain would notice their determination being rapidly sapped away. Almost half of the Second Grade Hall¡¯s men lost their will to fight in an instant, and they were then crushed by the Wen family¡¯s Limiteers.

    Erudite Flowzone and Beast Tamers Flowzone were neighbors, and they did not hold much animosity towards each other. Thus, there were no fatalities in this sh.

    Wen Qian''er waved a hand and ordered her people to go investigate how much pyrolyte ore was present. Then, they sent out a signal to the Wen family¡¯s battleships above the to have them send some people down to the mountain to mine it all.

    If the Wen family could see it, then so could the other powers. However, there were not many who were able topete with them.

    They smoothly prepared all the equipment needed to extract the pyrolyte ore.

    Suddenly, Wen Qian''er¡¯s face changed, and she dodged to the side. In the ce where she had just been standing, there was now a fierce and strange-looking snake with antlers on its head that was lunging at her.

    Wen Qian''er turned around and flicked a finger, wanting to use a gale to eliminate this strange snake. However, the beast easily resisted the gale and then opened its mouth, unleashing a peculiar sound that resonated through the sky and took the form of a grey hurricane as it swept out. The storm was not destructive to the air or to the earth, and not even the mining equipment was harmed. However, the strange tempest caused all the people from the Wen family to feel nauseous.

    Wen Qian''er¡¯s face paled, and she saw the strange snake lunge at her once again. Her gaze shivered, and she raised her left index finger. ¡°Literary Prison, sixteen characters.¡± As soon as these words left her mouth, lines of characters dropped down from the void and trapped the strange snake within their formation. No matter how the creature pounded against the characters, it could not shake the Literary Prison.

    The Literary Prison was the Wen family¡¯s ancient inherited battle technique, and only those who had grasped at least sixteen characters could form it. Wen Qian''er had just recentlyprehended that number.

    At that moment, another figure attacked her from behind. She did not move, and someone else from the Wen family acted. It was a middle-aged man, and he raised a hand to fend off the figure as he moved to stand behind Wen Qian¡¯er.

    There were many people in the Wen family who had reached the Limiteer realm but were unable to break past it. Although they were not as outstanding as Lu Yin and many others, they had ample battle experience. This person had pretended to be powerless when the strange snake first attacked, but he had suddenly acted at this moment, which caused the assant to be severely injured since he had been left with no time to defend himself.

    Wen Qian''er slowly turned around and looked at the man lying on the ground with a deathly white face. She said, ¡°You must be Hui Chuan.¡±

    The man spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°I never thought that the Wen family¡¯s mistress would actually recognize little old me.¡±

    Her lips curled up. ¡°You aren¡¯t unknown. In the younger generation of the Divine Grade Hall, you¡¯re one of the top few, but unfortunately, you can¡¯tpare to that elite, Kuang Wang, and the others. Aren¡¯t they also here?¡±

    ¡°You want to meet them?¡± Hui Chuan spoke with great difficulty as he raised a hand and pointed into the distance. Suddenly Wen Qian''er looked down, and her face changed. A de of grass had unknowingly started waving in the wind. It looked very gentle, almost as if it could be blown away at any moment. However, Wen Qian''er¡¯s expression was as if she was facing a great enemy; she had recognized this fleeting de of grass as emperor butterfly topgrass, a tyrannical nt that could dispel star energy. This nt was one of Kuang Wang¡¯s tamed beasts.

    Kuang Wang had finally arrived.

    The Astral Combat Tournament had shown countless people throughout the Human Domain the power of a Realm Master. Although Kuang Wang had ultimately lost under Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s de, his power was undeniable. Even though he was not on the level of the generation¡¯s greatest elites, he was still quite terrifying, and was at least qualified to force Wen Qian''er to be on guard.

    When the emperor butterfly topgrass revealed itself, regardless of whether it was Wen Qian''er or the others from the Wen family, they all found that their star energy had been dispelled in a tyrannical fashion.

    Originally, there was no star energy on Pyrolyte, and it could only be absorbed through star crystals or star essences. And in this battle, the Wen family members¡¯ star energy had been dispelled so quickly that they simply had no time to absorb any more; this was simply a fatal blow.

    To Kuang Wang, Pyrolyte could be treated as his home ground. Anyone who battled against him would be thrown into a situation where they had insufficient star energy. The sole exception was if someone at Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s level appeared. Those whose power level was close to Kuang Wang¡¯s would not be able to match up to him at all, and Wen Qian''er was no exception.

    If she was still in her peak state, then she was confident in being able to use her Literary Prison to trap Kuang Wang and then defeat him from there on out. However, she could not do that now, as she did not have enough star energy to form another Literary Prison. In fact, the one around the strange snake had already started dissipating.

    As the emperor butterfly topgrass dispelled star energy, it created a true vacuum of star energy. This was the terror of this grass, and this was also the reason why Kuang Wang was so formidable on Pyrolyte.

    Kuang Wang appeared from under the sandstorm as he made his way over to the group, step by step. The giant azure dragon snarled when it appeared from his left arm, and it soon covered the sky.

    No one dared to drop their guard against Kuang Wang, especially given the current circumstances.

    ¡°You guys should back off. I don¡¯t want to harm you,¡± Kuang Wang said as he calmly looked at Wen Qian''er.

    Not too far away from Wen Qian''er, two of the Wen family¡¯s Limiteers suddenly took action, battle force bursting forth from their bodies. These two powerhouses who had mastered three-lined battle force moved to surround Kuang Wang, intending to use physical strength to break through Kuang Wang¡¯s emperor butterfly topgrass.

    The azure dragon was still flying around in the sky when Kuang Wang suddenly looked up, causing pure purple battle force to envelop his body. This was four-lined battle force! He had only disyed three-lined battle force during the Astral Combat Tournament, but now, he had broken through andprehended four-lined battle force.

    Every additional line represented a new level of strength, and the two three-lined battle force powerhouses from the Wen family were easily defeated by Kuang Wang.

    Wen Qian''er was unresigned to their loss. She raised a hand and formed a sixteen-character Literary Prison around Kuang Wang. However, since her star energy was insufficient, the Literary Prison was too frail, and the azure dragon smashed it apart with a whip of its tail.

    Kuang Wang proudly proimed, ¡°I¡¯ll say it onest time: back away now! This mountain belongs to me.¡±

    Hui Chuan, who was lying on the ground, wiped his lips. The Literary Prison that had entrapped his strange snake had vanished by now, and the serpentnded on Hui Chuan¡¯s shoulder since it was his tamed beast.

    There was no use in resisting anymore even if Wen Qian''er was unwilling. She could only helplessly raise her hand,manding the entire Wen family to retreat.

    The Wen family, the steward family of Erudite Flowzone, one of the eight great Flowzones, had been forced out. This event made Wen Qian''er feel humiliated, and she red at Kuang Wang. ¡°Just wait and see.¡±

    Kuang Wang could not care less about her threat, as Pyrolyte was his ying field. Anyone who battled him here would be weakened by one level, and he was even confident about challenging Liu Shaoqiu on this. Even if Liu Shaoqiu had once defeated him within the the emperor butterfly topgrass¡¯s star energy vacuum, that had been some time ago. Kuang Wang¡¯s battle force had reached the four-lined level, so he felt confident in being able to block Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword. As long as he could withstand that sword, he would be able to retaliate.

    After all, the foundation of cultivation was star energy. Without it, cultivators were nothing.

    Of course, a freak like Lu Yin could not be seen as a normal cultivator, and Kuang Wang¡¯s ego was not so inted that he dared to challenge Lu Yin. Regardless of if he was in the wider universe or on Pyrolyte, that freak was simply a monster.

    The Wen family retreated, but their mining equipment had been forcefully seized by Kuang Wang. Based on the Wen family¡¯s investigation, this mountain most likely contained arge amount of pyrolyte ore. Based on his calctions, they would be able to obtain at least five hundred grams of refined ore, or possibly even more.

    In other areas of the Astral Wilderness, the amount of unrefined pyrolyte ore in one ce would not even amount to five hundred grams. In many cases, even after a waspletely extracted of all ore, the sum would be no more than tens of grams of refined pyrolyte ore. However, this mountain contained so much more, which excited the Second Grade Hall. They immediately maneuvered all of their manpower to ensure total control of the mountain. Kuang Wang did not retrieve the emperor butterfly topgrass back into his body, and instead left it out to perpetually maintain the energy vacuum around the mountain.

    Also, Kuang Wang personally named the mountain Pyrolyte Mountain.

 Chapter 479: An Enlighterâ€™s Threat

    <h4>Chapter 479: An Enlighter¡¯s Threat</h4>

    The discovery of Pyrolyte Mountain caused the Second Grade Hall to be targeted by all sides. Wen Qian''er did not announce how deep the pyrolyte reserves that Pyrolyte Mountain held ran, but the various great powers had their own ways of probing the ce, and they also had their own spies in each other¡¯s organizations. It didn¡¯t take long for the amount of pyrolyte ore within Pyrolyte Mountain to shock those observing the from space, and all the great powers became rmed.

    What would an explosion of five hundred grams of pure pyrolyte be like? No one knew, but based on the theoretical power level, it would be enough to ruin a region of the universe. Even the powerhouses whose power levels had eclipsed 500,000 might be injured or even killed outright by such a powerful explosion. Of course, that was the oue of directly confronting such an explosion, and those powerhouses would never allow such a destructive material to directly explode on them; they could simply tear through the void to redirect the damage.

    But even when disregarding the apex powerhouses, the destructive potential of this much pyrolyte was indeed terrifying.

    And this was only the preliminary estimation; it was entirely possible that there was even more pyrolyte than initially thought.

    In an instant, Pyrolyte Mountain had be the focal point for all the great powers. Each and every one of them wanted to take over the mountain, but no one dared to act against Kuang Wang.

    Quite a few organizations began to unite, and from that day on, Pyrolyte Mountain became a battleground that was raided by many powerhouses every day, including those from the great powers.

    The Second Grade Hall felt the pressure intensify, and even Kuang Wang would not be able to withstand the assault if all the other organizations became hostile to them. Also, the truly top-notch Limiteers had not even arrived on the yet.

    Under such circumstances, naturally, there were also organizations that wanted to join forces with the Second Grade Hall. Among the stronger ones of these powers, the Daynight n was the first to look for the Second Grade Hall.

    There was a habitable in Northcastle Weave that was close to Frostwave Weave. The technology of that civilization was still in a developmental stage, as their instruments of war were still ancient firearms. The that should have been peaceful had suddenly turned to chaos due to the Second Grade Hall¡¯s interference, and that civilization was annihted overnight. The Second Grade Hall was like a monster that suddenly descended, suppressing the entire civilization in an instant.

    This became the Second Grade Hall¡¯s outpost where they nned their battles against Frostwave Weave.

    The Enlighter <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was stationed on this.

    When Pyrolyte Mountain was discovered, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika grew restless. He knew that all the other powers were envious of Pyrolyte Mountain, and so, he wanted to head to the Astral Wilderness to oversee the situation.

    But he had not gotten permission to leave yet when the entire began to rain. This was a rain that extended across the entire.

    This rain made <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika feel grave and even a little apprehensive.

    It was a very light rain, but the Second Grade Hall¡¯s cultivators all felt strange. They wanted to look into why such an enormous rain had suddenly started, but they were all stopped by <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. He walked into the rain and looked up. ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while. It must not have been more than a thousand years.¡±

    The rain curtain opened up, revealing an experienced-looking old woman with ck-and-white hair who slowly walked out. Under the gaze of many Second Grade Hall¡¯s cultivators, she walked over to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. ¡°About that long.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika gestured for her to follow him.

    The old woman nodded and followed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika into the Second Grade Hall¡¯s headquarters on the. The two appeared in a meeting room, and appeared to be just like two ordinary people. They then sat down a short distance apart from each other.

    Many apex powerhouses were not as imposing as some people might expect them to be; such people had their own philosophy, style of living, and many even maintained the habits ofmoners. Before they revealed their power level, many were indistinguishable frommoners. It was entirely possible that someone walking beside a Seeker could be an Envoy whose power level was over 500,000.

    ¡°I thought that you wouldn¡¯t leave the Nightking for the rest of your life, Nightqueen Qiuyu,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika said as he sighed emotionally while looking at the old woman in front of him.

    Her voice was cold when she responded, ¡°I thought that I wouldn¡¯t either during this life. But since the n required it, I was left with no choice.¡±

    ¡°That matter that year-¡± But <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was interrupted by Nightqueen Qiuyu before he could finish.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to mention the matter from back then. Someone will pay off that debt. You should be clear about why I¡¯vee looking for you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s face was solemn. ¡°Is this about Pyrolyte Mountain?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu looked at him seriously. ¡°You¡¯re very smart. You must know that, with just your force¡¯s manpower, you won¡¯t be able to hold Pyrolyte Mountain. All parties involved are looking for allies, and you guys should be no exception.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely aware. However, I have many choices, especially the closeby Wen family or the Sword Sect.¡±

    ¡°Stop speaking nonsense. Neither party is possible, precisely because they are too close to you. There will be a conflict of interest with either of those two parties, which prevents you from forming any possible alliance with them. Our Daynight n is the most suitable one for your current needs, as we both have the power and are a suitable distance away. Thus, there won¡¯t be any conflict of interest.¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu once again interrupted <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika in a dominant fashion.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika grimaced. ¡°So many years have passed, but you still haven¡¯t changed.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s gaze was firm. ¡°If we cooperate, we¡¯ll evenly share the pyrolyte from Pyrolyte Mountain. This is the most generous condition that our Daynight n can offer, so give me your answer soon.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had no choice. ¡°There¡¯s no need to think any further. We¡¯ll cooperate.¡±

    For the Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Wen Family, and the Sword Sect were indeed poor parties to cooperate with, as the three of themy too close to one another. Each wanted pyrolyte to increase their power, which would naturally cause their neighboring flowzones to weaken correspondingly. Thus, organizations thaty close to each other were forced into apetitive rtionship, unable to cooperate. This was also the reason why the Wen Family and Sword Sect had note to talk with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. As for the other flowzones, they were either too far away or too weak. This included even the zing Mist Flowzone, which was also not a very good candidate in <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s eyes. Only the Daynight n was worthy.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika did not doubt the Daynight n¡¯s strength, especially since it had been recently revealed that the Daynight n had found traces of the Third Nightking. Even though this information could not be verified, if the Third Nightking had truly been found, then the situation of the universe was about to change. Hence, it was of great importance to maintain a good rtionship with the Daynight n.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu gazed appreciatively at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. ¡°Wise choice. Our Daynight Limiteer will not disappoint you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika nodded. ¡°With Kuang Wang¡¯s emperor butterfly topgrass and the Daynight n¡¯s Limiteers, we have a surefire victory.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not confirmed yet. Don¡¯t forget that there¡¯s someone else rushing over, and they even have a grudge with you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was lost. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The Sea King¡¯s future son-inw.¡± She beamed as she said this.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°If that kid is not taken care of, then as soon as he enters the fray at Pyrolyte, no one will be his opponent. Whoever he helps will be the final party to hold Pyrolyte Mountain,¡± she spoke calmly.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika felt embarrassed. ¡°He¡¯s the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw, and he also has rtions with many different powers. He can¡¯t be killed.¡±

    ¡°I know. Elder Yuanjing has also mentioned that the kid cannot be touched. However, we need some kind of guarantee that he will not participate in this contest, or else he will be thergest variable. You should know how much influence someone wields when they are truly invincible in their realm.¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s tone was cold, and this was evidently reminding her of something.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s face changed, and he paused before looking at her. ¡°I¡¯ll hand over Pyrolyte¡¯s matters to you while I personally head over to oversee the Great Yu Empire to ensure that he cannot act.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu nodded. ¡°Although sending out an Enlighter for a Limiteer junior is not worth it, the contest at Pyrolyte is just far too important. Go on. I¡¯ll handle the matters on Pyrolyte.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s work well together.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s work well together.¡±

    ¡­

    As he flew through space, Lu Yin continuously updated himself on news regarding Northcastle Weave, as he wanted to check on the news concerning the situation on Pyrolyte. However, thework did not have any news about it, and even searching the word ¡°pyrolyte¡± yielded no results.

    Although the connected many people, it was no different from reality; too much information had been blocked off. Even if Lu Yin released news about pyrolyte, thework would continue to reveal nothing, as only the various great powers were allowed to have ess to such information.

    Beside him, Hai Qiqi was ying a game. She had recently discovered that the Outerverse had many more fun games than the Innerverse. In her words, the Outerverse was weak because these games whittled away at people¡¯s attention span, though Lu Yin could not be bothered to argue against such reasoning.

    His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin nced at it. Suddenly, his expression changed, and his face grew incredibly cold.

    ¡®Enlighter <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika has appeared at Zenyu Star.¡¯

    Enlighters could move through space at a speed faster than an Aurora. There were about ten fments separating Zenyu Star from the border between Frostwave Weave and Northcastle Weave, but this distance was a short walk for <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    The Great Yu Empire had no Enlighters, so <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s appearance meant that the entire Great Yu Empire was now under his control¡ªeven the lives of those like Huo Qingshan, Ban Jiu, and Liuying Zishan.

    Lu Yin clenched both fists, as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s objective was obvious. This movepletely prevented Lu Yin from participating in the contest at Pyrolyte. He was simply unstoppable to all Limiteers, so if he acted, the biggest winner on Pyrolyte would be obvious: whoever won Lu Yin¡¯s help would get the most pyrolyte.

    Pyrolyte was considered a strategic military resource. This situation could be considered as war, just one that had not spread out yet, though it had already engulfed both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin knew he was very important, but he had never expected his value to be so high as to merit an Enlighter personally moving to restrain him. He estimated that such a thing was unprecedented, as he could very well be the first and only Limiteer who had to be personally restricted by an Enlighter.

    News that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had arrived at Zenyu Star had been sent to Lu Yin by Huo Qingshan, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had then immediately suppressed the news. Fortunately, he had not killed anyone, and Huo Qingshan and the rest were not foolish enough to act against an Enlighter.

    Zenyu Star was still stable for now, but this waspletely dependent on Lu Yin obediently returning to Zenyu Star and not participating in the scuffle on Pyrolyte. Otherwise, things would be unpredictable.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika might not dare to kill Lu Yin, but the same leniency could not be guaranteed to extend to Huo Qingshan and the rest.

    Lu Yin nced at Hai Qiqi. He could contact the Sea King and serve the Great Yu Empire up on a tter to the Sea King¡¯s Dome. No matter if the Sea King epted it or not, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika would have misgivings about making a move in that case. But if Lu Yin did such a thing, then he would no longer have any freedom. The Yushan family would no longer control the Great Yu Empire, and Lu Yin¡¯s status as Royal Regent would be nothing more than a joke.

    Lu Yin did have the option of ignoring the plight of the Great Yu Empire, as he himself was not a descendant of King Zishan, as everything had been fabricated by Big Sis. However, he had lived on Earth for a long time, and he truly cherished those memories and feelings. He genuinely identified as an Earthling, and he did not want to let that part of him go. Undying Yushan had also treated Lu Yin very kindly and had given him the Yu Secret Art, which he was still unable to repay.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to abandon the Great Yu Empire, as he could not retract those feelings.

    He turned to face outside of the spacecraft. Sometimes, standing too tall was not a good thing since it would attract more attention, especially when the one standing out was someone like him without any obvious powers backing him.

    ¡°Uncle Huo, tell <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika that I will not act. Until the events at Pyrolyte end, I will stay in the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Huo Qingshan¡¯s voice was not very happy either. As a Hunter, he was being used to threaten a Limiteer, and he was probably the first in history to have to endure such a humiliating experience.

 Chapter 480: Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 480: Alliance</h4>

    On Zenyu Star, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was standing in the main hall of the Imperial Pce when Huo Qingshan appeared behind him. ¡°The Royal Regent guarantees that he will not be involved in the events concerned.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika spun around. He had no interest in what Huo Qingshan had to say since it was what he had expected. This was, of course, under the presumption that no one with an even stronger background than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s was willing to stand up for Lu Yin. Otherwise, things would definitely stay under his control. For now, he was more interested in the person in front of him. ¡°For cultivators from the Outerverse, reaching the level of Hunter is no easy feat. I can rmend you for a position in the Second Grade Hall. Are you interested?¡±

    Huo Qingshan politely declined the offer, ¡°My apologies, but I do not have any wish to leave my homnd.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was unsatisfied with such an answer. ¡°While trapped in an insignificant ce like Frostwave Weave, it was nothing more than a stroke of luck for you to cultivate to the level of Hunter.¡± Once he was done speaking, he stepped forward andpletely vanished. He could actually leave now if he wished since Zenyu Star was not going anywhere. Lu Yin would not dare to renege on his agreement, since the price he would have to pay for doing so would be more than what he could bear. However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika also wanted to stay around to check out Lu Yin.

    There had been many unparalleled individuals in his generation as well, and those individuals who were unsurpassed within their respective realms had left a rather deep impression on him. Lu Yin was simrly unsurpassed within his own realm, which was why <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika wanted to meet him and see if there were any simrities between Lu Yin and that person from his generation.

    There was also another issue to be addressed. Themotion at Pyrolyte would only grow more intense as time went on. Since he had the option to stay in the background, he would naturally choose to note out on his own. Instead, he would let Nightqueen Qiuyu do all the dirty work. The Daynight n was known for being tyrannical, and the more enemies the n made, the more rxed others would feel, and it was the same even for <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. At this moment in time, the Daynight n indeed seemed to be the Second Grade Hall¡¯s best partner, but who knew what the future held.

    Zenyu Star had a beautiful scenery.

    In the Astral Wilderness, there was a huge battleship zing with mes. It was not being destroyed, rather was on fire of its own ord. This was a spacecraft from the ze Realm.

    In the ze Realm¡¯s battleship, there was a figure silently looking down at Pyrolyte. The surroundings¡¯ high temperatures were enough to even distort the void. This figure seemed to be zing like a star, but strangely enough, he did not damage any of the objects around him. This man was Master Huo Houye, a powerful Enlighter from the ze Realm. He was an almighty cultivator with a power level of 240,000.

    Not too far away from where Huo Houye was standing, the void distorted as a strong but ugly looking man stepped out. He faced Huo Houye and spoke with a dull voice. ¡°I am Lei Long of the Dire Barbarian n.¡±

    Huo Houye turned around and stared at the middle-aged man, focusing on the man¡¯s face. His eyes flickered; those from the Dire Barbarian n all had peculiar appearances, and ugly was not quite enough to describe their appearances. Sinister was a better word. These people were theplete opposite of those from the Souldream Tribe.

    The Souldream Tribe were known for producing beautiful women, whereas it would be a stretch to find even a decent looking person within the Dire Barbarian n. Perhaps this was why the Souldream Tribe and Dire Barbarian n had been enemies for so long. The Dire Barbarian n wanted to make use of the Souldream Tribe to improve their future generations¡¯ genes and allow their descendants to be more attractive. However, the Souldream Tribe carried a natural hatred for the Dire Barbarian n, as they especially loathed the way they handled things.

    Regardless, at this time, it was easy to recognize someone from the Dire Barbarian n just by their appearance.

    Those of the Dire Barbarian n had be used to this, which was why Lei Long did not mind Master Huo Houye scrutinizing his appearance.

    ¡°Brother Lei, what is the purpose of this visit?¡± Huo Houye asked.

    Lei Long solemnly replied, ¡°To form an alliance.¡±

    Huo Houye pondered over this information.

    Lei Long continued, saying, ¡°Recently, many powers have formed alliances, so piging pyrolyte ore using just one¡¯s own strength is now impossible. As far as I am aware, even the Second Grade Hall has now formed an alliance with the Daynight n. Brother Huo, you should be well aware that the strongest power on Pyrolyte is currently the Second Grade Hall.¡±

    Huo Houye looked at Lei Long. ¡°We are open to entering an alliance, but how would we split the pyrolyte ore?¡±

    ¡°This goes without saying. We would each take half,¡± Lei Long replied.

    Huo Houye broke out inughter. ¡°Brother Lei, you must be dreaming! In terms of distance, my ze Realm is the closest to this ce, so I can deploy skilled warriors at any moment. On the other hand, your Dire Barbarian n is located very far away. Besides, you don¡¯t even have any powerful Limiteers who would be of any use on the¡¯s surface. Brother Lei, do you really believe that you deserve half a share?¡±

    Lei Long knitted his brows. ¡°What you said is not entirely urate as we have many Limiteer cultivators within the Dire Barbarian n. Also, there are many powers researching a way to let Explorers enter Pyrolyte. The Dire Barbarian n has Explorers who are worthy of stepping on to the Top 100 Rankings as well.¡±

    Huo Houye was not bothered about such ims; the ze Realm had everything the Dire Barbarian n possessed. Everyone had their own hidden trump cards, but there was a singr someone in the Dire Barbarian n whom he actually paid attention to: Avery. Avery was a powerful individual who was ranked fourth within the Top 100 Rankings. If Cruisers were allowed to enter Pyrolyte, then that man would be of great use. It would be as good as having a decisive yer on their team.

    However, dividing the pyrolyte ore equally on the grounds of an unknown possibility was too big of a risk to take, and it was also a risk that Master Huo Houye was unwilling to take. However, he did not immediately reject the proposal. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, Brother Lei. Why won¡¯t we decide how to split the pyrolyte ore after we get ahold of it. Is that alright with you?¡±

    Lei Long squinted his eyes and pondered for a moment before agreeing. Even though the ze Realm was strong, his Dire Barbarian n was notcking in any way. If the ze Realm dared to go back on its word, then Lei Long felt certain that he would be able to make them pay dearly for such transgressions.

    The premise for forming an alliance was that both parties had simr levels of strength. Those in the Eight Great Flowzones would only seek out alliances from others within the Eight Great Flowzones. As for the smaller flowzones, such as Northline Flowzone, they could only seek out the smaller flowzones for assistance.

    Northline Flowzone was really down on its luck. Northgate Gang, Ah Fan, and the others had been matched against Jared from the ze Realm. Just one battle alone was enough to leave Northline Flowzone with heavy casualties and ten people dead. To add insult to injury, even the pyrolyte ore that Northline Flowzone¡¯s team had extracted was snatched away.

    Even though Pyrolyte was huge, everyone had a pyrolyte ore detector, so there was a high chance of finding it. In short, the team from Northline Flowzone was simply unlucky to have run into powerful experts from the Eight Great Flowzones.

    Currently, on Pyrolyte, less than a third of the cultivators were from the Eight Great Flowzones, and the majority of the others were Limiteers from the smaller flowzones. s, numbers did not mean everything; in the end, the only ones who could act brazenly and steal pyrolyte were those from the Eight Great Flowzones.

    The bitter defeat of Northgate Gang and the others caused those from Northline Flowzone to be extremely anxious. Lily Anne wanted to contact Lu Yin several times, and Granny Chan was even willing to add more onto their offer. However, any action on Lu Yin¡¯s part would put the Great Yu Empire at great risk, and Lily Anne felt that there was nothing she could do to move Lu Yin unless Granny Chan promised to oversee and protect the Great Yu Empire. That was one of the few things that could ensure the safety of the Great Yu Empire.

    However, that was an impossible condition. Granny Chan¡¯s departure would mean a loss of prestige for the Lily n. Granny Chan was more important to the n than pyrolyte.

    Another three days passed. When Lu Yin looked at the projected route, the calcted arrival time was in another ten days.

    On this day, there was a violent change above Pyrolyte; the Limiteer cultivators from the Sword Sect had arrived.

    The various powers were all stunned by their arrival, and the neers all headed to a personal spacecraft before descending into Pyrolyte¡¯s atmosphere. Everyone sensed that the power structure of Pyrolyte was about to shift.

    The most worried parties were definitely the Second Grade Hall and the Daynight n. Currently, Pyrolyte was almost entirely controlled by the Second Grade Hall and the Daynight n. They had more than a hundred Limiteer cultivators guarding Pyrolyte, and most of them were from the Second Grade Hall while a minority were from the Daynight n. The striking features of the ck and white hair was impossible to miss, and it also provided a good reminder for the other powers that the two had formed an alliance.

    The minute the Sword Sect¡¯s spacecraft rushed over to Pyrolyte, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s brows bunched up. She stepped forward, tearing through the void even faster than the Sword Sect¡¯s battleship. It was a spacecraft shaped like a sword, and it looked rather strange. It did however, have an extremely sharp tip that caused the void around it to be unstable.

    ¡°Liu Sanjian,e out!¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu yelled. As far as her eyes could see, all of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples had been overwhelmed with shock by her cry, and they didn¡¯t even dare to raise their heads. A curtain of rain sprinkled down from the sky, creating an amazing sight.

    A middle aged man stepped out from the sword-shaped battleship with a resolute look on his face. As he towered high in the sky, he directly faced Nightqueen Qiuyu. This man was Liu Sanjian. It was rumored that, from the moment he began cultivating, he had only ever used three strikes in all his battles, regardless of the final result. He was a powerful Hunter who boasted a power level of 190,000.

    ¡°Senior Qiuyu, is something the matter?¡± Liu Sanjian asked in a calm manner as he looked at Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu pointed towards Pyrolyte and icily replied, ¡°The Sword Sect has entered Pyrolyte in the direction of Pyrolyte Mountain. What is the meaning of this? The universe is so vast, and yet you chose this ce tond. Are you trying to challenge the Daynight n?¡±

    Liu Sanjian indifferently replied,  Pyrolyte has not been imed by anyone, and neither has Pyrolyte Mountain. It does not belong to the Daynight n, and so, it is open for all to contest.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s gaze turned icy.  Pyrolyte is vast, and Pyrolyte Mountain is not the only ce where pyrolyte ore can be mined. Go find another ce. I can guarantee you that the Daynight n will not bother you in any fashion.¡±

    ¡°I cannot do that.¡± Liu Sanjian¡¯s words were curt. He held absolutely no regard for the Nightqueen, even though he was merely a Hunter.

    In his younger days, he had been the cream of the crop in the Sword Sect and feared no one. It seemed like his former courage was still present at this time.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s anger soon condensed into a dry, sarcasticughter. ¡°Very well then, a worthless individual dares to challenge me. It seems like my years spent hiding on Nightking has caused the outside world to forget about the might of Nightqueen Qiuyu! I will force all of you to remember my power today!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she prepared to strike.

    Liu Sanjian¡¯s gaze became increasingly piercing as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

    At that moment, the space between the two distorted, and a figure stepped out. Sighing deeply, the figure said, ¡°Qiuyu, you are still as tyrannical as ever.¡±

    When she heard this voice, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s body shook. She stared in astonishment at the old person in front of her, and her voice quivered. ¡°Vile- big brother <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree?¡±

    Liu Sanjian looked at the old man and bowed respectfully. ¡°Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree.¡±

    This old man¡¯s name was Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and he was an elder from the Sword Sect. He was also the person in charge of the Sword Sect¡¯s pyrolyte gathering expedition. He was an Enlighter with a power level of 270,000.

    ¡°Big Brother Chou, I never expected that the Sword Sect would send you here,¡± Nightqueen Qiuyumented, bewildered.

    Elder Viletree looked at Nightqueen Qiuyu and musingly replied, ¡°It has been a thousand years since west met, and now, we¡¯re both old. It is about time for us to keep our tempers in check.¡±

    The rain in the sky was now pouring down even heavier than before, and Nightqueen Qiuyu turned to face Pyrolyte. ¡°This is the first time in a thousand years I havee out on a mission, so I do not wish to fail.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree revealed a bitter smile. ¡°It was this terrible temper of yours that made him leave back then. Do you still not see that?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s gaze abruptly snapped back to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree. ¡°My temper? Howughable! It was the n¡¯s rules that drove that coward away. I was willing to turn my back on the n to leave with him, but he still ran away. Big brother Chou, can I really be med for that?¡±

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree sighed deeply. ¡°It happened such a long time ago, but you are still unable to ept it. Forget it, let¡¯s not bring up the past.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s emotions became increasingly unstable, causing the rainfall¡¯s intensity to fluctuate as a moment of silence passed.

    Liu Sanjian took advantage of the pause to leave.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree looked at Nightqueen Qiuyu and continued, asking, ¡°How have you been these long years?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s body trembled once more as she turned around to leave. ¡°Big brother <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, our personal rtionships aside, this battle on Pyrolyte is something where I will show absolutely no mercy.¡±

    As he looked at the empty sky, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree sighed once more. He never would have dreamed that he would meet this old friend of his in such a ce. Besides, this was an old friend whom he both wished to see and wished to avoid.

    Boom boom boom!

    Thunderous booms spread across all of Pyrolyte Mountain, and Kuang Wang looked into the distance with a grave expression. These sounds were of arge spacecraftnding directly atop Pyrolyte Mountain. The neers had obviouslye here to take control of Pyrolyte Mountain. For a faction to make such a brazennding at this time meant that it was highly likely for the vessels to belong to the Sword Sect.

 Chapter 481: Changing Hands

    <h4>Chapter 481: Changing Hands</h4>

    When Kuang Wang was finally able to make out the design of the personal spacecraftnding nearby, he was certain that the Sword Sect had arrived. Only they and the Myriad Swords Peak, both of which viewed the sword with the utmost importance, would use spacecraft shaped like swords.

    At the base of Pyrolyte Mountain, the emperor butterfly topgrass swayed while it created a star energy vacuum around Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Within the range of the grass, a dozen Daynight n members spread out as they vigntly stared at the spacecraftnding all around them.

    This massnding consisted of at least twenty spacecraft, and their overall numbers were way smaller than the Daynight n and the Second Grade Hall¡¯sbined forces. However, these people were from the Sword Sect.

    There were no pleasantries exchanged between the two groups, and the battle started almost immediately. The Daynight n acted first,unching their attacks before the spacecrafts¡¯ hatches even opened. The Second Grade Hall was not slow either, and their tamed beasts let loose a rallying battle roar.

    One personal spacecraft was directly destroyed by the Daynight n¡¯s Limiteers, though a brilliant sword qi weed their attacks and tore through the earth.

    The Sword Sect and the Daynight n were both top-notch powers from the Innerverse. The Daynight n was even able to have a flowzone named after itself, showing its tyrannical nature. On the other hand, the Sword Sect had directly christened the flowzone that they controlled ¡°First Flowzone,¡± which was even more overbearing. The two powers approached each other right away. They had already battled against each other countless times in the past, and they were no strangers to each other.

    There were many old Limiteers within the Daynight n, as some were unable to break through while others had been disallowed from doing so since they were restrained by the Sealed Cage Technique. The breakthroughs of such members depended on the mood of the Nightking n. One Daynight elder possessed a unique innate gift from birth that specialized in extreme destruction. He was very sensitive towards the ambient energy in the atmosphere, and he was able to leverage the free energy within the surroundings to disy his strongest strength.

    However, in his youth, this elder had offended the Nightking n, and thus had not been allowed to break through until now. He had believed that his life was ruined, but he was finally of actual use this day.

    The Sword Sect could not stop that Daynight elder, and two of them were instantly taken out.

    The Daynight elder¡¯s face revealed his malevolence. As long as he achieved some aplishments on Pyrolyte, he would be allowed to break through and be an Explorer, which would increase his longevity. That would increase his future prospects, and he would not give up such an opportunity.

    The spacecraft hatch in front of him opened up, and the elder did not think twice before striking out with a punch. He could feel the pyrolyte in the ambient air, and his punch borrowed the power of the pyrolyte, increasing the strength of his attack while it was still in midair. Itnded right in front of the spacecraft.

    Inside the spacecraft, a pair of sharp eyes opened with a re as the person grabbed their sword hilt and sliced out. The Daynight elder¡¯s fist was sliced apart by a formless sword qi, causing his eyes to narrow and his scalp to go numb. He immediately retreated since he felt an intense sense of danger, but it was already toote. His body was split in two, and a massive spatial crack spread out from his body in all directions, shocking everyone.

    The space on Pyrolyte was very stable, so it was difficult for Limiteers to tear through the void. Only geniuses who had reached a certain strength threshold would be able to tear through it. This attack proved that an absolute genius had just appeared in this area.

    This personal spacecraft was not able to withstand the sword qi¡¯s force, and it broke apart to reveal a girl: Liu Xiaoyun. She was the person who had attacked just now, and with her attack that imitated the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords at that. It was her gains from the many years she had spent in the trial zone¡¯s Tilting Tower. It was also her strongest attack, and that slice had ripped apart the strongest person in this group of Daynight n members.

    In another area around Pyrolyte Mountain, thunder was rumbling, signifying that Yan Hua had also arrived. He was second only to Liu Shaoqiu within the Sword Sect¡¯s younger generation experts. His skill with lightning and the sword had even received the Cosmic Sea¡¯s experts¡¯ recognition, and so, he had naturally be a part of the Sword Sect¡¯s main force during thispetition on Pyrolyte.

    Each Sword Sect expert entered a stance as they suppressed all the Daynight n members in an instant. One figure was exceptionally eye-grabbing among the group of Sword Sect¡¯s experts; there was a little girl who appeared to be around eleven or twelve years old who was wearing a dark purple dress and had an adorable look. She was the Y¨­u Court¡¯s little princess, Y¨­u Ye''er. She had followed the Sword Sect ande along to participate in the battles on Pyrolyte.

    This was Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s first time in the Outerverse, as well as her first time in the Astral Wilderness. She was extremely curious about everything as she stared wide-eyed at everything taking ce about her. Battle and death were normal urrences for her, so she did not care about those things at all.

    Suddenly, an astral beast charged up from underground and snapped at her.

    From nearby, Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s expression changed, and she shed out, releasing a sword qi that pierced through the void and tore apart the beast in front of Y¨­u Ye''er. A spatter of blood scattered onto the little girl¡¯s dress.

    She looked down and pouted; her clothes had gotten dirty.

    ¡°This is a battlefield, so take care of yourself.¡± Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s tone was cold. She had not wanted to bring this little princess of the Y¨­u Court to this ce. However, she had no choice in the matter, as those had been the elder¡¯s orders; she could only obey themand to keep the little brat safe.

    Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s face revealed a look of disdain, but she docilely acknowledged Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s words and acted as if she were extremely obedient.

    The battle around Pyrolyte Mountain ended quickly after the Daynight n suffered a few casualties, prompting the others to escape. The Second Grade Hall had also suffered some casualties, and only Hui Chuan and a select few were left standing as they did their best to protect Pyrolyte Mountain with the strength of Kuang Wang¡¯s emperor butterfly topgrass.

    Above Pyrolyte, Nightqueen Qiuyu flew into a rage, and she felt an impulse to execute all of those disciples from the Sword Sect.

    A row of Sword Sect disciples started approaching Pyrolyte Mountain, but they stopped outside of the emperor butterfly topgrass¡¯s range and faced Kuang Wang directly.

    ¡°I never thought that you would alsoe.¡± Kuang Wang reluctantly looked at Liu Xiaoyun and forced out a smile.

    Liu Xiaoyun held an indifferent attitude towards most people, including Kuang Wang who had been a fellow student for many years. ¡°Leave Pyrolyte Mountain, and I won¡¯t make things difficult for you.¡±

    Kuang Wang sighed, and waved his hand as he caused the emperor butterfly topgrass to vanish. He wasn¡¯t an idiot, and he was aware that his grass was not enough to stop attacks from experts like Liu Xiaoyun and Yan Hua, who were elites of the Sword Sect. He was not afraid of one-on-onebat, but there were just too many people from the Sword Sect. If everyone attacked him at the same time, he would not be able to resist them even with the weakening effect of the emperor butterfly topgrass. Moreover, Liu Xiaoyun herself was stronger than him.

    Kuang Wang left, which indicated that control of Pyrolyte Mountain had shifted from the alliance between the Second Grade Hall and the Daynight n to the Sword Sect.

    At this time, no one dared to im that they hadpletely taken control of a specific area. Hence, whatever pyrolyte ore people managed to extract on a given day was sent up to their battleships on that same day. Liu Xiaoyun did not steal Kuang Wang¡¯s cosmic ring, and only watched on as he left the mountain.

    Although the Sword Sect did not have that many disciples, each and every one of them was an expert, and their overall strength surpassed even the Daynight n¡¯s. The Sword Sect was currently the strongest power on Pyrolyte as they had the support of both Liu Xiaoyun and Yan Hua.

    The Daynight n did not give up, and they stationed many of their experts near Pyrolyte Mountain as they waited for even more Daynight n experts to arrive.

    Not long after, the Daynight n received its own reinforcements; but instead of more Limiteers, a universally famous young powerhouse appeared on the: Moore. He was ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings and was also a Councilor for the Outerverse Youth Council at West San Dios.

    Moore¡¯s appearance cast a shadow over the hearts of the various powers. He was ranked twelfth, and even though he was unable to participate in the battles on the, the situation would change as soon as the Daynight n discovered a method to send Explorers or even Cruisers down. Just Moore alone was enough to cause a headache for the other organizations.

    Moore¡¯s appearance also made many powers remember the other parties such as the Dire Barbarian n and the Sword Sect. These powers possessed powerhouses who were in the very top of the Top 100 Rankings, and as soon as space-exploring powerhouses were able to enter Pyrolyte, they would reap many benefits. However, such a change was terrifying for the powers without any high-ranked experts. People were very clear on just how powerful those top-ranking experts on the Top 100 Rankings were.

    Just as the various great powers were considering their next move, the Graceful Mercenaries arrived. They had been hired by the Ross Empire, as the Ross Empire did not have any Limiteers who were strong enough topete for Pyrolyte. Naturally, they were not satisfied with just watching the others. Even though they had allied with the ze Realm, if they provided no contributions during the contest on Pyrolyte, then they would lose out when the pyrolyte was distributed.

    Everyone had ced their hopes on experts at the Explorer realm and above, and the Graceful Mercenaries were employed with that in mind. There was someone special within that group: the person ranked hundredth in the Top 100 Rankings, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince.

    The position of hundredth on the rankings was the absolute lowest ranking on the Top 100 Rankings. Many believed that the person holding that rank was not even as powerful as some Limiteers like Mu Rong and the other elites. However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince was an exception. From the first moment his name entered the Top 100 Rankings, he had always been ranked as a hundredth. No matter how the other rankings changed, he would always maintain the same position.

    When Che Han had defeated Qin Chen, Che Han had reced Qin Chen and had be ranked eighty eighth, and all those behind Qin Chen had been moved down on the rankings by one peg. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince had been reasonably booted off of the list, but he had quickly challenged the person who had just taken over the hundredth position, the expert previously ranked ny ninth, and then retaken the hundredth position.

    The man always seemed to be at the hundredth rank, and many believed that his power far surpassed his ranking, and that he just liked that number.

    No one knew what his actual strength was. An almighty expert had once said that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince could possibly challenge experts in the top seventy, which was a rather high appraisal.

    The Ross Empire had hired the Graceful Mercenaries, and the other powers did not intend to remain resigned to their fate either. Many of them had sessively contacted other known powerhouses of the Human Domain. Even if space-exploring powerhouses could not currently participate in the contest on Pyrolyte, it was better to take precautionary measures than lose out when the time came.

    Lu Yin quickly learned that the various powers had hired outside experts, precisely because he himself also received many employment offers to fight on the, which he had all rejected.

    It was an expected development for outside experts to be brought in considering the current state of affairs on Pyrolyte. This was especially true for the alliances between powers from the smaller flowzones since they were currently being suppressed by therger organizations. Regardless if one was a Limiteer or an Explorer, they could all be hired as long as they had some bit of reputation.

    The contest on Pyrolyte was growing even more intense with each passing day.

    Hai Qiqi was beside Lu Yin, and she naturally learned about the contest and that the various organizations were hiring outside experts. She was rather interested in this development. ¡°I wonder if Baobao will head there as well.¡±

    Lu Yin cast a sideways nce at her. ¡°¡®Baobao¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Lan Baobao¡ªhaven¡¯t you heard of her?¡± Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin thought to himself for a moment before remembering the person ranked twenty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings: the Grayweed Continent¡¯s expert, Lan Baobao. Hai Qiqi had previously contacted this woman, and Lu Yin had heard that she had a very nice-sounding voice. ¡°You have a good rtionship with her?¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded, ¡°There¡¯s only a few people I¡¯m able to y with since I¡¯ve always been stuck in the Starfall Sea. Baobao¡¯s my best friend.¡±

    ¡°What about Lan Yu?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve met him once, so I¡¯m not too familiar with him.¡±

    ¡°He also participated in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°I know. Lan Si has asked Father several times, hoping for me to marry his brother, but he was rejected every time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve met Lan Si?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. Actually, such a thing was nothing to be shocked about since Lan Si was the Grayweed Continent¡¯s top expert of the younger generation as well as one of the Ten Arbiters. It was not strange for them to have met.

    ¡°Lowly cultivators that toil at the bottom such as yourself will naturally not have met Lan Si, but I¡¯m of a different breed,¡± Hai Qiqi said loftily.

    ¡°Then let me ask you something. Who do you think is more powerful: the current me, or Lan Si when he was a Limiteer?¡± Lu Yin asked Hai Qiqi.

 Chapter 482: Soloing Pyrolyte Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 482: Soloing Pyrolyte Mountain</h4>

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s question, Hai Qiqi gave him a serious look. ¡°Let me ask you a question in return. Who do you think is stronger: Lan Yue or me in a thousand years?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s your answer. How the heck would I know if you¡¯re stronger than Lan Si when he was a Limiteer or not? You should ask Starsibyl, but I¡¯m not her.¡±

    Lu Yin had forgotten about Starsibyl and realized that he indeed should have asked her back when they had spoken.

    ¡°Right, did Starsibyl ask you a question?¡± Hai Qiqi suddenly looked at Lu Yin, interested in a new topic.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a second, but then looked at her solemnly. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Hai Qiqi turned around silently, her brain working at extreme speed. ¡°Just you wait.¡±

    Although chatting with Hai Qiqi usually left Lu Yin choking back his words, it was still a rxing activity, all things considered. He knew that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika would not do anything overboard to Zenyu Star so long as Lu Yin did not participate in the contest on Pyrolyte. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s existence on Zenyu Star did not change anything for the or the empire; this was the only thought that Lu Yin could use to console himself.

    However, this feeling of being stifled could not bepletely ignored, and Lu Yin had recently been mulling over the fact that he needed to find an Enlighter backer for the Great Yu Empire somehow. Strangely, Lu Yin was reminded of the symbol that he had seen at Huo Qingshan¡¯s family estate, and he felt like he should find some time to chat with Huo Qingshan after this current matter was resolved. With Lu Yin¡¯s own hidden trump cards, he was not afraid even if Huo Qingshan had some kind of super powerhouse behind him. Lu Yin could not ept having a foreign organization living right under his nose.

    Several days passed, and arge-scale battle broke out on Pyrolyte. No, it could not be ssified as a battle, and should instead be considered as the outbreak of a war since nearly one thousand people were involved in the conflict.

    Pyrolyte Mountain was once again the site of a major conflict, and war had broken out because the Daynight n¡¯s reinforcements had arrived.

    Fresh blood flowed across the dark-red, withered dirt while strange worms asionally emerged from the ground to gnaw on the corpses, only to be swept away by the constant aftershocks from the ongoing battle. There was smoke and ash everywhere.

    One Sword Sect disciple was surrounded by several people. His longsword was shattered, and he fell dead to the ground.

    Nearby, a tamed astral beast was hacked to death by sword qi that swept across its body. The attack also affected several nearby Limiteers who did not dodge in time, and they lost their limbs.

    On the ground, there was one disciple from the Second Grade Hall who was nearly dead. He frantically fished out some pyrolyte ore and quickly detonated it, causing the area around him to tremble. Unfortunately, the strength of the explosion wasn¡¯t enough to kill any of the surrounding Limiteers since the st wasn¡¯t even at a power level of 10,000.

    As far as one could see, the entire region of Pyrolyte Mountain had been drenched in the mes of war. The participants were not just limited to just the Sword Sect, Daynight n, and Second Grade Hall; there were also people from many other powers mixed into the chaos, including Northline Flowzone¡¯s Northgate Gang and Ah Fan.

    Liu Xiaoyun lifted her longsword as a giant gash opened up across her arm. Fresh blood dripped down the hilt and onto the ground. There was also a bloody wound on her forehead.

    Opposite her, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s four-lined battle force enveloped her body, and her eyes were filled with a purple light; she had even activated the Nightking¡¯s Body. ¡°You¡¯re not my opponent. On ount that we¡¯re fellow students, I¡¯ll spare your life. Scram!¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun gripped her hilt, but she did not back away.

    Some ways away, Yan Hua was in an even more miserable situation than Liu Xiaoyun; he was facing Zhanlong Daynight.

    Yan Hua had not been able to leave even a single injury on his opponent.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was being protected by multiple Sword Sect disciples, and she had already been escorted away from the battlefield. This battle was bound to be the Sword Sect¡¯splete and utter defeat, as the Daynight n¡¯s alliance with the Second Grade Hall amounted to a force that just the Sword Sect could not withstand.

    Since Kuang Wang felt grateful for Liu Xiaoyun showing mercy during their battle, he did not act at this time. Even so, just Zhanlong Daynight alone was enough to determine the oue of this battle, not to mention the addition of Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhuo Daynight, who had just stepped onto the battlefield.

    Zhuo Daynight had also been recruited, and she was participating in this contest on Pyrolyte. Her red-hilted longsword had already beheaded many opponents, and while within her domain, none of the Sword Sect disciples could hurt her.

    The battle soon ended, as the Daynight n did not want to start a blood feud with the Sword Sect. In addition to some deaths, Liu Xiaoyun, Yan Hua, and Y¨­u Ye''er had all been spared by Nightqueen Yanqing. She had given Liu Xiaoyun some moderate injuries in order to prevent her from participating in the¡¯s battles in the near future.

    The Daynight n disciples swept across the battlefield. Nightqueen Yanqing was holding a piece of star essence to restore her energy. She was also looking across the battlefield when her eyesnded on Zhuo Daynight. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes shed with a sharp light, as Lu Yin would not have been able to join the Council of Astral Academy if it were not for this woman, and the following series of events would not have urred either. This woman was from the Daynight n, but she seemed to support outsiders. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s hatred for Zhuo Daynight had even surpassed what she felt for Lu Yin.

    As she thought about things, Nightqueen Yanqing appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight and pped at her. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes went wide, and she responded with a sh of her sword. A shockwave swept out with a bang, and the ground sank from the powerful collision. Zhuo Daynight was overpowered by Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s enormous strength, and she felt an overwhelming strength oppress her as she spat out a mouthful of blood. Nightqueen Yanqing coldly spat out, ¡°Slut, I¡¯ll let you know who¡¯s your master.¡±

    Then, with the boost of strength she received from activating the Nightking¡¯s Body, she unleashed another burst of strength, acting even more ruthlessly than she had against Liu Xiaoyun in the recent battle.

    At that moment, a hand seized Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s arm. ¡°Woman, don¡¯t go overboard.¡±

    It was Zhanlong Daynight.

    Nightqueen Yanqing nced apprehensively at Zhanlong Daynight, snorted, released her hand, and then turned to leave.

    Zhuo Daynight copsed to the ground with one knee, panting heavily. Against Nightqueen Yanqing, she held no hope of victory at all.

    Zhanlong Daynight looked at Zhuo Daynight with some interest. ¡°I heard that your rtionship with Lu Yin isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight coldly replied, ¡°We have no rtionship.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you help him?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight put her sword away and walked off into the distance without looking at Zhanlong Daynight.

    He watched her, and his lips curled up. ¡°What an interesting woman. I like her.¡±

    Pyrolyte Mountain had exchanged masters once again, and now, it was once again under the control of the Daynight n with the assistance of the Second Grade Hall.

    The various powers all noted that, during the recent battles, all of the top elites were students of the Astral Combat Academy, such as Kuang Wang, Liu Xiaoyun, and Nightqueen Yanqing. Each Astral Combat Academy student that entered the scene was someone who could not be ignored.

    During this crucial period in the contest, many powersmunicated back to their bases that their disciples should be sent to the Astral Combat Academy. In particr, Astral-10 was the top choice for quite a few. All the students from that particr academy branch were not weak, and even those who hade from the Outerverse were the same, since they had at least attained the average strength of a Astral Combat Academy student. There was no need to even mention Xia Luo and Silver, as they boasted a strength that was at the same level as an Area Master¡¯s. And finally, there was Lu Yin, who was the strongest Limiteer in the universe.

    The Daynight n had not taken control of Pyrolyte Mountain for long when the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s Avery arrived. The Dire Barbarian n had allied with the ze Realm and the Ross Empire. Each alliance had be clear and defined at this point.

    At around the same time, Lu Yin finally returned to Frostwave Weave.

    This region of the universe had been the starting point of his cultivation, but it definitely would not be the end.

    A wide-eyed Hai Qiqi looked around. ¡°You were born in this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Frostwave Weave is huge. Don¡¯t bother looking around. I haven¡¯t been to this area either.¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t Frostwave Weave been unified by your Great Yu Empire?¡±

    ¡°The Starfall Sea belongs to the Sea King, but has he visited every ce there?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Hai Qiqi answered matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin was left speechless once again.

    On Pyrolyte, battles kept erupting everywhere. Wherever a pyrolyte mine was discovered, it was sure to be the location of an intense battle soon enough.

    Jared was escaping in a pathetic manner while Wen Qian''er and Xi Yue were chasing him.

    The tables had turned. Just as how Jared had previously snatched Xi Yue¡¯s pyrolyte mine before, she had now brought Wen Qian¡¯er with her for revenge. If Jared had not escaped quickly enough, then he felt that there was a chance he would have been killed.

    ¡°You guys just wait! My ze Realm will not let this go unanswered!¡± Jared roared. Every other disciple from the ze Realm had been eliminated, and he was all alone.

    Some distance behind him, Xi Yue was not to be outdone. ¡°You won¡¯t have the chance!¡±

    ¡°Bring it on. I want to taste that Karmic me Sword!¡± Wen Qian''er shouted.

    Jared was furious, but he ran away even quicker since he was afraid that the two of them might chase him down.

    In another area of Pyrolyte, Northgate Gang and the rest were having an argument. Powers from the smaller flowzones were different from the bigger ones; those like the Daynight n would at most ally with one or two organizations while the parties from smaller flowzones did not have enough strength with just one or two of them. And so, they were forced to ally with seven, eight, or possibly even more than ten other organizations. As long as there were multiple organizations involved, there would naturally be disagreements.

    Northgate Gang wanted to be the dominant voice in his party, but he was pushed aside by others as soon as he spoke. More than ten people were bickering fiercely, as some wanted to snatch Pyrolyte Mountain while others wanted to seize other locations. There was no unity whatsoever in their alliance.

    Ah Fan looked on indifferently, as he had been forced toe here. He had originally had no intention ofing to Pyrolyte, and he had only wanted to wait for Lu Yin at East San Dios to challenge him again. He wanted to see if he still was unable to withstand a second attack.

    He looked up, staring at the sky as spacecraft after spacecraft shot down from space like shooting stars. This sight had never changed, as none of the forces was willing to abandon the pyrolyte mines.

    Suddenly, Ah Fan¡¯s eyes trembled, and he looked off into the distance. ¡°Stop arguing. Pyrolyte Mountain is changing hands.¡±

    The crowd turned to look in the direction of the mountain since they were not too far away from it. They watched as a single spacecraft crashed towards the mountain.

    Someone was astonished. ¡°That¡¯s crazy! They¡¯re actuallynding on Pyrolyte Mountain! That person must have lost control of their spacecraft.¡±

    ¡°That person¡¯s screwed. Pyrolyte Mountain is where the top elites of the Daynight n and Divine Grade Hall have gathered. They were even able to defeat the Sword Sect! As soon as that poor bastard leaves the ship, they¡¯ll end up doubting their entire life.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not. It could be someone from the Daynight n or the Beast Tamers Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°Probably not. Any of their reinforcements would arrive in waves.¡±

    Northgate Gang frowned, and he looked at Ah Fan unhappily. ¡°Don¡¯t cause such a fuss. It¡¯s just a spacecraft going out of control.¡±

    Ah Fan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Was that really the case? There was indeed a strong possibility of that being the case, but what if that wasn¡¯t the case? If someone was about to challenge Pyrolyte Mountain by themselves, who could it be? Lu Yin? It shouldn¡¯t be him since he had only recently left the Starfall Sea and did not have the means to arrive so quickly. Mu Rong and Ling Que were the same, and aside from them, there was no one else who would attempt such a thing. Perhaps it truly was a case of the spacecraft losing control!

    There were many other people aside from Ah Fan who had noticed the solitary spacecraft headed straight towards Pyrolyte Mountain, and many other groups around Pyrolyte Mountain were all watching it. They had all guessed that this was either a spacecraft that had lost control or contained someone from the Daynight n or the Beast Tamers Flowzone. Otherwise, no one would be foolish enough to try to fight the forces at Pyrolyte Mountain by themselves.

    But the truth was far different from what the crowd¡¯s guesses. The spacecraft was destroyed by a powerful gust of visible wind that caused it to explode. The gale originated from the top of Pyrolyte Mountain, as the Daynight n hadunched an ambush attack on the descending spacecraft. In the next moment, there was a gleam from a sword streaking across thend that shook the ground as it swept out across the sky. The de released an endless sword qi that caused all the onlookers¡¯ hearts to tremble. In that moment, everyone felt numb, as if they hade face to face with their innermost fear.

    The spatial crack extended into the sky. It looked like an astral beast had opened its ferocious mouth and was attempting to devour Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes instantly shrank when she saw this sight. ¡°The thirteen Swords! It¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu!¡±

    The endless sword qi swept across all of Pyrolyte Mountain. Aside from the ces where they were actually extracting pyrolyte from the ground, everyone was overwhelmed by the sword qi attack. This was the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords that was executed in the form of a domain, each sword rivalling the strength of the First Sword.

    The Thirteen Swords had astounded the universe in the past, and now, it had stunned Pyrolyte.

 Chapter 483: The Ambition To Challenge The Strongest

    <h4>Chapter 483: The Ambition To Challenge The Strongest</h4>

    Zhanlong Daynight looked incredibly excited as he punched at the sky.

    Nightqueen Yanqing unleashed her full strength. Besides her Nightking¡¯s Body, she had also released her four-lined battle force to go against the boundless sword qi.

    Zhuo Daynight lifted her red sword and struck at the sky.

    Kuang Wang looked incredibly grim, and he didn¡¯t even dare to release his azure dragon. It was way toorge, and it would only end up as target practice if he let it out, which would mean that he would have to receive this attack on his own.

    Hui Chuan¡¯s monster snake was killed in an instant.

    Whether it was the members of the Daynight n or the Second Grade Hall, everybody was forced to receive Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack. With just one move, he¡¯d already taken out most of the powerful opponents on Pyrolyte Mountain. This was Liu Shaoqiu. This was the Thirteen Swords.

    Pyrolyte Mountain now held a lot more corpses.

    Up high in the sky, Liu Shaoqiu calmly looked down. Right now, the only people who had survived his attack were either incredibly lucky ones or powerful in their own right.

    Far in the distance, away from Pyrolyte Mountain, Northgate Gang, Ah Fan, and the others werepletely stunned by the fact that somebody was actually attempting to take over Pyrolyte Mountain by themselves.

    Liu Shaoqiu, a person who¡¯d nearly been forgotten, had just stunned everyone with one move.

    During the Astral Combat Tournament, Liu Shaoqiu had been one of the few participants who had been favored to be the champion. He¡¯d managed to defeat Realm Master Kuang Wang with one move. And whenever he attacked, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Nightqueen Yanqing, and all the other Realm Masters had been forced to be serious. However, he¡¯d lost to Lu Yin. Many believed that his defeat was due to Lu Yin¡¯s luck since Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword had broken at a critical moment, causing him to hesitate. That pause had given Lu Yin a chance. Otherwise, nobody would have known who the victor would have been.

    At that moment, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s name had spread across the universe. Even though he¡¯d lost, that battle had been likened to the finals of past Astral Combat Tournaments. Liu Shaoqiu wasn¡¯t believed to actually be any weaker than Lu Yin.

    However, during the Tournament of the Strongest, Liu Shaoqiu had lost to Yun, that woman from the Technocracy, which had caused his poprity to die down. A lot of people had gradually forgotten about him while Lu Yin, Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Ye Xingchen became the four unrivalled Limiteers. Throughout the starry universe, nobody remembered Liu Shaoqiu anymore, the genius from the Sword Sect who had once made a deal with Lu Yin to challenge the Top 100 Rankings together.

    At this moment, Liu Shaoqiu had once again demonstrated just how capable he was. Other than those select others, who else could take out the entirety of Pyrolyte Mountain¡¯s defenses alone? Only Liu Shaoqiu could.

    At the base of the mountain, Kuang Wang panted hard and nced at his arm as blood flowed down off of it, dripping from his fingers. He could only smile wryly. The difference between him and Liu Shaoqiu was just too vast. He¡¯d thought that the difference in power between them had decreased, but on the contrary, it had only grownrger. He even found it difficult to defend against two blows from Liu Shaoqiu now.

    Hui Chuan had nearly died. Although he was still technically alive, he had been grievously injured. He wouldn¡¯t be able to fight for a while.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s face was pale. She had also defended against quite a few attacks and had nearly sumbed to them. Liu Shaoqiu was much stronger than the past, and his sword was even sharper than before. She had believed that, after training at the Mirror of rity within the Lifeseek Realm, she had be much stronger, but evidently, Liu Shaoqiu had made even further strides in his cultivation.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s red sword was cracked, and she tightly clenched onto the hilt as blood from her right leg stained her pants and dripped down into the ground. She swayed a few times before, finally unable to take it anymore, copsing. She forced herself to take three Shamrock Enterprises pills as she stared up at the sky. This was the Thirteen Swords, and it was incredibly powerful.

    Right now, there was only one person on the mountain who had received Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword without taking damage: Zhanlong Daynight.

    High in the sky, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s gaze was fixed on just that one person. Zhanlong Daynight was clearly very powerful.

    Zhanlong Daynight grinned. ¡°Nice! I expected nothing less from the Thirteen Swords. You¡¯ve won, so you can take over the mountain.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was enraged. ¡°Don¡¯t make such decisions on your own, Zhanlong Daynight!¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight didn¡¯t even give her a second look. He leaped away from Nightqueen Yanqing with tightly clenched fists as he punched out. Liu Shaoqiu looked incredibly stern, and the area around Zhanlong Daynight distorted as the spatial crack spread out even further. He quickly unsheathed his sword, and upon seeing that Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s fist was closing in on him, he aimed his weapon down. This was the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. The sword qi in it surpassed what he had released in the Second Sword, and this attack represented all theprehension he had gathered over the course of his cultivation.

    Each of the Thirteen Swords had something unique about them. It wasn¡¯t that the Second Sword would always be more powerful than the First, as thergest difference between the First and Second Sword was the area that the attacks covered. In order to truly disy one¡¯s strength, the First Sword was a better choice.

    A sword shed against a fist, and everyone saw the void tremble slightly in the sky above them. It almost looked like a small winding stream. The initially small ripple soon transformed into a violent wind that contained a terrifyingly powerful pressure that crushed down upon Pyrolyte Mountain and the surrounding area.

    Northgate Gang and the others were shocked. Wa- was this still a battle between Limiteers? Impossible! Even a fight between Cruisers wouldn¡¯t be this scary!

    Aftering to such a conclusion, Ah Fan shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The rest of the group were also in a rush to escape. A strong wind blew across the ground, and even the ground was torn asunder.

    Things were even worse at the bottom of Pyrolyte Mountain. Those from the Daynight n and the Second Grade Hall who had been lucky enough to survive the previous attack were now sent flying along with Zhuo Daynight, Hui Chuan, and the others. Only Kuang Wang and Nightqueen Yanqing were able to remain standing in ce despite the strong wind.

    With a giant boom, another gigantic spatial crack spread across the sky, and a cultivator from the Second Grade Hall had the bad luck to be swallowed by it. About a third of his body vanished.

    A portion of Pyrolyte Mountain copsed, and the entire geological formation was forced down slightly.

    Thankfully, Pyrolyte Mountain itself acted as a dampening device. Otherwise, this vigorous battle very well could have caused all the pyrolyte ore within it to explode. If that happened, then the survival of everyone in the general area would be left up to fate alone.

    Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight retreated at the same time. They werepletely on par with each other.

    Zhanlong Daynight looked excited but relieved at the same time. He had believed himself to be all-powerful, but these incredible geniuses kept popping out one after another. Thankfully, his time while being incarcerated in the Reverent King¡¯s estate on the Shenwu Continent had given him the opportunity to break through in the Daynight Restoration Technique, or else he¡¯d have fallen behind these geniuses.

    He had been nning on going after Lu Yin and having another duel with him, but to his surprise, Lu Yin had defeated Mu Rong and been crowned as the most powerful Limiteer. While Zhanlong Daynight was confident in himself, he was still likely a bit weaker than Lu Yin. Hence, he had obeyed the orders from his n and headed to Pyrolyte. He was nning on defeating various powerhouses in this contest for pyrolyte ore, experiencing another breakthrough in the Daynight Restoration Technique, and then challenging Lu Yin again after that.

    Zhanlong Daynight was going to im the title of the strongest Limiteer for himself before bing an Explorer. Then, he would take his ce on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Lu Yin was like a huge mountain pressing down upon everyone else within the same realm, making it hard for them to breathe. It wasn¡¯t just Zhanlong Daynight; Liu Shaoqiu, Nightqueen Yanqing, Han Chong, Ling Que, Mu Rong, and everyone else was currently stuck beneath him. Every Limiteer wanted to defeat Lu Yin. They were currently on another battlefield, but the winner would still just be someone who was weaker than Lu Yin. The moment that person was decided, they would have to challenge Lu Yin while carrying the weight of everybody¡¯s expectations on their shoulders.

    Although nobody had actually said this, it was something that everybody instinctively knew. Only the final person to remain standing on this battlefield would have the right to challenge the strongest Limiteer.

    While Lu Yin hadn¡¯t appeared on Pyrolyte, his existence alone was a part of the reason why these people were fighting. For young people like them, the value of pyrolyte ore wasn¡¯t nearly as motivating as the chance to challenge Lu Yin. They were from different generations, and the way they thought was obviously different.

    For people like Nightqueen Qiuyu, the pyrolyte ore was the most important thing on this. But for the youths fighting on the frontlines, the allure of being crowned as the strongest Limiteer was something beyond imagination.

    The sky became the main battlefield, and rampant shockwaves ruthlessly swept across the region. Spatial cracks fell down like little raindrops.

    The void on Pyrolyte was quite stable, and it was much stronger than most other ces in the universe. But even so, for Zhanlong Daynight and Liu Shaoqiu, this wasn¡¯t much different than a battle in the trial zones. Their battle was incredibly rming, and it came as quite a surprise to therge organizations hovering above Pyrolyte. This was basically a battle between two of the strongest Limiteers.

    This was a duel between the strongest youths from the Sword Sect and the Daynight n, and it represented a battle that would decide who would gain control of Pyrolyte Mountain.

    The Daynight n could not lose. If they did, their reputation would suffer enormously. Liu Shaoqiu had challenged the entirety of the Daynight n¡¯s Limiteers on his own, which was already humiliating. Nightqueen Qiuyu was watching the battle on Pyrolyte very closely.

    The Sword Sect could not lose either. As the one in control of First Flowzone, they had been waiting for a chance to undermine the Daynight n, and this was their moment to strike.

    It was a coincidence that both sides had people among the Ten Arbiters. Right now, this was a battle that would decide who had the stronger Limiteer.

    A huge explosion caused Northgate Gang and the others to retreat even further as they stared into the distance, terrified. They were afraid that the battle would cause the buried pyrolyte ore to explode, which would be a true disaster.

    The duelsted for more than a dozen exchanges, and Zhanlong Daynight had a delighted expression. Veins popped out from his body, and at some point, he¡¯d received a huge cut from his back to his chest. He¡¯d been injured.

    On the other hand, Liu Shaoqiu looked glum. He¡¯d taken one attack from Zhanlong Daynight, and the drip of blood on the corner of his lips was incredibly eye-catching.

    The two were evenly matched. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s skills were unrivaled and could hurt Zhanlong Daynight, but thetter¡¯s Restoration Technique allowed Zhanlong Daynight to recover at an abnormal rate. It didn¡¯t take long for the horrible sh on his body to heal and disappear entirely.

    Liu Shaoqiu looked astonished when he saw that; this was his first time fighting such a monster.

    Zhanlong Daynight licked his lips. ¡°The Thirteen Swords. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu sighed. He raised his sword and closed his eyes. At this moment, the sky changed, and everything fell silent. Right after that, sword qi wildly surged forth and covered the entire sky. It was a forcefield. Liu Shaoqiu had unleashed the Fourth Sword. Against a true powerhouse from the Daynight n, the experience from countless years had taught the Sword Sect that the Third Sword was useless; only the Fourth Sword would be effective.

    Zhanlong Daynight grew serious. A domain, when powerful enough, would condense into a forcefield that could alter the very environment. This particr forcefield had turned the surrounding area into a world of swords. This was the Fourth Sword, and it lived up to its status as one of the Thirteen Swords. This attack gave Zhanlong Daynight a sense of danger, but that only made him more excited.

    The Daynight Restoration Technique zed to life at full power on Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s body, causing strange ripples to form on his skin, making it seem as if his body was literally pulsing with life. His insane regeneration rate could almost be seen as his muscles bulged and a strong aura forced the sword qi away from his body. The ground within a thousand meters of him started cracking before being reduced to powder.

    Everybody anxiously watched the battle. This should be the final exchange. The two had skipped past the testing phase of the battle and directly entered the actual fight.

    Far in the distance, Ah Fan had a grim expression. Although he had already run quite far away, it still didn¡¯t feel like he was far enough. A battle between two Limiteer powerhouses could affect a huge region, and if given enough time, they could destroy an entire. Even if he ran so far away that he could no longer see these two, he still wouldn¡¯t feel safe.

    Northgate Gang felt the same, and he kept cursing to himself. The fight between these two bastards was even more ridiculous than the one with Northgate Lie. Northgate Lie was an expert on the Top 100 Rankings and was even an Explorer. However, he wasn¡¯t nearly as powerful as these two Limiteers. They were absolute freaks.

    It wasn¡¯t just the two of them. Even further away, there were quite a few people who could also tell that they were still in danger. Powder continuously fell from the sky as a gigantic fissure snaked across the ground. Far below, it was possible to see boiling hot magma, the heat was intense enough to warp the void. Just the sight alone was frightening.

    There was a bang, and two figures crashed into each other like colliding meteorites, sending out the most powerful shockwave yet. It peeled away multipleyers of the ground underneath them. Fortunately, the two were fighting above Pyrolyte Mountain, so the force was spread out and did not directly strike the mountain. Otherwise, the force definitely would have caused the pyrolyte ore within the mountain to explode, resulting in a huge disaster.

 Chapter 484: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 484: Arrival</h4>

    Nightqueen Yanqing and Kuang Wang weren¡¯t able to block the shockwave this time, and they were forced into a continuous retreat. No one could tell if it was deliberate, but this time, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack also affected Nightqueen Yanqing; his attack had managed tond on both Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Kuang Wang had been slightly off to the side, so he had not been included in the area.

    The ground within the battlefield¡¯s range kept sinking, and the bodies of the cultivators who had previously died on Pyrolyte Mountain were reduced to dust.

    Zhuo Daynight was very smart, and she had not retreated very far. Due to the state of her body, she was incapable of retreating, so instead, she decided to dive deep underground without looking back. The moment she felt the powerful force sweep over her, she had already charged into the magma, hiding deep underground.

    She kept going until she could no longer feel any pressure from the battle on the surface.

    Violent winds blew about, and the scenery around Pyrolyte Mountain changed once again. The ground had sunk down by dozens of meters for miles around the mountain, making the mountain appear even taller than before. High in the sky, Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight faced each other, each of them huffing and puffing as they eyed the other.

    While Zhanlong Daynight showed no external signs of injuries, he was obviously much weaker than before. The luster that had previously covered his body and represented his regenerative abilities had vanished; he¡¯d overdrawn his Daynight Restoration Technique.

    This was different from when Lu Yin had defeated him on Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin had been markedly stronger than him, and had defeated Zhanlong Daynight bynding a blow that the Daynight Restoration Technique could not handle. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword had directly shed against the Daynight Restoration Technique, so this battle was more about who would fall from exhaustion first.

    A victor had yet to be determined, but there was already someone in trouble: Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword had covered arge area. He had intentionally attacked Nightqueen Yanqing alongside, using her as a sacrifice for his attacks. Her Nightking¡¯s Body had been severely damaged, and she had copsed onto the ground, gravely injured.

    Zhanlong Daynight clenched his fists and red at Liu Shaoqiu. He was confident that he could still win, since even though he had overdrawn the Daynight Restoration Technique, he would return to peak condition very soon. Everything would be fine as long as he managed to recover before Liu Shaoqiu used the Fourth Sword again. That attack definitely was not one that could be easily used, or else Liu Shaoqiu would be invincible.

    Liu Shaoqiu clenched the hilt of his sword. The regenerative abilities of his opponent were monstrous, and he was starting to develop a headache because of it. It was unthinkable that the Fourth Sword hadn¡¯t defeated this person. Did Liu Shaoqiu have to risk it all and attempt to use the Fifth Sword? He had only vaguelyprehended the Fifth Sword, and he hadn¡¯t yet fully mastered it. However, in the worst-case scenario, he would have no choice but to try it out.

    All of a sudden, Zhanlong Daynight red at Nightqueen Yanqing. There was a whole crowd rushing towards her led by the Sword Sect¡¯s Yan Hua. They were clearly targeting her.

    During the previous battle between the Daynight n and the Sword Sect, Yan Hua¡¯s opponent had been Zhanlong Daynight. The Daynight n member hadn¡¯t gone all out, and Yan Hua had merely suffered light injuries that were much less severe than Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s. This was why he was currently still capable of attacking, and he had taken advantage of this to head straight for Nightqueen Yanqing, his bloodlust clear as day.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s expression changed. He had no idea if Yan Hua and the others would actually kill her, and while he detested the woman, he couldn¡¯t let her die right in front of him. Otherwise, the Nightking n definitely would not let him off the hook. There was no way Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters would let such a thing slide.

    With no other choice, Zhanlong Daynight was forced to give up on his battle with Liu Shaoqiu, fleeing after grabbing Nightqueen Yanqing. When faced with Liu Shaoqiu and the other experts of the Sword Sect, and after the Daynight n and the Second Grade Hall had suffered grievous casualties, there was nothing that Zhanlong Daynight could do on his own.

    Yan Hua and the rest stood on the barrennd and watched as Zhanlong Daynight fled with Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Liu Shaoqiu slowly descended, looking displeased with the results. He hadn¡¯t been able to actually defeat Zhanlong Daynight. That person¡¯s regenerative abilities were far too tenacious, and it was impossible to determine who would have been victorious in their battle until the very end.

    ¡°Shaoqiu.¡± Yan Hua walked over and looked him up and down. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu shook his head. ¡°How is she doing?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoyun gathered all the pyrolyte ore that we¡¯ve collected and has returned to space. Her injuries are more serious, so she¡¯ll need to stay out of the fight for now and recover,¡± Yan Hua answered.

    Not far behind him, an inquisitive pair of eyes looked at Liu Shaoqiu, appearing shocked. It was Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes swept past the disciples from the Sword Sect and eventuallynded on the young girl. His attention on her couldn¡¯t be helped. Although the disciples from the Sword Sect were all charismatic, Y¨­u Ye''er was different.

    The Sword Sect had an arranged marriage agreement with the Y¨­u family, and the couple had been designated to be Liu Shaoqiu and Y¨­u Ye''er. However, this was the first time the two had met, and Liu Shaoqiu had no idea what his betrothed looked like. Confused, he asked, ¡°Why¡¯s there a kid here?¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er knitted her brows together, obviously irritated by his question. She tore off her cloak and yelled back, ¡°You¡¯re the kid! I¡¯m Y¨­u Ye''er, you hear me?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu looked at Yan Hua, his eyes revealing his confusion.

    Yan Hua attempted to exin, saying, ¡°Have you forgotten about your arranged marriage with the Y¨­u family?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes lit up as he continued to look at Y¨­u Ye''er. He remembered now. The moment he had inherited the Thirteen Swords, the Sword Sect had arranged for his wedding with someone. He had heard that he was engaged to the princess of the Y¨­u family, but¡­ wasn¡¯t she rather young?

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with that look! What are you trying to say? Are you looking down on me?¡± The girl nted her hands on her hips and red at Liu Shaoqiu in dissatisfaction.

    In front of others, Y¨­u Ye''er would be quite polite. However, she wouldn¡¯t be courteous to Liu Shaoqiu. She couldn¡¯t help herself as she didn¡¯t want to marry him, so she was trying to give him a bad impression so that he would cancel the wedding.

    Unfortunately, she¡¯d overthought the entire situation. Aside from the Thirteen Swords and Lu Yin, nothing else upied Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s brain. He didn¡¯t even try to talk to her, as he simply turned to face Pyrolyte Mountain. ¡°Let¡¯s start mining pyrolyte. From now on, all of this belongs to the Sword Sect.¡±

    Yan Hua waved his hand, and the disciples from the Sword Sect immediately took out their devices and started collecting pyrolyte.

    Y¨­u Ye''er gritted her teeth in frustration. She had a tense expression while she wondered what she had to do to get Liu Shaoqiu to cancel the wedding. She really didn¡¯t want to be married away to the Sword Sect. The Y¨­u Secret Art had to stay within the n and could not be handed to an outsider, so the moment she married Liu Shaoqiu, the Secret Art would be handed over to someone else. She did not want to lose the technique! She still wanted to travel to the Neoverse and try her luck there; she didn¡¯t want to be someone¡¯s wife and spend the rest of her life raising children.

    How many girls were there in the Top 100 Rankings, and how many of the Ten Arbiters were female? That was the level that she was aiming for. She was incredibly eager to fight, and she wanted her name to spread across the universe, just like that woman from the Sword Sect.

    The Daynight n had lost the battle for Pyrolyte Mountain, and Liu Shaoqiu had managed to conquer the mountain on his own. The Thirteen Swords had defeated thebined efforts of the Daynight n and Second Grade Hall. The results of this battle naturally caused a hugemotion.

    The Thirteen Swords had once again proven its power, and many felt a chill crawl down their spines.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was absolutely fuming, but there was nothing that she could do about the situation. She could tell that Zhanlong Daynight hadn¡¯t lost the fight with Liu Shaoqiu, but due to Nightqueen Yanqing, he had been forced to give up the mountain. He could not be med for his actions. In fact, if anyone could be said to be at fault, it would be Yanqing for being too weak, or rather, too benevolent. If she had killed everyone from the Sword Sect during the previous battle, the situation would have ended very differently.

    Above the, in the Sword Sect¡¯s spacecraft, Liu Xiaoyun looked away and sighed.

    Far away from the mountain, Northgate Gang and the rest had no inkling as to the results of the battle for Pyrolyte Mountain, but they didn¡¯t even dare to check since it was a battlefield that they had no right to participate in.

    The Sword Sect did not bother chasing after Kuang Wang, Zhuo Daynight, and the few other cultivators who had survived. The defeated had been allowed to leave in peace.

    Zhuo Daynight had suffered serious injuries, and she should have returned to space to recover, but she hadn¡¯t. She knew that, the moment she returned to her n, she would not receive aid and treatment, but rather reprimands and punishment.

    Nightking Yuanjing may look kind, but he was actually extremely ruthless and cared nothing for Zhuo¡¯s survival. She would rather treat her injuries in a hidden area of the, or¡­ wait to die. Perhaps death was a good option. Unfortunately, that would also mean that she would not be able to undo the Sealed Cage Technique and save them.

    While dragging her injured body forward, she left bloodstains everywhere she went. She finallyid down in a cave surrounded only by a deste and witheredndscape. She took out some of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ most potent drugs from her cosmic ring and began treating herself.

    Soon enough, she lost consciousness due to blood loss.

    Spacecraft kept appearing in the sky, and now, there were dozens descending at a time.

    Even though the Sword Sect had gained control of Pyrolyte Mountain, they had suffered arge number of casualties during the previous battle with the Daynight n, so there were still Limiteers being sent to the.

    Some days after these events took ce, Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star.

    Hai Qiqi had a surprised expression when she saw the three rings surrounding the. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that a like this existed. Aren¡¯t you worried that those continents might copse?¡±

    Lu Yin ignored her and studied his gadget with a serious look. The power level on it kept ticking up until it reached the maximum reading of 200,000. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was not even trying to conceal his strength, and he had managed to take Zenyu Star hostage all on his own.

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°There¡¯s someone powerful here.¡±

    Lu Yin put his gadget down and nced at Zenyu Star¡¯s space station. Right now, there was nobody there. and there were no iing spacecraft either. Everybody had hidden themselves. Zenyu Star was like a caged bird currently, and there was nobody on the streets. Everybody could sense how much power <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika held over their lives.

    After <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika arrived, he had sealed off the entire. Everyone was only allowed to stay within their homes, and no one was permitted to leave. Any iing spacecraft was not allowed to approach, and nobody from Zenyu Star was able to leave. He was behaving like an absolute tyrant.

    The rules even applied to Huo Qingshan and the others.

    Thankfully, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had his own reservations and had not unleashed a massacre, which was a huge relief to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin really wanted to take the Enlighter out, but he had no way to do so. Even with the upgraded Money Bombs, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt an Enlighter. Also, his universal armor wouldn¡¯t be able to fend off an Enlighter¡¯s attacks. When faced with such a powerful person, Lu Yin was just like Huo Qingshan: there was absolutely nothing that he could do.

    The moment that Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft entered the space station, an icy glint appeared in <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s eyes as he stood at the edge of a cliff that overlooked the ocean. A hint of bloodlust shed before disappearing, but it was soon reced by fear. He wanted to take care of what he knew would be a huge problem, but Lu Yin¡¯s identity as the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw was something that he had to take into ount. With this identity, even monsters like those from the Divine Grade Hall who had a battle power of several hundreds of thousands would not dare to touch Lu Yin, let alone <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    It wasn¡¯t only <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika who reacted. The moment Lu Yinnded, Huo Qingshan and others all realized that he had arrived. They stood up, tore through the void, and vanished.

    After the spacecraftnded, Lu Yin walked out with Hai Qiqi and folded the spacecraft up before cing it into his cosmic ring. Not too far away, Huo Qingshan, Ban Jiu, and quite a few Explorers stood by quietly.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, they bowed in unison and said, ¡°Greetings to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers as she looked at them before ncing back at Lu Yin.

    The man in question nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the imperial pce.¡±

    Huo Qingshan and everyone stepped aside, and Lu Yin grabbed Hai Qiqi and used sh to vanish, only leaving behind arge and expanding spatial tear.

    Ban Jiu was shocked. The amount of strength that Lu Yin had just disyed was simply ridiculous. Lu Yin was merely a Limiteer, but Ban Jiu had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t be able to win, even though he was a Cruiser.

    Ban Jiu wasn¡¯t alone in his shock. The gathered Explorers were stunned to see just how powerful the Royal Regent had be. Even within the entire Great Yu Empire, there were few people who could contend with the regent.

    Huo Qingshan was the most shocked, especially because even he could feel a slight sense of dangering from Lu Yin. This was hisbat intuition born from years of experience. Was the Royal Regent really able to threaten him already? That shouldn¡¯t be possible!

 Chapter 485: Shameless

    <h4>Chapter 485: Shameless</h4>

    Lu Yin dragged Hai Qiqi along with him as he moved at the fastest speed he was capable of while being restricted by three grains of Fatesand. It didn¡¯t take them long to arrive at the pce, and the trip there had not caused Hai Qiqi any difort at all. Upon arriving, she excitedly looked about the pce. ¡°So this is the paradise of the powerful? That¡¯s interesting. Oh, what a pretty mural!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Hai Qiqi and seriously said, ¡°Don¡¯t wander about. I have something to take care of right now. I¡¯lle look for you as soon as I¡¯m done.¡±

    Hai Qiqi waved a hand. ¡°Go on, go on. Go and do your stuff.¡±

    He wondered what the Sea King had told Hai Qiqi, as it truly seemed that she wasn¡¯t nning on running away from him.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t worried about the girl since the Sea King must have provided her with some life saving treasures that far exceeded his imagination. There was no one in the Outerverse who was capable of harming her.

    Lu Yin gave her a token that would allow Hai Qiqi to go wherever she wished. He then headed to the main hall, where Huo Qingshan, Lord Garope, and the other cab ministers had already gathered.

    In actuality, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t very familiar with the cab ministers. Back then, he had appointed the five of them to manage the empire since he had to rush off to San Dios as quickly as possible. However, he had also asked Huo Qingshan, Ban Jiu, and Liuying Zishan to keep him updated on the empire¡¯s situation.

    Of the five cab ministers, the only one that Lu Yin was familiar with was Lord Garope.

    If the Great Yu Empire was fully under Lu Yin¡¯s control, then he would absolutely change out the cab ministers. He might also need to make some changes to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, but it was far too early for him to be thinking about making such personnel changes. The Great Yu Empire still belonged to the Yushans, and its true ruler was Wendy Yushan.

    ¡°I know everything about the recent happenings in the empire.¡± Lu Yin still sat below the throne, not attempting to overstep his position. His eyes swept over the people who had gathered in the main hall. ¡°I know all about the restrictions ced on our economy, our enemies from the Innerverse, and even about that shameless Enlighter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s words shocked the people around him, especially the words ¡°that shameless Enlighter.¡± The cab ministers were especially stunned, and some of them immediately tried to hush him. ¡°My Lord, please be careful when you speak. We cannot insult an Enlighter!¡±

    ¡°My Lord, Enlighter powerhouses are extremely important to the universe. Please be careful when you speak.¡±

    ¡­

    More than ten people immediately started defending <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, obviously knowing that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had to be listening in nearby. For an Enlighter, even if they didn¡¯t have a domain, they could still easily observe everything happening on a just through their star energy. No one would be able to detect them in any way.

    Only Huo Qingshan and a few others remained calm throughout themotion.

    Lu Yin casually lounged about. ¡°Isn¡¯t an Enlighter who uses the lives of billions of people just to threaten a Limiteer like me a shameless person?¡±

    Everyone present was stunned, and some of them almost copsed out of fear.

    ¡°Young one, don¡¯t be too rude.¡± A loud voice covered all of Zenyu Star, and it even caused the surrounding rings to tremble.

    Everyone felt like they were just a single moment away from death, and a sense of desperation overcame them.

    Hai Qiqi had been happily looking at the murals and was shocked when she heard the voice. ¡°Annoying!¡±

    Lu Yin stood up, and his face turned to a steely expression. ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika,e out! Do all Enlighters enjoy sneaking around?¡±

    Everyone in the hall was surprised; where did Lu Yin find the confidence to insult an Enlighter?

    There was not a single Enlighter in the entirety of Frostwave Weave. Such a person was a true powerhouse!

    Even Huo Qingshan and the others were astonished at this moment.

    But Lu Yin wasn¡¯t scared in the slightest. This person was just an Enlighter, and he had previously negotiated with Northgate Taisui whose power level was greater than 400,000, so he wasn¡¯t ruffled by a mere Enlighter. Even if <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika went crazy and actually tried to kill him, Mister Mu would definitely be able to protect Lu Yin. He would never do or say anything that he wasn¡¯t confident about. Besides, Hai Qiqi¡¯s presence made him feel even more secure.

    To the surprise of everyone present, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika did not show himself. Instead, Zenyu Star started shaking even more vigorously. A few ministers begged Lu Yin to apologize, as they were truly afraid of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s wrath.

    However, Lu Yin remained calm despite everything.

    After a while, Zenyu Star stopped shaking, and everything returned to normal.

    Many people copsed to the ground, feeling like they had just survived through the apocalypse.

    Lu Yin smirked; <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was quite smart, and he had definitely noticed that Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was from the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Thus, there was no way he would dare to show up since he couldn¡¯t attack Lu Yin. Revealing himself would only humiliate himself.

    Lu Yin leisurely took a seat, and his stern gaze swept across the hall. He had taken note of the ministers who had asked him to apologize, as well as those who had copsed in fear. He would rece these people as soon as he found suitable candidates; these people didn¡¯t have the right to be in the same room as him.

    Garope had been surprisingly brave and had actually remained calm throughout the whole ordeal. He was also the first person to call Lu Yin out on using his gadget during a morning meeting. This old man kept surprising Lu Yin.

    ¡°My lord, the empire¡¯s economy has been embargoed, and we are unable to support the war effort. Does my lord have any suggestions?¡± Gavin, the finance minister, respectfully asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this after that shameless <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika leaves.¡±

    Many of the ministers were stunned, and a few of them nearly copsed for a second time.

    Garope was about to walk forward to say something, but he was stopped by a minister standing behind him. The ministers didn¡¯t want Garope to say anything since they were worried that Lu Yin would insult <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika yet again.

    Lu Yin smirked and looked at everyone in front of him. ¡°Fine, you all can leave. We will put the morning meetings on hold for now, only resuming after that shameless <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika leaves.¡±

    The ministers then all fled from the main hall.

    Lu Yin asked Huo Qingshan and Ban Jiu to stay behind. Lu Yin ordered Huo Qingshan to keep Zenyu Star stable and also asked the man to order a few ministers to have some people calm the citizens. As for Ban Jiu, Lu Yin had originally intended to ask him to take a look at the advanced blueprints he had obtained from his die¡¯s Pilfer, but he didn¡¯t want to pass anything over at this moment since he couldn¡¯t be certain that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika wouldn¡¯t suddenly snatch it from Ban Jiu.

    Many powerhouses were also experts in research, and if <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika could understand the blueprint, then it would end up as a huge loss for Lu Yin, though he actually didn¡¯t know whether these blueprints were actually worth anything or not.

    Ban Jiu stood there waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    Lu Yin coughed awkwardly. ¡°You can leave for now. I¡¯ll look for you after I¡¯ve considered some things.¡±

    Ban Jiu was confused, but he left the main hall nheless.

    After everyone left, the space in front of Lu Yin warped, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika stepped out.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. ¡°Old man, you¡¯ve finally shown yourself.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika coldly red at Lu Yin. ¡°Young one, don¡¯t be too arrogant. The universe is much scarier than what you think it is. Don¡¯t believe that you can do whatever you want just because you have the Sea King¡¯s protection.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned grim. ¡°You as well, don¡¯t think that you can do whatever you want just because you¡¯re an Enlighter.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthikaughed. ¡°It¡¯s been years since a Limiteer has spoken to me in such a brazen manner.¡± He stared straight at Lu Yin. ¡°I will let this matter slide due to the Sea King, but bing the Sea King¡¯s son-inw is not such an easy feat. If you don¡¯t manage to seed, I will definitely make you regret your actions this day.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I might be young, but I never regret my actions, especially towards a shameless person like you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika sneered. ¡°If you weren¡¯t under the Sea King¡¯s protection, I would kill you with a snap of the finger since you¡¯ve angered me, and no one would me me for such a thing. This is the power of an Enlighter! Your many titles are worthless in the eyes of an Enlighter, so you better pray that you don¡¯t anger me any further. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make you regret your entire life.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother continuing to bicker with the man since he was a little worried that the old man would go crazy and kill everyone on Zenyu Star. ¡°The reason why you¡¯re here is very simple, but don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t go to Pyrolyte.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika moved to leave.

    ¡°But even if I don¡¯t go, your group still won¡¯t be able to get any pyrolyte ore. Don¡¯t forget about my peers. I¡¯ll just wait for a good show,¡± Lu Yin smugly called out.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika snorted and disappeared. He wasn¡¯t nning on speaking to Lu Yin, as he was just a kid who would be easily killed off if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was being protected by the Sea King. However, Lu Yin¡¯s words did concern the old man a bit, and he could only hope that none of the other unparalleled Limiteers would show up.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t making a random prediction. It was a fact that Mu Rong and the others all had impressive reputations, and there was no way they hadn¡¯t been invited to Pyrolyte. It was possible that they were already headed there.

    A few moments after <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika left the imperial pce in the Great Yu Empre, in the faraway Astral Wilderness, Nightqueen Qiuyu looked at a cultivator from the Daynight n who was kneeling in front of her. ¡°What did you just say? Repeat yourself!¡±

    The cultivator hesitantly answered, ¡°ording to our information, Mu Rong has been invited by the Sword Sect and is on his way to Pyrolyte. Ling Que has simrly been invited by the Wen family and is less than five days away.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s eyes narrowed. These two people were normally just young cultivators whom she wouldn¡¯t even bat an eye at. However, ever since the contest on Pyrolyte had broken out, an increasing number of Limiteers had gained incredible reputations, and Mu Rong and Ling Que were the top two in that category. The two of them boasted even greater reputations than Zhanlong Daynight or Liu Shaoqiu.

    She had initially believed that the battle between Zhanlong Daynight and Liu Shaoqiu represented the peak battle between Limiteers, but if Mu Rong and Ling Que were headed here, then everything would change. The Wen family would rise up with Ling Que¡¯s help, and the Sword Sect would be way too powerful. Mu Rong¡¯s participation alone was enough to scare people away from the contest.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu clearly knew the consequences of them joining the conflict, and after some hesitation, she moved out of the Astral Wilderness and entered the Northcastle Weave. She then immediately contacted <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had just been about to contact Nightqueen Qiuyu to ask her about the situation on Pyrolyte, but Nightqueen Qiuyu had taken the initiative to contact him first.

    ¡°How¡¯s Pyrolyte?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika asked anxiously.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu coldly replied, ¡°Pyrolyte Mountain has been taken over by the Sword Sect.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika raised his brows. ¡°How can that be? There are so many powerhouses from the Daynight n. How could they all have been defeated by the Sword Sect?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. Has Lu Yin returned to the Great Yu Empire yet?¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu asked.

    He replied, ¡°He¡¯s here, and I¡¯ve already warned him that he shouldn¡¯t participate in the situation on Pyrolyte.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s been a change in ns. Leave Zenyu Star immediately and let Lu Yin go free. Make it very clear that we are not preventing him from joining the contest on Pyrolyte,¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu said.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was confused. ¡°Why?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu reluctantly answered, ¡°There¡¯s a few unparalleled Limiteers arriving, so we need him here.¡±

 Chapter 486: Lu Yinâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 486: Lu Yin¡¯s Decision</h4>

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was stumped when he heard Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s words, but then he recalled what Lu Yin had just said to him. Could it be that coincidental? ¡°Has Mu Rong arrived?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin mentioned that Mu Rong and Ling Que would definitely show up, and that we¡¯d have run out of luck when that happened.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light as even some random junior had dared to guess at the actions of an Enlighter. When had a Limiteer kid ever dared to be so brazen? However, it was time for them to make use of him since the Daynight n had no one else who could help them break out of their current situation. ¡°Just go with what I told you to say and bring him into the conflict.¡±

    ¡°But he may not necessarily be on our side. Him participating may not necessarily benefit us,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika replied.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu grew impatient. ¡°I know, but we have someone who will talk to him. You can just leave.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika thought about it before replying, ¡°Alright, I hope that your decision is the correct one.¡± He then disconnected from the call and looked towards the pce. His expression revealed his reluctance. It had only been a short while, but he, an Enlighter, was already being forced to go back on his word.

    However, everything they were doing was for the pyrolyte, so he had to endure it. He condensed his voice into a line of sound that directly entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears.

    Lu Yin had just returned to King Zishan¡¯s residence, intending to rest for a while and also ponder over his dilemma about how he should take care of Hai Qiqi. But then, he heard <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s voice. He was initially mildly startled, but then his lips curled up. ¡°It sounds like some incredible brat has arrived at that ce. Is it Mu Rong, Ling Que, or perhaps even both? It¡¯s interesting, but unfortunately, I¡¯m destined to not participate in this event.¡±

    He had long since weighed the pros and cons regarding his participation in this contest for pyrolyte. Even if he managed to seize a bit of pyrolyte ore, it would still ultimatelynd in someone else¡¯s hands. The best oue for Lu Yin was if itnded in the Sea King¡¯s hands, as he could then exchange it for the Sea King¡¯s promise to protect the Great Yu Empire. From that point forward, Lu Yin would bebeled as a part of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and he would no longer be allowed to participate in the disputes between the powers of the Innerverse and Outerverse. He would be forever restricted. This was not something that he wanted, and it would also cause him to offend the other powers, like the Daynight n, Sword Sect, and Wen Family. Thus, the gains did not make up for the losses.

    And that was what he considered to be the best oue, as the worst would be if he obtained nothing at all while still offending the various powers. He would be forced to plead for the Sea King¡¯s protection, which would still lead to him still being branded as someone under the Sea King. Additionally, he would be restricted¡ªpossibly for forever¡ªin the Starfall Sea. He would also be forbidden from ever participating in a dispute between the powers of the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    No, even that was not the worst oue. The worst would be if the Sea King also abandoned him, in which case he would bepletely alone.

    The Great Yu Empire had long been Lu Yin¡¯s greatest weakness, as Nightking Yuanjing had threatened the empire in order to slowly extract benefits from Lu Yin bit by bit. Lu Yin would not give anyone else a simr opportunity.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    His gadget sounded with a notification, and Lu Yin looked at it only to see that Nightking Yuanjing was actually calling him. He was left speechless. If this old man was contacting him right now, then the Daynight n was somehow connected to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. It was very likely that the Daynight n was revealing their intentions with this move. Could they be facing such a bad situation that they would actually ask him to act?

    He epted the call, and Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s image appeared on the screen in front of him. The old man looked solemnly at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, why didn¡¯t you look for Grandpa to help you with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika? Are you treating Grandpa like a stranger?¡±

    Shameless! Lu Yin scolded inwardly.

    ¡°Shameless!¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, where¡¯s thising from? It was just that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika is an almighty Enlighter, so Little Yin did not want to trouble Grandpa.¡± Lu Yin pretended to feel wronged.

    Nightking Yuanjing sighed. ¡°Grandpa just caught wind of this matter, and I immediately contacted the Divine Grade Hall to have <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika move away. I never thought that an almighty Enlighter would personally threaten a junior! It¡¯s truly embarrassing.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply, and he only gazed appreciatively at the old man.

    Nightking Yuanjing paused, but then looked at Lu Yin again. ¡°Little Yin, just rx. Grandpa promises you that such a thing will not happen again. Grandpa has promised to protect the Frostwave Weave, so I will go the full way. Rest assured, you can do your own things, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika will not dare toe here again.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Grandpa Yuanjing.¡±Lu Yin immediately showed his gratitude.

    This was all just a bunch of frivolous nonsense, as Lu Yin was already ustomed to talking in circles with Nightking Yuanjing. In any case, Lu Yin did not want to go to Pyrolyte, and on the other hand, Nightking Yuanjing was more anxious than anyone else to have Lu Yin participate.

    Sure enough, it didn¡¯t take long before the old man couldn¡¯t restrain himself any longer. ¡°Little Yin, do you know what¡¯s going on at Pyrolyte?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to head there? If you wish, Grandpa can have my n¡¯s spacecraft fetch you.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head and replied with palpable agony in his voice. ¡°Little Yin appreciates Grandpa¡¯s goodwill, but Little Yin is tired of fighting, and I do not wish to participate. Senior Sea King has also instructed Little Yin not to participate in this conflict.¡±

    When Lu Yin mentioned the Sea King, Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face grew much more serious, as he suddenly recalled that the Sea King''s Dome did not seem to participate in disputes that involved the powers of the Innerverse and Outerverse. If the Sea King had told Lu Yin not to participate in the conflicts on Pyrolyte, then did that mean that Lu Yin was close to being officially recognized as the Sea King¡¯s son-inw? Yuanjing did not know if this situation boded well or bad for the Daynight n, but he knew that it meant that he would no longer have the leverage to threaten this kid from now on.

    Since the Sea King had gotten involved, Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s prepared speech could no longer be used. From his perspective, Lu Yin definitely would not dare to disobey the Sea King¡¯s orders, as who did not wish to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw? There was no way that this kid was an exception to that desire.

    Helpless, Nightking Yuanjing simply spun out a few more lines before disconnecting the call.

    The capital of the Great Yu Empire, and even all of Zenyu Star itself, could only keep Hai Qiqi upied for a few days. After that, she grew bored, and she desperately looked for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at her reluctantly. ¡°Zenyu Star is so big. You¡¯ve already been everywhere?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°I already yed everywhere around here. Now I want to go out.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    Pyrolyte! I want to fight! I want to break through! I want to fight! I want to make friends!¡±

    Lu Yin could understand the first three, but he instinctively nced at Hai Qiqi¡¯s mouth when he heard her finalment. Make friends? Hehe, you¡¯ll only make enemies!

    ¡°Eh, Lu Yin, what are you nning on doing? That shameless old fogey already left, so why aren¡¯t you heading towards Pyrolyte?¡± Hai Qiqi started to argue with him since she was discontent with the current situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you about the cruelty of the universe multiple times. Even with the protection of the Sea King''s Dome, it still might not be safe. Do you want to gamble the countless lives of those in the Great Yu Empire just so that you can go to Pyrolyte?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Who says that the Sea King''s Dome can¡¯t protect this ce? I¡¯ll contact Second Brother right now and have him use the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s name to protect the Great Yu Empire. No one will be willing to make things difficult with my Sea King''s Dome just for some small empire at the fringe of the Outerverse. Do you think that I¡¯m stupid?¡± Hai Qiqi was unhappy.

    Lu Yin looked at Hai Qiqi seriously. She wasn¡¯t stupid, as there was indeed no one who would be willing to offend the Sea King''s Dome for the Great Yu Empire. However, he didn¡¯t want the Great Yu Empire to be branded under the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s umbre, so he had toplete his lie. ¡°Qiqi, do you know who I would end up offending if I go to Pyrolyte?¡±

    Hai Qiqi waved generously. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. My Sea King''s Dome will take care of it.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. At this moment, he felt that there was a striking simrity between Hai Qiqi and Lulu. In a certain sense, her confidence had reached the absolute limit, and it certainly belonged to an unrivalled level.

    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m not going to Pyrolyte, and you aren¡¯t allowed to either.¡±

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell Father that you have a few mistresses.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to help me look for them?¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Hai Qiqi was furious, and she started breathing heavily, but then, she sighed. ¡°I really envy you sometimes.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely caught off guard.

    ¡°You¡¯re like a corpse floating through space, without any lofty goals, merely satisfied with the present. In fact, you¡¯ll lose even more by acting like that.¡± Hai Qiqi stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Father does not like people who have no motivation. Actually, you had some chance to be his son-inw, but the more you hold back, the smaller your chance.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t hold myself back, but I can¡¯t participate in this contest at Pyrolyte.¡±

    Hai Qiqi snorted and turned to leave.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of running away. I¡¯ve already sealed the entire.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was furious. ¡°Drop dead!¡±

    As he watched her leave, Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. He actually wanted to participate in this contest more than anyone, but what choice did he have? As soon as he headed to that, the Great Yu Empire would be recognized as the Sea King¡¯s territory, and any pyrolyte that he managed to obtain would be sent to the Sea King¡¯s Dome as a betrothal gift. He would offend numerous other people while obtaining nothing for himself at all. There was simply no point in him heading there.

    If he actually wanted to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, then he would immediately head there and use the gathered pyrolyte ore to curry favor with the Sea King and Hai Dashao. Then, he would be even more famous throughout the universe and stand a much greater chance at bing the Sea King¡¯s true son-inw. However, Lu Yin did not want this, which was fine, but he could not just shed this status.

    If he did not be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, then he could not excessively offend strong powers like the Daynight n. In which case, he might not be able to get his hands on very much pyrolyte even if he did head towards Pyrolyte.

    The entire matter was a problem, so Lu Yin decided to simply not participate.

    He looked up at the sky. The powers in this region of the universe were clear. The strong grew stronger while the weak could only barely scrape by. This situation would not react well to an abrupt rise in Lu Yin¡¯s strength. If the day came where the Innerverse was no longer able to touch the Outerverse, Lu Yin would be able to act as he wished. But unfortunately, this was not the case.

    There was no sun on Pyrolyte, so the¡¯s sole light source was the dark-red soil beneath the surface.

    Zhuo Daynight did not know how long she had been unconscious for. She had put on her ring armor before losing consciousness to prevent herself from being torn apart by the subterranean creatures on the.

    To the Limiteers on Pyrolyte, ring armor was useless since its defenses were worthless against those true geniuses of their generation. No one would put on ring armor during battle, as it essentially offered no defense and only served to limit their mobility.

    But its usefulness could not be overstated for injured persons.

    When Zhuo Daynight awakened, she saw a green pair of eyes that emitted a savage radiance. Her face turned deathly pale as she tried to get up. She discovered that she had been encircled by strange underground creatures and that there were bite marks on her ring armor. These creatures could actually harm her ring armor, and Zhuo Daynight dared not imagine what would have happened to her if she had not put it on. It was likely that she would have already be their food.

    She coughed and clutched at her chest; her injuries had recovered slightly. She took out some star crystals from her cosmic ring and began to absorb the energy, as only by restoring her star energy would she be able to preserve her life.

    The creatures surrounding Zhuo Daynight began to flee in all directions as soon as she woke up, and most buried deeper underground.

    Zhuo Daynight supported herself against the dry, dark-red wall, and then started walking away from where she had awakened.

    The ground asionally shook, though it was impossible to know if it was due to a battle or an earthquake.

    She walked out of a tunnel and looked up. Everything around her was barren, and not a single individual could be seen. Zhuo Daynight raised her hand and activated her gadget, but unfortunately, it had been ruined. Luckily, she still had her pyrolyte detector, so she could look for a nearby pyrolyte mine, which would most likely already have people there.

    However, now was not the time to look for pyrolyte. First, she needed to be able to protect herself.

 Chapter 487: Disparity

    <h4>Chapter 487: Disparity</h4>

    Everyone who hade to Pyrolyte had prepared great quantities of food and water in their cosmic rings. Zhuo Daynight soon returned underground, where she consumed more of the Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medicines before continuing to rest.

    One day passed, and then two more days passed. When Zhuo Daynight awoke once again, she estimated the time that had gone and realized that three days had passed. By now, she had absorbed as much star energy from star crystals as she could to heal herself. Her condition had finally taken a turn for the better, but she still had not returned to her peak state yet. But for now, she would be able to protect herself, and she did not want to hide any longer. She had to find the other Daynight n members, but she did not know which power was currently in control of Pyrolyte Mountain. The Sword Sect? Or the Daynight n?

    As she emerged from under the ground, she could sense multiple auras approaching her through her domain. Zhuo Daynight quickly hid in the shadows and watched on as some cultivators appeared before gradually vanishing into the distance. They were headed towards Pyrolyte Mountain.

    She did not hesitate to immediately follow after them.

    Zhuo Daynight had escaped with heavy injuries, so she had not strayed too far away from Pyrolyte Mountain to begin with. When she saw a huge crack in the ground, she knew that Pyrolyte Mountain must be close by since this crevice had most likely been formed during the confrontation between Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight.

    The ground trembled once again. This time, the tremors were apanied by an intense gale. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face changed, as this was an undtion of star energy; another battle had broken out at Pyrolyte Mountain.

    At this moment, it should be either the Sword Sect or the Daynight n attacking Pyrolyte Mountain since no other organizations could possibly stand up to those two . That meant that the Daynight n should be at the mountain right now.

    Zhuo Daynight did not dare to abandon her n¡¯s missions, and she was well aware that all her actions were being monitored. If she did not participate in the battle, then she would face difficult times once she returned to the n.

    At this moment, two figures streaked through the sky, both Limiteers. They noticed Zhuo Daynight and exchanged nces before they both attacked her at the same time.

    They were disciples from an organization in the First Flowzone, which meant that they naturally followed the Sword Sect and were moving against the Daynight n.

    Unfortunately, they were too weak. Although their strength was decent within the scope of the younger generation, they were stillckingpared to Zhuo Daynight, who hadprehended a domain. She easily dispatched them, leaving one of the two alive for questioning. ¡°What¡¯s the situation at Pyrolyte Mountain like?¡±

    The surviving Limiteer fearfully answered, ¡°The Daynight n, Wen family, Souldream Tribe, and quite a few other powers from smaller flowzones have started a war at Pyrolyte Mountain. They want to force the Sword Sect to share the mountain¡¯s pyrolyte. The battle should have started about two hours ago.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight had not expected the battle to be this intense. Apparently, nearly half of the great powers on the were participating in the contest for Pyrolyte Mountain. The Sword Sect had Liu Shaoqiu, and numbers were meaningless against his Second Sword. What did that woman Nightqueen Yanqing have that gave her the confidence tounch another attack? Had reinforcements arrived?

    Zhuo Daynight had not guessed wrongly, as the Wen family had invited Ling Que, and he had arrived at Pyrolyte slightly earlier than Mu Rong. Nightqueen Yanqing and the others had been nning this attack for days, and they intended to use this small window of opportunity to seize Pyrolyte Mountain. After that, the various powerful organizations could unite and force the Sword Sect to split the benefits. When Mu Rong arrived, he would not be able to reverse the situation.

    The current battle on Pyrolyte Mountain was more intense than any other previous battle on the. The site of Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s battle had moved to the northern side of Pyrolyte Mountain since they were too ferocious and the aftershocks too intense.

    Meanwhile, Liu Xiaoyun and Kuang Wang were battling at the base of Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Although Nightqueen Yanqing had been severely injured by Liu Shaoqiu, she had received critical care along with the resources of the entire Daynight n. Thus, she had been able to recover enough to participate in the battle again, just like Liu Xiaoyun.

    The Sword Sect was able to withstand Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s assault purely because of one person: Y¨­u Ye''er.

    She only looked to be around eleven or twelve years old, just a petite girl, but when her strength erupted, it caused everyone¡¯s brows to shoot up. She had forcibly dyed Nightqueen Yanqing, and even when thetter activated her Nightking¡¯s Body and battle force, she still was not able to take Y¨­u Ye''er down.

    Not only was the Daynight n astounded, but even Liu Shaoqiu was shocked at Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s strength. The Y¨­u Court had sent more than just Y¨­u Ye''er, and there were a few other Y¨­u Court Limiteers who were older but very strong.

    It was this alliance between the Sword Sect and the Y¨­u Court that allowed them to withstand thebined force of the opposing alliance, which included the Daynight n, Wen family, and Souldream Tribe.

    However, this deadlock would notst for much longer. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s ns hinged around Ling Que. As soon as he arrived, Pyrolyte Mountain would once again change hands.

    But right now, Nightqueen Yanqing could only re at the little girl blocking her way with a vengeful hatred.

    ¡°Old aunty, you can¡¯t go on, right? If you can, then bring it on!¡± Y¨­u Ye''er was d in a ck mandara dress, giving her an innocent look despite the mischievous grin she was directing towards Yanqing. She smiled, and although the little girl was cute and adorable, her ridiculing expression made Nightqueen Yanqing instinctively desire to tear Ye¡¯er to pieces.

    Who would have thought that she would be stopped here by such a little brat.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hold out much longer, stupid brat. Wait till I catch you! I¡¯ll hang you up and beat you senseless!¡± Nightqueen Yanqing roared, her eyes flickering with a purple radiance. Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s eyes gleamed as she immediately retreated away from Nightqueen Yanqing, who charged at her with an impressive speed. However, the surroundings suddenly changed and isted her from everyone else. A courtyard had appeared on all sides of Yanqing, a strange one that was formed from star energy.

    This was the Y¨­u n¡¯s inherited battle technique¡ªthe Epassing Lockdown Array. Four sidesbined to form a single court that could entrap any cultivator, as long as the disparity in strength was not too great. Fortunately, despite Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s young looks, she was also a Limiteer, and she was not weak either. With her power, the Epassing Lockdown Array was able topletely contain Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Although the Epassing Lockdown Array was not as famous as the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison, Nightqueen Yanqing would never belittle it. This was because the Y¨­u Court had originally been a part of an absolutely terrifying supreme power, and they had even been one of the Court of Seven Names¡¯ core powers. Even if they had betrayed and broken away from that power, they had inherited the strength of that family, and the Epassing Lockdown Array was something that they had received from that family.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s all-out strength was unable to break through the Epassing Lockdown Array, and she was essentially crippled in this battle.

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s battle against Kuang Wang had not ended yet.

    Xi Yue and Wen Qian''er had gained the upper hand in their own battles, and suppressing the disciples of the Sword Sect. Given enough time, they would win aplete victory and would be able to force the Sword Sect to retreat.

    The greatest variable in this battle was Liu Shaoqiu, but he was currently preupied with Zhanlong Daynight. Although Zhanlong Daynight could not beat the genius swordsman, Liu Shaoqiu could not emerge victorious anytime soon either, since the two were evenly matched. This stalemate gave the others enough time to y key roles in the overall situation.

    The odds of victory were starting to lean towards the Daynight n.

    From a distance away, sword qi shot over every once in a while, terrifying many of thebatants and prompting them to move further away. The battle between Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight was still the most terrifying one on the entire battlefield.

    Zhuo Daynight arrived right outside of Pyrolyte Mountain, where she saw a chaotic battle involving more than a thousand people. The entire region around Pyrolyte Mountain had been turned into a chaotic battlefield, and fresh blood had long since stained the ground scarlet red.

    Yan Hua had already reached his limits, and he was barely able to keep his grip on his sword any longer. In front of him, Tiankong Daynight and Chilian Daynight were attacking him together. With one more barrage, Yan Hua was finally unable to hold out any longer, and he copsed to the ground. It was unknown if he was dead or alive.

    Many disciples from the Sword Sect had already perished, and the Wen family had suffered numerous casualties as well. Even Wen Qian''er was injured. She had joined forces with Xi Yue and was standing with her while panting heavily.

    Zhuo Daynight could tell that the Sword Sect was about to be defeated.

    In space, above the, a satisfied smile broke out across Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s face. Even if Pyrolyte Mountain did not ultimately end up belonging to the Daynight n alone, the Sword Sect would have to forget about retaining control. The two parties were on the same level, so neither one of them could think about hogging it all.

    At this moment, Nightqueen Qiuyu received some news, and her expression became delighted. The battle was about to end. She looked into the distance where a personal spacecraft was barrelling towards Pyrolyte Mountain. Ling Que had finally arrived.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu watched Ling Que¡¯s spacecraft streak past her, but then another spacecraft charged towards Pyrolyte. She looked on and suddenly had a strange feeling. What was that?

    Trailing right behind Ling Que¡¯s spacecraft was the group of professional cheerleaders. There was no ce these women wouldn¡¯t go to since Ling Que had promised to protect them. The more dangerous the ce was, the greater their pay was.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu had an ugly expression. She had lived for a long time, but this was the first time she had encountered such a scene. Should she stop them?

    While she was hesitating, the two spacecraft crashnded on Pyrolyte. Theynded rather close to Pyrolyte Mountain and were seen by many people.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was delighted. She recognized Ling Que¡¯s spacecraft and knew that this battle was about to reach its finale. Now, they just needed toplete taking over Pyrolyte Mountain before Mu Rong arrived, as well as leave Liu Shaoqiu and the rest severely injured. That way, even if Mu Rong rushed over, he still would not be able to reverse such a grim situation.

    To the north of Pyrolyte Mountain, Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight turned around simultaneously. They had a sort of apprehension that could not be easily exined, but it was as if they had met another one of their own kind.

    Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s face changed. ¡°Old aunty, what are you thinking about? Stop dreaming! You still can¡¯t beat me no matter what you try.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing sneered, but she stopped attacking.

    Liu Xiaoyun stood still and held onto her sword while Kuang Wang sat on the body of his azure dragon opposite her as he also looked over. ¡°For now, we can¡¯t determine which of us is stronger.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun did not bother looking at him. Instead, she wordlessly stared into the distance at where the spacecraft had justnded.

    The hatch opened, and Ling Que walked out. The other spacecraft¡¯s hatch also opened at the same time, and the cheerleaders frantically roared out. The various great powers in outer space stared at the scene, dumbfounded. Even this was possible?

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Ling Que let out a sigh of contentment as he looked over at his crazed cheerleaders. What a beautiful sight. Yes, act even more crazy and shout even more. Such things will eventually belong to me. He then sharply turned his gaze towards Pyrolyte Mountain and took a light step forward, but that movement caused his entire body to suddenly vanish.

    The cheerleaders excitedly dashed after him.

    Before Ling Que even arrived at the mountain, vast amounts of star energy swept out through his Que¡¯s Might sh, the de¡¯s unique sharpness engulfing all of Pyrolyte Mountain. Whether it was Nightqueen Yanqing, Y¨­u Ye''er, Liu Xiaoyun, Zhuo Daynight, or even the distant Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight, they could all clearly feel that terrifyingly sharp energy.

    Everyone looked up at Ling Que, who was towering above them, high in the sky. The entire battlefield froze.

    Ling Que¡¯s lips curled up, as this was precisely the effect he wanted to have, so he did not find it wasteful to expend such an enormous amount of star energy on this. This was the entrance he deserved. He would treat the events at the Sea King¡¯s Dome as a nightmare, something that he did not want to be reminded of for the rest of his life. Especially those two freaks.

    ¡°From now on, this ce belongs to me.¡± Ling Que¡¯s calm voice reverberated across Pyrolyte Mountain, and his eyes slowly scanned across everyone there. He did not care if they belonged to the Sword Sect or the Daynight n; he had been invited to help the Wen family.

    Kuang Wang was the first to grow unhappy; this chap was even more arrogant than himself. ¡°Which noob are you?¡±

    Ling Que looked over at Kuang Wang, and when he saw the majestic azure dragon, an expression of disdain shed across his mouth. He casually raised a hand, causing his Que''s Mighty sh to sh out. The next moment, everyone stared nkly at Kuang Wang, who slowly fell down. There was now a massive stain where blood was dying his clothes red. Everyone went numb at the sight. Kuang Wang¡¯s azure dragon howled in anguish as it vanished in front of the onlookers.

    At this moment, the entire region around Pyrolyte Mountain fell silent.

    That person was Kuang Wang, a genius child from the Divine Grade Hall, and one of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Realm Masters. He had been the strongest person on Pyrolyte for a period of time, but he had not been able to withstand that single strike.

 Chapter 488: Clean Sweep

    <h4>Chapter 488: Clean Sweep</h4>

    Kuang Wang fell to the ground and looked at the dull red surface in disbelief. Was the difference between them really that huge?

    Liu Xiaoyun stared at Ling Que in shock. She hadn¡¯t even managed to see his attack, as it had torn through the void. It was extremely powerful, and she had a feeling that no Limiteer could possibly withstand that attack. She had never experienced such a feeling before, not even with Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Ling Que was arrogant, but he had the right to act in such an overbearing manner. He had created an evesting innate gift by absorbing ten other innate gifts, and not only could his Que''s Mighty sh pierce through the void, but it also had other mysterious powers as well. He truly represented the peak power that a Limiteer could possess, and he was confident in defeating even those two once hebined his three des into one, let alone a mere nobody like Kuang Wang.

    To Ling Que, Kuang Wang was just a nobody.

    Ling Que¡¯s attack caused everyone present to despair.

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked over at Ling Que. ¡°Brother Ling, do you still remember me?¡±

    Ling Que looked towards Nightqueen Yanqing, and his eyes lit up. The people of the Daynight n were generally quite good looking, and Nightqueen Yanqing had an extremely alluring appearance. Her fair thighs and dazzling purple eyes made her a rare beauty, but most people were too scared by her strength, so they would never get a chance to take a good look at her. Only true powerhouses like Ling Que would dare to stare at her unabashedly.

    Ling Que definitely remembered Nightqueen Yanqing, but just as he was about to courteously reply, he was startled by a loud cheering.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The people around Pyrolyte Mountain were shocked by the noise, and many of them turned to look at the cheerleaders. What in the world was going on?

    Ling Que coughed and then cheerfully looked at Nightqueen Yanqing. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Miss Yanqing. My apologies for not recognizing you at first.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing smiled, nodded, and then gently answered, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not saying hi to Brother Ling first. I hope that you won¡¯t hold it against me.¡±

    ¡°Haha, of course not, Miss Yanqing. By the way¡­¡± Ling Que paused for a moment before going on to ask, ¡°Is the Daynight n nning on fighting for this location? If so, that will cause a problem since I was invited to help the Wen family take control of this ce.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing smiled. ¡°The elders in my n have already told me about this. Actually, Brother Ling, you only have to drive away the powerhouses of the Sword Sect and Y¨­u family. This was why the Wen family invited you to this ce, and if you need any further reassurance, you can also ask Miss Wen Qian¡¯er.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked towards Wen Qian¡¯er as soon as she finished speaking.

    Wen Qian¡¯er walked towards Ling Que. ¡°She¡¯s right. Once you¡¯ve driven out the Sword Sect members, we will divide Pyrolyte Mountain equally.¡±

    Ling Que shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. Since this is what the Wen family is requesting, I¡¯ll do my best to fulfill it.¡±

    The members of the Wen family and the Daynight n breathed sighs of relief, but the powerhouses from the Second-Grade Hall looked upset. Kuang Wang had been defeated too quickly, but that was also his own fault. He had already been warned that Ling Que would be showing up, but he had still acted so arrogantly.

    Suddenly, the space before Ling Que distorted. His eyes went wide, and his Que''s Mighty sh spun about rapidly, shing with something only a meter away from him. Someone had just tried to attack Ling Que by surprise.

    Liu Xiaoyun tightly clenched the hilt of her sword while ring at Ling Que. She had been the one who had attacked just now, but despite putting her full strength into the attack, she had not injured him in the slightest.

    Ling Que looked at Liu Xiaoyun and frowned. ¡°Although I don¡¯t like fighting with girls, your sneak attack really annoyed me just now.¡±

    His Que''s Mighty sh suddenly vanished while he was still speaking, which caused Liu Xiaoyun to shiver. The image of Kuang Wang¡¯s mangled body suddenly shed through her mind, and she knew that there was no way she would be able to withstand an attack from that de. She saw the Que''s Mighty shing towards her, but she had no way to dodge it. However, the de suddenly disappeared and returned to Ling Que¡¯s side with a loud bang, apanied by a sh of sparks and an unparalleled sword qi. The de had been repelled by Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Out of everyone present, only Liu Shaoqiu was able to fight against Ling Que. Zhanlong Daynight didn¡¯t even try to stop him. Instead, he just watched on as Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword shed at Ling Que.

    Ling Que looked to the north with a grim expression at where Liu Shaoqiu was standing. The swordsman cidly said, ¡°I¡¯m your opponent.¡±

    The people around Pyrolyte Mountain all looked at the sky. Liu Shaoqiu, Zhanlong Daynight, and Ling Que were the three people who would determine which factions controlled Pyrolyte Mountain. Once a winner emerged from the three of them, the owner of Pyrolyte Mountain would be decided, and no one would be able to change the oue after that.

    ¡°You, you¡¯re Liu Shaoqiu from the Sword Sect, right?¡± Ling Que asked in a quiet voice.

    Liu Shaoqiu lifted his sword. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯ve seen videos of you in the Astral Combat Tournament. The Thirteen Swords truly has some unique aspects, but you¡¯re still not my opponent.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that after we battle.¡± Liu Shaoqiu then attacked Ling Que with the First Sword.

    Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords, and no matter how much Ling Que looked down upon everyone else, even he couldn¡¯t ignore the Thirteen Swords.

    His Que''s Mighty sh spun about and blocked Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack. Although no impact could be discerned, the space between the two Limiteers distorted while powerful shockwaves rippled out, reminding everyone nearby of the previous battle between Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight. People immediately retreated as a battle at this level wasn¡¯t something that they could withstand.

    After Ling Que blocked Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack, his Que''s Mighty sh suddenly disappeared before cutting through the sky.

    Liu Xiaoyun gasped, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu had never revealed his top speed during his battles with others since he always relied on the Thirteen Swords. Thus, Liu Xiaoyun wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he would be able to hold out against Ling Que¡¯s attacks.

    Liu Shaoqiu quickly used the Second Sword on the area around him. The flood of sword qi was interrupted by the Que''s Mighty sh tearing through the area, clearly revealing the de¡¯s movements to Liu Shaoqiu.

    Liu Xiaoyun was surprised at how Shaoqiu had used the Second Sword to find the traces of Que''s Mighty sh. She hadn¡¯t known that the Thirteen Swords could be used in such a fashion.

    Que''s Mighty sh was extremely fast, and its tracks were normallypletely concealed. However, it wasn¡¯t as mysterious if the opponent managed to find a way to track it. Hence, Liu Shaoqiu merely sidestepped once to dodge the attack. However, it turned out that he had still underestimated Que''s Mighty sh, which was formed through abination of ten innate gifts. Although Liu Shaoqiu had dodged the de, his arm and clothes were still burnt.

    He looked at Ling Que in confusion.

    The Que''s Mighty sh returned to Ling Que where it slowly spun in ce. Ling Que smiled when he saw Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s confused expression. ¡°I already told you that you¡¯re not my opponent.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s expression grew solemn. It had taken quite a bit of time during his battle with Zhanlong Daynight for Liu Shaoqiu to be injured, and yet Ling Que had been able to injure him so easily, not to mention that he still didn¡¯t know how he had been hurt. Ling Que was an extremely strong opponent, and it was no wonder he was considered one of the younger generation¡¯s unparalleled Limiteers.

    All across the battlefield at Pyrolyte Mountain, the cultivators of the Sword Sect and Y¨­u family were barely holding on. Since Liu Shaoqiu now knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain control of Pyrolyte Mountain, he clearlymanded, ¡°All disciples of the Sword Sect and the Y¨­u family, leave Pyrolyte Mountain now!¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing smirked. ¡°Do you really think that you can leave whenever you want? Attack!¡±

    The aim of the Daynight n was to defeat the powerhouses from the Sword Sect before Mu Rong managed to arrive. If the Sword Sect managed to leave this battlefield while preserving their battle force, then this battle would have just been a waste of time. They had to at least ensure that Liu Xiaoyun and some of the other stronger disciples wouldn¡¯t be able to participate in the uing conflicts.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s gaze grew cold, and a huge amount of sword qi rushed up. The Fourth Sword covered a corner of the sky.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s brows climbed.

    Ling Que was astonished. This sword qi was extremely powerful, and this person was definitely using a forcefield. Ling Que was suddenly reminded of Mu Rong. He hated forcefields.

    Liu Shaoqiu red at Nightqueen Yanqing. ¡°You can try and see if you are able to defeat the disciples from my Sword Sect and pull back again before I unleash the Fourth Sword.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing nced at Ling Que.

    Ling Que remained quiet. That was the Fourth Sword, and it wouldn¡¯t be a part of the Thirteen Swords if it could be easily handled. Liu Shaoqiu was clearly demonstrating his ability to implicate everyone present if they didn¡¯t allow the members of the Sword Sect to leave. If the Sword Sect was attacked, then he would use the Fourth Sword to affect everyone so that no one could leave in one piece.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had been heavily injured by the Fourth Sword before, and she didn¡¯t believe that anyone present would be able to withstand that attack aside from Zhanlong Daynight!

    Nightqueen Yanqing reluctantly ordered the Daynight n and the Second Grade Hall to pull back and allow the people of the Sword Sect and Y¨­u family to leave the battlefield unscathed. Everyone else also retreated far away to avoid being injured by the Fourth Sword.

    Liu Shaoqiu didn¡¯t n on defeating Ling Que and Zhanlong Daynight by himself. The most he could do now was allow his fellow disciples to leave safely, but he needed to wait to see if he was sessful.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use even if I allow your people to leave. Since you¡¯ve lost, they won¡¯t be able to survive on this,¡± Ling Que said calmly.

    Liu Shaoqiu watched everyone leave while Liu Xiaoyun looked at him with aplicated gaze She wasn¡¯t worried about his safety since the Daynight n and Lingling n wouldn¡¯t want to be Sword Sect¡¯s mortal enemies. Thus, they wouldn¡¯t kill Liu Shaoqiu. However, if Liu Shaoqiu was the only person left, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to continue participating in the contest for pyrolite ore anymore.

    Y¨­u Ye''er suddenly noticed that Liu Shaoqiu had a rather manly side to him.

    ¡°Stupid girl, I¡¯ll look for youter!¡± Nightqueen Yanqing threatened Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er pouted, ¡°Old aunty, take care of yourself and make sure not to throw out your back.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing grew furious, and she red hatefully at Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er paused and took a good look at Nightqueen Yanqing. She suddenly spoke up in a dramatic manner, ¡°Old aunty, you have so many wrinkles!¡±

    She then fled from the scene.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was stunned, and she unconsciously touched her face. All women, regardless if they were cultivators, cared about their appearance. No matter how powerful Nightqueen Yanqing was, Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s words had sessfully rattled her, and she had to resist the urge to pull out a mirror and check her face.

    Naturally, her anger towards Y¨­u Ye''er also reached a new level.

    Liu Shaoqiu saw that the members of the Sword Sect were retreating into the distance.

    Ling Que looked at Liu Shaoqiu. ¡°To show my respect, I didn¡¯t attack you. You can use the Fourth Sword now, if you want. I look forward to seeing it.¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    The sound of the cheerleaders faded into the distance. Although Ling Que was very confident in his abilities, the Thirteen Swords was truly too powerful. Moreover, he was rather nervous about forcefields.

 Chapter 489: Even Fiercer

    <h4>Chapter 489: Even Fiercer</h4>

    Beneath Pyrolyte Mountain, Zhanlong Daynight appeared and looked at the sky with a serious expression. He wanted to discover what the Fourth Sword could do to Ling Que so that he couldpare himself to an unparalleled Limiteer.

    He did not have to wait for long as the Fourth Sword was suddenly unleashed.

    The moment that it moved, Ling Que¡¯s eyes lit up and his body suddenly split into two. Two Que''s Mighty shes revolved around his bodies, spinning rapidly as he anticipated the arrival of the Fourth Sword.

    Before, at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Ling Que had faced off against Mu Rong¡¯s full-strength forcefield by taking the extreme action of splitting into three clones. The three Que''s Mighty shes had then worked in tandem to form a defense that barely managed to block Mu Rong¡¯s strike. But now, against the Fourth Sword, Ling Que had only split into two clones, as he was confident that he could block this attack. In other words, the Fourth Sword did not give him the same sense of crisis that Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield had.

    Boom!

    The ground rumbled as an overpowering shockwave swept out in all directions, just like when the Fourth Sword and Zhanlong Daynight had collided in the previous battle. The strength of the aftershock even manifested in a visible, lightning-like pattern that spread out. Not only did it tear through the void, but it also shattered the ground and caused numerous fissures to appear far off in the distance.

    Everyone was overwhelmed, and they looked towards Pyrolyte Mountain, as a battle of an abnormal level was now taking ce.

    As the air cleared, Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhanlong Daynight stared above Pyrolyte Mountain. They first saw Liu Shaoqiu and then an unscathed Ling Que.

    As expected, Ling Que had blocked the Fourth Sword.

    Others would have described the situation as not a single hair of Ling Que¡¯s being harmed, but Ling Que himself knew that it was not that simple. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s attack had not been easy for him to defend against, and he had almost been forced to split into a third clone and summon a third Que¡¯s Mighty sh to protect himself. This was the Fourth Sword, and it was indeed very powerful. Liu Shaoqiu was likely just behind Ling Que and Mu Rong in terms of power, and he possessed a simr strength as that Lan Dao from the Grayweed Continent who had fought against Mu Rong.

    However, this was Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s current limit. Ling Que raised a hand, and his Que''s Mighty sh shot through the void, suddenly sttering blood through the sky. Liu Shaoqiu fell¡ªhis right arm had been impaled, and his longsword was dislodged from his grasp. It plummeted down into the earth.

    Liu Shaoqiu had been defeated.

    The Fourth Sword had drained too much of his energy, so he had not even been able to defend himself.

    Ling Que stood high in the sky, disying his overbearing style of doing as he pleased as an unequalled Limiteer.

    The Sword Sect disciples far in the distance were grieving, as Liu Shaoqiu had been defeated. Not only had he lost in this battle, but he would also be out ofmission for quite a while. He would find it difficult to participate in anymore battles on Pyrolyte since that woman, Nightqueen Yanqing, would not let him off easily.

    Liu Xiaoyun gripped her fists, but there was nothing she could do either.

    Y¨­u Ye''er sighed, but she was simrly helpless. They were simply too weak. However, what would it be like if she could erupt with all her strength? The little girl was looking forward to it.

    Wen Qian''er looked at Ling Que with surprise as he towered over Pyrolyte Mountain. When she had been in the Wen family¡¯s holdings, she had even dreamed of challenging Lu Yin, but Ling Que had just shown her how ridiculous her original thoughts had been. Even someone like Ling Que was inferior to Lu Yin, yet this person had already been enough to make everyone feel powerless. It went without saying that Lu Yin, as the strongest, was not on the same level at all.

    Xi Yue was stunned, as this had shown her the strength of the universe¡¯s top elites. If this person was already this powerful, then how had Lu Yin managed to be number one? She could not even imagine it.

    Zhanlong Daynight walked out from the shadow of Pyrolyte Mountain and directly faced Ling Que.

    Ling Que turned to face the Daynight n member, as this person gave off a feeling that he was no weaker than Liu Shaoqiu. Before Ling Que arrived, Liu Shaoqiu had been held back by this person. Ling Que could clearly see that this person was from the Daynight n. Interesting, is he provoking me?

    Nightqueen Yanqing knew that the situation was taking a turn for the worse as soon as she saw Zhanlong Daynight walk out. She rushed over to him and threatened him in a quiet voice, whispering, ¡°If you dare ruin our n¡¯s mission, you will definitely be imprisoned in the ancestral grounds as soon as you return. Consider your next actions carefully.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight was reluctant to back down, but he did not continue to antagonize Ling Que. He really wanted to fight against this person and experience the Soulsplitting Technique and Que''s Mighty sh for himself, so he felt it was a pity that he was being restrained.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s left hand supported his body while fresh blood dripped down his right arm and off of his fingers. He walked over to his sword that was embedded in the ground. The de of the sword had rusted long ago, but this de had continued to follow him for many years. He had not taken the de out even against Zhanlong Daynight, but he had used it against Ling Que. Despite that, he had still been defeated.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes revealed her bloodlust as she stared at Liu Shaoqiu. She walked over. She wanted to give him some injuries and ensure that he would not be able to act again in the near future.

    Ling Que frowned. He did not approve of such behavior, but he did not stop her either.

    Behind him, the cheerleaders appeared again. ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Liu Shaoqiu felt frustrated when he saw Nightqueen Yanqing approaching him step by step. He had fallen so low, but he was not about to be trampled upon after losing.

    At that moment, a fiery red color crashed down from space, aiming straight at Pyrolyte Mountain and the people gathered there.

    Ling Que, Nightqueen Yanqing, Zhanlong Daynight, and even the distant Liu Xiaoyun and Wen Qian''er all looked up. Who was about to appear? The various organizations overseeing the proceedings on Pyrolyte were all focused on the region around Pyrolyte Mountain. What kind of self-confidence does one need tond right at Pyrolyte Mountain in this current situation?

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s heart skipped a beat and her expression changed. Not good, could it be...?

    Boom!

    Nearby, the zing red streak crashed into the ground, revealing it as a personal spacecraft that was so zing hot that it had distorted the void.

    Everyone looked over to see the hatch open and a youth calmly walk out while holding a wooden flute.

    Mu Rong had arrived.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupils constricted. Why right now? Shouldn¡¯t there still be some time before he arrived?

    Zhanlong Daynight was also shocked at the sudden turn of events.

    Ling Que¡¯s face darkened, and he felt like he had been tricked. No one had told him that Mu Rong woulde. If he had known that this brat would alsoe to Pyrolyte, then Ling Que would not have made the trip here even if someone beat him. Damn it, why didn¡¯t anyone tell me this? Were they just trying to set me up and embarrass me?

    In the distance, Wen Qian''er stared at the situation,pletely dumbfounded. How had Mu Rong managed to appear so quickly? It must be that the Sword Sect had released fake news and been lying to them. The Wen family was smart, but the Sword Sect was not foolish either. The Sword Sect must have long since expected that their enemies would want to take advantage of the timing discrepancies, and so, they must have deliberately exaggerated the time difference to cause their opponents to rx their guard. Then, their disciples on the ground would just have to hold out until Mu Rong arrived. And now, trouble had finally arrived.

    Liu Xiaoyun rxed, as that person had finallye.

    Y¨­u Ye''er stared with wide eyes, as an even fiercer person had just arrived, so they no longer needed to escape.

    Mu Rong¡¯s appearance caused the whole area to fall silent as everyone stared at him. He looked around and swept his gaze over everyone before finally stopping on Ling Que. ¡°Who are you helping?¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s face contorted, and he turned around to address his cheerleaders, ¡°Hey girls, go back to space in your vessel. Don¡¯t stay here. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    The girls were moved. They wanted to stay, but Ling Que¡¯s persistent orders dissuaded them. He was panicking, as he was not confident in being able to beat Mu Rong. It hadn¡¯t been very long since they hadst fought, and he still had note up with a method to defeat this person yet. He did not want to be embarrassed in a fight with Mu Rong.

    After all of the cheerleaders left, and Ling Que turned to face Mu Rong. ¡°I¡¯m helping the Wen family.¡±

    Mu Rong looked at Liu Shaoqiu. ¡°Are you the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded. ¡°You¡¯re Mu Rong?¡±

    Mu Rong calmly replied, ¡°I¡¯ve received an invitation from the Sword Sect to participate in this contest on Pyrolyte. Is everyone else here the enemy?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded.

    Mu Rong turned to face Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing. Now, his eyes had a different light to them.

    Nightqueen Yanqing felt her scalp go numb, as she never imagined that she would end up directly facing Mu Rong. She wanted to say something, but Zhanlong Daynight moved from beside her to charge straight out towards Mu Rong, letting loose a punch. It was a formidable attack, and his body was covered in a radiant brilliance from the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    Just like Liu Shaoqiu had eagerly attacked Ling Que, Zhanlong Daynight was very excited to face Mu Rong.

    Nightqueen Yanqing felt anxious, but she no longer had any choice in the matter, and she immediately attacked Liu Shaoqiu. She needed to make sure that this person could not fight in the immediate future.

    Mu Rong squinted, and green grass extended out from beneath his feet. He immediately unleashed his forcefield, and everyone saw the image of the shepherd boy and the cow appear before them. In that instance, Zhanlong Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Ling Que were all suppressed by Mu Rong, and they felt so restrained that they almost coughed up blood.

    Against Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punch, Mu Rong merely backed up a bit and spun his wooden flute around before resolving the attack with Floating Stride. Even further away, a shepherd boy appeared above Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s head before striking down at Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Her entire body felt like it was falling apart, as she was powerless to resist this attack. There was a whoosh as the de of Que''s Mighty sh appeared and sliced towards the shepherd boy, leaving the void distorted in its wake. There was a bang as Nightqueen Yanqing was sent flying away, and she spat out a mouthful of blood while still in midair; her Nightking¡¯s Body had been almostpletely destroyed.

    If not for Que''s Mighty sh, she would have directly received the attack from Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield. Although it had not been an all-out attack, even Ling Que did not dare to be careless against such attacks.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punch missed its target, but he quickly followed up with another punch, and this one shook the void. However, all of his attacks were useless against Mu Rong; his Floating Stride was able to even negate Que''s Mighty sh, much less Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s attacks. If Mu Rong felt like it, he could dodge Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punches for several days without being hit a single time.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s advantage was in his abnormal recovery rate, but his attacks werepletely useless against Mu Rong.

    Mu Rong used his Floating Stride to nullify Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s attacks while in another area, his forcefield that manifested as the shepherd boy on the cow attacked Ling Que. Mu Rong intended to face all three of them simultaneously by himself.

    Liu Shaoqiu was stunned, as Mu Rong was revealing his true strength; the young man feared no one.

    Ling Que fought an urge to curse as he received the attack from Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield. The attackunched against Ling Que was on an entirely different level than the attack Nightqueen Yanqing had faced. Mu Rong was using his full strength against Ling Que.

    Helpless, Ling Que used the Soulsplitting Technique and divided into three clones. He then used the three Que''s Mighty shes to defend himself as they shed directly against the shepherd boy and the cow.

    At the same exact time, Mu Rong brushed past Zhanlong Daynight as his wooden flute struck Zhanlong¡¯s body.

    The two collisions exploded at the same time, causing two visible shockwaves to sweep out in every direction. Space was shredded apart like raindrops as the aftershocks reached far into the distance, leaving many dumbfounded.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and Liu Shaoqiu were sent flying by the two colliding aftershocks.

    In the distance, Wen Qian''er and the other onlookers acted in unison, pooling all of their power together to resist the aftershocks. Despite their best efforts, there were still quite a few cultivators who spat out blood before falling unconscious due to the sheer force of the aftershock. Some people even fell into the cracks that had spread across the ground, possibly dead. Zhuo Daynight was also sent flying by the force, spitting out more blood in the process.

    Fortunately, Pyrolyte Mountain was not directly hit by the shockwave.

    Throughout the battle, everyone had avoided causing any direct impact to Pyrolyte Mountain.

    One strike had suppressed two great experts. This demonstrated Mu Rong¡¯s power.

    This was also not the end, but rather the beginning. The wooden flute sounded out, and Ling Que simply took off, already certain that he would not be able to withstand Mu Rong¡¯s next move. His innate gift was too perverse, and it allowed him to directly control others¡¯ bodies. Only those like Lu Yin who possessed a freakish physical strength could break free from Mu Rong¡¯s innate gift.

    Zhanlong Daynight watched as Ling Que fled, but he was not an idiot either. He knew that he could not resist Mu Rong on his own. He also took off, though he was reluctant to do so. He clearly understood his own strength, and he knew that all of his attacks would be utterly useless against Mu Rong. Thus, he would only end up as a punching bag if he stayed.

    Mu Rong alone had gained control of the entire situation.

    In the distance, Wen Qian''er and the rest watched on, hesitant to believe that the oue had already been decided. Things had been resolved at a speed that they found hard to ept.

 Chapter 490: Video

    <h4>Chapter 490: Video</h4>

    Although there were no concrete rankings for Limiteers, which meant that everything was based on merely hearsay, Mu Rong was still one of the three strongest Limiteers of the universe¡¯s younger generation. Lu Yin had been able to defeat him without any tricks, leaving Ye Xingchen as the only untested unequaled Limiteer. However, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ past words had suggested that Mu Rong¡¯s power exceeded Ye Xingchen¡¯s.

    Against such an opponent, it was not uneptable to admit defeat.

    One person¡¯s strength had been enough to reverse the entire situation. This was the strength of a true expert.

    The Daynight n, Wen family, Second Grade Hall, and other various powers retreated, but Mu Rong did not give chase. Liu Xiaoyun and the others did not have enough strength to pursue anyone, so they allowed everyone to leave. At this moment, control of Pyrolyte Mountain had returned to the Sword Sect.

    With the unexpected support of Mu Rong, Pyrolyte Mountain would belong to the Sword Sect in the future.

    Liu Xiaoyun looked for Liu Shaoqiu and helped him up. ¡°How are your injuries?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I only injured my shoulder. I¡¯ll be fine with a few days of rest.¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun nodded, lent Liu Shaoqiu a shoulder for support, and then looked over at Mu Rong.

    The rest of the Sword Sect disciples were also curiously studying Mu Rong, as not everyone had been lucky enough to encounter an absolute powerhouse. To Limiteers, Mu Rong stood at the apex, and he would definitely join the Top 100 Rankings as soon as he broke through to be an Explorer. Most people would not meet such a person throughout their entire lives.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was exceptionally curious about the young man, and she wanted to chat with Mu Rong. However, his face held an indifferent expression as he sat atop Pyrolyte Mountain. He had onlye here to fulfill his promise to the Sword Sect, and he was uninterested in everything else, which disappointed Y¨­u Ye''er.

    The battle for Pyrolyte Mountain had ended, and the Sword Sect was finally able to rx in outer space. Fortunately for them, Mu Rong had arrived just in time, leaving Nightqueen Qiuyu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika with a bitter taste in their mouth. However, losing Pyrolyte Mountain was not what angered Nightqueen Qiuyu the most. She was more furious that Ling Que, that slimy brat, had actually run away!

    Nightqueen Qiuyu did not know about the matter of the previous battle between Ling Que and Mu Rong, so she thought that the youth had just fled because of Mu Rong¡¯s reputation, which infuriated her to the point of trembling from head to toe.

    ¡°Have we found a method to allow Explorers to descend to Pyrolyte yet?¡± she barked, causing the Daynight n¡¯s spacecraft to shudder.

    The Daynight n members were afraid. ¡°Not yet, please forgive us.¡±

    ¡°A bunch of trash!¡± she scolded coldly as she continued to stare at Pyrolyte.

    With Mu Rong acting as a guardian, they would be forced to forget about Pyrolyte Mountain. The Wen family had simrly gained Ling Que¡¯s support, so even if they found a ce that was slightly inferior to Pyrolyte Mountain, the Daynight n wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them either.

    When had the Daynight n fallen to a third-rate position? Such a thing was uneptable to Nightqueen Qiuyu, and she once again thought of Lu Yin. If that person was willing to help them, then the situation would change once again. However, that person¡¯s status was sensitive, and he could not be easily threatened, which was annoying.

    The various powers in space above Pyrolyte had all watched the battle for Pyrolyte Mountain, and there were naturally some who had recorded videos of parts of the battle. When they left the Astral Wilderness and returned to the Northcastle Weave, they would upload the video clips onto thework.

    There was nock of people in the universe who enjoyed watching such videos. Also, since so many genius Limiteers had gathered in one ce with multiple people sharing videos, an intense discussion of the matter was soon sparked. Of course, no one dared to talk about the venue and the reason for the battle, which remained top-secret, but the matter was already known by countless organizations.

    On Zenyu Star, after <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika left, life slowly returned to normal, and the became a bustling capital once again. There were at least some ces that were able to attract Hai Qiqi¡¯s attention, which allowed Lu Yin to temporarily shake her off.

    Still, not even two days passed before Hai Qiqi reappeared in front of Lu Yin, giving him a headache. ¡°What now?¡±

    Hai Qiqi urgently said, ¡°Check thework! Someone¡¯s uploaded videos of a bunch of Limiteers fighting, and even Mu Rong¡¯s there!¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised; Mu Rong fighting against Limiteers? Could it be a video of the battles on Pyrolyte? He immediately turned his gadget on and brought up the most popr video on the disy. It was hard to miss even if he didn¡¯t want to see them.

    Lu Yin opened the topmost video, which was a recording of when Mu Rong had fought against two people by himself, pushing both Ling Que and Zhanlong Daynight back.

    Mu Rong possessed such impressive strength, and he had not been caught off guard either. Lu Yin looked at the dark red battlefield in the video. Is that Pyrolyte? Hold on, Zhanlong Daynight?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Why had Zhanlong Daynight appeared on Pyrolyte? Hadn¡¯t Lu Yin himself thrown that person into the Reverent King¡¯s household?

    As he watched the battle on the video, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and his fist involuntarily clenched. Zhanlong Daynight, Ming Zhaoshu, the Shenwu Continent, the Daynight n. The fact that Zhanlong Daynight had been able to leave the Shenwu Continent was definitely the work of Ming Zhaoshu, as there was no other way for the Limiteer to escape. The most troubling matter was that Ming Zhaoshu had found someone stronger than Lu Yin to work with: the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin was apprehensive, and he became too preupied with his thoughts to properly watch the video. He was too focused on the Shenwu Continent and Ming Yan. If Ming Zhaoshu and the Daynight n began cooperating, then the Shenwu Continent would soon face huge upheavals, and what would happen to Ming Yan in that case?

    Lu Yin did not care if the Daynight n managed to gain control of the Shenwu Continent, as only Ming Yan mattered to him. For Lu Yin, she was the most precious person on the entire Shenwu Continent. His greatest worry was if Ming Zhaoshu had used Ming Yan as a bargaining chip. If Ming Zhaoshu was able to toy with Lu Yin¡¯s heart, then he could also do the same to Zhanlong Daynight.

    Having affection for someone often spawned such thoughts, as a person would unreasonably assume that others also liked the same person, and Lu Yin was no exception to this rule. His biggest worry was that Ming Zhaoshu might use Ming Yan as a bargaining chip to gain the Daynight n¡¯s cooperation. Although the possibility of such a thing was low, Ming Yan was too pretty and attractive, so Lu Yin could not help his thoughts from veering in such a direction.

    ¡°Hey, what are you thinking of? Keep watching!¡± Hai Qiqi ordered.

    Her words struck Lu Yin out of his reverie; although he desperately wanted to go to the Shenwu Continent and gain a better understanding of what was happening, with his current strength, he might not be able to keep himself safe. This was not the right time to make such a move. Besides, he still didn¡¯t have the means to take Ming Yan away. Currently, the highest priority task was to find Zhanlong Daynight and figure out what had happened.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. There was no benefit to overthinking things, so he needed to calm down and carefully consider his options. He closed his eyes, slowly exhaled, and then continued watching the video.

    The second video showed the confrontation between Ling Que and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword. The video had been edited to not show the entire battle or the conversation between the two, just the battle and the results. This particr video was extremely sensational. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s fame had shot to the stars during the Astral Combat Tournament, but such a person had still lost to Ling Que. This loss triggered countless discussions, and many leftments beneath the video.

    ¡®The Thirteen Swords is nothing much. It¡¯s losing everywhere¡ªto Lu Yin in the Astral Combat Tournament, to that Technocracy woman during the Tournament of the Strongest, and now to that pretentious person.¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t spout such crap. The Thirteen Swords is very strong. It¡¯s just these opponents are even stronger. That Technocracy woman was the representative of an entire domain, and that ¡°pretentious person¡± is one of the four unequaled Limiteers. It¡¯s rumored that Lu Yin was even able to defeat Mu Rong, which means that he¡¯s the number one Limiteer in the universe. Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s defeats aren¡¯t that bad.¡¯

    ¡®I heard that there¡¯s an inheritor of the Thirteen Swords among the Ten Arbiters. I feel like this Liu Shaoqiu is just a watered-down version of that Arbiter, as they should be the true heir of the Thirteen Swords. That technique shouldn¡¯t be defeated that easily.¡¯

    ¡®Hold on,menter above, who said that Mu Rong lost to Lu Yin? That¡¯s just a rumor. Although it¡¯s been spread everywhere, it¡¯s definitely false. In any case, I don¡¯t believe it.¡¯

    ¡®This olddy doesn¡¯t either.¡¯

    ¡®Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, that pretentious person really deserves a beating. Those cheerleaders behind him are also unequaled.¡¯

    ¡­

    As he read through the numerousments, Lu Yin loaded the next video. This one was also of Ling Que¡¯s battle against Liu Shaoqiu, but this one had been taken from a different angle. There were more than ten videos in a row featuring the confrontation between these two. They showed everything, from start to end, apart from the conversation between the two which had been edited out of every video.

    Thements beneath the videos were not kind to Liu Shaoqiu at all since it was indeed true that he had now lost quite a few times.

    Even further down the list of videos was one that showed Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s battle against Zhanlong Daynight. The Daynight n¡¯s expert had also caused countless people to grow excited.

    ¡®The Daynight n is so powerful. They¡¯re awesome!¡±

    ¡®The person above is a Daynight braggart. Evaluationplete.¡¯

    ¡®That trendy hair color is enough to boast for a year.¡¯

    ¡®It¡¯s too bad that the Daynight n still lost to Mu Rong in the end. People, look at the video above: there¡¯s one man putting on a show and the Daynight n, but they were both scared away by Mu Rong. There¡¯s also that Daynight woman that was sent flying by the aftershocks. In any case, that woman¡¯s pretty hot. It¡¯s a pity that Daynight women won¡¯t marry outside of the n.¡¯

    ¡®Stop dreaming! They wouldn¡¯t look at you even if they could. They have to at least marry someone at the level of that group of unequaled Limiteers.¡¯

    ¡­

    As he kept watching more videos, Lu Yin frequently sawments mentioning his name. Manypared him to Ling Que, Mu Rong, and Liu Shaoqiu. Some praised him while others disparaged him. Some predicted that once all these Limiteers stepped into the Explorer realm, Lu Yin would bepletely left in the dust by these blessed children. Each one had extensive resources behind them while Lu Yin only had the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, Break through to the Explorer realm? We¡¯ll see who¡¯s left in the dust when that happens!

    However, breaking through was a problem in and of itself. He had a feeling that his next breakthrough would be extremely difficult and that he might even take much longer to break through than the others.

    He looked back at the topmost video and opened thements to see that they were filled with nothing but praise for Mu Rong.

    ¡®Damn, this is the entrance style that I¡¯ve always dreamed of! Able to immediately differentiate between friend and foe and then resolve the problem. Too cool!¡¯

    ¡®That''s is Mu Rong, the unequaled Limiteeruded by the Ten Arbiters. That title even includes the older generation, too.¡¯

    ¡®Didn¡¯t Mu Rong lose to Lu Yin?¡¯

    ¡®Probably not. That should just be a rumor. Do the previousmenters really think that Mu Rong could lose to Lu Yin with his strength? Remember, Lu Yin is from the Outerverse. No matter how impressive his innate gift is, just approaching Mu Rong is the best he can hope for. He won¡¯t be able to defeat Mu Rong, as he¡¯s not fated to join the top ranks of the universe.¡¯

    ¡®That¡¯s right, those are just rumors.¡¯

    ¡­

    Only people from the most powerful organizations had been able to see a video of Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Mu Rong at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Most people had only heard rumors, and they naturally did not believe them, especially when they saw the video of Mu Rong defeating two other absolute powerhouses on his own. Someone with Mu Rong¡¯s strength was undoubtedly the strongest in their minds, and it was impossible for anyone to surpass him.

    Lu Yin did not refute thements as he simply scrolled on. These opinions were based on people¡¯smon knowledge, and it would be strange if they changed their opinions just based on his word. After all, Mu Rong had received the Ten Arbiters¡¯ recognition, whose reputation and vision was treated like the will of heaven in the hearts of the younger generation.

    As for the Sea King¡¯s Dome, such a ce basically did not even appear on thework. There were many names and ces, and even among the titles of organizations, that one would be automatically filtered out as most people were not eligible to read such information.

    They only knew what the great powers allowed them to know.

    Hai Qiqi stared at Lu Yin the entire time he was watching the videos and reading thements. She fought the urge to interrupt him and ended up staring at him for ten minutes.

    Lu Yin nced at her. ¡°Tell me what you want to say.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t angry?¡± Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes widened.

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°Angry? At what?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pointed at the screen. ¡°Those people don¡¯t believe that you defeated Mu Rong.¡±

 Chapter 491: Go To Planet Pyrolyte

    <h4>Chapter 491: Go To Pyrolyte</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled when he heard Hai Qiqi¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The recording of the battle at the Sea King¡¯s Dome will be released soon, and everyone will have to believe the truth when they see it. It won¡¯t matter if I argue with them now since I won¡¯t be able to change their minds anyways.¡±

    Hai Qiqi became anxious. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that! Don¡¯t you want to go to Pyrolyte to prove yourself? As soon as someone records you fighting and uploads it to the, countless people in the universe will worship you, and many gorgeous girls will fight to be with you! You just have to go to Pyrolyte for all that to happen. Isn¡¯t this an easy decision for you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°No wonder you were so anxious to show me these videos.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you tempted? There¡¯s no one there who can beat you!¡±

    Lu Yin sighed and looked at her seriously. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you this many times. I can¡¯t ce the Great Yu Empire at risk for somepetition that¡¯s not even beneficial to me. I can see why you wouldn¡¯t understand, but I¡¯m adamant in my decision to not go to Pyrolyte.¡±

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth and walked away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze fell back onto the videos; was he really not going to go? Zhanlong Daynight was on Pyrolyte, and Lu Yin wanted to learn the truth from him.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin noticed a video title that piqued his interest: Ants Within the Cracks.

    For some reason, Lu Yin clicked on this video that stood out from the sea of battle videos. The first person that he saw in the video was Xi Yue. She had been injured by Jared, and the video showed a scene of her running for her life. It was only aption of clips, and it wasn¡¯t a full video. Thus, the next thing that Lu Yin saw was Northgate Gang and Ah Fan vomiting blood after they were hit by a stray aftershock.

    Subsequently, the video showed more and more people who had been injured or even killed during the battle. Some of them were from minor flowzones while others were disciples of the Second Grade Hall. Towards the end of the video, even the disciples of the Sword Sect and Daynight n made it on. This video showed just how cruel the conflicts on Pyrolyte were.

    Lu Yin sighed. This cruel video was the harsh truth. Most people only saw glory in the battles featuring Mu Rong and the other powerhouses, and while they indeed drew the admiration of countless people, an evenrger number of people had been defeated. While they might not have been taken out by directbat, just the shockwaves alone from the other battle had been enough. They truly were ants within a crack.

    This was just a conflict on Pyrolyte. In terms of the greater universe¡¯s battles where the major forces shed, the Great Yu Empire and Shenwu Continent were just ants in a crack as well.

    Lu Yin was about to close the video when he suddenly saw a familiar person: Liu Xiaoyun. She had been injured by Nightqueen Yanqing. Following that short clip, he saw the silhouette of Zhuo Daynight and blood pouring down her deathly pale face. Lu Yin was stunned. Zhuo Daynight is on Pyrolyte as well?

    Yan Hua, Hui Chuan, and many others were also shown, copsed on the ground, and Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even tell whether they were dead or alive from the video. When he saw Kuang Wang falling to the ground, Lu Yin clenched his fists. Although he wasn¡¯t friends with Kuang Wang and might even be enemies in the future, Kuang Wang was still one of his peers from the Astral Combat Academy, and he was even a Realm Master. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t believe that Kuang Wang had also been included in this video, but sure enough, Kuang Wang was also an ant.

    The final scene of the video showed the shockwave that had rippled out from Mu Rong¡¯s battle. A crack in the ground swallowed up dozens of people, and Lu Yin could also see that Zhuo Daynight had received further injuries.

    Lu Yin fell silent when the video finished ying, his mind filled with the scene of Zhuo Daynight falling helplessly to the ground. Was she dead? Badly injured? Lu Yin couldn¡¯t get that image out of his mind, and he truly considered Zhuo Daynight as a friend. After she testified in support of him despite knowing that she would be locked up in the Daynight n¡¯s prison as a result, he had made the decision to never leave her in the lurch.

    It was such a strange feeling; were they friends? Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure whether or not Zhuo Daynight treated him as a friend, but they were definitely linked by one bond that couldn¡¯t be denied: Zhuo Daynight held a debt that he still owed her: a promised lockbreaking.

    The battles on Pyrolyte have nothing to do with me. I won¡¯t go there. Lu Yin kept repeating this mantra to himself, but the scenes of Zhuo Daynight, Kuang Wang, Liu Xiaoyun, and Xi Yue falling kept reying themselves in his mind. This was especially true for the scene with Zhuo Daynight, and Lu Yin felt as if he had been transported back to the first time he had met her, when he had identally injured her on that pirate¡¯s spacecraft. He kept remembering her sad gaze.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him. Why couldn¡¯t he forget the scene of Zhuo Daynight being injured or her unconscious mutterings? He became so agitated that he walked out of the King Zishan pce to look up at the sky.

    He had to clear things up with Zhanlong Daynight, and he was curious about whether or not Zhuo Daynight was still alive.

    He couldn¡¯t keep himself calm; should he go to Pyrolyte? Or not?

    He unconsciously took out his gadget and watched the video once again. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he decided that, yes, he would go to Pyrolyte. The contest for pyrolyte still hadn¡¯t ended, but he wasn¡¯t nning on going there to fight for anything. He would go there just to save his friends. As long as he didn¡¯t take part in the fight for pyrolyte, he wouldn¡¯t interfere with any of the major organizations. Besides, if he had Hai Qiqi ask Hai Dashao to protect the Great Yu Empire, then everything should be fine.

    The most important thing to do right now was to get Hai Qiqi to ask Hai Dashao to protect the Great Yu Empire rather than the Sea King, as there was a fundamental difference.

    Lu Yin considered his options for a moment and then contacted Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi was busy shopping, so she ignored Lu Yin¡¯s call when she saw it. What an annoying person.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re going to Pyrolyte?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    ¡°How did you figure it out?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    The monkey replied, ¡°I¡¯ve stayed with you for such a long time, so of course I¡¯d end up understanding how you think. You won¡¯t leave Zhuo Daynight behind, and you¡¯re the type of person to definitely help your friends if they¡¯re in trouble. Zhuo Daynight practically betrayed the Daynight n to help you, nearly dying to help you, so you can¡¯t repay her so easily. You¡¯ve saved her in the past, but you¡¯ve also hurt her. Your bond with her is veryplicated, so you definitely won¡¯t be able to leave her alone on that.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. The monkey¡¯s words were true; he had saved her, but he had also hurt Zhuo Daynight in the past. She had also helped him, and he even owed her a debt. Besides, he held some inexplicable feelings for her as well. Was it pity? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure.

    Since he had decided to go to Pyrolyte, he would stop thinking about it. He once again tried to contact Hai Qiqi, but she still didn¡¯t pick up since she was still angry with him.

    Lu Yin directly messaged her,  Pyrolyte.¡±

    The two words did the job, and Hai Qiqi immediately rushed back to the King Zishan pce and looked at Lu Yin excitedly. ¡°We¡¯re going to Pyrolyte?¡¯

    Lu Yin looked at her sternly. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯ll have to promise me two things.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so troublesome! What do you want?¡± Hai Qiqi asked.

    ¡°First off, you have to ask Hai Dashao to promise to protect the Great Yu Empire. You have to make it clear that this is him personally supporting the Great Yu Empire to unify Frostwave Weave,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Hai Qiqi was confused. ¡°My brother? I can just ask my father for that.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be the Sea King. It has to be Hai Dashao.¡±

    ¡°Hey, are you stupid? Although my brother is seventh in the Top 100 Rankings, he still can¡¯t represent the Sea King''s Dome. Even if he promises to support the Great Yu Empire, the Daynight n and the other major forces won¡¯t feel threatened by his words. You won¡¯t be able to stop them with just that,¡± Hai Qiqi exined.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Lu Yin replied confidently.

    Hai Qiqi paused for a moment. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask my brother to publicly announce his support for the Great Yu Empire to unify Frostwave Weave under his own name so that it won¡¯t be put under the Sea King''s Dome. My father doesn¡¯t allow us to interfere with battles in the Outerverse anyways.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He just wanted the other forces to be slightly intimidated by the Sea King''s Dome when they tried to move against him. Even though Hai Dashao couldn¡¯tpletely represent the Sea King''s Dome, he was still the Sea King¡¯s son, and nobody would dare to ignore him. As long as Lu Yin didn¡¯t interfere in the major forces¡¯ interests, the backing of Hai Dashao alone would be sufficient to protect the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin was heading to the to save someone, not to fight for pyrolyte ore.

    ¡°Alright. The second thing is that you must follow me the entire time and that you can¡¯t wander off on your own,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Hai Qiqi frowned and only reluctantly agreed, ¡°Is that all? Then I¡¯m going to contact my brother now.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Hai Qiqi soon put down her gadget and signaled him that everything had gone well.

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Initially, he had been worried that the Sea King would refuse since Hai Dashao had mentioned that they wanted pyrolyte ore as a betrothal gift. This meant that the Sea King''s Dome also needed pyrolyte ore. However, it seemed that the Sea King''s Dome wasn¡¯t in desperate need for pyrolyte, so Lu Yin wouldn''t be forced to fight for it.

    For now, he just needed to wait for Hai Dashao to publicly announce his support for the Great Yu Empire. While waiting, Lu Yin nned to use Northline Flowzone to get to Pyrolyte without attracting the attention of the Daynight n or the Sword Sect.

    Most of the people from Northline Flowzone were in the Astral Wilderness, so Lu Yin wasn¡¯t able to contact Lily Anne. However, he was able to use the Ten Arbiters¡¯ suwork to contact the person in charge of Shangwu Academy, which was located in Northline Flowzone, and then ask that person to contact the Lily family.

    Everything would take some time toe together, but Lu Yin was confident that as soon as the Lily family knew that he wanted to go to Pyrolyte with them, they would definitely agree.

    There was no point for him to wait around on Zenyu Star at this point, so he left some orders for Huo Qingshan and took off towards Northcastle Weave with Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Dashao acted very quickly, and his announcement of support garnered a lot of attention, ensuring that the news would be quickly passed on to the various major powers.

    Once the major organizations saw Hai Dashao announce his support for the Great Yu Empire, some of them guessed that Lu Yin was heading to Pyrolyte. Of course, not everyone woulde to that conclusion. If the Sea King had been the one who had made the promise, then everyone would know for sure that Lu Yin was heading towards Pyrolyte.

    Hai Dashao alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to withstand the rage of the major forces if Lu Yin harmed their interests. Although the major forces were wary of the Sea King, they weren¡¯t actually afraid of him, and Hai Dashao was just the Sea King¡¯s son. Thus, they wouldn''t be very apprehensive of him.

    Hai Dashao could only demonstrate Sea King''s Dome¡¯s position and try his best to protect the Great Yu Empire.

    With the speed of the Aurora, Lu Yin only needed a few hours to reach the border between Frostwave Weave and Northcastle Weave. Right when Lu Yin arrived at the border of Frostwave Weave, Lily Anne contacted him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I heard that you were looking for me.¡± Lily Anne looked at Lu Yin through the screen with clear excitement in her eyes. Northline Flowzone had been horribly suppressed over the past few months, and most of the pyrolyte ore that they had obtained had been stolen by the other forces. Their partnership with other minor flowzones hadn¡¯t gone smoothly either, so if Lu Yin was willing to join them, then it would make everything a lot easier.

 Chapter 492: Entrance

    <h4>Chapter 492: Entrance</h4>

    Lu Yin earnestly replied, ¡°Miss An¡¯er, I would like to use your help to secretly get to Pyrolyte.¡±

    Lily Anne was surprised. ¡°Secretly?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I need to save a friend, and I¡¯m not interested in fighting for pyrolyte. If Northline Flowzone is willing to help me, then I will also do my best to protect your people. Of course, if you are not willing, then you can just pretend that this conversation never happened.¡±

    Lily Anne quickly answered, ¡°Of course we¡¯ll help. Since Brother Lu has asked, then Northline Flowzone is definitely willing to help. Please just wait for a moment.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and ended the call.

    He wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that Lily Anne was willing to help. After all, he had promised that he would try to protect Northline Flowzone¡¯s people. Just that would be a huge help to Northline Flowzone, and it would be a simple task for them to bring him along to Pyrolyte, so they would definitely agree.

    A map was soon sent to Lu Yin. His eyes lit up, and he immediately rerouted his spacecraft to follow the new route towards Pyrolyte. As soon as he neared Pyrolyte, someone from Northline Flowzone would be waiting for him and help himnd on Pyrolyte along with some of Northline Flowzone¡¯s Limiteers. This would allow him to avoid attracting any unwanted attention to himself.

    Hunters and Enlighters could use their star energy to observe everyone near them. However, since there was an Enlighter, Granny Chan, within the group from Northline Flowzone, the other Enlighters would not monitor Northline Flowzone¡¯s vessels out of respect towards her. This was also the reason why Lu Yin had chosen Northline Flowzone to help him, as any organization that didn¡¯t have an Enlighter wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee his anonymity.

    Hai Qiqi was very excited now that she was finally able to go out and have some fun. Many powerhouses from the younger generation had gathered at Pyrolyte, so this would definitely be a fun trip, and she was very happy about it.

    Lu Yin nced at Hai Qiqi and frowned. ¡°You¡¯re not nning on fighting while on Pyrolyte, right?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re such a brute! Of course I won¡¯t fight with anyone. I, Sister Qi, like to ovee people with virtue.¡±

    ¡°Why do you call yourself ¡®Sister Qi?¡¯¡± Lu Yin had wanted to ask her this question for a long time.

    Lu Yin calcted that it would take them one more day to pass through Northcastle Weave and arrive at Pyrolyte in the Astral Wilderness. He nned to use this time to rest and make sure that his condition was at its peak.

    Hai Qiqi answered without hesitation, ¡°My name is Hai Qiqi, so of course I¡¯d be called Sister Qi. Do you have some problem with that?¡±

    ¡°A lot of people call me Seventh Bro as well,¡± Lu Yin calmly informed her.

    But Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t like his response. ¡°No, you can¡¯t be on the same level as me. From now on, you will be Eighth Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, but then he remembered how the Sea King had changed his name during their first meeting. These two were truly father and daughter.

    ¡°Eighth Brother! Hahahahah, Eighth Brother! That¡¯s so funny!¡± The monkeyughed uncontrobly.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and started retracting the star energy from his right arm. The monkey immediately started apologizing and swearing that he would stop talking about the new name as long as Lu Yin didn¡¯t screen him off again.

    ¡°How did you convince Hai Dashao to support the Great Yu Empire?¡¯ Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi smiled wickedly. ¡°I know a lot of his secrets, so I can get him to do anything I want by threatening him.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded,pletely believing her. Hai Qiqi seemed to be skilled in this area.

    ¡­

    The Astral Wilderness was a strange part of the universe that remained extremely mysterious to most people. However, to Lu Yin, it wasn¡¯t any more special than the Innerverse or the Outerverse. The space there was still just as dark as anywhere else, and the only difference seemed to be that he couldn¡¯t use his gadget in this ce. When he entered the Astral Wilderness, it felt as if technology had regressed by tens of thousands of years.

    An astral beast soon flew past their spacecraft with gigantic, ming wings. The sight of the beast stirred Hai Qiqi into an excited frenzy as she held a special interest in flying astral beasts.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew serious; anything could appear in this unexplored region of the universe. He still hadn¡¯t forgotten about the enormous centipede corpse that had appeared in Northline Flowzone. That thing could have crushed him to pieces with just a random twitch.

    However, since Northline Flowzone had provided him with this route, it should be rtively safe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s guess was right, as this was actually the route that had been taken by Granny Chan when she had first traveled to Pyrolyte. She had eliminated anything dangerous along this route, so there was nothing along the way that had a power level of even 10,000.

    Such routes were extremely valuable to major powers, and they had paid a price by giving it to Lu Yin. Now, they needed to wait and see if Lu Yin was worth the price.

    Lu Yin gazed into the distance and knew that they were approaching Pyrolyte.

    Pyrolyte was like a piece of delicious cake that had attracted the attention of all the major organizations. When Lu Yin saw Pyrolyte, he also saw numerous spacecraft of various shapes and sizes surrounding it. The most easily recognizable one was the Sword Sect¡¯s extremely impressive sword-shaped battleship. Apart from that, the spacecraft from the Daynight n and the Souldream Tribe were also unique and stood out from the rest.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t intercepted by anyone and managed to enter Northline Flowzone¡¯s spacecraft without issue.

    With Granny Chan present, no Enlighter would dare to monitor this part of space, and thus, no one knew that Lu Yin had arrived.

    Lily Anne was very excited that Lu Yin had arrived, and even Granny Chan went to meet him personally. This truly impressed upon Lu Yin the importance of pyrolite. He humbly greeted Granny Chan. ¡°Lu Yin pays his respects to Granny Chan.¡±

    Granny Chan looked at Lu Yin with satisfaction. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite, as this isn¡¯t our first time meeting.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Lily Anne, who was standing behind Granny Chan, and nodded. ¡°I did meet you once when I represented the Ten Arbiters¡¯s Council as a witness for thepetition at the Northline tform. You look as graceful as ever.¡±

    Granny Chan smiled. ¡°You have a smooth tongue. Was the journey here peaceful?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°It was very peaceful, thank you for asking.¡±

    Granny Chan looked towards Hai Qiqi, who was standing behind Lu Yin, but she didn¡¯t ask about her. Northline Flowzone was a minor force and didn¡¯t have ess to as much information as the Daynight n or the Sword Sect. Thus, they didn¡¯t know much about the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Moreover, Hai Qiqi was wearing clothing from the Zenyu Star, so it was normal that Granny Chan couldn¡¯t recognize the young woman.

    Back when they were on Zenyu Star, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had only recognized Hai Qiqi because of the emblem on the spacecraft. However, he had not exposed her presence.

    Lily Anne had met Hai Qiqi before, and she also knew that this girl was the Sea King¡¯s daughter, but she wasn¡¯t nning on informing Granny Chan.

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t care much about Granny Chan. The woman was merely an Enlighter, and there were lots of those under her father. Thus, this person was nothing special in her eyes.

    Granny Chan soon left, leaving Lily Anne to entertain Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief once the older woman left. He didn¡¯t like the feeling of being so close to someone who could kill him at any time, even though the woman held no bad feelings towards him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it must have been a tiring journey for you. Let me take you somewhere to get some rest,¡± Lily Anne offered.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t tiring at all. I was just on a spacecraft.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t tiring at all. Hurry up and send us to Pyrolyte!¡± Hai Qiqi spoke anxiously as she was truly looking forward to going down to Pyrolyte.

    Lily Anne nced at Hai Qiqi. She wasn¡¯t nning on exposing the girl¡¯s status as the Sea King¡¯s daughter. After all, as soon as the girl¡¯s status was publicized, Northline Flowzone would be responsible for her safety, which was a tremendous burden, especially because of this girl¡¯s quirks.

    Lily Anne also didn¡¯t n on forming any sort of bond with Hai Qiqi. She had already learned that it would be useless to suck up to Hai Qiqi when she first met her. Instead, the best option was just to treat the girl normally.

    ¡°Brother Lu, all of the resources have already been prepared for you. Are you going to head down to Pyrolyte now?¡± Lily Anne asked.

    Lu Yin nodded before Lily Anne ordered some people to store some food and water in a cosmic ring which she then passed to Lu Yin. She then escorted Lu Yin to a hangar with many personal spacecraft where there were already some people waiting.

    Lu Yin changed his appearance and also made Hai Qiqi change her appearance. They then each boarded a personal spacecraft and programmed theirnding site. Lu Yin looked up as the spacecraft vibrated. In the end, he had stille to Pyrolyte, the stage that had been set up for geniuses.

    Hai Qiqi was excited; she had been waiting for this moment for a long time. She wanted her name to be renowned throughout the universe and surpass her brother. She didn¡¯t care that Lu Yin had told her not to reveal her identity, as her main goal was to be famous.

    One by one, the personal spacecraft flew out from Northline Flowzone¡¯s spacecraft and headed down towards Pyrolyte. At the same time, there were other spacecraft from the other major powers that were preparing to enter the as well. There was a countless number of Limiteers descending onto Pyrolyte at all times. It was as if the ce had be a massive furnace that tempered all the Limiteers.

    Some distance away, Nightqueen Qiuyu felt disdainful towards the Limiteers who were being sent down. Since there were elite powerhouses already present down below, any number of average Limiteers would be useless against them. She didn¡¯t care about the number of cultivators that Northline Flowzone sent down, as those cultivators were just being sent to their deaths. She paused a moment and then looked away.

    The Sword Sect and the Wen family simrly didn¡¯t care about the people who were being sent down by the minor powers. However, none of them could have imagined that there was a genius currently hidden in this batch.

    On Pyrolyte, there was a mountain range protruding from the ground thaty quite some distance from Pyrolyte Mountain. These peaks were only about a hundred meters high, and the range didn¡¯t cover arge region either. Despite this, there were still hundreds of Limiteers fighting over this location. This was because this mountain range contained a small amount of pyrolyte ore, but it was nheless still enough to attract Limiteers from the minor flowzones.

    The major forces weren¡¯t interested in such a ce, so the minor forces were left to fight over it.

    Northgate Gang, Ah Fan, and the other Limiteers from Northline Flowzone were currently fighting for control of this mountain range.

    Both Northgate Gang and Ah Fan had been injured, but they couldn''t even retreat since they were surrounded by enemies. A girl from Northline Flowzone screamed as she copsed to the ground. A de shed, and she looked at the descending de in despair. But right before the de reached her, a weapon that looked like a knife appeared to block it, the vibrations from the impact shoving the girl into the ground. She vomited blood and then looked at the person who had saved her; it was Ah Fan.

    Ah Fan panted heavily as he attacked the man in front of him. The man sneered and someone else jumped out from behind him, shing at Ah Fan. At the same time, two-lined battle force erupted around the attacker, causing the girl to scream, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Ah Fan gritted his teeth, but he managed to block the surprise attack. However, his abdomen was shed open by the first person, which caused him to double over.

    Northgate Gang, who was nearby, cursed at Ah Fan for bothering to help someone else. He had initially nned on fighting his way out of the encirclement with Ah Fan, but his n had been thwarted now that Ah Fan had be heavily injured.

    Battles were taking ce everywhere, and Northgate Gang tried to escape by himself using his Phantom Disc, but he was pushed back into the fray once again. Another group of Limiteers had joined the fight, and shockwaves were exploding from every direction.

    Bang bang bang!

    Multiple personal spacecraftnded in the area around the mountain range, and two of them hadnded right where the most intense fight was taking ce.

    "Sister Qi" can also mean "Sister Seventh."

 Chapter 493: Overwhelming Power

    <h4>Chapter 493: Overwhelming Power</h4>

    More than ten attacks swept across the sky, almost causing the two spacecraft to crash. ¡°Are you trying to die? You actually dare tond right in the middle of a battlefield? Do you think that you are Ling Que?¡±

    Ah Fan gritted his teeth and blood dripped from the corners of his lip as he fell to the ground and onto the clothes of the girl he was protecting. The girl was in despair; she knew that she was about to die. If she had known that it would be like this, she would not havee and would have instead stayed at Shangwu Academy for a bit longer.

    She looked at Ah Fan who was protecting her. She had actually mocked him for losing their academy¡¯s only teleportation stone, and yet, when they were at the end of their rope, he was the only person protecting her. Life was unpredictable, and if she didn¡¯t die at this ce, she swore to pay him back for this protection.

    The numerous attacks actually didn¡¯t destroy the two spacecraft, and one of spacecraft¡¯s hatches opened while the vessel was still in midair. A youth appeared, and he easily received all of the attacks himself in order to allow the second spacecraft tond safely.

    Across the mountain range, many of the people were surprised to see one person handle so many attacks on his own. He was clearly very powerful, but that would just invite misfortune upon him. In chaotic battlefields like these, everyone would target the most powerful participants.

    Lu Yin stood firm atop the mountain range and looked at the dark-red soil. There were no nts in this area, but he had been surrounded by a bunch of red-eyed Limiteers who immediately began attacking him without exchanging any words.

    He looked around and decided that he shouldn¡¯t put on too impressive of a performance. Thus, he used only his Shockwave Palm and Spacerender Palm techniques, which were two battle techniques that he had learned on Earth. Neither of them required any star energy, so they were very appropriate for a that waspletely devoid of star energy like Pyrolyte.

    He raised a hand: Spacerender Palm.

    With a bang, the closest Limiteer to Lu Yin was sent flying back as the armor on his body shattered to pieces. Blood burst forth from the Limiteer¡¯s mouth, but he was already dead.

    This scene shocked all of the surrounding people, and everyone¡¯s movements turned sluggish at that moment.

    Lu Yin grinned; that attack had still been too strong, so he needed to tone it down even more!

    At this point, the hatch of the other spacecraft opened, and Hai Qiqi excitedly rushed out while wielding a de. She let out a shout as her figure flitted about the battlefield. She easily dodged the attacks aimed at her, but after evading one she patted her chest and red at an attacker. ¡°Stupid ck bear, that was too scary!¡±

    The man who had hacked at Hai Qiqi was the same one who had severely injured Ah Fan. Hai Qiqi had coincidentallynded nearby, and the crater caused by the spacecraft¡¯s crashnding had almost reached Ah Fan¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Stupid brat, you¡¯re looking to die!¡± The man raised his de and shed at her again while another man behind him attacked Ah Fan.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes turned sharp when she nced at Ah Fan and the girl he was protecting. In an instant, she understood what was going on; there was a pitiful couple here at death¡¯s door. As the benevolent princess of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Hai Qiqi believed that she carried the responsibility to protect such beautiful rtionships.

    The man¡¯s de only struck air; Hai Qiqi had disappeared from in front of him.

    Behind them, Ah Fan had closed his eyes in despair. But instead of death, he was met with a mocking voice. ¡°Hey! You should be hugging your wife before you die. What¡¯s this supposed to be?¡±

    Ah Fan¡¯s eyes went wide, and he looked at Hai Qiqi. Wife? He waspletely confused.

    The cultivator with two-lined battle force copsed in the distance, and Ah Fan¡¯s eyes went even wider, as he could not understand how Hai Qiqi had done such a thing.

    At this moment, the man who had attacked Hai Qiqi simply turned around and fled. Ah Fan might not have seen what had happened, but this man had, which was why he immediately tried to escape. He knew that he was not this woman¡¯s opponent; she was just too scary! He hadn¡¯t even clearly seen how fast she had moved! She had to be the heir of some great power.

    Lu Yin watched on from a distance, but then he withdrew his gaze. It seemed that there was no need to worry about Hai Qiqi. With her strength, she was no slower than him when he used sh Step. Her safety was basically guaranteed through just her speed alone, so long as she didn¡¯t encounter anyone on Mu Rong¡¯s level.

    Many people around Lu Yin exchanged nces as they felt that he was distracted. Then, they attacked in unison. Lu Yin finally acted, and he moved both of his arms. The people surrounding him were only able to see phantom images of his two arms, and each one of them was blown away by an irresistible force. The area within a hundred meters of Lu Yin had been instantly cleared out, which showed just how impressive his strength was. Still, it wasn¡¯tpletely overwhelming since there were a few people who didn¡¯t die from his attack. It seemed like his speed was astounding, but the power behind his attacks was not quite as high.

    However, to these Limiteers from the smaller flowzones, his attacks were already overwhelming. Many instinctively backed away.

    ¡°Where are those from Northline Flowzone?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Northgate Gang was just about to escape when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, which caused his eyes to brighten. ¡°Here! We¡¯re here!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and saw Northgate Gang, which caused him to involuntarily frown. This person was detestable.

    When Northgate Gang saw Lu Yin frown, his heart skipped a beat. Not good, is he not an expert who was sent by Northline Flowzone? Could he have some kind of grudge against us?

    Northgate Gang¡¯s knees bent as he prepared to use his fastest speed to escape, but Lu Yin¡¯s next words made his apprehension disappear.

    ¡°This mountain range will now belong to Northline Flowzone. Everyone else can leave now,¡± Lu Yin announced in a loud voice. He would not touch any of the areas considered important by the great powers, but the fact that this small mountain range had been contested by Northline Flowzone indicated that the major organizations did not care about it. Lu Yin did not mind helping Northline Flowzone control such an inconsequential area, and it could be considered as him repaying the favor to them. With this, he would be able to leave and search for Zhuo Daynight.

    Northgate Gang was delighted. ¡°Thank you for your help, brother.¡±

    Lu Yin could not be bothered with him.

    The people around exchanged nces, and some were even unresigned to this change. However, when they recalled the speed of Lu Yin¡¯s attack, they felt forced to retreat, especially since they had clearly seen that he had only used Shockwave Palm and had not disyed any battle techniques. This meant that Lu Yin had not used all of his strength yet, and it was not worth it to confront such a person for this ce that only had a small amount of pyrolyte.

    After they thought things through, the gathered people left one after another. Soon, only Lu Yin¡¯s group remained at the mountain range.

    The crowd from Northline Flowzone cheered as Ah Fan copsed onto the ground. The girl who he had protected offered him some water out of appreciation, and Ah Fan took it and drank a mouthful.

    Hai Qiqi was unsatisfied, and she red at Ah Fan. ¡°Hey, your wife¡¯s injured! Shouldn¡¯t you treat her?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s words confused Ah Fan once again, while the girl¡¯s face flushed red as she wanted to exin. However, her injury was still bothering her, and it was so excruciating that it caused her face to go pale.

    Ah Fan took out an especially effective medicine from Shamrock Enterprises and passed it over to the girl, who lowered her head. ¡°Thank you, and I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ah Fan calmly turned back around and sipped at his water.

    Hai Qiqi looked at the two of them. ¡°What a weird couple.¡±

    She then turned towards Lu Yin and ran over to him.

    Northgate Gang also ran towards Lu Yin, and he was about to speak, but he was cut off by Hai Qiqi. ¡°Lu- no. Hey, Eighth Bro, let¡¯s look for the rest!¡±

    Northgate Gang was stumped. Eighth Bro?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids twitched, and he stared menacingly at Hai Qiqi. ¡°I¡¯m Seventh Bro, or Brother Lu. Don¡¯t call me that ever again, or you can forget about leaving this mountain range.¡±

    Hai Qiqi wanted to retort, but then she thought better of it and pouted instead. ¡°Alright, Seventh. Hmph!¡±

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t find any words to reply.

    Northgate Gang finally had the opportunity to speak. ¡°How may I address this brother?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°You can call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    Northgate Gang was stumped. How disrespectful.

    ¡°That, brother, may I ask if it was Granny Chan who invited you to help us?¡± Northgate Gang probed.

    Lu Yin nodded and then surveyed the area. ¡°This mountain range now belongs to Northline Flowzone, so you can start to mine the ore. I¡¯ll supervise here for a day before leaving.¡±

    Northgate Gang was surprised. ¡°Leave? Does brother want to help others?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Just tend to your own affairs.¡± Lu Yin then turned to leave.

    Northgate Gang was angry, but he smothered his emotions. He didn¡¯t dare show his anger since it was clear that this person was much stronger than him.

    Soon, everyone from Northline Flowzone finished treating themselves, and those who were less injured started to mine the pyrolyte ore.

    Northgate Gang was not happy, so he vented his anger on the others, especially Ah Fan. If it hadn¡¯t been for this person¡¯s foolish mistake, then Northgate Gang would have been able to escape from the battle instead of nearly losing his life in this ce. Hence, he found Ah Fan exceptionally odious right now, and despite knowing that Ah Fan¡¯s condition was quite severe, Northgate Gang still made him start mining.

    The group from Northline Flowzone all treated Northgate Gang as their leader, and every action was dictated by him. Ah Fan could only obey, or else he would be reprimanded, while the girl whom Ah Fan had rescued looked on with worry.

    Hai Qiqi finally could not take it anymore. ¡°Thumbtack! Hey, thumbtack!¡±

    The crowd turned towards Hai Qiqi as one, as they did not know who she was calling out to.

    Northgate Gang also looked over, only to see that Hai Qiqi was staring directly at him. He looked to both sides of himself, as he waspletely lost.

    Hai Qiqi grew impatient. ¡°What are you looking for? Stop looking for someone else. Don¡¯t you realize that you look like a thumbtack? I¡¯m talking to you!¡±

    Northgate Gang was furious. ¡°Who are you? How dare you embarrass me?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s humiliating you? I don¡¯t know your name, so I only called you ¡®thumbtack¡¯ because you look like one. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The crowd around them desperately stifled theirughter.

    The fury in Northgate Gang¡¯s heart roared, but he apprehensively looked towards Lu Yin in the distance, and subdued his wrath. ¡°I¡¯m Northgate Gang.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡± Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes in response.

    Northgate Gang¡¯s face twisted. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°Nothing. Just watching you y around and act like the boss.¡±

    Northgate Gang was about to open his mouth and berate her, but he forcefully endured her words. He snorted and turned to leave, but he no longer forced Ah Fan to mine.

    Ah Fan¡¯s body trembled as he leaned against the mountainside, and the girl he had rescued hurried over to support him. She looked appreciatively at Hai Qiqi and smiled.

    Hai Qiqi just shrugged.

    Lu Yin turned away from the scene. The brat had a good heart. Lu Yin had also wanted to help Ah Fan, but Hai Qiqi had moved first. However, Ah Fan was supposed to be at San Dios, yet he had shown up at this ce. It seemed that pyrolyte was extremely important.

    Lu Yin did not know if Zhuo Daynight was alive or where she might be if she was. Thus, he was not in a hurry to look for her. Instead, he tried to learn about where Pyrolyte Mountain was located so that he could head in that direction and search for some clues and perhaps conveniently repay his debt. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to find Zhuo Daynight, so there was no need to rush things.

    Perhaps he should first look for the Daynight n.

    Over the course of a single day, there were quite a few organizations that attempted to seize the mountain range, but they were all repelled. The area didn¡¯t hold very much pyrolyte ore, so after those minor powers were repelled, it became unlikely for anyone else toe and try to take control of the mountain range.

    Lu Yin¡¯s performance had intimidated all the smaller organizations away.

    One dayter, Lu Yin took Hai Qiqi with him, and they left under theplicated gazes of Northgate Gang and the others.

    Northgate Gang hated the two of them, but he was also forced to rely on them. Now that they had left, he could only hope that no strong opponents would appear.

    Lu Yin had verified the location of Pyrolyte Mountain, and it would take him a few days of travel to reach it from his current position. He took Hai Qiqi along with him, and he also asked Northgate Gang for a pyrolyte detector.

    Some dayster, Pyrolyte Mountain finally became visible. Lu Yin wanted to avoid being discovered by Mu Rong, so he did not get too close to the mountain. Instead, he maintained a certain distance as he circled around the mountain one time, but he was not able to find Zhuo Daynight.

    He believed that she would not be hiding in an area where Mu Rong¡¯s domain could detect her, as if she had, she would already be dead.

 Chapter 494: Punishing Enemies

    <h4>Chapter 494: Punishing Enemies</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood fell, and his emotions became moreplex. He hoped that Zhuo Daynight had not died, as he hade to this specifically to save her.

    ¡°Hey, look! There are so many shooting stars,¡± Hai Qiqi shouted as she pointed at the sky.

    Lu Yin looked up, only to see not shooting stars but instead numerous spacecraft, about a hundred in total, and they were all headed in the same direction. There were only two possibilities for such a scenario: they were either all from the same organization, or another massive amount of pyrolyte ore had been discovered, and all of the major powers were sending reinforcements to that area.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grunted, but she followed Lu Yin towards where all the spacecraft were headed.

    Thending site of the vessels did not appear to be too far away, but it was actually a great distance. It was even further away than the distance between Northline Flowzone¡¯s mountain range and Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi held star essence in their hands as they flew so that they could recover star energy while they moved.

    Only a select few could use star essence to recover star energy, as the majority were forced to use star crystals, even those like Northgate Gang. This was enough to show that he was not on the same level as Lu Yin.

    As they travelled, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi encountered more groups of Limiteers. Some groups only had three to five members, while therger groups consisted of dozens of people. Everyone was headed in the same direction, and this confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions that there was something incredible at their destination.

    There was another discovery that Lu Yin did not know if he should feel sorrowful or sympathetic about; there were Limiteers who had been taken and forced to be mounts.

    Pyrolyte had no star energy, and flying constantly consumed one¡¯s star energy. For some, using star crystals to replenish their used energy was too exorbitant, so they had found human mounts. Just as the name implied, they used human cultivators as mounts with the rider sitting on top as they flew.

    At this moment, Lu Yin saw a bunch of people riding human mounts.

    Hai Qiqi looked over in surprise, as it was her first time seeing such a thing. There was a sliver of iprehension on her face as well, since she was looking at human mounts, which was insanely humiliating. There were also various powerful organizations above the observing everything. If it were Hai Qiqi, she would rather die than be treated as a mount, and yet, she saw an entire group of such people right now.

    ¡°Why would this happen? Even if it¡¯s to save their lives, when they leave Pyrolyte, these people might still be eliminated by their own organizations,¡± Hai Qiqi wondered, as she could notprehend such a thing. The two of them watched the approaching human mounts, as well as the Limiteers riding them.

    Lu Yin faintly replied, ¡°Death is certain, but this way, they can at least live for a while longer, and they might even encounter an opportunity to live.¡±

    Hai Qiqi turned to Lu Yin. ¡°But don¡¯t they value their dignity?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve told you this before. You¡¯ve lived a noble¡¯s life since birth, so you will never understand how scary the bottom can be. Death is a very distant concept for you. You can only see it as an idea and will find it difficult to ept it as a necessary part of life since your father has protected you for your whole life. If you lost your status, you might also experience the destion and sorrow thate with impending death.¡±

    Hai Qiqi frowned, remembering the first time she had seen Lu Yin destroy a spacecraft and how those many deaths had affected her. Still, she was an adult, and she could ept such things and had quickly recovered. However, these human mounts were something that she could not understand. What was more important¡ªdignity or life?

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi streaked past the mounts, and Hai Qiqi took another nce to observe the human mounts¡¯ expressions, and she discovered that although they appeared lifeless, their faces still held a trace of unwillingness and expectation. They clearly knew that death awaited them, but they kept holding on to a longing for the future. These people had chosen life and had abandoned their dignity.

    Hai Qiqi did not know if they had chosen correctly, but she had no right to judge them since it was their own lives and not hers.

    She turned back around and took a deep breath. She intended to forget that expression. Suddenly, a zing inferno swept through the sky and formed a fiery wall that blocked Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi¡¯s path.

    The two stopped, and they turned around to stare in the direction of the human mounts as that was where the inferno originated from.

    The human mounts surrounded Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi, and one mount flew out from the center. Seated atop the enved Limiteer was one of Lu Yin¡¯s old acquaintances, Jared.

    ¡°Either be a human mount or die. You guys choose,¡± Jared dered in a low tone as he stared at Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi. They had not been travelling quickly, so they had been mistaken for weaklings.

    Hai Qiqi was caught off guard. These people wanted to force her to be a human mount?

    ¡°How audacious!¡± Hai Qiqi involuntarily shouted.

    Jared raised his brows. ¡°Then you¡¯re dead.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He had sensed Jared beforehand, but he had not bothered with him as he did not want to be more entangled with the ze Realm. Lu Yin had not expected Jared to take a fancy to the two of them, but he had no reason to be polite, so he didn¡¯t waste his breath.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed a Spacerender Palm at Jared. The air trembled, and a transparent shockwave swept through the air.

    Jared¡¯s eyes went wide when he felt the approaching pressure. Not good! This person was an absolute powerhouse! Jared dodged as quickly as he could, but he was still too slow. His right shoulder was crushed by the Spacerender Palm¡¯s shockwave as it swept by. The human mount beneath him was flung down to the ground, and there was no doubt that the person was about to die.

    Lu Yin felt no sympathy, as this was the cruelty of the universe. Sympathy could not be exchanged for a person¡¯s dignity, so Lu Yin would simply speed up this person¡¯s approach to the end of his path!

    The ze Realm people surrounding Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi all attacked in unison, but Jared barked out, ¡°Stop!¡±

    That one Spacerender Palm had been enough for him to realize the disparity between his group and this person. This person was definitely an elite Limiteer and someone whose strength had reached one of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Realm Masters. This was not someone who they could deal with.

    Lu Yin grabbed Hai Qiqi and streaked past the cultivators from ze Realm, only to appear in front of Jared. Jared¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°It was my mistake. We¡¯ll leave now.¡±

    However, Lu Yin did not intend to let these people go. Before, when they had been in the giant centipede¡¯s corpse, Lu Yin had wanted to take out Jared, but events had unfolded in such a way that he had never gotten the opportunity to do so. However, now, there was no reason to let this person go. Jared was not the ze Realm¡¯s only heir, as he did not possess enough qualifications. Killing Jared would not ce any burden on Lu Yin since the ze Realm would not be able to do anything even if they did find out that Lu Yin was the killer. As long as Lu Yin did not encounter a terrifying power like the Daynight n, Hai Dashao¡¯s reputation would be enough to protect him. Thus, Lu Yin did not care about the ze Realm at all.

    There was a bang, and Jared spat out a mouthful of blood. He wasn¡¯t even able to use any of his battle techniques as his organs had already been destroyed. He couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened; how could the disparity between them be so vast?

    Lu Yin leaned towards Jared. ¡°Die in peace.¡±

    Jared¡¯s eyes changed, as the voice was obviously Lu Yin¡¯s. Jared¡¯s finger trembled. It was no wonder why the disparity between them was so great, as he had encountered the strongest Limiteer in the universe. Unfortunately, Jared couldn¡¯t even make a sound as his body crashed onto the ground below.

    The nearby ze Realm group was stunned. The strongest out of them all, Jared, had not even been able to retaliate before dying. Who the heck was this guy?

    Jared¡¯s strength was only above averagepared to other Limiteer geniuses, as there were many that surpassed him, and quite a few could even kill him instantly. Lu Yin was not afraid that his identity would be revealed because of Jared¡¯s death.

    At this moment, no one dared to try and stop Lu Yin. He was just about to leave with Hai Qiqi when he suddenly felt his heart palpitate. He looked down at Jared¡¯s corpse to see that it was being burned by an unknown me. He suddenly thought of the Karmic me Sword battle technique. Jared¡¯s body actually contained that ancient me.

    There was a whoosh as a ferocious and terrifying congration tore up towards the sky even as it burned the ground. Jared¡¯s corpsepletely disappeared as the karmic mes covered the ground.

    Lu Yin felt it was a pity, as he would have tried to retrieve the karmic me within his body if he had known about it. What a waste.

    Hai Qiqi was astonished. ¡°What a powerful me! How did he have such a strong me?¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother exining and simply took Hai Qiqi away.

    Around them, the cultivators from ze Realm were lost, as they did not know where to go now.

    In the ze Realm¡¯s spacecraft that was hovering in space above Pyrolyte, Huo Houye was furious. The strength that the ze Realm possessed on Pyrolyte had not been very impressive to begin with, and it had only be more frail with Jared¡¯s death. Huo Houye did not care about Jared¡¯s death, but his death meant that the ze Realm had lost a bit more of the karmic me, which was extremely painful. The ze Realm did not have much of that me left, and every loss was a pity.

    ¡°Has she not arrived yet?¡± Huo Houye asked sternly.

    A ze Realm disciple answered in a trembling voice, ¡°Soon. She¡¯s already in the Outerverse.¡±

    Huo Houye¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s about time to reveal her identity. It¡¯s not that my ze Realm does not possess any outstanding disciples.¡±

    The asional spacecraft continued to drop down from outer space andnd in the distance. When Lu Yin brought Hai Qiqi away from the ze Realm disciples, the air was faintly reeking of blood, and murderous shouts could be vaguely made out in the distance.

    Those who qualified to participate in the contest on Pyrolyte were all Limiteer elites. Even if they weren¡¯t that powerful, they were still people who were considered experts in the various organizations of the smaller flowzones. Though there weren¡¯t many people here, the entire area had been turned into a battlefield, which went to show how attractive the pyrolyte in this ce was.

    This area was not part of a mountain range. Rather, it was one of the extremely rarely seenkes on Pyrolyte. It was a redke.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes went wide as she looked at theke in surprise.

    Around theke, there were at least a thousand Limiteers engaged in a chaotic battle. Even the sky above and the ground beneath theke were filled with fights, as the battlefield covered a vast area.

    Lu Yin randomly captured a nearby Limiteer to learn more about the current situation.

    ¡°Thiske is called Pyrolyte Lake, and there¡¯s a lot of pyrolyte ore at the bottom.¡± The Limiteer male trembled as he stared fearfully at Lu Yin. This person had grabbed him like someone holding a chick, and his strength was too frightening.

    ¡°Even more than Pyrolyte Mountain?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Limiteer shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that since it hasn¡¯t been thoroughly investigated, but it¡¯s definitely not a small amount of pyrolyte. Even if it can¡¯tpare to Pyrolyte Mountain, it won¡¯t be much less.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed his hand and allowed the Limiteer to leave. He then surveyed the entirety of Pyrolyte Lake. After that, he released his domain, as he wanted to search for Zhuo Daynight.

    Most of those who hade to seize this area belonged to organizations of the smaller flowzones. Even if there were some people from the Eight Great Flowzones, they were not very strong. There were even fewer geniuses who hadprehended domains, but that didn¡¯t mean that there were none at all.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s domain extended further out, he eventually encountered resistance, and even sneak attacks.

    Lu Yin frowned, and looked towards his right, at a location about a thousand meters away from him. In that ce, there was a woman standing there, staring at him in provocation. She had alsoprehended a domain, which was how she had sensed the expansion of Lu Yin¡¯s domain. She instantly reacted, and she even tried to use her domain to suppress Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was about to act, but from beside him, Hai Qiqi¡¯s lips curled up. Layers of ripples fluctuated in the air before ferociously expanding out and covering almost half of Pyrolyte Lake at once. Not only did the ripples suppress Lu Yin¡¯s domain, it even stifled the few other geniuses who had domains. With just her strength alone, Hai Qiqi had suppressed the entire battlefield.

    Across Pyrolyte Lake, quite a few people looked up, overwhelmed with shock. Who the heck had such a powerful domain?

    Lu Yin also looked at Hai Qiqi in surprise. This kid¡¯s domain was quite powerful, and even though it was not at Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield¡¯s level, it should not be that much inferior to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s still-nubile forcefield. Could this brat haveprehended a forcefield?

    That woman provoking Lu Yin was frightened and hastened to escape. If Hai Qiqi¡¯s domain was this powerful, then her strength could naturally also be inferred.

    Pleased with herself, Hai Qiqi raised her head and nced at Lu Yin, as if waiting for him topliment her.

 Chapter 495: Dangerous Words

    <h4>Chapter 495: Dangerous Words</h4>

    Lu Yin did not disappoint her. ¡°You must haveprehended a forcefield!¡±

    Hai Qiqi blinked and grinned. ¡°Who knows? But you can keep guessing.¡±

    Lu Yin had asked just for fun, but by the looks of it, it really seemed like she might haveprehended a forcefield. Lu Yin still only knew of three people who hadprehended a forcefield, so if Hai Qiqi had truly done so, she would be the fourth.

    A forcefield was an incredibly powerful ability. Mu Rong had been able to force Ling Que to split his soul into three clones with just his forcefield. And Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s forcefield, the Fourth Sword, had helped him conquer Pyrolyte Mountain. A forcefield was not something that just anyone couldprehend. Lu Yin had struggled just toprehend a domain, so he didn¡¯t even think about what his chances ofprehending a forcefield were.

    If Hai Qiqi really did have a forcefield, then she must be rather powerful. At the very least, her strength wasparable to Zhang Dingtian¡¯s, which was to be expected of the Sea King¡¯s daughter. Although she was not a fighter and had never experienced a bloodbath before, she was definitely not weak.

    ¡°What¡¯s the range of your forcefield?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi thought it over before replying, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it should cover quite arge distance.¡±

    ¡°Help me find something.¡± He tapped on his gadget and showed her a picture of Zhuo Daynight.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Why should I?¡±

    ¡°If you help me find her, you can go wherever you want,¡± Lu Yin temptingly replied.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Deal!¡±

    With that, she started unleashing her domain at full force.

    When Hai Qiqi had released her domain earlier, while the average Limiteer cultivator might not have realized it, the geniuses had all be aware that someone amazing had arrived. And so none of them dared to release their own domains to challenge her. However, they had ultimately decided to band together, and with the goal of challenging the girl next to Lu Yin, they started to surround the two.

    Pyrolyte Lake was massive, and while the various Limiteers were fighting against each other, they had also made an agreement to work together in order to resist the heirs of the major powers. At this moment, Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin fit the description, so thebatants had decided to first work together and eliminate these two.

    Lu Yin quickly realized what was going on and scanned the area behind him. There were five people working together, and each of them was equal to a genius from arge organization. Each of the five hadprehended a domain, and if they had been in the Astral Combat Academy, then they would have be Area Masters at the very least. One of them might have even been strong enough to be a Realm Master.

    However, these people were still weak in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t even bother with them. She continued to use her domain to search for Zhuo Daynight while Lu Yin slowly turned around, raised his hand, and then directed it at one of the geniuses.

    ¡°Spacerender Palm.¡± As he spoke, his palm vibrated in such a way that the void distorted while a shockwave appeared.

    At that moment, the five attackers became horribly startled. Through their domains, they could tell how terrifying Lu Yin¡¯s attack was, and the one who had been targeted by Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike shrank back and hurriedly tried to escape. Shockwaves brushed past him and sent him flying while half of his body went numb from the attack.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in this ce. I¡¯m just here to look for someone,¡± Lu Yin stated coldly as he looked the four remaining people up and down.

    They eyed him fearfully. This person was terrifying! He was also a Limiteer, but why was the gap between them sorge? He was most certainly a monster and was clearly somebody who they couldn¡¯t provoke. Not a single one of them spoke a word as they all immediately moved away.

    In order to survive in the universe, it was better to have friends than enemies. Lu Yin did not enjoy killing, and unless it was absolutely necessary, he would avoid doing so.

    The battle for Pyrolyte Lake had been going on for quite a while, and the intensity had not let up at all. Theke was originally a dull red, but the fresh blood had stained it into a brighter scarlet.

    Spacecraft shot down from the sky andnded around theke as even more Limiteers came out.

    Hai Qiqi searched for quite some time, but she finally shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t find her.¡±

    Lu Yin was rather disappointed.

    Hai Qiqi offered, ¡°I¡¯ll try again.¡±

    Lu Yin did not say anything. While he really didn¡¯t want to admit it, it was very unlikely that Zhuo Daynight had survived. Even if she was alive, there was an extremely miniscule possibility that she hade to Pyrolyte Lake.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Hai Qiqi suddenly shrieked and looked to the east.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He asked.

    Hai Qiqi pointed to the east. ¡°Some powerhouses from the Daynight n are here.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and gazed in the direction she had pointed in. He saw that there were about twenty people charging towards theke, and the one leading them was Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Pyrolyte Mountain had already been taken over by the Sword Sect. Thus, the Daynight n was trying to gain control of Pyrolyte Lake.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. His gaze locked onto a figure who wasn¡¯t that far away from Nightqueen Yanqing. It was Zhanlong Daynight. I¡¯ve been looking for you.

    At that moment, Lu Yin barely resisted the urge to rush over, seize Zhanlong Daynight by the neck, and question him on how he¡¯d managed to leave the Shenwu Continent and if he¡¯de to some kind of agreement with Ming Zhaoshu. However, Lu Yin instead decided not to make a rash decision. This wasn¡¯t the right time to expose himself.

    The arrival of the Daynight n meant that they would soon be the owners of Pyrolyte Lake. Even if all the present Limiteers here banded together, they still wouldn¡¯t be a match for the twenty new arrivals. Besides, they were all too afraid to fight against the Daynight n anyways.

    Hai Qiqi had been using her domain to look for Zhuo Daynight when her domain bumped into a domain genius from the Daynight n, which was how the two of them had been found out.

    Numerous Daynight cultivators appeared in front of Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi, ring coldly at them. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°What are you doing? Trying to find out how many people are here?¡± Hai Qiqi shot back sarcastically.

    ¡°That was your domain, wasn¡¯t it?¡± the Daynight cultivator asked as he looked at her, seeming rather cautious.

    Hai Qiqi pointed at Lu Yin. ¡°It was his.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless since the person in front of them could clearly sense the truth.

    The Daynight n cultivator frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are, but Pyrolyte Lake belongs to the Daynight n now. Please leave this ce immediately.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to expose himself and pulled Hai Qiqi away, intending to leave. However, at that moment, Nightqueen Yanqing showed up. While she hadn¡¯tprehended a domain, she could still tell how powerful Hai Qiqi¡¯s was. The fluctuations from the girl¡¯s domain had shocked her.

    ¡°Wait.¡± Nightqueen Yanqing stood in front of them, carefully studying Lu Yin and then Hai Qiqi. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°You guys from the Daynight n must be here to figure out how many people are here. What¡¯s it matter to you who we are? Get out of our way.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. They were going to get in a fight. This brat had always been amazing at provoking people.

    As expected, right after she spoke, the people from the Daynight n became furious. Nightqueen Yanqing raised her brows. ¡°Didn¡¯t your parents teach you any manners? I guess I¡¯ll have to do it for them.¡±

    While Hai Qiqi might have a sharp tongue, she wasn¡¯t always trying to pick a fight. However, she found Nightqueen Yanqing to be a horrible eyesore, especially with her ample breasts. Visually, the woman was aggravating, so Hai Qiqi went straight to it. ¡°Sure thing, old aunty. Thanks for making it clear how old you are.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was now thoroughly enraged. Being called ¡°old aunty¡± reminded her of Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, as those were the exact same words that stupid girl had used to insult here. And now, there was another little bitch calling her the same thing. Nightqueen Yanqing somehow corrted Hai Qiqi to Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, and her four-lined battle force exploded forth. Her purple eyes shed, and she punched out at Hai Qiqi, wanting both of these two girls to pay for insulting her.

    Hai Qiqi smirked as the void around her trembled. Her domain was enough to cause Nightqueen Yanqueen to freeze while a sound reminiscent of the roar of the sea could be heard. The air seemed to solidify intoyers as it formed a terrifying force that swept towards Nightqueen Yanqing. However, thetter¡¯s attack could not be stopped, and it tore straight through the domain, allowing her to grab Hai Qiqi.

    The girl immediately cast a pitiful look over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no choice, so he grabbed Hai Qiqi and took another step to instantly break past Nightqueen Yanqing and move far away.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s attack did not end upnding on anyone, and she appeared to be rather shocked. After looking around, she focused on Lu Yin; his speed was stunning.

    Even further away, above Pyrolyte Lake, Zhanlong Daynight looked over as well. He¡¯s fast! Interesting¡­ Hispetitive side starteding out.

    Lu Yin knew that things couldn¡¯t wait any longer, or else Zhanlong Daynight would show up. That was why he had grabbed Hai Qiqi and hurriedly left.

    ¡°Wait! Hey, wait a second! I¡¯ve got a question!¡± Hai Qiqi squirmed while in Lu Yin¡¯s grasp.

    Lu Yin stopped. ¡°What?¡±

    Hai Qiqi gazed at Nightqueen Yanqing and pointed at the woman¡¯s breasts. ¡°Those things are fake, right? They¡¯re drooping.¡±

    Drooping¡­ Drooping¡­ Drooping¡­

    From all around Pyrolyte Lake, numerous people stared at the girl in a daze. She had a particrly loud voice, and it wasn¡¯t just Nightqueen Yanqing who had heard her; the other Daynight n members and even the escaping Limiteers had heard her. At this moment, numerous eyes were inadvertently drawn towards Yanqing¡¯s chest.

    Nightqueen Yanqing wentpletely red and her eyes turned murderous. She screamed, ¡°YOU STUPID GIRL!! I¡¯M GOING TO KILL YOU!¡±

    She activated her Nightking¡¯s Body and recklessly charged at Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi.

    Lu Yin grinned, grabbed Hai Qiqi, and continued fleeing at a speed that far outpaced Yanqing, soon disappearing.

    Because of that one thing that Hai Qiqi had said, even Zhanlong Daynight had not been able to stop himself from eyeing Yanqing¡¯s chest, which was why he hadn¡¯t helped out. Those words had been lethal.

    Nightqueen Yanqing growled crazily up in the air, releasing a huge amount of star energy around her and far into the distance. Her fury had peaked, and she¡¯d never been so angry before.

    Far in the distance, Lu Yin looked at Hai Qiqi in awe. For some reason, this girl seemed amazing to him at this moment. Speech was oftentimes considered an art, but Hai Qiqi¡¯s speech was a weapon.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I suddenly find myself liking this girl. When we run into other enemies, just let her mock them. I guarantee that there¡¯ll be a huge group of people that¡¯ll die of frustration!¡± the Ghost Monkey snickered.

    Lu Yin was actually considering the monkey¡¯s suggestion as it did make sense. He had been able to tell that Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s breathing had be ragged just now. If she had been in that state during the Astral Combat Tournament, Lu Yin would have easily won that match.

    ¡°Hey, what are you staring at me for? I¡¯m warning you, you¡¯re not getting me or my heart!¡± Hai Qiqi grew cautious of Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin looked away. It was only now that he realized that Hai Qiqi must have actually been holding back when speaking to him.

    Nightqueen Yanqing did not pursue them since she wasn¡¯t able to catch up, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t go too far away either. Only the Daynight n would possibly know of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s location, so he was nning on capturing one of the n members and asking them where she was.

    Near theke, the atmosphere had be a bit odd. The Daynight n had gained control of the area, and the other cultivators had retreated, leaving the region in silence. However, the remaining people couldn¡¯t help themselves from asionally sneaking peeks at Nightqueen Yanqing, and especially at her breasts.

    Nightqueen Yanqing clenched her fists as her face turned red.

    ¡°Leave for a while. It won¡¯t take them long to leave,¡± Zhanlong Daynight said as he walked over to her, though he himself unconsciously took a glimpse as he was speaking.

    Nightqueen Yanqing red furiously at him, but she did not leave. She¡¯d always been stubborn, and the more people who looked, the more insistent she was on staying. She was the younger sister of Arbiter Zhenwu, and she wouldn¡¯t embarrass him. If people were going to look, then so be it!

 Chapter 496: Running In The Opposite Direction

    <h4>Chapter 496: Running In The Opposite Direction</h4>

    There were times where Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s actions quite impressed Zhanlong Daynight. She was aggressive, stubborn,petitive, slightly despicable, and jealous, but she also continuously worked on improving herself. This woman was the reason why he had been imprisoned in the ancestral grounds, and he should hate her to the very core. However, rather than hatred, he actually felt pity for her, as everything she did was to try to match up to her brother, Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters.

    Arbiter Zhenwu was the pride of the entire Daynight n, and he was the greatest genius that the Daynight n had ever seen. Even Zhanlong Daynight had to admit that the Arbiter couldn¡¯t be surpassed, and having such a ster brother had caused Nightqueen Yanqing to experience an exhausting life.

    The other cultivators slowly left the area.

    Nightqueen Yanqing remained in ce, staring into the distance. She finally coldly ordered, ¡°Immediately start mining.¡±

    The Daynight n members quickly got to work.

    After half a day, no other force had sent any more cultivators to Pyrolyte Lake, and no spacecraft hadnded either.

    Despite the peace, neither Zhanlong Daynight nor Nightqueen Yanqing let their guard down. In order to take full control of Pyrolyte Lake, they still had to deal with Ling Que.

    The other forces wouldn¡¯t dare to fight against the Daynight n, but the Wen family was an exception. The Wen family was the ruling family of Erudite Flowzone, and they were definitely a match for the Daynight n. They had even been able to invite Ling Que to help them with the struggle on Pyrolyte, so as long as the Daynight n didn¡¯t defeat Ling Que, then Pyrolyte Lake could never be considered as truly belonging to them.

    Nightqueen Yanqing knew that even if the entire Daynight n worked together with the cultivators from the Second Grade Hall who were about to arrive, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Ling Que. The only thing that she could do now was to negotiate with Ling Que, but it would be ideal if he didn''te to Pyrolyte Lake.

    Lu Yin quickly captured someone from the Daynight n and asked them about Zhuo Daynight¡¯s whereabouts. From that, he learned that she had been abandoned and that they weren¡¯t certain if she was still even alive, and that if she was, she should be near Pyrolyte Mountain. Lu Yin was then able to deduce that she was hiding underground near Pyrolyte Mountain. They should have just gone there when they had been closer. What a waste of time.

    He didn¡¯t have time to hesitate, so Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi headed back to Pyrolyte Mountain again.

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t like this choice since she had already been to Pyrolyte Mountain. Naturally, she wanted to go and y somewhere else. However, there was nothing that she could do to Lu Yin, and when she resorted to insulting him, Lu Yin just pretended to not hear her.

    Half a day after they left Pyrolyte Lake, the two of them quickly dropped down and stopped moving since someone was heading in their direction. It was Ling Que who had run into Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi. He didn¡¯t pay any particr attention to them, but he did shoot a charming smile towards Hai Qiqi when he saw her beauty.

    Hai Qiqi suddenly eximed, ¡°Narcissist!¡±

    Ling Que paused and looked at Hai Qiqi in confusion before descending towards them.

    Lu Yin was speechless. She¡¯s stirring up trouble again.

    ¡°Miss, what did you just say?¡± Ling Que asked.

    Hai Qiqi confidently answered, ¡°Narcissist.¡±

    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡±

    ¡°Whoever responds to it.¡±

    Ling Que pouted as his expression turned dark. Ever since he had been exposed for hiring his cheerleaders at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, many people had started gossipping about him behind his back. Nevertheless, Hai Qiqi was the first person to directly call him a narcissist. ¡°Miss, you should be careful when you speak so that you don¡¯t cause trouble for yourself.¡±

    ¡°Just like when you spoke to Mu Rong?¡± Hai Qiqi asked innocently.

    Ling Que rolled his eyes and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Teach her some manners. I don¡¯t fight girls, but I''ve got no problem fighting you.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was about to speak up again, but Lu Yin covered her mouth. ¡°Sure thing. I¡¯m sorry, this girl tends to speak before thinking. She probably thought that you were someone else, so don¡¯t mind her at all.¡±

    Ling Que nced at Hai Qiqi again, thinking that it was a pity that such a beautiful girl was so rude. He then flew back into the sky and left.

    Lu Yin removed his hand only after Ling Que was some distance away. Hai Qiqi panted and red at him. ¡°Hey! Are you trying to suffocate me?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to give me a heart attack?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Hai Qiqi furiously responded, ¡°I¡¯m just stating the truth! You also saw that he was flirting with me.¡±

    ¡°You still shouldn¡¯t have said that. I don¡¯t want to reveal my presence here just yet. What if he decided to fight me? Everyone would discover who I am if that happened.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. It would have been his fault. He flirted with me and then he even had the gall to scold me for it! Go beat him up for me.¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t reveal myself.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you coward! I want to break up with you!¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, but he just grabbed her and continued on his way. Hai Qiqi continued screaming in indignation, but Lu Yin used his star energy to block off her voice, it was just way too annoying.

    Even when they were about to reach Pyrolyte Mountain, Hai Qiqi was stillining. Lu Yin could only calmly say to her, ¡°Help me find that person, and then I¡¯ll let you go wherever you want.¡±

    Hai Qiqi couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, so she agreed.

    Lu Yin gave her a warning as well. ¡°Mu Rong is at Pyrolyte Mountain, and your forcefield is just a toy before him. Be careful, and don¡¯t get too close to him. Look for her slowly, and focus more on the underground areas.¡±

    ¡°Fine!¡± Hai Qiqi said impatiently and then slowly released her forcefield. She wasn¡¯t dumb, so of course she wouldn¡¯t try to go up against Mu Rong with her forcefield.

    Lu Yin hoped that they would be able to find Zhuo Daynight this time, as if they didn¡¯t, he really didn¡¯t know where to look for her next. He just hoped she wasn¡¯t already dead!

    In outer space, above the, Granny Chan, Lily Anne, and the other high leveled members of Northline Flowzone focused on the area around Pyrolyte Mountain. They were watching Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi, wondering what the two of them were doing there. Only Lily Anne knew that Lu Yin hade to this ce to save someone. Could it be that the person he hade for was near Pyrolyte Mountain?

    They soon shifted their attention back to Pyrolyte Lake, as Ling Que was about to arrive there. Everyone could sense the huge battle brewing on the horizon.

    However, just a few momentster, someone hesitantly spoke up. ¡°Ling Que is now running in the opposite direction.¡±

    Lily Anne blinked in confusion, but her eyes were not wrong. The young man truly was actually running in the opposite direction .

    ¡°Could he be lost?¡± someone asked.

    ¡°Maybe. Pyrolyte Lake is very far from his previous location, and he is currently surrounded by scattered bits of pyrolyte ore. Thus, there¡¯s no way for him to determine his location.¡±

    ¡°The Wen family is on their way to Pyrolyte Lake, and if Ling Que doesn¡¯t arrive at the same time, they¡¯ll be in big trouble. The Daynight n will definitely attack them as soon as they appear, and by the time Ling Que arrives, the Wen family won¡¯t have many people left.¡±

    ¡­

    All the major powers watching from outer space had realized that Ling Que was running in the opposite direction. The Wen family became very anxious since Wen Qian¡¯er and the others were already approaching Pyrolyte Lake.

    Wen Qichen, an elder of the Wen family, stared at a screen showing Ling Que. The elder could no longer ignore the situation, and he quickly stepped out of the vessel and into outer space above Pyrolyte to shout at Ling Que. However, the moment the elder moved, Nightqueen Qiuyu showed up next to him with a delighted expression. ¡°No attacks against the young ones leaving Pyrolyte, and no interfering in the battles on Pyrolyte. Those are the rules. Wen Qichen, you¡¯re not thinking of breaking the rules, are you?¡±

    Wen Qichen¡¯s face twitched, but then he sighed reluctantly. ¡°Of course not. I just wanted to take a stroll.¡±

    ¡°Very well then. I¡¯ll apany you on your stroll.¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu was worried that Wen Qichen would somehow find a way to surreptitiously contact Ling Que.

    Normally, powerhouses who were above the Cruiser realm were able to easily project their voice to cover an entire like Pyrolyte. However, to prevent the pyrolyte on this from exploding due to the soundwaves produced by a powerhouse, the major organizations had set a few rules in ce. One of the rules was that nobody was allowed to project their voice onto Pyrolyte from space.

    Wen Qichen nced at Nightqueen Qiuyu before returning to the Wen family¡¯s spacecraft, where he looked at the screen in resignation. Ling Que had been running in the opposite direction this entire time, and he felt an urgent need to go down and turn the youth around towards the correct direction.

    He really wanted to send someone to Pyrolyte just so that they could tell Ling Que that he was heading in the wrong direction. However, there wasn¡¯t enough time to do that, and he didn¡¯t even know where Ling Que was trying to go since there was no fixed meeting location. Even if he sent people down, they might not be able to find Ling Que.

    Moreover, the most important factor at this moment was time. Wen Qichen had to somehow get Ling Que onto the correct path before Wen Qian¡¯er and the others arrived at Pyrolyte Lake. With Ling Que¡¯s extreme speed, he still had a chance to catch up to their group.

    Mira also stood in front of the screen with a helpless gaze. Ling Que was just too unreliable. If only Lu Yin was avable to help them.

    Suddenly, an idea popped into her head, and she promptly shared it with the Wen family.

    A short whileter, numerous spacecraft flew towards Pyrolyte, destined for Pyrolyte Lake.

    Since they couldn¡¯t explicitly tell Ling Que to change directions, they would instead use their spacecraft to inform him. They could use the spacecraft to clearly indicate the location of theke, as some of the vessels even lined up to form the words ¡°Lake¡ªopposite¡± across the sky.

    All Limiteers were able to see the spacecraft, and thus, most of the people on Pyrolyte saw the words spelled out by the ships. Most of the people stood there in a daze, confused at what they were seeing. Just what was going on?

    Nightqueen Qiuyu grew furious when she saw the scene unfold. ¡°Wen Qichen, you¡¯re cheating!¡±

    Wen Qichen smugly exited his spacecraft. ¡°Nightqueen Qiuyu, don¡¯t insult me. I haven¡¯t cheated. I have only sent some people down to Pyrolyte. Why would you say that? Did the rules restrict the number of people that I can send down to Pyrolyte?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was enraged, but the Wen family really hadn¡¯t broken any rules, so there was nothing she could do about their actions.

    Everyone was watching the Wen family¡¯s performance, but Ling Que still hadn¡¯t noticed anything. He believed himself to be an ethical and reliable guy, and since he had promised to help the Wen family obtain pyrolyte, he would indeed put forth his best efforts. The only thing on his mind right now was to hurry over to Pyrolyte Lake and help his employers gain control of the location. Hence, he just kept running, not even seeing the words written across the sky.

    Wen Qichen grew anxious. ¡°Try again!¡±

    Mira replied, ¡°There¡¯s no time, elder. I suggest that we instead use the spacecraft to remind Qian¡¯er and the others to stay where they are now so that they aren¡¯t discovered by the Daynight n.¡±

    Wen Qichen immediatelymanded the spacecraft to take those actions.

    Momentster, more spacecraft flew down towards Pyrolyte, further infuriating Nightqueen Qiuyu. She wished that she could personally destroy all the ships.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. Lake? Opposite? What does that mean? Pyrolyte Lake should be in that direction. Opposite¡ªcould someone be going in the wrong direction? What are the odds that it¡¯s Ling Que? Now that would be interesting.

    Hai Qiqi was also looking at the sky. ¡°It seems like something interesting is happening. Hey, do you think that they¡¯ll keep writing words with the iing ships?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head to indicate hisck of knowledge. All he knew was that things were developing rather strangely.

    ¡°Keep searching and be careful. Don¡¯t let Mu Rong discover you,¡± Lu Yin urged Hai Qiqi again.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes, but she continued using her forcefield to look for Zhuo Daynight.

    A whileter, another batch of spacecraft appeared in the sky, this time forming three words. ¡°Wen¡ªdon¡¯t move.¡±

    Many Limiteers on Pyrolyte stared at the sky in confusion.

    Wen Qian¡¯er saw the words and immediately stopped moving. At that moment, the group from the Wen family were less than three hours away from Pyrolyte Lake.

    Suddenly, another batch of spacecraft appeared and formed the words, ¡°Wen¡ªkeep moving.¡±

    Wen Qian¡¯er was stunned; what in the world was going on?

    Wen Qichen grew irate as soon as he saw the second set of words. ¡°Nightqueen Qiuyu is so despicable! Keep sending spacecraft.¡±

    After that, an interesting show appeared in the sky: ¡°Wen¡ªdon¡¯t move. Lake, opposite.¡± ¡°Wen, keep moving, go.¡± ¡°Wen, don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Wen, keep moving. ¡°Wen, retreat.¡± ¡°Daynight, go...¡±

    The people on the surface of the were dumbfounded as they watched the show y out in the sky.

 Chapter 497: Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 497: Appearance</h4>

    The activity among the spacecraft in the sky drew even Mu Rong¡¯s attention. Ling Que was the only one who was bullheadedly rushing forward without thinking of anything else. He didn¡¯t even raise his head to look at his surroundings.

    ¡°You guys, shut up.¡± Another fleet of vessels formed a message, this time from the Sword Sect. Apparently, they couldn¡¯t stand looking at the scene any longer.

    The Wen family and the Daynight n were clearly fighting with the number of spaceships that they possessed. From the Sword Sect¡¯s point of view, the other two major powers were making fools of themselves. All three of them were major organizations, so how could they ept this ridiculing act?

    However, it seemed as though the Wen family had secured a decent head start. Over the next period of time, ships continued to form words high in the sky to help guide Limiteers in the right directions and evade danger. The skies above Pyrolyte became quite lively, but arge number of spacecraft were consumed in the process.

    Suddenly, Northcastle Weave, Frostwave Weave, and several other nearby weaves received arge number of orders for personal spacecraft. Even the Great Yu Empire received orders for an astounding number.

    Gavin, the finance minister of the Great Yu Empire, was delighted. The Great Yu Empire had numerous vessels whose models had long since be obsolete stored away, and Gavin quickly arranged for all of them to be sold to Northcastle Weave. He was prepared for a windfall.

    One would expect that Pyrolyte would soon be a graveyard for spacecraft as countless ships continued to crash down into it.

    At this time, Wen Qichen had already ordered someone to take a spacecraft and go after Ling Que. He was nning on stopping the Limiteer and telling him he was heading in the wrong direction. Wen Qian¡¯er and the others had received a warning as well, so they had temporarily stopped moving towards Pyrolyte Lake. As long as Ling Que arrived at theke, Pyrolyte Lake would belong to the Wen family.

    Although Nightqueen Qiuyu kept sending more spacecraft down and creating more confusing words and phrases, Wen Qian¡¯er remained steadfast and did not act. This was because the Wen family¡¯s reinforcements had already reached Pyrolyte and enlightened her to the situation. Wen Qian¡¯er was currently scolding Ling Que to death in her heart; their forces had almost fallen for a trap and been wiped out.

    The Wen family had sent at least thirty people after Ling Que in hopes of stopping him.

    Lu Yin watched this grand show take ce, but he soon lost all interest. Someone hade up with a strange idea, and now, countless vessels were being used to form words in the sky.

    A dayter, Ling Que finally sensed that something wasn¡¯t right and came to a stop. Why haven¡¯t I haven¡¯t arrived at Pyrolyte Lake?

    There were dozens of people from the Wen family and the Daynight n around him as they fought fiercely. The Daynight n was afraid that Ling Que would be found and be guided to Pyrolyte Lake.

    Ling Que activated his detector and tried to find some pyrolyte within the local vicinity. If there was pyrolyte, then there would definitely be people there as well. He then took off in a different direction. Though he still wasn¡¯t running in the correct direction, at least he wasn¡¯t running away from theke anymore. More importantly, he was running towards some Wen family members. Also, Ling Que finally saw that there were spacecraft in the sky spelling out words. What¡¯s going on?

    Wen Qichen heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Ling Que had finally realized that something was wrong. The Wen family elder felt incredibly tired, even more exhausted than if he had fought against Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were now very close to Pyrolyte Mountain. They had searched for more than a day, but they still hadn¡¯t found Zhuo Daynight. If they drew any closer to Pyrolyte Mountain, then there was a good chance that Mu Rong would discover them. However, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t give up. ¡°Qiqi, keep going.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡ªwait, what did you call me? Call me Sister Qi!¡± Hai Qiqi shouted back.

    ¡°Freedom, entertainment.¡± Lu Yin lightly spoke two words in response.

    Hai Qiqi obediently continued to spread her forcefield out as she searched for Zhuo Daynight.

    On Pyrolyte Mountain, Mu Rong suddenly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin. He stood up and took a single step before disappearing.

    The many disciples of the Sword Sect were surprised since Mu Rong hadn¡¯t left ever since he had helped them gain control of Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. It turned out that they couldn¡¯t avoid Mu Rong in the end.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s forcefield continued spreading underground. Suddenly, her forcefield distorted, and she looked up with a yelp. She was shocked to see Mu Rong materialize right in front of her, and she immediately hid behind Lu Yin before looking at Mu Rong with cautious eyes.

    Mu Rong stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not hostile. A friend of mine disappeared during the battle for Pyrolyte Mountain. I want to find out if they are hiding underground,¡± Lu Yin lightly answered.

    Mu Rong looked calm. ¡°No, there¡¯s no one beneath Pyrolyte Mountain.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed. Was she really not there?

    ¡°Why should we believe you?¡± Hai Qiqi poked her head out.

    Mu Rong softly replied, ¡°You can choose to believe my words or not, and you can search by yourself.¡±

    After saying those words, he turned around and left. He had only wanted to confirm whether or not the intruder was an enemy, but it had turned out that the people were not hostile. However, after taking a few steps, he stopped and turned around. He carefully observed Lu Yin. ¡°You seem very familiar.¡±

    Lu Yin had used the Invisible Aura Technique and even changed his appearance, so even Hunters might not be aware of his identity for a period of time. It was not surprising that Mu Rong had failed to see through his disguise.

    ¡°I have amon face,¡± Lu Yin nonchntly replied.

    Hai Qiqi nodded seriously.

    My Rong¡¯s eyes shed. He stopped thinking about the matter as he returned to Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Lu Yin had not expected Mu Rong to leave them be so easily, so he turned to Hai Qiqi and said, ¡°Go ahead and use your full strength to search Pyrolyte Mountain.¡±

    Hai Qiqi agreed and released the full power of her forcefield. This time, not only did Mu Rong sense her actions, but Liu Shaoqiu, who was even further away, did as well. It was a strong forcefield, but it wasn¡¯t threatening. Liu Shaoqiu lifted his head, nced at Mu Rong, and then did not pay much attention to the forcefield after that.

    Since the two of them were protecting Pyrolyte Mountain, unless that person showed up, there was no Limiteer in the current universe who could threaten their control.

    Soon, Hai Qiqi recalled her forcefield and shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no one here.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression becameplicated. If Zhuo Daynight really wasn¡¯t at Pyrolyte Mountain, then where else could she be? Had she actually died in such a manner that not even her bones remained?

    That was the only oue that Lu Yin could think of. Given Zhuo Daynight¡¯s power and her previous injuries, there was a strong possibility that she had died after being struck by the shockwaves from Mu Rong¡¯s battle.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, but he had already tried his best. Pyrolyte was massive, so he couldn¡¯t search through it inch-by-inch. At the moment, he nned on going back, finding Zhanlong Daynight, and then asking him about the situation on Shenwu Continent. Afterwards, Lu Yin nned on returning to the Outerverse so that he could contact Nightking Yuanjing and ask the old man to step forward and order the Daynight n members at Pyrolyte to search for Zhou Daynight. Right, there were also the people from Northline Flowzone who could help him search.

    As long as Zhuo Daynight wasn¡¯t dead, she would definitely be found. For now, it was time to go to Pyrolyte Lake.

    Lu Yin took Hai Qiqi back towards theke.

    In another ce, Ling Que rapidly sped towards a distant pyrolyte mine. When he was only about halfway there, a member of the Wen family saw Ling Que and started ecstatically chasing after him while shouting.

    Ling Que nced at the man, but then he indifferently left.

    In the sky, Wen Qichen almost crushed the spacecraft to pieces.

    This was what he had been the most worried about. No matter how many people were sent to find Ling Que, they might not be able to find him. And even if Ling Que was found, they might not be able to say a word to him. And furthermore, even if they did speak, he might not hear them. Being extremely fast wasn¡¯t always a good thing.

    In the end, that same Wen family cultivator managed to catch up Ling Que. The man was quite clever and had simrly detected the location of the nearby pyrolyte mine. The Wen family member managed toe face-to-face with Ling Que, and he told him the story of what happened in the sky for the past day, as well as what the spacecraft writing meant.

    Ling Que was stunned after hearing everything. He hadn¡¯t expected the spacecraft to write words across the sky because of him. He was at a loss as it turned out that he had actually gotten lost and ruined his own image in the process.

    At this moment, the Wen familyunched another batch of spacecraft into the sky. This time, the spacecraft all looked like older models. It appeared that the family had hurriedly gathered their ships to arrange them in the words, ¡°Lake Here.¡±

    Ling Que pursed his lips, and his thoughts became even moreplicated.

    However, before he moved out, another group of spacecraft appeared in the sky, also forming the words ¡°Lake Here.¡± But this time, the words were pointed towards a different direction. Although both of the words were pointing towards the south, one of them was pointing to the southeast and the other the southwest.

    Ling Que was stunned; which was the right direction?

    Immediately afterwards, another batch of spacecraft was sent out. This time, no words were formed. Instead, they formed an arrow pointing in one direction. Soon, batch after batch of vessels were sent out, each one forming a different arrow.

    Ling Que nkly stared at the sky. There were more than a dozen arrows, so which one was the correct one?

    He grabbed the cultivator from the Wen family. Ling Que had be a bit flustered, and he was about to fly into a rage from the humiliation. ¡°Where exactly is Pyrolyte Lake?¡±

    The Wen family cultivator was also taken aback. He actually didn¡¯t know. He only knew that theke was to the south, but he simrly couldn¡¯t point out the exact location.

    High above the sky, Wen Qichen was anxious. The Daynight n was too despicable and shameless. They had gone to such lengths to muddle the messages¡¯ meaning.

    Mira was also helpless. Fortunately, at least Ling Que knew that he had been traveling in the wrong direction. At least he could look for theke by moving towards the two directions.

    Ling Que also thought of this, and he quickly carried out this n. He covered his head and ran towards the south. He would make the Daynight n pay the price for this embarrassment.

    Nightqueen Qiuyue was left helpless. She had tried her best, but Ling Que would definitely end up finding Pyrolyte Lake in the end. He wasn¡¯t stupid, and a fierce battle was unavoidable.

    Around Pyrolyte Lake, a deste figure appeared with long fluttering ck and white hair.

    A Daynight n member saw the person and immediately stepped towards her, ¡°Zhuo Daynight, why have you only appeared now?¡±

    This person was Zhuo Daynight. During the battle for Pyrolyte Mountain, she had been buried by the aftershocks of the battle, but luckily, she hadn¡¯t beenpletely pummeled by the aftermath. She had finally emerged from underground after finding a ce to recover. She had then headed for Pyrolyte Lake after seeing the words in the sky.

    In fact, if Lu Yin had first gone to Pyrolyte Mountain and then simply gone a bit further south, he would have run into Zhuo Daynight. It was a pity that he had just missed her.

    Zhuo Daynight nced at the man and indifferently walked towards Pyrolyte Lake.

    The man snorted coldly. Of the Daynight n members who hade to Pyrolyte, which of them didn¡¯t know that Zhuo Daynight was a thorn in Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s side? One of them was a member of the Daynight n while the other one was a Nightqueen. The n members naturally knew whom to side with. Besides Zhanlong Daynight helping Zhuo Daynight by stopping an attack from Nightqueen Yanqing, everyone else was anxious for Zhuo Daynight to die. They had personally witnessed Zhuo Daynight being thrown underground, but not a single one of them had moved to rescue her.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhalong Daynight also saw that Zhuo Daynight had arrived at Pyrolyte Lake. Zhanlong Daynight did not pay her arrival any attention, but Nightqueen Yanqingughed coldly; it was good that the girl had made it. It was impossible to avoid a battle with the Wen family, so Yanqing could just have Zhuo Daynight die at that time.

    Zhuo Daynight stood beside Pyrolyte Lake and looked at her reflection in theke. Perhaps she would never return. She raised her head, and her eyes seemed to see across the endless sky. She saw her parents, her nsmen, as well as the nightmare that she couldn¡¯t shake off no matter what, the nightmare that caused her to be fearful for her entire life. Father, mother, I¡¯m so tired. I¡¯m sorry.

    The battle for control over Pyrolyte Lake erupted a dayter. Although the Daynight n had continued to interfere with Ling Que¡¯s sense of direction, Ling Que had still eventually found Pyrolyte Lake with a simple method; he had grabbed people and interrogated them. Arge number of cultivators had ran away from Pyrolyte Lake after the Daynight n arrived.

    As for Wen Qian¡¯er and the others, they didn¡¯t move any closer to theke. They were afraid of being wiped out by the Daynight n, so they had actually started moving further and further away from Pyrolyte Lake.

    Ling Que faced the entire Daynight n on his own, just like when he had first arrived at Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Nightqueen Yanqing stood in front of Ling Que, pretending to be wronged. ¡°Brother Ling, are you really going to embarrass this little sister? My Daynight n has always been extremely respectful to Brother Ling and never rude.¡±

    Ling Que looked at Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s enchanting face, alluring figure, and her stunning eyes, but his mood was very quickly ruined by the spacecraft flying in the sky. ¡°Your Daynight n has really screwed around with me this time.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing grudgingly replied, ¡°This was all for the sake of Brother Ling. The elders in the n don¡¯t want to make things difficult for Brother Ling, which is why they disrupted you. Does Brother Ling really want to make things difficult for this little sister?¡±

 Chapter 498: Two Fingers

    <h4>Chapter 498: Two Fingers</h4>

    Before Ling Que could even say anything in response, Zhanlong Daynight, who was nearby, rushed over. He attempted tond a blow on Ling Que while shouting, ¡°Enough nonsense! The Daynight n doesn¡¯t need to fawn over anyone!¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s attack turned into a strong gale that could be seen by the naked eye. It tore the ground apart with a tremendous noise, but Ling Que easily evaded the attack. He lifted a hand, and the de of his Que¡¯s Mighty sh tore through the void and disappeared. Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s face changed when their fists shed, the void warping even as a result. In an instant, multipleyers of shockwaves rippled out from where Zhanlong Daynight was standing, spreading in all directions. The Que''s Mighty sh shot out of the void, headed straight for Zhanlong Daynight, but it was stopped midway by the shockwaves, which caused its power to drop substantially. Even though the attack caused Zhanlong Daynight to bleed, it was not enough to substantially damage him.

    This was a method that Zhanlong Daynight had spent a long time creating, and it had been made specifically to deal with the Que''s Mighty sh.

    Against Ling Que, Liu Shaoqiu had used his Second Sword as a defensive countermeasure while also changing up his offensive strategies. Zhanlong Daynight, on the other hand, was capable of pping his palms together to create shockwaves that could act as defensive barriers.

    Ling Que was amazed by this tactic. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    Right in front of the two of them, Nightqueen Yanqing cursed at Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s stupidity inside her own head. She was not fazed by the battle, and with sparkling purple lights in her pupils, she suddenly yelled out, ¡°Brother Ling!¡±

    Ling Que automatically looked in her direction, and his eyes met her purple eyes.

    Immediately, the bottom of Ling Que¡¯s feet turned to stone, and the stonification quickly spread to other parts of his body. This was Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s innate gift¡ªpurple eyes. Her eyes were able to turn anything into stone.

    Ling Que¡¯s brows rose up, and he felt his body jolt. Right after that, a second Ling Que appeared. He had used his Soulsplitting Technique, and the Ling Que who had been turned into stone quickly vanished.

    ¡°Miss Yanqing, you¡¯ve gone too far.¡± Ling Que¡¯s tone turned cold when he realized that he had been sneak attacked.

    Nightqueen Yanqing activated her Nightking¡¯s Body and released her battle force even as she replied in an agonized tone, ¡°I am sorry, Brother Ling. I didn¡¯t wish for things to happen this way either. Please don¡¯t hold it against me.¡±

    With a swoosh, Zhanlong Daynight shot past Nightqueen Yanqing and threw a blow straight at Ling Que while the Que''s Mighty sh in Ling Que¡¯s hand flickered as it shed out horizontally. A thunderous sound was heard as a spatial tear appeared that quickly ballooned to cross the entirety of Pyrolyte Lake.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s body spun around as he evaded the attack. He then kicked out with his leg at Ling Que, and at the same time, Nightqueen Yanqingunched an attack from the another side.

    Ling Que quickly twisted his body, swinging therge de around as he did so, and moved away so that Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s attacksnded on empty ground.

    The earth instantly shattered, and all three of them were cast underground at the same time. Terrifying shockwaves shuddered through thend, causing the earth below to be sent flying up high in the sky.

    Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing immediately jumped up from beneath the ground. The next moment, a huge number of Daynight n members from the surrounding area charged forward to attack the ground. The Daynight n intended to use theirbined power to defeat Ling Que.

    From high above, Nightqueen Qiuyu stared intently at a screen. Would their strategy actually work?

    Wen Qichen frowned, as Ling Que had been too careless in his eyes.

    The Daynight n had no slouches among them. Every member of the Daynight n was capable of executing battle techniques that could attack their opponents¡¯ spiritual force. Their coordinated attack just now had not beenunched in hopes of damaging Ling Que¡¯s body, but rather in hopes of damaging his spiritual force.

    This was also the reason why thebined might of the Daynight n¡¯s attacks did not cause much damage to Pyrolyte Lake. Even though the naked eye could not see the blow that they had unleashed, it had actually dealt quite a significant amount of damage to Ling Que¡¯s spiritual force.

    After the round of attacks concluded, all of the Daynight n¡¯s members involved were out of breath. Zhanlong Daynight tightly clenched his fists. This was the first time he had ever attacked another person with an overwhelming numerical superiority. The coordinated group attack left him feeling sour, but it was inevitable since he could not fight against Ling Que on his own.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had a look of longing in her eyes. She was hoping that Ling Que had been unable to withstand their attacks.

    However, reality ended up leaving all of them horribly disappointed. Ling Que slowly emerged from the ground with a sinister look on his face as sweat dripped down from his forehead. The series of attacks that he had received from the Daynight n had not been entirely ineffective; they had caused him to be dizzy and had ignited his rage.

    Ling Que raised his head, revealing a cold re in his eyes. His gaze swept across all the people from the Daynight n. ¡°Do you all have a death wish?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s heart raced. She could tell that the situation had taken a turn for the worse. ¡°Everyone, RETREAT!¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight let out a low growl and aimed his fist at Ling Que. The unparalleled Limiteer paused slightly before leaping up with Que¡¯s Mighty sh in his hand. The void ripped open, and the tear continued to spread across the sky. Across from him, Zhanlong Daynight violently crashed to the ground, blood oozing from everywhere.

    Ling Que swept his nce over his surroundings as the giant de disappeared. The next moment, the throats of a dozen Daynight n members were shed open, instantly killing them. Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupils shrank, and she desperately tried to flee. Ling Que¡¯s eyes narrowed and the massive de disappeared again. This time, it was headed straight for Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s scalp went numb. ¡°Brother Ling, please have mercy!¡±

    A glimmer of icy arrogance shed across Ling Que¡¯s eyes. Even though he was vain and lecherous, that was just the kind of man that Ling Que was! He was one of the four unparalleled Limiteers and an extremely talented man from the Lingling n. He was not someone who would take an insult lying down. Although he absolutely reveled in the Nightqueen¡¯s respect and worship for him, that earlier attack had crossed his bottom line. Since that was the case, then he would just kill her!

    Powerful cultivators all had a bottom line, and once that line was crossed, they would be savage beasts.

    Nightqueen Yanqing could truly see death¡¯s door at this moment. It would take just three seconds, three seconds for her to be in by his Que''s Mighty sh. One second, two seconds¡­ On the third second, she suddenly stretched an arm out, grabbed Zhuo Daynight, and used her as a shield. Zhuo Daynight had been a part of the earlier attack. Now that Ling Que was about to deal her a fatal blow, she knew that, without a doubt, this was the end. She had no hope of escaping.

    When she was grabbed by Nightqueen Yanqing, Zhuo Daynight had a pale look of death on her face; her time hade.

    The Que''s Mighty sh emerged from the void, headed straight for Zhuo Daynight¡¯s forehead. Ling Que showed no mercy, and his eyes were icy cold.

    Nightqueen Yanqing hid behind Zhuo Daynight, her face white as a sheet. At best, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s death would buy her another second of life. Although it was another second, Nightqueen Yanqing had no idea how she could possibly defend herself against Que''s Mighty sh. This man was just too terrifying!

    In outer space, above the, Nightqueen Qiuyu was unable to bear the situation anymore. She was ready to take action as Nightqueen Yanqing could not die!

    At that very moment, the exact moment Zhuo Daynight sensed that her forehead was about to be pierced, two fingers suddenly appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight and grabbed ahold of the mysterious Que''s Mighty sh. After that, the void trembled, and everyone felt as if their hearts had stopped beating. Even the air itself went silent.

    Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the figure who had appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight. This man had just used merely two fingers to block the Que''s Mighty sh.

    Ling Que was thoroughly shocked by this scene. How can this be? Not even Mu Rong can do that!

    Nightqueen Yanqing stared at the man in disbelief. He was just centimeters away from her. Who was this strange man who had just saved her life?

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Blood slowly dripped onto the ground. Even though the Que''s Mighty sh had been stopped, it had nevertheless still stabbed in between Zhuo Daynight brows. She had already fainted, or to put it more urately, she was on the brink of death.

    The man who was standing in front of Zhuo Daynight was, unsurprisingly, Lu Yin. He had witnessed this scene right as he had arrived at Pyrolyte Lake. He had immediately unleashed the grains of Fatesand in his heart and left arm to release a huge portion of his true physical strength, which was how he had managed to use only two fingers to stop the Que''s Mighty sh. s, he had still been toote, the de had already stabbed between Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyebrows.

    In the distance, Hai Qiqi covered her mouth. She could not bear to watch what was happening.

    A de stabbing someone between the eyebrows would cause their forehead to split open and basically guarantee death. This was not an injury that could be healed by even the best medication Shamrock Enterprises had to offer. Humans could usually recover from almost any injury, but there was no way to recover from a wound like this. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s life had been snatched away the moment the de stabbed her.

    Pyrolyte Lake fell silent. Lu Yin¡¯s arms trembled, and his eyes glistened as he looked at Zhuo Daynight. Zhuo Daynight, on the other hand, had dull eyes as she stared back at Lu Yin. All she saw was a stranger since Lu Yin had disguised himself. She felt no resentment, as death was a form of absolution for her.

    The Que''s Mighty sh that had pierced her forehead vanished, as Ling Que had taken it back. Lu Yin grabbed Zhuo Daynight as shockwaves pulsed out from his body, forcing Nightqueen Yanqing to stumble and take cover. He then charged away from Pyrolyte Lake since he had suddenly thought of something: the piece of white fruit. It was the same white fruit that he had used a vast number of star essences to upgrade to the point of it being able to instinctively avoid danger.

    The Trialmaster had once said that such a fruit became more potent over time, and that some could even gain the power of resurrection since they were chock full of life energy. While Lu Yin did not believe that this fruit could actually resurrect someone, this was the only way he had a chance of saving Zhuo Daynight.

    Everyone except Ling Que was stunned. Ling Que stared at Lu Yin for a moment before rushing after him, shouting, ¡°Hey, wait! Who the hell are you?¡±

    Throughout the entire universe, there wasn¡¯t a single Limiteer that Ling Que could think of who could stop his Que¡¯s Mighty sh with just two fingers. If Mu Rong wasn¡¯t capable of such a feat, then it was unlikely for Lu Yin to be capable of it as well. So with that line of thought, who in the world was this person? This man had to be the most powerful Limiteer in the universe, and Ling Que had to find out who he was.

    Ling Que wasn¡¯t the only person who was curious about Lu Yin¡¯s identity, as everyone was wondering the same thing. This even included the various powers above the. Wen Qichen, Nightqueen Qiuyu, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and the others were all intently watching the events take ce at Pyrolyte Lake. They were all curious to find out how such a powerful Limiteer hade here.

    Only Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan, Lily Anne, and a few others knew who this person was, but they had all been shocked when they saw how Lu Yin had blocked Ling Que¡¯s de. This went against everything that they knew about the power of a Limiteer. Even Enlighters like Granny Chan werepletely lost on how a Limiteer could be so strong. This was just too amazing!

    Ling Que scurried after Lu Yin as he raised a hand and sent out another one of his Que¡¯s Mighty sh. The de shot through the void and headed straight for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned as he still did not want to reveal his identity. He had Hai Qiqi leave while he spun around to face the giant de. Right when it appeared, he shifted his body to the side. He then tightly hugged Zhuo Daynight and charged at the ground while spitting out a glob of blood. Right before hended, Lu Yin threw a feigned look of reluctance at Ling Que and then sped away at his top speed.

    Ling Que remained standing in the same spot, bewildered. The man had clearly just been hurt since there was a trace of blood on the de, but if that was the case, then how had he stopped Ling Que¡¯s de earlier? He could note up with an appropriate answer.

    Everyone was baffled by what had just happened, but there was only one possible exnation. The man had most likely used an innate gift to block the Que''s Mighty sh, but the innate gift was not one that could be sustained for a long time.

    This was the only possible exnation that people coulde up with. Each innate gift in the universe was unique, and there were all sorts of innate gifts.

    The only other exnation was that the man had pretended to be injured, but no one present could think of why someone would fake such a thing. This event should be a great way for this person to be renowned throughout the Human Domain, so it seemed unlikely that he had faked his injury.

    As people¡¯s thoughts kept going down such a path, many of them heaved sighs of relief. They had reassured themselves that no Limiteer could be so unreasonably powerful.

    Lu Yin had pretended to be injured by the de to confuse everyone since he did not wish to expose himself. As for the identity of the person who had rescued Zhuo Daynight, although suspicions might fall on him, as long as no one could know it was him for certain, it was alright.

    As he tightly held onto Zhuo Daynight, Lu Yin stomped on the ground, creating a fissure that he jumped into. Now that he was away from the watchful eyes of all of the observing powers above the, he went ahead and pulled out the white fruit from his cosmic ring. He then forced Zhuo Daynight¡¯s mouth open and stuffed the fruit in. Now, whether or not she recovered was left solely up to luck.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what did you just feed that woman? Why did her life force suddenly surge?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

 Chapter 499: Nightâ€™s End, Daybreak

    <h4>Chapter 499: Night''s End, Daybreak</h4>

    By now, Hai Qiqi had caught up to Lu Yin. She had never strayed far from Lu Yin¡¯s side on Pyrolyte. When she saw how Lu Yin was staring at Zhuo Daynight, she quickly asked, ¡°What are you in a daze about? Let¡¯s hurry up and leave! There are more peopleing after us!¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed Hai Qiqi while also still holding onto Zhuo Daynight, rushed into the sky and continued moving away.

    Many people behind them wanted to give chase, but none of them could catch up since Lu Yin¡¯s speed was just too fast.

    ¡°Even if this person isn¡¯t a match for Ling Que, just based on his ability to block the Que''s Mighty sh and his speed, he¡¯s still shown enough strength to climb straight to the top,¡± someonemented.

    No one disagreed since Lu Yin had truly demonstrated enough strength to be regarded this highly.

    At Pyrolyte Lake, Ling Que had killed many people from the Daynight n. He had severely injured Zhanlong Daynight, and he had also almost killed Nightqueen Yanqing. The Daynight n didn¡¯t dare tarry any longer and hurriedly retreated from Pyrolyte Lake. Theke had now officially been upied by the Wen family.

    This battle fully embodied the horror of invincible powerhouses. Just as Mu Rong had helped the Sword Sect take control of Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake had simrly been taken over by just Ling Que himself. If any of the four unparalleled Limiteers made an appearance, then only the other three were able to stop them.

    And of those four, none of the other three could stop Lu Yin. This was what everyone was thinking, but unfortunately, Lu Yin had not seemed toe.

    Everyone left Pyrolyte Lake and waited for the Wen family to arrive.

    Zhanlong Daylight stood up. He had been seriously injured by Ling Que, but he had recovered from his injury very quickly. Many people called him a freak, and even Ling Que raised a brow at how this person¡¯s recovery was stronger than his own.

    To the north of Pyrolyte Lake, Lu Yin was carrying Hai Qiqi while tightly holding onto Zhuo Daynight as he moved at a great speed. He didn¡¯t know where he should go, but he knew that he needed to find a ce for them to rest.

    He looked down at Zhuo Daynight. The wound between her eyebrows had gradually closed itself, shocking Lu Yin. Could she really be healed? Such a thing was unbelievable as she had received a fatal injury.

    Hai Qiqi eximed, ¡°She¡¯s not dead?¡±

    Lu Yin looked in front of them. With his current speed, not even Ling Que could catch up to them. He had been fleeing for half a day already, so they should be far away from Pyrolyte Lake by now.

    It would have taken them several days to traverse such a distance if he hadn¡¯t used his top speed. Or to put it more simply, if he had headed northeast from Pyrolyte Lake instead of north, then he would have been drawing quite close to Pyrolyte Mountain by now.

    ¡°Hey, this ce looks really familiar,¡± Hai Qiqi blurted out in a surprised tone.

    Lu Yin looked at the mountain range ahead of them, and his eyes shed. This mountain range was where the two of them had firstnded in the middle of a bunch of cultivators fighting. In the end, Lu Yin had taken control of the location and had given it over to the group from Northline Flowzone. He didn¡¯t think that they would have inadvertently circled back to this ce, but he soon realized that this ce, Pyrolyte Mountain, and Pyrolyte Lake formed arge triangle.

    Without giving the matter too much thought, Lu Yin suddenly felt that Zhuo Daynight, who was still in his arms, had be a little strange. When he had first started carrying her, Zhuo Daynight had given him a rather immaterial feeling, as if her body was empty and actually an illusion. It had felt like he wasn¡¯t holding her at all, but she had definitely been in his arms the entire time.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi touched down on the mountain range. Northgate Gang and the others shot suspicious looks towards Lu Yin as he sted a hole in the ground and continued moving deeper underground. When he felt it was suitable, he hurriedly set Zhuo Daynight down and looked at her in surprise. At that moment, he noticed that Zhuo Daynight¡¯s hair color had changed. It was nowpletely silver, and her entire body was shrouded in white light.

    The white light seemed gentle, but it also felt ancient, and it was constantly changing. There was a sense of immemorial time spanning endless ages.

    What¡¯s happening? Is this the true effects of that white fruit? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to just heal?

    Hai Qiqiqi also looked at Zhuo Daynight in surprise, her face full of confusion.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, she¡¯s glowing,¡± the Ghost Monkey murmured.

    Lu Yin pulled Hai Qiqi out of the cave that he had made. ¡°Go and y by yourself for now, but you¡¯re not allowed to leave this mountain range.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was dissatisfied, but she did not kick up any further fuss with Lu Yin. She had realized that Lu Yin was in a bad mood and already guessed that the woman he had rescued might be someone he liked. Thus, she didn¡¯t make a scene.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s situation could only be left to fate. Meanwhile, Lu Yin looked at the burrow and muttered, ¡°If you die, I will have that bitch, Nightqueen Yanqing, join you.¡±

    This mountain range was upied by people from Northline Flowzone, so no outsiders showed up, and Northgate Gang and the others did not disturb Lu Yin either.

    Hai Qiqi wandered about the mountain range for a while before returning with a bitter look on her face. Pyrolye¡¯s geology was unusual, and the was especially dry. There weren¡¯t any animals or nts at this location. In fact, it couldn¡¯t even be considered a mountain range as it was more of a mound. There was nothing special about this ce at all.

    She wanted to leave, but if Lu Yin didn¡¯t agree, then she would be stuck here.

    There were times when Lu Yin felt curious about what the Sea King had said to Hai Qiqi that made her not leave on her own.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Pyrolyte Lake to be upied by the Wen family. Before Ling Que arrived at Pyrolyte Lake, Wen Qian¡¯er and the others had been ying hide-and-seek with the Daynight n. One was the seeker while the other did their best to hide. They had only been able to move to Pyrolyte Lake after Ling Que defeated the Daynight n.

    Wen Qian¡¯er felt very sorry for Ling Que, as the rest of them weren¡¯t strong at all. However, Ling Que didn¡¯t care. His thoughts were solely focused on that person who had stopped his Que¡¯s Mighty sh with a single hand. Had that really been because of an innate gift?

    Looking to the north, Ling Que really wanted to go find that person. However he didn¡¯t know where that person had fled to, and that mysterious person had moved so fast that he likely wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up anyways.

    The thought that someone could stop his Que''s Mighty sh made Ling Que feel uneasy. He suddenly thought of Lu Yin, but it surely couldn¡¯t be him! He shook his head. Probably not. Lu Yin had never revealed his innate gift, and Ling Que had asked around about Lu Yin but never heard about him possessing an innate gift that could stop his Que''s Mighty sh. As for Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, Ling Que shook his head. Just physical strength alone shouldn¡¯t be able to aplish such a feat.

    He knew very well the power of his Que''s Mighty sh. Lu Yin could avoid or block it, but it was impossible for him to catch it with just two fingers. If Lu Yin could do something like that, then he wouldn¡¯t have fought so hard against Mu Rong, and that person wouldn¡¯t have been hurt by his Que''s Mighty sh while escaping.

    Suddenly, Ling Que thought of thest moment during Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Mu Rong. When the shepherd boy¡¯s song had rang out, Ling Que had been too far away from the twobatants to fully experience the enormous physical power that Lu Yin had unleashed, and he only knew that it had been terrifying. If he had used that strength, then could he have stopped his Que''s Mighty sh? Ling Que didn¡¯t know what to think.

    Right now, he wanted to go find Mu Rong so that he could figure out if Lu Yin¡¯s full strength would be able to catch his Que''s Mighty sh. If he could indeed do such a feat, then that person was absolutely Lu Yin, and the bit where he had been injured by Que¡¯s Mighty sh must have been nothing more than an act. Otherwise, it would imply that some strange powerhouse had just appeared on Pyrolyte.

    Atop the mountain range, Lu Yin had stayed near the burrow for several days now. During these few days, the cultivators of Northbound Flowzone had discovered something strange: whenever they closed their eyes to rest, all they saw was a vast expanse of white.

    The predominant color of Pyrolyte was a dark, dusky red, and there was no white anywhere. However, every time they rested, without fail, they now saw an infinite whiteness, which was extremely strange.

    Hai Qiqi also saw the whiteness, and she became so nervous that she approached Lu Yin.

    Actually, Lu Yin had also experienced this phenomenon. Not only had he seen it, he even knew what was causing it. This white light was the exact same white light currently covering Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body.

    He stared at the burrow in amazement. What was happening to Zhuo Daynight that was able to affect everyone around her?

    ¡°Monkey, you really don¡¯t know?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey felt helpless. ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m just a Limiteer who¡¯s been cultivating for a bit more than twenty years. How can I know everything? Even if you ask an Enlighter powerhouse, they might not be able to exin this phenomenon.¡±

    Two days had passed, but Zhuo Daynight was still radiating white light from inside the cave. The wound she had received on her forehead from the Que¡¯s Mighty sh had healed, but a vertical scar remained. It wasn¡¯t overly conspicuous, but anyone could see it. Her now silvery-grey hair fluttered, giving her a gentle aura.

    Over the past two days, not only had everyone seen white when they closed their eyes, but sometimes, they also still saw white even when their eyes opened. This change had made Northgate Gang and the others panic, as they felt like they were being targeted. Northgate Gang deliberately went to find Lu Yin and wanted to look around the cave, but Lu Yin merely feigned confusion.

    Finally, after three days, the white light disappeared for everyone. They all felt relieved, but the three strange days had left them all rather haggard. Even Hai Qiqi looked pale.

    In the cave, the white light had disappeared from around Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body. Her silvery-grey hair had also returned to its former ck and white appearance. In fact, everything about her had returned to her former appearance.

    Lu Yin walked into the burrow and stared at Zhuo Daynight. He squatted down and studied her carefully. She was breathing, and she was clearly alive.

    Zhuo Daynight suddenly opened her eyes and stared back at Lu Yin. Her eyes were filled with surprise and confusion, but then, they finally changed into a grateful andplicated expression. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Why did youe to Pyrolyte?¡± Zhuo Daynight straightened herself as her eyes turned dull. She looked at Lu Yin without any of the joy that one would expect to see from someone who had juste back to life.

    Lu Yin raised his brows. ¡°You know who I am?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked at him. ¡°Should I not know?¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Lu Yin was surprised, as he had obviously disguised himself quite well.

    Zhuo Daynight did not respond, and she instead silently touched the scar on her forehead.

    Lu Yin thought that she was concerned about her appearance, so heforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This sort of scar can be easily removed.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight quietly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to get rid of it. I¡¯ll keep it.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t say anything else and stood up. He stretched out a hand towards Zhuo Daynight, who didn¡¯t hesitate to reach up, grab his right hand, and let him help her up.

    ¡°I thought that I was dead for sure. Just what did you feed me?¡± Zhuo Daynight asked curiously.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It was a strange fruit that I received after a lockbreaking session. One of my mentors told me that it was filled with vital energy, so I tried it on you. Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect it to save you.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°Why did you save me?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. Right, why had he saved her? He didn¡¯t know himself. All he knew was that when he had seen Zhuo Daynight fall into a critical situation on that video, he had felt an irresistible impulse toe. He hade to Pyrolyte for Zhuo Daynight¡¯s sake and also to find Zhanlong Daynight and figure out what was happening on Shenwu Continent. No, his primary motivation concerning Shenwu Continent was Ming Yan. How strange¡ªwhy is it all because of women?

    When she saw that Lu Yin did not answer her, Zhuo Daynight hung her head. ¡°I owe you a life as well an incredible favor.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°A favor?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked at Lu Yin earnestly with a strange expression in her eyes. ¡°Iprehended a battle technique at the moment of life and death.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Is it rted to your hair color?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked at her long ck and white hair and nodded. ¡°The name of the battle technique is Night''s End, Daybreak.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled, but the Ghost Monkey suddenly shouted out, ¡°Night''s End, Daybreak! Isn¡¯t that a battle technique that shocked everyone in the ancient era?¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised; it was a technique that shocked an era?

    ¡°Night''s End, Daybreak is a battle technique that¡¯s a part of the Daynight n¡¯s Dayking inheritance. It¡¯s a pity that after the first Dayking died, no one else was able toprehend it. I didn¡¯t expect to end up learning it at the moment of my death,¡± Zhuo Daynight said.

 Chapter 500: A Legendary Battle Technique

    <h4>Chapter 500: A Legendary Battle Technique</h4>

    ¡°This has to be it, Seventh Bro! Night''s End, Daybreak is a battle technique that belongs to the Daynight n, and it¡¯s considered a top-grade battle technique that¡¯s been passed down through many generations. I once saw it in the journal of an ancient powerhouse. Apparently, it governed an entire era. During that time, everything lost its color, and even space turned white!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked in disbelief.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s words shocked Lu Yin, as his description seemed a bit excessive!

    ¡°So are you saying that you¡¯re the only person in the Daynight n who¡¯sprehended Night''s End, Daybreak?¡± Lu Yin asked while staring at Zhuo Daynight.

    She nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the only one.¡±

    ¡°This was passed down by the Dayking n, so your Sealed Cage Technique¡­?¡± Lu Yin hesitated.

    Zhuo Daynight looked at him in shock. ¡°You know about that?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Zhuo Daynight said, ¡°I can undo that technique at any moment right now. The Nightking bloodline has no ability to enve the inheritor of Night''s End, Daybreak.¡±

    ¡°Let me experience it,¡± Lu Yin said excitedly. The monkey¡¯s words had made him very eager.

    Zhuo Daynight lifted her hands and closed her eyes. Over her palm, a gentle, white light flickered. After some time, she lowered her hands back down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t use it as I please quite yet.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and did not pressure her.

    ¡°But I can still try to let you experience it.¡± Zhuo Daynight gazed at him and briefly waved her hand about her. Lu Yin felt as if everything had turned white right before his eyes, and it felt as if he was in a dream, but it also felt as if he¡¯d fallen into some kind of bottomless, white abyss.

    An instantter, he sobered up while droplets of sweat beaded up on his forehead as he looked at Zhuo Daynight in awe. In that moment, he¡¯d thought that he¡¯d be trapped in that white space forever. Was that the fabled Night''s End, Daybreak battle technique? Was it an illusion? He¡¯d been forcibly drawn into the illusion and had not been able to fight back at all.

    In front of him, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face was ashen, but she stared straight back at him, shocked.

    Night''s End, Daybreak was not effective on everyone. The stronger one¡¯s spiritual force was, the more difficult it would be to draw them into illusions. The moment she dragged Lu Yin into an illusion, she had found herself unable to keep it going because his spiritual force was far too powerful. Thankfully, she¡¯d undone the technique quickly, or else Lu Yin¡¯s strength would have caused her technique to rebound and injure her again.

    Both of them were shocked at how strong the other had be.

    ¡°So this is the Night''s End, Daybreak battle technique? It¡¯s amazing!¡± Lu Yin said in awe. That white abyss was something that left him feeling fearful even now.

    Zhuo Daynight coughed twice and used the wall to prop herself up.

    Lu Yin told her, ¡°Get some rest.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight nodded and sat down again.

    Lu Yin left the cave and found Hai Qiqi kicking some stones out of boredom.

    Lu Yin walked to another location and looked down at his right arm. ¡°Could you sense it? The Night''s End, Daybreak?¡±

    The monkey grimly responded, ¡°Yup. Nobody can get out of that. There¡¯s no counter to that attack, bro.¡±

    Lu Yin furrowed his brows. It was quite a surprise that Zhuo Daynight had managed toprehend such a battle technique. The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques were all able to attack one¡¯s spiritual force, and this technique was particrly horrifying. This didn¡¯t cause injury, but rather immersion. It was terrifying.

    ¡°Still, you don¡¯t need to worry. That girl obviously couldn¡¯t handle the stress of pulling you into the illusion. The gap between the two of you in terms of power is much toorge. As long as you maintain this difference in strength, her attack won¡¯t be able to have an effect on you.¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t her, but rather Nightqueen Yanqing or perhaps even Zhanlong Daynight using that technique, I¡¯d be in trouble,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The monkey fell silent. It wouldn¡¯t just be about being in trouble. It would mean that Lu Yin would lose. A legendary battle technique that had been able to rule over an entire era wasn¡¯t something that could be dealt with so easily.

    Of course, there was something else that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t going to mention; he had the Stonewall Scriptures. In the event that he was about to be drawn into an illusion, all he needed to do was recite the scriptures, and he would most likely be able to resist it. He¡¯d already experienced how amazing the Stonewall Scriptures were. Right¡­ He filled his eyes with star energy and looked at the cave.

    At that moment, he saw the number of rune lines that Zhuo Daynight possessed. She wasn¡¯t much weaker than Zhanlong Daynight now. She wasn¡¯t only using this time to recover, but also to practice the Night''s End, Daybreak technique.

    All she¡¯d done so far wasprehend a battle technique, but she already had a strength that rivaled Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s. It truly was a legendary battle technique.

    ¡°There¡¯s something that I need to remind you of, Seventh Bro. She¡¯s from the Daynight n, and you definitely don¡¯t have a good rtionship with them,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled as he grinned. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. She¡¯s not just from the Daynight n but also a part of the Dayking bloodline.¡±

    ¡°What are you getting at?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin haphazardly answered, ¡°Nothing.¡±

    As Zhuo Daynight recuperated, Lu Yin spent the days talking with her while also dealing with Hai Qiqi¡¯s nonsense. The girl had be incredibly bored and had even felt an urge to destroy the mountains.

    Northgate Gang was also dealing with his own massive headache. He¡¯d realized that Hai Qiqi held something against him, and she would asionally go find and mock him for absolutely no reason. Actually, that was the only form of entertainment that Hai Qiqi could find on the mountain. With no other choice, Northgate Gang simply escaped. He¡¯d rather go somewhere dangerous than to be in close proximity to this girl.

    Lu Yin and the other powerhouses had gone quiet, and the various organizations had all found ces where they could mine pyrolyte. There were many spacecraft flying back and forth between space on a daily basis, either transporting ore or cultivators. Either way, Pyrolyte was a treasure trove within a hard shell.

    After a few days¡¯ rest, Zhuo Daynight seemed to be doing much better. The ultra-effective medication from Shamrock Enterprises were incredibly effective, and Lu Yin had bought a whole bunch of them. He¡¯d acquired them while using the Sea King¡¯s medal.

    After she finished healing, Zhuo Daynight nned to go back to her n.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to reveal that you¡¯veprehended the Night''s End, Daybreak, are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She shook her head. ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. The moment you expose that, you¡¯ll probably be killed by the Nightking bloodline,¡± Lu Yin mentioned.

    She gave him an odd look. ¡°You know a lot about the Daynight n. Why is that?¡±

    Lu Yin casually answered, ¡°I was just curious. The moment I heard about the Sealed Cage Technique, I started to get curious. I was surprised that the Nightking bloodline could be so cruel.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s expression turned sorrowful as she remained silent.

    ¡°How many people are left from the Dayking bloodline?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhuo Daynight said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Nobody¡¯s been keeping track.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Is that because they each have their own¡­ masters?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight trembled and fell quiet.

    ¡°If you hope for the Dayking bloodline to regain its freedom in the future, the Night''s End, Daybreak technique could well be your only hope. If I¡¯m not wrong, grey hair is a symbol of the Nightkings whereas the symbol of the Daykings is silver hair,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zhuo Daynight eyed him with a cautious expression. ¡°You¡¯ve been thinking too much about the Daynight n. I¡¯m thankful to you for saving my life, but you¡¯d better not touch the n. We have countless cards up our sleeve that you can¡¯t even fathom.¡±

    Lu Yin burst intoughter. ¡°The Daynight n has nothing to do with me. I¡¯m just worried about you since I don¡¯t want the efforts that I put forth into saving you to go to waste.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked away from him and towards the cave¡¯s entrance. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Take care.¡±

    ¡°How are you going to exin why I saved you?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight frowned. She¡¯d considered this before, but she had note up with an answer yet.

    Lu Yin reached out, took a sourcebox from his cosmic ring, and tossed it to her. ¡°I¡¯m a Lockbreaker, and I saved you because you have two harmless, Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes that I wanted. You gave one to me in return for my help. As for your injuries, the Que''s Mighty sh only grazed you, and it didn¡¯t manage to prate your skull.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked at the sourcebox and whispered, ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Lu Yin had two harmless Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes on him. One had been a prize from the Astral Combat Tournament supplied by the Nn family while he had bought the other one from an auction house at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. He was giving Zhuo Daynight the one that he had bought as an excuse to see her in the future as she would definitely return it to him at some point.

    A harmless sourcebox that was suitable for Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers was, for any Lockbreaker, very tempting, especially for those who were at about that level. Saving someone in order to obtain such a sourcebox didn¡¯t seem like a bad excuse.

    It was impossible to estimate the value of a sourcebox on just its looks, and who knew, an ordinary sourcebox might contain a treasure that shocked the universe. Nobody could know for sure. It made sense for Lockbreakers to do crazy things to obtain these kinds of sourceboxes.

    ¡°This can probably make up for the Lockbreaking attempt that I promised you before, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhuo Daynight immediately threw the sourcebox back to him and left.

    Lu Yin hesitated. ¡°This sourcebox is very valuable. Are you saying that it¡¯s not enough to make up for our previous agreement?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight seriously answered, ¡°You saving mebined with the favor that I owed you before more than make up for what you promised me. However, unless I¡¯m dead, I won¡¯t use that promise. It¡¯s be a symbol of hope for me.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and threw the sourcebox back to her. ¡°Take it. The promise still stands.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes shed, and she offered her thanks once more before leaving the mountains.

    Hai Qiqi stood outside the cave and watched as the other woman left. She then looked at Lu Yin as he came out with a snickering expression. ¡°You¡¯ve got balls, man. How dare you spend time with a mistress when your wife is right in front of you?!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Shut up. I don¡¯t see my wife anywhere.¡±

    Hai Qiqi pointed at herself proudly. ¡°I¡¯m your wife! Now let me go out and y, or else I¡¯ll tell my father that you¡¯re abusing me, that you have mistresses, and that you¡¯re drinking and gambling. I¡¯ll make you sound like the worst guy ever!¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t do that! I don¡¯t even have any real rtionship with you. And besides, I¡¯ve got a reputation to maintain.¡±

    ¡°What are you implying? Are you saying that I¡¯m not good enough for you?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t lie.¡±

    ¡°You! How dare you!¡±

    ¡­

    With Zhuo Daynight¡¯s current strength, she would definitely be able to take care of herself, so Lu Yin no longer needed to worry about her anymore. The next step was for him to find Zhanlong Daynight and ask him about what had happened on Shenwu Continent.

    Up in the sky, spacecraft kept forming words to guide the cultivators around the. After the Wen n had started it, everyone had seemed to take to the idea, and all sorts of strange messages had started appearing. One organization had even created a gigantic detection machine that they were hoping to use to scan the entire. Clearly, that hadn¡¯t worked out.

    Before much more time passed, another gigantic reserve of pyrolyte ore was found to the northeast of the mountains where Northline Flowzone was based. It was probably going to be taken over by the Daynight n.

    Northgate Gang returned, and he looked serious. He went straight to Lu Yin and told him something terrible. A lot of organizations were forcing older Explorers to lower their power levels in order to obtain more pyrolyte.

    Lu Yin turned serious as well. The major organizations had nock of Explorers. The moment such people lowered their power levels, they¡¯d be Limiteers, but their battle power would generally still be higher than a Limiteers¡¯. These groups were truly going all out. It seemed that there was much more pyrolyte ore on this than had originally been anticipated.

 Chapter 501: Detailed Plan

    <h4>Chapter 501: Detailed n</h4>

    Lu Yin was the most concerned about the major powers like the Daynight n and the Sword Sect. They each had countless Explorers who were extremely powerful in their own right, and once this group of people arrived on Pyrolyte, he would have to be cautious of them as well. Besides, a high enough quantity of Explorers might be enough to close the gap in the power difference, as even Ling Que had been nearly defeated by the Daynight n¡¯s joint attack.

    ¡°Did anyone mention how much progress has been made on sending Explorers to Pyrolyte?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Northgate Gang solemnly replied, ¡°No, but with Northline Flowzone¡¯s current research speed, it¡¯s almost impossible for us to aplish such a thing. However, I¡¯m not sure about what methods the other major forces might be employing, especially for technologically advanced organizations such as the Ross Empire. They might be able toe up with some creative methods.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head. Even if the major forces were able to force Explorers to lower their cultivation and return to the Limiteer realm, he still wasn¡¯t worried since such people wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything against him. He was invincible within this realm, and he doubted that the major powers would sacrifice their elite Explorers on the Top 100 Rankings just to participate in this contest for pyrolyte.

    However, if Explorers were able to descend onto Pyrolyte in their normal condition, that would be an entirely different situation. Elites from the Top 100 Rankings would then start to appear, and that wouldpletely change the battlefield.

    It looked like Lu Yin needed to hurry up to find Zhanlong Daynight if he wanted to ask him what had happened on Shenwu Continent. Once that was settled, Lu Yin nned to immediately leave since he had no interest in fighting over pyrolyte ore.

    Above the, the various powers suddenly realized a strange coincidence: Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, and the recently discovered Pyrolyte in actually formed a perfect equteral triangle.

    This discovery surprised everyone, but they didn¡¯t bother thinking about the matter any further since they all assumed that it was just a coincidence.

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s spacecraft, dozens of researchers excitedly looked at a screen. They were geologists from the empire. After they hade to Pyrolyte, they had spent all of their time scanning the, trying to simte the atmosphere on the surface of Pyrolyte in order to determine where the majority of the pyrolyte orey. After continuously plugging in an enormous amount of data, they were finally about to obtain some results.

    Multiple images of the pyrolyte ore¡¯s distribution appeared on the screen, and they changed as the simtion transitioned from ten thousand years ago, to a thousand years ago, to the current time. Finally, on the screen, only one bright spot remained.

    Everyone stared at the screen with bated breath.

    The bright spot was superimposed on the current map of Pyrolyte, and a location was marked out.

    ¡°How can it be there?¡± someone eximed.

    Everyone attentively studied the map, as the location that it predicted to hold the greatest reserve of pyrolyte ore was in a mountain range that was surrounded by Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, and Pyrolyte in.

    The screen shifted again, and a map clearly showing the distribution of pyrolyte ore appeared. The most interesting thing on this image was an inverted triangr pyramid formed by Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake and Pyrolyte in that showed a detailed image of vast amounts of pyrolyte ore buried deep underground.

    ¡°Oh, Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake and Pyrolyte in were all formed on the surface when that core vein of pyrolyte ore shifted about. However, the true location of the pyrolyte ore is still under that mountain range, where it has remained this whole time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why we couldn''t find it. That location is very close to the core of the, and most detectors wouldn¡¯t be able to sense it at all.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve finally found the location of the primary vein of pyrolyte ore! We have to keep this to ourselves. Nobody can reveal this information!¡± someone ordered.

    Suddenly, there was a beeping sound from a corner. A man with a pale face removed his gadget as blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. He hadmitted suicide, and the people around him anxiously retrieved his gadget. ¡°It¡¯s toote! Details of this information have already been sent out! Who brought this person in?¡±

    Everyone was silent.

    An elder suddenly appeared. ¡°No one is allowed to leave.¡±

    After those terse words, he left.

    Everyone in the room was stunned. They had all recognized the elder; he was Schr Newmoon, an extremely knowledgeable elder who was well known within the Ross Empire. He was also one of the Ross Empire¡¯s few Enlighters. Most of the people in the room hadn¡¯t even known that he hade to Pyrolyte.

    The most important thing at this moment was for the Ross Empire to act fast. The details of the information that they had gained had already been leaked, so there was absolutely no possibility of them monopolizing therge vein of pyrolyte ore that they had just discovered. Since that was already given, Schr Newmoon made the decision to appear within the ze Realm¡¯s spacecraft after sending down a huge batch of Limiteers to the. At the same time, he also sent a message to Lei Long of the Dire Barbarian n.

    The biggest problem before them was that they had no idea who the information had been sent to. It wouldn¡¯t be a big issue if the recipient was a minor flowzone, but the probability of that being the case was extremely low. The most probable answer was that the information had been received by one of the Eight Great Flowzones, and Schr Newmoon could only hope that it hadn¡¯t been the Sword Sect or the Daynight n. If it was either of those two, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to even fight for the ore.

    On Pyrolyte, Lu Yin was just about to leave with Hai Qiqi when hundreds of spacecraft appeared in the sky, all of them heading towards the mountain range.

    Northgate Gang and the others were astonished. Why were there suddenly so many people who wanted to fight for this mountain range?

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t leave now, as Northgate Gang and the others definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to defend the mountain range without him.

    Bang bang bang¡­

    The fleet of spacecraftnded across the mountain range, and some of the vessels evennded near Northgate Gang and the others.

    Northgate Gang and the other cultivators immediately attacked the people in the ships, and the sounds of exploding vessels rang out along the mountain range. Countless Limiteers exited the spacecraft and started fighting back.

    Beams of light pierced through the ground, showing that some of the attackers carried technological weapons with them.

    Lu Yin was surprised to discover that these weren¡¯t Limiteers, but were rather androids that had been created through abination of cultivation and technology. Out of all of the various powers, only the Ross Empire was able to create such androids.

    It appeared that the Ross Empire was determined to gain control of the mountain range.

    The forces that fought over pyrolyte typically avoided using technological weapons in order to avoid triggering a chain reaction of exploding pyrolyte. However, the Ross Empire was recklessly using such weapons, which thoroughly confused the other organizations.

    The Ross Empire gave a very simple reason: a noble¡¯s son had been killing at this mountain range, and they wanted revenge.

    Although the other forces weren¡¯t entirely convinced, they didn¡¯t pay much attention to the matter as there was very little pyrolyte in the mountain range¡¯s vicinity, so there wasn¡¯t much value in fighting for it.

    Within the ze Realm¡¯s spacecraft, Schr Newmoon, Huo Houye, and Lei Long of the Dire Barbarian n closely watched the screen.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know who sent that person! What if he was from the Sword Sect or one of the other major powers? If that ends up being the case, then we won¡¯t be able to take control of the mountain range even if we all join forces together,¡± Huo Houye spoke seriously.

    Schr Newmoon helplessly answered, ¡°We¡¯re already investigating his background. Who would have thought that someone would infiltrate the geology department.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in dwelling on this. Newmoon, you¡¯re a schr. How can we still keep this matter a secret if you¡¯ve alreadyunched such a massive attack?¡± Lei Long asked unhappily.

    Newmoon sighed, replying, ¡°The secret has already been leaked, so there¡¯s no point inining anymore. The highest priority we have at this moment is to gain control of this mountain range, or to join forces with the strongest outside force.¡±

    Huo Houye¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°The strongest outside force? What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°An unparalleled Limiteer can be the strongest outside force,¡± Newmoon stated confidently.

    Having an unparalleled Limiteer meant that they would be able to take control of any ce on Pyrolyte. There were four unparalleled Limiteers, and the strongest one wasn¡¯t at Pyrolyte. Thus, Newmoon was clearly referring to Mu Rong.

    ¡°You want to join forces with the Sword Sect?¡± Lei Long asked.

    Newmoon shook his head, ¡°Not me alone. Rather, all three of us will join forces with the Sword Sect.¡±

    Huo Houye narrowed his eyes; Newmoon was truly a scheming person. If the Ross Empire had joined forces with the Sword Sect by themselves, then they would have definitely suffered a huge loss when dividing the profits. However, if their three organizations joined together, then the situation would be different. No matter how overbearing the Sword Sect was, it couldn¡¯t defeat all three of them once they joined forces. That was the true reason why the old man had firste looking for the two of them instead of going straight to the Sword Sect.

    Actually, Schr Newmoon was even more worried about being killed by the Sword Sect. That was the primary motivation for him to join forces with the other two Enlighters.

    ¡°Although the information has been leaked, it probably won¡¯t be revealed too quickly. We need to take control of that mountain range immediately so that we can use our detailed information as well as the mountain range to join forces with the Sword Sect. This will help ensure that we can obtain the greatest profits,¡± Newmoon slowly exined.

    Huo Houye and Lei Long didn¡¯t object as this was truly the only feasible solution.

    Although they had initially expected to take control of the mountain range with the hundreds of androids that the Ross Empire had sent out, half a dayter, the three Enlighters were surprised by the oue. The androids had been soundly defeated by a single girl.

    At the mountain range on Pyrolyte, Hai Qiqi had used her forcefield to envelop the entire mountain range. The androids had then been defeated one by one, all of them copsing to the ground while emitting smoke. She didn¡¯t destroy any of the androids, but she did ensure that none of them would be able to attack anymore.

    Northgate Gang stared at her in awe. He hadn¡¯t expected Hai Qiqi to be so powerful, and the power of her forcefield was particrly surprising to everyone.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t shocked since he had already known that Hai Qiqi¡¯s domain was much stronger than his and that she might have evenprehended a forcefield. She was definitely one of the top three strongest people on Pyrolyte, as she only seemed to be weaker than Mu Rong. Defeating the androids from the Ross Empire had been an easy task for her.

    Hai Qiqi was delighted. She had held herself back from fighting for quite a few days, so even though the androids were rather useless, they had still managed to satisfy her craving for battle.

    ¡°How was it? I¡¯m powerful right?¡± Hai Qiqi proudly asked Northgate Gang, and she even sneaked a nce at Lu Yin.

    Northgate Gang immediately started praising her, but even after that, he was still bombarded by Hai Qiqi¡¯s ruthless sarcasm. Her words were truly as powerful as her forcefield.

    The battle at the mountain range didn¡¯t attract too much attention. Although the Ross Empire was acting strangely, most forces focused on their own cultivators.

    Schr Newmoon and the rest were unhappy that Northline Flowzone had actually managed to defeat the Ross Empire¡¯s forces.

    ¡°The ze Realm and the Dire Barbarian n should move to help us now,¡± Newmoon spoke calmly while ring at Hai Qiqi.

    Huo Houye frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not a wise move. If all three of us move to attack, we will definitely draw unwanted attention upon ourselves.¡±

    ¡°That little girl is very powerful. The Ross Empire won¡¯t be able to defeat her alone,¡± Newmoon said.

    Huo Houye kept staring at Hai Qiqi as he thought she looked quite familiar. After a while, his eyes went wide when he finally recognized her. ¡°I remember now! This girl was with that young man who killed Jared.¡±

    The other two looked at him.

    Huo Houye asked coldly, ¡°Do you remember the person who stopped the Que''s Mighty sh with just two fingers at Pyrolyte Lake?¡¯

    That had been an amazing scene, so of course they both remembered it.

    ¡°That young man killed a disciple of the ze Realm. This girl was together with that young man at that time, so he must be in the mountain range, too,¡± Huo Houye exined.

    Lei Long grumbled, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then all of our Limiteersbined won¡¯t be able to gain control of this mountain range.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to check and see. If that young man is truly at the mountain range, then we¡¯ll immediately pass the detailed information over to the Sword Sect. Then, they can go and fight for the mountain range,¡± Newmoon suggested.

 Chapter 502: Unsolvable Calculation

    <h4>Chapter 502: Unsolvable Calction</h4>

    The three parties soon reached an agreement, and the Ross Empire sent out another group of androids to Pyrolyte. This time, their purpose was not to snatch the mountain range, but rather to search for traces of Lu Yin. If they were able to confirm that Lu Yin was at the mountain range, then the three organizations would immediately contact the Sword Sect.

    Two fingers had stopped the Que''s Mighty sh. No matter how he had aplished this feat, such an achievement at the very least proved that this person was close to Ling Que¡¯s power level. He had also killed Jared just recently, so the Limiteers on the ground were clearly notparable to him. Therefore, they had to rely on the Sword Sect to deal with him.

    However, heaven¡¯s ns superseded their own. The Ross Empire and the other powers never expected that the person who had leaked their hard earned detailed information on the pyrolyte ore distribution was not actually an undercover spy from one of the major powers. Instead, he had been a fugitive. He had been a part of a small gang that consisted of a bit more than a dozen people. They had used various methods to manipte fugitives and obtain secret information from various organizations, which they would then sell for money, nothing more.

    Originally, this small gang had just wanted to steal some information about the Ross Empire¡¯s geological research, and they hadn¡¯t intended on getting confidential information. However, by chance, their agent had participated in the geological analysis of Pyrolyte and had gotten a hold of this detailed information. Although the man had not wanted to die, he had been forced to sacrifice himself under the pressure of the gang and his own family. He had sent out the information while under duress, and he had been afraid of being forced to confess by the Ross Empire, so he had chosen to kill himself.

    The Ross Empire¡¯s eyes were fixed on the various major powers. How could they have expected that this small gang would be so bold as to covet their information?

    The small gang was short-sighted and was also unable to cooperate with any of the major powers to take control of this pyrolyte. As such, they simply sold the information to as many intelligence organizations as fast as they could before immediately disappearing.

    The Ross Empire and their two allies were nning on cooperating with the Sword Sect, but the information that they were relying on was already being sold by several intelligence organizations, and the information quickly appeared on the screens of several major powers.

    All of this happened so quickly that the Ross Empire was not even able to confirm whether or not Lu Yin was at the mountain range before some of the major forces had already sent down their own spacecraft, rushing towards the mountains.

    Newmoon and the others were dumbfounded. Hundreds of spacecraft were rushing towards the mountain range now, so even a fool would have realized that something unexpected had urred.

    Huo Houye looked at Newmoon. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    Newmoon frowned, but didn¡¯t reply. Someone had just reported to him that the information had been leaked, and all of the major powers had a copy now.

    This report left Huo Houye and the others silent for a long time. This was the bargaining chip that they had been relying on to forge an alliance with the Sword Sect; how could it have spread around so quickly? Were the people who had stolen the information idiots? Or did they not know the value of pyrolyte?

    The three Enlighters had assumed that the people who had stolen the information would secretly try to take control of the mountain range, just like them. Who would have thought that the thieves hadn¡¯t nned to make a move on the pyrolyte at all and had instead simply sold the information at a good price.

    The n of the three organizations¡¯ had fallen apart, and they were left with no capital to negotiate with the Sword Sect.

    At this moment, Lu Yin sensed that something was amiss. Up in the sky, spacecraft after spacecraft was beingunched in their direction, looking just like a rainbow.

    Northgate Gang and the others were dumbfounded.

    ¡°Look!¡± someone eximed.

    Northgate Gang and the others looked up at the sky to see a group of vessels form the words ¡°Northline¡ªDefend.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean? Defend the mountains?¡± Northgate Gang was stunned.

    Ah Fan and the others were all confused. Who knew what was going on?

    Granny Chan¡¯s face was gloomy. ¡°Hurry up and send someone to the mountains to tell Northgate Gang and the others about what¡¯s happened. Also, please ask Lu Yin to guard the mountains. Northline Flowzone will naturally repay him.¡±

    Lily Anne¡¯s expression grew heavy. ¡°What if Lu Yin doesn¡¯t agree?¡±

    Granny Chan looked helpless. ¡°Then we give up. That¡¯s not a ce that we can defend.¡±

    Lily Anne nodded. They had also received the information predicting a massive pyrolyte reserve beneath the mountain range. Who would have thought that these ordinary little mineral veins would actually lead to thergest amount of pyrolyte on the? What a pity, if only the other forces hadn¡¯t found out about it.

    The mountain range was filled with the sounds of explosions and was soon speckled with potholes. Limiteers descended from all directions, and the battle for the mountain range began. Up in the sky, multiple fleets of spacecraft formed arrowheads pointed directly at the mountain range, guiding the cultivators towards the mountain range.

    At this moment, the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu and the others were also dispatched to the mountain range.

    At Pyrolyte Lake, Wen Qian¡¯er and the others looked at Ling Que. Ling Que frowned, but he still headed north.

    In the Pyrolyte ins, Zhanlong Daynight and the others looked towards the south and at each other as well.

    In the region between the mountain range and Pyrolyte ins, Zhuo Daynight raised her head and looked worriedly in the direction of the mountain range. She didn¡¯t know what had happened, but the mountain range seemed to have suddenly be the focus of everyone on Pyrolyte, and they were all headed there to fight.

    Atop the mountain range, Lu Yin opened a hand, and a cultivator crumpled to the ground, unconscious. His expression was unsightly, but he waved his hand and caused a wall of air to sweep out, sending dozens of Limiteers flying. He looked towards Northgate Gang. ¡°Retreat now. You can¡¯t hold onto this ce any longer.¡±

    He already knew what was going on, but he didn¡¯t intend on helping Northline Flowzone keep control of the mountain range. Guarding this ce was tantamount to bing the enemy of every other force on the, which went contrary to his original intention.

    Northgate Gang also wanted to retreat, but the words written by the spacecraft in the sky shed without stopping. Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan was making her orders quite clear.

    ¡°I said that you need to withdraw immediately. I can help you leave, or I¡¯ll just leave by myself,¡± Lu Yin loudly repeated.

    Hai Qiqi could feel the cruelty of the battlefield, especially since more and more people were arriving. Blood had already filled the air. She had killed someone. Just now, she had killed someone for the first time. She felt very ufortable, but she didn¡¯t have any time to think about anything.

    The feeling of killing someone made her not want to talk. Suddenly, her body trembled. She looked at the stars with shining eyes, incredulous.

    Northgate Gang¡¯s expression changed at that instant, and he shouted, ¡°Everyone, RETREAT!¡±

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. He raised a hand and struck out, the shockwave from his Spacerender Palm sweeping out and clearing a path for them.

    In the starry skies, unsightly expressions appeared on Granny Chan and the others. Lu Yin was nning on leaving.

    The Schr Newmoon and the others also looked at their screen, helpless. The moment the information had been leaked, that mountain range no longer had anything to do with them. The Sword Sect had the highest chance of obtaining it, as they had Mu Rong.

    At the mountain range, Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Qiqi, time to go!¡±

    Hai Qiqi appeared next to Lu Yin and grabbed his arm. ¡°We can¡¯t go.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s face revealed aplicated expression, and she even appeared a bit apologetic. She was no longer as lively as before, and she whispered to Lu Yin, ¡°My second brother is here.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. His mind flickered as his body shook. He stared at Hai Qiqi. ¡°So I was just a part of your calctions.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin with a deeply apologetic look in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know!¡±

    The moment Hai Qiqi mentioned that Hai Dashao had arrived, Lu Yin had figured everything out. The Sea King¡¯s Dome wanted to obtain pyrolyte, and Lu Yin was the chess piece that the Sea King had decided to use to get it. Allowing Hai Qiqi to go with Lu Yin had also been a part of his ns. The moment Lu Yin arrived at Pyrolyte, everything had already gone out of his control.

    It was no wonder why the Sea King had happily supported the Great Yu Empire in his own name; he just wanted to get ess to Pyrolyte. As long as Lu Yin went there, Hai Qiqi would be able to reveal herself and help Lu Yin collect pyrolyte ore because the Great Yu Empire was under the Sea King¡¯s protection.

    Lu Yin also recalled that Hai Qiqi had deliberately shown him the online videos of the Limiteer battles at the. No, even those fighting videos might have been arranged by the Sea King.

    From the very beginning, Lu Yin had been caught in the Sea King¡¯s web of calctions. The only thing that had been neglected was this mountain range, which was actually the site of thergest pyrolyte mine. This was even more advantageous to their n, so as soon as Lu Yin wanted to retreat, Hai Dashao had appeared. The n wouldn¡¯t just include Hai Dashao, as the Sea King should have even more powerful expertsing.

    However, why hadn¡¯t the Sea King simply forced Lu Yin to go to Pyrolyte? Why had he relied on using these maniptive methods to coerce him? With the Sea King¡¯s strength, all it would have taken was one word, and Lu Yin would have been forced to go. There was no room for resistance, so why had it been soplicated? Was it because of Lu Yin¡¯s status as a prospective son-inw?

    Lu Yin stared at Hai Qiqi in a daze, his brain working furiously.

    Hai Qiqi really hadn¡¯t known about anything. She had only just found out now. Although she had been mocking Lu Yin this entire time and had not really paid much attention to him, scheming against him in such a manner caused her to feel ufortable.

    ¡°What if I absolutely have to leave?¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you can¡¯t escape Elder Tong¡¯s schemes. This should have all been arranged by Elder Tong. He is very intelligent and is the Sea King¡¯s military advisor.¡±

    Lu Yin found that matter strange. ¡°Why calcte me into his ns? Shouldn¡¯t it have been easier and better to just threaten me directly?¡±

    Hai Qiqi shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I really don¡¯t. Please don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯ll feel guilty.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head and looked up at the starry sky. He seemed to see the proud gaze of Hai Dashao up in the sky¡¯s darkness.

    There were too many things that could be used to threaten Lu Yin, and the most obvious one was the Great Yu Empire. Would the Sea King use the Great Yu Empire to threaten him? In order to get pyrolyte, the Sea King had schemed against Lu Yin so thoroughly that it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for that man to threaten Lu Yin with the Great Yu Empire.

    If that was the case, then ording to the Sea King¡¯s arrangements, Lu Yin would snatch the pyrolyte ore and make himself an enemy of the major powers. This was the only way.

    The sound of killing kept echoing in his ears. Lu Yin fell silent for a while before finally speaking. ¡°Then the Sea King willmit to protecting the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s possible. Before we left, my royal father said that if you have any requests, I have full authority to make promises on his behalf.¡±

    Lu Yinughed to himself. ¡°And here I thought that I was so clever, but every single one of my steps had been predicted by someone else. Sea King, oh Sea King, you¡¯re truly powerful.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked at him and sighed. She could hear his grievances, helplessness, and sorrow. But so what? The difference between the strong and the weak was like the difference between heaven and earth. What she couldn¡¯t understand, however, was if her father wanted the pyrolyte so badly, then why hadn¡¯t he just sent Lu Yin to directly retrieve it? Why make things soplicated? This wasn¡¯t her father¡¯s style.

    Could it be that her father really wanted her to marry Lu Yin? Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression changed, and her lip curled up. Surely not.

    In the distance, Northgate Gang and the others looked back at Lu Yin. Without Lu Yin clearing a path for them, they would suffer heavy losses as more and more people came.

    Lu Yin exhaled. From this day onwards, the Great Yu Empire would fall under the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s protection. If he still wanted freedom, then he would have to leave. Sea King, I¡¯ll remember this moment.

    Calcting schemes was something that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t do. He couldn¡¯t scheme better than the Sea King or the various powerful organizations. However, he believed that the power of his innate gift would one day provide him with a chance to settle this score.

    His cultivation thus far had already made Lu Yin universally famous, and he was even the strongest Limiteer. However, he was not happy with where he was. The major forces were like giant pythons twined around him, constricting him to the point where he couldn¡¯t breathe. For this reason, he had been forced toe up with ways to attain various statuses that were able to protect him.

    These powers dominated the universe, and they also dominated countless poor cultivators who didn¡¯t have any backing.

    Perhaps this was also one of the reasons why the Ten Arbiters Council had risen to power. The Ten Arbiters Council gave young cultivators a rtively fair environment as well as backing, though this protection was still shrouded by the major powers¡¯ influence.

 Chapter 503: Working Together

    <h4>Chapter 503: Working Together</h4>

    ¡°More and more people are arriving!¡± Northgate Gang couldn¡¯t help himself from yelling out while staring up at the sky in fear. Spacecraft descended one after another, quite a few carrying experts from the Eight Great Flowzones.

    There were probably at least two thousand Limiteers gathered across the mountain range, andpetition was even fiercer than the fight for Pyrolyte Mountain.

    Lu Yin stated, ¡°We¡¯re not leaving. We¡¯re going to stay here.¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips, looking guilty. She didn¡¯t even look at Lu Yin as she was feeling incredibly apologetic.

    Northgate Gang and the rest were shocked. ¡°Stay here? You want to wait to die? Those Daynight guys areing here!¡±

    Lu Yin hung his head. No matter how smart the small fry like him tried to be, there was no way for them to escape from the palm of the powerful. He had understood this very well in the past, and these current events had only reconfirmed those thoughts. Status? Background? All that was nothing. The only thing that Lu Yin could trust in was himself.

    It was way too difficult to take control of one¡¯s own fate, and such a task would take a long time to aplish. At this moment, however, he could at least control the fates of these people. On Pyrolyte, he was invincible.

    It didn¡¯t matter what the results of thepetition for pyrolyte ended up being, as he was destined to be an enemy of all of therge organizations. Perhaps it was his fate to oppose everyone. The Sea King had schemed against him despite being unwilling to meddle in the battles of the Outerverse. There was no way that the Sea King himself would be able to join the battle¡­ In that case, the only thing that Lu Yin could do was ask Leon''s Armada for help. Lu Yin smiled wryly. He had no idea that this was how he was going to end up heading towards the Cosmic Sea.

    He wasn¡¯t worried about whether or not he¡¯d be able to get there safely. While he had no idea how powerful Mister Mu was, that powerhouse should be able to safely send Lu Yin to the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin might never be able to return to the quiet life that he had once had after leaving Pyrolyte. Instead, it seemed that the Cosmic Sea and the rumored Neoverse was the destination for him!

    In that case, he would make the battle on Pyrolyte even more dazzling!

    So far, the people from Northline Flowzone had not really attracted much attention because there were far too many cultivators fighting at this moment.

    Lu Yin and the rest quietly watched the battle develop from the mountain range. They did not participate in the battle, and nobody tried to attack them either.

    Sometimes, he found things rather difficult to understand. The cultivators from small organizations fought so hard, but in the end, everything would just be taken away by the major powers such the Sword Sect. What was the point in making such a huge fuss?

    However, there were still quite a few smart people. As several spacecraft formed the words, ¡°Stop, unite,¡± the battles throughout the mountain range gradually settled down.

    The smaller organizations seemed to have decided upon something, and nearly two thousand Limiteers stopped fighting as they all looked up at the sky.

    A spacecraft entered the Pyrolyte¡¯s atmosphere before exploding above the mountain range. A handsome guy came out of the wreckage. He nced down at everyone and grinned. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s anyone who still remembers me, Lord Pisces.¡±

    Everyone eyed the man. Dark red smoke billowed into the sky, making the entire scene appear rather deste. There was even a bloody smell wafting about. At this moment, the man seemed like an integral part of the mountain range.

    Lu Yin eyed the man seriously. This guy is¡­ somewhat strong.

    ¡°Lord Pisces? I remember now! He¡¯s an ultra-genius who lived a century ago! He once defeated a Cruiser while in the Limiteer realm and entered the Ten Arbiters council back then! He was one of the council members!¡± someone eximed.

    After hearing that exnation, quite a few people remembered hearing about this person, and they stared at him in shock. There were rumors that this guy had be an Explorer long ago, but had not be a Cruiser yet. What was he doing here? And¡­ was he still a Limiteer?

    Lord Pisces looked up and arrogantly said, ¡°I¡¯m d that you still remember me.¡±

    Somewhere in the mountain range, somebody hesitantly spoke up. ¡°He wasn¡¯t in the Ten Arbiters Council. It was the Universe Youth Council back then.¡±

    A fair number of people nced at the person.

    That person stared up at Lord Pisces in fear, but he managed to eke out, ¡°Only the ten members of this era have the right to be called the Ten Arbiters. He was just a Universe Youth Council member back then, so he can¡¯t be considered as one of them.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! The Ten Arbiters Council now ispletely different from that of the previous generations. Power is now truly in the hands of the young, and there are also those ten monsters! In the past, the councilors were Realmbreaker powerhouses, but they were nowhere as powerful as the Ten Arbiters of today.¡±

    ¡°I heard that Arbiter Zhenwu once tore apart thebined attack of quite a few councilors from the past generation. That was the moment that truly set the current generation apart from past ones.¡±

    ¡­

    High up in the sky, Lord Pisces grew serious. The air around him distorted, and a huge shockwave swept across the area, shocking everybody.

    ¡°Cut the crap! I¡¯ve been tasked with organizing you all to fight together against the Sword Sect, Wen n, and Daynight n!¡± Lord Pisces announced loudly.

    Within the mountain range, numerous cultivators stared up at the sky as countless spacecraft formed characters to show the positions of the various organizations. There was no point in the present Limiteers fighting amongst each other, as only by banding together would they be able to prevent the major powers from monopolizing all the resources in this ce. They were going to have to work together to chase them out.

    Coincidentally, powerhouses from the Second Grade Hall had also appeared. Kuang Wang walked right to the front; the serious injuries that he had received from Ling Que had mostly recovered by now.

    While the Second Grade Hall was an organization that ranked at the bottom of the Beast Tamers Flowzone, it was still a power that was considered as a part of the Divine Grade Hall. In some sense, the Beast Tamers Flowzone could be considered an organization all on its own¡ªwhich was the Divine Grade Hall. Beyond that, it had further split itself into the First and the Second Grade Halls. For this reason, the Second Grade Hall could absolutely represent the Divine Grade Hall, which meant that Kuang Wang was actually a powerhouse from the Divine Grade Hall.

    After seeing Kuang Wang and the others arrive, the cultivators from the other organizations started to get antsy. There was a veryrge gap between geniuses from theserge organizations and ordinary cultivators like them. Even if they had a few geniuses who hadprehended domains or battle force, they still weren¡¯t confident in being able to handle Kuang Wang at all. Everybody couldn¡¯t help themselves from looking at Lord Pisces.

    Lord Pisces slowlynded on the ground, eyeing Kuang Wang and the others. ¡°You¡¯ve already taken a lot of the ore on Pyrolyte. Several organizations have decided to band together, and we¡¯re not going to let you continue on in this way!¡±

    Kuang Wang looked calm. ¡°You¡¯re an Explorer who reduced your own power level, right? Do you seriously think that you¡¯ll be able to go up against the Sword Sect and the others after paying such a huge price?¡±

    Lord Pisces looked grim. He had been an Explorer, but he had reduced his cultivation by an entire realm and would never be able to freely enter space again. This was something incredibly cruel for him. Only by guarding this mountain range and achieving some aplishments would he be able to live out the rest of his life in safety and give his children a chance. While he¡¯d been famous in his younger days, he had never been able to be a Cruiser, which was why he had been reduced to his current state. This was something that he wished for his children to never have to deal with.

    He might look arrogant, but he had already given up.

    The organization that he was part of had promised him that, as long as he was able to retain control of the mountain range, his children would be nurtured by the sect. Thus, he had to do this no matter what.

    ¡°I¡¯m not the only one standing against the Sword Sect. All of us are,¡± Lord Pisces dered.

    Behind him, about two thousand Limiteers bellowed furiously. It didn¡¯t matter what kind of grudges their organizations might hold against each other. All of that had been temporarily set aside in favor of protecting the mountain range. They all had to work together.

    Far in the distance, Xi Yue and the others had also arrived, and they stared at the mountain range in shock. The small organizations had been driven into a corner, but would their efforts be of any use?

    Even further away, Ling Que and the cultivators from the Wen n were quickly drawing close, as were those from the Daynight n and Sword Sect. That mountain range was where most of the cultivators on the were gathering, and the most powerful Limiteers had all arrived.

    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Northgate Gang spoked with a quivering voice as he eyed the crowding their way. They were the cultivators from the Wen n, and Ling Que was at the front.

    The arrival of the Wen n caused the two thousand or so Limiteers to quiver in fear. Rather than the Wen n, it would be more urate to say that Ling Que was the one who had caught everybody¡¯s attention.

    Kuang Wang¡¯s expression changed, and he stared intensely at Ling Que. This person had severely injured him with just one attack, and the man¡¯s strength was unfathomable.

    Lord Pisces¡¯ eye twitched. The most difficult part of his job was right in front of him, but he had a way to deal with him.

    Wen Qing¡¯er and the rest followed behind Ling Que and simply observed the calm mountain range, seemingly ready to fight at a moment¡¯s notice. Things could erupt at any time.

    ¡°You can go now,¡± Ling Que said as he coldly surveyed the area ahead of him. He even ignored Lord Pisces¡ªthat person was just an old piece of trash from a century ago. The universe had gone through a revolution since then. After the Ten Arbiters had arrived, the younger generation of modern times hadpletely transformedpared to the top youths of the past. The two eras werepletely different.

    In the past, Lord Pisces would have been considered invincible since he was an Explorer who had reduced his realm to the Limiteer realm. Now, however, he was nothing to Ling Que.

    Lord Pisces could tell that Ling Que was looking down on him, but he managed to control the mounting fury within him. ¡°We can leave, but are you enough to stop Mu Rong on your own?¡±

    Ling Que frowned.

    ¡°We can work together¡ªyou, me, the two thousand or so cultivators here, as well as everyone from the Second Grade Hall. Shall we work together to first take care of the Sword Sect?¡± Lord Pisces proposed. This was his true intent, and it was also what the many organizations had agreed on as a n, though it wasn¡¯t actually a real n at all. They wanted to bait the major powers into fighting each other, leaving the final oue up to fate since nobody was confident in defeating either Mu Rong or Ling Que.

    These two could not be defeated by mere numbers unless the crowd possessed a group spiritual force attack technique like those wielded by the Daynight n members. Besides, Ling Que had already experienced one of those attacks before, and he would not be caught unawares again.

    Wen Qian¡¯er seemed interested. They had lost the previous battle, and Mu Rong was not someone who could be defeated by Ling Que alone.

    Ling Que narrowed his eyes. Working together? That might be able to work, but resorting to such methods was rather embarrassing for him.

    Elsewhere, the people from the Daynight n arrived. Once again, they attracted everybody¡¯s attention.

    Nightqueen Yanqing gazed at the peaceful mountain range and furrowed her eyebrows. Were those pieces of trash actually going to work together?

    Lord Pisces looked at her and yelled, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of the Daynight n, what do you think about working together to defeat Mu Rong? Otherwise, nobody will be able to stop him.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes flickered, and she nced over at Ling Que.

    He nced over at her as well. Though neither of them spoke any words, not attacking was an answer in and of itself. They were going to team up.

    At this moment, a sharp aura could be felt off in the distance. The Sword Sect had finally arrived.

    Liu Shaoqiu and Liu Xiaoyun were right at the front while Y¨­u Ye¡¯er was excitedly following behind them. Mu Rong, however, was at the back of the group, looking as calm as ever.

    Mu Rong¡¯s appearance was like a huge rock weighing down on them. Right now, the most powerful Limiteers in the universe had officially gathered at this mountain range.

    Above the, therge organizations were all looking at the same ce.

    Lord Pisces took a deep breath and nced over at everyone in front of him. He shouted, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of the Sword Sect, are you trying to take this mountain range?¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun eyed the man in the sky. ¡°So what if we are?¡±

    Lord Pisces looked stern. ¡°You have already gained control of Pyrolyte Mountain, and the ore inside this mountain range should be split evenly between the other organizations. Is the Sword Sect trying to take this ore as well? Aren¡¯t you pushing it too far?¡±

    Liu Xiaoyun ignored him, having already understood what was going on at this moment. She simply turned towards Mu Rong. He stepped forward. ¡°If you want to stop me, then I¡¯ll just have to watch you try.¡±

    Hepletely ignored Lord Pisces. From the very beginning, all the ns about banding together had been nothing more than mere talk. What would truly decide everything was a select number of elites.

 Chapter 504: Strike

    <h4>Chapter 504: Strike</h4>

    Lu Yin calmly continued watching the scene y out, as he was not overly concerned about this so-called alliance. The self-proimed Lord Pisces had assumed that an alliance of all the Limiteers would be able to deal with Mu Rong and that they could all divide up the pyrolyte ore this way. However, such a belief was simplyughable.

    He had already achieved his objectives, but the oue would not be controlled by him.

    Liu Xiaoyun was the first to strike, and an endless sword rain descended from the sky upon everyone on the mountain range. From the very start of the battle, the Sword Sect had decided to treat everyone else as their enemy. Regardless of whether or not Lord Pisces unified them, the battle would not have changed in any way.

    As they faced the Sword Sect¡¯s powerful attack, many cultivators retaliated. In an instant, the mountain range and the ground surrounding it ruptured while the void distorted as spatial cracks spread out in a lightning-like fashion.

    Northgate Gang and the rest stared at the scene, dumbfounded. This was a true top-tier battlefield.

    In the distance, Xi Yue and Wen Qian''er were also shocked because Mu Rong and Ling Que had also both acted.

    This was the second time that the two had exchanged blows on Pyrolyte. Ling Que immediately split into three Ling Ques thatbined their three des into one that struck out towards Mu Rong. On the ground, a field of green grass extended in all directions as the shepherd boy¡¯s song could be heard. The three Que''s Mighty shes froze in the void, but in the next moment, Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing moved as one to attack Mu Rong as well. Liu Shaoqiu raised his de, and light appeared around it as the cold glint of a single sword illuminated Pyrolyte.

    This top-tier battlefield was not one thatmoners could participate in.

    Lord Pisces watched on nkly, as he had assumed that he could gain control of the situation by allying with the crowd to stand up to the Sword Sect. But when the battle truly started, his scheme seemedughable. He realized that, even without his schemes, the battle would still have proceeded in the exact same manner as everyone would still have automatically worked together to resist the Sword Sect since Mu Rong was too powerful.

    The scale of this current battle greatly surpassed the one for control of Pyrolyte Mountain. Not only were the strongest Limiteers such as Mu Rong involved, but there were also quite a few of the elder generation¡¯s Explorers who had reduced their cultivation in order to participate in the battles on this. There were not just one or two who were able to fight on the battlefield of Mu Rong and Ling Que, but nearly ten. They came from the Daynight n, the Wen family, or the Sword Sect, and one even released a powerful beast, indicating that they were from the Divine Grade Hall.

    If these elders were not able to defeat Mu Rong, then this mountain range would never be able to be seized; this was the crowd¡¯s mutual understanding.

    In the space above the, the various major powers stared at the mountain range. This might be the most important battle during this period of contending for pyrolyte ore on this.

    Like shooting stars, countless spacecraft descended onto the as more Limiteers appeared to join the fray.

    The aftershocks were strong enough to send hundreds of Limiteers flying, removing their ability to continue fighting.

    One shepherd boy''s song had taken control of countless people, as it had even nearly caused Lu Yin to harm himself when he first heard the song, let alone other average Limiteers. Mu Rong¡¯s shepherd boy''s song had severely injured almost a third of the cultivators present, and the power of his innate gift stunned those watching from outer space.

    Liu Shaoqiu looked up, and as his Second Sword descended, countless nkly stared at it. Was it really a smart move to be enemies with the Sword Sect? This was not a battle that they could make any contributions to, even if they all allied together.

    Lord Pisces gritted his teeth and attacked Liu Shaoqiu. Two strange fish formed a strange pattern that attempted to suppress Liu Shaoqiu, but the young swordsman simply sliced them apart.

    ¡°You¡¯re past your prime.¡± Then, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Second Sword swept past him, and Lord Pisces spat out a mouthful of blood as he crashed heavily into the mountain range.

    Zhanlong Daynight appeared from behind Lord Pisces and aimed both fists towards Liu Shaoqiu, who raised his sword in defense, but his body was still sent crashing into the ground.

    Liu Shaoqiu had also shed out at Nightqueen Yanqing, who used her Nightking body to block it. Her purple eyes looked at everyone from the Sword Sect, but the surroundings suddenly changed. This was Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s Epassing Lockdown Array, and she stared at Nightqueen Yanqing with cold eyes. She then looked to the right and innocently batted her eyes. ¡°Old auntie, let¡¯s y again!¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing started raging. ¡°Stupid brat, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    Suddenly, a strange ripple traveled across the battlefield. Both Nightqueen Yanqing and Y¨­u Ye''er were astonished by this ripple. This feeling¡­ was a domain?

    ¡°Old auntie, who do you want to kill?¡± Hai Qiqi¡¯s voice called out as she appeared on Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s left side, coincidentally situated opposite Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er looked at Hai Qiqi, and Hai Qiqi stared at Y¨­u Ye''er. It seemed that there was some sort of mutual feeling between them.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s rage had surpassed anger, and she exploded out with her entire strength, but even then, she wasn¡¯t able to shake off Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s Epassing Lockdown Array.

    Hai Qiqi was curious. ¡°What a powerful battle technique. What is it?¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er was pleased by the attention. ¡°It¡¯s the Y¨­u Court¡¯s battle technique, Epassing Lockdown Array. Isn¡¯t it awesome?¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded incessantly, and then excitedly said, ¡°It¡¯s very powerful. Teach me!¡±

    She had already forgotten her awkwardness due to the Sea King plotting against Lu Yin and had returned to her normal behavior in the blink of an eye.

    Y¨­u Ye''er readily agreed.

    Nightqueen Yanqing fiercely bellowed. What did these two stupid brats take her as?

    At that point, the void tore open as a Que''s Mighty sh arrived, piercing through the Epassing Lockdown Array and rescuing Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Y¨­u Ye''er retreated a dozen steps and gritted her teeth as she stared at the distant Ling Que. This scoundrel had the ability to interfere in their scuffle even while battling with Mu Rong.

    Ling Que was already facing tremendous pressure from Mu Rong and had incessantly widened the scope of their battle in an attempt to avoid being controlled by the shepherd boy''s song. He had no choice but to stop and save Nightqueen Yanqing, but Mu Rong made use of that opportunity to sweep past three powerhouses who had reduced their cultivation. The shepherd boy leading the cattle then crushed the entire battlefield, and caused almost ten of the former Explorer experts to spit out mouthfuls of blood.

    Mu Rong was too terrifying, as he was still able to retain his unparalleled status despite being surrounded by numerous experts, of which included Ling Que.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was fixated on ughtering Y¨­u Ye''er and Hai Qiqi, so after being rescued, she became more careful so as to not be captured by Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s Epassing Lockdown Array again. Every time Y¨­u Ye''er moved, Nightqueen Yanqing would change locations at extreme speed, and then she would use her powerful star energy to attack Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er cried out, hurriedly escaped, and Hai Qiqi called out to her. ¡°Follow me!¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er immediately went to the other girl.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s hatred for Hai Qiqi even surpassed what she felt for Y¨­u Ye''er. She chased after the two of them while ignoring everyone else, and she ended up charging towards the mountain range.

    Most of the Limiteers around the mountain range had been severely injured by Liu Xiaoyun and Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword techniques. Only a minority of them still had the ability to move, and they decided not to participate in the battle, as the people taking action at this moment were too scary.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s power was absolutely formidable. As long as she maintained her vignce, Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s battle technique would be ineffective against her, and Hai Qiqi¡¯s domain was also not a match for her power. The two girls were being chased by Nightqueen Yanqing, and they soon arrived at Northgate Gang¡¯s position.

    Northgate Gang was stunned, but he had already known that something was amiss when Hai Qiqi had excitedly charged out. Sure enough, she had provoked a terrible enemy into chasing her back. Everyone could feel the steeply mounting pressure as they faced Nightqueen Yanqing, but they could not withstand it at all, so they looked towards Lu Yin.

    Hai Qiqi screamed, ¡°Save us! This old auntie is killing people!¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er also shouted, ¡°Somebody save us!¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes released a cold killing intent. Even if this girl was the Y¨­u Court¡¯s princess, she had decided to kill these two girls before answering to anyone, as the Nightking n was not afraid of anyone.

    Hai Qiqi pulled Y¨­u Ye''er over next to Lu Yin, but then she suddenly stopped moving. ¡°We¡¯re safe.¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er blinked. ¡°Why?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing raised her hand and grabbed at the two girls,pletely ignoring Lu Yin as she did not even nce at him.

    But the moment she streaked past Lu Yin, she felt her scalp turn numb as a shiver ran down her spine. With her many years of battle experience, she was able to instinctively sense danger, and she tried to twist away from her location, but a hand firmly grasped her shoulder. ¡°Nightqueen Yanqing, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    These words caused her pupils to constrict to pinpoints, and she turned around with a nk face to look at the person who had just spoken. She looked at Lu Yin, and he then nodded before altering his appearance.

    Nightqueen Yanqing felt lost, as she recognized the person who was holding onto her. He was the same person who had used two fingers to trap the Que¡¯s Mighty sh, which had indirectly saved her life. She had always been looking for this person, but she never expected to meet him at this ce. Still, why was his voice so familiar? Could it be¡­?

    The next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s looks changed back to his original appearance.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyelids had dropped so much that her eyes were nothing more than slits. She cried out in disbelief, ¡°Lu- Lu Yin?¡±

    Not even a meter away from them, Hai Qiqi patted her chest as Y¨­u Ye''er also stared in shock at Lu Yin. It¡¯s him?

    ¡°All this time, I¡¯ve been indebted to your care,¡± Lu Yin quietly replied. He was already in a bad mood since he was being forced to participate in this contest for pyrolyte despite not gaining anything at all from his actions, and he was even expecting to be forced to flee to the Cosmic Sea afterwards. To him, his fate had already be a tragedy, and whoever appeared in front of him right now could only be considered unlucky.

    Nightqueen Yanqing felt an intense pain shoot out her shoulder as a boundless strength passed through her shoulder and into her organs. A fresh line of blood flowed down from her mouth. ¡°Lu Yin, how dare you appear here! Aren¡¯t you afraid that Frostwave Weave will be targeted?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°That¡¯s right, everyone will definitely try to take advantage of me. However, from now on, this threat won¡¯t work on me anymore. Pass this message on to Elder Yuanjing for me: I, Lu Yin, will forever remember his care.¡±

    He then flung her away.

    She had been thoroughly suppressed by his strength, and she was not able to resist at all as her entire body was sent crashing into the mountain range like a cannonball. With a boom, she was smashed underground. Her Nightking¡¯s Body disappeared, and her battle force copsed, as she had instantly lost consciousness.

    Everyone was frightened by Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s devastating defeat, and everyone turned to look at the mountain range. There was someone there who could defeat her in such a manner?

    Ling Que also looked at the mountain range in shock.

    Although Nightqueen Yanqing was not a top-tier elite, she was still qualified to be one of the experts who had surrounded and targeted Mu Rong. In fact, she could be considered as one of the five most powerful people in the present battle. But despite that, she had been beaten so badly in an instant just now.

    High above the, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s body trembled as she stared at the scene. ¡°It¡¯s actually him! This junior¡¯s looking to die! He actually dares to make a move against my Daynight n! Contact <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and get him to immediately destroy the Great Yu Empire!¡±

    In the Sword Sect¡¯s spacecraft, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree frowned. ¡°Is that Lu Yin? Why is he here?¡±

    Within the Wen family¡¯s vessel, Mira also stared at the scene in shock. Why had Lu Yin been so foolish as to attack the Daynight n? He should have stayed out of this mess.

    From the Second Grade Hall, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika clenched his fists. Lu Yin had still shown up, and he had actually attacked the Daynight n at that! Wasn¡¯t this kid afraid of dragging Frostwave Weave down along with him? Or did he really think that Hai Dashao¡¯s promise would be enough to keep it safe? As long as the Sea King himself didn¡¯t make any promises, they wouldn¡¯t care since this brat was messing with their bottomline.

    From Northline Flowzone, Granny Chan and the rest were pleasantly surprised. Did Lu Yin want to help them seize the mountain range? But why? The situation was changing way too quickly.

    The various powers were all focused on Lu Yin now. Mu Rong had previously demanded their attention, but now, Lu Yin was the greatest obstacle standing in front of them.

    At the base of the mountain range on Pyrolyte, everyone looked towards Lu Yin. They were not unfamiliar with this person, as he was the strongest Limiteer, someone who had surpassed Mu Rong. He was the true unequalled powerhouse within their realm.

    Mu Rong and the rest stopped fighting while Liu Shaoqiu and Zhanlong Daynight emerged from underground, also having stopped fighting. Lord Pisces¡¯ face turned a deathly white as he looked up. There was another junior who was even more ferocious?

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had changed the situation once again. He was not afraid of being surrounded, and since he had decided to make his move, he would no longer remain cautious. He would teach these people a lesson and show them what an unequaled Limiteer actually was.

 Chapter 505: The Fifth Sword

    <h4>Chapter 505: The Fifth Sword</h4>

    Outside the mountain range, Zhuo Daynight gazed at Lu Yin with aplex expression; was he about to act? If that was the case, then why had he been so secretive earlier?

    One person towered above all others like a peak, casting a shadow over everyone. At this moment, even Mu Rong¡¯s image seemed to fade a bit.

    In space, numerous spacecraft suddenly formed words, ¡°Unite, kill Lu.¡±

    These simple words showed an iparable determination. It had been the Daynight n¡¯s spacecraft to form those words.

    The next moment, Zhanlong Daynight acted first. He raised his right hand and gathered all of his strength, and with a boundless power that warped the void, he released a punch. ¡°Lu Yin, it¡¯s been a long while.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shook when he saw Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punch. Everyone focused on him as he slowly raised his right hand. There was a tremendous explosion as smoke rose into the air around Lu Yin. A visible shockwave rippled out, pushing Hai Qiqi and the others back. The mountain range itself cracked open as a fissure snaked through the void, causing many onlookers to turn pale.

    When the dust settled, there was a woosh, and Lu Yin¡¯s calm face appeared in everyone¡¯s vision. He had not taken even half a step back, and his hand was tightly clenched around Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s right fist, keeping the Daynight youth from advancing or retreating.

    Countless mouths fell open as they stared at the scene in disbelief. This person was Zhanlong Daynight, one of the top powerhouses of the Daynight n, and he was someoneparable to Liu Shaoqiu. In fact, he was also qualified to act as one of the powerhouses who had worked to surround Mu Rong, but his punch had been casually stopped by Lu Yin. It had to be acknowledged that, even if Ling Que or someone else at that level was attacked by Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s punch, they would have had to retaliate or dodge. No one else could effortlessly receive such an attack besides Lu Yin.

    Zhanlong Daynight stared straight at Lu Yin as his eyes flickered in disbelief. ¡°You- your strength.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The current you is too weak.¡±

    Lu Yin then exerted a bit of strength through his hand and broke Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s hand with a sharp crack. The Daynight youth was then flung aside just like Nightqueen Yanqing. He spat out a mouthful of blood and lost consciousness.

    Lu Yin looked down at him. ¡°I¡¯ll look for you again after I deal with the rest.¡±

    He then stepped forward and disappeared, only to next be seen at the base of the mountain range.

    He had used merely two attacks to eliminate two of the strongest Daynight experts on Pyrolyte. Just two attacks had dispatched two top-notch Daynight experts.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength caused everyone else present to feel as if an insurmountable shadow had crept over their hearts.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was astonished, as this person was indeed powerful.

    Hai Qiqi blinked. Right now, he¡¯s not bad to watch. I can understand why father is considering making him his son-inw. I get why he didn¡¯t directly order Lu Yin toe here and get the pyrolyte¡ªhold on, that¡¯s not right. What future son-inw? That won¡¯t happen!

    Above the, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s eyes changed after Zhanlong Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing were both thoroughly defeated after just two moves from Lu Yin. How could such a thing happen? Could there really be such a huge disparity between Limiteers? Lu Yin¡¯s strength caused the olddy to think of the Ten Arbiters.

    On Pyrolyte, at the base of the mountain range, Lord Pisces stared at Lu Yin, who had just suddenly appeared, in astonishment. In the blink of an eye, this person had appeared in front of Lord Pisces, who was not even five meters away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over everyone. ¡°I¡¯ll only say this just once: this mountain range belongs to me now. Everyone else, get lost.¡±

    Ling Que looked up, walked a few steps forward, and arrogantly stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve got balls. Even if you¡¯re the strongest Limiteer, do you really think that you can stop all of us?¡±

    Lu Yin turned towards Ling Que. ¡°You can try.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Everyone, attack him together! If we can¡¯t defeat him, then no one will get anything from this ce.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he moved to attack, his Que¡¯s Mighty sh slicing through the void as it moved towards Lu Yin. Ling Que had put his full strength into this attack as he clearly remembered that this bastard had trapped his de with just two fingers. This was not some random innate gift, as there was no one else who could stop Ling Que¡¯s de with just a couple of fingers.

    Next to Ling Que, Mu Rong also moved to attack. Since they were facing Lu Yin, he had chosen to cooperate with Ling Que. Before this, Ling Que and the rest had been attacking Mu Rong, but now, everyone had united against Lu Yin, even Mu Rong.

    The void before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was torn apart as the Que''s Mighty sh emerged. However, Lu Yin merely raised a hand and lightly tapped against the de, sending it spiraling in another direction with a thump. He then raised his hand towards Ling Que and released a palm attack. By this time, he had already unleashed the grains of Fatesand around his heart and left arm, hiding them within his clothes. In other words, he had removed two-thirds of the seal that suppressed his physical strength. Right now, Lu Yin was invincible.

    The shockwave that the Spacerender Palm unleashed sted through the void and snarled as it shot towards Ling Que like a strange beast. Ling Que¡¯s eyes shrank, as he had already known that Lu Yin was powerful, but had Lu Yin¡¯s strength really reached such a ridiculous extent that he could flick away his de with one finger? This toppled Ling Que¡¯s worldview. How was the disparity between them so vast?

    With a boom, the Spacerender Palm swept through one direction, though Ling Que was able to avoid it. However, everyone else in that area was struck, and they all lost their ability to fight.

    Beneath Lu Yin, green grass appeared as the farmer boy''s song was heard. Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You didn¡¯t learn your lesson. Your farmer boy''s song is useless against me.¡±

    His body then trembled, and the void fractured as Lu Yin raised a hand towards Mu Rong, whose face changed as he quickly evaded the attack. A massive shockwave struck the ce he had just been standing at.

    Just two attacks had forced both Ling Que and Mu Rong to dodge away, and not only had Lu Yin managed to flick Ling Que¡¯s de away, he had also caused Mu Rong¡¯s farmer boy¡¯s song to copse. In just a few seconds, Lu Yin had demonstrated a strength that caused everyone to feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.

    ¡°Freak, he¡¯s a freak!¡± someone shouted as they stared at Lu Yin in terror.

    At those words, the crowd immediately backed away from Lu Yin. ¡°He¡¯s a freak! He¡¯s invincible!¡±

    ¡°Freak...¡±

    ¡­

    Against Mu Rong, the crowd had still been able to unite with Ling Que and have a rtively even battle, but against Lu Yin, even when Mu Rong joined their forces, they still felt like they were tiny ants trying to shake a giant tree. This was not a battle that could be won through simple numerical superiority.

    Wen Qian''er looked on, dumbfounded. This was the strength of a peerless Limiteer. She had vastly overestimated herself at one point by wanting to experience such a strength for herself. Not to mention her, even Ling Que was too weakpared to Lu Yin.

    Ever since Mister Mu had upgraded Lu Yin¡¯s physical body to the absolute limit, he had reached the same level of the Limiteer realm as that war spirit with closed eyes. This meant that Lu Yin was truly invincible, and he could perhaps match the strength shown by the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers. At this moment, there was no one in the crowd who could stand up to him.

    Mu Rong looked at Lu Yin with a grave expression, as the current Lu Yin made even him feel powerless. He had already exchanged blows with Lu Yin once, and he had acutely sensed this person¡¯s strength then. At the start, there had not been much of a disparity between them, and Lu Yin had not possessed the strength to shake off his farmer boy''s song. However, by the end of their battle, Lu Yin had released a strength that belonged to an entirely different level.

    This was what Mu Rong hade to realize at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. However, at this moment on Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had revealed his most powerful strength right from the very beginning of the battle. Mu Rong was not able to resist such a power, and the other people at his level were no different.

    Currently, the only ones who could fight against Lu Yin were either Explorers or perhaps even Cruisers, as he was truly an unequalled Limiteer.

    In outer space, above the, the various major powers were also all bbergasted. The disparity disyed through this battle was too great, and it was not something that could bepensated for with numbers.

    In the Sword Sect¡¯s spacecraft, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was shocked. ¡°There¡¯s no exnation for this kid! Think of a way to send Explorers down to Pyrolyte. Order Liu Shaoqiu and the rest to retreat back to Pyrolyte Mountain. They can¡¯t fight against this kid.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder.¡±

    Inside the Wen family¡¯s spacecraft, Mira¡¯s expression was simrly overwhelmed. She had not thought that, after not seeing Lu Yin for a while, that he would be able to be this strong, and certainly not to this exaggerated of a level. The current Lu Yin could even attract the attention of the Ten Arbiters. When they had been Limiteers in the past, they had been simrly invincible, but they had probably not surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s current strength. It was possible that he already possessed a strength that could rival her own.

    No one would have thought that some nobody cultivator from Earth would be able to reach such a level and would hold such a supreme position within the Limiteer realm.

    At the same time, the Daynight n and Wen family also sent out orders for their ground forces to retreat. The elders could see the difference more clearly than the Limiteers on the ground. Lu Yin was not someone who their juniors could deal with.

    As the words in the skies changed, they all formed the same word: ¡°Retreat.¡±

    At the base of the mountain range, everyone inexplicably rxed, as they no longer had to fight against this freak anymore.

    Lu Yin looked up, as the various powers that had been able to survive in the Innerverse had a rather decisive way of doing things. For them to order a retreat so quickly proved that they already had other ns. They might work to threaten Lu Yin himself, or find other powerhouses to send down here.

    Liu Shaoqiu walked out from the forces of the Sword Sect with a resolute gaze.

    Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s face changed. ¡°What are you doing? The elder ordered us to retreat!¡±

    The others also looked at Liu Shaoqiu.

    Liu Shaoqiu determinedly walked towards Lu Yin. ¡°You and I had an agreement to challenge the Top 100 Rankings at the same time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lu Yin answered faintly.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°I have a feeling that this battle might be thest one we have as Limiteers, as well as the first. I don¡¯t want to miss this opportunity.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You aren¡¯t my match.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu gripped his hilt tightly. ¡°So what? This is my path of the sword.¡±

    In outer space, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and the rest all fell silent. Liu Shaoqiu had been able to inherit the Thirteen Swords, which was rted to his path of the sword. In this current battle, regardless of the oue, he had to act, or else his path would copse.

    They would rather Liu Shaoqiu fight Lu Yin than destroy his path of the sword, even if it meant him being killed in this fight.

    Of course, the Sword Sect did not believe that Lu Yin would actually dare to kill Liu Shaoqiu, as that would create a death debt.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head hurt, as someone with such an extreme sense of conviction was the most troublesome to deal with. Zhang Dingtian was one such person, and it seemed that this Liu Shaoqiu in front of him was another one. Ever since Lu Yin had started cultivating, he had relied on his die and his destiny. He held no strong determination towards cultivation itself. At this moment, when he looked at Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s face, Lu Yin felt like he wascking something himself and that he should also hold some sort of conviction.

    ¡°Then go ahead,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Everyone stared at Liu Shaoqiu, as the Fourth Sword had not been enough to defeat even Ling Que and Mu Rong. Did that mean that he was about to use the Fifth Sword?

    Each of the Thirteen Swords was overwhelming, and everyone wanted to take a look at the Fifth Sword¡¯s power.

    Liu Shaoqiu inhaled deeply as he clenched his sword¡¯s hilt. His eyes shed with his resolve. He was indeed about to disy the Fifth Sword, which was a technique that he had yet toprehend. It was already extremely terrifying for him to disy the Fourth Sword with the strength of a Limiteer, and the Fifth Sword was something that he should only touch after breaking through to the Explorer realm. However, he had to use it now, or he would have no chance at all.

    Perhaps, after using the Fifth Sword, he would be crippled! But even so, he would not regret it.

    Below the mountains, many cultivators pulled away from the two since they were afraid of being caught up in the impending battle¡¯s aftershocks. Lu Yin did not attack, showing his respect for Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s determination; he would give Liu Shaoqiu ample time to prepare.

    The cultivators continued to back away when one of them suddenly looked at his own sword in surprise. His sword was quivering, and the various swordsmen around him all found that their des were simrly quivering, as if they could not be controlled.

    This was a forcefield. One that had yet to fully emerge, but one that still existed.

    The Fourth Sword manifested in the form of a domain filled with sword qi, and it was able to unleash a powerful attack. At this moment, a forcefield had merged into the surrounding area.

 Chapter 506: Opening Line

    <h4>Chapter 506: Opening Line</h4>

    Y¨­u Ye''er looked down from atop the mountain range, recalling how one of her elders had described the Sword Sect¡¯s Fifth Sword: ¡°The human merges with the sword; the sword merges with the domain; the human merges with the domain. Three be one for the Fifth Sword.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Hai Qiqi was lost.

    Y¨­u Ye''er shook her head. ¡°Nothing. Do you think that he can take the Fifth Sword?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    At the base of the mountain range, Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn. He could sense Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s forcefield as well as the Fifth Sword¡¯s terrifying strength that merged everything into one entity. This sharpness was something that was iparable to anything from before, and it was already causing spatial cracks to appear in the void. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Liu Shaoqiu had already be a sword, and Lu Yin could see countless spatial cracks extending out from the swordsman¡¯s body. He was on the verge of slicing through the space in this area.

    Ling Que looked at Liu Shaoqiu with surprise. This attack lived up to the reputation of the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, and if this person hadpletelyprehended this attack, then Ling Que might not have been able to defeat the Sword Sect genius and their battle might have ended in a draw.

    Mu Rong also stared on in astonishment. The inheritor of the Thirteen Swords was indeed not someone simple.

    Countless people watched the confrontation between the two with great expectations, wondering whether or not Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s sword would be able to defeat Lu Yin.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped wide open as he unsheathed the tip of his sword. With Liu Shaoqiu himself as the center, the sharp aura radiated out in a circle. The circle quickly expanded from a hundred, then a thousand, and then ten thousand meters away from Liu Shaoqiu. Everyone was enveloped within this sharp aura, and it caused their scalps to turn numb. This was a strength that could determine their life and death.

    Mu Rong raised his hand and saw that a very miniscule wound had appeared upon his palm. It wasn¡¯t just him; everyone who was within the Fifth Sword¡¯s domain range had received various injuries to some extent. This caused the cultivators to be even more terrified, and they all hurriedly retreated again.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and flicked out. The void twinkled and formed a white shockwave that shot towards the ground. The Fifth Sword had not beenpletely unleashed yet, but it had already tried to harm Lu Yin, which was normally impossible.

    Lu Yin suddenly shook his head when he made contact with the Fifth Sword. ¡°This sword is still beyond you.¡±

    The crowd had not thought that Lu Yin would suddenly say such a thing, and many went into a daze while only a select few looked towards Liu Shaoqiu with a bit of sympathy.

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree sighed from the heavens. ¡°The Fifth Sword, where human, sword, and domain merge as one. He has merged human and domain, and human and sword. However, he has yet to merge sword and domain. His strength was not properly contained, and that caused it to fail at thest minute. This sword is not something that he can use yet.¡±

    Behind Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Liu Sanjian looked at the screen with pity. ¡°If he could use the Fifth Sword, then Shaoqiu would definitely be the strongest down there.¡±

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree replied faintly. ¡°Not necessarily. No, that¡¯s actually wrong; even if he could use the Fifth Sword, he still would not be the strongest.¡± Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I saw this person battle against Mu Rong, and this kid has a strength that has also reached the pinnacle. He is not someone who can be withstood by those in the same realm, unless they have simrly reached a pinnacle in some aspect.¡±

    Liu Sanjian was lost. ¡°The pinnacle?¡±

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree nodded and exined, ¡°Yes, the pinnacle, like the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Liu Sanjian was shocked. ¡°That kid can rival the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree did not reply, but he did not deny the possibility either.

    One of the Ten Arbiters was from the Sword Sect, so they clearly understood the strength of the Ten Arbiters. These monsters¡¯ reputation was not something that had been fabricated; it was genuine. Even to a powerhouse like Liu Sanjian, who neared the strength of an Enlighter, the strength of the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers was something that was unimaginable to him, as it went against his understanding of the universe.

    It was precisely because the Sword Sect understood the strength of the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers that they had not cared much for Lu Yin and the rest when they were proimed as Ten Arbiters candidates, because the gap was just too vast. They were simply not on the same level. The so-called ¡°Ten Arbiters candidate¡± title was just given as encouragement. But on this day, a person who could truly rival the Ten Arbiters had appeared. Liu Sanjian understood quite well how scary it was for someone to rival the Ten Arbiters strength in the Limiteer realm and how inconceivable such a thing was.

    To all the Limiteers present, such a person was nothing but a freak.

    It was no wonder why, after Lu Yin acted, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree had ordered everyone to retreat. This was someone who was literally unstoppable by those present.

    On Pyrolyte, just like what Lu Yin had said, Liu Shaoqiu was not able topletely execute the Fifth Sword. His forcefield had copsed, or it was also possible that it had copsed on its own since he had not managed to merge the sword into his domain.

    Liu Shaoqiu spat out a mouthful of blood, and he suddenly looked miserable.

    Lu Yin looked at him calmly. ¡°Although this sword is still a bit beyond you, you¡¯re not far from being able to unleash it. I¡¯ll wait for your challenge since I probably won¡¯t be an Explorer before you.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu couldn¡¯t ept such words. ¡°Are you pitying me?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you believe me or not, but it will be more difficult for me to be an Explorer than you. However, even before breaking through, I¡¯ll still be able to challenge the Top 100 Rankings. So the agreement can be nullified today, as you are currently unable to challenge the Top 100 along with me.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu left in silence, as he had lost before the battle had even begun. However, he did not regret his actions one bit. If he did not even have the courage to engage in a battle, then how could he even consider trying to surpass his ancestors?

    Most of the crowd quickly left one after another. Since Lu Yin was the guardian of this area, no one would be able to seize control of this region.

    At this moment, a few Daynight n members charged over with the intention of taking Zhanlong Daynight away. Lu Yin casually struck out with a Spacerender Palm, unleashing a shockwave that swept out and sent them all flying away. ¡°You guys can¡¯t take him away.¡±

    The Daynight n members were terrified. ¡°Lu Yin, are you trying to create a blood feud with our Daynight n?¡±

    ¡°Just wait until after I question him.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± By this time, Nightqueen Yanqing had finally awoken. Her injuries were severe, as Lu Yin remembered how she had used Zhuo Daynight as a shield. He had not shown much mercy in his previous attack, and it was mostly thanks to her Nightking¡¯s Body and her battle force that she had managed to survive.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was being supported by other Daynight members, and she sent a death re at Lu Yin, as if she wanted to devour him.

    Lu Yin merely nced at her before turning to leave.

    ¡°Lu Yin, pyrolyte ore is a strategic resource. If you dare take it, Elder Yuanjing will not protect you or your Great Yu Empire!¡± Nightqueen Yanqing threatened.

    Lu Yin froze in ce and then slowly turned around.

    From a distance, the Sword Sect, Wen family, Second Grade Hall, Dire Barbarian n, ze Realm, and all of the other great powers saw this exchange as well. If possible, none of them wanted to retreat, but it looked like the Daynight n wanted to vite the agreement at this time.

    If it was against another power, then the Innerverse powers would be able to mutually restrict each other, preventing the Daynight n from breaking the rules, just like how Wen Qichen had been stopped by Nightqueen Qiuyu when he wanted to circumvent the rules that everyone had agreed upon. However, right now, they were all against Lu Yin, and he did not have much of a background. At best, he could be considered to hold the status of the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw, but he was just the future son-inw. Right now, it didn¡¯t really amount to much of a backing.

    If the Daynight n was able to threaten him and force him away from the mountain range, then they could all continue to fight over it.

    However, they were also afraid that Lu Yin would be won over by the Daynight n, which would be even more annoying.

    ¡°You¡¯re threatening me.¡± Lu Yin stared coldly at Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Yanqing panted heavily, and the Daynight members around her stared fearfully at Lu Yin, terrified that he would attack them.

    But then, Lu Yin withdrew his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re one step behind.¡± Lu Yin pointed at the mountain range. ¡°There¡¯s someone up there with an even higher position.¡±

    Everyone involuntarily looked where he had pointed.

    Y¨­u Ye''er blinked and then turned towards Hai Qiqi. Aside from the people from the Northline Flowzone, there was only this kid on top of the mountains.

    Hai Qiqi did not back away. Instead, she stepped forward, towering high in the sky as she prepared to speak. However, she could not think of a good opening line, so she simply rolled her eyes. ¡°Dregs, I¡¯m your Miss Qi.¡±

    The mountain range fell silent, and everyone stared nkly at Hai Qiqi. Even Mu Rong was included in the speechless crowd. Dregs? Was she referring to them?

    The expression on Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s face as she looked at Hai Qiqi began to shift to adoration. This opening line was too awesome!

    Hai Qiqi blinked and looked at everyone in the area. Had she chosen her words poorly?

    Lu Yin had already discovered that Hai Qiqi¡¯s venomous tongue was not entirely reliable, but he hadn¡¯t known it could fail to such a degree. Such a serious asion had beenpletely destroyed by her. However, this also caused his resentment towards her to diminish greatly. The one who had plotted against him was the Sea King, not Hai Qiqi.

    Nightqueen Yanqing stared at Hai Qiqi. Stupid brat, I¡¯ll tear your tongue out sooner orter!

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin indifferently announced, ¡°She¡¯s Hai Qiqi, the Sea King''s daughter.¡±

    At the base of the mountain range, amotion exploded as everyone stared at Hai Qiqi in shock; the Sea King''s daughter?

    Mu Rong was also shocked. Although he had also participated in thepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, he had never actually met the Sea King''s daughter. This was her? He suddenly felt incredibly lucky that he had not pulled out the Sea King''s Trident.

    Ling Que stared at the scene nkly while feeling that something was off. The Sea King¡¯s daughter¡¯s first words had been a bit too unrestrained.

    Xi Yue stared at Hai Qiqi. This was Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e? The two made quite a match.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupils shrank. The Sea King''s daughter! It was no wonder why she had humiliated Nightqueen Yanqing in such a manner. Yanqing suddenly felt as if she would never be able to do anything to this stupid brat for her entire life.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was also surprised. She¡¯s the Sea King''s daughter?

    Hai Qiqi was proud of the attention she was currently receiving, and she looked at everyone with a pleased expression. This was the effect and the kind of entrance that she had always wanted. As a girl, she desired the spotlight even more than a man, but she had always been overshadowed in the Starfall Sea. She had let the selection for her future husband be held just so that she could have someone apany her when she left the Starfall Sea to go out and y. Her lifelong dream had finally been achieved.

    Now that the Sea King''s daughter had appeared, Nightqueen Yanqing could no longer find a single word. The Sea King¡¯s attitude could be seen by the fact that he had allowed his own daughter to apany Lu Yin out in the universe, and the Daynight n¡¯s threats to him were nowpletely meaningless.

    The rest sighed. Sure enough, Lu Yin really did have something to rely on before taking action.

    At this point, the mood in outer space around the shifted, and a dark-red gas curled up and created some ripples as the void quivered. Everyone felt an immense pressure descend on the as they all looked up. A face appeared from outer space; it was the Second Grade Hall¡¯s Enlighter, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    Ever since the contest on Pyrolyte had started, this was the first time an Enlighter had directly intervened.

    ¡°The Sea King¡¯s Dome has not promised to protect your empire, kid. I¡¯d advise you to reconsider the oue before you act again,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s voice spread across all of Pyrolyte.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Hai Qiqi suddenly shouted, ¡°You scared me so bad! You old shameless thing, hide your stupid face!¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was furious, but he could only act as if he had not seen Hai Qiqi. He continued to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, did you hear me? Hai Dashao¡¯s personal promise isn¡¯t enough to represent the Sea King¡¯s Dome, which means that they won¡¯t intervene in a conflict in the Outerverse. They will not protect your empire!¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak, and he merely looked at the sky. It¡¯s time to appear, Hai Dashao.

    Sure enough, the next moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s face changed, and he vanished from the crowd¡¯s sight. Pyrolyte descended into silence once again.

    All the Enlighters in outer space stared at a youth standing tall above Pyrolyte. They were amazed, as he was none other than Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s appearance caught all the other great powers unprepared. Was the Sea King¡¯s Dome actually going to intervene in this contest on Pyrolyte?

 Chapter 507: Patron

    <h4>Chapter 507: Patron</h4>

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was the first to move, and she stared at Hai Dashao with a cold look. ¡°Senior Sea King has never intervened in the struggles of the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Second Prince, do you want to break that agreement?¡±

    Hai Dashao nced at her before responding in a tone that was neither arrogant nor servile. ¡°Senior, don¡¯t be mistaken. The Sea King¡¯s Dome has not intervened in any such conflicts, and the Sea King¡¯s Dome will also not intervene in this contest on Pyrolyte. However, Frostwave Weave has fallen under our protection, as this is the promise that Father has made to his future son-inw.¡±

    A trace of fury shed across Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Future son-inw? Do you mean Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Hai Dashao firmly replied.

    Beside them, the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree stepped out from the void and looked at Hai Dashao. He sighed emotionally. ¡°So many years have passed, and the Sea King has not made a singlement on the struggles of the Innerverse and Outerverse. But this tradition was broken on this day by a youth.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Senior, this junior has already said that the Sea King''s Dome does not intervene in the conflicts of the Innerverse and Outerverse. We¡¯re simply protecting the Sea King¡¯s future son-inw. It¡¯s just a fringe weave, so I believe that it shouldn¡¯t be important enough to catch your attention.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy to say, but that kid has currently seized control of thergest pyrolyte mine on Pyrolyte, and he has encroached on the revenue stream of numerous powers. If your Sea King''s Dome does not n to intervene, then immediately back off¡ªand take that kid away with you. No one will make things difficult for him.¡± The Dire Barbarian n¡¯s Lei Long stepped out of the void from another direction and spoke up in an unkind tone.

    Immediately following him, more Enlighters appeared consecutively, including the ze Realm¡¯s Huo Houye, the Ross Empire¡¯s Schr Newmoon, as well as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. They all stared at Hai Dashao with hostile expressions, and they somewhat encircled him, seemingly with the intent to coerce him.

    The pyrolyte mines were too important for the various powers, and they would not move aside even against the Sea King''s Dome.

    Legends had it that the Sea King''s Dome was transcendent, and that the Sea King had reached the level of an Envoy with a power level of over 500,000. It has been many years since those details had been confirmed, and gradually, the various great powers had stopped being as cautious of the Sea King''s Dome.

    Only the powers that had some sensitive insider information did not make any moves against Hai Dashao, such as the Daynight n, Sword Sect, and Wen family. They had not forgotten the terror of the Sea King; otherwise, the Starfall Sea would not have remained as the backyard of the Sea King''s Dome.

    Hai Dashao looked over the crowd as his lips curled up. ¡°Seniors, are you showing your displeasure with the Sea King''s Dome?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and Wen Qichen all exchanged nces, but they did not speak.

    Lei Long stepped forward and red at the youth. ¡°Junior, you don¡¯t have the qualifications to speak to us yet. Ask your senior to step out.¡±

    Hai Dashao looked upwards towards the depths of outer space. ¡°The Sea King¡¯s Dome has not intervened in the affairs of others for so many years¡­ Have we been forgotten? It looks like Father should asionallye out for a walk.¡±

    This single sentence made Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest tremble. Was the Sea King really about toe out? That would be no simple event, and if the situation soured, then those powerhouses who supervised the fate of their ns would appear as well. In the end, a storm might sweep across all of the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Suddenly, Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest felt their hearts drop as they felt an indescribably enormous pressure sweep over them. It felt like an invisible storm had embraced them all. Every single one of them felt as if they were being grabbed by arge, invisible hand, and they found it difficult to breathe.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s pupils shrank. They were all Enlighters, so only some secluded old monster could give them such a sensation. Upon realizing this, he quickly spoke up. ¡°Would the unknown senior from the Sea King''s Dome please show themselves.¡±

    The faces of Lei Long and the rest went pale. Was this pressure from someone of the Sea King''s Dome?

    Hai Dashao smiled at Lei Long, Huo Houye, and the others as an aged, hunchbacked figure slowly emerged from the void beside him. The old man was only about a meter tall. His appearance was ordinary, and his clothing was casual. He looked just like an elderly neighbor, and his murky eyes didn¡¯t even seem like they could see clearly.

    When this old man appeared, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s expressions changed greatly. When they had been younger, they had once roamed across the Starfall Sea. During their stay at the Sea King''s Dome, they had seen this old man, Elder Ren. He was one of the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s four elders, and he was an old monster whose power level was in the several hundred thousand.

    No one would have expected such a person to appear at Pyrolyte, let alone someone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Lei Long was watched closely by Elder Ren, and he felt a certain terror from the bottom of his heart. He had a feeling that he could be wiped out at any moment.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was even more afraid to show his anger.

    Huo Houye, the Schr Newmoon, and the others didn¡¯t dare to move. They merely stared at Elder Ren in shock.

    Soon, Enlighters started appearing one after another. They were from the smaller organizations, and originally, they had not expected to receive much if any of the profits from the mountain range, which was why they had not tried to coerce Hai Dashao. However, now that Elder Ren had shown up, they had alle out to pay their respects to the old man, even Granny Chan.

    If someone uploaded this scene onto thework, it would stun countless people. It was difficult for the various Outerverse weaves to produce even one Enlighter, but there were a dozen of them in this ce. Just their presence alone was enough to cause the space to shudder.

    Elder Ren nced around the room and then spoke slowly and emotionally. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been out, and I¡¯d forgotten what the Astral Wilderness is like. How nostalgic.¡±

    The Sword Sect¡¯s <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree stepped forward and bowed politely. ¡°This junior pays his respects to Elder Ren. I wonder if Elder Ren still remembers this junior?¡±

    Elder Ren¡¯s aged eyes looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and a faint smile appeared on his face. ¡°So it¡¯s you, little kid. You¡¯ve aged as well.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree respectfully replied, ¡°I never thought that elder would remember this junior.¡±

    Elder Ren smiled. ¡°A genius of the Sword Sect. Of course I would remember.¡±

    He then looked at Nightqueen Qiuyu, and a trace of astonishment shed through his eyes. ¡°Youngdy, so you¡¯re here too.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu stepped forward and bowed. ¡°I pay my respects to Elder Ren.¡±

    Elder Ren nodded and then suddenly recalled something. ¡°Where¡¯s that other kid?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s body shuddered, and her eyes filled with agony. ¡°He¡¯s not around anymore.¡±

    Elder Ren sighed and looked at her. ¡°In the end, you two still separated. That was predestined, and bystanders should not be held ountable for such things.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu closed her eyes to conceal her torment.

    When that old monster, Northgate Taisui, appeared in Northline Flowzone, it had not overly shocked the other organizations because Northline Flowzone was just too weak. Even if Northgate Taisui¡¯s power surpassed that of Elder Ren, the status that he wielded in the universe was just too low. This showed the influence that the Sea King¡¯s Dome wielded, as even powers such as the Daynight n and the Sword Sect had to bow their heads.

    Hai Dashao spoke up and pointed at Lei Long. ¡°Elder, that person said that our Sea King''s Dome isn¡¯t qualified to take care of Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lei Long¡¯s face instantly changed. ¡°Hai Dashao, don¡¯t spout nonsense! I didn¡¯t say anything like that.¡±

    Elder Ren looked at Lei Long. Then, his murky eyes suddenly changed, and Lei Long felt as if the heavens had be an unknown ce. He suddenly lost control over his strength before he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned deathly white.

    Everyone was overwhelmed, as this was just too terrifying a scene. After all, Lei Long was an Enlighter with a power level of over 200,000, but he didn¡¯t even have the strength to resist.

    Elder Ren did not act a second time. ¡°For the sake of giving your n¡¯s elders some face, I¡¯ll let you off this time.¡±

    Lei Long bowed his head. He didn¡¯t dare to speak, though his eyes revealed his resentment.

    Those who could cultivate to the Enlighter realm were geniuses among geniuses, and those whose power levels had reached 300,000-400,000 were even more exceptional. Moreover, this old man came from the Sea King''s Dome, which meant that it would be difficult for even someone of the same power level to defeat Elder Ren, let alone someone like Lei Long who was much weaker. He would basically be crossing realms if he challenged the old man. For a super powerhouse from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, dealing with Lei Long was nothing difficult.

    The surrounding Enlighters subconsciously distanced themselves from Hai Dashao, as they dared not stay too close to him.

    Wen Qichen stepped forward and greeted Elder Ren. ¡°This junior from the Wen family, Wen Qichen, pays his respects to Elder Ren.¡±

    Elder Ren looked at Wen Qichen and nodded with a smile. ¡°The Wen family is a reasonable family, and all of their members are schrs. I like to talk with schrly people.¡±

    Wen Qichen forced a smile onto his face as he saluted Elder Ren again. ¡°May I ask senior if the Second Prince¡¯s words are true? Does the Sea King''s Dome intend to protect Frostwave Weave and Lu Yin?¡±

    Elder Ren shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    The crowd¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Hai Dashao was stumped, and he cast a strange look towards Elder Ren.

    Elder Ren slowly continued, saying, ¡°The Sea King''s Dome is not protecting Frostwave Weave and Lu Yin. Rather, it is protecting the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s future son-inw, as well as his hometown.¡±

    Bullshit! That¡¯s the same thing! The Enlighters all cursed silently, but they didn¡¯t dare to express their displeasure.

    Wen Qichen smiled bitterly. ¡°This junior understands. The Wen family will not act against Lu Yin, his friends, or his family. During this contest on Pyrolyte, the strong win, and the weak can only leave.¡±

    Elder Ren nodded and looked appreciatively at Wen Qichen. ¡°Little one, you have a knack for seeing things clearly. Not bad, not bad. You deserve to be called a schr.¡±

    Wen Qichen was speechless. The words he spoke sounded like a scolding, but the appreciative expression on the elder¡¯s face did not quite fit. Wen Quichen didn¡¯t know if the old man was praising or admonishing him.

    The rest had alsoe to understand the present situation since the conversation had reached this point. The Sea King¡¯s Dome would protect Lu Yin, which meant that they could no longer threaten the youth, and also that he would be able to act without restraint.

    Things were now hopeless for the rest of the Limiteers on Pyrolyte.

    Lu Yin was basically a gigantic mountain that none of the other Limiteers could surmount. The only way the various powers could still move forward was to mobilize their Explorers.

    As Wen Qichen, Nightqueen Qiuyu, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and the other Enlighters from the various great powers went their separate ways, the Enlighters from the smaller organizations all left as well.

    Lei Long had a malicious expression, and when he returned to his spacecraft, he immediately ordered for his underlings to speed up their research on developing a method for Explorers to descend onto Pyrolyte, and possibly even Cruisers. If a method was found for Cruisers to descend onto the, then Pyrolyte would suddenly belong to the Dire Barbarian n. After all, they had Avery.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Dire Barbarian n, as all of the various organizations started focusing on finding a method to send Explorers down to the.

    On the surface of the, all of the Limiteers retreated from the mountain range until only one person remained: Zhanlong Daynight, who had been captured by Lu Yin.

    When <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s face disappeared, Lu Yin had realized that the threats surrounding him no longer existed. The Sea King¡¯s Dome had stepped up to protect him.

    However, Lu Yin was not happy at this turn of events since this meant that, from now on, Frostwave Weave would be forever subservient to the Sea King''s Dome. And as long as Lu Yin did not back out from the engagement, then he would also belong to the Sea King. Additionally, he was not naive enough to believe that the Sea King was protecting him out of his goodwill.

    Still, those were all issues for the future. Right now, Lu Yin wanted to find out what had happened on Shenwu Continent, and how Zhanlong Daynight had left.

    Zhanlong Daynight had been severely injured by one strike from Lu Yin, but his abnormal recovery abilities allowed him to awaken after merely half an hour, and the injuries on his body had also improved by a great deal. His recovery piqued Hai Qiqi¡¯s interest, and she watched him heal in fascination.

    When he awoke, Zhanlong Daynight arduously raised himself up and looked at Lu Yin before spitting out a mouthful of blood. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Zhanlong Daynight. ¡°You know why I kept you behind.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight grinned. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll tell you?¡±

    A coldness shed across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°You have the choice to remain silent, and I have the choice to kill you.¡±

 Chapter 508: Unforeseen Events

    <h4>Chapter 508: Unforeseen Events</h4>

    The two young men exchanged nces while the crowd spread across the mountain range broke apart. People would asionally stare at Lu Yin with shock or fanaticism etched on their faces. Not a single one of them had imagined that this person would prove to be this powerful.

    Northgate Gang looked at Lu Yin while feeling slightly ridiculous. A peerless Limiteer was a legend, and he was standing so close to this legend.

    Hai Qiqi looked at Zhanlong Daynight with curiosity, especially at the injuries on his body which were recovering at a discernible rate. How Interesting.

    Before long, Zhanlong Daynight let out a breath, sat up, and leaned against the dark red stone wall. He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m afraid of death?¡±

    Lu Yin looked down on him from above. ¡°Do you belong to the Dayking bloodline, the Nightking n, or perhaps just the simple Daynight n?¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s eyes shed, and his brows creased. ¡°You know quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°I know more than you can imagine. Your Daynight n has degenerated greatly. Since you¡¯ve managed to leave Shenwu Continent, there must be something that you want to do. Are you willing to die so easily? Don¡¯t think for a moment that I¡¯d hesitate to kill you now that I have the Sea King¡¯s Dome behind me. The Daynight n won¡¯t raise any fuss with the Sea King for someone like you who¡¯s not even a Nightking.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight sighed, and then he bitterly smiled. ¡°Well said. Alright, I¡¯ll tell you. Not because you scare me, but because even if I don¡¯t, someone else will just spill the beans. That¡¯s because I¡¯m not the only one who made it out of Shenwu Continent. All of the outsiders who were captured by the Reverent King were released.¡±

    Lu Yin shivered. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight shrugged. ¡°Martial Emperor Ming Zhaotian was heavily injured by the Schr Arbiter, and Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu betrayed the Shenwu Empire. He proimed himself as the emperor and then started cooperating with the outsiders. Shenwu Continent haspletely changed, as the outsiders are no longer hated. Instead, they cooperate with Ming Zhaoshu.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Ming Zhaoshu was able to defend himself against attacks from the Shenwu Empire¡¯s Martial Sovereigns?¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight sneered, ¡°You underestimate Ming Zhaoshu. His silent endurance is the most impressive out of everyone I¡¯ve ever seen. He grasped the opportunity when Ming Zhaotian was injured to seize the inheritance of the dead Ming Taizhong. With that, he broke through to be a Martial Sovereign, which is the equivalent to the Cruiser realm. He¡¯s now evenly matched with Ming Zhaotian. Besides that, he¡¯s alsoprehended a domain, and even a forcefield.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded, as he had already known how formidable Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s mental fortitude was, but he still hadn¡¯t known that it had reached such an extent. A forcefield was an extraordinary power that only a handful of the top geniuses at his age had grasped. And yet, Ming Zhaoshu had done so without even letting anyone finding out until he chose to reveal it.

    Lu Yin reyed the various scenes from Shenwu Continent in his mind. The grudge between the crown prince and the Reverent King, the Demon Hunters Society, the Ming Constables, the five sealings, and the most memorable: Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu and Lu Yin¡¯s own beloved, Ming Yan.

    Ming Zhaoshu had once told Lu Yin that he would wait for ten years before forming an alliance with the outsiders to help Shenwu Continent escape from its current predicament. At that time, not only had Ming Zhaoshu exhibited his patient endurance on himself, but he had also used it on Lu Yin. He had decided to use Lu Yin due to his aplishments during the Astral Combat Tournament. Ming Zhaoshu had also been willing to use Ming Yan as bait, and he had even told Lu Yin about the Tower of Resonating Light¡¯s secret. The Reverent King¡¯s vision and finesse were very impressive.

    If not for Ming Zhaotian¡¯s sudden injuries, then Ming Zhaoshu definitely would not have rebelled at this time, as not doing so meant losing the opportunity to obtain the inheritance from the Tower of Resonating Light. In the end, Zhanlong Daynight and the rest would not have been able to leave the continent either. They all owed their thanks to Wen Sansi.

    ¡°Ming Zhaoshu would not let you off without some kind of good reason. Does he want to cooperate with the Daynight n?¡± Lu Yin asked. Even if Ming Zhaoshu had once said that he did not like to cooperate with people who could decide his fate, that had been back then. To obtain Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance, Ming Zhaoshu hadmitted betrayal quicker than expected, and as soon as the pressure became more than he could handle, it was very likely that he would start borrowing the strength of powerful ns from the universe.

    Zhanlong Daynight replied, ¡°For now, no. But he had me take a message back to my n. Shenwu Continent is not as simple as it appears to be, and those five sealings are not in Ming Taizhong¡¯s style.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised at this news, though it seemed that obtaining Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance had given Ming Zhaoshu a deeper level of understanding of Shenwu Continent. He had probably learned a secret that gave him the confidence to release Zhanlong Daynight and bring a message back to the Daynight n. This indicated that this secret could allow the Daynight n to help him at any moment so long as a price was paid, though the Reverent King would definitely always make sure that he was in a sure-win situation.

    ¡°Anything else aside from this bit of news?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he was most concerned about Ming Yan.

    Zhanlong Daynight frowned. ¡°What else do you want to know? I¡¯ve told you everything that¡¯s important.¡±

    ¡°Why did you attack Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s daughter back then?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t figured it out yet? It was to aggravate the conflict between Ming Zhaoshu and Crown Prince Ming Hao.¡±

    ¡°So what happened afterwards? When Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s back was turned, did Crown Prince Ming Hao really not send someone to attack Ming Yan?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he stared closely into Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s eyes.

    The man shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Shenwu Continent has undergone tremendous changes, and no one cares if one girl lives or dies. Still, since she¡¯s Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s daughter, she¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed, as it seemed like Ming Zhaoshu did not intend to create any fuss about Ming Yan. Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to ask any further questions out of fear that Zhanlong Daynight would learn about his rtionship with Ming Yan. That would expose one more of his weaknesses, and Lu Yin actually had no intention of killing Zhanlong Daynight right now. Even if the Frostwave Weave was now under the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Lu Yin would not follow the Sea King, so he could not risk further ruining his rtionship with the Daynight n.

    Although Zhanlong Daynight was a member of the Daynight n and wasn¡¯t a Nightking, he had stillprehended the Daynight Restoration Technique and thus enjoyed an important status in the Daynight n. Killing this person would not be much better than killing Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Lu Yin had asked all the questions that he needed to, so he gestured at Zhanlong Daynight, saying, ¡°You can leave now.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°You¡¯re letting me go?¡±

    ¡°There are no grudges between us, and killing you wouldn¡¯t bring me any benefits,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Zhanlong Daynight spat out a mouthful of blood, as his injuries had almost entirely healed by now. He gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°I owe you one life.¡±

    He then jumped up and raced towards Pyrolyte in.

    As he watched Zhanlong Daynight rush into the distance, Lu Yin withdrew his gaze. It seemed like he would not be able to wait for much longer. Even though he had used Darkstar Gorge to divert the threat away from Shenwu Continent, its interior would only be more unstable with time. Ming Zhaoshu was a Cruiser, and he was evenly matched against a severely injured Ming Zhaotian, but when the emperor recovered, Ming Zhaoshu would be in trouble. At this moment, he was definitely racking his brain and trying to ensure that Ming Zhaotian wouldn''t recover, but how long could that continue on for?

    Ming Yan was not very safe in the currently chaotic Shenwu Continent.

    When the events on Pyrolyte ended, should Lu Yin head to Shenwu Continent? With his current strength, what could he even do there now? He was caught in a dilemma.

    ¡°That person¡¯s injuries healed amazingly fast. Did he take some kind of medication?¡± Hai Qiqi asked curiously.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Hai Qiqi stared at Lu Yin for a bit before deting. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that I truly didn¡¯t know. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at her and thenmented, ¡°That was Zhanlong Daynight. He¡¯s cultivated the Daynight Restoration Technique, so his recovery speed is more than ten times faster than normal.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was astonished. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a powerful technique? The Daynight Restoration Technique... Just hearing its name is enough to know that it¡¯s very formidable. So he¡¯s a professional punching bag!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around, as anything could gain new meanings when Hai Qiqi described it.

    Now that no Enlighters were appearing to threaten Lu Yin, Northgate Gang and the rest were finally able to rx after a Northline Flowzone cultivator came to inform them of the current situation. The mountain range was absolutely theirs. No, it was more urate to say that it was Lu Yin¡¯s. No, that was still incorrect; it belonged to the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    No one present was a fool; what possible use could Lu Yin have for pyrolyte ore? Even if he obtained it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. Now that Frostwave Weave had be a subsidiary of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, it was no longer able to participate in the conflicts of the Innerverse and Outerverse. The group that would actually obtain the pyrolyte ore was the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Northline Flowzone was distressed about whether or not it would be able to get a share of the portion taken by the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Granny Chan even considered whether or not she should invite Northgate Taisui to have a chat with Elder Ren.

    Pyrolyte fell quiet for a period of time. With Elder Ren overseeing things, no one dared to threaten Lu Yin.

    A video of the battle at the mountain range was quickly leaked onto thework, and it caused an overwhelming number of people to be astonished.

    In Frostwave Weave, Huo Qingshan, Huo Xiaoling, and the others watched the video, and a sense of pride apanied their astonishment. This was their Royal Regent.

    In the Yu Academy, Schutz, Gerbach, and the other students were all bbergasted. Behind them, Geine, Jeraldine, Veron, Parlie, Eddy, and the other students who had been trial takers on Earth were all dumbfounded as well. This strength was just too terrifying; was this the strength of an unrivaled Limiteer? Lu Yin¡¯s power had surpassed everyone¡¯s understanding, as from their assumptions, even an Explorer could not be this powerful.

    Those from Earth who had joined the Yu Academy, such as Fu Xiaoshu, Zhen Tong, Song Shi, Zhao Yu, Huan Sha, and Qin Xuan, also saw the video. Most of them watched it fervently, as this video proved that Earthlings were not any weaker than the other students, and they could also have invincible powerhouses hail from their home.

    In the Auna family manor, Jenny Auna passed time in a dim room. She calmly watched the video. You¡¯ve be much stronger, even much more than back at San Dios. Much, much stronger.

    In prison, Sigmund Mathers grew emotional when he watched the video with Ruky Mathers beside him. Before, during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam, Ruky had broken his arm, but he had still managed to obtain a battle technique and be famous throughout Frostwave Weave. Not only had he joined the Yu Academy, but he had even surpassed Gerbach and the others. It had reached the point where he was now the only one who could battle against Schutz.

    In the Ordnance Mercenaries, Dana was intoxicated, and her eyes were hazy. She held onto Ian as she looked at her screen. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Royal Regent? And you fought him once before, hahahaha!¡±

    Ian smiled. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my proudest memory.¡±

    When he had first lost to Lu Yin, Ian had been ridiculed before he finally joined the Ordnance Mercenaries. Now, the memory of that defeat had transformed, as not everyone could boast of having the experience of battling a legend.

    As the video spread even further, it gradually reached Vastdearth Weave and the Vastdearth Sect.

    ¡°This person is Young Master¡¯s ssmate, Lu Yin! He¡¯s the true unrivaled Limiteer!¡±

    ¡°How terrifying! I heard that Young Master once had topete with this person.¡±

    ¡°Once this person matures, he¡¯ll at least be an Enlighter. Our master will be friends with a powerhouse!¡±

    ¡­

    In Adonis Weave, in Darkstar Gorge, someone said, ¡°That¡¯s Lu Yin. The mysterious powerhouse who sliced our Darkstar Gorge at that time is somehow rted to him.¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t be allowed to mature, or else things will be too terrifying. He might even usher in another era.¡±

    ¡­

    In East San Dios, Puyu¡¯s face sank, and he crushed a stone table with a thump.

    On the other end of the city, Liu Shaoge watched his screen with astonishment. ¡°I can¡¯t let myself fall too far behind! But this is bing more interesting.¡±

 Chapter 509: The First

    <h4>Chapter 509: The First</h4>

    In Wendy Yushan¡¯s residence, there was a girl who fell down. Once she stood back up, she looked around in a daze. ¡°Where is this ce? Why am I here?¡±

    After a while, the girl eximed, ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that. Oh, I need to serve tea to the Councilor!¡± She then quickly rushed away. It was Zhao Ran, who frequently lost her memories.

    ¡­

    In space, there was a luxurious spacecraft cruising along. The stunning Madam Nn was within the vessel, looking at a screen with bright eyes. ¡°If you can usher in a new era, then so what if you¡¯re enemies with the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡­

    In Umbral Butterfly Weave, in a certain gloomy region, Ah Mu watched the video of Lu Yin with a detached expression. Some level of expectation could be seen within the depths of his eyes, but he had gone through too many changes since he hadst seen Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    In Northcastle Weave, on a bustling that was close to the Astral Wilderness, there was a building that the entire universe recognized: the Mavis Bank.

    The universal currency floated through the air like leaves, disying the generosity of the Mavis Bank.

    One man walked into the Mavis Bank. He took a deep breath before moving to look for the bank manager.

    Half an hourter, the man walked out under the bank manager¡¯s shocked expression. All of the star essence that had been stored at this branch had just been exchanged and taken away.

    This scene didn¡¯t ur at just this one branch of the Mavis Bank, but repeatedly at any bank that carried star essence. Even ns that possessed star essence had mysterious people visit them, making offers to take as many star essence as possible.

    These were not eye-catching events, and they were not even noticed for an entire month.

    One month after Lu Yin took control of the mountain range on Pyrolyte, one of the Ross Empire¡¯s battleships exploded. Schr Newmoon took action, but he was obstructed by a mysterious Enlighter, which led to a battle erupting in the area of outer space directly above the. The battle didn¡¯tst for long, but it still attracted a great deal of attention from all of the organizations present at Pyrolyte.

    Closely following that battle, a piece of news that was leaked. Rather than news, it would be more urate to call it a method that allowed Explorers to descend onto Pyrolyte.

    The Ross Empire had always stood at the forefront of technological advancements, and it was the one out of all the gathered powers that was the most likely to seed in developing a way to send Explorers down to the. This meant that many of the great powers were watching the Ross Empire like hawks, and though no one knew which Enlighter had ambushed the Ross Empire, none of them would have intervened even if they did know. That was because now that the method had leaked, they would be able to equally divide the benefits.

    The method that the Ross Empire hade out with was simple but also crude. It was to put on anotheryer of skin over the outermostyer, much like clothes.

    Compared to a Limiteer, an Explorer¡¯s body had undergone a transformation and naturally resonated with the universe. For their bodily functions to operate, Explorers had to constantly absorb star energy; otherwise, they would fall into a period of exhaustion. This was the price that Explorers paid to be able to freely move about the universe. For them to not absorb the outside world¡¯s atmosphere, their only option was to put anotheryer over their skin, and it also had to be made from star essence. Without the star energy provided by star essence, the Explorer¡¯s body would involuntarily start absorbing energy from Pyrolyte, which would lead to pyrolyte entering their body and causing them to spontaneouslybust.

    When this method was revealed, the various great powers studied the feasibility of the method while they sent people to search the nearby weaves and gather all of the avable star essence.

    However, when they started moving, they discovered that, regardless if they searched Northcastle Weave, Grandtop Weave, or Lars Weave, all of the nearby weaves had been stripped clean of star essence.

    The various powers weren¡¯t made of fools, and they instantly knew that the Ross Empire must have cleaned out the nearby weaves of star essence.

    Helpless, the other powers were forced to look in more distant weaves, or even mobilize the star essence of the Innerverse.

    They also considered Frostwave Weave, but because of Lu Yin¡¯s orders, the entire weave had sealed its borders. Also, since Elder Ren was close by, not one of the Innerverse powers dared to take any actions against Frostwave Weave. Thus, they could only skip that weave.

    In the span of a month, a third of the pyrolyte ore from Pyrolyte Mountain had already been mined out. The other mining areas had reached a simr state, and many of them had already been depleted. Battles constantly broke out on Pyrolyte.

    The mountain range that Lu Yin upied had already been probed rather deeply, and its pyrolyte ore was still being mined. However, though no one knew exactly how much pyrolyte ore was avable in this location, one thing was certain: this area held more pyrolyte ore than Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, and Pyrolyte inbined. That was because those three areas were actually merely the edge of this gigantic pyrolyte reservoir.

    As such, the various great powers urgently wanted to take control of the mountain range. The longer Lu Yin upied the area, the more pyrolyte ore the Northline Flowzone people would take away. Although the pyrolyte ore was being mined by Northline Flowzone, even a fool knew that it would end up in the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s hands. Northline Flowzone would not dare to be bold enough to fight the Sea King for this pyrolyte. Actually, they would be quite satisfied if they could receive just a small amount of the ore.

    Lu Yin sat on a dark-red cliff and stared at the nearby mining tunnel. They had dug immeasurably deep into the ground, and Lu Yin watched on as pyrolyte ore was asionally brought out.

    If the Sea King''s Dome did not participate in conflicts in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, then what did it require this pyrolyte for? Lu Yin had asked Hai Qiqi this question, but he had been mercilessly mocked by her. ¡°Let¡¯s not say that Miss Qi doesn¡¯t know, but so what if I did? Why would I tell you? Can¡¯t you use some of your brain?¡±

    To the great powers, Pyrolyte had been peaceful for a month.

    Lu Yin did not know when the pyrolyte ore beneath the mountain range would be depleted, but he did not believe for a single moment that those major powers would allow this pyrolyte reservoir to be mined away like this. He had a feeling that there was an intense battle brewing on the horizon.

    There was basically no more star essence to be found in the Outerverse. Things had reached the point where only the warehouses of enormous organizations or the Mavis Bank still possessed any. None of the Innerverse powers had had a smooth time gathering star essence with the sole exception of the Ross Empire. They had started making their moves a month ago, and they had managed to gather a rather considerable amount of star essence as their harvests totaled nearly 10,000 star essence.

    This was a rather staggering figure. For the Outerverse, one star essence was already something that was rarely seen, not to mention 10,000, which had been gathered from Northcastle Weave as well as the surrounding weaves.

    This enormous amount of star essence had been sessfully used to create a secondyer of skin for one person, who was an Explorer named <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze from the Dire Barbarian n. Although he was not on the Top 100 Rankings, that was simply because the Dire Barbarian n did not want their sessful disciples to attract extra attention . ording to Avery, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s true strength could ce him within the top eightieth on the rankings.

    If they were considering pure strength, then the Ross Empire might not have been willing to hand over the star essence to the Dire Barbarian n after using so much effort to gather them. After all, Lu Yin had not been disadvantaged even against Faceless during the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection. This showed that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze might not actually be Lu Yin¡¯s match.

    However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s task was to probe, not fight. He had an innate gift that heightened his sense of hearing, and it also allowed him to perceive a person¡¯s physical strength as well as the fluctuations of their star energy.

    It was precisely because of this that the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s Lei Long had convinced Schr Newmoon to allow <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze to act first so that they could determine Lu Yin¡¯s true strength. Then, they would be able to decide who to send next. They hade up with this n so as to not waste their stock of star essence, as they needed to ensure that the second person they sent down was someone who couldpletely defeat Lu Yin.

    Of course, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze himself was not weak, and he could even lead the Dire Barbarian n, Ross Empire, and ze Realm to seize either Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, or Pyrolyte in if he wanted.

    The Dire Barbarian n did not bother concealing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s circumstances, as they would not be able to hide it even if they wanted to. He would definitely appear on Pyrolyte, and that appearance would instantly attract the attention of the various powers.

    Hence, the Dire Barbarian n had generously revealed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s information. So it was under many watchful eyes that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze took a personal spacecraft down to Pyrolyte.

    On the mountain range, Hai Qiqi cried out, ¡°Someone¡¯sing!¡±

    Northgate Gang, Ah Fan, and the others all looked up in unison, as it had been some time since someonended at this mountain range. Now that someone had appeared, the defenders looked worried. Had some organization already found a way to let an Explorer safely visit Pyrolyte? It was probably the Ross Empire.

    Lu Yin calmly watched the spacecraft crash into the ground, and shockwaves burst out in all directions as a massive crater appeared in the dark-red ground.

    As the smoke cleared, a rather ugly-looking man slowly rose into the sky and began moving towards the mountain range. He stared directly at Lu Yin, not hiding his Explorer realm aura at all. The undtions caused Northgate Gang and the others¡¯ eyes to twitch. It turned out that an Explorer had reallye down to the¡¯s surface.

    The price that had to be paid to send an Explorer down to Pyrolyte was not small, so every Explorer who was sent down would not be weak.

    Hai Qiqi red at him without shame, and she pointed at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze while shouting in an exaggerated fashion, ¡°That¡¯s too ugly! Lu Yin, he¡¯s even uglier than you!¡±

    Lu Yin sighed, as Hai Qiqi¡¯s venomous tongue was something that could not be changed, and she wouldsh out the moment she encountered anyone new. Lu Yin had already grown ustomed to it, so he didn¡¯t even bother with the girl. Instead, he slowly rose up to directly face <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    In outer space, above the, everyone stared at the confrontation as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s information was transmitted to the various powers as fast as possible. No one had thought that the Dire Barbarian n had hidden such a person so well. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was even able to match up to people in the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that he was one of the top Explorer powerhouses. It was no wonder why the Ross Empire had been willing to use all their gathered star essence on him.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze rose higher into the skies and stared at Lu Yin while his ears moved. He was attentively listening to the sounds of Lu Yin¡¯s body: the vibration of his muscles, the rumbling of his heart, and the flow of his blood. All these sounds were transmitted to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze in an iprehensible fashion, but they all worked together to allow him to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the person in front of him.

    Lu Yin was not careless either, and his eyes filled with star energy as he looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. At that instant, many rune lines filled his vision, astounding Lu Yin. The number of runes that this person possessed were considerable, and he clearly surpassed someone at the tail-end of the Top 100 Rankings like Northgate Lie, and he would likely even be a match for the Faceless Man. This person was an expert, and Lu Yin subconsciously shifted the Fatesand from around his heart and left arm, unsealing a great portion of his physical strength.

    And <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s face became even more solemn, as he had just heard something incredible.

    He had not thought much of this mission at first, as he could rival the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that he could easily crush Limiteers, even if they were considered unrivaled Limiteers. But at this moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze truly understood how freakishly strong this unequaled Limiteer was. This youth¡¯s physical strength was a little too exaggerated. In the entire Dire Barbarian n¡¯s younger generation, only Avery was stronger than Lu Yin, as even <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze himself was far physically weaker than this person. Not just that, but he had also heard a noise that he could notprehend.

    He had listened to many people before, and among them were Explorers, Cruisers, and even Hunters. However, not a single one of them had been asplicated as the person currently before him. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze did not know how to describe this sound, but it was veryplex, and he could not even hope to understand it.

    The mountain range fell silent as everyone watched this strange scene, with neither <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze nor Lu Yin acting. Hai Qiqi was the first person to break the silence. ¡°Hey! You two haven¡¯t taken a fancy to each other, right?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s gaze quivered, and his ears moved again as he stared closely at Lu Yin. His mouth did not move. Instead, he used star energy to make the air vibrate and create sound. This was done to prevent the ambient pyrolyte from entering his body through his mouth and nose. Not only could <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze not speak, he could not breathe either. ¡°You know my objective: clear out!¡±

    Lu Yin raised his right arm and clenched a fist. ¡°Come and make me.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s not weak,¡± the monkey reminded him.

 Chapter 510: Invincible Strength

    <h4>Chapter 510: Invincible Strength</h4>

    A glint flickered in <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s eyes, and he raised his hands up as the air trembled. Strands of wind started to appear and wrap around each other to form an enormous sphere.

    Countless people watched this scene. ¡°That¡¯s sound! He managed to physically manifest sound.¡±

    ¡°He truly is from the Dire Barbarian n; they¡¯re all experts at acoustic battle techniques.¡±

    ¡­

    As the ball of sound increased in size, Lu Yin frowned. He wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be defeated by just that. He lifted his hand and released a Spacerender Palm, sending visible shockwaves pulsing towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. No Limiteer could ignore Lu Yin¡¯s attacks if he unleashed more than half of his strength. In the past, Lu Yin had managed to break free from Mu Rong¡¯s farmer boy¡¯s song through sheer physical power, causing Mu Rong to admit defeat. A month ago, Lu Yin had managed to make both Ling Que and Mu Rong admit defeat with just two moves.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was extremely strong, and not even Explorers were able to withstand his attacks, not even powerhouses on the Top 100 Rankings.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had been surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s strength as soon as he sensed it with his hearing. He gathered the ball of sound and sent it flying towards Lu Yin, causing it to collide against Lu Yin¡¯s Spacerender Palm.

    The sky suddenly exploded and shattered into numerous spatial cracks that rained down upon the ground, causing Northgate Gang and the others to tremble with fear.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t bother waiting for the aftershocks to die down. He immediately used sh to instantly appear next to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. He swept his leg towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, who promptly dodged, but he was still pushed back by the aftermath of Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze gritted his teeth. Lu Yin was far too strong, and it was no wonder why there were rumors of him defeating Faceless. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze roared and reluctantly used all of his star energy. His hair stood on end as he gathered many soundwaves close to himself. The soundwaves then transformed into ck mes. This was his strongest battle technique: Berserk Inferno.

    Everyone who was near the mountain range felt their heart stop for a moment. They felt as if they had heard a deafening noise. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze pushed his palm outwards, and the soundwaves that had turned into ck mes swept across the area, spreading across a region of nearly ten thousand meters.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body shook as cracks appeared under his feet. He frowned and turned pale when the soundwaves erupted. However, he quickly used his right hand to tear through the soundwaves before leaping towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. He raised a hand and pressed towards the Explorer¡¯s head.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he hurriedly retreated. The shockwaves from Lu Yin¡¯s attack had managed to hit his abdomen and caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Fortunately, he had managed to protect his body from Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but he had still beenunched against the mountainside, causing him to vomit blood once again.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze didn¡¯t hesitate to retreat from the mountain range in pain when Lu Yin nced over.

    The soundwaves started dissipating as soon as he left.

    Lu Yin sighed and rubbed his temples. Sound attacks could not be dodged, so he could only directly withstand them. Fortunately, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s attack hadn¡¯t surpassed the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s body. Otherwise, he would have been in trouble.

    This was just the first battle. Soon, there would be many more Explorers making their appearances. Lu Yin wondered if he would be able to continue to sessfully defend the mountain range. However, he also wondered if it would be better for him if he failed to defend the pyrolyte mine. That way, the Sea King wouldn¡¯t be able to reprimand him, and at the same time, the Innerverse organizations wouldn¡¯t feel a need to target him either.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had been defeated in their battle, which was only a small surprise to the various powers watching the events unfold.

    Lu Yin had defeated Faceless in the past, and he had even fought against Cheng Wu for a short while. His strength seemed to beparable to top seventy on the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that it wasn¡¯t a huge upset to anyone when he was able to defeat <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    However, Lu Yin had been able to defeat <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze very quickly due to the Explorer¡¯s weak defense. Although the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s acoustic attacks carried an element of surprise, Lu Yin¡¯s strength was something uniquely his, and most people could not withstand his physical attacks.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had been lucky enough to quickly escape. If he had been heavily injured by Lu Yin, then he might have involuntarily started breathing, which would have caused him to explode from the ambient pyrolyte entering his body.

    There wasplete silence in the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s spacecraft. Lei Long looked at his screen gloomily; they had been defeated.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze soon returned with a pale face, and everyone turned to look at him.

    Schr Newmoon and Huo Houye were also present, as they desperately wanted to learn of Lu Yin¡¯s power so that they could find someone who could defeat him. They didn¡¯t want to learn things through trial and error, as that would waste far too many star essence. Even if they were able to transfer star essence from the ze Realm, it would still be a waste of resources.

    ¡°Alright, so what¡¯s that boy¡¯s ability?¡± Lei Long asked sharply.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze answered quietly, ¡°Judging by what I was able to hear, we will need someone in the top seventy¡ªno, the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Huo Houye¡¯s face shifted dramatically. ¡°He¡¯s that powerful?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze bitterly replied, ¡°His physical defense is too powerful andplex. He might not be able to beat someone in the top seventy, but they would also struggle to defeat him in turn.¡±

    Everyone fell silent, as this meant that Lu Yin¡¯s defenses were even stronger than his attacks.

    ¡°Interesting. Elder Lei, gather more star essence and send me down. I want to y with him,¡± a voice rang out from the corner.

    Everyone turned around, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was stunned: Avery?

    Avery smirked as he stared at the screen. So Lu Yin had a strong physical defense? What a coincidence! He happened to be exactly the same. Also, Avery loved to fight strong people and tear them apart.

    Lei Long awkwardly replied, ¡°Avery, with your level of strength, you would need more than ten times the star essence that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze used. Our n doesn¡¯t have such a huge amount of star essence.¡±

    The technique of incorporating star essence as a second skin meant that each skin was unique to a person; otherwise, even Hunters would be able to go down to Pyrolyte. The amount of star essence required for the skin differed from person to person, and it was also affected by each individual¡¯s body.

    For <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, they had needed more than a thousand star essence, which had then been processed andpressed into a thinyer that acted as a second skin for him.

    If they made a simr skin for Avery, he would need far, far more than a thousand star essence; he might need three, four, or maybe even tens of thousands of star essence. While Avery was only a Cruiser, he was also ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    To a strong n, tens of thousands of star essence was something that they could gather, but they couldn¡¯t casually use such an amount of wealth on just anything. At this moment, there still wasn¡¯t a great need for Avery to join the battle since the ze Realm and the Ross Empire had powerhouses as well. Thebination of the three organizations gave them sufficient strength to hold their own against the other powers.

    Avery contemptuously answered, ¡°Our n can¡¯t achieve anything great because of conservatives like you.¡±

    Anger flickered within Lei Long¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t quarrel with Avery. This youth was the pride of the Dire Barbarian n as well as the greatest genius that the Dire Barbarian n had seen in thousands of years. They all assumed that Avery would be the person to support the n in the future. Thus, given Avery¡¯s status in the n, it wasn¡¯t up to Lei Long to reprimand him.

    Although <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had been defeated, he had still managed to enter Pyrolyte and had even fought against Lu Yin. This exacerbated the other forces¡¯ desire to obtain star essence, and many of them had already started transporting star essence from the Innerverse. However, traveling from the Innerverse to Pyrolyte took almost half a month, and that much time caused all of them to be anxious.

    After <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, two more Explorers from the Ross Empire and ze Realm went down to the surface of Pyrolyte. The ze Realm had been given previous notice by the Ross Empire, and so, they had managed to enough star essence rather quickly.

    Even so, most of the star essence had just been used on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, and so, the next two Explorers weren¡¯t very powerful. They were just elites among Explorers, but their main aim wasn¡¯t to fight against Lu Yin to take control of the mountain range. Rather, it was to steal pyrolyte from the other forces.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, together with the other two Explorers, was able to take over any ce on Pyrolyte aside from Pyrolyte Mountain and Pyrolyte Lake. The trio was even capable of taking over Pyrolyte in which was currently controlled by the Daynight n, but they didn¡¯t do so as the Daynight n was too overbearing. Thus, they only picked fights against the other forces, such as the Souldream Tribe.

    Xi Yue saw a warning being spelled out by their spacecraft, and she had decisively led the members of the Souldream Tribe to flee, preventing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze from annihting everyone in the Souldream Tribe.

    Mira¡¯s idea had managed to prevent countless deaths thus far, and it also made the sky above Pyrolyte more lively.

    Sometimes, when Hai Qiqi was bored, she would look at the sky and watch the ships. She would try to guess what the messages were trying to say, and she had even been right a few times.

    ¡°Hey, look! The ugly man tribe and the prettydy tribe are fighting!¡± Hai Qiqi shouted excitedly as she pointed at a message formed by spacecraft.

    Lu Yin raised his head and saw the string of messages formed from spacecraft

    ¡°Run, Yi is chasing.¡±

    ¡°Chase, steal Yue.¡±

    ¡°Run quickly, west.¡±

    ¡°Block, west.¡±

    ¡°North, run.¡±

    ¡°North, block.¡±

    ¡­

    The sky was bustling.

    Lu Yin speechlessly watched it all unfold. Hai Qiqi, on the other hand, was extremely entertained.

    Suddenly, another batch of spacecraft appeared in the sky and charged towards the Souldream Tribe¡¯s vessels without warning, destroying all of their spacecraft. This meant that either the ze Realm or the Ross Empire had started attacking, and they were helping the Dire Barbarian n by obstructing Xi Yue¡¯s group.

    It was to be expected that Xi Yue¡¯s group would soon be caught by the Dire Barbarian n since the Souldream Tribe was unable to provide any further directions from the sky. Even without <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s help, the other two Explorers were still enough to easily wipe out the entire Souldream Tribe.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had heard the stories about the feud between the Dire Barbarian n and the Souldream Tribe. If Xi Yue was caught, then her life would be a living nightmare.

    At that moment, a spacecraftnded at the base of the mountain range, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. This mountain range had suddenly be a focal point for the major forces in space.

    There was a girl in the spacecraft with a very elegant appearance. Her robe bore dark blue musical notes, which was the tribal symbol of the Souldream Tribe and proof that this girl was from the Souldream Tribe.

    The girl lightly came from the spacecraft and flew straight towards Lu Yin on the mountain range.

    In space, the people from the Dire Barbarian n were shocked. That girl was Lan Yue from the Souldream Tribe, and she was clearly seeking Lu Yin¡¯s help.

    Lu Yin silently watched her approach.

    Hai Qiqi looked at the approaching girl and thought that she was quite pretty.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m Lan Yue. Do you still remember me?¡± the girl asked anxiously.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Lan Yue bowed and exined, ¡°Brother Lu, please help save the members of my Souldream Tribe. If you do, Lan Yue will be eternally grateful.¡±

    Lu Yin helped her up as he fell into deep thought. He did not answer her immediately.

 Chapter 511: Peeled

    <h4>Chapter 511: Peeled</h4>

    Lan Yue pouted. ¡°Brother Lu, as soon as Xi Yue is captured by the Dire Barbarian n, things will be miserable for her. On behalf of your academy mate, I beg for Brother Lu to rescue Xi Yue. She once mentioned in the n that she had a moment of fate with Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Where are they?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re fleeing in the direction of Pyrolyte Lake, and they¡¯re currently heading east.¡± Lan Yue was delighted with Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    Lu Yin leaped up and dashed away, as Lan Yue was correct in saying that Xi Yue and he had interacted in the past. He did not want to watch the woman die a miserable death for nothing. As for the Dire Barbarian n, ze Realm, and Ross Empire, they were all already his enemies. Who cared how they responded to his actions.

    Lu Yin had initially hesitated before because the Souldream Tribe had tried to deceive him in an attempt to bind him to their side in thepetition for pyrolyte ore. However, their schemes were wholly unrted to Xi Yue, and that washboard was rather interesting.

    In outer space, above the, the Dire Barbarian n became upset, and Lei Long looked at Lu Yin¡¯s movements coldly. He quickly ordered some people to move towards Pyrolyte and send another order with their spacecraft.

    Not long after, Lu Yin looked up and saw the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s warning: ¡°Lu, retreat.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. The ze Realm and Ross Empire were already his enemies, so he had only beencking the Dire Barbarian n.

    In the worst case scenario, he would just take Ming Yan with him to the Cosmic Sea after the events on Pyrolyte fizzled out, where he would join up with Leon''s Armada. At that point, the Dire Barbarian n would not be able to look for him even if they had the courage to enter the Cosmic Sea.

    To the south, Xi Yue led a group of Souldream Tribe members towards the east in defeat. In the sky above them, spacecraft moved together to form an arrow that pointed directly towards them. Even if the Souldream Tribe sent ships to crash into the arrow, it was useless since the arrow would only reappear elsewhere.

    In a deep crater, before the fleeing n members, there was a single personal spacecraft that appeared in everyone¡¯s vision.

    The n members were delighted. ¡°Xi Yue, head for space and escape! You can¡¯t be captured by the Dire Barbarian n,¡± one of the female Souldream Tribe members shouted.

    ¡°Xi Yue, go! There¡¯s only one personal spacecraft, so only you can leave.¡±

    ¡°Xi Yue, don¡¯t bother with us.¡±

    ¡­

    Xi Yue felt distraught, because she knew that her escaping would be the best oue. She gritted her teeth and charged towards the small ship.

    However, the vessel didn¡¯t even make it a thousand meters before it was destroyed by an invisible shockwave. Xi Yue plummeted through the sky in a sorry state, and she despaired when she looked back to see <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze and the two other Explorers.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze towered high in the sky and arrogantly stared down at Xi Yue. He had a heated gaze, and he used his star energy to make the air vibrate, producing a voice. ¡°I¡¯ve searched for you for a long time, littlemb.¡±

    Xi Yue clenched her fists tightly as she lifted her cosmic ring up high. ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, don¡¯t force me to detonate all of the pyrolyte ore in here!¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze sneered. ¡°Do you think that this is still when everyone first arrived at Pyrolyte? Based on how long you¡¯ve been mining for, at best, you have a few grams of pyrolyte, which would amount to an explosion equal to an attack with a power level in the couple ten thousands. I¡¯ll just stand here and let you st me. How¡¯s that sound?¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s body trembled.

    The members of the Souldream Tribe gathered around Xi Yue and stared fearfully at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze smirked and then slowly descended as he stared at Xi Yue. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to hand that cosmic ring over. Then, I¡¯ll give you a dignified death. Well, at least you¡¯ll keep your clothes on.¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡±

    ¡°Pervert!¡±

    The Souldream Tribe girls all screamed at him.

    The two Explorers behind <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze frowned, as they rather disapproved of the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s behavior. However, they didn¡¯t have a choice at this time since they had to listen to the strongest, who happened to be <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    ¡°Look at the sky,¡± one of the Explorers behind <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze growled.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze looked up, and saw two words formed by the vessels: ¡°Kayze, hurry.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s eyes shed. He pushed out with both of his hands, causing a visible shockwave to converge into a line. He wanted to destroy all of these people with one strike so that they would have no ability to resist at all.

    Suddenly, the void tore apart as the tip of a de pierced through and stabbed at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    His pupils constricted, and he hurriedly moved to dodge the attack, but the tip of the de still managed to draw some of his blood before vanishing into nothingness.

    The crowd turned around and saw Ling Que coldly looking at the Explorers.

    Xi Yue and the others were overjoyed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s face sank. ¡°Ling Que, you want to intervene?¡±

    Ling Que looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze with loathing. ¡°Your Dire Barbarian n is a cancer upon Soulseal Flowzone. I¡¯ve long since wanted to eradicate you scum.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Cut the bull shit! If the Souldream Tribe hadn¡¯t married off so many girls to your Lingling n, then why would you guys even bother defending them? They¡¯re just whores waiting to be sent off to work.¡±

    Ling Que grew furious, and he immediately split his soul. One became two, and then two became three. Three Que¡¯s Might shes were quicklyunched at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s body quivered, and he unleashed his Berserk Inferno in response. The terrifying ck soundwaves formed a zing inferno that covered the entire area, and it even caused Ling Que¡¯s giant des to be unstable. Ling Que was not Lu Yin, and he could notpare to such a freak. He did not have the power to easily suppress <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, and while merging the three des into one would be enough to threaten <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, the Explorer still wouldn¡¯t have much difficulty facing such an attack.

    The Berserk Inferno carried a strength that repelled everyone, and only the three Que''s Mighty shes were able to resist it.

    In space, Lei Long was furious, as everyone seemed willing to challenge his Dire Barbarian n. Although the Lingling n was powerful, Ling Que was just a mere Limiteer. And yet, he had the guts to challenge their n.

    However, even though the Enlighter was furious, he didn¡¯t dare to give the order to kill Ling Que, as such an order would lead to the entire Dire Barbarian n being massacred by the Lingling n.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was being held back by Ling Que, and the other two Explorers nced at each other, trying to decide whether to deal with the Souldream Tribe and steal their pyrolyte.

    Xi Yue and the others prepared themselves since they could put up some resistance so long as they were not facing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of the crowd and blocked the path in front of Xi Yue. In the next moment, the two Explorers fell to the ground, and their bodies trembled intensely. They had evidently suffered a great attack.

    Xi Yue stared dumbfoundedly at the man who had suddenly appeared. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at her. ¡°Long time no see, washboard.¡±

    The Souldream Tribe crowd had strange expressions. Washboard?

    Xi Yue¡¯s face flushed red. ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re the washboard, you thug!¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a thug, but he is-¡± He pointed towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s expression changed, and he was just about to escape, but three Que''s Mighty shes streaked past him. Twonded on nothing while thest hit his arm. However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze didn¡¯t stop moving, as he forcefully endured the pain and escaped.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he vanished only to reappear in front of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze the next instant. ¡°I heard that you''re covered in someyer that¡¯s made up of a bunch of star essence.¡±

    While making his way over, Lu Yin had suddenly had this thought. Truth be told, his objective in rescuing Xi Yue was not entirely pure. He seemed to see a countless amount of money headed his way in the future, and he would not let go of a single bit of it. It should be known that, after rolling his die at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, he only had about 120 star essence and 80,000 star crystals left. That was far too little for him, and it made him unwilling to risk rolling his die any more. After all, rolling the die was the best method to improve his power.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s face turned deathly white when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up, and he grabbed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze gritted his teeth and was about to disy his Berserk Inferno again in an attempt to throw off Lu Yin.

    However, when he encountered a way to get money, Lu Yin¡¯s power was abnormally strong. Five-lined battle force instantly covered his body as one of his palms shot through the ck inferno formed from soundwaves. He firmly grabbed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze by his hair and then smashed him into the ground. There was a loud thump, and the ground in the entire area quivered as a giant fissure extended through the earth.

    Everyone nkly stared on, as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, a Dire Barbarian n powerhouse, was being brutally beaten by Lu Yin. It looked like he was swinging a wooden club .

    Against Lu Yin, whose physical body had reached the pinnacle, those even a little weaker than him would meet a very tragic oue. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was in such a position now, and even if his true power was impressive, he was finished the moment that Lu Yin grabbed a hold of him.

    Ling Que watched <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s tragic situation, and his eyelids twitched. He didn¡¯t hesitate for even a moment to flee from the scene.

    The other two Explorers¡¯ faces paled. They endured their pain, and they wanted to escape as well, but they were suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s Spacerender Palm and forced to remain t on the ground.

    The Souldream Tribe stared at Lu Yin in shock and adoration, as he was truly too powerful.

    Xi Yue¡¯s gaze had beplex, as the disparity between when they first met and now was like the chasm between heaven and earth. Before, during the Astral Combat Tournament, she had previously even been determined to catch up to Lu Yin, but there was no such motivation now. An abnormality like this person was something that she could never catch up to.

    Above the, Lei Long snarled furiously. He wanted nothing more than to charge down to the and ughter Lu Yin.

    The other powers also had ugly expressions, as there seemed to be no solution to this kid. Even if they sent down Explorers, there weren¡¯t many Explorers who could defeat this youth. He had created too much trouble for them all.

    Elder Ren and Hai Dashao stood tall above the, and the old man looked at Lu Yin with appreciation in his eyes. ¡°This little brat¡¯s not bad. In all my years, he ranks within the top few of all the youths I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    Hai Dashao did not deny such praise, as Lu Yin¡¯s performance was indeed impressive.

    Lu Yin stepped upon <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze and looked all around. He then looked at Xi Yue. ¡°Is there a spacecraft nearby?¡±

    Xi Yue shook her head.

    Lu Yin extended his domain out further and further until he finally managed to find a hidden spacecraft beneath the dirt to the southwest.

    It was only at times like this that the value of a copsible spacecraft was properly appreciated. If Xi Yue owned such a vessel, then she would have escaped long ago, especially since such a spacecraft could ascend into outer space extremely quickly and was fast enough that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze would not be able to react in time. Since killing was not allowed above the, she would have been safe the moment she left the. In other words, she would have been safe so long as she owned a copsible spacecraft, but unfortunately, she did not.

    It was logical for a copsible spacecraft to be sold at such extravagant prices.

    Right, where¡¯s Ling Que? Lu Yin suddenly recalled that Ling Que had been around earlier.

    He looked around for Ling Que, but the other man had disappeared, as he had escaped at high speeds. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t be bothered with Ling Que¡¯s absence, so he simply grabbed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, took him to the spacecraft, and stuffed him inside. He thought about things for a moment and then went back to capture the other two Explorers. He ordered one of them to peel off the star essence skin on the other two.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had awakened by this time, and he was stunned when he heard these words.

    Lu Yin had an imposing look. ¡°What? Is there a problem?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was furious. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t go too far when bullying others!¡±

    Lu Yin red at him coldly. ¡°If you don¡¯t have these star essence, then it won¡¯t be too easy for your Dire Barbarian n or the ze Realm and the Ross Empire to send more people down. I¡¯m saving myself a bunch of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Think this through! If you go through with this, then the next Explorers who will show up will be stronger than me¡ªnone of the forces are willing to waste their star essence, so they¡¯ll start sending their strongest people. Can you really handle that?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze bellowed in rage.

    Lu Yin sighed, as his words were actually true. As soon as these three star essence skins were peeled off, then the Dire Barbarian n would suffer heavy losses. They would then save up their star essence for the most reliable person they could send. Naturally, they would send a powerhouse, and it would be someone who wasn¡¯t the slightest bit weaker than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    It had to be said that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s words had struck the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s heart, but there was one other thing: his hidden trumps had not been revealed .

    He was thinking about his Fatesand, and especially about the fact that he had not removed the grain of Fatesand in his right leg yet. The various forces observing him still didn¡¯t know his true strength.

    ¡°Peel them off!¡± Lu Yin barked decisively.

 Chapter 512: Making Money

    <h4>Chapter 512: Making Money</h4>

    The selected Explorer had a pained expression. He first peeled off the other Explorer¡¯s star essence skin, then <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s, and finally, his own.

    After that, Lu Yin forced the trio into one personal spacecraft and had them to take off and leave the. If they spent any more time on the, then they might have breathed in too much of the ambient pyrolyte and exploded. Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to kill these three Explorers since it might cause other Explorers to be unwilling to face him.

    Lu Yin looked at the three star essence skins that possessed a sparkling lustre and grew iparably excited. These star essence skins had been made at a great price, but unfortunately, they would not fetch the same amount of star essence even if he sold them.

    For example, it would be decent for one star essence skin that was made from 1,000 star essence to sell for 500 star essence. After all, these toys could only be used on Pyrolyte, and even the next buyer would not be able to recover that many star essence.

    This was uneptable, as it meant that things were disadvantageous for him!

    Lu Yin pondered over his situation for a while.

    At this time, Xi Yue and the others arrived from a distance.

    When he saw them, his eyes lit up, and he stored the three star essence skins in his cosmic ring.

    Xi Yue came over to Lu Yin and looked at him with aplex expression. Her eyes carried a grateful yet shameful expression, as well as an indecipherable emotion. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin casually waved his hand. ¡°You¡¯re wee, washboard.¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s brows rose, and she red furiously at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m no washboard!¡±

    Lu Yin reflexively nced at Xi Yue¡¯s chest. ¡°It has gotten a little bigger.¡±

    ¡°Thug.¡± Xi Yue¡¯s face flushed red, while many of the Souldream Tribe members¡¯ faces behind her became strange.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the trio?¡± Xi Yue asked.

    Lu Yin pointed to the sky. ¡°Threw them out.¡±

    He then leaned closer to Xi Yue. ¡°Do you want to make a trade?¡±

    Xi Yue backed away as her face flushed red. ¡°You¡­ you get away from me!¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and retrieved one of the star essence skins. ¡°I¡¯ll sell this to you for 1,000 star essence.¡±

    Xi Yue¡¯s eyes went wide, and many of the Souldream Tribe members stared at the skin, dumbfounded. ¡°You peeled the star essence skins off of their bodies?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°So how about it? 1,000 star essence is the price for your Souldream Tribe.¡±

    Xi Yue stared at him, dumbfounded, but she didn¡¯t refuse. Instead, her eyes flickered with a calcting glimmer. It took a great deal of time to manufacture a star essence skin. If they could really buy one straight from Lu Yin, then it would be much cheaper, and they would also save a lot of time that was needed to manufacture one.

    ¡°How about it? Do you want it? If not, I¡¯ll sell it to Northline Flowzone,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    Before she spoke, a voice rang out from afar, ¡°Brother Lu, our Souldream Tribe wants it.¡±

    Lan Yue was much slower than Lu Yin, and she had only arrived at the scene now. When she saw Lu Yin brandishing the star essence skin and hawking it, she immediately spoke up to buy it.

    Lu Yin very generously tossed the star essence skin to her. ¡°Deal, 1,000 star essence. Thank you.¡±

    Lan Yue grabbed the skin and found that the star essence skin was smooth to the touch andpletely made from star essence. It felt like it would be veryfortable to wear, and the Souldream Tribe would now be able to send an Explorer down to the surface of Pyrolyte with this suit.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you should have two more on you?¡± Lan Yue asked Lu Yin with high expectations.

    Lu Yin nodded, and retrieved another two suits.

    ¡°Pass them all to us: 3,000 star essence,¡± Lan Yue offered excitedly.

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°I recall that when I spoke to you in space, you tried to hoodwink me. Are you still trying to do the same now?¡±

    Lan Yue¡¯s face changed, and she awkwardly asked, ¡°Brother Lu, what do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Do you want me to state the obvious? You tried to entice me with a marriage proposal and conveniently offered the amazing condition of allowing the Great Yu Empire to enter the Innerverse. But the reality is that everything in that deal was aimed to have me help your Souldream Tribe get the advantage here on Pyrolyte while also establishing a rtionship with the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Am I wrong?¡±

    Lan Yue¡¯s face went pale.

    Xi Yue looked at Lan Yue, as she had not known about this matter since she had already arrived on Pyrolyte when the conditions had been offered.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I think that you¡¯re mistaken. Our Souldream Tribe is sincere about wanting to have marital rtions with the Great Yu Empire. If you don¡¯t believe me, then when we leave Pyrolyte, we can immediately start arranging things while also providing you with financial support. We will also do our best to bring your Great Yu Empire into the Innerverse. How about that?¡± Lan Yue sincerely offered Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin naturally did not believe her, as the Sea King''s Dome had already announced that it would protect Frostwave Weave. As for the Souldream Tribe, they only wanted to establish marital rtions now so that they could pull themselves closer to the Sea King''s Dome.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. I understand your intentions. I still have two star essence skins left, and I¡¯ll trade this one for 1,000 star essence.¡± Lu Yin handed Lan Yue another star essence skin, but he kept the one that he had obtained from <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    He was not stupid. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had obviously been much stronger than the other two, so the price to manufacture his star essence skin was entirely different since it could be given to a different tier of experts. The other two star essence skins could be used by elite Explorers at best, while those who could rival the youths on the Top 100 Rankings would not be able to use them unless the skins were rebuilt. But <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s skin was different, as it could be immediately used by experts in the Top 100 Rankings.

    In fact, Lan Yue really wanted <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s suit. Although the Souldream Tribe had no one in the Top 100 Rankings, that list only took the younger generation into ount, and there were still many older Explorers who could rival the youths on the ranking list. However, Lu Yin had not given her what she wanted.

    Helpless, Lan Yue could only ept the two suits, though she was not losing out either. The cost to manufacture these two suits definitely surpassed a mere 1,000 star essence each.

    ¡°Brother Lu, how do you wish to conduct the transaction? Do we send the money to your Mavis Bank ount, or shall we directly pass it to you?¡± Lan Yue asked.

    ¡°Directly. You can send someone to the mountain range.¡±

    Lan Yue nodded and then looked at Xi Yue, as she tried to send a message through her eyes. She wanted to obtain <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s star essence skin, but Xi Yue pretended not to see the other woman. She had already admitted that she didn¡¯t know Lu Yin that well.

    Lu Yin left and returned to the mountain range.

    Above the, the various great powers had been unanimously shocked by this matter. They could not send anyone weaker than Lu Yin to challenge him, or else, not only might they fail to seize the pyrolyte mine, but they might also have their star essence skins stolen.

    The Dire Barbarian n, ze Realm, and Ross Empire had all suffered a great loss, and many of the other powers were secretly thrilled. Retribution hade for those three who had been the quickest to act! However, this bandit-like behavior by Lu Yin, where he had forced them to peel off their star essence skins, had created a huge dilemma for all of them. No one was willing to spend so much time and resources to manufacture a star essence skin only to lose it after just one round of battle on Pyrolyte. The loss of star essence was eptable, but the time needed to transport the star essence, as well as to manufacture the skins, was something irreceable.

    That was the greatest loss facing them.

    The next day, Lu Yin sat atop the mountain range just like before, asionally looking towards the sky as he waited for someone from the Souldream Tribe to deliver the money.

    Hai Qiqi dashed out of the pyrolyte mine, bored. She sat down beside Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Hey, if the pyrolyte ore hasn¡¯t beenpletely mined, then does that mean that we¡¯re stuck here?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. In the distance, he could see a spacecraft soaring into space. This was the method used to transport pyrolyte ore, and such a thing happened every few days. Over the past month, Northline Flowzone had brought out quite a bit of pyrolyte ore.

    ¡°Is Father that confident? Does he really think that you can defend this ce?¡± Hai Qiqi felt curious, and she cocked her head at Lu Yin. ¡°But you¡¯re just a Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°Go and ask your Father.¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°It wasn¡¯t right of Father to scheme against you, but he also didn¡¯t harm you in any way. He even promised to protect your home. Why are you upset?¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother answering Hai Qiqi, as she would not understand even if he tried to exin.

    He would rather be a pirate than join the Sea King''s Dome and lose his freedom.

    In the sky, something with a red color crashed down towards the mountain range.

    Lu Yin looked up and squinted as his eyes filled with star energy, allowing him to see the rune lines thatprised the spacecraft. He could see quite a few, but it was only enough to equal an elite Explorer. Also, he could see that there was a dark-blue music symbol on the hull of the vessel, indicating that it was from the Souldream Tribe.

    With a rumble, the spacecraft crashed into the ground a bit away from the mountain range, creating a pit in the earth.

    From above, it was possible to see that, all across and all around the mountain range, there were numerous simr craters, all caused by spacecraftnding in the area.

    Hai Qiqi stared curiously at the spacecraft.

    A youngdy walked out of the vessel. She was beautiful, but her eyes carried an experienced light that belied her age. She was evidently not someone from the younger generation.

    Thedy approached Lu Yin and waved her hand. The light of 2,000 star essence flickered before being quickly stored in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring.

    ¡°The Souldream Tribe thanks Brother Lu for his help.¡± The woman was courteous.

    Lu Yin nodded his head, and the girl left soon after.

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Not bad. Everyone else is fighting for their lives, but here you are making money.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips perked up, as he was still rather proud of his abilities. He even admired himself foring up with a way to make some money, and it had even been a rather considerable amount this time.

    2,000 star essence was an amount that had been unimaginable to him before. Even when he had robbed the ckbeard Pirates¡¯ tribute, he had only gained 1,000 star essence. These were definitely major powers since they were able to bring out such a sum so easily.

    Right, there was also another 1,000 star essence, which was what he had received for selling <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s star essence skin to Northline Flowzone. He had given them a lower price to show his gratitude towards them.

    ¡°Eh, let me go somewhere else, and I¡¯ll bring you back some more star essence skins. Rx, I don¡¯t want a single coin. Everything will be yours.¡± Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin expectantly, as she felt that it was easier to talk to him when talking about profits.

    However, she was disappointed, as Lu Yin did not agree to her proposal.

    ¡°Why? Each one should be worth 1,000 star essence. That¡¯s 1,000! Think about it carefully,¡± Hai Qiqi shouted.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to do it.¡±

    Hai Qiqi wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating Miss Qi! I¡¯ll tell you seriously¡ªif we actually had a proper fight, you wouldn¡¯t be my opponent. Do you believe me?¡±

    Lu Yin did not respond.

    Hai Qiqi ran over in front of him. ¡°Do you believe what I said?¡±

    Lu Yin was helpless. ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. Do you have three feet of rope and a wooden stool?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hai Qiqi was baffled.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Hanging yourself is better than bragging.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was furious since she had just received a verbal attack, which was the one area she was confident in being unparalleled. ¡°Alright, idiot, just wait and see! Miss Qi will show you what happens when you criticize me. Just wait and see.¡±

    Lu Yin regretted his words the moment he spoke them, but he had not been able to resist the impulse to tease her. He realized that theing days might not be good for him.

    The Ghost Monkey was pleased at Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune. ¡°Seventh Bro, I think that you¡¯d best keep some distance from her.¡±

    Over the next two days, Lu Yin received an endless number of merciless taunts that seemed to be omnipresent. He was almost pushed to the point of being unable to endure. He vowed that he would not criticize Hai Qiqi in the future. Instead, he would just pretend that he did not hear her.

    Above the, one spacecraft crashed outside the mountain range. Under Northline Flowzone¡¯s watchful gazes, Northgate Lie walked out, which led to many cheers.

 Chapter 513: Strength On Strength

    <h4>Chapter 513: Strength On Strength</h4>

    Northgate Gang was so emotional that he almost broke down in tears. He had not had a good time on Pyrolyte this entire time. Before Lu Yin arrived, he hade face to face with death many, many times. After Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, he had been ridiculed by Hai Qiqi so often that he had started questioning life, and he had also been left with no choice but to escape and face dangerous enemies. Finally, ever since Lu Yin had started standing guard over the mountain range, Northgate Gang had turned into a miner. A month had passed since he hadst stepped out of the mining tunnel, and it was all because he was afraid of running into Hai Qiqi.

    His big brother had finally arrived.

    Northgate Lie looked at Northgate Gang and his bloodshot eyes. As the Explorer looked at his pitiful brother and the mining tools in his hands, he nodded silently. His little brother was finally growing up and starting to work for the sake of the family. He had even started mining on his own ord, despite the difficulties. The saying that adversity forced one to grow up faster was really true.

    Lu Yin had guessed that Northgate Lie woulde, as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s star essence skin had actually been used for him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, many thanks.¡± Northgate Lie spoke respectfully to Lu Yin. Not too long ago, they had been enemies. At that time, Northgate Lie had been fully confident in being able to dominate this Limiteer, but after the battles during the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection, he had realized how foolish and overconfident he had been. Lu Yin had long since surpassed him.

    Lu Yin absent mindedly uttered a few pleasantries in reply.

    Northgate Lie pulled out 2,000 star essence from his cosmic ring. ¡°Brother Lu, I know that this is not enough to pay for this star essence skin, but this is all I have at this time. I owe you a debt, and I¡¯ll pay it off next time, you have my word.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°1,000 star essence is fine. Didn¡¯t I say that I would ept just 1000 star essence?¡±

    Northgate Lie replied solemnly. ¡°This star essence skin is worth much more than 1000 star essence. 3,000 star essence is a more urate price. Northline Flowzone doesn¡¯t wish to shortchange you, Brother Lu. You saved my brother¡¯s life, and Northline Flowzone owes you a great deal.¡±

    Since there was someone willing to pay extra, Lu Yin would not stand on ceremony. He epted the 2,000 star essence and stored them away in his cosmic ring. He had now umted 4,000 star essence. Perfect.

    He was excited to discover if the Money Bomb and the universal armor in his possession could fetch such high prices as well.

    Northgate Lie¡¯s arrival stirred up excitement among many organizations.

    In the Outerverse, far out in space, many spacecraft arrived from the Innerverse, carrying huge amounts of star essence.

    Above Pyrolyte, the many powers were busy working. They weren¡¯t only manufacturing star essence skins, as they also needed to refine pyrolyte ore.

    Refining pyrolyte ore was harder to aplish than many had initially anticipated. Since pyrolyte was found in extremely high concentrations as well as explosive and destructive, exceptional care had to be taken while handling it so as not to ignite it.

    The level of effort required to refine the ore had been grossly underestimated by the various powers.

    At the present moment, the biggest extractor of pyrolyte ore was the Sword Sect. They had control of Pyrolyte Mountain and had also started mining much earlier than the other great powers. In addition, their robust facilities had already refined around 300 grams of pyrolyte. 300 grams of refined pyrolyte, in terms of destructive power, was the equivalent of an attack with a power level of three million. If it was all ignited at once, it would be strong enough to reduce a to a ck hole.

    The greatest use of pyrolyte was not in battle, as powerhouses could easily divert and lessen the force from a pyrolyte explosion. Pyrolyte was refined for war, as its destructive prowess was something that could strike fear into anyone¡¯s heart.

    Elder Chou Shu¡¯s initial idea had been to take the refined pyrolyte back to the Sword Sect, but he had changed his mind since he was not confident in being able to protect it. He had quickly changed ns to extract all of the pyrolyte here and then request someone more powerful from the sect toe and escort the pyrolyte back.

    At the present moment, Pyrolyte Mountain still had about two thirds of its original pyrolyte ore remaining. After extracting and refining all of the ore, the Sword Sect expected to end up with around 1,000 grams of refined pyrolyte. That,bined with the pyrolyte that the Sword Sect had already gathered from elsewhere in the Astral Wilderness, meant that the Sword Sect would end up with about 1.1 kilograms.

    This would be a weapon that the Sword Sect would be able to hold over others. If arge scale war were to break out, this pyrolyte would be enough for the Sword Sect to gain an upper hand in battle.

    It was a good thing that there was a barrier between the Innerverse and the Neoverse in the form of the Cosmic Sea, as this prevented the Neoverse powers from receiving any timely reports about what was going on. If they had up to date information, then it wouldn¡¯t just be the Innerverse organizations fighting against each other, as those terrifyingrge behemoths from the Neoverse would be involved as well.

    A few days after Northgate Lie descended onto Pyrolyte, a huge beast roared and charged down onto the from space, shattering a spacecraft that was taking off along the way. It snatched the pyrolyte from the destroyed ship and then leaped over the mountain range and sped off to the northwest.

    This scene shocked many of the gathered powers.

    ¡°Is that Ze Lin? The individual ranked sixty seventh on the Top 100 Rankings? He¡¯s a powerful expert from the Divine Grade Hall!¡±

    ¡°Yes, that was Ze Lin, and that was his Oolong Horse. It¡¯s very famous.¡±

    ¡°The Second Grade Hall managed to gather enough star essence to send Ze Lin down to Pyrolyte quite quickly!¡±

    ¡°The Divine Grade Hall must have yed a part in this. They¡¯ve always been wealthy.¡±

    ¡°To think that Ze Lin would join the fight on Pyrolyte¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s in big trouble now. Will he be able to fight against the person ranked sixty seventh? It is rumored that Ze Lin¡¯s innate gift allows him to merge with his beasts. He¡¯s a gifted Beast Tamer, and the Divine Grade Hall had to fight against the other powers to recruit him. This man¡¯s abilities cannot be understated.¡±

    ¡°Ze Lin leaped over the top of the mountain range over there. Is he trying to insult Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡­

    Atop the mountain range, Northgate Lie looked up, and a look of shock spread across his face. It really was Ze Lin, the expert ranked sixty seventh on the Top 100 Rankings. This spelled trouble.

    Lu Yin watched as the Oolong Horse disappeared to the northwest, and a grave look appeared on his face. This man had stepped over his head on purpose. Was he trying to make a point?

    ¡°Hey, a horse walked over you.¡± Hai Qiqi happily pointed her finger at Lu Yin in a mocking fashion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face soured as he stood up. ¡°Then we¡¯ll trample them back.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really? Let¡¯s go and train some horses!¡±

    Northgate Lie¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Brother Lu, I urge you to reconsider. Ze Lin is extremely powerful. His Oolong Horse possesses immense power and is capable of devourings. Besides, Ze Lin¡¯s innate gift lets him fuse with his Oolong Horse, which makes the horse even stronger. This means that Ze Lin¡¯s weakness as a Beast Tamer, which is their physical defenses, is also minimized. Don¡¯t do anything rash.¡±

    Lu Yin replied without much thought, ¡°He¡¯ll look for me even if I don¡¯t look for him.¡±

    Northgate Lie fell silent, as it was true that, given Ze Lin¡¯s character, he would be sure to start trouble with Lu Yin. The Divine Grade Hall definitely would not let go of this mountain range, so Ze Lin was someone that they would inevitably need to confront.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Northgate Lie solemnly said to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Take care of the mountain range.¡± And with that, he took to the sky and headed northwest.

    Ranked sixty seventh in the Top 100 Rankings? Lu Yin was curious to find out if this man could force him to reveal his full strength, or perhaps even force him to use his Fatesand. He had many other trump cards with him as well, such as his universal armor, the Money Bomb, and more. While other powers had immense wealth, none of them had his die that could endlessly Enhance his abilities. As such, they had nothing that could assist them with defeating very powerful enemies, while on the other hand, Lu Yin had many such things.

    Hai Qiqi excitedly followed behind Lu Yin, a wide smile stered across her face.

    High above the sky, inside the Second Grade Hall¡¯s battleship, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had an agonized look on his face. Before Ze Lin went down to Pyrolyte, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had ordered him not to provoke Lu Yin. It was not that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was worried about Ze Lin being defeated, but rather that there was simply no need to do so. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was nning on letting powerful figures from the other forces deal with Lu Yin, since by now, there were many other powerful individuals on their way.

    Forcing the other powers to consume their resources to deal with Lu Yin would mean that they would be disadvantaged during the final fight. And yet, this rascal had refused to obey and had still chosen the route of provocation.

    In reality, Ze Lin also felt helpless about the matter. He would never have imagined that Lu Yin would be provoked just from him merely crossing over the mountain range. He had thought that Lu Yin would try to avoid fighting with him at all costs. He would never have expected Lu Yin to have the guts to challenge him, as he was ranked sixty-seventh on the Top 100 Rankings.

    s, there was no longer any meaning to thinking about this.

    Lu Yin had already caught up to him with a young girl in tow. Lu Yin¡¯s face showed that he was dead set on fighting, which made Ze Lin ufortable, but he could not reveal his feelings either. He had only recently arrived on Pyrolyte, and so, he did not know about the recent events that had transpired.

    The Second Grade Hall controlled a pyrolyte mine that was not too far away from the Daynight n¡¯s mine. They had plundered quite a lot of pyrolyte mines from other organizations, and they had set up their own mining operations not too long ago.

    Outside the mining tunnel, Kuang Wang looked up at the sky.

    It turned out that Lu Yin had reallye to do battle with his big brother, Ze Lin.

    ¡°Hey, hand over your horse.¡± Before Lu Yin could say anything to Ze Lin, and while he was still just staring at the Explorer, Hai Qiqi had already opened her mouth to speak. This stunned both of them.

    Ze Lin raised his brows as he looked angrily at Hai Qiqi. ¡°You little wretch, what did you just say?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pointed at the Oolong Horse that Ze Lin was riding. ¡°Give me the horse. I want to train it.¡±

    With a thunderous roar, the Oolong Horse revealed its anger. It was an astral beast that was capable of devourings and highly intelligent. And yet, a miserable girl was standing in front of it and daring to say that she wanted to tame it. The beast was livid and wanted to swallow the young girl whole.

    Ze Lin hurriedly tried to calm his Oolong Horse before looking at Lu Yin. ¡°Who the hell are you to challenge me?¡±

    Lu Yin retracted the star energy from his eyes. His scan had shown him that Ze Lin was nothing much on his own, but on the other hand, the Oolong Horse possessed aplex set of rune lines, and that beast was undoubtedly the individual ranked sixty-seventh. The Oolong Horse was way above <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze¡¯s league, and this would be a rather difficult battle. However, that was only if Lu Yin partially unsealed his physical strength.

    ¡°Let me ask you a question,¡± Lu Yin responded as he looked at Ze Lin a curious manner. ¡°How many star essence did you spend on that star essence skin?¡±

    Ze Lin was taken aback. ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious to know how much I should ask for when I sell it,¡± Lu Yin answered unenthusiastically.

    Ze Lin¡¯s face sank. ¡°Insolent!¡±

    As he spoke, he released the Oolong Horse. With a mighty neigh, the Oolong Horse angrily charged at Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi. Lu Yin pushed Hai Qiqi to the side, raised his right hand, and then smacked the Oolong Horse.

    There was a thud, and the void contorted as countless spatial cracks spread out. The thunderous sounds from the impact formed ripples that could be seen by the naked eye that pulsed out and covered the entire region as well as the void.

    Everyone in the immediate area and all the powers above the in outer space focused on this sh.

    Lu Yin had blocked the Oolong Horse¡¯s charge.

    Ze Lin¡¯s pupils shrank. How was this possible? How could a Limiteer block the Oolong Horse¡¯s charge?

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was stunned. He was aware of how powerful the Oolong Horse¡¯s charge was. Even though he knew that Lu Yin had a sturdy physique, who could be that strong as a Limiteer? That guy was a freak of nature!

    Only <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was not surprised by the results since he had been crushed by that freak¡¯s strength when they had fought.

    Lu Yin was mere centimeters away from the Oolong Horse; his palm hadnded between the horse¡¯s eyes. His muscles swelled, and all of a sudden, he took a step back. The horse¡¯s eyes filled with rage and had nearly turned scarlet. It could sense that Lu Yin was challenging it, and the Oolong Horse could not stand such an open provocation. With a tremendous roar, the horse miraculously grewrger as its strength multiplied.

    Lu Yin started being pushed back even more. Beneath his feet, tworge cracks opened up. He raised his other hand, and with the strength of both arms, he used the most power he had ever used to hold the horse back.

    Ze Lin could sense his Oolong Horse¡¯s resentment as he sat on top of the Oolong Horse. He then raised his hand to strike at Lu Yin.

    The Oolong Horse suddenly flew into a rage. It was stopping Ze Lin since it wanted to test Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength by itself.

 Chapter 514: Power Vessel

    <h4>Chapter 514: Power Vessel</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes became icy. The grains of Fatesand in his heart and left arm had already been moved, and he was currently utilizing more than half of his maximum physical strength, but it was still not enough to suppress the Oolong Horse. This horse was undoubtedly the deciding factor that had allowed Ze Lin to be ranked sixty seventh on the Top 100 Rankings. This terrifying beast was capable of devourings, which meant that the Oolong Horse still had not reached its full power yet. Its true form must be absolutely massive.

    In the next moment, the Oolong Horse¡¯s body twitched before, under the gazes of countless rmed people, it grew immensely in size. It grew from the size of a regr horse until it reached the size of a mountain. It¡¯s herculean strength could now be seen by the naked eye as the mere action of growing disrupted the void and sent shockwaves rippling across the entirety of Pyrolyte.

    Ze Lin, towering high above, looked down at Lu Yin from where he sat on the horse. ¡°Testing your strength against the Oolong Horse is a stupid endeavor. Even the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings who are known for their brute strength are unable topete against it.¡±

    Lu Yin had been thoroughly suppressed. Since he had emerged from that separate space with the golden ocean, this was the first time his physical strength had ever been suppressed by another entity. He suddenly grew excited, and he saw a mighty challenge in the form of the Oolong Horse¡¯s strength. After taking a deep breath, his right leg twitched as he moved away thest grain of Fatesand.

    With a gentle swoosh, Lu Yin suddenly raised his head. He stared at the Oolong Horse¡¯s huge eyes and beckoned. ¡°Come and try again. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s stronger.¡±

    The horse was starting to get excited as well.

    With a boom, the ground below the two split open as red hotva shot up from the bowels of the earth.

    This time, Lu Yin managed to withstand the Oolong Horse¡¯s charge, and not only that, but his strength was also magnified tenfold as he even started to push the Oolong Horse back.

    At this moment, even <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, a powerful Enlighter, was stunned. Lu Yin was a mere Limiteer, and there should be a limit to his strength. How was this scene possible?

    Some individuals were just too strong and would be considered as freaks. The Ten Arbiters were such individuals, as their strength was so immeasurable that it baffled many. As such, there wasn¡¯t anybody topare their strength to.

    Once Lu Yin demonstrated his full power, his abilities were shown to be iparable since his strength defied all human understanding.

    Even Elder Ren, an old freak with a power level in the several hundred thousands, could not understand how Lu Yin had pulled off such a feat. He could not understand how this kid had cultivated such an incredible physical strength.

    Above the, Avery suddenly appeared. He looked down at Lu Yin with both bemusement and fervent desire. ¡°Interesting, this is what true strength is all about! I¡¯ll wait for you to break through and be an Explorer, kid. When that dayes, I¡¯ll await your challenge.¡±

    The entirety of Pyrolyte shook. Northgate Lie and the others, Xi Yue, Liu Shaoqiu, Mu Rong, Ling Que, Nightqueen Yanqing, and more, all felt the boundless power that was still traveling through the ground and the air. This strength had shaken them to their very core.

    With another mighty roar, the Oolong Horse expressed its anger. It wanted to expand in size again, but it was stopped by Ze Lin this time. This was not just any¡ªit was Pyrolyte. If this ce was damaged and all the pyrolyte exploded, it would result in everyone¡¯s deaths.

    However, the Oolong Horse¡¯s anger was something that not even Ze Yin could control. Left with no other option, Ze Lin used his innate gift to merge with the Oolong Horse¡¯s body, and in the next moment, the Oolong Horse¡¯s gaze changed.

    Lu Yin could sense that the dominant presence within the Oolong Horse was now Ze Lin. That was because the Oolong Horse was no longer trying topete with him in terms of strength. Instead, it used its head to viciously charge at him.

    Lu Yin immediately evaded the charge with sh Step. He then appeared on top of the Oolong Horse¡¯s head, where he mmed a single palm against the Oolong Horse¡¯s back. ¡°Thirty Stacks Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    An intense vibration ripped the void apart. Since the Oolong Horse was truly massive, Lu Yin¡¯s strike was unable to affect its entire body. Instead, the force of his attack ricocheted into the sky and tore through the atmosphere of Pyrolyte. Its power was so great that it caused a few of the spacecraft flying up from the surface of the to explode.

    Not only did the Oolong Horse possess immense strength, but it also had a robust body. Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike did not damage the creature much, and furthermore, its gargantuan body made Lu Yin¡¯s strike have the same effect as a minor sting, much like a person getting pricked by a needle.

    The Oolong Horse spun around and used its immense body to charge at Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin managed to evade the charge yet again. There were times when it was a curse to have such arge body, such as when faced with agile opponents who could easily evaderge attacks.

    Lu Yin retreated about a kilometer away before he paused, slightly out of breath. As he looked at the mammoth-like Oolong Horse, he realized that this horse was indeed hard to deal with. His attacks did not seem to be able to do much damage to it.

    The Oolong Horse locked eyes with Lu Yin. Its attacks also seemed to be useless against Lu Yin.

    Both parties seemed to have no way tond an effective attack on the other.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fight is too tough. Just retreat, as he can¡¯t do anything more to you anyways.¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    But Lu Yin was unwilling to do so. As he stared at the Oolong Horse¡¯s eyes, his own eyes lit up. He used sh to appear right in front of the horse¡¯s eyes and then raised both of his hands up. ¡°Skybeast w!¡±

    Two Skybeast ws viciously attacked the eyes of the Oolong Horse, which immediately moved to evade the ws.

    Lu Yin was surprised. This creature indeed had a weakness in the form of its eyes. Although it had a very strong body, it was impossible for its eyes to be as tough as the rest of its body. Lu Yin¡¯s best strategy was to aim his attacks at the beast¡¯s eyes, as the creature could only me itself for being too big.

    Ze Lin flew into a rage when he saw Lu Yin relentlessly attacking the Oolong Horse¡¯s eyes. He was left with no choice but to have the horse shrink. This was a difficult decision, as although shrinking made it more difficult for Lu Yin to attack the Oolong Horse¡¯s eyes, it also removed the horse¡¯s size advantage.

    But in the end, Ze Lin still had the Oolong Horse shrink back to its usual size.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly, and with another sh Step, he appeared behind the Oolong Horse, ready to press his palm down once again.

    However, the scene that he expected to witness did note to pass. Instead, what appeared in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was a humanoid creature¡ªZe Lin. The Explorer¡¯s body now carried the aura of the horse.

    Ze Lin¡¯s innate gift allowed him to merge his body with an astral beast, but this worked in the other way as well; Ze Lin could also have the Oolong Horse merge with his own body.

    Lu Yin looked at the figure before him in bewilderment; what a unique innate gift!

    This version of Ze Lin had no weaknesses. He had his human form, his personal battle techniques, and also had the brute strength of the Oolong Horse. This was the first time that Lu Yin had met someone whose strength wasparable to his own. In addition to that, Ze Lin¡¯s battle prowess also made it clear to Lu Yin that the Explorer¡¯s power level wasparable to the individuals ranked between sixtieth and seventieth ce on the Top 100 Rankings.

    That was a very impressive cing, as most of the people on the Top 100 Rankings were powerful Explorers of the younger generation, so being able to battle against someone who ranked so high undoubtedly proved that Lu Yin was an unparalleled Limiteer. When he broke through to the Explorer realm, there was no question that he would be able to contend for a ce in the top fifty. This was a tremendous achievement after considering the fact that even people like Northgate Lie, who had with the benefit of the entirety of Northline Flowzone¡¯s resources behind him, had still only managed to reach thest spots of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Ze Lin extended both of his arms out and charged towards Lu Yin. Five-lined battle force appeared and shrouded his body as he struck out with a punch. With the might of the Oolong Horse¡¯s body, Ze Lin had no fear of going head to head with Lu Yin.

    Five-lined battle force also emanated out from Lu Yin¡¯s body, and with excitement in his eyes, he also charged towards Ze Lin, striking out with a punch of his own.

    Boom!

    The dreadful collision let out a sound like thunder, and it rocked the very sky. The resulting shockwaves distorted the void and undted through the sky, creating a tear in Pyrolyte¡¯s atmosphere. Both men struck out with a hundred blows at the same time, and neither of them showed any signs of retreating. The aftershocks of their blows forced Kuang Wang and the others to continually back away. Far away, above Pyrolyte in, Zhanlong Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing, and the others were all shocked. This was Lu Yin at his strongest, and he had only shown his full power at this moment.

    With a thud, both parties were sent reeling back.

    The look in Ze Lin¡¯s eyes changed. The fact that a Limiteer could fight him to a draw had slightly shifted his entire world view.

    Lu Yin was panting, as it was very difficult for him to rely solely on his physical strength to suppress Ze Lin. He did not wish to utilize his Fatesand at this moment either, as there were bound to be stronger challengers after Ze Lin.

    He had to think of something else he could do.

    Lu Yin started growing anxious, but Ze Lin was even more anxious than Lu Yin. If Ze Lin was able toe down to the surface of the, then it meant that the powerful Explorers from the Sword Sect and Daynight n weren¡¯t too far behind. If he continued participating in this pointless exchange with Lu Yin only to be defeated in a future battle, he would be a huge disappointment to the Beast Tamers Flowzone. As Ze Lin thought of this, his face took on a determined look, and he said to Lu Yin, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to waste my time with you anymore. I admit that you are at the same level as me when ites to strength, but I need to remind you that in this universe, personal strength isn¡¯t everything. There are still outside items.¡±

    As he said that, Ze Lin took out a dagger with a strange grey lustre that roamed about it. Once it appeared, it shockingly sliced through the void.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelid twitched. The dagger gave him a great sense of danger.

    The monkey cried out, ¡°Oh damn! It¡¯s a Power Vessel!¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you remember the power that Liu Shaoge disyed back in East San Dios just when you were about to kill him?¡± the monkey asked gravely.

    Lu Yin would never forget that moment. With his strength back then, he should have been able to easily defeat Liu Shaoge, but Liu Shaoge had managed to escape by using a power that was foreign to Lu Yin. That power had appeared with a ck and white sh, so it was definitely an exclusive power of the Daynight n.

    ¡°I wanted to tell you about it back then, but it slipped my mind. I remember reading in a powerhouse¡¯s journal that some people are able to transfer their power to others. Liu Shaoge probably received the power of some powerhouse, which gave him the chance to escape from your clutches and save his own life,¡± the monkey said.

    ¡°Are you telling me that this dagger has the power of some expert embedded inside of it?¡± Lu Yin had some doubts about this information. Liu Shaoge was still a human, but this was a dagger: a lifeless weapon.

    The Ghost Monkey solemnly replied, ¡°Yes. Honestly, it¡¯s extremely rare for powerhouses in the universe to be able to transfer their powers to others, but there¡¯s no limit to the power that they can transfer. This has nothing to do with one¡¯s personal abilities, as it¡¯s more closely rted to one¡¯s techniques, innate gifts, and destiny. Having said that, throughout the vast universe, there are all kinds of freaks. The person who fused his power with Liu Shaoge is one of those freaks, but such people also existed millions of years ago. Weapons that have been infused with such powers are known as power vessels since they have more capabilities than regr weapons.¡±

    As Lu Yin looked at the dagger in Ze Lin¡¯s hands, he narrowed his eyes. He was in deep trouble. That dagger had unknown capabilities, and he felt like he was facing off against a powerhouse with an unknown innate gift. Who knew what innate gifts this thing had.

    ¡°It seems like you already know about power vessels.¡± Ze Lin was able to guess as much from Lu Yin¡¯s grave expression, and he stared intently at Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t want to use this power vessel to deal with you, so leave this mountain range immediately. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you with this power vessel.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze faltered, and he didn¡¯t know what to do.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, even though a Power vessel can be terrifying, you can just think of it as just another innate gift. Besides, most power vessels are only good for a one-time use. This joker isn¡¯t showing you any kindness by not attacking now, as he just doesn¡¯t want to waste that power vessel,¡± the monkey exined.

    ¡°Can my Fatesand block off a power vessel¡¯s attacks?¡± Lu Yin asked in a quiet voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. There¡¯s no way of telling what that power vessel can do.¡± The monkey was unsure.

    Ze Lin knitted his brows as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll say this onest time: retreat from this mountain range, and I can spare your life.¡±

 Chapter 515: Spirit

    <h4>Chapter 515: Spirit</h4>

    Lu Yin shivered. If he retreated because of just one power vessel, then the various great powers would be able to use simr means to threaten him in the future. This was not his style, and although this power vessel was powerful, the power within it could not have surpassed the strength of a Hunter with a power level of 100,000. Lu Yin had his universal armor, which, conservatively, could withstand an attack with a power level of 150,000.

    ¡°You can try.¡± Lu Yin stared at Ze Lin. The Explorer was about to act, as making the first move was equivalent to seizing the advantage.

    Ze Lin¡¯s heart sank, as his power vessel could indeed only be used once, and his elder had reminded him of that before he came to the surface of Pyrolyte and that he was only allowed to use it as ast resort. However, the present situation made him feel like it was necessary to use it now. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die, so don¡¯t me me.¡±

    Ze Lin then brandished the dagger and charged towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin stared at the iing figure intently as Ze Lin¡¯s speed increased multiple times over.

    The dagger stabbed out in a traceless manner, which was its ability. Additionally, it could also push the speed of its attack to the extreme while also greatly boosting Ze Lin¡¯s speed as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted as he filled his eyes with star energy and pulled out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye from his cosmic ring. He also unleashed his domain, managing to move to the side and dodge the dagger by a dozen centimeters. The dagger stabbed through Lu Yin¡¯s original position and created a spatial fissure that extended on for 10,000 meters.

    Ze Lin waspletely incredulous as he looked at Lu Yin. He dodged it?

    At this moment, not only Ze Lin, but the countless powers watching from above the were also overwhelmed. Lu Yin had actually dodged the power vessel¡¯s attack when even a Hunter would find it difficult to dodge given Ze Lin¡¯s speed during thatst attack.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was the most stunned, as he had given that dagger to Ze Lin to enable the Explorer to stand up against the powerhouses that were soon to arrive from the Sword Sect, Daynight n, Wen family, and other major powers. He had thought that the youth would be victorious with one strike, but it had been avoided just now, and the speed Lu Yin had demonstrated¡ªno, that hadn¡¯t been speed. That was Secret Sidestep!

    The words ¡°Secret Sidestep¡± appeared in many experts¡¯ minds, and many people suddenly recalled that Lu Yin had also disyed this technique during his battle against Mu Rong at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Secret Sidestep was revered by many Lockbreakers as the supreme footwork technique, and it was a technique that could be used to dodge invisible dangers from sourceboxes during lockbreaking attempts. If even invisible dangers could be evaded, then visible ones were non problem.

    Although Ze Lin¡¯s speed had been extraordinarily fast, it had not been so fast that he had bepletely invisible.

    Lu Yin had four ways to enhance his perception: the Cosmic Art, his domain, filling his eyes with star energy, and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye. With any three of those four active, he was able to use Secret Sidestep, and he was the least afraid of a speed-based trump card.

    Lu Yin rxed as he watched that spatial crack gradually close itself. So the power vessel was about speed. He would not have been that worried if he had known its details earlier, and he had actually almost put on his universal armor.

    Lu Yin looked at Ze Lin, who was staring at him in shock. Then, he ced one palm against Ze Lin¡¯s chest. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    Before Ze Lin could react, a Thirty Stacks Seventyfold Shockwave Palm was unleashed into his body, forcing Ze Lin to spit out a mouthful of blood. His outer clothes were shredded apart, and a deep palm imprint was left on his chest. His entire body was batted away like a shooting star, though that dagger was conveniently grabbed by Lu Yin.

    If not for his carelessness, Ze Lin would not have been struck that easily. It could only be said that a power vessel had its advantages and disadvantages. When Lu Yin had dodged the earlier attack, it had caused Ze Lin to lose his concentration, which allowed Lu Yin to strike him. This singr strike had severely injured Ze Lin, as he had been pounded beneath the ground.

    The various major organizations fell silent above the. Even with the use of a power vessel, Ze Lin had been defeated. This Lu Yin was simply unnatural.

    Hai Qiqi cheered excitedly.

    In the distance, Kuang Wang and the others looked miserable, as their Brother Ze Lin had been defeated.

    Even further away, Zhanlong Daynight and the rest of the Daynight n had also witnessed the scene, and they turned back around, helpless. Thisrge mountain would continue to suppress everyone from high above them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes continued to be filled with star energy as he gazed underground. The rune lines that represented Ze Lin were now very few, which proved that, at this moment, the Explorer really was severely injured. Even the fusion with the Oolong horse hade undone. Ze Lin was being crushed underground, and his face had turned deathly pale.

    Lu Yin released a breath. This battle had been rather challenging, and even a power vessel had appeared.

    He had once considered the fact that the great powers must have their own hidden trumps, and even if their Limiteers did not use them, their Explorers might be able to. Ze Lin would likely not be thest Explorer to carry such a powerful tool. Did Lu Yin need to start wearing the universal armor to stay safe from now on? That was the question.

    Hai Qiqi excitedly ran towards Lu Yin and stared at the dagger in his hands. ¡°Let me take a look!¡±

    Lu Yin held the dagger and ran a hand across it, but it seemed just like a normal dagger. He used a bit of force, and a crack appeared as the dagger broke.

    Hai Qiqi was disappointed. ¡°A single-use item. That¡¯s worthless.¡±

    ¡°You know about power vessels as well?¡± Lu Yin looked at her.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Obviously. There¡¯s nothing that my Sea King¡¯s Dome iscking in.¡±

    ¡°Does the Sea King''s Dome have a lot of power vessels?¡± Lu Yin asked with interest.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s lips curled up, and she looked at Lu Yin with a pleased expression. ¡°Yes, beg me! Beg me, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, not bothering with her any further.

    ¡°You¡¯re so boring. My Sea King''s Dome even has a power vessel that you¡¯ve already touched.¡± Hai Qiqi acted very important.

    ¡°I know, the Sea King''s Trident.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I guessed.¡±

    Hai Qiqi turned around. ¡°Boring.¡±

    After that, she flew over to where Ze Lin had crashed into the ground.

    Lu Yin hurried after her. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want that star essence skin? I¡¯ll help you,¡± Hai Qiqi offered eagerly.

    Lu Yin directly pulled her away. ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble. He hasn¡¯t lost yet.¡±

    Hai Qiqi stuck her tongue out at him and then ran away.

    The ground quivered, and then it ruptured as Ze Lin jumped up and stood on the surface. He looked pathetic, and there was even a deep palm-print on his chest that was causing him endless agony. He was struggling to even stand and could only half-kneel on the ground.

    Lu Yin approached him. ¡°One question.¡±

    Ze Lin panted heavily and looked down at his chest, as even touching it caused him intense pain. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s shadow hadpletely shrouded him, and he looked up. ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at him. ¡°How much did it cost to make your star essence skin?¡±

    Ze Lin¡¯s eyelids twitched. ¡°Lu Yin, do things in moderation. My Divine Grade Hall is no pushover, and you should know that the Beast Tamers Flowzone is a unified force. To thoroughly offend us won¡¯t bring you anything good.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s already toote. I actually wanted to coexist peacefully with you guys. Only fate can be med for toying with us.¡±

    Lu Yin then grabbed Ze Lin and went to find a spacecraft. After that, he quickly peeled off the star essence skin and threw the Explorer into the vessel. ¡°Go back. I¡¯m guessing that we won¡¯t meet again on this.¡±

    Ze Lin looked helplessly at Lu Yin, and he truly regretted challenging this person the moment he had arrived on the. This person was a monster, and he had been severely injured as well. The next time they met, this person might already be an Explorer. Once Lu Yin broke through, Ze Lin definitely would not be Lu Yin¡¯s opponent. He really was a freak.

    As he watched the spacecraft ascend, Lu Yin stored the star essence skin away, which was worth at least 5,000 to 7,000 star essence. However, he hadn¡¯t decided on whether or not he would sell it, as if he did sell it, another powerhouse on Ze Lin¡¯s level might appear with this same suit. If the person turned out to be an enemy, then that would be a problem.

    But he was also unwilling to not sell it, as it represented an enormous fortune.

    He looked around, as the pyrolyte ore in this area had been more or lesspletely mined out. He saw Hai Qiqi charge towards Kuang Wang and quickly gathered himself before leaving.

    Ze Lin¡¯s defeat had given the various major powers a deeper understanding of Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Theirmon understanding at this point was that someone had to at least be in the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings, or else they could simply forget about beating Lu Yin.

    As for the younger generation, there were not that many Explorers in the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings, and those few were scattered throughout the universe. However, the various great powers had some older Explorers with simr power levels, and those older people could possibly be the next batch sent to the.

    When Lu Yin returned to the mountain range, he was received by Northgate Lie¡¯s astounded gaze, and he also saw that Lily Anne had unexpectedly arrived.

    Northgate Lie was wearing the star essence skin that Lu Yin had sold to Northline Flowzone while Northline Flowzone had made another skin and evidently given it to Lily Anne.

    ¡°Brother Lu, your battle has shocked everyone. From now on, you¡¯re invincible among Limiteers. Congrattions, Brother Lu.¡± Lily Anne smiled at Lu Yin.

    Northgate Lie looked at Lu Yin withplex emotions, as there was still a shock that had not left his eyes.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The universe is too big, and it¡¯s too early to use the term ¡®invincible.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Since ancient times, I¡¯ve never heard of any Limiteer that could rival Brother Lu¡¯s strength. Even the Ten Arbiters might not have reached Brother Lu¡¯s strength when they were Limiteers. Brother Lu will probably be recorded down in history,¡± Lily Anne praised.

    The rest were shocked, as ¡°history¡± was a rather serious term. Countless people wanted to leave their names in history but were unable to, while it seemed that Lu Yin could already do so. At least, in the record books, no one had ever matched his strength while still a Limiteer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed. History? Has the strength that I¡¯ve shown really reached the level of being recorded down in history?

    ¡°The various great powers are now afraid to send some random nobody down,¡± Lily Anne said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind was jolted. With his own strength, he had changed the standards of what members the various powers could send down to Pyrolyte. With his current strength, Lu Yin felt like he had reached a new level. No Limiteer was his opponent anymore. Ling Que? Mu Rong? No, not even someone ced rather highly on the Top 100 Rankings like Ze Lin was enough anymore.

    It hadn¡¯t been too long ago since Lu Yin had looked up to the elites in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yu Academy, then a bitter, to the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Area Masters, then the Realm Masters, and then to the genius freaks within the same generation as him. He had steadily surpassed them all, and he now stood at the peak.

    As he thought of this, Lu Yin felt a ball of fire rise in his chest, and a faint green line appeared around his body. This was the sign of six-lined battle force, where the battle force gained a green outline.

    Lily Anne and Northgate Lie were stunned. What¡¯s happening? Hold on, is he breaking through?

    Lu Yin stretched out both of his hands, and he suddenly recalled the Sandmaster¡¯s words from back then: battle force could be improved through cultivation, but it could also be improved through one¡¯s spirit. Lu Yin previously had not held the ambition of looking down on everyone within the universe, and his battle force had been unable to improve. But now, he had defeated Ling Que, Mu Rong, and Ze Lin and had stunned the universe in the process. He had be an invincible Limiteer and experienced a new type of ambition, and his battle force had transformed ordingly.

    But the green lines only appeared for that instant before quickly vanishing. His breakthrough did not seed.

    Northgate Lie subconsciously rxed. Lu Yin was already so powerful, and if he made another breakthrough, then Northgate Lie would lose the courage to even attempt to catch up.

    ¡°Brother Lu, that¡¯s too unfortunate. You-¡± Lily Anne had not even finished speaking when Lu Yin leaped up and charged towards Pyrolyte Lake. Had he failed to breakthrough? No! It was just that his spirit wasn¡¯t bold enough. He wanted to face his own strength now and reaffirm his beliefs in his own invincibility through battle. Right now, the most suitable opponents were those like Mu Rong and Ling Que, and the closest person to the mountain range was Ling Que, so Lu Yin was heading over to find him.

 Chapter 516: Searching For Self-Confidence

    <h4>Chapter 516: Searching For Self-Confidence</h4>

    Above the, the various forces were baffled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Wen Qichen and the others¡¯ expressions immediately changed. ¡°Not good! That brat¡¯s headed towards Pyrolyte Lake! Hurry and send a message!¡±

    In the sky, a group of spacecraft formed the words ¡°Lu, calm down¡± and ¡°Wen, careful.¡±

    Lu Yin did not look up as he charged towards Pyrolyte Lake at maximum speed.

    At this moment, Wen Qian''er was in the middle of Pyrolyte Lake, and when she looked up, the words in the sky gave her a strange feeling. The family was sending them a warning?

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s speed, as long as he was not dyed, it would only take him twenty minutes at most to reach Pyrolyte Lake. This was unlike the time when he had brought Hai Qiqi and taken several days to walk over.

    Not only did the Wen family warn their ground forces through writing in the sky, they even sent Limiteers down to Pyrolyte.

    When Wen Qian''er and the others learned that Lu Yin was charging towards them, all of their hearts sank. Who on this entire could stand up to that guy?

    Ling Que subconsciously wanted to run, but he was stopped by Wen Qian''er, who insisted that their guardian not leave.

    They could not give up Pyrolyte Lake, as this was one of thergest pyrolyte mines on Pyrolyte.

    Ling Que felt miserable, as he could not disobey Wen Qian''er. Thus, he could only hope that Lu Yin would not be irrational.

    Lu Yin was also afraid that Ling Que would slip away, as based on his understanding of Ling Que¡¯s personality, this was very likely to happen. Hence, he had continuously increased his speed and had even unsealed the three grains of Fatesand around his body to use sh to travel even faster. Finally, he arrived at Pyrolyte Lake, where he saw Ling Que and the others waiting for him.

    ¡°Lu Yin, what do you want?¡± Ling Que put on a bold front.

    Lu Yin raised his fist. ¡°To reaffirm my beliefs.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s mouth fell wide. ¡°You came here to search for self-confidence?¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny it. He raised his hand and immediately pressed down.

    Ling Que¡¯s face changed. ¡°You¡¯re too overbearing!¡±

    He immediately used the Soulsplitting Technique as three Ling Queunched their Que''s Mighty shes in unison. Three merged back into one that crashed towards Lu Yin¡¯s palm.

    There was a boom as Pyrolyte Lake vanished; Lu Yin¡¯s palm had evaporated the entireke, crushed the three Que''s Mighty shes, and also sent Ling Que flying into the bottom of Pyrolyte Lake in one blow.

    Wen Qian''er and the rest were stunned. Was the disparity between Ling Que and Lu Yin thisrge?

    Actually, Ling Que and Lu Yin had not truly confronted one another before this moment. At the base of the mountain range, Ling Que had retreated after receiving just one palm from Lu Yin, leaving the battle unresolved. On the other hand, Mu Rong had fought against Lu Yin for quite a while before the oue had been decided. Hence, the various people had always assumed that the disparity between these three people was not that great, as they were still two of the top four Limiteers. However, everyone now truly understood the difference between the two.

    Ling Que himself was also able to finally recognize this gap. He could tell that all of his bones had fractured, since this strike had not been gentle in the slightest.

    Lu Yin pulled back his hand, but he didn¡¯t turn around to head back towards the mountain range. Instead, he began moving towards Pyrolyte Mountain. Mu Rong was next.

    He hadn¡¯t unleashed all his strength against Mu Rong before, and he had at most unsealed two grains of Fatesand to break free of the farmer boy¡¯s song, which had led to people having a misconception of Lu Yin¡¯s full strength before this day. Ze Lin was the one who was most clear on his full strength, and Lu Yin wanted to set things straight for Mu Rong at this time. This would also help him reaffirm his belief that he was invincible, which would help him break through to six-lined battle force, which would allow him to be even stronger.

    At Pyrolyte Lake, Wen Qian''er and the others quickly rxed. Everything was fine so long as Lu Yin did not seize the pyrolyte mine.

    Wen Qian¡¯er immediately arranged for a spacecraft to take Ling Que to the Wen family¡¯s battleship to recover.

    Ling Que felt aggrieved. ¡°I told you earlier to let me go, but you insisted on stopping me.¡±

    Wen Qian''er apologized profusely.

    Ling Que sighed. ¡°That freak! But everything¡¯s still alright. From the direction he ran off in, Mu Rong will be the next one to run out of luck. At least it can¡¯t always be me, keke.¡±

    Above the, Wen Qichen¡¯s face grew even uglier, as she knew that Lu Yin was attempting a breakthrough. Although she did not know in what aspect, breaking through always represented an increase in power, and that would be troublesome since this Limiteer had already left them all feeling helpless before him.

    The other powers finally began to understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions as well.

    The Sword Sect quickly used their spacecraft to form words, warning Mu Rong and Liu Shaoqiu to retreat.

    However, neither of them left Pyrolyte Mountain, as retreating would mean that they were afraid, which went against their convictions. If they retreated, then Lu Yin would be a massive stone gate forever standing over their heads.

    The Y¨­u Court¡¯s cultivators tried to persuade Y¨­u Ye''er to leave, but she wouldn¡¯t leave either. She was very curious about Lu Yin as his body always carried this aura that attracted her, but she didn¡¯t know what it was.

    Moreover, she was not afraid either. If possible, she also wanted to experience Lu Yin with her full strength and see who was the true invincible Limiteer. Could this person beat the Y¨­u Court¡¯s Secret Art? The so-called strongest Limiteer didn¡¯t include the Limiteers from the Three Dark Hands or the Neoverse.

    The sky rippled, and a stifling pressure descended. Near Pyrolyte Mountain, the Sword Sect, Y¨­u Court, and a few secret observers felt their breaths inadvertently grow sluggish. When they looked up, they saw that Lu Yin had already appeared.

    Mu Rong spun the wooden flute in his hands with a solemn expression.

    Liu Shaoqiu stepped forward and unleashed his forcefield, instantly attacking with the Fourth Sword.

    He wanted to use the Fifth Sword to defend against Lu Yin, but the simple fact was that he had not reached that level of proficiency and could only disy the Fourth Sword.

    The forcefield converged into an endless rain of sword qi that sliced down, and space itself seemed to boil as the limitless sharp energy tore the void apart and caused cracks to appear everywhere. Lu Yin raised his head and stood in ce. He then raised his right hand into the air and actually grabbed the sword qi while unleashing his strength.

    Under everyone¡¯s stunned eyes, Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Fourth Sword was directly crushed.

    Even if everyone had already known that Liu Shaoqiu would lose, they had not imagined that his loss would be so tragic. He had not even been able to force Lu Yin to take a single step back. He hadn¡¯t even been able to force Lu Yin to be serious.

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Liu Sanjian, and the other Sword Sect¡¯s experts all had ugly expressions.

    The moment the Fourth Sword had copsed, fresh blood flowed from Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s lips. He had been injured.

    Mu Rong raised his wooden flute, causing green grass to appear and cover both the ground and the void. The farmer boy¡¯s song rang out, and the farmer boy rushed at Lu Yin with his cow.

    It could be said that, when Lu Yin unsealed two grains of Fatesand, the farmer boy¡¯s song could still influence him a little and he needed to exert some amount of force to break free from the song. However, at this moment, he had removed all three grains of Fatesand and hadpletely released his physical strength. The farmer boy¡¯s song was just a song that only made others feel peaceful; it had no influence on Lu Yin whatsoever. The image of the farmer boy herding cattle was simrly casually swatted away by his right hand.

    With a bounce, Mu Rong mmed into the ground. Although Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike had not been released against Mu Rong himself, its force had still shattered the forcefield, so Mu Rong had been indirectly attacked, much like Liu Shaoqiu.

    Y¨­u Ye''er frowned, as Lu Yin was indeed very powerful. Mu Rong¡¯s strength was top-notch even whenpared to those in the Neoverse, but he had not been able to receive even a single palm from this person. This Lu Yin was stronger than what she previously estimated him to be.

    Lu Yin did not move a single step to defeat both Mu Rong and Liu Shaoqiu. He had only raised his right arm, and this singr move allowed everyone to keenly sense the disparity between them.

    They were all shocked at Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but Lu Yin himself still was not satisfied. These two had not managed to reinforce his confidence enough to break through to six-lined battle force, and his spirit was still slightlycking.

    At that moment, a spacecraft shot down from space on a path aimed straight for Pyrolyte Mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy as he observed the ship. He could see a majestic amount of rune lines, which even surpassed Ze Lin¡¯s. Through these runes, Lu Yin could tell that the person descending was almost definitely Long Yun, a Sword Sect expert who had appeared as a trial taker on Shenwu Continent in the past. Long Yun¡¯s actions there had allowed the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Wu Shang to escape, and his presence had also prevented Crown Prince Ming Hao from directly acting against those who had been trapped within the Lightshaking Tower, which had allowed all of them to escape.

    Long Yun¡¯s name was not included in the Top 100 Rankings as he was a hidden ultra expert of the Sword Sect. His status meant that it was of no surprise to anyone that he had been able to cause the Shenwu Continent¡¯s Crown Prince Ming Hao to be so afraid.

    Lu Yin returned to the ground with a solemn expression. Long Yun¡¯s arrival was something that was unavoidable. He represented the Sword Sect¡¯s intention to seize the mountain range, and there was bound to be a battle between the two.

    Boom!

    The spacecraftnded outside of Pyrolyte Mountain as Mu Rong, Liu Shaoqiu, Y¨­u Ye''er, and the others all watched on.

    As the hatch opened, a youth wearing a felt hat, short-sleeved shirt, and jeans walked out with a faint smile as he curiously observed his surroundings.

    As they looked at this youth, Liu Shaoqiu and the other Sword Sect disciples felt a jolt run through their hearts. ¡°Senior Long?¡±

    Y¨­u Ye''er blinked. She did not recognize this person.

    ¡°It¡¯s Long Yun, one of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples from the previous generation,¡± an expert from Y¨­u Court quietly informed her.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was curious. ¡°How do you know? Is he very famous?¡±

    That Y¨­u Court cultivator exined, ¡°This person is in the same generation as the Arbiter from the Sword Sect, and the two of them do not have a simple rtionship. During their time together, this person ranked within the top three of the sect. However, after the Sword Sect¡¯s Arbiter broke through to be an Explorer, this person grew quieter until there was nothing left to say about him. Who would have imagined that the Sword Sect would send him here now.¡±

    Long Yun¡¯s timely arrival caused the Sword Sect disciples to clearly rx, but they were also rather apprehensive. To their understanding, Long Yun was a bold and uninhibited roamer, but nobody knew what his actual power was. However, if the Sword Sect had sent him down, then he definitely would not be weak.

    Long Yun nced across everyone present before finally settling his eyes on Lu Yin, who was already staring at Long Yun.

    ¡°We¡¯ve met before, right?¡± Long Yun beamed at Lu Yin. He spoke by using his star energy to make the air vibrate, thus producing sound.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°In the Outerverse, during the trial on Shenwu Continent, we met once.¡±

    Long Yun nodded. ¡°You should be the one who rescued that group from the Tower of Resonating Light. The moment I heard about that feat, I already knew that you were not someone simple, but I never imagined that you were only a Limiteer. Your strength is terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him gravely. ¡°You¡¯re not simple either. Your true strength surpasses even Ze Lin¡¯s.¡±

    This sentence shook the Sword Sect members and even shocked the various great powers in outer space. Not many of them had heard of Long Yun¡¯s name, and those who had were of the same generation as the Ten Arbiters. Long Yun had initially been rather famous, but his glory had gradually dimmed, so no one would have expected that he could rival an expert ranked in the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings. This was a rather deep concealment, as the Sword Sect still had someone at the top of the rankings.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes flickered, as he had already known that Long Yun¡¯s power was not simple, though he had never checked into the concrete details before. Back at the sect, Long Yun did not like to fight, and he was also ratherid-back. Liu Shaoqiu had never found an opportunity to exchange blows with Long Yun, but he had never thought that Lu Yin¡¯s appraisal of his senior would be so high.

    Long Yun was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s words as well. ¡°How did you know that? Only a few old folks in the entire Sword Sect know of my strength.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I guessed.¡±

    Long Yun nodded. ¡°No matter how you know, you won¡¯t be able to avoid me today.¡±

    Long Yun pulled out a very ordinary looking longsword from his cosmic ring. Under everyone¡¯s shocked gazes, green lines twisted around the de, and a dark-gold radiance illuminated the void as a stifling and boundless pressure swept across.

    Everyone felt their hearts seize for a moment as they stared at Long Yun while feelingpletely overwhelmed. He was glowing with a dark-gold radiance, and his sword had green lines twisting about it. That was six-lined battle force.

    The strongest cultivators on Pyrolyte to battle up till now had only ever had five-lined battle force, but Long Yun had raised the standard by one bar. His green, six-lined battle force was being prominently disyed before everyone else now.

 Chapter 517: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 517: Breakthrough</h4>

    Battle force was a powerful strength that everyone was aware of, but it was difficult to cultivate, just like a domain. Currently, there were thousands of outstanding disciples from the younger generation on Pyrolyte, but there were no more than a hundred who hadprehended battle force or a domain. This was so even despite the fact that all of those present were elite disciples from the various great powers, which went to show just how difficultprehending battle force or a domain was.

    When Long Yun¡¯s six-lined battle force appeared, it caused the various great powers to feel their hearts turn heavy, as this was yet another suppressive strength.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as five-lined battle force twisted around his body. He was releasing all of his strength just to resist Long Yun¡¯s six-lined battle force, as there was an enormous disparity in just one line of difference.

    There was a whoosh, and Long Yun appeared right before Lu Yin after moving with extreme speed. He sliced down with his de without any hesitation. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy as he held the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye in his left hand, allowing him to use Secret Sidestep to easily dodge Long Yun¡¯s attack. He simultaneously counterattacked with a palm just like against Ze Lin.

    The same attack that had defeated Ze Lin moved towards Long Yun, but he simply smiled. Instead of dodging, he swept his de horizontally in reply. If Lu Yin¡¯s attacknded on Long Yun, then his de would alsond on Lu Yin. This was a mutually destructive battle style, and it showed Long Yun¡¯s extreme confidence in his own battle force.

    Lu Yin was still able to retreat since his Secret Sidestep guaranteed that Long Yun would not be able to cut him, leaving Lu Yin with what seemed to be a sure-win position. He believed that Long Yun was not so fast as to transcend Secret Sidestep, and at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s boldness surged. He did not want to retreat, as he felt that moving back would cause his spirit to decrease.

    With a bang, Long Yun¡¯s abdomen forcibly endured Lu Yin¡¯s Thirty Stacks Seventyfold Shockwave Palm, and the Explorer¡¯s clothes were torn off as a palm print deeply imprinted itself onto his torso. Lu Yin¡¯s chest was simrly struck by the sword, causing scarlet blood to spray onto the ground. The twobatants were each knocked back a hundred meters.

    Long Yun exhaled as he looked at his abdomen. There, he saw a deep palm imprint from which intense pain radiated out. His organs felt like they had been pulverized, and his six-lined battle force had already copsed. He was astonished that a Limiteer could actually cause his six-lined battle force to copse. If he took that attack again, then there was no doubt that he would lose, and he also understood why Ze Lin had not been able to withstand a single attack.

    Those who could cultivate their battle force to six lines would have decent physical strength, but even so, Lu Yin¡¯s palm had nearly crippled Long Yun.

    However, Lu Yin was not much better off as the cut across his chest was rather deep. Not only had it sliced through his five-lined battle force, but it had alsocerated his physical body. If Mister Mu hadn¡¯t helped him improve his physical strength to the pinnacle by allowing Lu Yin to undergo a transformation, then the de would have cut him straight in two.

    Through this exchange, they had mutually left a deep impression on the other.

    Lu Yin looked at Long Yun, and his lips rose as his face betrayed his excitement. ¡°No wonder it¡¯s six-lined battle force. The intensity can¡¯t evenpare to five-lined battle force.¡±

    Long Yun exhaled and held his abdomen. ¡°Do you really care about six-lined battle force?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he didn¡¯t reply.

    Long Yun flexed his neck. ¡°Six-lined battle force is indeed iparable to five-lined battle force, and the disparity bes greater the higher one goes. The limits of what you can withstand should be six-lined battle force, which means that this battle is over.¡±

    Then, the dark-gold radiance that previously shrouded his body was reced by a green light while blue lines appeared on his de and illuminated the sky.

    Countless were stunned, as this was seven-lined battle force.

    This was Long Yun¡¯s true power. It turned out that he had been keeping his seven-lined battle force hidden.

    In the younger generation, there were very few who could cultivate their battle force to seven lines, as it was just too difficult. When Lu Yin had attained five-lined battle force, it had been back during the Astral Combat Tournament, but he had only felt signs of it breaking through to six lines just now. This showed just how difficult it was to improve one¡¯s battle force, as Lu Yin had nearly improved his physical body to its extreme. Despite this, Long Yun had actuallyprehended seven-lined battle force.

    At this moment, even the various major forces in outer space didn¡¯t dare to believe their eyes.

    Mira was astonished as she looked at Pyrolyte.

    Moore stepped out of a spacecraft and stared at Long Yun. He was a West San Dios Councilor and was ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Avery also walked out of a spacecraft and stared at Lu Yin.

    From the Ross Empire¡¯s spacecraft, a youth who had been sleeping suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards Pyrolyte with a bbergasted expression. The seven-lined battle force had illuminated the entire area.

    On Pyrolyte Mountain, Long Yun raised his de and pointed it at Lu Yin. ¡°Leave Pyrolyte. I know that you can use Secret Sidestep technique, so my speed can''t hope to catch up to you, but I can still destroy an entire area of the void. Can your Secret Sidestep technique guarantee that you¡¯ll be able to avoid that? The range will be very great.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu and the others stared at Long Yun in shock, as the current Long Yun could rival the top fifty on the rankings; he had hidden himself much too deeply. Once he broke through to the Cruiser realm, his power would rise once again, and that breakthrough would even cause the front-ranking experts to grow nervous, as no one could guarantee that Long Yun would not be able toprehend eight-lined battle force.

    Once he sessfullyprehended eight-lined battle force, Long Yun would have the strength to threaten even the top ten.

    The universe¡¯s top-notch powers were domain and battle force. Once reached the pinnacle in either one, one would obtain an immeasurable strength. This was the path formoners to surpass cultivators with powerful innate gifts, and it was also a path to be a first-rate powerhouse.

    Long Yun had no innate gift. Instead, he had relied on his battle force to challenge numerous talented geniuses.

    No one believed that Lu Yin could withstand Long Yun, as he definitely could not stop seven-lined battle force since six-lined battle force had already torn through his defense.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, we¡¯re in trouble. That¡¯s seven-lined battle force. Humans are indeed insane! Just any random person can actually be so powerful,¡± the monkey gasped.

    An overwhelmed Lu Yin stared at Long Yun, who was enveloped in a green radiance that sparkled with blue lines. Lu Yin raised his hand, almost able to touch it. Was this the strength seven-lined battle force? It was very powerful.

    ¡°Are you retreating or not?¡± Long Yun¡¯s de spun in the air. If Lu Yin refused to retreat, then Long Yun would use his sword to destroy the immediate region of the void, and this was what gave him his self-confidence.

    Lu Yin grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m always one step behind.¡±

    Long Yun was stumped, and he looked at the Limiteer, puzzled by his words.

    The rest were also lost. One step behind? What did that mean?

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s brows raised. Could it be?

    Lu Yin suddenly looked up, as the dark-gold radiance around him charged into the skies while green stripes twisted around him like ribbons, releasing a shockingly tyrannical wave. This was six-lined battle force. After receiving Long Yun¡¯s attack, besides gaining a huge wound, he had also gained the harvest ofprehending six-lined battle force. His spirit had reached a new level.

    The various great powers in the heavens were speechless. This was also possible? Had this brat always been hiding his strength?

    Wen Qichen¡¯s brows leaped up. ¡°This kid¡¯s been trying to break through in his battle force! Little rascal, he was actually using Ling Que and the others to build up his confidence.¡±

    In the Sword Sect, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was so furious that his mustache nearly pointed upwards. ¡°What a pity. If Long Yun had been just a little slower, then this rascal might not have broken through to six-lined battle force. Such a pity.¡±

    The other Enlighters were also able to guess at what had just happened, and they all had strange expressions as they looked down at Pyrolyte. Long Yun¡¯s arrival was supposed to be a watershed event and herald the change of control over the mountain range, but he had actually helped Lu Yin upgrade his battle force. Now, there was no Limiteer who was Lu Yin¡¯s opponent, maybe not even in the Neoverse. After all, five and six-lined battle force werepletely different levels of strength.

    Long Yun nkly stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Did you just break through?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. ¡°Many thanks to you.¡±

    Long Yun forced a smile onto his face, but he quickly regained his state of mind. ¡°The higher battle force goes, the more difficult it is to cultivate. Simrly, the difference also bes greater. Six and seven-lined battle force are two entirely different concepts. The question still stands: will you retreat or no?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand, feeling the power of six-lined battle force for himself. He looked back at Long Yun. ¡°If I still only had five-lined battle force, there would be no chance of me being able to stand against you, but with six-lined battle force, things are no longer as certain. I might not be able to beat you, but I can at least protect myself. The reaction time that my Secret Sidestep technique gives mebined with my six-lined battle force makes for a defense sturdy enough to receive your blow, as your de¡¯s destructive ability is not that strong yet. There¡¯s no need to fight anymore. I¡¯m sorry, but things will end here today.¡±

    Lu Yin charged to the west with sh Step; he did not want to fight anymore.

    Long Yun instantly sliced out with his de while also targeting the void in the area. He wanted to detain Lu Yin andpletely put an end to this danger.

    Lu Yin¡¯s sh Step and Secret Sidestep techniques were not enough to escape from the range of Long Yun¡¯s sword since the Explorer was using a battle technique. Long Yun was now serious.

    Lu Yin turned his back to the west and fled. When Long Yun¡¯s sword qi approached him, he raised his hand that was covered with six-lined battle force and struck out at full force. His palm made contact with the sword qi 10,000 meters away from him in an explosion of sparks. The void directly shattered with countless cracks. The scenery on both the ground and the sky copsed, and fresh blood dripped down from Lu Yin¡¯s palm. His six-lined battle force had only barely been able to withstand the sword attack, and it had even been breached at thest moment. Fortunately, Lu Yin managed to escape in the end.

    Even sword qi reinforced with seven-lined battle force was not enough to detain Lu Yin.

    Pyrolyte Mountain fell silent, and the Sword Sect disciples all looked at Long Yun with adoration. The moment Lu Yin revealed himself on this, he had been like a mountain crushing down upon them, but now, an expert on their side had finally appeared who could defeat the monster.

    Long Yun fell silent. Defeat? Not necessarily, as Lu Yin¡¯s escape had been rather prompt. His many years of battle experience allowed him to sense a faintly dangerous aura from Lu Yin¡¯s body. This aura had made Long Yun instinctively not give chase, as this person had not been defeated yet; he still had trump cards hidden up his sleeves.

    It was annoying. When had a Limiteer be so hard to deal with? Was it really to the extent where not even seven-lined battle force was enough?

    Long Yun put his sword away, and his carefree expression returned. He looked down at his ruined clothes and immediately changed, though his new clothes were identical to his old outfit. He then looked at Liu Shaoqiu and greeted him with a wave, ¡°Yo, junior.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu looked seriously at Long Yun with a thoughtful expression.

    Long Yun¡¯s brows rose up somewhat cautiously. ¡°Junior, what are you thinking about? Let me tell you this straight up. Senior will definitely not fight you.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes shed, but then he walked over to Long Yun and bowed solemnly. ¡°Senior, please guide me on how to improve my battle force.¡±

    Long Yun frowned and grabbed his head while looking rather distraught. ¡°Junior, you really don¡¯t know how fortunate you are.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu continued to bend at the waist.

    Long Yun turned around. ¡°In the entire Sword Sect of hundreds of thousands of disciples, only you and her have inherited the Thirteen Swords. She¡¯s on a whole different level of abnormal, so we don¡¯t need to even mention her. And you? Since you¡¯ve inherited the Thirteen Swords, you should be first in your generation: invincible. And yet, you¡¯ve lost your way.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu was puzzled.

    Long Yun sighed. ¡°You¡¯ve lost a battle, and you believe that your loss to Lu Yin is because of the Thirteen Swords and not because of you yourself. This is why you want to learn battle force¡ªto reinforce the Thirteen Swords with it and challenge Lu Yin again. You think that if youprehend battle force, you¡¯ll be able to win, right?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu did not deny his senior¡¯s words, as those had indeed been his thoughts. Long Yun¡¯s and Lu Yin¡¯s battle force had lit a fire within him.

    Long Yun shook his head and he forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Honestly, if someone is able to inherit the Thirteen Swords, why would they be willing to cultivate battle force?¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s body trembled.

 Chapter 518: Unexpected Person

    <h4>Chapter 518: Unexpected Person</h4>

    ¡°Since ancient times, the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords has been famous throughout the universe and has been heralded as the supreme path of the sword. Did you think that all that is just for show? This senior may not know about other things, but I do know this: the inheritor of the Thirteen Swords may be defeated, but they can never retreat. This is because in the end, the Thirteen Swords will forever be the most powerful. This is a path to ultimate power, and any defeat is just because you cannot cultivate it well enough,¡± Long Yun exined with a tinge of envy and longing in his voice.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes flickered, and he stood in ce as he silently pondered over his senior¡¯s words.

    Long Yun did not say anything more and walked away. Actually, he had simplye up with some rubbish since he was afraid of trouble. He had actually just said that so that Liu Shaoqiu would not pester him any further. However, his words could not be considered as pure rubbish, because the invincibility of the Thirteen Swords was real. However, that was only so when looking at all of history. There were times when the inheritors of the Thirteen Swords met crazy geniuses, and met with a tragic end where their entire generation was suppressed. For example, the current generation was in such a situation. Of course, Long Yun definitely would not mention those details.

    In the sky, Lu Yin continued to absorb star energy from star essences while also using the Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medicines to treat the wounds on his chest and hand.

    He ced special attention on the area in his chest where he had a deep horizontal gash that had caused half of his clothes to be stained red.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, cut down on how often you do this stuff in the future. You¡¯re not alone! If you die, then I¡¯ll die too.¡± The Ghost Monkey was unhappy with Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin simply replied, ¡°As long as I continue to cultivate, such actions are unavoidable.¡± He then sighed, saying, ¡°I haven¡¯t suffered from injuries this severe in a long time.¡±

    ¡°So, how many more times do you want to go through with this?¡± the monkey shrieked in exasperation.

    Lu Yinughed. If experiencing such an event could allow his battle force to improve, then why wouldn¡¯t he take the risk?

    He was indeed very powerful now with six-lined battle force, but when would he manage to break through to the Explorer realm? He still did not have the feeling that he was close to a breakthrough, and the five-stage formcast model was still inside of him. Before he broke through, he would have to upgrade the formcast model once more to a six-stage formcast model. That would be perfect.

    He recalled that it had taken him 300,000 star crystals to upgrade the formcast model from a four-stage model to a five-stage model. He wondered how many more star crystals it would take to upgrade it one step further to a six-stage formcast model? It should be a lot since there were very few six-stage formcast models even in the entire universe.

    A Hunter could create a normal formcast model, but a five-stage formcast model required at least an Enlighter to create it. A six-stage formcast model was on a different level, and it might require a monster like Northgate Taisui to get involved.

    Lu Yin wondered if there was such a thing as a seven-stage formcast model. If so, would that require an Envoy with a power level of over 500,000?

    He wondered if the Sea King was able to form a seven-stage formcast model. He would have to find an opportunity to question Hai Qiqiter. She definitely had a formcast model inside of her body.

    When the mountain range entered his sight, Lu Yin moved towards it. However, his expression fell since he suddenly sensed an extreme danger. He had no time to retrieve the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, but he subconsciously activated the Cosmic Art, and his eyes filled with star energy, which allowed him to move to the side with the Secret Sidestep technique. Dozens of strange weapons with green stripes suddenly pierced through the void andnded where he had just been as a figure appeared in front of him.

    Lu Yin broke into a cold sweat, as he had been too careless. He had nearly fallen for that ambush just now.

    This figure was wrapped in a ck robe, and he stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. He had clearly not expected his ambush to fail. However, the attacker did not stop and raised a hand before lunging at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was enraged, as this person had nearly seeded in ambushing him. If he had been impaled by those sharp weapons, then he would have definitely died. This person had to die, but Lu Yin could not act impulsively. He had seen how many rune lines made up this person, and it was about the same amount as Long Yun¡¯s. This was another top-tier expert.

    Above the, the various organizations did not notice the appearance of this person, and they had not seen when he had arrived or which force he belonged to since he waspletely covered by the ck robes.

    The figure grabbed at Lu Yin, who retreated while six-lined battle force burst forth from his body. He tapped out lightly, but his extreme physical strength created a gale of wind that was strong enough to repel people like Ling Que or Mu Rong. However, a strange weapon appeared in the ck-robed figure¡¯s hands, which he used to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s attack after simrly coating it with six-lined battle force. Then, the hooded figure¡¯s other hand lifted up, causing a chill to run down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. He dodged again with the Secret Sidestep technique, and numerous weapons pierced through the void to stab at where he had just been standing.

    What is this? Lu Yin was bbergasted. Just how had these weapons appeared out of nowhere?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look!¡± the monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin looked at the figure again and saw that the ck robes shrouding the figure had ripped open. While the face was unfamiliar, he had that unmistakable, eye-catching ck-and-white hair. It was someone from the Daynight n.

    No one would have expected the Daynight n to secretly send a top-notch expert down to Pyrolyte, but this person had nearly killed Lu Yin in an ambush. The Daynight n was just too ruthless.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned sharp, and he used sh Step to dash towards the Daynight man and then m down with a palm.

    ¡°Heavenly Armory.¡± The Daynight man looked up as strange weapons suddenly appeared all around his body, hiding him from view. The moment they appeared, the weapons were also wrapped in the green lines of six-lined battle force.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, as these weapons had been formed from an innate gift.

    Someone in outer space, above the, cried out, ¡°I got it! That¡¯s Zhanbing Daynight, ranked fifty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings! He¡¯s a Daynight genius.¡±

    The various great powers quickly recognized the attacker one after another as his innate gift was too conspicuous. It was to turn anything he touched into a sturdy weapon. Also, his battle technique was not one that belonged to the Daynight n. Rather, it was something that he had obtained from the Dao of ughter in the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones. This was an inherited ancient battle technique: Heavenly Armory.

    A Daynight expert who did not use the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques was indeed very eye-catching.

    On Pyrolyte, Lu Yin stared at the powerhouse in front of him with shock. Zhanbing Daynight had covered his body with countless weapons, and he currently looked like some monster that was armed to the teeth. And on top of that, everyst one of the weapons was covered with six-lined battle force.

    At this moment, the rune lines representing Zhanbing Daynight were in no way inferior to Long Yun¡¯s when he had used seven-lined battle force. Although this person only had six-lined battle force like Lu Yin, his battle technique and innate gift were able to make up for the difference, making him a top-notch expert who was not much weaker than Long Yun.

    There was a whoosh as Zhanbing Daynight pressed one hand down in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. From the sky, a powerful arm formed from weapons ruthlessly mmed down onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and punched out. There was a bang, and the void distorted for a moment before copsing. Lu Yin was forced underground by Zhanbing Daynight, and half of his body went numb.

    This was the strength of the individual ranked fifty-fifth on the Top 100 Rankings. This was someone whom <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze could notpare to, not to mention Ze Lin.

    Zhanbing Daynight did not give Lu Yin any chance to catch his breath. He ferociously mmed his hand into the ground again, wanting to smash Lu Yin to death then and there.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. He had not thought that he would have to use it here, but he released his Fatesand.

    Boom!

    There was a loud explosion, and Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s two armsposed of weapons twisted as they smashed into the ground, causing the entirety of Pyrolyte to tremble. A giant fissure emerged in the ground that extended out for hundreds of kilometers.

    What followed was an intense rumbling, as Zhanbing Daynight did not stop attacking. He struck out dozens of times and caused the surrounding area topletely disappear, leaving only a floor ofva.

    Everyone in outer space nkly stared at the scene, as that attack had been way too brutal. Zhanbing Daynight had not given Lu Yin any chance to survive.

    Elder Ren watched the events calmly, though Hai Dashao had clenched both of his fists. Against the expert ranked fifty-fifth on the Top 100 Rankings, Lu Yin¡¯s chances of survival were slim, even if he hadprehended six-lined battle force.

    Not too far from the battleground, even the mountain range had beenpletely split open, though Northgate Lie and the rest did not even dare to intervene. They could only stare fearfully at the enormous monster that was Zhanbing Daynight.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s whereabouts were currently unknown, as she was not at the mountain range.

    Long Yun and the others looked in the direction of Pyrolyte Mountain, and they were shocked to feel the pressure of a top-notch expert.

    Zhanbing Daynight slowly rose up, looking like a giant monster overseeing its domain. He stared at the roilingva. He had a cold expression on his face. His mission this time was to kill this person, and he was certain that all of his attacks hadnded on him. Lu Yin¡¯s death was unquestionable.

    He turned back to look at the mountain range, raised his weaponized arm, and then aimed it at Northgate Lie. A dozen weapons fired out at them.

    Northgate Lie was overwhelmed, and he immediately used his Phantom Disc in an attempt to defend against the weapons. However, he had vastly overestimated his own abilities. He was able to block the majority of the weapons, but the few that he missed caused heavy casualties among Northline Flowzone¡¯s forces. Even Lily Anne was injured, as she fell to the ground in a miserable condition.

    There was a weapon stuck in Northgate Lie¡¯s leg, and his face looked desperate as he stared at Zhanbing Daynight. Was the disparity between them that great? This was a person ranked fifty-fifth.

    After Lu Yin battled against Long Yun at Pyrolyte Mountain, he had left in high spirits after his battle force broke through to six lines, but no one, least of all him, had expected to run into an ambush from Zhanbing Daynight. It was unknown if Lu Yin was still alive, but the mountain range was about to be taken over by the Daynight n.

    Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s power was unquestionable, and he was already confident that Lu Yin had died. How could a mere Limiteer survive so many attacks from him? Could he really be that much of a monster?

    Above Pyrolyte, one personal spacecraft charged into the atmosphere andnded exactly where Zhanbing Daynight stood.

    The area around Pyrolyte had already been sealed, so no one could enter without approval from the various forces. This personal spacecraft had taken advantage of everyone being distracted by Zhanbing Daynight to quickly shoot down onto Pyrolyte.

    Someone had initially wanted to block the vessel, but in the end, no one did. If the person on the ship was a Limiteer, then it was useless for them to go down to Pyrolyte. And if they were an Explorer, then they would definitely die without question if they didn¡¯t have a star essence skin. There was no need to block this person.

    Zhanbing Daynight towered high in the sky, and Nightqueen Yanqing and the others soon appeared one after another from a distance. They smiled. The mountain range had ended up belonging to them in the end.

    At that moment, the spacecraft that had barged into Pyrolyte entered their sight.

    Zhanbing Daynight casually released several weapons to attack the vessel, and each one was lined with with six-lined battle force as they tore through the void. He had assumed that the spacecraft would be easily destroyed by his attack, but when the weapons approached the spacecraft, they all broke apart and were reduced to dust.

    Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s expression immediately changed, and he raised his giant weaponized arm and ruthlessly fired another volley of weapons.

    The spacecraft continued its flight towards the ground, and a pretty figure appeared in midair. The void suddenly distorted in front of Zhanbing Daynight. He and the crowd behind him could vaguely make out a figure wearing a white coat embroidered with golden threads. There was a silver-white scabbard as well as ck hair that hung down to the waist of the figure.

    There was a whoosh as sword qi streaked past, splitting Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s arm of weapons in two and eradicating his six-lined battle force.

    This scene shocked everyone, including the various great powers in space.

    That was Zhanbing Daynight, someone ranked fifty-fifth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Zhanbing Daynight was stunned, and he hurriedly retreated since he had felt a considerable amount of danger in that instant. He had encountered a terrifying powerhouse.

    A gale swept past him and swirled up the dark-red dust that floated by.

    In the skies, a young and beautiful woman appeared in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Wendy Yushan?¡± Above the, Moore was shocked.

    Others also quickly recognized the girl. She was ranked eighteenth on the Top 100 Rankings and was also one of the few Explorers who were in the front twenty: Wendy Yushan.

 Chapter 519: Instant Kill

    <h4>Chapter 519: Instant Kill</h4>

    The battles on Pyrolyte were bing increasingly intense. Even Wendy Yushan, who should have been taking care of East Saint Dios, had appeared.

    Her arrival was something that nobody expected. She did not join hands with any faction, which meant that she did not have a star essence skin.

    Zhanbing Daynight seemed to turn serious as he looked at her in a guarded manner.

    Up in the sky, the members of the major powers all hadplex expressions on their faces. Without a star essence skin, even the most powerful Explorer would be fated to explode and die. This woman was far too reckless!

    News of the battles on Pyrolyte had been sealed off by the various powers. While there had been some videos that leaked out, no one aside from them actually knew what was going on here. The same went for Wendy Yushan. This was the purpose of information. People who had it would gain the upper hand.

    Wendy Yushan was powerful, but she did not know what was going on this. Appearing out of nowhere was as good as dying.

    Wendy Yushan directed her eyes to the ground. The reason why she had been in such a rush toe here was because of Lu Yin, the only person she acknowledged as a member of her family. She didn¡¯t want him to die.

    With a bang, the ground cracked, and Lu Yin leaped up as he charged into the sky.

    Everybody was shocked. That hadn¡¯t killed him?

    Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank. Impossible! I know that all of my attacksnded. He had to have died there! How can this be? Did he actually manage to block all of my attacks?

    Lu Yin had no time to bother with anyone else, and he raced over to Wendy Yushan¡¯s side. He pulled out a star essence skin and ordered, ¡°Wear it.¡±

    This skin had belonged to Ze Lin, and Lu Yin was currently incredibly d that he hadn¡¯t sold it off. Otherwise, Wendy Yushan would die for sure.

    She had no idea why she had to wear the thing, but she put it on without any hesitation.

    Ze Lin¡¯s star essence skin wasn¡¯t enough topletely protect her, but so long as she did not use too much power, she would be fine for now.

    Lu Yin heaved a heavy sigh of relief, but then he red at her. ¡°How can you be so reckless? Don¡¯t you know that Explorers can¡¯t just enter Pyrolyte as they please? There¡¯s aerosolized pyrolyte everywhere, even in the air! If you breathe it in, you could explode!¡±

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin while Lu Yin did the same, though he appeared to be absolutely fuming.

    Then, Wendy Yushan casually nced away. ¡°I got it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything except by using star energy to make the air vibrate!¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Wendy Yushan made a sound of acknowledgement and then really stopped talking.

    Everybody watched their interactions in a daze. This was an expert who was ranked eighteenth on the Top 100 Rankings, so why was she letting herself be reprimanded in such a manner?

    Even Lu Yin himself was shocked. He¡¯d been prepared for her to give him the cold shoulder, but she hadn¡¯t done that and was instead being very obedient. What the hell?

    Nobody knew what she was thinking, but ever since Lu Yin had given her the Yu Secret Art, she had decided in her heart that Lu Yin was the only family member she had left in this universe. Thus, he was the only one who was allowed to get mad at her.

    She had been at Saint Dios when she heard about how Lu Yin had been threatened by an Enlighter holding the Great Yu Empire hostage, and she had also heard a bit about the battles on Pyrolyte. From these matters, Lu Yin¡¯s ce in her heart had grown once again. This was because Lu Yin showed that he truly regarded the Great Yu Empire as his home, and it wasn¡¯t just his home, but also hers as well.

    Although Wendy Yushan might appear to be fine even after losing everyone in her Yushan family, that was only because her grief was hidden too deeply. Lu Yin was now the only family that she had left in the universe.

    This was also the reason why she had rushed over to Pyrolyte without even considering her own safety. She did not want to lose her family ever again. The universe was much too big, dark, and cold. She needed to preserve the bit of warmth that she still had in her heart.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan kept her eye on Zhanbing Daynight, who was in the distance. ¡°It was on the way.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. This is the Astral Wilderness. On the way? To where?

    He looked at her seriously. Just now, she¡¯d seemed anxious and worried. She had probablye for him. He couldn¡¯t help but feel touched at the thought. From the time he began cultivating until now, how many people had risked their lives for him? How many had even been worried about him? This was kinship.

    Wendy Yushan took a step forward. ¡°What should I do?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed coldly, and he looked at Zhanbing Daynight with merciless eyes. ¡°Kill him.¡±

    Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s actions made Lu Yin want to kill him. Since the other party had intended to kill him, then he wasn¡¯t going to hold back. So what if this person was from the Daynight n? Lu Yin was not someone who would let another person kill him just because he was scared of the Daynight n. Besides, Zhanbing Daynight had nearly seeded in his task.

    Wendy Yushan started to unsheathe her sword, and Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank. He immediately charged up towards outer space. One of them was ranked fifty fifth while the other was ranked eighteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. The gap between them was just too vast. Zhanbing Daynight was not at all confident in being able to block her attacks even with the limitation that she could not use her full strength due to the limitations of her current star essence skin.

    With a whoosh, her sword waspletely unsheathed, and a cold glint immediately illuminated the entire region. No matter how quick one was, or even if one hid in the void, there was no way to dodge this sword. This was Ten Thousand Swords In One. The style of Myriad Swords Peak was incredibly simple: there was just one attack.

    Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s body hung in the sky,pletely still. He seemed to be dazed, and his eyes eventually zed over. His weapons then disappeared one by one as his entire body smashed onto the ground. He waspletely dead.

    With just one attack, Wendy had killed Zhanbing Daynight. This was her strength. This was the strength of someone in the top twenty.

    Everybody was frozen in ce. Zhanbing Daynight was the first powerhouse in the Top 100 Rankings to have died here. The battles on Pyrolyte were so vicious that even somebody with such an impressive level of strength wasn¡¯t guaranteed to survive.

    Above the, Nightqueen Qiuyu was furious, but there was nothing that she could do about this. She no longer had anything that she could use to threaten Wendy Yushan as Frostwave Weave was now under the Sea King Dome¡¯s protection. Unless the Daynight n dered war on the Sea King, their n elders would not intervene. This matter could only be handled by those in the younger generation. However, given Wendy Yushan¡¯s strength, how many people in the Daynight n were qualified to be her opponents? And what¡¯s more, who could actually kill her?

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s arrival had instantly made her the strongest being on Pyrolyte for the moment. She was ranked in the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings, and that was a height that only a few Explorers could reach. Unless Cruisers were able to descend onto the, Wendy would stand firmly at the peak for quite some time.

    In that battle just now, there had been one thing that even the major powers were unable to understand. How had Lu Yin managed to block all of Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s attacks without suffering from any injuries? It was very strange.

    However, Wendy Yushan¡¯s appearance had been too much of a surprise, so no one even had a chance to mention the matter of Lu Yin¡¯s survival. Still, it wasn¡¯t like they hadpletely forgotten about the matter either.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and the rest immediately fled without even grabbing Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s corpse.

    Lu Yin saw what they were doing, but after thinking it over, he ultimately decided against giving chase. There was no point in offending that n any more than he already had, unless he was nning on actually joining the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Lu Yin went and retrieved Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s star essence skin before having Wendy Yushan change into it.

    She did not protest and returned the one that had belonged to Ze Lin afterwards. However, Lu Yin did not want it. ¡°Wear them both. Even two might not even be enough to protect youpletely. Having another one as a backup is also a good idea. Also, if you need to fight again, make sure you don¡¯t use too much of your strength.¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Actually¡­ I think that it might be better if you head back. It¡¯s too dangerous here,¡± he stated. He wasn¡¯t worried that Wendy wasn¡¯t strong enough. Rather, he was worried that she might explode.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Wendy Yushan answered nonchntly.

    Lu Yin did not press the issue and took her to the mountain range.

    Above the, Hai Dashao heaved a sigh of relief that he hadn¡¯t been toote. The news regarding Lu Yin had been leaked to Wendy Yushan by the Sea King. Otherwise, there was no way that she would have found out. Everything had been a part of Elder Tong¡¯s n.

    His n had taken all sorts of unexpected elements into ount. Actually, if Lu Yin did not have a star essence skin, then Elder Ren would have forcefully taken Wendy off of the. In his eyes, rules were made to be broken. They wouldn¡¯t sit there and watch her die, but the current situation was for the best.

    ¡°She possesses an interesting innate gift! She¡¯d be a good match for you,¡± Elder Ren said as he looked at Wendy in appreciation.

    Hai Dashao was also looking at her. She was definitely pretty andpletely his type.

    While he was looking at the, Elder Ren¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he became grim. ¡°Go and have some fun with Avery.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Is he attempting to go down to Pyrolyte?¡±

    Elder Ren nodded. ¡°Elder Tong anticipated everything. That girl¡¯s not somebody whom a regr person can deal with. The ze Realm, Ross Empire, and Dire Barbarian n have decided to work together to make a star essence skin for Avery so that he can go down to the and attack her.¡±

    Hai Dashao grinned. ¡°Got it,¡± he said before vanishing.

    On Pyrolyte, Lu Yin found that Hai Qiqi had disappeared. He checked with Ah Fan and the rest, but nobody knew where she had gone.

    It was no wonder why he hadn¡¯t seen her on the sidelines while he¡¯d been fighting. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t worried about her since there were elders from the Sea King¡¯s Dome above the. Besides, Hai Qiqi wasn¡¯t weak herself, and she probably had a number of means to protect herself. All Lu Yin knew for sure was that the Sea King had been absolutely confident that Lu Yin didn¡¯t need to protect Qiqi. Thus, she probably was at least as capable as Lu Yin in keeping herself safe.

    Northgate Lie and the others looked at Wendy Yushan in curiosity. She was in the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings, but she was very young¡ªeven younger than the Ten Arbiters. Once they grew old enough to no longer be considered a part of the younger generation, Wendy Yushan would be one of the top ten on the ranking. Such a thought was terrifying.

    When had the people from the Northline Flowzone ever had the chance to be so close to somebody so powerful?

    Lily Anne tried to butter up to Wendy with her elegant demeanor, but unfortunately, such behavior had no effect whatsoever on Wendy.

    Lu Yin chased everyone away and quietly asked, ¡°How¡¯s your practice for that going?¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at him. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Lu Yin could only reply, ¡°I can¡¯t learn it until I be an Explorer.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded, but it did not seem like she was going to say anything more.

    ¡°How are things going at East Saint Dios? Liu Shaoge hasn¡¯t been trying anything, has he?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Zhao Ran? Is she still losing her memories all the time?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    ¡°Has Puyu been harrassing you?¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Then what do you know?¡±

    Wendy Yushan still didn¡¯t answer him.

    ¡°Her underlings were almost all stolen away by Puyu! Why are you surprised by this?¡± the monkey yelled.

    Lu Yin screened the monkey off, but then he thought things over. What he actually wanted to know was who had taken Wendy to Myriad Sword Peaks, but he didn¡¯t know how to bring such a question up.

    ¡°I think that it¡¯s better if you make the decisions regarding the Great Yu Empire,¡± Wendy Yushan suddenly said.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to reply, there was a distortion in outer space, and a terrifying pressure descended. Something swept over them like a huge gale, nearly causing the atmosphere itself to be destroyed.

    Wendy Yushan looked serious. ¡°Someone¡¯s fighting in space.¡±

    Lu Yin could tell the same thing, and it seemed both parties were pretty strong at that. At the very least, they were both stronger than him.

    Quite some timeter, the pressure vanished.

    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Wendy Yushan frowned and continued to stare into outer space. A hint of lust for battle could be seen in her eyes.

 Chapter 520: OCD And The Formcast Model

    <h4>Chapter 520: OCD And The Formcast Model</h4>

    Currently, in outer space, Avery was ring intensely at Hai Dashao. Both of them looked incredibly pitiful.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you at a time like this. Screw off!¡± Avery was furious.

    Hai Dashao responded in a serious tone, ¡°I want to challenge you. I want to be one of the top five on the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    ¡°We can do thister.¡±

    ¡°No. It has to be now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable, Hai Dashao! You¡¯re only doing this because you want to hurt me and stop me from going down to that!¡± Avery bellowed.

    Hai Dashao very seriously answered, ¡°What kind of person do you think I am? What do you think the Top 100 Rankings are? I¡¯m going to defeat you today and enter the top five.¡±

    ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re despicable!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just excited. Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    ¡­

    The wrath of Lei Long of the Dire Barbarian n was not any less than Avery¡¯s. He had just persuaded the ze Realm and Ross Empire to help them support Avery in going down to the. However, Hai Dashao had stepped in, and they couldn¡¯t just simply ignore him since Elder Ren was nearby.

    Lei Long was rather annoyed by this.

    Huo Houye looked rather grim. ¡°Avery won¡¯t be able to make it to the. Hai Dashao won¡¯t let him off.¡±

    ¡°What should we do? Is there anyone else on hand who we can use?¡± Lei Long asked in a low voice, sounding rather frustrated.

    Huo Houye had wanted to offer up <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, who was ranked thirty-first on the Top 100 Rankings, but after remembering that Wendy Yushan was on the, he gave up. Besides, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose hadn¡¯t even arrived yet.

    ¡°Let <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince go,¡± Schr Newmoon suggested as he suddenly appeared.

    Lei Long and Huo Houye were both startled. ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince?¡±

    Schr Newmoon nodded and smiled. ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince is ranked hundredth on the Top 100 Rankings, but his true strength is quite fearsome.¡±

    ¡°How would you know that?¡± Lei Long asked. While they were both Enlighters, that was only a measure of one¡¯s power level. Power level had little to do with actualbat strength.

    Schr Newmoon replied, ¡°I know the technique that he cultivates, and if I¡¯m not wrong, he¡¯s no weaker than Wendy Yushan.¡±

    Lei Long and Huo Houye exchanged nces. Schr Newmoon was very knowledgeable, and perhaps it would be a good idea to bet on this n. They could also roughly determine <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s strength based on how much star essence was needed to make a star essence skin for him.

    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll give him our full support.¡± Huo Houye agreed.

    Schr Newmoon made a sound of acknowledgement. The Graceful Mercenaries had been hired by the Ross Empire, so if <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince made a move, then he would naturally be representing the Ross Empire. If the youth was able to take over the mountain range, then the Ross Empire would definitely be the lucky benefactor.

    Five days passed without Hai Qiqi returning. Although Lu Yin wasn¡¯t worried about her safety, she did seem to be going a bit overboard with her fun.

    On the seventh day, Hai Qiqi finally returned, but she started making a fuss the moment she arrived. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened? Was there an earthquake? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t actually want to bother with her, but upon recalling his curiosity about formcast models, he eagerly replied, ¡°There was a huge battle a few days ago. Here, let me introduce you. This is Wendy Yushan, the real power of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Hai Qiqi followed his gaze and looked at the other girl. At the same time, Wendy looked at Hai Qiqi.

    Over the past few days, Wendy had heard quite a few rumors concerning Hai Qiqi and was rather curious about her.

    Hai Qiqi looked Wendy up and down. ¡°I know you! Baobao¡¯s always wanted to surpass you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan just looked at Hai Qiqi, confused.

    Hai Qiqi blinked. ¡°What¡¯s with that look? Are you saying that you don¡¯t know who Baobao is?¡±

    Wendy Yushan turned away without making a sound.

    Hai Qiqi eximed in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Lan Baobao! Ranked twenty-fifth on the Top 100 Rankings! She¡¯s pretty close to your ranking. Do you seriously not know about her?¡±

    Wendy Yushan remained silent.

    Hai Qiqi went right to her. ¡°Hey, say something!¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked up at the sky.

    Hai Qiqi waited a while, staring at Wendy Yushan the whole time. However, the girl did not speak and did not even nce at Hai Qiqi again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at Wendy Yushan in admiration. As expected of an expert in the top twenty. She had her own way of dealing with Hai Qiqi! Being ignored in such an obvious manner would definitely drive anyone crazy.

    As expected, Hai Qiqi grew incredibly annoyed, and she kept talking to Wendy Yushan. However, Wendy never spoke a single word in response, and she simply closed her eyes to train.

    Hai Qiqi spoke for an entire thirty minutes until her mouth ran dry. However, Wendy Yushan never once replied to anything that Hai Qiqi said. She didn¡¯t even show a sign of annoyance.

    Hai Qiqi felt incredibly frustrated, and she looked over at Lu Yin in a pleading manner. Right now, she only had one goal, which was for Wendy Yushan to speak to her. Just one word would be enough! As long as Wendy started talking, Hai Qiqi would be able to say something sarcastic to her, and that was all the Sea King¡¯s daughter needed to feel better.

    Lu Yin had a thought. Does this girl have OCD?

    With this thought, he beckoned Hai Qiqi over.

    She ran towards him and excitedly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Make her say something to me! Just a sentence is enough!¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°Just a sentence, eh?¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded hastily.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Sure, but you¡¯ll need to answer a question for me.¡±

    ¡°Go on!¡± Hai Qiqi was in a rush.

    ¡°How do I know that you won¡¯t go back on your word?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi suddenly grew anxious. ¡°No, no! I¡¯m the princess of the Sea King¡¯s Dome! I wouldn¡¯t lie to someone like you.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. That sounded slightly derogatory, but he wasn¡¯t in the mood to focus on that part. He looked straight at her straight. ¡°What stage is your formcast model?¡±

    Hai Qiqi froze. ¡°Why are you asking about that?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°I¡¯ve got a five-stage model, but I want a seven-stage one.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes went as wide as saucers. ¡°Seven?! Are you crazy? Where are you going to get one?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he focused on the girl. ¡°There aren¡¯t any?¡±

    Hai Qiqi shook her head. ¡°Not that I¡¯ve heard of.¡±

    ¡°What stage is yours?¡± he asked.

    Hai Qiqi used her fingers to show ¡°Six.

    ¡°Mine is a six-stage one. My father got it for me.¡±

    ¡°Six? Why aren¡¯t there any seven-stage ones?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    However, Hai Qiqi was even more confused. ¡°Why would there be a seven-stage model? Do you have any idea how a formcast model is made? They¡¯re made by an ultra powerhouse using their own power to help someone else alter their body. My father is an Envoy, and even he can only make a six-stage formcast model. You want a seven-stage one? Dream on!¡±

    Lu Yin had assumed that a six-stage formcast was something that could only be made by someone powerful, but he had been thinking of someone at the level of Northgate Taisui, for instance. However, with this new information, that was clearly not how it worked. Only Envoys were able to create six-stage formcast models, so it was no wonder why he hadn¡¯t been able to find anyone with a six-stage formcast model even after searching on thework.

    An Envoy! Only ultrarge organizations could boast of having experts of that level, such as the Sword Sect, Daynight n, Wen family, and so on.

    If Lu Yin did not have the die, then the only way to get a six-stage formcast model would be to steal it from those people, but how many people with such a formcast model would be weak? Perhaps not even Liu Shaoqiu would have a six-stage formcast model, and the only person from the Sword Sect who had one might be the one who had be one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve told you everything, so hurry up and get her to talk to me!¡± Hai Qiqi pleaded anxiously.

    Lu Yin gave her a strange look. ¡°Do you have OCD or something?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes darted about. ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you so fixated on having her talk to you? Does it make you anxious if she doesn¡¯t reply?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi red at him. ¡°How dare you! You¡¯d better do what you promised!¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and walked over to Wendy Yushan, though he had a bit of a sly look. He whispered something to her, and she opened her eyes. She gave Lu Yin a nce and then looked over at Hai Qiqi. ¡°So your name is Hai Qiqi?¡±

    ¡°Duh. Is there anyone else in the universe who could have such a great name?¡± Hai Qiqi instantly retorted, and she rxed as soon as she started speaking. She then let out a long sigh, clearly feeling much better.

    Lu Yin gave her a look. Hai Qiqi must have some kind of obsessivepulsive disorder. It seemed that he had finally found a method to deal with her.

    Wendy Yushan had only said one thing, but she had already lost interest after that. She went back to staring at the sky. Nobody knew how long the battle on Pyrolyte wouldst for, but after it ended, what would happen to the Great Yu Empire? How far would the Sea King go to keep his promise? Wendy nced over at Lu Yin. I¡¯ll just leave it to him!

    Boom!

    With a thunderous sound, a spacecraft smashed to the ground, attracting everybody¡¯s attention.

    Northgate Lie and the rest did not feel nervous in any way. Wendy Yushan was helping them now, and there were way too few Explorer powerhouses in the entire universe who could actually pose a threat to her even when the members of the older generation were included.

    All those who were able to enter the Top 100 Rankings were monsters, and such a difference in power was not something that could easily bepensated with just time. Of course, there were also some incredible older Explorers, but there were very few of those.

    The hatch of the ship opened, and a person who Lu Yin was very familiar with walked out: Mira.

    The moment he saw her, Lu Yin suddenly recalled the scene of the huge spacecraft that hadnded on Earth during its trial. At that time, Mira had been like a monster that he¡¯d never be able to match. She had been like a goddess. The difference between them back then had felt like a barrier that he¡¯d never be able to break through. He hadn¡¯t even been able toprehend her strength.

    At that time, she¡¯d promised Lu Yin that, as long as he managed to make some achievements at the Astral Combat Academy, she¡¯d make a rmendation for him to enter the Universe Youth Council.

    Now, four yearster, everything had changed. The difference between them was no longer so unfathomable. With his current abilities, Lu Yin might not be able to beat her in a duel, but he also wouldn¡¯t lose that easily.

    Mira was ranked fifty-third on the Top 100 Rankings while Zhanbing Daynight stood at fifty-fifth. If Zhanbing Daynight hadn¡¯t been able to break through Lu Yin¡¯s defenses, then Mira wouldn¡¯t be able to either.

    In other words, Lu Yin now wielded a strength that was somewhat simr to Mira¡¯s.

    At the base of the mountain range, Mira looked up and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze with a troubled glint in her eyes. Who could have thought that this young man who had merely seemed to be slightly talented back then would now have climbed to the peak of the universe? He was even able to measure up to her, and how many years had it taken her to train and cultivate to reach her current level? What kind of resources had she been given? This young man was so talented that it was scary.

    The memory of what had happened on Earth as well as at the border warfront in the Erudite Flowzone shed through her mind. At that time, she¡¯d already known that this young man would catch up to her at some point, but she had had no idea it would be so soon. On top of that, he was still only a Limiteer at this moment.

    Arbiter Wen had wanted Lu Yin to defeat Mu Rong and make the unparalleled Limiteer a little less arrogant. However, Arbiter Wen had never expected that not only would Lu Yin defeat Mu Rong, but he would also climb to the point where he now stood on the same level as the Ten Arbiters when they had been Limiteers. Arbiter Wen had always been rather condescending towards Lu Yin and thought little of him, but now, this youth was already on his way to the top. The moment Lu Yin became an Explorer, he¡¯d definitely jump to the top of the Top 100 Rankings.

 Chapter 521: The Ten Arbitersâ€™ Names

    <h4>Chapter 521: The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Names</h4>

    Actually, Lu Yin considered Mira as his benefactor. If not for her, then the trial that had taken ce on Earth would not have been conducted fairly. Even after that, Mira had helped him multiple times. This was also the reason why the Wen family had sent Mira down to the¡¯s surface.

    However, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t able to make any decisions about this mountain range since he was nothing more than a puppet. The mountain range actually belonged to Sea King.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes gleamed when she saw Mira appear.

    Mira leaped into the sky, her feet looking like they were made of pale jade. She hovered ten centimeters above the dull red ground, and her waist-length, white hair released a pleasant smell. She looked at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°In the end, you still came.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and pointed at the sky. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to.¡±

    Mira¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Although both the Innerverse and Outerverse are wary of the Sea King''s Dome, that doesn¡¯t mean that they actually fear him. The interference of the Sea King is something that can destroy the bnce, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that he can defeat the Innerverse and the Outerverse. If you¡¯re willing, then I can represent the Wen family and offer both you and Frostwave Weave our protection.¡±

    ¡°Hey, white haired ghost, what are you saying?¡± Hai Qiqi was irritated at Mira¡¯s words. Although Hai Qiqi hadn¡¯t been involved in deceiving Lu Yin into getting pyrolyte ore, she still wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to insult the Sea King''s Dome and ruin their ns.

    Mira nced at Hai Qiqi and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re the Sea King¡¯s daughter. Tell me, are you going to marry him?¡±

    Hai Qiqi blushed. ¡°Who- who¡¯s going to marry him? Definitely not me!¡±

    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t marry him, then he won¡¯t officially be the Sea King¡¯s son inw, and if that happens, then how long will the Sea King''s Dome be able to protect Frostwave Weave for? I don¡¯t mean to be disrespectful to the Sea King, but from what I¡¯ve heard, the Sea King is getting quite old,¡± Mira calmly replied.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯a expression turned furious as she red at Mira. ¡°You have no right to talk about my father!¡±

    Mira bowed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to be disrespectful to him. I¡¯m just stating the facts, so please forgive me if I¡¯ve said anything wrong.¡±

    Hai Qiqi snorted and left.

    Lu Yin frowned. This was something that he hadn¡¯t known about before. Was the Sea King actually very old? Was Mira suggesting that the powerhouse was nearing the end of his life? Hai Qiqi¡¯s reaction proved that Mira had spoken the truth. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes started shing.

    Mira looked at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°This is the second time that Arbiter Wen has tried to recruit you, and he is even more sincere this time than ever. With the Wen family¡¯s power, they are more than capable of protecting Frostwave Weave. Also, the Sea King''s Dome isn¡¯t allowed to interfere in the Innerverse and the Outerverse¡¯s affairs, so you wouldn¡¯t have to worry about theming after you. As for the Sword Sect and Daynight n, the Wen family can handle them just fine.¡±

    Wendy Yushan turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grinned at Mira. ¡°Miss Mira, I¡¯ve always been very thankful for your help, but unfortunately, I¡¯ll have to let you down this time.¡±

    Mira sighed. ¡°It seems that I¡¯m not a very good recruiter.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that the situation is very clear to me. Even the best recruiter would be useless in this case,¡± Lu Yin rified.

    Mira looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°Can you tell me the reason?¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°There has never been an invincible force in history. The Wen family is very powerful, but they have their own enemies, and Frostwave Weave cannot afford to offend the Wen family¡¯s enemies.¡±

    Mira nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    Suddenly, she beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up. Well, in that case, we¡¯ll be enemies the next time we meet.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t use my full power against you.¡±

    Mira smirked. ¡°You¡¯re very confident, but your enemy might not be me. You might end up facing Arbiter Wen instead.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned icy, but he didn¡¯t answer.

    Mira waved at him and left.

    ¡°What did she mean? Will Arbiter Wen be your enemy?¡± Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin was also thinking Mira¡¯s words over. His current status shouldn¡¯t be enough for Arbiter Wen to personally be enemies with him. Thus, there were only two possibilities. The first was that Arbiter Wen was either the person behind the trial where seventy two people with the ¡°Lu¡± surname had been executed or close to the Arbiter who had delivered that order. The other possibility was that the Wen family was preparing to be enemies with the Sea King''s Dome.

    Both possibilities seemed usible, and Lu Yin silently watched on as Mira traveled towards Pyrolyte Lake. He wasn¡¯t sure which possibility he preferred to be the truth.

    Lu Yin had always treated the Ten Arbiters as his eventual enemies. However, the closer he grew to their level, the more clearly he was able to feel their strength. At this moment, Lu Yin had only ever seen Wen Sansi fight, but that Arbiter had managed to defeat Yao Gu of the Astral Beast Domain with just one move. Besides, the Arbiter Schr had also heavily injured Ming Zhaotian and nearly destroyed the Five Sealings of Shenwu Continent. His power had stunned Lu Yin, and this man was definitely far more powerful than themon Hunter.

    Lu Yin felt confident that he would eventually discover which of the Ten Arbiters had convicted those people carrying the ¡°Lu¡± surname. The question was, when that time came, would Lu Yin be able to defeat the person who was responsible? And what about the forces standing behind that Arbiter?

    Lu Yin suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. As his reputation continued to increase, more people would investigate his past, and that trial wouldn¡¯t remain hidden for much longer. As soon as that information became more well known, he would no longer have the element of surprise, and the Arbiter responsible for that matter might even attack him preemptively.

    ¡°What are you thinking of? Why did you suddenly turn pale?¡± Wendy Yushan asked in concern.

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°I was thinking about when I¡¯ll be able to catch up to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression changed, and she looked up at the sky. ¡°I challenged one of the Arbiters before.¡±

    ¡°The one who you follow?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nodded, her gaze nostalgic. ¡°The first time I challenged that person was when I became number eighteen on the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Lu Yin continued staring at her.

    Wendy Yushan lowered her head and said something that stunned Lu Yin. ¡°I lost before I could even pull out my sword.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t even have a chance to draw your sword?¡± Lu Yin could barely believe her words. Even if he fought against the least impressive Limiteer, as long as the person had some amount of ability, then they would at least be able to draw their weapon.

    Wendy Yushan smiled bitterly. ¡°That person gave me a chance to draw my sword, but I wasn¡¯t able to. Under that person¡¯s power, everything was suppressed.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Arbiter Ling Gong, White Knight.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Ling Gong? Is that someone from the Lingling n?¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°The most talented and powerful person in the entire history of the Lingling n.¡±

    This meant that Lu Yin now knew the names of four of the Ten Arbiters: Schr Wen Sansi, Nightking Zhenwu, Divine Fist Lan Si, and White Knight Ling Gong. As for the other six, Lu Yin knew that one one of them was from the Sword Sect, one from the Phoenix n, and one called the War King. As for the other three, Lu Yin knew nothing at all.

    ¡°You should know about all ten of the arbiters, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Yes I do, but I can¡¯t tell you anything. There is an agreement with the Ten Arbiters. If someone wants to learn their names, then that person can only rely on their own power. The names cannot be revealed by anyone else. When you are able to find out the names of all Ten Arbiters on your own, then that might be the time when you gain the right to speak with the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. The Ten Arbiters used this method to maintain both their authority and the air of mystery about them. It also served as a source of motivation for the younger generation.

    ¡°Of course, if you want to know, I can still tell you as well.¡± Wendy Yushan nced at Lu Yin with bright eyes.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Wendy Yushan turned around and didn¡¯t speak again.

    ¡°Though, what¡¯s the White Knight like?¡± Lu Yin asked after a moment. White Knight was such a dramatic title, and it caused him to feel annoyed.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin with a curious expression.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°I mean, what¡¯s his personality like? Do you get along with him?¡±

    Wendy Yushan was still confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. He just couldn¡¯t make himself straightforwardly ask Wendy Yushan if Ling Gong was interested in her. He thought about the matter for some time and then nced at Wendy Yushan again. He realized that she probably didn¡¯t know that much about rtionships since she had always been extremely focused on cultivation. Lu Yin thus resignedly said, ¡°Forget about it.¡±

    And with that, he left.

    Wendy Yushan watched on as he left. She hesitated a bit, and a smile slowly crept across her face.

    Half a month passed quickly by, and only a few Explorers descended onto the during this period. Those who did so came secretly in order to avoid being discovered by Lu Yin. The major forces were quite wary of Lu Yin stealing their Explorers¡¯ star essence skins.

    During this time, many locations had beenpletely mined out of pyrolyte ore, and thus, the battles started back up again. Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, and Pyrolyte in were almost depleted as well, so the major powers started preparing for an uing battle.

    Nobody dared to challenge the mountain range that Lu Yin guarded over.

    In the Starfall Sea, the Sea King''s Dome was as bustling as ever, and there were many spacecraft arriving at the harbor.

    On one particr day, an old man emerged from a merchant ship and headed into the Sea King''s Dome. The old man had a rosy face, his snow white beard reached all the way to his knees, and he was wearing a pure white robe. He held a wooden staff in one hand that he used to support his bent body as stepped into the Sea King''s Dome.

    ¡°It¡¯s been years. Is this the ce? I can¡¯t remember clearly.¡± The old man looked at the Sea King''s Dome in awe.

    A young man impatiently pushed the old man from behind, almost causing the old man to fall. ¡°Old man, walk faster! Don¡¯t block the path.¡±

    The old man held his staff and looked at the young man with a faint smile on his face. ¡°Even when cultivating, one should always respect their elders. As punishment for your rudeness, you will not be able to use star energy for ten years.¡±

    When the old man finished speaking, the young man suddenly froze. His face paled, and he looked at his own hands in terror.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the star energy? Where¡¯s my star energy? Why is it gone!¡± he screamed crazily. The star energy within the young man¡¯s body had simply disappeared, and he couldn¡¯t sense any star energy around him either. What was going on? What had just happened? The young man grabbed a pedestrian and screamed frantically, but he was casually tossed into the sea by the passerby.

    If a person didn¡¯t have star energy, then it meant that they couldn¡¯t cultivate any more. In the Sea King¡¯s Dome, even a random person on the street could defeat such a person.

    The old man didn¡¯t even look at the young man as he continued to slowly walk towards the transportation equipment that moved people about the Sea King''s Dome.

    At the top level of Sea King''s Dome, the Sea King opened his eyes. ¡°Earlier than I expected.¡± He then disappeared.

    The old man walked into the transportation equipment, which normally sent people up the mountainside of Sea King''s Dome. However, the old man next appeared at the top level, in front of the Sea King.

    The old man wasn¡¯t surprised, and his eyes suddenly turned clear. He looked at the Sea King and said, ¡°You¡¯ve finally brought me up here.¡±

 Chapter 522: The Pirate King And The Sea King

    <h4>Chapter 522: The Pirate King And The Sea King</h4>

    The Sea King calmly looked at the old man. ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you, so is it the Chief Justice or someone else who wished for you toe to my Starfall Sea?¡±

    The elder smiled. ¡°If I tell you that it¡¯s the Chief Justice¡¯s will, then you¡¯ll probably chase me out straight away.¡±

    The Sea King sneered. ¡°He doesn¡¯t daree himself, so he sent you to get scolded.¡±

    The elder sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t have the authority to ask about that grudge between the two of you. You should already know what my objective is this time. Just tell me the truth so that I can return and give a good exnation.¡±

    The Sea King narrowed his eyes and stared seriously at the elder. ¡°I can tell you, but only three people can know. In particr, the other two with the same status as you definitely must not know.¡±

    The elder nodded. ¡°I promise.¡±

    The Sea King stared at the old man for a while before retracting his gaze. A worried look appeared in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m older than you guys, and this universe cannot hold me any longer.¡±

    The elder¡¯s body trembled, and he stared at the Sea King in disbelief. ¡°You mean..?¡±

    The Sea King raised a hand. ¡°My strength is deteriorating.¡±

    The elder¡¯s face grew solemn.

    The Sea King lowered his hand and stared off into the distance. ¡°So long as I¡¯m still alive, no one will dare to provoke the Sea King¡¯s Dome or casually enter the Starfall Sea. However, once I¡¯m dead, who will protect this ce?¡±

    ¡°So you intend to use pyrolyte to protect the Sea King¡¯s Dome?¡±

    The Sea King was helpless. ¡°Pyrolyte can only be used to intimidate others. Powerhouses such as yourself cannot be bothered about it at all, or else your Hall of Honor would not ignore this contest for pyrolyte. But pyrolyte can at least prevent the youngsters from being harassed, and that¡¯s enough for me. Sometimes, they can be more difficult to deal with.¡±

    The elder fell into a contemtive silence, and the Sea King didn¡¯t speak either.

    After a while, the elder had fully grasped the difficult situation. ¡°I trust you, so I can promise to do my utmost to protect the Sea King¡¯s Dome in the future. I only hope that you¡¯re not lying to me.¡±

    The Sea King replied quietly, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The elder left the Sea King¡¯s Dome and exited from the Starfall Sea in the blink of an eye. It almost seemed like he had simply gone for a ride on a merchant ship to enjoy the Starfall Sea¡¯s scenery.

    After the elder left, a figure appeared beside the Sea King. It was the Sea King¡¯s eldest son, Hai Feng. ¡°Father, who was that?¡±

    ¡°Mu En, from the Hall of Honor. He¡¯s a <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Judicial Commissioner of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Interster Supreme Court: the Virtue of Righteousness.¡±

    Hai Feng was stunned. ¡°A <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Judicial Commissioner actually made a personal appearance. It looks like things are worse than we had imagined.¡±

    The Sea King arrogantly replied, ¡°No, his appearance was already expected. For them to negotiate with me requires them to at least send someone of his level. Fortunately, it was him. If it was the Chief Justice, then things would have be troublesome since I have a bit of a grudge with that old fellow. We wouldn¡¯t even need to talk if he had appeared.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Mu En trusted your words. Does that mean that the Hall of Honor won¡¯t obstruct us anymore?¡± Hai Feng asked.

    The Sea King sneered. ¡°Neither the Chief Justice nor the three great <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Judicial Commissioners of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">the Interster Supreme Court are fools in any way, so they will be doubly prepared.¡±

    ¡°Yet you¡¯ll still insist on following that matter through?¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s expression became solemn. ¡°From now on, you don¡¯t need to know any more concerning this matter. The less you know, the better it will be for you.¡±

    Hai Feng still looked like he wanted to say something.

    The Sea King looked up. ¡°The facade of this universe has to be torn apart, or else the day to step out will nevere. Regardless of if it¡¯s right or wrong, I¡¯ll bear the responsibility myself. Whether I¡¯ll be spurned or worshiped 10,000 yearster, that will depend on fate.¡±

    In the emptiness of space, Mu En lowered his gadget and looked back at the Starfall Sea. The Sea King deserved respect, and since he wanted to obtain some pyrolyte, they old folks could not intervene, regardless of whether or not the Sea King had been honest in divulging his motivations. Therefore, given reasonable limits, there were no issues with the contest. It was also still unknown whether or not the younger generation of the Innerverse and Outerverse would be able to withstand those kids from the Neoverse.

    The Sea King had not guessed incorrectly, as the Hall of Honor had indeed made ample preparations. They had already selected a batch of experts from the Neoverse to head to Pyrolyte and participate in the contest for pyrolyte. Their purpose was to prevent the Sea King from snatching all of the pyrolyte and also to create obstacles within justifiable limits.

    However, neither the Hall of Honor nor the Sea King had expected that the experts from the Neoverse were still in the Cosmic Sea, as they had gotten lost while traveling to the Innerverse.

    Traveling from the Neoverse to the Innerverse required one to pass through the Cosmic Sea. The safe routes in that sea were mostly controlled by the Four Pirate Kings. For this voyage, the Hall of Honor¡¯s experts had nned on using the route controlled by Leon¡¯s Armada to reach the Innerverse.

    The trip had been agreed upon beforehand, and it would normally take them no more than half a month to reach the Innerverse. This group of powerhouses had already been traveling for a month, as they had headed out shortly after Lu Yin revealed himself on Pyrolyte and took control of the mountain range. But even after traveling for one whole month, they were still stuck in the Cosmic Sea.

    In the sea, a warship floated in space while thunder rumbled and sea waves swept by.

    On the warship, a dozen Neoverse experts dejectedly stared at the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Leon''s Armada still hasn¡¯t found the route.¡±

    ¡°This has to be intentional! They¡¯re deliberately dying our arrival in the Innerverse since that bunch of Innerverse trash is afraid of us.¡±

    ¡°Probably not. We sought out Leon''s Armada because Highsage Leon is a Pirate King, and he has no rtions with the Innerverse powers. He wouldn¡¯t possibly willingly help them.¡±

    ¡°Then how can you exin this matter? Leon''s Armada has roamed the Cosmic Sea for so many years that there¡¯s no way they would get lost! Even an idiot would know that something¡¯s up.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m an idiot?¡± Lightning shot out and illuminated the warship, lighting up the face of a sinister-looking man.

    ¡°Who are you going to me when you jump ahead of yourself?¡± Across from the man, someone lowered his head and taunted him.

    ¡°Alright, everyone, shut up!¡± As a sharp voice rang out, lightning struck the warship and started a huge fire. It illuminated the speaker, who was an stunningly beautiful woman, though her face held an indescribable coldness and aloofness. ¡°No matter what, this matter will be handled by our superiors, and they will naturally handle Leon''s Armada.¡±

    The massive fire was quickly extinguished as the warship descended back into darkness.

    At the other end of the ship¡¯s bow, two figures stood across from one another. ¡°Our Hall of Honor trusts Leon''s Armada, and we have paid the price for you to guide us across the Cosmic Sea. However, you people have deliberately gotten us lost. The Hall of Honor will not pretend that this matter did not happen, and the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Interster Supreme Court will not remain indifferent!¡±

    The other figure sighed. ¡°How many times do we have to tell you this? We¡¯re really lost. The Cosmic Sea is extremely vast, and it even changes every year. It¡¯s just that the most recent changes were a little ridiculous. Even we haven¡¯t found a better route. You should trust the integrity of Leon''s Armada.¡±

    ¡°You want me to trust the integrity of pirates?¡±

    ¡°It looks like you want to challenge Leon''s Armada. Who gives you the balls to do so? The <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Interster Supreme Court? Or the Hall of Honor itself? Our Cosmic Sea is not some yground for your Hall of Honor. You¡¯d best pay attention to your words.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you guys just wait. This matter is not over yet!¡±

    Soon, there was only one person left on the ship¡¯s bow, and they spoke in a taunting voice, ¡°How can I let you guys go and cause trouble for Little Yin?¡±

    Many dayster, at the Sea King¡¯s Dome in the Starfall Sea, the sky suddenly went dark. Everyone looked up as they felt an oppressive pressure surround them.

    The Sea King looked up and stared into the distance with a strange expression on his face. ¡°Why¡¯s he here?¡±

    Above the sea, thousands of miles away from the Sea King''s Dome, a three meter tall figure towered above the sky while wielding a giant de in one hand as he faced the flow of the sea.

    As the sea waves snarled past him, the man raised his long de and shed out with an attack that extended endlessly into the distance, dividing the sea¡¯s current in two. This current was something that even those old freaks whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands would be nervous to face. The de sh was so terrifying that the nearbys started quivering, and even powerhouses with power levels over 300,000 started trembling.

    ¡°Highsage Leon, did youe to the Starfall Sea to demonstrate your power?¡± The Sea King''s Trident stabbed out from the void.

    The figure looked over and grinned. He was Highsage Leon. ¡°Long time no see, old man.¡±

    His de swept out and collided against the Sea King¡¯s Trident, the impact causing the entire Starfall Sea to shudder while everyone heard a muffled thud.

    The Sea King''s Trident was forcefully knocked back, and itnded in the Sea King¡¯s hands. He sped it and faced Highsage Leon. ¡°What are you doing in the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Highsage Leon held his tyrannical de aloft and pointed it at the Sea King. ¡°Let me ask you a question. What are you nning to use the pyrolyte for?¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s brows rose. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. When did you be the Hall of Honor¡¯sckey?¡±

    Highsage Leon spat in contempt. ¡°The Hall of Honor¡¯s got nothing to do with me. I¡¯m just curious, so I came over to ask.¡±

    The Sea King grew angry. ¡°Are you insane? Something like pyrolyte is of no threat to us! You specially came to the Starfall Sea just to ask me this?¡±

    Highsage Leon bristled. ¡°That¡¯s right, so hurry up and answer me. What are you going to use the pyrolyte for?¡±

    The Sea King was furious. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡±

    Highsage Leon snorted. ¡°We haven¡¯t fought in a long time, so I¡¯ve gotten itchy. Let¡¯s have a go!¡±

    The Sea King stabbed out with his trident. ¡°Bring it.¡±

    For two full days, the Starfall Sea trembled, astonishing countless people. Even the Grayweed Continent, which was second only to the Sea King''s Dome, was so frightened that no one dared to go out to watch the battle. The entire Starfall Sea had be the battlefield for Highsage Leon and the Sea King.

    Finally, after two days, the Starfall Sea regained its typical calmness. Highsage Leon then left. No one knew what the oue of the battle was, because no one had been able to approach the battlefield.

    The events in the Starfall Sea did not spread to Pyrolyte since the Astral Wilderness had nowork connection.

    However, even if this news did spread, Lu Yin and the others had no time to spare their thoughts on such things. The Daynight n had sent a truly important person down to the, and they had gone straight for the mountain range.

    At almost the exact same time, the alliance of the Ross Empire, ze Realm, and Dire Barbarian n had also sent down their own expert, who also headed straight for the mountain range.

    Two red streaks were seen closing in from the distance.

    Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan stood up on top of the mountain range while Hai Qiqi and the others were protected by Northgate Lie. They all gazed solemnly towards the sky as they saw two subsequent explosions.

    The various great powers above the were all focused on the uing conflict.

    The hatch of the Daynight n¡¯s spacecraft opened, and the first thing that came out with a bone-white palm before a skeletally-thin person walked out soon after. In between the ck-and-white hair, there was an eye-catching strand of grey hair. This person was from the Nightking n.

    Countless took a gasp of cold air when they saw this person. He was Nightking Gu, ranked fifteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. The Daynight n had sent an absolute expert this time.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze trembled when she saw that it was Nightking Gu. She unsheathed her long sword, and its cold radiance illuminated the void.

    Lu Yin suddenly grabbed her arm, and under her questioning gaze, he solemnly said, ¡°Unless it¡¯s a matter of life or death, don¡¯t use that. If we can¡¯t defend this mountain range, then so be it.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze flickered, but she nodded and stepped forward.

    Nightking Gu¡¯s appearance caused everyone to forget about the other spacecraft, and even if they remembered it, they probably wouldn¡¯t care about the person inside. It took a great deal of time and effort to manufacture each star essence skin, and at this moment, the best that the various forces could do was make a skin that could protect someone with Nightking Gu¡¯s strength. It would take them much longer to create a skin that could allow the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings to descend to Pyrolyte.

    In other words, the strongest person on Pyrolyte was definitely Nightking Gu at this moment.

 Chapter 523: Defend And Attack

    <h4>Chapter 523: Defend And Attack</h4>

    Nightking Gu did not pay any attention to the other spacecraft after haphazardly ncing at it. That one nce was enough for him to determine the upant¡¯s strength, and it was someone weaker.

    In that spacecraft was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince, who was sleeping at that moment.

    Wendy Yushan moved in front of Nightking Gu.

    One was ranked eighteenth while the other was ranked fifteenth. It would seem like the difference was not that great, but Lu Yin¡¯s eyes could see the disparity as Nightking Gu¡¯s amount of rune lines clearly surpassed Wendy Yushan¡¯s.

    There was no nonsense exchanged, and Nightking Gu promptly raised his skull-like visage. His sunken eyes sparkled coldly, but then he suddenly vanished, only to reappear right before Wendy Yushan. He punched out, while at the same time, a grey-whiteyer of air covered him. This was something that Lu Yin had seen before; this was the Nightking¡¯s Body.

    Wendy Yushan sliced out with her sword, and the tip managed to prate his bone to some degree. The might of Ten-Thousand Swords in One was enough to slice the Nightking''s Body apart, but the de drew no blood. On the contrary, Wendy Yushan was sent crashing into the mountain range by Nightking Gu¡¯s punch, stopping at some unknown depth underground.

    Countless people were stunned, as Wendy Yushan had sliced Zhanbing Daynight apart, showcasing the formidable power of her sword. However, even such a de was ineffective against Nightking Gu. Her attack could not be deemedpletely ineffective as she had broken through Nightking Gu¡¯s defense, but it had not been enough to seriously harm him.

    Lu Yin appeared in front Nightking Gu by using sh Step and then swatted a palm at the Explorer. Nightking Gu noticed Lu Yin, but he did not bother dodging. Instead, he allowed Lu Yin to strike him. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Seventyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Boom!

    The ground split open as the two young men sank underground together. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he had discovered that the power of his palm attack was not enough to break through the Nightking''s Body. In fact, it had beenpletely ineffective.

    Nightking Gu turned and stared at Lu Yin with gloomy eyes. He then lunged out with his left hand without any warning. Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to allow himself to be grabbed, and he hurriedly retreated. However, Nightking Gu¡¯s speed was not slow either, as no physically oriented cultivation technique would be slow. Nightking Gu hounded Lu Yin along his path of retreat. All the while, his fist vibrated in a way that damaged space, striking Lu Yin through the vibrations.

    Lu Yin only felt his chest be struck, and just as he was about to use his Fatesand, sword qi swept up from beneath his feet, aimed straight at Nightking Gu. The Nightking¡¯s fist conveniently smashed downwards and collided against the sword qi instead, causing a shockwave to sweep out in all directions, shaking the void as well. Lightning-like spatial cracks extended in all directions, and arge crater appeared where Nightking Gu had struck the ground.

    Wendy Yushan leaped up and stood in front of Lu Yin as she solemnly looked at Nightking Gu.

    Nightking Gu stood back up. His skull-like face was enough to send chills running down one¡¯s spine.

    ¡°Don¡¯t intervene. You can¡¯t handle his attacks,¡± Wendy Yushan said softly.

    Lu Yin looked at her seriously. ¡°You definitely cannot use that. At worst, we¡¯ll give him the mountain range. The Sea King''s Dome can¡¯t me us for not being able to defend this mountain range since we¡¯ve already worked together.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded, and her sword spun around before slicing towards Nightking Gu.

    Nightking Gu¡¯s body itself distorted the void. He obviously had no muscles, but he gave off a feeling of unparalleled strength that was enough to even make Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword tip grow sluggish.

    Nightking Gu did not even dodge Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword. He allowed it to stab into his body again before he mmed out with another palm. Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression changed as palm struck her abdomen, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood as she was flung into the distance.

    Nightking Gu ferociously charged after her with another fist, ready to strike again. Wendy Yushan red at him coldly as she forcefully contorted her body to evade Nightking Gu¡¯s attack. She struck out and stabbed her sword into Nightking Gu¡¯s body again, and this time, fresh blood flowed down the de, proving that she had injured him this time.

    However, he paid no attention to the wound and grabbed the edge of the de with his hand, causing the sword to slice into his palm while his other hand moved forward to strike at Wendy¡¯s forehead. If his attack connected, then Wendy Yushan would definitely die.

    Lu Yin appeared at this crucial moment and kicked out with a foot wrapped in six-lined battle force. The enormous strength of this kick distracted Nightking Gu, and he was forced to redirect his hand away from Wendy¡¯s head to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Lu Yin¡¯s thigh twisted, and there was a crack as his bone snapped and his battle force copsed. However, the force of his kick had also forced Nightking Gu to take two steps back, allowing Wendy Yushan to escape from her crisis.

    Lu Yin crashed deep into the ground with a bang, his right leg bent at a strange angle that sent intense pain jolting through his body. He gritted his teeth and endured the agony as he watched Wendy Yushan break free from her crisis. Only then was he able to rx. Still, the pain from his ruined leg washed over him in waves.

    Ever since stepping on the path of cultivation, Lu Yin had rarely lost out when it came to physical strength. His encounter with Nightking Gu at this time had been a struggle of physical strength, but he hadn¡¯t even been able to really retaliate. This was a super expert, someone ranked fifteenth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Fortunately, it was just a bent right leg, and he could quickly heal from this sort of injury. Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring, as it seemed that it was time for him to rely on external help once again.

    Wendy Yushan appeared beside Lu Yin and bent down to press her hand against Lu Yin¡¯s leg.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It¡¯s not that serious.¡±

    Wendy Yushan did not answer him, and he saw that fresh blood was dripping from her lips and that her face was serious. In the next moment, her palm started to give off a faint, hazy halo, and Lu Yin¡¯s right leg immediately stopped hurting and returned to normal.

    This was an innate gift of healing.

    When he had been in East San Dios, Lu Yin had guessed that Wendy Yushan most likely had some innate gift, as she was firmly ced within the top twenty, but he had never imagined that she would have an innate gift of healing. This sort of innate gift appeared in less than one person in 10,000, and that was when considering cultivators with innate gifts.

    The functionality of healing did not need to be borated on. When Wendy Yushan disyed her innate gift of healing, the various major forces above the turned green with envy.

    In a battle, if a cultivator with the innate gift of healing was present, then the number of casualties would drastically decrease for that side, and their odds of victory would soar. Moreover, this particr cultivator with an innate gift of healing was also not weak in any way.

    ¡°You can actually heal!¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Wendy Yushan stood up. ¡°Alright, try to move it.¡±

    Lu Yin got up, shook his right leg slightly, and then looked at her in deep appreciation. ¡°I found it strange to see that there was such a disparity between you and him, but if your innate gift of healing is added into the mix, then the disparity is substantially reduced. We can smother him to death.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s face turned solemn as she turned towards Nightking Gu. ¡°We can¡¯t smother him to death. He¡¯s too powerful, and all of the injuries that I gave him only happened because he didn¡¯t need to dodge them. If he starts fighting seriously, then I might not be able to even hit him.¡±

    ¡°What about working with me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan clenched the hilt of her sword. ¡°Don¡¯t intervene. He¡¯s not an opponent you can handle.¡±

    In front of them, Nightking Gu¡¯s cold eyes stared at Lu Yin, and he clenched his hand; the blood had already congealed. His brows rose up. This woman was rather troublesome, so he would need to end this battle quickly.

    After thinking about it, Nightking Gu immediately dashed towards Wendy Yushan as a spiral-like air flow appeared around his body. Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression immediately changed, and she sliced out with her long sword. The tip of the sword was stopped by the airflow, and when it made contact with Nightking Gu, it was no longer able to break through his Nightking''s Body. Nightking Gu was clearly afraid of Wendy Yushan¡¯s innate gift, so he had started taking the battle seriously.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s strike was fruitless. She followed up by instinctively blocking her front, and Nightking Gu¡¯s fistnded on the tip of her sword and bent the de. The force continued traveling through the sword and shook Wendy to her core, causing her to be severely injured again as she flew into the distance like a meteor.

    Nightking Gu continued charging at her, next appearing above her head. He sped both of his hands together and smashed down ruthlessly, unwilling to give Wendy Yushan any time to recover.

    However, Wendy Yushan¡¯s position in the top twenty also meant that she was no pushover. Although it seemed like Nightking Gu¡¯s previous strike had been critical, Wendy Yushan had managed to withstand it, and she dodged to the side now. Nightking Gu¡¯s strike missed, and this time, he was the one sted into the ground as the void distorted again.

    The two started moving faster and faster, and sword qi constantly shed against the wind from a fist. The void in the surrounding regionpletely copsed from the battle, shocking countless onlookers.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and filled them with star energy. Although others may not be able to see the battle, he could clearly see it. At the start, Wendy Yushan had been attacking more frequently, but now, she had switched to a defensive posture, and he could tell that she could almost not bear it any longer. Nightking Gu¡¯s relentless attacks didn¡¯t give her any chances to treat herself.

    As he watched Wendy Yushan¡¯s injuries grow more serious, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, and the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye appeared in his left hand as he unleashed his domain. He stared closely at the two and then used sh Step to charge in between them. He merged his three grains of Fatesand into one and used the clod of dirt to block the attack before it struck his body. The dirt happened to be right in the path of Nightking Gu¡¯s attack that was aimed at Wendy Yushan.

    Bang!

    There was a loud sound as a giant spatial crack swept sideways and tore through the void. Nightking Gu¡¯s strike hadnded on thebined Fatesand, and the Fatesand hadpletely blocked it. The next instant, Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword stabbed into Nightking Gu¡¯s body, and she gave him another piercing injury as fresh blood dripped off the tip of the sword. The scarlet color was rather eye-catching.

    Everyone stared at the scene in disbelief, as Lu Yin had actually managed to defend against Nightking Gu¡¯s punch. Not only was Nightking Gu himself astonished, but Wendy Yushan was also staring at Lu Yin in shock, and then she looked at the soil.

    What¡­ was that?

    Previously, when the Fatesand around Lu Yin¡¯s heart had awakened, it had been strong enough to help Lu Yin withstand Feng Mo¡¯s attack. Although it was just a casual strike, Feng Mo was still a genuine Hunter. With the defensive ability of just one grain of Fatesand, Lu Yin estimated that the dirt clod could withstand a blow from powerhouses ranked around fiftieth on the Top 100 Rankings. Threebined into one made it possible for him to withstand Nightking Gu¡¯s punch.

    With a loud explosion, the three separated. Nightking Gu took a dozen steps back as he held his abdomen, shock appearing in his eyes for the first time in this battle. He stared at the dirt clods in front of Lu Yin. What is that thing? It had actually managed to defend against his punch.

    Few were able to recognize Fatesand, and not even Nightking Gu or Wendy Yushan knew what it was, and they were two elites of the younger generation. Only the Enlighters in space, and even then, only the extraordinary ones, could recognize the dirt.

    Elder Ren was the first, and he was stunned. How could this kid have Fatesand? That was a valuable treasure of the universe, and it was difficult for even the Sea King''s Dome to get a hold of it.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was simrly surprised. ¡°It¡¯s Fatesand! The Sea King actually gave him such a valuable thing. It looks like he¡¯s determined to make this child his son-inw.¡± Evidently, Nightqueen Qiuyu had misunderstood the situation, though she was not the only one. The other Enlighters who were able to recognize the Fatesand all simrly guessed that the Sea King had given it to Lu Yin, as it was impossible for Lu Yin to have gotten it otherwise.

    Not all of the Enlighters were able to recognize it, as Fatesand was just too rare, and even some of the major powers in the Innerverse did not have ess to it.

    On the surface of Pyrolyte, Wendy Yushan was puzzled as she looked at the soil clod in front of them that had just blocked the attack. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Fatesand. It¡¯s an ultimate treasure that can block the attacks of the guy in front of us. We¡¯ll work together: I¡¯ll defend while you attack. We¡¯ll be able to dy him and then kill him.¡± Lu Yin gritted through clenched teeth.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes shed, and she nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Then, under countless eyes, Lu Yin grabbed Wendy Yushan¡¯s waist and charged towards Nightking Gu. Wendy Yushan did not pull away. Although it felt unnatural, she allowed Lu Yin to embrace her as she shed out at Nightking Gu.

 Chapter 524: Lu Yinâ€™s Hidden Trump Cards

    <h4>Chapter 524: Lu Yin¡¯s Hidden Trump Cards</h4>

    Nightking Gu promptly avoided Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword before tearing through the void to once again appear behind the pair and unleash a punch. However, he was obstructed by the soil clod yet again as Wendy Yushan stabbed at him with her sword. It was a familiar routine, but Nightking Gu was not struck since he managed to dodge aside quickly enough. However, he was now helpless against the pair. Once theybined their strength, he could no longer defeat them.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was furious, as the Daynight n had gone to great lengths to drag Nightking Gu out of cultivation, but he was still not powerful enough to seize control of the mountain range. Helpless, she stepped out of the Daynight spacecraft and appeared within the Sword Sect¡¯s vessel.

    After a long while, Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan were both panting heavily as they stared vigntly at Nightking Gu. He was not in the same condition as the beginning of the fight either, as he had wounds all over his body, and they were all rather deep. Unfortunately, none of them were fatal, as even if the sword pierced his body, it was not enough to hinder him. He was a real freak.

    ¡°Again! We can hold out until he dies,¡± Lu Yin barked. With Wendy Yushan¡¯s innate gift, he was perfectly healthy, not to mention the fact that Wendy Yushan was being defended by Lu Yin and his Fatesand, which gave her opportunities to heal herself as well. Thus, neither of them had any injuries. Compared to Nightking Gu, the two of them were just tired.

    Under such circumstances, Lu Yin was fully confident of stalling Nightking Gu until he died.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, charge, go for a mutual exchange!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked, as he was feeling strangely hot-blooded. Defeating the expert ranked fifteenth was just too enticing of a prospect. Although Lu Yin could not rely on this battle to enter the top twenty, he would at least firmly enter the top sixty.

    Lu Yin was also excited. ¡°We¡¯ll behead him today!¡±

    Wendy Yushan raised her sword and was about to attack, but then they heard a whoosh as sword qi swept over towards them from a distance. It was not aimed at Nightking Gu, but rather at Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan. The two hurriedly retreated as the sword qi attack had nearly seeded in taking them by surprise. They looked over to see that a figure with a long sword had appeared. The blue, seven-lined battle force shrouding the figure was astounding. Long Yun had returned.

    The appearance of Long Yun caused the expressions on Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin¡¯s faces to change drastically. Nightking Gu alone had pushed them to the point of exhaustion while trying to deal with him, and if Long Yun joined the fray now, then they might not be able tost even with the defense of Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand. The Fatesand was too small, so it could not protect them on every side.

    ¡°Forget it. We can¡¯t defend this ce any longer,¡± Wendy Yushan spoke softly. Long Yun¡¯s appearance had dashed their hopes.

    Long Yuning here meant that they had failed to protect this mountain range, as even a fool could see that Long Yun hade here to help Nightking Gu. The Daynight n and Sword Sect had finally united.

    Over on top of the mountain range, Northgate Lie sighed. In the end, they would need to hand over the mountain range. Fortunately, they had mined a considerable amount of pyrolyte, so even if they handed most of it over to the Sea King''s Dome, the remainder would still be enough for him to face his family with pride.

    Above the, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s face was ugly. If at all possible, she would rather not split the profits with the Sword Sect, but just Nightking Gu alone had not been enough to seize the area. Thus, they had been forced to find another ally. Long Yun was way weaker than Nightking Gu, but he could still qualify as an ally.

    Everyone had assumed that the matter was settled. No matter how heaven-defying Lu Yin¡¯s powers were, he should not be able to withstand the alliance of two super experts.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, as victory had been inches away, but the other side had made aeback in a single move. This sort of loss was depressing, as those great powers from the Innerverse were circling about him like pythons, slowly suffocating him to death. And now, they were able to team up however they wished and toy with him as if he were a nobody. What meaning was there in his battles up to this moment? They had simply dispatched two experts and easily crushed him.

    Although the Sea King''s Dome had plotted against him, he had persisted up to this moment, even against the major powers. Being suppressed in this fashion made him feel like he was being choked, and he even felt like he was being driven crazy.

    Lu Yin could not take it anymore, as what did the various great powers think they were? A casual decision from them was enough to turn all of his hard work into trash. He did not want to be a grieving nobody who could be threatened at every turn. Wendy Yushan¡¯s pale and weary face reminded him of the helpless Great Yu Empire, which could simrly be easily toyed with. He wanted to resist these forces, even though he knew that it was not wise. The Sea King''s Dome would not me him if he retreated in this situation, but he did not want to let others force him into making a decision. He wanted to resist, even if just for this one time.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin with worry, as she could sense his unwillingness, as his body was literally trembling with fury. ¡°You don¡¯t want to give up?¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply, and he looked towards Nightking Gu and Long Yun before looking up. It was almost as if he could see the gathered organizations and the smug expressions on Nightqueen Qiuyu, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and the others.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to give up, then I¡¯ll help you,¡± Wendy Yushan told him quietly, but her eyes became determined as well.

    Lu Yin ced a hand on her shoulder. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can do this on my own.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was astonished.

    Lu Yin raised his foot and stepped forward. As he passed Wendy Yushan, he tossed her a Money Bomb. ¡°This thing can instantly kill a Hunter, so it should be enough for you to protect yourself.¡±

    Then, under countless lost, shocked, and puzzled eyes, he walked by himself over towards Nightking Gu and Long Yun.

    Countless felt that his actions were strange, and many thought that he had gone mad.

    On top of the mountain range, Hai Qiqi frowned, and a trace of worry appeared in her eyes.

    Lily Anne could not help herself, and she shouted, ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s enough! You¡¯ve done enough!¡±

    Off in the distance, Nightqueen Yanqing and the others made their appearance, though they were also puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    On another side, those from the Sword Sect also appeared: Mu Rong, Liu Shaoqiu, and Y¨­u Ye''er. At this moment, everyone was watching Lu Yin.

    In space, Hai Dashao felt that something was strange. ¡°This kid still hasn¡¯t given up yet?¡±

    Elder Ren looked appreciatively at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stopped a hundred meters away from Nightking Gu. ¡°This battle isn¡¯t over.¡±

    Lu Yin then donned his universal armor as a gun appeared in his hands.

    This sight was very strange, because the higher a cultivator¡¯s realm was, the more unlikely it was for them to use things like a set of universal armor or ring armor. Not only did such items not provide much in the way of defense, but they also obstructed one¡¯s mobility. This was also the reason why nobody had donned ring armor since the start of the battles on Pyrolyte. A battle technique could strike the body even through armor, so the protection provided by one was not very impressive.

    As for the gun, that bewildered people even more, as such an object was too ancient. For example, Nightqueen Qiuyu herself had not seen a gun in many years, so it took her some time to even recognize what that item was.

    Long Yun felt that something was off, and Nightking Gu squinted, but he then charged ferociously towards Lu Yin. The Nightking struck out with a palm, as no matter what this Limiteer did, it would not be enough to defend against his attack, and making a move also would not harm him in any way. If Lu Yin acted, then Long Yun would also make a move.

    Wendy Yushan subconsciously raised her sword as she readied herself to help.

    Nightking Gu¡¯s punch solidly struck Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor, and everyone was stunned to see that Lu Yin did not use his Fatesand.

    There was a loud explosion, but Nightking Gu¡¯s punch made no impact on the universal armor. He had assumed that his punch would either be blocked by Lu YIn¡¯s Fatesand or send this person flying. However, no one, including him, expected that the attack would do absolutely nothing to Lu Yin. Lu Yin then calmly raised the gun and pointed it at Nightking Gu¡¯s heart.

    Bang!

    Pyrolyte fell silent, and everyone stared nkly at Lu Yin and Nightking Gu. In the area around the Nightking¡¯s heart, fresh blood poured out in copious amounts.

    Countless people were stunned.

    Long Yun narrowed his eyes, and he stared at the scene with overwhelmed emotions.

    Lu Yin spun the gun and pointed it at Nightking Gu¡¯s forehead. Just as he was about to pull the trigger for a second time, Nightking Gu¡¯s body twisted as he sped away,rge amounts of blood falling to the ground behind him.

    Lu Yin did not fire and only silently watched the man leave.

    No one knew what was going on, as one gunshot had pierced through Nightking Gu¡¯s heart. This gun possessed an extraordinary power.

    Could a gun be so powerful? After all, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent had been Nightking Gu, a super powerhouse who could use the Nightking¡¯s Body.

    If this gun was pointed at Pyrolyte, then it could definitely pierce through the entire sphere.

    Lu Yin was currently rejoicing that he had purchased this gun, as each attack had a power level of roughly 80,000. Nightking Gu was strong, and he certainly surpassed the average Cruiser. However, an attack with a power level of 80,000unched at close-range in an unprepared situation was definitely enough to severely injure him. If he had not quickly escaped, then the second shot would have caused his head to explode.

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin as if he was iprehensible. It turned out that he actually still had such a powerful trump card up his sleeves. In these few years, what exactly have you gone through?

    Nightqueen Qiuyu found the scene to be unbelievable, as someone had actually relied on a foreign object to severely injure a Daynight expert. They were the Daynight n! They had unlimited resources. Before Nightking Gu had gone down to Pyrolyte, Nightqueen Qiuyu had offered him some external aides, but the youth had declined. She had not insisted, but the final oue was so ironic.

    A Limiteer was able to severely injure the fifteenth ranked expert of the younger generation, and an item powerful enough to cause this much damage was rare even within the entire universe. How had this kid gotten one? Was it the Sea King once again? Perhaps that powerhouse had given Lu Yin Fatesand as well as many other objects that could preserve his life.

    At the base of the mountain range, Nightking Gu covered the area around his heart as his skeletal-like body withered even further. He stopped at a distance and looked at Lu Yin with caution in his eyes.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as that shot had actually pierced through the Nightking¡¯s heart, but the man had still managed to survive somehow. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and he was able to see that Nightking Gu¡¯s rune lines had been reduced by a great deal. The man had truly been severely injured, but it was unfortunate that his heart had not been destroyed, as that mighty shot had only brushed past his heart.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin raised the gun and aimed it at Long Yun.

    Long Yun felt his scalp tingle, and he instantly backed a thousand meters away as he vigntly observed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not fire, as these experts were now prepared, which meant that a bullet with a power level of 80,000 might no longer cause them much of an injury, or they might even be able to evade the attack entirely.

    He paused, turned the gun around, and aimed it at Nightking Gu again.

    Nightking Gu appeared fearful, and he quickly retreated just like Long Yun. Not only did he retreat, but he even began considering escaping since he had been severely injured, and he would be in trouble if he did not leave. However, he was also afraid Lu Yin would fire at him, so he did not want to show his back to Lu Yin. Fortunately, at that moment, he saw the spacecraft that had crashed at the same time as his, though the person inside had never appeared, which was probably because they were too terrified.

    Nightking Gu kept his eyes on Lu Yin as he backed away step by step until he was in front of the spacecraft. He then tried to pry open the hatch with one hand so that he could use the vessel to escape into outer space.

    Lu Yin kept the muzzle of the gun trained on Nightking Gu the entire time. Even though he had no intention of firing the weapon since the attack would not be powerful enough to kill him, the Nightking still kept a cautious eye on Lu Yin. Once he managed to force the hatch open, he threw the upant at Lu Yin like a rock without even looking at who it was.

    Lu Yin moved a few meters to the side when he saw the body flying towards him, but he also kept his eyes on Nightking Gu.

    Nightking Gu had already taken the spacecraft over and was speeding back into outer space.

    Lu Yin rxed, as the strongest enemy had left, and Long Yun was not Wendy Yushan¡¯s opponent alone.

    Above the, the majority were watching Lu Yin and Long Yun. Only the Ross Empire, ze Realm, and Dire Barbarian n were staring at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince whom Nightking Gu had just thrown out of the spacecraft, and Huo Houye was furious that this scoundrel was still sleeping at this moment. ¡°Is that guy actually useful?¡±

    Schr Newmoon also felt helpless, but he did not know how to reply to the man.

 Chapter 525: The Power Of The Secret Technique

    <h4>Chapter 525: The Power Of The Secret Technique</h4>

    Lei Longmented in a deep voice, ¡°The star essence skin that we made for him was quite impressive. It required even more resources than the one <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze received. He should at least rival the top thirty in the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Schr Newmoon added on, ¡°Not just that, but his technique is not ordinary. His power level may rival the top thirty, but if his opponent is unprepared and he manages to take the initiative, then even that Nightking expert would not be his opponent.¡±

    Lei Long and Huo Houye were astonished. ¡°What exactly is his technique?¡±

    ¡°The Dream Sutra,¡± Schr Newmoon calmly replied.

    Huo Houye and Lei Long were lost, as they had not heard of such a technique before.

    Schr Newmoon did not exin any further, and he merely continued to stare at the screen. He had only seen this technique being mentioned in ancient writings, and even he was not very clear on the details of the technique, but if it was truly that ancient technique, then <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s power definitely was not as simple as it seemed to be. Even if it wasn¡¯t, since that person¡¯s true power could rival the top thirty, then why did he always upy the hundredth position? Was it truly as was rumored? Did he really like the number hundred that much?

    On Pyrolyte, Long Yun saw that Nightking Gu had left, and he took his leave as well since he couldn¡¯t even beat Wendy Yushan by himself.

    Lu Yin stored his gun away and released an exhausted sigh. The most difficult hurdle had just been ovee, and it would take the organizations at least half a month to manufacture another star essence skin. By that time, the pyrolyte ore beneath the mountain range would be almostpletely depleted.

    As he looked towards the south, Lu Yin was still afraid that Mira might try to seize this opportunity to act, but it seemed that she had restrained herself.

    He also stored his universal armor away and began returning to the mountain range. Suddenly, he felt tired and beaten. Was this exhaustion? His eyelids drooped, and his body swayed. He almost fell asleep when he suddenly felt that something was amiss, and his scalp tingled. He then saw a huge number of rune lines converging to his left.

    He turned around and saw <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince. At this time, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s eyes had finally opened, and he waszily looking at Lu Yin. There was a smile in his eyes, but an invisible attack with an indescribable killing intent moved through the void and enveloped Lu Yin. This strange killing intent was very simr to what Lu Yin felt during his lockbreaking attempts, and though Lu Yin wanted to use Secret Sidestep technique to avoid this attack, he was too sleepy. His body could not respond as his mind wished. It was difficult for him to even move slightly, and he really wanted to do nothing more than sleep.

    It seemed like the sky had gone dark, and even though Lu Yin could not see where the danger wasing from, he could see a countless number of rune lines approaching him, and the danger that he felt from them was more than enough to destroy him. This was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s attack.

    At this moment, no one was able to save Lu Yin because nobody knew that he would be attacked out of the blue. Lu Yin did not have the strength to resist this attack, and he didn¡¯t even have a chance to don his universal armor.

    Countless rune lines approached him. Lu Yin had given up just as they were about to descend upon him, but at that moment, he heard Wendy Yushan¡¯s voice. ¡°Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer.¡±

    Off in the distance, the ground was covered by an invisible attack that did not seem destructive, but all of the creatures underground had instantly died.

    Still in his same position, Lu Yin had not been harmed at all.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s expression changed abruptly, and he turned to the west to see Wendy Yushan staring at him with cold eyes. He thought that he had heard an outstanding attack. Yu Secret Art? Void Transfer? Is that a secret technique?

    Not only was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince startled, but in the emptiness of space above the, Elder Ren was also shocked as he stared at Wendy Yushan. ¡°That¡¯s a secret technique! That little girl just used a secret technique.¡±

    Hai Dashao was astonished. ¡°Secret technique? Why would she have one?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was blown away yet again; she had been stunned too many times this day. However, even all of the previous shocksbined did not add up to what she was currently feeling after personally seeing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s attack be transferred to another ce. Only a secret technique could achieve such a feat, and this girl had actuallyprehended one.

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Wen Qichen, Lei Long, Schr Newmoon, Huo Houye, and the other Enlighters all appeared outside of their spacecraft one after another as they solemnly stared at Wendy Yushan. A secret technique was much more precious than Fatesand, to the point where it was not even on the same level. Fatesand could be obtained through destined opportunities while a secret technique was different.

    Each and every secret technique had been created by a Progenitor, so they were all passed down almost singly through a given bloodline. Even so, the majority of them would disappear since these secret techniques were too difficult to cultivate. Even within the Innerverse¡¯s various great powers, only a select few possessed secret techniques, and there was even a possibility that there were no secret techniques at all. After all, not one of the great powers had ever revealed such a thing before. But now, they had all just seen an Outerverse girl wield a secret technique. She was somehow linked to a Progenitor.

    Each Enlighter¡¯s expression changed, as the appearance of a secret technique made even the pyrolyte pale inparison. Each of them was contemting how they could get their hands on this girl.

    The Myriad Swords Peak had also sent people to Pyrolyte, but they hadn¡¯t sent any Enlighters. At this moment, the top expert from Myriad Swords Peak was actually heading towards the Northcastle Weave in order to use thework to contact the sect. It had just been revealed that their female senior disciple actually possessed a secret technique. This news was too startling, and their sect¡¯s super powerhouse had to be brought over.

    However, the Myriad Swords Peak expert couldn¡¯t even leave the Astral Wilderness before they were obstructed. The various great powers would not let Wendy Yushan off, so they naturally could not allow the Myriad Swords Peak to intervene.

    On Pyrolyte, Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. He was thrilled that he hadn¡¯t died, but he was also regretful that the secret technique had been revealed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince stared at Wendy Yushan. ¡°Was that a secret technique?¡±

    Wendy Yushan raised her sword and did not bother speaking nonsense. She sliced her sword at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince, but he only needed to casually wave his hand and cause a formless air wave to surge over. However, that was not enough to block the sword qi, and his arm still ended up being cut. Across from him, the st of air streaked past Wendy Yushan, and just by passing by her, it caused her to sway and almost fell asleep, as the strength that it carried was too peculiar.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince looked at the wound on his arm. He had a serene expression even as he stood there, injured. His body released a strange strength that was able to cause others to fall asleep.

    Lu Yin looked at the Explorer. Although he could not sense the man¡¯s strength, he could see that his rune lines were increasing in number. He could not stop himself from blurting out, ¡°Stop him!¡±

    Wendy Yushan suddenly appeared in front of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince as her left hand flitted by him. ¡°Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer.¡±

    As her left hand moved, she stabbed out with her de. The strength that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince had unleashed was redirected elsewhere as he was stabbed by Wendy Yushan¡¯s de in the shoulder, fresh blood dripping down the de.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince¡¯s face went pale, and he looked closely at Wendy Yushan. ¡°A secret technique lives up to its reputation, and it can divert even my strength. I admit defeat, but unfortunately, you¡¯ve just be everyone¡¯s target.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince pulled back and then leaped up to return to outer space.

    Wendy Yushan lowered her de while fresh blood dripped down off of it. Her sword had tasted the blood of quite a few experts this day.

    After <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Sleeping Prince left, Lu Yin regained his energy, and he walked over to Wendy Yushan.

    She looked up. ¡°The secret technique is very powerful, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It lives up to its name. With it, you can even challenge the top fifteen experts.¡±

    She put her sword away. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why such techniques are invaluable. Lu Yin, do you think that we can safely escape?¡±

    Lu Yin knew what she meant, as she had be the main focus of all the gathered organizations after revealing the secret technique.

    ¡°We¡¯ll try,¡± Lu Yin responded seriously. By this point, many powerhouses were focused on them above the, and there were at least ten Enlighters here. Escape? They did not know if the Sea King¡¯s forces would help them, but even if they did not, Lu Yin could invite Mister Mu.

    ¡°Do you regret it?¡± Lu Yin could not help himself form asking.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re my only kin. I don¡¯t regret saving you.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll do my best to get you out of here safely,¡± Lu Yin assured her.

    Wendy Yushan looked at him and nodded, but she did not reply.

    The various Enlighters above the exchanged nces, but they did not speak. However, they rapidly moved closer to Pyrolyte, as they were thinking of methods to grab Wendy Yushan right then and there.

    At this moment, Elder Ren appeared, and a terrifying shockwave representing his power level of several hundred thousands rippled out, making the other Enlighters feel frightened.

    ¡°Everyone, the Sea King¡¯s Dome has promised to protect Frostwave Weave, and this girl belongs to that ce as well. I hope that everyone will show some respect to the Sea King and not touch her,¡± Elder Ren said as his aged eyes swept across everyone gathered.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was the first to back off, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Wen Qichen, and the others consecutively retreated soon after. Before long, all of the Enlighters had moved back without anyone saying anything.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s heart sank upon seeing this scene. ¡°They won¡¯t give up, and they¡¯ll definitely invite their sect¡¯s powerhouses toe here.¡±

    Elder Ren nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, but it won¡¯t be that easy.¡±

    After the old man finished speaking, ayer of ripples spread out from beneath him. It spread out further and further until the entire region around Pyrolyte had been sealed off.

    He would not allow the various major forces¡¯ powerhouses to leave, at least not for the time being.

    The Enlighters did not show themselves, as there was no point in saying anything at this time. They were currently racking their brains for a way to leave and report to their respective powers, as Wendy Yushan¡¯s value now surpassed the value of all of the pyrolyte ore on the. Elder Ren could stop them for now, but he would no longer be able to once the pyrolyte ore had beenpletely harvested. At that time, he would no longer be able to obstruct them. As for whether or not they could get a hold of Wendy Yushan, that all depended on the baseline strength of the various powers.

    Wendy Yushan had disyed a secret technique, and Lu Yin had shown that he had the strength to severely injure Nightking Gu as well as repel Long Yun. When the two youths worked together, as long as Avery was held back by Hai Dashao, the curtains would close on the contest for pyrolyte ore on this. No one would be able to seize control of the mountain range from those two.

    Many smaller powers had finished their activities on Pyrolyte a long time ago. They wanted to leave, but all of them were restrained by Elder Ren.

    After a full month went by, thest of the pyrolyte ore beneath the mountain range was finally mined out, and the leaders of the various organizations rxed and looked at Elder Ren.

    Elder Ren had already told them in no uncertain terms that all of them would have to wait for Northline Flowzone to finish mining the pyrolyte ore, and that only then would he remove the seal around Pyrolyte. At that moment, Lu Yin, Wendy Yushan, and Hai Qiqi would be the first to leave.

    This was all being done to protect Lu Yin and the others. It would prevent them from being ambushed by a powerhouse along their journey, but it would only work for a short while.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned solemn when he looked at his cosmic ring. He surveyed the region, but he knew that not even the Sea King himself would be able to protect Wendy Yushan. Lu Yin could only invite Mister Mu to help. Though he couldn¡¯t do that here; it would have to wait until they were back on Zenyu Star. That would allow Mister Mu to be a legend on Zenyu Star, which would make the other great powers a bit apprehensive.

    The most important thing to do right now was to return to Zenyu Star.

    After all of the pyrolyte ore was mined out, the star essence skins became useless. Also, the various powerhouses were finally able to make a move against Pyrolyte. They eliminated the atmosphere of the and exposed the entire to the vacuum of space,pletely changing the environment.

    The copse of Pyrolyte then began.

    Lu Yin retrieved his copsible spacecraft, which just so happened to be able to hold three people.

    Beneath him, the ground began to rupture. The Limiteers who had been fighting against each other on Pyrolyte all either moved to return to their spacecraft or donned a universal armor. They were no longer protected by the atmosphere of Pyrolyte, so their entire bodies were essentially about to be exposed to the emptiness of outer space.

 Chapter 526: Making A Fortune

    <h4>Chapter 526: Making A Fortune</h4>

    At this time, the Explorers who had been sent down to Pyrolyte finally rxed. Their advantage could only be disyed when they were physically in outer space. What use was an unequaled Limiteer if they were unable to freely roam the universe? However, when the Explorers thought of how Lu Yin had put on his universal armor and then severely injured Nightking Gu, their psychological superiority instantly vanished. They wished for Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor to be destroyed so that he would die in space.

    They could not be med for being so malicious, as Lu Yin had indeedmitted many nauseating actions in just one month. The most devastating blow to the Explorers had been when he seized their star essence skins. Beside the two skins that he had given to Wendy Yushan, he had also seized another eleven star essence skins. Given his personal power, the universal armor, and that chill-inducing gun, there had been no skin that he could not snatch.

    Of the eleven skins, he had sold five and saved six.

    The five skins had sold for 5,000 star essence in total, and although it wasn¡¯t much, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been left with any other choice. The Explorers had all been from weaker forces, and there hadn¡¯t been a single one of them who was equal to an expert in the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings. The six skins that Lu Yin had saved were of the same quality as well.

    Beneath the various people leaving the, the ground ruptured. Hai Qiqi had already entered the spacecraft, and Wendy Yushan passed Lu Yin the two star essence skins that he had given her as she also went to sit in the vessel.

    Lu Yin remained there, waiting for Hai Dashao, as he knew that Hai Dashao would want to speak with him.

    Soon, the void tore open in front of him, revealing Hai Dashao.

    When he saw Hai Dashao, Lu Yin felt a reflexive disgust, as no one enjoyed being used. This time, he had been thoroughly exploited by the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Hai Dashao was not unprepared for Lu Yin¡¯s attitude. ¡°Your betrothal gift is pretty decent.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Rx, the Sea King''s Dome will keep its promise. From this day forth, Frostwave Weave will be under the Sea King''s Dome¡¯s protection and will be a part of it,¡± Hai Dashao stated proudly.

    ¡°Was that enough pyrolyte?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Dashao smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. You¡¯ve already done what you can, so you don¡¯t need to think about what¡¯s left. Hurry up and be an Explorer. Father really admires you.¡±

    Lu Yin stayed silent.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°Are you that offended by this matter?¡±

    Lu Yin mockingly replied, ¡°Do you enjoy being exploited?¡±

    Hai Dashao shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin things to other people, and you aren¡¯t qualified for me to even try. I just have one sentence for you: there wille the day when you understand how wise your actions this day are.¡±

    Hai Dashao then looked at the spacecraft and saw Wendy Yushan. ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with her?¡±

    Lu Yin grew vignt. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Hai Dashao eximed, ¡°Few people in the universe have ess to a secret technique, and that¡¯s something that even I don¡¯t have. It would seem that her background isn¡¯t simple. I can have Elder Ren send her to the Sea King''s Dome and have Father protect her there.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. We will handle our own business.¡± Lu Yin felt disgusted, as the attitude of the Sea King''s Dome was too arrogant. Even after exploiting him, they gave off the feeling that they expected him to be proud of the matter. This caused Lu Yin to instinctively oppose them, and he really wanted to punch Hai Dashao in the face.

    Compared to Hai Qiqi, Hai Dashao was too haughty, even more so than the Sea King himself.

    Hai Dashao withdrew his gaze, and he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you know what a secret technique represents? She¡¯s already be the focus of many organizations. Even our Sea King''s Dome promise might not necessarily be able topletely protect her. For her own good, let her return to the Sea King''s Dome with.¡±

    ¡°I will not go to the Sea King''s Dome,¡± Wendy Yushan¡¯s voice sounded from the vessel.

    Hai Dashao frowned.

    From within the spacecraft, Hai Qiqi shouted at Hai Dashao, ¡°Brother, you¡¯re too stupid! How could picking someone up be that easy? You should smile and invite her cordially to the Sea King''s Dome as guests and then protect them in the process. Stupid!¡±

    Hai Dashao and Wendy Yushan exchanged nces. ¡°The promise of my Sea King''s Dome can temporarily provide peace, but no one can predict what will happen next. Take care of yourselves, and my promise to you will still be valid in the future.¡± He then passed his contact details over to Wendy Yushan.

    Hai Dashao fancied Wendy Yushan. This was something that Lu Yin and even Hai Qiqi could inly see.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t like it. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then you can leave now.¡±

    Hai Dashao nced at Lu Yin once more before leaving through the void.

    After Hai Dashao left, the next person to appear was Lily Anne. It could be said that during her first meeting with Lu Yin, she had already made ns concerning Frostwave Weave. Even back then, she had urately ascertained the importance of Frostwave Weave in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. This woman had incredible foresight.

    ¡°Brother Lu, Granny Chan has asked me to represent Northline Flowzone and thank Brother Lu for his help. No matter how much pyrolyte we ultimately obtained this time, Northline Flowzone will not forget the kindness shown to us by Brother Lu,¡± Lily Anne said solemnly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°If you really want to thank me, then take these off of my hands as well.¡± He then pulled out the remaining eight star essence skins. ¡°I¡¯ll sell them all to you for a t 5,000 star essence.¡±

    This was a fair price. Although the star essence skins were now useless, the amount of raw star essence that they contained was not only 5,000.

    Lily Anne seemed to already have made preparations for this as she immediately pulled out 5,000 star essence from her cosmic ring, but then she brought out another 3,000. ¡°A total of 8,000. We can¡¯t allow Brother Lu to take a loss.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He knew that all this star essence was quite arge sum to Northline Flowzone, but not excessive. However, for him, this was an unprecedented sum. Even when he had used the Sea King¡¯s token at the Sea King''s Dome for an all-expense-paid shopping spree, the total had only amounted to about 15,000 star essence. But now, his cosmic ring already held more than 17,000 star essence.

    He felt moved, and he even felt that he was too rich now.

    Storing over 10,000 star essence in his cosmic ring took up a great amount of space. Fortunately, the cosmic ring that Northgate Lie had given him before was still enough. However, as he became richer, the size of that cosmic ring might not necessarily be enough for him. Others could store their wealth in their cards, but he could not since he needed his star crystals and star essence to be avable at any time.

    What a headache.

    Lily Anne left after promising Lu Yin that Northline Flowzone would do all it could to help Frostwave Weave¡¯s economy recover. Also, the youths of Northline Flowzone would recognize Lu Yin¡¯s position under the Ten Arbiters Council and acknowledge that he had the authority to judge and supervise the younger generation. This meant that Lu Yin¡¯s position was now above Northgate Lie¡¯s in Northline Flowzone.

    Lu Yin grimaced, as there was no point to such things. As soon as he returned to Zenyu Star, all of the different organizations would start moving, and they would send out their old folks to capture Wendy Yushan. He would have to ask Mister Mu for help. At that time, not only Wendy Yushan, but he himself would be forced to leave and make a clean break with the Great Yu Empire as well as the Sea King''s Dome. The two of them would join Leon¡¯s Armada in the Cosmic Sea, and Lu Yin might just be a glorious pirate after all.

    However, before any of that took ce, he wanted to take a trip to Shenwu Continent so that he could settle his affairs there and help Ming Yan. That was another headache, but it was nothing too difficult to resolve. The strongest person on Shenwu Continent was a Hunter, and with Lu Yin¡¯s current abilities, he could preserve his life and escape from a Hunter.

    The main thing that he had to consider was his timing. He had to take Ming Yan away before the various great powers arrived at Zenyu Star for the secret technique and also before breaking away from the Sea King''s Dome. Then, he could head towards the Cosmic Sea with Mister Mu¡¯s help, where he would be safe.

    The only issue was that Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how strong Mister Mu was. If even Mister Mu couldn¡¯t help him against theing various forces, then Lu Yin would have no choice but to send Wendy to the Sea King''s Dome.

    Unfortunately, it would be difficult for him to return to Earth, which had been the most peaceful time in his past, and it had also be his self-acknowledged home.

    Lu Yin had almost forgotten that Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique was something that was extremely appealing to the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, and all the other powers. However, it was important to note that it was the technique itself that was important, for Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Nightqueen Qiuyu at the very least had not recognized it as the Yu Secret Art. It was different for the Y¨­u Court or the Neohuman Alliance, as they would definitely recognize the secret technique.

    In space, Y¨­u Ye''er flew by the three people in her spacecraft and gave Wendy a strange look. ¡°I never thought that the Yu Secret Art would appear again, and in a fringe weave at that. Yu family, you won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±

    In the darkness, a pair of non-human eyes were simrly fixed upon Wendy Yushan.

    Dayster, Lu Yin managed to get Hai Qiqi and Wendy Yushan back to Zenyu Star. Hai Qiqi seemed reluctant since she still wanted to go out and y, but she did not kick up a fuss. She knew of the secret technique¡¯s existence, and she was well aware that Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan were about to be ced in a difficult situation.

    The various great powers were still sealed next to Pyrolyte and were unable to send out any information. As soon as the seal was removed, there would be a storm waiting for Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan had originally wanted to head to the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak, but she was stopped by Lu Yin. The Myriad Swords Peak also would not let the Yu Secret Art go, and no one there would be able to protect her. The only possible ce where they would be safe was the Cosmic Sea, since his family, Big Sis, and Uncle Reuben were all there.

    After giving some instructions to Huo Qingshan and the others, Lu Yin reached out to Barley at East San Dios, as he had once asked Barley to focus on the situation at Shenwu Continent.

    At first, Lu Yin had intended to head straight to Shenwu Continent after handling matters on Zenyu Star anding up with a way to take Ming Yan away. However, after speaking to Barley, he had learned a bit of bad news. When Shenwu Continent¡¯s interior had fractured, Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu had allied with outside forces, and many powers from the universe had stationed their powerhouses outside of Shenwu Continent. Aside from the people from those organizations, no one else was allowed to enter, and the Daynight n was one of those powers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell, as he had not considered this possibility when he should have. The Daynight n behaved tyrannically, and the other great powers in the Innerverse acted simrly. If Ming Zhaoshu was willing to cooperate with them, then they naturally would not allow anybody else to dip their hands into this opportunity, so they would have sealed off Shenwu Continent.

    It would be temporarily too difficult for him to enter Shenwu Continent, and even if he managed to do so, leaving that ce was entirely dependent on the Daynight n and the other forces guarding that ce. It was possible that, after the various forces left Pyrolyte, that the Sea King¡¯s protection would be enough and that nothing would happen to Lu Yin, but Wendy Yushan did not enjoy the same protection as him. Also, the Sea King''s promise was less significant than a secret technique.

    Lu Yin locked himself in King Zishan¡¯s residence and pondered things over for a good day. At the end, he finally decided to not head to Shenwu Continent for the time being. Aside from Ming Zhaoshu, no one else was aware of his rtionship with Ming Yan, which meant that no one would be able to use it against him either. Ming Zhaoshu also would not casually use Ming Yan as a bargaining chip, so she should be safe for the time being. All Lu Yin could do at the moment was stay on Zenyu Star and wait for events to unfold. Besides, even if he wanted to bring Ming Yan out from Shenwu Continent, she might not agree to it.

    If the various great powers had a falling out with the Sea King''s Dome because of the secret technique, then Lu Yin¡¯s only option would be to ask Mister Mu for help.

    A few more days passed, and after Northline Flowzone finished refining the pyrolyte ore, Elder Ren released the seal over Pyrolyte. At the first opportunity, many spacecraft flew out.

    Elder Ren calmly watched the scene.

 Chapter 527: Ringleader

    <h4>Chapter 527: Ringleader</h4>

    ¡°Elder-¡±

    Hai Dashao wanted to say something, but Elder Ren interrupted him, slowly saying, ¡°The Sea King''s Dome can make them momentarily apprehensive, but not for very long. During this bit of time, they will definitely scout out about that little cutey and start sending their forces out. As soon as they be unable to resist the allure of the secret technique, they¡¯ll take action.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t she be in great danger at that time?¡± Hai Dashao could not help asking.

    Elder Ren nced at the youth. ¡°Do you really like her?¡±

    Hai Dashao nodded and proudly replied, ¡°I want to marry her.¡±

    Elder Ren smiled slightly. ¡°That¡¯s right. With the secret technique, she is indeed qualified to marry into the Sea King''s Dome. Very well, I¡¯ll let the Sea King know. If possible, he should make a trip over for his future daughter-inw and son-inw. Hopefully, those old folks have actually died, or else the universe will be thrown into chaos. It¡¯s possible that even the Neoverse won¡¯t be able to resist acting this time.¡±

    They did not know that the Neoverse had already taken action long ago, but they had gotten lost while being led around in circles in the Cosmic Sea by Leon¡¯s Armada.

    After the seal around Pyrolyte was removed, the various great powers quickly escorted their pyrolyte back to the Innerverse while constantly on guard against each other.

    However, the Daynight n, Sword Sect, Wen family, and other forces at a simr power were not too worried since no one dared to steal from them. It was instead the smaller forces who were robbed soon after they left the Astral Wilderness.

    When the events at Pyrolyte first started, there had been many people who had offered exorbitant prices to purchase pyrolyte. There was no shortage of criminals in the universe, and there were also powers such as Grandtop Weave and Lars Weave that coveted pyrolyte. Thus, it was actually very normal for the smaller forces to be ambushed.

    However, when the Wen family¡¯s pyrolyte was also stolen, things grew strange.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu set down her gadget with a solemn expression. Who would be so bold as to actually rob the Wen family? Wen Qichen was no pushover, so they could have only been robbed by an Enlighter whose power level had reached 250,000 at the minimum, and that was also discounting the destructive power of the pyrolyte that they were carrying. The Wen family had obtained quite a bit of pyrolyte, and that in and of itself served as a deterrence. If Wen Qichen got the chance, then he definitely would have ignited their pyrolyte.

    But surprisingly enough, their pyrolyte had been stolen, which could mean only one thing: Wen Qichen had not even gotten an opportunity to ignite their pyrolyte, which meant that the thief was someone with a power level that far surpassed 200,000.

    ¡°Faster!¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu immediately ordered the crew.

    However, not long after she gave the order, the entire spacecraft¡ªno, the entire region of space froze. Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s expression changed, as only a super powerhouse had the strength to freeze such arge region of space.

    Not a minuteter, the spacecraft returned to normal once again. Nightqueen Qiuyu hurriedly tore through the void, moving towards where they had stashed their pyrolyte, but she was only greeted with empty space. The pyrolyte was missing.

    The next to be robbed after the Daynight n was the Sword Sect. Even with an Enlighter like Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, the Sword Sect¡¯s pyrolyte was still stolen.

    Then, an even more astounding event urred: Elder Ren from the Sea King''s Dome was severely injured, and Northline Flowzone¡¯s pyrolyte was taken just like everyone else¡¯s.

    Once news of this broke out, it shocked both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Elder Ren was an old freak with a power level in the several hundred thousands. If even he had ended up severely injured, then the culprit had to be a terrifying powerhouse with a power level above 400,000 or even 500,000.

    The various major powers had spent countless resources to obtain this pyrolyte, not to mention losing the lives of many of their disciples. And yet, despite all their efforts, everything had been stolen away at thest moment, and it thoroughly infuriated them all.

    In the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, the earth ruptured, and a pair of eyes opened wide. They then peered through the void to see something an endless distance away. In that instance, the disciples in the area all felt their scalps go numb, and any gadget that was able to evaluate power levels exploded, even numerous Hunters¡¯ gadgets. This happened because the devices had detected the power level of a frightening figure.

    There was a pub in the Sword Sect that many swordsmen loved drinking at since many sword techniques wereprehended while drunk. At this moment, in the pub, an elder stood up after polishing off several dozen jars. He rubbed his drowsy eyes and sighed. He then grabbed a wine jar and vanished.

    In the Wen family, the clear sounds of people reading aloud reverberated through the sky while students carried their scrolls around and tried to understand the contents. There was an elder with white hair who stood out in a rather eye-catching manner since he was sitting among the rest of the students. He had studied with this group for more than ten days, and during that time, their initial curiosity had gradually turned into sympathy before they had eventually stopped paying attention to the old man. They assumed that he was a schr who had repeatedly failed the exams, but refused to give up and continued to study.

    The elder suddenly set down his scroll, looked up, and then vanished.

    This scene caused many of the students to be stunned, and some of them thought that their eyes had gone blurry.

    Not long after, more news shocked the Outerverse and caused the Outerverse powers to grow nervous.

    An old freak from the Daynight n with a power level that surpassed 400,000 had moved out to investigate the matter of the stolen pyrolyte. The powerhouse had dered that whoever had perpetrated the crime would have their entire n exterminated when they were discovered. This announcement vividly disyed the Daynight n¡¯s tyranny.

    Not only the Daynight n, but the Sword Sect and Wen family had simrly sent out powerful old experts. Of the three experts, the Sword Sect¡¯s drunken elder first sought out Northgate Taisui from Northline Flowzone, as Northgate Taisui was indeed someone who could seize all of that pyrolyte without leaving a trace.

    Northgate Taisui and the Sword Sect¡¯s drunken elder fought in Northline Flowzone until space itself was damaged, but no one knew what the oue of the battle was.

    Lu Yin barely cared about what happened in the other regions of the universe, as he was only concerned about Wendy Yushan. Over the past few days, she had received many messages from various powerful organizations, and each one had offered astounding incentives as they invited Wendy Yushan to join them. Also, the Myriad Swords Peak had requested that she return to the sect.

    These messages were just diplomatic maneuvers that served as a prelude to the impending violence. Even if these organizations were apprehensive of the Sea King''s Dome and also of each other, Wendy Yushan might as well be another Pyrolyte. She was like a luxurious dish that had been ted that was now merely waiting for the various powers to enjoy.

    With the bright light of Wendy Yushan¡¯s importance, Lu Yin disappeared into the shadows of obscurity.

    It was only messages for the moment, but Lu Yin believed that, before long, someone would personallye and visit Zenyu Star. At the moment, there were already many spacecraft gathered outside of Zenyu Star, but they made no attempt to signal their origin.

    Hai Dashao had also contacted Wendy Yushan during these few days, but Wendy Yushan did not answer his calls, which delighted Lu Yin.

    Over the period of a dozen days, the three old freaks did not manage to learn much, though Elder Ren was certain that the culprit was someone from the Neoverse.

    Finally, Wen Sansi made an appearance and requested the aid of the Starsibyl Sect.

    Starsibyl had once mentioned that Wen Sansi¡¯s reply to her question had convinced the Starsibyl to give him their support. When he had first heard about that, even if Lu Yin had known that the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s support was important, he had not clearly understood what that meant until this moment. Now, he learned what it was to receive that sect¡¯s support.

    When they acted, they pointed directly at the Starfall Sea. More urately, it was the Sea King.

    When Hai Qiqi learned of this news, even her face changed.

    Lu Yin also felt numb. Was this true? Could the Starsibyl Sect truly be this divine? Could they have calcted everything after people acted? Lu Yin did not believe in the powers of divination, but many others did, as well as the great powers of the universe.

    Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse were both said to be apprehensive of the Sea King''s Dome, that was because they were worried that the Sea King would lean towards one side or the other, not because they were truly afraid of the Sea King. When discussing pure strength, no matter if one considered the Daynight n, Sword Sect, or Wen family, not a single one of them was any weaker than the Sea King''s Dome. If they came together, then even the Sea King would not be able to face them head on.

    The moment the Starsibyl Sect revealed that the perpetrator was the Sea King''s Dome, the three great powers united along with quite a few other powers from the Innerverse and headed for the Starfall Sea. There were no less than ten old freaks who had power levels in the several hundred thousands, and even some Envoys went.

    ¡°I want to return! I want to look for Father.¡± Hai Qiqi was anxious as she spoke to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin tried tofort her, and he immediately contacted Hai Dashao.

    ¡°Was it really your Sea King''s Dome that snatched the pyrolyte?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Dashao did not reply.

    Hai Qiqi grew uneasy. ¡°Brother, answer him.¡±

    Hai Dashao softly replied, ¡°Take care of Qiqi, and don¡¯t let her get injured. This matter is none of your business.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand why the Sea King needed pyrolyte. After all, it was just a deterrent to the various great powers, and it wasn¡¯t even enough to threaten the powerhouses whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands. This was also the reason why the various powers had not sent their old freaks to Pyrolyte. If there was a substance that could truly threaten them, then they would have personally moved out long ago, and Limiteers would have never taken the stage.

    But it was extremely strange that the Sea King would want so much pyrolyte, and it was inconceivable that he would risk the wrath of the other organizations for such a thing.

    ¡°Brother, I want to return to the Sea King''s Dome! I want to look for Father!¡± Qiqi shouted.

    Hai Dashao stubbornly rebutted, ¡°You don¡¯t need toe back. There¡¯s no one who would dare to wage war on my Sea King''s Dome. Rx, even if all of the Innerverse powers unite, they still can¡¯t defeat the Sea King''s Dome within the Starfall Sea.¡±

    And with that, Hai Dashao ended the call.

    Hai Qiqi still wanted to return to the Starfall Sea, but Lu Yin restrained her. ¡°Even with your copsible spacecraft¡¯s speed, it would still take you a long time to return to the Starfall Sea. By then, everything will already have been sorted out. Your brother is right. The various great powers won¡¯t dere war on the Sea King''s Dome just for pyrolyte. Also, don¡¯t forget that, aside from the Sea King''s Dome, the Starfall Sea still has Grayweed Continent and the others, each with an old freak with a power level in the several hundred thousands. Together, they can¡¯t be touched by those Innerverse powers.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s body trembled. Then, she slowly knelt down and buried her head in her arms. At this time, she finally understood Lu Yin¡¯s earlier feelings, and she thought of what he had once said to her. If the Sea King''s Dome faced a war, then what would she do? Who would have thought such a day woulde for her so fast.

    The Sea King¡¯s daughter was unpredictable, but she wasn¡¯t foolish. She understood that pyrolyte wasn¡¯t very important to the various Innerverse powers and also that they valued their reputation more. This time, the Sea King had practically pped all of those forces across the face, which was something that neither the Sword Sect nor the Daynight n could tolerate. A war was about to break out.

    More importantly, Hai Qiqi had a vague feeling that her father was hiding something from her, which was the true source of her unease. She started carefully thinking things through; why had her father so readily agreed to let her out? It must have been because he had been afraid that she might be implicated. All of his arrangements had been made long ago.

    ¡°Lu Yin, can we go to the Sea King''s Dome?¡± Hai Qiqi looked up pleadingly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had never seen her in such a state, and she looked like apletely different person. He reached out and patted her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nothing will happen to the Sea King''s Dome. Have you forgotten about Elder Tong? Didn¡¯t you say that his strategies are unbeatable? With him around, everything will be easily taken care of.¡±

    Hai Qiqi buried her head back in her arms,pletely miserable.

    Lu Yin looked in the direction of the Starfall Sea. Sea King, just what are you trying to do?

    Outside the Starfall Sea, an unprecedented scene was taking ce. Countless experts were gathering at that ce, and even Envoy-level powerhouses flitted about. Their mere presence caused the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance to shudder and the seaweed to break apart. Everyone stayed low as they looked up at the countless powerhouses littering the sky.

    The Sword Sect and Daynight experts led the way, aggressively charging into the Starfall Sea.

    It was possible that they had been waiting a long time for this moment, and the gathered organizations had all united for a variety of motivations. They were dealing with the Starfall Sea because of the pyrolyte, but that wasn¡¯t all.

    The Innerverse would not permit the existence of a power that waspletely outside of their structure, so the Starfall Sea had no allies.

    Countless people were observing this battle, and many watched on with worry, as no one knew what the oue would be. Wen Sansi now regretted requesting the Starsibyl Sect to look into the matter, as he had never imagined that his request would create trouble on such arge scale.

 Chapter 528: Upper Three Gates

    <h4>Chapter 528: Upper Three Gates</h4>

    Things had recently be very busy in the Starfall Sea. First, Pirate King Highsage Leon hade by and kicked up a fuss. And now, even more powerhouses hade. However, for the residents of the Sea King''s Dome, this all meant nothing because the Sea King wasn¡¯t even at the Sea King''s Dome. He resided somewhere nearby in the Starfall Sea, beneath the waterfall whose top was rumored to be impossible to even see.

    There were rumors that the source of all the water within the Starfall Sea was precisely this gigantic waterfall that no one could climb. The theory also went that the Starfall Sea ended at another fountain, whose end could not be seen either. The Starfall Sea was essentially a small, concave region along a huge river. There was a start and end for sure, but nobody knew where theyy.

    As the water fell, there were riptides that would break off, and each one carried the power to destroy anything and everything in its path, includings. Simrly, there were many strange things that appeared within the Starfall Sea. Nobody knew where such things came from, but the appearance of these oddities caused a lot of people to search the sea for them. This was one of the reasons why the Starfall Sea attracted so much attention from powerhouses from both the Outerverse and the Innerverse.

    The Undying Manual had first shown up in the Starfall Sea, and there were many, many simr items that had shown up throughout the years.

    The Sea King stood beneath the waterfall and was greeted by a group who appeared. ¡°Stop. This is an order from the Hall of Honor. Nobody is to go close without permission.¡±

    The Sea Kingpletely ignored the people there as he immediately leaped up and charged towards the top of the waterfall.

    The people from the Hall of Honor were infuriated, and they all took action. There were twelve of them here, and each one of them was an Enlighter. Above everyone, there was a pair of eyes that opened, and they looked at the Sea King in shock. ¡°Why are you forcing your way through, Sea King?¡±

    The Sea King waved his hand, causing all twelve of the Enlighters to cough up blood and fall into the waterfall. The Sea King¡¯s Trident then appeared in his hands as he attacked.

    ¡°Have you forgotten your agreement with the Hall of Honor, Sea King? You are not to go near this ce!¡± A middle-aged man walked out of the waterfall and blocked the path forward with both of his arms before charging at the Sea King.

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes turned icy. ¡°Move aside. You can¡¯t stop me!¡±

    With a boom, a huge gap appeared in the waterfall. However,pared to the entire waterfall, this gap was just a tiny hole.

    The Sea King, who possessed a power level of over 500,000, had attacked a powerhouse with a simr power level, but such a momentous collision had only created a tiny gap in the waterfall.

    Soon, the middle-aged man coughed out blood, and he stumbled into the waterfall. He bellowed, ¡°Are you going to betray this ce, Sea King?¡±

    The Sea King looked grim. ¡°If the other choice is to keep living under this facade forever, then I¡¯d rather die with honor. I don¡¯t care how my descendants remember me! You people from the Hall of Honor are way too conservative.¡±

    He shot forward like a fish, clearly intending to charge through the waterfall.

    The middle-aged man hastily contacted the Hall of Honor. He had a feeling that something big was about to happen. Given the Sea King¡¯s personality, the man wouldn¡¯t take such actions unless he¡¯d already made ample preparations.

    ¡°Quick! Get Arch-Elder Zen over here right away! The Sea King is about to open the Upper Three Gates!¡± he screamed into his gadget.

    High in the sky, the Sea King moved faster and faster as he flew higher and higher. The look in his eyes became increasingly determined.

    There were no records of the waterfall¡¯s height; however, this was the water source of the entire Starfall Sea, which had drowned out a portion of the universe. Evens were nothing more than gravel inparison to it.

    The higher the Sea King climbed, the more powerful the current became. However, he could still endure the force.

    Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes¡­ Even with his speed as an Envoy, the Sea King had still been flying for a long time with no change in sight. When he finally stopped, what he saw was still just a waterfall. The Sea King took a deep breath and clenched his trident tightly. With a mighty roar, he used his trident to tear through the cascade. Behind the waterfall, there was a gigantic stone gate.

    The sheer size of this stone gate was indescribable. The moment it appeared, the entire Starfall Sea jolted. Everyone nced in the direction of the waterfall, feeling like their very souls were trembling.

    Meanwhile, within the Starfall Sea, two elders froze at the same time and nced at each other in shock and confusion. One of them was from the Daynight n while the other was from the Sword Sect. They were both Envoys whose power levels exceeded 500,000. They had initially nned on interrogating the Sea King, but at that moment, they suddenly froze in ce.

    They weren¡¯t the only ones. All of the powerhouses from the major powers of the Innerverse stopped moving. They all felt themselves instinctively tremble as a mighty pressure, as well as terror, swept over them. It was as if they¡¯d encountered their natural predator.

    Somewhere below the waterfall, the middle-aged man had a defeated look. ¡°It¡¯s toote. Far toote.¡±

    In one small area of the Starfall Sea, the Sea King¡¯s eldest son looked sorrowful. ¡°Farewell, Father.¡±

    Far above, on the waterfall, the Sea King panted as he looked at the gigantic stone wall in awe and despair. There were only a few people in the entire universe who knew whaty behind that gate. On this day, he was going to break through it.

    The Sea King struck out with his trident and smashed it against the stone gate. However, the gate did not even budge.

    The Sea King narrowed his eyes. This was what he had expected. With this in mind, he reverently took out a bag. It looked very ordinary, but then he pulled out a blood-stained cloak from the bag.

    The moment the cloak appeared, the void seemed to tremble. Above the Sea King, countless cracks extended out as if space was unable to withstand the pressure of the stained cloak.

    The Sea King had a look of ridicule in his eyes. ¡°The facade clearly can¡¯t handle the power of my predecessors! Please help me, sir, and destroy this fake sky. Return the Fifth Maind to what it once was.¡± He then pulled out all of the pyrolyte he possessed, wrapped it within the cloak, and smashed it against the stone gate.

    Within the Starfall Sea, an old man suddenly appeared. He only took one step, but that one step brought him next to the various powerhouses of the Innerverse. This included the two Envoys. When they saw the old man, their faces immediately revealed their shock as they both paled. On his third step, the old man arrived at the Sea King''s Dome, but he merely nced at it for a second. On his fourth step, he appeared high up in the waterfall.

    He appeared just in time to see the stained cloak move towards the stone gate. He had intended to stop the Sea King, but he seemed to be afraid of something. Although he had an opportunity to do something, his moment of hesitation allowed the stained cloak to hit the gate.

    In that moment, the heavens crashed down¡ªliterally. The heavens had cracked open. The Starfall Sea had cracked apart, and the same was true of the stone gate. Behind it was an old woman with a very stern face. As soon as she saw the cloak, her expression quickly changed. ¡°Th-th- That¡¯s!¡± But before she could even finish her sentence, the cloak brushed past her, and most of her body was destroyed. She had died that fast. Even while dead, there was a look of terror on her face.

    Behind her stood a second stone gate. The stained cloak did not slow down, and it struck the second gate as well. When that gate cracked open, the same incident urred. However, this time, it wasn¡¯t only just the Starfall Sea that shook; the entire Chaos Flowzone and even the Astral River that divided the Innerverse and the Outerverse began trembling as space copsed

    Behind the second stone gate was another person. This time, it was an old man, and when he blinked, everything he saw disintegrated into nothingness. The Sea King felt a cold chill; this power was not something that he could face.

    However, the old man¡¯s aura of strengthsted for no more than a moment. The instant the old man saw the blood-stained cloak, his expression changed just like the old woman¡¯s. ¡°Pro- Progenitor Chen¡¯s cloak! How dare you!¡±

    The old man struck out, trying to stop the cloak in vain. At that moment, the pyrolyte inside the cloth exploded. The Sea King had personally moved to seize most of the pyrolyte mined from Pyrolyte and all of it exploded at once. The cloak¡¯s blood contaminated the explosion, raising its power to another level. Although the old man was very powerful, his strength still was not enough to stop such an explosive force. In terms of power levels, this explosion was well over a million.

    The stained cloak was shredded by the power of the explosion as it then struck the third gate thaty behind the old man.

    The old man roared, ¡°Our ancestor gave you a way out of this from the kindness of his heart! How dare you trample upon it!¡±

    The Sea King stared intently at the third gate behind the old man, all the while internally screaming, Open, open, open!

    The old man turned around and also looked at the third gate.

    Crack!

    With a quiet sound, the cloak finally disintegrated due to the power of the pyrolyte explosion. The third gate opened, and though it was only the tiniest bit, the Sea King could sense an aura that waspletely different from that of where he was currently standing. This aura changed the very nature of space.

    The Sea King burst intoughter. ¡°This is it! This is the true universe! This is the fifth! This is the fifth!!!¡±

    The old man was enraged. ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± He then aimed his hand at the Sea King.

    The Sea King continues tough crazily. He had no ns to fight back anymore. The old man¡¯s power was terrifying, and he was not somebody that the Sea King couldpare to. Just as the old man¡¯s attack was about tond on the Sea King, the old man from the Starfall Sea pulled the Sea King backwards, raised his fist, and attacked.

    The shocking attack blew the Sea King¡¯s mind as the old man raced back while dragging the Sea King along with him. ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen ?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen appeared to be serious. In front of him, the old man protecting the stone gate lifted a hand once again. ¡°Child, although we might have simr power levels, you will not be able to stop me that easily. You will die!¡±

    The Sea King looked grim. ¡°Please leave, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen. I¡¯ll stop him.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen did not answer. Instead, he stared at a certain ce. To be more precise, he stared behind the old man and through the third stone gate. His pupils shrank when he saw a finger¡ªa pretty, jade-like finger¡ªsmash through the stone gate that had opened by a tiny crack. The finger was aimed right at the old man protecting the stone gate.

    The old man felt a chill go down his spine, and he turned back, startled. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The finger tapped the old man¡¯s head, and it nearly forced his head into his chest as he was smashed downwards. After that, the finger pulled back. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen and the Sea King stared on in shock. Through the destroyed gate, they could see an unfamiliar space and a pair of bright eyes. They were beautiful, but so, so arrogant.

    The third gate had finally been destroyed, and the shockwaves spread out in all directions. At an indescribable speed, they swept across the Starfall Sea, then the Innerverse, Astral River, Cosmic Sea, Outerverse, and on and on.

    In the Starfall Sea, numerous people looked up, confused. Why did it seem like the sky was growing brighter?

    The powerhouses from the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, and all the other powerful forces looked up. Something seemed to have changed. Space itself seemed to have changed.

    Shortly after, space fragmented apart. Everybody gaped, staring at the sky in disbelief. It had split open and then vanished. After that, apletely different sky appeared.

    Meanwhile, a huge change urred in the Astral River. The liquid energy that formed the river suddenly surged upwards, causing the Astral River Ark to lose control. The huge vessel shot towards the Outerverse as if somebody had flung it away. The tributaries of the Astral River spread throughout the Innerverse behaved the same. Everything suddenly rose up and sealed off each of the flowzones.

    The Astral River had justpletely separated the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

 Chapter 529: Changing Skies

    <h4>Chapter 529: Changing Skies</h4>

    In the Outerverse, on Zenyu Star, Lu Yin was shocked as he stared at the sky. What was going on? The sky had disappeared just now. He had just seen the sky crack before shattering like a mirror. Then, another sky had appeared.

    <i>This scene suddenly reminded him of the words that he had heard back on the ind at the end of the Ocean of Death: ¡°<i>Five changed the sky. Five was reced with six. Since then, a fake veil has been draped across the heavens. We won''t allow it!</i></i>

    <i><i>¡°The sky has changed. It has changed.¡±</i></i>

    He was also reminded of how the Ghost Monkey had described the Rune Technology Civilization: ¡°A sky covers another sky¡±.

    Hai Qiqi suddenly screamed in horror, ¡°Father! I can¡¯t feel father¡¯s power anymore!¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he suddenly had a bad premonition. Could something have happened to the Sea King?

    Beside the waterfall, in the depths of the Starfall Sea, the Sea King ecstatically eximed, ¡°I¡¯ve seeded! I finally seeded!¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen stared at the broken third gate. That pair of bright eyes had disappeared, and after a while, the broken third door closed by itself.

    Upon seeing that, the Sea King¡¯sughter abruptly stopped, and his face turned pale. ¡°Why? Why did the gate close?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen let out a sigh of relief. ¡°So they don¡¯t want to have any interactions with us. Alright, it¡¯s alright.

    The Sea King roared, raised the Sea King¡¯s Trident, and mmed it upon thest stone gate. However without the blood stained cloak, his attack couldn¡¯t damage the stone gate in the slightest.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen yelled, ¡°Enough! Do you really want this maind to be eradicated?¡±

    The Sea King looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen with determined eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t ept this! If I don¡¯t break this door open, then we will forever be forced beneath them. We will never be anything more than ants!¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen closed his eyes. ¡°Even if you make it through that stone gate, you¡¯ll just bring about another desperate situation. This sort of thing has happened before, and I will not allow it to happen again.¡±

    The Sea King seemed to have lost all of his strength, and he closed his eyes.

    Elder Zen looked at the Sea King. ¡°This is the best result possible of today¡¯s events. The false skies have been torn apart, but it did not attract a powerful enemy. However¡­¡± At this point, he looked towards the waterfall. ¡°¡­War ising. This will be a war that envelops the entire universe. Neither we, the Astral Beast Domain, nor the Technocracy will be able to escape from this. The real catastrophe has yet toe.¡±

    At the bottom of the waterfall, the old man who had previously guarded the first stone gate screamed in derision, ¡°You eternal ants! We will not let you go! We will make the blood of this skies flow like a river! We will make your ancestors weep! These skies will no longer exist after this!¡± With a snort, the old man¡¯s eyes shed. When he looked down at his chest, he saw a spear protruding from it. His fresh blood was dripping into the sea.

    The old man slowly turned his head around and saw a ck warhorse with hoofs wreathed in blue mes. Atop the warhorse sat a figure that looked like a phantasm. It was wearing armor, but it couldn¡¯t be clearly seen. The only detail that could be seen besides the armor were two zing mes, which were its eyes. The gaze of this figure would send a chill through anyone.

    The spear was violently pulled back, and the old man¡¯s internal organs were left shattered. The light soon left his eyes, and he tumbled into the sea.

    From the sky, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen appeared with the Sea King. He looked sternly at the figure on the horse. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to make an appearance. It must feel good to kill an old enemy.¡±

    From above the warhorse, two zing mes directed their focus to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen. ¡°If he hadn¡¯t already been seriously injured, it would have been very difficult for me to kill him.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve appeared, then does that mean that the Burial Garden will reopen?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen asked gravely.

    The figure on the warhorse turned around. ¡°The Burial Garden reopened long ago. The living are nowhere to be found. You may enter the Burial Garden, but you will only see the dead. A cmity will soon arrive, so you¡¯d better think about that instead.¡±

    The ghost-like figure that looked like a phantasm then disappeared.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°If the Burial Garden has reopened, then the dead will reappear.¡±

    ¡°So what? No one can hide from the catastrophic war that ising. The Burial Garden will be no different,¡± the Sea King said solemnly.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen looked at him. ¡°Why did you have the ancestor¡¯s bloody cloak?¡±

    The Sea King casually replied, ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the Starfall Sea, but that bloody cloak was discovered by ident.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. ¡°Everything is ording to destiny.¡±

    ¡°No, this was the blessing of our ancestors. Our ancestors want us to resist instead of merely waiting to die without dignity,¡± the Sea King replied in a firm voice.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen stared at the Sea King for a while. ¡°It¡¯s toote to say anything at this point. I just hope that you¡¯re right.¡±

    After saying that, he took a step forward. ¡°Catastrophe is quickly approaching, and there can¡¯t be any internal friction among us. The Hall of Honor will help you take responsibility for this matter, and this old man also hopes that you will own up to your own responsibilities.¡± After saying this, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen disappeared.

    The Sea King clenched his trident and slowly bowed towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s back. If it hadn¡¯t been for <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arch-Elder Zen, he would have already died.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t aware of the events that had just urred in the Starfall Sea, but he received a shocking piece of news: the Astral River had surged and hadpletely separated the Innerverse from the Outerverse. Even the Astral River Ark had been swept away.

    When he first read the news, he couldn¡¯t believe it. Why would the Astral River change so drastically? But then, when he remembered how the sky had shattered, he realized that something extraordinary must have happened in the depths of the universe.

    Beep, beep, beep.

    Lu Yin checked his gadget. ¡°Regent, energy explosions have appeared in the third fment, which havepletely isted the area from nearby regions.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the energy intensity?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°It is equivalent to a catastrophic cosmic phenomenon, but after taking readings, the energy has declined rapidly after the detonation. Initial estimations say that it willpletely disappear after a month.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded to indicate his understanding.

    Before long, he received many more simr reports.

    He finally set his gadget down. Many regions of the Great Yu Empire had be isted due to the explosive energy, but these energies did not appear tost long. The longest that one of these energy explosions wouldst for was about a year. These events did not only take ce in the Great Yu Empire, and Lu Yin expected that simr events had urred throughout the rest of the Outerverse. Many regions had be cut off from the rest of the universe due to this explosive energy. Actually, the Astral River itself was liquid energy. If it had exploded, then that would be a reasonable exnation for this phenomena.

    With the raw energy concentrated in the Astral River, how long would it take to return to normal? Lu Yin had no idea, but he guessed that it might take a very long time.

    In other words, the Innerverse and Outerverse had now bepletely separated. His eyes quickly filled with excitement. For most of his cultivation journey, the major forces of the Innerverse had been like a python constricting Lu Yin, giving him no space to breath. He had already prepared for the worst, but now, unexpectedly, thendscape of the universe had drastically changed. If the Innerverse had really been separated from the Outerverse, then he wouldn¡¯t need to escape.

    At that moment, Wendy Yushan appeared with a serious expression. ¡°Check how the void feels.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his fist and used a bit of force. The air merely fluctuated, and his expression drastically changed. He exerted more force, but the air still only trembled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face deepened even more. He waved a hand and unleashed a massive force that should have been more than enough to shatter the void, but this time, it did nothing more than twist the air and send a strong wind sweeping through the area. Still, there was no change in space itself.

    ¡°How can this be?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Wendy Yushan solemnly replied, ¡°Space itself has changed.¡± She unsheathed her longsword and shed down. Sword qi that was visible to the naked eye tore through the air and shed far into the distance, but the space remained unchanged.

    ¡°The space has be stable,¡± Lu Yinmented gravely.

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Even with my strength, it is very difficult for me to tear through the void now. Perhaps only someone with the power of a Hunter can disrupt this space. Lu Yin, the sky has changed.

    ¡°Where is Hai Qiqi?¡± Wendy Yushan suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°She¡¯s hiding by herself. The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, so she can¡¯t return to the Starfall Sea, and she also can¡¯t feel the Sea King¡¯s power.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes turned sullen. She had experienced such feelings herself before, and she now felt very ufortable. ¡°You should go andfort her. Maybe there is a gap that you can use to pass through the Astral River.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. The Astral River Ark was also swept away. Even if the Astral River returns to its original state, it will still be difficult to cross it. At the very least, it will be impossible given our abilities. We would need to be at least an Enlighter powerhouse.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s face changed drastically. Enlighter powerhouses¡ªthose people were unable to travel across the Astral River without help. Simrly, there were Enlighters who had been trapped in the Astral Wilderness.

    Not all of the Enlighter powerhouses had returned to the Innerverse after the events at Pyrolyte, so there should still be some remaining in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank once he realized this. Once it waspletely determined that the Outerverse had been fully separated from the Innerverse, it would also mean that he would have lost the Sea King¡¯s protection. Those Enlighters would then be able to act unscrupulously against Frostwave Weave.

    Of the Enlighters remaining in the Outerverse, some of them might be Lu Yin¡¯s enemies. After all, he had stolen quite a few star essence skins on Pyrolyte, and there was also their desire for the secret technique.

    Lu Yin grew apprehensive. At his side, Wendy Yushan seemed to have thought of the same thing, as a serious expression on her face had appeared on her face.

    The Great Yu Empire immediately entered the state of highest alert, and all foreign spacecraft were strictly investigated on Lu Yin¡¯s order.

    It was unlikely for anything to happen during the first few days. Even the Enlighters would need some time to confirm the state of the Astral River. However, after more than ten days passed, the atmosphere of the Outerverse changed drastically. First of all, Darkmist Weave, which was the weave closest to the Astral River, underwent drastic changes. One entire organization was wiped out. The attacker was an Enlighter. Afterwards, several other forces were also wiped out.

    This incident became the catalyst that led to the advent of a dramatic change.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank when he heard this news. He didn¡¯t even hesitate to return to King Zishan¡¯s mansion and start rolling his die. He wanted to roll Enhance so that he could use his star essences to upgrade his universal armor, the gun, and some other materials. He needed to upgrade his equipment to the extent where he could threaten an Enlighter.

    Huo Qingshan and the others were all waiting at Zenyu Star since they had already predicted that an Enlighter powerhouse would soon show up.

    In King Zishan¡¯s Mansion, Lu Yin stayed in a secret room. He screened the Ghost Monkey off and then raised his hand. His die appeared, and he tapped it with one finger, causing it to spin quickly. When the die came to a stop, Lu Yin saw were six pips. His vision grew dark, but he suddenly regained rity afterwards.

    Lu Yin let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he had taken the precaution to set his cosmic ring to the side. As long as he didn¡¯t have any star energy crystals or star essences on him, nothing would happen when he rolled Possession.

    But now that he had rolled Possession, it would be harder for him to roll Enhance. He used a star crystal to restore the die and rolled it again.

    The die spun quickly and finally stopped on Pilfer.

    Lu Yin sighed. As expected, after rolling Possession, it was always harder to roll Enhance. With a snap, Pilfer randomly selected an item from some random cosmic ring. Lu Yin had received many strange things through this ability, including women¡¯s clothing and even a rock once. This time however, he received a blood-red bell the size of a thumb.

    Looking at the bell on the ground, Lu Yin frowned. He felt very ufortable when he looked at it, almost as if he had been caught by something. His blood started boiling when he leaned in to pick up the bell, and the moment he touched it, his body trembled and turned cold to the point where he stiffened up. He quickly stored the bell away in his cosmic ring. This demonic item felt even stranger than Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    Still, at least it seemed to be something good. Well, it was better than a rock or underwear.

 Chapter 530: Crisis

    <h4>Chapter 530: Crisis</h4>

    Lu YIn had two more chances. If he was lucky, one of these two rolls would be either Timestop or Enhance. If not, he¡¯d have to wait for quite a while before making another attempt.

    Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. For both times, he rolled Pilfer. He obtained a weapon that looked pretty good, but on his second roll, he received a normal pair of pants. In a fit of anger, Lu Yin burned the damn thing to ashes.

    He¡¯d already rolled his die four times, but his luck had been terrible. He could only wait ten days and hope that nothing would go wrong before he rolled his die again.

    Within the Astral Wilderness, a ming warship was headed in the direction of Frostwave Weave. It carried cultivators from the ze Realm.

    During the contest for the pyrolyte ore, the ze Realm had only obtained a small amount of pyrolyte. The main reason was because Lu Yin had killed Jared, which meant that the ze Realm had been significantly slowed. On top of that, one of the people they had intended to deploy had never shown up, and Huo Houye had been absolutely furious because of that.

    It was only when everything was over that that person had arrived.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose was the person in question. She was beautiful but very vicious. More importantly, she was ranked thirty first in the Top 100 Rankings. Unfortunately, by the time she arrived at Pyrolyte, Lu Yin and the others had already left.

    At this moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose waszily leaning against the side of the spacecraft, revealing a pair of long, pale legs. She stared off into space. ¡°Things have changed and going back to the Innerverse is now impossible. I wonder if there are any fun people still here in the Outerverse.¡± As she spoke, Huo Houye came to her mind, and she smirked. ¡°Wendy Yushan will probably disappear from the Top 100 Rankings soon. That means that I¡¯ll be able to enter the top thirty. What a pity. Lu Yin¡¯s a pretty interesting guy though. I hope that he doesn¡¯t die in some pathetic manner.¡±

    ¡°Baihe?¡± Someone eximed in shock. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose turned around and saw a young man with fair skin and burning excitement in his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s me! Do you remember me? You¡¯re the one who took me to the ze Realm!¡± The youth ran over to her, looking at her zealously.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose blinked, pursed her lips, and gave off an incredibly enchanting look. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    The youth could feel his heart rate rapidly increase because of her alluring figure, and he gulped. ¡°There were a thousand of us at that time, so it makes sense that you wouldn¡¯t remember me. Where have you been all these years? You haven¡¯t been to the ze Realm at all.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose chuckled and lifted the youth¡¯s chin with a finger, much to his shock. She then slowly drew closer. ¡°I¡¯m very tired, my dear, so let me lean on you for a bit, okay?¡±

    The young man had a dazed look as he gulped, and unconsciously scanned the woman¡¯s body. He could sense an enchanting aroma from her curvaceous body, and her bright red coat looked incredibly beautiful. The young man found himself unable to speak.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose smiled and leaned forward.

    The youth felt something warm, and he was enveloped by an indescribable sense of amazement as he unconsciously ced his arms around <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose¡¯s slender waist.

    ¡­

    At the border of Frostwave Weave, there was a fleet patrolling. Everything appeared to be normal, but then, all of a sudden, mes spread everywhere and burnt the whole fleet to nothingness.

    A figure flitted by and stared ahead fiercely.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin eyed the various documents in front of him and felt a headache developing. He had no idea how Undying Yushan had managed everything. The Great Yu Empire was huge and covered thirteen fments, so there were innumerable incidents and reportsing in at any given time. Right now, chaos reigned throughout most of Frostwave Weave. There was a whole mountain of documents making their way to Lu Yin every single day.

    Lu Yin had already re-delegated most of the documents to others, but even then, there were still many that he had to personally handle.

    He could not find Wendy Yushan at this time either. This must havee from her previous experience. She must have known that this would happen, so she had left him at Zenyu Star while she escaped.

    Lu Yin sighed and started to read another one of the documents. Lu Yin had to decide whether or not the military should suppress rebels on a certain. All he needed to do was approve the military action. The next document was about sending more supplies to some region, but just thinking about the work still ahead of him made him dizzy.

    He really couldn¡¯t take it anymore. If he spent all his time looking at these documents, there was no way he would be able to do anything else. This wouldn¡¯t do. He needed to find someone else to handle these things.

    However, all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s ministers were people who Undying Yushan had hired while he had still been around, and most of them were people whom Lu Yin disliked. The way that they¡¯d treated <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, in particr, had been uneptable.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to reevaluate things and find someone talented to deal with all this bureaucracy,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. Then, he dived right into the huge pile of documents.

    All of a sudden, his gadget beeped. Lu Yin nced at it, and his expression immediately changed. He immediately contacted Ban Jiu and activated Zenyu Star¡¯s defenses.

    Lu Yin took a step and next appeared in the sky. Soon after, Huo Qingshan, Peach, Rocky Auna, and the rest appeared as well, all of them looking up at the sky with a grim expression. They¡¯d all received the same report. All of the fleets patrolling along the path between Northcastle Weave and Frostwave Weave had been wiped out and destroyed by mes. The line was pointing straight at Zenyu Star.

    The situation that they were most worried about had finallye to pass. A powerhouse was attacking Frostwave Weave, and they had already dealt a huge amount of damage.

    Moving the people who lived on Zenyu Star to somewhere else wasn¡¯t possible at this moment. If their opponent was an Enlighter, then they¡¯d move very quickly.

    Lu Yin looked grim as he rubbed his cosmic ring. It seemed that there was no way to get out of this mess. The powerhouse might very well be an Enlighter, since they had attacked with mes, there was a high likelihood that they were that Enlighter from ze Realm, Huo Houye.

    Wendy Yushan appeared, and she looked at Lu Yin solemnly.

    After that, Ban Jiu arrived as well. Invisible energy waves enveloped Zenyu Star, also covering all three of its surrounding rings. This was Zenyu Star¡¯s strongest defense that had been created back when Undying Yushan was still in power. It was rumored to be able to block the attacks of a peak Hunter.

    ¡°Based on the feedback regarding power level, it would seem that the enemy isn¡¯t too far away from Zenyu Star at this time,¡± Ban Jiu said grimly.

    Zenyu Star was prepared for battle.

    Hourster, the energy surrounding Zenyu Star turnedpletely red as a terrifying pressure spread out and started to roast the entire.

    The people on Zenyu Star trembled in fear as the temperature of the entire atmosphere spiked. Even the oceans started to evaporate..

    Huo Houye towered above the in outer space and looked down at it. With a wave of his hand, his mes turned into a gigantic palm that smashed down. After a boom, the three continents started to copse, and the defensive energy field had already been destroyed.

    Lu Yin had preemptively put on his universal armor, and he took out the Money Bomb at this time and aimed it at Huo Houye. At the same time, Huo Qingshan, the Blind Monk, and the other powerhouses all attacked. Numerous attacks were aimed at the Enlighter.

    Huo Houye snickered. ¡°I¡¯ll show you what being an Enlighter means.¡±

    With one hand, he manipted the void and caused ripples to quickly burst open and swallow all of their attacks.

    While the universe¡¯s space had changed, Enlighters were still able to tear through the void. This was the ability held by the strong.

    At this moment, all of the devices measuring power levels exploded, for Huo Houye had disyed an iparable strength just now.

    The Great Yu Empire had never provoked an Enlighter before. Even Liuying Zishan, Peach, and the others had never faced such a powerful cultivator. The pressure that they felt from this person was something that they did not even have the guts to face.

    The Money Bomb attack that Lu Yin had used on Huo Houye proved to bepletely useless.

    Huo Houye took a step forward and appeared in front of Lu Yin and the rest. With a wave of his hand, mes zed through the void. Huo Qingshan and the Blind Monk, who were both Hunters, immediately rushed forward to stop him, but they were unable to advance at all due to the mes. Lu Yin stood in front of them and looked at Huo Houye as a jade talisman appeared in his hands. If he crushed it, Mister Mu would appear.

    Wait a second. Lu Yin suddenly recalled the fact that the Innerverse and the Outerverse were no longer connected. Could Mister Mu evene?

    The thought caused him to go pale. If Mister Mu could note, then Lu Yin¡¯s only option would be to contact Granny Chan from Northline Flowzone. After all, Northline Flowzone still owed him a favor.

    Huo Houye looked at Lu Yin with scorn. ¡°Weren¡¯t you arrogant at Pyrolyte, kid? You killed a powerhouse from my ze Realm, chased away the people from the Daynight n and Sword Sect, and even fought against people in the Top 100 Rankings. What about now?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glimmered, and he looked uncertain.

    Wendy Yushan spoke up. ¡°You want the secret technique, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Huo Houye looked straight at her, his eyes revealing his desire and greed. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you under the condition that you don¡¯t hurt anyone. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just kill myself, and then you¡¯ll never be able to get it,¡± Wendy Yushan said matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin grabbed her. ¡°No.¡±

    Peach and the others voiced their disapproval as well.

    Wendy Yushan pushed Lu Yin aside and kept her eyes trained on Huo Houye.

    Huo Houye appeared to be deep in thought for a moment. Compared to a secret technique, these people¡¯s lives meant nothing to him. He was also afraid that something would go wrong while capturing Wendy Yushan, so he agreed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it. I won¡¯t harm the others, so obedientlye with me.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked despondent as she nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s resolve hardened, and just as he was about to crush the jade stone, Hai Qiqi appeared after having hid for several days. She looked straight at Huo Houye. ¡°Have you forgotten that Frostwave Weave is under the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s protection?¡±

    Huo Houye chuckled and shook his head. ¡°I know that you¡¯re his daughter, but now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have beenpletely separated, he can¡¯t meddle in the affairs of Frostwave Weave anymore. Besides, even if this wasn¡¯t a problem, the Sea King has already offended the entire Innerverse by stealing all of that pyrolyte. The Sea King is in trouble as it is. I¡¯ll disregard your rudeness seeing as how I already have the secret technique. You may go.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked up. ¡°The Sea King is a man of his word. If he says that the Frostwave Weave is under his protection, then he won¡¯t allow anyone to do as they wish!¡±

    Blue rays started emanating from her body as an item appeared in her hands; it was the Sea King¡¯s Trident.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he recognized the weapon. However, what was in Hai Qiqi¡¯s hands was clearly not the actual Sea King¡¯s Trident, but rather more like its shadow.

    The moment the weapon appeared, everyone on Zenyu Star was able to sense an iparable strength that was far above Huo Houye¡¯s. This power was able to nullify the heat that had enveloped Zenyu Star.

    Huo Houye eyed the spear in awe. ¡°This¡­ this is the power of the Sea King.¡±

    Hai Qiqi lifted it. ¡°Leave or die.¡±

    Without giving the matter a second thought, Huo Houye immediately left. He had been able to sense a threat to his life. That thing most certainly held the Sea King¡¯s power. He hadn¡¯t expected the Sea King to actually be able to merge his power into another person¡¯s body¡ªthat power was enough to kill an Enlighter.

    Sometimes, the longer people lived, the more they feared death. That was precisely the case for Huo Houye. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not Hai Qiqi truly had the ability to kill Enlighters, as he wouldn¡¯t take that risk.

    Lu Yin put the jade talisman away and stared at Hai Qiqi in awe. It was no wonder why the Sea King had said that Hai Qiqi did not need Lu Yin¡¯s protection. Clearly, she had the power of the Sea King within her all along. No, didn¡¯t she say that she couldn¡¯t sense the Sea King¡¯s power before? Could the reason why she had been able to sense his power be because of what her father had ced in her body?

    In that case, this power was all there was, and it could not be replenished anymore. He hurriedly had Hai Qiqi stop using it.

 Chapter 531: Exhaustion And Plunder

    <h4>Chapter 531: Exhaustion And Plunder</h4>

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s body swayed as the blue halo vanished. She seemed to be a bit pale and much weaker than before.

    Lu Yin quickly moved to support her, but she pushed him away and left by herself.

    Ban Jiu stepped forward. ¡°The person from just now is headed towards Northcastle Weave, and he did not stop.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Huo Houye must have been scared out of his wits, as facing such a power was too terrifying.

    Wendy Yushan spoke up. ¡°Go and console her. After all, we were just rescued by her.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in response, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    He then went to chase after Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi ended up running to a sea where the shore had broken apart. Arge portion of the sea had been evaporated by the heat from Huo Houye¡¯s mes, and the water was still steaming.

    Hai Qiqi reached out to the water with a miserable expression.

    When Lu Yin arrived behind her, it was his first time seeing her in such a down mood. She had matured in the span of one night after something happened to the Sea King. For example, just now, she had taken responsibility for the Sea King¡¯s promise, showing that she was no longer the same girl from before who only cared about provoking others with her venomous tongue.

    ¡°Before, I always believed that Father was the most amazing person in the universe, that there was nothing that he couldn¡¯t resolve, and that no one who would dare to oppose him,¡± Hai Qiqi dejectedly said with a gloomy tone.

    Lu Yin sat down next to her and looked at her. ¡°The Sea King is truly powerful, but the boundaries of the universe can never be found, and no one is truly invincible. However, I don¡¯t believe that the Sea King has suffered a mishap.¡±

    Hai Qiqi raised her hand as the blue halo flickered for a moment before vanishing. ¡°Father¡¯s strength has disappeared.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°The power that the Sea King integrated into your body was only that much?¡±

    Hai Qiqi hugged her knees. ¡°That person¡¯s an Enlighter.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. The Sea King must have integrated quite arge amount of power into Hai Qiqi¡¯s body, but the amount that her body could tolerate had to be taken into consideration as well. At best, the power that he had put in her body could threaten an Enlighter, but in that case, it could only be used once.

    ¡°Before I left, I asked Father, ¡®what do I do if the strength is gone?¡¯¡± Hai Qiqi looked up with red eyes. ¡°He told me that he will know and that he¡¯lle and get me.¡±

    She paused as two rows of crystal tears flowed down her face. ¡°I also asked Second Brother, ¡®what if Father neveres?¡¯ He told me that no matter if it was Father, Eldest Brother, or him, as long as I call for them, they will immediately appear. Hence, no matter how dark the universe seemed to be, I¡¯ve never been afraid, but-¡±

    Hai Qiqi raised her gadget and tried to contact Hai Dashao, but it could not connect to him. The Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, and that included thework. Allmunications between the Innerverse and the Outerverse had been cut off.

    Hai Qiqi buried her head in her arms and appeared helpless. She did not have a home anymore. Now that the Sea King¡¯s Dome was facing a crisis, she could not do anything, and she could not even find out anything either.

    Lu Yin had experienced such a feeling before, so he understood her helplessness. However, he could not help her. He had no strength to back up a promise, as even an old freak with a power level in the several hundreds of thousands could not force their way across the Astral River, let alone someone like him. It was possible that this division would go on for countless years, and Hai Qiqi might not even be able to return to the Sea King¡¯s Dome for the rest of her lifetime.

    She herself knew this, and so she had matured.

    Lu Yin ced a hand upon her head. ¡°I promise that, if there¡¯s even a sliver of a chance, I will send you back to the Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    Hai Qiqi remained silent.

    Lu Yin deliberately released the news of Huo Houye retreating from Zenyu Star in order to dissuade other Enlighters from attacking them. Hou Houye was not the only Enlighter who coveted the secret technique, and there were many more powers that held a grudge against Lu Yin besides the ze Realm. All Lu Yin wanted was to use this matter to gain a period of peace.

    Just two dayster, Ban Jiu looked for Lu Yin, and Lu Yin gave him the blueprints. His expression changed the moment he saw them. ¡°Royal Regent, where did you get these?¡±

    These blueprints had been obtained from his die¡¯s Pilfer, so Lu Yin simply replied, ¡°Coincidence. Are they useful?¡±

    Ban Jiu emotionally responded, ¡°Do you know what these blueprints are? These are blueprints for the most technologically advanced android in the universe! There¡¯s a total of nine different androids, and each blueprintprehensively describes the android¡¯s power and manufacturing method.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°You¡¯ve always been in the Great Yu Empire, so how do you know that this is the most technologically advanced android in the universe?¡±

    ¡°Because of this.¡± Ban Jiu pointed at the lower right hand corner of the blueprints, specifically at a symbol that Lu Yin did not recognize.

    Ban Jiu exined, ¡°This is the symbol of a research team in the Technocracy. When this subordinate roamed the universe in the past, I once entered the Technocracy¡¯s borders, and coincidentally learned some things there. There are many research teams within the Technocracy, and each one of them has their own armed forces, just like the various great powers of the Human Domain. This symbol represents one of the best research teams.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Are these androids powerful?¡±

    ¡°Extremely. ording to these blueprints, this sort of android can be upgraded endlessly after being manufactured, not like the current androids that are greatly restricted in their upgrades. This new type of android cannot be restricted, and they can be upgraded so long as we have the right materials.¡± Ban Jiu was very excited, and his voice even carried a trace of disbelief. This style of manufacturing was too novel, and it was even somewhat fantastical, but the researchers had seeded in the end.

    Lu Yin did not quite understand the finer details, but he had seen the Technocracy¡¯s androids, which were indeed powerful. However, those were undoubtedly the Technocracy¡¯s most advanced technology, which these blueprints shouldn¡¯t be. If so, there was no way that anyone would casually leave such a thing in their cosmic ring. He told Ban Jiu, ¡°Then go ahead and start the research. If an android can be manufactured, it will be able to somewhat upgrade our Great Yu Empire¡¯s strength.¡±

    Ban Jiu could tell that Lu Yin did not have high expectations for this project, but he was not anxious either. As long as these androids could be manufactured, the Royal Regent¡¯s attitude would definitely change. Only someone like Ban Jiu himself who could understand these blueprints would truly understand their implications. This was something that others could notprehend.

    When Ban Jiu was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something, and his expression became solemn. ¡°Royal Regent, the Outerverse is about to erupt into chaos, so I urge you to make preparations quickly.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Ban Jiu replied, ¡°Space-exploring powerhouses have something called the period of exhaustion. Before the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, those Innerverse powers had their own resources, and they did not need to worry about running out of resources during their period of exhaustion. But now...¡±

    Ban Jiu did not finish speaking, but Lu Yin knew what Ban Jiu was trying to say. That was right; those Explorers, Cruisers, Hunters, and even Enlighters would no longer have the support of their own organizations, and some of them were definitely close to their period of exhaustion. To avoid entering that state, they would start to frantically seize and plunder resources. How could he not have thought of this before?

    The period of exhaustion was something that no space-exploring powerhouse wanted to face. Only by obtaining a certain amount of resources would they be able to steadily wait for the Innerverse and Outerverse to reconnect. Normal powerhouses were nothing terrible, but the amount of resources required by just one Enlighter was terrifying. This meant that the Outerverse was truly going to be thrown into chaos, because even the Great Yu Empire¡¯s resources might not be enough to satisfy a single Enlighter.

    And how many Enlighters were currently trapped out in the Outerverse at this moment? Even if a weave could support one Enlighter, all of its surrounding weaves would all be crippled, not to mention the fact that no one would willingly support these Enlighters either.

    If the powerhouses could not obtain resources peacefully, then they would resort to another method, which was to plunder, and that meant warfare.

    Previously, Lu Yin had only considered the allure of the secret technique for Enlighters, but now, he realized that their resources had to be factored in as well. Hai Qiqi¡¯s deterrence would not be able to protect them for long, and so the Great Yu Empire would have to face the plundering of the Enlighters sooner orter. It was even possible that Grandtop Weave and Lars Weave had already started suffering from raids on their resources.

    This wouldn¡¯t do. He had to find some way quickly to keep them safe.

    Some dayster, while Lu Yin was still waiting for his die to recover, he received news that Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect had been eliminated. Their strongest Hunter had been killed, the rest of their disciples had been scattered to the winds, and their resources had been wiped clean by an Enlighter.

    Not long after, many other organizations suffered from simr fates of being plundered. Aside from Frostwave Weave, the surrounding weaves were all plunged into the quagmire of war, and they were allpletely one-sided ones at that. Against Enlighters, the various powers folded like paper and were easily crushed.

    Lu Yin grew more and more anxious, and after ten days passed, he finally returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce and took out his die. His face was full of expectation as he tapped it. Aside from that decisive battle against Qingyu on Earth, he had never been so nervous about rolling his die, as this would determine his life and death.

    He was lucky this time, as he immediately rolled three pips: Enhance.

    He rxed when he saw the two light screens appear. It was time to reap the rewards of his harvest, so he first took out his four remaining Money Bombs. He had upgraded three in the past, of which one had been given to Wendy Yushan, another used to attack Huo Houye, and thest one unused. However, he was now going to upgrade four of them to the peak this time.

    Lu Yin recalled how it had taken him dozens of star essence to upgrade a Money Bomb to the point of making him feel uneasyst time. To start, he tossed one onto the screen along with a hundred star essence. He could do as he wished now, as he was rich.

    The Money Bomb dropped through twice, which meant that it had been upgraded twice. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and there was arge number of rune lines, which proved that the Money Bomb could greatly influence the universe. However, it had not yet reached Huo Houye¡¯s level, so he threw on another hundred star essence. Unfortunately, the Money Bomb did not undergo aplete upgrade this time. He gritted his teeth and then directly tossed a thousand star essence in.

    He watched it upgrade two more times, which meant that it had been upgraded four times in total now. Currently, its rune lines had reached a simr amount to Huo Huoye¡¯s. This meant that this Money Bomb possessed the destructive ability of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin felt emotional. From start to finish, this Money Bomb had consumed 1,250 star essence, but that was still not enough. He needed something that could instantly kill an Enlighter, so he threw another 2,000 star essence on and upgraded the Money Bomb two more times.

    When he looked at it now, he saw a terrifying number of lines of runes. This was not something that he saw frequently, and from a rough estimation, it could rival a powerhouse with a power level between 270,000 and 280,000. If he was able to take someone by surprise, then this thing would be able to severely injure or even kill an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin carefully put this Money Bomb away and then calcted his expenses. It had taken him 3,300 star essence to upgrade one Money Bomb to this level, and he had three Money Bombs remaining. Thus, it would cost him more than 10,000 star essence to upgrade them all, and he did not have that much money.

    He was left speechless, as he never seemed to have enough money no matter how much he earned. But at this time, he had no choice since he had to prepare for an Enlighter¡¯s attack. There was no such expert in all of Frostwave Weave, but this was the price that had to be paid if he wanted to be able to withstand an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin suppressed his desire to upgrade all of his Money Bombs and instead pulled out his universal armor. Defense was just as important as offense, and his universal armor currently was not robust enough to withstand the strength of an Enlighter, which naturally meant that he would madly upgrade it right now.

 Chapter 532: Upgrading Crazily

    <h4>Chapter 532: Upgrading Crazily</h4>

    This universal armor had already been upgraded five times, but that was still insufficient if Lu Yin wanted to use it to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attacks. Lu Yin ced the universal armor on the screen of the upper level and directly threw another 1,000 star essence on. He had realized only now that he was spending money much more extravagantly than before. At one point, he had risked his life to rob 1,000 star essence from the ckbeard Pirates, but now, he had just spent that same amount in the blink of an eye.

    This amount was only enough to upgrade the universal armor once, which greatly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s initial prediction of 100 to 200 star essence per upgrade. The price to upgrade its defense from withstanding attacks with power levels in the mere tens of thousands to attacks in the hundreds of thousands was not simple .

    He threw out another 2,000 star essence, and it upgraded halfway this time, getting stuck in the middle of the light screens. He tossed another 700 star essence on, which fully upgraded the universal armor for a second time.

    The universal armor¡¯s appearance had undergone some changes at this point, and it also felt cold to the touch now. As for its rune lines, since the universal armor was not offensive in nature, they could not really be seen, but from what Lu Yin could tell, the armor should be able to withstand an attack with a power level of around 250,000. After all, this thing had just consumed nearly 4,000 star essence. Still, this level of defense was not nearly enough for Lu Yin, because he wanted to survive an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    He threw out another 2,000 star essence, and this time, the armor didn¡¯t even upgrade once. He tossed another 300, which allowed it to finish its third upgrade. This should have pushed it to the point of being able to withstand attacks with a power level of around 270,000 to 280,000, which should be enough for moving about the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin painfully checked his cosmic ring and saw that he only had about 7,520 star essence remaining.

    He had spent his money rather quickly, and he could already feel the sting in his wallet. His funds had dropped from 10,000 to 7,000 star essence oddly quickly, but he had only upgraded two items so far. At this moment, he was especially envious of Lulu. If he had the Mavis family¡¯s money, he could upgrade the universal armor to an extent that he would not be injured even if the universe copsed.

    However, he could only dream of such things, though he could not help but wonder if the Mavis family would eventually select a son-inw.

    He had already determined the final item he would upgrade, which was the gun.

    The gun had never been upgraded, but every bullet could explode with a power level of around 80,000. There were twenty bullets left, which meant thatprehensively upgrading the gun would require upgrading all twenty of these bullets as well.

    Lu Yin ced the gun on the upper light screen. He gritted his teeth and tossed out 3,000 star essence before he could hesitate. The gun was upgraded four times, but it still consumed way more money than the Money Bomb or the universal armor. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, its rune lines could currently only rival a Hunter¡¯s, and his heart sank. It seemed like he did not have enough money to upgrade the gun to the point where it could threaten Enlighters.

    He tossed another 4,000 star essence out, and the gun was upgraded four more times. Now, its rune lines numbered around as many as the Money Bombs¡¯ before. In other words, every attack was roughly equivalent to a power level of 150,000, which could instantly kill a normal Hunter.

    Spending more than 10,000 star essence had allowed him to upgrade just three items, and as Lu Yin watched the two screens vanish, he felt light-headed. His money had disappeared. He only had about 500 star essence left.

    Actually, he had something else that he truly wanted to upgrade, which was his formcast model. His current formcast model was a five-stage model, and he wanted to upgrade it to a six-stage one. Otherwise, when he broke through to the Explorer realm, his formcast model would vanish. Unfortunately, he was currently broke.

    Money, money, money. Currently, it was not just Lu Yin who needed it, but rather all of the powerhouses currently stranded in the Outerverse. Money had be the target that everyone strove for.

    Those powerhouses needed money to maintain their lives while Lu Yin needed money to protect himself. And to protect himself, he had to be able to threaten the lives of those powerhouses, which made for a vicious cycle. He could not break free of it, so it was time to participate in it and get more money.

    He walked out of King Zishan¡¯s residence and bumped into Wendy Yushan, but he saw that her expression was not that good. Her eyes brightened when she saw Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll pass those matters over to you. I can¡¯t be bothered with them!¡± After that, she actually ran away.

    Lu Yin knew what she was talking about, but he had no time to bother with them either.

    Two dayster, during a court meeting, Lu Yin announced that he wouldprehensively pull back the entirety of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s defense, which received no objections. The various organizations in the nearby weaves had all been ambushed or even annihted. Due to the matter with Huo Houye when he came to Zenyu Star, no one dared to provoke Frostwave Weave for now, but that did not mean that they would remain unperturbed forever. Some powerhouse would appear sooner orter, so they could only pull their defenses back for now.

    The court meetingsted for three hours, and it was clear that many people in the Great Yu Empire were feeling anxious, as the situations in the nearby weaves were making people feel apprehensive.

    After the meeting, Lu Yin kept Huo Qingshan, Ban Jiu, and a few others back. He wanted to send them to the surrounding weaves to gather information. Thework connections were still only intermittently avable, so it was not a source of reliable information at the moment. They only knew that the surrounding weaves had suffered from devastating attacks, but nobody knew the details of those attacks or who was now upying those weaves.

    Huo Qingshan and the others had assumed that Lu Yin was worried about being attacked, but Lu Yin was actually nning to join in on the chaos. He could not remain passive if he wanted to preserve his life, which meant that he had to participate in the current events. If amb transformed into a wolf, then the pack would fear it and not attack it. However, the pack of wolves first needed to know that themb had transformed.

    Lu Yin was waiting for the right moment to reveal his fangs, but he believed that an opportunity woulde along shortly. An Enlighter was bound to soon take action against Frostwave Weave. That would be the moment that he transformed into a wolf, as well as the moment he started plundering resources.

    Frostwave Weave remained peaceful for several months, and Lu Yin realized that it had already been five years since he had first started cultivating. Five years sounded like a short time, but he had gone from living on Earth as an ordinary teenager to his current stage in just five years.

    Exactly one year ago, he had been trapped in the separate space with the golden ocean and the mountain that he had climbed. After that, he had met Mister Mu who had raised Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength to the limit. At present, the Innerverse and Outerverse had beenpletely isted from each other, and Lu Yin could only bide his time within the Great Yu Empire. He didn¡¯t even know if he would be able to return to the Innerverse and meet Mister Mu again someday.

    One month ago, Lu Yin finally had a feeling that he could break through to the Explorer realm, but he forcefully suppressed that sensation. His previous breakthrough to the Melder realm had made him uneasy about this next breakthrough, and he didn¡¯t dare to attempt it without some absolute powerhouses nearby to guide him.

    However, there were no absolute powerhouses in the Outerverse at this time.

    He retrieved the jade talisman and sighed. It was possible that not even Mister Mu could pass through the Astral River at this moment!

    During these past few months, Hai Qiqi had slowly recovered. She no longer seemed to be as distressed by the recent events, but she had also changed. The biggest change was that she no longer possessed a venomous tongue, though Lu Yin missed it at times. However, he was also ridiculed by the Ghost Monkey every so often.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m going to break through,¡± the monkey suddenly told him.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re about to break through to the Explorer realm?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been stuck as a Limiteer for too long, so it¡¯s time to break through. When I break through, even if you don¡¯t have a set of universal armor, we¡¯ll still be able to roam about the universe since I¡¯m your tamed beast!¡± The monkey was pleased.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Then go ahead, since it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if you break through and be a Cruiser or Hunter, I can still easily suppress you.¡±

    The monkey was speechless. ¡°Seventh Bro, can¡¯t you say something more encouraging?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t try to plot against me,¡± Lu Yin coldly threatened.

    The monkey sighed. ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve already followed you for so many years, so why don¡¯t you trust me? I¡¯m your tamed beast, and my life and death is in your hands! There¡¯s no need to threaten me, and every so often, you still screen me off, which is immoral. You should go to Beast Tamers Flowzone and make some enquiries as to if and how a tamed beast can resist their owner.¡±

    Lu Yin did not listen to the monkey¡¯s nonsense, as other Beast Tamers had a rtionship where the human took the initiative and the beast a backseat, while the Ghost Monkey did the opposite with him, so who knew if he would have any issues. Lu Yin was unwilling to take such a risk.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I need you to find a ce for me to break through.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged the need for such a thing, so he nned to find a remote location. However, at that moment, his gadget suddenly rang. He nced at it, and his expression changed as his eyes turned cold. What woulde, in the end, hade. Hai Qiqi¡¯s deterrence hadsted for several months, which was pretty decent, but this day had always been unavoidable.

    After the Great Yu Empire had pulled its general defensive line back a few months ago, the empire had gained a very clear understanding of all of the events that happened within its borders. Just then, Lu Yin had received a report that they had detected a super powerful being with a power level that surpassed 200,000, which meant that an Enlighter had appeared within the Great Yu Empire. Furthermore, this person was headed straight for Zenyu Star.

    There was even a picture included in the report, and although it was fuzzy, Lu Yin could make out enough details to recognize an important detail. It was an astral beast. And there was only one Enlighter in the Outerverse who had an astral beast: <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered the troops between the Enlighter and Zenyu Star not to approach <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. Then, he contacted Huo Qingshan and donned his universal armor.

    Before long, Huo Qingshan¡¯s serene face appeared.

    ¡°A strong foe, an Enlighter, has appeared. I will take care of this matter, so please take me above the.¡±

    Huo Qingshan did not speak, and he silently carried Lu Yin into space. At the same time, Zenyu Star¡¯s defenses were activated once again, though Ban Jiu and the others were ordered not to leave Zenyu Star.

    Wendy Yushan looked worried, and she could not help herself from looking for Hai Qiqi. However, Hai Qiqi¡¯s answer remained the same as a few months before: the Sea King¡¯s strength had been depleted, and she would be powerless before any Enlighter.

    Wendy Yushan charged upwards into outer space right behind Huo Qingshan. Without the Sea King¡¯s power, there was no way that they could resist an Enlighter¡¯s attacks. She nned to sacrifice herself in exchange for the safety of Frostwave Weave.

    In the dark depths of space, various spacecraft were ordered tond on nearbys, and the region around Zenyu Star was cleared.

    Lu Yin and Huo Qingshan silently looked to the north, and Wendy Yushan soon appeared behind them.

    Lu Yin knew that he could not stop her. ¡°Let me try first. If I can¡¯t stop him, then we¡¯ll listen to you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at him and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    In the distance, they could see a ripple in space before an intense pressure swept across the region. As it did so, quite a few meteorites broke down and were reduced to ash. An enormous creature appeared in the distance, rushing towards them with great speed as it released an ear-splitting howl.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned solemn. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had a tamed beast, which was the manifestation of his strength. The tamed beast had an Enlighter¡¯s power, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika himself was also an Enlighter, which meant that Lu Yin was currently facing two Enlighters. This was much more troublesome than when they had faced Huo Houye.

    As the enormous astral beast approached Zenyu Star, it caused ripples to appear in the void. The ripples spread out and caused the three rings that circled Zenyu Star to be unstable. To those on Zenyu Star, it seemed like their doomsday had finallye.

    Lu Yin could soon get a clear view of the astral beast, and it looked like an entire continent. It didn¡¯t have any limbs, and the noises it made sounded like a continent being crushed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika stood atop the astral beast¡¯s back and looked at Lu Yin¡¯s group. He smiled. ¡°Little thing, I told you that I¡¯d look for you.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Huo Houye was nearly killed by us. Didn¡¯t he tell you?¡±

 Chapter 533: Karthikaâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 533: Karthika¡¯s Death</h4>

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika sneered. ¡°So what? You¡¯re just a Limiteer. Even if you can borrow a powerhouse¡¯s strength, the amount of power will still be limited. Do you really think that I can be duped that easily? Today, I¡¯m going to massacre everyone on Zenyu Star to make you pay for what you¡¯ve done.¡±

    Lu Yin leaned forward. ¡°What if I told you a secret?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika shook his head. ¡°Young one, I¡¯ve lived a long life. Do you really think that you can lie to me? Apart from secret techniques, I¡¯m not interested in anything else.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about a secret technique!¡± Lu Yin yelled.

    Wendy Yushan was stunned, and she turned to look at Lu Yin in shock. Secret techniques were different from normal battle techniques, as they could only be inherited in a specific manner and couldn¡¯t be recorded down like a normal battle technique. For example, Undying Yushan had only managed to create two inheritance chips of the Yu Secret Art, and he hadn¡¯t been able to make any more.

    As a different example, the Y¨­u Secret Art was something that could only be passed on to one person at a time.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin in confusion; could he have another chip with the Yu Secret Art inheritance? Could her father have left not two, but three chips behind?

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s eyes gleamed, and he kept his focus on Lu Yin. The astral beast beneath him was merely some ten thousand meters away from Lu Yin, which was just a few steps for such an enormous beast. To <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, Lu Yin and the other two were nothing more than ants.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was a cautious person, and he wouldn¡¯t give even ants like them a chance to defeat him. He thought about Lu Yin¡¯s words for a moment and then said, ¡°If you can surrender the secret technique and all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s resources, I¡¯ll let you off. In fact, I¡¯ll also guarantee that the ze Realm won¡¯t create trouble for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. So it turned out that this old fart had joined forces with the ze Realm. That was problematic since Lu Yin couldn¡¯t defeat Huo Houye even if he could defeat this old fellow that was in front of him.

    This was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s goal. He intended to make Lu Yin cautious of him even though he didn¡¯t think that Lu Yin could actually threaten him at all.

    ¡°Is that a promise, senior?¡± Lu Yin asked loudly.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthikaughed. ¡°Senior? So, young man, you¡¯ve finally learned to show some respect to those more powerful than you! It¡¯s still not toote. As long as you give me the secret technique, everything in the past will be forgotten,¡±

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll give it to you now!¡±

    He then leaped up and rushed over towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s expression showed his wariness, and he kept his eyes trained on Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t try any tricks. Otherwise, everyone in the Great Yu Empire will die along with you.¡±

    Lu Yin took out a memory chip as he replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    He drew closer to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and stopped when he was around a thousand meters away from the Enlighter. Then, he threw the chip towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika let his guard down once he saw that Lu Yin had stopped moving closer. Even if this boy had the Sea King¡¯s power, it was still impossible for Lu Yin to instantly kill him. Enlighters weren¡¯t normal people, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika only believed Lu Yin¡¯s sincerity when Lu Yin finally paused and threw the chip at him.

    Without the protection of the Sea King, the boy was just a Limiteer. At this moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika even had a feeling that, if he could convince Lu Yin to join the Second Grade Hall, the youth would definitely be an elite powerhouse in the future.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika raised his hand and caught the chip. He excitedly opened the package and looked at the chip. However, the moment the package waspletely opened, his brain was jolted, and he cked out. Lu Yin suddenly shot forward, and as he rushed towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, he lifted his hand and aimed the Money Bomb that he had just pulled out at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. A beam of light burst forth from the Money Bomb and sliced right through <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s head before continuing to pierce through the astral beast beneath the Enlighter.

    A loud wail shattered the sky, and Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even stabilize himself. He looked over at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s headless corpse that was right in front of him. He then grabbed Progenitor Wushang¡¯s skin that had been wrapped around the chip and rushed back towards Huo Qingshan.

    The wailing of the astral beast released an indescribable shockwave that shattered hundreds of nearbys.

    Huo Qingshan and Wendy Yushan immediately tried to block the shockwaves. But despite their best efforts, shockwaves released by an Enlighter level astral beast couldn¡¯t be blocked that easily. Huo Qingshan spat out a mouthful of blood, and Wendy Yushan was forced to use the secret technique to divert the shockwaves back towards the astral beast itself.

    However, there was nothing in front of them as the enormous astral beast had suddenly disappeared.

    Everything had taken ce instantaneously, and Huo Qingshan hadn¡¯t even been able to react. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was dead, and since the astral beast was that powerhouse¡¯s tamed beast, it had disappeared as soon as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika died.

    The sky turned quiet, and Huo Qingshan turned to look at Lu Yin in shock. This youth was only a Limiteer, but he had just managed to kill an Enlighter.

    Wendy Yushan was astonished as well.

    Meanwhile, on Zenyu Star, Ban Jie, Xueshan Auna, and the others were all stunned. How could an Enlighter be killed that easily?

    Lu Yin panted heavily as his eyes filled with excitement. He had managed to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, but it had mainly been because of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Lu Yin had thrown <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika a chip wrapped in Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, and no matter who it was, anyone would be stunned if they looked directly at Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, even if only for a short moment. However, since they had only been a thousand meters apart, that short moment had been enough to allow Lu Yin to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. The Money Bomb that he had used had almost as many rune lines as Huo Houye, so it had been able to easily kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika since most of his strength was in his tamed beast.

    That was the effect of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s skin; everyone would be stunned by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, and if one piece wasn¡¯t enough, then Lu Yin could always just use two pieces.

    In the distance, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s headless corpse floated through space. Lu Yin anxiously rushed over to it. He quickly retrieved <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s cosmic ring and opened it using the Enlighter¡¯s blood before excitedly taking everything out.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s cosmic ring was massive and had much more space than the one that Lu Yin was currently using. The ring was filled with numerous items, but the most important thing to Lu Yin was the star essence; <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had 30,000! Lu Yin hadnded a jackpot.

    To safely ovee their period of exhaustion, an Enlighter would need at least 60,000 star essence per cycle, and that was just the bare minimum. To support an Enlighter like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, the Second Grade Hall had to spend an astronomical amount of resources on him. These resources were based on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s cycle, but a normal Explorer¡¯s cycle took a hundred years. For <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika to be an Enlighter, it was clear that he had to be extraordinarily talented, and thus, his cycle would have been less than a hundred years.

    Thus, even if <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had a cycle thatsted for a hundred years, the Second Grade Hall still would have had to provide him with at least 60,000 star essence on him.

    Now that the Second Grade Hall was out of reach, it would be very difficult for the Innerverse powerhouses to get enough star essence from the Outerverse.

    That was also the reason why he had been plundering Outerverse organizations for resources.

    The Outerverse couldn¡¯tpare to the Innerverse, and star essence were a raremodity in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin quickly stored the star essence that was floating about in outer space away. The other few items from the cosmic ring included some medicine from Shamrock Enterprises as well as a few items that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t recognize. As an Enlighter, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika didn¡¯t travel often and so he hadn¡¯t brought too much out with him.

    Lu Yin asked Huo Qingshan to have some people look through the items, and then he then returned to Zenyu Star.

    Huo Qingshan was frozen with shock throughout the entire ordeal.

    To the Outerverse, it was very rare to even find an Enlighter, and not even Frostwave Weave had one. It was unbelievable to see an Enlighter be killed so easily.

    When they returned to Zenyu Star, Lu Yin told Wendy Yushan, ¡°I know that you have many questions, and I will eventually answer all of them. But for now, you just have to believe in me.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he didn¡¯t answer her question.

    ¡°That isn¡¯t a weapon from the Outerverse. The Outerverse definitely doesn¡¯t have any weapons that can instantly kill an Enlighter, so there must be someone supporting you, right?¡± Wendy Yushan asked. She had been thinking about this for a long time, ever since she had first met Lu Yin in Saint Dios in fact.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°This is a Money Bomb. It¡¯s a weapon that I bought from one of Astral-10¡¯s mentors.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked deep into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes before turning around and leaving. ¡°You didn¡¯t answer me,¡± she said as she walked away.

    Lu Yin watched her figure disappear, and he fell into deep thought. How was he supposed to answer? Could he actually tell her that he wasn¡¯t a descendant of King Zishan? He decided to think about this matterter, as for the moment, she was only suspicious that he might have someone supporting him. She hadn¡¯t questioned the authenticity of his lineage since he had already gone through a blood test in the past.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t n on hiding the news of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s death. He instead asked people to widely spread the news of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s death to serve as a warning to the rest of the Enlighters trapped in the Outerverse. He publicized the cause of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s death as the power of the Sea King.

    Huo Houye was the first Enlighter to receive the news, and his initial reaction was that of disbelief. However, he quickly found that he couldn¡¯t contact <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, and when he recalled the power that he had sensed from Hai Qiqi, he felt relieved. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t gone looking for Lu Yin again, as otherwise, he would have been the one who died.

    The Sea King¡¯s power was truly immense, and even an Enlighter might be instantly killed by it. However, Lu Yin had probably run out of it by now.

    But Huo Houye couldn¡¯t confirm that, and he didn¡¯t want to take the risk. However, he could still send a Hunter to investigate.

    Not many people had left the Outerverse before it was sealed off, as quite a number of powerhouses from the various major powers had stayed in the Astral Wilderness. They soon all learned of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s death, and they were all stunned at the Great Yu Empire¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin had achieved his goal; he had be a wolf and could now plunder resources from other people instead of being targeted by other wolves.

    The Great Yu Empire had also received information concerning the current situation of the nearby weaves. Thus, Lu Yin was nning on using his die again and hopefully roll Enhance. Then, he would be able to upgrade his gun to the level where it could threaten Enlighters. Twenty shots meant that he would have twenty attacks that could kill Enlighters, and at that moment, he would be fearless.

    However, Lu Yin first had to use his die, and he had beenpletely broke a few months ago just from rolling the die a single time. He could finally use it again now, and he was hoping to roll Enhance again.

    The longer he waited between uses, the greater his chances of rolling a rare ability were. Enhance and Possession were the two rarest rolls.

    Lu Yin ended up being quite lucky, and he managed to roll Enhance on his fourth attempt. During his first three tries, he had gotten Pilfer and ckhole Disassembly twice. The strange thing was that he usually managed to roll Timestop quite often, but he hadn¡¯t rolled it a single time this round.

    This die seemed to be purely dependent on luck.

    The two light screens appeared. Lu Yin had initially nned to upgrade the gun in one go, but after thinking about it some more, he decided to y it safe. Thus, he first upgraded a Money Bomb instead.

    To upgrade a Money Bomb to the point where it could kill an Enlighter required 3,300 star essence. Lu Yin had three unupgraded Money Bombs remaining, and after upgrading one, he was left with 29,000 star essence, which he felt should be enough to finish upgrading the gun.

    He threw 5,000 star essence onto the screen to get started, and that upgraded the gun twice with it getting stuck halfway through the third upgrade. Lu Yin tossed out another 2,000 star essence, and the third upgrade finished.

 Chapter 534: The Ancient Agreement And The Hidden Earth Society

    <h4>Chapter 534: The Ancient Agreement And The Hidden Earth Society</h4>

    This time, the guns¡¯ rune lines numbered close to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had been a powerful Enlighter, but most of his power had been embodied in his tamed beast. Despite that being the case, he had still been a true Enlighter.

    This gun was already powerful enough to threaten someone at the level of an Enlighter. However, for it to reach the level of the upgraded Money Bomb where it could kill an Enlighter in one shot, further upgrades were required.

    The gun had already been upgraded ten times, and the eleventh would cost Lu Yin more than 4,000 star essence. Lu Yin¡¯s blood froze when he realized this, as the expenditure was bing far too great. 4,000 star essence was the equivalent of forty billion star crystals, and that was at the lowest exchange rate. It was practically impossible to exchange forty billion star crystals for 4,000 star essence.

    Such an extravagant amount, when changed into Universal Currency, would be enough to support the entire Great Yu Empire¡¯s military budget for a whole year. In other words, it meant that Lu Yin had just casually spent a year¡¯s worth of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military budget.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that I didn¡¯t ce much hope in making money off of the Great Yu Empire. Even utilizing every single cent within the Great Yu Empire wouldn¡¯t be enough for a single upgrade,¡± Lu Yin mused to himself.

    As he looked at the gun¡¯s rune lines, Lu Yin¡¯s only thought was that it was still not enough and that he needed to upgrade it even further. Lu Yin gritted his teeth and tossed more than 6,000 star essence in. Even after this upgrade, its rune lines still weren¡¯t enough. At this point, each attack from the gun could threaten powerful Enlighters, but they still would not be enough to kill in one shot.

    On the thirteenth upgrade, Lu Yin had to use more than ten thousand star essence, which was enough to make him start feeling the strain. The gun¡¯s rune lines were now extremely numerous, and even if Lu Yin didn¡¯t channel star energy into his eyes to observe the gun, simply holding it was enough to frighten him. The force behind each bullet was now the equivalent of a fully upgraded Money Bomb. If another Enlighter like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika was caught off guard, then such an attack would be enough to kill them.

    This power was well worth what he had spent. For a Money Bomb to be upgraded to this level, it needed 3,300 star essence. This gun¡¯s twenty attacks were the equivalent of twenty Money Bombs. If one wanted to upgrade that many Money Bombs to this standard, then it would take more than 60,000 star essence. Upgrading the gun had still cost him 27,000 star essence, but it had saved him a great deal.

    Without any more money to conduct any further upgrades, Lu Yin found himself speechless once again. He had be destitute yet again with only about 2,000 star essence left to his name.

    When had having 2,000 star essence felt like being poor? Lu Yin could remember when he had robbed the ckbeard Pirates in the past and had made off with an even smaller sum. However, when it came to the item he wanted to upgrade, this amount of star essence was indeed insufficient.

    Having said that, the amount that Lu Yin had left should be sufficient to upgrade his formcast model. When he had upgraded his four-stage formcast model to a five-stage formcast model, he had only spent 30,000 star crystals.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin pulled out his formcast model and ced it on the upper screen and threw out another hundred odd star essence. This was the equivalent of over one thousand star crystals, so it should be enough.

    However, reality ended up being theplete opposite of what Lu Yin had expected. The formcast model merely dipped down a tiny bit. There was a barely noticeable change.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide. How is this possible? Is it really that hard to improve it from a five-stage model to a six-stage one?

    Hai Qiqi had mentioned before that her six-stage formcast model had been created by the Sea King himself. Back then, Lu Yin had already guessed that perhaps only Envoys could create a six-stage formcast model. But even after considering that, the jump in cost to upgrade the formcast model was a bit too much for him to ept. He had thrown out nearly thirty times what it had cost to upgrade his formcast modelst time, but it had barely moved at all. Could it be that a six-stage formcast model and a five-stage one were fundamentally different?

    It was something that only an Envoy could create, so if a five-stage formcast model was already rare among the various powerhouses, then a six-stage formcast model must be an exclusive item that countless powerhouses could never even get their hands on.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought about a seven-stage formcast model. When he considered it now, he suddenly understood why Hai Qiqi¡¯s reaction had been so exaggerated back then. It was possible that even the entire universe might not contain a seven-stage formcast model.

    He put the formcast model back. He didn¡¯t have enough money at the moment to upgrade it, and he would need at least 10,000 star essence to upgrade it. This was a scary thought.

    After spending so much money upgrading the gun, the universal armor, and the Money Bomb, Lu Yin felt a huge confidence boost, and he suddenly had the urge to challenge an Enlighter. It was about time that he dealt with that hidden danger.

    He walked out of King Zishan¡¯s residence, and after deciding where to head to, he stepped out. After one step, his body was floating in midair. After taking another step, he found himself outside the Huo family¡¯s house.

    Outside the Huo family¡¯s house, Lu Yin coincidentally saw Huo Xiaoling and her younger sister, Huo Xiaoxiao. There was also a young man there speaking politely to Huo Xiaoling. Huo Xiaoling¡¯s expressions showed that the young man was bothering her, but Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance scared all three of them.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The young man cautiously looked at Lu Yin. He waved his hand, and a dozen cultivators charged forth to encircle Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his brows, and he looked at Huo Xiaoling.

    Huo Xiaoling stared at Lu Yin, bbergasted. However, she did not say a single word, and instead, she simply pulled Huo Xiaoxiao back.

    Lu Yin felt that this was strange.

    The young man stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, who are you? Don¡¯t you know that flying isn¡¯t allowed in the imperial capital?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s nce slid past the young man, and he directly spoke to Huo Xiaoling. ¡°I¡¯m looking for your father.¡±

    Huo Xiaoling did not respond, and the young man became angry. ¡°Kid, even I haven¡¯t met Uncle Huo. Who are you to¡­¡± But before he was done speaking, a cultivator behind him pulled him back and whispered something into his ear. The young man¡¯s expression drastically changed, and his face was stered with fear when he looked back at Lu Yin. He slowly bowed and said, ¡°Your Highness, Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin waved his arm. ¡°Leave.¡±

    The young man felt like he had just received a royal pardon and hurriedly left with the other cultivators.

    Huo Xiaoling was disappointed. She took a few steps forward and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Your Highness, please follow me into the house.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head.

    Huo Xiaoling held onto Huo Xiaoxiao, but the little girl looked at Lu Yin curiously with a pair of particrly bright eyes.

    As Lu Yin walked along by Huo Xiaoling¡¯s side, he entered the Huo mansion. ¡°Was that guy trying to hit on you?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling seemed nervous, and she had actually deliberately not mentioned Lu Yin¡¯s name in hopes that the man would offend Lu Yin and be punished. It could be said that she had tried to use Lu Yin, so she replied in a soft voice, ¡°I am sorry, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    The minute they stepped into the Huo home, Huo Qingshan had sensed Lu Yin¡¯s presence. He had a puzzled look on his face as Lu Yin had always summoned the Hunter and had never personally visited the Huo home.

    The Lu Yin at this moment waspletely unlike the Lu Yin from before. When Undying Yushan had passed away and the different factions had been fighting over control, Huo Qingshan had still held the idea that the leader of the Great Yu Empire needed to have good rtions with the Huo family. He had already had a good feeling about Lu Yin back then, and he had even wanted to betroth Huo Xiaoling to him. He had wanted to do that to strengthen their ties, but now, such thoughts were nothing more than a mere fantasy. Lu Yin was someone capable of killing Enlighters, and Huo Qingshan¡¯s strength was meaninglesspared to Lu Yin¡¯s.

    To the current Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin was the equivalent of an Enlighter.

    When Lu Yin barely stepped into the mansion, Huo Qingshan had already appeared and bowed to Lu Yin, but he was hurriedly waved off by Lu Yin. ¡°Uncle Huo, I am sorry to disturb you. I hope that I didn¡¯t catch you at a bad time.¡±

    Huo Qingshanughed. ¡°It is our pleasure to wee you to the Huo home, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head as he observed his surroundings with a smile.

    Huo Qingshan instructed Huo Xiaoling to take Huo Xiaoxiao away as he waited by Lu Yin¡¯s side. He made sure to stay one step behind as he asked, ¡°Your Highness, is there a purpose for your visit today?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Nothing much, Uncle Huo. I just have one question.¡±

    ¡°Please, speak your mind, Your Highness,¡± Huo Qingshan hurriedly asked in a courteous tone. He was not the only one fawning over Lu Yin; throughout the entire Great Yu Empire, no matter if it was a Cruiser or even a Hunter realm powerhouse, they were all no more than ants in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This had been established as fact by <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s death, and the experts of the empire held no advantages over Lu Yin. He could no longer be considered their junior.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and used his star energy to sketch out an image. It was an azure colored globe with a pair of wings attached to it.

    The second he saw this symbol, Huo Qingshan¡¯s face changed drastically. Lu Yin suddenly took out his gun and pointed it at Huo Qingshan¡¯s head as he asked, ¡°Uncle Huo, tell me. What does this symbol stand for?¡±

    Huo Qingshan stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, I don¡¯t know the answer to your question.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned icy. ¡°If I am capable of killing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, then that means that I can kill you as well. I remember that the Huo family doesn¡¯t have many members, so if you die, there won¡¯t be much of your household left. Do you think that I¡¯ll let them live?¡±

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s face paled, and he could sense the absolute power of that gun. With the gun pointed at him, he felt like he was frozen in an ice block. This gun was absolutely capable of killing him. After giving the matter some thought, Huo Qingshan finally sighed. ¡°Your Highness, how did you learn of this symbol?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Iprehended a domain.¡±

    Huo Qingshan felt his body twitch, and he replied in disappointment, ¡°Oh yes, a domain reveals everything. My apologies for underestimating you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak a single word as he continued to cautiously stare at Huo Qingshan. With his current abilities, even Huo Qingshan would not be able to deal with him easily. He didn¡¯t even need to put on the universal armor to threaten Huo Qingshan.

    ¡°This symbol represents the Hidden Earth Society. It represents Earth,¡± Huo Qingshan exined calmly.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He had thought of many possible things that the image could represent, and he had been worried that the symbol might represent a powerful force from the Innerverse. He had even thought that the Huo n might be a force sent by the Innerverse to spy on the Great Yu Empire. However, he had never guessed that the image represented Earth.

    An azure globe. That was right. Earth was an azure sphere.

    ¡°Your Highness, I don¡¯t know why you changed your surname to Lu, as it¡¯s one of the primeval surnames. Do you know the significance of the primeval surnames?¡± Huo Qingshan looked solemnly at Lu Yin as he spoke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°What does this have to do with primeval surnames?¡±

    Huo Qingshan exined, ¡°Earth is home to many people with primeval surnames, and even though they are all legitimate, people with such surnames are still tied down by many of the ancient treaties.¡±

    ¡°Our Huo nes from Earth.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised. Since the symbol represented Earth, Huo Qingshan being an Earthling was not surprising at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, but in the very distant past¡ªmaybe ten thousand years or maybe even millions of year ago¡ªprobably after one of the ancient civilizations on Earth was destroyed. Either way, this image came into existence then. What this symbol represents is an ancient treaty.¡± Huo Qingshan looked at Lu Yin solemnly before he continued, saying, ¡°The Primeval Surname Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he stared nkly at Huo Qingshan.

    ¡°The civilizations on Earth have been destroyed many times, but no one knows why. This continued on until one generation produced a cultivator who identally discovered this symbol on Jupiter. The cultivator also discovered the meaning behind this symbol, and that cultivator went into hiding shortly after. When he appeared again, his generation¡¯s civilization had already been destroyed.¡±

    Huo Qingshan paused again before continuing. ¡°Even though that civilization was destroyed, the burning heart of humankind was not destroyed. Things merely reverted back to how they were before, and those same surnames persisted on and did not disappear. It is almost as if the surnames were branded into the blood¡ªinto the soul! This continued on until the primeval surnames appeared once again, and with those surnames came cultivators with powerful innate gifts. Many years would pass after that, but then Earth¡¯s civilization would be destroyed once again. It has continued on in this vicious cycle.¡±

 Chapter 535: Primeval Surname Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 535: Primeval Surname Alliance</h4>

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°So the Great Yu Empire didn¡¯t notice anything at all?¡±

    Huo Qingshan bitterly responded, ¡°So what if we did? Nothing would change. Nobody can do anything. The only thing that you can do is save yourself. The cultivators who were lucky enough to survive will secretly head back to Earth every once so often and pick out some talented people and have them enter the hidden organization to keep it going.

    ¡°Generation after generation, things will continue in the same manner as civilizations on Earth die and rise. It¡¯s an infinite cycle.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what about the Primeval Surname Alliance that you mentioned before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan exined, ¡°It¡¯s a very ancient alliance. For countless years, the underground organizations have not been able to find that group. This alliance is just like Earth: doomed.¡±

    ¡°How many people are in it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a symbol. It¡¯s not about the people. There were about eighteen of these images that were found on Jupiter, and we¡¯ve only decoded one of them as representing the Hidden Earth Society. However, despite the many years, we haven¡¯t been able to find any of the others. I¡¯ve actually been travelling through the universe in search of this alliance, which is how I got to know His Highness, Undying Yushan. We eventually became a representative for the Hidden Earth Society,¡± Huo Qingshan said. He then let out a long sigh. He¡¯d kept this a secret for far too long, and he¡¯d never told anyone about this before.

    ¡°So the Great Yu Empire doesn¡¯t have any records of Earth being destroyed?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan shook his head. ¡°No. Nobody knows how the previous civilizations on Earth died out, but we can confirm that someone has been going after those with primeval surnames.¡±

    Lu Yin felt very dejected. ¡°How do I know that you¡¯re telling the truth?¡±

    A unique look appeared in Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes. ¡°The Hidden Earth Society is hidden on Jupiter. You¡¯ll know that I¡¯m speaking the truth once you go there, but they won¡¯t meet you. The person who destroyed Earth in the past hasn¡¯t appeared again yet, which means that they can¡¯t show themselves either. I will never be able to return either, because they will never show themselves.¡±

    Huo Qingshan stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, Earth has already returned to an era of cultivation. It won¡¯t be too long before it¡¯s destroyed again.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparked, and he put the gun down. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you for now. What powerhouses are there in your organization?¡±

    Huo Qingshan smiled wryly. ¡°We don¡¯t really have any. The Hidden Earth Society only exists to keep some Earthlings around in order to abide by the ancient treaty. They will never be able to enter outer space, and they won¡¯t be able to cultivate to a high level.¡±

    ¡°If they don¡¯t really have any experts, then there¡¯s no point in you finding the alliance.¡± Lu Yin still did not believe Huo Qingshan.

    The Hunter replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. It¡¯s possible that the ancient agreement is about something else.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He decided that he was going to go back to Earth, find this organization, and then find out what this ancient treaty was all about.

    Huo Qingshan believed that Lu Yin was a part of the Zishan n and that his ¡°Lu¡± surname was fake. However, reality was actually the opposite. Although Lu Yin had lost his memories, Big Sis and the rest knew that he was a Lu descendent the moment they saw him. It was simple; this surname was branded into his blood. The ¡°Lu¡± surname embodied him. If this so-called ¡°alliance¡± really existed, then perhaps the ce where he had been born had been destroyed just like what had continuously happened to Earth.

    It seemed that only by finding out the truth behind the primeval surnames would Lu Yin be able to regain his memories.

    ¡°Have you recently done any research into the other primeval surnames?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan answered, ¡°Yes. The Great Yu Empire has gathered quite a few of thempared to the rest of the Outerverse. However, like Earth, they are all destroyed once they develop enough, though the organizations destroying them never seem to actually finish the job. It¡¯s rather simr to¡­¡±

    ¡°Rearing them,¡± Lu Yin grimly finished the sentence.

    Huo Qingshan immediately responded, ¡°Yes, rearing them. It¡¯s as if they¡¯re being reared, and that once they grow to a certain point, they¡¯ll be massacred.¡±

    ¡°Which primeval surname was destroyed the most recently?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan quickly answered. ¡°The Wang n from the twelfth fment. It governed numerouss and had quite a number of talented disciples. The strongest was close to bing an Enlighter, but they were destroyed ten thousand years ago. As of now, all of the Wang n members have changed their surnames and betrayed their name.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly recalled Zhang Dingtian and the others from Earth. ¡°Were you guys the ones who took Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen away?¡±

    Huo Qingshan shook his head. ¡°You could say that, but in reality, not really. The people who took them away should have been from the Hidden Earth Society, but they¡¯re not in hiding. Not everybody is willing to hide. Some members leave Frostwave Weave and go traveling beyond the weave, wanting to make the most of their life. These people also look for talented disciples. While Zhang Dingtian, Xu San, and Seruzen don¡¯t have primeval surnames, they¡¯re still from Earth. However, Bai Xue does have a primeval surname. The four of them have all been relocated.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, finally gaining some answers to the questions that he¡¯d been struggling with for so long. He¡¯d been wondering how much of a coincidence it was that all four of these people had disappeared simultaneously. However, for someone to take Zhang Dingtian all the way to the Starfall Sea meant that that person was definitely very powerful. That person was certainly much more daring than the members of the Hidden Earth Society who were in hiding.

    ¡°Who took them?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Qingshan shook his head. ¡°That I don¡¯t know. Over the years, quite a few members from the society have left. Some are dead, and some are alive, but we don¡¯t know who is where. All that¡¯s ever been left behind is an emblem of the Hidden Earth Society. However, there¡¯s one thing that we know for certain: they¡¯ll never return to Jupiter. People who aren¡¯t acknowledged by those on the can¡¯t enter.¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t enter, or they aren¡¯t allowed to enter the?¡± Lu Yin looked straight into Huo Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    Huo Qingshan firmly answered, ¡°They can¡¯t enter. Jupiter must be thest refuge that the people who formed the Hidden Earth Society built. It can be seen, but it can¡¯t be entered. I don¡¯t know how powerful a person must be to get in.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Forcing his way in wasn¡¯t an option. Although he could kill Enlighters with his weapons, he hadn¡¯t truly be as strong as an Enlighter. Huo Qingshan wasn¡¯t going to be of any help either, since the Hunter couldn¡¯t get in himself.

    After speaking to Huo Qingshan for a while longer, Lu Yin left the house.

    Huo Qingshan watched as Lu Yin left and then sighed. In the end, he had let the truth out. Earth had already entered an era of cultivation. After so many years, they¡¯d finally discovered amon theme: the moment those with primeval surnames grew powerful enough, they¡¯d be eliminated. There were no exceptions. Earth had already produced quite a few talented people, and the moment there were any powerhouses on the verge of bing Enlighters, there would be people on the way to kill them.

    The person closest to bing an Enlighter was currently Lu Yin. It was possible that he would be the spark that triggered Earth¡¯s destruction.

    Even then, nothing would change. The Hidden Earth Society had witnessed Earth be destroyed generation after generation, but they had never intervened. Those people had already be numb to these events, and they didn¡¯t even dare to look into who was behind the massacres. All they ever did was passively wait for the so-called ancient treaty.

    While Huo Qingshan was a member of the Hidden Earth Society, he would never be allowed to step foot onto Jupiter. He¡¯d gotten over that matter long ago. If Earth was going to be destroyed, then so be it. There was nothing that he could do. He only hoped that this person would be able to bring about some change.

    Lu Yin left the house. He did not entirely believe Huo Qingshan¡¯s words, but there should be some degree of truth to what he had said. Lu Yin headed straight for the imperial library to search for more information on Earth. It came as no surprise to him that the civilizations on Earth had been destroyed more than once, but there was no mention of the cause for their downfall. He searched for information on the twelfth fment¡¯s Wang n and found exactly what Huo Qingshan had told him.

    Lu Yin felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain much information here, and he also felt that it was about time for him to return to Earth. This that seemed so ordinary was hiding a huge secret.

    However, why had nobody evere for Lu Yin? If the people who had left the Hidden Earth Society were capable of taking Zhang Dingtian to the Starfall Sea, then they definitely had the ability to find Lu Yin. Was it because of his current position? Lu Yin was at a loss as for what to do. It seemed that him being a part of the Zishan family had fooled everyone.

    An innate gift was something that had only appeared once in a zillion cultivators, but quite a few people possessing innate gifts had appeared on Earth in a short span of time. That in and of itself showed that the was strong.

    Lu Yin summoned the Blind Monk and had the Hunter tear through the void to bring Lu Yin to the Yu Academy, which was located in the first ring that circled Zenyu Star. He wanted to see the youths who hade from Earth.

    Lu Yin sighed ruefully as he looked at the towers in the distance. It had been a while since he¡¯dst visited this ce.

    ¡°Wait here,¡± Lu Yin ordered before charging straight into the academy. He remembered the tower was a part of Gerbach¡¯s territory. Before, he¡¯d fought Gerbach atop that tower. And then, in the blink of an eye, quite a few years had already passed by.

    The tower was surrounded by the ocean on all sides. Lu Yin didn¡¯t move very quickly, and he could see numerous Yu Academy students in the distance contending with the creatures in the water. The surface of the sea was soon stained a dark red.

    Lu Yin nced over, and just as he was about to leave, he heard someone exim in surprise, ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin stopped. The voice seemed familiar, and he turned around to see a girl leap up from the sea and stare at him.

    ¡°Zhao Yu?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    This girl was Zhao Yu, and she had once been a subordinate of Bai Xue. She had been one of the Three Snowgirls at Camp Blue right after the apocalypse on Earth had happened. She had once traveled across the continent on her own and traveled from Camp Blue to Jinlin. She¡¯d also fought against Lu Yin once, and he remembered her very well.

    Quite a few of the other students around Zhao Yu watched on as Lu Yinnded with excited appearances. This was the Royal Regent who was also the most powerful Limiteer in the entire universe! He¡¯d killed an Enlighter with one shot, which had be a legend.

    For the people of the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin had be a legend. His experiences were even being documented by several filmmakingpanies.

    Being able to see him up close made these youths¡¯ blood boil with ambition.

    Lu Yin had not expected to run into Zhao Yu here, but then he suddenly remembered that Zhao Yu had been one of the people specially chosen from Earth to enter Yu Academy. She also hadn¡¯t been the only one selected, as there was also Feng Hong, Huan Sha, Luo Yi, Qin Xuan, as well as several other talented people who had been brought over to the academy.

    Zhao Yu looked up at Lu Yin in excitement. ¡°It really is you.¡±

    Lu Yin looked her up and down. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you here. Have you been well?¡±

    ¡°Greetings to Your Majesty!¡± The students from Yu Academy around Zhao Yu immediately greeted Lu Yin.

    Zhao Yu pursed her lips. It was only then that she remembered that the person in front of her was no longer a mere cultivator like her. This was someone who held authority over the entire Great Yu Empire and was also the most powerful Limiteer in the universe. He had proven himself capable of instantly killing ultra-powerhouses. At the moment, she didn¡¯t know what to say to him.

    Lu Yin had the other students leave and looked at Zhao Yu. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to leave Earth so soon.¡±

    Zhao Yu gritted her teeth and bowed. ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin remarked with augh, ¡°You¡¯ve changed. I still remember your heroic aura during the apocalypse.¡±

 Chapter 536: An Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 536: An Old Friend</h4>

    Zhao Yu looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°Royal Regent, Your Highness, can you tell me where the Sage of Aqua, Bai Xue, is? Many of my sisters from Camp Blue have been anxious to find news of her.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it before replying, ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Zhao Yu was disappointed. She had learned that Bai Xue, Zhang Dingtian, and the others had gone missing while she was still on Earth, which was a huge reason why she hade to the Yu Academy. She wanted to discover if they had truly gone missing or if they had suffered from some unexpected mishap, but she had made no progress in her investigation. The Great Yu Empire was much moreplex than she had expected, and even if the academy was only on the first maind circling Zenyu Star, it was still difficult for her to leave, much less find any traces of Bai Xue. Zhao Yu had been fortunate enough to run into Lu Yin on this day, but he had just given her the same information that she had already received.

    ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where Bai Xue is, she should be very safe,¡± Lu Yin could not help himself from saying this when he noticed Zhao Yu¡¯s grieved look.

    Zhao Yu¡¯s body trembled, and she gazed at Lu Yin with hope. ¡°Your Highness, you must know where she is, right? Please tell me. I¡¯m begging you.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I have no reason to lie to you, and I truly don¡¯t know. However, I did manage to see Zhang Dingtian, and he appeared to be just fine.¡±

    ¡°Is the Sage of Aqua with Zhang Dingtian?¡± Zhao Yu was delighted.

    Lu Yin considered things. ¡°Probably.¡±

    Zhao Yu rxed. Lu Yin¡¯s exploits were too unbelievable for them Earthlings, and Zhang Dingtian seemed more tangible. The Sage of Aqua should be fine so long as she was with Zhang Dingtian.

    ¡°Thank you for telling me, Your Highness.¡± Zhao Yu immediately expressed her thanks.

    Lu Yin reached out to pull her up. ¡°How¡¯s Earth?¡±

    Zhao Yu politely replied, ¡°The zombies have long since been eliminated, and Earth is currently in a new state of development. Many people have stepped onto the path of cultivation, and the Great Yu Empire is setting up a school on Earth to specially select students with innate gifts. We¡¯re actually the first batch.¡±

    ¡°Can you keep up with the Yu Academy¡¯s training?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhao Yu¡¯s expression faded a bit. ¡°A few of us can¡¯t, but some of the others were able to quickly pass the Yu Academy¡¯s other students.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Lu Yin became interested. Zhao Yu was just a Sentinel, which was not very strong even in the scope of the Outerverse. She had no innate gift either, and although she might peak as a Melder during her lifetime, she would likely be a roaming cultivator since she didn¡¯t have a formcast model. She had only been able to join the Yu Academy because of Lu Yin, but he was curious about the others from Earth, especially those who had recently awakened their innate gifts.

    It was very abnormal for a single to produce several cultivators with innate gifts, and that was without mentioning that Earth had also produced freaks like Zhang Dingtian. Putting aside any strange encounters that Zhang Dingtian might have had on the Grayweed Continent, his current power definitely approached Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s, and he was quite abnormal. It should be known that Liu Shaoqiu had cultivated from a young age and been provided with an unending amount of resources, but Zhang Dingtian had only be a cultivator half-way through his life.

    Zhao Yu replied, ¡°Among our group from Earth, the most powerful is Qin Xuan, who has awakened an innate gift of dissolution. Although she¡¯s just a Sentinel, she was given a formcast model, which she cultivated to her current level. She should break through and be a Melder soon. The next is¡­¡±

    After listening to Zhao Yu for a while, quite a few people approached from the distance, and one figure in particr flew across the skies, quickly rushed over towards Lu Yin, andnded nearby. ¡°Gerbach pays his respects to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need to be so courteous with me. There was even one time when you beat me rather severely.¡±

    Gerbach immediately cried foul. ¡°I never took advantage of Your Highness, and Your Highness was even able to learn the Skybeast w from me.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and then asked, ¡°How¡¯s Geine?¡±

    Gerbach pointed into the distance.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw the girl, who was staring at him with curiosity in her eyes. The green-skinned fellow beside her should be Bror, a strange person who could induce nts to attack others.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, waved, and watched on as Bror¡¯s face turned panicked and then fervent while Geine rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. Quickly after that, she reacted and looked at Lu Yin with apprehension.

    Lu Yinughed; this brat was still so interesting.

    ¡°Your Highness, you agonizingly kept me in the dark. I only found outter that, during Earth¡¯s trial, you stole from that brat,¡± Gerbachined.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t be med for that. I just forgot to mention it. That brat was the one who deliberately hid it from you.¡±

    Gerbach grinned. ¡°It¡¯s lucky that she did, as otherwise, I might have offended Your Highness.¡±

    In a distant part of the academy, a rather valiant aura sped along. This person was on another level altogetherpared to Gerbach. Although they were both Limiteers, the disparity between the two was very great. This was Schutz, whom Lu Yin had asked to return to the Great Yu Empire long ago in order to help manage the Yu Academy. During this time, the strength of the students had shown great improvements from the past, and their battle styles had also evolved. They now tended towards using the changes of star energy and not just relying on external strength.

    Schutz descended several meters away from Lu Yin. ¡°Greetings to the Royal Regent, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Schutz and apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you were not able to remain and roam about the Innerverse.¡±

    Schutz¡¯s face remained serene. ¡°It was my wish to return to my home anyways.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then looked seriously at Schutz. ¡°The Outerverse cannotpare to the Innerverse, and the cultivation environments and resources are too different.¡± He thought for a moment and then handed Schutz a cosmic ring. ¡°Take what¡¯s in this as thanks for your service towards the empire.¡±

    Schutz did not decline, and he received the cosmic ring before standing silently to the side.

    Lu Yin had given Schutz a hundred star essence, which was an enormous sum, butpared to the opportunity to roam the Innerverse that Schutz had passed up, Lu Yin felt like it wasn¡¯t much. Even if Lu Yincked money, he wouldn¡¯t be reluctant to spend what he had.

    Schutz¡¯s talent for cultivation was not great, but the rate at which he learned from his battle experience was astounding. If he was able to roam the Innerverse, then he would definitely achieve major aplishments as long as he survived. Lu Yin¡¯spensation truly was not much.

    The Yu Academy had five Hall Masters. Lu Yin had seen Gerbach and Schutz near the tall tower, and the three of them chatted for a while before heading out to meet the other Hall Masters. The first ring of Zenyu Star wasrge, and Lu Yin ended up having to ask the Blind Monk to tear through the void to bring him around.

    Currently, the sky had changed, so Explorers could no longer tear through the void; only Hunters and above could do so. There were both pros and cons to this change. The advantage was that battles did not cause as much widespread destruction as before, while the disadvantage was that things were no longer as convenient as before.

    Countless people were looking for the reason why the sky had changed, and some had even asked Lu Yin, but he did not know either.

    Not long after, Lu Yin appeared beside the formcast pool. Tianming was the Hall Master of this area, and he was currently inside of the formcast pool.

    The formcast pool was very important, and there were many space-exploring powerhouses protecting it.

    When Lu Yin appeared, two Explorers immediately appeared to salute him, but Lu Yin had them withdraw. He looked towards Tianming and felt a little strange, as there seemed to be something off about this person.

    ¡°Sinner Tianming greets the Royal Regent, Your Highness,¡± Tianming greeted.

    Lu Yin felt odd. ¡°Sinner? What do you mean?¡±

    Tianming lowered his head, and softly answered, ¡°Reporting in: this sinneres from Grandtop Weave, and ording to the empire¡¯s records, was an abandoned disciple of Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect. However, this information is false.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he stared at Tianming.

    Tianming raised his head. ¡°This sinner was carrying out the orders of Nine Stacks Sect to steal the Skybeast w.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows jumped up, and even the Blind Monk looked surprised. Suddenly, an enormous pressure appeared that pressed Tianming to the ground. Lu Yin waved and dispelled the Blind Monk¡¯s pressure as he looked at Tianming. ¡°Why are you admitting this now? No one would know if you had continued to conceal this since the Nine Stacks Sect has been exterminated.¡±

    Tianming agonizingly continued, saying. ¡°When the Nine Stacks Sect was still around, this sinner was forced to bear their threats. I had to remainmitted and could only attempt to steal the Skybeast w. However, now that the sect is gone, this sinner no longer wishes to betray the empire, and I am willing to plead guilty.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent, as he had not expected such a thing to ur on this visit to the Yu Academy. Just like he had said, if Tianming had not mentioned this matter, then nobody would ever have known that he was a spy, but he had still brought it up. Tianming¡¯s expression was not fake, and he truly did not wish to betray the Great Yu Empire.

    Just as Lu Yin had developed some feelings after spending time on Earth, Tianming had developed the same feelings towards the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°If you were given a choice between the Great Yu Empire and the Nine Stacks Sect, which would you choose?¡± Lu Yin asked in a deep voice.

    Without hesitation, Tianming replied, ¡°The Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin closely observed him.

    Tianming replied, ¡°Back at the Nine Stacks Sect, I was just a failure who never received any warmth. But in the Great Yu Empire, I feel valued, and I am a Hall Master of the Yu Academy. I have even been entrusted with the heavy responsibility to guard the formcast pool. In the Nine Stacks Sect, this would be a task only reserved for the direct descendants. This sinner has no fond memories towards that ce.¡±

    Lu Yin closely observed the youth¡¯s two eyes, and he was judging whether or not Tianming was truly being sincere, or if he had taken these actions just because the Nine Stacks Sect had been exterminated, leaving him with no alternative courses to take.

    In the end, Lu Yin chose to pardon Tianming and believe him, but that was also because Lu Yin had another purpose. The Nine Stacks Sect was Grandtop Weave¡¯s foremost organization, and Tianming was their disciple, which meant that Tianming could be a key to Grandtop Weave.

    Nothing could be recklessly rushed at this moment, as it would be easy for Lu Yin¡¯s reputation to fall to the level of a bandit¡¯s. However, he truly wanted to plunder Grandtop Weave¡¯s resources, so he needed to find a suitable reason to do so. He could not act wantonly like those Enlighters, as he represented the Great Yu Empire, which was a pre-established power in this region of the Outerverse.

    Tianming remained as one of Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Master, but Lu Yin punished the youth by not allowing him to step out of the bounds of Yu Academy.

    Tianming gratefully epted such conditions.

    While at the academy, Lu Yin met a few cultivators from Earth, and one of them was a young person called Fu Xiaoshu, who had a pretty decent innate gift of illusion. This innate gift reminded Lu Yin of recall Zhuo Daynight¡¯s legendary battle technique: the Night''s End, Daybreak. Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s illusion could notpare to that technique, but if Fu Xiaoshu became an Enlighter one day, his illusions would be absolutely terrifying.

    The Night''s End, Daybreak technique had shown Lu Yin the extreme power of an illusion, and he patted Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s shoulder in encouragement. ¡°The final stage of cultivating illusion is not to produce a fantasy, but rather to cause your opponents to feel their own downfall. Even if they know that they are in and of fantasy, they will still be immersed and be unable to escape.¡±

    This sentence shocked Fu Xiaoshu. Once he heard it, he looked at Lu Yin in apletely different light, and he nearly knelt down to worship Lu Yin as his mentor.

    Lu Yin managed to sessfully pull that one off, which made the Ghost Monkey astounded.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I find that you are slowly bing more of a role model, like a moral person.¡± The monkey was moved.

    ¡°Cut the crap. When are you breaking through?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey replied, ¡°Two more days. Two more days at most.¡±

    Lu Yin had the Blind Monk take him to Huo Zhong, and when they arrived, he recognized the most people thus far. There was also Huan Sha and Qin Xuan. Since the Huo family was originally from Earth, they had taken particrly good care of these Earthlings, and it was very normal for them to be around the academy.

    When Lu Yin had first applied to study the Skybeast w, Huo Zhong had immediately agreed. Lu Yin had felt that such an agreement had been strange, as he had actually offended Huo Xiaoling before that. But now, it all made sense.

    Unfortunately, Feng Hong was not around as he had gone out on a practical experience trip, as had Luo Yi.

 Chapter 537: Returning To Earth

    <h4>Chapter 537: Returning To Earth</h4>

    As for Qin Xuan, Lu Yin had been under the impression that she was still one of Jinlin¡¯s researchers as well as one of the Troop Leaders who supported Zhou Shan. She had been very cautious of Lu Yin when he first appeared, and he had never imagined that she would awaken an innate gift ande here.

    Huan Sha had simrly awakened an innate gift of simtion analysis. When Lu Yin first heard that name, he was momentarily confused as he did not understand what it meant at all.

    Huan Sha exined, ¡°The innate gift of simtion analysis means that I can analyze dozens and dozens of scenarios in my brain all at once¡ªup to a hundred in fact. It integrates all known information and uses the fastest methods to produce the most urate data.¡±

    To one side, Huo Zhong said, ¡°Your Highness, Huan Sha has been scouted by Captain Ban Jiu and will most likely be recruited into the Twelfth Squadron.¡±

    ¡°No, she can¡¯t go there.¡± Lu Yin immediately rejected that idea. Under many puzzled eyes, he looked at Huan Sha excitedly. ¡°Can you analyze any issue?¡±

    ¡°In theory, as I have enough data, yes,¡± Huan Sha replied. This was not her first time meeting Lu Yin, as she had also met him back on Earth, though they had not interacted much back then. She was rather curious about Lu Yin, but she was more focused on finding out where Zhang Dingtian was rather than learning more about Lu Yin himself. She hade to the Yu Academy for simr reasons as Zhao Yu; she was here to look for Zhang Dingtian.

    Lu Yin looked at her appreciatively. ¡°I recall now. Back on Earth¡¯s capital, you used to help Zhang Dingtian manage things.¡±

    Huan Sha¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Does Your Highness know where Zhang Dingtian is?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°We met in the Innerverse. He¡¯s fine.¡±

    Huan Sha rxed. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Lu Yin studied her carefully. ¡°If you were able to help Zhang Dingtian manage affairs, then you can help me too. Would you be willing? Right, I hereby officially invite you to join the Lu Ministry of Staff and help me manage the political affairs of the ministers.¡±

    Huan Sha, Huo Zhong, and the others were all stunned. Managing political affairs was the same as holding authority over the Great Yu Empire. How could such a thing be given away so easily? And what was the Lu Ministry of Staff? Nobody had ever heard of it before!

    ¡°The Lu Ministry of Staff is a new department that I¡¯ve established to specially focus on the less important political matters of the ministries. Rx, it¡¯s not that troublesome. All the important affairs will still be sent to the Imperial Cab ministers. So how about it?¡± Lu Yin looked at Huan Sha.

    Huan Sha was in deep thought, as she did not actually want to join the Twelfth Squadron, and managing affairs was also her specialty. That was why she had been valued by Zhang Dingtian, but she had only nned on getting closer to the center of power so that she could ask Lu Yin about Zhang Dingtian¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Huan Sha is willing,¡± she respectfully agreed.

    Lu Yin nodded and was quite happy, as he had finally found someone to help him manage the various government tasks. Those memos that were constantly sent to him had piled up in heaps, and they gave him a huge headache. It was just like he had said earlier; the important affairs of the government would still be delivered to the cab ministers, so Huan Sha¡¯s newly gained authority would be limited. Also, the internal cab ministers had the authority to restrict the Lu Ministry of Staff members for the moment. After Lu Yin verified that Huan Sha was both loyal and capable, he would immediately remove that restriction over the Lu Ministry of Staff¡¯s authority.

    For the moment, Huan Sha just needed to help him take care of the meaningless clutter that had gathered up.

    Although the establishment of the Lu Ministry of Staff would face a great deal of opposition from the established ministers, that did not matter to Lu Yin at all. He had even ughtered an Enlighter earlier, so these ministers would definitely be terrified of him.

    In a dominant fashion, Lu Yin released news of the Lu Ministry of Staff¡¯s establishment, and he even put its location as King Zishan¡¯s residence. He needed to keep a close eye on Huan Sha for a period of time so that he could ascertain her ability and loyalty.

    As expected, when news of the Lu Ministry of Staff¡¯s establishment spread out, it faced opposition from many ministers, especially the cab ministers. They felt like their authority was being given away.

    Garope was the first minister to contact Lu Yin, as he felt that the regent was being too flippant about governmental affairs.

    Lu Yin did not pick up the call, as this was how he was nning on dealing with this issue. Since he had already established the cab, he would continue on with it. There was no logic to revoking it, as that would destroy all of his credibility.

    Aside from Huan Sha, Lu Yin also noticed a youth called Song Shi, who stared at him with extreme adoration.

    Lu Yin rather enjoyed it, and on a whim and with a wave of his hand, he decided to take a few people with him to Earth. He wanted to take a look at this since it was his hometown that was very important to him, and he also wanted to check on the situation on Jupiter.

    While he got some people to prepare arge spacecraft to head out to Earth, Lu Yin had the Blind Monk tear through the void and bring him to the Auna family¡¯s estate. Since returning from crashing the wedding at East San Dios, Lu Yin had not met with Jenny Auna, and he felt rather guilty towards her.

    He frequently thought of what she had said to him. Was there anything wrong in chasing after love? No. Humans were selfish, and it was merely their perspectives that shed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance shocked the Auna family, and Xueshan Auna hurried out to wee the Royal Regent. He didn¡¯t even dare to tear through the void; instead, he physically ran over to greet Lu Yin. Rocky Auna, Torry Auna, and the other members of the family with some status also appeared.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness,¡± the crowd greeted respectfully.

    Lu Yin raised a hand for them to dispense with their bowing. Then, he had only Xueshan Auna stay behind, dismissing all the others.

    ¡°Your Highness, if you have any instructions, then you can just send over your orders. Why have you troubled yourself bying personally?¡± Xueshan Auna spoke carefully and was a hundredfold more respectful than he had been during theirst meeting.

    In the past, it had been Lu Yin¡¯s status that demanded respect, but at the present moment, it was his strength. This was because Lu Yin had instantly killed an Enlighter.

    As an experienced Hunter, Xueshan Auna knew exactly how terrifying an Enlighter was, but despite that, this youth in front of him had actually killed one. This left Xueshan Auna a bit scared of Lu Yin, and he didn¡¯t dare to act impudently. He even silently rejoiced that he had made the right decision back then.

    ¡°You sound just like Uncle Huo. What? Am I not wee?¡± Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Xueshan Auna quickly replied, ¡°Of course you are! The Great Yu Empire belongs to Your Highness, and naturally, so does this tiny Auna family.¡±

    Lu Yin was truly experiencing the advantages and influence that came with a high position. Every time he saw Xueshan Auna, this old man¡¯s attitude changed, and this was one of the fundamental reasons why people chased after power and strength; it was just too easy to be addicted to such pleasure.

    ¡°How is she?¡± Lu Yin enquired.

    Xueshan Auna knew exactly who Lu Yin was referring to, and his expression changed. ¡°She¡¯s alright, but she does not take even a single step out.¡±

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain and observed Jenny Auna. Compared to the illuminating figure she had struck at East San Dios, the current Jenny Auna had mellowed out tremendously, and she seemed to have aged a decade. ¡°There¡¯s no need to restrict her. Let her go wherever she wishes. The sky has changed, and we don¡¯t have to care about those others.¡±

    Xueshan Auna nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the Auna patriarch again. ¡°Where¡¯s that person from Royal Frost Continent?¡±

    ¡°Still sealed in ice. Your Highness, please rest assured. As soon as he wakes up, this subject will inform Your Highness at once.¡±

    When they had attacked Firesmelt in the past, one of Firesmelt¡¯s experts had sealed themselves in ice as the copsed, and the ice that sealed him had a design with a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms, which Xueshan Auna had confirmed to represent th Royal Frost Continent. It was precisely because of that matter and the design that Lu Yin had been able to recognize Che Han as a member of the same Royal Frost Continent during the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection.

    Lu Yin nodded, and left the estate soon afterwards.

    Xueshan Auna was only able to finally rx after Lu Yin disappeared, as the Auna family had shown indecisiveness in the past. He had been afraid that Lu Yin would settle scores with them after some time passed, but fortunately, he had not.

    In space, there was arge spacecraft that was headed towards the north of Frostwave Weave, carrying within it Lu Yin and a group of cultivators from Earth. Hai Qiqi had not joined them and had instead decided to stay on Zenyu Star.

    To these cultivators, this trip was like returning to their hometown in glory.

    Lu Yin concealed his identity as they drew closer to Earth, as his primary goal this time was to investigate matters on Jupiter. He felt that this Hidden Earth Society might have some information that he wanted and that he might even be able to uncover some of the secrets behind the primeval surnames through investigating this group.

    After a certain time of traveling through the stars, Earth became visible before them.

    It looked the same as ever: a familiar, azure. Lu Yin reminisced about old times, as he had experienced many beautiful moments here. During those times, he had no worries and was nothing more than amoner. He had lived on this for two years, which was actually longer than the time that he had spent with Big Sis and the others. He had grown ustomed to life on this, and that meant everything to someone without any memories. However, the path of cultivation hadpletely changed everything.

    A space station had been built above Earth, and there was the asional spacecraft that streaked by. To the Great Yu Empire, Earth held a special status since this was the Royal Regent¡¯s home.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Great Yu Empire, as even people from other areas in Frostwave Weave asionally visited Earth. Even some from nearby weaves like Grandtop Weave would make a trip every once in a while.

    Lu Yin was just too famous in the Outerverse, and it had reached the point where it was too much for the Outerverse. Lu Yin was the strongest Limiteer in the universe, which was an unprecedented honor for the Outerverse.

    Within the spacecraft, Fu Xiaoshu, Song Shi, and the others emotionally looked at Earth. They had left their home for a period of time, and although it had not been too long, the distance had been vast, and they felt like they had been gone for a very long time. Now that they were finally back with a glorious return, they could not wait to reunite with their families and friends.

    Lu Yin looked beyond Earth and saw the yellow, Jupiter. It was a gaseous, but that was where the Hidden Earth Society was concealed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy as he stared at Jupiter. To his surprise, he saw an enormous number of rune lines. Lu Yin was stunned, as this amount surpassed what he had seen even on Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna. Although there was a great quantity, the rune lines did not congeal together, but this simply proved that there was more than one Hunter on Jupiter, though none of them approached the strength of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin rxed. As long as there was no Enlighter, there was room for negotiations.

    He scanned the others within Earth¡¯s sr system, but he found that, aside from Jupiter, all of the rest appeared to be normal. There were no rune lines indicating the existence of any powerhouses.

    Within the spacecraft, Zhao Yu walked over and looked at Lu Yin. In the next moment, he had already donned his universal armor and stepped out. He quickly exited the vessel and headed for Jupiter.

    Zhao Yu was envious, as even with a set of universal armor, she still would not be able to freely soar through the universe.

    Jupiter was enormous, and it wasposed of gas. Earth had tried to research the interior of the for many years, but Earth had never managed to fully study even its own core, let alone Jupiter¡¯s.

    The Great Yu Empire had sufficient technology to conduct such a study, but no interest in doing so.

    Lu Yin was wearing his universal armor as he appeared above Jupiter. He stared at it silently and saw that the enormous number of rune lines were moving towards him from the other areas of the. Someone from the Hidden Earth Society had discovered him.

    ¡°Lu Yin requests to enter,¡± Lu Yin spoke from space, and his voice spread through the void towards Jupiter.

    There was no reaction. The rune lines that were approaching him should belong to a Hunter, and that Hunter must be watching Lu Yin at this moment. However, that person was not bothering to even reply to him.

    Lu Yin shouted out a few more times, but things remained the same. There were absolutely no movements from the other party.

    Lu Yin frowned, as Huo Qingshan had already mentioned even the Hunter himself could not enter Jupiter. There were remnants of ancient defenses left on it, but Lu Yin could not find them. Thus, he decided to barge in forcefully and pulled out his gun.

 Chapter 538: Cowards

    <h4>Chapter 538: Cowards</h4>

    Perhaps the hidden Hunters felt the threat from Lu Yin¡¯s gun, and in the next moment, Jupiter abruptly changed. The gases that covered the surface coalesced into a giant whirlpool, and Lu Yin was shocked to see that the rune lines on Jupiter had started increasing endlessly.

    They had greatly surpassed a Hunter¡¯s level now, and they had even surpassed the number of rune lines that Lu Yin had seen on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    Lu Yin hurriedly retreated and then sized up Jupiter in bewilderment. Just like Huo Qingshan had said, there were some ancient defense systems that remained on the. These systems clearly surpassed the power of an Enlighter, and they might even be able to defend against a powerhouse whose power level exceeded 300,000.

    Lu Yin could not enter with his current strength.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and contacted Huo Qingshan. ¡°Uncle Huo, I made it to Jupiter.¡±

    Huo Qingshan asked in a low tone, ¡°Can you enter?¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    ¡°Your Highness, that underground organization has observed Earth¡¯s civilizations for countless years¡ªfrom its development to its inevitable decline¡ªyet not once has it intervened. They only wish to preserve the ancient secret. Anyone who leaves Jupiter will never be allowed to return, and this subordinate is the same. It¡¯s not possible for you to enter Jupiter, and it¡¯s also impossible to interact with those people,¡± Huo Qingshan exined.

    Unresigned, Lu Yin stared at Jupiter. The secrets of the primeval surnames were right in front of him. Did he really need to give up like this?

    ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s actually someone on Earth who¡¯s from the hidden organization, and that person is like your subordinate and can never return. That person¡¯s mission is to seek out all the children with innate gifts and send them to Jupiter, so he may know more than this subordinate.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°How do I find that person?¡±

    ¡°This subordinate does not know. Ever since I left Jupiter, this subordinate has never asked about the Hidden Earth Society, and they won¡¯t contact me either. Although this subordinate still has the organization¡¯s emblem, I have not been a part of them for a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin helplessly stared at Jupiter, whichy ahead of him. This was a giant tortoise shell, and this group of people would forever remain holed up within, which presented a thorny problem.

    He could not threaten this organization, so should he expose them? Over the countless years, Lu Yin believed that those murderers who had wiped out Earth¡¯s past civilizations knew about this hidden organization¡¯s existence. He did not believe that the Hidden Earth Society would be able to remain hidden forever, so exposing them would not actually be a valid threat. Moreover, even if the murderers knew about this group, they still could not act. This organization seemed to be in an unassable position.

    Lu Yin shouted out, ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin, someone with a primeval surname. I wish toply with the ancient treaty. Please allow me in.¡±

    Nobody bothered with him.

    The Hunter did not move.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Earth¡¯s civilizations have been extinguished so many times. Do you guys really wish to remain hidden forever? I, Lu Yin, am confident that I am an unequaled Limiteer, and I will definitely shake the heavens in the future. I qualify to ally with anyone. You guys must show your sincerity.¡±

    Nobody bothered with him.

    ¡°Do you wish to remain cowards forever?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Still, nobody bothered with him.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, these people have been able to coldly watch on while their home was exterminated. How would you be able to move them with such simple sentences? I think that it¡¯ll be easier to find that person from the Hidden Earth Society who¡¯s still on Earth. Although that¡¯s like finding a needle in a haystack, at least you know that there¡¯s a needle in there somewhere,¡± the monkey suggested.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°If that person has been able to remain hidden on Earth, then it shows that they only have average strength. They might not even know as much as Huo Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also true. Primeval surnames¡­ Since ancient times, your Human Domain has always been chasing after those with the primeval surnames. It¡¯s very strange.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much. Although the personal writings of some powerhouses have mentioned these ancient and uniquest names, I never found any real secrets. I suggest that you try to proceed with the Lockbreaker Society, as I remember one letter being filled with grudges against those people. That powerhouse had been someone from one of the primeval surnames: Wang. He had no legal identity, but he had an extraordinary talent for lockbreaking. However, he couldn¡¯t join the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. That was right; he had forgotten about that. The Lockbreaker Society had expressly stated that those with primeval surnames could not enter if they did not carry a legal status. This rule could not be broken by anyone. Since the society had such a rule in ce, then that must mean that they had some sort of an understanding about these ancient surnames.

    Since it seemed that there was no path forward with this Hidden Earth Society, the Lockbreaker Society was another possible route.

    The Innerverse and Outerverse were isted from each other right now, but the Outerverse had its own Lockbreaker Society division, so perhaps something could be found there.

    It seemed that it was time for another wave of lockbreaking attempts. Lu Yin would try to break through and be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker quickly so that he could enter the higher echelons of the Lockbreaker Society.

    Lu Yin turned towards Jupiter. ¡°Then stay as turtles forever. Sooner orter, that murderer will break through Jupiter¡¯s defenses, and at that time, you guys will also be wiped out. Don¡¯t look for my help either.¡±

    And with that, he left.

    The Hunter hiding on Jupiter did not move, and it seemed that they had never had any intentions of conversing with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was just about to return to Earth when the monkey suddenly spoke up. ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯m about to break through! Quickly, find a ce!¡±

    Lu Yin looked around for a minute before taking out his copsible spacecraft and flying to Neptune. He put his universal armor on and told the monkey, ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s figure floated out from Lu Yin¡¯s right arm. If this scene was seen by someone else, then they would be frightened out of their mind.

    The monkey had been stuck as a Limiteer for a long time, and Lu Yin had just been a Melder when they first met. Now, the monkey had finally reached his critical juncture.

    Lu Yin watched the monkey with a strange expression. A phantom image that was imprinted onto his own body was actually also able to break through, and he did not even require any star essence, which was certainly odd.

    He had forgotten to ask Kuang Wang if the Beast Tamers¡¯ tamed beasts had this same ability.

    An astral beast¡¯s breakthrough was different from a human¡¯s. They did not require any formcast models, and some automatically became Explorers as soon as they matured.

    It was a simple feat for the monkey to be an Explorer, and the astral beast just had to be released for a while. His breakthrough barely showed any activity, and Lu Yin even started wondering if the beast was actually just fooling around.

    Lu Yin felt strange when he saw the monkey¡¯s shadow merge back into his right arm, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°You broke through?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Fast isn¡¯t it?¡± The monkey was pleased with himself.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You really broke through? Why didn¡¯t I feel anything?¡±

    The monkey¡¯s shadow floated back out, and a powerful wave swept across the surface of the. He looked at Lu Yin with a pleased expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy and he was able to see the monkey¡¯s rune lines. The monkey had indeed be an Explorer, and he was much stronger than an average one at that. But, how could the breakthrough happen so fast? It had felt like he was just joking around.

    Lu Yin was rather envious; if only he could also break through to the Explorer realm that easily.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, us astral beasts¡¯ innate gifts are different from you humans. Our constitution determines the limit of our cultivation, but the upside is that we will naturally reach that level unless there are any abnormal factors. You humans are different and are unable to meet our natural-born heights. It¡¯s only by transforming your bodies to harmonize with the universe that you can proceed, which is actually the same thing that we astral beasts do when we mutate. Thus, we astral beasts are the favored ones of the universe, and you humans are but failed products of evolution,¡± the monkey spoke proudly.

    ¡°But there¡¯s no ceiling to our cultivation,¡± Lu Yin retorted simply.

    The Ghost Monkey wanted to dispute that im, but found that he could not. When humans took their first step on the path of cultivation, it was the same as an astral beast mutating. Such a method of cultivation truly had no limits, and given enough time, they were even able to cultivate to the Progenitor realm. Historically, the number of human Progenitors surpassed those of the astral beasts, which was an undeniable truth.

    Lu Yin had been wondering if the monkey¡¯s breakthrough would cause a huge disturbance, and he had never expected that it would be so fast and inconspicuous.

    Since the monkey had broken through to the Explorer realm, it meant that, even without any universal armor, Lu Yin could still freely travel through the universe with the monkey¡¯s help. He could be towed through space by the monkey. However, if they visited another ce like Pyrolyte, then Lu Yin would have to screen off his right arm to prevent the monkey from getting into contact with the star energy. That would actually be the same as sealing away one of his arms.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and contacted the Great Yu Empire troops that were nearby on Earth and had them start monitoring Jupiter. They were ordered to capture any living creatures that came out of the and were also ordered to prevent anyone from approaching.

    Lu Yin did not believe that these people could remain as cowards forever.

    He looked around, as Neptune still held a special meaning to the people of Earth. This was where Bai Qian had discovered Qingyu in the past, and that discovery had led to the apocalypse on Earth. Bai Qian herself had stepped into the universe because of it, and Lu Yin presumed that she had done so with Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letter, based on what Lu Yin had learned from Liu Shaoge after asking him about Qingyu back at East San Dios. Liu Shaoge had mentioned that Qingyu had stolen the inheritance stone and thus been punished with imprisonment and that he had not stepped out yet.

    Qingyu was a hidden danger, as he had been an Explorer back then. But due to his grave injuries, his power had been horribly crippled. Even so, that person had used all sorts of battle techniques topletely suppress the trial takers, and he had never even used his innate gift.

    Lu Yin did not know if Qingyu had any innate gifts, but he would rather n for the worse scenario by assuming that Qingyu had an innate gift and that the Daynight n member had merely been unable to use it due to certain restrictions.

    There was a limit to how long Qingyu would remain imprisoned for, and he would definitelye looking for Lu Yin when he was released.

    Unfortunately for Qingyu, now that the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to make it to the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t put his universal armor on. Instead, he had the monkey tow him through space.

    The Ghost Monkey was also rather excited. After an astral beast broke through into the Explorer realm, their constitution would naturally change to be suitable to survive in the vacuum of space, so he did not need to adapt at all. He transformed into a shadow and leaped away and Lu Yin was dragged by the shadow and quickly left Neptune to appear in the dark of outer space.

    This feeling was simr to when the spacecraft had previously exploded and cast Lu Yin into space. The difference was that, back then, he had only been able to passively float through space, unable to control his movement, whereas now, he was being pulled along by the monkey, which meant that he could go anywhere he wished. The speed was not that slow either, and others could not see anything since the monkey was a shadow, which gave Lu Yin the convenience of hiding within the shadow.

    Just like that, Lu Yin was pulled by the monkey back towards Earth.

    Above Earth, the Great Yu Empire troops quickly discovered Lu Yin¡¯s movements, and they dumbfoundedly watched on as Lu Yin leisurely floated through space. Wasn¡¯t the Royal Regent a Limiteer? How was he able to freely move through space? Had he broken through?

    Lu Yin did not face any obstacles as he directly entered Earth¡¯s atmosphere,nding next to an ocean to gather his bearings before heading towards Jinlin. He wanted to look for some familiar faces.

    Because of Lu Yin, Earth had undergone drastic changes, and many people had stepped onto the path of cultivation. Since Jinlin was where Lu Yin had once cultivated, the Great Yu Empire had set up a school specially for cultivators there, on the outskirts of the city. Surprisingly, the headmaster was Zhou Shan. However, he was more of an honorary headmaster since all of the school¡¯s cultivation resources were controlled by people who had been sent by the Great Yu Empire.

    After a few years of efforts, not only had all of the zombies on Earth been cleared out, but Jinlin had also been rebuilt, and now, it was even more bustling than before. Various aircraft roamed through the sky, while on the ground, people who were clearly different from Earthlings could be seen.

 Chapter 539: Nalan Requests Aid

    <h4>Chapter 539: Nn Requests Aid</h4>

    When Lu Yin stepped onto the ground in Jinlin, he let out an emotional sigh. He had been gone for five years, and the ce had undergone many changes during that time. The initially desperate surroundings hadpletely disappeared, and the current Jinlin was like any other city on a bustling.

    He unleashed his domain to search for Zhou Shan, and his eyes quickly closed in on Zhongshan.

    During Earth¡¯s past apocalypse, Zhou Shan had been one of the Seven Sages, and he had held control over Jinlin while he stayed at Zhongshan with 80,000 cultivators under hismand. At present, Jinlin waspletely different. It had returned to being a bustling city, but Zhongshan was the exact same and seemingly had not changed in the slightest.

    Lu Yin appeared within Zhongshan and did not bother concealing himself.

    Within Zhongshan, there were dozens of people staring nkly at a screen as they watched Lu Yin leisurely enter Zhongshan. One person asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Why does this person look so familiar?¡±

    ¡°Savior Lu Yin! That¡¯s Lu Yin! The Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent!¡± another person screamed as he fervently stared at the screen.

    Soon after that, everyone else became excited as well, and someone immediately reported the matter to Zhou Shan.

    Because Lu Yin had defeated Qingyu, he had been given the title of Savior while on Earth. Zhou Shan and the others had greatly promoted Lu Yin¡¯s contributions as well, which meant that quite a considerable number of ardent worshippers for Lu Yin had emerged everywhere. It was to the extent where even the troops stationed there by the Great Yu Empire had seen the corresponding propaganda, and all of this publicity caused Lu Yin to be the same as a deity to the people on Earth.

    The Astral Combat Tournament had further ingrained his image into their hearts, and finally, the Tournament of the Strongest had elevated and finalized his status on Earth. Lu Yin himself did not know how exalted his reputation had be.

    The troops in Zhongshan quickly gathered, and soon, all of Jinlin rang with rms, which startled millions. Everyone looked at Zhongshan with dazed faces. Was there an enemy?

    Lu Yin looked up andughed, knowing that he had been discovered. Within his domain, he noticed that there were many people fervently staring at him.

    He did not hurry his pace, and he slowly reminisced about different events as he continued walking along the street. This ce was where he had first used his formcast model and be a cultivator. That was where he had first rolled his die and received the Cosmic Art after rolling Pilfer.

    To countless Earthlings, this was the ce where Lu Yin¡¯s legendary journey had begun.

    This area had long since be forbidden for most people to enter, and only a small minority were allowed ess.

    Lu Yin saw the tent that he had stayed in. Even after five years, it still had not changed.

    He was rather moved by the sights, and it seemed that it had been worthwhile for him to entrust his feelings to Earth. Even though this meant that he had yet another weakness, he was willing to bear this burden.

    Zhou Shan appeared in the sky and howled withughter as he descended. Lu Yin smiled and watched him approach.

    ¡°Earth¡¯s Jinlin¡¯s defensive troopsmander Zhou Shan pays his respects to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Zhou Shan immediately saluted and bowed towards Lu Yin, but the younger man supported Zhou Shan and raised him back up with a smile. ¡°Do you really need to go this far?¡±

    Zhou Shanughed. ¡°Enough respect can¡¯t be shown, but for now, you can put your identity as Royal Regent aside. You belong to Earth.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am an Earthling.¡± Lu Yin was happy. When he had first returned to Earth, he had seen familiar faces and felt a warm feeling in his heart that could not be experienced anywhere else. Perhaps he would also feel this way with Big Sis and the others, but that was a slightly different feeling.

    There weren¡¯t that many people whom Lu Yin was familiar with on Earth. During the two years before the apocalypse, he had lived an ordinary life and had not had many friends. Zhou Shan was one of the few he still considered a friend. Even though the two of them had not spent much time together, Zhou Shan had given Lu Yin a considerable amount of help.

    Lu Yin chatted with Zhou Shan for a while, and with his domain, he saw many people surround and watch them with fanatic expressions. Were they that excited to see him? Even if he had defeated Qingyu and saved Earth during the trial, that was still something that had happened five years before.

    At that moment, Lu Yin noticed a small girl within his domain. She seemed to be about two or three years old and looked simr to Zhou Shan. Lu Yin had a strange feeling, and he looked at Zhou Shan. ¡°You have a daughter?¡±

    Zhou Shan was stunned. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I saw her. So how is she? Does she have a formcast model?¡±

    Zhou Shan grew embarrassed. ¡°Someone sent one, but I didn¡¯t ept it.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Are you afraid that people will im that you¡¯re taking bribes?¡± Lu Yin joked.

    Zhou Shan grew serious. ¡°The entire empire knows that you¡¯re from Earth and that you have some form of rtionship with me. If I ept bribes, it¡¯ll cause you to lose face.¡±

    Lu Yin tossed Zhou Shan a crystal card. ¡°There¡¯s some money in that, and it should be enough for you to buy a formcast model. Don¡¯t say no and just take it as a gift from me to your daughter. Oh right, what¡¯s her name?¡±

    Zhou Shan smiled and epted the money. ¡°She¡¯s called Xixi. Zhou Xixi.¡±

    ¡°A good name. It carries the meaning of hope, and she was born in an era of peace. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, send her to the Yu Academy to cultivate. For cultivators, ten years go by in a sh.¡±

    Zhou Shan nodded. He knew that the gap between him and Lu Yin was now too vast. Although they had once been friends, once Zhou Shan died, the rtionship would also disappear. He was not foolish, and although he would not ept bribes, he was willing to receive some benefits from his rtionship with Lu Yin as long as they were within reasonable limits. Otherwise, he would not have epted the position of honorary headmaster.

    He had always wanted to send his daughter to Zenyu Star, and it had just be official with Lu Yin¡¯s words at this time.

    When a person rode on someone else¡¯s sess, the benefits that the sessful person handed out could also be considered as a disy of his feelings. Those who benefited would not be merely his own friends and family, but also the person himself.

    Zhou Shan was special to Lu Yin because he had been one of the first Sentinels who Lu Yin had met.

    After the final battle on Earth, of the seven sages, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had left like Lu Yin while Liu Shaoge left with Qingyu. Wang You and Tong Zhan had been killed by Liu Shaoge, so only Zhou Shan and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had remained on Earth. Lu Yin had not gotten to know <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist very well, so he did not look for the man. Lu Yin was satisfied with just visiting Zhou Shan.

    Zhao Yu and the others who had followed Lu Yin to Earth felt like they were on vacation, and they conveniently spread some information about the Yu Academy.

    Lu Yin would not leave with these students, and he instead boarded his copsible spacecraft and directly returned to Zenyu Star.

    Jupiter was currently like a thorn in his heart. There was nothing that he could do about it for the moment, but in the future, he would think of a way to remove this thorn. He still wanted to use the Hidden Earth Society to uncover some more information regarding the secrets of the primeval surnames.

    On his way back to Zenyu Star, Lu Yin decided to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. However, not long after he left Earth, his gadget beeped with a notification. It was actually Madam Nn trying to contact him.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as the enchanting Madam Nn had not reached out to him in a long time.

    ¡°Hello, Madam Nn.¡± Lu Yin activated his gadget and greeted the stunning Madam Nn who appeared on his screen.

    Currently, not only had the Innerverse and Outerverse been disconnected, but many weaves in the Outerverse had been simrly separated, andwork signals had even be intermittent. However, Madam Nn¡¯s figure was crisp on the screen, which meant that the connection was smooth and that her current location should not be too far from Frostwave Weave.

    ¡°Student Lu, it¡¯s been a while. During this time, your praises have been ringing in my ears, and it¡¯s been difficult to not hear your name,¡± the mesmerizing Madam Nn greeted with a smile. Her face only had a slight touch of make-up, but her natural charm was enough to cause Lu Yin¡¯s heart to flutter even through a screen.

    She¡¯s a seductress! Lu Yin secretlymented.

    ¡°That¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have disturbed madam¡¯s peace,¡± Lu Yin said as he smiled back.

    The alluring Madam Nn smiled. ¡°So how do you intend topensate me?¡±

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed, as this temptress truly knew how to tease him relentlessly.

    She looked amused at Lu Yin¡¯s awkward expression, and she chuckled before asking, ¡°Student Lu, we¡¯re considered friends, right?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He quickly thought of how wealthy the Nn family was, and he immediately replied, ¡°We¡¯re very good friends.¡±

    ¡°If a friend faces difficulty, would you lend a hand?¡± Her expression turned to one of aggrievement, that also held a hint of helplessness.

    Even if such emotions were faked, Lu Yin could not help himself from asking, ¡°Has something happened to the Nn family?¡±

    The beautiful Madam Nn sighed. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse are separated, and the Sword Sect, which was once our backer, can no longer be counted upon. Shortly before this, the four major financial organizations of the Outerverse held a conference in Tyrannical Weave. But because the universe underwent huge changes, Tyrannical Weave has practically bepletely isted. One Enlighter from my Nn family became trapped there, and so as of today, there¡¯s no Enlighter protecting my Nn family.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°The conference has already been held?¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes flickered, and she threw a certain look at Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu knew of our conference?¡±

    ¡°I heard about it.¡± Lu Yin had heard Liu Shaoge mention it, and the man had even told Lu Yin where the venue was, but he had never mentioned a confirmed time. Lu Yin had not thought that the conference would already have concluded, but it had most likely taken ce while he had been trapped at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The woman on his screen smiled. ¡°It would appear that Student Lu has quite a few social connections. Although our conference is not a secret, few are qualified to know of it, and most of those people are in the business circles. How did Student Lu learn of it?¡±

    ¡°Is that important?¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Her expression grew sullen once again. ¡°True, it¡¯s not important. Right now, our Nn family is like the most delicious cake to those Enlighters who are stuck in the Outerverse. Of the four major corporations, my Nn family is the closest that these Enlighters can reach. Student Lu, can you help me?¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°I recall that there¡¯s an Enlighter elder from the Sword Sect who was left behind.¡±

    She smiled bitterly. ¡°My surname is Liu, and though the Sword Sect is controlled by the Liu family, there are many who aren¡¯t happy with us. Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree is the one who was left behind in the Outerverse, and he is one of those. Thus, he won¡¯t care if my Nn family lives or dies.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. The stronger a power became, the more severe its internal struggles were. This was very normal.

    ¡°Student Lu, I know what it means for you to protect the Nn family. Those Enlighters are plundering resources in a rabid manner, and our Nn family is very alluring to them. If you protect us, then it will mean that you will be enemies with many Enlighters. However, I have no other choice.¡± The older woman pouted and looked at Lu Yin with a pitiful expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fluttered again, as her appearance was too captivating. Not just the Nn family, but you, too, are alluring. He wanted to say that, but he knew that such words would not be very appropriate.

    ¡°If Student Lu is willing to protect my Nn family, we are also willing to help the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy recover and will also provide aid for the Great Yu Empire to unify Frostwave Weave. In fact, we will even foot the bill for military expenditures while conquering other weaves,¡± she offered serenely.

    Lu Yin was moved, as the Nn family was just too affluent. If this gorgeous Madam Nn could support the Great Yu Empire with resources, then he was confident in upgrading the gun¡¯s offensive capability by a few more grades, which would make it powerful enough to threaten even those old freaks whose power levels were above 300,000. In the Outerverse, a power level of 300,000 was definitely top-notch, and reaching that level would make Lu Yin unrivaled in the Outerverse. Even if the gun was disregarded, he still had his Money Bombs, Progenitor Wushang''s hide, and the universal armor.

 Chapter 540: Target

    <h4>Chapter 540: Target</h4>

    This many high-leveled support items was enough to protect anybody, but the condition was that Lu Yin needed money to obtain them. The Nn family was in the perfect position to support Lu Yin in this matter.

    For Lu Yin, having more money was directly equivalent to increasing his power. The more powerful he became, the more money he needed. He was nning to fight so that he could fight even more. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to gather enough money to upgrade the gun, the universal armor, and so on and so forth.

    ¡°Great. You cane to the Great Yu Empire if you ever run into trouble. I can¡¯t say for sure if I¡¯ll be able to protect you, but I can promise to do my very best,¡± Lu Yin guaranteed.

    Madam Nn was delighted. ¡°Thank you very much. We¡¯re actually already on our way to Frostwave Weave and will reach Zenyu Star in about a month. At that time, please take care of us.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and disconnected from the call.

    Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated from each other, the pressure exerted by the Innerverse¡¯srge organizations in the Innerverse had vanished. Lu Yin was feeling incredibly confident, and he wanted to take advantage of this period of istion. At the very least, he wanted to build up a power that would make the ze Realm¡¯s organizations fear him. His goals stretched far beyond just Frostwave Weave.

    Elsewhere, Madam Nn disconnected from the call, and her face turned grim. The pressure that she was facing was far worse than what she had showed Lu Yin. The moment the Innerverse and the Outerverse had been blocked off, she had known that the situation was dire, and she had immediately contacted the Enlighter of the Nn family. However, her call had not been able to go through. Tyrannical Weave had also been blocked off, and the Nn family had therefore lost the protection of their Enlighter.

    As one of the wealthiest organizations in the Outerverse, she knew what the consequences of losing their best protection was. Hence, after finding out that Lu Yin had managed to stop Huo Houye and had even killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, she had immediately decided to head towards Frostwave Weave to receive his protection.

    She was not entirely certain that Lu Yin would protect them, but he was her only hope. It was much better than cing her hope in those greedy Enlighters. She had interacted with Lu Yin a few times before, and she¡¯d also saved his life in the past. She was even betting on the fact that he wasn¡¯t an ungrateful person.

    ¡°Hopefully, we¡¯ll be able to get through this.¡± Madam Nn gazed up into the darkness of outer space. The future of the Nn family was now wholly dependent on Lu Yin. She smiled wryly. Who could have known that there woulde a day when she would be forced to rely on that youth. The person whom she had saved in the past was now the one doing the saving; this had to be fate.

    On Zenyu Star, during the pce¡¯s daily morning meeting, all of the ministers who held sufficient authority had gathered. Only the throne where Undying Yushan had once sat remained empty. Lu Yin slowly sat down on a chair that was ced near the throne as he surveyed the ministers.

    After killing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, his status in the Great Yu Empire had changed. If one said that Undying Yushan had controlled the empire through his prestige as the emperor, then Lu Yin was controlling the empire through his undeniable strength, which was more than Undying Yushan had managed to do. The decisions that Undying Yushan had made might have received some voices of dissent, but the decisions that Lu Yin made were indisputable. Even if people objected, their protests were pointless.

    The creation of the Lu Ministry of Staff, for instance, had received objections from all five of the primary ministers, but Lu Yin hadpletely ignored them all. This was the power that came from absolute strength, and it was a stark contrast to how Undying Yushan had governed.

    By the time the routine report was finished, the meeting was mostly over, but then, Garope stood up. ¡°Your Highness, I speak on behalf of the Imperial Cab when I call for the dissolution of the Lu Ministry of Staff.¡±

    ¡°Please have the Lu Ministry of Staff dissolved,¡± the other four ministers from the Imperial Cab said in unison as they bowed towards the regent.

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°We¡¯re not discussing this. You may go.¡±

    Garope was at a loss. The Royal Regent was too overbearing, but there was nothing that they could do about his behavior.

    The creation of the Lu Ministry of Staff had weakened the authority of the Imperial Cab, and its effects were already showing. Thankfully, the girl who was a part of the Lu Ministry of Staff, Huan Sha, still did not have the right to participate in the morning meetings. The Lu Ministry of Staff was more like the regent¡¯s aide, and Huan Sha wasn¡¯t a key member of the pce yet, so this was still something that the ministers could ept.

    After Garope spoke, nobody else had anything to report. Lu Yin then asked, ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? You¡¯re done, right?¡±

    Everybody remained silent.

    ¡°In that case, it¡¯s my turn.¡± Lu Yin surveyed the room and focused on Huo Qingshan and the other captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. ¡°In one month, I need to conquer Frostwave Weave.¡±

    That one sentence was enough to rm everyone in the room, and all of the ministers gaped at Lu Yin.

    Actually, the Great Yu Empire had already conquered most of Frostwave Weave. There were a total of 125 fments in the weave, and the Great Yu Empire had already conquered a hundred of them and assigned them to various people. However, they had been forced to withdraw from some of those fments due to financial restraints. The Great Yu Empire was not able to keep up with the costs, and if the empire tried to retain control over those fments, then it might cause the empire¡¯s economy to copse, which would result in serious consequences.

    And after that, organizations from the Innerverse had taken over Northcastle Weave, and the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military became even more afraid of overextending. This had continued on until the present moment.

    ¡°Your highness, weck the financial resources to support the unification of Frostwave Weave,¡± the finance minister, Gavin, said nervously.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Focus all of our money on the military. Everything else can wait. Somebody will pay for it in a month.¡±

    Gavin was shocked. ¡°Are you saying that somebody else will be bearing the cost, Your Highness?¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny the question. ¡°Enough. We¡¯ll go with Undying Yushan¡¯s initial n. We¡¯re going to unify Frostwave Weave in one month. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, Your Highness.¡± Huo Qingshan was the first to make his stance known.

    After that, all of the other captains stated their approval. Even Peach looked serious, which made for quite a funny expression on her face.

    In the eastern region of the Outerverse, wars raged in over a dozen weaves. Enlighters were doing as they liked and plundering resources at will, which had led to a public outcry. However, the organizations controlling those weaves were helpless given the current situation. Inparison, Frostwave Weave was very peaceful.

    However, after Lu Yin¡¯s orders were delivered, Frostwave Weave was also filled with war. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial army set off and swept through the area.

    They¡¯d already conquered a hundred fments in the past, so now, they were basically just leisurely traveling around. The imperial army had an easy time.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin summoned Tianming.

    After Tianming admitted to his crimes, Lu Yin had restricted him to the Yu Academy which was located on the first ring that encircled Zenyu Star. Tianming had thought that he¡¯d be imprisoned there for a long time, but just a few days after his sentence was handed out, Lu Yin summoned him.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡± Tianming bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gazed down at him from above. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the chance to make up for your crimes. If you do well, you will be a citizen of the Great Yu Empire and whatever you have done in the past will be forgotten.¡±

    Tianming looked up in excitement. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush to thank me. This isn¡¯t an easy task.¡± Lu Yin had Tianming stand up and then continued, saying, ¡°I need you to summon the surviving experts of the Nine Stacks Sect using your status as the sessor of the sect. You¡¯ll start a war to take over the sect.¡±

    Tianming was shocked. ¡°Your Highness, do you mean¡­¡±

    Lu Yin stared right at him. ¡°The one who destroyed the Nine Stacks Sect was Lei Long from the Dire Barbarian n. I need you to take revenge and regain control of the Nine Stacks Sect. Of course, I know that you can¡¯t do that alone, so I¡¯ll be helping you.¡±

    Tianming was no fool, and he immediately understood what Lu Yin was insinuating. The Royal Regent wanted Tianming to gather the people from the Nine Stacks Sect and unite them to take care of Lei Long. In other words, Lu Yin intended to use Lei Long to wipe out the remnants of the sect. Then, with Tianming¡¯s position as the sessor of the Nine Stacks Sect, he¡¯d be able to publicly request Lu Yin for help. This would truly eliminate everybody from the Nine Stacks Sect while also giving Lu Yin an excuse to meddle in Grandtop Weave¡¯s affairs.

    Lu Yin was basically using someone else in order to achieve his goals. He¡¯d use Lei Long and have the Enlighter kill the stubborn disciples of the Nine Stacks Sect who were in Grandtop Weave and then he would use that as an excuse to invade Grandtop Weave.

    If Tianming followed Lu Yin¡¯s orders, then he would be a sinner of Grandtop Weave. He would be the one who let Lu Yin into Grandtop Weave and would also be the one to personally help Lu Yin find and destroy the surviving remnants of the Nine Stacks Sect. In other words, Tianming would be the one who destroyed any hope of revival that the Nine Stacks Sect still had.

    Tianming looked sullen, never having expected Lu Yin to ask him to do such a thing.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Tianming. ¡°So? You¡¯re not willing to do this?¡±

    Tianming looked like he was struggling with the decision and hung his head.

    ¡°The Nine Stacks Sect has already been destroyed. You know this, or else you wouldn¡¯t have admitted to your crime. I¡¯m helping your sect get revenge, so you should be thanking me,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Tianming took a deep breath and eventually agreed. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Great. I¡¯ll teach you Nine Stacks. With this, nobody will doubt that you¡¯re the sessor of the sect.¡±

    A whileter, Tianming left for Grandtop Weave. Lu Yin was not at all worried that the youth would betray him, because where else could Tianming go? There was no ce for him in Grandtop Weave or Frostwave Weave. Admitting to his crime had proven that he could not give up on Frostwave Weave, and he had only admitted to his status as a spy because he had been afraid that he might be found out in the future. Someone like Tianming would never turn their back on Lu Yin.

    What he needed to consider now was how to deal with Lei Long.

    Killing <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika hadn¡¯t been enough for Lu Yin. The benefits that he had received from killing that guy had stoked his greed, and Lei Long was probably more wealthy than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. After all, Lei Long had stolen years worth of resources from the Nine Stacks Sect. With what he gained from killing this Enlighter on top of the support that he would soon receive from the Nn family, Lu Yin felt confident in being able to soon take on a powerhouse with a power level over 300,000. Of course, that was only if somebody with such strength even existed in the Outerverse.

    In other words, once Lu Yin killed Lei Long, not only would he gain control over Grandtop Weave, but he would also make all the other Enlighters fear him enough to purposefully avoid provoking him. Not to mention that he would also be increasing his own strength. He was essentially killing many birds with this one stone.

    However, since Lu Yin had already killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, then Lei Long was sure to be on his guard. Lu Yin raised his gadget: it was time to have a certain someone make good on their promise.

    Most of the Enlighters who had taken part in the events at Pyrolyte had been left stranded in the Outerverse. Granny Chan from the Lily family was one of them, and she was the person Lu Yin intended on contacting.

    During this time, the people that the Great Yu Empire had sent out had discovered that Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan now wielded control over xen Weave after she had annihted that weave¡¯s controlling organization.

    xen Weave and Frostwave Weave were only separated by Lars Weave, so they weren¡¯t too far from each other.

    Lily Anne had already returned to the Innerverse, so Lu Yin could not get into contact with her. However, it wasn¡¯t that difficult for him to contact other people of Northline Flowzone.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin tapped his gadget, and a screen appeared before him that showed Granny Chan¡¯s wrinkled face.

    ¡°Apologies for disturbing you, Granny Chan,¡± Lu Yin said respectfully.

    Granny Chan looked at Lu Yin in admiration. She had heard about how he had killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and stopped Huo Houye. While this youth was still only a Limiteer, he was already somebody who could be considered as equal to them, even if he had used external tools to achieve this feat.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite. I made a promise to you back at Northline Flowzone. If you need help, I¡¯m willing to lend my aid so long as it¡¯s something that I¡¯m capable of. Are you nning to call in that promise now?¡± She asked without beating around the bush.

    Lu Yin nodded and spoke grimly. ¡°Lei Long from the Dire Barbarian n has taken over Grandtop Weave, and his next target is my Frostwave Weave. I would like to ask you to work with me to get rid of him so that Frostwave Weave will no longer have anything to worry about.¡±

    She looked grim. ¡°You want to get rid of Lei Long?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and stared straight into her eyes without backing down at all.

 Chapter 541: Alluring Seductress

    <h4>Chapter 541: Alluring Seductress</h4>

    Granny Chan frowned, ¡°Little brother, an Enlighter¡¯s not easy to deal with.¡±

    Lu Yin was helpless. ¡°Junior knows this, but Lei Long has clearly set Frostwave Weave as his next target to plunder. If I don¡¯t act, then I will only be waiting for death. On the other hand, we can make a gamble. With Senior¡¯s assistance and the weapon that my Master gave me, I am extremely confident that we can kill Lei Long.¡±

    Granny Chan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Master? Which powerhouse is your Master?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only know that my Master was able to send me from Tempest Flowzone straight into Chaos Flowzone.¡±

    Granny Chan looked shocked, as if she didn¡¯t quite believe such a im. The distance that Lu Yin imed to have crossed with his Master¡¯s help was more than half of the Innerverse. This was something that she couldn¡¯t do, and not even Northgate Taisui was capable of aplishing such a feat. Traveling through the Innerverse was not as simple as traversing the Outerverse. There were countless experts in the Innerverse who could pierce through the void, and to move across half of the Innerverse without being detected by any of the countless powerhouses there indicated an unimaginably terrifying power.

    As she stared at Lu Yin¡¯s ignorant face, Granny Chan was certain that the kid did not know how difficult such a feat truly was. No wonder Lu Yin had a weapon that could instantly kill an Enlighter, as even Enlighters would be ants before such an existence.

    Unfortunately, the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, so there were no benefits to be had even if Lu Yin¡¯s master was truly that powerful. Of course, the future was impossible to predict, and it was possible that the Astral River would recover in time.

    Granny Chan suppressed her shock, and a smile appeared on her face. ¡°Many secluded seniors are not willing to reveal their names, so that¡¯s quite normal as little brother¡¯s Master might be one of those seniors. However, with the current disconnect between the Innerverse and the Outerverse, it¡¯s a pity that such people are not able toe out.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Exactly, otherwise I would have long since asked Master to act.¡±

    Granny Chan appeared to be deep in thought. A momentter, she looked back at Lu Yin¡¯s expectant gaze and said, ¡°Alright, Granny will join little brother on a walk¡ªbut not to deal with Lei Long¡ªonly to intimidate him. Granny will force Lei Long to back away after he learns the truth of the situation, but this will also mean that little brother can¡¯t challenge the Dire Barbarian n again.¡±

    She had not forgotten about Lu Yin¡¯s ability to exacerbate matters. During the contest on Pyrolyte, this kid had offended a vast majority of the Innerverse¡¯s great forces. Otherwise, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika would not have frantically rushed over to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurriedly promised to abide by Granny Chan¡¯s terms, which satisfied her.

    The two agreed to go on a trip to Grandtop Weave after one month.

    They disconnected from the call, and Lu Yin rxed. With Granny Chan with him, he would be able to act freely. Even though he would not be able to kill Lei Long, Lei Long would not be able to deal with Lu Yin either.

    With Progenitor Wushang''s hide, Lu Yin felt confident in being able to create an opportune moment, just like he had with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. At first, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had been cautious of Lu Yin, but there was no way he could have ounted for Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Lei Long would be no different. However, Lu Yin first had to observe how many rune lines Lei Long had. After all, the difference between a power level of 210,000 and 290,000 was incredible. Lu Yin did not know what <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s exact power level was, so he would have to wait a month to find out. The worst oue would be if Lu Yin could not kill Lei Long, but at least Lei Long would be intimidated by Granny Chan and would give up on taking any action against Frostwave Weave.

    A month quickly passed by, and Frostwave Weave did not let the month pass in peace. The Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops had stormed all throughout the weave, triggering multiple wars. The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ captains were invincible. Even if they fought against Hunters, their opponents were thoroughly scared by the news of Lu Yin killing an Enlighter, and so, they had all retreated.

    The war in Frostwave Weave progressed very smoothly.

    And one monthter, practically all of Frostwave Weave belonged to the Great Yu Empire.

    After unifying Frostwave Weave, new problems arose. The Great Yu Empire did not have enough people to manage various ces, which made things difficult for Lu Yin. Left with no other choice, he could only temporarily select people from the affected areas with a talent in military supervision to manage those areas, but that was not a long-term solution. Such people did not truly belong to the Great Yu Empire, and it would be easy for rebellions to foment in such a scenario. Not to mention, such people could not be easily controlled.

    Lu Yin tasked his staff to think of a method to remedy this, but they did not have any brilliant ideas for the time being. They did think up a n, but it wasn¡¯t actually a n. They suggested that the empire bring the direct rtives of the various region¡¯s newly appointed governors to Zenyu Star. Those people would then slowly integrate into the empire after being raised on the empire¡¯s way of life. They would also be used as hostages.

    Lu Yin did not want to use the threat of hostages, but Frostwave Weave was truly toorge, and unpredictable events could easily ur from poor management. They could only use this method as a temporary measure of control.

    This was merely Frostwave Weave, and his future territory might not be limited to only Frostwave Weave. It should be known that, in the past, not only had Undying Yushan formted strategic ns to unify Frostwave Weave, but he had also cast his ambition out towards the surrounding weaves as well, it was just that he had not had enough time to formte those ns.

    The Great Yu Empire¡¯s current top priority was to quickly nurture talents for the military and the empire¡¯s bureaucracy.

    Another urgent issue was the economy. Now that most of the empire¡¯s finances had been diverted to the military, the economy had stopped functioning normally. Many of the governmental departments were paralyzed, and if this went on long-term, then it would lead to even greater disorder and chaos. At the moment, many merchants had deliberately raised the prices of their goods to earn massive profits. This situation would only worsen, and the economy had to be reinvigorated to return the prices to normal.

    Lu Yin had contacted Madam Nn several times, and finally, the Nn family arrived at Zenyu Star.

    In outer space, above the, the Nn family¡¯s gigantic spacecraft appeared.

    Lu Yin personally weed the ship, and the finance minister, Gavin, softlymented from behind, ¡°Your Highness, the Nn family must have intentionally dyed their arrival. They know that the empire is facing an economic crisis, so they intend to use this to increase their value to us.¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply, as there was no reason why he would not think of such a ploy if Gavin had. This was simply a method to increase one¡¯s importance, and it was simr to how many people would appear at the final moment when rescuing someone. As long as there were no severe repercussions, these trivial methods were harmless in the end.

    ¡°You understand the Empire¡¯s finances better than myself. If we discuss matterster, then you can speak up,¡± Lu Yin instructed.

    Gavin acknowledged his words.

    At Zenyu Star¡¯s space station, all of the other spacecraft had been evicted for the day by Lu Yin as a show of respect for the Nn family, as well as to specially wee them.

    Within the giant spacecraft, there was a hint of a smile on the alluring madam Nn¡¯s lips.

    As the spacecraft trembled upon docking, the hatch opened, and a beautiful woman was the first to step out. Lu Yin immediately moved forward. ¡°Madam, did your journey here go smoothly?¡±

    Behind Lu Yin, the weing group was stunned by this woman¡¯s beauty. She never made attempts to be particrly seductive, but her natural charms nheless captured everyone.

    She exchanged several pleasantries with Lu Yin and listened to him introduce the several people from the Great Yu Empire apanying him. After that, she waved a hand, and a family maid stepped forward to hand Gavin an exquisite box.

    Gavin was astonished.

    Lu Yin looked at Madam Nn and she smiled back at him. ¡°Your Highness Royal Regent, this is my Nn family¡¯s small gift to the Great Yu Empire as an expression of our gratitude. Please ept it.¡±

    Lu Yin had not expected the stunning Madam Nn to be so straightforward, but he did not act pretentious. He nodded to Gavin, who immediately epted the box. Within it was a silver Mavis Bank card. With the Nn family¡¯s degree of wealth , once they took action, they definitely would not be hesitant. Moreover, the head of the family had already agreed to help with the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military expenditures in unifying Frostwave Weave.

    Gavin felt excited, as they finally had money again.

    Lu Yin did not quite mind, as he was more concerned about whether or not the Nn family would financially support him personally, which was not something that the expenditures of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military couldpare to.

    Although the Great Yu Empire had unified Frostwave Weave, how much would the expedition costs tally up to? Lu Yin still possessed more than 3,000 star essence, which was equivalent to about 3 billion star crystals. That amount was enough to fund the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military, but he would not personally fund the empire unless it was in a crisis.

    Lu Yin had be someone who had reached a higher level of wealth, and he had recently spent thousands of star essence. Star essence, not star crystals, which meant that the amount that he had spent would have been enough to fund the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military for decades. It should be acknowledged that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military expenditures were calcted with universal currency and not even star crystals.

    This disparity between Lu Yin¡¯s personal expenses and those of the empire was extremely wide.

    This was the Outerverse, whereas any Innerverse power¡¯s military expenses would not stop there. Regardless of whether it was the troops¡¯ meals, weapons, or cultivation resources, the quality avable in the Outerverse could notpare to the Innerverse¡¯s.

    The Nn family had expressed their sincerity with this move, and Lu Yin personally brought the beautiful Madam Nn on a tour of Zenyu Star. Truthfully, he himself had not quite fully explored the either.

    They sent the rest of the entourage away. Madam Nn stretched as they stood atop a cliff beside a sea. Her curvy figure caused Lu Yin to involuntarily swallow his saliva several times, as her image was too captivating.

    ¡°How exhausting! I really want to have a good sleep,¡± she spoke with exhaustion and blurred eyes.

    Lu Yin licked his lips. ¡°Your residence has been arranged to be close to the pce. It was previously the Vice Treasurer¡¯s residence, but it has since been refurbished.¡±

    She beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°Compared to when I first met you, after bing the Royal Regent and managing this empire, your disposition has changed greatly.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°How so?¡±

    She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips. She smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know quite how to put it. You were a student back then, but right now, you are a leader.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just a fringe weave of the Outerverse.¡±

    She stared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I have a feeling that the current you has only just begun to take flight.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You¡¯re tired. Go and rest. Don¡¯t worry, as I¡¯ll do all I can to protect you here.¡±

    She looked into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and suddenly moved closer to him. Her scent flooded Lu Yin¡¯s nose, and he subconsciously tried to back away, but the cliff was at his back. He had no way to retreat, and yet, she continued moving closer to him. Now, she was just a mere ten centimeters away from him. If Lu Yin moved just the slightest bit forward, he would kiss her.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? It¡¯s easy for a woman to misunderstand you when you speak such words.¡± Madam Nn¡¯s soft lips moved gently as she spoke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heartbeat rapidly increased. This temptress was just too seductive. At this moment, he had forgotten everything else; only this beautiful woman existed in his eyes. His breathing grew ragged, and he subconsciously wanted to lean forward to kiss her.

    However, right before he leaned forward, she smiled and backed away from him. She had avoided that situation, and she only left Lu Yin with a gentle, beautiful smile before she turned to leave.

    Lu Yin panted heavily as he stared at the fairy¡¯s departing figure. He felt even more exhausted than after battling against an Enlighter.

    What was this feeling? He had felt like he could not restrain himself, and he had felt an impulse to push her down. This feeling had been too overpowering.

    ¡°Your Highness Royal Regent, I¡¯ll stay at Zenyu Star for now. Rest assured, I¡¯ll pay for rent, hehe,¡± Madam Nn¡¯s voice called out before gradually fading into the distance.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then let it out as he smiled bitterly and stared into the distance. What an alluring seductress.

    At this moment, a message from Gavin caused Lu Yin¡¯s gadget to beep. There were five billion star crystals in the silver card that Madam Nn had given the empire.

 Chapter 542: Insider Information About Mavis

    <h4>Chapter 542: Insider Information About Mavis</h4>

    Lu Yin looked up, as that was enough funds, but only for the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military expenditures. He needed to obtain more money from the Nn family¡¯s hands in order to increase his own strength.

    In another ce, Shalosh was apanying Gavin to a branch of the Mavis Bank one fment away from Zenyu Star, as all the money from the Mavis Bank on Zenyu Star had already been withdrawn. Many people were trying to build their own personal reserves right now.

    The two had just left the branch when Shalosh¡¯s face changed. He quickly pulled Gavin to his side and dashed into the sky. The next moment, a man in front of the two people raised his head and suddenly charged furiously into the Mavis Bank and mmed his hand against the floor.

    Gavin¡¯s face went pale, and he stared downward in shock. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Hunter, and he¡¯s trying to rob the bank,¡± Shalosh said in a deep voice.

    When he heard that this man was a Hunter, Gavin trembled. There were not even ten such powerhouses in all of Frostwave Weave, and only a meagre two or three of them serving the empire. Neither of them had expected to bump into a Hunter who was robbing a bank at the same time of their visit. This person had to be someone from the Innerverse who had been left behind in the Outerverse.

    The same instant that the Hunter acted, the entire quivered, as an ordinary could not withstand the might of a powerhouse whose power level had reached o 100,000 or higher.

    The Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops on the were immediately deployed, but they were stopped by Shalosh. Their opponent was a Hunter, and even Shalosh himself was not confident of dealing with such an expert.

    But this Hunter was too foolish if he was actually dreaming of robbing a Mavis Bank.

    Mavis Banks could be found throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse, and they would not have continued to exist if they could be robbed so easily. Even if this ce was a branch on an ordinary in the Outerverse, it still was not somece that could be easily breached.

    The floor of the Mavis Bank shattered, but not even half a minute passed before the Hunter dashed back into the sky. He looked excited as he had evidently reaped some benefits. However, the moment he left the¡¯s surface, the great tree that was littered with universal currency in front of the bank branch started to move. The tree¡¯s branches shot through the void and wrapped around the Hunter.

    He bellowed, pulled out a long knife, and attempted to slice through the branch, but his efforts were all in vain. The branch was not chopped off, and it continued to twine around the Hunter as its strength increased.

    The Hunter howled in agony. ¡°Spare me! I don¡¯t dare! I don¡¯t dare anymore.¡±

    From within the bank, the branch manager coldly watched the scene unfold, disdain and loathing in his eyes. Over the course of countless years, many people had plotted to steal from this Mavis Bank, but how many of them had actually been able to seed? This person had assumed that, just because the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, that the Mavis Banks would lose their power. However, the truth was that the bank had considered such events long ago.

    With a crack, that Hunter was snapped into two, and fresh blood spattered onto the ground along with the universal currency, staining everything red.

    Outside the bank, many people witnessed this scene. They had a terrified look, but then they looked back at the bank. Their attitudes hadpletely changed at this moment, as this ce possessed the power to easily kill a Hunter.

    Gavin was stunned. Truthfully, ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, he had considered the idea of robbing a Mavis Bank whenever the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military funds were strained. However, he was thrilled at this moment that he had never voiced his thoughts, as he had just seen how ridiculous such an attempt would be.

    Shalosh looked solemn, as that tree was rather frightening. But even more scary was the fact that there had been no energy fluctuations, and he hadn¡¯t been able to sense a power level even when the tree killed the Hunter. That was extremely crafty, and it must be insider information exclusive to the Mavis Bank.

    Even if the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, its Mavis Banks were still capable of protecting themselves.

    It didn¡¯t take long for news of the matter to spread, and Lu Yin was one of the first to learn of it. He had not expected that the Mavis Banks would have such hidden power, and this had even happened at a very ordinary branch of the Outerverse. In that case, what about the branches in the Innerverse? How terrifying were those ces?

    The Mavis Bank indeed lived up to its reputation of being a strong power that controlled the human race¡¯s currency.

    However, now that the Outerverse was isted, could the Mavis Banks¡¯ reservesst? The star crystals and universal currency that were held in the branch on Zenyu Star had already been essentially all withdrawn, and it looked like the branches on the others weren¡¯t far behind.

    Lu Yin instructed Gavin to initiate a conversation with the manager of Zenyu Star¡¯s branch of the Mavis Bank in order to explore the bank¡¯s intentions.

    Lu Yin then went to look for Hai Qiqi, as he had not seen her in some time.

    The lively Hai Qiqi had once made others feel helpless and had given multiple people headaches. But the current Hai Qiqi made others pity her.

    Lu Yin looked at her, huddled over and staring at the ocean. This was how she had spent her recent days.

    ¡°Based on some information that we¡¯ve obtained, the powerful energy that separates the Outerverse¡¯s weaves is already declining, as is the Astral River. One day, it will return to its original state,¡± Lu Yin spoke as he walked over to Hai Qiqi.

    Her eyes lit up as she looked at him with hope. ¡°Really?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°How much longer will that take? How much longer before I can return to the Sea King¡¯s Dome?¡± Hai Qiqi asked urgently; her expression was both nervous and expectant.

    Lu Yin considered his answer. ¡°Around ten years.¡±

    When she heard his response, it seemed as if her soul had fled her body, and she went pale.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Ten years is already pretty decent. It¡¯s much better than never being able to return.¡±

    She nodded and sat back down. ¡°I got it. Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin patted her head and turned to leave. He sighed inwardly, as he had actually been lying to her. The energy that had separated the Outerverse was indeed dwindling, but it was doing so very slowly. At the current rate, forget ten years¡ªnot even 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 years would be enough for the Astral River to return to its original state. Lu Yin had told the girl that it would be ten years so that she wouldn¡¯t lose hope and could use this time to ept reality.

    She missed her hometown, and Lu Yin himself had many people who he missed: Big Sis, Uncle Reuben, and his fellow students from Astral-10. Even those such as Mu Rong, Ling Que, Liu Shaoqiu, and Zhanlong Daynight asionally appeared in his mind. After the events on Pyrolyte, all of those people had returned to the Innerverse, which meant that he may not ever meet them again in his lifetime.

    Lu Yin could also be emotional at times. In the old universe, the great powers had constricted him like pythons, and it had been difficult to breathe at times. In the current universe, Lu Yin waspletely free, but he often found himself reminiscing about that feeling of restriction, the battles of wits that he had fought with Nightking Yuanjing, as well as his days of fighting against those genius Limiteers.

    Unfortunately, those days would not appear again unless the Astral River recovered. And at that time, things would no longer remain the same.

    The greatest pity was that Lu Yin would not be able to make any progress on who his mortal enemy actually was. It would be extremely difficult to collect the debt of those seventy two lives whose surname ¡°Lu¡± had been written down on that paper.

    To the east of the Frostwave Weavey Grandtop Weave, which the Nine Stacks Sect had once ruled. But about three months ago, the Dire Barbarian n had appeared in Grandtop Weave andpletely destroyed the Nine Stacks Sect. Most of the sect¡¯s experts had suffered serious injuries or been killed, with only a few managing to escape.

    The Nine Stacks Sect had been established on a giant meteorite with an extensive size that even surpassed Zenyu Star¡¯s. The meteorite could not be found in a fixed location, as it was purposefully controlled by the Nine Stacks Sect in such a way that it roamed all throughout the weave. This had been one of the key reasons why the sect had been able to maintain control of Grandtop Weave.

    Historically, the Nine Stacks Sect had coveted Frostwave Weave, and there had been many shes with the Great Yu Empire. The sect had been repelled each time, and the two forces had been enemies ever since.

    There was no sunlight or life on the floating meteorite¡¯s surface. Instead, the Nine Stacks Sect had hollowed out the meteorite¡¯s interior and constructed an ecosphere within it.

    Within the roaming meteorite, there was a city with mountains and rivers. Everything that was needed could be found in this ce.

    Lei Long sat cross-legged in a dark, secret room within the city. As an Enlighter, he did not intervene in the n¡¯s issues. Instead, he had passed all matters to his subordinates. Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, he had only stepped out once, which was to destroy the strongest expert from the Nine Stacks Sect, whose strength had almost reached that of an Enlighter.

    Thousands of miles away from the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s headquarters, there was a group of people who had gathered together. They were the lucky survivors of the Nine Stacks Sect. Two of them were Hunters, and Tianming was also among the group.

    ¡°Tianming, is what you say true? There¡¯s someone willing to help our Nine Stacks Sect deal with Lei Long?¡± One of the Hunters stared at Tianming.

    Tianming spoke in a deep voice. ¡°This is because of a favor left behind by our sect¡¯s ancestors. Even if you don¡¯t believe me, you can trust in the ancestors.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Tianming has inherited the sect¡¯s Nine Stacks and has even selflessly passed the Nine Stacks on to everyone here. Everyone should understand his kind intentions,¡± another Hunter spoke. The woman had average looks and appeared to be rather delicate. Her face revealed a different expression when she looked at Tianming.

    The male Hunter¡¯s eyes flickered, and he nodded. He then surveyed the people who had gathered. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll wait for that Enlighter to appear and deal with Lei Long.¡±

    Tianming did not speak any further as he turned to face the headquarters of the Nine Stacks Sect with aplex expression on his face. After this day, there would no longer be a Nine Stacks Sect in the universe.

    At that moment, the female Hunter walked over beside Tianming and softly said, ¡°As a sect elder, I usually refrain from asking about details concerning disciples, but I do know of your matters.¡±

    Tianming¡¯s body trembled, and he looked over at her in surprise.

    She continued, ¡°The girl who you once favored is my niece.¡±

    Tianming lowered his head and suppressed the astonishment that had appeared in his heart.

    ¡°If the sect had truly given their inheritance to you, then they would not have sent you undercover to the Great Yu Empire, and they also would not have split you and my niece up. However, that matter caused you to hate the sect. You are no heir of the sect.¡± Her tone grew harsher as she stared at him.

    Tianming retorted, ¡°I¡¯ve inherited the Sect¡¯s Nine Stacks.¡±

    ¡°Nine Stacks is nothing more than a method of applying strength. That¡¯s not the only inheritance. From what I know, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin, is able to disy Thirty Stacks, so I expect that passing Nine Stacks over to you wouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡±

    Tianming¡¯s eyes shed, but he had no way of refuting her words.

    She looked behind and then moved closer to Tianming and quietly asked, ¡°What¡¯s your objective? Or rather, what is it that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent wants?¡±

    Tianming stared at her, and his fist slowly grew clenched tighter.

    The woman sneered. ¡°You want to act against me?¡±

    Tianming¡¯s gaze trembled. He quickly realized that despite the woman¡¯s youthful appearance, she was still a Hunter while he was only a Limiteer. The disparity between them was far too great.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Tianming asked.

    She looked towards the Nine Stacks Sect. ¡°The Nine Stacks Sect has already been annihted. I want to cast my lot in with the Great Yu Empire, and you can help by rmending me to the Royal Regent, Lu Yin.¡±

    Tianming had already guessed her intentions. This woman had her own schemes, or else she would have exposed him long ago. ¡°Alright.¡±

    She nodded in satisfaction. ¡°So what are we currently waiting for?¡±

    ¡°The Dire Barbarian n,¡± Tianming said.

    She was shocked. ¡°You intend to use the Dire Barbarian n to eradicate us?¡±

    Tianming nodded. ¡°Those are His Majesty¡¯s orders.¡±

    She pondered this new piece of information. Even if she had already abandoned the Nine Stacks Sect, she had still built up a sense of camaraderie with these other people since they were from the same sect. It was a bit much for her to send them to their deaths.

 Chapter 543: Lei Longâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 543: Lei Long¡¯s Death</h4>

    Momentster, a shockwave swept towards them from a distance. The people of the Nine Stacks Sect were all stunned. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Have we been discovered?¡±

    ¡°How dare you Nine Stacks Sect remnantse back! You¡¯re looking for death!¡± An ugly, middle aged man shouted at them from above. He opened his mouth as soundwaves swept through the entire area.

    The woman grabbed Tianming and quickly retreated. The other Hunter from the Nine Stacks Sect flew up into the sky and began fighting against the Hunter from the Dire Barbarian n, but the remaining Nine Stacks Sect members were quickly surrounded by the Dire Barbarian n. Another battle was about to erupt.

    Meanwhile, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze was among this crowd of people from the Dire Barbarian n as he had been asked to stay in the Outerverse after the battle on Pyrolyte due to the usefulness of his innate gift. In contrast, Avery had long since returned to the Innerverse.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had noticed Tianming and the female Hunter, who were some distance away, and he felt rather curious. Why hadn¡¯t the female Hunter joined the battle?

    ¡°Where¡¯s Lu Yin? When is heing?¡± the female Hunter asked.

    Tianming stared at the sky and watched the battle between the two Hunters take ce.

    The Dire Barbarian n had only sent one Hunter powerhouse, and although his strength was much greater than the male Hunter from the Nine Stacks Sect, it wasn¡¯t enough to achieve an instant victory.

    The male Hunter from the Nine Stacks Sect shouted at the female Hunter who hadn¡¯t started fighting. ¡°Lan Wu, what are you waiting for? Get over here and help me!¡±

    Lan Wu anxiously looked at Tianming.

    Suddenly, an indescribable pressure surrounded the. It was the power of an Enlighter.

    Everyone stopped battling as soon as they felt that pressure, and the people from the Nine Stacks Sect looked up at the sky in fear, wondering when Lei Long had suddenly shown up..

    The cultivators from the Nine Stacks Sect were dejected. They knew that they were in trouble.

    The male Hunter looked at Tianming, wondering why the Enlighter who the youth had mentioned still hadn¡¯t arrived yet.

    Tianming heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he saw Lei Long appear.

    Lan Wu nced at Tianming. If Lu Yin didn¡¯t appear soon, then they would all end up dead.

    Lei Long arrogantly looked at the people on the ground. ¡°Some people truly go looking for trouble.¡± He raised a hand high into the air. It would be extremely easy for him to kill everyone here, but the first person he nned on killing was the male Hunter. Lei Long¡¯s voice was a sound wave that easily pierced through the Hunter, and his corpse fell to the ground. The impact sent out more shockwaves that instantly killed a dozen cultivators from the Nine Stacks Sect.

    Suddenly, a voice shouted, ¡°The Nine Stacks Sect requests help from the Great Yu Empire!¡±

    Lei Long turned in the direction of the voice and saw Tianming. The sky in front of Lei Long abruptly split open, and two people walked out. One of them was Granny Chan, who was an Enlighter from Northline Flowzone while the other was Lu Yin, who was wearing his universal armor.

    Lei Long¡¯s expression darkened as soon as he saw Granny Chan and Lu Yin arrive.

    The survivors from the Nine Stacks Sect were relieved, as an Enlighter had truly appeared to help them.

    Lan Wu was astonished. She had thought that only Lu Yin would appear, and she hadn¡¯t expected that he would be apanied by an Enlighter. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had been able to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika; he had probably received some help from this Enlighter, which greatly exined that feat.

    ¡°Granny Chan, why are you in Grandtop Weave?¡± Lei Long asked the olddy as his gaze swept past Lu Yin. His eyes revealed some apprehension.

    Grandtop Weave bordered Frostwave Weave, and Lei Long had long nned on invading Frostwave Weave. However, after he had heard about the news that Lu Yin had killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, he had immediately put a pause to such ns as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s power level was even higher than Lei Long¡¯s. Despite the fact that Lu Yin was just a Limiteer, Lei Long couldn¡¯t underestimate the youth after such an aplishment.

    Granny Chan didn¡¯t answer since she was just tagging along with Lu Yin in order to intimidate Lei Long. Lu Yin was the one who would be making the decisions.

    Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy to look at Lei Long. A short whileter, he sighed in relief. Although Lei Long had more rune lines than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, they still numbered less than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s tamed beast, which meant that Lei Long was actually weaker than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    ¡°Senior Lei Long, how has the Nine Stacks Sect offended you to where you would annihte the entire sect?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lei Long raised a brow. ¡°Young one, you can¡¯t interfere in my business. Don¡¯t assume that you are my peer just because you managed to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. I know that you relied on external objects to kill him, which means that it¡¯s most likely some sort of power from the Sea King. However, how many times can you rely on that power?¡±

    Lu Yin tilted his head. ¡°You¡¯re right, I really don¡¯t have any right to be your peer. However, you are a powerhouse in the Innerverse who has been openly annihting Outerverse forces. I¡¯m worried that your next target might be the Great Yu Empire, as I heard that that¡¯s your n.¡±

    Lei Long sneered. ¡°So what? Go away. I don¡¯t have time to talk to you.¡± And with that, Lei Long turned to look at Granny Chan. ¡°The Dire Barbarian n has never had any ties to your Northline Flowzone, so I hope that you won¡¯t anger me. Although the Outerverse and the Innerverse have been separated for now, they will be rejoined in the future. Will Northline Flowzone be able to defend themselves against the rage of my Dire Barbarian n at that time?¡±

    Granny Chan slowly answered, ¡°I just wanted to ask Brother Lei to not attack Frostwave Weave for my sake.¡±

    Lei Long narrowed his eyes and nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Young man, you have some strong connections.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°¡±Senior Lei, I wouldn¡¯t dare interfere with your ns, and senior Granny Chan isn¡¯t challenging you either since neither of us want to be enemies with you. In this case, what would you think about making a deal?¡±

    Lei Long¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°What deal?¡±

    ¡°I have some connections with the Nine Stacks Sect, so I can¡¯t bear to watch them be annihted. I am willing to give you a power vessel in exchange for their safety, so I hope that senior will allow me to bring these people away with me,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lei Long and Granny Chan both looked at Lu Yin in shock. Power vessels, such as Ze Lin¡¯s dagger, were extremely rare, and each one was unique. If used properly, such items were able to turn a battle around.

    There were only a few power vessels in the universe, and they were things that even Enlighter powerhouses couldn¡¯t obtain easily.

    ¡°You have a power vessel?¡± Lei Long was stunned.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just a small thing, so it won¡¯t be too helpful to you. However, you can give it to your juniors as it can help protect them.¡±

    Lei Long studied Lu Yin closely, but his exnation actually made sense. If Lu Yin had a power vessel that Lei Long found useful, then the Enlighter would never believe it if Lu Yin tried to trade such a treasure away for the useless people that he was about to kill. However, even if this power vessel was useless to Lei Long, he could still take a good look at it.

    He didn¡¯t doubt that Lu Yin had a power vessel as the youth even had a precious treasure like Fatesand. Having a power vessel wouldn¡¯t be that strange after that.

    ¡°Fine, I''ll let them go,¡± Lei Long said.

    Lu Yin pointed at the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s headquarters. ¡°Senior, I also wish to ask for you to return the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s headquarters to them.¡±

    Lei Long¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Young man, don¡¯t push me. I¡¯m already being merciful by sparing them and agreeing to not attack Frostwave Weave. You¡¯d better stop testing my patience.¡±

    Granny Chan told Lu Yin, ¡°Don¡¯t ask for too much. Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯ty a hand on Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin reluctantly agreed. ¡°Fine. Thank you, senior.¡±

    Lu Yin then pulled out a box from his cosmic ring and tossed it over to Lei Long.

    Lei Long was still wary of Lu Yin despite everything that had just been said. However, he was much less cautious than in the beginning. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t believe that Lu Yin could actually kill him with an unmanned weapon. The box also didn¡¯t seem to be dangerous, and any Enlighter would be able to detect danger if there was something that could threaten them.

    He opened the box and was dazed as soon as he saw Progenitor Wushang¡¯s skin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he immediately took out his gun and shot at Lei Long.

    Bang

    The air trembled, and less than a momentter, blood spurted out of Lei Long¡¯s heart. Half of his body had been shattered, and the immense pain snapped him out of the daze. He suddenly felt weak since half of his body had disappeared, and his blood was flowing freely into the ground.

    He looked at the wound close to his heart in disbelief as the box fell from his hand.

    This drastic turn of events stunned everyone, even Granny Chan.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to immediately attack and give Lei Long such heavy injuries.

    Lei Long¡¯s eyes filled with rage. He red at Lu Yin and rushed towards the youth with a growl. ¡°Despicable!¡±

    The Enlighter knew that he was definitely going to die. However, he was determined to drag Lu Yin down with him.

    Lu Yin took a few steps back and pushed Granny Chan in front of him. She was still in shock, and she subconsciously blocked Lei Long¡¯s attack, casually killing him.

    Lei Long¡¯s corpse fell to the ground, leaving everyone present stunned.

    Lu Yin descended and collected the box. He then retrieved Lei Long¡¯s cosmic ring as well as some of the dead man¡¯s blood. He would open the ring after he returned home.

    He then turned to Granny Chan and bowed. ¡°Thank you for your help, senior.¡±

    Everyone remained silent, and the people from the Dire Barbarian n stared at Lu Yin in fear. This person had just killed their Enlighter.

    The people from the Nine Stacks Sect simrly gaped at Lu Yin in awe. Was it really that easy to kill an Enlighter?

    Lan Wu gulped, and her eyes filled with fear. This youth was the only person in the Outerverse who could kill an Enlighter while casually chatting with them.

    Granny Chan kept a close eye on Lu Yin; this boy gave her the chills. She slowly descended to the ground and confronted Lu Yin. ¡°You never nned on letting Lei Long off from the start, am I right?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Senior, you know how the Dire Barbarian n is. If I hadn¡¯t killed him, then he would have eventually killed me. I just dealt with him first.¡±

    Granny Chan looked at Lu Yin with aplicated gaze and didn¡¯t say anything else.

    Even in the Innerverse, Enlighters didn¡¯t die that easily. Despite that, this boy had already killed two Enlighters! Not even she had ever killed an Enlighter throughout her entire cultivation journey. Compared to her, this boy was absolutely terrifying.

    Granny Chan nced at Lu Yin, and she suddenly had a feeling that the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse had unleashed a monster.

    Lu Yin looked at Tianming and Lan Wu who was standing next to him. He waved a hand at them. ¡°Destroy the Dire Barbarian n.¡±

    Lan Wu attacked the people of the Dire Barbarian n without any hesitation after she heard Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    The other cultivators from the Nine Stacks Sect also attacked the Dire Barbarian n. The tables had turned.

    The Hunter from the Dire Barbarian n immediately fled.

    ¡°Senior, could you please help me with that person?¡± Lu Yin respectfully asked Granny Chan.

    Granny Chan didn¡¯t reject the request, though she didn¡¯t know why. She was very wary of Lu Yin, and her caution was another source of motivation for her to help Lu Yin. She did not want to be enemies with this young man.

    The Hunter from the Dire Barbarian n was soon dead.

    And soon after that, everyone from the Dire Barbarian n was dead, with only one exception: <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. Lu Yin needed him.

 Chapter 544: Enlightersâ€™ Bane

    <h4>Chapter 544: Enlighters¡¯ Bane</h4>

    Before much more time passed, Granny Chan took her leave. She needed to properly consider her rtionship with this young man.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t mind that she had left. He¡¯d already killed Lei Long, and with the Nn family¡¯s financial support, he should now have enough money to upgrade his gun to the point where it could threaten a powerhouse with a power level of 300,000. With that amount of power, it wouldn¡¯t even matter if Granny Chan opposed him. Besides, she probably wouldn¡¯t simply ignore him. All Enlighters were very intelligent.

    On the meteorite that had once been the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s headquarters, there weren¡¯t actually many people from the Dire Barbarian n. Most of the people still there had been members of the Nine Stacks Sect who surrendered to the Dire Barbarian n. Such actions should be punished, but Lu Yin decided to let them off. Compared to the loyal cultivators from the Nine Stacks Sect, these traitors were more useful to him. It wasn¡¯t as if he was actually going to rebuild the Nine Stacks Sect; everything was merely being done in name. Lu Yin intended for the Nine Stacks Sect to disappear at this very moment and leave its old name behind.

    Tianming, Lan Wu, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze stood before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin told Tianming, ¡°From today onwards, you will be the master of the Nine Stacks Sect.¡±

    Tianming was shocked. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to return to the Great Yu Empire, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°Stay in Grandtop Weave for a while. After things stabilize, I¡¯ll let youe back.¡±

    Tianming nodded.

    Lu Yin then nced over at Lan Wu. ¡°Why are you willing to join me?

    Lan Wu respectfully answered, ¡°I want to survive.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and praised her, ¡°You¡¯re smart. Stay here and help Tianming stabilize the sect. When I restructure the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons in the future, you¡¯ll have the opportunity to be one of the captains.¡±

    Lan Wu was delighted. ¡°Thank you very much, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that the Hunter was acting. Rather than being a captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, she would much rather be free to move about Grandtop Weave after being conferred a title to her. However, Lu Yin could remove anyone from their position at the moment, so this was the best that he could do. However, there would be changesing soon enough. At that time, this woman would be called back to the Great Yu Empire.

    He let Tianming and Lan Wu leave after tasking them with the goal of rebuilding the Nine Stacks Sect. He then shifted his focus over to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    The Explorer hung his head. The Dire Barbarian n had beenpletely annihted with him as the sole survivor. The person who hadmitted this ughter was standing right in front of him. This person had even managed to kill an Enlighter.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze had no intentions of attempting to take revenge, as that was simply unfeasible. At this time, all he wanted to do was survive.

    ¡°I heard that you have a very interesting innate gift,¡± Lu Yin said curiously.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze quickly answered, ¡°Yes, my gift allows me to judge a person¡¯s strength based on the sounds I hear.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°So you were able to hear mine back then?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze nodded.

    Lu Yin carefully observed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze. This person seemed useful, but Lu Yin had no idea how to make use of him. In addition, Lu Yin did not know what he could do to make <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze willingly join his side, so Lu Yin was at a loss. The Dire Barbarian n was full of people with terrible characters, and that was a huge problem.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, there¡¯s a method from the Innerverse¡¯s Beast Tamers Flowzone that makes it impossible for former enemies to betray you. One only needs to brand a tamed beast onto your enemy. So long as the tamed beast can be trusted to remain loyal to you, the beast can be used as a powerful tool to keep an eye on someone.¡± The Ghost Monkey suddenly offered some information.

    ¡°Some technologically-advanced areas also have certain items that can be ced onto their enemies to ensure loyalty. I¡¯ve met people like that at the border warfront, and while their situation is very tragic, such methods can be useful.¡±

    Lu Yin remained deep in thought.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze anxiously waited. Before too much longer, Lu Yin finally decided to let him enter the First Imperial Squadron as a temporary measure. He was going to transform that particr squadron into his personal guards.

    Lei Long¡¯s death shocked the nearby weaves. After the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated from each other, Lei Long was the second Enlighter to die. The first, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, had also died at Lu Yin¡¯s hand. The fact that two Enlighters had been killed by the same Limiteer sent chills running down the spines of the other Enlighters in the Outerverse. They had no choice but to admit that Lu Yin had the ability to kill Enlighters within seconds.

    For this reason, Lu Yin received a new nickname: Enlighters¡¯ Bane.

    When Lu Yin learned of this nickname, he was left momentarily speechless. After receiving such a title, it would no longer be possible for him to ambush Enlighters, and they might not even have the guts to receive his gifts.

    Thankfully, nobody knew exactly how Lu Yin had managed to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long. Even Granny Chan, who¡¯d seen the entire ordeal with Lie Long from start to finish, wasn¡¯t certain. She knew about the gun, but not about Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, and she hadn¡¯t inquired any deeper.

    Back on Zenyu Star, Lu Yin went straight to King Zishan¡¯s pce, and once he arrived, he used Lei Long¡¯s blood to unlock the Enlighter¡¯s cosmic ring. He was immediately delighted; there was some good stuff inside!

    The Enlighters stuck in the Outerverse were all incredibly afraid that they would not be able to get enough resources and that they would enter their period of weakness. Thus, everything that they owned would be stored in their cosmic rings. Lei Long had possessed nearly 20,000 star essence, which was 10,000 fewer than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. There were also hundreds of thousands of star crystals.

    But this sum left Lu Yin rather disappointed. The amount was rather pitiful, but it also showed that the Dire Barbarian n wasn¡¯t as wealthy as the Second Grade Hall. Lei Long obviously hadn¡¯t obtained many star essence from the Nine Stacks Sect either.

    But that didn¡¯t make sense. The Nine Stacks Sect shouldn¡¯t be that poor.

    Lu Yin immediately contacted Tianming and asked him about the sect¡¯s financial situation. Lan Wu was the one who answered, and she exined that most of their resources had been employed to keep the sect operating. Their treasury did not have many star essence to begin with, but they did have billions of star crystals.

    Those star crystals were still at the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s headquarters.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He had totally forgotten to use his domain to investigate that ce! Of course Lei Long¡¯s cosmic ring wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold that many star crystals.

    Billions of star crystals wasparable to tens of thousands of star essence, which was quite a terrifying amount.

    However, that amount of star crystals was not convenient at all. The light screen that appeared when Lu Yin rolled Enhance wasn¡¯t veryrge, which meant there was a limit to how many star essence he could ce on it at a time. If he used star crystals instead, then his arms would likely be sore long before he couldplete even a single upgrade. Star essence were necessary.

    The star crystals were unusable for Lu Yin, but the Nine Stacks Sect wouldn¡¯t be able to get off of the hook that easily. Lu Yin immediately instructed Lan Wu to send the star crystals over to Zenyu Star so that they could restore the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial treasury.

    As for Grandtop Weave¡­ It would be restored someter time in the future!

    Aside from the money, there were quite a few other things in Lei Long¡¯s cosmic ring. Like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s, there were quite a few medications. However, Lu Yin also found a unique valuable item in the ring. It was protected within ayer of Spiritual Thread, which could one mean thing: it was a sourcebox.

    What a surprise.

    Lu Yin eyed the square box that was several meters long and made entirely out of Spiritual Thread. He considered his options for a moment, put on his universal armor, and then slowly opened the box. All of a sudden, an invisible force flitted past the armor and pierced straight through the building and the void. Many people outside of the pce watched on in shock as a huge crack extended into space before slowly dissipating.

    Lu Yin immediately closed the box,pletely shocked. He touched the area on his armor that hade in contact with the invisible force and saw a white mark there. The invisible bloodlust that had seeped out of the sourcebox had actually damaged this universal armor which was sturdy enough to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin immediately put the box away. At the same moment, Bronsen charged in from outside the pce before he was stopped by Lu Yin.

    While touching the box, Lu Yin thought to himself, That invisible bloodlust was able to damage my armor, so it¡¯s probably a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. It might even contain the power of the predecessors inside of it.

    This was not something Lu Yin could handle at his current level.

    Lu Yin moved on from the box and started to check out the other items inside Lei Long¡¯s cosmic ring.

    Frostwave Weave was close to the Outerverse¡¯s region of the Astral Wilderness. To the south of Frostwave Weavey Darkmist Weave, and to the north was Northcastle Weave. To the east was Grandtop Weave, and to the westy Lars Weave. There were also small sections of the border that connected to Woori Weave.

    The moment news of Lei Long¡¯s death spread to the nearby weaves, the organizations from the ze Realm that had been upying Lars Weave immediately moved out. The forces from the Second Divine Hall that had been staying in Northcastle Weave also changed their base.

    All of the Enlighters who were in the weaves bordering Frostwave Weave felt a chill that went straight to their bones.

    Huo Houye in particr had the feeling that Lu Yin would seek him out, looking for trouble. Since Lu Yin was so thirsty for blood, and Huo Houye waspletely in the dark about the brat¡¯s abilities, the Enlighter did not dare to go up against Lu Yin.

    The stranded Enlighters could not be med for acting so cowardly. Anyone who was able to reach the Enlighter realm was a genius, and they all had all sorts of tricks to stay alive. It wasn¡¯t easy to kill such people, and it was very rare for anyone to die even during battles between Enlighters. However, despite that, Lu Yin had eliminated two of them in quick session. The remaining Enlighters felt incredibly ufortable after seeing this turn of events, and they felt as if everything they knew was a lie.

    Even Enlighters like Nightqueen Qiuyu, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and Wen Qichen from the major forces of the Innerverse were shocked. All of them were suddenly unwilling to have anything to do with Frostwave Weave unless it was absolutely necessary.

    Now that Lu Yin had handed the Nine Stacks Sect over to Tianming, Frostwave Weave and Grandtop Weave had essentially merged together, and the empire¡¯s territory had suddenly expanded to twice its original size. While Lu Yin hadn¡¯t gainedplete control over the entire area, it was bound to happen sooner orter. However, at the moment, theck of qualified personnel was bing more and more ring of a problem.

    The military was dreadfully short of both manpower and qualified powerhouses. All of these problems were starting to give Lu Yin a huge headache.

    He¡¯d already passed off most of the document reviewing work that the Imperial Cab needed to be done to the Lu Administrative Cab¡¯s Huan Sha. However, even with her talent, there was too much work for just one person toplete. Most of the papers still had to be delivered to King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Lu Yin wanted them to be delivered to Wendy Yushan¡¯s residence, but her residence wasn¡¯t even open, and no ministers were able to enter. He was at aplete loss for what to do.

    Half a month passed in such a manner until Lu Yin really couldn¡¯t handle it anymore. He wasn¡¯t the kind of person who enjoyed administrative work. Thankfully, he was suddenly told that Madam Nn was requesting an audience with him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Right, Madam Nn! How could he have forgotten about her? The Nn family was one of the wealthiest organizations in the entire Outerverse, and their business interests reached all seventy two weaves. They wielded way more influence than the Great Yu Empire, and they had far moreplicated issues that they needed to handle on a daily basis. Madam Nn was sure to have a method to deal with this.

    Soon enough, she entered King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    The moment he saw Madam Nn, Lu Yin stopped breathing for a moment. He was once again shocked by this woman¡¯s appearance. She was always able to catch him off guard with her natural beauty and arousing fragrance. With those tight, pure white clothes, pale legs, and red fingernails, she was simply breathtaking.

    Lu Yin had a certain level of resistance to lust since he had been around so many beauties in his life. There was his beloved Ming Yan, Bai Xue, Starsibyl, Wendy Yushan, and many more. Each and every one of them was absolutely stunning. However, Lu Yin¡¯s resistance towards Madam Nn quickly disappeared each time they met because she was simply far too seductive. More importantly, she wasn¡¯t doing anything on purpose.

    Lu Yin really could not imagine what it would be like if she actually tried to seduce him. He fully believed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop himself.

    She studied him, and her eyes formed little half moons as she smiled. ¡°You¡¯re making me feel unnerved when you stare at me in such a manner, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately looked away and apologized. ¡°Forgive me, madam, as I was distracted.¡±

    Madam Nn smiled. She¡¯d seen far too many gazes of infatuation directed towards her, so she was not surprised at all. Regardless of how much of a genius or how invincible Lu Yin may be, he was still a man, as well as a man who was very well-spirited. ¡°What are you agonizing over, Your Highness? Tell me. If it¡¯s possible for us to help, we won¡¯t say no.¡±

 Chapter 545: En Ya And The Four Ministries

    <h4>Chapter 545: En Ya And The Four Ministries</h4>

    Lu Yin was delighted when he heard Madam Nn¡¯s words. ¡°I was actually nning on meeting with you so that we could discuss this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to hear the details.¡± Madam Nn and Lu Yin then each took a seat, Madam Nn looking extremely elegant as she smiled at him.

    Lu Yin coughed and went over the words he needed to say before opening his mouth. ¡°The Great Yu Empire has already taken over all of Frostwave Weave, but we have a serious shortage of skilled people, and we cannot manage the territory we control. Would you perhaps know of any methods to help with this issue?¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes lit up with a shrewd light. ¡°Frostwave Weave shouldn¡¯t be a huge problem for you on its own, should it, Your Highness?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m also talking about Grandtop Weave.¡±

    Madam Nn was shocked. ¡°Have you already taken over all of Grandtop Weave, Your Highness?¡±

    Although it was true that Lu Yin had killed Lei Long, that did not equate to conquering Grandtop Weave. Even though he had managed to subdue and take over the Nine Stacks Sect, that did not mean that Lu Yin had taken over Grandtop Weave yet. These achievements only meant that Lu Yin possessed the means to take control of the weave, but actually following through would take more than just a few days given howrge the weave was.

    The main reason why the Great Yu Empire had been able to unify the entire Frostwave Weave so quickly was due to Undying Yushan¡¯s work over the years. Additionally, the Great Yu Empire was also a local organization from Frostwave Weave, so the resistance to their rule was much lower. Now that they wanted to conquer areas outside of Frostwave Weave, the difficulty would be much higher. Even if Grandtop Weave did not have any powerhouses who were able to stop the Great Yu Empire, having some rebels lurking around in the dark would be enough to stop the empire from achieving its goal anytime soon.

    ¡°No, but it¡¯ll be done soon. The sessor of the Nine Stacks Sect is loyal to me.¡± Lu Yin chose not to hide this detail and revealed it to her right away. The Nn family had business ventures throughout the Outerverse, and to bepletely honest, there was no chance that the Nn family would have sought help from the Great Yu Empire if not for the dramatic changes in the universe. The Nn family had enough funds to pay for an Enlighter¡¯s protection.

    Madam Nn immediately understood the situation and eyed him with praise. ¡°So you¡¯ve already set things up. I admire that a lot, Your Highness. It makes sense that you¡¯re in a bind for the moment. Now that you have another weave to oversee, you also require more people to manage the area as well as manpower to subdue the territory.¡±

    After pausing for a while, she continued, saying, ¡°Actually, even though the universe is vast, managing it is actually very simple. Have you ever heard of the Spider Web Theory?¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°The Spider Web Theory?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s essentially about arranging the management of an organization much like how a spider constructs its web so that everything converges at the center. A spider web has thousands of threads and looksplicated, but it¡¯s actually very simple. The spider hasplete control over it and can use the web to catch its prey. For spiders, no matter howrge their web may be, it is essentially still a part of its body. It¡¯s the same for the Great Yu Empire. You¡­¡±

    In King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin and Madam Nn expounded on the details for three whole hours until her mouth became dry. It was only then that they stopped their discussion.

    After licking her lips, Madam Nn smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you understand, Your Highness?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and answered gratefully, ¡°Thank you very much. I didn¡¯t have any idea before, but after hearing all this from you, everything¡¯s be much clearer to me.¡±

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°This is all just theory. Governing a region is different from a business. If you want to learn how to properly govern a region, then it would be better for you to read more books and also to ask some professionals. All I have is business experience, which isn¡¯t of much help to you.¡±

    Lu Yin gravely replied, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. For the Great Yu Empire right now, strategies to govern the empire aren¡¯t actually that necessary. All it takes is one decree. That¡¯s because, in this universe, the strong are respected. If I didn¡¯t have the power to kill an Enlighter, then there would be numerous people in the empire who would refuse to submit to me.¡±

    Madam Nn smiled superficially. ¡°Perhaps, but ruling by force isn¡¯t something that will work long-term.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with that point. Governing a region during times of peace was very different from doing so during a time of war. He knew nothing of such things. If this was a time of war, then he could do as he wished since the entire region would be united against the outsiders. But the moment the war ended, many problems would quickly spring up, and these problems would be able to be resolved through power alone.

    The most obvious issue at the moment was the rejuvenation of the economy. Military expenses, education, transport, research, and so on¡­ All kinds of problems were bubbling right beneath the surface, and Lu Yin needed to find someone who could handle all of these issues before the war ended. He needed to groom someone to govern the empire, or else war would never stop.

    This conversation with Madam Nn had given Lu Yin an idea of how to manage the empire. He did not know if this was the best choice, but he needed to give it a try, because what remained of Undying Yushan¡¯s glory would bepletely destroyed if he did nothing.

    Madam Nn¡¯s mouth was dry from all that talking, and she took a sip of her tea.

    Lu Yin suddenly recalled that she had been the one who had approached him, so she might have a problem of her own. He hurriedly asked, ¡°We¡¯ve been talking about my issues all this time¡­ May I know why you came to me?¡±

    Madam Nn put her cup down and replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I just wanted to rmend someone to you who might be able to help share your burden.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°You must have met Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao from Erudite Flowzone, correct?¡± Madam Nn looked at Lu Yin as if she was trying to read something in his eyes.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Shui Chuanxiao? Of course I did. He¡¯s the wisest grand marshal in human history. He was the one who confirmed my merits in battle, but there are rumors that hemitted a sin and betrayed humanity. I heard that he¡¯s been imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp for ten thousand years.¡±

    ¡°Do you believe that he betrayed humanity, Your Highness?¡± Madam Nn stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as she asked this question.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell, but it¡¯s not my ce to talk about such things.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°In that case, do you dislike him?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Of course not. He was the one who agreed to my n to draw out the Sheng Ao. He was also the one who let me be a war drummer for the battle drums at the border. To be honest, he¡¯s very charismatic.¡±

    Madam Nn nodded. ¡°Yes, he is indeed very charismatic, but he has been stained by the crime of betraying humanity. At times, conspiracies can be terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me that the person you¡¯re rmending is the grand marshal himself, are you?¡±

    She chuckled. ¡°Of course not! He¡¯s currently imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. That prison is the nadir of despair for humanity, and nobody can save him from that ce. The person who I¡¯m rmending is someone else whom you¡¯ve met before. Her name is En Ya, and she¡¯s right outside of the Zishan pce.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately had Bronsen bring the woman in.

    Not too long after, Lu Yin saw her and was shocked. It was her!

    After Lu Yin¡¯s merit had been recognized, and he¡¯d obtained some Honor Points, En Ya had taken him to Cangyuan and exined the situation to him there. Lu Yin had quite a deep impression of this beautiful, blonde vicemander, especially since it was rare for women to be in the military.

    En Ya saw Lu Yin and immediately bowed, her face serious. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately stopped her and asked, ¡°I remember that you were the marshal¡¯s vicemander. Why aren¡¯t you at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront right now?¡±

    En Ya exined, ¡°The Human and Astral Beast domains have agreed to a truce for now. The Grand Marshal was captured, and some of us were sent to work far away, while others were expelled from the military. I was quite lucky and sent to the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°En Ya unwittingly saved me, which is why I decided to rmend her to you. She¡¯s been a part of the military since a young age, and since that ce is no longer open to her, she has nowhere to go.¡± Madam Nn stood up as she spoke.

    Lu Yin nodded and looked En Ya up and down. She was an Explorer and rather strong. The fact that she had worked directly with Shui Chuanxiao showed that she was exceptionally capable. ¡°I¡¯m nning to build a Lu Ministry of Defense that will help me handle military affairs. Are you willing to join?¡±

    En Ya immediately agreed.

    Madam Nn immediately expressed her gratitude as well. While the Lu Ministry of Defense had not been established yet, the fact that it was meant to serve Lu Yin by way of the word ¡°Lu¡± in its name indicated that serving in it would definitely lead to gaining power in the future.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one that should thank you. The Great Yu Empire has a huge shortage of manpower, and yet here you are, sending me a valuable worker right away.¡± Lu Yin chuckled.

    Madam Nn and Lu Yin exchanged a few pleasantries before she finally left. Lu Yin then arranged for En Ya to remain in the King Zishan pce. When the Lu Ministry of Defense was properly established, she would be in charge of handling its affairs.

    Concerning both the Lu Ministry of Staff and the Lu Ministry of Defense, Lu Yin was nning on establishing both of their headquarters close to his residence so that it would be easier for him to keep an eye on them.

    Lu Yin did not believe in the saying that one should only use people that they absolutely trusted. He did not think that he had the charisma to win people over to his side right away, and he also needed to observe people for a period of time before he could determine whether or not they were trustworthy. If someone was not trustworthy, then it didn¡¯t matter how capable they were.

    The conversation with Madam Nn had been very useful to Lu Yin. Ten days after their meeting, during the morning meeting with the ministers, Lu Yin announced some changes in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s power structure. He officially established the Lu Ministry of Defense and the Lu Ministry of Staff, which would have priority over the other ministries. They would help him take care of matters rting to politics and the military, respectively. And right below them in the hierarchy would be the Lu Office of Civil Affairs and the Lu Office of Defense.

    There would be one Lu Office of Civil Affairs for every ten fments. This was the system that Lu Yin had devised. Each branch of the Lu Office of Civil Affairs would oversee the governance of ten fments. From there, the most important issues would be passed up the office and be properly organized before finally being handed over to the Lu Ministry of Staff and the Imperial Cab. And only after passing through the Lu Ministry of Staff and Imperial Cab would the most important issues finally be handed over to Lu Yin.

    The same system would also take ce in the Lu Office of Defense. There would be one branch in every ten fments, and they would run the military affairs in their region.

    This was all ording to the Spider Web Theory, and each Lu Office of Civil Affairs and Lu Office of Defense could be considered as a section of Lu Yin¡¯s spider web. There might still be room for corruption or ipetence, but such things were unavoidable. This method would temporarily keep the empire stable and would also be useful for nurturing talented individuals.

    After Lu Yin announced the changes in power at the meeting, he was immediately met with major disapproval from the members of the Imperial Cab.

    While the Lu Ministry of Staff had already been established, it could only be considered as a personal department to assist Lu Yin, and its members did not even have the right to take part in the morning meetings. However, if the cab gained an official status, then the power in the Great Yu Empire would truly be diluted, and the Imperial Cab¡¯s power would diminish. That was uneptable to them.

    The Great Yu Empire was right about to unify Frostwave Weave and merge with Grandtop Weave, so this was the time when their power should increase drastically. However, Lu Yin was instead redistributing the authority that they already had. Nobody would stand for such treatment.

    However, all of their objections were only met by Lu Yin¡¯s ruthlessness. He had not forgotten the wretched voices and faces of these ministers back when <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had been on Zenyu Star. Two particr ministers of the Imperial Cab had been utterly shameless.

    Back when Undying Yushan had been in power, the Grand Yu Empire had followed its own system of governance while not being in a state of war. Removing a minister from power was not possible unless there was good reason and proof for doing so. However, Lu Yin possessed an absolute power that had the ministers now cowering in fear. Even Garope, who¡¯d always been very stubborn, remained silent.

    Lord Garope was very intelligent. While he was willing to voice his opinions, he also knew when it was a good time to speak up. Rebutting Lu Yin at a time like this would essentially be going directly against the regent, and Garope wasn¡¯t willing to do that.

 Chapter 546: Restructuring Authority

    <h4>Chapter 546: Restructuring Authority</h4>

    There were a total of five ministers in the Imperial Cab, and two of them had been dismissed during the morning meeting. The other three didn¡¯t even dare to speak up.

    This was the effect that Lu Yin wanted to have on them. He could ept advice, but it depended on when it was given. If they dared to oppose him even after he made up his mind, then that was no longer advice. Instead, that was rebelling against him. Compared to an Enlighter, these ministers were nothing more than ants, and Lu Yin could not be bothered to entertain the resistance of ants.

    Currently, if Wendy Yushan was included in the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, then there were currently only eight captains remaining in the empire. The other five squadrons did not have any captains, and Lu Yin had assumed the position of captain of the First Squadron. There were four other squadrons without captains, so he gave orders to start publicly recruiting captains.

    ¡°Your subject, Garope, greets Your Highness.¡± After the court meeting, in the back garden of the pce, which was where Undying Yushan had frequently summoned Lu Yin back then, was where Lu Yin now received Garope.

    ¡°You may rise. Please sit.¡± Lu Yin looked at him warmly, as this old fogey had not openly opposed him in court, which meant he was not foolish and could be utilized. Also, he had not been overly scared of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika previously.

    Garope did not sit. He only bent at his waist and respectfully replied, ¡°Your Highness, I beg you to reconsider.¡±

    Lu Yin sipped his tea. ¡°You mean my decisions to restructure the government?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Studies have shown that every time the governing administration is restructured, it will cause the empire to be affected and lead to unpredictable oues,¡± Garope said gravely.

    Lu Yin looked straight at him. ¡°I¡¯m no politician, and I don¡¯t intend to be one. This restructuring may be for the better or worse, but I don¡¯t care. I only care about whether or not my words carry any weight.¡±

    Garope¡¯s body trembled as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, your word is the same as the emperor¡¯s word, and it is definitely effective. I plead that Your Highness reconsider ordering a restructuring of the administration.¡±

    ¡°Then, tell me, what are the disadvantages in establishing these four ministries?¡±

    Garope solemnly answered, ¡°These powerful ministries are easily formed, but they were all personally established by Your Highness. As such, everyone within them will hold great authority, and once they develop selfish motives, it will lead to extremely grave consequences.¡±

    Lu Yin knew what Garope was referencing. Many dynasties¡¯ emperors had created departments that were only loyal to the ruler themselves, and they treated the departments as their personal source of knowledge as well as their weapons. Of course, such departments were just as likely to also be the source of the empire¡¯s ultimate copse.

    Lu Yin looked at the minister. ¡°Lord Garope must be mistaken. I have no intention of abolishing the Imperial Cab. The Lu Ministry of Staff, Lu Ministry of Defense, and the Imperial Cab are all powerful agencies of the empire, and they will mutually regte each other. Among these departments, the Imperial Cab¡¯s authority will remain as the highest. Not only can it make political decisions, but it can also supervise military affairs.¡±

    ¡°But, Your Highness-¡±

    Before Garope could finish speaking, Lu Yin raised his hand and looked at the minister with a scorching, critical stare. ¡°Lord Garope, have you considered that, if the authority of the Imperial Cab is too high, it could lead to chaos?¡±

    Garope¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and his face went pale as he hurriedly bowed. ¡°Your Highness, you are very perceptive. This subject definitely has no thoughts of using my position for personal gain.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and helped the older man up. ¡°This, I believe. But Lord Garope has no way to guarantee that the others are the same. Otherwise, the court would not have allowed those two lords to be dismissed, correct?¡±

    Garope was stumped, and he nodded. Indeed, he disapproved of those two ministers¡¯ actions.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. ¡°Of the five ministers in the Imperial Cab, I value you and Hill Auna the most. The other three aren¡¯t eptable, and there are also two vacant positions right now. Who would Lord Garope rmend?¡±

    Garope was about to speak, but then he suddenly thought of something. ¡°Your subject has no one to rmend. Your Highness should use his own judgement.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the man and nodded. ¡°I understand. Lord Garope, you may leave.¡±

    ¡°This subject will take his leave.¡± Garope then turned to leave.

    Lu Yin sat down in the back garden and tapped his finger on the table as he descended deep into thought.

    Establishing the four departments would not be enough to help himpletely manage all of the empire¡¯s administrative affairs and military affairs. The biggest advantage to this move was that these departments would act solely in Lu Yin¡¯s own interests, but he would not tell anyone that. Restructuring the government and creating four new departments would naturally create many new positions of authority. These positions were not meant for those from the Great Yu Empire. Rather, they had been prepared beforehand for people from the other weaves that the empire would soon conquer.

    For instance, once Grandtop Weave waspletely under Lu Yin¡¯s control, the administration of the empire would require the people managing Grandtop Weave to be natives of that weave; otherwise, the fments would suffer from discrimination due to their overseers being from other regions. The people of Grandtop Weave would also resist it if they did not have anyone in the government who represented them. Arge weave might have as many as ten Lu Offices of Civil Affairs and Lu Offices of Defense, which would create arge number of high positions. Lu Yin also had to reserve two seats in the Lu Ministry of Staff and the Lu Ministry of Defense for people from Grandtop Weave so that he could exchange them for benefits.

    Offering positions of power in exchange for approval for the Great Yu Empire from the people of a conquered weave would be far more effective than suppressing the citizens with military might.

    Garope had realized this as well, and so, he had not offered any rmendations to fill the Imperial Cab¡¯s empty positions. Not only would such rmendations reflect his personal ambitions, but it would also lead to fewer positions being avable in the Imperial Cab.

    But from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the older man had thought too deeply. At the moment, Lu Yin had no ns of allowing anyone from another weave to enter the Imperial Cab. At least, not until Grandtop Weave was thoroughly subdued. Only after defeating them through military strength would it be time to rope them in with incentives.

    There was a purple nt that grew in the back garden that possessed the offensive capability of an Explorer. This nt was very special, as it wouldpletely conceal itself in the presence of powerhouses.

    Undying Yushan had been the one to share this information with Lu Yin. He had also told Lu Yin that this nt had been found on a where it was the sole life form and that the old emperor had brought this nt back to his garden on Zenyu Star after finding it. Because of its unique aspects, the nt would change its aggressive behavior depending on the environment.

    When Lu Yin hade into contact with the nt before, it had been under Undying Yushan¡¯s supervision. Now, there was no one else around. Lu Yin raised his hand and touched the nt and found that it was very soft andfortable to the touch. It showed no desire to attack Lu Yin since it could sense Lu Yin¡¯s power and would naturally bow before the strong.

    If even a nt would bow, then there was no need to mention humans.

    Lu Yin had experienced threats too many times, and he had been suppressed on numerous asions as well. Once, he had even been left to die as white meat. At the present moment, the Innerverse being cut off from the Outerverse had provided him with a golden opportunity. He would not allow himself to be stepped upon again, and he wanted to be the person at the top. Only he should be able to threaten others; he would not allow others to intimidate him.

    At this moment, Bronsen arrived and bowed respectfully. ¡°Your Highness, as you predicted, that person has visited the princess¡¯s residence. However, Princess Wendy did not meet with him.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Send out my orders and just dismiss him.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Bronsen left.

    The third minister to be dismissed from the Imperial Cab had appeared. Lu Yin had long since predicted that someone would try to push Wendy Yushan to appear and reign him back. As expected, to prevent the government from being restructured, people had indeed be bold. Still, it wasn¡¯t a problem. Disregarding whether or not Wendy would move to stop Lu Yin, even if she did make a move, would she be able to do anything?

    The Great Yu Empire was no longer what it used to be. Things had developed to the extent where Wendy Yushan was now only a princess in name, and there was no longer any possibility of her interfering in the empire¡¯s governing.

    Why did those people still not understand the current situation? Even Wendy Yushan, who was someone who did not know anything about politics, understood this point.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification, and he nced at it before sighing. It was from Hai Qiqi. The brat still had not given up. She had personally traveled to the Astral River in order to search for a path to return to the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin was not worried about her safety as he had once observed her after filling his eyes with star energy. The amount of rune lines on her was terrifying and was in no way inferior to a Hunter. The girl still had a hidden trump, so it was alright to let her explore on her own. It was at least better than huddling up next to an ocean shore.

    With the dismissal of three Imperial Cab ministers, news gradually spread across Zenyu Star that the Great Yu Empire would soon be renamed the Great Yin Empire. It was said that the Royal Regent wanted to take the throne and that Princess Wendy was under house arrest. Countless rumors spread, not only on Zenyu Star, but also gradually permeating throughout the rest of the Great Yu Empire.

    These rumors incited many discussions. Many people believed that the rumors were true, and this caused the groups loyal to the Yushan family to be disgruntled. After a few days, nearly a hundred individuals sought audiences with Wendy Yushan, desiring to settle all this hearsay.

    Wendy Yushan made an appearance, but she only met with these people for a moment before taking her leave.

    News of Wendy Yushan being imprisoned were thus discredited, but other rumors soon arose that imed that the Royal Regent had threatened Princess Wendy. This led to another group of people heading to the princess¡¯s residence.

    Lu Yin learned of all these events, and he ordered the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons to search for the source of the gossip. This led to many people being massacred in order to limit the spread of these fabrications.

    This action treated the symptoms, but not the root cause. As Lu Yin¡¯s power continued to increase, more rumors would definitely appear in the future. There would constantly be conflicts between his supporters and the Yushan bloodline loyalists.

    And there was some participation from those who were loyal to the Zishan bloodline as well. They naturally supported Lu Yin, which only led to the conflict growingrger.

    Lu Yin was impatient to quickly fill out the positions of his four new departments, but it wasn¡¯t easy to find qualified people.

    There were only two ministers left in the Imperial Cab, so it was no longer able to operate normally. Lu Yin had to make an exception and promote Gavin to the cab. The current finance minister was not as conniving as Sicar had been, and neither was he as useless as Perry. He just barely qualified to enter the Imperial Cab.

    Thus, the three-membered cab was able to function.

    Lu Yin invited Xueshan Auna to meet with him and was able to convince the old man to join the Lu Ministry of Defense. With the addition of Xueshan Auna, Lu Yin had gained the influence of the Auna family. At present, the Great Yu Empire had suffered from frequent wars against outside powers. Not only had the empire managed to unify and stabilize Frostwave Weave, but it had also suppressed Grandtop Weave. The Lu Ministry of Defense urgently needed more talent to boost its numbers.

    But just Xueshan Auna and En Ya were not enough for the department. Lu Yin still did not have a firm enough grasp of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military might, and he was actually not even familiar with themander who was leading the troops that were suppressing Grandtop Weave. Were it not for the fact that Lu Yin had killed an Enlighter, he suspected that some of themanders would have taken independent actions to attempt to establish themselves as kings.

    Given theck of qualified individuals, as well as an insufficient control of the military, Lu Yin had no choice but to send the Eighth, Ninth, and Thirteenth Squadrons to Grandtop Weave in order to supervise the military there. However, the squadrons were not allowed to intervene in any military decisions.

    As for Frostwave Weave, Lu Yin ordered the Sixth and Eleventh Squadrons to supervise the troops spread throughout the weave.

    Five of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were quickly deployed, leaving only the Second, Third, and Twelfth Squadrons on Zenyu Star, as well as Lu Yin¡¯s own First Squadron.

    The emperor had direct control over the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and with these squadrons overseeing matters, Lu Yin was able to momentarily rx and turn his attention towards the creation of his four departments.

    Undying Yushan hadn¡¯t only had control of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, as he had also established a secret group of guards to protect him. Unfortunately, the members of the guards had died alongside Undying Yushan at the hands of the Neohuman Alliance.

    When Lu Yin thought about the Neohuman Alliance, he remembered a certain person: Sigmund Mathers. When the Genma Space Station Master had defected from the empire and colluded with the Neohuman Alliance, Sigmund Mathers had been wrongly sent to prison for the crime of betraying the human race. Even Undying Yushan hadn¡¯t been able to save him. If not for Lu Yin pushing the contribution of finding the Corpse King onto the man, then Sigmund Mathers would have been executed long ago.

    With the Innerverse and Outerverse being isted from each other at the present time, no one had bothered to check to see if the man was still imprisoned. Thus, Lu Yin directly released him and had Sigmund Mathers join the Lu Office of Defense in Grandtop Weave with the task of supervising the weave.

 Chapter 547: Mulled Wine And An Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 547: Mulled Wine And An Old Friend</h4>

    The Great Yu Empire did not cease its recruitment campaign for military experts. Ever since Lu Yin had killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, various experts had cast their lots in with him, and already, seven Cruisers and more than twenty Explorers had joined him. These people had alle from forces in the nearby weaves that had been wiped out, and these people had all joined Lu Yin in hopes of using the Great Yu Empire¡¯s strength to protect themselves.

    Due to their special status, Lu Yin did not arrange for these newly arrived experts to join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Instead, they were sent to the regr military.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ authority was higher, and these people were not suited to join them.

    Ever since the universe¡¯s great changes, Lu Yin had not really had any time to rest. But now, the four Lu departments had been established, where Huan Sha helped him manage the administrative aspect and En Ya with the military. With this extra assistance, Lu Yin finally had a moment of respite.

    He took advantage of the darkness to leave King Zishan''s pce at night. At that moment, he suddenly recalled that small pub where he had drunk wine with the Second Prince, Duke Yushan.

    He returned to that bar and saw that the area had undergone some noticeable changes, mostly in thendscape. The few crises that Zenyu Star had endured through could be seen in the changes in this ce.

    ¡°Boss, one pot of wine,¡± Lu Yin called out as he sat down.

    The wine was quickly served, as well as two small appetizers. Lu Yin¡¯s appetite perked up, and he poured himself a cup of wine and drained it. He let out a rxed breath. The taste was still the same.

    He had never been that familiar with Duke Yushan, but perhaps that person¡¯s greatest help had been to introduce this great ce where he could enjoy wine. Although it boasted no elegant scenery and was situated inside a bustling city with a rowdy bar next door, the pub had the atmosphere of a hidden gem.

    The ce was decent, the wine was good, and the food was even better.

    Lu Yin rxed quite a bit.

    ¡°Another pot of wine!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The boss acknowledged the order and quickly served Lu Yin a second pot. When the man looked at Lu Yin, he was stumped for a moment. Then, his expression changed greatly. ¡°You, you-¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the boss¡¯ words as he pointed to the side. He was not the only one in the small pub.

    The man came to his senses and nodded respectfully before backing away.

    Lu Yin kept to himself and continued enjoying his wine. Before much more time passed, the boss served him a few more appetizers. Lu Yin smiled at the man. ¡°Boss, how¡¯s business been these days?¡±

    When the boss heard Lu Yin ask a question, he promptly jogged over to the table and politely answered, ¡°It¡¯s been alright.¡±

    Lu Yin saw that the boss was overly nervous, so he waved his hand and dismissed him.

    ¡°Oh, who¡¯s that? With his air, someone who doesn¡¯t know better might even think that he¡¯s the crown prince.¡± A youth at the next table nced over at Lu Yin and mocked him.

    Lu Yin was astonished that someone was trying to make things difficult for him.

    The tavern boss¡¯s face changed tremendously, and he rushed over to stop the youth, but the people at the table were clearly intoxicated. One of them spat on the ground. ¡°Kid, it¡¯s not your turn to act like the boss. Do you get it?¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother looking back at the table. He continued to mind his own business as he drank his wine.

    ¡°Kid, your daddy¡¯s talking to you! Did you hear me?¡± the same person shouted.

    The boss quickly pulled that person aside and said something to him as Lu Yin tapped a single finger against the table. His tapping followed a very regr rhythm. Every tap of his finger was in sync with the drunkards¡¯ heartbeats, but the drunkards didn¡¯t feel anything. However, once Lu Yin stopped tapping his finger, their hearts stopped beating, and their faces went white. They suddenly started panting, and they nearly fainted from ack of oxygen.

    As they panted heavily, a few of them were released from their stupor and sobered up significantly. The ones who had sobered up stared at Lu Yin in fear, realizing that they had provoked someone terrifying. One of them immediately apologized. ¡°Brother, please forgive us. We had one drink too many. We¡¯ll cover your bill. Goodbye.¡±

    The group left some money on their table and fled.

    Lu Yin poured another cup of wine and downed it. He rather enjoyed this feeling of sipping on wine in the bitter wind while enjoying various side dishes.

    The boss watched Lu Yin, seemingly entranced. This person had suppressed the drunks by merely tapping on the table. This was the Royal Regent¡¯s strength.

    Not far from the pub, beneath the shadows of the walls, there were a few people who silently retreated. They hade here to assassinate Lu Yin, and they had waited a long time at King Zishan¡¯s pce, always ready to act. However, they had just witnessed the scene at the pub. Even though Lu Yin hadn¡¯t actually taken any actions, his calm suppression that had suffocated that group of drunkards had terrified the assassins. Lu Yin was not someone whom they could kill.

    One person walked out from the loud bar next door and looked at the open-air pub. That sound of someone tapping on the table had shocked him. It was as if the sound of the tapping had suppressed something through the air.

    When that person looked towards the pub, he saw Lu Yin. He wasn¡¯t able to clearly make out the person¡¯s appearance, so after hesitating a moment, he walked over to the pub.

    Quickly, the man was seated within the pub, and he ordered a pot of wine. He took a mouthful and nced at Lu Yin.

    At the same moment, Lu Yin looked up and exchanged nces with the man. The neer¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he reflexively stood up to bow. ¡°Ruky Mathers pays his respects to Your Highness, Royal Regent.¡±

    The confrontation moments ago had scared away the other customers, so only Lu Yin was still in the pub. Ruky Mathers¡¯ bow frightened the boss, who promptly bowed as well. ¡°Greetings to Your Highness, Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The people seated in this pub are enjoying their wine, so there¡¯s no need for things like ¡®Your Highness¡¯ and such. Boss, get another pot of wine.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The man immediately left.

    Lu Yin looked at Ruky Mathers, and his gaze lingered on the youth¡¯s left arm. ¡°Your arm is fake?¡±

    Ruky Mathers respectfully replied, ¡°It was shattered by a nt during Astral-10¡¯s entrance examination.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sit. let¡¯s have a drink together.¡±

    Ruky Mathers¡¯ face changed, but he finally took a seat. He held endless gratitude towards Lu Yin. If it were not for this person, then Ruky¡¯s father would have definitely been executed. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that his father had been released from prison on this very day. The Mathers family would never be able to repay their gratitude.

    The Mathers family had been subordinates of the Zishan n, and so they naturally felt close to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Your father and I are old acquaintances,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Ruky Mathers replied, ¡°I¡¯ve heard him mention it.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and looked at Ruky Mathers. ¡°You¡¯re quite powerful. Compared to the other youths of the Great Yu Empire, the only one who can be considered your opponent would be Schutz.¡±

    Ruky Mathers declined thepliment. ¡°Your Highness is overpraising me. Each of the Yu Academy¡¯s five Hall Masters are very strong.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Although they have improved greatly, their thinking is still excessively limited. Aside from Schutz, the others will find it difficult to ever leave the Outerverse, but you¡¯re different.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gazended on Ruky Mathers¡¯ right arm, or more urately, on his right hand. He had noticed that Ruky Mathers¡¯ aura was not average, and so he had intentionally nced over him while filling his eyes with star energy. Just as he had mentioned, aside from Schutz, not even the Yu Academy¡¯s other four Hall Masters couldpare to Ruky Mathers.

    It was especially noticeable to Lu Yin that Ruky¡¯s right fist contained a peculiar number of rune lines, and they greatly surpassed the amount that Lu Yin saw from the Outerverse¡¯s Limiteers. The number of rune lines that he saw actually approached what he had observed from the Innerverse¡¯s elite Limiteers. Although the number could notpare to the Area Masters from the Astral Combat Academy, Ruky Mathers¡¯ future would not be limited to just the Outerverse.

    Ruky Mathers stood up and respectfully answered, ¡°Your Highness, during Astral-10¡¯s entrance examination, I happened to learn a battle technique on a mountain wall that is known as the Rocksmash Strike. I relied on this technique to achieve my current strength.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and pressed down his hand to indicate for Ruky to sit. Lu Yin did not care about some Rocksmash Strike, as there were too many peculiar battle techniques in the universe. Some were even able to transform the rotten into the magical, and it was even rathermon. Lu Yin himself had his Cosmic Art, which was an absolute battle technique. Although it was not sufficient at the moment, it had helped Lu Yin escape from many disasters at crucial moments.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, the Daynight n¡¯s Night''s End, Daybreak and the Daynight Restoration Technique: each and every one of them was a battle technique that could dominate an era, and Lu Yin¡¯s vision had long since surpassed the Outerverse. Thus, he basically had no interest in Ruky Mathers¡¯ battle technique.

    ¡°Tianming has gone to Grandtop Weave, so from tomorrow onwards, you can rece him at the academy as one of the Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Masters,¡± Lu Yin said before taking a gulp and moving to leave.

    Ruky Mathers nkly stared at Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure. Was it that simple to be a Hall Master? Just a while ago, he had been unable to even qualify to enter the elite training grounds of the Yu Academy, but now, he had suddenly leaped up to be a Hall Master. He emotionally rose to his feet and deeply bowed towards Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure.

    This was how Lu Yin intended to rule; those who were capable would rise, and those whocked abilities would fall. Ruky Mathers¡¯ strength was sufficient for him to be an Area Master at the Astral Combat Academy.

    After leaving the pub, Lu Yin did not return to King Zishan''s pce. Instead, he headed to the coast to sober up. He did not want to forcefully dispel his intoxication, as his drinking would be rendered meaningless then. This tipsy state was also helping him to rx his mind.

    A few hours passed before Lu Yin returned to King Zishan''s pce, and upon arriving, he was shocked to see someone familiar: Jeraldine.

    During the trial on Earth, Jeraldine had been captured by Lu Yin and threatened by him. She could be considered as Lu Yin¡¯s first non-friendly friend.

    Jeraldine had not expected to bump into Lu Yin at King Zishan''s pce gate, and she appeared slightly panicked and rather lost.

    Lu Yinughed at her reaction. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Come on in and take a seat.¡±

    Jeraldine promptly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need¡ªoh, sorry. Greetings Your Highness, Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°You must have something on your mind if you¡¯vee to look for me.¡±

    Jeraldine nodded and pulled out a ring that she passed to Lu Yin. ¡°I came to return this to you.¡±

    Lu Yin took the ring. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Jenny Auna identally dropped it, and I happened to pick it up. I¡¯m returning it to you today.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered. He had incidentally given Jenny Auna a ring when he was trying to gain the Auna family¡¯s support. This ring had coincidentally been obtained when he had rolled Pilfer with his die. ¡°identally dropped? Or thrown away?¡±

    Jeraldine blinked. ¡°It was probably an ident.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you know that this belongs to me?¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s eyes danced about, as she did not know how to reply.

    Lu Yin tossed her the ring. ¡°Keep it.¡±

    He then went into King Zishan¡¯s pce. He simply didn¡¯t care about the ring in any way.

    Jeraldine grabbed it in shock and nkly watched his figure walk away.

    Lu Yin paused. ¡°Do you want toe in and have a seat? We haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time.¡±

    Jeraldine shook her head in panic. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Thank you.¡±

    She then bowed to Lu Yin again and ran away.

    Lu Yin felt strange. What was she panicking about?

    He simply was unaware of what giving a ring to a girl meant, but this was why Jeraldine had suddenly been confused and why she had lost the courage to enter King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Leisure time often passes quickly, and Lu Yin rxed for only a single day before returning to his hectic schedule.

    The military had submitted various rmendations for people to join his four departments, but Lu Yin had no way of knowing who waspetent and who wasn¡¯t. He only knew one thing, which was that these people each represented their own agenda.

    He actually wanted to strike all of them off of the list right away, but he was afraid of dismissing someone who was actually capable. Feeling like he had no choice, he passed the issue off to Huan Sha.

    Huan Sha had be so busy by this time that she no longer even had time to eat.

 Chapter 548: Checkmate

    <h4>Chapter 548: Checkmate</h4>

    During this time, En Ya had been handling the Lu Ministry of Defense¡¯s affairs, and Xueshan Auna was just a figurehead. It was much like how, if Huo Qingshan left the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, then Lu Yin would definitely offer the Huo family another position of power to maintain the bnce. Regardless of whether it was the Auna or the Huo family, each one of them carried a certain amount of influence in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military.

    Wendy Yushan rarely made any appearances during this time, and even Lu Yin only saw her once. He knew that she was cultivating the Yu Secret Art, and that the secret technique was part of the reason why she continued to remain in istion. Another reason why she was staying out of sight was to avoid raising people¡¯s suspicions. The empire could not be ruled by two people, and since she was not suitable to manage the empire, she was content with living behind the scenes.

    One day, after the daily morning meeting ended and when Lu Yin just returned to King Zishan''s pce, Bronsen reported that someone was seeking an audience with the regent.

    Lu Yin moved to the sitting room, where he saw a dejected-looking person who was nervously waiting for him. When the person saw Lu Yin, he immediately bowed. ¡°Ding Xing of Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty pays his respects to Your Majesty, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin had the man dispense with the formalities and sit down. He then took a look at Ding Xing. ¡°You¡¯re from Northcastle Weave?¡±

    Ding Xing replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty. When the various great powers of the Innerverse werepeting against each other, the Greatsword Dynasty was annihted by the Second Grade Hall. I had the good fortune of being rescued by Captain Shalosh of your Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin remembered some details; Lily Anne had been the one to inform him about these events. Due to these skirmishes, Lu Yin had learned about the contest for pyrolyte ore, and it was precisely the person in front of him who had triggered the conflict between the Great Yu Empire and the Second Grade Hall.

    ¡°Is there some matter that Mr. Ding came here for?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ding Xing suddenly half-kneeled and then wailed, ¡°I beg for Your Majesty to help the Greatsword Dynasty and throw off the Second Grade Hall!¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand as a powerful strength forcefully propped Ding Xing up. Ding Xing was a Cruiser with a power level of 60,000, but he wasn¡¯t able to resist Lu Yin¡¯s strength at all. The man stared at Lu Yin in shock; hearing about this Limiteer¡¯s unnatural strength was one matter, but experiencing it for himself was something else entirely. At this moment, Ding Xing truly understood what it meant for someone to be an unequalled Limiteer, as Lu Yin felt unparalleled even in front of a Cruiser like Ding Xing. Ding Xing was a Cruiser, while the person before him was just a Limiteer.

    However, Ding Xing quickly recalled Lu Yin¡¯s battle record, and he suddenly understood. This person had even killed Enlighters, so a Cruiser was no different than an ant to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Mr. Ding, there¡¯s no need to be so courteous.¡±

    Ding Xing pleaded, ¡°Your Majesty, the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s inheritance that has been passed down through many generations will be lost at this rate. As a citizen of the Greatsword Dynasty, I cannot bear to see that happen, so I beg for Your Majesty to lend us your assistance.¡±

    Lu Yin did not agree right away. He pondered the matter and even opened up a star chart on his gadget and studied a map of Northcastle Weave.

    The Greatsword Dynasty had been a rather strong power in Northcastle Weave, and it had maintained a simr location within its weave as the Great Yu Empire in Frostwave Weave. Its territory was very long, as it spanned the width of Northcastle Weave from north to south, upying nine fments in the process. It was no wonder why the Second Grade Hall had targeted the Greatsword Dynasty, as this dynasty had been situated too conveniently for them during the contest for pyrolyte ore.

    Ding Xing lowered his head, not daring to even move.

    Lu Yin studied the star chart for a while, and then his eyes flickered. ¡°Mr. Ding, did you know that Northcastle Weave currently has two Enlighters? If I attempt to take action, the final oue cannot be predicted.¡±

    Ding Xing respectfully replied, ¡°I know, but I also understand Your Majesty¡¯s strength, and I know that you are someone who does not fear Enlighters. Your Majesty, I¡¯m willing to give you the hidden treasures that have been umted over the years by the Greatsword Dynasty. I beg Your Majesty to help us.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°Hidden treasures?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Northcastle Weave has a unique astral location, and sessive generations of leaders were certain that something disastrous would eventually happen. Thus, they left hidden treasures behind in order to retake the dynasty should ite to that. In general, these treasures are enough to deal with Outerverse powers, but no one ever imagined that an Enlighter would eventually take action against us. No matter how many hidden treasures we stored away over the centuries, we are still powerless against an Enlighter. Please, Your Majesty, we seek your assistance, and I¡¯m willing to give all the treasures over to Your Majesty in return,¡± Ding Xing said withplete sincerity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, as these ¡°hidden treasures¡± were very attractive to him. Northcastle Weave possessed its own allure for him as well, as just Grandtop Weave alone was not enough to sate his appetite. He would take advantage of the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s situation to make arrangements for Northcastle Weave.

    However, it was not the right time yet, as the Great Yu Empire currently could not even properly manage Frostwave Weave, and it would take much longer for them topletely suppress Grandtop Weave. If he also had to take care of Northcastle Weave on top of that, it could easily be enough to drag Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin had already be known as the nemesis of Enlighters, so it would no longer be as easy for him to deal with them. Even if he could sessfully kill one more, the act would incite bacsh from the remaining Enlighters. If Lu Yin pushed two or even three Enlighters to act together against him, then he could not even imagine how he would die.

    Lu Yin had to continually remind himself that his recent battle achievements were not due to his personal strength, but rather from external aides. He could not afford to becent.

    ¡°You can stay on Zenyu Star for now. I can promise that I¡¯ll help your Greatsword Dynasty, but not at this time,¡± Lu Yin said to Ding Xing.

    Ding Xing¡¯s eyes flickered, and he softly replied, ¡°Your Majesty, thank you so much.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged the man¡¯s gratitude and then had Bronsen show Ding Xing out.

    He could not meddle with Northcastle Weave for the moment, but he had to retain Ding Xing, as the Cruiser was the primer that would eventually allow the Great Yu Empire to invade Northcastle Weave in the future.

    With the Innerverse and Outerverse separated, the entire Outerverse had been greatly affected, but so had the Outerverse Youth Council.

    The Outerverse Youth Council was a subsidiary organization of the Ten Arbiters Council, and many of its policies were directly handed down from the Ten Arbiters Council. At present, since the Innerverse and Outerverse could notmunicate, the Outerverse Youth Council could only formte its own policies. WIthout the Ten Arbiters¡¯ formidable backing, the Outerverse Youth Council had to face the current crisis alone.

    Under these circumstances, East San Dios was being led by Puyu, and he summoned Wendy Yushan and Liu Shaoge there for a meeting.

    Wendy Yushan informed Lu Yin of the summons, but he immediately rejected it. ¡°You can¡¯t go. You possess a secret technique, so all the Enlighters are focused on you. If you show up at East San Dios, then you¡¯ll most likely be captured.¡±

    ¡°I have a responsibility,¡± Wendy Yushan replied.

    Lu Yin frowned.

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters Council has provided me with a great deal of care. Now that the council is facing a crisis, I cannot not go.¡± Wendy Yushan was determined.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Then I¡¯ll apany you.¡±

    She did not decline, as that was the best option. With Lu Yin around, she would indeed be much safer.

    However, there was another problem. Hai Qiqi had taken the copsible spacecraft to the Astral River. ¡°When do we leave?¡±

    ¡°The meeting is in twelve days.¡±

    Lu Yin did some rough calctions. It would take them about two and a half months to travel from the Great Yu Empire to East San Dios with a normal spacecraft. With a radiant-grade Aurora, it would take them eight days. If sudden changes were to be amodated for, then thetest they could need to leave was the following day.

    ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She nodded and left King Zishan''s pce.

    After Wendy left, Lu Yin quickly moved to arrange certain matters and delegate many tasks. He would be gone for at least a month, and if things were not taken care of while he was gone, he would be inundated the moment he returned.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped with a notification, and Lu Yin casually nced at it. He was shocked to see that Liu Shaoge was contacting him, which gave him a bad premonition. Liu Shaoge would never contact Lu Yin without reason.

    He epted the call, and Liu Shaoge¡¯s image appeared on the screen, a brilliant smile stered on his face for Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, I heard that you¡¯reing here to get yourself killed?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face sank. So him joining Wendy Yushan had already been predicted. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Liu Shaoge feigned surprise. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Brother Lu know? Quite a few Enlighters want to kill Brother Lu and take Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique for themselves. An operation has already been set in ce.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Darkstar Gorge and the Ross Empire. I only know about these two, but there should be some more. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know whether or not they are participating in this particr operation.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as there were actually people nning to use this San Dios meeting to lure Wendy Yushan out. These people were also already certain that he would not allow Wendy Yushan to head out alone, which meant that they were luring him out as well. It wouldn¡¯t be just one Enlighter acting; they were going to ce him in checkmate. If one searched the entire Outerverse, it would be difficult to find even one Enlighter, much less two or more Enlighters together.

    Even with Progenitor Wushang''s hide, the gun, and the Money Bombs, Lu Yin was not able to deal with multiple Enlighters at the same time.

    ¡°Brother Lu, this situation is hard to break free from.¡± Liu Shaoge smiled.

    Lu Yin watched the man¡¯s sly smile, and he suddenly thought of Silver. ¡°So why tell me?¡±

    Liu Shaoge shrugged. ¡°If you die, then how can I stand up to Puyu?¡±

    ¡°With the Innerverse and Outerverse currently separated, what does it matter if you control San Dios? The true decision-makers right now are the Enlighters,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse will eventually return to what they were before, and at that time, everything will change once again. Moreover, I¡¯m representing Arbiter Zhenwu, and the Daynight n will not watch on helplessly if I get bullied.¡±

    ¡°Is Nightqueen Qiuyu participating?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Shaoge grudgingly responded, ¡°Brother Lu, you think too highly of me. Just hearing of this much information was difficult. Puyu doesn¡¯t truly trust me.¡±

    Lu Yin disconnected from the call with Liu Shaoge. He could feel the severity of their current dilemma. The best solution was to simply not go, but would that actually guarantee their safety? Those Enlighters would not let go of the secret technique, so they would simply head towards the Great Yu Empire if Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan did not move out. That would create an even bigger disaster.

    He only had one option, which was to head to East San Dios and act as if he was unaware of the situation while secretly making preparations to deal with an ambush.

    If he was facing multiple Enlighters, then he might not be able to use all of his prepared methods since they would be wary of him. He would have no opportunity to use Progenitor Wushang''s hide to stun them, and it would be even more impossible to hit them with the gun.

    It was a thorny situation.

    When Lu Yin looked out the window, he realized that it was no longer night and that the new day was fast approaching. He thought about it and then contacted Granny Chan, since it might be possible to request her assistance.

    Not long after, Lu Yin ced down his gadget with an ugly expression. Granny Chan had turned him down.

    Lu Yin was not surprised, because an Enlighter would naturally know which way the winds were blowing. Since he had unexpectedly invited her to head to San Dios, she could naturally guess that Lu Yin was facing some crisis. Currently, only Enlighters were able to cause such problems for Lu Yin, and it would take more than one of them at that. Thus, it only made sense for her to refuse.

    There were pros and cons to every matter. The Innerverse and Outerverse had been cut off from each other, and that meant that the various great powers had been banished from the Outerverse and that the encircling pythons were now gone. Many people could now do as they pleased without having to consider others. By that merit, the Outerverse was bing even more predatory, and people¡¯s statuses had be useless, just like what had happened to the Nn family. It didn¡¯t matter that the Sword Sect was behind them; so long as they did not have the support of an Enlighter, they had no choice but to hide in the Great Yu Empire.

    The various statuses that Lu Yin had once worked so hard to obtain had now be worthless. There was no one who would step out for him.

 Chapter 549: Anti-Killing Situation

    <h4>Chapter 549: Anti-Killing Situation</h4>

    ¡°Bronsen, go to the warehouse and bring me all of the universal armors,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    An hourter, all of the military warehouses on Zenyu Star had been scoured for universal armors, and every one that was found was now piled up in King Zishan''s pce. There were more than 10,000 sets.

    ¡°Your Majesty, if that¡¯s not enough, your subject will head to the military warehouses on others to fetch more,¡± Bronsen reported respectfully.

    ¡°No need. This is enough,¡± Lu Yin answered faintly as he waved Bronsen away.

    He then screened the monkey off, raised his hand, and brought out his die. Lu Yin stored all of the universal armors in his cosmic ring, set down his cosmic ring, and then tapped the die. It slowly spun around before finally stopping on four pips. In an instant, Lu Yin picked up his cosmic ring and entered his die¡¯s Timestop Space.

    He had not entered this space for a long time, but he had no time to think. Lu Yin tapped the die again, and this time, he rolled six pips, but that roll was useless. In the Timestop Space, rolling one, five, or six pips was useless.

    Every time he rolled in this space, he needed to rest for ten days before trying again.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin rolled the die again, and this time, he got two pips. He was delighted, as while ckhole Disassembly was usually not very useful most of the time, it was what he was looking for at this moment since he had something he needed to disassemble: the universal armors.

    Of course, he was not going to disassemble the universal armor that he had upgraded to the point of being able to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attacks. Rather, he was going to disassemble all of the armors that Bronson had delivered to him, which totalled more than 10,000 sets.

    He used star crystals to extend the durations of the ckhole Disassembly by a few hours and then started tossing universal armors into it. Under Lu Yin¡¯s amazed gaze, the first set of universal armor vanished, only to soon be reced by a strange material that Lu Yin was in desperate need of right now: prium.

    Disassembling more than 10,000 sets of universal armor yielded nearly 500 tons of prium. Prium was a rare metal, and aside from being used to produce universal armor, it could also be used to make many other objects. Its characteristics were theplete opposite of pyrolyte. Pyrolyte took up arge volume while being very light whereas prium was condensed and heavy. A piece of prium that was the size of a palm could weigh dozens of kilograms.

    Usually, one set of universal armor would only require about a palm-sized piece of prium, which was why each one sold for an exorbitant price. This showed the value of prium.

    500 tons of prium was very valuable, but this was not what Lu Yin wanted. He was actually hoping to get prium essence.

    Prium essence was basically refined prium, and even 10,000 tons of prium might not even be enough to produce any prium essence. However, its uses far surpassed those of regr prium. Lu Yin even suspected that the set of universal armor that he had obtained from the auction, the one that could withstand attacks with a power level of 100,000, had actually originally been made with prium essence.

    In the past, Lu Yin had used Shuta to trigger a conflict between Darkmist Weave and Darkstar Gorge to reduce the pressure being ced on Shenwu Continent. The reason why that had been able to trigger a conflict between those two powers was precisely because it contained prium. To various powerful organizations, prium was extremely valuable. Although the value of the metal could notpare to pyrolyte, the two had different uses. Pyrolyte could be considered as a strategic military resource, but prium was the mainponent for many weapons and equipment.

    Shuta alone contained enough prium to incite a conflict. So what would happen if prium essence was found on the?

    Shuta definitely did not have any prium essence, or else Darkstar Gorge would never have been able toy a im to this since the divided forces of Darkmist Weave would have long since banded together to maintain control of the, and the conflict would not have continued on for so long. However, Lu Yin could make the have some prium essence.

    Even if a that contained prium also had prium essence, it would only be a few tonnes at best. A palm-sized amount of prium essence was enough to manufacture a universal armor that could withstand a Hunter¡¯s attacks, demonstrating its value. In the long run, the value of prium essence surpassed even the value of pyrolyte. What if, all of a sudden, dozens or even hundreds of tons of prium essence appeared somewhere? Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to imagine what would happen.

    As soon as prium essence was discovered on Shuta, and huge quantities at that, chaos would erupt on the. It would be simr to Pyrolyte, and Shuta would attract Enlighters. For example, those Enlighter powerhouses from Darkstar Gorge and Darkmist Weave would definitely head over.

    It was a good n, but he was relying on his luck to pull it off.

    Another ten days passed, and Lu Yin rolled the die again, but this time, he rolled one pip: Pilfer. Useless.

    He used over 1,000 star crystals to increase the duration of the Timestop Space to over thirty days, and soon, another ten days passed. Lu Yin tapped out again, and the die spun slowly around before it finally stopped on three pips.

    This roll was the one that was the most helpful to him: three pips, Enhance.

    As he watched the two light screens appear, Lu Yin casually threw out a piece of prium and a hundred star crystals. The prium upgraded three times and transformed from the most ordinary kind of prium into prium essence. The metal now flickered with a dim radiance.

    He touched the prium essence and sighed. Each piece of prium essence could be sold for tens of thousands of star crystals, but it only took about one star essence to upgrade each piece of prium into prium essence. That was the equivalent of about 100,000 star crystals. This was such a loss! Unfortunately, he had no other choice, leaving Lu Yin helpless. Such a material was hard to acquire even if one was willing to spend exorbitant amounts of money, so he just would just have to quietly suffer the loss. More important was how he would use all this prium essence.

    500 tonnes of prium were upgraded into prium essence, which cost Lu Yin more than 10,000 star essence. This expenditure pained Lu Yin, as it meant that he was broke once again, as he had just used up 10,000 star essence. He had to make sure to take back at least this much from those Enlighters.

    He still had about 12,000 star essence remaining, so Lu Yin took out the piece of flesh that was covered with flickering lightning that he had won from an auction. ording to the Ghost Monkey, this was a piece of Void Thunderbeast flesh, and it could be used to tear through the void as an escape item. This was something that was extremely difficult to obtain.

    He tossed the flesh onto the upper light screen and threw 1,000 star essence on. As he watched the flesh undergo its upgrade, a thought suddenly shed into his mind. An actual Void Thunderbeast won¡¯t be upgraded out of this, right?

    The die¡¯s Enhance ability was very mysterious, and it seemed to be able to upgrade anything. At times, Lu Yin wanted to toss himself onto the screen to see if he could achieve a breakthrough.

    This thought was actually very enticing.

    It took more than 1,000 star essence to upgrade the lightning-covered flesh once, and the second upgrade took 2,000. Lu Yin could not handle the cost of upgrading it any further, but after thinking about it, he still went ahead with a third upgrade, despite it costing him more than 5,000 star essence. By this point, the lightning flickering across the flesh had changed color, and it was even causing the void to be unstable.

    ording to his best guess, this thing should allow him to make an escape by instantly moving across a vast distance. He filled his eyes with star energy to look at it and saw that it had countless rune lines, the number actually surpassing what he had seen on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, which was astounding. This thing would definitely allow him to escape from an Enlighter.

    This was the lifesaving item that he wanted to give Wendy Yushan. This thing had cost him almost 8,000 star essence to make and could safely be called the most expensive escaping tool.

    As he looked at his cosmic ring, he saw that there were only about 3,000 star essence remaining. Lu Yin thought about it and then used hisst 3,300 star essence to upgrade one Money Bomb, so that it could instantly kill an Enlighter. This was another lifesaving object that he wanted to give to Wendy Yushan.

    Lu Yin already had his universal armor and the gun, so he intended for Wendy Yushan to have the lightning-covered flesh and the Money Bomb. With some luck, this would allow them to deal with the oing crisis that was facing them.

    He hoped that everything would go ording to n, or else he did not know how they would survive.

    An entire night passed as Lu Yin whiled the hours away, thinking. When the next day arrived, he filled Wendy in on the current situation.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes turned frost-cold as she gripped the hilt of her sword.

    Lu Yin slowly said, ¡°Go to San Dios, and tell Puyu that you traveled there alone and that I¡¯m still in the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    She nodded and did not ask any further questions. She trusted Lu Yin and waspletely confident that he would not allow her to be captured by Enlighters.

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Be careful while you¡¯re by yourself.¡±

    He gave her the upgraded Money Bomb and the lightning-covered flesh. ¡°This Money Bomb can severely injure or even kill an Enlighter. As for this piece of flesh, ites from a Void Thunderbeast. If you¡¯re facing an impossible situation, you can use this to tear through the void and escape. It should allow you to cover quite arge distance.¡±

    Wendy Yushan silently stored the two items away and then looked at Lu Yin with a worried face. ¡°What about you? Where are you going?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°To hunt.¡±

    She averted her gaze. ¡°If we can both survive this time, I¡¯ll marry you.¡±

    She appeared to be indifferent as she left King Zishan¡¯s pce after saying those words to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was stumped for a good while. Was she mistaken about something? Lu Yin had no ns to marry her, and yet, his heart was uncontrobly moved when he looked at Wendy Yushan¡¯s beautiful face. Truthfully, this woman was extremely attractive to all men, and even more so to those who had a heart for conquest.

    To the Great Yu Empire, Wendy Yushan was a goddess, but Lu Yin was teased by her.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, congrattions! The rainbowes after the storm, haha!¡± The Ghost Monkey ridiculed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Would he actually turn her down if Wendy Yushan truly intended to marry him? Ming Yan¡¯s image appeared in his mind, and he remembered the lock of hair that was still in his cosmic ring. Lu Yin suddenly shook his head. Don¡¯t overthink it, never overthink things! But oddly enough, at that time, the enchanting Madam Nn popped into his head.

    East San Dios was located in Adonis Weave, and Shuta was located where Darkmist and Woori Weave met, and it was slightly closer to Zenyu Star than East San Dios. ording to the nned routes, if Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan set off at the same time, then he would arrive at his destination two days before she finished her voyage.

    Two days was not a lot of time, so Lu Yin set off immediately. He grabbed a radiant-grade Aurora and rushed towards Shuta.

    Ever since it had be the focus of a conflict, the had undergone aplete change.

    In the past, Shuta had given birth to strange metal lifeforms that were able to produce prium. This had been controlled by Darkmist Weave¡¯s forces, like the Nine Allied Nations. Aside from young trial takers from Darkmist Weave, the remaining people on the were mostly miners. The entire didn¡¯t have any established cities, just various mining towns.

    Each day, as regr as a clock, battles would break out all over Shuta. Darkstar Gorge and the Nine Allied Nations would go through several violent exchanges each time as neither organization wanted to leave Shuta. However, neither party wanted to start a full blown war over just one. This led to many skirmishes between both sides¡¯ younger generation, and the youths had already destroyed several mining towns.

    At the moment, Shuta had been divided into several regions, and both sides restrained themselves from stepping into their opponent¡¯s territory.

    This was the situation when Lu Yin arrived on the.

    There were manys that were simr to Shuta in the universe,s that were covered with numerous mines. Suchs often had poor living conditions for normal people, and often, only cultivators were able to barely survive. Somes were even harsher than the vacuum of space, as they might be filled with poisonous gases, have scorchingly high temperatures, magma, violent gales, or unexplorable meteorological phenomena.

    Shuta was quite mild as even Scouts were able to survive on the.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the¡¯s surface. The ground was parched and cracked, and asionally, a strange looking worm would poke its head out of a fissure and threateningly snap its jaws at Lu Yin. These worms were ratherrge, and each one could swallow a person in one gulp.

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand, sending out a gust that stripped the topyer of soil away and reduced many of the worms that were hiding in the ground into stters of blood.

 Chapter 550: Arrangement

    <h4>Chapter 550: Arrangement</h4>

    The atmosphere was filled with a scorching heat, and there were two suns overhead that were roasting the desated ground.

    Lu Yin released his domain, but he couldn¡¯t perceive anyone. Instead, what he found was a bizarre metal lifeform that looked like a wed hook without any eyes, ears, a nose, or a mouth. If it did not move, then it could have been mistaken as a machine¡¯s spareponent, but this was one of the metal lifeforms native to Shuta.

    Lu Yin felt rather strange, and he picked up the w-looking metal lifeform. The creature stabbed straight at his skull, but he used just a bit of his strength to crack the creature open. It immediately copsed to the ground and quivered a few times before it finally ceased all movement. Lu Yin believed that it was dead at this point.

    ¡°The universe is too bizarre. It can even produce lifeforms like this,¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    The Ghost Monkey disdainfullymented, ¡°What¡¯s that thing? It can¡¯t even be considered as a living creature! It¡¯s just able to move around a bit because of some strange parasite living inside of it. Seventh Bro, you haven¡¯t seen a truly strange organism yet.¡±

    ¡°Like Tian Hou?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey didn¡¯t respond, as an existence like a Cosmic Hou was something that could supersede everything else. Those creatures were just too mysterious. A Cosmic Hou was essentially a materialized ck hole, and if even something like Tian Hou could exist, then Lu Yin would not be easily astounded by the mysteries of the universe.

    ¡°Speaking of, I don¡¯t even know this, but what species do you belong to?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The monkey proudly answered, ¡°I¡¯m from the Ghost Monkey n! A noble race in the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°Right... from what I know, there isn¡¯t a Ghost Monkey n.¡± Lu Yin clearly didn¡¯t believe the monkey. This was also one of the reasons why he would never trust the monkey; there was no Ghost Monkey n.

    The monkey sighed. ¡°Seventh Bro, the Astral Beast Domain ispletely unknown to you humans, so how could your race possibly know what species there are? For example, if you hadn¡¯te to this, would you have ever seen this metallic lifeform? Can you confidently say that you¡¯re aware of all of the various civilizations that make up the entire Human Domain?¡±

    Lu Yin could not retort. Instead he activated his gadget, only to discover that the signal was intermittent and distorted. There was too much metal on this, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that the signal to his gadget was affected. Despite it being somewhat expected, it wasn¡¯t good for him since he had nned on using prium essence to lure in those Enlighters.

    He expected that the mining towns should be able to contact the outside universe in a normal fashion. With that in mind, Lu Yin rose into the air and flew towards the east, as he had vaguely sensed a town in that direction when he had descended onto the.

    Ever since the universe had gone through its great changes, only those who were Hunters or above could still tear through the void. It had be almost impossible for anyone else to move through the void anymore. Lu Yin was no different; he could still fly, but he could not tear through space as it had be drastically more stable than before.

    Fortunately, his flying speed was not that slow, so it didn¡¯t take long for him toe across the mining town. Pretty much the only things that he could see were the massive machinery that covered the surface of the, looking like a strange creature brandishing its ws.

    A violent wind swept up the dry yellow soil as a massive tornado formed to the south of the town. Many miners were returning to the town from all directions.

    Lu Yin grabbed a miner¡¯s uniform and casually entered the town. There, he heard news that there was a powerful gale forming nearby and that it was strong enough to blow even cultivators away. When such winds approached, all of the miners and trial takers would seek refuge in the nearest mining town.

    Each mining town had its own defensive measures. When the wind blew, the entire town trembled, but no one was concerned about being in any danger. Such winds were quitemon on Shuta, and even if this storm was several grades higher, it still would not be able to harm the mining town.

    It was very chaotic within the town itself. The miners kept themselves separated from the trial takers, and the two groups were very well differentiated. The trial takers looked down upon the miners, and the miners did not dare to enter the trial takers¡¯ region. The two sections were almost like two separate cities; one was jumbled and ruined while the other was clean and tidy and even had its own service facilities.

    This particr town belonged to the Nine Allied Nations, and the trial takers were members of Darkmist Weave¡¯s younger generation.

    If he had known that there would be so many trial takers, Lu Yin would not have pretended to be a miner. He looked at a distant neon light flickering in the trial takers¡¯ region, but he did not head over after thinking things over.

    His connection to the universalwork became much more stable once he set foot within the town.

    This town was notcking in bars at all. The miners didn¡¯t have many recreational activities, and most of them spent their free time getting intoxicated. Once they were sober, they would start mining again. Since the death rate on this was quite high, many miners either sent whatever they earned back to their families or squandered it all as soon as possible. Hence, the bars did notck serving girls, though they all had rather average appearances.

    Lu Yin dismissed three servers before he left the bar. However, before he walked out, he deliberately dropped a small piece of prium essence.

    After he left the bar, he went around, looking for a more decent-looking ce to eat, so he headed towards the trial takers¡¯ region.

    The environment in the second area of the town was much better than in the miners¡¯ region. The qualities of both the bars and the serving girls were apletely different league. Lu Yin dropped another piece of prium essence on the ground and then headed for another bar.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the maelstrom to envelop the entire area, and it almost felt as if it was going to drown out the entire town. Within the settlement, quite a few conflicts broke out due to the prium essence that Lu Yin had intentionally left behind. In just a short while, more than ten pieces of prium essence had appeared, and they had been found in both the miners¡¯ as well as the trial takers¡¯ districts, which caused quite a shock to the town¡¯s upper management.

    They started some secret investigations, as they wished to know where this prium essence hade from.

    There was only one exnation for why prium essence would appear on Shuta: someone had dug it up. The most likely exnation was that a certain miner had dug their way into a prium essence mine.

    A single prium essence mine could possibly produce tonnes of prium essence, and just the thought of such an amount was enough to blow their minds.

    The entire mining town was quickly sealed off. People were allowed to enter but not leave.

    However, Lu Yin easily left the town and headed for another since he had already determined his future actions.

    If prium essence appeared in just one mining town, then news of the discovery might be suppressed by the town¡¯s upper management. However, if prium essence simultaneously appeared in multiple towns, then such news could not be stopped. This would also show that the amount of prium essence was quite high and that more than one person had found it, which would be enough to shock the Nine Allied Nations and Darkstar Gorge.

    Two dayster, when Wendy Yushan arrived in Adonis Weave, the Nine Allied Nations received news that a prium essence mine had been discovered on Shuta. Suddenly, the top levels of the Nine Allied Nations were iparably excited, as the value of a prium essence mine was just too high. This one single mine might even be enough to upgrade the strength of the entire Nine Allied Nations. This discovery was very significant, as the material could be used to manufacture their own equipment or sold for exorbitant amounts of money.

    In addition to the Nine Allied Nations, Darkstar Gorge also received the news. At the same time, they also learned that Wendy Yushan had arrived in Adonis Weave, but without Lu Yin as he had stayed in the Great Yu Empire.

    This news gave Puyu a strange feeling, as Lu Yin normally would not have allowed Wendy Yushan to head out alone. However, ording to some informants that he had nted along Wendy Yushan¡¯s route, it appeared that the girl was indeed alone.

    Puyu was very cautious by nature. He felt confident about dealing with her since she had appeared alone. However, he still informed Darkstar Gorge¡¯s Enlighter, Elder Wu, and asked the man toe out to help.

    However, Elder Wu had also received news of prium essence appearing on Shuta, so he ordered Puyu to deal with Wendy Yushan while he headed to Darkmist Weave to fight for control of the prium essence mine.

    Puyu set his gadget down. Something was off, but he could not ce his finger on what. Prium essence mines were important, and a great quantity of prium essence was definitely valuable enough to cause even Elder Wu to make a move. In the past, Elder Wu had almost made a personal appearance to deal with the Nine Allied Nations, but his misgivings concerning the almighty Enlighter from Darkmist Weave had led to him not making a move in order to avoid starting an all-out war.

    But now, Elder Wu could not sit still anymore as prium essence had appeared.

    Whatever. If Lu Yin doesn¡¯t show up, then dealing with Wendy by myself shouldn''t pose a problem. Also, there¡¯s still the Schr Newmoon, Puyu secretly thought to himself.

    On Shuta, many mining towns had been sealed whilerge spacecraft appeared above the one after another.

    When he saw these events, Lu Yin knew that he had achieved his objective and that he had already done what he needed to do. His next moves were predetermined; even if he had not lured out Darkstar Gorge¡¯s Enlighter, he still needed to head towards San Dios to fight for his life now.

    Over these two past days, he had tossed out more than a hundred tonnes of prium essence, leaving bits and pieces in many mining towns all across Shuta. Most of the pieces had been snatched up by the Nine Allied Nations and Darkstar Gorge.

    The two forces were very shocked that so much prium essence had appeared in such a short time frame of two days. They had searched the entire without finding any traces of prium essence being mined, which indicated that what had been found so far was only what the surface of the contained and that there was more hiding underground.

    The discovery of the prium essence caused Shuta to descend into chaos. Both the miners and the trial takers were subjected to a strict lockdown inside the mining towns, and every person was searched. At the same time, the conflict between the two organizations grew more intense.

    Darkstar Gorge did not have a very powerful presence on Shuta, but they had an Enlighter backing them.

    The Nine Allied Nations was located close to Shuta, so they were able to mobilize arge army in a short amount of time, but they had no Enlighter.

    With so much prium essence appearing, the Nine Allied Nations became certain that Darkstar Gorge¡¯s Enlighter, Elder Wu, would arrive soon. Thus, they requested assistance from Darkmist Weave¡¯s almighty Enlighter.

    Not long after Wendy Yushan appeared at East San Dios, Darkmist Weave¡¯s almighty Enlighter arrived on Shuta, and he happened tond in the mining town where Lu Yin happened to be.

    The others could not sense it, but Lu Yin could feel a mind-numbing strength envelop the town. This was something that he had not encountered just once.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy as he looked through the city. A dozen kilometers away, he could see a majestic amount of rune lines, and there were about as many as Lei Long¡¯s. Sure enough, an Enlighter had arrived. This town was under the control of the Nine Allied Nations, so this should be the Enlighter from Darkmist Weave. If that was the case, then the Enlighter powerhouse from Darkstar Gorge should be arriving soon.

    Above the, Elder Wu received an updated report on the situation on Shuta. Unexpectedly, Darkstar Gorge had managed to seize dozens of tonnes of prium essence from the regions that it controlled. This was simply mind-boggling. The Nine Allied Nations had collected a simr amount, which meant that over a hundred tonnes of prium essence had been mined. Besides that, this prium was just on the surface, and nobody knew how much prium essence the depths of the might yield. They had to capture the person who had discovered the location of this mine. No price was too high.

    Tossing out a hundred tonnes of prium essence was only enough to lure the Enlighters to Shuta. Killing these Enlighters would require Lu Yin to take other measures. He stared at the boundless rune lines, and his eyes gradually turned cold. His advantage was that he was still hidden.

    These people had gone through a lot of trouble to lure Lu Yin out, but now, it was no longer certain who was the hunter and who was the prey.

    At East San Dios, Wendy Yushan appeared inside the tower, where Puyu and Liu Shaoge were waiting for her.

    ¡°We wee your safe arrival, Wendy.¡± Puyu stood up and happily looked at her.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s expression was strange.

    Wendy Yushan directed an indifferent face to Puyu. ¡°Start the meeting.¡±

    Puyu smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Right, Wendy, did Lu Yin stay in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Wendy Yushan duly replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t hee with you?¡± Puyu felt this was strange.

    Wendy Yushan frowned. ¡°He isn¡¯t a councilor. He was only a temporary stand-in. Since I¡¯ve returned, there¡¯s no need for him to attend these meetings any more.¡±

    At this time, she looked at Puyu. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you hate him? Were you actually hoping that he woulde?¡±

 Chapter 551: All Sorts of Methods

    <h4>Chapter 551: All Sorts of Methods</h4>

    Puyu nodded, ¡°I hated him in the past, but now that the Innerverse and the Outerverse have been separated, our council no longer has the support of the Innerverse. Naturally, this has resulted in our influence over the Outerverse dropping. In particr, those Enlighters who¡¯ve gotten stuck in the Outerverse will just ignore us. I¡¯m hoping that Lu Yin can join the council so that he can act as a deterrent with his ability to kill Enlighters.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression turned frosty. ¡°If he doese, then the first thing he¡¯ll do is kill you.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s face went nk, and then it fell.

    Liu Shaoge tried to smooth things over. ¡°There¡¯s no hatred that can¡¯t be resolved. Moreover, Councilor Puyu and Brother Lu don¡¯t have a terribly deep hatred, and besides, the most important thing right now is the council¡¯s authority and safety, right? Councilor Puyu?¡±

    Puyu¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°That¡¯s right. Wendy, the council has given you a great deal of support. If not for the council, then you might not have been able to escape from the Ross Empire in one piece after breaking past their border. Also, White Knight has also shown a great deal of kindness to you. I hope that you can assume some responsibility and help protect the council during this crucial time.¡±

    Wendy Yushan indifferently replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to say anything more. I wouldn¡¯t havee otherwise.¡±

    Puyu nodded, and his eyes twinkled, as he did not intend to act against Wendy Yushan right away. She was valuable because of the Yu Secret Art, and right now, no one knew how the secret technique was passed on. As long as Lu Yin wasn¡¯t with her, Wendy could be taken care of at any time. At this moment, Puyu was honestly considering the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s state of affairs; he hadn¡¯t been lying. At present, the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s influence was plummeting, and the clearest indication of that was the number of people leaving the council.

    Once the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s influence disappeared entirely, Puyu would be nothing more than some youth from Darkstar Gorge who had an innate gift. If he came across any Enlighters, then he would be at their mercy, but the truth was that no one would even bother looking at him.

    He hoped to obtain the secret technique and control Wendy Yushan. The best method would be to use Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique to entice an Enlighter over to help the Outerverse Youth Council, which would be perfect.

    The current situation in the Outerverse had practically rendered any status or position one might hold hollow and useless. Right now, Enlighters were the greatest backers one could hope for.

    ¡­

    On Shuta, as fierce winds raged and high temperatures distorted the horizon, a strong gale pushed along a heat wave that caused the ground to be even more parched.

    Lu Yin slowly bent over and looked ahead. There was a massive mine in front of him.

    Originally, there had been miners working there, but now, they had been locked down in a local town just like everyone else. At the moment, there was not a single soul in the mine, though there was a single squadron standing guard at the entrance.

    Lu Yin was able to easily enter the mine without anyone noticing him. He buried a hundred tonnes of prium essence in the deepest portion of the mine and then ced the sourcebox that he had found in Lei Long¡¯s cosmic ring in the center before leaving the mine again. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to take at least one down. Otherwise, everything will have been wasted.¡±

    The area where this mine was located was in a region of the that was controlled by Darkstar Gorge, and the investigation of a nearby mining town had already beenpleted. About a day after the lockdown was lifted, the prium essence at the bottom of the mine was discovered.

    The discovery of the prium essence shocked Darkstar Gorge, and with such arge quantity of prium essence waiting to be mined, Darkstar Gorge¡¯s soldiers immediately moved to seal off the mine. Unfortunately, it was toote as the Nine Allied Nations had already learned of it. The Enlighter from Darkmist Weave rushed to the mine as soon as possible.

    Lu Yin was hidden underground, anxious. He did not want to deal with this person, but rather with Elder Wu from Darkstar Gorge. The longer this Enlighter could live for, the better, as he would be able to restrict Elder Wu. Lu Yin felt like he could only me himself for burying the prium essence too shallowly. No, those miners should be med for being too eager with their work. Also, Elder Wu had appeared toote.

    Hang on. Lu Yin suddenly felt something was not right. With an Enlighter¡¯s power and speed, Elder Wu should have already arrived at Shuta from Darkstar Gorge.

    Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy and looked around and then beneath the mine. Once he looked down, he saw a majestic amount of rune lines. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Sure enough, Elder Wu had already arrived, but had hidden himself.

    The old fogey was really sneaky.

    The Enlighter from Darkmist Weave casually waved a hand and swept the troops from Darkstar Gorge aside, exposing the massive amount of prium essence that was in the mine. The powerhouse was shrouded in a ck mist as he descended. Soon, his cold voice rumbled out. ¡°Keep mining.¡±

    The miners within trembled, but they didn¡¯t dare to disobey him.

    There was a total of a hundred tonnes of prium essence, and Lu Yin hadn¡¯t buried it very deeply, nor in any sort of specialized way. Many of the miners had noticed these details, but nobody dared to speak up to the Enlighter.

    That Enlighter from Darkmist Weave stored the prium essence that had already been mined into his cosmic ring. The entire time, he asionally nced at the sky, as if he was wary of something.

    Lu Yin marvelled at Elder Wu¡¯s methods. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s altered eyes, he would never have discovered that the old fogey had hidden himself either, and the Enlighter from Darkmist Weave was obviously unable to notice anything at the moment.

    With a bang, a miner¡¯s pickaxe struck against a metal chest, and since he used too much force, his tool was flung out of his hands, crashing into the ground. The miner looked at the ground curiously and the other miners also looked over.

    Darkmist Weave¡¯s Enlighter¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Dig it out.¡±

    The miner picked up his tool and continued mining. Soon enough, theplete chest was dug out, and Elder Wu looked at it from the darkness. This thing had obviously been buried by somebody, but what could be so valuable that someone would bury it inside a pile of prium essence?

    There were no Lockbreakers present, as any Lockbreaker would be able to immediately recognize that the chest was made up of spiritual thread, which meant that a sourcebox was inside it. However, neither Elder Wu nor that Darkmist Weave almighty expert could see this.

    Since an unknown time ago, the ground had been permeated with traces of a ck mist, including the area where Elder Wu had hidden underground.

    Elder Wu¡¯s attention was held by the chest, and Darkmist Weave¡¯s Enlighter¡¯s gaze suddenly turned sharp as he shifted his gaze to stare at the direction where Elder Wu was hiding. ¡°ck Stab.¡± The ck mist in the ground abruptly condensed into iparably sharp spikes that pierced towards the void in the area, instantly killing many of the miners. Elder Wu was also stabbed by these ck thorns, and they pierced his thigh and his abdomen.

    ¡°Despicable, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist!¡± Elder Wu shouted as he charged up from beneath the ground towards Darkmist Weave¡¯s Enlighter, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist sneered. ¡°Old fogey, did you really think that I wouldn¡¯t notice you hiding there? Topete in assassination techniques with my Darkmist Weave, you¡¯re still toocking.¡±

    The ck mist then gleamed as it formed together and swept towards Elder Wu while causing all of Shuta to start shaking.

    Elder Wu was not weak, either, and he raised a hand to block the ck light. The two Enlighters had started their battle in the mine.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this was too treacherous! The two¡¯s moves were each more sinister than thest. Elder Wu had arrived earlier and arranged an ambush, but that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist guy had been even more sneaky. He had obviously discovered Elder Wu earlier, but the old man had pretended not to notice anything, only toter ambush Elder Wu first. These old men were truly talented individuals since they had been able to be Enlighters.

    Lu Yin was suddenly delighted that he had an unexinable method like Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Whether it had been <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika or Lei Long, he would not have been able to deal with either of them by himself as both of them had been too astute.

    Unfortunately, the method of using Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide would not hold up against schemes in the dark. Lu Yin raised a hand and lightly tapped out, and a wind shot through the void before striking against the chest. In that instant, Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist discovered Lu Yin¡¯s existence while the chest was opened.

    The sourcebox within the chest released an invisible killing intent, which was something that even Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor could barely withstand. His armor had been upgraded so many times that it had reached the point where it could withstand Enlighters¡¯ attacks. Thus, the danger from the sourcebox could actually rival an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had not expected that a third person had been plotting against them in the dark. After all, they were two Enlighters! Besides that, the culprit was obviously not even an Explorer.

    Not even an Explorer? Elder Wu¡¯s face changed, as that meant that it could be no one other than Lu Yin. The Enlighter quickly put some things together: Wendy Yushan had gone to East San Dios, but Lu Yin had clearly not remained behind in the Great Yu Empire. Instead, he hadid some prium essence down on Shuta to lure them over so that the threat facing Wendy Yushan would be reduced.

    However, Elder Wu¡¯s realizations were toote. The terrifying danger from the sourcebox had already enveloped the entire mine, and it only continued to spread out from there.

    Lu Yin stared at the sourcebox and saw the rapidly expanding rune lines. Sure enough, the amount that he saw from this sourcebox surpassed even how many Enlighters like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long had. Elder Wu¡¯s and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s rune lines were alsocking inparison, and they were trapped within the sourcebox¡¯s killing aura.

    The two powerhouses instantaneously stopped, and neither of them dared to move about haphazardly. They remained in ce. With their experience, they were able to sense danger even if they could not see it.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s face had turned very ugly. ¡°This is a sourcebox! Not only that, this kind of formless danger is something that only a Boundless Advanced sourcebox would have. This is something that only a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker can deal with.¡±

    Elder Wu looked around. ¡°Junior,e out! I know it¡¯s you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist barked, ¡°Who?¡±

    Elder Wu deeply replied, ¡°Frostwave Weave¡¯s Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was shocked, but then he recalled the person. ¡°That brat who killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long?¡±

    Elder Wu had an ugly expression. He suddenly took a step back as the void where he had just been standing was pierced through.

    ¡°Why is Lu Yin on Shuta?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist asked as he stared intently at Elder Wu.

    Elder Wu did not answer. Instead, he released his star energy to search for Lu Yin.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist did not ask anything else. If Elder Wu had been able to guess the details so quickly, then it meant that this matter was definitely rted to him and also that it would be useless to ask the man anything else. They had already been cast into the middle of the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger, but this level was insufficient to kill the two of them. They were more worried about the method that Lu Yin had used to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long.

    ¡°Lu Yin, your Frostwave Weave and my Darkmist Weave have no enmity, and I won¡¯t participate in the grudge that you have with this old man. Let me leave, and I¡¯ll guarantee that I won¡¯t spread news of what happened here today,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist dered loudly.

    Elder Wu bellowed, ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, you¡¯re an Enlighter yourself, so why treat a junior in such a manner? This sourcebox is no danger to us. In no more than ten minutes, we can get away from this ce. There¡¯s no way this brat can deal with two Enlighters simultaneously.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I have never interfered in grudges between others, and I won¡¯t in the future either. Moreover, you and I are enemies, and I actually hope that you die here.¡±

    Elder Wu was furious. This mouse only knew how to ambush from the dark, but even as an Enlighter, he was still so timid.

    Lu Yin coldly watched the two bicker, and he focused on the two Enlighters¡¯ feet. Their positions had drifted quite a bit from the beginning. He sneered. These two old folks were deliberately trying to make a scene to divert his attention while they escaped from the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone. However, it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.

    As he thought about their actions, Lu Yin took out another chest and threw it right between Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°Two seniors, here¡¯s another gift for you.¡±

    When they saw another chest appear, the expressions on both men¡¯s faces changed greatly.

    ¡°Younger Brother Lu, I have no grudges with you, so don¡¯t make a mistake and kill a good person!¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist shouted, appearingpletely terrified. The longer one lived for, therger their fear of death might be, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist perfectly fit this pattern. Otherwise, he would not have specialized in battle techniques that focused on ambushing from the dark. He was frightened of death.

 Chapter 552: The Third

    <h4>Chapter 552: The Third</h4>

    Elder Wu¡¯s face sank. ¡°Junior, I acknowledge my defeat. As long as you leave Shuta, we¡¯ll write off everything from before. You have my word that, from now on, Darkstar Gorge will not cause any trouble for you and that we will allow you to be a formal representative of East San Dios.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist also spoke up, saying, ¡°I can also promise that you¡¯ll be a formal representative of San Dios. I will also promise that Darkmist Weave will always be a friend of your Frostwave Weave, just as you and I will be friends.¡±

    When it came to his survival, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had no sense of shame.

    ¡°Seniors, your conditions are very attractive. Unfortunately, this junior¡¯s afraid of dying, so I can¡¯t really trust you.¡± Lu Yin then tapped out and a gust of wind struck the second chest, opening it as well.

    Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist stared at the chest with bulging eyes. As soon as another formless danger burst forth, they would have to suffer heavy injuries in order to retreat.

    The box fully opened, but this one was empty. There wasn¡¯t a sourcebox inside. Instead, a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had been stuck inside the box, and when the two Enlighters saw it, they felt their minds be jostled. Lu Yin took this opportunity to aim and fire his gun, first at Elder Wu, and then again at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    Two shots were fired out, and Elder Wu¡¯s head instantly exploded. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s head also exploded, but it then dissipated into a dark mist. Lu Yin¡¯s shot had missed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted as he stared at the dissipating mist in shock. What had just happened? He had clearly aimed at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s head, but his head turned into a dark mist.

    The dark mist that had taken the ce of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist dissipated. Then, Lu Yin clearly saw <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s true appearance and was stunned. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was only a meter tall!

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist came to his senses, as his head had cleared by the second gunshot. He saw the ck mist fading away above his head, and he stared at Lu Yin in fear. ¡°Junior, I nearly died at your hands!¡±

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. ¡°Is this your real body?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist suddenly leaped up. The formless danger from the sourcebox caused multiple wounds to appear on his arm and legs. But before he was able topletely avoid the sourcebox¡¯s invisible danger, his body was struck, and he crashed heavily to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at the sourcebox within the chest in fear. He then looked back at Lu Yin with an icy re.

    Lu Yin gripped his gun tightly and pointed it at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. This old fart was too devious. He was clearly only one meter tall, but he had pretended to be two meters tall and managed to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s killing shot. It was troubling.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist raised a hand. ¡°Junior, I don¡¯t want to be enemies with you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°There are so many Enlighters from the Innerverse who are stuck in the Outerverse, and those people are the ones who are our true enemy. Junior, I¡¯ll look forward to cooperating with you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist then leaped up and tore through the void to leave.

    Lu Yin stared closely at the void, and he only lowered his gun after he could verify that the rune lines had disappeared. His palms were sweaty.

    When Enlighters were vignt, it was too difficult to kill them. This wily old fox had plotted specially to ambush Elder Wu, and he had even yed Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, won¡¯t that old fart spread information about you?¡± The Ghost Monkey was worried.

    Lu Yin was also worried, as it would be hard to continually use these methods to kill another Enlighter if they were revealed to the universe. During this ambush, both his gun and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had been exposed. ¡°Just ignore him. So what if he releases it. There¡¯s no way that he could have recognized Progenitor Wushang''s hide, so all he knows is that I have a means to daze Enlighters, and that¡¯s enough. Otherwise, he would not have left.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. There are only a few people in this universe who can recognize Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Even that Sea King might not be able to.¡±

    Elder Wu was dead. Lu Yin had removed the threat of Darkstar Gorge that had been hanging over his head. Now, there was only the Schr Newmoon left. Lu Yin looked up. He hoped that the Schr Newmoon had not made his move to capture Wendy yet. He had to rush over to her.

    It took him half a day of work to shut the chest and encase the sourcebox once again. After that, he grabbed the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide and walked over to Elder Wu¡¯s corpse. This was the third Enlighter that he had killed.

    This was a shocking battle record, as even the top ten experts in the Top Hundred Rankings would find it almost impossible to kill an Enlighter, and yet Lu Yin had done it multiple times.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, where did that gun of yourse from? That thing can even kill an Enlighter,¡± the monkey asked in an odd tone. He had been wondering about this for a long time.

    ¡°It¡¯s something that I got during lockbreaking. It¡¯s some kind of an ancient item,¡± Lu Yin answered simply as he squatted down to retrieve Elder Wu¡¯s cosmic ring, as well as the dead man¡¯s blood. He then collected all of the prium essence that was left on the ground and he moved to leave.

    ¡°Obtained through lockbreaking? An ancient item? That can¡¯t be. I am very knowledgeable in the field of archaeology. One look is enough to tell that that gun is not ancient.¡± The monkey voiced his doubts.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether or not you want to believe me.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s reply was straightforward.

    The monkey was helpless, as he had already promised numerous times that he would not betray Lu Yin, and yet, no matter what, Lu Yin did not trust him. The monkey couldn¡¯t even be bothered to kick up a fuss about it any more.

    News of Elder Wu¡¯s death would not spread quickly. Even if Elder Wu went missing, no one would think that he had died. For now, Lu Yin needed to get in touch with Wendy Yushan and find out what the situation at San Dios was looking like.

    Suddenly, he felt a powerful pressureing from off in the distance. Lu Yin looked up as his eyes filled with star energy, staring into the distance, where he saw an enormous number of rune lines. Although they could notpare with an Enlighter, they were not too far from it. These rune lines were from a peak Hunter.

    This pressure came from the region that was under Darkstar Gorge¡¯s control. Another expert from that power had arrived on the.

    Lu Yin hurriedly concealed his star energy and then used only his physical strength to run across the ground towards his hidden spacecraft.

    Very soon after, the void where Lu Yin had just been was torn open, and a man with a sullen face walked out. Strangely, his eyes were tightly shut.

    He sensed the air for a moment and then headed in the direction that Lu Yin had escaped.

    It was a trivial task for the Hunter to catch up to Lu Yin in terms of speed, but Lu Yin had concealed his star energy while the man had notprehended a domain. Thus, he was not able to sense Lu Yin even when he used his star energy to search the space in front of him. Also, Lu Yin¡¯s domain enabled him to merge with his surroundings.

    Underground, beneath a giant worm¡¯s corpse, Lu Yin looked upwards through the crevices in the ground. He saw the Hunter from Darkstar Gorge appear, only to vanish shortly after. Lu Yin had an ugly expression on his face, as this person was moving about with his eyes tightly closed. Evidently, this person knew about Progenitor Wushang''s hide. It had to be <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. Aside from that old Enlighter, there was no one else who knew that Lu Yin could use the hide to stun powerhouses.

    That devious sly old fox, Lu Yin mentally cursed.

    The other party had clearly made their own preparations, and they had even sent a peak Hunter. Lu Yin¡¯s gun was powerful, but that did not mean that his attack would definitely connect. If he wasn¡¯t able to stun this Hunter, then it would be pointless to shoot at him. Even if the universal armor could block the Hunter¡¯s attacks, that didn¡¯t mean that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist wouldn¡¯t suddenly return and ambush him. That old fogey was very crafty, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t have enough confidence in the armor to face him at this time.

    He needed to first find a better means of escaping from this. And afterwards, he could think about his revenge.

    Lu Yin found some time to transmit an image of Elder Wu¡¯s death to Wendy Yushan, and then he headed towards his hidden spacecraft while traveling underground.

    It was not easy to avoid pursuit and make it to his spacecraft. He could have gotten there quickly if he had flown, but he had to rely only on his physical strength to forcefully travel through the soil. It was difficult to cover such a distance, and it would take Lu Yin at least a couple of days.

    Several dayster, atop the tower at East San Dios, Puyu was looking down. The meeting hadsted for a few days, and what had needed to be said had already been said. There was only one matter remaining, which was to force Wendy Yushan to hand her secret technique over and then draw out Lu Yin. As long as they were able to kill Lu Yin and get their hands on the secret technique, Darkstar Gorge¡¯s power would soar, and they would be guaranteed a strong ally in the Schr Newmoon.

    ¡°You¡¯re still not going to act? She¡¯s about to leave.¡± Liu Shaoge stepped up onto the tower and sat down casually.

    Puyu kept his back to the new arrival. ¡°Do you think that I will be the one to act?¡±

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s brows rose. ¡°There¡¯s someone else?¡±

    Puyu¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°They¡¯ll arrive shortly.¡±

    Darkstar Gorge wasn¡¯t the only power that had made arrangements to deal with Lu Yin, as Schr Newmoon was determined to do so as well. Although Elder Wu had gone to Shuta, Schr Newmoon had followed the original n and traveled to East San Dios. He greatly desired the secret technique, and he also felt a need to kill Lu Yin. Elder Wu had been aware that the Schr Newmoon would act, so he had been at ease when he headed to Shuta. However, Puyu wasn¡¯t certain what methods Elder Wu had used to guarantee that Schr Newmoon would share the secret technique after obtaining it.

    Wendy Yushan was staying in a courtyard. After receiving the picture confirming Elder Wu¡¯s death, she knew that it was time to leave. She hade to San Dios this time for two reasons. First of all, she was trying to act responsibly. The second reason was to resolve their current crisis. She and Lu Yin could not allow this conflict to reach the Frostwave Weave, and now that Elder Wu had died, it was time for her to return home.

    As for the Outerverse Youth Council, it was unavoidable that it¡¯s power would decline. With Enlighters running about the Outerverse and the council cut off from the support of the Ten Arbiters, it was inevitable that the power dynamic of the entire Outerverse would change. Unless the council was supported by more than just one Enlighter, it¡¯s power would gradually fade away.

    Although Wendy Yushan had never bothered with the council¡¯s internal matters, it had shown her a kindness that she would not forget. In the future, once she became unrivalled in the Outerverse with her secret technique, she would once again rebuild the Outerverse Youth Council out of gratitude towards the Ten Arbiters Council.

    With the secret technique, Wendy no longer doubted her strength in the future unless, of course, she died prematurely.

    She left the courtyard and observed her surroundings. Despite the fact that the council was already on the path to decline, no one would dare to touch them in this ce. A declining power was one thing, but no one could know for certain that the Innerverse and the Outerverse would remain separated forever. There woulde a day when the two regions would reconnect, and at that time, whoever acted against Wendy Yushan would have to face the punishment of the Ten Arbiters. No one was willing to take such a risk.

    Closeby, there was a bang as a woman fell down. She held her forehead as she stood up. ¡°Pain, pain¡­¡±

    Wendy Yushan nced over. ¡°Zhao Ran, do you remember Lu Yin?¡±

    Zhao Ran stood up with a dazed expression. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    She pondered the question for a while, but then her eyes lit up. She opened a piece of paper that was hanging from her neck and looked at it. ¡°I remember now! Lu Yin, he brought me here. He¡¯s a good person.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at the girl. ¡°Do you want to leave this ce with me? I¡¯ll take you to see him.¡±

    Zhao Ran thought about it, but then she shook her head and answered in a downcast voice, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I lose my memory often, so I¡¯m a burden. I don¡¯t want to be a burden to him.¡±

    Wendy Yushan wanted to reply, but a kind-looking elder in white robes slowly walked over in front of her.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze trembled when she saw the man, and she pushed Zhao Ran behind her while vigntly watching the elder. ¡°The Ross Empire¡¯s Schr Newmoon.¡±

    This elder was the Schr Newmoon. ¡°Your Highness Wendy Yushan, it¡¯s been some time.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve met before?¡± she asked coldly.

    He smiled faintly. ¡°When you trespassed within the Ross Empire, I personally witnessed your battle, but I did not intervene.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What are you here for?¡±

    Schr Newmoon sternly answered, ¡°The secret technique... and Lu Yin.¡±

 Chapter 553: Might Of The Secret Technique

    <h4>Chapter 553: Might Of The Secret Technique</h4>

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes flickered with killing intent. ¡°Why do you want to kill Lu Yin?¡±

    Schr Newmoon sighed. ¡°If I don¡¯t kill him, then what will happen to us Enlighters¡¯ dignity? Right now, a mere Limiteer has been falsely dered to be the nemesis of Enlighters. It¡¯s too presumptuous.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you guys who went too far,¡± she coldly retorted.

    Schr Newmoon smiled. ¡°Is that so? You¡¯re still young, so you don¡¯t understand. When you reach my position, the universe¡¯s rules be unimportant. Resources belong to the universe¡ªnot to an individual, and not a certain power either. If I need it, then I can take it for my use. Is that too difficult to understand?¡±

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re called a schr, you still believe in methods such as robbing by force,¡± Wendy Yushan berated.

    Schr Newmoon shook his head and sighed again. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, and I don¡¯t expect you to either. Alright, pass me the secret technique, and I can spare your life. I may even take you as my disciple.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s right hand clenched the hilt of her sword while her left clutched the Money Bomb.

    In a distant tower, Puyu and Liu Shaoge watched the events unfold. Puyu confidently said, ¡°Things be more certain when an Enlighter senior takes action.¡±

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes flickered; nobody could tell what he was thinking.

    Inside the courtyard, Wendy Yushan pushed Zhao Ran to the side. ¡°Get far away and don¡¯te close to this ce!¡±

    Zhao Ran ignorantly walked out of the courtyard.

    Schr Newmoon sized Wendy up and down. ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯m not despicable enough to use amoner to threaten you. Furthermore, it wouldn¡¯t be worth my time to threaten you. Enough, don¡¯t force me to move. You should already know the disparity between you and an Enlighter.¡±

    Wendy Yushan unsheathed her sword and shed out at Schr Newmoon. She had decided to use her actions to express her resolution. Schr Newmoon simply shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself.¡±

    He then raised an arm and grabbed at the air in front of him with one hand. Wendy Yushan had used Ten Thousand Swords in One, and her sword qi nearly split the void apart. However, it was easily shattered when Schr Newmoon simply made a grabbing motion. The star energy in his palm then expanded to form a giant palm that grabbed at her.

    Wendy Yushan was only an Explorer, and the disparity between her and an Enlighter was too great. Not even her strongest sword qi could break through Schr Newmoon¡¯s star energy.

    As she watched the giant palm grab at her, Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Yu Secret Art¡ªVoid Transfer.¡±

    As Wendy let out a cry, the giant hand that had been formed by Schr Newmoon¡¯s star energy disappeared, only to instantly reappear in front of the Enlighter himself. Wendy Yushan had redirected his attack against the man himself.

    Schr Newmoon was astounded; so this was a secret technique. His gaze grew passionate.

    In the distance, both Puyu and Liu Shaoge were stunned by what they had just seen. An Explorer had actually managed to divert an Enlighter¡¯s attack! This was a secret technique, which could transform something rotten into something miraculous.

    Schr Newmoon casually waved a hand, causing the giant star energy palm to disappear. He looked at Wendy Yushan with unprecedented anticipation. ¡°No wonder. It really is a secret technique. Give it to me, and I give my word that I won¡¯t make things difficult for you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan suddenly activated her gadget and brought up something on the screen. A headless corpse was suddenly shown. ¡°Schr Newmoon, do you recognize this person?¡±

    Schr Newmoon frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t have any connections in the Outerverse, so there¡¯s no point in trying to use someone else¡¯s life to threaten me.¡±

    Wendy Yushan continued coldly, ¡°That¡¯s Elder Wu.¡±

    Schr Newmoon¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Impossible!¡±

    As he continued to stare at the image on the screen, his expression gradually changed to one of shock. Puyu also came down from high above in the tower and stared at the image in astonishment. ¡°It¡¯s the n elder! The n elder!¡±

    Schr Newmoon looked at Puyu with a cold face. ¡°Are you certain that that¡¯s Elder Wu?¡±

    Puyu nodded in a daze. ¡°It¡¯s the n elder.¡±

    Schr Newmoon looked at Wendy Yushan. ¡°Who killed him?¡±

    ¡°Who else?¡± Wendy Yushan proudly retorted. She raised her de towards Schr Newmoon once again. ¡°He¡¯ll be here soon. You can wait around if you want to die. You can be the fourth Enlighter corpse he creates.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! That kid caught <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long off guard, but Elder Wu made preparations beforehand. How could a prepared Enlighter possibly be killed by that brat? That¡¯s fake!¡± Schr Newmoon barked.

    Wendy Yushan put her gadget away. ¡°You can judge for yourself whether or not it¡¯s fake. Anyway, he¡¯s on his way here.¡±

    Schr Newmoon¡¯s face changed, and he stared intensely at the girl. In contrast, Puyu¡¯s expression turned venomous as he was absolutely certain that that image showed Elder Wu¡¯s body. The only Enlighter from Darkstar Gorge had just perished, which was a huge loss to Darkstar Gorge. During these many years, they had offended too many forces. As soon as news of Elder Wu¡¯s death was released, Darkstar Gorge would be in trouble. They could not allow Wendy Yushan to leave this ce alive.

    ¡°Senior, it will take some time for Lu Yin to arrive, and he definitely cannot deal with Enlighters that easily. You can use this time to capture this woman and then use her to control Lu Yin. You might even be able to get a hold of the item that he uses to kill Enlighters,¡± Puyu suggested.

    Schr Newmoon¡¯s eyes shed, and his body suddenly vanished. Wendy Yushan knew that something was amiss, and she directly shot her Money Bomb in a direction where no one could be seen. A beam of light shot out of the Money Bomb, and the next moment, Schr Newmoon appeared behind Wendy with a hand stretched out to grab her. ¡°How powerful. That must be what helped you people kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long. It¡¯s too bad for you that I¡¯ve been on my guard this entire time.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s left hand waved through the air. ¡°Yu Secret Art¡ªVoid Transfer.¡± The next moment, the light beam that had shot towards nothing suddenly vanished, and Schr Newmoon¡¯s face changed.

    Not good! He tried to flee into the void again, but a beam of light appeared right in front of him and shot straight through his abdomen, sting him into the ground. His body continued on, traveling straight through San Dios until it was flung down to the Prairie me Continent.

    Schr Newmoon had forgotten one thing: the Yu Secret Art could redirect attacks from others, but naturally, it could also shift the user¡¯s own attacks. Wendy Yushan had known that the Enlighter had been on guard against the Money Bomb, and so, she had intentionally shot it into an empty spot to encourage him to show himself. His eagerness had provided the best opportunity for her attack to make her true strike.

    The oue had shown that she had made the right gamble. The Money Bomb¡¯s attack was not something that could be easily withstood, and Schr Newmoon would at least suffer heavy injuries if he managed to survive.

    Everything had happened too suddenly. Schr Newmoon had vanished and reappeared, only to be smacked towards the Prairie me Continent.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s long sword struck out, and her sword qi streaked through the void towards Puyu. He was still lost in a daze, but he raised his arm when he saw the sword qi approaching him. His entire arm suddenly turned into metal before transforming into a sharp spear. Green veins soon spread across it while a blue outline covered it. Puyu had seven lined battle force.

    There was a crash, and Puyu¡¯s arm shifted as he broke off the sword qi. He coldly stared at Wendy Yushan. ¡°You want to deal with me? Don¡¯t forget that my ranking is higher than yours!¡±

    He leaped up and dashed towards her.

    After the great changes in the universe, they could no longer tear through the void like before. However, Puyu¡¯s speed was something that the average powerhouse could not even see, and it was not much different than someone directly tearing through the void.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze shifted to her right, and she shed out with her sword. There was a bang as a powerful shockwave swept out in all directions.

    Outside the courtyard, Barley and the other subordinate council members hurriedly retreated, alongside the few cultivators who had not returned to the Innerverse in time. The force of the shockwave created a sharp wave ofpressed air that swept across all of San Dios and sliced the ground open.

    Wendy Yushan took several steps back, and Puyu howled savagely. His left arm suddenly morphed again, now taking the form of a sharp hook that stabbed out at Wendy Yushan. She blocked his attack with the edge of her sword and then spun the de around in an attempt to cut Puyu¡¯s neck off. He didn¡¯t dodge, as instead, his neck turned to metal. There was a harsh screeching sound when the sword struck his neck, but Wendy Yushan¡¯s attack had been fruitless. On the other hand, while Wendy sliced at his neck, Puyu took the opportunity to counterattack, and the hook-shaped weapon that had reced his hand stabbed right into her shoulder. There was a dreadful ripping sound as blood was scattered all across the ground. Wendy¡¯s shoulder had been injured, and a massive piece of her flesh had been torn off of her body.

    Puyu¡¯s arm returned to its original appearance, but now, his hand was covered with her blood. ¡°There¡¯s a tremendous difference in our strength. On Pyrolyte, you weren¡¯t even able to beat Nightking Gu, so what makes you think that you can handle me?¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s left hand was holding her right shoulder while emitting a faint halo of light. She was healing herself.

    Puyu snorted as his arm turned back into a hook that shot towards her. She sliced out multiple times: each sh was Ten Thousand Swords in One, and each attack carried a strength that could instantly kill the someone at the level of Zhanbing Daynight. Even if Puyu was confident in being able to block all these sword qi attacks, he would never face such a thing head on, so he dodged the sword attacks.

    There was a bang, and San Dios quivered. Puyu¡¯s arm had been blocked by Wendy Yushan¡¯s raised sword. While blocking his arm, she waved her left hand. When Puyu saw this, his eyes narrowed. Not good, it¡¯s the secret technique!

    Puyu pulled back without thinking, right as a sword qi attack sliced across the ce where he had just stood, barely managing to snip the clothes at his waist.

    Puyu felt fear and was d that he had excellent reflexes. However, things weren¡¯t over yet. Wendy Yushan had unleashed ten consecutive sword attacks, and all of them were diverted to drown Puyu.

    San Dios trembled intensely as smoke and dust rose into the sky.

    Everyone stared nkly at the fight. It had been a very long time since there hadst been such an intense battle here. Both of these two were among the top twenty experts of the Top Hundred Rankings.

    Wendy Yushan was panting as she worked to heal her shoulder. All the while, she stared at the area where she had attacked Puyu.

    A gust of wind blew past them and carried the smoke away to reveal Puyu. He was in a pathetic state, as Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword qi was not something that could be easily withstood, and even Puyu would be injured if directly struck. He was not Nightking Gu either, and he did not have anything like the Nightking¡¯s Body with strong defenses and recovery abilities. Even though he had managed to withstand Wendy¡¯s attacks with his battle force and innate gift, the attacks had managed to affect his organs. The trickle of fresh blood was quite eye-grabbing as it rolled down the corner of his lips.

    Lu Yin had previously guessed that Wendy Yushan could use the secret technique to challenge the top fifteen experts of the Top Hundred Rankings. Events had now shown that his estimate was not too far off. Right now, Wendy Yushan was able to face off against Puyu.

    Puyu had a gloomy face, and his eyes were venomous as they stared at Wendy Yushan. If not for her secret technique, he was confident in being able to defeat her, but unfortunately, a secret technique changed everything. He had now experienced the power of a secret technique for himself, and he felt an insatiable desire to acquire it.

    Suddenly, Wendy Yushan turned to the east. Right after she turned, Schr Newmoon tore through the void and reappeared. He was also in a pathetic state and didn¡¯t look much better than Puyu. In particr, his abdomen looked terrible and was covered with fresh blood. His face was ugly and pale.

    When she saw Schr Newmoon, Wendy took out another Money Bomb. Back on Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had given Wendy Yushan one when they had faced Nightking Gu and Long Yun. This one had not been upgraded, but Wendy still took it out at this time.

    Schr Newmoon¡¯s eyes changed when he saw the green box in her hand, and a deep fear could be seen in his eyes.

    This weapon by itself wasn¡¯t enough for him to feel threatened, but whenbined with Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique, Schr Newmoon was not fully confident in being able to deal with it. He had just experienced the power of a Money Bomb, and if not for his power vessel, then his injuries would have been far worse, and he might not have been able to return.

    ¡°Brat, do you think that I¡¯ll be struck by that again? You underestimate an Enlighter!¡± Schr Newmoon threatened.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she hefted the Money Bomb and pointed it towards an empty area. ¡°Do you want to try?¡±

 Chapter 554: Stronghold

    <h4>Chapter 554: Stronghold</h4>

    Schr Newmoon¡¯s eyes twitched, as he was feeling uncertain. In the end, he did not understand the Yu Secret Art, as the uniqueness of the secret technique was unfathomable. After countless years, secret techniques had reached an almost mythical status, and the more hidden and secretive something was, the greater the fear it would inspire. And when Schr Newmoon recalled the attack that he had forcefully endured from before, he fully believed that the secret technique would allow the attack from this second weapon to hit him as well. He was not confident in surviving a second attack like that.

    Schr Newmoon stared apprehensively at Wendy Yushan and the Money Bomb in her hand.

    Nearby, Puyu also simrly stared at her.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze was calm, and she showed no signs of panic. If she grew flustered, then it would be easy for her to get surrounded.

    At that moment, Liu Shaoge appeared. ¡°Councilor Wendy, when will Brother Lu arrive?¡±

    She coldly answered, ¡°Soon.¡±

    ¡°Are you still leaving?¡± Liu Shaoge felt puzzled.

    Her eyes narrowed. ¡°He¡¯ll take my ce and do the job of a councilor.¡±

    Liu Shaoge nodded. He then looked over at Puyu and smiled. ¡°Councilor Puyu, do you agree?¡±

    Puyu did not speak.

    Liu Shaoge looked back at Wendy Yushan. ¡°It would appear that Councilor Puyu does not agree. Councilor Wendy, you must remain here then.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was indifferent to his words. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not he agrees. When Lu Yin arrives, no one needs to think of leaving.¡±

    These words caused both Schr Newmoon and Puyu¡¯s faces to lose color. Lu Yin had already killed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long, and recently, they had learned that he had killed Elder Wu as well. Thus, his record was currently at three dead Enlighters. Nobody knew what methods he had used to achieve this, but they seemed to be rather sneaky. Schr Newmoon did not want to face this person without any preparations. Also, there would be Wendy Yushan aiding LuYin, and her secret technique was equally fearsome.

    With her current methods, she could fire the Money Bomb and have itnd on either Schr Newmoon or Puyu. Regardless, one of them would be unlucky, and this led Schr Newmoon to hesitate. He did not want to die, so he decided toe up with an alternative way to obtain the secret technique.

    Schr Newmoon left without saying another word.

    His departure made Puyu¡¯s face turn extremely ugly. Without Schr Newmoon, he felt like he would be dominated if he tried to face Wendy Yushan and that weapon in her hand by himself. He was alone.

    Wendy Yushan secretly rxed when she saw Schr Newmoon leave. He had been intimidated, which was good. It meant that this deadlock had ended. She would be safe as soon as she returned to the Great Yu Empire.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Puyu as killing intent radiated from her face.

    His expression changed. He kept a wary eye on her as he said, ¡°Wendy, you and I are both Outerverse Youth Council Councilors. My death will not do you any good.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes flickered, but then she suddenly looked at Liu Shaoge. ¡°Thank you for telling us about Elder Wu and Schr Newmoon¡¯s n. Our Great Yu Empire will remember this favor.¡± With that, she stored the Money Bomb away and flew out of San Dios.

    Liu Shaoge was stunned, as he had not expected Wendy Yushan to use this trick at the end.

    Puyu looked at Liu Shaoge, and his gaze changed once again to be iparably venomous. He finally turned to leave without saying another word.

    Liu Shaoge was helpless. He had wanted to borrow Lu Yin¡¯s strength at this time to get rid of Puyu, but neither of the two were fools. As soon as their impasse was resolved, both of them would cast Liu Shaoge aside.

    Liu Shaoge exhaled and shook his shoulders. His lips then rose. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    On Shuta, Lu Yin had suffered since he had spent thest several days traveling through the ground. Now, he had finally arrived at where he had hidden his spacecraft. By this time, there was more than one powerhouse from Darkstar Gorge who was searching for him. Aside from the peak Hunter he had initially seen, there were now at least two more Hunters searching for him.

    Lu Yin sat in the spacecraft and immediately activated it. The vessel trembled for a moment before it charged up into space.

    Not too far away, one of the Hunters saw the ascending spacecraft and immediately took action. At this time, Shuta had locked down all of the trial takers and miners, so the only person who could try to leave was Lu Yin.

    The Hunter unleashed countless attacks at the spacecraft in an attempt to strike Lu Yin down. However, Lu Yinbined his three Fatesands into a clump of soil that forcefully received all of the Hunter¡¯s attacks. Then, he fired his gun. The bullet distorted the void as it sped towards the Hunter with a powerful force that was enough to scare even Enlighters.

    The Hunter was overwhelmed and tried to dodge. When a powerhouse was prepared, the bullets¡¯ speed was not high enough to hit them. The Hunter sessfully evaded the bullet, and the attack continued on, striking the ground before piercing through the entire.

    Shuta started to grow unstable.

    But Lu Yin had no time to care about such a thing. At the same exact moment that the Hunter dodged aside, Lu Yin¡¯s vessel entered outer space, and he immediately charged towards the north.

    However, not long after Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft left the, another spacecraft rose up and chased after Lu Yin. This vessel was also a radiant-grade Aurora.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he was able to observe the number of rune lines from the spacecraft behind him, and he quickly realized that the peak Hunter was chasing after him. Lu Yin grew resentful, as they just wouldn¡¯t stop hounding him.

    This person had resolved to kill Lu Yin, so this was probably someone who had a special rtionship with Elder Wu. However, since both spacecraft were radiant-grade Auroras, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the Hunter to catch up to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s greatest current worry was that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist might publicly announce how he had managed to kill Enlighters. If that happened, then every Enlighter would be prepared for him. In that case, then forget Enlighters¡ªeven Hunters would be able to threaten Lu Yin. Even if they weren¡¯t able to break through the defenses of his universal armor, they would still be able to capture him.

    At that moment, his gadget beeped with a notification. It was a call from Wendy Yushan, and Lu Yin epted it.

    After some time, Lu Yin disconnected, lost in thought.

    She had shared what had happened with the battle at San Dios, and Lu Yin seemed to have awakened from slumber. He hadpletely forgotten about the Yu Secret Art! Even if powerhouses were vignt of Progenitor Wushang''s hide, they were incapable of defending themselves against the Yu Secret Art. Nobody could easily guard themselves against that secret technique, and if Lu Yin was with Wendy Yushan, then they could rely on her secret technique to entirely divert the gun¡¯s attacks to strike Enlighters. Whoever went against the two of them would be down on their luck.

    Lu Yin was thrilled. Wendy Yushan and he held no threat when they were alone, but together, his die¡¯s Enhance could upgrade weapons to the point of threatening powerhouses, and Wendy¡¯s Yu Secret Art could capitalize on that threat.

    As he was thinking, Lu Yin checked the star chart for a bit. He then sent Wendy Yushan a set of coordinates and asked her to wait at that location so that they could rendezvous.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist must have released Lu Yin¡¯s methods, and those Enlighters definitely would not let him go now. Even a Hunter had the guts to chase after him, let alone Enlighters.

    Lu Yin had to hurry up and join forces with Wendy Yushan. Then, they could teach those Enlighters another lesson on how to be human as well as how to conduct oneself.

    Right now, the more Lu Yin avoided confrontations, the more the Enlighters would believe that he had no confidence. They would dly head to the Great Yu Empire to cause him more trouble, and he expected more than one Enlighter to move. Only by standing up for themselves and showing these powerhouses that they were at the same level would they be able to cause the Enlighters in the Outerverse to grow apprehensive.

    Schr Newmoon would not release news of his defeat to anyone, so they would be forced to spread the news themselves. Lu Yin had more than one method to target Enlighters: his other iprehensible attack method was to use the secret technique.

    He turned around to see that the peak Hunter was still chasing after him. Lu Yin had programmed his ship to automatically travel towards the coordinates he had shared with Wendy so that he could meet with her. This unlucky fellow behind him would be useful for an experiment.

    The n was good, but Lu Yin had underestimated the power of Darkstar Gorge. As the organization at the helm of Adonis Weave and as one of the few powers in the Outerverse with an Enlighter, its people were spread all throughout the surrounding weaves.

    Lu Yin¡¯s route had long been determined, so there was a battleship waiting along his path.

    When Lu Yin saw it, his heart sank as he saw a light beam instantly shoot out to wee him.

    He was very familiar with such light beams. Back at Darkmist Weave¡¯s pirate port, he had been severely injured by one and knocked unconscious. After that, he had been left for dead as white meat on Driftcharge. Right now, he was facing the same kind of light beam, only this one was strong enough to kill even a Hunter.

    The difference between a Hunter¡¯s attacks and this light beam was that this beam covered arge area, which meant that not even Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand could block this attack. Besides, even if his Fatesand could block this beam, it wouldn¡¯t matter. There were numerous light beams shooting at him, and they covered almost the entire region of space around him.

    Boom!

    With a loud bang, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was destroyed. He donned his universal armor and stood tall in the vacuum of outer space as battleships appeared all around him. The Hunter who had been chasing after him finally caught up.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I¡¯ll take you to a,¡± the Ghost Monkey said. His shadow started pulling Lu Yin towards a nearby dark.

    The next moment, several more light beams swept through space, and one of them struck Lu Yin square on. This attack was not enough to break through the universal armor¡¯s defenses, but it did coincidentally hit him with enough momentum to shove him towards a different. This second had a very strange appearance. It was colored red all over, which was probably from magma. The core of this had already ruptured, but for some reason, the had not exploded yet.

    When he saw this, Lu Yin felt that it looked strangely familiar. The push from the light beam caused him to crash onto that¡¯s surface.

    The moment he hit the ground, Lu Yin remembered that this was one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strongholds in the Outerverse.

    Once, when he rolled six pips on his die, Possession, he had possessed the body of a high-ranking Specter n member. That person had known where quite a few of the Neohuman¡¯s Alliance strongholds were. These strongholds were scattered not only across the Innerverse, but also throughout the Starfall Sea, Cosmic Sea, and Outerverse. This¡¯s surface was unique in its appearance, which was why he had remembered this information so quickly.

    He remembered that the Specter n member¡¯s impression of this was that there were no living organisms here and that the seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed, which was why no one had any interest in this ce. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s stronghold was located in the core of this.

    His surroundings grew hotter as Lu Yin was thrust into the magma. All around him was a dark red color, but he filled his eyes with star energy and looked towards the core. But it was too far away, so he could not see it.

    At this moment, he was struck by a strong pressure wave from above. There was a powerful attack headed towards him. Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate and charged towards the core.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t get captured, or else things will get tough.¡± The monkey was growing anxious.

    Lu Yin quietly replied, ¡°They can¡¯t capture me.¡±

    There was a loud st, and the ground behind them exploded. The peak Hunter had arrived, and he kept his eyes closed as he swung his longsword at Lu Yin. The youth quickly dodged aside as the attack tore open the ground and opened up a fissure that led towards the center of the.

    Lu Yin hastened along the opening.

    The Hunter chased after him. This person was Elder Wu¡¯s son, and he was determined to take Lu Yin¡¯s blood in revenge.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin suddenly felt that his surroundings were no longer as scorchingly hot, and he knew that he was getting close to the core now. Another sharp attack struck out from behind him. He did not dodge this time and instead allowed the attack tond on his back, hitting him with a tremendous force thatunched him towards the core of the. With a loud crash, Lu Yin burst into a hollow environment. Before he could gather his senses, he felt himself crash into something else, and indistinctly heard a peculiar roar.

    Lu Yin moved. He heard a grating sound as his armor scraped against the ground beneath him. When he looked up, he saw a pair of scarlet eyes that were only centimeters away from him.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he immediately backed up, his face deathly pale. The monkey was simrly startled. ¡°What the-¡±

    In front of them was a Corpse King.

 Chapter 555: Strange Mummy

    <h4>Chapter 555: Strange Mummy</h4>

    The Corpse King¡¯s scarlet eyes stared at Lu Yin. Then, it raised its rotten arms and ruthlessly wed at Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin merely shoved it aside with a casual motion before taking a good look around. This ce appeared to be some kind ofb, and there was a massive hole above his head. He had forcefully entered this ce.

    There were quite a few blue crystals piled up around theb, which were energy crystals that could assist cultivators in using water-type battle techniques. Some Corpse Kings would eat these to obtain innate gifts.

    Previously, when he had been on Earth, Lu Yin had encountered one such Corpse King outside of Jinlin. These special Corpse Kings were what the Neohuman Alliance needed.

    This was indeed one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases.

    The ground trembled as more ash fell down from above. Lu Yin looked up and saw a considerable amount of rune lines converging. That peak Hunter from Darkstar Gorge had gotten tangled up with the Neohuman Alliance.

    Any Neohuman Alliance base would not be a simple ce, and each one would have at least a Hunter overseeing it. It would not be easy for this Hunter from Darkstar Gorge to wipe out this stronghold.

    The Corpse King roared again before it snarled at Lu Yin and dashed towards him. Lu Yin frowned and exerted a bit of his strength with one hand to instantly kill the Corpse King.

    Although the Neohuman Alliance could help Lu Yin deal with the powerhouse from Darkstar Gorge, the Neohuman Alliance itself was one of the human race¡¯s greatest enemies. Any Corpse King that one met had to be taken care of.

    Lu Yin burst out of theb and looked out. There were more than tenboratories in a row. He walked past each one, destroying the Corpse Kings within as he went by.

    When he reached thestb, he looked up. The rune lines had somewhat diminished. This base wasn¡¯t an overly strong one, and even the Hunter protecting it was not a peak Hunter, let alone a Transformed Corpse King. This was evident by the fact that the guardian of this base could not fight off the Hunter from Darkstar Gorge. Thus, Lu Yin decided that he would lend them a hand.

    Lu Yin was only able to take a few steps forward when he suddenly felt his scalp go numb. His domain mysteriously crumbled apart, and an indescribable chill enveloped him, making him shudder uncontrobly. He reflexively filled his eyes with star energy as checked around him before looking down below. He saw an incredible, boundless amount of rune lines. The number even surpassed what Lu Yin had seen from <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, Lei Long, and Elder Wu.

    There¡¯s an Enlighter here! Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Damn, there¡¯s even this kind of powerhouse here?

    Lu Yin raised a hand to st through the ceiling up above him, and he hurriedly charged out of the Neohuman Alliance base.

    The that he was on was very special. At this moment, the magma was being pushed away from the core of the, and this phenomenon was not artificially induced by the Neohuman Alliance. When they had first found this, it had already been in this state. The main reason why they had chosen this as one of their strongholds was because, at the¡¯s core, there was something worthy of their study: a dried mummy.

    This desated corpse had existed for countless years and emitted an aura that was able to push the magma back, which had drastically reduced the longevity of the.

    The mummy was located at the core of the, and Lu Yin was standing a mere hundred meters away from it.

    At the core, the originally immobile mummy suddenly opened its eyes. Ancient bloodline discovered. Mission target confirmed. Kill.

    Lu Yin dashed upwards, away from theb and towards the upper levels of the base, frantically trying to escape.

    In the distance, the Hunter from Darkstar Gorge was struggling against the Corpse King Hunter when he saw Lu Yin. He angrily barked, ¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡±

    He instantly chased after Lu Yin with his top speed.

    Lu Yin turned his head around. He wasn¡¯t trying to look at the Darkstar Gorge Hunter, but rather, further underground. The rune lines had increased yet again. A chill ran down his spine.

    ¡°Lu Yin! I want you to shed blood in memory of my father¡¯s brave spirit!¡± The powerhouse from Darkstar Gorge shouted at Lu Yin. The man had a sinister expression.

    Lu Yin looked behind him and gritted his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t chase me! There¡¯s someone even more powerful behind us. Get rid of him and then we can talk.¡±

    The Darkstar Gorge expert involuntarily looked down, and his pupils shrank. At the same time, Lu Yin looked back again, and his pupils shrank as well. The monkey shrieked, ¡°RUN, SEVENTH BRO!¡±

    Lu Yin saw as the Hunter realm Corpse King continued to struggle with the man from Darkstar Gorge. Suddenly, the Corpse King¡¯s head was crushed by a mummy-looking thing that had reached out with its hand. The desated corpse shook the headless body in its hand away. In the darkness of this underground ce, it looked terrifying, as if it were the devil itself. The eyes of the mummified figure werepletely colorless, but Lu Yin felt as if they were staring straight at him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned a deathly pale white; this monster was definitely staring at him with the intent to kill him. What¡¯s going on? A freak just appeared out of nowhere.

    The expert from Darkstar Gorge went pale as well. He could feel a terrifying aura that surpassed even his father¡¯s. This was a fearsome powerhouse with a power level that exceeded 200,000! His only guess was that this was some freak that the Neohuman Alliance had been studying.

    Lu Yin and the Darkstar Gorge man had no time to bicker with each other any more. They turned tail and fled to the surface, crushing the ground in their wake.

    The mummy dropped the Corpse King and then slowly turned around. Its neck gave off creaking sounds, perhaps due to it having remained motionless for so long. Then, its four limbs moved at once; its knees bent down, and with a bang, its entire body shattered the ground it chased after the fleeing figures with an unstoppable energy.

    The man from Darkstar Gorge tore through the void and made to leave, but Lu Yin noticed his movements. He pulled out Progenitor Wushang''s hide and shouted, ¡°Hey!¡±

    The man instinctively looked over and saw the Progenitor Wushang''s hide, jolting his brain. He had taken all sorts of precautions up to this moment, but he had been too careless at this crucial junction, falling victim to Lu Yin¡¯s schemes.

    Lu Yin did not n on killing the man, as he just wanted to outrun him.

    The man didn¡¯t remain dazed for more than two seconds before regaining control of himself. He couldn¡¯t see Lu Yin anymore, and his expression turned livid. He tore the void and stepped through. After all, he was a Hunter who could move through the void.

    However, right as his other leg was about to enter the void, his back went tight, and an intense pain suddenly filled his body. The next instant, he was able to see his own back, Eh? How can I see my own back? Behind me is that mummy.

    The Darkstar Gorge powerhouse¡¯s neck had been snapped in two and his head tossed away. The mummy hadn¡¯t even stopped for more than a moment before it continuing its mad dash towards the surface.

    A peak Hunter had not even been able to resist, but he was at least fortunate enough not to have suffered in his death.

    Based on the number of rune lines that the mummy had, Lu Yin knew that the Hunter wouldn¡¯t be able to dy the thing in the slightest. As soon as he arrived on the¡¯s surface, he immediately threw out the chest with the sourcebox. After moving some distance away, he tapped out and opened the chest. The sourcebox¡¯s formless danger appeared, and Lu Yin released his domain to search for the Hunter¡¯s Aurora.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that monster¡¯s here!¡± the monkey screamed in terror.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. ¡°Get us into space.¡±

    The monkey morphed into a shadow and towed Lu Yin off the.

    The mummy emerged from underground and into the danger zone of the sourcebox, where it was forced to stop.

    Lu Yin looked back behind him and saw that the mummy had been restricted by the sourcebox¡¯s formless attacks. He rxed slightly as the monkey moved with the greatest speed he had ever achieved to escape.

    The mummy looked up with eyes that could swallow all light. It focused on the sourcebox inside the open chest. Its eyes moved about before it suddenly leaped up. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared nkly as the rune lines of the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger inundated the mummy. However, the expected scene of the mummified figure being injured did not ur. The invisible danger that had made Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist so nervous was not able to harm the mummy in any way.

    Lu Yin went numb. Next, he shot his gun at the mummy.

    The bullets from the gun were not very fast, and any Hunter could evade them if they were prepared. However, the mummy did not bother dodging at all, and the bullet burrowed right into its chest. However, even that turned out to bepletely ineffective. The mummy¡¯s body only paused for a moment before it continued its charge towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°Hurry!¡± Lu Yin felt his hair stand on end.

    The Ghost Monkey cried out, ¡°Why are you ming me now? This is all your fault! You just had to provoke that monster. I¡¯ve even used up all the strength that was meant for my reincarnation, but I can¡¯t outrun this monster.¡±

    The mummy didn¡¯t move very quickly, but every step that it took transcended space. This was different from tearing through the void, and it was also different from how Tian Hou could merge itself with the void. This was as if the mummy was stepping on top of space itself.

    As he watched the mummy close in on him, Lu Yin had no other choice. He took out the monkey¡¯s small piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide and aimed it at the mummy. When the mummy¡¯s dark eyes saw the piece of skin, its body suddenly stopped, and Lu Yin realized that the hide was effective. He gritted his teeth and tossed the bit of hide onto the mummy¡¯s head, and it just so happened to cover the mummy¡¯s eyes.

    Progenitor Wushang''s hide could only cause an Enlighter to be stunned for a second or two, and simply shifting one¡¯s gaze was enough to avoid the hide¡¯s effect, and it should be the same for the mummy. The thing only needed to avert its gaze, but fortunately, it was not human, and it didn¡¯t seem to be intelligent. The thing only continued to stare stupidly at the hide. A human would immediately know to move Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to the side, but this mummy didn¡¯t.

    Lu Yin could only take this gamble since he had no other choice and this mummy was too strange.

    The monkey did not even have time to feel sorry about the loss as he desperately dragged Lu Yin onto a battleship that was still above the.

    Through this manner, the mummy was confined in ce with its eyes being covered by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    The battleships ahead of Lu Yin and the monkey fired light beams at them. The monkey bellowed, ¡°Who dares to attack me? This monkey will fight you with everything I have!¡±

    All of the beast¡¯s potential seemed to surge forth, and he forcibly avoided all of the light beams before charging into one of the battleships and leaving arge hole in the hull.

    Inside the spacecraft, all of the cultivators from Darkstar Gorge charged forward to attack Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin had already donned his universal armor, and he struck out with Thirty Stacks and split the vessel open. One Explorer sliced at Lu Yin with his de, but Lu Yin easily caught the de and wrapped his other hand around the Explorer¡¯s neck before throwing him beneath the spacecraft. The man was already beyond dead.

    Lu Yin had no time to waste on these people, and his domain expanded as he searched for a personal spacecraft on the ruined battleship. He continuously broke through the walls as he searched.

    In outer space, outside the battleships, the mummy was still trapped there, motionless. Its eyes were wide open, and it continued to stare at Progenitor Wushang''s hide in the same manner as before. Anyone looking at the skin would be stunned, but the mummy didn¡¯t know how to close its eyes nor that it should remove the hide. Thus, it had been trapped in this vicious cycle.

    Lu Yin soon found a personal spacecraft. Although it was not an Aurora, its speed was not far behind a radiant-grade Aurora¡¯s. It¡¯s only inferiority was that this vessel could not be upgraded.

    He sat in the spacecraft and dashed into space, once again setting off towards the agreed upon coordinates to meet with Wendy Yushan.

    There were quite a few battleships in space, but none of them could block his path. Once Lu Yin was struck onto the, their encirclement had already been broken.

    As the people on the battleships watched on nkly, Lu Yin departed in his new spacecraft, and quite a few Explorers appeared around the vessels. They were supposed to protect the battleships, but now that Lu Yin had escaped, they could not report back. They had to find the Hunter who had chased Lu Yin down to the.

    In space, the mummy with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide covering its head attracted quite some attention.

    A few Explorers flew beside the mummy, and their brains felt dizzy when they looked at Progenitor Wushang''s hide. They then all fell onto the, and in the next moment, a battleship fired its weapons on the mummy. The people aboard the spacecraft had assumed that the mummy had attacked the Explorers and had opened fire in retaliation.

 Chapter 556: Planet Woodrock

    <h4>Chapter 556: Woodrock</h4>

    The light beam struck the mummy¡¯s body straight on, and the impact caused it to be flung back down to the. On the other hand, the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that had been draped over the mummy¡¯s head shifted to the side, no longer blocking both of the mummy¡¯s eyes. The mummy was no longer stunned.

    From high above the, the battleships rained beams of light down upon the mummy.

    It looked up at the vessels. Its eyes that didn¡¯t hold even the slightest trace of light struck fear into the people aboard the spacecraft. The mummy charged into outer space, crashing through the bombardment with nothing more than its body. It easily shattered a battleship with a swipe of its hand, and then another. Soon, all of the battleships from Darkstar Gorge had been destroyed without a single survivor.

    The people from Darkstar Gorge who had surrounded Lu Yin were now all dead with only the mummy remaining. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was still partially draped over the mummy¡¯s head, which made for a morbidlyical scene.

    ¡°Ancient bloodline, escape. Must kill.¡± A mechanical voice sounded out from the mummy. Then, it took step after step through space as it headed towards Lu Yin.

    In the darkness of outer space, Lu Yin panted heavily as he sat down within a spacecraft. On his arm, the Ghost Monkey tattoo also pantedically. The existence of that mummy made the two of them feel cursed, as that monster had been far more terrifying than a Corpse King, though a Corpse King had a much worse appearance.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, could you stop provoking things like that? Just look at the things that you¡¯ve provoked! A Corpse King that can transform, an isted ind that has screaming ghosts, and this time, a mummy! Seriously, how is it that you keep getting involved with such strange and mysterious things?¡± the monkeyined.

    Lu Yin snapped back, ¡°Shut up! How was I the one who provoked it? That monster ran out on its own!¡±

    ¡°In any case, it has to be rted to you. I have that sort of suspicion.¡± The monkey was indignant.

    Lu Yin could not be bothered to reply. He looked behind and rxed, as he was not being chased. His luck was good, as this vessel turned out to be quite fast. Otherwise, he would have been finished back there.

    ¡°Right, Progenitor Wushang''s hide! Seventh Bro, give me back my piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide!¡± The monkey suddenly remembered what had been lost and started wailing anxiously.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes and directly screened the beast off. The monkey didn¡¯t even have a right to feel disgruntled, as that piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had been Lu Yin¡¯s spoils of war when he defeated the monkey. And that was not even mentioning how useful that thing had been to him so far. No one felt the loss more acutely than Lu Yin, and his only constion was that he still had therger piece of hide.

    As for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance, Lu Yin did not care about it at all. It was in the Astral Beast Domain, and if he went looking for it, the only oue would be his death.

    Although the loss of the hide cut deeply, it was worth it to trade one piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide for his own life.

    He stared into the darkness of outer space and sighed emotionally. The universe was just too vast; any random in the Outerverse could be hiding such a monstrous thing. That monster was much stronger than the average Enlighter, and the Outerverse would soon be facing some trouble.

    Fortunately, the Outerverse was enormous, so the monster wouldn¡¯t be able to find Lu Yin.

    The location where Lu Yin was to meet up with Wendy Yushan was at the fringe of Darkmist Weave. He nced at his route, and since he was already on the weave¡¯s fringes, he would arrive in about half a day. Finally free from danger, Lu Yin closed his eyes as he wanted to rest for a while. He had not been able to rx at all recently.

    Right, Elder Wu¡¯s cosmic ring. Lu Yin suddenly thought of his spoils of war as he drifted off. He could not wait to scour through the Enlighter¡¯s cosmic ring.

    After an unknown amount of time, the beeping of his gadget awoke Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rubbed his forehead and checked his position. He had less than an hour to go before he arrived at the meeting ce. He then checked his gadget and blinked. Liu Shaoge was calling him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, congrattions on resolving that ambush,¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s voice sounded out.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I should thank Brother Liu for your help. Without your information, I might not have been able to escape from this dangerous situation.¡±

    ¡°¡®Heaven helps the worthy.¡¯ This sentence describes Brother Lu very well. You won¡¯t die young. Even without me, you still would have managed to get through this scheme alive,¡± Liu Shaoge said with a smile.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. Wendy Yushan had informed him of what she had said to Liu Shaoge before leaving and how she had set him up. Lu Yin appreciated such crafty moves. Liu Shaoge had told Lu Yin about Puyu¡¯s scheme not to benefit Lu Yin but rather because Liu Shaoge had wanted to use Lu Yin to deal with Darkstar Gorge and get rid of Puyu. Then, Liu Shaoge would be the only one in control of San Dios. His ambition had never been hidden.

    As for Liu Shaoge, regardless of whether it was the alliance between Darkstar Gorge and Schr Newmoon failing, or Lu Yin being defeated, there would be no harm to himself. He only wanted to reap the benefits while watching on as an audience member.

    Unfortunately, Wendy Yushan¡¯s words had thrown Liu Shaoge directly into a den of tigers, and Puyu now bore a grudge against him. This pleased Lu Yin, as some people would act as if they were so smart that they could control the fates of others, but in the end, they would fall victim to their own deviousness. Lu Yin had been on the receiving end of such schemes before, and it was Liu Shaoge¡¯s turn this time around.

    ¡°Brother Liu¡¯s luck is pretty good. You were even able to gain Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s recognition. In the past, when Brother Liu was taken away by Qingyu, I thought that I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet you again in my entire lifetime,¡± Lu Yin replied back with a smile.

    Liu Shaoge eximed, ¡°That¡¯s right! One of us was in the Innerverse¡¯s Daynight Flowzone while the other was in a fringe weave of the Outerverse. The distance between the two ces is very great, but Brother Lu still walked out of that ce. Brother Lu, that¡¯s extremely admirable.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not respond this time. He was waiting for Liu Shaoge to bring up a certain topic.

    ¡°But, Brother Lu, there are some things you did that weren¡¯t too pure-hearted. Out of pure goodwill, I let you know about a dangerous situation, and yet you¡¯ve betrayed me! Now, Puyu watches me like a grudgeful hawk.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s smile slipped away.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Why, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu doesn¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in Darkmist Weave this whole time, so I don¡¯t actually know what¡¯s been happening in San Dios.¡±

    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, it looks like I¡¯ve wronged you,¡± Liu Shaoge spoke helplessly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother Liu, Wendy sometimes acts too willfully. Please don¡¯t pay her any mind.¡±

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s tone grew more rxed. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t something that Brother Lu intentionally plotted, then it¡¯s fine. However, being too outstanding will also draw too much attention to yourself. You¡¯ve killed three Enlighters now, which is a humiliation to those almighty beings. You were able to resolve the situation this time, but if three Enlighters team up to act against you, then will you still emerge victorious?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn, as Liu Shaoge had just described a situation that he truly feared. But worrying was one thing, and he would not allow himself to be anxious about something that had not happened yet. This time, the actions of he and Wendy had essentially announced to all the Enlighters that, when the two of them joined forces, they were able to drag any powerhouse down along with them.

    ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liu.¡±

    The call ended soon after, and Lu Yin looked up. He was about to arrive.

    Their meeting location was only three fments away from Shenwu Continent, and he could get to the continent in just half a day with how fast his spacecraft was.

    Wendy had traveled from Adonis Weave to Darkmist Weave, so it would take her two more days to arrive. Lu Yin checked on the situation when he neared the meeting point, and he was stunned to find that the had been turned into a training ground.

    Woodrock was a very ordinary, and its civilization had only reached the stage of an ancient society. Lu Yin had randomly chosen this as the meeting ce with Wendy out of pure coincidence and convenience. Who could have guessed that, less than ten hours after deciding on this ce, it would be turned into a training ground.

    However, Lu Yin could not be bothered to change their meeting point. A training ground was just a training ground, and given his current status, there were few ces in the Outerverse that he could not step foot on. So what if he and Wendy were discovered by the powers behind the training ground? Even the strongest person from Darkmist Weave, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, didn¡¯t dare to face Lu Yin by himself.

    Of course, there were some exceptions like that monstrous mummy, but he doubted that he would run into such asions that often. And he had already suffered from the bad luck of running into one earlier.

    On a continent on Woodrock, a giant, ancient city burned. This was the capital of a country, but there were zombies roaming everywhere. Meanwhile, there was a small group of people who had gathered together to resist the zombies¡¯ onught.

    Compared to the apocalypse on Earth, the ancient society on this was facing the zombies with greater efficiency, as the people of this were naturally more warlike. Even theirmoners had physiques that far surpassed what Earth¡¯s soldiers had during their apocalypse. Also, these people¡¯s weapons were swords and clubs, which were easily found. On the other hand, back on Earth, everyone had searched for guns, but they hadn¡¯t been able to find any.

    The congration had engulfed the entire city, and the pce was also in mes. Even the emperor had turned into a zombie. The pce continued to ze with fire as the city burned down to nothing. Many imperial servants, maids, eunuchs, and ministers were still trapped in the pce, and they trembled as they hid within a circle of guards. Everyone looked like they were drowning in their own despair. No one knew what was happening, as in just an instant, countless people had transformed into freaks, and even the emperor had changed.

    To these people, the sky had copsed since the emperor had also turned into a monster.

    Fiery streaks crashed into the ground from the heavens.

    One of the streaks careened towards the pce, and its impact shattered the very earth. A ferocious shockwave rippled out from the crash, destroying more than half of the pce.

    Countless zombies were reduced to ashes.

    The guards killed the zombies and slowly approached the site of the impact.

    ¡°It¡¯s a divine rock! It must be the divine rock! The gods are helping us!¡± one minister cheered wildly.

    Many ministers beside him knelt down and kowtowed towards the personal spacecraft thaty within the crater.

    The surrounding guards were also berated by those ministers before being forced to kneel down and kowtow together with the rest of the people.

    There was a crack as the hatch of the spacecraft opened. Outside the crater, everyone looked up in astonishment as they saw a young man with strange clothes walk out of the ¡°divine rock.¡± One of the ministers screamed, ¡°Deity, save us, please!¡±

    ¡°Deity, save us! Save us!¡± The crowd kowtowed to the young man again.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at them. He then activated his gadget, and his brows shot up in surprise. Within this group, there was a Melder whose power level was approaching 5,000. Some distance further away, his gadget had detected more than one other Melder. This ce proved to be a warfare-driven ancient society where all of its natives were well-versed inbat. Although this ce could not lift a candle to Shenwu Continent, the people here were much stronger than on Earth. It should be known that the Seven Sages back on Earth had merely been Sentinels.

    Lu Yin looked up as another fiery streak crashed down from space.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he pressed against his spacecraft and exerted some strength to force the vessel beneath the surface. After it was out of sight, he casually waved a hand and caused some crushed rocks to bury the crater. His body twitched as it instantly disappeared from the crowd¡¯s sight.

    When the ministers and guards looked up, they realized that Lu Yin had disappeared.

    A different corner of the pce was crushed by another ferocious shockwave, turning many zombies to ash. Another personal spacecraft appeared in a crater on the ground. This time, the upant was a trial taker from Darkmist Weave.

    The ministers and guards hurried towards the newnding site and looked at the open hatch of the small personal spacecraft, but they didn¡¯t see anyone inside. The trial taker had fled at the first opportunity.

    Lu Yin stood atop the pce, and he was bbergasted when he looked towards the newnding site. Nothing could escape his notice within his domain, and the person who had been in that spacecraft had left their vessel at the earliest moment and then hid in the shadows. Their actions were very smooth, and they were obviously trained in subterfuge.

    This feeling that he got from this neer, on top of the trial being in Darkmist Weave, reminded Lu Yin of a certain profession: assassins.

 Chapter 557: Poison

    <h4>Chapter 557: Poison</h4>

    There were many trained individuals who knew how to hide themselves quickly, such as soldiers or experienced cultivators. However, in Darkmist Weave, there was one profession that they were notcking in: assassins. And the strongest assassin organization in the weave was Mafioso.

    This enjoyed a high position in Darkmist Weave, and its reputation was consistent even in the surrounding weaves. In some way, they were reminiscent of the Relentless yers in Chaos Flowzone. This group had nurtured many outstanding killers.

    The fment where Woodrock was located was not very far from Mafioso, so Lu Yin immediately thought of them. This batch of trial takers was most likely from Mafioso.

    This group of assassins was one of the powers that coveted Shenwu Continent, and they could even be said to be the strongest power after the sealed continent. It was rumored that Mafioso had an Enlighter realm assassin, and if Lu Yin¡¯s guess was correct, then that person should be <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    That would be quite the coincidence. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold at the thought. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had nearly killed him. If these trial takers were truly from Mafioso, then there was no reason for them to leave in one piece. He could have some fun before Wendy arrived.

    As more and more spacecraft dropped down from the sky, multiple trial takers began to appear in the zombie-filled capital. As long as there was a trial, there would be a mission. The top mission during Earth¡¯s trial had been to capture Qingyu, which had been extremely difficult and was still fresh in Lu Yin¡¯s memory.

    Disregarding the increasingmotion outside, Lu Yin sealed himself inside one of the pce¡¯s buildings before taking Elder Wu¡¯s cosmic ring out. He used the dead Enlighter¡¯s blood to open the ring and dumped everything out.

    He looked through Elder Wu¡¯s items and was dumbfounded. Not because there was too much, but rather because the things inside were just too strange. The old fogey¡¯s cosmic ring held many strange bottles and containers. Some were filled with liquids of various colors¡ªsome of which were even bubbling. Everything was simply weird.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, these should be poisons,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and when he looked at these bottles and containers again, he was astonished. The rune lines that filled his vision were impressive, and each container¡¯s rune lines were at least equivalent to a Hunter¡¯s. Some of the items even had rune lines that approached what Lu Yin had seen from <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    Rune lines represented how much influence something could exert on the universe, and it was an even more intuitive way of determining strength than the gadgets¡¯ power level numbers. This meant that some of these containers held substances that approached the influence of an Enlighter.

    If these were poisons, then some of them could kill Hunters and even harm Enlighters.

    Lu Yin carefully set those strange containers aside and stored them away before continuing on. He could not use them for now, and he couldn¡¯t even determine their usages. Thus, he could only wait until he found someone in the future who could.

    After he carefully stored the containers away, he checked to see how many star essence Elder Wu possessed, but to his disappointment, he only found about 2,000 essence.

    Elder Wu was an Enlighter from the Outerverse, and it should be expected that he would only have this much star essence.

    Aside from the star essence, Lu Yin also found hundreds of thousands of star crystals as well as a few Mavis Bank cards.

    Unfortunately, these cards were useless to him. He had already used up all of the blood that he had taken from Elder Wu to open the cosmic ring, so there was no way for him to use these restricted cards and ess the money stored inside.

    Lu Yin clenched his teeth. The Mavis Bank earned an obscene amount of money. There were many people who died every year whose money would be inessible after their death. This ended up benefitting the Mavis Bank, and the sum of these useless cards could reach astronomical numbers. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Elder Wu¡¯s bank cards represented an astounding amount of wealth since each of the cards was gold colored.

    The Mavis Bank¡¯s crystal cards were differentiated into tiers by color. The first was green, which was followed by blue, ck, gold, purple, and red.

    ck and gold cards would only be given to a client after they deposited a certain amount of star crystals. The cards beyond gold used star essence as currency. Since Elder Wu¡¯s cards were all gold, then he should have a substantial amount of star crystals in his ount, but unfortunately, it was all just out of reach.

    Aside from these items, the old man¡¯s cosmic ring also held many medicines from Shamrock Enterprises, as well as some unknown items. Lu Yin had now killed three Enlighters, and he had obtained many things that he did not recognize. He gathered all of the unknown items together and stored them in a separate cosmic ring with the intention of having someone identify everything in there someday in the future. Anything that an Enlighter felt was worth storing should not be toomon.

    He felt rather curious about these containers, as some even had gases suspended inside of certain liquids, but those gases gave him chills. After considering things thoroughly, Lu Yin stored everything away. There was always a chance that he could use them in the future.

    He was inwardly rejoicing that he had not given Elder Wu any chance to act. Otherwise, Lu Yin would not have been able to survive if any one of these strange containers had been thrown at him. Every Enlighter had different methods to protect themselves, so it was important to kill them immediately. Otherwise, even with his universal armor, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t befortable with fighting them.

    Right now, Lu Yin only had about 2,000 star essence to his name. He sighed. He had suffered a huge financial loss during this debacle. However, the star essence had been mainly used to upgrade the prium to prium essence, which was rather valuable. He still had about 310 tonnes left in his cosmic ring, which was quite a substantial amount.

    A violent noise was soon heard nearby as some zombies arrived outside the building where Lu Yin had sealed himself. They were madly trying to smash down the door.

    Lu Yin frowned. Although zombies had no intelligence, they had a very acute sense for the presence of other living creatures. In fact, they had even been able to discover his existence.

    He opened the door and Lu Yin¡¯s body shed before he vanished within the crowd of zombies.

    Inside the capital, there was a giant brothel. And in this building, there were many female zombies scantily d as they brandished their ws and roamed about the building.

    In the courtyard of the brothel, more than a hundred people had gathered together. This included the patrons of the previous night, as well as somemoners who had hid inside. There was also a wanderer.

    A middle-aged man was squatting on the ground, shivering. He fearfully looked through the cracks in the wall to see the roaming zombies. He was quite familiar with one of the creatures; she was thedy whom he had spent the previous night with. She had initially been a lovely and charming girl, but now, she had turned into a blood-sucking monster. It was enough to drive the man insane.

    Thump!

    Thump!

    Thump!

    A loud sound was heard from the giant boulder at the courtyard¡¯s entrance. Many zombies had gathered outside the courtyard and were trying to smash the massive stone apart to gain entry into the courtyard.

    Behind the rock stood a wanderer with a spear who was dressed in grey robes. At this moment, his face was ashen. He firmly stared at the rock.

    Crack!

    The boulder suddenly shattered, and the wanderer¡¯s expression changed. He clenched his jaw as his spear pierced the rock and skewered the brains of several zombies on the other side. The spear of the tip trembled with energy and shattered the brains, but the attack also caused the rock to shatter.

    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯ve done my best, but I can only protect myself. May fortune smile upon you all,¡± the wanderer barked. His spear moved like a flying dragon as it swept the many zombies that had surrounded the man aside. Then, he stabbed the spear into the ground and violently lifted it up. Countless pieces of rubble shot out in all directions and pierced through many of the zombies¡¯ heads. This one strike caused the brothel to crumble, but it also opened up a path of escape for the people who had been hiding within the building.

    The wanderer watched them with a helpless expression and sighed. He then leaped up and dashed out of the brothel. As he had said, he was only able to protect himself, as there were too many monsters. No matter how strong he was, his strength would eventually run out against innumerable zombies.

    It was already very decent that he could open up a path for those people. He was a reputable adventurer on this continent, but he could only do this much.

    Suddenly, something cold shed in front of the wanderer¡¯s eyes, and a ck fog enveloped him. All he felt was a tearing pain in his neck, and he reflexivelyshed out with his spear to sweep the fog aside. However, his neck was also torn apart, causing a fountain of fresh blood to spurt out. His lifeless body slowly crumbled to the ground.

    Those who had been hiding in the brothel were dumbfounded as they watched this scene.

    From beside the wanderer¡¯s corpse, a pale-looking youth stepped out. He bent down and casually beheaded the fallen man before storing the head in his cosmic ring. He didn¡¯t even nce at the people hiding before leaping away.

    Simr scenes urred all over the continent. This was the main mission of this trial. It was an assassination mission, and the trial takers had all been tasked with killing Woodrock¡¯s cultivators. Each participant could only kill cultivators at their same realm or stronger, and their results would be judged based on their headcount at the end.

    This was a trial by blood.

    Although Earth¡¯s trial had not been intentionally set up, the trial¡¯s objective had not been to cause a bloodbath. Rather, it was to filter out the elites, from both the trial takers and the natives. For example Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, and the others were elites who had been selected by the Great Yu Empire.

    On the other hand, the trial on Woodrock was specifically set up to train killers, and this trial was also designed tost for a long time. Now that zombies had appeared, it also meant that there was a possibility of the¡¯s natives quickly growing stronger. This meant that there would be an endless supply of cultivators on this, which was why it had been chosen to be a long-term trial venue.

    To the natives of Woodrock, this decision was very cruel. They were essentially being raised like pigs for the trial takers to ughter. Of course, there would always be the asional outstanding native among them, and those specially talented people might be taken away from the.

    Lu Yin dropped a trial taker¡¯s corpse. After obtaining the information that he wanted, his expression had beplex. Was it sympathy? Perhaps, but this was the wider universe. The darkw of the jungle did not care about cruelty. Everyone was the hunter, but everyone was also the prey.

    He heard some footsteps from behind, and he calmly turned around to see a bespectacled girl walking towards him from nearby trembling. This girl was another trial taker.

    Lu Yin had not tried to cover his tracks or sneak around after realizing that these trial takers were from Mafioso. Before Wendy arrived, he would kill however many he could, which could be considered as a kind of revenge against <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    The trial takers themselves were all killers who were devoid of emotions. He felt no guilt for killing them.

    However, the girl approaching him seemed to be different from the other killers who were trial takers.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m so- sorry. Please don¡¯t kill me! I- I¡¯m not a bad person.¡± The girl in sses fearfully looked at Lu Yin as her body shrank into a small ball. She looked like a frightened rabbit.

    Lu Yin slowly walked over to her.

    When she saw that Lu Yin was getting closer, the girl became even more terrified. She lowered her head and bit her lip.

    ¡°Are you from Mafioso as well?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She nodded, but then suddenly thought of something and shook her head. She exchanged nces with Lu Yin, as if thinking for a moment. She then bit her lip again and nodded. ¡°We¡¯re all from Mafioso.¡±

    ¡°Were you born there?¡± Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    She nodded. ¡°My parents and rtives were all born there, so I had no choice.¡±

    ¡°How many have you killed?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The girl¡¯s eyes went wide, and she vigorously shook her head in denial. ¡°None! I haven¡¯t killed anyone! That¡¯s why they sent me here. They want to force me to kill people, but I don¡¯t want to kill anyone.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and turned to look off into the distance. He could see various regions of the city being covered in mes. This was just the capital, but after considering the fact that the entire continent, or perhaps even the entire, was being drowned in chaos, just how many would die on this day?

    A slightly chilly feeling came from his waist, and Lu Yin turned around to see that the girl in sses who had been trembling just earlier, now had wide eyes and a green dagger in her hand. She stared at Lu Yin in disbelief as she stabbed at him again. However, no matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t even pierce his skin.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a Melder. With your techniques, even genius Melders wouldn¡¯t be able to evade your knife. I¡¯ll ask you again¡ªhow many have you killed?¡± Lu Yin quietly asked as he slowly lifted a hand and grabbed the bespectacled girl.

 Chapter 558: Poison Master

    <h4>Chapter 558: Poison Master</h4>

    The bespectacled girl quickly pulled away. She clenched her teeth in agony as she looked at Lu Yin. After that, she abruptly turned around and fled into the shadows around the corner.

    Lu Yin did not chase after her. Instead, he looked at the green poison that now stained his clothes. He looked in the direction that the girl had fled and sank deep into thought.

    The bespectacled girl fled for a whole ten minutes. During this time, she used every technique that she had learned on Mafioso to increase her chances of escaping. She was confident that, after all of her efforts, not even an elite Limiteer would be able to catch her. With that assurance in mind, she finally stopped at a corner to catch her breath.

    ¡°What kind of monster was that? I couldn¡¯t even break through his defenses, and his power level was too high to be measured by my gadget. Is he a Melder or a Limiteer? How did he get here? This should be locked down.¡± The bespectacleddy patted her chest to calm herself as she mumbled to herself.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Limiteer,¡± a soft voice suddenly echoed in the girl¡¯s ears. The young woman¡¯s pupils constricted violently as she quickly dodged and looked to the side. There, she saw Lu Yin leaning against a wall, staring at her with his arms casually folded.

    The bespectacled girl moved again. Without another word, she turned and fled.

    This time, she ran for an entire hour. She used a variety of techniques this time as well, and she even disguised herself in the middle. Lu Yin had really scared her, but she was no ordinary cultivator. For the trial this time, Mafioso had pinned high hopes on this girl. Her mission during this trial was not just to kill natives, as that would be no challenge for her. Her real task was to kill all the other trial takers.

    Who could have known that she would run into such a freak before she even had an opportunity to get started. This person was a freak who she held no delusions of killing.

    As the crowds of zombies roamed about, the girl looked just like one of them as she also wandered the streets. She was quite satisfied with her disguise. After running for a full hour, she was confident that not even an Explorer would be able to track her down, let alone a Limiteer. She waspletely sure in her skills.

    After roaming the streets for a while, the bespectacled girl finally felt safe. She had taken multiple precautions to ensure that she would not be followed.

    Just as she was about to move away from the zombie horde, the girl suddenly felt like she was being watched. As an assassin, she was very sensitive to when someone was observing her. She looked to her left, and about ten meters away, she saw that same man once again. Just like before, he was casually leaning against the wall, silently watching her.

    Strangely, none of the zombies passing by seemed to pay any attention to the man. It was as if they could not even sense his presence.

    The youngdy felt chills run down her spine. Even a well-trained assassin such as her found it challenging to mask their presence from these zombies. Even more shocking, this man wasn¡¯t even making any obvious attempts to evade or hide from the zombies; he was standing in in sight. It was terrifying.

    The girl had a sour look on her face. She suddenly thought of something that would allow for such a thing to happen: a domain. It was said thatprehending a domain would allow a cultivator to be one with their surroundings, and that they could control everything within their sphere of control. Had this man actuallyprehended a domain?

    The bespectacled girl gave up at this moment. She had already tried her hardest to escape from this man, but nothing had worked. She stood in ce as the zombies moved away. She then took her wig off and removed her disguise. She reced her sses and asked the man, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Have you trained in poisons?¡±

    The bespectacled girl nodded. ¡°I know quite a lot about poisons. There are many assassination methods, and poisoning is one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin threw her a vial of liquid that he had taken from Elder Wu¡¯s cosmic ring and said, ¡°Tell me what¡¯s inside.¡±

    The bespectacled girl hesitantly took the vial. She stared at it intently and then rapidly started mumbling to herself. Lu Yin listened, but he could only make out the fact that she was reciting the names of various herbs and animal poisons. He was taken aback; could thisdy make out the contents of this poison just by looking at the liquid? This was the poison of Elder Wu, who had been a powerful Enlighter.

    The girl studied it for quite a while, and when she looked at Lu Yin again, she had an astonished expression as she asked, ¡°Where did you get this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Just tell me what this is,¡± Lu Yin replied, dismissing her inquiry.

    The girl carefully took off the vial¡¯s cap, and her face suddenly bing one of apprehension. She raised her hand, wanting to throw the contents of the vial onto Lu Yin, but she suddenly found that she was unable to move. The star energy surrounding her had suddenly frozen, trapping her in ce. This level of oppression could only be due to the disparity in the two¡¯s star energy.

    This was the same situation that Lu Yin had found himself in back when he had been participating in the teleportation battles. Star energy oppression, that feeling of restriction, had made it difficult for him to even move.

    At this moment, the bespectacled girl was suffering from the same effect. Only now could she truly feel the disparity between the two of them. She was no ordinary cultivator, and she had even killed Limiteers before, so she could be considered to be a Realmbreaker. However, against this Limiteer, she couldn¡¯t even react. It was terrifying, and this man was definitely not from the Outerverse. He had to be an elite from the Innerverse who had been stranded here.

    ¡°Enough. Tell me what kind of liquid this is,¡± Lu Yin demanded menacingly as he looked at the girl.

    The bespectacleddy shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°I¡¯m running out of patience. Killing you is nothing to me.¡±

    The youngdy looked up at Lu Yin with fear. ¡°I really don¡¯t know. I can only tell what some of these ingredients are, but that makes up less than one percent of this liquid. There are a bunch of things in that that I haven¡¯t even heard of.¡±

    Lu Yin believed her. If a Melder cultivator could determine the contents of an Enlighter¡¯s poison, then that would be truly unbelievable. Even Explorers would find it hard to determine theponents of an Enlighter¡¯s poison, much less a Melder.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then you have no value to me,¡± Lu Yin said indifferently. His star energy was absolutely enough to suppress the youngdy.

    The girl let out a panicked shout. ¡°Wait! Even though I don¡¯t know the exact contents, I can tell the liquid¡¯s potency.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. He could determine the poison¡¯s potency from the rune lines he saw on it, but he wasn¡¯t able to determine what kind of poison it was. ¡°Do you really have such an ability?¡±

    The girl looked at the liquid in the vial. Then, right in front of Lu Yin¡¯s bewildered stare, she drank the liquid in one swift gulp.

    ¡°What the hell is she trying to do?¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin stared at the girl in sses. The rune lines that he had seen from the liquid matched the amount that he had seen on Hunters. If it was indeed a poison, then this girl would die without a doubt. Forget a Melder¡ªeven if Lu Yin himself drank the liquid, he was practically guaranteed to die.

    The youngdy set the now-empty vial down and nkly stared ahead. It almost looked like she was focused on experiencing something.

    Suddenly, she let out a loud burp.

    Lu Yin was shocked. She didn¡¯t die?

    However, the liquid soon started to take effect. The girl¡¯s face twisted in agony, and she crumbled to her knees as she fought a violent pain. She started sweating profusely, and she remained in this condition for many hours.

    During this time, Lu Yin prevented any of the zombies from approaching them. He was astonished that the girl had not died the instant that she had swallowed the poison. It was aplete miracle, considering that she was a Melder. He stared at her for several hours as she writhed in pain.

    It was only after the sky turnedpletely dark that her pain abated. By this time, she waspletely drenched in sweat. Her beautiful, curvaceous figure was enchanting beneath her clothes. Her skin was partly visible through her wet clothes, which made her appearance all the more alluring. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t pay any attention to this aspect of the girl; he was in shock because he had noticed that the girl¡¯s rune lines had drastically increased.

    The rune lines from the young woman had at first been at the level of a Realmbreaking Melder. She was an assassin, and the rune lines that Lu Yin had seen from her showed that she was an elite. After surviving the poison, her rune lines were now in no way inferior to an elite Limiteer! She had beparable to one of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Area Masters.

    This was an absolutely astonishing transition. The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Area Masters were all absolutely dominating figures of the Innerverse, and they were considered as elite disciples of powerful organizations. Naturally, they were all known to be far superior to the Outerverse¡¯s elites. Not even someone like Schutz, who had cultivated in the Astral Combat Academy for a long time and had enjoyed the additional benefit of personal training from Astral-10¡¯s Trialmaster, could reach the level of an Area Master. And yet, ths woman had reached this realm just by drinking the contents of a vial.

    Lu Yin suspected that he might have been tricked. Could that liquid have been some kind of fortifying potion all along? This thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s face to sour.

    After going through such a long session of intense pain, the girl¡¯s body was trembling slightly. She released a pent up breath. She touched her clothes and discovered that they werepletely soaked. Then, she did something unthinkable and began to strip right in front of Lu Yin

    He was bbergasted, and he quickly turned away as he asked, ¡°What are you doing!¡±

    The youngdy winked. ¡°I¡¯m changing my clothes.¡±

    ¡°Why do you have to do that in front of me?¡±

    ¡°Look if you want. I can¡¯t fight back against you anyways.¡±

    Her words caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to stir slightly, but he forced himself not to turn around and watch.

    The girl¡¯s mouth twitched a little, and she purposely took her time while undressing, and she even purposefully made loud sounds with her clothes, making it clear that she was dressing herself. It seemed like she was trying to seduce Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not experienced such a thing before, and he started getting rather impatient.

    After quite a bit of time had passed, the bespectacled girl finally spoke. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around, and his eyes immediately lit up. The girl was now wearing a casual long, white shirt that highlighted her long, glistening white legs. Her dainty little feet yfully dangled to the side. She had also tidied up her hair, though it still hung to her waist. She looked at Lu Yin with eyes that seemed to be full of innocence and bashfulness. She sensuously bit her lower lip and inteced her fingers. ¡°Do you like what you see?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, she¡¯s trying to seduce you!¡± the monkey said with a strangeugh.

    While the girl in sses was not the prettiest woman that Lu Yin had ever seen, she had the purest appearance by far. Although pure was theplete opposite of what one would expect from a female assassin, it was true. This woman exuded a gentle temperament that set her apart from the other cultivators.

    Lu Yin knitted his brows. ¡°Why did that liquid increase your strength?¡±

    She pushed up her sses. ¡°If I told you that the liquid was poison, would you believe me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot.¡±

    The youngdy protested helplessly, ¡°Big brother, that really was poison!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. No matter how you change your appearance, you¡¯re still an assassin, and I won¡¯t go easy on you. The better you are at hiding your true self just shows me that you have many tricks up your sleeve,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    The girl looked at Lu Yin with eyes full of innocence. She then held out the empty bottle. ¡°Let¡¯s do an experiment.¡±

    She then looked around as her star energy burst out like a gush of water. She quickly caught what seemed to be a six-legged mouse. She poured some water into the empty vial and then fed it to the creature.

    The next moment, the small creature was reduced to ashes. Not a single trace of the animal remained.

    Lu Yin was shocked.

    ¡°I know that big brother still doesn¡¯t believe me,¡± After the bespectacleddy said that, she grabbed a zombie and forced some of the water down its throat. Just like the small creature before, the zombie was reduced to ash within a minute. Furthermore, it never burned. It was as if it had suddenly just dposed.

    ¡°This is really a poison, a poison that even space-exploring powerhouses wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand. Given its potency, this thing could easily kill a Cruiser,¡± the bespectacleddy estimated.

    ¡°Then how did you survive?¡± Lu Yin asked, suddenly full of curiosity.

    The youngdyughed. Then, under Lu Yin¡¯s bbergasted gaze, her skin changed from white to green. The green tint was obviously very poisonous, and her clothing almost instantly turned to ash. The girl in sses then stood naked before Lu Yin.

    This time, however, he did not turn around. But he did block the monkey to keep him from looking. ¡°Is this your innate gift?¡±

    She replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my innate gift. I¡¯m a Poison Master.¡±

    ¡°Put your clothes on,¡± Lu Yin said dismissively.

    The tinge of green that had glowed around the bespectacleddy¡¯s body disappeared, and her skin returned to its original white. Her glistening white skin made her so irresistible that Lu Yin could not help himself from stealing two more nces of her nude body.

 Chapter 559: Ironblood Weave

    <h4>Chapter 559: Ironblood Weave</h4>

    The girl quickly dressed herself. ¡°My innate gift makes it so that no poisons can harm me. Also, the more poisons I ingest, the stronger my gift bes.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded, as there were also these kinds of innate gifts. Now a problem arose: should he kill her?

    This kind of innate gift was very powerful, and this woman would be able to rapidly increase her power. Since she was from Mafioso, she would be his enemy in the future. He did not want to leave such a threatening enemy for his future self.

    She immediately sensed Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent, and she pitifully cried out, ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re a good person. Please let me go! I really haven¡¯t killed anyone yet.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her, and bloodlust shed across his eyes, causing the girl¡¯s heart to tremble. She promptly continued, ¡°Lu Yin, you can¡¯t kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You recognize me?¡±

    The bespectacled girl nodded. ¡°Yes, just now. Lu Yin, killing me won¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She was shocked. ¡°The Great Elder?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled. ¡°So he really is from Mafioso. Unfortunately, I have a grudge against him, so I have to kill his people. Your innate gift is destined to not exist.¡±

    ¡°Wait! I can help you kill him!¡± she shouted.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Do you know how strong he is? Help me kill him? Wait another 500 years!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the Great Elder of my Mafioso! He¡¯s an Enlighter! I know that I truly can¡¯t kill him right now, but there wille a day when I¡¯ll surpass him! Also, I have my own reasons to kill him,¡± she quickly blurted out.

    ¡°Go on.¡± Lu Yin grew interested.

    Her eyes flickered. She hurriedly arranged her thoughts before exining, saying, ¡°Mafioso is a top-notch assassin organization for all of the surrounding weaves. We also have an inherited treasure, known as the Bloodied Handprint. Only the strongest cultivator within the organization can inherit it, and all the assassins want to obtain the Bloodied Handprint. Right now, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist is the one who holds the Bloodied Handprint. Our organization does not cherish feelings of camaraderie, and our members won¡¯t unite. Thus, everyone¡¯s ultimate target is the Great Elder.¡±

    ¡°The Bloodied Handprint? Is it very powerful?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She solemnly replied, ¡°Based on some ancient records, the Bloodied Handprint was once used to swat an extreme powerhouse from the Innerverse whose power level was over 300,000 to death.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Your Mafioso has such a powerful object?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s Mafioso¡¯s most valuable inherited treasure, and it can¡¯t be used unless it¡¯s a matter of life and death. The authority to use it also lies solely with the Great Elder. As long as he¡¯s fighting for his life, he will have a power equivalent to an extreme powerhouse whose power level surpasses 300,000. However, the item can only be used against outsiders, and it can¡¯t be used internally. As soon as my power surpasses the Great Elder, I¡¯ll rece him. At that time, killing him will be a piece of cake. If an outsider wants to kill him, it will be almost impossible unless the Great Elder can be lured away from Mafioso.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. It turned out that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist actually had such a powerful life-preserving treasure in store. However, that didn¡¯t seem quite right. Lu Yin had seen <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s rune lines on Shuta, and they definitely had not reached an extreme. If he had possessed the Bloodied Handprint, then his number of rune lines would have greatly surpassed that of a regr Enlighter.

    Since that old killer was clearly scared of death, he would obviously keep a life saving treasure on him at all times. However, there had been no trace of such a thing when Lu Yin had seen Wu Shen. Thus, there were only three possibilities. First, this woman was lying and the Bloodied Handprint didn¡¯t exist. Second, the BloodiedHandprint did not reveal its power until right before it was unleashed. Finally, the Bloodied Handprint was something like Ze Lin¡¯s power vessel, and it was something that could only be used once.

    At this time, the bespectacled girl activated her gadget and tapped it to disy a screen. ¡°Big brother, I know that you don¡¯t believe me, so look here.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over and saw a bit of text on the screen. It described the Bloodied Handprint, and although there were not many words there, he could tell that the characters in this image were not a forgery. Rather, they were something that had been written long ago, as they were genuinely extremely ancient.

    However, this still did not prove that the Bloodied Handprint actually existed. After so many years, it could have already been used. ¡°Even if this thing still exists, it¡¯s clearly impossible for you to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. I don¡¯t have the time to slowly wait for you to get stronger. If I truly want to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, then I might as well look for someone stronger in your organization to cooperate with.¡±

    ¡°Assassins won¡¯t cooperate with others, but I can.¡± The young woman was flustered, as she could truly feel Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent at this time. Assassins were extremely sensitive towards this kind of danger. ¡°The stronger a killer is, the more unlikely it is for them to cooperate with others. The assassins trained by Mafioso have no loyalty, but I do. I can serve you, so long as you don¡¯t kill me and provide me with that poison from before.¡±

    ¡°Why should I trust you?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    The girl replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to trust me. Regardless, I pose no threat to you, and you are extremely beneficial to me. The poison that you showed me earlier is something that¡¯s incredibly difficult to find, even if one searched the entire Outerverse. I want to quickly increase my power, so I need poisons like that one. How about it? Just treat it as if you¡¯re hiring me and paying me with those poisons. I can work for you.¡± Then, when she saw the killing intent in his eyes slowly fade away, she continued, enticingly saying, ¡°Think about it. Killing me won¡¯t do anything for you, but keeping me around will give you one more opportunity to deal with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, right? Besides, when I get stronger, I can even kill others for you.¡±

    This was indeed a valid point, and the bespectacled girl¡¯s exnation was very convincing, especially the part about how the poison that could quickly improve her power was not something easily obtained. The poisons in Lu Yin¡¯s possession had all been manufactured by Elder Wu, an Enlighter. How many Enlighters were there in the universe, and how many of them could make poisons? The probability of finding other, simr poisons was extremely low.

    This woman¡¯s existence was neither a huge nor an insignificant threat, and the best way for her to improve her power was in his hands. As long as he restricted her ess to these poisons, Lu Yin did not believe that she would be able to grow faster than him. His rate of improvement was something that he had absolute confidence in.

    ¡°How long will this trial missionst for?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She immediately answered, ¡°Mine is one month, but the others¡¯ are very long.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright. In three months, you must head to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star to meet with me. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯re untrustworthy, and you can forget about ever getting more of these poisons. Also, if I meet you in the future, I¡¯ll definitely kill you.¡±

    The bespectacled girl rxed, as she now knew she would not die here. ¡°Rx, those poisons hold a greater attraction for me than you¡¯d believe. I¡¯ll definitely find you.¡±

    ¡°You just drank a bottle of poison, which is payment for starting your employment. I haven¡¯t thought of anyone that you should kill, but I¡¯ve already paid you. Thus, don¡¯t even think about backing out on that bit,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    She immediately acknowledged his words and then carefully patted her chest. ¡°Thank you, big brother.¡±

    ¡°I already told you to not call me that.¡± Lu Yin frowned. Her seductive tone and previous actions were designed to suffocate his desire to kill her, and Lu Yin was well aware of it. However, what actually dispelled his killing intent was the woman¡¯s words. There was truly no benefit in killing her here, and there wasn¡¯t much of a threat in letting her live. It was possible that she might actually be of some use in the future.

    Although consuming powerful poisons would allow her to quickly raise her power, such an innate gift must alsoe with severe limitations. This increase in power would not be properly bnced, and someone who used such methods would never be able to be a top-tier powerhouse.

    Before she left, she told Lu Yin that she was called Mistchild. There were seven Mistchilds from Mafioso, as it was the term that the top killer within a given realm on Mafioso took on. She was the Melder Mistchild, and below her was the Sentinel Mistchild. Above her, there was the Limiteer Mistchild, Explorer Mistchild, Cruiser Mistchild, Hunter Mistchild, and the top was the Enlighter Mistchild.

    Currently, Mafioso only had one Enlighter, who was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. Naturally, he was the Enlighter Mistchild.

    The final target of all of the Mistchilds was the Enlighter Mistchild. This had been the tradition on Mafioso for countless years, and no one could change it.

    The bespectacled girl had told Lu Yin all this, possibly to express her sincerity out of fear that Lu Yin might still kill her.

    However, she had thought too much. Since Lu Yin had agreed to not kill her, he would not kill her. He would not stoop so low as to deceive a girl, even if she was a killer.

    The most important thing a killer could do was avoid bad luck. The girl¡¯s mission was to kill all the trial takers, but Lu Yin¡¯s existence prevented her from acting. In the end, she wasn¡¯t able to make a move until two whole days had passed, after which Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft in outer space. At this time, she finally bared her fangs and began to massacre the other trial takers.

    She looked up and gazed deeply beyond the sky. She was different from the average killer, as theycked foresight. She was ambitious, and she had never sought to gain a reputation that would cause others to fear her. Instead, she wanted all of Mafioso.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had coincidentally allowed them to create an alliance. As she helped Lu Yin, she could also use him to help herself.

    However, cooperating with Lu Yin left her with no room for negotiation. Her life was firmly within his grasp, but refusal was not a choice either. This person actually had poisons that were far beyond her own grasp, and she would be able to quickly strengthen herself with them.

    One day, the future would belong to their generation. Since that was the case, then she would cooperate with the strongest member of her generation. Within the same realm, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t merely the strongest in the Outerverse, but in the entire universe.

    In outer space, Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan disconnected from a call. Lu Yin wanted to head to Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station with Wendy to get a clear picture of the events there.

    He had already killed three Enlighters, which was too oppressive a reputation for them to handle. The prestige of the almighty powerhouses had been challenged. Under these circumstances, Lu Yin needed to limit how frequently he appeared in the public eye. The less fearful he seemed to be, the more nervous the Enlighters would be, and they would be too eager to deal with him.

    Wendy Yushan wasn¡¯t certain why Lu Yin wanted to go to Shenwu Continent, but she was determined to follow him wherever he went. At this time, only by cooperating could the two of them threaten the remaining powerhouses.

    The Outerverse was connected to the Astral Wilderness in the west, while to the easty the Astral Beast Domain. There was a weave in the Outerverse called Ironblood Weave which was the connecting point between the Outerverse and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Ironblood Weave was a weave of pure conflict, and there were nomoners there. All of the habitables in this weave had been linked together to form massive fortresses, and each fortress was a different region of Ironblood Weave. This was done to extend the battlefront. An endless war against the Astral Beast Domain was waged within this weave, all in an attempt to prevent the astral beasts from invading the other weaves.

    Countless years ago, all of the living humans in Ironblood Weave had been massacred. In modern times, those who fought in this ce were either from other weaves or cultivators who had been sent there from the Innerverse.

    The opposing Astral Beast Domain also suffered heavy losses in Ironblood Weave, simr to the border warfront in Erudite Flowzone. Countless years of fighting had led to many astral beasts perishing, and quite a few races had even gone extinct as a result of the never-ending fighting. Even if the Astral Beast and Human Domains had agreed to a peace agreement, the war here would endlessly rage on until one of the two sides waspletely extinguished.

 Chapter 560: Former Haunt

    <h4>Chapter 560: Former Haunt</h4>

    The inter-domain war concerned everybody¡ªthe Daynight n, the Sword Sect, and all of the powers in the various weaves of the Outerverse as well. Everyone had to send people to participate, and Ironblood Weave was filled with cultivators from everywhere in the universe. There was only one objective for them, which was to massacre all of the astral beasts there and make sure that the battlefield did not spill out beyond Ironblood Weave.

    The Human Domain had been split in two, and the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated due to the changes in the universe. This change did not only affect the Human Domain, but the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and even the Astral Wilderness were also affected. Things were in chaos everywhere, and only this conflict in Ironblood Weave had remained constant.

    The stronghold that acted as the frontline of the war between Ironblood Weave and the Astral Beast Domain was known as Ironblood Fort. It was also the stronghold that was the closest to the Astral Beast Domain, and the war never ended there. This fortress was formed from 1,800 interlinkeds, and there was even soil that connected each of thes together. Within this stronghold, countless weapons were aimed at the Astral Beast Domain.

    Ever since Ironblood Fort had first been established, over 1,000s had been stained with blood. The fighting had never stopped even after the passage of an untold number of years.

    Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront partially followed a tributary Astral River, which determined where the battlefieldsy. For that reason, they had not built a massive fortress and instead protected the border by lining countlesss up in a defensive formation. Even if this line was breached, the astral beasts would still need toe up with a way to cross the Astral River.

    But in Ironblood Weave, things were different. As soon as the invaders breached Ironblood Fort, they would have direct ess to Ironblood Weave, which was a part of the Human Domain.

    The Astral Beast Domain and Ironblood Weave did not share much adjacent territory, and the ce where they did touch was where Ironblood Fort had been constructed. Countless astral beasts snarled as they charged through the void towards thes of Ironblood Fort. Most of them were swept away by the first wave of weapons while the various surviving beasts were cleaned up by human cultivators. Every day, many died in this ce, and many beasts were ughtered. The war in this ce was far crueler than the border warfront in Erudite Flowzone.

    The battles repeated day after day, and the routine had gradually reached the point where the cultivators defending Ironblood Fort were no longer simple cultivators; they were soldiers now. They had be the troops that protected humanity.

    Countless Void Wanderers tore through the void at Ironblood Fort, releasing numerous types of astral beasts down onto thes thatposed the fortress. Even after the universe had gone through its changes, Void Wanderers were still able to tear through the void since it was their innate gift.

    Soldier after soldier fell, only to be steadily reced one after another. The corpses fell into mounds that grew into hills.

    In general, a single battle wouldst for no more than seven days. After that, there would be a break for a day or two before the next battle began. However, this current battle had already gone on for ten consecutive days, and there were still no signs of the fight abating. The Void Wanderers had even reappeared to deliver more astral beasts.

    The closer it was to the center of the stronghold, the more intense the battle became. At the center, Limiteers were nothing more than cannon fodder, and even space-exploring powerhouses could barely survive.

    On the surface of the fortress, various strange weapons were being used to massacre the beasts. These devices had been made with the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique. Xun Chong panted heavily and looked in front of him where the Void Wanderers had appeared. He raised a hand to attack, but he was blocked by another astral beast. ¡°Human, this is the day this fortress will disappear!¡±

    Xun Chong¡¯s face distorted. ¡°Ironblood Fort cannot be destroyed by the likes of you!¡±

    ¡°Human, you are too arrogant. Die!¡± Then, the astral beast¡¯s mouth gaped open as the creature bit at Xun Chong. The cultivator was a Hunter, but so was the astral beast. Their battle was so violent that the entire became unstable.

    A battle between Hunters was not umon at the center of the battlefield, and at the same time, in the very center of the stronghold, a battle between Enlighters erupted. This ce was far more savage than Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront.

    Inside the fortress, there was a middle-aged man who was grimly looking at a screen that disyed an Enlighter astral beast locked in fiercebat with a Daynight cultivator who was also in the Enlighter realm. The fight between the two had caused the to begin crumbling apart.

    The void tore open, and a flustered man emerged. ¡°General Fei, just as you predicted, this battle¡¯s not going well.¡±

    This middle-aged man was Ironblood Fort¡¯smander, General Fei. He had overseen this fortress for more than a thousand years, and his original name had long since been forgotten. ¡°The Human Domain¡¯s Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, but the Astral Beast Domain hasn¡¯t been split up. Thus, they¡¯ve started transferring their main forces here. They¡¯re trying to charge into the Outerverse and take control.¡±

    The face of the man who had just arrived turned ugly. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Astral Beast Domain has shredded the peace agreement apart, and they n to use this as a starting point to infiltrate the Outerverse. Nobody knows how long the Innerverse and Outerverse will remain separated for, and the Outerverse could very well be entirely upied by the Astral Beast Domain by the time they finally rejoin. Us humans will only be left with the Innerverse and the Neoverse, which would make it extremely difficult to seize the Outerverse back.¡±

    General Fei looked up with aplex expression. ¡°We already guessed that they would make this move when we discovered that we were cut off from the Innerverse. However, it¡¯s not just the Astral Beast Domain¡ªthe Technocracy will most likely invade the Outerverse from the west as well. Unless we can reconnect with the Innerverse, the Outerverse will fall into the hands of the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy sooner orter.¡±

    The second man fell silent, as he was unwilling to ept such a fate. However, these were the facts facing them. When there had been nothing separating the Innerverse and the Outerverse, the bulk of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces had been deployed to the Innerverse. Despite the fact that the border warfront in Erudite Flowzone was not as cruel as the warfront in the Outerverse, it boasted many top experts, who made the Astral Beast Domain cautious. However, now that the Innerverse and Outerverse werepletely isted from each other, there was no longer any reason for the Astral Beast Domain to remain concerned about the Innerverse. Thus, they were able to focus all of their attention onto Ironblood Weave. The Innerverse forces wouldn¡¯t even know that the Astral Beast Domain had torn up the peace agreement.

    As long as no battle broke out at the Innerverse¡¯s border warfront, the Astral Beast Domain would have nothing to worry about as long as itpletely upied the Outerverse.

    It was an ill-timed fate. Right after the peace agreement had been established, the Innerverse and Outerverse had be separated. If the two domains had never agreed upon a truce, then the Astral Beast Domain would have to continue being cautious of the Innerverse, and their main forces would remain stationed there. Then, they would not have the opportunity to divert so many resources to taking the Outerverse.

    ¡°Is there really no other choice?¡± the man asked in a soft voice. He was Meng Ningge, an Enlighter from Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall. He was one of the few powerhouses in Ironblood Fort who were second only to General Fei.

    General Fei¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°There¡¯s only one way: request help from all of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves. They will need to unite and resist the invasion of the Astral Beast Domain.

    Meng Ningge¡¯s gaze also shivered. ¡°I¡¯ll send out the request now.¡±

    General Fei¡¯s attention returned to the screen. ¡°There are too few experts in the Outerverse. As soon as the Astral Beast Domain sends out those old monsters whose power levels are in the hundreds of thousands, the Outerverse simply won¡¯t be able to withstand it. I only hope that the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnect quickly, or else many more will die.¡±

    ¡°No matter what, even if all the humans in the Outerverse are destined to perish, we will die before them,¡± Meng Ningge said with steely determination.

    ...

    Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station was a ce that Lu Yin had not returned to since the Outerverse¡¯s trial. He had expected to only return after several more years, and he had never thought that this day woulde so soon.

    The space station seemed much bigger than before, and there were also quite a few more experts here. While still aboard his spacecraft, Lu Yin could already see that there were at least five Hunters in the space station.

    Ming Zhaoshu had allied with foreign powers, which had led to many powers once again bing hopeful about capturing Shenwu Continent. At present, the leading organization that was looking to gain control of Shenwu Continent was not one of the forces from the Darkmist Weave but rather the Daynight n.

    Ming Zhaoshu had intentionally released Zhanlong Daynight and formed an agreement of sorts with the Daynight n. There were many Daynight n members in the space station. Some of them had gone directly to the space station while the others had only gone there after the recent events at Pyrolyte.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear. Shenwu Continent was hidden within a strange separate space, and this maind was very desirable to many powers. However, it was something that didn¡¯t seem to have any rtionship to Lu Yin. His strongest connection to the ce was that he had participated in a trial on the continent, but now, for some reason, he had returned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with the Daynight n was not the best. If it hadn¡¯t been for Nightking Yuanjing, then Nightqueen Yanqing would have long since used her influence to have the Daynight n to act against Frostwave Weave. This was something that all the Daynight members at the space station were aware of.

    Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, there was no way for Nightking Yuanjing to interfere in the Outerverse¡¯s affairs. If possible, all of the Daynight n members on this space station wanted to ughter Lu Yin. However, they didn¡¯t dare to attempt such a thing since Lu Yin had openly killed two Enlighters. Such a daunting battle record had left them all terrified and panicked.

    This time, Lu Yin was not greeted by an Explorer, but by a Hunter. It was even the person who held the highest authority in the space station. He was called Tyrial, and he was also the person who had sent Lu Yin and the others into Shenwu Continent in the past.

    Lu Yin walked through the open hatch and exchanged nces with Wendy when Tyrial tore through the void to appear in front of them. He cordially greeted Lu Yin, ¡°Student Lu, wee back to Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Senior Tyrial, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you.¡±

    Then, he introduced Wendy to him.

    When he heard Wendy¡¯s name, Tyrial became shocked. The weaves in the eastern region of the Outerverse had all be aware of the fact that Wendy Yushan possessed a secret technique, and everyone was currently enviously trying to obtain it, but they were also all afraid of Lu Yin¡¯s methods. He did not expect Lu Yin to bring this girl to Shenwu Continent and parade her around. The youth¡¯s self-confidence amazed Tyrial.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Councilor Wendy. It¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡± Tyrial smiled.

    Wendy nodded, but her face remained calm.

    Tyrial was not bothered by the young woman¡¯s behavior, as Wendy Yushan was a councilor of the Outerverse Youth Council as well as a senior disciple of the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak. On top of that, she was also known to be someone who was favorably looked upon within the Ten Arbiters Council. Now that she had mastered a secret technique as well, it was totally understandable for her to have such arrogance; she was too qualified.

    Tyrial brought the two to tour around the space station, and he probed around for the objective of Lu Yin¡¯s visit this time.

    Lu Yin only casually replied, ¡°I¡¯m bored. There¡¯s too much politics back home, so I wanted to rx.¡±

    Tyrial smiled. There were many powerhouses with their eyes on these two now. Even in just this space station alone, there were several Hunters who wanted to make a move against them. Only a fool would believe that Lu Yin woulde out for a rxing trip under such circumstances.

    Through his conversation with Tyrial, Lu Yin learned that news of the events at East San Dios and the battle on Shuta had not spread, which left him rather relieved. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had not gone crazy about announcing Lu Yin¡¯s methods, which allowed him to keep some of his secrets. However, Lu Yin had actually been hoping that the details of the battle at San Dios would be publicized, as that would cause the other Enlighters to be even more apprehensive.

    ¡°Right, senior Tyrial, I heard that Shenwu Continent¡¯s Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu is cooperating with foreigners?¡± Lu Yin asked, feigning mere curiousity.

    Tyrial nodded. ¡°Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s schemes run deep. He took advantage of the moment when Ming Zhaotian was injured by Arbiter Wen to make a breakthrough in one move. He then proved himself to be a Realmbreaker by drawing with Ming Zhaotian in a battle, and he¡¯s alreadyprehended a forcefield. That person is very powerful, and he¡¯s silently endured for so many years. Once he finally burst forth, he immediately split Shenwu Continent apart. The Shenwu Empire can¡¯t handle such a person.¡±

    ¡°The smartest move for him is still to cooperate with us. With us providing an endless number of experts, why would he be afraid of the Shenwu Empire?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Tyrial felt disgusted by Lu Yin¡¯s choice of words. ¡°Us?¡± What does this have to do with him? However, Tyrial was also afraid of Lu Yin¡¯s methods, so he remained silent.

 Chapter 561: Parallel Universe

    <h4>Chapter 561: Parallel Universe</h4>

    Tyrial took Lu Yin to a ce they could directly observe the five sealings, which also happened to be where he had previously requested Wen Sansi to evaluate his trial results. From here, one could go straight to Shenwu Continent.

    Over the course of many years, many experts from Darkmist Weave had shed their blood there, which had reinforced the prestige of the five sealings.

    While making their way up to the observation room, Lu Yin did not run into anyone from the Daynight n besides one. It would seem that the n members had been forbidden from approaching Lu Yin, and the only person he saw was Zhanlong Daynight. Lu Yin had not expected that this person would be at the space station.

    Lu Yin quickly learned that the Daynight n had upied the eastern region of the Darkmist Weave as well as that Zhanlong Daynight did not follow Nightqueen Qiuyu. Instead, he hade here to the space station. It appeared that the distance between the Nightking bloodline and the ordinary members of the Daynight n was rather vast. No matter how poorly Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s performance may have been, she would still be kept beside Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Every time the two young men ran into each other, Zhanlong Daynight felt something new from Lu Yin. Their first meeting had been on Shenwu Continent. At that time, Zhanlong Daynight had believed that the difference between him and Lu Yin was not thatrge. His Daynight Restoration Technique had been suppressed by Lu Yin in the past, but the difference in their strengths had not been overwhelmingly disparate. The second time had been at the Tower of Resonating Light, where Lu Yin had easily defeated the Daynight genius. Their third encounter had been on Pyrolyte, and there, Zhanlong Daynight had personally experienced the indescribable difference between the two of them.

    Now, on the space station, Zhanlong Daynight was speechless. It seemed that Lu Yin had killed quite a few Enlighters.

    No matter the methods that Lu Yin had employed, even if he relied on foreign objects, attaining an achievement still showed Lu Yin¡¯s ability. Zhanlong Daynight wanted to face him, not to attempt anything, but just to observe Lu Yin up close so that he could find out if this freak had grown stronger once again.

    The results made him rx slightly, because Lu Yin¡¯s aura had not changed too greatly, and it was about the same as before. This proved that the two¡¯s personal strengths had not changed much sincest time, so Zhanlong Daynight felt that there was still a trace of a chance to catch up.

    The two brushed past each other, but Zhanlong Daynight did not speak. Lu Yin did not say anything either. As they passed each other, it would seem that they had had no interactions.

    As he looked at the five sealings, Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned to shock when his eyes saw the boundless rune lines. These rune lines far surpassed anything that he had ever seen on an Enlighter. He estimated that these rune lines represented a power level close to 300,000. It was no wonder why these fives were able to block an Enlighter¡¯s attacks.

    However, how had Wen Sansi managed to prate past the five sealings to affect Shenwu Continent with just his strength? Lu Yin could not understand this. He had originally thought that the five sealings would not be able to stop Wen Sansi, but now, he realized that they were definitely strong enough to do so. Despite that, Wen Sansi had still possessed his own methods that allowed him to influence Shenwu Continent. This demonstrated the might of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Is this the ce that was chosen as the Outerverse¡¯sst training ground?¡± Wendy Yushan studied the five sealings up and down.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s stunning, isn¡¯t it? One maind is able to withstand an entire weave, and not even the Innerverse¡¯s powers can do anything.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Very amazing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about something. What¡¯s the issue with this isted space?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tyrial replied, ¡°The so-called ¡®strange space¡¯ is equivalent to a parallel universe.¡±

    ¡°Parallel universe?¡± Lu Yin did not understand.

    Tyrial continued, ¡°ording to some studies, all spaces that do not belong to this universe are known as a parallel universe. If you imagine our universe as an endless horizontal line, then a parallel universe would be another parallel line. There are no intersections between the two, but asionally, because of some strange happenstance, a crossover urs. This Shenwu Continent appeared because an Enlighter from there tore through the void, which caused it to intersect with our own universe.¡±

    ¡°Is senior saying that there are many parallel universes?¡± Lu Yin was astounded.

    Tyrial replied, ¡°That, I¡¯m not sure of.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t a parallel universe be identical to our universe? Perhaps there¡¯s a time difference,¡± Wendy Yushanmented.

    Tyrial shrugged. ¡°There are many theories, but none have been proven to bepletely urate so far. However, it¡¯s impossible to have apletely identical universe like you mentioned. At best, there will only be a fixed region that is identical.¡±

    ¡°Please borate, senior,¡± Lu Yin requested respectfully.

    Tyrial continued his exnation, saying, ¡°For instance, if your Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star exists in a parallel universe, then there might also be an identical Zenyu Star in that parallel universe. However, there won¡¯t be apletely identical Frostwave Weave. The scope of Zenyu Star in the context of a parallel universe is small. It might also include some surroundings, or perhaps even a fment. However, never an entire region of the universe. The people on that parallel Zenyu Star would not be able to explore the universe unless they managed to tear through the void ande to our universe.¡±

    ¡°That means that, if destiny allows it, if we tore through to that space, so long as that space exists within the parallel universe, we could see another Zenyu Star with copies of ourselves?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Tyrial nodded. ¡°Another Zenyu Star would appear, but the people there would not be replicated. This is because no parallel universe can copy the entire universe. Hence, people who were originally from distant ces of the universe would not appear on the parallel Zenyu Star.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. This theory meant that only certain areas could exist in parallel universes, but it would be somewhat caged. If those in that parallel universe wanted to leave, then their only option was to tear through the void ande to their universe.

    Truthfully, Lu Yin did not believe in such a theory himself, and he felt that Tyrial was talking nonsense. If there truly existed a parallel universe, then there could be an identical universe with himself, Wendy Yushan, Ten Arbiters, and everyone else. How could there only be a in the parallel universe? That was no different from a cage!

    ¡°Perhaps something identical exists in that region of the parallel universe, or perhaps it¡¯s different. For example, in this universe, the region where Shenwu Continent lies was originally just a band of meteorites. It is tantamount to saying that the Enlighter on that maind pulled Shenwu Continent out from that parallel space,¡± Tyrial exined.

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, ¡°How is senior so certain that our universe is not the parallel universe? Perhaps, to the true universe, our universe is only a small region.¡±

    Tyrialughed. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, as our universe is too big. It¡¯s practically limitless.¡±

    ¡°If the people in the parallel universe tear through the void, then would theye to our universe?¡± Wendy Yushan asked.

    Tyrial muttered, ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. Nobody knows how many parallel universes there might be. There could be countless numbers, where some include surroundings in a very small scope while others may include a fment or even a weave. No one can be sure.¡±

    ¡­

    Tyrial talked for quite some time, and hisments managed to pique Lu Yin¡¯s interest in the so-called ¡°parallel universe theory.¡± He was thinking about, if a parallel universe truly existed, then would there be someone identical to him? If a parallel universe was big enough, then would his copy¡¯s life be the same as what he had experienced in this universe? Such as losing his memory, going to Earth, participating in Astral-10¡¯s trial, and so on?

    Unfortunately, the concept of parallel universes was not precise, and there were at least 10,000 different theories. Countless researchers had studied parallel universes, but no one had been able toe up with a solid theory.

    It was still too early for humans to study the universe.

    ¡°Right, senior, has anyone from Shenwu Continent left the sealed space?¡± Lu Yin suddenly enquired.

    Tyrial replied, ¡°Of course. We¡¯ve captured quite a few people from Shenwu Continent throughout all these years, but they aren¡¯t very valuable. We already have quite an urate understanding of how things on Shenwu Continent operate.¡±

    ¡°Did Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu send out someone to discuss the details of cooperation?¡±

    Tyrial¡¯s eyes flickered and he muttered, ¡°There is, but that person was taken away by the Daynight n, so no one can meet him.¡±

    ¡°Who was it?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°Someone called Tang Si.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Take me to him.¡±

    Tyrial smiled bitterly. ¡°Student Lu, Tang Si has been taken away by the Daynight n, so we can¡¯t meet him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Take me to the Daynight n members,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wendy Yushan nced at him.

    Tyrial¡¯s face revealed his troubled thoughts, but he still nodded. If Lu Yin was just a normal Limiteer, then themander of the space station would not even have met with him. If some other Limiteer spoke to him in the same manner as Lu Yin, then Tyrial would be happy to p the idiot to death. However, Lu Yin was someone who had killed Enlighters, and Tyrial did not wish to offend such a ruthless person.

    Although the space station wasrge, Tyrial was able to tear through the void. Before long, he brought Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan to the Daynight n¡¯s section of the space station. Coincidentally, Zhanlong Daynight returned at the same time and bumped into Lu Yin again. He wondered what Lu Yin was doing in their section of the space station.

    ¡°Please inform Madam Men that Tyrial has brought Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan for a visit,¡± Tyrial spoke courteously to the Daynight guard.

    The Daynight member was arrogant, and although he was only a Limiteer, he haughtily replied, ¡°Wait here.¡±

    Tyrial was not angry, as he was only a Hunter from Darkmist Weave¡¯s Nine Allied Nations. He had no right to act superior when speaking to a Daynight n member.

    Lu Yin looked around, and through his transformed eyes, he was able to see at least three Hunters inside the Daynight n¡¯s section of the space station. They certainly lived up to their reputation as one of the universe¡¯s most powerful ns. They were able to casually send out three Hunters on an errand, while the Great Yu Empire only had three Hunters in total.

    After a long while, that gatekeeper returned. ¡°The madam is resting at the moment. You can return in a few hours.¡±

    Tyrial was now ced in a difficult position.

    Lu Yin frowned and then kicked out with a leg, sending the Daynight guard flying back into the interior doors. Another guard grew furious. ¡°How foolhardy!¡±

    Lu Yin casually pped out and knocked the second guard unconscious. Then, he stepped forward into the Daynight n¡¯s section of the space station.

    Tyrial¡¯s eyes flickered. Lu Yin was indeed confident, and he had instantly taken action.

    Lu Yin hade to this ce to check on Shenwu Continent¡¯s situations, and he had made his preparations long ago. His next objective during this visit was to reveal his power. He knew that the more cautious he behaved, the more people would try to make trouble for him. He had to disy the attitude of an Enlighter in order to cause those Enlighters who were secretly coveting Wendy Yushan to be apprehensive.

    Otherwise, there would only be unending troubles headed his way.

    An rm rang, and many Daynight n members appeared and surrounded Lu Yin and the other two.

    Tyrial stepped forward to exin the situation, but Wendy Yushan had already unsheathed her sword. Sword qi swept through the room, and a Cruiser moved forward from the crowd of Daynight n members to block the attack, but both of his arms were torn apart. Fresh blood stained the floor red, and the surrounding Daynight n members suddenly didn¡¯t dare to cause a ruckus.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s strength was enough for her to crush a normal Cruiser.

    Zhanlong Daynight immediately stepped forward. ¡°Lu Yin, what do you guys want?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the young man. ¡°I want to see Tang Si.¡±

    Zhanlong Daynight frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble. Elder Qiuyu is about to arrive.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows knitted; Nightqueen Qiuyu wasing? He nced at Tyrial and saw the Hunter¡¯s face turn to an unnatural state. Lu Yin immediately understood. He had forgotten that Tyrial was someone from the Darkmist Weave, and they were one of the predators that had originally coveted Shenwu Continent. He was not a good person. During the entire time they had been together talking, not once had Tyrial mentioned that Nightqueen Qiuyu was on her way. He probably wanted to see how Lu Yin would deal with an Enlighter!

 Chapter 562: Act

    <h4>Chapter 562: Act</h4>

    It was no wonder why Tyrial had discussed the parallel universe theory with Lu Yin so patiently earlier. Lu Yin had thought that it was somewhat strange, as this person had been far too patient with him. It turned out that the Hunter had merely been stalling for time.

    Tyrial feigned ignorance. ¡°What? Elder Qiuyu is on her way?¡±

    He then quickly turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu, an Enlighter¡¯sing! I think that you guys should leave soon.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he filled them with star energy to observe rune lines. He could see that three Hunters had already arrived, but they had all hidden themselves. If he retreated at this time, then Nightqueen Qiuyu would definitely stir up trouble in the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°Go? Go where? If Nightqueen Qiuyu ising, then so be it,¡± Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    Tyrial¡¯s heart raced, as Lu Yin was even more confident than what he had expected. The Nightking n¡¯s Enlighters were notparable to an average Enlighter, and yet this youth still remained fearless.

    p p p!

    Apuse suddenly rang out, and everyone looked over.

    A beautiful, middle-ageddy slowly stepped out and smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re the strongest Limiteer in the universe. You have spirit.¡±

    Around them, the Daynight n members all bowed in unison. ¡°Madam.¡±

    Tyrial moved forward to exin. ¡°Madam Men, I¡¯m sorry to bother you. Student Lu was only emotional at this time. He didn¡¯t mean anything by his words.¡±

    The middle-aged beauty was none other than Madam Men, otherwise known as Men Daynight. She was a Hunter with a power level of 160,000, which also meant that she was the strongest Hunter in the space station.

    Madam Men looked at Lu Yin appreciatively,pletely ignoring Tyrial. ¡°Student Lu, I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you. I am Men Daynight.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Has madam rested well?¡±

    She smiled coyly. ¡°You¡¯re young, and you don¡¯t have a small temper either. Student Lu, despite everything, I¡¯m your senior and also a woman.¡± She approached Lu Yin, and her scent flooded his nostrils.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Madam, I suggest that you don¡¯t approach me, as I don¡¯t know what I might do.¡±

    The surrounding Daynight n members heard Lu Yin¡¯s words and became furious.

    Madam Men stopped in front of him and raised a hand, indicating for them to hold their wrath back. She looked at Lu Yin with interest. ¡°Is Student Lu looking for me for a particr reason?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look in one direction. ¡°I want to meet Tang Si.¡±

    ¡°Is there some enmity between Tang Si and Student Lu? I had forgotten earlier, but Student Lu participated in the Outerverse¡¯s trial and visited Shenwu Continent then,¡± Madam Men said calmly, though the shock she was experiencing in her heart was very intense. The direction that Lu Yin had looked in was exactly where Tang Si was. How could he know? It could not be a coincidence.

    At this moment, the mysteriousness of Lu Yin had intensified in Men Daynight¡¯s mind. It was no wonder why this youth had been able to kill an Enlighter, as he possessed truly extraordinary methods.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about the reason¡ªjust let me see him. Rest assured, I won¡¯t harm him,¡± Lu Yin responded indifferently.

    Men Daynight muttered to herself before replying, ¡°Alright, we must give Student Lu some face.¡± After that, she had the various Daynight n members who were surrounding Lu Yin back off and ordered someone bring Tang Si over.

    Hidden in the darkness were two other Hunters that continued to stare at Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked at them. ¡°Madam, I wish to speak to Tang Si alone, so I hope that no one will be watching us.¡±

    Madam Men smiled and had the other two Hunters back away as well. As for Tyrial, he simrly left. Lu Yin was disgusted with themander of the space station by this point, but he did not express it. Since this person was overseeing the space station, then it was possible that he could still be of use in the future.

    Tang Si came out. He first saw the beautiful and heroic looking Wendy Yushan and was astounded by her beauty as well as her imposing manner. After that, he looked at Lu Yin. He had been wearing his universal armor when he entered the space station, and only now did he remove it.

    Tang Si was astounded. ¡°You- you¡¯re Lu Seven?¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s brows lifted up and looked at Lu Yin strangely. Lu Seven?

    Lu Yin looked at Tang Si. ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Tang Si¡¯s expression wasplex, as he had not thought that he would see Lu Yin here. Before, at the Tower of Resonating Light, this person had tossed Zhanlong Daynight to him before leaving, but that had been two years ago!

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Daynight n?¡± Tang Si was amazed.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°You already know my identity, so there¡¯s no need to question me.¡±

    ¡°Why did the Daynight n allow me to see you? If you¡¯re not with them, then there¡¯s no reason for them to allow us to meet.¡± Tang Si was puzzled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°It wasn¡¯t up to them. If I wanted to meet you, then we¡¯ll meet.¡±

    Tang Si¡¯s eyes shed as he sized Lu Yin up and down. After two years, despite the fact that Lu Yin was still a Limiteer, his strength had undergone aplete transformation, but unfortunately, Tang Si was not at a level where he could perceive such a change.

    ¡°You should know about the agreement that I established with the Reverent King, and I¡¯ve sought you out to verify some things. Is the agreement still active? Also, now that he has gained outside assistance in the form of the Daynight n, has the Reverent King forgotten about me?¡± Lu Yin stared at Tang Si and carefully enunciated every word.

    Tang Si quietly answered, ¡°My lord has not forgotten about you. You were given a decade to fulfill the agreement, and that promise has only been made with you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze softened. ¡°How¡¯s the situation on Shenwu Continent?¡±

    Tang Si did not conceal anything, and his reply repeated what Lu Yin had heard from Zhanlong Daynight.

    ¡°How is she doing?¡± Lu Yin looked around before asking softly, his tone bingplex as he spoke.

    Tang Si softly replied, ¡°Good, but quite a bit skinnier.¡±

    Over thest two years, the two had not had a single chance to see each other, and Lu Yin was not entirely confident that Ming Yan still carried the same feelings that she once had. Although ady from a conservative ancient society was unlikely to be unfaithful, time had passed, and there would likely be even longer periods of absence in the future.

    This was why Lu Yin had been apprehensive when he asked about her. He had been afraid that he would not hear the answer he wanted.

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    Wendy Yushan stared at him with a puzzled face.

    After a while, Lu Yin spoke out quietly again. ¡°Help me tell the Reverent King that I hope that he will not forget our agreement of ten years. I can promise that it will not take all ten years. It will be no more than five years before I can allow Shenwu Continent to step into the universe. I hope that the scene I don¡¯t wish to see won¡¯t ur.¡±

    Tang Si agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t ce too much hope in the Daynight n. The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, so the Innerverse can no longer intervene. As long as Shenwu Continent relies on the five sealings, it won¡¯t be difficult for it to defend itself,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Tang Si was astonished. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse are isted from each other?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Tang Si shook his head. ¡°No, when did this happen?¡±

    ¡°It was a while ago,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Tang Si¡¯s eyes flickered, and nobody could tell what he was thinking.

    Lu Yin frowned. These people had deliberately kept Tang Si in the dark, and they had used the Innerverse¡¯s power to coerce a cooperative rtionship from Ming Zhaoshu. Now that Tang Si knew that the Innerverse and Outerverse were cut off from each other, would the Daynight n still allow him to leave?

    After considering this, Lu Yin immediately summoned Tyrial. ¡°Senior, please send Tang Si back to Shenwu Continent.¡±

    Tyrial was ced in a difficult position. ¡°Student Lu, that¡¯s not eptable. Nightqueen Qiuyu specifically said she wanted to meet with him, and if I let him go-¡±

    Lu Yin cut him off. ¡°I will take all responsibility for what happens next.¡±

    Tyrial still refused toply.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed and turned cold. He suddenly put his universal armor back on and pointed the gun at Tyrial¡¯s forehead. ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t want to force you, but I hope that you can send him back to Shenwu Continent and guarantee his safety. Otherwise, your brain¡¯s going to disappear.¡±

    Tyrial was overwhelmed. He felt a fatal dangering from the gun pointed at his head. The feeling of having someone else firmly hold his life and death in their hands made him feel very desperate. Ever since he had broken through to the Hunter realm, he had only felt like this against an Enlighter.

    At this moment, he realized how Lu Yin had killed the Enlighters.

    Since <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had also been aware of the gun, Lu Yin no longer intended to conceal its existence, especially since he no longer had any need to. The power of his gun was not fixed, and he could upgrade it so long as he had enough funds. He decided that, when he returned to Zenyu Star, he would ask Madam Nn for some more funds and then upgrade the gun several more times.

    Additionally, the Yu Secret Art perfectlyplemented the gun¡¯s abilities. As long as an Enlighter was not foolish, they would not casually challenge Lu Yin. His goal during this visit was to showcase his dominance.

    Tyrial was cowed by Lu Yin, so he sent Tang Si back to Shenwu Continent.

    Men Daynight and the few other Hunters appeared with the intention of stopping him, but after Lu Yin blew one of the Hunters¡¯ heads off, no one dared to move.

    The bullet had been fired away from the Hunter, but it had been redirected by Wendy Yushan with the Yu Secret Art straight through the Hunter¡¯s skull.

    This event shocked everyone.

    Although Lu Yin felt it was a pity to waste one of his bullets on a Hunter, this shot had been necessary. Otherwise, he would have been surrounded by the Hunters.

    Men Daynight stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Student Lu, Nightqueen Qiuyu wishes to meet with Mister Tang Si. Our Daynight n has a coborative agreement that we need to discuss with the Reverent King, so we¡¯ll naturally let our guest take his leave after the meeting. There¡¯s no need to rush things.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like wasting my breath. Either send him to Shenwu Continent¡¯s Reverent King¡¯s Residence, or¡­¡± Lu Yin pointed the gun at Tyrial. ¡°You¡¯re next. Choose.¡±

    Tyrial¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Student Lu, I¡¯ll send him over right now.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t try tricks. I have my own ways of knowing whether or not he gets to the Reverent King¡¯s estate safely.¡±

    Tyrial¡¯s expression changed, and he nodded. He looked at Madam Men and the others and then raised his hand to tear apart the void to send Tang Si back.

    Lu Yin was very familiar with this scene, as this was what he had seen when he had been sent to Shenwu Continent himself. He still remembered facing Ming Zhaotian¡¯s attack while traveling to the continent.

    However, at this time, Ming Zhaotian didn¡¯t have the luxury of supervising the five sealings as he was currently preupied with Ming Zhaoshu.

    ¡°You really have a way to know if he makes it back to the Reverent King¡¯s Estate safely?¡± Wendy Yushan raised her doubts.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Of course not.¡±

    ¡°Then aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯ll send him to Ming Zhaotian instead of the Reverent King?¡± She was puzzled.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where he¡¯s sent. The important thing is that he will let the entire Shenwu Continent know that the Outerverse and Innerverse have been cut off from each other. Whether he tells this to Ming Zhaotian or Ming Zhaoshu, it will still be beneficial to me. Once either party gets a hold of this news, they¡¯ll spread the news throughout the continent as a way of boosting the native people¡¯s morale. As long as he survives the trip to the continent, I¡¯ll have seeded.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded and didn¡¯t speak any further.

    Lu Yin had left out a detail. It would be alright even if Tang Si didn¡¯t survive the journey to the continent. This was because the rune lines that he had seen on the five sealings represented a power that could not be breached even by an Enlighter with a power level of 200,000. Shenwu Continent was very safe for now.

    Lu Yin was wishing for Shenwu Continent¡¯s safety so that he would have ample time.

    After Tang Si was sent off, Lu Yin lowered his gun, and Tyrial hurriedly backed away. He stared at Lu Yin, both apprehensive and furious at how he had just been treated.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°My apologies, Senior.¡±

    Tyrial looked at Lu Yin. After a moment, he grudgingly said, ¡°The young will always surpass the old.¡±

 Chapter 563: Wildness

    <h4>Chapter 563: Wildness</h4>

    Lu Yin shifted his attention towards the people from the Daynight n who were surrounding him. Every singlest one of them was furious, as if they wanted to do nothing more than swallow him whole. There was only one exception, and that person was Madam Men. The middle-aged beauty did not have a hint of anger in her eyes. Instead, it seemed to be curiosity.

    Lu Yin was not bothered by the attitude of the people around him, and he simply had no time to bother with them. There were a boundless amount of rune lines sweeping down from the darkness of outer space at this moment. The Enlighters were starting to arrive.

    Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station shook, and everyone was affected by the arrival of the Enlighters. It was the kind of oppressive feeling that made those affected by it not even have the will to rebel. Many people from the Daynight n rejoiced. ¡°It¡¯s the Elder! The Elder¡¯s here!¡±

    Madam Men¡¯s expression changed, and her eyes suddenly held the same emotions as the other members of the Daynight n towards Lu Yin: hatred and contempt.

    If Lu Yin had been paying attention to her, then he would have been shocked to discover how quickly this woman¡¯s attitude had changed.

    As the jolt hit the entire space station, even the five sealings protecting Shenwu Continent trembled slightly. It then started to rain from inside the space station. Nightqueen Qiuyu had appeared. Her expression was as cold as ice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed at this moment. He immediately raised his arm to fire his gun. The next instant, Wendy Yushan waved her left hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The bullet pierced through the rain and missed Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s neck by mere centimeters before disappearing into the depths of outer space.

    All of a sudden, the rain stopped, and silence fell over the space station. Everyone who had just witnessed the scene was stunned.

    Lu Yin stood in front of Wendy Yushan and stared intently at the old woman, Nightqueen Qiuyu. The elder towered high above the space station in the vacuum of space.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu angrily red at Lu Yin, and her aura distorted the sky. ¡°Young one, you dare to attack me?¡±

    Lu Yin kept his head high. ¡°Senior,unching sneak attacks is not a style bing of an Enlighter.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was shocked. ¡°How did you know that I was the one whounched that sneak attack, young one?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold. Of course he had not actually seen Nightqueen Qiuyu attack. Instead, he had simply observed the rune lines. When the rain had started falling within the space station, he had seen rune lines fill up the entire ce, representing the effect that the attack had on the universe. The rune lines had shown him Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s power, as the rainfall itself was enough to overpower Wendy Yushan.

    If Wendy Yushan became injured to the point where she was unable to perform the Yu Secret Art, then Lu Yin would be essentially handicapped.

    ¡°Greetings Elder!¡± The Daynight n people spoke in unison as they bowed to Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu snorted in acknowledgement. She then walked into the space station and looked at Lu Yin with curiosity. ¡°Young one, your armor appears to have quite the impressive defensive abilities. Where did you acquire it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m under no obligation to answer your questions. But let me remind you of something, elder: do not try to sneak attack me. If you try anything like that again, then this gun of mine will not show you any mercy,¡± Lu Yin said threateningly.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu sneered. ¡°Threatening me with a mere gun¡ªwhat a joke! Even if you use that secret technique to change the bullet¡¯s trajectory, you still will not be able to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? There are more than a hundred attacks left in this gun. If I fire a dozen all at once, one or two shots are bound to hit you after being redirected by the secret technique. How many attacks would you be able to withstand, Elder?¡± Lu Yin retorted, not to be outdone.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s gaze turned icy cold, and she red at Lu Yin. She had already felt the might of the gun¡¯s attack, and she had realized that its attacks had a power level of over 250,000. If she were struck by something like that, then she was guaranteed to be severely injured. If she was struck in the head, then she might even die. It was no wonder why this child had been able to kill both <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika and Lei Long.

    The gun was not the most terrifying aspect of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks. The most worrying part was Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique that could divert the bullets. It almost guaranteed that an attack would hit its intended target, and that was what was most scary about this youth.

    Star energy shot up into the sky from the surface of Wendy Yushan¡¯s body. The energy then morphed into a powerful force as the young woman stared intently at Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Men Daynight and the others moved to surround Lu Yin and Wendy. The situation was about to escte at any moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face showed his determination, and he pointed the gun in a random direction, causing everyone who was watching him to freeze in terror.

    Tyrial rushed to smooth things over, and he respectfully offered up an apology.

    A member of the Daynight n walked over to Nightqueen Qiuyu and whispered something. After Nightqueen Qiuyu heard what was said, she looked at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Young one, what did you tell the person from Shenwu Continent?¡±

    Lu Yin had no reason to lie. ¡°I told him that the Outerverse has been cut off.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu flew into a rage. ¡°Young one, Shenwu Continent has nothing to do with you! You dare to meddle in the affairs of the Daynight n!?¡±

    ¡°Elder, what you say is wrong. Shenwu Continent has nothing to do with the Daynight n either. This matter concerns those from Darkmist Weave. What sort of respect are you showing those powers from Darkmist Weave by making such a im? Are you giving Elder Tyrial any face with those kinds ofments?¡± Lu Yin asked, deliberately sowing discord.

    Tyrial¡¯s face suddenly changed. This matter had nothing to do with him! He was innocent and did not have the courage to interfere in anything. He quickly tried tough off Lu Yin¡¯s words to Nightqueen Qiuyu by saying, ¡°Elder Qiuyu, Lu Yin participated in a trial on Shenwu Continent in the past. He must have mentioned the matter in passing to a man he met during his time on the continent. He was not deliberately trying to foil your Daynight n¡¯s ns.¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t deliberate, then why did he force you to send that man back to Shenwu Continent?¡± a man from the Daynight n suddenly yelled. This man was a powerful Hunter, and he had seen for himself how Lu Yin had caused one of his n member¡¯s heads to explode with a single shot from that gun. The Hunter hated Lu Yin to his core.

    Tyrial exined, ¡°That was out of fear that the man would be killed by all of you.¡± After he was done speaking, he whirled to look in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. ¡°Am I right, Student Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Whatever you say.¡±

    Tyrial was left speechless. What kind of an attitude was this? The young punk was actually not afraid of an Enlighter at all!

    Nightqueen Qiuyu felt seething hatred for Lu Yin, and her rage had reached the point where her teeth had even started chattering. However, due to her fear of Lu Yin¡¯s gun and Wendy Yushan¡¯s secret technique, she knew that attempting another sneak attack would be pointless. She was not entirely sure if one of her attacks would be able to eliminate this brat, and she was destined for trouble if Lu Yin got an opportunity to fire his gun. The secret technique took less than a second to activate, and she was not confident that she could dodge the bullet.

    Each bullet that was fired from that gun carried a power level of over 250,000. Such a weapon was scary just to think about.

    Madam Men walked over to Nightqueen Qiuyu and whispered something. Upon hearing what Men had to say, Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s expression became apprehensive. She let out a gasp and quickly activated her gadget to contact someone while the remaining Daynight n members kept their wary gazes trained on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not lower his guard for even a moment. When confronting an Enlighter, any carelessness on his part might cause not only himself to be injured, but also Wendy Yushan. The fact that she possessed a secret technique might be enough to save her life, but that did not negate the possibility that she might be seriously injured.

    After a while, Nightqueen Qiuyu dismissed the Daynight n members. She stared at Lu Yin in a threatening manner and said, ¡°Kid, do not be so wild in your actions. Not even the Ten Arbiters were as wild as you when they were just Limiteers.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°When the Ten Arbiters were Limiteers, were they able to kill Enlighters?¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu became furious; this brat¡¯s arrogance was infuriating.

    Madam Men rushed over and quietly said something, and only then did Nightqueen Qiuyu¡¯s anger dissipate. She quietly growled, ¡°Kid, when it is time to depart, you should take your leave.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a brow. Even though he had not been able to hear what Madam Men had said to Nightqueen Qiuyu, he had a feeling that something big was about to happen.

    Madam Men looked at Lu Yin with a smile on her face and said, ¡°Student Lu, the Elder will not pursue your previous offences, but please leave. You are not wee here.¡±

    Lu Yin cocked a brow and was about to speak, but before he could even open his mouth, the Ghost Monkey interjected. ¡°Seventh Bro, leave! Even I can feel that something is wrong. If Enlighters are given enough time to prepare, then you won¡¯t be able to kill them. She doesn¡¯t have any way to kill you right now, but she still has her own ways of putting up a decent fight against you. Besides, there¡¯re also Hunters here. You¡¯ve put up a brave front thus far, but there is no use in continuing this charade. Get out of here while you still can.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with the monkey¡¯s assessment of the situation. Too many variables could spring up if he stayed around. ¡°It seems that we¡¯re not wee here. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll bid you all farewell.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu did not even look at Lu Yin again, but she did allow him to leave.

    Madam Men stared in astonishment as Lu Yin left.

    Tyrial let out a sigh of relief, feeling lucky that a fight had not broken out. However, he still felt that it was a shame that Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been killed by Nightqueen Qiuyu. Lu Yin¡¯s intuition had been correct¡ªTyrial had indeed been stalling to give Nightqueen Qiuyu enough time to arrive at the space station. That had been his only goal while conversing with Lu Yin. The youth¡¯s terrifying talent as well as his status as the strongest Limiteer in the Universe had caused the Hunter to feel jealous.

    It was an absolute shame that things had ended the way they had, but Lu Yin just had too many tricks up his sleeve.

    After leaving Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, both Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin took a separate spacecraft and started heading towards the Great Yu Empire. At this time, Lu Yin was finally able to heave a sigh of relief. No matter where he looked, there was no sign of a threatening number of rune lines.

    Wendy Yushan called Lu Yin. ¡°Is there someone whom you care about on Shenwu Continent? Who is it?¡±

    Lu Yin paused to think for a moment. ¡°Someone I¡¯ve agreed to spend my life with.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°A woman?¡±

    ¡°What a stupid question!¡± Lu Yin blurted out in spite of himself. He immediately regretted his words, and he hurried to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Wendy. Thatment wasn¡¯t meant for you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan casually replied, ¡°It really was a stupid question. You were right.¡± After she finished speaking, she ended the call.

    Lu Yin stared hazily at his gadget. Anyone with a sliver of emotional quotient could sense that Wendy was angry. Was she upset because he had told her she asked a stupid question? He had already apologized, but she was still angry. Women could be so difficult at times.

    When he looked behind at Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, Lu Yin knew that his next trip to the continent would likely be a lengthy stay. He also knew that things would be much different when he returned, as he wanted to grasp the power to both determine his own destiny as well as Ming Yan¡¯s.

    After making sure that Lu Yin had left, Nightqueen Qiuyu emerged from the void. She wanted to attack the five sealings before news of the Outerverse being isted spread across the continent. This had been the reminder that Madam Men had whispered to her.

    The five sealings had indeed stopped Enlighters before; however, that had been due to the seal being reinforced by Ming Zhaotian and the others. But now, Shenwu Continent was internally divided with Ming Zhaotian being restrained by Ming Zhaoshu. As long as Ming Zhaoshu was willing to work with the Daynight n, then Ming Zhaotian would not dare to show up at the five sealings. This was their only chance, since if news that the Outerverse had been isted was released, then Ming Zhaoshu would not want to cooperate with them any further.

    ¡°Are you saying that you sent that man to an isted ind outside of Shenwu Continent?¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu asked unsympathetically.

    Behind her, Tyrial replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, to an abandoned, isted ind. Getting back to Shenwu Continent from that ind will take him at least three days.¡±

    ¡°Three days.¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu raised her head. This meant that she had to break through the five sealings within three days, or else new variables would enter the equation.

    Soon after, the entirety of Shenwu Continent trembled. The five sealings were being attacked by Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    Martial King Ming Zhaotian looked up with an agonized expression on his face. With one leap, he prepared to go to the five sealings. However, he was stopped by someone else.

    ¡°Ming Zhaoshu, if the five sealings are breached, then you will have no room for negotiation!¡± Ming Zhaotian cried out sharply.

    From the void, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s voice echoed out, despite the fact that he was very far away. His voice traveled all the way to the imperial capital. ¡°There is no need for you to worry about such matters, my royal brother.¡±

    Atop the four peaks that surrounded the Imperial Capital, four Martial Sovereigns all acted at the same time to hold Ming Zhaoshu back. However, they were all pushed aside by Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s forcefield. This power was enough for Ming Zhaoshu to contend directly against Ming Zhaotian, much less some ordinary Martial Sovereign realm cultivators.

 Chapter 564: Suppressing A Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 564: Suppressing A Breakthrough</h4>

    Ming Zhaoshu looked up at the five sealings. They were shuddering, and they had even started to break apart. It was just like when Wen Sansi had attacked in the past.

    Far away, Ming Zhaoshu was also looking at the five sealings, but there was not a trace of worry in his eyes. Ever since he had obtained Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance, he had learned that no ordinary strength could breach the five sealings, not even an expert with a power level of over 200,000.

    However, Tang Si had been taken out of Shenwu Continent, so why were the foreigners attacking the five sealings now? Had some mishap urred?

    No matter what, he could not allow Ming Zhaotian to stop the foreigners from assaulting the five sealings, which was mainly for show. He still wanted to obtain more bargaining chips and increase his value in their eyes.

    At this time, Ming Zhaoshu had already forgotten about Lu Yin. To him, Lu Yin had been an investment, but that was all. It was possible that his investment would reap some benefits in the future, but definitely not any time soon.

    Lu Yin did not know that Nightqueen Qiuyu was attacking the five sealings, but he could guess at what she would try to do. The Daynight n was infamous for its tyrannical behavior, and it would always try to seize the initiative. As soon as Tang Si spread the news that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, they would no longer hold the stronger position when it came to negotiating with Ming Zhaoshu. Nightqueen Qiuyu had to break through the five sealings to maintain their advantage.

    However, she would not be able to break through, and even another Enlighter helping would not allow her to breach the seal. The amount of rune lines that Lu Yin had seen from the five sealings was terrifying, but the amount also seemed like it could change.

    For an entire day, Nightqueen Qiuyu continued to attack the seal, but she still could not breach it. Despite the fact that there was no one on the fives obstructing her attacks, she still could not break the seal.

    ¡°Why is this happening? Some random continent from an isted dimension in the Outerverse is able to block my attacks!¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu was in disbelief.

    Within the space station, Tyrial found the scene even more unbearable. The various powers that coveted Shenwu Continent had originally assumed that their seal¡¯s defense could be broken, but at this moment, he realized howughable their thoughts had been. Nightqueen Qiuyu was no average Enlighter. She was a genius from the Nightking n, and she was much stronger than any of the Enlighters from the Outerverse. However, even such a person had failed to break through the seal, so it would appear that there was not much point to them surrounding Shenwu Continent.

    Finally, Nightqueen Qiuyu gave up on her attempt to breach the five sealings. They could only wait for Ming Zhaoshu to discover that the Outerverse had been isted, which would lead to a new round of negotiations.

    This frustrated Nightqueen Qiuyu a great deal. Ming Zhaoshu might only be a Cruiser, but his schemes ran extremely deep, and his patience was amazing. She felt very exhausted when negotiating with such a person.

    It was all due to that bastard. If not for him, the ball would still be in her court.

    When she thought about how Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan had teamed up, Nightqueen Qiuyu felt a great headache. The two of them together should be considered as equals to an Enlighter.

    Darkmist Weave was adjacent to Frostwave Weave, so it didn¡¯t take long for Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan to return to Frostwave Weave¡¯s regions.

    As soon as they returned, the two were discovered by the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops, and their return was reported back to Zenyu Star.

    The Imperial Cab was delighted, as there was a pile of matters and decisions awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s return.

    ¡°Are you saying that Puyu is worried about the Outerverse Youth Council potentially being suppressed?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    At the other end of the call, Wendy Yushan replied in a crisp tone, ¡°That¡¯s why he called for the meeting. Since the Ten Arbiters Council is trapped in the Innerverse, San Dios has lost its backers. Not even Darkstar Gorge which is behind Puyu can guarantee that the council will retain its previous authority. Only the Ten Arbiters are able to ensure that the authority remains with the younger generation; others cannot.¡±

    Lu Yin was helpless. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that we can do about that. The current situation of the Outerverse depends on the Enlighters and the various weaves. The Enlighters who have kept themselves hidden will start to appear one after another, but even then, they won¡¯t be able to stand up to the powerful Enlighters from the Innerverse who are stuck in the Outerverse. The situation in the Outerverse is constantly changing, and it¡¯s already pretty decent that the Outerverse still continues to exist. Puyu is overthinking things.¡±

    ¡°And you? You¡¯re also a part of San Dios,¡± Wendy Yushan asked. She was hoping that San Dios wouldn¡¯t disappear. Otherwise, she never would have attended the meeting that Puyu had called. She was hoping to preserve the Outerverse Youth Council for the sake of the Ten Arbiters Council and White Knight.

    Lu Yin straightforwardly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice, either. These are all great powers, and no one can stop them.¡±

    Not long after, the two ended their call.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I see you smiling very treacherously,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin was indeed smiling, as San Dios would never disappear. Quite a few of the Enlighters who had been left stranded in the Outerverse had connections to the Ten Arbiters, such as Nightqueen Qiuyu, Wen Qichen, and Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree. These powerhouses would not allow the Outerverse Youth Council to disappear, as the existence of the Ten Arbiters Council was beneficial to the powers behind them.

    Even if San Dios did lose its authority, it would continue to exist, and the Prairie me Continent would not greatly be affected either.

    As long as the Outerverse Youth Council existed even if only in name, things would be fine. After all, the future still held many possibilities.

    Lu Yin did not need to borrow the prestige of the Ten Arbiters Council to protect himself anymore, so he did not care if San Dios retained its authority. He only cared about the future: after the Innerverse and Outerverse returned to normal, what would he be able to do to San Dios then? What could San Dios¡¯s rtionship with the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters Council help him do? He did not know all the answers, but there was at least one possibility.

    It was a possibility of himself, or someone he arranged for, bing a part of the Ten Arbiters. Even though it soundedughable, it would be alright as long as there remained such a possibility.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s face distorted, and his face maintained the strange expression for a period of time before finally returning to normal.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what happened?¡± the monkey asked in a strange voice.

    Lu Yin softly answered, ¡°I have a feeling that I can break through to be an Explorer.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Go for it!¡± the monkey shrieked. ¡°Seventh Bro, with your current power, as soon as you break through to the Explorer realm, things will be crazy! You might be able to rival the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings! You¡¯ll be able to hold your own even against a Hunter! You won¡¯t have to act like you currently have to where you put on that tortoise shell whenever you face anybody.¡±

    Lu Yin was eager to break through, but he still couldn¡¯t quite yet. The difficulty of breaking through to the Melder realm was still fresh in his mind. There were several hurdles that had to be ovee during one¡¯s cultivation: Seeker, Melder, and Explorer. Bing a Seeker was going from zero to something. The most difficult part of this stage was getting a formcast model and a battle technique. If one did not have that, then there was no need to start cultivating. Bing a Melder was a transitional stage on one¡¯s cultivation journey. It was when one went from just starting to cultivate to truly cultivating. Bing an Explorer was another fundamental change, as one¡¯s ordinary physical body would be transformed and adapted to better suit the universe.

    Not a single one of these three hurdles was simple. Although Lu Yin had a formcast model and could attempt to break through to the Explorer realm, there was no top-tier powerhouse watching over him. He had an uneasy feeling that, if he tried to break through, he would fail.

    This feeling had been present when he first felt the possibility of breaking through, and it hadn¡¯t dissipated since. Actually, it had grown even more distinct. He felt as if there was a vague strength that was preventing him from breaking through.

    With some difficulty, he suppressed the feeling of breaking through and finally rxed.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why don¡¯t you break through? Do you want to continue along with being an unequaled Limiteer? That¡¯s a bit too excessive,¡± the monkey ridiculed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sank. While he had managed to suppress his breakthrough this time, it would not be as easy to handle the next time. Since he had already suppressed his breakthrough twice, there would eventuallye a time when he would be forced to attempt to break through.

    In the Outerverse, only Enlighters had the strength to assist him in breaking through. But out of all of the Enlighters in the Outerverse, which one could he trust?

    Lu Yin could note up with an answer. Granny Chan? He could not trust her, and the others were no different.

    Why couldn¡¯t he have broken through before the universe went through its great change? Lu Yin gazed into the far off into the depth of outer space with a helpless expression on his face.

    Over the course of a month, Lu Yin reviewed the r¨¦sum¨¦s of many geniuses and talented individuals that various ces had rmended to join one of the four new ministries. Though there were definitely many outstanding talents among them, Lu Yin ced most of these people in Grandtop Weave¡¯s Lu Office of Defense or Lu Ministry of Administration. As for the Lu Ministry of Staff and Lu Ministry of Defense, not just anyone was able to enter those departments.

    If the Great Yu Empire stabilized and no longer needed to expand outwards, then he would be able to adopt fair measures like examinations in order to select the most-qualified people to enter the four departments, but that was not possible at the moment. Not only did people joining the four departments need to be talented, but they also needed to have a sufficient background.

    For example, there was a person called Rang Fen who had limited abilities, but he was the heir of the strongest n in a certain fment of Grandtop Weave. That was the type of person that Lu Yin was forced to recruit into the four ministries, as appointing them would mean that the fment would pledge allegiance to the Great Yu Empire and not require a military force to maintain control over.

    This was reality. Such things were not beneficial for cultivators with humble backgrounds, but they were overall beneficial for the Great Yu Empire.

    However, Lu Yin made a silent promise that one day, that he would give everyone an equal opportunity to be tested fairly.

    During this month, Hai Qiqi also returned, depressed once again after not finding a way back into the Innerverse. Lu Yin attempted to console her again.

    Her demeanor had improved from the time when the Innerverse and Outerverse had first been separated, but she still had not returned to her original, carefree self. Lu Yin didn¡¯t know what to do with her, and he even offered to take Hai Qiqi out sightseeing. However, she rejected his offer.

    The girl had matured quite a bit.

    Bard Weave was located due west of Darkmist Weave, and it was separated from Frostwave Weave by Darkmist and Woori weaves. It was also one of the weaves that was adjacent to the Astral River.

    There was a family in Bard Weave that was known as the Lanxin family. They controlled ten fments, and they were second only to the top power of Bard Weave, Evenground Pce.

    At this time, the main of the Lanxin family had been bathed in blood. The ughter was so excessive that even sunlight could not prate through the thick bloodmist that hung in the air. There was an elder who had been forced down onto both knees. He appeared to be both desperate and terrified as he stared at a desated corpse that was slowly approaching him. ¡°Why? Why do you have to massacre us? Did our Lanxin family somehow offend you?¡±

    This corpse was the same one that had emerged from the with the Neohuman Alliance stronghold, and its head was still draped with Progenitor Wushang''s Hide, which made it look rather ridiculous. However, on this blood-colored, it appeared extremely horrifying.

    The ground had been showered in blood as hundreds of millions from the Lanxin family had been ughtered. Not a single one had been able to escape.

    The kneeling elder was the strongest person from the Lanxin family. He was a peak Hunter, but he was powerless before this mummy.

    The mummy raised a hand and pressed it against the elder¡¯s head.

    The elder continued to mutter, ¡°Why? Why do you need to massacre us? What wrong, what wrong did we do?¡±

    ¡°Ancient bloodline discovered. Target confirmed. Kill.¡± With a bang, the elder¡¯s head exploded, and the headless body tumbled into the river of blood.

    Not long after, the itself was destroyed as well, returning to the dust of the universe.

    All of the creatures on that had been wiped out in an instant.

    The mummy still carried Progenitor Wushang''s Hide on its head. Its ckhole-like eyes scanned its surroundings, and then it slowly moved away from where the had once been.

    More than ten dayster, an expert from Evenground Pce arrived and observed the distant ckhole in shock. ¡°Did the entire Lanxin family disappear?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What about those who were away from the?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all scared out of their minds and don¡¯t dare return. Some of them have been brought here to the pce.¡±

    The expert from Evenground Pce nodded and then sighed in sorrow. ¡°The Lanxin family was once a n with a primeval surname, but they thrived ever since they changed their name to Lanxin. Who would imagine that they would be extinguished so quickly. Who exactly could have acted? It should be an Enlighter. The Outerverse is too chaotic nowadays.¡±

 Chapter 565: Drafted

    <h4>Chapter 565: Drafted</h4>

    The Outerverse was indeed very chaotic, and wars were constantly breaking out in various weaves in the eastern region. It wasmon for Enlighters to act on their own, and they were piging all of the resources in the Outerverse. There were also many areas that were still isted by energy barriers, much like what had happened to the Astral River. The weaves in the western part of the Outerverse weren¡¯t even connected to thework anymore.

    Among the eastern weaves, Frostwave Weave and Grandtop Weave were the most peaceful. Even if wars did asionally break out in those weaves, they were all incited by the Great Yu Empire and typically didn¡¯tst longer than two months.

    For two months, things were peaceful for Lu Yin, and he spent most of his time busily dealing with politics. Even with his four ministries, there were still many affairs that ended up needing his attention, which made him want to escape.

    Wendy Yushan hadpletely fled the scene. She wasn¡¯t even on Zenyu Star now.

    During this period, the Lu Ministry of Administration and Lu Office of Defense had enjoyed a substantial increase in the number of their workers, but the Lu Staff and the Lu Ministry of Defense still only had the same few people as Lu Yin could not randomly recruit people into those ministries.

    There were also still only three people in the Imperial Cab¡ªGarope, Hill Auna, and Gavin.

    Under such peaceful circumstances, one request for aid created quite a stir in the surrounding weaves.

    At this time, the Outerverse had been isted for eight months. At that time, Ironblood Weave requested that all seventy-two weaves of the Outerverse send reinforcements to help defend against the invasion from the Astral Beast Domain.

    It was supposed to be all seventy two weaves, but in reality, only the eastern weaves were able to receive the message. And naturally, Frostwave Weave was among them.

    Lu Yin looked up in shock. ¡°Ironblood Weave?¡±

    En Ya gazed at him solemnly. ¡°Ironblood Weave is the Human Domain¡¯s first line of defense against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. It¡¯s simr to the border warfront in the Innerverse''s Erudite Flowzone. The main difference is that the border in Erudite Flowzone is just a border, as it has the Astral River to block it. However, there are no natural barriers protecting Ironblood Weave. The entire weave is a battlefield, and there are no civilians there. The weave only contains soldiers, cultivators and the families of the soldiers.¡±

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing about this weave. He stood up and moved to study the screen that En Ya was using. ¡°Tell me more about it.¡±

    En Ya tapped a finger against the northeastern portion of the star chart shown on the screen. ¡°This is Ironblood Weave. It has a bit of an ovep with both the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain. The majority of that ovep is blocked by the Astral River, which also serves as a border warfront. However, this ovepping region has two paths that lead to areas without any obstruction. Once the astral beasts get past Ironblood Weave, they will be able to run amok through the entire Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Ironblood Weave is very small, and it is only made up of about twenty or so fments. They have nine strongholds, and the one at the forefront is Ironblood Fort. It is embroiled in endless battle, all-year round. Even if the Human Domain and Astral Beast Domain have a temporary truce, that ce is still a battlefield. It¡¯s simply a ckhole of death.¡±

    ¡°Every year, the Outerverse is responsible for supplying Ironblood Weave with resources. The Great Yu Empire also annually sendsrge amounts of resources to a certain location, which is actually Ironblood Weave. This support is an order from the Hall of Honor, though many experts within Ironblood Weavee from the Innerverse. Every stronghold is reinforced by an Enlighter as well as a certain number of space-exploring powerhouses. Despite the number of cultivators there, it¡¯s quitemon for there to be casualties among the Enlighters and countless space-exploring powerhouses, and the deaths of the normal cultivators are impossible to calcte.¡±

    ¡­

    En Ya spent about half an hour introducing Lu Yin to Ironblood Weave and giving him a moderate understanding of the situation there. He summarized the situation with, ¡°Since the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, the number of reinforcements that Ironblood Weave have received naturally can¡¯t keep up with the casualties. Thus, they¡¯ve requested aid at this point in time. Once us humans are routed from Ironblood Weave, the entire Outerverse will be exposed to the fangs of the Astral Beast Domain, correct?¡±

    En Ya agreed. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. In the past, Commander Shui made a suggestion to the Hall of Honor that they should increase the number of experts in Ironblood Weave. Unfortunately, they did not ept his advice.¡±

    Lu Yin had heard many times that the Hall of Honor was the Human Domain¡¯s highest authority as well as its strongest power. They had the power to rule and judge the recognized powers of the Human Domain, and they could directly influence any entity such as an empire, sect, or n.

    Every year, a certain amount of resources were shipped from the Great Yu Empire to an unknown location under the Hall of Honor¡¯s order. Even after Undying Yushan died and his distant rtives had started squabbling for power, this shipment had never changed or been dyed. When Sigmund Mathers had been suspected of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, Undying Yushan had not had the authority to pardon him since the sentence had been delivered by the Hall of Honor.

    The Hall of Honor was in charge of the entire Human Domain.

    The Hall of Honor also issued Honor Points, and Lu Yin had taken advantage of his Honor Points to gain ess to a great deal of information that was inessible to the average person. This showed the power of the Hall of Honor.

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had been the suprememander at the border warfront, but he was now imprisoned by the order of the Hall of Honor. It could be said that they had the authority and power to judge any powerhouse.

    ¡°Your Majesty, there¡¯s one other distinct possibility that would exin why Ironblood Weave is so desperate for aid.¡± En Ya¡¯s face turned serious as she exined her thoughts. ¡°The Astral Beast Domain has not been divided.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze changed. ¡°Are you saying that the entire Astral Beast Domain might still be connected?¡±

    En Ya nodded. ¡°Us humans¡¯ Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated. Meanwhile, the Astral Beast Domain still has ess to Ironblood Weave and can use it as a path to seize control of the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse while the Innerverse is unable to intervene in any manner. This is probably the real reason why Ironblood Weave is requesting reinforcements, but not many people would know about this since this news cannot be allowed to spread as that would incite widespread panic throughout the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was already panicking; their opponent was the entire Astral Beast Domain! It had mainly been with the Innerverse¡¯s support that they had managed to hold back the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion in the past. However, now that the Outerverse was alone, how could it possibly stop the Astral Beast Domai¡¯s invasion?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this woman¡¯s right. Our Astral Beast Domain is divided into regions, but they aren¡¯t separated in spirit. Of course, there¡¯re a few ces that are locally isted, but those ces are too small to have much of an impact. With my understanding of the Celestial Beast Empire, the Outerverse is finished. This ce will definitely be the target of a massive invasion from the Astral Beast Domain!¡± the Ghost Monkey cackled.

    Lu Yin frowned. Only by uniting the Innerverse and the Outerverse, as well as the Neoverse¡¯s strength, had the Human Domain been able to stand up to the Astral Beast Domain. The Outerverse alone would not have the strength to stop the invasion. Lu Yin started experiencing a real panic attack at this point.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification. This time, it was a message that could not be rejected. When Astral-10 had been exiled to the Outerverse and when Wendy Yushan had been appointed as the Youth Council Representative for the Great Yu Empire, this type of notification had simrly been sent out.

    ¡®With my position as an elder of the Hall of Honor, I, Lohar, order Northcastle Weave, Vastdearth Weave, Grandtop Weave, Frostwave Weave, Lars Weave, Darkmist Weave, Bard Weave¡­ All of the above weaves are ordered to send three Hunters, ten Cruisers, one hundred Explorers, and a fleet of 100,000 soldiers to support Ironblood Weave. As each weave¡¯s location is different, the deadline for arriving will be sent as a separate notice. Weaves that do not send any aid will be convicted in the name of the Hall of Honor.¡¯

    This was the first message that Lu Yin received, and a second message quickly followed it.

    ¡®Frostwave Weave must send three Hunters, ten Cruisers, one hundred Explorers, and a fleet with 100,000 soldiers to Ironblood Weave.¡¯

    Right after the second message, a third one was also received.

    ¡®To the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin: In the name of the Hall of Honor, you have been drafted to Ironblood Weave¡¯s Seasons Fort to assist Commander Liu Qiuyu in fulfilling his responsibilities to defend the fort. You are to report to the stronghold within five days. Anyone who deliberately dys or declines the draft will be judged in the name of the Hall of Honor.¡¯

    Lu Yin received these three messages in just a few short moments, but not a single one of them could be ignored or rejected. He waspletely stunned, and he could sense the urgency of the situation in Ironblood Weave, as even he had been ordered to fight. He was just a Limiteer, and each weave was required to send experts as reinforcements. It seemed like Ironblood Weave could no longer withstand the Astral Beasts attack and that a catastrophe was about to sweep through the entire Outerverse.

    At this point, Wendy Yushan sent a message, which Lu Yin nced at. ¡®To the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fifth Princess, Wendy Yushan, ranked eighteenth in the Top 100 Rankings: In the name of the Hall of Honor, you have been drafted to Ironblood Weave¡¯s Yellowsoil Fort to assist Commander Elder Shuang in fulfilling his responsibilities to defend the fort. You are to report to the stronghold within five days. Anyone who deliberately dys or declines the draft will be judged in the name of the Hall of Honor.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re going to Ironblood Weave too?¡± Lu Yin connected a call with Wendy to ask her.

    Wendy Yushan acknowledged and then asked, ¡°How about you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°Me too.¡±

    Wendy Yushan fell silent before saying, ¡°It seems that the situation there is truly desperate. Hurry up and confirm the draft. You also need to make arrangements for the people and resources that will be sent to Ironblood Weave. We need to head over there.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged her suggestion and closed his gadget. He looked at En Ya. ¡°Will there be danger in Ironblood Weave?¡±

    En Ya was bewildered by his question. ¡°It¡¯s a battlefield, a ckhole of death! Even Enlighters can die there. Of course there¡¯s danger!¡±

    Lu Yin quickly corrected himself. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I have noints if I die on the battlefield, but if I meet a human enemy, will they try to get revenge on me during the battles there?¡±

    He could not help worry about this point since he would not be close to Wendy Yushan. If they ran into Nightqueen Qiuyu or other simr powerhouses, they would need to be mentally prepared. Even he had been drafted to the battlefield, so he doubted that the elder from the Hall of Honor would let off Enlighters like Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    En Ya responded solemnly, ¡°Rest assured. No matter what grudges might exist outside there, as soon as anyone enters Ironblood Weave¡¯s battlefield, all enmity must be set aside. Your gadget will directly connect to Ironblood Weave¡¯s battle system, which will constantly monitor you. If someone attempts to take revenge against a fellow human being, the Hall of Honor will directly act, and they cannot be swayed. Over countless years, no one has ever dared to try to settle their personal vendettas on Ironblood Weave¡¯s battlefield. If someone tries to, even if they¡¯re the Nightking n or Sword Sect¡¯s direct heir, they will still be immediately killed since these are the regtions that have been set in ce by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin rxed, as such a situation would be much better. Given his and Wendy¡¯s strength, neither of them would be killed on the battlefield before they had a chance to react, as that was something that even Enlighters struggled to aplish. Since everyone was constantly being monitored, the battlefield would act as a deterrence to the Enlighters.

    ¡°Can we request to transfer to a different fort?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    En Ya shook her head. ¡°Unless they¡¯re an Enlighter, the average person won¡¯t be qualified to apply for such a thing. Of course, as soon as you enter Ironblood Weave, you¡¯ll be able to use the battle system search. Soldiers are awarded Ironblood Points based on their battle achievements, and the higher your points are, the greater your status in Ironblood Weave. This is actually wholly unrted to your cultivation. These are also the rules of Ironblood Weave that everyone has to follow.¡±

    No one thought that such a thing would happen, and Lu Yin was now caught in a dilemma: who should he take to Ironblood Weave? Three Hunters, ten Cruisers, and a hundred Explorers was not a small number of powerhouses.

    Cruisers were still alright, as more than ten Cruisers had joined the Great Yu Empire during this period, and there were certainly more than enough Explorers to fill the quota. Lu Yin was mainly considering which Hunters to bring.

    The entire Great Yu Empire had only three Hunters: Huo Qingshan, the Blind Monk, and Xueshan Auna. He could not take all of them, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to fill the quota if he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Summon Huan Sha,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

 Chapter 566: Aden

    <h4>Chapter 566: Aden</h4>

    It didn¡¯t take Huan Sha long to arrive and bow to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Huan Sha, how many Hunters are currently registered in Frostwave Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huan Sha blurted out, ¡°Five.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Besides the empire¡¯s trio, who are the other two?¡±

    ¡°One is the Merke family¡¯s elder, Ryan Merke, and the other is a prisoner, Aden,¡± Huan Sha exined.

    ¡°Quickly give a brief introduction on the both of them.¡±

    Huan Sha looked at Lu Yin and then proceeded to slowly recite from her astounding memory, ¡°The Merke family is a great n based in the northern part of Frostwave Weave, and they control seven fments. Based off of Undying Yushan¡¯s strategy that he left behind, the blind monk, who¡¯s the captain of the Eleventh Squadron, moved in and defeated Ryan Merke, which led to the Merke family being defeated. At present, the family only upies their home. While they have not created any trouble for the empire, they have not joined the empire either.

    ¡°Aden¡¯s origins are a mystery, and there are no records of him. The man is not a convict but rather a voluntary prisoner. He decided to imprison himself in the empire for a hundred years, and this term expires in ten years.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°He voluntarily imprisoned himself for a hundred years?¡±

    Huan Sha nodded. ¡°There are no records on file about him, so your subordinate cannot make any guesses.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and then contacted Wendy Yushan. She was shocked at what he told her. ¡°Aden is still in jail?¡±

    ¡°You know him?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Wendy Yushan exined, ¡°When he first came to Frostwave Weave, a conflict broke out between him and Father. The two made a bet, and Aden lost. Due to the bet, he either had to join the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Imperial Thirteen Squadrons and serve Father or be imprisoned for a hundred years. Who knew that, even after Father passed away, he would still stick around.¡±

    Lu Yin was interested in this Aden, ¡°What kind of bet did they make?¡±

    ¡°Aden is very confident in his defense, so he bet that Father would not be able to breach his defense. Unfortunately for him, Father still won. Of course, the whole thing wasn¡¯t that simple.¡± At this point, Wendy Yushan¡¯s tone became quieter. ¡°Father should have been forced to do his best, which I picked up from his tone when he told me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart quivered at the words, ¡°do his best,¡± as Undying Yushan had not been an ordinary person to begin with. Even if he hadn¡¯t reached the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings in his generation, he had still been the heir of the ¡°Yu¡± family of the Court of Seven Names, which meant that he had inherited the court¡¯s battle techniques. Lu Yin had long since guessed that Undying Yushan had been able to ughter his way back to the Outerverse from the Innerverse and survive for so many years thanks to these battle techniques.

    No one other than Lu Yin better understood how difficult it was for someone from the Outerverse to be ranked within the top thirty, even if this was before the universe had been greatly changed.

    There was no doubt to Aden¡¯s power if even Undying Yushan had admired it. If Undying Yushan had been forced to try his best to deal with Aden, then this person was clearly no ordinary Hunter.

    Lu Yin had En Ya and Huan Sha withdraw. He sent Huan Sha to prepare the resources for Ironblood Weave along with a list of the Cruisers and Explorers that would be sent over. He himself headed for the jail where Aden was imprisoned.

    Even though the man was supposedly imprisoned, if Lu Yin¡¯s conjecture was correct, then this Aden was not someone who could be held by the Great Yu Empire, and he was imprisoned here of his own ord.

    When Lu Yin saw Aden, he felt like he was looking at a savage beast.

    The man¡¯s hair and beard had grown until they almost covered his entire body. He simply sat in the corner of his cell with his eyes closed. It looked as if he was sleeping.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t anyone taking care of him?¡±

    The guard behind Lu Yin nervously answered, ¡°Your Majesty, this person is very strange, and he doesn¡¯t want anyone to take care of him. When His Majesty Undying Yushan previously ordered us to open the cell doors and allow him to leave whenever he wished, this man insisted that the doors be locked up and that he should not receive any special treatment since he¡¯s a convict.¡±

    ¡°Has he been like this all these years?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°ording to my grandfather, this person has been like this since the time that my grandfather first saw him,¡± the guard replied.

    Lu Yin nced at the guard. ¡°Your grandfather worked here before?¡±

    The guard hurriedly answered, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yinughed, since it turned out that this job ran in the family.

    He had the guard open the gate. Aden suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Lu Yin with beast-like eyes from where he sat inside the cell. An immense pressure descended upon Lu Yin, and it was not one bit inferior to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s. It was as heavy as a mountain.

    Lu Yin was astonished. This person was obviously just a Hunter, but he possessed such terrifying pressure. Aden was definitely a genius among Hunters, and he must also be a Realmbreaker like Lu Yin himself.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not simple,¡± Aden said, as his eyes pierced through his thick hair to stare at Lu Yin, an indistinct sh of electricity going through them.

    Lu Yin marveled. ¡°Senior is even more umon, to be willing to voluntarily incarcerate himself for a hundred years for a single promise. That¡¯s something that not many in the universe are able to do.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need topliment me. What do you want?¡± Aden¡¯s voice was deep.

    Lu Yin moved to the side of the cell door and gestured. ¡°His Majesty Undying Yushan has died, so you are a free man now.¡±

    Aden sneered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to lie to me. That¡¯s impossible¡ªthat old fogey can¡¯t die.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°But it¡¯s true, and the entire universe knows this. His Majesty Undying Yushan was ambushed by the Neohuman Alliance, and only the Fifth Princess remains of the entire Yushan family. All the rest are dead, and even their corpses have disappeared.¡±

    Aden leaped to his feet in shock, and it was at this point that Lu Yin finally realized that the man was three meters tall, which was much taller than Lu Yin himself. When he stood next to this person, it was as if he was standing in front of a hill.

    ¡°Dead? How? That old bastard mastered the Undying Manual, so he shouldn¡¯t be able to die,¡± Aden muttered to himself. Then, he stared at Lu Yin and grabbed at him. Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as the three Fatesands instantly spun together, allowing his strength to explode. He used his fastest speed, which caused even the void to distort, but his cor was still grabbed by Aden, and Lu Yin was forcefully dragged over to therge man. The giant¡¯s copper-colored eyes were now only ten centimeters away from Lu Yin¡¯s, and Lu Yin could even touch the man¡¯s hair and beard if he reached out.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re lying!¡± Aden shouted.

    The guard outside rushed into the cell to help, but he was knocked unconscious by a casual wave of Aden¡¯s hand.

    Lu Yin remained calm as he looked at Aden. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Check it for yourself.¡± He then handed therge man a gadget.

    Aden activated the gadget and searched for news about the Great Yu Empire, where he finally saw the news that Undying Yushan had died. ¡°How? He mastered the Undying Manual, so he shouldn¡¯t be dead!¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Undying Yushan didn¡¯t learn the Undying Manual¡ªthat was all nothing but rumors and hearsay. However, it was precisely because of that that he was chased out of the Innerverse, and he only managed to escape by the skin of his teeth.¡±

    Aden knitted his brows, and he seemed to be in disbelief. However, the facts were disyed in front of him. He put the gadget down with aplex expression. ¡°I wanted to have another bet with him after a century passed, but I never thought that he would already be dead. But someone from the Neohuman Alliance would indeed be able to kill him. It¡¯s no wonder why they¡¯re one of the Three Dark Hands.¡±

    ¡°You seem to hold His Majesty in high regard. No matter what, the two of you were nothing more than Hunters, while it wouldn¡¯t have been strange for the Neohuman Alliance to be able to send out Enlighters with their resources,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Aden sneered, ¡°So what if it was an Enlighter?¡±

    He paused for a moment and looked outside the cell. ¡°Although he might be dead, I still need to honor the bet, and the promise still needs to be kept. I have another ten years left, and I won¡¯t go back on my word.¡± Aden went back and sat back down in the corner of his cell, looking like he was ready to pass another ten years in this manner.

    It would be a wasted trip if Lu Yin allowed this person to wait another ten years, as he had note here to tell Aden about Undying Yushan¡¯s passing.

    ¡°Senior, do you like to gamble? How about the two of us make a bet?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Aden looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I will only gamble with those who are qualified, and you aren¡¯t.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°This junior is currently the strongest Limiteer in the universe. I don¡¯t qualify?¡±

    Aden¡¯s eyes widened as he seriously sized Lu Yin up and down. All of a sudden, electricity sparked in his eyes again, and one wisp of lightning actually encircled Lu Yin and streaked past his body. His eyes trembled. ¡°That¡¯s a powerful physical body, kid. Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose. ¡°This junior is the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, and I am acting on behalf of the throne. Undying Yushan is this junior¡¯s Uncle.¡±

    Aden nodded. ¡°The Outerverse already produced Undying Yushan, and now there¡¯s you. Each of you is a freak.¡±

    ¡°So does Junior qualify to gamble with Senior?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Aden muttered to himself for a second and then looked at Lu Yin with interest. ¡°What¡¯s the bet?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s wager on whether or not Junior can breach Senior¡¯s defense,¡± Lu Yin said proudly.

    Aden grew furious. ¡°Undying Yushan was a Hunter back then, and even he found it hard to break through my thunder shield, but you want to try as well? Shameless! Junior, you should know your limits.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Senior doesn¡¯t dare?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to aggravate me. So long as there¡¯s someone qualified, I like to gamble. But kid, what can you bring to the table to bet? And what is it that you want from me?¡± Aden said.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°Ironblood Weave has requested emergency assistance, and Junior was mentioned by name and ordered to head to Seasons Fort to join their defence. Junior hopes that Senior will travel there with me.¡±

    Aden was shocked. ¡°Emergency assistance? Does the Astral Beast Domain n to invade the Human Domain from there? But even if it¡¯s an emergency, why would a Limiteer like you be mentioned by name? Did all of those old Enlighter farts already croak?¡±

    ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, and only the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves are avable to support Ironblood Weave to attempt to hold the Astral Beast Domain back.¡± Lu Yin had no choice but to exin the entire matter about how the universe had changed.

    Aden did not believe him at first, so Lu Yin was forced to show him the news again. Aden then personally tested the stability of space, only then finally believing Lu Yin. ¡°Never did I think that during all these years in jail would such groundbreaking changes happen outside. The Innerverse and Outerverse are actually separated, and the Outerverse clearly cannot withstand the Astral Beast Domain by itself.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of whether or not we can withstand their attack, it¡¯s better to stand and die an honorable death than to live without purpose,¡± Lu Yin spoke loudly.

    Aden¡¯s eyes shed, and admiration for Lu Yin seemed to appear in his eyes. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make a bet with you. If you win, I¡¯ll head over to Seasons Fort with you. If you lose, then thest ten years of the promise I made with Undying Yushan will be nullified.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but the older man had reacted quickly. No matter if he won or lost, thest ten years of the agreement with Undying Yushan would be nullified. This old bastard was pretty smart.

    There was a rumble as the entire jail vibrated. Aden raised his arms and stretched. ¡°Although you¡¯re just a Limiteer runt, I always take every wager seriously. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gone all out.¡±

    His eyes went wide as his thick hair and beard were torn apart by wild strands of lightning. It almost looked like a veil was removed as Aden¡¯s real face was exposed.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as he had assumed that the man was very old. However, he only appeared to be about forty or so, much younger than Undying Yushan. His sturdy muscles had not turned limp despite the decades of imprisonment. Lightning flickered about and distorted the void until it even began cracking slightly.

    He released a low growl, and Zenyu Star began to sway. Lightning swirled above the three rings, which shocked everyone. All sorts of devices that measured power levels started to go off with wild rms.

    Huo Qingshan looked up, and his face grew solemn. Is it him? What a powerful pressure, and he¡¯s no ordinary Hunter either. Hopefully, His Majesty can handle him.

 Chapter 567: Borrowing Money

    <h4>Chapter 567: Borrowing Money</h4>

    The lightning bolts did not just flicker throughout Zenyu Star; they even spread out from Zenyu Star and shrouded the surrounding region of space.

    Aden had not exerted any of his strength for so long that he had be a little excited by the prospect of a bet.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and he stared at the Hunter in shock. The number of rune lines on Aden actually surpassed what he had seen from <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. This person was indeed just a Hunter, but he was a Realmbreaker freak who could defeat an Enlighter. Aden was simr to Lu Yin¡¯s own existence within the Limiteer realm. He was a Hunter that average Enlighters could not deal with.

    What was especially noticeable was that his rune lines did not dissipate. Instead, they came together on one side of the shield like an immobile mountain. The front of this shield gave Lu Yin a feeling of imperviousness.

    The corners of his mouth twitched, as he had gambled big this time. Even his gun¡¯s offensive capability might not be able to break through this shield. Although Aden¡¯s attack power might not match up to an average Enlighter, his defense was definitely freakish.

    Suddenly, the lightning exploded as the prisonpletely copsed. Aden¡¯s body was enveloped in the roar of thunder as a giant shield appeared in front of him while the lightning imprinted a mark onto its face. The shield waspletely awe-inspiring.

    ¡°Kid, the difference between us is too great. I¡¯m not going to bully you, so I won¡¯t use battle force. As long as you can break through this shield, I¡¯ll consider it your victory,¡± Aden barked with a proud tone. This pride was not due to the suppression of realms, but was rather a confidence in his own ability. Even against an Enlighter, he would have this same unyielding spirit.

    Lu Yin rxed. The defense that the shield had demonstrated so far was absolutely terrifying. If Aden also used battle force on top of that, then Lu Yin would have no confidence at all as he did not believe that Aden¡¯s battle force would be weak. Even Long Yun had been able to cultivate his battle force to seven lines, and in his youth, this person had definitely been an expert on the same level as Long Yun. It was almost certain that Aden had been a top-notch expert. A conservative guess ced Aden¡¯s battle force at eight lines and possibly even at nine lines.

    If that level of battle force was added to the already impressive shield, then it would be way too difficult for Lu Yin to breach Aden¡¯s defenses.

    Even when faced with an Enlighter like Nightqueen Qiuyu, Lu Yin had been confident that he could breach her defense. However, against Aden, his confidence wavered, which showed just how powerful the defense of this shield was.

    This made Lu Yin think of Undying Yushan, who had been able to break through Aden¡¯s defense. How could the old emperor have been killed by someone within the same realm? The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strength was clearly demonstrated here.

    Lu Yin unhurriedly took out his gun, raised it, and aimed at Aden. ¡°Senior, I¡¯ming.¡±

    Aden looked at the gun with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°Is that a power vessel?¡±

    ¡°Sort of. This toy¡¯s killed three Enlighters so far,¡± Lu Yin solemnly informed him.

    Aden was shocked, but then he looked excited. ¡°Alright, since it¡¯s a power vessel that can kill Enlighters, then let me test my thunder shield against it!¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate, and the gun fired with a loud bang. The bullet tore through the void and directly mmed into the shield. The bullet was stalled by the lightning, but this was a bullet that carried the destructive strength of a power level that exceeded 200,000. The lightning was not enough to stop it, and the bullet still struck the shield.

    In that instant, Aden took several steps back as his eyes went wide with disbelief. He stared at the surface of the shield in front of him and saw that, while the bullet had disappeared, the faint outline of a crack had appeared where the bullet had struck the shield.

    Lu Yin took a breath of cold air, as his attack had not prated the shield. The same attack that had instantly wiped out <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, Lei Long, and Elder Wu was currently unable to pierce through this Hunter¡¯s defenses. Aden was too monstrous, and he was definitely in the top-tier of his realm.

    Aden was simrly overwhelmed, as his thunder shield had been able to stop Enlighters¡¯ attacks in the past. It was precisely because of this that he was so full of confidence and had been willing to gamble with anyone. However, in the past, he had lost to Undying Yushan, which was also why he had been so shocked when he had learned of the old emperor¡¯s passing. No one understood Undying Yushan¡¯s strength better than Aden.

    And yet, right now, a Limiteer junior had almost pierced through his shield with some toy gun, which toppled the giant¡¯s views, even if that gun had already killed Enlighters.

    Fortunately, the attack still had not been powerful enough to break through Aden¡¯s defense.

    Aden rxed, and he was about to ce his shield down when the muzzle of Lu Yin¡¯s gun was aimed at him again. He subconsciously raised his shield. ¡°Kid, are you breaking your promise?¡±

    ¡°Senior, this Junior never said that I¡¯d only attack once. The gamble that we agreed to is whether or not I can break through your defense, not whether or not I can break through it in one strike. Junior is confident in breaching the shield if I strike at the same ce again since it¡¯s very likely that Senior¡¯s shield requires some time to recover.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Aden opened his mouth, but he could not retort. It was true that they had not agreed that Lu Yin could only fire once.

    ¡°Your power vessel has more attacks left?¡± Aden was astonished.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Quite a few more, and it should be enough to break through your shield.¡±

    Aden¡¯s defense had given Lu Yin a pleasant surprise. With this Hunter around, even powerhouses like Nightqueen Qiuyu or Huo Houye would not be able to seek revenge as LuYin would have the time to react to them. This was a great gift from Undying Yushan, and Lu Yin was determined to bring this person under his wing no matter what.

    Aden stood in ce and stared closely at Lu Yin¡¯s gun.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°Is Senior thinking of backing out?¡±

    Aden sighed and then smiled bitterly. ¡°A hundred years ago, I lost to Undying Yushan, and today¡¯s even worse¡ªI¡¯m losing to a Limiteer junior. This Great Yu Empire has subdued me.¡± And with that, he withdrew his shield.

    Lu Yin became ecstatic. ¡°Senior is gracious in defeat. Not every Hunter can withstand that attack, and it should be known that even Enlighters haven¡¯t been able to resist it.¡±

    Aden looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression on his face. ¡°Kid, Enlighters aren¡¯t simple. Your power vessel is certainly strong enough to hurt one of them, but it¡¯s not able to lock an Enlighter down. You must have ambushed them.¡±

    Lu Yin did not feel embarrassed at such an usation, as killing an Enlighter was already a proud achievement. As a Limiteer, he would not have been able to do such a thing without some tricks.

    ¡°For you to be able to ambush Enlighters, and three at that, means that you must have some other treasure that can keep lock Enlighters in ce or somehow cause them to lose consciousness. Are you really from the Outerverse?¡± Aden was amazed.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°As real as theye.¡±

    Aden¡¯s shoulders shook. ¡°Since I lost, I¡¯ll head to Ironblood Weave for a visit with you. Speaking of things, that ce is really not hospitable to life.¡± His face filled with respect. ¡°Countless cultivators have dauntlessly advanced towards their deaths in that ce, and their rtives, friends, and descendants have also died on that battlefield. The peace that your Outerverse enjoys this day is all thanks to those lives.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew more solemn, and an utmost respect also arose within him for Ironblood Weave. It was not for reputation or wealth, but the soldiers in that ce still willingly rushed to their graves. If not for the crisis this time, then he wouldn¡¯t have even known that the ce existed.

    If the universe had one Ironblood Weave, then it could have a second and a third. These sort of battlefields were what garnered the most respect.

    Lu Yin escorted Aden to King Zishan''s pce. There were only five days remaining before Lu Yin had to report for duty, so he had to quickly settle the various affairs of the Great Yu Empire so that he could leave for Ironblood Weave with some peace of mind.

    One dayter, Lu Yin ended a court meeting and stood up. It was time to borrow money once again.

    Because of this sudden trip to Ironblood Weave, his future became unknown. Lu Yin only had 2,420 star essence remaining, which was not much, and it would be insufficient to deal with a potential crisis. He needed to go find the enchanting Madam Nn and discuss with her some more.

    She seemed to have already guessed that Lu Yin would approach her before leaving, and she had a ready smile as she weed him into her home and poured him a drink. ¡°Why has Your Majestye today?¡±

    Of course it¡¯s to borrow money, Lu Yin thought inwardly, but that would be a little too awkward to say aloud. Borrowing money while providing protection to the Nn family felt a bit like bullying. ¡°That¡ªMadam, how have you been getting by here?¡±

    Her eyes sparkled with an unconventional allure within them. ¡°Is Your Majesty here to show your concern for me?¡±

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°You could say that.¡±

    The beautiful Madam Nn tried to hold back her smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been alright. Your Majesty must have received the request for reinforcements, so I believe that you will soon head to Ironblood Weave. When do you n to depart?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I need to report to the stronghold within five days. It will take three days to travel from here to Ironblood Weave¡¯s Seasons Fort, so I n to leave tomorrow in anticipation of any possible dys.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°You should actually head out earlier. My Nn family has also prepared a shipment of resources to send to Ironblood Weave, which is our own meager attempt to contribute.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but he did not speak, and the atmosphere became awkwardly silent.

    She stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Is there any other matter that prompted Your Majesty to look for me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face appeared ufortable. ¡°That¡­ I wish to borrow money.¡±

    Her lips raised, but she did not ask any further questions and immediately handed Lu Yin a cosmic ring. ¡°Since the Outerverse¡¯s major banks have a deficiency of star crystals, many people are unable to retrieve their money. Not even the Mavis Bank is spared from this deficiency, so I won¡¯t give Your Majesty any cards.¡±

    Lu Yin took the cosmic ring and examined the contents for a moment before his head snapped up in shock. ¡°So much?¡±

    There were 30,000 star essence in the cosmic ring that the Nn genie had just handed him. The ring actually contained star essence instead of crystals, and it was far more than what the Enlighters Lu Yin had killed had managed to amass.

    She replied, ¡°I know that Your Majesty iscking in money, but at the moment, my Nn family has deposited too much money in the Mavis Bank, and we can¡¯t retrieve most of it. As such, I can only give Your Majesty this amount at the present.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already a very considerable amount.¡± Lu Yin was happy.

    She replied seriously, ¡°If this sum is enough to insure Your Majesty¡¯s safety in Ironblood Weave, then it¡¯s money well spent. Take this contribution as my Nn family¡¯s support for Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°That won¡¯t do, as it would be robbery. Let¡¯s treat this as a loan since I¡¯ve already asked to borrow from you. Rest assured, madam. If I am able to return alive from Ironblood Weave, I will repay your money, but if I can¡¯t-¡±

    Before Lu Yin could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Madam Nn as she raised her ss. ¡°May Your Majesty have a smooth victory and bring glory to humanity.¡±

    Lu Yin concurred loudly and simrly raised his ss to clink his ss against hers.

    The next day, beneath the watchful gazes of Hai Qiqi and many of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s ministers, Lu Yin left along with Wendy Yushan, Aden, Huo Qingshan, ten newly-joined Cruisers, a hundred Explorers, and a war fleet. They all moved out to head towards Ironblood Weave.

    The draft notice had stipted that Lu Yin had to report within five days, so he, Wendy Yushan, Huo Qingshan, and Aden sat in one of the few spacecraft that the Great Yu Empire possessed that was able to rival a radiant-grade Aurora¡¯s speed and set off ahead of the rest of the troops. They would pick up Ryan Merke along the way. The Merke family¡¯s elder had instinctively declined when he heard that they were headed for Ironblood Weave, but he had been threatened into agreeing by Lu Yin.

    If he went, then he would be the only possible casualty from his family. If he didn¡¯t go, then his entire family would be condemned with the crime of treason.

    These were Lu Yin¡¯s methods, and they were efficient and clean.

    Ryan Merke had been left with no choice. Although he was selfish, the Merke family was too important, and he could not abandon his entire family. Moreover, his death was not set in stone even if he went to Ironblood Weave, though only death awaited him if he refused to go.

    Left without any other choice, Ryan Merke had finally agreed.

    All the matters in Frostwave Weave had been settled, and Grandtop Weave didn¡¯t require Lu Yin¡¯s oversight. Although he controlled the Nine Stacks Sect and had used the sect to conquer Grandtop Weave, the Hall of Honor didn¡¯t care about who Grandtop Weave belonged to. They only cared about whether or not the weave sent people to reinforce Ironblood Weave. Even if the families and sects in Grandtop Weave were unwilling, they were still required to send aid.

    It wasn¡¯t until Lu Yin picked up Ryan Merke that the powers in Grandtop Weave determined who they would send to Ironblood Weave.

 Chapter 568: Battle System

    <h4>Chapter 568: Battle System</h4>

    Ryan Merke was an old fellow who wore splendid clothes. One look was enough to determine that the man was a figure of authority.

    When he saw Lu Yin, he did not have a pleasant expression, but he did not dare be rude either. He only nodded tersely to the regent.

    Lu Yin did not care, as this person was only being brought along to make up for the shortage of Hunters.

    There were three Hunters: Aden, Ryan Merke, and Huo Qingshan.

    As for why Lu Yin had decided to take Huo Qingshan, it was because Lu Yin felt uneasy about letting the man off. He still could not forget about the matter of the Hidden Earth organization, and every day that passed where Lu Yin could not ascertain the group¡¯s true nature was another day that he could not rest easy.

    Compared to Xueshan Auna, Huo Qingshan was also more reliable, as he would at least not seek to benefit from both sides. When he was on the battlefield, Lu Yin felt that Huo Qingshan was the more trustworthy one of the two Hunters.

    The Great Yu Empire still had two Hunters protecting it: the Blind Monk and Xueshan Auna. Nothing should happen since these two would provide bnce simply through their presence.

    The draftees had to travel through Grandtop Weave and Eastly Weave to get to Ironblood Weave. Once they arrived in Eastly Weave, they found that practically all news concerning Ironblood Weave had disappeared, and they were also unable to find out anything more through thework. This wasn¡¯t because the top figures wanted to limit information, but more so because they did not want to incite panic throughout the Outerverse. Even though Lu Yin was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, there were some things that he would not notice unless someone voluntarily informed him.

    However, a request from Ironblood Weave for such arge number of emergency reinforcements would be public knowledge sooner orter.

    The Eastly Weave was filled with asteroid fields, which made it difficult for theputers to calcte a routepared to the other weaves since spacecraft could easily be struck by meteoroids.

    Lu Yin¡¯s party ced Aden as the vanguard, and he sat on the top of their spacecraft. Every time they encountered an asteroid field, instead of recalcting their route, they would plough directly through the field.

    Huo Qingshan and Ryan Merke were very curious about Aden since they could feel a slight sense of pressure from him. This was especially true for Huo Qingshan. He had long known about Aden¡¯s existence, but he had never directly encountered him before. After meeting with the man, he could instantly tell that he was not the man¡¯s match, and he could not understand how Undying Yushan had breached Aden¡¯s defence in the past.

    Just as this group of people was about to leave the Eastly Weave and enter Ironblood Weave, a boundless pressure swept up from behind them that was strong enough to destabilizes.

    Lu Yin looked behind with his eyes filled with star energy. As soon as he did so, he saw a terrifying amount of rune lines. There was an Enlighter, and it was someone he was familiar with: Huo Houye.

    As an Enlighter who had been left behind in the Outerverse, as well as someone who had been behaving in such a high-profile manner, it was natural that Huo Houye would not be able to escape from being drafted by the Hall of Honor.

    Huo Houye also saw Lu Yin¡¯s vessel and his gaze swept across everyone in it before finallynding on Aden. Shock manifested in his eyes, as he had evidently recognized Aden¡¯s abnormality.

    Even when facing an Enlighter, Aden remained selfposed. He merely nced over at the approaching Enlighter, before paying no mind to Huo Houye.

    Huo Houye¡¯s eyes flickered with a bit of fury, and he waved a hand as his body turned into a fiery maelstrom that swept towards Lu Yin¡¯s group. He was not attacking anyone and was just passing by. However, even if that was the case, the strength that he revealed was enough to overwhelm anyone who was not an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin donned his universal armor and stepped out of the ship while Wendy Yushan moved to his side.

    When he saw the two people emerge from the spacecraft, Huo Houye immediately stopped and looked nervously at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, Ironblood Weave is a battlefield. Your methods cannotst long in that ce, so take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Senior.¡± Lu Yin had met with Huo Houye many times already. If he teamed up with Wendy Yushan, then Huo Houye would not stand a chance against them. It would be nothing more than firing the gun once, and if that wasn¡¯t enough, then Lu Yin could just fire it twice.

    Of course, he would not easily shoot his gun as there were only twelve bullets left, and each time he fired it, he would be left with fewer shots.

    Huo Houye snorted before reducing his mes and continuing on his way toward Ironblood Weave.

    Aden calmly watched Huo Houye¡¯s departing figure, and a slight trace of contempt appeared in his eyes.

    Just like Limiteers, Enlighters were simrly divided into the weak and the strong. Huo Houye was nothing more than an ordinary Enlighter who had possibly touched upon the level of an elite. However, Aden¡¯s vision was concentrated solely on the top freaks. Even if he was still just a Hunter, this showed his arrogance.

    As the border of the Eastly and Ironblood Weaves grew closer and closer, there was a significant decrease in the number ofs that the spacecraft passed by. Large regions of asteroid fields appeared, and there were no traces of human life in these regions, and even the asional astral beast could be seen flying by.

    Not all astral beasts lived in the Astral Beast Domain, as there were some in the Human Domain as well, but they were frequently eliminated.

    The astral beasts in the Human Domain formed organizations on a different scale from the Astral Beast Domain. To humans, any creature that was able to freely explore space and was not human was considered as an astral beast.

    After four days of traveling, the asteroid fields gradually vanished. Their ship had finally left the Eastly Weave and passed into Ironblood Weave¡¯s border.

    When he saw Ironblood Weave, Lu Yin did not feel anything different. The size of the weave was too small, and reportedly, the entire weave was one massive battlefield.

    But before they had to travel much further, Lu Yin saw a huge colossus that upied an entire region of space, and he finally understood what the strongholds of Ironblood Weave actually were. Ahead of them there was a humongous fortress that had been assembled from multiples into a shape that resembled a broken knife.

    This stronghold was reminiscent of an astral beast lying in space, while its form also resembled a broken knife that had been stabbed into the center of the universe. It could be seen from a ridiculous distance, and the entire structure emitted the deste aura of a battlefield. As they approached, battle drums could be vaguely heard.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy as he looked at the stronghold. From it, he saw an enormous and endless amount of rune lines. He could see that there were Enlighters, Hunter, Cruisers, Explorers, and countless cultivators at the fortress. All of them were guarding the stronghold, which caused it to be filled with rune lines that pervaded the entire region of space.

    ¡°That¡¯s Brokende Fort, one of the five lower strongholds in Ironblood Weave. It¡¯s the one that¡¯s the closest to the Eastly Weave, and it¡¯s also the final stronghold of Ironblood Weave. If this fort is ever breached, then the Outerverse will be thrown into despair.¡± Aden¡¯s voice sounded out from next to Lu Yin. It seemed that he was not a stranger to Ironblood Weave.

    Lu Yin felt deep respect as he looked at the approaching Brokende Fort. Those stationed inside were providing a meritorious service for all of humanity.

    As they drew closer, Brokende Fort gave Lu Yin an even greater shock. This stronghold had been built from entires, and he wondered how the designers had even conceived such a thing. It made Lu Yin recall the maind that had been used during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam.

    Anyone who entered Ironblood Weave was required to pass an inspection first, and Lu Yin¡¯s party was no exception. Conveniently, the inspection was quickly finished, as the guards were mainly checking to see if they were astral beasts that were disguised as humans.

    There were special routes leading from Brokende Fort to the depths of Ironblood Weave. Lu Yin¡¯s party quickly passed through the inspection, and before long, he was looking behind at Brokende Fort as they headed towards Seasons Fort.

    Ironblood Weave was truly small, mainly because the point where the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain were connected was too small. Ironblood Weave had originally been a battlefield, but with the establishment of the nine strongholds, it had been forcibly raised to be one of the Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves, but it was still the smallest weave of them all.

    After they entered Ironblood Weave, Lu Yin began to check the battle system, as only those who had entered Ironblood Weave could ess information about it.

    The battle system was the system that the Hall of Honor had developed to allow the weave¡¯s defenders exchange their military contributions for various benefits. Because the battlefield was too extensive and the astral beasts appeared randomly, there was no way to effectively tally the soldiers¡¯ deeds. Thus, the Hall of Honor had developed this system. Once people entered Ironblood Weave, the battle system would automatically connect to their gadgets and constantly monitor them. Besides guaranteeing that fellow humans would not kill each other, its primary function was to record an individual¡¯s military achievements.

    These contributions were mainly reflected through one¡¯s umtion of Ironblood Points. Killing one Limiteer realm beast awarded one point, a Limiteer realm elite beast was worth two points, and three points for the beasts who could rival a human Limiteer freak. If a beast with the strength to match up with the strongest Limiteer was killed, it was worth five points.

    The Ironblood Points started with kills in the Limiteer realm, and it was not easy for cultivators who were not space-exploring powerhouses yet to acquire points. Many astral beast Limiteers had formidable innate gifts and powerful bodies which made them harder to deal with than human Limiteers.

    Above Limiteers were Explorers, and killing an ordinary Explorer realm beast awarded a soldier three points, an elite Explorer realm beast eight points, a genius-level Explorer realm beast twenty points, and one of the strongest Explorer realm beasts fifty points.

    There were also Cruiser, Hunter, and Enlighter realm beasts each with their own divisions, and the system would decide how powerful the in beasts had been.

    The battle system had existed for many years and umted countless battle videos, so the system was able to quickly differentiate which level the astral beasts belonged to, and there were no mistakes. Of course, if signals to the gadgets were blocked, then the system would be ineffective, but that was amon failing of all technological devices.

    One could use their awarded Ironblood Points to purchase goods, battle techniques, or even power vessels. Lu Yin was the most interested in getting his hands on more star essences, and he had already seen that one Ironblood Point could be exchanged for one star essence, which provided him with a good path for getting rich.

    This was equivalent to killing one Limiteer astral beast and receiving one star essence. To Lu Yin, this was nothing difficult, and he quickly ran some calctions. With his strength, he could deal with elite Cruisers, which were worth ny points. If he took his universal armor and Fatesand into ount, then he could even deal with those genius-level Cruiser beasts, each of which was worth 200 points.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened, as the battlefield would notck in astral beasts at all.

    The system had a contributions ranking list, and Lu Yin casually nced at it. The person at the top of the list was Lohar, who was the Elder from the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin did not know the details of the man¡¯s strength, but he definitely greatly surpassed Nightqueen Qiuyu and the others. However, his Ironblood Points could not be seen.

    Right below Lohar was General Fei, who En Ya had mentioned to Lu Yin. General Fei was themander at the forefront stronghold of Ironblood Weave, which was the Ironblood Fort. He had defended the fortress for many years, as he had pledged to never retreat. He was an Enlighter with a power level of 290,000, and he was another powerhouse who greatly surpassed Huo Houye and the others. Simrly, his umtion of Ironblood Points could not be seen.

    Each person could only see the points of those ranked within five positions of their own, either above or below them.

    Eh? Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled as he saw something that blew him away. The top rankers on the list were all Enlighters, and each fortress in Ironblood Weave had Enlighters defending it. Whenever an Enlighter attacked, they were able to casually massacre entire regions, which made it very easy for them to rack up Ironblood Points. Although this was the general rule here, Lu Yin noticed that there was a Cruiser who was ranked tenth on the list.

    Cool Sis was stationed at the Ironblood Fort, and she was also ranked tenth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Lu Yin did not think that he would see someone in the tenth spot of the Top 100 Rankings in this ce, as he was not on the same level as those cultivators. They were experts who were nearly all from the same generation as the Ten Arbiters, but some were a bit younger. Once the Ten Arbiters aged to a point where they could no longer be considered a part of the younger generation, their positions would be taken by the people who were at the top of the Top 100 Rankings. In other words, any expert who was among the top ten and in the Ten Arbiters Council, could very well be one of the next Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin did not know if this Cool Sis had joined the Ten Arbiters Council.

    He thought back to the battles on Pyrolyte, where one Nightking Gu had caused so much trouble for him and Wendy Yushan, and Nightking Gu was someone who was only ranked fifteenth. There was a qualitative difference between tenth and fifteenth, as a Cruiser in the top ten was able to suppress even Enlighters. And this woman was even ranked tenth on Ironblood Weave¡¯s battle system points ranking. Who knew what this woman has gone through.

    Below Cool Sis, there was someone named Kong Shi, who was also a woman. Lu Yin felt astonished; were Ironblood Weave¡¯s women all kick-ass warriors?

 Chapter 569: Seasons Fort

    <h4>Chapter 569: Seasons Fort</h4>

    Kong Shi was a Hunter, which made her rank slightly more reasonable, as it showed that not just anyone could surpass an Enlighter.

    Below Kong Shi were two more Enlighters, and beneath them was another Hunter, Liu Zhan. He seemed to be from the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family. Speaking of which, themander of Seasons Fort was named Liu Qiuyu, who should also be from the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family.

    Beneath Liu Zhan were four Enlighters, followed by a Hunter called Liu Miaomiao, and then a Cruiser named Linley.

    These were the top twenty of the battle rankings, and there were actually two Cruisers within them, which was no simple feat. It should be known that there were a whole column of Hunters in the rankings below.

    However, these Hunters and Cruisers who were ranked in the top twenty were mostly stationed at Ironblood Fort. Since that stronghold was at the front lines, it was rumored that the battle there never ceased and that the fortress was eternally drafting more soldiers and cultivators.

    The list was very long, as anyone with even just one Ironblood Point would be on the rankings. The tail-end of the list was rather long, and Lu Yin was toozy to browse through the entire thing, so he only checked the top of the list.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw a familiar name: Yue Xianzi. Right, that brat had been in San Dios, and she remained there ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had be separated. Why hadn¡¯t she contacted him after all this time?

    Since Yue Xianzi hade to Ironblood Weave and had even killed enemies, then An Shaohua should also be around. It seemed that the Outerverse Youth Council members were also avable for the draft, which meant that Puyu would be on the battlefield as well.

    Not long after, Wendy Yushan separated from Lu Yin since she was going to Yellowsoil Fort.

    Lu Yin had Ryan Merke follow her, and he ordered half of the Cruisers and Explorers to head to that stronghold as well. As long as Ryan Merke did not want anything to happen to his family, then he would do all he could to protect Wendy Yushan.

    In the meantime, Lu Yin headed towards Seasons Fort with the rest of his cultivators and soldiers.

    Not long after they separated, Wendy Yushan suddenly contacted Lu Yin. ¡°Apparently, the battle system is connected to the entire universe, and the Ironblood Points that you obtain in Ironblood Weave are equivalent to contributions from the other warfronts. Simrly, once the systems are reconnected, you will be able to see the contribution rankings from the other battlefields.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pointless. Right now, even thework connecting the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves is unreliable, let alone thework connecting all the other warfronts,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°I¡¯m only telling you to work hard. It would be best to exchange the Ironblood Points for some Honor Points. However, given your personality, you¡¯ll probably exchange all of your points for star essences,¡± Wendy Yushanmented indifferently.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You really understand me well.¡±

    ¡°It would be best to acquire as many contributions as you can while still preserving your life. Honor Points have benefits that you can¡¯t even imagine. You already have two right now, and when you get eleven, if you¡¯re injured or killed, then the Hall of Honor will move to investigate, and they will even avenge you if necessary.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Hall of Honor in the Neoverse?¡±

    ¡°The Hall of Honor is everywhere,¡± she replied before disconnecting.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. It seemed that the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence was even greater than what he had imagined. It was no wonder why Undying Yushan hadn¡¯t dared to pardon Sigmund Mathers¡¯s crime. However, as time passed, and assuming that the Innerverse and Outerverse remained separated, the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence would only continue to drop.

    Lu Yin truly did hope that the Hall of Honor was everywhere, as it would mean that there was actually hope for defending the Outerverse.

    In fact, the moment the Great Yu Empire received the aid request, Lu Yin had already envisioned a tentative n that could possibly resolve this cmity. Of course, it all depended on luck.

    An rm unexpectedly rang, and the void broke open as a very familiar creature appeared in front of Lu Yin: a Void Wanderer.

    Regardless of each individual Void Wanderer¡¯s strength, every single one of them had the innate gift of traveling through the void. It was mostly through the work of these Void Wanderers that had paved the path for the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion into the Human Domain, and the creatures had sent countless astral beasts over.

    Originally, Void Wanderers had only sent over astral beasts that were not space-exploring powerhouses. But after the sky changed, Explorers were no longer able to tear through the void, and so, both Explorer and Cruiser realm beasts now required the assistance of Void Wanderers to travel through the void and arrive at the humans¡¯ battlefield.

    What appeared in front of him was a squad of Explorer realm astral beasts.

    In Ironblood Weave, it was possible for the astral beasts to invade from any location, and their assaults could not bepletely withstood by just the Ironblood Fort alone. Lu Yin was not surprised by the creatures¡¯ appearance, and he calmly donned his universal armor and moved to the top of the spacecraft, prepared to face the astral beasts that approached from all angles.

    Aden and Huo Qingshan also stepped forward. A great battle was about to erupt without any forewarning, but such encounters were inevitable here.

    There were too many astral beasts rushing in, and each and every one of them was an Explorer or a Cruiser. Even with Huo Qingshan and Aden¡¯s formidable power as Hunters, which allowed them to sweep through an entire area, they were still not fast enough topletely destroy the iing horde of astral beasts.

    Outside the spacecraft, the Ghost Monkey quickly towed Lu Yin over to an astral beast, and Lu Yin then mmed a palm against the creature.

    The astral beast felt disdain for this attacker, as this human still needed to use a set of universal armor to roam in outer space. Thus, he couldn¡¯t be any more powerful than a Limiteer at best. Limiteer Realmbreakers were also practically nonexistent, so the creature didn¡¯t even bother dodging Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Instead, it raised a paw and swatted at Lu Yin, taking his attack head on.

    If this scene was seen by Ling Que and the others, then they would definitely be amazed and exim, ¡°My heavens!¡±

    There was a boom as the astral beast burst into pieces after being pped by Lu Yin, decorating the vacuum of outer space with a ssh of fresh blood. Lu Yin sped through the bloody haze, which sttered upon his universal armor and added a freshyer of bright red to it. He then started relentlessly attacking the other astral beasts.

    Some distance away from Lu Yin, quite a few astral beasts were burned to a crisp by Huo Qingshan¡¯s mes, though he was constantly keeping an eye on Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin had the ability to instantly kill an Enlighter, that was only by relying on his gun, which would not be a feasible method to use against this group of astral beasts. Huo Qingshan was afraid that Lu Yin would not be able to take care of himself.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s strength stunned the Hunter once again, and it broke his understanding of how strong a Limiteer could be.

    This was especially true after Lu Yin killed a Cruiser realm astral beast. After that, Huo Qingshan lost all anxiety for Lu Yin¡¯s safety. None of the astral beasts in this attack wave was stronger than a Cruiser, so none of them were a threat to Lu Yin.

    Before long, the ambushing astral beasts were nearly annihted, though Lu Yin and the others did note out of the shpletely unharmed either. Fortunately, the fleet full of ordinary troops that had been following behind them to reinforce Ironblood Weave had not caught up yet, or otherwise there would have been massive casualties.

    In the battle, Lu Yin had managed to kill one Cruiser and more than ten Explorer beasts overall. For a Limiteer, these results were already pretty decent, and Lu Yin estimated that he had just earned dozens of Ironblood Points.

    He nced at the battlework and saw that his contributions were currently being evaluated. He wouldn¡¯t know how many Ironblood Points he had acquired from this battle until the calctions wereplete.

    This battle did not dy their arrival time too much, and half a dayter, Lu Yin and the others saw another colossal structure that took up an entire region of space, much like Brokende Fort, which they had previously passed by. The stronghold blocked their entire line of vision since it was formed from manys, and its strong battle aura seemed to invite them. This was Seasons Fort.

    Ironblood Weave was separated into Ironblood Fort at the front, three strongholds in the middle, and then five more strongholds in the back. Seasons Fort was located behind Ironblood Fort, and it was one of the three middle strongholds and another one of the fortresses that was also embroiled in constant conflict.

    Lu Yin and the others did not have the luxury of time to carefully observe Seasons Fort, as they were instantly drawn to the battlefield in front of them.

    Lu Yin had never seen such a massive battle take ce before.

    From high above in outer space, to down on the grounds before the fortress, there was fighting everywhere he could see. The battle drums clearly rang throughout the entire region.

    In the past, at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront, though the battles had been bitter, Lu Yin had only ever participated in defending the surface of a single, and he had not even seen what urred in outer space. On the other hand, the battlefield at Seasons Fort gave him an acute feeling for the desperate struggle between the different races.

    The neers were not given any time to think, and Lu Yin and the others immediately jumped into the fray. The battle system could independently differentiate between each participant¡¯s identity, so they were able to enter Seasons Fort without any difficulty. Their arrival was greeted by the scene of a severed arm smashing into the middle of the stronghold¡¯s space station. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; he could feel a powerful oppression from the arm, and it had definitely belonged to a Hunter.

    As he thought of this, blood rained down like a waterfall before his eyes before a badly mangled corpse crashed down with half of its body missing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Hunter.¡± Aden immediately moved in front of Lu Yin to protect him while vigntly observing the outside of the space station.

    There was another explosion as half of the space station was shredded apart by a massive w. Aden leaped up, and a thunderous rumble roared out from his thunder shield. The next moment, a shockwave swept across the entire area, and Huo Qingshan grabbed Lu Yin and flew away as the entire space station was torn to pieces.

    Huo Qingshan took Lu Yin back into outer space, and once they were out of the space station, Lu Yin could finally make out the figure of an enormous monster that was thousands of meters long. He watched as the astral beast was sted away by Aden and sent flying hundreds of kilometers away. The beast roared as it shed down with its w, slicing the void into multipleyers as numerous, iparably huge spatial cracks crashed down towards the stronghold¡¯s space station.

    The stronghold¡¯s space station had been constructed atop a floating maind in space, and if it was destroyed, then the entire maind would copse.

    At the moment, there were many human cultivators still on the maind, fighting against the astral beasts.

    Aden growled, and his thunder shield expanded in size as it collided with the w. The Hunter forcibly resisted this astral beast¡¯s w strike, preventing even the remnant spatial cracks rushing towards the space station from leaking through the thunder shield¡¯s defenses.

    Countless people witnessed this scene, all of them shocked and wondering when such a terrifying powerhouse had arrived at their stronghold. It should be known that this astral beast was also a Hunter, but despite that, it had already killed three human Hunters. Aside from a select few elites, no one could stand against the creature, and the few cultivators who had the strength to do so had all been held back by other strong foes. This astral beast was its side¡¯s strongest de during this invasion attempt, but it had been blocked by a person who had suddenly appeared, and now, the astral beasts were gradually losing the battle.

    ¡°That astral beast is at least a monster among Hunters, and it might even be close to the level of being the strongest,¡± Huo Qingshan eximed.

    Lu Yin quietly replied, ¡°It can¡¯t be the strongest since it can¡¯tpare to Aden."

    Boom!

    Another rumble was heard as Aden repelled the astral beast¡¯s attack once again. Not only did he repel the beast, but he even pushed his thunder shield forward to force the beast out of the stronghold. The void distorted in the process, and it eventually caused space itself to crack and splinter apart.

    At another end of the stronghold, Liu Qiuyu looked over in shock. When did such a strong powerhouse arrive? Such power can rival an Enlighter¡¯s.

    The Enlighter beast battling against Liu Qiuyu was also stunned, and it looked unwilling to ept what it saw.

    Lu Yin had Huo Qingshan take him onto one of the stronghold¡¯s floating continents. Some of the fortress¡¯s regions weres while others were independent continents floating in the heavens.

    Lu Yin soon appeared on the floating continent that held the space station and joined the battle. He did not want to rashly join the battle in outer space before first understanding the situation of the battlefield.

    Nobody knew how long this battle wouldst for, and Lu Yin fought for two days straight after arriving at Seasons Fort. He was constantly surrounded by astral beasts, and they were even snarling in outer space, above the fortress. At times, a powerful attack would shake thend itself, but the humans¡¯ powerhouses held back the destruction.

    Lu Yin panted heavily and donned his universal armor while he held some star essences in one hand, restoring his star energy.

 Chapter 570: Sudden Battle

    <h4>Chapter 570: Sudden Battle</h4>

    Behind Lu Yin, a Void Wanderer suddenly appeared. It was about to tear through the void, but before it could do so, Lu Yin grabbed it and crushed it to death. He had already managed to kill quite a few Void Wanderers.

    His performance had started to attract the attention of many of the stronger astral beasts, and asionally, a Cruiser beast would appear and ambush him. However, not a single one of them were able to break through his universal armor. Lu Yin actually freely allowed such astral beasts to attack him, as he only needed one attack to eliminate them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s performance finally attracted the attention of even more powerful beings.

    A Hunter astral beast tore through the void and opened its mouth at Lu Yin. A powerful strength gathered around it before the beast eventually spat out apressed energy ball at Lu Yin while also suppressing him with its pressure.

    Lu Yin looked up, but he had no ns of dodging since not even this sort of attack was enough to breach his defenses. He even had the time to nce into the distance to look at a ce where there were too many rune lines to properly observe. There was a battle between Enlighters taking ce there.

    He did not n to dodge since he was confident in being able to withstand the attack, though everyone else thought that he had been targeted and was unable to avoid it. Many who saw the scene felt pity for Lu Yin, as another cultivator was about to die. But they had seen such a thing too many times, as it constantly took ce on this battlefield. One thing that stood out was that Lu Yin was the first Limiteer who had managed to attract a Hunter realm astral beast¡¯s direct attack due to his strength. It was pitiful.

    Right before thepressed energy ball collided against Lu Yin, the void distorted as a sword suddenly appeared. It sliced upwards and split the energy attack apart, causing it to explode on either side of Lu Yin as it fell apart into the ground.

    Lu Yin looked up in shock to see a youth standing above him. This person was a Hunter, and his rune lines were notcking as they even surpassed what Lu Yin saw from the Hunter realm astral beast that had just attacked him.

    The young Hunter leaped up and dashed into the void, moving out to battle against the Hunter realm beast.

    It didn¡¯t take long for blood to scatter through space and down onto the ground below, staining everything. After that, the youthful Hunternded and looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also looked at the youth. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good, but you¡¯re too timid. As long as you don¡¯t go into outer space, there¡¯s no need to wear universal armor. It¡¯ll only restrict the power that you can put out,¡± the youthmented before vanishing.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re being looked down on, haha!¡± The Ghost Monkeyughed happily.

    Lu Yin grinned. Looked down on? No¡ªhe was being valued, as not every Limiteer qualified to be rescued by a Hunter. The battlefield was massive, and Limiteers died all the time, as would Explorers, Cruisers, and even Hunters. Too many powerhouses perished in this ce, and he had been rescued by a Hunter purely because of his outstanding performance.

    The battle continued on for another day, and the greatest change during this time was in the Enlighters¡¯ battle, which drew even closer to the stronghold. Liu Qiuyu could not drag the Enlighters¡¯ battlefield somewhere far from the fortress as his strength was simr to the Enlighter astral beast, and neither one was able to gain the upper hand even though the battle hadsted for so long.

    As the Enlighters¡¯ battlefield drew ever closer, a corner of Seasons Fort copsed, and many beasts and humans perished in the chaos.

    The youth who had rescued Lu Yin also encountered a strong enemy at this time, a miniscule astral beast only about a meter long. This creature moved about extremely nimbly, but it also had a very powerful body. It seemed rather familiar.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Yin Guai, one of the twin Guais of our Astral Beast Domain. They¡¯re ranked fifth on the Celestial Beast List. They¡¯re a very powerful tribe,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the beast as he had faced its species at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront. The Yin Guais and Sheng Guais had joined forces to protect the Sheng Aos, and Lu Yin had even been suppressed by a Yin Guai at the same realm as him. It was no wonder why this Hunter realm Yin Guai was able to go neck to neck with the Hunter youth.

    It should not have been this close of a battle, but when the Yin Guai started hiding its body, the swordsman youth started to fall behind. More of the beast¡¯s attacks startednding while he started having difficulty resisting.

    ¡°Monkey, what weaknesses do the Yin Guais have?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey fell silent.

    ¡°You¡¯re my tamed beast, so you don¡¯t have any rtionships with the Astral Beast Domain any longer,¡± Lu Yin spoke in a cold, quiet tone, as he did not wish for the Ghost Monkey to keep anything hidden from him.

    The monkey was helpless. ¡°The Yin Guais¡¯ strength and defense are absurd, and it has a simr reputation to you humans¡¯ Mavis Family. They¡¯re very difficult to deal with, but they¡¯re weak to spiritual force attacks. Since ancient times, whenever you humans fought against my astral beasts, the Daynight n would always fight against the Yin Guais. That person''s clearly not a Daynight n member, so if he wants to win.. Pfft.¡±

    There was another bang as the Yin Guai used its w to smash the Hunter youth into the ground. The creature suddenly appeared from the void, looking extremely proud.

    After a while, that youth emerged from the ground, panting. There were even scars on his sword.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, after which he retrieved a spear from his cosmic ring and tossed it to the youth. ¡°Use this to fight.¡±

    The youth doubtfully took it, but his eyes gleamed the moment he came in contact with the spear. He charged ferociously towards Yin Guai and stabbed out with the spear.

    This spear was the one that Lu Yin had obtained from inside the ancient centipede''s body. He had kept two; one was saved for himself while the other had been meant for Zhuo Daynight. However, he had forgotten about it. Now, he had given that spear to the youth Hunter.

    The spear possessed a spiritual force attack that could instantly wipe out an Explorer. Once it was used, it was not weak. However, the spear¡¯s material was not too great since it was an item from ancient times.

    The Yin Guai vanished once again. The youth swept out with the spear, and a formless ripple expanded outwards. The Yin Guai wailed in pain and had its concealed state forcefully dispelled. It stared at that spear in apprehension.

    The youth sneered. He might not know how to use a spear effectively, but he was at least able to wield it like a sword as he swung it about. The Yin Guai¡¯s physical body was tough, but its defenses against spiritual force were pathetic. The two¡¯s strength were on simr levels, but the youth had suddenly received a spear that was able to target the Yin Guai¡¯s weak spiritual force with each attack. It didn¡¯t take long before the beast wasn¡¯t able to take the assault any more and fled.

    The youth¡¯s eyes turned cold, and an indescribable vigor gathered around him. Lu Yin watched on as the Hunter¡¯s rune lines actually formed into a sword. Then, he used the spear as a sword and stabbed out with it.

    The Yin Guai shrieked and whirled around to face the attack as the spear collided against the beast. The spear shattered into fragments that floated around in outer space. The Yin Guai froze in ce, clearly seriously injured from the spiritual force attack. The youth followed up with a slice from his sword and beheaded the astral beast, killing itpletely.

    The youth then rxed. He moved to grab the fragments of the spear, and he muttered to himself beforending in front of Lu Yin. He spread his hands in a helpless manner. ¡°My apologies. Your weapon is ruined.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Take it as repayment for your kindness in saving me earlier.¡±

    The youth seriously replied, ¡°On the battlefield, I will save whoever I can whenever possible. Those are the rules of the battlefield. It¡¯s not about kindness or anything of that sort. I was able to kill the enemy because of the weapon you gave me, but now, that weapon has been destroyed, and I¡¯m responsible for it. How about this¡ªthe contribution points from killing that Yin Guai will be split evenly between the two of us.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Split evenly?¡±

    The man nodded solemnly. ¡°Half and half. There¡¯s no need to decline.¡±

    Lu Yin did not n to reject the offer, as that Yin Guai had at the very least been on the level of an elite Hunter, and it might even be evaluated to be a beast at the monstrous genius level, which meant that it was worth at least 1,000 Ironblood Points. Even if he was given half, it would be 500 points, which was equivalent to 500 star essences. Lu Yin felt no need to decline since he was actually losing out if he calcted things. That spear would have been worth far more than 500 star essences if he had sold it to someone who understood its history.

    However, this was a battlefield, and such things could not be evaluated here. The value of battle contributions could not bepared to money.

    ¡°I¡¯m Liu Zhan. Here¡¯s my contact info,¡± the youth said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Liu Zhan? The same Liu Zhan who¡¯s on the Ironblood Rankings?¡±

    Liu Zhan nodded, and the two quickly exchanged contact details before the Hunter charged back into space once again.

    There was no time for idle chit-chat on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin had not expected to meet Liu Zhan during his first battle, but he had a favorable impression of this person. The young Hunter did not have the same demeanor as many of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers¡¯ heirs. He was more like a soldier, which reminded Lu Yin of Zhang Dingtian.

    The battle continued on for another half day until the astral beasts finally retreated like a flood drawing back, leaving behind a miserable Seasons Fort.

    During this battle, Lu Yin had personally witnessed countless deaths, and the corpses piled up into hills. He had seen a continent copse, witnesseds explode, and experienced an unprecedented terror that he had felt even at the border warfront in the past.

    By the end of the battle, quite a few of the cultivators who hade from the eastern weaves to answer the call for reinforcements had died or been severely injured. Many people who had just entered Ironblood Weave had already died, as not every cultivator had abilities like Lu Yin, Aden, or Huo Qingshan.

    The Cruisers, Explorers, and war fleet that had been sent by the Great Yu Empire would still take a while to arrive. As he saw the miserable results of the battle, Lu Yin had a bad feeling that the reinforcements from the Outerverse would not enjoy a good ending. This ce truly was a ckhole of death.

    The massive-scale battle had ended, and what came next was tidying up the stronghold. It could not take too long since there was no telling when the next battle would break out. At the very least, that wouldn¡¯t happen for at least three days.

    Lu Yin and the others gathered together to report to one of the Hunters based in the stronghold and registered themselves in Seasons Fort. As for the deceased, they were simrly recorded, since constion payments would be made to one¡¯s families whenever someone died in Ironblood Weave. The still-alive family members would be the family of a martyr, and such an identity could possibly help them in the future.

    There was no stringent selection process, and the military discipline that Lu Yin had expected from a battlefield did not exist in this ce. ording to a veteran that he spoke to, the front four strongholds did not have any military supervision because there was no time to formally train soldiers. All of the soldiers sent to the front four strongholds were originally from the lower five. As for the front four fortresses, reinforcements might be sent there at any time, but there was only ever one objective given to them: survive.

    Huo Qingshan and Aden were forcibly sent to the main pass of the stronghold, which was where the highmand of Seasons Fort was located. Commander Liu Qiuyu and many other experts gathered there to await deployments. Although they were Hunters, neither Huo Qingshan nor Aden were average cultivators. In particr, Aden had performed absolutely brilliantly, so it was normal for him to be sent to the central base of the fortress.

    However, Lu Yin was unwilling for this to happen, as Aden and Huo Qingshan hade to Ironblood Weave to support him. If they left, then he would have no one protecting him. It had to be acknowledged that his performance during the most recent battle had attracted the attention of many Hunter realm astral beasts that had attempted to kill him.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was just a Limiteer, and even if he was the strongest Limiteer in the universe, he still didn¡¯t have the right to voice his wants or opinions in this ce. The various statuses that he had gained while roaming the universe meant nothing in Ironblood Weave. In this ce, the only thing of his that had any meaning at all were his Honor Points, but since he only had two, he was given no privileges in the stronghold.

    In the end, Aden and Huo Qingshan were both ordered away to different locations.

    Lu Yin stared nkly into space, as he would need to keep a lower profile in future battles. Although there was no worry of his life being in danger since he had his upgraded universal armor, it was never a good thing to be targeted.

    Eh? What¡¯s that?

    Lu Yin looked up to see strange objects floating above the stronghold that were about the same size as arge meteoroid. After the battle ended, these objects could be seen floating above the fortress, and while each one was rather small in size, they were sprinkled about the sky rather densely.

 Chapter 571: Wang Wen

    <h4>Chapter 571: Wang Wen</h4>

    ¡°Those things are sourceboxes that an almighty Lockbreaker arranged to spread an invisible field of danger around the fort. They¡¯ve allowed Seasons Fort to resist the astral beasts¡¯ invasions many times.¡± A veteran sighed as he walked over next to Lu Yin. After exining what Lu Yin was seeing in the sky, the soldier bent down and continued to clean up the battlefield.

    Tidying up the battlefield was this man¡¯s job.

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°Formless danger from sourceboxes? What kind of Lockbreaker did that?¡±

    The veteran shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t know. It was too long ago.¡±

    ¡°Then why wasn¡¯t it used in thest battle?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The veteran grudgingly exined, ¡°There¡¯re loopholes in every defensive system, and after so many years, the astral beasts have found gaps in the field of invisible danger zones formed by each sourcebox. They might have been put up there as a form of added protection, but they¡¯re essentially useless. Actually, they¡¯re more important in a symbolical sense than any practical one. Well, unless of course someone can patch up the holes that have formed.¡±

    Lu Yin thoughtfully looked up towards space. Patch it up? He wanted to try such a thing.

    He recalled that the Trialmaster had once said that a Lockbreaker had to at least be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker to be able to arrange sourceboxes into an array that possessed any measure of danger. This was something that not even a five-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker could do, let alone someone like Lu Yin. However, he had his own unique advantage, which was that he could see more clearly than anyone else. If he was the one directing them, then other Lockbreakers may not necessarily fail in their attempts to patch the defenses.

    The premise was that Lu Yin could find the holes first, as him simply making ims without proof would not lead Liu Qiuyu and the others to believe him.

    Lu Yin heard a beep from his gadget, prompting him to nce down. His eyes lit up, as he saw that, after the ambush that he had encountered while on his way to Seasons Fort and the battle that he had just participated in, his Ironblood Points had risen to 1,300. He had actually entered the top one thousand of the battle system.

    This was a huge sum for a Limiteer, as each Limiteer beast was only worth one point. However, his points had been drastically increased with Liu Zhan sharing the contribution points of killing the Hunter realm Yin Guai with him, receiving 500 contribution points from that alone. Lu Yin had only obtained 800 from his own kills.

    Despite spending countless years in Ironblood Weave, there were many Limiteers who were still unable to break through into the next realm. As long as they managed to survive on the battlefield, their kill count would continue to rise. Despite these Limiteers being weaker than Lu Yin, their amount of Ironblood points surpassed his own. However, this was simply a matter of the time one spent on the battlefield. Lu Yin was confident that, with his strength, he could specifically hunt down Cruiser realm astral beasts, which would allow him to quickly enter the upper echelon of the rankings.

    Based on pure power, only Enlighters, Hunters, and a minority of Cruisers were able to surpass him, which meant that there would not be too many threatening opponents on the battlefield, even across the entirety of Ironblood Weave. If the scope was focused on solely Seasons Fort, then there were probably only ten to twenty such opponents that could threaten his life.

    Lu Yin looked at the ranking list and saw that it was constantly updating. People were rising and falling all the time, and he could see that the fastest to rise up the ranks were the Enlighters who had recently arrived in Ironblood Weave, such as Nightqueen Qiuyu, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Wen Qichen, Huo Houye, as well as Granny Chan.

    These powerhouses were able to sweep across an entire area with a single attack, and even Hunters were liable to be torn apart under such extreme force. One battle was enough to propel them straight to the top of the rankings.

    Lu Yin also noticed Puyu¡¯s name. He was ranked towards the top of the list, at around 500. This wasn¡¯t surprising seeing as Puyu was also ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings. Just a few battles would be enough for Puyu to climb to the top of the rankings. There were very few individuals on the battlefield who could surpass his strength.

    While Lu Yin was studying the list, many people from other forts were also studying it, as they wished to know which experts had appeared in Ironblood Weave in recent times. The more experts who came to defend Ironblood Weave, the more confident they became. This was why so many people would browse the list, as it was a way for many soldiers to boost their morale.

    The lower five strongholds did not face attacks as fierce as the front four fortresses, but this also meant that they had a small bit of time to train soldiers for Ironblood Weave.

    During one such grooming period, a group of soldiers had gathered there and were excitedly discussing the new arrivals. ¡°Another Enlighter¡¯s joined the fray. Look! They¡¯ve already made it to the top fifty of the list.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an Enlighter powerhouse. It doesn¡¯t matter how many astral beasts they face¡ªthey¡¯ll never have enough to kill. It¡¯ll only take them a few battles to get into the top twenty.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not just one Enlighter, but quite a few of them all of a sudden. Why are there so many? Aren¡¯t the Innerverse and Outerverse separated right now?¡±

    ¡°I heard that there was a bunch of Enlighters who got stuck in the Outerverse because they were all out here fighting over some material. And now, they can¡¯t get back.¡±

    ¡°Lucky for us. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be able to have them as reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°With so many Enlighters arriving, Ironblood Weave will definitely be able to fend off the invaders.¡±

    ¡­

    A determined-looking soldier suddenly shouted, ¡°Hey brothers, don¡¯t just pay attention to the Enlighters. They¡¯re way beyond us andpletely out of our reach. Look, a bunch of new Limiteers have also shown up, and that¡¯s who we should target.¡±

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s Puyu, a super expert! He¡¯s ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings. He¡¯se as well.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s Wendy Yushan as well, who¡¯s eighteenth on the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so excited. Ironblood Fort has the person ranked tenth.¡±

    ¡°An expert has also arrived at our own stronghold,¡± one soldiermented excitedly. He then looked towards the top of an abandoned wall that wasn¡¯t far away from them. Atop the wall, there was a stunning beauty gazing at the starry sky. Her face containedplex emotions, but she seemed to bepletely unapproachable as she silently sat there, illuminated by the starlight.

    The other soldiers looked over as well, and they also became mesmerized. Few beauties appeared in Ironblood Weave, and this woman seemed like a deity from the stars.

    ¡°That¡¯s Yue Xianzi, the young mistress of the Innerverse¡¯s Frostmoon Sect, as well as a student of the Astral Combat Academy. She¡¯s famous throughout the Innerverse, and she recently broke through to the Explorer realm. Under the light of the cold moon, she looks so beautiful that it¡¯s impossible to look away from her,¡± one soldier muttered. All the while, his brothers surrounding him also stared at the girl.

    ¡°Yue Xianzi is a genius who¡¯s innately gifted. She¡¯s killed a Cruiser before, and she¡¯s also someone from the Ten Arbiters Council. Such a goddess is truly unbelievable, and who knows who the lucky bastard to marry her will be,¡± another soldiermented enviously.

    From atop the abandoned wall, Yue Xianzi¡¯s gaze swept across the group of soldiers, and they all panicked and hurriedly looked away.

    She diverted her gaze and looked up at the sky once again. She had been in Ironblood Weave for some time now. Actaully, she had been here ever since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, as the seniors of her sect had actually summoned her to join them in Ironblood Weave.

    It had been Elder Shuang who had summoned her to the battlefield, and this sect elder was also Yellowsoil Fort¡¯smander. However, Yue Xianzi had been ced in one of the lower five strongholds since they were rtively safer. Elder Shuang¡¯s objective was to polish the younger woman since she had only recently broken through to the Explorer realm.

    ¡°Eh, look! This Limiteer¡¯s rising so fast! He¡¯s already in the top 1,000 after just arriving, which is really impressive.¡± The group of soldiers continued to discuss the neers.

    ¡°Let me see. Lu Yin? It¡¯s him!¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Some of the soldiers were lost.

    ¡°Idiot! When I told you to look at the news more, you ignored me. Lu Yin is the strongest Limiteer in the entire universe, and no Limiteer can beat him. It¡¯s said that he¡¯s even killed Cruisers.¡±

    The surrounding soldiers broke into an uproar, as it sounded likeplete fantasy for a Limiteer to kill Cruisers.

    At the top of the abandoned wall, Yue Xianzi also heard their discussion, and she opened the list in shock. She saw Lu Yin¡¯s name. ¡°You were drafted as well? The unrivaled Limiteer... Who knows how big the gap between you and me is right now. The Innerverse and Outerverse are separated, so the Ten Arbiters Council is as good as gone. Also, I don¡¯t need to follow my sect¡¯s orders and follow you around anymore. Goodbye.¡±

    At another stronghold, one of the lower five as well, An Shaohua also saw Lu Yin¡¯s name on the list, but he was not very shocked. Since he had been drafted, he did not find it strange that Lu Yin had been drafted as well. An Shaohua felt slightly lost when he considered whether he should continue following Lu Yin or create his own path. Watermoon Vi did not have much of a foundation in the Outerverse, so if he went at it alone, it was possible that he would aplish nothing. As he pondered his future, An Shaohua¡¯s eyes became determined, and he decided to follow Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin had offended too many almighty Enlighters, he had also killed many of them. He was a true freak.

    Many knew about Lu Yin, but since he had only risen to the top 1,000 on the list, he wasn¡¯t noticed by everybody.

    Ironblood Fort was the cruelest battlefield in the entire Ironblood Weave, and this ce was also known as Dead Man¡¯s Pass to themand post. This nickname came from the fact that only the dead could pass through the stronghold, but it was also a reference to the fort¡¯smander.

    At this moment, there was a rare period of calm with Ironblood Fort not engaged in battle. Enlighters like General Fei, Featherking, and Meng Ningge had personally strengthened the stronghold¡¯s defenses. Within Dead Pass¡¯smand center, there should have been many experts gathered, but instead, there was only a Limiteer youth standing leisurely in front of the screen. This screen disyed a star chart of the entire Ironblood Weave, as well as a bit of the region in front of Ironblood Fort, which was a part of the Astral Beast Domain.

    ¡°Reporting.¡± A male Hunter appeared outside of themand center.

    The Limiteer youth continued to stare at the screen before quietly saying, ¡°Enter.¡±

    The Hunter entered and respectfully said to the youth, ¡°Master Jun declined toe.¡±

    The Limiteer youth didn¡¯t show any sign of surprise. ¡°The more privileges these Lockbreakers gain, the more they cherish their lives. They end up caring less and less about the border warfront. It¡¯s too disappointing.¡±

    The Hunter looked at the floor and did not speak. This scene seemed very out-of-ce, as a Hunter was actually acting so respectful and demure before a Limiteer, and his gaze even seemed to hold genuine emotions. Many youths were able to use powerhouses for personal use by leveraging their backgrounds, but these experts would not show such a respectful expression to them. This was something that could only be earned by one¡¯s personal achievements.

    Even Lu Yin could not suppress a Hunter with his personal strength, as he was forced to rely on external objects. Xueshan Auna feared and respected Lu Yin only because of such objects. Without them, not even Lu Yin couldmand respect from Hunters.

    However, this youth could do so. It was even more important to note that this youth was not exceptionally strong. He was merely an average Limiteer, and he had only recently reached this cultivation level.

    ¡°Send a message to the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society for them to immediately send their top-notch Lockbreakers to report to Ironblood Fort. Otherwise, they will be convicted of the crime of rebellion.¡± The youth suddenly appeared ruthless as he spoke these words that carried a numbing message with them. This young man wanted to strike at the Lockbreaker Society, and the Hunter looked astonished.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he said before hurrying away.

    Not long after, General Fei entered Dead Pass and walked over to the youth. ¡°Ah Wen, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    The youth was called Wang Wen, and although he was an ordinary Limiteer, he was one of the most important people in the entire Ironblood Weave. With his almost monstrous level of intelligence, he had spent countless years analyzing the circumstances of the battlefield, and by doing so, he had managed to find patterns in the beasts¡¯ invasions. He had helped the various strongholds of Ironblood Weave make preparations in advance. Not only did his efforts help them lower their casualties, but it had also led to the Astral Beast Domain suffering heavily, which caused them to cease their assaults for half a year.

    This was something unimaginable, and because of this feat, Wang Wen¡¯s name had long since been ced high up on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List. He had greatly surpassed Lu Yin and the others to the point where he was practically on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    All matters of Ironblood Weave were handled in an orderly manner by Wang Wen. With his own capabilities, he had weaved the nine great strongholds of Ironblood Weave together and allowed them to disy an even more powerful united front than ever before.

 Chapter 572: Decent Artillery Shells

    <h4>Chapter 572: Decent Artillery Shells</h4>

    Wang Wen was one of the few people in Ironblood Weave who was qualified to meet with the Hall of Honor¡¯s Elder Lohar.

    Wang Wen was on the astral beasts¡¯ hit list, which meant that, no matter how badly the Astral Beast Domain wanted to kill the brilliant Limiteer, Ironblood Weave would respond by increasing their protection of him. General Fei had once said that he could die, but Wang Wen could not.

    ¡°These Lockbreakers abuse their privileges and still refuse toe. I¡¯ve sent them a warning, and if they still refuse to ept the draft, then they will be treated as traitors,¡± Wang Wen staunchly said. He wanted to punish the Lockbreaker Society, which was a highly privileged organization, but his tone made it sound as simple as punishing a normal person.

    General Fei replied in a deep voice, saying, ¡°The Lockbreaker Society is also a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor, and they have used their identity to reject Ironblood Weave¡¯s draft notice on multiple asions already. Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, no one can take responsibility for their decisions. If they decline the draft yet again, then we¡¯ll invite Elder Lohar to step forward.¡±

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The higher one¡¯s position is, the more they will fear death.¡±

    He then aimlessly flipped through the Ironblood Points rankings, but as he did so, his eyes flickered. No matter what he did, his mind was always moving and calcting. His intellect could predict his opponents¡¯ actions, and this was something that the Astral Beast Domain had be well aware of.

    No matter what level the experts had achieved whom Ironblood Weave recruited, they were all nothing more than chess pieces in his eyes, chess pieces to maneuver against the Astral Beast Domain. Even Nightqueen Qiuyu was no exception, as the Enlighters¡¯ arrangements had all been made by Wang Wen.

    ¡°This Lu Yin is very interesting. He¡¯s killed three Enlighters, which is unfortunate,¡± Wang Wenmented with interest. As long as a creature was human, no matter what schemes they may have made in the past, in Wang Wen¡¯s eyes, they were all chess pieces for him to pit against the astral beasts¡¯ invasion, which was why he felt that it was a great pity for three Enlighters to have been killed.

    General Fei¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°He relied on foreign objects, and one day, his power vessel will be depleted.¡±

    ¡°But even by himself, he¡¯s an unrivaled Limiteer. How interesting. He¡¯s someone from the Outerverse, and his surname is ¡®Lu.¡¯¡± Wang Wen continued, but his voice grew softer at the end until not even General Fei could hear him.

    Lu Yin spent two quiet days in Seasons Fort. During this time, it was very peaceful without any battles breaking out. He and the reinforcements from the Great Yu Empire settled down on a maind, which was not too far from the space station where they had first docked.

    The fort was not strictly supervised, and when there was no battle taking ce, Lu Yin was allowed to walk around as he pleased, as long as he did not leave the zone that he was guarding.

    Since they were stationed this close to the space station, Lu Yin was able to see the reinforcements from the other weaves arrive, and at this moment, he saw someone familiar: Charon.

    Back at the Astral Combat Academy, Lu Yin had been chased around by the people of the ze Realm. At around that same time, he had rolled six pips on his die, Possessed Charon¡¯s body, and thus discovered the man¡¯s secrets. Lu Yin had then used Charon¡¯s reputation to protect himself, but it hadn¡¯t taken him long to gain the power and reputation to survive in the trial zones on his own.

    Charon himself was a genius from the Timor Weave, and when he had been in the Astral Combat Academy, he had been a five-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker as well as the Area Master of the Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Whitebones Gorge. By now, Charon had long since broken through to the Explorer realm, and he had probably reached the standard of a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. What Lu Yin remembered the most about the man was that he had an ancient object that he had obtained through lockbreaking: the Unveiled Sword.

    The Timor Weave was located rather far away from Ironblood Weave, and logically, it should have been isted by many energy barriers, preventing it from sending any reinforcements to Ironblood Weave. Charon¡¯s appearance surprised Lu Yin, and he delightedly stepped forward to greet the alumni from his academy.

    Charon stared at Lu Yin like he had seen a ghost, and his expressions went through the full spectrum, from feeling stifled, anger, shock, dumbfounded, to envy and more. In any case, Lu Yin saw all sorts of extreme human emotions in an incredibly short span of time as he approached Charon.

    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you happy to see an old friend?¡± Lu Yin teased the man.

    Happy enough that I want you to die, Charon inwardly cursed. His innermost secret was known only to three people in the universe: himself, the bastard in front of him, and his even more shameless master that had initially discovered Charon¡¯s secret. If possible, Charon did not want to bump into this asshole ever again for the rest of his life.

    But wishes were just wishes, and now that they had met, Charon had no choice. Lu Yin¡¯s battle records quickly shed through Charon¡¯s mind, and a smile quickly broke across his face. ¡°So it¡¯s Brother Lu. What a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fellow¡¯s smile is ridiculously fake.¡± The Ghost Monkey was bewildered.

    Lu Yin had also noticed this, but he wouldn¡¯t be happy either if he was talking to somebody who had uncovered all of his own secrets. However, Lu Yin was very happy at the moment because he wanted to see how much Charon¡¯s lockbreaking had improved. There wasn¡¯t a single Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker in the entire Seasons Fort, which had made Lu Yin feel rather sullen. Most Lockbreakers were afraid of dying, so none of them hade to the battlefield.

    Now that Charon had broken through and be an Explorer, logically, he should have also be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    ¡°Brother Charon, are you very tired? Your expression doesn¡¯t seem quite right,¡± Lu Yin asked with feigned concern.

    Charon smiled wryly. ¡°I am indeed tired. That¡­ Brother Lu, I¡¯ll go and rest for now. We¡¯ll have to catch up next time.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly grabbed Charon. ¡°Let me ask you something.¡±

    Charon grew suspicious.

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Your sister-inw-¡±

    He was only able to get those words out when Charon turned to leave with a darkened face.

    Lu Yin quickly shouted, ¡°I wasn¡¯t finished. I¡¯ll keep going.¡±

    Charon whirled around to stop Lu Yin from saying anything more, and he asked through gritted teeth, ¡°What the hell do you want?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯m just concerned about your emotional wellbeing. After all, we are fellow students, and I¡¯m also a member of the Council of Astral Academy. Thus, I have a certain administrative duty concerning the students,¡± Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Charon angrily growled, ¡°I¡¯ve already graduated.¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten your roots?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with forgetting my roots. I¡¯ve already graduated, so the Council of Astral Academy cannot oversee me anymore.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about overseeing. It¡¯s about my concern. Don¡¯t get confused.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re too much! I¡¯ve already broken through to the Explorer realm.¡± Charon¡¯s eyes were flushed red, and his veins were practically popping out of his skin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose as he raised a hand and clenched a fist. ¡°You¡¯re threatening me.¡±

    Charon¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he suddenly remembered that this bastard could kill even Cruisers, and there had even been recent rumors of him killing Enlighters. Charon didn¡¯t quite believe those rumors, but they must have started somewhere, which meant that this bastard did have some capability. Charon knew that he could not beat Lu Yin.

    Charon was terrified, and finally, he grudgingly asked, ¡°Lu Yin, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Nothing much. It¡¯s just that, recently, I¡¯ve be a bit lost on the path of lockbreaking. Thus, I wanted to ask for some pointers.¡±

    Charon sullenly let out a long breath. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you everything I know about the path of lockbreaking, but you cannot use that secret to threaten me ever again.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Deal.¡±

    That night, Lu Yin and Charon chatted and drank merrily, or at least that was how Lu Yin saw it. However, from Charon¡¯s expression, he was quite obviously not enjoying himself.

    Charon was a genius Lockbreaker while Lu Yin was confident that his abilities allowed him to see more clearly than any other Lockbreaker. However, he wascking in quite a bit of experience when it came to actually lockbreaking, and he needed to make up for that gap.

    Charon had not be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker when he broke through to the Explorer realm as Lu Yin had assumed. It was not that simple to be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and now that the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, there were not many Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers left in the entire Outerverse, which meant that they could not promote Charon. Hence, he was forced to remain as a five-star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    ¡°Do you have any confidence in being able to patch the holes in the formless danger field of those sourceboxes in space?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Across from him, Charon rolled his eyes. ¡°Dream on! If I could do something like that, then I would have been sent here to Ironblood Weave a long time ago. Every stronghold has its own sourcebox defenses and their associated dangers, but unfortunately, they¡¯re all useless. Wang Wen has attempted many different methods to transfer Lockbreakers over to Ironblood Weave and fix the holes, but he hasn¡¯t seeded.¡±

    ¡°Wang Wen?¡± Lu Yin felt that the name was familiar and checked the rankings. He found the name belonging to the third Enlighter on the Ironblood Points rankings. Hold on! Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. That person wasn¡¯t an Enlighter, but rather a Limiteer!

    ¡°You don¡¯t know about Wang Wen?¡± Charon eximed.

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Wen¡¯s name on the list in disbelief. How was this possible? How could a Limiteer surpass so many other Enlighters and be ranked third on the list? How had he done it?

    ¡°Tell me more about him,¡± Lu Yin prodded.

    Charon was just about to speak when the sky rumbled and massive rms rang throughout the fortress.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed. ¡°There¡¯s another battle.¡±

    After just three days of quiet, battle had descended upon the stronghold yet again. But to the veterans of the fortress, this was something that they were already ustomed to. Lu Yin had also visited Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront, so he was able to adapt quickly. Charon was actually the same since he had been sent to the border warfront as well.

    The Astral Combat Academy had an agreement with the battlefields, and the various branches regrly sent their students there to participate, which had given Lu Yin and some others a bit of wartime experience.

    Many sourceboxes dropped down from space, and multiple batches of Void Wanderers suddenly appeared. They were mowed down by countless firearms as blood poured down from the sky in a scarlet rain.

    One Void Wanderer appeared near Lu Yin and Charon and tried to take advantage of their momentary inattention. The beast tore through the void as arge number of beasts poured out.

    Formless ripples radiated outwards from Charon¡¯s body, which gave him an exceptionally valiant aura. This feeling was Charon¡¯s domain, and Lu Yin was surprised to see that Charon¡¯s domain was much stronger than his own. The Unveiled Sword appeared in Charon¡¯s hand, and when he shed with the sword, it carried the strength of his domain with it. The group of Limiteer beasts ahead of him were sliced apart, and even the two Explorer realm beasts were eliminated.

    Smug with his results, Charon looked at Lu Yin, as he was very confident of his attack.

    Lu Yin nced at him appreciatively, which disgusted Charon. This was how a senior looked at a junior. Charon spoke up, ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s time to demonstrate your skills. I heard that you¡¯ve even killed Enlighters.¡±

    When he finished speaking, an astral beast dropped down from above them. It was asrge as a mountain, and it directed its immense pressure downwards. The pressure was enough to crush the entire maind to pieces, and Charon¡¯s face warped. ¡°Cruiser, RUN!¡±

    Astral beasts were not humans, and astral beasts¡¯ defenses were generally stronger than their human counterparts. Even if Charon was able to cross realms to challenge Cruisers, he was not quite confident against a Cruiser realm astral beast.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Decent artillery shells.¡±

    Charon was lost. ¡°Artillery?¡±

    Lu Yin had a serene expression as he suddenly dashed upwards. He raised both of his hands towards the beast and violently mmed against it.

    Charon¡¯s mouth fell open. Was this guy crazy? Was he trying topete in strength against an astral beast?

    Boom!

    The void shuddered and almost distorted as a powerful shockwave swept through the sky and across the ground. Charon felt his breathing slow down as his entire body was forced underground. It wasn¡¯t just him, as arge portion of the maind that he was standing upon was pressed down.

    When Charon looked up at the sky, he saw an unforgettable scene. Lu Yin had actually forcibly restrained that Cruiser beast before throwing it towards a group of astral beasts, treating it just like an artillery shell.

    Lu Yin¡¯s previous words rang through Charon¡¯s mind. Decent artillery shell¡­ Decent artillery shell¡­

    So he actually meant those words? Is that bastard really even human? How can a human be so strong? Even a Hunter probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do that!

 Chapter 573: Nine Lined Battle Force

    <h4>Chapter 573: Nine Lined Battle Force</h4>

    Lu Yin released all three grains of Fatesand and unleashed his full physical strength. He had once used his entire strength to force the Oolong Horse back. Although it had just been an Explorer, it was famous for its strength, and it was even stronger than the Cruiser realm astral beast before him. Lu Yin had not been afraid of contesting that horse¡¯s strength, let alone the astral beast.

    He had no idea how badly he had just shocked Charon, but the young Explorer was currently doubting whether or not his own path of cultivation was the right one.

    The astral beasts surged towards them from all directions, and all of these creatures were all at least at the Limiteer realm. Lu Yin didn¡¯t even understand how the Astral Beast Domain had produced so many formidable beasts.

    The Ghost Monkey exined that all astral beasts would reach a certain level of strength upon maturing and that such creatures had no need to cultivate.

    Astral beasts boasted powerful innate gifts while humans were better at creation.

    The battle showed no signs of stopping even after three consecutive days of fighting. Charon panted heavily, and his hand holding the Unveiled Sword was a bit shaky. Fresh blood dripped down from his shoulder onto the back of his hand.

    He had been ambushed by a Cruiser realm beast, and he would have likely died if not for Lu Yin¡¯s support.

    Lu Yin had also been targeted by various astral beast powerhouses over the past three days, but his universal armor had allowed him to resist multiple attacks from various Cruisers, and they had eventually given up. After that, they had surrounded him with a huge group of Limiteer realm beasts in an attempt to stifle him to death.

    When the battle began, Aden had used his thunder shield to firmly push a Hunter beast towards the maind where Lu Yin was stationed. Once he saw that Lu Yin was safe, he continued to push that Hunter back away. It almost looked as if they were on a tour.

    Huo Qingshan took simr actions to check on Lu Yin.

    There was a loud rumble, and despite being surrounded by countless astral beasts, Lu Yin turned towards the east where he saw a portion of the maind shatter and fall off. A creatureposed of blue crystals roared at the sky as its body grewrger.

    ¡°That¡¯s an Amethyst Beast! How strange. Why would one of those appear here?¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin stared at the crumbling maind, as that was where the reinforcements from the Great Yu Empire had been stationed. They had only arrived two days before, but their future seemed inauspicious at this moment.

    ¡°Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro, I¡¯m talking to you!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin endured his sorrow. ¡°Speak.¡±

    He then turned back around and struck out with his fists to carve out a path through the surrounding beasts. Even just the aftershocks from his attacks were enough to almost injure Charon.

    ¡°That¡¯s an Amethyst Beast! There aren¡¯t even twenty of those in the entire Astral Beast Domain! They all live in the Celestial Beast Empire, but one of them actually appeared here today! Something isn¡¯t right. Your stronghold is in terrible danger! Hurry up and call Aden!¡± The Ghost Monkey was bing more and more anxious with each passing moment.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin had a bad premonition.

    ¡°The Amethyst Beasts are a strange existence¡ªmuch like the Cosmic Hous¡ªnobody even knows how the first one was born. Since ancient times, they¡¯ve been rare. Even during their most prolific era, there were only ever thirty of them. Each one of them is very precious, but one of them is here right now, which means that the astral beasts are absolutely confident in their ability to take over this stronghold. If that wasn¡¯t the case, then there¡¯s no way the Celestial Beast Empire would let an Amethyst Beaste here,¡± the monkey solemnly exined.

    Lu Yin wondered whether or not he should immediately contact Aden and Huo Qingshan to have them head over towards him.

    Roar!

    The intense snarl shook space itself. To the massive Seasons Fort, such an effect wasn¡¯t anything much, but to the continent that Lu Yin was on, it was enough to make it crumble. Blue crystals appeared, reflecting the cold starlight.

    It was a Cruiser realm Amethyst Beast.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a Cruiser. I can handle this,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The monkey hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Seventh Bro, this freak can morph. Don¡¯t take the risk.¡±

    ¡°Give me some details.¡± Lu Yin was impatient.

    ¡°An Amethyst Beast has three forms. The first is its normal form, which isn¡¯t too eye-catching. The second is a blue crystal form that increases its power by an entire level. The third is the amethyst form, which increases its power by yet another level. As soon as this monster reaches a certain level, it will be unequaled within its realm because no one will be able to break through its defenses! These things are absolute freaks!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as this information meant that the Amethyst Beast was a thorny problem. ording to the monkey, the Celestial Beast Empire was very protective of these rare beasts, and they were not allowed out unless there was no fear for their life. It seemed like Seasons Fort was in grave peril.

    Lu Yin passed on a message detailing the current circumstances to Liu Zhan, as he trusted that Liu Zhan would inform Liu Qiuyu.

    The Amethyst Beast demonstrated its overbearing nature by causing the maind to crumble. Lu Yin pulled Charon away and retreated, but they were still caught up in the destruction.

    Charon stared at the distant Amethyst Beast in shock. Its blue, crystalline figure was rather conspicuous, and it made the creature an immediate focus for the entire battlefield. However, none of the human powerhouses¡¯ attacks or shots from all sorts of firearms were able to cause it any harm. Even a Hunter¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t enough to damage it.

    The beast was almost unparalleled within the same realm as far as its defenses were concerned, and it could even cross realms and repel a Hunter¡¯s attacks.

    Liu Zhan suddenly appeared and shed at the Amethyst Beast¡¯s body, causing a portion of the blue crystals to be sliced off. The beast howled in rage, and its color changed quickly to purple. A terrifying fluctuation rippled out from the beast and stunned many people. The beast¡¯s strength had now reached the level of a Hunter.

    Even though Liu Zhan was one of the top five powerhouses at Seasons Fort, a single sh of his sword wasn¡¯t able to cause the creature any harm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Even the Yin Guai from before hadn¡¯t been able to withstand Liu Zhan¡¯s strike so casually, and it had needed to recover from the attacks as well. On the other hand, this Amethyst Beast didn¡¯t seem to be fazed by anything.

    There was a thump, and Liu Zhan was sent flying by a p from the beast.

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he suddenly realized that every time he saw Liu Zhan, the young Hunter was being trashed.

    Liu Zhan himself was also feeling depressed. He had protected Seasons Fort for so many years, and most battle required the enemy to mobilize a few Hunter beasts to stop him. After all, he had a power level of 180,000. However, this time, it was different. Quite a few powerful beasts had appeared recently, such as the Yin Guai during the previous battle, or the Amethyst Beast this time. Truthfully, Liu Zhan had not run into such powerful Hunter realm astral beasts during all his years in Ironblood Weave.

    Boom boom boom!

    The ground started rupturing as the beast shattered half of the maind with its thrashing. It then looked in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. It leapt up and crashed into that section of the maind, hitting even the space station with its attack.

    Charon grabbed Lu Yin and was about to fly into space when, all of a sudden, there was a tremendous roar as Aden appeared and lightning descended. His thunder shield expanded outwards, and he plummeted towards the Amethyst Beast, which remained fearless even as the thunder shield collided against it.

    There was a bang as the void copsed into a ckhole that swallowed everything. But then, it vanished in an instant. A giant shockwave caused many of the nearby soldiers and cultivators to feel dizzy, and it looked like the sky itself had shattered.

    The distorted void even influenced the battles in outer space.

    Many could see that the thunder shield had stopped the Amethyst Beast in its tracks, and Aden grinned. ¡°So it¡¯s actually an Amethyst Beast. It looks like the Celestial Beast Empire has finally started to move.¡±

    The beast used star energy to vibrate the air and produce sound. ¡°Human, you¡¯re very powerful.¡±

    Adenughed. ¡°I¡¯ve long since wanted to test an Amethyst Beast¡¯s unequaled defense and see whose is stronger¡ªyours or mine.¡± His thunder shield expanded yet again as lightning flickered across it.

    The beast bellowed and swatted at the shield. There was another thump, and the entire region quivered while countless spatial cracks shot out like raindrops.

    Lu Yin and Charon dodged the aftershocks from the two powerhouses¡¯ sh as they stared into space. This was a battle of defenders.

    Liu Zhan appeared, wanting to join the fray, but he was blocked by another Hunter beast.

    Lu Yin and Charon moved to a different battlefield, as the maind was on the verge of copsing. There was no need to defend it any further.

    Even the astral beasts left the maind alone, and both sides essentially wrote it off.

    The two passed by the space station, and Lu Yin was dragged along by Charon as they dashed towards another that was smaller than the maind that they had been on before. However, this one supported an ecosystem that the earlier maind hadcked. When they looked up, they were able to see straight into space.

    One connected two mainds. This was how the strongholds were constructed.

    This was simr to the maind in the sense that there were astral beasts all around them with corpses forming oceans of blood. Things had even reached the point where the seas had been stained red.

    Lu Yin and Charon rejoined the battle.

    Above the fortress, the battle between the Amethyst Beast and Aden intensified. The creature was furious, as it had never met any human whose defenses couldpare to its own. The purple crystals on its body sparkled radiantly. ¡°Human, you can¡¯t best me.¡±

    Aden looked back at the beast with a serious face. ¡°You really are an Amethyst Beast. I¡¯ll show my true strength now.¡± The star energy from Aden¡¯s body transformed into lightning that then formed a mountain. He had formed a thunder mountain, and this was his Thunder Mountain Technique.

    Immovable like a mountain; fierce like thunder. This phrase had been well-interpreted by Aden, and he used the mountain¡¯s solid defense and the lightning¡¯s iparable ferocity to push the Amethyst Beast back into outer space.

    In the distance, Liu Qiuyu, who had been keeping an eye on the battle, was amazed. He had seen this technique before, but it did not seem to be something from the Outerverse. Could it be from the Neoverse?

    In a simr fashion to when he had first arrived at Seasons Fort, Aden revealed a defense that left others dumbfounded. This time, he was pushing the Amethyst Beast through outer space.

    Countless human cultivators were inspired, as this was a disy of power that could cause their morale to soar.

    The beast¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Human, you¡¯ve aggravated me!¡±

    The purple radiance on its body erupted with radiance once again, and this time, its colors deepened, and the crystals seemed to absorb the nearby light. Then, waves rippled out from the purple crystals, like when a stone was dropped in a pond. Suddenly, Aden¡¯s thunder shield was pulled into the beast¡¯s body and absorbed.

    ¡°Die, human!¡± It swatted at Aden.

    Aden had lost his thunder shield, and he was thus smacked away by the Amethyst Beast.

    The dynamics of the battle had switched too quickly, and in the distance, Liu Qiuyu¡¯s heart sank. This was an innate gift that was unique to the strange lifeforms that were the Amethyst Beasts. This creature was definitely from the Celestial Beast Empire, and the empire wanted to rely on this beast to destroy Seasons Fort. Since they had dared to send the beast to Ironblood Weave, it meant that the stronghold was in serious danger.

    The beast snarled and charged towards Seasons Fort, as its mission was to destroy this stronghold. No one could stop it, and even an Enlighter could not do such a thing. The beast¡¯s defense was matchless.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s sword forced away the Enlighter beast that he had been fighting. He wanted to attack the Amethyst Beast, but he was almost instantly obstructed again by the Enlighter beast. ¡°Liu Qiuyu, this battlefield will be thest thing you will see. Seasons Fort is finished.¡±

    Liu Qiuyu was flustered, as no one aside from him could stop the Amethyst Beast. No¡ªeven he was not confident in being able to stop the beast. As long as it set its heart on destroying the stronghold, he would be out of options.

    At this moment, Aden, who had been sent flying, suddenly tore through the void and reappeared. His face was so gloomy that it was scary, and when he emerged from the void, he was in front of the Amethyst Beast. He looked up as purple veins spread across his entire body and a red radiance shot into the sky with a vibrancy that could cause passions to boil. He had activated nine lined battle force.

    The entire stronghold was shocked by his nine lined battle force. In the past, even the strongest cultivator at the fort had only ever disyed eight lined battle force, but a nine lined battle force user had suddenly appeared out of the blue.

    A powerful warrior was someone who had a clear conscience as well as a determination that came from their heart. They could manifest that will and wield it for attack or defense, or even to break through their limits to crush the heavens and tear the sky apart.

 Chapter 574: Six-Stage Formcast Model

    <h4>Chapter 574: Six-Stage Formcast Model</h4>

    Aden raised an arm, and the lightning mountain formed from his star energy was suddenly covered with a red hued battle force as it ruthlessly struck the Amethyst Beast.

    The beast released a furious howl, but it had already been stopped by Aden¡¯s attack.

    Aden had a vicious expression. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had to use my nine lined battle force. I¡¯d almost forgotten what it felt like.¡± He threw a punch at the beast. ¡°Let¡¯s see if your defenses can still stop me.¡±

    The Amethyst Beast raised a paw and batted at Aden.

    The two of them were entangled in a ster battle once again.

    Liu Qiuyu was in shock. Where had this monster with nine lined battle forcee from? Aden clearly had a strong will, and considering how he didn¡¯t seem to be that old, he was sure to be a major powerhouse in the future.

    The Enlighter beast looked perplexed. Freakish geniuses often showed up among humans. There was no denying this.

    On a, Lu Yin stared up into space with envy. He¡¯d seen the red battle force: it was clearly nine lined battle force. At the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s battle force was only at six lines. The difference between them was just too vast. It was unbelievable that Aden had actually attained nine lined battle force.

    This battle continued on for two days. During this time, the fiercest battle was the one between Aden and the Amethyst Beast.

    Aden¡¯s innate gift, the thunder shield, had been absorbed by the Amethyst Beast, so he needed some time to call it out again. However, by using his nine lined battle force, he had essentially seized the advantage.

    However, the Amethyst Beast¡¯s defense truly lived up to its reputation of being invincible. Even Aden¡¯s nine lined battle force was not enough to fully stop it. At most, its crystal body might have been cracked, but actually defeating it was an entirely separate issue.

    In the end, the battle concluded when the astral beasts withdrew like the tide. When the Amethyst Beast left, its eyes were filled with reluctance as it looked back at Aden. The reason why the battle had ended had something to do with them, as Aden had been just about to reform his thunder shield. The moment it reappeared, the beast would no longer be able to hold on. For this reason alone, the battle had to end.

    The Astral Beast Domain wanted to make use of the Amethyst Beast to destroy Seasons Fort in a pivotal attack, but the defenders had managed to hold out thanks to Aden. The battle between the two had actually determined the very survival of the stronghold.

    After the battle, Liu Qiuyu personally summoned Lu Yin tomend him for bringing Aden and contributing to the defense of the fort.

    Lu Yin epted thepliments, but he also knew that Aden would no longer have any attention to spare for him.

    To give Lu Yin some peace of mind, Liu Qiuyu instead arranged for Huo Qingshan to stay by Lu Yin¡¯s side, which could be considered aspensation for taking Aden. It was also meant to make Aden feel morefortable about the new situation.

    Lu Yin did not tell Liu Qiuyu that he and Aden weren¡¯t exactly close, and he instead simply epted it. However, he had already considered whether or not he should have Aden join the Great Yu Empire, so now, he was slightly regretting his choice. If he¡¯d known that something like this would happen, he would have changed their bet and have Aden directly join the Great Yu Empire.

    After the most recent battle, Lu Yin¡¯s Ironblood Points had increased to 2,090. The second battle hadsted longer than the first, but during this battle Lu Yin had mostly only killed Limiteer realm beasts. Since they had surrounded him, he had not been able to earn as many points as before.

    The five people ranked in front of him had around the same number of points as him at the moment. After another battle, he would be able to surpass them.

    Lu Yin thought that he would be able to get some rest for a few days and take a breather, but a piece of shocking news soon spread through the entirety of Seasons Fort fort that hit everyone like a bucket of cold water: they had lost Ironblood Fort.

    While Seasons Fort was locked in battle, Ironblood Fort had been caught in the same situation, though it had encountered a battle the likes of which had never been seen before. The Astral Beast Domain had sent ten Enlighter realm beasts at the fort, and while Ironblood Fort had almost ten Enlighters itself after Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest arrived, they had still lost in a very pathetic manner. More importantly, the hidden powerhouse protecting the fort, Crow Phoenix, had died in the battle after being attacked by a terrifying Amethyst Beast and an astral beast called a Monster Loach.

    Ironblood Fort had always been the foremost defense of Ironblood Weave. As long as it stood strong, the other eight fortresses of Ironblood Weave would remain secure. Ironblood Fort had always been the weave¡¯s mental pir, but because of that, when it was destroyed, it acted as a huge mental blow to the other eight strongholds.

    On the day the news was received, Seasons Fort went silent. Nobody was happy that the battle had reached a lull; all they felt was absolute despair.

    Lu Yin sat on an ind next to a sea and stared up at the sky.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why that Amethyst Beast attacked Seasons Fort. It was because there was an even more terrifying Amethyst Beast that could even kill a monster from the Phoenix Family with a power level of over 350,000. That means that that creature must be a terrifying existence within the Celestial Beast Empire and the top powerhouse of all Amethyst Beasts. We need to run, Seventh Bro! Even someone with a power level of 400,000 can¡¯t stop that thing!¡± the Ghost Monkey wailed fearfully. He didn¡¯t want to sit there waiting for his death.

    Lu Yin was feeling incredibly down. The power of the Amethyst Beast from the battle that had just ended was still fresh in his mind. Even Aden had only been able to contend with the beast on roughly equal terms even though the creature only had the strength of a Hunter. And now, he had just learned that there was an even more terrifying Amethyst Beast that had killed an almighty powerhouse with a power level of over 300,000. What¡¯s more, that monster had been someone from the Phoenix family. This piece of news came with a heavy wave of pressure, and this pressure was not something that could be easily removed.

    More importantly, this wasn¡¯t even the worst that the Celestial Beast Empire was capable of. That empire was a tremendous power that was capable of single handedly contending against the Human Domain¡¯s Innerverse, and it did notck for Envoys either. The moment powerhouses of that level appeared, nobody in the entire Ironblood Weave¡ªno, the entire Outerverse, would be able to stop them. Lu Yin could not see any trace of hope for survival. He could not see a future.

    ¡°Say something! Let¡¯s escape! Nobody will me you. Ironblood Weave is done for,¡± the monkey urgently exhorted.

    Lu Yin sounded depressed. ¡°I¡¯m human. Where can I run away to as a human? Tell me.¡±

    The monkey fell silent. The Outerverse where the humans lived was now about to be crushed by the Astral Beast Domain. Nobody would be able to survive.

    Lu Yin thought things over and shook his head. This was not something that he could solve alone. Right now, the most important thing he could do was break through and be an Explorer. It had been a while since he¡¯d first felt like he was about to break through. He believed that the next time it woulde wasn¡¯t far off. So, he needed to urgently upgrade his formcast model to a six-stage model.

    Right now, most people were busily repairing the battlefield. Lu Yin blocked off the star energy in his right arm and found somewhere to hide. He then raised a hand and looked at his die, which was rotating slowly. It¡¯d been quite a while since he¡¯dst rolled it, and it was about time.

    He tapped out with a finger, and the die started to roll until it stopped and showed Gift Copy. Lu Yin was speechless at how useless this roll was.

    The next time he rolled the die, itnded on Timestop.

    In order to guarantee that he would roll Enhance, Lu Yin extended the duration of the Time Stop Space so that he could rest for ten days before rolling the die again. Unfortunately, he rolled Pilfer. He had no choice but to rest for ten more days before rolling the die again.

    He had plenty of star crystals, so he could easily extend the time. If he hadn¡¯t already reached the peak of the Limiteer realm with thest step being to break through to the Explorer realm, then the amount that he had would be enough for him to reach the peak of any realm anyways within this isted space.

    The only resource that he was notcking in was time.

    Finally, the fourth time he rolled his die, he got Enhance.

    When he saw the two light screens appear, Lu Yin sighed in relief. Cultivators needed to be able to endure loneliness, but if possible, he didn¡¯t want to stay in this isted space for too long. It was far too suffocating.

    He retrieved his formcast model, and without any hesitation, tossed a thousand star essences onto the upper screen.

    Previously, he¡¯d used more than a hundred star essences, which only caused the formcast model to dip slightly into the screen. Based on that progress, fully upgrading the formcast model would require at least thousands of star essences, maybe even more than ten thousand. It was an exorbitant amount.

    The result turned out to be about what Lu Yin expected. It took him eight thousand star essences to fully upgrade the formcast model.

    At this moment, the formcast model had a very different appearance from before, and it looked rather interesting. Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy and looked at it, only to discover that its number of rune lines was incredible. It even exceeded what he had seen from Enlighters.

    While touching the formcast model, Lu Yin suddenly felt a sort of boundless strength that shocked him to the core. This six-stage formcast model had been upgraded through his die rather than being created by an Envoy, but he could still feel an unfathomable power that was reminiscent of an Envoy from it.

    He was finally bing increasingly aware of how truly amazing his innate gift was.

    Then, Lu Yin put the formcast model away and sighed. All he had to do now was wait to break through. When the feeling returned, he wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress it anymore, so his sess or failure could only be left to fate.

    He still had 24,000 cubes of star crystals with him, and he did not want to waste them. Lu Yin considered his options and decided that his survival was still the most important thing. For the moment, the attacks of his gun were more than powerful enough. If he ended up running into an expert whose power level exceeded 300,000, then even all the money that he currently had wouldn¡¯t be enough to raise the power of the gun to a threatening enough level. Therefore, it would be better to upgrade his universal armor.

    His armor had already been upgraded nine times, but he took it out again and threw out four thousand star essences.

    The previous nine upgrades had cost him nearly three thousand star essences, but for this tenth upgrade, another four thousand turned out not to be sufficient. Although it made his heart bleed, Lu Yin tossed out another thousand star essences to finish upgrading the armor for the tenth time. However, he wasn¡¯t satisfied with just a single upgrade, so he gritted his teeth and threw out more than ten thousand star essences in one go. The universal armor fell through the screens very quickly and was upgraded once again. But as the cost, Lu Yin was now left with very few star essences.

    He had initially wanted to upgrade it one more time, but from the looks of it¡­ Lu Yin stored the remaining star essences away. He didn¡¯t have enough for another upgrade, as the next one would require at least 15,000 star essences while he only had 13,000 remaining. These upgrades cost an insane amount of money, but the armor should now be able to withstand an attack with a power level of 300,000.

    When considering the entire Outerverse, there were only a handful of people who could withstand attacks from powerhouses whose power levels had reached 300,000. Lu Yin was now one of those few.

    The rest of the star essence that he had left was only enough for him to upgrade one thing: the Money Bombs. It had cost him 3,300 star essences to upgrade the Money Bombs to their current level, and the next upgrade would probably cost him five or six thousand. The gun, on the other hand, would need nearly 20,000 star essences to upgrade again, and he really could not afford that much.

    He took out the Money Bombs, though he only had two of them left. One was a regr one that had not been upgraded while the other one had been upgraded to the point of being able to kill an Enlighter. He threw the upgraded one onto the screen and used thest 13,000 star essences in his possession on it. Under Lu Yin¡¯s hope-filled eyes, it was upgraded twice. He could see arge amount of rune lines on it, which numbered about the same as the ones on his upgraded universal armor. That meant that this Money Bomb had the power to threaten a powerhouse whose power level was around 300,000.

    Lu Yin was excited as he stored the newly improved Money Bomb away, but then he looked at his now empty cosmic ring. There was one thing that he had to admit to at this moment, which was that he waspletely broke.

    The amount that he¡¯d spent during this round of Enhancing his equipment really hadn¡¯t been worth what he had spent. He had only upgraded a few items, but each upgrade¡¯s cost was increasing exponentially. He had no idea how he was going to earn enough to continue doing this, as even killing an Enlighter wouldn¡¯t provide him with enough funds.

    Once the clock of the Time Stop Space ran out, Lu Yin suddenly heard a warning rm sound from above. His expression immediately changed; was the next battle already starting?

 Chapter 575: Endless Battle

    <h4>Chapter 575: Endless Battle</h4>

    Lu Yin rose into the sky as cultivators appeared all around him. All of them had expressions of loss and grieving.

    He looked at his gadget and quickly discovered what had happened. The remaining people who had been at Ironblood Fort were pulling back. Humanity had given up on their foremost line of defense.

    This meant that Seasons Fort, Giantghost Fort, and Yellowsoil Fort were now the frontlines of the war. The miserable situation that had previously erupted at Ironblood Fort would nowe to these next three forts.

    Despite the passage of countless years, Ironblood Fort had never once failed to force back the astral beast invaders. Even at its most critical moments, it had only been temporarily let go, only to be quickly seized back by the reinforcements from the middle three strongholds. However, at the moment, the middle three forts hadn¡¯t even had a chance to reinforce the first stronghold.

    The Astral Beast Domain had redirected a great deal of its strength to Ironblood Weave, and they had vited their truce with the Human Domain due to their desire to invade the humans¡¯ Outerverse.

    Many people disappeared from the Ironblood Points rankings, including four Enlighters, dozens of Hunters, and many Cruisers. All of these people had perished at Ironblood Fort.

    Four Enlighters had actually died, and with the announcement of Crow Phoenix¡¯s death, Lu Yin could only imagine the intensity of the battle that had taken ce.

    ¡°The remnant forces from Ironblood Fort will move to the middle three strongholds to aid their defense. Although this means that our middle three strongholds will be strengthened, it also means that we¡¯ll be facing the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s main force that has almost ten Enlighters among them. Even an old freak with a power level of over 300,000 wasn¡¯t enough to defend against that force, and now, our three mere middle strongholds will find it even more difficult to hold on.¡± An older Explorer¡¯s face sank, and desperation could be clearly seen in his eyes.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw that everyone around him was in a simr state, and even he himself felt the same. The Outerverse was in a truly desperate situation now.

    He expected that Elder Lohar would have sent out another wave of draft notices for Outerverses for more reinforcements by now. It was likely that even the hidden Enlighters like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist would be forced out. Lu Yin had not seen that old fogey¡¯s name on the ranking list, but as the defense of Ironblood Weave grew more intense, those Enlighters would definitely be forced to participate.

    One dayter, Seasons Fort weed in the remnant survivors from Ironblood Fort. Through observing their rune lines, Lu Yin could tell that, among the arriving troops, there were three Enlighters, at least ten Hunters, and many Cruisers and Explorers.

    Ironblood Fort had not been able to send all of their surviving forces to Seasons Fort, which meant that what Lu Yin saw was just a third of its remaining forces. But now he knew that even three times of what he saw arriving had not been enough to defend Ironblood Fort, which made Lu Yin feel even more hopeless.

    In outer space, above the stronghold, the meteor-like sourceboxes peacefully floated along as they emitted a formless danger zone that Lu Yin could see through their rune lines. The field of invisible danger covered most of Seasons Fort, but there were quite a few ces without any rune lines, which were the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ defensive formation.

    Seeing the holes was one thing, but having the ability to patch them up was something else altogether. The formless danger zones had been set up in a careful array that was predicated on a thorough understanding of the sourceboxes¡¯ killing potential. This array arranged them inyers such that they did not repel each other while also guaranteeing that the danger zones would not be diminished in power.

    Lu Yin did not have the ability to do such a thing. Even if he was given a bunch of simr sourceboxes, just cing them within the gaps in the danger zones would be useless, as that could easily cause the entire danger field to undergo an upheaval.

    This level of understanding and ability was something only within the scope ofprehension for a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Lu Yin looked for Charon, nning on asking him about knowledge rted to the arrangement of sourceboxes. He was curious to see if Charon knew anything about it.

    During the most recent battle, Lu Yin had saved Charon, and thus, his attitude towards Lu Yin had improved slightly. ¡°Theposition of sourceboxes? I don¡¯t know, and my Lockbreaker mentor in Astral-6 never exined it to me either. He only offered me a little bit of advice: one has toprehend it for themselves, as everyone has a different understanding of such arrangements. This is because there are countless permutations to a formless danger field.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. Some sourceboxes were able to cause people to fall into their own fantasies while others directly killed anything that approached them. And there were still others yet that could allow the power of predecessors to appear. There were indeed many permutations, which naturally gave rise to countless arrangement methods and variations. Unfortunately, Lu Yin could not even arrange even a single one.

    He looked up and saw the sourceboxes that orbited around like satellites, and he wondered what exactly their formless dangers were.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you can¡¯t really be thinking about researching such things. Stop thinking too much into it. That¡¯s a level that even Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers can¡¯t touch. There might not be anyone at all in the Outerverse who¡¯s reached that level. Do you know what ¡®Boundless Advanced¡¯ signifies? It represents a status that¡¯s even surpassed that of an almighty Enlighter with a power level of over 200,000. When such a powerhouse appears, even if they don¡¯t make a move or use their lockbreaking methods, they can still end a battle,¡± Charon exined.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to Charon. ¡°What¡¯s the power of your Unveiled Sword like?¡±

    Charon suddenly looked cautious. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I¡¯m just curious. After all, it¡¯s an ancient object.¡±

    Charon continued to be vignt against Lu Yin. ¡°Take your curiosity elsewhere. The Unveiled Sword is mine.¡±

    Lu Yin had no choice, as this person was just too wary of him.

    In the previous battle, he had intentionally looked over to observe the Unveiled Sword¡¯s rune lines. The strange thing was the sword¡¯s rune lines had been constantly changing; at times, the amount was terrifying, but at others, it was pathetic. Charon had not managed to demonstrate any strength, so Lu Yin was positive that he had not unlocked the full potential of the Unveiled Sword yet, which was a waste in Lu Yin¡¯s perspective. If he was able to get ahold of the Unveiled Sword, then he could upgrade it several times with his die¡¯s Enhance, which would make it nearly as powerful as his gun. What a pity.

    ¡°Right, aren¡¯t you from Timor Weave? Why did youe here to Ironblood Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Charon grudgingly answered, ¡°After I graduated from Astral-6, I went to Darkmist Weave to make a name for myself, and I even managed to gain some reputation. But then I was recruited by name.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that it was strange. ¡°You were drafted by name even with your strength?¡±

    Charon¡¯s face turned ugly, as he did not like to hear such words.

    Lu Yin looked up again. What other way did he have to patch up these holes? Seasons Fort did not have any Lockbreakers who were capable of doing so on their own, and although Lu Yin could clearly see the holes, he was helpless to do anything to them, which was rather disturbing.

    Charon left. Lu Yin had already been staring up at the sky for several hours, and Charon could not possibly apany him the whole time.

    Off in the distance, Huo Qingshan looked at the shattered ground and the couple of copseds. His expression wasplex, and he was wondering if he would be able to leave this ce alive.

    The danger from the sourceboxes manifested in countless forms, and the sourceboxes themselves had no fixed positions either, so how had those beasts found the holes? Lu Yin was baffled. Did the Astral Beast Domain also have creatures that could see rune lines?

    That would be bad. If the position of the holes remained fixed, then Seasons Fort could gather all of its strength and focus on defending those few locations, which would definitely cause the astral beasts to suffer great harm.

    Hold on. Lu Yin¡¯s mind shed with inspiration; wasn¡¯t he someone who could see the holes? During the next invasion, the astral beasts¡¯ route would definitely pass through those gaps, which meant that he knew their invasion route ahead of time.

    Lu Yin grew excited as he thought of this. He wanted to tell Aden and have him contact Liu Qiuyu on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf.

    Eh? What¡¯s that? Lu Yin felt lost as he stared at the sky. He suddenly saw an astral beast after staring for so long. Was it an illusion? No, the attackers had arrived.

    The next moment, ring rms rang throughout Seasons Fort, and Huo Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. He suddenly appeared beside Lu Yin and raised a hand as an inferno engulfed the void.

    Countless firearms fired at the Void Wanderer that had just appeared, but the attacks were all crushed by an enormous strength that was at the Enlighter level. At the same time, from Seasons Fort¡¯smand center, multiple extremely strong powerhouses dashed out, which were the Enlighters such as Liu Qiuyu, Featherking, Wen Qichen, and Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree. Several Enlighters also appeared from the invading beasts¡¯ side, and the sh between the two forces immediately escted to a tremendous and overwhelming conflict in outer space.

    The Amethyst Beast from before reappeared, and Aden arrived in a timely manner to obstruct it again. This time, Aden unleashed his nine lined battle force at the very beginning of the fight, and hebined it with his thunder shield to suppress the Amethyst Beast. It roared and tried to use its innate gift to absorb the thunder shield, but Aden was prepared for this move this time. The Amethyst Beast couldn¡¯t move, and it started losing this battle right from the get go.

    There were a great number of remnant forces that hade from Ironblood Fort, to the extent where their power even surpassed Seasons Fort¡¯s original forces. Lu Yin saw the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Liu Sanjian, and Long Yun appear as well.

    He had not realized that Long Yun had not returned to the Innerverse. Evidently, he had been stranded in the Outerverse as well.

    A Hunter realm astral beast quickly fixated onto Huo Qingshan, as his actions had been too eye-catching earlier, when he had killed arge number of beasts in a vast region with one strike.

    Lu Yin was once again surrounded by countless Limiteer beasts, which caused him to feel very sullen. He found that whenever his performance became too outstanding, he would be targeted in the next battle. The intelligence of these astral beasts was not to be underestimated.

    Suddenly, a group of cultivators appeared, and they helped Lu Yin by holding the surrounding beasts back. ¡°Leave them to us!¡±

    Lu Yin was bewildered, as he did not know these people. Still, he did not think about it for too long, and he quickly leaped up and headed towards other battlefields. At the next ce, he mmed a palm against an Explorer realm astral beast, instantly shattering it into smithereens. After that, Lu Yin gained the attention of a Cruiser beast.

    Those cultivators who had moved to help Lu Yin had done so under Wang Wen¡¯s orders, which were to allow Lu Yin to effectively maneuver through the battlefield.

    Lu Yin was clearly a Realmbreaker, and he could even threaten Enlighters. However, the astral beasts sought to surround him with a bunch of Limiteers, which was a waste in Wang Wen¡¯s eyes. With his monstrous intellect, he would not allow for such a valuable resource to be wasted. Even though there were many soldiers and cultivators on the battlefield, they were all his chess pieces, and he would fully utilize each pawn¡¯s strength.

    Dead Pass was located at the uppermost regions of Seasons Fort, and it was not far from the area that Lu Yin was defending. He looked up, as the pass was very eye-catching, and powerful astral beasts were constantly attacking that ce. However, its defenses were also very powerful.

    Suddenly, he felt a chill go down his spine, and he dodged to the side with Secret Sidestep. An enormous strength distorted the void where Lu Yin had just been standing, and he saw an enormous amount of rune lines coalesce through his eyes. It was a Cruiser realm Yin Guai.

    He didn¡¯t hesitate and directly attacked the beast, but the Yin Guai responded in kind and raised a paw to sh against Lu Yin.

    There was a loud thump as the void shook. Lu Yin took several steps back and looked at the beast in astonishment. He had unsealed all three grains of Fatesand, but he had still been knocked back. It was no wonder why the Yin Guai was known as the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s equivalent to the humans¡¯ Mavis family.

    The Yin Guai did note out of the sh in much better shape, and its shock was even greater than Lu Yin¡¯s. Not only had this human urately pinpoint its position, but his physical strength had even suppressed its own, which was something that it had never encountered before.

    ¡°Human, are you a monster?¡± The Yin Guai used star energy to vibrate the air in order to speak.

    Lu Yin was furious. ¡°You¡¯re the monster!¡±

    He quickly used the Secret Sidestep Technique to instantly move behind Yin Guai, and his six lined battle force emerged as he pressed both of his palms against the Yin Guai¡¯s back. ¡°Thirty Stacks¡­ Fiftyfold¡­ Shockwave Palm.¡±

    There was another boom, and the Yin Guai spat out a mouthful of blood, its figure growing considerably visible. Its back had shattered from the impact before it died less than a momentter.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. He constantly had to remind himself that this battlefield was not the same as Pyrolyte and that there were no restrictions on his potential opponents¡¯ cultivations. Even Cruiser realm freaks could appear in front of him at any time, and Hunter geniuses could ambush him as well. Even if he was wearing the upgraded universal armor, he still had to maintain extreme vignce.

    He did not want to entrust all his hopes to the universal armor either. The day would eventuallye where he would be caught off guard after removing it. Then, his battle habits would be ruined, which would prove fatal.

 Chapter 576: Lu Yin And Wang Wen

    <h4>Chapter 576: Lu Yin And Wang Wen</h4>

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and head snapped up in shock. He saw arge number of rune lines that surpassed even Nightqueen Qiuyu and the other Enlighters. They formed into steel-like feathers on a wing that swept towards the pass.

    No one could react in time, and the entire pass copsed as a result. Any defensive power wasughable beneath the wing¡¯s might. This was an almighty expert whose power level had exceeded 300,000.

    The Featherking bellowed, ¡°Monster Loach, stop!¡±

    He charged towards the feathered wing while Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Wen Qichen and the others also attacked it from another direction.

    The wing casually waved, and all of the attackers¡¯ strengths were neutralized.

    ¡°Even Crow was killed by me. If it¡¯s just you guys, then you must be looking for death.¡± A giant voice reverberated throughout the area, and everyone who heard it had their faces turn ashen. In the end, an old freak whose power level surpassed 300,000 had indeed appeared.

    Liu Qiuyu stared intently at the pass. He would not mind no matter how many others died, but nothing could be allowed to happen to Wang Wen. Nothing!

    The void burst open as a colossal, fish-like monster appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. Its massive body wasrge enough to cover the entire pass. Its steel-like wings once again swept towards the pass, but then, suddenly, Aden appeared in its attack path. His thunder shield expanded out as his nine lined battle force and Thunder Mountain Technique were disyed to the extreme as he charged forward with a snarl.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids twitched. That idiot!

    There was a loud thump as the thunder shield shattered and Aden was sted into the ground like a loose sandbag.

    The wing sliced through the ruins of the pass, and Monster Loach appeared to be ecstatic. ¡°Your Ironblood Weave¡¯s pir, that kid Wang Wen, is finally dead! Hahaha.¡±

    Countless faces turned grey. First, it had been General Fei, and now, it was Wang Wen. Who would be next? It would likely be those almighty Enlighters, and then, there would be no way to defend Ironblood Weave.

    Lu Yin frowned. What about Elder Lohar? Why hasn¡¯t he appeared yet?

    In outer space, above the fortress, Monster Loach¡¯s attacks smashed everything apart. The Featherking, Wen Qichen, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree weren¡¯t able to stop the beast even with theirbined efforts. The old freak whose power level exceeded 300,000 was too fearsome, and it was on apletely different level.

    In the distance, a gleam of light appeared that suddenly flew towards Lu Yin.

    He focused on it and was astonished by what he saw. What is that? A coffin?

    A colorless and transparent coffin-like object shot through space and crashed towards Lu Yin with a youth lying within it.

    Lu Yin avoided it, letting the coffin strike the ground and create a huge crater.

    Beasts appeared around the coffin, but Lu Yin had no time to bother with it. He remained steadfastly focused on massacring the group of beasts.

    The youth within the coffin opened his eyes shortly after crashing into the ground, and he looked like he was in agony. When he opened the coffin lid to observe the surroundings, the first thing that he saw was a big, ugly beast angrily charging towards him.

    The youth was so frightened that he snapped the lid of the coffin back closed. The beast bit the coffin, but its teeth actually broke, infuriating it. In its anger, it started to incessantly attack the coffin.

    The youth inside paled. ¡°Someone, save me! I am Wang Wen! Wang Wen! Save me!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s ears twitched. Wang Wen? He looked at the crater underneath him and saw that quite a few beasts had moved over to gnaw on the coffin. However, despite their best efforts, the coffin did not budge in the slightest, and there were no signs of it being broken through.

    ¡°Hurry! Save me! This is terrifying!¡± the youth in the coffin screamed incessantly.

    In a sh, Lu Yin appeared atop the coffin and dispatched the few beasts attacking it. He then looked at the coffin. The youth inside it exchanged nces with Lu Yin and blinked. ¡°Excuse me, but please don¡¯t point your butt at me.¡±

    Lu Yin leapt off of the coffin and opened it.

    The youth stood up, panting heavily as he wiped his sweat from his face. ¡°That was freaking scary! I thought that I was going to be eaten.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Wang Wen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The youth nodded and smiled. ¡°Wang Wen. And you¡¯re Lu Yin. Right, I¡¯ve seen your information. You¡¯re a decent chess piece.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Chess piece?¡±

    Wang Wen suddenly pointed a finger behind Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s a beast!¡±

    He then moved at top speed, returning to the coffin and snapping the lid shut. He then justid there, stiff like a corpse.

    Lu Yin was speechless. If this person truly was Wang Wen, then he was too scared of dying! This was totally different from the others that Lu Yin had met on the battlefield!

    The surrounding beasts were only in the Cruiser realm at best, and it was unlikely that any stronger ones would appear, so it didn¡¯t take Lu Yin long to clean up the area.

    Wang Wen emerged once again, and he looked at Lu Yin with admiration. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re considered to be the unequaled Limiteer. Powerful!¡±

    ¡°Let me try to confirm this again: you¡¯re Wang Wen, the person who¡¯s ranked third on the Ironblood Rankings?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Second, now that General Fei¡¯s dead.¡± Wang Wen shrugged as he casually answered Lu Yin¡¯s question. It seemed as if he didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of grief over the general¡¯s death.

    Still, Lu Yin had no time to bother about such things. ¡°Since you¡¯re Wang Wen, then figure out a way to resolve this cmity. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re supposed to be amazingly intelligent.¡±

    ¡°Not by much. I¡¯m just a little better than you chess pieces,¡± Wang Wen replied humbly.

    Lu Yin frowned. This guy reminded him of Hai Qiqi, as neither of them minced their words.

    An enormous pressure enveloped them that crushed the ground, and Wang Wen looked up in pain. ¡° Monster Loach is too powerful. Lu Yin, attack it.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. ¡°Me? Attack?¡±

    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s your turn! Don¡¯t you have a power vessel that allows you to kill Enlighters? Go on and kill Monster Loach! You¡¯ll be able to obtain tens of thousands of Ironblood Points, which can then be exchanged for tens of thousands of star essences.¡± Wang Wen tried to tempt him.

    Lu Yin had not thought that Wang Wen would have such a clear understanding of him, and it struck him to the bottom of his heart. Unfortunately, he could not kill an old freak with a power level that surpassed 300,000. ¡°My weapon isn¡¯t powerful enough to kill Monster Loach.¡±

    Wang Wen patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m not actually asking you to kill it. Just scare it off. Look, it¡¯s just a fish, and they¡¯re cowards by nature. Otherwise, this fellow would not have been held back by Ironblood Fort for so many years. Go on, kid, I believe in you.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen with a strange expression. ¡°You came here especially to find me?¡±

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Of course, as you¡¯re a very important chess piece.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m nobody¡¯s chess piece.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s just pretend like you aren¡¯t. Attack!¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. He could not be persuaded to charge in just from a few words by Wang Wen. However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and the others clearly could not hold out any longer, and there were several Enlighter beasts that were currently ughtering the human forces. If they could not take care of Monster Loach, then Seasons Fort would be doomed as well, which meant that Lu Yin would also be done for. He had to give his all at this moment.

    ¡°What about Elder Lohar? Where is he?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen grudgingly answered. ¡°Do you think that the Astral Beast Domain forgot about him? Old Lohar has been held back, or else Monster Loach wouldn¡¯t have dared to make an appearance. Now hurry up! If you don¡¯t act soon, then we¡¯ll all be dead soon. That fish is sorge that you¡¯ll be able to hit it even with your eyes closed. Hurry!¡±

    Saying those words was easy, but the truth was that all powerhouses had an intense sensitivity towards danger. As soon as they felt danger, no matter howrge a beast might be, they would still be able to instantly disappear, preventing them from bing an easy target. Lu Yin was considering what the best way to hit it was.

    He suddenly looked at Wang Wen. ¡°You just used this coffin to withstand Monster Loach¡¯s attack?¡±

    ¡°What coffin? That sounds so coarse. This is a survival tool that was given to me by the Hall of Honor,¡± Wang Wen corrected before urging Lu Yin to move.

    ¡°Has Monster Loach seen you before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen nodded, and then he felt that something was off. He cast a wary eye at Lu Yin. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    At the top of his voice, Lu Yin suddenly yelled, ¡°WANG WEN, FLEE! I pledge my life to protect Wang Wen!¡± The volume of his shout was exceptional, and he even used his physical strength to make it resonate through all of Seasons Fort. It could even be heard in outer space. His shout attracted a great deal of attention, and Monster Loach naturally heard it as well.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was smacked away by Monster Loach¡¯s tail, and the human Enlighter spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked down with a pale face. Which person was so idiotic that they would expose Wang Wen¡¯s whereabouts?

    Liu Qiuyu, the Featherking, and Wen Qichen also cursed. They knew that Wang Wen possessed a tool that would ensure his survival, so they had not been afraid of him being killed by Monster Loach. However, it was different if his means of survival was discovered by Monster Loach, as the beast could carry him away even if it could not kill him.

    Monster Loach heard Lu Yin, and it spun its eyes down to where it saw Wang Wen floating through space. ¡°You¡¯re actually still alive! I¡¯ll send you on your way soon.¡±

    The fish-like monster then swept downward with its wings.

    Wang Wen went green in the face, and he instantly closed the coffin before ring at Lu Yin. ¡°You bastard! You won¡¯t have a good death.¡±

    Lu Yin donned his universal armor and calmly watched on as countless beasts swept down towards them as the wing swung down from the sky. Monster Loach was attacking, and no one could stop it.

    Lu Yin took out his gun and fired.

    Bang!

    He was sitting on top of the coffin with his butt squarely in Wang Wen¡¯s face. Monster Loach wanted to kill both youths with a single strike, so Lu Yin¡¯s attack would definitely strike true.

    Given Wang Wen¡¯s description of Monster Loach¡¯s personality, the old fellow was rather cautious, so it would definitely be careful of Lu Yin, which was why he had fired the gun.

    The bullet struck Monster Loach¡¯s wing and tore open a small wound, which shocked Monster Loach. A puny Limiteer was actually able to harm itself slightly, though it wasn¡¯t much. This tiny cultivator was actually able to unleash such a terrifying attack! It was no wonder why the youth had dared to attract Monster Loach¡¯s attention. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had underestimated a powerhouse whose power level was over 300,000.

    Monster Loach already considered Lu Yin¡¯s attack to be amazing, and the creature wasn¡¯t alone in its thoughts; everyone else thought so as well. It was inconceivable for a Limiteer to harm Monster Loach, but they had just witnessed it themselves.

    Wang Wen had given up all hope. If he had known that Lu Yin would take such actions, he would not have looked for him only to be dragged down together with him. He had wanted Lu Yin tounch a sneak attack on the massive astral beast and shoot it in the eye or something. Since this kid had already killed three Enlighters, he clearly had some way tond an attack on a powerhouse. Who could have expected this bastard to be so stupid!? He had simply drawn the old freak¡¯s attention by shouting at it, and what¡¯s worse, he had used Wang Wen as bait! Doomed, they were doomed!

    Everyone watched on in horror, as anyone else besides Wang Wen could die here.

    However at this moment, there was no one who could stop Monster Loach.

    Its wingsnded on the ground andpletely enveloped a massive area of the fortress. Even when working together, Viletree and the other Enlighters couldn¡¯t stop such an attack.

    Lu Yin raised his left hand as a Money Bomb appeared in it. He had seen Monster Loach¡¯s rune lines, and they were about the same as his Money Bomb. Since that was the case, then this attack would be unforgettable for the old freak.

    A light beam shot out from the Money Bomb and pierced the creature¡¯s wing under countless stupefied looks. The attack then passed through the wing to continue piercing through Monster Loach¡¯s body before finally shooting off into outer space, where it caused an entire region to copse.

    At this moment, all of Seasons Fort fell silent, and everyone nkly stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

    Then, Monster Loach¡¯s wails spread throughout Seasons Fort as it stared at Lu Yin with its giant eyes that were filled with equal parts resentment and horror.

    Lu Yin slowly took out another Money Bomb and pointed it at Monster Loach.

    It snarled. Everyone expected that the beast would go berserk, but it instead slipped away. Itpletely disappeared, only leaving an ocean of its blood behind.

    Nobody had thought that a powerhouse with a power level that surpassed 300,000 would run away like that.

    Lu Yin had only needed one blow to force it to retreat, and this shocked everyone, even all of the attacking beasts.

 Chapter 577: Hot Pursuit

    <h4>Chapter 577: Hot Pursuit</h4>

    The human cultivators broke out in raucous cheers, and soon after, the battle was over as the entire beast horde left like a stream.

    This battle had started and ended very quickly, and the one who had ended the battle was Lu Yin.

    Liu Qiuyu and the others all stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. A Limiteer had just ended the battle by defeating Monster Loach. It was like the story from a fairy taleing true.

    No one could believe it.

    Aden emerged from the ruins, also stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Huo Qingshan looked at Lu Yin, agitated. This was how the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire had always been. He always had tricks up his sleeve that no one could possibly expect.

    Liu Zhan, Long Yun and the others all looked at Lu Yin. Lu Yin was now the center of attention in the entire Seasons Fort.

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, Wen Qichen, and the others all hadplicated expressions on their faces. They had all initially been very against this young man, and he had offended many people during his time on Pyrolyte. However, they now had no choice but to thank him, as without his help, it was unlikely that they would have survived the battle.

    Wang Wen opened the coffin lid with a thud and looked at Lu Yin excitedly. ¡°Haha! You really defeated Monster Loach! Impressive! You really are an important pawn! Very good, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin released a long breath and smiled awkwardly as he stored his universal armor away. To defeat Monster Loach, he had been forced to use up the Money Bomb that he worked so hard to upgrade. That Money Bomb had been arduously upgraded with tens of thousands of star essences, and now, it was gone just like that.

    He was hoping that he would receive a significant number of Ironblood Points. However, he was fully aware that he had not killed Monster Loach.

    ¡°Hey, Chesspiece Bro, why don¡¯t you seem happy? You just made history! A case could even be made that you¡¯re now my equal. For a Limiteer to be a determining factor in battle, even if you did use some foreign objects¡ªthough there¡¯s nothing wrong with that¡ªyou¡¯ll still go down in history.¡± Wang Wen was overjoyed and was constantly patting Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders.

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°What do you think my status will be in the Astral Beast Domain after this?¡±

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°Even though you won¡¯t be on the same level as me, you won¡¯t be far from it. Anyone who can determine the oue of a battle will receive such recognition, even if they¡¯re just some useless creature that can be easily killed by some expert. Anyway, you were already on the Celestial Vanquisher''s list from the start, so there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel that this guy is scamming you. You¡¯re even better than him given the fact that you¡ªas a Limiteer¡ªwere able to defeat an old monster with a power level that surpassed 300,000.¡±

    Lu Yin shot a nce at the excited Wang Wen. Scam? That was not entirely the case. Even if it had not been for Wang Wen, Lu Yin still would have found a way to attack Monster Loach. He was aware that a personal loss could still be a gain. He was human and would not harm the survival of his species out of selfish desire. If they lost the war, then he would still end up as a stray dog even if he survived.

    And yet, for some reason, while listening to Wang Wen¡¯s boastful excitement, it was possible for someone to believe that Wang Wen had actually been the one who defeated Monster Loach, and this made Lu Yin very unhappy.

    ¡°Come on Chesspiece Bro, let¡¯s have a chat in the pass,¡± Wang Wen said happily as he tried to drag Lu Yin along.

    Lu Yin instead turned around to leave. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that. I need to rest.¡±

    Wang Wen yelled, ¡°Just one drink! That battle was such a brutal one, so have a drink to gain some courage.¡±

    ¡°I am not as timid as you.¡± Lu Yin waved him off and left.

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, ¡°I hate it when people turn their back on me.¡±

    Lu Yin had regained control of the situation during a desperate battle. The amount of Ironblood Points that he ended up being awarded was more than what he¡¯d expected. Ironblood Points were given out solely based on how many astral beasts they killed, as there were several other forms of contributions that could give a person points. These included inventing weapons and proposing defensive strategies that would fortify the forts. All such acts were contributions and added to one¡¯s Ironblood Points.

    For his efforts in the most recent battle, Lu Yin had gained 30,000 Ironblood Points, which made his position leap straight to the top ten of the Ironblood rankings.

    Killing an Enlighter beast would usually only earn a person 20,000 Ironblood Points, but Lu Yin was given 30,000 straight away. This showed just how much Lu Yin had contributed to the battle.

    Lu Yin was excited as he looked at the rankings. He was now one of only two people in Ironblood Weave to have reached the top ten despite not being an Enlighter. Since General Fei had died in the recent battles, Cool Sis retained her position in tenth ce. Her Ironblood Points stood at 29,000, which was only slightly different from Lu Yin¡¯s points.

    Lu Yin looked up the list; the powerful Enlighters who were ranked above him may not have killed any Enlighter beasts, but they had killed many beasts over a long period of time, which was why they were ranked so highly on the list. However, when considering the number of Enlighters that these powerhouses had in, Lu Yin was confident that there was no one in Ironblood Weave who had killed more than three Enlighters, which was something that he had done.

    Enlighters were hard to kill, as anyone who could reach the Enlighter realm would be hard to deal with. However, it was precisely Lu Yin¡¯s status as a Limiteer that had made everyone overlook him. This advantage had been boosted by the fact that he had Progenitor Wushang¡¯s Hide and could coordinate his attacks with the Yu Secret Art or use bait like Wang Wen. Finally, the astronomical amount of money he had spent to upgrade his weapons had made him a true force to be reckoned with.

    He was just like a small child who could kill adults by using a gun.

    This was why many people imed that intelligence trumped ability.

    32,000 Ironblood Points was equivalent to 32,000 star essences. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as he had money once again. However, he was concerned that Seasons Fort would not have enough star essence to exchange for.

    With this worry in mind, Lu Yin contacted Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen had given Lu Yin a means to contact him, iming that it was for easiermunication. However, the Ghost Monkey saw it as Wang Wen taking advantage of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, why are you contacting me so soon? Do you need me to share some of my great wisdom with you?¡± Wang Wen asked happily.

    Lu Yin looked at the unpleasant face on his gadget¡¯s screen and unenthusiastically replied, ¡°I want to trade my Ironblood Points for star essence. Is there enough star essence at the fort?¡±

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t underestimate Ironblood Weave. Countless resources from both the Outerverse and Innerverse have been gathered here. The amount of star essence here is enough to form a mountain. I do have to ask you though, do you want to exchange for them right now?¡±

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll make the exchange right away.¡±

    Wang Wen was not surprised. From what he hade to learn, this youth from Frostwave Weave was obsessed with money. Even though Wang Wen did not know the reason why Lu Yin was so obsessed, he guessed that it was probably due to Lu Yin¡¯s family background. It was said that Lu Yin had been brought to the Great Yu Empire from Earth.

    Wang Wen flipped through the materials that he had on Earth, and a glint shed through his eyes.

    Lu Yin did not know where Seasons Fort¡¯s star essences were stored, but 30,000 star essences were quickly brought to him by a cultivator. He was rather excited at the prospect of being rich once again.

    Lu Yin had requested the exchange too quickly, so his name only climbed to the top of the Ironblood Rankings for a very brief amount of time, preventing anyone from noticing it. The various strongholds were also all busy with handling their own battles, so no one had the time to browse the rankings. Otherwise, Lu Yin¡¯s sudden leap through the rankings would have been huge news that shook the entire Ironblood Weave.

    Perhaps it was the excitement that came with his newfound wealth, but for the third time now, Lu Yin felt like he was about to break through.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred as he sat down cross-legged and began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. He wanted to do everything that he could to suppress this feeling, as he had no confidence in being able to break through.

    Suppressing the feeling of breaking through was very tough. As the monkey had put it, it was the same as suffering from constipation. Lu Yin had no choice but to suppress his breakthrough, as if he failed in his attempt, it would have harsh consequences for him.

    After half an hour passed, Lu Yin finally let out a heavy breath. He looked at his hands, d that he had managed to suppress his breakthrough. That being said, this was definitely thest time that he would be able to dy it. If he encountered this situation again, then there was no way he could suppress his breakthrough.

    It was unknown whether or not Enlighters would be able to help him breakthrough, and this gave Lu Yin a huge headache.

    Something suddenly came to mind, and he immediately contacted Wang Wen.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, what''s the matter?¡± Wang Wen asked with a smile.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Can you transfer Wendy Yushan back to Seasons Fort? With the help of her secret technique, my attacks will be able to hit anyone.¡±

    Wang Wen sighed. ¡°I¡¯m getting angry now that you¡¯ve reminded me about this. Who was stupid enough to split you two up? The two of you are unbeatable when ites tounching sneak attacks on beasts, and yet you two were still separated.¡±

    ¡°Then send her back,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen helplessly replied, ¡°I can¡¯t transfer her back, as the other forts have beenpletely isted, particrly the other three middle three forts. They were isted since the beasts are afraid that the three forts will form an alliance. I would suggest that you drop this line of thought.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask this, but where is Elder Lohar?¡±

    Wang Wen was puzzled. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just wondering why he didn¡¯t appear in thest battle,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Elder Lohar went to deal with the Amethyst Beast. That creature has very powerful defensive powers, and aside from Elder Lohar, no one else can contend against it. If it wasn¡¯t for that Amethyst beast, then the old man from the Phoenix n wouldn¡¯t have died. Do you really believe that that old freak from the Phoenix n was killed by Monster Loach? The fish was bluffing.¡±

    After ending the conversation with Wang Wen, Lu Yin set his personal gadget down. Mankind was the best at hiding, and there were definitely people from the Hall of Honor hiding in the Outerverse. Since that was the case, then were there also more hidden powerhouses from the Three Dark Hands?

    As far as he could remember, there were several Neohuman Alliance strongholds in the Outerverse. However, the most skilled warriors that the bases held were only at the Hunter realm, and none of them held any Enlighters.

    But against the Astral Beast Domain, which was powerful enough to hold its own against the Innerverse, even the powerful experts with hidden powers would not be of much help. Lu Yin could only rely on himself.

    Lu Yin raised his head and looked at the meteor-like sourceboxes, trying toe up with a way to fix the holes.

    Two dayster, another battle started up. This time, Monster Loach was nowhere to be seen. However, there were two other Enlighter beasts this time, and one of them was staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a bad feeling about this. He had initially been chasing after a Cruiser beast when the void in front of him suddenly tore open, and his body was sent flying. There was nothing that he could do.

    He filled his eyes with star energy and was shocked at what he saw. There was a spider-like creature covered from head to toe with thread that was charging towards him. Its rune lines were no less than what he had seen on either Lei Long or <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika. It was an Enlighter realm astral beast.

    Without thinking, Lu Yin immediately tried to escape. However, he was easily caught by the threads. The spider-like creature had a human face, and its appearance was revolting. Its face sported a sinister smile as it pulled Lu Yin closer.

    Lu Yin raised his gun and fired a shot, but it missed. His gun was no longer a secret, and any Enlighter could easily dodge its attacks so long as they were aware of it.

    Just when it seemed like he was about to be devoured by the spider-like creature, a row of words appeared in front of him that trapped the spider-like creature. It was a Literary Prison.

    The battle technique known as Literary Prison was something that was passed down solely within the Wen n. It had an unparalleled sealing power and required a minimum of sixteen characters to form it. There were seventy two characters sealing the spider-like creature, which even surpassed the number that Wen Sansi had used to trap Yao Gu.

    The spider-like creature let out an angry roar and started frantically attacking the Literary Prison.

    Wen Qichen appeared and shot a nce at Lu Yin before saying, ¡°Leave.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately made his escape, but before he could get too far, another terrifying pressure fell upon him.

    Wen Qichen¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he took immediate action. Still, his Literary Prison had already been broken. The spider-like creature reappeared and spun its web around Wen Qichen. Wen Qichen hurriedly whirled around to fight the spider-like creature just in time to see the terrifying force smash Lu Yin down into the ground.

 Chapter 578: Perished Powerhouse

    <h4>Chapter 578: Perished Powerhouse</h4>

    Another Enlighter beast had appeared in outer space, above the stronghold.

    Lu Yin¡¯s performance during thest battle had been too dazzling. In addition to that, he was also the strongest human Limiteer as well as someone on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List. He was a target that the Astral Beast Domain needed to eliminate, and they now saw him as a target even more important than Liu Qiuyu.

    Lu Yin was sted beneath the ground, but the universal armor protected him, and he was mostly fine aside from being a bit dizzy.

    That Enlighter realm astral beast red at Lu Yin in disbelief. It could not believe that a Limiteer had been able to withstand its attack. After all, not even Hunters could defend themselves against its power.

    Lu Yin looked up and locked eyes with the beast as he panted heavily.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, we¡¯re doomed! You¡¯ve been targeted! From now on, in every battle, there¡¯ll be Enlighter realm beasts attacking you. We¡¯re doomed!¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    There was another thump, and the Enlighter beast that had attacked Lu Yin was suddenly repelled by a giant thunder shield. Aden had appeared, and he rxed once he saw that Lu Yin was fine. He then stared into the distance and vanished.

    Two more Enlighter beasts emerged from the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces and attacked Seasons Fort. One of them targeted Wang Wen while the other focused on Lu Yin.

    As for Wang Wen, even an Enlighter realm astral beast could not do much to him since that man instantly hid away in his coffin as soon as any trace of danger appeared. No¡ªas soon as any battle started, he would hide away in his coffin, only to emerge after the battle ended. There were too many people protecting him, and the most nauseating part of it all was that the fellow would vanish for long periods of time, during which no one could find him.

    Due to Wang Wen¡¯s disappearing act, Lu Yin had turned into a live target, attracting the attention of two Enlighter realm beasts.

    For several consecutive hours, Lu Yin was incessantly chased by the beasts. The two Enlighters took turns attacking Lu Yin, and not even Wen Qichen could stop them.

    Lu Yin silently cursed to himself. He decided that he would apply to transfer to one of the lower five strongholds after this battle so that he would not be targeted like this again.

    With great difficulty, he finally managed to escape from the two Enlighters¡¯ repeated onught, but another Hunter realm beast soon appeared before him.

    Fortunately, Huo Qingshan arrived in time to rescue him. Otherwise, even though it couldn¡¯t break through Lu Yin¡¯s defenses, it had been trying to drag him away.

    Lu Yin now understood why Wang Wen made sure to hide so well. Even if the astral beasts could not injure him, they could still take him away.

    With Huo Qingshan¡¯s protection, Lu Yin did not need to worry about an ambush from any of the Hunter realm astral beasts. He looked up above them, and his pupils shrank. He saw the rune lines of an Enlighter continuously dwindle at a very rapid pace. Before long, the rune linespletely vanished.

    An Enlighter had perished.

    Lu Yin did not know who had died. It could have been either a human or an astral beast.

    ¡°Not good. They¡¯re here again. Your Highness, flee!¡± One dayter, in another corner of the battlefield, Huo Qingshan threw Lu Yin away. From a distance, the spider-like astral beast tore through the void and instantly used its threads to chop off Huo Qingshan¡¯s right arm and attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed as he watched Huo Qingshan crash into the ground, unable to tell if the man was alive or dead. He wanted to flee, but his speed did not allow him to escape from an Enlighter¡¯s attack. The threads instantly bound his right arm right, and if not for his universal armor, then his arm would also have been ripped off just like Huo Qingshan¡¯s.

    An enormous strength dragged Lu Yin back, and he scanned his surroundings only to discover that there were no other Enlighters. What about Wen Qichen? Aden? There was no one who could save him.

    He gritted his teeth as he pointed his gun towards the spider-like creature. It bared its fangs as its giant body suddenly turned illusory. It drifted to somewhere between reality and fantasy from where it could escape into the void at any given moment.

    Lu Yin could not deal with the beast. It seemed that his only option was to use therger piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide after the beast drew close.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, the poison! Elder Wu¡¯s poison!¡± the monkey hurriedly reminded him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he retrieved a vial of Elder Wu¡¯s poison from his cosmic ring before sping it tightly in one hand.

    The threads quickly pulled him over to the spider-like beast. Along the way, the threads continuously cut at the universal armor, but it was not damaged in the least. The spider-like beast was stunned. ¡°Human, your universal armor is decent. Take it off, and I¡¯ll spare your life.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot?¡±

    The spider-like beast let out an ear-piercing cackle. ¡°Then I¡¯ll trap you forever beneath my belly where you¡¯ll watch on as I eat people and spit out their carcasses.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face paled, as he might as well die if he was destined for such a fate.

    The spider-like beast kept its promise, and the threads soon bound Lu Yin beneath its plump belly. His hands in particr received special attention and were entwined with multipleyers of threads so that he could not retrieve his gun.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were ruthless as he crushed the vial with a bang. The poison flowed along his armor and into the threads. From there, it traveled along the threads and into the body of the spider-like beast.

    It did not notice anything at first and leaped into the void to target a male Hunter, but then, suddenly, its wails could be heard throughout the region as it retrieved its threads and dropped Lu Yin. A massive portion of its plump underbelly had already vanished.

    Lu Yin was horrified, as some of the vials of poison had so many rune lines that they surpassed what he had seen on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika, and he had used one such vial just now.

    The spider-like beast was an Enlighter who had only recently broken through, and its rune lines were less than <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika¡¯s. After the poison entered its body, it was currently in a state worse than death.

    ¡°Human, what did you put on my body?¡± The spider-like beast bellowed in agony as it rolled about in space.

    Lu Yin did not answer. Instead, he aimed his gun at the spider-like beast, but it suddenly vanished.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity, as he had not managed to kill it.

    In the distance, the Hunter who had just been targeted by the astral beast stared at Lu Yin in shock. This Limiteer had actually sent an Enlighter retreating in miserable defeat, and this toppled his understanding.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped urgently, and Lu Yin looked down. His expression abruptly changed, and he instantly charged back towards the stronghold.

    ¡®Everyone in front of the stronghold, retreat immediately. Pyrolyte will explode in one minute. Everyone in front of the stronghold, retreat immediately. Pyrolyte will explode in one minute...¡¯

    This was the message that Wang Wen had just sent to everyone stationed at Seasons Fort.

    Lu Yin had no time to question why Seasons Fort had any pyrolyte, but the only thing on his mind at the moment was to rush back to the fortress as quickly as possible. There was no way that the higher-ups would use only a small amount of pyrolyte in this battle.

    He had been taken into outer space by the spider-like beast, and he was still some distance away from the fort. Even with the monkey¡¯s help, it would not be very realistic for him to return to the stronghold in less than a minute. Fortunately, there was still the Hunter nearby, and the man grabbed Lu Yin and tore through the void.

    One minuteter, space itself was warped as rune lines that surpassed an Enlighter erupted above the stronghold. It was rather stunning.

    Lu Yin stood inside the fort and stared past the sky. Quickly, violent winds swept through the fortress, and the variouss and mainds that formed the stronghold began quivering. Tsunamis struck the coasts as volcanoes erupted.

    There was a terrifying explosion unfolding before their eyes, and yet they heard nothing.

    Lu Yin only knew that everything he saw was warped, but he had no way of knowing how widespread this effect was.

    After a while, everything returned to normal. This battle had also ended.

    Lu Yin crouched down and held both knees with his hands as he hyperventted.

    This battle had been incredibly difficult for him. First, he had been chased around by Enlighter beasts. Then, if not for Elder Wu''s poison, he would have been captured and taken back to the Astral Beast Domain, which would have been a truly desperate situation. He could not imagine what he would experience in that ce.

    One battle had ended, but what about the next? Lu Yin would still be a person that the Astral Beast Domain needed to eliminate.

    Not good¡ªwhat about Huo Qingshan? Lu Yin¡¯s face changed, and he charged to where he had seen Huo Qingshan fall.

    When he saw the heavily injured Huo Qingshan, Lu Yin immediately moved to help the Hunter apply some of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medications before taking the older man back to a treatment room.

    Seasons Fort had nock of medical facilities, and Huo Qingshan had only suffered from having his arm torn off. With the state of modern medicine, it would be rather easy to reattach it since Lu Yin had been lucky enough to find the arm.

    Aden also appeared in the treatment area, and he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Lu Yin was fine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was caught up with an Enlighter beast.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for you to hold off an Enlighter beast. It¡¯s fine so long as you survive.¡±

    Out of everyone who had traveled from the Great Yu Empire to reinforce Fort Seasons, only the three of them had survived. Lu Yin had not been able to protect the rest of them.

    It was no wonder why Lohar had used the Hall of Honor¡¯s authority to force all of the weaves to send reinforcements. Otherwise, no one would havee. This weave was a ckhole of death where Explorers, Cruisers, and sometimes even Hunters were unable to protect themselves.

    ¡°Featherking is dead,¡± Aden said in a deep tone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart trembled, and he felt his mood drop. Featherking, who was Nightking Feather, had been a powerhouse of the Nightking n. He had defended Ironblood Fort for many years and never left the ce.

    Although Lu Yin did not care for the Nightking n, Featherking still deserved his respect.

    An Enlighter had died so casually, and now, his name would be removed from the Ironblood Rankings.

    ¡°It was precisely because of Featherking¡¯s death that Liu Qiuyu and the others weren¡¯t able to withstand the assault anymore. Hence, Wang Wen had Wen Qichen blow up some extremely vtile material called pyrolyte, 50 grams to be exact, and st away countless beasts. Unfortunately, not a single Enlighter beast had died in the explosion since they all were too quick to escape,¡± Aden exined.

    It was no wonder why Wen Qichen had not stopped the spider-like beast, as he had gone to ignite the pyrolyte. Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°Why is there pyrolyte here?¡±

    Aden was shocked. ¡°You know about pyrolyte?¡±

    Aden had been in self-imprisonment this whole time, so he had not heard anything regarding the universe¡¯s major events. He had not even known about Undying Yushan¡¯s passing since no one had bothered to tell him about it.

    Lu Yin gave a simple overview of the events that had urred with pyrolyte, and Adenmented, ¡°From what you¡¯re telling me, the various great powers of the Innerverse have never given up on searching for more pyrolyte. It¡¯s been more than half a year since the Sea King stole it from them, so it¡¯s not surprising that they were able to find some more.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and he immediately checked the ranking list. He saw that Wen Qichen¡¯s Ironblood Points had increased and jumped to seventh ce on the rankings. From this, Lu Yin was able to guess that the pyrolyte had belonged to the Wen family and that Wen Qichen had been left with no alternative but to donate the pyrolyte to the defense of the stronghold.

    Since Wen Qichen had evidently obtained some pyrolyte, the Sword Sect should have some too. It was simply a question of whether they would use it all up during this war to hold back the Astral Beast Domain invasion or if they would still have some to bring back.

    This made Lu Yin want to get his hands on some pyrolyte and try to upgrade it a bit.

    The pyrolyte explosion had not killed any of the Enlighter realm astral beasts, but it had been tremendously destructive against the weaker beasts since it had been an explosion with a power level in the several hundreds of thousands. This led to four days of peace for Seasons Fort.

    Huo Qingshan had his arm connected after just a day, and he was able to recover from a significant amount from his injuries with the remaining time.

    The special medications in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring had all been taken from Enlighters, so their efficacy was better than normal.

    During these few quiet days, Lu Yin kept an eye on the rankings list and saw that Wendy Yushan¡¯s name never disappeared. He knew that she was at least alive.

    He had no other way to confirm her status since the battles in Ironblood Weave were just too intense. He also wasn¡¯t able to contact her through his gadget since their signals were being intercepted by the astral beasts. Aside from the battle system rankings that were essible from anywhere in the weave, anything else that required awork connection had been cut off.

    The astral beasts did not stop the various strongholds from looking at the Ironblood Points rankings, as the rankings were a double-edged sword. If the humans dominated in a battle, then the list could be used to improve morale. If they fell to a disadvantage, then the list would cause the other forts to fall even further into despair. At this moment, it was clear that the astral beasts were dominating all of the battlefields. Thus, they wanted all of the humans to pay attention to the rankings list and give in to despair. The intelligence of the astral beasts was not to be underestimated.

 Chapter 579: Lu Yinâ€™s Function

    <h4>Chapter 579: Lu Yin¡¯s Function</h4>

    Ryan Merke¡¯s name had also disappeared from the Ironblood Rankings list, which meant that he had died as well. Almost all of the other cultivators from the Great Yu Empire who had gone to reinforce Yellowsoil Fort had also perished.

    After just a few days of battle, almost all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops had been eradicated. If the empire had been tasked to defend one of the forts by themselves, they would not have been able tost for even an hour against the onught of the astral beasts.

    This also showed the terrifying might of the Astral Beast Domain. As soon as Ironblood Weave was breached, the humans¡¯ Outerverse would be filled with rivers of blood.

    Lu Yin had obtained quite a few Ironblood Points in this battle. They were not from killing enemies, but rather from stalling them. Most of his points were from his struggle with the spider-like beast, and he had been given more than 1,000 Ironblood Points for keeping the Enlighter realm beast upied for so long.

    His previous Ironblood Points had all been exchanged for star essence, which had caused him to drop from tenth all the way to the hundreds. Now that he had another 1,000 points, he had climbed back up to just shy of the hundredth position.

    He contacted Charon, and the two met up atop a cliff on one of thes that formed the stronghold, enjoying some wine that Charon brought.

    Charon had been injured rather severely, and he was no better off than Huo Qingshan.

    ¡°I nearly died, really, just almost. If that beast¡¯s w had moved just a little bit further, then my head would have been gone.¡± Charon shuddered and took a big gulp of the wine.

    Lu Yin simrly took a big mouthful. ¡°The best thing about theserge battlefields is that they don¡¯t prohibit alcohol.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re notmoners anyway. Us cultivators can get rid of the stupor at any time, so it won¡¯t affect our battle abilities.¡±

    ¡°You said that you nearly died. What were you thinking of at that moment?¡±

    Charon fell silent.

    Lu Yin grew suspicious. ¡°Your sister-inw?¡±

    Charon¡¯s face warped, and he hurriedly covered Lu Yin¡¯s mouth. A shout was heard from behind the two youths. ¡°Sister-inw? Bro, you thought of your sister-inw?¡±

    Charon turned around and stared dumbfoundedly at Wang Wen, who had suddenly appeared, and his expression grew even more savage.

    Wang Wen became so frightened that he pulled out his protective coffin in less than an instant and jumped inside of it.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°That¡¯s Wang Wen, the number two on the Ironblood rankings.¡±

    Charon blinked as his face turned ashen. Now there was another person who knew his secret.

    Wang Wen studied Charon for a moment, and once he was certain that this person wouldn¡¯t attack him, he climbed out of his coffin. ¡°Actually it¡¯s pretty refreshing here. You guys mind if I join you?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Wang Wen sat down beside Lu Yin while keeping a cautious eye on Charon. He then grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s drink and took a big swallow. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, so I came here to rx.¡±

    Lu Yin snatched his drink back. ¡°You can¡¯t drink. You need to stay sober.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like somemoner, Chesspiece Bro. Even if I¡¯m drunk, my intelligence is still enough to crush you guys!¡± Wang Wenughed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this fellow was simply asking to be beaten.

    ¡°Wives?¡± Charon looked at Lu Yin and Wang Wen in confusion, feeling like he had just learned a juicy secret.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Yes, chesspiece.¡±

    ¡°Wives?¡± Charon repeated.

    Lu Yin could not take it anymore and patted Charon on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t torment your brain so much. He¡¯s talking about chess pieces, like in chess. In his eyes, all of us are merely his chess pieces, and so that''s what he calls us.¡±

    Charon was disappointed; there was no secret.

    Wang Wen proudly said, ¡°Cheers, Chesspiece Bros!¡± before trying to snatch Lu Yin¡¯s drink again.

    Lu Yin did not bother with him, and Wang Wen could not manage to seize Lu Yin¡¯s drink, so he instead moved to steal Charon¡¯s, who did not dare to retaliate. Wang Wen¡¯s position in Ironblood Weave was too lofty, and Charon felt rather afraid, especially now that Wang Wen knew his secret as well.

    ¡°Speaking of, bro, you really can do it. First, you wounded Monster Loach, and then, you forced that spider-like beast back. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re hailed the strongest Limiteer! My most lovely chesspiece! Hahaha,¡± Wang Wen began to speak nonsense as he became more and more drunk.

    Charon wasn¡¯t much better, and after he fell to the ground, he seemed to murmur some name, which Lu Yin maliciously assumed to be the man¡¯s sister-inw.

    The trio went through more than ten bottles, and not one of them forced the alcohol out of their systems, so it wasn¡¯t unexpected for them to get drunk.

    Lu Yin also felt a bit light-headed, but his tolerance was much better than the other two. As he listened to Wang Wen, he suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you surnamed ¡®Wang?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Why are you ¡®Lu?¡¯¡± Wang Wen retorted.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡±

    Wang Wen clucked dismissively. ¡°Drunk? Impossible! Dregs, know your ce.¡±

    Dregs? Why does that sound so familiar? Lu Yin felt like he had heard this insult before.

    ¡°Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard of a primeval surname alliance?¡± Lu Yin watched Wang Wen closely as he quietly asked.

    Wang Wen suddenly fell down, as he waspletely drunk.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as the man was not faking it. He really was dead drunk after having too much to drink.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sourceboxes, and his eyes filled with star energy. If he could patch up those holes, then they could cause a massive amount of destruction to the astral beasts. Unfortunately, no one could repair it.

    Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly recalled the thought that he had before. Right, routes. The holes did not need to be patched up; the defenders simply needed to be aware of the invasion routes that the astral beasts would take so that they would know where to focus their fire. Lu Yin had already thought of this before, but a battle had suddenly broken out and disrupted his train of thought. Thus, he had only remembered his previous thoughts at this moment.

    Pow! He smacked Wang Wen¡¯s head and scared him awake.

    ¡°Help me! Save me!¡± Wang Wen screamed and he reflexively pulled out his coffin and took cover inside.

    Lu Yin was speechless; just how afraid of death was this person?

    After a while, Wang Wen took note of his surroundings before finally focusing on Lu Yin, though he was clearly befuddled for a few seconds. Then, he cursed loudly.

    Lu Yin rubbed his ears. ¡°I can see the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. So long as the position of those gaps is made clear, we should be able to efficiently prepare an ambush for the astral beasts when they attack.¡±

    Wang Wen jumped out of the coffin and grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hand. He then spoke with full sincerity. ¡°Bro, we¡¯re gonna be good friends.¡±

    If he said something, then it was done. Using his authority, Wang Wen sent an astral map to the gadget of everyone within Seasons Fort, focusing particrly on the space-exploring powerhouses. He then gave Lu Yin the authority to constantly update where the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones were on that astral map and had everyone pay attention to the marked positions, ready to fire at any moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes could effortlessly see the positions of the holes. They would change every once in a while, which meant that although the stronghold could not precisely predict the astral beasts¡¯ route of invasion, he could.

    Periodically, everyone in Seasons Fort would notice that the locations where they were supposed to aim their attacks would change, and there could be seven or eight changes each day.

    At the start, everyone was impatient, and no one knew why they were focusing on these positions. However, two dayster, countless Void Wanderers suddenly appeared in the exact locations that they were targeting. Under Wang Wen¡¯s orders, all sorts of firearms were fired, and the space-exploring powerhouses unleashed their attacks all at once, with everyone concentrating on the holes.

    The invading Void Wanderers unluckily emerged straight into the ambush, and many of them were exterminated in a short amount of time. The battle that had been about to begin was finished in an instant.

    Without the Void Wanderers to open a path for them, the astral beasts could not attack Seasons Fort and could not continue their war.

    The soldiers of Seasons Fort cheered, and Wang Wen cheered as well. Finally, they did not need to be constantly on edge, as they could now predict the attackers¡¯ routes in advance.

    This attack turned out to be the shortest battle in the history of Ironblood Weave. It did not take even two minutes for it to conclude, and the defenders had also achieved a surprisingly good oue. The number of Void Wanderers was not unlimited, and since they had destroyed quite a few of them, the Astral Beast Domain would have to take some time to build up another group before they couldunch another invasion force.

    At first, after Ironblood Fort had fallen, the human race had been thrown into desperate straits, and people had not been able to even imagine what a glimmer of hope might be. But they had just easily routed the invading beasts, which was like a booster shot straight in the arm for the countless defenders in Seasons Fort, and it boosted the soldiers¡¯ morale to an amazing degree.

    Lu Yin¡¯s contributions were recognized, and he instantly obtained 10,000 Ironblood Points, which was even more than what Wen Qichen had obtained by donating and igniting the pyrolyte before.

    The pyrolyte explosion that Wen Qichen had caused could only be counted as a singr battle contribution while Lu Yin¡¯s help was a strategic contribution. Not only were they able to repel the invading astral beasts, but Lu Yin¡¯s efforts had also bought much time for the Seasons Fort. And this method would buy even more time for them in the future, unless the astral beasts were able to break through the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger zones.

    With his sudden and outstanding service, Lu Yin quickly entered the top twenty of the rankings.

    It was not easy for even a Hunter to obtain more than 10,000 Ironblood Points, so it was not at all surprising that Lu Yin had entered the top twenty after receiving 13,000 Ironblood Points.

    At Yellowsoil Fort, the ground that was on the verge of breaking apart waspletely destroyed with a wave of Granny Chan¡¯s hand, but then it rejoined together anew.

    The void tore apart, and Nightqueen Qiuyu stepped out with a solemn face. ¡°Elder Shuang¡¯s injuries are too heavy, so he may not be able to step out for the next battle.¡±

    Granny Chan frowned. ¡°That means that we¡¯ll be down another Enlighter. Currently, Yellowsoil Fort¡¯s battle-ready Enlighters are just you and me, but there will be at least four Enlighter beasts. We won¡¯t be able to stop them.¡±

    ¡°Graceful Feiyu and Duke ckhawk are barely able to block one Enlighter together, so let me take care of the other one as well,¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu spoke fiercely.

    Granny Chan was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re going to deal with two?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu helplessly stared at the sky.

    If possible, nobody was willing to take risks, but this was not something that they could ignore. If Nightqueen Qiuyu didn¡¯t step up, then Yellowsoil Fort would be taken over by the beasts, and the defenders would have let down the entire human race. The members of the Nightking n were not willing to be such terrible sinners.

    Below the two Enligher women, on a certain, there was a grim-looking female who was looking at her gadget, staring at a certain name on the Ironblood Points rankings: Lu Yin.

    The others did not pay his name any heed, but she had noticed it. That was because this girl was Cool Sis, the person who was ranked tenth on the Ironblood Points rankings. This name had surpassed her for a brief moment in the past, but then it had vanished. She had assumed that the person had died, but now, she saw that he had joined the top twenty once again. He had changed positions very drastically in an extremely short period of time.

    Once one¡¯s Ironblood Points were used, they could not be altered. This meant that this person had surpassed her amount, entered the top ten, and then exchanged his points away. But in just a few days, he had stepped back into the top twenty again. He was just a Limiteer, so how was he doing this?

    Ironblood Weave had one Limiteer who had entered the top three, who was Wang Wen. That person¡¯s intelligence was monstrous, so she could ept his position. However, what had this person done to earn so many points? Although he was deemed as the peerless Limiteer, any Limiteer, no matter how strong they were, could not obtain that many Ironblood Points that quickly unless they killed an Enlighter realm beast.

    Cool Sis set her gadget down and fell deep into thought. Rumor had it that after the Innerverse and Outerverse had be separated, this Lu Yin had killed three Enlighters. It seemed that the rumors were indeed true and that he possessed an extremely powerful treasure.

    However, Wendy Yushan was at Yellowsoil Fort, so Lu Yin could not use her secret technique in tandem with his treasure. So just how had he killed an Enlighter?

    Ironblood Weave knew a little of what had transpired in the Outerverse, so many of the defenders were aware of the fact that Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan were able to team up to kill Enlighters, and Cool Sis had also learned of this information. But now, by himself, Lu Yin had managed to obtain an enormous amount of Ironblood Points in a short time, which was something that even an Enlighter would find difficult to do. The whole matter puzzled Cool Sis.

    Simrly, in another corner of Yellowsoil Fort, Puyu¡¯s face contorted into an extremely ugly expression as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s name. This bastard was bing more and more dazzling.

    Unfortunately, if only Puyu had taken the risk to kill Lu Yin back then. The bastard had eventually killed Elder Wuter on, which had caused Darkstar Gorge to lose its leader and drift into an endless spiral of others exacting revenge on them. Puyu would definitely get revenge on Lu Yin one day.

    "Chess pieces" sounds almost exactly like "Wives."

 Chapter 580: Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 580: Exchange</h4>

    Wendy Yushan also noticed the Ironblood Points list, and her lips curled up at a beautiful angle. She looked at the sky. She wanted to increase her cultivation, or else she would be left behind.

    An insignificant being had emerged from a fringe, been rejected for marriage, and endured countless humiliations. Now, it would be very embarrassing if Lu Yin surpassed Wendy Yushan, though she herself was very happy for his sess.

    Giantghost Fort, Seasons Fort, and Yellowsoil Fort were the three middle strongholds. Another round of battles had just ended at the three forts, and another Innerverse Enlighter who had been stranded in the Outerverse had perished alongside an invading Enlighter realm astral beast. Their battle had ended in a draw.

    Giantghost Fort was in a slightly better position than Yellowsoil Fort, as they still had four Enlighters who were in fighting condition, who were the fort¡¯smander, Long Ke, Elder Qing Han, Huo Houye, and Meng Ningge, who had defended Ironblood Fort for many years.

    There was also a special person in Giantghost Fort, who was known as Kong Shi. She was a representative from the previous generation¡¯s Universe Youth Council, and she had been one of the representatives who had been easily crushed by the Ten Arbiters.

    She had defended Ironblood Fort for many years, and her position on the Ironblood Points rankings was just below Cool Sis¡¯.

    Cool Sis was currently ranked tenth on the Top Hundred Rankings for the younger generation, but she had already surpassed Kong Shi on the Ironblood Rankings. Evidently, there was a great disparity between the younger generation before the Ten Arbiters and the current one.

    In a corner of Giantghost Fort, a stunningdy wearing a fiery-red dress was leaning against the wall, and she beckoned with her finger in an entrancing manner. A youth looked at her fervently before charging towards her and embracing her.

    The girl smiled in a lovable manner. ¡°Slower, you¡¯re in too much of a hurry.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore, baby. You¡¯re too beautiful,¡± the cultivator spoke eagerly, his entire head covered with sweat.

    The girl allowed the cultivator to do as he pleased as she opened her gadget. Suddenly, her expression changed, and she shoved the young man away. She was staring at Lu Yin¡¯s name on the rankings. ¡°I was in a really good mood, but I never thought that I¡¯d see this guy again.¡±

    The cultivator embraced her urgently. ¡°Stop looking. Have some fun first. There¡¯ll be another battle soon, and who knows if we¡¯ll make it out alive.¡±

    The woman pped the cultivator¡¯s shoulder and shoved him aside, her face full of contempt as she looked at him. ¡°Compared to him, all of you are just trash. He ascended to the top twenty of the list in just a few days, but you guys just want to just wait for death. Trash!¡± And with that, she left.

    ¡°<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, why are you pretending to be so pure? Don¡¯t you want it?¡± The cultivator called out to her, but she was already gone.

    At this same time, Lu Yin was busy, very busy. He was forced to permanently stay in the same position so that he could stare at the sky.

    The gaps between the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones were constantly shifting, and the astral beasts could invade through the holes at an extremely short notice. Lu Yin was forced to constantly update the locations of the holes on the map as soon as possible, as otherwise, the astral beasts¡¯ invasion might still seed. Because of this, he was given no time to rest.

    After several days, the beasts attempted another invasion, but the same events urred as before. Countless Void Wanderers were instantly exterminated during the attack, and since very few beasts participated in the assault this time, the battle simply ended.

    After a few more days passed, an Enlighter beast led an attack against Seasons Fort. But Wang Wen had already made the appropriate preparations beforehand. During the previous two battles, there had been no Enlighters attacking alongside the invading Void Wanderers as they had been waiting. When the Enlighter realm beasts charged at Seasons Fort, the intensity of the attack waspletely different from before, though the Enlighter realm beasts were still driven back. The Void Wanderers simrly could not approach the fort, and a bunch of them were massacred again.

    Every few days, the astral beasts would attempt to destroy Seasons Fort.

    Not very many Void Wanderers participated in the attacks on Seasons Fort since the astral beasts wereunching attacks on several strongholds simultaneously, and Seasons Fort¡¯s ability to ughter Void Wanderers during thest few attacks had decreased the pressure on the other strongholds. It had effectively lowered the intensity of the attacks on all three of the middle forts.

    This enormity of this contribution could not be understated. Every time the defenders sessfully repelled the astral beasts¡¯ invasion, Lu Yin would again obtain arge amount of Ironblood Points. By this time, he had entered the top ten again. However, he wasn¡¯t merely ranked tenth or ninth, but rather sixth.

    His ranking shocked countless people in Ironblood Weave, as the increase in his Ironblood Points was a little bit too exaggerated for a Limiteer. Even Wendy Yushan could not understand what was happening.

    At Yellowsoil Fort, Duke ckhawk was stupefied as he browsed through the Ironblood Points rankings. ¡°He has to be cheating.¡± He had seen Lu Yin in the Northline Flowzone when they had both acted as witnesses for the Northgate tform contest. He had some impressions of the kid, and although Lu Yin was currently the strongest Limiteer, his strength could not be so absurd as to surpass multiple Enlighters. The fact was that Lu Yin was gaining points way too rapidly.

    Cool Sis was also shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s rapid rise, as he had even surpassed her position, and by arge amount at that. How had he done it? She did not suspect fraud, as the system would not falsify records, and it would be impossible for someone to cheat so tantly. Wang Wen was also not stupid, which meant that Lu Yin truly deserved the number of points that he had received, which was very scary.

    Throughout the countless years of battle in Ironblood Weave, no one else had ever climbed to the top of the rankings list so quickly, with the sole exception of Wang Wen.

    At Giantghost Fort, Huo Houye¡¯s expression sank, and he was so gloomy that tears almost fell from his eyes.

    Kong Shi stared at Lu Yin¡¯s name in shock. This was the absolute genius of the current younger generation, and his strength was even enough to rival what those ten freaks had shown when they had been Limiteers!

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose licked her vibrant red lips, and a thirsty glint could be seen in her eyes. She enjoyed ying with the powerful.

    Yue Xianzi was in one of the lower five strongholds, and she was astonished as she stared at the rankings with an incredulous expression. How could his position be so exaggerated? The total number of Ironblood Points that she had umted up till now didn¡¯t even amount to a small fraction of what Lu Yin currently had. She had spent far more time in Ironblood Weave than he had, and she was even an Explorer.

    She understood the difficulty of obtaining Ironblood Points, so why did it feel like he was just ying around?

    An Shaohua also felt that the numbers were strange, but it was no wonder to him that Lu Yin was the strongest Limiteer.

    There were many people in Ironblood Weave who recognized Lu Yin¡¯s name or had crossed paths with him in the past, but no matter who it was, everyone was stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s ranking. Even the Enlighters could not understand it, let alone the others.

    At Seasons Fort, Wang Wen looked at an elder on a screen, but he appeared depressed. ¡°Elder, I don¡¯t want to do it either, but he has the capabilities. Look, he¡¯s already forced back a few beast invasions.¡±

    ¡°But you can¡¯t give him so much credit. How do you think the people in the other strongholds will react?¡± There was an elder on the screen, and he was the Hall of Honor¡¯s Elder Lohar. He also appeared helpless at this moment, as Lu Yin¡¯s contributions definitely matched up to the number of Ironblood Points that he had received. However, he had gained points too frequently, and his rise was actually shaking the confidence of the other defenders.

    Wang Wen¡¯s face was solemn. ¡°Elder, we can¡¯t suppress those with meritorious contributions just because we are afraid of what others may think. That¡¯s not fair to those who have made such contributions.¡±

    Elder Lohar muttered to himself, but in the end, he nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right. Find me a time to chat with this kid.¡±

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±

    A month passed, and by this time, Lu Yin had already spent nearly two months in Ironblood Weave, though it felt more like two years to him.

    He had seen countless deathse and go during these two months, and he had also experienced the cruelty of Ironblood Weave. His experiences during this time had spiritually exhausted him beyond measure, but he also felt very proud since he had used the holes in the stronghold¡¯s defenses to repel four beast invasions. This had increased his Ironblood Points by an insane amount, and he had already umted more than 80,000 Ironblood Points, which didn¡¯t even take the 30,000 points that he had previously exchanged for star essence.

    Having so many Ironblood Points caused him to feel rather emotional, and he casually browsed through the various goods that he could purchase with the points. After a while, he spotted a super-sized cosmic ring which had reportedly been manufactured by an Envoy-level powerhouse, and it had more than ten times the capacity of his current cosmic ring. However, it was extremely expensive as it cost 50,000 Ironblood Points.

    Lu Yin was rather disgruntled with the price, and he went to look for Wang Wen.

    ¡°What? You want to trade for that cosmic ring?¡± Wang Wen was shocked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯m just curious. Why is it so expensive? 50,000 Ironblood Points is a lot as killing an Enlighter is only worth 20,000. How is a cosmic ring more valuable than killing an Enlighter?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? Of course it¡¯s more valuable,¡± Wang Wen stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

    Lu Yin was astonished.

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°What do you think a cosmic ring is? Each one¡¯s an area of space that¡¯s been seized from a parallel universe by a powerhouse. They¡¯re not something that just anyone can create. A parallel space is not easily contained, and in particr, the space needed to make a super-sized ring can¡¯t be seized even by an Enlighter. Only those old farts with power levels that reach several hundred thousands are able to do that.

    ¡°The cosmic ring that you¡¯re thinking of getting is impressive, and its size isrge enough to hold ten mountains. That toy can only be created by an Envoy. Don¡¯t you think that the efforts of an Envoy are worth 50,000 Ironblood Points?¡±

    Lu Yin now faced a dilemma. ¡°It¡¯s definitely worth it, but it¡¯s still too expensive.¡±

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, you need to know how difficult it is to get your hands on such a cosmic ring. Even if you go to the Innerverse and try to buy one, 50,000 star essence won¡¯t be enough to get you one, but there¡¯s one right here, which you should already be secretly happy about. However, a normal person would never need a cosmic ring of such a size. Are you sure that you want it?¡± Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin considered the idea for a while, and then finally made up his mind. ¡°I want it.¡±

    Wang Wen lifted his thumb up. ¡°Good choice. It¡¯s yours.¡± After that, he closed the connection.

    Lu Yin sighed, as he actually did not want the cosmic ring. However, the further along he progressed, the more frequently he would need to upgrade his equipment, and the more star essence he would need. His current cosmic ring was notrge enough to store the amount of star essence that he was beginning to need, and there was no way for him to continuously visit a bank while he was in the middle of upgrading something. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that, if too much time went by, the two light screens from Enhance would disappear. It also wasn¡¯t convenient to separate his money into multiple smaller rings. Besides, he would be able to use this cosmic ring through the Explorer realm and perhaps even until he was a Hunter.

    The cosmic ring was quickly delivered to him, and Lu Yin caressed it as he painfully watched his Ironblood Points decrease by 50,000 points. He could only attempt to console himself.

    It had only taken him an instant to drop from the sixth position to the seventh. Fortunately, it was not too bad.

    However, he knew that he would soon fall much further down the rankings. Lu Yin stayed still for a while and then contacted Wang Wen again.

    Wang Wen calmly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you want to exchange all your points for essence.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not enough?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose.

    Wang Wen held his forehead as if in pain. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, aside from star essence, could you choose something different? Can¡¯t you exchange your points for something else? Like Honor Points?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I still think that essence is more practical.¡± He already had two Honor Points. He had been given one when he had visited Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront and he had received the other one after winning the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Fine, money grubber.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute. How many points does each Honor Point cost?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen raised two fingers. ¡°Not much, just 20,000.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble you to exchange all my points for star essence, thank you very much,¡± Lu Yin said without hesitation.

    There was a significant difference between having no Honor Points and having one, while having two or three points simply changed the various privileges that were avable, and most of these privileges were only avable to those in the Innerverse or even the Neoverse. Now that the Outerverse had been cut off from those two ces, such privileges were unavable to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 581: Fusion

    <h4>Chapter 581: Fusion</h4>

    Lu Yin was currently focused on gaining six and then eleven Honor Points. Six points would exempt him from certain crimes, and he would even be allowed to use a portion of the Hall of Honor¡¯s strength, which was the equivalent of bing an aristocrat of the universe. In such a situation, he would have privileges wherever he went. Eleven Honor Points was even more ruthless. If he died, then the Hall of Honor would investigate the cause of death. If it turned out that his death was from nefarious ns, the culprit¡¯s family would be tried by the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Interster Supreme Court. This was practically buying a form of insurance.

    If possible, Lu Yin hoped to obtain six or even eleven Honor Points, but he did not have enough points for that. Receiving four more Honor Points would require him to exchange over 80,000 Ironblood Points, which was too expensive for him. Even if he seeded in exchanging his points, the gains that he would receive wouldn¡¯t even be of much use to him at the current moment. At the very least, he first had to survive the current cmity, and if the Outerverse still existed after all was said and done, then he would trade his points for Honor Points. Otherwise, the privileges associated with the Honor Points werepletely worthless if the Outerverse disappeared.

    More Honor Points would simply invite more targeted attacks from astral beasts, so he might as well not trade for them at this time.

    Not long after, many people in Ironblood Weave found that Lu Yin¡¯s name had dropped from the top ten and fallen out of the top 1,000.

    Many were lost; what was going on? How did he drop down so far? Had he exchanged everyst one of his points?

    Only a select few were able to guess that it was possible for Lu Yin to exchange all of his points for money!

    Wendy Yushan felt helpless, as she was certain that Lu Yin had exchanged it all for money. That money lover!

    At this moment, Lu Yin was smiling foolishly at the small hill of star essence that had been gathered in his cosmic ring. He returned to reality after being called by Wang Wen, and he focused back on the sky. He was nning to use this money to help him break through to the Explorer realm, and he had to save up a certain amount for that moment.

    In another part of the Outerverse, in Vastdearth Weave, there were fives that were all connected together. This was the headquarters of a certain family, and although the family wasn¡¯t considered to be too powerful, nobody dared to provoke them since there was a Hunter among their members.

    However, four of the fives had copsed at this time, and countless wails rang across the sole remaining. There was a desated corpse with a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide draped across its head as it walked across the bloodstained water with its ck eyes staring at a boy in front of it. ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill.¡±

    The corpse then raised a hand that streaked forward. The boy¡¯s head fell to the ground.

    After destroying the fives, the mummy raised its head and looked towards Ironblood Weave. ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill.¡±

    It then leaped into space and headed towards Ironblood Weave.

    In Darkmist Weave, on Mafioso, one of the Mistchildren hid themselves in darkness. There were countless other killers simrly hiding in the nearby area.

    ¡°Ironblood Weave has sent us a draft notice, so I must go to the border warfront now. You people will have to manage Mafioso,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s voice echoed out.

    Soon after this announcement, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist left the, but he took the inheritance of Mafioso, the mysterious Bloodied Handprint, with him. ording to the rules of the organization, the Bloodied Handprint could not leave the, but <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was terrified of death, so he took it with him anyways. To him, the inheritance of his own organization was not important; his life was far more significant.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist wasn¡¯t the only one who had received a draft notice. By this time, all of the almighty Enlighters in the Outerverse, regardless if they were hiding or in seclusion, had received simr draft notices. They were forced to move out just like Nightqueen Qiuyu and the others, as ignoring the draft notice was equivalent to disobeying the Hall of Honor, and even an Enlighter would not dare to do such a thing.

    ¡°It¡¯s already been five days since thest attack. It looks like they¡¯re running out of Void Wanderers. They¡¯ve probably sent someone back to the Celestial Beast Empire to request for more reinforcements,¡± Wang Wen concluded.

    He was sitting with Lu Yin atop a cliff that overlooked an ocean while enjoying some wine.

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze and rubbed his eyes. ¡°Does that mean that I can rest for a bit?¡±

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the beasts will take advantage of this opportunity to attack?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen¡¯s lips quirked up. ¡°If I say that they won¡¯t, then they won¡¯t. Even if I try to exin it in a less intellectual manner, you still won¡¯t be able toprehend it. Just rest assured and take a break. Our next battle is at least half a month away.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how Wang Wen could be so confident in this, but he did not enquire any further since he would just be ridiculed if he pursued the issue. Lu Yin decided to rest for no more than two days and that he would continue his vigil after that. There was nothing wrong in being overly cautious.

    ¡°Actually, why doesn¡¯t that Monster Loach charge forward as the vanguard during all their attacks? With that thing¡¯s strength, it could block everyone¡¯s attacks,¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen scornfully responded, ¡°I¡¯ve already exined it to you: that thing¡¯s a fish, and fishes are timid. Even if it borrowed more courage, it still wouldn¡¯t dare to face the brunt of our attacks on its own.¡±

    ¡°What about that Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast?¡±

    ¡°Do you think Elder Lohar is just a figurehead?¡±

    ¡°You speak just like my friend.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t belittle me! There¡¯s nobody in this universe who¡¯s as smart as me! How can others possibly speak the same words as me? You must be joking!¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to talk to this bastard anymore.

    Wang Wen was certain that there would be a quiet period of half a month, but Lu Yin only gave himself two days time. After resting for one day, he sought out a secluded spot and screened his right arm off. ¡°It¡¯s time to roll the die.¡±

    He had thought about rolling it before, as rolling six pips: Possession could allow him to take over someone else¡¯s body. Perhaps it would be able to transport his consciousness to the Innerverse and allow him to Possess someone in the Innerverse.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, the status of the people that he could fuse with would not be low. If he actually did manage to Possess someone in the Innerverse, then he would be able to inform the various great powers of the Innerverse about the Astral Beast Domain invading Ironblood Weave. Although the Innerverse was separated from the Astral Beast Domain by the Astral River, there were also cracks in that barrier. As soon as the Innerverse¡¯s various organizations started to wage their own war against the Astral Beast Domain, the pressure on Ironblood Weave¡¯s warfront would plummet.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s reasoning, and although he felt that it was possible, he was not entirely certain. Could Possession really take him all the way into the Innerverse? Even if his die was capable of such a thing and allowed him to travel in any direction from his current location, he still wasn¡¯t guaranteed to Possess someone in the Innerverse. Also, it was possible that he wouldn¡¯t have enough star essence to cover the energy needed for such a Possession.

    Rolling the die was entirely dependent on luck, and there were many possible oues. However, Lu Yin decided to give the die a try anyways, as he would never know if he never tried.

    He raised a hand, and the die appeared. This time, Lu Yin did not remove his cosmic ring. He would normally remove the cosmic ring that contained all of his resources since using Possession had a terrifying cost. But if he could use his star essence to enter the Innerverse, then no matter how much, it would be worth it.

    He tapped out and the die spun. Finally, it stopped on five pips: Gift Copy, which allowed Lu Yin to borrow another person¡¯s innate gift. There was no use for the roll at this time, as there was nobody around him that he could reach within ten seconds. He restored the die and tapped out again. For his second roll, he got two pips: ckhole Disassembly. Another useless roll. He rolled it yet again. One pip: Pilfer. A sword fell out from the spatial tunnel that appeared. It was also a useless roll since the weapon looked very ordinary.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, as this next roll was hisst chance. He thought about it for a moment before tapping the die, causing it to slowly spin around until it finally came to a rest. Under Lu Yin¡¯s expectant eyes, six pips appeared. The next instant, darkness surrounded him, and he once again appeared in that mysterious space that was filled with balls of light of varying sizes. Some of them were dazzling while others were more subdued.

    Lu Yin dashed forward at great speed, though he did not know in which direction the Innerversey. He could only head in what he perceived to be south since the Outerversey to the south of Ironblood Weave, and further south was the Innerverse. Still, he had no way of knowing which direction was south for sure.

    After about half a minute of traveling, Lu Yin suddenly felt a strong sensation of attraction. He hesitated for a moment, but he dashed over and merged into the sphere of light that he was being drawn towards.

    When he next opened his eyes, Lu Yin discovered that everything was different. Space itself felt very mysterious. He had appeared somewhere that was not a part of the original universe, but rather some ce where multipleyers of space were superimposed over one another. He felt an indescribable sense of warmth and dependence. Instinctively, he looked down as he raised a hand. What met his eyes was a ck vortex. Could he have Possessed Tian Hou?

    Lu Yin had not expected that, instead of Possessing the body of someone from the Innerverse, he would instead Possess his old opponent from the Tournament of the Strongest. He was actually inside Tian Hou¡¯s body.

    Nothing was set in stone, and it was no wonder why the light sphere had been so attractive for him. Cosmic Hous were legends of the Astral Beast Domain, and each one had been invincible within their realm since their first appearance in ancient times. No one could hold up against such a creature. Now, Lu Yin was simrly peerless within his realm, so their statuses were more or less equal.

    Back during the Tournament of the Strongest, if not for his Cosmic Art and the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin definitely would not have been Tian Hou¡¯s opponent. The Cosmic Hou¡¯s attack and defense were both incredible since he was the physical manifestation of an engulfing vortex.

    Such a creature was one of the universe¡¯s most mysterious urrences.

    Through Tian Hou¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin saw the universe in a different light. Perhaps this was the true nature of the universe.

    Lu Yin quickly learned about the current circumstances of the Astral Beast Domain. Tian Hou was among the beasts that were moving to reinforce the Primal Zone, which was where the Astral Beast Domain was conducting their invasion of Ironblood Weave. So far, all of the beasts attacking the strongholds were from the Primal Zone. In the Astral Beast Domain, the Primal Zone¡¯s status was equivalent to Ironblood Weave in the Human Domain.

    As Seasons Fort had wiped out too many Void Wanderers, the Celestial Beast Empire had sent a vast number of them to reinforce the Primal Zone, as their primary goal right now was to sessfully upy the humans¡¯ Outerverse. Aside from the Void Wanderers, they also sent another group of experts along with five Enlighter beasts, one of which was an amazingly powerful beast whose power level exceeded 350,000.

    Within this army, there was also Cursewind of Skymender¡¯s List¡¯s and the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Tian Hou.

    Skymender¡¯s List was a listpiled by the Astral Beast Domain to counter the humans¡¯ Top Hundred Rankings, and there were simrly ten creatures on the list that were supposed to correspond to the humans¡¯ Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin had seen Yao Gu at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border when the creature had fought against Wen Sansi, and the beast moving to reinforce the Primal Zone this time was called Cursewind.

    When he learned of this news, Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. The Astral Beast Domain wasunching arge-scale invasion, and Ironblood Weave definitely would not be able to stop them based on each side¡¯s number of experts and reinforcements.

    Lu Yin borrowed Tian Hou¡¯s vision and looked behind him. Indistinctly, he could see a horrifying fluctuation in the distance that was definitely from a super powerful beast. The astral beast was only sleeping, but its power level had surpassed 350,000.

    To the Celestial Beast Empire, the beasts that were sent as reinforcements were not too strong. If this group also failed to invade the humans¡¯ Outerverse, then it was even possible that the astral beasts would send powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 500,000, which meant that even an Envoy-ss beast might appear. That would be a truly desperate situation for the humans.

    Was there no hope? Lu Yin pondered over the situation as he browsed through Tian Hou¡¯s memories.

    Through Tian Hou¡¯s memory, Lu Yin was able to see the most mysterious being in the Astral Beast Domain: Skymender, and he was also able to gain a basic understanding of the Celestial Beast Empire. However, none of this was relevant to what he was looking for.

    Suddenly, Tian Hou¡¯s eyes went wide as his expression turned excited. He had discovered an important bit of news, as it seemed that the Primal Zone had also been disconnected. There was a stream of liquid energy that was simr to the Astral River, and when the universe had undergone massive changes, that energy had expanded, just like what had happened in the Outerverse.

    This energy liquid had only appeared in the past few decades, so Ironblood Weave was still unawares of this development.

    Unfortunately, the Primal Zone was notpletely isted as there was still a gap that allowed some reinforcements to pass through. But if this hole was destroyed, then the Primal Zone would bepletely isted, just like the humans¡¯ Outerverse.

    Lu Yin had obtained the information that he wanted, so he did not n on dragging out this Possession. He raised a hand and mmed it against his own chest. Darkness dominated his vision again, and when he opened his eyes next, he was once again in his own body.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He hurriedly checked his cosmic ring, fearing that his star essence store had been depleted.

    He apprehensively looked in and then finally rxed. Fortunately, he had only spent about 20,000 star essence, which meant that he still had about 40,000 left. Not bad, not bad at all¡ªhis worst fear was that Possession would use it all up.

 Chapter 582: Strategic Thinking

    <h4>Chapter 582: Strategic Thinking</h4>

    From Tian Hou¡¯s memory, Lu Yin had been able to learn that the astral beasts¡¯ reinforcements were about a dozen days away from the Primal Zone. Wang Wen¡¯s guess had indeed been correct: Ironblood Weave would be able to pass the next half month in rtive peace.

    Lu Yin admired Wang Wen, and he also wondered how that guy had guessed the timeframe so urately.

    With just a little more than ten days to prepare, the most vital priority was to destroy the small gap in the liquid energy stream before the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s reinforcements were able to pass through it. Then, the Primal Zone would bepletely isted from the Celestial Beast Empire. If this was aplished, then the Primal Zone¡¯s forces alone would not be able to invade the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin was lost in deep thought, as nobody would believe him if he simply ran over to discuss what he had just learned with Wang Wen. But if he didn¡¯t, then there was no way that any of the Enlighters would risk their lives to venture into the Primal Zone.

    How could he convince those Enlighters to unite and go into the Primal Zone? That was hisrgest obstacle.

    Lu Yin thought for a long time before he finally made a decision and sketched a star chart.

    ¡°What? You want to go and take a look at the Primal Zone?¡± Wang Wen¡¯s stunned face showed up on the screen, and he looked at Lu Yin like he was an idiot.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I want to go and check out the Primal Zone.¡±

    Wang Wen blinked repeatedly before sizing Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Ok, I didn¡¯t hear wrong. Reason?¡±

    ¡°Despite the many years that we¡¯ve spent defending the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, we know almost nothing about the Primal Zone. Tactically, that¡¯s very disadvantageous to us. Nobody knows how many powerhouses might be there at this time, but it¡¯s possible that these recent battles have reduced their numbers, which would give us an opportunity to take the fight to them. Also, I want to see if there¡¯s any possibility of cutting off the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s reinforcements.¡±

    Wang Wen stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell earlier, Chesspiece Bro, but you are actually capable of strategic thinking! Not bad, not bad.¡±

    ¡°Give me a brief overview of the Primal Zone. My universal armor¡¯s defenses aren¡¯t inferior to your coffin, and I¡¯m also able to see what others can¡¯t.¡±

    Wang Wen shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I really want to grant you permission, but I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯ll end up in danger?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°You are the only person in this stronghold who can see the gaps between the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. If you run into trouble, then we will be left passively responding to future invasions like in the past. Thus, you cannot risk yourself.¡±

    ¡°But if I find something that can turn the tides at the Primal Zone, then isn¡¯t that better than staying trapped in Seasons Fort? Tell me honestly¡ªif the Celestial Beast Empire sends reinforcements, do you have the confidence that we can resist them?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Wang Wen sighed. ¡°Nope. No confidence at all.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then just let me try. Aside from me, nobody else can see the holes. Hence, besides me, there¡¯s also no one else who can easily discover a critical weak point in the Primal Zone, which even includes Enlighters,¡± Lu Yin pressingly urged.

    ¡°But no matter how you embellish things, I cannot possibly allow you to take such a risk when we have no confidence in your safety,¡± Wang Wen replied seriously.

    Lu Yin was helpless. ¡°It looks like trying to negotiate with you won¡¯t cut it. Alright, let me show you something.¡± He then pulled out the star chart that he had just drawn. ¡°Does this look familiar?¡±

    Wang Wen studied the star chart and then looked astonished. ¡°Is this the Primal Zone?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªthis is Primal Zone. Although this map is crude and is just an approximate diagram, it clearly shows that there¡¯s some liquefied energy there, which appears to be simr to the Astral River. This new geographical feature should havepletely isted the Primal Zone from the Astral Beast Domain.¡± Lu Yin indicated the relevant details of the star chart.

    ¡°Impossible! Ironblood Weave has fought against the Primal Zone for so many years, so we¡¯vee to gain some understanding of the Primal Zone. That energy barrier cannot possibly exist there,¡± Wang Wen spoke with certainty.

    ¡°This has only appeared in recent decades. I wouldn¡¯t casually risk my life.¡±

    Wang Wen paused before asking, ¡°Where did you get this star chart?¡±

    ¡°I bought it at an auction in the Starfall Sea,¡± Lu Yin lied without batting an eye.

    Wang Wen believed him, as there was no other usible exnation for Lu Yin to possess such a thing. Otherwise, should Wang Wen just believe that Lu Yin had Possessed Tian Hou¡¯s body and then rifled through Tian Hou¡¯s memory to learn this sensitive information? Such a scenario was just too preposterous.

    ¡°Because of this chart, I¡¯m certain that the Primal Zone has an energy river. The universe has gone through some immense changes, and that energy river should have burst forth exactly like the Astral River, which means that the Primal Zone should be isted. However, there has to be a gap in their river at some point, or otherwise the Celestial Beast Empire wouldn¡¯t be able to send reinforcements over. However, exactly where that hole is located or its size are both things that I¡¯m not sure of. This chart clearly can¡¯t express such small details,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Wang Wen solemnly responded. ¡°Immediately share this star chart with me, and I¡¯ll send an Enlighter out to investigate. If this gap truly exists, then we will find a way to destroy it.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Look at you, thinking that you¡¯re so smart. Do you really think that the Astral Beast Domain would allow us to discover this hole that easily? If an Enlighter goes into the Primal Zone, then they¡¯ll face attacks from all sides. I¡¯m the only one with the sight to notice hidden details, and I also won¡¯t attract attention. Don¡¯t forget¡ªthere are also many beasts that like to take on human form.¡±

    Wang Wen muttered to himself beforeing to a decision. ¡°If there¡¯s a gap that can truly be destroyed, blocking the reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire, then perhaps there is hope for the Outerverse afterall.¡± He looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you certain that you want to make this excursion? It¡¯s quite probable that you will die, and you don¡¯t seem to be the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice himself.¡±

    Lu Yin choked, as he felt like he was being looked down upon. ¡°I have my universal armor, and its defense is no weaker than your coffin. Of course, I¡¯m not willing to move out by myself. You¡¯ll have to get a few Enlighters to move and draw the attention of the Enlighter realm beasts to allow me to sneak in easier.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a given. I will call Liu Qiuyu and the others for a strategy meeting. You¡¯ll join in as well, soe to the pass,¡± Wang Wen ordered before disconnecting.

    Lu Yin released a long breath. In the end, he had indeed managed to convince Wang Wen to agree to his n. Although the trip would be risky, he didn¡¯t actually need to travel that far into the Primal Zone. All he had to do was skirt around the perimeter. Tian Hou had been aware of the hole¡¯s location, so Lu Yin naturally knew as well. As long as he had his universal armor, he wouldn¡¯t be ced in too much danger. Of course, Lu Yin also needed to time his movements correctly and work with a few Enlighters in order to avoid being detected by the Enlighter realm astral beasts.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you really nning on heading into the Primal Zone?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked, his voice sounding a little gloomy.

    Lu Yin murmured, ¡°I have to go.¡±

    ¡°This is going to be a close brush with death. Following you is so unlucky,¡± the monkey said with a sigh, as he knew that he had no chance of stopping Lu Yin. So, he just stopped saying anything pointless.

    Lu Yin did not n to say anything more. If things did indeed turn out to be rather tricky, he would take advantage of it to test the monkey¡¯s loyalty and see if the beast would really die with him or if he had some kind of escape option up his sleeve.

    It had almost been two months since Lu Yin had initially arrived at Seasons Fort, and this was his first time being invited to the stronghold¡¯s pass.

    For Seasons Fort, the pass was not only where themand center was located, but it was also a spiritual symbol for the entire fortress. Although the pass had been destroyed multiple times, as long as it stood tall above the fort, it was able to boost the morale of the defending soldiers and cultivators.

    Lu Yin arrived outside the pass and looked up at it, seeing that the rune lines inside represented three Enlighters, but there were also two other groups of rune lines that rivaled the Enlighters¡¯ lines. Lu Yin was only able to determine that these other two collections of rune lines did not belong to any human, so he assumed that they probably belonged to power vessels.

    The pass hadst been attacked by Monster Loach, and Wang Wen had not used any power vessels to defend since such a defense would have been useless. However, if a regr Enlighter beast attempted to invade the pass, then things would likely turn out to be disastrous for them.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Yin to be allowed through, and a Hunter quickly led him into the pass. Wang Wen, Liu Qiuyu, Wen Qichen, and Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree were all waiting for him inside.

    Currently, these four held the highest positions in Seasons Fort, and the rank right below them was filled with Hunters like Liu Sanjian, Liu Zhan, and Aden.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current status did not qualify him to enter the pass, but his recent performance had been too impressive, and so his suggestions needed to be considered.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro,e and take a seat. We¡¯re all on the same side here,¡± Wang Wen greeted him cordially.

    Lu Yin nced at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen. The same side? Probably not. If they were in almost any other location, then those two in particr would have most likely already acted against Lu Yin.

    He did not stand on ceremony and quickly sat down.

    Wen Qichen¡¯s brows rose when he saw Lu Yin doing as he pleased. As a cultured person, the Enlighter paid attention to etiquette. Wang Wen was Ironblood Weave¡¯s most important person as well as the director, which ced him on equal footing with the Enlighters. However, Lu Yin did not have the same status.

    ¡°You must be Lu Yin.¡± Liu Qiuyu looked at Lu Yin with admiration.

    Lu Yin got up and spoke respectfully, ¡°I am. Greetings to themander.¡±

    Liu Qiuyu gestured with a hand. ¡°Sit, there¡¯s no need to be courteous.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down again.

    ¡°I¡¯ve long since heard that the universe has produced an unrivaled Limiteer in the younger generation. Not only has he beaten all the other Limiteers and became truly peerless, but he¡¯s even killed Enlighters, which is why Elder Lohar nominated you toe here. Your performance is even better than we had imagined,¡± Liu Qiuyumented appreciatively.

    Lu Yin replied humbly, ¡°Themander¡¯s over-praising me. I was just lucky.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Chesspiece Bro, don¡¯t bother being so humble anymore. If anyone else could be as lucky as you, then it would simply be heaven defying.¡± Wang Wen was impatient, and he quickly got to the point, ¡°Before you arrived, the few of us were already discussing things, and we actually agreed that there¡¯s a huge risk to us with the proposal you have submitted. Basically, if anything happens to you, then this stronghold will no longer be able to anticipate the enemy like we can at present, and our losses would be too catastrophic in that case.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to silently listen.

    ¡°However, the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s reinforcements will arrive soon, and at that point, even if we are able to anticipate the enemy in advance, if an old freak with a power level in the several hundred thousands charges in as the vanguard, they¡¯ll be able to resist any attack on our part we could possibly throw out. This means that there¡¯s not much of an advantage for our side even if you can see the locations of the holes in our defenses. Hence, we might as well take a gamble. If your star chart is urate, then logically, the fact that the Primal Zone is able to receive reinforcements means that there must be a hole somewhere along that energy river. Your mission this time is to find that crack, but after that, you don¡¯t need to act. All you need to do is to find it and then tell us how big it is. Understood?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and solemnly replied, ¡°I got it.¡±

    ¡°There are Enlighter beasts in the Primal Zone, as if there weren¡¯t, then a few of us would be able to infiltrate their region and investigate. Unfortunately, we¡¯re left relying on a Limiteer junior like you to take this risk, which is rather embarrassing.¡± Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree sighed.

    Wen Qichen was simrly helpless. ¡°With our identities, as soon as we enter the Primal Zone, we will face arge-scale attack, so we would not have any time to search for this gap.¡± At this moment, he looked straight at Lu Yin. ¡°Little brother, we are forced to trouble you to search for this gap to the best of your abilities. However, you must cherish your life as your first priority.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I understand. Please rest assured, Senior.¡±

    Wang Wen pped his hands. ¡°Alright, since it¡¯s been decided, then let¡¯s get down to the details.¡±

 Chapter 583: A Helping Hand

    <h4>Chapter 583: A Helping Hand</h4>

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin exited the pass with a strange expression, as he had ended up with an unexpected harvest.

    For this n, Seasons Fort was prepared to pin all of its hopes on Lu Yin. Not only had the stronghold given him two ckhole-grade Auroras and a copsible spacecraft, but it had also given him three power vessels.

    The first was called Ster Ruler, and depending on his personal cultivation, it allowed him to instantly teleport some distance through space. It could be used three times in total.

    Next was another piece of Void Thunderbeast flesh. As it carried the now-dead beast¡¯s ability to tear through the void, it could also be considered as a power vessel. However, it could only be used once. Lu Yin had owned a piece in the past, which he had given it to Wendy Yushan after upgrading it three times.

    The final power vessel was called Enneadic Wings. This power vessel had been discovered in some ancient ruins. There were no limits to the number of times that it could be used, and putting it on would allow Lu Yin to travel through the vacuum of outer space. It could also use his star energy to form a shield that was strong enough to protect him from the attacks of a Hunter.

    This was the support that Season Fort had provided to him, and it was considered as an advance for Lu Yin¡¯s future military contributions.

    Three power vessels and three spacecraft were worth about 60,000 Ironblood Points in total. Wang Wen could be rather generous when he wanted to be.

    Of course,pared to the possible oue of this venture, any such investments were absolutely worth it. In the possibility that the stronghold was breached, all of these items would be the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s spoils of war anyways.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had just rolled the die, or else he would have upgraded the Enneadic Wings and the Ster Ruler so that they would be better able to save his life, while also causing any possible Enlighter chasing him to doubt themselves.

    Lu Yin was to set off in three hours, while the Enlighters, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and Wen Qichen, were to set off in just two hours. Their mission was to draw out the Enlighter beasts along a predetermined path so that Lu Yin could safely use another route to travel straight into the Primal Zone. Also, Elder Lohar would take action, and his task was to lure away Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast.

    Wang Wen¡¯s final evaluation of this n was that the chances of sess were over 90% precisely because the astral beasts would not expect a human to want to enter the Primal Zone. After all, so many years had passed, and there had never been such an incident.

    Two hours passed quickly by, and when Lu Yin looked up towards the sky, he saw that two groups of rune lines were leaving the fort. He hoped that the Enlighters would not meet with any mishaps.

    Another hour passed by in a sh, after which Lu Yin sat down in the ckhole-grade Aurora and followed along the predetermined path, heading towards outer space before vanishing before Wang Wen¡¯s eyes.

    Wang Wen looked solemn, as he had previously assumed that Lu Yin was a selfish person. He had scoured a great deal of information concerning Lu Yin, and everything that he had seen pointed towards the fact that he was no selfless saint. Lu Yin was instead someone who would always make thorough calctions before choosing the option that benefited himself the most. This current operation hadpletely changed Wang Wen¡¯s opinion of Lu Yin.

    ¡°This is Ironblood Weave. After peoplee here, they eventually be unafraid of death. It¡¯s because we are protecting all of humanity.¡± Liu Qiuyu sighed.

    Wang Wen nodded seriously. ¡°Yes, protecting all of humanity.¡±

    In an asteroid field in the eastern region of the weave, a single figure sped along. The field copsed due to the passage of the desated corpse that had Progenitor Wushang''s hide draped over its head. It was headed towards Ironblood Weave.

    A ckhole-grade Aurora was ten times faster than a radiant-grade Aurora. Lu Yin had thought that it would take him half a day to arrive in the Primal Zone, but he saw the region¡¯s borders after just an hour of travel.

    He did not meet any powerful beasts along his way. The most powerful creatures that he saw were just Hunters, and they were not able to catch up to the spacecraft.

    This was the reason why Wang Wen had given Lu Yin a ckhole-grade Aurora; only Enlighter beasts could catch up to such a spacecraft. Anything weaker than that would not be able to move fast enough.

    After Lu Yin arrived in the Primal Zone, he lost any means of contacting Seasons Fort, and his signal waspletely lost. This simrly meant that Wang Wen and the others had no way of tracking Lu Yin¡¯s whereabouts in the Primal Zone.

    He observed the asional astral beast that roamed about the edge of the Primal Zone before stopping his spacecraft and looked for a nearby tond on. He would not enter the Primal Zone right now, as he would not be able to travel into that ce no matter how prepared he might be. Regardless, he already knew where the hole in the energy stream was located, so there was no need for him to take any unnecessary risks.

    However, thecency of the Primal Zone¡¯s defense left Lu Yin speechless. It seemed that Wang Wen had been right; the Astral Beast Domain had never imagined that the humans might invade them in turn.

    The where Lu Yin hadnded had a primitive civilization, and there were all sorts of wild beasts on the surface.

    Lu Yin burrowed his spacecraft deep into the ground and buried it before finding arge tree to rest beneath. He would wait here for three days and then return to the fort.

    The air on the primitive was very fresh, and it was suitable for human habitation. Large beasts snarled at him, but it was still veryfortable for Lu Yin, and he felt more rxed than he had in a long time.

    Although it had only been two months since Lu Yin had arrived in Ironblood Weave, time had slowed to a crawl for him during these two months.

    He silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures, and unwittingly, he fell asleep.

    Three days was a very short period of time for cultivators, and his time was already up when Lu Yin woke up.

    He entered his spacecraft and entered a new route. The spacecraft then took off and headed into outer space.

    He had spent thest three days veryfortably, but Wang Wen and the others had been nerve-wracked the entire time as they were extremely worried about Lu Yin¡¯s safety and even more that he would not be able to find the hole.

    For Lu Yin, this had been a meaningless trip as he had already achieved his goal before even starting.

    Once he returned to the stronghold and reported the position of the gap in the energy stream, Wang Wen and the others cheered.

    Liu Qiuyu praised Lu Yin loudly, and if not for Wang Wen stopping him, he might have even awarded Lu Yin for his military service right then and there.

    Wen Qichen felt that one part was very strange. ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any images?¡±

    Lu Yin put on an embarrassed face. ¡°I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn¡¯t stick around. But don¡¯t worry, the position is absolutely correct. Just follow the route that I indicated, and you guys will definitely be able to find the hole.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Senior. With Chesspiece Bro leading the way, you guys will be able to find the gap very quickly,¡± Wang Wenmented happily.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In that case, I¡¯ll go and prepare the pyrolyte,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree spoke emotionally. The Sword Sect had also managed to gather quite a bit of pyrolyte in this time, and most of it was about to be used in this mission.

    Wen Qichen nodded. ¡°Alright, since this is our chance of survival, then let¡¯s bet everything.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Liu Qiuyu said with a nod.

    Wang Wen smiled very happily.

    But Lu Yin felt that something was off. ¡°Hold on, what did you just say about me leading the way?¡±

    Wang Wen, Liu Qiuyu, and Wen Qichen all looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to guide the way? How else are we going to find the gap?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I draw out a map? I even very clearly indicated the position of the hole,¡± Lu Yin said. He had a bad premonition of what was about to happen.

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, stop joking around. How is drawing a map the same thing as personally leading the way? You should be aware that, as soon as we destroy this gap, we will have protected the entire Ironblood Weave, so we have to make our best attempt at this juncture.. Rest assured, you¡¯re merely leading the way. These seniors will all work to protect you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, little brother. Rest easy as we won¡¯t allow you to die before us,¡± Wen Qichen said with full sincerity.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as he had underestimated the audacity of Wang Wen and the others. They were going too far by asking him to also lead the way after providing the location.

    This was destroying the gap, and not running away as soon as they caught a glimpse of it. The degree of danger in this expedition waspletely different from before.

    It¡¯s no wonder why they had given him so many objects to save his life and held those sentiments towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t agree! Doing this will guarantee your death!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin definitely would not agree to such a thing. ¡°I refuse to participate in this.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have the authority to refuse, so you have to go,¡± Wang Wen responded seriously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve already given you the location, so you will definitely be able to find it so long as you aren¡¯t idiots.¡±

    This sentence made Wen Qichen be unhappy. ¡°Little bro, this is for all of humanity.¡±

    ¡°Stop trying to pressure me with humanity. If I die, humanity will have nothing to do with me! I¡¯ll only have something to do with the human race if I survive, so I have to live on.¡± Lu Yin was firm in his refusal.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any concept of risking your life for humanity?¡± Wang Wen grew furious.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re any better than me. You¡¯re not the least bit slow when ites to hiding in your coffin.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s to preserve our strengths for survival!¡± Wang Wen shouted.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°And I¡¯m the strongest Limiteer! An absolute powerhouse in the future. I¡¯m also preserving our strength for survival.¡±

    ¡­

    After half a day of arguing, Lu Yin refused to back down, and there really was nothing that Wang Wen could do about it.

    Liu Qiuyu sighed. ¡°Fine. You don¡¯t have to take them to the gap, but you do have to follow them into the Primal Zone and point them in the correct direction in order to prevent any mistakes from happening, understood? You won¡¯t make a wasted trip this time as you¡¯ll be given 50,000 Ironblood Points.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as this proposal was finally worth considering. He could point out the general direction after first entering the Primal Zone and then retreat immediately afterwards. Those powerful beasts would be drawn to Wen Qichen and the others, so they would not bother with him.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go, for all of humanity,¡± Lu Yin said in a righteous manner.

    Wang Wen pursed his lips.

    After that, Wang Wen closed himself within the pass and would see no one. He needed to carefully analyze all the details of the n to ensure that the mission would be a sess. This particr mission concerned the survival of every single human who lived in the Outerverse.

    Several dayster, Seasons Fort weed another Enlighter: <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    Coincidentally, Lu Yin was in the general vicinity of the space station, so he noticed a boundless amount of rune lines arriving. Thus, he went over to the space station, where he locked eyes with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as this old fart had revealed the methods that Lu Yin had employed to kill the three Enlighters.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist also noticed Lu Yin, but the Enlighter was very casual about the whole matter. He only nced at Lu Yin before heading to the pass.

    Lu Yin watched his departing figure, as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had arrived just in time. Now, there would be one more Enlighter participating in the mission, which raised the probability of sess even higher.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had never been to Ironblood Weave in the past, but the battlefield was no secret to someone at his level. He had known that Ironblood Weave was exceptionally dangerous for a long time and that even Enlighters could die here. He had decided to keep a low profile, especially after learning that Featherking and General Fei had both died in battle. Learning of those deaths had caused his heart to sink even further and had reinforced his decision to stay unnoticed.

    Maintaining a low profile was the right way to go, as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist did not wish to die on the battlefield.

    However, this desire vanished as soon as he saw Wang Wen¡¯s repulsive smiling face. He swore that if the possibility ever presented itself, he would definitely tear Wang Wen¡¯s beaming grin off.

    ¡°Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, your arrival must be the will of the heavens!¡± He had just been brooding over the insufficient number of Enlighters when <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had arrived.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist listened to Wang Wen¡¯s ns. He then considered it for a while before saying, ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Behind him, Liu Qiuyu, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, and Wen Qichen appeared one after another. The trio surrounded <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°You don¡¯t have the authority to decline, or else Elder Lohar will execute you as a traitor.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was constantly shrouded in ck fog, and even the face that he revealed to others was fake; the man was actually only a meter tall. At this moment, his hidden face wore a gloomy expression as he felt like he was being sent to his death the moment he arrived at the battlefield.

    ¡°Who else is participating?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist asked sullenly.

    ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree, the Wen family¡¯s Senior Wen Qichen, and a Limiteer called Lu Yin,¡± Wang Wen replied. He wasn¡¯t the slightest bit concerned about the possibility that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist would not join the expedition. He was also not ashamed in the slightest about threatening this old fogey who had not participated in this war at all. In contrast, Wang Wen felt that it was a bit much to use Elder Lohar¡¯s name to threaten Lu Yin due to the youth¡¯s already tremendous contributions during his time on the battlefield.

    ¡°Lu Yin? Why¡¯s he going?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist felt strange.

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°He was the one who came up with this selfless n.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist cursed, as the brat had managed to drag him onto a path of death even here. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had been lucky enough to escape from Lu Yin on Shuta, and he had subsequently decided that he would never get involved with this kid again in his life. However, he never could have guessed that he would be thrown into a deadly situation again so quickly because of the brat.

    ¡°Has the n been finalized?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was still not resigned to his fate.

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°Not all of the details have been worked out yet since we didn¡¯t have enough people. But now that you¡¯re here, we have the necessary manpower, so the mission has been confirmed.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was left speechless. He should have taken longer to arrive.

    At this moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist greatly regretted the fact that he had not ughtered Lu Yin back on Shuta. He had a disturbing premonition that he would end up being dragged down by the kid.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree enthusiastically said, ¡°Rx, I know your morals. We won¡¯t let you go first.¡±

    What is this? What morals? <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was decidedly unhappy, but he didn¡¯t dare kick up a fuss. He was an assassin; he wasn¡¯t proficient in open battles or in bickering for that matter.

 Chapter 584: The Hunting Corpse

    <h4>Chapter 584: The Hunting Corpse</h4>

    ¡°Everyone has to y to their own advantage, and Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist is exceptional at hiding. In that case, he won¡¯t be easily found by the Enlighter realm beasts. Thus, if Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Senior Wen are tied up while fighting a beast, they can simply pass the pyrolyte ore over to Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. I¡¯m sure that Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist will then be able to sessfullyplete the mission!¡± Wang Wen smiled.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist responded in a quiet voice, ¡°I-¡±

    However, he was instantly interrupted by Wen Qichen. ¡°Alright, when are we moving out?¡±

    Wang Wen seriously replied, ¡°Tomorrow. I will be able to finish preparing the maps and equipment by that time. This is a dangerous mission, and your lives are on the line. I, Wang Wen, represent the entire human race in thanking all of you.¡± Wang Wen bowed to the team.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist immediately backed away, quite annoyed with Wang Wen¡¯s attitude. He wasn¡¯t dead yet, so he didn¡¯t want to ept the bow.

    Some people in Ironblood Weave were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good while others were more selfish. This was especially true for newly arrived powerhouses like Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen. They wouldn¡¯t be very willing to sacrifice themselves.

    Despite that, due to the current circumstances, they were still forced to take on roles that only they were qualified for. Furthermore, there was the existence of the Hall of Honor, and so despite none of them being willing to participate in the mission, they were still forced to.

    They might have a chance of surviving if they went, but if they refused to participate in the mission, then they would definitely receive judgement.

    Although the Hall of Honor was very overbearing, it was still quite useful at times since their strict rules also came with various benefits as well.

    After two days, Wang Wen and Liu Qiuyu stood at the pass as they watched four spacecraft take off and head towards the Primal Zone. Their eyes were filled with both worry and hope.

    ¡°If this expedition turns out to be sessful, then the Outerverse will be safe. If not, our defeat will be sped up. This is a huge risk,¡± Liu Qiuyumented.

    Wang Wenzily stretched out. ¡°No matter how big a risk it may be, we still have tomit to it. We don''t have any other alternatives, and at the current rate, the only question is when we¡¯ll be defeated.¡±

    Liu Qiuyu nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly felt a portent of doom and looked up at the sky.

    At the same time, a weird silhouette appeared on the screens that were disying what was happening in the space around Seasons Fort. They showed a dried corpse standing above Seasons Fort.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± A Hunter powerhouse was stunned. He stepped into the sky to more closely observe the dried corpse that had moved within the sourceboxes¡¯ invisible danger zones.

    There were also enormous beasts roaming about outside Seasons Fort.

    Apart from the people in Seasons Fort, some of the powerful beasts had also seen the desated corpse. They tried to attack it as they weren''t able to notice any differences between it and a living human.

    After that, under countless astonished gazes, the dried corpse tore the beast apart, sshing its blood across the sky.

    That had been a Hunter realm beast, and yet it had been killed so easily.

    All the people at Seasons Fort were stunned.

    Liu Qiuyu stared at the dried corpse. ¡°Get back to the pass.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just a dried up corpse with no intelligence. It won¡¯t be able to pass through the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones.¡±

    As soon as Wang Wen finished speaking, the corpse rushed into the danger zone formed by the sourceboxes. Its body was enveloped by the formless danger, and countless wounds appeared on its body from time to time, especially on its forehead. A strand of an invisible attack nearly managed to pierce through its forehead, but the desated corpse still managed to forcefully barge through the invisible danger of the sourceboxes to appear within Seasons Fort.

    At that moment, all of Seasons Fort fell silent as many people were shocked.

    No beast had ever managed to sessfully pass through a danger zone formed by the countless sourceboxes. Instead, the astral beasts always searched for the holes in the defenses when theyunched their invasions. Even Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast were unable to directly pass through the formless danger zones, as only powerhouses whose power levels were higher than 400,000 might be able to do so.

    The dried corpse didn¡¯t have that high of a power level, but it was still able to pass through the formless danger zone formed from the array of sourceboxes. This caused Liu Qiuyu to tremble as he felt a sense of impending sense doom.

    Wang Wen hid into his coffin immediately and watched the dried corpse descend in a daze.

    The next moment, countless firearms were fired at the dried corpse, but all of the attacks werepletely futile.

    The dried corpse¡¯s gaze swept across all of Seasons Fort before finallynding on Wang Wen. ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill.¡±

    Liu Qiuyu appeared behind the dried corpse and attacked with his sword, bringing the full might of his Enlighter power to bear.

    The de of the sword pierced through the dried corpse.

    Then, the corpse grabbed the tip of the sword and shattered it before shing out with the fragments at Liu Qiuyu.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly dodged. After that, the dried corpsepletely ignored him and continued on moving towards Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen was in terror. ¡°Commander, HELP!¡±

    Liu Qiuyu attacked the dried corpse once again, and his broken sword pierced the dried corpse like before. However, the dried corpse simply allowed Liu Qiuyu to attack repeatedly while it continued approaching Wang Wen.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s face went pale. He couldn¡¯t find a method to injure the dried corpse, as nothing seemed to work no matter how he attacked. He suddenly noticed the piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide that was still draped over the dried corpse¡¯s head, and his actions froze for a moment.

    The dried corpse continued approaching Wang Wen before mming a palm down.

    A thunder shield suddenly appeared in front of Wang Wen. The palm of the dried corpse crashed against the thunder shield and caused a crack to appear in it.

    Aden was surprised. ¡°Thunder Mountain Technique¡±

    He roared as his battle force wrapped around his body before charging towards the desated corpse.

    Despite the violent attack, the dried corpse remained stationary, and it casually pushed Aden away before raising its hand yet again.

    Liu Qiuyu finally snapped out of his daze and protected Wang Wen with his sword as he simultaneously tried to cut off the dried corpse¡¯s head. However, his attack only managed to leave a small trace of a mark on its neck, and his de was also dulled.

    Liu Qiuyu couldn¡¯t quite describe his feelings at the moment. He had never met an enemy like this corpse before. It was impossible for him to kill this thing, but it didn¡¯t also even bother attacking him. Its defense was nearly imprable, but he had still been able to injure the thing slightly. Moreover, judging by its appearance, it had to be something from the Neohuman Alliance!

    With a bang, the dried corpse¡¯s palm finallynded upon the coffin.

    Liu Qiuyu nced at Wang Wen who was in the coffin and saw him staring at the palm in a daze. However, the Limiteer was still perfectly fine.

    Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

    The dried corpse mmed its palm down again with a bang, but once again, nothing happened.

    Wang Wen sighed in relief; he had nearly died of fright.

    Liu Qiuyu was still terrified, but when he thought about where the coffin hade from, he stopped attacking the dried corpse and just stood there, watching, as it attacked the coffin.

    Aden soon returned along with a few Hunter powerhouses. They didn¡¯t try to attack the dried corpse this time, and they all just stood there watching as it struck the coffin that remained in pristine condition.

    On the other hand, Wang Wen was worried that the coffin wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the furious onught.

    After twenty minutes, the dried corpse finally stopped its meaningless attacks and left Seasons Fort. It had given up.

    Liu Qiuyu and the rest didn¡¯t stop its departure and were relieved as they watched it leave.

    Wang Wen emerged once he saw that the dried corpse was truly gone. He was sweating profusely and felt like he had narrowly escaped death.

    ¡°What is that thing, and why was it trying to kill me? Is it something from the Astral Beast Domain?¡± Wang Wen screamed.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s expression was grim. ¡°That was probably a corpse king from the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The Outerverse has been almost extinguished, so why would the Neohuman Alliance still be around? Besides, they wouldn¡¯t attack me at a time like this!¡± Wang Wen objected.

    Liu Qiuyu frowned. He wasn¡¯t certain of his guess, but he was especially concerned about that piece of skin on the dried corpse¡¯s head that had momentarily dazed him. What was that?

    ¡°Oh no, it looks like it¡¯s headed towards the Primal Zone!¡± Wang Wen shouted.

    Liu Qiuyu looked at Wang Wen.

    ¡°This thing probably won¡¯t attack Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and the others, right?¡± Wang Wen mused.

    Liu Qiuyu clenched his sword hilt tightly, and his expression became very concerned.

    Lu Yin had assumed that they would be intercepted by Enlighter beasts on their way to the Primal Zone, but Wang Wen¡¯s route allowed them to avoid running into any Enlighter realm beasts.

    The youth¡¯s intelligence was so high that normal people couldn¡¯t evenprehend it.

    Their group had only been attacked by countless beasts once they crossed over into the Primal Zone.

    When they arrived at the beginning of the Primal Zone, Lu Yin had indicated the direction that they needed to travel in to the three Enlighter powerhouses. Then, he had quickly taken his leave.

    Even if any beasts tried to chase after him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to his ckhole-grade Aurora as only Enlighters could exceed his speed.

    Wen Qichen and the others rushed forward and started killing the beasts at the entrance of the Primal Zone, but their actions just attracted many more beasts to the border.

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at them with a sigh. ¡°The sess of this mission depends on all of you.¡±

    He was just a Limiteer, and even with his multiple tricks, he still couldn''tpare to an Enlighter. He wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to look for trouble, and with his ability to Possess other people with his die, he might be able to resolve this situation.

    The ckhole-grade Aurora was extremely fast, and Lu Yin watched thes shoot past him as he made his way back to the fort. It wouldn¡¯t take long for him to get back.

    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately turned to face in another direction. He looked into the distance and saw a scary number of rune lines headed towards him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. The amount of rune lines that he could see far surpassed all of the Enlighter realm powerhouses that he had met thus far, but this was a sensation that he had encountered before.

    The spacecraft halted its voyage through space and quickly hid among the asteroids. Lu Yin continued to stare in the direction of the rune lines that were getting closer and closer to him.

    A whileter, Lu Yin saw the desated corpse that still had a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide on its head.

    Lu Yin trembled at the sight.

    ¡°Why is that thing here?¡± the monkey yelped.

    Lu Yin wanted to know as well, but he didn¡¯t dare make any noise and tried to remain inconspicuous like an ant.

    The dried corpse walked through the vacuum of outer space, and each step it took covered a vast distance. It soon arrived at the location where Lu Yin had just been. It paused there, as if it were hesitating.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face went pale, and he thought of something scary; could that dried corpse possibly be looking for him?

    Suddenly, the dried corpse lifted its head, and its soulless eyes stared straight at Lu Yin, who was hidden among the asteroids.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped, and he started maneuvering the spacecraft to fly back towards the Primal Zone. He couldn¡¯t lead that dried corpse to Seasons Fort, as the stronghold was already on the brink of copse from the astral beasts¡¯ repeated attacks. The presence of the dried corpse would just worsen their situation.

    The dried corpse took a step forward and suddenly appeared within the asteroid field. It waved its hand and sliced all of the asteroids in half while also releasing a tremendous shockwave that reached all the way to Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft.

    The Aurora trembled and emitted a grating sound.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes kept twitching as he rushed towards the Primal Zone. There were many Enlighters in the Primal Zone, and they should be enough to handle the dried corpse. If the dried corpse managed to attract the attention of the Enlighter realm astral beasts, then Lu Yin¡¯s party would actually have a greater chance of destroying the gap in the energy stream.

    The dried corpse took another step and appeared near the spacecraft this time. The spacecraft continued flying towards the Primal Zone at top speed as Lu Yin desperately tried to increase the distance between him and the corpse.

    The dried corpse took yet another step. Every step it took was bringing it closer to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 585: Becoming An Explorer

    <h4>Chapter 585: Bing An Explorer</h4>

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what did you do! Why is it chasing you?¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed in fear.

    ¡°It just randomly appeared! It¡¯s got nothing to do with me,¡± Lu Yin replied anxiously.

    ¡°You must have stepped on its grave, or could you have stolen something from it? No wonder it¡¯s not willing to let you go even after it¡¯s dead! Just give back whatever you took!¡± the monkey yelped.

    Lu Yin coldly responded, ¡°Shut up! The hide¡¯s still on its head, so it¡¯s more like it¡¯s robbed me.¡±

    ¡°Could it be tracking you by following the scent of the hide?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin bellowed. He was sweating heavily, and he kept ncing back from time to time. The dried corpse was slowly gaining ground, and Lu Yin had a feeling that the thing would be able to enter the spacecraft soon.

    Fortunately, the vessel was already approaching the edge of the Primal Zone, and they could see countless beasts roaming about before them. Lu Yin immediately rushed into them as if he was reuniting with his long lost family.

    The beasts roared angrily and attacked Lu Yin without any hesitation.

    The Explorer realm astral beasts were intelligent, and they felt insulted that a human dared to rush into their territory so brazenly.

    Lu Yin looked at the beasts surrounding him and felt very secure for a moment. He wasn¡¯t being attacked by them, but rather protected by them.

    With a loud whoosh, a ripple appeared in space as the dried corpse suddenly appeared above the spacecraft. It had torn through space and shredded the nearby beasts, sttering the spacecraft with blood.

    Lu Yin continued his mad rush towards where the hole in the energy stream was. He just hoped that there were still enough astral beasts left in the Primal Zone.

    The dried corpse was temporarily upied by the countless astral beasts, but it would definitely catch up to Lu Yin soon. Lu Yin was certain that it would continue to follow him since it had tracked him down all the way in the Primal Zone from the Outerverse.

    Why was this thing chasing him so ardently? Lu Yin was very confused about this matter.

    Lu Yin could see an enormous number of rune lines off in the distance that indicated that Enlighters were battling up ahead of him. Lu Yin anxiously rushed towards the fight.

    He soon saw the rune lines of an Enlighter moving towards him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched, as he could recognize those rune lines; they belonged to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. The Enlighter was trying to run away.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist rushed towards the boundary of the Primal Zone and heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had managed to slip away from the battle. If he hadn¡¯t, then he definitely would have already died. The three human Enlighters had been surrounded by five Enlighter realm astral beasts, and it was impossible for their trio to defeat the beasts. No one would be able to me <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s actions; he just wanted to save his own life.

    At that moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist saw a ckhole-grade spacecraft appear in front of him and was stunned. Is that Lu Yin? Didn¡¯t he already leave? Why did hee back?

    ¡°Senior <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, are you trying to run away?¡± Lu Yin bellowed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist frowned. ¡°Young man, don¡¯t jump to conclusions! I was on my way to go destroy the gap.¡±

    ¡°Really? What a shame. Monster Loach is at the boundary of the Primal Zone,¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s Monster Loach?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an astral beast with a power level above 350,000,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was astonished. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! It should have been defeated by Elder Lohar by now.¡±

    ¡°You can go and check for yourself if you don¡¯t believe me,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist raised his hand, and his ck fog stretched out into the distance.

    Lu Yin steered his ship away from the fog as he didn¡¯t trust <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. He was actually worried that the old man might suddenly attack him.

    The dried corpse was still off in the distance, but Lu Yin had falsely told <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist that it was Monster Loach since <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had never seen the dried corpse before. Thus, there was a chance that the Enlighter wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the thing.

    A whileter, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist retrieved his ck fog. He had felt a bone chilling strength ahead of him, which was something that he had only ever felt from a powerhouse whose power level exceeded 300,000. Clearly, the creature in front of him was amazingly powerful.

    ¡°Senior, the only option of survival for us at this time is to destroy the hole in the energy stream and use that to distract Monster Loach. If we manage to destroy that gap, then Monster Loach will definitely try to repair it. At that time, we¡¯ll have a chance to escape,¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist gritted his teeth and replied, ¡°Alright.¡±

    He red at Lu Yin. Nothing good had ever happened when he encountered this brat.

    Lu Yin was relieved. He nced back and saw that the rune lines from the desated corpse were moving forward again. The thing was chasing after him again.

    ¡°Senior, run! Monster Loach ising!¡± Lu Yin yelped.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist didn¡¯t want to be attacked by Monster Loach, and so he immediately charged towards the hole in the energy stream.

    Off in the distance, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen were struggling from thebined attack of five Enlighter beasts, though one of the beasts had been trapped in a Literary Prison.

    ¡°If we manage to escape this ce alive, I¡¯ll kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist!¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree said furiously.

    Wen Qichen sneered. ¡°We already knew his personality, and we probably won¡¯t be able toplete the mission. Let¡¯s blow up the pyrolyte now. At least we¡¯ll be able to get away from here safely that way.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was reluctant to agree. If the mission really did turn out to be a failure, then it would be nearly impossible for humanity to hold onto Ironblood Weave. And if that happened, then the Outerverse and all of them would be doomed.

    ¡°Humans, just surrender. There are also humans in the Celestial Beast Empire. You won¡¯t be wiped out. You¡¯ll just be a part of the Astral Beast Domain instead,¡± an Enlighter beast rumbled.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree smiled bitterly. ¡°They¡¯re actually treating us like beasts.¡±

    Wen Qichen shook his head. ¡°I may die, but the Wen family will not have any traitors.¡±

    ¡°Stubborn. Kill them!¡± another Enlighter beast roared.

    Suddenly, a gunshot surprised the two of them as the head of the Enlighter beast trapped in the Literary Prison burst apart and the beast died. The other four Enlighter beasts were stunned, and Wen Qichen and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree also looked over in a daze to see a ckhole-grade spacecraft approaching them. It was Lu Yin.

    Momentster, another Enlighter beast howled in pain as its enormous body was corroded by ck fog. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist appeared and said, ¡°Hurry! Go and destroy the gap.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen hadn¡¯t expected that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist would return, let alone bring Lu Yin with him. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree rushed off into the distance without any hesitation, moving towards a huge wall of energy.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing one of the steams of liquid energy after the surge, and the amount of energy it contained almost divided the universe. It looked like there was no end to it.

    He couldn¡¯t imagine what might have caused the energy to suddenly change, but he was sure that the Astral River would be even more majestic.

    Hunters wouldn¡¯t dare to even approach a battle of Enlighters, and Lu Yin also kept his distance.

    However, this didn¡¯t mean that the Enlighter beasts would leave Lu Yin alone, and one of the Enlighter beasts tried to attack him.

    Lu Yin promptly directed his spacecraft towards a nearby.

    The astral beast chased after him.

    Wen Qichen and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist were busy fighting the other Enlighter beasts and had no time to help Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, ditch the spacecraft and use your power vessels!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin leaped out from the spacecraft and donned his universal armor. The enormous Enneadic Wings also spread out behind him as he used his star energy to activate the Ster Ruler.

    The Enlighter beast¡¯s attack crashed down, but Lu Yin disappeared just before the attacknded on him. When he reappeared, he was already quite far from his original position.

    The shockwaves from the Enlighter beast¡¯s attack shattered the. The creature looked around, but it couldn¡¯t find Lu Yin anywhere.

    Lu Yin stood in outer space, panting heavily. He looked at the Ster Ruler. This is truly a great item.

    At that moment, a huge force sent Lu Yin flying. It was a stray shockwave from the battle between the Enlighters, and he wasn¡¯t able to resist it at all. The universal armor was enough to protect him from being injured, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stand up to an Enlighter¡¯s attack .

    Lu Yin finally managed to regain his footing in time to see an Enlighter realm beast rushing towards him.

    At the same time, the desated corpse arrived.

    When Lu Yin was being chased by the dried corpse, the beasts were like his family. But at this present moment, he felt that the dried corpse was his saviour. Lu Yin¡¯s aim was to pit the beasts and the dried corpse against each other.

    The Enlighter beast didn¡¯t know whether the dried corpse was friend or foe; however, since it looked like a human, it just treated the corpse as an enemy. Thus, the beast sent its paw crashing towards the dried corpse.

    The dried corpse was only interested in Lu Yin, so it didn''t even try to dodge the attack, which led to it being sent flying by the beast¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched; it couldn¡¯t be that fragile, right?

    Before he had another thought, Lu Yin was sent flying by the beast. The Enlighter realm beast¡¯s strength sent Lu Yin flying into the depths of the Primal Zone at the speed of a ckhole-grade spacecraft. Lu Yin even shot through a fews before finallynding on the surface of a dim.

    The immense force of the blow had nearly given him a concussion, and he moved his fingers slightly in the dark.

    Lu Yin was about to get up when his expression suddenly changed. He felt the sensation of breaking through once again, and this time, he couldn¡¯t suppress it at all.

    Lu Yin had considered many scenarios that his breakthrough would take ce in, but his present circumstances had never urred to him. He was currently in the Primal Zone and could be killed by an enemy at any time. Despite that, he had already suppressed his breakthrough on multiple asions, and he couldn¡¯t suppress it this time.

    Cultivating was basically fighting against fate and trying to adapt one¡¯s body to the universe. Before bing an Explorer, a cultivator was just a slightly stronger being. However, when one reached the Explorer realm, one¡¯s body would undergo a fundamental transformation designed to adapt to the universe. At that point, a cultivator would be stronger, but they would also start to deteriorate.

    All cultivation moved with the universe, and the only way for a cultivator to survive was to adapt.

    One of the greatest obstacles that a cultivator would face on their journey was bing an Explorer. At this moment, Lu Yin had to break through. However, he had little hope of sessfully breaking through.

    ¡°Monkey, I¡¯m about to be an Explorer. What do I need to take note of?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey didn¡¯t answer.

    Lu Yin peeked at his right arm and frowned; the attack just now had caused the monkey to faint.

    He wanted to wake the monkey up, but the feeling of breaking through was too strong. The formcast model in his body melted. At this moment, Lu Yin needed to find a way to break through or suffer the consequences of failing.

    As the formcast model melted, Lu Yin felt an immense power surge through him, almost as if the universe itself was copsing. His body was subjected to excruciating pain, and his vision went ck. Then, he once again saw a finger that pierced through the universe.

    Boiling hatred seethed through his heart as soon as he saw the finger. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t control his own emotions. Not knowing if it was a conscious or a subconscious impulse, he felt the urge to destroy everything around him.

    In the distance, Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree had managed to find the energy gap ording to the directions that he had been given. The hole in the energy stream wasn¡¯trge, but it was enough to allow troops to pass through. This was how the Celestial Beast Empire had been supporting the Primal Zone.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree took out the pyrolyte and rushed towards the gap. As long as he could detonate the pyrolyte inside of the gap, the force of the explosion would be more than enough to divert the energy and seal the gap. This would stop any reinforcements from entering the Primal Zone.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was excited at the thought, and he moved with greater urgency than he ever had before in his life.

    The gap drew closer and closer, and just when <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was about to enter the hole, a sharp w appeared from the void. This w pierced through <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s heart, only leaving his corpse floating in the vacuum.

 Chapter 586: Tree of Phenomena

    <h4>Chapter 586: Tree of Phenomena</h4>

    Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s eyes wentpletely wide before shrinking intensely. He watched as the void ahead of him tore open and a Void Thunderbeast stepped out.

    Nobody had known that there was a Void Thunderbeast stationed at the hole in the energy stream, let alone a Void Thunderbeast whose power level approached 300,000. Even Monster Loach had been unaware of its presence, and naturally, since Tian Hou had not known, Lu Yin had been ignorant as well.

    Even with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s power, he wasn¡¯t even able to react before being stabbed by such a terrifying beast.

    ¡°Human, how did you discover that there¡¯s a gap in this ce?¡± the Void Thunderbeast spoke oppressively.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s face turned pale as the strength drained from his body and he was torn apart.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore.¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree¡¯s body directly copsed and shattered as the longsword and pyrolyte that had been in his hands fell.

    The Void Thunderbeast looked in the direction of the distant battle, but it did not move. Its mission was to protect the hole in the energy stream. It didn¡¯t care even if all of the astral beasts in the Primal Zone perished; it was following direct orders from Skymender.

    In another ce, Wen Qichen and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist were surrounded by three Enlighter astral beasts while another Enlighter beast flew out with the intention of killing Lu Yin. However, it was strangely attracted by the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that was draped over the head of the desated corpse, almost as if something was beckoning it over.

    The beast changed targets to the corpse, as it wanted the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    The corpse grew angry, and it stepped forward to appear before the astral beast. It reached out with a withered arm and shed against the giant w. Its hand pierced through the w and almost instantly tore through the beast while <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist watched on in fear. The enormous beast had just been shredded apart like a piece of paper by the dried out corpse.

    At this moment, the other three Enlighter astral beasts, Wen Qichen, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist were all shocked.

    The corpse had no tant power, but the strength that it had just disyed was simply awe-inducing.

    One of the Enlighter beasts bellowed and charged towards the corpse. The void was sliced apart inyers, and a terrifying strengthpletely enveloped the corpse.

    The corpse¡¯s eyes were like ckholes. It turned its head and allowed a frightful attack to streak through its body. The thing then shot back with the attack and through the attacker. Yet another Enlighter beast had fallen.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist felt frightened, as this corpse was definitely a freak with a power level of over 300,000, and he wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

    Wen Qichen looked into the distance. Why hasn¡¯t <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree ignited the pyrolyte yet?

    On a dark, Lu Yin¡¯s physical body endured an intense pain even as various scenes appeared in his mind. His body started to undergo changes. He was breaking through.

    A brilliant light flowed out from his physical body and illuminated the before prating the atmosphere and entering the void. The image of a phenomenon vaguely appeared, but it was very fuzzy.

    Phenomena were things that only existed in legends. It was rumored that geniuses with powerful innate gifts were able to produce phenomena when they broke through to the Explorer realm. These people were the favored children of the universe, and they were smiled upon by the heavens themselves. They were people with the potential to gaze right into the very essence of the universe. Since recorded history, there were extremely few individuals in the universe who had produced such phenomena during their breakthroughs, and it was possible that not even all of the Human Domain¡¯s Ten Arbiters had produced phenomena when they broke through in the past.

    A phenomenon was a symbol, one that signified that a cultivator was entering another level altogether.

    A title would be specially bestowed by the Hall of Honor to the powerhouses who produced phenomena. White Knight of the Ten Arbiters, Ling Gong, had produced a phenomenon. Thus, the name ¡°White Knight¡± had been given to them by the Hall of Honor, and it had thus be the Arbiter¡¯s title.

    And now, in the Primal Zone, Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the Explorer realm had shaken the universe and birthed another phenomenon.

    Unfortunately, there was no one around to appreciate it, and even Lu Yin himself did not notice the phenomenon.

    On the, the phenomenon cleared up bit by bit, and the void rippled like water as a small sapling appeared above Lu Yin¡¯s head. It grew slowly at first, but then it quickly flourished until it covered the entire. After that, it continued to grow outwards, and it gradually pervaded the entire local region of space.

    The phenomenon was a tree, but its drooping branches distorted the void and emitted a gas. It seemed as if living things were being created beneath the bows of the tree. Under one branch, a ball was forming, and under another branch, a sword was being created. Under yet another branch, a square object wasing into being, and under still another branch¡­

    Many objects grew out from the tree, but the tree itself was born from Lu Yin. It gradually covered the vastness of space.

    The phenomenon became more and more clear with each passing moment, and as the scope of the phenomenon grewrger, it eventually caught the attention of countless astral beasts from the Primal Zone. However, they did not dare to approach it.

    Outside the hole in the energy stream, the Void Thunderbeast stared in astonishment at the phenomenon. What the heck is that?

    Wen Qichen, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, and the Enlighter realm astral beasts also noticed the phenomenon.

    The corpse looked up, and it seemed to feel something because it suddenly began to crazily charge towards the Enlighter beasts in front of it as it dashed towards Lu Yin. As it moved along, it swept Wen Qichen and two more Enlighter beasts aside, reducing all of them to mere pools of blood.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was stunned. In the blink of an eye, three Enlighters had been wiped out. The corpse had disyed a strength that was iprehensible to the human Enlighter, and past the corpse, he could see a phantom image that caused him to shudder.

    He had been fortunate that he had not been in the direction that the corpse was charging in.

    Off in the distance, the pyrolyte still had not exploded, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist knew that something had gone wrong. It was possible that something had happened to Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree.

    He immediately dashed towards the boundary of the Primal Zone without any hesitation. Wen Qichen was dead, and Lu Yin¡¯s status was unrted to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. In truth, he hoped that the kid would die. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree was likely gone as well, and the mission was now aplete failure. The only good news was that the kid Lu Yin had lied, as Monster Loach had not shown up. Since that was the case, then <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist merely needed to return to the fortress alive, since what was possible to do had already been done.

    As he nced at the phenomenon, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was able to deduce some basic facts, but after he saw the corpse dash towards the phenomenon, he knew that Lu Yin was about to face a disaster.

    The phenomenon was still expanding, and the corpse charged towards the phenomenon of the giant, growing tree and appeared on the. It looked at Lu Yin and then raised its leg, aiming at him.

    Right at this moment, in the middle of his smooth breakthrough,plex runes appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s back that soon formed the shape of a lock that had pierced into his body. The runes began suppressing the breakthrough process. This was the seal that had appeared in the past during Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough into the Melder realm, but at that time, the crazy headmaster of Astral 10 had appeared and shattered oneyer of the seal. However, there were moreyers.

    The changes urring to his physical body, and even the phenomenon, stopped progressing at this moment. In fact, the phenomenon of the giant tree even started gradually vanishing.

    If the phenomenonpletely vanished, it would mean that Lu Yin had failed to break through, and at that moment, his formcast model would shatter. The next opportunity for him to break through would be after an unknown amount of time passed.

    The corpse appeared and moved behind Lu Yin. It swatted down at Lu Yin with one hand without revealing the slightest trace of sentience. ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill.¡±

    Boom!

    The corpse¡¯s strikended on Lu Yin¡¯s back without any obstruction.

    Even the Enlighter realm astral beasts, Liu Qiuyu, and the other powerhouses had been easily driven back by a casual attack from the corpse, and since Lu Yin was currently experiencing a breakthrough, he did not have his universal armor on. It was essentially guaranteed that he would be smashed to pieces.

    But as luck would have it, the withered handnded directly on the seal. Although the seal formed from theplex runes was preventing Lu Yin from breaking through, it was also protecting him from another perspective. This was just like the time when he had been struck by the light beam from the battleship. Back then, this seal had also protected his physical body from being vaporized.

    The corpse¡¯s attack was fruitless, so it swatted at Lu Yin once again. There was another thump, and the ground split open, but the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back shone brightly and resisted the attack.

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Bang!

    ¡­

    Strike after strike rained down as the corpse continued its incessant attacks. It seemed to have been agitated by the phenomenon produced by Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough, and it had no thoughts of giving up.

    As the seal was continuously attacked by the corpse, it caused the suppression of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to be unstable. Every time the seal was about topletely suppress and stop his breakthrough, its resistance would be shattered by a p from the corpse.

    The impressive tree that was formed from the phenomenon was sometimes massive and sometimes small, and its changes created a strange cycle.

    During this cycle, Lu Yin was plunged into a state of unconsciousness and stuck in a strange state where he was not breaking through, but where his breakthrough had not failed either. In this state, he was staring at that jade finger, and he kept staring¡­

    The monkey regained consciousness, and he saw the corpse¡¯s p the moment he opened his eyes, which instantly beat him into unconsciousness once again. This beast was the most miserable one of them all at the moment.

    At the border of the Primal Zone, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist charged out while panting heavily. He did not dare to pause for even a moment as he continued flying straight back to Seasons Fort. This damned ce, he thought to himself, as he wanted to never return to the stronghold.

    Unfortunately, even though that kid had actually produced a phenomenon during his breakthrough and was an innately gifted genius, he would definitely die without question.

    In the entire Primal Zone, aside from those Enlighters who were attacking Yellowsoil Fort and Giantghost Fort, all of the other Enlighters were dead, with the exception of a single Void Thunderbeast.

    And on a within the Primal Zone, a corpse continued its relentless attacks without any signs of giving up. This waspletely different from its assault on Wang Wen, as its drive to kill Lu Yin greatly surpassed its previous desire to kill Wang Wen.

    Day one, two, three¡­ even on the tenth day, the corpse still had not given up, continuing to strike at the seal without rest.

    Lu Yin had maintained an unconscious state for ten days, during which he had constantly been staring at that jade finger and observing its various changes. After all this time, he seemed to haveprehended something.

    At Seasons Fort, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist informed Wang Wen of what had transpired at the Primal Zone after his return. Wang Wen did not release any announcements, but he had determined that Lu Yin was dead.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen were simrly dead, and Wang Wen did not rush to announce the deaths of the two Enlighters as it would plunge Seasons Fort into chaos.

    Lu Yin¡¯s death was something that could not be concealed. Aside from the young Limiteer, there was no one else who could see the positions of the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones, and his loss could not be kept a secret until the next battle.

    Due to Lu Yin¡¯s death, an uproar broke out in Seasons Fort, and Lu Yin¡¯s name vanished from the Ironblood Points rankings.

    Even though he had been given many Ironblood Points, he could not be listed any longer.

    Charon learned of Lu Yin¡¯s passing and sighed. He had a conflicted expression.

    Wang Wen went to the cliff where he had drunk with Lu Yin and tossed a bottle of wine into the ocean. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, there¡¯s no rush. All of us will join you very soon.¡±

    At Yellowsoil Fort, Wendy Yushan¡¯s heart fell when she saw Lu Yin¡¯s name vanish from the list. She hurriedly scanned the list, hoping that Lu Yin had once again traded all of his points and that the exchange had caused him to fall down the list.

    Only when she reached the end of the list did she put down her gadget. Her face had gonepletely white. She closed her eyes. ¡°Did you leave first?¡±

    In the lower five strongholds, Yue Xianzi was also asionally checking Lu Yin¡¯s ranking, but she could not find his name anywhere. Even if he had exchanged his points away, it was impossible for him to not have a single point. She also guessed that he had died, and aplex expression appeared on her face, just like Charon¡¯s.

    An Shaohua was agonized by the news. He had originally wanted to cast his lot in with Lu Yin, but now, his hopes had been dashed.

    Even if the people in the other strongholds learned of Lu Yin¡¯s death, they would at most give a small sigh. Only the people at Seasons Fort knew what awaited them after Lu Yin¡¯s death, but their fates had already been determined.

    There were only two days remaining before Wang Wen¡¯s estimated date of when the astral beasts would invade.

    In the Primal Zone, the corpse continued its unceasing onught as countless astral beasts surrounded both it and Lu Yin. However, not a single one of the creatures dared to act. Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast had also appeared, but not even they dared to intervene. The corpse did not seem to be more powerful than them, but it gave them an indescribably puzzled feeling, which caused them to be apprehensive.

    Two days soon passed by, and Lu Yin¡¯s giant tree phenomenon was suppressed down to the, as it had grown smaller and smaller. This showed that the attacks from the corpse against the seal had weakened, and the seal would finally be able topletely suppress Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough.

    At this time, the reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire had arrived to aid the Primal Zone¡¯s assault.

 Chapter 587: Bloodied Handprint

    <h4>Chapter 587: Bloodied Handprint</h4>

    Originally, Monster Loach was the only astral beast in the Primal Zone whose power level surpassed 300,000, and there were almost ten other Enlighter realm astral beasts there as well. Together, they formed the main force that assaulted Ironblood Weave. As soon as the reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire arrived, multiple powerful beasts appeared that held a simr status to the Enlighter Amethyst Beast and the Void Thunderbeast that was protecting the hole in the energy stream. All of these beasts were from the Celestial Beast Empire, and at this moment, yet another terrifying beast with a power level over 350,000 appeared: a Three-Tailed Greedbeast.

    When it appeared, all of the beasts in the immediate region demonstrated their subservience, and even Monster Loach felt a bit nervous when facing the Greedbeast.

    The Three-Tailed Greedbeast was a strange creature that had a white skeletal framework wrapped around it with three tails swaying through space that emanated multipleyers of ripples.

    In the Celestial Beast Empire, legend had it that this beast was extremely bloodthirsty. Now that the empire had sent it to join the attack, it showed the empire¡¯s determination to conquer the Outerverse.

    Aside from the Three-Tailed Greedbeast, Cursewind from Skymender¡¯s List had also arrived, as well as Tian Hou, who was Skymender¡¯s disciple, and five other Enlighter realm astral beasts.

    It was an unstoppable force.

    Cursewind was a blue lion who had a bizarre pair of eyes. It had wind in its left eye and fire in its right. Its body radiated an extreme temperature, and every step it took caused the void to warp and fracture.

    The reinforcements did not stay in the Primal Zone for too long, and the Three-Tailed Greedbeast soon took all the others into Ironblood Weave with it.

    Only Cursewind looked over at the where Lu Yin was attempting his breakthrough with any interest, and he even felt somewhat astonished. That tree was a phenomena, though it was being suppressed. There was no hurry, and they coulde back and deal with that human after conquering Ironblood Weave. That human was clearly very talented since he could produce a phenomenon during his breakthrough.

    From the Three-Tailed Greedbeast¡¯s perspective, no matter how gifted Lu Yin may be, he was still only breaking to the Explorer realm, so he would not present much of a threat even then. The beast was not bothered at all. As for the corpse, there was no rush. At the moment, their most pressing issue was to conquer the humans¡¯ Outerverse. The Greedbeast was acting on the Imperial Teacher¡¯s orders, so it was determined toplete its mission quickly.

    Monster Loach left a few Hunters behind to keep watch on Lu Yin. Regardless if he seeded in his breakthrough, they would not let him off. The most crucial part was still the corpse, which was just too strange. They could only wait for the Three-Tailed Greedbeast to deal with it.

    As for the hole in the energy stream, it remained protected by the Void Thunderbeast, and no one could destroy it.

    At Seasons Fort, the space around the stronghold shuddered, and an enormous white skeletal tail swept through the holes of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. The beast then shot through the void and almost instantly crushed the stronghold¡¯s pass.

    Liu Qiuyu looked overwhelmed, as this was a terrifying powerhouse with a power level that exceeded 300,000.

    Bang bang bang!

    The transparent coffin tumbled down from the pass as Wang Wen screamed for help from inside it.

    But right now, no one could move to save him. Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen had been killed in action, and Liu Qiuyu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist were Seasons Fort¡¯s only remaining Enlighters.

    Since the Three-Tailed Greedbeast had acted, Seasons Fort was destined to be destroyed, and Liu Qiuyu had already predicted the end result.

    Countless beasts invaded Seasons Fort, and the humans started a frantic counterattack.

    Charon wielded the Unveiled Sword and howled loudly before charging into the sky.

    Void Wanderers filled the air, and countless spatial cracks tore open as the creatures ferried in numerous beasts.

    In outer space, above the fort, the Three-Tailed Greedbeast roared, and the violent noise caused the entirety of Seasons Fort to tremble.

    A giant crack shot out from the pass and tore the ground apart, and it even caused severals to splinter, nearly splitting Seasons Fort in two.

    From the corner of his eye, Liu Qiuyu nced around and knew that there was nobody who could take on the old freak aside from Elder Lohar. However, Elder Lohar had been obstructed by other beasts, so it seemed that Seasons Fort was doomed to fall on this day.

    Liu Qiuyu hurriedly charged towards Wang Wen, as he wanted to throw Wang Wen away from Seasons Fort. Even if everyone else died, Wang Wen could not.

    Suddenly, a shockwave swept out, and Liu Qiuyu hurriedly took a step back. The void in front of him was distorted by an extremely high temperature, and it soon started boiling.

    A blue lion emerged from the void and stepped into outer space to face Liu Qiuyu. ¡°Cursewind of Skymender¡¯s List is seeking experience.¡±

    Liu Qiuyu squinted. ¡°Junior, do you really think that you canpare to the Ten Arbiters and challenge an Enlighter?¡±

    Cursewind raised his lion¡¯s head. ¡°What of the Ten Arbiters? Once we break through the barrier separating the Outerverse from the Innerverse, even the Ten Arbiters will be ughtered!¡± Then, the hurricane in his left eye morphed into a violent shockwave that tore apart the void as it swept towards Liu Qiuyu.

    Liu Qiuyu shed out with his sword, and the sword qi ripped the hurricane to shreds and continued on towards Cursewind.

    Next, the inferno in Cursewind¡¯s right eye filled the sky, and an intense heat wave swept out that caused even Liu Qiuyu to grow fearful. This was Cursewind¡¯s innate gift, which allowed the winds to assist the mes. The hurricane around the fire red up and caused the entire region to copse.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s eyes trembled, as the momentum of the battle had shifted greatly. An unstoppable power converged in front of him to form a sword that pierced through the void.

    Cursewind hurriedly dodged it even as the beast¡¯s own attack was sliced through by the sword. If he had not moved aside quickly enough, then the sword definitely would have stabbed through his body as well.

    He looked at Liu Qiuyu in shock, as this human was actually incredibly powerful.

    At this moment, high in the sky, a white skeletal tail crashed down and sent Liu Qiuyu hurtling towards the surface of the stronghold. The tail continued sweeping through the stronghold until it emerged in outer space, on the other side.

    The Three-Tailed Greedbeast¡¯s cold eyes swept across Cursewind as its two other tailsshed out at Seasons Fort.

    With a boom, Aden was sent flying. Despite his thunder shield being supplemented by his nine-lined battle force, it had still been shattered into multiple pieces. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his status was left unknown.

    Nobody could stop the Three-Tailed Greedbeast.

    On another side of the fort, on a maind, a youth faced off against Tian Hou. He was Linley, and he had formerly been a senior disciple of the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak, and he was even Wendy Yushan¡¯s senior. At present, he was a Cruiser with a power level of 80,000.

    Facing an Explorer as a Cruiser should be an effortless fight, but he was facing Tian Hou at this time. No matter how he attacked, he could not seem to harm Tian Hou in any manner.

    Tian Hou merged with the void, which rendered all of Linley¡¯s attacks ineffective.

    This was the first time that Linley had faced such an opponent, and Tian Hou¡¯s methods made him tremble in fear.

    ¡°You must be terrified,¡± Tian Hou spoke in a strange voice.

    Linley¡¯s eyes changed and turned sluggish. He suddenly seemed bewildered, and he dropped the longsword from his hands.

    Tian Hou stepped towards Linley and raised a hand that he ced upon the Cruiser¡¯s body. ¡°Be devoured.¡±

    Right after uttering those words, sword qi streaked by, passing through Tian Hou and tearing the ground apart. Liu Zhan stepped out with a solemn face.

    Tian Hou calmly turned to look at Liu Zhan. ¡°Another one from the Liu family.¡±

    Liu Zhan¡¯s eyes were ice-cold. ¡°So you¡¯re Tian Hou.¡±

    Tian Hou was hidden within his ck clothes, so most people would not recognize him. However, the Liu family was an exception. This was because a sect elder who had mastered the Thirteen Swords had once been swallowed by a Cosmic Hou in the past. The Liu family carried an unforgettable hatred towards all Cosmic Hous.

    ¡°So your Liu family can still survive with just the Thirteen Swords,¡± Tian Hou said indifferently.

    By this point, Linley had recovered, and he was panting heavily. He picked his sword and looked at Tian Hou in humiliation.

    As a swordsman, he had actually dropped his de, which was an extraordinary disgrace.

    ¡°Even if Seasons Fort is lost today, I must kill you. Killing one Cosmic Hou will be a big blow to the Celestial Beast Empire,¡± Liu Zhan spoke coldly.

    Tian Hou was apathetic. ¡°It¡¯s useless. Teacher has divined that I will not die during this battle.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Liu Zhan stabbed out.

    However, his sword tip passed straight through Tian Hou, as Tian Hou could not be harmed. His figure gradually grew fainter until it could no longer be seen.

    Liu Zhan was unwilling. Since ancient times, the legends of the Cosmic Hou had been a humiliation to the Sword Sect. He had heard many rumors about Cosmic Hous, and the most recent had been from the recent Tournament of the Strongest, where Tian Hou had lost to Lu Yin, a student of the Astral Combat Academy. Liu Zhan had thought that since Lu Yin was able to defeat Tian Hou, he himself should have no problem given his strength as a peak Hunter. However, he had wrongly underestimated the abilities of a Cosmic Hou.

    Seasons Fort was copsing from the Three-Tailed Greedbeast¡¯s frantic attacks on the stronghold, and countless defenders perished.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist gritted his teeth, as he did not want to die. As he watched another tailsh out, he cursed under his breath. He then carefully retrieved a very ancient box and opened it. ¡°Ancestors, I am sorry, but I have no choice.¡±

    He then reached inside the box where there was a very thin film: the Bloodied Handprint.

    In front of him, Enlighter beasts shattered space and charged towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. He suddenly lifted his head and revealed a pale face, as if he was enduring extreme agony. Then, he let out a loud roar. His right hand rose from the box, and in the middle of his palm, there was boiling blood. The Bloodied Handprint hadpletely merged with his hand.

    At that moment, everything froze. Every single creature, no matter if they were human or astral beast, no matter if they were Scouts, Melders, or powerhouses with a power level that had reached 300,000, paused. At this time, everyone felt an overbearing pressure, and everyone hesitated.

    The sky had fallen. This was what every being present perceived.

    It was not just at Seasons Fort; this fluctuation enveloped the entirety of Ironblood Weave, and it even extended into parts of Eastly and Northcastle Weaves.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist howled in anguish, as his palm was burning. It had been ignited by that film of blood. The unendurable pain caused him to unhesitatingly m his hand against the Three-Tailed Greedbeast.

    It did not move or resist, and it just allowed <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s palm tond on its body. Its gigantic form directly shattered, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s attack did not lose any power as it continued on into outer space and even traveled through the danger zones of the sourceboxes.

    Countless eyes looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist in shock, and then at the blood that now covered the sky. This person had just smacked an almighty powerhouse with a power level of over 300,000 to death in just one strike.

    Liu Qiuyu stared up from beneath the ground, and there was an indescribable astonishment in his eyes.

    Wang Wen¡¯s mouth gaped open. There was actually another thing that he had not predicted.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist kept howling in anguish. His hand had disappeared. It had burnt away to nothingness.

    The ancient box that had held the film of blood was also split open, and there was nothing left within it since the Bloodied Handprint had disappeared after being used.

    The Three-Tailed Greedbeast had died, and it caused the other astral beasts to quickly retreat.

    Cursewind nervously dashed out of Seasons Fort. The humans had too many hidden tricks, and who knew what other power vessels they might still have in reserve. That palm had been too frightening, and the blue lion had never felt such an overwhelming strength like that. It was as if the strength was from the heavens themselves.

    Everyone in the fort rxed. They had been lucky enough to survive, despite all of them assuming that they would absolutely die in this battle.

    Liu Qiuyu soared in the air and looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    Everyone else also looked at him, as he had been the biggest contributor to their survival during this battle.

    Wang Wen stepped out of his coffin and moved in front of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist to heap praise upon the Enlighter.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was agonized, as that power vessel had been Mafioso¡¯s inherited Bloodied Handprint. It was already nothing more than a film since it had been used once before in the past. He had not thought that it would disappear with just one more use, as he had been saving it as his personal trump card as well.

    Still, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist did not reveal his thoughts, and he remained very stoic as he stored the box away. Aside from Wu Shen himself, nobody else knew that the Bloodied Handprint was permanently gone now, and keeping that as a secret could be used to intimidate others.

    The humans thought that killing the Three-Tailed Greedbeast would intimidate the astral beasts into granting them a few days respite, but nobody guessed that the beasts would attack again the very next day.

    Still, the subsequent assault did not have any experts whose power levels exceeded 300,000. Instead, there were an additional two Enlighter realm astral beasts. It had been absolutely worthwhile to use the Bloodied Handprint to kill a powerhouse whose power level exceeded 300,000, but it would not be worth it cost to use it on an Enlighter beast. The Astral Beast Domain was indeed not foolish.

    The battle that would conclude the astral beasts¡¯ invasion into the Outerverse was too intense, and the astral beasts seemed very pressured to seed. Despite the absurd battle power that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had revealed, the astral beasts¡¯ determination did not waver in the slightest.

    Seasons Fort was on the verge of copse.

 Chapter 588: One Finger To Pierce The Void

    <h4>Chapter 588: One Finger To Pierce The Void</h4>

    Some distance away from the fort, in the Primal Zone, the desated corpse¡¯s incessant assault had already gone on for fifteen days, and it still showed no signs of stopping.

    Lu Yin had also been in an unconscious state for fifteen days, and during this entire time, he had been staring at that jade finger.

    Finally, on the sixteenth day, he seemed to haveprehended something, and he raised his right hand and subconsciously tapped out with a finger. It looked like a very ordinary andmon movement, but his finger transcended the void and crushed space. Lu Yin was actually able to fracture space with his strength that had not yet reached the Explorer realm, and his finger moved towards the corpse.

    Coincidentally, the corpse had just unleashed a strike and was in the middle of preparing another when the fingernded on its forehead.

    The void warped, and the distortion spread out until it caused the entire to tremble. Lu Yin¡¯s subconscious finger tap forced the corpse to take a step back, and with this retreat, the seal on his back lit up with a brilliant radiance andpletely suppressed his breakthrough to the Explorer realm.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s finger tap seemed to have granted the corpse some enlightenment of its own.

    ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Kill.¡±

    A phantom image appeared behind the corpse with two hands raised up high, and these hands then firmly swung down tond directly on the seal behind Lu Yin.

    Crack!

    The seal broke apart, and in just an instant, the phenomenon of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough burst forth once again, the giant tree enveloping the entire just like it had at the beginning of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough. The tree then continued to spread away from the and into space.

    The numerous astral beasts in the region nkly stared at the scene, at aplete loss.

    The seal had been shattered by the corpse, but there was more than just oneyer to the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back. In the past, not even Astral 10¡¯s crazy headmaster had been able to determine how manyyers there were to the seal.

    The corpse had shattered oneyer, but anotheryer quickly appeared and revealed a seal that bored through Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders. The appearance of this seal released a frightening aura that spread throughout the entire region and crushed all of the nearby astral beasts. The dried up corpse was sted underground by the overpowering force. Once again, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide shifted slightly on the corpse¡¯s head, and its eyes were again covered up.

    Just like before, the corpse was only able to stare eternally at Progenitor Wushang''s hide, lost in its state of awe until someone disturbed it.

    The seal that had prevented Lu Yin from breaking through to the Explorer realm had shattered, and the seal on his back that had been suppressing the corpse simrly vanished just like what had happened back when he had broken through to the Melder realm. At this moment, his breakthrough arrived in full, and his physical body was transformed.

    The scope of the phenomenon continued to expand as Lu Yin sat on the¡¯s surface. His heart rumbled time and time again while he simultaneously absorbed the star energy around him at a frantic rate.

    However, the ambient star energy of the universe was not enough to satisfy him. Fortunately, he had regained consciousness the moment the seal had broken, so he quickly retrieved some star essence from his cosmic ring and ced it beside himself to form a small hill. He frantically absorbed that energy, using the ninefold rate of his Cosmic Art to create a scene that was reminiscent of a whirlpool.

    The pain in his physical body gradually faded, and the phenomenon also slowly disappeared.

    The star essence beside Lu Yin were also depleted at a rapid rate.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes again and let out a long hiss that caused the nearby space to shudder. The sound waves created ripples that expanded out and caused the¡¯s surface to split asunder.

    Quite a few beasts moved towards the again, but they became frightened when they saw the countless corpses floating about space.

    Lu Yin released a long breath andpletely awakened at this moment. He stretched his shoulders and neck, causing cracking sounds to ring out. He then looked down and clenched his fists. ¡°So this is the strength of an Explorer.¡±

    Now, he was able to see the changes in the universe. Things were no longer iprehensible, and he felt an indescribable intimate connection with the universe. He could feel that he was now able to roam the void with just his physical body, as his body had beenpletely transformed.

    Simrly, he could sense a strange state affecting his body, and it seemed to be quickly draining his energy away. It was immediately apparent that only by replenishing his reserves with star energy would he be able to slow this depletion. This must be the period of exhaustion. If he allowed this state to persist, then he would probably enter the period of exhaustion that he had heard about and then die.

    Suddenly, the image of the corpse shed into Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He peered down into the ground and looked at the monster. The corpse was indeed still there, but it had been forced all the way down into the¡¯s core by some force. The core was clearly a great distance from the surface of the, so how was he able to still see it?

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and released his domain, which quickly expanded to what had been its limits in the past. He found that he was able to easily continue expanding his domain, all the way until it reached the¡¯s core. His domain had just extended to more than ten times its previous distance.

    Lu Yin felt strange, as he had not heard that breaking through to the Explorer realm could cause one¡¯s domain to expand to such a degree. What was going on?

    Above the, many beasts paced back and forth as they stared vigntly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no time to review all of the various changes he had just gone through. He knew that his breakthrough to the Explorer realm had brought about a massive transformation within him, but he needed time to thoroughly check things over. However, the most important thing at the moment was to leave the Primal Zone and return to Seasons Fort.

    The ckhole-grade Aurora from before had fallen to an unknown ce, but fortunately, his cosmic ring still held a copsible spacecraft that Wang Wen had given to him before he had left for the mission. Lu Yin¡¯s domain expanded away from the, and his eyes filled with star energy. He rxed after discovering that none of the nearby beasts were too powerful for him to face. There actually wasn¡¯t even a single Hunter around, though he was able to see many corpses floating around.

    He didn''t hesitate any further and retrieved his copsible spacecraft. He immediately boarded the vessel and took off from the, charging towards the boundary of the Primal Zone at the speed of a radiant-grade Aurora.

    From start to finish, none of the beasts in the area had any intentions of blocking his path as they were all too frightened. There had been a few Hunters monitoring Lu Yin, but they had all been instantly eliminated. Although these astral beasts did not fear death, such an inexplicable method that was able to kill in an instant had caused the survivors to feel timid.

    Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft and smoothly headed towards Seasons Fort.

    It didn¡¯t even take a full day to travel from the Primal Zone to Seasons Fort with the speed of a radiant-grade Aurora. Lu Yin spent his time inside the vessel with his eyes closed. At this moment, he was able to slowly examine the transformation that his body had undergone.

    Seasons Fort was currently on the verge of copse. The majority of the stronghold had already been shattered, and countless experts had perished.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, on whom Wang Wen had pinned great hopes, was not able to use the Bloodied Handprint again. When Lu Yin appeared at Seasons Fort, he arrived precisely when Liu Qiuyu screamed as he and dragged an Enlighter beast down with himself. At that moment, Seasons Fort finally fell.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and stored his spacecraft away. He then traversed through space on his own, dashing towards a shattered continent that had once been part of the stronghold. It was where Wang Wen was hiding in his coffin while gazing at the destruction before him in utter agony.

    The blue lion, Cursewind, appeared along with a scalding temperature that distorted the void and baked the coffin.

    Aden appeared, and his thunder shield smashed Cursewind back.

    Next, another beast appeared, which was also a Hunter. In the corner of the beast¡¯s mouth, there was a half-mangled human body. The creature red down at Wang Wen and then bit down at him.

    Wang Wen reluctantly said, ¡°You can¡¯t bite through it.¡±

    Another whoosh was heard as sword qi struck the beast¡¯s body and sliced it in half. Liu Zhan suddenly appeared. He quickly grabbed the coffin and was about to throw it away from the crumbling fort.

    ¡°Careful, behind you!¡± Wang Wen warned.

    Liu Zhan turned around, but it was already toote. His abdomen was stabbed through by a w. A Yin Guai had appeared, and its terrifying strength sent Liu Zhan flying.

    Liu Zhan spat out a mouthful of blood. He then covered his abdomen and shed back at the Yin Guai.

    The Yin Guai wed at Liu Zhan again. This strike broke the Hunter¡¯s sword while also sending Liu Zhan crashing into the ground below.

    Wang Wen closed his eyes and sighed.

    Bang!

    There was a familiar sounding gunshot, and Wang Wen¡¯s eyes snapped open in astonishment. In front of him, the Yin Guai¡¯s brains had been blown apart, and a familiar figurended nearby.

    Wang Wen cried out, ¡°Chesspiece Bro?!¡±

    Lu Yin sorrowfully looked at the fallen Liu Zhan. He bent down and tried to raise him up.

    Liu Zhan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s pointless. I¡¯m doomed.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯mte.¡±

    Liu Zhan smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m a Hunter, and yet it''s your turn to rescue me. You¡¯ve broken through?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Liu Zhan coughed, pointed at Wang Wen, and then said to Lu Yin, ¡°Flee! Hurry and flee. Take Wang Wen away. Anyone can die except for him.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Liu Zhan hurriedly cut him off. ¡°Quick, flee! Leave me. I¡¯m doomed.¡±

    Lu Yin watched the rune lines that represented Liu Zhan slowly dissipate and sighed helplessly. He turned and moved over to Wang Wen. ¡°Get up. We¡¯re going to take a spacecraft.¡±

    Wang Wen smiled bitterly. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, if there was a possibility of escape, then do you think I would be waiting here to die?¡± Then, he pointed at the sky.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his expression changed. At this point, the sky was littered with astral beasts, and more importantly, there were boundless rune lines in every direction that showed the presence of many Enlighter realm beasts.

    The beasts would not allow a single human to escape. More were allowed to enter the ruined fortress, but no one was allowed to leave.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, you¡¯re too unlucky. You clearly could have survived, but you insisted on returning to this ce to die,¡± Wang Wen said agonizingly.

    Lu Yin checked his surroundings. He had not returned to die. ¡°Turn around.¡±

    Wang Wen was lost. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I want you to turn around,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen frowned. ¡°What do you mean? At a time like this, are there still secrets that you want to keep? Are you a girl?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to live? If so, then do as I say,¡± Lu Yin replied in a deep voice.

    Wang Wen pursed his lips. ¡°Fine. Since we¡¯re just waiting for death, I¡¯ll let you keep your secrets. Don¡¯t end up like that wretched ck fog who couldn¡¯t help fend them off at the crucial moment.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as Wang Wen turned around. Then, he stepped into the ruins and raised a hand. His die appeared before he tapped on it. Every time he faced a crisis, this die was his first choice, and there was no exception at this moment.

    It slowly spun before stopping on... one pip. There was a thump as a yellow prayer mat fell out. When Lu Yin saw it, he seemed to hear the sound of chanting, and his entire body was drawn to the mat.

    Lu Yin was certain that the prayer mat was not as simple as it seemed, but now was not the time to study it, so he continued to roll the die.

    As it slowly stopped spinning for the second time, itnded on four pips.

    Lu Yin was delighted, as this was the oue that he had wanted to receive. The scenery around him changed, and he next appeared in the Time Stop Space.

    Currently, there was only one Enlighter still defending Seasons Fort, which was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. On the other hand, there were five Enlighter beasts. If they wanted to break through the invading forces, then their only option was to kill off all of the Enlighter beasts. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist could not do such a thing, but Lu Yin could. He had his gun.

    But just relying on his gun would not be enough to kill the Enlighter beasts since they could simply dodge the attacks. The only way he could guarantee his shotsnding was the Yu Secret Art. Wendy Yushan was not with him, so he could only use it himself. One had to at least be an Explorer to cultivate this secret technique, and fortunately, Lu Yin had just be one.

    Lu Yin was not afraid of not having enough time, as he could endlessly extend his stay in the Time Stop Space so long as he had enough resources.

    When he had broken through to the Explorer realm, he had absorbed 20,000 star essence, which was a hundred times the amount that he had used when breaking through to the Limiteer realm. He did not know how much star energy others had needed when they broke through to the Explorer realm, but it was definitely much less than him.

    But fortunately, he had 48,000 star essence to begin with, so with 28,000 left, it should be more than enough for what he needed to do.

    He increased the duration of Time Stop to four months, which cost him about 700,000 star crystals, which was only seven star essence. During these four months, he was hoping to fullyprehend the Yu Secret Art.

    Wendy Yushan had not spent that long a time toprehend the Yu Secret Art, and Lu Yin¡¯s aptitude was not too bad. Thus, it shouldn¡¯t take him too long to seed.

 Chapter 589: Practicing The Yu Secret Art

    <h4>Chapter 589: Practicing The Yu Secret Art</h4>

    The Time Stop Space was dull, and Lu Yin could not handle the nd scenery, so he decided to use some star energy to change the space¡¯s appearance.

    During his first month training, he quietly examined the star energy route of the Yu Secret Art. He had only used this path once before, but he would never forget it. However, all of his attempts were fruitless as he did not manage to recall even a hint of the sensation that he needed.

    During the second month, Lu Yin still had no progress.

    He started to get a bit fidgety.

    Coincidentally, the Ghost Monkey awakened at this time. ¡°Seventh Bro, where is this ce?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask any questions. Let me ask you something: now that I¡¯ve broken through and be an Explorer, how can I cultivate the Yu Secret Art?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey was speechless. ¡°Seventh Bro, how would I know? I haven¡¯t practiced any secret techniques before. This sort of thing is dependent on one¡¯s innate gift and destiny, and you can¡¯t becking in either. How long have you been practicing for?¡±

    ¡°Just a bit. You really don¡¯t know?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey replied, ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Strange, where are we? I¡¯ve seen this ce before, but you¡¯ve never told me anything about it.¡±

    Lu Yin very quickly screened his arm off as he did not want to reveal his secrets to the monkey. But still, was it even possible for him to learn the Yu Secret Art?

    Just in case, Lu Yin increased his time in the Time Stop Space by another fifty days.

    For every ten days that Lu Yin increased the duration of the Time Stop Space by, the required star energy would double. Four months required 730,000 star crystals, which was 7.3 star essence. Another fifty days after that ended up costing him 233 star essence, which showed just how fast the cost multiplied.

    The more he increased his time, the more anxious Lu Yin became in this isted space. He had to quicklyprehend the secret technique.

    He still had 110 days left in the space, but he had not made the slightest bit of progress. He felt helpless, and out of habit, he began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Every time Lu Yin encountered a situation that he could not solve, he would first recite the Stonewall Scriptures. He had done so when he had absorbed the first grain of Fatesand in the past, and reciting the scriptures had greatly hastened the process. He still did not even know what exactly the Stonewall Scriptures meant.

    Not long after he started reciting the scriptures, Lu Yin felt a trace of a feeling for the secret technique¡¯s star energy path through his body. He opened his eyes in ecstasy, as it turned out that reciting the Stonewall Scriptures had actually been useful.

    He did not waste any time, and he continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures, but he was not able to finish it all at once. After his breakthrough to the Explorer realm, his spiritual force had increased by quite a lot, but he was still only able to recite a portion of the scriptures at a time. He had to take the asional rest to avoid falling unconscious.

    As he recited the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin¡¯s feeling towards how the secret technique¡¯s star energy path grew more and more distinct. Another month soon passed by. When he opened his eyes, he raised his hand and casually waved it. The energy caused the void to rumble, but then the energy vanished inexplicably as it had been diverted into another direction.

    Lu Yin was delighted. He had tried to do this multiple times during this month, but he had only seeded now. The secret technique hade out atst.

    At this instant, he felt like everything before him had changed. He tried the technique again, but this time, his eyes were filled with star energy. Sure enough, the moment the secret technique was unleashed, his perception through the secret technique was different from before. There was no space or time, and he was able to instantly attack in any direction whenever he wanted. This was a secret technique, something that turned the rotten into the mysterious and allowed one to see through to the essence of the universe.

    Was this the essence of the universe? He suddenly recalled how Mister Mu had thrown him from Tempest Flowzone all the way to Zhengyang Flowzone, which meant that Lu Yin had crossed half the Innerverse in a moment. Had Mister Mu done that through a simrly deep understanding of the universe¡¯s essence? No, that was impossible. Only a Progenitor could create a secret technique, and only Progenitors could understand the essence of the universe. In the current era, there shouldn¡¯t be any Progenitors in this part of the universe, and even if there were any, they would be in the Neoverse. There was no way that Mister Mu was a Progenitor.

    But if he wasn¡¯t a Progenitor, then how had he done it? Could he have used another secret technique?

    Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer. It allowed Lu Yin to divert any attack within a certain range of himself in any other direction and attack any target. This was the Yu Secret Art, and when he gained a deeper understanding of it, the range would definitely increase. Additionally, eventually, he might be able to divert not only attacks, but possibly also items or living beings.

    If that was the case, then it was possible that Mister Mu actually knew the secret technique as well.

    Lu Yin acted again and waved his hand, but nothing moved.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity. He needed to work and familiarize himself with the technique as he was not practiced enough yet.

    Another month passed quickly by, which meant that Lu Yin had now spent a total of four months in the Time Stop Space. During this fourth month, Lu Yin had made dozens of attempts at using the secret technique, and he had even seeded quite a few times. His sess rate was about 50%, which was pretty good. However, there was a stark discrepancy when hepared himself to Wendy Yushan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s own talent was notcking at all, and he even possessed eyes that had been transformed. Even if Wendy Yushan could demonstrate the Yu Secret Art, she definitely could not see the essence of the universe like he could. The reason why she could surpass Lu Yin¡¯s results in terms of the secret technique was likely rted to her bloodline, as she was a descendant of the Yu surname. The Yu Secret Art had belonged to the Yu family since ancient times, and there was an inheritance that flowed in their blood.

    If not for the Stonewall Scriptures, then even if Lu Yin had managed to sessfullyprehend the technique¡¯s required energy path, it would have taken him way too long toprehend the secret technique. It was no wonder why the monkey had said that it was very difficult to cultivate a secret technique.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s fortune was that bad, and he had ultimately managed to cultivate it sessfully.

    The next matter of course was to improve his rate of sess, as he could not gamble with his life.

    He thought about it before deciding to further endure the dullness of the boring room. He increased his time by another fifty days, which cost him another 7,400 star essence.

    He now had a hundred days left in this ce, and he would conduct his final struggle during these days.

    At Seasons Fort, inside the ruins, Lu Yin reappeared in the blink of an eye, as only one second had passed in real time. He had spent a full 200 days in the Time Stop Space, which was more than half a year.

    Since more than half a year had passed for him, Seasons Fort suddenly felt rather foreign to him.

    Massive astral beasts crashed down from the sky, shrouding the ground in shadows. Lu Yin looked up and stepped out lightly. There was a thump, and a small shockwave caused the void to fluctuate as his figure vanished. He then reappeared in midair. He kicked out, and a giant, boulder-like beast was sent tumbling into space.

    Lu Yinnded and moved over to Wang Wen¡¯s coffin. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    Wang Wen turned and stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°What¡¯s alright?¡±

    ¡°Nothing...¡± Lu Yin had forgotten that, for Wang Wen, only one second had passed. Wang Wen had only just turned his head away.

    Wang Wen looked at Lu Yin strangely. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, have you gone crazy?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up and saw boundless rune lines in every direction. He still had eight bullets left in his gun. ¡°I¡¯m going to go hunting. Think about what kind of contribution points you¡¯re going to give me.¡±

    Then, he leaped into the air and charged up into outer space. The Enneadic Wings appeared behind him and fluttered to increase his speed even further, causing him to quickly vanish before Wang Wen¡¯s eyes.

    Wang Wen blinked. ¡°He¡¯s really gone crazy.¡±

    In outer space, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was fleeing for his life. He could not beat the Enlighter beasts. He was not adept at head on fights in the first ce, and right now, he had two Enlighter realm astral beasts pursuing him.

    ¡°Human, surrender! The Celestial Beast Empire will warmly wee powerful human beasts,¡± a Enlighter beast roared from behind him.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist mentally cursed. What human beast?

    Still, he was also musing to himself that, if he truly couldn¡¯t escape, then surrendering could also be a valid option so long as he kept his life.

    Hold on, what¡¯s thating here? <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist looked ahead and saw that there was a single figure streaking through the heavens towards him. And based on the stance of the figure, it was aiming for him. Was it possible that it was an Enlighter beast in a humanoid form? That would be too despicable! <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist didn¡¯t hesitate to immediately throw out a palm.

    Lu Yin was frightened, as he had wanted to shout for <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist to cooperate with him, but who would have thought that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist would instantly strike out at him! Could this person have some kind of mental defect?

    Lu Yin could not get a good grasp of the situation, but he had some understanding towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s morals, so such a thing was not impossible.

    Lu Yin changed his mind and used the Ster Ruler to evade <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s attack before pausing in space. He warily observed the old Enlighter in front of him as he pulled out his gun and held it in his hands.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s palm missed, but he felt that the approaching person¡¯s style of moving seemed very familiar. They were moving like Lu Yin? Wait, it was really him.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not dead?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist felt odd.

    Lu Yin stared intensely at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°You¡¯ve betrayed humanity?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist hollered, ¡°Kid, don¡¯t nder me! <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Viletree and Wen Qichen both died, and if I had stayed in the Primal Zone, all that would have aplished was adding on one more casualty! Did you want me to join you in death?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that! Why did you attack me just now?¡± Lu Yin raised his gun and pointed it at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s heart raced, as he had not forgotten about the power of Lu Yin¡¯s gun. ¡°Don¡¯t be rash! How would I know that there¡¯s still someone here who¡¯s bold enough to enter the battlefield? Even Liu Qiuyu has fallen, so I¡¯m thest Enlighter here.¡±

    Lu Yin reluctantly epted the exnation, and then he fired his gun. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s pupils shrank, and he reflexively evaded the attack. Suddenly, Lu Yin raised a hand and waved it. ¡°Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer.¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist watched on,pletely overwhelmed, as the bullet disappeared. When it showed up next, it was already piercing through the brain of an Enlighter beast.

    Everything fell silent, and the other Enlighter realm astral beast that had been chasing after <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist looked up in shock. The Enlighter beast that had just had its brains blown out by the bullet copsed, devoid of any trace of life.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was horrified. ¡°Se-secret technique... That¡¯s the secret technique! You know it as well?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose up, and he raised his gun to aim at the other Enlighter beast. ¡°Go and die too.¡±

    That Enlighter beast did not hesitate, and it directly made its escape by tearing through the void.

    Lu Yin lowered his gun and released a pent-up breath. With the secret technique, he would be able to hit an Enlighter, but if they were prepared and escaped by tearing through the void without reappearing, then Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t have a chance to attack them.

    No, that wasn¡¯t correct anymore; there still was another method. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled. He had forgotten, but he was now capable of seeing through the essence of the universe.

    Even if an Enlighter fled into the void, they would still exist within the universe, and as long as they were still in the universe, he would be able to see them the moment he used the secret technique. Still, being able to hit them was another matter entirely. Being able to see through the essence of the universe was not the same as understanding it, and at this time, Lu Yin didn¡¯t even understand the principles of the secret technique.

    It was just like the gun; he was only able to use it, not recreate it.

    One shot of the gun had killed the Enlighter beast, which stunned <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist badly. The ck fog kept shifting around, which reflected the Enligher¡¯s agitated state of mind. ¡°Kid, how do you know a secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°Why? Do I have to answer to you?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve also be an Explorer? The changes seem to be rather impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother with him any further. ¡°Cooperate with me. You look for the Enlighter beasts, and I¡¯ll kill them. We¡¯ll split the contributions 50-50.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist fell silent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of fleeing. If you leave while we still have even a chance of victory, and we lose because of you, then the punishment from the Hall of Honor won¡¯t be something you can handle. Don¡¯t forget¡ªElder Lohar is still around.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist snorted. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking of fleeing. I¡¯m just considering what methods I can use to drag out those Enlighter beasts for you to hit them.¡±

    ¡°Then get started!¡± Lu Yin dashed into the distance, heading towards the boundless rune lines that he saw. Just as he had said, he was going hunting.

    He had the universal armor for defense, andbination of the gun and secret technique for offense. Additionally, he had the Ster Ruler and Copsible Spacecraft as escape methods, as well as Progenitor Wushang''s hide and the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh for support. As long as no old freak whose power level surpassed 300,000 appeared, Lu Yin was invincible on this battlefield.

 Chapter 590: Contribution And Collapse

    <h4>Chapter 590: Contribution And Copse</h4>

    Even after the fighting went on for a long time, no creature with a power level of 300,000 had appeared. This meant that Elder Lohar had managed to stop the astral beast and Lu Yin had nothing to fear.

    He waspletely ignorant of the fact that the Three-Tailed Greedbeast had been destroyed by <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. Otherwise, he would have been even more confident.

    Seasons Fort was on the verge of destruction, and most of the human cultivators as well as the normal soldiers had died. Even if the humans won this battle, they would have to abandon Seasons Fort afterwards.

    Giving up was one thing, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to just run away with his tail between his legs; he was going to kill all these Enlighter beasts. Otherwise, even if he fled to the other forts, he would still be doomed.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist followed behind Lu Yin while deep in thought.

    The two of them moved closer and closer to the fighting Enlighter realm astral beasts.

    After a deafening roar, the two of them turned around and discovered that Seasons Fort had beenpletely destroyed. It had been reduced to nothing more than numerous fragments floating through space.

    A hint of sorrow shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Within that fortress, not only had there been cultivators and soldiers, but their families had also lived there. So manys and mainds, carrying millions of people, had disappeared, just like that.

    After unleashing his domain, Lu Yin was able to hear numerous moans from all around him, and his face turned cold. The Astral Beast Domain. He was definitely going to get revenge on them.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist suddenly shouted.

    Above Lu Yin, the void suddenly tore open, and the Enlighter beast that had fled into the void earlier suddenly reappeared, swiping out with a w. Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. In that instance, he saw the essence of the universe and managed to find another Enlighter Beast hiding in the void.

    Lu Yin then stopped using the Yu Secret Art and shot his gun.

    Bang!

    This gun was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack, and it had been aimed right at the destroyed fort.

    Behind <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, the void split open, and another Enlighter beast appeared. However, at the exact same moment that it appeared, a bullet went through its neck, releasing a whole massive spout of blood.

    Lu Yin had gone on the offensive and shot at the beast that was attacking <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    It was only then that <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist realized what had happened. He¡¯d been distracted by the beast directly ambushing Lu Yin and beenpletely unaware that there was another Enlighter Beast going after him.

    When he saw that Lu Yin was about to be sent flying from an attack, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist pressed a hand against the Enlighter Beast that had tried to attack him. A ck fog shot into the beast¡¯s injury, and soon, the creature started howling in misery.

    The beast that had moved to attack Lu Yin was about to give chase, but after hearing the agony from behind it, it gave up on attacking Lu Yin and instead changed targets to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. In its eyes, Lu Yin was already close to death.

    Unfortunately, the beast had no idea just how powerful the defense of Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor was. Even if he went up against Monster Loach, Lu Yin was confident that he could survive, to say nothing of dealing with a mere Enlighter whose battle power was only at around 200,000 or so.

    However, Lu Yin was still knocked dizzy from the blow as it had rattled his head. He pped the Enneadic Wings and soared back into outer space to see <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist being surrounded by two Enlighter beasts. However, one of the beasts had already been shot by Lu Yin while the other had been gravely injured by <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. It was evident that they would soon leave the battlefield.

    Lu Yin raised his gun. When the bang was heard, he had already activated the Yu Secret Art.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was startled. The sound of that gunshot was always terrifying to him; who knew where Lu Yin was aiming? <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was always paranoid that someone was out to kill him.

    With this shot, Lu Yin managed to pierce through the injured Enlighter beast¡¯s brain. Vast amounts of brain matter sttered onto the other Enlighter beast while also drenching <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    The second Enlighter beast looked at Lu Yin in disbelief. This human had managed to take one of its full power attacks and survive! This was impossible, especially considering how this person was merely an Explorer.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯s ck mist wound around the other Enlighter beast and ruthlessly flung it away from him and over towards Lu Yin. There was another bang from Lu Yin¡¯s gun, which caused the second Enlighter beast to be absolutely furious. It barely managed to shrink itself in the nick of time and avoided having its brains blown out.

    The bullet brushed past the beast¡¯s head and disappeared into space. The beast was incredibly frightened and did not even dare to look at Lu Yin again. It tore into the void and fled from the scene as quick as it could.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist panted and nced over at Lu Yin. He had thought that Lu Yin was dead meat for sure.

    Lu Yin shook his head a bit, still feeling a bit dizzy.

    Not much more time passed before the battle finished. Thest two Enlighter realm beasts that had assaulted Seasons Fort also retreated.

    There had been five Enlighter realm astral beasts in total. One of them had been dragged down by Liu Qiuyu, one had been killed by Lu Yin, another had been killed by Lu Yin and Topmistbined, and thest two had panicked after discovering what Lu Yin was capable of. They had both realized that they would not be able to block his attacks, and so, they had instead chosen to flee.

    They could tell that Lu Yin had used a secret technique, and while Lu Yin was merely an Explorer, a secret technique was still enough to force them to take him seriously.

    Everyone had believed that this battle would mark the end of Seasons Fort, but to the surprise of all, they¡¯d managed to win.

    The people who survived did not cheer for their victory. Instead, they turned their gaze to the ruins of the fort and mourned in silence. As they looked at the bodies of their friends and families, they began grieving.

    Lu Yin looked at his gun. There were still four shots left.

    Afternding on a part of the shatterednd, Wang Wen emerged from his coffin and began to size Lu Yin up and down once again. ¡°I saw it. You killed two Enlighter beasts.¡±

    Lu Yin spoke in a quiet voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go. The fort is done for. Let¡¯s head to one of the lower five forts.¡±

    Wang Wen nodded. This wasn¡¯t the time to discuss Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments. Wang Wen was most worried that Elder Lohar would not be able to stop Monster Loach and that the Enlighter Amethyst Beast would return. If that happened, then this region of Ironblood Weave would truly be cracked open. While Lu Yin had indeed been amazing, Wang Wen did not believe the newly promoted Explorer would be able to kill a freak whose power level was at 300,000.

    Lu Yin found Aden and Huo Qingshan. Thankfully, although both of them had been badly injured, they were still alive

    Liu Zhan had died. Just like he had said to Lu Yin, he hadn¡¯t been able to survive. However, it hadn¡¯t been just him. Many members of the Liu family had been stationed at the stronghold, and almost all of them had been killed in thest battle. Only a girl called Liu Shasha had survived. Even Liu Sanjian had died.

    Less than ten thousand people had managed to survive, and Wang Wen gathered all of them up. Lu Yin was rather surprised to discover that Long Yun had survived, though he had been quite badly wounded.

    Charon also hadn¡¯t died, and he looked at Lu Yin as though he was looking at a monster.

    ¡°Seasons Fort is about to fall. We¡¯ll head to one of the lower five forts, Brokende Fort¡­¡± Wang Wen sinctly exined the situation and made arrangements for everyone to withdraw.

    Before leaving, Wang Wen went to Lu Yin. ¡°With your achievements this time and your previous mission, you¡¯ll be awarded 130,000 Ironblood points.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°That¡¯s a lot.¡±

    Wang Wen shrugged. ¡°This is something that we had agreed upon beforehand. If you went to the Primal Zone and acted as a guide, then you¡¯d be given 50,000 Ironblood points. But because it was believed that you died, themander and I decided to double it to 100,000. It¡¯s a surprise that you didn¡¯t die, but we can¡¯t just revert the reward. Besides, this time, you killed two Enlighter beasts, one of which you killed on your own and the other through your and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist¡¯sbined efforts. That¡¯s why you only received 30,000 from this battle, and that works out to a total of 130,000.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°If I die, then my contribution doubles. If I had really died, then who would the reward have been given to?¡±

    Wang Wen answered, ¡°Your family.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. This guy definitely knew that Lu Yin didn¡¯t have any family, which must have been why he¡¯d been so generous in doubling Lu Yin¡¯s points at the time.

    ¡°Would you like to exchange your points for items?¡± Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I want star essence.¡±

    ¡°Come with me.¡± Wang Wen led the way and brought Lu Yin to Seasons Fort¡¯s resource warehouse and opened it up. Lu Yin was shocked to discover that he could see no less than 100,000 star essence piled up in small mountains.

    ¡°These are the resources that the Innerverse and Outerverse have supplied to Seasons Fort in exchange for achievement points in battle. You can take as much as you want,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Why is there so much?¡±

    ¡°A lot of defenders die during wars, but just as many people gain achievement points that must be exchanged. This is the iron rule of the military, and honestly, what you see here isn¡¯t actually a lot. Most of the resources were stationed at Ironblood Fort, but unfortunately, when it fell, all of those resources must have been lost and plundered by the Astral Beast Domain,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin nced at Wang Wen. ¡°So you¡¯re telling me to exchange my points right now because I won¡¯t be able to do so in the future, right?¡±

    Wang Wen went silent, but then he nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Give it all to me.¡± Lu Yin was very excited.

    Wang Wen thought it over. ¡°If you store everything here in your cosmic ring, then you¡¯ll be rewarded for your help. I¡¯ll give you 10,000 points. However, you can only take 140,000 star essence, and you better make sure that everything else gets to Brokende Fort.¡±

    ¡°Leave it all to me. I promise that I can do even more in the future,¡± Lu Yin spoke with anticipation.

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°There are rules to follow here, Pawn. There¡¯s no such thing as giving you achievement points in advance. What would other people think? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you have a massive cosmic ring, I wouldn¡¯t even want you to carry all this with you. It¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    Lu Yin found this to be quite a pity. It was evident that even though Wang Wen was afraid of dying, he was still a man of principle.

    Aside from star essence, there were many other items inside the warehouse that could be purchased with Ironblood Points.

    If Seasons Fort had this many resources, then he couldn¡¯t even imagine how much Ironblood Fort must have had. It was a pity that all of it had been taken.

    Come to think of it¡ªdid astral beasts have cosmic rings? They must. He found it a pity that he hadn¡¯t robbed them.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin sat down at the uppermost level of a spacecraft that was floating in outer space. He gazed upon the broken structure that Seasons Fort had been reduced to and sighed. Would they be able to defend Ironblood Weave? He was very confused at this time. With the Void Thunderbeast protecting the gap in the energy stream, it was impossible to destroy that gap. Would he have to continue to rely on his luck with the die forever? That wasn¡¯t realistic.

    Aden headed over and stood behind Lu Yin. ¡°I ran into an ultra-powerful beast in the battle just now. It was only in the beginning stages of the Hunter realm, but it was incredibly powerful. I only managed to receive its attacks by using my nine lined battle force.¡±

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°That¡¯s normal. There are no shortage of monstrous talents in the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°After being locked up by Undying Yushan for nearly a century, I¡¯ve found that the universe really has changed. That beast is apparently on Skymender¡¯s List and is called Cursewind. It¡¯s supposed to beparable to our Ten Arbiters. What are the Ten Arbiters?¡± he asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°A beast on Skymender¡¯s List?¡±

    Aden nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what it said, and it even praised me for stopping it. Haha, I¡¯m a person able to receive an Enlighter¡¯s attacks, but I was praised by a beast in the beginning stages of the Hunter realm.¡± Aden frowned. ¡°I have a feeling that it didn¡¯t even go all out.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°If it really was a creature on Skymender¡¯s List, then your instincts should be right. The human¡¯s Ten Arbiters are ten powerful humans while Skymender¡¯s List is simrly made up of ten powerful beings from the Astral Beast Domain¡­¡±

    Aden quietly listened as Lu Yin exined the two and became increasingly shocked. ¡°The universe changed and gave birth to the Ten Arbiters and the Ten Arbiters Council. That¡¯s unbelievable! I¡¯m surprised that the powerful organizations agreed to allow such power pass on to the younger generation.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know much about this matter either. The higher he climbed, the more confused he became. Although the Ten Arbiters were monsters, were they actually able to match up against Enlighters whose power levels had reached 250,000 or even 300,000? That was impossible, and the great organizations definitely had such powerhouses. Even tiny Northline Flowzone had Northgate Taisui, who was capable of destroying the Ten Arbiters by himself. In that case, why were the Ten Arbiters able to wield so much power?

    In the past, Lu Yin had assumed that all he needed was to gain support from the other organizations. However, ever since he had be the effective ruler of the Great Yu Empire, he had realized that that mindset might be wrong. As the master of an empire, he definitely would not calmly allow someone else to take his power. It made no sense. What right did the Ten Arbiters have to be given such a powerful status?

 Chapter 591: Puzzled

    <h4>Chapter 591: Puzzled</h4>

    Aden walked away. Next, Charon approached Lu Yin and looked at him with aplex expression. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve broken through to the Explorer realm.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing worth congratting,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    ¡°I saw Tian Hou,¡± Charon said. ¡°He was exchanging blows with someone from the Myriad Swords Peak. Even a Hunter can¡¯t deal with that beast.¡±

    Lu Yin did not find that unexpected. Although he had not seen Tian Hou during the battle, that must have simply been because Seasons Fort was toorge. However, he was confident that Tian Hou must have seen him. After all, killing an Enlighter beast was too big of amotion.

    ¡°I really admire you. You were able to defeat such a monster!¡± Charon eximed.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I¡¯ve already killed five Enlighters.¡±

    Charon was speechless, and just walked away silently.

    What was Tian Houpared to an Enlighter?

    Ironblood Weave was not thatrge, so it didn¡¯t take long to go to Brokende Fort from Seasons Fort. The closer the survivors got to the fort, the easier it was for them to panic since it also meant that the astral beasts¡¯ invasion was closer than ever.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second time seeing Brokende Fort, as it was the first ce that he had seen upon entering Ironblood Weave, and now, it might end up being thest thing he saw in the weave.

    Brokende Fort had already made preparations to wee the survivors.

    The scene of Wang Wen and the others arriving at Seasons Fort after the fall of Ironblood Fort was relived here. Everyone at Brokende Fort silently watched the arrival.

    Themander of Brokende Fort was called Han Fei, and he was a nominal mentor from Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Lost Radiance Academy, as well as an Enlighter with a power level of 230,000.

    Once they arrived at Brokende Fort, Wang Wen watched Lu Yin like a hawk until he returned all of the resources that he had been given to transport from Seasons Fort to Brokende Fort¡¯s warehouse. After he made the deposit, he was allowed to take 140,000 star essence from the repository.

    Since Seasons Fort had fallen, the battle system had not been able to update Lu Yin¡¯s ranking, but it was pointless since he had immediately exchanged all of his points away.

    After he handed the resources over, Lu Yin had intended to find a ce to rest and use his newly gained wealth to upgrade something. However, a cultivator appeared to escort him to see Han Fei, who was already apanied by Wang Wen and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was still shrouded in his ck mist, making it impossible to see his face.

    Wang Wen¡¯s face was solemn.

    Han Fei looked at Lu Yin with a stern expression. ¡°Please be seated.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down without much courtesy. He had gained the qualifications to act in such a manner. After all, not even Han Fei had killed more Enlighters than Lu Yin.

    ¡°No matter what methods you employed, being able to kill Enlighter beasts means that you qualify to stand on an equal footing with us. Brother Lu¡ªI¡¯ll call you as such, is that alright?¡± Han Fei asked. Although he looked stern, he was actually unexpectedly polite.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°The astral beasts¡¯ invasion is imminent, and so, I hope that Brother Lu can help us as you did at Seasons Fort and point out where the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones are,¡± Han Fei said solemnly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. Rest assured, Commander.¡±

    Han Fei acknowledged him with a grunt, and then he looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°For now, Brokende Fort only has us two Enlighters. I¡¯ll protect Wang Wen and you¡¯ll protect Brother Lu.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist replied with a hoarse voice, ¡°He does not require any protection.¡±

    Han Fei frowned. ¡°These are direct orders from Elder Lohar. Nothing can be allowed to happen to Brother Lu, and his protection level has been upgraded to the highest grade.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned to hear that Elder Lohar actually valued him so highly. It seemed that his value had been realized and that he no longer needed to cower in front of Enlighters after his breakthrough to the Explorer realm. With his universal armor and the Yu Secret Art, he was confident in facing off against any Enlighter, which was not as simple as being a Realmbreaker. If the Hall of Honor valued Wang Wen for his monstrous intelligence, then they valued Lu Yin for his monstrous battle abilities. One wasbat and the other was strategic.

    Of course, Lu Yin relied on external strength to achieve hisbat power.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist did not dare to defy the orders of a Hall of Honor Elder.

    There was nothing much left to discuss after Han Fei¡¯s announcement, and there was only one thing left to do: fight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current authority was very impressive, and he was allowed to stay at Brokende Fort¡¯smand center or even visit any location he wished.

    He sent <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist away, as he wanted to talk with Wang Wen.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to ask¡ªis Wang really your surname?¡± Lu Yin looked at him.

    Wang Wen¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You¡¯re surnamed Lu.¡±

    ¡°You should know what I¡¯m trying to ask,¡± Lu Yin said gravely.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯ll unfortunately have to be disappointed, because I know nothing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Your intelligence is so high, but you¡¯re going to tell me that you¡¯ve never looked into the secret of the primeval surnames even after so many years? How many are there? And why are they being discriminated against? Why do people with such names have to obtain a legal status? You¡¯ve never looked into any of this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen sighed before helplessly exining, ¡°I¡¯ve investigated, but I''ve found nothing. Let me put it this way. The primeval surnames are even more troublesome than the Neohuman Alliance. At the very least, the Neohuman Alliance is able to survive. Meanwhile, the primeval surnames are different. As soon as someone with an illegal status shows up, they are immediately judged. There are many organizations in the universe that don¡¯t allow anyone with a primeval surname to join them, even if that person has a legal status. Carrying a primeval surname means that you carry an unfair burden.¡±

    ¡°I know all this. What I actually want to ask is if you¡¯ve heard of the Primeval Surname Alliance.¡± Lu Yin stared into Wang Wen¡¯s eyes.

    Wang Wen was astonished. ¡°The Primeval Surname Alliance? There¡¯s an organization like that?¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed, as the shock in Wang Wen¡¯s eyes was genuine, which indicated that he had truly never heard of the alliance. ¡°Do you know which family names are considered to be primeval surnames?¡±

    Wang Wen thought about it. ¡°Wang, Xia, Liu, Lu, Bai. I only know these five, and I¡¯m not sure about any others.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and left.

    Wang Wen looked at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure, muttered to himself, and then softly said to the departing Lu Yin, ¡°Chesspiece Bro, don¡¯t discuss the primeval surnames with others ever again. Never mind it. Regardless, you¡¯re legal.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand and did not reply, but his eyes turned cold. Legal? When he had been judged in the past, there had been a single piece of paper with seventy two people with the Lu surname, which had represented seventy two lives. His legal status had been bought with those seventy two human lives.

    No matter if it was because of his missing memories or for those seventy two lives, Lu Yin had to investigate the secret of the primeval surnames. Why had they been sentenced to such a life, and why did they face such injustice? Also what about Earth and Jupiter?

    Unfortunately, there was no use thinking about such things at the moment. If Ironblood Weave could not repel the astral beast invasion, then the humans in the Outerverse would be exterminated without giving anyone the possibility of escaping.

    Outside themand center, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had hidden himself in a corner in the form of a mass of ck mist.

    Lu Yin nced over at the Enlighter. ¡°I heard that when you defended Seasons Fort, you used a power vessel to kill an old freak with a power level that passed 300,000.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was downcast.

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°If you had such a powerful power vessel, why didn¡¯t you use it in the Primal Zone? If you had done so, we would have destroyed the gap in the energy stream.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist fell silent.

    ¡°If I¡¯ve realized this, then so will Wang Wen, and many others too. Old fart, you bettere up with a good excuse,¡± Lu Yin sneered.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist grew furious. ¡°Kid, despite everything, I¡¯m still your senior! You¡¯d best be more polite to me. Even if you have that secret technique and that gun, I have no reason to fear you as long as I¡¯m prepared.¡±

    ¡°Old fart, you still owe me for that matter from Shuta,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was puzzled. ¡°What are you talking about? You plotted to kill Elder Wu on Shuta, and I didn¡¯t harm you at all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to tell me that the Hunter from Darkstar Gorge who chased after me wasn¡¯t doing so because of the information that you leaked, which must have included how I killed Elder Wu.¡± Lu Yin snorted.

    ¡°I¡¯m a killer, and I value promises and trust. Your methods were never revealed by me. I didn¡¯t speak a single word about them. It¡¯s up to you whether or not you want to believe me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled, and he looked at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. ¡°You weren¡¯t the one to leak that information? Why would I believe that?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, when you defended Seasons Fort, you used that gun more than once, and now, many know your tools. Is there any point for me to lie to you at this point? It wasn¡¯t me who revealed your techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he still did not believe <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist. Did killers really honor trust? But then again, what if it really hadn¡¯t been <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist? Who else could it have been? There had only been a select few who had known what his method for killing Enlighters was, and aside from <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, the rest were all from the Great Yu Empire. Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly thought of someone: Granny Chan. She had been around when he had killed Lei Long.

    Could it have been her? Or was <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist lying?

    ¡°Eh, aren¡¯t you Lu Yin?¡± There was a shout from a girl who looked at Lu Yin in amazement. The girl had a fish on top of her head.

    Lu Yin looked over at her. ¡°Xi Qi?¡±

    ¡°Hey, familiar two-legged beast,¡± the fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head greeted him.

    Xi Qi looked excited upon seeing Lu Yin, and she hurriedly walked over. ¡°Lu Yin, is it really you? That¡¯s wonderful! You aren¡¯t dead.¡±

    Lu Yin was simrly surprised. ¡°You¡¯re here too.¡±

    ¡°Two-legged beast, Lord Fish can tell that you¡¯re decent. Come, you can be a mount for Lord Fish,¡± the fish said.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s head, ¡°Seventh Bro, smack that cheap fish! It even dares to try to make you its mount! Isn¡¯t he insulting this monkey?¡±

    Lu Yin could not be bothered with the fish or the monkey, and he only spoke with Xi Qi. He wanted to learn about the current situation concerning the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse became separated, many people became unreachable, such as Brother Casanova, President Geoffrey, and Master Wusheng. We might never see them again in our lives,¡± Xi Qi said dully.

    ¡°Are there still any Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society right now?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Two-legged beast, Lord Fish is talking to you!¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, kick its tail!¡±

    Xi Qi shook her head. ¡°No. From what I know, all of the registered Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers are either in the Innerverse or the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity.

    ¡°Two-legged beast, you¡¯ve improved! Come over here. Lord Fish will apany you and train you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let this monkey out to ¡®train¡¯ with it.¡±

    ¡°The entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society hase to Ironblood Weave to assist in the defense of the five lower strongholds. Themander hopes that we can mend the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones, but that¡¯s something that can only be done by a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°Two-legged beast, Lord Fish is growing unhappy.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey is also unhappy.¡±

    ¡­

    After a short talk, Lu Yin and Xi Qi went their separate ways, and Wang Wen urged Lu Yin to start updating the locations of the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones.

    When watching Lu Yin leave, Xi Qimented, ¡°He¡¯s strong. Can¡¯t you feel it? After he broke through to the Explorer realm, Lu Yin¡¯s strength has greatly improved, and it doesn¡¯t seem possible to see his limits.¡±

    Atop her head, that fish serenely responded, ¡°His physical strength and domain have undergone a fundamental change, and he¡¯s also gained an unclear strength. Girl, you should follow him. Follow that two-legged beast.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xi Qi was puzzled.

    ¡°Fool! Only by following him will you be able to survive. Lord Fish does not wish to frequently change mounts, so go on. Follow him!¡± The fish pped its tail as it urged the girl.

    Xi Qi was ced in a difficult position and grew embarrassed. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be very good.¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? Just inform him that Lord Fish is recruiting him as a mount! He¡¯ll be more than ted.¡± The fish was pleased with itself.

    Xi Qi was left speechless.

 Chapter 592: Targeted

    <h4>Chapter 592: Targeted</h4>

    One dayter, Brokende Fort rumbled as countless attacksunched out with Lu Yin¡¯s instructions. As they soared into the sky, they destroyed arge batch of Void Wanderers.

    Brokende Fort cheered, as they had never fought such a satisfying battle before.

    Han Fei rxed, as this was how it should be. As long as they destroyed more Void Wanderers, the astral beasts¡¯ invasion would be dyed, and their progress would slow.

    Wang Wen¡¯s face looked unpleasant. ording to his analysis, since the battle had progressed to this step, the astral beasts should be giving it their all. They should not be acting as cautiously as they had been against Seasons Fort. Rather, they should be feeling rushed due to Seasons Fort copsing.

    Wang Wen had not guessed wrongly. Soon, a howl shocked the stronghold as Monster Loach appeared.

    No old freak with a power level that exceeded 300,000 had ever appeared to attack Brokende Fort before. However, Monster Loach had made an exception this time and appeared by itself to take on the attacks of the entire Brokende Fort. This meant that the defenders were unable to quickly eliminate the Void Wanderers, and the battle soon became a drawn out affair.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget since battle was about to break out again.

    ¡°Try to hide yourself. I can¡¯t take care of you,¡± Lu Yin said softly before leaping into the sky.

    Xi Qi looked at Lu Yin¡¯s shrinking figure. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    The fish wagged its tail. ¡°Hide.¡±

    ¡°That can¡¯t be very good.¡± Xi Qi was caught in a dilemma.

    The fish looked up, pleased. ¡°Look at the heavens! Do you see thatrge fish? That¡¯s Lord Fish¡¯s rtive. Rest assured. Anyone can die here except for you.¡±

    Xi Qi looked nkly at Monster Loach. ¡°Rtive? More like a distant ancestor.¡±

    The fish was pleased. ¡°That¡¯s right, an ancestor!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your ancestor?¡±

    ¡°Rubbish! Lord Fish is that one¡¯s ancestor.¡±

    Boom!

    There was a loud explosion as Monster Loach¡¯s tail shattered Brokende Fort¡¯smand center. Han Fei and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist acted in unison to stop it, but they were blocked by the other Enlighter realm astral beasts.

    Wang Wen hid in his coffin again, only to be sent crashing into another part of the fort.

    Lu Yin dashed into space, and his eyes scanned the surroundings. There were four Enlighter beasts here as well as Monster Loach. This was troubling, as his gun only had four shots left, and only two days had passed since he hadst rolled his die. Thus, it was nearly guaranteed that he would not be able to get three pips: Enhance. This was a battle that he had to win as is, or die trying.

    What about Elder Lohar? Why hadn¡¯t he been able to hold back Monster Loach?

    Monster Loach continued rampantly destroying Brokende Fort in a berserk fashion. Against this terrifying beast whose power level had reached 300,000, even the thousands ofs and the hundreds of floating continents that had assembled together were quickly destroyed.

    Lu Yin had nothing left that he could use to threaten Monster Loach, but he could still intimidate the fish. He thought about it for a moment before pointing his gun at Monster Loach.

    Monster Loach suddenly stopped all movement and quickly shrank down until it had vanished into the void. It was gone.

    Lu Yin was stunned. That old bastard couldn¡¯t have been constantly guarding against me, could it? That thing¡¯s too wily.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s back went cold. The void split open, and an Enlighter beast rushed out to crash into his back, sending him tumbling quite far.

    At the same time, another Enlighter beast appeared and swatted out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s performance at Seasons Fort had attracted too much attention, and his ranking on the Celestial Vanquisher''s List had climbed higher and higher. Now, he was the target of countless astral beasts.

    There was another thump, and a wave of Lu Yin¡¯s hand caused a bullet to vanish only to reappear right in the skull of an Enlighter realm beast. It only took a moment for its head to explode.

    But there was something strange¡ªthat Enlighter beast did not die. Instead, another head grew out. This was the creature¡¯s innate gift.

    There was another thump, and Lu Yin was sent flying by its paw.

    Lu Yin struggled to stabilize himself as he panted heavily. He had been targeted by such a strange beast with an exotic gift. It would be difficult to kill it since he did not know what its weakness even was. This would be difficult.

    Against the Enlighter realm beasts, Lu Yin¡¯s only defensive method was his universal armor, but no matter how sturdy it was, it could not resist the constant back-and-forth attacks from two Enlighter realm beasts.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, hurry up and think of a way, or run!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, as he did not know if he would be able to sessfully flee if he made the attempt. The Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh could let him escape into the distance, but was there any point? If Brokende Fort copsed, then the entire Outerverse would be thrust into the apocalypse.

    Crack!

    The Enneadic Wings split apart, and Lu Yin quickly stored them away before pulling out the Ster Ruler. He evaded an attack and then teleported a great distance in an instant. He continued to pant as he stared into the distance.

    The two Enlighter beasts were staring at him. ¡°Human, surrender. The Celestial Beast Empire will wee you.¡±

    ¡°Human, you should feel very honored that you have forced the two of us to deal with an Explorer like yourself, and you have even caused Senior Monster Loach to fear you. However, it all ends here,¡± the other Enlighter beast said.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. His palms were covered with sweat as he kept a wary eye on the two Enlighter beasts. At this moment, he saw a sudden bolt of lightning light up an area in the distance, and he charged towards one of the Enlighter beasts. ¡°Even if I die, you¡¯ll join me! Try me if you don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    The two Enlighter beasts exchanged fearful nces, as even Monster Loach was wary of this Explorer before them. They did not think too much of Lu Yin¡¯s charge and were about to conceal themselves within the void, but then, one of the two Enlighter beasts was suddenly sent flying by a humongous thunder shield. Lu Yin took advantage of this opportunity to fire his gun and use the Yu Secret Art to send the bullet into the other Enlighter¡¯s head.

    Its head exploded again, but it grew back just like before. However, this time, the head was clearly much smaller.

    The Enlighter beast swung out with a paw to repel Aden. Then, it fled into the void to join the first beast. Lu Yin didn¡¯t even get a chance to fire his gun a second time.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity. He was about to speak when a darkness enveloped the area above him. He looked up, and his eyes shrank. Aden simrly stared up in amazement.

    Monster Loach had appeared out of the blue,shing down at the two of them with its tail.

    The two of them were instantly batted away.

    Aden¡¯s thunder shield was shattered by the massive force, and his nine-lined battle force copsed. He spat out a mouthful of blood as hended on a, with no one knowing if he was dead or alive as he fell into a pool of magma.

    Lu Yin was still alright, since Monster Loach¡¯s attack was not able to break through his universal armor¡¯s defenses. Nheless, his brain had been jostled, and he felt dizzy. He crashed into a sturdy object. What could be this tough?

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro? You almost crushed me to death!¡± Wang Wen eximed.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw that, coincidentally, he hadnded on top of Wang Wen¡¯s transparent coffin after being struck by Monster Loach.

    In the heavens, Monster Loach released a tremendous roar, and many covered their ears in pain.

    Right at this moment, an elder in a white gown appeared in front of Monster Loach and pressed both hands against the beast¡¯s head. The elder then pushed Monster Loach towards the danger zone formed by the numerous sourceboxes.

    ¡°Old man Lohar!¡± Monster Loach roared as its two whiskers swept towards the old man.

    The elder allowed the whiskers to thrash against him, and fresh blood flowed down from the corners of his mouth, but he still pushed Monster Loach into the invisible danger zone formed by the sourceboxes.

    Every stronghold had a simr setup of sourceboxes that had been arranged to create a defensive perimeter, but unfortunately, after countless years, holes had appeared in the defenses.

    If it had been pushed into the danger zones that had protected Ironblood Fort, Monster Loach would have been in trouble, but the danger of Brokende Fort¡¯s sourceboxes was not nearly as threatening.

    ¡°Old man, why are you here?¡± Monster Loach shouted.

    The elder stared at Monster Loach. ¡°I killed that Amethyst Beast.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! That freak¡¯s defense is even greater than mine¡¯s!¡± Monster Loach shouted.

    The elder sneered as a strange weapon appeared in his hand that he aimed at Monster Loach. ¡°You¡¯re next.¡±

    Monster Loach¡¯s massive eyes went wide in bewilderment.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw the two¡¯s interactions. When he saw the elder¡¯s rune lines, they seemed to be overflowing into the surrounding area. The man¡¯s strength was currently even greater than Monster Loach¡¯s, but the rune lines were also quickly dissipating. Could this be Elder Lohar? He had been injured, and not lightly at that.

    Inparison, Monster Loach wasn¡¯t very injured, and if the two really fought, Elder Lohar would not be able to defeat Monster Loach in his current state.

    However, Monster Loach was too timid, and after being intimidated by the old man, it retreated.

    The battle ended soon after Elder Lohar appeared.

    Lu Yin let out a breath, as he had been targeted during this battle and prevented from disying any of his formidable strength. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had only focused on fleeing during the conflict, and Han Fei had done his best to hold back an Enlighter realm beast. If not for Elder Lohar intimidating Monster Loach into backing off, the oue of the battle would have been bleak.

    ¡°You can scare it once but not twice,¡± Wang Wen grudginglymented as he stepped out of his coffin.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You could tell?¡±

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°You guys will never be able to understand the superiority of intellect. It¡¯s something on a whole other level.¡±

    At this time, Elder Lohar was not the only new arrival, and numerous other spacecraft started to appear at Brokende Fort. They brought with them news that Giantghost Fort had fallen.

    Yellowsoil Fort¡¯s fall had closely followed the copse of Seasons Fort, and all the survivors had retreated back to the five lower strongholds. Lu Yin had made a special point to check on whether Wendy Yushan was still listed on the rankings, and that she was fine. Now, he had learned that Giantghost Fort had also copsed.

    The three middle strongholds had all fallen, and now, the Outerverse¡¯sst line of defense was these five lower strongholds.

    Almost half of Brokende Fort had crumbled during the battle. The survivors from Giantghost Fort were considered reinforcements, but in a simr manner, the astral beasts that had attacked Giantghost Fort would also move to join the assault against Brokende Fort.

    Giantghost Fort originally had four Enlighters stationed there, and they were Commander Long Ke, Elder Qing Han, Huo Houye, and Meng Ningge. Of them, only Huo Houye had survived, and the others had all been killed in action.

    Elder Lohar had bluffed Monster Loach into backing off, as the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast had not died.

    Because of this lie, although they had driven back Monster Loach, the next battle would definitely arrive quicker than normal, and they would likely only have one or two days before battle broke out once more.

    Although it had already proven to be ineffective, Lu Yin still continued to update the positions of the gaps in the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger zones. Due to the previous battle, his Ironblood Points had shot up into the top fifty once again.

    During this most recent battle at Brokende Fort, Lu Yin had held back Enlighter beasts, and he had even made Monster Loach nervous. These contributions were not insignificant, but since he had not killed any Enlighter beasts during this battle, he only managed to earn a few thousands of points. Still, they were enough to propel him up into the top fifty of the Ironblood Points rankings.

    Having his name in the list meant that Lu Yin was still alive. He did not exchange his points this time, and he hoped that Wendy Yushan as well as anyone else who cared about him would see the information that he was fine.

    Aden had sustained heavy injuries during this battle, but fortunately, Huo Qingshan had pulled him out at a critical moment. Otherwise, Aden might have met his end. At this moment, he was being treated.

    At Brokende Fort¡¯smand center, Commander Han Fei, Wang Wen, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, and Huo Houye were all in a meeting.

    ¡°Invite Brother Lu here,¡± Han Fei ordered.

    Huo Houye frowned, as he was aware that this ¡°Brother Lu¡± to whom Han Fei was referring to was Lu Yin. The genius had be an Explorer by now, and he had even caused two Enlighter realm beasts to gang up on him. Even if Huo Houye was an Enlighter himself, he had to admire this kid, as he was indeed a freak. Even when the Ten Arbiters were Explorers, they had not been able to aplish such things!

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to summon him right now. He needs to constantly observe the holes. The Astral Beast Domain must be feeling very anxious about this invasion, or else they would not have forced that cowardly Monster Loach into the vanguard position. Something must have happened in the Astral Beast Domain, so let Lu Yin continue his observations.¡±

    Han Fei nodded. A few of them had also sensed the urgency of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, and the gathered experts started to discuss their subsequent battle ns. They wanted to know which astral beasts had destroyed Giantghost Fort, as well as what abilities and innate gifts they had so that they could make some preparations for theing battle.

 Chapter 593: Kong Shiâ€™s Hopes

    <h4>Chapter 593: Kong Shi¡¯s Hopes</h4>

    In another part of the stronghold, due to Wang Wen¡¯s orders, Brokende Fort¡¯s warehouse was opened. Everybody in the top fifty of the Ironblood Point rankings were able to obtain some free resources, and the top ten were even able to receive some power vessels.

    Those of Ironblood Weave knew that, once they fell, everything was over. Themanders knew that they may as well give out some more resources to the defenders so that they could kill more beasts.

    Lu Yin was also able to get his hands on some resources, which amounted to several thousand star essence. It was quite a bit for someone like him who had nearly dropped out of the top rankings.

    But he did not care about any of that at the moment. Instead, he was concerned about what had happened to the sourceboxes that had been circling around Seasons Fort like satellites now that the stronghold had fallen.

    ¡°You mean those sourceboxes? Gone. The stronghold has fallen, so those sourceboxes must have been buried along with the ruins,¡± Liu Miaomiao replied as she passed Lu Yin his share of the resources. She was a Hunter with a power level of 110,000, and she was also someone who had survived the fall of Seasons Fort, and like Lu Yin, she had also retreated to Brokende Fort.

    Lu Yin felt it was a pity. ¡°But those are sourceboxes.¡±

    Liu Miaomiao replied. ¡°We¡¯re well aware of that fact, and we know that they¡¯re priceless. It¡¯s possible that some of them hold wonderful treasures that would shock the heavens after being unlocked, but no one has the ability to do so. Only those at the level of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker can unlock them, and anyone else can just forget about it. It¡¯s possible that there isn¡¯t such a Lockbreaker left in the entire Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and agreed. Those sourceboxes had possessed a natural formless danger zone, which made it impossible to bring them away, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that they did not have enough Spiritual Thread to do so. Hence, they could only be left in the fortress¡¯s ruins. Perhaps in the future, Ironblood Weave would be rebuilt, and the sourceboxes would be used again. Or perhaps the Astral Beast Domain would take them away. Since they were able to see through the holes in the danger zones, they must have Lockbreakers among their members as well.

    Unfortunately, the separation of the Innerverse and Outerverse had been too sudden. Otherwise, the powerful forces of the Innerverse definitely would not have allowed those sourceboxes to be lost.

    Liu Miaomiao moved away, as she still had to deliver resources to more people. Another woman showed up in front of Lu Yin, and the number of rune lines he saw from her were very close to what he saw from Aden.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kong Shi,¡± the girl indifferently introduced before looking at Lu Yin strangely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°So you are Kong Shi?¡±

    She had a cold appearance, and although she looked young, she was actually from a generation that was senior even to the Ten Arbiters. More importantly, she had been a part of the previous Ten Arbiters Council. No¡ªbefore the Ten Arbiters, it had been called the Universe Youth Council, and she had been one of their councilors.

    ¡°The universe has undergone great changes, which led to the abrupt rise of the Ten Arbiters. However, those ten freaks aren¡¯t the only ones who appeared, as there¡¯s also your generation,¡± Kong Shi said as she looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression.

    Lu Yin did not know what she was trying to say to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve exchanged blows with Arbiter Zhenwu before,¡± she quietly told him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed. ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Kong Shi raised a hand and tapped her forehead with her index finger. ¡°One finger. He used just one finger to crush me. At that time, he was just an Explorer, while I was already a peak Cruiser with a power level of 90,000.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Someone bing a councilor was not just a reflection of their individual power level. Any member of the younger generation who was able to be a councilor had to be a monstrous genius as well. Since Kong Shi had be a councilor, then it meant that she was also a monster among monsters, and fighting across realms was something that was as easy for her as taking a sip of water. Despite that, she had been defeated by Arbiter Zhenwu while he was crossing realms, and even then, he had defeated her with a single finger. This was not as simple as a mere disparity between the two.

    ¡°Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters has exchanged blows with almost all the previous councilors, though the oues were all generally the same. The Ten Arbiters truly have the ability to match their reputations.¡± Kong Shi¡¯s tone turned gloomy, as if she was reminiscing about something.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Lu Yin felt strange.

    Kong Shi looked at him. ¡°The Ten Arbiters brought despair to us, so I hope that I can see them fall into despair in turn.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°You think I can do that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If you rely on foreign objects, then you should be able to. Even the Ten Arbiters will find it very difficult to kill an Enlighter in their present state, but you have already done it. However, the Ten Arbiters will not necessarily give you an opportunity to rely on such objects, so I wish to see your own power.¡± Kong Shi looked at Lu Yin with a grave expression.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Your generation was defeated, so now you¡¯ve ced your hopes on my generation redeeming yours?¡±

    ¡°Through battling with me, you can directly observe the disparity between you and those in the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings. Cool Sis is ranked tenth, so don¡¯t you want to know the difference?¡± Kong Shimented softly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as this indeed interested him. He truly did want to evaluate his current personal strength, as well as see how far he could go at this time. The scene where Wendy Yushan and he had been forced to work together to deal with Nightking Gu was still fresh in his mind, but that had happened more than half a year ago. Now that he had transformed and be an Explorer, he wanted to know how great the disparity still was.

    Unfortunately, there was an imminent battle with the astral beasts on the horizon, so doing such a thing now was meaningless. He turned to leave.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. No matter what the oue ends up being, my Ironblood Points will belong to you,¡± Kong Shi loudly offered.

    Lu Yin turned right back around. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Kong Shi looked resolute, as she did not care about the battle or even about the future. She only wanted to see Arbiter Zhenwu defeated. No¡ªshe wanted to see him crushed. She wanted to personally witness him experience for once the sorrow that he had brought to her and the other members of her generation.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, this woman was crazy. Entrusting one¡¯s hopes to someone else was a sign of the weak. However, that didn¡¯t matter; he just wanted her Ironblood Points.

    As the human Enlighters had died one after another, Kong Shi¡¯s ranking on the list had entered the top ten, which meant that she should have tens of thousands of points, and he did not want to let such a sum get away.

    The ground dried up as cracks spread out.

    Kong Shi burst forth with all of her strength as a Hunter, but she could control it to only affect an extremely small area. This created a visible, forcefield-like vortex of energy that crashed straight towards Lu Yin. Perhaps in her eyes, Lu Yin looked like Arbiter Zhenwu from the past.

    With a whoosh, her overwhelming star energy coalesced before striking out at Lu Yin. His gaze trembled, and he casually waved a hand to activate the Yu Secret Art. The star energy attack instantly vanished only to suddenly crash back towards Kong Shi. She was shocked, and she quickly tore through the void to evade her own attack. A massive ditch appeared where she had just been standing.

    Green stripes wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s body and covered him, before blue stripes appeared on top. This was seven lined battle force.

    Back on Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had managed to break through andprehend six lined battle force, and about half a year had passed since then. Now that he had be an Explorer, his physical body had undergone a fundamental transformation, and so, his battle force had also broken through to the next level, reaching seven lines. He now possessed the same level of battle force as Long Yun.

    Kong Shi appeared behind Lu Yin and tapped out with a finger, as she wanted to be like Arbiter Zhenwu from back then and crush Lu Yin with an overpowering strength. Thus, she made a bid to destroy him with one finger.

    For a peak Hunter, they could defeat even a Cruiser, not to mention an Explorer, with one finger. Lu Yin stood firm in the same ce, and he simrly raised a single finger that he wrapped his Fatesand around before colliding with Kong Shi¡¯s finger.

    The two fingers shed in midair, causing a storm to burst out in all directions, tearing the void apart. Countless spatial cracks spread out like raindrops and shattered across the ground.

    From a distance, many looked over at themotion and were stunned. They had felt a powerful strength sweep past them and found it difficult to breathe.

    There was a thump, and Kong Shi was knocked back several steps. She had been pushed back by Lu Yin, and she looked at him in disbelief. After all, she was a peak Hunter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s feet were pressed into the ground, and he pulled his finger back as his lips curled up. The seven lined battle force had supplemented the explosion of his full physical strength along with the Fatesand, and thebined force was able to even knock back a peak Hunter like Kong Shi, who was not just some average Hunter.

    The two had only fought for a brief moment, but even Han Fei and the others in themand post looked over.

    In particr, the collision between their fingers had shocked many people.

    Some had assumed that Lu Yin could only demonstrate any form of ability by relying on external strength and that he had merely learned the Yu Secret Art to develop his methods of killing Enlighters. Now, it seemed that, even if he relied solely on his own strength, he was able to cross multiple realms and rival a Hunter. This was a battle where he was crossing two realms.

    Overwhelmed, Kong Shi looked at Lu Yin and said, ¡°Seven lined battle force, a powerful physical strength, and¡­ is that Fatesand?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You actually recognize Fatesand?¡±

    A sword appeared in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to get serious now.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the soil beneath him started swirling before flying up into the sky. An invisible pressure wave rippled out around him, increasing its area until it enveloped Kong Shi. It then released an indescribable pressure. This was Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    When she saw this, Kong Shi¡¯s eyes trembled, and she unleashed her domain as well in an attempt to crush Lu Yin¡¯s. However, she was soon amazed once again. Lu Yin¡¯s domain was very sturdy and was as deep as an ocean.

    After his breakthrough to the Explorer realm, although Lu Yin did not know why, his domain had be very terrifying. No matter how hard he had trained his domain in the past, it had never surpassed the realm of merely being a secondary support tool. But at present, it contained a strength that Lu Yin could not understand, and it seemed as if his domain¡¯s potential had been fully unlocked. This was his first time truly utilizing it.

    The key detail was that he felt like, at any moment, he could turn this domain into something that could crush everything: a forcefield.

    This sensation was very simr to when he had broken through to the Melder realm, as after that breakthrough, his physical strength had be exceptionally strong. This time, it was his domain that had been reinforced. What exactly had happened to his body during his breakthrough?

    As a former Universe Youth Councilor, as well as a current powerhouse, Kong Shi¡¯s domain was also able to be a forcefield. It condensed into a sword tip that sliced everything apart, but it was still suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and its cutting edge started to fade.

    ¡°How can your domain be so powerful and solid?¡± Kong Shi was astonished.

    Lu Yin did not know how to answer, as he truly didn¡¯t know himself. ¡°Practice.¡±

    Kong Shi looked agonized, as this was the most monstrous youth of his generation. He was unequaled among his peers, and his power was a bit too exaggerated. Although his true power might not be enough to defeat her, it would not take him long before he reached the same level as the Ten Arbiters¡¯ back then, and then, he would be able to easily crush her.

    Kong Shi suddenly withdrew when she felt the power from Lu Yin¡¯s domain, as she had no desire to continue fighting.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°No more?¡±

    Kong Shi looked miserable, as her generation was bound to be forgotten. She was still one of the top powerhouses from her generation, but she could not defeat the top ten experts on the Top 100 Rankings, let alone the Ten Arbiters who stood above them. At this moment, she was feeling extremely stifled by the person in front of her, and she had lost her confidence in facing him.

    The only thing that left her with any gratification was that this youth actually did have the potential to defeat Arbiter Zhenwu, as Lu Yin was way too freakishly strong. He even gave her the feeling that he was stronger than Arbiter Zhenwu had been as an Explorer. Back then, Arbiter Zhenwu had faced her when she had been a Cruiser, whereas this youth was facing her as a peak Hunter.

    ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll be able to live through this war and survive to return to the Innerverse,¡± Kong Shi said to Lu Yin. She then transferred all of her Ironblood Points to him and left.

    ¡°Wait a second! How¡¯s my powerpared to Cool Sis?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

 Chapter 594: Desperation

    <h4>Chapter 594: Desperation</h4>

    Kong Shi fell silent for a moment when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s question before finally saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know. The strength that you showed today is enough to prevent her from defeating you, but neither are you able to defeat her.¡±

    And with those words, she left.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. He had not been confident about his chances of defeating Kong Shi. After all, she was a peak Hunter, and she had not used a single battle technique or innate gift during their spar, only her raw strength as a Hunter. On the other hand, Lu Yin had used his full physical strength, Fatesand, and domain. Due to this discrepancy, he believed that his current strength was not enough to defeat a peak Hunter like Kong Shi who surely had an excellent innate gift.

    He might be able to defeat an average Hunter, but his chances of beating Kong Shi were slim. At the very least, he would not be defeated by her, though that was not due to his universal armor, but rather the Yu Secret Art. With the secret technique, Kong Shi¡¯s attacks could be easily negated, and Lu Yin had alsoprehended the Secret Sidestep technique.

    Kong Shi had also indicated that Cool Sis, who was ranked tenth on the Top 100 Rankings, was able to rival Kong Shi herself. So was Cool Sis a Realmbreaker then? This also seemed to imply that she was not a regr Realmbreaker either and that there was arge gap between those in the top ten of the rankings and those below them.

    If Lu Yin faced off against Nightking Gu again, then it would not be too difficult for Lu Yin to win. Even so, Kong Shi believed that Lu Yin was not capable of defeating Cool Sis, which showed that the disparity between them was great.

    Lu Yin had previously guessed that, once he broke through and became an Explorer, it might be possible for him to enter the top fifty, whereas Wendy Yushan had estimated that he would be able to enter the top thirty. Reality had proven both of them wrong; Lu Yin was actually able to rival the top ten, and this was when his domain was notpletely unleashed. Moreover, he still had one hidden move left up his sleeves, though he didn¡¯t know if it could actually be used. Once it was activated, its might would likely be very terrifying. It was the finger from his dreams.

    Once again, Lu Yin stepped into the top ten of the Ironblood Points rankings. The moment his name reappeared, it left An Shaohua speechless, who was currently stationed in another one of the five lower strongholds. He felt like Lu Yin was just ying around; why else would he keep jumping up and down through the rankings unlike anyone else.

    Yue Xianzi had aplex expression, as this person only became more unfathomable.

    Wendy Yushan smiled; everything else was fine as long as he was still alive.

    Another battle broke out again unexpectedly. When the astral beasts appeared in the gaps of the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger zones, a huge wave of attacks burst forth. However, they were all blocked by an Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast. The creature already had an impressive defense to begin with, and despite it only having a power level of around 200,000, Elder Lohar was the only person in Ironblood Weave who could fight against it.

    Countless attacks smothered the Amethyst Beast, but they were all to no avail.

    Then, arge group of Void Wanderers appeared.

    At themand center, Wang Wen gave the order, ¡°Smash them.¡±

    The next moment, dozens of grams of pyrolyte were thrown towards the invading astral beasts. This pyrolyte had belonged to the ze Realm.

    Explosions with a force that could rival attacks with power levels in the hundreds of thousands shook the region, tearing space apart as if it was a curtain, creating countless ckholes.

    With a furious roar, the Enlighter Amethyst Beast smashed its way directly towards Brokende Fort. At the same time, Monster Loach appeared and erupted with the full force of its power level of 300,000 as it also crashed towards Brokende Fort.

    Elder Lohar shot up into the sky and pushed the Amethyst Beast back before attacking Monster Loach.

    Countless Void Wanderers were eliminated, but more continued to appear in an unceasing wave, and each one of them carried numerous groups of beasts with them, many of which were space-exploring powerhouses.

    Experts like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, Huo Houye, Posion me, Anfield, Kong Shi, Liu Miaomiao, and Huo Qingshan all dashed into outer space.

    Lu Yin donned his universal armor and simrly leaped up as seven lined battle force erupted from his body. Nearby, Long Yun also charged upwards, though he was a bit stunned when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s battle force. Not much time had passed, but this kid had already upgraded his battle force. What a monster!

    There were five Enlighter beasts among the invaders. Han Fei, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, and Huo Houye took on three while Elder Lohar single-handedly dealt with the Amethyst Beast and Monster Loach. The Hunters, like Kong Shi, along with Poison me, restricted one while Wang Wen had Lu Yin take on the final one.

    Wang Wen had his own n of defending while the astral beasts simrly had their own invasion strategy. This was especially so after encountering someone as unconventional as Lu Yin, a human who had all sorts of sneaky tricks. One particr Enlighter beast had already made preparations for him, and it formed a mass of shadow that attacked the new Explorer.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, be careful! That¡¯s a Shadowbeast!¡± The Ghost Monkey became frantic.

    Lu Yin subconsciously dodged, but his head was still hit by a strong force, and his entire body was sent flying.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°A Shadowbeast! It¡¯s an astral beast that can hide in the shadows andunch attacks from there. It has no material body, so they¡¯re very difficult to face,¡± the monkey said solemnly.

    Lu Yin frowned, ¡°A Shadowbeast? How do we deal with it?¡±

    ¡°Let me think,¡± the monkey replied.

    There was another thump as Lu Yin was struck once again. The Shadowbeast was unlike the other Enlighter realm beast, as most of them could only unleash sneak attacks by hiding in the void. But this particr beast only needed to hide within Lu Yin¡¯s shadow, and its fighting style would be a problem for any Enlighter to face, not just Lu Yin.

    During this invasion, the Shadowbeast¡¯sbat strength surpassed even that of Monster Loach and the Amethyst Beast.

    The beasts had made their own preparations by bringing the Shadowbeast to deal with Lu Yin.

    If not for his sturdy universal armor, Lu Yin would have been doomed at the beginning of the fight and wouldn¡¯t have even been able to take a single hit.

    ¡°I got it! Seventh Bro, find a ce without any light sources! As long as there are no shadows, that thing won¡¯t be able to get close to you,¡± the monkey shouted.

    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Lu Yin cursed, as he had thought of that long ago. But the heavens were huge with light sources everywhere. How could he find such a ce?

    ¡°BLACKHOLE!¡± the monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin looked up. Many ckholes had been created by the detonated pyrolyte, and there was definitely no light to be found within them. Thus, no shadows could be produced there either. However, Lu Yin was too scared to enter a ckhole.

    ¡°Rx, Seventh Bro, those aren¡¯t real ckholes. The sky in this ce is false.¡± The monkey paused briefly before hurriedly continuing to say, ¡°A destructive strength with a power level in the mere several hundred thousands isn¡¯t enough to create a true ckhole that can swallow everything. In fact, the ckholes created from a¡¯s explosion isn¡¯t real either. They all belong to the surfaceyer. Don¡¯t forget¡ªeven a ckhole-grade Aurora can pass through these ckholes, let alone you.¡±

    Lu Yin ferociously dashed towards the ckholes. ording to the rune lines that he could see, they were not much of a threat to him.

    A shadow appeared before him, and Lu Yin casually waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. At the point directly in front of him, the shadow attack missed, and it only managed to shatter someyers of the void.

    The Shadowbeast clearly wanted to stop Lu Yin from entering a ckhole. However, Lu Yin managed to rely on the Yu Secret Art and the Secret Sidestep Technique to shake off the Shadowbeast. He then directly charged into one of the ckholes.

    In an instant, the gravity nearly caused him to lose control of his body. He thought of Tian Hou, as that freak was essentially a living ckhole.

    The Shadowbeast¡¯s rune lines neared Lu Yin, and the creature dashed into the ckhole right behind Lu Yin. It had no intention of letting Lu Yin off.

    There was not a single ray of light in the ckhole, and it incessantly tried to pull Lu Yin into an unknown space. He filled his eyes with star energy and looked around him, only to see that even rune lines were distorted in this ce. He could not track the Shadowbeast¡¯s position at all.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, think of a way to attack the Shadowbeast, or else it¡¯ll just toy with you until you die!¡± The monkey was flustered.

    Lu Yin was simrly anxious. He was in a position where all he could do was evade the Shadowbeast¡¯s attacks. However, with the size of this ckhole, he would eventually be hit.

    Any attack from Lu Yin would be too weak to do anything to an Enlighter, and only his gun would be effective. ¡°Monkey, aren¡¯t you a shadow as well? Can you hide in its shadow?¡±

    The monkey was stumped. ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Try!¡± Lu Yin then dashed out of the ckhole since it was useless to keep hiding within it, especially since he could not remain hidden for long.

    After Lu Yin emerged, the Shadowbeast left the ckhole as well. Its boundless rune lines immediately vanished, only to suddenly strike at Lu Yin. The beast had hidden itself within Lu Yin¡¯s shadow again.

    At this moment, the Ghost Monkey appeared. While Lu Yin was being attacked, the monkey locked onto the Shadowbeast¡¯s position. Lu Yin fired his gun, but the Shadowbeast had already disappeared. It was aware of how dangerous the gun was, so it was very cautious. However, the monkey also turned into a shadow andtched onto the Enlighter¡¯s shadow. So, when the beast reappeared, Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The bullet vanished, only to reappear and strike the Shadowbeast. The Enlighter had been hit. Even though its body was immaterial, that did not mean that it couldn¡¯t be hit. As long as its shadow was hit, it would be simrly affected.

    The Shadowbeast did not expect for Lu Yin to have a tamed beast in his body, much less one that could follow and reveal its location.

    That shot wasn¡¯t enough to kill the beast by itself, but it was certainly enough to scare it off, and the beast immediately distanced itself from Lu Yin.

    The Ghost Monkey reintegrated into Lu Yin¡¯s body afterwards. ¡°Seventh Bro, I never thought that there woulde a day when this monkey would help you deal with an Enlighter!¡±

    Lu Yin stored his gun away and sighed. There was only one shot left. ¡°That Shadowbeast won¡¯t give up. Get ready to stop it again.¡±

    The monkey was excited. ¡°Alright!¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the monkey, and his eyes shed. This monkey still thought that Lu Yin had not caught on to what he had said about the false sky. The monkey clearly knew something, but he had never borated.

    Battles were erupting in every corner of Brokende Fort, and Lu Yin could not afford to wait for when the Shadowbeast came looking for trouble again. He still had one bullet left in his gun, and he wanted to use the Yu Secret Art to help the Enlighters deal with the beasts. However, at that moment, he saw that Wang Wen was surrounded by beasts and two Hunter beasts at that.

    Lu Yin quickly dashed over.

    ¡°SAVE ME! SAVE ME!¡± Wang Wen shouted urgently.

    The two giant Hunter beasts were angrily trying to smash the coffin apart, but they quickly realized that they couldn¡¯t do a thing to it. Then, one of them opened its mouth and moved to swallow the coffin whole.

    Wang Wen¡¯s face turned deathly white.

    Two attacksnded on the beast from above: one was sword qi and the other was a ze of fire. They came from the Myriad Swords Peak¡¯s senior disciple Linley and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, respectively. The two had acted to deal with the Hunter beasts, which allowed Wang Wen to breathe easy again.

    Linley wasn¡¯t able to hold out for long before being sent flying by one of the beasts¡¯ tails; his sword qi had not been able to harm the beast in the least.

    ¡°Fiery Lilies¡ªKarmic me Sword.¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose released a fierce shout as mes that looked like a hundred blossoming lilies appeared and enveloped the two Hunter realm beasts. After that, sword qi streaked by to pierce the two Hunter beasts before tearing through the void.

    Linley spat out a mouthful of blood from where he wasying on the ground. He then watched on expectantly.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose was panting heavily as she red in front of herself.

    As the burning lilies dissipated, the two Hunter beasts reappeared and howled at the sky.

    The burning light in <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose¡¯s eyes dimmed, as her attack had ended up being ineffective. She was still a littlecking since she did not have much of the Karmic mes.

    Linley looked devastated. Were they going to die?

    Wang Wen screamed, ¡°Get away! You guys can¡¯t stop them.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose¡¯s body swayed. Herst attack had been made with all of her strength. Run? She couldn¡¯t escape, and the most unfortunate part was that she still had not tasted enough men!

    There was a deafening howl as one of the Hunter beasts snapped at <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, Linley, and Wang Wen, looking like it wanted to swallow all three of them in one gulp.

    The giant shadow shrouded the three of them, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose looked up into the beast¡¯s mouth. It had a horrible stench. She had never imagined that she would die like this.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of them and raised a fist to release a punch.

    Boom!

    An intense shockwave swept out, sting <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose and the others back. The coffin flipped end over end nonstop until it finally crashed into a wall in the distance.

 Chapter 595: Terrifying Cursewind

    <h4>Chapter 595: Terrifying Cursewind</h4>

    The smoke dispersed, and when <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose and the other two looked up, they saw that the massive Hunter realm beasts had been beaten back a kilometer. There was a figure standing tall in the sky above them, directly facing off against the two Hunter realm beasts.

    ¡°Bro-ther-Pawn.¡± Tears of joy leaked out of Wang Wen¡¯s eyes.

    Linley was stunned. Lu Yin? Wendy¡¯s fianc¨¦e?

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose¡¯s eyes also revealed surprise, as it was actually that person.

    Lu Yin shook his right arm. He had managed to rush over in time, but that Hunter realm beast¡¯s bones were incredibly hard.

    He looked back and saw that Wang Wen was fine, and his eyes were then instinctively drawn to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose. She had an alluring figure, and she was even dressed in clothes with fiery colors. Was she afraid of not being attractive enough even on the battlefield? Lu Yin had seen this woman release the Karmic me earlier, which must mean that she was from the ze Realm.

    Roar!

    With a snarl, the two Hunter realm beasts simultaneously charged straight at Lu Yin. He took a deep breath. There was no need to rely on his own strength when up against Enlighter realm beasts since he was relying on the Yu Secret Art and his universal armor, but against Hunter realm beasts, he needed to use his own power. He thought about the situation for a moment before blue, seven lined battle force rippled out and covered his body. He removed the suppression of the three grains of Fatesand, and his physical strength fully erupted.

    There was a soft thump as Lu Yin suddenly appeared in front of the two Hunter realm beasts with extreme speed and pressed down with a palm. ¡°Thirty Stacks Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± He had increased his Shockwave Palm to the hundredfold threshold, and this attack was also reinforced with his seven lined battle force and terrifying physical strength. This was the strongest attack that he could unleash at this moment.

    The beasts raised their paws and swatted back at him.

    With a bang, the ground trembled, and the void shattered. Lu Yin had just used his Explorer realm strength to tear through the void, and his enormous physical strength directly crushed one of the beasts¡¯ ws before mming against its skull. At the same time, Lu Yin was struck by the other beast¡¯s w, and his body smashed towards the ground like a meteor.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose watched on in shock. Could he have died after having been swatted by a Hunter beast?

    Wang Wen was not afraid in the least bit. Lu Yin had taken part in Enlighter level battles, so just a mere Hunter beast could not pose a problem for him.

    The beast that Lu Yin had pped in the head trembled for a moment before crumpling to the ground. It was already dead as its brain had been smashed into pieces.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose was stunned. One strike had killed a Hunter realm astral beast; this kid had be extremely terrifying after bing an Explorer.

    Lu Yin panted heavily and raised his body from underground. The Hunter realm beast that he had just killed only had a power level between 110,000 and 120,000, so it couldn¡¯t evenpare to a Hunter like Kong Shi. It was not a surprise at all that he had been able to destroy such a beast. And beyond this beast, if Lu Yin had managed to hit an Enlighter in the head, then even that supreme powerhouse would not have a good time.

    The other Hunter beast red at Lu Yin, but then its body suddenly shrank, and the four people watched on as it took the shape of a human before leaping at Lu Yin. It was obviously scared of Lu Yin hitting it in the head, so it had panickedly reduced its size to make it a smaller target.

    Lu Yin sneered. Did the beast really think that it could deal with him so easily? It was underestimating himself.

    The Hunter beast moved extremely quickly, and it tore through the void to strike at Lu Yin with its ws. But Lu Yin effortlessly dodged its attacks. The Hunter beast could not touch him as long as he had the Secret Sidestep Technique. Suddenly, Lu Yin stopped moving. The Hunter realm beast appeared to be thrilled at this development, and its ws immediately sliced towards Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin reached out to grab its arm. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    He then raised a leg and mmed his knee into the beast¡¯s abdomen. It spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Human, why is your strength so frightening?¡±

    Lu Yin was about to hit it a second time, but the beast quickly severed its own arm and retreated as its blood sttered across the ground. It stared nervously at Lu Yin, as it had never encountered such a scary human with such a formidable strength before.

    Some distance away from the battle, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose and Linley were both stunned. By himself, Lu Yin had managed to kill one Hunter realm astral beast and suppress another. This was mind blowing to the two of them.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, be careful!¡± Wang Wen shouted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he evaded an attack with the Secret Sidestep Technique. A shadow appeared where he had just been standing, though its attack had missed.

    Lu Yin had noticed the shadow long ago, or more urately, he had noticed its rune lines. ¡°Tian Hou, it¡¯s been quite a long time. It looks like you¡¯ve learned to sneak up on people.¡±

    It was Tian Hou who had sneak attacked Lu Yin.

    ¡°Lu Yin, I haven¡¯t seen you for quite a while, but you¡¯ve be even more fearsome,¡± Tian Hou said. He then struck out at Lu Yin. This was his Phantom Soul Strike, which was the same as Lu Yin¡¯s Shockwave Palm. The technique grew stronger the more phantom palms there were.

    Lu Yin had no intention of backing off, and hended a single palm against Tian Hou¡¯s body, the impact smacking Tian Hou through the sky until he crashed into the ground and created arge crater.

    ¡°It¡¯s still useless.¡± Lu Yin was stunned, as his palm strike had been very powerful.

    Conversely, Tian Hou¡¯s Phantom Soul Strike had done nothing when it struck Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    At this moment, the Hunter realm beast attacked Lu Yin in unison with Tian Hou. Lu Yin was about to retaliate, but then, a hurricane suppressed him from above and wiped everything out.

    A blue lion towered high in the void and coldly looked down. It was Cursewind of Skymender¡¯s List.

    Lu Yin moved away from his battle with Tian Hou and looked up at Cursewind. He furrowed his brows as he could see that the blue lion¡¯s rune lines surpassed those of the two Hunter realm beasts that he had been fighting previously. In fact, they even surpassed what he had seen from Kong Shi. The blue lion was indeed an expert worthy of being on Skymender¡¯s List.

    What made Lu Yin the most afraid was not an Enlighter, or even an old freak whose power level had reached 300,000 or 400,000. Those powerhouses could crush everything in their path, so his caution would make no difference. On this battlefield, the one he was the most afraid of was actually Cursewind, because the blue lion was an existence who stood on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters were at a level that Lu Yin currently could not even grasp. Cool Sis was ranked tenth on the Top 100 Rankings, and even she could rival Kong Shi¡¯s power, who was a peak Hunter. There was an insurmountable chasm between Cool Sis and the Ten Arbiters, which had been demonstrated by the Ten Arbiters¡¯ ability to cause their opponents to fall intoplete despair.

    Even if Cursewind did not join the fray with the Enlighters, Lu Yin was certain that the lion was hiding a terrifying strength.

    Cursewind remained high above and coldly stared down at Lu Yin. ¡°Everyone, back off.¡±

    Tian Hou and the other Hunter realm beast didn¡¯t hesitate, and they immediately started to slowly retreat.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Skymender''s List carried the same status in the Astral Beast Domain as the Ten Arbiters did in the Human Domain. They wielded authority and were allowed to make decisions. This authority had not been bestowed on them from bystanders, but had been earned by their personal strength.

    Aden had exchanged blows with Cursewind in a previous battle. During that fight, Lu Yin felt like Cursewind had not gone all out against Aden, though he hadmended the man. That incident had be something unforgettable for Lu Yin.

    There was another clue to his strength, which was that Wen Sansi of the Ten Arbiters had pierced through the five sealings that protected Shenwu Continent with his own strength and then influenced the continent. When Lu Yin had visited Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station before, he had personally seen for himself the enormous number of rune lines that the five sealings possessed. Not even Nightqueen Qiuyu could break through them. Despite that, Wen Sansi had seeded, which allowed him to gain a directparison of their strength.

    If Cursewind was truly able to rival the Ten Arbiters, then if he went all-out, he might even be more of a threat than the Shadowbeast.

    ¡°You¡¯re the human who defeated Tian Hou before?¡± Cursewind used star energy to vibrate the air and speak.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew solemn, and he gestured to Wang Wen and the others behind him to get away.

    Wang Wen looked dejected. Retreat? How? There are beasts all around us.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose and Linley had both been injured, so they could not even save themselves, much less take Wang Wen away.

    ¡°Are you on Skymender''s List? Like Yao Gu?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°So you even know about Yao Gu. That fellow has always stayed in the depths of our domain, and he only went out to the border warfront once. It looks like you were there at that time too.¡± Cursewind¡¯s eyes were full of contempt. ¡°You¡¯re indeed capable since you¡¯re able to fight with an Enlighter. It looks like the defense of that armor is rather strong, and even the Shadowbeast can¡¯t do anything about it. In that case, let me test my strength.¡±

    The void suddenly froze after the beast finished speaking, and a ferocious hurricane pressed down upon Lu Yin once again. But this time, the amount of rune lines that he saw in this hurricane made Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turn numb. They numbered no less than the rune lines from Kong Shi or Aden, which meant that this ferocious wind matched the strength of a peak Hunter.

    Cursewind dared to say such words even after he had learned how strong the universal armor¡¯s defense was, which gave Lu Yin a bad feeling. Lu Yin wanted to retreat, but the space around him had been strengthened in a manner reminiscent of how certain higher-level powerhouses had done so in the past. In short, he could not budge at all.

    With a whoosh, the violent hurricane pressed down andpletely pulverized the maind that Lu Yin was standing on. His body was forced to endure the devastating wind head on. Even though his armor could clearly resist the attack, he still felt a bone-deep pain. This wind contained a terrifying prative effect that was able to pierce through even Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor.

    Monster Loach had once used its enormous strength to almost knock him unconscious despite him wearing his universal armor, and the principle of the current wind storm was very simr. A portion of the strength was able to seep past the universal armor and invade his body.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and waved a hand to activate the Yu Secret Art, causing the hurricane to sweep back towards Cursewind.

    Cursewind was astonished. ¡°This must be a secret technique!¡±

    And with that, an incredible head wave rippled out from the blue lion¡¯s body and swept towards the hurricane. When the two forces collided, it caused a huge explosion that tore into the void and released a visible shockwave that engulfed the entire region.

    ¡°Besides that secret technique, you have no other strength to stand up to me. Although it¡¯s interesting that you actually have a secret technique.¡±

    Lu Yin charged up from the crater that the hurricane had formed and warily stared at Cursewind. This fellow was indeed different from amon beast, and he had already proven to be far more dangerous than the Shadowbeast. That Enlighter beast had only been able to hide within the shadows and unleash sneak attacks, but Cursewind was acting brazenly. He clearly did not fear Lu Yin¡¯s gun, but why? He must have something that he was relying on, and Lu Yin only had onest shot left in his gun, so he could not use it casually.

    ¡°Show me your methods! I want to see how you killed those Enlighters.¡± Cursewind¡¯s left eye caused another hurricane to swirl out, but this time, his target was not only Lu Yin, but also Wang Wen, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, Linley, and the many other human defenders on the maind, as well as the many astral beasts.

    Suddenly, a thunder shield rumbled down towards Cursewind.

    Cursewind¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s him again.¡± An inferno then appeared from his right eye that shot out to sh against Aden along with the wind storm.

    The violent impact caused the floating continent to crumble as lightning flickered across it. Aden dashed out from the sh to reveal a body riddled with injuries, and he attempted to push the ming hurricane aside.

    ¡°Do you really think that you can stop me?¡± Cursewind¡¯s voice sounded out from behind the thunder shield. It only took another moment for the shield to break apart, and as the blue lion¡¯s w sliced through it, there was the sudden sound of a gunshot. Lu Yin had fired his gun and used the Yu Secret Art to redirect the bullet to send the bullet squarely into Cursewind''s head.

    At this moment, the entire battlefield fell silent, and everyone looked over at Cursewind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, as even an Enlighter could not dodge such an attack. He had acted when the thunder shield was being torn open, so it had definitely hit.

    However, Cursewind¡¯s rune lines did not decrease in any way, which caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to sink. Why?

    Some distance away, Wang Wen and the others were also stunned. The attacks from Lu Yin¡¯s power vessel were even able to kill Enlighters.

    There was a tremendous bang as the thunder shield waspletely shattered. Aden spat out a mouthful of blood and then looked over in shock.

    The blue lion¡¯s eyes shone with a faint light. ¡°Human, the attack from your treasure is indeed very strong, but you¡¯re not the only one with a power vessel.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned ugly. Ever since he had first used the gun to kill an Enlighter, he had already known that, as soon as his method of attack was exposed, an enemy woulde up with an appropriate method to counter him. It might be a strange innate gift like the Shadowbeast¡¯s or something like a power vessel.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to forever rely on an upgraded weapon to cross realms and kill powerful enemies, and he would not make it far if he walked such a path. He had been very obviously targeted during this battle.

 Chapter 596: That Fingerâ€™s Elegance

    <h4>Chapter 596: That Finger¡¯s Elegance</h4>

    There was a cracking sound, and the gun suddenly split apart and shattered. Lu Yin let go of the weapon, as the gun was nowpletely useless.

    Eh? What¡¯s that? Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled when he noticed that there was something wedged between theyers of metal inside the gun. Shockingly, it looked like a piece of hide from some beast. He had no time to properly observe it, but he decided to save it.

    Right then, Cursewind¡¯s attack was about tond between Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The hurricane that hadbined with the inferno swept everything in its path away, and the bone-eroding windbined with the soul-burning mes was enough to make Lu Yin feel an intense pain despite his universal armor, let alone the others like <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose, Linley, or the heavily-injured Aden.

    Suddenly, the attack disappeared, which left Cursewindpletely bewildered as he stood high above them in the sky.

    Lu Yin and the others all looked at the blue lion.

    Wind and fire alternated within Cursewind¡¯s eyes, and after a bit, he reluctantly looked back at Lu Yin and the others. ¡°Get Wang Wen away from here!¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look over at Wang Wen, where he saw an enormous amount of rune lines converging beside Wang Wen¡¯s transparent coffin. There was a Hunter hiding there. Not good. It¡¯s a Yin Guai!

    Lu Yin wanted to move to help, but right then, Cursewind¡¯s left eye spat out a hurricane that swept everything away.

    At that moment, an inferno engulfed the entire area as Huo Houye suddenly tried to attack Cursewind.

    Cursewind stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Consider yourselves lucky. The Outerverse will belong to us sooner orter.¡± After speaking, he moved back into outer space and grabbed the transparent coffin. He blocked Huo Houye¡¯s attack and rushed away from Brokende Fort.

    With the blue lion¡¯s breakaway, the rest of the invading beasts simultaneously retreated like a flood.

    ¡°SAVE ME! SAVE ME!¡± Wang Wen screamed.

    Huo Houye reached out for the coffin, but Cursewind merely snorted at him. ¡°Human Enlighter, you¡¯re just slightly stronger than me. Unless a human has gone through the transformation of a six-stage formcast model, they¡¯ve experienced no fundamental changes, so there¡¯s no use.¡±

    A hurricane then swept out that forcibly blew Huo Houye¡¯s strength away.

    Han Fei also tried to stop Cursewind from taking Wen Wang, but he was blocked by two Enlighter realm beasts.

    ¡°Everyone, listen to my orders! Snatch Wang Wen back!¡± Han Fei¡¯s voice was transmitted to everyone who was in outer space.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, Huo Qingshan, Kong Shi, and a group of Hunters all rushed over.

    Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast held Elder Lohar back while the old man furiously scolded, ¡°You¡¯ve decided to back off, so why must you capture Wang Wen?¡±

    ¡°This is an order, and you guys cannot stop it.¡± Monster Loach¡¯s tailshed out at Elder Lohar.

    The Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast also shed with the human powerhouse.

    In the battle in outer space, the overall strength of the beasts had already surpassed that of the humans, and multiple Enlighter beasts were blocking Han Fei, Huo Houye, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist from taking back Wang Wen.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold as he watched Wang Wen being taken away. He pulled out his Ster Ruler and measured the distance. Back when he had been a Limiteer, he had used this Ster Ruler to evade attacks from Enlighter realm beasts, and he had been able to teleport a considerable distance to escape from them. Now that he was an Explorer, his power had greatly increased, so the distance that he could teleport with the Ster Ruler had also increased multiple times. Right now, Lu Yin could teleport to where Wang Wen currently was.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body shed, and he suddenly reappeared on top of Wang Wen¡¯s transparent coffin.

    Wang Wen was thrilled to see Lu Yin. ¡°Bro-ther-Pawn.¡±

    Cursewind suddenly turned its head. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re seeking death!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s left hand pressed against the transparent coffin, and he quickly pulled out the piece of flesh that was covered with lightning. Right next to him, the Hunter realm Yin Guaished out. Lu Yin was surrounded by many powerful astral beasts, and there were even Enlighters as well as Cursewind nearby. Although Lu Yin could withstand an attack from the Yin Guai, it would still send him flying, which would render it impossible to rescue Wang Wen and take him away.

    He only had one choice: not only did he have to block the Yin Guai¡¯s iing attack, but he also had to activate the lightning flesh in order to take Wang Wen away at the same time.

    The Hunter realm Yin Guai was strong, and although Lu Yin felt confident in being able to beat it, he didn¡¯t dare to confront the beast head on in a contest of strength. As for the Yu Secret Art, it allowed Lu Yin to redirect attacks and even Lu Yin himself, but it would be very difficult to shift the Yin Guai at all. Lu Yin only had one chance to act¡ªone chance! But so be it!

    The finger that transcended the heavens appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. It had frequently appeared in his dreams, and although he did not know whose finger it was, or why it triggered such a furious reaction from him, there was no doubting the power contained within that finger.

    During his process of breaking through to the Explorer realm, he had remained unconscious for more than ten days, and during that time, he had observed and studied every minute change and charm contained within the movements of that finger. He had even managed to see a trace of what looked like a battle technique.

    It was a finger that could transcend space and disregard any distance. Lu Yin was certain that this finger surpassed any attack that he had ever seen, and from the bottom of his heart, he felt that even the Yu Secret Art could notpare to that finger. That was the finger from his dreams.

    Lu Yin raised his right finger and tapped out, though his eyes suddenly zed over as he fell into an unconscious state. At that moment, he had reentered his dream and was once again witnessing that finger while his heart burned with a boundless rage. His finger seemed to merge with the finger in his dream as he tapped out towards the Yin Guai.

    They were obviously on a battlefield that was filled with seething bloodlust and death, but at this moment, the Yin Guai was not able to hear or see anything. It could only look at that finger. The finger pointed towards it, and time seemed to freeze. That finger transcended everything as it ruthlessly moved towards the beast.

    This finger pierced through the Yin Guai¡¯s ws to tap against its forehead, which suddenly exploded. Traces of ripples and fluctuations could be seen within the void, but not a single spatial crack appeared. The next instant, Lu Yin sessfully activated the power within the piece of lightning flesh, and he disappeared from the sea of the beasts along with the transparent coffin.

    Everything had happened too quickly, and from the time Lu Yin appeared to the moment where he had vanished, the whole event did not even take three seconds to pass. By the time Cursewind and the other beasts tried to take action, Lu Yin had already disappeared along with Wang Wen. However, the Yin Guai that had been guarding Wang Wen was alreadypletely dead.

    Cursewind stared at the Yin Guai¡¯s corpse in shock. How was this possible? Lu Yin had just instantaneously killed a Hunter realm astral beast, and a Yin Guai at that, without using a power vessel. The human Explorer had used his own strength, and Cursewind had very clearly seen the finger, though he had not felt anything formidable about it. Despite that, the finger hadpletely crushed the Yin Guai.

    Cursewind turned to look at Brokende Fort. How had that human done it?

    Cursewind was not the only one overwhelmed by the event, as even Lu Yin himself was frightened by what had just happened. He had not expected the finger to be so frightening, as that lone finger had crushed a Hunter. Even in his dreams, he had not thought that the power would be so great, but the price that he had paid was simrly extreme. He looked down to see that his right finger was dripping fresh blood. Lu Yin grimaced, and he used some of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ special medicine to treat it.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, I love you!¡± Wang Wen screamed. Emotional tears rolled down his face as he gazed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed, as he had been forced to use that piece of lightning covered flesh. However, it was well-worth the price since he had rescued Wang Wen. At this moment, Lu Yin was worried that the astral beasts would not give up on Wang Wen and that they would rush back to the fort.

    Fortunately, his worries were for nothing as the invading beasts quickly retreated. Not one of them moved forward to try kidnapping Wang Wen again.

    Before long, all of the beasts werepletely out of sight, only leaving a ruined Brokende Fort behind.

    Han Fei and the others exchanged nces, seemingly lost. The astral beasts certainly could have breached Brokende Fort this time, so why had they retreated?

    After Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast pulled back, Elder Lohar¡¯s arm shuddered as he stored his weapon and released a slow breath.

    Even though the astral beasts had retreated, most of the defenders believed that they would soon face another attack, and that the next attack would be no different from the one that had just ended.

    ¡°Elder.¡± Han Fei and the others flew towards Elder Lohar, all of them looking at him in confusion.

    Lu Yin also took Wang Wen over.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s gaze passed over all of them, and then in a voice that betrayed his exhaustion, he said, ¡°The battle has ended.¡±

    Han Fei and the others were astonished.

    Wang Wen stepped forward and looked at Elder Lohar. ¡°What battle ended? Speak clearly.¡±

    Out of everyone present, he was the only person who dared to speak to Elder Lohar in such a tone.

    Elder Lohar looked past Brokende Fort. ¡°The Astral Beast Domain is being invaded, and the Celestial Beast Empire is going all-out in it¡¯s war preparations, so it has no energy to deal with us here.¡±

    The crowd was stunned.

    Wang Wen could not understand the exnation. ¡°Old man, are you sure that the Astral Beast Domain is being invaded? By whom? The Innerverse?¡±

    Elder Lohar continued speaking in a soft voice, saying, ¡°There are some things that you don¡¯t have to know just yet. When you be a Hunter or an Enlighter, I will naturally exin everything to you. In any case, Ironblood Weave¡¯s battle will end here for the time being.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen, who was clearly conflicted, and also at Elder Lohar. He then quietly asked the Ghost Monkey, ¡°Your Astral Beast Domain can still be invaded? Elder Lohar does not seem to be referring to the Innerverse. Does the Astral Beast Domain have other enemies?¡±

    The monkey was also at a loss. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any. The Astral Beast Domain is only bordered by the Astral Wilderness and your Human Domain, so only your Human Domain can possibly invade it.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lu Yin did not believe the monkey¡¯s words. If the Innerverse was the one invading the Astral Beast Domain, then there would be no need for Elder Lohar to hide the matter. And judging by the speed that the beasts such as Monster Loach had retreated, the invasion was no small matter. Logically, since the Astral Beast Domain was being invaded, and the war in Ironblood Weave hade to a temporary end, Elder Lohar should be very happy. However, his expression was actually even more worried than before.

    ¡°Definitely. That is, unless a new civilization has been discovered in the Astral Wilderness that has the power to invade the Astral Beast Domain,¡± the monkey replied confidently.

    Close to Lu Yin, Wang Wen was still discussing things with Elder Lohar, and he seemed to want to receive a straight exnation. Elder Lohar had Han Fei take Wang Wen away, and then he looked over towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sensed Elder Lohar¡¯s gaze, and he hurriedly stepped forward. ¡°Junior Lu Yin greets elder.¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded and thenmented, ¡°You were able to deal with Enlighters while still at the Limiteer realm. Kid, you¡¯re very powerful, as not even the Ten Arbiters were capable of such feats when they were in that realm.¡±

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°Junior was only relying on external strength, and I cannotpare to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Elder Lohar smiled. ¡°As long as you know it. Kid, I must warn you, though. It¡¯s not good to rely on foreign objects, unless it¡¯s truly a matter of life and death. Sometimes, crises are able to ignite your potential. The universe does notck for powerful treasures, which the Ten Arbiters are also able to obtain, but they hardly ever use them, precisely for that reason. You may obtain status and glory by borrowing strength from external that surpasses your own, but you should also be aware that you will owe a debt for such things.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously replied, ¡°Junior understands. Rest assured Senior, I will not borrow external strength anymore unless it¡¯s truly ast resort.¡±

    Elder Lohar sighed. ¡°In the past, the Hall of Honor had a genius who was incredibly talented in his cultivation, and his innate gift also perfectlyplemented power vessels, giving them a mysterious ability. He used his innate gift many times to fight across realms and kill his enemies, and he was unrivaled within his own realm. Unfortunately, once he became famous, he was targeted in every battle, and he eventually fell prey to the schemes of others.

    ¡°If excessively high prestige cannot be supported by sufficient strength, then only death will follow. It¡¯s the same as digging one¡¯s own grave.¡±

    After his speech, Elder Lohar left.

    Lu Yin remained rooted in ce, lost deep in thought. Excessively high prestige?

    Many people currently viewed Lu Yin as someone who stood on the same level as Enlighters, especially after the various battles in Ironblood Weave. This was readily apparent from the fact that all of the beasts sent to deal with him had been Enlighter realm astral beasts, not to mention the fact that he had even caused old freaks whose power levels were at 300,000 to be apprehensive. This truly was an excessively high prestige, and if Lu Yin went through a few more battles of the same level, then he really might be targeted and killed off.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t bother with what that old fart just told you. You were also forced to take such actions.¡± The monkey tried to console him.

    Lu Yin looked up; he had indeed been forced, as if he had not done so, the Great Yu Empire would have ceased to exist long ago. Still, no matter what, he had to ce restrictions on himself, and he could not always use external aids against his opponents.

    Once he became ustomed to using external strength, it would be very difficult for him to improve his own strength any further.

 Chapter 597: Borrowing Power

    <h4>Chapter 597: Borrowing Power</h4>

    Although Elder Lohar tried to reassure everyone that the Astral Beast Domain would stop trying to invade the Outerverse, the fortresses maintained their defenses to y things safe. Furthermore, the news of the invasion ending was not publicly spread, so only a few people were aware of the truth.

    After resting for two days, Lu Yin sat on the edge of a region of brokennd and watched the people collecting the corpses in the distance. He didn¡¯t know why Elder Lohar was so sure that the Astral Beast Domain wouldn¡¯t attack anymore, and he couldn¡¯t think of any power that could threaten the Astral Beast Domain even after discussing it with the Ghost Monkey. He was worried that Elder Lohar had been deceived.

    Crack!

    He heard footsteps from behind him, and he was able to perceive a woman in a red dress approaching him through his forcefield. It was the woman next to Wang Wen whom he had saved during the most recent battle. She had a sexy appearance, and she should be from the ze Realm.

    He noticed an enticing scent that caused him to frown.

    ¡°Brother Lu, can I sit here?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose stood behind Lu Yin and gazed at him with a smiling face. A gentle breeze caused her red dress to gently graze against his hand.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose didn¡¯t care about the dirt on the ground, and she directly sat down next to Lu Yin before turning her head to look straight at him.

    Lu Yin curiously looked into her eyes. The woman had an alluring aspect to her that was different from the breathtaking charisma of Mira or Madam Nn. Her allure,bined with her red dress, could easily stir any man''s desire. ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose smiled bashfully. ¡°Brother Lu, thank you for saving me.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°No problem. I would have saved anyone in that situation.¡±

    ¡°I know, but still, you saved me, and I have to thank you.¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose inched closer to Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, let¡¯s have a drink.¡±

    Although Lu Yin wasn¡¯t very experienced in the matters of the heart and had quite impulsively entered into a rtionship with Ming Yan, he could still understand the clear motivation of this beautiful woman who ¡°wanted to have a drink¡± with him. He knew that she was trying to seduce him.

    Lu Yin stood up and straightforwardly said, ¡°I¡¯m busy, so I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± He didn¡¯t like this kind of woman, especially since she was being so forward in her attempts to seduce him.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose watched Lu Yin walk away and smiled. ¡°Brother Lu, you have contributed greatly during this battle. Would you be interested in joining the ze Realm?¡¯

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate at all to respond, ¡°With the Innerverse and Outerverse currently separated, you might not even be able to return to the ze Realm ever again. Be more realistic.¡±

    ¡°In that case, has Brother Lu ever thought about how you¡¯ll face the uing dangers?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose asked loudly.

    Lu Yin paused and turned to look at her. ¡°Dangers?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose smirked. ¡°Brother Lu, your gun is now broken.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose replied, ¡°Of course not. I would never threaten my savior. However, there are a lot of people that now know that your gun is broken. Even though you have be an Explorer and have your universal armor, you still don¡¯t have any methods that can stand up to an Enlighter¡¯s attack. I¡¯m also aware that you have quite a number of enemies.¡±

    She was clearly implying that the greatest threat to him was Huo Houye from the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I didn¡¯t use the gun to kill <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.¡± He left after giving her those words.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose was shocked. If he hadn¡¯t used the gun, then could it be that he actually had other methods to deal with Enlighters? If <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose knew that Wendy Yushan had also managed to injure the Schr Newmoon at San Dios, she wouldn¡¯t have been as surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    However, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose¡¯s words also served as a reminder to Lu Yin that he had to find a weapon that could threaten Enlighters. Otherwise, he would face a distinct disadvantage against someone like Huo Houye.

    He wasn¡¯t naive enough to think that his universal armor would be sufficient enough to protect him.

    Lu Yin spent the next month updating the locations of the holes in the sourceboxes¡¯ invisible danger zones, but there were no subsequent attacks from the Astral Beast Domain.

    On the same day that Lu Yin stopped updating the locations of the gaps, Elder Lohar left the weave. He returned after just one day with a bit of exciting news: he had managed to destroy the hole in the Primal Zone¡¯s energy stream.

    This piece of news inspired Ironblood Weave, and the news regarding Elder Lohars achievement soon spread across the entire weave as they slowly recovered without any more attacks from the beasts.

    The destruction of the gap in the energy stream meant that the Primal Zone couldn¡¯t receive any further reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire. Thus, this signified that the war was truly over for the time being. Otherwise, the Astral Beast Domain would have never allowed Elder Lohar to destroy the gap, especially since there had been a Void Thunderbeast guarding it.

    Lu Yin activated themunications feature of his gadget, and Wendy Yushan appeared on his screen. He hadn¡¯t seen her for quite some time, and she had be much thinner during this arduous period. ¡°We¡¯re both alive.¡±

    Lu Yin touched his head. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re alive.¡±

    Initially, neither of them had known much about Ironblood Weave aside from the fact that many people died there, and neither of them knew anything about its true horrors. As they participated in more and more battles, they had slowly begun to understand what Ironblood Weave truly stood for, and they had witnessed for themselves the frontline battles where both sides fought to the death. This was a ce where even Enlighters could die.

    Lu Yin had faced imminent death several times in Ironblood Weave, and he would have died if not for his good luck.

    Of the people that the Great Yu Empire had sent to Ironblood Weave, only Lu Yin, Wendy Yushan, Huo Qingshan, and Aden had survived. Everyone else had perished.

    This could already be considered as a good oue, as other weaves such as the Lars Weave and Northcastle Weave didn¡¯t have even a single survivor.

    Coincidentally, the day that the war in Ironblood Weave came to a conclusion marked the sixth anniversary since Lu Yin had started cultivating, and it also marked a year since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been split apart.

    Ironblood Weave was left with just five forts since the Ironblood Fort and the three middle forts had all beenpletely destroyed. Elder Lohar, on behalf of the Hall of Honor, ordered all of the Eastern weaves to send more resources to Ironblood Weave so that the destroyed strongholds could all be rebuilt. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, Nightqueen Qiuyu, Granny Chan, Huo Houye, and the other Enlighters were also tasked with staying behind and helping rebuild the forts.

    As for Lu Yin and the rest of the reinforcements, they were all allowed to leave.

    Lu Yin had contributed greatly to the final battle as he had saved Wang Wen from being taken away by the astral beasts. Elder Lohar gave Lu Yin two Honor Points, which was equivalent to 40,000 Ironblood Points, and that was just for saving Wang Wen. The elder also gave Lu Yin an additional 20,000 Ironblood Points tomend his performance during his time in Ironblood Weave. That,bined with the Ironblood Points that Kong Shi had given Lu Yin and the subsequent points he had been awarded, meant that Lu Yin now had a total of 70,000 points. He had initially wanted to convert all of his points to star crystals, but he was stopped by Aden.

    Aden had always been very mysterious, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t probe any deeper into his past.

    Lu Yin had mentioned in passing that he was going to convert his points to star crystals while visiting Aden, but Aden suggested that since Lu Yin already possessed four Honor Points, he should exchange for two more points to have a total of six points.

    ¡°Having six Honor Points ispletely different from having four Honor Points,¡± Adenmented solemnly.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    Aden looked at Lu Yin in a serious manner. ¡°Do you think that there¡¯s no one from the Hall of Honor left in the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Although most people don¡¯t know about the Hall¡¯s existence, they are still able to influence the entire Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Although I¡¯m not too familiar with the degree of the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence in the Outerverse, I do know that having six Honor Points grants you some degree of immunity, and it even lets you borrow power from the hall,¡± Aden said.

    Lu Yin grew even more confused. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®borrow power?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Basically, with six points, you are able to represent the Hall of Honor to a certain extent. For example, when people are debating, if one party has the moral high ground, then what they say will be more convincing to people. With six Honor Points, you will have the high ground provided by the Hall of Honor, and so as long as the Hall of Honor remains in power, you will enjoy a tremendous amount of influence in the Outerverse,¡± Aden exined.

    Lu Yin finally understood. This was the advantage that was given by the Hall of Honor. He remembered that En Ya had once told him that the Hall of Honor would provide a custom-made gadget for him with numerous special benefits once he reached six Honor Points. It seemed that borrowing power from the Hall of Honor was one of those unspoken benefits, and although he couldn¡¯tmand others by using the name of the Hall of Honor, it nheless still meant that the Hall of Honor would be on his side, and that alone would be a huge support for him.

    Despite that, since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, Lu Yin was unsure how much influence the Hall of Honor still wielded in the Outerverse.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the Hall of Honor. They have powerhouses who can affect all of humankind,¡± Aden said.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Lu Yin asked, but Aden didn¡¯t answer.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I asked too much.¡±

    Aden went back to go rest, and Lu Yin was left thinking about Honor Points, star crystals, the Hall of Honor, the ability to borrow power¡­ Currently, he was the most uncertain about what borrowing power meant as he didn¡¯t know how useful that could be. If the weaves in the Outerverse decided to ignore the Hall of Honor due to the Outerverse being isted from the Innerverse, then it would be basically useless.

    After considering his options for quite some time, Lu Yin finally decided to trade his Ironblood Points for more Honor Points. Even Undying Yushan had been unable to pardon Sigmund Mathers¡¯ alleged crime, and even if the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence in the Outerverse waned from the separation, it would still take some time for that to be realized. Just from how many reinforcements Elder Lohar had managed to draft, Lu Yin could tell that the Hall of Honor still enjoyed a certain amount of authority over the major weaves. Thus, as long as he could put his newly acquired influence to good use, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste.

    Moreover, it didn¡¯t matter even if those Honor Points did nothing. Lu Yin already had 160,000 star essence on him, which seemed sufficient to him.

    To obtain the Honor Points, he needed to go through Elder Lohar. This would be the second time where Lu Yin met Elder Lohar, and it was a one-on-one meeting.

    ¡°Two Honor Points for forty thousand Ironblood Points. Young man, you¡¯re not too bad.¡± Elder Lohar truly admired Lu Yin and immediately gave him the two Honor Points. ¡°Someone will go to the Great Yu Empire and deliver your new gadget there. I hope that you¡¯ll put your new status to good use.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°Yes, I will. Don¡¯t worry, senior. I won¡¯t disgrace the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Although being awarded Honor Points didn¡¯t mean that one had joined the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin could still be considered as a part of the Hall of Honor.

    Elder Lohar was fond of Lu Yin, especially since no one had been willing to trade for Honor Points after the Outerverse had been isted. Everyone seemed to think that the points were useless, and only this young man still showed respect to the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated. If not, you definitely would have been given a position with your abilities,¡± Elder Lohar said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°A position? What position?¡±

    Elder Lohar waved a hand. ¡°Forget it. What¡¯s done is done, and unless the Innerverse and Outerverse can be rejoined before you reach the age of forty, you won¡¯t be able to gain that position. What a shame.¡±

 Chapter 598: Path Of Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 598: Path Of Cultivation</h4>

    ¡°Elder, could you please tell me exactly what you mean by ¡®position?¡¯¡± Lu Yin asked. He was very curious, since even someone like Elder Lohar who had a power level over 300,000 had said that it was a pity. This proved that it had to be very important.

    Elder Lohar shook his head. ¡°Kid, you may go. Remember, unless you are facing a life or death crisis, do not borrow power or use external items. The cycle of the heavens suggests that, in the end, you will be forced to return however much you have borrowed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then helplessly moved away.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s rather superstitious. What cycle of the heavens? This monkey only believes in science!¡± the Ghost Monkey stated.

    ¡°Then tell me what the deal with Skymender is,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    The monkey could note up with a reply, as there was truly no exnation to some matters. It was inexplicable that Skymender was able to predict the future.

    Lu Yin exchanged his remaining 10,000 Ironblood Points for star essence, grabbed Huo Qingshan, and then left Brokende Fort with him. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t alone, as many other Explorers and those with weaker cultivations had started leaving. Wendy Yushan was also preparing to leave where she had been stationed.

    Only the few Enlighters were forced to stay until the defenses of Ironblood Weave werepletely reestablished.

    To Lu Yin, this was good news, as it meant that the Eastern region of the Outerverse, where his Frostwave Weave was located, would bepletely devoid of Enlighters, which would make it his yground. Unfortunately, due to Aden¡¯s extraordinary capabilities, he had been kept back by Elder Lohar. Also, Aden himself had no desire to return to Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin really wanted to take Aden with him and have the man join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, but that was impossible at the moment.

    After leaving Brokende Fort, the two men immediately entered Eastly Weave. At the border, Lu Yin looked back into the darkness of outer space and was finally able to rx.

    He silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures and took a rest.

    Eastly Weavey close to Frostwave Weave, and not even a day passed before Lu Yin and Huo Qingshan returned to Frostwave Weave.

    Wendy Yushan had traveled slightly faster than Lu Yin.

    They returned to discover that the Great Yu Empire had not undergone that many changes. After all, they had only served in the Ironblood Weave for a few months.

    There were visitors on the day that Wendy Yushan arrived at Zenyu Star, and they tried to secretly reveal their desire for her to take back the reins of the empire. However, none of them dared to say this outright, and Wendy Yushan pretended not to notice their hints.

    Lu Yin taking control of the empire had adversely affected many people¡¯s benefits, and he had behaved ruthlessly. The establishment of his four ministries had rearranged the Great Yu Empire¡¯s authority, and it was amon prediction that, in the future, the true wielders of authority in the Great Yu Empire would be these four ministries, especially the Lu Ministry of Defense and the Lu Staff, as Lu Yin was the sole decider of who could join either ministry. This meant that he would be able to single-handedly control the Great Yu Empire, which was something that not even Undying Yushan had achieved during his time as emperor.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had be too assertive, which caused some people to hope that Wendy Yushan would step forward and use her position to wrestle the authority of the Great Yu Empire back to the Yushan family. Unfortunately for them, Wendy Yushan had no interest in any such thing, and she knew that she was not cut out to be in a position of authority.

    The first thing that Lu Yin did upon returning to the Great Yu Empire was to hold a court meeting. News of the events in Ironblood Weave had spread, and they had had a tremendous effect on the surrounding weaves. This made the masses feel anxious, and so, Lu Yin now needed to calm them down.

    The meetingsted for a long time before it finally ended. Lu Yin then looked for Hai Qiqi, only to learn that she had gone to visit the Astral River yet again.

    Lu Yin sighed, as her first time leaving home had ended upsting for eternity. This was a harsh reality that not many people would be able to ept. He did not go looking for her, and instead, he decided to leave her be. Looking for a way to cross the Astral River was something that could at least give her a bit of hope.

    He left the pce and headed towards the Fifth Princess¡¯s residence.

    This was the second time that he had visited Wendy Yushan¡¯s home, as the first time had been when he had been trying to conceal his identity as a Lockbreaker. Back then, he had used the princess¡¯s residence to divert Wendy Yushan¡¯s attention.

    He arrived, only to find that there were several people already waiting at the gate, and a few of them were elders. The moment they saw Lu Yin appear, their faces went pale. ¡°Gre-greetings to the Royal Regent, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin did not even spare them a nce. ¡°Inform Princess Wendy that Lu Yin hase for a visit.¡±

    A guard hurriedly entered the residence.

    The gate quickly swung open, allowing Lu Yin to step inside.

    He understood what the objective of these people gathered outside of Wendy Yushan¡¯s home were. There were some people who would never give up in their attempts to overthrow him. These buffoons.

    The residence was not veryrge, and to show his respect to the owner, Lu Yin did not release his domain or his star energy, but he also made sure not to conceal his presence.

    ¡°Why did youe here?¡± Wendy Yushan stepped out and looked at him.

    Lu Yin touched his nose. ¡°There¡¯s something that I want to ask you for advice on.¡±

    ¡°Tell me,¡± Wendy Yushan said indifferently.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already broken through to the Explorer realm, so what¡¯s my next step?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had consulted Aden and Huo Qingshan in the past, but he also wanted to ask Wendy Yushan. This was because the two men were already Hunters, so their views might be different from Wendy¡¯s.

    Wendy Yushan thought about it a moment before responding, ¡°An Explorer has already experienced a change in their physical body, which has transformed to harmonize with the universe. The cycle of star energy sustains life, and every cycle of star energy will alter the physical body, which also increases one¡¯s strength. Essentially, each cycle will increase your power level by 10,000, and the time that it takes toplete one cycle is different for every person. Also, the quality of the star energy that is absorbed is different for everyone as well, so there is a spectrum of superiority.

    ¡°Some people absorb star energy multiple times faster than normal, which naturally shortens the time that it takes for them toplete one cycle and allows them to gain strength much faster. Some absorb much more star energy than others, and while a single cycle of theirs mightst longer, the increase in their strength will also be much more noticeable. I can¡¯t tell you how you should walk your path, so I can only tell you to let nature take its course.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Her words were very simr to what he had heard from Aden. Lu Yin had a ninefold absorption rate granted to him by the Cosmic Art, as well as his die¡¯s four pips: Timestop. As long as he had enough star energy, he would be able to quickly increase his strength.

    Time was not a problem for him.

    On the surface, he had cultivated for about six years, but in reality, there should be another one or two years added on to ount for the time that he had spent in the Timestop Space.

    ¡°Do you still have a formcast model?¡± Wendy Yushan suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin did not want to lie to her. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was astonished. ¡°You have a six-stage formcast model?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was shocked. ¡°Even the top ten in the Top 100 Rankings might not necessarily have a six-stage formcast model, but you have one. With that, once you be a Hunter, you¡¯ll be much more terrifying than the average Hunter.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Wendy Yushan, puzzled by herment.

    ¡°The greatest difference between an Explorer and a Cruiser is not in their strength, but rather in their potential. An Explorer¡¯s physical body is freshly transformed, whereas a Cruiser¡¯s cells arepressed. It takes the average person four cycles before their bodies are no longer able to absorb any more star energy, and at that point, they have topress their cells. This raises the amount of energy that their body can consume, and although it increases their physical abilities, it¡¯s nothing much. This stage ofpression is what happens in the Cruiser realm, and Hunters are simr in that regard. This change is not as extreme as when you be an Explorer, but the situation ispletely different if you still have a formcast model. In that case, you will experience a qualitative change when you break through to the Hunter realm.¡±

    ¡°What about you? Do you still have a formcast model?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°White Knight once said that I¡¯ll get one, but there¡¯s no chance of that happening now that the Outerverse has been cut off from the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You have that good of a rtionship with that White Knight?¡±

    Wendy Yushan grunted, but then she looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression. ¡°You really seem to care about White Knight.¡±

    Lu Yin touched his nose. ¡°Maybe. He is an Arbiter after all.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°Do you remember what I said before we left for San Dios?¡±

    Lu Yin had forgotten, so he shook his head.

    ¡°I told you that if we survived the crisis, then I¡¯d marry you,¡± Wendy Yushan spoke quietly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he looked at Wendy Yushan¡¯s tall and slender figure and her beautiful face. He could feel her conqueror¡¯s aura, and he nearly agreed in the heat of the moment.

    ¡°However, you already like someone else, and I prefer pure feelings.¡± With that, Wendy Yushan turned to leave.

    Lu Yin stood frozen in ce for quite a while. He felt like he had just been yed.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve lost your love,¡± the monkey teased.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I never loved, so how could I lose it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to brag! Any man would want a woman like her. It¡¯s her who doesn¡¯t want you!¡± The monkey was very happy with this development.

    Then Lu Yin screened his arm off. How annoying.

    He returned to King Zishan''s pce, where he suddenly thought of something. When his gun had shattered, something had fallen out of it that looked like a piece of a beast¡¯s hide. He checked his cosmic ring for the scrap.

    It turned out to not be a piece of beast hide, but rather some material that was simr to paper, and there were a few words on it, though Lu Yin did not recognize any of them. He removed the screen that he had ced on the monkey. ¡°Hey, check this out and tell me if you recognize thenguage.¡±

    The monkey was surprised. ¡°These should be words from hundreds of thousands of years ago, which was a period when writing was still being developed. Back then, written words were particrlyplicated, so the average person can¡¯t make sense of them.¡±

    ¡°Are you familiar with them?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve studied it a bit. Right, I recognize several of the characters, and altogether it looks to be a name.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey paused and then pointed out several characters while enunciating, ¡°Wen Zhaocheng, Cang Yi.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°How should I know? But they should be names.¡±

    Lu Yin put the paper away. Wen Zhaocheng should be someone from the Wen family, but as for Cang Yi, he did not know where a Cang family could be from. But why had there been a piece of paper with these two names hidden inside of the gun?

    He did not spend too much time thinking about the issue as there were too many matters in the universe that had no easy exnation. This gun hade from the Astral Wilderness, and perhaps these two people had fought there. He did not care, and besides, it was time to roll his die.

    Lu Yin always looked forward to rolling his die the most.

    He tapped the die and watched it spin before slowly stopping at four pips. He was delighted, as this was the exact roll that he had wanted to see.

    The scenery before his eyes spun, and Lu Yin appeared in the Timestop Space. He casually waved a hand and threw out more than ten star essence to increase his time in the space to 130 days. With this, Lu Yin was prepared to take his time cultivating. After all, running out of time was what he was the least afraid of.

    As the star essence were crushed, nine stars began revolving around Lu Yin¡¯s body. It was the visible manifestation of the Cosmic Art, and he began his ninefold rate of absorption.

    The rapid absorption rate caused the star essence¡¯s vtile star energy to form into a vortex centered around his body. Lu Yin¡¯s need for star energy after bing an Explorer was several times greater than what ordinary Explorers needed, and so it would take far more star energy for him toplete a single cycle. The biggest question that he had right now was how his cycle would be affected by using the Cosmic Art¡¯s ninefold absorption rate. If it didn¡¯t speed things up substantially, then each of his cycles would take much, much longer than others.

    Absorbing star energy was a matter about as interesting as dust, though Lu Yin could feel how the star energy was filling his cells, even if it was only a little bit. Only once the cells in his body werepletely saturated with star energy would heplete a cycle, so it would be a rather long process.

    It took the average person about a decade toplete a cycle, and even the faster ones would still take several years. The further one progressed in their cultivation, the more time they would require toplete a cycle. In particr, a Cruiser¡¯s cycle was several times longer than an Explorer¡¯s. If someone had a technique like the Cosmic Art that allowed them to absorb star energy multiple times faster, then some innately gifted geniuses might even be able to finish a cycle in a year.

    If the star energy that Lu Yin needed toplete a single cycle was about the same as what was required by normal people, then between his ninefold absorption rate and his natural rate of absorbing star energy, it would take him a bit more than half a year to finish a cycle. However, after cultivating for ten days, when Lu Yin checked his progress, his face fell. ording to the amount that he had absorbed so far, each of his cycles required multiple times the star energy of an average person, and it might even require a hundred times more energy.

 Chapter 599: Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 599: Upgrade</h4>

    Why was the difference so exaggerated? Lu Yin thought about it for a few minutes, and regardless of whether it was when he had broken through to be a Melder, a Limiteer, or an Explorer, the amount of star energy that he had needed had always been multiple times the amount that others needed. So, ording to this trend, it would be normal for him to require multiple times the amount of star energy toplete a cyclepared to a normal cultivator.

    But ording to his calctions based on his progress over thest ten days, even if he enjoyed a ninefold rate of absorption, the time that he needed toplete a cycle would still be ten times the normal length, which meant that it would take him a century.

    How could it take a full century toplete one cycle? Lu Yin¡¯s face turned ugly. The more star energy that one absorbed during a cycle, the greater increase in strength they would enjoy when that cyclepleted. This meant that Lu Yin¡¯s superiority would only grow more exaggerated since a single cycle of his would be the equivalent of others¡¯ ten cycles. However, the time toplete a single cycle was too long, and it would only take longer once he became a Cruiser. At that time, would it take him 1,000 years toplete a single cycle?

    Lu Yin was not afraid of not having enough time, but this was just beyond ridiculous. If it took him one hundred years toplete just one cycle even with his ninefold absorption rate from the Cosmic Art, did it mean that there was something wrong with his body?

    At this moment, he really wished to obtain just one thing: the true Cosmic Art. The nine stars that Lu Yin had cultivated were definitely not the peak of the Cosmic Art, and he had only reached the most rudimentary level. There should still be a higher leveled version of the cultivation technique, and it might even be possible for him to attain a hundredfold absorption rate with it. That would make his cycle time more reasonable, but the problem was that he could not obtain the true Cosmic Art at this time.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky and sighed, as he was now left speechless. He wondered if the Ten Arbiters took just as long toplete a single cycle and if the amount of star energy that they needed was simr to his. Regardless, they must have some way of doing this better, while he had nothing going for him. One thing that was stuck in his mind was that the further he progressed, the more star energy he would need to continue cultivating. This would especially manifest once he became a Cruiser or a Hunter, as he would require far more star energy. At that time,pleting one cycle would take forever.

    He remembered Mister Mu, but the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, so his quasi-master definitely could note.

    No, he could not leave things like this. He had to find a way to increase his star energy absorption rate, or else he would be doomed.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and suppressed the feeling of desperation welling up. Then, he rolled his die again. He needed something that could deal with an Enlighter in case one unexpectedly attacked him.

    The die stopped spinning: one pip. Useless. He then continued to absorb star energy.

    After another ten days passed, he rolled the die again. Two pips: ckhole Disassembly. Useless. He continued absorbing star energy.

    After ten more days, he again rolled his die, and this time, the die stopped at three pips: Enhance. Lu Yin excitedly took out hisst Money Bomb and threw it onto the upper screen before directly tossing out 20,000 star essence. The Money Bomb upgraded repeatedly until it reached the point where it could kill an Enlighter.

    He put the Money Bomb away and then thought of what he wanted to upgrade next: that pike.

    The pike that he had obtained inside the ancient centipede''s body could intrinsically attack the spiritual force. It¡¯s power was strong enough to instantly kill an Explorer, but that was all. Lu Yin wanted to upgrade it until it could instantly eliminate an Enlighter.

    Not every weapon was upgradable, and the quality of the materials that the weapon was made of also had to be taken into consideration, just like his gun in the past. The materials that the gun was made of had the potential to be upgraded to that level, but it was very difficult for a normal gun to be upgraded to the point where it could threaten Explorers. This pike was from an ancient era, and Liu Zhan had used one to y a Yin Guai. Thus, Lu Yin was confident that the quality of these materials should be of sufficient quality that the pike could eventually reach the level where it would be a threat to Enlighters.

    However, the pike¡¯s spiritual force attack did not differentiate between friend and foe, which was troubling. Lu Yin still wanted to test out upgrading the pike. And because he had been reciting the Stonewall Scriptures for so long, he had long since built up a very strong resistance against spiritual force attacks. Back when he had just been a Melder, he had resisted the spiritual force of a Hunter, and currently, he should be able to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s pressure.

    He put the pike on the upper light screen and threw out dozens of star essence. For a Monkey Bomb, it only took a few hundred star essence to upgrade it to the point where it could threaten a Hunter.

    The dozens of star essence only caused the pike to drop down a small bit, and not much at that. Lu Yin was stunned, as it seemed that this thing required much more star essence to upgrade than the Money Bomb. Still, that seemed reasonable¡ªthe Money Bomb only had pure attack force whereas the pike also released a spiritual force attack.

    He did some quick calctions before tossing out another 400 or so star essence. That caused the pike topletely drop through to the lower screen, being upgraded once.

    He picked up the pike and sensed the power of the spiritual force attack that it carried. It wasn¡¯t too bad, and he could still handle it.

    When Lu Yin had discovered the corpse that had been divided by five pikes, only the pike that had been stabbed into the ground could emit phantom images and kill people, and the one that he had obtained had fallen to the side. Hence, the spiritual force attacks that it emitted were not as intense, but it would definitely be stronger the more he upgraded it.

    The next upgrade cost him almost 800 star essence and the third 1,500 star essence. The fourth upgrade took 3,000 star essence, the fifth 6,000, and the sixth more than 14,000. After that, when Lu Yin held the pike, he felt a sense of unease.

    He had previously upgraded the gun seven times, and that had taken around 27,000 star essence in total. This pike had now been upgraded six times, and it had already used up 26,000 star essence. A seventh upgrade would bring the total to about double of what he had spent on the gun.

    It ended up taking much more star energy to upgrade the pike than the gun.

    The scenery in front of Lu Yin distorted a little, which was due to spiritual force encountering pressure and creating an illusion. He could not upgrade the pike any further, as he might not be able to withstand it himself.

    When his star energy filled eyes looked at it, the amount of rune lines that it contained surpassed what he had seen from Han Fei, and Lu Yin was wondering how effective its spiritual force attack would be against an Enlighter. He stored the pike away and then let out a pent up breath.

    Lu Yin now had 110,000 star essence remaining. Of his items, he currently had the universal armor for defense and the Money Bomb and pike for offense. This meant that there was only one aspect left for him to upgrade: retreat.

    Right, could the copsible spacecraft be upgraded? Lu Yin¡¯s mind buzzed with ideas, and he wanted to test it, but in the end, he decided against it. The copsible spacecraft was, at best, a radiant-grade spacecraft, and only Auroras could upgrade themselves. However, that did not require the die¡¯s three pips: Enhance. Materials alone were enough to upgrade the spacecraft.

    Speaking of materials, he still had a lot of prium essence.

    Lu Yin wanted to upgrade the Ster Ruler, but that was useless since it could only be used thrice. As for the Enneadic Wings, he thought about it for a bit before deciding to go ahead and upgrade it. Within the scope of the greater universe, Lu Yin was not very fast, and if his copsible spacecraft was destroyed, then even a Hunter would be able to catch up to him given his current speed.

    He pulled out the Enneadic Wings and spent more than 20,000 star essence upgrading the item, only stopping once its rune lines were enough to rival what he had previously seen on <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika.

    This meant that the Enneadic Wings were now able to reach a speed that surpassed a Hunter, and Lu Yin himself boasted a defense that could resist a Hunter¡¯s attack. Right now, it could probably generate a barrier that could withstand an Enlighter, which should be enough for now. There were no Enlighters at present in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves, so they could not threaten him for the time being.

    He decided to save the rest of his star essence for cultivating.

    Just a short while ago, Lu Yin had been satisfied after stealing 1,000 star essence from the ckbeard Pirates, as it had been the most money that he had ever seen. Now, randomly upgrading one item could consume tens of thousands of star essence, which was an amount that not even an Enlighter would casually possess.

    Of the Enlighters that Lu Yin had killed, only <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Karthika had carried tens of thousands of star essence on him, and not even Elder Wu had possessed so much. Lu Yin had already surpassed many others with his wealth.

    The richer he became, the more powerful he became, and the richer he would therefore be in the future. He had stepped onto a virtuous cycle, and he wondered how many more star essence there were in the Outerverse for him to plunder.

    Ah, he had almost forgotten that he still owed Madam Nn 30,000 star essence. Although she had said that he did not need to return it, Lu Yin did not want to take advantage of her; a loan was a loan.

    Right when he thought of her, she arrived outside of King Zishan''s pce.

    By now, Lu Yin¡¯s domain was able to envelope a humongous area, and he could wield it as he pleased. Besides covering all of King Zishan¡¯s pce, he could also easily cover the imperial pce.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze, the sole survivor from the Dire Barbarian n in the Outerverse, was currently stationed standing guard outside of King Zishan¡¯s pce. Lu Yin had kept him alive since he valued the man¡¯s innate gift, but Lu Yin did not feelfortable leaving the man free. Thus, he had ordered <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze to guard King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    ¡°I request that Mr. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze report that the head of the Nn family is requesting an audience with his Highness, the Royal Regent,¡± the enchanting Madam Nn said to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze extended a hand to her. ¡°His Highness wees you.¡±

    Madam Nn nodded and then slowly stepped into King Zishan''s pce.

    Some information concerning the battles in Ironblood Weave had already been leaked to the rest of the Outerverse, and this information could no longer be concealed. Lu Yin¡¯s performance during his time in Ironblood Weave had also spread, and there were even rumors that Lu Yin had killed multiple Enlighters, barged into the Barbaric Border, and rescued the Hall of Honor¡¯s elders. Countless rumors spread throughout the Outerverse about him, and it was unknown if they were true or false, though one thing was clear: Lu Yin¡¯s performance had been amazing.

    In the current situation where all of the Enlighters were restricted to Ironblood Weave, Madam Nn already knew what sort of status and dominance Lu Yinmanded. At this moment, he could be said to be the indisputable number one in the eastern weaves.

    She had always appreciated Lu Yin, and even after she had learned that Lu Yin had once been sentenced by the Ten Arbiters Council and that he had a deep grudge against one of the Arbiters, she had still leaned towards supporting Lu Yin. Those intentions had only grown firmer with the passage of time.

    The universe would always ce the strong at the top. Even if the Nn family was wealthier, they would still be powerless in the face of the truly strong. She would therefore do her utmost to get along with Lu Yin and maintain a friendly rtionship.

    In King Zishan''s pce¡¯s sitting room, Lu Yin walked out and waited for Madam Nn. He had spent 220 days in the Timestop Space, and after upgrading the Enneadic Wings, he had continued to absorb star essence. Despite cultivating for more than 200 days, he was nowhere close topleting his first cycle.

    It didn¡¯t take Madam Nn long to enter the room with a charming smile. ¡°Congrattions, Your Highness, for returning in triumph.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for her to sit, and he looked at her as a trace of amazement shed through his eyes. This seductress always gave him a new feeling every time they met, and she always managed to attract his gaze. Faced with this stunning Madam Nn, Lu Yin could not act asfortably as he had with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Lilyrose. ¡°You are ttering me, Madam. In fact, if you hadn¡¯te looking for me today, I would have sought you out myself.¡±

    She smiled adorably and looked up at him. ¡°Was Your Highness thinking of me?¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose and then passed a cosmic ring to the tempting Madam Nn. ¡°There¡¯s 30,000 star essence in there. I borrowed it from madam before leaving for the Ironblood Weave, so I will return the exact amount to you.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s brilliance faded as she took the cosmic ring. She suddenly stood up and spoke coldly to Lu Yin. ¡°Since Your Highness does not wee the Nn family, we will not force our stay. Thank you, Your Highness, for the assistance that you have provided us. If it is fate, then we will meet again in this universe.¡± She then turned to leave.

    Lu Yin was stumped and he hurriedly stood up to stop her. ¡°Has Madam misunderstood something?¡±

    She stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve treated Your Highness as a friend, but has Your Highness ever taken thisdy to heart? Or is it that Your Highness looks down on businessmen?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Lu Yin replied immediately.

    She shook her head. ¡°When Your Highness headed out to Ironblood Weave before, it was known that that ce was a ckhole of death. Our Nn family was unable to do anything to help, so we could only offer some meager resources to show our support. Our Nn family is very grateful to Your Highness, so we also feel ashamed about what we could offer. Now, Your Highness is unwilling to even ept this small amount of resources. What could be the reason besides you feeling contempt for my Nn family?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her nkly, and then he smiled in embarrassment as he stretched out a hand. ¡°Thank you foring to my help, Madam.¡±

 Chapter 600: Plans For An Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 600: ns For An Alliance</h4>

    Madam Nn smiled seductively and passed the cosmic ring back to Lu Yin. Their hands brushed against each other, and Lu Yin could acutely feel the softness of Madam Nn¡¯s skin.

    He suddenly noticed that her hands were very beautiful. They were fair and wless, as if they had been sculpted from white jade.

    ¡°Madam, are you here to check whether or not I broke my limbs?¡± Lu Yin joked, forcibly shifting his attention away from Madam Nn¡¯s hand.

    Madam Nn sat down and smiled at him. ¡°That¡¯s not wrong. You¡¯ve managed to survive through Ironblood Weave, and I have heard many praises for your performance. Your Highness¡¯ reputation is spreading throughout the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin reluctantly replied, ¡°They¡¯re all just exaggerations.¡±

    ¡°Many people spend their entire lives trying to be renowned, but Your Highness has already achieved it. I¡¯m actually here to talk about the Nn family¡¯s n to cooperate with the Great Yu Empire,¡± Madam Nn exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed, as that would be a great thing for the empire. The Nn family was known as the wealthiest family in the Outerverse, and no one knew just how much money they actually had. Although star essences were notmonly seen in the Outerverse, the Nn family could still easily fork out tens of thousands of them, which showed how wealthy they were. They were nearlyparable to the tycoons of the Innerverse, and they were far richer than an empire, or even an entire weave of the Outerverse.

    ¡°Madam, how do you picture our coboration working?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°It would be veryprehensive, ranging from agriculture, industrial, and business support to weapons development, space travel, and recycling. As long as it is a field that the Nn family is involved in, we would be willing to work with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Madam, are you serious?¡±

    Madam Nn nodded her head. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡­

    Madam Nn left an hourter, and Lu Yin fell deep into thought as he watched her leave.

    Anyone in the Outerverse would want to work with the Nn family, and even the major forces that ruled an entire weave would fight over the chance to work with them. The only thing that was motivating Madam Nn to work with the Great Yu Empire was Lu Yin himself.

    Initially, when the Nn family had requested protection, they had mentioned that they would coborate with the Great Yu Empire. However, Lu Yin had thought that they would only want to coborate in some small capacity and would merely help stimte the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy. He had never expected that they would offer such aprehensive coboration, and this arrangement was far more useful than the Great Yu Empire¡¯s coborations with Northline Flowzone or the Watermoon Vi.

    The current problem was that the Great Yu Empire held the disadvantage in all aspectspared to the Nn family. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s extraordinary abilities, then the Great Yu Empire definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to match up to the Nn family.

    Lu Yin decided that it was time to increase the empire¡¯s strength. He wanted this coboration to be equal to both sides. Also, he didn¡¯t want the Great Yu Empire to fall under the Nn family¡¯s control, as that wasn¡¯t his style of doing things.

    Lu Yin quickly summoned Gavin, the minister of finance.

    ¡°The Nn family wants to coborate with the empire?¡± Gavin grew excited at this news.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Go and arrange for someone to coordinate with the Nn family, and remember to do so for all aspects of the coboration.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. With the help of the Nn family, the empire¡¯s economy will recover very quickly,¡± Gavin said happily.

    Lu Yin nced at him. ¡°I want to see growth, not just recovery.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Gavin agreed.

    ¡°One more thing.¡± Lu Yin looked at Gavin. ¡°While you are working with them, try andwork with the other weaves more, and then send some of our people out. You can go and discuss the details with Captain Shalosh.¡±

    Gavin nodded. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin tossed a cosmic ring over to Gavin. ¡°Here¡¯s some stuff that I want to sell to the empire, so please evaluate the value.¡±

    Gavin looked confused, but when he looked into the cosmic ring, he saw more than three hundred tonnes of prium essence, which left him stunned.

    Prium essence was extremely valuable, and even Elder Wu and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had fought over it in the past. Generally, even an entire that contained prium ore wouldn¡¯t yield this much prium essence. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m unable to give you an estimate at this moment.¡±

    ¡°For the 310 tonnes of prium essence and the star crystals from the Nine Stacks Sect, I¡¯ll calcte the value as 50,000 star essence. This is a debt that the empire owes me, and it will need to be repaid in the future,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin nodded. ¡°Yes, Your Highness, I have made a record of it.¡±

    There had been a huge amount of star crystals in the Nine Stacks Sect, but they were only worth about 20,000 star essences in total. A major reason why Lei Long hadn¡¯t used any of the crystals from the sect was that they were way too bulky to carry around. However, Lu Yin also didn¡¯t want to leave the star crystals for the Nine Stacks Sect, so he had shipped all of them back to the Great Yu Empire. As for the prium essence, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure of the price either.

    The prices of most items would fluctuate due to market conditions, and so, the prium essence might not actually be worth 30,000 star essence. Despite that, Gavin didn¡¯t object to the price that Lu Yin had given. Even if Lu Yin had stated the prium essence was worth 300,000 star essences, he would have to agree to it since Lu Yin was the one in charge of the Great Yu Empire.

    The main reason why Lu Yin had passed the prium essence to Gavin was so that they could equip the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons with it and make them into a powerful force throughout the Outerverse. It was also time to change the requirements for joining the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, as Lu Yin wanted to prioritize quality over quantity.

    Before much more time passed, Gavin left. The prium essence had been immediately sent over to Ban Jiu, the captain of the Twelfth Squadron.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin sat down at his typical seat below the throne for a morning meeting.

    He didn¡¯t have many opportunities to attend the meetings, and most of the meetings were now being hosted by the ministers when he wasn¡¯t present.

    Huan Sha and En Ya were already at the meeting. Although they were standing at the back of the hall, everyone knew that they would be more powerful than the Imperial Cab in the future.

    ¡°The Meck family is in chaos following the death of their patriarch. Following some discussion, we have decided to intervene in order to prevent further issues.¡±

    ¡°Many medicalpanies in the empire have increased their prices due to the war in the Ironblood Weave, and all of the medications from Shamrock Enterprises have been sold out. After some discussion, we have decided to punish the medicalpanies that raised their prices.¡±

    ¡°The Gxy Bank has dered bankruptcy and will be taken over by the empire. We estimate that this will cause a certain amount of loss to the empire¡¯s budget.¡±

    ¡­

    The ministers reported their updates one after another, and all in all, it took more than an hour to go through everything.

    Too many things had happened during this period, but the ministers only chose to report the major incidents as most of the minor issues had already been settled by the Imperial Cab and the four ministries.

    Lu Yin calmly listened to the reports and only felt one thing: chaos. The main problem was that he didn¡¯t have enough money. With money, he would be able to take care of the medications¡¯ high prices and cate the citizens. He could also create more jobs and relieve some of the pressure ced on the people by doing so. Madam Nn¡¯s proposal to coborate had truly been a godsend.

    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve finished my report,¡± Garope respectfully informed him.

    Lu Yin nodded, and his gaze swept over the ministers as he fell deep into thought.

    Everyone stood and waited quietly.

    Momentster, Lu Yin spoke up, ¡°Actually, I have an idea. When the eastern weaves joined forces and sent reinforcements to the war in Ironblood Weave, they were able to gather nearly ten Enlighters and dozens of Hunters, but that wasn¡¯t the full power of those weaves. If we joined forces with the other weaves andbined our power, then what would happen?¡±

    The ministers present were confused, as they couldn¡¯t understand what Lu Yin was hinting at.

    En Ya¡¯s eyes glinted, and she looked at Lu Yin in shock. This was an ambitious question. There were seventy two weaves in the Outerverse, and no force had ever taken control of more than three weaves at a time. At best, a single force had held full control of two weaves at a time.

    Lu Yinughed heartily when he saw the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just joking. We¡¯ll end the meeting here.¡±

    The ministers agreed and left the great hall.

    En Ya stayed behind and moved forward after everyone else had left. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Does Your Highness really mean what was just said?¡± En Ya asked seriously.

    Lu Yin answered after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Maybe. Do you have any suggestions?¡±

    En Ya answered, ¡°Actually, Grand Marshal Shui had this idea in the past as well. He wanted to connect the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse and use theirbined power to attack the Primal Zone in order to take back some control from the Celestial Beast Empire. At the same time, he wanted tounch another attack from Erudite Flowzone against the Celestial Beast Empire. Grand Marshal Shui once said that the Outerverse was too scattered and that each weave was negligible on its own. However, if the weaves were to join forces, then theirbined power would be immense. It¡¯s possible that the reason why the Celestial Beast Empire hasn¡¯t sent an enormous force to the Primal Zone is because they were concerned about the possible retaliation from the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was interested in her words. ¡°It would seem that most of my ideas are in line with Grand Marshal Shui¡¯s thoughts.¡±

    En Ya nodded. ¡°Many of Grand Marshal Shui¡¯s ideas were rejected by the powers of the Innerverse, and the Hall of Honor didn¡¯t support him either.¡±

    ¡°Times have changed. Since the Innerverse and the Outerverse have been separated, as long as Elder Lohar doesn¡¯t object to my actions, then I can do anything with the Hall of Honor¡¯s support. Nobody will be able to stop me,¡± Lu Yin said. He had just received his new gadget the previous day, and there were currently six Honor Points on his profile.

    Although it might seem like a small change to go from two to six Honor Points, Lu Yin¡¯s entire status had transformed. As long as he didn¡¯t do anything overboard, the Hall of Honor would stand on his side. Also, since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, there weren¡¯t many people around who had more Honor Points than him.

    En Ya¡¯s eyes shone, and Lu Yin had never seen her this excited throughout her entire time in the Great Yu Empire. ¡°I am willing to help Your Highness rule the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Rule the Outerverse? You¡¯re overthinking things. I just want the eastern weaves to unite. Since Grand Marshal Shui had this idea in the past, then do you have any suggestions?¡±

    En Ya nodded. ¡°An alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Draft a n for the alliance. That¡¯s a good idea.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was the best tactical mind in the history of humanity. The scope of his ideas was not something that Lu Yin couldpare to. The Grand Marshal had wanted to unite all seventy two weaves of the Outerverse, but Lu Yin merely wanted to try joining the eastern weaves together, as well as a few other weaves if it was possible.

    Uniting all seventy two weaves was almost impossible even without any Enlighters active in the Outerverse and the full support of the Hall of Honor. This was because the Outerverse was too vast, and it would take a tremendous amount of time just for the Great Yu Empire¡¯s troops to traverse the Outerverse, let alone unite all the weaves.

    It would only be possible if Lu Yin had Mister Mu¡¯s ability to travel across half the universe in an instant.

    One day, a shadow entered King Zishan¡¯s pce without even being noticed by <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Kayze The shadow revealed itself when a bespectacled girl stepped into the manor.

    The girl walked into the sitting room of King Zishan¡¯s pce and stood there silently.

    Lu Yin soon joined her.

 Chapter 601: Mistchildâ€™s Worth

    <h4>Chapter 601: Mistchild¡¯s Worth</h4>

    ¡°Mistchild greets Elder Brother.¡± This girl who had sneaked into Lu Yin¡¯s home was the Melder Mistchild of Mafioso, a Poison Master whom Lu Yin had met back on Woodrock.

    ¡°I never thought that you would actuallye.¡± Lu Yin was surprised by her arrival, as he had actually forgotten about this woman.

    Mistchild smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Has Elder Brother already forgotten about me? You gave me three months, and I arrived at Zenyu Star in just one month. However, I did not appear out of fear for disturbing Elder Brother.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down and studied Mistchild. ¡°Have you broken through to the Limiteer realm?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s entirely thanks to Elder Brother¡¯s poison that my power has greatly increased,¡± Mistchild replied in a pleased tone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and he looked at Mistchild, only to be rather surprised. She was obviously still a Limiteer, but the woman¡¯s rune lines had nearly reached Zhuo Daynight¡¯s level before she hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. Zhuo Daynight was an elite from the Daynight n, and back then, she had been strong enough to rival Lu Yin in the past and qualify to participate in the contest on Pyrolyte. Now that she hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, she had be strong enough to rival Zhanlong Daynight.

    Mistchild was someone from the Outerverse, and it was not easy for someone like her to gain the strength to rival Zhuo Daynight even in the past. It seemed that her poison constitution was worth developing.

    If she consumes more poisons, then will her power increase even faster? How interesting.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. Just do the same as everyone else and call me ¡®Your Highness,¡¯¡± Lu Yin ordered. He was unustomed to being called Elder Brother.

    Mistchild beamed and nodded, but then, she looked at Lu Yin expectantly. ¡°Elder- Your Highness, could you give Mistchild some poisons to eat? I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    A vial of poison appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, but then, under Mistchild¡¯s covetous eyes, he stored it away again. ¡°You were given one vial before, but you still haven¡¯t given me any sort of remuneration.¡±

    Mistchild felt offended. ¡°Then Your Highness can order Mistchild to kill anyone, and Mistchild will kill them.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anyone right now, but I¡¯ll let you know when someonees to mind.¡± Lu Yin was not too interested in Mistchild. Initially, he had wanted to use Mistchild to deal with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, but during the battles in Ironblood Weave, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had emphatically stated that he was not the one who had revealed Lu Yin¡¯s method of killing Enlighters. Lu Yin did not fully believe the old man, but since he was still trapped in Ironblood Weave for the moment and had even lost the Bloodied Handprint, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was not much of a threat to him anymore. Thus, there was no need for Lu Yin to use this Mistchild to deal with him anymore.

    Mistchild was an assassin, and she was very sensitive towards other people¡¯s moods, which allowed her to sense Lu Yin¡¯s casual attitude. Her heart tightened. After her breakthrough, she had defeated the Limiteer Mistchild on Mafioso to be the new Limiteer Mistchild. However, there was still the Explorer Mistchild, Cruiser Mistchild, and the Hunter Mistchild. The pressure on her was great, especially since the contests on Mafioso were very cruel, with her opponents using all sorts of methods. Quite a few of the past Limiteer Mistchilds had died, and so she did not want to lose Lu Yin as a backer.

    Even Elder <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist was afraid of this Royal Regent, which meant that he was an existence that the other Mistchildren would not dare to provoke.

    ¡°Your Highness, Mistchild prepared a gift before visiting you this time,¡± she said.

    ¡°Oh? It won¡¯t be a human head, right?¡± Lu Yin looked at Mistchild with interest.

    Mistchild smiled at him and then retrieved a metal disk that she passed over to Lu Yin. He looked at it, and his expression immediately changed.

    ¡®The Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Elder Cheng Yan once killed Meng Tianlong¡¯s eldest son, Meng Guang, on a rainy night twelve years ago. He seized the Deste Palm Technique and has been cultivating it in secret¡­¡¯

    The metal disk held records of many matters concerning Cheng Yan, with a particr focus on the process and location where he had killed Meng Guang, as well as the methods that he had used to conceal the truth.

    ¡°Cheng Yan is one of the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s elders, and he has a great deal of authority. Meng Guang was the eldest son of the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s head, Meng Tianlong, and he was also the brother of Your Highness¡¯s fellow student, Meng Yue.¡± Mistchild introduced the people mentioned in the records.

    ¡°Why are you giving me this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mistchild exined, saying, ¡°I feel like this could be of use to you. Mafioso is the strongest assassination organization in the surrounding weaves, so it has gathered many deeply buried secrets. Whether it concerns our employers or our victims, a great deal of top-secret information has never been released outside, but we will keep records of all of it in our files. Some of the information even concerns the surrounding weaves.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked back at the metal disk. Now this was interesting. Had they gathered many secrets? He fell deep into thought.

    ¡°Do you have anything rted to the Great Yu Empire?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mistchild replied, ¡°Yes, but not much, and none of it concerns Your Highness. Nothing in our records is useful for Your Highness either.¡±

    ¡°If you can provide me with all of the information that Mafioso possesses, I can give you what you want,¡± Lu Yin offered indifferently.

    Mistchild grew happy. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. I only want more poisons.¡±

    ¡°Hand over the information first.¡±

    Mistchild was ced in a difficult position. ¡°Your Highness, although the Great Elder is not on Mafioso at this time, the current decision maker is still the Hunter Mistchild. With him present, it would not be feasible to take out all this information. Everything is recorded on these metal discs, and we aren¡¯t allowed to take our gadgets or any form of technology into the database.¡±

    ¡°So what is that you want?¡± Lu Yin looked at her.

    Mistchild nervously made her request. ¡°Lure out the Explorer, Cruiser, and Hunter Mistchildren. Only the Mistchildren have the privilege to visit the database. After you lure the three of them out, I will be able to take all of the information away. The other space-exploring powerhouses from the can¡¯t approach the database, so they won¡¯t be able to stop me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips carried a hint of a smile, and he just stared at Mistchild.

    Mistchild became flustered under his gaze, and she lowered her head, not daring to look up at him.

    ¡°Details. How would you do it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mistchild said, ¡°Does Your Highness have anyone in particr that you would like taken care of?¡±

    ¡°In Frostwave Weave¡¯s first fment, the Orchid¡¯s Parliament Chairman,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Mistchild was instantly delighted. ¡°Got it. Eight days from now, those three Mistchildren will assassinate the Parliament Chairman of Orchid.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know what Mistchild was nning. ¡°No problem. Eight days from now, I¡¯ll be waiting next to the chairman.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness,¡± Mistchild said respectfully.

    From Mistchild¡¯s perspective, Lu Yin was going to help her get rid of the three Mistchildren. Once they died, given that the Great Elder had not returned by then, the selection for the next Mistchildren would be dyed for a while. During that period of time, none of the other space-exploring powerhouses would have greater authority than her, so she would be able to do whatever she wanted.

    Lu Yin smiled, as he did not deny her spections and merely allowed her to make her own assumptions. As for whether or not he would actually get rid of those three Mistchildren, that depended on the circumstances at that time.

    This brat had taken some risks to visit Lu Yin, and she would eventually reach a higher position if she received his help. It was a bold n, but he was amenable to making it happen if it was possible. After all, he would feel more relieved if a dark power like Mafioso was under his surveince.

    As for Orchid¡¯s Parliament Chairman, he was someone who supported the Yushan bloodline. He had requested an audience with Wendy Yushan multiple times, and he was also one of the people behind the rumors iming that the Great Yu Empire wanted to change the ruler. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, this guy could just die for all he cared! It would only take a sentence on his part.

    Mistchild left with the intention of returning to Mafioso. The moment the mission was received, the other three Mistchildren on Mafioso would set off towards the Frostwave Weave.

    Orchidy at the edge of the first fment, and was a fair distance away from Zenyu Star. If Lu Yin had chosen somece that was too close to the capital of the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin was afraid that Mafioso would not ept the mission.

    Orchid was a technologically advanced and was governed through a parliamentary system. Many of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s technological products came from Orchid, so it had a robust economy. This was also why the chairman had the confidence to seek out Wendy Yushan. Once he forced Lu Yin to step down, he would absolutely be able to join the capital and receive an appointment on Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin arrived at Orchid eight days after meeting with Mistchild. This did not seem to be much smaller than Zenyu Star. There were means of transport throughout the sky,nd, and sea, and its climate was decent as well, with clouds floating high in the sky.

    The parliament building was the tallest building on the entire, and its height was so daunting that even the clouds could only reach halfway up the building. With the violent wind at that altitude, the building swayed continuously.

    On the top floor, Chairman Logan gazed down from within his office with worried eyes.

    After all the conflicts in Ironblood Weave, he had made a point to visit Zenyu Star and meet with the Fifth Princess in order to persuade her to take back control of the Great Yu Empire, but he had not even managed to see her. This same thing had already happened a few times before, and it was clear that the Fifth Princess simply had no intention to meet with him.

    The chairman and his allies had originally assumed that she was under house arrest, but since she was able to safely return after her time in Ironblood Weave, that was definitely not the case.

    She was not under house arrest, but she also did not care about the people on the Yushan bloodline¡¯s side. In the eyes of her supporters, it was aplete betrayal.

    Many of them had already been discussing how they would do their best to get Lu Yin to step down. They had supporters in the military and the imperial court, though mostly in the military. Lu Yin had not held his position as Royal Regent for very long, so he could not even recognize some of the names of themanders, let alone interfere with their influence over the military.

    As long as the Yushan bloodline supporters were willing, they could immediately activate a third of the empire¡¯s military to support their rebellion and raise the Fifth Princess to her so-called ¡°rightful ce,¡± even if she ended up as nothing more than a puppet.

    The only problem that they faced was that Lu Yin was too powerful. His record of killing multiple Enlighters ced an immense pressure on them that felt like a mountain hanging over their heads. They found it difficult to even breathe.

    Logan had already thought things through, and he was prepared to cooperate with other powers and recruit a few more Hunters to help them. He did not believe that Lu Yin could truly deal with their alliance since the power vessel that he had used to kill Enlighters had apparently been destroyed. In other words, that this was their best chance.

    Still, they could not rush, and they should not rush. They first had to assemble the Hunters while avoiding those like Huo Qingshan, which required meticulous nning.

    Right, Logan thought as he observed Orchid, this is a good n.

    Logan¡¯s eyes lit up as his thoughts slowly took form.

    At this moment, Logan¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification, which caused him to look at it with a strange feeling. ¡°They¡¯re making me go to Fifth Gravitas?¡± This order was from Zenyu Star¡¯s Lu Staff, and Logan felt unhappy just from seeing that name. In his eyes, this ministry was nothing more than a gathering of Lu Yin¡¯sckeys. Still, he had to obey the order for now.

    Soon after receiving the orders, Logan flew towards Fifth Gravitas in his spacecraft. It was not too far from Orchid, but it was rather deste. Logan did not know why the Lu Staff wanted him to head there, but he had been informed that he would know after arriving. He grew increasingly ufortable and felt rather heavy.

    ¡°Pour me a ss of water.¡± Logan felt jittery.

    The soldiers on his spacecraft hurriedly poured him a ss of water, and Logan drained it in one gulp before letting out a breath. He looked outside, where he suddenly saw a sh of white light, and a shock ran through his entire body. He was no ordinary person, and he had cultivated his strength to the Limiteer realm. He had roamed through the universe when he was younger, and he had even graduated from Yu Academy, so he had a certain sensitivity towards danger. However, this sh of white light was enough to make his scalp turn numb, and he could not hide from it. He knew that he was doomed, as a life and death crisis was just a finger¡¯s breadth away from him.

    Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of him and blocked the attack by grabbing the sh of white light.

    The white light hade from a dagger while the hand that had protected the chairman belonged to the soldier who had poured him water.

    ¡°No wonder. It¡¯s one of Mafioso¡¯s assassins. The average person really can''t even notice you guys.¡± The soldier looked up and revealed a face that was very familiar to Logan. Lu- Lu Yin?

    One end of the dagger was in Lu Yin¡¯s hand while the other was held by a figure garbed in white from head to toe. The figure instantly dropped the dagger and fled, but his disguise wasughable before Lu Yin. He was not looking at the assassin¡¯s appearance, but rather at his rune lines.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he instantly appeared next to the figure before pressing down on the person¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Too slow.¡±

    He then released some of his strength through his hand, and the person¡¯s body was suddenly dispersed by a single pat. Not even the bones remained after the assassin died.

 Chapter 602: A Peculiar Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 602: A Peculiar Innate Gift</h4>

    This assassin was merely an Explorer, but even if they were the Explorer Mistchild, they could at most rival an elite disciple from one of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers, which was still greatly inferior to Lu Yin.

    From behind, another figure appeared, but it did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, the neer stabbed straight at Logan. Mafioso had an irondw that their nurtured killers had to follow: even if the mission turned out to be a trap meant to deal with Mafioso, the assassins had toplete the mission if they had epted it.

    Lu Yin red at the new arrival, and his domain that had already spread out in all directions suddenly shuddered. A visible shockwave burst out and pushed the person who was attacking Logan aside. Lu Yin lifted a hand, and his domain suddenly condensed. It then took the form of a massive tree that covered the sky, looking exactly like the phenomena that had appeared when Lu Yin had broken through to the Explorer realm.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield, and the tall tree protected Logan who was within it. Lu Yin¡¯s domain had reached the level where he could release a forcefield, but he did not know how he was doing such a thing. It was as if enlightenment had suddenly dawned on him.

    Furthermore, his forcefield was no weaker than Mu Rong¡¯s, and it was even possible that it was stronger.

    The second assassin suddenly retreated when they felt Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield, but it was already toote. This was actually Lu Yin¡¯s first time using his forcefield, and he used it to press down on the attacker. The branches of the tree pierced through the void and wrapped around the assassin. This person was the Cruiser Mistchild, who was very powerful, but despite that, the twisting branches tied him up until he could not retaliate. After Lu Yin casually waved a hand, the figure was instantly eliminated.

    Logan stared at the scene, shocked. Just what was going on?

    ¡°Chairman Logan, please rest assured. I¡¯ll protect you.¡± Lu Yin smiled at him.

    When he saw Lu Yin¡¯s smile, Logan became even more terrified. He was not stupid, and even a fool would realize that Lu Yin would note over specifically to protect him. These killers had to be rted to the Royal Regent somehow. But if Lu Yin had sent these killers after the chairman, then why had he also shown up himself to protect the man?

    Suddenly, the spacecraft fractured into two pieces, and Logan¡¯s pupils shrank. A suffocating pressure suddenly caused him to faint. It was a Hunter.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the Hunter Mistchild would act simrly to the other Mistchildren and use assassination methods. He had not expected the killer to directly confront him.

    A cold darkness streaked through the void, leaving a spatial tear in its wake. This attack was not aimed at Logan, but rather Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not put on his universal armor, as Elder Lohar had been right. Lu Yin should not rely on external support unless he encountered a true crisis. There would eventuallye a day when he would not be able to use any such items. Even during thest battle in Ironblood Weave, Cursewind and a Shadowbeast had specifically targeted him. He could not afford to step onto the wrong path.

    The dagger moved extremely fast, and it streaked straight through the void. Lu Yin could not even see the Hunter Mistchild¡¯s shadow, but he filled his eyes with star energy as he lightly stepped out. He shifted his body to the side with Secret Sidestep Technique and evaded the dagger¡¯s strike. However, the Hunter Mistchild had anticipated Lu Yin¡¯s movements, and the dagger tore the entire region apart like a storm. Lu Yin could not avoid this attack no matter where he dodged.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art, causing the dagger to stab in another direction. Seven lined battle force burst out and covered Lu Yin¡¯s body as he grabbed the Mistchild¡¯s arm. He pulled firmly, dragging the Hunter out of the void. The dagger spun around, and a white lotus began to blossom. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed; this was a battle technique. Fatesand appeared in front of him and collided against the white lotus.

    There was a crack as space itself started breaking down around them. Lu Yin quickly retreated while keeping his apprehensive eyes fixed ahead of him.

    The Hunter Mistchild no longer remained in the void and revealed himself.

    It was no wonder why this person was Mafioso¡¯s strongest Hunter realm assassin. In terms of truebat power, this man couldn¡¯tpare to peak Hunters like Aden or Kong Shi, but on the other hand, his killing intent was something that others¡¯ could notpare to. Lu Yin had exchanged blows with Kong Shi once before, and his physical strength had even overpowered Kong Shi when their fingers collided. However, he was well aware that Kong Shi had never disyed any battle techniques or innate gifts during their spar.

    In the end, a Hunter was a Hunter, and their star energy exerted more than just a little bit of suppression upon an Explorer. But Lu Yin was not afraid, as this man had not reached Kong Shi or Aden¡¯s level yet.

    He had thought that the Hunter Mistchild would try to kill him first and then Logan, but unexpectedly, after just a single exchange, the Hunter Mistchild unhesitatingly abandoned Lu Yin. His figure flickered as he reappeared in front of Logan. A cold radiance streaked across Logan¡¯s neck.

    Logan was overwhelmed, and endless terror and desperation appeared in his eyes.

    At this moment, the tall tree that Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield had taken the form of moved once again. Logan had originally been protected inside the tree, and the moment the Hunter Mistchild snuck over, the branches tightly twisted around Logan and rose together, allowing him to flee.

    The Hunter Mistchild was stumped; was this the normal behavior of a tree? It seemed rather exotic.

    The next moment, countless branches shot out towards the Hunter Mistchild. He flipped his dagger around, ready to sever all of the approaching branches, but Lu Yin suddenly appeared, shrouded with his seven lined battle force that illuminated the sky. He pped a hand out towards the Hunter Mistchild. The killer¡¯s eyes went wide, and a peculiar ripple spread out. It was a domain. The Hunter Mistchild had actuallyprehended a domain.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield quickly suppressed the man¡¯s domain, the Hunter Mistchild still managed to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike. His dagger ripped the void apart yet again as the white lotus reappeared, bringing with it an intense sense of danger. Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The white lotus attack was diverted, and it moved back towards the Hunter Mistchild.

    The assassin hurriedly dodged, and Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield suddenly condensed even further. At the same time, he pped out with another palm strike, and this time, the Hunter Mistchild could not dodge. Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield made the man feel like he was entrenched in a swamp. Even Kong Shi had been astonished by how solid Lu Yin¡¯s domain was when she had fought him.

    A single palm was able to distort the void, and it quickly appeared in front of the Hunter Mistchild. He let all of his star energy burst forth in response and formed a shield that contained all of his star energy. His shield that contained the strength of a powerhouse with a power level of more than 100,000 blocked Lu Yin¡¯s palm. The star energy manifested into a visible form that swept out like an air wave, causing space to shudder. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time directly facing the all-out eruption of a Hunter¡¯s star energy, and the suppression of the burst left him stifled.

    If a Hunter was like this, then an Enlighter went without saying, as they could release a strength that would cause Lu Yin to be desperate. If he didn¡¯t use his universal armor, then it would be easy for an Enlighter¡¯s star energy to knock Lu Yin unconscious.

    The suppression of star energy was the most directly observable difference between cultivation realms as it was purely a matter of quality versus quantity. Even Realmbreaker powerhouses would be suppressed against an enemy with a higher cultivation, and it was a suppression that had no counters. Sometimes, the more ordinary a method seemed, the more effective it actually was.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm was resisted by the berserk star energy, and the universal spacecraft soon exploded in space. The Hunter Mistchild¡¯s heart felt smothered. Although he had not borne the full brunt of Lu Yin¡¯s palm, the Oveying Stacks had still struck him, leaving himpletely shocked. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was even more absurd than what he had previously imagined.

    The dagger streaked out and sliced at Lu Yin¡¯s neck.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back before tapping out with one finger. This finger caused his heart to burn with a boundless rage, and his eyes went ck as he lost consciousness while using the Dream Finger. Space around him froze at this moment, and there was only the finger from Lu Yin¡¯s dreams that had transcended space and could disregard all distance. It directly appeared in front of the Hunter Mistchild and pierced his shoulder. Layers of ripples pulsed out from behind the Hunter and propagated further and further until they finally caused the void to burst open.

    At that moment, Lu Yin regained consciousness, but his finger was still stuck in the Hunter Mistchild¡¯s shoulder. An intense pain exploded from Lu Yin fingertip, and he pulled his hand back and ced it behind his back. Every time Lu Yin used the Dream Finger, his finger would be severely injured, as even his physical body was not tough enough to endure the might of that finger. Not only did it harm the enemy, but it also harmed Lu Yin.

    The Hunter Mistchild spat out a mouthful of blood, as the attack had not been as simple as the finger stabbing into his shoulder. It had also destroyed half of the energy channels in his body, and he could no longer even stand up. Soon after, his body crumpled to the ground.

    Lu Yin looked at the man until the Hunter Mistchild copsed onto the wreckage from the spacecraft. From there, he looked up at Lu Yin, overwhelmed.

    As an assassin, he had long since forgotten what fear felt like, but the moment he saw that finger, he had experienced that emotion once again. An indescribable oppression had apanied the finger as it approached him, and he had been even more terrified than when he had first faced the Great Elder. But Lu Yin was just an Explorer. How could such a person possess such terrifying strength?

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger was wracked with excruciating pain, and it would take him at least several days to recover. This particr attack could be used only once during a battle.

    Sometimes, Lu Yin felt lost himself, as the fearsome strength that apanied that finger was truly iprehensible. More importantly, even with the incredible strength of his physical body, he still could not endure that might of that finger. The strength of the finger made him feel it was even more powerful than the Yu Secret Art, as it had caused a Yin Guai to explode the first time he had attempted to use it.

    In the distance, Logan was trapped within Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield that had taken the form of a giant tree. From there, he stared on nkly and in terror at Lu Yin¡¯s fight. The youth had actually defeated a Hunter, but hadn¡¯t it been reported that he had relied on external objects to kill Enlighters? Shouldn¡¯t he no longer have any such external aids? But even when he no longer had his tools, Lu Yin¡¯s power still could not be exined.

    Lu Yin slowly descended as he looked calmly at the Hunter Mistchild. The rune lines from this person had greatly diminished, and now, they could not evenpare to a normal Explorer¡¯s. The assassin might still have a hidden trump, but it could not be very strong.

    The ck clothes that the Hunter Mistchild wore had been torn apart, revealing a pale-looking youth. He looked very ordinary, and his appearance was the sort that would easily blend into any group. His expression was also very ordinary, and he did not have any of the absolute confidence that a powerhouse should have. If this sort of person hid his cultivation, then no one would be able to notice him. After all, he had evenprehended a domain, which would allow him topletely conceal his aura.

    It was very rare for an Outerverse cultivator toprehend a domain.

    ¡°You¡¯re Mafioso¡¯s Hunter Mistchild?¡± Lu Yin asked softly.

    The Hunter Mistchild was crouching upon the pieces of the spacecraft¡¯s wreckage and was panting heavily. He had clearly been badly injured by Lu Yin, but he did not seem to bear even a hint of a grudge or any other emotions for that matter. This was a killer; he was someone who could kill others or be killed himself without ever voicing aint.

    ¡°Why did you try to assassinate Logan?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Farewell,¡± the young male hoarsely replied as he smiled strangely. Then, his body vanished, and in the ce where he had just been, there was a metal te instead.

    Lu Yin was amazed. Was this an innate gift? He looked around him until he finally saw some rune lines moving away in the southeast direction. His eyes grew cold, and he pulled out his copsible spacecraft. He then tied Logan up and threw him inside the vessel before quickly giving chase after the escaping Hunter.

    In the distance, the Hunter Mistchild held his shoulder as fresh blood continued to flow from the wound. He gritted his teeth and took out some medication to spray onto the wound.

    Suddenly, he looked behind him and saw the copsible spacecraft chasing after him, and he was even able to look inside it. The ice-cold expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face shocked him. How was that possible? How could that kid have discovered the direction that he had fled in?

    The Hunter Mistchild rushed to increase his speed and attempted to escape by tearing through the void. In the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand appeared, and he casually waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The Fatesand vanished, only to reappear right behind the Hunter Mistchild.

    The Hunter Mistchild spat out a mouthful of blood again, this time because a supreme pressure had crushed him. All of his strength disappeared, and he felt as if he was nothing more than a corpse floating through space.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the spacecraft and coldly looked at the Hunter Mistchild. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty decent innate gift. If it wasn¡¯t me, then even a peak Hunter might not have been able to track you down.¡±

 Chapter 603: Employment And A Secret

    <h4>Chapter 603: Employment And A Secret</h4>

    The Hunter Mistchild closed his eyes. ¡°Kill me if you must.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I have no name.¡±

    ¡°Why were you trying to assassinate Logan?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the target of a mission.¡±

    ¡°Three Mistchildren received this mission at the same time. Don¡¯t you find that a little strange?¡± Lu Yin asked. This mission had clearly been created by the bespectacled female Mistchild, but despite the fact that the mission target wasn¡¯t even an Explorer, three Mistchildren had taken action together. Something was obviously fishy if they had simply thought about it.

    The Hunter Mistchild looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°The missions were received at different times. The Explorer Mistchild received the mission first, then the Cruiser Mistchild, and finally, I received it. None of us are required to announce our missions when we receive them, as they are individually issued. One of Mafioso¡¯s irond rules is that we have toplete a mission once we ept it, even if it turns out to be a trap.¡±

    The one who understood assassins the best was still one of their own. That bespectacled Mistchild had messed with the timings when she issued the mission, and the assassins were also not required to report their missions to anyone else. The three might have arrived on Orchid at the same time, but they had also left Mafioso at different times. Those small details had led to the current situation after also taking Mafioso¡¯s irond rule ofpleting all missions into consideration.

    Lu Yin looked at the Hunter Mistchild and wondered whether or not he should kill the man.

    This Hunter Mistchild hadprehended a domain, and he also had a very peculiar innate gift, so killing him felt like a pity. However, even if Lu Yin didn¡¯t kill him, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to make use of the man either.

    He did not believe that he had a dominating aura that could subdue people. The young female Mistchild had decided to follow Lu Yin mainly because of his poisons.

    ¡°How does your Mafioso employ killers?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Hunter Mistchild replied in a low voice, ¡°The starting price to hire an Hunter level assassin is one million star crystals, and the price increases proportionally based on the individual¡¯s power level, sess rate, and the power of the target being assassinated.¡±

    ¡°How about for you?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°My starting price is three million star crystals.¡±

    ¡°How about for long-term employment?¡±

    The Hunter Mistchild was confused by the question. ¡°Long-term employment? There aren¡¯t any such missions.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°If someone wants to kill me, then you¡¯ll help me kill them first. This is the mission that I¡¯ll give you.¡±

    The Hunter Mistchild was lost, as no one had ever tried doing such a thing before. However, this also did not seem to go against any of Mafioso¡¯s rules. It was still a mission to kill, but the price was a little difficult to calcte.

    ¡°Let me put it this way. How much can you earn in a year?¡± Lu Yin asked, his tone rather forthright. He was a rich person, after all.

    ¡°At least 80 million star crystals.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips crept upwards. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 1,000 star essence. You¡¯ll follow me around, protect me, and kill those who try to assassinate me. How does that sound?

    The Hunter Mistchild was stunned, as 1,000 star essence was equivalent to 100 million star crystals, so it was definitely enough, but¡­

    Lu Yin saw the Hunter Mistchild contemting things, and his tone grew colder. ¡°1,500.¡±

    The Hunter Mistchild¡¯s eyes flickered.

    ¡°2,000.¡± Lu Yin was currently experiencing the rush of how Lulu had used money to crush others in the past.

    The Hunter Mistchild was obviously startled by the offer.

    ¡°Not enough? Then you can just die.¡± Lu Yin raised his hand.

    The Hunter Mistchild hurriedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s enough! Sure. I¡¯ll give up all my missions for this next year and work exclusively for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips rose. ¡°Alright then. From today on, you¡¯ll serve in the Second Squadron of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Your task there will be to gather information about the surrounding weaves as well as to assist me in training the people in that squadron and raising their skills in assassination and gathering information.¡±

    The Hunter Mistchild frowned. ¡°I only agreed to protect you. I didn¡¯t agree to help you train your soldiers.¡±

    ¡°2,000 star essence is around 200 million star crystals.¡± At that point, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned frosty. ¡°Do you think that my moneyes on the wind? That I¡¯ll just give it because I said so?¡±

    The Hunter Mistchild¡¯s gaze flickered, and he thought about it. After a moment, he appeared resigned. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Nobody wanted to die, and even killers were still people. They might be unafraid of death, but that did not mean that they wished to die.

    Lu Yin did not hold onto any hope that he would be able to earn this person¡¯s loyalty, as that would be impossible. Since the Hunter Mistchild had toply with Mafioso¡¯s irond rules, then Lu Yin would simply use their rules to restrict him while also using the fear of death and the temptation of money to fully entice him. The Hunter would merely train the Second Squadron, which wasn¡¯t anything too difficult, and Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t suffer any loss if this person refused his offer.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t keeping this person under watch with the intention to have him just train the Second Squadron. That old fogey, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, had used the Bloodied Handprint to eliminate an old monster from the Astral Beast Domain whose power level was over 300,000, which showed that Mafioso was likely not simple. The female Mistchild with sses had devised all sorts of methods to have Lu Yin eliminate the three other Mistchildren, and she possibly had other objectives as well. Leaving this Hunter Mistchild alive could prove useful in the future.

    ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be known as Phantom Sting and you¡¯ll be the captain of the Second Squadron,¡± Lu Yin stated. The Hunter¡¯s status was thus confirmed, but he possessed no authority. That was the best description for the position that Lu Yin had given <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Phantom Sting for the time being; he was just a military instructor.

    Phantom Sting nodded, but his face remained pale.

    After finishing up with the assassin, Lu Yin took another look towards his spacecraft. He wanted Logan to be dead, but after considering his position in the Yushan family and Wendy Yushan as well, he did not proceed with his initial ns. This person was still useful. With Logan, Lu Yin could lure out more people who opposed him before finally dispatching them all together.

    ¡°Arrange for someone to be stationed on Orchid to watch over him,¡± Lu Yin ordered <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Phantom Sting .

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Phantom Sting acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he quickly assumed his new role. It had to be said that Mafioso really knew how to train their members.

    Lu Yin did not mention anything about the Limiteer Mistchild, and he decided that he would also hide <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Phantom Sting¡¯s existence from her.

    Lu Yin had no idea whether or not Mafioso¡¯s members had any way of mutually tracking each other¡¯s whereabouts. If not for his fear of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist, he would have gone straight to Mafioso and investigated the whole organization.

    The Cruiser and Explorer Mistchildren were now dead, and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Phantom Sting had changed his identity in order to assume his new position as the captain of the Second Squadron.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin met with the Limiteer Mistchild again. This time, she brought him arge number of metal disks. They contained many secrets concerning the various great powers of the eastern weaves as well as important individuals.

    Vastdearth Weave¡¯s Vastdearth Sect, Adonis Weave¡¯s Darkstar Gorge, Lars Weave¡¯s Six-Fingered Tribe, xen Weave¡¯s Tri-Colored Federation, Bard Weave¡¯s Evenground Pce, and more were all included in the information. There were even some secrets about important characters from Mafioso itself.

    Much of this information would not be very valuable to most people, but it was of the utmost importance to Lu Yin, who wanted to forge an alliance among the eastern weaves.

    When Huan Sha, En Ya, and the other captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons saw this information, their shocked expressions were very entertaining for Lu Yin, especially En Ya¡¯s face. In the past, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had also tried to create an Outerverse alliance, which was why Lu Yin had passed this matter to her. She was suffering from a headache, trying toe up with different ways to intimidate the powers of the various weaves, but this information had removed any apprehension of how she should proceed. The people in these records would be her weapons.

    ¡°Your Highness, is this information reliable?¡± En Ya could not help herself from asking.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m showing you all this so that I can give you a helping hand.¡±

    ¡°This is far more than a helping hand. It¡¯s basically a shortcut to the finish line,¡± Huo Qingshan marveled.

    Peach continuously flipped through the metal disks, and she cried out in excitement as she raised one. ¡°Gibu¡¯s in here! There¡¯s even information about him.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± The Blind Monk was puzzled.

    Peach smugly exined, ¡°He¡¯s the xen Weave¡¯s Tri-Colored Federation¡¯s former chairman. In the past, His Majesty, Undying Yushan, sent me to the Tri-Colored Federation to carry out a mission, but this old fogey made it so that I was almost unable toe back. Let me take a look at this!¡± As she looked at the information on the metal disk, her expression grew increasingly brighter. ¡°There¡¯s information that we can use here! Your Highness, let me take care of this old fart.¡±

    Lu Yin pointed at En Ya. ¡°The matters of the alliance are being handled by her right now, so you can talk to her.¡±

    Peach looked pleadingly towards En Ya.

    En Ya quietly replied, ¡°We can¡¯t touch xen Weave for now, as it¡¯s currently being controlled by Northline Flowzone¡¯s Granny Chan. She didn¡¯t die in Ironblood Weave, and she will eventually return.¡±

    Peach was disappointed.

    At the mention of Granny Chan, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist had insisted that he had not revealed Lu Yin¡¯s methods of killing Enlighters, so the only other possible person who could have done so was Granny Chan. Could it have been her?

    ¡°Peach, does the empire have anyone nted in the Tri-Colored Federation?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Peach nodded. ¡°Yes, from a long time ago actually, but we never activated them.¡±

    ¡°Activate them now and get them to contact the people from Northline Flowzone.¡±

    Peach acknowledged his order.

    ¡°Actually, the empire has people nted in quite a few of the surrounding weaves, and not just the Tri-Colored Federation. Of course, the empire itself also has other powers¡¯ people nted within it as well,¡± Liuying Zishanmented.

    Lu Yin had En Ya collect all of the metal disks, and he sent everyone else away. The bespectacled Mistchild walked out from the darkness. ¡°I was discovered.¡±

    ¡°There were two Hunters there, so it¡¯s normal for you to be discovered,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She nervously said, ¡°That blind one is very strong.¡±

    A trace of a smile hung on Lu Yin¡¯s lips, as the Blind Monk was indeed powerful. His power level might not match up to Huo Qingshan¡¯s, but he possessed an impressive number of rune lines, and the number even approached Aegis¡¯s. The blind man clearly possessed some hidden trump card, but Lu Yin did not pay that matter any mind. Most cultivators had some. It was likely that even Huo Qingshan possessed some, though he had not used any yet.

    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve delivered what you requested. Can I get a reward now?¡± The Mistchild looked expectantly at Lu Yin as she licked her lips.

    Lu Yin took out a vial of poison that had rune linesparable to a Cruiser¡¯s and tossed it at her.

    She opened the vial, took a whiff, and then said in disappointment, ¡°It¡¯s not as strong as the first.¡±

    ¡°No need to rush. There¡¯s more where that came from,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Mistchild smiled. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Until <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Topmist returns, none of the other Mistchildren will appear. Your authority is very high on Mafioso, so I want you to coordinate with me and help the empire establish the alliance.¡± Lu Yin looked at her.

    She solemnly said, ¡°I¡¯m under Your Highness¡¯smand. Please rest assured.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not say anything else. It was impossible for him to be at ease, but he also knew that this woman could not escape from his clutches. For now, there was only one thing left to do: it was time to return to Shenwu Continent.

    He would take advantage of this time while there were no Enlighters causing trouble in the Outerverse to resolve the issue on Shenwu Continent. Ming Yan had waited for him for two years now, and he was rather nervous.

    The Great Yu Empire had begun itsprehensive cooperation with the Nn family, and En Ya and the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons had also started making arrangements for the alliance while Mafioso helped from the outside. After a few days, Lu Yin took the Blind Monk along with him and visited Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station.

    When Lu Yin arrived this time, the people on the space station panicked a bit, along with the Daynight members still there. Why had this rascale back again?

    Tyrial had died, as he had been drafted to Ironblood Weave, where he had died on the battlefield. The one responsible for Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station now was Men Daynight.

    ¡°Student Lu, you¡¯ve only been gone for a short while, but your recent aplishments are well worth celebrating.¡± She smiled and appeared to be delighted to see Lu Yin.

    Even with his experience, he could not tell if she was faking her happiness, but that was not important. ¡°Madam wasn¡¯t drafted to the warfront?¡±

    ¡°This girl is too feeble, and I could not qualify to be sent to the battlefield.¡± Madam Men smiled as she spoke, escorting Lu Yin into the space station.

 Chapter 604: A Trace Of Unfamiliarity

    <h4>Chapter 604: A Trace Of Unfamiliarity</h4>

    After Lu Yin arrived at Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, no matter how much the Daynight members surrounding him hated him, they did not dare to reveal anything. Lu Yin was pretty much the strongest person in the entirety of the eastern weaves so long as no Enlighter appeared.

    Lu Yin nced at his surroundings. ¡°Madam didn¡¯t go, but another Daynight n Hunter went. Zhanlong Daynight isn¡¯t here either. He hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡±

    Madam Men¡¯s pupils shrank. She had felt that something strange had happened since she hadst seen Lu Yin. For some reason, it felt like he knew everything and that nothing could be kept hidden from him. ¡°How did Student Lu know that they have not yet returned?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled faintly, but he did not bother exining. Something like the rune lines that he could see could only be exined to someone who could see them for themselves, and those who had never seen them could never hope toprehend such a thing. Thus, Lu Yin had no exnation that he could give.

    ¡°Is there a matter that Student Lu wishes to address during this visit?¡± Madam Men enquired.

    Lu Yin raised his gadget and absentmindedly answered, ¡°I had a thorough discussion with Elder Lohar before leaving Ironblood Weave, and he hopes that the Outerverse can be stabilized and united. I came here to carry out the will of the elder, or rather, the Hall of Honor, and I am headed into Shenwu Continent to take a look.¡±

    Madam Men looked at the gadget that Lu Yin was showing her and became astonished. It was a custom-made gadget, and just one nce was enough to see that it was from the Hall of Honor. This person definitely had more than five Honor Points, and it seemed that the Hall of Honor intended to nurture him, given that he had obtained so many Honor Points at such a young age.

    ¡°It might be toote for Student Lu to head there now,¡± Madam Men replied helplessly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Madam Men stroked her hair. ¡°After Student Lu informed Tang Si about the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse, Tang Si was safely sent back to Shenwu Continent. Following that, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s attitude towards the foreign powers has changed, and he¡¯s not as cordial as before. Ming Zhaotian has be even more cruel, and they are increasingly unconcerned with us.¡±

    Lu Yin could hear the dissatisfaction in her tone, but he didn¡¯t care. ¡°That¡¯s my problem, and I¡¯ll handle it.¡±

    ¡°What were Elder Lohar¡¯s original words?¡± she asked.

    Lu Yin nced at her. ¡°You can go ask him yourself.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°Student Lu, there¡¯s no need to think too much. I only wish to better understand the Hall of Honor¡¯s intentions so that I can better assist Student Lu. I definitely do not mean to insinuate that I harbor any suspicions.¡±

    ¡°Send me to Shenwu Continent, and I¡¯ll discuss this matter with Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu myself.¡±

    Madam Men nodded and did not refuse him. Regardless of if he was being honest about Elder Lohar¡¯s intentions, she did not have the strength to stop Lu Yin. She nced at the blind monk, who made her feel a little nervous. How could the Outerverse have such people? It truly seemed like the Great Yu Empire was notcking in powerhouses.

    The process of entering Shenwu Continent this time was simr to what Lu Yin had experienced during the Outerverse¡¯s trial in the past. The reason why Lu Yin had brought the blind monk with him this time was to eliminate the possibility that he might not be able to leave the continent. With the Hunter nearby, as well as the Hall of Honor behind him, Lu Yin felt assured that he would be fine.

    The only issue now was that he didn¡¯t know where he wouldnd.

    The location where one wouldnd when entering Shenwu Continent was random. In the past, Lu Yin hadnded right in Ming Yan¡¯s bath, which had led to the events that had caused him to have feelings for her. Lu Yin¡¯s heart grew feverish at the thought of her since he was about to meet with her once again.

    This time, there was no Ming Zhaotian obstructing his transfer to Shenwu Continent, and so, Lu Yin smoothly arrived. He saw the sky above the continent before suddenly crashing down into a luxurious residence. He looked around and saw that he seemed to be about tond inside a home yet again.

    He was stunned at this sight; did he have some sort of fate withnding in people¡¯s homes? Fortunately, he was prepared this time, and he forcefully twisted his body using his physical strength to instead force himself to crash into an expanse of greenery, a garden in the house¡¯s courtyard.

    The disturbance from hisnding was too great, and so, it attracted the guards¡¯ attention. Lu Yin immediately left.

    The house that he hadnded next to was located inside of a city. When Lu Yin stepped out of the residence, he made a point to look around and quickly saw that there was no heavenly globe in sight, which indicated that he hadnded within a part of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s territory.

    Only Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s territory would not be biased against outside cultivators.

    Lu Yin had intentionally checked on the state of its matters before entering Shenwu Continent, and so, he was aware that Ming Zhaoshu and his regime that was in opposition to the Shenwu Empire currently controlled twelve inds. Qiong Ind was located beside the capital, Ming Ind, and the other eleven inds that the rebels controlledy due east of Qiong Ind.

    Given the twelve inds¡¯ locations, even if Lu Yin hadnded on the ind that was the furthest from Qiong Ind, it still wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem for Lu Yin to travel that distance.

    He asked around and quickly learned that he was on Dapan Ind, which was only three inds away from Qiong Ind, so he was not very far away.

    Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu had carefully chosen the twelve inds that he had taken over, and they were arranged in a line that connected Qiong Ind to the ocean. This meant that he could not be surrounded and that, with Ming Ind as a centerpoint, he essentially controlled an entire region.

    But even though he could not be easily surrounded, if the battlefront was thisrge, then regardless of whether or not Ming Zhaoshu possessed the strength to resist Ming Zhaotian, he should have long since been exterminated. That was, if not for the support that he received from outside forces. To date, Ming Zhaoshu had received help from many powerhouses from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin deliberately observed the situation as he made his way towards Qiong Ind. The rejection that the natives of Shenwu Continent held towards the aliens was rather severe, but it had been suppressed by Ming Zhaoshu. Now, the citizens didn¡¯t dare to reveal their displeasure.

    This situation caused Lu Yin to frown. Such a heavy-handed approach was indeed a bandaid for the current problem, but building up this much pressure and resentment was asking for the situation to boil over in the future, and Ming Zhaoshu might just find himself in a non-ideal situation then. The only way out of this mess was to use the Outerverse to divert the conflicting opinions. Then, the masses could either ept the Outerverse and merge with it, or give in to their terror. But if they chose thetter, they would explode sooner orter.

    With Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s intellect, it was impossible that he had not seen this, so it could only be that he was too confident in himself.

    On his way to Qiong Ind, Lu Yin conveniently bought a copy of the List of Tempering, and after looking at it, he found that there were many changes to the list. Many people who had been on the list thest time he was on the continent had broken through and be Martial Emperors, which was the equivalent of the Explorer realm. Reaching this realm would automatically remove them from the list, and among those who had left the list in this manner was Hua Ying, one of the empire¡¯s twin beauties. Lu Yin had a deep impression of the young woman, as she was a ravishing beauty who was just as famous as Ming Yan. There were also many new names on the list.

    During the battle at the Tower of Resonating Light, the person who had been at the top of this list had ambushed Lu Yin, but had been killed. Now, the top person was someone called Ruthless, and his name was not hidden. Instead, the empire had magnanimously publicized his name for everyone to see. Strangely enough, Li Zimo was still second on the list. He had not broken through and be a Martial Emperor yet.

    In the past, during the Outerverse¡¯s trial, aside from Ming Yan and Ming Zhaoshu, Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Li Zimo had been the deepest. The man was a genius with the sword. If Liu Shaoqiu did not rely on the Thirteen Swords, then he might not necessarily be Li Zimo¡¯s opponent. It was entirely possible that Liu Shaoqiu had be an Explorer by now, but Li Zimo was still just a Limiteer.

    Tang Si had also been taken off of the list. Thest time the two had met, he was still an Limiteer, and now, he was an Explorer.

    The List of Tempering was not very important to Lu Yin, and he had only browsed through it out of curiosity. There was no need for him topare himself with anyone on this list given his current strength. Instead, he wasparing himself with the strongest of the entire continent.

    Due to his urgent desire to see Ming Yan, he moved towards Qiong Ind as quickly as he could, and it soon became visible in the distance.

    As he approached, Lu Yin noticed more and more cultivators from the Outerverse, and there were even some Daynight n members.

    Even if many people held hatred for the aliens, they still managed to endure the oppression, and Lu Yin did not witness any outbursts along his travels.

    When he arrived at Qiong Ind, he headed straight for the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. The security in the area was very strict, especially so after the Reverent King rebelled against the empire. Since then, he had been the target of many assassination attempts, and even the Ming Constables and the Demon Hunters Society had sent assassins after him.

    There were quite a few foreign cultivators who were also contributing to the defenses around the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    Still, all of this was useless against Lu Yin since his domain allowed him to move undetected even after entering the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    Fortunately, Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu was currently not at home, and while there was a Martial Sovereign within the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, that person was greatly inferior to Ming Zhaoshu, and he could not discover Lu Yin with his domain. Lu Yin sessfully entered the residence under the concealment of his domain. In the back garden of the residence, he saw the beautiful Ming Yan smiling. She was sitting inside a pavilion atop a small bridge with water softly flowing underneath. At the same moment, Lu Yin also saw an elegant youth with ck-and-white hair who was very attention-grabbing. He instantly noticed that there was a trace of grey hair in the middle of the youth¡¯s hair: the Nightking n.

    Flowers were blooming all around the bridge, and Ming Yan¡¯s happyughter could be heard from the pavilion.

    ¡°Brother Changfeng, are there really people who are that short?¡± Ming Yan¡¯s eyes went wide as she asked with curiosity.

    Across from her, the Nightking smiled at her. ¡°Of course. There are manys in the universe with varying levels of gravity. Some have especially strong gravity, and the result is that the natives of thoses are much shorter. But don¡¯t look down on them! They are usually very powerful.¡±

    Ming Yan stuck her tongue out. ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking down on them. If heaven strips something away from someone, then it will naturally bestow other things upon them.¡±

    The Nightking man looked at Ming Yan¡¯s adorable and amazingly beautiful face, and his eyes flickered with a trace of passion. ¡°Yan¡¯er, I¡¯ll take you for a tour around the universe.¡±

    Ming Yan was taken aback, and she lowered her head and fell silent.

    The Nightking man leaned slightly closer to her. ¡°The universe is so vast, and there are many mysterious things within it. This Shenwu Continent is too small, and Uncle Ming also wants to join the rest of the universe. It¡¯s a pity that Ming Zhaotian and the others are not receptive to such an idea. But, as long as Yan¡¯er wishes it, Brother Changfeng will take you away at once.¡±

    Ming Yan stared at the stone table, and nobody could tell what she was thinking.

    The Nightking youth took a deep breath, feeling that it was time. He had spent so much time and effort on this woman, and now, there were finally about to be some results. As he thought about it, he raised his hand and slowly drew closer to her. Suddenly, a shadow covered the two of them, and the man¡¯s pupils shrank. When had someone moved behind him?

    In an instant, a green pattern and blue stripes covered his body. He actually had seven lined battle force. He looked behind him to see that there was a youth had appeared behind him without him noticing. This person was calmly staring at Ming Yan and the Nightking youth. Although the neer''s eyes appeared to be tranquil, the Nightking man could feel that underneath the calm facade, there was an indescribable amount of bloodlust ready to erupt, and it was directed entirely towards him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The Nightking youth did not move, as this new person was standing only a meter away from him. There wasn¡¯t enough distance to run, and he knew that if he tried to make a move, he could immediately fall into a disadvantage.

    ¡°Brother Lu?¡± Ming Yan cried out as she looked at the neer in disbelief.

    The man frowned. Brother Lu? Lu Yin? His expression dramatically changed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept past the Nightking man and moved towards Ming Yan. He could see the pleasant surprise in her eyes, but there was also a trace of unfamiliarity, which made Lu Yin¡¯s heart drop. It had been two years! And after this amount of time, such a change should be expected!

    His first meeting with Ming Yan had originally been a coincidence, and her feelings for Lu Yin had partially been because she had never really interacted with any other man before, which was in part due to Shenwu Continent¡¯s cultural custom of confining their daughters. This had caused Ming Yan to instantly fall in love with Lu Yin. But the moment he met her again, he was mesmerized by her beauty yet again.

    That was Lu Yin¡¯s first time feeling his heart skip a beat, and it was such a beautiful sensation.

    However, two years of separation as well as being exposed to the wide universe¡¯s foreign culture meant that Ming Yan hade into contact with more than one outsider. Her mentality had changed, and she no longer felt restrained by Shenwu Continent¡¯s conservative customs. It was possible that she still had feelings for Lu Yin, but they were likely not as pure or firm as they had been in the past.

 Chapter 605: Collision Of Forcefields

    <h4>Chapter 605: Collision Of Forcefields</h4>

    The emotions seen in one¡¯s eyes could not be faked, and the moment Lu Yin saw Ming Yan¡¯s eyes, he knew that those budding feelings of innocence from before would never return.

    Ming Yan stared at Lu Yin nkly, and her delighted face slowly changed into aplex expression. Was she happy at this moment? Yes, but for some reason, she was also not as happy as she had imagined herself to be. She had already lived the moment of her reunion with Lu Yin in her dreams, but they were actually seeing each other again. Despite that, there was this strange trace of unfamiliarity that now separated them. She could only remain frozen in ce, not knowing what to do.

    The two of them just looked at each other like that. They had both longed for this reunion and dreamed of embracing each other. However, now that the moment had finally arrived, neither of them could take that next step, as that step felt like a chasm that covered the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m Nightking Changfeng. It¡¯s good to meet you, Brother Lu.¡± The Nightking youth moved in front of Ming Yan and smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed a bit. ¡°Out of my respect to Nightqueen Qiuyu, who¡¯s still guarding the border, I won¡¯t kill you. Get out of my sight immediately.¡±

    Nightking Changfeng was startled, and he was about to speak when Ming Yan spoke up. ¡°Brother Lu, Brother Changfeng is a very good person.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart wrenched, and he shifted his eyes from Ming Yan over to Nightking Changfeng. He tried to exin while speaking in a cold voice. ¡°You don¡¯t know about my hatred against the Nightking n, and there¡¯s no reason for you to know. You only need to understand one thing: all those from the Nightking n are my enemy.¡±

    Ming Yan heard the iciness in Lu Yin¡¯s tone, and her heart panicked as her face paled. She hurriedly stepped forward, though Nightking Changfeng subconsciously reached out to stop her. Just as he was about to touch Ming Yan, his hand was forcibly stopped: Lu Yin had seized his arm. An enormous strength forcibly bent his arm back, and Nightking Changfeng was overwhelmed to find that he was being suppressed even with his seven lined battle force.

    Lu Yin exerted his strength once again, which caused the entire Reverent King¡¯s Residence to shudder. The intense strength ruthlessly pushed Nightking Changfeng out of the pavilion. ¡°Who gave you the nerve to touch her in front of me?¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s face waspletely white as she looked from Lu Yin to Nightking Changfeng and back. She had no idea what to do.

    Nightking Changfeng tightly held his arm, where there were now five finger marks clearly visible. He was inwardly struck speechless by this person¡¯s terrifying strength. ¡°Yan¡¯er, it looks like Brother Lu¡¯s in a bad mood, so I¡¯ll head out first. Let¡¯s meet again next time.¡±

    He then smiled politely and left the pavilion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he watched the man leave.

    ¡°Brother Lu,¡± Ming Yan called out softly. Even as she looked at him, she was overwhelmed withplex emotions.

    Lu Yin looked at her, and he saw her tangled emotions and the sense of unfamiliarity that was growing. ¡°My hatred with his n runs deep.¡±

    Ming Yan bit her lips. ¡°There¡¯s nothing going on between Brother Changfeng and me. We¡¯re just friends.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Lu Yin interrupted Ming Yan, but then he paused as he looked at her pale face, a pang of emotion striking his heart. He moved to ce a hand on her face, but she subconsciously backed away and lowered her head. She seemed to be thinking about something.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand was left suspended in midair, and after a moment, he helplessly lowered it. ¡°How have you been these two years?¡±

    Ming Yan softly acknowledged him and then asked, ¡°How about you, Brother Lu?¡±

    ¡°Very good,¡± Lu Yin said. ¡°Actually, I came this time to take you away. You-¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, Father has rebelled against the Shenwu Empire. Did you know this?¡± Ming Yan suddenly interrupted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at her nkly before revealing a bitter smile. ¡°I know.¡±

    He looked up at the sky. ¡°Rest well. I¡¯m going to go look for your Father.¡± After saying that, he also left the pavilion.

    Ming Yan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure and felt that she was suddenly even more distant from him than before. She truly did not know how to handle her emotions. Just two years ago, her love for him had been so strong that her heart had ached deeply the moment they had parted. Time was truly a poison that could dissolve all things, even emotions. Perhaps, back then, it had not even been love, though if that was the case, Ming Yan did not even know what she had felt at that time.

    During these past two years, no matter how many outsiders she had met, even if they had been a man as outstanding as Nightking Changfeng, she had not betrayed Lu Yin and firmly protected her feelings. Still, when it came down to what truly mattered, could she ept this situation? Why had she interrupted Brother Lu just now? Why could she not bear to hear the words that she knew he had been about to say? Did she no longer love him?

    Her strength left her, and she copsed onto the pavilion floor in a daze.

    Lu Yin did not me Ming Yan, as emotions and feelings were not things able to be controlled by humans. He had not missed Ming Yan that much during these past two years; he had been in contact with the enchanting Madam Nn, Wendy Yushan, and girl after girl. In fact, Ming Yan¡¯s ce in his heart had dwindled, but every time he thought of her, that feeling of longing had ovee everything else.

    Perhaps, this was puppy love¡ªa bittersweet romance.

    Still, unfamiliarity did not necessarily mean the end of the rtionship. Ming Yan still had feelings for him, which he was able to see, and he still held some for her as well. In the end, everything depended on the future.

    Within the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, the most heavily guarded location was Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s study. Soon after leaving the pavilion, Lu Yin sat down inside the study to wait for Ming Zhaoshu to arrive.

    In another ce, Nightking Changfeng¡¯s face had be gloomy after he left the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. A bone-deep throbbing pain was pulsating from his arm, as Lu Yin¡¯s strength left him aghast; how could he be that strong? He was a Cruiser, and he was also ranked twenty first on the Top 100 Rankings; he was a genius of the Nightking n second only to Nightking Gu. Those from the Nightking n were generally all famous figures, but he had just been easily suppressed by that person, even with his seven lined battle force.

    Nightking Changfeng had not paid much attention to the fact that Lu Yin was an unequaled Limiteer in the past, but just now, he had personally experienced the truth. He now knew how helpless Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhanlong Daynight must have felt. This person had to be dealt with, or else he would grow into a huge problem for the Nightking n in the future.

    No one in the entire Reverent King¡¯s Residence knew that there was somebody waiting for Ming Zhaoshu in their most tightly guarded study.

    Once night fell, Ming Zhaoshu finally returned to the Reverent King¡¯s Residence and became aware of the intruder. His domain was no weaker than Lu Yin¡¯s, and although Lu Yin was improving at a rate that even he himself felt it was a bit strange, Ming Zhaoshu had endured for so many years and alsoprehended a forcefield. Thus, it was quite easy for him to discover Lu Yin¡¯s presence.

    Once he entered the study, Ming Zhaoshu was shocked to see Lu Yin reading a book. In the past, Tang Si had reported that Lu Yin had changed to the extent where he could even threaten a powerhouse on Ming Taizhong¡¯s level. Ming Zhaoshu had not believed Tang Si¡¯s words as his experience was too shallow. But now that the Reverent King was personally seeing Lu Yin for himself, he felt shock after shock rock his mind. This kid even gave him a sense of danger at this moment.

    ¡°My lord, it¡¯s been quite a long time.¡± Lu Yin put the book down and calmly looked at the Reverent King, his tone tranquil. He did not stand up.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes shed, but then he smiled. ¡°Long time no see, Little Seven.¡±

    ¡°My lord¡¯s appearance is pretty good. It seems that these past two years have beenfortable,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    Ming Zhaoshu walked behind the table and sat down. He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°The agreement was for ten years¡¯ time, but only two years have passed, and you¡¯ve already returned. Do you have the confidence to help Shenwu Continent emerge from its predicament?¡±

    ¡°Even if I don¡¯t, my lord is capable of doing it himself. Even now, you are doing it, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone grew colder.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Do you mean cooperating with outsiders? That¡¯s correct. I cannot possibly ce all my hopes on you alone.¡±

    ¡°But my lord¡¯s choice seems a tad excessive.¡± Lu Yin stared at the king.

    Ming Zhaoshuughed, but then, his expression turned cold. ¡°Little Seven, we haven¡¯t met in two years, but you¡¯ve changed so much. Do you know that even the Hunters of your universe don¡¯t dare to speak to me in such a manner?¡±

    ¡°Then does my lord know that, even if Ming Taizhong were alive, I could kill him if I wished?¡± Lu Yin suddenly stood up, and Ming Zhaoshu rose at the same time. Two tremendous domains burst forth simultaneously, and they each withstood the other¡¯s force in the sky above the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, far above Qiong Ind. In an instant, countless people felt stifled and looked up. Although they could not see anything, they felt as though the sky was falling.

    Within the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, the Martial Sovereign standing guard looked up, dumbstruck. This power¡­?

    Outside the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Nightking Changfeng was simrly astonished. What a powerful domain.

    Many cultivators from Shenwu Continent and the outside universe felt the same sense of suppression. It originated not only from Ming Zhaoshu, but from Lu Yin as well.

    The two domains faced off against each other, invisible to the eye, but their force was enough to distort the sky. The clouds roiled as the weather changed. Almost instantly, rain began to pour down in buckets, and thunderps could be heard.

    Many looked at the sky in terror as the two domains solidified and continued their visible confrontation in the form of shockwaves. It was almost as if two giant creatures were colliding in the sky.

    Ming Zhaoshu and Lu Yin each worked in unison to restrain the sh of their domains so that no one would be harmed.

    Even so, the pressure was unimaginable to themon people.

    In the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s expression changed. He could not force Lu Yin down. Just two years ago, this youth had been obviously weak, and Lu Yin hadn¡¯t evenprehended a domain. But now, just two yearster, he was witnessing aplete turnaround.

    He suddenly recalled Lu Yin¡¯s legend: Lu Yin had only started cultivating many years into his life, but he had be one of the top four during the Astral Combat Tournament despite that. Two years was a short time for most cultivators, but for this person, it was enough time to achieve a qualitative leap. Still, the growth in strength that Ming Zhaoshe was currently experiencing was just too absurd.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s endurance was enough to draw great admiration from those who knew him, but at this moment, he did not wish to endure anymore. Lu Yin¡¯s attitude was clear, and the youth held resentment towards him in his heart. If Ming Zhaoshu could not suppress the young man at this very moment, then they would be on equal footing in future coborations, which was something that the Reverent King could not ept.

    On the streets of Qiong Ind, Nightking Changfeng looked at the sky and saw the two domains suddenly change. One domain took on the form of a humanoid figure garbed in a royal gown. It was a dazzling sight in the night sky. Its mighty imperial authority made all the citizens who saw the figure kneel down, as this was Ming Zhaoshu; his forcefield had taken on the form of an emperor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as he had alsoprehended a forcefield. He considered his options before staring deeply into Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes. His domain also morphed, transforming into a tree that stretched towards the heavens. It felt as if it was the source of all living creatures, and all sorts of strange objects grew from its branches.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpoints. A forcefield! This kid actuallyprehended a forcefield!

    Crack!

    In the study, the table between Ming Zhaoshu and Lu Yin split asunder. The two men looked at each other, and they each withdrew their domains. The night sky quickly returned to normal, with only the rain continuing to pour, showering Qiong Ind.

    There was a thump as the tablepletely broke apart, falling to the floor at the feet of Lu Yin and Ming Zhaoshu.

    The collision of their domains had been a tie.

    With a bang, the door mmed open, and a Martial Sovereign charged in. Behind him, Tang Si and quite a few soldiers also rushed in. ¡°My lord!¡±

    ¡°Get out!¡± Ming Zhaoshu barked, and everyone hurriedly left.

    ¡°Let¡¯s change locations,¡± Ming Zhaoshu softly said.

    Lu Yin calmly left with the older man.

    It was still pouring outside when Ming Zhaoshu and Lu Yin appeared atop a building.

    ¡°Who would have thought that you would progress so much in the short span of two years,¡± Ming Zhaoshumented.

    Lu Yin stared out at the rain. ¡°There¡¯s many matters that you haven¡¯t considered.¡±

    ¡°The promise of ten years has been brought forward by eight years¡ªthat is certainly something that I didn¡¯t expect,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said.

 Chapter 606: Secret Changes

    <h4>Chapter 606: Secret Changes</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu and shook his head. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, so is there still a point to the so-called ¡®promise of ten years?¡¯ You don¡¯t care about the current Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°But I still care about you.¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s burning eyes bored into Lu Yin. ¡°In just two years, you were able to mature to such a degree. If you were given another two, ten, or twenty years, then you¡¯d be strong enough to rule as a king. You¡¯ll be a powerhouse who will shock the entire universe. I¡¯m very sure that your value has already surpassed the entirety of Shenwu Continent itself.¡±

    Lu Yin did not respond, as his heart was still in chaos. He had not been able to think calmly ever since his encounter with Ming Yan. His recent contest with Ming Zhaoshu had been more of a way for him to vent his feelings, and it was not actually an attempt to seize the initiative in their cooperation. Lu Yin had not be emotionless yet, and he could not easily set his feelings aside.

    ¡°Have you met with Yan¡¯er already?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Were you the one who allowed Nightking Changfeng to get close to her?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu scoffed. ¡°I, Ming Zhaoshu, will not resort to using my daughter as a bargaining chip. Back then, it was only because Yan''er liked you that I agreed to the term of ten years with you. She will never be used as a bargaining chip. You think too little of me.¡±

    This was something that Lu Yin could believe. Everyone¡¯s forcefield was unique, and Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s forcefield was an emperor adorned with a royal gown. It did not have an average aura, and since it had the form of an emperor, he would not be so short-sighted.

    ¡°I know what those people from the Daynight n are trying to do. I cannot intentionally stop Nightking Changfeng from approaching Yan''er, and you should understand the Nightking n better than myself. They are people whom Shenwu Continent cannot afford to offend. However, that youth is not a schemer, and he hasn¡¯t yed any tricks either. Otherwise, I definitely would not let him off lightly.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as watched the raindrops grow smaller.

    ¡°Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, over thesest few days, I have considered sending Nightking Changfeng somewhere else. It¡¯s merely that I haven¡¯t been able to do so yet,¡± Ming Zhaoshu tried to exin. If the person he was speaking with was Lu Yin from two years ago, then there would have been no need for him to offer any exnation as he had merely treated Lu Yin as an investment at that time. The current youth was someone who qualified to receive exnations, and very thorough ones at that.

    ¡°Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse are separated, it¡¯s still inevitable that Shenwu Continent will integrate into the universe. You can¡¯t stop it, Ming Zhaotian can¡¯t stop it, and you should be clear that this is not something that you can negotiate,¡± Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed, ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason why we can¡¯t set ourselves up against the Nightking n.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°Do you know where I¡¯m from?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded. ¡°Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°I am now the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, and I can act with the emperor¡¯s authority. The Great Yu Empire has already unified Frostwave Weave, and we have also suppressed the Grandtop Weave. I n to establish the Great Eastern Alliance in order to unite all of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves. Shenwu Continent will be no exception,¡± Lu Yin informed him.

    Ming Zhaoshu was stunned. ¡°Great Eastern Alliance? That¡¯s not something simple. Will the powers of the various weaves agree to such a thing?¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t be able to do anything but agree to it,¡± Lu Yin replied without any sympathy.

    Ming Zhaoshu carefully observed Lu Yin; was the kid a maniac, or was he truly confident?

    ¡°Shenwu Continent¡¯s farce should end now. I¡¯ll help you take care of Ming Zhaotian. In exchange, Shenwu Continent must join the Great Eastern Alliance, or else-¡± Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu with ice-cold eyes. ¡°I can help you obtain Shenwu Continent, but I can also destroy it just as easily. I¡¯ve said this before. Even if Ming Taizhong were alive, it would be useless since I could kill even him.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes flickered, as he could not quite understand the current Lu Yin. He could not casually make such a decision, especially since he was suffering from ack of information.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time to consider your decision, but not too much. The next time we meet, I¡¯ll want to hear your decision, as well as hear about the five sealings,¡± Lu Yin said. He then stepped forward and disappeared. He had already left the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    Ming Zhaoshu watched the disappearing figure vanish into the rainy night. He called Tang Si over. The Reverent King had not paid too much attention to what Tang Si had said before, but now, he needed to gain a new understanding of the current Lu Yin. The youth was clearly just in the Martial Emperor realm, but he dared to threaten Ming Zhaoshu himself. That calm confidence could not be faked, and he also had to speak with Yan''er. There was something amiss with Lu Yin¡¯s attitude.

    There were quite a few mansions thaty near the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. They had previously all been owned by officials or rich merchants who stayed at Qiong Ind, but now, they had been given to the outsiders by Ming Zhaoshu.

    Nightking Changfeng arrived in front of one of the mansions and knocked on the door before entering. A beautiful girl with revealing clothing weed him into the house. She was Xun Meiren, a disciple who was a member of the Xun family¡¯s younger generation. Although she was just an Explorer, she was extremely astute, and she was also one of the outsiders who was cooperating with Ming Zhaoshu during this time. The Daynight n had sent her specifically to help Nightking Changfeng.

    ¡°It¡¯ste, so why has Brother Changfenge to this girl¡¯s residence? Aren¡¯t you afraid of being seen by those young masters?¡± Xun Meiren leaned towards Nightking Changfeng and smiled lovably as a puff of the scent of her perfume wafted over to him.

    Nightking Changfeng remained calm. ¡°Don¡¯t you tell me that you didn¡¯t notice the disturbance just now.¡±

    Xun Meiren shrugged. ¡°A sh of forcefields. I know that one of them belonged to Ming Zhaoshu, but I didn¡¯t recognize the other one. It¡¯s already impressive for the little Shenwu Continent to produce Ming Zhaoshu, who¡¯sprehended a domain, but I never would have imagined that there would be a second person as well.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t someone from Shenwu Continent. It was Lu Yin.¡± His tone was cold, and his voice showed a trace of restraint.

    Xun Meiren was stunned. ¡°Lu Yin? Why is he here?¡±

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s eyes turned murderous. ¡°The news of the Innerverse and Outerverse being separated was leaked to Shenwu Continent by him. He also participated in the Outerverse trial that took ce here, and while it was assumed that he just participated in it as a formality, he¡¯se back now.¡±

    ¡°When he visited the space stationst time, he even killed a Daynight n Hunter so that he could send Tang Si back here, and he thoroughly offended Nightqueen Qiuyu at that time. Now that he¡¯s shown up again, it seems that Shenwu Continent has something that he needs,¡± Xun Meiren guessed.

    ¡°It¡¯s Ming Yan,¡± Nightking Changfeng stated.

    Xun Meiren was stunned. ¡°The little princess? Are they in love?¡±

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s expression turned ugly.

    Xun Meiren chortled. ¡°I never would have guessed. I mean, I really never would have imagined it. That little princess is charming enough to attract you and even Lu Yin, but it¡¯s hard to me you two. She¡¯s so beautiful and pure. Even as a woman, I¡¯m moved when I look at her.¡±

    Nightking Changfeng looked at her. ¡°Help me get rid of Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Why? Just because of Ming Yan?¡± She asked with interest.

    Nightking Changfeng snorted. ¡°He¡¯s a great enemy of my Daynight n. Nightqueen Yanqing has said many times that he has to be eliminated. He¡¯s someone that even Arbiter Zhenwu wants eradicated.¡±

    Upon the mention of Arbiter Zhenwu, not even Xun Meiren dared remain impudent. ¡°Actually, my Xun family also has a grudge with him, and our Young Master wants to get rid of him as well. But he¡¯s started to mature, and now that we¡¯re cut off from the Innerverse, not even Senior Qiuyu dares to touch him. There¡¯s nothing much that you or I can do.¡±

    Nightking Changfeng clenched his fists. As someone ranked twenty first in the Top 100 Rankings, he was able to look down upon the vast majority of the younger generation, which included Lu Yin. This person had used external objects to save his life against Enlighters, which was a trick that Nightking Changfeng felt was despicable. And so, he hadn¡¯t bothered with the younger man. Now that Lu Yin had be an Explorer, his strength had undergone a qualitative change, and he could actually suppress Nightking Changfeng, not to mention the forcefield from earlier.

    The more Nightking Changfeng thought about all these things, the less he could wait to ughter Lu Yin. Of course, there was still his rtionship with Ming Yan. If he, Nightking Changfeng, favored a girl, then no one else could touch her.

    Lu Yin did not look for a ce to rest after leaving the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. After the contest with Ming Zhaoshu through their forcefields, Lu Yin had coincidentally found someone who he was familiar with, and the person seemed to be in dire straits. To be more precise, this familiar person was someone who was extremely miserable.

    Three streets away from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence was the busiest downtown district in all of Shanhai City. It was already midnight when Lu Yin left the estate, and Shanhai City currently had a curfew in ce. Despite the curfew, there was a figure sprawled on the ground and shivering in the rain.

    This person was a beggar who was covered with a straw mat and huddled up against a wall while trembling from the cold.

    Lu Yin looked at the beggar, surprised. He approached the wretched looking person step by step until he finally stood in front of the beggar.

    The beggar moved his straw mat aside and looked up fearfully. Lightning streaked across the sky and illuminated Lu Yin¡¯s face. When the beggar saw his face, his pupils shrank, and he started to tremble even more violently.

    ¡°Arikar?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    The beggar was terrified. ¡°M-my lord, I¡¯m just a beggar. Please let me go.¡±

    Lu Yin crouched down and peeled the straw mat away. ¡°The energy channels in your body have all been shattered, and your star energy has dissipated. Going from being a Limiteer to being amoner must be incredibly difficult. How did you end up like this?¡±

    The beggar was Arikar, who had once been a top-notch disciple of the ze Realm. He had even participated in the most recent Astral Combat Tournament and challenged a Realm Master. He had beenpletely overbearing back then. He had entered Shenwu Continent together with Lu Yin during the Outerverse trial, and they had evennded in the same region. The tragic part was that Lu Yin hadnded in Ming Yan¡¯s bath, which had caused amotion. Lu Yin had managed to escape, but Arikar had been captured.

    ¡°Ming Zhaoshu is working with outside organizations and all captured trial takers should have been released,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Arikar looked at the ground and didn¡¯t dare to give an answer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like to repeat myself,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone was cold.

    Arikar¡¯s face wentpletely pale. ¡°I- I offended the Reverent King, and now, I don¡¯t dare to show myself.¡±

    ¡°How did you offend him? He should have been aware of your identity, and the ze Realm is quite powerful. One of their best disciples wasn¡¯t able to save himself?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he was truly curious about Arikar¡¯s circumstances. Ming Zhaoshu had concealed himself too deeply. No matter if Arikar had offended the man, or even if he had tried to assassinate the king, Ming Zhaoshu would not have done anything about it given the present circumstances. Why would he have put Arikar in such a miserable state? This was especially baffling given that there were so many cultivators from the outside universe in the city. Arikar had not sought out a single person and had instead hidden here as a beggar. Something just wasn¡¯t adding up.

    Arikar¡¯s eyes shed, and he looked at Lu Yin. After a moment, he gritted his teeth. ¡°I discovered a secret.¡±

    ¡°Tell me,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Ming Zhaoshu rebelled against the Shenwu Empire and released all the outsiders. I was the same, and under orders from the ze Realm, I stayed beside Ming Zhaoshu to facilitate the cooperation,¡± Arikar exined. ¡°One time, Ming Zhaoshu sent us to carry out a mission in a valley whererge numbers of the Shenwu Empire¡¯s soldiers had gathered. We didn¡¯t pay much attention to the details and headed there. Then-¡± Arikar¡¯s gaze turned frightened. ¡°We saw a Corpse King.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    Arikar nodded. ¡°Yes, the Neohuman Alliance. The Shenwu Empire is cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance. Out of all the cultivators that went into that valley, only a few survived and managed to sessfully escape. Who could have known that after we reported this matter to Ming Zhaoshu, Tang Si suddenly came chasing after us. Ming Zhaoshu does not wish to expose the Shenwu Empire¡¯s cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    ¡°Aside from me, everyone else is now dead. Although I was lucky enough to escape, my cultivation was crippled.¡±

    ¡°So you hid in the city, right under their noses?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Arikar nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for people from the ze Realm?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Arikar nodded again. ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 607: Scouting

    <h4>Chapter 607: Scouting</h4>

    Lu Yin stood up and looked towards the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. ¡°Does Ming Zhaoshu have any way to contact the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    ¡°Probably not, or else he wouldn¡¯t have sent us to that valley,¡± Arikar replied.

    Lu Yin released a pent up breath. Even if there hadn¡¯t been any contact between the two forces, if he had helped the Shenwu Empire to conceal the truth, then he would be viting an ironw of the Human Domain. Whether it was the Human Domain, Astral Beast Domain, or even the Technocracy, the Neohuman Alliance was an organization whose members all had to be killed on sight.

    It was likely that Ming Zhaoshu was worried that the appearance of individuals from the Neohuman Alliance would instigate Shenwu Continent into being eliminated by the outside universe instead of being refined.

    The five sealings could indeed stop one or two Enlighters from gaining ess to the continent, but if the Neohuman Alliance was revealed to have a presence here, then it would not draw just the attention of Enlighters, but also of the stronger powerhouses. Ming Zhaoshu was worried that Shenwu Continent would be destroyed. Thus, he had helped the Shenwu Empire to conceal the truth.

    However, this also indicated that the Reverent King didn¡¯t understand the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin, on the other hand, had the terror of the organization deeply engraved into his memory. The strength that he had witnessed from the transformed Corpse King had made even him afraid, and Corpse Kings were able to swallow energy crystals and obtain innate gifts through that method. He was gathering enough strength to easily unify Shenwu Continent, but Ming Zhaoshu was also ying with fire.

    ¡°Take me to the valley,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Arikar looked up in shock. ¡°To that valley?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lu Yin picked up the crippled man, who quickly told Lu Yin more information. ¡°There¡¯s no use in heading back there. We¡¯ve already been there once, so the Neohuman Alliance won¡¯t just wait around in the same ce.¡±

    ¡°Even you know to hide right under someone¡¯s nose, so the Neohuman Alliance may not necessarily have moved away,¡± Lu Yin said. He then brought Arikar out of Shanhai City.

    The Shenwu Empire was apparently cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance, and the region where most of the cooperation must be somewhere on the central Ming Ind, possibly even close to Mingdu. Qiong Indy beside Ming Ind, so it was not very far away.

    That valley was coincidentally where Ming Ind and Qiong Ind bordered each other. It was nestled within arge mountain that connected the two inds.

    When Lu Yin and Arikar arrived in the valley, they saw nothing but a deste area. ¡°Look, they¡¯re already left.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and his lips curled upwards. Gone? Wrong, they¡¯re still here. He could see that there were many rune lines beneath the ground, and more than a few at that. However, thergest group of these rune lines only belonged to someone with the strength of a Martial Sovereign.

    For Shenwu Continent, a Martial Sovereign, which was equivalent to a Cruiser, was one of their top-tier powerhouses. However, that was not the case for the outside universe, and Lu Yin would not risk underestimating a Neohuman Alliance Cruiser. He still remembered the transformed Corpse King that he had once encountered. That creature had been able to battle across realms with ease.

    Lu Yin found a ce to hide Arikar. Then, he reduced his aura as much as possible before moving underground.

    He found a facility that was simr to the Neohuman Alliance base that he had seen before, and the ce was filled withbs in all directions, and there was even an imprisoned Corpse King here.

    Nobody knew where the Neohuman Alliance obtained all their Corpse Kings from, but it was possible that there were countless zombies being burned in some hidden corner of Shenwu Continent at that very moment.

    Ming Zhaotian had been cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance, which was simply courting death. The oue of his choice would be even worse than if Shenwu Continent was conquered by the Outerverse.

    Unfortunately, nobody on Shenwu Continent knew how terrifying the Neohuman Alliance truly was.

    After wandering about the underground base, Lu Yin discovered that there were a dozen imprisoned Corpse Kings, and one was a Cruiser, but there was not much else here. It was a very ordinary base.

    Lu Yin captured one of the Corpse Kings and left the underground base without startling anyone. He then brought Arikar towards Ming Ind, as he wanted to see what it was like during the current circumstances, as well as observe how many hidden experts from the Neohuman Alliance might be there.

    Qiong Ind had rebelled against the Shenwu Empire, and it was in a state of constant war with Ming Ind, so no one was allowed to cross the Ming River.

    Lu Yin took a detour and brought Arikar and the Corpse King that had been knocked unconscious with him. He easily bypassed the blockade of soldiers from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, and the trio entered Ming Ind.

    Every city on Ming Ind had heavenly globes, so it wouldn¡¯t be as easy for Lu Yin to enter the cities here. However, he did not actually need to enter the cities, as just a look would be enough for his intentions.

    The situation was much better than what he had imagined. Over the course of two days, he observed five cities, but he did not see even one Neohuman Alliance expert. They had either all gathered at the capital, or they had not had enough time to develop.

    Lu Yin suddenly considered the possibility that the valley was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attempt to feel out Ming Zhaoshu. If the Reverent King allowed them to stay, then they would be unrestrained, as there were no outsiders present on Shenwu Continent who were stronger than Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu. As long as those two did not make any fuss, it would be very difficult for people from the Neohuman Alliance to be discovered.

    Boom!

    A loud noise scared Arikar and almost caused him to spit out the food in his mouth.

    An intense battle had erupted along a small path that led into a forest, and a group of people had surrounded a single person with the clear intention to capture him.

    ¡°Your Demon Hunters Society still hasn¡¯t grasped the present situation. The Reverent King has rebelled. If you guys continue to surround and capture us, then we¡¯ll join forces with the Reverent King and rebel against the Shenwu Empire!¡± An elderly man shouted. He had two hammers in his hands that he waved about, and he appeared to be rather formidable.

    ¡°How bold! You actually dare to spout off nonsense about joining the rebels. Surviving sect members like you should have all been taken care of long ago.¡± The Demon Hunters Society members surrounding the man grew infuriated.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡± the elder bellowed as he struck out with his hammers. A shockwave swept out in all directions, crushing the forest and even causing space to quiver for an instance. He was a Martial Emperor expert.

    The surrounding Demon Hunters could not match up to the elder, and they were all forced back.

    ¡°Allow me.¡± A youth charged forward from the rest of the group, and he swung his folding fan towards the elder¡¯s neck with the intention of cutting the man¡¯s head off.

    The elder sneered, ¡°Ignorant youth!¡±

    One of his hammers crashed towards the youth, quickly followed by the second hammer. There were two loud thumps; the youth managed to block one hammer, but he was struck by the second. He spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed over near Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    Arikar had be extremely timid, and this event scared him so much that he backed up without showing any sign of stopping.

    Lu Yin looked at the youth who had fallen and had spat up some blood. He was Bei Qing, which was interesting. Lu Yin remembered that this young man was the son of an influential minister, and he was even ranked on the List of Tempering. However, it appeared that he had since joined the Demon Hunters Society.

    Bei Qing had been smashed by the hammer, causing his blood to churn wildly, and he kept on coughing. When he noticed Lu Yin and the others, he quickly waved a hand to drive them away. ¡°Hurry up and leave! Don¡¯t get involved,¡±

    After warning them, he dashed back into the fray.

    Who knew what had happened to him, but he waspletely different from the person who Lu Yin had met in the past.

    The elder seemed to be invincible, and this group of Demon Hunters was not able to defeat him.

    ¡°Activate the cksand!¡± one person barked. After that, ayer of ck sand twisted around all of the Demon Hunters¡¯ weapons. After that, they attacked the elder again.

    The old man was aghast, and he wanted to flee by leaping up, but a golden flower appeared in the sky.

    When the elder saw it, all color drained out of his face. ¡°Hua Ying?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart twitched and he looked up as well. Hua Ying? He recalled seeing this name before. She was ranked ninth on the List of Tempering and was also one of the twin beauties of the empire. She was a young woman who was as famous as Ming Yan as well as amander of the Demon Hunters Society.

    ¡°Elder Hammer, we could have spared your life, but you just had to spout such nonsense. Just die.¡± A girl who wore lightweight, white armor with long hair that draped over her shoulders appeared in the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath was taken away when he saw the girl. It was no wonder why she was as famous as Ming Yan. This girl had a valiant demeanor and a ravishing appearance as well. However, her mien seemed simr to Wendy Yushan¡¯s, though there was an even denser aura of death about her. This aura was something that was unrted to one¡¯s cultivation; instead, it came from having killed too many people.

    What Lu Yin cared about even more than that aura was her resolute gaze as she courageously advanced.

    ¡°Hua Ying, do you really think that just breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm makes you my opponent?¡± the elder shouted as he smashed two hammers at her.

    Hua Ying¡¯s expression did not change, and the golden flower blossomed in the sky above them as a phantom image gradually appeared¡ªa Sago Palm Flower. The elder¡¯s hammer pounded against the golden flower, and a tremendous bang was heard.

    The ground split open, and both Hua Ying and the elder retreated several steps back.

    The Demon Hunters surrounding the two did not move to intervene and only positioned themselves to prevent the elder from running.

    The elder panted heavily and red at Hua Ying with an unresigned expression. ¡°Today¡¯s battle will end here. I will head out first.¡±

    He smashed the two hammers together to release a massive, hurricane-like shockwave that swept out in all directions. But then, his face suddenly changed, and he copsed into a half-kneeling position on the ground, his face pale.

    Hua Ying looked at the elder with cold eyes. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good. You haven¡¯t fallen even after being struck by my poison pollen.¡±

    The elder snarled, ¡°Despicable!¡±

    The surrounding Demon Hunters stepped forward at this time to take the old man down.

    Bei Qing¡¯s folding fan streaked forward and severed the energy channels in the elder¡¯s limbs, causing the old man to howl ferociously before passing out.

    ¡°Commander, Elder Hammer will be put to death,¡± Bei Qing spoke respectfully to Hua Ying.

    Hua Ying acknowledged his words, and then her focus shot past Bei Qing towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked very strange. He was apanied by Arikar, who looked like a beggar, and he was also carrying a Corpse King on his back. Although the creature was disguised as a parcel, such arge object was very eye-catching.

    The Demon Hunters followed Hua Ying¡¯s gaze and also looked towards Lu Yin and Arikar.

    Arikar felt nervous but not too afraid. He was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and the youth was a freak. The Demon Hunters Society would run out of luck if they provoked him at this time.

    Hua Ying stepped in front of Lu Yin and ced a golden flower on her hand. She stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. ¡°Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are you headed?¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. I¡¯m not a surviving member of any sect.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± one Demon Hunter bellowed.

    Hua Ying kept staring at Lu Yin. ¡°You were too calm in the previous battle, and that isn¡¯t how amoner would react. Also, the aftershocks from the battle ended where you stand. You are not just some normal person.¡±

    Lu Yin had used his domain to conceal his cultivation, so he appeared to just be an ordinary person, but how could a regr human withstand the aftershocks of a cultivators¡¯ battle?

    As amander of the Demon Hunters Society, Hua Ying worked all year long to capture the surviving sect members, and she was routinely on the frontlines of battle, so she instantly picked up on such details.

    ¡°As long as I¡¯m not a surviving sect member, you Demon Hunters Society can¡¯t touch me,¡± Lu Yin said quietly.

    Hua Ying¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I suspect that you¡¯re an outsider. Capture him!¡±

    Bei Qing was the first to act. He had previously warned the two men to leave, so he tried to take advantage of his kindness to catch Lu Yin off guard.

    Lu Yin sighed, as it seemed that he would end up in trouble purely because of what he had just witnessed. He raised his hand and gently flicked out, causing a trace of wind to shoot through the folding fan and strike Bei Qing, sending him tumbling. Lu Yin waved his hand, causing the void in the area to warp. This terrifying strength caused Hua Ying¡¯s expression to drastically change. ¡°Stay away from him!¡±

    But it was already toote. As soon as Lu Yin acted, not a single one of the Demon Hunters was able to avoid his attack, and they were all sent flying out.

    Even though Lu Yin was an Explorer like the elder, they were not on the same level, and the difference between the two of them was too vast.

    Hua Ying had felt that it was possible that Lu Yin was very powerful since not even she could determine his strength, but she never would have guessed that he was this strong.

    ¡°Sago Palm Flower!¡± A golden flower blossomed and enveloped Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the flower and saw that there were rune lines pervading his surroundings. Was this the poisonous pollen? This was what had rendered that elder unable to retaliate. It seemed to be this girl¡¯s innate gift, but it waspletely ineffective against Lu Yin.

    He waved a hand once again, and a gale scattered all of the poisonous pollen, as well as the sago palm flower.

    Hua Ying took several steps back, truly astonished this time. Facing Lu Yin made her feel as if she was facing Ming Zhaotian himself.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± Hua Ying asked sternly.

 Chapter 608: Probing

    <h4>Chapter 608: Probing</h4>

    Bei Qing¡¯s injuries were not that severe, as Lu Yin had not been overly ruthless. Still, the man had been beaten down, and at this moment, he only managed to look up at Lu Yin with great difficulty.

    During his time as Lu Seven, Lu Yin had changed his looks, so it was normal that they couldn¡¯t recognize him.

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°Don¡¯t ask anything else. You¡¯ll just invite disaster by doing so.¡±

    Hua Ying clenched her fists, and a thread of cksand suddenly appeared and gradually enveloped her.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he felt something strange from this cksand. Now that he looked at it a bit closer, it seemed even more odd.

    Suddenly, the Corpse King that Lu Yin had been carrying along quietly growled.

    Hua Ying looked at Lu Yin¡¯s package, and her sharp eyes red at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re a kidnapper!¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer her. Instead, he simply studied the cksand with interest. ¡°Where did you get this toy?¡±

    Hua Ying leaped towards Lu Yin and pressed down on him. Although she was not an expert at close-rangedbat, she was very confident in the cksand¡¯s defensive abilities since not even a Martial Sovereign could breach her defensiveyer.

    Lu Yin reached out to grab Hua Ying¡¯s hand, and as he did so, he felt the firm and cold nature of the cksand. His brows furrowed; what sort of thing was this?

    Hua Ying¡¯s other hand pped at Lu Yin¡¯s abdomen, but it was also easily caught by Lu Yin. He carefully felt the cksand, and while the sand itself seemed to be normal, there was a gloomy strength stuck to its surface. This strength reminded Lu Yin of a Corpse King, and he suddenly turned around to look at the Corpse King that he had brought with him with shing eyes. He then snapped back to look at Hua Ying. ¡°Where did thisyer of cksande from?¡±

    Hua Ying surprised Lu Yin by kicking at his lower body, and his face changed. Even after cultivating and fighting for six years, this was still his first time encountering such a situation. This woman was too ruthless, and he lifted a knee to m it straight into Hua Ying¡¯s stomach, causing her to bend over and retch.

    Lu Yin released her. ¡°Tell me! Where is this cksand from?¡±

    Hua Ying gritted her teeth, and a dagger suddenly appeared in her hands as she stabbed at Lu Yin. The poisonous pollen reappeared around the two of them as well, causing Lu Yin to frown. He grabbed her wrist and twisted it around until it audibly snapped. The dagger fell from her hands, and theyer of cksand also peeled off and fell to the ground.

    ¡°Are you waiting for your poisonous pollen to take effect? It¡¯s useless,¡± Lu Yin told her before tossing Hua Ying aside.

    This woman was beautiful, but she waspletely ruthless and had constantly been on the frontlines, hunting others. Lu Yin had no interest in her.

    He looked over at Bei Qing. ¡°Where did you get this cksand?¡±

    Bei Qing never imagined that Hua Ying wouldn¡¯t even be able to retaliate, and he was astonished by Lu Yin¡¯s strength. He answered in a deep voice, ¡°It was given to us by Lord ckgown so that we could fight against enemies who are stronger than us.¡±

    ¡°Lord ckgown?¡±

    ¡°After the previous head of the Demon Hunters Society disappeared, they became the next leader.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t the first time Lu Yin had encountered the Neohuman Alliance, and he had developed a rather special sensitivity towards them. Theyer of cksand that he had just felt gave him that unique cold feeling, so it was possible that this Lord ckgown was a Corpse King.

    If even the Demon Hunters Society had been taken over by the Neohuman Alliance, then the Ming Constables were probably in the same situation. These two departments of the Shenwu Empire possessed a majority of the influence, and now, it seemed rather likely that the cooperation between the Neohuman Alliance and the Shenwu Empire ran deep.

    Lu Yin knocked the Demon Hunters unconscious and then brought Arikar and the Corpse King away.

    He arrived at Mingdu only to find that it was very differentpared to two years ago, and a great number of ces in the city had changed. Thend showed traces of having been reinforced, and even the number of soldiers moving about were much higher than before.

    Lu Yin stood outside of Mingdu and stared into the city, stunned.

    On the surface, there was nothing abnormal about Mingdu, but as soon as Lu Yin looked at the rune lines within the city, he could see multiple Cruiser level powerhouses hidden underground. There was one even group of rune lines that nearly matched up to those of Kong Shi, who was a peak Hunter able to rival a freak like Aden and even take a few strikes from an Enlighter.

    Shenwu Continent¡¯s strongest powerhouse in the past had been Ming Zhaotian, but his rune lines had been much fewer than Kong Shi¡¯s.

    Since the individual was underground, Lu Yin¡¯s guess was that they were a terrifying Cruiser from the Neohuman Alliance.

    This assumed Cruiser¡¯s rune lines could rival Kong Shi¡¯s, which meant that they were no regr Realmbreaker.

    The universe¡¯s powerhouses were as numerous as the stars, and the younger generation even had the Ten Arbiters. However, the dazzling powerhouses who were recognized by the universe never included people from the Three Dark Hands, precisely because every one of those three powers had unimaginable freaks who could not be fathomed by most people.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare get any closer to Mingdu out of fear that he would be discovered by that Cruiser realm expert.

    Lu Yin would not be this person¡¯s opponent in a fair match given his current power level.

    He spent two days circling around Mingdu once, and he found that the Neohuman Alliance had concentrated most of their members in this city, or more specifically, beneath the Tower of Resonating Light.

    He was feeling a strong urge to discover just what was under the Tower of Resonating Light.

    After thinking about it, he took Arikar and the Corpse King with him back to Qiong Ind.

    Ming Zhaoshu had waited for Lu Yin for five days, and during that time, he had discussed things with Tang Si. His conclusion was that Lu Yin was truly unafraid of Enlighters and that he even dared to act against them of his own volition. This was iprehensible to Ming Zhaoshu, as he had a clear understanding of just how powerful an Enlighter could be, and even he himself could not retaliate against an Enlighter, though Lu Yin could. It was baffling.

    The day before, he had talked to Ming Yan, but he had yet toe to any conclusions.

    After two years of separation, especially since the two youths had developed their feelings for each other over the span of a few short days, it was actually very normal for those former feelings to have faded. If things were the same as in the past, then Ming Zhaoshu would not have paid them any mind, but he could not afford to ignore Lu Yin now. With the strength and naked ambition that Lu Yin currently held, the Reverent King felt that it was necessary to maintain a tight cooperation with this youth, and Ming Yan was exceptionally important to the rtionship between the two men.

    However, Ming Yan appeared to be more haggard than usual thesest few days. She did not seem to be in a stable state of mind, and she had be prone to falling into long bouts of stupor. Aside from restricting Nightking Changfeng and the others from visiting Ming Yan, there was not much else that Ming Zhaoshu could do, and he was not even able to seek out his daughter for a chat.

    On one day, he approached Ming Yan¡¯s room once again.

    ¡°Yan''er, Father wishes to speak with you,¡± Ming Zhaoshu called out.

    Inside the room, Ming Yan had buried her head into both of her arms. ¡°Father, I¡¯m tired and wish to rest.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu felt helpless. ¡°Could we talk for just a bit?¡±

    Ming Yan acquiesced softly. Ming Zhaoshu stepped into the room and opened the windows to brighten up the room a tad.

    Ming Yan had not stepped out from her quarters in a few days, and even her lips had be slightly pale.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at his daughter and felt his heart lurch. ¡°Yan¡¯er, Father does not wish to force you into anything. If you like Lu Yin, then Father will help you. If not, then Father will rebuff him for you.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s gaze dimmed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.

    ¡°Before he arrived, I believed that I loved him, and I¡¯ve waited for him until now. But the moment I met him, things felt rather foreign.

    ¡°We only met each other a few times before, and I admit that he was my everything back then. But now-

    ¡°Father, can you tell me what¡¯s happening? Do I like him, or not? I don¡¯t know! I truly don¡¯t know!¡± Ming Yan looked at Ming Zhaoshu, begging her father.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed. Nobody could clearly exin the matters of the heart, and many other people had been stuck in the same state as Ming Yan. During the dating phase, they would indeed hold true feelings towards the other person, but those feelings would dissipate as quickly as they hade once the rtionship ended. Humans were just tooplex with such things.

    Ming Yan was clearly confused. If her father had not cooperated with the outsiders over the course of these two years, then the foreign culture would not have seeped into her life, and her feelings for Lu Yin would still be as pure as they had been two years ago. No, perhaps they might have be even deeper. However, with the influence of the outside cultures, her liberated thinking had given her too many new ideas.

    She hade into frequent contact with people like Nightking Changfeng, and the sh of ideologies had be readily apparent.

    Ming Zhaoshu had hoped that Ming Yan would ept Lu Yin, which would make his cooperation with Lu Yin impregnable. If Lu Yin could truly establish the East Alliance, then Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s position would not just be the master of Shenwu Continent, and his authority would instead advance a step further. However, Lu Yin¡¯s pride would not allow the youth to ept feelings born from pity. The Reverent King could tell that the youth was both proud and arrogant.

    But forcing Ming Yan¡¯s feelings was of no use as well. Ming Zhaoshu was very clever, so he knew that his best bet was to allow these sorts of feelings to develop by themselves while he acted as a guide.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, Father will tell you this clearly. Your feelings for Lu Yin are real,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said solemnly.

    Ming Yan looked up and appeared to be at a loss. ¡°Then why don¡¯t I want to go with him?¡±

    ¡°Two years has made the two of you feel like strangers to each other, and that¡¯s very normal. With the apprehension that you feel towards a foreignnd, you will naturally shrink back. However, your feelings for him have never changed. Trust Father and face your heart honestly: you really do love him.¡± Ming Zhaoshu patted Ming Yan¡¯s head. He could only guide her like so; fortunately, her feelings had notpletely dissipated. As long as Ming Yan was able to verify her feelings for herself, then they would not be fake.

    ¡°Rest well and minimize your interactions with those like Nightking Changfeng,¡± Ming Zhaoshu suggested as he turned to leave the room.

    Ming Yan watched the door close and then buried her head again. Were her feelings true? Really?

    When going from a confined culture to a more open-minded one, any individual would experience a great change in their world view, though the person themselves would not realize that such a change had urred. Only their closest kin would be able to recognize that change.

    The strand of unfamiliarity that had appeared when the two youths reunited might vanish once they reconnected, and they might bring an unchangingfort to each other. It was also possible that they could be even more like strangers to one another.

    In Shanhai City, in an unnoticeable corner, a shadow snarled out and ambushed some passing soldiers. A dozen of them finally managed to wrestle the shadow under control after great effort. ¡°What is this thing?¡±

    ¡°Quick, report this to the lord,¡± a senior soldier barked.

    Before long, Ming Zhaoshu arrived in person, and he felt a little panicked the instant that he saw the shadow. ¡°Hurry up and burn it. This person has been infected, so don¡¯t let hime into contact with anyone else.¡±

    The surrounding soldiers hurriedly took the shadow away.

    When Ming Zhaoshu was about to leave the ce, his face changed again, and a bitter smile appeared. ¡°Come out.¡±

    In the corner, Lu Yin slowly stepped out, and he looked at Ming Zhaoshu solemnly. ¡°So you did know.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this back at the estate.¡±

    The shadow was the Corpse King that Lu Yin had captured. He had used it to test Ming Zhaoshu and confirm Arikar¡¯s usations. Ming Zhaoshu had truly recognized the Corpse King for what it was, which meant that he was aware that Ming Zhaotian was working together with the Neohuman Alliance.

    At the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, the study had already been refurnished, and Ming Zhaoshu sat down in silence. After a long while, he spoke up. ¡°Two year ago, that Wen Sansi from your universe¡¯s Ten Arbiters severely injured Royal Brother Ming Zhaotian. I took that opportunity to enter the Tower of Resonating Light and obtain Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance. With that, I broke through to the Martial Sovereign realm, but I also found a groundbreaking secret. My brother had also discovered my location, and he wanted to cripple my cultivation. Because of that, I rebelled.

    ¡°My brother¡¯s injuries had not yet fully healed at that time, and I had alreadyprehended a forcefield, so we were equally matched. With the various arrangements that I had set in ce over many years, including even the four Martial Sovereign on the high peaks guarding Mingdu, some of whom belonged to me. In the end, Shenwu Continent was divided into two.¡±

    At this point, Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You already know all of this.¡±

    Lu Yin stared back at him, waiting for him to continue his exnation.

 Chapter 609: Gather

    <h4>Chapter 609: Gather</h4>

    ¡°My Royal Brother is proud and arrogant. With the five sealings repelling the invasion of the outer universe, it had made him sullen. Now, with this rebellion causing the Shenwu Empire to fragment into two, with his personality, it wouldn¡¯t be unexpected for him to collude with a group like the Neohuman Alliance. I know that you outsiders see the Neohuman Alliance as a public enemy, but I cannot disclose or expose that right now. Shenwu Continent is considered to be nothing more than a training ground. Exposing the presence of the Neohuman Alliance would make Shenwu Continent the public enemy of the entire universe. Even with the Innerverse and Outerverse currently being separated, I don¡¯t dare to reveal such information.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how terrifying the Neohuman Alliance is?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ming Zhaoshu had aplicated expression. ¡°If Shenwu Continent is condemned, then everyone here will die. No matter how terrifying that group may be, what does it have to do with us?¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze. Ming Zhaoshu was correct. From the Reverent King¡¯s perspective, he did not need to care about the influence that the Neohuman Alliance might have on the human race. Instead, he needed to tacitly cooperate with the Shenwu Empire in order to cover up this issue. This was also why the Neohuman Alliance had dared to establish one of their bases so close to Qiong Ind, as it had been both a probe and a warning.

    ¡°Have you ever thought that, with Ming Zhaotian cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance and you the outsiders, that this matter would be revealed sooner orter?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze shivered. ¡°Before that happens, I will eradicate the Neohuman Alliance and also resolve the matter with Ming Zhaotian.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You¡¯re too confident! Not to mention you, even with my current strength, I don¡¯t have the slightest confidence in eliminating all of the Corpse Kings from your Shenwu Continent.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ming Zhaoshu could not understand what Lu Yin was getting at.

    Lu Yin described what he had seen in Mingdu. ¡°There¡¯s one super strong Corpse King, and even if you and Ming Zhaotian join forces, you still won¡¯t be able to deal with it.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was astonished. ¡°Impossible! We know all of the experts who havee to Shenwu Continent, and there¡¯s no such powerhouse. With the five sealings in ce, such a powerhouse cannot enter.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That just shows that you don¡¯t understand the Neohuman Alliance. In the current universe, no matter what sort of ranking it is, it won¡¯t include anyone from the Neohuman Alliance, and it¡¯s precisely because their power level¡¯s can¡¯t be estimated.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu fell silent.

    ¡°What sort of secret is hidden beneath the Tower of Resonating Light?¡± Lu Yin asked. During his most recent visit to Mingdu, the Corpse King whose rune lines rivalled Kong Shi¡¯s had been situated directly underneath the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Ming Zhaoshu answered slowly, ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t figured out what exactly is hidden there. There are thirteen levels to the Tower of Resonating Light, and eight of those levels are hidden underground. Ming Taizhong was buried in the bottommost thirteenth level. In fact, when I went down there to obtain Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance, I discovered that there¡¯s actually still another space below that level, but I could not open it no matter what I did.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Howrge is that space?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. That space is hidden too far down. Even if the entirety of Mingdu was overturned, that space still could not be reached. Also, Ming Taizhong was not the creator of the inheritance. He was just like me, and we both received the inheritance. This is just like how the five sealings were not created by Ming Taizhong, but rather merely activated by him.¡±

    Lu Yin had already been aware of this detail. After all, Ming Taizhong had just been an Enlighter with a power level of just over 200,000. It was impossible for such a person to create the five sealings that were able to withstand attacks from powerhouses whose power levels had reached 300,000 unless he had also been a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. If it was just activating the seal, then that was possible. But the issue still remained¡ªbefore Ming Taizhong, there must have been a super expert who had lived on Shenwu Continent whose power level had exceeded 300,000 and had also been a lockbreaking expert. That person had to have been at least a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, which was a frightening concept.

    Since the Neohuman Alliance had hidden themselves beneath the Tower of Resonating Light, then they must want to enter that hidden space. If that was the case, then it was possible that the secret concerning the five sealings was hidden in that secret space.

    ¡°Why did Ming Zhaotian allow the Neohuman Alliance to hide beneath the Tower of Resonating Light? Isn¡¯t he afraid that the five sealings might be breached?¡± Lu Yin could not help himself from asking.

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°Before you mentioned it, even I didn¡¯t know that those monsters are hiding beneath the Tower of Resonating Light. If that¡¯s the case, then my Royal Brother may have been blinded by certain benefits.¡±

    Ming Zhaotian may have been deceived, but Lu Yin wasn¡¯t. He had Ming Zhaoshu retrieve a map of Mingdu, and then he circled the areas where he had seen the rune lines. ¡°The more time that passes, the stronger the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse Kings will be. The locations that I¡¯ve marked out is where the Corpse Kings are hidden underground. Immediately gather all of the Explorers¡ªI mean Martial Emperor experts¡ªand head into Mingdu to eliminate this cmity.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was now ced in a difficult position. ¡°We are at war, and all of the experts who are my subordinates have been noted by the empire, so they cannot simply walk into Mingdu.¡±

    ¡°Then have the trial takers take action,¡± Lu Yin said.¡°Besides, we can only use them to clean up the Corpse Kings at best. There¡¯s no hope of them taking care of the entire Neohuman Alliance. Of course, you¡¯ll also have to take action and hold back Ming Zhaotian for me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll think of a way to notify those at the space station and have them coordinate with our timing to attack the five sealings and keep the empire¡¯s experts busy,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said.

    ¡°Does Ming Zhaotian not know about the secret of the five sealings?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ming Zhaoshu replied, ¡°So what if he does? He doesn¡¯t dare take any risks. If no one is overseeing the five sealings and they copse, then he will be condemned for eternity.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. Someone who stood in a different position would feel a different pressure. If Ming Zhaoshu was sitting in Ming Zhaotian¡¯s position, then he would not dare to take such a gamble either.

    It didn¡¯t take too long to gather all of the trial takers who were at the Explorer realm or above since these people were mostly located on Qiong Ind to begin with. There were more than thirty of them, five of which were Cruisers. Their participation caused Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s strength to increase yet again, and they now had the power to stand up to the Shenwu Empire.

    Nightking Changfeng was also participating, and he was vaguely recognized as the leader of the outsiders. This wasn¡¯t only because of his status as a member of the Nightking n, but also because he was a Cruiser who was ranked twenty first on the Top Hundred Rankings, which meant that he could crush everyone else gathered.

    He was no weaker than Ming Zhaoshu and possibly even stronger. Ming Zhaoshu hadprehended a forcefield and was an absolute expert, but Nightking Changfeng had the benefit of the Nightking n¡¯s battle techniques as well as his personal talent. Combined, he had reached the high ranking of twenty first in the Top Hundred Rankings, which showed that he possessed a terrifying strength.

    ¡°Brother Changfeng, why has the Reverent King gathered us?¡± A group of people were gathered beside a mountain stream that flowed behind the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. There was a waterfall behind them, and the scenery was pleasant. Xun Meiren was the one asking, and her every action waspletely enticing, attracting the attention of many eyes.

    Nightking Changfeng was standing beside the stream. ¡°We¡¯ll know when once the Reverent King arrives.¡±

    Xun Meiren walked over next to him and quietly asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t met the little princess during these past few days, have you?¡±

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s face sank, as this was indeed what displeased him the most. Since he had first arrived at Shenwu Continent, he had always seen Ming Yan frequently, and her extremely beautiful face had intoxicated him. He had not once faced a situation where he had not met her for several consecutive days. Ever since Lu Yin had arrived, Nightking Changfeng had be unable to see the girl, and he became especially upset when he thought about how Ming Yan might be nestled in that bastard¡¯s embrace. Just the thought was enough to trigger Nightking Changfeng¡¯s impulse to destroy everything.

    ¡°Hehe, Brother Changfeng, I urge you to endure a bit longer. We already discussed thisst time, but it¡¯s impossible for us to get rid of him,¡± Xun Meiren said softly.

    Nightking Changfeng took a deep breath. ¡°Nothing is impossible. It¡¯s just that the opportunity hasn¡¯t appeared yet.¡±

    Xun Meiren was stunned. Quite a few Daynight n members had arrived over thest few days, so could they have brought something fantastic for Nightking Changfeng along with them? She did not doubt the hidden strength of the Daynight n nor their resolution to kill Lu Yin.

    A bit away from the two people, a youth sat quietly atop a tree. His name was Namu, and he was a disciple from the Myriad Swords Peak and had previously been an Area Master of Astral-5 who had participated in the most recent Astral Combat Tournament. During that tournament, he had been defeated by Grandini Mavis in the fourth round, but he had since broken through and be an Explorer, sessfully graduating from the academy. He hade to the Outerverse for training, as nobody had thought that the Innerverse and Outerverse would suddenly be cut off from each other. He had been left stranded in the Outerverse and eventually arrived at Shenwu Continent.

    There were many people just like him in this ce, and out of the thirty-odd people gathered here, quite a few of them had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the Reverent King arrived yet? Isn¡¯t he being too arrogant?¡± Someone was getting upset.

    These people all looked down on Shenwu Continent, and they saw Ming Zhaoshu as some sort of backwater native. If not for Nightking Changfeng keeping these people under control, then they likely would not have behaved so obediently.

    ¡°The Reverent King will not being. I¡¯m the one that gathered all of you.¡± A voice rang out as Lu Yin emerged from the forest and walked over in front of everyone.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s eyes shed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Xun Meiren was also surprised, as she had recognized that this person was Lu Yin. They had just been speaking about him, and now, here he was.

    From some distance away, Namu also saw Lu Yin and was astounded. Lu Yin was not a stranger to him. Although Lu Yin had not spent much time in the Astral Combat Academy, what he had aplished there was sensational. First, he had be one of the Astral Combat Tournament¡¯s top four. Then, he had be the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. He had suppressed the Daynight n, be a member of the Council of Astral Academy, and achieved even more. These various events had caused Lu Yin to be a legend in the hearts of the academy¡¯s students, especially after the event where he had suppressed all of the Daynight n students in the academy. The moment where he had confronted all of the Daynight n experts in the Astral Combat Academy had be an unforgettable scene.

    Namu had never imagined that he would meet Lu Yin here. This person was not merely just a fellow student from the Astral Combat Academy. ording to the rumors, Namu¡¯s senior Myriad Swords Peak disciple, Wendy Yushan, was Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e.

    ¡°Which noob are you? You actually dare to summon us here?¡± A man with a big beard blocked Lu Yin. He was three meters tall, and he looked down on Lu Yin with his impressive height.

    Xun Meiren¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Bigbeard¡± was very strong. In fact, he was second only to Nightking Changfeng, and he also had a short temper, so it was coincidentally appropriate for him to sound out Lu Yin.

    Nightking Changfeng had only mentioned to Xun Meiren that Lu Yin had arrived at the Reverent King¡¯s Residence and not borated further. Xun Meiren had guessed that Nightking Changfeng had perhaps lost in some sort of confrontation, and now, she would be able to see the truth of the matter for herself.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and bumped his shoulder against Bigbeard¡¯s shoulder. All the crowd heard was a soft thump, but after that, Bigbeard¡¯s entire body was flung away, and hended in the stream.

    The gathered trial takers were astonished. Bigbeard was one of the few Cruisers among those who had gathered, and he was famous for his strength. Everyone present was aware that his power was second only to Nightking Changfeng, but he had just been sent flying by a casual shoulder bump.

    Xun Meiren was stunned. Lu Yin was as powerful as expected. Even Nightking Changfeng could not send Bigbeard flying that easily.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s brows furrowed, and he took several steps forward. ¡°I forgot to tell everyone here, but this is Lu Yin, an expert who came to support the Reverent King. I trust that everyone has heard of him.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± The crowd was surprised.

    ¡°He¡¯s Lu Yin, the unequaled Limiteer?¡±

    ¡°I heard that he defeated Ling Que and Mu Rong.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s old news. It¡¯s rumored that he¡¯s even killed Enlighters, and not just one at that.¡±

    ¡°He broke through to the Explorer realm?¡±

    ¡­

    From within the stream, Bigbeard furiously bellowed and charged upwards with a fist aimed towards Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re asking for it!¡±

    Lu Yin did not move. Instead, a light flickered through Nightking Changfeng¡¯s eyes, and he raised a hand to divert Bigbeard¡¯s punch, which caused the entire valley to quiver. Bigbeard stared angrily at Nightking Changfeng. ¡°Nightking, what do you mean by this? Are you protecting him?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Brother Changfeng was saving you. This person is Lu Yin,¡± Xun Meiren said with a bright smile.

 Chapter 610: Overwhelming Strength

    <h4>Chapter 610: Overwhelming Strength</h4>

    Bigbeard snorted. ¡°Lu Yin? Who¡¯s Lu Yin? Who gives a damn! Scram! He¡¯s just an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Then, his eyes went wide as his star energy pressed down and crushed everything in the area as he unleashed his forcefield. Everyone felt their hearts drop as an iparable pressure gave them an unbearable sensation. Nightking Changfeng stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t go overboard.¡±

    Beneath Lu Yin, dust began to float up, and his domain suddenly condensed and suppressed everyone, even Nightking Changfeng.

    The Nightking n member had clearly known that Bigbeard¡¯s attack would be ineffective against Lu Yin, and instead of offending Lu Yin, such an incident would instead allow him to establish his dominance. Despite this, Nightking Changfeng had stopped the attack, which had caused Bigbeard to develop a grudge against Lu Yin while also improving Nightking Changfeng¡¯s own prestige and standing, not to mention earn him a favor at the same time. It had been a rather deep scheme.

    Because of this, Lu Yin had decided to just envelop all of them in the pressure of his domain; he didn¡¯t have time to waste and slowly convince them.

    Aside from Nightking Changfeng, Bigbeard, and the other few Cruisers, the others in the area were all immobilized after being suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I said that that¡¯s enough!¡± Nightking Changfeng barked as his body started to sparkle like white jade. His seven lined battle force erupted, and he charged towards Lu Yin. He was arrogant by nature, and when Lu Yin had flung him away in front of Ming Yan, it had caused him to feel stifled from that moment onwards. When he was suppressed by Lu Yin once again, it caused his anger to finally explode.

    Xun Meiren¡¯s eyes lit up as she watched the scene unfold.

    Lu Yin had waited for an opportunity to confront Nightking Changfeng for a long time. Lu Yin was a man, and he had a problem that wasmon to all men; not only had this person approached Ming Yan, but he had also called her Yan¡¯er, which Lu Yin could not tolerate. The battle with Ming Zhaoshu allowed him to vent his emotions, but the fight that would truly assuage his emotions was with this person in front of him.

    All three grains of Fatesand shifted, and Lu Yin raised a hand to grab Nightking Changfeng¡¯s fist. There was a thump that caused all of the onlookers to feel like their brains had been jostled, and they backed away as fresh blood dripped down from the corner of their mouths. They had been hit by the aftershocks of the two young men¡¯s confrontation.

    Nightking Changfeng had the innate gift of cial Jade Guard, and his innate gift was further supplemented by his seven lined battle force, which caused it to be much stronger than it had originally been. However, despite his strength, his fist was still tightly grasped by Lu Yin, and Nightking Changfeng found that he was unable to move.

    ¡°Too weak!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s pupils shrank, and his body changed once again. He revealed the Nightking¡¯s Body, which was a technique that, of all the Nightking n members in the same generation as Lu Yin, only Nightqueen Yanqing had disyed before. Nightking Changfeng was one cycle older than Yanqing, and he was a part of the same generation as the Ten Arbiters, and hence, his Nightking''s Body was even stronger than Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s.

    Nightking Changfeng had assumed that he could overturn Lu Yin¡¯s strength by using the Nightking''s Body, but he was surprised to discover that there was no change whatsoever.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°I already told you¡ªyou¡¯re too weak.¡±

    Seven lined battle force wrapped around his right fist, and Nightking Changfeng¡¯s face changed abruptly, and he suddenly looked as though he was suffering immensely. His seven lined battle force was being crushed, and his Nightking''s Body also appeared to be crumbling.

    Lu Yin had be incredibly strong after breaking through to the Explorer realm. In terms of pure physical strength, he had even surpassed a peak Hunter like Kong Shi, and when the Yu Secret Art, Fatesand, and that finger technique from his dreams were taken into consideration, then even if he was not an opponent for a peak Hunter like Kong Shi, it would still be difficult for him to be defeated. He could currently face experts like Nightking Gu, let alone Nightking Changfeng.

    Nightking Changfeng looked miserable, as he had gone all-out bybining his seven lined battle force, the Nightking''s Body, and his innate gift of cial Jade Guard, each one of which was enough to crush countless people within his same generation. However, evenbining all of them together was not enough to ovee Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    There was a crack, and his Nightking''s Body copsed as fresh blood seeped out from Nightking Changfeng¡¯s body. The next to copse was his cial Jade Guard.

    A violent gale sted out and caused the mountain range to tremble before continuing on to blow towards the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked out towards the stream. ¡°He¡¯s still a youth after all, letting his emotions affect his actions.¡±

    As Lu Yin¡¯s strength continued to increase, Nightking Changfeng¡¯s fist was eventually crushed within Lu Yin¡¯s palm, and his bones had even started to break through his skin.

    The others were frozen stiff, and Bigbeard was even quaking in fear.

    ¡°Br- Brother Lu, did youe here this time to kill people?¡± Xun Meiren could not endure the situation any longer, and a trace of fresh blood flowed down from her lips as her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

    Lu Yin shoved Nightking Changfeng away with a single palm and retracted his domain. It had all appeared in an instant, but now, it all vanished just as quickly.

    Everyone subconsciously started panting heavily, as they had been suppressed to the extent where they had be breathless.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in fear. They were clearly not on the same level as this person, and the disparity between them was too drastic. Even Nightking Changfeng, an expert ranked twenty first on the Top Hundred Rankings, had just been casually crushed. This person could probably rival the top fifteen¡ªno, possibly even the top ten on the list.

    Nightking Changfeng grabbed his right fist and gritted his teeth, still refusing to ept his defeat. He stared fiercely at Lu Yin.

    Xun Meiren hurriedly took out some especially potent medications to treat the injury, but while doing so, the shock remained visible in her eyes. Lu Yin¡¯s strength was greater than what she had imagined, and she wondered how this person had cultivated to reach this stage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over all of the young cultivators who had gathered at this ce, now feeling much happier. ¡°I¡¯m the one who had the Reverent King gather you all here for me. There¡¯s a matter that I have to ask you toplete with me.¡±

    No one dared to answer, and of course, no one interrupted him. Even Bigbeard looked very sincere, and he suddenly looked at Nightking Changfeng with a trace of gratitude. If not for Nightking Changfeng, then the unlucky one would have been Bigbeard. This person was obviously a freak since he had been able to injure Nightking Changfeng to such an extent without even moving.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance has shown up,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡± Many people cried out, and even Nightking Changfeng was taken aback. Xun Meiren even dropped the medicine as she turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued calmly, exining, ¡°The Neohuman Alliance is cooperating with Ming Zhaotian, and I¡¯ve found their location. I need you guys to work together with me topletely eradicate them.¡±

    "Brother Lu, the Neohuman Alliance is no small matter. It¡¯s best to report this matter upwards and allow those above us make a decision,¡± someone said.

    Lu Yin looked over. ¡°Report it upwards? To who?¡±

    The person was about to respond, but he was stopped by a bystander. The initial speaker suddenly remembered that Lu Yin had even killed an Enlighter, which meant that even their so-called superiors were inferior to this person, rendering the youth speechless for a moment.

    Lu Yin looked away and continued quietly, ¡°The Neohuman Alliance is an archenemy of the entire human race. I don¡¯t care what you guys think about this. Be here tomorrow at dawn, and I¡¯ll lead you to Mingdu. At that same time, the space station will coordinate with us and initiate an attack on the five sealings while Ming Zhaotian keeps Ming Zhaoshu busy. This will give us the time to eliminate the Neohuman Alliance. This is the n, so does anyone have any objections?¡±

    "Brother Lu, the Neohuman Alliance is hiding in Mingdu?¡± Xun Meiren asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°If a battle breaks out there, then won¡¯t themoners get caught up in it?¡± she questioned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°If we don¡¯t attack them, they¡¯ll use thosemoners in their experiments. Which oue would you prefer to see?¡±

    Xun Meiren choked. Lu Yin was unrestrained in his words, and in the end, she was still a beautiful woman with rarely anyone daring to speak to her so openly.

    ¡°Any other opinions? If not, I expect to see every single one of you here at dawn tomorrow. Otherwise, I¡¯ll dispose of you before moving out to settle matters with the Neohuman Alliance.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was frosty. He did not need to be concerned with the thoughts or opinions of these people. Since they were able toe here to the Shenwu Continent, it showed that they were from various organizations that had close ties with the Nightking n. In other words, most of these people would be his enemies in the future.

    Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze lingered on Nightking Changfeng¡¯s body for a moment, and then he left.

    From start to end, Lu Yin did not n to learn anyone¡¯s name, nor where these people were from. This was because, during the uing battle with the Neohuman Alliance, quite a few of these people would die. They were about to face one of the Three Dark Hands, and who knew what hidden cards might be concealed up their sleeves. If not for his universal armor, Lu Yin would not take the risk of acting personally.

    As the others watched Lu Yin leave, one person unhappily grumbled, ¡°This Lu Yin is too arrogant! He actually dares to order us around.¡±

    One of the others smiled bitterly. ¡°You can, too, if you¡¯re as strong as he is. He doesn¡¯t give two hoots about us.¡±

    ¡°Now, he only has eyes for Hunters. No, only Enlighters. Why would he care about us?¡±

    ¡­

    Xun Meiren looked over at Nightking Changfeng. She saw an intense bloodlust etched deep in his eyes, and delight flickered across her face. Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, she had been given orders from her n to eliminate Lu Yin if the opportunity ever arose. This order had not juste from the Young Master, but also from the n Chief.

    Lu Yin was someone that the Xun family had to kill. She did not know the reason for this enmity, and she had only been able to meet up with Lu Yin at this moment. However, she could make use of Nightking Changfeng.

    The gathered cultivators left one after another until only Nightking Changfeng and Xun Meiren remained.

    ¡°Help me kill him,¡± Nightking Changfeng said coldly.

    Xun Meiren forced a smile onto her face. ¡°Brother Changfeng, even you aren¡¯t his opponent, so how could I help?¡±

    His eyes stayed icy. ¡°During this time, my Daynight n was able to gather some pyrolyte from the Astral Wilderness. We¡¯ll coordinate during this battle in Mingdu, and at that time, we¡¯ll think of a way to blow him up with the pyrolyte.¡±

    Xun Meiren was astonished. ¡°Pyrolyte¡¯s way too destructive, and that might destroy the entirety of Mingdu! There are many people living there.¡±

    Nightking Changfeng grabbed her chin. ¡°That¡¯s none of my business. I don¡¯t care how many of these native die. I just want him dead, so listen carefully: if he doesn¡¯t die, I¡¯ll make you die.¡±

    Xun Meiren¡¯s expression changed. This person was crazy, and Lu Yin had managed to suppress him twice, which hadpletely enraged Nightking Changfeng. He no longer cared about the repercussions of his actions. However, this was great for Xun Meiren. This was exactly the kind of person that she needed at this moment.

    ¡°Alright, Brother Changfeng, I will help you.¡± Xun Meiren acted as if she were scared of him.

    Nightking Changfeng lowered his hand and left.

    At the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Lu Yin arrived outside of Ming Yan¡¯s room, but there, he hesitated. He didn¡¯t know what to do.

    The door suddenly burst open, and Ming Yan walked out. When she saw Lu Yin, a hint of delight shed across her eyes, but there was also a sense of bewilderment and helplessness. She dismissed her maids before apanying Lu Yin on a walk in the back garden.

    For twenty whole minutes, neither of the two spoke a single word. Lu Yin simply enjoyed the fragrance of the flowers, or possibly, Ming Yan¡¯s fragrance. Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Ming Yan was taken aback. ¡°For what?¡±

    Lu Yin said apologetically. ¡°I left for two years, but I showed no concern for you, and I even said such words to you as soon as I returned. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ming Yan lowered her head. ¡°It was my fault.¡±

    The twopsed back into silence.

    Lu Yin recalled the feelings that he had held for Ming Yan when she had given him a lock of her hair, as well as their deep kiss that had intoxicated him. But now, he could not even touch her face since she would hide, dodge, or decline his advances. Every time he thought of this, it caused his heart to wrench.

    Feelings came quickly, but they also vanished quickly. Had they truly disappeared, just like that? Ming Yan felt a sense of unfamiliarity with Lu Yin, but she also still had feelings for him. Otherwise, she would not have be so flustered when he had apologized just a moment ago. He could tell that she was also afraid that he would leave.

    Their feelings were not stable, and they had been defeated by time. However, those sincere emotions still remained in the depths of their hearts, and it was possible for them to blossom again in the future. At that time, they could start from scratch once again!

    "Brother Lu, can you give me some time?¡± Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin expectantly. ¡°Let me think things through.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and rubbed his nose. ¡°You are free to choose, and no one can force you.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that, during this time apart, Brother Lu has fallen in love with someone else,¡± Ming Yan sadly exined.

 Chapter 611: Starting Anew

    <h4>Chapter 611: Starting Anew</h4>

    ¡°Seventh Bro, even though this girl looks weak, she¡¯s actually dominating! She isn¡¯t showing any signs of epting you, and yet, she doesn''t want you to like someone else. She is going overboard!¡± the monkey cried out.

    Was Ming Yan really going overboard? Love was something that made people jealous, so anyone would have felt the same.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. Let¡¯s just pretend that I didn''t say anything. I will give this matter some serious consideration,¡± Ming Yan quickly continued. She was also able to sense that she had gone too far with her words.

    Lu Yin did not continue to dwell on this topic. He was aplete beginner when it came to love without any experience whatsoever, and Ming Yan was the same. The two of them spoke straight from their hearts with neither pretenses nor white lies. This was part of the reason why they had fallen in love with each other so quickly, but it was also the reason why their rtionship had run into issues so easily.

    ¡°Shenwu Continent will join the rest of the universe in the future, and we¡¯ll have a lot of time to spend together once that happens. Maybe I can take you and your father to visit my hometown and show you both around. You could give me your answer then,¡± Lu Yin offered gently.

    Ming Yan nodded. She had considered many things over the past few days. She hated that Lu Yin felt foreign to her and that she had rejected his advances, but she also could not be med as it had a subconscious reaction. She knew that she loved the man standing in front of her, but what was it that was stopping her from further developing this rtionship? She did not have the answer to that at this time. She needed to think things through even if it meant that this man would end up with someone else while she did so.

    Even though Lu Yin did not say much during the two hours that he spent with Ming Yan, he still enjoyed the feeling of just having her by his side. Her familiar fragrance gave him a sense of calm.

    ¡°You should head back now, and don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ming Yan made a sound of acknowledgement and bowed her head. It was impossible to know what she was thinking about.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred, and he moved closer and slowly embraced her.

    Ming Yan was shocked, but this time, she did not move away from him. She actually felt very safe in his arms.

    The sky grew dark very quickly, and Ming Yan returned home soon after.

    Lu Yin went to meet with Ming Zhaoshu.

    ¡°I have confirmed with the people on the space station that we will attack the five sealings in five days,¡± Ming Zhaoshu informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°We will set out tomorrow.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu knitted his brows. ¡°We can actually wait longer than that. Things will be too rushed if you head out tomorrow.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°If this were a normal battle, then we could afford to wait. However, our opponent this time is the Neohuman Alliance. Dying even another second only increases the possibility of a Corpse King appearing. When that happens, countless people will be turned into monsters. There are no strategies to deal with them, and if that happens, all we can do is fight our hardest.¡±

    ¡°Besides, do you really dare to dy things any longer? The people at the space station are already aware that the Neohuman Alliance is on the continent, and if we dy any longer, then it won¡¯t just be the Neohuman Alliance that gets eradicated. Instead, it¡¯ll be a concerted effort by the Outerverse¡¯sbined might to destroy the entire continent.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu felt helpless. He was good at being patient for the right opportunity to strike. However, Lu Yin was obviously an impulsive person, or at least, that was how Ming Zhaoshu felt. The Reverent King felt that he was someone who could reduce casualties to the lowest level possible so long as he was given time. However, he was not the one in control right now. Besides, Lu Yin was not wrong either. He had not dared to expose the presence of the Neohuman Alliance out of fear that the people of the Outerverse would see the entire Shenwu Continent as an enemy.

    ¡°How are things with Yan¡¯er?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    However, before he could even finish speaking, Lu Yin interrupted him. ¡°Things are fine between us, but let¡¯s focus on this battle first.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back with a twinkle in his eye.

    The battle in five days would lead to a new dawn for the continent. .

    After walking out of the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Lu Yin was in a rather good mood. His time with Ming Yan had allowed him to realize something: she still had feelings for him deep down inside. It was merely that the time that they had spent apart had caused them to be unfamiliar with each other. This had caused her to grow reticent, and she needed some time to adjust.

    As long as her feelings for Lu Yin had not changed, the situation could still be salvaged. Was this what long-distance rtionships were like? Being separated for two years was certainly a long-distance rtionship. Lu Yin felt happy that he was close to her at this moment. If he had been forced to wait much longer, her feelings would probably have ceased to exist.

    The only thing that he could me was that they had not spent enough time together in the past. He had developed the false belief that their love was so deep that it could withstand the test of time. s, none of that mattered now since Shenwu Continent was no longer forbidden ground to him; instead, it had be a ce that he could visit at any time. Aside from the initial culture shock, there probably wasn¡¯t much that could surprise Ming Yan anymore. So long as they were both willing to start their rtionship again, it was not toote.

    She could treat it as though they were falling in love all over again.

    The next day, Lu Yin met up with Nightking Changfeng and the others inside of the valley. The others had turned up in full numbers. Lu Yin¡¯s ster performance during the battle the day before as well as his overwhelming presence had pressured them all into showing up. Even the usually unyielding Bigbeard did his best to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    Lu Yin did not show them much courtesy, and he immediately took off to start their journey. He followed the same route that he had traveled with Arikar in the past as he headed for Mingdu.

    Since the people behind him had stayed in Shenwu Continent for too long, their star energy had long since been reced with martial power, so a heavenly globe wouldn¡¯t be able to sense any abnormalities from them. However, just to be safe, Lu Yin led them along the long route.

    Nightking Changfeng did not reveal his murderous intentions, as he was waiting for a suitable opportunity to strike.

    In the early morning of the fifth day, at the first light of dawn, Lu Yin assigned everyone a position and arranged them all in a manner to prevent the Corpse King from escaping.

    Before long, the sky trembled, and it felt like an earthquake was shaking the entire continent. Figure after figure took to the sky as the five sealings were under attack.

    After Shenwu Continent had been emunicated by the Outerverse, the five sealings had not suffered any attacks in a long time. The Enlighters had all gone to the Ironblood Weave, and any attacks on the five sealings by Madam Men or the others werepletely ineffective. In recent days, Shenwu Continent had been peaceful and serene, so nobody would have thought that an altercation would take ce on such a day.

    Ming Zhaotian had a bitter look on his face; this attack out of nowhere had flustered him. He was worried about the Enlighters who had gathered in the Outerverse. Out of desperation, he issued notices throughout the entire Shenwu Continent, ordering all who had cultivated to the stage of Martial Emperor or higher to report to the five sealings.

    He himself headed into the sky himself while leaving control of the empire to Crown Prince Ming Hao.

    ¡°Move out now!¡± Lu Yin bellowed. He had already donned the universal armor, leaped into the sky, and dived straight towards the Tower of Resonating Light. Everyone else scrambled to get into the positions they had been assigned by Lu Yin, and Nightking Changfeng was no exception.

    There were four peaks surrounding the capital, Mingdu, which had been protected by four Martial Sovereigns in the past. One of them had been lured away by Ming Zhaoshu to Qiong Ind¡¯s Shanhai city and another perished in battle, meaning that there were only two guardians left.

    When these two people saw Lu Yin and the others show up, they immediately sprang into action.

    All of a sudden, skilled Martial Sovereigns appeared from all over inside Mingdu, and they held the two experts back. These people were subordinates of Ming Zhaoshu, as he was prepared to give it his all for this battle.

    No one expected that the rebels would attack at the same time that the five sealings were attacked. This was betraying the entire continent!

    Ming Hao was enraged and saddened at the same time. He was also worried that his secret hidden underground might be discovered.

    ¡°Your Majesty, someone is moving towards the Tower of Resonating Light!¡± A Martial Emperor expert cried out.

    Ming Hao¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Stop them!¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hands, and a single attack from each hand killed two Martial Emperor experts. He didn¡¯t hesitate and continued to dash madly towards the Tower of Resonating Light. He shot down just like a meteor, not bothering to look for the entrance, and instead simply tunneled straight into the ground.

    In the past, the Tower of Resonating Light had trapped an entire group of trial takers, but now, all of the tower¡¯s defenses were crumbling under his might.

    In what felt like a mere moment, Lu Yin arrived at the lowest known level of the Tower of Resonating Light.

    The moment Ming Zhaoshu had received Ming Taizhong¡¯s inheritance, the threat of the Tower of Resonating Light had already been neutralized. The area had since be an experimental base for the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin saw manyboratories, a Corpse King, and various types of energy crystals.

    Even though he was in the darkness underground, he could still see no less than a hundred thousand zombies roaming about. They were all ordinary humans who had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance for experimental purposes.

    This was the Neohuman Alliance, a public enemy of the entire universe. As far as they were concerned, every organism was nothing more than ab rat.

    Lu Yin released his domain, crushing the underground area. Whether it was the zombies or a Corpse King, everything moving instantly exploded. With a furious growl, a ck figure suddenly charged towards Lu Yin, clearly enraged. Lu Yin made no attempt to evade the charge. Instead, he raised his palm and shouted as he released his own attack in response. ¡°Thirty Stacks, One Hundredfold Shockwave Palm!¡±

    With a resounding boom, the entire Tower of Resonating Light shattered, and sunshine appeared underground.

    Lu Yin stood in ce and did not move. The ck figure slowly became visible; it was the powerful Cruiser Corpse King whose rune lines wereparable to Kong Shi¡¯s.

    It was clear that this Corpse King was confused, but regardless, its physical strength was off the charts. Lu Yin¡¯s attack didn¡¯t seem to faze it at all.

    With another angry yell, a metallic lustre appeared and covered the surface of the Corpse King¡¯s body. It shed its ws towards Lu Yin, and Lu Yin raised his brows. Was this an innate gift?

    Lu Yin struck out with another palm, and there was another thump as the impact caused another shockwave to ripple out, splitting all of Mingdu apart. Huge cracks started to spread out from the Tower of Resonating Light that traveled all the way to the imperial pce.

    Shock was shining in Ming Hao¡¯s eyes. The aftershocks of the underground battle caused his heart to palpitate. He had had no idea that Ming Zhaoshu had subordinates who were this strong.

    At this moment, battles erupted everywhere across the capital. Bigbeard was the first to encounter a Corpse King, which triggered an intense battle. Following that, the others also started facing off against zombies and Corpse Kings. As they fended off the Corpse Kings, they also had to deal with the cultivators of the Shenwu Empire.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s location wasn¡¯t far away from the Demon Hunters Society, as that was the strategic location that Lu Yin had chosen for him. Beneath the ground in this area weren¡¯t only Corpse Kings from the Neohuman Alliance, but also Lord ckgown and several other skilled individuals who belonged to the Neohuman Alliance.

    Hua Ying, Bei Qing, and the others all attacked Nightking Changfeng. The Nightking responded with a cold snort and a wave of his arms, causing everyone to fall back. Hua Ying¡¯s beauty had mesmerised him so much that he did not deal a deadly blow to the attackers, as if he had not held back, then a single attack from him would have been enough to kill them all.

    Hua Ying had been beaten unconscious by Lu Yin just a few days ago. She had woken up with herrades atop a tree and was still filled with anger from the incident. Coincidentally, since the capital was currently being attacked, regardless of how powerful the attackers were, she intended to vent some of her anger on them. Nightking Changfeng narrowed his eyes. ¡°You should know your ce.¡±

    Just as he was about to attack again, the ground beneath him shattered, and a Corpse King rose up. It bellowed as it stretched out its ws towards Nightking Changfeng.

    He was shocked to see a Corpse King here, but he immediately swayed to avoid it.

    Astonished, Hua Ying stared at the monster that had suddenly appeared. She could not understand why such a monstrosity had been hiding underground.

    At this moment, grains of ck sand suddenly swept across the sky, casually travelling towards Nightking Changfeng. Lord ckgown had arrived.

    ¡°My Lord, there are monsters underground!¡± Hua Ying yelled.

    Lord ckgown swept past Hua Ying and the others as his cksand formed into chains. Then, he rushed towards Nightking Changfeng.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s expression turned cold, and the surface of his body glistened like jade. Seven lined battle force burst forth as he struck out with his palm to attack. This attack repelled both the Corpse King and ck-gowned lord, and the Corpse King ended up especially miserable as the attack had nearly caused its head to explode.

    Lord ckgown snarled angrily, and he ripped off his robes to reveal his face to Hua Ying and the others for the first time. They all saw that he was also a monster with scarlet red eyes and that he was covered with cksand from head to toe.

    ¡°Another Corpse King!¡± Nightking Changfeng struck out with a palm once again. ¡°Nightking palm!¡± This attack revealed intermingling ck and white colors, and Lord ckgown bellowed at the sky. The cksand wrapped around his entire body, and he charged recklessly at Nightking Changfeng.

    Boom!

    The end result of the collision between the two shattered the surrounding streets, affecting countless people as the ground shattered. Hua Ying and the other Demon Hunters weren¡¯t able to withstand the ripples of the aftershocks and tumbled backwards.

 Chapter 612: Corpse King: Second Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 612: Corpse King: Second Transformation</h4>

    In the end, not even Lord ckgown was able to stop Nightking Changfeng¡¯s attacks, and the battle concluded after he was punched right in the chest. Nightking Changfeng then punched the Corpse King once more, destroying his brain.

    Hua Ying and the others stared at the body of Lord ckgown in shock. What was this monster?

    Elsewhere, Xun Meiren was trying her best to stave off another Corpse King¡¯s attacks.

    ¡°Die, you traitor!¡± With a shout, the Ming Constables¡¯ Ming Zhaochen suddenly appeared and moved to attack her.

    Startled, she quickly pulled back.

    Ming Zhaochen looked at the Corpse King in shock. It was only after the creature charged into the gathered crowd and started ughtering that he had acted.

    Only Ming Zhaotian, Ming Hao, and a few others were aware of the existence of the Neohuman Alliance. The previous master of the Demon Hunters Society had happened to find out through a coincidence, but that person had been eliminated because of his discovery. This was Ming Zhaochen¡¯s first time seeing the Neohuman Alliance.

    The entire capital trembled as the ground cracked. Numerous people fled from the capital in terror.

    ¡°Are you really going to let Shenwu Continent be destroyed, Ming Zhaoshu?¡± Ming Zhaotian had returned from the fives, and he was now angrily shouting at the capital.

    Ming Zhaoshu appeared at those words. ¡°You should change the way you think, brother. The major powers of the universe are pushing for our continent to join the rest of the universe.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Ming Zhaoshu was furious. Soon enough, the sounds of them arguing could be heard resonating throughout the sky.

    Ming Hao stood inside the pce, his expression grim. Since their secret had already been uncovered, there was no way for him to take control of the situation anymore, let alone keep them concealed. While they might be able to stop Ming Zhaoshu in this battle, there was no way for them to exin the presence of the monsters.

    Underground, Lu Yin and a Corpse King were caught up in their own battle. Lu Yin had already put on his universal armor, so he was not at all afraid of directly fighting against this creature. Corpse Kings were not a clear-headed opponent, and they only knew how to recklessly charge at their enemies. Lu Yin was calmly waiting for the moment when that thing tired itself out.

    The defenses of a Corpse King were impressive. Lu Yin knew that, even if he used his full strength, none of his attacks would be able to deal any significant damage with the sole exception of the finger from his dreams.

    All of a sudden, the roars of the Corpse King changed, and its red eyes turned grey. The rune lines of the creature increased until they reached the amount that Lu Yin had observed beforehand. This creature¡¯s power was nowparable to Kong Shi¡¯s.

    ¡°It¡¯s a transformed Corpse King! RUN!¡± the monkey shrieked.

    Run? Lu Yin had already noticed that this Corpse King¡¯s rune lines were far fewer than what he had seen before. Thus, he had already guessed that it could transform. This was actually why he hade after this particr Corpse King.

    Boom boom boom boom!

    The next ten consecutive exchanges proved that this grey-eyed Corpse King was much more powerful than before. Although Lu Yin was protected by his universal armor and remained uninjured, these impacts were still shocking to him. If his armor weren¡¯t here, and if he was receiving these blows with just his body and Fatesand, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the onught. These attacks had reached the level of a peak Hunter¡¯s attacks.

    Kong Shi was a peak Hunter who didn¡¯t rely entirely on her body¡¯s strength, but this Corpse King was the opposite. Lu Yin might be very confident in his physical prowess, but there was no way he couldpete against a Corpse King that boasted the strength of a peak Hunter in terms of pure body strength.

    With a boom, Lu Yin was forced to retreat multiple steps after taking a punch. The next instant, Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield appeared, and massive tree branches wrapped around the Corpse King. It forcefully tore them apart and charged at Lu Yin again, who grabbed the creature¡¯s arms and shot through the ground and towards the sky. They arrived high above Mingdu. At that moment, the capital itself was split asunder.

    Nightking Changfeng looked up, and his pupils shrank. What the hell is that?

    All of a sudden, he felt a chill crawl down his back as his body was struck by a tremendous force that threw him forwards and forced him to cough up some blood. A young man had appeared behind him.

    Hua Ying and the others saw him and eximed in surprise, ¡°Ruthless?¡±

    Ruthless was the number one expert on the List of Tempering.

    Nightking Changfeng turned around. Ruthless? He had heard of this person before and knew that Ruthless was ranked first on the List of Tempering. Originally, Nightking Changfeng hadn¡¯t actually cared much about that list since there were only Limiteers on it. This meant that Ruthless also had to be a Limiteer, but if so, how had this person hurt him, Nightking Changfeng? Even when Lu Yin had been a Limiteer, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to hurt the Nightking.

    Ruthless continued moving towards Nightking Changfeng. If Lu Yin were present, he would have quickly noticed that this was most definitely not Ruthless. This person was Wu Shang, one of the people who had entered Shenwu Continent with Lu Yin to participate in the Outerverse trials. Wu Shang had tried to join the Ming Constables, but he had been noticed by Ming Zhaocai and chased out. After that, he¡¯d gone missing.

    At that time, Lu Yin had a vague feeling that this person¡¯s abilities were very cold and that they gave off a sensation that was simr to the Neohuman Alliance. Now, his initial suspicions were confirmed. Wu Shang¡¯s eyes changed and turned¡­ grey.

    Corpse King Transformation. Even within the Neohuman Alliance, there were not many Corpse Kings that could use it. However, on just this tiny Shenwu Continent, two such Corpse Kings had appeared at the same time.

    Wu Shang¡¯s abilities werepletely unleashed at this moment, and it could be seen that he was no Limiteer but rather an Explorer. On top of that, he had broken through quite some time ago.

    Nightking Changfeng could feel the power radiating from Wu Shang. Those grey eyes, in particr, made him feel a chill. ¡°Grey eyes¡­ Corpse Transformation.¡±

    As a member of the Nightking n, the Corpse King Transformation was not unknown to him. Numerous powerhouses from the Daynight n had died to these abominations, and he had an instinctive fear towards this thing.

    Boom!

    Soon enough, the two young men were locked in battle. Nightking Changfeng activated his Nightking¡¯s Body and also unleashed his full strength. The Corpse King Transformation had boosted Wu Shang¡¯s strength to another level, and just a single sh between the two was enough to send Hua Ying and the others flying.

    Far off in the distance, a cultivator in another area was panting hard after finishing off a Corpse King. All of a sudden, he felt pain blossom in his chest, and he looked down only to see a de poking through him. Blood dripped down from the tip of the de and slowlynded on the ground. Soon enough, his vision went ck. The cultivator had died.

    Li Zimo put his sword away. He looked into the distance and then dashed off once more.

    On this day, all of Mingdu waspletely destroyed. Even over the course of countless years, the Shenwu Empire had never suffered such a cmity before. The crown prince, Ming Hao, could only watch as his country fell into ruins. He felt as though he was watching the end of the empire.

    Explosions could be heard in the sky above the capital. It was day, but the city was shrouded in darkness as if it was night. The intense battle between Ming Zhaoshu and Ming Zhaotian, as well as the one between Lu Yin and the Corpse King, were urring high up in the sky, and the collisions nearly shattered space.

    The capital was enveloped in terror.

    Ming Hao summoned all of the experts who were hidden within the pce in an attempt to deal with the foreign cultivators who were cooperating with Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s men.

    The fives trembled, which gave rise to tsunamis and volcanic eruptions all across Shenwu Continent. All of the hidden experts rushed into the sky, determined to protect the fives.

    These people might not be involved in the contest for the emperor¡¯s throne, but there was no way that they would sit by and allow the five sealings to be destroyed.

    Boom boom!

    There were two loud explosions as Lu Yin and the Corpse King each took the other¡¯s attack. Lu Yin was sent crashing towards the ground and into ake while the Corpse King was forced further up into the sky, right next to where Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu were fighting.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s forcefield appeared, and the figure dressed in imperial robes moved to grab the Corpse King. It looked up with its terrifying grey eyes, causing Ming Zhaoshu to instinctively retreat.

    ¡°It¡¯s still not toote to stop, Ming Zhaoshu.¡± Ming Zhaotian continued attacking even as he warned his opponent.

    Ming Zhaoshu snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t you see that monster? It isn¡¯t human! Do you want to hand the entire Shenwu Continent over to a monster like that? How are you going to answer to our ancestors?¡±

    ¡°As long as we manage to remove them from this region, I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡± Ming Zhaotian howled.

    With an explosion, the two of them collided once more.

    The Corpse King had its sights set on Lu Yin, and it fell down from the sky like a meteor. Lu Yin evaded the attack, letting the Corpse King smash straight into the ground. A huge crack appeared in theke that not only evaporated all the water, but also extended all the way to the capital city.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. A Corpse King that had transformed could not be killed and essentially had an endless amount of power. With this creature''s innate gift of metal, it was basically indestructible without any way to pierce its defense. Lu Yin brought out his spear.

    The moment it appeared, the wind blew away as clouds formed overhead. The spear itself passively released spiritual force attacks around it, and it had also been upgraded six times by Lu Yin, which had eaten up 20,000 of his star essence. The amount of spiritual force damage that it could cause was far beyond what it had been capable of before.

    The spear released invisible undtions that covered the entire capital. People with weaker wills simply fainted on the spot.

    Nightking Changfeng¡¯s expression changed; was this a spiritual force attack? How could it be this powerful? It seemed to be covering the entire capital!

    High in the sky, Ming Zhaoshu and Ming Zhaotian could also sense the spiritual force attacks, and they both looked down in surprise.

    Lu Yin sped the spear and thrust it forward. It pierced through the void and went straight through the Corpse King. The creature grabbed the spear and roared, causing Lu Yin to frown. This thing didn¡¯t possess any intelligence, and its strength increased along with its transformation. In other words, spiritual force attacks would not be of much use against this opponent. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t just the spear¡¯s spiritual attacks that had been upgraded; the spear itself was also very sharp.

    The Corpse King grabbed the spear and Lu Yin quickly lost his grip on it. It then ripped the spear out of its body, tossed it into the air, and smacked Lu Yin. With a wave of his hand, Lu Yin activated the Yu Secret Art, causing the spear to suddenly vanish. When it reappeared, it was already in Lu Yin¡¯s hands, and he thrust it forward. This time, the de went right through the Corpse King¡¯s head; it stabbed in between its eyes and exited through the back of its skull.

    The Corpse King stood there, frozen in ce. Besides its trembling fingers, there was no other movement from its body, and its strength slowly drained away.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. This truly was an ancient weapon, as it¡¯d been able to pierce through the defenses of a transformed Corpse King. Those 27,000 star essence that Lu Yin had used to upgrade the spear had proven to be well spent. That gun had held twenty three shots, and it had been upgraded to the point where each shot could kill an Enlighter. He had used about half as much star essence on that gunpared to the spear, but still, even that gun had been able to kill an Enlighter.

    After pulling the spear out of the body, the Corpse King¡¯s brain exploded, and its body copsed to the ground, no longer moving. Even the metallic luster covering its body had dimmed.

    Lu Yin stored the spear away and sighed.

    Elsewhere in Mingdu, Nightking Changfeng was engaged in a fierce battle with Wu Shang, though he was trying to get away. His goal during this conflict wasn¡¯t the Neohuman Alliance, but rather Lu Yin. As long as he killed Lu Yin, he didn¡¯t care what the Neohuman Alliance did to this ce. At the worst, he¡¯d just ask those Enlighter experts from the Ironblood Weave toe and destroy Shenwu Continent. This ce didn¡¯t matter to him at all.

    After being forced back by Wu Shang, Nightking Changfeng tried to escape. He was going to look for Xun Meiren and team up with her to kill Lu Yin. However, this meant that he didn¡¯t notice that, at the same moment he tried to leave, Wu Shang¡¯s eyes turned from grey to green¡­ This was a Second Level Corpse King Transformation.

    Nightking Changfeng only managed to take a few steps away when he felt his scalp tingle. When he turned around, there was a pair of green eyes as well as a raised hand aimed at him. He instinctively raised an arm to block the iing attack. All of his defensive abilities were currently active¡ªhis Nightking¡¯s Body, seven lined battle force, and innate gift of Ice Jade. These gifts had allowed him to rise to the twenty first rank in the Top 100 Rankings, but it was all casually destroyed by the approaching palm. It pierced through his abdomen, and when it exited his body through the back, it was holding onto a bloody, throbbing heart.

    Nightking Changfeng gaped as he stared at the green eyes that were just a few centimeters away from him in total despair. This creature had undergone a Second Level Corpse King Transformation, but how was that possible? Why was a monster capable of such a thing even here in the Outerverse? Even in the Innerverse, such creatures rarely appeared. Shouldn¡¯t they all be in the Neoverse? Shouldn¡¯t they be fighting the Hall of Honor?¡±

    His vision faded to ck, and his body went cold as he listened to the beating of his own heart. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hua Ying and the others go pale, but his thoughts faded there.

 Chapter 613: Dusk Of The Empire

    <h4>Chapter 613: Dusk Of The Empire</h4>

    Wu Shang crushed the human heart in his hand before retracting it. He then looked in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. Apprehension flitted through his eyes before he leaped up. From the moment he appeared to the moment he left, he had never once bothered with Hua Ying and the others.

    When Xun Meiren saw Nightking Changfeng¡¯s corpse, she was stunned with disbelief. Nightking Changfeng was no weakling, nor was he someone who would fight to the death. But despite all that, he had still been killed. His abdomen had been opened up, and even his heart had been ripped out.

    She was petrified with fear, and as she looked around her, she heard many Corpse Kings snarling in the darkness. A bead of cold sweat ran down her body.

    ¡°Alien, kill!¡± Li Zimo appeared out of nowhere and thrust his sword forward while Xun Meiren was still panicking. The sword was formless and soundless, and when Xun Meiren finally noticed it, the tip had already stabbed into her neck.

    Xun Meiren sluggishly looked at Li Zimo¡¯s cold face. She had never thought she would die here in this ce.

    Li Zimo withdrew his sword and then dashed towards another direction.

    On the shattered ground of Mingdu, Lu Yin looked to the northwest in surprise. Nightking Changfeng and Xun Meiren had both died, and although he had not seen how Nightking Changfeng had died, Xun Meiren had actually been killed by a single strike from Li Zimo. This person was indeed cold-blooded, as Xun Meiren was very attractive.

    But only this kind of cold-blooded person could develop a technique like Silence. Lu Yin had fought against Li Zimo before, and while Li Zimo¡¯s sword techniques were not up to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s standards, that was only because Liu Shaoqiu had inherited the Thirteen Swords, which came with the wisdom of his predecessors. If the two were measured on solely their own terms, then Li Zimo might not necessarily be any weaker than Liu Shaoqiu. Rather, Li Zimo might be even stronger.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are we still fighting?¡± the monkey asked, slightly eager. It also wanted to fight, as it hadn¡¯t had a chance to participate in any battles since it had be Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast.

    Lu Yin just ignored the monkey as Li Zimo was actually charging towards him.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the two of them to meet.

    Li Zimo did not expect to meet Lu Yin here. There was no way that he would ever forget Lu Yin, as Lu Yin had left quite a deep impression on him during the battle of the Tower of Resonating Light. Back then, Lu Yin had faced off against two opponents simultaneously and managed to defeat both Zhanlong Daynight and Li Zimo. Right after that, he had killed the person on the top of the List of Tempering. That night was an unforgettable one for Li Zimo.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t met for two years, so why haven¡¯t you broken through and be a Martial Emperor yet?¡± Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Li Zimo¡¯s eyes trembled, and in response, he clenched his sword hilt tightly and stabbed out. This sword moved much fasterpared to two years ago, and it also had an indistinct feel to it that seemed to ignore space, as the space around the de seemed to be weakened. This made it hard to estimate the true depth of Li Zimo¡¯s skills.

    Lu Yin marvelled upon seeing the sword strike, as this person¡¯s sword techniques were exceptional. Unfortunately, Li Zimo had run into Lu Yin, who merely raised a hand and lightly flicked out with a finger. There was a loud bang, and the sword cracked from the impact. Lu Yin grabbed a hold of the broken sword tip and casually swiped out with it. Li Zimo dodged and retreated a hundred meters away. He then looked at Lu Yin in fear.

    Lu Yin sneered at him and casually threw the broken sword tip at the swordsman. Li Zimo raised his now-broken sword to block it, deflecting the sword tip into the ground as a crisp ringing sound filled the air.

    ¡°You¡¯re not my opponent anymore. Go and train some more.¡± Lu Yin leaped up. Through his domain, he could perceive that Bigbeard was in danger, as he had run into Ming Zhaochen.

    Bigbeard was a Cruiser, but the standards of Shenwu Continent¡¯s cultivators had almost reached that of the Innerverse¡¯s elites. This continent had even given birth to Li Zimo, whose talent could rival Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s. Ming Zhaochen was one of the top authorities in the Ming Constables, and he had the power to suppress Bigbeard.

    Li Zimo watched Lu Yin¡¯s figure fade into the sky, but he did not chase after him. There was no point, as he could not beat Lu Yin. Thus, if he chased after Lu Yin, he would just be running towards his own death. But in that case, why had Lu Yin let him go?

    Lu Yin himself did not exactly know why he had let Li Zimo go, as he just felt that killing the man would be a pity. He wanted to see if, after this person entered the wider universe and experienced more excellent sword techniques, then would he eventually have a face-off with Liu Shaoqiu? Lu Yin thought that Liu Shaoqiu would also eagerly await such a possibility.

    Crack!

    A crack spread across the sky.

    Ming Zhaotian panted heavily, and he looked across all of Mingdu, unresigned. He closed his eyes, as he knew that everything wasing to an end. The Corpse Kings from the Neohuman Alliance had mostly been defeated, and there were too many experts from the outer universe, not to mention that person wearing the set of universal armor. He knew that he had lost.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked down at the capital with aplex expression. If it had been possible, then he would not have destroyed the capital, as this was the symbol of the Shenwu Empire. Unfortunately, he had been left with no other choice.

    ¡°Brother, do you still wish to continue to resist? Those alien monsters have an intense desire to kill. If you hadn¡¯t cooperated with those monsters, then these foreigners would not have cooperated with me to invade Mingdu, as they would rather watch our internal friction increase,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said solemnly.

    To the Daynight n, Ming Zhaoshu had no choice but to unify Shenwu Continent and then open it up to the wider universe. It was either that, or the continent¡¯s internal strife would continue to foment. If the Daynight n had truly cared about the oue, then they would have gone all-out to help Ming Zhaoshu unify Shenwu Continent, but that would have given Ming Zhaoshu too many benefits and the Daynight n not enough.

    If not for the presence of the Neohuman Alliance, then Lu Yin also would not have been able to rally the various outside cultivators to invade Mingdu either.

    By cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance, Ming Zhaotian had found a possible route to defeat Ming Zhaoshu and the rebellion, but he had also been digging his own grave.

    Ming Zhaotian looked upwards and smiled bitterly. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s toote now, regardless of what you say. You are right. It is inevitable that Shenwu Continent will enter the universe. Once Ming Taizhong tore the void apart, the oue was predetermined, and no one could change it from that point on.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Ming Zhaotian, but he did not speak.

    ¡°Little Brother, you endured for so many years, all for this day. The crown prince urged me topletely eradicate you many times. It¡¯s such a pity that I never acted¡ªall because of our rtionship¡ªand that has led to today¡¯s great defeat.¡± Ming Zhaotianughed at himself.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What is it that Brother wishes to say?¡±

    ¡°No matter how fiercely we have fought against each other, it¡¯s still an internal matter of the empire. In the end, Shenwu Continent must be ruled by the Ming family,¡± Ming Zhaotian said. He then began to cough intensely. He had been severely injured by Wen Sansi in the past, but every time his condition had started to improve, it had been aggravated by Ming Zhaoshu. This had caused Ming Zhaotian¡¯s injuries to not heal even after two years, or else he would have definitely defeated Ming Zhaoshu with his full strength.

    ¡°Shenwu Continent will definitely remain within the control of the Ming family. Rest assured, Brother,¡± Ming Zhaoshu spoke loudly.

    Ming Zhaotian looked at him with a serious expression. ¡°I can pass my position onto you, but you must agree to several conditions.¡±

    ¡°You are in no position to mention any conditions.¡±

    ¡°The majority of the Shenwu Empire is still within my grasp. If you kill me, you will not be able to ascend to the throne in a just or a favorable manner. How many inds will willingly pledge allegiance to you? How many will break out in revolt? The entire Shenwu Continent will curse you¡ªis that what you want?¡± Ming Zhaotian retorted.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze flickered, and he looked down at the smashed capital below them. Finally, he muttered, ¡°What are your conditions?¡±

    Ming Zhaotian took a deep breath. ¡°I want you to give Ming Hao a way out. Let him head out to the universe to find his own path.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°No. I can allow your other offspring to live, but not Ming Hao.¡±

    ¡°This is my only condition. Even with your current capabilities, are you still afraid of Ming Hao? Both you and I know that there are many who have Ming Hao¡¯s strength, but they have no influence over you whatsoever. Also, you¡¯ve already cooperated with some of the powerful ns from the outer universe,¡± Ming Zhaotian said.

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned as he thought about it. While he was hesitating, anotherrge crack appeared in Mingdu. He suddenly made his decision. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll allow Ming Hao to leave Shenwu Continent alive, but if he opposes me once again, then I will kill him without hesitation.¡±

    Ming Zhaotian rxed and looked at the capital that was flooded with howls of grief. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. ¡°Everyone in the empire, hear mymand. Eliminate the monsters and then assemble in the pce. I will abdicate the throne.¡±

    Everyone in Mingdu heard Ming Zhaoshu, and they all looked up in shock. Abdicate?

    Just outside the pce, Ming Hao¡¯s body trembled, and he nearly fainted as he stared up at his father in disbelief.

    Ming Zhaochen¡¯s strength left him, and he released his hand, causing his sword to fall and tter on the ground. Across from him, Lu Yin looked up. It was over.

    Li Zimo calmly looked up. He had long since considered this day, as it had seemed to be an unavoidable eventuality. After all, Shenwu Continent could not defeat the aliens.

    Within the city, the empire¡¯s military minister, Bei Hong, finance minister, Ming Zhaocai, and many more had agonized expressions. In the end, they had still been defeated, and they felt wretched even though they knew that such a day would eventually arrive. Still, they had not thought it would be so soon nor so sudden.

    Due to Ming Zhaotian¡¯s orders, everyone within the capital united to attack the Corpse Kings, and the residents of Shenwu Continent stopped killing each other.

    Some distance outside Mingdu, Wu Shang seemed to bepletely indifferent to these developments. Instead, he was preupied with a paper-thin b that he had pulled out, seemingly making a note of something. The writing at the very top of the b stated, ¡°Experiment Data.¡±

    Lu Yin walked towards the pce, step by step. Along the way, he saw many corpses. Most of them belonged to ordinary citizens who hadn¡¯t been able to avoid the violence. One attack from a cultivator or a Corpse King could easily kill dozens to hundreds of regr people. However, Lu Yin was not remorseful, as this was the necessary price to defeat the Neohuman Alliance, and he was already content in knowing that he had minimized the casualties. The other choice would have been to allow the Neohuman Alliance to capture these people one by one to use for their experiments, which was even worse than death.

    It could only be said that these people¡¯s life and death had been left up to luck on this day.

    Mingdu had been destroyed, and the ground was riddled with countless fissures and deep pits that had already started filling up with water.

    Numb soldiers proceeded to rescue the civilians, and the cultivators remained silent in each other¡¯s presence. The capital had fallen into a strange silence, with the only sounds being the asional odd cry.

    "Brother Lu!¡± Bigbeard caught up to Lu Yin. He had been in the process of being fiercely beaten by Ming Zhaochen, and he had nearly died before Lu Yin had arrived to save him.

    "Brother Lu, thank you for saving me,¡± Bigbeard said gratefully.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Go and save those regr citizens if you still have some strength.¡±

    Bigbeard acknowledged the suggestion.

    Not muchter, Lu Yin saw Namu and felt that he seemed familiar.

    ¡°I was an Area Master from Astral-5, and I participated in the Astral Combat Tournament. I¡¯m also a disciple of Myriad Swords Peak,¡± Namu introduced himself.

    Lu Yin nodded and then continued to move past Namu as he headed towards the pce.

    Namu watched Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure and felt that the youth seemedpletely out of reach. This person had been much weaker than Namu when he had first joined the Astral Combat Academy, and he had even been harassed by the cultivators from the ze Realm. And now, Namu was the one looking up to Lu Yin in hope. There was an impossibly vast gap between the two of them, but it had only sprung up in a few years.

    One hourter, the zombies and Corpse Kings werepletely flushed out from underground and exterminated, even as more people moved towards the pce.

    Ming Zhaochen, Ming Zhaocai, Bei Hong, Hua Ying, Li Zimo, and the others had all gathered at the pce. Ming Zhaotian was about to abdicate his throne, and many wanted to bear witness to this scene.

    Lu Yin also entered the pce, standing just a short ways away from Ming Zhaotian as he indifferently watched the proceedings.

    He had long expected that this scene would ur, and one of his objectives in visiting Shenwu Continent this time was actually to force this to ur. Although it had been a littleplicated, he had still managed to aplish his goal.

    Two years ago, he had hidden himself like a street rat as he moved across Shenwu Continent, trying to avoid the Ming Constables, soldiers from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, and even the Demon Hunters Society. Now, he stood high above them all, and Ming Zhaotian¡¯s abdication was directly rted to his actions and decision. This feeling of having control over others felt good.

    Crown Prince Ming Hao stood behind and slightly to the right of Ming Zhaotian. He appeared to be grieving and helpless, as if he had forsaken all hope.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked calm, and nobody could tell what he was thinking at the moment.

    ¡°Destiny cannot be predicted, and only morals will persist. Shenwu¡¯s end has been dyed, and in a world that has lost its order, the five seals were shaken. I, Ming Zhaotian, the emperor of the Shenwu Empire, seek the blessing of the heavens. On the throne¡­¡± Therge pce waspletely silent except for Ming Zhaotian¡¯s reverberating voice.

 Chapter 614: The End Of The Show

    <h4>Chapter 614: The End Of The Show</h4>

    Everyone heard Ming Zhaotian¡¯s abdication speech. Some people stared at the ground in shock, while others watched Ming Zhaotian, and a few of them even wept.

    The emperor of a dynasty naturally had their own followers as well. With Ming Zhaotian abdicating, countless other people who had once followed him were bound to suffer from his fall. Ming Zhaotian did not even have a say as to whether these people lived or died.

    ¡°From this day forward, I will transfer my position to Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu. ording to the decree of the heavens, the Shenwu Empire will now obey him,¡± Ming Zhaotian dered, following which, a number of the people who had gathered knelt down on the ground.

    ¡°Paying respects to Your Majesty¡±

    ¡°Paying respects to Your Majesty¡±

    ¡­

    Ming Zhaoshu stepped forward and stood at Ming Zhaotian¡¯s side. He emotionally looked down at the gathered crowd, his eyes sweeping across all of them. More and more people knelt to salute him, until finally, everyone at the pce was kneeling on the ground, except for the foreign cultivators. Even the former crown prince, Ming Hao, was half kneeling.

    Outside the pce, countless voices rang out in unison, ¡°Paying respects to Your Majesty¡±...

    Ming Zhaoshu had waited for this scene for far too long. He had always been adept at enduring silently, but that had demanded a certain price from him as well. The greater and deeper the patience, the more intense the eruption would be in the end.

    Even with Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s personality, he still felt a deep desire to roar at the sky. He had not expected his takeover to be this smooth; if Ming Zhaotian had vowed to fight him to the death, then there would have been a long, drawn out war even if he had managed to kill the emperor and his heirs. But now, Ming Zhaoshu had gained everything legitimately.

    From now on, Shenwu Continent belonged to him alone.

    Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu; was he happy? After waiting for so many years, enduring for so long, and scheming to the point where he had even managed to win over some of the four Martial Sovereigns who stood guard over the capital, despite being only a Martial Emperor at that time, he had finally seeded.

    Although it was just the small Shenwu Continent, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s ability could still be seen.

    Lu Yin had relied on the glory of his predecessors as well as his own luck to gain control of the Great Yu Empire whereas Ming Zhaoshu had relied purely on his own ability to seize the Shenwu Empire. Once this sort of person was given a stage, they could achieve world-shaking aplishments.

    Lu Yin closely observed Ming Zhaoshu, paying the most attention to his expression. Was Shenwu Continent his final goal? Perhaps it was for the moment, but Ming Zhaoshu would undoubtedly step into the wider universe, and at that time, what would his next goal be? Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s burning ambition would definitely be an even deeper and more impressive goal in the future.

    Lu Yin told himself not to give this person a stage where he could fully disy himself.

    ¡°I have abdicated, and I hope that you won¡¯t break your promise,¡± Ming Zhaotian spoke softly to Ming Zhaoshu.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at the half-kneeling Ming Hao. ¡°Rest assured, Brother. I will send him safely away from Shenwu Continent, but you...¡±

    Ming Zhaotian smiled bitterly and looked up at the sky fondly. The sky of Shenwu Continent was very beautiful, and the five sealings protected this ce, but in the end, it did not belong to him. ¡°Don¡¯t save that person. When you truly grasp control of Shenwu Continent, then go ahead and cooperate with the outsiders. However, it¡¯s too early right now, and he cannot be controlled by you yet.¡±

    This bafflingment confused Ming Zhaoshu.

    The next moment, the entire pce quivered as the ground beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet broke apart. Stone pirs rose up from the ground, connected by ayer of solidified energy that cut him off from the outside world. Each of the five stone pirs emitted an eye-dazzling radiance.

    Even Lu Yin could not react to this sudden change in time, let alone anyone else present.

    Ming Zhaoshu hurriedly rose into the air and red at Ming Zhaotian as he shouted, ¡°Brother, what are you doing?¡±

    Ming Zhaotian looked at Ming Zhaoshu with aplex gaze, ¡°Before youpletely integrate yourself with the empire, don¡¯t take on any appearance of strength that cannot be controlled. That person¡¯s strength surpasses both of ours, and they cannot remain. Cooperate only with the foreigners after you have truly grasped the empire.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze flickered.

    ¡°I, Ming Zhaotian, have protected Shenwu Continent my entire life! Let me die the same way! Hahaha!¡± Ming Zhaotian shouted before dashing into the sky, straight towards the five sealings.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± countless shouted out in grief.

    Ming Hao clenched both fists, both of his eyes wide open, but he could not say anything. Ming Zhaotian was literally seeking death.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked up at the heavens with aplicated gaze, and he seemed to be disturbed, reminiscent, and also determined.

    This time, Ming Zhaotian would not reappear. His body would remain at the five sealings until itpletely rotted away.

    Ming Hao knelt down and banged his head on the ground several times.

    A dazzling radiance isted Lu Yin, but it also blocked everyone¡¯s sight. They could all see that Lu Yin had been sealed, but they could not see within the seal at all, and neither could Lu Yin see outside the seal.

    Lu Yin looked around, and he quickly noticed that this seal was simr to the seal that had once sealed the Tower of Resonating Light. In the past, many of the trial takers had been sealed and trapped within the Tower of Resonating Light before being rescued by Lu Yin.

    This time, the seal was much tougher than the one that had been in the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Why had Ming Zhaotian trapped him in this ce? Lu Yin could not figure it out.

    He put on his universal armor and then reached out with a hand to probe the seal. A strong repelling force pushed back against his palm, and Lu Yin was astonished. This strength was a formless danger, so did that mean that these five pirs were sourceboxes?

    He had previously guessed that Shenwu Continent contained many sourceboxes, and he had even wondered if the five sealings themselves were sourceboxes. Right now, he realized that it was not entirely impossible, as the sourceboxes on Shenwu Continent were strange, and they were even used to form arrays.

    This was definitely not something that Ming Zhaotian and the other natives could do, as they were not capable of such a feat. This was a technique that belonged exclusively to Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers.

    It seemed that there were still many unsolved mysteries on Shenwu Continent, but Lu Yin¡¯s top priority at this moment was to escape.

    Due to his time in the Ironblood Weave, Lu Yin knew that he could not unseal such an array that was formed by the invisible danger zones of multiple sourceboxes. In other words, right now, he could only barge his way through the seal.

    There was a thump as Lu Yin was repelled by an overpowering strength. Moreover, it had even left a mark on his universal armor, which was strong enough to resist the attacks from old freaks whose power levels had reached 300,000. This was inconceivable, and Lu Yin became even more intrigued by Shenwu Continent. The five sealings were able to resist Enlighters¡¯ attacks, and judging by the number of rune lines that he had observed, it was possible that thes could also resist attacks from a powerhouse with a power level of 300,000.

    Now, he was discovering that even the pce had simr seals, though they were clearly much smaller than the five sealings.

    Lu Yin looked up; did this mean that the true strength of the five sealings still had not beenpletely unleashed? Was their limit really attacks with power levels of 300,000? Could it resist attacks whose power levels reached 400,000? What about 500,000?

    Then, another question naturally arose. How had Wen Sansi breached the five sealings back when Lu Yin had participated in the continent¡¯s Outerverse trial?

    Lu Yin definitely did not believe that the Arbiter was capable of disying an attack with a power level of over 300,000. No matter how innately gifted Wen Sansi might be, he was still restricted by his age. That was not a question of his talent, but rather of time. He definitely could not have reached such a power level so quickly. But if that were so, then how had he damaged the five sealings?

    Forget it! There was no point to him thinking about such a thing at this time. First, Lu Yin needed to focus on finding a way to escape! Actually, he could use his universal armor to forcefully barge through, but he wanted to test himself to see if he could unlock this seal, as this could also be considered an opportunity.

    The sourceboxes in the Ironblood Weave emitted an invisible danger zone that made lockbreaking them very difficult, so Lu Yin wanted to use this opportunity to test his capabilities. Even if he failed, not much would happen to him anyways. Although the seal had left a faint mark on the surface of the armor, its defenses were as robust as ever.

    Inside the pce, Ming Zhaoshu issued more than tenmands before dispelling the crowd. He then walked over in front of the seal and stared at its dazzling radiance. Even he had not known that the pce held such a seal.

    He was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and if even that youth had been sealed by this formation, then it was clear that Ming Zhaotian could have used this seal to seal Ming Zhaoshu instead. The new emperor would have been helplessly trapped as well.

    Unfortunately, he had not stood next to Lu Yin, as if that had been the case, then Ming Zhaotian might not have taken such actions.

    ¡°Little Seven, can you hear me?¡± Ming Zhaoshu called out.

    Lu Yin did not reply.

    Ming Zhaoshu focused his gaze on the seal.

    Nearby, Bigbeard, Namu, and the other foreign cultivators moved forward. ¡°Revere- No, Your Majesty, since Ming Zhaotian was able to activate the seal, then there must also be a way to shut it down. Your Majesty, please rescue Brother Lu from this seal.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu was helpless. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to deactivate it either. However, I will head to the imperial library. I can only hope that my brother did not destroy the records concerning this seal. Otherwise...¡± He recalled Ming Zhaotian¡¯s words, which indicated that he had sealed Lu Yin away in hopes that Ming Zhaoshu would not be impeded before he obtainedplete control of the Shenwu Empire. But the old emperor had thought too much, as Ming Zhaoshu was confident that Lu Yin would not interfere in the matters of Shenwu Continent, as this ce was too small for the current Lu Yin.

    Also, Lu Yin and Ming Yan had feelings for each other. Ming Zhaoshu hoped that, by getting on Lu Yin¡¯s boat, he would be able to ensure the continent¡¯s identity and independence once it joined with the greater universe. For this, Ming Zhaoshu wanted to rescue Lu Yin from the seal as well.

    But wanting was one thing, and whether or not they could do it was another.

    ¡°Let¡¯s attack the seal from the outside,¡± Bigbeard suggested. Immediately after speaking, he raised a hand to strike the void. There was a thump as his body was flung away by an enormous force, and he crashed into a corner of the pce ruins.

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°My brother was very meticulous. Since he went ahead and activated this seal, then it means that there won¡¯t be an easy way to resolve this issue. I will go and search through the imperial library, though I hope that Little Seven cane out from inside of that thing.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Ming Hao still around? Ask him,¡± Namu suggested.

    Ming Zhaoshuughed and shook his head. ¡°He will not know. I am very clear about my brother¡¯s behavior, and concerning certain matters, he will not even inform his own son.¡±

    ¡°How will we know if we don¡¯t ask?¡± Bigbeard walked over from the distance with a grin on his face despite holding his aching waist.

    Ming Zhaoshu thought about it before acquiescing. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll ask him.¡±

    The pce had been reduced to ruins, and Ming Zhaoshu ordered that the administrative center of the empire be temporarily shifted over to Shanhai City, with the intention of returning to Mingdu after everything was back in order.

    Ming Hao was currently at the top of the pce hall, and he calmly gazed at the throne.

    Ming Zhaoshu walked over towards his nephew. Ming Hao turned to face him and then smiled. ¡°Your Majesty, your wishes have been aplished.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, and throughout all those years, you¡¯ve always targeted me. What thoughts do you have at this moment?¡± Ming Zhaoshu looked at Ming Hao with endless bitterness in his eyes.

    Ming Hao was in agony as he looked towards the throne. ¡°Your Majesty, huh? This title must be something that you¡¯ve always dreamed of.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned, and his eyes turned cold. ¡°Tell me, how do we remove the seal?¡±

    ¡°You should know Father. He wouldn¡¯t tell anyone, not even me, regarding certain matters,¡± Ming Hao replied.

    Ming Zhaoshu had not had much hope to begin with.

    ¡°Your Majesty, do you know what I hate the most right now?¡± Ming Hao¡¯s gaze turned back to Ming Zhaoshu, and his expression became even more sinister. ¡°I hate that I didn¡¯t kill you back then. I hate that Father was so indecisive, and I hate your silent endurance.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The winner takes all. There¡¯s no need to say anything more. I promised Brother that I would safely send you out into the universe.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! Father may have believed your words, but I don¡¯t. Who are you, Ming Zhaoshu? You appear to be cultured and refined on the surface, but inside, you are ruthless. Your ability to endure all things is astounding, and you n everything out before you even make a move. You won¡¯t let any opportunity go, and you won¡¯t allow your enemy any leeway to retaliate. You¡¯re going to let me go free? What a joke!¡± Ming Hao howled withughter.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes overflowed with a certain chill, but he did not speak.

    ¡°Father¡¯s too kind-hearted. I reminded him so many times, but he only ever prevented you from seizing power and ced you outside of Mingdu. He was always unwilling to kill you. You are also very astute, and you suppressed your realm in order to remain as a Martial Emperor, and you only broke through after Father was severely injured. It¡¯s not wrong that we lost to you.¡± Ming Hao smiled sadly.

    Shortly after, Ming Zhaoshu emerged from the pce and announced that the former Crown Prince Ming Hao had gone missing. The new emperor ordered for his nephew¡¯s arrest but stipted that he must be captured alive. The orders were filled with benevolence.

 Chapter 615: Leaving

    <h4>Chapter 615: Leaving</h4>

    One, two, three days passed quietly¡­ Even after five days had passed, Lu Yin still remained trapped within the seal.

    Ming Zhaoshu had gathered many people tob through the imperial library, searching for a way to break the seal, but all of their effort was for naught.

    Ming Zhaoshu could not continue to stay by Lu Yin¡¯s side, however, and he left after two full days passed. There were many issues that required his immediate attention from the various departments such as the military, administration, agriculture, and so on. On top of that, the five sealings were periodically being attacked as well.

    While Ming Zhaoshu had been the one who had contacted the space station and requested that they attack the five sealings, he knew that their attack on the five sealings was very real. The outsiders wanted to remove the seal and drag Shenwu Continent out into the universe as soon as possible.

    However, there was no way that that would happen. Ming Zhaoshu was absolutely confident about that.

    Over the span of a few days, Ming Zhaoshu survived seven assassination attempts. All of them were organized and carried out by either Ming Zhaotian¡¯s supporters or cultivators who did not want to cooperate with outside cultivators for one reason or another. Even the survivors of the evil sects had taken part in the assassination attempts.

    Most people on Shenwu Continent had no desire to work with the outsider cultivators. They held a deep grudge against the outside universe, and in their eyes, Ming Zhaoshu was a traitor to their continent.

    However, killing Ming Zhaoshu was an impossible task. His domain was powerful enough to even envelope the surrounding void, and nothing could escape from his perception.

    It took very little time for Ming Yan to find out about the recent turn of events. She was suddenly thrust into a new position as the princess of the Shenwu Empire. However, she was more worried about Lu Yin at the moment. If Ming Zhaoshu had not sent his men to watch over his daughter, then she might have headed out to the capital long ago.

    Seven days passed, and during this time, Lu Yin had made several attempts to unlock this seal, but he had only discovered that he had no idea where to even start. He had tried to lockbreak one of the columns, but he had been attacked by the invisible danger zone emitted by the sourcebox within it. While he could perceive the danger, dodging it while simultaneously lockbreaking it wasn¡¯t quite possible for him just yet.

    He wasn¡¯t even at the Perceptive Intermediate stage, but he was already attempting to lockbreak something at the Boundless Advanced level. On top of that, even if he managed to seed, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean that he would be able toprehend how the array formation worked. There was no way for him to seed.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just leave. I¡¯d need to study this for at least a few years before I¡¯d be able to make any sense of it,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself. Then, he protected his head with his arms and charged through the seal and to the outside. There was a massive boom, and a shockwave sent him reeling back, but he did not fight it. Instead, he used this momentum to charge towards the opposite side of the seal, only to be knocked back once again.

    He repeated this same routine multiple times, constantly bouncing off of the seal like a rubber ball and pin-balling around the enclosed space. However, every time he was repelled, his momentum increased until, with an explosive speed, he managed to st a hole in the seal. As everybody outside watched on, utterly confused, he smashed into the ruins of the pce.

    Everything hurt. That was the only sensation that Lu Yin was aware of at the moment. The universal armor had blocked the invisible attacks from the sourceboxes, but the shockwaves had still been transmitted through the armor and affected him. While the damage wasn¡¯t too high, he still felt as if he¡¯d been beaten up. His head in particr had been affected, and he felt incredibly sluggish. He couldn¡¯t even remember how many times he¡¯d bounced around the seal.

    Bigbeard and a few others hurried over and helped him up. Lu Yin stored his universal armor away and shook his arms. ¡°I finally got out.¡±

    Bigbeard looked at Lu Yin. ¡°The fact that you managed to get out at all is amazing, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! We all saw how powerful that seal was. It was terrifying! You¡¯re really amazing.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, amazing.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°What are you all doing here?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for you! We came here together, so we need to leave together,¡± Bigbeard stated matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin raised a brow. It was quite surprising to see this guy¡¯s attitude change so quickly. Beneath that brutish exterior, he seemed to be a rather sensitive person.

    ¡°Nightking Changfeng and Beauty Xun are both dead. About fifteen of us died in the battle,¡± someone mentioned.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s an honor to die in a fight against the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    They were already dead, so he didn¡¯t mindplimenting them.

    ¡°Yes, an honor. An honor!¡± Everybody quickly piped up. They had followed Nightking Changfeng in the past, but now, they would follow Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced around. ¡°Where¡¯s Ming Zhaoshu?¡±

    ¡°He left. What an ungrateful person! You helped him take care of things here in the capital, but he didn¡¯t even wait for you to get out!¡± the bearded man eximed in annoyance.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°Enough. You all can head out now. I¡¯m going back to Shanhai City.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together! We¡¯re leaving too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we can¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. He was actually nning on visiting the Tower of Resonating Light and investigating what had happened there. ¡°I have some private matters that I need to take care of, and it¡¯ll take me some time to finish. You all can head out first.¡±

    Those people nced at each other and then left after bidding farewell to Lu Yin.

    The biggest secret of Shenwu Continent was the fives, and the secret of the fives was likely hidden beneath that tower.

    Shenwu Continent had arge number of sourceboxes, and this likely had to do with the bottom of the tower as well.

    After Lu Yin managed to escape from everyone, he headed straight towards the tower.

    The Tower of Resonating Light had been sealed off and was currently being guarded by a Martial Sovereign. However, if Lu Yin wanted to get inside, then nobody would be able to notice.

    With his domain enveloping the entire area, Lu Yin quickly arrived at the bottom of the tower. Theb equipment and corpses left behind by the Neohuman Alliance had all been cleaned up, and even with his domain, Lu Yin could not find any way to continue exploring further underground.

    Ming Zhaoshu had said that there was a huge space further underground, but Lu Yin couldn¡¯t find a way in.

    He thought it over, and just to be careful, he put his universal armor on and punched the floor. The entire tower swayed slightly, which startled all of the guards. The Martial Sovereign watching over the tower immediately charged straight to the bottom of the tower.

    Upon seeing that it was Lu Yin making themotion, the Martial Sovereign hesitated for a moment. He¡¯d seen Lu Yin standing at Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s side before, and more importantly, he¡¯d seen this person fighting during the battle that had enveloped all of Mingdu. Lu Yin had battled against a monster high in the sky, and the terrifying undtions from their fight had been deeply embedded in this Martial Sovereign¡¯s memory. ¡°Excuse me, sir. The tower has been sealed off, and His Majesty has ordered that nobody is allowed to enter.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an exception. You may report this matter to the Reverent King and say that Lu Yin has entered the tower,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    The Martial Sovereign thought it over and realized that he had no choice but to leave. He knew that he was no match for Lu Yin, and so, the only thing that he could do was report this matter to Ming Zhaoshu.

    Lu Yin stared at the ground with a deep frown.

    His punch had been quite powerful. The ground had not given way as the force had been absorbed by something a hundred meters below where he stood. It felt as if there was a seal there.

    He was already growing numb to such a situation. Why were there so many seals on Shenwu Continent? This ce was basically made of seal after seal after seal. What if the continent itself had been sealed off? Maybe it wasn¡¯t actually a parallel universe, but rather a space that had been sealed off, and Ming Taizhong had just been lucky enough to undo the seal, causing Shenwu Continent to appear.

    It seemed like a viable possibility. Lu Yin punched the floor once more, but he was met with the same results.

    This seal was simr to the one that had trapped the trial takers two years before, though its strength was on a different scale. Lu Yin had the feeling that this seal was no weaker than the one in the imperial pce. It was no wonder why Ming Zhaoshu had not been able to get into the hidden underground space.

    Lu Yin wandered around at the bottom floor for a while, punching the ground periodically, but he was able to sense the seal every time. The sealed off space seemed to be huge, but Lu Yin could tell that it was round with an open space inside of it.

    What could be in that hidden space? Lu Yin was very curious.

    He hadn¡¯t been let into Jupiter back in Earth¡¯s sr system, and now, this hidden space in Shenwu Continent wasn¡¯t letting him in either. He was still far too weak.

    Before much more time passed, he left Mingdu and headed back to Shanhai City.

    Some dayster, Ming Zhaoshu officially dered himself the emperor in Shanhai City and ascended to the throne as the emperor of the Shenwu Empire. He also announced that he would join the Great Eastern Alliance. This made the empire the first organization to join the alliance since Lu Yin had firste up with it. Shenwu Continent was quite powerful too, which was one of the reasons why he hade back to this ce.

    Now that he¡¯d achieved his goal, there was no need for Lu Yin to stay here any longer.

    He spent a few more days with Ming Yan, hoping to rekindle the feelings that they had once held for each other.

    While the two of them were still drawn to each other, there was an invisible wall between them now that neither Lu Yin nor Ming Yan knew how to get past. When it came to feelings, they were bothpletely ignorant.

    The unfamiliarity that had developed over time could only be ovee with time.

    Lu Yin and Ming Zhaoshu discussed the youth¡¯s situation, and thetter decided to send Ming Yan to the Great Yu Empire on Zenyu Star as a diplomatic envoy representing the continent and have her take part in the discussions concerning the creation of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ming Yan had no objections to this proposal.

    Lu Yin was delighted, and he immediately rushed back to the Great Yu Empire. He had his people write up an official alliance contract, and for long as it was effective, Ming Yan would be allowed to travel to the Great Yu Empire. He shamelessly arranged for the foreign envoy of Shenwu Continent to reside inside King Zishan¡¯s pce, which left Ming Zhaoshu at a loss for how to react.

    If it weren¡¯t for Ming Zhaoshu seeding the throne and his status changing, then he would have immediately taken Ming Yan away.

    Bigbeard and the rest of the foreign cultivators stayed in the Shenwu Empire, and they became the key point of contact between the continent and the outside universe.

    Gazing behind at where Shenwu Continenty hidden in space, Lu Yin wondered when he would be able to return. The Great Yu Empire would soon send people over to Ming Zhaoshu, but the alliance contract had not been fully settled yet. It was a veryplicated task that would affect how the other weaves entered the alliance. While this matter was urgent, Lu Yin also had to be prudent, and the only thing that he could do at this moment was wait. Thankfully, it would not take too long.

    While Shenwu Continent wasn¡¯t weak, it was very special. Thews and regtions there were different, and that meant that it was necessary to use different methodspared to when the alliance dealt with other organizations. Power alone could not solve everything since humans were emotional creatures.

    ¡°Wee back, Student Lu.¡± Madam Meilen smiled at Lu Yin.

    The blind monk walked over and quietly stood behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced back at the fives and then looked at Madam Meilen. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Madam.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite. You were in Shenwu Continent for less than a month, but you¡¯ve already taken control of the situation. Your methods are superb,¡± Madam Meilen eximed in praise.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°We encountered Corpse Kings, or else it would have been difficult to legally enter the capital. I definitely have to thank the trial takers. By the way, Arikar is pretty pitiful. If possible, please help him.¡±

    Madam Meilen smiled and acknowledged his request.

    ¡°The Shenwu Empire has already joined the Great Eastern Alliance that the Great Yu Empire has established. The Daynight n won¡¯t be wee here for much longer. I won¡¯t chase you away now, but this is a gentle reminder,¡± Lu Yin said, giving her a warning as well as a threat. Despite the Innerverse and Outerverse being separated, the Daynight n still had a sizable amount of power left in the Outerverse. He did not want the Daynight n to meddle with the Shenwu Empire.

    Madam Meilen answered, ¡°We are here on the orders of Nightqueen Qiuyu, so we cannot leave.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and after chatting with her for a while, left the space station along with the blind monk.

    Madam Meilen seemed to be deep in thought, but there was also a hint of anticipation in her eyes. The Great Eastern Alliance?

    ¡°Did anything happen at the space station while I was on Shenwu Continent?¡± Lu Yin asked as he moved to the hangar where his spacecraft had been stored.

    The blind monk simply answered, ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and boarded the spacecraft with the older man before setting a course for the Great Yu Empire.

 Chapter 616: A Strange Land

    <h4>Chapter 616: A Strange Land</h4>

    After returning to the Great Yu Empire, the first thing that Lu Yin did upon arriving at King Zishan¡¯s pce was meet with En Ya.

    ¡°Your Highness, this is the current draft of the alliance contract that summarizes how the alliance will be created. We have already sent some people out to begin working on the first step and have privately contacted several people. Everything is going smoothly at this moment,¡± En Ya reported.

    Lu Yin read the contract and summary that En Ya had passed to him. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at this, so you can make the decisions. Shenwu Continent has already joined the Great Eastern Alliance, so please remember to send someone over to them with the contract, and don¡¯t dy.¡± He was eager for Ming Yan toe to the Great Yu Empire as soon as possible.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± En Ya replied.

    Since Undying Yushan¡¯s death, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s morning meetings had instead been held by the Imperial Cab. These meetings were also referred to as ¡°forums,¡± and the formal meetings were only held when Lu Yin was also present.

    However, most of the key issues regarding the Great Yu Empire had already been handled; the coboration with the Nn family, the creation of the Great Eastern Alliance, the recruitment of more soldiers, and all the other tasks were all progressing smoothly. Hence, Lu Yin didn¡¯t have to worry too much about the empire at the moment. He was busy scanning through his cosmic ring when he suddenly noticed something.

    During the final battle in Ironblood Weave, at Seasons Fort, which was also the first fight that Lu Yin had participated in after bing an Explorer, he had used his die to learn the Yu Secret Art so that he could contribute more to stopping the astral beasts¡¯ invasion. He had also received a yellow prayer mat when rolling the die at that time.

    Back then, he had heard some faint chanting, and his body had been instinctively drawn towards the prayer mat. He was sure that it wasn¡¯t an ordinary prayer mat, but he had had no time to investigate it and slowly forgot about it afterwards. This was actually the perfect time for him to take a look at the mysterious item.

    He took the prayer mat out, and he immediately heard the chanting again. It wasn¡¯t just one person¡¯s voice either, but was rather numerous people chanting altogether.

    ¡°This thing¡¯s a prayer mat, right?¡± the monkey hesitantly asked.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure either. ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Then take a seat. Prayer mats are meant to be sat on,¡± the monkey suggested. He had also heard the chanting and was very curious about the object.

    Lu Yin sat down upon the prayer mat. Suddenly, a dull, golden light appeared and swirled around him. The chanting kept increasing in volume until space itself distorted. Lu Yin suddenly disappeared along with the prayer mat, though not a single other thing changed in the King Zishan pce.

    Lu Yin experienced the same sensation that he had felt when entering the Time Stop Space or the mysterious space whenever he rolled Possession, where he would select an orb of light. Thus, he had built up a certain amount of resistance towards these sudden changes. Despite that, he was still stunned when he took a closer look at his new surroundings. What was this ce?

    It resembled a massive arena, and the weather in this ce was amazing as there were clear skies for miles. However, Lu Yin had appeared within ruins where even the ground had cracked in multiple ces. Multiple bloodstains had colored the ground a muddy red, and there were even a few bones here and there, giving the entire area an extremely deste appearance.

    Lu Yin used his domain to survey the area and quickly observed that the scenery was the same everywhere. The entire ce was cracked and covered with bloodstain, piles of bones, and even some ancient weapons.

    This is probably an ancientnd much like the insides of that ancient centipede¡¯s body, Lu Yin surmised.

    He stood up, turned around, and looked at the futon that was still glowing. Lu Yin hesitated, but he then stored the prayer mat away before starting to walk forward across the cracked ground.

    He took a step, but his foot caused the ground to crack further, even shattering a nearby skeleton.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, where are you right now?¡± the Ghost Monkey yelped.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why do you always appear in all kinds of weird ces?¡± the monkeyined.

    Lu Yin bent down and examined the sword thaty next to the shattered skeleton. There were some ancient characters etched upon the de. ¡°Monkey, take a look at these words.¡±

    The monkey took a look and curiouslymented, ¡°I don¡¯t recognize them, but they still look rather familiar. The style of the writing seems rather simr to the words in the centipede¡¯s body.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re from the same time period?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It would depend on the development of this ce¡¯s culture, as writtennguage can evolve quickly or slowly depending on the circumstances.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t a single living person within the scope of Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and he couldn¡¯t even find any animals nearby. His eyes looked around with star energy, but he still couldn¡¯t see anything. This was the first time that this had happened ever since his eyes had transformed.

    Lu Yin could only start walking towards the towering peaks that he saw off in the distance. Those peaks were andmark, and if anyone was alive in this ce, then they would probably head in that direction as well.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s head back,¡± the monkey suggested.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around first,¡± Lu Yin replied. He had arrived by using the prayer mat, so he could probably only go back by using the prayer mat as well. It was very strange that a prayer mat could transport him to this ce.

    After a while, Lu Yin arrived at the foot of the mountain. There, he saw two huge stone pirs with a sign hung between the pirs. Upon it was carved some words:

    ¡®This is a door, the mountain door.¡¯

    He then stepped through the mountain door and saw a twisting path in the forest. This ce also resembled the arena where he had first appeared; many areas had been destroyed, and there were also random bones here and there.

    This ce is probably a sect that was destroyed countless years ago, Lu Yin thought to himself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t you think that this ce might be haunted?¡± the monkey shouted.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to screen you off if you spout out anymore nonsense,¡± Lu Yin growled in frustration.

    The monkey immediately went silent.

    After ten more minutes, Lu Yin suddenly halted. He had heard a weird noise that sounded like metal rubbing against metal.

    Lu Yin turned to his right and saw that an enormous shadow had suddenly appeared right next to him.

    Is this a metal automaton? Lu Yin was shocked.

    The thing in front of him had a humanoid shape and appeared to be an automaton constructed entirely from metal. It was nearly three meters tall and had human features, but there were no pupils in its eyes, and its metallic body glinted brightly in the sunshine.

    With a swoosh, the metal automaton swung its arm at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin dodged, but even the aftershock of the swing was enough to surprise him. The metal automaton was extremely strong.

    The metal automaton was huge, but it reacted very quickly. It swung at Lu Yin once again, and this time, Lu Yin dodged before kicking at the metal automaton¡¯s abdomen. However, his kick was blocked by the metal automaton¡¯s other arm. There was a loud bang as Lu Yin was forced a few steps backward by the impact. He looked up at the thing in shock; this metal automaton was extremely sturdy, and it was incredibly strong as well.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you were pushed back?¡± The monkey was astonished, as he knew perfectly well how freakishly strong Lu Yin was. On top of that, this metal automaton didn¡¯t even have the aura of a Hunter. At best, it¡¯s strength feltparable to an Explorer¡¯s. Thus, it was unbelievable that it was physically stronger than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, and his expression turned serious.

    The metal automaton didn¡¯t give Lu Yin any time to prepare himself, and it immediately swung its arm down at him yet again, blocking the sun from his eyes. Lu Yin nimbly dodged aside, and he was about to retaliate when he realized that this metal automaton had increased its speed. It was now moving multiple times faster than it had before. Another attack descended from above, and Lu Yin dodged it again. Filling his eyes with star energy was useless in this ce, and he needed the aid of a lockbreaking tool to use the Secret Sidestep Technique. However, he hadn¡¯t reached the point where he needed to rely on the technique as he was still able to respond to the automaton¡¯s movements with just his natural agility.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t retaliate as he wanted to test out the strength and speed of the metal automaton first.

    He soon realized that the metal automaton was extremely strong and powerful, and it also moved very quickly. Moreover, it could extrapte Lu Yin¡¯s weak spots based on his evasive movements. Although it didn¡¯t seem like the metal automaton had any intelligence, it did demonstrate a strong sense of instinct.

    With a bang, Lu Yin punched the metal automaton¡¯s head in between its attacks. He used the strongest attack that he was capable of without unsealing his grains of Fatesand, and this blow was only barely able to dent the head of the metal automaton.

    Lu Yin stared at the metal automaton in shock. His intention had been to send the head flying clean off since this was one of his strongest attacks. Ever since he had be an Explorer, he hadn¡¯t met anyone within the same realm as him who could withstand this attack, and it was easily powerful enough to defeat the person ranked fiftieth in the Top 100 Rankings. And yet, despite that, it hadn¡¯t been enough to defeat this automaton.

    The automaton adjusted its head. It soon returned to its original position, after which it attacked Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin frowned and leaped up, suddenly appearing in front of the automaton¡¯s head. ¡°Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    The metal automaton¡¯s head finally flew away from its body.

    The metal automaton copsed to the ground with a loud clunk.

    Lu Yin moved forward and touched the metal casing. It was very hard, and he couldn''t even dent it with his current strength. He looked up and wondered what sect had created these automatons. This should be the mountain entrance of the sect; could it be that these automatons were used as a test for those who wished to join the sect?

    If that was the case, then it would be insane since no cultivator below the Explorer realm could defeat these metal automatons. Even if Mu Rong faced off against one of these metal automatons while in the Limiteer realm, he would have a hard time defeating one. What sect could this be, to use this kind of automaton to test out potential disciples?

    A loud noise indicated the arrival of more metal automatons from the surrounding forest. However, there were three of them approaching Lu Yin this time.

    Lu Yin immediately ran away as he didn¡¯t have the energy to fight against these metal automatons, not to mention that he didn¡¯t even know how many of them there were.

    Although the metal automatons were fast, they weren¡¯t able to catch up with Lu Yin, and he soon lost them in the forest.

    ***

    Huang San felt that he had been very unlucky ever since he had followed Xiaojing to this ce. Even though he had arrived just a littleter than her, that slight dy had be a huge distance between them, and he hadn¡¯t been able to find her anywhere. He had even been surrounded by five First Divine Gate Guardians, and he had almost died there.

    Fine, surround me! I¡¯ll just retreat, Huang San thought to himself. However, when he nced around him, he saw that there were another two guardians patrolling about a hundred meters away. He wanted to vomit blood and started wondering why there were so many guardians in this area. He had heard that these things had been almostpletely destroyed after the war. Could he have run into all of the remaining guardians?

    His family had finally managed to use their past contributions to obtain a futon. He couldn¡¯t die here, and he had to marry Xiaojing.

    Huang San screamed and dodged to the side when he suddenly heard a bang. The metal automaton had created a huge crater, and he suddenly felt an ominous sensationing from behind himself. He reflexively bent over as a huge arm swept past his head; just the aftershock itself almost tore his pants apart.

    Huang San picked up his pants and rushed towards the base of the mountain. He soon encountered the two First Divine Gate Guardians that had been a ways off from him, and he was still being chased by the five others behind him.

    Huang San was about to cry. He was just an Explorer, and he had never even killed anyone before. Why were they all targeting him?

 Chapter 617: Miserable Fatty

    <h4>Chapter 617: Miserable Fatty</h4>

    Numerous metallic arms glinted in the sunlight as they crashed down towards the youth. Huang San opened his mouth. He knew that he was doomed, but at the critical moment when one of the arms descended, a shadow flickered past.

    Boom boom boom boom!

    Four sessive loud sounds rang, and Huang San was stunned to see all of the metal automatons fly away like punching bags. He then felt something wrap around his neck as he was picked up by someone. The scenery before his eyes constantly changed, and the remains of the metal automatons vanished.

    Huang San was hyperventting as he looked around since he finally got an opportunity to check his surroundings. He quickly found the person who had rescued him, and he appeared to be about his age.

    ¡°Br- brother, thank you. I, Huang San, will never forget your kindness in saving my life.¡± Huang San was breathing heavily, and his forehead was beaded with sweat. He even had to lift his pants to move forward.

    Lu Yin stared at the fatty who evidently had no strength left, and although his eyes flickered, he did not speak.

    ¡°May I know this brother¡¯s respected name? Since you easily defeated a First Divine Gate Guardian, I believe that you must not be someone unknown. I am Huang San of the Bloodburn Realm.¡± The fatty rose to his feet with a bit of difficulty as he politely spoke to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at him in the same manner as before, but he still did not speak. He had not yet made any sense of his present circumstances, so he simply pretended to be deaf and mute, as it was better to be cautious.

    The fatty blinked. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m Huang San, from the Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent as he looked up at the sky.

    The fatty raised a hand and waved it in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes in order to get Lu Yin¡¯s attention. ¡°Bro! I¡¯m Huang San.¡±

    Lu Yin just calmly looked at him.

    Huang San was speechless. ¡°Is Bro a mute?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze remained unruffled.

    Huang San¡¯s expression turned sour. ¡°I can¡¯t be that unlucky! I finally met an expert after suffering all kinds of problems, but now it turns out he¡¯s a mute! How tragic...¡±

    Lu Yin started walking to a higher part of the mountain.

    Huang San immediately moved forward as well. ¡°Brother, even if you can¡¯t speak, you should still be able to make a few gestures! Where are you from? Which progenitor¡¯s path are you from? The Progenitor of Bloodlines? The Progenitor of Combat? The Progenitor of Secret Arts?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze abruptly changed. What? The Progenitor of Bloodlines? The Progenitor of Combat? The Progenitor of Secret Arts?

    ¡°What the @&*$? Progenitor of Bloodlines? Progenitor of Combat? Progenitor of Secret Arts? Could that fatty really be talking about Progenitors? That¡¯s impossible! The universe shouldn¡¯t have any more Progenitors! That¡¯s supposed to be a title reserved only for a certain level of super powerhouse!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin thought about the fatty¡¯s words for a moment, and he looked at the sky again before continuing his leisurely walk up the mountain.

    ¡°Bro, don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t hear me either! Can Fat Bro really be so unlucky as to meet a deaf mute?¡± The fattymented even as he chased after Lu Yin.

    ¡°Bro, can you really not hear me? Are you trying to fool Fat Bro? There¡¯s no need for such a thing! I¡¯m just a puny Explorer without much talent, so there¡¯s no benefit in deceiving me. You can go ahead and say something!¡±

    ¡°Bro, you look pretty decent, though not half as good as Fat Bro.¡±

    ¡°Bro, let¡¯s be sworn brothers.¡±

    ¡­

    Apparently, the fatty was someone who could not remain still, and he continued to chatter away next to Lu Yin. Although it was mostly a bunch of nonsense, it still gave Lu Yin the opportunity to learn some certain details, such as the fact that the fatty was an Explorer, that he was looking for his fianc¨¦e in this ce, and most importantly, that this ce was called the Daosource Sect.

    And through the youth¡¯s words, Lu Yin quickly realized that he did not know any of the ces that the fatty was mentioning, and some of the terms that he used were foreign as well.

    ¡°Bro, which powerhouse did you get your imprint from? A regr Imprinter? A World Imprinter? A Cosmic Imprinter?¡±

    ¡°Bro, can you really not hear me?¡± The fatty¡¯s voice jumped an octave higher.

    ¡­

    Finally, the youth becamepletely confident that Lu Yin truly could not hear him, and at that point, he began to share his life story. ¡°Fat Bro was born in the Bloodburn Realm, and the Huang family was originally an Imprinter n that made contributions during the ancient war between the mainds. But after that Imprinter ancestor died, the n started to deteriorate. Fat Bro was fine with that, as I would be satisfied just muddling my way through life and simply waiting for death, but heavens like to turn humans into fools. Fat Bro coincidentally met Xiaojing and fell into the river of love. And since my Huang family and Xiaojing¡¯s Yan family have an agreed upon engagement contract, Fat Bro felt like I had reached the peak of my life.

    ¡°Unfortunately, their Yan family looks down on my Huang family. Did you know, Bro, that the Yan Family has an Imprinter right now? That means that they¡¯re a true Imprinter n. If my Huang family was still an Imprinter n, then this engagement would still be valid, but now¡­ Sigh, it¡¯s just a story of tears.

    ¡°The most frustrating part is that the Autumnfrost family has started to interfere, and that shameless Autumnfrost Qing actually wants to woo my Xiaojing! The Yan family can¡¯t wait totch onto the Autumnfrost family since they¡¯re one of the strongest families in the entire Bloodburn Realm, and there¡¯s actually a world Imprinter in their n! That¡¯s a world Imprinter! Even in the glory days of my Huang family, we couldn¡¯tpare to such a family. Sigh, Fat Bro¡¯s love life has been too turbulent, and even though Xiaojing and I could live together harmoniously, there are just too many obstructions.

    ¡°But Fat Bro will not give up! Fat Bro is determined to marry Xiaojing! That¡¯s Fat Bro¡¯s lifelong dream.¡±

    ¡­

    The fatty spoke nonstop for an entire hour, and Lu Yin listened to him in silence. As for whatever Imprinter, world Imprinter, and whatnot, Lu Yin did not understand a single word. However, that was still alright. As long as he spent enough time with the fatty, this fellow would definitely spill all the beans.

    ¡°Brother, Fat Bro¡¯s also had it tough. When I was three, Fat Bro saw ady¡¯s skirt being blown up by the wind, and I moved forward to help her pull it down. Who knows which wretched person pushed Fat Bro, but I fell into her skirt. Fat Bro was just three back then, but the more important thing is that thedy was forty or fifty! So how could Fat Bro have liked her? Yet I was still called a pervert by others, and from that point on, Fat Bro became famous, and I was known as the little prince that burrowed into skirts. There are still legends about Fat Bro circting in the city.

    ¡°At the age of four, I used my allowance to buy a heaven-shattering technique, and that book said that a child¡¯s urine could be used to promote one¡¯s talent in cultivation. Fat Bro decided to show my respect to my parents. So, I personally gave my father a cup of child¡¯s urine, which caused me to be hung and beaten by him for three days!

    ¡°When I was five, Fat Bro liked a very beautiful person the same age as me, and I mustered up the courage to dere my feelings, and I even seeded! Fat Bro was excited, and I remember those feelings even to this day. But that wretched person was a boy! Shouldn¡¯t it be a crime for a boy to be so beautiful? And that guy still pesters Fat Bro even now, wanting Fat Bro to take responsibility!

    ¡°At six¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gave the fatty a strange look. Was this fellow fabricating all this crap, or was he telling the truth? If these stories were real, then his experiences were absolutely legendary, and it was quite impressive that the youth had survived up till the present day.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s no mean feat that this stupid fatty has survived until now! Bring him along with you.¡± The monkey sighed, as he actually sympathized with the fatty.

    They heard a whooshing sound from up ahead. Then, a First Divine Gate Guardian charged out of the forest and swiped its hand at the fatty. The youth was stunned, as the guardian had actually been hidden so close by them. It was extremely fast as well, whereas the fatty was not very agile.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was right beside Fat Bro and he pulled him out of harm''s way. He then kicked the guardian five meters backwards, which startled Huang San.

    When Lu Yin had saved him the first time, he had been lost in terror, so he hadn¡¯t even seen what had happened. But this time, it was clear. ¡°Bro, you used your leg to kick that thing! You¡¯re good!¡±

    The First Divine Gate Guardian advanced towards them again, and Lu Yin¡¯s figure turned into a streak as he avoided its attack and then pressed a hand against the First Divine Gate Guardian¡¯s head. He unleashed a Hundredfold Shockwave Palm, and with a resounding thump, the guardian¡¯s head flew away as the automaton was crippled.

    From start to finish, this exchange did not even take ten seconds.

    The fatty¡¯s mouth fell open, and he looked at Lu Yin nkly. ¡°Bro, you¡¯re definitely not from some nameless background! That thing was one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s First Divine Gate¡¯s Guardians! A lot of elite disciples fromrge families might not be able to beat that thing in a one-on-one, but you destroyed it in just a few seconds without even using any imprints or battle techniques!¡±

    Fifth Maind? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he continued to walk along in silence.

    The fatty licked his lips and beamed. ¡°Bro, I know that you must have made adequate preparations beforeing to the Daosource Sect, so where are you headed to? Oh!, I forgot, you can¡¯t speak or hear. Why don¡¯t you let Fat Bro follow you? Bro, you¡¯re such a good person, so you definitely won¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    Another First Divine Gate Guardian was patrolling ahead of them, and Lu Yin stopped and looked at Huang San.

    The youth just blinked. ¡°Bro, what do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the guardian and then at the fatty while remaining frozen in ce.

    the fatty¡¯s expression soured. ¡°Bro, you can¡¯t expect me to fight that thing!¡±

    Lu Yin walked to the side of the small road and leaned against a tree. He then simply stared at the fatty without moving. This fatty had mentioned so many strange things along their way, and Lu Yin had not understood most of it. However, since many of the terms seemed to be rted tobat, he wanted to observe the fatty¡¯s fighting style.

    ¡°I get it! Bro wants to see if I¡¯m qualified to follow you! Alright! I, Fat Bro, will try my luck!¡± Fat Bro gritted his teeth and moved towards the First Divine Gate Guardian.

    The guardian quickly discovered Fat Bro, and it fiercely charged towards him, causing the ground to quiver.

    The fatty¡¯s face went pale and his eyes widened as he watched the construct get closer. Behind his back, a vague phantom image appeared. With that, the fatty¡¯s demeanor seemed to change, as an indescribable pressure suddenly appeared.

    He shouted as heshed out with a fist. ¡°Thousand Elephants Punch!¡± A strange energy seemed to twine about his arm, and Lu Yin could hear bellows from all sorts of creatures as the other young man¡¯s fist crashed into the First Divine Gate Guardian.

    Boom!

    A shockwave sted out and crushed the trees that were beside the road, and the guardian was actually forced to retreat a dozen steps by the attack. The fatty took that opportunity to attack again, but the phantom image behind him became even more indistinct the second time around.

    ¡°Thousand Elephants Punch!¡± With another bellow, the fatty¡¯s face flushed red. This punchnded squarely on the First Divine Gate Guardian¡¯s head and dislodged it as Huang Sannded on the ground beside the guardian. They both copsed onto the ground at the same time as the phantom image behind the fatty vanished.

    Lu Yin watched this exchange in shock. What was that just now? He had been able to observe the fatty¡¯s strength, but as soon as that phantom image appeared, the youth¡¯s power had spiked, and the strength of his attacks had risen impressively. It almost seemed like he had be a different person.

    With the fatty¡¯s power, he was incapable of eliminating a guardian with one punch, but he had just done it. Could the phantom that had appeared behind him be one of those imprints?

    Lu Yin slowly walked over and bent his head to look at the fatty.

    The fatty grimaced and smiled bitterly at Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, I did my best, and I managed to defeat a First Divine Gate Guardian! Can I follow you?¡±

    Lu Yin offered a hand that the fatty grabbed. He was pulled up by Lu Yin, after which he gingerly massaged his fist. At the moment, his fist was flushed red and even slightly swollen. It seemed that the two punches had taken a toll on his body.

    He seemed rather ordinary, but he had relied on some strange strength to defeat a guardian. This ce caused Lu Yin to feel very curious, and he felt as if he had seen a new path of cultivation.

    The fatty¡¯s explosive strength could only be used to deal with a single First Divine Gate Guardian, but Lu Yin brought his newpanion along as he continued on towards the mountaintop, dealing with the First Divine Gate Guardians that they encountered along their way.

    Huang San was very curious about Lu Yin, as this person did not use any imprints, battle techniques, or innate gifts. However, despite all that, he was able to easily defeat the First Divine Gate Guardians, which showed just how terrifyingly strong his physical body was.

 Chapter 618: The Daosource Sect

    <h4>Chapter 618: The Daosource Sect</h4>

    After the two had walked for a long time, the sky grew dark. Lu Yin sat on a tree and looked at the sky. Who would have thought that the night sky in this ce would be so beautiful.

    ¡°Bro, how long will your source futon allow you to stay here for?¡± the fatty suddenly asked, but then he became annoyed. ¡°I forgot. You¡¯re deaf and mute.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted. Source futon? That should be that yellow prayer mat. How long I can stay for? That means that there¡¯s a time restriction, and each one is different.

    He paused, but then decided to take out the futon and see what the fatty would say.

    But the next moment, his face changed, as he could not ess his cosmic ring.

    What the heck? Why won¡¯t my cosmic ring open? Lu Yin tried several times, but nothing changed. He suddenly recalled a specific detail: although the fatty was weaker than Lu Yin, he was still an elite geniuspared to others. Such a person would definitely have medications on hand, but the youth¡¯s fist was still swollen even now, and he had not used any medications to treat his wounds. Could that be because the fatty¡¯s cosmic ring was also inessible?

    Lu Yinid down and pondered over the fatty¡¯s words from during the day. Firstly, this ce was called the Daosource Sect, and in particr, this was where the Daosource Sect used to test applicants who wished to be disciples, otherwise known as First Divine Gate. The fatty¡¯s cultivation style was unique. He called it an ¡°imprint,¡± and it seemed to somehow reinforce his personal strength. Also, it seemed that these imprints were symbols as well as a cultivation system. The fatty had mentioned that he was an Explorer, which indicated that this ce was somehow connected to the universe. Otherwise, the cultivation realms would be referred to differently.

    Since they were connected, but somehow had another cultivation system, then could this ce be in a distant weave of the Outerverse? No, this cultivation system appeared to be very powerful, and the fatty¡¯s power had been increased by an impressive amount when he had used it. This ce shouldn¡¯t be in the Outerverse. Then, could it be some flowzone of the Innerverse? Lu Yin kept guessing where he could be.

    ¡°Bro, why do you think Xiaojing isn¡¯t epting me? Could it be because Fat Bro¡¯s not dashing enough? Actually, Fat Bro was very handsome when I was younger. Back when I was ten¡­¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the fatty with some degree of admiration. The youth¡¯s narcissism, and his miserable childhood¡ªno, his entire life was miserable. However, the fatty continued to live on, and he was even rather happy-go-lucky. It would be a pity if he died now.

    ¡°Fat Bro¡¯s gonna tell you a secret, one that even Xiaojing doesn¡¯t know about. Fat Bro has publicly proimed that I¡¯ve integrated with the bloodline of the ck Cow, and so, the Huang family has backed me up. Actually, the truth is that Fat Bro¡¯s integrated bloodline is the Pompom Pig.¡± The fatty¡¯s face suddenly became extremely unsightly. ¡°When I think back to that year when I integrated with the bloodline, Fat Bro¡­¡±

    Lu Yin did not quite understand this bit about bloodlines, but there was indeed such a method for increasing one¡¯s personal strength back in the Astral Combat Academy, and the Dao of Change in the trial zones had contained some bloodlines. During the Astral Combat Tournament, Liu Yin had once used a bloodline, so it should be a simr concept.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at the fatty. The Pompom Pig? Bloodline? This was all really ridiculous! Does this mean that the fatty¡¯s stories about his entire miserable life were all true?

    As he considered this, Lu Yin instinctively wanted to distance himself from this fatty, as he did not want the young man¡¯s bad luck to rub off on him!

    ¡°Actually, even though the Pompom Pig sounds unpleasant, it¡¯s got a pretty decent potential. Rumor has it that there¡¯s an astral beast called the Sky-Eater Pig, and it¡¯s supposed to be extremely powerful. If I can get a hold of the Sky-Eater Pig¡¯s bloodline, then I could upgrade my Pompom Pig¡¯s bloodline and gain an unequaled bloodline! This is Fat Bro¡¯s dream, and Fat Bro believes that my life will not keep being so miserable. Thus, there¡¯s definitely still hope in the future. If there¡¯s a target and ambition, then life¡­¡±

    The fatty¡¯s words never stopped once he started talking, and all sorts of maxims floated about in his brain, which gave Lu Yin the urge to vomit. He leaped down off of the tree and started walking up the mountain path once again.

    ¡°Eh, bro, why are you leaving? Wait for me! Wait for me!¡± The fatty hurriedly chased after Lu Yin.

    After hurrying along for a day and a night, the two youths had traveled about half of the distance to First Divine Gate, at least ording to the fatty. This road was too long, and there were First Divine Gate Guardians all along the way. Lu Yin did not know how this Daosource Sect had epted disciples in the past, but with the current intensity of the entrance exam, it seemed that even if the entire universe was considered, only the elites who were in the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings stood a chance of traversing this path safely. This was also after considering the current circumstances, where the Daosource Sect had already been shattered, and more than half of the First Divine Gate Guardians had been destroyed. If the sect was still in its peak period, then perhaps only the first thirty of the Top 100 Rankings would be able to pass through.

    Why was this area so powerful? If a sect only epted experts with the strength of the first thirty of the Top 100 Rankings, then that seemed rather extreme.

    ¡°Bro, work hard, the Budding Terrace is ahead. As long as we make it to the Budding Terrace, we can search for all sorts of good stuff, and there¡¯s no danger there either. Legend has it that the Budding Terrace not only contains battle techniques, but also bloodlines, natural treasures, power vessels, and even secret techniques!¡± The fatty was excited.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Secret techniques? It can¡¯t be!

    ¡°Impossible! Even secret techniques? But judging by the standards that this First Divine Gate uses to test potential disciples, it may actually have some secret techniques. In any case, this monkey can¡¯t understand how your Human Domain has such a powerful sect! Fortunately it¡¯s already been destroyed. It should be known that if a sect¡¯s strength is directly proportional to disciples it epts, then based on this degree of testing, during its peak period, this sect must have had a terrifying powerhouse whose power level exceeded 1,000,000,¡± the monkey said.

    When he heard that there might be a secret technique ahead, Lu Yin picked up his pace.

    A few thousand meters ahead of the pair, a group of young men and women had been surrounded by a dozen First Divine Gate Guardians, and the youths could neither escape nor retreat. They were in a predicament that was quite simr to how Lu Yin had first encountered the fatty.

    Fortunately, the road was narrow, and only a few of the guardians were able to close in on the youths at a time. Otherwise, if all of the constructs had rushed over simultaneously, the people there would have long since been finished off.

    ¡°Brother Lian, rece Brother Qiu and block those two guardians on the right!¡±

    ¡°Sister Kui, pull back now! Don¡¯t use your imprint and preserve your strength.¡±

    ¡°Little Zhong, stay close to Sister Kui.¡±

    ¡­

    A crisp voice rang out constantly, directing the group. The owner of the voice was a pretty young woman who appeared to be delicate and dignified, though not exceptionally beautiful. Still, she had a distinct temperament to her. Even when faced with a dozen First Divine Gate Guardians, she remained calm and collected. All of the members of the group obeyed hermands, and this allowed them to resist the onught of the First Divine Gate Guardians, and the youths were gradually able to calm themselves down.

    However, although they were able to temporarily hold off the guardians, their defenses would notst for too long.

    The girl continuously nced around as she tried to think of a way to break out of their predicament attackers, but their only options were to head straight up or straight down. Still, they could not die here.

    Suddenly, the girl saw two figures sh over, and her eyes lit up as she was just about to request for aid. However, when she saw who the two people were, her heart fell, and her brows involuntarily furrowed.

    ¡°Sister Jing, it¡¯s Fatty!¡± one of her group members cried out, and the others quickly found an opportunity to look down the path where they could see the fatty and Lu Yin approaching them.

    ¡°What¡¯s that dead fatty doing here! We can¡¯t let him disrupt our formation! We don¡¯t want to be killed because of that damn fatty,¡± shouted a woman who clearly looked down on Huang San.

    Quite a few others echoed herment. They said it out loud for the girl leading them to hear, as they were afraid that she would try to save the fatty, which would cause their formation to copse.

    Lu Yin and the fatty approached the group by head straight up the middle of the path. Lu Yin¡¯s domain meant that he had noticed the struggling group long ago, but he had not revealed anything. This group was not weak by any means, and he even felt a faint ripple of a domaining from the group, which showed that someone among them hadprehended a domain.

    ¡°Bro, it¡¯s Xiaojing! It¡¯s Xiaojing!¡± the fatty shouted emotionally as soon as he saw the surrounded group. His eyes were glued to the calm-looking girl directing the defenders.

    Lu Yin looked over; was this the Yan Xiaojing who the fatty yearned for day and night? Not bad.

    ¡°Bro, Xiaojing¡¯s in danger! Let¡¯s go over and help them!¡± The fatty looked pleadingly towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a calm expression, not revealing anything on his face.

    The fatty grew anxious, as he had actually forgotten that hispanion was supposedly deaf and mute. He continuously pointed at the surrounded group as he gesticted for Lu Yin to rescue them.

    Ahead of them, the surrounded group grew anxious as well. ¡°What is that stupid fatty trying to do? He can¡¯t be thinking of trying to save us, right?¡±

    ¡°He better not! If that stupid fattyes, then not only will it be useless, but he¡¯ll also break our formation!¡±

    ¡°Sister Jing, hurry up and warn that stupid fatty! Get him to scram.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the crowd, Yan Xiaojing did not even look at the fatty, and she only stared at Lu Yin who stood beside him. She understood the fatty well, and she knew that he could not save them. His gestures were evidently intended for someone else to see, but was that because the person beside him couldn¡¯t hear? But then what was the deal with that domain from before? As soon as she saw the person with Huang San, Yan Xiaojing felt that he was not simple. Since she was within the scope of Lu Yin¡¯s domain, he gave her an indescribable sensation and felt rather immeasurable.

    The fatty saw that Lu Yin still had not reacted, so he became flustered and stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± he said before darting towards Yan Xiaojing and the others.

    The surrounded people became extremely worried at this moment. ¡°Stupid Fatty, don¡¯te over here!¡±

    ¡°Stupid Fatty! Go somewhere else! Don¡¯te here and make problems for us!¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to get killed, Fatty?¡±

    ¡­

    Huang San did not bother paying any attention to the shouting people as he was focused only on Yan Xiaojing. A hazy phantom image appeared behind him, and he punched at one of the First Divine Gate Guardians. Perhaps it was due to the force of love or something else, but the fatty¡¯s punch directly destroyed a guardian in one hit, though he was also wounded. His fist swelled and turned a deep red, and his attack had also drawn the attention of a few other guardians, which turned to attack him.

    Within the crowd, Yan Xiaojing frowned, as there were a dozen guardians surrounding them, so defeating just one was pointless. She could choose to not save the fatty, which was what this group wished, but she would not make such a choice since Huang San had voluntarilye to rescue her. Without a better choice, Yan Xiaojing took action, and her tender palm reached past the crowd tond on the body of one of the guardians attacking the fatty, causing a dull thump. It seemed that her attack was actually a trigger to a chain reaction as the construct took several steps back until it eventually ended up backing a dozen meters away due to the force of the air wave.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. What an exquisite palm technique. One palm had turned into three, and the key to that attack was that the might of the second and third palms had been hidden, which was unlike how he used the Shockwave Palm and Oveying Stacks method. If not for his domain, then Lu Yin might not have even noticed anything, as apparently, the woman who had just attacked the guardian had alsoprehended a domain. That woman was definitely more than just a little stronger than the fatty.

    The consecutive blows sent the First Divine Gate Guardians that had been attacking the fatty sliding backwards. In that time, Yan Xiaojing grabbed the fatty and pulled him inside the group.

    ¡°Stupid Fatty! Why haven¡¯t you died yet?¡± one girl cursed at him.

    The others did not look very happy either, as Yan Xiaojing had not acted as they had hoped and instead moved to save someone at a crucial moment. To save the fatty, she had been forced to drain her own physical strength and star energy, which meant that another person might not be savedter on. Nobody wished to be left behind or forsaken, so they all hated the fatty at this moment.

    The fatty grinned foolishly as he looked at Yan Xiaojing.

    She panted as she nced at Huang San. ¡°Who¡¯s that person with you?¡±

    The fatty caressed his fist and looked past the guardians over at Lu Yin who was standing calmly in the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We met on the way. He¡¯s a deaf mute.¡±

    ¡°A deaf mute?¡± Yan Xiaojing¡¯s gaze shed, but she did not bother with the fatty any further. Their group from the Bloodburn Realm weren¡¯t the only ones walking along this path, as anyone from the Sixth Maind who had a futon could enter this ce. This person might not be from the Bloodburn Realm, and he might not even be a member of the younger generation under Progenitor of Bloodlines.

 Chapter 619: Budding Terrace

    <h4>Chapter 619: Budding Terrace</h4>

    Even after watching for a while, Lu Yin still did not move.

    The surrounded people had noticed him long ago and seen how he had remained motionless, which caused them all to be rather relieved. They had been afraid that he would make a move like the fatty and also prompt Xiaojing to rescue him, which would just cause more problems for them.

    There was a thump as a First Divine Gate Guardian was split apart and instantly ruined, but another guardian simply reced it. The group found it difficult to maintain their strength, and if they did not quickly break out of the encirclement, then they would end up dead sooner orter.

    ¡°Brother Lian, rest and let me take over.¡± Yan Xiaojing stepped forward as a phantom image appeared behind her, simr to what Lu Yin had seen when some of the others had attacked. However, while the phantom images that appeared behind each person were the same, some images tended to be rather vague and indistinct whereas others were clearer and more defined. The phantom image behind Yan Xiaojing was the clearest that Lu Yin had seen so far, and he could even make out the phantom¡¯s features. Only now did he see that the phantom was a person, or to be more precise, an elder.

    What did this mean? Why was there a phantom image of a person behind these people, and how was it reinforcing their strength? Were these the imprints that the fatty had mentioned?

    With the added strength of the phantom image, Yan Xiaojing defeated another guardian with a single strike, disying a strength that was on apletely different levelpared to when she had rescued the fatty. However, summoning a phantom image was clearly very strenuous for these cultivators, and the phantom image behind Yan Xiaojing became fuzzy after she defeated just three of the guardians before gradually vanishing.

    Lu Yin saw the fatty¡¯s pleading expression from among the crowd, and his own gaze trembled. There was no need for him to wait any longer as he had already seen everything that he wanted to see. He considered things for a moment before leaping forward to stand behind one of the guardians. He swatted out with a Hundredfold Shockwave Palm. With a bang, the guardian¡¯s head flew off. Lu Yin continued to unleash more Hundredfold Shockwave Palms, as this technique no longer ced any burdens on his body. If he diverted the three grains of Fatesand, then he would be able to disy an even more extreme version of the Shockwave Palm. However, against these guardians, Hundredfold Shockwave Palms were more than enough.

    Lu Yin instantly eliminated seven or eight of the First Divine Gate Guardians when he took action, and when he was done, everyone else¡¯s expressions had be dumbfounded, even Yan Xiaojing. Her all-out strength when she used her imprint and battle techniques had only been enough to take out three of the automatons, but this person could do far more with just his physical strength. He was definitely not someone under the Blood Progenitor, as only those under the Martial Progenitor were capable of such feats.

    There was another thump as Lu Yin destroyed another guardian. Then, he then pulled the fatty up before leaving. That group was shocked, but they quickly followed behind.

    ¡°Xiaojing! Xiaojing,e quickly! Follow Fat Bro,¡± the fatty shouted.

    Half of the dozen First Divine Gate Guardians had been wiped out, but there was still the other half left, as Lu Yin did not n topletely take care of them all.

    After running for quite a while, the group managed to shake off the pursuit of the First Divine Gate Guardians. They all copsed along the side of the narrow road, panting heavily with miserable expressions.

    Huang San thanked Lu Yin and then quickly ran over to fawn over Yan Xiaojing, which put the others in a rotten mood. However, due to Lu Yin¡¯s presence, they no longer dared to ridicule the fatty any further. They had all been rather shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and in their minds, Lu Yin was someone under the Martial Progenitor, as only those freaks would train their bodies to such a monstrous degree.

    Yan Xiaojing pushed the fatty aside and walked towards Lu Yin with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Yan Xiaojing of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Yan family.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her, but he did not respond.

    Fatty immediately stepped forward with a beaming face. ¡°Xiaojing, I¡¯ve already told you¡ªthis brother here is both deaf and mute. He can neither hear nor speak.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for a bit, but then she nodded and made a gesture showing her gratitude before moving away.

    Lu Yin looked at Yan Xiaojing¡¯s retreating figure. Her personality was decent, and her figure was good. It was no wonder why the fatty wanted to wrap himself around her.

    ¡°Bro, don¡¯t bully your friend¡¯s partner!¡± The fatty suddenly ced himself in front of Lu Yin and sternly scolded him.

    Lu Yin was speechless, but he then turned his attention towards another direction.

    It wasmon among men to assume that others were simrly drawn to the girl that they themselves fancied. Lu Yin was also jealous and paranoid that everyone would be attracted to Ming Yan, so he found it understandable.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this stupid fatty is not the least bit self-aware. That woman is clearly not someone who''s easy to deal with, but he actually thinks that she¡¯ll like him! What a joke!¡± the Ghost Monkey ridiculed.

    Lu Yin also reckoned that that was the case.

    ¡°Xiaojing, why didn¡¯t you wait around for Fat Bro? I almost didn¡¯t catch up with you.¡± the fatty twisted himself about Yan Xiaojing and spoke of his recent troubles.

    Yan Xiaojing grudgingly responded, ¡°You should head back. The Daosource Sect is fraught with danger, and it¡¯s easy to die here.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro¡¯s not afraid! Wherever Xiaojing goes, Fat Bro will follow,¡± the fatty spoke sincerely.

    Yan Xiaojing did not know what to say anymore, as she was rather helpless when it came to this fatty. If he was just some average suitor, then things would be fine if she just sent him away. But this fatty¡¯s Huang family and her Yan family had an engagement contract that was scheduled toe into effect during their generation, so she was truly the fatty¡¯s fianc¨¦e.

    ¡°Come on, Fatty, just give up. Sister Jing likes Brother Autumnfrost, and he also likes her. There are feelings between the two of them, so you can¡¯t just force yourself onto her,¡± one woman ridiculed towards Huang San. She was known as Sister Kui.

    The fatty retorted, ¡°You think that Fat Bro doesn¡¯t know? You also like Autumnfrost Qing, so if Fat Bro marries Xiaojing, then won¡¯t you have a shot? Despite that you don¡¯t want to help Fat Bro and still try to undermine me. How stupid!¡±

    Sister Kui was about to retort, but she forcibly endured the urge as she felt that the fatty was actually right.

    On the other side of the group, another man grew flustered as he liked Sister Kui. ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense, stupid Fatty. Sister Jing and Brother Autumnfrost are a match made in the heavens. When their two families join forces, they¡¯ll be the strongest family in the entire Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    ¡°What are you worried about? Rx, Autumnfrost Qing won¡¯t like someone like Sister Kui. You¡¯ll get your chance. There¡¯s no need to get all worked up.¡± The fatty waved his hands.

    The man released a pent up breath and rxed, but then he red angrily at the fatty and responded, ¡°Stupid Fatty, what did you just say? You dare humiliate Sister Kui.¡±

    Sister Kui was also furious. ¡°Stupid Fatty! Say that again!¡±

    The fatty merely rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin found the entire situation amusing, as this fatty¡¯s way of speaking was rather entertaining.

    Yan Xiaojing grew impatient. ¡°Alright, less nonsense. Don¡¯t bring those First Divine Gate Guardians to us again.¡± She then stared at the fatty with the intention of making him move further away, but she had evidently underestimated the fatty¡¯s thick skin. He doggedly followed her wherever she went, which was rather tiring.

    Lu Yin suddenly recalled something that the fatty had said as they had been walking along earlier. ¡®I¡¯ll annoy her until she abandons all resistance.¡¯

    It had to be said that the fatty¡¯s willpower was quite firm, and he was also uniquely gifted in this aspect.

    After resting for a bit, the crowd gradually restored their exhausted star energy. Yan Xiaojing nced at Lu Yin and then told the group, ¡°Let¡¯s move along. We¡¯re about halfway to First Divine Gate, and as long as we make it through there, we¡¯ll be right above the Budding Terrace. I believe that everyone here has heard the legends that say that battle techniques, cultivation arts, power vessels, bloodlines, and even secret techniques might be found there.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s words made the group grow excited, and some of them even started to hyperventte at the thought of striking it rich.

    To these cultivators, the most important treasures they could find were bloodlines and secret techniques, particrly thetter. Even a cosmic Imprinter¡¯s n might not necessarily have one, and every secret technique had a unique effect on the universe that could transform something rotten into something magical. As long as they got their hands on a secret technique, they would be able to surpass everyone else, and their status would be elevated to where everyone admired them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as there were many aspects in this ce that were simr to his universe, such as the differentiation of realms, the energy that they absorbed being called star energy, and battle techniques and cultivation arts were also referred to with the same lexicon. In that case, secret techniques should also be the same, which meant that this sect had actually ced secret techniques at this so-called Budding Terrace. Could this sect really have had this many secret techniques?

    The Ghost Monkey found it hard to believe as well. ¡°Those techniques are probably fake and were only used to swindle the entering disciples. How could somebody have ced secret techniques in a ce that so many can reach, not to mention a ce with no danger! What a joke! Do they think that secret techniques are that easy to obtain?¡±

    Lu Yin agreed. Although he had not cultivated for too long, he had alreadye into contact with many things that normal cultivators could not even imagine. For example, he had already seen both the Yu Secret Art and the Y¨­u Secret Art. Even Liu Shaoqiu, Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Cursewind, who were innately gifted geniuses, had never received a secret technique, and it was evidently not something that was easily obtained.

    Yan Xiaojing was trying to encourage them, and she escorted the group along the small path.

    The fatty eagerly followed behind her, practically drooling as he did so, which made many of the others unhappy.

    Lu Yin walked at the rear, and no one interacted with him, as in their mind, he was a deaf mute.

    Darkness soon covered the sky. By a rough estimation, it would take them two days and two nights to traverse the entire path, and they had finally covered half of the distance.

    Everyone rested for a while before continuing onwards.

    The fatty fell back to walk at Lu Yin¡¯s side to chat with him from time to time before running back to the front and pestering Yan Xiaojing again. He did not seem to grow tired from walking back and forth either.

    ¡°Stupid Fatty, stop annoying us by running to and fro! Don¡¯t attract a First Divine Gate Guardian,¡± Sister Kui chided.

    The fatty rolled his eyes. ¡°You should learn from Fat Bro! Run more so that you can make your legs more slender. Maybe Autumnfrost Qing might ept you then. Of course, you still won¡¯t be able to keep up with our family¡¯s Xiaojing.¡±

    Sister Kui became furious.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed and he looked to the back. Someone was approaching them.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Yan Xiaojing to notice the same thing through her domain, and she turned around to look at the back with a grave expression. Someone was approaching them at great speed.

    Soon after, even those without domains were able to sense the fluctuations of star energy from behind them. When the group looked back, they saw a man in grey clothing with a pair of shoes that shined with a metallic lustre charging towards them very quickly. It didn¡¯t take long for him to pass by the group, and he continued up the mountain without even sparing the group so much as a nce.

    ¡°It¡¯s someone from the Progenitor of Combat Territory,¡± someone said somberly before sneaking a nce at Lu Yin.

    Yan Xiaojing also looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the back of the man in grey clothing, and shock shed through his eyes. When the man had streaked past them, a strong gale had blown past them in his wake, which gave Lu Yin a sense of the man¡¯s extreme strength. It had been pure physical strength, and it was no weaker than Lu Yin¡¯s normal state.

    Who knew how some random person that had suddenly appeared could have such power, and that man was not that old either. Where exactly was he? Could this ce be in the Neoverse? Lu Yin¡¯s mind kept racing.

    No one in the group said anything more as they continued to make their way up the mountain, and they soon found shattered First Divine Gate Guardians along the path in front of them.

    ¡°It should be that person¡¯s work. Those lunatics from the Progenitor of Combat Territory are just freaks,¡± someone mumbled. However, they were immediately shoved by the person walking beside them. Their heart skipped a beat as they turned to look back at Lu Yin, but then they rxed when they saw that Lu Yin had not reacted in any way. The people in the group had all assumed that Lu Yin was someone from the Progenitor of Combat Territory.

    ¡°Not necessarily. Many from our Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory have also integrated with bloodlines that can increase their physical strength, and some are in no way inferior to those martial freaks. For example, Fatty¡¯s ck ox is very durable,¡± Sister Kui teased.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Fatty is indeed durable,¡± someone else echoed.

    The fatty rolled his eyes. Durability was indeed an advantage, or else he would have died long ago.

    Lu Yin really wanted to know what was different about the areas that they had mentioned so far, such as the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory and Progenitor of Combat Territory. This waspletely different from the universe¡¯s weaves and Flowzones.

    The sky started to brighten, which indicated that they were not too far away from their goal.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed as he had sensed quite a few First Divine Gate Guardians charging towards them with his domain. In front of the automatons was a very fast man who was moving even faster than the man in the grey clothes who had run past them earlier. More importantly, this person was running with four limbs on the ground, just like a mouse.

 Chapter 620: The Fifth Mainland

    <h4>Chapter 620: The Fifth Maind</h4>

    Lu Yin had not spread his domain too far out, so Yan Xiaojing caught sight of the man shortly after Lu Yin, and her expression suddenly changed. ¡°Quickly, hide!¡±

    The crowd immediately scattered and scrambled up some nearby trees. Once hidden, they looked into the distance.

    Soon, the person who was running on all fours approached them with a dozen First Divine Gate Guardians in tow, shaking the ground wherever they passed. It was a magnificent sight.

    That person soon arrived at the group¡¯s previous position. He smiled sinisterly at them before suddenly charging into the forest, right beneath the trees that held Sister Kui and quite a few others.

    The guardians dashed into the forest and unintentionally knocked the trees over, instantly leading to Sister Kui and the others being discovered. They were then targeted by the automatons¡¯ attacks a momentter.

    ¡°Haha, take care, everyone! Enjoy my gift to you all!¡± The person escaped with augh, his speed a bit faster than when he had arrived.

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡°It¡¯s him! He¡¯s from a n that was wiped out by my Yan family before.¡±

    ¡°Is that the family with the Devouring Rat bloodline?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing nodded. ¡°That guy must have known where we were long ago, and he intentionally gathered a bunch of guardians before drawing them here. Everyone! Listen to mymands!¡±

    The number of guardians that had appeared this time were nearly twice what had surrounded them before. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s assistance, the group did not think that they would be able to escape from this situation unscathed, especially since some of them had already been beaten to the point of vomiting blood and nearly died.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. If not for the fact that he did not want to expose too much of his strength, he would have chased down the guy who had just fled and ughtered him. However, their current situation was still alright. These people¡¯s survival was not his concern, and at most, he would rescue the fatty and Yan Xiaojing. These First Divine Gate Guardians were not enough to pose a threat to him.

    Yan Xiaojing took on the position ofmander again and coordinated the group¡¯s efforts to fight off the guardians. Fortunately, the road here was not too wide, so the constructs¡¯ attacks were limited, and there was no way for them to swarm the cultivators despite their greater numbers. Lu Yin was also eliminating them from outside of the group, and after half an hour of battling, a small gap opened up in the guardians¡¯ encirclement, giving the group an opportunity to flee.

    Three people died during this battle, which caused their mood to fall.

    Yan Xiaojing clenched her fists. ¡°I vow that I¡¯ll find that rat and get revenge for everyone.¡±

    The fatty had also been injured, though not severely. However, were it not for Lu Yin¡¯s intervention, Huang San definitely would have died during the fight. He was grateful to Lu Yin from the bottom of his heart, and he continued to jabber on endlessly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across the crowd, and he could see resentment in their eyes.

    Some med him for the deaths since he had clearly not given his all. In fact, they had all seen that he had not used his imprint. Lu Yin did not bother trying to justify himself, and he simply continued to pretend to be deaf and mute.

    The fatty jumped forward to quarrel with the others, and Yan Xiaojing only barely managed to get them all back under control.

    ¡°That person has no rtionship with us and isn¡¯t even a friend. The fact of the matter is that by staying behind and helping us, he has already shown us a great deal of benevolence. We can¡¯t expect outsiders to do their best for our sake. Rx, we will join up with Brother Autumnfrost soon enough, and then we¡¯ll be safe,¡± Yan Xiaojing said softly.

    Nobody else said anything more.

    ¡°Bunch of ingrates,¡± the fatty sneered.

    ¡°You should also talk less!¡± Yan Xiaojing red at the fatty before shooting a quick nce over at Lu Yin, after which she fell silent.

    She felt resentful towards him just like the others, but as she herself had said, there was no obligation for Lu Yin to do his best for their sake.

    Lu Yin simply did not care what they thought, and he curiously explored the area by himself. If he didn¡¯t have the intention to eavesdrop on them and learn some more useful information, he would have left them long ago. The only worth that these people had in his eyes was the information that they could provide him.

    But on that note, if these people were all ming Lu Yin for not using his imprint, then did that mean that all cultivators in this ce had imprints? Where did these imprintse from? He had heard them mention an Imprinter¡¯s family before, and the term Imprinter seemed to reference a powerhouse who had reached a certain level. In that case, what rtionship did these powerhouses have with these people¡¯s imprints?

    Things were getting more interesting, and Lu Yin was growing increasingly excited.

    The person who had run past them and led a bunch of First Divine Gate Guardians to them seemed to have gathered them all up, as the group barely ran into any more automatons on their way to the Budding Terrace. At most, they saw one or two.

    They finally arrived at the end of First Divine Gate, which was anotherrge door. Once they passed through that door, they would arrive at a light pir, and entering that pir would teleport them to the Budding Terrace.

    ¡°It feels like I¡¯m dreaming, passing through the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate examination.¡± The fatty sighed in relief.

    Someone nearby immediately ridiculed him, saying, ¡°The Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect has already been destroyed. Why else would it be so simple? The final section of our Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s gate is simply absurd, but with your strength you wouldn¡¯t even be able to get to the mountain gate.¡±

    The fatty did not retort, as he had also previously mentioned to Lu Yin that the degree of difficulty for this current examination had dropped drastically.

    Lu Yin had not taken those words seriously, but his expression changed slightly when he heard all the others mention the same thing as well. This was the difficulty in getting inside a sect after it had already been destroyed? How difficult must it have been when the sect was in its prime? The Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had been destroyed, but one of them had just mentioned their Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, so did that mean that there was more than one Daosource Sect? And for that matter, what was the Fifth Maind?

    There were too many parts that Lu Yin still did not understand.

    He passed through the mountain door, and Yan Xiaojing and the others rxed greatly, though the fatty¡¯s face became more unsightly. At this point, he finally stopped pestering Yan Xiaojing and instead moved next to Lu Yin¡¯s side, where he mumbled something iprehensible to himself.

    The teleportation light pir that they came across was not something foreign to Lu Yin, as he had encountered a simr thing back during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam.

    He moved forward, and the scenery quickly changed before his eyes. When Lu Yin next opened his eyes, he did not see the mountain or the gate anymore. Instead, he saw apletely different scene.

    The sky was still the same sky, but the clouds seemed to be much closer together, and the air was also much thinner here. When he looked around, he saw that the ground was still shattered everywhere and also stained with ckened blood. There were many strange marks scattered about, which must have been left by battles in the past. There were many strange nts sprouting out from crevices in the ground, and the air also carried a certain fragrance that had a strong calming effect.

    Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy once again, but he still could not see any rune lines.

    He stepped away from the pir of light, and that feeling of peace became even more intense.

    ¡°This is the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s Budding Terrace. Who knows if it¡¯s the same as our Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s Budding Terrace.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! Of course not. This ce has already been destroyed while our Sixth Maind is still in its period of glory. It even has three Progenitors existing at the same time. That Budding Terrace is thriving much more than this ce.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, we can¡¯t pass that examination since only those who are at Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s level of strength can enter the Daosource Sect to cultivate. Only they even have a chance to meet the three ancestors.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin silently listened to their conversations, though his eyes sparkled. The amount of information he had about the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind was increasing.

    ¡°Autumnfrost Qing, Autumnfrost Qing. These idiots only know to think about Autumnfrost Qing. They just can¡¯t realize that, no matter how theywork, they still won¡¯t be able to develop any sort of rtionship with that person,¡± the fatty mumbled next to Lu Yin with an unhappy expression on his face.

    Lu Yin nced at him and then looked over towards Yan Xiaojing.

    Yan Xiaojing was staring off into the distance. Then, she looked both westwards and eastwards. ¡°Everyone, follow me. I know where Brother Autumnfrost is.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we can finally join up with Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s group!¡± Everyone in the crowd grew excited.

    Lu Yin was curious, as he heard of Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s name countless times during their journey. These people all seemed to worship him, and not just because of his background either. The fatty loathed him since Autumnfrost Qing was chasing Yan Xiaojing, but no matter what disparaging words he said, the fatty had never denied Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s strength. It seemed that this person was very powerful, and he might be a good measure of this ce''s standards for Lu Yin.

    ¡°Why is that deaf mute still following us?¡± someone asked as they turned to look at Lu Yin without any of the wariness that had been present before.

    Sister Kui mocked Lu Yin, saying, ¡°I think that he¡¯s been listening to us and knows that we¡¯re about to meet back up with Brother Autumnfrost. Thus, he¡¯s deliberately following us so that he can also obtain Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s protection.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, Brother Autumnfrost is one of the most powerful experts in our Bloodburn Realm¡¯s younger generation, and he is second only to Di Fa. With Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s protection, we might even be able to seize some fortune here.¡±

    The fatty couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore. ¡°You bastards are still underestimating him! Brother Deafmute¡¯s strength isn¡¯t too low, and he doesn¡¯t need Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s protection. It¡¯s just- It¡¯s just- It¡¯s just that he doesn¡¯t know the way!¡±

    Pfft!

    The crowd mocked the fatty, and Yan Xiaojing quietly scolded them. ¡°Stop bickering! There¡¯s no danger from the Budding Terrace itself, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we won¡¯t encounter attacks or ambushes from others. Our Bloodburn Realm and the Blood Homage Realm have never stopped fighting throughout all these years, so we all need to remain cautious.¡±

    The crowd immediately stopped speaking.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings, rather curious about this ce. This Budding Terrace seemed to be ratherrge, but it had unfortunately been smashed to pieces. He could not find a single intact surface, which indicated that the battle that had destroyed this sect must have been extremely bitter.

    Before long, Lu Yin suddenly felt a fluctuation through his domain, which meant that there was a powerhouse nearby. He hurriedly withdrew his domain, and his face grew solemn.

    In the distance, at the edges of where Lu Yin¡¯s domain had spread to, a youth¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and he looked in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. He was puzzled, as he had felt like someone was just spying on him. This feeling was from someone else¡¯s domain, and while he had notprehended a domain himself, his senses were still quite sharp. It had been just a peep, and there had been no hostility within the probe.

    But this domain had given him a strange feeling, and it even caused him to feel a small quiver. His many years of battle experience meant that he fully trusted his instincts, but there should not be many youths in the Sixth Maind who could make him feel anxious. Just who could it be? He stood up and leaped into the sky, heading in the direction where he had felt the domaine from. This ce was the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and it was fraught with danger as well as fortune. He could not allow someone with such strength to remain near him, so he had to verify who this person was.

    Lu Yin and the others continued walking forward when a cry suddenly sounded out. ¡°Brother Autumnfrost!¡±

    Everyone looked up at the sky and saw a youth who had suddenly appeared. He simrly saw the group and immediately descended.

    Yan Xiaojing and the others hurriedly rushed over excitedly while the fatty¡¯s mouth twisted bitterly.

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, did youe to find us?¡± Sister Kui asked excitedly.

    This youth was indeed Autumnfrost Qing, and he had actually traveled in this direction to find the powerhouse whose domain he had just felt. Although he had not expected to run into this group, he quickly responded, ¡°That¡¯s right. You guys were a bitter than I expected, so I was afraid that you had fallen into some trouble.¡± He then looked over at Yan Xiaojing. ¡°Xiaojing, are you alright?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing smiled and nodded her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you for your concern, Brother Autumnfrost.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing nodded, but then, his attention shot past the youths who had gathered around him and focused on the fatty. His lips curled up into a strange smile. ¡°I never thought that you would dare toe here, Fatty San.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s expression changed, but he forced out a smile. ¡°I tagged along to take a look.¡±

    He dared to mock Autumnfrost Qing in private, but he did not dare to directly say such things to his face.

    ¡°Why Fatty, weren¡¯t you being all high and mighty on our way here? Are you scared now that you¡¯re meeting Brother Autumnfrost?¡± Someone sneered.

    Sister Kui also mocked him. ¡°Fatty, what do you intend to do now? Are you going to follow Brother Autumnfrost or Sister Jing? You better pick one, as otherwise, there¡¯ll be no one left to protect you. Oh, right, I forgot. Sister Jing is definitely going along with Brother Autumnfrost, keke.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s face became extremely ugly, and he had no response.

 Chapter 621: Follow

    <h4>Chapter 621: Follow</h4>

    Yan Xiaojing frowned and turned to look at the fatty. ¡°Just head back as soon as the time on your futon is up. You¡¯ve already made your family proud just by making it all the way here. Stay at the Budding Terrace for now, and perhaps you¡¯ll be able to obtain a bit of fortune.¡±

    ¡°I think that there might be a bloodline in the northwest,¡± Autumnfrost Qing said.

    Everyone looked at him in excitement. ¡°Really? Brother Autumnfrost, what bloodline is it?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him curiously. A bloodline? How are they stored?

    Autumnfrost Qingughed. ¡°This bloodline is very suitable for Fatty. It seems to be the Pompom Pig bloodline, which can be used to improve your bloodline.¡±

    The people in the crowd were shocked and they all looked at Autumnfrost Qing in confusion.

    The fatty¡¯s face went pale as he stared at Autumnfrost Qing in a daze.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Seeing everyone¡¯s perplexed expressions, Autumnfrost Qing eximed, ¡°Oh, I forgot! That fatty has always told people that his bloodline is that of the ck cow. I¡¯m sorry, Fatty, but if that bloodline over there really is the Pompom Pig bloodline, then this will truly be your lucky day. Don¡¯t give up this chance to be stronger just for your pride. It¡¯s to the northwest, so you can head over and take a look.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! Fatty, you actually have the Pompom Pig bloodline!¡± Sister Kuiughed.

    The others taunted him as well.

    Yan Xiaojing was shocked, as she hadn¡¯t known that the fatty had the Pompom Pig bloodline, and had always believed that he possessed the ck Cow bloodline. Although the two bloodlines were rather simr, they had very different reputations.

    The fatty dropped his head, and his face waspletely white. He clenched his fists tightly and wondered how Autumnfrost Qing could have discovered that he had the Pompom Pig bloodline! His reputation had beenpletely ruined now. Xiaojing would look down on him, not to mention that the entire Huang family had been disgraced. Autumnfrost Qing was truly a despicable person.

    Autumnfrost Qing smirked; how dare this useless fatty contest him for Xiaojing! If the Huang family still had an Imprinter, then Autumnfrost Qing would likely be a bit more wary of them, but the Huang family¡¯s power had dwindled over the years, and they had even been forced to use up their ancestor¡¯s past contributions to obtain a futon. They would never return to their peak again, so it was fine to insult this fatty.

    Suddenly, Autumnfrost Qing nced over at a crack in the distance.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± he shouted. He then immediately rushed over.

    A hidden silhouette¡¯s pupils constricted as a person dashed out from inside the crack, scurrying away at an impressive speed.

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, that¡¯s the guy who attacked us in First Divine Gate!¡± Yan Xiaojing immediately recognized the person.

    Autumnfrost Qing slowed his chase, raised his right hand, and curled his fingers into ws. ¡°Skyrender w.¡± The space around his right hand warped, and everyone present saw a massive w appear in the sky that attacked the fleeing person.

    He screamed, ¡°Please spare me!¡±

    There was a bang as the w mmed him into the ground, leaving a deep gouge filled with blood.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as that was an extremely powerful attack just now. The fleeing person had used both his imprint and bloodline at thest moment, but all of his defensive abilities had been destroyed by that w. That attack wasparable to a full force attack from someone ranked fortieth on the Top 100 Rankings. Furthermore, Autumnfrost Qing had merely released a casual attack, which meant that he might be even more powerful than Nightking Gu.

    The others moved forward and angrily looked down at the pool of blood.

    ¡°If not for him, Brother Lian and the rest wouldn¡¯t have died,¡± Yan Xiaojing said.

    Autumnfrost Qingmented, ¡°Then he got what was due.¡±

    The fatty looked at the pool of blood in fear. Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t impulsively said anything rude to Autumnfrost Qing. Otherwise, he might have ended up with the same fate.

    Yan Xiaojing nced at the fatty and motioned for him to leave.

    Autumnfrost Qing saw her movement and said, ¡°Fatty, if you want to follow us,e back here in three days. I can take you to the Scripture Pavilion for Xiaojing¡¯s sake, but that¡¯s a dangerous ce. You¡¯ll have to depend on your own luck if you want to leave that ce alive since I won¡¯t be able to protect you the whole time.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing quickly interjected, ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, there¡¯s no need for that. Just let him head back.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be here!¡± Yan Xiaojing¡¯s pleas had provoked the fatty, and so he immediately agreed. He even asked for a favor. ¡°Can I bring this brother along with me?¡±

    At that moment, Autumnfrost Qing finally noticed Lu Yin. Lu Yin had been very casual up to now, and he was also within his own domain. Thus, Autumnfrost Qing was unable to sense Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    ¡°Who is this?¡± Autumnfrost Qing asked, as he suddenly remembered the domain expert that he had sensed earlier.

    Yan Xiaojing introduced Lu Yin to Autumnfrost Qing, ¡°He¡¯s a deaf and mute person that we met on our way here. He helped both Fatty and me along the way.¡±

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, don¡¯t bring him along. He didn¡¯t use his imprint even when we were surrounded by Shenjia Guardians! If he had used his full power, then Brother Lian and the others wouldn¡¯t have died,¡± Sister Kui protested angrily.

    Autumnfrost Qing stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are truly deaf and mute. I¡¯m thankful that you helped Xiaojing out before. However, you didn¡¯t save my other friends, which cancels that out. You can follow us, but I won¡¯t protect you.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin blinked, and his expression was perplexed. This guy¡¯s incredibly confident.

    The fatty tugged at Lu Yin and responded to Autumnfrost Qing, ¡°We¡¯ll meet here in three days.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing waved as they left.

    Yan Xiaojing looked like she wanted to say something, but Huang San didn¡¯t give her a chance to do anything as he immediately left with Lu Yin. He had been insulted just now, and so, he didn¡¯t want to face Yan Xiaojing for the moment.

    Sometimes, loud and outspoken people like this fatty were the easiest ones to hurt.

    ¡°Bro, am Ipletely pathetic? My bloodline¡¯s been exposed,¡± the fattyined bitterly. ¡°Our bloodline is supposed to be a symbol of strength in the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory. A good bloodline can even transform a person. Autumnfrost Qing publicly insulted me, and everyone¡ªeven Xiaojing¡ªknows what his character is like. He¡¯s petty, paranoid, and arrogant, but due to his family and bloodline, nobody cares about his character.

    ¡°The Autumnfrost family is one of the few World Imprinter families in the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory, and Elder Autumnfrost is their World Imprinter. Autumnfrost Qing is the direct heir to the Autumnfrost family, and he even possesses the Sky Overlord bloodline. Once that bloodline advances, it can be an invincible bloodline. It¡¯s only slightly inferior to Teffa¡¯s Ghost Racoon bloodline, and so, most people want to suck up to him.¡±

    The fatty looked at his hands. ¡°Meanwhile, I have the Pompom Pig bloodline. What a joke¡­¡±

    Lu Yin quietly listened to hispanion¡¯s rant, but he didn¡¯t have any time to console fatty since he was using his domain to observe the Budding Terrace. This tform was absolutely enormous, and he couldn¡¯t even see the entire thing.

    The fatty finally stopped whining after a few hours, but Lu Yin had already sealed off his ears an hour into the rant. This stupid fatty nagged so often andined about his life so much that even Lu Yin had started feeling slightly depressed.

    The Ghost Monkey had immediately asked Lu Yin to screen him off, as he¡¯d rather be screened off than be forced to listen to the fatty¡¯sints.

    The fatty suddenly sighed. ¡°I feel much better now. Bro, you¡¯re the best! I¡¯ve finally finished venting all my frustrations.¡±

    But Lu Yin couldn¡¯t hear him as he was instead looking at their surroundings. There weren¡¯t any lucky opportunities nearby, only some people who asionally walked past them from time to time. In particr, a certain fellow who they had just seen left after being shocked by something.

    Hang on, that¡¯s not right. There are more and more people headed towards that direction. Lu Yin turned to look into the distance.

    Momentster, a group of five or six people walked past the two while curiously ncing at Lu Yin and the fatty. They then continued on in another direction.

    ¡°Those people are from the Second Supreme Gate. The Daosource Sect has four main mountain gates: First Divine Gate, Second Supreme Gate, Third Azure Gate, and Fourth Imperial Gate. The Second Supreme Gate is near the First Divine Gate, but the Third Azure Gate and Fourth Imperial Gate are further away. Despite the Second Supreme Gate being closer, it still takes a few days to get to the Second Supreme Gate from First Divine Gate. It seems like this group of people ns to stay on the Budding Terrace, but that¡¯s a prettymon urrence,¡± the fatty exined.

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t known that there were three other gates in addition to the First Divine Gate, but with this information, he was able to guess that each gate had its own trials.

    ¡°There are many fortunes on the Budding Terrace, and many people stay in this area to search for opportunities. Some of them have actually managed to find their destiny, and I wonder if Fat Bro will be lucky enough to find anything.¡± The fatty had finally recovered and was again calling himself Fat Bro.

    One day passed, but the fatty and Lu Yin didn¡¯t find anything. The fatty kept cursing Autumnfrost Qing the whole time as there was clearly nothing in the northwestern region. Clearly, Autumnfrost Qing had used that moment to expose the fatty¡¯s Pompom Pig bloodline and insult him. Although the fatty had already known that there wouldn¡¯t be any bloodlines in this area, he still had to go and take a look. If he really could advance his bloodline, then his power would absolutely rise.

    Lu Yin had been using his domain the entire time, but he hadn¡¯t seen more than ten people over the course of the entire day. The people who he had seen were about as strong as Yan Xiaojing, and none of them couldpare to Autumnfrost Qing. He was truly an elite powerhouse of his generation.

    It wasn¡¯t possible to have arge group of powerful people who wereparable to the top fifteen of the Top 100 Rankings. That list epassed the youths from the seventy two weaves of the outerverse, the eight major flowzones of the Innerverse, the Starfall Sea, the Cosmic Sea, and many more areas of the Human Domain. One had to be extremely talented to step onto the Top 100 Rankings. For example, Northgate Lie was the only person who had managed to do so from all of Northline Flowzone. Despite his aplishment, he was still ranked at the very bottom of the list. Although this was a weird ce, it was impossible for there to be many equally powerful people here.

    Moreover, what Lu Yin wanted to find out about the most was the time limit of his futon.

    ¡°Hey Bro, that person should be from the Progenitor of Combat Territory too!¡± the fatty eximed.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw a young man slowly walk past them. He nced at Lu Yin and the fatty, smiled, and then leisurely continued on his way.

    Lu Yin had already noticed this person long ago. He had retracted his domain because this person had discovered him as well.

    He was wary of this person, andpared to Autumnfrost Qing, Lu Yin was definitely more wary of this unknown person since he had disregarded Lu Yin even though he knew that the domain that he had sensed belonged to Lu Yin.

    ¡°You people from the Progenitor of Combat Territory have apletely different vibepared to the people from our Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory. I could instantly tell that he¡¯s from the Progenitor of Combat Territory. Brother, you have the same vibe as well, but yours isn¡¯t as good as that guy¡¯s,¡± the fattymented.

    Another day passed by, and the fatty had finally given up on finding a lucky chance. Thus, the two of them went back to where they separated from the group.

    ¡°Although the Scripture Pavilion is dangerous, since that stupid Autumnfrost Qing will be with us, we probably won¡¯t run into too much danger. He won¡¯t dare to hurt us since that would damage his own reputation, and at worst, he¡¯ll just insult us. So, Bro, we should keep following him. Actually, it would be perfect if we actually managed to find a destiny,¡± the fatty said hopefully.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t nning on finding any fortunes since he had realized that the Daosource Sect had already existed for countless years. After the passage of so much time, all of the desirable destinies must have already been discovered and seized by other people. Thus, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to find any. This was especially true since he had been traveling with the unlucky fatty; even if there were any lucky opportunities in their path, this guy had probably chased them all away.

    If not for the fact that he couldn¡¯t find anyone better to get information out of, Lu Yin also would have abandoned the fatty.

    He couldn¡¯t believe that he had still been taunted even though he was pretending to be deaf and mute.

 Chapter 622: Mr. Bai And The Scripture Pavilion

    <h4>Chapter 622: Mr. Bai And The Scripture Pavilion</h4>

    ¡°We¡¯re both just people, so why are our lives so different? The Progenitor of Bloodlines ced three bloodlines inside of his sculpture, and if Fat Bro had gotten one of them, then my life would have changed. At that point, Fat Bro would have been able to turn around and suppress even that Autumnfrost Qing. Unfortunately, those three bloodlines have all already been taken. What a pity, what a pity,¡± the fatty mumbled.

    ¡°You better hurry up and search through the rest of the Scripture Pavilion, as more people will being since they¡¯re all trying to prepare for The Hunt. Even a freak like Di Fa wille to the Daosource Sect to test his luck, so what do you think Autumnfrost Qing will do if he meets Di Fa? I¡¯m really looking forward to that! I hope that Di Fa will give him a good beating!¡± The fatty¡¯s imagination began to run wild.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing the name Di Fa, and he seemed to be one of the top-notch powerhouses among the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s younger generation. It sounded like he was a peak existence that truly towered above all others, and Lu Yin hoped that they would not bump into him.

    When Lu Yin and Huang San returned to their previous location, they found that Sister Kui and the others were already there, and it was obvious from their expressions that they had not found anything either.

    ¡°Fatty, did you find that Pompom Pig bloodline?¡± one of the men called out teasingly.

    The fatty ignored him and nced around. He quickly realized that Yan Xiaojing was not back yet, and his expression dimmed.

    ¡°Oh! It seems our Fat Bro¡¯s bloodline has advanced, and he doesn¡¯t need to care about us anymore,¡± the man continued mocking.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Did these people really like to make fun of others this much? It was quite annoying.

    The fatty stood to one side and stayed quiet.

    The man continued to mock Huang San a few more times, but he soon lost interest after the fatty refused to respond to anything. Then, he fell silent too.

    After a few hours had passed, Autumnfrost Qing returned with Yan Xiaojing, and the fatty¡¯s face changed when he looked over at the two of them.

    Yan Xiaojing seemed to be acting a little bit more affectionately towards Autumnfrost Qing, and they were also standing much closer to one another than they had a few days before, to the extent where they were almost stuck together.

    Lu Yin looked at the fatty sympathetically, as it was truly difficult to endure such a sight. He hoped that Huang San would not be overwhelmed and charge over to start a fight.

    When Yan Xiaojing saw that the fatty had returned, she quickly created a bit more distance between herself and Autumnfrost Qing. Although she did not care about the fatty or even like him, they were still technically engaged.

    Autumnfrost Qing did not mind her actions since he knew that Yan Xiaojing absolutely belonged to him. Although the woman could not be considered ravishing, she had a unique personality, and the Yan family¡¯s development in recent years had a rather decent momentum. With Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s status, he could not marry someone from a world Imprinter¡¯s family, so he could only choose someone from an Imprinter¡¯s n. Thus, the Yan family was a decent choice for him.

    Autumnfrost Qing and Yan Xiaojing weren¡¯t the only ones who returned, as there was also another person silently following behind them. It was a man in white clothes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered when he saw the man, as he recognized him. Lu Yin and Huang San had bumped into this person once in thest three days, and it was precisely the person who had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    ¡°Let me introduce this person to you all. This is Mr. Bai from the War Martial Realm, and he will join us when we explore the Scripture Pavilionter,¡± Autumnfrost Qing exined.

    Mr. Bai stepped forward and greeted everyone with a gentle smile. He had a soft expression, and there was an indescribable charm to his smile that gave off a natural warmth.

    Sister Kui and the others hurried to wee him.

    ¡°Sorry to trouble everyone, and thank you, Brother Autumnfrost, for epting me. I can¡¯t thank you enough,¡± Mr. Bai said to Autumnfrost Qing.

    Autumnfrost Qing smiled. ¡°Brother Bai is too courteous. There¡¯s too much distance between the War Martial Realm and Bloodburn Realm, and we should try to get closer.¡±

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost is right. The strength of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s bloodlines is well-known, and Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s Sky Overlord bloodline has a renowned reputation. Even I, from the distant War Martial Realm, have heard of it, and I have always wanted to expand my knowledge. I never thought that my wishes woulde true, so thank you, Brother Autumnfrost.¡± Mr. Bai smiled.

    Autumnfrost Qingughed and chatted with Mr. Bai in a very animated manner.

    Lu Yin watched their interactions strangely, as this Autumnfrost Qing probably had not realized what Mr. Bai¡¯s true strength was. Otherwise, he definitely would not be able to smile so carefreely around this person, given his personality.

    Also, this person¡¯s surname was Bai, so did he have a primeval surname? Or was it just a coincidence?

    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that rascal the person who we met from the Martial Progenitor Realm? What¡¯s he doing here?¡± The fatty had only just discovered Mr. Bai¡¯s existence as his attention had been entirely focused on Yan Xiaojing since she had arrived.

    At that moment, Yan Xiaojing walked over and spoke quietly to the fatty. ¡°It would be best for you if you head back. The Scripture Pavilion is too dangerous. Even Brother Autumnfrost isn¡¯t fully confident, and it¡¯s rumored that there are people from the Fifth Maind in there. Many people have already died in the Scripture Pavilion.¡±

    Huang San gazed passionately at Yan Xiaojing. ¡°Xiaojing, you do care about me?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Yan Xiaojing helplessly responded, ¡°I only want what¡¯s best for you. You¡¯re the only son that the Huang family has left, and if you die, I don¡¯t know how I will answer to your family. Hurry up and go back.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. A man must follow through with what he has said, and since I¡¯ve already said that we¡¯ll explore the Scripture Pavilion, I¡¯ll definitely go in.¡± The fatty was determined.

    Yan Xiaojing sighed. ¡°That¡¯s up to you. I¡¯ve already spoken with Brother Autumnfrost. If you run into danger there, he will try his best to save you, so just don¡¯t go about courting disaster.¡± She then left after giving this warning.

    One of the most tragic things that could happen to a person was for them to be looked down upon by someone they fancied.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fatty is pretty pathetic. Help him, as this monkey can¡¯t watch this go on any further,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Cracks appeared in the sky from time to time. There was no one fighting, but there was still a strange strength that caused the sky to tear and the ground to fracture.

    Before the group set off, Autumnfrost Qing warned everyone that although the Daosource Sect¡¯s ancient battle had ended long ago, there were still some aftershocks from that event that continued to echo in this ce. The safest ces in the entire Daosource Sect were the four mountain gates and the Budding Terrace, and there was nowhere else that could be considered safe.

    This was also without mentioning that their current destination was the Scripture Pavilion, which was known as an extremely dangerous area.

    It was not very easy to move from the Budding Terrace to the Scripture Pavilion, as many of the paths had been broken, and there were even a few where the void was unstable. While traveling, the group witnessed someone being torn into shreds by an unstable part of the void. Fresh blood sttered across the area, making for an exceptionally horrifying scene.

    ¡°Anyone who can obtain a futon ande to the Daosource Sect is not a simple cultivator. Either their family background is illustrious, they are an innately gifted genius, or they have enjoyed continuous lucky breaks. Regardless, each one is an elite among elites, but many such people still die in this ce every year.¡± Mr. Bai sighed, and it sounded as if he considered the fate of mankind to be rather pitiful.

    Autumnfrost Qing replied, ¡°Brother Bai doesn¡¯t need to feel sorry for such people. The path of cultivation is naturally fraught with danger, and anyone who is afraid of death will never be able to reach the higher peaks.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°That¡¯s true. Brother Autumnfrost attained such a status and power, and it¡¯s not just due to your family¡¯s background. I¡¯ve heard that Brother Autumnfrost has roamed through the Daosource Sect multiple times, and that you¡¯re more experienced with this ce than even the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Realmling, Di Fa, which is quite impressive.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing was pleased with the praise. ¡°Brother Bai, that¡¯s a bit much. How could Ipare to the Realmling?¡±

    Mr. Bai shook his head and smiled. ¡°The position of the Realmling is not fixed, and from my perspective, with Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s ability, you¡¯ll be able to take over that position sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Mr. Bai will definitely be the Realmling of the War Martial Realm in future as well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be indebted towards Brother Autumnfrost¡¯s care.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha.¡±

    ¡­

    The fatty rolled his eyes. ¡°They¡¯re bothplete brown-nosers! How disgusting.¡±

    It was indeed rather nauseating, and even Lu Yin agreed.

    ¡°Unfortunately, Di Fa won¡¯t be able to hear this conversation. Otherwise, he¡¯d definitely teach Autumnfrost Qing how to be a person,¡± the fatty mumbled.

    Lu Yin watched the duo happily chatting away, and his expression flickered. Di Fa, Realmling. Could that title signify the strongest youth in a realm? It seemed very likely.

    ¡°Careful!¡± Suddenly, Autumnfrost Qing raised a hand, and the image of a w shed across the sky and yanked Sister Kui away from where she had been walking, at the back of the group. Right where she had just been about to walk to, the void split open as dark cracks appeared all over that ce.

    Sister Kui¡¯s face paled, as she had almost been torn to shreds.

    ¡°Stay alert! The forces from that ancient battle have already shattered the Daosource Sect. Aside from the mountain gates and the Budding Terrace, nowhere else is safe,¡± Autumnfrost Qing warned them all again.

    Sister Kui immediately expressed her gratitude and looked at Autumnfrost Qing with a fervent expression.

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, that¡¯s such a great battle technique. It must be the Skyrender w that the Autumnfrost family is famous for. Powerful, powerful,¡± Mr. Baiplimented.

    Autumnfrost Qingughed. ¡°Brother Bai is too full of praise.¡±

    After that, another round of mutual ttery ensued.

    The fatty had no intentions of cursing aloud, as it was too dangerous in this ce. Additionally, that spatial tear had opened up rather close to him.

    Yan Xiaojing tried to persuade Huang San to leave again while the duo was ttering each other, but the fatty refused yet again.

    ¡°If you die, your Huang family will disappear,¡± Yan Xiaojing told him quietly. After that, she just left.

    The group walked along in fear for about three hours before they finally came to another light pir. ¡°The light pir up ahead leads to the Scripture Pavilion. I have to warn everyone: the Scripture Pavilion contains many ancient characters , and they can assemble themselves in thousands of variations. Those who are destined might be able toprehend battle techniques or cultivation methods through these characters, but you also can be led astray, trapped, or even deceived by the ancient words. This next ce also has the aftershocks of the predecessors¡¯ battle, so do not stray too far away from me. And most importantly¡­¡± At this point, Autumnfrost Qing paused as his sharp gaze swept across everyone present. ¡°Everyone has to help each other. We won¡¯t be alone in the Scripture Pavilion, and there will be other experts. Only by sticking together will we have a chance of survival. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Got it, Brother Autumnfrost,¡± the crowd replied.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s gaze streaked over to the fatty, and there was a bit of disdain in his eyes. This disdain wasn¡¯t directed only at the fatty, but rather to everyone present. He did not believe that any of these people could find their destiny here. The Daosource Sect had been in this ce for countless years, and many geniuses had explored it in the past, but only a rare few had been able to grasp a destiny. As for why he had brought these people to the Scripture Pavilion, it was simply to demonstrate his broadmindedness and benevolence. In any case, the people in front of him all had decent backgrounds.

    ¡°Brother Bai, please.¡± Autumnfrost Qing remained courteous towards Mr. Bai, as only Mr. Bai was worthy of his attention among all those gathered.

    Yan Xiaojing moved close behind Autumnfrost Qing, practically hanging off of his arm.

    The fatty¡¯s face grew even more ugly, and he looked like he was constipated.

    Passing through the light pir, the group arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, which lookedpletely different from what they imagined.

    The normal image that one would have of a scripture pavilion was a ce that stored ancient texts, so perhaps an ancient building or a tall tower. Instead, the group could not quite believe their eyes when they saw the scene before them.

    The so-called Scripture Pavilion was an area with ancient characters floating about that emitted a faint gold radiance.

    There was a mountain range in the background with waterfalls cascading down that split apart into smaller streams, and in front of them, there were ancient characters floating about. Each one was about one square meter in size, and they floated about the sky and even within the white clouds. Some were quite close to each other while others were quite isted. No one could see the end of this region.

    Lu Yin was astonished by this sight; was this the sect¡¯s Scripture Pavilion?

    ¡°Everyone, the closer we are to each other, the better we¡¯ll be able to protect each other from anything unexpected,¡± Autumnfrost Qing reminded them all again. He then brought Yan Xiaojing towards a ce in the distance after saying farewell to Mr. Bai.

    Mr. Bai ascended into the sky on his own.

    The fatty looked around, back at Lu Yin, and then made a gesture.

    Lu Yin could not tell what the young man was trying to say, so he just ignored him. Instead, Lu Yin leaped up into the sky and floated there as he looked at the others. He stepped onto an ancient character, and the fatty hurried to follow after him, but each character could only hold one person. Thus, the fatty was forced to step onto a neighboring character.

 Chapter 623: Ancient Characters

    <h4>Chapter 623: Ancient Characters</h4>

    Lu Yin crouched down and looked at the ancient character that he was standing upon. It was glinting with a faint gold radiance, and when he reached down to touch it, he could not really feel anything. It was as if it was nothing more than an illusion. When he looked at these ancient characters, an intense feeling of primordial ages washed over him.

    ¡°Eh, Seventh Bro, these ancient characters look familiar,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯ve seen them before?¡±

    ¡°In the centipede''s body¡­ No, these might actually be even more ancient than that bit of writing in the centipede''s body. Right! The Literary Prison. Do you remember how, back in the Ironblood Weave, when you were being chased by an Enlighter beast, that old guy Wen Qichen rescued you with his Literary Prison? Doesn¡¯t this look very simr?¡± the monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin stared at the numerous ancient characters and felt that there was indeed some simrity between the two. He hadn¡¯t seen the Literary Prison just once, as he had also seen it back at the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront. At that time, Wen Sansi had used the Literary Prison to entrap Yao Gu, and these characters in the Scripture Pavilion did indeed look rather simr to those that made up the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison.

    ¡°The more I look at them, the more simr they seem. Rumor has it that the Wen family¡¯s inherited Literary Prison is formed of nine by nine characters. If these truly are the same ancient characters, then you¡¯re in luck, Seventh Bro! The characters here won¡¯t just form a nine by nine array¡ªthere might be thousands of them here! If you can learn them all, then the Wen family can just call you ¡®ancestor,¡¯¡± the monkey said with augh.

    Lu Yin was not as happy as his tamed beast. Learn them? How was that possible? If it was that easy toprehend these characters, then people with backgrounds like the fatty would have long since learned this technique. He had not seen anyone use these characters in the battles here so far, and he hadn¡¯t heard Autumnfrost Qing mention anything about learning them either. It should be extremely difficult to learn these characters.

    Lu Yin leaped up and dashed to somewhere else nearby,nding on another ancient character. He then jumped up again and headed for the next character.

    The fatty hurriedly followed after him, as he didn¡¯t dare drift too far away from Lu Yin.

    There was a loud crack, and suddenly, a man who had been standing atop an ancient character about a hundred meters to the fatty¡¯s right split into half, and his blood spilled onto the character before dripping onto the ground.

    The fatty¡¯s face paled.

    Lu Yin was also overwhelmed, as he could not figure out how that person had just died.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s caution about the aftershocks from the ancient battle that had destroyed this sect had not been false.

    Even further ahead, someone suddenly felt something jolt in his heart, and heughed heartily from where he was sitting cross-legged atop a character. This person had note with their group and should have already been in this ce for a few days, and his reaction seemed like he had finally achieved someprehension at this time.

    Quite a few people¡¯s attention were drawn to the man, and they gazed over at him with fervent gazes.

    That person quickly immersed himself in hisprehension, but then, his expression suddenly changed after half an hour. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his consciousness fell into chaos. After that, he started dancing around like an idiot until he fell off of the ancient character and crashed into a river below. He floated down the river towards an unknown location.

    Quite a few people rejoiced at his misfortune, but there were also quite a few who were horrified. That person had clearly gone insane after thinking that he hadprehended something. The truth was that there were numerous characters in this ce, and there were thousands ofbinations. Many battle techniques could cause someone to go mad if even one word was off, so finding the correctbination of ancient characters to learn a battle technique or a cultivation art was too difficult.

    Since ancient times, only a select few had managed to gain one of these inheritances. But of course, those who did always became famous.

    Over the next two days, Lu Yin didn¡¯t gain any harvest whatsoever, but he did manage to witness a battle. Someone¡¯s stars had aligned perfectly, and they had managed to arrange dozens of characters in order. It seemed like they had beenprehending something, but their opportunity was snatched away by others. That person had the misfortune of being killed, and they were not the only one to die. The ensuing chaos imed the lives of at least five people, including a few who hade to the Scripture Pavilion with Lu Yin and the fatty. Finally, even Autumnfrost Qing took action, but those arranged characters did not cause any battle techniques or arts to appear.

    It was too difficult to obtain any sort of an inheritance in this Scripture Pavilion. Many people came here just to try their luck, but they would generally not spend too much time here.

    Lu Yin saw Mr. Bai leave.

    There was a cry, and Lu Yin turned to see that the ancient character under Fatty¡¯s legs had started flickering with radiance, and the surrounding characters were drawing closer as well. Many people were not unfamiliar with this scene, as these ancient characters wereing together to form a prison. Once one was trapped within, they would only be able to leave once their futon¡¯s time was up, and they would not be able to break free at all.

    Being trapped by the characters signified that one¡¯s exploration of the Daosource Sect was temporarily over. Fortunately, there was no deadly danger to the prisons.

    Lu Yin suddenly streaked across the region and yanked the fatty out from within the characters. Right after, the final one fell into ce,pleting a prison-like structure, but the fatty had fortunately been pulled out in time.

    Huang San panted heavily while patting his chest. ¡°Fortunately- fortunately- Thank you, Bro! You¡¯re really like my own flesh and blood.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the trap that had been formed from the characters and thought that they looked extremely simr to the Literary Prison. If that was truly the case, then the Literary Prison that the Wen family had inherited was formed from nine by nine characters, which meant it had eighty one ancient characters.

    Those around them who had witnessed the scene stared apprehensively at Lu Yin. This person¡¯s speed was so fast that they had not been able to clearly see it. He was definitely a hidden expert.

    Once they realized this, the people surrounding the two young men slowly started to move away from Lu Yin one after another. No one wanted to be close to someone who could threaten their lives.

    Autumnfrost Qing had taken Yan Xiaojing further away, so he did not see this incident, but Sister Kui did. She stared at Lu Yin in astonishment; how was this person so fast?

    After another day passed, Autumnfrost Qing brought Yan Xiaojing back. The two¡¯s intimacy had gone up by yet another level, and Yan Xiaojing even looked at Autumnfrost Qing with a very tender light in her eyes.

    The fatty felt a stabbing pain in his heart. ¡°Bro, let¡¯s go.¡± He pointed towards the exit of the Scripture Pavilion.

    Lu Yin followed the fatty and left, as he was no longer interested in the Scripture Pavilion. He felt that he would not be able to obtain anything from that ce no matter how long he spent there.

    After they left the Scripture Pavilion, the two youths used the light pir to return to their previous location, only to see white clothes flit past before them as Mr. Bai rushed straight over to them. The three men exchanged nces.

    ¡°This is perfect. I was hoping to run into you guys!¡± Mr. Bai said to the fatty and Lu Yin.

    Huang San was curious. ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡¯

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°I found an interesting ce, and there¡¯s likely a bloodline there.¡±

    The fatty shrieked, ¡°A bloodline? Are you for real!¡±

    Mr. Bai spun the folding fan in his hand around and confidently answered, ¡°Yes, but I cannot obtain it alone. So, I wanted to ally myself with the two of you.¡± He pointedly looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go look for Autumnfrost Qing? Aren¡¯t the two of you very close?¡± the fatty ridiculed.

    Mr. Bai shook his head. ¡°That person¡¯s intentions are not in the right ce, and I don¡¯t care for it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty blunt, but Fat Bro likes it!¡± The fatty grinned and gestured at Lu Yin.

    This fatty had always assumed that Lu Yin could understand his gestures, but in reality, Lu Yin could not make any sense of what he was trying to convey. If he were truly deaf and mute, then he definitely would have sent this fatty flying with a kick.

    He pretended to understand the fatty¡¯s gestures and nodded.

    The fatty grew excited. ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled and led them along.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. This ce had existed for such a long time, so how could a bloodline have been so easily discovered? He wondered what this Mr. Bai¡¯s true motives were.

    The Daosource Sect was very extensive but also very dangerous. Even casually flying in the sky could result in one dying from unknown causes. The trio followed along a shattered path leading towards another light pir, encountering more fright than actual dangers along their way. Eventually, they appeared in a destroyed city.

    ¡°This should be a subsidiary city where the kin of those who were once a part of the Daosource Sect lived, and they likely specialized in providing services for the Daosource Sect.¡± Mr. Bai walked forward, causing the ground to break apart into multiple fissures that extended a great distance along the ground.

    Lu Yin and Huang San looked around.

    The city wasrge, and the architectural style was very old.

    ¡°This ce has already been explored countless times, so no onees here anymore. The ce that I mentioned earlier should have only shown its abnormalities recently, which led to its aura leaking out and being discovered. Gentlemen, be careful along the way, and try not to destroy the buildings here wherever possible.¡± Mr. Bai gave them a cautious reminder.

    ¡°If this was just a subsidiary city of the Daosource Sect, then how could it have anything good?¡± the fatty wondered.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this ce. The Daosource Sect was no holy ce, and not all of its members were saints. Some members may have exchanged the resources within the Daosource Sect for other benefits. This is the best method to find fortuitous opportunities. There is even a rumor that, 10,000 years ago, someone took away numerous treasures from this ce that were intended to be auctioned off in the ancient past. That incident has since be a legend. Ah, you should have heard of that person before¡ªNong Laohan.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, and his expression turned queer. Nong Laohan? What a next-level name.

    ¡°Nong Laohan? The mysterious farmer?¡± the fatty cried out.

    Mr. Bai made a shushing gesture. ¡°Be careful with your volume. You might destroy the buildings nearby.¡±

    Huang San instantly lowered his voice. ¡°Really? Nong Laohan?¡±

    Mr. Bai nodded. ¡°That is indeed what I have heard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a damn lucky family. They¡¯ve risen and fallen so many times. Last I heard, once, only a single person out of their entire family managed to survive, but they still managed to make aeback. Their luck is really explosive,¡± the fatty spoke enviously.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t spout such nonsense once we return. Senior Nong is currently a Cosmic Imprinter, so be careful with your words. Otherwise, he might catch wind of them.¡±

    The fatty pped a hand over his mouth.

    After seven or eight more turns, Mr. Bai escorted the two to the dead end of an alley. ¡°Gentlemen, the location I shared with you is just ahead. Stay careful.¡±

    Lu Yin moved his gaze over and unleashed his domain. The space ahead distorted, and he suddenly perceived quite a few peculiar energies entwined together. Since his eyes could not see any rune lines, and since he also could not ess his lockbreaking tool from his cosmic ring, he was not able to clearly sense the energies.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing at all.¡± The fatty was dubious.

    Mr. Bai slowly walked over. ¡°The space here is broken, which has caused the defense of this house to gradually crumble, until itpletely copsed over the course of thest few days, allowing me to discover it. But for us to enter, we are required to neutralize theseplex energies.¡±

    ¡°Lockbreaking?¡± The fatty was stunned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart moved. Lockbreaking? So it exists here too? This ce really is connected with the part of the universe that I know.

    Mr. Bai did not say anything else, and merely put his folding fan away. He then raised a hand as a gentle fluctuation of star energy manifested above his palm before slowly entering the house. Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s perception saw the originally calm energy within the house surge. Even the fatty could sense it, as ripples suddenly appeared in the void that was directly ahead of the three youths. Quite a few surrounding houses directly copsed and turned to dust.

    The fatty cautiously backed away. He was not a Lockbreaker, but he knew that it was a very troublesome process, so he pulled Lu Yin along with him as he retreated.

    However, Lu Yin did not move. Theposition of energy that had enveloped the house was not tooplex, and there was no hidden danger either. At most , this energy belonged to a five-star Discerning Elementary sourcebox, which meant that Lu Yin could also sessfully unlock it.

    Mr. Bai¡¯s lockbreaking technique was very gentle, but it was also very effective. He didn¡¯t have a single trace of hesitation, and he acted as if he could see the tangled energy very clearly.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were able to see the rune lines, or if he was able to retrieve his lockbreaking weapon, then he might be able to perform just as well. However, in his current situation, he could not. Mr. Bai¡¯s lockbreaking ability greatly surpassed what Lu Yin was capable of on his own.

    Less than ten minutester, a gentle breeze blew past the three youths, and the house in front of the trio seemed to change, as though it had be more solid. Only byparing it to before could they notice that the house seemed to have previously been shrouded by something.

    ¡°Alright, we can enter,¡± Mr. Bai informed them.

    ¡°Hold on,¡± the fatty suddenly said. He cautiously looked over at Mr. Bai. ¡°Since you can enter by yourself, why did you bring us here?¡±

    This name literally means "farmer."

 Chapter 624: The Squeal Of A Pig

    <h4>Chapter 624: The Squeal Of A Pig</h4>

    Mr. Bai smiled and pointed at Lu Yin. ¡°To be more urate, I intended to bring him along with me.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± The fatty was aware of his own strength, so he wasn¡¯t offended, but he was still vignt towards Mr. Bai.

    Mr. Bai shrugged and reluctantly answered, ¡°Do you believe that you will be able to obtain something once you enter the house? Some things cannot be gained alone, and have you not realized that most people here walk around in groups? You have a reduced chance of obtaining something if you remain alone.¡±

    Huang San hesitated.

    ¡°If you do not believe me, then you can take your leave, and I can search for someone else,¡± Mr. Bai said.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t even hesitate to immediately walk forward. He wasn¡¯t scared of Mr. Bai, and if this person dared to deceive him, then Lu Yin would simply make him understand the consequences of his actions.

    The fatty quickly followed as soon as he saw that Lu Yin had made a decision.

    Mr. Bai smiled and walked into the house.

    Right when the three of them entered the house, Mr. Bai suddenly attacked. However, a small, pale hand appeared from just outside the house and countered his attack. The shockwave forced the fatty forwards, and he looked back in shock.

    ¡°Wait a second! Don¡¯t attack!¡± A clear voice rang out from outside the house, and a cute girl suddenly moved in front of them.

    ¡°Miss, it is not very polite to follow people,¡± Mr. Bai said with a smile.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t surprised, as he had noticed that this girl had been following them ever since they had entered the city, and she was also quite powerful.

    The girl pouted, but she still apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I unintentionally came to this city and saw the three of you, so I thought that I woulde over and take a look.¡±

    Mr. Bai asked, ¡°Was that attack just now something from the Progenitor of Combat Territory?¡±

    The girl nodded. ¡°I¡¯m from the Sage Martial Realm. You can call me Miss Qing.¡±

    ¡°The Sage Martial Realm!¡± the fatty eximed.

    Mr. Bai was shocked as well. ¡°The Progenitor of Combat Territory consists of the Sage Martial Realm, the Grand Martial Realm, and the War Martial Realm. The Immortal Martial Realm is the homnd of the Progenitor of Combat and has produced many geniuses. I did not expect you to be someone from the Sage Martial Realm.¡±

    Miss Qingughed. ¡°Every ce has both strong and weak people, and I¡¯m just an average person. From your attack just now, I can already tell that you are very powerful.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°You are too humble. It must be fate that brought us together, so shall we explore this city together as well?¡±

    Miss Qing nodded happily.

    Mr. Bai pointed at the fatty and said, ¡°Let me introduce you to Huang San from the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Huang family.¡± He then pointed to Lu Yin. ¡°This brother is also exploring with us, but he is both deaf and mute, so we cannot reallymunicate with him. However, he is very powerful.¡±

    Miss Qing nodded at the fatty but then nced at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°Deaf and mute? There are deaf and mute cultivators here?¡±

    Mr. Bai answered, ¡°Nothing is impossible, as there are some who were born with such a condition whereas others have chosen to seal their senses.¡±

    ¡°I have heard about that before. One of the Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai, supposedly chose to seal off his senses,¡± Miss Qing mentioned.

    Mr. Bai replied, ¡°Wu Taibai is out of our league, so we should not discuss him. He might even have been born with those defects.¡±

    Miss Qing nodded and stopped probing.

    Lu Yin calmly listened to their conversation. They didn¡¯t know that he truly had sealed himself, though it just wasn¡¯t his senses. Instead, he had sealed off his physical strength. Back when he had still been a Limiteer, his physical strength had been overly powerful, and he hadn¡¯t been able to control it. Thus, he had used Fatesand to seal it away. However, now that he had be an Explorer, he could control that same degree of strength quite easily, and thus, he didn¡¯t need to seal his physical strength any longer.

    Despite that, having his strength sealed by Fatesand was very beneficial to Lu Yin since it allowed him to continuously improve his physical strength, which was why he had not yet removed the seal.

    Back in that strange isted space with the golden sea, he had met the war spirit of someone who had sealed his senses off. Lu Yin would never forget that war spirit with sealed eyes, or the crushing feeling of the spirit¡¯s domain as soon as those eyes had opened.

    Most people who chose to seal themselves were extremely powerful. From the current conversation, Lu Yin quickly understood that Wu Taibai was one of the Daosource Three Skies and had somehow sealed himself. Were the Daosource Three Skies some sort of title?

    Mr. Bai took the lead with Lu Yin and the other two following him as they all approached the house.

    Miss Qing looked at Lu Yin curiously while fatty stared at her in turn. The Immortal Martial Realm was a special ce. Although it was also under the Progenitor of Combat like the Grand Martial Realm and the War Martial Realm, the Sage Martial Realm had produced an impressive number of powerhouses. Many of the Grand Martial Realm and the War Martial Realm¡¯s top experts had tried and failed to join the Sage Martial Realm. It was very rare to meet an expert from the Sage Martial Realm in the outside world, as most of them remained within their own realm. He didn¡¯t expect to meet someone from the Sage Martial Realm while exploring the Daosource Sect.

    The house wasn¡¯t veryrge, and they soon encountered a formless danger after taking just a few steps.

    ¡°Retreat. It¡¯s a formless danger from a sourcebox, which means that there is a sourcebox inside this house,¡± Mr. Bai cautioned.

    They took a few steps back as the formless danger was activated with a loud bang. It caused most of the items inside the house to shatter, and a few transparent spheres and an oddly shaped stone also fell out. This stone was a sourcebox while the transparent spheres contained traces of blood. There were faint roaring soundsing from the spheres.

    The fatty grew excited. ¡°Those are bloodlines!¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°So there truly are some bloodlines here, but they are protected by that sourcebox¡¯s formless danger. Let me make an attempt.¡± He walked forward to evaluate the formless danger.

    Lu Yin watched Mr. Bai intently as he easily evaded the formless danger and continuously approached the transparent spheres and sourcebox. Suddenly, space was torn apart, and Mr. Bai¡¯s silhouette blurred. He hurriedly retreated and sighed. ¡°The formless danger is very powerful, and it seems that the energy barrier that we broke through outside was not something left behind from the ancient war. Rather, it should have been created by this sourcebox. We will have to unlock it. Otherwise, we will not be able to obtain those bloodlines.¡±

    Huang San anxiously asked, ¡°Mr. Bai, can you sessfully unlock it?¡± The people from the Progenitor of Combat Territory didn¡¯t use bloodlines, but the fatty was someone from the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory, and bloodlines were the easiest way for him to improve his strength.

    Mr. Bai considered it for a moment. ¡°I should be able to, but it will take me a very long time. I will not be able to finish unlocking it before my futon¡¯s time is up, so I will need someone to help me.¡±

    ¡°I can help. I want to know what bloodlines those are. If there are any invincible bloodlines among them, then they¡¯ll be very valuable,¡± Miss Qing volunteered.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°There seems to be a high chance, asmon items would not have been stored in the Daosource Sect.¡±

    The fatty was getting anxious, as he didn¡¯t have any talent for lockbreaking. Thus, if the two of them were sessful, then he wouldn¡¯t have any right to those bloodlines. He looked at Lu Yin in desperation.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. He wasn¡¯t trying to help the fatty, as he also wanted to get his own hands on the bloodlines. He wanted to take them home with him so that he could study them. He agreed with what Mr. Bai had said¡ªany bloodline that could be found in the Daosource Sect had to be special, and he didn¡¯t want to waste his trip here.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing weren¡¯t surprised to discover that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, as such a thing wasn¡¯t enough to surprise them.

    The three of them started lockbreaking. Mr. Bai was the fastest, and Miss Qing¡¯s technique was both elegant and gentle. Lu Yin worked very cautiously since he neither had any lockbreaking tools with him, nor was he able to see any rune lines in this ce. As such, he was forced to rely solely on his domain and Cosmic Art to lockbreak. Furthermore, he didn¡¯t have a great deal of lockbreaking experience, so he clearly couldn¡¯tpare to the other two.

    He also didn¡¯t want to reveal the full strength of his domain to these people, though that prevented him from more clearly perceiving the sourcebox and its formless danger.

    Every sourcebox was different, which meant that there was no fixed lockbreaking method. The formless danger within the house wasn¡¯t very dangerous to the four youths, but it could easily destroy the bloodlines, which was why all three of them had started lockbreaking simultaneously.

    Despite their teamwork, they couldn¡¯t predict what reactions the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger would take once they started lockbreaking.

    A transparent sphere cracked apart, and the bloodline that had been stored within it evaporated quickly, disappearing within a handful of seconds. They could vaguely hear a deafening roar as the blood evaporated.

    Theymented the loss, but there really was nothing that they could have done about it as their current abilities weren¡¯t enough to perfectly control the formless danger. However, the three of them didn¡¯t have any strong desires for the bloodlines, and they all cared more about the sourcebox.

    The fatty¡¯s heart was dripping blood. Nobody else could understand the meaning that a bloodline held for the cultivators of the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory; it was basically their life!

    Lockbreaking was a lengthy process, but it only took the three of them half a day since they were working purely to neutralize the formless danger. The irregrly shaped stone was enveloped by aplexyer of energy, and Mr. Bai estimated that they would need two more days to finish unlocking the sourcebox itself.

    The fatty fervently stared at the three remaining spheres. They contained three bloodlines within them, and now that the formless danger from the sourcebox was gone, he could take them at any time. Despite that, he didn¡¯t dare to take anything and didn¡¯t even try. There were three spheres, and they would clearly be evenly distributed among the three lockbreakers, which caused the fatty to worry.

    A dayter, the energyyers above the stone had thinned noticeably as the three youths continued lockbreaking from three different directions, slowly dissipating theplex energies.

    Another dayter, the energyyers had be incredibly thin. Lu Yin and Miss Qing finally paused and just watched on as Mr. Bai continued lockbreaking.

    Mr. Bai carefully dissolved the energy when a ray of light suddenly appeared, illuminating the youths¡¯ faces. An ear shattering cry was heard, followed by burning mes.

    Mr. Bai quickly pulled back, and the others retreated as well. The mes licked at the structure of the house and even the three transparent spheres started to crack.

    The mes then disappeared as quickly as it hade. They sputtered out after reducing the house to nothing but ashes, and the four people could see that the sourcebox had vanishedpletely.

    Lu Yin was sad that there had been nothing inside the sourcebox.

    ¡°Oh no, the bloodlines are gone!¡± the fatty shouted as he regretfully looked at the cracked spheres.

    Mr. Bai pushed the fatty towards the spheres. ¡°You are the only one among us who is from the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory, so you should go and absorb a bloodline. Otherwise, they will all be wasted.¡±

    The fatty was ecstatic. ¡°Can I?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up. Don¡¯t waste any time!¡± Miss Qing urged him forward as well.

    Huang San barrelled over towards the three spheres. His gaze swept across the three bloodlines that were just five seconds away from fully evaporating. He quickly chose the one on the right and bit his index finger to draw blood. He then pressed his wounded finger up against the bloodline with great excitement, and it almost instantly melted into the fatty¡¯s body.

    The fatty¡¯s expression changed, and he looked up at the sky as he released a deafening sound: the squeal of a pig.

    Lu Yin was stunned. What an aggressive squeal.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing were clearly dazed as well, and they looked at the fatty in confusion.

    Huang San¡¯s entire body turned red as the bloodline continued traveling around his body until itpletely integrated with it. Once it disappeared, the fatty let out another squeal. However, this second squeal made Mr. Bai and the rest tremble, and even the sky shook slightly.

    ¡°The Skygobbling Pig bloodline.¡± Mr. Bai grew serious.

    Miss Qing looked at fatty with clear envy. ¡°He¡¯s so lucky to have gotten an invincible bloodline. The other spheres probably contained invincible bloodlines too. It¡¯s a shame that he actually picked the one with the Skygobbling Pig bloodline.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused by her words.

    Mr. Baiughed. ¡°Fatty is a very lucky person. He originally had the Pompom Pig bloodline, and thus, the Skygobbling Pig bloodline will be greatly beneficial to him.¡±

    Miss Qing was stunned. ¡°What? This fatty had the Pompom Pig bloodline?¡±

    Mr. Bai nodded.

 Chapter 625: The Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 625: The Hunt</h4>

    Miss Qing was speechless, as Huang San had seemingly intentionally chosen the Skygobbling Pig bloodline, but that was actually the smartest move. A rubbish bloodline would now be directly upgraded into an unrivaled bloodline. However, there were really too few bloodlines that were powerful, and none of them could be truly called invincible. Nheless, there would still be an incredible increase in power.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this stupid fatty¡¯s luck is too impressive! You guys didn¡¯t get anything, but he did!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin looked at Huang San, as this would lead to hiseback. He listened to Mr. Bai¡¯s words, and even if the fatty¡¯s bloodline did not be truly unrivaled, it would definitely not be weak¡ªit might even be powerful enough topare to Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s. The fatty¡¯s life full of misery was about toe to an end.

    It didn¡¯t take too long for the red color to dissipate from the fatty¡¯s body and his eyes to open up wide. He looked down at his hands and opened his mouth, but what came out was a pig¡¯s squeal. The fatty hurriedly covered his mouth before testing out his voice more softly. After a moment, he rxed. He had been afraid that he would be doomed to only be able to make pig noises for the rest of his life. It would be better to die than live like that.

    ¡°Thank you, all three of you, for helping me seed.¡± Huang San bowed in gratitude towards his threepanions.

    Mr. Bai raised him back up and smiled. ¡°Meeting us was a matter of fate. Since Fatty Bro has received this fortunate encounter, then nobody can stop it. Congrattions, Fatty Bro, on sessfully obtaining the unrivalled bloodline of the Skygobbling Pig. One day in the future, you may gain the opportunity to fight for one of the Realmling positions.¡±

    Miss Qing curiously measured Fatty up and down, as he was just a humanoid pig in her eyes. Speaking of which, since ancient times, not many cultivators had integrated with a pig¡¯s bloodline below, so what had this fatty been thinking?

    The fatty grimaced when he heard Mr. Bai¡¯s words. ¡°I can¡¯t even dream of the Realmling¡¯s position. The three bloodlines left behind in the Blood Progenitor¡¯s sculpture are all unmatched, and this small trace of the Skygobbling Pig bloodline can¡¯tpete with them.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled, but he did not speak further. ¡°This ce has been destroyed, so let us move out and continue to explore the city. We may still be able to find something else good.¡±

    No one objected, and they all followed Mr. Bai to explore more of the city.

    The ancient architectural style of this ce¡¯s buildings waspletely different from the contemporary style that they were all familiar with.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, have you realized that some of these buildings have simr features to the buildings that were in the centipede''s body?!¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin had indeed noticed it, as the styles certainly seemed simr.

    ***

    Not long after Lu Yin and the others left the area where they had opened the sourcebox, a few other people approached the burned building.

    ¡°We¡¯re a bitte,¡± an elegant-looking man said. ¡°Check around. There¡¯ll be new discoveries after a certain amount of time.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just go ahead and destroy everything? We might get lucky and find something in the rubble,¡± a gentle-looking man suggested.

    The elegant-looking man replied, ¡°Shut up! The rules are irond and forbid us from intentionally destroying the Daosource Sect¡¯s buildings. This ce is a treasure given to our Sixth Maind by the Fifth Maind, and it isn¡¯t meant to benefit just one generation. Whether or not we can obtain anything depends solely on our luck.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s the rule from an old age. The war between the Mainds is about to start up again. Countless experts have already been transferred away to the frontlines, and it seems that the higher-ups want topletely destroy the survivors of the Fifth Maind. With that trash¡¯s strength, they don¡¯t be able to do anything besides wait for their death. Don¡¯t you guys want to get ahead and get some achievements first? Or maybe even plunder the resources from the Fifth Maind?¡± the gentle-looking man retorted.

    The others fell silent, but there was excitement clearly flickering in their eyes.

    He continued, saying, ¡°Our Maind has waited countless years for this war, and it just so happens that it¡¯s breaking out in our generation! We normally restrain ourselves, but there¡¯s no need for anything like that against the Fifth Maind! We can act however we want! Star essence, cultivation arts, battle techniques, or even beauties¡ªwe can grab anything. Regardless of what you guys think, I¡¯m going to do my best to improve my strength before the rest arrive. Then, I¡¯ll join The Hunt. I¡¯m going to strive to make some achievements and be famous.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The times have changed. The war between the Mainds will create countless heroes, and we will be the Sixth Maind¡¯s heroes. We can¡¯t act the same as before and just blindly abide by the rules.¡±

    ¡°The Hunt won¡¯t just be a game for the Realmlings and the Daosource Three Skies. We have to join, too, and hunt those so-called elite geniuses from the Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡­

    The elegant man¡¯s eyes flickered.

    The gentle-looking man smiled sinisterly, and his eyes widened as a formless ripple spread out from him. It formed a substance that looked like mercury, and it glittered with a silver radiance as it flowed out and crushed the nearby buildings.

    The elegant man¡¯s brows rose high, but he did nothing to stop hispanion.

    The others quickly followed suit and began to destroy the surrounding buildings to improve their chances of discovering some hidden fortune.

    From a distance, Lu Yin and the others turned around, and Mr. Bai¡¯s face fell. ¡°Someone¡¯s not following the rules.¡±

    ¡°Such reckless and unrestrained destruction of these structures might cause some hidden spaces to appear, but it will also cause the entire city to be wiped out,¡± Miss Qing said coldly.

    ¡°It looks like we need to bew enforcers for the moment,¡± Mr. Bai said as he leaped forward.

    Miss Qing nced at Lu Yin before dashing over in a simr manner.

    The fatty continued using his strange signnguage with Lu Yin, which just prompted Lu Yin to roll his eyes. What a mess! Who can understand such lousy gestures? He then grabbed the fatty and chased after the other two.

    A loud noise soon roared out, marking the start of a new battle. When Lu Yin arrived, there were already two people lying on the ground, proving that Mr. Bai and Miss Qing had taken action.

    The two had faced off against four opponents, but they had defeated two of them seamlessly.

    Lu Yin silently looked on. Of the four, there was an elegant-looking man who was clearly stronger than the two on the ground. He had a fuzzy imprint behind his back, which allowed his strength to rise until he could rival Wendy Yushan. In addition, there was another reserved-looking man who had a very solid domain with a silver color.

    Back at the Astral Combat Academy, one of the mentors had mentioned that after someoneprehended a domain, it could change colors based on the individual¡¯s innate gifts, battle techniques, and cultivation arts. Thus, a domain was not necessarily colorless. But most people who hadprehended a domain would force it to remain colorless so that no idents would ur during their battles. Only a few allowed their domains to exhibit a unique color.

    The silver domain suddenly vanished before a silver radiance shone from the sky that pressed downwards.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed; this was a forcefield. That gentle-looking man had actuallyprehended a forcefield.

    The man fighting with Miss Qing quickly evaded the forcefield, and the gentle-looking man sneered as his forcefield shot towards Miss Qing.

    Miss Qing¡¯s expression did not change, and she did not even activate her imprint.

    Suddenly, a solid domain shot across the sky and sliced the silver forcefield apart. Lu Yin had finally taken action, as he could not just watch from the sidelines.

    The gentle-looking man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Miss Qing smiled at him and then attacked the other person.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and his domain swept up towards the sky, causing the silver-colored forcefield to explode.

    The gentle-looking man was overwhelmed, as this person¡¯s domain was incredibly powerful.

    Lu Yin still did not know why his domain had be so powerful, but it had be so condensed that it could cause others¡¯ forcefields to copse. It was somehow bing more and more powerful, but this was a good thing for Lu Yin.

    He pressed his hand down, causing his domain to descend from the sky, seemingly with the power of the heavens themselves, and crush the gentle-looking man to the ground. The man bellowed, and a fuzzy phantom image manifested behind him as the silver radiance around his body intensified as he tried to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and the power of his domain grew even stronger. Even with the reinforcement of his imprint, the gentle-looking man was not able to break through Lu Yin¡¯s domain. He spat out a mouthful of blood and then passed out.

    This person¡¯s cultivation revolved around his domain, but it was a pity that he still had not reached Lu Yin¡¯s standards.

    The fatty looked at Lu Yin with pure adoration painted on his face. ¡°Bro, your domain¡¯s that powerful? Could you be a Realmling?¡±

    Lu Yin calmly looked over at Mr. Bai, as the only opponent remaining was the elegant man; the others had all fallen.

    Neither Mr. Bai nor Miss Qing had used their imprints, and now, some crazy guy with an overpowered domain had joined them as well. The trio shocked the elegant man as the gap between them was just too vast. He hastily backed away and cupped his fists towards Mr. Bai. ¡°Wrecking the city was a reckless decision on our part. I¡¯ll take these guys away and hope that you won¡¯t be ruthless to us.¡±

    Mr. Bai waved a hand.

    The elegant man grabbed hispanions and fled.

    ¡°There¡¯ll always be someone who isn¡¯t mentally sound yet still dreams of instant sess,¡± Miss Qing spoke disdainfully.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°The person standing in the end will always be proven correct.¡±

    This was just a rather minor incident, and the four quickly continued roaming through the city.

    As for their strength, not one of them had mentioned a word.

    Two dayster, the fatty¡¯s expression changed. ¡°My futon¡¯s radiance has dimmed. My time¡¯s up.¡±

    Mr. Bai nodded. ¡°I hope that the next time we meet Fatty Bro, you will be able to demonstrate the might of the Skygobbling Pig bloodline for us.¡±

    The fat youth smiled. ¡°That¡¯s for sure.¡± He then looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, I¡¯ll be leaving first. Thank you for taking care of me on this trip. If not for you, then Fatty Bro would have been doomed a long time ago. Thanks.¡±

    He bowed solemnly to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin moved aside.

    ¡°Guys, Fat Bro will be waiting at First Divine Gate in one month!¡± The fatty waved a hand, and his body suddenly vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as the fat young man had left just like that. He recalled that the fatty had mentioned that the radiance of his futon had dimmed. He should be referring to the same thing as Lu Yin¡¯s yellow futon, and it had indeed released a bit of radiance when he had sat on it. Could it be that, when the radiance disappeared, it meant that it was time to return? Unfortunately, he did not know when his futon would dim or what could cause it? Was it fixed?

    ¡°I have five days remaining,¡± Mr. Bai announced.

    Miss Qing replied, ¡°Four.¡±

    The two looked at Lu Yin. He blinked at them, but he did not speak.

    Mr. Bai spun his folding fan around. ¡°There¡¯s a certain ce that is slightly dangerous, and it would not have been ideal to take Fatty Bro there due to his strength. Now that he¡¯s departed from us, shall the three of us go for a stroll?¡±

    ¡°This is exactly what I¡¯ve been waiting for!¡± Miss Qing said expectantly.

    Mr. Bai gesticted at Lu Yin, clearly trying to imitate the exact motions that the fatty had used to try tomunicate with him. Lu Yin was speechless, and he silently followed along.

    ¡°Mr. Bai, I don¡¯t believe that he¡¯s truly deaf and mute. Even if he actually is, why did he keep following Fatty? Since he¡¯s here, he must have his own motives,¡± Miss Qing said, and not too softly either, as it seemed like she wanted Lu Yin to overhear her words.

    Mr. Bai remained at ease and smiled. ¡°Everyone has their own secrets. You never told us your name either. Knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing.¡±

    Miss Qing rolled her eyes.

    The ce where Mr. Bai brought them next was still within the same city, but it was clearly a more luxurious residencepared to the previous dpidated buildings. The estate had pavilions and gardens, and there were even two statues of unknown beasts guarding the entrance.

    ¡°This should be the residence of one of the more senior disciples, or perhaps even an elder of the Daosource Sect, and the ancient war barely caused it any harm,¡± Mr. Bai exined.

    Miss Qing was stunned. ¡°But there¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    ¡°In the interior courtyard.¡± Mr. Bai led the way inside, and the three passed by the outer courtyard to enter the inner one. Lu Yin still could not sense anything even after arriving there.

    ¡°Thiske isn¡¯t simple. Although I don¡¯t know what use it may have, the water can block even a domain¡¯s perception,¡± Mr. Bai said.

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he stretched his hand out into theke. His hand felt cold, but more shockingly, theke was not filled with water but rather some sort of liquid energy. It was very simr to the Astral River.

    ¡°Although a domain is extremely difficult toprehend, it is not something that is impossible to achieve. Hence, to prevent experts who haveprehended a domain from spying on them, people havee up with many ways to block a domain¡¯s perception, and this is just one of them: using aplex, liquid energy and then supplementing it with other materials. Unfortunately, this technique has died out, but regardless, the ce that we are looking for is beneath thiske,¡± Mr. Bai exined.

 Chapter 626: Ancient Legends

    <h4>Chapter 626: Ancient Legends</h4>

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Miss Qing was baffled.

    Mr. Bai pointed his folding fan at his head. ¡°I have my own methods. There¡¯s no need to ask any further.¡±

    Miss Qing¡¯s eyes flickered.

    ¡°If Miss Qing doesn¡¯t believe in me, you can still leave,¡± Mr. Bai joked.

    Miss Qing looked at Lu Yin, which was a waste of her efforts since Lu Yin was still beingpletely unresponsive.

    Miss Qing was left with no other choice. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled and leaped into theke, with Lu Yin and Miss Qing following close behind.

    The bottom of theke was very deep, but it didn¡¯t take the three youths very long to reach it. Mr. Bai¡¯s folding fan lightly tapped out against theke bed, splitting it apart. The resulting fracture created a tremendous suction force that formed into a vortex. The trio followed the natural path of the water and passed through theke bed.

    There was a spatialyer hidden underneath theke, and as soon as the trio entered it, cracks appeared all around them. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Not good¡ªthis space is copsing.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing also realized this, and they hurriedly charged out of the space. Lu Yin¡¯s speed was even slightly faster than the two of them, and the trio emerged from the space almost as soon as they entered it. There was a thump, and all of the liquid energy in theke disappeared in less than a moment. The spatialyer then copsed as arge area of the city broke apart.

    A short distance away from Lu Yin, Mr. Bai sighed.¡°Too much time has passed, and that space was frailer than expected. It¡¯s too bad, but the objects inside are definitely gone.¡±

    Miss Qing regretfully added, ¡°To own such a residence in this city, and to even construct a hidden space beneath theke, this ce definitely belonged to someone at the level of an elder. What a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly looked to the east, as a figure had suddenly appeared and started approaching them at high speed. This person nced at the three of them, but they did not approach any closer and soon left in another direction.

    ¡°The Hunt is nearly upon us, so more and more experts will appear in the Daosource Sect to seize lucky opportunities before the experts at the level of the Realmlings arrive. Let us also do our best to find our own destinies, as there are still other ces for us to check.¡± Mr. Bai led the way.

    Lu Yin was astonished; just how many ces had this fellow discovered?

    Four dayster, the radiance on Miss Qing¡¯s futon dimmed, and she vanished in front of the final two just like Huang San had before.

    During these four days, the three youths had searched through quite a few ces, but they had gained no harvest at all. In fact, they had even faced danger on several asions.

    ording to Mr. Bai¡¯s exnations, these destinies had been left behind for countless years, so it was incredibly lucky to even discover them. To actually obtain them was even more unlikely, and just like in the Scripture Pavilion, many youths had visited the Daosource Sect, but only a few had attained anything at all.

    ¡°Searching for destiny aftering to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect isrgely dependent on luck. Ever since that ancient battle, what was seizable has already been taken, and the remaining destinies are rarely seen,¡± Mr. Bai shook his fan as he spoke confidently.

    Lu Yin continued to remain silent.

    One more day passed, after which Mr. Bai also left. Before he left, he looked at Lu Yin with an impressed look. ¡°You are actually staying here longer than me. Impressive. Don¡¯t forget the time that Fat Bro set for our appointment. We¡¯ll meet at First Divine Gate.¡± With that, he vanished.

    Lu Yin stood within the city and observed his surroundings. Without the fatty, the amount of information that he had gleaned from Mr. Bai and Miss Qing was discouragingly little.

    During these days with the three other people, Lu Yin had managed to gain a rough understanding of his current situation. At first, he had wanted to capture someone and question them to get a better understanding of things, but he had held himself back out of fear that some mishap might ur. Now felt like the right time to kidnap someone so that he could ask them some rather specific questions. This is perfect, someone¡¯sing.

    From a distance, a man quickly neared Lu Yin. He was the elegant man with whom LuYin and hispanions had interacted before. Mr. Bai had let this man off and allowed him to take the others away, and the man had pretended to leave. However, he had actually hidden themselves off in the distance and continued to observe the small group.

    He knew that Lu Yin was a domain expert and had kept a great distance out of fear for being discovered. He had followed the group through the tracks that they had left behind, not daring to risk taking a look even once. He only dared to show his face after both Miss Qing and Mr. Bai had left.

    Lu Yin turned around and watched as the elegant man approached.

    The elegant man smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother, you must have enjoyed a pretty decent harvest from thesest few days. Take it out and let me have a look.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he did not speak.

    The elegant man sneered. ¡°Stop acting like an idiot with me. I know that your domain is very powerful, but hasn¡¯t anyone told you that it¡¯s useless to cultivate such a tiny path? Whatever a domain can do, star energy can do as well.¡± At that moment, a pair of wings appeared on the man¡¯s back as a vague figure manifested behind him. He vanished from sight only to reappear right in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids twitched upon seeing such extreme speed. This person had not only hidden his temperament during his battle with Mr. Bai, but also his power. He was very sinister and calcting.

    There was a rumble as Lu Yin unleashed his domain to suppress his opponent. The elegant man¡¯s body sank, and he growled as his skin hardened, which was his innate gift. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that you aren¡¯t my match!¡±

    The man ferociously charged at Lu Yin, and despite being suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s domain, he was not restrained at all.

    The man moved extremely quickly, and he instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin before grabbing at his neck, intending to end the battle as quickly as possible.

    Lu Yin also raised a hand and shed with the man, grabbing him tightly. The man sneered and exerted more strength as the hardened areas of his skin extended to cover even the backs of his hands. The ground beneath them gave way, and the two plummeted down together. The man had thought that he would be able to easily gain control over Lu Yin. In his mind, since Lu Yin had such a powerful domain, there was no way for him to match up to the elegant man¡¯s physical strength. However, as he continued to exert his strength, his expression changed greatly, and he looked at Lu Yin with a stunned expression. ¡°You- what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Are you having fun yet?¡± He then exerted some of his strength through both of his hands, and two cracking sounds rang out as both of the man¡¯s shoulders distorted. The indistinct phantom image behind him quickly dissipated as well. The man howled in anguish, and his pupils shrank as heshed out with a kick. However, his entire body was suddenly firmly mmed into the ground by Lu Yin, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

    There was another thump as Lu Yin¡¯s fist struck the man¡¯s abdomen, the sudden punchunching the man down into the ground. His body curled up, and he involuntarily shuddered from the bouts of intense pain, his face pale.

    Lu Yin looked down at the man in the crater. He was decently powerful, and had likely recently be a Cruiser. His strength was enough to rival Nightking Gu¡¯s, and he might even be a bit more powerful. Still, he was simply too far behind Lu Yin, especially since he had chosen topete against him in physical strength. The man was the most confident in his physique, but he had simply chosen the wrong opponent to fight against.

    However, Lu Yin had also needed to divert two of his grains of Fatesand, which had unsealed a good half of his physical power. This elegant-looking man was very terrifying and had been able to force Lu Yin to such a step. Within the Outerverse, it would be difficult to find anyone in the Cruiser realm who could defeat this man.

    The cultivators whom Lu Yin had met during this time in the Daosource Sect were all generally quite strong, and even the fatty¡¯s all-out force would ce him within the Top 100 Rankings. That list represented the top one hundred experts of the entire universe¡¯s younger generation, so how were there so many powerful youths in this ce? Every single person whom Lu Yin had encountered was someone from the younger generation.

    He leaped into the crater, moved close to the elegant man, and bent down near him. ¡°Are you dead?¡±

    The man looked up at Lu Yin with difficulty, and stared at him in disbelief. What kind of monster was this person? His domain was absurdly powerful, but his physical body was also extremely strong. More importantly, Lu Yin had not even used his imprint, which allowed a person to increase their strength even further. The elegant-looking man realized that this person had easily crushed him without relying on his imprint in any way. The difference between them was too great, and this was a strength that only a Realmling could attain. Was this person a Realmling?

    ¡°Are you a Realmling?¡± The elegant man asked hoarsely.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be asking the questions. You can either answer, or you can just go and die,¡± Lu Yin responded indifferently. There was an iciness in his eyes that terrified the elegant-looking man.

    ¡°Ask.¡± The man gritted his teeth.

    ¡°How many days have you been here?¡±

    ¡°Ten.¡±

    ¡°And in how many days will you leave?¡±

    ¡°Five.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Tell me more about this ce.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The man was astonished.

    Lu Yin kicked the man, sending him flying dozens of meters and into the pit. ¡°Answer me.¡±

    The man had an expression of agony, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. ¡°It looks like you obtained the futon by a stroke of luck. Fine, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    ¡°You should have heard of the Daosource Sect. Well, this ce is the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. During the ancient war, the Fifth Maind was destroyed, and it merged with the other four Mainds, as their Daosource Sects have all been abandoned. After that war, the senior powerhouses seized most of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s futons and gave them to their disciples to search for destinies. After that war, many of the futons were sent to various powerful ns as well as those who made certain achievements. Quite a considerable number of futons have also been left behind in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect and used as rewards.

    ¡°A futon allows someone to enter the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and the duration that they can remain there is determined by the radiance on their specific futon. Once the radiancepletely dims, they are forced to leave. The average timests around fifteen days, and someone stronger can remain for twenty or perhaps longer. Specifically, the time is linked to one¡¯s spiritual force¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty much everything that I know.¡±

    Lu Yin silently contemted to himself. The Fifth Maind? Sixth Maind? With ¡°Maind¡± as the main descriptor, each one should not be toorge. However, the people here are all a little too overwhelmingly powerful, and their average power greatly surpasses the people from the known universe. Could this be in the Neoverse?

    ¡°This ce is the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The man nodded.

    ¡°This Daosource Sect was the Fifth Maind¡¯s top-notch sect?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    The man¡¯s expression changed greatly, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°You aren¡¯t from the Sixth Maind¡ªyou¡¯re from the Fifth Maind!¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the man¡¯s neck. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The man appeared horrified. ¡°You don¡¯t know about the Daosource Sect! Everyone in the Sixth Maind knows about the Daosource Sect, and even the lowestmoner would know! That¡¯s because our Sixth Maind has the Daosource Sect as its only sect. Everyone there is a disciple of the Daosource Sect. You must be from the Fifth Maind, as only the people from the Fifth Maind wouldn¡¯t know about the Daosource Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin stared deeply into the man¡¯s eyes. He saw fear, and then desperation in them. ¡°What¡¯s the Fifth Maind?¡±

    ¡°You really are from the Fifth Maind! You evil survivors!¡± the man shouted mournfully.

    Lu Yin punched the man back onto the ground and then picked him up by his hair. ¡°Did you know that there are many ways to die? Some arefortable and fast while others make you wish for death.¡±

    The man red at Lu Yin. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of the ten great tortures?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned icy, which caused the man to shudder. Soon, the sound of desperate howls of suffering rang out. When Lu Yin finally released his hands, all of the bones in the man¡¯s arms had been shattered by Lu Yin¡¯s intense grip, and the extreme pain had nearly caused him to faint. He copsed to the ground and trembled nonstop.

    ¡°Tell me. What¡¯s the Fifth Maind, and what¡¯s the Sixth Maind?¡± Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    The man fearfully looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°I- I¡¯ll tell you. After that, send me off quickly.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    The man closed his eyes before slowly answering, ¡°From the ancient legends, in the boundless universe, there are six Mainds floating through the heavens. They were connected, but are also located a great distance apart. Each Maind has an extremely vast region, which includes countlesss and gxies. They are, respectively, the First Maind, the Second Maind, the Third Maind, the Fourth Maind, the Fifth Maind, and the Sixth Maind. Each and every one of the Mainds has a Daosource Sect, as they are us cultivators¡¯ origin and end. As time passed, the first four Mainds disintegrated due to unknown causes, and the Daosource Sects in those Mainds all vanishedpletely. Then, only the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind remained.

    ¡°Countless years ago, the Fifth Maind invaded the Sixth Maind, but it suffered a crushing defeat. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect copsed, and the Fifth Maind itself crumbled like the other four Mainds before merging with the universe. Now, the universe only has one wholly intact Maind, which is the Sixth Maind.¡±

 Chapter 627: Secret News

    <h4>Chapter 627: Secret News</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched when he heard the man¡¯s exnation. ¡°Are you saying that one Maind covers an entire region of the universe and contains countlesss?¡±

    The man nodded with difficulty.

    ¡°How do thes on the Maind survive?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°The Maind is vast, and it isn¡¯t entirely physical. Many ces are linked by soil, while others might float in a vacuum like the outside universe. They can drift along as well.¡±

    ¡°How do spacecraft travel about? ording to you, the Sixth Maind is mostly connected through soil.¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any spacecraft, and the Sixth Maind hasn¡¯t developed any technology either. In the past, your Fifth Maind was defeated because it had countless sects, families, and powers, not to mention that they never properly developed a unified cultivation system. Our Sixth Maind only has one sect, which is the Daosource Sect. All cultivation begins with the Daosource Sect, and it also ends with the Daosource Sect.¡±

    ¡°What is an imprint?¡±

    ¡°Haha! Sure enough, your Fifth Maind lost imprints as a method of cultivation long ago! If the war truly does break out again, your Fifth Maind is finished!¡±

    Lu Yinshed out with a kick without holding anything back. The man spat out a mouthful of blood, and barely managed to exin, weakly saying, ¡°The so-called imprint is an ability to borrow a super powerhouse¡¯s projected strength. Every super powerhouse can install a sculpture of themselves in a certain realm, and those statues allow cultivators to emte the powerhouse. Explorers and above can use an imprint to boost their strength.¡±

    ¡°What do the terms ¡®Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory¡¯ and Progenitor of Combat Territory¡¯ mean?¡±

    ¡°Ah, those terms are literally what they sound like. They are the realms of the Progenitor of Bloodlines and Progenitor of Combat, respectively.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Progenitor of Bloodlines? Progenitor of Combat?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you guessed the truth already? Why are you asking so much? They are naturally Progenitor level powerhouses. Your Fifth Maind has cast aside a portion of its cultivation system, but do you really not even know about the Progenitor realm?¡± the man mocked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice reverberated through his head. ¡°It¡¯s really referring to a Progenitor! The Sixth Maind and Fifth Maind¡­ This monkey has asionally seen these terms referenced in the past. Seventh Bro, if what this person says is true, then the Sixth Maind is not just a bit stronger than the universe. Every Progenitor has the power to change the sky!¡±

    Lu Yin remembered what he had experienced on the ind at the end of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death. Fifth and sixth: could those words have been referring to the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind?

    Also, Mister Mu had said that he belonged to neither the fifth nor the sixth. Could these numbers have also been referring to the Fifth and Sixth Mainds? If so, then that meant that the top-notch powerhouses in the known universe already knew about these circumstances, but this knowledge had been concealed from the bottom-rung cultivators like Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, ask him what he meant by ¡®the war breaks out again.¡¯¡± The monkey was anxious.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. ¡°Did you just say that the war will break out again?¡±

    The man spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°That¡¯s right. One year ago, the Daosource Sect sounded the war rm and invaded the Fifth Maind with the intention ofpletely vanquishing the Fifth Maind¡¯s evil survivors.¡±

    One year ago, the universe had gone through its great changes, and it was also when the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse.

    A switch seemed to flip in Lu Yin¡¯s brain. Could the separation of the Innerverse and Outerverse and the changing of the sky be rted to the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion? Hold on, the Human Domain, Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy all belong to the same area of the universe, which means that they all fall within thebel of the Fifth Maind.

    He finally understood now. When the Astral Beast Domain had suddenly withdrawn their forces from Ironblood Weave, the reason had been because they had supposedly been invaded. It now looked like that was the Sixth Maind. They had not invaded nor just the Human Domain, but also the Astral Beast Domain since they both belonged to the Fifth Maind.

    He suddenly understood why Elder Lohar had revealed such an expression when the astral beasts retreated back then. His expression had not been that of relief, but rather that of even more intense worry. It must have been because the invasion of the Sixth Maind had begun.

    Lu Yin seemed to understand many things all at once. During his time in the Daosource Sect, the fatty and the others had mentioned something about some Hunt as well as some war. They must have been referring to this.

    If this was the truth, then the Innerverse was probably also fighting against the invasion of the Sixth Maind right now.

    The elegant-looking man nced at Lu Yin, who seemed to be lost in his shock. His eyes shed as he deftly pulled out a steel needle that had been hidden in his clothes and flicked a finger at Lu Yin. This needle was a power vessel that he had purchased; it was able to ignore a person¡¯s star energy defenses and was even able to prate a Hunter¡¯s body. Within three seconds, it would absorb all the blood from the person that had stabbed, giving them a miserable death.

    The steel needle shot through Lu Yin¡¯s star energy, and glimmered with a cold radiance as it neared his body. The man on the ground was ecstatic, as no matter how fast his attacker might be, there was no way for him to dodge this needle, and any defenses were useless. He was doomed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched as he activated the Yu Secret Art. The steel needle vanished only to reappear in a nearby pit.

    The man¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared in shock. ¡°Tha- that¡¯s a secret technique!¡±

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand, striking the man with a vicious blow that shattered his rib cage and sent him flying across the ground. ¡°Still haven¡¯t given up, huh?¡±

    The man looked up with great difficulty. ¡°Why? Your Fifth Maind constantly produces monstrous geniuses. I¡¯m unlucky that I met one.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°There are others from the Fifth Maind here?¡±

    The man coughed and answered while suffering in agony, ¡°Yes, and not just one. Each and every one of them is very powerful, and they are all abnormal characters. Their cultivation system- Cough, cough. Cultivation systems are all broken, but they can still stand up to us. There are obviously no Progenitors guiding them along, but they are still able to kill the Realmlings! They must have received protection from this Daosource Sect, as this was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect after all.¡±

    ¡°Who are they?¡± Lu Yin asked urgently. It looked like he had just figured something out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we all carefully avoid the areas where those few people are. One managed to kill the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling before, and that matter shook the heavens. Cough cough. That person¡¯s name is Xing Kai,¡± the man answered. By this point, he was coughing up blood nonstop.

    Xing Kai? Lu Yin had not heard of this name before, and so he wanted to ask more questions, but when he looked down, the man had already died.

    Lu Yin stood up, unable to quell the astonishment that was still visible in his eyes. He had obtained too much information just now, and it was rather overwhelming. This information was not something that a cultivator at his level should have ess to.

    Of course, this was the best time to find out. If the Innerverse really was facing off against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, then the people in the Innerverse would have also learned about these events in the past.

    However, Lu Yin now had to worry about whether or not the Innerverse and Neoverse would both be destroyed. When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was still around, his universe should have also had some Progenitors, but they were defeated. Now, there should not be any Progenitors left in his universe, and they still needed to fight off the Sixth Maind, which was practically invincible inparison.

    Progenitors could change the skies, so could a Progenitor have taken action more than half a year ago to change the sky?

    Lu Yin was worried about Big Sis and the others, as well as the Astral Combat Academy. He was also worried about the friends that he had made, and he hoped that they were all alright.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this information is disastrous! If everything that he said is true, then we¡¯re guaranteed to lose this war! A single Progenitor that they send out will be enough to wipe us all out,¡± the monkey spoke forebodingly.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Astral Beast Domain have any Progenitors?¡±

    ¡°Stop joking! Of course not. Progenitor Wushang was thest Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what are you thinking about?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Who do you think those people from the Fifth Maind visiting the Daosource Sect are?¡±

    ¡°The futons can only bring over people whose skeletal ages are under forty, which means that they have to be a part of the younger generation. Who are you thinking of?¡± the monkey asked.

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    If the Ten Arbiters had really been visiting the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect all this time, then everything could be exined, including what the Ten Arbiters had relied on to be so powerful. This ce was the Daosource Sect, which was the starting point of all cultivation. The Ten Arbiters had relied on this Daosource Sect to forcefully grasp authority in their younger hands, as this ce was the starting point of all cultivation. The Daosource Sect could be considered as the sky, and they were some of the rare few who were able to enter the Daosource Sect, so the entire universe was forced to support them.

    To verify this theory, Lu Yin just had to corroborate his theory with this Xing Kai person.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something that Elder Lohar had mentioned to him, which was that it was a pity. The old man had said that if the Outerverse had not been cut off from the Innerverse, then he could have given Lu Yin a position. The elder had also mentioned the requirement of a skeletal age below forty. Could thatment have been rted to this ce? There were people among the Ten Arbiters who were about to leave the younger generation, which meant that they would no longer qualify to enter the Daosource Sect and that there would be vacancies for others topete for.

    Strength was one form of authority, but what truly allowed the Ten Arbiters Council to enjoy nearly limitless authority was the right to enter the Daosource Sect.

    Whoever could enter this ce would obtain the entire universe¡¯s protection. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was right, then the fact that he was able to enter this ce meant that he had be a foreign member of the Ten Arbiters.

    He felt grieved as he thought about this. So many youths from the Sixth Maind could enter this ce, but only a few from his own universe were able to do so. Since this was the case, then the Fifth Maind must have suffered a crushing defeat during the ancient war.

    Not long after, the scene before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed, indicating that he was about to leave.

    He could not understand how a small futon was able to shuttle him through the void, but this was a power that he could notprehend.

    When he looked around at his surroundings, Lu Yin was once again in King Zishan''s pce. The futon beneath him had indeed dimmed in radiance, and he would not be able to return to the Daosource Sect for some time. He fell in deep thought before stepping out of the room. He had been in the Daosource Sect for twenty days, which meant that as far as anyone else was concerned, he had remained in seclusion for twenty days.

    As he walked out of the pce, he bumped into Kayze.

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve returned.¡± Kayze immediately advanced and greeted him respectfully. ¡°Lady En Ya has been waiting for you for several days.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Send her in.¡±

    Before long, En Ya entered the sitting room where Lu Yin was waiting for her.

    ¡°Your Majesty, this is the first draft of the alliance contract. Please check through it,¡± En Ya respectfully said.

    Lu Yin took the contract and looked through it. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with this.¡±

    This so-called alliance contract was nothing more than an excuse. Lu Yin¡¯s main goal in establishing the Great Eastern Alliance was to integrate the resources of multiple weaves. He didn¡¯t want to just unite their material resources, but all their powerhouses as well. He was going to build a sturdy wall to protect the eastern weaves.

    He had originally only wanted to just unite the eastern weaves, but after his trip to the Daosource Sect, his mindset had changed. Uniting just the eastern weaves would be pointless. Once the invasion force of the Sixth Maind arrived, such an alliance would be as frail as paper. If he couldpletely integrate the entire Outerverse and then use the Outerverse¡¯s strength to withstand the Sixth Maind¡¯s attack, then that might be a bit more useful. The main point was for him to use the Outerverse¡¯s resources to upgrade the strength of his external aids.

    In the short term, it was not feasible for him to cultivate his own abilities to the level where he could cause the Sixth Maind to be apprehensive of him. Thus, he could only rely on external aids.

    With his die¡¯s Enhance, he had endless possibilities. Of course, the premise was that he could first gather all of the resources from the various weaves.

    ¡°Your Highness, the Vastdearth Sect, Six-Fingered Tribe, Tri-Banner Federation, and other powers have already started to ally with us,¡± En Ya said.

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°Because of those whose secrets we hold?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And Shenwu Continent?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve sent people to work with them.¡±

    ¡°Find someone to take a trip to the Vastdearth Sect to inform them of our intentions with the alliance. What about Huo Qingshan?¡± Lu Yin said.

    En Ya looked up. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be too aggressive?¡±

    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

 Chapter 628: The Ten Arbitersâ€™ Authority

    <h4>Chapter 628: The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Authority</h4>

    En Ya considered Lu Yin¡¯s question, as there was indeed no need to wait. With the pressure that the Great Yu Empire was currently able to exert, if they coordinated with Elder Cheng Yan, then such a move could be interpreted as a probe. However there was one other concern. ¡°Your Highness, should we begin with the closest weaves?¡±

    ¡°Do you mean Northcastle Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Lars Weave. The Vastdearth Weave is separated from us by a few weaves, so it¡¯s a little too far for us to start there.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about her suggestion. ¡°Sure, start with Lars Weave.¡±

    En Ya nodded and then left.

    Forcing a weave to join Lu Yin¡¯s alliance was not a simple matter; rather, it was a huge project. Lu Yin did not expect to seed easily, and he intended to take his time while implementing his ns while also using the Hall of Honor¡¯s name.

    He already was borrowing the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation without any qualms, and his stance towards such matters had be even more unrestrained after learning about the Daosource Sect. Once Elder Lohar learned of this matter, his attitude towards Lu Yin would definitely change.

    Should I tell Elder Lohar first? Lu Yin pondered.

    He then thought that it might be a good idea to first verify the identity of the person named Xing Kai first! Lu Yin walked out of King Zishan''s pce and headed towards the Fifth Princess¡¯s residence.

    ¡°Xing Kai? Where did you hear that name?¡± Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin doubtfully.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I heard it randomly out of the blue. Who is he?¡±

    Wendy Yushan replied, ¡°The War King of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°So it is the Ten Arbiters,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself. He had verified Xing Kai¡¯s identity, which was further proof that his earlier conjectures were correct. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength had surpassed so many others precisely because they had ess to the Daosource Sect and had also made contact with the Sixth Maind. They were the hope of this remnant part of the Fifth Maind, as the Daosource Sect was both the start and end of cultivation.

    After verifying this matter, Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew even stranger.

    One needed a futon to enter the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Conversely, this meant that no one could enter without a futon. So just who had he pilfered this futon from with his die?

    That was a question that merited some research. It wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem if the futon hade from someone of the Sixth Maind, as many people in that ce had them, but what if the futon hade from Lu Yin¡¯s own universe? The person who Lu Yin interrogated had mentioned that very few people from the Fifth Maind could go to the ruins of the Daosource Sect, which meant that there were only those few futons. Lu Yin had guessed that all of the Ten Arbiters were able to enter, and if only the Ten Arbiters could enter, then he might have taken the futon from one of them. And if that was the case, then didn¡¯t that mean that only nine of them could enter now?

    That would be rather interesting.

    ¡°Why did you ask about Xing Kai?¡± Wendy Yushan asked.

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose. ¡°I really did unintentionally hear his name. Right, could you tell me about this Arbiter War King?¡±

    Wendy Yushan replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Only a few people know about the Ten Arbiters¡¯ matters, as they don¡¯t even like to reveal their names.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. They don¡¯t even like to reveal their names. Could that be because of the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and the Sixth Maind? Since the Sixth Maind was able to invade this universe, then they definitely had a way to enter the Fifth Maind. Thus, it would seem reasonable to assume that the Ten Arbiters were worried about the Sixth Maind entering this universe and vanquishing them, which would stop anyone from this universe being able to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins any more. If that was the case, then it made sense why they would hide their names.

    That would apply not only in this universe, but also in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. That man had only known the name Xing Kai and nothing else about the Arbiter.

    But that still did not make much sense. Since the Sixth Maind knew that there were people from this universe entering the Daosource Sect''s ruins, then they should be able to seek out the most elite powerhouses of this universe¡¯s younger generation. There didn¡¯t seem to be any reason why they had to know their names.

    Or, were there still other reasons why the Arbiters hid their names?

    ¡°Regarding War King Xing Kai, public knowledge says that his physical body is terrifyingly powerful and that his hands are evenrger than his head. His skull is square-shaped, and his ears are ratherrge as well. I¡¯ve met him once, and he¡¯s indeed rather strange. However, I didn¡¯t interact with him. I¡¯ve heard White Knight say that, even as fellow Arbiters, they don¡¯t wish to fight against Xing Kai in closebat. Rumor has it that he cannot be beaten to death,¡± Wendy Yushan exined.

    That sounds rather simr to me, Lu Yin thought. ¡°Have you heard of the Daosource Sect?¡±

    ¡°The Daosource Sect? I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± Wendy Yushan seemed to bepletely clueless as to the name.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    This universe had hidden the history of the Daosource Sect, the Fifth Maind, and the Sixth Maind very deeply, such that not even Wendy Yushan had heard anything about it.

    After he left the Fifth Princess¡¯s Residence, Lu Yin looked up at the three rings of mainds surrounding the star. He had felt that this universe was incredibly vast, but in reality, it was very small. Everything that he could see and smell was a part of this Fifth Maind, just like the three rings over his head at this moment. Commoners might not ever leave Zenyu Star during their entire lives even though the three rings of mainds hung above their heads. Like them, Lu Yin had this universe floating above his head.

    The secret history that he had identally learned left Lu Yin with a heavy heart. He had thought that, in this universe, he might be able to reach a level of power where he could rival the Ten Arbiters and then perhaps even increase the distance between himself and the others within the same realm. But at this moment, after roaming the ruins of the Daosource Sect, he had realized that there were even more elites out there like the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings and the so-called Daosource Three Skies, who were definitely terrifyingly powerful.

    Xing Kai had killed a Realmling, causing a sensation to sweep across the Sixth Maind, which showed that the difference in strength between an Arbiter and a Realmling must not be too great. Otherwise, they would not havepared a Realmling to Xing Kai. Lu Yin did not know how many Realmlings the Sixth Maind had, but clearly, the Daosource Three Skies stood above them, which indicated that they might even be powerful enough to overshadow the Ten Arbiters.

    At the moment, Lu Yin wanted to observe the so-called Realmlings so that he could see what the gap between his own strength and theirs was.

    Lu Yin definitely was not someone who was suitable to wield power, and since he himself had had this thought, naturally, so had many others in the Great Yu Empire.

    When Undying Yushan ruled the empire, he had been a diligent and disciplined ruler, attending the morning meeting every day. It would be apliment to say that Lu Yin was rather distracted and that he had no long-term perseverance towards attending the meetings.

    During each meeting he attended, Lu Yin would sit at the right hand seat of the throne, flipping through his gadget with a thoroughly bored expression.

    Garope was unsatisfied with the regent¡¯s behavior, but he did not dare to bring it up. This had be the norm for the Royal Regent during the Imperial Cab¡¯s sessions, and while Lu Yin¡¯s attitude towards the empire could almost be called neglectful, it was still a fact that he had resolved problems that no one else was capable of handling. This was also without mentioning that the entire Great Yu Empire was under his protection at this moment.

    ¡°Your Highness, could this subject¡¯s suggestion be adopted?¡± one minister asked respectfully.

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°It¡¯s a good suggestion. Present it to the Imperial Cab for approval.¡±

    That minister grew flustered. ¡°Your Highness, there are a thousand things that urgently need to be taken care of in the empire, and our most severe shortage is the desperateck of talented manpower. Holding public tests is the best way to recruit talents, so I ask that Your Highness approve this.¡±

    Lu Yin set his gadget down. ¡°Public tests are indeed necessary, but not right now. However, I will give you a definite time frame: after the Great Eastern Alliance is established.¡±

    That minister helplessly retreated.

    This particr minister had no family backing him, and he had relied on his own capability to reach this position step by step, which also meant that he waspletely disgusted by the thought of the empire¡¯s authority being privately shared. He hoped that the empire would hold proper tests and adopt an impartial hiring policy. However, that didn¡¯t seem quite possible at the moment.

    Fortunately, at least the Royal Regent had not vetoed this suggestion. Thus, there was still a chance that this policy might be implemented in the future.

    Lu Yin had long since wanted to hold impartial public tests as well, but not at this moment, and maybe not even after the Great Eastern Alliance was sessfully established. As for his agreement just now, those tests would not be impartial, but he didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Once the Great Eastern Alliance was established, all of the various benefits would have to be carefully calibrated, and at that time, Lu Yin would have to make some sacrifices of his own. He could only wait for the eventual day when the situation waspletely stabilized, and only then would he be able to carry out impartial hirings.

    As the person upying the top position in the empire, Lu Yin also hoped to find some talented people without any connections who he could bring into the administration. However, he was not a deity. The Great Yu Empire could not revolve around him alone, and benefits would be absolutely worthless if they were not shared with the right parties.

    There was no such thing as ¡°absolute fairness¡± in the universe.

    Hill Auna, Gavin, Garope, and the others coldly watched the exchange. The more precise their vision, the better they could grasp the Royal Regent¡¯s mentality.

    The meeting ended quickly, and Lu Yin left soon afterwards.

    Hill Auna stopped Gavin. ¡°Lord, I heard that you borrowed the Nn family¡¯s channels to arrange for quite a few people to be sent to the other weaves, especially members of the Eighth Squadron. I wonder if the Ninth Squadron might also be able to enjoy the privilege of participating in His Highness¡¯s ns?¡±

    Gavin¡¯s expression changed slightly, and his sharp gaze focused on Hill Auna. ¡°Lord Xier, as a member of the cab, you should know that there are some things that cannot be said nor intervened in. His Highness has already assigned duties to each person, and Lord Xier only needs to take excellent care of his own matters. The more rashly one oversteps his boundaries, the more likely it is that he will get burned.¡±

    Gavin then rushed away at a quick pace.

    Hill Auna¡¯s expression changed. He was from the Auna family, and he naturally had to consider his family¡¯s benefits. In recent times, regardless of if it was from a financial standpoint or the empire¡¯s overall future strategy, there was nobody from the Auna family participating. This had caused the family to feel rather uneasy, and they were afraid of being cast aside. Although their patriarch had joined the Lu Office of Defense, it felt more like an appointment meant to merely pacify them.

    The current Royal Regent was not some puny cultivator like before. If Lu Yin wanted the Auna family to vanish, then the Auna family would quickly cease to exist.

    Their family would not patiently wait to be thrown aside, so they instead decided to proactively attempt to participate, or at the very least, to show their faces to the Royal Regent.

    ***

    Frostwave Weave bordered two weaves to the west, which were Woori Weave and Lars Weave.

    Lars Weave had not been unified yet, and there were still many fragmented powers in that weave, just like Frostwave Weave¡¯s situation in the past. This was also the normal state forrge weaves, as it was not easy to unite an entire weave.

    There was no organization that could surpass the Six-Fingered Tribe within Lars Weave. This tribe was very strange, and each member of their tribe only had six fingers. However, they did not have three fingers on each hand; instead, their left hands had the normal five while their right hands only had a pinky finger. Their hands looked as if the other fingers had all been chopped off, but even the newborn infants had these features.

    There were many strange ns in the universe, and so, the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s strange trait did not arouse much curiosity.

    At this moment, there was an intense dispute urring in the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s meeting.

    ¡°I won¡¯t agree! If there¡¯s an alliance, then there will naturally be a division between the strong and the weak. If the Great Yu Empire leads the way and establishes this alliance, then they will basically be uniting the strength of the surrounding weaves into a shield to protect themselves! If that happens, then they will be able to justifiably order our Lars Weave around. These motives are tantly obvious for anyone to see.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t agree either. The alliance contract clearly calls for the unification of resources, but which resources? Star crystals? Advanced weapon? Or cultivators? Each one of those things are resources. Also, where will these resources be stored once they are gathered together? They will clearly be taken into the domain of the Great Yu Empire, which means that this is a legitimate measure to weaken us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! I won¡¯t agree either.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t agree.¡±

    ¡­

    There were less than ten individuals who were qualified to participate In the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s meeting, and the leader of the meeting was the Tribe Leader, Bach Shamus. He was not very old, and he looked to only be about thirty or forty years old, and he had not even held his position for a hundred years yet. He had been forcefully appointed to this position after his predecessor had been injured. At this time, he was not the person who wielded the greatest authority within the Six-Fingered Tribe. That was Luke Shamus, who was sitting to the Tribe Leader¡¯s left.

    The small group had discussed this matter for a while, and their opinions were unanimous. However, the final authority to decide still rested with Bach Shamus and Luke Shamus.

    Bach Shamus looked at Luke Shamus, and softly said, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t forget one detail: the leader of this alliance will be the Great Yu Empire, but the Hall of Honor is the one that wishes for this alliance.¡±

 Chapter 629: The Six-Fingered Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 629: The Six-Fingered Tribe</h4>

    This sentence caused everyone to fall silent. The Hall of Honor was undisputedly the most powerful organization in the universe. The Six-Finger Tribe could refuse the Great Yu Empire, but they didn¡¯t dare to reject the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°n leader, are you certain that this alliance is something that the Hall of Honor wants?¡± an elder asked.

    Bach Shamus nced over at Luke Shamus.

    Luke Shamus cleared his throat and nced around the room before slowly replying, ¡°That¡¯s correct. The acting king of the Great Yu Empire has made it clear that this alliance is what the Hall of Honor desires.¡±

    Everyone present looked at each other, and nobody dared to object any more.

    ¡°All of you should already know that, during thest battle in Ironblood Weave, our tribe was also ordered to send an elder over as part of the reinforcements. Although the elder sacrificed himself during one of the battles, we still received some information about the events in Ironblood Weave. The acting king of the Great Yu Empire was crucial to the weave¡¯s defense, and he even had the opportunity to have an one-on-one meeting with an elder from the Hall of Honor. This is the main focus of the alliance. If it had merely been suggested by the Great Yu Empire, then we would be able topletely ignore it,¡± Luke Shamus continued.

    ¡°Very well. If the Great Yu Empire can produce an official order from the Hall of Honor, then we can consider agreeing to this alliance,¡± an elder said.

    Nobody objected as the Hall of Honor had exerted a vast amount of pressure on humanity over the eons. It was like a huge mountain that had never moved, and even though the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, these people still didn¡¯t dare to go against the Hall of Honor. Furthermore, Elder Lohar, whose power level exceeded 300,000, was still in Ironblood Weave, whereas the Six-Fingered Tribe didn¡¯t have even a single Enlighter.

    The tribe meeting thus ended. Everyone left the room until only the tribe chief Bach Shamus and Luke Shamus remained.

    ¡°Elder Luke, do you really believe that the Great Yu Empire will produce an order from the Hall of Honor?¡± Bach Shamus looked at Luke Shamus with bright eyes.

    Luke Shamus¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°What are you trying to say, Chief?¡±

    Bach Shamus replied, ¡°The Six-Fingered Tribe is much weaker than the Great Yu Empire, and just the acting king of the Great Yu Empire himself is enough to obliterate our tribe. After all, he is someone who can kill an Enlighter. Thus, if the Great Yu Empire decides to act against us, we probably won¡¯t be able to survive.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that the Great Yu Empire would counterfeit an order from the Hall of Honor?¡± Luke Shamus asked.

    Bach Shamus rubbed his temples. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I feel that there¡¯s a high chance of it happening.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and meet that captain from the Great Yu Empire again,¡± Luke Shamus said.

    Bach Shamus nodded. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Not long after that meeting, Luke Shamus met with Huo Qingshan, who was the envoy that the empire had sent to the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    ¡°As expected, most of the people in our tribe are resistant to joining this alliance,¡± Luke Shamus told Huo Qingshan as soon as they met.

    Huo Qingshan calmly answered, ¡°In that case, what are you nning to do, Elder Luke?¡±

    ¡°Just leave this to me. I will definitely persuade the Six-Fingered Tribe to join the Great Eastern Alliance. Captain Huo, please pass some good words about me to His Highness.¡±

    Luke was under Lu Yin¡¯s control due to the secrets that Lu Yin had obtained from Mafioso. Luke had sent someone to assassinate the former chief of the Six-Fingered Tribe, and the current tribe chief, Bach Shamus, wasn¡¯t actually the previous chief¡¯s son. Instead, Bach was Luke¡¯s son who had been born by the previous chief¡¯s wife. Luke had killed the previous chief when he discovered this secret.

    Since Lu Yin knew this secret, Luke was forced to listen to Lu Yin¡¯s orders for the rest of his life. Otherwise, his life would be ruined.

    Huo Qingshan watched Luke Shamus leave and then took out his gadget. His call connected to a pleasant looking middle aged man, who was the Nn family¡¯s administrator in charge of the Lars Weave.

    ¡°Cut off all economic activities with the Six-Fingered Tribe,¡± Huo Qingshanmanded.

    This middle aged man had already received instructions from Madam Nn to fully cooperate with the Great Yu Empire, and thus, although Huo Qingshan¡¯s order was very abrupt and would cause the Nn family to suffer a financial loss, the man still obediently carried out the Huo Qingshan¡¯s orders.

    Soon after, a number of people asked to meet with Bach Shamus as some issues had appeared concerning the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s economy. The Nn family had business ventures in multiple weaves, and they also had some dealings with the Six-Fingered Tribe. Therefore, once the Nn family severed their dealings with the Six-Fingered Tribe, the tribe immediately incurred a huge loss, especially since most of the transactions were tied to the tribe¡¯s elders.

    Of course, the economic factor wasn¡¯t enough to pressure the Six-Fingered Tribe into agreeing to join the alliance, but numerous scandals had been exposed over the course of thest few days with information such as which elder had sent someone to kill another elder¡¯s son, which elder had bribed another elder, and so on being publicly released. Mafioso had evidence of everybody¡¯s secrets, not just Luke Shamus¡¯s, and the leakage of this sensitive information had caused mass chaos in the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    These scandals led to infighting within the Six-Fingered Tribe, and Bach Shamus grew extremely worried.

    Luke Shamus immediately requested to meet Huo Qingshan again, but Huo Qingshan refused.

    Huo Qingshan hadn¡¯t ced all his hopes on Luke Shamus since Lu Yin was in a rush.

    Luke Shamus reluctantly initiated certain ns and killed three of the elders who had vehemently objected to the alliance a few days ago, which shocked the entire Six-Fingered Tribe.

    Even Huo Qingshan was surprised when he learned of the matter, as Luke Shamus was truly ruthless.

    ¡°Elder Luke, don¡¯t tell me that you were the one who did this.¡± Bach Shamus red at Luke Shamus as he spoke in a cold voice. There was even a Hunter standing behind him.

    There were only three Hunters within the Six-Fingered Tribe: one to protect Bach Shamus, one who led their troops outside of their region, and thest one was Luke Shamus himself.

    When he saw the Hunter behind Bach Shamus, Luke Shamus sighed. ¡°Tribe chief, I had no choice. You are also aware of what has happened over the past few days.¡±

    ¡°Was it the Great Yu Empire?¡¯ Bach Shamus gritted his teeth.

    Luke Shamus nodded. ¡°We cannot oppose them.¡±

    ¡°If the Great Yu Empire really can¡¯t produce the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders, then that means that this alliance is just their acting king¡¯s ns. But in that case, what does he want?¡± Bach Shamus bellowed. ¡°And why are you helping them?¡±

    Luke Shamus sighed and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not helping them. I¡¯m just trying to save our tribe.¡± Luke Shamus then looked at Bach Shamus with aplicated expression. ¡°Lu Yin, the acting king of the Great Yu Empire, ispletely ruthless, and he has already killed many Enlighters. Do you think that he will let us off?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to form an alliance with many different weaves. We can try to join forces with those weaves to fight off the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Ignoring the fact that the other weaves might not even believe us, will it even matter if we join forces with them? Can we defeat Lu Yin? He is basically an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°The power vessel that Lu Yin used to kill the Enlighters was destroyed during thest battle in Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Luke Shamus smirked. ¡°From what I havee to understand, that person never does anything without being fully confident. Since he has been relentlessly forcing us to join this alliance, he must feel certain about being able to deal with us. Chief, you know full well how hard it has been for the Six-Fingered Tribe to continue our inheritance, and we cannot waste our ancestors¡¯ efforts. We must continue passing down that inheritance.¡±

    Bach Shamus¡¯s expression turned grim.

    ¡°Besides, this alliance is not entirely a bad thing.¡± Luke Shamus changed the topic to the alliance. ¡°Although this contract is beneficial to the Great Yu Empire, if the Six-Fingered Tribe is attacked by an enemy, we will have the alliance¡¯s protection. Don¡¯t forget that we have a strong enemy to the west.¡±

    Bach Shamus frowned. ¡°Let me think about it.¡±

    ¡°Chief, Huo Qingshan is also stronger than everyone here,¡± Luke Shamusmented before leaving.

    Thisst statement annoyed the Hunter who was standing behind Bach Shamus, but he didn¡¯t retort as he himself was even weaker than Luke Shamus. Also, if Luke Shamus had said such a thing, then it must be the truth.

    Bach Shamus nodded. ¡°Fine. I can agree to the alliance, but I first have to meet with Lu Yin and ensure the benefits of our tribe.¡±

    Luke Shamus heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Alright, I will let Huo Qingshan know.¡±

    In the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin nodded at the screen that showed Huo Qingshan. ¡°Alright, I can meet with Bach Shamus.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, I will go ahead and contact Bach Shamus now then,¡± Huo Qingshan said.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Huo Qingshan¡¯s image soon reappeared on the screen, and he respectfully said, ¡°Your Highness, there have been some changes. Luke Shamus wants to talk to you instead.¡±

    ¡°Has Bach Shamus changed his mind?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Huo Qingshan replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s just that Luke Shamus wants to exchange the greatest secret of his tribe for a permanent seat in the cab and to ensure that the position can be passed down to future generations.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°A permanent seat that can be passed down to his future generations! What a request!¡±

    Huo Qingshan gravely said, ¡°That is what Luke Shamus himself said, and he guaranteed that the secret would cause Your Highness to agree.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked by Luke Shamus¡¯s confidence. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll personally head out to the Six-Fingered Tribe to find out what this secret is all about.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Huo Qingshan answered.

    After ending his conversation with Huo Qingshan, Lu Yin immediately went to read up on the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s history. He was able to ess far more information than normal people due to his six Honor Points.

    ording to the records that he found, the Six-Fingered Tribe had only existed for tens of thousands of years and had always been located in the Outerverse. There was nothing special about the tribe, and its government was very simr to that of other major forces; once the tribe¡¯s strongest powerhouse passed away, a new person would take over. If no idents urred, then time wasn¡¯t a concern, and they would continue passing their inheritance down in such fashion.

    That was the information that most people were able to see. Lu Yin had ess to some extra information as the Hall of Honor had investigated the Six-Fingered Tribe in the past. This tribe had survived through multiple disasters and would nearly be wiped out after a certain period of time. The number of people in the tribe would suddenly drop to almost nothing, and they would take a great deal of time to recover.

    The time between these disasters was ten thousand years.

    Furthermore, these disasters weren¡¯t caused by external factors; rather, they seemed to be destined to happen. These disasters were almost like time bombs that would go off once the designated time arrived.

    That was all the information that Lu Yin could ess. He believed that the Hall of Honor had likely conducted further research on this issue, but the results of those studies were not something that he could ess.

    What kind of secret could an Outerverse tribe possibly have? Lu Yin had his doubts, but he headed towards the Lars Weave despite them.

    The Nn family had given the Great Yu Empire arge Aurora spacecraft that could amodate up to ten thousand people, and it was being used as Lu Yin¡¯s personal spacecraft. This was what he used to travel to Lars Weave.

    Since the two weaves bordered each other, he only needed a short amount of time to reach the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin was calmly reciting the Stonewall Scriptures as usual when he suddenly heard an rm go off. He unleashed his domain and saw that there were five Hunters outside his ship¡ªto his surprise, these people were assassins.

 Chapter 630: Assassination Attempt

    <h4>Chapter 630: Assassination Attempt</h4>

    Five Hunters. That number even surpassed how many Hunters the Great Yu Empire had. This was arge scale assassination attempt.

    The five powerhouses attacked the spacecraft simultaneously, and Lu Yin immediately donned his Enneadic Wings, dashed out of the vessel, and waved his hand. One of the attacks was diverted away while another was blocked by the Blind Monk who was protecting Lu Yin. The other three attacks struck the hull of the spacecraft and caused it to tremble.

    When Lu Yin appeared, the five people immediately dashed towards him. The Blind Monk pulled out a metal shovel and quickly moved in front of Lu Yin to defend the regent; one sweep of his shovel was enough to fling two of the attacking Hunters away. An attacknded on Lu Yin, but his Enneadic Wings emitted a radiant barrier that rendered the Hunter¡¯s attack ineffective.

    The Enneadic Wings had been upgraded six times, and the speed that Lu Yin could reach with them was enough to rival an Enlighter¡¯s, while its protective shields couldn¡¯t be breached even by a Hunter.

    ¡°You can deal with those two. Leave these three to me,¡± Lu Yin ordered coldly.

    The Blind Monk did not hesitate to raise his shovel and shoot forwards towards his opponents.

    Not one of the three Hunters spoke a single word, and they all attacked Lu Yin silently. Lu Yin¡¯s seven lined battle force appeared at this moment, and with his Enneadic Wings. He repelled an attack before grabbing at one of the Hunters. This Hunter was not slow, and they managed to dodge aside by moving at an extreme speed.

    However, with his Enneadic Wings, Lu Yin¡¯s speed could rival an Enlighter¡¯s, which made his attacks very difficult to evade. Lu Yin seemed to turn into a glint of light that shed in outer space, and it rendered the three Hunters incapable of even finding the right direction to attack in.

    Lu Yin grabbed one of the Hunters as he unsealed all three grains of Fatesand and released his full physical strength beforending a palm on the Hunter¡¯s back. The Hunter spat out a mouthful of blood, and half of his body went numb.

    Even a peak Hunter like Kong Shi could not ovee Lu Yin with strength alone, let alone this person whose power level barely exceeded 100,000. A single palm from Lu Yin crippled half of this assassin¡¯s fighting capabilities.

    The other two Hunters exchanged nces, and they unexpectedly stopped attacking Lu Yin. Instead, they charged towards the Blind Monk.

    The Blind Monk was still able to hold his own while being besieged by two Hunters, but when those two were joined by another two, his situation turned critical in the blink of an eye. He was strong, and he could even be called an elite among Hunters as he couldpare to the Innerverse¡¯s Hunter elites. However, he could not face off against four opponents of the same realm by himself.

    Lu Yin grew furious, and he quickly retrieved the ancient pike from his cosmic ring and thrust it forward. His attack was not fast, but his intention was to force some Hunters to focus on him again.

    As one, the four Hunters abandoned the Blind Monk and changed targets to focus on Lu Yin.

    As the pike collided against the four Hunters, not even Lu Yin was able to easily tolerate the spiritual force attack that was unleashed. It enveloped the void and caused the local space to shudder. The four Hunters appeared to be overwhelmed; how could this pike unleash this level of strength?

    This pike had killed a transformed Corpse King with an innate gift of metal that had been much stronger than these four Hunters. This time, the pike pierced through one of the Hunters¡¯ necks without any resistance, leaving a dead corpse floating through outer space. The other three Hunters felt light-headed from the spiritual force attack, and blood dripped down from the corner of their mouths.

    The four Hunters had attacked as one. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s protective measures, the force from the four powerhouses was still enough to forcefully shove him back ten kilometers. Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s defenses were sturdy enough to keep him safe.

    At this moment, the Blind Monk¡¯s shovelnded firmly upon a Hunter¡¯s head with a loud thump, knocking the man unconscious.

    Although this attack had knocked one Hunter unconscious, it also awakened the remaining two. One of them held the Blind Monk back while the other grabbed the unconscious Hunter and fled. As for the one that Lu Yin had severely injured earlier, he had long since made his escape.

    The area returned to a peaceful silence, only interrupted by some intermittent flickering sparks in the distance caused by the asional explosion aboard the spacecraft. There, the people were all busy fighting fires and repairing the vessel.

    The Blind Monk moved behind Lu Yin. ¡°This subject¡¯s protection was not perfect. Your Highness, please punish me.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand, though his expression appeared cold. They had sent five Hunters as a team to kill him, and if not for the support of his equipment, then he would not have survived the attack. Who in the Outerverse was able to send out five Hunters?

    It was definitely not some strong power, as they would not have sent just five ordinary Hunters. Instead, Lu Yin would have had to at least face peak Hunters like Kong Shi.

    These five Hunters were probably not from the same organization.

    It seemed like there were quite a few groups who held a grudge against Lu Yin in this part of the universe.

    He returned to the spacecraft and immediately contacted the Mafioso¡¯s bespectacled Mistchild. ¡°I¡¯ve just survived an assassination attempt.¡±

    She was stunned. ¡°What? Assassins were sent after Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°There were five Hunters. Check into it. I want to know who¡¯s behind this assassination attempt,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    The young Mistchild immediately acknowledged her new orders. ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness. As long as one of those dark powers took action, I¡¯ll definitely be able to find out who was behind this.¡±

    ¡°It may not have necessarily been one of the dark powers, and the attackers might not even have alle from the same organization. Still, hurry up with your investigation,¡± Lu Yin ordered. He then ended the call and turned around to stare outside the spacecraft with his hands sped behind his back. As a person climbed higher and higher, the danger that they would face would also increase. This time, it had been five Hunters who had attacked him. The next time, it might be an Enlighter.

    He did not believe that all of the Enlighters in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves were in Ironblood Weave. The Hall of Honor could not learn everything about the Outerverse¡¯s going-ons, and there were many cultivators adept at concealing themselves. Those individuals were the ones who posed the greatest threat towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin considered the Six-Fingered Tribe. Could Luke Shamus have intentionally lured him out of the Great Yu Empire so that they could attempt to assassinate him? However, Lu Yin did not consider this option to be very likely as Luke Shamus could not have mobilized five Hunters so quickly, even if he wanted to. Moreover, that man could not have known what route Lu Yin would take.

    Right, my route. Lu Yin turned back around and ordered, ¡°I want a list of names of anyone who might know of our route to the Lars Weave for this trip.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± the Blind Monk immediately assented.

    The spacecraft was fine and ready to continue traveling after one day of repairs. The following day, Lu Yin arrived at the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    He had arrived in secrecy this time, in order to prevent the elders who were still resisting joining the alliance from taking any overt actions.

    When Lu Yin arrived, his first order of business was to meet with Bach Shamus, who was the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s leader.

    Bach Shamus had not expected for Lu Yin to arrive in person, and he waspletely unaware of the conditions that Luke Shamus and Lu Yin had discussed. He believed that Lu Yin had made the trip because he valued the Six-Fingered Tribe, which made Bach Shamus feel proud, but also a little apprehensive.

    ¡°I never thought that Your Highness would personally make the trip to visit my Six-Fingered Tribe and be our guest. We didn¡¯t make any advanced preparations, so we have neglected Your Highness,¡± Bach Shamus said courteously.

    As he spoke, the two men sat down.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°We¡¯re about to be allies, so there¡¯s no need for Chief Bach to be too courteous. I heard that Chief Bach wished to speak with me.¡±

    Bach Shamus solemnly replied, ¡°Your Highness is straightforward, so I¡¯ll cut to the chase. I wish to know the true reason why Your Highness is establishing this alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers against the table as he calmly replied, ¡°Just as the alliance contract stiptes, I wish for all of us to mutually help each other out and integrate our resources so that they can be enjoyed by all of us.¡±

    Bach Shamus shook his head. ¡°My Six-Fingered Tribe has fundamentally agreed to this alliance. However, why is Your Highness still unwilling to speak the truth despite such sincerity?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously studied the man in front of him. ¡°Did you experience any of the war in Ironblood Weave?¡±

    Bach Shamus shook his head.

    Lu Yin reminisced about that time, saying, ¡°That ce was a ckhole of death, regardless of if one is an Explorer, Cruiser, Hunter, or even an Enlighter. There is less than a 50% chance of leaving that ce alive after arriving, and it¡¯s considered as one of humanity¡¯s battlefields. Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, the Outerverse can no longer obtain any support from the Innerverse, which means that the Outerverse¡¯s current predicament is much more dangerouspared to before due to the unknown civilizations hiding in the Astral Wilderness, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s attacks, the possibility of the Technocracy invading us, and more. All of these concerns might be matters of life and death for the entire Outerverse.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t join forces, how can we resist such issues? With our resources scattered all over, how can we improve our power? This is not a matter that I suggested by myself, but rather with the support of the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Bach Shamus pondered his response. The Outerverse¡¯s strength was indeed too scattered, and each weave¡¯s individual strength was too frail, which the chief knew all too well. Joining forces indeed had various benefits, but he was not thinking about those at this time. ¡°Your Highness, an alliance is possible, but who will lead it, and who will be next in the hierarchy?¡±

    Lu Yin appeared amused at the question. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Bach Shamus¡¯s gaze flickered, but he did not quite dare to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve said what I needed to say. Chief Bach, take your time to consider things. However, an alliance is imperative.¡±

    Lu Yin then left.

    Bach Shamus stared at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure. This was the first time that he had interacted with this Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent. Just as others had mentioned before, this person was rather tyrannical.

    ¡°Leader, shall we¡­?¡± The Hunter protecting Bach Shamus made a gesture.

    Bach Shamus red at the man. ¡°Are you mad? Since he came to Lars Weave, it means that he¡¯s not afraid of any danger that we could stir up. As soon as our attempt fails, we¡¯d be doomed.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    News of the assassination attempt had not spread, so Bach Shamus and the others had not heard anything about it. If they had known that Lu Yin was fine even after five Hunters had attempted to kill him, none of them would dare to harbor any such thoughts.

    Actually, Lu Yin wanted Bach Shamus to act against him. Then, he could easily install another leader in the Six-Fingered Tribe who would be more malleable to his demands. That was one of the reasons why he had met with Bach Shamus in private, not even bringing the Blind Monk along with him. Unfortunately, this leader was too timid.

    The focus of Lu Yin''s present trip was not actually Bach Shamus, but rather Luke Shamus, as he was the person who was actually in control of the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    The two met in one of the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s sacrificial grounds, as this sort of ce held a rather prestigious ce for the tribe. Luke Shamus had chosen to meet Lu Yin in such a location to demonstrate his true allegiance.

    ¡°Your subject, Luke Shamus, pays his respects to Your Highness, the Royal Regent.¡± The moment he saw Lu Yin, Luke Shamus immediately bowed and demonstrated the etiquette of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s etiquette.

    Lu Yin smiled and propped the man up with a single hand. ¡°Elder Luke, there¡¯s no need for such courtesies.¡±

    Luke Shamus looked at Lu Yin and responded respectfully, ¡°I should. As your subject, that is how I should act.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and looked around. He saw many guards in the area, though they all seemed to be Luke Shamus¡¯s trusted aides.

    ¡°You invited me here for a transaction, so speak. How shall we handle this deal?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Luke Shamus hurriedly replied, ¡°This is not a transaction, but an offering. Your subject is willing to offer the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s greatest secret to Your Highness. Of course, if Your Highness thinks that it is useful for the empire, please entrust this subject to share the empire¡¯s burden.¡±

    ¡°What secret?¡± Lu Yin did not want this man to continue spouting nonsense, so he directly went to the crux of the issue.

    ¡°Your Highness, please follow me,¡± Luke Shamus spoke respectfully. He then opened the underground entrance that led down into the tribe¡¯s sacrificial area.

    Lu Yin brought the Blind Monk along with him as he followed Luke Shamus. He did not need to worry, as he had checked this ce beforeing, and there were very few rune lines here, which meant that there was nothing that could threaten him in this ce.

    They traveled far underground, where the atmosphere became very gloomy. There was not so much as a single me to light their way, but that didn¡¯t matter to them.

    After walking for a certain distance, Lu Yin noticed strange diagrams engraved on the walls, which should represent the history of the Six-Fingered Tribe. As they walked along, Lu Yin casually observed them and saw that some depicted very small poptions, which should be the timed extermination of the tribe¡¯s poption that urred every 10,000 years.

 Chapter 631: Re-Encountering The Scarlet Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 631: Re-Encountering The Scarlet Eyes</h4>

    ¡°Elder Luke, there are reports that your Six-Fingered Tribe has been gued by misfortunes,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Luke Shamus replied with a pained expression, ¡°Your Highness must find it rather amusing. For some unknown reason, every 10,000 years, my Six-Fingered Tribe will experience a sharp drop in our poption due to a disaster. Fortunately, we have always been able to persevere and survive through them.¡±

    ¡°Do you know the reason?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Luke Shamus shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. More than 10,000 years ago, the n spent a huge sum and requested that the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Master divine an answer. However, the price that we paid was not enough.¡±

    ¡°The Starsibyl Sect? You guys have that much faith in them?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Luke Shamus felt that this question was rather strange. ¡°Does Your Highness not believe in their abilities? The Starsibyl Sect has the ability to divine the past and future, and this is something that is universally acknowledged.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± Lu Yin ambiguously replied, as he recalled how the Starsibyl Sect had divinated that the Sea King had been the one who had stolen the pyrolyte from everyone.

    Some matters were unexinable, and the Starsibyl Sect was indeed very mysterious.

    ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve arrived,¡± Luke Shamus respectfully informed Lu Yin as they came to a specific location underground. This area was rather spacious, but there was only one stone b in the center, and it was covered by a sheet of cloth.

    Luke Shamus walked over to the stone b and reached out to pull the cloth away. Lu Yin looked over, and his eyes narrowed. Is that¡­? Scarlet eyes with vertical pupils?

    Scarlet eyes with vertical pupils. This was not a sight that was foreign to Lu Yin. Back on Earth, he had picked up a pair of scarlet eyes with vertical pupils that had been left behind by Silver, which were items belonging to the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin shot a sharp gaze towards Luke Shamus as he reflexively donned his universal armor. His eyes filled with star energy as he checked his surroundings. There were no changes to the rune lines, which meant that there was still no threat to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Neohuman Alliance?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly, and the Blind Monk took a step forward as he also stared intensely at Luke Shamus.

    Luke Shamus smiled bitterly. ¡°Your Highness, if I was from the Neohuman Alliance, I would never have shown this to you.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted, and although his eyes flickered, he didn¡¯t speak.

    Luke Shamus bent over and wiped the scarlet eyes. ¡°This stone b has been passed down through the generations of the Six-Fingered Tribe. We know that this is a symbol of the Neohuman Alliance, but this stone b has existed for even longer than the Neohuman Alliance has been known.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed at thatment. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Luke Shamus replied, ¡°The Six-Fingered Tribe is naturally cursed, as we are each born with six fingers. Additionally, every 10,000 years, there is some type of unpleasant change that nearly destroys our poption. These disasters have been imprinted into our genes and will never change. Even Enlighters born from our n were unable to change this fact. This stone b is like a disaster that apanies our n, and it has existed ever since the very beginning of our tribe¡¯s records.¡±

    As he spoke, Luke Shamus looked at Lu Yin. ¡°The n once brought people over to appraise this stone b, and they were able to verify that it has existed for many ages, to the point where it cannot be dated. Its age even surpasses the furthest point that my n¡¯s lineage records date back to, and it definitely surpasses the amount of time that the Neohuman Alliance has existed for.¡±

    Lu Yin bent over to touch the stone b. The scarlet eyes with vertical pupils sent chills running down his spine. This thing was clearly the symbol of the Neohuman Alliance, but then, why was it even older than that organization? This thing was an object that had existed since time immemorial, and Lu Yin had seen a few such items before, like the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance or the objects in the ancient centipede''s body.

    Could it be that this symbol had not been created by the Neohuman Alliance? Or could this symbol represent another existence, which the Neohuman Alliance was just a part of?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look. There¡¯s writing on the stone b,¡± the Ghost Monkey softly pointed out.

    Lu Yin swiped his hand across the stone b and quickly saw some protrusions, which were indeed some sort of ancient writing that he did not recognize.

    ¡°This style of writing is different from what we saw in the Daosource Sect or the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison. Those two styles are from another era, whereas this one¡¯s style seems even more ancient. They look as if they¡¯re from the era when symbols were still being developed into characters, which would make these the most ancient words possible,¡± the monkey mumbled.

    ¡°Your Highness, your subject is willing to offer this stone b to Your Highness.¡± Luke Shamus bowed respectfully and nervously waited for Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    Lu Yin stood up and replied quietly, ¡°Do you know that on my way here, I encountered an assassination attempt from five Hunters?¡±

    Luke Shamus¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Your Highness, that matter is unrted to your subject, who definitely did not leak any details concerning Your Highness¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at Luke Shamus. ¡°This stone b does not have much value to me. Taking it might even cause others to denounce me by using this as evidence that I have coborated with the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Luke Shamus bent his head and did not speak, but his expression became even more unsightly.

    After a short moment of silence, Lu Yin continued on, saying, ¡°Although the value of this stone b is not that great to me, this is still an item that your Six-Fingered Tribe has passed down for countless years. Offering it to me demonstrates your loyalty, and I ept your sincerity. From today onwards, as long as you don¡¯t make mistakes, the Lu Ministry of Administration will always have a spot for you that can be handed down to your heirs.¡±

    Luke Shamus was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Your subject pledges his life to you.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged the man. He then took the stone b and left the sacrificial grounds.

    Since he was not on an official visit, Lu Yin merely informed Bach Shamus via his gadget before leaving Lars Weave.

    Back aboard his spacecraft, Lu Yin took the stone b out, and then he also brought out the scarlet eyes that he had picked up on Earth. Hepared the two pairs of eyes, and aside from the difference in size, the scarlet eyes were nearly identical. The main difference was that one pair of eyes sat atop an ancient stone b with rudimentary writing etched on it whereas the eyes that Lu Yin had picked up on Earth were ced inside a smirking skull.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t overthink things. Many things will slowly vanish with the passing of time, and there¡¯s no need to get worked up over ancient matters like this.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Monkey, you should know about the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.¡±

    The monkey was stumped. ¡°I don¡¯t know much, but in some powerhouses¡¯ journals, I¡¯ve seen some references to the fifth and the sixth. However, these two terms are prettymon, so I didn¡¯t pay any attention to them.¡±

    ¡°Is that so,¡± Lu Yin casually replied, as he had not forgotten the monkey¡¯s words back in Ironblood Weave. During the fight with the Shadowbeast, the Ghost Monkey had mentioned that this sky was false. This stupid monkey definitely knew something, but he was not willing to speak about it.

    Lu Yin was d that he had always screened the monkey off every time he rolled his die and not allowed the astral beast to discover his greatest secret. There must be some reason why the stupid monkey was still concealing certain matters from Lu Yin. If the two of them were truly joined in life or death, then there would be no need to conceal such things.

    It seemed like he needed to find a way to gain more knowledge about tamed beasts.

    As for the stone b, Lu Yin stored it away, as there was indeed no need to consider it too deeply for the moment. With the endless passage of time, even the history of the buildings in the centipede''s body had disappeared, let alone that of a simple stone b.

    Agreeing to Luke Shamus¡¯s conditions had merely been Lu Yin recruiting a talented person who would also bring benefits to the alliance in the future.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    A soft sound came from his gadget, and the screen soon changed to show the bespectacled Mistchild. ¡°Your Highness, I found it.¡±

    ¡°That was fast.¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    She replied, ¡°In the Outerverse, Hunters receive quite a bit of attention, and there are incredibly few of them in each weave, so it¡¯s easy to discover who¡¯s not present in a specific time frame. From there, it¡¯s easy to follow the clues back.¡± She paused for a moment before continuing on, saying, ¡°Of the five Hunters that attacked you, one is from xen Weave, one is from Adonis Weave, one is from Darkmist Weave, and the other two can be considered non-affiliated as they have no foundation.¡±

    ¡°xen Weave, Adonis Weave, and Darkmist Weave?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered.

    ¡°Yes. Their backers are xen Weave¡¯s Tri-Banner Federation, Adonis Weave¡¯s Darkstar Gorge, and Darkmist Weave¡¯s Nine Allied Nations. They were all contacted by someone from your Great Yu Empire, and the person who led them is coincidentally the person who you mentioned to me before,¡± the bespectacled Mistchild smiled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°Orchid¡¯s parliament chairman, Logan?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± she replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold. He knew that the followers of the Yushan bloodline had always wanted to overthrow him, but he had never thought that they would be so radical to the extent of hiring five Hunters. This Logan was considerably capable as well.

    ¡°Actually, Logan only managed to gather three Hunters, as the Tri-Banner Federation and Darkstar Gorge went of their own volition. So it really was abined operation.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I got it. Thanks for the hard work.¡±

    She smiled sweetly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard. Please inform me if there¡¯s anything else, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Logan must not have done this alone. Do you know who his partners were?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already looked into this, and they are all followers of your Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yushan bloodline. These people paid a considerable price for the Hunters.¡±

    ¡°Send me a list of all their names.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Lu Yin disconnected and immediately contacted Phantom Thorn, who was also Mafioso¡¯s Hunter Mistchild. Lu Yin had spared his life and then forced the man to temporarily take on the position of the Second Imperial Squadron¡¯s captain as well as train qualified individuals in espionage and intelligence skills. ¡°I ordered you to monitor Logan, but he has already sent someone to kill me. Your supervision ispletely useless.¡±

    Phantom Thorn bowed his head and said in a deep voice, ¡°Your Highness, Logan has been behaving normally over the recent days. It¡¯s either not him, or he nned this before I tried to assassinate you. He could not have nned anything during this time that I¡¯ve been watching him.¡±

    ¡°Look into this, and hurry. Use whatever methods you can,¡± Lu Yinmanded.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The second possibility seemed more likely, as the Melder Mistchild would not lie to Lu Yin about such a small matter.

    After only half a day, Phantom Thorn contacted Lu Yin once again. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness. This was due to apse in my efforts.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°The Logan that we tried to assassinate back then was a fake,¡± Phantom Thorn informed Lu Yin in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°He has a doppelganger?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He himself has always been hiding in the dark to n, and he often swaps ces with his double. This time, we quickly acted to capture him, and we were fortunate that it was actually him. He has confessed to everything.¡±

    Lu Yin had not thought that Logan would have used such methods, to the point where even Phantom Thorn had been hoodwinked. Since this was the case, then Logan must have been using a double for quite some time, and he must have also been constantly changing ces with the double, which was rather smart. Unfortunately, Logan¡¯s luck was not that great; otherwise, even if Phantom Thorn acted again, he would have been able to escape.

    Capturing Logan was akin to rming the other supporters of the Yushan bloodline. Lu Yin ordered the Sixth and Ninth Squadrons to act, and they quickly captured everyone on the list that Lu Yin had received from the bespectacled Mistchild. These people had all yed a part in the assassination attempt on Lu Yin.

    There were eight names on the list, and they were all authoritative figures in various areas of the Great Yu Empire, and three were even a part of the military who led soldiers. Fortunately, Lu Yin had established the Lu Office of Defense and Lu Ministry of Administration to redistribute and supervise the troops, and he had also sent out heavyweights like Sigmund Mathers and Hill Auna to oversee the troops. Otherwise, capturing these people would absolutely have led to a rebellion.

    When Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star, everyone on the list had already been captured and imprisoned.

    Lu Yin nned topletely eliminate all of these participants, but just as he returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce, he ran into Wendy Yushan.

 Chapter 632: Ban Jiuâ€™s Good News

    <h4>Chapter 632: Ban Jiu¡¯s Good News</h4>

    The moment he saw Wendy Yushan, Lu Yin suddenly became much more clear-headed. He was not the master of the Great Yu Empire and was merely acting as such. Big Sis had used the blood of some Zishan family member to forge his identity whereas this woman in front of him was the true heir to the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°How are you nning on handling those people?¡± Wendy Yushan calmly asked, sounding as if she was asking about some daily matter.

    Lu Yin thought for a while before responding, ¡°You decide.¡±

    Wendy Yushan stared at the imperial pce with aplex expression. ¡°All this time, I¡¯ve always felt that the Great Yu Empire was too small, and I never had any thoughts of inheriting the throne. Even after Father and my royal brothers died, that thought never changed, especially since I¡¯m not suitable for such a position. The one in control of the empire has always been you because you are someone from the Zishan bloodline. Long ago, Father promised that King Zishan¡¯s bloodline would have the same right to inherit the throne as his own bloodline.

    ¡°Many people have told me that you¡¯re behaving too tyrannically and that you are acting like a dictator. They say that the empire will copse sooner orter if left in your hands. I didn¡¯t pay any mind to any of that, as I was indifferent towards the Great Yu Empire¡¯s continued existence. To me, it was merely a matter of fate. However, someone¡¯s status may asionally bring them trouble. Regardless of whether or not those people are sincere or hypocrites, they¡¯ve been fighting for the Yushan bloodline all this time. Thus, I hope that you can release them this once.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure, as long as that¡¯s what you want.¡±

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. ¡°A Royal Regent is just a regent, and the name doesn¡¯t have any proper justifications. I hope that you will actually inherit the throne and take true control of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    LL could tell that Wendy Yushan was being sincere, as this woman truly treated him as a rtive, herst family member. She truly did not care about the Great Yu Empire, and she had no desire for a position of authority at all.

    Still, despite all of that, could Lu Yin really inherit the throne? He did not know why, but he felt that if he did, he would be handicapped and that he would no longer be able to act as freely as he did presently, which was not something that he wanted.

    What he wanted was an overpowering authority that would allow him to integrate the other weaves¡¯ resources and protect his own position while also not being pulled down by the vortex of said authority or being caught up in the never-ending storm of politics like Undying Yushan had.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any such ns for now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wendy Yushan averted her gaze and slowly left.

    Although he could not inherit the throne of the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin would definitely be the person whose words held the most weight in the Great Eastern Alliance that he was about to establish. Because of that, this new status was even more alluring than bing the emperor of the Great Yu Empire.

    After a few days, the people whose names were on the list were captured and then exiled one by one. It was already a great fortune for them that they had survived, but Lu Yin could not allow these people to continue holding positions of power. As for Logan, he died in prison. Lu Yin could not let such a person off, as his schemes ran deep; he had even managed to deceive Phantom Thorn. Someone like Logan was less troublesome dead than alive.

    Although Lu Yin had not ordered that many people to be captured, all of the people who had been arrested were figures of authority. The Great Yu Empire had essentially just experienced a change in power. Since some people had stepped down, others were naturally able to step up.

    Huan Sha was very busy these days, as she had to select people who were suitable to take over the vacated positions, and the Imperial Cab was also making simr selections.

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin took out his yellow futon. Although he did not know the principles behind how this thing functioned, he believed that it was likely rted to spiritual force. There was no obvious information that he could see, but Lu Yin knew that he still needed to wait at least half a month before he could reenter the Daosource Sect.

    On that same day, the Twelfth Imperial Squadron¡¯s captain, Ban Jiu, requested an audience with Lu Yin to deliver some good news.

    ¡°Have you sessfully manufactured the androids?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. The results of the initial experiments are already out, and we¡¯ve managed to manufacture a control core!¡± Ban Jiu was clearly excited.

    Lu Yin did not quite mind the man¡¯s behavior, as he had actually forgotten that he had given Ban Jiu the android blueprints all that time ago¡ªit was even before the Innerverse and Outerverse¡¯s separation. When he first received the ns, Ban Jiu had mentioned that they were the crystallization of the most advanced technology in the entire universe, which was a im that Lu Yin still did not believe.

    ¡°How are the costs? And the power?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ban Jiu opened up a screen that disyed a dense list of numbers, and Lu Yin felt his head starting to hurt. ¡°I don¡¯t understand this, so please just exin it to me in simple terms.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, these androids are the result of the greatest imagination, and they also contain the most advanced technology. Even with this subject¡¯s ability, we have only been able to develop the first type of android. However, due to the limitation of materials, the power of each one can only rival an ordinary Limiteer¡¯s,¡± Ban Jiu answered awkwardly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not bad, but what about the cost? And how long does it take to manufacture each one?¡±

    Ban Jiu only mentioned approximate figures, but Lu Yin was already frowning. The costs were too exorbitant, and the manufacturing time was too long, which meant the project was not worthwhile.

    As soon as he noticed Lu Yin¡¯sck of interest, Ban Jiu hurriedly exined, ¡°Your Highness, these androids¡¯ strongest aspect is that each one has a control core that can store energy. In theory, as long as the materials of the control core reach a certain standard, the androids¡¯ strength can increase without limit.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Increase without limit?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The control core must be able topletely secure all the stored energy so that it can then distribute the energy to the other variousponents that the android uses for battle. The most important part of the android is naturally the control core, and the best materials that our Great Yu Empire can acquire are only able to contain an amount of energy equivalent to a Limiteer¡¯s. If we can get a hold of some materials that can contain an Explorer¡¯s energy, then the androids will be able to disy the power of an Explorer! If the core can contain a Cruiser¡¯s energy, then the androids will have the power of a Cruiser! And so on and so forth,¡± Ban Jiu exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If the core can contain an Enlighter¡¯s energy, then would these androids have an Enlighter¡¯s power?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Ban Jiu reassured him.

    Lu Yin was in disbelief. An android manufactured by humans that could disy the power of an Enlighter sounded like a fantasy!

    ¡°Then what materials would you need to build a control core that can contain an Explorer¡¯s energy?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°The universe has very clear metrics regarding material properties, and the crystal scale is used as the basic unit of measurement. This system is based on us cultivators¡¯ power level. For basic materials, their highest crystal scale is defined as 100, so anything rated above 100 can withstand a cultivator¡¯s attack. For example, a material with a crystal scale between 101 to 1,000, which matches up to a Seeker¡¯s power level, can withstand a Seeker¡¯s attacks. The sturdiest materials that the Great Yu Empire can produce at present only have 7,000 on the crystal scale,¡± Ban Jiu said.

    ¡°What¡¯s the crystal scale of the materials that are used to manufacture radiant-grade Auroras?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°In theory, a radiant-grade Aurora can resist a Cruiser¡¯s attacks, so its materials are at least graded over 50,000 on the crystal scale,¡± Ban Jiu replied.

    ¡°Our Great Yu Empire doesn¡¯t have any such sturdy materials?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Ban Jiu bitterly replied, ¡°Even throughout the entire Frostwave Weave, the sturdiest material only reaches about 10,000 on the crystal scale, and they are extremely rare. We wouldn¡¯t be able to manufacture very many Explorer grade androids, so it wouldn¡¯t be worth it. The Grandtop Weave has materials that are rated above 30,000, but its quantities are simrly very low.¡±

    ¡°Aside from the material¡¯s hardness, the upper limit of the control core¡¯s energy is also determined by its toughness is also important. Thus, the ideal material is something like Spiritual Thread. The otherponents of the androids don¡¯t have as extreme requirements, but they can¡¯t be too low grade either. Otherwise, the androids wouldn''t be able to withstand any external forces. Also¡­¡± Ban Jiu gave a full speech. In a nutshell, his team needed materials and money.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He needed money as well, so who should they approach for funding?

    ¡°What about prium essence?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ban Jiu quickly answered, ¡°Prium essence is not suitable for manufacturing control cores, but it can certainly be used to make android bodies. It¡¯s precisely because of the prium essence that your subject is confident in being able to manufacture androids that are stronger than Explorers. Anything else that we have ess to is not capable of withstanding the necessary forces.

    ¡°Your Highness, if we gain the suitable materials, your subject is confident of building an undefeatable army of androids.¡±

    Lu Yin considered this idea. ¡°Give me a list of all the materials that you will need, but remove everything that Frostwave Weave or Grandtop Weave can provide. I will find a way to get you the rest.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Ban Jiu was delighted at this news.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, as he indeed needed to upgrade the Great Yu Empire¡¯s strength. The stronger the empire became, the more resources it could obtain, which in turn would allow it to be stronger yet again. This was a virtuous cycle, and it was clear to Lu Yin that he had to invest in the Great Yu Empire during these early stages if he wanted to enjoy the fruits of his efforts in the future. He could not fight and roam his way about the universe by himself, as that would make him no different from an independent cultivator.

    An unbeatable troop of androids was one such alluring possibility. He did not need too many androids¡ªjust enough Explorer grade androids so that he could rece all of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. At that point, he would be able to maintain effortless control of the entire Great Yu Empire and then slowly spread out from there.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and contacted the tempting Madam Nn, and she soon appeared on his screen. He saw that she was wrapped in a white bathrobe, revealing a figure that could cause most people to spit out blood. Most of her fairplexion and lovely skin was exposed, and she was illuminated by a soft radiance that came from beyond the scope of the screen. The sight nearly caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to skip a beat.

    ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s the matter?¡± She beamed at Lu Yin as she dried her hair.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. ¡°Did you just finish bathing? I¡¯ll contact youter.¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s no need. Please just speak your mind, Your Highness.¡± She smiled at him.

    Lu Yin coughed and rubbed his nose. He sent Madam Nn a list of the materials that Ban Jiu had given him. ¡°Whatever you can find of these materials, I¡¯ll buy from you.¡±

    She nced over the list. ¡°We can obtain most of these materials, but some will be fairly difficult, especially the materials that are over 30,000 on the crystal scale. Our Nn family doesn¡¯t have many of those materials, nor of Spiritual Thread for that matter. That is not an average material, and it¡¯s primarily used to protect sourceboxes. Thus, it can be considered as a controlled substance.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t push the issue of the Spiritual Thread, but what about the other materials?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She answered, ¡°Some aren¡¯t too expensive, but theye from the western weaves. You must know that the west is currently a little hard to ess.¡±

    ¡°Could you sort through this list and let me know which you can gather? We¡¯ll think of some way to get the remaining materials after that.¡± Lu Yin kneaded his temples.

    She replied, ¡°Your Highness, you don¡¯t have to buy materials that have a hardness exceeding 30,000 on the crystal scale. Lars Weave already has such materials, so you can just ask the Six-Fingered Tribe for them. After all, they are already your ally, and the integration of various resources is one of the purposes behind the alliance contract.¡±

    Lu Yin grew pleased. ¡°Lars Weave already has some? Awesome.¡±

    She smiled and then ended the call.

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze. The alliance was already starting to demonstrate certain benefits. The integration of resources was precisely to achieve this effect. If he could pool together all of the Outerverse¡¯s resources, then he would be able to obtain whatever materials he needed and could stop worrying about such things.

    The matter concerning the Lars Weave was handed over to En Ya while the Nn family prepared to gather another part of the materials that Lu Yin required. Many of the remaining materials on the list that Ban Jiu had given Lu Yin were only avable in the western weaves, but such materials were not too rare. The number of androids that they intended to produce was not very high, so they did not need too much. Lu Yin had investigated the uses of the required materials, and he found that they were mostly used to manufacture certain types of firearms.

    Lu Yin ordered these sorts of firearms to be sent to King Zishan''s pce, as he wanted to disassemble them. ording to his estimates, disassembling one batch of firearms would yield enough materials to manufacture about a hundred androids. He had some people send him several batches, and he soon tore apart nearly a fleet¡¯s worth of firearms. In the end, he had acquired enough materials to manufacture 1,000 androids, and he only nned on stopping when he reached that amount.

 Chapter 633: Verifying Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 633: Verifying Destiny</h4>

    Five dayster, the Nn family sent over its first batch of resources in several shipments, and the Six-Fingered Tribe also delivered the materials that measured higher than 30,000 on the crystal scale. The price was so inexpensive that even Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed.

    Ban Jiu was very excited, and he happily epted all of the materials. He promised Lu Yin that as long as all the materials were supplied, he would be able to manufacture the first batch of Explorer-level androids in just half a year.

    Lu Yin was ted; in just half a year¡¯s time, he would have an entire army of Explorers that were not afraid of dying, and their power could even increase if their materials were upgraded.

    The Explorer realm was a dividing line for cultivators, as reaching that realm allowed a cultivator to freely roam about the universe. While there were more than 100 Explorers within the Great Yu Empire, not all of them worked for the empire. The strongest cultivator on manys were mere Explorers, but they did not work for the Great Yu Empire. The number of Explorers truly working for the empire amounted to a mere few dozen.

    This was not just the situation in the Great Yu Empire, as the same was true for most other Outerverse powers as well. It should be known that the guardians for each individual at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront were also just Explorers.

    To Lu Yin, an Explorer was not a powerhouse, but that was only his opinion. In the broader scope of the entire universe, Explorers were definitely within the ranks of the stronger powerhouses.

    To date, not a single power in the Outerverse had been able to assemble an army of Explorers.

    Lu Yin wanted to assemble the first army of Explorers, and their numbers would even approach 1,000.

    With this motivation, Lu Yin grew more enthusiastic. He had Kayze guard the door of King Zishan¡¯s pce and ordered him to not let anyone enter the residence.

    In a secret room, he began to roll his die. When it slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin was delighted to see that his very first roll was two pips: ckhole Disassembly. He was ecstatic, as this was exactly what he needed at this time.

    When he saw the ckhole Disassembly appear, Lu Yin quickly extended the duration and then began the dull process of disassembling all of the firearms that he had collected.

    It was not his first time doing this. He had once disassembled many sets of universal armor to obtain prium that he had then upgraded to prium essence, so he was already ustomed to this process.

    Fortunately, the disassembly speed was not too slow. After two days, Lu Yin delivered the materials to Ban Jiu,pletely exhausted.

    The older man was jubnt. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness! Your subject promises that half a year from now, we¡¯ll deliver fifty Explorer-level androids to you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but then he suddenly felt like something didn¡¯t sound quite right. ¡°What? Fifty? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be more than 1,000?¡±

    Ban Jiu was stumped. ¡°When did this subject mention more than 1,000 androids?¡±

    Lu Yin pped his forehead. He had forgotten that although he had obtained enough materials for more than 1,000 androids by disassembling firearms, that was just one of the materials needed. The other materials they had were much lower in quantity, and altogether, they only had enough to build fifty androids.

    ¡°Your Highness, although the materials are still being ordered, the quantities are grossly insufficient. Thatbined with the losses that we¡¯ll naturally sustain during the manufacturing process, means that fifty is already the best that we can hope for, though there may be a discrepancy of two to three androids,¡± Ban Jiu exined.

    ¡°How much material are we short of to manufacture 1,000 Explorer grade androids?¡±

    ¡°The Nn family has already transported all of the materials that they were able to gather, but Lord Gavin said that the empire¡¯s treasury is empty for the moment and that we don¡¯t have the funds to buy any more materials.¡±

    In the end, it was still about not having enough money. Lu Yin nced at his cosmic ring. He still had 80,000 star essences, but that was his personal money, and the empire even owed him 50,000 star essences on top of that. He could not continue loaning money to the empire indefinitely, or else he might not have enough resources for his waning phase. Should he borrow money from the Nn family yet again? He felt a little embarrassed at even considering the possibility.

    He thought about it, but then decided upon another method: the Mavis Bank. He could go to the bank and take out a loan, though he did not know what sort of interest they would charge him.

    This was a rather appealing idea, but then, Lu then remembered how Lulu had wanted to visit the empire. The Mavis Bank was not just a bank, as it also represented the Mavis family, which was after the Seven Courts¡¯ Yu Family¡¯s secret technique. Thus, getting involved with them might not be a good idea.

    Lu Yin quickly abandoned the idea of approaching the Mavis Bank and taking out a loan, and he also dismissed Ban Jiu. For the moment, he would just focus on getting these fifty androids manufactured, and after thinking it through, he had also realized that he might not actually need as many androids as he had initially thought. He might be able to upgrade these fifty androids to the Cruiser or even Hunter grade and then further develop them from there. Otherwise, if the numbers were too great, he might find it difficult to properly manage and develop them all.

    Ban Jiu had just left King Zishan¡¯s pce when Gavin requested an audience with the Royal Regent.

    Lu Yin was most afraid of seeing the finance minister at this moment, as this old fellow would definitelyin about the empire being broke. So, Lu Yin simply closed his doors and rejected the visitor.

    The night was refreshing, and King Zishan''s pce was brightly lit, to the point where it illuminated a great area surrounding the pce. To many, the nightlife was just getting started.

    Lu Yin extended his domain, and he found some frenzied couples enjoying themselves in the bars as well as that lonely bar with only a few scattered people enjoying their own wine silently. He saw many matters that should not be made public urring in smaller alleys, and he also saw many other things take ce.

    He then retracted his domain, as there were some matters he was better off not knowing about.

    The empire¡¯s economy had just stepped onto the right track, but because Lu Yin had just ced an order for all sorts of materials, the recovery had been stalled yet again. If not for the Nn family being so patient with the Great Yu Empire and its debts, Lu Yin would have been forced to foot the bill.

    He stared at the brightly lit Zenyu Star throughout the night as a small tinge of lonely hit his heart. Maybe his desire back on Shenwu Continent to take Ming Yan away with him to Zenyu Star had not been a bad one. There were indeed times when a man needed to act a bit more decisively.

    He drank his wine and involuntarily fell deep into thought.

    He had just taken a step out of his residence when his surroundings fell utterly silent. The lights were still lit and present, but even the wind had stopped, and all noise had vanished. The leaves that had been drifting down to the ground also froze in midair. Everything still felt natural, but also strange at the same time. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button.

    Lu Yin remained silent and did not move, though beads of sweat rolled off of his forehead. He could not feel any aura, and although his eyes were already filled with star energy, he could not see any rune lines whatsoever. Everything around him was frozen, and he did not know what strength was needed to aplish such a thing, but it was indescribably formidable. He felt like he had caught a glimpse of a deity¡¯s strength, where it was untraceable yet also ubiquitous.

    ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while, but you¡¯ve be much more powerful,¡± a soft voice rang out from behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced and he whirled around to see a familiar face. ¡°M- Master?¡±

    The person who had appeared behind Lu Yin was the nominal master whom he had met after falling into the isted space with the golden ocean: Mister Mu. This man had given Lu Yin the Fatesand, and he had also upgraded Lu Yin¡¯s physical body to its absolute limit.

    Mister Mu calmly studied Lu Yin. ¡°I was passing by, so I came over to see you.¡±

    Once he finished speaking, everything returned to normal; the leaves finished falling to the ground, the wind blew gently past the two men, and the distant lights flickered once more. It was as if everything that Lu Yin had just witnessed had been nothing more than an illusion, but he was also certain that it had been real, and that Mister Mu had caused everything to be still.

    ¡°Disciple Lu Yin pays his respects to Master.¡± Lu Yin bent at the waist and bowed low.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve built up quite the reputation during this time, and your performance on Ironblood Weave¡¯s battlefield was outstanding.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Thank you, Master, for thepliments. This disciple wonders when he can be Master¡¯s formal disciple?¡±

    When he had left the space with that golden ocean, Lu Yin had only been Mister Mu¡¯s nominal disciple. Even with his ability at that time, he had not qualified to be his formal disciple, but Lu Yin was confident in his current self. Disregarding his breakthrough to the Explorer realm, his battle force had reached seven lines, he hadprehended a forcefield from his domain, and he had also mastered the Yu Secret Art. This time, he was extremely confident in his potential.

    ¡°It looks like you are confident in disying your destiny at this time, but Master must remind you that, since you are now an Explorer, my requirements for epting you as a formal disciple have also changedpared to when you were only a Limiteer. If you fail to be Master¡¯s formal disciple, your status as a nominal disciple will also be lost, and I will erase all of your memories rted to myself. You can choose,¡± Mister Mu calmly informed him.

    Lu Yin was stunned at this information, but he gritted his teeth after thinking it through. ¡°Disciple still wishes to try.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded, and the next moment, their surroundings reverted back to the scene a moment ago, where everything had stopped. ¡°Alright, you can disy your destiny for me now.¡±

    Lu Yin directly skipped past his battle force and domain, as while seven lined battle force and a forcefield would astonish most people, they were nothing amazing to Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin immediately disyed his usage of the Yu Secret Art. He waved a hand, and a stone vanished from the ground, only to reappear in another location.

    Mister Mu marveled, ¡°A secret technique. The Court of Seven Names¡¯ Yu Secret Art. Not bad, not bad.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°Master knows of the Yu Secret Art as well?¡±

    ¡°This universe has extremely few secret techniques, and Master has seen almost all of them. Thus, knowing about this is nothing much. Continue,¡± Mister Mu calmly ordered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank; even a secret technique was not enough to satisfy this man? That was a secret technique! Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he fell deep into thought.

    Mister Mu spoke up, ¡°If you think that just a secret technique is enough for you to be my disciple, then your thoughts are too simple. Remember that war spirit that you battled against in that space? The one with closed eyes? That person also possesses a secret technique, yet I didn¡¯t ept him as my disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and looked at Mister Mu expectantly. ¡°Master, this disciple knows about the secret of this universe.¡±

    Mister Mu was surprised at this. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°In ancient times, the universe held six mainds, namely the First Maind, Second Maind, Third Maind, Fourth Maind, Fifth Maind, and Sixth Maind. The first four mainds mysteriously copsed, and the Fifth Maind was defeated during its battle against the Sixth Maind before merging with the previous four Mainds to form the present universe that we know today. And now¡­¡± Lu Yin repeated the information that he had learned from the elegant-looking man he had interrogated in the Daosource Sect, all the while carefully observing Mister Mu.

    He knew that Mister Mu must already be aware of all of this, but Lu Yin was well aware that his current strength and status were not enough to grant him the privilege of knowing such secrets. This information was also a form of destiny, as destiny was not only about one¡¯s strength, but also their information.

    Mister Mu looked up at the sky with aplex expression. ¡°You¡¯re right. This is the universe that was formed from five mainds integrating together, and the scope of this ce greatly surpasses that of a single maind. To have knowledge of such things, you can be considered to have some degree of destiny, but it¡¯s still not enough.¡± He looked at Lu Yin. ¡°With your age, ability, and background, it¡¯s indeed rather astounding that you were able to learn of such matters. Even Master didn¡¯t expect you to know all this, and Master won¡¯t ask you how you came across this knowledge. However, you¡¯re stillcking just a small bit, as your current destiny is still insufficient to be a formal disciple of mine.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled. He then slowly raised his index finger towards the void and tapped out. In that instant, his eyes went ck and his consciousness vanished as an endless rage ran rampant through his mind. This was the Dream Finger, the strongest attack that he could demonstrate with his current abilities. This strike had instantly killed a Yin Guai and also severely injured Phantom Thorn.

    The moment the Dream Finger appeared, the void fluctuated with a ripple, and Mister Mu¡¯s eyes went wide, as if he was seeing somethingpletely inconceivable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger tapped against the void while disregarding concepts such as distance. It had evidentlynded in an empty space, but it caused a tremor that forced ripples to appear. The whole thing was rather visually pleasing, and only those at the other end of this attack would know how powerful this finger truly was.

    Mister Mu frowned. This is¡­? So this is the case. No wonder, no wonder.

    An acute pain engulfed his nerves, and Lu Yin grabbed his index finger as he expectantly looked at Mister Mu. This was one of his final options, and if this didn¡¯t work, then he could only reveal the Stonewall Scriptures and those numbers that he had memorized.

 Chapter 634: Discipleship Ceremony

    <h4>Chapter 634: Discipleship Ceremony</h4>

    Mister Mu studied Lu Yin. This time, the emotion in his eyes was no longer that of indifference, but rather suffused with a hint of gentleness and longing. ¡°Very well. After surveying the universe, an Explorer such as you is hard toe by. I will formally take you as my disciple from this day forward.¡±

    Lu Yin was ted, and he hurriedly knelt down to pay respects to his new master. ¡°Disciple Lu Yin offers his respects to Master Mu.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded his head. ¡°I was merely testing your skills, and I never expected you to actually have any chance of bing my disciple. Bing a disciple of mine is an opportunity that is extremely difficult to obtain. Having said that, since you are now my disciple, I will be sure to take good care of you.¡± As he spoke, Mister Mu stretched out a hand, and in his palm was a memory chip. ¡°Take it.¡±

    Lu Yin took the chip and looked at Mister Mu, puzzled by the gift.

    ¡°This is probably something that you desperately need right now. The Cosmic Art,¡± Mister Mu said quietly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up with glee. ¡°The Cosmic Art? Master, this is the Cosmic Art?¡±

    Mister Mu nodded his head. ¡°Even though this chip just contains remnants, it still has the cultivation method of up to ny nine stars. After all, the Cosmic Art is the Cosmic Sect¡¯s most guarded technique, and they are so protective of it that even I am unable to obtain the full technique. For you to obtain the entire Cosmic Art, you would have to head to the Neoverse and join the Cosmic Sect. That is a matter to be explored in the future, but for now, these remnants of their cultivation method should suffice for your present needs.¡±

    Even though Lu Yin was disappointed that he had not received theplete Cosmic Art, cultivating the technique up to the ny nine star level was still plenty good enough for him. That was the equivalent of speeding up his cultivation rate ny nine times. With his current star energy absorption rate, he would have taken 100 years toplete a single cultivation cycle in the Explorer realm, and that was already after the fact that his Cosmic Art could elerate his absorption speed by nine times. Now that he would be able to cultivate the Cosmic Art to ny nine stars, it would at most take him ten years toplete a cycle, which was a speed that wasparable to ordinary Explorers.

    Lu Yin was quite satisfied with this potential speed.

    ¡°Thank you, Master,¡± Lu Yin said gratefully.

    Mister Mu replied, ¡°Take this with you as well.¡± After he was done speaking, he handed Lu Yin a yellow futon.

    Lu Yin blinked. A futon? Mister Mu has a futon too?

    ¡°This is a futon. When you sit on it, it will transport you to the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Since you are already privy to those secrets, you should know what the Daosource Sect is about. Entering that ce will not just give you the chance to obtain an inheritance from the Daosource Sect¡ªin that ce, your status will also be different. You will learn more when you go there. However, please remember this: in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, there are not only people from the Fifth Maind. There are also cultivators from the Sixth Maind, and those people have unique cultivation methods. They are known for their strength, so you will have to be careful to not be exposed,¡± Mister Mu cautioned.

    Lu Yin took the futon and respectfully replied, ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    When Mister Mu saw that Lu Yin did not appear as happy to receive the futon, he mistakenly thought that Lu Yin did not understand its significance. This was an object that others had tried to obtain by offering secret techniques, but to no avail. It represented not only the chance to obtain an inheritance from the Daosource Sect, but it was also a symbol of a certain status. However, Mister Mu chose not to borate any further, as he knew that Lu Yin would find all this out in the future.

    Lu Yin naturally understood how important a futon was. It was likely that the Ten Arbiters enjoyed their supreme status partly due to these futons. Having it was the equivalent of gaining the entire universe¡¯s protection, as it would make the owner one of the universe¡¯s true elites. Mister Mu giving Lu Yin a futon was an extraordinarily extravagant gesture, but he did not know that Lu Yin already had one.

    He struggled with himself as to whether or not it would be a good idea to reveal this detail to Mister Mu.

    ¡°I have to leave now. I came here in a rush, and I never expected that I would actually be able to formally ept you as my disciple. If I am satisfied with your progress the next time we meet, I will give you something more.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly asked him, ¡°Master, hasn¡¯t the Outerverse been isted? How did you appear here?¡±

    ¡°As luck would have it, I was already in the Outerverse the moment it was isted,¡± Mister Mu said before vanishing.

    After Mister Mu left, the area returned to normal.

    With his eyes full of star energy, Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings, but he was unable to see an immense amount of rune lines.

    When it came to his newfound master, Lu Yin did not know how powerful Mister Mu really was. However, from his maneuvers alone, the man was aplete mystery. Was it space or time that he had frozen earlier?

    Lu Yin looked at the memory chip in his hand and could not help a massive smile from emerging on his face. This was truly an incredibly lucky break. Even without receiving more of the Cosmic Art, bing Mister Mu¡¯s personal disciple was an amazing opportunity all on its own. Lu Yin had believed that Mister Mu was still in the Innerverse, which meant that crushing the jade slip would not call the man over to save Lu Yin. But now, his new master was shockingly in the Outerverse, which meant that the jade slip was as good as a protective amulet. With the ability that Mister Mu had shown so far, he was likely as powerful as the Sea King!

    Lu Yin could not draw any directparisons, but based on just his instincts alone, Mister Mu was definitely more powerful than Elder Lohar. Lu Yin now had some solid backing in Mister Mu.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to use two futons, and after thinking about this, he left King Zishan¡¯s pce and made his way to the Fifth Princess¡¯s residence.

    Lu Yin had nevere to Wendy Yushan¡¯s home at night, and if he was discovered at this time, it would be impossible to exin himself. Thus, he decided to go right in.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, intending to use it as a method of informing Wendy Yushan that he had arrived. However, in the very next moment, Lu Yin felt his face go red with embarrassment. Wendy Yushan was bathing.

    In the backyard of the princess¡¯s residence, Wendy Yushan¡¯s head snapped up. Her expression changed, and her hand shot out of the water and into the void. ¡°Keep it in!¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly withdrew his domain and coughed a few times. He had half a mind to just leave, but after some thought, he ultimately decided to stay. Leaving now would make things even more awkward, and it would look like he hade to her home just to peep on her. However, what he had inadvertently seen had already be a beautiful memory that was deeply imprinted within his brain. Her absolutely stunning figure had sent him into a daze.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s face was bright red with embarrassment. She threw on some clothes as she pulled her sword out from her cosmic ring. She clenched the handle tightly as she entered her sitting room. As soon as she saw Lu Yin, she unsheathed her sword, and a cold ripple echoed through the void. It seemed like she was ready to strike with her sword at any moment. ¡°Exin yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn''t mean to cause you any harm.¡±

    ¡°Who gave you the right to enter my home as you please?¡± Wendy Yushan questioned him, her facepletely red. She had never been exposed to anyone else before, so this was a very strange moment for her. She felt as though the sky hade crashing down. Someone who was usually unafraid of even death was now afraid to look at a man.

    Lu Yin shot a nce at Wendy Yushan, and the image of a hazy white, glistening, beautiful body appeared in his mind. He coughed to dispel the image as he pulled out the futon. ¡°This is for you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes twitched, and she thrust her sword at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t try to trick me.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a finger as seven lined battle force circled about it. He flicked his finger out and lightly tapped the sword tip away. ¡°Don¡¯t mistake my intentions, and please hear me out.¡±

    Wendy Yushan snorted coldly as she lowered her sword and stared at Lu Yin. There were not many things in the universe that could make her lose her cool anymore, but her heart was still racing even now.

    ¡°Do you remember the Daosource Sect I asked you about before? This futon is the key that allows one to enter the ruins of that Daosource Sect.¡± Lu Yin then proceeded to tell her all about the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, the Daosource Sect, imprints, and other relevant matters.

    Wendy Yushan was confused. ¡°Are you really telling the truth?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°What good would lying to you do me?¡± He then thought to himself that he had seen her showering, so she might have thought that he wasing up with an excuse after being caught.

    Wendy Yushan caressed the futon. ¡°When you asked me about Xing Kai¡¯s name back then, did you hear it in the Daosource Sect?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°I heard people of the Sixth Maind mention Xing Kai¡¯s name. That person said that he had killed a Realmling. After learning about that, I assumed that Xing Kai was one of the Ten Arbiters. If not for their ability to ess the Daosource Sect, then even with the Ten Arbiters strength, they would not enjoy such a high position right now. There should be a direct connection between them essentially being potential inheritors of the Daosource Sect and the great powers allowing a certain level of authority to be passed on to the younger generation. This is also why the different powerhouses don¡¯t deal with them. It¡¯s because they¡¯re the hope of our Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°How many people from the Fifth Maind go to the Daosource Sect?¡± Wendy Yushan asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact number, but an educated guess would be that those numbers include the Ten Arbiters. In fact, it¡¯s even possible that not all of them have entered and that perhaps a few big shots created amotion to divert our attention.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that even some of the Ten Arbiters are unable to enter the Daosource Sect? And that this is all done to confuse the people of the Sixth Maind so that those who truly have a chance to obtain the Daosource Sect¡¯s inheritance can remain hidden?¡± Wendy Yushan asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°This is all pure spection on my part. It¡¯s also possible that all of the Ten Arbiters can enter, though perhaps only a few can enter at a time. It¡¯s also possible that there are more than ten people from the Fifth Maind who can enter or who have been hidden. Don¡¯t forget¡ªwe know very little about the Neoverse, and it¡¯s highly unlikely that no one from there can enter the Daosource Sect.¡±

    The third possibility was the most likely. The Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, even the Three Dark Hands, and the Neoverse were all a part of the Human Domain. In other words, those ces were where the strongest individuals of the Fifth Maind had gathered. Logically speaking, there were bound to be others who could enter the Daosource Sect.

    And yet, that elegant-looking man had said that there were not many people from the Fifth Maind, which made the entire situation feel rather strange.

    ¡°If entering the Daosource Sect is so important to the universe, to the extent where those people will be protected by the Hall of Honor, then how did you get this futon? And why aren¡¯t you keeping it for your own use?¡± Wendy Yushan asked Lu Yin suspiciously.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I have another one.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was amazed. ¡°You have another one? You have two futons?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to doubt the value of one of these futons, and I can say that because I¡¯ve already been to the ruins of the Daosource Sect and have fought with some people from the Sixth Maind. This thing is incredibly important, and there aren¡¯t many of them in the entire universe. It¡¯s simply an amazing coincidence that I ended up with two.

    ¡°Also, I heard from someone from the Sixth Maind that they have alreadyunched an attack on the Fifth Maind. In the Innerverse or the Neoverse, war may already have broken out.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at the futon. ¡°I want to make a trip to the Daosource Sect to check it out.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me, and we can go there together in about ten days. That way, we¡¯ll be able to watch out for each other,¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    Wendy Yushan nodded her head.

    After a moment of silence, Lu Yin said, ¡°I¡¯ll head back now.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡± Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. ¡°There is an unwritten rule in the universe¡ªif one can minimize the range of their domain, they should do so. Using a domain to observe others is considered very rude and can even start fights. You would do well to remember this.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a cough. ¡°Noted.¡±

    ¡°Also, you¡¯ll need to inform me the next time youe to visit,¡± Wendy Yushan warned him. She then grabbed the futon and left the room.

    Lu Yinughed mockingly at himself and left her house.

    Cultivating the Cosmic Art required simting the movements of stars. Ever since the crazy headmaster had helped Lu Yin simte the ninth star, he had not studied any other astrological movements.

    Over the next ten days, Lu Yin spent his time on a deste that was not too far from Zenyu Star. He sat under a night sky and started practicing the Cosmic Art.

    He immediately destroyed the ninth star that the crazy headmaster had helped him simte. Using the remnants of the Cosmic Art that Mister Mu had passed on to him, Lu Yin took two days to cultivate the correct ninth star, and his stars started increasing one by one after that.

 Chapter 635: Sky-Eater Pig

    <h4>Chapter 635: Sky-Eater Pig</h4>

    Now that Lu Yin had be an Explorer, he could stand in the vacuum of space and extend his domain to practice the Cosmic Art. Before, he had only been able to observe the stars through his eyes, but now, he was able to use his domain, the Yu Secret Art, and his ability to see runes lines to help himself practice. With his enhanced understanding of the universe, he had managed to raise his Cosmic Art¡¯s level to twenty stars in just ten days.

    He currently had twenty-nine stars revolving around him.

    The Cosmic Art had finally be useful to him once again. Lu Yin was ted as this was the first skill that he had ever learned, and it helped him increase his cultivation speed quite impressively as well. With the Cosmic Art, his domain, as well as his lockbreaking tools, he was now able to easily use the Secret Sidestep Technique, and he could also use this Cosmic Art to learn his opponent¡¯s battle technique.

    In the past, he had only managed to cultivate the technique to nine stars, which hadn¡¯t been very useful for imitating the techniques of other powerhouses. However, if he could reach ny-nine stars, then this cultivation technique might be a very useful skill once again.

    His current n was to cultivate the technique to ny nine stars, which would greatly increase his current strength.

    After ten days passed, it was the appointed time for Lu Yin to meet with Mr. Bai and the fatty again. Lu Yin informed Wendy Yushan, and then he sat down on his futon in King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    The scenery before his eyes changed, and when he was finally able to clearly see his surroundings, he saw that he hade back to the ruined za. It looked the same as before; apart from the cracked ground and countless bone piles, he saw that there were a few more people near him. They didn¡¯t talk to each other as they all immediately headed towards First Divine Gate.

    Lu Yin took a look at his surroundings and wondered, Where¡¯s Wendy?

    He released his domain and extended its range.

    Once he spread his domain, he felt someone fighting against it. In the distance, a girl opened her eyes and looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes as her domain aggressively pushed back against Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Lu Yin frowned and crushed her domain in an instant.

    There was a whoosh as a gale swept across the za. A few people looked over in shock, as the collision between the domains had caused an enormous crack to appear in the ground.

    The girl narrowed her eyes. Then, her domain suddenly disappeared as she leaped towards Lu Yin and attacked him. He was surprised by her actions since he had not expected her to be rash enough to try to fight him after her domain was destroyed. He promptly retaliated as twenty nine stars appeared around his body. The girl¡¯s movements slowed down in his vision, and he easily dodged her attack before grabbing her arm and shoving her away.

    The girl flipped about in the air and nced at Lu Yin in surprise. A unique mark appeared behind her, and she rushed towards Lu Yin again, ready to swat down at him with a hand. This attack was almost twice as powerful as her previous attack.

    Lu Yin was astounded, as she was clearly using the exact same battle technique as before, but it had be much more powerful. What was that mark behind her? The cultivators from the Sixth Maind had many strange techniques, but even after her attack was boosted, the girl still wasn¡¯t his opponent.

    Lu Yin used just one hand to block the girl¡¯s attack before again shoving her away with his immense strength. The girl gritted her teeth and bellowed as a vague silhouette appeared behind her. She had now activated her imprint. She used the same attack yet again, but with a much stronger power.

    She had used the exact same attack thrice now, but the power of her technique increased with every try. Her first attack had a powerparable to Northgate Lie¡¯s, who was at the very bottom of the Top 100 Rankings. For her second attempt, her power had beenparable to people like the Faceless Man and Cheng Wu, who were ranked around sixty on the Top 100 Rankings. As for the third attempt, her power had exceeded Zhanbing Daynight¡¯s and reached the standard of someone in the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings.

    This showed the standard of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind, and they were generally much stronger than the cultivators of the Fifth Maind. Most of the people whom Lu Yin had met in the Daosource Sect wereparable to this girl.

    Lu Yin used his full power and withstood the girl¡¯s attack with just one hand. He then grabbed her arm and pushed her away once again, this time using Oveying Stacks.

    The girlnded heavily, leaving two deep footprints in the ground. Furthermore, Lu Yin¡¯s counter that had been powered up with Oveying Stacks had forced her into a hasty retreat. Eventually, she fell to the ground as a strand of blood leaked out from the edge of her mouth. She looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°You!¡±

    Lu Yin nced at her coldly. She was much weaker than the man who he had killed during hisst visit to this ce. That man had beenparable to Nightking Gu whereas this girl would only reach around fortieth in the Top 100 Rankings.

    The girl spat out a mouthful of blood and her face became very pale. She red at Lu Yin while showing her reluctance. ¡°Who are you? What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer, as he had the identity of a deaf and mute person in this ce.

    The girl continued, shouting, ¡°Don¡¯t you even dare to tell me your name?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head and unleashed his domain to continue looking for Wendy Yushan.

    The girl grew furious. ¡°Remember me! My name is Tong Tong, and I¡¯m the younger sister of Tong Zhan from the Grand Martial Realm. I will never forget this!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and red at Tong Tong while killing intent shed through his eyes. This woman was crazy! She actually dared to threaten him in this situation?

    Tong Tong smirked when she saw Lu Yin¡¯s expression. ¡°You want to kill me? That¡¯s impossible. I have lots of power vessels, and even an Enlighter wouldn¡¯t be able to kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    At that moment, Mr. Bai appeared in the za, and he immediately noticed Lu Yin¡¯s confrontation with Tong Tong. He stood up and walked towards Lu Yin while gesturing at him.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t understand what the man was attempting tomunicate.

    Mr. Bai then turned to look at Tong Tong. ¡°Was there some sort of misunderstanding between you and my friend?¡±

    Tong Tong snorted and kept ring at Lu Yin. ¡°You better remember me! And don¡¯t let me bump into you in the Daosource Sect!¡±

    She then walked away.

    Mr. Bai was confused, and he gestured to Lu Yin in order to ask him what happened.

    Lu Yin shook his head. He pointed at Tong Tong and then his brain, which carried a clear meaning.

    Tong Tong had turned back coincidentally at that moment and was outraged when she saw his actions. ¡°Just you wait!¡±

    ¡°It would appear that she is a rather troublesome youngdy.¡± Mr. Bai smiled.

    Lu Yin still hadn¡¯t found Wendy Yushan and was worried that she might have encountered some mishap. He reluctantly asked, ¡°My friend was supposed toe together with me, but she isn¡¯t here. Why would that happen?¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled, but he didn¡¯t seem surprised that Lu Yin was able to speak. ¡°There are four main gates in the Daosource Sect and each gate has its own za. Your friend should be in another za.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled the four gates: First Divine Gate, Second Supreme Gate, Third Azure Gate, and Fourth Imperial Gate.

    ¡°Who was that youngdy just now?¡± Mr. Bai asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°The sister of Tong Zhan from the Grand Martial Realm.¡±

    ¡°Tong Zhan? Well, you¡¯ve offended someone quite important!¡± Mr. Baiughed.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t probe any further as he could tell from this response that Tong Zhan was quite famous. Thus, people would grow suspicious if Lu Yin asked about him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s wait here for a bit longer. Miss Qing and Fatty Bro should also be here soon. I¡¯m quite curious about Fat Bro¡¯s Sky-Eater Pig bloodline, and I wonder what happened to him,¡± Mr. Bai said calmly.

    Lu Yin nodded and quietly waited there.

    More people appeared in the za from time to time, and a few groups of people had already entered First Divine Gate. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were gleaming. This ce was clearly the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, but the Fifth Maind only possessed a few futons. Conversely, the Sixth Maind had managed to acquire quite a lot of the futons. The Fifth Maind had clearly suffered a crushing defeat in the ancient war.

    ¡°I heard that the first batch of people invading the Fifth Maind have already started fighting and have even reached the Mara River. Once they havepletely suppressed the Fifth Maind, the younger generation will then be able to join the battlefield, which will likely happen soon.¡± He turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Perhaps we will be able to meet on the battlefield as well.¡±

    ¡°Possibly,¡± Lu Yin answered. Meet on the battlefield? If the Sixth Maind invades the Outerverse, then it¡¯s a definite possibility!

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have high hopes that the Fifth Maind would be able to stop the Sixth Maind¡¯s attack as he observed the various cultivators from the Sixth Maind. Most of the cultivators whom he had encountered wereparable to people on the Top 100 Rankings from his universe, and the average power of their cultivators was much higher than the Fifth Maind¡¯s. Moreover, the Sixth Maind also had Progenitor level powerhouses, and Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help but wonder how long his universe would be able to defend against such powerhouses.

    Momentster, the fatty arrived, and he rushed over as soon as he saw Lu Yin and Mr. Bai. ¡°Haha! I knew that you would be here.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°Fat Bro, how is your Sky-Eater Pig bloodline?¡±

    The fatty was thrilled. ¡°It¡¯s really powerful! My power has more than doubled, and I can even fight against Autumnfrost Qing now. That¡¯s the confidence thates from having an invincible bloodline.¡±

    Mr. Baiughed.

    The fatty looked at Lu Yin and gesticted excitedly, which left Lu Yin speechless. This fatty must have invented this signnguage himself, but Lu Yin couldn¡¯t understand anything.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t reply, and Mr. Bai didn¡¯t expose him either. The fatty continued to gesture exuberantly, and it seemed that he would only stop after getting some kind of response from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin reluctantly gave him a thumbs up.

    Huang San grinned and then continued eagerly gesturing.

    Fortunately, Miss Qing appeared at this time, which caused the fatty to finally stop.

    Huang San was still very excited as he hadn¡¯t actually expected the three of them to show up after a month, particrly since he was much less powerful than the three of them. Hence, he felt that he had finally made some true friends. He was especially grateful to Lu Yin as the fatty had shared all of his secrets with him, not to mention the fact that Lu Yin was the best person for the fatty to rant about his life. Thus, Huang San really didn¡¯t want to lose these people as friends.

    ¡°Fatty, show me what the Sky-Eater Pig can do,¡± Miss Qing requested curiously.

    ¡°Please add the word bloodline. It¡¯s the Sky-Eater Pig <i>bloodline</i>,¡± the fatty muttered.

    The four of them walked through First Divine Gate and saw a guardian wandering about.

    Huang San clenched his fists. ¡°Take a good look!¡±

    After so many years of being oppressed by others, he was desperate to earn their approval. His aim wasn¡¯t to be able to fight a genius like Autumnfrost Qing, but he wished to at least be as powerful as Yan Xiaojing.

    The fatty rushed at the First Divine Gate Guardian, and the automaton punched at its attacker as soon as it discovered him. A month ago, the fatty had needed both his imprint and battle technique to defeat a guardian. However, this time, the fatty didn¡¯t bother activating his imprint. His body merely expanded slightly as an invisible outline enveloped his body that quickly formed into an enormous Sky-Eater Pig. The Sky-Eater Pig roared and bit down upon the guardian.

    Under Lu Yin, Miss Qing, and Mr. Bai¡¯s surprised gazes, the outline of the Sky-Eater Pig bit off the guardian¡¯s arm. It then bashed into the chest of the guardian, causing the thing to fly off into the distance.

    ng!

    The broken arm fell to the ground. Huang San returned to his normal appearance, and then he raised his head to the sky and roared excitedly.

    Lu Yin was surprised. What an aggressive method. He just went ahead and bit the thing.

    Miss Qing ced her hands over her mouth. ¡°His teeth are really hard.¡±

    The First Divine Gate Guardians had extremely solid casings since they were used to test aspiring disciples. In Lu Yin¡¯s opinion, even the bottom few powerhouses in the Top 100 Rankings wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat a single guardian by themselves. In the past, this fatty had only been able to barely defeat one guardian, but now, he was able to easily defeat one without even using his imprint.

    This showed the power of bloodlines.

 Chapter 636: Progenitor Chenâ€™s Name

    <h4>Chapter 636: Progenitor Chen¡¯s Name</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Although it had only been a month since he hadst seen the fatty, Huang San¡¯s power had improved very rapidly. This was all due to the Sixth Maind¡¯s special cultivation system.

    p p p!

    Mr. Bai apuded. ¡°It sure lives up to its reputation of being one of the unrivaled bloodlines. Fat Bro, as long as you continue to cultivate this bloodline, you¡¯ll eventually be able to challenge Autumnfrost Qing once you be a Cruiser.¡±

    Huang San was pleased with all the praise.

    Miss Qing pointed behind the fatty. ¡°Careful, that guardian ising back.¡±

    The fatty didn¡¯t have any time to even react when he heard some rustling as wind blew past his ear, followed by a thump. The First Divine Gate Guardian had already been reduced to scrap metal, and he slowly turned around to see a grinning Mr. Bai.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we have to hurry up,¡± Mr. Bai said casually.

    The fatty¡¯s face twisted when he looked at the broken guardianying on the ground. Thispanion of his was a bit too freakish, and Huang San¡¯s rising confidence was immediately struck back down.

    Lu Yin and Miss Qing casually walked past the fatty as he hurried to catch up.

    ¡°Where are we headed?¡± Miss Qing asked.

    Mr. Bai spun his folded fan around as he replied, ¡°We¡¯ll still head over to that subsidiary city, as that ce can be considered slightly safer.¡±

    Miss Qing¡¯s lips twisted. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go there.¡±

    Mr. Bai looked over at her. ¡°The other areas are a bit more dangerous, and the probability of gaining any harvest elsewhere is also reduced.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just try. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to get this futon, so we can¡¯t just stay in that city all the time,¡± Miss Qing said. She then looked over at the fatty. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    The fatty turned to Lu Yin and made some wild motions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm.

    Mr. Bai shrugged. ¡°Very well. Since that seems to be the consensus, I¡¯ll take you three to a different ce. Although it contains a bit of danger, if we¡¯re lucky, we might even be able to obtain a secret technique.¡±

    ¡°A secret technique?¡± Miss Qing and the fatty cried out.

    Mr. Bai¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°That¡¯s right, a secret technique. Have you guys heard of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen?¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Chen?¡± Miss Qing cried out, sounding as if she had heard of some incredible character.

    Mr. Bai¡¯s face showed clear reverence. ¡°Even though the Fifth Maind ended up suffering the despair of defeat, it is still difficult to conceal their exceptionally brilliant powerhouses. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen. His name is forbidden by the Sixth Maind, and there are no concrete records of him either. However, ording to the legends, during an ancient battle, Progenitor Chen took down two of our Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors, which astounded everyone.¡±

    Miss Qing somberly added on, ¡°Legend has it that Progenitor Chen was brilliant and splendid. Apparently, he created a cultivation technique through the stars, and he was praised as a genius of his era. During each great battle, at least two Progenitors had to team up to stall Progenitor Chen, who was the most dazzling star during those ancient ages.¡±

    Mr. Bai continued. ¡°Legend also has it that Progenitor Chen created the Nine Clones Secret Technique, which allowed him to split his body into nine copies. Supposedly, this technique gave rise to nine ancestors, who were each unrivaled in the universe. From the moment his cultivation began, he was unrivaled and never lost a single battle. He was a true powerhouse who stood at the zenith.¡±

    Miss Qing also had more to say. ¡°Also, ording to the legends, when Progenitor Chen stepped onto the path of cultivation, there was a marvel that appeared in the heavens, and he was one of the few who was able to avoid divination.¡±

    ¡°There are too many legends concerning Progenitor Chen, and they have all been passed down as a part of various families¡¯ inheritances. There are no concrete records, but that is actually proof that Progenitor Chen was someone who our Sixth Maind could not tolerate. Even though he has already been dead for countless years, his existence has never been formally recognized, as our history cannot allow such a person to have existed,¡± Mr. Bai exined.

    Lu Yin listened to the various descriptions in silence, not showing anything on his face. However, he was inwardly startled. Many people had cultivated and fought only to leave their names in history, but history did not even dare to acknowledge this person. What sort of level had this Progenitor Chen reached?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey once saw some records rted to Progenitor Chen in a powerhouse¡¯s journal. He was indeed a powerhouse who truly existed, and he almost changed history. However, there are way too few records that reference him. Even the shattered Fifth Maind doesn¡¯t hold any ounts of him in our history,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    ¡°Was there really such an exaggerated character?¡± the fatty cried out, as these descriptions seemed to be rather unbelievable.

    Mr. Bai firmly stated, ¡°These ounts are not exaggerated. Everything that we mentioned earlier might not be exactly what Progenitor Chen aplished, but there¡¯s an even scarier rumor.¡± Mr. Bai nced over hispanions before quietly continuing. ¡°Progenitor Chen... is still alive.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. That¡¯s just a conspiracy theory. Someone just wants to incite a fight to change the situation.¡± Miss Qing immediately denied such a possibility.

    Mr. Bai nodded. ¡°That is correct. There is no one who is willing to believe it. Or rather, there is no one who dares to believe it.¡±

    ¡°How is Progenitor Chen connected to where we¡¯re headed?¡± Huang San could not resist asking.

    Mr. Bai replied, ¡°Back then, Progenitor Chen left a palm imprint in a certain location, and there are rumors that people who were able to copy that palm imprint have been able toprehend certain battle techniques that belonged to Progenitor Chen. ording to some records, that palm imprint may even contain Progenitor Chen¡¯s personal secret technique.¡±

    ¡°The Nine Clones Secret Technique?¡± Miss Qing was stunned.

    Mr. Bai shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it shouldn¡¯t be possible for it to be the Nine Clones Secret Technique. If that secret technique still existed, then our three Progenitors definitely would not let anyone elsee into contact with it, and they would do their best toprehend it themselves. At that point, it would no longer be any of our business.¡±

    Miss Qing grew disappointed. ¡°What a pity. If we could learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique and split our bodies into nine copies that each has our full power, that would bepletely terrifying.¡±

    The fatty was speechless. ¡°There¡¯s really a secret technique for anything. That has to be fake.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps. In any case, we will go and take a look at the palm print left behind by Progenitor Chen. That mark might possibly be the most direct evidence that Progenitor Chen once lived,¡± Mr. Bai suggested before leading the way.

    Lu Yin and the others followed behind him.

    In another location within the Daosource Sect, Wendy Yushan waited for Lu Yin for a full day, but she still had not seen him. She finally moved just outside the mountain gate and saw that above it were the words ¡°Third Azure Gate.¡± After seeing that, she waited no longer and proceeded along the mountain path.

    Lu Yin could not fully grasp Mr. Bai¡¯s power, who led the way through First Divine Gate and towards the Budding Terrace. Their trip was rather smooth and was only asionally interrupted by the Fatty¡¯s rants.

    The Budding Terrace was the safest ce in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, but few people stayed there. The three youths then continued to follow Mr. Bai to a ce known as Heaven¡¯s Pit, which was the name that had been given to Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm print.

    The path to the palm print was not safe, though that wasn¡¯t because of human interference or anything like that. Rather, it was due to the asional spatial crack that would appear as a result of the ancient war¡¯s aftereffects, and one of them nearly imed the fatty¡¯s life.

    The fatty had thought that obtaining the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline and the rted increase in strength would allow him to proudly walk alongside these three. However, he now felt that he was still a great distance behind them.

    After a full day¡¯s march, the four arrived before a pir of light. ¡°Once we pass through this, we will arrive in the area that holds Heaven¡¯s Pit. After the ancient war, the Daosource Sect was broken apart, and many of its ces were changed. The region that holds Heaven¡¯s Pit has been isted.¡±

    ¡°There are many ces in the Daosource Sect that can¡¯t be entered, and these light pirs were reportedly connected by our Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors,¡± Miss Qing said.

    Mr. Bai looked surprised. ¡°It seems that you know quite a bit.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not too bad yourself,¡± she replied.

    That fatty moved over next to Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t the two of us seem like a couple of country bumpkins?¡±

    Lu Yin silently shifted away. His status allowed him to know the greatest secret of the entire universe, and he was no country bumpkin. This fatty was the bumpkin, as he did not seem to know anything at all.

    They stepped into the light pir, and soon, the four appeared in another region. Huang San shouted in fear as a spatial crack streaked past him. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s quick response, even if the fissure hadn¡¯t killed the fatty, a good chunk of his fat would have been sliced off.

    ¡°This is no safe haven,¡± the fattymented.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. Aside from the Budding Terrace, there is nowhere else that is safe in the entire Daosource Sect. Fat Bro, it is still possible to head back.¡±

    The fatty shook his head. ¡°Fat Bro has an unrivaled bloodline, so it would be too embarrassing for me to retreat now.¡±

    The four of them looked out at the new area, but they were greeted by an area of darkness. There was no starry sky above their heads; instead, there was a spatial crack that seemed to be filled with flowing space, like flowing water. This space seemed to have been intentionally carved out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart shuddered, as this was his first time visiting such a ce. If a problem broke out in this space, everything within it would vanish, and not a single person would be able to escape.

    The fatty took one nce at the sky and henceforth did not dare to look up anymore. He was so terrified that he felt a bit anxious.

    ¡°Heaven''s Pit is just ahead of us. Let¡¯s go,¡± Mr. Bai said. He then leaped up and dashed forward.

    The few youths did not fly, as the sky above them formed from spatial cracks quelled any desire that they may have had of flying.

    The region that Heaven''s Pit was in was not overlyrge, and the four quickly arrived at the border of Heaven''s Pit.

    A single palm imprint was over a hundred kilometers wide, and the ground at the bottom of the imprint was at least fifty meters lower than the surroundings. It was so clearly defined that even its palm lines could be seen.

    This palm imprint was a massive pit that was quite deep, and there were currently more than twenty people standing around it who were trying to achieve enlightenment. There were also five stone pirs that rose high into the sky, one located at the tip of each finger, positioned just like a seal. Each stone pir had a tform at the top that was only about a square meter in area, and they could hold four to five people at the most.

    ¡°Only by standing atop one of the stone pirs can one clearly see the entire outline of this palm. Thus, the best ce toprehend the palm print is naturally from there,¡± Mr. Bai said. He then focused his gaze upon the five stone pirs.

    There were people atop each of the stone pirs with some having more and others less. There was also one pir that only held a single person.

    ¡°Let¡¯s grab one for ourselves.¡± Miss Qing was eager, and she also had a rather violent personality.

    The fatty frowned as he stared at one of the distant stone pirs, specifically at the one positioned on the tip of the index finger. This was the pir with only one person on it. ¡°That person feels kind of familiar to me. He should be from the Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    Mr. Bai looked over. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him.¡±

    Miss Qing shook her head. ¡°Me neither.¡±

    It went without saying that Lu Yin was simrly clueless, but he simply continued to stare at the palm lines. These were the palm lines of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen, which should have beenprehended by people from his own universe. However, it had been seized by the Sixth Maind.

    The fatty only stared at the person for a bit while feeling that they seemed familiar, but he could not recognize the youth atop the pir.

    ¡°So which one does everyone want to take?¡± Mr. Bai asked.

    Miss Qing pointed at the stone pir that was at the tip of the middle finger. ¡°That one. We¡¯ll be able to see the palm print the best from there.¡±

    Mr. Bai looked over and saw that there were five cultivators on that pir, which was one more than their own group.

    ¡°Deaf-mute Bro, what do you think?¡± Mr. Bai looked towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the five stone pirs and saw that Miss Qing was right¡ªthe middle finger¡¯s stone pir had the clearest view of the palm print. He was about to speak, but then, his gaze suddenly trembled as he saw three shadows dash towards a stone pir. It appeared that these people also wanted to take control of a pir, and they were targeting the pir at the index finger with only a single person on it.

    A tall man was seated at the top of the pir, and when the three neers dashed up to him, he licked his lips. His eyes emitted a dense bloodlust while thirst and excitement could be seen within his eyes.

    ¡°Bro, make some space!¡± One man dashed onto the peak of the pir as his imprint appeared behind him. He then waved his hands, causing a strange mutant beast to manifest in the void and snarl. At the same time, the other two youths took action as well. They were aware that if a single person could hold a pir on his own, then he had to be an expert. However, they were also very confident in their own power. When the three of them teamed up, even if they were defeated, they should still be able to retreat without any casualties.

    The tall man¡¯s eyes went wide, but he did not even bother trying to dodge the iing attacks. He directly shed against the mutant beast that had formed in the void as densely-packed white, bony spikes emerged from his body. They shredded the mutant beast apart. Then, the tall man turned and grabbed at the man who had charged up the pir first. That man¡¯s pupils shrank, and he hurriedly tried to back away.

    ¡°Retreat! Cover me!¡± After making contact with the tall man in just a single exchange, he already knew that the three of them could not deal with this person.

 Chapter 637: Realmling

    <h4>Chapter 637: Realmling</h4>

    From the other end of Heaven''s Pit, the fatty cried out, ¡°I know who he is! That¡¯s Butcher! He¡¯s an expert of the Bloodburn Realm and is second only to Di Fa!¡±

    Over on the stone pir, Butcher pressed both of his hands against the ground as his imprint appeared behind him. For Lu Yin, Butcher¡¯s imprint was much clearer than the fatty¡¯s, Yan Xiaojing, or any other that he had seen¡ªeven its facial features could be made out. Under everyone¡¯s overwhelmed expressions, countless bony spikes stabbed out from inside the stone pir. They then all shot out in a sharp thrust, piercing straight through all three of the retreating attackers. The trio was left impaled on the stone pir as their blood flowed down along the stone, staining it red.

    At this moment, many of the onlookers discovered that those three were not the only bodies hanging from the pir; there were actually ten other corpses hanging there already.

    In the area surrounding Heaven''s Pit, everyone who saw this scene fell silent, and they all looked at Butcher in horror. He had just eliminated three experts in the blink of an eye.

    Lu Yin was amazed, as those three youths definitely had not been weak. Every single one of them had been stronger than the fatty, but they could not even retaliate against Butcher.

    Butcher stood tall on the pir. The white spikes vanished from his body. At that moment, it could be seen that these spikes had extended from his body, which meant that his own body had also been pierced through by these bones, and his clothes were stained red with his own fresh blood.

    ¡°Harming enemies 1,000 times while harming oneself 800 times,¡± Miss Qingmented.

    Huang San said, ¡°That¡¯d be correct if it was someone else, but he¡¯s Butcher. He has an innate gift of absorption, so he can increase the efficacy of medication by thousands of times. Just watch.¡±

    The four youths nced over and saw Butcher pull out a pill and swallow it. Right after that, the bloody holes covering his body visibly fused back together at a speed that even surpassed someone with an innate gift of recovery.

    ¡°That¡¯s Butcher. He unintentionally acquired the Dismemberment bloodline, which allows him to use his skeleton as a weapon. That,bined with his innate gift of absorption, makes it so that there are extremely few youths in the entire Bloodburn Realm who can fight against him. Even Autumnfrost Qing might not be his opponent, as the imprint that Butcher just used is from someone on a level simr to Elder Autumnfrost: a World Imprinter, Ancestor Mo Jiang.¡± The fatty was clearly envious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This person had instantly killed three experts whose strengths wereparable to people ranked around sixtieth on the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that Butcher¡¯s strength could match up to those within the top ten.

    Anybody who could enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s elites; otherwise, they would not be able to obtain a futon. However, there were too many elites here, as Lu Yin¡¯s group had already passed at least fifty to sixty such individuals on their way to Heaven''s Pit. There were definitely more than just a few hundred people scattered throughout the entire ruins, and these numbers did not even ount for all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s elites. There were many who had not obtained a futon, and many others had note to visit the Daosource Sect either.

    The Sixth Maind had its own Daosource Sect, and their top-tier elites would also assemble there. Following this line of reasoning, even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s older generation powerhouses were disregarded, the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators¡¯ bloodlust would not be sated by the sum of the Ten Arbiters and everyone within the Top 100 Rankings, and this was even with the Neoverse added in.

    Although Lu Yin had not visited the Neoverse, he was certain that the average standard of their cultivators was also far inferior to the Sixth Maind¡¯s.

    Butcher¡¯s power didn¡¯t only cause those around Heaven¡¯s Pit to grow apprehensive, as even the people atop the other pirs became nervous. Soon, everyone was keeping a vignt eye on him.

    ¡°Mr. Bai, I think that we should seize a different pir, as the middle one is too close to Butcher. Let¡¯s-¡± the fatty hurriedly spoke up, as he was rather afraid.

    However, before he could finish speaking, he suddenly looked in another direction with a dumbfounded expression on his face. The other three turned to look as well and saw that a man with white clothes was standing there, and none of them had any idea how long he had been there for.

    Seeing the fatty¡¯s nk face, Miss Qing shoved him. ¡°What were you going to say? Spit it out!¡±

    Huang San pointed at the man in white clothes. ¡°He- he-¡±

    Miss Qing looked over at the man and then back at Mr. Bai.¡°Is that your brother?¡±

    Their wardrobe was rather simr.

    The fatty quickly gestured for her to be silent, and his face went deathly white. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense! We¡¯ll be killed!¡±

    Miss Qing felt that the whole thing was a bit strange. ¡°So he¡¯s very powerful?¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at the man in white, and his gaze trembled. His domain had abruptly paused when it touched the man in white, as Lu Yin instinctively did not want to make contact with this person. His instincts for danger had led to a snap decision.

    Mr. Bai nced over. ¡°He is indeed dressed rather simrly to me, and he is only missing the fan.¡±

    The fatty was about to cry. ¡°Stop bbering! Do you guys know who he is? Don¡¯t provoke him! That¡¯s Shang Rong!¡±

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing were both taken aback. ¡°Shang Rong? The ckblood Realm¡¯s Realmling?¡±

    The fatty hurriedly nodded and then carefully nced back over at the man. Upon seeing that the man in white had not reacted to their presence, he finally rxed.

    Lu Yin was amazed. This person was the Realmling, and although he could not see Shang Rong¡¯s rune lines, he could instinctively sense an intense aura from the Realmling. This was a judgement formed through many years of battle, and Lu Yin could tell that this person was extremely strong.

    Mr. Bai was surprised. ¡°I never thought that a Realmling would appear here. It seems that the invasion of the Fifth Maind is being hastened along.¡±

    The fatty took a careful look at Shang Rong, fearing that the Realmling would notice their attention. ¡°What day is it? First it¡¯s Butcher and now a Realmling! Are the Daosource Three Skies going to show upter on as well?!¡±

    Miss Qing rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things. The Daosource Three Skies wouldn¡¯t deign toe to this ce.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only thinking aloud,¡± the fatty mumbled as he looked over again. Shang Rong had suddenly vanished, causing Huang San¡¯s hair to all stand on end as he nced around. He then finally saw Shang Rong reappear at the bottom of the middle finger¡¯s stone pir.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to take the middle finger¡¯s stone pir,¡± Mr. Baimented solemnly.

    In the distance, atop the peak of the middle finger¡¯s pir, one person softly said, ¡°Someone¡¯sing.¡±

    ¡°Just one person?¡±

    ¡°Be careful. It¡¯s more dangerous if it¡¯s just one person.¡±

    Butcher¡¯s bloody massacre had terrified them, and right now, they would rather face four to five opponents rather than just one. If one person had the courage to seize control of a stone pir, then it meant that they were either mentally unstable or a true freak.

    Shang Rong leaped up towards the top of the pir, but before he even reached the peak, attacks from the five already there fell upon him as everyone watched on.

    Suddenly, a scene that was a hundred times more shocking than Butcher¡¯s earlier one appeared. The five attacks vanished the instant they came into contact with Shang Rong. Then, those five defenders dissolved as well. Regardless of if it was their flesh and blood or even their clothing, everything was the same. They allpletely vanished from sight; it was as if the five youths had never existed.

    Everyone who saw this scene from around Heaven¡¯s Pit felt their scalps go numb, even Butcher.

    Many mouths gaped open; what the heck had they just witnessed? They had not seen anything at all, but where had the five defenders gone? Why were those people missing?

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he stared at the middle pir in shock. How had those five people disappeared? Had they directly disintegrated into nothingness?

    This was an unexinable event, but multiple people had just witnessed it happen.

    Shang Rong sat down atop the stone pirpletely peacefully. Then, he calmly studied the palm lines, as if he had just done something of no consequence.

    But the shock that he had given everyone else was unforgettable.

    ¡°I- I- I said that we shouldn¡¯t provoke him. We can head somewhere else.¡± The fatty shuddered.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing exchanged nces, and they saw the rm in each other¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Those people had actually been broken down extremely thoroughly. While the method seemed simr to manipting rune lines, it definitely was not a technique that involved rune lines.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s go! That guy¡¯s a freak. It¡¯s best that you don¡¯t mess with such a person right now. You can¡¯t even use any of your external aids here, so let¡¯s hurry up and leave!¡± The Ghost Monkey was also frightened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. If he could see rune lines, then he would be able to understand how Shang Rong had caused those people to disintegrate. It was not possible for the Realmling to have not attacked, so the only other option was that they had not been able to see his attack.

    During Lu Yin¡¯sst visit to the Daosource Sect, some had ced him on the same level as a Realmling, but if all the Realmlings were at Shang Rong¡¯s level of strength, then those people who had evaluated him as such simply had no clue as to how terrifying the Realmlings¡¯ strength truly was. Only by witnessing it for themselves could they understand it. It was no wonder why when Xing Kai had shaken the Sixth Maind when he had killed a Realmling. The Realmlings definitely had the strength to stand up to the Ten Arbiters.

    This person was likely a Hunter.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the Blood Progenitor sealed three unrivaled bloodlines within three sculptures and that only the Realmlings have the ability to retrieve them. Shang Rong received one of them,¡± the fatty exined in rm. ¡°Every realm has countless cultivators, but there¡¯s only one Realmling that stands at the peak of each realm. Shang Rong has even received a bloodline that was deemed valuable by the Blood Progenitor. That is a true unrivaled bloodline.¡±

    ¡°So, shall we retreat or try to seize a pir? I¡¯ll allow you guys to choose,¡± Mr. Bai said.

    The fatty was stunned at these words. ¡°Shang Rong¡¯s here, and you guys still want to take one?¡±

    Miss Qing rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not going to take his, so what are you afraid of?¡±

    Huang San felt conflicted.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked up and pointed at the stone pir that was at the tip of the ring finger. There happened to be four people atop that stone pir, which was the same number as their group.

    Mr. Bai pped his folding fan. ¡°Alright, since brother Deaf-mute has decided, then we shall seize that one.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s mouth gaped open, and his eyes went nk. He whirled around to excitedly gesture at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had already dashed forward, and Mr. Bai and Miss Qing were right behind him. Huang San was left with no choice, and he could only follow them closely. If he backed out at this moment, then he would not be able to travel with thesepanions again in the future.

    All around Heaven''s Pit, everyone else was still stunned by how shocking Shang Rong¡¯s move had been just now. But then, someone else suddenly moved to seize control of another stone pir.

    The four cultivators on the ring finger¡¯s stone pir were already afraid of Shang Rong turning on them. Now that there were others trying to seize their location as well, the four instantly reached a mutual understanding after ncing at each other, and they silently retreated.

    The two parties did not exchange any blows.

    ¡°That was too easy,¡± the fatty muttered.

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°Perhaps they were already about to leave.¡±

    ¡°I think that they were too frightened,¡± Miss Qing said.

    Huang San cautiously nced at Shang Rong and saw that the Realmling was staring intently at the palm lines. The fatty quickly gestured for everyone to be quiet. ¡°Let¡¯s study these palm lines and not bother anyone else.¡±

    Lu Yin also nced at Shang Rong before turning his attention towards the palm print.

    Heaven''s Pit fell into silence for the moment.

    One day passed, during which Lu Yin continued to stare at the palm. Unfortunately, he was unable to see anything.

    Two days passed, but nothing changed.

    He nced over at Mr. Bai, who seemed to notice his gaze. The man helplessly spread his hands open and waved his fan, as if he was a gentleman on a leisurely stroll. It went without saying that he had gained no harvest either.

    Then, Lu Yin looked over at Miss Qing, who rolled her eyes at him. Her mood was evidently not very good either.

    Finally, Lu Yin looked at the fatty, who was incessantly gesticting at him, though Lu Yin could not even be bothered to try to guess the youth¡¯s intentions.

    The situations at all of the other pirs were about the same, and there had been not many changes during these past days. Nothing extraordinary had urred either.

    On the third day, some people appeared one after another, and they began to seize control of the pirs. These people were very smart, and they did not try to attack Butcher or Shang Rong. Instead, they went straight for the pir at the tip of the little finger, and they sessfully gained control of it after a drawn out battle.

    Perhaps their sess had encouraged everyone, as another group soon began their own attack. They targeted the ring finger, which happened to be the pir that Lu Yin¡¯s group was upying.

    The fatty shrieked, ¡°There¡¯re enemies!¡±

    Mr. Bai waved his fan to indicate something. ¡°There are four of them as well as four of us. How nice.¡±

    The fatty was stunned. ¡°Don¡¯t count on me! I¡¯m just passing by.¡±

    Huang San¡¯s voice was quickly drowned out by the sounds of battle. The four opponents intended to face off against one opponent each, and the fatty was attacked by a skinny man who looked like a bamboo pole. One was fat while the other was thin, and it was a rather eye-grabbing matchup. Theparison only became more ridiculous when the fatty¡¯s Sky-Eater Pig appeared, at which point even Shang Rong nced to the side.

 Chapter 638: Successive Appearances

    <h4>Chapter 638: Sessive Appearances</h4>

    The Sky-Eater Pig was an unrivaled bloodline, and although the fatty had only absorbed a small bit of that bloodline and could not disy its true might, it was still enough to greatly improve his strength. That bamboo-thin man was from the Martial Progenitor Realm, and he had no bloodline. Thus, his battle techniques were actually consumed by Huang San. Eventually, he activated the martial imprint on his forehead and used it toplement his imprint and boost his power.

    Lu Yin, meanwhile, confronted a gloomy-looking man who seemed determined to obtain a victory through blitzkrieg tactics. The man activated his imprint along with his battle technique as soon as possible, and he also seemed to draw on an additional strange strength that came from his brand. This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time encountering such a thing, as the woman who had attacked him in the za outside First Divine Gate had used the same technique, and it had nearly doubled her strength at that time.

    But even after the gloomy man went all-out, he was still instantly routed by Lu Yin. This person was merely an Explorer, and within the same realm, Lu Yin was absolutely confident that he was in the top tier even if he was up against the Sixth Maind¡¯s elites.

    His tyrannical physical strength easily overpowered the man¡¯s battle technique and sted him away, sending the man crashing into the ground.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing¡¯s battles also ended fairly quickly, and the three youths soon turned to watch the final battle between the fatty and the bamboo-looking man.

    The bamboo man started to panic, as he had not thought that hispanions would be defeated so quickly. When the fatty¡¯s Sky-Eater Pig¡¯s silhouette first appeared, the bamboo man had actually believed that this fellow was the strongest out of the four opponents, but he never would have thought that this person was actually the weakest. The other three were actually freakishly strong, and the discrepancy between the groups caused the bamboo man to give up and quickly retreat from the stone pir.

    The fatty didn¡¯t have the guts to chase his opponent down, and he just panted heavily as he stood still with clenched firsts. ¡°Fat Bro actually won!¡±

    Won? Lu Yin nced over at the heavy-set youth, as Huang San had not won the match. It would be more urate to say that it had been a draw.

    If the fatty was the same as when he had first met Lu Yin, then he would have been easily defeated. It could only be said that his strength had undergone a qualitative improvement in that time and that the four attackers had also not been too strong. Each of them had been much weaker than the elegant-looking man who Lu Yin had killed in the past.

    ¡°Their luck¡¯s pretty good,¡± Miss Qing said.

    ¡°It¡¯s a decent bloodline but rather thin. What a pity.¡± A faint, fifth voice was heard, and the four youths nced over at Shang Rong.

    The fatty stared nkly at Shang Rong and pointed at himself. ¡°Are you talking about me?¡±

    Shang Rong¡¯s eyes narrowed, which rmed Huang San, and he rushed to bow to the Realmling. ¡°Thank you for thepliment! Thank you, Realmling, for yourpliment! I don¡¯t deserve the honor.¡±

    Shang Rong slowly turned away and continued to observe the palm lines.

    Miss Qing facepalmed. ¡°How embarrassing.¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°Fat Bro does not conceal his emotions. Haha!¡±

    The fatty¡¯s face flushed deep red, and he mumbled, ¡°That¡¯s the Realmling, Shang Rong! He¡¯s a little terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down and silently studied the palm print.

    ***

    While Lu Yin and the others were studying the palm print, far away in another part of the Daosource Sect, on the path leading to Third Azure Gate, Wendy Yushan had unsheathed her sword and was shing out horizontally with it. Her attack destroyed the monster-like storm that was attacking her, and her sword subsequently returned to its sheath. She looked up towards the higher regions of the mountain and wondered if she was about to reach the end of this path.

    She was in no hurry to rush to Third Azure Gate as she was rather curious about this Daosource Sect. She had met other people along her way, and she had made a choice simr to Lu Yin when he had first entered these ruins: she did not speak to anyone so that it would be more difficult for them to realize that she was not from the Sixth Maind.

    In the sky above her, lightning descended, but Wendy Yushan easily evaded it as she passed through Third Azure Gate. As long as she entered the light pir, she would be able to make it to the Budding Terrace.

    At this moment, a figure appeared from the light pir, making a frantic dash towards Third Azure Gate. Upon seeing Wendy Yushan ahead of him, he shouted, ¡°Scram!¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned and was about to draw her de when another figure appeared from the light pir, apanied by a metallic voice. The instant she heard the voice, Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword started trembling uncontrobly. Then, it unsheathed itself, and under her amazed eyes, the de tore through the void and streaked forward like a ck river, leaving a horizontal spatial fissure behind.

    The man trying to escape to Third Azure Gate slowly knelt down and died.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s de spun through the air before ultimately returning to its sheath with a ringing sound.

    Wendy Yushan turned to look towards the light pir in amazement. This was the first time that her own sword had been manipted by someone else.

    A sturdy man emerged from the light pir, and she saw that he had short hair and wore cotton clothes. He had a very casual appearance, but his arms were exceptionally thick, and there were veins bulging out all over them. Just one look at this man made it clear to any observer that he was quite strong.

    The man was not very handsome, but he had a unique demeanor. In particr, his eyes stood out, which expressed a certain dignity and looked as if they could pierce one¡¯s heart.

    Wendy Yushan and the man exchanged nces.

    The man¡¯s eyes swept across Wendy¡¯s body, and a trace of amazement shed through his eyes. ¡°My apologies for using your sword.¡±

    Wendy Yushan coldly replied, ¡°Your name.¡±

    The man¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°War Martial Realm: the Toolcasting family¡¯s Toolwielder.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m asking for your name,¡± Wendy Yushan replied coldly.

    The man¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re someone with an average background since you¡¯ve never heard of the Toolcasting family before. The people of my Toolcasting family have no names¡ªonly titles, and I am this generation¡¯s Toolwielder.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze remained cold. ¡°Since it¡¯s called the Toolcasting family, then you should be fully aware of how important a weapon is to its owner. You used my sword to kill another, which is the same as you showing your contempt for me.¡±

    The man sped his hands behind his back. ¡°I could let this matter slide if someone else was speaking to me in that tone, but since it¡¯s you, I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯ve taken an interest in you. Come with me, and I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze shed with a certain coldness. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll look for you in the future.¡±

    The manughed madly. ¡°You¡¯ll look for me! You should first at least be aware of the disparity in our strength! Follow me, and I¡¯ll help you expand your horizons. Right, I forgot to tell you¡ªI¡¯m also the War Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s pupils shrank, as a Realmling should be the title of the strongest youth from a given realm, though that was just based on Lu Yin¡¯s guesses from his previous experience in the Daosource Sect. Regardless, this person was definitely strong since he was a Realmling.

    ¡°I¡¯m headed to the Scripture Pavilion, and I¡¯m formally inviting you to join me so that I can show you the disparity in our strength. Do you dare toe with me or not?¡± the man arrogantly asked.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s answer remained cold. ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    ***

    The Daosource Sect was huge, and it included mountains, ins, rivers, and even oceans. At the foot of a certain mountain, there was a gathering of a dozen cultivators from the Sixth Maind.

    ¡°Legend has it that back when the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect still belonged to them, only the Progenitors could cleave the mountains and split the oceans, and back during their peak, there were Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. This is one of those mountains, and there¡¯s an inheritance from one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors here. Everyone, let¡¯s search together! We¡¯ll definitely find some harvest,¡± someone suggested.

    ¡°Those are just rumors, and even our Sixth Maind has never had more than four Progenitors at its peak. How could the Fifth Maind have had nine Progenitors? This mountain is probably empty, so let¡¯s just search somewhere else,¡± someone replied.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Progenitors cleaving mountains and splitting oceans are just stories made up by the Fifth Maind¡¯s people to console themselves. This mountain is so massive, and who knows how long it would take to climb to the peak. It¡¯s too time-consuming, and we might not even make it halfway up this thing by the time our futons dim.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go to Heaven''s Pit. If our luck is good, we might even be able toprehend a secret technique there!¡±

    ¡°Nah, let¡¯s head to the Nine Cauldrons. Each one of them has its own battle technique. Someone¡¯s alsoprehended a technique there, so we might be able to get something.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just stay in the Scripture Pavillion? We may be able to understand something.¡±

    ¡­

    A thousand meters away from the group of a dozen people, there was a single man walking along slowly. Each step he took left a ck footprint on the ground due to his extreme temperature. It didn¡¯t take long for the man to notice the dozen of cultivators preparing to leave, and his lips curled upwards. ¡°The war has begun.¡±

    Before long, the area was engulfed in mes as the man leisurely continued on his way, slowly walking away. He left nothing but ashes behind. Where once a dozen cultivators stood, there was now only one on hisst breath. As he stared at the man¡¯s departing future, he asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The man paused, but he did not turn around. He only softly answered, ¡°Ten Arbiters, Undying Bird.¡±

    The mes then surged and engulfed the entire area.

    Within the Daosource Sect, there was a tall mountain that was only intermittently visible, and all around ity a vast ocean. There was a reef that ran along its shore, and a woman was sitting upon it with a wine gourd in hand that she took an asional gulp from.

    Her clothing was quite revealing, but she was not attempting to be seductive. Based on her demeanor as she drank her wine, it more seemed that this woman was very unrestrained.

    Two men approached her from behind, and they checked her out from top to bottom with surprised faces. ¡°It¡¯s rare toe across such a bolddy nowadays. Could we have the opportunity to share a ss with you?¡±

    The girl set her wine gourd down and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. She belched drunkenly as she turned around towards the two men, upon which they saw that her eyes were zed over.

    The two men were surprised by the woman¡¯s appearance, as she had a ravishing countenance that did not reflect her rambunctious behavior. She had the casualness of a man but the charming face of a tipsydy. The juxtaposition of two opposing images produced an allure that the two men could not resist. They swallowed their saliva. ¡°Miss, are you alright?¡±

    She stood up, swayed drunkenly, and nearly tumbled to the ground. The two youths hurried forward to support her, but the moment they made contact with her, their bodies shrivelled up. After less than a second, the aura of the two men had already vanished, and they were reduced to two dry corpses, though they maintained their previous posture.

    The woman walked away while swaying drunkenly. As she passed by the two men, a breeze blew past and caused their desated bodies to dissipate into dust that floated towards the ocean.

    ¡°The Daosource Sect¡¯s ocean is beautiful. Wait for me¡ªperhaps this will be my burial ground. We¡¯ll meet again soon,¡± thedy spoke indistinctly, although it was impossible to tell if she was uttering words in her drunkenness or was sleep talking. After muttering those words, she fell to the ground with a thump. Sheid on the reef and started sleeping, snoring loudly.

    There was an area in the Daosource Sect that was known as thend of the buried bow. It had not been created by the Daosource Sect, as it was actually a ce that originated from the ancient war. The corpse of one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors and with his weapon, which was a bow, had been buried in this ce. This weapon had given this ce its name: thend of the buried bow.

    At this moment, three cultivators from the Sixth Maind were carefully exploring this cknd after identally charging into the region.

    ¡°It was so difficult to find this wretched ce, and we wouldn¡¯t have found it if not for our amazing luck,¡± someonemented.

    Another person grew excited. ¡°This ce is the fablednd of the buried bow! Countless experts have searched for this ce, but all to no avail. But now, we¡¯ve finally obtained the opportunity to explore this ce, and we¡¯ll definitely get the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance! We¡¯ll take away the sacred bow, step onto the battlefield, massacre the evil remnants of the Fifth Maind, and finally get revenge for our ancestor!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Thend of the buried bow starts here, and this is where my achievements will begin as well. We can¡¯t betray the hopes of our ancestors!¡± thest person spoke excitedly.

    After thest person finished speaking, the space around the group fluctuated. The three people looked over with fervent eyes and moved forward at an unprecedented speed, as each one of them hoped to obtain the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    However, before their eyes, a yellow futon appeared with a man sitting on top of it. His long, ck-and-white hair streamed out behind him, and there was a lock of grey hair in the middle of his head as well.

    ¡°Who are you? How are you able to appear in thend of the buried bow with your futon?¡± One of the three youths shouted. They all kept a vignt eye on the man on the futon.

    The man¡¯s eyes opened, revealing an indescribable pair of eyes that were filled with a boundless arrogance and coldness. His eyes seemed to look at everything as though they were all mere maggots.

 Chapter 639: Nine Mountains And Eight Seas

    <h4>Chapter 639: Nine Mountains And Eight Seas</h4>

    The man¡¯s gaze terrified the trio, and suddenly, one of them seemed to remember something. Then, he turned to flee. ¡°Run! He¡¯s a survivor from the Fifth Maind!¡±

    The other two were overwhelmed at these words, and they both turned to escape at the same time. The Fifth Maind was known to be extremely weak, and the Sixth Maind could invade it at any time since the Fifth Maind had already suffered a crushing defeat during the ancient war. However, anyone from the Fifth Maind who was able to appear within the ruins of the Daosource Sect was an absolute monster. Xing Kai had killed a Realmling, and no one had ever managed to defeat anyone from the Fifth Maind inside of the Daosource Sect. In the Sixth Maind¡¯s youth¡¯s minds, any survivor who appeared in the Daosource Sect was a freak who rivaled the Realmlings.

    This assumption was evidently incorrect because Lu Yin could notpare to those apex powerhouses. However, at this moment, the three youths had made the sensible choice of trying to escape as the person who had appeared in front of them was none other than someone on the same level as Xing Kai: Nightking Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters.

    But wanting to escape and being able to escape were two entirely separate things, and the three youths had clearly overestimated their own abilities, as they were all decapitated in a single move.

    Nightking Zhenwu stepped through their fresh blood and gazed at the entrance to thend of the buried bow. ¡°The Starfall Sea has suffered a bitter defeat, and the Starsibyl Sect believes that the best n is for us to massacre the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation and divert the pressure from the battlefield. These youths from the Sixth Maind are definitely not weak, especially those Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°Still, just moving around will be beneficial for us. As long as the Daosource Three Skies don¡¯te out, the rest are nothing more than ants.¡±

    ***

    The Daosource Sect had a primary shrine that was easy to find since it towered high above the peak of the Daosource Sect. No one could even arrive there directly through a pir of light, but normally, nobody visited that ce as there was no inheritance, power vessels, or anything else worth taking note of there. It was merely the ruins of what had once been a grand shrine.

    asionally, cultivators would visit the ce to spruce it up, but that was also because there was not much danger in this ce.

    At this moment, there were at least ten cultivators at the shrine, and they appeared to be excitedly discussing something. There were certain terms that were vaguely mentioned: battlefield, Mara River, Starfall Sea, and so on.

    Not a single one of the youths realized that a futon had abruptly appeared behind the shrine. A man was sitting on it with his eyes closed, and he slowly stood up after he appeared.

    Evidently, those who entered the Daosource Sect with their futons did not only appear in the zas outside of the mountain gates.

    The man with the closed eyes slowly stepped into the shrine, causing the dozen or so people to look over. Although they were taken aback by the man¡¯s tightly closed eyes, they did not really care. After all, there were many strange battle techniques and arts.

    One person approached the neer, and he waved a hand before the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Brother, what¡¯s this technique that you¡¯re cultivating? Can you really not see?¡±

    ¡°Second bro, he clearly can¡¯t see with his eyes closed. Maybe he¡¯s cultivating some kind of unbeatable technique! Don¡¯t disturb him, haha,¡± someone joked.

    Another youth joined in on the fun. ¡°I heard that once someone reaches the peak in a certain aspect, they have to pay a price for that strength and are forced to suppress their body somehow. Maybe he¡¯s cultivated something to the extreme and keeps his eyes closed to suppress his strength, haha!¡±

    Many othersughed as well.

    The man with the closed eyes turned to face the heckler. ¡°How did you know that I¡¯m suppressing my domain?¡±

    This one sentence made the groupugh even harder.

    ¡°Bro, in this day and age, who still cultivates a domain? Comprehending one is good enough, but cultivating it is just a waste of time. Instead, you can use that time to train your body and improve how much support you can receive from a more advanced Imprinter. That¡¯s the right way to cultivate! Domain? That¡¯s only what those unsophisticated bumpkins from the Fifth Maind cultivate, haha!¡±

    ¡°I heard that those trash from the Fifth Maind praise domains as if it¡¯s something that¡¯s a top-notch cultivation path, haha! Those idiots just don¡¯t understand imprints, what a bloodline is, or even martial imprints.¡±

    ¡­

    The man with shut eyes sighed. ¡°I see. It looks like my path of cultivation is wrong.¡±

    The surrounding people became even rowdier.

    ¡°But I still want to test the limits of a domain. Perhaps it is still a true path.¡± As he finished speaking, the air suddenly grew dim, and everyone in that ce felt their breath slow. An indescribably overbearing strength suppressed them, and it was so powerful that even the air visibly solidified. It took just an instant for the youths¡¯ bodies to explode, scattering their flesh and blood across the shrine.

    With his eyes still shut, the young man¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°It seems that it is not the path of the domain that is wrong, but rather you all, who are too narrow minded.¡±

    He stepped across the ground and out of the shrine. ¡°Ancestors, I¡¯ll sacrifice the blood of these people as an offering to you.¡±

    ***

    Lu Yin spent ten days at Heaven''s Pit. At the end, he helplessly opened his eyes, as he still had notprehended even a trace of enlightenment. But that was still fine, as this was something left behind by a Progenitor. If it took only someone ten days to achieveprehension, that would be a bit too easy. However, the average person was only able to stay in this ce for slightly more than ten days whereas Lu Yin could remain here for more than twenty days. Still, that was not nearly enough time toprehend this palm imprint.

    If Lu Yin could remain here for a year and a half, then that would be wonderful.

    He turned to nce to the side and saw that both Shang Rong and Butcher had left. They had studied the palm print for seven days and then decisively left once they felt that they could not grasp anything from this ce.

    ¡°Our time is too short, andprehending this print requires destiny as well as even more time. Let¡¯s go,¡± Miss Qing suggested grudgingly.

    Mr. Bai nodded. ¡°That is indeed true.¡±

    Huang San had long since wanted to leave this ce, as he had felt like someone had been covetously eyeing their pir, wanting to seize control of it.

    The stone pir at the tip of the middle finger where Shang Rong had once sat was currently upied by five people. They had also sat there for several days while studying the palm print, but none of them had reaped anything. One of the five impatiently said, ¡°We might as well go to the Scripture Pavilion. At least there¡¯s some hope of studying those ancient characters.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Things are so chaotic there right now, and quite a few people have been killed over thest few days. Rumors have it that it¡¯s all being done by people from the Fifth Maind and that those people have gone crazy. What¡¯ll we do if we meet them out there?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart leaped, and he made sure to listen attentively.

    ¡°Those guys from the Fifth Maind have really gone berserk, and I¡¯ve heard that dozens of people have already died. Flesh and blood were found covering the main shrine, a dozen burnt corpses in another area, and decapitated bodies left elsewhere to rot. It¡¯s too cruel.

    ¡°Also, I can¡¯t make sense of it. Our Sixth Maind can obviously suppress the Fifth Maind, so why can¡¯t we suppress the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators who are hiding in the Daosource Sect?¡±

    ¡°What do you know? The frontline at Mara River has verified these people¡¯s identities, and they¡¯re actually the strongest people in the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and they¡¯re known as the Ten Arbiters. That Xing Kai, who killed a Realmling, is apparently one of the Ten Arbiters, the War King.¡±

    ¡°He actually killed a Realmling? What a monster! Weren¡¯t those people always hiding? So why are they showing up now?¡±

    ¡°I heard that they¡¯re trying to divert our attention away from the battlefield. Who knows? Maybe we¡¯ll just wait here in peace until our futons¡¯ time is up and then nevere back to these Daosource Sect ruins. In the future, this ce will be a battlefield between the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters and our Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. So his guess was right¡ªthe Ten Arbiters could indeed appear in this ce. Was the pressure that the Innerverse was facing that intense? They had actually mobilized the Ten Arbiters and ordered them to ughter the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation in an attempt to split the Sixth Maind¡¯s focus. Still, the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation were not that weak, and from Shang Rong¡¯s strength, Lu Yin could tell that the Realmlings were no weaker than the Ten Arbiters. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the fact that there was still the even more terrifying Daosource Three Skies. Where had the Innerverse found the confidence to use these ruins to alleviate the pressure from their battlefield?

    Still, it was a good thing that the Ten Arbiters had shown up. Since the Innerverse and Outerverse were isted, if Lu Yin could meet up with one of them, they could ry information back and forth, and he could also ask about his friends. Though, that all depended on whether or not any of the Ten Arbiters would even bother with him.

    The group left Heaven''s Pit, and the few of them turned to Mr. Bai, as he seemed very familiar with the various sites in the Daosource Sect.

    Mr. Bai opened his folding fan and waved it about in a confident manner. ¡°Fat Bro should be leaving this ce in about four days.¡±

    Huang San grudgingly agreed, ¡°Yeah, four days. You guys don¡¯t need to bother with me.¡±

    Mr. Bai muttered. ¡°This is the Daosource Sect, and there are many ces that we can visit. There are more than just ces like Heaven''s Pit or the Scripture Pavilion¡ªthere are even locations where the sect¡¯s disciples originally cultivated, and those ces may yield some opportunities for us. The greatest inheritance should be in the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.¡±

    ¡°The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?¡± The fatty waspletely lost.

    ¡°Legends say that during the peak era of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, there were Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and that only Progenitors were able to cleave the mountains apart and split the seas. In other words, at that time, the Daosource Sect had nine Progenitors,¡± Miss Qing said.

    The fatty was speechless. ¡°Nine? How is that possible? If they really had nine Progenitors, then how could the Fifth Maind have been defeated?¡±

    Mr. Bai smiled. ¡°In the end, this is nothing more than a legend, and the truth may be different. Also, the records show that these Nine Mountains and Eight Seas do not actually exist, though it is true that only Progenitors are capable of splitting the mountains and seas, as this detail is the same with our Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Hence, the greatest inheritance from this ce must be within those mountains and seas. It is a pity that we only have a short amount of time remaining, as it will be difficult to even find the mountains or seas, not to mention being acknowledged by them.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s ignore the mountains and seas for now. Where else can we go?¡± Miss Qing asked.

    Mr. Bai enquired, ¡°Miss Qing seems to be fairly well informed concerning the Daosource Sect, so do you have any suggestions?¡±

    Miss Qing was just about to speak when they all felt a sudden fluctuation from the sky. A giant cauldron appeared, though it was merely a phantom image. It only appeared for an instant, but that square cauldron seemed to cover the entire sky, and Lu Yin and the others had seen it all.

    ¡°What was that? That scared Fat Bro shitless!¡± the fatty screamed.

    Mr. Bai closed his fan with a p. ¡°That was one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Nine Cauldrons, which is also the greatest inheritance area. There seems to have been changes to the Nine Cauldrons, so let¡¯s go there. It is possible that we may obtain a inheritance.¡±

    After speaking, he rushed off in a particr direction with Lu Yin and Miss Qing close on his tail.

    ¡°Eh? Wasn¡¯t the greatest inheritance in the mountains and seas?¡± The fatty hurriedly chased after the other three.

    ¡°They are not the same. The inheritances of Progenitors may exist in the mountains and seas, and while those inheritances are indeed the greatest, no one has obtained them thus far. However, the Nine Cauldrons are different. ording to the ancient legends, there¡¯s a certain type of battle technique that exists within each cauldron. The Nine Cauldrons represent nine battle techniques, and these nine battle techniques can be merged together to form a truly unrivaled technique.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s really something like that?¡±

    It was not just Mr. Bai, Lu Yin, and the other two who had seen the phantom image of the cauldron in the sky. Clearly, many other cultivators had seen it as well, as they were all currently dashing towards the area with the Nine Cauldrons.

    The legends typically exaggerated the truth, but each legend had an undeniable basis in reality, which might then be further exaggerated or changed. However, no one wouldpletely deny the origin of those legends, especially the ones that were rted to inheritances.

 Chapter 640: Cauldron

    <h4>Chapter 640: Cauldron</h4>

    At First Divine Gate, there was a procession of four or five people who had managed to get rid of a few guardians with great difficulty. ¡°Hurry! There have been changes with the Nine Cauldrons, and the inheritance is right in front. Let¡¯s hurry over!¡±

    Among them, there was one youth who was carrying a hoe. He had an honest and trustworthy face, and he was panting slightly. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush. Even if an inheritance has just appeared, it won¡¯t be that easy for someone to obtain it.¡±

    ¡°Nong Zaitian, you might not be anxious since your family has so many treasures, but our families don¡¯t have any.¡± One girl spoke in an unkind tone voice while she rolled her eyes and looked over at the man carrying the hoe.

    Another man said, ¡°Your Nong family¡¯s ancestor actually managed to get his hands on the treasures of an entire auction house.¡±

    Nong Zaitian simply smiled. ¡°Actually, that treasury has been somewhat depleted. Look, this hoe¡¯s the only thing left. How about this¡ªI¡¯ll give it to you guys.¡±

    The rest were speechless, as who would want a broken hoe?

    At this moment, a figure quickly approached them from behind, and when the group looked back, they saw a man with a very average-looking appearance. However, his hair had an odd color, as it was blood-red. Also, they could see traces of red spots in his eyes, and the evil-looking smile that decorated his face was unavoidable. His overall appearance made them all feel slightly uneasy.

    The few young cultivators looked over cautiously and moved aside, as they intended to allow the red-headed man to pass by first.

    Nong Zaitian nced at the man, silently stepped over to straddle his hoe, sat down on it, and then suddenly shouted, ¡°RUN!¡± The hoe disappeared with a whoosh, only leaving a trace of a spatial crack behind.

    The few others from his group were dumbfounded. What¡¯s going on? Escape? Why¡¯s that damn hoe so fast!

    ¡°It seems like someone recognized me. Is that a weapon of the Nong family? That family has a track record of having good luck,¡± the man with the blood-colored hair spoke faintly.

    The others felt something was off, and they huddled together. ¡°Brother, you can go first.¡±

    The man with the blood-colored hair looked over at the remaining people, and the evil smile on his lips became even creepier somehow. ¡°Let me introduce myself. I am Blood Looney, someone who was cryopreserved for many years.¡±

    The youths were caught off guard, as they had not heard of this person before.

    Blood Looney casually stretched his body. ¡°The Nong family has been able to maintain a very impressive position in the Blood Progenitor Realm for so many years for a very good reason. That kid was able to recognize me, but you guys didn¡¯t. That also means that the oue has already been determined.¡±

    He suddenly pointed beneath the crowd. ¡°Remember to watch where you step, and make sure you don¡¯t step on anything!¡± He thenughed before dashing into the distance.

    The small crowd of people looked down and saw that a vibrant red lotus flower had appeared beneath them. ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but be careful. That bastard Nong Zaitian is more astute than anyone else here, and he took off without saying more than a single word. That person¡¯s really tricky,¡± one said.

    ¡°Let me try,¡± one girl said. As she spoke, the phantom image of an imprint appeared behind her as she used her star energy to streak past the blood-colored lotuses. The next moment, the lotus bloomed and swallowed the youths whole. After only a few seconds passed, the ce where the small crowd had just been standing was empty aside from a pile of clothes. There was no trace of flesh or even bones, as everything had been consumed by the blood lotus.

    Blood Looney¡¯s gaze trembled, and his lips curled upwards. ¡°I already warned you guys to be careful of what was beneath you. It¡¯s a pity that that Nong kid managed to escape.¡±

    Nong Zaitian was standing in front of First Divine Gate with a deathly pale face as he flew along atop his hoe, still attempting to beat a hasty retreat. ¡°How did this happen? That monster¡¯s been let out? Which idiot let him out! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Those people are all doomed, but I had no choice. This brother was only able to escape by himself, and I wasn¡¯t able to take any of you away. Rest assured, I¡¯ll make the news of your deaths public, so rest in peace.¡±

    In the Sixth Maind¡¯s Blood Homage Realm, a sweet and pleasing melody drifted through the air in a luxurious restaurant, setting a special ambience for the establishment. This was supposed to be an elegant ce where men and women could meet and flirt with one another, but at this moment, most of the people in the restaurant were staring at a particr corner, stupefied. In that corner, there was a young man who was all alone and devouring food withrge bites. Over a thousand tes had already been piled up upon the table, but the youth still hadn¡¯t shown any inclination of slowing down.

    ¡°Quick, food! Keep iting, keep iting!¡± The youth ate as he pped the table, ruining the elegant atmosphere of the dining establishment. However, not one person dared to stop him.

    The kitchen was buzzing with activity, and all of the chefs were dripping sweat.

    There was only one person eating in the entire restaurant, but even thebined efforts of the entire kitchen staff of the restaurant could not keep up with him.

    Suddenly, the young man paused and looked up. After a moment, he blinked. ¡°What? You¡¯re sending me to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins to hunt the Ten Arbiters down?¡±

    The surrounding people looked at the youth strangely, as they did not have any idea who he could possibly be speaking to.

    Someone unhappilyined, ¡°This restaurant has fallen from grace, and now it epts anyone! This person must be a fool.¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Someone else immediately covered the speaker¡¯s mouth and softly warned, ¡°Do you want to die? That¡¯s Nan Yanfei!¡±

    ¡°Nan Yanfei?¡± The first person was confused for a moment, but then his expression changed drastically. ¡°The Blood Homage Realm¡¯s Realmling? That Nan Yanfei?¡±

    There was a thump as the thousands of tes that had been on the table crashed to the floor, producing a tremendous ttering ruckus. The servers immediately moved forward to tidy up the mess, but Nan Yanfei had an upset expression. ¡°Why should I go? Even though the Fifth Maind is weak, those Ten Arbiters are not much weaker than us, and they are definitely ruthless. It would be more dependable to send the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    After a while, Nan Yanfei¡¯s expression changed yet again, and he finally released a grudging sigh. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll go. But I¡¯ll say this much first: don¡¯t me me if I can¡¯t win. You should know that the Fifth Maind has aplicated cultivation system, and while that causes their overall strength to lean towards the weaker side, there are also some absolute freaks that can be born. The Ten Arbiters are the peak monsters of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and I truly have no confidence in facing them.¡±

    Then, Nan Yanfei roared once again, ¡°FOOD! Where¡¯s the food? I want ten times more than what was already served!¡±

    The surrounding people gaped with open mouths. This person had already eaten so much, but he still wanted more?

    In the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Realm, there were multiple streets that were packed with an unending flow of people and huge crowds. It was very troublesome to traverse these streets, but despite these difficulties, there was a pale youth who steadily walked forward, seemingly streaking through the human flood as if his body was incorporeal. Not a single person was able to touch him, as if he was no more than an apparition.

    Suddenly, the man froze, which caused his body to abruptly appear in the midst of the crowd. This scared the nearby people, and they all instantly detoured to go around him as they looked at him with terror on their faces. Their reactions were understandable, given that this person had suddenly appeared right in front of them.

    This man continued to stand in the middle of the street, still frozen despite the terrified gazes directed towards him.

    ¡°The Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins? The Hunt has been shifted over to there? Ten Arbiters... Alright, I¡¯ll bring the Ten Arbiters¡¯ heads to the warfront at Mara River!¡± the man said arrogantly, revealing a pair of eyes that looked like they belonged to a vulture. This youth was Di Fa, the Realmling of the Bloodburn Realm.

    The Ten Arbiters and Realmlings were all converging upon the Daosource Sect''s ruins, as these ruins had suddenly be the battlefield for the fight between the younger generations of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. The Hunt had been proposed by the Sixth Maind, and the goal of thispetition was to gather the heads of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation¡¯s top experts, but it was still impossible to determine who the hunter and who the prey was in thispetition.

    In the Daosource Sect''s ruins, Lu Yin¡¯s group of four continued to follow Mr. Bai for half a day before arriving at a light pir that would transport them to the region with the Nine Cauldrons.

    As the four youths gazed at the nine enormous cauldrons that were each asrge as a continent, Huang San¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°How can such massive cauldrons exist? Each one¡¯s evenrger than a mountain!¡±

    Mr. Bai looked up with hope on his face. ¡°These are the Nine Source Cauldrons, the most appealingnd of inheritance in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. After the ancient war, our ancestors could not bear to destroy them, and so, they instead chose to leave them behind. This can be considered as an opportunity left behind by our ancestors.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, no one has ever obtained any destiny from these Nine Source Cauldrons, which has caused this area that holds the greatest inheritance to slowly fade away from memory, and some even have even started saying that the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances in the mountains and seas are easier to acquire than the ones in these Nine Cauldrons,¡± Miss Qing said.

    Mr. Bai replied, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily so, as it is possible that some people may have inherited battle techniques from these cauldrons but merely chosen to not reveal anything. For example, there are the Daosource Three Skies, of whom no one in the same realm can force to use all their power, and not even the older powerhouses dare to act against them. Hence, nobody knows what their true strength is.¡±

    They watched as figure after figure arrived in this space, and each one of them quickly dashed towards the Nine Cauldrons.

    The Nine Cauldrons seemed very simr to each other, but there were subtle differences between them. With no more than a single look, everyone could easily tell which one of the nine cauldrons had generated the phantom image that they had all witnessed in the sky, and quite a few people were already headed towards it.

    Lu Yin and the others did not hesitate; they also leaped up and dashed towards the inside of that cauldron.

    The cauldron was gigantic, and the space inside of it looked like a hollowed-out mountain range. Upon arriving at the rim of the cauldron, Lu Yin crouched down to touch it. He could see that there were a few spots of corrosion on it, which were testament to the countless years that the cauldron had existed for. Still, despite those ws, the cauldron remained as sturdy as ever, and it seemed to be indestructible.

    The outside of the cauldron was etched with pictures, but they were hidden by the rust and could not be clearly seen.

    Mr. Bai and the other two jumped into the cauldron, and Lu Yin leaped in as well. He was eager to gain another powerful battle technique, as aside from the Dream Finger, he had no other powerful battle technique that could turn the tides of battle. However, the toll that the Dream Finger ced upon his body was too severe, and every time he used it, his finger needed to recuperate for several days. Thus, it was not a suitable technique for drawn out battles.

    If he could obtain a battle technique from these cauldrons, then that would be great, as it would be a battle technique from the ancient Daosource Sect.

    Still, there wasn¡¯t a high possibility of that happening, and Lu Yin did not feel that he was some special person. He had not been able toprehend anything after visiting the Scripture Pavilion or Heavens Pit, and this ce might not be any different.

    There was a thump as Lu Yinnded on the bottom of the cauldron and stepped on a pile of white bones. Quite a few people had visited this ce in the past, and quite a few people had died here as well.

    The fatty was careful to walk alongside Lu Yin, and he gestured towards the silent youth.

    Lu Yin did not bother with the fatty and quickly walked to the border. He studied the diagrams that had been etched onto the cauldron¡¯s interior walls, as the battle technique might be rted to these diagrams.

    ¡°Bro, it¡¯s eerie in here. I think I¡¯ll follow you.¡± The fatty was panicking.

    Lu Yin reached out to touch the wall of the cauldron. It was cold to the touch with a metallic sense to it, but it felt different from any other metal he had seen before. The moment he touched it, he was able to sense the great changes that had urred throughout the ages just from this metal.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing had each moved in different directions, heading towards unknown parts, as this cauldron was huge. The fatty blindly followed after Lu Yin, though he seemed to be incessantly mumbling something.

    Lu Yin grew irritated. ¡°You have improved your bloodline to an unrivaled one, but you¡¯re still so timid! Go and find your own destiny! Maybe you¡¯ll be able to find a battle technique that can allow you to surpass Autumnfrost Qing and win back Yan Xiaojing.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°A battle technique that can let me surpass Autumnfrost Qing? Bro, can I reallyprehend something like that?¡±

    Suddenly, the fatty¡¯s face changed, and he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, you can speak?¡±

    Lu Yin answered quietly, ¡°I never said I couldn¡¯t.¡±

    The fatty was stumped, but then his face turned sour. ¡°Bro, that¡¯s really messed up!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned at hispanion. ¡°Go and find your own destiny.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro already told you everything! Bro, how could you be like this?¡± Fat Bromented.

    Lu Yin grudgingly answered him, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the tragic details of your life.¡±

    He then turned back around and focused on the words and images on the bottom of the cauldron wall.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, these characters seem simr to the ones we saw in the Scripture Pavilion. They must be characters from the period of when the Daosource Sect was still active,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin formed a knife out of his star energy and then tried to remove the bit of rust, but his efforts were pointless. No matter how much strength he exerted, he could not affect the corroded bits of the metal at all, which was scary. It was perfectly normal if this metal that had endured the erosion of time withstood his attacks, and the strength of this material on the crystal scale was possibly even over 100,000. However, it was another matter entirely that even its corrosion was this sturdy.

    It¡¯s no wonder why, even after so many years, this cauldron is still full of corrosive spots. If they could be removed, then they would have been wiped clean by someone else long ago.

    ¡°Bro, look! The sky¡¯s turned red!¡± the fatty shrieked from behind.

    Lu Yin impatiently looked up, but then his pupils shrank. The space in this region had originally been as dusky as the region that held Heaven''s Pit with the only difference being that this ce held the Nine Cauldrons. However, at this moment, the opening of the cauldron had turned red, and the color was growing more intense by the second. Then, blood-colored lotuses spread across the opening as well.

    Not good¡ªsomeone¡¯s sealing off the entrance of the cauldron!

    Nearby, someone rose into the sky as their imprint appeared behind them. The young man charged furiously towards the opening of the cauldron and crashed against a blood lotus. Then, the youth¡¯s entire body was reduced to nothing more than a ssh of blood that scattered about.

    This abrupt change left everyone in the cauldronpletely dumbstruck. Even stranger, the blood did not fall to the ground, and was instead absorbed in midair by the blood lotuses, which caused the hue of the lotus petals to be even more luscious.

    Nong Zaitian = literally means "a farmer''s farming."

 Chapter 641: Blood Looney

    <h4>Chapter 641: Blood Looney</h4>

    ¡°What is that?¡± someone yelped.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned grim, as he could feel a powerful threat from the blood lotuses.

    The fatty beside him turned pale. ¡°What the heck is that?¡±

    The area inside of the cauldron was extremely extensive, and all of the people within it had been searching through their own little corner. However, at this moment, everyone was looking up to observe the blood lotuses that had been released by someone.

    Each blood lotus bloomed with a fatal beauty.

    A little whileter, a silhouette appeared within one of the blood lotuses, which was Blood Looney, the same person who had recently appeared at First Divine Gate.

    Blood Looney dangled his feet from the blood lotus and sneered down at the people in the cauldron. His already red eyes turned to an even brighter shade of red.

    ¡°Who are you? Why did you block the exit of the cauldron, and why are you recklessly killing people?¡± someone asked.

    Blood Looney grinned widely. ¡°Let¡¯s y a game.¡±

    Everyone looked up at Blood Looney in confusion. A game? This person must be crazy. What kind of game does he want to y?

    ¡°I have a die here, and whatever number I roll will be the number of people who can leave the cauldron alive,¡± Blood Looney slowly exined in a chilling voice.

    ¡°Are you from the Fifth Maind?¡± someone shouted.

    Blood Looneyughed maniacally. ¡°I¡¯ll let you guess! Maybe I am, maybe I¡¯m not. Let the games begin!¡±

    A die appeared in his hand that he threw into the cauldron. Everyone¡¯s concerned eyes watched as the die finallynded to reveal three pips.

    ¡°Three? You guys have pretty good luck! Three of you will be allowed to leave here alive,¡± Blood Looney informed them in a creepy voice. The blood lotuses turned an even darker shade of red as he spoke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched, and he felt an overt threat. This person was very powerful.

    The fatty¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Couldn¡¯t he have just waited for two more days? My time¡¯s almost up.¡±

    ¡°You lunatic! Are you trying to fight all of us by yourself?¡± someone bellowed, but Blood Looney didn¡¯t even respond.

    The roots of the blood lotuses started extending down towards the bottom of the cauldron. It seemed as if he was trying to cover the entire cauldron with blood lotuses.

    Most of the cultivators who visited the ruins of the Daosource Sect were sensitive towards threats, and the previous scene of a blood lotus reducing someone to nothing but a blood cloud had intimidated many people. However, since Blood Looney was clearly trying to attack everyone, most of the people present stopped hesitating and rushed into the sky to attack Blood Looney.

    These people were allparable to the experts on the Top 100 Rankings, and some of them were even as strong as the top three of the Top 100 Rankings. Blood Looney¡¯s eyes turned a brilliant red, and his pupils changed form to that of a wild beast as he faced the attacks. He then released a chilling roar that caused the blood lotuses to surge as blood red dragons shot out from the lotuses.

    ¡°Those are corpse dragons and blood lotuses! He has dual bloodlines¡ªI know who he is! That¡¯s Blood Looney! He was ced in cryostasis thousands of years ago after he failed to be one of the Daosource Three Skies!¡± someone in the cauldron shouted.

    Blood Looneyughed. ¡°I will strengthen these lotuses with your blood to make myself more powerful. Then, I will wait here for the Daosource Three Skies! My rage at being forced into cryostasis for a thousand years will only be appeased when I rece the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    Bang bang bang!

    The blood red corpse dragons shed with dozens of cultivators. Although the cultivators in this ce were generally quite powerful, they all ended up being defeated by the corpse dragons. It only took a few seconds for the corpse dragons to tear five cultivators apart, leaving nothing but a blood cloud that was absorbed by the blood lotuses, strengthening them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s attack together! Those blood lotuses will only get more powerful as they absorb more blood. We can¡¯t let him get away with this!¡± someone shouted. Then, everyone attacked in unison.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes; these people still hadn¡¯t realized the huge gap between them and Blood Looney at all. Both Blood Looney and Shang Rong were people who were as strong as Hunters, and such powerhouses couldn¡¯t be defeated by sheer numbers.

    Multiple corpse dragons rushed out of the blood lotuses and attacked the people in the cauldron.

    A corpse dragon that was ten meters long and enveloped by a bloody aura charged at Lu Yin.

    The fatty yelped, ¡°Bro, help me!¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and attacked the corpse dragon with a Thirty-Stacks Hundredfold Shockwave Palm. The corpse dragon was shattered by his attack, but it recovered near instantly andshed out at Lu Yin with its tail. Lu Yin dodged aside, so quickly that his movements shattered space and released shockwaves that blew Huang San away.

    A single corpse dragon was already extremely powerful on its own, and there were nearly a hundred corpse dragons that had been released into the cauldron. This was an impossible difference to ovee.

    Mr. Bai twirled his fan around, and it turned into a mark on his forehead. He also attacked the corpse dragon and managed to shatter it, but despite that, the corpse dragon once again recovered and continued its attack.

    Miss Qing was entirely focused on dodging the attacks.

    People kept being swallowed by the corpse dragons, which in turn strengthened the blood lotuses.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was grim. This was a person who had tried to challenge the Daosource Three Skies in the past, so he had to at least be as strong as a Realmling. A Realmling was someone who couldpete against the Ten Arbiters, which meant that Lu Yin was facing someone who was at the same level as the Ten Arbiters. He had no idea how to deal with someone like that without the help of any external objects.

    Another corpse dragon crashed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin lifted up his hand as his Fatesand formed a clump of soil that blocked the corpse dragon¡¯s attack. He then pressed his hands against the corpse dragon and shoved it away as seven lined battle force manifested around his body. At the same time, the silhouette of the Skygobbling Pig appeared around the fatty as he bit at the corpse dragon.

    The corpse dragon also tried to bite the fatty.

    It was astounding to watch a dragon and a pig snapping at each other.

    Mr. Bai leapt towards Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Deaf-mute, we have to put our full efforts forth right now. We can only rely on our luck to leave this ce alive.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, as even thebination of his battle force, domain, and physical strength was not enough to ovee these corpse dragons. The dragons were able to instantly recover after being shattered, and were thus very hard to defeat. Moreover, the number of people who had been devoured by the lotuses was constantly rising, which made the dragons grow even more powerful. Thus, Blood Looney would also keep growing stronger. Once he sessfully absorbed enough blood from these people in the Daosource Sect ruins, he might be a powerhouse who could defeat the Daosource Three Skies. Thus, the people in the cauldron were nothing more than stepping stones for his future.

    Lu Yin only had one method avable to him at this moment, which was to attack Blood Looney with the Dream Finger. He had to make sure that his attack connected with Blood Looney so that he could injure him. Of course, Lu Yin didn¡¯t expect to kill Blood Looney with the Dream Finger, as that was impossible given that this freak was on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    Although the people in the cauldron were being suppressed, there were still some experts within the crowd. A man and a woman managed to dodge a corpse dragon and were getting closer to Blood Looney.

    Blood Looney lifted his head as a purple line appeared around his face: it was eight-lined battle force.

    Impressive imprints appeared behind both the man and the woman. Blood Looney licked his lips. ¡°A cosmic Imprinter! You guys aren¡¯t bad.¡±

    He used his body to withstand their attacks as the vague shadow of an old man appeared behind Blood Looney. The old man¡¯s facial features could be seen clearly, and once this imprint appeared, an imposing aura crushed down upon everyone within the cauldron.

    The fatty stuttered, ¡°Tha- that¡¯s Bluedome Elder! He¡¯s an Empyrean Imprinter!¡±

    Lu Yin had already learned about the Imprinter system that existed in the Sixth Maind through his conversations with his threepanions. An Imprinter of a certain level was able to imprint some of their power onto another cultivator, which would then increase the weaker cultivator¡¯s power level. Cultivators were able to choose Imprinters based on the power that they could withstand, and that determined the amount of strength that a cultivator could borrow.

    Imprinter, World Imprinter, Cosmic Imprinter, Empyrean Imprinter: this was the hierarchy of the Imprinter system.

    Lu Yin had made his ownparisons and deduced that Imprinters were probably Envoys whose power level was greater than 500,000. Only powerhouses with a power level that exceeded 500,000 were able to imprint other cultivators.

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s estimate, an Empyrean Imprinter was most likely a powerhouse with a power level of almost a million.

    The stronger the Imprinter, the greater the power increase from the imprint. For people who were in the same realm, the difference between having the imprint of a normal Imprinter and a Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s was huge. It was simr to the difference between a normal Explorer and one who was in the Top 100 Rankings.

    However, cultivators could not choose their Imprinters at random, and an important condition for obtaining imprints was the cultivator¡¯s own ability to withstand an Imprinter¡¯s power. Lu Yin still didn¡¯t really understand anything about this condition.

    For example, Huang San was only able to withstand an imprint from a Yan family elder, who was a normal Imprinter. He couldn¡¯t withstand an imprint from a world Imprinter.

    Meanwhile, the person in front of them had received an imprint from an Empyrean Imprinter, and it was even possible to clearly make out the expression of the Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s face.

    The fatty wasn¡¯t being timid at this moment, as the two experts who had approached Blood Looney wereparable in strength to Autumnfrost Qing. Despite that, they had been utterly defeated and reduced to two blood clouds that were summarily absorbed by the blood lotuses. At that moment, the corpse dragons also became more powerful.

    Mr. Bai¡¯s expression became rather downcast. ¡°Let us make our best attempt.¡±

    Miss Qing¡¯s expression was simrly grim.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. The Yu Secret Art, Dream Finger, battle force, domain¡­ He wondered if he would be able to survive with his skills, as at least one out of the four in his group would die.

    Just as they were about to move forward to fight with Blood Looney, dozens of corpse dragons suddenly exploded in the sky. A white shadow flitted past everything and appeared in front of Blood Looney. The shadow then thrust a spear through Blood Looney¡¯s neck even as Blood Looney had an expression of disbelief.

    The entire cauldron fell silent as the corpse dragons fell apart into pools of blood.

    Everyone stared up at the sky in a daze. Blood Looney had just been killed.

    This person wore a full set of white armor including a helmet and wielded a white spear. This person had appeared out of nowhere and killed Blood Looney with one stab of their spear.

    It was likely that not a single person present would ever be able to forget that impressive attack.

    Drip

    Drip

    Drip

    Blood steadily flowed out from Blood Looney¡¯s neck, and he slowly fell to the ground after his killer pulled their spear back.

    Everyone was staring at the person who looked like a knight.

    At that moment, that person pointed their spear at the blood lotus and spoke in a low voice, ¡°Come out!¡±

    Everyone followed the person¡¯s gaze and saw another silhouette still inside of the blood lotus. They were all shocked. Blood Looney? Everyone turned to look at the ground, where the body of the Blood Looney that was stabbed through the neck had fallen. They watched as the corpse slowly melted away and turned into a puddle of blood. It had been nothing more than an illusion.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes glinted, and they carefully watched Blood Looney as he emerged from the blood lotus. He wasn¡¯t dead yet.

    Blood Looney looked at the person in white armor with obvious excitement. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect someone like you to be here. Who are you?¡±

    The white armored knight raised their spear and simply answered, ¡°Someone who is about to kill you.¡±

    The armored figure then stabbed their spear at Blood Looney.

 Chapter 642: White Knight

    <h4>Chapter 642: White Knight</h4>

    Blood Looney grabbed the tip of the spear and stopped it when it was less than one centimeter from his body. ¡°You have the strength of a Realmling, but you don¡¯t possess a bloodline. You¡¯re probably the Realmling of the Martial Progenitor Realm or the Secret Progenitor Realm.¡±

    Numerous corpse dragons rushed at this white armored person, but the armored person simply spun their spear around and cut Blood Looney¡¯s palm straight to the bone. The spear then shattered the corpse dragons before it thrust at Blood Looney once again. Blood Looneyughed crazily as his hand rapidly recovered and eight lined battle force appeared around him.

    Crack!

    The collision between the two powerhouses released an overwhelming shockwave that reverberated about the cauldron, letting everyone thoroughly feel the terrifying power of the impact.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This wasn¡¯t a battle that he could interfere in, These two people were on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°We are so lucky that a Realmling appeared!¡± the fatty eximed.

    Mr. Bai wondered aloud, ¡°Which realm is this Realmling from? There are only nine realms, and thus, we should be able to recognize this person. However, their appearance ispletely unfamiliar.¡±

    Miss Qing¡¯s eyes shed with an odd light. ¡°What if they¡¯re not a Realmling?¡±

    Mr. Bai nced over at her. ¡°If that turns out to be true, then we will still have to try our best.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The fatty was confused.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°If that person isn¡¯t a Realmling, then they must be one of the Ten Arbiters from the Fifth Maind.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t only Mr. Bai who was confused, as everyone else was feeling the same sense of loss. There were only nine Realmlings, but nobody was able to recognize this person. Thus, there was a very high chance that they were one of the Ten Arbiters.

    The other people were merely guessing, but Lu Yin was alreadypletely certain of the neer¡¯s identity.

    Bang bang bang bang!

    Everyone trapped in the cauldron heard violent explosions ring out above them as the blood lotuses surged with power. Multiple corpse dragons appeared, and Blood Looneymanded the dragons to all attack the armored knight. The armored individual used their spear to keep the corpse dragons at bay, but that only caused Blood Looney tough maniacally. The image of the heaven Imprinter appeared behind him once again as he lifted a hand and attacked the armored attacker.

    The knight was smashed down to the ground, and their armor started to disintegrate.

    ¡°Who are you? Show me your imprint!¡± Blood Looney shouted, his red eyes full with excitement.

    The armored person lifted their head up, and although their face was covered by a helmet, everyone suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dignity emanate from this figure. A bell chimed loudly as the blood lotuses evaporated. The silhouette of a castle appeared both on the ground and in the sky.

    At that moment, everyone felt a huge pressureing from the sky.

    Blood Looney¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re not from the Sixth Maind. You¡¯re a remnant of the Fifth Maind!¡±

    Everyone turned to look at the knight.

    The armored knight gripped their spear tightly, jumped up into the sky, and forced Blood Looney into the blood lotus that was directly above the cauldron. ¡°I¡¯m White Knight, a member of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Everyone present was stunned; one of the Ten Arbiters from the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin sighed, as he had indeed guessed correctly. This person was one of the Ten Arbiters: White Knight Ling Gong, a genius of the Lingling n.

    Recently, the Ten Arbiters had constantly been appearing in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, and it had be a battlefield for the young elites from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. Lu Yin had actually expected to bump into White Knight here. If his guesses were correct, then White Knight had probably initially been nning to kill everyone in the cauldron, but they had been interrupted by Blood Looney.

    Was this a fortunate or unfortunate event? Blood Looney and White Knight would now absolutely have to fight each other.

    White Knight was also the person who had taken Wendy Yushan to join the Myriad Swords Peak.

    Lu Yin looked at the opening of the cauldron in confusion.

    At this moment, he truly felt the strength of one of the Ten Arbiters, as even Blood Looney was helpless in front of this person.

    The other people inside the cauldron hadplicated feelings as well. They were from the Sixth Maind, which meant that they were naturally enemies with everyone from the Fifth Maind. However, at this moment, they didn''t want White Knight to lose, as that would raise Blood Looney¡¯s power and seal their fate of bing Blood Looney¡¯s fertilizer.

    Blood Looney grew very excited. ¡°One of the Ten Arbiters from the Fifth Maind? It¡¯s been a thousand years, and I never thought that the Fifth Maind would produce a powerhouse like you. That¡¯s good! Once I absorb you, I¡¯ll definitely be able to kill the Daosource Three Skies!¡±

    He wrapped the blood around himself before rushing towards White Knight. The castle and the blood lotuses didn¡¯t collide with each other; instead, they slowly encroached upon each other¡¯s territory as bothbatants tried to exhaust the strength of their opponent.

    The collision between White Knight and Blood Looney caused most people to be dazed, and a few of them even fainted at that instance. The collision between an innate gift and a bloodline had led to a huge surge of spiritual force that normal people weren¡¯t able to withstand.

    Huang San immediately copsed, unconscious.

    Mr. Bai and Miss Qing both sat down at that same moment in an attempt to endure the spiritual force.

    People kept copsing as the battle continued.

    Neither Blood Looney nor White Knight cared about the life and death of the people who were in the cauldron below them. Their only goal was to kill everyone present.

    Lu Yin was dazed by the surge of spiritual force, but he was still able to withstand it since he had recited the Stonewall Scriptures for years. His resilience had reached the point where even the spiritual force from the battle in the sky above couldn¡¯t faze him. He was the only person who remained standing.

    ng ng ng!

    Blood Looney and White Knight exchanged numerous blows as their battle elerated. Soon, their figures flitted across the sky, sporadically disappearing and reappearing.

    Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even clearly see their battle.

    Both the blood lotus and castle kept up, extending to where the twobatants were battling and causing all of the cultivators in that area to be reduced to puddles of blood. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; they couldn¡¯t touch those blood lotuses.

    He grabbed the fatty and tried to take him out of the cauldron. However, Lu Yin was already at his limit and couldn¡¯t really move. As the castle and blood lotuses neared his group, more and more cultivators were killed.

    ¡°Just leave without us,¡± Mr. Bai said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures out of desperation.

    The Stonewall Scriptures had always helped him whenever he had faced any challenges.

    Once he started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, he felt the pressure on him gradually start to decrease. He immediately grabbed the fatty, Mr. Bai, and Miss Qing and then started rushing towards the rim of the cauldron. However, the cauldron started trembling after he had only taken a few steps, and a silhouette of the cauldron suddenly appeared in his mind.

    Is this a battle technique? Lu Yin was ted; he didn¡¯t expect that the Stonewall Scriptures would activate the cauldron now and allow him to learn a new battle technique. However, a shockwave suddenly swept throughout the cauldron and struck him in the back, sending him flying ten meters away, along with Mr. Bai and the others. He spat out a mouthful of blood and nced behind. He saw that White Knight and Blood Looney were now both holding onto the spear as they contested each other through star energy.

    Some more shockwaves crashed against the sides of the cauldron, and some of them collided against the stunned cultivators. There were even some that crashed into the blood lotuses atop the cauldron.

    The castle and the blood lotuses stopped expanding and instead started corroding each other.

    Another shockwave swept past the four youths, but it was blocked by Lu Yin with his Fatesand. Mr. Bai and Miss Qing thanked him, but Lu Yin anxiously responded, ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this! Be careful and stay away from the shockwaves.¡±

    ¡°Those two are crazy!,¡± Miss Qing muttered.

    Mr. Baiughed bitterly. ¡°It would seem that our ns to explore the Daosource Sect will have to be dyed. This ce has be a battlefield for the young elites of the Fifth and Sixth Maind, and it is no longer a stage that we can stand on.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He wouldn¡¯t have cared about such a thing a short while ago, but just now, he had realized that he could learn this cauldron¡¯s battle technique. Although he hadn¡¯t seeded in this short amount of time, he already knew the method for learning the battle technique. He just had to recite the Stonewall Scriptures, and thus, he couldn¡¯t give up on this ce.

    Rumor had it that the nine cauldrons each contained one of nine battle techniques and that thebination of these nine battle techniques would be something invincible. The thing that he was currentlycking at this moment was exactly a powerful battle technique. Since the Stonewall Scriptures could activate this cauldron, then could it do the same for the other eight cauldrons as well? Did that mean that he could learn all nine battle techniques and, consequently, the invincible battle technique?

    This was a huge temptation for any cultivator, and many cultivators had died just for a chance at this destiny. Lu Yin was also a cultivator, and he didn''t want to give up on this battle technique, even if this ce had turned into a deadly battlefield.

    An invincible battle technique was right in front of him, and Lu Yin felt that opportunities always coexisted with danger. He gritted his teeth as he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to learn the battle technique at this exact moment since the shockwaves from the battle would constantly disrupt him. He would have to return to this ce againter and sneak back into this ce.

    Above him, White Knight and Blood Looney were each holding onto the spear while their star energies continuously collided. Peals of thunder rang out as spatial cracks appeared within the cauldron.

    ¡°So the Fifth Maind was actually able to produce a powerhouse like you! What a shame that there is a war and that you won¡¯t have room to grow!¡± Blood Looney shouted excitedly. The imprint of Bluedome Elder behind him was as clear as day now, and it looked as if an actual person was standing behind him.

    White Knight replied in a low voice, saying, ¡°All of you are ves to a fixed cultivation system. You have no future.¡±

    Blood Looneyughed. ¡°So what? We are still enough to annihte you.¡±

    ¡°Our sky has been changed by the Sixth Maind, which has led to the advent of fake power. Even so, the people from the Sixth Maind cannot defeat us. Xing Kai has already killed one of your Realmlings, and you can¡¯t defeat me. This is the difference between us. Thus, I¡¯m sure that the history of the ancient war is not true. You guys must have covered up the truth!¡± White Knight bellowed.

    Blood Looney sneered. ¡°That¡¯s none of my business. I just want to kill you and use your blood to defeat the Daosource Three Skies!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that you can¡¯t defeat me!¡± White Knight yelled. Their star energy crashed against the other¡¯s and caused the space in the region to distort.

    The shockwaves slowly dispersed as the remaining cultivators finally started slowly regaining their consciousnesses. They watched the battle above them develop in terror.

    The two youths continued fighting for two days, and it was obvious that they were both exhausted by the battle, especially White Knight, whose spear had started to crack.

    Blood Looney grinned as countless corpse dragons appeared and attacked White Knight. ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat; was the Arbiter about to lose?

    There was a bang as White Knight was hit by countless corpse dragons. At the same time, the battle force surrounding Blood Looney suddenly turned red. This was nine lined battle force. He had been hiding his strength this entire time, only revealing it at a critical moment. His attack pierced through White Knight¡¯s abdomen, and the blood reflected Blood Looney¡¯s ferocious face.

    The people within the cauldron were all terrified; Blood Looney had won.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. The Arbiter had lost!

    The Ten Arbiters were synonymous with invincibility in his universe. He had never heard of an Arbiter being defeated, and normal people weren¡¯t even qualified to know the Ten Arbiters¡¯ names. The ten of them were worshiped like gods by their peers, and they wielded incredible authority that influenced the entire universe. However, someone like that had just been defeated.

 Chapter 643: Escape

    <h4>Chapter 643: Escape</h4>

    Everyone in the cauldron stared at Blood Looney, who was towering high above them in the sky in a berserk state. This was the strength of a powerhouse from the Sixth Maind who couldpete for the position of one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly recalled something. Ling Gong is from the Lingling n, and the Lingling n has the Soulsplitting Technique!

    Above the cauldron, White Knight had been stabbed through, and Blood Looney pulled his hand back to taste the fresh blood. The red color in his eyes grew even brighter as he continued to stare into White Knight¡¯s eyes. He saw the suffering in them, and this excited him to no end.

    Suddenly, Blood Looney¡¯s gaze trembled. As he stared into White Knight¡¯s eyes, he saw his reflection, behind which a figure had suddenly appeared. He whirled around, only to see a spear about to pierce through his throat. At thest possible moment, Blood Looney raised his hand and grabbed a hold of the spear, his nine lined battle force causing White Knight to halt his advance. ¡°You- you¡¯re not dead?¡±

    Blood Looney was certain that he had just killed White Knight, as what he had just seen and felt was something that could not be faked. So how was there now another White Knight?

    White Knight¡¯s spear vibrated and swept Blood Looney¡¯s hand aside. Then, his spearshed forward again, striking Blood Looney¡¯s body and sending him flying away.

    Beneath the two, the castle that had stopped spreading began to slowly release a certain radiance that caused all the blood lotuses in its surrounding area topletely evaporate away. A grand clock rang out, sounding as if it hade from a pce in the heavens.

    Blood Looney clutched his chest. Fresh blood dripped down from the corners of his lips, and he stared intently at White Knight with a berserk light in his eyes. ¡°How is this possible? How could you defeat me?¡±

    White Knight¡¯s spear was aimed straight at Blood Looney. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that you guys have no future, not even your so-called ¡®Daosource Three Skies.¡¯ You are all just ves to a rigid cultivation system, and just you guys alone cannot beat us.¡±

    After speaking, White Knight thrust their spear forward once again.

    Blood Looney was infuriated, and the blood lotuses that were sealing off the cauldron¡¯s entrance melted away, returned to blood, and were reabsorbed back into Blood Looney. His entire body turned a scarlet red, and he charged at White Knight with a rabid expression.

    White Knight¡¯s gaze trembled, and the castle¡¯s radiance expanded once again as the spear continued piercing forward.

    With a bang, a massive spatial crack split the sky apart, and an intense gale swept out in all directions, causing many of the surviving cultivators to spit out blood. Even Lu Yin felt his heart lurch and his chest tighten, causing him to nearly spit out blood as well.

    The sky warped as the two figures mutually repelled each other. This was an all out collision between the two powerhouses, and both the blood lotuses and castle disappeared at that moment.

    The two figures crashed into each other atop the cauldron, and they spat out blood at the same time.

    The oue of their fight could not be determined, as both had been injured in this exchange.

    The blood lotuses that had sealed off the top of the cauldron had also disappeared, as thisst strike had injured both of the fighters.

    But the two of them were still blocking the exit, and no one dared to charge past them and escape.

    At this moment, a noise could be heard from outside the cauldron, and White Knight leaped up and left. It seemed that White Knight had heard someone else outside the cauldron, which had prompted them to leave as, being someone from the Fifth Maind, White Knight would have to face attackers from all sides wherever they went. White Knight was thus left with no choice but to flee given their injuries.

    Blood Looney stared off into the distance with an unwilling expression as he clenched both fists tightly. If he had been able to absorb some more of this person¡¯s fresh blood, then he definitely would have be strong enough to defeat the current generation¡¯s Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± someone within the cauldron barked. They were all afraid of being trapped by Blood Looney once again. Although he was currently injured, the disparity between his strength and their own was too great; they didn¡¯t dare to contest Blood Looney even with his injured state.

    Less than twenty people inside the cauldron had survived the battle, and they quickly all dashed out and fled in various directions.

    Blood Looney became flustered even as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had indeed wanted to seal off the top of the cauldron once again, but it was already toote. His only choice was to choose a random direction and chase down whoever had fled that way. Coincidentally, he chose the direction that Lu Yin and hispanions had fled in.

    ¡°Why is this lunatic chasing us?¡± Huang San was terrified. He had woken up, and upon regaining consciousness, the first thing he saw was Blood Looney running after them. ¡°Did you guys piss him off?¡±

    ¡°We should split up. Since he dares to chase after us, it shows that his injuries are not too severe and that he still has the confidence to deal with us,¡± Mr. Bai suggested, and Miss Qing and Lu Yin agreed with him.

    ¡°Split up? Who should I follow?¡± The fatty was horrified, as he was the weakest out of them all, not to mention the slowest.

    Lu Yin frowned, as this stupid fatty was truly troublesome. He was about to answer when the fatty vanished.

    Lu Yin was speechless. For the fatty¡¯s time to expire at this moment showed that he enjoyed exceptional luck.

    Mr. Bai, Miss Qing, and Lu Yin thus went their own ways, each choosing a different direction.

    Blood Looney growled in anger. If he had not been heavily injured, then there was no way he would allow any of these three to slip away given his top speed. He nced around, chose a direction, and then continued to chase after one of the youths.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that lunatic is chasing you!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin turned around and coincidentally exchanged nces with Blood Looney¡¯s red eyes. His expression changed. ¡°Why is he chasing me? Can he tell that I¡¯m from the Fifth Maind?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re really a firefly in the dark! You get chased wherever you go!¡± the monkey wailed in agony.

    Lu Yin had no choice either, but then he suddenly thought of a possibility. Two days ago, he had been the only one who was able to remain standing during the battle between the two young powerhouses, and he had even been able to drag Mr. Bai and the other two youths in their group away. Perhaps that incident had caused him to stand out in Blood Looney¡¯s eyes, making Lu Yin seem very powerful, or at the very least, stronger than the others. This would make Blood Looney think that Lu Yin¡¯s blood would be more advantageous for him. It had to be said that the lunatic had guessed correctly.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as he should have tried to behave in a more low-profile manner.

    Behind him, Blood Looney took action, and summoned a corpse dragon from his body that shot through the sky and towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin further increased his speed, but the space ahead of him suddenly split open. He hurriedly dodged to the side as the corpse dragon rushed into the spatial crack and disappeared. However, another corpse dragon dashed out a short whileter to chase after him.

    The space in the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ region wasparatively stable, but Lu Yin would actually prefer it to be unstable.

    Even if Blood Looney was currently injured, he was still very fast.

    ¡°You can¡¯t catch me! Go and kill someone else!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Blood Looney grinned coldly. ¡°It has to be you.¡±

    Lu Yin thought of turning back and giving his all in a fight, as the Yu Secret Artbined with the Dream Finger might actually be enough to deal with the injured Blood Looney. Still, Lu Yin decided against that course of action after thinking about it more.

    He continued to flee for a while longer until he finally saw a light pir ahead of him; this one was located in the center of the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ region. Lu Yin was delighted, and he quickly dashed towards it.

    Blood Looney snorted coldly, and he raised a hand, causing a giant blood lotus to appear in the sky as he attempted to crush Lu Yin.

    The light pir was right in front of Lu Yin, so he raised a hand and casually waved it in response, activating the Yu Secret Art. Immediately, the blood lotus attack was diverted in another direction.

    Blood Looney¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Is this a battle technique? No, with your strength, there¡¯s no way a battle technique could withstand my attack¡­ This is a secret technique! You know a secret technique!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and stepped into the light pir.

    ¡°Stop running! Hand over that secret technique!¡± Blood Looney gave his all and ferociously spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood formed a mist that surged around him and enveloped his body. He then tore through the void and instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, stepping into the light pir at the same moment as Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb even as the scenery changed before his eyes. He left the region with the Nine Cauldrons and instead appeared in an area riddled with canyons. But more importantly, Blood Looney appeared there at the same time.

    Blood Looney grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and Lu Yin reached out to grab Blood Looney¡¯s wrist in turn. The two were both using their physical strength at the same time.

    Blood Looney¡¯s wrist shattered into pieces, leaving him shocked. How had he actually lost in a battle of strength? Without hesitation, his nine lined battle force burst forth, and he swatted out with a hand. Lu Yin also released his seven lined battle force while his Fatesand formed into a shield in front of him. There was a thump, and the Fatesand trembled while Lu Yin was sent flying out of the light pir. He knew that he was outmatched, and instantly he moved to escape into the distance without turning back.

    Blood Looney coughed out yet another mouthful of blood, as he had been severely injured during his battle with White Knight. Despite that, he had forced himself to use his battle techniques and even activated his nine lined battle force to chase after Lu Yin, which had further aggravated his injuries. But for a secret technique, he was willing to pay anything. As long as he could get that secret technique, his power would undergo a groundbreaking transformation.

    Why did he want to be one of the Daosource Three Skies? Aside from the experts from the Secret Progenitor Realm, the experts of the Blood Progenitor Realm and the Martial Progenitor Realm also wanted to obtain a secret technique. Blood Looney¡¯s true objective was to be one of the Daosource Three Skies , and he would only reach an invincible position if he grasped a secret technique. And now, there was a secret technique right in front of his eyes.

    Blood Looney pped his own chest, and his face went pale as he spat out anotherrge mouthful of blood. This time, the bloody mist reinforced his body, and he instantly tore through the void to chase after Lu Yin again, immediately appearing behind Lu Yin. Behind Blood Looney, the imprint that he had received from the Bluedome Elder reappeared, and an enormous pressure caused Lu Yin¡¯s back to turn cold. ¡°Stop right there and hand over the secret technique!¡±

    Then, Blood Looney grabbed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin paused and turned around with a raised finger. His eyes suddenly went ck as he lost consciousness. A boundless rage surged through him, and the Dream Finger tapped out.

    The void froze, and only that finger was able to transcend space to tap against Blood Looney¡¯s palm. The finger easily pierced through the palm and continued moving towards his brain, as if it intended to crush his brain within his skull.

    However, it did not seed. Blood Looney was too powerful, and Lu Yin could not touch him even if he pushed this technique to the point of his finger splitting. Helpless, Lu Yin pulled his finger back, but the power of that finger had already forced Blood Looney back by a hundred meters.

    The void recovered, and Lu Yin continued fleeing once again, though his finger was now bleeding.

    Blood Looney was stunned, and he tightly clutched his shoulder as fresh blood flowed from beneath his palm. How was this possible? An Explorer had actually injured him? That finger had cut off all possible means of evasion. What sort of battle technique was that? This person had a secret technique, an invincible battle technique, and even battle force on top of all that! He was an absolute monster!

    Wait a minute, he never used an imprint at all. Blood Looney¡¯s head snapped up. There was only one possibility where someone would not use their imprint at such a critical juncture. Could this person be yet another survivor from the Fifth Maind?

    Blood Looney snarled loudly. He had to capture this person, as his secret and battle techniques were the best gift possible for Blood Looney after being locked away in cryostasis for a thousand years.

    Despite being repeatedly injured, Blood Looney still did not give up the chase.

    Lu Yin was also feeling helpless, as this madman must have guessed that Lu Yin was not someone from the Sixth Maind by now. Lu Yin knew that would be in deep trouble if he bumped into anyone from the Sixth Maind at this juncture.

    Just when Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts reached this point, he saw that there was someone up ahead of him, lighting a fire. This new person¡¯s posture seemed like they were intending to prepare some food to eat. Lu Yin wanted to avoid them, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he didn¡¯t. At this moment, what Blood Looney wanted to do the most was to obtain Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique, and thus, the madman would not allow Lu Yin¡¯s identity to be exposed for fear of Lu Yin being captured by someone else. This meant that anyone who appeared in their path, regardless of whether they were from the Fifth or the Sixth Maind, was an enemy.

    Lu Yin was very expectant as he charged towards the area with the fire, hoping to encounter a ruthless character, as even someone like Autumnfrost Qing would be enough at this moment.

    Blood Looney had also seen that there was someone lighting a fire up ahead in the distance, and he ground his teeth so hard that he almost spat out another mouthful of blood while his face paled even further. If he wanted to acquire this secret technique, then he would require quite a long period of recovery after this, but it would all be well worth it for a secret technique. Anyone who blocked his path had to die.

    ***

    Nong Zaitian had always believed that he was an ambitious youth. Since a young age, he had held a dream, which was to spread his brilliant image across the entire Sixth Maind¡ªnot just throughout the Blood Progenitor Realm, but even to the Martial Progenitor Realm and the Secret Progenitor Realm. Everybody everywhere should know of his glorious image.

    Unfortunately, this dream had been shattered the moment he became more sensible. His name meant that he was fated to never acquire any glory. And that indeed turned out to be the case: there was nothing wrong with anything else about him, as his appearance, personality, and even social skills were quite decent. It was just his name, which was the greatest stain on his life.

    He had thought of rebelling and changing his name, but when he tried, he had failed, and he had nothing to show of it aside from being beaten countless times. However, he had never thought of giving up, and had instead decided to change his name after bing a top-notch expert. But as he matured, the ancestors in his family had given him a power vessel, and after receiving it, Nong Zaitian realized that he would never be able to shake off his name, as that power vessel was actually a hoe.

 Chapter 644: The Hoeâ€™s Elegance

    <h4>Chapter 644: The Hoe¡¯s Elegance</h4>

    When he thought of his hoe, Nong Zaitian wanted to vomit up blood. Who would refine a hoe into a power vessel? Really, who? Nong Zaitian wished that he could pull that bastard out of their grave and beat up their corpse.

    This hoe had shoved Nong Zaitian straight into the pit of despair, as he would never be able to return from the path of a hillbilly youth; anything to do with elegance and style was no longer any of his business.

    He had already reached the depths of despair, and even when he simply walked down the road, he felt like everyone wasughing at him. He had felt stifled due to this for a long time, but he eventually thought things through and finally decided to let go of such feelings. A hoe was a hoe, and he could still achieve glory with a hoe; a hoe could also be the foundation of many things.

    Of course, letting go was one thing, but he still carried some regret in his heart.

    However, this regret hadpletely vanished after the incident at the First Divine Gate located in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    With the Sixth Maind invading the Fifth Maind, as a descendant of a Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s family, Nong Zaitian had to go to the frontlines. Before he left, his family had allowed him to seek out a lucky encounter in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins. The members of the Nong family always had decent luck, and this youth was so smug that he had vowed to obtain countless treasures in the same manner as his ancestor.

    Who could have known that, as soon as he had entered First Divine Gate, he would face a lunatic.

    Thankfully, due to the guidance of his ancestors who had created the Nong family¡¯s training regime, the Nong family kept records of all the experts who could endanger the lives of their family members as a method of preparing for the unexpected. This was one of the Nong family¡¯s keys to averting disaster, and that madman, Blood Looney, had been in those records. He was a monster from 1,000 years ago who had failed during his bid for one of the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ positions. He had killed many people and had thus been ced in cryostasis. The moment Nong Zaitian had seen Blood Looney, he had made his escape, and rather quickly at that.

    As he thought about it, Nong Zaitian was once again grateful towards his hoe. Speaking of which, this hoe¡¯s speed was truly impressive, and it had allowed him to flee from that madman in the blink of an eye. This thing was an absolute lifesaver, and because of this detail, he no longer had any regrets. The hoe was a good item.

    As for those friends, they had just been fair-weathered people. Those buggers had mocked him many times in the past, and in the end, they probably regretted not having a hoe like his.

    Nong Zaitian had then wandered about the Daosource Sect''s ruins for several days, and he was currently feeling rather tired. He was about to make something to eat, but after he started his fire, he noticed that there was someone dashing towards him from a distance, and it seemed as though this person was not nning on stopping. Nong Zaitian stood up, nning to teach this person a lesson. Although he was not exceptionally powerful, he was still the heir of a Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s family, and his strength was at an eptable level for the Blood Homage Realm.

    The person drew closer, and by then, Nong Zaitian had finally finished his preparations to take action. Eh? It looked like there was actually someone chasing after the person who was approaching; this situation was obviously a chase-and-kill one. It was no wonder why the person approaching him seemed panicked. Still, it didn¡¯t matter to Nong Zaitian, as the person would die if they continued on their current path. Nong Zaitian would have no problem stalling the person for the pursuer.

    Eh? Hold up, why does that red body behind him look so familiar? Nong Zaitian rubbed his eyes, and then his expression changed greatly. ¡°Blood Looney? F*ck me!¡±

    He swore, quickly stepped on top of his hoe, and then made his escape.

    Lu Yin charged towards Nong Zaitian at top speed. He watched on as Nong Zaitian stood up, and Lu Yin even sensed the youth¡¯s hostility. Lu Yin knew this person was about to act, and Lu Yin was about to call out to him when he suddenly saw this person step on a¡­ On a¡­ Eh? A hoe? What the hell?

    With a whoosh, Nong Zaitian¡¯s hoe flew away, and he vanished in the blink of an eye.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he instinctively activated the Yu Secret Art, which caused the hoe that was below Nong Zaitian to suddenly appear beneath Lu Yin. With the added momentum, he streaked through the air and caught up to Nong Zaitian before quickly surpassing him.

    Nong Zaitian fell t on his face as he crashed to the ground, and his mouth was filled with mud. He looked down. What the hell? Where¡¯s my hoe?

    He felt a breeze blow past him, and then he saw his hoe beneath someone else¡¯s butt, leaving Nong Zaitianpletely lost. What was going on?

    At this moment, a chill ran down his spine as a horrifying aura arrived; the imprint of the approaching person had even turned the ground red. Nong Zaitian was so frightened that his hair stood on end, as he knew that Blood Looney had just arrived. He reached into his shirt and pulled out¡­ another hoe! He stepped on top of it and rushed off.

    Blood Looney waspletely caught off guard by this development; what was going on? He could not understand the current situation, but it was clear to him that Lu Yin was quickly getting away. This was not eptable.

    Blood Looney thought about his options and then pped his chest once again and spat out more blood, which caused his speed to increase yet again. He tore through the void as his body constantly flickered.

    With a pale face, Nong Zaitian nced behind. ¡°Stop chasing me! This is none of my business!¡±

    Ahead of him, Lu Yin tightly held on to the hoe. How was he supposed to control this toy? He could not control it, and the hoe only grew slower once Nong Zaitian caught up to him. He red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Give me my hoe back!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he casually waved his hand again. He threw the hoe under him over to Nong Zaitian while the hoe beneath Nong Zaitian suddenly appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s butt, causing Lu Yin to rocket off at an impressive speed again.

    Nong Zaitian was speechless; how had they just swapped hoes again? Blood Looney was getting closer, so he immediately manipted the hoe that Lu Yin had tossed over to him and took off as well.

    Just like that, due to Lu Yin¡¯s antics with the Yu Secret Art, the two youths constantly traded hoes and gradually pulled away from Blood Looney.

    Blood Looney was truly about to vomit blood.

    Nong Zaitian was feeling the same, as he becamepletely depressed due to Lu Yin toying around with him. What was going on? This person was most likely using a secret technique, but what kind of freak would use a secret technique to swap hoes?

    ¡°Who are you? Give me my hoe back!¡± Nong Zaitian was furious.

    Lu Yin agreed with him, saying, ¡°Here.¡±

    They swapped hoes once more, and Nong Zaitian shouted in indignation, ¡°Stop being such a bully!¡±

    But Lu Yin had no choice. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll apologize after we shake off that lunatic.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Nong Zaitian bellowed.

    ¡°Then forget it. This hoe belongs to me now.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, no! Giving that to you is useless¡ªyou can¡¯t control it.¡±

    ¡°No matter, I¡¯ll still keep it.¡±

    ¡°Without me controlling it, you won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±

    ¡°So we need to cooperate.¡±

    ¡°Blood Looney is after you!¡±

    ¡°You know him? Is he an acquaintance? That¡¯s great! Tell him to stop chasing me.¡±

    Nong Zaitian was rendered speechless.

    Suddenly, the sky changed as the colors of ck and white interchanged. At that moment, Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian both trembled as a ck-and-white radiance streaked over both of them while an intense vibration rumbled through the air.

    Lu Yin was dazed for an instant, but then he reacted and looked behind him to see that Blood Looney¡¯s clothes had suddenly be stained with blood with half his body disappearing. In front of the red powerhouse was a figure with its back to the two fleeing youths. The moment he saw that silhouette, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shrank, and he immediately changed his appearance.

    Although he could not see that person¡¯s face, he knew who he was just from a nce. That ck-and-white long hair was too distinct, and there was only one person from the Daynight n who could appear here: a person from the Nightking branch of the Daynight n, Arbiter Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nong Zaitian only reacted at this point in time, and when he nced back to see the miserable state that Blood Looney had ended up in, his mouth gaped open. ¡°Th- this?¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Who are you?¡± Blood Looney wailed mournfully as he stared intently at the youth who had suddenly appeared and unleashed a punch that had shattered half of his body.

    The newly arrived youth sped his hands behind his back with apletely arrogant look. ¡°One of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters: Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Blood Looney was stunned, and then he smiled bitterly. ¡°The Fifth Maind! Still the Fifth Maind. I never thought that I would die at the hands of those evil survivors from the Fifth Maind! Hahaha.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s gaze remained calm. ¡°Then just die.¡±

    He reached out and pped down with a hand. It was clearly a very normal strike, but it still caused both Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian¡¯s vision to tremble. Every move and action from Arbiter Zhenwu carried an unpredictable power with it.

    Blood Looney clenched his steel-like teeth hard. He would unquestionably die after half of his body had been shattered, but he did not want to die in some obscure manner. This person had taken advantage of his injured state to take his life, and he did not want to die at his hands.

    The blood lotus blossomed beneath his feet once again as corpse dragon after dragon then charged towards Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu frowned slightly. ¡°A final, futile struggle.¡±

    He pped down again, instantly shattering all of the corpse dragons. However, this gave Blood Looney enough time to race away under the protection of his blood lotus.

    Nightking Zhenwu arrogantly nced over at Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian¡¯s position, but he did not bother with them. Instead, he chased after Blood Looney.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Blood Looney and Nightking Zhenwu to vanish from their sight.

    ¡°Blood Looney is screwed,¡± Nong Zaitian muttered.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯s dead meat.¡±

    Even if that madman had not been injured to his current state and was instead in his peak form, he still might not have been able to beat Nightking Zhenwu. Arbiter Zhenwu was considered dominating even amongst the Ten Arbiters, and nobody knew exactly how powerful he was. White Knight¡¯s struggle with Blood Looney had led to losses on both sides, and the knight had even been able toe out slightly on top. Since that was the case, Nightking Zhenwu should definitely be able to aplish something simr, and he was possibly even more powerful than White Knight.

    There were times when Lu Yin was unable to understand how the overall strength of the Sixth Maind could greatly surpass that of the Fifth Maind since the Ten Arbiters were so powerful. It should be known that the Fifth Maind still had the Neoverse, which was where the Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters was. There was also the Cosmic Sect and the Three Dark Hands, and their younger generations might not be any inferior to the Ten Arbiters. As such, the top-notch powerhouses of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation may greatly surpass the Sixth Maind¡¯s, which was iprehensible to Lu Yin.

    The average strength of the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation definitely surpassed the youths of the Fifth Maind, but from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the number of top-notch powerhouses from the Fifth Maind were higher than that of the Sixth Maind, which was the exact opposite of the trend for their average cultivators, and it was rather baffling.

    Lu Yin then recalled the conversation that he had heard between White Knight and Blood Looney during their battle. Apparently, all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators were ves of a rigid cultivation system without any future. Could this be the reason for the discrepancy? Or was it that the Sixth Maind still had top-notch experts of the younger generation who were able to crush all others?

    The Daosource Three Skies?

    Lu Yin considered this matter seriously, as someone like Blood Looney had possessed enough strength to fight for the position of one of the Daosource Three Skies 1,000 years ago, which showed that the Daosource Three Skies were not necessarily that much stronger than the Realmlings. Or rather, could it be that, after gaining the position of one of the Daosource Three Skies, their power would improve by leaps and bounds?

    While Lu Yin thought about it, his cor was seized by Nong Zaitian.

    Nong Zaitian red at him,pletely infuriated. ¡°Give me my hoe back!¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand. ¡°Here you go.¡±

    Nong Zaitian snorted and took his hoe.

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°That power vessel of yours is special, and there are even two of them.¡±

    ¡°What? An interrogation? One¡¯s male and one¡¯s female. Is there a problem?¡± Nong Zaitian was not happy.

    Lu Yin nearly choked¡ªeven hoes could be male and female?

    Nong Zaitian red at Lu Yin once more before turning to leave.

    Lu Yin thought about it and then followed him.

    Nong Zaitian turned around and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Why are you following me?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got nowhere to be, so let¡¯s travel together.¡±

    Nong Zaitian became angry. ¡°No! The more people there are, the bigger the target.¡±

    Lu Yin did not care about the man¡¯s objections and simply followed after him. He had no choice, as that hoe was too impressive. Its speed was incredible, and not even Blood Looney had been able to catch up to the two of them. It would be very safe for him to follow this person, as it would at least give Lu Yin an escape method.

    Wherever Nong Zaitian went, Lu Yin followed behind him. Nong Zaitian wanted to use his hoe to shake Lu Yin off, but with that bastard¡¯s secret technique, he could only forget about it.

    ¡°You know a secret technique?¡± Nong Zaitian looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Take a guess,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Nong Zaitian was left speechless once again.

    ¡°For you to learn a secret technique, you¡¯ve got to be someone from a family of at least an Empyrean Imprinter, so why haven¡¯t I ever seen you before?¡± Nong Zaitian was doubtful.

    Lu Yin checked his surroundings and then replied, ¡°Can you recognize all of the people from the Empyrean Imprinter families?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Nong Zaitian replied seriously. ¡°I¡¯ve memorized their faces.¡±

    This time, Lu Yin was left speechless.

 Chapter 645: The Third Soul Split

    <h4>Chapter 645: The Third Soul Split</h4>

    ¡°Could you be one of those evil survivors from the Fifth Maind?¡± Nong Zaitian suddenly spoke a thought aloud before vigntly observing Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Have you seen someone as weak as me among the evil survivors from the Fifth Maind?¡±

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s eyes spun. ¡°That¡¯s true. Any evil survivor of the Fifth Maind that shows up in the Daosource Sect would at least have the power of a Realmling. You¡¯re too weak.¡±

    The two walked for a while, and then Nong Zaitian sighed. ¡°Stop following me! You also saw that Blood Looney was chased away by that evil survivor from the Fifth Maind. Now, there¡¯s nowhere in the entire Daosource Sect that¡¯s safe! I n to hide, and I will continue to hide until my time expires.¡±

    ¡°Me too,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Nong Zaitian blinked. ¡°Then go look for a ce to hide! What are you following me around for?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the way,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Nong Zaitian growled, ¡°I don¡¯t know, either, so stop following me!¡±

    ¡°The more people, the safer,¡± Lu Yin said again. His tone was rather casual as he spoke with Nong Zaitian. He had taken quite a fancy towards the youth¡¯s hoe, as it was just too useful.

    Nong Zaitian also knew what Lu Yin¡¯s true target was, and although he was angry, he was left with no choice but toply. He wanted to do something, but this fellow had been able to escape from the clutches of Blood Looney, which proved that he was in no way weak, and shockingly, it seemed like he had not been injured either. Nong Zaitian had no confidence to make a move against Lu Yin.

    After the two walked a certain distance, they found three corpses lying on the ground. Judging from the direction that the two had traveled in, it seemed that these three people had all died at the hands of Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nong Zaitian felt a little numb when he saw the corpses, and he softly said, ¡°Bro, stop following me! How about we each just hide by ourselves?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I don¡¯t either!¡±

    ¡°The more, the safer.¡±

    ¡°You f*cker!¡±

    ¡­

    Suddenly, a spatial crack spread out over their heads, and Lu Yin grabbed Nong Zaitian and dodged away from the spreading crack.

    Nong Zaitian was scared out of his wits, and he patted his chest. ¡°I almost died.¡±

    Lu Yin patted the young man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You owe me a life.¡±

    ¡°If not for me being so pissed off, how could I have missed that crack?¡± Nong Zaitian bellowed.

    Lu Yin did not bother with him, and instead, he stared off into the distance with a solemn expression. He could see that there were more spatial cracks spreading toward them, as well as a hurricane sweeping across a region. His expression quickly changed. ¡°Not good! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With that, he turned around and headed back towards where they had juste from. However, Nong Zaitian had already furtively slipped onto his hoe. This bastard was even faster at escaping than Lu Yin himself. Still, it would be fine since Lu Yin had his secret technique.

    Nong Zaitian crashed to the ground with a thump once again, his position showing that he had just fallen t on his face.

    ¡°You idiot! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Nong Zaitian roared.

    An immense pressure came from above the two youths, and he no longer hesitated to quickly pull out his second hoe, sit down, and make his escape. Still, he managed to find the time to nce back. Two figures were frantically fighting in the sky, and the sight of one of them caused Nong Zaitian to shudder. ¡°Shang Rong? I¡¯ll be damned.¡±

    Lu Yin was sitting on the second hoe, and he also looked back, as he had felt two powerful strengths shing, though he did not know who they were. The twobatants were quickly drawing close to Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian, and Lu Yin could soon see that they were actually White Knight and Shang Rong.

    When he saw Shang Rong, Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine. He had not forgotten about those cultivators who had directly vanished at Heaven''s Pit, and he felt that Shang Rong¡¯s power was truly astounding.

    Bang! A loud noise was heard, and White Knight was sted in Lu Yin¡¯s direction, the spear slipping from his grasp. Lu Yin dodged aside, but Nong Zaitian was not quite so lucky and was swept away by the shockwave of White Knight crashing into the ground. He fainted shortly after activating his hoe in an attempt to slip away.

    Without Nong Zaitian, Lu Yin did not know how to use the hoe in his possession. Thus, he could only carry it and run on his own two feet.

    Without the hoe, his speed had dropped significantly.

    White Knight dashed up, but the knight was once again sent flying by Shang Rong andunched back in Lu Yin¡¯s direction.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he hurriedly dodged.

    High in the sky, Shang Rong coldly stared down. ¡°So the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters are merely this strong. Get out!¡±

    Beneath the ground, White Knight stood up and stared up at Shang Rong. ¡°You¡¯re just taking advantage of me at a bad time.¡±

    ¡°Dealing with you evil survivors is already dirtying my hands, and there¡¯s no fairness to speak of. You can¡¯t even force me to use my imprint.¡±

    Shang Rong raised a hand, and a white light radiated out from his palm. ¡°Cauterizing Beam Bloodline¡ªSkyless.¡±

    The white radiance in his hand formed a ball that gradually rose up. It looked like a white sun that was illuminating the entire area.

    As the white sun appeared, the mountain and sky both began to break down and vanish.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed. This was not good, and he had to escape right away; otherwise, he would be disintegrated as well. What kind of attack was this?

    Down on the ground, White Knight coughed and hung their head, appearing resigned.

    Shang Rong remained arrogant, as he enjoyed the feeling of dominating others. Killing normal cultivators did not arouse any of his interest, as only experts who approached his level could satisfy him. He enjoyed looking down upon everything from the position of a god while wielding the power to end it all.

    Suddenly, Shang Rong¡¯s expression changed. He immediately dodged to the side, but he was still toote; a spear had pierced through his shoulder, and it was now stained with his blood.

    Behind him, another White Knight had appeared without his knowledge, and the White Knight on the ground slowly vanished.

    Lu Yin had seen this technique before and knew that this was the Soulsplitting Technique. Ling Que had been able to split himself into three copies, which indicated that White Knight could at least do that much as well. The knight had only split into two during his battle against Blood Looney, not revealing his full strength. Thus, this hidden trump had been reserved for an emergency like Shang Rong.

    Shang Rong¡¯s face fell, and he waved his hand, causing the white sun to fall onto White Knight. At the same time, an imprint appeared behind the youth in the sky, revealing the image of a figure who was wrapped entirely in long, ck hair and whose face could not be seen at all. This imprint released an indescribably terrifying pressure along with a chilling aura. This was an Empyrean Imprint, and it was at the same grade as Blood Looney¡¯s imprint from the Bluedome Elder.

    A castle suddenly appeared around White Knight as a glorious clock rang out. The heavenly noise reverberated throughout the entire area. In the castle, one marvel after another appeared. Those from the Lingling n were able tobine ten great innate gifts from others into a single one of their own, and the marvels that had appeared inside this castle were precisely White Knight¡¯s ten innate gifts. At this moment, White Knight was disying their true power and was clearly putting their full effort forth.

    Boom!

    The ground trembled, and a giant fissure divided the sky, looking just like a ck mountain range hanging upside down in the sky.

    The battle between Shang Rong and White Knight nearly caused Lu Yin to lose consciousness, and the terrifying pressure from the two wantonly swept across their surroundings, threatening to destroy the entire area.

    After quite a while, the aftershocks from their collision dispersed.

    At this moment, everything that Lu Yin could see had changed; the mountain range that had been in front of him before had vanished, and the void was distorting unceasingly, as if it would shatter at any moment.

    He looked around for Shang Rong and White Knight and quickly found the two. They were both standing within a deep pit, staring at each other.

    Shang Rong¡¯s face was flushed red, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. There was a gaping hole in his shoulder where he had been stabbed by White Knight¡¯s spear, and the blood from the wound had spilled out to cover half of his body.

    White Knight was standing across from him and was not in much better shape. The knight¡¯s armor had been almostpletely shattered while the spear was broken in half. White Knight had already sustained some injuries from the battle against Blood Looney, and then the knight had been forced to fight against Shang Rong soon after. White Knight¡¯s injuries were even worse than Blood Looney¡¯s when he had faced off against Nightking Zhenwu.

    Shang Rong tightly grasped his shoulder and walked forward towards White Knight step by step. ¡°You are already at your limit. To be able to struggle with me to this degree, I, Shang Rong, will remember you. But today, you must die.¡±

    White Knight slowly raised the broken spear so that its tip pointed at Shang Rong. ¡°Have you forgotten what the Fifth Maind people excel at?¡±

    Shang Rong suddenly hesitated, and he appeared uncertain. ording to the historical records of the Sixth Maind, the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators were the best at concealing their strength, or in other words, acting weak to gobble the strong. These people would always hold something back, and this characteristic had repeatedly caused those from the Sixth Maind to feel resentful, but also helpless.

    Because of this, during the ancient war, countless experts from the Sixth Maind had died at the critical moment of a battle.

    Shang Rong stared at White Knight. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that you still have the strength to retaliate.¡±

    ¡°You can see. At worst, we¡¯ll just die together,¡± White Knight said indifferently.

    Shang Rong froze in ce as his eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin watched this confrontation take ce, hesitating over whether or not he should act. There was a fundamental disparity in his strengthpared to Shang Rong, and while White Knight had been able to withstand that strength which could dissolve everything, Lu Yin may not necessarily be able to do so. In particr, his hesitation was born from his inability to see through the essence of the strength behind that disintegration. Even if Shang Rong was currently injured, that strength was still enough to obliterate Lu Yin.

    After a while, Shang Rong appeared to have made the decision to act, and he stepped forward.

    White Knight spun the spear tip with a cold expression, but the knight did not take a single step back.

    Shang Rong stopped. He seemed to struggle with himself for a while, and then he red at White Knight. ¡°I won¡¯t take advantage of your injuries for now. When you recover, we will fight each other again.¡±

    He then leaped up, left the crater, and flew into the distance.

    Lu Yin rxed, as Shang Rong had been intimidated into retreating.

    Within the pit, White Knight maintained the same posture without moving.

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange, and he jumped down into the pit to approach White Knight, as he wanted to find out what was going on in the Innerverse.

    Out of fear that White Knight would attack him, he promptly stated, ¡°I¡¯m from the Fifth Maind. You must know Wendy Yushan. I¡¯m Lu Yin.¡±

    White Knight did not respond.

    Lu Yin approached closer. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. You should¡¯ve heard of me.¡±

    White Knight still did not respond.

    When Lu Yin walked to the armored figure¡¯s side, he gently pushed against the body, and White Knight crumbled to the ground.

    ¡°So he actually passed out a long time ago.¡± Lu Yinughed, as an unconscious person had managed to scare Shang Rong away. Lu Yin wondered what Shang Rong would think if he came back only to find that White Knight had fainted during their battle.

    Lu Yin bent over and looked at White Knight. This was one of the Ten Arbiters, and back in their original universe, the Ten Arbiters were supreme existences of the younger generation. Wen Sansi, Nightking Zhenwu, Lan Si: each and every one of them was a high and mighty figure. This was the first time Lu Yin had ever been this close to one of the Ten Arbiters, and he could even decide this one¡¯s fate.

    Lu Yin feltplicated, as White Knight was the person who had taken Wendy Yushan to Myriad Swords Peak. Zhao Yilong had also mentioned that this person had treated Wendy Yushan very well, and nobody believed that the knight did not have feelings for Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan was also Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Even though the whole thing was a sham, they had known each other for so long that Lu Yin had to admit that he had had some thoughts of his own for Wendy Yushan; any normal man would have some intentions. Her appearance and character contained attractive qualities that were rarely seen, and even if Wendy Yushan did not feel any love for Lu Yin, there was still the affection one felt for a family member.

    If this person lived, they might eventually take Wendy Yushan away from Lu Yin some day in the future.

    Lu Yin sighed and smiled bitterly. He grabbed White Knight and left. No matter what the future might hold, this person was on his side in the dispute between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, and he had also indirectly saved Lu Yin¡¯s own life. He had to repay this favor.

    ¡°A life for a life. I¡¯ll rescue you this time, and the favor I owe you for saving me from the cauldron will be considered repaid,¡± Lu Yin said.

    As for Nong Zaitian, Lu Yin did not look for him, as his survival depended on his own luck. After all, they were still enemies. As for Mr. Bai and the others, Lu Yin held some friendship towards them, and he would save them if possible. However, the rest could forget any such effort on his part.

    Lu Yin also did not toss the hoe aside, as he figured that taking it back to research further might yield some results. Although its appearance was rathercking, its speed was impressive.

    The Daosource Sect was massive, and it was not easy to run into any of the Realmlings or Ten Arbiters.

 Chapter 646: Ling Gong

    <h4>Chapter 646: Ling Gong</h4>

    Lu Yin carried White Knight and traveled for half a day before finally finding a good hiding spot, which was a crack thaty between two mountains. There was a stream running down the middle.

    He then tossed White Knight to the ground and sat down himself.

    The trip to the Daosource Sect this time had been truly dangerous. Lu Yin had run into Shang Rong, Blood Looney, White Knight, and even Nightking Zhenwu. If he had been the tiniest bit less cautious, he would have lost his life, and his luck could be considered pretty good since he had survived thus far.

    There were still a few more days before his futon dimmed, and he would be able to return to the Fifth Maind after quietly passing through these next few days. But what about when he next came to this ce? He could not give up on that battle technique in the cauldron, as he clearly had a method that would help himprehend it, though he had not yet seeded. This feeling was torturous for Lu Yin, as he urgently needed more powerful battle techniques, but this ce had long since be the most dangerous battlefield.

    He nced at White Knight, as even one of the Ten Arbiters had ended up in such a miserable state, let alone someone like Lu Yin.

    He wondered how Wendy Yushan was doing at this time, and he hoped that she was fine. At this moment, he somewhat regretted passing the second futon to Wendy Yushan.

    Nobody would have thought that the Daosource Sect would be the cruelest battlefield for those of the younger generation.

    The current Lu Yin did not qualify to participate in this battlefield.

    He had not felt this helpless in a long time. Ever since he had upgraded his universal armor, he had been fearless even against Enlighters, and he felt rather nostalgic for such times.

    He looked over at White Knight again. This guy couldn¡¯t have possibly died, right?

    Lu Yin walked over as he considered the possibility. He then reached over to remove White Knight¡¯s helmet so that he could ascertain if the Arbiter was dead or alive.

    As the mask was peeled away, a delicate, unblemished, and pretty face was revealed. Lu Yin was stunned. Thi- this, isn¡¯t this a girl?

    He dropped the helmet and nkly stared at White Knight. So the Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight was actually a woman?

    Even when he had seen Nightking Zhenwu in this ce, Lu Yin had not been overly surprised. However, he was truly shocked at this moment. Who would have thought the Arbiter known as White Knight was actually a woman! Even that would still be alright, but it turned out that she was actually an exquisitely cute and attractive woman.

    Lu Yin had seen many beauties, as he was surrounded by Wendy Yushan, Madam Nn, Ming Yan, Bai Xue, and even the bespectacled Mistchild. Some of them were heroically beautiful while others were charming, pure, and some simply lovable. Their temperaments were usually very simr to the meaning of their names, but there was too great of a disparity between the one in front of him and her name.

    The term ¡°knight¡± gave people a sense of righteousness and reliability; it created a magnificent image in their minds. Nobody would associate someone so delicate and adorable with the image of a knight, and this contrast was too shocking.

    He had heard that White Knight¡¯s name was actually Ling Gong, which did not sound like a woman¡¯s name either!

    Lu Yin stared at White Knight¡¯s face for quite a while, feeling that the whole situation was rather surreal. He could not help but raise a hand to touch her, and he even went on to touch her face and pinch her mouth. It was all real.

    Suddenly, White Knight¡¯s eyes snapped open, and she stared coldly at Lu Yin, as his fingers were still pinching one of her fingers. He felt embarrassed at being caught.

    If somebody had asked, out of Lu Yin¡¯s entire life, what his most embarrassing moment was, he would have definitely answered that it was the moment White Knight Arbiter awakened while he was pinching her. In the entire universe, including both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, who would dare pinch an Arbiter¡¯s face? He was the first, and he would probably also be thest.

    He slowly retracted his hand and coughed. ¡°If I said that I was trying to check on your injuries, would you believe me?¡±

    White Knight silently coldly stared at him with frosty eyes.

    Lu Yin coughed again. ¡°That- I¡¯m from the Fifth Maind. You should know Wendy Yushan!¡±

    White Knight¡¯s cold gaze shot past Lu Yin, and she looked towards the sky. ¡°Where is this ce?¡±

    ¡°The Daosource Sect,¡± Lu Yin blurted. When he saw that White Knight was still staring at him, he hurriedly continued, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know the concrete details about this ce, but we¡¯re some distance from where you fought Shang Rong. It¡¯s well hidden, and nobody should be able to find it.¡±

    White Knight ced a single hand upon the ground and put her helmet back on. ¡°I¡¯m going to recuperate. Do not approach me, and do not touch me. Otherwise, I will let you know what an ugly death is.¡±

    With some difficulty, she sat up, and then the fissure fell silent.

    Lu Yin stared at her and shook his hand about. He then shifted his gaze. What recuperating? You¡¯re probably just about to pass out again! With injuries like those, it would be weirder if you didn¡¯t faint!

    However, he had received a rather savage blow upon discovering that White Knight was a woman, not to mention that she was a girl with such a delicate, cute, and beautiful face. It could be considered rather cold, but for reasons unknown to himself, Lu Yin rxed.

    ¡°Recuperate well. I hope you don¡¯t die,¡± Lu Yin said quietly. He then looked off into the distance and began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. He did not n on venturing out at all over the next few days. Nightking Zhenwu and Shang Rong had both appeared nearby, and the region with the Nine Cauldrons was likely unsafe at this time. He would wait for the next time he could visit the Daosource Sect to search for the battle techniques within the cauldrons.

    ***

    At the Daosource Sect¡¯s Heaven''s Pit, there were other people who had entered one after another after Lu Yin and the others had left, and there had also been more intense battles to seize control of the stone pirs. However, no expert like Shang Rong appeared this time, and not even someone like Butcher who could upy a stone pir by themselves had shown up.

    On one particr day, a girl stepped into the dusky space and slowly walked across the area. Each of her steps crossed the exact same distance, as if she had made prior measurements.

    The woman¡¯s ck hair hung down to her waist, and she carried a white sword. Her features were exquisite, and she radiated a soldierly aura that was unlike other girls. She seemed even colder and more aloof than Wendy Yushan. The strangest thing about her were therge-framed sses that she wore, as they had no lenses. Paired with herrge eyes, it made her look rather endearingly foolish.

    Not long after her arrival, the girl approached the area that was near the palm lines and looked down at Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm print. There was aplex expression on her face.

    The girl¡¯s demeanor and appearance attracted quite a bit of attention, as there were only a few girls who wore sses and wielded swords. Her temperament seemed exceptional as well, and a few young men exchanged nces before slowly approaching her.

    ¡°Good day, Miss. Can we be friends? I¡¯m from the Grand Martial Realm-¡± But before the youth could even finish speaking, a trace of blood appeared around his neck. The man only felt his strength drain away as he slowly knelt on the ground. His entire body soon tipped over, and fresh blood stained the ground.

    The other men were surprised. ¡°Third Bro, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    A white light shed, and then those men all crumpled to the ground in unison. Even the fresh blood that spilled out from their bodies pooled together and flowed towards the center of the palm print.

    The girl¡¯s expression remained calm. She then looked up and leaped into the sky.

    A few minutester, the girl left the dusky space that contained Heaven''s Pit and traveled through a light pir to head towards other regions.

    Not long after, someone else entered the region with Heaven''s Pit and soon arrived next to the palm print. They looked out and were greeted by a scene that seemed toe straight from the underworld.

    The cultivators who had originally been around Heaven''s Pit,prehending the palm imprint had all perished. There had been a total of twenty eight cultivators, but not a single one of them had survived, and the reeking metallic smell of blood drifted through the air.

    After the Ten Arbiters had arrived in the Daosource Sect, the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators had suffered more than a hundred casualties. These cultivators had been people who were able to obtain futons, and almost all of them came from powerful families. Their deaths would incite the wrath of many powers throughout the Sixth Maind. Thus, the voices appealing for the Realmlings to enter the Daosource Sect and exterminate the Fifth Maind¡¯s evil members became ever louder.

    With the ruins of the Daosource Sect, the situation had already turned into a formal battlefield for the top-tier experts.

    Even if the number of casualties grew excessive, nobody would request for the Daosource Three Skies to enter the battlefield, almost as if the Daosource Three Skies no longer belonged to the younger generation. Countless people already ssified the Daosource Three Skies as existences at a higher level, a level that stood far above those from the same generation.

    White Knight remained unconscious for three days, and she only awakened on the fourth day.

    Once she woke up, she noticed that Lu Yin was resting against a stone wall with his eyes closed. She did not think too much, and she picked up a stone before tossing it at him. It tore through the void and shot towards Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. Just before itnded, his eyes snapped wide open, and the stone smashed into the mountain with a bang that caused a huge crack to appear on the mountain wall and many other rocks to fall down from above.

    Lu Yin got angry. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±

    White Knight coldly stared at him. ¡°You should die for touching me.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to scold her, but then he thought of the embarrassing episode from three days ago, and he merely pursed his lips. ¡°Touching you was my mistake. I apologize for that.¡±

    White Knight¡¯s eyes narrowed and grew icy.

    Lu Yin warned, ¡°You can¡¯t seriously be considering hitting me.¡± He had not forgotten that the person in front of him was one of the Ten Arbiters, and her level of strength was entirely different from his own. Even with his secret technique that allowed him to divert attacks, he still had no confidence in being able to escape from the clutches of one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Fortunately, White Knight did not attack him again, and instead, she nced around and moved slightly. An intense pain shot down her back, causing her to groan in agony as her forehead beaded with sweat.

    Lu Yin watched her, but he did not speak.

    White Knight tried to move once again, but each action she attempted to take caused a sweeping pain to wrack her body, most of which originated from her back. She turned to fiercely re at Lu Yin. ¡°Turn around! No peeking!¡±

    Lu Yin grew suspicious. ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°I ordered you to turn around,¡± White Knight said in a strict voice. Star energy started to seep out from her body, looking as if it was about to go berserk.

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just leave. Anyway, you¡¯re awake now, so anything that happens next is none of my business. You¡¯re on your own.¡± And with that, he moved to leave.

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t leave,¡± White Knight suddenlymanded.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°No ¡®why.¡¯ I said you can¡¯t leave, which means that you can¡¯t leave. This is an order,¡± White Knight growled.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°An order? Who can you order about? Me? I¡¯m not your subordinate.¡±

    White Knight looked at him coldly. ¡°I can order around anyone who belongs to the Ten Arbiters Council, the Council of Astral Academy, or the Outerverse Youth Council. You are no exception, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°You recognized me?¡± Lu Yin was astonished as he had changed his physical appearance in order to hide from Nightking Zhenwu.

    White Knight coldly continued on, saying, ¡°Many people are able to recognize Wendy, but only a select few know about the rtionship between Wendy and myself. Moreover, your appearance hasn¡¯t changed that much, and since you were able to enter this ce as well, it¡¯s not that hard to guess who you are.¡±

    ¡°Since you recognized me, you should know about my rtionship with Wendy. Saving you was a kindness for you taking Wendy to Myriad Swords Peak. Now, the two of us are settled, so I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that you can¡¯t go. That¡¯s an order.¡±

    ¡°Nobody can order me about.¡±

    White Knight clenched her fists, and her gaze turned icy. ¡°If you attempt to leave, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Come on,dy, there¡¯s a limit to being reasonable. I rescued you, and now you want to kill me?¡±

    White Knight grew furious. ¡°You can¡¯t talk to me like this!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t talk to you anymore. I¡¯m leaving, and you can¡¯t stop me.¡±

    Suddenly, the phantom image of the castle appeared all around the two of them, and the glorious sound of the clock rang out. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically, and the domain that he had released was suddenly crushed. He felt an intense sense of crisis, and he turned back to look at White Knight. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you. You can¡¯t leave,¡± White Knight said coldly.

    ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Lu Yin frowned. This woman could not be reasoned with.

    White Knight¡¯s gaze flickered. ¡°Turn away from me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lu Yin was perplexed.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you to turn away from me. You are not able to refuse,¡± White Knight continued coldly.

 Chapter 647: Alluring Healing

    <h4>Chapter 647: Alluring Healing</h4>

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. He wanted to leave, but he had no confidence that he could break through the castle. This was the end result of White Knight¡¯s tenbined innate gifts, and he had personally seen itpete against Blood Looney¡¯s blood lotuses and corpse dragons, not to mention the white sun that Shang Rong created. This wasn¡¯t something that Lu Yin could ovee.

    Although White Knight was heavily injured at the moment, she had already started recovering over the past three days, and thus, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure that he could defeat her.

    He should have left before she had awakened. Why had he stayed next to her until now?

    He grew very anxious as he turned his back to the Arbiter. He immediately activated the Cosmic Art as a precaution for any sort of sneak attack.

    White Knight felt relieved when she saw Lu Yin turn around and that he hadn¡¯t even spread his domain out. Her star energy surged and removed the armor that she was wearing. The pieces on her arms, chest, and head fell off easily, but the armor on her legs and back were evidently very difficult to remove as they were stuck to her skin.

    Shang Rong¡¯s talent was rted to disintegrating things, and his white sun had severely injured her. It had broken down the skin on her legs and back, essentially fusing her flesh to her armor, so trying to remove it caused her incredible pain.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± White Knight grunted. She removed the armor from one of her legs, but it left her panting with pain.

    Lu Yin grew curious; just what was she doing? Her panting and grunting led him to consider certain things, but while he wanted to turn around to take a look, he didn¡¯t dare to do it.

    Hmph! White Knight¡¯s anguished grunt was even louder when she removed the armor piece from her other leg. She looked over at Lu Yin and saw that he still hadn¡¯t turned around. She gritted her teeth and then used her star energy to remove thest piece of armor. Fresh blood gushed from her back and stained the ground before flowing away from her and dripping into the stream.

    White Knight waved a hand, and the water from the stream that had been contaminated by her blood was flung back up onto the stream bank. This ce was quite well hidden, and she didn¡¯t want topromise their position from the blood that was flowing downriver in the stream.

    White Knight was now left with only her helmet and thin undergarments, as all of her armor had been removed. There were huge patches of her skin exposed and horrible injuries covering her back and legs.

    She took some medicinal powder out from her armor and scattered it on her wounds. However, it was not very effective as the powder broke down immediately upon contact with the wounds. There were still white strands floating about within her wounds.

    White Knight sighed, as these were the remnants of Shang Rong¡¯s power, and it meant that she wouldn¡¯t be able to heal her injuries until she removed everyst bit of it.

    She had very little star energy left after her battles with Blood Looney and Shang Rong, and she also wasn¡¯t able to gather enough star energy from the area around her for her to remove the remnants of Shang Rong¡¯s power. The only way she could do so was to rely on Lu Yin as he still hadrge reserves of star energy. Furthermore, he was a Lockbreaker, and that was the real reason why she had forced Lu Yin to stay.

    ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m done,¡± White Knight said weakly.

    Lu Yin immediately turned around, but instead of seeing an intimidating Arbiter dressed in full armor, he instead saw a fragile girl who was heavily injured. Although she was still wearing her helmet, it didn¡¯t detract from her fragile beauty in any way. At this moment, White Knight¡ªno, Ling Gong, didn¡¯t possess an imposing aura. Instead, she radiated the gentleness of a woman.

    Her bloodstained gown covered her body, but the wounds on her legs and back were still exposed. Blood was still oozing out from her wounds, and her feet were barely standing on the stony ground. Her pale feet contrasted starkly with the bright blood on the ground, forming a stunning image of a heavily injured woman. Lu Yin was astounded when he saw this scene.

    It would be even better if she took off her helmet.

    ¡°Remove your helmet,¡± Lu Yin said reflexively.

    White Knight threw a stone at him with a cold expression.

    He dodged it and coughed awkwardly. ¡°Why did you ask me to stay?¡±

    White Knight lowered her head and answered in a weak voice, ¡°There are still some traces of Shang Rong¡¯s power in my wounds. I want you to remove them with your lockbreaking ability.¡±

    Lu Yin approached her, and he could smell the sharp metallic scent of blood mixed with a subtle fragrance. This woman clearly didn¡¯t use perfume or makeup, and thus this scent had to be her natural fragrance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first kiss had been with Ming Yan, and he had hardly any experience with romance. This had caused him to often be teased by Madam Nn, and he was feeling very awkward now that he was confronted with a half naked girl. ¡°What- what should I do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the Lockbreaker, so why are you asking me?¡± White Knight scolded. She was flustered by the fact that she was so close to a man in her current state. She was angry at herself for getting injured, but she was also angry at Lu Yin for talking so much. She was currently feeling very conflicted, and she didn¡¯t know what to do, especially when she felt Lu Yin¡¯s presence so close by.

    She had been the pride of her n since a young age and thus had rarely been injured. Her talent meant that few among her peers could rival her, and she had never fought any of them as they were all wary of each other. This was the first time she had ever been injured this badly, and it was also the first time she had been in such close proximity with a man. She almost wanted to kill him out of sheer reflex.

    Lu Yin had no idea of what the girl in front of him was thinking, as he definitely would not be willing to approach her if he did. His current actions meant that he was walking along a tightrope, as this woman wasn¡¯t thinking logically, and there was no way to predict what she would do.

    Lu Yin stared at her leg while squatting down next to her. It looked very pale and soft.

    White Knight started getting anxious. ¡°Faster.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously replied, ¡°This is Shang Rong¡¯s power, and it will be difficult for me to remove it with my lockbreaking skills. Thus, you¡¯ll have to bear with this for a moment.¡±

    White Knight looked away. A lock of her hair fell forward, and she simply remained silent.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment. He then raised a hand up and ced it on White Knight¡¯s thigh. White Knight was so shocked that she tried to attack him, but Lu Yin had expected such a response, and he immediately used the Cosmic Art to easily dodge the attack. Her attack struck the mountain wall across the stream from them and left a deep mark.

    ¡°Are you crazy? I¡¯m trying to save you!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    White Knight red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to save you without touching you?¡±

    ¡°Do you have to touch me when you lockbreak? You¡¯re just trying to make trouble!¡±

    ¡°This is Shang Rong¡¯s power. I already told you that it¡¯s not going to be easy to remove.¡±

    White Knight and Lu Yin red at each other. Finally, White Knight sighed and turned to look in another direction while blushing.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯m helping a tigress extract her tooth.¡±

    White Knight¡¯s eyes narrowed, but she didn¡¯t answer. For that matter, she didn¡¯t even look at Lu Yin.

    There were only a few traces of Shang Rong¡¯s power in her wound, and Lu Yin used his domain with the Cosmic Art to interact with the white power. His star energy was broken down as soon as it touched the power, leaving Lu Yin surprised. This was a very strong energy, and it was no wonder why Shang Rong was a Realmling who could even battle evenly against an Arbiter. Lu Yin could only slowly remove this power.

    He treated Shang Rong¡¯s power as if it were a threat from a sourcebox as he slowly removed it. Although Shang Rong was much stronger than Lu Yin, these strands were only stray traces of his power, and so, Lu Yin was able to remove it after an hour.

    Lu Yin exhaled. It¡¯s done.

    He reluctantly removed his hand. This was actually the first time that he had ever touched a girl¡¯s thigh, and he discovered that it was very soft.

    ¡°My back,¡± White Knight ordered coldly.

    Lu Yin arched a brow and walked behind her to examine her back. The wound on her back was muchrger than the one on her thigh, and almost half of her back had been ravaged. He couldn¡¯t believe that she had endured the pain for so long, especially since the remaining power from Shang Rong was still disintegrating her flesh.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate, and he quickly pressed his hands upon her back. It was very smooth, just like her thigh.

    White Knight felt the heat from Lu Yin¡¯s hand on her back, and his masculine aura startled her. She took a deep breath and scattered some of the medicinal powder onto her leg. The powder was finally able to start working, and her wound recovered quickly.

    After three hours of work, Lu Yin finally finished with removing the foreign power from the injury on White Knight¡¯s back. The sky had already turned dark by the time he finished. ¡°I¡¯m done. Let me help you with the medicine.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± White Knight refused in an unfriendly tone.

    Lu Yin became annoyed. ¡°I¡¯ve saved you again now. Can¡¯t you show me a better attitude?¡±

    White Knight continued, ¡°Not yet.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    White Knight lifted up her left leg and showed him the other side of her foot. There was a wound there as well, and although it was a small wound, it still held traces of Shang Rong¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin casually held her calf with one hand while his other hand held her foot, and he quickly started lockbreaking.

    White Knight blushed. Half of her body had been touched by this person in just one day.

    Less than half an hourter, Shang Rong¡¯s power on White Knight¡¯s foot was finally removed. Lu Yin released her foot and peeked at it once again. This woman had dainty little feet, he could cover one of them with a single hand.

    ¡°Go away and don¡¯t look back.¡± White Knight red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pouted; this girl was truly extremely ungrateful.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I sympathize with you!¡± The Ghost Monkeyughed at him.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey.

    When the sky had turnedpletely dark, White Knight finally spoke. ¡°How¡¯s the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and saw that White Knight had donned all of her armor once again. He was slightly disappointed. ¡°The Astral Beast Domain invaded Ironblood Weave and many people died in battle¡­¡±

    Lu Yin told her everything that had happened after the Innerverse and Outerverse had been cut off from each other.

    White Knight listened to him quietly, only asking him a few questions from time to time. Lu Yin did most of the talking, and she listened attentively.

    ¡°How did Wendy learn a secret technique?¡± White Knight asked.

    Lu Yin looked back at her. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    White Knight calmly said, ¡°Everyone has their own destiny. With this secret technique, she¡¯ll be able to try entering the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings, and she might even have the chance toe to this ce in future.¡±

    At this moment, she turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°How did you get a futon?¡±

    ¡°A coincidence,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    White Knight didn¡¯t probe any further.

    ¡°How¡¯s the Innerverse?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    White Knight gave him a sinct answer. ¡°We¡¯ve been invaded, and there¡¯s a war going on right now.¡±

    ¡°What about the details?¡± Lu Yin probed.

    White Knight ignored him.

    Lu Yin was helpless; this Arbiter was so arrogant. ¡°Where did they invade from?¡±

    ¡°The Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°The Starfall Sea?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    ¡°The Starfall Sea is directly connected to the Sixth Maind,¡± White Knight exined, but after that, she didn¡¯t say anything more about the war no matter what Lu Yin asked.

    As for the friends that Lu Yin cared about, he didn¡¯t ask her about them as she probably didn¡¯t even know who they were.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, why did you take Wendy to Myriad Swords Peak back then?¡± Lu Yin was curious. If White Knight had been a man who liked Wendy, such a thing would have been quite a normal thing to do. However, she was a woman, which had aroused his curiosity.

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± White Knight replied coldly.

 Chapter 648: Life Depleting Poison

    <h4>Chapter 648: Life Depleting Poison</h4>

    Lu Yin became annoyed. ¡°I¡¯ve answered all your questions, but you have barely answered any of mine. You¡¯re too rude.¡±

    White Knight arrogantly replied. ¡°Did you? ¡®Coincidence.¡¯ That was your answer to my question. What¡¯s the difference between saying that and saying nothing at all?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Women should be cuter.¡±

    A rock smashed into the mountain wall with a bang. Lu Yin got angry and red at White Knight. ¡°Woman, do you really think that I won¡¯t dare to attack you!? What do you want?¡±

    White Knight coldly answered, ¡°Forget about today¡¯s incident, and forget everything about me. Also, I must have told you not to call me that.¡±

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll be smashed to death if i stay with you. See youter¡ªno, goodbye forever!¡± He then turned around to leave.

    ¡°You can¡¯t leave.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an order.¡±

    Lu Yin grew so angry that he burst out withughter. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that nobody can order me about!¡±

    ¡°Anyone who belongs to the Council of the Ten Arbiters, whether they be a member of the Council of Astral Academy or the Outerverse Youth Council, must listen to my orders. You are included among those people,¡± White Knight coldly reminded him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. Why does this sound so familiar? She must have said it before!

    In the end, Lu Yin didn¡¯t manage to escape.

    ording to White Knight, if a Realmling appeared, Lu Yin would be a good shield and could help her fight for a longer period of time.

    Lu Yin wanted to retaliate, but he didn¡¯t dare to do so as White Knight¡¯s castle could defeat him in less than an instant. Even if he used both the Yu Secret Art and the Dream Finger, at best, he would be able to attack her once. He also didn¡¯t want to use his full strength since they weren¡¯t enemies and could actually be consideredrades; in the end, he didn¡¯t try to provoke her anymore.

    The crevice between the mountains where the two of them were hiding was quite well hidden, and Lu Yin was nning on staying in this ce until his futon dimmed. He was also determined to never interact with this woman ever again since she was so unreasonable.

    ***

    In Shenwu Continent, Ming Zhaoshu had been struggling ever since he had reced Ming Zhaotian as emperor. He had to take care of political affairs all day long, each and every day, and he also had to find ways to groom his supporters to take over important positions. Finally, he also had to deal with Ming Zhaotian¡¯s supporters. Furthermore, riots kept breaking out in various regions. The citizens of the Shenwu Empire had always had a bad impression of the outsiders, and forcing them to cooperate with the outsiders had caused Shenwu Continent to descend into chaos.

    Ming Zhaoshu had expected this situation to ur, and thus, he had a very simple solution: the empire wouldpletely integrate with the outside universe, and that would resolve the current situation.

    During this period of chaos, there had already been 126 assassination attempts on Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s life. Although these people had only been wasting their lives, therge amount of attempts showed that there were still many who wanted their new emperor dead. Over the past few days, various soldiers iming to support the former crown prince, Ming Hao, had popped up in various areas. However, Ming Hao was already dead, which meant that these people were clearly just taking advantage of his name to attract supporters. Despite reality, only a few people were aware of the truth and that Ming Hao was dead. Thus, arge number of people rushed to join the soldiers.

    The army of the Shenwu Empire was kept busy with having to constantly suppress the riots.

    The Reverent King''s Residence had been rebuilt and had be the new core of the Shenwu Empire as the imperial pce was still undergoing repairs.

    Within the study of the Reverent King''s Residence, Ming Zhaoshu set down the document that he had been reading and massaged his temples. There was a stack of documents on the table detailing the rebel armies¡¯ movements and activities in the various regions of the empire. There were also some faraway inds that hadn¡¯t recognized his rule and were also attempting to secede from the empire.

    Ming Zhaoshu desperately needed some external help to quell the empire¡¯s internal conflicts. The best method would be for him to rely on the Great Eastern Alliance. Ming Yan was already prepared to leave for the Great Yu Empire at any given moment.

    As long as he could ally with the Great Yu Empire, he would be able to bring some high technology products from the universe into the empire, which would help him effectively defuse the riots. He believed that the cultural shock these high technology products would introduce would actually be more effective than political violence.

    Suddenly, Ming Zhaoshu spat out a mouthful of blood that covered his table as well as the floor. Something hade over him very suddenly, and he didn¡¯t know what was going on.

    What¡¯s happening? Ming Zhaoshu clutched at his chest. Nothing seemed to be wrong with his body, and he hadn¡¯t been injured either. There were also no signs that he had been poisoned, so why had he just vomited blood?

    ¡°Send for the royal physician,¡± Ming Zhaoshu ordered.

    An elderly man soon entered the study. ¡°Greetings, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Check my pulse,¡± Ming Zhaoshu calmly ordered. The blood in the study had already been cleaned up, and there was nothing strange about the room except for the smell of blood that still lingered in the air.

    The royal physician lifted his head up. His eyes narrowed as soon as he saw Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°Your- your majesty, what happened?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s heart sank the moment he saw the royal physician¡¯s expression of shock. He looked in the mirror, and instead of seeing the majestic and imposing Shenwu Emperor, he saw an old man with white hair and wrinkled skin. He could barely see himself in his own reflection.

    Ming Zhaoshu was stunned. ¡°What¡¯s happening? What¡¯s happening!¡±

    The royal physician was trembling in fear, and he didn¡¯t dare to move any closer to the emperor.

    Ming Zhaoshu couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Why do I look like this? This is fake! It¡¯s fake!

    He shattered the mirror and took another one out, but he still saw the appearance of an old man staring back at him. He had turned into an old man within just a few minutes.

    ¡°Your majesty, let me take a look,¡± the royal physician requested fearfully.

    Ming Zhaoshu sat down on a chair with clenched fists. He was still in disbelief at his condition.

    The royal physician approached him slowly and ced his hand to check Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s pulse. He frowned and muttered in confusion after a few moments. ¡°Why would it be like this? This is strange, very strange.¡±

    ¡°What is happening?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    ¡°Your majesty, your body is fine, but your life energy is draining away extremely quickly. It¡¯s as if something is stealing your life away,¡± the royal physician exined.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°So are you saying that I have been poisoned?¡±

    The royal physician nodded. ¡°That is most likely the case, yes, though I have never heard of a poison that is able to steal life energy while allowing the body to remain healthy. Why would such a poison exist?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu lowered his head to hide the madness in his eyes from the royal physician. ¡°Is there a cure for this condition?¡±

    The royal physician answered, ¡°We can only use certain medicines that are able to replenish life energy in order to dy the depletion that you are currently suffering from. Your Majesty, please request the outsiders for help, as perhaps they have a means of curing this poison.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded. ¡°I understand. You may leave.¡±

    The royal physician breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Then I will take my leave.¡±

    He then walked towards the door.

    Suddenly, a tremendous pressure descended and crushed the royal physician into a puddle of blood. Behind the remains of the man, Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze was frosty. He could not allow anyone to discover his current condition.

    Depleting life energy¡­ poison. Who poisoned me? It couldn¡¯t be anyone from Shenwu Continent, as they wouldn¡¯t have ess to such a strong poison that can deplete the life energy of even a Martial Sovereign powerhouse. Shenwu Continent did not have any method to cure this poison, and Ming Zhaoshu suspected that the outside universe might not either.

    At that moment, Tang Si¡¯s voice was heard from outside the study. ¡°Your Majesty, the princess wishes to see you.¡±

    ¡°Ask her to wait for me in the courtyard,¡± Ming Zhaoshu replied.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at his aged appearance in the mirror with sad eyes. He had used his entire life to achieve his ultimate goal, but had he already reached the end of his life? No! He wouldn¡¯t give up. The universe was huge, and there might be a way to cure him somewhere out there! He only had a small bit of understanding towards the outside universe, but there might be¡ªno, there had to be a cure!

    His expression grew crazed. He had finally reached the point where he could enjoy his achievements, and he didn¡¯t want to die yet. He didn¡¯t even have an heir.

    Initially, he hadn¡¯t had a son so as to avoid any gossip, and he had only had a daughter. His current n was to have a son who could inherit the throne, and Ming Zhaoshu couldn¡¯t die before that.

    In a pavilion thaty within the courtyard of the Reverent King''s Residence, Ming Yan was looking at the river with an anxious but excited expression.

    The fish in the river kept leaping out of the water before falling back into river, causing droplets of water to ssh into the pavilion.

    ¡°Do you want to leave thiske too?¡± Ming Yan muttered as she squatted down to watch the fish.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, what are you thinking?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked as he arrived at the pavilion. He had altered his appearance with star energy so that he didn¡¯t look old anymore.

    Ming Yan was shocked and stood up quickly. Once she saw that the person who had spoken was Ming Zhaoshu, she shyly answered, ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m looking at the fish.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded and took a seat. ¡°Have you prepared everything?¡±

    Ming Yan knew what Ming Zhaoshu was referring to. She lowered her head and softly replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Tell me the truth. Do you want to leave?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked Ming Yan wistfully with aplicated expression.

    Ming Yan didn¡¯t notice Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s strange tone, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking. ¡°I want to go out from this ce and take a look.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to take a look at the universe or take a look at Lu Yin?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    Ming Yan blushed as she thought that Ming Zhaoshu was merely teasing her. She lowered her head and demurely answered, ¡°Father, don¡¯t say that. I just, I just¡­.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed when he saw how flustered hisment had made Ming Yan. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t leave for now.¡±

    Ming Yan raised her head in surprise. ¡°Why not, father?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu fell silent. He couldn¡¯t tell Ming Yan that his life might end soon. Although he hoped that there was a cure for the poison in the greater universe, he knew that the chances of that were quite slim. Once he died, the Shenwu Empire would be passed over to Ming Yan. Hence, Ming Yan couldn¡¯t be allowed to leave until he could confirm that there was a cure.

    He needed to n for the worst case scenario.

    ¡°I will exin to the Great Yu Empire. You will have to stay here for a while longer,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said as he stood up. He left the pavilion in a bad mood.

    Ming Yan was confused by this turn of events. Her father had been the one who had arranged for her to leave for the Great Yu Empire, and his greatest wish was for her to be together with Lu Yin. Why would he suddenly change his ns?

    ¡°Right, starting tomorrow, you need to start learning how to deal with political affairs,¡± Ming Zhaoshu casually added as he continued to walk away from the pavilion.

    Ming Yan became even more confused. ¡°Deal with political affairs? But I have never done anything like that, and I don¡¯t have any intentions of doing so either.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu frowned and told her, ¡°Juste to my study in the morning.¡± He then left, leaving behind apletely perplexed Ming Yan.

    ***

    Within the ruins of the Daosource Sect, White Knight rested for an entire day in the cleft between the mountains before opening her eyes again.

    Lu Yin had done some calctions, and there were only two or three days left before he would be able to leave this ce.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± White Knight stood up and stretched her body, releasing various cracking noises. Although her wounds were still aching, they had mostly recovered, and her star energy was recovering as well.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Where are we headed?¡±

    ¡°To the ce where I entered this ce,¡± White Knight said coldly.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What do you mean, the ce that you entered?¡±

    ¡°Just follow me.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to leave this ce? The battles outside should still be raging on, and we¡¯ll almost definitely bump into an Arbiter or a Realmling if we go out now. You can¡¯t protect yourself against anyone as you are right now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°You overestimate me.¡±

    ¡°I meant that you can dy them long enough for me to escape,¡± White Knight said coldly.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°You can just leave on your own. I don¡¯t want to leave. I¡¯m staying right here until my time is up.¡±

    White Knight frowned and then red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin red right back at her. He was definitely not going to leave this hidden ce until he was able to return to their universe. The battles in the Daosource Sect were probably the most ferocious right now.

 Chapter 649: Sierrasea Path

    <h4>Chapter 649: Sierrasea Path</h4>

    White Knight averted her gaze and raised a leg to step forward across the ground, causing ripples to spread out. Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted, as he had a bad premonition as to what was about to happen.

    The next moment, the two walls of the crevice between the mountains crumbled, and the deafening sound was enough to cause space itself to vibrate, and even the stream broke apart.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lu Yin became flustered.

    White Knight coldly replied, ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether or not you want to leave.¡±

    She then leaped up and headed off in a particr direction.

    Lu Yin was left with no other choice but to follow her, as such a great disturbance might possibly draw other powerhouses over. It was very likely that, aside from the Realmlings, the Sixth Maind also had other experts who were able to rival those in the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings. It was likely that those people would also arrive to participate in this battlefield, and it would not be difficult to run into such powerhouses, which would spell trouble for Lu Yin.

    This armored woman believed that Lu Yin would not dare to stay behind without her.

    ¡°What did you mean by the area where you arrived?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°With the futons, it¡¯s possible to arrive in ces other than the four mountain gates of the Daosource Sect. The Sierrasea is an independent region, and as long as you pass its trial, you can directly arrive in the Sierrasea the next time youe,¡± White Knight exined.

    ¡°The Sierrasea?¡± Lu Yin felt that the name was familiar, and it sounded like something he had heard before.

    White Knight did not exin any further, and she only took Lu Yin along with her as she flew off in a certain direction.

    ***

    Just outside the ruins of the crevice where White Knight had been recuperating, Nong Zaitian was so frightened by themotion that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He had luckily escaped from the previous battle after almost dying at Shang Rong¡¯s hand, only awakening with great difficulty afterwards. Once he was able to move, he had looked for a hidden valley where he could spend a few days hiding while waiting for his time in the Daosource Sect to run out. Who could have expected that, right as he approached a valley, the entire ce would copse! What¡¯s worse, he had sensed a star energy fluctuation that left him shivering in fear, and he had immediately fled atop his hoe.

    As he grabbed his hoe, he felt very indignant. That bastard had actually stolen one of his hoes. What an idiot.

    During the days when White Knight had been unconscious, a few great battles had broken out in the Daosource Sect. The Blood Homage Realmling, Nan Yanfei, had encountered the Undying Bird of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, but their battle had ended undecided, with the two of them each going their own way after fighting for a while.

    The Bloodburn Realmling, Di Fa, had run into a blind man who was also one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, and although he had been severely injured, Di Fa had managed to escape. That blind man had massacred at least thirty cultivators from the Sixth Maind who had been around the Realmling.

    The War Martial Realmling, the Toolcasting family¡¯s Toolwielder, had met the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King, Xing Kai, and their battle destroyed an entire region, though the oue of their battle also could not be determined. Neither of the two youths could be found in the battlefield after things had calmed down.

    Aside from the Realmlings who had appeared to fight against the Ten Arbiters, quite a few descendants from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cosmic Imprinters¡¯ families had also appeared, as well as some powerhouses who were second only to Realmlings, like Butcher. The situation within the Daosource Sect''s ruins grew increasingly more intense, and some people had started spreading rumors that even the Secret Progenitor Realmling was about to arrive. If these Realmlings were not able to suppress the Ten Arbiters, then perhaps the various families would have to invite the Daosource Three Skies to take action.

    In the Scripture Pavilion, Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes went wide as he looked at Yan Xiaojing.

    Previously, when the two of them had entered the Scripture Pavilion, Yan Xiaojing had seemed to have achieved a bit of enlightenment, and so, she had wanted to return to the Scripture Pavilion during this trip as well.

    To Autumnfrost Qing, it would also benefit him if Yan Xiaojing was able toprehend something, as this woman would definitely feel indebted to him and then belong to him.

    However, despite their time in the Daosource Sect being almost up, Yan Xiaojing still had notprehended anything. Thus, Autumnfrost Qing was feeling a little disappointed.

    He looked up to observe his surroundings, and he saw that more than a hundred cultivators had gathered together in the Scripture Pavilion. Most of them had not originally been in the Scripture Pavilion, but because fierce battles had started to rage throughout much of the ruins, most cultivators had been forced to take refuge here, which led to more and more people gathering in the Scripture Pavilion.

    The Scripture Pavilion was not a good ce for people to fight as the fluctuations of star energy could easily trigger changes in the ancient characters. Hence, once enough people arrived in the Scripture Pavilion, it was considered reasonably safe.

    When he thought back to the battles taking ce outside of this calm region, even Autumnfrost Qing felt a bit afraid. A descendant from a World Imprinter¡¯s family who was as famous as Autumnfrost Qing himself had died only one day ago, and Autumnfrost Qing had only learned of it by listening to some other people¡¯s discussion. The youth had died at the hands of the blind Arbiter, and he had not even been able to retaliate.

    Autumnfrost Qing had concluded that his strength was not much different from the youth who had died, and he realized that if he had been there instead, he likely would not have survived either.

    He decided toe to the Daosource Sect as little as possible during this next period of time. Otherwise, if one of the Ten Arbiters was senseless enough to gamble on attacking the futon za, they would all be done for.

    Suddenly, there was one more person atop the ancient character that Autumnfrost Qing was sitting on. It was a young man.

    Autumnfrost Qing instinctively wanted to take action, but this young man was too close. Hold on, too close? How could he have not sensed this person approaching him? And Autumnfrost Qing had only discovered this young man after he had moved this close to him. Something was off.

    ¡°Sorry to disturb you.¡± The youth smiled at Autumnfrost Qing and then leaped towards the exit of the Scripture Pavilion.

    Autumnfrost Qing nodded without speaking as he watched the youth leave the Scripture Pavilion. He looked into the depths of the region, which was where the youth hade from. The further one traveled into the Scripture Pavilion, the more ancient characters they would be able to see, but they would also encounter greater dangers. Few people could safely emerge from the depths of the Scripture Pavilion, but that person had just done it. There was nobody for quite a considerable distance ahead of Autumnfrost Qing, which meant that youth had definitelye from the depths of the Scripture Pavilion.

    An unfamiliar powerhouse who could step into the depths of the Scripture Pavilion, as well as someone who could approach Autumnfrost Qing without being discovered. He could only think of one possibility for a person at this level of strength. His own power could already be considered inferior to only the Realmlings¡¯, which meant that this young man most likely had the strengthparable to one. There were three Progenitors and nine Realms, and Autumnfrost Qing had at least seen what most of the nine Realmlings looked like, and not one of them had a simr appearance to the young man who had just passed him. This meant that the person was quite likely one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters.

    As he thought of this, Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s body trembled. He had actually crossed paths with one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, and he had even been that close to the person.

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, what happened?¡± Yan Xiaojing asked with evident concern as she cast a gentle look over at Autumnfrost Qing from nearby.

    Autumnfrost Qing forced a smile onto his face. ¡°Nothing much. Xiaojing, have youprehended anything?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing shook her head. ¡°Sorry, Brother Autumnfrost, for wasting your time.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing was actually rejoicing, as that Arbiter definitely would have made a move if she had actuallyprehended anything. ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯lle back here again next time, even if it didn¡¯t work out this time.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing pursed her lips, but she nodded with a smile. ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, you¡¯re really good to me.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing smiled, but he still felt rather nervous. He hoped that his time would run out sooner so that he could leave.

    ***

    White Knight took Lu Yin through three light pirs, and they did not meet anyone on their way. Finally, they arrive at the foot of a mountain that intermittently appeared and disappeared.

    The top of the mountain before them could not be seen as there were clouds floating around its peak. Additionally, it asionally vanished from time to time only to reappearter. When Lu Yin heard the sounds of waves enter his ear, he turned around to look behind him and saw that there was arge ocean just past the light pir. This was the Sierrasea.

    At this moment, Lu Yin recalled that Mr. Bai had once mentioned the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas; this should be one of them. ording to Mr. Bai, only a Progenitor could split the mountains and seas. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas represented the nine Progenitors, which in turn represented the Daosource Sect¡¯s greatestnd of inheritance.

    Lu Yin did not believe that the Daosource Sect had once had nine Progenitors, as if that were true, then they would not have lost to the Sixth Maind in the past. Still, having one or two Progenitors was possible, and perhaps this mountain really did contain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    White Knight continued moving on ahead.

    Lu Yin closely followed behind her. ¡°I heard that the Sierrasea has an inheritance from a Progenitor. Are you certain that you want to bring me along?¡±

    ¡°Anyone cane here, so it doesn¡¯t matter whether I bring you or not. Besides, with your strength, it¡¯s not like you couldpete with me over any inheritance.¡± White Knight did not mince her words.

    Lu Yin was unwilling to give in. ¡°That might be so for now, but not necessarily in the future.¡±

    White Knight stopped, looked at Lu Yin, and then seriously responded, ¡°At that time, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak again, as he could tell that this woman was serious as this actually involved a top-notch inheritance.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, is there really a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance in this ce? This monkey doesn¡¯t believe it! How could one be found that easily? It should be known that even up to now, no one who knows where Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance is located, and Progenitor Wushang''s hide even causes anyone who nces at it to faint,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Indeed, acquiring Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance seemed more realistic. However, this ce was the ancient Daosource Sect, so perhaps it did contain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    As the two of them moved forward, they stepped on the white bones that littered the ground, making a cracking sound with every step. The Daosource Sect had survived the ancient war, and every single part of it was littered with white bones. However, these bones had not faded into dust with the passage of time, which proved that all of these bones had once belonged to cultivators who were powerhouses in their own time. Lu Yin was very curious about how many powerhouses the Daosource Sect had housed during its peak, and also how glorious the sect must have been.

    The two of them could not see how tall the mountain was or how much area the base covered. Even Lu Yin¡¯s vision that had been enhanced by his cultivation could not clearly see it. This mountain seemed to be a pir that supported the sky itself, as well as this entire space.

    As they neared the mountain, they started to see the mountain a bit more clearly, and somewhere high up above their heads, a few continents floated about the sky. As they did not know the height of the mountain, they therefore could not determine howrge these floating continents actually were, or what the clouds were covering above them.

    The most magnificent sight within their vision was a crack that split the tall mountain into two halves. It looked like a line that led up to the sky.

    White Knight suddenly stopped and pointed at the sky. She then indifferently asked, ¡°Do you see that continent?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up, his sight following the direction that White Knight¡¯s finger was pointing in. ¡°You mean the continent that¡¯s the closest to the mountain?¡±

    ¡°Fly up there. There might be a futon za on that maind, and if you make it there, you can return to the Daosource Sect at that location the next time youe here.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯ll be able to arrive at this ce?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Fly up there. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kill you,¡± White Knight told him calmly.

    ¡°Why do I have to return here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an order.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t qualified to give me orders.¡±

    ¡°Anyone who belongs to the Ten Arbiters Council, the Council of Astral Academy, or the Outerverse Youth Council-¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I get it! You¡¯ve already said that three times. Aren¡¯t you tired of it yet?¡± Lu Yin speechlessly interrupted her.

    Lu Yin could clearly feel that she was not too happy about being interrupted. He really wanted to know what expression that exquisitely cute face of hers was making under that helmet.

    He rubbed his nose and then looked up at the floating continents. ¡°Judging by your tone, it would seem that it won¡¯t be easy to get up onto that maind. I have no confidence that I¡¯ll make it.¡± He then leaped up and flew high into the sky.

    White Knight¡¯s eyes flickered. The reason why she had brought Lu Yin to this ce was because it would be extremely difficult for her to obtain the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance by herself, and she needed a helper to do so. She was not toofortable with the other Arbiters, and she was connected to this person through Wendy Yushan. Also, they had just gone through a life or death situation, which made her reluctantly feel morefortable with Lu Yin. She could only hope that he would be able to reach that continent.

    She had noticed that Lu Yin was able to withstand a significant amount of spiritual force pressure during her fight with Blood Looney. She believed that he would be able to make it to the futon za.

    A Progenitor represented the peak of cultivation. To many, a Progenitor was the same as the sky. A Progenitor could change the sky, and they themselves also represented the sky.

    No matter if the information regarding the Daosource Sect¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was true or false, the mountain ahead of them was definitely a Progenitor¡¯s path that had been established by a genuine Progenitor. Ascending this mountain was the same as scaling the sky, which meant facing the pressure of the sky.

    By now, Lu Yin was experiencing that pressure. The higher he flew, the greater the pressure he felt. This was a suppression on his spiritual force, his physical body, and even on his most fundamental level of life. Truthfully, Lu Yin was no stranger to such suppression, as he had faced it more than just once before. His deepest impression of this kind of pressure came from when he had climbed that mountain in the hidden space with a golden ocean. Back then, he had also climbed a mountain, and he had met Mister Mu at the top. That meeting had allowed Lu Yin to transform his physical body while still in the Limiteer realm, and he had thus be an unequaled Limiteer.

    Now, Lu Yin was facing the dignified pressure of the sky. If he had attempted this feat during the ancient era and was able to ascend directly, it was possible that he might be able to see the Progenitor who represented the sky. But now, the only thing that greeted his eyes was the spacious continent.

 Chapter 650: A Blunt Reply

    <h4>Chapter 650: A Blunt Reply</h4>

    White Knight was confident that Lu Yin would seed since Lu Yin had been able to withstand the spiritual pressure of her castle and Blood Looney¡¯s blood lotuses had collided. In the end, Lu Yin was able to fly all the way up to the floating maind in one go. Even if his spiritual force felt like it was about topletely crumble by the time he finally arrived on the maind, he just had to recite the Stonewall Scriptures to help him ascend thest stretch andnd atop the maind.

    The area where hended was very spacious and broad, and it seemed to be roughly ten times the size of East San Dios.

    Lu Yin panted heavily, and he even felt slightly numb in his limbs. When he looked over the edge and down at the ground from the maind, he could see an endless range of mountains as well as a boundless ocean in the distance.

    This ce seemed to be very simr to the hidden space he had visited that had the golden ocean, as there had also been mountains and seas in that ce, and the only notable difference that he could see was the color of the sea.

    White Knight watched on as Lu Yinnded on the maind, and her eyes shed. She leaped up, though she clearly used much less effort than Lu Yin had exerted, quickly flying through the sky.

    ¡°You¡¯re slightly more useful than I had previously thought,¡± shemented.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty good when you don¡¯t speak,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    White Knight looked at the ground seriously and then narrowed her eyes.

    Lu Yin looked over to see what had caught her eyes, and his expression changed. ¡°Someone else has been here.¡±

    There were three different sets of footprint visible on the ground: his, White Knight¡¯s, and someone else¡¯s.

    ¡°This ce isn¡¯t too hard to find, so this isn¡¯t something to be surprised about,¡± White Knight said indifferently.

    Lu Yin frowned. Not something to be surprised about? Ever since he had learned the Stonewall Scriptures, he had recited it constantly, and his spiritual force had long since far surpassed that of those in his same generation and even the average Hunter. In terms of strength, some people in the younger generation might still be able to measure up to Lu Yin, such as the top ten of the Top Hundreds Rankings, or a few experts who were second only to the Realmlings from the Sixth Maind. However, in terms of spiritual force resistance, Lu Yin dared topete against even the Ten Arbiters themselves.

    Despite that, he had still been forced to recite the Stonewall Scriptures to reach this floating maind. Those who could reach this ce were definitely cultivators at the same level as the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings.

    The fact that such an expert had appeared here was certainly concerning to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, and it gradually enveloped the entire maind. Aside from White Knight and himself, there was no one else on this maind.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to search. They are already gone,¡± White Knight said.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about bumping into a Realmling?¡±

    ¡°If I bump into one, I¡¯ll just kill them.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°You¡¯re certainly confident.¡±

    ¡°How many days more do you have here?¡± White Knight asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s my first time.¡±

    White Knight nced at him. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about that,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    White Knight turned around. ¡°Since you were able to get up here, your time limit should be more than twenty five days. How long have you been here?¡±

    ¡°About twenty days.¡±

    ¡°Then you still have a few days left. It¡¯d be best for you to stay here and not move out, as no one will save you if you end up in danger. Also¡­¡± She paused for a moment as she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you want to obtain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lu Yin gave a very blunt reply, but it was one that made even White Knight think that she had misheard.

    ¡°What did you say? No?¡±

    ¡°Yep. I don¡¯t want it. I absolutely don¡¯t want it.¡± Lu Yin sounded very certain.

    White Knight fell silent, as the words she had nned to say had been thrown into chaos, and she no longer knew what to say.

    Lu Yin sniggered inwardly. This brat wanted to use a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance to lure him in, most likely because she could not obtain it on her own. However, this was also proof that the danger was extreme. He did not want to end up bing this brat¡¯s scapegoat while she got her hands on the inheritance.

    White Knight was rather irritated, and she red at Lu Yin in her frustration. What kind of person did not want to obtain a Progenitor''s inheritance? This waspletely illogical! A cultivator¡¯s ultimate goal was the Progenitor realm. But when a Progenitor''s inheritance was ced in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, why was he not moved? This shouldn¡¯t be happening!

    ¡°Only a Progenitor is able to split the mountains and seas in the Daosource Sect. This ce is a true Progenitor''s inheritance,¡± White Knight said softly.

    Lu Yin casually roamed about the floating maind before leisurely responding, ¡°That¡¯s none of my business. In any case, I don¡¯t want some Progenitor''s inheritance. I¡¯ll cultivate by myself, and I won¡¯t follow the path of others.¡±

    White Knight frowned. This sentence was rather ambitious, but what did it have to do with a Progenitor''s inheritance? ¡°A Progenitor''s inheritance contains arts, battle techniques, secret techniques, and power vessels as well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want any of that.¡±

    White Knight fell silent again, as she did not know what else to say. Instead, she decided to stop pushing this matter. She leaped towards another maind. ¡°It¡¯s best not to leave this ce lest you die.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this woman got so upset at you that she left! You yed your cards too unconventionally. Even if you search through the entire Fifth and Sixth Mainds, who would be able to resist the allure of a Progenitor''s inheritance? How many people would still charge in towards a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance regardless of the danger? Despite all of that, your answer was still so blunt! This monkey thinks that she¡¯s started to doubt her own life, hahaha!¡± the Ghost Monkey ridiculed.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°I know myself well. Let¡¯s not even mention a Progenitor''s inheritance¡ªjust an Envoy¡¯s inheritance would be turning out well if I¡¯m able to make a narrow escape. There¡¯s no need to hurry, and I have no desire to rush to my death.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. I appreciate this part of you.¡± The monkey was thrilled. He felt like enlightenment hade to Lu Yin and that he would not court disaster any longer.

    Lu Yin was able to set a Progenitor''s inheritance aside as it was something that was way too far from his reach. In contrast, he could not let go of the battle technique that he had found in one of the Nine Cauldrons. He was clearly capable ofprehending it, and this made his heart ache. He could still wait a little longer, and he nned to wait around for a while before heading back to that cauldron again, as he would only make another attempt after the numerous battles that had broken out in the Daosource Sect had died down a bit.

    Lu Yin waited on the maind for a few days as his time ran out. He was very curious about the mountain in front of him, but he did not charge over to it. Even White Knight of the Ten Arbiters wanted to team up with him to challenge it, and Lu Yin did not want to kill himself.

    Three dayster, the scenery before his eyes changed. When he opened his eyes once again, he saw the secret room in King Zishan''s pce.

    He had finally returned to Zenyu Star, and he felt a lot more at ease while in King Zishan''s pce. He intended to avoid returning to the Daosource Sect''s ruins for the next two months, as the battles there would have likely burned out by then. At that point, he would be able to safely head to the Nine Cauldrons region andprehend that battle technique. There was no need to hurry.

    After he returned to the Great Yu Empire, the first thing that Lu Yin did was head to Wendy Yushan¡¯s home and look for her. He was afraid that something might have happened to her in the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    Fortunately, Wendy Yushan had returned to Zenyu Star long ago.

    ¡°I remained in the Daosource Sect for nine days,¡± Wendy Yushan informed him.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Only nine?¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded and then asked in a strange voice, ¡°How long can you stay there for?¡±

    ¡°Twenty three days.¡±

    Wendy Yushan fell deep into thought, as this disparity seemed a little too extreme.

    Lu Yin could not wrap his head around this difference. Even that fatty was able to remain in the sect for around fifteen days, and Lu Yin had heard hispanions mention that a normal person could stay there for about fifteen days or so. Why was Wendy Yushan only able to remain there for nine?

    The duration that one could stay in the ruins was rted to their spiritual force and their futon. Could it be possible that Huang San¡¯s spiritual force surpassed even Wendy Yushan¡¯s? With her current strength, even without using the Yu Secret Art, she could smoothly enter the top twenty five of the Top 100 Rankings, which greatly surpassed the fatty¡¯s strength. Despite that, was her spiritual force really inferior to the average standard of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators?

    Perhaps it was rted to the Sixth Maind¡¯s style of cultivation. Lu Yin recalled that they did not really bother with domains or battle force. Instead, they focused on their imprints and bloodlines, which were fundamentally different forms of cultivation than the Fifth Maind¡¯s.

    ¡°How was it in the Daosource Sect? Did you face any danger?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan serenely answered, ¡°I bumped into someone, a Realmling.¡±

    ¡°A Realmling?¡± Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°That person called himself the Realmling of the War Martial Realm, and apparently, he¡¯s from the Toolcasting family. He called himself Toolwielder. His power was very impressive, and I wasn¡¯t even able to hold on to my sword when facing him.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Lu Yin hurriedly asked.

    Wendy Yushan saw the concern in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and it caused her heart to warm. ¡°Rx, he didn¡¯t do much to me. He just took me on a trip to the Scripture Pavilion. But my time expired while I was in there, and I left.¡±

    Lu Yin released a pent up breath. ¡°Alright. Also, you need to remember; don¡¯t go back to the Daosource Sect for a while. It¡¯s turned into a battlefield.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°I heard about that while I was in the Scripture Pavilion. Both the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings appeared there. You can¡¯t go back there either. The Daosource Sect is truly out of bounds right now.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I got it.¡±

    ¡°Right, what did you encounter there?¡± Wendy Yushan asked curiously.

    Lu Yin did not mention anything about his encounter with White Knight, as he was afraid that Wendy Yushan would want to enter the Daosource Sect again to look for White Knight. He instead only briefly mentioned the situation at Heaven''s Pit and the region with the Nine Cauldrons.

    ¡°The duration that one can stay in the Daosource Sect should be rted to spiritual force. Do you have any ways to improve your spiritual force?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°In this universe, the knowledge about spiritual force is very limited, almost as if it¡¯s something that has been intentionally hidden away. The strongest people on this path should be the Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Then just forget it. Do you have enough resources?¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Not muchter, Lu Yin left the princess¡¯s residence. He had a way to improve his spiritual force, which was the Stonewall Scriptures. However, he could not recite the Stonewall Scriptures in full, much less teach them to Wendy Yushan. It seemed that he had to have a chat with the Daynight n. The Daosource Sect contained quite a few lucky opportunities and inheritances. He hoped that not only he, but also Wendy Yushan would be able to obtain some of them.

    After having interacted for so long, Wendy Yushan had started to treat Lu Yin as her only living rtive, and she had even passed over control of the Great Yu Empire to him. Lu Yin, in turn, had also started to treat her as his family.

    He returned to King Zishan''s pce and found that En Ya was already waiting there for him. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s the situation in Shenwu Continenting along?¡± Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    En Ya took out a letter and handed it over to Lu Yin. ¡°This is a letter for Your Highness that arrived from the Shenwu Emperor, Ming Zhaoshu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows knitted as he opened it and took a look. His expression changed rather drastically. Ming Zhaoshu has been poisoned? He can¡¯t live for much longer?

    In the letter, Ming Zhaoshu pleaded for Lu Yin to find a way to treat the newly crowned emperor. Before he fully recovered, Ming Yan would not be able to leave Shenwu Continent, as he had to avoid the worst-case scenario of the Shenwu Empire being left without an heir in the event that Ming Zhaoshu could not be treated.

    Nobody had expected such an ident to ur.

    ¡°Did our messenger in the Shenwu Empire see Ming Zhaoshu himself?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    En Ya replied, ¡°Yes, once.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. He had to cure Ming Zhaoshu, or else Ming Yan would be the ruler of the Shenwu Empire, which would be rather troublesome. It would be impossible for the ruler of the Shenwu Empire to conduct their affairs from the Great Yu Empire, and it would also be too difficult for Lu Yin to meet with Ming Yan if she took over the empire in the future.

    ording to the description in Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s letter, there had been no signs whatsoever of him being poisoned, only the result of the poison quickly depleting his life force.

    Lu Yin dismissed En Ya and then summoned the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial physician.

    ¡°Depletion of life force? Your Majesty, there are countless poisons in the universe, but your subject has never heard of a poison that will so ruthlessly sap away at one¡¯s life force without showing any other symptoms. Thus, I have no way to treat it,¡± the man answered respectfully.

    Lu Yin waved his hand to dismiss the man. Then, he immediately contacted the Limiteer Mistchild.

    ¡°A poison that can directly sap away at one¡¯s life force? Where is it?¡± Her eyes lit up brilliantly.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m asking you how such a poison can be treated.¡±

 Chapter 651: Billowing Star

    <h4>Chapter 651: Billowing Star</h4>

    ¡°Your Highness, are you certain that it¡¯s a poison?¡± the bespectacled Mistchild asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head, as even Ming Zhaoshu himself wasn¡¯t sure of that detail. However, only a poison could deplete one¡¯s life force without causing any sort of injury.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a poison, there¡¯s no cure aside from using rare treasures that are able to directly replenish one¡¯s life force,¡± the bespectacled female Mistchild answered with confidence.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°So there¡¯s no cure?¡±

    The bespectacled female Mistchild nodded. ¡°Some people fall unconscious after being poisoned, as the poison has attacked their brain. This means that they¡¯d need a medicine that can heal their brain. Some people¡¯s bodies rot after being poisoned, and they would need a medicine that heals their body. Simrly, in the case of a poison that depletes life force, one can only replenish the person¡¯s life force.

    ¡°There must be something that¡¯s stealing that life force,¡± Lu Yin insisted.

    The Mistchild adjusted her sses. ¡°If you can find that, then we would be able to target the root cause. However, Your Highness already said that there were no signs.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    ¡°Your Highness, this poison is very aggressive, and it must be very valuable as well. Even Enlighters wouldn¡¯t be able to remove this kind of poison. Who is it that¡¯s been poisoned?¡± the female Mistchild asked.

    Lu Yin turned off his screen; why had Ming Zhaoshu been poisoned? ording to the Limiteer Mistchild, such a valuable poison should not exist on Shenwu Continent. Could it havee from the universe? The Daynight n? No, the Daynight n would rather use such a poison on him than on Ming Zhaoshu. To them, Ming Zhaoshu was nothing more than an ant.

    But in that case, who else could have done it?

    The Neohuman Alliance? Lu Yin suddenly thought of them and realized that such a thing was highly probable. The Shenwu Continent obviously wasn¡¯t as simple as it had first appeared to be, and Lu Yin, Ming Zhaoshu and the Neohuman Alliance were all aware of that fact. Thus, the only realistic possibility was that the Neohuman Alliance had poisoned Ming Zhaoshu in order to incite chaos within Shenwu Continent.

    There must have been some people from the Neohuman Alliance who had escaped during the battle that had taken ce in Mingdu.

    Lu Yin rapped his fingers against the table. Since there were still people from the Neohuman Alliance in Shenwu Continent, that meant that Shenwu Continent wasn¡¯t actually safe. As soon as Ming Zhaoshu died, their next target would be Ming Yan. Thus, Lu Yin couldn¡¯t let Ming Zhaoshu die.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. ¡°Come.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness.¡± Kayze quickly appeared.

    ¡°Spread the news that King Zishan is looking for certain rare ingredients and is willing to offer huge rewards for them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Kayze was quite efficient. He had joined the First Squadron through Lu Yin¡¯s rmendation, and he used the First Squadron¡¯s resources to spread this news throughout the entire Great Yu Empire in just a few hours. The news even ended up reaching the Grandtop and Lars Weaves.

    For the Great Yu Empire, any action of King Zishan¡¯s was a monumental event that everyone had to pay attention to.

    That same night, Lu Yin received dozens of rare ingredients, and there was even a purple star amongst them.

    Undying Yushan had previously relied on a purple star to preserve his life, and Lu Yin knew that it was a valuable herb that came from the Starfall Sea. The purple star had been provided by Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Frostwave Weave headquarters.

    Lu Yin had almost forgotten about Shamrock Enterprises as he had been focusing on the nearby weaves¡¯ major powers. Actually, the power and influence of a major corporation that conducted business in both the Innerverse and Outerverse such as Shamrock Enterprises was far more powerful than any of the Outerverse¡¯s key forces. The most frightening thing about such powers was that they remained hidden and wouldn¡¯t be noticed unless one specifically focused on them.

    Everyone in the universe had heard of Shamrock Enterprises, and even normal people knew about thispany. Meanwhile, the Great Yu Empire¡ªno, Frostwave Weave wasn¡¯t even known to most of the people in the Innerverse, and even some of the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves hadn''t heard of them. There was a huge gap between the two organizations.

    It would be fine if Frostwave Weave only lost in terms of reputation, but the most important aspect was that Shamrock Enterprises was always looking for ¡°seeds¡± throughout the entire universe. The seeds that they found were talents who could easily join the Astral Combat Academy, and Darkvoid was one such seed of Shamrock Enterprises. Nobody knew how many seeds there were, and after countless years of grooming, the seeds¡¯bined strength could move the skies.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought as he looked at the purple star in his hand. Shamrock Enterprises needed purple stars as they were a precursor for various medicines, so why would they give one to him? This stalk of purple star might not be very important to thepany, but it demonstrated their friendly attitude towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin paid for the purple star and entered a private room. He quickly screened the monkey off and then raised a hand. His die appeared; it had been twenty days, and it was now time for him to use it.

    As the die rotated slowly, it finally settled on four pips: Timestop.

    Once he entered the Timestop Space, Lu Yin felt certain that he would roll Enhance.

    He extended his time in the space to a hundred days, but he only managed to roll Enhance on his third try.

    He ced the purple star on the top screen and recalled that he had used 150,000 star crystals to enhance the purple star halfway when he had been trying to heal Undying Yushan. The previous stalk of purple star had been smaller than the one that Lu Yin currently possessed, and so, he promptly tossed out ten star essence onto the screen, which was equivalent to a million star crystals. The purple star easily dropped through to the nextyer, after which its colorpletely changed. It now was a purplish blue, which indicated that it had be a billowing star, which was the enhanced version of a purple star.

    Half of the ten star essence had been used up, which meant that the first upgrade had consumed five star essence. Lu Yin grabbed the billowing star and threw it on the top light screen once again, causing the remaining star essence to be immediately depleted. However, this time, the billowing star did not even manage to descend halfway through. He pulled out another ten star essence, which was enough to allow the billowing star to fall through to the nextyer in an instant. This time, the billowing star had turnedpletely blue.

    This still wasn¡¯t enough for Lu Yin, as he was determined to enhance the nt to the level where it could avoid danger, which was the level that the fruit he had once used to heal Zhuo Daynight had reached. Only a rare ingredient with that level of potency would be able to replenish Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s life force.

    The glowing billowing star suddenly started flying about, moving as if it wanted to escape from the isted space. Lu Yin smiled and grabbed it. He had spent almost one hundred star essence to enhance the nt to this level. He remembered that he had spent almost a hundred star essence when he had enhanced the white fruit as well.

    Should he enhance it again? Lu Yin considered it briefly before deciding to continue enhancing it. Since it had already reached such a level, he chose to continue enhancing it to the maximum level possible, as that would guarantee it being able to replenish Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s life force.

    However, Lu Yin was too naive. If he wanted to enhance something, the item had to still have some room for improvement. The maximum level of a billowing star was only at the level where it could avoid danger. It was like trying to enhance a normal weapon, which could only be upgraded a few times, as its maximum quality level was restrained by its original materials.

    Enhance could merely upgrade a material as it couldn¡¯t create more material out of nothing.

    Lu Yin stored the billowing star and took out a few more rare ingredients that were also able to replenish life force. He used some more of his star essence to enhance all of them to the point where they could also instinctively avoid danger. This was the only thing that he could do at this point in time unless he found even more valuable resources.

    He thought about Bushtree, which was filled with rare nts. However, he couldn¡¯t take them away from that, which meant that he could only use them as long as he remained on the surface of that particr.

    After upgrading all these rare ingredients, Lu Yin still had seventy days left in the Timestop Space. He then took out a huge amount of star essence and started absorbing the star energy while using the Cosmic Art.

    When he left the Timestop Space, he had actually cultivated up to thirty six stars. Thus,pared to when he had merely had nine stars, his star energy absorption speed had increased to fourfold.

    When he had first broken through to the Explorer realm, he had needed a hundred years toplete a cycle, but now, he only needed twenty five years.

    However, he still hadn¡¯t reached his ultimate goal. The level of his current Cosmic Art could reach up to ny nine stars, which would make his cultivation speed eleven times faster than his initial cultivation speed as an Explorer. If he reached that stage, he wouldn¡¯t even need ten years toplete a cycle, which would be slightly faster than an average Explorer; only this speed could temporarily satisfy him.

    He summoned En Ya and asked her to take the cosmic ring containing the rare ingredients to Shenwu Continent and pass it over to Ming Zhaoshu. He also asked her to check on Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s condition.

    After En Ya left, Lu Yin took out the hoe that he had brought back with him from the Daosource Sect. Although the item was very ugly, it was still very useful, and he wanted to see if he could manage to control it.

    ***

    Two dayster, in the study of the Reverent King¡¯s Residence on Shenwu Continent, Ming Yan was distractedly looking over a document in her hand.

    Ming Zhaoshu nced at her sharply, which caused Ming Yan to be flustered, and she dropped the document.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, father,¡± Ming Yan apologized quietly as she quickly picked it back up.

    Ming Zhaoshu gave her a warm look and sighed apologetically. ¡°Yan¡¯er, do you hate handling political matters?¡±

    Ming Yan remained quiet. Although there had been female leaders in the past, it was a rare urrence. Moreover, girls were typically not interested in dealing with such matters, and Ming Yan didn¡¯t like them either. She had a very gentle temperament, which meant that she wouldn¡¯t be a good ruler even in peaceful times, let alone this period when Shenwu Continent was extremely chaotic.

    Ming Zhaoshu passed her the document that he had been holding. ¡°Take a look at this.¡±

    Ming Yan read the document aloud. ¡°The riot in Kangzhou has been suppressed. All the family members of the rebel leader have been detained. Please punish the 320 people in the tribe.¡±

    ¡°This is a document that was submitted by the general of Kangzhou. How should we handle it?¡± Ming Zhaoshu observed Ming Yan as he gently asked his question.

    Ming Yan bit her lip. ¡°The riot stems from the distrust that the civilians hold for the government. Killing them will only lead to more conflicts and will not solve the problem.¡±

    ¡°Tell me your decision,¡± Ming Zhaoshu prodded in a quiet voice.

    Ming Yan thought for a moment. ¡°Punish the rebel leader and detain the others to be released at ater date.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu mmed his palm on the table with a loud bang. ¡°Detain? Only punish the leader? Do you know the current situation of the empire and what this rebel leader has done? He found someone to impersonate Ming Hao and then tried to have them rece me! He is extremely ambitious and has gathered many resources from his tribe. He is using the entire force of his tribe to rebel against the empire, but you want to punish just one person and release the rest?¡±

    Ming Yan stared at the ground as her eyes turned red. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You have to ask or investigate further whenever you don¡¯t know. Some things cannot be found in a document, and you won¡¯t be able to properly handle things if you are unclear about a given situation,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said strictly. He then took the document and signed it. This signature had a simple meaning: approval. This simple brush stroke had just decided the fate of the 320 people in the rebel leader¡¯s tribe.

    ¡°Take a look at this.¡± Ming Zhaoshu tossed another document to Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan nervously picked it up. ¡°The minister of Liuzhou has colluded with Wuyun Bank to steal funds from the military. The total amount is one thousand martial crystals.¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    Ming Yan answered softly, ¡°This minister is stealing from the military. He should be executed.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°Did you notice the amount?¡±

    Ming Yan nodded. ¡°One thousand martial crystals.¡±

    ¡°Is that a lot?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s not much, but stealing from the military is a terrible crime,¡± Ming Yan answered softly.

 Chapter 652: The Future

    <h4>Chapter 652: The Future</h4>

    As he watched Ming Yan lower her head, Ming Zhaoshu solemnly said, ¡°Liuzhou was actually the first ind that tried to rebel against me. This minister is someone who also used to advise thete emperor, and he had a very good rtionship with the previous crown prince, Ming Hao. Now that I have seeded the throne, he is afraid that I will deal with him for his past transgressions against me. As such, he has pled guilty to embezzling military funds. His guilty plea is not a sincere one, as he merely wants to shift the dirty evidence that we have on him out into the open, thereby allowing me to execute him at any given moment. When ites to someone who we have the liberty of executing at any time, there is nothing to worry about. He is doing this to draw closer to me. In other words, he is demonstrating his loyalty, and for this reason, he is unafraid of me punishing him for this transgression.

    ¡°That is also why the embezzled sum is not a huge sum. If too much had been embezzled, then not even I would be able to protect him. Do you understand?¡±

    Ming Yan suddenly raised her head to look at Ming Zhaoshu, her eyes a deep red. ¡°Father, I do not understand why you want me to learn all of these things. I have no wish to participate in political affairs, and I want nothing to do with such matters. Why do you insist on forcing me down this path?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu clenched his fist, and an unresigned look appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°You are still young, and you still have the opportunity to have another son who can ascend the throne. I do not wish to take part in politics, so please let me off. I want to go to the Great Yu Empire,¡± Ming Yan quietly begged her father as her tears fell to the ground.

    She had been through a lot over the past few days, and she had also been ced under a level of stress that was previously unknown to her. Every day, her father would ce simr questions and scenarios before her, but she waspletely unprepared to handle them, and neither did she wish to learn how to. She was a rather simple girl, and all she wanted to do at this time was go to the Great Yu Empire and meet up with her special someone. The stress that she had been ced under over the past couple of days had made her miss him even more. She missed his hugs and theforting sense of reassurance that he always gave her.

    Ming Zhaoshu did not speak, and no one could understand how ufortable he was feeling about what he was currently doing. If he still had any sort of choice in the matter, he would have also chosen for his daughter to live a carefree life. On top of that, he himself wanted to enjoy the fruits of hisbors after suffering for so many years, during which he could not even consider having a son. But now, it seemed like everything was going wrong.

    ¡°Get out.¡± Ming Zhaoshu said, looking rather depressed.

    Ming Yan stood up, bowed to Ming Zhaoshu, and left his study.

    Before long, Tang Si¡¯s voice came through the door. ¡°Your Majesty, an envoy from the Great Yu Empire, Miss En Ya, would like to meet with you.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Send her in, hurry!¡±

    In a sitting room of the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, En Ya looked up as Ming Zhaoshu entered, and she bowed unhurriedly. ¡°En Ya is humbled by your presence, Your Majesty.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshuughed. ¡°Miss En Ya, there is no need for such formalities. Please sit.¡±

    En Ya took out Lu Yin¡¯s letter and passed it over to Ming Zhaoshu, along with a cosmic ring. ¡°His Highness has written everything that he wishes to convey in this letter. Please read it, Your Majesty.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu could barely wait to open the letter.

    En Ya carefully observed Ming Zhaoshu throughout their exchange. She felt slightly confused as this man gave off the aura of a weak cultivator, which puzzled En Ya. Ming Zhaoshu was known for being amazingly talented; after all, he hadprehended a forcefield. While still in the Cruiser realm, he had fought against a Hunter like Ming Zhaotian. He had also patiently bided his time for many years. With all that said, he should have given off the vibe of someone in high spirits, not the current aura that she felt was reminiscent of an old man¡¯s.

    His Highness had repeatedly asked her to observe Ming Zhaoshu, so could it be that Ming Zhaoshu was suffering from poor health?

    Ming Zhaoshu ced the letter down as he stared longingly at the cosmic ring. He then turned to En Ya and said, ¡°The Royal Regent has said all that he wishes to in this letter. Miss En Ya, I will have someone escort you to your quarters to rest for the night. Whatever you may wish to discuss, can we address it tomorrow?¡±

    En Ya nodded her head and stood up. ¡°Very well. I will see you tomorrow, Your Majesty.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu quickly got Tang Si to lead En Ya away, after which he promptly returned to his study. He took out the billowing star from the cosmic ring and held it tightly in his hands. ¡°Ah, it has developed a spiritual nature and is trying to escape.¡± Even as he thought about this, he swallowed the billowing star whole.

    An ordinary billowing star had been enough to heal Undying Yushan¡¯s injuries in the past, and thus, as far as Lu Yin was concerned, a billowing star that had reached the level where it instinctively avoided danger should certainly be able to neutralize Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poison. s, the result turned out to be a failure.

    Ming Zhaoshu studied himself in the mirror. He had not dared to look at his old wrinkled face ever since he had used his cultivation to put on his original appearance. At the moment, even though he looked a bit younger after ingesting the billowing star, he still looked like an old man. Besides his obvious appearance, he still felt his life force continuing to drain away. While the billowing star had helped him regain some of his life force, it had been unable to neutralize the poison.

    Just who was it that had poisoned him? Why had that person used such a potent poison? Ming Zhaoshu grieved for a moment as he took out the rare ingredients that Lu Yin had sent him and consumed them all at once. He managed to somewhat regain his youthful looks, but there was still no way to stop his life force from continuously dwindling away.

    With a loud boom, Ming Zhaoshu angrily stomped on the floor, which caused all of Shanhai City to tremble. This startled Tang Si and the others so badly that they rushed into the emperor¡¯s quarters.

    ¡°I am fine. I was just cultivating,¡± Ming Zhaoshu replied to their concerned looks with a low growl. Upon hearing this, Tang Si and the others had their worries squashed, and they all left the room.

    Ming Zhaoshu was a very intelligent man, and it was this intelligence that allowed him to be so perceptive towards the many situations around him. For example, he knew that Lu Yin truly wanted to heal him. As long as Ming Zhaoshu was around, Ming Yan would be able to travel to the Great Yu Empire without any worries. The Shenwu Empire was a cornerstone of the Great Eastern Alliance, and if Lu Yin was unable to neutralize the poison guing the continent¡¯s emperor in such circumstances, then it could be said that there was no one who could do so.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s status and capabilities in the Outerverse, Lu Yin not having a cure for Ming Zhaoshu meant that the older man was doomed unless the person who had poisoned him happened to appear.

    However, Ming Zhaoshu did not have the faintest hint as to who had poisoned him. His best guess was that it was someone from the Neohuman Alliance, and in fact, it had even crossed his mind to promise the Neohuman Alliance whatever they wanted as long as they gave him the antidote. But despite that flicker of desire, to date, no one from the Neohuman Alliance had ever appeared before him.

    From what he had gathered from the outsiders, he knew how vicious this organization was. He was also well aware of how the outside universe viewed the Neohuman Alliance, which meant that he knew that whichever road he ended up taking, his ending would not be pretty.

    Ming Zhaoshu cooped himself up within his residence for two entire days, and he even skipped the appointment that he had set with En Ya. It was only on the third day that he called out for Ming Yan from his study.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been asking me why I keep forcing you, and today, I will tell you the reason why.¡± As he spoke, Ming Zhaoshu returned to his true appearance and revealed his pale, aged face. The person who had appeared in front of Ming Yan now was not the brilliant father from her memory, but rather an old, dying man.

    Ming Yan¡¯s pupils shrank, and she covered her mouth, stunned by the unbelievable sight before her.

    Ming Zhaoshu agonizingly opened his mouth to exin. ¡°I have been poisoned by something that no one has an antidote for, and I do not have long to live. Do you now understand why I wish for you to learn how to handle political matters? It is because you will inherit the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    Ming Yan shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. She inched closer to Ming Zhaoshu as she sobbed. ¡°Father, why did things turn out like this? Who was it that poisoned you?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu closed his eyes. ¡°Sess and failure is decided by the heavens, and our lives are not our own to lead. Yan¡¯er, I do not have much time left. The great Shenwu Empire cannot fall into others¡¯ hands. You are the one who will inherit the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to inherit the empire! I just want Father to live.¡± Ming Yan yelled.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed. ¡°Silly girl, everyone would want to live forever if possible.¡±

    ***

    En Ya again visited the Reverent King¡¯s Residence to meet with Ming Zhaoshu. However, Tang Si had disappointing news for her. ¡°His Majesty is attending to certain political matters, Miss En Ya. Please go back and rest and we will contact you shortly.¡±

    En Ya frowned and replied in a somewhat cold voice, ¡°It seems that His Majesty is not taking the Great Yu Empire very seriously. Could it be that he is going back on his word?¡±

    Tang Si quickly responded, ¡°Miss En Ya, please do not overthink matters. It is just that His Majesty has been feeling a bit under the weather recently. That, coupled with the fact that he has to handle so many political affairs, has resulted in him not having much time for anything else. Even the princess is in the study, helping His Majesty with his administrative duties.¡±

    ¡°Even Princess Ming Yan is there?¡± En Ya asked in astonishment. Her expression changed to one of contemtion.

    ¡­

    In a courtyard of the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Ming Yan held onto Ming Zhaoshu as they walked around. Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. ¡°Yan¡¯er, I am fine. You can release me.¡±

    Ming Yan was heartbroken. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Father. I have been nothing but a disappointment to you all this time.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked up at the five sealings in the sky as he replied to her, ¡°The Universe is vast and boundless. Yan¡¯er, would you like to explore it?¡±

    Ming Yan shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere. I just want to be with you.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu muttered to himself. ¡°Even if you do not want to go out, others will still want toe in.¡±

    Ming Yan twitched, and she raised her head to look up at the five sealings, aplex look in her eyes.

    ¡°The people outside have always coveted Shenwu Continent, despite the presence of the five sealings. Our safety is not guaranteed. The Shenwu Continent must join forces with others in order to deal with our enemies. The Shenwu Empire must be internally stable, and it also needs the backing of an outside power. The force that I am referring to is the Great Yu Empire. In other words, Lu Yin,¡± Ming Zhaoshu exined as he looked at Ming Yan.

    ¡°Lu Yin and you both like each other, and I will not stop the two of you from being together. However, I must remind you that you cannot always rely on others. While I am still alive, I am able to support you, but when I am no longer here, you will need to learn to stand on your own. Even if you do marry Lu Yin in the future, it cannot be with your current status as a princess; it must be with the status of the Empress of the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    Ming Yan stared at Ming Zhaoshu with eyes that were full of confusion about her future. ¡°Empress?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu caressed Ming Yan¡¯s head as he continued to exin in spite of his emotional agony. ¡°You must inherit the empire. Lu Yin may like you at present, but do not think that you can lord over him, as that is not a practical goal. The universe is just toorge, and it is impossible to know what his future holds. There might be scores of women surrounding him as well, women who have various powerful backings and capabilities. If you are nothing more than a pretty face at his side, then you will quickly be expendable. Whether it is for yourself or for the empire, you must inherit the position of empress. You must govern our empire well!¡±

    Ming Yan looked like a deer caught in headlights, and her thoughts were all over the ce.

    ¡°I cannot give you too much time, but during this period, I will do my best to help you eliminate the empire¡¯s hidden dangers. However, the road ahead is yours to walk alone, and I will not be able to be there for you,¡± Ming Zhaoshu said gloomily.

    Ming Yan¡¯s fingers curled up as she tightly clenched her father¡¯s sleeve. She hung her head, and her entire body started to tremble.

    ***

    In the Great Yu Empire, Liuying Zishan was the only one who had remained behind after a cab meeting.

    ¡°Your Highness, Duke Jadestone from Darkstar Gorge wishes to speak with you,¡± Liuying Zishan respectfully informed Lu Yin.

    ¡°Duke Jadestone? The one who betrayed Darkstar Gorge and incited widescale deaths, including even that of Puyu¡¯s parents?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liuying Zishan nodded in response. ¡°Yes, that is the person. The empire wishes for Adonis Weave to join the Great Eastern Alliance. The strongest power in Adonis Weave is Darkstar Gorge, and this man is the one who we need to meet with to initiate negotiations with Darkstar Gorge.¡±

    ¡°What does he want to discuss with me?¡± Lu Yin asked, curious.

    Liuying Zishan replied, ¡°He said that he has some information that he would like to offer to you in exchange for freedom.¡±

    ¡°Freedom? He doesn¡¯t want to help us convince Darkstar Gorge?¡± Lu Yin asked grumpily.

    Liuying Zishan remained silent.

    En Ya was the person who had drawn up the contract for the Great Eastern Alliance. Moreover, she had been assisted by some people from Mafioso who had secretly threatened the powerhouses of other weaves. In the end, she was merely the architect of the alliance whereas the actual builders were the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. For example, the ones who had taken care of the Six-Fingered Tribe from Lars Weave was the Fifth Imperial Squadron, and Adonis Weave was being handled by the Thirteenth Squadron, which was led by Liuying Zishan.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s meet with him,¡± Lu Yin replied casually.

 Chapter 653: Reality

    <h4>Chapter 653: Reality</h4>

    Liuying Zishan switched her gadget on, and an eldery man appeared on her screen. A flicker of fear shed through his eyes when he saw Lu Yin. He bowed as he greeted Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m Duke Jadestone from Darkstar Gorge. It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You¡¯re not from the Great Yu Empire, so there¡¯s no reason for you to bow to me.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness is widely recognized throughout the Outerverse, so of course I should bow to you,¡± Duke Jadestone ttered Lu Yin, though Lu Yin only felt disgust when he looked at the old man¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°You should? But I¡¯ve heard that you don¡¯t want to ally with me.¡±

    Duke Jadestone turned pale, and he anxiously said, ¡°Your Highness, that¡¯s just a misunderstanding. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to work with you, but rather that I honestly can¡¯t work with you. Please forgive me, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the older man without speaking, which caused Duke Jadestone to be very nervous. He quickly continued, saying, ¡°Elder Wu died at your hands, and Darkstar Gorge has suffered tremendous losses because of you. Moreover, Puyu has been vehemently objecting to your n, all of which makes it impossible for Darkstar Gorge to agree to join the Great Eastern Alliance. Nothing would change even if I do agree with Your Highness, so...¡±

    ¡°So, you want me to stop pressuring you,¡± Lu Yin finished the man¡¯s sentence.

    Duke Jadestone bowed and respectfully said, ¡°It would be my honor to work for Your Highness, but I really cannot help you in this matter. Please forgive me, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about this news of yours,¡± Lu Yin casually ordered the man as he sat down.

    Duke Jadestone gulped and carefully responded. ¡°Your Highness, do you remember when someone tried to assassinate you on Shuta? That assassin was someone from Darkstar Gorge.¡±

    Lu Ying nced at Duke Jadestone and narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°At that time, the Darkstar Gorge had already received the information about how you had killed an Enlighter, and thus, the assassin was well prepared for your methods. Your Highness probably doesn¡¯t know who revealed that information.¡± Duke Jadestone paused as he peeked at Lu Yin before fearfully continuing, ¡°The person who revealed the information was from the Tri-Banner Federation.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Tri-Banner Federation?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the Tri-Banner Federation. Darkstar Gorge conducted an investigation and found that, although the person was from the Tri-Banner Federation, the true mastermind behind the incident was actually an expert from Northline Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes as rage surged through his heart. It had indeed been Granny Chan. Apart from her, nobody else had known of his tricks at that time.

    ¡°Why should I believe you?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Duke Jadestone replied, ¡°The person from the Tri-Banner Federation who shared that information with us has been detained. Your Highness can send someone to interrogate him yourself, and I can guarantee that I am telling you the truth, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and Liuying Zishan switched off the screen and stood to the side.

    Lu Yin sat back down and thought for a moment. He then asked, ¡°Who¡¯s handling the Tri-Banner Federation?¡±

    ¡°Peach, from the Sixth Squadron,¡± Liuying Zishan answered.

    ¡°Has she been in contact with anyone?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. xen Weave has been invaded by forces from Northline Flowzone, and since Northline Flowzone has Granny Chan, who¡¯s an Enlighter, En Ya has asked Peach not to do anything for the moment. We have only sent some undercover people to that weave.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Tell Peach not to do anything rash. I will handle xen Weave myself.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. What about Duke Jadestone?¡± Liuying Zishan asked.

    ¡°Ignore him. Don¡¯t interact with him in the future either,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    After Liuying Zishan left, Lu Yin walked out of the pce and looked up at the sky. There were truly no true friends in this universe. Everything was tied to personal benefits, corrupt systems, and the so-called ¡°dignity¡± of the major powers.

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t had any conflicts with the people of Northline Flowzone, and they had even helped each other in the past. Despite that, he had still been betrayed by them. Lu Yin believed that Granny Chan hadn¡¯t betrayed him because of the Great Yu Empire. Rather, her betrayal should have been primarily motivated by her pride as an Enlighter. People like her couldn¡¯t allow a Limiteer to challenge an Enlighter¡¯s dignity or to even have the ability to threaten them. Thus, she had tried to get rid of Lu Yin without any hesitation.

    It was no wonder why she had been so cold when she rejected his request to go to Shuta together.

    However, this could also be a good thing. He no longer needed to be wary.

    ***

    Vastdearth Weavey to the east of Darkmist and Grandtop Weaves. Vastdearth Weave was considered to be one of the strongest weaves in the eastern region of the Outerverse as it had managed to produce two Enlighters.

    One of the two was named Elder Zhuo, and he had originallye from a normal. He had never been taught by anyone and had simply been abnormally sessful with his cultivation, which had eventually led to him bing an Enlighter. He had been summoned to Ironblood Weave before, and he was actually still involved in rebuilding the defenses of the Ironblood Weave alongside the other powerhouses, such as Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    The other Enlighter was actually from the ruling power of Vastdearth Weave. He was an elder of the Vastdearth Sect: Meng Qing.

    Vastdearth Weave had once been very powerful amongst the eastern weaves due to its two Enlighters, and even Adonis Weave and Darkmist Weave had deferred to them in the past.

    However, ever since Meng Qing had gone into retreat, refusing to appear in public, Vastdearth Weave had assumed a lower profile.

    Moreover, since Elder Zhuo has been summoned to the Ironblood Weave, Vastdearth Weave essentially no longer had any Enlighters.

    This was the key issue faced by Meng Tianlong, the sect leader of the Vastdearth Sect. The sect was facing pressure from the Great Yu Empire, or to be more exact, from Lu Yin.

    The Great Yu Empire has informed the sect of their ns to form the Great Eastern Alliance, and although the elders of the Vastdearth Sect had been discussing it for several days, they still hadn¡¯te to a conclusion, and Meng Tianlong was growing increasingly worried.

    They had tried to contact Elder Zhuo, who was in Ironblood Weave, but they hadn¡¯t received any reply from him yet.

    Currently, the elders of Vastdearth Sect were divided due to this issue.

    ¡°Cheng Yan, are you colluding with the Great Yu Empire? Why else would you be defending them?¡± one elder shouted.

    Cheng Yan angrily retorted. ¡°Elder Angio, I just don¡¯t want to be bullied by the Innerverse any longer! Who hasn¡¯t been pushed around by the people of the Astral River Ark before? Even amon cultivator on the Astral River Ark is allowed to bully us! I don¡¯t want to suffer that sort of humiliation anymore.¡±

    ¡°The Innerverse has been cut off from the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll soon be connected again.¡±

    ¡°You must have been bribed by the Great Yu Empire!¡±

    ¡°What proof do you have? If I have been bribed by the Great Yu Empire, then may god strike me down!¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Enough! Stop bickering.¡± Meng Tianlong frowned as he looked at the various elders in front of him. He then continued, saying, ¡°The Six-Fingered Tribe of Lars Weave and Shenwu Continent of Darkmist Weave have both joined the Great Eastern Alliance. Have all of you read the alliance contract yet?¡±

    Cheng Yan loudly answered, ¡°I have seen it, and the contract is beneficial to everyone who joins the alliance. The Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin, hopes for the Outerverse to be united, and this isn¡¯t merely his personal goal, but also something that the Hall of Honor desires.¡±

    Everyone fell silent as soon as the Hall of Honor was mentioned. They were able to reject Lu Yin, but not a single one of them dared to reject the Hall of Honor. The hall was the master of the Human Domain, and although its influence was typically unseen, it was extremely powerful.

    When the Hall of Honor had conscripted people to defend Ironblood Weave, even Elder Zhuo, an Enlighter, had been forced to go to Ironblood Weave. This showed how powerful the Hall of Honor was.

    ¡°Haha! Lu Yin is Lu Yin, and the Hall of Honor is the Hall of Honor. When did Lu Yin start representing the Hall of Honor?¡± a voice rang out. Everyone turned around and looked at the person who was standing behind Elder Angio.

    Cheng Yan mmed a hand on the table with a bang. ¡°How dare you? Who said that you could speak? Elder Angio, control your subordinate.¡±

    Elder Angio didn¡¯t turn around, and the person standing behind him merely smirked. He raised his head and changed his appearance. His hair changed as well, and his ck hair changed until it was divided into both white and ck hair.

    As soon as they saw the ck-and-white hair, everyone present was shocked. ¡°The Daynight n?¡±

    That person looked at them with a smile. ¡°Everyone, at what point has the Innerverse bullied you? I am Yang Daynight of the Daynight n.¡±

    Cheng Yan and the others stared at Yang Daynight in shock. They hadn¡¯t expected anyone from the Daynight n to be present, but his presence gave them a foreboding feeling.

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s expression turned grim, and he looked at Elder Angio. ¡°Exin yourself.¡±

    Elder Angio didn''t answer. Instead Yang Daynight spoke up. ¡°You don¡¯t have to me Elder Angio. Someone is trying to endanger your Vastdearth Sect, and he merely tried to help. The Daynight n is willing to help as well.¡± He opened a hand. ¡°Everyone, please look at your gadgets. There¡¯s something there that might interest you.¡±

    Everyone looked at their gadget in confusion.

    Cheng Yan also took a look, and his expression immediately changed. He suddenly tried to escape, but Yang Daynight had been expecting him to do such a thing, and he attacked. His punch caused ck and white colors to alternate as the shockwaves from his attack caused the Vastdearth Sect to tremble. A strange wave swept across the room, and Cheng Yan copsed onto the floor.

    Yang Daynight walked over and ced a foot on Cheng Yan. He then looked over at Meng Tianlong. ¡°Chief Meng, you can punish him yourself.¡±

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s face was grim. Yang Daynight had sent them a video of Cheng Yan killing the sect leader¡¯s eldest son, Meng Guang. The video was the exact same one that Lu Yin had received from Mafioso.

    Cheng Yan¡¯s back had been injured, and he had also been dazed since Yang Daynight¡¯s attack had affected his spiritual force.

    Everyone stared in shock as the events unfolded.

    Meng Tianlong walked over towards Cheng Yan. He squatted down and looked at the sect elder with cold eyes. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why we weren¡¯t able to find anything rted to Xiaoguang¡¯s death. So you were the one who was hiding the truth.¡±

    Cheng Yan¡¯s lip was bleeding, but he begged Meng Tianlong. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it! I was framed!¡±

    Yang Daynightughed. ¡°If you were framed, then why were you so anxious to leave? And why did you promise to help the Great Yu Empire?¡¯

    Cheng Yan grew enraged, and he red at Yang Daynight with hatred. ¡°I have never interacted with the Great Yu Empire before.¡±

    ¡°The truth of this matter is easy to uncover. Elder Cheng, you are a Hunter. Don¡¯t throw away yourst shred of dignity before you die,¡± Yang Daynight sneered.

    Meng Tianlong pressed a hand onto Cheng Yan¡¯s back. There was a bang, and Cheng Yan screamed in pain as the nerves in his body werepletely shattered. ¡°Take him away.¡±

    Elder Angio sighed, but not because he had attacked Cheng Yan. Instead, it was because of Yang Daynight¡¯s previous attack. Cheng Yan was an elder of the Vastdearth Sect, and he had a power level of 150,000. Yang Daynight¡¯s power level was simr to Cheng Yan¡¯s, but he had defeated the Vastdearth elder with just a single punch. The difference between them was extreme, and this also showed the difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse, which saddened the sect leader.

    Elder Angio suddenly felt that having a united Outerverse might not actually be a bad thing as he stared at Yang Daynight¡¯s arrogant face. However, it was impossible for them to ally themselves with the Great Yu Empire as the empire was too ambitious, or rather, Lu Yin was too ambitious. Even Enlighters weren¡¯t able to control him, and their sect would definitely hold the lower position if they allied themselves with him.

    Meng Tianlong turned to Yang Daynight and said, ¡°Thank you for the Daynight n¡¯s help. However, there are some things that we must settle now, and we cannot entertain you. We hope that you won¡¯t take offense.¡±

    Yang Daynight didn''t care about the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s attitude. He had already achieved his goal, and so, he quickly left. As an expert from the Daynight n, he felt that these Outerverse sects were beneath him.

 Chapter 654: The Xun Family

    <h4>Chapter 654: The Xun Family</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Chief, for bringing an outsider into the sect. I will ept your punishment,¡± Elder Angio said.

    Meng Tianlong waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. Now that Cheng Yan is dead, the Great Yu Empire will definitely continue to pressure us. How should we handle this?¡±

    Elder Angio frowned. ¡°The Great Yu Empire doesn¡¯t care about Cheng Yan, and he was never more than a messenger for them. Since Cheng Yan is dead, they will definitely send a representative here to personally negotiate with us, and that person will at least be at the Hunter realm.¡±

    ¡°Will Lu Yine himself?¡± Meng Tianlong asked worriedly.

    This was the key issue currently concerning everyone. Lu Yin was too aggressive, and if he visited the Vastdearth Sect, then he definitely wouldn¡¯t leave until he achieved a satisfactory oue. However, the Vastdearth Sect was unable to give him the result that he desired, and that could potentially lead to a bloodbath.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that a young man who joined the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as my son would be able to cause so much trouble for the Vastdearth Sect,¡± Meng Tianlong said with a sigh.

    A whileter, Meng Tianlong arrived at the base of a mountain thaty within the grounds of the Vastdearth Sect. He bowed and respectfully said, ¡°Meng Tianlong requests to meet with the elder.¡±

    There was no response.

    Meng Tianlong shouted the same line again, but he still received no response. He sighed reluctantly. ¡°Our sect is facing a major threat. Elder, please help us survive this problem.¡±

    Despite his pleas, there was still no response, and in the end, Meng Tianlong helplessly left the mountain.

    This was the ce where Meng Qing, the Enlighter realm elder of the Vastdearth Sect, had retreated into istion. Meng Qing had never appeared since going into istion a thousand years before, and Meng Tianlong had merely stopped by the mountain to try his luck. As expected, he ended up leaving in disappointment.

    ***

    Lu Yin soon heard the news of Cheng Yan¡¯s death as well as the details leading up to it. The Great Yu Empire had other spies inside of the Vastdearth Sect who had either been bribed or threatened into helping the empire.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to contact the Limiteer Mistchild, but she didn¡¯t answer. A few hourster, she contacted Lu Yin herself.

    ¡°Your Highness, were you looking for me?¡± The Limiteer Mistchild appeared on his screen. She looked exhausted, and there was still a slight bit of remnant killing intent in her eyes. Clearly, she had justpleted a mission.

    ¡°Who else knows about those secrets that you shared with me?¡± Lu Yin asked right away.

    The Mistchild looked confused. ¡°Why do you ask, Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you received the news? Cheng Yan is dead, and his secret was exposed,¡± Lu Yin told her while carefully observing the Mistchild¡¯s reaction.

    She was clearly shocked, and she immediately started checking something. Her expression kept changing, but then, she finally gave a hesitant answer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness. Someone has betrayed the Mafioso and taken away a copy of those records.¡±

    ¡°Who did they deliver those records to?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned ice cold.

    The Mistchild shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The person who betrayed us was a Hunter assassin who was second only to the Hunter Mistchild. I¡¯m not too familiar with them. I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Has Mafioso had any dealings with the Daynight n recently?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Mistchild quickly replied, ¡°No, but the mission that I just received was released by someone connected to the Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it for a moment. She had probably been transferred away on purpose so that the Hunter realm assassin could steal the records and flee. There was also another possibility that this woman was dealing with two parties simultaneously and that she had sold those secrets to both Lu Yin and the Daynight n.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you doubting my loyalty?¡± The female Mistchild looked at Lu Yin with a pitiful expression.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer her and instead ended their call right there. He then contacted another person, Phantom Sting, who was the Hunter Mistchild of Mafioso.

    ¡°Who can ess the most important records of Mafioso?¡± Lu Yin asked Phantom Sting.

    Phantom Sting answered, ¡°A Mistchild is a status symbol on Mafioso. Even the Sentinel Mistchild would be able to ess more information than the average Explorer realm assassin. No matter how powerful an assassin may be, they are still mere assassins with us Mistchildren being the only exceptions.¡±

    ¡°I know that the Mafioso uses metal tes to record secrets rted to your clients. Who can ess those?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Phantom Sting fell silent for a moment. ¡°The Mistchildren.¡±

    ¡°Could a Hunter realm assassin ess them?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be able to ess those records unless they avoided all of the Mistchildren,¡± Phantom Sting answered.

    Lu Yin paused and pondered over this matter for a while. The female Mistchild was the only Mistchild who was currently on Mafioso. The others had either been killed or transferred away. For example, Topmist, the Enlighter Mistchild and the strongest powerhouse from Mafioso, was currently in Ironblood Weave.

    Since the Mistchildren weren¡¯t on Mafioso, a Hunter realm assassin would be the most powerful person present, and it was possible that they would be able to steal those records.

    After ending his conversation with Phantom Sting, the Limiteer Mistchild contacted Lu Yin once again. Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer her call to show his clear distrust for her.

    He wasn¡¯t angry, as the Limiteer Mistchild wasn¡¯t actually his subordinate, and she wouldn¡¯t have technically betrayed him even if she had sold those records to two separate parties. Lu Yin was just demonstrating his attitude in order to pressure her a bit. That way, he would be able to ensure that their future coborations would go more smoothly.

    He instead nned to reach out to Madam Men right now so that he could find out what the Daynight n was nning.

    ¡°Student Lu, I have been waiting for your call.¡± Madam Men looked at Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°In that case, madam, you should already know why I am contacting you.¡±

    Madam Men nodded. ¡°You are most likely looking for the Xun family.¡±

    ¡°The Xun family?¡± Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard; how had the Xun family suddenlye into this conversation?

    ¡°The Xun family contacted Elder Qiuyu, who asked us to cooperate with the Xun family and deal with you,¡± Madam Men exined.

    ¡°Why would the Xun family want to deal with me?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    Madam Men shook her head. ¡°That, I am uncertain of, and the person who is in charge of the Xun family in the Outerverse is an elder named Xun Qianye. He was left behind in the Outerverse during the contest for pyrolyte ore. Oh, by the way, Xun Qianye had a granddaughter called Xun Meiren, and I believe that you should have met her before.¡±

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. ¡°Xun Meiren was killed by a Corpse King in Mingdu. It had nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°However, you were the one who initiated the invasion of Mingdu. You are also the one who gathered Xun Meiren, Nightking Changfeng, and the others to participate in that battle. To the Daynight n, the death of anyone from the Nightking n is a major incident. Nightking Changfeng and Xun Meiren¡¯s deaths are directly rted to you, which is why Elder Qiuyu tasked us with cooperating with the Xun family and dealing with you.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°Madam, aren¡¯t you worried that Elder Qiuyu will find out that you told me all that?¡±

    Madam Men smiled. ¡°The Daynight n wishes for the entire universe to know how overbearing we are. So what if I tell you? We want you to die while knowing that we killed you, and this is how most of the Daynight n¡¯s members feel. Student Lu, what are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Madam, you don¡¯t seem to have much hostility towards me,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Madam Men answered, ¡°You should know about the internal rtions within the Daynight n. However, I still can¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°Does the Xun family really want to deal with me just because of Xun Meiren?¡± Lu Yin asked. He didn¡¯t believe that one bit. Since the Xun family had been able to take control of a minor Flowzone in the Innerverse, they were definitely very ambitious. Moreover, they were quite secretive, so why would they deal with him just for a Xun Meiren? After seeing Lu Yin¡¯s record, even an Enlighter powerhouse would think twice before trying to deal with him.

    ¡°Student Lu, you can contact the Xun family yourself if you don¡¯t believe me, though I¡¯m not sure if your call will connect,¡± Madam Men said. She then passed a contact number to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin thanked Madam Men and ended the call. He then contacted the Xun family immediately.

    The call went through sessfully, and an elder appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen. However, he hung up the instant he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. It seemed like the Xun family was dead set on bing enemies with him. Was it really worth it for them to do such a thing for Xun Meiren? Furthermore, Xun Meiren had been killed by a Corpse King, so this line of reasoning felt slightly forced.

    However, if the family wasn¡¯t taking action because of Xun Meiren, then why were they opposing him? Even the Daynight n had chosen to tolerate Lu Yin, so why would the Xun family attack him so boldly? There must be someone supporting them, so who could it be?

    Lu Yin considered all of the people who were able to threaten him: there was Nightqueen Qiuyu, Huo Houye, and also Granny Chan. All three of them were Enlighters. The Xun family had already contacted Nightqueen Qiuyu to gain the Daynight n¡¯s support, and they had probably contacted Huo Houye and Granny Chan as well. Generally, such a secretive family would only take action once they were sufficiently confident. This could be seen by how the elder had ended the call immediately without even saying a single word.

    How had Lu Yin offended the Xun family to the point of them being this eager to deal with him?

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of his conflict with Xun Jiong when he had been in the Starfall Sea. However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t think that such a minor incident could be the cause of the Xun family¡¯s animosity towards him either as it had been a minor disagreement.

    But regardless of why the Xun family was opposing him, the only thing that he could do at the moment was cut his losses.

    Lu Yin put a stop to all activities rted to the alliance, as the Xun family would not expose the secrets in his hands if he didn¡¯t actually use them. Lu Yin wanted to minimize his losses as much as possible.

    That same night, he received a report regarding the Six-Fingered Tribe of Lars Weave. Luke Shamus¡¯s secret had been exposed. Now, everyone knew that the current chief of the Six-Fingered Tribe, Bach Shamus, was actually Luke Shamus¡¯s son and that Luke Shamus had assassinated the previous chief.

    This secret shocked all of Lars Weave, and the entire Six-Fingered Tribe became infuriated. Everyone wanted Luke Shamus to take responsibility for his actions, and Bach Shamus¡¯s position as tribal chief also became contested.

    A few hours after the news was leaked, Luke Shamusmitted suicide. Before dying, he admitted that he had assassinated the former chief of the tribe, but he denied his rtionship with Bach Shamus. His death only momentarily halted the intense debate.

    At the same time, Luke Shamus¡¯s coborations with the Great Yu Empire were also exposed. This caused the Six-Fingered Tribe to be furious and wary of the Great Yu Empire, and many of the tribe members thought that Luke Shamus had given the Great Yu Empire mary benefits. Some even thought that Luke Shamus had delivered the ancestral grounds over to Lu Yin, which infuriated them.

    Fortunately, Bach Shamus had already been the chief for several years, and thus, he wielded a certain amount of authority. He managed to suppress the rumors, as otherwise, the alliance would absolutely fall apart, and in the worst case, war might break out.

    It was toote for Lu Yin to do anything by the time he received this news. Although he was furious, he didn''t reveal his anger.

    He would definitely remember this huge gift that the Xun family had prepared for him.

    However, this wasn¡¯t even the biggest present that the Xun family had readied for Lu Yin. The following day, Lu Yin saw Elder Lohar appear on the screen of his gadget screen, and he knew that he was in deep trouble. He had used the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence to initiate the Great Eastern Alliance. That would be fine so long as nobody brought it up as Elder Lohar would not care since such an alliance would benefit the Outerverse. However, it wasn¡¯t good that someone had exposed Lu Yin. He was not allowed to use the Hall of Honor¡¯s name without prior approval.

    This was the greatest weapon that the Xun family had prepared to deal with Lu Yin.

 Chapter 655: Candid Words

    <h4>Chapter 655: Candid Words</h4>

    ¡°Elder Lohar, good day,¡± Lu Yin respectfully greeted the Hall of Honor¡¯s elder.

    Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin and then sighed with sorrow. ¡°I have met so many youths, and out of all of them, your courage is the greatest. You have made enemies with the Daynight n, killed Enlighters, contributed to the defense of Ironblood Weave, and crossed into another Domain. Any of these matters on their own would be enough to shake the Outerverse, and you have my admiration.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder,¡± Lu Yin promptly replied.

    ¡°Because of your contributions, I have warned you and also sympathized with you. However, appreciating you is one thing, and you¡¯ve gone overboard in some matters.¡± Elder Lohar¡¯s expression sank.

    Lu Yin remained silent and did not reply.

    ¡°The Hall of Honor is the supreme master of the Human Domain. Even if you haven¡¯t been to the Neoverse, you should still understand the meaning of this. With the privileges that six Honor Points gives you, you won¡¯t be harshly criticized if you asionally borrow our reputation, but selfishly using the Hall of Honor¡¯s name to form this Great Eastern Alliance is too impudent. A certain degree of rashness from a youth is understandable, but some restraint is still needed,¡± Elder Lohar scolded Lu Yin strictly as he stared at the youth.

    After he listened to Elder Lohar¡¯s reprimand, not only was Lu Yin unafraid, he also rxed a bit, because being berated indicated that he still had some room to maneuver.

    ¡°Junior won¡¯t dare to do such things any longer after elder¡¯s lesson,¡± Lu Yin replied respectfully.

    Elder Lohar grunted. ¡°Someone sought me out toin about you. Actually, it¡¯s nothing big, but since someone brought it up, we have to mete out an appropriate punishment. The Hall of Honor, as the master of the Human Domain, does not only rely on mere power, but also on fairness. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Junior understands,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Using the Hall of Honor¡¯s name without permission to establish the Great Eastern Alliance is a huge crime. But, after considering your incredible contributions in Ironblood Weave, as well as your intention behind establishing the Great Eastern Alliance, which is to help the Outerverse better withstand the Astral Beast Domain, your punishment will be made more lenient. Two Honor Points will be deducted from your record as a warning. Do you ept it?¡± Elder Lohar said sternly.

    Lu Yin bowed from the waist. ¡°Junior understands. Thank you, elder, for the lenient punishment.¡±

    Lu Yin could ept this deduction of two Honor Points, as he knew that it was truly a lenient punishment. Anyone could see that although the Great Eastern Alliance had been promoted as an organization to help the Outerverse to resist its external enemies, it was actually made for Lu Yin¡¯s personal gains. Nobody would be foolish to believe the propaganda, but Elder Lohar had avoided mentioning this point and had instead emphasized Lu Yin¡¯s intention to use the Great Eastern Alliance to help the Outerverse resist the Astral Beast Domain. This could be seen as him dwelling on trivial matters and glossing over the more important ones, and it was rather considerate towards Lu Yin¡¯s situation.

    ¡°This matter will end here, but there¡¯s another matter that you have handled too sloppily,¡± Elder Lohar said, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyelids jumped. No good, it seemed that the Xun family had not justined about a single matter.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something, and his face paled.

    ¡°In Darkmist Weave, there¡¯s a ce called Shenwu Continent, and the ones in power there coborated with the Neohuman Alliance. This matter should have been handled by you,¡± Elder Lohar reprimanded Lu Yin in a frosty voice that sounded entirely different from how he had spoken with the youth mere seconds before, as this matter involved the Neohuman Alliance.

    The Hall of Honor had a greater understanding than most when it came to the Three Dark Hands. Because they understood these hidden organizations, as soon as anything involved the Three Dark Hands came to light, the problem would always be treated more severely.

    The Xun family¡¯s greatest plot against Lu Yin was here.

    Lu Yin immediately replied, ¡°Elder, the one who coborated with the Neohuman Alliance was the Shenwu Empire¡¯s previous emperor, Ming Zhaotian. Junior has already taken care of Ming Zhaotian and also eliminated the Neohuman Alliance from Shenwu Continent.¡±

    ¡°Eliminated? Such confidence!¡± Elder Lohar raised his voice in anger. ¡°Any ce that has a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King with the strength at the Explorer realm or above must be erased, without an exception fors or mainds. What do you think the purpose of the Neohuman Alliance is? They represent the darkness! An eternal darkness. Even I wouldn¡¯t dare to say that I could eliminate all of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s survivors from a certain area, so what allows someone like you to say so?¡±

    ¡°Elder, there were many experts from quite a few powers who acted with Junior at that time, including the Daynight n. Those people can testify that the Neohuman Alliance has already disappeared from Shenwu Continent.¡± Lu Yin started to grow anxious.

    Elder Lohar snorted coldly. ¡°Lu Yin, on ount of your absolute top-notch talent, as well as your contributions to the defense of the Ironblood Weave, I won¡¯t bicker about your selfish motives regarding Shenwu Continent. You have been negligent in handling this matter, and Shenwu Continent must bepletely wiped out. I will act personally, and not a single living thing there will survive. This is the safest method.

    ¡°As for you, remember this lesson. In the future, if you ever encounter any Neohuman Alliance Corpse Kings that are at the Explorer realm or above, the area where you see them must bepletely purged. If this ever urs again in the future, I will deduct all your Honor Points away, just like that!¡± Elder Lohar was just about to disconnect as soon as he finished speaking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face paled. Wipe out Shenwu Continent? That¡¯s an entire continent! There are hundreds of millions of humans there. If they all die and not a single creature is spared, then Ming Yan will die as well! No, absolutely not!

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. ¡°Wait a moment, Elder.¡±

    Lohar stared at Lu Yin, exuding a supreme sense of dignity. ¡°Do you want to defy the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders?¡±

    Lu Yin exhaled slowly and then smiled bitterly. Getting him to defy the Hall of Honor was the entire goal of the Xun family, as they were well aware of both his rtionship with Ming Yan and that he would most likely try to stop Elder Lohar from wiping out Shenwu Continent. This was why they had exposed the matter, as one issue had cascaded into the next. The person from the Xun family who had acted was highly intelligent.

    But no matter how smart they were, did that person really think that Lu Yin would not dare to object to the Hall of Honor? Was going against the hall absolutely going to invite punishment? Not necessarily.

    ¡°Has Elder heard of the Daosource Sect?¡± Lu Yin asked slowly as he carefully observed Elder Lohar¡¯s reaction.

    Upon the mention of the Daosource Sect, Elder Lohar¡¯s expression changed tremendously. ¡°Where did you hear about this?¡±

    ¡°Not heard.¡± Lu Yin retrieved his yellow futon. ¡°My master sent me this.¡±

    The elder could not hide the astonishment in his eyes when he saw the futon. ¡°A futon... You actually have a futon. Who is your master?¡±

    Lu Yin put the futon away. ¡°My master doesn¡¯t wish for me to share his name.¡±

    Elder Lohar stared at Lu Yin,pletely bewildered. He appeared to have fallen deep into thought as his brows were tightly furrowed.

    Lu Yin did not speak, and he waited patiently in silence.

    ¡°Little brat, do you remember what I mentioned to you back in Ironblood Weave?¡± Elder Lohar said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Elder warned me not to use external items as a source of strength.¡±

    ¡°Not that. I once mentioned to you if the Innerverse and Outerverse were not separated that I could fight for a certain position for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Was Elder referring to the a position that would allow me to enter the Daosource Sect?¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded.

    ¡°Right now, the Ten Arbiters are the only ones able to enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins from the Fifth Maind. The conditions for someone to be able to enter is that they must be a youth with a skeletal age under forty. Among the Ten Arbiters, there are a few who are about to surpass that age limit, and Elder must have wished to fight for this Junior to take their position,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Elder Lohar was stunned. ¡°You know quite a lot¡ªwhat else are you aware of? Have you already been to the Daosource Sect? Have you contacted anyone there?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Elder Lohar as he responded. ¡°Junior has visited the ruins twice, and I was also in contact with some people from the Sixth Maind. I know about the imprints, bloodlines, and their three Progenitors as well.¡±

    Elder Lohar exhaled. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re already aware of everything.¡±

    ¡°Elder, the Ten Arbiters have the greatest authority among the younger generation. Could that be rted to their ability to visit the Daosource Sect''s ruins?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with a deep meaningful expression. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Lu Yin immediately bowed. ¡°Junior is just curious.¡±

    Elder Lohar continued silently contemting for a long time, but then he nodded. ¡°Little brat, you are very smart, truly very smart. However, there are still some matters that have gone past the bottom line of the Hall of Honor. Even if you have a means of entering the Daosource Sect, you cannot touch this bottom line. The Neohuman Alliance is that bottom line.¡±

    ¡°Junior can promise Senior that there will definitely be no further issues concerning Shenwu Continent.¡±

    ¡°You are simply unaware of the disastrous extent that the Neohuman Alliance can cause for the Human Domain.¡±

    ¡°Junior is clear on this matter. I ask that Elder give this Junior another opportunity to resolve the matter of Shenwu Continent. If I still can¡¯t resolve things, then it won¡¯t be toote for Elder to act at that time. Shenwu Continent is sealed off by fives, and Senior also knows that this junior has the ability to see through the formless danger of sourceboxes. The five sealings are sealing off Shenwu Continent through the formless dangers emitted by sourceboxes. This seal is so durable that even multiple Enlighters cannot destroy it. Even if there are still individuals from the Neohuman Alliance on Shenwu Continent, they will not be able to break through the five sealings. Senior can rest assured of this,¡± Lu Yin pleaded in a respectful tone.

    Elder Lohar frowned. ¡°Why have you set your heart on saving Shenwu Continent?¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply and merely bowed low.

    Elder Lohar sighed. ¡°Alright, I can give you one chance, and I won¡¯t touch Shenwu Continent at the moment. However, I will send some people to closely monitor the situation there. As soon as matters get out of hand, I will personally take action, and you can¡¯t me me for being merciless at that time.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Elder Lohar grunted. Then, he sized Lu Yin up and down and marvelled at him. ¡°Little brat, what do you think of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators?¡±

    Lu Yin was just about to reply that their average strength seemed to be very strong, but then he suddenly thought of what White Knight had said to Blood Looney while they were fighting in the cauldron. He quickly changed his words and said, ¡°Junior has met at least a hundred of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators in my visits to the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and when even the weakest of them erupted with the full power of their imprint, their power was able to rival that of an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. Their average strength of their cultivators far surpasses those of our Fifth Maind.

    ¡°However, their cultivation system is too rigid¡ªit¡¯s as though they are merely getting stronger for the sake of bing stronger, and the process is wholly unrted to cultivation. The path of cultivation is filled with unknown variables, and it involves a cultivator striving against the universe itself. However, the cultivators of the Sixth Maind walk along a path created by their predecessors, and they even borrow the strength of those predecessors. They may achieve great strength now, but their paths are only more limited the further they progress, and they will lose out on certain possibilities.¡±

    ¡°Well spoken.¡± Elder Lohar was ted, and there was an unprecedented admiration in his eyes as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I never thought that you would be able to perceive such things at such a young age. Good, very good! I was still worried that you would have been attracted by the Sixth Maind¡¯s system of cultivation and therefore be struck. Since you are able to see it so clearly, then there¡¯s no need for any further words from me, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Thank you for thepliment, Elder.¡±

    ¡°Little brat, work hard at cultivating. Your talent is top tier, you are farsighted with a brilliant mindset, and you have also encountered numerous opportunities. Your future aplishments will definitely not be any less than those of the Ten Arbiters. I am optimistic about your future.¡± Elder Lohar praised the youth in front of him, and Lu Yin immediately acknowledged the elder¡¯s expectations.

    ¡°Right, if you meet any of the Ten Arbiters while in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, make some inquiries concerning the situation in the Innerverse.¡± Elder Lohar suddenly changed topics, and then he muttered to himself again. ¡°Although, you may not necessarily be able to meet them. And that¡¯s not even mentioning the fact that each of them have already interacted with an inheritance, so they may not have the opportunity to enter the Daosource Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin did not mention how the Daosource Sect''s ruins had already been reduced to a battlefield, as he was worried that Elder Lohar would force him to participate. If that happened, then he would be nothing more than cannon fodder for the Ten Arbiters¡¯ fights.

 Chapter 656: Lu Yinâ€™s Privileges

    <h4>Chapter 656: Lu Yin¡¯s Privileges</h4>

    ¡°Little brat, does your master truly not wish to reveal their name?¡± Elder Lohar asked.

    Lu Yin was instantly put into a difficult position. ¡°Master didn¡¯t even tell Junior his name, so I couldn¡¯t tell you even if I wanted to.¡±

    Elder Lohar fell deep into thought. The current Fifth Maind only had ten futons, so where had the additional one appeared from? The Sixth Maind had many, but there was no way for their Fifth Maind to seize them from the Sixth Maind. Was Lu Yin¡¯s master someone who hade from the Sixth Maind? That was also impossible, as those from the Sixth Maind would not ept anyone from the Fifth Maind as their disciple. Or, was it that Lu Yin was actually from the Sixth Maind?

    Elder Lohar immediately shook his head to reject such a thought. There was no need for the Sixth Maind to send such an innately gifted youth to this ce, and if Lu Yin was truly from the Sixth Maind, then he would not have revealed that he had a futon.

    Were there still other futons hidden within the Fifth Maind?

    After a long period of silence, Elder Lohar spoke to Lu Yin again. ¡°Little brat, you used the Hall of Honor¡¯s name of your own initiative to establish the Great Eastern Alliance, and I have represented the Hall of Honor in deducting two of your Honor Points. However, you have used a futon to enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and this is a great contribution. There¡¯s also the possibility that you might obtain an inheritance from the ancient Daosource Sect. I now represent the Hall of Honor in bestowing upon you seven Honor Points. From now on, your total Honor Points will be raised to eleven.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart trembled, as him being able to enter the Daosource Sect had turned out to be even more important than what he had previously imagined. It had caused his Honor Points to instantly shoot up to eleven in one go, which was a different level. Eleven Honor Points meant that his death would be investigated by the Hall of Honor, and if it turned out that he had died from someone¡¯s animosity, the Hall of Honor would take revenge for him. Eleven Honor Points was the equivalent of being exempted from death.

    In the regions of the Human Domain where the Hall of Honor held control, as soon as it was revealed that Lu Yin had eleven Honor Points, even those Innerverse powers such as the Daynight n would not dare to kill him. This was an absolute privilege.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath quickened. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Elder Lohar acknowledged him with a grunt, and then continued, saying, ¡°Little brat, you must be careful in everything you do inside the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and you must also be certain to not expose your identity. Before you reach the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level of power, do not confront too many cultivators from the Sixth Maind. Although their system of cultivation is rigid, the increase in power that they receive from their imprints is considerable. For now, you should ce the greatest importance on preserving your life.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s figure soon disappeared, but Lu Yin could not contain the excitement within his heart, and he had quite a cheerful expression.

    The Xun family had wanted to use the matter of Shenwu Continent to force Lu Yin into offending the Hall of Honor and then use that disagreement to deal with him. However, the Xun family could never have imagined that he would be able to turn the tables on them. The Ten Arbiters had been able to shift so much authority to the younger generation precisely because they were able to enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins and seize some ancient inheritances from the Daosource Sect for the Fifth Maind. Their positions had been bestowed upon them by the Hall of Honor, and Lu Yin had just been given a status that was no worse than the Ten Arbiters¡¯. It could even be said that Lu Yin was currently the only one of the Ten Arbiters in the Outerverse.

    Exposing the fact that he had a futon had both pros and cons. His status wouldpletely change from this point forward, but simrly, he would be burdened with responsibilities that others could not imagine.

    The Hall of Honor was not a charity organization. They might award him with special privileges today, but in the future, they would absolutely have Lu Yin repay them.

    But fortunately, with the Innerverse and Outerverse separated, the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence had dropped, which also decreased the pressure that it could ce on him. At the moment, Lu Yin could enjoy the privileges that the Hall of Honor had given him without suffering from too many constraints. And now, the matter of using the Hall of Honor¡¯s name to establish the Great Eastern Alliance could be donepletely openly.

    ¡°Come!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Kayze quickly entered the room. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Send word down for a court meeting tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ***

    At the same time, in another part of the Outerverse, Elder Lohar immediately tore through the void after ending his call with Lu Yin, heading for Ironblood Fort, which was currently being rebuilt.

    Ironblood Fort was the closest stronghold to the Primal Zone, and it was also the most important stronghold within the Ironblood Weave. Elder Lohar had made various powerhouses stay behind even after the invasion from the Astral Beast Domain ended, such as Nightqueen Qiuyu and Huo Houye. This had been done to guarantee that Ironblood Fort would be safely rebuilt and that there would not be any interruptions from the Primal Zone during this process.

    At the moment, Nightqueen Qiuyu was helping them to rebuild the stronghold.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s sudden appearance caused Wang Wen to jump up. ¡°Why is this old man here? The Primal Zone can¡¯t be attacking, right?¡±

    Huo Houye, Granny Chan, and a few other Enlighters all bowed in unison towards Elder Lohar, and among them was Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    ¡°Nightqueen Qiuyu,e with me,¡± Elder Lohar said softly before he stepped through the void and vanished.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu immediately followed after him.

    In the distant quiet vastness of space, Ironblood Fort was being rebuilt as countless spacecraft ferried resources about.s were dragged over one after another by powerhouses, and the entire scene was quite impressive.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu looked at Elder Lohar and respectfully asked, ¡°Elder, what¡¯s the matter?¡¯

    He looked at her and sternly said, ¡°Do not mess with Lu Yin any longer.¡±

    She was taken aback. ¡°What does Elder mean?¡±

    ¡°Literally what I said. You are no longer allowed to cause any problems for Lu Yin,¡± Elder Lohar said strictly.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu frowned. Although she respected the Hall of Honor, that did not mean that she was afraid of it, as the Daynight n feared no one. ¡°Elder, Lu Yin is an enemy of my Daynight n. Does Elder intend to side with him?¡¯

    Elder Lohar serenely answered, ¡°It is not me alone, but rather that the entire Hall of Honor won¡¯t allow you guys to eliminate Lu Yin anymore. He currently possesses eleven Honor Points, and you should know what that entails.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was stunned, and asked in disbelief, ¡°Eleven? Impossible! It requires the recognition of a certain Judicial Commissioner from the Interster Supreme Court for someone to receive eleven points! Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, how can he possibly have obtained eleven points?¡±

    ¡°There are certain special circumstances that do not require the recognition of the Judicial Commissioner where one can be directly given eleven points. All you need to know is that Lu Yin currently has eleven Honor Points, so don¡¯t ask any further questions.¡± Elder Lohar¡¯s tone then turned dark. ¡°Also, warn the Xun family to stop their dirty tricks. If they dare act against Lu Yin, they can¡¯t me the Hall of Honor for not showing any mercy.¡± And with those words, he left.

    Even a long while after Elder Lohar hadpletely vanished, Nightqueen Qiuyu still could not believe what she had just been told. She knew very clearly what it meant for an individual to have eleven Honor Points, and even Enlighters like herself probably could not easily obtain eleven Honor Points. How had that brat done it? What exactly had he done?

    Inheritances were the most important thing for their civilization. The Daosource Sect had existed since the most ancient times, and it also held the Fifth Maind¡¯s greatest inheritances. To the Fifth Maind, the Daosource Sect was more important than anything else. Whoever was able to enter the Daosource Sect would be the Fifth Maind¡¯s favored child. The Ten Arbiters enjoyed such a position, and that was how they had shifted so much authority over to the younger generation and had obtained a supreme authority over all others of the younger generation. Lu Yin had now be someone with that same status, which meant that his position in the eyes of the Hall of Honor had already surpassed that of Enlighters, and it was even greater than that of Elder Lohar himself.

    ¡°What? Eleven Honor Points?¡± In a beautiful courtyard, Xun Qianye stared at the screen before him in shock as he spoke with Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Elder Lohar has increased his Honor Points to eleven,¡± Nightqueen Qiuyu said coldly.

    ¡°Based on what?¡± Xun Qianye could not wrap his mind around such a change.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu frowned. ¡°I want to know that as well. Enough, terminate all of the matters that we arranged before. That is all.¡± She then very decisively ended the call.

    Xun Qianye mmed a fist on the ground and shattered the courtyard. His expression explicitly disyed his profound iprehension and confusion. What had Lu Yin relied on to obtain eleven Honor Points? Xun Qianye had calcted everything to perfection so that they would disrupt the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance and then use Shenwu Continent to lure Lu Yin into shing with Elder Lohar. After that, it would be the optimum time for them to act. He had nned everything out, only for this matter to suddenly ur.

    How did Lu Yin do it? Xun Qianye racked his brain, but he could note to any sort of answer. Who could jump past the Judicial Commissioner¡¯s approval and directly obtain eleven Honor Points? Not even Elder Lohar himself was qualified for such a thing, so how had Lu Yin done it? Could he be the son of the Judicial Commissioner?

    ¡°Uncle, what¡¯s the matter?¡± A group of people rushed into the ruined courtyard and nervously inquired as to what had happened.

    Xun Qianye was downcast. ¡°Publish those worthless secrets that we¡¯ve gathered.¡±

    ¡°Uncle, didn¡¯t we already contact Elder Lohar to have him punish Lu Yin? Why do we have to release those secrets?¡±

    ¡°Go and do as instructed! Who taught you to spout off so much?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Uncle.¡±

    ***

    To most, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s court meetings were something that would only be done in the participants¡¯ spare time. The Imperial Cab discussed official matters every day, but having a court meeting just once a month was already considered too frequent.

    As he faced the expectant gazes of the ministers who were crowded together, Lu Yin felt a little embarrassed. That was because during this court meeting, Garope had been the first to suggest that Lu Yin hold the court audience on a daily basis.

    ¡°A daily audience is impossible, but I will do my best to participate in these court meetings more often.¡± Lu Yin felt embarrassed.

    Garope sighed. ¡°Your Highness, various external powers have already made numerous denouncements against our Great Yu Empire, and those concerning the court meetings are the worst. It¡¯spletely illogical for the leader of the empire to not participate in the court meetings.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Enough, we¡¯ll talk about this matter another time. The topic of today¡¯s discussion is the Great Eastern Alliance.¡± He scanned across the crowd of ministers before sternly continuing on, saying, ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance will be a beneficial alliance formed and led by our Great Yu Empire that allows all of its members to share and enjoy collective resources while also presenting amon front against external enemies. Be it regarding the economy, administration, welfare, technology, or resources, the Great Eastern Alliance will produce results that will greatly surpass the free development of any single weave.

    ¡°Today, I formally announce that under the call of the Hall of Honor, the Great Eastern Alliance is formally established.¡±

    Within the court meeting, many ministers were stunned, and Hill Auna was the first to speak up. ¡°Your Highness, are you saying that the Hall of Honor supports the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Of course. I have spoken with the Hall of Honor¡¯s elder, and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s purpose is to resist enemies from the outside. Why wouldn¡¯t they support it?¡±

    Garope and the others exchanged doubtfully nces. Although they had not been involved in any of the matters regarding the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s establishment, they had ess to some insider information as well. From the very start, the Great Eastern Alliance had only asionally borrowed the name of the Hall of Honor, and even that was just along the lines of using their powerful connection to intimidate others. But now, Lu Yin was announcing it outright.

    ¡°Hill Auna, formally inform all of the empires and powers in the surrounding weaves that under the Hall of Honor¡¯s guidance, the Great Yu Empire will establish the Great Eastern Alliance with the intention of resisting the Astral Beast Domain and assisting the Human Domain. Get them all to join as soon as possible, and we can share our resources then,¡± Lu Yin ordered loudly.

    Hill Auna hurriedly acknowledged his orders.

    Many ministers attending the court meeting appeared dazed.

    Garope, Gavin, and Hill Auna remained behind to learn about the news concerning the Hall of Honor, but Lu Yin sent them off with no more than a single sentence. ¡°From today onwards, I can represent the Hall of Honor.¡±

    If the Innerverse and Outerverse had not be separated, then Lu Yin would not have had the nerve to do this, but things were different now. Elder Lohar¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had expanded Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of his own value. Eleven Honor Points was proof of that, and the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance was infinitely far from even approaching the Hall of Honor¡¯s bottom line. As long as Lu Yin did not coborate with foreign powers or the Three Dark Hands, he could confidently represent the Hall of Honor.

 Chapter 657: The Cause

    <h4>Chapter 657: The Cause</h4>

    After the court meeting, Phantom Sting appeared at King Zishan¡¯s pce to present his first achievement ever since he had started training the Second Squadron.

    ¡°The Xun family has released a total of twenty one of the secrets in our possession,¡± Phantom Sting informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin studied his screen calmly. ¡°Go and find out where the Xun family is located.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Phantom Sting immediately left.

    Twenty one secrets sounded like a lot, but most of the exposed information was unimportant and wouldn¡¯t affect the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance. Not a single one of them was as explosive as Cheng Yan¡¯s, which showed that the Xun family didn¡¯t dare to act aggressively. Despite that, they had still exposed numerous secrets, and the only reason why they would do so was that they were still trying to threaten Lu Yin in order to achieve a certain goal.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t hesitate, and he quickly tried to contact the number that Madam Men had given him again.

    When he had first called that number, an old man from the Xun family had immediately hung up. However, this time, once the old man appeared on the screen, he merely stared at Lu Yin calmly.

    ¡°You are Xun Qianye,¡± Lu Yin stated unceremoniously.

    Xun Qianye nodded and slowly answered, ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m Xun Qianye. Nice to meet you, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen me before?¡± Lu Yin narrowed his eyes.

    Xun Qianye smiled. ¡°I was there during the fight for pyrolyte ore, but I wasn¡¯t very remarkable.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like small talk. What¡¯s your goal?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Xun Qianye¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re very straightforward, so I¡¯ll tell you the truth. Back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, one of the juniors from my family tried to buy a gun, but it was bought by you instead. Do you remember this incident?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. He had originally believed that the Xun family was trying to make things difficult for him because of Xun Meiren. However, why would this old guy suddenly bring up that gun? Could it be because Lu Yin had used it to kill Enlighters? He suddenly remembered that a piece of paper with some unrecognizable words on it had fallen out of the gun after it had shattered from usage. The Ghost Monkey had tranted the writing and said that it was two names.

    ¡°I do remember that. It was just amon gun, so why would the Xun family do all this for just a gun?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    ¡°As long as Prince Lu is willing to give us the gun, the Xun family guarantees that we will not reveal any of the remaining information and that we will stop bothering Your Highness,¡± Xun Qianye said.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Xun Qianye, I think that there¡¯s been some misunderstanding. Everyone knows that I use a gun to kill Enlighters, you wouldn¡¯t happen to believe that it¡¯s the same gun, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. The gun that I¡¯m talking about is at most capable of killing a Cruiser, so how could it be used to kill Enlighter realm powerhouses? The Xun family is not that dumb. Moreover, a lot of people saw when your gun shattered in Ironblood Weave,¡± Xun Qianye replied.

    ¡°The allure of a Cruiser-level gun is enough to cause your Xun family to resort to such unscrupulous methods and to involve Elder Lohar?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly as killing intent emanated from his eyes.

    ¡°The value of some items cannot be measured by their price. One of my ancestors died in the Astral Wilderness, and that gun was the only thing that he left behind. To the Xun family, it¡¯s a sacred item, and we hope that you can understand that. I guarantee that as long as Your Highness returns the gun to us, the Xun family will definitely stop causing trouble for you, and we can even offer the Great Yu Empire some resources aspensation,¡± Xun Qianye suggested.

    Lu Yin thought about the offer for a moment. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s just a gun. I was nning to give it to a junior, but since the Xun family wants it so badly, I don''t mind giving it to you. Remember what you said about giving some resources to the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Xun Qianye was ted at this turn of events. ¡°We will, don¡¯t worry, Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Time and location?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you only have to send someone to bring the gun to the space station at Shenwu Continent, and someone from the Xun family will be there to receive it. I have to remind you that the Xun family is well versed in machinery, so please do not send anyone to follow us. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be good for either of us if something ends up happening.¡±

    Lu Yin ended the call and immediately delivered an order. ¡°Use prium essence to make a gun as quickly as possible.¡±

    The gun that the Xun family wanted had already been shattered into pieces, and it was impossible to repair, so Lu Yin could only make a replica. This was mostly because the Xun family didn¡¯t actually want the gun¡ªthey wanted the paper that had been inside the gun.

    He took out the slip of paper and looked at the words again. ¡°Hey monkey, take a look and trante a few more of these words.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I only recognize two bits from that paper, and I already told you that one is ¡®Wen Zhaocheng¡¯ and the other is ¡®Cang Yi.¡¯ I don¡¯t understand any of the other words,¡± the Ghost Monkey reluctantly answered. He hade to realize that not only had it been a long time since he had seen any sort of battle action, but that he had also been reduced to nothing more than a trantor.

    Lu Yin copied the writing down and sent the paper to the Technology Department where Ban Jiu was making a replica of his shattered gun.

    The gun wasn¡¯t very special, and the prium essence used was actually more valuable than what the gun itself would end up being.

    Ban Jiu was curious as to why Lu Yin had chosen to use prium essence to replicate the gun, but he didn¡¯t ask anything.

    ¡°Stuff this paper inside the gun,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°How much time do you need?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a gun, so I only need half an hour. If I weren¡¯t making it out of prium essence, I could make ten thousand guns in just a few minutes,¡± Ban Jiu said.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin tested out the new gun. Although both the gun and its bullets had been made from prium essence, the power of the gun couldn¡¯t even match the attack of an Explorer, let alone a Cruiser¡¯s.

    However, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t been hoping for the gun to reach the level of matching up to a Cruiser¡¯s attack. Since it had been made with prium essence, he could simply use Enhance to upgrade it to the level where it could match a Cruiser¡¯s attack.

    Normally, a gun wouldn¡¯t be this powerful, and thus, the Xun family probably wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that the gun was just a replica. Even if they could, it wouldn¡¯t even matter since they only wanted that slip of paper. Moreover, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t even nning on letting the Xun family off to begin with. He was going to personally find Xun Qianye and then destroy the entire Xun family.

    No matter how advanced the Xun family¡¯s machinery might be, they still wouldn''t be able to hide their rune lines.

    Although he could see rune lines within the realm of the Fifth Maind, he couldn¡¯t see them in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, which had led Lu Yin to start wondering what those runes actually were.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin used his die and managed to roll Enhance on his third attempt. He spent some star crystals to upgrade the gun to the level where it could match a Cruiser¡¯s attack and then asked Huo Qingshan to take it to Shenwu Continent while he followed behind the Hunter.

    ***

    In Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, a junior from the Xun family was amicably chatting with Madam Men. The Daynight n and the Xun family got along well, and so, the atmosphere within the space station was very friendly.

    ¡°Madam, someone from the Great Yu Empire has arrived,¡± a Daynight n member announced as they entered the room.

    Madam Men turned around, and the face of the person from the Xun family grew fearful. Anyone who had heard of Lu Yin¡¯s reputation would be afraid of him since he had killed several Enlighters. Besides, the Xun family had already be Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, so this person would definitely be very wary of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± the Xun family member asked nervously.

    The person from the Daynight n answered, ¡°Huo Qingshan, the captain of the Fifth Squadron.¡±

    As soon as he heard that it wasn¡¯t Lu Yin, the person from the Xun family became relieved. ¡°Take me to him.¡±

    He then turned to Madam Men. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality over these past two days. I will be departing shortly.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Madam Men watched him leave with a smile.

    The person from the Xun family met Huo Qingshan within the space station.

    Huo Qingshan didn¡¯t talk to the man at all and merely tossed the gun over as quickly as possible. The person from the Xun family caught it and said, ¡°My uncle asked me to thank Royal Regent Lu.¡±

    ¡°His Highness said that you should remember your promise,¡± Huo Qingshan replied.

    The person from the Xun family smiled and tossed a cosmic ring over to Huo Qingshan. ¡°The resources inside are from the Xun family to assist the Great Yu Empire, as well as to express our apologies.¡±

    Huo Qingshan put the ring away.

    The person from the Xun family also left as soon as he finished speaking.

    Huo Qingshan calmly watched the man leave, and Madam Men walked out from behind him and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to follow him?¡±

    ¡°Why should I?¡± Huo Qingshan asked coldly. He nced at Madam Men, but he didn¡¯t leave yet.

    Madam Men smirked. ording to her understanding of Lu Yin, the Xun family would definitely be facing dire consequences for their actions.

    In contrast to Huo Qingshan¡¯s casual behavior, the person from the Xun family immediately left the space station while constantly ncing behind themselves. ording to Xun Qianye¡¯s predictions, Lu Yin definitely would not let them off, but for some reason, there wasn¡¯t anyone following after the man. Still, he nned to continue with his charade.

    The man leaped out of his spacecraft and allowed it to continue flying towards its programmed destination while he hid himself on an asteroid before slowly traveling in another direction.

    After going through multiple disguises over the course of two days, the man from the Xun family finally arrived at a in Darkmist Weave.

    ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m back.¡± The man approached an estate that was next to a sea and soon met with Xun Qianye.

    Xun Qianye anxiously asked the man, ¡°Did you follow my instructions?¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry, Uncle. I did everything as you said, and I¡¯m certain that nobody followed me,¡± the man said.

    Xun Qianye nodded. He then took the gun from the man and studied it carefully. His expression quickly changed. ¡°No, this is a fake!¡±

    The man was shocked. ¡°It¡¯s fake? How can that be? This gun fires shots that areparable to a Cruiser¡¯s attacks.¡±

    Xun Qianye¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where Lu Yin got this from, it¡¯s not what we want.¡± He then shattered the gun, and a piece of paper fell out. Xun Qianye was shocked, but he quickly opened the piece of paper and fell deep into thought.

    The man looked at the paper that fell out from the gun curiously.

    Suddenly, Xun Qianye¡¯s gadget rang, and he was surprised by what he saw when he opened his gadget. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s here.¡±

    The man who had delivered the gun was stunned. Suddenly, there was a loud sound, and Lu Yin appeared in his universal armor.

    No matter what disguise the person from the Xun family had used, he couldn¡¯t hide his rune lines unless he was able topletely disappear.

    Lu Yin nced at the furious Xun Qianye beneath him and saw the paper in his hand. Hemented icily, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be this close to me.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you didn¡¯t keep your promise!¡± the man from the Xun family shouted in terror.

    Xun Qianye walked forward and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Yin, you used a fake gun to try to scam me! Give me the real gun. Otherwise, you will end up in much greater trouble than you ever expected. The Great Yu Empire might copse because of this!¡±

    ¡°How dare you threaten me? I¡¯m not scared of you even if you do team up with the Daynight n as long as the Innerverse is cut off from the Outerverse. Just imagine how you¡¯ll be able to survive.¡± Lu Yin raised a hand, and an attack descended from the sky; it was from the blind monk.

    Xun Qianye looked up, and his face went pale. ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯m telling you this for thest time: give me the real gun! Otherwise, everyone connected to you will die, and you won¡¯t be able to stop it even if you do have the power to kill Enlighters.¡±

 Chapter 658: Destroying The Xun Family

    <h4>Chapter 658: Destroying The Xun Family</h4>

    There was a boom, and the estate by the sea suddenly vanished. With a steel rod in his hand, the blind monk viciously charged towards Xun Qianye, who raised a palm . He was a top level Hunter whereas the blind monk had just barely be a Hunter based on his power level. Due to this difference in strength, the monk was suppressed by Xun Qianye¡¯s star energy, which caused him to retreat back about a thousand meters.

    All of a sudden, a dazzling white light beam was reflected by the tip of a sharp weapon that scattered bits of blood as it shed about. Xun Qianye hurriedly took a step back as he gritted his teeth and stared in front of him, where Phantom Sting had just appeared.

    Two Hunters moved together while the Xun family only had one Hunter: Xun Qianye. The next strongest individual in the family was merely a Cruiser.

    ¡°Lu Yin, are you really not going to hand it over?¡± Xun Qianye snarled angrily.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed together. He could sense that something was off, and it seemed that the little piece of paper was more important than he had initially imagined. Even at this crucial juncture, Xue Qianye had no thought of fleeing; instead, he was delivering a threat. Lu Yin felt that there was more to this matter and that Xun Qianye was not lying. ¡°That gun is fake, but the item inside of it is real.¡±

    Xun Qianye continued to dodge the torrent of attacksunched at him by the blind monk and Phantom Sting, but he suffered numerous injuries from the two attackers. As soon as he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, he clenched the paper tightly as his expression turned cold. ¡°Give me the real gun!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t kill you!¡±

    As he shouted, he rushed forward with reckless abandon while Xun Qianye yelled back at him, ¡°Lu Yin, you have chosen death! Don¡¯t me me for delivering it to you!¡± As he spoke, Xun Qianye pulled out some unknown item out from his cosmic ring, and the star energy around him suddenly froze. It then formed into chains that caused the blind monk, Phantom Sting, and even Lu Yin to retreat. The next moment, Xun Qianye vanished.

    Li Yin immediately started to scan all about him, and his heart sank. He could no longer see Xun Qianye¡¯s rune lines anywhere. The man had escaped.

    ¡°Capture all the members of the Xun family!¡± Lu Yin cried.

    Very quickly, all of the Xun family members that were on the were captured. There were more than seventy of them. Among them there were three Cruisers and fifteen Explorers with the rest being Limiteers.

    Lu Yin interrogated them about Xun Qianye¡¯s whereabouts, but all of them werepletely clueless. Desperate, Lu Yin sent all of them back to the Great Yu Empire to undergo further interrogation.

    This entire matter felt extremely fishy, and it was possible that this incident would cause trouble in the future, but Lu Yin did not care. The Xun family could not hold a candle to the Daynight n. Besides, now that the Outerverse had been cut off from the rest of the Human Domain, the worst that Xun Qianye could do was find some Enlighters to assist him. Such a thing did not worry Lu Yin, as even if Xun Qianye was able to enlist the help of powerhouses who had a power level of 300,000 or above, Lu Yin had Elder Lohar and Mister Mu to protect him. As long as the Outerverse remained isted, he had nothing to fear.

    However, it was still imperative that Xun Qianye be found.

    Lu Yin contacted the Limiteer Mistchild and ordered her to get Mafioso to use all of its resources to track Xun Qianye down.

    After resolving the matter with the Xun family, Lu Yin did not immediately return to the Great Yu Empire. Instead, he went to visit Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station.

    After En Ya had delivered the enhanced natural treasures to Ming Zhaoshu, she had not contacted Lu Yin again. Thus, he had decided that it would be best for him to personally go to the continent and take a look at the current situation.

    When he arrived at Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, Madam Men met with him. ¡°I was not wrong. The Xun family is indeed finished.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a shortugh. ¡°Thank you so much for offering me information on the Xun family.¡±

    ¡°There is no need to thank me, Student Lu. Elder Qiuyu has instructed us members of the Daynight n to no longer view you as our enemy. In fact, we are hoping that you will not make trouble for us in return,¡± Madam Men said with augh.

    Lu Yin broke out intoughter. ¡°No one in the universe dares to mess with the Daynight n. On the other hand, I do have a matter that I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me what it is,¡± Madam Men said.

    ¡°Xuan Qianye has escaped, and I would like to ask for your help to find out where he went,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Madam Men smiled and nodded. ¡°That is no problem. I will reach out to the contacts that our Daynight nsmen have established throughout the Outerverse to get this information for you. I must ask though, what will I get in return?¡±

    ¡°What do you want, madam?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Men pondered for a moment. ¡°I cannot think of anything for the moment. I will have to give this matter serious consideration after I have assisted you in discovering Xun Qianye¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded. Soon after that, with the help of Huo Qingshan, he returned to Shenwu Continent.

    ***

    Within the Shenwu Empire, in Shanhai City, Ming Zhaoshu was in his study in the Reverent King¡¯s Residence and looking into a mirror. He caressed his forehead and thereafter threw the mirror to the floor. His body had aged once again. He had initially expected that consuming all those rare ingredients would restore his life force to the point of allowing him to persevere on for another year, but now, it seemed that he had no more than half a year left to live. In other words, he would die in half a year.

    Ming Zhaoshu clenched both fists tightly before slowly releasing them. He had finally resigned himself to his inevitable fate.

    ¡°Father, I am here.¡± Ming Yan¡¯s voice traveled to him from outside the study.

    Ming Zhaoshu gloomily responded, ¡°Come in.¡±

    After a considerable amount of time passed, Ming Yan stepped out of the study with an utterly exhausted expression. Ever since she had learned that Ming Zhaoshu did not have long left to live, she had worked hard to learn and handle all of the administrative affairs in order to not disappoint her father. As for the agony and pain that she felt in her heart, she could only bottle it up and keep it to herself. The only thing she could do to relieve the pain inside of her was to asionally retreat to her room and sob.

    In those moments, she missed Lu Yin all the more. She wanted to do nothing more than to rely on his support.

    ¡°Princess, please enjoy your meal.¡± A maid ced a tray of food down on the desk.

    Ming Yan waved the maid off with a flick of her wrist. She was in no mood to eat as she hazily looked through the window and at the sky before grabbing some documents that were lying on her dressing table. She hated bureaucratic work, but she had no choice except to take care of it.

    As she picked up a document to open it, a hand suddenly appeared in front of her to snatch the paper away from her hand. ¡°You need to eat before you work.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s body trembled, and she looked to the side, where a familiar figure had appeared.

    Lu Yin set the document aside as he cupped Ming Yan¡¯s face with his hand. Then, he gently said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost so much weight over such a short amount of time.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes turned red as she stared at Lu Yin with a nk face. A stream of tears suddenly fell from her face, and she copsed into his embrace, sobbing softly. She felt all of the anguish, helplessness, and despair that had recently been guing her melt away.

    Lu Yin hugged Ming Yan¡¯s soft body and did not utter a single word in response. He merely continued to hold her silently.

    It didn¡¯t take Ming Yan long to fall asleep, and Lu Yin could tell that she had fallen into a deep slumber.

    Lu Yin put her in bed, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and walked out of the room. He then made his way straight to Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s study.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, Tang Si hastily bowed to him.

    After opening the study door, Lu Yin walked right in without any hesitation.

    Ming Zhaoshu stared intently at him. ¡°I had guessed that you would be here soon.¡±

    Lu Yin closed the door and sat down in a chair beside the desk. ¡°It looks like the things I sent you didn¡¯t do what they were supposed to.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshuughed bitterly, in a semi-mocking manner. Then, he said, ¡°I spent so many years biding my time without a son just so that I could fight for power and force my brother and the prince to their deaths, but this is my end. The Shenwu Empire has no heir! Little Seven, do you not think that this is a cruel joke? Hahahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin calmly observed Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°Are all of Ming Zhaotian¡¯s heirs dead?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu shut his eyes and fell silent.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Ming Zhaoshu was such a vicious man that he had made sure to kill all the Shenwu Empire¡¯s potential heirs. He had initially wanted a son, but he had not been able to have one to stay inconspicuous. This could be considered as his retribution!

    ¡°Yan¡¯er does not have what it takes to inherit the Shenwu Empire,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. ¡°So what? She is the only heir to the Shenwu Empire. There is no one else aside from her! She must carry on the Shenwu Emperor¡¯s family line.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about some small ce like the Shenwu Empire. I want her to lead a life that she desires and not end up being ruined by some so-called family obligation. Wendy Yushan is about to hand over the Great Yu Empire to me, so what reason do you have not to hand over the Shenwu Empire to an outsider?¡± Lu Yin spoke angrily, as Ming Yan¡¯s current plight had saddened him.

    Ming Zhaoshu stood up. ¡°This is Shenwu Continent, not the outside universe! Even though the universe has introduced its culture to us during these recent years, our ideology remains the same: the Shenwu Empire must be inherited by someone from the Ming family. If this does not ur, then chaos will reign, and the people will suffer.

    ¡°That is just a selfish excuse on your part,¡± Lu Yin snorted.

    ¡°Whatever it may be, Yan¡¯er is still my daughter, as well as the only heir to the Shenwu Empire. She has to shoulder this responsibility.¡± Ming Zhaoshu said firmly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he stared straight into Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Handing the Shenwu Empire to me would be the same,¡± Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Ming Zhaoshu shook a finger. ¡°Do you intend to take the Shenwu Empire by force?¡±

    ¡°So what if I do?¡± Lu Yin responded coldly.

    Ming Zhaoshuughed heartily. ¡°Before the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, you might have possibly been able to do this. It¡¯s true that the destruction of Shenwu Continent would have no impact on you. However, the Shenwu Empire has already joined the Great Eastern Alliance, so if you try to take control of the Shenwu Empire by force, then who else would dare to join your alliance? Little Seven, you are in way over your head!¡±

    ¡°For the sake of Yan''er, I am willing to adjust my strategy,¡± Lu Yin replied unsympathetically.

    Ming Zhaoshu shook his head. He had not been angered by Lu Yin¡¯s words, and if anything, he felt a tinge of gratefulness. ¡°I understand how you feel about Yan''er, and I am very happy that you are willing to give up the Great Eastern Alliance for her sake. However, inheriting the Shenwu Empire is her destiny. If you take the Shenwu Empire by force and cause unrest to shake thisnd, it will result in thousands of casualties. When that happens, do you think that she will be able to forgive herself? Being the kind-hearted woman that she is, would she agree to such a thing?¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he could not respond.

    ¡°Little Seven, man proposes, but ultimately, heaven disposes. Many people say that human wisdom can ovee what the heavens have in store, but why not look at it in reverse? The heavens provide an alternative option. They often make fools of us, but this is not something that you nor I can control. I have aplished everything that I can, but I am a dying man. You can conquer and pige everything, but you will never be able to truly capture another¡¯s heart. The more that you do, the greater the possibility that Yan''er will be disappointed in you or in herself. Do you understand what I am saying?¡± Ming Zhaoshu slowly exined.

    Lu Yin looked at Ming Zhaoshu and asked, ¡°How much longer do you have to live?¡±

    A flicker of pain darted across Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Half a year at most.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how to feel, as he really did not wish for Ming Yan to take on so many responsibilities. All he wanted was for Ming Yan to be able to lead a carefree life; that would be enough for him. However, everyone had their own manner of thought.

    Ming Zhaoshu had lived a long life and always been nning for the long run. Ming Yan having a status as the Shenwu Empress when she married Lu Yin would be the best option, as a mere pretty face was destined to be cast aside. Human love was always sweet at the beginning, but it neededmitment and effort from both parties for it tost, and romantic love had a very short shelf-life if there was nothing else supporting it.

    This was what was known as a well-suited match. Ming Zhaoshu would rather have Ming Yan handle the stress of inheriting the empire than allow her to suffer from heartbreak.

    However, he could not tell Lu Yin all this. Whether it was Lu Yin or Ming Yan, neither of them had enough experience in love or life, and they would not be able to understand his intentions.

    Lu Yin left the room, not knowing how to dissuade Ming Zhaoshu. The emperor¡¯s resolve was unshakeable, and Lu Yin wanted to talk to Ming Yan to see how she felt about things. If Ming Yan did not want to inherit the Shenwu Empire, then Lu Yin would act as he wished regardless of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s intentions. He would take control of everything.

    Ming Yan slept for an entire day as Lu Yin sat beside her.

    When Ming Yan opened her eyes and saw Lu Yin, she felt her heart melt. The unfamiliar feelings that she once held towards him in the past hadpletely disappeared. She once again felt that sense of closeness to him that she had in the beginning.

    When he saw Ming Yan wake up, Lu Yin hurriedly brought her a bowl of porridge. He helped her up into a position where she was half sitting and half held by him. He then told her, ¡°Open your mouth.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s beautiful face flushed red, and she meekly answered, ¡°Big brother Lu, I¡¯ll eat on my own.¡±

    ¡°No, after sleeping for so long and not eating anything, you don¡¯t have the energy. Be a good girl and let me feed you. Open wide.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 659: Search

    <h4>Chapter 659: Search</h4>

    It took half an hour for Lu Yin to feed Ming Yan the bowl of porridge, but after that, Ming Yan¡¯splexion had be much rosier. Her appearance was so charming that Lu Yin could not resist leaning over and kissing her.

    Ming Yan stared at Lu Yin with a chastising expression, but she was not actually angry. Lu Yin could see her eyes darting about, and they shone with a light that made her even more alluring than the stunning Madam Nn, catching Lu Yin off guard. ¡°Yan''er, you¡¯re beautiful.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s heart trembled, and she was secretly delighted. She lowered her head. "Brother Lu, why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin hugged her tightly. ¡°Of course it¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t bear to suffer from missing you. So, I came here to see you.¡±

    Ming Yan struggled for a moment, but once she saw that Lu Yin only embraced her even more tightly, she could only allow him to do as he wished. "Brother Lu, do you know about Father¡¯s situation?¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement, and then he looked at Ming Yan in a serious manner. ¡°Yan¡¯er, tell me the truth: do you want to take over the Shenwu Empire? If you don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll help you take care of things here, and you¡¯ll be able to go home with me and lead a worry-free life, just like before. Is that what you want?¡±

    Ming Yan studied Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and saw that the most gentle spot in her heart was warmly being held by him. He was offering her a lifetime¡¯s promise, and realizing this caused her to blush. Just as she was about to agree without hesitation, a cough rang from outside the room. Ming Yan came to her senses, and she quickly pushed Lu Yin aside before quietly saying, ¡°Father¡¯s here.¡±

    Lu Yin checked outside and saw that Ming Zhaoshu was staring at the sky with his hands sped behind his back.

    ¡°How indiscreet.¡± Lu Yin was rather unhappy.

    Ming Yan looked at him, her eyes pure and wide. "Brother Lu, he¡¯s my father! You can¡¯t say that.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled apologetically. ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯ll soon be my father-inw. Sorry Yan''er, Brother Lu misspoke.¡±

    Ming Yan pursed her lips. "Brother Lu, Father is very tired, and things must be very difficult for him.¡±

    ¡°Mm, I got it,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Ming Yan lowered her head. ¡°Father wishes for me to inherit the throne of the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    ¡°What about you? What is it that you truly wish for?¡± Lu Yin asked earnestly.

    Ming Yan¡¯s head was still hung down as she recalled a few words that Ming Zhaoshu had said to her. She bit her lip before quietly answering, ¡°I- I want to inherit the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin moved his hand and raised her head as he looked at her with serious eyes. ¡°Yan¡¯er, Brother Lu promises that as long as you wish for it, nobody will be able to force you to carry these burdens.¡±

    Ming Yan and Lu Yin stared at each other, and as they did, her gaze became more determined. ¡°I wish to carry this burden.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°You obviously don¡¯t like to look at memos or handle administrative duties.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu.¡± Ming Yan was in agony.

    Lu Yin touched her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize¡ªyou didn¡¯t let anyone down, Yan''er. No matter what you decide to do, I will support you.¡±

    Ming Yan clenched his hand tightly as she nervously asked, ¡°Then, does Brother Lu not want Yan''er anymore?¡±

    Lu Yinughed and hugged her again, and this time, he refused to let go no matter how she struggled. ¡°No! Yan''er is mine, and mine forever. No matter if you¡¯re that carefree princess from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence or the future empress, you¡¯ll always belong to me, Lu Yin. You can¡¯t run away.¡±

    Ming Yan happily acknowledged his words. With this promise, she would be able to work hard and assume her responsibilities.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin lowered his head and opened his mouth to nibble at her two tender lips. A sweet feeling seeped into his heart, and although Ming Yan was shocked by his behavior, she did not push him away. She closed her eyes and gave Lu Yin free reign.

    After some time, Ming Zhaoshu coughed again, startling Ming Yan. She shoved Lu Yin away, her face flushed beet red. She then buried her entire body beneath a nket and wouldn¡¯te out.

    ¡°Really indiscreet,¡± Lu Yin mumbled unhappily once more.

    Lu Yin had originally nned to take Ming Yan away after this trip to Shenwu Continent, or at least help out as she took over her responsibilities. However, Ming Yan had made the decision to inherit the Shenwu Empire of her own ord.

    Left without any other choice, Lu Yin kept Ming Yanpany at the Reverent King¡¯s Residence for two days before taking En Ya away due to Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s relentless urging.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s time was quite limited, and he wished to train Ming Yan on how to handle political affairs in his remaining time, as well as teach her details such as how to direct the councilors and oversee their matters.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you not happy?¡± En Ya asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Send some more people to be stationed in the Shenwu Empire.¡±

    It was practically impossible for Ming Yan to take control of the Shenwu Empire in just half a year, but since she was determined to seed, Lu Yin would not stop her. After half a year¡¯s time passed and Ming Zhaoshu died, various problems would definitely start breaking out in the Shenwu Empire. At that time, he would make another visit, and stationing his own people there would allow him to receive news much earlier.

    He was more worried about the poison that had been administered to Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°En Ya, you can return first.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you aren¡¯t going to leave with me?¡± En Ya asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as he did not n to leave quite yet. Since the person who had poisoned Ming Zhaoshu had not been discovered yet, it was impossible to know if they would also poison Ming Yan. Lu Yin was determined to find this person, and this was actually his primary objective during this trip to Shenwu Continent. He could not rx while such a dangerous person was roaming freely near Ming Yan.

    First, he would check Qiong Ind. Lu Yin ascended high into the sky until he towered above all, and when he looked down at Shanhai City, he could see rune lines all about the city. However, everything seemed normal, despite the fact that there were even a few whose rune lines equaled a Cruiser¡¯s. One of these people was Ming Zhaoshu, and there were also a few people outside of the city. Next, he visited Liuguang City, which was north of Shanhai City.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s speed and scope of vision, it took just a day to cover the entirety of Qiong Ind, and next was Ming Ind.

    After that, starting from Qiong Ind, Lu Yinbed through Shenwu Continent ind by ind. He discovered that there were quite a few hidden experts scattered across the continent, which was something that he would not have discovered if he had not carefully searched through the continent. These people had mostly been left behind by the universe¡¯s various powers, from both the Innerverse and Outerverse, to facilitate coordination between the natives and the trial takers. This was how people like Grandini Mavis and the Mavis family as a whole was able to control the Bank of Wuyun. Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, and other powers like the Daynight n all had experts hidden on Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin conveniently marked down the locations of all of these hidden powerhouses. If Ming Yan truly wanted to inherit the Shenwu Empire, then this sort of information might be of use to her.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin arrived at some unknown location that was quite far from Qiong Ind. It seemed to be due north of the Shenwu Empire.

    Beneath Lu Yin was a battlefield, which he had already been aware of before arriving. When Ming Zhaoshu had seeded the throne and cooperated with the outsiders, many of the continent¡¯s natives were dissatisfied, and there had been more than a hundred assassination attempts thus far. Many rebel armies had pretended to follow Ming Hao so that they could find an opportune moment to revolt.

    As for these rebels, Lu Yin held no interest in them. However, this battlefield had an inexplicablyrge number of rune lines that had almost reached the level of a Hunter.

    If there truly existed a Hunter on this battlefield, then such a battle would not have happened as even a Cruiser would be more than powerful enough to determine the oue of this conflict. And yet, a Hunter¡¯s rune lines had indeed appeared at this ce, which was rather suspicious.

    Lu Yin nced across the battlefield, and his gaze eventually fixated on the bottom of a canyon thaty close to the battlefield. The air was filled with the stench of blood that also strangely emanated from underneath from that area.

    Lu Yin vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already above the canyon. He saw the location of the rune lines, and then, he suddenly heard a roar in his ears.

    He was very familiar with this particr roar, as it was the howl of zombies. He had found them.

    Suddenly, a red arm reached out from inside of the canyon¡¯s walls to grab at Lu Yin. The arm was at least ten meters long, and scarlet muscles rippled along it. It¡¯s appearance waspletely nauseating, and Lu Yin deftly evaded it before shing his hand down to chop it apart. With his strength, he could even chop off a Hunter¡¯s arm, but this red arm did not break after receiving his attack; only a tiny bit of the red flesh had been shaved off.

    A great howl burst forth from inside the canyon, and it caused the soldiers on the battlefield to wail in anguish. Many soldiers even spat out blood and died on the spot.

    Lu Yin rose into the sky as the canyon shattered beneath him. A hundred meter tall Corpse King with red flesh emerged, and its icy eyes stared at Lu Yin. It then leapt up and punched out with a fist.

    The ground shattered, and the battlefield broke apart as the crowds of soldiers stared up at the hundred-meter tall monster in terror.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he raised his own fist to retaliate.

    Boom!

    A visible shockwave rippled out that warped the void, and a terrifying gale swept across the battlefield that rose into the sky.

    The massive, hundred meter tall Corpse King was sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s fist, and even the monster¡¯s fist was crushed.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This Corpse King only had the strength of a Cruiser, but it had a rather terrifying physical body that couldpare to one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s mountain gate¡¯s Shenjia Guardians and even slightly exceed the automatons.

    Roar!

    The giant Corpse King snarled and charged back at Lu Yin once again as itshed out.

    Lu Yin vanished and streaked through the void to suddenly appear atop the Corpse King¡¯s head. He then pressed down with a palm. ¡°Thirty Stacks Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± With a horrible boom, the giant Corpse King stopped moving as Lu Yin¡¯s palm had shoved the creature¡¯s head down into its body cavity when the Oveying Stacks exploded. Not only did his attack cause the Corpse King¡¯s head to crack open, but fissures also appeared all over the monster¡¯s chest as fresh blood fell from the sky in torrents, staining the battlefield.

    Lu Yin nced over at where the Hunter¡¯s rune lines had previously been hidden. He had seen that those rune lines were a powerhouse¡¯s, but that person had escaped the moment the giant Corpse King had charged out of the canyon. Lu Yin had pretended not to notice, as he wanted to see where this person would run to.

    The canyon hadpletely copsed, and Lu Yin¡¯s domain quickly swept through it. The interior of the mountain had been hollowed out, and there was a giantb in there, though it held nothing more than a dozen zombies.

    His domain crushed down and reduced all of the zombies to puddles of blood. After that, Lu Yin concealed his aura and dashed after the powerhouse to give chase, using only his physical strength.

    The Hunter¡¯s rune lines shone like a bright light in the darkness, and Lu Yin could clearly see them. He did not need to approach this person, as just following them would be enough.

    The Neohuman Alliance expert who had escaped could not have expected that Lu Yin would be able to keep up, and they eventually released their aura after covering some distance to increase their speed. Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was very powerful, and he had also unsealed his three grains of Fatesand, which allowed him to keep up with the fleeing powerhouse¡¯s speed with just his physical strength.

    Before long, Lu Yin entered a forested region where the Hunter¡¯s rune lines had stopped.

    Beneath the forest, there was a giant space that had been carved out in a simr manner to the dozenbs earlier. Quite a few zombies were held here, though they were not Corpse Kings that could swallow energy crystals to create innate gifts. These were only normal zombies.

    One of theb¡¯s doors was open, and inside, Lu Yin saw a scene straight from hell.

    The floor was covered with blood, and there was a giant zombie squatting in a corner, snarling.

    ¡°Another one again. This giant Corpse King can absorb blood to growrger and stronger, but it cannot be intelligent. That¡¯s fine. As long as I have intelligence, it¡¯s fine! Hahaha!¡± A berserkughter was heard that made the ce¡¯s ambience feel even more creepy. Theugh hade from a short old man with a waxy, yellowplexion, strange facial features, and hair that stood straight up.

    Suddenly, a massive shadow covered the room, causing the short old man¡¯s pupils to shrink. When he looked up, Lu Yin¡¯s figure entered his sight.

    ¡°Ho- how did you chase me down?¡± The short old man was overwhelmed with shock.

    Lu Yin did not bother replying, and he simply took out his pike to stab at the old man. The spiritual force attack enveloped the entire area, and even though the man had the power level of a Hunter, he was still dazed by this intense spiritual force and forced to faint for a moment. In that split second, the pike pierced through him, but it ended up being stopped by something, and it felt like it could not stab any further into the man¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was astonished.

 Chapter 660: Regression No. 91

    <h4>Chapter 660: Regression No. 91</h4>

    The short old man came out of his daze, and his face turned sinister. ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡±

    He suddenly backed away as therge doors of theb abruptly closed, cutting him off from Lu Yin. The next moment, the entireb trembled, and a ck gust of wind roared in from all directions, filling the entire underground in the blink of an eye and sealing off all exits.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he quickly used the pike to strike theboratory doors with a moderate amount of force. With a crack, the doors split open, and then, there was another rumbling sound as the doorspletely shattered apart. He heard a snarl, and the zombie that had been inside theb suddenly charged out through the doorway at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin avoided it with Secret Sidestep, and when the zombie charged into the ck gas, its snarls instantly stopped as its entire body started convulsing. After that, itpletely vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he quickly leaped into theb, only to be greeted by the short man¡¯s berserk. The man had donned a suit of metal armor, but Lu Yin was able to evade his surprise attack by using Secret Sidestep again. The void tore the ce where Lu Yin had just been standing apart, and the entire forest outside of the hiddenb was knocked down.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this old man was just a mere Cruiser, but he had the rune lines of a Hunter. These rune lines were from the metal outfit that he was currently wearing, as it could be used to defend against a Hunter¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Haha! I never thought that such an interesting specimen would suddenly approach me. Stay here and join my treasures!¡± the old man cackled as he barreled towards Lu Yin in a ferocious manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and the tree that was his forcefield suddenly appeared as the branches almost instantly bound the short old man in ce. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± Dozens of explosions rang out through theb that caused the void to shatter. The overwhelming force from the palm sent the old man straight into the ck gas that was still just outside theb.

    The metal outfit started to split apart, and the ck gas entered through the cracks in the metal, seeping inside of the outfit and causing the old man to release mournful howls.

    He had not thought that an Explorer like Lu Yin could unleash attacks that could harm a Hunter. His metal armor was quite impressive since it could withstand a Hunter¡¯s attacks, but there were different tiers to such items, and Lu Yin¡¯s attack had surpassed the degree that the armor could withstand.

    The wails soon disappeared.

    Lu Yin stared closely at the area outside theb; what exactly was this ck gas? It could not be released, as otherwise, Shenwu Continent would be doomed.

    Just as Lu Yin was thinking of a way to get rid of the ck gas, it suddenly seemed to deliberately rush into the old man¡¯s metal outfit through the cracks. It didn¡¯t look like the gas was spreading, but rather like it was being absorbed.

    A momentter, the metal outfit shattered, and the remnant fragments were sted away in all directions. A monster was revealed in front of Lu Yin that constantly emitted the ck gas from before. As Lu Yin looked at the figure, he saw that its rune lines had increased several fold.

    ¡°Kakaka! Since I dared to produce death energy, why should I be scared of it? Stay here!¡± The short old man¡¯s entire body emitted ck gas, and even his facial features could no longer be seen. It was as if he had be just a lump of ck fog. He heavily charged at Lu Yin, but it felt as if he did not even know any battle techniques as he only used the most primitive attacks.

    Lu Yin dodged the attack and stared at the old man. ¡°What did you say? Death energy?¡±

    ¡°Kakaka, little brat, have you heard of death energy too?¡± The short old man sniggered and rumbled towards Lu Yin once again.

    Lu Yin dodged again. ¡°The Specter n¡¯s death energy?¡±

    ¡°Your knowledge isn¡¯t bad¡ªeven many within the Neohuman Alliance itself don¡¯t know what the Specter n is, but an outsider like you knows about it. I¡¯m bing even more interested in you. Right, after thinking about it, you¡¯re the one who brought all those people to destroy Mingdu and destroyed our Neohuman Alliance¡¯srgestb on Shenwu Continent. You¡¯re pretty famous.¡± The figure who had been the short old man rushed towards Lu Yin yet again.

    Lu Yin continued to evade by using the Secret Sidestep Technique, and the two continued their little dance underground: one chasing as the other dodged. The whole scene was ratherical.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of escaping! You can¡¯t run away! Stay here, or else I¡¯ll go to Shanhai City and capture that little brat.¡± The short old manughed strangely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned sharp. ¡°You¡¯re the one who poisoned Ming Zhaoshu?¡±

    ¡°Kaka, that¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Why? With your strength, it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to kill him, so why use poison?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just an experiment. I¡¯m not interested in anything else, only in my treasures. The information that I can glean from Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poisoning is precious experimental data. Rx. As soon as he dies, that brat will be next. Nobody can dream of escaping, because they are all my experiments! My darlings! Kaka!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression frosted over, and he stared at the short old man as the Cosmic Art activated, causing stars to revolve around his body. The short old man charged at him again, and this time, Lu Yin could see every detail of his movement very clearly. Still, Lu Yin did not take action just yet. Instead, he shifted to the side with the Secret Sidestep Technique and then raised a hand before moving to press his palm against the man. Right as Lu Yin¡¯s palm was about to connect with the ck gas, Lu Yin suddenly pulled his hand back and retreated a hundred meters away.

    ¡°What you¡¯re producing isn¡¯t even death energy,¡± Lu Yin said sullenly.

    The man sneered, ¡°What do you know? This is death energy!¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his head. If this gas was actually death energy, it would be impossible for him to not recognize it. Back when he had fought against Faceless in front of the Sea King¡¯s Trident, he had felt death energy from the youth from the Specter n. He had been able to sense a distinct aura, and he had even been able to suppress it.

    Faceless was from the Specter n, and it was precisely because Lu Yin had been able to suppress Faceless¡¯s death energy that had caused the youth to think that Lu Yin was also from the Specter n. That misunderstanding had caused Faceless to be extremely respectful towards Lu Yin, and he had even obeyed Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    No matter if Faceless had guessed right or wrong, it was a fact that Lu Yin could sense death energy. However, the ck gas in front of him gave him no such sense of familiarity. It did seem a bit like death energy, and yet, it wasn¡¯t. It could only be a kind of poisonous gas.

    ¡°This is not death energy,¡± Lu Yin repeated.

    The short old man grew angry. ¡°It is death energy. I am able to make it, and this is death energy!¡± He suddenly became even more berserk and rushed straight towards Lu Yin again.

    Regardless of whether the ck gas was death energy or not, Lu Yin would know once he tried something. Back when he had possessed someone from the Specter n, he had learned of the terror of death energy, which was why he had not put on his universal armor for this fight. He was not confident that his universal armor could withstand death energy, and he had been intimidated by this ck gas because of that. However, now, there was nothing to be scared of since he had already determined that this was not death energy.

    He raised his pike and reinforced his body with seven lined battle force as the man rushed towards him once again. He thrust the pike forward before letting go of it as it flew forward and pinned the short man¡¯s body against the wall. All of the defensive measures that had blocked the pike thest time Lu Yin had attacked werepletely shattered.

    The short old man howled in grief, and this time, it was a true wailing; his fresh blood flowed down the wall.

    The ck gas actually rushed into the man¡¯s body through his bleeding wound, which caused an even more mournful cry to ring throughout the room. The mansted for less than ten seconds before he dissolved into nothingness, just like the zombie from before.

    In the ce where he had died, the ck, false death energy and the man¡¯s blood merged together to form a ck blood that corroded the floor.

    As he looked at the puddle of ck blood, Lu Yin created a fierce ze with his star energy that burned the puddle into nothingness.

    It had not actually been death energy, as death energy would not be eradicated so easily.

    Lu Yin retrieved his pike. The short old man¡¯s body had already vanished, and only a pile of clothes had been left behind in a pile on the floor.

    This strange ck gas had not caused any harm to the man¡¯s clothes, which meant that it was very sensitive.

    Aside from the pile of clothes on the ground, there was also a stone b and a bottle. Lu Yin picked them up and saw that the stone b was very thin. It was actually a stone book with pages that could be flipped through. Each page of the stone b had data recorded on it that looked like information from various experiments.

    ¡®Most number of zombies killed by the giant zombie: 2,395.¡¯

    ¡®Theposition of death energy is¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    There were many pages to the stone b, and each was very thin. Although Lu Yin did not understand most of the writing, there was one page that caught his attention, as it had Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s name written on it.

    ¡®Experiment specimen Ming Zhaoshu: Cruiser¡¯s power level,prehended a forcefield, can rival a Hunter. Poison: Regression No. 91. Estimated tost at most a month¡­¡¯

    This page recorded the changes that Ming Zhaoshu had experienced every day, from his diet to his emotions, and even the speed at which he handled and processed his various administrative duties. Below every variable was an analysis conducted by the short old man.

    Lu Yin finished the entire page, and he inexplicably trembled.

    Ming Zhaoshu had been treated like ab specimen that was being studied, though he himself had not known about it.

    What sort of means had the short old man used to observe the emperor? Something like distance did not hold much meaning to such a powerhouse, as the man had been capable of traversing the entire length of Shenwu Continent without taking much time. However, Ming Zhaoshu hadprehended a forcefield, but he had still been observed in such a manner. If the old man had been able to do that to Ming Zhaoshu, then what about Ming Yan?

    And what kind of poison was this Regression No. 91? Lu Yin picked up the bottle from the floor and looked at it. Could this be the poison? There was a drop of colorless liquid inside of the vial, and it was very possibly the poison that had been mentioned.

    He swept through the underground area with his domain and took care of all of the remaining zombies that were in the otherbs. With that done, he caused the entire space to copse and left.

    As he left, Lu Yin saw some rune lines that represented an Explorer rushing towards him.

    It was a middle-aged woman, and Lu Yin felt like she looked familiar. He then suddenly recalled that she was one of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s maids.

    He suddenly understood. It was no wonder how the short old man had been able to monitor Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s every action; the reason was right in front of Lu Yin.

    The middle-aged woman arrived above the undergroundboratory and entered the passageway that led underground with very practiced motions. However, the moment she entered, she started to back away with a pale face. She then quickly leaped away, clearly wanting to leave.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, you should just stay.¡± She heard a soft voice call out from behind her. Lu Yin had moved, and he lightly flicked a finger. A gale struck the woman¡¯s knees and knocked her to the ground.

    The woman was overwhelmed as she turned to see Lu Yin sitting in a tree, who was looking at her with indifferent eyes. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Lu Yin jumped off of the tree and walked over beside the woman. ¡°So you¡¯re the one who poisoned Ming Zhaoshu, and you¡¯re also the one who shared all the information concerning his condition to this ce.¡±

    The woman was terrified, and her face turned a deathly shade of white. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t want to do it, but that monster poisoned me, and I was going to be devoured by other monsters if I didn¡¯t do as he said. Please spare me! Please don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t tell His Majesty, please!¡±

    ¡°Aside from poisoning Ming Zhaoshu and reporting the news there on a regr basis, what other orders were you given?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The middle-aged female replied in terror, ¡°Nothing else! He had me observe His Majesty, but he didn¡¯t want me to do anything else.¡±

    Lu Yin held out the bottle that he had just found. ¡°Is this the poison that he had you give the emperor?¡±

    She looked at the bottle, and a deep fear could be seen in her eyes. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and swatted at her and caused her to fall down dead.

    The cause behind the poisoning had been found and resolved, but Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poison was still unexinable. Thatst page in the stone book had intentionally called it Regression No. 91, and the short old man had noted that he had no method of resolving the poison either, which was why he had given the poison to Ming Zhaoshu. He had wanted to use the information that he gathered from Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poisoning symptoms to create an antidote. At the same time, once Ming Zhaoshu died, Shenwu Continent would descend into chaos, and battles would break out everywhere, which would have given the old man even more test subjects and blood to experiment with and feed his giant Corpse King with.

    The short old man had nned things out well, and he would have been able to kill two birds with one stone. Lu Yin was pleased with himself for finding this person, as otherwise, as soon as Ming Yan inherited the throne, her fate would have been the same as Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s.

    Now, Lu Yin deeply understood why the entire universe viewed the Neohuman Alliance as their greatest enemy and also why the organization had to be taken care of as soon as anyone from the Neohuman Alliance was discovered. This organization possessed the deepest darkness, and it basically destroyed human nature.

 Chapter 661: Former Arrangements

    <h4>Chapter 661: Former Arrangements</h4>

    Had Lu Yin cleaned up thest vestiges of the Neohuman Alliance on Shenwu Continent? He didn¡¯t know, and that was not good enough for him. He had to check the entire continent again.

    He then spent another ten days meticulouslybing through all the corners of Shenwu Continent, even the most isted inds out in the sea. During this time, he obliterated three more Neohuman Alliance bases. Finally, he returned to Shanhai City and had a long discussion with Ming Zhaoshu. After that, he left Shenwu Continent.

    He had done all that he could, and Shenwu Continent should have been purged of all traces of the Neohuman Alliance. Even so, he had left instructions with Ming Zhaoshu to rearrange Ming Yan¡¯s meals and daily schedule, just to prevent anything unexpected from urring.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin did not see Ming Yan again. Her eyes currently held a firm determination that had never existed there before. This was a good thing, and Lu Yin did not want to disrupt it.

    He would return to the continent again in about half a year after Ming Zhaoshu died.

    It had already been nearly twenty days since he had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he should be able to enter that ce once again. Lu Yin had not decided if he should return there yet as it was impossible to know if the battle was still raging. The ruins had be a battlefield where the Ten Arbiters fought against the Realmlings, and it was not a battlefield that Lu Yin could participate in. In the end, he decided to wait a bit longer.

    He returned to King Zishan''s pce, and once he was there, Kayze reported to him, saying, ¡°Someone named Ding Xing has been waiting for Your Highness for a few days. Does Your Highness wish to meet with him?¡±

    Ding Xing? Lu Yin thought about the name. Right, he¡¯s from Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty, and he requested help to chase away the people of the Beast Tamers Flowzone and restore the Greatsword Dynasty to power. He even promised to reward the Empire with the treasures of the Greatsword Dynasty.

    Northcastle Weavey close to the Astral Wilderness, and there were still quite a few powers who were continuing to search for pyrolyte and had also continued to meddle in the political affairs of Northcastle Weave without much consideration for the locals. This had naturally made those powers feel apprehensive, and even Lu Yin could end up harmed by the repercussions. More importantly, he needed to first firmly establish the Great Eastern Alliance. Before that happened, Lu Yin did not want any idents to ur.

    ¡°Have him leave for now. I will naturally help him when the timing is right.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    It had been extremely exhausting for Lu Yin during the past few days, and he rested in King Zishan''s pce for a day before he felt refreshed. He then took out the cosmic ring that the Xun family had given to Huo Qingshan and found that there were 10,000 star essence within it. The Xun family could be considered sincere, and it appeared that they had wanted to use this amount to settle the grudge between them and Lu Yin, which had been too naive a thought.

    But that wily fox Xun Qianye had managed to slip away in the end, and Lu Yin could only hope that Mafioso and the Daynight n would be able to find him; otherwise, it would be a troubling matter.

    The Xun family¡¯s objective had always been the gun that Lu Yin had bought at the auction, and because of that, Xun Qianye had used all sorts of methods to get rid of Lu Yin. From the very beginning, the man had not felt any pity as he had exposed the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Cheng Yan so that the Xun family could prevent any possibility of the Vastdearth Sect joining the Great Eastern Alliance froming to pass.

    If the Xun family¡¯s methods had been sessful, then Lu Yin would have been punished by the Hall of Honor, and the Great Eastern Alliance would have led to nothing. Unfortunately for them, the Xun family¡¯s efforts had failed, and they had even suffered casualties so severe that no one from the Xun family could be found in the current Outerverse.

    ***

    Now, the most worried faction at the moment was the Vastdearth Sect.

    Without Cheng Yan to maintain contact with the Great Yu Empire, the Vastdearth Sect simply did not know what the Great Yu Empire was nning.

    ¡°I propose that we take the initiative to contact the Great Yu Empire,¡± Elder Angio suggested as he looked at Meng Tianlong.

    The other elders agreed with him, as they were all afraid that Lu Yin would personally visit them. That youth was an overbearing young master that not even the Daynight n dared to provoke. In other words, the Innerverse powers could intimidate the Outerverse, but not him.

    Many felt that Lu Yin was even scarier than many of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers.

    Meng Tianlong muttered to himself for a while and then finally said, ¡°If we want to contact the Great Yu Empire, then we must consider carefully whether or not we should join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    The crowd of elders fell silent at his words.

    At this moment, someone came to make a report. ¡°There¡¯s a visitor from Darkstar Gorge.¡±

    Meng Tianlong and the others were stunned by this news, but they quickly became delighted. They had constantly been sending people to other organizations to enquire about the Great Eastern Alliance, and now, they had finally received a reply.

    If Lu Yin saw this visiter from Darkstar Gorge, then he would instantly recognize him. It was one of the five Hunters who had attempted to assassinate him on his way to the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    ¡°My Darkstar Gorge will definitely not join this so-called Great Eastern Alliance. It¡¯s called an alliance, but in reality, it¡¯s only purpose is to gather resources for the Great Yu Empire and help the empire unify the eastern weaves.¡± That Hunter from Darkstar Gorge, called Zha Pu, spoke with determination.

    Meng Tianlong replied, ¡°Unify the eastern weaves? Is Lu Yin truly that ambitious?¡¯

    Zha Pu sneered. ¡°Of course. He is so bold that he even dare to kill Enlighters, so what would he not dare to do? If he seeds in establishing this alliance, then we will be reduced to nothing more than his subordinates. Sect Leader Meng would not wish to have someone above you ordering your every move, correct?¡±

    This conversation made Meng Tianlong quickly feel sullen. As the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s leader, he controlled an entire weave, and his authority was unsurpassed. He could decide the fates of countless individuals with a single order, easily allowing someone to soar into the heavens or fall into a bottomless abyss. This authority was something that could not be understood by those who had never enjoyed it, and those who had wielded such power would be addicted to it.

    To inexplicably have someone rise above them and ordering them about was simply uneptable.

    ¡°What are Darkstar Gorge¡¯s ns?¡± Meng Tianlong asked.

    Zha Pu smiled. ¡°We have contacted powers such as the Evenground Pce and the Tri-Banner Federation. If the Great Yu Empire wishes to act against any of us and force us to join its Great Eastern Alliance, then we will respond by establishing a counter-Great Eastern Alliance. There won¡¯t be any contract as there¡¯s only one condition: unite and resist the Great Yu Empire. We don¡¯t believe that Lu Yin can kill us off one by one if so many of us unite, and even if he can wipe us all out, the Hall of Honor will not simply stand by and watch him.¡±

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You¡¯ve really made contact already?¡±

    ¡°Naturally. In a few more days, we will have an opportunity to meet and discuss the methods that we should employ to deal with the Great Yu Empire. Does Sect Leader Meng wish to join us?¡± Zha Pu asked.

    Meng Tianlong immediately agreed.

    Zha Pu left Meng Tianlong full of expectations. The more powers that united, the greater their influence would be, and this so-called Great Eastern Alliance would definitely not be established. The Great Yu Empire would also be rejected. So what if Lu Yin grew even more powerful? Just as Zha Pu had said, Lu Yin could only kill so many powerhouses.

    Even though the universe was ruled by thew of the jungle, humans were creatures that had a bottom line. One person could not mercilessly kill too many others. If Lu Yin attempted to act this ruthlessly, then the Hall of Honor would not possibly allow it. Humans were humans because they had a bottom line, and this line was determined by a great number of people.

    Lu Yin quickly learned of this matter far away in the Great Yu Empire, and his expression became unpleasant.

    En Ya was also troubled by this development. ¡°If so many powers truly unite against us, then there¡¯s no possibility that the Great Eastern Alliance can be established. We cannot use the iron fist to suppress everyone. Even if we manage to temporarily establish the alliance, it will be very difficult to gather all of the resources in the future. This is not in line with our original intentions.¡±

    ¡°We hope that the various powers will still willingly join the alliance and pool their resources on their own initiative and not by force,¡± Huan Sha said.

    Lu Yin rapped his fingers against the table. ¡°You two tell me: are these Outerverse powers wolves or sheep?¡±

    En Ya and Huan Sha exchanged doubtful nces. ¡°What does Your Highness mean?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Against the Daynight n, Innerverse powers like the Xun family might easily give in. Without Darkstar Gorge forming the connections, these powers will simrly give in to me, because they are fundamentally merely sheep.¡±

    ¡°But they have already united,¡± En Ya objected.

    ¡°But I would like to find out how sturdy this ¡®alliance¡¯ of theirs really is,¡± Lu Yin said with a smile.

    ¡°What does Your Highness intend to do?¡± En Ya asked.

    Lu Yin stood up and walked out of the building to look at the sky. ¡°Darkstar Gorge is actually a sheep as well, but their hatred for me runs too deeply, and I¡¯m the one that forced them to be a wolf. Right now, it¡¯s one wolf leading a flock of sheep to resist me. So, we¡¯ll ughter that lone wolf.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness wishes to take care of Darkstar Gorge?¡± En Ya was astonished by this decision.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, ¡°We must make an example of someone, or else the Outerverse powers will truly think that I, Lu Yin, am actually a benevolent person who doesn¡¯t dare to act against them.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, at this moment, the various great powers have already united. If we rashly act against Darkstar Gorge, then the other powers might take action in the name of self-preservation,¡± Huan Sha reminded him.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t be taking action just because they¡¯re uniting to resist me. I will be acting on behalf of the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders.¡±

    En Ya and Huan Sha could notprehend such a thing. As long as someone did not betray the Human Domain or do some intolerable offence, how would the Hall of Honor act against a specific power?

    He dismissed both En Ya and Huan Sha and activated his gadget. Before long, Elder Lohar¡¯s face appeared on his screen.

    ¡°Junior greets Elder.¡± Lu Yin bowed respectfully.

    Elder Lohar saw that Lu Yin was in a pretty good mood. ¡°Little brat, if you¡¯re suddenly contacting me, you must have something with which you wish to ask for my help.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°How did Elder know?¡±

    Elder Loharughed. ¡°Although the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, my Hall of Honor is not blind. Little brat, let me tell you something¡ªI don¡¯t care if you wish to establish your Great Eastern Alliance. Even if you asionally borrow the Hall of Honor¡¯s name, I still won¡¯t care. But it is impossible for you to request for the Hall of Honor to help you.¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose. ¡°Junior has never underestimated the Hall of Honor¡¯s strength, and I understand Elder¡¯s warning. However, Junior contacted Elder this time not to ask for the Hall of Honor¡¯s help, but rather to make a report.¡±

    ¡°A report?¡± Elder Lohar was puzzled. ¡°A report on whom?¡±

    ¡°Junior must report that Darkstar Gorge has been colluding with the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Lu Yin spoke solemnly.

    Elder Lohar was taken aback. ¡°You im that Darkstar Gorge has colluded with the Neohuman Alliance? Little brat, I¡¯m warning you¡ªeven with your special status, you cannot trespass upon the Hall of Honor¡¯s bottom line. To recklessly frame someone else and use the Hall of Honor to eradicate opposing powers is a very serious crime. If you are guilty, I may very well take away your futon.¡±

    Lu Yin serenely responded, ¡°Junior has not framed the Darkstar Gorge. In the Outerverse Youth Council, there is someone from the Neohuman Alliance who works alongside Councilor Puyu. In the past, Arbiter Wen went to Darkstar Gorge to investigate this matter, but he informed Junior not to release news of this matter. He ascertained that Darkstar Gorge is indeed colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, but he did not act as he wanted to further investigate who else the Neohuman Alliance may be colluding with. Elder can send someone to investigate.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s face grew extremely solemn. ¡°Alright, if this is actually true, you¡¯ll have made a great contribution.¡±

    ¡°Elder, Puyu is at the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s headquarters of East San Dios. This junior is coincidentally already headed there, so please allow this junior to look for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse King. Then, the Hall of Honor can verify this matter.¡±

    Elder Lohar thought about the request. ¡°Very well, but I¡¯ll warn you again: do not even think of nting false evidence. Our Hall of Honor naturally has its own ways to determine the truth. If you attempt to make personal use of the Hall of Honor, then I will take your futon away myself. I will also deduct all your Honor Points and imprison you.¡±

    ¡°Junior understands,¡± Lu Yin replied respectfully.

    The screen went nk, and Lu Yin sighed. He had finally been forced to use the chess piece that was Vulture. In the past, Wen Sansi had not taken any action, but the Hall of Honor definitely would not let off anyone who had a connection to the Neohuman Alliance.

    It was a pity that Lu Yin had to do this now as he had wanted to implicate Liu Shaoge along with Puyu, but it seemed that that would no longer be possible. If that was the case, then he would just take care of them both at the same time!

 Chapter 662: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 662: Taking Action</h4>

    At this moment, San Dios no longer enjoyed the respect that it had in the past. Back then, the Ten Arbiters had supported the Outerverse Youth Council, and due to that backing, the council had been able to conduct trials, deliver rulings, and adjust the educational organizations rted to the younger generation of the various weaves. They had even been able to influence the decisions of certain powers. But ever since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, far fewer people were concerned about the opinions of the Outerverse Youth Council. Just as Lu Yin had predicted, San Dios¡¯s influence became a shadow of its former glory.

    Soon after the regions of the Human Domain were separated, Puyu had lured Wendy Yushan to San Dios in an attempt to seize her secret technique while also dealing with Lu Yin. Puyu¡¯s bait for Wendy had been the various problems that San Dios had encountered. However, it had been impossible to resolve those issues back then, and the same was true for the present.

    ¡°I heard that your Darkstar Gorge has connected with some other forces to deal with the Great Yu Empire. That¡¯s a prettyrge scale.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s voice sounded out from behind Puyu while he was sitting atop the tower and staring at the scenery below, looking to be deep in thought.

    Puyu did not turn around and merely gave an apathetic reply. ¡°All of our methods are done out in the open, and there¡¯s also no opportunity for you to inform Lu Yin of any secrets.¡±

    Liu Shaoge did not mind Puyu¡¯s mocking, and he moved over to stand beside the councilor. ¡°How do you think Lu Yin will deal with you?¡±

    Puyu frowned. ¡°Networking with other organizations is not a part of my responsibilities. Rather, it¡¯s a strategic decision that Darkstar Gorge¡¯s headquarters makes. I don¡¯t have any authority to make such a decision, so why would he deal with me?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, just call it a premonition.¡± Liu Shaoge shrugged.

    Puyu looked at him. ¡°You¡¯repletely detestable.¡±

    Liu Shaoge blinked. ¡°Is that so? But there are people who say that I¡¯m very nice and kind.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his expression turned cold. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my fear of the Daynight n, I would have killed you long ago. You had best stop prancing about in front of me, or else I might not be able to hold myself back in the future.¡±

    At that moment, Vulture approached and respectfully informed Puyu, ¡°My Lord, we can set off now.¡±

    Liu Shaoge was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±

    Puyu did not even reply and simply turned to leave.

    ¡°Leaving is the right decision. ording to my understanding of Lu Yin, you might be the breach that he uses to target Darkstar Gorge, so it¡¯s best to keep your distance from him,¡± Liu Shaoge advised.

    Puyu turned back to stare at Liu Shaoge. ¡°Are you trying to convince me to stay?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m truly encouraging you to leave,¡± Liu Shaoge said with a serious face.

    Puyu¡¯s eyes shed, but he did not reply and quickly left.

    Liu Shaoge watched Puyu¡¯s departing figure, and his eyes flickered. He appeared to have fallen deep into thought.

    Puyu¡¯s spacecraft ascended into space, and Liu Shaoge rxed. This was good. If Puyu stayed alive, then Liu Shaoge would also be fine. But as soon as Puyu died, Liu Shaoge believed that he would also be out of luck based on his understanding of Lu Yin. Lu Yin would not deliver San Dios to a single person, and so, in his mind, it would be best to eradicate the two youths together. As long as Puyu remained alive, he would continue to be useful to Liu Shaoge.

    However, in the very next moment, Liu Shaoge saw a figure appear in the sky that caused him to sigh in dismay. It was already toote.

    Puyu and Vulture were just about to leave in their vessel that had already risen into the sky, but then, a figure suddenly appeared in their path and blocked their spacecraft.

    As he stared at Lu Yin, who was towering before them, Puyu shouted, ¡°Keep going!¡±

    He stepped out of the vessel to confront Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Yin, scram!¡±

    The spacecraft rumbled and continued to fly away from San Dios, but a smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°Councilor Puyu, where are you headed to in such a hurry?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, so get out of the way,¡± Puyu responded coldly as he blocked Lu Yin from approaching the spacecraft.

    The vessel changed directions to fly away from the maind, and at that moment, Lu Yin suddenly moved.

    Puyu became furious. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re going too far!¡± His body turnedpletely metallic as his seven lined battle force appeared. He had absolutely no hesitation in his attack as heshed out at Lu Yin. But Lu Yin just casually waved a hand, redirecting Puyu¡¯s strike towards his own spacecraft and shattering half of it.

    The people inside all fell out, and Lu Yin darted around Puyu to grab Vulture.

    Puyu bellowed in rage and charged at Lu Yin at his top speed. His arm formed a metal de that he then used to sh at Lu Yin. Lu Yin raised his right hand, and his Fatesand manifested as a strange clump of dirt thatpletely blocked Puyu¡¯s attack. The resulting shockwave sted out in all directions with a torrent of wind that swept towards the Prairie me Continent.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s left hand grabbed a hold of Vulture¡¯s arm. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Vulture did not try to resist, and he only shouted, ¡°Lord Puyu, save me!¡±

    Puyu snarled, and his seven lined battle force gradually gained a reddish-purple tinge. His battle force had improved, and once it became eight lined battle force, he might be able to rival the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Unfortunately, in the end he still failed, as he wascking just the smallest amount to reach eight lines.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and his left palm mmed into Vulture¡¯s chest, causing the youth to m into the ground of San Dios. Lu Yin¡¯s right hand collected his Fatesand and then seven lined battle force also shrouded his fist as he mmed it forward.

    Puyu simrly threw out a punch.

    Boom!

    The intense explosion from the impact caused the sky to tremble, and all of San Dios swayed from the force.

    Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, Ah Fan, and all the other youths who had remained at San Dios appeared, all of them staring at the sky in shock. This sudden battle had startled them, and they had just discovered that Lu Yin was actually in the middle of an intense battle with Puyu.

    The two youths were evenly matched in this exchange. Lu Yin possessed a terrifying physical strength, but Puyu had his innate gift of metal. They exchanged multiple blows, but neither one could gain the upper hand.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re insane! I¡¯m a Outerverse Youth Councilor who was personally appointed by the Ten Arbiters. If you dare to move against me, you will receive the punishment of the Ten Arbiters in the future!¡± Puyu bellowed. He had discovered that he could not suppress Lu Yin and that this person was able to match up to him even without any external items boosting his strength. Puyu found this hard to believe, as he was an expert who ranked thirteenth on the Top 100 Rankings, and even Wendy Yushan had been forced to rely on her secret technique to fight against him. How could Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation progress be so fast?

    Lu Yin did not react to the provocation, and he merely struck out with another fist. Puyu¡¯s arm solidified into metal and formed a sharp hook that he then swung at Lu Yin. Everyone watched on with bated breath as the fist and hook drew closer and closer to each other.

    Just as the two were about to collide, Lu Yin waved his left hand. Puyu¡¯s hook missed the fist and shed nothing more than air, though an enormous ck crack had appeared in the void, and to the audience, it looked as if the sky had been torn apart. Puyu¡¯s eyes narrowed. Not good, it¡¯s that secret technique!

    He instinctively wanted to move, but he then felt an intense pain from his chest as an overwhelming feeling of being stifled overtook him. He tasted something sweet in his throat and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. After that, his limp body crashed down into San Dios, leaving a massive crater at the impact zone.

    Yue Xianzi and the others stared at the miserable Puyu at the bottom of the crater in horror, and then they looked back up at Lu Yin, who was standing tall high in the sky with an indifferent expression on his face.

    Atop a tower, Liu Shaoge sighed as the fight had already ended. He did not know what excuse Lu Yin was nning to use to exin his actions, but given his personality, he would absolutely have some way to defend himself. Since Lu Yin had taken action, it meant that he hadpleted all of his preparations. Puyu was done for.

    Lu Yin slowly descended tond beside the crater and then coldly looked down at Puyu.

    Plop!

    Puyu spat out another mouthful of blood as he red at Lu Yin in fury. ¡°Why are you doing this to me? Lu Yin, you¡¯re seeking death! The Ten Arbiters won¡¯t let you off! Darkstar Gorge, Vastdearth Sect, and the other forces in the anti-Great Eastern Weave Alliance will not let you off! Your Great Eastern Weave Alliance is just a joke!¡±

    Lu Yin nced around to check his surroundings, and he quickly noticed Yue Xianzi. Her face went pale, and she dropped her head. He then looked at An Shaohua, who nodded respectfully towards him. Lu Yin next looked over at Ah Fan, who actually bowed. He saw many different people, and after scanning through all of them, he finally looked at the top of the tower and exchanged nces with Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge pulled out a ss of red wine from somewhere and offered Lu Yin a toast from the distance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and an icy glint shed through them. He then finally shifted his focus onto Vulture.

    ¡°It¡¯s already been a few years since ourst meeting, but that battle is still fresh in my memory,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    Vulture looked at the ground and remained silent.

    Puyu frowned. ¡°Lu Yin, what is it that you want?¡±

    Step by step, Lu Yin drew closer to Vulture. Once he was right in front of the youth, he grabbed Vulture¡¯s hair. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? The person who¡¯s been beside you all this time is from the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    At his words, everyone gasped in shock, and they all stared at Vulture.

    Puyu barked, ¡°Lu Yin, stop spouting nonsense! You¡¯re just trying to ruin my reputation.¡±

    ¡°No, see for yourself.¡± Lu Yin grabbed Vulture and forced his head head up. A pair of emotionless eyes entered everyone¡¯s vision. They were eyes that werepletely devoid of blood, and they radiated a gloominess that caused everyone to feel chilled to the bone.

    Puyu stared at Vulture in disbelief, as he had never seen these eyes in hispanion before. He was very familiar with this trusted aide, but this gaze made him feel like aplete stranger.

    ¡°So, back then, you didn¡¯t kill me¡­ all to wait¡­ for this day?¡± Vulture spoke slowly in a voice that soundedpletely different from when he conversed with Puyu.

    He had been no different from any other normal person when he spoke with Puyu, and his tone had been filled with humility and respect. But at this moment, his voice sounded unsteady and also a bit hoarse. He sounded like he had just learned how to use his voice.

    He was a Corpse King from the Neohuman Alliance, and the current Vulture¡¯s eyes had transformed into scarlet eyes with vertical pupils.

    A terrible chill ran along his arm, and a ck icepletely froze Lu Yin.

    With a boom, Vulture whirled around to kick the frozen Lu Yin aside as his scarlet pupils scanned over everyone present. Finally, he looked at Puyu. ¡°Too bad¡­ you¡­ pawn.¡±

    Puyu¡¯s eyes constricted. ¡°A Corpse King?¡±

    There was a thump, and the sturdy ice shattered. Lu Yin lunged towards Vulture once again, and this time, Vulture¡¯s clothes tore apart to reveal firm muscles. He then turned around to throw a punch at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had never underestimated Vulture. Back when they had fought for the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye, Vulture had used nothing more than his physical body to fight against Lu Yin. He had a very powerful body, but Corpse Kings also had the special characteristic of being able to consume energy crystals to create and then further bolster their innate gifts. This person¡¯s ck sturdy ice was strong enough that even Lu Yin had to fear its cold.

    With a thump, the wild wind swept across all of San Dios, and Vulture was blown a hundred meters away by Lu Yin¡¯s punch despite both of his legs being deeply embedded into the ground. Lu Yin¡¯s hand also started to freeze over.

    With a whoosh, Vulture charged forward again, this time with both hands raised. A cold, ck stream of ice covered the sky, and it looked as if Vulture was trying to seal off all of San Dios in his ice. The sky above San Dios turned ck.

    Lu Yin frowned andpletely unsealed all three grains of Fatesand. His eyes widened as his figure suddenly vanished. He then suddenly appeared in front of Vulture after moving at his quickest speed and mmed a powerful punch straight into Vulture¡¯s abdomen. The blow pierced straight through Vulture¡¯s body, and a second, follow-up punch struck off Vulture¡¯s head.

    The flow of ck ice disappeared, but the crowd was still trembling from the scene that they had just witnessed. Vulture hadpletely died, as not even a Corpse King could possibly survive being decapitated.

    Lu Yin clenched his fist. Vulture had not been too strong, and if not for his innate gift of ck ice, it would have been even easier to deal with him, especially since Lu Yin could even deal with Transformed Corpse Kings.

    Of the Neohuman Alliance experts that Lu Yin had encountered so far, those who could not perform a Corpse King Transformation were not able to stand up to Lu Yin at all. Even though the Top 100 Rankings did not include any individuals from the Three Dark Hands, Lu Yin felt certain that, with his current strength, he could be considered as a top-tier talent even if those hidden forces were included. This was despite the fact that he was still just an Explorer.

    Puyu¡¯s face went as pale as possible. Vulture was actually from the Neohuman Alliance, and he had followed Puyu for very long. There was no way to dispute this fact. Puyu¡¯s entire body trembled at this moment, precisely because he understood how the Hall of Honor handled such situations.

 Chapter 663: Puyuâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 663: Puyu¡¯s Death</h4>

    Lu Yin walked over to the crater where Puyuy and calmly said, ¡°What exnation do you have for yourself? I already told Arbiter Wen about this matter before, and he asked me not to spread the news. He¡¯s already confirmed that Darkstar Gorge is colluding with the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Puyu shouted, ¡°This is nder! It¡¯s my own fault that I didn¡¯t realize that Vulture was from the Neohuman Alliance, but this is in no way rted to Darkstar Gorge! If Arbiter Wen had truly discovered any evidence that Darkstar Gorge was colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, he would have already taken action.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think Arbiter Wen didn¡¯t take action himself? He was seeking out more secrets rted to Darkstar Gorge. Puyu, stop trying to defend yourself,¡± Lu Yin coldly reprimanded. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not Wen Sansi had managed to uncover any evidence of Darkstar Gorge colluding with the Neohuman Alliance since the Outerverse was still cut off from the Innerverse. Nobody would be able to prove whether or not Lu Yin¡¯s words were true, and furthermore, Vulture had already been proven to be a Corpse King, and this fact alone was sufficient to verify everything that Lu Yin was iming.

    Puyu grew furious. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t try to deal with Darkstar Gorge by pinning the crime of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance onto us!¡± His battle force burst forth, and it even started turning into a reddish-purple color. Under everyone¡¯s surprised gaze, it stabilized, showing that Puyu had achieved eight lined battle force at this moment.

    After achieving eight lined battle force, Puyu suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Die!¡± He punched at Lu Yin, and his attack was enough to cause space itself to distort, as this was an attack with eight lined battle force.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he dodged the attack with the Secret Sidestep Technique. Before anything else could happen, the sky split apart, and a middle aged man walked out. He seized Puyu¡¯s arm, and his terrifying amount of star energy caused Puyu to copse and even his battle force disintegrated. This person was an Enlighter realm powerhouse.

    Nobody had expected an Enlighter to suddenly appear.

    Only Lu Yin had known that this person wasing, as he was the expert who the Hall of Honor had sent over as a witness. Elder Lohar had told Lu Yin that he would send someone over, and he had arrived during Lu Yin¡¯s fight against Puyu. There was no way to hide this man¡¯s rune lines when they were this many.

    The Enlighter easily defeated and restrained Puyu, leaving the youth unable to retaliate in any way. This was due to the difference between their realms, and this was also the reason why Lu Yin¡¯s record was so impressive, as he had actually killed an Enlighter.

    Enlighters were cultivators who could influence the entire Outerverse. Even the top ten in the Top 100 Rankings weren¡¯t able to defeat an Enlighter, let alone someone like Puyu. Out of the entire younger generation, it was likely that only the Ten Arbiters were capable of defeating an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reputation had been built by his victories over Enlighters, and this was precisely why he was despised by so many Enlighters.

    After the Enlighter captured Puyu, Lu Yin casually waved his hand and caused the eight lined battle force attack that Puyu had unleashed against Lu Yin to disappear andnd on the incapacitated councilor instead. He was being restrained by the Enlighter, and his battle force had dissipated, and so his body waspletely unable to withstand his own attack. His organs shattered, and he spat out a mouthful of blood along with some of his innards. His body went limp except for a sporadic convulsion.

    Even the Enlighter powerhouse wasn¡¯t able to respond to Lu Yin¡¯s sudden attack against Puyu due to the secret technique that Lu Yin had used.

    It was difficult for even Enlighter powerhouses to dodge attacks that were employed through secret techniques, and this was how Lu Yin had remained certain that he could threaten an Enlighter.

    The middle aged man released his hand, and Puyu continued convulsing even after crumpling to the floor. Even Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t want to try defending against an attack with eight lined battle force without any support, let alone a person with a weaker physique such as Puyu.

    After watching Puyu suffer for a moment, the middle aged Enlighter slowly turned around to look at Lu Yin. ¡°He had already been restrained. There was no need for you to attack him.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°That was my fault. His attack threatened my life, and so, I retaliated reflexively. I¡¯m sorry, Senior.¡±

    The middle aged man looked closely at Lu Yin. If Puyu died, he would be an aplice as well. Puyu wouldn¡¯t have been forced into his current state and would have been able to defend against the attack if the Enlighter hadn¡¯t dispersed his eight lined battle force. ¡°You are truly aggressive and ruthless, just like the rumors.¡±

    Lu Yin could detect the man¡¯s dissatisfaction and helplessly said, ¡°Senior, when I was still a Sentinel, this person humiliated me and even encouraged someone to steal my fianc¨¦e away from me. If I hadn¡¯t taken prompt action, my reputation would have been destroyed back then. This person has moved against me countless times. You can verify that to be true, Senior.¡±

    After listening to Lu Yin¡¯s words, the middle aged man was shocked. ¡°No wonder.¡±

    His gaze then softened. ¡°In that case, don¡¯t worry about it and leave him be. He¡¯s nothing more than a traitor who¡¯s worked with the Neohuman Alliance. You¡¯ve done a good job, as anyone who cooperates with the Neohuman Alliance must be removed.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Senior, I will definitely help with the investigation of Darkstar Gorge,¡± Lu Yin said respectfully.

    The middle aged man¡¯s gaze suddenly turned cold. ¡°Investigation? There¡¯s no need for you to do such a thing. The Hall of Honor has its own methods.¡± And with that, he disappeared into the sky.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Darkstar Gorge was doomed now. Previously, when Elder Lohar had learned that the people from the Shenwu Empire had been working with the Neohuman Alliance, his initial reaction had been to destroy the entire Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin knew quite clearly how the Hall of Honor would act and that Darkstar Gorge wouldn''t be given a chance to defend themselves, which was precisely why he wasn¡¯t worried.

    Lu Yin walked over to Puyu and bent down to look at him.

    Puyu¡¯s eyes were filled with blood, and he was convulsing on the ground. There was blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth, and everything about him looked pitiful.

    ¡°Bazeer humiliated me on your order back at Zenyu Star. I¡¯ve already dealt with him, so now, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Lu Yin coldly told him.

    Puyu spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Lu Yin with a vengeful expression. ¡°Yo- you- you already knew that he was a Corpse King! You¡¯ve ndered me! You¡¯ll die a horrible death! You¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡±

    ¡°Back then, you were so much more powerful than me that all it took was a single order from you to cause Bazeer to humiliate me and make my life miserable. Why didn¡¯t you think about what would eventually happen to you back then? It¡¯s your own fault that you ended up like this.¡± Lu Yin then continued, saying, ¡°Besides, Darkstar Gorge doesn¡¯t have to exist anymore since they wanted to oppose me. They want to stop the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance? What a joke.¡±

    Puyu screamed desperately. He then spat out a mouthful of ck blood and died.

    Lu Yin stood up, and his expression becameplicated. Puyu had been one of his greatest enemies throughout his cultivation journey. When Bazeer had shown up on Zenyu Star, it had already been set in stone that only one of them could survive in the end. Six years had passed since then, but the matter was finally over.

    Actually, Puyu wasn¡¯t even Lu Yin¡¯s greatest enemy. His true greatest enemy was one of the Ten Arbiters, or possibly even a few of them. His enemy was the person who had given the order that had led to the loss of seventy two lives just because of their surname. Beyond that, Lu Yin also had also Nightking Qingyu, who had triggered the apocalypse on Earth and caused the to fall into a dire situation. There was also Old Gu De who had dyed their passage when they had tried to cross the Astral River. Then there was the Xun family from the Innerverse and many more. Lu Yin would collect his debts from every single person who had ever wronged him.

    Puyu¡¯s death meant that East San Dios now had a huge problem as there were only two councilors left in this half of the Outerverse Youth Council: namely, Liu Shaoge and Wendy Yushan. Since Wendy Yushan stayed at the Great Yu Empire most of the time, Liu Shaoge was essentially the only person left in a position of authority.

    Barley approached Lu Yin and respectfully said, ¡°Representative Lu, Bazeer hasmitted suicide.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head, but he didn¡¯t ask any questions. ¡°What has Liu Shaoge been up totely?¡±

    ¡°Nothing special. San Dios doesn¡¯t have much influence over the Outerverse powers anymore, so he really hasn¡¯t been doing much of anything,¡± Barley answered in a respectful tone.

    Lu Yin nced at the tower and locked eyes with Liu Shaoge. Lu Yin¡¯s body then shed as he disappeared.

    Yue Xianzi and the others stared at Puyu¡¯s corpse, which was still on the ground. He had been ranked thirteenth on the Top 100 Rankings, but he had still died such a tragic death. Lu Yin was a truly scary person.

    Inside the tower, Liu Shaoge retrieved a bottle of wine from his cosmic ring and poured out two sses.

    Lu Yin soon appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, congrattions on eliminating your enemy.¡± Liu Shaoge passed one of the sses of wine to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the offered ss. ¡°I¡¯ve tried this once before on Earth. It¡¯s quite good.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re both from Earth, so we should help each other out, no?¡± Liu Shaoge took a sip with a smile.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°We are on two different paths. I don¡¯t care about where youe from¡ªI only care about who my enemy is.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, do you believe that I¡¯m your enemy or your friend?¡± Liu Shaoge set his ss down as he questioned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin set his ss down as well. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°It feels as though Brother Lu is unfriendly towards me,¡± Liu Shaoge replied.

    Lu Yin nced at Liu Shaoge. ¡°You¡¯re a smart person, so do you have anyst words? I can help you deliver your words to Earth. Oh, right. I can also make sure that you¡¯re buried on Earth.¡±

    Liu Shaogeughed and stared off into the distance. He then raised a hand with his palm facing downwards, moving as if his hand could grasp the entire world. ¡°Do you remember that I once asked you a question when you first arrived at San Dios? I want to ask you that same question once again: what do you see, Brother Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    Liu Shaoge sighed. ¡°It would seem that Brother Lu¡¯s heart is still not big enough to forgive people.¡±

    ¡°Well, it depends on the person. There¡¯s no point in forgiving someone who betrayed Earth as well as his own people,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    ¡°What if I can help you with more matters? For example, the Daynight n.¡± Liu Shaoge turned to look at Lu Yin with a heated gaze.

    Lu Yin was intrigued by this offer. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Liu Shaoge smirked. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t you think that it would be good if you had a spy inside of the Daynight n? The Innerverse and Outerverse will not remain separated for long, and what you have done in the Outerverse definitely won¡¯t be epted by the Innerverse¡¯s major forces. You have already interfered with their profits, especially with the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance. You¡¯re trying to help the Outerverse ovee the suppression of the Innerverse, but you¡¯re ying a dangerous game.¡±

    ¡°I just want to unite the Outerverse so that it can defend itself against enemies.¡±

    ¡°Your enemy is the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°For now, maybe. But what about in the future? A united Outerverse is not something that the Innerverse will tolerate. Brother Lu, you will inevitably end up opposing the Innerverse, and as long as I am the representative of the Daynight n within the Outerverse Youth Council, Arbiter Zhenwu will trust me. Don¡¯t you think that I can help you with many different matters?¡±

    ¡°For example?¡± Lu Yin looked at him.

    Liu Shaoge didn¡¯t answer and merely smiled. He was too careful and would never say certain things aloud.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Shaoge. ¡°It¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll be able to help me in the future, but it¡¯s also certain that you¡¯ll cause me a great deal of trouble. You¡¯re like a venomous snake, capable of hurting both me and my enemies.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, you could try to tame me,¡± Liu Shaoge replied.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°What you¡¯ve said so far has already proven that you¡¯re not confident in being able to escape. Now that the Outerverse is cut off from the Innerverse, you no longer have Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s support, which means that you¡¯re nothing more than an ant to me. I can just send you back to Earth, where I¡¯ll find a good ce to bury you.¡±

 Chapter 664: Liu Shaogeâ€™s Ability

    <h4>Chapter 664: Liu Shaoge¡¯s Ability</h4>

    Liu Shaoge helplessly leaned against the wall as he looked down at Puyu¡¯s corpse below the tower. ¡°Toote by a single step. As soon as the so-called anti-Great Eastern Alliance appeared, I should have urged Puyu to leave. If he hadn¡¯t died, I wouldn¡¯t have had to die either.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand. ¡°You are very astute.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more than that.¡± Liu Shaoge¡¯s lips curled upwards as he raised his gadget. "Brother Lu, take a look at this.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over, and his expression instantly changed. ¡°Six Honor Points? How did you get them?¡± He was truly astonished, as his Honor Points had note easily. He had obtained his first point from his contributions to the battle at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront and the second one from winning the Tournament of the Strongest. Four more had been earned during the life and death battles of Ironblood Weave, and his final five had been given due to his qualification to enter the Daosource Sect. Elder Lohar had made an exception to give Lu Yin so many points, but each and every single one of his Honor Points hade to him after great effort. What had Liu Shaoge done to gain six?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to expose this at first, but Brother Lu has revealed his killing intent, and it wouldn¡¯t do for me not to reveal them.¡± Liu Shaoge obviously felt that it was a pity to reveal his points.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Shaoge. ¡°Even if you have six Honor Points, I will still kill you without question.¡±

    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t Brother Lu afraid of the Hall of Honor?¡± Liu Shaoge challenged.

    Lu Yin was about to speak when his heart suddenly trembled. ¡°The Hall of Honor is the supreme master of the Human Domain, and it maintains the bnce within the Human Domain. It will not interfere in the struggles between the various powers and will only act to safeguard the lives of those who have at least eleven Honor Points. Six points is not enough for the Hall of Honor to take action.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°The circumstances are currently different. Since the Innerverse and Outerverse are separated, to the Hall of Honor, anybody who has Honor Points should be protected. Brother Lu, you can¡¯t be considering opposing the Hall of Honor, right?¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly said, ¡°I have great respect for the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Brother Lu, you are very smart,¡± Liu Shaogeughed. Beside him, a figure stepped out of the void. It was the Enlighter who had left earlier.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Greetings, Senior.¡±

    The middle-aged man grunted as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Liu Shaoge is right. The current circumstances of the Outerverse have be different. Six Honor Points are enough to show that he has made contributions to the Human Domain. Little brother, let him go on behalf of my Hall of Honor.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Since Senior has spoken, this junior will naturallyply.¡±

    The middle-aged man smiled and nodded. He then looked at Liu Shaoge and his expression turned cold. ¡°The Hall of Honor is not something for you to make use of. As punishment, one of your Honor Points will be deducted.¡±

    Liu Shaoge replied immediately and respectfully, ¡°Yes, this junior will ept Senior¡¯s punishment.¡±

    The middle-aged man nced at the two of them once more before leaving.

    After his departure, Lu Yin and Liu Shaoge stared at one another for a moment, and then theyughed together.

    Lu Yin was amused by Liu Shaoge¡¯s intelligence, as well as his quick reactions. Liu Shaoge¡¯s words had been aimed to provoke Lu Yin into saying something critical of the Hall of Honor, which would cause the hall to be dissatisfied with him. Fortunately, Lu Yin had reacted just as fast; when he saw the majestic rune lines appear, he had immediately changed tact and used words filled with respect for the Hall of Honor. Otherwise, even if that Enlighter had no authority to punish Lu Yin, such behavior definitely would have sowed seeds of dissatisfaction in his heart.

    Liu Shaoge was very intelligent, as he had used the Honor Points to both protect himself and also plot against Lu Yin at the same time.

    This was also why that Enlighter had punished Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge kept smiling at how he had managed to preserve his life. "Brother Lu, you must be disappointed.¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°There¡¯ll be more opportunities in the future. We can consider this time a draw.¡±

    Liu Shaoge marvelled at hispanion. "Brother Lu¡¯s truly smart. I will have to be exceptionally careful when dealing with Brother Lu in the future.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to pay attention. Next time, it won¡¯t be so easy for you to escape death.¡± Lu Yin waved a hand and turned to leave the tower.

    "Brother Lu, my words are still valid, so think about it. You will definitely require some helpers if you intend to be enemies with the Innerverse.¡± Liu Shaogeughed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. Enemies with the Innerverse? Right now, the Innerverse is probably fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. By the time the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnect, who knows which of those Innerverse organizations will still exist.

    Lu Yin had experienced Liu Shaoge¡¯s methods several times, and so, he did not find it too surprising that the man had managed to escape death this time. Lu Yin had actually thought that Liu Shaoge would escape or something simr, but he never imagined that the other Earthling would have also received the Hall of Honor¡¯s protection, or that he would try to drag Lu Yin down with him.

    Liu Shaoge had captured Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s attention with his status as an Earthling, and he had even been chosen to represent the Daynight n as a Outerverse Youth Councilor, which was something that even the descendants of various great powers from the Innerverse could not achieve, and yet, Liu Shaoge had managed to do it. This made Lu Yin even more cautious of the man.

    Despite being unable to kill Liu Shaoge this time, Lu Yin publicly announced that East San Dios would be sealed off with his status as a substitute councilor, which temporarily stopped the exchanges between the Outerverse Youth Council and the various weaves of the Outerverse.

    The moment the Innerverse and Outerverse became separated, East San Dios had lost almost all of its importance. Still, Lu Yin¡¯s decision affected quite a few of the Outerverse powers.

    Liu Shaoge did not show much of a reaction to the announcement, and nobody knew what he was actually thinking.

    Those like Yue Xianzi sought out Lu Yin.

    "Brother Lu, if you seal off East San Dios, what¡¯s going to happen to us?¡± Yue Xianzi asked.

    Lu Yin smiled at her. ¡°Come back with me to the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°You want us to be your underlings?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You can treat the Great Yu Empire as the Outerverse Youth Council. Just act like I¡¯m still a representative and like you guys are all my subordinates.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± An Shaohua was the first to agree. He had alreadymitted himself to casting his lot in with Lu Yin back in Ironblood Weave, though he had not been able to meet with Lu Yin due to various mishaps. Thus, this time, he wanted to cling to Lu Yin¡¯s thighs.

    Ah Fan naturally agreed as well, as Lu Yin had been the one who had sent him to East San Dios in the first ce.

    Barley also agreed, but Lu Yin did not take him away. ¡°If you also leave, who¡¯s going to take care of San Dios?¡±

    Barley was puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t San Dios sealed?¡¯

    Lu Yin looked at the tower. ¡°I have the authority to seal San Dios, but Liu Shaoge is an actual councilor, and he has the authority to reopen San Dios whenever he wishes. I need you to remain here and keep an eye on him.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Barley replied.

    Yue Xianzi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°If we go back to the Great Yu Empire with you, what sort of positions will you arrange for us?¡±

    Lu Yin had not considered this question, as sealing San Dios had been an unnned decision.

    He looked at Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, and the others, and as he did so, he discovered that they had all be Explorers. Of special note were Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua, as he could see an enormous number of rune lines from them that surpassed what he saw on most Cruisers. It was clear to him that they were both Realmbreaker Explorers. One was the young sect leader of the Frostmoon Sect while the other was the young master of Watermoon Vi, so their personal talent and capabilities were certainly not simple.

    ¡°Come back with me to the Great Yu Empire and join the First Squadron. I¡¯m the captain.¡±

    Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua exchanged nces, and they both quickly agreed without much further consideration, as staying behind in San Dios was not of much use to either of them.

    ¡°There¡¯s still me! There¡¯s still me!¡± Zhao Ran frantically ran over from nearby, and she stared at Lu Yin emotionally, but then, she suddenly fell down with a thump. When she stood up, she seemed confused. ¡°Where am I?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he now recalled that this girl who kept losing her memory was here as well. He had sympathized with her due to her affliction and taken her to San Dios.

    Lu Yin walked in front of Zhao Ran and crouched down to look at her in amusement.

    Zhao Ran also looked back at Lu Yin, and herrge eyes blinked at him in a cute manner.

    Lu Yin pointed at the pendant hanging from her ne on her chest. Wendy Yushan had mentioned this to him before. Zhao Ran had saved some of her memories inside of the pendant¡¯s chip that hung on her ne. There was also a piece of paper inside the pendant where she had written down some of her memories.

    Zhao Ran nced at the paper. ¡°Ah! I remember now¡ªyou¡¯re a good person!¡±

    Lu Yin helped her stand up. ¡°What were you just trying to say?¡±

    Zhao Ran waspletely lost. ¡°What?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°Never mind. How about I take you with me to my home?¡±

    ¡°Good person, wherever you go, I¡¯ll follow. I¡¯m just Rotten Trash, and I often lose my memory.¡± Zhao Ran spoke in embarrassment.

    This girl waspletely pitiful, much like an abandoned cat. Lu Yin decided to either settle her down in King Zishan''s pce or send her over to the Princess¡¯s residence.

    He headed out from San Dios, this time traveling with a bit of luggage.

    When Lu Yin arrived at Zenyu Star, Elder Lohar sent him a message saying that he had not been able to find any evidence of Darkstar Gorge colluding with the Neohuman Alliance. Then, he reprimanded Lu Yin for being too heavy-handed. He also mentioned that Lu Yin should have captured Puyu for interrogation.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. Captured for interrogating? That was impossible, as everyone could see that Darkstar Gorge most likely had not colluded with the Neohuman Alliance, as Puyu would not have been foolish enough to keep a Corpse King like Vulture next to him if that were the case. This was also one of the reasons why Wen Sansi had not acted before, but the Hall of Honor was different. To them, anyone who had even a trace of a connection with the Neohuman Alliance¡ªeven the slightest of traces¡ªwould have to bepletely eradicated, unless the person was someone truly important.

    Shenwu Continent had been seen in this way, and Darkstar Gorge was no different . Elder Lohar was just reprimanding Lu Yin for being too quick to act, but it was nothing more than that.

    As for Darkstar Gorge, it no longer existed.

    The moment Vulture had revealed his true identity, Darkstar Gorge had already been sentenced to death.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s methods were so harsh that people would tremble just at the thought of them. Lu Yin stared at the night sky and contemted his situation. He currently held value to the Hall of Honor, and so, they would protect and be partial towards him. If, one day, his value to them disappeared, then considering the Hall of Honor¡¯s methods, they would not even hesitate for a moment to erase him. They would not even stop there, as they would include the Great Yu Empire and everyone who could be implicated in any way to him as well.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s methods of aplishing their goals were a hundred times more ruthless than anything that Lu Yin would ever consider. They were the undisputed master of the Human Domain, and while they did not usually act, as soon as they made a move, that was the end.

    In the eyes of the Hall of Honor, Darkstar Gorge was not even worth considering, and neither was the Great Yu Empire.

    The Neohuman Alliance represented darkness while the Hall of Honor represented light. However, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, both organizations were fundamentally the same, as they both had the power to seize and kill.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a hint of urgency that came from both the Sixth Maind as well as the Hall of Honor.

    ***

    In the main hall of the Vastdearth Sect, many elders were holding an intent discussion. Sect Leader Meng Tianlong was not present, as he had returned to visit the sealed area within the sect, though he still had not received any reply from the Elder. The sect elders did not hold much hope towards their ancestor.

    When Meng Tianlong returned to the sect headquarters, the crowd of elders had already gone silent, and none of them were speaking.

    ¡°It seems that the elders gathered here have made a decision. Tell me,¡± Meng Tianlong spoke solemnly as he nced around the hall at all of the elders before his eyes finally settled on Elder Angio.

    Elder Angio coughed once and then sighed. ¡°Leader, we elders have unanimously agreed that we should join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Meng Tianlong did not find this decision unexpected. News of Darkstar Gorge being destroyed had spread to the sect the day before yesterday; the strongest power of Adonis Weave had been extinguished that easily. Lu Yin had even personally killed the youth ranked thirteenth on the Top 100 Rankings: Councilor Puyu of the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Everyone had heard of Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, and his battle record was the fundamental reason behind the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s hesitation. As for his personal strength, they had no concept of it whatsoever before, but now, they were starting to understand him better.

 Chapter 665: Initial Establishment Of The Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 665: Initial Establishment Of The Alliance</h4>

    Darkstar Gorge had recently organized some of the other Outerverse powers to resist the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance, but the great power itself had been plucked off just like that. Although its destruction was carried out by the Hall of Honor, it had still been a result of Lu Yin¡¯s actions. Darkstar Gorge had been an enormous power that had existed for countless years, but one youth¡¯s actions had exterminated like a lightning strike from the blue. This sudden change hadpletely terrified the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s elders, and it wasn¡¯t just them who were intimidated. In fact, all of the allied forces that had been led by Darkstar Gorge were scared.

    Nobody knew who Lu Yin¡¯s next target might be. Since the Innerverse and Outerverse were currently separated, the Outerverse was responsible for its own order and governing. At this moment, Lu Yin was the person who was determining the overall order of things.

    ¡°Since the gathered elders have all agreed, I as the sect master will not oppose this decision. As such, our Vastdearth Sect will confirm our participation in the Great Eastern Alliance,¡± Meng Tianlong said.

    The various elders revealed ugly expressions. Some looked bitter while others appeared helpless.

    Bard Weave was rather close to Darkmist Weave, and it also bordered the Astral River. Additionally, it had 103 fments and was not too far away from Frostwave Weave.

    Evenground Pce was the strongest power within Bard Weave. Back when Lu Yin had first returned to the Great Yu Empire after participating in the Outerverse¡¯s trial, the Great Yu Empire had faced the Ross Empire¡¯s aggression. At that time, Lu Yin had used the promise that he had received from Evenground Pce¡¯s Young Mistress Doro to have Evenground Pce speak out in defense of the Great Yu Empire, which had allowed the empire to resist the Ross Empire¡¯s attack. Also, that had not been the only instance where Evenground Pce had had contact with the Great Yu Empire.

    Young Mistress Doro had also reached out to Lu Yin once before.

    At first, when the Great Yu Empire had expressed its desire to establish the Great Eastern Alliance, Evenground Pce had not agreed to join the alliance. What¡¯s more, it had even conveniently followed along under the leadership of Darkstar Gorge to oppose the creation of the Great Eastern Alliance. Nobody had expected that Darkstar Gorge would be extinguished in the blink of an eye, and the members of Evenground Pce were now all acting frantic.

    ¡°Mistress, please make a final decision as soon as possible.¡± More than ten women were seated in the main hall of Evenground Pce. Evenground Pce had some simrities to the Innerverse¡¯s Frostmoon Sect, but there was a key difference: the Frostmoon Sect exclusively epted women whereas Evenground Pce merely had an overwhelming majority of females, though there were also a few men present. Still, both the sect¡¯s leader and heir were female.

    Evenground Pce Mistress Mu Nichang was beautiful, and her expression remained calm and cool even in these difficult circumstances, giving off the impression that she considered herself to be above themon popce. ¡°Send Doro in.¡±

    The more than ten elders present exchanged nces.

    ¡°Mistress, Doro may be the Young Mistress, but she is not yet qualified to participate in such discussions,¡± one elder said.

    Mu Nichang replied, ¡°Doro has been in touch with Lu Yin before.¡±

    The other elders no longer opposed her request.

    Soon after, Doro stepped into the hall. Lu Yin had met this girl once before, but she had not left a deep impression on him. They had met back at the Tower of Resonating Light, but too many trial takers had been trapped there, and although she was indeed one of the people who Lu Yin had saved, she had merely been one of the crowd, and her appearance was not one that had stood out.

    ¡°Doro, tell us your impressions of Lu Yin,¡± Mu Nichang said calmly.

    All of the elders looked over at Doro.

    Doro respectfully answered, ¡°Your disciple has been in contact with Lu Yin only once, but just that gave me a deep impression of him. To describe him in one sentence¡­¡± She paused for a moment to consider her answer before continuing. ¡°He is someone who will act only for his own benefits.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± one elder asked.

    Doro exined her thoughts, saying, ¡°This person ces his personal gains above all else. Back at the Tower of Resonating Light, an entire group of trial takers was trapped, but Lu Yin made everyone sign promissory notes before he agreed to rescue us. Your disciple believes that if the group back then had been unwilling to sign those notes, he definitely would not have saved us.¡±

    ¡°Any other thoughts?¡± Mu Nichang asked.

    Doro thought for another moment and then replied, ¡°He acts ruthlessly, and while he is extraordinarily talented, he is a bitwless.¡±

    The crowd of elders fell silent, as this description matched up with their understanding of Lu Yin. If not for his extraordinarily high talent, then how could he have be the strongest Limiteer in the universe who couldpletely crush all his peers in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. If not for his ruthless behavior, then how would he dare to kill Enlighters? If he was notwless and out of control, then why would he try to establish the Great Eastern Alliance?

    From their perspectives, Lu Yin was someone who possessed extraordinary talent, but at the same time, was a mad junior who had ruthless methods. It just so happened that this insane person possessed an ability that resonated with his ambition, which was most distressing.

    ¡°Alright, you may leave,¡± Mu Nichang said.

    Doro respectfully withdrew from the hall.

    ¡°Elders, any thoughts?¡± Mu Nichang asked.

    The person to the sect master¡¯s immediate left was an elder called Meiya. ¡°Mistress, Darkstar Gorge has been destroyed, and I do not wish for our Evenground Pce to follow in their footsteps.¡±

    ¡°Elder Meiya, that¡¯s a bit exaggerated. Darkstar Gorge was destroyed because Puyu cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance. Our Evenground Pce does not have any such associations with the Neohuman Alliance,¡± an elder countered.

    Elder Meiya sneered. ¡°Puyu cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance? Let me ask everyone here: who seriously believes that?¡±

    The crowd of elders exchanged nces, and everyone helplessly shook their heads. Nobody believed such a thing, and the Hall of Honor also had not found any evidence to support the allegations that Darkstar Gorge had colluded with the Neohuman Alliance. Even still, Darkstar Gorge had beenpletely eliminated.

    ¡°From what I know, Lu Yin made contact with that Corpse King called Vulture in the past, and that was even a few years ago. Everyone, Lu Yin already knew that Vulture was a Corpse King many years ago, but he never exposed him. This person¡¯s schemes are deep beyond measure, and he was able to use just Vulture to destroy all of Darkstar Gorge. Nobody knows if he has simr chess pieces nted in other organizations that will allow him to topple an entire force,¡± Elder Meiya said.

    After they heard these words, the rest of the crowd felt a chill run down their spines.

    Mu Nichang¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Does that mean that Elder Meiya favors joining the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I agree,¡± Elder Meiya said gloomily.

    Mu Nichang turned to the others. ¡°What about the other elders?¡±

    The other elders looked at each other and then also replied helplessly, ¡°Agreed,¡±

    ¡°Agreed¡­¡±

    Nobody opposed the suggestion, as the more they came to understand Lu Yin, the more afraid they became of him. This person could not be measured by the standards they normally used for other juniors, as he was a genius who transcended time.

    ¡°Very well, since all of the elders have agreed that we should join the alliance, then as the Sect Mistress, I hereby formally announce that Evenground Pce will join the Great Eastern Alliance. Send someone to immediately contact the Great Yu Empire,¡± Mu Nichang dered.

    ***

    In xen Weave, the strongest power there was the Tri-Banner Federation. The weave bordered the Lars Weave and was situated to its west.

    When the news of Darkstar Gorge being destroyed spread to the xen Weave, the former chairman of the Tri-Banner Federation, Gibu, gathered a group of people and approached the area where the people from Northline Flowzone were staying. They then requested to have an audience with the person in charge of Northline Flowzone¡¯s matters in the weave. However, as soon as they arrived, they were informed that everyone from Northline Flowzone had left and that they had also taken the Tri-Banner Federation¡¯s star crystals, star essence, and many other resources with them.

    Many members of the Tri-Banner Federation angrily condemned the people of the Northline Flowzone, but they also did not dare to give chase. Despite everything, Northline Flowzone was an Innerverse power, and they also had Granny Chan with them, who was an Enlighter. The people of the Tri-Banner Federation would not dare to make enemies with such a group even if they borrowed courage from someone else.

    ¡°Chairman Gibu, since Northline Flowzone¡¯s people have all left, our Tri-Banner Federation hopes that you will reassume the position of chairman and negotiate with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Lord Gibu, please start negotiations with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡­

    Gibu looked at the crowd with satisfaction and smiled. ¡°Everyone, the Northline Flowzone¡¯s people have all left, and our Tri-Banner Federation has now regained its freedom, which means that everything is once again democratic. Since everyone wishes for me, Gibu, to negotiate with the Great Yu Empire, then we will first need to vote on our federation¡¯s position. Are we going to join the Great Eastern Alliance or not?¡±

    The gathered members did not hesitate at all. ¡°Yes, we will definitely join them.¡±

    ¡°Definitely.¡±

    ¡°We will join.¡±

    Compared to the other powers such as Evenground Pce or the Vastdearth Sect, the Tri-Banner Federation was much more rxed, and the members did not really ce much importance on concepts like honor or shame. After all, they all came from different ces and had only gathered together, so their sense of belonging to the federation was not as strong as what sect members would feel. Surviving was more important than anything else to these people.

    Darkstar Gorge had been wiped out, and these people did not want to follow in their footsteps.

    Gibu acknowledged their words, which made things too easy for him. He had long since made contact with the Great Yu Empire¡¯s people as his own secrets were held by the Great Yu Empire. Although it was a cooperation born from intimidation, as long as he was able to convince the Tri-Banner Federation to join the alliance, the position of the Tri-Banner Federation Chairman would continue to belong to him. This had been personally promised by the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, and Gibu could already see himself sitting back in the seat of the chairman and the associated scene.

    ***

    On the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star, within King Zishan''s pce, En Ya urgently sought an audience with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had been in the middle of a discussion with Yue Xianzi. He had originally intended to have this woman teach lessons to the empire¡¯s elites at the Yu Academy, but she waspletely unwilling, as she looked down on the Great Yu Empire¡¯s ¡°elites.¡±

    This was not the first time such a matter had urred, as even Wendy Yushan looked down upon the youths in the Yu Academy. It was very normal for the heirs of the Innerverse¡¯s organizations to have such attitudes, but it still left Lu Yin unhappy. From his perspective, this woman still had not fixed her attitude.

    ¡°Have you forgotten that the Innerverse and Outerverse are separated and that you can only stay in the Great Yu Empire for now?¡± Lu Yin said solemnly.

    Yue Xianzi snorted, still as arrogant as a peacock. ¡°When my sect ordered me to go to San Dios and look for you, it was only done to maintain rtions between us. Don¡¯t think that I am actually forced to rely on you.¡±

    ¡°You sect is gone, gone forever. You¡¯re just another independent cultivator now.¡± Lu Yin was not in a good mood.

    Yue Xianzi raised her head high. ¡°Our Frostmoon Sect has roots in the Outerverse. I¡¯m no independent cultivator.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s head ached.

    Kayze saw that En Ya had arrived, and he was about to speak when he suddenly heard Lu Yin¡¯s words in his ear. He gestured for En Ya to enter the pce.

    En Ya hurriedly entered King Zishan''s pce and spoke to Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, good news! The Vastdearth Sect, Evenground Pce, Tri-Banner Federation, and other various powers, both great and small, have all contacted the empire at the same time. They have each indicated their willingness to join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡±

    En Ya smiled. ¡°Your Highness indeed has his ways. You were right¡ªthese powers are just sheep. Once we took care of the wolf leading them, the rest fell into line to be ughtered.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Not anymore. Now, we are the wolves, and we won¡¯t ughter them, haha!¡±

    ¡°Your Highness is right.¡± En Ya smiled, and her emotions turned a bitplicated as she looked at Lu Yin at this moment. She could see Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s shadow on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Did they all contact the Empire at the same time?¡± Lu Yin changed topics.

    En Ya nodded. ¡°Yes, almost at the exact same time.¡±

    ¡°Could that actually be a coincidence?¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    ¡°These powers must have contacted each other first, which led to this timing,¡± En Ya replied.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Think of a way to break them apart. I do not wish to have an alliance within our alliance.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± En Ya acknowledged his orders.

    ¡°Also, since they¡¯ve joined the Great Eastern Alliance, get them to send a list of all the resources that are within their weaves. Send a copy of the list to Ban Jiu to find out what can be used. Of course, our Frostwave Weave¡¯s list of resources must be sent to the other parties as well,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yue Xianzi rolled her eyes. These two had just mentioned they would not ughter the other powers, but they were already discussing breaking them apart and getting lists of their resources. If this was not ughtering them, then was there really a need for such urgency?

    ¡°Yes. May I ask, Your Highness, when will the Alliance Conference begin?¡± En Ya asked.

    Lu Yin muttered, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    En Ya hesitated as she looked over at Yue Xianzi.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, she¡¯s just an independent cultivator.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not an independent cultivator!¡± Yue Xianzi retorted.

 Chapter 666: Geniuses From Earth

    <h4>Chapter 666: Geniuses From Earth</h4>

    En Ya said to Lu Yin, ¡°Your Highness, although we can immediately establish the alliance, most of the current parties were forced to join, and they currently treat you more like an enemy than as an ally. They will definitely try to suppress Your Highness through their power or possibly even their economy, resources, and talent as well.

    ¡°Given Your Highness¡¯s personal power, they can only see you as invincible. Thus, they will try to render you unable to interfere with things, most likely by pressuring the Great Yu Empire with other methods. Once the empire faces enough outside pressure, we will be forced into a lower position within the alliance, and that will also lead to your authority being challenged.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Their current situation was very simr to the anti-Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s, where a suppressed party was trying to lead all the other forces. These situations were very difficult to handle, and despite how strong Lu Yin had be, it still wasn¡¯t realistic for him to try to control the entire alliance all on his own.

    Furthermore, he couldn¡¯t continue to perpetually monitor the alliance as the whole purpose behind creating the alliance was for it to serve him.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that the empire has to be prepared first,¡± Lu Yin said.

    En Ya nodded. ¡°We won¡¯t have to worry about most of the oing pressure towards the empire. For example, the Nn family will support our economy, and we are alreadyparable to the other weaves in other aspects as well. Currently, the most serious problem facing us is that some of the forces might collude in certain aspects to suppress the empire. Although this won¡¯t be enough to stop Your Highness from bing the leader of the alliance, such a thing will still end up giving them an advantage in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before replying, ¡°I understand. You can head out for now, and I¡¯ll think about this.¡±

    En Ya agreed and left.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve already encountered some problems. It¡¯s hard to form an alliance, and it¡¯s even harder to deal with the problems that will arise after forming one,¡± Yue Xianzimented arrogantly.

    Lu Yin became annoyed with her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Where to?¡± Yue Xianzi asked.

    Lu Yin raised his head. ¡°We¡¯ll go and take a look at how pathetic the Empire¡¯s youths must be since you aren¡¯t even willing to look at them.¡±

    On the first continental ring that circled Zenyu Star, there was a group of people who had gathered outside the formcast pool and were cheering excitedly.

    Lu Yin approached them in disguise and stood near the crowd with Yue Xianzi. They saw that there were two cultivators currently fighting in the center of the crowd.

    ¡°Go! Punch him!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a coward! Aim for his thigh.¡±

    ¡°Spit and drown him!¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin watched the scene with a smile. Competitions like this one were held within the Yu Academy from time to time. They started whenever a Hall Master led their disciples to challenge another hall¡¯s disciples, and Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi had coincidentally arrived at the right time to encounter a battle between two halls.

    Yue Xianzi¡¯s expression revealed her obvious andplete disdain for these people, and there was even a trace of sympathy. She turned to Lu Yi. ¡°Are these the elites of the Great Yu Empire? They can¡¯t even crystallize their star energy and are forced to rely on energy crystals and other materials to use their battle techniques! Is this some kind of joke?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°This is the current situation of the Outerverse, and it¡¯s a problem that not only the Great Yu Empire faces, but rather all of the weaves throughout the Outerverse. The cultivation methods and knowledge that the Outerverse possesses can¡¯tpare to the Innerverse¡¯s. Why else do you think the Innerverse is able topletely overpower the Outerverse? This is also the reason why just the name of the Daynight n is enough to affect all the eastern weaves.

    ¡°But this is way too pathetic! Any student from the Astral Combat Academy would be able to trounce everyone here. It¡¯s a good thing that I didn¡¯t agree to help you train these ¡°elites,¡± as otherwise, the reputation of the Frostmoon Sect would be destroyed,¡± Yue Xianziined.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t answer; were these students really that bad? He saw a number of rune lines that was quite high for a Melder from someone who was hidden within the crowd. However, that person hadn¡¯t shown their strength yet.

    ¡°Those two aren¡¯t bad. Oh! That person is quite strong too. He was actually able to detect my domain.¡± Yue Xianzi looked into the distance in shock. Someone was staring at her with piercing eyes from that direction. It was Schutz.

    Yue Xianzi had enveloped the entire formcast pool within her domain, and even the Explorers guarding the formcast pool hadn¡¯t detected it. However, Schutz had.

    Despite that, Schutz turned his attention back to the fight after merely ncing at the two of them. He had noticed Lu Yin, and although Lu Yin had altered his appearance, Schutz was still able to recognize him since they were quite familiar with each other.

    ¡°He is Schutz, a Hall Master of the Yu Academy. He actually entered the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as me. If not for his duty of taking care of the Yu Academy, he would have be an Explorer a long time ago,¡± Lu Yin spoke apologetically, as he had been the one who had asked Schutz to return to the Great Yu Empire. Although he had given the other youth somepensation, it would never be enough. Lu Yin would always feel apologetic towards Schutz.

    ¡°No wonder, so he¡¯s from the Astral Combat Academy. That¡¯s why he¡¯s on a different level than all the others. That other Limiteer is pretty strong too. I can feel that he¡¯s suppressing his power,¡± Yue Xianzi responded.

    ¡°His name is Ruky Mathers, and he¡¯s a Hall Master as well. He has been in the Outerverse his entire life,¡± Lu Yin exined. He had selected Ruky Mathers to be a Hall Master when he had coincidentally met him in the bar. Ruky had received a battle technique during Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam, and it had allowed him to be quite powerful despite his weak foundations.

    Yue Xianzi had just taken a quick nce at the students, so she had only discovered that Schutz and Ruky Mathers were more powerfulpared to the others. As an Explorer who possessed an innate gift, hadprehended a domain, and had even inherited the techniques of the Frostmoon Sect, these people couldn¡¯tpare to her in any aspect.

    ¡°If all five Hall Masters of the Yu Academy are this powerful, then the Vastdearth Sect wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the Great Yu Empire even if they did ally with other parties. It¡¯s not easy for Melders from the Outerverse to reach this level unless they¡¯ve received outside help,¡± Yue Xianzimented.

    Lu Yin shook his head helplessly. ¡°The other three Hall Masters can¡¯tpare to these two.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± Yue Xianzi replied.

    The next few battles were nothing special, and Yue Xianzi started to nce about distractedly.

    Another person was defeated. Ruky Mathers waved his hand, and Fu Xiaoshu walked forward. Their hall had lost thest few battles, and they had to take back their pride now.

    Another person in the crowd gritted his teeth as soon as they saw Fu Xiaoshu. ¡°Come on, I want to see how good people from Earth are.¡±

    Most people in the Great Yu Empire were aware of Earth as many historians were interested in Lu Yin¡¯s life. Many reporters also fought for the chance to report on Lu Yin, but since they didn¡¯t dare expose too much of Lu Yin¡¯s private life, they normally resorted to reporting on the situation on Earth.

    Initially, most people didn¡¯t hold much hope for the cultivators from Earth. However, ever since the cultivators from Earth had arrived at Yu Academy, all of Frostwave Weave had been stunned, as one solitary had produced five cultivators with innate gifts.

    It was very rare for a cultivator to have an innate gift, and those who did were able to immediately join the Outerverse Youth Council, which showed just how important such a thing was. It was extremely shocking that one had been able to produce five cultivators with innate gifts, and this had led to Fu Xiaoshu and the others being closely scrutinized. They would have be celebrities if not for the rule that no outsiders were allowed to watch any of the training sessions that took ce inside the Yu Academy.

    Although they hadn¡¯t be celebrities in the Frostwave Weave quite yet, the reputation of Fu Xiaoshu and the others were stillparable to that of the Hall Masters solely due to their innate gifts.

    There were even rumors circting that imed that Fu Xiaoshu and the others were Melders who wereparable to Huo Zhong, Gerbach, and Logan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Fu Xiaoshu said casually as he faced the man opposite him.

    His opponent snorted and shattered the blue crystals in his hand. Water swirled around his arm inyers, and when he punched at Fu Xiaoshu, all of the water rushed forward in a powerful attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as this was a strong attack. Ever since Schutz had returned to the Great Yu Empire from the Astral Combat Academy, the overall standards of the Yu Academy had increased. Back when Lu Yin had first joined the Yu Academy, there hadn¡¯t been many Melders in the entire academy, but now, most of the students were able to easily be Melders.

    Fu Xiaoshu stood in ce and faced the water torrent that was crashing down towards him. The water smashed against the ground and formed a deep crater while making the entire ground tremble.

    Yue Xianzi was confused. ¡°Why did that person just attack an empty ce?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lip culred up. ¡°Because to his eyes, that¡¯s where his enemy was standing.¡±

    Yue Xianzi was shocked. ¡°An illusion? A battle technique? No, there¡¯s no fluctuation of star energy¡­ Is this an innate gift?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Yue Xianzi suddenly turned serious as she watched Fu Xiaoshu. This Melder had an innate gift, which was something that made him stand out from all the other students. All cultivators with innate gifts had bright futures and were much stronger than average cultivators.

    Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s innate gift could only epass a certain area, and he wasn¡¯t able to make it spread to Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi. However, even if he could cover them, his illusion wasn¡¯t strong enough to fool the two of them, Schutz, or even Ruky Mathers.

    The people watching the battle from inside Yu Academy started cheering excitedly. In their eyes, the attack had struck Fu Xiaoshu.

    The man gloatingly said, ¡°Fu Xiaoshu, you¡¯re too arrogant! I haven¡¯t used this attack on other people yet, as I¡¯ve been saving it just for you.¡±

    ¡°Really? It¡¯s quite powerful,¡± a voice rang out from behind the man. He whirled around in shock to see a smirk on Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s face.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How, how could you-¡±

    Fu Xiaoshu didn¡¯t give him a chance to finish speaking before he ced a finger on the man¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    The man couldn¡¯t ept the oue and dejectedly replied, ¡°That¡¯s your innate gift, right? I wasn¡¯t able to defeat it.¡±

    Fu Xiaoshu nced around proudly. This was his innate gift, and he couldn¡¯t feel any sense of challenge from fighting the other Yu Academy students. He wanted to challenge a Hall Master, as that was the only way to be noticed by the Royal Regent. To people from Earth, Lu Yin was essentially a god. Fu Xiaoshu wanted to get close to a god and follow him.

    ¡°Song Shi, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Schutz said in a quiet voice.

    A man with an icy expression walked out to face Fu Xiaoshu.

    Fu Xiaoshu slowly turned around and looked at Song Shi. ¡°I knew that it¡¯d be you.¡±

    The students from the Yu Academy surrounding the two youths were anticipating this next battle.

    Song Shi was also from Earth, and he had an innate gift as well. Both Earthlings were at the same level of strength, which meant that, apart from the Hall Masters, only Song Shi was able to hold his own against Fu Xiaoshu.

    ¡°Your illusions are very powerful,¡± Song Shi said emotionlessly.

    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s voice rang out from another direction.

    The Fu Xiaoshu in front of Song Shi suddenly disappeared. Song Shi wasn¡¯t surprised, and he simply removed his bracer and other equipment. ¡°If these tricks are all you have, you won¡¯t be my opponent.¡±

    Fu Xiaoshu pouted. ¡°You¡¯re still so cold. Fine, I¡¯ll show you how powerful I¡¯ve be! I¡¯ll be the first one of us to be noticed by the Royal Regent!¡±

    This sentence enraged Song Shi as his idol was also Lu Yin. He had to be the first person to receive Lu Yin¡¯s notice, and he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone else to take that from him. ¡°You really have changed¡ªa beggar from Jinlin is now bragging.¡±

 Chapter 667: Fabricating History

    <h4>Chapter 667: Fabricating History</h4>

    Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s brows creased together as he flew into a rage. It was indeed true that he had once been a beggar, and this was a stain on his past. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for what you just said!¡±

    As he spoke, an invisible ripple enveloped the surroundings. It was something that the Yu Academy students could not perceive, and even a Hall Master like Ruky Mathers was oblivious to it. However, these ripples shocked Schutz; this was a domain.

    Lu Yin was shocked to see that Fu Xiaoshu had astonishinglyprehended a domain.

    Yue Xianzi was absolutely shaken. For someone from the Outerverse,prehending a domain was a rare aplishment. Most people could barely materialize their star energy, let alone a domain. With this individual¡¯s limited understanding of star energy, how could he have managed toprehend a domain?

    With the added support of a domain, Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s control over his illusions underwent a fundamental change. Song Shi¡¯s previous expression of indifference suddenly became one of exceptional seriousness. He could not see where Fu Xiaoshu had gone. The scenery surrounding him had changed, and he seemed to have found himself back on Earth, surrounded by all of the people, activities, and items he had once been familiar with.

    Fu Xiaoshu had always remembered something that Lu Yin had once told him: ¡°The final stage of cultivating illusions is not to produce a fantasy, but rather to cause your opponents to experience their own downfall. Even if they know that they are in and of fantasy, they will still be immersed and be unable to escape.¡± Fu Xiaoshu had since been working in this direction.

    Song Shi attacked, but he was not able tond a single hit on Fu Xiaoshu. He attacked in a wild manner from where he stood, and everyone around him gradually pulled back. He looked forlorn, as he knew that he had already fallen under the spell of Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s illusions.

    Schutz frowned, as he had not expected that anyone from Yu Academy would gain control of a domain. It was preposterous to even consider. Back during his time in the Astral Combat Academy, he had spent so much time arduously cultivating before he gained any knowledge of domains or battle force. And yet, Fu Xiaoshu, who had alway remained at Yu Academy, was already capable of wielding a domain. This was a terrifying talent.

    Even Lu Yin was stunned to the point of gaping. He had also cultivated long and hard beforeprehending a domain. How was it that Fu Xiaoshu had been able to do it so easily?

    ¡°You people from the Great Yu Empire really do have some surprises. Someone out of these students actuallyprehended a domain,¡± Yue Xianzi praised the youth. ¡°A domain coupled with an innate gift of illusions. His opponent is bound to lose.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That might not necessarily be the case.¡± As far as he could tell, the rune lines on Song Shi exceeded those of Fu Xiaoshu.

    Yue Xianzi was taken aback. ¡°Does the other person have more tricks up his sleeves as well? Are you going to tell me that he¡¯s alsoprehended a domain?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders, as he did not know the answer to her question.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, Song Shi!¡± Fu Xiaoshu released a low growl.

    Trapped within his illusion, Song Shi still had not stopped fighting. He had resisted for more than ten minutes now, and he was almostpletely drained of all energy. It was about time for Fu Xiaoshu to deal the final blow. As Fu Xiaoshu considered this, he raised his palm, and his star energy burst out, turning into waves that shot straight at Song Shi.

    With a loud thud, Song Shi was struck in the back. He spat out blood as he crumpled to the ground.

    Fu Xiaoshu then appeared. He removed his illusion and looked down at Song Shi from a towering height. ¡°I told you that I would be the first to reach the Royal Regent¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Song Shi raised his head, and there was a resolute light in his eyes. ¡°How long can you maintain your illusions for?¡±

    A slight look of panic flickered through Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s eyes. He could only use his innate gift a set number of times. While Song Shi was trapped in a daze inside the illusion, the consumption of Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s energy had also been steep.

    When Song Shi saw the look of panic pass through Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s eyes, he immediately climbed to his feet and charged straight at Fu Xiaoshu. Fu Xiaoshu quickly unleashed his domain again, which prevented Song Shi from closing in on him. Song Shi let out a growl as colorless streams distorted the air around his body. He managed to force his way into the domain and grab a hold of Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s cor before proceeding to throw Fu Xiaoshu against the ground with enough force to cause the young man to faint upon impact.

    Everyone watching was stunned into silence. Fu Xiaoshu had unexpectedly been defeated.

    Yue Xianzi was astonished. ¡°Battle force! The other one knows how to control battle force!¡±

    Beside her, Lu Yin was simrly shocked. The colorless streams that had wrapped around Song Shi¡¯s body was indeed battle force, and it waspletely unexpected to discover that the youth had managed to grasp battle force. In all honesty, it was more than a little strange. Even though Lu Yin hadprehended battle force during his experience in Astral-10¡¯s Sand Ocean, he was absolutely amazed that Song Shi had also been able toprehend it. As a rtively ordinary cultivator from the Outerverse, the possession of such talent was extraordinary.

    Even if it asionally happened due to pure luck or an amazing natural talent, it was still a miraculously rare urrence in the end. However, thebination of Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s domain and Song Shi¡¯s battle force reminded Lu Yin that things were not that simple.

    On Earth, it was not umon for cultivators to possess innate gifts. Since so many cultivators were able to improve at a rapid pace or had astoundingprehension, there had to be something hidden on that. Huo Qingshan had once said that when great cultivators appeared on Earth, it heralded the destruction of the¡¯s civilization. It was for this reason that the Hidden Earth Society had continued to hide in Jupiter, afraid to reveal themselves.

    It was necessary to understand what sort of secrets had been hidden on Earth. Such secrets definitely had something to do with the primeval surnames.

    ¡°Brother Lu, this person actually knows how to use battle force! Your group here at the Yu Academy has some hidden talents that outsiders aren¡¯t aware of. Is there another ce like the Astral Combat Academy that can help peopleprehend domains or battle force?¡± Yue Xianzi asked.

    Lu Yin kept a calm look on his face. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°No?¡± Yue Xianzi did not believe him, but she was not able to glean anything else from his expression.

    Beside the formcast pool, Fu Xiaoshu had been defeated. There were no subordinates of Ruky Mathers who couldpare to Song Shi. Ruky looked at Schutz with a helpless manner. ¡°We lost this battle.¡±

    Schutz replied gravely. ¡°It¡¯s alright, you can try again next time.¡±

    Ruky Mathers nodded his head and left with the others from his hall. Fu Xiaoshu was carried away by the other students.

    Blood dripped down from the corner of Song Shi''s mouth as he stared at Fu Xiaoshu. This had been a tough battle to win, and if Fu Xiaoshu had managed to maintain his illusions for much longer, then Song Shi might have been the one to lose.

    ¡°Did you watch the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest?¡± Schutz moved over next to Song Shi as he asked a question.

    Song Shi nodded his head.

    ¡°It is important to take note of where a battle takes ce. The venue may restrict one from performing at their peak. In an evenly matched battle, the key to victory requires thought, not brute force,¡± Schutz said.

    Song Shi replied, ¡°I understand, Hall Master.¡±

    Schutz then dismissed everyone who was still gathered before looking over at Lu Yin. He was surprised to discover that Lu Yin and Yue Xianzi had already left.

    ¡°What do you think? The Yu Academy isn¡¯t too bad, is it?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stood on the surface of a sea by the maind. He had his eyes glued to his personal gadget as he spoke, not watching where he was going.

    Yue Xianzi shot him a nce. ¡°It was an adequate performance.¡±

    ¡°You can train them if you have the time. They¡¯ll all be considered your disciples after all,¡± Lu Yin offered as he stared at his personal gadget, a solemn look on his face.

    Yue Xianzi knitted her brows. ¡°It¡¯s incredibly rude of you to talk like that.¡±

    Lu Yin adjusted his focus and lowered his arm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was reading the news.¡±

    Yue Xianzi looked around at her surroundings. ¡°Thendscape on this first maind isn¡¯t bad. It¡¯s certainly worth visiting once in a while.¡±

    Lu Yinughed.

    After Yue Xianzi left him, Lu Yin immediately headed to the library of Zenyu Star to seek out the Chief Librarian.

    ¡°Wee, Your Highness.¡± The Chief Librarian hurriedly greeted Lu Yin the moment he arrived.

    ¡°Why is the recorded history of Earth now different from what I read before?¡± Lu Yin asked sternly as he stared at the Chief Librarian.

    The Chief Librarian started trembling with fear and tried to stammer out a response. ¡°Your Highness, this¡­ this¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me!¡± Lu Yin shouted in a deep voice.

    The Chief Librarian was terrified, and he immediately knelt on the floor. ¡°Forgive me, Your Highness! The history of Earth has always been fake.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned solemn. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    The Chief Librarian shakily replied, ¡°There are manys throughout the universe that do not have any recorded history. In the previous era, the Great Yu Empire did not have thirteen fments, nor was Earth within its boundaries. It was not until after His Majesty, Undying Yushan, ascended to the throne and expanded the empire that Earth fell under the scope of the empire¡¯s surveince. At that time, the civilizations on Earth had recently been destroyed. Since the empire did not pay much attention to Earth, what we recorded down as the¡¯s recorded history was guesses based on the observations at those times. It is certain that Earth went through several cmities, but only the tragedies that took ce in the past ten thousand years were able to be determined. As for the reasons behind those cmities, the empire did not give the matter any serious thought.

    ¡°There are an exorbitant number ofs throughout the universe that are simr to Earth, and there could be any number of reasons that could lead to a civilization¡¯s extinction, and it¡¯s verymon. As such, Earth¡¯s recorded history was written down purely from the observations of the empire at that time. Some of the history might have even been fabricated.¡±

    ¡°Fabricated?¡± Lu Yin knitted his brows.

    The Chief Librarian replied in a voice that was still trembling, ¡°Yes, fabricated. There are too manys within the empire¡¯s territory, and it is virtually impossible to keep detailed ounts of each. This means that the historical records that the empire keeps may be less urate than the¡¯s own records.¡±

    ¡°Has the history of Earth been altered recently?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Chief Librarian replied meekly, ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Since Your Highness holds a special status and was born on Earth, that has drawn the attention of many people in recent times. We had no choice but to integrate the empire¡¯s records of Earth¡¯s history with Earth¡¯s own records. Furthermore, we also added in some fictional information of our own to satisfy the media¡¯s morbid curiosity and to shut them up.¡±

    Lu Yin exhaled loudly. He was shocked to discover that such a thing could happen, that history could be fabricated.

    ¡°I want to study the data from the observations that were made when Earth was first discovered,¡± Lu Yin requested.

    The Chief Librarian¡¯s face nched, and he could not stop trembling.

    ¡°Where is that data? Give it to me!¡± Lu Yin bellowed.

    The Chief Librarian trembled. ¡°I am sorry, Your Highness. The library from back then was burned down, and all the data was destroyed in the fire.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide, and a terrifying presence swept across all of Zenyu Star. It caused high tides and struck fear into the hearts of many cultivators.

    It was a good thing that itsted for just a moment. ¡°Not a shred of that data remains?¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, Your Highness.¡± The Chief Librarian seemed like he was about to faint from the fear.

    When Lu Yin noticed the sorry state of the Chief Librarian, Lu Yin¡¯s anger dissipated slightly. Feeling rather helpless, he walked out of the library as his gaze turned towards the direction of the Huo family¡¯s home. He wanted to have a chat with Huo Qingshan again, but then he remembered that Huo Qingshan had been the one who told him to check on the data of the past, so it would be pointless to meet with him again. At this moment, the ce with the most knowledge of Earth¡¯s history was most possibly Jupiter. However, it was a shame that the people there would not let Lu Yin in.

    He pushed this thought aside and decided to wait until the defenses of Jupiter copsed before pursuing this matter any further. He was very interested in discovering what sort of history Earth had experienced

    ***

    On Zenyu Star, the courtyard of the Auna family was cold. As an old, established family of the Great Yu Empire, the Auna family had always enjoyed great influence throughout the empire. However, their influence had waned in the days following Lu Yin¡¯s rise to power.

    Even though Lu Yin had not actively sought to undermine the Auna family and had even allowed their patriarch to join the Lu Ministry of Defense as an important decision maker, his actions could not hide the fact that he had been passively sidelining the Auna family. Whether it was the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance or the empire¡¯s cooperation with the Nn family, no one from the Auna family had participated in any of these matters. To an old-school, established organization like the Auna family, this was a matter of the empire¡¯s ruler showing their family no respect.

    On the surface, the Auna family still enjoyed considerable influence even at the present moment, and their family still controlled the Ninth Imperial Squadron. However, such authority could be taken away with a casual word from Lu Yin. In fact, he could utterly destroy the entire Auna family without so much as batting his eye.

    Over this period of time, the Auna family had been trying to get close to certain people. They had tried their luck with Gavin, Huan Sha, and even En Ya, but all to no avail.

    Xueshan Auna sat in his study in silence, and his number two, Rocky Auna, looked at the family patriarch and said, ¡°I thought that the Huo family was weak. It was obvious that His Highness was once concerned with Huo Qingshan in the past, but I never would have imagined that Huo Qinshan would suddenly take part in matters such as organizing the Great Eastern Alliance. Now, we of the Auna family are not even invited to participate in anything to do with this matter. Leader, should we seek out His Majesty for a discussion?¡±

    Xueshan Auna knitted his brows, lost deep in thought.

 Chapter 668: Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 668: Awakening</h4>

    Rocky Auna could not help himself from continuing to speak further. ¡°If things continue on like this, our Auna family¡¯s foundation that¡¯s been built up over so many years will be washed away. It¡¯s clear to everyone that our Auna family is being gradually sidelined. In the past, there were visitors here every single day, but now, no onees. They¡¯re all afraid to have any dealings with our Auna family. Patriarch, why has this happened?¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes flickered. Why? Of course he knew why. Before the Royal Regent had taken his current position of power, the Auna family¡¯s attitude towards him had flip-flopped multiple times. Although they had neverpletely turned on Lu Yin, they had not been decisive enough when dealing with the matter regarding Jenny Auna. Although the matter had been resolved and they had given their all to support Lu Yin when he rose to power, the scars of the past were difficult to forget.

    The Auna family had managed to survive so far, and Xueshan Auna had even joined the Lu Ministry of Defense since their family had managed to adjust their attitude towards Lu Yin fast enough. Otherwise, the family might have even ceased to exist.

    Still, to the Royal Regent, the Auna family was no longer considered reliable.

    ¡°Is it all rted to Jenny?¡± Rocky Auna suddenly said.

    Xueshan Auna red at him sharply. ¡°Jenny¡¯s matter has beenpletely concluded, and she isn¡¯t even allowed to exit our front door. What more do you want?¡±

    Rocky Auna silently hung his head.

    Before the Royal Regent assumed power, nobody had cared much about Jenny Auna¡¯s behavior. However, after he assumed control of the Great Yu Empire, and especially when his influence began to spread throughout the Outerverse, dissent towards Jenny Auna had risen among the members of the Auna family. Many people had secretly mentioned that if she had married the Royal Regent when they were first engaged, the Auna family would presently be the most influential family in the entire Great Eastern Alliance and that they would be enjoying even greater authority than what they had ever wielded in the Great Yu Empire.

    These discussions had grown more frequent until they had eventually reached Xueshan Auna¡¯s ears, which made him furious. He had immediately executed several people, and no one in the Auna family had dared to discuss the matter any further.

    Now that Rocky Auna brought the matter up again, Xueshan Auna subconsciously recalled all those rumors, and his mood immediately became very poor.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Millie?¡± Xueshan Auna suddenly asked.

    Rocky Auna¡¯s face grew unnatural. ¡°She went out to y.¡±

    Xueshan Auna snorted and stared into Rocky Auna¡¯s eyes. ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you to have Millie stay at home as much as possible? The family will arrange for her to meet with the Royal Regent and hope that she catches his eye. However, you still allowed her to go out and y? What if something happens to her?!¡±

    Rocky Auna was in agony, but he could only nod helplessly. Millie was his daughter, and she was still rather young.

    ¡°I will request an audience with the Royal Regent within the next few days, and will attempt to change our Auna family¡¯s current plight. Maintain control of our family during this time, and do not allow anyone to cause trouble,¡± Xueshan Auna ordered.

    Rocky Auna nodded. ¡°I understand, Patriarch.¡±

    ¡°Head on out then,¡± Xueshan Auna said lethargically.

    Rocky Auna stood up, but suddenly, the chair that he had just been sitting on shattered as a shockwave burst forth from underground, shooting towards the sky. The energy from the shockwave froze the shattered chair.

    Rocky Auna was astonished. ¡°Patriarch!¡±

    Xueshan Auna instantly rose to his feet to stare at the ground. ¡°Not good! That person has awakened!¡±

    He then pressed both of his hands to the floor, causing solid ice to spread out as he attempted to seal the raging energy away. However, the underground cold seeping out could not be suppressed by Xueshan Auna¡¯s ice seal, and the chill started to spread through his ice, and it even caused Xueshan Auna¡¯s hands to be rigid and start to pale.

    Xueshan Auna was stunned at this turn of events, and he loudly shouted, ¡°Get the family out of here! Hurry!¡±

    Rocky Auna raced to send all of the Auna family members out.

    The ground froze rapidly, and Xueshan Auna¡¯s sturdy ice shattered within mere moments before white frost rushed through the cracks in his seal. These white crystals were cold enough to even cause the void to freeze.

    Lu Yin was in King Zishan''s pce when he felt the temperature suddenly plummet. He stepped out of the pce and looked in the direction of the Auna family. He then quickly moved forward and disappeared.

    At this same time, many experts from all across Zenyu Star started to congregate towards the Auna family¡¯s estate.

    With a crack, the ground beneath the Auna family homepletely shattered. Xueshan Auna¡¯s face was solemn, as both his arms had been frozen through.

    A few members of the Auna family were frozen in ce, and they looked on in despair as the chilliness continued to spread across their bodies andpletely envelop them.

    In a room within the mansion, Jenny Auna stared out of her window with a calm demeanor even as the frost spread beneath her feet and started to climb upwards.

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes went wide, as he could not stop this frost. Not even his power was able to prate this frost, and once it covered the rest of his family, they would all die without question. The Auna family would be finished.

    At this moment, Lu Yin arrived in the sky above the Auna family¡¯s property, and he looked down to see that the Auna family¡¯srge holding was being enveloped by an icy energy that formed a wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms. His eyes shed, and he quickly recalled that when Firesmelt had been annihted in the past, someone called Yan Yan had survived the¡¯s destruction by sealing himself within ice. This person had been someone from the Royal Frost Continent.

    Because this person had an extremely dense ice energy, it had been arranged for his body to be kept by the Auna family. Still, nobody had ever expected the man to bring such disaster upon the family.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin exchanged nces with someone from the Auna family. Those eyes were just as numb and dead as ever, and they looked like they belonged to a corpse. It was Jenny Auna.

    When he saw her gaze, Lu Yin suddenly felt her suffering, as well as a certain sense that she would be better off dead than alive. Even the frost that was about to envelop her was not enough to affect her expression of despair.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he stopped hesitating. He quickly put on his universal armor and charged downwards to crash into the ground, where the chilliness that he encountered was severe enough to leave even him trembling. What¡¯s more, his armor began to freeze over, and it seemed that he was going to be sealed in ice.

    Lu Yin released a shout as his seven lined battle force burst forth and shattered the creeping ice. He then raised a hand, and his Fatesand rushed in front of him as he charged underground. It took almost no time for Yan Yan¡¯s body to appear before Lu Yin, and Yan Yan was still sealed within ayer of ice. However, the ice was nearly depleted, and the moment Lu Yin appeared in front of Yan Yan, the man¡¯s eyes snapped open as the icy energy in the air instantly formed into a spear in his hand that he hurled at Lu Yin.

    At that moment, Lu Yin could feel a terrifyingly intense cold that even froze the void, and it caused his limbs to go numb. Everything within his vision had turned into five rings of snowkes.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to tap out with a finger, and his eyes zed over as his Dream Finger froze the void before transcending space to approach the ice spear and shatter it. Lu Yin¡¯s finger continued moving on past that, aimed at Yan Yan¡¯s forehead. Lu Yin held nothing back in this finger, as he had unleashed it with killing intent.

    Yan Yan¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his expression suddenly changed to be much more solemn, almost as if he had suddenly be someone else entirely. He raised a hand. ¡°Iceburst mes.¡± A dense blue ice that was enveloped by a red fire flickered as it charged forth and collided with Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger.

    The Dream Finger struck the Iceburst mes, and in the blink of an eye, a terrifying pressure wave burst forth that caused the void to distort. Lu Yin realized the level of crisis that he had suddenly encountered, and he subconsciously waved his left hand to activate the Yu Secret Art. The secret technique redirected the force from the collision of the two battle techniques into the sky, aimed at a gap between the three continental rings that circled Zenyu Star. The energy then tore through the void and traveled some distance into outer space before exploding. Countless spatial cracks radiated outwards from the explosion, and an unbelievable inferno of frost and me apanied the explosion.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger had collided against the Iceburst mes, the power that had converged onto that solitary finger had not beenpletely dispersed yet, and it heavily injured Yan Yan. However, due to the man¡¯s Iceburst mes, he had managed to divert the finger away from his forehead, and Lu Yin had only seeded in injuring the man¡¯s shoulder.

    An intense pain exploded out from Lu Yin¡¯s finger, and he curled his index finger as he stared at Yan Yan.

    Half of Yan Yan¡¯s body was now covered with blood, and he was lying on the ground as he looked at Lu Yin in a daze. It appeared as though he was not entirely sure of what had just happened.

    Xueshan Auna charged into the underground area at this moment, and he rushed over when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness! Are you alright?¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand as he stared at Yan Yan. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Yan Yan looked at Lu Yin, confused and still dazed. He didn¡¯t possess even a single trace of the imposing might he had radiated when he unleashed those terrifying Iceburst mes. It should be known that Lu Yin had subconsciously felt like he had encountered a crisis, even after he had donned his universal armor. ording to the rune lines that he had observed, that attack had been able to rival one from an ordinary Enlighter, but Yan Yan was merely a Cruiser. How had he been able to unleash such power? Lu Yin could not understand this matter.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you speak?¡± Lu Yin asked another question.

    Yan Yan held his injured shoulder as he nced around the underground space. ¡°Where am I?¡±

    Xueshan Aun growled, ¡°This is the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Yan Yan looked like he was in a daze as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Great Yu Empire? Where¡¯s that?¡±

    Xueshan Auna snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t know where the Great Yu Empire is located? Don¡¯t try to tell me that you lost your memory.¡±

    Yan Yan¡¯s head dropped, and he looked like he was in pain. He nced at his shoulder and removed his hand as he looked at the blood covering his hand. ¡°How did I get injured?¡±

    He then grabbed his forehead and groaned in agony as Xueshan Auna stepped in front of Lu Yin with a cautious attitude.

    Lu Yin stared at Yan Yan in amazement, as the amount of rune lines that he saw on this person were constantly fluctuating. At times, there would be so few that it was onlyparable to an Explorer¡¯s, but the next moment, the amount would explode and reach an astonishing amount that could rival an Enlighter¡¯s. It was truly bizarre.

    ¡°Your Highness, to prevent any unexpected events, your subject will just kill him,¡± Xueshan Auna suggested.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see how things y out.¡±

    After a while, Yan Yan¡¯s agony started to fade, and his rune lines stabilized at approximately the level of a Cruiser, but they were very close to the level of a Hunter.

    ¡°What about Firesmelt? Where¡¯s Firesmelt?¡± Yan Yan looked up at Xueshan Auna.

    Xueshan Auna frowned. ¡°The Firesmelt has been destroyed by the Great Yu Empire. You are now a captive of our Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Yan Yan bent over and thought for a while. After a moment, he started to breathe heavily. ¡°I remember now, Firesmelt was destroyed by Yan Wujiu. He destroyed it to temporarily boost his own power. But then why am I still alive?¡±

    Lu Yin pushed Xueshan Auna aside and moved in front of Yan Yan. ¡°We saved you.¡±

    Yan Yan was confused by this. ¡°Why did you save me?¡±

    ¡°You can treat it as a coincidence, or maybe as fate. Now that Firesmelt has been destroyed, I¡¯ll give you a choice: stay here in the Great Yu Empire and work for me. How about it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes shed as he watched Yan Yan.

    Yan Yan was still a bit dazed. ¡°I¡¯m from Firesmelt, but you¡¯d still trust me?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Firesmelt is already gone. Even if you were loyal to Yan Wujiu, he¡¯s also dead.¡±

    Yan Yan smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s right, he¡¯s already dead.¡±

    ¡°Stay here and join the Seventh Imperial Squadron as a temporary captain. That¡¯ll be your role.¡±

    ¡°What if I refuse?¡± Yan Yan asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly turned to ice. ¡°Then you can either remain as a prisoner or just die.¡±

    Yan Yan nodded silently. He endured the throbbing pain in his shoulder and bowed to Lu Yin. ¡°Yan Yan wishes to follow you.¡±

    At the present moment, the Great Yu Empire was far toocking in talented powerhouses, as not even the positions of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ captains had been filled out. Once Yan Yan¡¯s power waspletely released, he would be no weaker than Aden. He was a powerhouse, and now that Firesmelt waspletely gone, Lu Yin had no fear of being betrayed by this man.

    And even if he did betray them, so what? There was no ce in the Outerverse where Yan Yan could hide from the empire. Lu Yin was absolutely confident about that.

    In reality, deep in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, he felt that the greatest value that Yan Yan held was not as a potential captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, but rather his connection to the Royal Frost Continent. This person had been severely injured, and his memories clearly had some holes in them. Lu Yin would find a way to cure the man and then use him to further his understanding of the Royal Frost Continent. The Innerverse and Outerverse would eventually be rejoined, and so long as the Innerverse was not conquered by the Sixth Maind by then, Lu Yin would eventually have to face the suppression of various forces from the Innerverse, so it would be wise for him to start making preparations as soon as possible.

 Chapter 669: Traces Of A Foe

    <h4>Chapter 669: Traces Of A Foe</h4>

    After sending Yan Yan to get treated, Xueshan Auna moved to stand behind Lu Yin, at which he then voiced his concerns. ¡°Your Highness, do you feelfortable making this person a captain?¡±

    ¡°What is there to feel ufortable about? He has nothing to gain by betraying me,¡± Lu Yin softly replied.

    Xueshan Auna hesitated before responding. ¡°This person was able to unleash an attack that was simultaneously both ice and fire, which is very strange. He came from the Royal Frost Continent but joined Firesmelt. This all seems to be rted to his innate gift.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Xueshan Auna. ¡°Yan Yan caused your Auna family to suffer terrible losses just now, so I willpensate your family for this matter.¡±

    Xueshan Auna hurriedly replied, ¡°Your Highness is exaggerating. The entire Great Yu Empire belongs to you, and the Auna family has vowed to follow Your Highness to our deaths.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    After that, he left.

    Xueshan Auna continued to stare at his family¡¯s mansion that had beenpletely frozen over, his brows tightly knitted together. More and more experts were joining the Great Yu Empire; where there had once been only him, Huo Qingshan, and the Blind Monk as the Hunter realm captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, there was now also Yan Yan and that temporary captain of the Second Squadron. There were more experts in the empire, and the more people the Royal Regent was able to use, the further Xueshan Auna¡¯s value would drop in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    He had to think of a way to help his Auna family reenter the Royal Regent¡¯s good graces.

    When he returned to King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin quickly contacted Elder Lohar.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s image appeared on the screen of Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, and he gave Lu Yin a warm smile. ¡°Kid, what are you looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, ¡°Elder, ever since I started working to establish the Great Great Eastern Alliance, many havee to see this junior as an eyesore. When I went to the Lars Weave, there was an assassination attempt on my life where five Hunters were sent after me. This has caused me to be very uneasy.¡±

    Elder Loharughed. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve entered a battlefield with Enlighters before, but you¡¯re still afraid of some puny Hunters?¡¯

    ¡°Junior¡¯s power vessels were used up and destroyed back in Ironblood Weave. Elder should know that, without them, this junior can still be captured even if I am able to withstand the attacks of Hunters.¡±

    Elder Lohar muttered, ¡°So what is it that you want?¡±

    ¡°This junior hopes that Elder can send some experts to protect me,¡± Lu Yin answered expectantly.

    Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with a smiling expression. ¡°Who¡¯s caught your eye? Could it be an Enlighter?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s naturally not the case, as the safety of Ironblood Weave is much more important than my own¡ªhow could this junior neglect the big picture?¡± He paused a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°When mentioning the need for protection, this junior feels that Aden is more suitable.¡±

    Elder Lohar instantly understood. ¡°So you want Aden back.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°If another battle had broken out in Ironblood Weave, this junior definitely would not have submitted such a request. It¡¯s just that, now that the war in Ironblood Weave has ended, there¡¯s not much of a reason for Aden to stay at the stronghold. On top of that, Frostwave Weave isn¡¯t far from Ironblood Weave, which is why this junior dares to make such a request. I hope that Elder can understand.¡±

    Elder Lohar smiled. ¡°Aden was originally brought here by you, so it¡¯s not a problem to return him to you. Very well, I will talk to him.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder,¡± Lu Yin was delighted.

    After Aden returned to the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin would gain yet another captain for the Imperial Squadrons, not to mention the strongest captain since Aden was able to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s assault.

    Lu Yin nned to have Aden be the temporary captain of the Fourth Squadron, which would mean that only the Fifth and Tenth Squadrons would not have captains. Even if Lu Yin filled the positions of all thirteen captains, there were still many more positions to fill.

    ***

    Humans had no understanding of the current universe. The Outerverse was extensive, and the entire Human Domain was enormous, but no one knew exactly where this vast territory was positioned in respect to the greater universe, as no one knew where the end of the universe was, or if there was even an end to the universe.

    The Astral Wilderness was the generic term that humanity used for all the unexplored areas of the universe as those regions had no mapped routes,work signal, or technology that could help humans. Risks had to be taken to explore the unknown, and nobody knew what could appear at any given moment when exploring the Astral Wilderness.

    There was a contradiction to exploring the Astral Wilderness. To maximize safety, the scope of an exploration expedition had to be huge, but once an expedition grew to that extent, it would easily attract unknown dangers. Past schrs had once concluded that powerful civilizations existed in the Astral Wilderness, some of which could possibly rival human societies or even surpass them. If humans ever came into contact with these civilizations, there could only be a disastrous oue.

    Although the Astral Wilderness was very dangerous, countless cultivators from the Human Domain would dauntlessly venture forth every year to explore that ce. Some people went for the thrill of adventure while others searched for resources and wealth. Many were specifically employed to explore the Astral Wilderness, where the goal of those efforts was to no longer remain ignorant of whaty outside the realms of human society. Humans were the most afraid of the unknown, and each explorer was like a flicking candle thrust into the darkness to illuminate a little bit more of it. Those lights might burn out, but humanity would never stop sending more out.

    The funds used to employ people to explore the Astral Wilderness were supplied by thebined powers of the entire Human Domain powers, just like how Ironblood Weave¡¯s resources were supplied by the various weaves of the Outerverse. This was an order from the Hall of Honor.

    On one particr day, a mid-sized spacecraft was leisurely cruising through the Astral Wilderness. Its hull was marred with countless battle scars and traces of conflicts that the vessel had survived in the past. A momentter, the spacecraft moved in the direction of a dark-yellow.

    ¡°Captain, it¡¯s no good. This dark-yellow¡¯s atmosphere is filled with poisonous gas, so we can¡¯t descend.¡± A desperate voice was heard within the spacecraft.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Just hurry up, get control of the ship, and change course. Quickly!¡±

    ¡°Captain, the vessel is not functioning properly!¡±

    ¡°Captain, you escape! You¡¯re an Explorer, so you can escape.¡±

    ¡°Captain¡­¡±

    ¡­

    The spacecraft descended through the atmosphere, and the moment it was about to touch the¡¯s surface, a figure appeared directly beneath the spacecraft. The person released a shout as he supported the spacecraft with his body and forcefully tried to return to outer space. However, the man had clearly been heavily injured, and the wounds on his body soon reopened as fresh blood scattered into the sky. The dark yellow poisonous gas gathered around the injuries and started seeping into the man¡¯s body. He howled in agony and suddenly tossed the spacecraft out of the¡¯s atmosphere. The man himself seemed to lose all strength, and he fell back down and soon disappeared from sight.

    The people inside the spacecraft desperately watched on as the man vanished. He had seeded in flinging the spacecraft back into the vacuum of outer space.

    Even if the people on the ship had managed to avoid the hopeless situation of sumbing to the poisonous gas, the spacecraft was still out of control, and it looked like this group was trapped in outer space.

    ¡°Look over there! What¡¯s that?¡± Someone in the spacecraft shouted, causing the others to look back at the dark yellow that they had just escaped in shock.

    A colossal being emerged from the and swept the poisonous gas aside. The figure was then gradually exposed to the crowd¡¯s eyes.

    They saw a giant metal machine with an enormous metal w sweep forward and seized a hold of the spacecraft. The entire thing then slowly retreated from outer space as the region returned to normalcy.

    Not muchter, another spacecraft appeared, though this one charged towards the dark yellow without any sign of hesitation.

    The enormous w reached straight out for the spacecraft again, but this time, a figure emerged from inside the vessel and confronted the mountain-like metal ws and waved a hand. His star energy formed a strange configuration that pushed the metal w to the side. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    The metal w would not budge, and a solid voice was heard in response. ¡°You should not be here.¡±

    The figure¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡°I was left with no choice. I was being chased, and this was the only ce I could run to.¡±

    ¡°There is someone in the Human Domain who is able to kill you?¡± The solid voice sounded doubtful.

    The figure snorted. ¡°The Human Domain only seeks benefits. Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse are currently separated, anything rted to the Innerverse that has been left in the Outerverse is no longer very useful.¡±

    ¡°What about the Daynight n?¡±

    ¡°I said that things aren¡¯t useful, and the Daynight n is actually helping to chase me down, and there are even killers from hidden powers trying to track me down. This was the only ce I could escape to.¡±

    ¡°It looks like you are in dire straits. How can I help you?¡± The robust voice asked.

    The figure gritted his teeth and furiously replied, ¡°I need you guys to help me deal with the person who¡¯s chasing me.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin? I seem to have heard of this name before.¡±

    ¡°He was the Human Domain¡¯s peerless Limiteer, and he even killed a few Enlighters,¡± the figure reminded the individual behind the voice.

    ¡°I recall now: a rare genius. While only a Limiteer from the Human Domain, he was able to enter our list of individuals requiring observation. He became the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. This is the person you want us to kill?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s uneptable for us to not kill him. That namelistnded in his hands,¡± the figure helplessly exined.

    The solid voice fell silent for a moment and then asked, ¡°You guys were never able to obtain that list?¡±

    The figure hesitated, but then nodded.

    ¡°All this time, we¡¯ve continued to overestimate you people. We never thought that you would prove to be so useless,¡± the solid voicemented quietly.

    The figure quickly spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s not rted to us. That name list was taken to the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and there was no way that we could have acted against Lu Yin in that ce. Shortly after that, the Innerverse and Outerverse were split apart, and the traces of power that our family had left in the Outerverse were toocking. That¡¯s why we are here, requesting for help.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Since the Innerverse and Outerverse are currently separated, that name list has lost its value.¡±

    ¡°Then what about Lu Yin? You guys won¡¯t act?¡± the human figure asked urgently, sounding as if he harbored some deep-seated hatred for Lu Yin.

    ¡°We will have to ask for orders from above. You will wait here.¡±

    The figure was left with no choice and could only enter the by himself.

    ***

    Within the Great Yu Empire, Lu Yin ended a court meeting and returned to King Zishan''s pce where he met a very pleased-looking person: Hai Qiqi.

    Ever since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, this girl¡¯s entire demeanor had changed, and she no longer stayed with Lu Yin within the Great Yu Empire. Instead, she was usually at the border of the Astral River, spending all of her time searching for a way to return to the Innerverse. Lu Yin contacted her at regr intervals, but he had not expected her to suddenly return.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that you wereing back,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but I was chased away.¡± Hai Qiqi looked like she was exhausted, and she spoke softly as she answered him.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Chased? By who?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s rune lines had increased rather drastically, and she had also broken through to the Explorer realm. With the life-saving items that she had been given by the Sea King, chasing and killing her was not something easy, and she must have been pursued by someone who was at least a Hunter.

    ¡°Some horrible uncle called Old Gu De or something. He absolutely insists on marrying me off to his son. Help me take care of him¡ªI want to keep looking for a way to get back to the Innerverse,¡± Hai Qiqi said with a seething expression.

    Lu Yin paused, and his expression dropped. ¡°Who did you say? Old Gu De?¡±

    Hai Qiqi grunted in acknowledgement and then looked at Lu Yin more carefully. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but it was a rather creepy smile. ¡°Tell me where he is.¡±

    Hai Qiqi sent Lu Yin some coordinates. ¡°Deal with him quickly. I don¡¯t know why that old bat took a fancy to me, but he insists on marrying me off to his kid. Crazy asshole.¡±

    ¡°Rx. I¡¯ll be sure to let him experience despair.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    He checked the location of the coordinates in a star chart. Old Gu De was someone who Lu Yin had never forgotten. If not for the old man intentionally dying the Astral River Ark¡¯s departure time back then, they would not have been pursued.

    That paper with the seventy two names that all had the surname of Lu had been masterminded by one of the Ten Arbiters, but Old Gu De had also been an aplice to those events.

 Chapter 670: Comprehensive Collaboration

    <h4>Chapter 670: Comprehensive Coboration</h4>

    Lu Yin had sent people to search for Old Gu De after the Outerverse and Innerverse were separated, but nobody had managed to find him. The Astral River had always separated the Innerverse from the Outerverse, and the cultivators who worked on the ark had insulted many Outerverse cultivators over the years. Thus, these people had instantly be the public enemy of the entire Outerverse after they were cut off from the Innerverse.

    There were a lot of people who wanted to find the Astral River Ark¡¯s crew, but Old Gu De was a Hunter, and besides that, it wasn¡¯t easy to find people after they had hidden themselves. But despite that, Hai Qiqi had managed to run into them.

    Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t let Old Gu De die easily; the man had to first feel despair.

    ¡°How are things at the Astral River?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Bullshit.¡±

    Lu Yin choked, as that response sounded very familiar to him. It seemed like Hai Qiqi was feeling much better, as she had somewhat returned to her old, sarcastic self. It had been almost a year and a half since the universe had changed, so it was normal that she was slowly recovering.

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t bother chatting with Lu Yin any longer and moved to leave immediately after urging Lu Yin to deal with Old Gu De.

    ¡°Hold up. Have you heard of imprints?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi shook her head in confusion. ¡°No, why are you asking me?¡±

    Lu Yin casually answered, ¡°Nothing much. Go and take a break.¡±

    Hai Qiqi left.

    Lu Yin thought about this matter some more and he eventually came to the conclusion that nobody in this universe knew about imprints. The Sea King was an Envoy whose power level exceeded 500,000, which was equivalent to one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters. If the Sea King¡¯s Dome didn¡¯t cultivate with imprints, then that indicated that the Fifth Maind had most likely lost this cultivation method.

    Lu Yin also recalled the conversation that he had overheard between White Knight and Blood Looney concerning their opinions on each other¡¯s cultivation methods: one had believed that imprints, bloodlines, and the martial prints were better while the other thought that the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivation methods were too rigid.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t actually know which side was correct, but the Sixth Maind had won the ancient war. Despite that, Lu Yin still felt that White Knight was correct. If a cultivation method was too rigid, then it would cause a person to miss out on many opportunities.

    Moreover, if one used an imprint to rely on an Imprinter¡¯s power, then would the Imprinter know all of the cultivator¡¯s strengths and weaknesses? If that was the case, then one would never be able to battle against their Imprinter.

    This cultivation method was basically a technique that allowed powerful people to control those who were less powerful than them by selling the cultivation method as a way to drastically increase one¡¯s power level. That had to be it¡ªthey must be controlling people through this cultivation method.

    Lu Yin stood up abruptly and left the manor. He headed over to Wendy Yushan¡¯s home as he wanted to have a chat with her and see what she thought of his theory.

    However, when he arrived, he was told that Wendy Yushan had secluded herself for a few days.

    Lu Yin was surprised at this news and unleashed his domain, but he still didn¡¯t manage to find Wendy Yushan. Oh no, she must have gone to the ruins of the Daosource Sect!

    The Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins had already turned into a battlefield, and any small mistake could cost Wendy her life. Lu Yin had already warned her about the current situation, but she had still gone back there.

    Lu Yin suddenly regretted giving her the futon.

    ¡°Inform me as soon as the Princess returns,¡± Lu Yin ordered. He then left Wendy Yushan¡¯s home as the only thing he could do at the moment was wait and hope that her identity wouldn¡¯t be exposed.

    Lu Yin appeared in the clouds high above the sky and looked down at Zenyu Star. He could see far into the distance, and the view from such a height was amazing.

    He lifted a hand as some clouds floated past, feeling waves of coldness roll over his hand.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s time for you to write a journal,¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly suggested.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°With what you¡¯ve experienced in your life so far, it wouldn¡¯t be out of ce for you to write an autobiography, and it would definitely be extremely popr. However, most powerhouses don¡¯t release their journals, and the books just end up being buried with them when they die,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Just shut up!¡±

    ¡°All you humans are like this! You don¡¯t like the truth and only want to hear something pleasant.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet, and I don¡¯t n on dying anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°How long do you want to live for?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll also be dead if I die. Whatever, I don¡¯t want to talk with you about this. I¡¯ll just screen you off if you spout off such crap again,¡± Lu Yin huffed. He didn¡¯t like people talking about his death despite its inevitability.

    The monkey didn¡¯t answer.

    Lu Yin was just about to move on when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked back at the city below him. What had he just seen?

    At that moment, a breeze blew the clouds aside, and Lu Yin looked up and saw a transport vehicle with the Nn family¡¯s symbol on it.

    Right, the Nn family. Lu Yin looked back down at the city and saw that the malls, streets, public facilities, shops, and even some government buildings were all covered with the symbol of the Nn family. The whole city looked like it belonged more to the Nn family than the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold, and he suddenly disappeared. He next appeared inside the transport vehicle that had just passed him.

    ¡°How much longer?¡±

    ¡°Not long. We just have to register at the space station. There are three other transports in front of us waiting that belong to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military.¡±

    ¡°Just ask them to let us go first.¡±

    ¡°That, that wouldn¡¯t be nice. They¡¯re a part of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s military.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with that? We provide the military with their rations, pay, uniforms, spacecraft, and everything else. Why shouldn¡¯t we get to enjoy some perks? Go on, ask them to let us go first. Besides, they can go and look for their Royal Regent if they have anyints.¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leaned against a window in a corner of the transporter, and his eyes shed.

    That very night, Lu Yin met with Gavin.

    ¡°Greetings Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded at Gavin. ¡°Take a seat.¡±

    Gavin didn¡¯t know why Lu Yin had asked him toe over at such ate hour, but his intuition told him that there was something wrong, which made him very nervous.

    ¡°How are our coborations with the Nn family going?¡± Lu Yin asked casually as he fiddled with his gadget.

    Gavin carefully answered, ¡°The Nn family has initiatedprehensive coboration efforts with the empire, and we project that our economy will recover soon.¡±

    ¡°We still owe them money, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin replied, ¡°Yes, we owe them quite arge debt.¡±

    ¡°Where are all the ces we are coborating with them? I was the one who encouraged the coboration, but I still don¡¯t really know about the details,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin cleared his throat. ¡°Our coboration epasses many different fields, and I can send the proposed n to Your Highness if you wish to review it.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the time to read it. Just give me a brief summary,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin nodded. As they discussed, Zhao Ran came in and served them two cups of tea. Lu Yin had brought her back to Zenyu Star, and although he had originally intended to have her stay with Wendy Yushan, Zhao Ran wanted to stay close to Lu Yin. Thus, he had arranged for her to work as a servant in King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Gavin took a sip of tea to calm himself down. ¡°Our coboration epasses various fields. from technological resources and battle techniques to clothing, food, and alcohol. The family has many businesses, and so, the Great Yu Empire is working together with them in all of these fields.¡±

    Gavin drank quite a bit of tea while talking, and Zhao Ran even had to serve him a second cup.

    ¡°In this case, all of the businesses that are teaming up with the Nn family are making a profit, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin nodded. ¡°The businesses are all connected to the empire, and some of their profits have already been deposited into the treasury.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped his finger on the table. ¡°Technological resources, food, clothing, and even battle techniques. So, they are basically taking care of the needs of themoners, military, and our cultivators. Minister Gavin, have you considered the fact that this means that the empire¡¯s economy is nowpletely controlled by the Nn family?¡±

    Gavin grew flustered, and he sprang to his feet. ¡°Your Highness-¡±

    Lu Yin interrupted the minister of finance before the man could finish his sentence. ¡°I¡¯m not ming you. Besides, I was the one who initially agreed to this coboration with the Nn family. However, I didn¡¯t expect that the Nn family¡¯s businesses would cover so many different aspects, so this is my own mistake and no fault of yours.¡±

    Gavin exhaled in relief. ¡°Your Highness, I have also been thinking about this. Since the Nn family holds no malicious intentions towards the empire at the moment and our economy is still in the process of recovering, we must continue with the current arrangement for the time being. However, as soon as our economy is restored, I will cancel these coborations.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be that easy, will it?¡± Lu Yin red at Gavin.

    Gavin¡¯s face went pale.

    ¡°If you cancel the coborations, then the empire¡¯s businesses won¡¯t be able to earn a profit anymore. You said that these businesses are all tied to the empire, and since they were able to gain the rights to work with the Nn family, then they must be supported by powerful people from the empire. In that case, if you try to stop the coborations, then you¡¯ll end up facing immense pressure from all sides to prevent this. Am I right?¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin bowed. ¡°Please look into this, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated, as the coborations with the Nn family had stimted the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy. Despite the economic boost, there were disadvantages to this venture as well. A lot of people in the empire were currently making money from the coborations, but those people would start raising trouble if the joint venture was abruptly ended. Many people were willing to die for money, and thus, these people might cause chaos and negatively affect the empire¡¯s recovering economy.

    If Lu Yin asked the Nn family to cancel the coboration, then he would be asking them to offend many people in the empire, which would cause troubles for the family¡¯s future business prospects.

    This matter was quite troublesome.

    Who would have thought that the Nn family had their fingers in such a wide range of businesses? Lu Yin had been enjoying the benefits of this joint venture, but he hadn¡¯t realized that the empire¡¯s entire economy was slowly being taken over by another party.

    The Nn family might not have any malicious intentions, but it still wasn¡¯t nice to find out that someone else was in control of the empire¡¯s economy.

    Gavin was still bowing as sweat dripped down from his forehead.

    A few momentster, Lu Yin told Gavin, ¡°Send me a list of the businesses that are currently supported by powerful political figures.¡±

    Gavin paled, and he could tell that some people would be in trouble. However, he didn¡¯t dare go against Lu Yin¡¯s orders, and he immediately gave the Royal Regent the list.

    Gavin left King Zishan¡¯s pce soon after, and another person quickly took his ce in Lu Yin¡¯s sitting room: Xueshan Auna.

    Xueshan Auna didn¡¯t expect that Lu Yin would call for him at such ate hour. He was very excited, as the Royal Regent would only send for him at such a time if Xueshan Auna was in trouble, or if Lu Yin trusted Xueshan Auna. The Auna family hadn¡¯t done anything recently that wouldnd them in any sort of trouble, which meant that this summons must be because Lu Yin was going to give the Auna family a new task.

    Xueshan Auna grew excited as soon as his thoughts reached that point.

    ¡°Xueshan Auna greets the Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Please sit down, Patriarch Xueshan.¡±

    Xueshan Auna took a seat, and Zhao Ran served him some tea. She was quite curious since there had been a lot of visitors tonight.

    Lu Yin was very friendly and chatted with Xueshan Auna for more than half an hour, and he became even friendlier as time passed.

    Xueshan Auna had been very excited at the beginning of their conversation, but as the conversation continued, he gradually got a feeling that something was wrong. He had a good understanding of Lu Yin, and the friendlier this youth behaved, the more trouble the other party was in. Of course, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t going to create trouble for the Auna family, but he would definitely send trouble their way.

    Xueshan Auna started to panic.

 Chapter 671: Lockbreaker Competition

    <h4>Chapter 671: Lockbreaker Competition</h4>

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡ªPatriarch Xueshan, I¡¯m not too clear on what the specific responsibilities of the thirteen captains are. Could you tell me a bit about the specific duties of the Ninth Squadron?¡± Lu Yin curiously asked in a gentle tone.

    These words caused Xueshan Auna topletely panic, as he had a premonition that some great disaster was about to befall his family, and his panic caused him to involuntarily stand up. ¡°Your Highness, has Rocky Auna done something wrong?¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand and pressed down. He smiled at the older man. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink things, as I¡¯m just asking. Of course, I have my own thoughts.¡±

    Xueshan Auna nervously replied, ¡°When His Majesty, Undying Yushan, originally established the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons in the past, it was with the intention of using them to take control of the thirteen fments of the empire and to prevent the government officials from growing too ambitious. However, ever since His Majesty died, the empire¡¯s territory has expanded, and there are now also the four ministries. The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons have gradually shifted to the Zenyu Star, and strictly speaking, they no longer have any sort of true mission.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It looks like the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons should be given more specific roles. Does Patriarch Xueshan have any suggestions?¡±

    Xueshan Auna replied, ¡°Your subject wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    Not even the four ministries had the authority to meddle with the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and there was no way that Xueshan Auna would dare to speak up here, as that would be overstepping his bounds by far.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The Second Squadron has developed into an intelligence force while the Twelfth Squadron now specializes in research and technology. However, the other squadrons don¡¯t really have any specific responsibilities at the moment. For the Ninth Squadron, what does Patriarch Xueshan think of having the squadron police the corruption and abuse of power for government officials?¡±

    Xueshan Auna¡¯s eyes shed, and he was momentarily stumped as he could not determine if this new set of responsibilities would be a good or bad thing.

    Investigating corrupt officials meant that the squadron would wield great authority, but Lu Yin did not seem like someone who would hand his authority over to another so casually. So then, what did this proposal mean?

    ¡°Patriarch Xueshan, I have decided to appoint the Ninth Squadron to oversee the empire¡¯s bureaucracy and to purge the corruption in its ranks. What do you think?¡± Lu Yin repeated his question, though a little louder this second time.

    Although Xueshan Auna had not had a chance to think this proposal through yet, he still replied, ¡°We will obey Your Highness¡¯s orders.¡±

    Satisfied with the response, Lu Yin nodded. In the end, Rocky Auna was from the Auna family, and without Xueshan Auna¡¯s approval, it would not be a good thing to forcibly order him around. Of course, Lu Yin could also order Xueshan Auna to yield, but he had summoned Xueshan Auna specifically to avoid this option as Lu Yin wanted the Auna patriarch to yield and be someone who would be willing to block arrows for Lu Yin.

    ¡°I already have a name list prepared. Here, take a look, Patriarch Xueshan. If you agree to this proposal, then please have Captain Rocky take action.¡± Lu Yin passed Xueshan Auna the namelist that Gavin had given him earlier in the night. Most of the names had already been removed, as they still had to rely on the merchants to revive the empire¡¯s economy. What Lu Yin currently needed to do was punish a few individuals and have them serve as an example for the rest.

    Xueshan Auna nced over the list of names, and everything suddenly became clear to him. Lu Yin wanted to deal with these corrupt officials, but the Royal Regent did not want to act himself. This was why he had mobilized the Auna family¡ªit was to resolve this predicament. This was the same as setting the Auna family up against all of the other government officials.

    This was the same as pushing the Auna family into the depths of hell.

    Xueshan Auna instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s grim expression, the Auna patriarch ultimately did not reject, as he had no leeway to choose. The Auna family had deep roots in the empire and had established many rtionships with various parties and officials. This was why Lu Yin was notfortable leaving them alone. He would only feel at ease after forcing them to investigate various officials for corruption; only then would he reemploy them once again. With thework that the family had built up over the many years, they were the most suited to handle such a task.

    Xueshan Auna remembered how the Auna family¡¯s hall had fallen quiet and bleak and the various rumors circting about his family as well. At that point, Xueshan Auna grew determined to agree to have Rocky Auna handle this project. ¡°This subject understands. Rest assured, Your Highness, your subject knows what to do.¡±

    Lu Yin was happy with this response. ¡°Patriarch Xueshan, rest assured, I will not let the Auna family work for nothing. As long as the Auna family doesn¡¯t make any fundamental mistakes, the Ninth Squadron will always belong to the Auna n.¡±

    Xueshan Auna was delighted, as this was the promise that he had most wanted to hear. The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were incredibly influential, and so long as there was someone from the Auna family leading one of the squadrons, their family would never copse.

    After leaving King Zishan''s pce, Xueshan Auna took a deep breath. From this time onwards, the previous Auna family would no longer exist, and a new Auna family would be born.

    After Xueshan Auna left his home, Lu Yin contacted the beautiful Madam Nn.

    The enchanting figure of Madam Nn appeared on the screen, but this time, she looked rather exhausted. Even though she had a lethargic expression, a trace of her charm still shone through. Madam Nn had never once needed to act seductively as her natural charm was already overwhelming. If it wasn¡¯t such an innate characteristic of hers, Lu Yin would not have viewed Madam Nn as such a temptress. Still, at this moment, the woman¡¯s charm had been magnified ten times, and even Lu Yin felt a little thirsty.

    ¡°Your Highness, what¡¯s the matter?¡± She smiled at Lu Yin as she licked her red lips.

    Lu Yin coughed dryly. ¡°Nothing much. I just wanted to check if your joint ventures with the aristocratic families and the Empire are going well.¡±

    She blinked. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness. You will have to ask Lord Gavin about this, as I¡¯ve already handed over all matters of our ventures with the Great Yu Empire to him. Thus, I am not too clear on the details.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. I¡¯ve seen the symbol of the Nn family all across Zenyu Star, and I had thought that you were the one giving the orders. Speaking of which, your family¡¯s symbol is quite appealing.¡±

    She smiled. ¡°That¡¯s for sure, since it¡¯s a symbol that¡¯s been passed down through many years.¡± She suddenly thought of something. ¡°Your Highness, are you nning to go to Sourcepeak?¡±

    ¡°Sourcepeak?¡± Lu Yin paused. ¡°Are you referring to the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Why would I go there?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn felt puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t Your Highness receive news that the Lockbreaker Competition will begin soon?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No, what Lockbreaker Competition?¡±

    The alluring Madam Nn then exined, ¡°Every ten years, the Innerverse and Outerverse will organize a Lockbreaker Competition both to raise the position of Lockbreakers in the hearts of themoners and also to uncover any hidden Lockbreaking geniuses. Didn¡¯t Your Highness receive any notification at all?¡±

    Lu Yin searched through his messages on his gadget and then shook his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± She could not understand this situation.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to bother Madam Nn sote at night. Rest well,¡± Lu Yin said before disconnecting. He wanted to investigate a bit into the situation surrounding this Lockbreaker Competition.

    After Lu Yin hung up the call, Madam Nn¡¯s smile faded, and she activated her gadget. Soon after that, a middle-aged man appeared on her screen who respectfully bowed to her.

    Her face remained frozen. ¡°Does every ce on Zenyu Star show the symbol of our Nn family?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Yes, mistress.¡±

    ¡°Who had you do this?¡± she asked sternly.

    The middle-aged man was puzzled by this. ¡°Mistress, your subordinate didn¡¯t intentionally do this, but there were too many aspects to our various coborations, and we are cooperating with many different merchants. Thus, the family wants the symbol to be shown whenever we cooperate with someone. So at a nce, it will look like the family¡¯s symbol is everywhere on Zenyu Star.¡±

    She frowned. ¡°Many aspects to the cooperation? Be specific.¡±

    She was simr to Lu Yin, in the fact that she had assigned many tasks to others and then cleanly washed her hands of all rted matters. The Nn family had existed for many years, and it naturally had its own system of management. There was no need for her to directly meddle in most matters. All she had to do was set the general direction for the family.

    Initially, she had assumed that the cooperation between them and the empire would bergely geared towards technology, resources, military equipment, and possiblymunications. She had not expected that the coborations would also include food, clothing, and even snacks. It was no wonder why her family¡¯s symbol was stered everywhere on Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin had not made such a fuss about this matter, but there was a reason to how she had survived in the business world for so long, and she had easily sensed Lu Yin¡¯s displeasure.

    ¡°Reduce the amount of cooperation that we have with the Empire. There might be various changes in the Great Yu Empire during this next period,¡± she said. She understood Lu Yin, and while he had not directly said anything to her, she was able to infer that he would simply take action from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s side. It would seem that these joint ventures had many aspects that did not seek out the Empire¡¯s benefits itself, but were rather benefits for more select individuals.

    She answered, ¡°Let¡¯s see how the Great Yu Empire reacts first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, mistress.¡±

    ¡°Also, have the family show a better attitude towards the Great Yu Empire. Don¡¯t forget¡ªwe are indebted to Lu Yin, and without him, our family would have already been devoured by Enlighters,¡± she ordered.

    The middle-aged man immediately acknowledged her instructions. ¡°Your subordinate will send these orders down.¡±

    Lu Yin had only mentioned something to Madam Nn in passing, but her intelligence and experience allowed her to easily understand the whole situation. Also, she was certain that his focus would switch to the Lockbreaker Competition, as he was already a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. But strangely, he had not received any notice concerning thepetition so far.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was familiar with other Lockbreakers, so he was able to contact them through the Lockbreakerwork.

    Also, there should be some news rted to thepetition on the Lockbreakerwork. Lu Yin casually entered thework to take a look, and sure enough, there were many announcements about the Lockbreaker Competition. It would begin in twenty six days on Sourcepeak, though the actual rules were still unknown. The reward was True Insight.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing of True Insight, and he naturally searched for it on the next, but nothing came up. He finally had to use the clearance provided by his eleven Honor Points before he managed to find anything.

    True Insight was a Lockbreaker¡¯s supreme treasure, though thework did not mention what it was specifically. There was only one sentence in the description, which said that this treasure could only be used by a Lockbreaker at the Boundless Advanced level.

    Its value was basically priceless, and it even surpassed the value of the Secret Sidestep Technique or a lockbreaking tool.

    There was an incident recorded on thework that was cited as an example; someone had once tried to trade a secret technique for True Insight, but the deal had been rejected by the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters.

    This incident clearly demonstrated the value of True Insight¡¯s value, and it showed that True Insight was in no way inferior to a secret technique.

    A secret technique was something that had been created by a Progenitor and each one had the ability to turn the rotten into something miraculous. Lu Yin hadprehended and could use the Yu Secret Art, and he knew full well how helpful that technique was. If True Insight could not be bought even when a secret technique was offered, then its value was unimaginably high.

    The reward for the Outerverse Lockbreaker Competition was naturally not the entire True Insight. True Insight was made up of thirty six pages, and the entire copy was stored securely in the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Neoverse headquarters. The reward for the Outerversepetition was only three pages of True Insight.

    Although it was only three pages, it was still enough to attract countless experts. The Lockbreaker Competition was only held once every ten years, and the champion was able to obtain three pages of the True Insight, which could then be sold for extraordinary sums.

    Lu Yin studied the information for half an hour and then released a pent up breath. The entrance qualifications for this Lockbreaker Competition was to formally be a one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. As a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, it was only reasonable that Lu Yin should have been sent notice of the event; however, nobody had contacted him. Could the society have forgotten about him?

    He thought about it and then contacted Xi Qi. The two had met up in the Ironblood Weave during the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion.

    He tried to call her for a while, but it didn¡¯t go through. Perhaps because it was already toote. Lu Yin set his gadget down and began to silently recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The next morning, Lu Yin tried to contact Xi Qi again, but he still could not get in touch with the girl. However, Hai Qiqi arrived at his residence instead.

    ¡°True Insight? Why are you asking about that?¡± Hai Qiqi asked. Her visit this time was to urge Lu Yin to take care of Old Gu De, but Lu Yin had asked her something before she could even speak.

    ¡°The Lockbreaker Competition is about to begin, and I want to participate,¡± Lu Yin said.

 Chapter 672: Realm Of Control

    <h4>Chapter 672: Realm Of Control</h4>

    When she heard what Lu Yin said, Hai Qiqi looked at him in a ridiculing manner. ¡°You? Compete? Are you joking? Just go and y around on your own.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. That poisonous tongue of hers was really quite familiar. ¡°I¡¯m a genuine four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Do you really think that I don¡¯t have any hope of winning?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. The Lockbreaker Competition is held once every ten years, and participants at the level of a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker are a dime a dozen, though there are some who are young and others who are old. There are also Lockbreakers at the Perceptive Intermediate level. A Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker like you wanting to take first ce is simply dreaming.¡± Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes.

    ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse are separated,¡± Lu Yinmented quietly.

    Hai Qiqi paused and then sighed. ¡°That¡¯s true, the Outerverse has been cut off from the Innerverse. Many Lockbreakers are still in the Innerverse, and there aren¡¯t too many left in the Outerverse. Hold on-¡± She paused as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Since the Outerverse has been isted from the Innerverse, what¡¯s the prize? What about True Insight?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s being held at the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters: Sourcepeak.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was stunned. ¡°There¡¯s really such a coincidence? Right, I recall now¡ªduring the Lockbreaker Competition ten years ago, True Insight was stored in the Innerverse, and this time around, it¡¯s the Outerverse¡¯s turn.¡±

    She quickly understood the details, and she looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Your luck is pretty good for you to even encounter a situation like this.¡±

    ¡°Have you watched the Lockbreaker Competition before?¡±

    ¡°Yep, a live broadcast. It¡¯s very impressive.¡±

    ¡°Did the Sea King ever mention anything about True Insight to you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°Yes, that thing¡¯s an absolute supreme treasure. Any Lockbreaker who has a few random pages will have their power spike by several levels. The more pages that they get a hold of, the more terrifying they¡¯ll be. Rumor has it that if anyonepletelyprehends all thirty six pages of True Insight, then not even a powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000 will be their opponent. That person will also infinitely approach the power of a Progenitor. However, that¡¯s just a rumor, and Father doesn¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Then there¡¯s three pages of the True Insight over there.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Your luck¡¯s good. Go and get some money ready.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°To buy it, of course! Every year, the champion of the Lockbreakerpetition sells off the three pages that they win. You don¡¯t actually think that you¡¯ll be the champion, right?¡±

    ¡°I n onpeting for it, but why do the champions have to sell it? That thing¡¯s a priceless treasure.¡±

    Hai Qiqi sneered, ¡°Do you really think that just anybody can hold on to such a priceless treasure? Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers aren¡¯t allowed topete in thispetition, but True Insight is only useful for Lockbreakers at that level. Do you think that those old monsters won¡¯t move to grab those pages? Let me tell you something¡ªthere was a champion from a previouspetition who was the disciple of the president of the Innerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society. He didn¡¯t sell the pages after winning thepetition, and he ended up being murdered. After that, any Lockbreaker who managed to be the champion always sold off the three pages of True Insight or gave them to someone else. But regardless of what they do, not one winner has kept the prize for themselves since. This has be the tradition.

    ¡°With your current position in the Outerverse, you have a status that allows you to buy it. Of course, there will also be many others who will try to fight you for it.¡±

    ¡°What if I be the champion?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi looked at him with pure condescension. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about this. Even if the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse, there are still many powerful hidden Lockbreakers out here. Any random Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker will definitely beat you, so taking first ce is practically impossible for you. Even the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five were defeated when they participated.¡±

    ¡°Who beat them?¡±

    ¡°That season¡¯s champion, of course.¡±

    Lu Yin considered how he could get his hands on True Insight. At the present moment, only Enlighters in the Outerverse were able to stand up to Lu Yin. If hidden powerhouses were not considered, Lu Yin could almost be considered an uncrowned king, but those old monsters definitely would not hold back as long as something appealing enough appeared; even the Hall of Honor might get involved.

    ¡°This season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition might be the worst line-up ever, as thepetition was supposed to include Lockbreakers from both the Outerverse and the Innerverse, but since the two have been separated, there will only be a few qualified people participating. It¡¯s just pointless,¡± Hai Qiqi said, but then she turned back to Lu Yin. ¡°Even still, there¡¯s no way for you to take first ce.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I have a lockbreaking tool, and I¡¯m confident in unlocking a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then which step are you at in terms of star energy control?¡± Hai Qiqi looked at him with disdain.

    ¡°Star energy control? Forcefield, I¡¯veprehended a forcefield.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! I knew that you¡¯d be clueless. You¡¯re talking about the steps of controlling star energy forbat, which go from dispelling impurities, to forming something substantial, to the realm of infinite change, to changing colors, and then finally toprehending a domain. But what I¡¯m talking about is the steps for measuring the star energy control that is used in lockbreaking. Lockbreakers have to unlock sourceboxes and resolve the energies within them, so their control of star energy has to be meticulous, and it¡¯spletely different frombat applications.

    ¡°The more meticulous one¡¯s control of star energy is, the more things they can do as they please, and the faster they¡¯ll be at lockbreaking. The Lockbreaker Competition is about testing one¡¯s lockbreaking speed.¡±

    ¡°Give me some more details,¡± Lu Yin asked solemnly.

    Hai Qiqi took a moment to recall the specifics before saying, ¡°A domain is extremely useful for lockbreaking, and that¡¯s why many Lockbreakers hope toprehend one, but many of them fail. Not all Lockbreakers are domain experts, which begs the question: how do those Lockbreakers who haven¡¯tprehended domains improve themselves? Naturally, it¡¯s through their star energy control, and the Lockbreaker Society has published six realms of control: Intricacy, Cloudwalk, Skywise, Divine Gaze, Worldliness, and Profound Creation.

    ¡°The higher one¡¯s realm of control, the stronger one¡¯s control of star energy will be. Legend has it that the Lockbreaker Society President, Geoffrey, has attained Worldliness and that his star energy is capable of forming a world. With his star energy control in that realm, he¡¯s able to resolve the energies of a sourcebox extremely quickly.¡±

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing of such a differentiation in star energy control. Did the Lockbreaker Society keep such information internal? All this time, he had not ced much attention on Lockbreakers, but it was possible that he had neglected a lot of things.

    ¡°How do you know about all this?¡± Lu Yin could not contain his curiosity.

    Hai Qiqi proudly dered, ¡°Father is a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°No wonder. Your domain is very powerful, and your control over star energy shouldn¡¯t be too bad either,¡± Lu Yin probed.

    Hai Qiqi was pleased. ¡°Intricacy realm.¡±

    ¡°Just the Intricacy Realm?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide.

    Hai Qiqi became unhappy at his reaction. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®just the Intricacy Realm?¡¯ Do you know how difficult it is to enter the Intricacy Realm? It¡¯s the same as using a lockbreaking tool! Let¡¯s see if you can emte one without actually using one!¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly had a better understanding, and this allowed him to make a direct observation: if entering the Intricate Realm was the same as having an additional lockbreaking tool, then what about the Cloudwalking Realm? And what about the highest, the Profound Creation Realm? Just the name Profound Creation gave him a feeling of how incredible its power was.

    However, this sort of control was not too helpful inbat, or else this ssification system would have been circted everywhere.

    ¡°Could you let me experience the degree of control that the Intricacy Realm has?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll let you worship me for a while.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, but he still raised a hand and released his star energy. It then materialized and transformed above his palm. It formed rain, then wind, then a snarling creature.

    Hai Qiqi pressed a hand against Lu Yin¡¯s palm, and Lu Yin saw the star energy that he had released from his hand be invaded by a foreign thread of star energy before quickly falling apart. The entire process was so smooth that it almost seemed as if the star energy had dissipated naturally. He intently stared at his palm with both eyes, unleashed his domain, and even took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye with his left hand. Only then did he see two strands of star energy encircling one another over his palm. One of the two strands appeared lifelike, and it incessantly dissolved his star energy.

    He could forcibly gather more star energy to dispel Hai Qiqi¡¯s star energy, and it would not even be that difficult to do so. Perhaps, this was the reason why the Intricacy Realm¡¯s degree of star energy control did not have a great influence over fighting, as it could be easily countered. However, it was iparable in terms of aid when lockbreaking. If Lu Yin had such exquisite star energy control, then his lockbreaking speed would definitely undergo a transformation.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lu Yin lowered his hand and looked at Hai Qiqi. ¡°How can I cultivate my control to that degree?¡±

    ¡°Just use star energy more, such as using it to control minuscule items. Father initially trained me by having me use star energy to control seawater to write an essay, and then I had to ensure that it would not dissipate for ten days. After that, I had to make the words smaller¡ªthe tinier the better¡ªand ensure that the writing still won¡¯t dissipate. Gradually, by repeating that, you¡¯ll enter the Intricacy Realm,¡± Hai Qiqi exined. Upon mentioning the Sea King, her mood grew depressed again.

    This sort of cultivation was effective, but it was extremely time consuming. Still, that was the cultivation method that Lu Yin was the least afraid of.

    He had Hai Qiqi leave and then ordered Gavin to contact Madam Nn to purchase some sourceboxes. In addition to that, Lu Yin also went ahead and bought some more from various ces in the Outerverse. After that, he went to a secret room in the pce, raised his hand, and brought out his die. It was time to use Timestop again to practice, as this time, he had to cultivate his star energy control.

    He screened the Ghost Monkey off, raised his hand, and summoned his die. It had been a long time since he hadst rolled it, and as usual, he ced his cosmic ring aside before starting to spin it.

    The die slowly stopped, showing three pips: Enhance. The two light screens appeared.

    Lu Yin had nothing to do, as this time, he had nothing that he needed to upgrade. He rolled his die again, and this time, it stopped on four pips: Timestop. He snatched up his cosmic ring in an instant as the scenery before his eyes changed. He had entered the Timestop Space.

    It would definitely take a lot of time to cultivate his star energy control, so he immediately used more than 400 star essence to increase the time in the space to six months. He would test it out first!

    What entered one¡¯s vision could berge or small, and not seeing something would cause one to assume that it didn¡¯t exist. But in reality, there existed countless structures in space that were essentially invisible. Hai Qiqi¡¯s training method was to use star energy to control a substance that grew gradually smaller and smaller as one trained, until it was no longer visible. Then, upon reaching that degree of control, one could be said to have entered the Divine Gaze Realm. Did that mean that, upon attaining that realm, even one¡¯s normal physical vision could see the ambient star energy? Would that not rival a domain?

    Lu Yin used his star energy to simte water that he then used to write words in the air, making sure that the writing was very small. He wrote an essay of several thousand words, after which he continued to control them, making the characters float in the air without dissipating. He wanted to train with Hai Qiqi¡¯s cultivation method. The Sea King was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and his training method would definitely be effective, or at the very least, it would be better than Lu Yin blindly stumbling around on his own.

    One day, two days¡­ Five days passed.

    Maintaining the writing in the air turned out to be much more difficult than what he had expected. Lu Yin had always felt that his star energy control during battles was sufficient, but he had never tried to manipte star energy so meticulously for so long before. The star energy incessantly tried to dissipate, only to gradually coalesce once again.

    Ten dayster, the essay written with star energy finally dissipated.

    After maintaining it for ten days, Lu Yin felt more beaten than even after a round of battle. For some reason, he felt that star energy was no longer star energy, and he had be a little numb.

    Still, he continued.

    This time, he maintained the writing in the air for fifteen days.

    ¡­

    Day after day passed by, and although it wasn¡¯t overly difficult to raise his star energy control, it proved to be more draining than Lu Yin could have ever imagined. It was like trying to get an uncultured brute to write by with a delicate brush that could be casually crushed. It would take a long time for the brute to learn to control their strength.

    It was an arduous process to say the least.

    The scenery before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed, and he finally reappeared inside the secret room in King Zishan¡¯s pce. After half a year of training in the Timestop Space, his perception of star energy hadpletely transformedpared to before. Hisprehension of star energy had risen to another level, and aside from attaining the Intricacy Realm in terms of star energy control, he had unexpectedly increased the number of stars that he could manifest with the Cosmic Art to fifty.

    It seemed that the fastest way of cultivating more stars for the Cosmic Art was to observe the operation of stars while also practicing his star energy control at the same time. Lu Yin remembered that the Trialmaster had once said that the Cosmic Art was the most desired cultivation technique for Lockbreakers. It seemed that the Cosmic Art could not only assist in lockbreaking, but that Lockbreakers could also cultivate the Cosmic Art through improving their star energy control, and the rate of cultivating with that method was quite a bit faster than when simply observing star charts.

 Chapter 673: Lockbreaking

    <h4>Chapter 673: Lockbreaking</h4>

    Lu Yin exited the secret room and unscreened the Ghost Monkey, after which he instantly heard it angrily cursing.

    He had cultivated for half a year in the Timestop Space, but to the outside world, just a fleeting moment had passed.

    Gavin had only just made contact with the stunning Madam Nn on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf.

    As soon as she learned that Lu Yin wanted to buy sourceboxes, she sold three of them to Gavin, all of which were at the five star Discerning Elementary level. The average price was 300 star essence for a sourcebox at that level, which totaled up to 900 star essence.

    For a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox, it wasn¡¯t a hefty price, and it could even be considered a little low; after all, it was the most reduced price that Madam Nn could give for a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. As far as the Great Yu Empire¡¯s treasury was concerned, 900 star essence was equivalent to about 90 million star crystals, which was a huge expense. Despite the heavy financial pressure, Gavin stillpleted the purchase.

    Madam Nn did not shirk away from this transaction. If she helped another party too often, there was a chance that it would be a habit. She had been in the business world for a long time, and she was well aware of when she should help someone out of charity and when she should ept their money.

    After buying three sourceboxes from the Nn family, Gavin weighed the remaining funds in the treasury and decided that he could not buy any more sourceboxes without affecting the empire¡¯s finances.

    At this moment, Gavin received a message from Lu Yin, and so, he hurried over to King Zishan''s pce. He felt that this summons was strange; he had only just left, so why was he being summoned back again already? He hoped Lu Yin had not suddenly changed his mind about the sourceboxes since Gavin had already paid for them.

    ¡°Your Highness, your subject has already purchased three five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes from the Nn family for a total of 900 star essence, which is about 90 million star crystals,¡± Gavin immediately reported the transaction to Lu Yin the moment he saw the Royal Regent, as he was truly afraid that Lu Yin might have changed his mind about this matter.

    Lu Yin acknowledged the purchase with a grunt and quickly retrieved 900 star essence from his cosmic ring and passed them over to Gavin. ¡°These sourceboxes are for my personal use, so there¡¯s no need to use the treasury¡¯s resources.¡±

    Gavin epted the funds, as the Empire was indeed almostpletely broke.

    The average Discerning Elementary sourcebox usually sold for at least ten star essence, and that was just the starting price for a sourcebox. As the sourcebox¡¯s grade increased, the price would actually multiply. A five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox was worth at least 300 star essence, and the Nn family had sold three of them to Lu Yin at a very reasonable price.

    ¡°Your Highness, should we continue to purchase more?¡± Gavin asked.

    Lu Yin thought about the idea. ¡°Look for sellers, and we¡¯ll see if we should buy more.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You can leave for now. I¡¯ll be heading to Sourcepeak for a while, so arrange a spacecraft for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ***

    While this was happening, a luxurious mansion on Zenyu Star had been surrounded by the Ninth Squadron. There were many people watching the situation unfold since they all knew that this mansion belonged to a certain influential official of the empire, and the onlookers seemed to be enjoying the man¡¯s misfortune.

    ¡°Rocky Auna, how audacious! You actually dare to raid my mansion! I will report this to the top!¡± an elder screamed at Rocky Auna as he stared furiously at the captain.

    Everyone in the mansion had been detained by the Ninth Squadron, and they were all ring angrily at all their captors.

    Rocky Auna could only sigh to himself. The Auna family was about to step onto a path of no return. But if they did not do this, they would gradually fade away to nothing. Thus, they could only stake everything on this gamble and hope that His Highness would protect them.

    ¡°Apologies, my lord. You are under suspicion of colluding with merchants, corrupt behavior, and epting bribes. The evidence is absolute. Take him away,¡± Rocky Auna ordered.

    ¡°Rocky, I¡¯m being framed! I wish to see the Royal Regent! I wish to see the Royal Regent!¡± the old man shrieked, but his voice gradually faded into the distance.

    Many outside the mansion excitedly watched everything take ce.

    Rocky Auna¡¯s eyes narrowed, and then he waved a hand. The mansion was sealed off as the soldiers hurried on to the next residence.

    In the short period of a single day, the Ninth Squadron raided four rtively influential families on Zenyu Star. The merchant organizations rted to these families quickly stopped their coborative activities, and almost all of these activities happened to be connected to the Nn family¡¯s joint ventures with the empire.

    A middle-aged man from the Nn family who was responsible for the trade on Zenyu Star received the news, and his expression quickly changed. He immediately flipped through the rted agreements with these specific merchant organizations, and he instantly discovered that they were all rted to basic resources and necessities such as food and clothing. These coborations were not too important, but they were still able to influence themon people¡¯s livelihoods. What¡¯s more, these types of joint ventures were able to spread extensively, and they were how the Nn family¡¯s symbol had spread all across Zenyu Star so easily and quickly.

    The middle-aged man wiped away the sweat that had beaded up on his forehead and immediately had the various business ventures stopped before he then requested to meet with Finance Minister Gavin.

    In the Auna family¡¯s estate, Xueshan Auna was sitting in his office with his eyes closed, deep in thought. That night, Rocky Auna arrived to meet with him. ¡°Patriarch, it¡¯s finished.¡±

    Xueshan Auna opened his eyes and raised a pen. He then struck away four names that had been written on a piece of paper, which were the four families that had been captured during the day.

    Rocky Auna watched him, bewildered by the action. ¡°Patriarch, what is this?¡±

    Xueshan Auna looked at the paper with aplex expression on his face. There were many names written on the paper, and almost half of them had already been struck away. ¡°This is a list of His Majesty Undying Yushan¡¯s councillors from when he was in power. Take a look.¡±

    Rocky Auna looked over the list, and his face went pale. ¡°The Royal Regent has removed half of them.¡±

    Xueshan Auna raised his head and sighed. ¡°Each new chief will select his own aides. The Royal Regent¡¯s methods are decisive and ruthless, and he will not allow any of his dealings to have any openings since he has a supreme power that can suppress all others. The Empire has alreadypletely fallen under his control, and the Empire¡¯s authority no longer rests solely in the hands of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, as it has been divided into the four ministries and King Zishan''s pce as well. You must remember, from this day forward, that our Auna family only listens to His Highness, the Royal Regent.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Patriarch,¡± Rocky Auna answered solemnly. He felt a slight chill when he thought of the list of names on that slip of paper.

    ***

    Within the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial pce, there was a massive courtyard. In the past, Undying Yushan had often summoned Lu Yin to this courtyard for meetings. However, after the intense battle that had taken ce on Zenyu Star, the courtyard had be rather deste.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the courtyard, he quickly ordered for people to seal off the area. He then looked at the three sealed cases in the center of the courtyard. Each one was a different size, and they had beenid out with arge distance between each one. Each case was made out of Spiritual Thread, and they contained the three recently purchased five star Discerning Elementary level sourceboxes.

    Aside from their star rating, the other greatest difference between sourceboxes was whether they were harmful or harmless. Not only were harmless sourceboxes umon, but they were also extremely expensive. Although the possibility of a harmless sourcebox containing a treasure inside was reduced, such sourceboxes guaranteed the safety of any Lockbreaker who attempted to unlock them. This allowed the Lockbreaker to raise their own experience, which was of immense value all by itself.

    The Nn family had provided him with a harmless sourcebox for winning the Astral Combat Tournament, and it had been a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. It was still in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring as he had not attempted to unlock it yet; he was nning on first unlocking these three sourceboxes before he attempted that Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    He walked to the closest sourcebox and then reached out to open the Spiritual Thread case. A howl suddenly roared out without any warning, startling Lu Yin. Gavin had told him that one particr sourcebox would release a beast¡¯s roar that had the power to affect one¡¯s mind. Lu Yin had mentally prepared himself, but he had still been startled. The instance he heard the roar, he seemed to see a boundless beast reclining in space howling at him.

    He shook his head and refocused his mind. There was only a beast-shaped stoneying within the Spiritual Thread case, and although it seemed normal, it was actually the sourcebox.

    The beast¡¯s roar reappeared in Lu Yin¡¯s ears as he pressed a hand against the Spiritual Thread case. The case responded with a thumping noise, as if it was shattering apart, before an even fiercer roar burst forth from within the sourcebox. It was powerful enough to freeze space and even form a giant beast that swatted at Lu Yin.

    There was a thump as the ground quivered. A deep w imprint had suddenly appeared.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this sourcebox¡¯s danger was actually able to take on a physical form. He was also certain that whatever was sealed inside the sourcebox was rted to the beast that had appeared. Anything that could be a sourcebox had existed for countless ages, and the time required to be one was at least hundreds of thousands of years. If the item in this source box was able to retain such might even after that much time, then this beast had definitely been a terrifying existence when it was alive.

    However, it was of no threat to Lu Yin. He had checked and seen that these three sourceboxes¡¯ rune lines could not threaten him.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a gale swept out, causing the newly-formed beast to dissipate. As the image disappeared, the roar also grew softer.

    Lu Yin then walked over to the sourcebox and unleashed his domain. His eyes went wide as fifty stars began orbiting his figure. If someone saw him at this moment, they would be astounded as Lu Yin looked like he was the center of a small universe with all these stars revolving around him.

    After some observation, Lu Yin decided to start unlocking the sourcebox from its center; there was less energy in that part, making it rtively easier to unlock.

    The Intricacy Realm implied a qualitative change in his degree of star energy control, and Lu Yin was able to resolve the sourcebox¡¯s energy much more smoothly than before. His technique was no longer as crude as when he had been on the Savage Ape. If he had possessed this degree of control at that time, then he would not have been looked down upon by Casanova.

    Once a lockbreaking session stepped onto the right track, it became a dull affair, especially when the Lockbreaker knew that the sourcebox posed no threat to them.

    Time passed in this dull manner during Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking session.

    From outside the courtyard, Kayze asionally looked over, and he seemed rather shocked. He hadn¡¯t known that Lu Yin was such an incredible Lockbreaker, as he was unlocking a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. Once it was sessfully unlocked, wouldn¡¯t the Royal Regent be able to challenge the Perceptive Intermediate level? Not only was this person terrifying in hisbat talent, but even his lockbreaking talent was exceptional.

    Lu Yin had not unlocked any five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox before, as this was his first time attempting one. Theplex energyposition made him feel dizzy, and he recalled his first lockbreaking experience which had taken an entire twenty seven hours to finish. With his current abilities, it would take him at most an hour to sessfully unlock that same sourcebox.

    Lu Yin estimated that he would need at least fifteen hours to finish unlocking this five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

    Maintaining peak concentration for fifteen hours was not easy, as he had to devote his full attention to the task at hand and could not rx for even a single moment.

    As the sky turned from ck to white, Lu Yin was still focused on the beast-shaped sourcebox in front of him. Then, there was a pop¡ªthe energy seal that had formed the surface of the sourceboxpletely vanished, and a scent reeking of blood surged forth. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately sealed off the area around him and retreated several steps before staring at the beast corpse that had fallen out of the sourcebox.

    It was actually the same beast whose image he had seen in the air before he had started lockbreaking, as this sourcebox had actually been sealing the creature¡¯s corpse. Well, half of it anyways.

    The fact that the creature had been sealed within a sourcebox was proof that the beast had been amazingly powerful when it had been alive. Lu Yin slowly approached the body, as this sort of powerful creature could be very useful just in terms of its flesh, blood, and bones.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, be careful! Don¡¯t spoil it. This was a powerful astral beast, and it was definitely much more ferocious than whatever Elder Lohar you met,¡± the monkey excitedly cautioned him.

    Lu Yin carefully approached the corpse when, suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. It caused the remaining half of the corpse to dissipate into dust that floated into the sky, and even the scent of blood disappeared.

    The Ghost Monkey wailed, ¡°Oh, by Monkey¡¯s treasured blood! That was the blood of a powerful astral beast, and now it¡¯s gone just like that!¡±

    Lu Yin also felt that it was a pity, as any powerhouse¡¯s blood was something that was very valuable.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, hurry up and unlock the rest! Let¡¯s see what other treasures are inside,¡± the monkey urged Lu Yin.

 Chapter 674: A Womanâ€™s Thoughts

    <h4>Chapter 674: A Woman¡¯s Thoughts</h4>

    Lu Yin was exhausted. ¡°I want to rest first. Also, don¡¯t get too excited¡ªlockbreaking is always a gamble, and the chances of getting any kind of treasure are extremely low. Besides, the Lockbreaker Society doesn¡¯t judge a Lockbreaker¡¯s ability on whether or not they get any treasures.¡±

    ¡°Monkey obviously knows this, but I just can¡¯t ept it! That kind of powerful astral beast¡¯s blood could have been of great help to me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°You don¡¯t even have a physical body, but you¡¯re trying to say that the blood still would have helped you?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey quickly gave an exnation. ¡°Of course! The blood of some powerhouses can even possess a kind of inheritance or other valuable information, such as battle techniques or secret arts. It¡¯s just like how, when you became an Explorer, your blood also became different from others¡¯. The more powerful you be, the greater the possibility of certain things leaving a trace within your body. If you one day reach the level of an Envoy, it¡¯s possible that other people would even try to study a strand of your hair in hopes of finding some inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as he did not like those words. They sounded as if even the dead had to be studied. ¡°So you raided tombs to obtain the corpses of powerful astral beasts?¡±

    ¡°What tomb raiding? This monkey here is a proper archaeologist!¡± The Ghost Monkey didn¡¯t like that usation.

    Lu Yin did not bother with the monkey any longer. He had inferred many different things from the monkey¡¯s words, and his desire to quickly find a Beast Tamer to understand this monkey¡¯s situation was even stronger than ever.

    Right, there was also the Greatsword Dynasty. Lu Yin would help them when he returned from Sourcepeak, and then he would conveniently be able to get some hidden treasures.

    He rested for a day before approaching the second sourcebox. ording to the information that the Nn Family had given Gavin, while this sourcebox was not too dangerous, one would feel an oppressive aura that grew more intense the closer they drew to the sourcebox. This was not the same effect as increased gravity; rather, this oppression seemed to stem from the air itself bing several times more dense, and it was even possible for people to pass out from excess oxygen.

    There was a thump as the case of Spiritual Thread opened. Lu Yin looked at the sourcebox that appeared to be quite ordinary. However, in the next moment, his entire body felt as if he had been suddenly submerged within a swamp, and tremendous amounts of oxygen flooded through his body with each breath as his mind dulled and became heavy. He immediately stopped breathing, which resolved this sensation.

    This sourcebox could only be approached by cultivators who were at least Explorers, as otherwise, the oppressive air around the sourcebox would kill them.

    This sourcebox was smaller than the first one he had opened that had been beast-shaped. Lu Yin studied it for a moment, and then chose a position and began to lockbreak.

    ***

    In the Vastdearth Sect, at where the Sect Elder was in seclusion. Meng Tianlong had been waiting in this ce for several days in hopes that the elder would emerge.

    Elder Angio walked over from behind Meng Tianlong and sighed. ¡°Sect Leader, you should head back. The Sect Elder has secluded himself for good. And even if his body is still fine, who knows how long it will take for him toe out.¡±

    Meng Tianlong was feeling rather down. ¡°How¡¯s our rtionships with the other weaves?¡±

    Elder Angio felt embarrassed. ¡°Leader, do we really have to do this? It¡¯ll be problematic if we provoke Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°No, this is just a friendlypetition. I don¡¯t have any intentions of overthrowing him,¡± Meng Tianlong exined.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already reached out to them, and they have all agreed. During the Alliance Conference, we¡¯ll pull out all sorts of elites and have them challenge members of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Meng Tianlong nodded, but he did not speak any further.

    ¡°Leader, will it really be useful to handle things this way?¡± Elder Angio asked.

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°The establishment of this alliance may allow the Great Yu Empire to gain benefits, but that¡¯s because Lu Yin is the one behind them. If one day, something happens to him, then the party to benefit the most from this alliance may not end up being the Great Yu Empire. What we have to do right now is disy our own power while also suppressing everyone from the Great Yu Empire aside from Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°So is this the reason why our sect has not resisted the alliance formation too much from the start?¡± Elder Angio came to a realization.

    Meng Tianlong looked up. ¡°It¡¯s indeed true that the Outerverse needs an alliance, but the decision-maker should not be Lu Yin, but rather us. Once our Sect Elder awakens, our Vastdearth Sect may even rival Lu Yin¡¯s position within the alliance. Lu Yin is arrogant and has made too many enemies, so something is bound to happen to him sooner orter. At that moment, the entire alliance will be ours. Hence, we need to coordinate with him and properly arrange this alliance in preparation for our future.¡±

    Elder Angio left without asking the question that had been on his mind for a long time. The foundational premise behind Meng Tianlong¡¯s ns was that something would eventually happen to Lu Yin. But what if nothing ever happened to the youth? Would that not mean that the alliance would always be controlled by him? Lu Yin was still very young, and he could definitely outlive old cultivators like themselves.

    Meng Tianlong had not mentioned anything about this, and this seemed to imply that he knew that even if the Sect Elder emerged, not even that old monster would be able to suppress Lu Yin.

    When most people were overwhelmed by external pressure, they would subconsciously look for excuses. Elder Angio felt that Meng Tianlong was searching for an excuse for the Vastdearth Sect to yield to the alliance, though of course, it was also possible that the excuse would even prove to be true.

    ***

    In Bard Weave, there was a pavilion beneath one of the waterfalls within Evenground Pce. At this moment, the Evenground Pce Mistress, Mu Nichang, was sitting in that pavilion along with the Young Mistress, Doro.

    ¡°Master, what did the people from the Vastdearth Sect have to say?¡± Doro was curious. She always acted very reservedly in front of all the elders and never asked too many questions, but she behaved much more casually when she was alone with Mu Nichang.

    Mu Nichang was even more casual than the younger woman. She sat there with a hand propping her chin up as she observed the waterfall from an angle. Her current demeanor was very different from the calmness she always exhibited in front of all the elders, and it seemed as if she was an entirely different person. Doro had long since be ustomed to such behavior, as her master acted like a dignified Sect Mistress to outsiders, but she acted like an ordinary young girl when all alone. No, some of her behavior was even more puerile than that of an ordinary girl.

    ¡°What can they say? They want to ally to cause trouble for the Great Yu Empire,¡± Mu Nichang casually replied as she rolled her eyes about in a beautiful manner.

    Doro¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Meng Tianlong doesn¡¯t want to keep living! He actually dares to make trouble for Lu Yin? Lu Yin is someone who won¡¯t even hesitate to kill an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. The power vessel that he used to kill those Enlighters has been destroyed, so it would be impressive if he still has something that can kill Hunters,¡± Mu Nichang replied.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why did Master agree to join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡± Doro asked.

    Mu Nichang sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not Lu Yin¡¯s power level itself that is terrifying, but rather his schemes and methods that are so frightening. He schemed Darkstar Gorge into oblivion, and who knows if the brat has any methods in ce to deal with us. Every sect has had some shady dealings, and who knows if he has our Evenground Pce¡¯s information in his hands.¡±

    ¡°Master, this Lu Yin always ces his own benefits first. Since he went ahead and established this alliance, he must have his own ns as well. We can¡¯t possibly work for him if he betrays us,¡± Doro clenched a fist.

    Mu Nichang grunted. ¡°Those were my thoughts as well, but-¡± Her brows furrowed and she looked quite aggravated as she suddenly paused. ¡°I¡¯m not good ating up with such schemes, so what can we do?¡±

    Doro also felt helpless, and both women propped their chins with their hands and stared at the waterfall with troubled expressions.

    Suddenly, Mu Nichang cried out, and she looked at Doro happily. ¡°Master has a n!¡±

    ¡°Tell me, Master!¡± Doro was delighted.

    Mu Nichang stared at Doro, and her lips curled upwards. ¡°You can marry Lu Yin and then you¡¯ll be Master¡¯s secret informant! This way, even if Lu Yin plots against others, he¡¯ll end up being circumvented by the Evenground Pce. What about that?¡±

    Doro¡¯s mouth gaped open. ¡°Master, even if this is just you trying to y a joke on your disciple, don¡¯t try to act like such a proposal is a proper n! Your disciple won¡¯t go along with it!¡±

    Mu Nichang leaned forward and stared at her disciple. ¡°You won¡¯t go along with it? Are you sure?¡±

    Doro nodded decisively. ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have any confidence in being able to seduce Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Of course that¡¯s not it! That brat¡¯s nothing but a country bumpkin¡ªit¡¯ll just take me a few moves to bait him in.¡±

    ¡°Master doesn¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Regardless of whether you believe it or not, your disciple is quite charming.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t go, then Master will go myself. Then you can be the Pce Mistress, and Master will be your secret informant.¡±

    Distressed, Doro facepalmed. ¡°Master, please stop joking. At most we¡¯ll just ignore whatever Lu Yin tells us and pretend like we never heard anything. Since Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Meng Tianlong contacted us of his own initiative, he¡¯ll definitely contact the powers in the other weaves. Let him take the lead, and that way, he can also take the fall if anything happens.¡±

    Mu Nichang pped. ¡°That¡¯s right, precious disciple! You¡¯re smart.¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re really disgusting,¡± Doro said contemptuously, but then, her expression suddenly changed. ¡°Not good, someone¡¯sing! Get back in character.¡±

    Mu Nichang straightened her body and rearranged her expression, suddenly regaining a solemn dignity. Doro hurriedly stood to the side of her master in a respectful manner as an elder slowly approached the two of them from behind. ¡°Mistress, a guest hase for a visit.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Mu Nichang answered quietly.

    ***

    Eleven hours. It took Lu Yin eleven hours topletely unlock the second sourcebox. He looked expectantly as the outermostyer of energy shattered. There was a crack, and then Lu Yin fervently watched the sourcebox open up. A puff of green smoke floated out, but then, there was nothing. There was truly nothing inside the sourcebox, which was even more nauseating than what hade out of the beast-shaped sourcebox fromst time.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your character is too rotten. Let this monkey handle thest step next time,¡± the Ghost Monkey mocked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. His mood had fallen hard and fast. Eleven hours of hard work had resulted in nothing, and all he had gained was that he had pushed his Lockbreaker ranking up to a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    Two sessions of sessfully lockbreaking five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes was enough to increase his rank.

    He could tell that, even though it had only been two sessions of lockbreaking, which wasn¡¯t very much, the experience that he had gained from these two sessions alone had been considerable. Also, he was much more at ease when handling five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes, which meant that it was time to try unlocking a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, though not before resting for a while.

    Right after Lu Yin left the courtyard, he received a message informing him that Wendy Yushan had left seclusion.

    Lu Yin immediately headed over to the princess¡¯s residence. He barged straight into Wendy Yushan¡¯s home without even announcing his arrival, and he found her leisurely sitting in the garden, enjoying some tea.

    Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance caused Wendy Yushan to frown, and she flung out the tea from her cup at him. It formed itself into a sharp tip that swept towards Lu Yin with enough force that it caused the void to distort. Lu Yin raised a hand and made a grabbing motion, instantly crushing the de formed from tea water.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you to announce your arrival before you enter my home.¡± Wendy Yushan calmly looked at Lu Yin, but there was a trace of dissatisfaction in her eyes. Still, it was only a trace as the predominant emotion was that of helplessness.

    Lu Yin walked over to Wendy Yushan with a solemn expression and told her, ¡°I¡¯ve told you not to go into the Daosource Sect on your own. That ce has be a battlefield, and it¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    Wendy Yushan practically ignored Lu Yin and simply poured herself a cup of tea. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°And yet you still went in?¡± Lu Yin frowned. He could not control his temper at this moment as he truly valued Wendy Yushan¡¯s safety.

    Wendy Yushan also felt his emotions, and her heart became warmer as she poured Lu Yin a cup of tea. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s anger dissipated slightly. This woman was proud andpletely unyielding, and she also had a respectable status on top of that. However, she had now apologized to him twice. Tomoners, an apology was a very normal thing, but an apology could hardly ever be heard from this woman. But now, she had easily given such a thing to Lu Yin.

    It was possible that Lu Yin was the only person in the entire universe who could teach this woman a lesson. Their rtionship had developed further and had be different. Was it as friends? Partners? Perhaps he had already regarded her as family.

 Chapter 675: A Different Feeling

    <h4>Chapter 675: A Different Feeling</h4>

    Lu Yin sat down. ¡°How was your trip this time? It looks like you didn''t encounter any danger.¡±

    Wendy Yushan hesitated a moment, but then she slowly exposed her shoulder. There was a wound on her shoulder that had recently started recovering, but it was obvious that her entire arm had been nearly severed. The wound didn¡¯t just stop at her arm, and it continued, snaking down to her chest and further beyond. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t see exactly how far it extended.

    Lu Yin could feel the danger she had met just by looking at the wound. Almost¡ªthis woman had almost died.

    ¡°Who did it?¡± Lu Yin asked, his eyes suddenly ice cold.

    Wendy Yushan didn¡¯t answer.

    Lu Yin stared into her eyes. ¡°Who did it?¡±

    Wendy Yushan focused on her tea and said, ¡°I bumped into Nightking Zhenwu at the Budding Terrace after entering the Daosource Sect. If one of the territory''s top seeds from the Sixth Maind hadn¡¯t shown up to fight him, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to return.¡± She then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You were right¡ªthe ruins of the Daosource Sect truly are incredibly dangerous, and I was injured on my very first day there. I found a ce to hide for more than ten days and didn¡¯t dare to expose myself. Lu Yin, am Ipletely useless?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Wendy¡¯s wound was still so severe even after she had rested for more than ten days. This showed just how serious her initial injury had been.

    Wendy Yushan was a proud person who wouldn¡¯t retreat even in the face of death. However, she had ended up hiding for more than ten days, which revealed just how seriously Nightking Zhenwu had injured her.

    ¡°How¡¯s your injury doing now?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan calmly answered, ¡°I¡¯ll need half a year to fully recuperate.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened. ¡°Did Nightking Zhenwu realize who you were? What about the secret technique? Did you not use it?¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin and then seriously answered, ¡°Don¡¯t rely only on that secret technique. Other people might have one too.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu has a secret technique too?¡±

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but even my secret technique wasn¡¯t enough to make up for the difference in power. As for whether or not he recognized me, what do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was cial. Wendy Yushan had joined the Myriad Swords Peak through White Knight¡¯s rmendation, and she was also an Outerverse Youth Councilor. Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe that Nightking Zhenwu hadn¡¯t recognized her, and since he had attacked her despite knowing her identity, his intention to kill Wendy was clear.

    The Daynight n seemed to be Lu Yin¡¯s natural enemy. From Nightking Qingyu back on Earth to Nightqueen Yanqing in the Astral Combat Academy, the Daynight n had always been Lu Yin¡¯s greatest obstacle along his cultivation journey. Arbiter Zhenwu had been the reason why Lu Yin hadn¡¯t initially been allowed to join the Council of Astral Academy, and the Arbiter had also issued orders that allowed Nightqueen Yanqing to deal with Lu Yin with the Daynight n¡¯s resources. Furthermore, Arbiter Zhenwu had also been the person who had appointed Liu Shaoge to the Outerverse Youth Council as a councilor.

    Although Lu Yin had never actually met Nightking Zhenwu, he had caused Lu Yin tremendous difficulties. That Arbiter was truly Lu Yin¡¯s nemesis.

    Perhaps the decision regarding the massacre of those with the Lu surname had also been made by that Arbiter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered when he looked at Wendy Yushan¡¯s pale face. This incident was yet another strike against Arbiter Zhenwu.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Wendy Yushan asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Nothing much. Rest well, and don¡¯t go back to the Daosource Sect for now.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin!¡± Wendy Yushan called out. Lu Yin turned around and saw a gentle look on her face. She softly said, ¡°I thought that I was going to die at that time, and the only person I thought of was you. Promise me that you won¡¯t go up against Nightking Zhenwu until you are absolutely certain of defeating him.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he looked at Wendy Yushan¡¯s vulnerable side. He instinctively hugged her as her scent filled his mind. ¡°Alright, I promise you, but I¡¯ll also guarantee that I¡¯ll never forget this incident.¡±

    A servant nearby shattered a tea cup, and Wendy Yushan quickly shoved Lu Yin away. She turned around and calmly said, ¡°You can go now.¡±

    Lu Yin felt dejected, as he had just discovered that he held special feelings for this woman.

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡± He then left the princess¡¯s home.

    After Lu Yin left, Wendy Yushan turned back around with aplicated expression on her face.

    Lu Yin had no intention of resting after seeing Wendy¡¯s injury. His mind was inundated with the sensation of embracing Wendy. He had felt like he had been hugging a rtive, which was entirely different from what he felt when he held Ming Yan, but it was still a very memorable experience for him.

    Lu Yin shook his head to clear his mind. He returned to the pce courtyard and took out the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that he had received from the Nn family for winning the Astral Combat Tournament and immediately started unlocking it.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you sure that you should be lockbreaking right now? Do you even know what you¡¯re doing?¡± the Ghost Monkey teased.

    Lu Yin snapped back, ¡°Shut up! Otherwise I¡¯ll screen you off again!¡±

    ¡°Ha, you disloyal person,¡± the monkey sneered.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey and took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly and sharpened his focus onto the sourcebox. He saw theplex energies surrounding it and could instantly tell that they far exceeded the level of five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you. idents are more likely to happen when you¡¯re not focused during a lockbreaking session,¡± the monkey warned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I know.¡± He closed his eyes and remembered the scene of when he had entered the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance corridor. There had been a stone tablet outside the corridor covered with the names of the powerhouses of the Daynight n and Nightking n. The name in the highest position had been Nightking Zhenwu: an imposing and arrogant man.

    Lu Yin grew furious as soon as he thought of Nightking Zhenwu, but he was still too far away from the Arbiter.

    He opened his eyes and cleared his mind so that he could focus on his lockbreaking. He didn¡¯t have the right to think about such matters with his current strength.

    Although the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox didn¡¯t hold any formless dangers, it was still very difficult for Lu Yin, whose degree of star energy control was only in the Intricacy realm. Unravelling suchplex energies was very tiring.

    Lu Yin was unlocking this sourcebox purely to gain more experience in lockbreaking.

    Although there was a low chance of finding any sort of treasure inside a harmless sourcebox, the mere experience of unlocking this sourcebox wasn¡¯t something that couldpare to what might be inside a normal Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    Ten hourster, Lu Yin was feeling giddy and had developed a headache. He felt like he was lost in the middle of a boundless ocean without a way to return to the shore.

    After twenty hours had passed in total, Lu Yin had gone pale, and his hands were shaking. Fortunately, the monkey yelled at him to keep Lu Yin awake; otherwise, he would have already fainted.

    Huo Qingshan, Xueshan Auna, Wendy Yushan, and Peach all appeared outside the courtyard and left one after another.

    By this time, the sourcebox had shrunk to two thirds of its original size.

    Lu Yin felt like his soul had left his body and that his vision had gone blurry.

    The energy surrounding the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was tooplicated, and it was very hard to remove the energy. The convoluted conglomeration of energy resembled an endless maze, and itpletely crushed Lu Yin¡¯s spirit.

    Perhaps this was the true threat of a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and it might also exin why Dao Bo was so much stronger than Charon. Although they were both five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers, it wasn¡¯t easy to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    Ten hourster, Lu Yin had reached the point of copse. He really wanted to take a break, but he also didn¡¯t want to stop.

    He hadn¡¯t realized that the lockbreaking had be simplerpared to when he had first started working on this sourcebox. By continuously lockbreaking for an extended period of time, he had slowly integrated lockbreaking methods into his instincts, which showed that he was gaining experience in lockbreaking.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t give up! You just need a few more hours,¡± the monkey encouraged.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes wide and continued staring at the sourcebox.

    Two hourster, the energy surrounding the sourcebox finally shattered, and a bit of rusty metal fell out with a ng.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed as he carefully picked up the metal piece. He had finally obtained his reward after thirty two straight hours of lockbreaking. He had nearly fainted during the process, but he had finally gotten his first treasure from a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt dizzy as he stared at the piece of metal in his hand. He steadied himself as he sat down on the ground, and a momentter, he was asleep.

    He was too exhausted. Although lockbreaking wasn¡¯t the same as fighting, it could sometimes be even more tiring than fighting as lockbreaking exhausted one¡¯s spirit. Thus, overexertion during lockbreaking attempts could cause a person to faint.

    There were stories of lockbreakers who went crazy ormitted suicide after lockbreaking for too long. Generally, most Discerning Elementary lockbreakers would make plenty of preparations before trying a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Lu Yin had unlocked a Discerning Elementary sourcebox shortly before he had started on this Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and he was actually very fortunate to have survived.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die from this without even getting to fight Nightking Zhenwu,¡± the monkey teased.

    People came and left the entrance of the courtyard.

    Lu Yin slept for three days and only woke up on the morning of the fourth day.

    When he opened his eyes, it seemed that the air around him had be much fresher.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how are you? You¡¯re not crazy right?¡± the Ghost Monkey joked.

    Lu Yin kneaded his temples. ¡°I¡¯ll remember to kill you even if I do go crazy.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I want to enjoy my life a while longer,¡± the monkey said. He then reminded Lu Yin, ¡°Check out the piece of metal that fell out. It¡¯s probably something good!¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he had received a piece of corroded metal from the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    The piece of metal was under his foot. He picked it up and carefully studied it, but there were no words or images on it. ¡°Is this thing something good?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it took me quite some time to remember what this thing is, but let me test you first: do you know what this thing is?¡± the monkey asked with a sneer.

    Lu Yin gripped the fragment tightly and scratched at it. There was not a single mark on the piece of metal, and not even the corroded bits were affected.

    This metal felt like the cauldron in the ruins of the Daosource Sect. The metal of that cauldron had been indestructible despite being almostpletely corroded.

    ¡°So what is this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey answered, ¡°Normal metal.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Tell me the truth.¡±

    ¡°That is the truth¡ªit¡¯s just a normal piece of metal, though there is something that¡¯s been added into it. Seventh Bro, look at the green spots on the metal that look like rust,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin carefully looked at the fragment and saw the green spots. ¡°Keep going.¡±

 Chapter 676: The Fourth Imperial Squadronâ€™s Captain

    <h4>Chapter 676: The Fourth Imperial Squadron¡¯s Captain</h4>

    The Ghost Monkey paused for a bit before continuing his exnation. ¡°Those green spots are something known as Ancient Scarlet Copper, and it is an extremely rare material. Any weapon fortified with just a trace of Ancient Scarlet Copper will increase its hardness to an unimaginable level. Just look at this normal piece of metal that you are unable to even scratch. It¡¯s nothing more than an ordinary piece of metal that¡¯s been fused with a tiny amount of Ancient Scarlet Copper.¡±

    ¡°Ancient Scarlet Copper? Is that some kind of metal?¡±

    ¡°You can say that. The idiot who fused the Ancient Scarlet Copper with this ordinary metal must have had a few screws loose,¡± the monkey said angrily.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It seems like this fragment has quite a high concentration of Ancient Scarlet Copper.¡±

    ¡°Probably enough to form a piece the size of a fingernail. If you think about how rare Ancient Scarlet Copper is, the one who forged this was incredibly generous since they used this extremely rare material. It¡¯s a shame that it can¡¯t be used anymore. There¡¯s no way to extract the Ancient Scarlet Copper from this piece of scrap anymore. To make you understand just how much of a waste I think it is, let me put it this way: Ancient Scarlet Copper is one of the primary materials required to build items that can withstand an Envoy¡¯s attacks.¡±

    ¡°This metal can be used to create items that can withstand attacks with power levels of 500,000?¡± Lu Yin asked in astonishment.

    ¡°Yep, so you now understand its value and how much of a waste it is to have used it like this. If Ancient Scarlet Copper is used in high concentrations, then the items made from it can even withstand attacks that have reached power levels of 700,000. I¡¯ve read about this material a bunch of times in powerhouses¡¯ journals. The Sea King¡¯s Trident that you grabbed a hold of back then most likely has some Ancient Scarlet Copper in it as well,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin was all smiles as he stored the piece of metal away. He was d to have gotten a hold of something so valuable.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why are you smiling? Why do you want to hang on to such a useless object?¡± the monkey asked disdainfully.

    ¡°Even though I might not be able to refine it right now, I might be able to in the future,¡± Lu Yin said happily. With his die and a roll of two pips, the ckhole Disassembly would be able to easily refine the metal. This Ancient Scarlet Copper was good stuff.

    The monkey replied, ¡°When you have the ability to refine that, you won¡¯t have any more interest in it. To put it bluntly, you might not even live to reach such a stage. Do you want to be buried with that thing?¡±

    Lu Yin immediately screened the monkey off. He did not like the way the beast was speaking to him.

    After surveying his surroundings, he saw that there was one more sourcebox that he had not opened yet. Lu Yin was in no rush, so he walked out to the courtyard and met with En Ya, Xueshan Auna, and the others. He had polite conversations with them all, enjoyed a sumptuous meal, and after that, he finally returned to the imperial pce¡¯s courtyard.

    He checked his gadget, and to his pleasant surprise, he saw that his Lockbreaker level had been upgraded to five stars.

    The two videos of him lockbreaking five star Discerning Elementary sourceboxes had indeede in handy. If he uploaded the video of him unlocking the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox onto thework, then there was even a possibility that he would be immediately recognized as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. Of course, there was only a remote possibility of that happening, as usually, he would have to unlock at least one more Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before leveling up again.

    But Lu Yin was in no rush. His status as a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker was enough for the moment. It was a shame that unlocking a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was not a simple endeavor. After all, the sourcebox that he had just unlocked had actually been a harmless one.

    He was thankful for his previous experience of lockbreaking in front of the Trialmaster at the Astral Combat Academy. At that time, the Trialmaster had intimidated Lu Yin with the dangers of lockbreaking, and if not for that lecture, his attempt to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox would have ended badly.

    There was still onest sourcebox, and Lu Yin did not want to wait any longer, so he approached it.

    ording to the description of this sourcebox that Gavin had provided, it seemed to have the ability to repel anyone who drew close to it. Lu Yin opened the Spiritual Thread case, and a strong, repulsive force exploded from within. Lu Yin¡¯s entire body shook for a moment before he managed to stabilize from the st.

    This repelling force was enough to send an Explorer flying, but it was still ineffective against him.

    It was time to get started! He exhaled loudly as he activated the Cosmic Art and began the lockbreaking process.

    This lockbreaking session felt much differentpared to Lu Yin¡¯s previous attempts. Not only was he progressing faster, but he also found that he had an instinctive sense for choosing the most effective way to neutralize the sourcebox¡¯s energies. His actions felt like they had been practiced thousands of times before.

    A single Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox lockbreaking attempt had allowed him to make qualitative leaps in terms of advancing his lockbreaking abilities. Even though he had not be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker yet, he could still be considered a top level Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Even Dao Bo was no longer a match for Lu Yin.

    In the past, the only aspect that Lu Yin had fallen behind whenpared to Dao Bo, Charon, and the other elite young Lockbreakers was his experience. He had now caught up with them with just a single sourcebox. That,bined with his Cosmic Art and his transformed eyes, meant that he was confident in being able to unlock any Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

    It was a pity that he did not have incredible luck. Charon had obtained the Unveiled Sword from an unlocked sourcebox whereas Lu Yin had only managed to get a small amount of impure Ancient Scarlet Copper which he needed to refine on his own.

    The lockbreaking process for this session was smooth sailing for Lu Yin, and it took him an unprecedented mere five hours to sessfully unlock the sourcebox despite working on a five star Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

    However, once the object within the sourcebox touched the outside air, it evaporated away. It was a stone that had an image engraved on it, but Lu Yin wasn¡¯t able to make out the image before it disappeared.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you are so clumsy,¡± the Ghost Monkey muttered.

    Lu Yin stretched his body as he checked the time. He could now head towards Sourcepeak Weave.

    Lu Yin had made ns to take a trip to Sourcepeak Weave a while ago, but he had decided afterwards that he wanted Aden to apany him. Aden had finally arrived at the Great Yu Empire two days ago, while Lu Yin had been sleeping, and so, the two had not managed to see each other yet.

    When Lu Yin finally saw Aden, he could feel that the older man had grown stronger.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve already absorbed all your gains from the battles in Ironblood Weave,¡± Lu Yin said with augh. During the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, Aden had been in the vanguard of every battle. Arge bulk of the credit for the sessful defense belonged to the Hunter, and he had subsequently redeemed his Ironblood Points for resources and easily boosted his strength.

    Aden sized Lu Yin up with astonishment. ¡°Your strength has grown considerably.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve already broken through and be an Explorer.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not referring to that. It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen you after you became an Explorer. Your strength has increased remarkably after you left Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled, as he had constantly been absorbing star energy after his breakthrough in cultivating the Cosmic Art, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how he had improved his fine star energy control. He had unwittingly gone through huge transformations.

    ¡°How is it for you to be back in the Great Yu Empire? Are you used to it yet?¡± Lu Yin asked with a smile. The two men towered high in the starry sky as they waited for the spacecraft that would take them to Sourcepeak Weave.

    Adenughed. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who wanted toe back. You wanted me back here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. There¡¯s simply no one that I can count on here in the Great Yu Empire. Leaving someone as strong as you in Ironblood Weave is just a waste. However, I promised Elder Lohar that I would let you go back to Ironblood Weave if war erupts there again,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°You should know that I am a free man with no connections. The Hall of Honor has no hold over me either, so I can go anywhere I please,¡± Aden dered.

    Lu Yin nodded and gave him a serious look. ¡°It¡¯s indeed your choice. You can choose to either leave or stay.¡±

    Aden stared at Lu Yin for a moment and then turned his head around. ¡°What do you have nned for me?¡±

    ¡°I want you to be the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fourth Imperial Squadron,¡± Lu Yin told him seriously.

    ¡°Alright then, but let me make myself clear on one thing: I can leave as easily as I came, and at any time I want,¡± Aden said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That goes without saying.¡±

    Very soon, a radiant-grade Aurora arrived that both men boarded.

    There were still ten days left before the Lockbreaker Competition, and the journey to Sourcepeak Weave would only take five days, so Lu Yin was in no rush.

    ***

    At this same time, on a distant, a fashionably dressed man had a dejected expression on his face. ¡°What a bummer! We actually encountered a ce where the void was unstable. The spacecraft¡¯s ruined, and it will be too exhausting to fly directly to Sourcepeak Weave on my own. Besides, thepetition will most likely already be over by the time I get there. Who can give me a lift?¡± the man muttered as he looked around.

    By a stroke of luck, he suddenly saw a distant spacecraft traveling swiftly through outer space.

    The fashionably dressed man¡¯s eyes lit up, and he stepped out. He next appeared right in front of the spacecraft as he foolishly sped straight at the spacecraft.

    In the control pit of the vessel, everyone stared on in astonishment as the man rushed over. This man had to be nuts!

    With a whoosh, the man vanished the exact moment the spacecraft was about to smash into him. Following which, the people aboard the spacecraft heard the sound of someone knocking on the hatch.

    Everyone on the vessel looked at one another. The captain of the spacecraft gritted his teeth. ¡°He¡¯s a space-exploring powerhouse, so let him in.¡±

    The fashionably dressed man entered the spacecraft, and he excitedly gave the captain a hug of gratitude. ¡°Thank you so much! You must be the captain¡ªthank you so much for letting me in.¡±

    The captain was embraced with enough force that it hurt. This stranger had a steel-like grip. ¡°You are most wee, brother.¡±

    The man released the captain, and he again thanked the man. ¡°Captain, you are such a good man. Not only did you let me in, but you even offered to take me to Sourcepeak Weave! You are a great man!¡±

    Everyone around was confused. Sourcepeak Weave? When did we say that we¡¯re heading there?

    The captain replied, ¡°Brother, are you headed to Sourcepeak Weave? Unfortunately, we are-¡±

    There was a loud boom as the entire spacecraft jolted. The man had just pped the hull of the spacecraft with a great deal of force, even leaving a deep palm print. ¡°There was a bug.¡± After that, he looked at the captain. ¡°What were you just saying?¡±

    The captain swallowed his saliva. ¡°Nothing. Sourcepeak Weave just happens to be on our way as we were headed nearby.¡±

    The fashionably dressed man grinned from ear to ear, and he pped the captain¡¯s shoulder hard. ¡°Thank you brother, you are such a good man. Hahaha! My name is Ku Wei. Everyone calls me Big Brother Wei, but there¡¯s no need for you to be so formal with me. Hahaha!¡±

    Everyone fell silent.

    ***

    In the Astral Wilderness, there was a spacecraft headed back towards the Outerverse at top speed. A middle aged man was inside the craft with closed eyes.

    Suddenly, an alert sounded from the spacecraft. The middle-aged man opened his eyes to look ahead, and he saw a beast-like figure with its ws raised high, ready to swipe down. The middle-aged man shouted in fright, ¡°No!¡±

    With a bang, the entire spacecraft exploded, and the middle-aged man was sent flying from the impact, after which he helplessly floated in space. He looked straight ahead, and being an Explorer who hadprehended a domain, he could urately sense the power of the beast-like figure.

    Is that a modified machine? The middle-aged man rubbed his eyes to take a closer look and saw that it was indeed a mechanical beast.

    Therge, beast-like machine once again swiped its ws down at the middle-aged man. He grit his teeth and tried to escape, but he was captured in an instant. The beast-like machine then released two metal chains to tie up the middle-aged man before a giant bolt of electricity shot out and lit up the entire sky, which also caused the middle-aged man to faint from the shock.

    The beast-like machine moved closer to the middle-aged man¡¯s body and then released some mechanical probes. The probes quickly removed the middle-aged man¡¯s brain and reced it with a chip.

    ***

    In the Great Yu Empire, in the ssified Technology Department, a dozen people burst out in cheers. Ban Jiu excitedly looked at the simplified control core that was in front of him. He had finally seeded.

    The most challenging technical problems had been resolved, and they had again obtained another batch of resources from some of the eastern weaves. He could now start modifying the androids a month ahead of schedule and would be able to use the avable materials to upgrade his research subjects. It was all wonderful news.

    Shalosh, the Twelfth Imperial Squadron¡¯s second inmand, hurriedly offered his congrattions to the captain. Everyone in the Technology Department who was involved in the development of the androids broke out in raucous cheers.

    Only those who had first hand experience in the design knew that these particr androids allowed for infinite possibilities. This was andmark moment for weapons manufacturing.

    Ban Jiu drew closer to the control core as he watched it absorb star energy. He broke into a heartyughter and then locked the doors of the research department. He could not allow anyone to get close. He wanted toplete the otherponents for manufacturing an android as quickly as possible.

    That night, a figure entered the researchb and sneakily ced explosive devices at various strategic locations throughout the research center. A proud, sinister smile spread across the figure¡¯s lips as they sneaked back out.

    Right as the figure just left the underground of the Technology Department, a handnded on the figure¡¯s shoulder.

 Chapter 677: Assassination Attempt

    <h4>Chapter 677: Assassination Attempt</h4>

    The figure felt their blood turn cold, and they turned around to see Ban Jiu¡¯s gloomy face. ¡°Cap- captain?¡±

    Ban Jiu exerted some force through his hand, causing the figure to wail as he crushed their shoulder. The person¡¯s entire body was pressed against the floor, and they stared up at Ban Jiu in terror. ¡°Captain, spare me!¡±

    ¡°The rules of the Technology Department don¡¯t allow anyone to bring their cosmic rings in. Given that you came here sote at night and even brought your ring in, I knew that something was up. I only expected you to try to steal some things, but I never imagined that you would actually try to destroy the androids. Speak up! Who ordered you to do this?¡± Ban Jiu interrogated, his words in a strange rhythm and his voice cial.

    The figure lowered their head and appeared to have fallen into despair.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to speak? You are fully aware of the Twelfth Squadron¡¯s methods,¡± Ban Jiu said slowly.

    The figure trembled. They suddenly seemed to recall something that caused them to shiver in fear. ¡°Nobody ordered me. The Royal Regent ordered the Ninth Squadron to eradicate my family! I wanted revenge, so I made these ns.¡±

    Ban Jiu suddenly remembered that this person didn¡¯te from some insignificant background and that they were actually rted to one of the empire¡¯s influential officials. It had been precisely because of that rtionship that this person had been able to join the Twelfth Squadron. It was no wonder why they wanted revenge, as that official had been eliminated by the Ninth Squadron just a few days earlier.

    ¡°Just like that?¡± Ban Jiu asked coldly as he crouched down.

    That person fearfully stared at Ban Jiu. ¡°Captain, I understand your methods, and I know that there¡¯s no one you can¡¯t get to talk. I wouldn¡¯t dare try to hide anything from you, so I¡¯ll only beg you for a quick death.¡±

    Ban Jiu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a gentle breeze blew across, bringing him his white coat.

    Beads of sweat rolled off of the person¡¯s forehead. ¡°Captain, even if I haven¡¯t made any major contributions to the Twelfth Squadron, I have still always worked hard! I¡¯m only asking for a quick death, so please grant me that much, captain.¡±

    Ban Jiu stood back up and stared down at the figure on the floor. He raised a hand and struck down. The person¡¯s forehead split open. They were dead.

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s time to clean up the Twelfth Squadron,¡± Ban Jiu muttered to himself. If not for his vignce, months of his hard work would have been destroyed. Not only would he not be able to ept such a thing, but there would also be no way for him to give an ount of himself to the Royal Regent. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current attitude towards certain families within the empire, the people who had entered the squadron through their family backgrounds were no longer reliable, and Ban Jiu had toe up with ways to rece them.

    ***

    On Shenwu Continent, ever since Lu Yin left, Ming Yan had firmed her resolve to handle her administrative duties well. After many days of practice, her personality had also quietly transformed.

    Sometimes, it was not that a person had no ability, but rather that they had never been pushed to the point of showing it.

    Rebellions had broken out all across the Shenwu Empire, and Ming Yan had been more benevolent than her father when handling the conflicts. However, her leniency had led to a second wave of rebellions, forcing Ming Zhaoshu to personally take action to quell the new insurrections. He had buried 20,000 people alive, shocking the entire continent and causing the people of Shenwu Continent to be nervous.

    Ming Yan had witnessed the massacre herself, and it left an unimaginable impact on her. After that single event, she started making much firmer decisions, and her vision, attitude, and personality all underwent profound changes. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how the way she viewed her father had also changed.

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Ming Yan¡¯s memos that littered the floor. On some of them, he could see the words, ¡®No pardons, kill.¡± Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s gaze thennded on his daughter and exchanged nces with her. Her gaze had previously been filled with a gentle kindness and even some nervousness. But now, that nervousness had vanished, and that kindness had also dissipated by a great deal. There was now a steely glint to her gaze and also a touch of something unfamiliar.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s heart ached, as Ming Yan¡¯s transformation had been catalyzed by him killing those 20,000 people; that number had be a wedge that would forever remain between the father and daughter, as it was something that could never be resolved.

    Still, Ming Zhaoshu did not regret his actions. Since his vitality was rapidly draining away, he did not have long before he died. The chaotic Shenwu Empire required an iron-fisted ruler, not a benevolent one. The universe was cruel, and the previous Ming Yan would not have been able to survive there.

    ¡°Yan''er, do you me Father?¡± Ming Zhaoshu could not resist asking this question.

    Ming Yan trembled slightly, but she shook her head. ¡°Daughter is tired, and I wish to rest.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu nodded. ¡°Go on, and don¡¯t overthink things.¡±

    Ming Yan left the study and looked up at the sky. The radiant sunlight was dazzling, but she enjoyed this bright lighting. Ever since she had witnessed those 20,000 people being massacred, she no longer dared to sleep at night since she would see those 20,000 people staring at her from the darkness. The grief and hatred that she saw in their eyes gripped her heart in a vice, and she felt as though it would pull her into the abyss.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m truly sorry,¡± Ming Yan muttered to herself. She curled up alone on her bed as she faced the sun. Tears streamed down her face.

    In the study, Ming Zhaoshu sighed. ¡°Yan''er, Father is sorry to you.¡±

    ***

    Outer space was always dark, but it was also eternally illuminated by the stars.

    Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft and drank a specially produced fruit juice that was unique to the Lars Weave. He was feeling quite tranquil at this moment.

    ¡°I just received a notification that our route is going to change again and that our journey will be extended by another day,¡± Aden said.

    Lu Yin grudgingly asked, ¡°Is this still because of the higher energy levels?¡±

    Aden nodded. ¡°The Astral River swelled dramatically when it separated the Outerverse and the Innerverse. Many areas of the Outerverse have had simr energy surges, and the eastern and western regions have practically beenpletely isted from each other. Fortunately, Sourcepeak Weave is situated in the center area. Otherwise, we might not be able to make the trip.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever been to Sourcepeak?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Aden shook his head. ¡°Never.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what sort of ce it is, and if there are a lot of sourceboxes there.¡± Lu Yin walked to the front of the vessel. He hade to rather enjoy lockbreaking. It was like searching for mysteries, as each and every sourcebox potentially contained something ancient. Lockbreaking felt akin to transcending time and conducting transactions with those from ancient ages. It was very interesting, though of course, it was also very dangerous.

    Aden looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Actually, I rather admire you. You¡¯re so young, and yet, not only do you have powerful strength, but you can also lockbreak. You¡¯re an absolute genius.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t deserve that much praise.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very simr to Undying Yushan,¡± Aden stared out into outer space as he spoke, a look of reminiscence on his face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart leapt, and he looked over at Aden. ¡°What did you say? I¡¯m very simr to Undying Yushan?¡±

    Aden nodded. ¡°Undying Yushan was someone who had an amazing talent for cultivation as well as lockbreaking. It¡¯s as if you are his carbon copy.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Undying Yushan was a Lockbreaker? Where did you hear that?¡±

    Adenughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to hear it from anyone¡ªI could tell. Although he intentionally did not reveal anything, a Lockbreaker¡¯s star energy control is different, and I could recognize his ability with just one look.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered; Undying Yushan had been a Lockbreaker? Nobody had mentioned this before. Still, it didn¡¯t matter since the old emperor was already dead, so there was nothing more about it worth mentioning.

    Ahead of them, a spacecraft flew along, evidently headed towards them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed the moment he saw the approaching spacecraft. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Aden instantly grew vignt. ¡°An enemy?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted at the spacecraft ahead of them; he could see three enormous groups of rune lines within it, and thergest group was even able to rival Xueshan Auna, which meant that there were three Hunters inside the spacecraft approaching them. The strongest of the three was a peak Hunter who could rival Kong Shi, and they would not be much weaker than Aden.

    When the spacecraft passed by the one that Lu Yin was in, the three clusters of rune lines sped across the gap between the vessels in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Attack!¡±

    Aden reflexively released his thunder shield in front of their spacecraft, and three attacks struck it head on, but they were unable to breach its defense. All they could do was st the shielded spacecraft 10,000 meters away.

    Assassins. Lu Yin donned his universal armor and exited his spacecraft, and Aden appeared by him at the same time while solemnly looking ahead. The three enemy Hunters did not speak, instead unleashing one attack after another as their peculiar innate gifts and powerful battle techniques apanied the flood of attacks. Their assault shattered the void into fragments that then formed a ckhole that nearly devoured the spacecraft.

    Fortunately, under Lu Yin¡¯s orders, his own vessel had already escaped at top speed.

    ¡°Thunder Mountain Breach.¡± Aden roared as he attacked, his thunder shield flickering and rumbling. There was a loud crack as a powerful shockwave swept out, overwhelming the three Hunters with amazement. This was their first time encountering such a terrifying Hunter, and his power was not much weaker than an Enlighter¡¯s.

    Although Aden¡¯s attacks had not reached the power of the Enlighter realm yet, his defenses were absolute, and he could even withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attacks.

    The thunder shield expanded outwards endlessly as it enveloped the surrounding space. Aden then pushed forwards and charged towards the three Hunters.

    The three exchanged looks, and one of them said, ¡°You guys hold him back.¡±

    With that, the Hunter tore through the void and vanished.

    The thunder shield was firmly raised in front of Aden, and the two Hunters acted in unison without using any battle techniques. They already knew that it was impossible for them to break through Aden¡¯s defense, so it didn¡¯t matter whether or not they used their battle techniques. They then raised their hands and blocked the advance of the thunder shield.

    Aden was right behind the thunder shield, and his expression changed the moment the two Hunters collided with it. He could feel the star energy that was his thunder shield being rapidly depleted, and it felt like it was being broken down. His battle technique was being dissolved, or rather, it was being lockbroken. The two Hunters were both Lockbreakers.

    Not good, there¡¯s one more. Aden whirled around. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Lu Yin turned to his right, as he had long since seen the other group of rune lines approaching him; thest Hunter was tearing through the void towards Lu Yin. This person was the strongest of the group, a peak Hunter, and they unleashed a palm at Lu Yin from a distance. It appeared to be a very ordinary attack, but for some unknown reason, it gave Lu Yin a sense of absolute danger. The feeling of crisis bypassed his universal armor, but Lu Yin was still fearless since he had already equipped it.

    He confidently stepped up and swatted at the peak Hunter assassin at the same time as the Hunter¡¯s attacknded.

    Two palms collided, and at that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s palm immediately shrank back, as the star energy within it had suddenly vanished. This was due to it being dissolved. ¡°You¡¯re a Lockbreaker!¡±

    A battle between Lockbreakers was unique, as they could use their lockbreaking techniques to the fullest by dissolving their opponent¡¯s battle techniques and arts. Both of those abilities, and even innate gifts, required star energy to be used, and once that star energy was broken down, the power of the attack would drop precipitously.

    This was also one of the reasons why Lockbreakers held such a high status within the universe, as any Lockbreaker would be a powerhouse within their own realm. This wasmon knowledge.

    Lu Yin himself was also a Lockbreaker, and he had even reached the standard where he could unlock Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes. However, the Lockbreaker in front of him was able to dissolve star energy at such a rapid speed that Lu Yin was caught unprepared, which meant that they were at least a three or four star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain had also been seen through by the assassin, so it was also useless.

    Lu Yin pulled back. He did not feel any sense of danger while he wore his universal armor, but despite that, this Hunter was leaving him with no other choice. This Lockbreaker was so powerful that even Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger would probably have its power sapped away. The Hunter had not used any battle technique yet, which meant that Lu Yin wasn¡¯t able to use the Yu Secret Art.

    The assassin pressed his advantage and grabbed at Lu Yin. The hunter quickly realized how strong the universal armor¡¯s defenses were, but that did not matter. The n was not to kill Lu Yin, but rather to merely take him away.

    Lu Yin snorted. Since his star energy was ineffective, then he would use his physical strength.

    ¡°Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± There was a soft thump, but not a single speck of star energy was used as Lu Yin swatted a palm at the assassin. The Hunter had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s physical might to be so terrifying, and Lu Yin¡¯s palm shattered his assant¡¯s arm.

    The assassin stared at Lu Yin in shock.

 Chapter 678: Power Struggle Within Sourcepeak Planet

    <h4>Chapter 678: Power Struggle Within Sourcepeak</h4>

    Lu Yin sneered, as his attacker had turned out to be physically weak. He struck out again without any hesitation, but the assassin hurriedly evaded, causing Lu Yin¡¯s palm to miss. The tremendous power of his attack distorted the void, which caused the assassin¡¯s scalp to turn numb.

    Then, one palm after another flooded the area: Shockwave Palm, Spacerender Palm, and other battle techniques that could be used with pure physical strength. The unending barrage prevented the assassin from approaching Lu Yin at all.

    However, Lu Yin could not hit the Hunter either, and even though his opponent was within the increased range of the Cosmic Art¡¯s scope, all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were being detected and avoided. This Lockbreaker was too sensitive to star energy, and not even Lu Yin¡¯s domain could lock onto this person.

    ¡°You wanted to kill me with just this?¡± Lu Yin barked.

    The attacker¡¯s eyes trembled, and a round sticker appeared on their palm that they quickly pped onto their forehead. Then, the assassin looked closely at Lu Yin, which caused the youth to tremble.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched; was that a lockbreaking tool?

    The assassin suddenly disappeared before a single hand appeared next to Lu Yin out of nowhere, attempting to grab him. Lu Yin turned around and unleashed a punch, using nothing but his physical power. The assassin remained close to Lu Yin¡¯s arm and continued advancing, their right hand grabbing at Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Lu Yin grunted, and he barely dodged the Hunter¡¯s hand. The two continued simultaneously attacking and dodging the other¡¯s attacks, leaving them pressed up against each other.

    Lu Yin used Secret Sidestep while the killer used their lockbreaking tool to reach a movement speed that was simr to Secret Sidestep. This person was extremely difficult to deal with.

    ¡°You¡¯re definitely not some unknown person. Who are you? Why do you want to kill me?¡± Lu Yin shouted as he stared at the Hunter who had hidden their appearance. This assassin was clearly afraid of being recognized, so they were likely some famous character.

    With such an impressive lockbreaking ability, it was even possible that Lu Yin himself would be able to recognize his attacker.

    Suddenly, there was an explosion in the distance that was quickly followed by the crash of thunder. The two Hunters dying Aden were blown back simultaneously, and they each spat out a mouthful of blood. Nine lined battle force shrouded Aden¡¯s form.

    ¡°Retreat,¡± growled the peak Hunter who had attacked Lu Yin. Then, that person tore through the void to escape.

    The other two Hunters also escaped without hesitation.

    Aden wanted to give chase, but after looking at Lu Yin, he held himself back from chasing after the assassins.

    ¡°Anything happen to you?¡± Aden asked as he floated up to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head and removed his universal armor, though his face was gloomy.

    ¡°They¡¯re Lockbreakers, and not just average ones at that. They were even able to dissolve my thunder shield, so they should at least be at the Perceptive Intermediate level. If not for my nine lined battle force, it would have been extremely difficult for me to take care of those two,¡± Aden said in a low voice.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. ¡°This one-off operation involved three Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers. Who has that kind of resources? Even the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society doesn¡¯t have very many Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, or could it be-¡± Lu Yin suddenly stopped what he was about to say.

    Aden patted his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the spacecraft for now. We¡¯ll know when we get to Sourcepeak.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Although Lu Yin had only been ambushed by three Hunters this time around, the attack had been far more dangerous than the past one with five Hunters. If not for Aden, the battle would have continued on for some time. Neither Huo Qingshan nor the Blind Monk would have been able to single-handedly face off against a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and they would have been badly outssed.

    Lu Yin returned to the spacecraft and fell deep into thought. Did the Lockbreaker Society and Lockbreaker Competition have any rtion to this attack? Or could there be someone in the eastern weaves who had invited these three Lockbreakers to assassinate him? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, as Lockbreakers were generally not assassins. Unless it had been the Daynight n who had hired them¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold, as it was certainly feasible for the Daynight n to send out three Lockbreakers to deal with him.

    Three Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers moving out together was a huge scale attack. Back in the battles in Ironblood Weave, not a single stronghold had been able to boast having a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    Humans could be very shrewd at times, but they were also very selfish. The Outerverse was not as weak as Lu Yin had once imagined.

    Not long after the three Lockbreaker assassins left, another spacecraft appeared nearby. This time, it was a personal spacecraft, and the number of rune lines in it were not too high, so Lu Yin paid no heed to the vessel.

    That spacecraft flew towards Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft¡¯s control center and sent a request to dock with therger ship. When Lu Yin heard this news, his heart jumped. ¡°Let them in.¡±

    Before much time passed, a familiar figure appeared in front of Lu Yin: Tong Mi¡¯er. This person had been present on Savage Ape during the lockbreaking trial. Tong Mi¡¯er had been heralded as a lockbreaking genius of the Outerverse. He was an Explorer as well as a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    ¡°Tong Mi¡¯er greets Mr. Lu,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er appeared before Lu Yin and looked at him respectfully, the arrogance that he had disyed back on Savage Apepletely gone.

    Lu Yin stared at Tong Mi¡¯er. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°During Mr. Lu¡¯s journey, I expect that things haven¡¯t gone smoothly,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er said as he studied Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin gestured for the other youth to sit and had someone serve two of the fruit juices from Lars Weave. ¡°Try this, the taste is decent.¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er¡¯s gaze shifted. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Mr. Lu wish to know who attacked you?¡±

    Lu Yin set his ss of fruit juice down on the table with a ng and looked at Tong Mi¡¯er coldly. ¡°We were attacked just a short while ago. Barely any time has passed. You couldn¡¯t have possibly seen anything with the speed you were traveling, so how did you know that I was attacked?¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, please don¡¯t be mistaken. The people who attacked you were not rted to us.¡±

    ¡°¡®Us¡¯? Who¡¯s ¡®us?¡¯¡± Lu Yin asked. Tong Mi¡¯er had apparently met with him to exin the situation that had led to him being attacked by other Lockbreakers.

    ¡°¡®Us¡¯ includes me and the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s executive, Lady Felynn,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er answered solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, as he had heard of the name Felynn before. There were three executives in the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society, and they were the four-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Yi Feng, three-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Mr. Jun, and three-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Felynn. All of this was information that could be easily obtained from the Lockbreakerswork.

    ¡°The people who attacked you are actually from the Lockbreaker Society as well, and they attacked you on the orders of Vice President Saul,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er said.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Vice President Saul? He isn¡¯t trapped in the Innerverse?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that there are many rumors iming that, but in reality, he never returned to the Innerverse and has actually always been in the Outerverse. To avoid being drafted to defend Ironblood Weave, he spread rumors saying that he had taken several Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers back to the Innerverse. We only learned the truth of the matter after the battles in Ironblood Weave had ended,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er exined.

    Lu Yinughed grimly. This Saul actually turned out to not be very far-sighted; if Ironblood Weave had lost the war, then the Astral Beast Domain would have invaded the entire Outerverse, and Saul would have died alongside everyone else. No, it was also possible he would have cast his lot in with the Astral Beast Domain in that case.

    ¡°Saul has always wanted to wield power in the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society, but President Geoffrey has always suppressed him. Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated, President Geoffrey is truly stuck in the Innerverse. Thus, Saul has begun to push his schemes forward, and he has managed to capture multiple Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers in a short period of time. He wants to use this Lockbreaker Competition to allow his disciple, Deng Pu, to publicly win the True Insight. Your participation threatens him, and so he sent some people to capture you,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er exined.

    Lu Yin felt that the whole matter was rather strange. ¡°As the vice president, can¡¯t he just take the True Insight if he wants to? Why does he have to scheme around the Lockbreaker Competition?¡±

    ¡°Of course he can¡¯t do that, as the Lockbreaker Society is too important. President Geoffrey has always been on guard against Saul, and he hasid down quite a few rules. So long as Saul doesn¡¯t want to rile up the masses, he has to follow these rules. Moreover, there¡¯s also the Honorary Vice President, who people call Fiend Li. He¡¯s the one who counters Saul,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er said.

    ¡°Then what kind of strength does his disciple, Deng Pu, have?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°One star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er solemnly replied.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°He¡¯s a Perceptive Intermediate while I¡¯m only a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Does someone of my level really require him to send three Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers to kill me?¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re different, as you are the person who wields the true power of the Great Eastern Alliance, and you¡¯ve even killed Enlighters before. Your existence itself is something unexpected, and even if you were only a one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, Saul would still want to eliminate you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strangely honored when he heard this. If he was truly such a threat to others, then it seemed likely that this Saul had been the one pulling strings to make sure that Lu Yin hadn¡¯t received any notifications about the Lockbreaker Competition. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this? What does the Lady Felynn who¡¯s behind you wish to gain from me?¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er seriously answered, ¡°Lady Felynn wishes to cooperate with you to deal with Saul.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You just said that I have the strength to kill an Enlighter. If I find proof that this Saul sent someone to kill me, then I¡¯ll just deal with him myself. Why would Felynn want to meddle in this? Wouldn¡¯t sitting back and reaping the benefits be better for her?¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er smiled bitterly. ¡°You really don¡¯t understand Saul¡¯s power. He¡¯s a peak Hunter, as well as a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed: Boundless Advanced. That was a level that even sounded intimidating. Reportedly, once one reached the Boundless Advanced level, they would have grasped an unimaginable lockbreaking ability, and their personal strength would also undergo a fundamental change. A Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker was equivalent to an Enlighter, let alone when that person was already a peak Hunter like Saul.

    ¡°Saul has been able to break through and be an Enlighter for a long time, but he¡¯s always been biding his time for the True Insight. Once he obtains and studies it, he¡¯ll most likely use it to be a very powerful Enlighter. Then, he¡¯ll have the strength to rival President Geoffrey. This sort of person is not someone who can bepared to those Enlighters you killed in the past,¡± Tong Mi¡¯er exined.

    He paused for a moment, but he quickly continued once he saw Lu Yin¡¯s calm expression. ¡°Let me put it this way: President Geoffrey once fought and killed five Enlighters from the Technocracy by himself, and not a single hair on his head was harmed.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as a chill ran down his spine. A person capable of killing five Enlighters and leaving unharmed was truly a freak.

    Even in the cruelest battlefield of Ironblood Weave, no one had been able to simultaneously kill five Enlighters, as each powerhouse at that level would be targeted, just like what had happened to Elder Lohar. Despite his strength being sufficient to kill multiple Enlighters, it had been useless as he had been constantly held back by the other Astral Beast experts. If Geoffrey could kill five Enlighters under those circumstances, then that was simply terrifying.

    ¡°You mean True Insight can give Saul the strength to rival President Geoffrey?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Mi¡¯er nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what Lady Felynn said. The contents of True Insight are useless for us, and it¡¯s not even effective for Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers. It¡¯s only useful for Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers, and any one of them who canprehend it will have their power multiplied several times over. President Geoffrey was able to understand the contents of True Insight, and that is why his power is so terrifying. In Lady Felynn¡¯s own words, we can not allow Saul to ever obtain the True Insight, as if that actually happens, then not even the Hall of Honor will be able to stop him.¡±

    Lu Yin considered all of this information, as just that peak Hunter realm Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker had been incredibly hard to deal with, and this Saul would definitely be even more fearsome. This was not just a difference of a single level, and Lu Yin realized that he would not be able to take on Saul even after utilizing the entire Great Eastern Alliance. It seemed like the only way to deal with this man was for Lu Yin to cooperate with Felynn after all.

    However, Tong Mi¡¯er¡¯s words might not be entirely true, and Lu Yin had to be careful about differentiating between friend and foe.

 Chapter 679: Sourcepeak Planet

    <h4>Chapter 679: Sourcepeak</h4>

    ¡°What does Felynn want to do?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    When Tong Mi¡¯er saw that Lu Yin was interested, he rxed a bit. ¡°Lady Felynn doesn¡¯t want to attract Saul¡¯s attention before the Lockbreaker Competition begins, so she would like for you to disguise yourself when you arrive on Sourcepeak. After that, Lady Felynn will help you join thepetition.¡±

    ¡°Once I reach Sourcepeak, Saul can¡¯t possibly deal with me publicly, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Mi¡¯er smiled bitterly. ¡°The three executive members have managed to keep Saul under control, but quite arge number of other Lockbreakers are under the vice president. He doesn¡¯t need to personally make a move to deal with you, and he could just as easily send someone to make trouble for you and cause you to be unable topete.¡±

    ¡°I still have the same question: what does Felynn want from me? Just to team up and deal with Saul?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Mi¡¯er replied, ¡°This is something that only Lady Felynn can discuss with you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do as you suggest. I¡¯ll disguise myself before I arrive at Sourcepeak.¡±

    ***

    Sourcepeak Weave was located slightly to the east of the Outerverse¡¯s center, and it was also quite close to the Astral River. It was a very busy weave since the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters were in it, and that had naturally led to Sourcepeak Weave containing the most Lockbreakers out of the entire Outerverse, and it stood a cut above the rest.

    Sourcepeak was situated in the southern region of Sourcepeak Weave, and it was a massive, green filled with nts. The climate on the was wonderful. It was also different from all the others; there were three mainds that protruded out from the¡¯s surface, making it look like a massive gear from a distance.

    These three mainds were where the Lockbreaker Society conducted its examinations, and each maind was supervised by a different executive member. Every year, countless people visited Sourcepeak to be evaluated in hopes of qualifying to be a Lockbreaker, but only a rare few actually seeded.

    After the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse, quite a few Lockbreakers had been left stranded in the Innerverse. Even so, there were still quite a number of Lockbreakers on Sourcepeak.

    The entire Lockbreaker Society consisted of 630,000 registered Lockbreakers, but there were nearly 10,000 of them on Sourcepeak at any time. Although the vast portion of them had never sessfully had a lockbreaking session, there was a portion of them that had been graded, and nearly ten of them had reached the Perceptive Intermediate level. However, the exact details of the Lockbreakers on the were not very clear to the outside world, and only the president and vice president knew all the details.

    Sourcepeak was huge, and there were Lockbreakers scattered all over it. These Lockbreakers¡¯ greatest desire was to visit the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, which was the holynd of the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters. Only Lockbreakers who had reached the Perceptive Intermediate level were allowed to enter, and legends said that there was a sourcebox array that had been arranged by a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker inside. Anyone who entered could attempt toprehend the array, and there were some Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers who stayed in the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight all year round specifically toprehend the array and therefore be Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers.

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was a shortcut to reaching the Boundless Advanced level, as an almighty Lockbreaker from the past had paved this path forward for Lockbreakers who were still at the bottom.

    Behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were many interconnected courtyards. This was where the president and vice presidents resided, and each courtyard was enormous.

    Within one of the courtyards, Mr. Jun stood next to a stone table with his hands sped behind his back.

    As a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, he was one of the headquarters¡¯ executive members. Mr. Jun held a high status within the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, his reputation was impressive, and Wang Wen had even drafted him to participate in the defense of Ironblood Weave. But at this moment, Mr. Jun had a rather apprehensive look on his face, which revealed the respect he had for the owner of this courtyard.

    The void before Mr. Jun distorted as an aged man suddenly appeared.

    Envy shone through in Mr. Jun¡¯s eyes. The space on Sourcepeak was extremely stable, and it became even more stable the closer one drew to the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. Here, it had reached a point where even a Hunter like Mr. Jun could not tear the void apart. There were only a few who had the ability to tear space apart and travel through the void here, and the person in front of Mr. Jun was one of them: the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President Saul.

    ¡°Greetings, vice president.¡± Mr. Jun bowed respectfully.

    Saul looked towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, where the grand building stood while being propped up in midair by four giant trees that surrounded the structure. Those four trees were actually sourceboxes, and he had once tried toprehend the sourcebox array that the ancestor had left behind, but he had never achieved anything whatsoever. Since long ago, looking over at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had already be a habit for Saul.

    ¡°You failed?¡± Saul¡¯s tone was deep, and he sounded a little imposing.

    Mr. Jun replied, ¡°Yes, we failed.¡±

    Saul stared at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight as he quietly spoke. ¡°You¡¯ve already been a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker for many years, but you have made no further progress. Now, you can¡¯t even deal with a child. I¡¯m growing ever doubtful of your abilities.¡±

    Mr. Jun¡¯s face turned fearful. ¡°My apologies, vice president. That kid has external items that allow him to withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attacks, and he even has a subordinate who can defend himself against Enlighters.¡±

    Saul looked over at Mr. Jun. ¡°I don¡¯t need exnations. You just need to tell me if you can deal with him or not.¡±

    Mr. Jun gritted his teeth. ¡°I can.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I only care about the results. This is your only opportunity: take care of him, and I¡¯ll help you be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. I can even lend you the True Insight for a look. However, if you can¡¯t deal with him, then you will continue to be an executive member and will remain mediocre for the rest of your life. You¡¯ll forever be a well-respected, three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.¡±

    This sentence motivated Mr. Jun. After he had be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, he had not been able to make any more progress, and centuries had already passed by. He was sick of his stagnation, and thus, he had dabbled in some shady undertakings to receive Saul¡¯s support.

    And now, the opportunity to advance was finally in front of him. His expression firmed, and he became determined to trample over anyone who stood in his path. He had once appreciated Lu Yin¡¯s talent, and he had even wanted to take the youth in as a disciple. But now, the youth was just an obstacle in his mind.

    He left the courtyard and immediately pulled up the route that Lu Yin would use to travel to Sourcepeak. Mr. Jun had to take care of this brat before he arrived at Sourcepeak, and it seemed like he would have to call in all his favors to finish this.

    Back in the courtyard, Saul silently stared at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, his expression calm from start to end.

    Not long after, a youth entered the courtyard. ¡°Master.¡± This person was Saul¡¯s disciple, Deng Pu. He was a genius who had be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker at a young age, and his reputation in the Outerverse even surpassed that of Charon and the other elites. In the entire Lockbreaker Society, he was one of the select few existences who was second only to the Distinguished Five.

    Saul did not reply, and the atmosphere was a little silent.

    ¡°Master, must you deal with Lu Yin? He¡¯s only a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and he was only just recently promoted. He shouldn¡¯t be any threat to this disciple,¡± Deng Pu said respectfully.

    Saul frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t like the word ¡®should.¡¯¡±

    Deng Pu hurriedly amended his words, ¡°This person is definitely of no threat to this disciple. Please rest assured, Master.¡±

    Saul quietly answered, ¡°Throughout life, one will meet many destined opportunities. Some can grasp those opportunities while others can¡¯t. This Lu Yin has turned his misfortunes into blessings, and he was even able to survive the storms of Tempest Flowzone. He also obtained the Sea King¡¯s appreciation, seized control of the pyrolyte mines, and survived through Ironblood Weave¡¯s war. Now, he has already be someone who is protected by the Hall of Honor, and his destiny has greatly surpassed yours. This sort of person will have his own protection, and bing enemies with such a person is the same as fighting against the heavens themselves. It¡¯s simply not worth it. Even if he¡¯s no threat at all to you, he still has to be quickly dealt with.¡±

    Deng Pu did not understand his master¡¯s words, as perhaps only those that were at the level of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker could see the universe so clearly.

    ¡°If Mr. Jun takes care of that person, then does Master truly intend to help him be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?¡± Deng Pu felt suspicious.

    Saul¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°He¡¯s just a clown, and at best, he¡¯ll be able to be a four star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. If he doesn¡¯t get a lockbreaking tool, then he won¡¯t even be able to reach four stars, so he can just forget the Boundless Advanced realm. This sort of person needs a dream, and so what if we give it to him.¡±

    ¡°Then what about True Insight?¡±

    ¡°You ask too many questions,¡± Saul replied sternly.

    Deng Pu hurriedly lowered his head and acknowledged his mistake.

    ¡°Although there aren¡¯t many Lockbreakers in the Outerverse who pose a threat to you and Master has taken care of the older ones who can, you still have to take note of a few others, such as Xi Qi. That fish of hers is very crafty, so it¡¯s best to not let her attend,¡± Saul said firmly.

    Deng Pu immediately acknowledged his master¡¯s words.

    ***

    The Lockbreaker Competition was only held once every decade, and every time, it always attracted many Lockbreakers to participate, and even the worst ones would at least be three star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers. However, this particrpetition was different, as even one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers had decided to participate. This was specifically because the Outerverse was currently isted from the Innerverse, and so, many Lockbreakers felt like their opportunity had finally arrived. There would not be nearly as many strong Lockbreakerspeting, so thepetition was greatly reduced.

    At Sourcepeak¡¯s space station, one spacecraft after another queued up to enter, and the line extended far into outer space.

    Lockbreakers weren¡¯t the only ones who would gather at the Lockbreaker Competition, as this was also an opportunity to expand the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s influence. Hence, the society also invited many important figures to spectate eachpetition, such as the famous Four Corporations of the Outerverse and the representatives of the leading powers of certain weaves.

    Inside one small spacecraft, there was a youth who was looking up with an arrogant expression, and he had several juniors taking turns to tter him.

    ¡°Brother will definitely be able to be an overnight celebrity, and he¡¯ll win first ce! He¡¯ll be the youngest champion in the history of the Lockbreaker Competition.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Brother will definitely suppress everyone with his ability, and he¡¯ll be able to raise his status and gain the President¡¯s attention. He¡¯llter be able to enter the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, wed beautiful geniuses, and rise up to the pinnacle of life.¡±

    ¡°Brother, at that point, don¡¯t forget your juniors who have served you well. Your juniors wish for you to quickly gain sess and amaze the universe with your name.¡±

    ¡°Swift sess! Famous throughout the universe!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha,¡± the youthughed as he patted the head of the junior beside him. ¡°Don¡¯t be too proud¡ªpridees before the fall. Your brother is just at the level of a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and that¡¯s not enough. Not enough, hahaha.¡±

    The bootlicking from the surrounding juniors continued to flow like a waterfall, making the youth ted.

    Suddenly, the youth looked out into outer space, and an amazed look appeared on his face as his expression slowly changed.

    The surrounding disciples were all puzzled. ¡°What did you see, Brother? Let us help you.¡±

    The youth pointed at a man who was standing outside the spacecraft. ¡°He, he-¡±

    One of the juniors stepped forward and hollered, ¡°Hey brat! Our Brother is shouting for you, soe over here!¡±

    The youth was almost frightened out of his wits, and he pushed his junior down and then bowed apologetically towards the man outside. The man outside the vessel only nced over, not bothering with the group. He then stepped forward and vanished.

    The junior had been nearly suffocated by the youth, and his face was flushed red. ¡°Br- brother, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    The youth watched the man disappear before finally rxing and ring fiercely at his junior. ¡°You almost got me killed!¡±

    The surrounding juniors blinked at him, as they were all at a loss.

    ¡°Do you guys know who he is? That was <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man!¡± the youth hollered with an ugly expression on his face.

    The surrounding juniors¡¯ eyes went wide. ¡°That¡¯s actually a name?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a title¡ªwho knows what his name is!? He¡¯s a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker as well as a Cruiser! Fortunately, your brother¡¯s reaction was fast, or else we might have been eliminated without even knowing what had happened!¡± The youth was feeling horribly stressed.

    The crowd of juniors stared at their senior brother nkly. ¡°A five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker? Isn¡¯t the Outerverse isted from the Innerverse? How is there still such a freakpeting?¡±

    The youth hollered at them, ¡°Who the hell knows? There¡¯s a bunch of freaks that won¡¯t go to the Innerverse and instead stay in the Outerverse. My True Insight is gone, gone!¡±

    The surrounding juniors quieted down. ¡°Our hope is gone.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

 Chapter 680: Evaluation

    <h4>Chapter 680: Evaluation</h4>

    At Sourcepeak¡¯s space station, there were countless people there waiting, and many of them were staring at the people arriving. Any random person here might be someone from one of the four conglomerates, someone from a great power, or someone who simply worked for an important person. Everyone present hade to observe thepetitors for the uingpetition. True Insight was too valuable, and whenever people felt like others might be able to threaten them, it was possible for them to use underhanded means; such things were verymon.

    Outsiders would not act against Lockbreakers, as they would face an investigation from the Lockbreaker Society if that happened. However, nobody would get involved in internal conflicts that urred within the Lockbreaker Society itself. This was especially true since President Geoffrey was not around, and some Lockbreakers had be even more unrestrained than usual.

    ¡°It seems like there won¡¯t be much worth watching during this season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition, as no Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers will appear.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers¡ªnot even a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker has arrived yet.¡±

    Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, ¡°Look over there! It¡¯s <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man.¡±

    The crowd gazed at the sky. ¡°So it¡¯s <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man. There¡¯s finally going to be a show worth watching. It really is true that the important figures always show upst. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man is a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he only unlocks sourceboxes that contain metal, then he might have already reached the Perceptive Intermediate level. This person is a worthy contender for the championship.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man¡¯s forcefield is actually able to cause the air to transform into metal! I wonder if it¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s from Ketan, and that ce is full of metallic lifeforms, so that¡¯s notpletely impossible. He might not even considered as a pure human anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    Before long, there was another outcry as a beautiful woman attracted the crowd¡¯s attention. ¡°No way, she¡¯s actually here! Wasn¡¯t she in the Innerverse?¡±

    ¡°Bro, you know thatdy?¡± The crowd seemed doubtful, though there was someone who constantly seemed to be recording something.

    ¡°You guys might not recognize her by her appearance since she¡¯s always stayed in the Innerverse, but you¡¯ll definitely recognize her name! That¡¯s Serpent Queen!¡±

    ¡°Serpent Queen?¡± The crowd was stunned, and many people turned to look at the beautifuldy.

    The Serpent Queen was a very famous five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. She had obtained an ancient, multi-colored snake through an intense lockbreaking session, and such a beast had shaken the heavens. The multi-colored snake was a very precious astral beast, and it would be a Hunter once it matured, and it could even reach the strength of an Enlighter if it was nurtured well. Her possessing this ancient, multi-colored snake meant that there might be an Enlighter level astral beast protecting this woman in the future. In the entire universe, how many Enlighters were there?

    After she had obtained the ancient, multi-colored snake, the woman had started to be known as Serpent Queen.

    The beautifuldy nced through the crowd, but her attitude was clearly quite arrogant, and she quickly moved on.

    ¡­

    Some more time passed, and another spacecraft docked at Sourcepeak¡¯s space station. Inside, there was a youth waving fervently at the captain. ¡°Thank you, all! You guys are really good people. Not only were you willing to send this bro to Sourcepeak Weave, but you also brought me all the way to Sourcepeak yourselves! I will repay this gratitude in my next life. Thank you!¡±

    Within the spacecraft, the captain and the others appeared to be crying, though there were no tears to be seen. The truth was that they had been forced to deliver this person! He was a devil, a scoundrel, andpletely shameless.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Brother Wei?¡± someone cried out. This person¡¯s face was pale, and there was a ck nose hair fluttering about in his nose. It looked veryical, but also disgusting.

    A bystander was puzzled. ¡°Who¡¯s Brother Wei?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know who Brother Wei is? He¡¯s a very famous, five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. His real name is Ku Wei, but he likes to make others call him Brother Wei, and his personality is rather nasty. Anyway, just take a wide detour if you see him. If you get caught up with him, you¡¯ll easily end up bankrupt, and you might even lose your life.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s that terrifying? He doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡±

    ¡°He really doesn¡¯t look like it, so you can go ahead and see if it¡¯s true for yourself. I guarantee that it¡¯ll be an experience you¡¯ll never forget,¡± the man with the fluttering nose hair urged the bystander.

    Ku Wei suddenly turned to look at the crowd, and the expression of the few people who had been discussing him all suddenly changed as they hurriedly tried to retreat.

    Ku Wei smiled and raised a hand. ¡°Nosehair Bro,e here.¡±

    In the crowd, a group of people backed away to reveal the man who had one strand of ck hairing out of his nose.

    The man pointed at himself as he looked at Ku Wei in terror. ¡°Are you calling for me?¡±

    Ku Wei smiled very brilliantly. ¡°Yes, Nosehair Bro, it¡¯s you! Come over here.¡±

    The man was about to cry, but he was too afraid to not walk to Ku Wei. In hopes of improving his chances, he tried to curry favor. ¡°Is there anything that I can help you with?¡±

    Ku Wei hooked an arm around the man¡¯s neck and passionately said, ¡°I never would have thought that you actually know about Brother Wei. That means that we must be acquaintances! Come on, show Brother Wei somece good to stay, and also take care of Brother Wei¡¯s entertainment issue. You¡¯re so good looking, so there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll say no.¡±

    ¡°Wha- what if I decline?¡± the nosehair man carefully probed.

    Ku Wei¡¯s smile grew even wider, to the point where his back teeth were exposed. ¡°Decline? You wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    He raised a fist and clenched it with so much force that the space around it started to quiver and distort. This caused the nosehair man¡¯s pupils to shrink. They were on Sourcepeak, and the space on this was extremely stable, but Ku Wei was actually able to warp it so easily. The nosehair man¡¯s small physique could not take such a punch, and Ku Wei¡¯s eyes also nced towards the man¡¯s lower body. The nosehair man didn¡¯t think twice, and he could only seriously reply, ¡°Even if Brother Wei didn¡¯t speak up, I still would have arranged for a good ce for you to stay. Being able to meet Brother Wei can only be due to the luck from my past life. I will definitely cherish this moment.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re a good brother! Let¡¯s go, Bro will let you y all across Sourcepeak. Ah, right, Bro is broke, hahaha!¡±

    The nosehair man was really about to cry at this moment.

    Lockbreaker after Lockbreaker appeared at the space station, and aside from the most famous five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers, there were also a few two star, three star, and even the asional one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker who hade topete.

    Deng Pu stared coldly at a screen showing the space station. These people were of no threat to him, and not even the Serpent Queen could attract his attention. The ancient, multi-colored snake would indeed be powerful once it matured, but it was not actually that useful for lockbreaking, and it could not hold a candle to Xi Qi¡¯s wretched fish. However, where was Xi Qi? Why hadn¡¯t she appeared yet?

    At this moment, Deng Pu¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification, and when he nced at it, his expression warped into a very ugly sight. Xi Qi had finally arrived, but she had already been taken away by Fiend Li.

    Fiend Li was the honorary vice president, and he enjoyed the same status as Saul in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°So what if we let youpete? You were only able to reach the Perceptive Intermediate level with the help of that wretched fish while I relied on my own, true capabilities,¡± Deng Pu coldly said to himself. He then turned to leave.

    There were three mainds that had been joined to Sourcepeak, and each one of them was overseen by a different executive member of the Lockbreaker Society.

    Even right as the Lockbreaker Competition was about to start, there were still countless people who wanted to undergo the Lockbreaker evaluation.

    ¡°Next,¡± a middle-aged man called out gravely while looking at the long queue in front of him. There were so many applicants that the end of the line couldn¡¯t even be seen.

    A youth stepped out from the crowd while nervously clenching his numbered te. He swallowed his saliva and bowed to the man. ¡°This student greets Mentor.¡±

    The middle-aged man raised a hand. ¡°Has your star energy control reached the realm of infinite changes?¡±

    The youth nodded, and he raised his hand. The star energy over his palm then changed to simte wind, water, and fire.

    ¡°Begin your evaluation. The starburst orb is in front of you. If you can settle all of the berserk star energy inside it within ten seconds, you pass.¡±

    The youth appeared determined, and he raised his hand to cover the starburst orb that had been covered by a metal membrane. Star energy shot out of the youth¡¯s palm, and his eyes went wide as he stared closely at the berserk star energy inside of the starburst orb.

    One second, two seconds, even after eight seconds had passed there was no reaction from the berserk energy. The young man¡¯s face had turned deathly pale, but even after ten seconds passed, the berserk star energy still had not settled down.

    The middle-aged man waved a hand. ¡°Unqualified. Next.¡±

    The youth¡¯s face was devoid of all color, and he knelt on the ground and looked at the middle-aged man as he pleaded, ¡°Mentor, please let this student try once more! Just once more, please.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s gaze was filled with loathing. ¡°You don¡¯t have the aptitude to be a Lockbreaker. Leave immediately or else you will be banished.¡±

    The youth copsed limply to the ground. He continued to plead in an unwilling tone, but it was useless. His only choice was to climb back up and leave.

    Following him, dozens of other people attempted the evaluation, but not a single one was able to pass.

    Lockbreakers held the most esteemed profession in the entire universe. Every year, countless people would be evaluated, but only a handful of them would pass. How many people were there in the universe? It was an uncountable number. Actually, forget the entire universe; even the poption of a single weave could not be calcted. However, despite such enormous numbers, there were only 630,000 Lockbreakers, and the probability of someone passing the evaluation could be extrapted from that.

    The middle-aged man was already ustomed to this situation. Even if there was an endless line of people in front of him constantly attempting the evaluation, it was normal for several months to pass without anyone passing, so he did not carry much hope.

    ¡°Demonstrate your star energy,¡± he said.

    A beautifuldy was in front of him this time. She had rather bright eyes, which caused people to be attracted to her whenever she blinked.

    ¡°Yes, Mentor.¡± The youngdy raised a hand, and the star energy over her palm whooshed to form a hurricane, quickly returned to a calm state, and then formed a torrent.

    There were some in the crowd who marveled at her skillful disy, as only a few cultivators in the Outerverse could exhibit such excellent control over their star energy at such a young age. This was especially impressive because the rain that she had created had a light green color, which showed that she had reached the level where she could change the color of her star energy, which was above the realm of infinite changes. At that point, there was only a single step left before a personprehended a domain.

    The middle-aged man was also surprised, and he looked at the youngdy with some appreciation. ¡°Not bad, not bad. Begin your evaluation with the starburst orb in front of you. If you settle all of the berserk star energy inside it within ten seconds, you pass. Do your best.¡±

    The girl acknowledged his instructions with a crisp voice, peeled the metal membrane away, and used one of her hands to cover the starburst orb. The berserk star energy quivered for a moment, but then it started to gradually settle down at a visible rate until it grewpletely silent. The entire process only took five seconds.

    The crowd went into an uproar: sess! Someone had seeded.

    The middle-aged man was pleasantly surprised. Five seconds¡ªthis result could be considered outstanding, and he had not expected such an excellent Lockbreaker to appear on this day. ¡°Youngdy, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    She smiled at him happily. ¡°Wei Xin''er.¡±

    He nodded and then gently told her, ¡°Next we need to verify your identity. There shouldn¡¯t be any issues, right?¡±

    Wei Xin''er stood there looking very lovable. She ced her hands together and stood still, allowing a beam of light to sweep over her. Her identity was immediately disyed on the examiner¡¯s gadget. The examiner checked it, only to suddenly look back up in shock. ¡°You¡¯re from the Wei family.¡±

    ¡°Wei Xin''er greets Mentor.¡±

    The middle-aged man raised a hand to stop her and then smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not the Mentor¡ªI¡¯m only an examiner. The actual mentor is Lady Felynn, and I will take you to meet her and let her make the arrangements for you.¡±

    Wei Xin''er smiled sweetly. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The middle-aged man looked back over at the crowd. ¡°Everyone, wait here.¡±

    After giving this order, he led Wei Xin''er away from the examination area.

 Chapter 681: Felynn

    <h4>Chapter 681: Felynn</h4>

    In the crowd, there were some people who were incessantly sending out messages. Anyone who could be a Lockbreaker was a genius whom the various great powers would want to rope in. The Outerverse was vast, and it held countless powers; even if there were 630,000 Lockbreakers evenly spread out throughout the weaves, there still wouldn¡¯t be enough of them. Moreover, there weren¡¯t even 20,000 Lockbreakers in the Outerverse at the moment, so every organization would want ess to another Lockbreaker.

    The youngdy¡¯s appearance was quickly spread to the various powers of the Outerverse.

    ¡°Everyone leads a different life, ha. Some people are pretty,e from a good background, and are even gifted at lockbreaking. They¡¯re entirely unlike us, who had great difficultiesing here from the Innerverse and were barely able to reach the realm of infinite control before arriving. Now, we aren¡¯t even confident in our chances of bing Lockbreakers, how unlucky,¡± one man sighed.

    Behind him, another average-looking man with long sideburns asked, ¡°How can you tell that shees from a good background?¡±

    The man replied, ¡°All of her clothing is from famous brands. The Outerverse has seventy two weaves, and anypany whosebel is known throughout the Outerverse is clearly very famous. Those who can afford that kind of clothing can only belong to the ultra-wealthy. Even the richest person from a random gxy might not be able to buy a single set. So tell me, do you think that her background is pretty good?

    ¡°Also, that examiner¡¯s expressionpletely changed as soon as he verified her identity. If her identity was able to surprise even that Lockbreaker, then her family background is probably even more impressive than what we can imagine.¡±

    ¡°Bro, your observations are really detailed.¡± The man with long sideburns was surprised.

    The man was pleased with thepliment. ¡°Yes, without these observation skills, I would have died in the Innerverse long ago.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that chick from before is really cute! This Monkey likes!¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    ¡°Why is a monkey like you taking an interest in human women?¡±

    The man was stumped, and he turned back around. ¡°Bro, did you just say ¡®monkey?¡¯¡±

    ¡°What monkey? I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± The man with the long sideburns shook his head.

    The man felt that something was strange, and he scratched his head, but he didn¡¯t ask any additional questions.

    The man with the sideburns was naturally Lu Yin. He had followed along with Tong Mi¡¯er¡¯s suggestions and disguised himself before arriving at Sourcepeak. However, all of Sourcepeak was being monitored by Saul. Thus, in order to avoid revealing his identity and inciting trouble, Lu Yin had chosen to enter as a student looking to be evaluated. Anyway, anyone who passed this examination was allowed to meet Felynn.

    The waiting area grew very noisy, as everyone waiting in line was discussing the girl who had just left.

    Before long, the middle-aged man returned to continue the evaluations.

    One person after another failed the examination, but the middle-aged man¡¯s expression remained as calm as before. He had long since be ustomed to such low passing rates, or rather, he had be numb to it.

    The queue finally reached the man in front of Lu Yin, and as Lu Yin watched on, he noticed that the man¡¯s star energy control had reached the realm of infinite changes. Unfortunately, it took him thirteen seconds to calm the berserk energy in the starburst orb, and despite him repeatedly pleading to try again, the examiner did not relent.

    ¡°Ten seconds is the lowest possible baseline, and many Lockbreakers who take the full ten seconds toplete the task ultimately proceed no further than holding a title and aren¡¯t even able to be a one star Lockbreaker. Only those who can calm the orb within seven seconds have a chance of bing a one star Lockbreaker. Those three seconds are actually nothing more than a bit of hope given by the Society. You aren¡¯t even able toplete it within ten seconds, so even if we allow you to be a Lockbreaker, you¡¯ll never be able to seed in lockbreaking, and you might even end up losing your life,¡± the middle-aged man exined loudly.

    The crowd had been quiet, but now, it descended into absolute silence.

    A Lockbreaker was a profession that was not easy to attain. Anyone who could be a Lockbreaker would be an important figure throughout the entire universe, and they would forever enjoy a lofty status as well as ttery from countless powers. Bing a Lockbreaker was the same as bing a human lord who had climbed above other humans in a single step. They would be able to live the rest of their lives without worry. Such a status naturally could not be easily achieved.

    The man¡¯s face soured, but he still withdrew.

    It was then Lu Yin¡¯s turn, and he walked forward and raised his hand. The star energy transformed above his palm: wind, rain, and lightning shed about.

    The crowd was shocked¡ªsuch exquisite mastery!

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Not bad, try settling the berserk star energy.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged his instructions. Tong Mi¡¯er had told Lu Yin that, as long as he was able toplete the task within three seconds, there would be no need to verify his identity and that he would be able to meet Felynn straight away. His appearance was nothing more than a disguise, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to pass any sort of verification process. Thus, he had to resolve the orb¡¯s energy within three seconds. Back at Astral-10¡¯s space station, his first try had taken four seconds, and the second had taken three seconds. Now, he could effortlessly resolve the starburst orb within three seconds as he could settle the energy instantly if he truly wanted to. However, that sort of aplishment wouldn¡¯t just alert Felynn, but also the entire Lockbreaker Society.

    He peeled away the metal membrane and ced a hand on the orb. Then one, two, three seconds passed. ¡°Done.¡±

    The crowd fell deathly silent as everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Lu Yin. Do- done?

    The middle-aged man rubbed his eyes. Three seconds¡ªthis youth had actually used only three seconds toplete the task. The examiner looked at Lu Yin with absolute delight. This person was a genius! A true genius.

    The crowd erupted in a hubbub, and everyone stared at Lu Yin. They incessantly took pictures and videos of him, and there were also people shouting all kinds of things at him, sounding as though they were reporting the names of their own powers to him.

    Lu Yin smiled faintly; was three seconds actually very fast?

    The middle-aged man walked over to Lu Yin and sized him up and down. ¡°Little brother, have you had any experience in lockbreaking before?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and then shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you calm that berserk star energy in only three seconds?¡± the middle-aged man asked, but then, he suddenly felt that such a question was too pointed, and he quickly apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this question might be connected to your battle techniques, so it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to answer.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s nothing thatplicated. I just had a feeling that I could calm it, and then it was calm.¡±

    The man eximed in admiration, ¡°Genius! Truly a genius! Even those elite geniuses born into Innerverse Lockbreaker families require years, if not decades, of training to be able to calm that berserk energy within three seconds, but you were able to do it without any training. Genius. Follow me, I¡¯ll take you to Lady Felynn.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and followed behind the man.

    The crowd continuously sent messages to the outside universe, reporting that a genius had appeared who had passed the evaluation in just three seconds. This sort of Lockbreaker would definitely be able to reach higher levels, and he was someone who had a truly amazing future before him.

    Quite a few of the Outerverse powers began making inquiries about Lu Yin¡¯s identity the moment they received this news, but they were destined to be disappointed as Lu Yin¡¯s appearance waspletely falsified.

    In the hall behind the exam area, Wei Xin''er curiously looked around while she was waiting for Lady Felynn.

    At this moment, the middle-aged examiner brought Lu Yin in.

    Wei Xin''er was surprised by his appearance; had someone else passed the evaluation? That was rare, as it was normal and almost expected for an entire year to pass without anyone passing the evaluation, especially in the Outerverse.

    The middle-aged man appeared to be treating Lu Yin very warmly. ¡°I¡¯ll go and inform Lady Felynn, so little brother, please wait here for a while.¡± He then merely nodded towards Wei Xin''er and left.

    Wei Xin''er looked at Lu Yin in curiosity. ¡°Hey, you passed too?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. His long sideburns looked quite wild, and he subconsciously reached up to touch them. ¡°Yes, I passed.¡±

    ¡°How many seconds?¡± Wei Xin''er asked.

    Lu Yin raised three fingers and smiled. ¡°Three.¡±

    Wei Xin''er was stunned, and her eyes went wide. ¡°Three seconds? Really? You cleared it in three seconds?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I remember that it took you five seconds.¡±

    Wei Xin''er nodded and carefully studied Lu Yin. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have guessed that someone who looks like you could do something as meticulous as lockbreaking.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. What about my looks? Is she saying that I¡¯m ugly?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Monkey likes this girl!¡± The Ghost Monkey was delighted.

    ¡°Do you have prior experience with lockbreaking? Don¡¯t lie! I¡¯ll know if you lie!¡± Wei Xin''er stared intensely at Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer.¡±

    Wei Xin''er choked, and she wanted to say something else, but then a voice rang out. ¡°Two actually passed¡ªnot bad.¡± The voice was gentle and naturally put people at ease.

    Lu Yin and Wei Xin''er turned around and saw a beautiful woman with a gentle look slowly walking towards them. She looked to be about thirty, and she wore simple clothing. Her expression was soft, and she was beaming at the two youths.

    They hurriedly replied. ¡°Greetings, Mentor Felynn.¡±

    This person was one of the three executive members of the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society, Felynn.

    Lu Yin had thought that she would be a scheming old woman, and had never expected her to look like a gentle older sister character. If not for Felynn seeking out Lu Yin earlier, he would not have believed that this woman was someone who coveted the position of the vice president and was willing to ally with him to deal with Saul.

    Felynn¡¯s gaze paused on Lu Yin, and she then looked towards Wei Xin''er. ¡°You¡¯re the little princess from Armament Weave, right?¡±

    Wei Xin''er smiled sweetly. ¡°Yes, Mentor Felynn.¡±

    Felynn nodded, ¡°You two passed the evaluation, and you were actually brought here to select a tutor. Lockbreaking is a profound path, and it¡¯s difficult to tread furth along it without the guidance of a mentor. Xin¡¯er, follow me first and let me evaluate your natural lockbreaking talent so that we can select the right tutor for you.¡±

    Wei Xin''er acknowledged her and then nced over at Lu Yin in a provocative fashion. She followed Felynn into a specialized lockbreaking room. This was a room that had been built with numerous expensive resources. In fact, Spiritual Thread had been incorporated into the walls specifically to prevent any formless danger from leaking out of sourceboxes. There were fewer than ten of these hidden rooms on the entirety of Sourcepeak.

    Lu Yin casually sat down. After about half an hour, the two women walked out. Wei Xin''er¡¯s face showed her dejection as she unhappily sat down across from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin curiously looked over at Felynn.

    Felynn smiled bitterly. ¡°The tutor she wishes to choose is not in the Outerverse at this time, which is a pity.¡± She then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You cane with me now.¡±

    Lu Yin followed Felynn.

    Wei Xin''er unhappily shook her leg.

    The training room was massive, and there was an enormous sourcebox in the center of the room. Lu Yin looked around, and his brows rose up when he saw a boundless amount of rune lines. Although they could notpare to the sourcebox that he had used to dy the mummy, they approached that amount, which meant that this was a four or five star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    The room was empty all around the sourcebox, and there was nothing else to take note of.

    Although the room looked empty, Lu Yin could see the many rune lines emitted by the sourcebox, which filled the room up to a radius of a hundred meters from the sourcebox. These rune lines represented the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to give it a try?¡± Felynn¡¯s voice rang out in the room as she followed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze over to the sourcebox.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s gaze turned a bit strange. ¡°Others would die, but you won¡¯t. Even Enlighters can¡¯t do much to you. Just that sourcebox¡¯s formless danger shouldn¡¯t be very dangerous to you.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Felynn and returned to his original appearance. ¡°You wanted to meet me, and here I am.¡±

    Felynn looked at Lu Yin and sighed in admiration. ¡°I heard about Frostwave Weave¡¯s peerless Limiteer who¡¯s even killed multiple Enlighters long ago. You truly do have a well-deserved reputation.¡±

    ¡°Well-deserved? You actually believe that I can still deal with Enlighters even now? You should already know that my power vessel was destroyed in the Ironblood Weave,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a Lockbreaker, and a Lockbreaker can perceive things differently from the average person. I can perceive a fatal sense of danger on your body.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously studied Felynn up and down. ¡°Are you really Felynn?¡±

    ¡°As real as can be.¡± Felynn smiled.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t look like it.¡±

    ¡°What does Mr. Lu think Felynn should look like?¡± Felynn was curious.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Someone who dares to plot against a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker shouldn¡¯t look so gentle."

 Chapter 682: Secret Plan

    <h4>Chapter 682: Secret n</h4>

    Felynnughed once she heard Lu Yin¡¯s opinion. She didn¡¯t have Madam Nn¡¯s allure, and instead had the warmth of an older sister. ¡°Thank you for yourpliment, Mr. Lu. I¡¯m sorry for asking you to disguise yourself when arriving at Sourcepeak.¡±

    ¡°Tell me what you want to do,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Mr. Lu, are you familiar with the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°The structure of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society is very simple. President Geoffrey is the most powerful person and can reject any member¡¯s proposal. Meanwhile, any proposal made by Vice President Saul has to be approved by the three executives as well as the honorary vice president. Thus, even with the president absent, Saul still isn¡¯t able to take control of the society.

    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because of this rule that I want to cooperate with Mr. Lu to overthrow Saul,¡± Felynn said seriously.

    ¡°What are the details of your n?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Felynn answered, ¡°Saul is dead set on getting his hands on True Insight, and he¡¯s doing his best to stop any Lockbreaker who could possibly threaten Deng Pu¡¯s chances of winning thepetition from joining. We have concrete evidence of his actions, and so long as someone with authority steps forward to question him before Deng Pu wins the True Insight, I can bring out this evidence and expose his crimes. He won¡¯t be able to stay on Sourcepeak after that.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve made your preparations and that your n should be able to seed so long as nothing goes wrong. However¡­¡± Lu Yin stared straight into Felynn¡¯s eyes as he paused for a moment. ¡°What would I get from all this? If I stand up and question Saul, then I¡¯ll end up offending the Lockbreaker Society as well as embarrassing all of the Lockbreakers in the Outerverse.¡±

    Felynn smiled. ¡°Mr. Lu, you¡¯re overthinking things. I¡¯ll rify the details of this matter, and then you definitely won¡¯t have to face the consequences.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I won¡¯t face any consequences, huh? Saul is a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker! As soon as he escapes, I¡¯ll have one more enemy. Executive Felynn, if a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker wanted to get revenge on you, would you be able to sleep soundly?¡±

    Felynn¡¯s expression changed. ¡°A lockbreaking tool and a power vessel will be your rewards.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that going up against a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker is only worth a lockbreaking tool and a power vessel?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned sharp.

    Felynn replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, don¡¯t forget that Saul tried to assassinate you on your journey here. Even if you don¡¯t cooperate with me, Saul still won¡¯t let you off.¡±

    ¡°He tried to assassinate me because he thinks that I¡¯m a threat to Deng Pu. Once I stop being a threat to him, he won¡¯t bother with me anymore,¡± Lu Yin calmly retorted.

    Felynn had nothing to say.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t in a rush, and he knew that he would have to negotiate this deal slowly. He was honestly wondering what kind of reward Felynn would give him in exchange for making a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker his enemy. ¡°I¡¯m curious about something¡ªeven if you do manage to defeat Saul, why would you be the next president?¡±

    Felynn answered, ¡°The Honorary Vice President, Fiend Li, can¡¯t be the president because of the rules put in ce by President Geoffrey. Tutor Yi Feng isn¡¯t interested in running for president as he just wants to roam around and learn more about sourceboxes. As for Mr. Jun,¡± She turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°He was one of the people who attacked you, so he won¡¯t be able to remain here after we make our move.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Mr. Jun was one of the Hunters who tried to assassinate me?¡±

    Felynn nodded and showed him her gadget. On it, he saw a short video clip showing Mr. Jun lockbreaking. Initially, he looked very tired and was going very slowly, but his speed increased dramatically after he brought out a lockbreaking tool. The lockbreaking tool in the clip was identical to the one that had been used by the assassin.

    No two sourceboxes were ever identical, and it was quite rare for lockbreaking tools to be identical.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, as the person who had attacked him turned out to actually be Mr. Jun. Lu Yin had met this person before on Savage Ape, and at that time, Lu Yin had envied the man¡¯s lockbreaking skills. Now, the man had tried to kill him.

    ¡°Once Saul is defeated, there is nobody who can stop me from bing the president,¡± Felynn dered.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°That¡¯s why you should increase my reward. I have to offend people while you¡¯re the one enjoying the benefits! I don¡¯t think that this is a fair deal.¡±

    Felynn replied, ¡°Mr. Lu, you are creating the Great Eastern Alliance, right? I can promise to publicly dere that the Lockbreaker Society supports the Great Eastern Alliance once I be the president. Also, I¡¯ll also move some lower level Lockbreakers into the Great Eastern Alliance. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I want True Insight,¡± Lu Yin said directly.

    Felynn frowned. ¡°No, True Insight has to remain on Sourcepeak.¡±

    Lu Yin carefully observed Felynn. ¡°I¡¯ll say this one more time: I want True Insight. This won¡¯t be the only time we coborate, and we will definitely have more opportunities to work together in the future. You will gain a high position, but that only applies in the Lockbreaking world, and so you won¡¯t wield much power. On the other hand, I will gain true power as I will expand the Great Eastern Alliance in the future. Our partnership will definitely allow us to achieve greater things.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Lu, True Insight is something that is only useful for Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers. You won¡¯t be able to gain anything from it even if you get a hold of it, and you might even end up being targeted by others. Why would you want such a thing?¡± Felynn asked helplessly.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Nobody will even know that I have it.¡±

    Felynn was stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Deng Pu will win True Insight as the prize for bing the champion of thepetition. However, once your n seeds, Saul and Deng Pu will be overthrown, and the True Insight will be returned to the Society. Thus, since you¡¯ll be the president, wouldn¡¯t it be very easy for you to pass it to me in secret?¡±

    ¡°Impossible! You want me to bear the envy of everyone who wants to steal True Insight? Impossible!¡± Felynn screamed.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll be facing the wrath of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker while you¡¯ll be bearing the greed of those who want to steal the True Insight. It seems very fair to me.¡±

    ¡°We will make sure that Saul remains here on Sourcepeak so that he won¡¯t be able to threaten you,¡± Felynn said seriously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Fine, if Saul won¡¯t be a threat, then I¡¯ll only ask for one page of True Insight. If he manages to escape, then I want all three pages. How¡¯s that sound?¡±

    Felynn thought about it. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s a deal.¡±

    Felynn felt fully confident that she would be able to keep Saul on Sourcepeak, which also implied that there was someone else helping her. This was because Saul was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, which meant that hisbat prowess was about equivalent to an Enlighter¡¯s. The executive was so confident about defeating an Enlighter that she had to have other people assisting her.

    If everything that Felynn had told Lu Yin was the truth, then he wouldn¡¯t mind helping her. However, now that he was aware that she had other people helping her as well, he might change his mind as he had no intentions of bing the pawn of some unknown participant.

    Over the next ten minutes, Felynn went over the rules of thepetition with Lu Yin. She didn¡¯t go into the specifics since the rules changed every year, and only the president and vice president were aware of the details. Since President Geoffrey wasn¡¯t present, the rules for this year¡¯spetition had been set solely by Saul, which was one of his methods to ensure that Deng Pu would win.

    Both Saul and Felynn wanted Deng Pu to win. Felynn wanted him to win so that her evidence would be more incriminating with Deng Pu¡¯s victory, which would also make Saul face greater me.

    Deng Pu was the frontrunner for this year¡¯spetition.

    Most people wanted thepetition to be fair, but there was no such thing as true fairness in the universe. Things generally moved in the direction of certain people¡¯s aims.

    Wei Xin¡¯er looked at Lu Yin curiously when he left the room. ¡°Hey, who¡¯s your tutor?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled at her and left after saying goodbye to Felynn.

    ¡°Hey! You haven¡¯t answered me yet!¡± Wei Xin¡¯er shouted after him.

    Felynn told Wei Xin¡¯er, ¡°Have you thought about who you would like as your tutor? The person you wanted isn¡¯t avable since the Outerverse is still separated from the Innerverse.¡±

    Wei Xin¡¯er replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Felynn smiled at her. ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll be your tutor.¡±

    Wei Xin¡¯er was shocked, and she blinked at Felynn and asked, ¡°You¡­ will be my tutor? Are you serious?¡±

    It was normally impossible for someone who had just passed the Lockbreaker examination to gain a tutor like Felynn, who was a four star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, unless they had superb talent. The tutor that Wei Xin¡¯er had initially wanted to ept was just a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    Felynn nodded. ¡°I like you a lot. So, do you want me to be your tutor?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! Thank you, tutor Felynn!¡± Wei Xin¡¯er eximed,pletely forgetting all about Lu Yin.

    Tong Mi¡¯er was waiting for Lu Yin with Aden, and as soon as Lu Yin came out, Tong Mi¡¯er told him, ¡°Tutor Felynn has asked me to look after your amodations.¡±

    Lu Yin nced around and pointed towards a small hill in the distance. ¡°I¡¯ll stay there. You can only see into the distance when you have a high vantage point.¡±

    Tong Mi¡¯er nodded. ¡°Alright then, please follow me.¡±

    Once it grew dark, Sourcepeak fell silent. The people who were in line for the Lockbreaker examination sat down and waited patiently for the examination to start again the following day.

    Lu Yin sat on the roof of where he was staying and observed Felynn¡¯s ce. He wanted to know who Felynn was cooperating with. Who could give her so much confidence of being able to defeat Saul? This person had to be at least an Enlighter, which meant that it was someone who could threaten Lu Yin. However, there were very few Enlighters in the Outerverse at this time.

    Lu Yin had chosen this location as he could keep watch on who was visiting Felynn more easily. He wasn¡¯t sure if this person would actually contact Felynn, so he was just trying his luck.

    However, Lu Yin realized that his luck was great when he saw a group of rune lines stealthily sneak into Felynn¡¯s quarters after a few hours of waiting. Felynn had was meeting with the other person she was cooperating with.

    Lu Yin strained his eyes and watched closely.

    Ten minutester, the rune lines left Felynn¡¯s quarters and headed away.

    Lu Yin immediately followed the person and stopped them far away from Felynn¡¯s quarters.

    ¡°Brother, is anything the matter?¡± The person was a middle aged man with a hoarse voice, and he was looking at Lu Yin warily.

    Lu Yin nced at the man. ¡°Who are you? Who do you work for?¡±

    The middle aged man looked stumped. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡±

    Lu Yin stepped closer to the man. ¡°What did you discuss with Felynn? Who¡¯s your master?¡±

    The middle aged man¡¯s eyes shed, and he suddenly attacked Lu Yin. He condensed his star energy and aimed an attack straight at Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. The person was a Cruiser, but Lu Yin was able to grab a hold of the man¡¯s arm after releasing some pressure from his palm. Fortunately, this person wasn¡¯t very strong, and his attack was easily destroyed by Lu Yin.

 Chapter 683: Wei Rong

    <h4>Chapter 683: Wei Rong</h4>

    The middle-aged man was shocked. His right arm was being held so tightly by Lu Yin that his bones were being crushed. His face went pale, and he red at Lu Yin angrily. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, let go of me! Don¡¯t go looking for trouble! There are some things that you shouldn¡¯t know about.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and exerted a bit more strength. The middle aged man yelped as his arm was twisted by Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m from the Wei family of Armament Weave. Our youngdy came here to take the exam today, and the Young Master asked me to meet with Lady Felynn to help his sister look for a good tutor.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly. He tightened his grip on the middle-aged man¡¯s arm and snapped it in two with a crack, causing the man to scream. ¡°Keep going, I want to see what else you have to say.¡±

    The middle aged man started panting as sweat poured from his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m really from the Wei family, and you should know about how powerful the Wei family of Armament Weave is! I¡¯m telling you the truth, and I can even take you to the Young Master if you don¡¯t believe me!¡±

    Lu Yin red at the middle-aged man. ¡°Felynn is nning to overthrow Saul, and it seems that the Wei family is one of the forces coborating with her. Well, who else is she working with? I want to know!¡±

    The middle aged man looked at Lu Yin in disbelief, and then realization flooded over his face. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin!¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°So it really is you guys.¡±

    The middle aged man¡¯s eyes shed, and his expression changed rather abruptly.

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°So tell me. We¡¯re on the same line, and we all want to beat Saul. There¡¯s no harm in telling me.¡±

    The middle aged man lowered his head and remained silent.

    Lu Yin exerted even more force through his hand, but the middle-aged man showed no reaction. Lu Yin picked him up, only to realize that the man had already died.

    ¡°Hemitted suicide, Seventh Bro! It looks like there¡¯s something more involved going on,¡± the Ghost Monkey said seriously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim. The man had initially tried to fight back against Lu Yin, before trying to take Lu Yin to meet with his Young Master, all while the man had not known who Lu Yin truly was. However, as soon as the middle-aged man realized what Lu Yin¡¯s true identity was, he had immediatelymitted suicide. He clearly knew that Lu Yin was also involved in the n and was on their side, but he had still killed himself. This meant that the n wasn¡¯t as simple as what Felynn had shared with Lu Yin. If the man could tell Lu Yin the truth, then there was no way he would have killed himself.

    Since the man hadmitted suicide, the n was clearly not what it appeared to be.

    The Wei family. Lu Yin thought about the situation for a moment and then sent a picture of the middle-aged man to the Limiteer Mistchild, who was on Mafioso, as well as Bach Shamus, the chief of the Six-Fingered Tribe. He remembered that Armament Weave was to the west of Lars Weave as well as an enemy of Lars Weave; perhaps Bach Shamus would know something about them.

    The bespectacled Mistchild replied promptly, but she merely said that she didn¡¯t know anything about this person or the Wei family. Armament Weave was very far away from Mafioso, and it could even be considered part of the central weaves.

    Bach Shamus also contacted Lu Yin soon after receiving the message.

    Lu Yin answered the call, and Bach Shamus appeared on his screen with a grim expression. ¡°Your Highness, how did you end up killing someone from the Wei family?¡±

    ¡°You recognize him?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bach Shamus nodded. ¡°He¡¯s one of the underlings of the Wei family¡¯s Young Master, Wei Rong. He was very loyal to the Young Master.¡±

    So he really was from the Wei family. Lu Yin continued on with his questions, saying, ¡°Tell me more about Armament Weave and the Wei family.¡±

    Bach Shamus was very curious about what Lu Yin was doing that was rted to the Wei family, but he refrained from asking any questions of his own. ¡°Armament Weave is on the western side of the Lars Weave, and the people there have been our enemy for centuries. That weave is highly popted with Astral Horses that can easily shatter spacecraft. The Wei family is the leading family in Armament Weave, and they also control the Astral Horses.

    ¡°The Wei family has never interacted with the eastern weaves, but they are on good terms with the central weaves. They have a knack for forming alliances, particrly that Young Master, Wei Rong. He has travelled all across the Outerverse to recruit talents for the Wei family. In the past, my Six-Fingered Tribe wasparable to the Wei family, but because of their Young Master, we have fallen into a disadvantage.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, as it seemed like Wei Rong was someone who was simr to Wang Wen, which would be very troublesome for Lu Yin to deal with. Wei Rong was currently at Sourcepeak, so he probably had a big role to y in the uing n to overthrow Saul.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you nning to get Armament Weave to join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡± Bach Shamus probed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What would you think about that?¡±

    Bach Shamus shook his head andughed. ¡°It¡¯s impossible. Armament Weave treats the eastern weaves as their enemy, and the Wei family has never had any interactions with the eastern weaves. Although Wei Rong has travelled throughout half the Outerverse, he has never traveled to the eastern weaves, and that weave will never join the Great Eastern Alliance unless youpletely destroy the Wei family.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, I understand. Thank you, Chief Bach.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem, Your Highness. You¡¯re currently on Sourcepeak, right?¡± Bach Shamus asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m participating in the uing Lockbreaking Competition.¡±

    Bach Shamus frowned. ¡°The members of the Wei family are good at scheming. Since they¡¯re also there, then you must be careful, Your Highness. There might also be some changes to this year¡¯spetition since many things have changed after the Outerverse was separated from the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with the rmendation of caution and hung up.

    Bach Shamus was certain that there was something off with the events on Sourcepeak as soon as he realized that there was someone from the Wei family present. This meant that he had most likely been intimidated by the Wei family.

    Wei Rong was an intelligent person, and Lu Yin wasn¡¯t good at dealing with such people. He wasn¡¯t good at scheming, and so he decided to contact Wang Wen.

    ¡°Chesspiece Bro, I wasn¡¯t expecting you to call me. What? You missed me?¡± Wang Wen¡¯s annoying smile appeared on the screen of Lu Yin¡¯s gadget.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°I told you not to call me Chesspiece Bro.¡±

    Wang Wen raised his head up high. ¡°Everyone in this universe is a chesspiece to me, and there are some people who can''t even be considered pawns. You should be honored!¡± He then leaned closer to the camera and grinned. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been getting quite popr recently, and even the Hall of Honor started protecting you. Chesspiece Bro, you¡¯re doing quite well! It seems like you have learned a bit of wisdom from me.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s still as annoying as ever!¡± The monkey was outraged.

    Lu Yin pouted. ¡°Alright, I do have something to ask you.¡±

    Wang Wen grunted and leaned casually against a chair. ¡°Go ahead and ask.¡±

    This fellow always enjoyed demonstrating his superiority.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment before telling Wang Wen about the current situation on Sourcepeak, which actually intrigued Wang Wen. Lu Yin concluded by asking, ¡°What do you think I should do?¡±

    Wang Wenughed. ¡°That¡¯s great! Sourcepeak is about to undergo a tremendous change. I¡¯ve never liked those Lockbreakers! They hid themselves and defied the draft orders to help out in Ironblood Weave. They¡¯re all arrogant pricks, and it¡¯ll be good for them to be defeated.¡±

    Lu Yin was offended. ¡°I¡¯m a Lockbreaker too!¡±

    Wang Wen waved a hand. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, you¡¯re just an amateur.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker,¡± Lu Yin informed him.

    Wang Wen blinked. ¡°Why are you at such a high level for an amateur? It¡¯s no wonder why Saul sent someone to assassinate you¡ªhow can an amateur be a five star Lockbreaker? What¡¯s going to happen to other people if you start focusing on it seriously? It¡¯s your own fault that they¡¯re going after you.¡±

    ¡°Fine. What should I do? Tell me,¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen thought about it for only a moment. ¡°That¡¯s simple: just don¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything?¡± Lu Yin was lost.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t do anything. You should know that everything in the universe follows a certain pattern. Sometimes, the final oue of an incident won¡¯t change no matter what you do or don¡¯t do. Besides, from what you just told me, neither Felynn nor the Wei family are dumb, and they definitely rely on just you to use Saul. In these circumstances, you can just wait and see how things y out before responding ordingly to maximize your benefits.¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t use him, then Felynn won¡¯t give me True Insight,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°Brother, after all the chaos they¡¯re going to create, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society will end up on the verge of copse. Are you still worried that you won¡¯t be able to get True Insight in that situation? Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve killed an Enlighter before, and they¡¯ll be worried that you¡¯ll side with Saul instead of them. They absolutely won¡¯t dare to offend you, so just sit back and enjoy the show.¡±

    Lu Yin realized that Wang Wen was right. He had only been thinking about what he should do to get the most benefits, but he hadn¡¯t even considered the option of not doing anything. Since nobody would dare to risk offending him, then they would definitely agree to whatever he wanted, and that way, he wouldn¡¯t need to offend Saul either.

    ¡°How can you be so sure that they have a backup n?¡± Lu Yin asked as he suspected that Wang Wen just wanted to watch a good show.

    Wang Wen smirked. ¡°Is Wei Rong the representative of the Wei family?¡±

    ¡°You know him?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Wang Wen sneered, ¡°I¡¯ve met him once. Just listen to me and don¡¯t do anything. Wei Rong is very meticulous, and he¡¯d definitely meet you in person if he actually wanted you to help out. Furthermore, that person from the Wei familymitted suicide as soon as he realized who you were, which proves that you¡¯re not important to the Wei family. On the other hand, Felynn met with you personally and even promised to give you the True Insight, which shows that you are very important to her. These two detailsbined suggests that Felynn is not important to the Wei family. Now do you understand?¡±

    ¡°So are you saying that the Wei family has its own ns?¡± Lu Yin raised his brows.

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°You¡¯re pretty smart. Wei Rong is the best when ites to betraying people, so you should just quietly watch the show take ce. Sourcepeak is about to get very interesting, so go ahead and contact me anytime. Haha, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what Wei Rong is going to do!¡±

    Lu Yin hung up. Wang Wen¡¯s analysis of the situation had allowed him to gain a better understanding of his current circumstances, but he still wasn¡¯t sure about what the Wei family¡¯s ns might be or who they were working with. Despite that, since he now had a better grasp of the situation, he could finally make a decision.

 Chapter 684: An Old Friend From Umbral

    <h4>Chapter 684: An Old Friend From Umbral</h4>

    There were two more days before thepetition started, and during this time, Lu Yin stopped monitoring Felynn¡¯s quarters. Instead, he roamed about Sourcepeak.

    This was a very famous, renowned even in the Innerverse for being the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters. Most of the was covered in foliage, and its cities were also very beautiful. However, Lu Yin was more curious about a certain business: field raffles.

    Most people found sourceboxes out of pure happenstance by lucking upon an area that contained them. Some sourceboxes were buried deep underground and would never be found by blind chance. For those, Lockbreakrers naturally had special methods to analyze their surroundings and determine whether or not there were any sourceboxes nearby, though the uracy of such methods was very low.

    The field raffles had started because of this situation.

    Field raffles were conducted by dividing up an area that potentially contained sourceboxes. These divisions were distinct, and customers would buy a specific area, and whether or not that area contained a sourcebox depended on the customer¡¯s luck and discernment.

    Field raffles were more of an entertainment service rather than a proper business venture since sourceboxes were very rare, and there were very few ces that contained sourceboxes. Thus, it could never be a legitimate business; instead, it was more of a game for Lockbreakers or wealthy individuals to y.

    Lu Yin had never tried to find a sourcebox within a certain area, so he was very curious about how it went.

    Looking at the densely packed figures below him, Lu Yin took to the sky. Along with all the other people in the surroundings, one young man could be seen in the distance who was charging towards the mountain range.

    This mountain range was what the field raffles were selling, and there were about a dozen designated regions within the mountain range where sourceboxes could be found. There were mountains,kes, giant beasts¡¯irs, and many other bizarre locations. This young man could spend a certain amount of money to buy the rights to a given region. His choices would increase the more he was willing to pay, and needless to say, it was never cheap. The prices of these area rights sometimes even reached levels that wereparable to those of actual sourceboxes.

    This was a thrill-seeking adventure that people participated in purely for the experience. Finding a sourcebox was of secondary importance.

    There were many Lockbreakers who had never attempted to unlock a sourcebox; instead, they would participate in these field raffles in an attempt to increase their knowledge of sourceboxes. However, in reality, it was not very useful.

    Every region that was designated for the field raffles had to have a hidden sourcebox within the region, or else it would be aplete scam.

    The young man flew straight into the mountain range andnded atop a tall mountain that had clearly been moved over. He looked in every direction and even got down on all fours to listen to the ground, which caused many of the onlookers to burst out inughter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s humor was tickled by this scene as well. Even he could not discern the rune lines of a sourcebox. Before a sourcebox was uncovered, they would look no different from an ordinary object, and discovering one depended entirely on one¡¯s ability.

    After a long while, the young man pointed to arge, strange looking rock. ¡°I choose this.¡±

    The boss of the field raffle lifted the rock and handed it over to the young man, a huge smile spread across his face as he carried the stone.

    ¡°Brother, open it to see if there are any sourceboxes inside.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Come on, open it!¡±

    On its surface, the rock had numerous veins running across it that even somewhat looked like a picture. The star energy surrounding the rock also seemed to be slightly more dense than the surroundings. These were all telltale signs of a sourcebox.

    The young man shot a nce at a beautifuldy in the crowd and gritted his teeth. He then backed up a little and flicked his finger lightly. His finger created a fierce gale that split the rock apart. Then, in full view of the watching audience, it was revealed that there was nothing inside.

    Everyone present broke out inughter.

    The young man was embarrassed. He had failed.

    The boss of the local field rafflesughed. ¡°This rock was struck by lightning a dozen times in a row, but it didn¡¯t shatter. I personally thought that there would be a sourcebox inside, and so, I brought it back here. You made a good guess, young man, but unfortunately, luck was not on your side.¡±

    The young man shot the boss a dirty look and left.

    The boss of the field raffle stifled augh and looked at the others in the audience. ¡°Is there anyone else who¡¯d like to try?¡±

    ¡°Me.¡± A young man who was full of smiles walked forward, dragging behind him a man who had an extremely grumpy look on his face. The grumpy man had a long strand of ck hair protruding from one of his nostrils, giving him a very distinctive look.

    The boss of the field raffle extended his hand. ¡°Pay up first, and then you can make your choice.¡±

    The young man shot a delighted look at the man with the nosehair, who apathetically responded, ¡°I don¡¯t have any more money.¡±

    The young man blinked in disbelief, and then asked, ¡°What did you say? I didn¡¯t hear you the first time, so please repeat yourself.¡±

    The nosehair man repeated himself, ¡°I don¡¯t have any more money.¡±

    There was a loud boom, and the ground split open. The young man smiled even more widely. ¡°Say that again.¡±

    ¡°I said that I have no money! No money! NO MONEY! You can kill me if you like, but all of the wealth that I saved up over all these years has beenpletely squandered by you, you bastard! Kill me, you despicable creature¡­¡± The nosehair man¡¯s sudden outburst of abusivenguage and sinister expression stunned everyone who was present.

    The young man rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t have any money, but why did you have to resort to scolding me? Some people have no ss,¡± he mumbled to himself as he walked away.

    The nosehair man continued grumbling heavily as he red spitefully at the young man who was leaving. He lookedpletely pitiful.

    The boss of the field raffle was stunned for a moment before he spoke up again. ¡°Do you still want to participate in the field raffles?¡±

    ¡°I already said that I don¡¯t have any money!¡± the nosehair man screamed. After that, he also left.

    After this incident, an entire half hour passed without anyone participating in the field raffle.

    Lu Yin started to feel bored, and just as he was about to leave, a man whose body reflected the light around him with a metallic glint walked forward. He tossed a cosmic ring to the boss of the field raffles and flew straight into the mountain range.

    ¡°It¡¯s <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man! He also wants to take part!¡± someone eximed in surprise.

    Lu Yin looked over. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)"><i>Straight Metallic Man</i>? What a strange name.

    ¡°<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man is a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, so if anyone can find a sourcebox, then it would be him,¡± someone elsemented.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Or, this field raffle might not have any sourceboxes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret, there definitely are sourceboxes here. They wouldn¡¯t organize a field raffle if there weren¡¯t any.¡±

    ¡­

    When the boss of the field raffles watched <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man enter, and his expression changed. It would be difficult for anyone in the entire Outerverse to reach the level of a five star Discerning Elementary. The supervisor of this field raffle hadn¡¯t expected such a high leveled character to show up at his humble raffle. He was afraid that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man would swipe every avable sourcebox in this location, which would cost him dearly.

    Everyone stared intently at the mountain range.

    The boss of the field raffles also appeared to be rather nervous.

    However, the imagined oue of <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man magnificently discovering multiple sourceboxes did note true. He charged straight into ake and took out a big piece of metal. And with that, he simply left, and he didn¡¯t even turn around to take a second look.

    Everyone stared in astonishment as he left. Thereafter, everyone looked at the supervisor. ¡°Boss, was there a sourcebox inside that piece of metal?¡±

    Everyone was looking at the man in excitement.

    The boss gulped. ¡°I don¡¯t actually know. All I can tell all of you is that the fixed sourcebox was not in there.¡±

    There was an uproar in the crowd. Someone eximed, ¡°I was waiting for something good to happen with bated breath! It turns out that I got excited for nothing!¡±

    ¡°I was certain that his confidence would bring about something spectacr, and yet, nothing happened.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hasty in your judgements. The supervisor simply said that a fixed sourcebox wasn¡¯t in that piece of metal. He never said that there wasn¡¯t a sourcebox inside of it. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man will only unlock sourceboxes found inside of metal, and seeing how confident he was just now, he must be certain that there¡¯s something inside,¡± an experienced Lockbreaker spoke up.

    Everyone nodded, agreeing with his astute assessment.

    Lu Yin looked in the direction that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man had headed off in. After pondering for a moment, he followed him. Through the movement of various rune lines, he was able to sense that quite a number of other people were also tailing the Lockbreaker, and it was clear that they were up to no good. It seemed like they were trying to take advantage of the man.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man held the huge metal object as he flew at top speed through the sky, passing by several mountains and cities. Finally, he stopped at a certain mountain and tossed the metallic object onto the ground. He then stood there in silence.

    Three figures descended from the air above him. Theynded on the ground and surrounded <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man.

    ¡°<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man, hand over that metal object, and we¡¯ll let you leave unharmed,¡± one of the three people ordered with a solemn expression.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man opened his mouth and spoke with a voice that was reminiscent of the unbearable noise of grinding metal, ¡°You three are going to try to stop me?¡±

    ¡°All three of us are Cruisers, and we have team assault techniques. Even if you are a Lockbreaker and a Cruiser like us, you still won¡¯t be able to beat us. I suggest that you leave now, or else you won¡¯t be able to join thepetition in two days,¡± the same man threatened.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man tapped the metal object. ¡°It¡¯s right here, soe and take it.¡±

    The three assants looked at each other before all moving at the same time. They each shot out star energy, but instead of shooting it at <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man, they shot it into the air above him. Their star energy weaved together to form a cage that trapped the Lockbreaker. It looked a great deal like Trapper Qin Chen¡¯s, as this was another battle technique that could trap someone. The difference was that Qin Chen¡¯s utilized battle techniques and his domain while these three relied on teamwork.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man¡¯s expression turned cold as formless ripples spread out from him, causing the surrounding air to suddenly freeze. Even the cage that the three people had formed suddenly froze in mid air. Following that, traces of metal started pervading the air before ultimately forming a metallic casing that covered the entire region.

    The three attackers felt their spines tingle. ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s a forcefield. Retreat!¡±

    Only top level experts were capable of turning their domain into a forcefield, and it was something that a numerical advantage could notpensate for. The three people fled without any hesitation, but <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man did not intend to let them off. The metallic traces in the air continued to spread out, and they quickly covered the mountain valley, the mountain, and soon after that, even the area around the mountain was enveloped in this metall. The three attackers froze, but the metal continued to spread. ¡°<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man, please let us go! We¡¯ll behave in the future!¡±

    With a cial expression on his face, <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man shouted, ¡°Turn to metal!¡±

    After his shout, the metallic casing spread over the three people¡¯s bodies, and despite their desperate and violent howls, they were turned into metal statues that plummeted into the mountain stream down below.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s brows raised high up. That was a very powerful forcefield, and it was of no surprise that the one wielding it was a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker at the Cruiser realm.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man was very vicious in his methods. He had killed three powerful Cruisers as if they had been ordinary humans. After disposing of the three attackers, he picked up the piece of metal and left.

    Lu Yin did not follow the other man any longer. In the Outerverse, there were only a mere handful of people who were able to reach the Cruiser realm. If a single person could kill three Cruisers that casually, it was likely that, even on Sourcepeak, there were no more than a handful of people who could deal with <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man. It was unclear if Saul would make an appearance, as this Cruiser¡¯s presence was a huge threat to Deng Pu.

    After spending a day roaming about Sourcepeak, Lu Yin appeared in a city¡¯s downtown restaurant the following evening night. He was enjoying some delicacies native to Sourcepeak as he looked out a window.

    Sourcepeak contained almost ten thousand Lockbreakers, so Lu Yin would asionally see a few Lockbreakers pass by and hear theirments mentioned in passing. It had given him a rough idea about who hispetitors would be during thepetition.

    After only a short while, Lu Yin prepared to leave. As he stood up to leave, a group of people arrived at the restaurant, and their leader was someone who Lu Yin had seen before. It was Angie, a student of Astral-7 and an Area Master who had lost to Tu Bo during the Astral Combat Tournament. The reason why Lu Yin remembered her was because, even before the Astral Combat Tournament, he had visited Umbral Butterfly Weave and had met some people from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, which had given him a bit of an understanding of their race.

    He had not expected Angie to not be in the Innerverse.

    Angie led a group of people into the restaurant and entered a private room. ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu,e with me. The rest of you are to wait outside.¡±

    Ah Mu? Lu Yin was shocked. He looked at the man behind Angie with an astonished expression on his face. He really was A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu!

    When Lu Yin had been in Umbral Butterfly Weave, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had helped Lu Yin get to Gigastar, and by doing so, he had helped Lu Yin obtain the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye.

    But why was A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu here?

    From what Lu Yin could remember, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was not a powerful cultivator and was a very timid individual. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was someone who was not destined for great things. That was why Lu Yin was so surprised to see that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu hade to Sourcepeak, let alone be following Angie. After all, Angie was the heir to the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    What shocked Lu Yin even further was the amount of rune lines that he saw on A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, as they were not much less than what he saw on Angie.

    What a difference just a few years could make.

    That night, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu closed a wooden door inside of the Forest Hotel. Exhausted, he stood near the top of a tree and muttered to himself whenever he saw passersby walking along. ¡°I¡¯ll show you people what I am made of tomorrow!¡±

    Knock, knock, knock!

    Someone knocked at the door. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu opened the door to his room and saw a stranger. His eyes glowed with a cautious light as he asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The stranger did not respond. Instead, he walked straight into A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s room. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s eyes turned cold, and he mercilessly thrust a dagger at the man¡¯s neck. The man raised a finger, and under A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s astonished eyes, tapped the dagger to deflect it. The immense strength of the finger forced A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu to retreat a few steps while his dagger was sent flying into a wall.

    ¡°Why so quick to attack? Do you have that many enemies?¡± the stranger asked as he closed the door.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu retreated to the side of the room by the window as he stared at the man, terrified. He asked, ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡±

    The man gave a slight smile, and his face suddenly transformed. ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu stood there, frozen in a daze for a moment before he showed an astonished expression. He cried out in excitement, ¡°Seventh¡­ Seventh Bro?¡±

    That stranger was indeed Lu Yin. ¡°I am d you still remember me!¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Seventh Bro, what are you doing here?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I¡¯m here for thepetition.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a Lockbreaker?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu asked, somewhat surprised.

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mention it?¡± Lu Yin asked, puzzled. He had forgotten whether or not he had ever mentioned this during his time with A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu replied, ¡°I don¡¯t remember. Seventh Bro, how did you find me?¡±

    ¡°I saw you by chance when you were with Angie,¡± Lu Yin answered.

 Chapter 685: Hall of Insight

    <h4>Chapter 685: Hall of Insight</h4>

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu exined, ¡°Angie¡¯s the young mistress of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and she is also a student of the Astral Combat Academy. Do you know her, Seventh Bro?¡±

    ¡°I know of her but I¡¯ve never interacted with her. I didn¡¯t expect that she would have already be an Explorer, and I also didn¡¯t know that she was still in the Outerverse. However, you¡¯ve given me an even greater surprise.¡± Lu Yin looked at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu with a serious expression. ¡°You¡¯re almost as strong as Angie.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s gaze shifted, and he smiled reluctantly. ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t tease me. I was just lucky enough to be an Explorer. Young Mistress Angie can¡¯t only bring females along when she travels, which is why I was able to tag along. I¡¯m not powerful at all.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu for a while. ¡°Really? Then I guess I might be wrong.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu sighed in relief.

    The two of them had only spent a few days together in the past, and they weren¡¯t very close to each other. However, they had survived several deadly situations together and had formed a certain bond as a result. Lu Yin had actually mainly sought A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu out after seeing him to ask him how he had be so powerful so quickly, but it was clear that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was reluctant to say anything. Thus, Lu Yin nned on leaving after catching up for a bit.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you really going to join thepetition?¡± A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu hesitantly asked Lu Yin before he left. It sounded as though A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was having some kind of internal struggle.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a Lockbreaker, so what¡¯s the problem?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu replied, ¡°If possible, you should leave Sourcepeak.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What do you mean?¡¯

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu frowned and slowly answered, ¡°I can¡¯t exin everything to you, but thispetition isn¡¯t as simple as it seems, so you should leave while you still can.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu and asked, ¡°A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu, have you heard anything about me recently?¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu shook his head. ¡°Umbral Butterfly Weave is very far from the eastern weaves, so I haven¡¯t heard much of anything.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and patted A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu on his shoulder before leaving. ¡°Thank you for your advice. I¡¯ll remember it.¡±

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu shut the door, and aplicated expression covered his face. He hadn¡¯t expected to meet Lu Yin here.

    It was due to Lu Yin that A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had been able to get a hold of that item and upgrade his strength to his current power level. Although they weren¡¯t close, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was nheless very grateful to Lu Yin, and this was why A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu had given him a warning. However, Lu Yin¡¯s reaction had been very strange, and so, A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu switched on his gadget to look up some information about Lu Yin.

    Information concerning Lu Yin¡¯s achievements soon showed on A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s gadget, and he lowered his gadget in a daze. He might have created some trouble.

    If Lu Yin were nothing more than a normal Lockbreaker, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to disrupt their ns, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything no matter how much he learned. However, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t a normal person; he was the master of Frostwave Weave, the founder of the Great Eastern Alliance, and even a killer of Enlighter realm powerhouses. Even the major forces of the Innerverse didn¡¯t dare to provoke such a person. All of these achievements showed that Lu Yin held a very high status that far surpassed Angie¡¯s. This person had the power to change the entire situation on Sourcepeak.

    A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Muughed bitterly. It was no wonder why Lu Yin¡¯s expression had been so weird after he heard A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu¡¯s warning. A<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"ah="" mu"}"="" style="font-style: normal">h Mu was now in trouble.

    Lu Yin was still calm after he left the hotel. It seemed like the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was also working with the Wei family and Felynn to deal with Saul.

    Who else might be involved in addition to the forces from Armament Weave and Umbral Butterfly Weave?

    Lu Yin guessed that an Enlighter would be needed to deal with Saul, and so, Lu Yin rose into the sky and searched around for arge number of rune lines.

    He searched for half an hour, but he couldn¡¯t find anything in that time. He wasn¡¯t disappointed as he had expected to find nothing.

    This was Sourcepeak, and there were Lockbreakers everywhere on the. Lockbreakers were very sensitive to star energy, so if an Enlighter did arrive on the, they would do their best to hide their presence, and they might even remain off to avoid being detected by Saul or any other Lockbreaker.

    There was no way for Lu Yin to know how many people were involved, but he also didn¡¯t need to know. He and Aden had been able to survive through the turmoil of Ironblood Weave, let alone this ce.

    Wang Wen¡¯s suggestion had been for Lu Yin to do nothing, and that was exactly what he nned on doing.

    On the second day, Lu Yin continued his aimless roaming about Sourcepeak.

    An increasinglyrge number of people arrived on Sourcepeak, and the unique Forest Hotel was packed to the brim. Many restaurants had long queues outside, and any ce rted to lockbreaking or sourceboxes became incredibly crowded. A few conflicts broke out within the crowds, but nobody dared to escte things.

    There were also many deals taking ce in dark corners, but everything was being calmly observed by Lu Yin with his domain.

    Multiple spacecraft with the same symbol descended from the sky. They were all from Endless Borders, which was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four majorpanies. It was a transportpany based out of Endless Weave, and it had monopolized the transportation industry in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin thought of Madam Nn when he saw the Endless Borders symbol. She was probably here as well, seeing how she had been the one who had told him about thepetition.

    Just as he was thinking of Madam Nn, he received a call from her.

    Lu Yin picked up. ¡°Madam, you¡¯re here at Sourcepeak?¡±

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°Your Highness probably arrived some time ago. Was everything ok during your trip?¡±

    Lu Yin raised a brow. ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, thepetition this year is not normal, so you must be careful,¡± Madam Nn warned.

    Lu Yin was stunned; why did everybody seem to know about what was happening? How many people was Felynn working with? How could Saul not know that something was about to happen?

    ¡°Madam, how did you find out about this?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°It seems like Your Highness already knows something. I¡¯m not sure of the details, but I know that there¡¯s going to be a major incident on Sourcepeak. Both Endless Borders and Aegis are a part of what is about to happen, and since the Nn family is also one of the four majorpanies, I of course am also privy to certain details concerning their activities,¡± Madam Nn answered cheerfully.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his heart sank as soon as he saw the countless number of spacecraft belonging to Endless Borders.

    Lu Yin could ignore Armament Weave and Umbral Butterfly Weave, but the four majorpanies were different. These fourpanies¡¯ businesses spanned the entire Outerverse, so they held a massive influence over everything. At first, Madam Nn had asked for protection from the Great Yu Empire because the Enlighter who supported the Nn family had been trapped within Tyranical Weave. If the Nn family had an Enlighter supporting them, then the other twopanies probably had at least one as well.

    This was especially true for Aegis, as they were weapons dealers and mercenaries. With their participation, the situation on Sourcepeak was more serious than Lu Yin had previously thought.

    It was no wonder why Felynn had been so confident during their meeting. She was coborating with two major corporations, and thus, she wasn¡¯t afraid of any consequences.

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, madam. I now understand the situation,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°You¡¯re wee. I¡¯m on Your Highness¡¯s side,¡± Madam Nn casually replied.

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the Nn family participate?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, our elder is trapped in Tyranical Weave, so they wouldn¡¯t even consider us.¡± Madam Nn sighed.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe her excuse, as all four of the Outerverse¡¯s majorpanies possessed vast amounts of resources, and nobody would dare to underestimate any one of them. The reason why the Nn family wouldn¡¯t take part was either because they didn¡¯t want to or because they actually were participating, but in another manner.

    ¡°Are you currently on Sourcepeak, madam?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn smiled. ¡°Your Highness, are you looking to meet me? I just bathed.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll meet with you after thepetition.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Be careful, Your Highness,¡± Madam Nn said.

    Lu Yin agreed and hung up.

    At this time, Lu Yin knew that Armament Weave, Umbral Butterfly Weave, Endless Borders, Aegis, Felynn, and possibly even more people were involved in the n, which should be more than enough to deal with Saul.

    It also seemed like Saul didn¡¯t even know that he was being monitored, as otherwise, Sourcepeak wouldn¡¯t be so calm.

    This old fellow had been so blinded by his power and ambition that he didn¡¯t even realize that people were plotting against him.

    After Saul was defeated, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society would teeter on the edge of copse. Felynn was truly ruthless, but she also wasn¡¯t capable of gathering this many people to her side, which meant that the coborations had most likely been organized by Wei Rong.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t stuck his neck out for Felynn. She might not even be able to deliver on her promise considering that each of these forces had their own Enlighters and that they wouldn¡¯t feel threatened by Lu Yin. Thus, if he had followed her original n, then he would have ended up offending both the Lockbreaker Society and Saul for nothing.

    Still, would Felynn be able to achieve her goal? Were all of these people really working together just to help her be the society president? Lu Yin didn¡¯t believe it for a moment, but if that was the case, then just what were these people¡¯s goals?

    ***

    In an estate on Sourcepeak, Wei Xin¡¯er tried to sneak away, but she was stopped by a vague figure. She raised her head, and her face fell. ¡°Brother.¡±

    The young man in front of Wei Xin¡¯er was a charming gentleman with a gentle, yet firm expression on his face. He was Wei Rong. ¡°Xin¡¯er, you¡¯re too mischievous.¡±

    Wei Xin¡¯er bit her lip. ¡°Brother, I want to participate in thepetition.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Wei Rong objected.

    Wei Xin¡¯er remained stubborn. ¡°Why?¡±

    Wei Rong calmly replied, ¡°You¡¯re not even a one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker yet, so why would you join thepetition? Are you trying to embarrass our Wei family?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t! People willpliment the Wei family for our courage if I dare topete against Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers without being even a one star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. I¡¯m making the Wei family proud!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll embarrass us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you proud!¡±

    ¡°Embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna tell Grandpa that you¡¯re bullying me!,¡± Wei Xin¡¯er red at Wei Rong and turned around with great reluctance.

    Wei Rongughed, his eyes shining with affection.

    On the other side of Sourcepeak, Felynn attempted to meet with Fiend Li, but she failed. He merely delivered a simple reply, ¡°Thepetition is starting soon, so don¡¯t attract gossip.¡±

    Felynn helplessly left and bowed before leaving. ¡°I hope that you will judge fairly in ordance with the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s rules, Senior. Thank you.¡±

    After two days, Lu Yin received a notification, prompting him to leave his quarters. He took Aden with him as he made his way towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, which was where thepetition would take ce.

    At this moment, there was a huge crowd outside of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. Multiple screens in the sky disyed projections so that thepetition could be seen from all over, even by people in outer space, above the.

    Lockbreaking was a respected profession, and all lockbreakers would have their actions closely watched by others. Many forces would watch thepetition and thenter on try to recruit talented Lockbreakers.

    Lu Yin was surprised once he reached the outer perimeter of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. There were way too many people here, and he was surrounded by rune lines. He could even see that there were five Hunters in the audience, and this was not even taking into ount any Lockbreakers.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. I¡¯ve heard a lot of people mention it over thest two days, and it truly is majestic,¡± Adenmented.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw four towering trees protecting a hall. The four trees rose high into the sky, and the hall was in the middle of the trees. There were mountains to the north of the hall that started where the Lockbreakers¡¯ living quarters were located, rising in three directions.

    This was the scenery thatmon people saw, but Lu Yin saw somethingpletely different. He saw a square shaped rune bordered by the four trees that shot high into the sky. There were no runes outside the trees, but there were countless runes filling the area within the trees, and the Hall of Insight was also covered in runes.

 Chapter 686: Treasure Hunt

    <h4>Chapter 686: Treasure Hunt</h4>

    The legends said that the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight¡¯s star energy was frozen and that one had to rely on various techniques to ovee it. The four trees were actually sourceboxes that formed an array that had been arranged by an ancient Lockbreaker from the past. Many Lockbreakers studied theyout of <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight in hopes of gaining some kind ofprehension. If a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker managed to understand the sourcebox array, they would be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. This <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was a shortcut.

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was also the core of Sourcepeak.

    The location for the Lockbreaker Competition this time around was the mountain range behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    There were more than three hundred Lockbreakers registered topete, and they entered the mountain range behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight one after another. Cries could asionally be heard from members of the audience as well as hoots ofughter.

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t managed to sessfully unlock a single sourcebox yet, though he actually dared topete! This season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition is just too pathetic!¡± someone in the crowd jeered loudly.

    Those around the person roared inughter.

    ¡°The Lockbreaker Competition has no limit for the number of participants, so I should try and join too! Although I¡¯ve never tried to lockbreak before, this¡¯ll be a good way to get a taste of it, and in the future, I can even tell people that I¡¯m someone who participated in the Lockbreaker Competition,¡± someone shouted, and after that, they leaped up and flew towards the mountain range.

    This person¡¯s words moved several others, and a few more novice Lockbreakers entered the mountain range as well, causing more in the audience tough.

    Saul, Fiend Li, Felynn, Yi Feng, Mr. Jun, and a few other Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers were all seated inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, and they all had ugly expressions.

    ¡°Vice president, should we throw out those who have not seeded in a lockbreaking session?¡± one Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker asked.

    Saul shook his head. ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no precedent of Lockbreakers being barred from joining the Lockbreaker Competition. Just let them join, as they won¡¯t even be able to pass through the first stage.¡±

    Felynn smiled. ¡°No more than a hundred will pass through the first stage, so it makes no difference even if they are allowed to participate. There are already more participants than there were registered at the start, and more are constantly joining. I believe, in the end, there might be more than a thousand participants.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, there aren¡¯t even 20,000 Lockbreakers in the entire Outerverse, and those who have been given stars don¡¯t even reach a thousand. If we don¡¯t consider the starless Lockbreakers who are not here to actuallypete, then there are at most 300 starred Lockbreakers who are participating in thispetition. The bulk of these participants are rookies who have not seeded even once in lockbreaking. This is simply embarrassing,¡± Fiend Li said seriously.

    The crowd fell silent.

    The previous Lockbreaker Competitions had been jointly held by both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and the number of participating Lockbreakers had simrly exceeded a thousand in thosepetitions, but thosepetitors had almost all at least been three star Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers or higher. If anyone was randomly picked from one of those previouspetitions and ced in thispetition, then they would instantly be ced near the top of the list of potential winners. This current Lockbreaker Competition had caused the Lockbreaker Society to lose some prestige.

    ¡°Keke, Senior, there¡¯s no need to be angry. There are still some outstanding people. Look.¡± Mr. Jun smiled and pointed at a youth below them. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man had entered the mountain range, and his image appeared on the screen.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man was a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, and his arrival aroused a great deal of attention.

    After that, the Serpent Queen appeared, and also Tong Mi¡¯er and Xi Qi. Each one of them caused Fiend Li to look happier, for at least their participation was not too embarrassing. There were still people putting up a good front for the Lockbreaker Society, especially Xi Qi, who had reached the Perceptive Intermediate level. She was one of the strongest contenders to be this season¡¯s champion.

    When he saw Xi Qi appear, Saul¡¯s expression briefly changed before quickly returning to normal. Nobody noticed this change other than Felynn.

    Felynn stared at the mountain range, as she was looking for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin and Aden exchanged a few words, and then Lu Yin charged into the mountain range.

    The moment he passed the towering trees, the star energy within his body was sealed off, and he was unable to circte or move it at all. It felt as though his entire being had been split in two: an internal and external self.

    Back during the contest on Pyrolyte, perhaps those space-exploring powerhouses had felt the same way when they had worn those star essence skins.

    He waved his hand about. The ambient star energy in the air was very low, and although it could not be absorbed, it could still be used.

    This was the so-called phenomenon of star energy scrambling. Anyone who entered within the range of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight would have their star energy sealed, which ensured the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight¡¯s safety.

    Lu Yin did not stop as he headed straight into the mountain range.

    There were many Lockbreakers participating in thispetition, but they were all scattered throughout the mountain range, which made their numbers seem negligible. Along his way, Lu Yin saw many Lockbreakers roaming all about, but the majority remained hidden.

    In the skies, a youth streaked by, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. It was Deng Pu. Lu Yin had seen pictures of this person before, and if everything went ording to n, then Deng Pu would be the champion of thispetition, which would follow along with the crowd¡¯s expectations.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin turned around to look behind, and his face changed. Why was there a Hunter here?

    10,000 meters away from Lu Yin, a young-looking man with an experienced look in his eyes had just stepped into the mountain range. The man asionally looked up at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight with aplex look in his eyes.

    Lu Yin remained in ce high above to watch the youth.

    That youth also looked back at Lu Yin, but he didn¡¯t bother with Lu Yin and headed in another direction.

    Lu Yin was surprised. That person was a Hunter, and he did not seem like an average Hunter either, since he had given Lu Yin a sense of danger. Lu Yin actually felt the same level of danger from this Hunter that he had from Mr. Jun with his lockbreaking tool. This Hunter was very strong.

    Outside of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, images of the Lockbreakers began appearing on the screen. When the young Hunter appeared, someone shouted, ¡°Cai Jianqiang!¡±

    The people around him were confused. ¡°Bro, what are you shouting about?¡±

    That person stared at the screen in astonishment and pointed. ¡°Cai Jianqiang! That¡¯s him, definitely!¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s Cai Jianqiang?¡± A woman raised her gadget as she moved over, her eyes filled with curiosity. She was someone who worked with a newspany, and she wanted to take note of thispetition¡¯s major attractions to raise herpany¡¯s viewership.

    The person who had shouted stared at the screen and solemnly exined, ¡°There¡¯s a pair of brothers from the Innerverse: the older brother is Cai Jianwen, and the younger is Cai Jianqiang. This pair of brothers are very famous because they are the pr opposite of each other. The older is extremely gifted in lockbreaking and became a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker before reaching a hundred years of age, and he even became a member of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society who can evaluate others. He¡¯s known as his generation¡¯s most gifted Lockbreaker, and he was evenbeled as the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s president¡¯s sessor. However, his talent for cultivation is too pathetic, and he¡¯s still an Explorer despite bing a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, finding it difficult to improve any further.

    ¡°The younger brother, Cai Jianqiang, is the exact opposite. His talent for cultivation is astounding, and he became a Hunter in just a short few decades, and that¡¯s not even mentioning the fact that he is an incredible Realmbreaker who can easily fight against those beyond his realm. In the past, he even used his strength to suppress his generation¡¯s Youth Councilors, and he is an absolute expert of his generation. However, his talent for lockbreaking is very poor, and he only became a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker quite recently. In addition, people have evaluated him as being unable to advance any further.

    ¡°These two brothers areplete opposites, which is why they¡¯re a topic that¡¯s often discussed among Innerverse Lockbreakers.¡±

    The girl beside the man was surprised. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a strange coincidence. Wait, that¡¯s not right. We have some understanding of the Innerverse¡¯s most powerful Lockbreakers, and for someone to bebeled as the president¡¯s sessor as well as the most gifted Lockbreaker of his generation, how could we not have heard about Cai Jianwen?¡±

    ¡°Because he changed his name. You guys must have heard his other name: Wusheng,¡± the person said solemnly.

    ¡°Wusheng?¡± the crowd cried, and it was evident that they were all rather familiar with this name.

    The girl was surprised. ¡°Are you talking about Master Wusheng? The person who can casually decide whether or not someone can join the Lockbreaker Society and is allowed to evaluate anyone at any time as he pleases?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªWusheng is Cai Jianwen. That person who just entered the mountain range is Wusheng¡¯s younger brother, Cai Jianqiang.¡±

    After the person spoke, the way the crowd looked at the young Hunter changed, and it was no longer calm after discovering that he was an important character.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul¡¯s gaze trembled as he looked at Cai Jianqiang. ¡°He¡¯s actually in the Outerverse too.¡±

    Fiend Li and the others also looked over. ¡°That¡¯s right. What a pity. If he had just half the lockbreaking talent his brother has, then he wouldn¡¯t amount to just this.¡±

    Mr. Jun said, ¡°Actually, his future would be very bright if he simply forsook the path of lockbreaking. There are only a few who can rival his talent for cultivation, and he can even be called the strongest of his generation. But despite that, he chooses to pursue lockbreaking.¡±

    Although Cai Jianqiang¡¯s appearance had surprised the crowd, Saul didn¡¯t care about him. This person¡¯s talent for lockbreaking was truly toocking, and Cai Jianqiang was of absolutely no threat to Deng Pu.

    After surveying all of the various contestants, Saul could not see Lu Yin, which caused him to nod in satisfaction. There were only a select few people in this season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition who could pose any sort of threat, and he had eliminated all those who had caught his eye. Lu Yin was one of them, and although the operation had failed and had caused him a bit of worry, in the end, Lu Yin was just a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. However, Lu Yin¡¯s progress was incredibly fast, and he also had a lockbreaking tool, which made him a worthy opponent for Deng Pu.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had not appeared, and Saul looked over at Mr. Jun with a satisfied expression.

    Mr. Jun¡¯s face was actually rather confused, as he had not managed to track down Lu Yin despite searching the route that Lu Yin would have taken to get to Taiyun from the Frostwave Weave for two whole days. Mr. Jun believed that Lu Yin had somehow slipped through, so he felt lucky that Lu Yin still had not appeared.

    Within the mountain range, Lu Yin watched as Cai Jianqiang left, and his face was serious. This Hunter was not simple, and he might turn out to be his greatest opponent in this Lockbreaker Competition.

    As the clock in the sky rang out, the Lockbreaker Competition formally began as the mountain range shook violently. Immediately after that, a voice rang throughout the sky, ¡°Within the mountain range, there are hidden sourceboxes that have been sealed within Spiritual Thread. You have three days¡¯ time: during this time, those who find and open more sourceboxes will obtain better results.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked; in the end, this was the Lockbreaker Society. Thispetition was taking ce on a huge scale, and ording to Felynn, only a hundred people would be able to pass the first round, which meant that at least a hundred Lockbreakers were capable of unlocking a sourcebox during these three days. That also meant that there were more than a hundred sourceboxes as there were likely to be Lockbreakers who could finish unlocking more than a single sourcebox. This was a scale that Lu Yin had never seen before.

    However, the items that were obtained from these lockbreaking attempts would belong to the society, which meant that the society was getting the contestants to lockbreak for them free of charge.

    No matter what, to be able to pull out so many sourceboxes in one go showed the unfathomable depths of the Lockbreaker Society.

    Lu Yin stood up high and looked around. He could not see any rune lines revealing any sourceboxes. He could only sense things through his star energy, which was simr to the field raffles where everything depended on the contestants¡¯ own judgement.

    There was a thump, and Lu Yin heard a loud noise from somewhere nearby. Someone had crashed onto the ground from the sky, and they did not bother to look around at all.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw that the ground had not shifted a single inch. That indicated that the impact had been made with a Limiteer¡¯s power level, as Limiteers could not break through the ground since the mountain range was terrifyingly sturdy. This put an end to any possibility of bombarding the mountain range, as not even a Cruiser would be able to st a mountain apart given that the already reduced ambient star energy was being fought over by so many people within the mountain range.

    Lu Yin crouched down and exerted a growing amount of force until he disyed an amount of strength that could rival a Cruiser. Finally, at that point, he was able to cause the ground to start to split. Using this much strength would take a long time to shatter the ground.

    It seemed like Lu Yin would have to search around by chasing after traces of star energy, but unfortunately, he did not know how. Nobody had ever taught him how to search for sourceboxes.

    As he thought about it, he activated the Cosmic Art and expanded its scope. Gradually, it enveloped the entire mountain peak, and he was able to see things much more clearly as long as it was within the range of Cosmic Art. The Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye appeared in his hand, and he focused his sight downwards to observe both the spatial fluctuations and the flow of star energy in specific areas. He saw that there was an abnormal spatial fluctuation at an area at the base of the mountain. There was a sourcebox in that ce.

 Chapter 687: Ku Wei And The Fish

    <h4>Chapter 687: Ku Wei And The Fish</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s body vanished, and he quickly reappeared at the base of the mountain. He then punched and caused the ground to split apart. This punch had surpassed the power of a Cruiser, and he shattered the base of the mountain, revealing a box made out of Spiritual Thread.

    Lu Yin was delighted. Apparently, having a lockbreaking tool was also advantageous when searching for sourceboxes. If he could use these methods to search for abnormal spatial fluctuations, then other people would have their own methods as well: domains, innate gifts, or even battle techniques. This round of thepetition was all about evaluating a Lockbreaker¡¯s searching abilities.

    He thought that that made sense, as the Lockbreaker Society could notpletely rely on others unintentionally stumbling upon sourceboxes. They needed to organize specialized Lockbreaker teams to search for sourceboxes, or else they would not have this many stocked up.

    Lu Yin retrieved the chest, but before he could open it, he looked behind him and saw two figures charging towards him at top speed. They attacked him without saying a single word, and Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. The roaming star energy in the air suddenly froze. The twopetitors had used their star energy to disy battle techniques, but they only made it halfway to Lu Yin before the star energy went out of control. ¡°No good, it¡¯s a domain! Back off.¡±

    Lu Yin did not have a habit of taking a beating without retaliating, and his domain directly crushed down upon the area like an evening bell, causing those two Lockbreakers to crash into the ground. They each spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

    This sort of environment where people had to forcibly take control of the ambient star energy allowed the more powerful individuals to be even stronger while the weakpletely lost control of their star energy. They were like ordinary humans.

    This was just the first round, but there were only three days to this round. Thus, the Lockbreaker Society would not have brought out sourceboxes that were too advanced for this round. Lu Yin slowly opened the Spiritual Thread case, revealing a leaf-green stone inside that emitted the sound of the tide. He slowly reached forward, and as he approached it, his palm was struck by an unhindered strength. He pulled his hand back, as the strength that he had just felt was the formless danger of this sourcebox. However, it was just at the level of a Limiteer.

    He directly reached forward to grab the leaf-green stone with his hand as he endured the bombardment of that tidal strength. After studying the sourcebox, he determined that, with his current lockbreaking ability, it would take him roughly two hours to finish unlocking this stone. It was only a three star Discerning Elementary sourcebox, so it was not too advanced.

    Lu Yin ced the stone back inside the chest and stored it in his cosmic ring. He looked up at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, as those old fogeys were definitely observing him. It was impossible for him to take this sourcebox for himself, but there was no hurry to unlock it either. He should first get a hold of a few more.

    While Lu Yin was obtaining his first sourcebox, some distance away from him, in another area of the mountain range, there was a brightly-colored python swimming out of ake. Its body was wrapped around a spiritual thread case, and it swam to the shore of theke where the Serpent Queen was standing. She was only partially dressed as theke water asionally sshed onto her, which made for an extremely alluring sight. She did not care about the countless audience members who were watching her from outside.

    The python ced the chest beside theke and hissed before sinking back into theke.

    Some distance away, a pair of eyes covetously swept over the Serpent Queen, the person resisting the temptation to rush over to the chest and grab it. Suddenly, a snake¡¯s tail stabbed out from underground and entwined around the person. The snake then exerted some force and split the person¡¯s body in two. Fresh blood sttered onto the ground beside theke as a mist of blood pervaded the region.

    Anyone who saw this scene went numb, as this was actual murder. Normally, few killings urred during the Lockbreaker Competitions, as all of the participants had high statuses.

    In the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Mr. Jun sprang to his feet with a gloomy face.

    Saul looked at him discontentedly. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Mr. Jun replied, ¡°Vice president, the Lockbreaker Competition is supposed to be a contest of one¡¯s lockbreaking ability, but this woman used her beast to kill a Lockbreaker, breaking the rules.¡±

    Saul indifferently replied, ¡°A Lockbreaker¡¯s experience far exceeds that of other cultivators. Many Lockbreakers perish every year while lockbreaking, and some even die while searching for sourceboxes. Are you going to act just because of this?¡±

    ¡°But this is apetition,¡± Mr. Jun protested.

    Fiend Li spoke up. ¡°Although thesepetitions don¡¯t promote killing, they don¡¯t prohibit it either. If you intervene, then you will cause the otherpeting Lockbreakers to feel as though they are being protected, and their actions might be even more unrestrained, which isn¡¯t fair to the Lockbreakers who have already found sourceboxes.¡±

    ¡°So are we simply going to allow this woman to use her beast to freely kill others?¡± Felynn could not help herself from speaking up.

    Saul calmly replied, ¡°Lockbreakers are not killed that easily. That person died because of his greed, which is not to be pitied. This season¡¯spetition did not have a great lineup to begin with, so it¡¯s almost a good thing to have some deaths ur. At least this way it will stand out a bit from previouspetitions.¡±

    These few people and the sentences that they spoke set the tone for this Lockbreaker Competition.

    Beside theke, the Serpent Queen looked up, and her brows rose. Since no one had intervened, it seemed like she could act even more ruthlessly.

    Hiss!

    The python swam across theke as its massive head neared the Serpent Queen and then rubbed up against her. Her lips curled up, and she reached out towards the python. ¡°Good job. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Half of the python¡¯s body rose up, and the Serpent Queen retrieved the case from the serpent¡¯s body before moving in another direction.

    In another region, Xi Qi had also found a sourcebox, though it was due more to luck than anything else. The sourcebox had actually appeared beneath her feet, and it had almost caused her to trip and fall.

    ¡°Hehe, now you must know Lord Fish¡¯s power, two-legged beast!¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head patted her head with its tail.

    Xi Qi was taken aback. ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Stupid! If not for Lord Fish¡¯s profound fortune, then do you think you would have been able to get this sourcebox that easily? It really is true that two-legged beasts have no vision at times.¡± The fish swatted her with its tail even harder.

    Xi Qi pursed her lips, and then rolled her eyes despite not retorting. Her past experiences told her that such a thing was useless, as the fish dwelt in its own fantasy world and could not free itself.

    Suddenly, the fish barked, ¡°Don¡¯t move! There¡¯s someone there.¡±

    Xi Qi stared at the wide area in front of her. This person could not be simple if the fish had made a specialment about them.

    Quickly, Xi Qi saw who had arrived: it was Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei and Xi Qi met by coincidence, and he stared dumbly at the fish atop the girl¡¯s head. He slowly raised a hand. ¡°How much for the fish?¡±

    Xi Qi blinked. ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    Ku Wei was instantly delighted. ¡°Really? Lady, you¡¯re wonderful! Since you¡¯re so obedient, I¡¯ll allow you to call me Brother Wei. From now on, whenever you¡¯re outside, just say that Brother Wei is protecting you, and nobody will dare to bully you. Alright, great. Pass that fish to Brother Wei. Brother Wei thinks that it will be delicious regardless of whether it¡¯s steamed or simmered.¡±

    Xi Qi covered her mouth in surprise and her eyes rolled upwards.

    Atop Xi Qi¡¯s head, the fish red at Ku Wei, and it was only a long whileter that it reacted. Simmering? Steaming? The fish felt that this fellow was malicious, and it grew exceptionally angry, as though its dignity had been challenged. ¡°Brat, you¡¯re making a huge mistake! Lord Fish will explicitly tell you right now that you have made a huge mistake, and Lord Fish will fight you to the death in this life!¡±

    Ku Wei was shocked. ¡°It can speak? There¡¯s a fish like that? Lady, where did you buy this thing?¡±

    Xi Qi pursed her lips.

    ¡°Brat, Lord Fish is speaking to you! You are in such a huge mess right now! Hurry up and dig up your ancestors¡¯ tombs and then kowtow before Lord Fish in apology! After that, you must be a mount for Lord Fish!¡± the fish shouted angrily.

    Ku Wei was shocked, and he rubbed his chin as he fell deep into thought. ¡°It can speak, so it can¡¯t be eaten, and it¡¯s also pretty rude. It¡¯ll probably be a bother to take it along¡­ Forget it, I don¡¯t want it anymore.¡±

    The fish became even more angered by these words, and it pped its tail against Xi Qi¡¯s head as it demanded, ¡°Two-legged beast, go! Beat him! Help Lord Fish thrash him!¡±

    Xi Qi pondered the fish¡¯s orders for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m no good at fighting.¡±

    ¡°Lord Fish will teach you! Hurry up and kick him! That brat¡¯s about to run!¡± The fish was growing flustered.

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Fish? Right, fishing? Haha, Brother Wei is such a genius that I came up with such a thing! Great, fishing!¡±

    He then pulled out a case and lifted it high into the air before flying away. He made his way through the sky, dragging the case along with him in in view.

    The screens in the outside world coincidentally managed to capture this scene. Xi Qi was one of the most anticipated Lockbreakers in this event, and so, her every action was being observed. Due to this, they were able to watch Ku Wei and the scene of him interacting with the fish.

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing? That seems to be an empty chest,¡± someone mentioned.

    ¡°That brat was screaming like mad just now. Could he have been tricked by that fish? I heard that Xi Qi¡¯s fish is rather crass.¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s luring out others to act against him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s baiting others.¡±

    ***

    In the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul was disappointed, as he had assumed that Ku Wei would act against Xi Qi, and he had not expected him to leave so simply.

    ¡°Interesting, to be able to think of such a method to attract others. He¡¯s either a lunatic or extremely confident,¡± Felynnmented with a smile.

    Fiend Li replied, ¡°On the other hand, it proves that he has no confidence in finding sourceboxes on his own.¡±

    ¡°His attackers might not have any sourceboxes themselves. This sort of method won¡¯t be very efficient.¡±

    The crowd in the hall all nodded.

    Behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, inside the mountain range, Lu Yin happened to see Ku Wei and was slightly caught off guard. What was this fellow doing?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that guy¡¯s gone crazy,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he thenughed. ¡°He wants to use that method to bait others into trying to rob him, after which he¡¯ll counter-rob them. Interesting.¡± He had once done something simr, which was why he had figured it out so quickly. But as Fiend Li had already mentioned, Ku Wei was of no threat anymore, as he could note up with any ways to search for sourceboxes himself, which meant that his lockbreaking ability was not too impressive. Although this method might work once or twice, its efficiency would not be too high, and those who tried to rob him would mostly be others who had not been able to find any sourceboxes, which meant that Ku Wei¡¯s sess rate would plummet.

    This sort of method had a low chance of sess, but it was very effective in drawing people¡¯s attention. In just a few minutes, someone tried to steal Ku Wei¡¯s chest and ended up being counterrobbed. Even the would-be thief¡¯s underwear was peeled off, but despite that, Ku Wei did not find a sourcebox.

    ¡°Trash! You don¡¯t even have a sourcebox, and so, you came to snatch Brother Wei¡¯s? Go and find a sourcebox. Thene back and try to snatch Brother Wei¡¯s after you find your own!¡± Ku Wei threatened.

    The few thieves scrambled away.

    What followed next was Ku Wei raising the case high above him like he was flying a kite to bait others into trying to rob him. His actions were rather self-confident, and he also believed himself to be a man of principles. Thus, he would not go about tantly robbing others. However, he had no such qualms about stealing from those who tried to rob him first. It was like the situation with the spacecraft¡¯s captain and that Nosehair Man, as they had all technically willingly helped him.

    Xi Qi was scolded by the fish for half a day. She was scolded for not having enough courage, for being useless, and other various things. Its abuse caused Xi Qi to feel very wronged. ¡°I¡¯m not good at fighting.¡±

    The fish looked up in the sky at Ku Wei, and muttered, ¡°Strange, there¡¯s always a familiar smell on this kid. Who is it? Lord Fish must have met him before.¡±

    Off in the distance, Cai Jianqiang did not bother looking at the sky. He minded his own business as he searched for sourceboxes in a very diligent manner without using any cheap tricks. He forcefully spread his star energy across an entire area to search for sourceboxes.

    He wanted to tell those old fogeys of the Lockbreaker Society that, with perseverance and hard work, he could also reach the same heights as his brother.

 Chapter 688: Lu Yin And Ku Wei

    <h4>Chapter 688: Lu Yin And Ku Wei</h4>

    In a marshy valley, Deng Pu casually waved a hand, causing a gale to tear through the marsh and y a massive beast. He peeled its flesh apart until a case fell out of its belly. This case contained a sourcebox, and it had been identally swallowed by the creature.

    Deng Pu grabbed the case, and when he looked up, he saw Ku Wei flying about in the sky. ¡°What a joke.¡±

    He then leaped up and moved on from the swamp. He hurried away in another direction, seemingly very confident in himself.

    Everyone had their own way to search for sourceboxes, and despite Ku Wei¡¯s method being very odd, it turned out to be surprisingly effective. After half a day passed, he had managed to get a sourcebox from another lockbreaker. He then lifted the real sourcebox over his head and even opened the case to show people what was inside it, leaving many utterly speechless.

    This fellow might as well have been using a loudspeaker to announce to everyone that he had gotten a sourcebox. He was incredibly cocky.

    Lu Yin was getting restless, and he was nning to go and rob Ku Wei due to him acting way too arrogantly.

    But just as Lu Yin was about to attack, a huge python that was carrying the Serpent Queen darted towards Ku Wei to snatch the sourcebox from him.

    Ku Wei grew excited, and he slowly lifted his index finger as he watched the python move towards him. ¡°Finger Tap.¡±

    The python paused in the sky as blood suddenly started to flow down its back, painting the sky red. The Serpent Queen was shocked, and she immediately fled along with her python. Ku Wei grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t run, miss. Give me your sourcebox!¡±

    No one knew what Ku Wei had done, and not even Saul and the few others inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight could tell what battle technique the youth had just used to instantly injure the ancient python.

    Lu Yin looked at Ku Wei with a grim expression. During Ku Wei¡¯s attack, a terrifying amount of rune lines had condensed at his fingertip, so much so that they had almost beenparable to the power of a Hunter. The python and the woman were both Cruisers, and thus, they had been defeated instantly.

    This was what Lu Yin had observed from the rune lines. He knew that Ku Wei¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed and that it wasparable to his own Dream Finger. Ku Wei was very powerful.

    The Serpent Queen and her python fled in Lu Yin¡¯s direction as she nced back, meeting Ku Wei¡¯s taunting eyes.

    The Serpent Queen was rattled as she hadn¡¯t even been able to defend herself from this Explorer. How could an Explorer be so powerful? Could he be the infamous Lu Yin? It would be troublesome if he really was Lu Yin, as that fellow was rumored to be capable of killing Enlighters.

    ¡°Miss, Brother Wei is asking you to stay!¡± Ku Wei shouted. His eyes sharpened as the star energy around him condensed. He had unleashed his forcefield.

    The Serpent Queen was stunned; this guy had evenprehended a forcefield! She crashed down towards the ground along with her python after losing the ability to use star energy, and she was right above Lu Yin as she fell.

    Lu Yin saw a huge shadow approaching, and he immediately dodged.

    The python and the Serpent Queen fell to the ground with a crash. The python wailed as its enormous eyes locked onto Ku Wei fearfully.

    Ku Wei stood in the sky and looked down at the Serpent Queen. ¡°Give it to me, and I¡¯ll stop attacking you.¡±

    The Serpent Queenughed bitterly. She had never thought that there would be a time when she would be utterly defeated by a mere Explorer. She helplessly threw a case to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡±

    Ku Weiughed. This had been a great idea, and he had already gotten his hands on two sourceboxes. He flew towards the case and stored it away. He then turned to look at the man who was watching from nearby. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s fate that we have met each other. Show me your cosmic ring.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose as he looked at Ku Wei. ¡°I have a sourcebox.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Hahahaha, I¡¯m so lucky! Come on, give me your sourcebox, and I won¡¯t attack you.¡±

    The Serpent Queen gave Lu Yin a sympathetic look.

    The people watching from outside looked at Lu Yin with pity. This poor guy was so unlucky.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Mr Jun shook his head. ¡°Sigh, how did a lockbreakingpetition deteriorate into a simple battle?¡±

    ¡°Lockbreakers generally have a higherbat strengthpared to their peers within the same power level. How can they guarantee their status without a high battle strength? Your thinking is too narrow-minded,¡± Fiend Li admonished.

    Mr Jun promptly agreed with the older man.

    Saul carelessly stared at the screen, as neither the Serpent Queen nor Ku Wei would be able to threaten Deng Pu despite both of them having higher power levels. The two of them weren¡¯t very good at lockbreaking, and the ultimate focus of thispetition was to test thepetitors¡¯ lockbreaking ability. If one was able to gather a lot of sourceboxes but was unable to unlock them, it would only lead to them ending at a disadvantage.

    Felynn watched the scene urring below them with a weird expression. Lu Yin was about to be robbed by Ku Wei. Was Ku Wei lucky? Maybe.

    Lu Yin toyed with his cosmic ring as countless people watched him. He then smiled at Ku Wei. ¡°Come and get it yourself.¡±

    The Serpent Queen was astonished at his reaction. Did this fellow actually n to fight back? He was just an Explorer and was another person she couldn¡¯t recognize.

    Ku Wei smirked. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re confident! Fine, I¡¯ll get it myself, but don¡¯t me me if I¡¯m not able to control my attack.¡± His body suddenly disappeared as the star energy in the air condensed to exert arge pressure that crushed down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and his forcefield erupted, causing the sky to tremble. The Serpent Queen felt a strong gale blow past her as the star energy in the sky scattered. Ku Wei¡¯s forcefield had copsed.

    Ku Wei reappeared right after, and he looked at Lu Yin in shock. He had underestimated this person, as Ku Wei realized that Lu Yin was actually quite powerful. Still, Ku Wei didn¡¯t really care since the final result would still end up the same. He pointed his finger at Lu Yin. ¡°Finger Tap.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed. This attack caused him to feel like everything around him, including his own body, was being rapidly depleted. He felt as though his spirit had been exhausted, making him extremely lethargic. The sky and the ground both lost their color and turned grey in his vision as the entire world around him solidified from just one attack. The most terrifying thing to Lu Yin was that he felt abnormally calm and that he had no intention of fighting back.

    This was a battle technique that could affect everything, even the opponent¡¯s determination.

    Lu Yin had fought many battles since he had first started cultivating, and he had seen numerous battle techniques. He had even fought against Corpse Kings from the Neohuman Alliance. However, this was his first time encountering such a strange and horrifying battle technique. It was able to change an enemy¡¯s intentions, which far exceeded anything that a normal battle technique was capable of.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no intent to fight back, but the finger was rapidly approaching him. If he were a normal cultivator, he would definitely be heavily injured by the attack, just like the Serpent Queen. However, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was very strong as it had been nurtured by his constant recitation of the Stonewall Scriptures, and he used thest bit of his consciousness to move his Fatesand in front of himself and block the attack.

    Space distorted, and a burst of wind exploded, scattering in all directions as Ku Wei¡¯s attacknded on the Fatesand in front of Lu Yin¡¯s chest. The shockwaves from the collision radiated in all directions and caused the ground to start cracking.

    Ku Wei was surprised. ¡°Fatesand?¡±

    Lu Yin snapped back to his senses and tightly grabbed onto Ku Wei¡¯s arm. Lu Yin lifted his opponent up and then smashed him fiercely into the ground. Suddenly, a shadow appeared in the sky. It was the Finger Tap once again. Ku Wei had manifested the battle technique through his forcefield.

    The mountain was pierced through by the attack, and a gigantic crack spread through the mountains.

    Ku Wei finally managed to regain control of his body, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How had this person escaped from the control of his Finger Tap? He also had Fatesand and a terrifying physical strength. Ku Wei looked at his arm, where the outline of Lu Yin¡¯s five fingers was clearly visible. Ku Wei¡¯s bones had almost been shattered by Lu Yin¡¯s grip. This person was aplete beast.

    Lu Yin looked over at Ku Wei. They were both Explorers, but this person wasparable to the top twelve of the Top 100 Rankings. However, Lu Yin had seen the pictures of everyone in the top fifteen of the Top 100 Rankings, and this person wasn¡¯t on that list. Could he have changed his appearance as well? It was easy enough to go undetected when using a disguise afterprehending a forcefield, so who could this person be?

    They had only fought for a brief moment, and to many people, it looked like the two youths had separated after trading attacks, which they would think was very normal. However, those who knew how sturdy the ground in the mountain range was had realized how powerful both attacks were. The mountain range had actually cracked apart, which was something that not even a Cruiser could easily achieve.

    The Serpent Queen stared at Lu Yin in shock, as she hadn¡¯t realized that he was another powerful Explorer. Were all Explorers now so terrifying? The huge change in the universe had truly given rise to some geniuses, but those geniuses were already renowned, so where had these twoe from?

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight waspletely silent. Normal Explorers definitely wouldn¡¯t have such a high battle strength.

    Felynn was stunned. That young man was actuallyparable to Lu Yin. Could he be one of the powerhouses from the Top 100 Rankings who had been stranded in the Outerverse?

    Ku Wei rubbed his arm and grinned. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re quite strong.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You too.¡±

    ¡°Ha, not many people can withstand my attack, and you¡¯re even in the same realm as me! What¡¯s your name? I¡¯m Ku Wei,¡± Ku Wei said.

    ¡°Ku Wei? ¡®Ku?¡¯ Seventh Bro, one of the surnames in the Court of Seven Names is ¡®Ku,¡¯¡± the Ghost Monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Just call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    Ku Wei smirked. ¡°Why? You don¡¯t dare to tell me your name?¡±

    Lu Yin slowly replied, ¡°You actually told me your real name?¡±

    Ku Wei raised his brows andughed. ¡°It¡¯s just a name. There are many weird names in the universe. Fine, since I can¡¯t rob you, I¡¯ll just take my leave. Good luck in thepetition!¡± And with that, he left.

    Lu Yin asked the monkey, ¡°Are you sure that ¡®Ku¡¯ is one of the surnames of the Court of Seven Names?¡±

    The monkey solemnly answered, ¡°I¡¯m sure of it. ¡®Ku¡¯ is one of the surnames. I read that before in a powerhouse¡¯s journal that I told you about before.¡±

    Lu Yin was left wondering: was Ku Wei really someone from the Court of Seven Names? It seemed possible that he belonged to the Seven Courts since he dared to tell everyone his name. Apart from the Three Dark Hands, Lu Yin couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who could produce such a powerful Explorer. The Top 100 Rankings didn¡¯t include anyone from the Three Dark Hands, so it was quite possible that this guy was truly from the Ku family.

    ¡°This guy is so reckless. To the Hall of Honor, anyone with the surname ¡®Ku¡¯ is someone that needs to be eliminated, even if they aren¡¯t from the Court of Seven Names. If you hadn¡¯t revealed that futon, Shenwu Continent would have been destroyed long ago. That¡¯s just how the Hall of Honor works. This guy is really gutsy,¡± the monkey muttered.

    Lu Yin nodded in agreement with the monkey as Ku Wei moved past him while carrying his case through the sky once again.

    Hiss!

    The python nced at Lu Yin with a friendly glint to its eyes.

    The Serpent Queen nodded to Lu Yin and moved to leave.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°Do you still have any sourceboxes?¡±

 Chapter 689: Jianqiang Takes Action

    <h4>Chapter 689: Jianqiang Takes Action</h4>

    Serpent Queen was stumped, and she stood there, frozen in ce, as her python red at Lu Yin, furious. However, the serpent immediately lowered its head as soon as Lu Yin nced over at it.

    ¡°None left.¡± Serpent Queen was in a bad mood.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Lu Yin said.

    In a rage, Serpent Queen poured out everything from inside her cosmic ring, even revealing numerous pieces of her underwear, which caused Lu Yin to feel a little embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re pretty frank. Alright, I believe you. You can leave.¡±

    Serpent Queen red at Lu Yin, as she felt that this brat was even more vile than the bastard from before.

    ¡°Monkey, do you think that we should go fishing?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey sniggered. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. Anyways, no one here¡¯s your opponent. This ce belongs to you as soon as you put on that universal armor.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it, but he ultimately decided against it. He recalled the person who he had seen before. That man was a Hunter, and not an average one either. He was definitely scary, and if Lu Yin baited such a person in, it would actually be troublesome, as thepetition would not be able to continue after that.

    Lu Yin somewhat hoped that Ku Wei would bait the Hunter in.

    Battles frequently broke out in the mountain range behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, as there would be a battle as long as someone discovered a sourcebox.

    As for Ku Wei, nobody created any trouble for him. He had taken care of a few batches of assants. He had then conveniently ced the three sourceboxes that he had snatched over his head, which made the others envious, but no one dared to act against him.

    The first day passed in a cloud of chaotic battles.

    When the skypletely darkened, manypetitors found ces to hide and began lockbreaking. Those who were faster like Deng Pu had alreadypleted lockbreaking their first sourcebox.

    Within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul was satisfied, as Deng Pu had been the firstpetitor to unlock a sourcebox. The rest either had not done so, or were still in the process.

    In thetter half of the night, with a soft thump, a sourcebox vanished, but it left nothing behind. Lu Yin was disappointed, but it was alright, as even if anything came out of these sourceboxes, it would have to be returned to the society and would not belong to him.

    He continued to search for more sourceboxes.

    In the hollow area of a mountain wall, Xi Qi wiped the sweat on her forehead and said in disappointment, ¡°There¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s better, as anything you obtained would simply belong to others.¡± The fish was happy and continuously pped its tail.

    At this moment, a figure strode by, nced at Xi Qi, and then looked at the ground where there were traces of sourceboxes having been ced there recently.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Keep it up, and your eyeballs will be plucked out to be kicked around as balls, ugly,¡± the fish spoke.

    That person¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Xi Qi?¡±

    Xi Qi looked at the man. ¡°You¡¯re <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man?¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man acknowledged her with a grunt. He then simply nced at the fish and left.

    ¡°You¡¯re fast enough to run away! You¡¯re so ugly, but you stille outte at night to scare others,¡± the fishined.

    Xi Qi spoke in a depressed voice, ¡°Stop scolding others. I already don¡¯t have any friends left.¡±

    The fish made dismissive sounds. ¡°Who cares about having friends or not? Only weak creatures gather together. Only Lord Fish can guarantee that you will stand at the peak of the universe. Then, that sort of trash from just now won¡¯t even dare to look at you.¡±

    Xi Qi sighed.

    ***

    Cai Jianqiang sat alone out on the ins. He had searched for an entire day, but he had not found a single sourcebox. Although he was ustomed to being inferior to others in the field of lockbreaking, it still wasn¡¯t a nice feeling. If his elder brother were here, he definitely would have easily uncovered multiple sourceboxes already .

    The disparity of talent between individuals was really difficult to ovee.

    Deng Pu appeared from the sky andnded a short distance away from Cai Jianqiang. He then spoke in a dull tone, ¡°I¡¯ll trouble you to move aside.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang looked up and recognized the youth as Deng Pu, who was Saul¡¯s disciple, but this person did not seem to recognize Cai Jianqiang.

    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again¡ªmove over,¡± Deng Pu¡¯s tone was not very friendly.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul straightened in his seat as his expression turned very ugly. This idiot disciple was actually provoking Cai Jianqiang!

    Felynn¡¯s expression also changed. Not good! That idiot doesn¡¯t know any better, so he¡¯s provoking Cai Jianqiang. This is problematic.

    The others also stared at the exchange.

    Cai Jianqiang did not take action against Deng Pu, as he was very curious about what Deng Pu was doing in this ce. Was there a sourcebox nearby? He had searched through area after area using star energy, but he had not found a single sourcebox yet.

    Deng Pu saw Cai Jianqiang move aside and paid no further heed to the man. He walked over to where Cai Jianqiang had been sitting and pressed a hand against the ground. There was a rumbling sound as the ground shattered, and after consecutive bombardments, a crater a dozen meters in diameter appeared, with a chest finally exposed in its center.

    Cai Jianqiang was astonished, as there had actually been a sourcebox right underneath his own butt, but he had not felt anything at all! How had this person discovered it?

    Cai Jianqiang was well aware that he had notprehended a domain and that he had no battle techniques that could help him in lockbreaking. However, he at least had a lockbreaking tool, and his control of star energy was fairly decent. But despite all that, he had not discovered this sourcebox despite its close proximity to him while this person had easily done so. Was the disparity between them so great?

    Within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Felynn nced over at Saul, as this sourcebox was definitely not something that Deng Pu was capable of finding on his own since it had been buried too deeply. Even at that close range, Cai Jianqiang had not discovered anything at all, but Deng Pu had been able to find it in an instant. This was clearly cheating, and Saul was being unscrupulous in his methods to obtain True Insight.

    Saul¡¯s face remained calm, and he acted as if he did not know anything.

    Deng Pu retrieved the sourcebox and prepared to leave, but he was suddenly blocked by Cai Jianqiang.

    ¡°You want to steal it?¡± Deng Pu asked coldly as he looked at Cai Jianqiang. Only now did he take a closer look at the person in front of him, as he had focused only on the location before. Eh, why does this person look so familiar?

    ¡°How did you find it?¡± Cai Jianqiang asked, as he was truly curious. The sourcebox that had been beneath his own butt had been taken by somebody else, and he could not tolerate this even if he did have a good temper.

    Deng Pu¡¯s response was icy, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Move aside.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang did not budge.

    Deng Pu¡¯s gaze turned sharp, and it seemed like he was about to do something.

    Within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul leaned forward, and his lips moved imperceptibly. Deng Pu¡¯s face suddenly changed as he looked at Cai Jianqiang in apprehension. ¡°I recall now¡ªyou are Master Wusheng¡¯s younger brother.¡±

    ¡°How did you find this sourcebox?¡± Cai Jianqiang repeated.

    Deng Pu¡¯s eyes shifted. ¡°It¡¯s my ability.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang frowned, and he simply stared at Deng Pu, which caused the youth to tremble. Then, Deng Pu set the case down. ¡°You want this? It¡¯s for you.¡± He then left without even turning to look back.

    Cai Jianqiang was in a daze, as he had not thought that Deng Pu would give up and leave so easily.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul released his pent-up breath.

    Felynn nced over at Saul and then looked back at the screen. This Deng Pu was smart, as he would be finished if he fought against Cai Jianqiang. Now that Deng Pu had given the sourcebox away, if Cai Jianqiang decided to take action, Saul would have an excuse to step in.

    In the end, Cai Jianqiang did not make any moves against Deng Pu. He merely opened the case and looked inside it to see a long sourcebox. He was delighted to have finally obtained a sourcebox, and so, he immediately began to unlock it. He enjoyed lockbreaking, as the process gave him the pleasure of exploring the universe¡¯s secrets.

    Cai Jianqiang had been able to be a one-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker not by lockbreaking Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes, but instead he had advanced purely through numbers. He had unlocked many Discerning Elementary sourceboxes, and had then relied on lockbreaking a single Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox to reach the level of a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. It had taken him dozens of hours to unlock the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and while the average Lockbreaker would not have been able to manage it, he had relied on the support of his impressive power level.

    His aptitude for lockbreaking was truly poor. This Discerning Elementary sourcebox was merely at the two star level, but he still took eight whole hours to sessfully unlock it. Although he did not obtain anything, he still felt very satisfied that he had seeded.

    After seeding, Cai Jianqiang realized that he should not waste any more time looking for sourceboxes. Otherwise, when the time for this first stage of thepetition expired, he would likely be eliminated. He would be humiliated all the way back to the Neoverse if he was eliminated in such a fashion while being a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. Hence, Cai Jianqiang decided to start stealing sourceboxes from others, as he had already tasted the sweetness of theft once.

    Cai Jianqiang looked up at where Ku Wei was still leisurely hanging around, trying to use a case to bait others into attacking him. He should have already finished lockbreaking the other two.

    Cai Jianqiang leapt up towards Ku Wei, and his berserk star energy swept out in all directions, to the point where even the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight quivered almost imperceptibly, which shocked everyone.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw the boundless lines of runes crash towards Ku Wei, and he was delighted. You tried to bait more, and finally, that person was lured out.

    Ku Wei jumped up in fright as a crisis had suddenly appeared. He saw Cai Jianqiang grab at him, and he responded by tapping out with a single finger. His forcefield formed a giant Finger Tap that ruthlessly crushed down upon the Hunter.

    The two sides shed in the sky and caused the void to warp. A violent gale swept out and even made the four towering trees tremble, leaving countless people in the region numb.

    Ku Wei was beaten back by Cai Jianqiang¡¯s single attack, and he appeared astonished at this turn of events. ¡°Where did this madmane from?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s expression was steely. ¡°Hand over the sourcebox.¡±

    ¡°Alright, here.¡± Ku Wei threw the sourcebox to Cai Jianqiang without any hesitation before turning and fleeing. He was even more direct about things than Deng Pu.

    That exchange had shown Ku Wei just how terrifying this Hunter realm fellow was, as his own Finger Tap had beenpletely ineffective. That berserk storm had sent a chill running down his spine, and Ku Wei knew that he could not go head-to-head against that man.

    Cai Jianqiang retrieved the case and saw that there was a sourcebox inside it. He nodded in satisfaction, but then scanned around as he had decided to grab a hold of a few more.

    The people within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight exchanged nces, as they did not know if they should interfere. Cai Jianqiang¡¯s strength was high enough that, out of the countless people on all of Sourcepeak, perhaps only Saul and Fiend Li could overpower him, as this person was a freak who had an abnormal cultivation talent and was able to crush everyone within his own generation, including the Youth Councilors of his time. It was only because he was obsessed with lockbreaking that he had not be too famous. Once this sort of person erupted, the result would be very scary.

    In just half an hour¡¯s time, Cai Jianqiang had managed to steal seven sourceboxes. He used his overpowering star energy to suppress everything around him, and it was useless to even try to hide. He was significantly more efficient at stealing sourceboxes than Ku Wei, and the final sourcebox that he stole coincidentally happened to be another one from Deng Pu.

    This scene angered Saul to the point of being unable to endure any longer, and his voice rang throughout the sky above the mountain range. ¡°Anyone in possession of sourceboxes that have not been sessfully unlocked by the end of this stage will be punished by double negative points.¡±

    This rule made many change their attention to Cai Jianqiang. Currently, he was the one with the most sourceboxes as he had managed to gather seven, but would he be able to unlock all of them?

    Cai Jianqiang was stumped, as no matter how he looked at it, this rule was targeting him. He looked up with an ugly expression on his face.

    In another part of the mountain range, Lu Yinughed. Saul was growing more and more shameless in his methods to help Deng Pu achieve victory. In previouspetitions, there had been no such rules, as seizing sourceboxes also depended on a contestant¡¯s ability. If a Lockbreaker could not protect their own sourcebox, then lockbreaking was impossible. But now, no matter who it was, it was pointless even if they seized every singlest sourcebox on this mountain range.

    Unlocking two sourceboxes and having an unlocked one would give a person the same score as someone who had notpeted or someone who did not have a single sourcebox. This rule was very shameless.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Fiend Li frowned, but that did not stop Saul from setting this new rule in ce. Cai Jianqiang¡¯s power was rather excessivepared to the other participants, and so, it was justifiable to restrain him a bit. As for the final results, the Lockbreaker Competition only cared about the champion, and the results of the others did not matter.

    Felynn¡¯s lips rose. The more Saul leaned towards helping Deng Pu, the more miserable it would be for him in the end.

 Chapter 690: Unlucky Deng Pu

    <h4>Chapter 690: Unlucky Deng Pu</h4>

    Outside the mountain range, some people started to discuss this new development. ¡°I think if I don¡¯t do anything, I might actually get a higher ranking.¡±

    ¡°There was no such rule before. Why did Vice President Saul suddenly add it?¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that his disciple was robbed twice by Cai Jianqiang, after which he couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s face sank while delight shed through Deng Pu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Give it back to me. If you keep it, it¡¯ll only cause your score to drop further.¡±

    He did not believe that Cai Jianqiang could unlock seven sourceboxes. In his opinion, Cai Jianqiang¡¯s ability was probably far from being able to unlock seven; he might not even be able toplete three or four, and that was also under the premise that nobody disturbed the Hunter.

    Cai Jianqiang shifted his gaze past Deng Pu, and he saw the Serpent Queen in the distance. He casually threw one case over towards the Serpent Queen.

    She was taken aback. ¡°For me?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang turned around and threw three more cases in different directions so that they were spread throughout the mountain range. Evidently, he would rather toss them away than give them to Deng Pu. Cai Jianqiang was no fool; since this rule hade from Saul, and Deng Pu was Saul¡¯s disciple, this rule had obviously been established to help him. Cai Jianqiang could not take further action against Deng Pu without good cause, but he could at least make life a bit more difficult for him.

    Deng Pu was indeed disgusted, and he red furiously at Cai Jianqiang. He then chose a direction and raced away.

    In the mountain range, Lu Yin saw a case descending from the skies. Who had thrown this? It nearly crashed into him.

    At that moment, Deng Pu caught up to the case, and he unceremoniously greeted Lu Yin with a palm. ¡°Scram!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and lifted a leg to kick at his attacker. There was a bang as Deng Pu was sent flying by the kick. He had not raised any sort of defenses against Lu Yin since this person was just an Explorer. How could he have known that disaster woulde to him so quickly? Deng Pu felt an intense ache within his chest as the scenery flew past his vision at great speed. He then crashnded in a marsh in a pathetic state.

    Those in the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were stunned, as Deng Pu had run into a chain of bad luck. They had seen this person fight against Ku Wei, and he had also shown that he could escape from Cai Jianqiang¡¯s hands. This was not someone who Deng Pu couldpare to, and he just had to provoke such a person.

    Felynn felt strange, as it had been Cai Jianqiang first and Lu Yin next. Why was this Deng Pu so unlucky? She hoped that he would smoothly be the champion, or else her n would not be perfect. Work hard!

    Many were cheering for Deng Pu, and he himself was in a daze, as he had been sent flying before he could even react. That kick had been ferocious and precise, which neutered his previous courage to look for any more trouble. Weren¡¯t the Innerverse and Outerverse separated? Where had all of these brutish peoplee from?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that seemed to have been Deng Pu,¡± the Ghost Monkey mentioned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin picked up the case, but he was taken aback by these words, and he asked in an odd voice, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t look at who you just beat?¡±

    ¡°I forgot to look. He was just some random passerby with a strength in the Cruiser realm. His body was rather sturdy, so that kick shouldn¡¯t have done anything to him. Still, since he¡¯s Deng Pu, it¡¯s best to not make things too difficult for him so that he can be the champion.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, if he¡¯s taken out of the picture, you can rece him, hehe.¡±

    Lu Yin responded grudgingly, ¡°Have you forgotten about that fierce Hunter? Even Ku Wei was frightened off.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, a Hunter should be at least a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. He¡¯s the most likely person to be champion of thispetition,¡± the monkey mumbled.

    ¡°Saul won¡¯t allow the True Insight to fall into anyone else¡¯s hands, so let that Hunter take the brunt of his attention,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey feels that you should try and fight for the title. After all, you don¡¯t n to stand out for Felynn. Once Saul is unveiled before Felynn and the others, you can only scramble for the True Insight.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. He was not afraid of fighting for it, but Felynn did actually represent the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. This organization had only a few people in it, but its influence was impressive. If he offended the entire Lockbreaker Society, then it would not be beneficial for his future.

    Now that a Hunter had be a thorn in Saul¡¯s side, he would definitely be targeted. Lu Yin himself presented almost no threat to Deng Pu at all, so there was still a chance for him topete for the title of champion.

    ***

    Outside the mountain range, there were screens floating all over Sourcepeak, allowing everyone to see the Lockbreaker Competition unfold.

    Within a manor that stood beside a mountain and a water body, Wei Xin''er was unhappily eating something even as her eyes were glued to a screen. She asionally crunched into her food.

    Near her, Wei Rong was amused at his sister¡¯s behavior. ¡°Xin¡¯er,e to Brother.¡±

    ¡°No, I get mad when I look at you,¡± she snorted.

    Wei Rong had no other choice. ¡°It¡¯s too early for you topete in thispetition since you don¡¯t have any lockbreaking experience. Brother promises to let youpete in the next season¡ªit¡¯s only ten years away.¡±

    Wei Xin''er red at Wei Rong,pletely furious. ¡°Ten years? Do you know what ten years means to a woman?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still just a little girl.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to say that I¡¯m little!¡±

    ¡°But you aren¡¯t even twenty.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m mature, and I can make my own decisions.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Even if I agreed at this moment, you still wouldn¡¯t be able topete since thepetition already started a day ago.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Wei Xin''er gritted her teeth in anger, snorted, and then ran off. She did not want to spend any more time with this horrible person.

    When he saw Wei Xin''er leave, Wei Rong¡¯s expression calmed down, and he looked at Deng Pu¡¯s image on the screen. ¡°Stay focused on him. He has to be this season¡¯s champion. True Insight cannot end up in anyone else¡¯s hands.¡±

    Behind him, a cultivator acknowledged his words.

    ¡°How are the preparations going?¡± Wei Rong asked.

    ¡°All done. We¡¯re just waiting for thest moment for Lu Yin to make the objection.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin. This person means trouble. He used external aides to remain undefeated even against Enlighters. That foolish woman, Felynn, actually wants to use him, and she only told us about it at thest minute. Foolish beyond belief. Send out an order to avoid him as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°What if he blocks us?¡±

    ¡°Let Felynn negotiate, and then as ast resort¡­¡± Wei Rong¡¯s gaze frosted over as he finished his sentence. ¡°Take care of it.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Inside Forest Hotel, Angie stood atop a tall tree and stared at a screen while Ah Mu stood behind her. She said, ¡°We¡¯ll make out well even if this entire fights against us. Send down a word of caution to those under us and remind them to not reveal our identity until our goals are achieved.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Mistress,¡± Ah Mu answered softly. He looked up, and coincidentally Lu Yin¡¯s image appeared on the screen. Since Ah Mu had already seen Lu Yin¡¯s disguised appearance, he immediately recognized Lu Yin, and his friend¡¯s appearance worried Ah Mu. Lu Yin¡¯s presence was a huge variable.

    At Sourcepeak¡¯s space station, inside a spacecraft belonging to Endless Borders, there were many cultivators wearing matching battle suits devoid of any symbols. They were all standing in formation. These people were mercenaries from Aegis, and they were all independent cultivators. Although they were not affiliated with any organization, their discipline was strict as a result of Aegis¡¯s training.

    Those watching the drama and bustle on Sourcepeak had no idea about the disaster that was waiting just around the corner.

    ***

    Another day passed, and within the mountain range, Lu Yin had finished unlocking five sourceboxes, taking an average of three hours for each one. Most of his time had been spent searching for more sourceboxes.

    Although there were more than a thousand Lockbreakers scattered throughout the mountain range, those who were capable of finding any sourceboxes with their own abilities were very few. Additionally, the presence of those like Ku Wei who snatched sourceboxes from others meant that most of the sourceboxes were concentrated in the hands of the top-notch Lockbreakers. The majority of contestants had not even found a single sourcebox, let alone sessfully unlock one. Lu Yin had also gained two sourceboxes by stealing them from others.

    Lu Yin did not know if lockbreaking five sourceboxes was a good or bad result.

    There was onest day before the first stage¡¯s end, and those like Deng Pu and Xi Qi would have hidden themselves before starting their all-out lockbreaking session. With their ability as Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, their speed would not be any slower than Lu Yin¡¯s, and they would probably end up with good results. However, Lu Yin¡¯s own results were definitely enough to pass the first round, though his ranking waspletely unknown.

    Cai Jianqiang lethargically walked out from underground, where he had just finished unlocking his second sourcebox after nine grueling hours. It had only been a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, showing that his lockbreaking ability was truly too poor. He was confident that he could unlock many sourceboxes, but he required time for that, which was what he was currentlycking the most.

    There were not many people who were slower than Cai Jianqiang, and he frowned as he looked around. He should not have any problem in passing this first round, but his results were too poor to obtain the championship. He muttered to himself for a while and then looked up as determination solidified in his eyes. I¡¯m sorry, everyone. Although it goes against my own morals, I have to do this for True Insight. Everyone can only rely on their own abilities!

    Within the Hall of Insight, Saul looked down with satisfaction, as Deng Pu had already finished unlocking seven sourceboxes. Saul¡¯s preparation of indicating the locations of various sourceboxes for his disciple had not been done in vain, and if he had not run into Cai Jianqiang partway through the first stage and been disrupted, then his number would have been even higher. Not bad, not bad.

    ¡°That kid¡¯s lockbreaking speed isn¡¯t slow, and he takes an average of about three hours for each sourcebox. Saul, that¡¯s even faster than your disciple.¡± Fiend Li who seldom spoke, suddenly broke his silence. He was looking at Lu Yin in the mountain range and sighed in appreciation.

    Saul¡¯s face sank, but he did not reply.

    Felynn appeared astonished, as she had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking skills to be so adept. This person had only be a Lockbreaker recently, but he was already a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. Furthermore, despite his level, his lockbreaking speed was not much slower than a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker¡¯s. His talent was truly as impressive as rumored.

    ¡°Xi Qi¡¯s pretty good as well. She¡¯s already unlocked four, with an average of 3.5 hours per sourcebox,¡± Yi Fengmented indifferently.

    ¡°And that Serpent Queen¡ªher lockbreaking speed is about four hours per sourcebox, and she¡¯s simrlypleted four sourceboxes.¡±

    ¡°That Ku Wei haspleted five sourceboxes at an average speed of five hours for each one. But one of the sourceboxes took him less than two hours, which is the fastest out of everyone,¡± Mr. Jun said.

    ¡°With such lockbreaking ability, why can¡¯t he search for sourceboxes himself? All of his sourceboxes were seized from others.¡± One of the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers was unhappy with Ku Wei since his disciple had been robbed by him.

    The others did not speak up, as being able to seize sourceboxes was also a type of one¡¯s capabilities. Deng Pu had also been robbed by Cai Jianqiang twice, and Saul had been left with no choice but to forcefully change the rules.

    The crowd only discussed some simple matters, and there was only one day left before the first stage ended. If nothing out of the ordinary happened, then Deng Pu would be the final winner of this stage as he still had three sourceboxes left. He did not need to go out and search for more, which the otherpetitors would have to do, essentially wasting their time.

    As for Cai Jianqiang, nobody even mentioned him. Although he was also a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, his speed was truly too slow. If not for the fact that he had seeded in unlocking a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, the society definitely would not have allowed him to be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. This person was a disgrace to many Lockbreakers.

    At this moment, the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight suddenly quivered, and the faces of Saul and the others changed as they looked at the screens. ¡°Not good, what does Cai Jianqiang want to do now?¡±

    The crowd had originally assumed that thisst day would be very calm, as many contestants had secluded themselves to begin their lockbreaking sessions. Suddenly, surging star energy burst forth that caused the entire mountain range behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight to tremble. Everyone was puzzled; what was going on?

    Cai Jianqiang stood high in the sky and forcefully took control of all the star energy, only to unleash it upon the mountain range behind the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight without restraint. With his overbearing strength, it was no different than crushing the otherpetitors.

    Many Lockbreakers were in the midst of their lockbreaking, and they were forcefully interrupted by this explosion of star energy.

 Chapter 691: Realm Of Control

    <h4>Chapter 691: Realm Of Control</h4>

    Everyone knew that this fellow could not unlock any more sourceboxes, but now, he was not letting anyone else continue their lockbreaking attempts either.

    Deng Pu spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face went pale. That scoundrel!

    Serpent Queen paused in her lockbreaking and looked up into the sky as a sh of fear flickered through her eyes. This person was terrifyingly powerful.

    Ku Wei¡¯s lockbreaking was also interrupted, and he was even ruthlessly attacked by the formless danger of his sourcebox. He grimaced in pain and looked upwards in anger.

    Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to Cai Jianqiang, no matter if they were one of the Lockbreakerspeting within the mountain range, an audience member outside, someone inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, or an Outerverse denizen who was watching the broadcast. Everyone was focused on Cai Jianqiang.

    Lu Yin casually sat down. Now this was an interesting development, and no one had anything that they could do about it. He had nned to look around for two more sourceboxes to unlock, but that seemed unnecessary now.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s a real man! One against all the otherpetitors,¡± the monkey marveled.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°He certainly has the ability to do so.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang swept out in all directions with his strength in the Hunter realm, and not a single Lockbreaker dared to stand up against him. The entire mountain range trembled continuously as all of the avable star energy was forcefully seized by him, making it difficult for anyone to try to lockbreak.

    Deng Pu shouted in anger, ¡°Cai Jianqiang, this is the Lockbreaker Competition! We arepeting in unlocking sourceboxes, not in ourbat ability!¡±

    Cai Jianqiang did not pay Deng Pu the slightest bit of attention, and the mountain range seemed to boil.

    Countless people in the outside world were excited by this development, as this would be a major talking point. Things might turn explosive if all of the otherpetitors united to challenge Cai Jianqiang. Untold numbers of people were waiting for that moment to ur.

    Xi Qi helplessly walked out of her cave, as she also could not continue lockbreaking.

    The fish swatted its tail. ¡°This is the way, that¡¯s right. Lord Fish appreciates that one, that two-legged beast. Go and make friends with him.¡±

    Xi Qi rolled her eyes. She would rather not, as that person was obviously not someone to be pushed around.

    A Lockbreaker¡¯s perception of star energy was much clearer than a regr cultivator¡¯s, and so, they were naturally more urate in perceiving other people¡¯s strength. Cai Jianqiang¡¯s strength made the Lockbreakers unable to even think of resisting.

    Within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul trembled in anger, and he suddenly stood up as if he wanted to forcefully intervene. However, he was stopped by Fiend Li. ¡°This person hasn¡¯t harmed anyone. You have no authority to meddle in this matter.¡±

    Saul replied in a deep voice, ¡°So are we just going to let him ruin thispetition? Will we allow this season to be a joke?¡±

    Fiend Li answered solemnly, ¡°So what if he does? That¡¯s allowed so long as it¡¯s within the permissible scope of the rules.¡±

    ¡°We can only me the quality of this season¡¯s Lockbreakers as there¡¯s no one who can stand up against him. In previous seasons, there would always be more than one Hunter participating, and they were able to restrain each other. But in thispetition, even all of the otherpetitorsbined can¡¯t match up to a single Hunter. Thus, there¡¯s no choice,¡± Yi Feng observed coldly.

    Felynn smiled bitterly. ¡°With Cai Jianqiang¡¯s strength, it would be hard to resist him even for previous seasons. He¡¯s someone who¡¯s invincible within his generation, and he still hasn¡¯t revealed his true strength yet. Once he gets serious, even ourbined might may not be able to resist him.¡±

    Yi Feng could not retort, as this was indeed the truth. A serious Cai Jianqiang was something truly scary.

    Saul endured his rage and sat back down.

    Felynn nced over at him. Who was to me for this? The truth was that there had been several other Hunter realm Lockbreakers who had intended to join thepetition, but they had been prevented from participating by Saul¡¯s dishonest methods intended to allow his disciple, Deng Pu, to win. This was just him reaping what he had sown.

    Felynn looked at Cai Jianqiang, as this person was also a variable. But fortunately for her, he was not someone on Saul¡¯s side.

    In the Wei family¡¯s manor, Wei Rong bent over to study Cai Jianqiang¡¯s information on his gadget. Suddenly, he frowned and looked up. There was actually someone so troublesome here, and the Innerverse had appraised this person as a Realmbreaker. He was a Hunter, an actual peak Hunter, and being a Realmbreaker meant that he could fight against Enlighters.

    This person had terrifying strength, which was disturbing.

    In outer space, above the, an elder looked down at Sourcepeak with a serious gaze.

    To Cai Jianqiang, forget a mountain range¡ªeven if it was the entirety of Sourcepeak or even this entire region of space, he could crush it easily. There was nobody present who could resist his strength.

    If he wanted to render everyone unable to lockbreak, then no one would be able to do so. This was the confidence that he had in his own strength.

    When it came to lockbreaking, he was no one¡¯s match, but when it came to cultivating, no one was his match.

    The final day of the Lockbreaker Competition¡¯s first stage hadpletely shifted in tone from the previous two days, and it had actually be nothing more than Cai Jianqiang¡¯s personal show.

    Deng Pu, Ku Wei, and those who had saved up sourceboxes to lockbreak on thest day of this first stage were unlucky. The rest of the contestants were still alright, as the results had already been finalized, though it was more as if the stage had finished a day early.

    Thest day quickly passed by, and at the critical moment right before the stage ended, Deng Pu reluctantly threw away the three sourceboxes that he still had on him, as did both Ku Wei and Xi Qi. Keeping them would only decrease their score.

    Lu Yin was fine, as he did not have any extra sourceboxes.

    The stage ended, and with Felynn¡¯s announcement, fewer than fifty Lockbreakers ended up passing this first round. Many Lockbreakers protested the results, as they had used the first two days to look for sourceboxes, nning on unlocking them on the final day, but they had been prevented from doing so.

    Unfortunately, their protests proved ineffective.

    Cai Jianqiang passed, as he had unlocked two sourceboxes, which was a decent result.

    Out of everyone, Deng Pu had the best results with seven unlocked sourceboxes, followed by Lu Yin and Ku Wei with five. Next was Xi Qi, Serpent Queen, and two other Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers who each had four. Most of the remaining people who had passed the first stage had onlypleted one.

    With his tyrannical strength, Cai Jianqiang had managed to raise his results to be above average, and he was quite satisfied with these results, despite drawing quite a bit of resentment.

    The second stage of the Lockbreaker Competition would also be held in the mountain range.

    The eliminated Lockbreakers left the region, causing the mountain range to tremble. The middle portion of the mountain range caved in, and those who had passed stood around and watched on curiously.

    Inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul nced around. ¡°The second round is meant topare their ability to evade and defend against sourceboxes¡¯ danger. Everyone knows that Lockbreakers face much harsher dangers than what normal cultivators encounter. Any given sourcebox carries the risk of death, and the ability to avoid or defend against such dangers is especially important for us Lockbreakers. So, who¡¯s willing to act for the second round?¡±

    The crowd exchanged nces, but no one spoke up.

    Mr. Jun suggested, ¡°I think that it¡¯d be better if the vice president acted himself.¡±

    Saul shook his head and smiled. ¡°I did my part in thest Lockbreaker Competition that was held in the Innerverse, so now, it¡¯s someone else¡¯s turn.¡± He looked at Fiend Li. ¡°Brother Li, do you wish to go?¡±

    Fiend Li replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    Saul looked at Mr. Jun. ¡°How about Mr. Jun? Do you wish to try?¡±

    Mr. Jun pondered the question, but then, Yi Feng suddenly spoke up. ¡°This season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition has had a great deal of color added to it, and the atmosphere has be more on edge. I think that it¡¯d be most suitable for Felynn to go.¡±

    The others also approved.

    Felynn was the only female among them, and her mien emted the gentleness of water, so the masses generally had a good impression of her.

    Saul¡¯s face changed, but then he looked at Felynn and smiled. ¡°Executive Felynn, would you like to go?¡±

    Felynn smiled. ¡°Since Executive Yi Feng has suggested it, then there¡¯s no harm in me trying.¡±

    Saul forced out a smile. ¡°Please.¡±

    Felynn stood up and stepped forward, her body vanishing. She soon appeared over the mountain range, where she nced over at the remaining few dozenpetitors. She spoke with a gentle voice. ¡°The second round of thepetition will test whether or not you can avoid and defend against the formless dangers of sourceboxes. I ask that allpetitors enter the pit, after which I will unleash attacks. Those who cannot endure the attacks must step out of the pit, being eliminated.¡±

    When the remaining people saw that it was Executive Felynn, they all rxed, as Felynn¡¯s reputation was indeed good in the society.

    Tong Mi¡¯er was the first to jump in the pit, followed by Deng Pu, and Cai Jianqiang. Soon everyone had leaped into the pit. Lu Yin and Felynn exchanged nces before he stepped in as well.

    The pit was massive, but it felt rather small once dozens of cultivators were all standing inside it.

    Felynn towered above them in the sky. ¡°Is everyone prepared? I¡¯m going to begin.¡±

    The crowd focused their energies and intently watched Felynn in the air.

    Suddenly, there was a howl of grief as one of the Lockbreakers¡¯ face received a viciousceration. He covered his face and crouched down on the ground. Fresh blood flowed down from the wound, and blood-curdling cries followed closely. Felynn¡¯s domain had long since enveloped the entire region, and she created formless attacks that swept around to attack all of thepetitors.

    Not only was she a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, but she was also a Hunter. This was different from Cai Jianqiang¡¯s star energy which had caused the mountain range to quake endlessly; her fine control of star energy allowed her to soundlesslyunch attacks in such a way that even Lockbreakers found it hard to see her attacks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew solemn, as this degree of star energy control had already surpassed the Cloudwalk realm, and it might have even reached the Skywise realm. If he could not see the rune lines, then he would only discover these attacks right when they were about to strike him unless he supplemented his domain with the Cosmic Art and improved his perception.

    Felynn¡¯s attacks were randomly scattered about the pit. Although the intensity was not very high, the attacks were formless and frequent, and they caused many of thepetitors to quickly leave the pit with parted flesh.

    ¡°The dangers that Lockbreakers face should be familiar to everyone. If I show mercy, then you all might end up misjudging the danger posed by sourceboxes, and you might even die as a result. Hence, in this round, I will not show any mercy. May everyone take care of yourselves.¡± Felynn¡¯s gentle voice sounded in all their ears.

    Within the pit, Lu Yin was having a rtively easy time. He could see the attack¡¯s rune lines, and so, none of the attacks were able to approach him as he fluidly dodged them all.

    Xi Qi also evaded them all with ease. She, Ku Wei, and many other Lockbreakers relied on their keen perception of star energy to discover the danger in advance, and of course, many of them had lockbreaking tools as well.

    Cai Jianqiang stood in ce and did not move at all. Felynn¡¯s attacks were of no threat to him.

    As for Deng Pu, few of the attacks targeted him. He was almost like someone outside the pit. Quite a few people noticed this and discussed it spiritedly, and many of themmented that Felynn was being biased.

    Saul frowned, as while he had been hoping that Deng Pu would be the champion, he had not requested for Felynn to act this brazenly biased. Since when had Felynn been so tactful?

    Deng Pu was in a daze as well. Was his luck really that good?

    ¡°Everyone, be careful. I¡¯m going to get serious now,¡± Felynn¡¯s voice called out, and in the next moment, a formless pressure enveloped them all. This was her domain, and in just an instant, a fewpetitors were overwhelmed. The void warped as traces of spatial cracks extended outwards; soon, everyone in the pit was within Felynn¡¯s realm of control.

    Lu Yin could feel the pressure from Felynn¡¯s domain. He had relied on his universal armor to face off against Hunters in the past, and although he could use his own abilities to fight against them, doing so was not that simple, especially against a powerful Lockbreaker like Felynn. This was the same as fighting against Mr. Jun, where any attack that used star energy would be quickly dissolved.

    Onepetitor fell after another, or perhaps it would be more urate to say that they had exited the pit. In any case, there were only a bit more than ten people remaining in the pit now, and even worse of them was a four star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    It had taken less than two rounds of thepetition to whittle the numbers down from more than a thousand to barely over ten.

 Chapter 692: Do You Like Chilli Powder?

    <h4>Chapter 692: Do You Like Chilli Powder?</h4>

    This was the Lockbreaker Competition, and even if the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, any Lockbreaker with stars would be a distinguished guest of the numerous powers. However, so many of them had been eliminated in just an instant.

    Before too much more time passed, Lu Yin saw Felynn¡¯s rune lines gradually dissipate. The second round had ended. It had been quick yet cruel, and many people had been eliminated. Only sixteenpetitors remained.

    The one who had had the easiest time had not been Cai Jianqiang but rather Deng Pu. He had almost never been targeted throughout the whole process, causing many of the audience to be disgruntled. Rumors even began spreading that it had already been internally decided that Deng Pu would be this season¡¯s champion.

    The people in the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight also heard of such rumors, and Saul¡¯s face turned ugly.

    Evidently, someone had purposely nted such rumors, or else they would not have spread all the way to <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight in such a short amount of time.

    After Felynn returned to the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Saul wanted to say something, but he could not speak up. After all, Felynn had seemingly helped him on the surface, and he could not offend too many Lockbreakers if he wanted to eventually hold the position of president.

    Mr. Jun felt strange; was Felynn also working for Saul? If so, that move just now was a bit too stupid.

    The venue for thepetition¡¯s third round was an altar tens of thousands of kilometers away from the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. For each massive event, countless people from Sourcepeak would assemble at this altar. Since ancient times, Sourcepeak had been the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters; nobody knew when this tradition started, but many Lockbreakers would pray and offer sacrifices at this ce before making their Lockbreaking attempts.

    At this time, there were already sixteen cases ced atop the altar, each containing its own sourcebox. There were bothrge and small ones, and countless people filled the area below the altar as they waited in excitement.

    This was the location for the Lockbreaking Competition¡¯s third round, and this stage was the one that would truly evaluate their lockbreaking abilities. The sixteen finalists would draw lots that corresponded to the sourceboxes on the altar, which were of varying grades. There could even be Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes here, but there were also Discerning Elementary sourceboxes, and even possibly Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.

    Luck was a prerequisite that Lockbreakers could not becking in, and there were even some people in the higher levels of the Lockbreaker Society who valued luck over personal talent.

    The third round would evaluate their lockbreaking ability as well as their luck.

    Saul and the others all arrived at the altar while Lu Yin and the others were waiting below it.

    Not long after the elders arrived, Yi Feng descended and raised a hand, causing sixteen bamboo sticks to fly into the air. ¡°Each of you may choose one.¡±

    The contestants casually chose a stick, as they simply had no way of knowing what sourceboxes the cases contained. And so, they had no way to contest over anything.

    Lu Yin received the stick with the number five. When he looked at the altar, the sourcebox case that wasbelled ¡°5¡± was neitherrge nor small.

    The other contestants all looked at the altar as well.

    One¡¯s face went dark, as he had picked ¡°12,¡± whose corresponding sourcebox case was dozens of meters high, and it was rather impressive looking.

    Although sourceboxes were not ssified by size, it was certain thatrger sourceboxes would have correspondingly more energy. Comparing simrly graded sourceboxes, arger one would be more exhausting to unlock than a smaller one.

    Many rejoiced in this person¡¯s misfortune.

    Ku Weiughed out loud, and the Lockbreaker turned to re at Ku Wei before his expression became that of apprehension. He could only hope that the sourcebox within this chest was a Discerning Elementary one.

    ¡°Ha, unlucky bugger!¡± the fish shouted as it swatted its tail.

    Xi Qi hurriedly apologized to the person.

    The fish was dissatisfied with her attitude. ¡°Why apologize? He¡¯s unlucky, and he¡¯ll one day die while lockbreaking.¡±

    That person grew furious. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The fish stood up and arrogantly lifted a fin. ¡°What? Do you want to fight me? Bring it on! That fellow taught me all these words, so just fight him if you are capable.¡± The fish then pointed towards Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei blinked; what did any of this have to do with him? That fish really knew how to hold a grudge!

    The person snorted and stopped speaking.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This fish was still so coarse.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey wants to drink fish soup,¡± the monkey said in a sinister tone. If he could take action on his own, then Lu Yin did not doubt that the monkey would try to stew the fish.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Haven¡¯t you all ever seen such a handsome fish before? Bunch of ugly, two-legged beasts.¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head leaped into the air and seemed to pass judgement on everyone present.

    Xi Qi was helpless, but she had long since be ustomed to this fish¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s another familiar person¡ªthat two-legged beast over there. Why didn¡¯t you greet Lord Fish when you saw me?¡± The fish stared at Lu Yin and continuously swatted its tail about.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips twisted, as he had been recognized.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let me go over there and stew it! I want to drink some fish soup.¡± The Ghost Monkey was furious. Every time he encountered this fish, he just could not control his temper.

    Above the altar, Felynn¡¯s eyes shed, and she immediately stood up. ¡°Alright, stop bickering. Get into your respective positions based off of your drawn lots. You will be allowed to rest until tomorrow morning to recover your spirits. You will then have twenty four hours to unlock your respective sourceboxes. Of course, you can also begin lockbreaking right now, in which case the twenty four hour time limit will start tomorrow morning.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately rushed over and stood next to the fifth sourcebox case, and the others also ascended the altar as well.

    Xi Qi was quite a distance from Lu Yin on the altar, and since there were people who quickly opened their cases, the fish had no more time to bother with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rxed. He had used his domain to alter his appearance, so not even Saul could see through his disguise, but that fish had. That fish was really strange, and it was no wonder why Xi Qi had been able to reach the level of a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker with its help.

    Lu Yin had not even opened his case yet when the Lockbreaker on his right suddenly wailed. The Lockbreaker¡¯s case split into pieces as the surging sound of multiple astral beasts shook the altar and a harsh aura appeared. Everyone looked over to see the phantom image of a strange astral beast that had one body but ten heads. All ten of its heads rose high to roar.

    Yi Feng immediately appeared on the altar and stretched out a hand. The phantom image of the beast cried out even louder, but then it dissipated with a thump. Yi Feng took out another case to seal the sourcebox and then announced that the Lockbreaker had been eliminated before leaving the stage.

    Lu Yin shifted his gaze, as that sourcebox¡¯s danger had not been too strong, roughly reaching the same level as a Cruiser¡¯s attack. However, that Lockbreaker was just an Explorer, and they alsocked battle experience, which meant that they had been easily eliminated. If Lu Yin had been the one to open that case, he would have been able to easily dispel that danger. It was a pity, as that sourcebox was just at the four star Discerning Elementary level, so it was not too difficult.

    Lu Yin looked at the others, and saw that quite a few people had already opened their cases. Apart from the unlucky fellow to his right, the rest were fine, and there was only one Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker who had encountered a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Fortunately, there was no danger in that sourcebox, so that person could try lockbreaking it.

    Further away, the man who had drawn thergest sourcebox case hesitated nervously, but then he epted his fate and opened it. Countless were drawn to his actions, as his chest was way toorge, and it made even the spectators feel nervous for the man.

    Xi Qi also stared at him.

    As the chest opened, the sourcebox was revealed, and many watched on with bated breath. Surprisingly, they did not see the expected enormous sourcebox, but instead, there was a strange, rock-looking sourcebox that was only the size of one¡¯s palm.

    The crowd was stunned.

    The Lockbreaker was stunned as well.

    What was this? The difference was just too great. If the crowd did not look carefully, they might not even be able to see the sourcebox, which was just too small! Who would ce such a tiny sourcebox in such a huge case?

    In the distance, one Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker indifferently asked, ¡°Are we socking in Spiritual Thread cases that we can only pack them like this?¡±

    Those who heard him had an impulse to beat the man. They would dly swap a smaller case for arger one, as some of the cases were barely able to contain their sourceboxes. Such a puny sourcebox had been ced inside such a huge case that could contain a few hundred more sourceboxes of the same size.

    Thatpeting Lockbreaker nearly fainted, as he had almost given up, but fortunately, he hadn¡¯t. At a nce, such a small sourcebox would be easily unlocked, and the rollercoaster ride of emotions that he had just gone through was so intense that he did not carefully observe this sourcebox. In his ecstasy, he leaped into the case to retrieve the sourcebox, only to be sent flying away by a hurricane that had appeared inside of the case. Although the range of the hurricane was small, it was intense enough to tear the void apart, and it even surpassed a Hunter¡¯s strength.

    Once again, Yi Feng raised a hand to close the case. ¡°Eliminated.¡±

    The crowd was stumped, what had just happened? Many people still had not been able to react.

    Lu Yin sympathized with the disqualified Lockbreaker, as that fellow had been toyed with. That hurricane had the strength of a predecessor, and although that sourcebox was small in size, it was definitely an extremely difficult one to unlock as any sourcebox that carried the strength of the predecessors was not simple.

    The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head waved its tail happily. ¡°Idiot, idiot, hahaha!¡±

    Deng Pu indifferently observed the incident, as that Lockbreaker had just been a piece of trash who could not even recognize a five star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    That fellow had definitely been toyed with, and many looked at him in sympathy, but he had already fainted long ago and even sustained some injuries.

    On the other side of the altar, Tong Mi¡¯er waved his hand to open his case, and the crowd watched him act. A vast fluctuation swept out across the altar that caused the void to distort, and it even produced an illusion.

    Upon seeing this scene, Tong Mi¡¯er jumped off the altar without any hesitation, as this was a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    Fiend Li nodded in satisfaction. ¡°He was able to discover the level of the sourcebox instantly and made the correct judgement. Felynn, your disciple is pretty decent.¡±

    Felynn smiled. ¡°Thank you for thepliments, Senior.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the case in front of himself, but he did not rush to open it himself. Half of the people on the altar had not opened their chests. It was not because they didn¡¯t dare to, but rather because there was no need to do so. To these people, it would not take them twenty hours to sessfully unlock a sourcebox, and those who did need more than twenty hours would not be able to sessfully finish unlocking their sourcebox. Thus, there was no need to start lockbreaking already.

    These people had a clear understanding of their own abilities.

    Of course, there were also those who were in more of a rush, such as Tong Mi¡¯er. However, Lu Yin felt that the man had done so in order to give up earlier.

    The crowd that had gathered around the altar looked at the sourceboxes. Four of the finalists had already been eliminated with only twelve remaining. Of those twelve, five had already started lockbreaking. The other seven had not started yet and were more calm, though this did not include the fish.

    Xi Qi had not opened her case, and the fish atop her head urged her constantly to do so.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush¡ªtwenty hours is plenty. I¡¯m tired and I I want to rest,¡± Xi Qi said.

    ¡°Hurry up and open it for Lord Fish! Lord Fish is very curious.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to rest.¡±

    ¡°You can still rest. You can just open it and not lockbreak it.¡±

    ¡°No, that would be tempting myself.¡±

    ¡°Two-legged beast, you must have not tasted Lord Fish¡¯s awesomeness in a long time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m truly tired,¡± Xi Qi grudgingly responded.

    On the other side of Xi Qi, Ku Wei beamed and beckoned to the fish. ¡°Hey fish,e over here to Brother Wei. Brother Wei will open mine for you.¡±

    The fish red at him in fury. ¡°Two-legged beast, just you wait! Lord Fish has not settled things with you yet. We¡¯re eternal enemies.¡±

    Ku Wei smiled happily. ¡°Alright. Ah, right. Let me ask you, do you like chilli powder?¡±

    The fish grew angry, and it swatted its tail around even stronger, which annoyed Xi Qi. She looked over at Ku Wei with a miserable expression on her face. ¡°Stop talking.¡±

    Ku Weiughed.

    In the distance, Deng Pu frowned. What a bunch of idiots.

 Chapter 693: Mutual Harm

    <h4>Chapter 693: Mutual Harm</h4>

    Cai Jianqiang looked at his sourcebox case with a very serious expression. He nced over at Deng Pu and the others and then took a deep breath. He was different from the otherpetitors since he normally needed a long time to lockbreak, and it was an extremely enormous amount of time at that. He could not wait any longer, and after thinking about it, he waved his hand and opened the case.

    Everyone looked on with expectant eyes, and many even inwardly cursed and hoped that Cai Jianqiang would also obtain a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    As the case opened, Cai Jianqiang looked in and rxed. It was a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, so his luck was not too bad.

    Many felt that it was a pity, as Cai Jianqiang was a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and he had coincidentally drawn a matching sourcebox. This was nothing less than good luck.

    Saul and the others did not care. Given Cai Jianqiang¡¯s lockbreaking ability, even if he got a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, he would still take more than twenty four hours to seed, let alone a Perceptive Intermediate one. This person was no threat at all.

    Deng Pu did not even spare a nce for Cai Jianqiang, as he had never seen this Hunter as a worthy opponent.

    Cai Jianqiang began to lockbreak. His lockbreaking style was very simple and crude, just like his battles. It was almost as if he was forcefully dissolving the condensed energies of the sourcebox. His actions were crude, and it stumped many. Could this still be considered lockbreaking?

    Lu Yin was also stumped, as this method was akin to an uneducated brute holding a pen. This person¡¯s lockbreaking ability was unique; was this actually his true method, or was he merely acting? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; had Cai Jianqiang¡¯s lockbreaking style reverted to its natural state?

    As the crowd discussed the events on the altar, Lu Yin¡¯s face grew more colorful. So it¡¯s like this¡ªlockbreaking trash, cultivation genius. That¡¯s the kind of person he is.

    He turned around and stopped watching, as this person was of no threat to his ns at all.

    At this time, there were still six participants who had not opened their cases.

    The night quickly passed, and when the following day dawned, two Lockbreakers opened their cases simultaneously. Both were unlucky enough to receive sourceboxes that were beyond their abilities, so they both immediately gave up. One of the two was the Serpent Queen, as she had unfortunately uncovered a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    Xi Qi finally opened her chest under the fish¡¯s constant urging, and she found a two star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    Xi Qi¡¯s face soured, as this was as far as she could go. She had never sessfully unlocked a two star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before.

    ¡°Come on, lockbreak it! Lord Fish will teach you. Hurry, two-legged beast!¡± The fish was eager for her to begin.

    Xi Qi acknowledged it and then began attempting to unlock the sourcebox. In a moment, she unleashed her domain as star energy flowed out like water. Her control had reached the Cloudwalk realm. Seeing this made Lu Yin envious, as he was still in the Intricacy realm.

    Upon seeing the difference between them, he decided to stop waiting, and he opened his case as well. Inside, he saw a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. Many were thrilled at his misfortune, as a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker receiving a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox was an event that would almost always result in their elimination.

    However, Lu Yin himself rxed. It was not like he had never unlocked a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox before.

    ¡°Bro, just give up. You¡¯ll only end up doing free work by lockbreaking for the Society,¡± Ku Wei¡¯s voice called out from behind him. He was looking at Lu Yin with clear glee on his face. Ku Wei had always been paying special attention to Lu Yin, as he had caught Ku Wei¡¯s attention after blocking Ku Wei¡¯s attacks; after all, very few people could block Ku Wei¡¯s attacks within the same realm as him.

    Lu Yin smiled back at him. ¡°Take care of yourself first and open your case for a look. Perhaps you¡¯ll get a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.¡±

    Ku Wei pursed his lip and opened his case. The crowd was stumped, as he also received a one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You seem like you¡¯re in the same predicament as me.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Then let¡¯spete to see who can seed and be the champion as well as be promoted to a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± Lu Yin responded.

    In the distance, Deng Pu did not bother with them, and he simply opened his own chest. He already knew what sourcebox his chest held, and as expected, it was also a one star Perceptive Intermediate. He himself was a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, so the difficulty was not too great, and he was basically guaranteed to win thispetition.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man directly walked off of the altar. He had also opened his case, and it contained a weapon-looking sourcebox. He would only unlock sourceboxes that were naturally found within metal, and since this sourcebox did not have any metallic aura, he simply walked away.

    With this, there were only ninepetitors left atop the altar.

    The nine Lockbreakers began to lockbreak. Each one of them had their own distinctive methods, including Xi Qi and Deng Pu, who retrieved their lockbreaking tools. Cai Jianqiang also took one out, which were a pair of sses that looked rather simr to Casanova¡¯s sunsses.

    Lu Yin also retrieved his own lockbreaking tool, and since he had entered the Intricacy realm, he was able to use his improved star energy control to continuously break down the condensed energies.

    Before, Lu Yin had spent thirty two hours to unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and he had copsed into a deep sleep immediately after seeding. That had been an arduous experience, and after thinking back to it, Lu Yin was clear on how much effort it had taken him. However, that experience had drastically improved his lockbreaking ability, and now, he was about to unlock another Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. This sourcebox did have some danger to it, but it was not overly threatening. By his estimations, it would take Lu Yin around fifteen hours to finish lockbreaking this sourcebox.

    Everyone on Sourcepeak stared at the altar. The Wei family, Angie, Aegis, and people of Endless Borders were all very silent. They were all waiting for the final moment, which was now getting quite close.

    Five hours passed, after which all nine were still lockbreaking. Some of them appeared calm while others looked like they were suffering.

    Cai Jianqiang was undoubtedly the one who was suffering the most, as he had started lockbreaking much earlier than the others, though his speed was clearly slower as well. Due to the difference in speed, he had taken out a second lockbreaking tool, which was an antenna-like item, and ced it on his head, stumping quite a few onlookers.

    Lu Yin subconsciously nced over at it and was simrly struck speechless. However, this person was definitely worthy of being Master Wusheng¡¯s younger brother, as he actually owned two lockbreaking tools; even Lu Yin himself only possessed one.

    But Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts proved to be too simple, as Cai Jianqiang slowly took out a third lockbreaking tool under everyone¡¯s astounded gazes. At this moment, even Saul, Fiend Li, and the others inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were surprised, as three lockbreaking tools was rather excessive.

    ¡°This person is actually so passionate towards lockbreaking that he actually has three lockbreaking tools.¡± The crowd below the altar discussed this scene.

    ¡°Could it have been given to him by Master Wusheng?¡±

    ¡°Impossible, I heard that even Master Wusheng himself only has one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s crazy, yet he¡¯s not afraid of being robbed.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about that too much, as nobody would dare to rob him unless an Enlighter acts. Also, don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s still a Lockbreaker, so touching him is the same as messing with the entire Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡­

    With the assistance of his three lockbreaking tools, Cai Jianqiang¡¯s speed increased a bit, but only by a small amount.

    Lu Yin felt that it was not worthwhile for the Hunter to use those three lockbreaking tools.

    Two hours passed quickly, and Lu Yin nced over at Deng Pu. He looked to be delighted, and the rune lines around his sourcebox had decreased a great deal, which indicated that he was about to seed.

    This would not do. The original n was indeed to let Deng Pu win, but since Lu Yin did not n to step forward and use Saul, it would be better for him to take the championship title himself. Otherwise, he would not be able to easily get his hands on the True Insight. Since this was the final round, he had no worries of being targeted by Saul.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin suddenly unleashed his domain and pressed down upon Deng Pu with it. It was as if a tornado was sweeping towards the Lockbreaker, and it almost sent the unprepared Deng Pu tumbling off of the altar.

    Deng Pu was furious, and he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Despicable!¡±

    In the distance, Saul leaped to his feet. ¡°Despicable! Immediately disqualify him.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s brows rose, as she had not expected Lu Yin to do such a thing. Hadn¡¯t they agreed to let Deng Pu win?

    ¡°Saul, there¡¯s no rush. The third round¡¯s rules do not stipte that the contestants cannot interfere with the otherpetitors. When we lockbreak, do we expect everyone in the universe to leave us alone? This is a difficulty that a Lockbreaker must be able to ovee,¡± Fiend Li said.

    Saul¡¯s expression grew ugly, as he obviously knew that this was true. In previouspetitions, scenes like this often appeared during the third stage as the participants would interrupt the people lockbreaking beside them. But this season was different, simply because Deng Pu was his own disciple. This random person dared to cause such a disturbance, and he was simply courting death.

    Deng Pu angrily red at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t make a mistake, or else I won¡¯t let you step off of Sourcepeak.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve almost finished lockbreaking, so it¡¯ll be toote if I don¡¯t act now.¡±

    ¡°What, almost finished? That won¡¯t do!¡± Ku Wei broke in, and he also suddenly unleashed his domain to crush down upon Deng Pu.

    Deng Pu almost spat out a mouthful of blood. These two bastards.

    A storm seemed to surge around the three Lockbreakers, and the star energy in the area suddenly went berserk. This felt oddly familiar, and the crowd looked at Cai Jianqiang and found that he was also looking towards Deng Pu in a very unfriendly manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Could this guy also be hoping to eliminate Deng Pu? That wouldn¡¯t do, as if Deng Pu were eliminated, then nobody would cause trouble for Saul. As Lu Yin thought about this, his lips moved, and Ku Wei¡¯s expression also changed from across the altar. They exchanged nces, and the two smiled. They then simultaneously unleashed their forcefields, causing a Towering Tree and a Finger Tap to crash down towards Cai Jianqiang at the same time.

    Cai Jianqiang was shocked, as he had not expected for these two people to team up to deal with him. He would not care if they were just average Explorers, but both Lu Yin and Ku Wei had the strength to match up to a Hunter. Even if Cai Jianqiang was powerful, since he was in the middle of lockbreaking, he did not have the opportunity to resist the forcefields¡¯ attack. Not only was his lockbreaking interrupted, but his entire body was flung off of the altar by the two forcefields.

    The situation had changed too quickly, and the audience had not expected that these two Explorers would be able to eliminate Cai Jianqiang through their teamwork.

    Deng Pu had not expected it either, as he had believed that he was finished.

    Saul rxed. Although Cai Jianqiang was of no threat when it came to his lockbreaking ability, if he decided to shamelessly interfere with others¡¯ lockbreaking sessions, then the oue would bepletely unpredictable. His elimination was a lucky break for them.

    Cai Jianqiang stood beneath the altar and looked up at Lu Yin and then at Ku Wei. He did not make a scene. He merely silently put his three lockbreaking tools away, then leaped up, and then tore through the void to leave Sourcepeak.

    Lu Yin and Ku Wei rxed. Cai Jianqiang had been the biggest threat to them, and without him, the rest would be handled much more easily. The two of them then simultaneously acted against the rest of thepetitors on the altar, using the bombardment of their forcefields to knock the Lockbreakers off of the stage one after another. Even Xi Qi gave up and was eliminated, though Lu Yin was surprised to see that Deng Pu was able to withstand their forcefields¡¯ attacks.

    Deng Pu¡¯s face was dark. Even though he didn¡¯t have a forcefield, his domain was very sturdy. His star energy control had also reached the Cloudwalk realm, and under these circumstances, he was able tobine his Cruiser realm strength with his domain to forcibly withstand Lu Yin¡¯s and Ku Wei¡¯s forcefield attacks while continuing to lockbreak.

    ¡°If you eliminate me, then which of you two are confident in seeding?¡± Deng Pu asked with difficulty, as he had almost reached his breaking point.

    Lu Yin and Ku Wei hesitated. That was right¡ªif Deng Pu was eliminated, then the two of them would have to face off against each other.

    Lu Yin looked at Ku Wei¡¯s sourcebox and then at his own. The two had a simr lockbreaking speed, but he felt strange. Not only did he have his domain and his lockbreaking tool, but he also had the Cosmic Art and his altered eyes. Despite all of these abilities, he was not able to surpass Ku Wei. Was this person truly someone from the Seven Courts? If so, then he would not be easily dealt with.

    Lu Yin was apprehensive of Ku Wei, but Ku Wei was simrly cautious of Lu Yin. The two had no ns to face off against each other, so in the end, they did not knock Deng Pu away for the moment.

    Felynn continuously sent her voice to Lu Yin, telling him not to deal with Deng Pu and that he had to allow Deng Pu win.

 Chapter 694: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 694: Taking Action</h4>

    Lu Yin did not n to take any actions against Deng Pu before he was confident of dealing with Ku Wei. Otherwise, if took care of Deng Pu too early, he himself would not be able to win, which would be suffering for nothing.

    Deng Pu was finally able to rx. These two freaks were just Explorers, but they were much stronger than he was, and their forcefields hadpletely suppressed him.

    Although Deng Pu had not been sted off of the altar, he still was not able to peacefully lockbreak, as the trio mutually restricted one another. Whoever was faster would be dealt with by the other two. Thus, nobody needed to think of finishing unlocking their sourcebox first.

    Finally, the trio spent a total of neen hours before they allpleted their lockbreaking simultaneously.

    Lu Yin obtained a piece of metal from his sourcebox, which neither he nor the Ghost Monkey were able to recognize.

    Deng Pu¡¯s sourcebox contained nothing.

    Ku Wei obtained a broken weapon from his sourcebox, but it disintegrated into ash the moment it came into contact with the air.

    Out of the sixteenpetitors, only three of them had managed to seed, though a huge portion of them had been chased away by Lu Yin and Ku Wei working together.

    Lu Yin had actually wanted to win himself, but he was not confident that he could ovee Ku Wei by himself. With the cumtive results from each stage, the final champion was definitely Deng Pu because he had sessfully unlocked seven sourceboxes during the first stage.

    Lu Yin felt that it was alright, as he could still ept this oue.

    Deng Pu rxed, as this was fortunate for him.

    Ku Wei was in a bad mood. If not for Lu Yin, he definitely would have won.

    Saulpletely rxed. Although this Lockbreaker Competition had been full of twists and turns, the oue was still good, and he beamed at the sky. ¡°I, Saul, as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President, hereby dere that, out of the three rounds of thispetition, the overall champion is Deng Pu. The champion of this season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition is thus Deng Pu.¡±

    Many on Sourcepeak cheered, as Deng Pu resided on Sourcepeak most of the time, and so, he could be considered as one of them.

    Deng Pu was excited, and he gleefully nced over at Lu Yin and Ku Wei before looking expectantly towards Saul.

    Fiend Li and the others had no objections to the announcement.

    In the Wei family¡¯s manor, Wei Rong stood up, his expression grave. ¡°Prepare to move out.¡±

    At the Forest Hotel, Angie gave the same order, ¡°Prepare to move out.¡±

    Sourcepeak¡¯s space station suddenly was locked down, and the people there lost contact with the Lockbreaker Society.

    At the same time, all of the screens outside of Sourcepeak failed, as the signal had been blocked off.

    Saul did not know about any of this, and he excitedly stood at the center of the altar. He then did something that caused a piece of stone to rise up from the ground. There was a box within the stone, and Saul excitedly looked in as he slowly opened it, causing his figure to be illuminated by a golden radiance that shone out from inside the box.

    He then raised the box into the air. ¡°In this are three pages of the True Insight. It¡¯s the reward for this season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition champion. And now, I will bestow this to Deng Pu. Deng Pu,e up.¡±

    Deng Pu breathed heavily, and he slowly walked over towards Saul, looking as though he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

    Saul had a simr look of anticipation, as he had long since wanted to obtain True Insight.

    Lu Yin stood silently below the altar and watched the scene with Xi Qi beside him.

    ¡°So the prize is just True Insight. What a huge fuss,¡± the fish said in disdain.

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he looked at the fish. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡±

    The fish responded arrogantly, ¡°Of course, two-legged beast. If you wish, you can be Lord Fish¡¯s mount, and then Lord Fish can then teach you.¡±

    Xi Qi immediately apologized to Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, please don¡¯t listen to it. It¡¯s lying to you.¡±

    The fish was angered. ¡°When does Lord Fish ever lie? Stop spouting nonsense and preventing Lord Fish from collecting mounts.¡±

    Xi Qi mumbled, ¡°You bluffed me just like this, saying that you even knew the entire True Insight. However, you can¡¯t even recite a little bit of it.¡±

    ¡°Of course it can¡¯t be recited! True Insight¡¯s words can only beprehended¡ªthey cannot be recited, written, or even passed down. Otherwise, the older generation of Lockbreakers would have already distributed True Insight throughout the universe. You two-legged beast, you don¡¯t know anything!¡± the fish retorted.

    Xi Qi softly answered, ¡°How can there be words that can¡¯t be recited? You¡¯re lying.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the fish, ¡°You really know True Insight?¡±

    ¡°Of course! So how about it, two-legged beast? Be a mount for Lord Fish, and Lord Fish will not treat you unfairly.¡± It was pleased by the attention.

    The Ghost Monkey shouted in Lu Yin¡¯s brain, ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t trust it! It must be lying! That swindler, this monkey will stew it!¡±

    Lu Yin was getting a headache from the monkey¡¯smotion, and he was about to screen it off when Felynn¡¯s voice transmitted to him again. ¡°Lu Yin, it¡¯s your turn. Execute the n.¡±

    ¡°Two-legged beast, how about it? Be a mount for Lord Fish.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey is going to stew it.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Brother Lu. This fish is lying to you.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin heard all sorts of voices, and he frowned as he could not take it anymore.

    ¡°Lu Yin, hurry up and carry out the n, or you won¡¯t be able to obtain True Insight either,¡± Felynn urged as she stared at Lu Yin from a distance.

    On the altar, Deng Pu reached out with his hand as Saul smiled and slowly gave True Insight to his disciple, nodding in satisfaction.

    Felynn frowned, and she incessantly transmitted her voice to Lu Yin, but he remained indifferent.

    Felynn¡¯s gaze grew cold, and she took several steps back. It looked like she then sent a message to someone through her gadget.

    In the distance, Wei Rong nced at his gadget. ¡°Unreliable, as expected. Begin the operation.¡±

    ¡°Deng Pu, receiving True Insight means that you will be able to enter the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Neoverse headquarters in the future. There will be a day when the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse is restored, and I hope that you won¡¯t betray the expectations of your seniors,¡± Saul spoke gently even as he stared fervently at the box in Deng Pu¡¯s hands.

    Deng Pu hurriedly nodded and acknowledged his master.

    Suddenly, the screens in the sky that had been broadcasting live suddenly changed, and images of different Lockbreakers appeared on the disys, including Mr. Jun, Deng Pu, and Saul.

    Saul looked up in shock, as the screens were actually broadcasting the images of the Lockbreakers that he had ordered to be eradicated, the ones who would have presented a threat to Deng Pu.

    Felynn was delighted. Although Lu Yin had ended up not cooperating, the n had still continued, and the difference was not too great.

    Everyone looked up at the screens. ¡°No wonder Lord Qin didn¡¯t participate. He¡¯s a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. It looks like he was chased into the Astral Wilderness and killed.¡±

    ¡°Grandma Lan didn¡¯te, either. Looks like she¡¯s also dead.¡±

    ¡°So this was all arranged by Vice President Saul. He eliminated all of the threatening Lockbreakers, and then arranged it so that his disciple Deng Pu would win, all for the sake of obtaining the True Insight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why, during the second round, Executive Felynn seemed so biased towards Deng Pu. There was an inside arrangement.¡±

    ¡°Saul is too despicable!.¡±

    ¡°Saul is despicable.¡±

    ¡­

    On the altar, Saul was so furious that his entire body started trembling. He waved his hand and distorted the void, causing the sky to roil and destroy all of the screens. ¡°Who dares to besmirch my name?¡±

    ¡°Saul, as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President, not only did you fail to be impartial during thepetition to give all Lockbreakers a fair contest, but you also used vile methods to suppress other Lockbreakers in the dark and threaten us. Your crimes have been exposed, so there¡¯s no need to try and justify yourself,¡± Felynn suddenly shouted, her voice transmitting throughout all of Sourcepeak.

    Everyone looked on with wide eyes. Even if the content of the screens that they had just seen was false, Felynn¡¯s words could not be falsified. She was one of three executives of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society as well as a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. She was an existence that stood among the top ten of all Outerverse Lockbreakers.

    Saul¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Felynn.¡±

    Felynn said in a righteous tone, ¡°Saul, with the contributions you have made towards the society over so many years, you can still be forgiven if you admit your guilt now.¡±

    ¡°Felynn, shut up! You colluded with others to frame your vice president, and to what end?¡± Mr. Jun shouted.

    Fiend Li suddenly spoke up, ¡°Let her continue.¡±

    Saul¡¯s eyes narrowed, and an overflowing killing intent appeared in his eyes.

    Felynn appeared to be in misery at the words that she spoke. ¡°Vice President Saul¡¯s conduct has brought shame upon the society. Rather than have an outsider prove his crimes, it would be better for someone within to expose them, as that would benefit the society more.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, what a righteous Executive Felynn. I¡¯ve misjudged you. It seems that you are actually the biggest threat.¡± Saulughed, and then he suddenly moved against Felynn. As soon as the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker moved, it made everyone present feel numb. Star energy was drawn over from all across Sourcepeak, forming a visible hurricane that converged into a terrifying strike against Felynn.

    The voidpletely shattered, and the enormous collision felt like the¡¯s doomsday hade.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he saw Saul¡¯s rune lines increase rapidly; the area of his influence had already spread out and covered an unknown distance of space away from the. Even more terrifyingly, he had even stripped away the star energy from within everyone¡¯s bodies. This move had surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of what star energy control could achieve, as this move surpassed that of any powerhouse he had met before, including even Elder Lohar.

    This was the ability of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. Although Saul was just a peak Hunter, his true strength could not be estimated. His title as the top Lockbreaker of his generation was not just empty boasting. It was not unusual for a genius Lockbreaker to also be a Realmbreaker who could challenge higher realms. The fact that Saul had been able to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President meant that, in his youth, he had definitely been at the same level as Casanova of the Distinguished Five. Once he made a move, it would be groundbreaking news.

    Felynn¡¯s pupils shrank, and she felt an indescribable suppression seize her. Her face turned deathly pale, as she could not block this attack, nor could she hide from it.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared between the two of them; it was Fiend Li. ¡°Saul, exin yourself before you act.¡±

    ¡°Fiend Li, there¡¯s no point to talking anymore. Since Felynn dares to act at a time like this, then she must have made sufficient preparations. Haven¡¯t you noticed? Sourcepeak has many uninvited guests right now!¡± Saul barked as he mercilessly unleashed his attack to crush them.

    Fiend Li frowned and raised a hand, his move actually restraining the powerful star energy crashing down. He demonstrated a simr realm of control of star energy as Saul, and only Fiend Li was the vice president¡¯s opponent.

    ¡°Fiend Li, do you really wish to oppose me?¡± Saul asked sternly.

    Fiend Li raised his head. ¡°You¡¯ve already made a huge mistake. Based on your many years of contribution, at worst, you¡¯ll be stripped of your position as vice president. However, if you kill an executive, you will never be able to turn back. Saul, think about this carefully.¡±

    Saul remained arrogant. ¡°Geoffrey is no longer around, and nobody in the Outerverse is my opponent! Wherever I am will be where the Lockbreaker Society is. Besides me, nobody is qualified to be the president. At worst, I¡¯ll dispatch of you rebels and reorganize the society.¡± His body then vanished, and Fiend Li¡¯s expression fell before he also disappeared. The next moment, the star energy in the heavens and earth were forcefully seized by the two Lockbreakers.

    A battle between Lockbreakers did not involve any battle techniques, as the battle instead focused on their control of star energy. All battle techniques required the support of star energy, and this battle was at the most fundamental level. Any cultivator who fought against a Lockbreaker would be at a disadvantage. Lu Yin had a deep understanding of this concept, as it was pointless to use a battle technique against a Lockbreaker no matter how strong it was. Once a cultivator was stripped of their star energy, they could only wait to be killed by a Lockbreaker.

 Chapter 695: Ambition And The Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 695: Ambition And The Beginning</h4>

    This battle between Lockbreakers had opened up a new window of understanding for Lu Yin. If he could improve his star energy control to the same level as these two, then even Hunters would no longer be his opponents. Those with impregnable defenses like Aden would also have all of their star energy stripped away from them and be forced into a disadvantage.

    As the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President, Saul had nurtured many Lockbreakers throughout the years, and he also had many aides. The fact that he was adamant in taking action suggested that the society would fracture, and a battle between Lockbreakers erupted.

    Felynn was first attacked by Mr. Jun, but Yi Feng helped Felynn block the attack. Multiple Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers joined the fray at that point as a chaotic battle between Lockbreakers unfolded on Sourcepeak.

    Saul was not a fool either. Although he still did not know that Felynn had plotted with other groups such as the Wei family, he had definitely made preparations beforehand since he wanted to be the president. This could be seen by how he had dealt with the Lockbreakers that could have threatened Deng Pu¡¯s victory in the Lockbreaker Competition. He also had quite a considerable number of Lockbreakers and cultivators on his side, and it would not be easy to wear him down.

    From a distance, Wei Rong saw Sourcepeak quivering, and he eximed, ¡°So this is a battle between Lockbreakers¡ªeven Enlighters would be at a disadvantage against them.¡±

    At this moment, Angie approached, and she looked at Wei Rong. ¡°Begin.¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. Then, he issued an order into his gadget, ¡°Begin immediately.¡±

    In the sky, cultivators walked out of the numerous spacecraft that belonged to Endless Borders. They then exited the space station and flew towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    At the same time, a batch of cultivators with unknown origins appeared on Sourcepeak, and they also all surged towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    Beneath the altar, all Lu Yin could see was a chaotic battle. Saul only had a few people on his side, so they quickly fell to a disadvantage. However, Saul himself was too powerful. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Fiend Li¡¯s rune lines were quiteckingpared to Saul¡¯s. The older man could hold off his opponent for a short period of time, but not for long.

    Aden appeared beside Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s too dangerous here. This might even copse soon.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, but then he suddenly recalled something. He looked around for Deng Pu. True Insight was still in Deng Pu¡¯s possession.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb and a chill enveloped him that caused his hair to stand on end. He subconsciously used Secret Sidestep and shifted his body, and a thin strand of radiance streaked by him to tear through the void. It shot through many cultivators and Lockbreakers some distance away, and they vanished from sight.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look at his right, where he saw a Lockbreaker coldly staring at him. Lu Yin recognized this person, as he had been one of the sixteen finalists in the Lockbreaker Competition. He had been eliminated long ago, but now, he was acting against Lu Yin. Also, the sharpness of his attack caused Lu Yin to feel a chill. That thin strand of radiance¡¯s rune lines were not much inferior to an average Enlighter¡¯s, and the attack hade from the Lockbreaker¡¯s left eye.

    Aden did not have a chance to react yet when the Lockbreaker¡¯s right eye changed as well. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Not good, the second attack¡¯s about toe.

    As the thought shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, that thin radiance once again tore through the void and shot towards him. He waved a hand, activating the Yu Secret Art to divert the radiance into the¡¯s atmosphere, where it left a ck spatial streaking across the sky.

    Aden was shocked, and he immediately released his thunder shield to protect Lu Yin. ¡°Who¡¯s attacking?¡±

    Lu Yin pushed the Hunter aside and walked towards the Lockbreaker. This person had already died, as his rune lines hadpletely vanished. Lu Yin saw dark eyeholes where the man¡¯s eyes should have been. He pressed a hand against the skull, but then his expression changed. When Lu Yin exerted a bit more force, a sharp crack rang out as the skull shattered. There was no fresh blood; instead, a shattered chip fell out, which disintegrated into powder in mere seconds as it spilled all over the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew solemn, and he looked at the powder without understanding what had just happened.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Aden asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head as he did not know either. This person had inexplicably tried to assassinate him, and he had actually unleashed an attack that could rival an Enlighter¡¯s. He hadn¡¯t even been at the Hunter realm, and just how many Enlighters were there in the Outerverse? Despite that, this person had been able to unleash such a deadly attack. Also, the man¡¯s brain had been reced with a chip. Were these methods actually something from the Technocracy?

    While Lu Yin was studying the corpse of the Lockbreaker who had tried to assassinate him, Ku Wei was staring at him from a distance. His eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s move. ¡°The Yu Secret Art, the Yu Secret Art! I found it! It looks like those old fogeys did not guess wrong, and the Yu bloodline really is hiding in the Outerverse. It¡¯s too bad that the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse. This guy won¡¯t be easy to deal with.¡±

    There was a rumbling as the ground of Sourcepeak began to split apart, the epicenter still in the distance.

    Countless people turned around, as the rumbling wasing from the direction of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    In the sky, Saul and Fiend Li turned around as one. ¡°The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight is being attacked. Someone wants to take advantage of this chaos to touch it!¡± Fiend Li barked.

    Saul¡¯s face turned ugly. ¡°Fiend Li, there are treasures within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight that have been gathered over countless years. Nothing can be allowed to happen to it!¡±

    Fiend Li looked down. ¡°Yi Feng, go and protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight!¡±

    Yi Feng flew away without any hesitation.

    Felynn looked towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight as her expression changed several times, though it was always very unsightly. She knew that she had been tricked; the ultimate goal of her supposed allies like the Wei family was not to promote her to the position of president. Instead, they were focused on looting the umtions that the Lockbreaker Society had gathered over countless years and use them to create another society.

    But knowing their goal was just one aspect, and she could not give up on the current situation. Saul had to die, and only by sitting in the president¡¯s seat would she then be able to slowly settle the debts with the Wei family and the others.

    ¡°Fiend Li, why don¡¯t we take care of the outsiders first? Nothing can be allowed to happen to the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.¡± Saul was flustered.

    Fiend Li coldly replied, ¡°With the sourcebox array¡¯s protection and Yi Feng¡¯s support, nothing will happen to <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. Saul, the greatest threat at this moment is still you. Admit to your crimes and resign from your position as vice president. Only then can you still remain on Sourcepeak. Stop being lost in your fantasies.¡±

    ¡°How brazen, just by yourself?¡± Saul remained indignant as he continued to fight.

    Below them, Xi Qi was hiding in a corner and looking around apprehensively. ¡°What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Find that familiar two-legged beast and get him to protect you.¡± The fish swatted its tail and pointed its fin towards Lu Yin.

    Xi Qi was lost. ¡°Familiar? Who?¡±

    ¡°How can Lord Fish remember the code names that you two-legged beasts use? Just find him!¡± the fish shouted.

    Xi Qi acknowledged his orders, and she then charged towards Lu Yin.

    Near them, <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man, Serpent Queen, and Tong Mi¡¯er had surrounded a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. Deng Pu had long since disappeared, and Cai Jianqiang had left the the moment he had been eliminated during the third stage of thepetition.

    In the distance, a group of cultivators appeared inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, and a battle erupted as soon as they set foot inside.

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had the protection of the sourcebox array, which meant that its star energy was fixed and that these cultivators had to seize any star energy they wanted to use in battle. Any cultivators that entered the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight would immediately be thrown into a disadvantage as they would not be able to ovee a Lockbreaker in terms of seizing star energy. However, these cultivators did not rely on battle techniques or arts; instead, they took out firearms and relied upon physical strength. They fought like maniacs, and they were from Aegis.

    To a mercenary organization like Aegis, there were too many ces in the universe where star energy could not be used, and so, they had long since made preparations for such situations. They did notck for freaks who cultivated their physical bodies or specialized in firearms.

    ¡°Call for more Lockbreakers to defend the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight!¡± called out a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker who was guarding the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. He was President Geoffrey¡¯s trusted aide, and he had not left the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight at all during this period, as he had been specially tasked to protect this ce. At this time, his hands were stained with the fresh blood of dozens of people, but more Aegis mercenaries were charging over by the second. Of course, the Lockbreakers were unaware that these people were from Aegis.

    Aside from Aegis, there were naturally also attackers from the Wei family, some from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, as well as an individual from Suna Weave¡¯s Shadowsword Sect.

    The Shadowsword Sect was a sword sect that was equally as famous as the Moke Sword Sect in Suna Weave. The sect¡¯s sword techniques were strange and unpredictable, and the members of the sect seemed eerily reminiscent of ghost-like shadows. They were very difficult to fight against, especially since many of the sect¡¯s sword techniques did not require star energy. The sect was known even in the surrounding weaves.

    This time, the Shadowsword Sect was cooperating with the Wei family and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and they had plotted together to seize the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s treasury with relics umted over countless years.

    That Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker ced five fingers together, and his star energy suddenly formed a gale that tore through the air and shredded dozens of mercenaries in front of him, sending a gruesome spray of blood sttering across the ground.

    Above the battle, a cultivator descended. A shadow spun out of his palm, but it was repelled by the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. The attackers¡¯ star energy had already been weakened, and all of their battle techniques were proving ineffective against this Lockbreaker. ¡°Who are you people? Aren¡¯t you afraid of death? How dare you act against the Lockbreaker Society?!¡±

    Nobody answered the man. Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated from each other, regardless of if it was the Lockbreaker Society or the Outerverse Youth Council, neither one of them had any support. Approximately two years had passed since then, and now, all of their former prestige had disappeared only to be reced by the image of a giant cash cow in the eyes of countless Outerverse powers.

    Not too far away from the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Previously enormous organizations will be felled by time. What a magnificent sight. Miss Angie, did you ever think that you would one day see Sourcepeak crumble from this close a vantage?¡±

    Angie¡¯s face was solemn, as this was the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters, and in the past, none of them would have dared to offend even a single Lockbreaker out of fear of retaliation. Now, they were brazenly attacking the society¡¯s headquarters, which was something that had been unimaginable just two years prior, but they were actually doing it today.

    ¡°Nobody expected that the grand Lockbreaker Society would face such an imminent copse,¡± Angie said.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°This is just the beginning.¡±

    Angie was lost. ¡°The beginning?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips rose. ¡°Have you ever thought about how many of the Outerverse¡¯s enormous organizations rely on their rtionships with the Innerverse and Neoverse powers to act tyrannically? They have umted too many resources and hold too many secrets. These organizations have be colossal creatures that the Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves don¡¯t dare to offend, but we have crushed the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters today. Do you think that everyone will still be apprehensive of the remaining organizations after this?¡±

    Angie¡¯s face changed. ¡°So this was your objective all along.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Shamrock Enterprise, Mavis Bank, the Outerverse Youth Council, and Aurora Enterprises. All of these mammoths have exploited the Outerverse for countless years, and their tentacles extend into every corner of the Outerverse. Even children who were only recently born will know of them, and now, we want to break them down and take their resources to strengthen ourselves. In the future, the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse will recover, but by then, the Outerverse will no longer need to fear the Innerverse powers. Instead, we will stand on equal footing with them.¡±

    Angie stared at Wei Rong in shock. The extent of a person¡¯s ambition showed the potential of their future. At this time, Angie was able to acutely feel Wei Rong¡¯s boundless ambition, and ripples fluctuated through her heart as the way she looked at Wei Rong changed.

    Wei Rong smiled and looked over at Angie. He reached out to cup her chin. ¡°Tell me, if we can crush all of these organizations, how strong can we be? Do you think we can unify the Outerverse?¡±

 Chapter 696: An Eraâ€™s Pioneer

    <h4>Chapter 696: An Era¡¯s Pioneer</h4>

    Angie¡¯s eyes grew misty, as she was gradually being attracted to Wei Rong. This man held an indescribable charisma, and the two gradually moved closer to each other.

    From behind Angie, Ah Mu barked, ¡°Let go of her,¡± ready to act at any time.

    Wei Rong¡¯s subordinates immediately stopped him.

    Angie recovered herself, and her face flushed red as she stared at Wei Rong with a rebuking expression. ¡°You¡¯ve gone overboard.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Miss Angie, has anyone chased after you before?¡±

    Angie pursed her lips, but then she nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the most romantic action one of those people ever did for you?¡± Wei Rong asked, his voice loud enough for many of the people around them to hear his words.

    Angie blushed as she stared at him. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Wei Rong pointed at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. ¡°The most romantic action I can think of is overthrowing the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society that has been oppressing us for countless years. Aside from me, who else can do that?¡±

    Angie blushed, and her eyes shifted back and forth before finally fixating on Wei Rong with adoration and admiration.

    This was the best era in history, but it was also the worst one. Only viins could seize such eras, and Wei Rong was one such person. This battle on Sourcepeak, and even looting the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s treasury was not his main objective. He wanted to start a new, nasty era, one in which the Outerverse counter-devoured the Innerverse.

    Within the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight , the two Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers had massacred many of the attackers, and all of the fresh blood had merged together into a scarlet stream that slowly flowed beneath their feet. Even so, the other areas inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were still bustling with battles, and the corpses of Lockbreakers asionally fell to the floor. This was a day of grieving for Lockbreakers.

    ¡°Whoever you are, wherever you hail from, you will pay the price for your evil deeds today!¡± the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker screamed. His voice had long since gone hoarse, and the muscles of his body twitched from the exertion of the intense battle, and his reflexes had also slowed.

    Ahead, an intense light flickered, and not even Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers in the Hunter realm could avoid it. Suddenly, the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker felt a chill run down his spine; someone hadunched an attack against him. He instinctively seized control of the star energy in the area and broke down his opponent¡¯s battle techniques. The process was smooth, but he still felt as if his abdomen had been covered in ice.

    Two swords slowly emerged as twin conjoined ck shadows appeared behind the Lockbreaker. The dark figure attacked without making any sounds, and it even approached him from an unknown direction, evading the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker¡¯s star energy perception. Shockingly, even with his lockbreaking tool, the Lockbreaker could not sense his attacker. This was a perfect ambush.

    The Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker looked behind himself in disbelief, and he felt the cold sword qi rampage through his body. His organs were severed, and his heart was shattered. In his death throes, his eyes flickered. ¡°I remember now¡ªyou¡¯re Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons.¡±

    With a whoosh, the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was sliced apart by the sword qi, and his blood rained down upon the floor.

    The Shadowsword Sect¡¯s Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons had been born with a conjoined body, and they had sessfully cultivated the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4737,"3":{"1":0},"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"daemon="" sh"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Daemon sh, which was something that nobody else had ever done. It was a multi-purpose technique, and it could be disyed with or without star energy without being affected.

    Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons was also a Hunter like the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and all of the troops sent there before had been sacrificed just to create an opportunity for this sword.

    If the Lockbreaker had just been a regr Hunter, then Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons would not have been forced to exert so much effort, even if the person was a peak Hunter. However, this Lockbreaker was different, as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was skilled enough to discover traces of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4737,"3":{"1":0},"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"daemon="" sh"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Daemon sh¡¯s movements.

    The only Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker defending the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had perished, and Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons then began a massacre, bathing the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight with blood.

    In the distance, beneath the altar, Xi Qi found Lu Yin, and the two looked at each other.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Qi looked at him. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Why did you even bother looking for me if you don¡¯t know who I am?¡±

    Xi Qi apologetically exined, ¡°The fish told me that you¡¯re someone familiar.¡±

    ¡°Hey, familiar two-legged beast. Do you want to be Lord Fish¡¯s mount? It¡¯ll be beneficial for you,¡± the fish said as it greeted Lu Yin.

    ¡°Bro, shall we move together to get through this danger?¡± Ku Wei also came looking for Lu Yin. There was probably a screw loose in this person¡¯s head.

    The fish became furious as soon as it saw Ku Wei. ¡°This two-legged beast! Get your ancestor to climb out from their grave and pay their respects to Lord Fish!¡±

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. ¡°You can go there yourself. I can send you, and I can add in some cumin at the same time.¡±

    ¡°How dare you! Two-legged beast, you¡¯re nothing but a mount!¡±

    ¡°Go and sit on a fish like yourself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re infuriating Lord Fish! Familiar two-legged beast, beat him up, and Lord Fish will teach you True Insight.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and signaled Aden with his eyes. He then walked to the side and activated his gadget, only to discover that the signal was being blocked. He immediately used the privilege he had been bestowed by his Honor Points to contact Wang Wen, as nobody would block a signal that had the Hall of Honor¡¯s mark on it. An important ce like Sourcepeak would definitely have some secret channels for the Hall of Honor to use.

    As expected, his call connected, and Wang Wen¡¯s voice came out. ¡°How are things going?¡±

    Lu Yin informed him of all the happenings, including Fiend Li holding back Saul, Mr. Jun¡¯s battle with Felynn, and the great battle in the distant <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    ¡°The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight? Is that what Wei Rong¡¯s aiming for?¡± Wang Wen felt that something was strange, as he could not instantly see through Wei Rong¡¯s plot, even with his intelligence.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society has umted countless treasures through the years, so this is a usible assumption.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. Youmoners can¡¯t understand how we smart people think. If Wei Rong was that superficial, then he would not be deserving of my attention,¡± Wang Wen replied.

    Lu Yin had recently realized that many of the people he knew spoke in rather annoying fashions, but there was nothing he could do about it.

    ¡°So what does this smart person think I should do now?¡± Lu Yin fell into a bad mood.

    Wang Wen paused to think, and then he asked, ¡°Have you heard of thew of timely advantage?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°The so-called ¡®timely advantage¡¯ is to, based on the current situation and your current identity, do what is most beneficial for yourself. Right now, there¡¯s only one thing that you can do: reveal your true identity and make use of your identity as the future leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, your connection with the Hall of Honor, and your identity as a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker to lead the Lockbreakers to protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, if only for the reputation that you¡¯ll gain.¡±

    ¡°Is there any purpose in this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°Regardless of whether or not there¡¯s any use in doing this, it¡¯s what you must do. Otherwise, you can simply keep your identity hidden and plunder some resources from the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. It¡¯s your decision.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, as he was now able to obtain resources at any time, but building his reputation was different. His vision was not restricted to just the Eastern Weaves. If he wished to advance beyond them, then it was inevitable that he would have to gain the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s support. He initially had not wanted to stick his neck out for Felynn because he did not want to offend the entire Lockbreaker Society, but on the other hand, if the Lockbreaker Society supported him, then he would gain immense benefits.

    He would not throw away his reputation for mere resources.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you updated on the situation, so don¡¯t disconnect,¡± Lu Yin said. Then, under Ku Wei and Xi Qi¡¯s gazes, his appearance changed as he leaped into the sky. A tremendous voice boomed across the entire Sourcepeak, saying, ¡°I am Lu Yin. All Lockbreakers, listen up! The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight is in danger. Everyone, please protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight with me and guard the foundation that the Lockbreaker Society has built up over countless years.

    ¡°I am Lu Yin. All Lockbreakers, listen up! The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight is in danger. Everyone, please protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight with me and guard the foundation that the Lockbreaker Society has built up over countless years.

    ¡°I am Lu Yin. All Lockbreakers, listen up! The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight is in danger. Everyone, please protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight with me and guard the foundation that the Lockbreaker Society has built up over countless years.¡±

    ¡­

    The voice reverberated across Sourcepeak, and it caused a great deal of astonishment.

    Felynn¡¯s face grew ugly, as Lu Yin had finally acted at this moment, but of all things to do, he was acting against her people. She found Lu Yin to be extremely detestable.

    Mr. Jun¡¯s face changed. Lu Yin had actuallye, but when had he arrived?

    In the distance, Wei Rong¡¯s brows furrowed. Lu Yin? That was troubling. This person was someone who stood against him. Fortunately, the moment Wei Rong had learned that Lu Yin was on Sourcepeak, he had already made certain preparations. Wei Rong was not like Felynn who did things without thinking, and he knew that this Lu Yin was no ordinary person.

    Angie¡¯s brows also furrowed. She had a small understanding of Lu Yin, as he had recklessly driven the Daynight n out of the Trial Zones when he was still in the Astral Combat Academy and emerged from his actions unscathed. He was a very smart person who was also unruly, and the fact that he dared to act at this time showed his level of confidence. Unconsciously, Angie looked over at Wei Rong for support, and upon seeing his confident expression, her emotions stabilized. As long as Wei Rong was around, Lu Yin would not be able to do too much.

    Behind Angie, Ah Mu¡¯s expression becameplex, as Seventh Bro had still acted in the end.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Brother Lu¡ªthat¡¯s great!¡± Xi Qi was delighted to see Lu Yin.

    The fish looked at her condescendingly. ¡°You only know how to count on others. For a mount, you¡¯re pretty unreliable.¡±

    Ku Wei looked at Lu Yin in shock, as this person was actually the Royal Regent of Frostwave Weave¡¯s Great Yu Empire. Ku Wei had roamed Frostwave Weave with a low profile for some time as he had been under orders to verify that the Yushan bloodline was not part of the Yu family, and so, he had seen Lu Yin before. But before the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, a n elder had told him that the Yushan bloodline was not the Yu family. Thus, he had left Frostwave Weave to roam about the universe.

    But this person had clearly just used the Yu Secret Art.

    Could the elder¡¯s report have been wrong, or was there another reason behind this? The Yushan bloodline had to be from the Yu family.

    Regardless of whether Lu Yin¡¯s luck was good or not, after he spoke, Fiend Li¡¯s voice echoed through the sky as well, telling the Lockbreakers to protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    With just Lu Yin¡¯s reputation alone, he would, at best, only be able to recruit a few Lockbreakers to support him, and he had not expected to gather too many. After all, this was just a ploy to gain some fame. However, Fiend Li¡¯s words caused many Lockbreakers to imperceptibly view Lu Yin as a spokesperson for the society¡¯s upper echelon. Immediately, a group of Lockbreakers converged upon the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, including some who were at the same level as <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man and Serpent Queen. All of these Lockbreakers headed towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight after eliminating their current opponents.

    Lu Yin also flew towards the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, and Ku Wei and Xi Qi closely followed behind him.

    It was a fair distance from the altar to the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, but it was covered in the blink of an eye by Lu Yin and the others.

    The battle inside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was very intense, and there were all sorts of severed limbs haphazardly scattered about the floor. When Lu Yin led the Lockbreakers in, they were faced with a bombardment of powerful beams from countless firearms.

    In the sky above Sourcepeak, Fiend Li and Saul¡¯s battle had reached its final juncture. Fiend Li had finally reached the point where he could not hold out anymore, especially since he had distracted himself by ordering the Lockbreakers to protect the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, which had led to him suffering a sneak attack from Saul. There were traces of blood on Fiend Li¡¯s mouth, and his movements had be more sluggishpared to earlier. Saul had been more powerful to begin with, and as such, Fiend Li was eventually defeated by Saul.

    Saul pressed down with a single hand, causing the star energy in the entire Sourcepeak to visibly converge and form a whirlpool that engulfed the and swept across the altar. Saul¡¯s star energy control was onplete disy here, as the Lockbreakers on his side werepletely fine while the other Lockbreakers were swept away by the star energy with some even severely injured. Felynn suffered the heaviest injuries, and she was almost crushed by the wave of star energy.

 Chapter 697: Daemon Slash

    <h4>Chapter 697: Daemon sh</h4>

    ¡°Who dares to oppose me? I¡¯m the Society¡¯s vice president¡ªdo you guys want to rebel?¡± Saul shouted, his voice resounding throughout Sourcepeak and causing many people to be rmed.

    In the distance, Wei Rong eximed, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s the vice president. His power is enough to rival or even surpass an average Enlighter.¡±

    Angie replied, ¡°Lockbreakers have always had the ability to surpass their cultivation peers, and it can just be thought of as them having superior talent.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°So what? The brainless ones are still brainless.¡±

    Outside of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Aden raised his thunder shield and bore the brunt of the firearm attacks from the area in front of them. This allowed Lockbreakers like <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man to seize this opportunity and charge into the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    Lu Yin turned around to look back at the altar. Fiend Li had actually been defeated quickly, and Saul¡¯s rune lines had increased once again. If that was the case, then Wei Rong¡¯s true trump cards should appear soon.

    Above the, an elder tore through the void, stopping right in front of Sourcepeak before stepping out. His body appeared directly above the altar on Sourcepeak, about a thousand meters away from Saul.

    Saul stared gloomily at the elder, as he knew that this matter was not as simple as he had initially thought. Everybody knew that Fiend Li was not his match, and he had guessed that other experts would appearter, but he had never expected that this person would appear. Lord Egret was an Enlighter whose power level was over 250,000, and he was also an elite Enlighter.

    ¡°Vice President Saul, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Lord Egret sighed as he looked at Saul.

    Saul¡¯s gaze became icy. ¡°Lord Egret, you dare to plot against my Lockbreaker Society?¡±

    Lord Egret smiled. ¡°If the Innerverse and Outerverse were not separated, then I wouldn¡¯t dare. But given the current circumstances, why not give it a try?¡±

    ¡°What price have those people offered for you to act? I can pay double,¡± Saul coldly told the Enlighter.

    Lord Egret shook his head. ¡°At our realm, we won¡¯t be moved by normal prices, so there¡¯s no need to waste your efforts.¡±

    ¡°Since that¡¯s so, then the Outerverse will lose an Enlighter today,¡± Saul said before one of his hands shot out towards Lord Egret. The Enlighter¡¯s eyes shed, as he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He had long since wanted to duel against Saul in order to prove that the concept of a so-called ¡°Realmbreaker Lockbreaker¡± was just a joke, and his opportunity had finally arrived.

    Lord Egret attacked. An Enlighter¡¯s might was not something that couldpare to that of an ordinary cultivator, as any simple movement of his could cause the skies to flip over.

    Just a single attack was enough to show Saul how terrifyingly powerful Lord Egret was, but the Enlighter was also able to sense some danger from Saul. More importantly, all of Sourcepeak started to fracture apart.

    Although Saul had schemed against many Lockbreakers, it had all been with the goal of bing the society¡¯s president, and he had never hoped to destroy Sourcepeak. He was actually quite attached to this. For him, Sourcepeak could not be destroyed, or else the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society would lose all of its prestige.

    Saul thought for a moment and then sped up into space. Lord Egret smiled, as the location did not matter to him. He simply wanted to fight.

    Saul and Lord Egret¡¯s battle had caused the battlefield to escte wildly. As soon as an Enlighter joined any fray, it had ceased to be an ordinary battle. Many people would not even have the chance to witness an Enlighter¡¯s battle throughout their entire lives.

    Only a minority like Lu Yin would not find such a thing strange, as there had been too many battles between Enlighters during the defense of Ironblood Weave.

    No matter how world-shaking Saul¡¯s battle with Lord Egret may be, it would not affect Sourcepeak as they had moved quite some distance away.

    There was another rumble, and huge cracks began to appear on the floor of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    Xi Qi¡¯s expression warped. "Brother Lu, these people are destroying the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight!¡±

    Lu Yin ferociously charged forward as his forcefield took on the form of the Towering Tree, its countless branches shooting out to wrap around the many mercenaries. Quite a few cultivators suddenly appeared from all directions, and the most familiar ones to Lu Yin were those from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, as they were able to absorb the strength of nearby nts. There was also another group that was quite sneaky. They almost looked like demons, and it was quite difficult to discern their physical form.

    ¡°I never thought that the Shadowsword Sect would also join in.¡± Ku Wei leaped away from where he was standing and raised a finger to point towards an area that was void of people. There was evidently nothing but air, but fresh blood dripped down from his fingertip. The blood did not belong to him, as it was actually from a sword-wielding cultivator.

    Xi Qi was at a loss. ¡°Shadowsword Sect?¡±

    Ku Wei smiled. ¡°They¡¯re a very famous sword sect from Suna Weave. They¡¯re just as famous as the Moke Sword Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as yet another power had appeared. How many powers had Wei Rong actually joined with?

    Suddenly, his pupils shrank, as he saw a terrifying amount of rune lines appear in the sky. This amount was not less than Aden¡¯s, which meant that this new arrival was a peak realm Hunter.

    Lu Yin wanted to call for Aden, but Aden was currently the vanguard covering for everyone, and even worse, the owner of these rune lines was already nearing Lu Yin.

    He didn¡¯t dare be careless, but just as he was about to don his universal armor, he ultimately decided against it. Lu Yin would dodge if he faced a dangerous attack, as he could not rely on the universal armor to protect him for the rest of his life.

    "Brother Lu, let¡¯s head in,¡± Xi Qi spoke.

    Lu Yin did not reply, and the fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head continuously pped its tail. ¡°Mount, hurry up and enter. Quickly! Just ignore him.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Xi Qi was perplexed.

    She turned to look at Ku Wei, but he had already vanished.

    This fellow¡¯s sensitivity towards danger was not one bit inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s. Although Ku Wei might not be able to see rune lines, he definitely had his own methods, and he had even cast a sympathetic nce at Lu Yin before leaving.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned solemn as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. ¡°Xi Qi, you head in first. Hurry!¡±

    Xi Qi acknowledged his words and headed into the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. Before she took more than a few steps in, the rune lines suddenly changed directions to charge towards her, prompting the fish to shout, ¡°Hurry! There¡¯s danger!¡±

    Xi Qi¡¯s face went white, and she felt as if her entire body had been dunked in an ice bath, her body so cold and numb that she could not even move. It was as if she had been wrapped up by an invisible formless danger and thrown into an inescapable pit of death.

    A longsword extended out from the void in front of Xi Qi, aimed straight at her forehead.

    The fish¡¯s entire body went erect, and nobody knew what it intended to do.

    At that moment, Lu Yin grabbed Xi Qi and flung her far away as the sword streaked past his cheek. He used the Secret Sidestep Technique to avoid the tip, and then he raised a finger and his eyes ckened: Dream Finger.

    The void congealed as the Dream Finger transcended space to strike an empty spot. In that ce, a shadow suddenly appeared, or at least it was something that Lu Yin assumed was a single shadow. Strangely, a second shadow appeared at almost the same time, and the two shadows merged before appearing simultaneously. There were also two longswords, and they were both pointed at Lu Yin. This person¡¯s primary target was in fact Lu Yin.

    Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons was one of Wei Rong¡¯s backup pieces, as the Shadowsword Sect was worthy of its name as a sect with top-notch experts; it had people who could aplish feats that not even Enlighters could. The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4737,"3":{"1":0},"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"daemon="" sh"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Daemon sh was a multifaceted battle technique, and while the Dream Finger could deflect one of the swords, the other would definitely take Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    Ever since Wei Rong had found out that Lu Yin was headed towards Sourcepeak, he had studied Lu Yin. From his understanding of Lu Yin, it was uncertain whether or not Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons would be able to kill Lu Yin since the young cultivator possessed powerful external items that allowed him to fight against Enlighters. But regardless of the ultimate winner, Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons would definitely at least be able to stall Lu Yin. However, who could have known that Lu Yin would purposefully choose not to rely on his items, which had prompted Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons into trying to kill this person right now.

    However, both Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons and Wei Rong had underestimated Lu Yin. They knew that Lu Yin had a secret technique that could divert attacks as well as powerful defensive items to help him withstand attacks, but they did not know about the existence of an attack like the Dream Finger. Lu Yin was not relying on any external objects, which had baited Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons into carelessness and to mistake the finger as Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique. Also, the twins had no way to dodge the finger, so they had made the decision to endure it and trade attacks since they were confident that their second sword would kill Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin then activated his Yu Secret Art, diverting Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons¡¯ second sword the moment his Dream Finger struck, causing the sword to merely brush past Lu Yin.

    The Dream Finger forced Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons to retreat, and half of their body turned numb, and they even began to split apart as blood stained their clothing.

    The twins spat out mouthfuls of blood and then vanished by escaping into the void. They had been severely injured, as this finger had been much more terrifying than what they could have ever imagined, as it contained an inexplicable might and an iprehensible destructive power.

    Nearby, Xi Qi watched the Hunter flee, dumbfounded.

    Some distance away, Ku Wei frowned; that had been an extremely terrifying attack. This fellow¡¯s strength was scary, and it looked like it would be quite difficult if he wanted to seize the Yu Secret Art.

    Rejoicing, Lu Yin exhaled and surveyed his surroundings. The Dream Finger was his trump card, and he had not wanted to reveal it just yet, as it would cause him to be targeted, just like when he still had the gun. The news would make it difficult for him to defeat powerhouses in future. However, he felt like an idiot when he realized that quite a few people had just witnessed his Dream Finger, including Xi Qi and Ku Wei. He also felt a little helpless, as he could not always silence everybody who witnessed his fights.

    Although Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons had only been severely injured by his Dream Finger, the twins¡¯ rune lines had not decreased by much, and the Hunter was still lingering in the area.

    They had thought that, by turning themselves into a demon, nobody would be able to see them. However, Lu Yin knew the twins¡¯ position¡ªit was just that he could not strike at them.

    Just like back in Ironblood Weave, those Enlighter realm beasts had been able to preserve their lives by escaping into the void. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s gun had been able to kill Enlighter realm beasts, it had been useless when it could not hit them.

    At that moment, a Lockbreaker ran out from the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight and shouted in a daze, ¡°The treasury¡¯s been looted! The Society¡¯s treasures that have been protected for countless years are gone!¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Xi Qi shouted.

    That Lockbreaker stood there, frozen in ce, as a powerful beam pierced through his body. From behind him, dozens of mercenaries charged out of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight together.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as he had still arrived toote. These people had made prior arrangements, and they had definitely been nning to loot the society¡¯s collection from the very beginning. The only n that Lu Yin coulde up with was to seal off the entire <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, but that was not very realistic. There were annoying enemies in front of him as well as Enlighters above the. No matter what, the opponents would be able to safely retreat.

    With a loud crack, a corner of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight began to crumble.

    From a distance, numerous people watched on as the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight trembled and started to copse. Wei Rong ced his right hand around Angie¡¯s waist. ¡°Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡±

    Angie could feel Wei Rong¡¯s masculine aura, and her heart warmed as she nodded. ¡°Yes, it is.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°There will be many more such beautiful scenes in the future. You will never feel lonely for your entire life.¡±

    Angie¡¯s gaze became splendid, and she nced at Wei Rong as she quietly acknowledged hisment.

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips quirked up. Angie was the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress, and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was very important for his ns since they had unified all of Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    Behind them, Ah Mu¡¯s expression turnedplicated. Seventh Bro had already entered the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight to reinforce it, but this oue had still urred. Everything was being controlled by the man in front of Ah Mu, and they all could only surrender to their fate of being manipted by this person. His intelligence was truly fearsome.

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight started copsing even faster, despite the many Lockbreakers fighting to preserve it. In spite of their efforts, itpletely copsed under countless grieving eyes, and the four great trees that had held up the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society for countless years crumpled to the ground.

 Chapter 698: Era Of Great Changes

    <h4>Chapter 698: Era Of Great Changes</h4>

    Outside the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, countless people across Sourcepeak watched as it copsed, all of them with sorrowful expressions.

    The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was Sourcepeak¡¯s holynd, and it also formed the core of their beliefs. It had allowed Sourcepeak to be famous throughout the universe, and the Lockbreaker Society had also relied upon it. The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight represented the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, but now, it hadpletely disappeared.

    The copse of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight signified the end of an era; the end of these enormous organizations monopolizing the universe¡¯s power. What would follow was a cleansing of the Outerverse, which was Wei Rong¡¯s true goal. Only by obliterating the original structure would they be able to build a new one upon its ashes.

    The people all watched on as the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight waspletely reduced to nothing more than ruins that crumpled into the mountain range below.

    Wei Rong smiled brightly. ¡°This is the first, but not thest to fall. Let¡¯s go.¡± He then leaped up towards outer space.

    The others followed Wei Rong away from the.

    With the copse of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, many Lockbreakers went crazy. They were also afraid of being implicated in this matter. Due to the people behind the scenes, they would face injustice and death if they ended up being affected by this event.

    As the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight¡¯s ruins crashed down into the mountain range below, Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons decided to seize this opportunity to sneak attack Lu Yin and the others once again. They had learned their lesson; this time, the twins no longer used just two swords, but rather four. Lu Yin might have a way to block one sword and divert another, but he could not possibly block four swords. After all, he was just an Explorer, and such an absolute difference in strength could not be ovee.

    Lu Yin had not nned on letting the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight be destroyed, but he felt a surge of liberation as he witnessed its copse. He then raised a hand, and a pike appeared in it that released a spiritual force attack that wantonly swept out in all directions. The various people who had not reacted to the copse of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight yet hurriedly tried to retreat, and the independent cultivators were instantly knocked unconscious by the spiritual force.

    The Lockbreakers were still alright, as their spiritual force was stronger than the average cultivator¡¯s.

    The worst off were the mercenaries, who had tough physical bodies to deal with environments where star energy was sparse, which meant that their resistance towards spiritual force attacks was practically zero.

    When the pike was pulled out, the mercenaries were finished.

    Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons were also overwhelmed, and they backed away as fast as they could. Their resistance to spiritual force was also very poor, and it might not be much stronger than the mercenaries¡¯ as they were conjoined twins that shared one heart. This was equivalent to one person¡¯s spiritual force resistance being spread out between two individuals. Even as a Hunter, their resistance to spiritual force was only about equivalent to a Cruiser¡¯s.

    Lu Yin held the pike tightly as his majestic aura spread out, apanied by the unrestrained pressure of the pike¡¯s spiritual force. Everyone who saw this felt a sense of awe.

    With a whoosh, the pike stabbed straight towards Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons.

    Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons was shocked; they had hidden themselves within the void, so how had Lu Yin found them?

    Spiritual force swept through the void, and Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons dodged aside once again.

    Lu Yin had discovered that this person seemed to be very afraid of spiritual force attacks, so he thrust the pike forward once again. This time, he did not target Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons, but rather a cultivator from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. As the pike neared them, the cultivator couldn¡¯t even react as her body was pierced through. Her cosmic ring vanished from her finger along with a drop of fresh blood, both falling into Lu Yin¡¯s hands. The next moment, Lu Yin changed targets; all of the cultivators and mercenaries who had invaded the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight died one after another while Lu Yin kept collecting their blood and cosmic rings.

    He did not know who had taken what from the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s treasury or whether the attackers had already transported it out. He did not need to know, as he just had to kill all of them.

    Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons no longer dared to approach Lu Yin any longer, and the rest of the mercenaries were even less of a match for Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong quickly learned of the circumstances in the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight¡¯s ruins as he had already returned to one of Endless Borders¡¯ vessels. He looked at a screen with an unsightly expression.

    Angie frowned as well, and she closely watched a screen as Lu Yin massacred everyone who came near him. Since theirst meeting, this person had be even more terrifying.

    When they had both been in the Astral Combat Academy, Lu Yin had just broken through to the Limiteer realm, and he had relied on just that strength to actwlessly. No, even when he had been just a Melder, he had dared to provoke an Area Master. Afterwards, he suppressed the Daynight n and offended many of the Innerverse¡¯s powers that belonged to the eight great Flowzones.

    Lu Yin had even be more famous after leaving the Astral Combat Academy with his results at the Sea King¡¯s Son Selection within the Starfall Sea. He had defeated Mu Rong, Ling Que, and had then be the indisputable top Limiteer in the universe.

    During the battles on Pyrolyte, he had relied almost entirely on himself to seize control of the greatest pyrolyte mine. After the Innerverse and Outerverse had been cut off from each other, Lu Yin had flown to yet greater heights, killing Enlighters while being no more than a Limiteer and shocking the universe.

    Due to the changes that hade with the Outerverse being isted from the Innerverse, the central weaves had found it difficult to get news of the Eastern Weaves, but Angie had never stopped looking for news rted to Lu Yin, as this person gave her a feeling that he was practically the son of heaven.

    And now, Lu Yin had be even more terrifying. Without relying on any external items, he had actually blocked Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons¡¯ assault and even counterattacked. He was just an Explorer, so how had he been able to do it?

    If Wei Rong gave Angie the impression that his intelligence was inhuman, then Lu Yin¡¯s battle power gave her the same impression.

    ¡°Our objective has been achieved. Everyone, withdraw. Do not bother with Lu Yin,¡± Wei Rong ordered. He had realized that Lu Yin could be a serious annoyance as he watched more and more of Lu Yin¡¯s trump cards be revealed. Wei Rong dared to guarantee that Lu Yin still had other hidden abilities, as he was an Explorer who dared to step foot on a battlefield with Enlighters. At this time, Lu Yin had not put on his universal armor, nor had he taken out any of his other external objects. It would simply be asking for trouble to tangle with such a person.

    Angie sighed, as even Wei Rong did not dare to provoke Lu Yin. This person truly stood at the peak.

    Ah Mu stared at the screen showing Lu Yin and slightly rxed. Seventh Bro was indeed worthy of being Seventh Bro, and he was still amazingly powerful. Wei Rong had been able to force even Saul into a difficult position, but he could not deal with Seventh Bro.

    After hearing Wei Rong¡¯s orders, Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons were the first to retreat, and the others quickly dispersed and withdrew as well.

    There were too many cultivators who had invaded the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, as there were thousands of them. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s pike and the assistance of the other Lockbreakers, he was not able to block everyone¡¯s retreat. They were only able to keep a portion of the attackers from escaping.

    Lu Yin noticed Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons¡¯ rune lines moving away, but he did not give chase as doing so would be pointless.

    The space around the constantly trembled as star energy abnormally converged in a certain region. It was Saul and Lord Egret¡¯s battlefield.

    Fiend Li had been severely injured by Saul and had crashed down onto the as a result of his injuries. He had only awakened when the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight started copsing, but it was already toote. He stared into the distance at where the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had once stood, and he grieved.

    Over the course of so many years, ever since the Lockbreaker Society had first been established, it had never suffered such an intense shame. Now, the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had been destroyed, and its treasury was empty. The impact that this would have on the remaining Lockbreakers would be considerable.

    ¡°I have let Geoffrey down, as well as all Lockbreakers,¡± Fiend Li sighed as he looked up.

    Beneath the altar, Mr. Jun tried to escape, and Felynn clenched her fists in anger. The Wei family, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, the Shadowsword Sect, Aegis, and Endless Borders¡ªall of these people had betrayed her. She had wanted to seize the president¡¯s seat, not destroy the Society. What had they done?

    She clearly knew that everything had been done by them, but she could not expose them. The sullenness and indignation currently raging within her heart could not be exined.

    No, there could not be any greater losses. True Insight¡ªas long as they still had True Insight, the heart of the Lockbreaker Society would not be lost. As for the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, she could simply rebuild it after bing the president. The roots of those four trees had not been damaged, and the sourcebox array still stood strong. Those were the most important things.

    Felynn began to search for Deng Pu, but Deng Pu had long since vanished. Lu Yin had also searched for him when Saul and Fiend Li¡¯s fight had first started, but he had not been able to find him either.

    Fiend Li leaped up and away from the, as those murderers who had destroyed the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were still nearby. He could not ept this oue. The <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight might have already been destroyed, and there was nothing he could do about it now, but the items from the treasury had to be reimed.

    In outer space, within an Endless Borders¡¯ spacecraft, the news of Fiend Li chasing after them was received, though Wei Rong just simply smiled. ¡°As expected, that old fart is looking to die.¡±

    Fiend Li raised a hand and swatted at the vessel, but at that moment, the void suddenly fluctuated as Twin <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''Arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Daemons appeared. They used their sword technique that could cross realms and rival Enlighters to leave several sword scars on Fiend Li¡¯s body. After receiving a vicious blow, Fiend Li copsed back onto the surface of Sourcepeak.

    ¡°These old bastards still think that it¡¯s their era. They don¡¯t even know that the times have changed.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Angiemented, ¡°It changed when the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°Wrong.¡± Wei Rong gave Angie a serious look. ¡°It changed when the Ten Arbiters were born. From that moment on, the universe has moved in the direction of the younger generation.¡±

    Angie did not understand what he meant.

    Wei Rong turned back to look at the screen, and Lu Yin¡¯s figure suddenly reappeared as the scene shifted. ¡°The Ten Arbiters are the result of this era¡¯s great changes, as are Lu Yin and I myself. I don¡¯t know who will ultimately stand as the trailzer of this era, but I will work hard to pave the way for the newer generation to steer through these troublesome times. It just depends on if these people are willing to hop onto my ship.¡±

    Angie heard Wei Rong muttering to himself, but she could not understand a single bit of what he was saying.

    However, Ah Mu, who was standing behind her, fell deep into thought.

    ¡°Tell Lord Egret not to y around with Saul any longer. Let Saul¡¯s fate be decided by the Lockbreaker Society. It¡¯ll give them some trouble and prevent them from looking for us,¡± Wei Rong ordered.

    On Sourcepeak, beside the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Lu Yin stopped,pletely exhausted. There were Lockbreakers surrounding him, and Aden approached Lu Yin to say, ¡°The enemies have been taken care of.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but then he suddenly thought of something. ¡°Did you grab their cosmic rings?¡±

    Aden was stumped. ¡°Their cosmic rings?¡±

    ¡°Of course. These people stole the treasures that were umted by the Society through countless years, which means that there must be untold treasures in their cosmic rings! Of course we must take them back,¡± Lu Yin stated matter-of-factly.

    ¡°Take them? And then what? Hand them over to the Society?¡± Aden asked in a gruff voice.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fellow has be stupid from his time in prison. His brain no longer works as fast,¡± the Ghost Monkey ridiculed.

    Lu Yin did not bother answering Aden, as it would not be too suitable for the Hunter to do such things. However, there were so many cosmic ringsying about, as well as so many eyes watching. Lu Yin could not brazenly take anything, which was such a pity.

    The sky trembled, and Lu Yin looked up. He saw the boundless rune lines that represented the Enlighter move away, leaving Saul¡¯s rune lines as the only ones above the. The battle was ending.

    Nobody had expected that the magnificent Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, a colossal giant of the universe, would actually be the victim of a plot by a few Outerverse weaves and corporations, not to mention how the event had unfolded. Wei Rong¡¯s methods had been simple yet clean, and he had taken advantage of many people within the society. So many had ultimately be his pawns, including even Fiend Li and Felynn. But what was this youth¡¯s final objective?

    ¡°With Wei Rong¡¯s personality, he would not offend the Lockbreaker Society this badly just for some treasures. That¡¯s not his style.¡± Wang Wen also felt that things were strange. He was extraordinarily intelligent, but even he could not see through Wei Rong¡¯s motives. The two young men were simr creatures, and they both had methods to bury their schemes extremely deeply.

    No matter what Wei Rong¡¯s objectives were, Sourcepeak was currently a disaster.

    Saul returned to Sourcepeak, and he quickly noticed that the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight was in ruins, as well as countless indignant looks that were directed towards him.

 Chapter 699: Wei Rongâ€™s Name

    <h4>Chapter 699: Wei Rong¡¯s Name</h4>

    Fiend Li had not died yet, but his injuries were quite severe, and several Lockbreakers helped him as he sat down in his bloodstained clothes. He then stood up and stared towards the sky before directing a rather nk look at Saul. ¡°Is this what you wanted?¡±

    Saul¡¯s gaze twisted as he looked at Fiend Li. He finally answered in a low voice, ¡°This is not my fault.¡±

    Felynn denounced him furiously, saying, ¡°Saul, if not for you ying tricks in the dark and preventing several Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers froming for thepetition, these thieves would not have gotten away! Because you fought against Senior Li, you allowed the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight to copse. Not only are you a sinner of Sourcepeak, but you are a sinner of the entire Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, a sinner!¡± one red-eyed Lockbreaker cursed, not caring about Saul¡¯s identity at all.

    ¡°Sinner!¡±

    ¡°Sinner!¡±

    ¡­

    Many echoed the sentiment.

    Sometimes, a person would need to take responsibility for an incident, and at other times, people simply needed to vent their emotions. At this moment, under Felynn¡¯s guidance, Saul had be the scapegoat for all of these people. Even if he was certain that Felynn was the one actually behind this unfortunate disaster, he had no way to defend himself.

    Lu Yin stared at Saul¡¯s lost expression. This old man had his own methods, and he may be adept in lockbreaking and cultivating, but he did not have the ability to take control of the present situation. He had been yed by this woman, and this so-called ¡°vice president¡± was finished.

    Saul¡¯s entire body trembled in the sky, and he gave Felynn a death re. ¡°I knew that it was you. I never thought that the one hidden the deepest would actually be you.¡±

    Felynn barked, ¡°Saul, stop trying to quibble! Everyone has already seen your actions. As the former vice president, you should actually assume responsibility instead of trying to push it away.¡±

    Saul¡¯s eyes narrowed and shed with killing intent as he scanned through the crowd below him. Many Lockbreakers stared at him in indignation, looking as though they wanted to devour him whole.

    Saul wanted to take action, but his entire being felt like a deted balloon. He merely closed his eyes and unleashed his domain to look for Deng Pu. He could not continue acting as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President any longer, but he still had a path forward with Deng Pu. If he could obtain the pages of True Insight andprehend them, then he might be able to rely on his powerful abilities to enter the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Innerverse or even the Neoverse headquarters in the future, where he would then start anew.

    However, he found that, strangely, Deng Pu had vanished.

    Many others were also searching for Deng Pu, as he held three pages of True Insight, which was a priceless treasure. However, Deng Pu had seemingly vanished the moment Saul had started moving against Felynn. Not even a trace of his shadow had been seen throughout the course of the entire battle.

    More and more criticisms entered Saul¡¯s ears, and he wished that he could butcher Felynn right now. However, if he really did such a thing, then he wouldpletely ruin his rtionship with the society, and it would also sever any possibility of him reentering the society in the future.

    Helpless, Saul could only leave, taking his grief, bewilderment, and a sharp killing intent with him.

    Fiend Li¡¯s expression wasplex, and he sighed as he looked at the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. It had only been a day, but the once overpowering Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters had beenpletely destroyed, to the extent where even the symbolic <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had been eradicated. He did not know what he should do at this moment.

    Felynn saw that Saul was departing, and delight shed through her eyes. If Saul left, then only Mr. Jun and Yi Feng would remain as people who could contest her for the position of president. Fiend Li was only an honorary vice president, so he did not qualify for the position.

    As for Mr. Jun, he was still by Saul¡¯s side and had already left. Meanwhile, Yi Feng¡ªHang on. Felynn suddenly thought of something. Where is Yi Feng?

    ¡°Senior, where has Yi Feng gone?¡± Felynn asked Fiend Li.

    Fiend Li¡¯s expression changed; that¡¯s right, where was Yi Feng? When Fiend Li had been fighting against Saul, he had sent Yi Feng to reinforce the defenses at the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. With Yi Feng¡¯s strength, he could not have been soundlessly eliminated even if he faced off against powerful opponents. But if that was the case, then where was he?

    At this moment, someone gasped in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s Executive Yi Feng. He sent me a message.¡±

    Quite a few people turned around to look, and even Fiend Li and Felynn nced over.

    ¡°Executive Yi Feng said that since Sourcepeak has been ruined and is no longer suitable for Lockbreakers to live, he has found a suitable for us in Armament Weave. There¡¯s a radiance on that originating from a single sourcebox, and he has asked all Lockbreakers to head over there and check it out for themselves,¡± shared the Lockbreaker who had received Yi Feng¡¯s notification. He was a two star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker himself.

    Beep beep beep!

    Soon after that, others received the same message one after another. The contents of each message were identical, with Yi Feng asking Lockbreakers to head to Armament Weave to investigate this with a sourcebox.

    Fiend Li and Felynn exchanged nces, and they each saw the puzzlement in the other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Executive Yi Feng just sent another message. As long as one is a Lockbreaker and settles down on that, they¡¯ll receive Armament Weave¡¯s full support! At the same time, he has selflessly offered to share his many years of lockbreaking experience and will allow Lockbreakers to learn from him. He¡¯s willing to forsake the previously conservative views!¡± one Lockbreaker said excitedly.

    The various Lockbreakers hurriedly converged in groups to discuss this matter, though they did not actually care much about any kind of support. Ever since they had became Lockbreakers, their needs had been well-provided for, and they had practically no want for money. However, Executive Yi Feng¡¯s many years of lockbreaking experience was invaluable, and it created an allure that these Lockbreakers could not resist.

    More and more Lockbreakers received the messages, and they were soon back in high spirits. After all, not that many Lockbreakers had been born on Sourcepeak itself, and most of them were not from Sourcepeak or even Sourcepeak Weave. These people came from both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and to most of them, it made no difference where they settled down. Only a portion of the Lockbreakers were steadfast in their view that Sourcepeak was the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters and that abandoning Sourcepeak would be akin to renouncing the society.

    In a short period of time, the two sides started to debate, and the arguments quickly grew intense.

    Fiend Li quickly tried to contact Yi Feng, as he wanted to question what the man was doing, but Yi Feng did not answer the call.

    Felynn also tried to contact Yi Feng, but to no avail either.

    They had a bad feeling about these messages.

    In outer space, on a certain spacecraft, Wei Rong stood beside the transparent metal window and stared out at the passings. The dark heavens were very beautiful, just like the future. Some futures were bright, but few could forcefully seize such a thing. He saw the brightest star as one representing himself, and he was working hard to seize it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done what you have told me to,¡± an indifferent voice said from behind Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled up, and he slowly turned around and replied with a smile, ¡°The Wei family wees you back, Executive Yi Feng.¡±

    The person who had appeared behind Wei Rong was shockingly Yi Feng, who had mysteriously vanished after Fiend Li had sent him to guard the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight.

    When he saw Wei Rong¡¯s smile, Yi Feng¡¯s face became emotionless. ¡°Your smile is just as detestable as his.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Are you referring to my granduncle or to your foster father?¡±

    Yi Feng¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°He¡¯s already dead, but you received his second-hand inheritance, and you even dare to deal with the Lockbreaker Society. Back then, he only allowed me to enter the society to help the Wei family attract some Lockbreakers. You¡¯re more savage and outstanding than he ever was.¡±

    Wei Rong beamed. ¡°The times have changed, Executive Yi Feng. No, Uncle Wei Yi.¡±

    Yi Feng frowned. ¡°Call me Yi Feng. I stopped using that name long ago.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re still listed in the Wei family¡¯s records,¡± Wei Rong countered.

    Yi Feng¡¯s body trembled, and his expression turned a bit softer. ¡°Do you know what you are doing? You¡¯re ying with fire, and there¡¯s a high chance that you will burn yourself, and possibly even the entire Wei family.¡±

    Wei Rong shrugged. ¡°If we¡¯re ying, then we must do it to our hearts¡¯ content. Still, I never thought that you would actually agree to work with me. It looks like Granduncle had a tremendous influence on you.¡±

    A touch of reminiscence appeared on Yi Feng¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t mention him to me again.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about some proper business. How many Lockbreakers do you think wille to Armament Weave?¡± Wei Rong asked.

    Yi Feng casually replied, ¡°Many. My lockbreaking experience is priceless. To be able to learn from me free-of-charge is a dreame true for almost every Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great. It wouldn¡¯t have been worth it for me to scheme against Sourcepeak this much if I only managed to get ahold of some treasures.¡±

    Yi Feng looked at the younger man. ¡°What price did you pay to form this alliance that Umbral Butterfly Weave, Suna Weave, Endless Borders, and Aegis are a part of? Even Lord Egret made an appearance.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°They¡¯re all humans. Every human has their own dreams and weaknesses, so it wasn¡¯t too hard.¡±

    Yi Feng indifferently replied, ¡°Originally, Sourcepeak would not have easily uncovered the truth of you being the mastermind controlling everything from the shadows, but you had me send that message to everyone, basically dering to everyone that you¡¯re the one who acted against Sourcepeak. Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled and walked along the transparent metal hallway. ¡°There¡¯ll always be someone who acts as the trailzer of an era. The further ahead they tread, the rougher the waves they¡¯ll have to face. However, that alsoes with the chance to obtain even more. Of course, it¡¯s possible to be swept away by the waves and annihted, but it¡¯s also possible¡­¡± He paused as he pointedly looked at Yi Feng. ¡°To control the path.¡±

    Yi Feng¡¯s pupils shrank, and he looked out at outer space. ¡°You¡¯re more daring than him, but you also don¡¯t understand Lockbreakers. It¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll die a horrific death and even implicate the Wei family in your death.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, and yet, you still came, haha!¡± Wei Rong was not worried in the slightest.

    There was a thump as Angie suddenly charged over. She was just about to speak when she saw Yi Feng behind Wei Rong. Her expression changed as she looked at Wei Rong. ¡°So it¡¯s really him. Why did you just do that? Didn¡¯t you originally agree to divide the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight¡¯s treasury among us before we all went into hiding? But you just had Executive Yi Feng send out such a message. Aren¡¯t you openly telling them that we¡¯re responsible for what just happened?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Not us, just me. Rx, nobody can me anything on you guys.¡±

    Angie frowned. ¡°Do you really think that they won¡¯t be able to find us if they start investigating your involvement? Can your Wei family really withstand tens of thousands of Lockbreakers all on its own?¡±

    Wei Rong had a hint of a smile. ¡°Before I answer this question of yours, let me introduce someone.¡± He pointed towards Yi Feng. ¡°This is Master Yi Feng. His original name is Wei Yi, and he¡¯s a senior of our Wei family.¡±

    Angie was surprised. ¡°Master Yi Feng is someone from your Wei family?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°Sourcepeak is no longer suitable for habitation after that great battle. Is there anything wrong with our Wei family asking our senior to return to Armament Weave? Is there anything wrong with our senior selflessly offering his lockbreaking experience?¡±

    Angie coldly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t y around with semantics with me! We aren¡¯t all fools. You¡¯ve been too precise with your timings, and you¡¯ll easily be connected to these events. Once they think about all the people who entered the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight,bined with all the other various clues, they¡¯ll also be able to connect you to us. Then, they wille to dig all of us out.¡±

    Wei Rong did not seem bothered by such a thing. ¡°So what, Angie? Have you forgotten what I told you before?¡±

    Angie¡¯s eyes flickered, and she looked at the self-confident expression on Wei Rong¡¯s face. Subconsciously, she became involuntarily attracted to him once again.

    ¡°The times have changed. The Lockbreaker Society is merely the first to suffer from this change, but it certainly won¡¯t be thest. If we dare to make such a move, then we have to let everyone know about the trailzer¡¯s attitude,¡± Wei Rong proimed.

    ¡°But doing so will cause thousands of Lockbreakers to view us as their enemy,¡± Angie said.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Thousands? You overestimate Sourcepeak. Out of all the Lockbreakers there, how many of them are from the Innerverse and were left stranded in the Outerverse? How many of them actually care about Sourcepeak? Besides, there¡¯s already a considerable number of Lockbreakers who want toe to Armament Weave to follow Master Yi Feng. This colossal giant has already fallen, so there¡¯s no need for you to be afraid of it any longer.¡±

 Chapter 700: Green Eyesâ€™ Second Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 700: Green Eyes¡¯ Second Transformation</h4>

    Angie still wanted to say something and argue back, but everything she wanted to say had already been countered by Wei Rong.

    Yi Feng coldly observed the exchange. This girl was greatlyckingpared to Wei Rong. Wei Rong had been nning to drag all of them down from the very start. Anyone who had participated in the attack on the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight shouldn¡¯t even think of running anymore. Wei Rong wanted to be a trailzer, but everyone would have to pay the price alongside him.

    More importantly, the people involved had not known about Wei Rong¡¯s true objectives initially. They had falsely believed that he merely wanted to seize the countless treasures stored in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s treasury that had been gathered over the course of countless years, but that had just been one of his goals.

    Frankly, the events that had unfolded on Sourcepeak had been a show orchestrated by Wei Rong alone: seizing the treasury, assembling Lockbreakers, and establishing a new era.

    This was the Wei family¡¯s trailzer.

    The Wei family had always produced clever people since ancient times. This was also the reason why, despite the fact that the Wei family having never birthed a single Enlighter, they had nheless been able to maintain control of the Armament Weave. This particr generation¡¯s sage was even more terrifying than his predecessors, and his ambition was alsorger.

    Ah Mu stood behind Angie and looked at Wei Rong with surprise. This man had yed everyone, but he had still achieved his objectives while simultaneously fulfilling his promises to his coborators. Thus, the others were unable to say much about what he had done. If they continued to cooperate with him, then they might actually taste sess in the future.

    ***

    On Sourcepeak, quite a few Lockbreakers were busy cating the others, but the overall effect was not great. Yi Feng¡¯s announcements had enticed many into following him to Armament Weave, and Fiend Li and Felynn could not stop them either.

    Within the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, Lu Yin stood alone while he spoke with Wang Wen. ¡°I should try to rope in the Lockbreakers?¡±

    Wang Wen nodded and then eximed, ¡°It has to be said that Wei Rong yed his cards beautifully! Not only did he obtain countless treasures from the Lockbreaker Society, but he even swindled many Lockbreakers away from their headquarters. On top of that, several weaves have to share joint responsibility for this affair alongside him, but he is the one who has seized the greatest benefits. No wonder he deserves my attention¡ªthere are very few people who are this intelligent. Not bad, not bad.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong used Yi Feng to lure away some Lockbreakers, and now you want me to take some too?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen answered, ¡°Of course! Wei Rong has already paved the path for you, so you can¡¯t let him enjoy all of the fruits by himself. Just a bit ago, I told you to gather the Lockbreakers to defend the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight. That aplishment,bined with your reputation in the Outerverse, means that you should have enough prestige to swindle a whole bunch of Lockbreakers over to your side.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong was able to lure some Lockbreakers mostly because of Yi Feng¡¯s promise,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen pursed his lips. ¡°Don¡¯t you have Felynn as well?¡±

    ¡°Felynn?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. That was right; Felynn and Yi Feng were both Outerverse Lockbreaker Society Executives, and they both held simr statuses. If Yi Feng was able to take away some of the Lockbreakers, then Felynn could do so as well.

    ¡°Hehe, Felynn has always wanted to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s President, so you can just give her what she desires and support her bing the president and have her help you take some Lockbreakers back to the Frostwave Weave. If she isn¡¯t willing, then you should know what to do. You¡¯ve used simr methods before.¡± Wang Wen smiled, quite pleased with himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he looked at the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight as well as the dejected Lockbreakers mingling about. Since Wei Rong had been able to take away a group of these people, then so could he.

    ¡°Pawn Bro, the Outerverse is going to be quite exciting in theing days. Use this opportunity to strengthen yourself. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to enjoy certain benefits,¡± Wang Wen said casually before disconnecting the call. There were some things that he would not say too clearly, but Lu Yin still understood the underlying meaning. He did not need Wang Wen to spell everything out for him, as he had already considered some of these matters when the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight had first copsed.

    There were a few enormous organizations in the Outerverse, and though the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was one of them, there were still Shamrock Enterprises, Mavis Bank, and Aurora Enterprises as other examples. These colossal giants had towered over the rest of the Outerverse for countless years, and they wouldn¡¯t suffer much even if entire weaves were destroyed. Since the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was the first of these mammoths to copse, then it would definitely lead to a series of simr events in the future. Which giant would be next?

    Wei Rong had truly opened the start to a disastrous series of events, but it caused Lu Yin to smile. He liked it. If they did not resolve these enormous, rotten organizations, then they would not be able to establish a new universe order. Wei Rong had already paved the way, but he definitely would not walk this path alone. It still remained to be seen who would tread this path the fastest, and at the moment, Lu Yin was actually one of the ones leading the way, as he had already tied most of the eastern weaves together.

    ¡°Eh, why is there a hidden room here?¡± someone cried out, causing the crowd to look over.

    Lu Yin was about to go look for Felynn and have a chat, but he also looked over when he heard those words. Among the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, he could see a single, hidden room that was still intact. The cultivators and thieves had not opened this room, but it was evident that the entrance had been slightly damaged. It was not that the thieves did not want to ess this room, but rather that they could not.

    Lu Yin stepped forward to take a better look, but then he suddenly turned back around in amazement. He watched as a terrifying amount of rune lines appeared and drew close from the west at an amazing speed. These rune lines had appeared very suddenly and exaggeratedly, almost as if they had multiplied ten times in the blink of an eye. There had only been some rune lines at the level of a Cruiser in that direction previously.

    Bang bang bang!

    Dozens of Lockbreakers exploded, and a figure covered in ck armor streaked through the void to appear in front of the secret room before attacking the door. There was a loud thump as a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions, sending dozens of Lockbreakers who had gathered near the secret room flying away. Even the void warped and began to tear as thunderous sounds burst forth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This was a terrifyingly powerful physical body.

    Unfortunately, even this punch could not st the secret room¡¯s door open, and it could only add the faintest trace of a crack.

    The ck-armored person continued, unleashing a second and third punch, one quickly following after another as the person attempted to force the door open.

    In the distance, Fiend Li was overwhelmed by this turn of events. ¡°Somebody stop him! That¡¯s President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room, and there¡¯s some top secret information rted to the society inside. Quickly, stop him!¡±

    Quite a few Lockbreakers charged towards the ck-armored man. All of these Lockbreakers were Cruisers, and some were even peak Cruisers; however, they were all repelled by a casual gust from the attacker¡¯s hand. These were the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight, and star energy was still restricted in this ce, preventing any battle techniques from disying their full might. However, physical strength was excluded from such restrictions. That ck-armored man¡¯s physical strength was horrifying.

    Fiend Li also took action, and the star energy in that area formed into a visible vortex that attempted to force the ck-armored man away. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shone with a radiance as he observed Fiend Li¡¯s incredible star energy control¡ªhe was constantly strengthening the destructive power of the gathered star energy. This level of control meant that Fiend Li¡¯s attack was in no way inferior to a top-notch battle technique while still being a fundamental star energy attack.

    Felynn and two other Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers also acted at the same time.

    Even Saul had to be vignt against the joined forces of these elite Lockbreakers. The ck-armored person was restricted by the pure star energy, and their powerful body was unable to withstand the pressure as they were forced underground.

    The next moment, Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Watch out!¡±

    He had been watching the rune lines, and they increased by tenfold once again. A cold and sinister aura spread out, and it was one that Lu Yin was intimately familiar with. It was the aura of a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King. This person was a Corpse King.

    To be able to increase their power level by tenfold and then by tenfold yet again, there was only one possibility: Corpse King Transformation.

    There was a deep growl as a terrifying fluctuation spread out from beneath the surface. A violent gale tore through the void with enough force to push even Fiend Li back. This intense and ferocious wind caused the elite Lockbreakers next to it to all spit out a mouthful of blood. The ck-armored man then leaped up from beneath the surface and unleashed another punch into the void. A horrifying strength shot through the void as spatial cracks extended out like ck streaks of lightning, swallowing a few Lockbreakers.

    This oppressive pressure felt as if another had collided with Sourcepeak, and it caused many people to vomit blood and fall unconscious. Then, that pressure was apanied by a pair of green eyes, icy and emotionless.

    ¡°Green eyes! It¡¯s a Corpse King! One that¡¯s reached its Second Transformation! Seventh Bro, RUN!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed frantically.

    Nearby, Ku Wei¡¯s pupils shrank. A Cruiser realm Corpse King that could actually disy the Second Transformation had appeared. What was the Neohuman Alliance trying to do with this? This Corpse King must have remained hidden on Sourcepeak for a long time. Ku Wei looked at Geoffrey¡¯s secret room. There must be something hidden inside that caused the Corpse King to be unable to wait any longer.

    The Corpse King released only a single punch, but just that was enough to severely injure even the strongest Lockbreakers opposing it. Fiend Li had already been injured to begin with, and this attack nearly crippled him.

    With a thump, the Corpse King turned back around and continued to attack the secret room. Its power was ten times stronger than before, and a giant crack appeared on the door.

    Lu Yin donned his universal armor and charged towards the Corpse King. ¡°Don¡¯t touch the president¡¯s secret room!¡±

    He released a punch of his own. At this time, only he could use his physical strength to contest the Corpse King.

    The Corpse King turned around, raised its fist, and simrly struck out. There were no fancy battle techniques, and the two fought purely with their physical strength.

    There was a thump as the void shattered, apanied by a massive spatial crack that shot high into the sky and split it in half. Violent winds swept out in all directions, and everyone was blown back.

    Serpent Queen, <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":6723,"3":{"1":0},"4":{"1":2,"2":16777215},"9":0,"12":0,"14":{"1":2,"2":0},"15":"arial"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"straight="" metallic="" man"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 1)">Straight Metallic Man, Xi Qi, and the others were all unable to resist the gale and were flung away. Only Aden, Ku Wei, and a few others managed to remain in ce.

    Lu Yin took several steps back, and he felt pain radiate out from his fist. Enough of the Corpse King¡¯s strength had passed through his universal armor that he was able to feel it. This Corpse King had reached an exceptionally abnormal level with its physical strength.

    The first time Lu Yin had bumped into a Transformed Corpse King, he had realized that their transformation-based battle technique was terrifying in its ability to enhance their physical body, and it allowed a Corpse King to greatly surpass those in the same realm. The First Transformation where the Corpse King¡¯s eyes turned grey would increase its physical strength tenfold, and the Second Transformation with green eyes would increase its physical strength by yet another tenfold. This level was enough to cast one into despair.

    This physical strength could already shatter the bodies of multiple Enlighters whose power levels had each exceeded 200,000. If not for his universal armor, Lu Yin would not have dared to charge over to this creature.

    Now, he was actually worried that his universal armor would not be able to defend him against the Corpse King¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re crazy! This is a Green Eyes Second Transformation! This Corpse King is a hundred times stronger than it was originally! This Corpse King wouldn¡¯t have been much worse than you to begin with, and now that it has transformed, you¡¯re basically seeking death by charging over! RUN! Nobody will me you,¡± the monkey was screaming, as it waspletely terrified of the Corpse King.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. ¡°Shut up!¡± He dashed forward and punched at the Corpse King. He had already unsealed all three grains of Fatesand, unleashing his most powerful physical strength.

    The Corpse King¡¯s green eyes were cold, and it simrly released a punch.

    This was a very primitive confrontation, but the level of each impact was enough to make everyone nearby feel numb. The sound waves reminiscent of rumbling thunder constantly exploded, and almost the entire sky had been torn apart. The entire had been thrust into the scene of a doomsday.

    The mountains and forests copsed as magma flew into the air from deep underground. Lu Yin and the Corpse King were both thrust beneath the ground, and the ruins of the <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"hall="" of="" insight"}"="" style="font-style: normal">Hall of Insight were reduced to powder. Only Geoffrey¡¯s secret room sank down with the twobatants.

    The giant crack spread across the ground and swallowed the distant mountain range.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he exchanged nces with the green eyes. Both of his fists were powerless for a moment. In front of him, the Corpse King punched at him again, and Lu Yin endured the pain in his arms as he continued to attack the creature. The dozens of exchanged punches had left the entire underground area in bits and pieces as thend copsed. The entirety of Sourcepeak trembled.

 Chapter 701: Terrifying Array

    <h4>Chapter 701: Terrifying Array</h4>

    Felynn stared at the fight taking ce underground in shock. Nobody had expected that this Lockbreaker Competition would have this many surprises. She had assumed that everything was within her control, but the situation had ultimately developed to this point. If the two individuals continued fighting in such a manner, then not just Hall of Insight, but even Sourcepeak itself would be destroyed.

    Xi Qi leaped up, but she was nheless still caught by the gale sweeping up from the battle taking ce underground and forcefully flung far away. Above her, the fish screamed loudly, though she did not know what it was shouting about. She only vaguely heard ¡°Corpse King Transformation¡± and ¡°What a monster.¡±

    Ku Wei stared underground, and his face had be solemn. Even he was unable to intervene in such a battle, as this was essentially an Enlighters¡¯ battlefield. If these two continued to fight seriously on this, it was doomed.

    Fiend Li¡¯s eyes cracked open from where he was being supported by a few Lockbreakers. He then floated into the sky. ¡°Sourcepeak must not be destroyed. Never!¡±

    Underground, Lu Yin took a punch to the chest. Although it had been blocked by his universal armor, he still felt stifled, as the Corpse King¡¯s physical body was simply too powerful. Lu Yin was thrown a hundred meters back, at which moment Aden suddenly appeared with his thunder shield and defended Lu Yin from the Corpse King.

    The Corpse King unleashed two more simultaneous punches, causing an explosion to ring out as Aden¡¯s thunder shield exploded, and his nine lined battle force grew unstable. He was simrly flung back, and he also spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, stop fighting! Let¡¯s go! You aren¡¯t his opponent!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Corpse Kings only fought by using their physical strength, and they did not utilize any sort of star energy attacks. The Yu Secret Art was almostpletely useless against the creature, and Lu Yin could only defend and asionally counterattack. As he thought about his situation, he moved forward and sent out a palm attack reinforced by his seven lined battle force. ¡°Thirty Stacks, One Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    The Corpse King looked up, and its figure blurred as it vanished. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as stars began revolving around his body. He then suddenly turned around to face a different direction before swatting out with a palm right as the Corpse King emerged from the void and unleashed a punch.

    With a thump, overwhelming shockwaves tore through the underground battlefield before erupting into the open sky. The numerous shockwaves also caused the ground to ripple slightly before ferociously exploding. Many of the Lockbreakers flying in the air were also affected by the shockwaves, and they were blown away without any way to resist.

    Lu Yin was sent flying once again. However, the Corpse King¡¯s green eyes quickly drew close to him as the monster reached out to grab Lu Yin. He evaded with Secret Sidestep and quickly retreated at top speed.

    This time, the Corpse King did not chase after him. Instead, it turned around and went back to attacking the door to the secret room. By now, the door could no longer resist any more, and it shattered after one punch, allowing the Corpse King to charge in.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he dashed in right after the creature.

    The room was not veryrge, but there was a strange looking sourcebox in the very center. When the Corpse King charged into the room, distorted ripples emanated out of the void itself and twisted around the Corpse King. This was the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger. Lu Yin entered the room one step behind the Corpse King, and he quickly stopped in ce. As he surveyed his surroundings, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze finally settled on one corner of the room, where there were two boxes: one small and onerge. The Corpse King was trying its best to shake off the formless ripples that had entangled it as it forced its way to the boxes.

    Lu Yin grasped the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and studied the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger while he continuously used Secret Sidestep to evade it. In this manner, he quickly approached the boxes, moving much faster than the Corpse King.

    The Corpse King growled in anger, and under Lu Yin¡¯s astonished gaze, its right arm extended unnaturally and grabbed therger box. This was the creature¡¯s innate gift, and it caused Lu Yin to be flustered. When the Corpse King grabbed a second time for the smaller box, Lu Yin stabbed out with his pike. Although the pike¡¯s spiritual force attack was ineffective against the Corpse King, the weapon was still iparably sharp, and when backed with Lu Yin¡¯s impressive physical strength, it was able to skewer the Corpse King¡¯s extended arm to the wall. Lu Yin then took advantage of the opportunity to grab the smaller box.

    The Corpse King stared at Lu Yin with its green eyes and then used its other hand to pull out the pike. It thrust the pike towards Lu Yin, but the youth managed to dodge the attack as he charged out of the secret room.

    The Corpse King struggled, but it soon charged out as well.

    Lu Yin did not n to tangle with the creature any further, as he could not defeat it even if he had another Money Bomb that had been upgraded to the point where it could wipe out an Enlighter. This Corpse King¡¯s physical body was much tougher than that of an average Enlighter, and it would likely take more than a single Money Bomb to take care of this monster.

    When Lu Yin charged out of the room, he saw that the surrounding area had changed greatly. The earth had copsed, and the sky was filled with thick smoke. In the distance, red magma constantly seeped out of the ground and emitted a pungent odor that filled the air.

    When Fiend Li and the others saw Lu Yin emerge, they promptly asked, ¡°How is it?¡±

    At that moment, the Corpse King charged out as well, and its green eyes stared at Lu Yin for an instant before it vanished.

    Stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body and he quickly evaded to the side with the Secret Sidestep Technique. The Corpse King appeared where Lu Yin had just been, but its attack missed. It then waved a hand and sent a sweeping gale towards Fiend Li and the others. Aden also dashed up from beneath the ground, charging towards the Corpse King with his nine lined battle force. However, he was driven back by just one punch from the Corpse King.

    Lu Yin saw that the Corpse King was staring at him with determined eyes, so he shouted, ¡°The secret room was opened, and he grabbed everything inside.¡±

    Fiend Li¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Everyone, listen up! Do not let this creature escape.¡±

    But despite his words, there was no one on Sourcepeak who could fight against the Corpse King. In fact, the best that Lu Yin could do was not be defeated himself.

    The Corpse King intently pursued Lu Yin, clearly bent on snatching the other box away. While fleeing, Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings before locking onto Ku Wei. He then dashed over without any hesitation.

    Ku Wei¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°Oh, $%@!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled at Ku Wei. ¡°I¡¯ll pass him over to you.¡±

    Ku Wei was stunned in ce, but the Corpse King did not bother with Ku Wei at all. It steadily continued to chase after Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised; what was this? The Corpse King¡¯s intelligence was quite low, and it could only identify its target and execute its given orders. It waspletely uninterested in everything else.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, turn around and look for that Ku Wei! He has to be from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family, which is also a part of the Three Dark Hands. He definitely has a way to deal with this Corpse King!¡± the monkey shouted.

    Even if he had not said this, Lu Yin had already been nning on doing this. Of everyone here, Fiend Li had been severely injured and was on the brink of death while Felynn was not nearly powerful enough. The other Lockbreakers were only at the Hunter realm at best, and they would not be able to help out against this Corpse King in any way. Only Ku Wei stood out, and in a waypletely unrted to his power level; Lu Yin felt that his background was the most reliable thing he could count on at this moment.

    Ku Wei saw that Lu Yin was heading back towards him, and he started to run while screaming, ¡°Bro, Brother Wei never offended you, so why are you chasing me?¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Bro, help me by taking one hit.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be crazy!¡± Ku Wei seemed to sniffle even though no tears were shed.

    Behind the two youths, the Corpse King¡¯s speed continued to increase until it finally tore straight through the void and appeared in front of Lu Yin. It punched at him, and Lu Yin once again evaded with the Secret Sidestep Technique as he passed by the Corpse King. But this time, the Corpse King turned around as it punched, the wind generated by its fist warping the void and causing boundless shockwaves to sweep out from its fist. Lu Yin could block the attack, but Ku Wei was swept away by the gale and thrown underground in a miserable condition.

    He was just an Explorer, so it was already very impressive for him to disy a power that could match up to a Hunter. However, that still wasn¡¯t enough to stand up to this Corpse King.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as it seemed like this fellow was not actually that useful.

    This person¡¯s physical power was rather close to Lu Yin¡¯s, and he was also a Realmbreaker who could challenge Hunters. However, while Lu Yin could rely on his universal armor to fight against the Corpse King, Ku Wei had no such armor, and he could not even resist against the Corpse King¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin constantly evaded the Corpse King¡¯s punches with the Secret Sidestep Technique, and he felt confident that as long as he had the Cosmic Art active, the Corpse King would not be able tond a hit on him. And after enough time passed, the Corpse King would definitely flee since the Hall of Honor would not allow it to roam about freely.

    Some distance away, Fiend Li pushed the Lockbreakers who had been supporting him aside as he dragged his injured body into the sky above the ruins of Hall of Insight. This was the ce that had been filled with the invisible danger from the four sourceboxes that looked like four great trees. The old man hung in midair as he stared at Sourcepeak with aplex expression. ¡°I never thought that the final scenes of my life would be this. Geoffrey¡¯s worries havee to pass, and if that is the case, then I will fulfill my promise and not allow those items tond in the hands of others.¡± He raised his gadget as if he was about to send out a message, looked at the cat-and-mouse game that Lu Yin was ying with the Corpse King, and then opened his mouth to speak.

    Lu Yin was busy evading the Corpse King¡¯s attacks when he suddenly felt his ears twitch. He looked over at Fiend Li in astonishment before unhesitatingly charging over with the Corpse King following close behind him.

    Lu Yin dashed into the area within the four trees before continuing to dash towards the east.

    The Corpse King chased after Lu Yin and also entered the area surrounded by the four great trees. However, the moment Lu Yin left this area, Fiend Li¡¯s eyes went wide, and the star energy in the area suddenly transformed. The four great trees rapidly wilted as they revealed four sourceboxes of varying sizes and shapes. The void froze as the four sourceboxes gave off a slight radiance. Then, through some unknown mechanism, the area bordered by the sourceboxes suddenly distorted, and all of the star energy inside instantly vanished, along with the Corpse King and Fiend Li himself.

    Lu Yin stared at this scene in shock. What had just happened? All of the star energy in the area encircled by the four great trees hadpletely vanished along with the Corpse King, Fiend Li, and anything else that had even contained a trace of star energy. Right now, that area was utterly devoid of star energy.

    Was this a sourcebox array? Only a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker couldprehend such an array, as this was a supreme technique of Lockbreakers.

    That had been a green-eyed Corpse King that had transformed twice, but it had still disappeared as if it had never even existed. Such a thing was too fearsome.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that some powerful Lockbreakers can use a sourcebox array to kill super powerhouses. So it turns out that those rumors were true,¡± the monkey said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he recalled the True Insight: the thirty six pages of this treasure contained information about sourcebox arrays. If all such arrays contained this much power, then True Insight was indeed as valuable as a secret technique. It was no wonder why Saul had coveted the True Insight as badly as he had.

    It was a pity that Fiend Li had only been a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, which meant that he could notprehend the techniques behind sourcebox arrays. Although Lu Yin did not know how the old man had activated this particr sourcebox array, Fiend Li had clearly paid for it with his life.

    If President Geoffrey had still been around, then how would things have turned out? Lu Yin didn¡¯t even dare to imagine what sort of strength Geoffrey possessed. If he hadprehended this sourcebox array, then he would have been able to take care of Saul, Lord Egret, and even that Corpse King all by himself!

    A wooden box fell down from high in the sky, which was the one that the Corpse King had grabbed from Geoffrey¡¯s secret room. Lu Yin wanted to grab it, but he did not dare enter that area, as that array was truly horrifying.

    Felynn flew over from a distance, entering the deste region of space to retrieve the box. Only when she collected it did she finally visibly rx. She then focused her sight onto Lu Yin, her gazeplicated.

    Lu Yin and Felynn exchanged nces. ¡°That senior Lockbreaker voluntarily killed himself so as to prevent that box fromnding in others¡¯ hands, right?¡±

    Felynn stored the box away in her cosmic ring, not replying.

    Lu Yin looked around him. ¡°Sourcepeak can be considered finished. Hall of Insight, the Vice President, and the Honorary Vice President are all gone. Nobody can stop you from bing the President any longer.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s body quivered, and then she asked in a bitter voice, ¡°Is there any meaning to bing the President any more?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll support you,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn fell silent.

    All around them, many Lockbreakers looked around with miserable expressions. Regardless of whether they were standing on the ground or floating in the sky, they all looked as though they had lost their souls.

    Too much had happened on this day, and they were still trying to process it all.

 Chapter 702: Distant Dream

    <h4>Chapter 702: Distant Dream</h4>

    ¡°I want to go to Armament Weave and follow Master Yi Feng,¡± a Lockbreaker proimed loudly before leaping into outer space.

    Once he said those words, more and more Lockbreakers left one after another. Sourcepeak was done for, and there was no meaning in staying behind any longer.

    Felynn¡¯s gaze grewplicated. The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was truly finished.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you nning on doing something? If you allow them to leave, then even if you eventually be the president, you¡¯ll barely have anyone left under you,¡± Lu Yinmented as he nced at the surroundings.

    Aden had been injured, but not too badly.

    The main issue at the current moment was Deng Pu¡¯s location, as he had seemingly disappeared the moment the fight broke out, and he likely still had the three pages of True Insight on his body.

    Felynn looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you really willing to support my presidency?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    If things had been the same as the past, Felynn would not have actually cared about Lu Yin¡¯s support. Her original intentions had been to use Lu Yin to expose Saul¡¯s schemes, but the situation had changed. Lu Yin had rallied arge number of Lockbreakers to protect the Hall of Insight, and in the final moments of battle, he had assisted Fiend Li in killing their greatest foe. In the hearts of all the Lockbreakers present, Lu Yin¡¯s image was thergest.

    ¡°What are your conditions?¡± Felynn asked.

    Lu Yin removed his universal armor and smiled at her. ¡°Sourcepeak is finished, but I know of a suitable for Lockbreakers to live on. I hope that you¡¯ll be able to shift the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to that ce.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°In Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Felynn immediately refused. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Sourcepeak is the foundation of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡°Wrong. Lockbreakers are the foundation of the Society. Without Lockbreakers, everything else is mere drivel.¡±

    ¡°You are no different than Wei Rong¡ªyou also want to divide the Lockbreakers,¡± Felynn used as her tone harshened, resentment filling her eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile disappeared in response. ¡°Wrong again. I¡¯m different from him, as I¡¯m not the kind of person to scheme and machinate.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s body trembled. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°President Geoffrey is not around, Vice President Saul has been chased away, Honorary Vice President Fiend Li has died, Mr. Jun has run away, and Yi Feng has cast his lot in with the Wei family. Thus, the only one suitable to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s President out of everyone present is you. If these Lockbreakers learn that the person who came up with all of these hidden schemes is actually you, then what do you think they¡¯ll do?¡±

    Felynn went pale, and she stared intensely at Lu Yin.

    ¡°If they find out that a president like you was manipted by others in a way that almost led to the entire Society¡¯s copse, what would they think?¡± Lu Yin asked calmly.

    ¡°You¡¯re threatening me.¡± Felynn clenched her fists, and her originally gentle face turned dark.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone grew even colder. ¡°I am. Either you be the president and move the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, after which the Great Eastern Alliance and I would support you, or you can be the shame of the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society and bear the guilt of causing the society¡¯s copse. Choose.¡±

    Felynn trembled as her eyes flickered, asionally with a sharp killing intent, and at other times with helpless embitterment.

    She wanted to kill Lu Yin, but she did not have the ability to do so. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t say anything, as soon as I bring the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, Wei Rong will expose everything,¡± Felynn said gloomily.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Perhaps. But if you don¡¯t do as I say, I¡¯ll do it right now.¡±

    Felynn looked at Lu Yin with a pleading expression. ¡°I can make you the society¡¯s Honorary Vice President, and I can even follow your orders on many matters. Is there any way for you to leave the society¡¯s headquarters here in Sourcepeak Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°This is why I said that your vision is too narrow and that you¡¯re foolish. Sourcepeak is just some random ce that was chosen by some ancient Lockbreakers, and it is just a location. It once symbolized the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, but once the Hall of Insight copsed, its power as the symbol lost all meaning. We want to reestablish a new symbol of the society at this time, and you and I will write a new page in this chapter of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Do you understand?¡±

    Felynn stood on the spot and carefully considered his words.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°By staying on Sourcepeak, you will forever remain as an appointed president of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and the most useless one at that. Once the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnect and President Geoffrey returns, you will lose all value. If you go to Frostwave Weave, then the new Outerverse Lockbreaker Society will be founded by you, and everything that the society¡¯s Lockbreakers gain will have been because of you. They will respect you for your actions, and not just because of your title as Society president.¡±

    ¡°But what can I offer them? If we take the society to Frostwave Weave, then will Lockbreakers even be willing to follow me?¡± Felynn asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°What Yi Feng can do, you just have to do better than him.¡±

    Felynn was astonished. ¡°You want me to freely offer my lockbreaking experience?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Not just you, but many other Lockbreakers have to do so as well. You are one of the society¡¯s executives, just like Yifeng Li. You should also be aware of the Society¡¯s sourceboxes and that you can take them out for distribution. Either way, I don¡¯t really care how you do it¡ªjust bring these Lockbreakers to Frostwave Weave. As a form of repayment, the Great Eastern Alliance and I will always support you.¡±

    Felynn stood in ce and considered Lu Yin¡¯s offer, but she was still at a loss for what to do.

    More and more Lockbreakers started leaving Sourcepeak, and they were all heading towards Armament Weave.

    Lu Yin coldly said, ¡°Sourcepeak is no longer suitable for survival, so make a decision quickly. Otherwise, too many Lockbreakers will be lured over to Armament Weave by Yi Feng, and there won¡¯t be any meaning left in you bing the president.¡±

    Felynn looked up and leaped into the sky off in the distance. ¡°I understand.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her, and then he looked at where he had fought against the Corpse King underground. Wang Wen¡¯s voice rang out in his ears. ¡°You might enjoy an even greater harvest than Wei Rong this time.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully. You got me to break Sourcepeak¡¯s core so that it¡¯ll no longer be habitable. Will this really push the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to relocate to Frostwave Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°Of course, so long as you control Felynn. Lockbreakers hold a position that is too revered, but aside from taking some risks to increase their lockbreaking experience, they rarely ever take any risks. Hence, most Lockbreakers are essentially flowers in a greenhouse, and they are not very proficient at taking care of themselves. Also, with the Society¡¯s long term protection, nobody dares to act against any Lockbreakers. Thus, their reliance on the society is even greater than what you can imagine. Once Felynn uses the Society¡¯s name to relocate it to Frostwave Weave, many Lockbreakers will absolutely head over there.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as he could understand this line of reasoning. When he had still been weak, he had relied on the Lockbreaker Society to survive against his many enemies. Otherwise, the Daynight n could have sent any random n member to take care of him. Lockbreakers truly relied on the Lockbreaker Society a tremendous amount.

    ¡°Pawn Bro, let me ask you a question.¡± Wang Wen¡¯s tone suddenly changed to that of curiosity. ¡°What exactly are you trying to aplish with the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I want to protect the eastern weaves.¡±

    ¡°Just the eastern region?¡± Wang Wen¡¯s voice climbed higher, as he clearly didn¡¯t believe Lu Yin.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Actually, the Outerverse¡¯s resources are fairlyparable to the Innerverse¡¯s, since it covers a much greater area. If all seventy two weaves united, it would form a very terrifying power, especially in terms of resources. If they all unite, then the capability the Outerverse could disy would be something neither of us can even estimate,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°That¡¯s true, but the Outerverse is too big, and no one can integrate it in its entirety. Even the biggest corporations, like Endless Borders, that im to be able to move throughout the Outerverse unhindered only asionally make visits all the way to Frostwave Weave. They at most know of shortcuts and have regr routes in around thirty-some weaves, and they will never be able to cover the entire Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°It was truly impossible before, but things are different now. The dramatic increase in energy has caused the Innerverse and Outerverse to be separated, and it has also isted many ces in the Outerverse¡¯s seventy-two weaves. All in all, many matters have be easier to take care of as there¡¯s less interference now. As long as one has the ability, they can annex the Outerverse step by step¡ªjust take your Great Eastern Alliance, for example. If it was the same as before, then any random weave could just ask for some support from the Innerverse, and your Great Eastern Alliance would be finished. However, right now, such things can¡¯t happen.

    ¡°If the Great Eastern Alliance is sessfully established, then spreading westwards is also possible. There are still too few supreme powerhouses in the Outerverse for how many resources it contains. In the past, those resources were always hoarded by the Innerverse. If all of these resources could be used to develop the Outerverse, then the number of powerhouses born might not be any fewer than the Innerverse¡­¡±

    Wang Wen had said a lot in his exnation, and Lu Yin listened to him attentively for quite a while. Then, he finally asked, ¡°What is that you want to say?¡±

    Wang Wen smiled mischievously. ¡°Have you ever thought ofpletely uniting the entire Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Yes, in my dreams.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no longer a dream.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°How would you know if you don¡¯t try?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to help me?¡±

    Wang Wen then fell silent. ¡°One can grow tired after staying in Ironblood Weave for too long. I can help you, but my condition is that you must firstpletely unite the Great Eastern Alliance, as a gift to wee me. I guarantee that my gift in return will make you very excited.¡±

    ¡°What gift?¡± Lu Yin was full of expectations.

    Wang Wen smiled, but he said nothing further. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, the unification of the Outerverse is not as simple as just integrating its resources. If you can actually unite the Outerverse, then the benefits you would obtain are unimaginable to the you of right now. Once you reach that point, you will understand. Work hard to arrive at that position. Goodbye.¡± And with that, he disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. Uniting the Outerverse was a distant dream, and it also posed a great challenge.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance could be established, then why couldn¡¯t the seventy-two weaves of the Outerverse be united? He truly would not know if he didn¡¯t even try.

    In the distance, Felynn looked down at the bewildered Lockbreakers from high up in the sky. Did she really have to do as Lu Yin had said and be his puppet? She thought about it onest time before gritting her teeth and activating her gadget. Quickly, a voice was heard from it. ¡°Executive Felynn, why did you contact me sote?¡±

    Felynn was seething. ¡°Wei Rong, you went against our agreement.¡±

    ¡°Executive Felynn, you can¡¯t make baseless remarks like that. Back then, our agreement was for me to help you chase Saul away so that you could take the position of president. I have done what I agreed to. Hasn¡¯t Saul been chased away? And now, there¡¯s nobody else in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society who can threaten your position, so you will naturally be the president. Isn¡¯t that true?¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Felynn was furious. ¡°You broke the society apart and had Yi Feng take away the Lockbreakers. Is there any meaning to me holding the position of president anymore? Your true objective was to seize the Society¡¯s treasury. You used me!¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Executive, there¡¯s no need to speak so harshly. Since you feel that there¡¯s no meaning to the Society anymore, then why don¡¯t youe to Armament Weave and help me? You are already familiar with Executive Yi Feng, so the cooperation between the two of you will be smooth. Xin¡¯er also wees your arrival, as you are her mentor after all.¡±

 Chapter 703: Harvest

    <h4>Chapter 703: Harvest</h4>

    Felynn coldly said, ¡°Allow Yi Feng to return to the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and the matters between us can be considered settled then. As for those treasures, what you obtained will be considered yours. How about that?¡±

    ¡°Who gave Executive Felynn the confidence to talk to me like that?¡± Wei Rong teased.

    Felynn¡¯s gaze froze. ¡°The foundation that the Lockbreaker Society umted over so many years is still present. Do you truly wish to be the entire Lockbreaker Society¡¯s enemy? The Innerverse and Outerverse will reconnect sooner orter, and when we regain the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s support, we will crush you like an ant.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps, but that¡¯s only after the Innerverse and Outerverse are reconnected. Now, Executive Felynn, if there¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s not contact each other again.¡± Wei Rong then immediately disconnected from the call. He needed the Lockbreakers, but he did not want someone like Felynn. This woman¡¯s ambition was overlyrge, but she was stupid and easily duped by others. This sort of person was worthless in his eyes, and she could not evenpare to the worth of a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    Yi Feng could draw arge number of Lockbreakers to Armament Weave, and the remaining Lockbreakers could be slowly lured over afterwards. There was no rush, as Wei Rong did not need to achieve instant sess.

    These Lockbreakers were rather difficult to deal with, so he would just take his time.

    Felynn¡¯s face was gloomy as she ced down her gadget, still hovering in the sky above Sourcepeak. Wei Rong¡¯s attitude clearly showed that he wanted to sever all ties with her, and he had no intention of making anypromises. She had not even stated her conditions before he disconnected, and if that was the case, then her only option was to go with Lu Yin¡¯s n. Even if Wei Rong publicly released the secret that she had cooperated with him, she could use Lu Yin¡¯s influence to refute that im.

    As she thought about it more, Felynn smiled bitterly. When had Lockbreakers turn into others¡¯ tools and be vassals that were subservient to cultivators?

    Not long after Felynn¡¯s call with Wei Rong, Xi Qi was busy looking for Lu Yin when she checked her gadget and cried out in surprise. Felynn had released a notification, and with her status as interim president, she was relocating the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, and just like Yi Feng, Felynn was also offering tempting conditions to all Lockbreakers that followed her.

    Quite a few Lockbreakers who had been intending to head to Armament Weave suddenly hesitated.

    ¡°Go to Frostwave Weave? I seem to remember that there¡¯s nothing in that weave. There aren¡¯t any sourceboxes, and it¡¯s really out of the way. Why would we relocate there?¡±

    ¡°Executive Felynn¡¯s given reason is that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society needs the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s protection. The Great Eastern Alliance is made up of eightrge eastern weaves, and it¡¯s rather powerful. Also, its integration of resources is pretty convenient, and with Lu Yin as the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, even Enlighters don¡¯t dare to provoke it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, our Outerverse Lockbreaker Society no longer has anybody that can deal with Enlighters. It¡¯s better to have someone protecting us.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, since when did we Lockbreakers require someone to protect us? How humiliating.¡±

    ¡­

    Discussions broke out everywhere, and some agreed with the relocation while others rejected it. But regardless of their stance, they could not stay on Sourcepeak any longer. With Felynn¡¯s position as the interim president, she shifted the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters to Frostwave Weave, and nobody in the Society had the seniority to reject her.

    Many Lockbreakers were rather independent, and they did not typically remain at the Society¡¯s headquarters. Thus, this transfer didn¡¯t really affect them. However, there were also quite a few Lockbreakers who remained at the headquarters all year round, and these people needed Felynn to cate them.

    The good thing was that, while Yi Feng had offered appealing conditions that moved many Lockbreakers, Felynn¡¯s offer was even better. With the offers clearly stated, many Lockbreakers started to make their future ns.

    They had no choice, either, as they had to either follow Yi Feng or Felynn. Inparison, although Yi Feng¡¯s strength was greater, Felynn¡¯s title of interim president was perfectly justified. On top of that, she also had the society¡¯s protected information, which was much better than what Yi Feng could offer.

    As for Armament Weave and the Great Eastern Alliance, theparison between the two was even more drastic considering the value that they offered.

    Many Lockbreakers who had been nning to move to Armament Weave quickly turned around and decided to follow Felynn to Frostwave Weave once the news broke.

    ¡°Wei Rong¡¯s gravest mistake was not having Yi Feng stay behind to fight for the seat of president. Otherwise, he could have taken all of these Lockbreakers to Armament Weave with him,¡± the Ghost Monkey sighed.

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want to, but rather that he couldn¡¯t. Yi Feng¡¯s roots within the Society are not as deep as Felynn¡¯s. Even if he had stayed behind, there was no possible way for him to win against Felynn. Besides, Armament Weave can¡¯t handle that many Lockbreakers. If not for the Great Eastern Alliance, Frostwave Weave would face the same problem.¡±

    ¡°Then how did the Sourcepeak Weave do it?¡± the monkey retorted.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°When the society¡¯s headquarters was first established in the Sourcepeak Weave, there definitely weren''t so many Lockbreakers in the Outerverse. Things had to develop step by step¡ªwhere else do you think the Hall of Insight gathered all of its treasures from?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was moved when he mentioned the society¡¯s treasures, as he still needed to check and see just exactly what he had obtained. He was especially looking forward to finding out what was inside the box that had been stored inside Geoffrey¡¯s secret room. That Corpse King had been desperate to acquire those two boxes, so there was definitely something extremely valuable inside.

    ¡°Brother Lu, are we really heading over to Frostwave Weave?¡± Xi Qi asked as she walked over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The society will be coveted by greedy people, and the things that urred today will definitely happen again. After all, the treasures and knowledge that the society umted over countless years are more than enough to make others jealous. When we go to Frostwave Weave, I can have the entire Great Eastern Alliance protect the society as well as support it with the alliance¡¯s integrated resources. These Lockbreakers won¡¯t need to dy their cultivation.¡±

    Xi Qi acknowledged him with a grunt.

    ¡°Familiar two-legged beast, Lord Fish sees that you have an amazing skeleton and that you are rather prone to seizing opportunities. Follow Lord Fish! Lord Fish will teach you True Insight,¡± the fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head bragged as it swung its tail about.

    Lu Yin did not even bother to acknowledge it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity about those sourceboxes. Those few two-legged beasts have already left, and now, nobody can take them away,¡± the fish said.

    Lu Yin followed the fish¡¯s gaze and looked over at the fourrge trees. The four sourceboxes had turned back into towering structures, and faint imprints of trees could already be seen on their surfaces. It was all very mysterious.

    These four sourceboxes truly made Lu Yin feel rather emotional. He wished that there was a way to take them away, but unfortunately, the fish was right. There was no one who could take these sourceboxes away.

    Seeing a sourcebox was like being able to see a hidden treasure but being unable to touch it. There were such sourceboxes present on Shenwu Continent, at every stronghold in Ironblood Weave, and even more on Sourcepeak.

    Lu Yin coveted them all. If he had the ability to unlock them, then he might be able to obtain something truly extraordinary.

    At that moment, Ku Wei showed up in a rather sorry condition, and he started indignantly ming Lu Yin for treating him as a scapegoat.

    Lu Yin sized him up and down with a strange look. ¡°Your surname makes it easy for me to do so.¡±

    Ku Wei was stumped, and then heughed loudly. ¡°Surname? What surname? I¡¯m Brother Wei, and my full name is hardly ever seen, hahaha!¡±

    After that, he fled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This person was definitely someone from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku Family.

    Every single one of the Three Dark Hands had an unpredictable strength. Even the various great powers of the Innerverse would not consider provoking them, and Lu Yin did not want to confront such a terrifying power either. To date, the Neohuman Alliance had not directly acted against him, and all of his conflicts had actually been a series of chance encounters. If the Neohuman Alliance truly wanted to do something to Lu Yin, he had no confidence of being able to withstand them unless he requested help from Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin still remembered what had happened to the members of the Yushan bloodline. The Seven Courts and the Neohuman Alliance were both equally famous, and neither one was known for their kindness.

    Lu Yin looked for an empty area where he could peacefully check his harvest.

    First, he decided to look through the cosmic rings that he had seized from the fallen cultivators. While grabbing the rings, he had also collected a bit of blood from each person, and he used that bit of blood right now to open the rings one by one.

    He had grabbed dozens of cosmic rings, though he found nothing special even after going through several of them. There were even a few that werepletely empty. Finally, something good appeared in one ring: a crystal bottle. It was filled with a liquid, and there was an introduction to the liquid written on the bottle.

    Gemspring water: a liquid that could help one during a lockbreaking session that was used by dripping it into one¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin was delighted, as this was a lockbreaking tool, which was definitely a good thing. Every lockbreaking tool was valuable.

    He checked the amount of gemspring water in the bottle and estimated that there should be around twenty-odd drops, which was pretty decent.

    He continued to open cosmic rings and nce through them. Soon enough, he found something else that was decent. This time, it was dozens of memory chips, and when Lu Yin inserted one of them into his gadget, he found that it was a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker¡¯s entire lockbreaking channel that included an introduction of that Lockbreaker¡¯s experience. Lu Yin was delighted, as this was a Lockbreaker¡¯s greatest treasure. Every single one of these chips contained a Lockbreaker¡¯s entire lifetime of lockbreaking experience.

    He almost could not suppress hisughter, as this one cosmic ring contained more than thirty chips, which was equivalent to over thirty people¡¯s lifetime lockbreaking experience. This amount of valuable information even made him feel slightly flustered. If this information was exposed, then all those other Lockbreakers would probably want to devour him alive.

    These were the most valuable treasures that had been in the Hall of Insight.

    Lu Yin looked through the chips one by one and found that they all contained Lockbreaker experiences. He had no time to study these chips right now, so he stored them away before continuing to look through the other cosmic rings.

    In the end, the various cosmic rings provided him with two lockbreaking tools, a hundred chips that recorded various Lockbreakers¡¯ experience, more than 100,000 star essence, and also a strange technique.

    The two lockbreaking tools were the gemspring water and a piece of pink cloth, obviously meant to be worn by ady. As for the technique, it was called ¡°Great Sacrifice.¡± ording to its description, it was a technique that allowed one to overdraw their vitality in order to disy increased power. Once it was used, the person¡¯s life would be consumed.

    Lu Yin recalled how Fiend Li¡¯s rune lines had rapidly spiked right before his death and how the old man had been able to activate the four tree sourceboxes. He had most likely used this Great Sacrifice technique at that time.

    The extra harvest was the more than 100,000 star essence, which was a rather considerable sum. Lu Yin¡¯s harvest on this trip to Sourcepeak was almost too much.

    There was one final thing, which was the box that had been stored in Geoffrey¡¯s secret room.

    He carefully pulled it out and slowly opened it, only to see a strand of golden radiance peek out from the box.

    As he looked at it, Lu Yin¡¯s breath turned ragged, and his eyes went wide. Could it really be¡­? Could it really be that? His luck was just too good!

    As he opened the box, what appeared before Lu Yin was five golden pages, all of which looked very familiar. He had seen this same sight not too long ago, as they had appeared when Saul had opened the box containing the prize for the Lockbreakers Competition: True Insight.

    Each season¡¯s Lockbreaker Competition¡¯s champion would be rewarded with three pages of True Insight. When the chaotic fighting had first broken out, Deng Pu had taken the three pages that he had won and vanished. Later, Saul had been chased out of the Lockbreaker Society because of his various schemes to obtain those three pages, but now, Lu Yin had just gotten a hold of five pages.

    He had never thought that his luck would be good enough to actually obtain five pages of True Insight. This must be what the Corpse King had wanted to steal, and it was no wonder why the Corpse King had risked its life to take the box. Five pages of True Insight was truly invaluable.

    He hurriedly closed the box lid and appeared iparably excited. Then, heughed uncontrobly.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that¡¯s really True Insight! You¡¯ve really struck it rich!¡± The Ghost Monkeyughed as well.

    Lu Yin was pleased, as his harvest this time had turned out to be much better than Wei Rong¡¯s. Wei Rong had set up all sorts of schemes, but he had ended up paving the way for Lu Yin. If that fellow learned of Lu Yin¡¯s harvests, he would definitely go crazy in anger.

    ¡°Geoffrey lives up to his status as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society President, as he actually had five pages of True Insight. Truly formidable,¡± the monkey eximed.

 Chapter 704: Box

    <h4>Chapter 704: Box</h4>

    Lu Yin was also taken aback, as something like True Insight could not be reproduced or spread outside of its original copy. It was just like the Stonewall Scriptures that he had memorized; even after so much time, he still could not recite it all at once. It was impossible for him to pass the scriptures onto someone else since he could not write it out either. True Insight was the same, and there were only thirty six pages of it. There were five pages in front of Lu Yin, and three other pages had been taken by Deng Pu. This meant that the Innerverse and Neoversebined held the remaining twenty eight pages.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed with emotion as he had actually obtained five pages of True Insight for himself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I wonder what the other box contained. Could it be more pages of True Insight?¡± The Ghost Monkey was curious.

    Lu Yin had also thought of that possibility. Fiend Li had risked his life to prevent the Corpse King from taking that box away, and that would bepletely justifiable if it contained pages of True Insight.

    But what if that wasn¡¯t the case? Regardless, the contents of that other box couldn¡¯t be any less valuable than True Insight.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look for Felynn and get her to hand you the other box,¡± the monkey urged.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Not now. Fiend Li sacrificed his life to keep that box from being taken away. Felynn must also know of its importance, so there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll hand it over to me. After all, she¡¯s also a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°So what? Are you saying that we can¡¯t do anything even though that treasure is right in front of us?¡± The monkey felt tempted.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry. She¡¯s going to be kept under close eye and key in the future, so there¡¯ll definitely be an opportunity,¡± Lu Yin replied. He might act very impulsively at times, but he could also be incredibly calm at others. The more important a matter was, the calmer he became.

    While Lu Yin was going through his harvests, on an Endless Borders¡¯ spacecraft that was traveling through outer space, Wei Rong learned of what had urred on Sourcepeak after he had left, and he was astonished.

    ¡°An expert appeared who was able to actually force Fiend Li to sacrifice himself in order to take him down, and this all happened after the contents of Geoffrey¡¯s secret room was seized. Hurry up and invite Master Yi Feng over,¡± Wei Rong ordered.

    Yi Feng quickly arrived. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s inside President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room?¡± Wei Rong asked as he stared at Yi Feng.

    Yi Feng¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How did you find out about the secret room?¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to hide anything. That secret room has been opened, and the stuff inside it was seized.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! Fiend Li and the others would never allow those items to leave.¡± Yi Feng immediately denied such a possibility.

    Wei Rong was curious at his reaction. ¡°What exactly are those items?¡±

    Yi Feng started to get worried. ¡°First tell me what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Wei Rong shared what he had learned regarding the recent events on Sourcepeak, and only after hearing the full story did Yi Feng finally rx. ¡°So those objects are still in Felynn¡¯s hands and they haven¡¯t been stolen.¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. So, tell me. What are these items that would cause Fiend Li to sacrifice his life to protect them?¡±

    Yi Feng thought for a while, and after a moment, he looked back at Wei Rong. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Wei Rong was amused by this response. ¡°You¡¯ve already betrayed the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, so what information could you possibly not share?¡±

    Yi Feng remained firm. ¡°These items are too important, so I can¡¯t say anything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about something¡ªalthough your position within the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society is very high, it can¡¯t be considered much within the scope of all of the Lockbreakers in the universe. In that case, how exactly do you know about those important items if your identity is just that of an Outerverse Executive?¡± Wei Rong was curious.

    Yi Feng smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s actually unrted to my position. It was unwittingly divulged by the president when he was drunk.¡±

    Wei Rong blinked. ¡°Do I look like an idiot?¡±

    Yi Feng was rendered helpless. ¡°You may not believe it, but it¡¯s the truth. President Geoffrey is very different from what you guys think, and he often indulges in liquor. Once he¡¯s intoxicated, he might say anything. That¡¯s a part of the reason why he was sent to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society President. Otherwise, with his power, he would be president of not just a mere Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, but rather the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    ¡°Other than our own responsibilities, us three executives also had another task: every time the president drank, one of us had to apany him to prevent him from doing anything overboard. This secret was spoken by him during one of the times when he was drunk.¡±

    Wei Rong looked at Yi Feng incredulously. ¡°Seriously?¡±

    Yi Feng nodded. ¡°Seriously. The reason why Vice President Saul was able to rope in several Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers is partially rted to how the president never properly performed his duties. Although President Geoffrey was vignt against Saul, his drinking habit was just too much. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way Sourcepeak would have ended up as it did.¡±

    Wei Rong now believed Yi Feng, as the executive would not lie to him about such matters that could be easily verified.

    This was troubling, as Yi Feng would not reveal what had been in the secret room. Thus, only Saul, Mr. Jun, and Felynn had that knowledge. Two of them had already left, and Felynn had Lu Yin¡¯s support, which meant that Wei Rong could not touch her. It seemed like it would not be easy for him to find out just what those items were.

    At this moment, Wei Rong¡¯s gadget beeped lightly. He nced at it, and his expression changed. He suddenly stood up. Such a thing actually happened?

    ¡°What happened?¡± Yi Feng asked.

    Wei Rong¡¯s face remained calm as he answered, ¡°Someone has taken a simr action as me.¡±

    ¡°What action?¡± Yi Feng was baffled.

    Wei Rong took a deep breath and activated his gadget. He then opened a star chart and pointed at a certain location. ¡°The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society will be relocated here.¡±

    Yi Feng looked over, astonished. ¡°Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I never thought that this Lu Yin would be intelligent enough to borrow my methods and gain some influence for himself. Not only did he create a favorable impression with the Outerverse Lockbreakers, but he also brought all of those Lockbreakers to Frostwave Weave. Interesting. It looks like things¡¯ll be less lonely next time.¡±

    ¡°How did he do it?¡± Yi Feng found this development strange. He knew Felynn quite well, and he knew that she would not be normally willing to relocate the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters to Frostwave Weave.

    Wei Rong duly answered, ¡°The ¡®how¡¯ is not important. Rather, it¡¯s the oue that is. In conclusion, for this Sourcepeak Campaign, even though I achieved my objectives, gained quite a bit from Hall of Insight, and was even able to take away some Lockbreakers, Lu Yin also obtained quite a bit. In fact, he even came out on top in terms of acquiring influence over the Lockbreakers. I seem to have underestimated him. I had thought he was just an oaf, and I never imagined that he would actually have a brain.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about this. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to take care of Felynn with your methods, and in that case, I¡¯d eventually be the president. At that time, the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society would listen to your orders. If that¡¯s the case, then why did you have me lure a bunch of Lockbreakers away to Armament Weave?¡± Yi Feng asked.

    Wei Rong replied, ¡°Felynn is not stupid, and if I threaten her, she¡¯ll definitelye up with some way to save herself. Do you think that she sought out Lu Yin to cooperate with her just because of his identity? She was actually guarding herself against me, but I never considered dealing with her, as Armament Weave cannot sustain that many Lockbreakers. I only wanted to attract them bit by bit so that I could gradually use the influence of these Lockbreakers to unite the central region and eventually grow stronger. I never expected that this Lu Yin would be even quicker.

    ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance can truly provide for that number of Lockbreakers. This Lu Yin made the best decision, but attempting to take away the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society in a single move shows that his appetite is too big. He may very well choke on this bite.¡±

    Yi Feng did not ask Wei Rong any more questions, as the Lockbreaker was not adept at such schemes, and he actually hated them. If not for the fact that he was indeed a member of the Wei family, he never would have cooperated with Wei Rong.

    After Yi Feng left, Wei Rong activated his gadget and started to search for any and all information rted to Lu Yin. This person was worthy of his attention, and Lu Yin also posed a great threat towards Wei Rong. He was not afraid of having powerful enemies, as he was only afraid of those who were both powerful and smart. Lu Yin belonged to thetter.

    The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society carried too great of an influence within the Outerverse. News of the Lockbreaker Competition as well as of the following events quickly spread throughout the many weaves of the Outerverse, shocking everyone.

    Countless individuals were stunned. To many, the Lockbreaker Society was no different than the sky. WIthout even mentioning the entire Lockbreaker Society, any random single Lockbreaker roaming about the universe generally would not be bothered by anyone. But despite this universal fact, someone had dared to raid the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters and seize the society¡¯s treasures that had been gathered over countless years. This caused Sourcepeak to suffer devastating losses, which did not seem to be possible.

    When the news first broke, most people did not believe it, but as time went on, more and more people started discussing the events. In addition, videos were released, verifying the news. On top of all this, at the same time, news about the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society relocating to Frostwave Weave was also spread.

    ***

    There were seventy two weaves in the Outerverse, but any flourishing region would know of some familiar names, such as Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, and the various spacecraft manufacturers. There were too many mammoth corporations to count, as a myriad of powers andpanies had established themselves throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse. This included the few most famous entities such as Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, and Aurora Enterprises.

    Various nts were being grown on a certainrge in the Outerverse, which was under Shamrock Enterprises¡¯s control. They did not allow any outsiders to enter this as it was used to grow and research certain special medicinal herbs. Shamrock Enterprises had many suchs.

    At this particr moment, within a very beautiful flower garden on this, there was a middle-aged man leisurely lying down in the air, and he floated up and down from time to time. There was a ss of fragrant wine next to him that had attracted many species of butterflies and bee-like creatures. The middle-aged man asionally stretched out a hand to chase them away, but more of them always quickly came back.

    The man seemed to be enjoying a day of rxation.

    Such afortable environment was suddenly disrupted by a girl who stepped out of the void.

    She wore a formal, light red dress and sses. One nce was enough to tell that she had the appearance of a stereotypical secretary. But her beautiful appearance and exceptionally bright eyes belied the fact that she could move by tearing through the void. Her strength was terrifying, as in the current universe, only Hunters were able to travel through the void.

    ¡°Chief Shen, there¡¯s a situation,¡± the woman firmly announced as she walked beside the middle-aged man, using a rather old-fashioned manner of speech.

    The middle-aged man leisurely drained the fragrant wine from his ss and let out a rxed sigh. ¡°Xiao Qin, this isn¡¯t Boss nitpicking at you, but look at yourself. You¡¯re so beautiful yet so old-fashioned! It¡¯s no wonder why you can¡¯t find a man despite already being of age.¡±

    ¡°Chief Shen, there¡¯s a situation,¡± the woman repeated; neither her expression nor her tone changed in the slightest.

    He rubbed his temple and answered in a grudging voice, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°The Lockbreaker Competition has ended, and Deng Pu emerged victorious,¡± the woman called Xiao Qin said.

    The middle-aged man smiled. ¡°As expected. That old fogey Saul chased away all the Lockbreakers that could have threatened his disciple. He might not have used above-board measures, but they were effective enough. So, has True Insight alreadynded in his hands?¡±

    ¡°No, True Insight and Deng Pu are both gone,¡± Xiao Qin said.

    ¡°How is that possible? How could Deng Pu have escaped from Saul?¡± The older man was astonished.

    Xiao Qin continued exining in an indifferent tone, saying, ¡°A great battle erupted on Sourcepeak. Saul was used by Executive Felynn of collusion, and his crimes were confirmed. Then, someone sneakily raided the Hall of Insight and seized the society¡¯s treasures. Now, Sourcepeak is about to copse, Vice President Saul has been chased away, and Honorary Vice President Fiend Li has died. Also, Executive Jun¡¯s whereabouts are unknown while Executive Yi Feng has thrown his lot in with the Wei family of Armament Weave. Executive Felynn is now overseeing the society, and she has decided to move the society to Frostwave Weave.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression had turned solemn, and he seemed to be seriously considering all of these developments.

    Xiao Qin did not disturb his thoughts.

 Chapter 705: Reaction

    <h4>Chapter 705: Reaction</h4>

    Not much time passed before the middle-aged man spoke up again. ¡°Who raided Sourcepeak?¡±

    ¡°That hasn¡¯t been investigated yet, but it should be those few organizations with the Wei family at the helm. Lord Egret appeared and held back Saul,¡± Xiao Qin replied.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Lord Egret. On the surface, he¡¯s an independent cultivator, but ording to certain reports, he has received support from Aegis since long ago. In that case, between the Wei family and Aegis, there should have also been quite a few other powers that participated. How bold of them to actually seed in plotting against the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    The middle-aged man paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°I seem to recall that the Wei family has raised a very outstanding junior in recent years.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong is adept at strategy. Although he is still young, he is ruthless, and he has never failed. He also appeared on Sourcepeak,¡± Xiao Qin said.

    The middle-aged man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, and Yi Feng also cast his lot in with the Wei family. This Wei Rong indeed has some ability.¡±

    ¡°Yi Feng announced some conditions aimed at attracting Lockbreakers to Armament Weave, and they also stole the treasures of the Hall of Insight. Wei Rong has reaped quite the harvest,¡± Xiao Qin added on.

    The man stood up with knitted brows as he looked at a flowerbed. The main issue stemming from these events was not what had happened to the Lockbreakers or even the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s treasury; rather, it was the fact that Wei Rong had set a very bad precedent. Since ancient times, colossal organizations like themselves had looked down upon the Outerverse as they plundered and controlled their lifeline throughout the ages. But now, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had fallen, which would give the other Outerverse organizations hope of overthrowing the other colossal organizations. This was not something good.

    This meant that their own Shamrock Enterprises was also at risk.

    ¡°What reaction has the Mavis Bank taken?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Not yet clear,¡± Xiao Qin replied.

    ¡°Right, you mentioned that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society has decided to move to Frostwave Weave, right?¡± He suddenly remembered this detail and asked about it.

    Xiao Qin nodded.

    The middle-aged man felt a headacheing on. Could Lu Yin have participated in these events? Otherwise, why would the society relocate to Frostwave Weave of all ces? If Lu Yin had started cooperating with Wei Rong, then the situation was even more troublesome than what he had thought. Wei Rong was not frightening, but Lu Yin certainly was. He had established the Great Eastern Alliance and had already proven himself to be an outstanding individual. Also, Lu Yin happened to be both incredibly powerful and tremendously ambitious. If he made a move, then the problem would be even thornier.

    ¡°Tell me everything that happened on Sourcepeak, and don¡¯t leave out a single detail, especially about anything concerning Lu Yin. Didn¡¯t he participate in the Lockbreaker Competition? And he should have also yed a very active part during the battles on Sourcepeak,¡± the man said firmly.

    Xiao Qin answered, ¡°It was indeed lively. If not for him, Sourcepeak¡­¡±

    After a long while, Xiao Qin¡¯s narration finally finished, and the middle-aged man let out a long breath. ording to this information, Lu Yin probably had not coborated with Wei Rong, or else he would not have defended the Hall of Insight. That was good; as long as the two of them had not teamed up, it meant that Lu Yin¡¯s focus was not on the colossal organizations, which was the most important point.

    ¡°Immediately check and see what the Mavis Bank and Aurora Enterprises¡¯ reactions are. I want a detailed report.¡±

    Xiao Qin immediately withdrew.

    After she left, the man thought things over and then used his gadget to contact someone. He sullenly said, ¡°Chief Yu, there¡¯s been an incident.¡±

    Not long after, a voice replied from the gadget. ¡°President Geoffrey is not around, which is why those clowns dared to take such an action. If they dare to treat our Shamrock Enterprises the same as the current Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, their days will be numbered. There¡¯s no need to pay them any mind.¡±

    ¡°What about that Wei Rong?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. Schemes and tricks will only ever be a sidepath when there are people who can overturn or even cover the skies. No matter how smart this kid is, his power will always be limited.¡± The person on the other end of the call then disconnected.

    The middle-aged man exhaled. That was indeed true¡ªif President Geoffrey had been around in the Outerverse, he would have resolved Sourcepeak¡¯s chaos with a flip of his hand. Those clowns would have never been able to even create a ripple. They had better not treat Shamrock Enterprises as an organization on the same level as the Geoffrey-less Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Otherwise, they would be in for an unforgettable experience.

    But if Chief Yu had such an attitude, then the Mavis Bank would likely have an even loftier one, and they might evenpletely disregard the events.

    On a not too far away from Sourcepeak, Cai Jianqiang emerged from the void and appeared. He found a random restaurant, sat down, and ordered a few delicacies as snacks.

    He had known that he would be eliminated during the Lockbreaker Competition, and he was already used to such things.

    As he ate, he heard snippets of conversation from the tables nearby.

    ¡°What, Sourcepeak almost copsed? The Lockbreaker Society was robbed? Is that for real? Who has the balls to do that?¡± one person shrieked.

    Cai Jianqiang froze while his drink was halfway to his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s real! After the Lockbreaker Competition, Vice President Saul was used of using dishonest methods to eliminate other Lockbreakers. Then, some other people invaded the Hall of Insight, and the Lockbreaker Society is now on the verge of copse. The Hall of Insight was reduced to ruins, and even Honorary Vice President Fiend Li died! It¡¯s a disaster.¡±

    ¡°I never thought that the grand Lockbreaker Society would sink so low. Being isted from the Innerverse has truly changed the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Shh, quiet! Don¡¯t let a Lockbreaker hear you.¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s a good thing that the Lockbreaker Society has copsed. Those Lockbreakers have always been conceited even though they¡¯re only relying on the society¡¯s support without caring about anyone else. It¡¯s about time for them to fall off of their pedestal. I don¡¯t care¡ªI will p and celebrate such a thing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, most Lockbreakers have never even managed to unlock a single sourcebox, but they¡¯re given special privileges just because of their innate gift. That¡¯s unfair. Here, cheers!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    ¡­

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s expression grew dark, and he quickly opened his gadget to look for news articles on what had happened on Sourcepeak. Out of all the reported images, the scene of the Hall of Insight copsing into ruins was exceptionally clear. It showcased the fall of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    He browsed until the end of the newsfeed and then set his drink down. Everything had already been settled, and there was no need for him to return. However, he still felt that he should return and take a look since the society was moving to Frostwave Weave. Although most Lockbreakers looked down upon Cai Jianqiang, he was exceptionally fervent about lockbreaking, and he valued the society rather highly.

    Frostwave Weave¡­ that person called Lu Yin should be the one in charge there.

    That person had not appeared in this Lockbreaker Competition, but he had mysteriously appeared once the fighting started. It was all a little strange.

    ***

    On Shenwu Continent, as Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s death neared, he began to act even more recklessly; he started sending policing troops against the various rebellions, massacring rebels, and exterminating any and all remnants that had been left behind by Ming Zhaotian. This led to seething discontent across the entire Shenwu Continent, but the people werepletely suppressed under his iron fist.

    He had already seized the highest position on Shenwu Continent, and with the outsiders¡¯ help, he could quell any rebellion regardless of the size, and the fate of such rebels was always quite miserable.

    Ming Zhaoshu was not the same as before, and his draining vitality had almostpletely devoured his rationality, and Ming Yan had seen this up close.

    ¡°Kill them all! Don¡¯t leave a single one alive. These rebels actually dared to betray the empire and me,¡± Ming Zhaoshu barked, killing intent filling his eyes.

    Beside him, Ming Yan picked up the memo that her father had thrown to the floor, and she frowned slightly. She then looked over at Ming Zhaoshu. ¡°There are more than 3,000. You want to kill them all?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu replied in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t let a single one escape. I will let these people realize their fate.¡±

    After the previous massacre, Ming Yan¡¯s determination had grown firmer, and she had be much more decisive at handling matters. However, she still could not casually make a decision to kill 3,000 people without any ability to resist. This was 3,000, not 300.

    When he saw that Ming Yan had not made any sort of confirmation, Ming Zhaoshu looked at her. ¡°What? Are you not going to listen to Father any longer?¡±

    Ming Yan looked miserable. ¡°Father, how many do you want to be buried with you?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s body trembled as he clenched his fists tightly.

    Ming Yan pursed her lips, knowing that her words had been too harsh. She immediately tried to calm her father down. ¡°Sorry, Father, I didn¡¯t mean that, but-¡±

    ¡°Get out.¡±

    Ming Yan still wanted to say something, but Ming Zhaoshu repeated his words. ¡°Get out.¡±

    Ming Yan ced down the memo and nced at Ming Zhaoshu before stepping out of the study.

    She raised her face towards the sunlight, and her body swayed as she almost fell down. Right now, she didn¡¯t dare to sleep at night, and since she had to handle the various administrative duties during the day, her body was overly exhausted.

    Tang Si respectfully asked, ¡°Princess, do you wish to summon the imperial physician?¡±

    Ming Yan shook her head and left with the support of her maids.

    Tang Si hung his head with aplex look on his face.

    Within the office, Ming Zhaoshu stepped in front of a mirror, and his appearance changed. A decrepit old man appeared in the mirror, a man devoid of all vitality and who looked to be a mere breath away from death. This was the emperor¡¯s true appearance as his vitality had been sapped away, and nothing could stop it. Those rare natural treasures that had been gathered from all over, even the ones from the Outerverse, could not stop his vitality from slipping away, and the speed had gradually increased. He felt that his death would arrive sooner than he had initially estimated.

    Ming Zhaoshu had grown numb to the sight of the old, decrepit man in the mirror. He almost wanted to die immediately so that he could break away from this feeble old body that disgusted him so, but he could not. He still had certain matters to attend to. Just a little longer, just a little more.

    ***

    Under Felynn¡¯s arrangements, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was shifted from Sourcepeak to Frostwave Weave, and the natives of Sourcepeak were also resettled onto some nearbys. In short, Sourcepeak was no longer habitable.

    Yi Feng had attracted quite a few Lockbreakers to join him in Armament Weave, a majority of whom were the Outerverse Lockbreakers who did not remain at the society¡¯s headquarters. Hence, the Lockbreakers who headed over to resettle in Frostwave Weave were only the few who had previously lived at the society¡¯s headquarters, as well as some Lockbreakers who wanted to study in the headquarters. There were not very many, and they did not even number 3,000. However, they were all Lockbreakers, which meant that they were not ordinary people.

    What delighted Lu Yin the most was that, among the various Lockbreakers heading to Frostwave Weave, there were three Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, including Felynn. They were Felynn, Xi Qi, and a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker known as Master Kai.

    Perceptive Intermediate and Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers were on two fundamentally different levels.

    Every Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker had the strength to fight against a Hunter. No matter what realm they had cultivated to, even if they were nothing more than a lowly Explorer, they would still have the ability to hold their own against a Hunter.

    Unfortunately, during the fighting on Sourcepeak, several Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers had died, and there had also been a few who had sided with Saul and left, like Mr. Jun. Their whereabouts were unknown, and only Master Kai had remained behind.

    As for Xi Qi, she wanted to head over to Frostwave Weave to take a look for herself.

    Aside from the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, Ku Wei, Serpent Queen, and Tong Mi¡¯er also headed towards Frostwave Weave. They all had enormous potential and could be Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers in the future. Thus, they were all highly valued by Lu Yin. Ku Wei was a bit more troublesome, as Lu Yin had basically confirmed that this person was a member of the Court of Seven Names¡¯ Ku family. Lu Yin did not feel confident about allowing a member of the Three Dark Hands to follow him back to Frostwave Weave.

 Chapter 706: Progenitor Chenâ€™s Mausoleum

    <h4>Chapter 706: Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum</h4>

    ¡°Why do you want to go to Frostwave Weave?¡± Lu Yin sought out Ku Wei and directly asked him this question.

    Ku Wei was holding onto another cultivator¡¯s shoulder, and he looked very happy. However, Lu Yin¡¯s arrival shocked him, and the cultivator took the opportunity to quietly slip away.

    Ku Wei turned to face Lu Yin, and in a righteous manner, he said, ¡°In any case, Brother Wei is also a Lockbreaker, and there¡¯s many things that I can still do for the Society. Brother Wei is willing to contribute my fair share to the Society.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Let¡¯s quit with the nonsense. You¡¯re from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family.¡±

    Ku Wei grudgingly rubbed his nose. ¡°Bro, don¡¯t burst my bubble.¡±

    ¡°Right now, you¡¯re headed towards my ce, so make your motives clear. Otherwise, I¡¯ll let the Hall of Honor know of your existence,¡± Lu Yin threatened.

    Ku Wei spread his hands. ¡°Is that really necessary?¡±

    Once he saw Lu Yin¡¯s serious expression, Ku Wei sighed. ¡°Alright, fine, I¡¯ll tell you. Actually, I want to go and look for the Yu family.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. This was what he had expected.

    ¡°The Court of Seven Names has seven surnames, which represent the seven great families. The Yu family betrayed the Seven Courts, so we have to find them,¡± Ku Wei exined.

    ¡°For revenge?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei thought about the question. ¡°Sort of, but also no. More importantly, we want to let the Yu family¡¯s strength return to the Seven Courts.¡±

    ¡°Their secret technique?¡± Lu Yin asked solemnly.

    Ku Weiughed. ¡°Not just their secret technique. Any family that¡¯s a part of the Seven Courts possess terrifying strength, and every one of those families has enough strength and baseline influence to contest against the various great powers of the Innerverse. With such enormous power, how can we abandon them so easily? Back then, there had to have been a reason for the Yu family to betray the Seven Courts, so we¡¯re willing to give them a chance.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°The Yu family possesses terrifying strength?¡±

    ¡°Of course, what do you take the Seven Courts for? The seven great surnames were not born from the same origin, but we¡¯ve gone through countless years of mutual tribtion and cooperation in order to form the Seven Courts. Each one of the seven great surnames is frighteningly powerful. Since you know the secret technique and have even managed toprehend it, you must know of its value. Let me ask you¡ªhow many families of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones possess a secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and realized that he had indeed never bumped into anyone who had used a secret technique during his few years of roaming about the Innerverse. Of course, this was also rted to his strength at that time. He had not been qualified toe into contact with those true, absolute monstrous descendants of the great powers like the Daynight n or the Sword Sect.

    ¡°The Neoverse is a mysterious ce, and one can¡¯t enter it without having the prerequisite ability. Do you think that those Innerverse powers don¡¯t want to enter the Neoverse? Wrong. They really want to, but they can¡¯t. From our Seven Courts, all of the great seven surnames can enter, so you can imagine the strength behind them.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Ku Wei. ¡°So what does this have to do with you wanting to go to Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Ku Wei beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s not mess around with insinuations and hidden messages. Brother Lu, you used the Yu Secret Art.¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny anything. ¡°So what if I did? The Outerverse is cut off from the Innerverse, so I can tell you that it¡¯s indeed the Yu Secret Art. I received it from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s former emperor, Undying Yushan. Unfortunately, he¡¯s long since dead, along with the entire Yu family.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡± Ku Wei adjusted his expression as he looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°I believe that what you¡¯re saying is true, but I don¡¯t believe that the entire Yu family is dead.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew icy. ¡°Are you scheming against Wendy?¡±

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t rted to her. You know, I once spent a long timeying low in the Great Yu Empire, and I paid attention to everything that happened there up until a little more than a year ago, when the various great powers finishedpeting for pyrolyte ore. Then, I received a message telling me that the Great Yu Empire is unrted to the Yu family, and so I left the Great Yu Empire to roam about the Outerverse, until just now. I just saw you use the Yu Secret Art, and I know that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Yushan n is made up of the Yu family¡¯s descendants. Thus, clearly, what I was told was not entirely urate. I previously assumed that the sole survivor of the Yushan bloodline was a single woman, but after confirming that the Yushan bloodline is a part of the Yu family, I can guarantee that the Yu family has not been exterminated.¡±

    ¡°But these are the facts¡ªthey were exterminated by the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Ku Wei sneered. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. If the Yu family of the Seven Courts could be exterminated that easily, then there¡¯s no way they would have survived long enough to even make it to the Outerverse. You don¡¯t know what the Yu family has kept hidden, and only by understanding that strength would you not be confused by the various events that have urred. Brother Lu, I can explicitly tell you that the Yu family is still alive and that it always has been.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that Undying Yushan is not dead?¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Ku Wei shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. He might actually be dead, but regardless of his survival, the Yu family definitely persists. That family has some hidden old monsters, and if the Neohuman Alliance actually had the ability to wipe out the entire Yu family, then the Innerverse and Outerverse would definitely know about it. If old monsters at that level made a move, it would be a historic moment, and such people do not die silently. Why do you think I kept myself hidden, not daring to expose myself before? It¡¯s precisely because I¡¯m afraid that I might draw out such a monster.¡±

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. He hade into contact with many powers, such as the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, the Wen family, and the Neohuman Alliance. Each one of them had very powerful foundations, and it would not be easy to exterminate any one of them. As a fundamental part of the Seven Courts, the Yu family was definitely no different. Could they really not have been wiped out? Did Wendy know anything?

    He was baffled, as Undying Yushan and the others were clearly dead, and even their corpses had vanished.

    Hang on, their corpses vanished? A lightbulb suddenly seemed to light up his brain. Back then, he had thought that the Neohuman Alliance had stolen the corpses, and Silver had practically admitted to it, but was that really the case? Could there have been some other reason behind the bodies¡¯ disappearance?

    If the Yu family really still existed, then they had skirted his detection abilities. Rune lines could not be forged, and it was not very realistic for an entire family¡¯s rune lines to be hidden. If such an old monster existed, then he definitely would have discovered something.

    Ku Wei reached out and waved a hand in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Brother Lu, let me go to Frostwave Weave, and I¡¯ll help you investigate. Anyway, since the Innerverse and Outerverse are currently separated, I pose no threat to you. Don¡¯t you want to know what the Yu family has been hiding? Why were you able to take over the Great Yu Empire after Undying Yushan? Did Undying Yushan really die? Don¡¯t you want to know the answer to all these things?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the other youth. ¡°What does your Ku family have hidden in the Outerverse?¡±

    Ku Wei eximed in an exaggerated fashion, ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t spout nonsense! I¡¯m the only one from the Ku family who¡¯s in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then that means that you have no exploitable value. No going to Frostwave Weave for you,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Ku Wei blinked, as he had just discovered that the ways they thought were entirely different. ¡°I¡¯m not any sort of threat to you by myself.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°But you¡¯re of no use either.¡±

    ¡°I can help you investigate the secrets of the Yu family.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. It¡¯s none of my business whether they are dead or not. And since I¡¯m protected by the Hall of Honor, then even if the Yu family is still around, they won¡¯t be able to do much to me. Also, my rtionship with the Yu family should be pretty good. Speaking of which, if the Yu family really still exists, and they¡¯re your enemies, then don¡¯t you think I should just get rid of you right now?¡± A chill shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he casually spoke, and he also equipped his universal armor at this same time.

    Ku Wei sensed true killing intent from Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re crazy! I¡¯m willing to help you out of kindness.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot? You im to be searching for the Yu family by yourself, but you¡¯re exaggerating too much. If what you say is true, then how can there be nobody from the Ku family supporting you in the Outerverse? If you¡¯re lying, then you must have a motive for lying to me. However, regardless of if what you¡¯ve said is true or false, your existence is not a good thing for me. Now that the Outerverse has been isted from the Innerverse, why would you take the risk toe to Frostwave Weave with me to search for the Yu family? Everything that you say is filled with contradictions from start to finish, so you can just go and meet your maker now.¡±

    The pike suddenly appeared, and Lu Yin pointed it straight at Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei quickly spoke up, ¡°Alright, you win! I¡¯ll speak. I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡±

    Lu Yin stared into Ku Wei¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you lie to me again, I¡¯ll definitely act. The Hall of Honor should give me some kind of reward for killing someone from the Three Dark Hands.¡±

    Ku Wei looked pained. ¡°I¡¯m not lying, and what I said before is true. The Outerverse really doesn¡¯t have anybody from the Ku family who cane to my aid. Who could have known that the Innerverse and Outerverse would suddenly be separated? We were also left without any choices.¡± He looked up and saw the chill in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes intensifying, so Ku Wei quickly continued, saying, ¡°As for why I¡¯m taking this risk to look for the Yu family, it¡¯s because the Yu family has an item that I have to get.¡±

    ¡°Continue.¡±

    Ku Wei exhaled heavily. ¡°Have you heard of Progenitor Chen?¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Chen?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen?¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Ku Wei nodded, and he looked at Lu Yin seriously. ¡°It seems like you have, but you must not understand about who Progenitor Chen truly was. In fact, even I don¡¯t really understand everything, but all you need to know is that he was a Progenitor. Our Seven Courts first united because we discovered Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched, and his eyes went wide. Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum?

    The monkey was also excited. ¡°For real? Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum?¡±

    Ku Wei stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Shocking, huh? There aren¡¯t that many people in the Outerverse or Innerverse who know about this secret. Because of Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum, the Seven Courts united to repel all other powers, after which they forcefully upied Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum. This is exactly the reason why our Seven Courts is considered one of the dark powers. There are some people who can¡¯t beat us, so they try to smear our reputation. We arepletely different from the Neohuman Alliance. They are truly sinister and belong in the dark while we were deliberately maligned just because we seized Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°Get to the point.¡± Lu Yin was getting anxious.

    Ku Wei pursed his lips. ¡°The Seven Courts took control of Progenitor Chen''s tomb, and of the seven great families, every hundred years, one person from each family can be sent into the tomb to search for a destined encounter. Our Ku family is the same, but unfortunately, it¡¯s not my turn. Thus, I came to the Outerverse to try and find the Yu family. If I find them, then my family has agreed to give me the entrance opportunity that belongs to the Yu family. This isn¡¯t just what the Ku family has promised me, and the other families have agreed as well.¡±

    ¡°And so they sent just you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Of course not. Every family sent their own people, and the opportunity will belong to whoever finds the Yu family. However, everyone else has hidden themselves, and no one else would be like Brother Wei, who is so open about things.¡± Ku Wei was rather smug.

    Lu Yin sized the young man up and down. Could this be for real? He did not quite believe it.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it should be true, as he actually mentioned Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum! Is there any greater secret in the universe than a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance? There¡¯s nothing else!¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin responded, ¡°With the current situation with the Outerverse being isted from the Innerverse, even if you find the Yu family, it¡¯s still useless. Even if you can get that opportunity, you still won¡¯t be able to get back to the Neoverse.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s look suddenly became even more determined. ¡°No matter what, I have to give it a try, since this is an opportunity for a qualitative leap forward. Anyone who enters Progenitor Chen''s tomb will end uppletely transforming if they manage to survive. This would be a metamorphosis for me.¡±

    Ku Wei stared at Lu Yin as he continued. ¡°Brother Lu, my existence is of no threat to you. Believe me¡ªwith the Hall of Honor supporting you, even if there are others from the Ku family in the Outerverse, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to threaten you. If I find the Yu family, I just want to obtain the chance to enter the tomb, and everything else can go to you. Don¡¯t forget that, aside from the Yu Secret Art, the Yu family still has many other battle techniques. The foundations of the Seven Courts¡¯ Yu family is not something that you can even imagine.¡±

 Chapter 707: Return

    <h4>Chapter 707: Return</h4>

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Ku Wei. ¡°You may go to Frostwave Weave, but there¡¯s a condition.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down at Ku Wei¡¯s finger. ¡°I want to learn the battle technique that you used against me during the Lockbreaker Competition. It should be called Finger Tap.¡±

    Ku Wei was stunned for a moment, but then he immediately refused. ¡°No, Finger Tap is a technique that belongs solely to my Ku family, and it can¡¯t be passed on to outsiders.¡±

    ¡°Then forget about it. Allowing you into Frostwave Weave to look for the Yu family also carries risks for me. If the Yu family really does still exist, it¡¯s difficult to say who the Great Yu Empire would listen to between me and them. I established the Great Eastern Alliance after a great deal of difficulty, and if I have to surrender it just because you unearth the Yu family, that would be unfair for me.¡±

    ¡°I can promise to hand over the Yu family¡¯s other items to you.¡±

    ¡°What are you relying on to make a promise like that? If the Yu family is actually as powerful as you im and has that deep of a background, or as you im, even old monsters, then do you even have the ability to hand their items over to me? What a joke! I can¡¯t hope for something like that.¡±

    Ku Wei was rendered speechless, as he would not have mentioned all this if he had known how Lu Yin would have reacted. ¡°Change your condition. I can¡¯t teach you Finger Tap, or else the Ku family will definitely kill me when they find out.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly raised his pike and pointed it at Ku Wei. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that there are members of the Ku family in the Outerverse.¡±

    Ku Wei hurriedly replied, ¡°No, I meant after the Innerverse reconnects to the Outerverse!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve been contradicting yourself from beginning to end. I don¡¯t believe you. I was only 30% certain that there were Ku family experts in the Outerverse before, but now, I¡¯m 90% certain. It looks like it¡¯s better for you to just die.¡±

    ¡°How can I convince you that there¡¯s nobody from the Ku family in the Outerverse?¡± Ku Wei was flustered.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Teach me Finger Tap.¡±

    Ku Wei stared at Lu Yin with a frustrated expression, looking as though he wanted to eat Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained calm, and the tip of the pike felt ever sharper.

    After a while, Ku Wei finally gave in. ¡°So as long as I teach you Finger Tap, you¡¯ll promise to let me enter Frostwave Weave, not to make things difficult for me, or tell the Hall of Honor about me, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I value mutual trust.¡± Lu Yin was delighted. He wanted to learn Finger Tap to help him with the Dream Finger since, right now, every time he used it, his finger would rupture. His finger could not endure the technique¡¯s pressure, but learning Finger Tap should strengthen his finger quite a bit.

    Ku Wei hadpromised, but Lu Yin still needed to determine if what Ku Wei had told him was true. The opportunity to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s mausoleum was extremely appealing, and since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, Ku Wei would rather risk being punished by his family for sharing some of their core techniques than let go of a chance to enter the tomb. This showed Lu Yin that Ku Wei stood to gain far more than what he was offering. Even if it was just a chance at an opportunity, it was still worth it. Progenitor Chen''s mausoleum was indeed worth paying almost any price, but it was too much of an illusion, like the moon¡¯s reflection in ake. There had to be a more substantial benefit if Ku Wei was willing to make such a deal.

    However, Lu Yin did not n to continue questioning the other young man, as their deal was just like his one with Felynn. He had a great deal of time to pursue this further in the future. The Hall of Honor was still around, and he did not believe that Ku Wei would be able to overturn the sky.

    There would certainly be some obstacles that the Lockbreaker Society would have to clear before it couldpletely move to Frostwave Weave. Sourcepeak Weave would not easily allow it, and this matter had to be handled by Felynn. It was not difficult, but it did require time.

    Lu Yin had to return to the Great Yu Empire to arrange a location for the new Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters. The that he ultimately selected was known as Hydrotink and was located near Zenyu Star.

    Following Lu Yin to the Great Yu Empire were the Serpent Queen, Xi Qi, Ku Wei, as well as Master Kai. Aden had been left behind to help protect the other Lockbreakers.

    Lu Yin had originally been worried that the Neohuman Alliance would send someone else to seize the box, but Felynn ayed his worries; the Hall of Honor had already intervened. The Lockbreaker Society was technically one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s subsidiary organizations, though it had its own structure. The Hall of Honor would not intervene in the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s domestic and external conflicts, which was why Wei Rong had dared to act against Sourcepeak. However, the Hall of Honor would definitely protect that box.

    Lu Yin was very curious about what was inside the box that could move the Hall of Honor to directly protect it.

    It was not unexpected for Xi Qi and Ku Wei to follow him to Frostwave Weave, and Master Kai wanted to investigate Hydrotink. However, it was strange that Serpent Queen was also following Lu Yin back to Frostwave Weave. She did not have a favorable impression of him, and she was also hostile towards Ku Wei.

    Lu Yin was now slightly suspicious that this woman might have also been sent by the Seven Courts!

    ¡°My hometown is in Frostwave Weave, so there¡¯s nothing strange about me returning,¡± Serpent Queen said matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Your hometown is in Frostwave Weave? Aren¡¯t you from the Innerverse?¡±

    Serpent Queen duly replied, ¡°I was born in Frostwave Weave, but Master took a liking to me when I was young and took me to the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin understood now, as this girl had experienced the same situation as Wendy Yushan. They both had outstanding natural talent.

    Hiss!

    The ancient, multi-colored python had shrunk itself to about the size of a palm and was currently curled up on Serpent Queen¡¯s shoulder, where it continuously hissed at Lu Yin. It was pocket-sized, and whenever it noticed Lu Yin looking at it, the snake would immediately divert its gaze towards Xi Qi and the fish atop her head.

    ¡°What are you looking at? You¡¯re just emergency rations! Be more aware of yourself,¡± the fish shouted arrogantly.

    The multi-colored snake raised its body to stare at the fish, and its hissing grew even more frequent.

    Serpent Queen helplessly reached up a hand to cate the beast. The stories of Xi Qi and her fish had long since spread throughout the Lockbreaker Society, and the fish was incredibly infamous for its vulgar mouth.

    The multi-colored snake wriggled into Serpent Queen¡¯s cor and did not emerge again.

    Ku Wei saw the scene and felt envious of the python. ¡°A man isn¡¯t as good as a snake.¡±

    Serpent Queen red at him, as she still had not forgotten about the scoundrel¡¯s behavior during the first stage of the Lockbreaker Competition, where he had actually robbed her.

    ¡°Two-legged beast, if you are willing to be Lord Fish¡¯s mount, Lord Fish will bestow that female two-legged beast upon you,¡± the fish shouted at Ku Wei as it swatted its tail all over.

    Serpent Queen became even more furious, and she red at the fish onest time before turning to leave.

    Ku Wei curled his lips up and looked at the fish. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ll go and find a cat for you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey wants to find a cat as well,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he turned his gaze to outer space instead.

    The journey from Sourcepeak to the Great Yu Empire was very smooth, and they didn¡¯t run into many disturbances. Felynn had settled things with Sourcepeak Weave, and even if the various great powers of Sourcepeak Weave did not want the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to move its headquarters, they could not stop it from happening. Not even Felynn could stop it, as Lu Yin had published the contents of several of the memory chips in his possession before heading back to Frostwave Weave as a way to demonstrate his willingness to make these lockbreaking records public. The files that he had shared were all of Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers, and they were way more appealing than the records of average Lockbreakers.

    Against the expectations of the crowd of Lockbreakers, nobody moved to stop them from heading to Frostwave Weave.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s Aurora arrived at Zenyu Star¡¯s space station, he immediately returned to King Zishan''s pce while Xi Qi and the others went their own ways.

    Ku Wei had imparted Finger Tap technique to Lu Yin in the spacecraft, and Lu Yin had already practiced it for a few days. He felt that it would indeed be useful for raising his finger¡¯s resilience. However, Ku Wei had not imparted the true Finger Tap to Lu Yin, as the techniquecked a core, little charm. The true might of Finger Tap was in its auspicious form that rendered its target unable to resist the changes in their emotions and desires.

    Of course, Lu Yin did not need that part, and Ku Wei would not share it with him either. Lu Yin only needed the Finger Tap¡¯s finger-training method.

    Once Lu Yin returned to King Zishan''s pce, he summoned Huan Sha, En Ya, and Gavin.

    His harvest from the trip to Sourcepeak had been great, but it had also been extremely exhausting. Lu Yin sat in the pce¡¯s courtyard, and Zhao Ran appeared from behind to serve him a drink. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    At this moment, Huan Sha arrived. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°How are the arrangements at Hydrotink?¡±

    ¡°One week ago, Your Highness sent orders to convert Hydrotink into the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters, and we have alreadypleted our preparations. The transport and defense facilities around Hydrotink are already in order, and they will bepleted in no more than ten days,¡± Huan Sha answered.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Everything should follow the arrangements of Sourcepeak, but there¡¯s no need to make too many preparations. Hydrotink was a tourist to begin with, and it has a naturally beautiful environment. Just maintaining its original appearance will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Has anything happened in the empire recently? How are the Four Ministries?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much has happened. The most notable event is that the Twelfth Squadron has purged quite a few departments that had various aristocratic heirs ced within them. Because of this matter, quite a few officials looked for the Imperial Cab and asked them to uphold justice, but they were suppressed by the cab. Also, the Ninth Squadron has investigated a bunch of officials, which has caused turmoil in many regions of the empire. The Four Ministries are currently settling these affairs.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as these types of small matters were no longer worth his attention. However, since Ban Jiu purged those aristocratic heirs, it seemed that something might be happening in the Technology Department.

    As for the Ninth Squadron, the Auna family had willingly embraced the role that he had given them. That was good, as he liked obedient people.

    Not long after Huan Sha left, En Ya arrived. ¡°Your Highness, the Alliance Conference is about to start. Does Your Highness have anything special that we should take note of?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°During the Alliance Conference, the Lu Ministry of Defense has to guard the empire. I don¡¯t want anything to happen that could possibly tarnish our prestige.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s the proposal for the Allied Forcesing along?¡± Lu Yin asked. This was something that he was concerned about. One of the main objectives in establishing the Great Eastern Alliance was to integrate the members¡¯ resources, and the other was to integrate the member weaves¡¯ military forces. The resource integration had already slowly begun, but one of the most important topics of discussion for this Alliance Conference was the integration of the various powers¡¯ military might, which were the soldiers.

    In this universe, everything could be glossed over except for military might. Even an enormous corporation like the Nn family had been forced to stoop to relying on Lu Yin when they lost the protection of their Enlighters. This showed the importance of military strength.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance did not have a united military force, then it would be the same as not having an alliance.

    When Lu Yin mentioned this, En Ya¡¯s face turned solemn, and she handed Lu Yin a list thatid out the preliminary proposed system and candidates for the Allied Forces.

    Lu Yin nced over it. ¡°This is too simple.¡±

    En Ya was caught in a difficult position. ¡°Your Highness, the alliance has only just been established, and the wills of the various members have not united yet. Additionally, there are even certain eastern weaves that are still vignt towards our Great Yu Empire. For now, we can only establish a preliminary allied force. It will still take some time before we can staff arger military force, unless¡­¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at her. ¡°Unless some external pressure appears.¡±

    En Ya agreed. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Wei Rong. Lu Yin had brought the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, and it would be strange if Wei Rong was not bothered by this. It was as if Lu Yin had managed toe out ahead by using a path that Wei Rong had zed. At this time, Wei Rong might already be focusing his attention onto the Great Eastern Alliance. The Wei family¡¯s Armament Weave was a part of the central region, and the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance would definitely pose a threat to them, so Wei Rong would not disregard their united front. External pressure would appear soon¡ªthey merely didn¡¯t know what form it would take.

    ¡°Leave it as it is for now. We can¡¯t allow powers like the Vastdearth Sect and Six-Fingered Tribe to remain wary of us.¡±

    En Ya acknowledged her orders. ¡°Your Highness, do you have a candidate in mind for the position of Commander of the Allied Forces?¡±

 Capter 708: Endless Borders

    <h4>Capter 708: Endless Borders</h4>

    Lu Yin appeared to have fallen deep into thought. Since there was an allied military, then amander would definitely have to be selected. However, choosing that person would be a sensitive topic. ¡°Let me think about it.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, in addition to the Allied Forces, we can also set up a secret, quick response team to deal with the thorny issues,¡± En Ya suggested.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Special forces?¡±

    ¡°Something along those lines. This quick response force would ideally be made up of space-exploring powerhouses. We should also aim for this team to be the most deadly force in the entire Outerverse, assembled solely to carry out matters of the Great Yu Empire,¡± En Ya said.

    Lu Yin agreed. ¡°Alright then. This team can¡¯t be made known to anyone else. I¡¯ll leave it to you to set up this team¡¯s organization while I look for the decision makers of the various weaves and have private discussions with each of them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    After En Ya left, Gavin was the next to visit Lu Yin. He had requested to meet with the Minister of Finance to discuss the budget for the Allied Forces¡¯ establishment. As for matters regarding economic cooperation among the alliance members, he was not interested in discussing such things at this time. However, Gavin brought with him some surprising news; Endless Borders was interested in establishing a presence in Frostwave Weave.

    ¡°Endless Borders? Thepany that¡¯s one of the four biggest corporations?¡± Lu Yin asked in astonishment.

    Gavin replied, ¡°Yes, Endless Borders. Your minister has already met their regional manager for Frostwave Weave, Di Nuo. Many other people have also already met with the people from Endless Borders.¡±

    Lu Yin started pondering this news. As one of the four major corporations, Endless Borders could move about the Outerverse unhindered, and they naturally had control over many secure and secret star routes. It was quitemon for powerful organizations like them to establish a presence in Frostwave Weave, but it was quite unusual for their leader to personally seek out Gavin. This showed that thepany valued Frostwave Weave.

    Even though Endless Borders had a route that ran through Frostwave Weave, the supply vessels typically did not stay there for long. The fact that the corporation wanted to establish a presence in Frostwave Weave now was definitely rted to what had happened on Sourcepeak.

    ¡°Your Highness, after the arrival of Endless Borders, our local transportpanies in Frostwave Weave have seen a significant drop in their market value. Somepanies are even on the verge of bankruptcy, and they have been forced into desperation. About a dozenpanies have already sought me out and requested that the empire expel Endless Borders from our region. There are more than a thousand people from various transportpanies who are gathered outside of my residence right now, and all of them are seeking protection from the empire,¡± Gavin respectfully informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin knitted his brows. ¡°Get Di Nuo toe and see me.¡±

    Gavin acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    The ce where Di Nuo had chosen to temporarily reside was rather close to King Zishan¡¯s pce. It seemed that he had already guessed that Lu Yin would request a meeting with him, and he had been waiting outside King Zishan¡¯s pce for a while now.

    Soon after, Lu Yin met with Endless Borders¡¯ regional manager for Frostwave Weave. His appearance made it clear that he was a businessman; he was not particrly well dressed, but his disposition indicated his high intelligence.

    ¡°Di Nuo pays his respect to the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire.¡± Di Nuo respectfully bowed when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formalities, Mister Di Nuo. Please, have a seat.¡±

    Gavin silently stood to the side as he watched the two men interact.

    Di Nuo sat down as Zhao Ran offered him a cup of tea.

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness,¡± Di Nuo said.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°I heard that you are in charge of Endless Borders¡¯ activities in Frostwave Weave, correct?¡±

    Di Nuo bowed slightly. ¡°Yes, Endless Borders humbly requests to enter Frostwave Weave and establish a presence here. We hope that you can facilitate this for us, and for this, you will have Endless Borders¡¯ eternal gratitude.¡±

    ¡°Frostwave Weave is not a prime location for trade, and it doesn¡¯t have any well-known specialty products either. As one of the four big corporations, why has Endless Borders chosen to expand to this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked, staring intently at Di Nuo.

    Di Nuoughed. ¡°Your Highness, you must be kidding. Frostwave Weave has an illustrious history, and it has also produced skilled individuals such as Wendy Yushan, who is in the Top 100 Rankings. Endless Borders would be blind to underestimate a ce that has been able to produce such rare talents. Moreover, Your Highness has brought the entire eastern region of the Outerverse together in the Great Eastern Alliance. Needless to say, Frostwave Weave is at the core of the Great Eastern Alliance. Businesses are flourishing in the east, and the alliance might even expand further, so this is the best time for transport businesses. Endless Borders also wants a piece of this lucrative pie, and we hope that Your Highness will not mock us for our ambition.¡±

    What Di Nuo had mentioned were all good reasons.

    Lu Yin tapped the table with a finger, deep in thought.

    Di Nuo took one look at Lu Yin, and after a slight moment of hesitation, said, ¡°Is Your Highness troubled by this? I have heard that there are many people within Frostwave Weave who do not wee Endless Borders. If I may be blunt, they are worried about nothing. We at Endless Borders are not unreasonable, and we will obey thews and prices of any region that we enter, and we will not overstep our boundaries. We simply want to run a business, and we are not looking to establish a colony.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Di Nuo. ¡°When did you receive word that you would be the regional manager of Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Di Nuo¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Seven days ago.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Seven days ago¡­ He had already left Sourcepeak by then. In other words, it was certain that this decision had been made precisely because of what had happened on Sourcepeak. This was not just a business move.

    What was Endless Borders trying to do? Were they a friend or foe?

    ¡°Mister Di Nuo, could I meet with someone from a higher management level in Endless Borders? Perhaps a member of your board of directors?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Di Nuo respectfully answered, ¡°I will let my superiors know about your wish for a meeting right away. My leaders would definitely be thrilled to speak with you.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll wait for your good news, Mister Di Nuo.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Di Nuo then asked, ¡°What about us establishing a presence in Frostwave Weave?¡±

    ¡°You may do so. However, please remember to act fairly. The Ninth Squadron of the Great Yu Empire is dedicated tobating corruption, and I hope that you will not overstep any boundaries,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Di Nuo was overjoyed, and he quickly stood up to offer his thanks.

    After Di Nuo left, Gavin asked, ¡°Your Highness, are we really going to allow Endless Borders to set up shop here?¡±

    Lu Yin gave him a faint smile. ¡°Frostwave Weave is trying to integrate with the other seventy two weaves of the Outerverse. We have to deal with these powerful Outerversepanies sooner orter.¡±

    ¡°What about the local transportpanies?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple: don¡¯t start a business if you¡¯re not capable of maintaining it. Relying on the empire or the fment for protection is not a sustainable practice, and things are only going to be more unbnced in the future. Prices and services will not correspond to each other, and life won¡¯t be fair to the citizens either,¡± Lu Yin said decisively.

    Gavin had no choice but to agree in exasperation. But just as he was about to leave, something suddenly popped into his mind. ¡°Your Highness, when I was talking to Di Nuo, he said something that I found strange.¡±

    ¡°What did he say?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin pondered for a moment before responding, ¡°He brought up Aegis several times, and over the course of our conversation, he mentioned that I should be wary of Aegis.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred a little. ¡°Alright, you may leave now.¡±

    ¡°I will take my leave then.¡±

    Di Nuo had been very cautious during his interactions with Lu Yin, and he had not said much to Lu Yin himself. Instead, he had used Gavin to pass on this message. Lu Yinughed at himself. He felt naive for believing that Di Nuo just wanted to spread thepany¡¯s business ventures for even a second. Endless Borders¡¯ reasons for wanting to establish a presence in Frostwave Weave were definitely not that simple. For them to remind Lu Yin that he needed to be wary of Aegis, it seemed that they really wanted to be friends.

    After Gavin left, Lu Yin turned his personal gadget on and immediately contacted the alluring Madam Nn. He wanted to understand the four major corporations of the Outerverse better, and there was no one better to ask than Madam Nn, who was the head of one of the four major corporations herself.

    After a considerable amount of time, Madam Nn finally picked up Lu Yin¡¯s call. She was absolutely beautiful as always, with wless skin reminiscent of jade. Behind her, Lu Yin could see a stunning backdrop of the starry sky illuminating the lustrous sea. This background was also bathed in silver light as the dawning sun peaked above the horizon, making her look like a fairy from a fantasy. Lu Yin found himself inexplicably attracted to the woman.

    ¡°How does the scene look?¡± Madam Nn smiled as she greeted Lu Yin. While her eyes exuded a sense of exceeding gentleness, Lu Yin felt indescribably attracted to her.

    ¡°Beautiful, absolutely stunning,¡± Lu Yin responded.

    Madam Nn let out augh. ¡°This is the view that I love the most, and to prevent this wonderful sight from suffering any damage, I bought the entire gxy so that this unique scenery would be preserved. I can bring you here if you would like.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a cough and showed an awkward smile. Madam Nn had been referring to the backdrop while Lu Yin had been referring to her.

    ¡°Your Highness, what can I do for you?¡± Madam Nn asked as she looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed yet again. ¡°Endless Borders has started establishing a presence in Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Madam Nn did not seem surprised at all. ¡°Oh? It looks like one of our partnerships will soone to an end then.¡±

    ¡°Are you referring to transport?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nnughed. ¡°Of course. With Endless Borders entering the scene, the Nn family¡¯s transport business will suffer a severe blow. Furthermore, since they are establishing a foothold in Frostwave Weave, they will make sure to give the Great Yu Empire the best services and prices avable. Congrattions, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me more about Endless Borders?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn took a sip of juice before continuing, saying, ¡°Do you think that Endless Borders wants to establish a presence in Frostwave Weave because of the events at Sourcepeak?¡±

    ¡°Is that not the case?¡±

    ¡°Partly. Ultimately, regardless of whether it is Endless Borders or the Nn n, we are allmercial giants. Our instincts will drive us to wherever we can make the most money. The establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance and the integration of its members¡¯ resources heralds a golden age for transportation services. During this period, there will be no fewer than a hundred thousand transportpanies that will be established. Of course Endless Borders would want a piece of this lucrative pie.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t just stop at Endless Borders. After the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, many other well-known corporations of the Outerverse will also want to establish their presence within Frostwave Weave. This is inevitable. This is not just because of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s establishment, but also because they are drawn by your ambition.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Ambition?¡±

    An alluring smile spread across Madam Nn¡¯s mouth. ¡°Your ambition is apparent for all to see, Your Highness. The Great Eastern Alliance may not be enough for you, and many others want it to growrger just like you. Them establishing a presence in Frostwave Weave will give them a pioneer¡¯s advantage in the future. Even if you were not ambitious, the Great Eastern Alliance alone would be enough for them to be rich.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It looks like I have be a highly sought aftermodity for you merchants.¡±

    Madam Nnughed. ¡°Military affairs have always beenrgely dependent on politics, while politics change due to those various benefits, which are a major driving force for merchants. Let me put it this way¡ªhumans do everything that they can to reap benefits and rewards, andmerce is the most superficial activity that covers that. Merchants without a sound financial structure will never amount to greatness, and the way you govern incentivizes many merchants to set up shop in Frostwave Weave. They are not just investing in the domain and the goods¡ªthey are also investing in you, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°What about you then?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn blinked at him. ¡°I invested in you since I firstid eyes on you. Have you not felt it, Your Highness?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Yes, I feel it. You¡¯ve done a lot for me.¡±

    Madam Nn rolled her eyes. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, but rather the Nn n. Your Highness, please choose your words carefully, as you may create misunderstandings like that.¡±

    As he drank in Madam Nn¡¯s exquisite beauty and captivating mannerisms, Lu Yin¡¯s heart was stirred once more. He brought himself back to reality with a cough and said, ¡°I want to know how powerful Endless Borders really is.¡±

 Chapter 709: The Four Great Conglomerates

    <h4>Chapter 709: The Four Great Conglomerates</h4>

    Madam Nn¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Endless Borders has a deep background. If Your Highness wishes to be enemies with them, then please carefully consider it first.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She considered her answer. ¡°I mean this¡ªeven with a simr cost,modity, and vessel, Endless Borders can send goods to a given destination faster than any other transportpany. The reason for this is because they have discovered many secret routes throughout the universe. These are all routes that they have personally explored, and Your Highness should know the cost of exploring a portion of the universe. Endless Borders has gained control of too many routes, and that is something that it could not have done without a certain level of strength and background.

    ¡°Even if Endless Borders rarely participates in conflicts between other powers, nobody dares to underestimate them. All of their enemies have simply vanished after being looted, without exception.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shed, as the universe was so vast, and the greatest wealth that one could obtain was a route through space. Humans explored the universe and paid a tremendous price, just to discover these routes. Any route had been paid for with countless lives, and Endless Borders was clearly able to use its own strength to explore the universe. This was a strength that made Lu Yin feel a bit of fear. It should be recognized that he did not have the confidence to explore the entire Outerverse even if he had established the Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡°Endless Borders has found secret routes that even many Innerverse powers wish to obtain, but none have ever seeded. Their foundation is strong enough to resist the greed of Innerverse¡¯s great powers, which is the true face of Endless Borders. Bing enemies with them is even more frightening than going against an entire weave,¡± Madam Nn solemnly exined.

    Lu Yin pondered over this information.

    ¡°But,¡± she interjected as her tone suddenly changed, ¡°The Outerverse has never heard of Endless Borders intentionally making enemies. They did not send anyone to participate in the conflict on Sourcepeak and merely provided transport. In essence, Your Highness does not need to be overly concerned about them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm, but in reality, his sense of caution towards Endless Borders had risen several times over. He did not like matters that were out of his control, and Endless Borders far surpassed his grasp. This was a group that could even pose a threat towards his future ns. This made him very ufortable, though there was nothing he could do about it for the moment.

    ¡°Compared to worrying about Endless Borders, why doesn¡¯t Your Highness focus more on Aegis? They¡¯re the greater threat,¡± Madam Nn suddenly suggested.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Aegis?¡±

    Her expression turned solemn. ¡°That¡¯s right, Aegis. On the surface, Aegis bridges the gap between mercenaries and regr citizens by providing such services for hire. It is also thergest securitypany in the Outerverse. But in reality, those mercenaries are all people who have been trained by thepany. They have countless training grounds littered throughout the Outerverse, all of them focused on churning out mercenaries that wander across the universe, gathering spoils of war. Even more frighteningly, Aegis is the greatest assassin organization in the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Aegis is an assassin organization?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°This secret is not something that is widely known, and only those who are in the upper echelons of a select few circles are in the know. As the leader of one of the four great conglomerates, I am naturally aware of this fact. Additionally, of the top ten assassins in the Outerverse, six of them are a part of Aegis. The Outerverse has many assassin organizations, and at least a tenth of them are funded or were established by Aegis, and many others are rted to Aegis in some other way. On one hand, they demand a high price for their bodyguards and mercenaries, but on the other, they send out assassins. This means that they control both sides of a conflict, earning money twice. Thispany simrly has an extremely deep foundation.¡±

    Lu Yin had never expected Aegis to be the type ofpany that tried to control both sides of a conflict at the same time. This meant that, in the Outerverse¡¯s underworld, they were able to y however they wanted and that Aegis was the true king there.

    Not a single one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates was simple. Even though Madam Nn appeared to be harmless before Lu Yin, the fact that the Nn family was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates showed that they had an immeasurable foundation, as evidenced by the fact that they were backed by the Sword Sect. With the precedent set by the Nn family, Endless Borders and Aegis might also have the support of some great Innerverse power.

    ¡°I already know about three of the four great conglomerates, so tell me about thest. Amethyst Exchange isn¡¯t simple either, is it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She smiled coyly. ¡°Your Highness is smart. That¡¯s correct. Amethyst Exchange appears to be the Outerverse¡¯srgest retailer, but in reality, they are actually thergest intelligence organization, and they have gathered thergest information database in the entire Outerverse. Whatever you want to know, they already have it. If they don¡¯t know, then you don¡¯t need to bother looking anywhere else.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. One corporation was the king of the underworld, one had grasped secret routes through unknown methods, and one was an intelligence organization. These were the true faces of the four great conglomerates. In that case, then what about the Nn family? It should be known that, as a part of the four great conglomerates, the Nn family was known as the Outerverse¡¯s most wealthy family. And when it came to their business ventures, the Nn family actually surpassed the other three corporations. So what else was this woman hiding?

    Lu Yin did not ask any further questions, and Madam Nn did not speak any more about the four great conglomerates either. Rather, she very calmly ended the call.

    She had informed him about the other three great corporations, which was also equivalent to telling Lu Yin that the Nn family was also not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as the Outerverse still contained unknown depths. Things truly were not as simple as he had previously thought. Everything that had changed on the surface was merely a false veneer; the true dangers still remained hidden beneath the surface.

    Fortunately, Frostwave Weave was situated to the east of the Outerverse, and the eastern weaves were not viewed as very important by the rest of the universe. Also, many people had started shunning the Eastern Weaves when they realized that many ces were still isted after the Ironblood Weave published its draft list. Otherwise, Lu Yin may not have been able to establish the Great Eastern Alliance as smoothly as he did.

    These powers were hidden too deeply, but they had gradually started losing their patience since the recent events. Wei Rong had thrown the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society into chaos, which had caused Aegis to expose itself slightly. Endless Borders and Amethyst Exchange would not just idly wait by as this happened. Colossalpanies such as Shamrock Enterprises, Mavis Bank, and Aurora Enterprises would also not be resigned to such a fate. A good show was about to begin, and all Lu Yin needed to do right now was simply wait for the most opportune moment to act, just as he had done with the Lockbreaker Society.

    ***

    In Bard Weave¡¯s Evenground Pce, beneath the same waterfall as before, Mu Nichang listlessly propped up her chin with a hand as she stared at the waterfall. After bing the Sect Mistress, it had been a long time since she had left the sect. Also, whenever she made a move nowadays, there were always a bunch of people apanying her, which was frustrating. She could only reveal her true personality when she was alone with her precious disciples, and being stifled like this was not a good feeling. In reality, she never even wanted to inherit this position, but her master had just happened to be the previous mistress. She wanted to find a chance to resign, or else she felt like she would contract some sort of stress-based illness one of these days.

    Some people liked authority, but Mu Nichang truly did not enjoy it. From her perspective, being stuck in the position of Sect Mistress and passing through one¡¯s life like this was just a waste of time. The universe was so huge, and she simply wanted to go out for a stroll.

    ¡°Master, master!¡± Doro ran over, gasping for breath.

    Mu Nichang rolled her eyes. ¡°Girls need to have manners. Look at you! How can Master feel assured in handing Evenground Pce over to you?¡±

    Doro smiled bitterly. ¡°Master, stop joking around. This disciple isn¡¯t even an Explorer yet, so how could I take over Evenground Pce?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s impossible about it? Master supports you!¡± Mu Nichang waved her fists as she encouraged her disciple.

    Doro was struck speechless, as anyone else would be eager to inherit the position of Sect Mistress. However, their line seemed to be rather strange, as her master constantly wanted to hand over the position of Sect Master to Doro, and Mu Nichang¡¯s master had been the same. In fact, she had disappeared almost as soon as she had been relieved of the position. This made Doro reluctant to take on this position as well, as it almost seemed to be poisoned. Was something wrong with the position of Sect Master?

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mu Nichang askedzily.

    Doro replied, ¡°The Vastdearth Sect has contacted us to enquire about our preparations.¡±

    ¡°About what preparations?¡± Mu Nichang was lost.

    ¡°The preparations rted to the previous agreement: using the sect¡¯s entire strength to nurture a powerhouse at the same level as Lu Yin to suppress the Great Yu Empire and ce Lu Yin in a difficult position.¡±

    Mu Nichang cried out exaggeratedly, ¡°Meng Tianlong is still thinking of doing such a thing? He can just go and die.¡±

    Doro blinked.

    With a voice full of disdain, Mu Nichang said, ¡°Does he not know that Lu Yin took the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society from Sourcepeak and brought them to Frostwave Weave? Trying to make things difficult for Lu Yin now is just stupid, as he can just send any two Lockbreakers to take care of us. Tell him to go to hell.¡±

    Doro was candid, and sent that exact message back to the Vastdearth Sect. ¡°Go to hell.¡±

    In the Vastdearth Sect, Elder Hua Qiao stared at his gadget and felt like something was off. ¡°Go to hell?¡± What was that supposed to mean? Did that woman from the Evenground Pce send this out by mistake? He thought about it and sent another message asking how the preparations were going.

    He received the exact same reply. ¡°Go to hell.¡±

    Hua Qiao became furious, as Evenground Pce was obviously looking down upon their Vastdearth Sect. He immediately went to go find Sect Master Meng Tianlong and have the Sect Master demand that Evenground Pce make their stance clear. Humiliating an elder like himself was no different than humiliating the entire Vastdearth Sect.

    But before he could find Meng Tianlong, the disciple who had been waiting to report to <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4737,"3":{"1":0},"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"elder="" hua="" qiao"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Elder Hua Qiao took the opportunity to share what had happened on Sourcepeak. Hua Qiao had gone into seclusion for a dozen days toprehend a battle technique, and he had only juste out. As soon as he returned, he had sent that message to Evenground Pce, not knowing what had happened at Sourcepeak. Upon learning of those events and their details, his expression changed.

    ¡°What? The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society is going to shift their headquarters to Frostwave Weave?¡± Hua Qiao was in disbelief.

    ¡°Yes. ording to the reports, Lu Yin has rendered meritorious services to the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society on Sourcepeak, and so, Interim President Felynn has decided to relocate the society¡¯s headquarters over to Frostwave Weave. They are currently en route.¡±

    Hua Qiao looked up and suddenly understood why Evenground Pce¡¯s attitude had changed so drastically. So this was why¡ªthe Great Eastern Alliance now had the support of the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Lockbreakers were extremely strong within their own realm, and just a few of them could easily deal with their two sects. Even though they had power vessels, Lockbreakers had lockbreaking tools, and it was very difficult to beat a Lockbreaker who was at the same power level. No wonder, no wonder.

    Hua Qiao could not help but smile bitterly. Their sect had nned to unify the eastern region for such a long time, but it had alle to nothing. It was absurd.

    ***

    In xen Weave, the Tri-Banner Federation¡¯s current chairman, Gibu, also received the news that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was shifting its headquarters over to Frostwave Weave, and he immediately sent Lu Yin a message of congrattions. He was dead set on faithfully following the Great Yu Empire, as without it, he would be relegated to being a former chairman. Also, his secrets were held by the empire.

    The Vastdearth Sect had wanted to collude with Gibu to make things difficult for the Great Yu Empire, and he had immediately sent a message about this to En Ya. The reason why he had continued to cooperate with them had been En Ya¡¯s suggestion, as that would allow him to gather more intelligence on the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s ns, which he would then provide to the Great Yu Empire.

    At times, Gibu tended to look down on the Vastdearth Sect. On one hand, they appeared to have subserviently agreed to join the alliance, but on the other, they had only done so while holding a knife behind their back. They were utterly unlike him, who was loyal to the end.

 Chapter 710: Possession Again

    <h4>Chapter 710: Possession Again</h4>

    In Adonis Weave, after Darkstar Gorge was destroyed, Greenpeak Gorge had suddenly be the leading power of the weave. In the past, it had always been thoroughly suppressed by Darkstar Gorge without an opportunity to stand out. However, after Elder Wu was dealt with by Lu Yin, many powers had denounced Darkstar Gorge, and Greenpeak Gorge had risen up. The powers that had denounced Darkstar Gorge had practically all been tied to them.

    Greenpeak Gorge had been much more sincere than Darkstar Gorge, and after they became the weave¡¯s leading power, they had immediately contacted the Great Yu Empire and taken the initiative to join the Great Eastern Alliance. They had taken very proactive moves, but they had also agreed to cooperate with the Vastdearth Sect¡ªthey were actually double-crossing Lu Yin.

    When they learned that Lu Yin had relocated the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, they immediately cut off all rtions with the Vastdearth Sect and also sent a bunch of resources to the Great Yu Empire. They then used all sorts of excuses to continuously send gifts over, to the extent where even En Ya and the others were embarrassed by Greenpeak Gorge¡¯s behavior.

    Although Greenpeak Gorge appeared to be very enthusiastic, En Ya still ced them on the ¡°unreliable¡± list of alliance members. She felt that the Great Yu Empire had to be on guard against this power even more than against the Vastdearth Sect, as Greenpeak Gorge was too willing to change sides.

    The Six-Fingered Tribe was the one that cared about the events on Sourcepeak the most, as the Armament Weave was the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s greatest enemy in the west. The two powers had been mortal enemies for countless years, and the Wei family¡¯s hands were stained with the blood of the Six-Fingered Tribe while the Six-Fingered Tribe had simrly massacred countless members of the Wei family.

    When they learned that Yi Feng had joined the Wei family and had also brought a bunch of Lockbreakers with him, the Six-Fingered Tribe had started panicking. They had been worried that the Wei family would use those Lockbreakers to boost their strength. In reality, they were not merely worried, as such a thing would absolutely ur; otherwise, the Wei family would not have gathered the Lockbreakers to their weave.

    It was good for them that Lu Yin had moved the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, and it reassured the Six-Fingered Tribe that they were not inferior in any way.

    In order to counteract the threat posed by the Wei family, the Six-Fingered Tribe decided to sincerely join the Great Eastern Alliance. Only the alliance could protect them from the Wei family¡¯s suppression since only Lu Yin had the ability to control the Lockbreakers that were supporting the Wei family.

    Thus, currently, the most sincere supporters of the Great Eastern Alliance were the Lars Weave and the Grandtop Weave. The Nine Stacks Sect of the Grandtop Weave was actually a puppet of Lu Yin¡¯s, and the other powers in that weave had no influence and were forced to listen to him.

    There was still Darkmist Weave, and aside from Shenwu Continent, the weave¡¯s most terrifying power was Mafioso. Although Mafioso could not openly join the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had control over the bespectacled Limiteer Mistchild, which meant that this power also supported Lu Yin.

    The events of Sourcepeak soon spread throughout the eastern weaves, and the most discernible change was that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s rtionships grew more stable.

    Lu Yin quickly learned that the various great powers of the eastern weaves had given up on their coboration and that they were prepared to truly join the Great Eastern Alliance, which allowed him to finally rx. It was best to take on less difficulties.

    ¡°Your Highness, the Six-Fingered Tribe wishes to request military support from the Great Eastern Alliance. They are mortal enemies with Armament Weave, and now that Armament Weave has been reinforced by a group of Lockbreakers, they are worried that the Wei family will take this opportunity to invade Lars Weave,¡± En Ya said.

    Lu Yin acknowledged the request. ¡°Tell them that, based on the terms of the alliance contract, the Allied Forces were established to protect the alliance members. There¡¯s no need for them to worry about this.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± En Ya replied as her eyes lit up. Uniting all seventy two weaves of the Outerverse had long since been a dream of Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao. Now that he was imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp and could note out, she wanted to be the one to help him achieve that dream. She had initially joined the Great Yu Empire because she had nowhere else to go, but now, she saw a true hope of uniting the Outerverse.

    This man in front of her had the ability, ambition, and the destiny. Not a single one of these conditions could be missing when attempting to unite the Outerverse, and Lu Yin was even a natural Outerverse denizen. When considering the possibility of uniting the Outerverse, he was more suitable than Shui Chuanxiao had ever been.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification, and he nced at it. He then waved at En Ya, asking her to withdraw. He lightly tapped his gadget, causing Elder Lohar¡¯s image to appear on the screen. He smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, I heard that something big happened on Sourcepeak.¡±

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful tone, ¡°Somebody ambushed the Hall of Insight, and Vice President Saul was exposed in a scandal. It really was not a small matter.¡±

    Elder Lohar said, ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that. Although the Lockbreaker Society is a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor, we cannot intervene in its matters. When Ironblood Weave was in desperate straits, the Lockbreaker Society simrly did not bother moving for us, and this feeling is mutual. I am speaking about what happened after everything else.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Are you talking about that box?¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded and then solemnly said, ¡°You did well. That box is not only very important to the Lockbreaker Society, but it is also just as important to our Hall of Honor. Not allowing it to be stolen is extremely fortunate. Do you know who it was that tried to steal the box?¡±

    ¡°A Corpse King,¡± Lu Yin answered sternly.

    Elder Lohar nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, a Corpse King who had been hidden on Sourcepeak for many years. Because of their fear for President Geoffrey, that creature had always remained hidden, but it exposed itself due to the events that urred on Sourcepeak this time. If not for Vice President Li¡¯s sacrifice and your assistance, nobody would have been able to stop him. Kid, since you¡¯ve taken the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, that box will also end up in Frostwave Weave. Are you confident in being able to protect it?¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent, as this was a troubling matter that he had considered before. However, he could not give up on the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society just because of this issue.

    ¡°The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society will decline both due to the Outerverse being isted from the Innerverse and because of President Geoffrey¡¯s absence. Now, the two Vice Presidents and two Executives have also left, leaving the Society even more powerless today than it was before, which gave you the opportunity to take them to Frostwave Weave. You will have to bear this responsibility while also receiving the Lockbreakers¡¯ aid. If that box is stolen by the Neohuman Alliance while the Society is under your supervision, then your transgression will be enormous,¡± Elder Lohar solemnly cautioned.

    Lu Yin looked at the old man. ¡°This junior will do my utmost to safeguard that box.¡±

    Elder Lohar acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s response and seemed pleased. ¡°Good attitude. Rest assured, the Hall of Honor will keep an eye on things as well, and we will not be careless. However, the Neohuman Alliance is everywhere, and their roots run deep. You must do your utmost to protect that box.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder,¡± Lu Yin respectfully replied. He then looked expectantly at Elder Lohar. ¡°Can this junior ask what is inside that box?¡±

    Elder Lohar shook his head, ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as he did not believe the old man.

    Elder Lohar forced a smile onto his face. ¡°I know that you don¡¯t believe me, but I truly don¡¯t know what it contains. The separation of the Innerverse and Outerverse was just too sudden. Before this, I had no interactions with the Lockbreaker Society, so I don¡¯t even know what their Hall of Insight held, much less that box. However, the Hall of Honor¡¯s records state that the box is in the Outerverse, that it is one of the most valuable items in the universe, and that it must be protected. Hence, I merely know that it must be safeguarded.¡±

    Lu Yin then understood.

    ¡°Kid, I urge you not to even think about what¡¯s in that box. There are times when it¡¯s not a good thing to know too much,¡± Elder Lohar warned.

    Lu Yin promptly replied, ¡°This junior is busy with the matters of the Great Eastern Alliance, and I¡¯m under a great deal of pressure. Thus, I have no spare time to investigate such secrets. Elder can rest assured.¡±

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s great. Right, have you been to the Daosource Sect''s ruins recently?¡± Elder Lohar asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Not recently, no.¡±

    Elder Lohar solemnly said, ¡°Kid, the Daosource Sect''s ruins contain the ultimate inheritances of our Fifth Maind, and the path for you to strengthen yourself lies in there. When you be a powerhouse, not to mention a puny Great Eastern Alliance, you will even be able to obtain the entire Outerverse. Don¡¯t neglect the basics.¡±

    Lu Yin answered seriously, ¡°This junior understands and will follow Senior¡¯s advice.¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded and ended the call.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that old fart is right. If you can obtain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance from the Daosource Sect, then uniting the Outerverse would be nothing huge, and the Hall of Honor might even help you in that case,¡± the Ghost Monkey said. ¡°But you can¡¯t enter it for now, as it¡¯s be a battlefield that¡¯s beyond terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin was not in a good mood. ¡°Even if it¡¯s not a battlefield, we can¡¯t go there too frequently. Do you think that a Progenitor''s inheritance is something that can be easily obtained there? Just one look at that White Knight woman and I know that she¡¯s scheming something. It seems that she wants to take advantage of me to obtain a Progenitor''s inheritance. It¡¯s possible that she¡¯s been waiting there for me all this time. Going there now is no different than courting death.¡±

    ¡°Right, we don¡¯t have to listen to him,¡± the monkey agreed.

    Regardless of whether it was Elder Lohar, the Ghost Monkey, or anyone else in this region of the universe, no one knew that, once Lu Yin united the entire Outerverse and integrated all of its resources, he would be able to explosively upgrade his strength. Lu Yin did not feel like it would be a stretch to say that, after doing so, he would even be able to take on a group of old monsters whose power levels were between 300,000 to 400,000, and he might even dare to mess with Envoys. This was his fastest way to improve his strength.

    He could not let go of the battle technique that was in that cauldron in the Daosource Sect. He could obviouslyprehend it, but he still couldn¡¯t go back, which was the most frustrating part.

    The Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle techniques would be unrivalled once they werebined into one, and that thought made Lu Yin feel twitchy. Perhaps the Stonewall Scriptures would allow him toprehend all of the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle techniques, which would be perfect.

    He would wait a bit longer, as although the battles between the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings would not end quickly, they also could not carry on forever. After a sufficient period of time, he would be able to safely reenter the Daosource Sect ruins.

    Upon thinking of battle techniques, Lu Yin screened the monkey off and retrieved his die. It was time to cultivate again, and he nned to spend some time cultivating Finger Tap technique. If he could consecutively unleash his Dream Finger, then his battle strength would undergo a tremendous improvement, and improving his strength was indeed the most pressing goal.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin went to a secret room and tapped his die. It slowly stopped spinning as one pip appeared. There was a thump as a single star crystal fell out.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, and he simply crushed the crystal to restore his die before rolling it again. He rolled one pip again, and this time, a weapon dropped out. Lu Yin exerted a slight bit of force before it shattered. He threw the bits to the side and continued.

    Third roll: one pip yet again.

    Lu Yin had no choice, as his luck this time proved to be rather bad. He had rolled nothing but ones.

    A thick journal fell out this time, and he casually flipped through it. It was signed by Ellen Gale.

    He ced the journal to the side as well. He refused to believe his luck would continue to be bad, and he quickly rolled the die once again. He had one more chance left, and he felt that he should be able to roll four pips: Timestop, as this roll usually appeared without much difficulty.

    However, this time, the diended on six pips, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This wasn¡¯t good, as he had forgotten to remove his cosmic ring. The scenery before his eyes shed before he reappeared in the strange space where balls of light sped past him on either side.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he quickly stopped to look around. There were some balls that were burning brightly while others were rather dim. Those that burned the brightest were simr to him in terms of cultivation or some other aspect. He didn¡¯t dare stay in this space for too long, as the longer he stayed, the faster the star essence in his cosmic ring would be burned away. He paused and surveyed his surroundings before quickly finding the brightest ball of light. He dashed towards it and immediately merged with it.

    There was an eye-dazzling sh of light, and Lu Yin slowly opened his eyes as memories flooded into his consciousness.

    It didn¡¯t take him long to stand up, nce around, and then look down at his hands. He had possessed someone called Tong Chou, who was just a Limiteer. How could a light ball that represented a mere Limiteer have given off such a bright radiance? This had to be a lie!

 Chapter 711: Tong Chou And The Skybeast Claw

    <h4>Chapter 711: Tong Chou And The Skybeast w</h4>

    Lu Yin felt helpless when he discovered that a Limiteer¡¯s ball of light could be so bright. A bright ball of light meant that either their cultivation or some other certain area should have simr attainments, so what could he share with this Limiteer? He walked to a window and looked out as he recalled his situation. This person lived on a nameless floating maind, but everyone here simply called it the Mara River battlefield¡¯s frontline. That¡¯s right¡ªhe had possessed Tong Chou, who was a person from the Sixth Maind. This ce was the Sixth Maind¡¯s warfront against the Fifth Maind, and this was where they had invaded the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin never thought that he would havee to this ce, as the Mara River was the name the Sixth Maind used for the Starfall Sea. Nobody knew where the source or the mouth of the Starfall Seay, but Lu Yin now knew the answer. The source was in the Sixth Maind, and the water flowed back into the Sixth Maind from the bottom-up, which formed the Mara River.

    Thus, the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse by traveling down the Mara River. This maind was just one of the invasion¡¯s battlefields, and Tong Chou was a disciple from the Grand Martial Realm. The Tong family was a Cosmic Imprinter family that was extremely formidable, and it could dominate an entire maind.

    ording to Tong Chou¡¯s memories, Lu Yin learned that the war between the Sixth Maind and the Innerverse was currently at its peak.

    He had previously thought that the Sixth Maind would easily route the Innerverse during their invasion and that their forces would be unstoppable. However, the truth was that the Innerverse had many hidden trump cards, and it had been able to temporarily withstand the invasion. The Sixth Maind had sent out Imprinters and World Imprinters, and in response, the Innerverse had sent out Envoys and old freaks with power levels in the hundreds of thousands.

    Although the Innerverse had halted the Sixth Maind¡¯s advance for the moment, the casualties that the Innerverse had suffered were very harsh, and even Tong Chou was aware that quite a few Envoys whose power levels were over 500,000 had already perished. Somes within the Starfall Sea had been destroyed, and each one of them had been protected by an old freak whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands.

    At this moment, a certain memory surged into his mind, and Lu Yin saw the scene of a certain battlefield where it looked like the apocalypse had struck. He felt as small as an ant caught in a hurricane when, suddenly, he saw a strange figure¡ªa horse burning with mes was trotting through the void. It nced at him from a distance, and just that nce had caused Tong Chou to be frightened to the point where he had nearly copsed.

    Lu Yin had seen this figure before, as it had traversed through the void and terrified him before. It had been this exact same figure.

    There were all sorts of people scattered across the battlefield, and Tong Chou was just a Limiteer, so the figure had merely nced at him from a distance before leaving. Lu Yin wanted to learn some more information about this familiar figure, as he himself was not sure about who they were.

    The only thing that Lu Yin knew was that this battle had tilted in favor of the Sixth Maind.

    In the distance, a cool wind blew by, and Lu Yin felt his brain sober up even as more memories continuously surged forth. He suddenly knew why he had Possessed this person¡¯s body; Tong Chou had actually cultivated the Skybeast w.

    The Skybeast w had been left behind by the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Undying Yushan, and the Great Yu Empire¡¯s version had 108 forms, all of which Lu Yin had learned. On the Stargazing Deck of the Astral Combat Academy, he had seen iparably huge warships traveling through space, and one of their hulls had borne scars from the Skybeast w. This battle technique was evidently not as simple as Lu Yin had initially thought, and he was even more certain of that now, since the Skybeast w was a technique that was also present in the Sixth Maind.

    Tong Chou¡¯s Skybeast w had been unintentionally found, much in the same way that Ruky Mathers had learned the Shattering Strike. He had found a simple w imprint on a stone, and derived the technique from studying it from a young age. The strength of his technique was even greater than the Great Yu Empire¡¯s 108 forms. The w imprint contained a deep intent from the Skybeast w.

    Although it was nothing more than a memory gained through Possession, Lu Yin raised his hand and formed a w with his hand. The resulting beast howl that sounded out from the void was enough to shock hearts, and there was an ancient aura that seemed to seeped out from the past.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as the power of this technique would be incredible if he used it in his own body. He had already branded this technique into his memory, and he lowered his hand. Lu Yin would not forget this technique, and he would already consider his gains sufficient if he just went back now and practiced it. He wondered how powerful it would prove to be.

    He stepped out of the room and saw some people shuttling through space. They were cultivators from the Tong family who were participating at the warfront and had helped the Tong family plunder resources.

    At present, Tong Chou was aware that the Tong family had piged twos within the Starfall Sea, seizing billions of ves and more importantly, quite arge amount of resources. They had even found inheritances from powerhouses whose power levels were in the several hundreds of thousands, which had made the Tong family rather excited.

    The Tong family¡¯s main battlefield was within the Starfall Sea, but in reality, the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion into the Innerverse was mainly made up of cultivators from the ckblood Realm. The scope of the invasion had enveloped the entire Mara River, and the realm had dedicated nearly all of its power to invading the Innerverse. They had already conquered the Starfall Sea, and next was Chaos Flowzone.

    ¡°Tong Chou,e here,¡± a crisp voice called out from the distance.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw a youngdy. To his surprise, he actually knew her from his own memories.

    He still remembered how, on his second visit to the Daosource Sect''s ruins, he had traded blows with a girl in the za outside of the First Divine Gate. The girl in front of him now was the same one. Right, now that I think about it, that girl¡¯s surname is also Tong. What a coincidence.

    When he saw her, Lu Yin was astonished due to the coincidence, but he also sensed panic, hate, and helplessness from Tong Chou. Lu Yin quickly scanned through his host¡¯s memories and realized why. This girl, Tong Tong, took particr delight in bullying Tong Chou, and this she had already treated him like a dog for several years. His hatred for her was very strong, but he didn¡¯t dare to do anything to her because she was the daughter of the Tong family¡¯s patriarch, and she was also the strongest member of the Tong family¡¯s younger generation. Her cultivation had actually reached the Grand Martial Realm, which was second only to the Realmling¡¯s, and she was also the younger sister of Tong Zhan.

    ¡°Tong Chou, didn¡¯t you hear me call for you?¡± Tong Tong shouted again in the distance.

    Lu Yin still did not move, and someone kicked at him from behind. His expression changed, and he reflexively dodged aside, as it was very simple for him to evade such a kick with his seasoned battle awareness. The person who had kicked at him had not expected him to dodge, and that person¡¯s missed kick incited guffaws from everyone in the area.

    Tong Tong also smiled, but she continued to shout.

    That person felt as if he had lost face, so he red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Alright, it seems that you¡¯ve finally grown some balls aftering to the battlefield. Try to dodge my kick again! I¡¯ll let you try.¡±

    The person then kicked again, this time using star energy to significantly increase the speed of his attackpared to before.

    Lu Yin had not nned on causing any trouble, and it would have been fine for him to take a single kick. However, in the innermost depths of Tong Chou¡¯s heart, his hatred and panic made Lu Yin instinctively resist, and he responded to the man by simrly raising a leg andshing out with a kick. His kick struck the man¡¯s knee and sent him crumbling to the ground.

    The surrounding people fell silent, and they looked at Lu Yin in shock. What was going on?

    In the distance, Tong Tong was also astonished. ¡°This guy¡¯s just too lucky, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    A young man had appeared behind her at an unknown time, and he stared at Lu Yin with a smile on his face.

    That man who had been kicked to the ground by Lu Yin¡¯s face flushed red, and he leaped up with an icy look on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll make you regret being born!¡±

    This time, the man swatted out with a palm. This person was an Explorer, and Tong Chou¡¯s Limiteer realm body felt an intense natural suppression against such an expert. Lu Yin was only able to dodge due to the heavy suppression caused by the difference in star energy. In the past, Tong Chou had never dared to retaliate when he was being bullied by others due to his timid and weak personality. However, in reality, the power of his Skybeast w made him quite powerful.

    Tong Chou did not dare to retaliate whereas Lu Yin did not want to as he did not want to expose the Skybeast w.

    Without it, even with his superior battle ability, he would not be able to fight against a clearly elite Explorer of the Tong family with Tong Chou¡¯s physical body. However, evading this person¡¯s attacks was of no issue. His understanding of star energy was all in the mind, and his ability in this would not disappear just by changing physical bodies.

    By sensing and analyzing the flow and trajectory of star energy, Lu Yin was able to dodge every single one of the man¡¯s attacks, seemingly by coincidence. Doing so once or twice could be passed off as chance, but it was unlikely to happen for dozens of consecutive strikes. The surrounding crowd gradually stopped talking, as this could not happen due to just mere chance.

    Even Tong Tong started to feel that something was amiss, and she looked at Lu Yin strangely. ¡°This fellow¡¯s ability to dodge is rather good.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s that his awareness towards star energy is quite strong, which allows him to predict his opponent¡¯s attacks in advance,¡± the man behind Tong Tong rified.

    Tong Tong turned around and was astonished to see the man. ¡°Brother, why are you here?¡±

    This man was Tong Zhan, and he moved forward several steps to observe Lu Yin dodging the attacks of his Explorer ream opponent. He ndly said, ¡°If I hadn¡¯te, how else would I have been able to see something so interesting? It won¡¯t be too long before heprehends a domain.¡±

    Tong Tong pursed her lips. ¡°What¡¯s so outstanding about a domain? I can do it too. It¡¯s very simple for us of the Sixth Maind toprehend one, but what we really value is spiritual force. Only by upgrading our spiritual force can we withstand the pressure of an imprint and be more powerful. If I could disy our ancestor¡¯s imprint more clearly, then my strength would increase multiple times over.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate a domain, as they can be very terrifying when cultivated to the extreme. It¡¯s just that nobody in our Sixth Maind is willing to spend the time cultivating one,¡± Tong Zhan replied.

    After watching Tong Chou repeatedly dodge all of his attacks, the Explorer¡¯s embarrassment turned into anger, and a fuzzy image appeared behind him, which was his imprint.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as this was not good. Once someone activated their imprint, their attack power and intensity would increase drastically, and it was not very realistic for him to dodge such attacks with Tong Chou¡¯s body as the disparity between the two of them was too vast.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡± The Explorer raised a hand and swatted down as a martial imprint also appeared on his forehead, improving his strength by another level. This attack caused even the void to tremble and ripple.

    Lu Yin was helpless; was he going to die here? He would end up letting this Tong Chou down since he had caused the youth¡¯s death.

    At that moment, a strong gust swept past everyone, and a violent aura sent everyone flying backwards. The attack from Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was diverted by this pressure, causing it tond to one side of Lu Yin and create a deep pit in the ground.

    Lu Yin turned around. That had been a terrifying pressure just now.

    The surrounding people all bowed as one. ¡°Greetings, Young Master.¡±

    The person attacking Lu Yin frantically moved forward as well. ¡°Greetings, Young Master.¡±

    Tong Zhan nced at Lu Yin and then at the others. ¡°A great battle is imminent, so don¡¯t allow others to think of our Tong family as a joke. No internal strife is allowed.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master,¡± the crowd answered.

    ¡°Prepare yourselves well. The Martial Progenitor may move soon,¡± Tong Zhan said ndly, shocking everyone.

    ¡°Young Master, are you saying that the Martial Progenitor is going to act against the Fifth Maind?¡± Someone was stunned by this news.

    Tong Tong also looked at Tong Zhan in surprise.

    Tong Zhan looked up. ¡°The Martial Progenitor is not satisfied with the current results of our war against the Fifth Maind. Arge group of powerhouses from the Fifth Maind have emerged, and there are a bit too many of them. In addition, the elites of their younger generation have been wantonly massacring our Sixth Maind¡¯s elites in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. Thus, the Martial Progenitor may bring the Daosource Three Skies out, and the Fifth Maind will definitely crumble at that time. I hope that you guys can make sufficient preparations before that time so that you can seize the destiny that belongs to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master,¡± the crowd responded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb. Martial Progenitor! That meant that a Progenitor was about to act. How could the Innerverse possibly resist that? There shouldn¡¯t be any Progenitors left in the Fifth Maind while there were still three of them in the Sixth Maind. This was a deep, inescapable despair. Even if he had not witnessed a Progenitor¡¯s power himself, Lu Yin had heard of it many times, as they had reached the extreme boundary of cultivation.

    If cultivators were considered deities to normal people and Imprinters deities to cultivators, then Progenitors were deities to Imprinters. And Imprinters were already terrifying characters to begin with!

 Chapter 712: The Third Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 712: The Third Battlefield</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank to an absolute rock bottom.

    Tong Zhan left, and the person who had attacked Lu Yin did not stay around to cause any more trouble, leaving as well. Apparently, the news that the Martial Progenitor was about to make a move had left a great impact on everyone here. This heralded the Fifth Maind¡¯s crushing defeat, and it also implied that there would be an enormous chance at destined encounters.

    Tong Tong moved to Lu Yin¡¯s side and sized him up and down. ¡°Tong Chou, that wasn¡¯t bad. I never thought that you would be so capable. You should be close toprehending a domain, right?¡±

    Lu Yin came back to his senses and looked over at Tong Tong. He quickly bowed and respectfully answered, ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been influenced by the warfront¡¯s atmosphere and unknowingly ended up like this.¡±

    Tong Tong smiled coldly at him. ¡°Thest time you saw a battlefield, you fell sick for several days. Don¡¯t bother trying to make excuses. Have you always been trying toy low so that you could find an opportunity to take revenge against me?¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. The young miss will always be the young miss.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see that you still know that. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re just a Limiteer¡ªso what if youprehend a domain? Even that is something that I was able to do before you. You¡¯ll only ever be my dog, and don¡¯t you ever forget it!¡± Tong Tong scolded as she stared coldly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply acknowledged her words. ¡°Yes, mistress.¡±

    Tong Tong was pleased with his response. ¡°I¡¯m actually rather happy to find that you have such strength. If a dog is useless, then the owner also loses face. Now, I will give you a chance to enter the hidden library. Go, find a decent battle technique, and learn it well. Then you¡¯ll have some strength when biting at others.¡± She then passed Lu Yin a token.

    Lu Yin took it, and with Tong Tong¡¯s dismissal, he headed towards the library.

    He had not expected to enjoy thisrge of a harvest this time, as the Tong family¡¯s hidden library contained countless treasures that they had gathered over the years. Although the massive collection that was stored on this maind was not even a thousandth the size of the Tong family¡¯s full library, and despite it being filled with items of the lowest ss, it was still quite decent since Lu Yin could use these records to learn more about the Sixth Maind.

    However Lu Yin¡¯s expectations still turned out to be too high, as he quickly discovered that the books that the Tong family had brought to the warfront were all battle techniques and arts, and all of them were of the lowest grade possible. The majority had been seized from the Starfall Sea, and they were nning onpleting their collection for this particr library by looting this warfront and taking everything back as spoils of war. They had not brought along that many books from their own family¡¯s library.

    Lu Yin flipped through a few, but he soon realized that all of these battle techniques were very ordinary. The better ones were likely stored somewhere else, or they might have even been given directly to a particr person.

    He sighed, as these books were absolutely worthless to him.

    He walked around a corner, randomly picked a book, sat down, and started flipping through it. He decided to wait there a while before leaving, as he could not let his star essence go to waste without gaining anything.

    At that moment, some other people entered the library, and Lu Yin overheard their conversation. ¡°In this next battle, I want to fight and obtain some aplishments. Against those people from the Fifth Maind, we already innately suppress them, and with our imprints, it¡¯s just too easy to beat those within the same realm. It¡¯s really too easy!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Supposedly, this suppression is rted to the Maind. The Fifth Maind has copsed, which means that they don¡¯t have their Maind¡¯s support, leaving them unable to withstand us. In this ce, we can be considered invincible within the same realm, haha!¡±

    ¡°If it was up to me, we should have started this war much earlier, and if that had happened, I¡¯d probably have be a Hunter by now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no different even now. We¡¯re still young, and we can stille across a windfall during this war. There are actually some from our family who don¡¯t dare toe here. Trash!¡±

    ¡°Those people must have heard about what happened in the Daosource Sect''s ruins and gotten scared. They assume that everyone in the Fifth Maind is at the same level as those Ten Arbiters, but in reality, those ten are the absolute pinnacle of the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and there¡¯s a huge disparity between them and those under them. For there to be ten people like that is already crazy, so how could there be more of them? Those people are all fools.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, the battlefield in the Daosource Sect''s ruins is even more terrifying than the one in this ce. The Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings are stuck in a fierce battle, and it¡¯s even rumored that the Daosource Three Skies will head there to participate.¡±

    ¡°Then why did I hear that the Daosource Three Skies will be following the Martial Progenitor into battle to gain experience?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, but that news is spreading everywhere. One thing¡¯s for sure, though¡ªthe Daosource Three Skies are about to appear.¡±

    ¡°Those three are the supreme powerhouses of our Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation. I wonder how powerful they really are. I really admire them.¡±

    ¡­

    Innate suppression? Lu Yin pondered this information, as he had fought against people from the Sixth Maind before, and he had not felt any sort of innate suppression. Could this have been because they were in the Daosource Sect''s ruins?

    ¡°Right, did you hear about it from those above? They¡¯re preparing to set up the third warfront.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s focus shifted, and he started listening intently without making a single sound.

    ¡°A third warfront? With our Sixth Maind¡¯s strength, we can do it. After all, this warfront in the Mara River is mainly being fielded by the forces of the ckblood Realm and Grand Martial Realm. The second warfront is the invasion of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Beast Domain, and the main forces there are from the Bloodburn Realm and Rock Realm. While there aren¡¯t as many people from the other five realms, those realms definitely have enough strength to sustain another warfront. However, where will the third invasion start? Even though the Fifth Maind¡¯s big, as long as one of our Progenitors acts, these people will be crushed underfoot and then nked on both sides. After that, we¡¯ll be able tounch an all-out invasion on their Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind is divided into the Innerverse, the Outerverse, and the Neoverse. Even our Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t quite understand the situation in the Neoverse, but ording to the average strength of the Fifth Maind¡¯sbatants so far, those people should be at around the same level. The higher-ups seem to be nning on invading the Outerverse as a third warfront.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the Innerverse and Outerverse separated?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just the Fifth Maind. Our Sixth Maind has already connected to the Fifth Maind at the Mara River and the Astral Beast Domain, but we¡¯ve also connected in one other area: the Fifth Maind¡¯s Technocracy. I¡¯ve heard from some others that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Technocracy is controlled by a Master Brain. It only has a small territory, but it can stand on equal footing with the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain. Our Sixth Maind has been able to seize a portion of that Master Brain¡¯s authority, and from that, we¡¯ve learned a lot more about the Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the higher-ups are nning on passing through the Technocracy tounch an invasion on the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just hearsay. There are also some saying that the higher-ups are nning on cooperating with the Astral Beast Domain to invade the Human Domain. Anyways, there¡¯s a lot of rumors.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, we should just remain here at the Mara River. It won¡¯t be easy for us to transfer away.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin shifted his focus as the conversation drifted off to less important matters. He raised a hand and unhesitatingly mmed his own head with a palm in order to end this Possession. The scenery shifted away, and when he next opened his eyes, he had returned to the secret room in King Zishan''s pce.

    He stood up with a solemn expression. The Sixth Maind had gained some amount of control over the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain, and although they did not haveplete control, this was still grievous news for the Outerverse. The Technocracy was connected to the Outerverse through the Endless Weave, and the Sixth Maind would be able to sweep through the Outerverse if they pursued this n. The Outerverse had already struggled to fend off the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, not to mention one by the Sixth Maind.

    He wanted to warn Elder Lohar and have the Hall of Honor remain vignt, but how could he exin where he had gotten this knowledge? It had already been rather far-fetched when he made that excuse about how he had known about the existence of the energy barrier in the Primal Zone. Luckily for him, those battles had been very arduous, which was why nobody had thought much about how Lu Yin had gained such information, and this detail had gradually been forgotten. If he provided news of the Sixth Maind initiating a third warfront, then Elder Lohar would definitely grow suspicious.

    No, there¡¯s a way. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly grew bright. The Daosource Sect''s ruins. He could use that ce as an excuse to give this information to Elder Lohar, saying that he had heard this information from one of the Arbiters. Elder Lohar would have no way to verify this information until the Outerverse reconnected with the Innerverse. And it was impossible to predict what the situation would be like at that time¡ªLu Yin might even be an Enlighter by then.

    And so, he made his decision. Although the Sixth Maind might not actually set up a third warfront, the Outerverse still had to make preparations and strengthen their defenses against the Technocracy.

    Right now, Lu Yin wanted to test out his newly improved Skybeast w.

    Wait, how much star essence did I just use up during Possession? Lu Yin apprehensively opened his cosmic ring for a look, and he instantly felt faint. 150,000 star essence had disappeared. 150,000! Lu Yin felt sorrowful, as he had just burned through quite a considerable amount. When he had Possessed Tian Houst time, he had only used up about 20,000 star essence. The die¡¯s six pips: Possession burned through far too much star essence.

    Lu Yin sighed, as the money had already been used. He then withdrew his gaze from his ring; he could earn that amount back, but for now, he should test out the Skybeast w.

    Tong Chou¡¯sprehension of the Skybeast w surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s own 108 forms, though admittedly, it had been many years since he had practiced those 108 forms. Tong Chou, on the other hand, had obtained that w imprint at a young age, and he had even held it in his sleep, causing his understanding of the Skybeast w to reach a different level.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out of King Zishan''s pce, and he quickly found that nobody was looking for him. He then peacefully sat down and recalled Tong Chou¡¯sprehension of the Skybeast w. Unwittingly, his palm turned into a w, and the original 108 forms of the Skybeast w grew numerous as the variations became more and more pronounced in their differences.

    His palm turned into w, which entered the void as the beast¡¯s howls grew ever louder, eventually shocking his mind. Around Lu Yin¡¯s five fingers, even the void started trembling until, indistinctly, a w imprint appeared. The moment after it appeared, a palpating and terrifying fluctuation swept out from King Zishan''s pce and passed over Zhao Ran. She looked up, bewildered, as she blinked. The fluctuation then swept over Kayze, and his scalp turned numb as he nearly passed out. Then, the fluctuation¡¯s range grew even wider, spreading across all of Zenyu Star.

    Many felt a strange chill crawl down their back, as well as a naturally majestic pressure. However, after they realized that this feeling had originated from King Zishan''s pce, they went silent, as they thought that it was a proper urrence.

    Wendy Yushan looked towards King Zishan''s pce. You¡¯ve be stronger. Did you obtain yet another battle technique?

    The might that she felt from the fluctuation even contained a sense of changes that had urred throughout the eons. It was definitely not something that a normal technique could emanate.

    Lu Yin himself had not known that Tong Chou¡¯sprehension of the Skybeast w would allow him to disy such terrifying power.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes as he forcefully dispelled all traces of the w. Then, he released a long breath. Beads of sweat rolled off of his forehead. When he had tested the Skybeast w, he had seen the phantom of a giant w transcend the river of time and descend straight towards him. It might¡¯ve just been a hallucination caused by the battle technique, but he didn¡¯t dare to allow the w to actually touch him, as his intuition had told him that it was not something to be trifled with.

    He looked at his own palm and pondered what had just happened. He had not even reached the end of Tong Chou¡¯sprehension of the Skybeast w, but it had already be so terrifying. What would happen if hepletely unleashed it? Was it possible that its power was not inferior even to the Dream Finger?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as he had unintentionally discovered another powerful battle technique to include in his repertoire. His vision back at the Stargazing Deck definitely had not been false, and the w mark that he had seen on that massive battleship must havee from a fearsome powerhouse. Now, he had indirectly mastered their inheritance.

    It was a pity¡ªif Lu Yin had managed to get a hold of Tong Chou¡¯s w imprint, that would have been the best. After all, Tong Chou was just a Limiteer, and there was a limit to how much he couldprehend. If Lu Yin had the stone on him, then he believed that he would be able to improve the Skybeast w even further.

    As for the 108 forms of the Skybeast w that he had previouslyprehended, he had already merged them into one form. Compared to Tong Chou¡¯s understanding of the Skybeast w, the 108 forms were nothing more than a joke.

    If Tong Chou did not have such a timid personality and actually had the courage to fight against others with the Skybeast w, his strength definitely would not be as weak as it was. Of course, topletely unleash the Skybeast w, there were also strict physical requirements of the body. Tong Chou was not able to fulfill those requirements, which meant that hisprehension of the technique could not help him with that aspect.

    It was no wonder why the ball of light representing Tong Chou had been so bright, attracting Lu Yin to merge with it.

 Chapter 713: Ellen Galeâ€™s Diary

    <h4>Chapter 713: Ellen Gale¡¯s Diary</h4>

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and his die appeared once again. It seemed that he should try to roll six pips more often, as each Possession gave him a chance of greatly improving his strength. In short, this was a shortcut to upgrading his personal strength.

    The next day, after Lu Yinpleted practicing the Finger Tap Technique, he felt Ban Jiu¡¯s aura enter his domain, and he had Kayze allow the man in.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you free at this moment? If so, please follow this subject on a trip to the Technology Department,¡± Ban Jiu requested urgently.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The first batch of androids has beenpleted and are ready for your inspection.¡± Ban Jiu was rather emotional.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew bright, and he stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Right after Lu Yin left, Hai Qiqi arrived at his residence. She did not need to announce her arrival or departure from King Zishan''s pce, and she treated it as if it was her own home.

    She went to the sitting room where Lu Yin had just been, and she saw the diary that Lu Yin had casually set on the table, obviously nning on reading itter. Hai Qiqi curiously opened it for a read.

    ***

    The Technology Department¡¯s locations were kept secret, and some of its divisions were even constructed underground. The android branch was one such division.

    Ban Jiu had obtained the blueprints for the androids a long time ago, and they had been obtained by Lu Yin through rolling one pip on his die. The breakthrough in technological research had taken ce four months ago, which was also the same time when Ban Jiu had promised Lu Yin that they would have fifty androids within half a year. However, in just four months, he had already produced twenty. The rest would be made on an assembly line, and they just needed enough materials to manufacture them. The production rate had be quite fast.

    Lu Yin followed Ban Jiu underground and into the Technology Department to see twenty androids suspended within a liquid vat. They were entirely mechanical in nature, but he could feel that each one was brimming with strength.

    Each android had enough rune lines to rival a peak Explorer¡¯s, and if their strength was converted to power level, then each was equivalent to a powerhouse with a power level somewhere between 49,000 and 50,000.

    ¡°These androids were made with the best materials avable in the eastern weaves, and their hardness degree has exceeded 50,000. They are naturally very tough, as they can endure attacks stronger than their own, and Spiritual Thread has also been incorporated into their construction. More importantly, as long as we have the proper materials, any part of an android¡¯s body can be reced and upgraded, which allows us to easily improve the androids¡¯ power¡­¡± Ban Jiu excitedly rambled on about his creations.

    Lu Yin gazed at the androids, as these things were the product of an advanced technological civilization. These twenty androids were the same as twenty peak Explorers.

    He had spent six years to reach the realm of an Explorer, which showed how terrifying the technology before him was at this moment. So long as their technology was sufficiently advanced, they could directly produce such powerhouses.

    ¡°Do you have enough materials for now?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ban Jiu excitedly replied, ¡°With the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, this subject has reviewed all of the resources lists. We have enough materials to build 200 peak Explorer androids.¡±

    ¡°Only 200?¡± Lu Yin was rather unsatisfied, as he had gathered the resources of eight entire weaves in the eastern region of the Outerverse.

    Ban Jiu reluctantly answered, ¡°Your Highness, some of the materials needed are just too scarce, such as Spiritual Thread and prium essence. The eastern weaves do not produce these materials, so we are still only able to acquire them from external sources. The main issue is that these materials are only avable in restricted quantities.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered, ¡°I will think of a way to get the rarer materials. You just focus on upgrading the androids¡¯ strength.¡±

    This was exactly what Ban Jiu had wanted to hear, and he immediately acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s order.

    ¡°Where do you think will be the best ce for these androids to be stationed?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ban Jiu shook his head. ¡°Your subject does not know.¡±

    He was only in charge of manufacturing the androids. Arranging them was Lu Yin¡¯s responsibility.

    Lu Yin had originally nned on selling these androids, dividing them equally between Vastdearth Weave, Lars Weave, and the other allies. However, the battle on Sourcepeak had caused Lars Weave to be panicked, and they had not yetpletely sided with him. On the other hand, Grandtop Weave did not have that many enemies. xen Weave had been easily swayed and was nothing to be worried about, but the ones that Lu Yin had to be vignt of were Vastdearth Weave, Darkmist Weave, Adonis Weave, and Bard Weave. Out of these four weaves, Adonis Weave¡¯s strength had been greatly reduced, so it no longer needed his concern.

    Darkmist Weave was filled with dark powers, which rendered them unable to unite. Since Mafioso and Shenwu Continent would eventually join the alliance, there was no need for him to be cautious of this weave either.

    Now, only Vastdearth Weave and Bard Weave remained. When faced with just these two weaves, there was no need to expose his androids.

    Lu Yin was busy pondering his options when his gadget suddenly beeped softly. Somebody was trying to contact him.

    He nced at his gadget and saw that the call was from an unknown number, but he epted it anyway. ¡°Who is this?¡±

    ¡°This is Wei Rong. Brother Lu, I¡¯ve been looking forward to speaking with you.¡± This sentence caused Lu Yin to grow solemn, as he had not expected this person to reach out to him right now. He knew that Wei Rong would definitely contact him eventually, but not this soon.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Brother Wei. I¡¯ve also wanted to meet you,¡± Lu Yin responded calmly as he waved a hand and motioned for Ban Jiu to withdraw.

    Wei Rong¡¯s tone was rxed. ¡°Congrattions, Brother Lu, for harvesting the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. I am reaching out to specially congratte you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°I also wanted to congratte Brother Wei on receiving the support of a group of Lockbreakers. We were fated to miss each other during the battles on Sourcepeak, which is a pity.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, a pity. I¡¯ve heard of Brother Lu¡¯s reputation many times before, and Brother Lu¡¯s ce in my eyes has been renewed after the battle on Sourcepeak. In the Outerverse, there are very few who can go to the extents that Brother Lu has. Awesome!¡± Wei Rong praised.

    His sincerity could be heard, as Lu Yin had used the path that Wei Rong had paved on Sourcepeak to take away the entire Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, which was something that Wei Rong had not been able to do.

    Lu Yin was not pleased by this praise, as he had only been able to achieve so much with Wang Wen¡¯s help. ¡°There¡¯s no need to discuss past events. I wonder, does Brother Wei have any matters in mind for this call?¡±

    ¡°Eh, it¡¯s actually nothing much. It¡¯s always a big headache to have a troublesome younger sister. Does Brother Lu remember Wei Xin''er who participated in Executive Felynn¡¯s entrance exam with you?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about that time. ¡°She¡¯s your sister?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That little brat, Xin¡¯er, has enjoyed lockbreaking since she was young, and she was very happy that she passed the entrance exam this time. She wanted to stay on Sourcepeak, but unfortunately, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was relocated to Frostwave Weave. This brat¡¯s been kicking up a fuss that I have no other choice but to take her to Frostwave Weave¡¯s Lockbreaker Society. After all, her tutor is Felynn, and having a tutor is definitely much better than groping about alone in the dark. What does Brother Lu think?¡±

    ¡°If Brother Wei wants toe to Frostwave Weave, then feel free to do so at any time. I can take Brother Wei on a tour.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s settled. Brother Lu, I¡¯ll see you on Zenyu Star.¡± Wei Rongughed.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°See you on Zenyu Star.¡±

    He disconnected from the call and looked back at the androids, as he had made a decision.

    Wei Rong had roamed through more than half of the Outerverse, but he had never set foot in any of the eastern weaves. First, there was the question of safety, and second, there was the fact that he had never felt that the eastern weaves were worth his time. They had the fewest number of cultivators, and they also possessed no special resources. But now, he was arranging a special trip to Frostwave Weave, not only because of the Lockbreaker Society, but also because of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The scattered eastern weaves were clearly not worth his attention, but the unified Great Eastern Alliance was different. All of a sudden, a colossal creature had appeared to the east of his own weave.

    The moment the Great Eastern Alliance was established was the moment it became Wei Rong¡¯s enemy.

    Lu Yin had not known what type of person Wei Rong was, but the events on Sourcepeak had left a deep impression on him.

    Even without Geoffrey, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was still an absolute monster, but despite that, it had still been toppled by Wei Rong, and he had even lured away a number of Lockbreakers. His methods were rather scary, and while his personal strength was not worthy of Lu Yin¡¯s attention, his strategies were extraordinary.

    It seemed as though he was nning to make a move against the Great Eastern Alliance, and Lu Yin realized that Wei Rong might even meddle with the uing Alliance Conference.

    Lu Yin left the Technology Department and returned to King Zishan''s pce, and when he returned, he noticed Hai Qiqi through his domain. She was sitting alone in the sitting room with her head hanging down, and fresh tears asionally fell from her eyes.

    Lu Yin hurriedly headed to the sitting room and went over to her. He squatted down and looked at her reddened eyes. ¡°Qiqi, what¡¯s the matter? Who bullied you?¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked up at Lu Yin and pursed her lips. A single tear dripped down and fell onto his hand as she hazily pleaded, ¡°Can you rescue the Fireplume Tribe?¡±

    Lu Yin was bewildered. ¡°What¡¯s the Fireplume Tribe?¡±

    Hai Qiqi passed the dairy over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took it from her. ¡°I picked this up by ident. Did you read it?¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°Rescue the Fireplume Tribe.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, as it seemed that Hai Qiqi had been crying because of the diary. He was curious, so he sat down and flipped it back to the first page.

    ¡®Today is the happiest day for our Fireplume Tribe, as the nightmare that has gued us for many years has finally ended. We invited our hero, who¡¯s outstanding and tall, to celebrate. He towers in the heavens just like a guardian angel. We cheer for him, pray for him, and as the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s princess, I, Ellen Gale, will personally pray and sing for him. He likes our songs! Though to be fair, who in the universe doesn¡¯t? Our Fireplume Tribe is more gifted in music than even the Souldream Tribe, and our songs can cleanse one¡¯s soul¡­

    ¡®We¡¯ve left our home to follow him. He wants to take us to a ce where we¡¯ll never be oppressed again. He tells us that he wants our songs to spread throughout the universe and to guide people to be better. I like him, and I may possibly even love him¡­

    ¡®This is truly beautiful, and the ce where I¡¯m staying is really beautiful as well. We¡¯ll stop here for now, as he wants to hear us sing. He truly enjoys listening to us sing. I¡¯m really happy¡­

    ¡®He¡¯s been injured! The doctor says that our heart¡¯s blood is required to heal him. Our Fireplume Tribe is willing to offer our blood, as it will only require a bit from each person to gather enough. We are all willing to offer him our all¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®I¡¯m a little tired. We¡¯ve continuously yed and sung for him every day for a month. Our throats have be hoarse, and we also offer blood from our hearts daily, so our bodies have be frail. I¡¯ve told him this, but he still wants us to sing. So many of our sisters are so tired¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®Today, a child died! She died right in front of us, and she was killed by him! He says that evil blood flowed in that child and that she would have affected the others. I begged for mercy, as the child¡¯s expression was pure and clean, and I could feel her innocence. He even thought that my pleas were nothing more than a game. In the end, my pleas were ignored, and the child still died. I¡¯m beginning to feel that he¡¯s a little scary¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®I¡¯m afraid! During this time, he¡¯s killed many of us. One time, the blood even sshed into my eyes, causing the world I saw to turn red. I¡¯ve tried begging him, and I¡¯ve tried using our songs to try to guide him. However, nothing seems to work¡­

    ¡®Five sisters have gone missing, and I don¡¯t know where they went. I don¡¯t even know whether or not they¡¯re still alive. The way he looks at me scares me¡ªit feels like a king looking at ants. He forces me to sing and pray, and all my sisters have be frightened. I want to leave, since he¡¯s changed from what he was like in the beginning. He¡¯s changed. Or, it¡¯s possible that he hasn¡¯t changed and that he was actually like this all along¡­¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®No matter how beautiful the lie of our environment may appear to be, it cannot conceal the truth that we are living in hell. Our Fireplume Tribe¡¯s songs are able to guide people to goodness, but they cannot guide him. He is a true demon, and he¡¯s killed thousands of our sisters. I don¡¯t know why, as we have been very obedient to him. Why does he have to kill us? All I see anymore is red¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin directly flipped to the end of the diary, as the middle of the book was a lengthy section describing all the changes Ellen Gale had undergone.

    ¡®I¡¯ve truly gotten lost, as the feelings that I held for him when I first saw him still haven''t vanished. Even if he¡¯s a demon, I still like him. He¡¯s killed so many people¡ªmany, many people, including my tribe members. However, the time that we¡¯ve spent together has been too long, and he has imprinted himself onto my heart. Alright, I will face my heart head on¡­

    ¡®White and ck both exist in the universe, just like in his hair. But there¡¯s also a trace of grey, and this grey might be the source of evil. I don¡¯t want to die, as I want to guide him to goodness. But it seems that I must use my life as the price to cleanse his soul. I have stabbed my eyes, as I don¡¯t want to see his evil face anymore. I will use the remainder of my life to sing, and ferry him to goodness¡­

    ¡®I¡¯m not fated to be with him in this life, but I¡¯m willing to use the remainder of my life as the price to atone for his crimes, and also as a form of repentance for him. From this day forward, I will never stop singing, not even if I lose my voice. Not even if I turn to bones! I will sing and pray for him until myst moment, and I will draw out his goodness.

    ¡®This is my swan song,

    ¡®-Ellen Gale¡¯

 Chapter 714: Old Gu De

    <h4>Chapter 714: Old Gu De</h4>

    Lu Yin closed the diary and looked away from the book before suddenly realizing that he had unwittingly finished reading through the diary. Was this Ellen Gale an idiot or a romantic?

    ¡°Could you please save the Fireplume Tribe?¡± Hai Qiqi was still sobbing uncontrobly.

    Lu Yin was struck speechless. Was this diary that moving? Men and women sobbed in different situations, but this level of weeping was a bit too much. Women could be emotional, and this diary seemed to have really hit Hai Qiqi¡¯s heart.

    He waved the diary that was still in his hand. ¡°Do you know where this Fireplume Tribe is located? That way I can go and save them.¡±

    Hai Qiqi shook her head. ¡°Go and search for them. Maybe they¡¯re in the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Wrong. They¡¯re in the Innerverse, Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Hai Qiqi was astonished.

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°Ellen Gale wrote that the man had ck and white hair, along with a little grey. That¡¯s the telltale sign of someone being from the Nightking n. This man has to be someone from the Nightking n, which naturally means that they¡¯re in Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grew flustered. ¡°How have you not found where Old Gu De is hiding yet? Hurry up. You¡¯re taking too long!¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, as this girl had changed topics rather abruptly.

    ¡°The earlier you take care of Old Gu De, the sooner I can go back to searching along the edge of the Astral River. This time, I¡¯ll definitely find a way back to the Innerverse,¡± Hai Qiqi said.

    Lu Yin shoved the diary into her hands. ¡°I hope that you can find a way to enter the Innerverse. As for Old Gu De, I¡¯ve already sent out people to search for him. This person is very crafty, and he won¡¯t reveal any traces in the normal ces. Rest assured, as there are only so many ces he can hide. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be able to escape.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Hai Qiqi gently stored the diary away. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a nap and think about this for a while.¡± She then ran off.

    Lu Yin watched as she disappeared from sight before picking up his gadget and searching for more information on the Fireplume Tribe. He only managed to find something after using the clearance granted by his Honor Points.

    It had to be said that this tribe was one that was favored by the world but gued by misfortune.

    The Fireplume Tribe originated from Fireplume, which was a very peculiar. Every creature native to the was born with wings; even the fish in the rivers or the underground earthworms had them. Every singlest one of them had burning, white wings, and the humans there were naturally no exception.

    Every member of the Fireplume Tribe had fiery white wings, and more peculiarly, the tribe had no males¡ªonly females. Even if they had children with outsiders, the children were either normal males or beautiful girls with burning white wings with no exception. Additionally, all of the girls had unbelievably beautiful voices that could refine a listener¡¯s spiritual force and boost their battle force.

    When this effect was first discovered, many powers suddenly began coveting the Fireplume Tribe. From that moment onwards, they were never free again. For years, they had been constantly subjugated by one power or another, and their tribe members were invariably suppressed, which naturally made all of thempletely miserable. This went on for ten years, until the Daynight n gained control of them. From that moment onwards, the Fireplume Tribe vanished without a trace, their voices lost to the universe.

    And the person who had taken them away was Arbiter Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin released a breath. Arbiter Zhenwu, Nightking Zhenwu. It had ended up being him once again. Many matters were connected to him, as this person was always unwilling to be left out.

    Knowing this, Lu Yin instantly realized that the ¡°him¡± in Ellen Gale¡¯s diary had been referring to Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. Even if the Outerverse had not been cut off from the Innerverse, given Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s strength, it would not end well for Lu Yin if he tried to face off against him through force. Although Lu Yin had external items that boosted his battle strength, it was highly likely that Arbiter Zhenwu also had simr items.

    The battles in Ironblood Weave had clearly shown Lu Yin the issues that came with relying on external items to boost his strength. If he was targeted, he would be done for the moment his items weren¡¯t able to disy their intended effects. What he needed to do was focus on improving his own personal power.

    As for this Fireplume Tribe, they had nothing to do with him. If it was possible, he would save them, but he would not forcefully do anything out of the way.

    Speaking of the Daynight n, the Sixth Maind was about to send out a Progenitor to sweep through the Innerverse. It still remained to be seen whether or not the Daynight n would even manage to survive. Lu Yin realized that he was thinking too far ahead.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin signed multiple orders rted to various matters of the empire, recited the Stonewall Scriptures in King Zishan''s pce, and practiced the Finger Tap Technique. He also used this time to check on Ku Wei¡¯s whereabouts with the Second Squadron.

    Ku Wei had not bothered trying to hide his actions. In fact, he openly loitered about in front of the Imperial Pce, and he had almost been arrested on a few asions, though he quickly slipped away every time.

    It would take about eight more days before the people from the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society arrived on Hydrotink, which was right before the Alliance Conference was due to start. This was exactly what Lu Yin was hoping to see, as he wanted to use the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s reputation to elevate his own standing in the view of the other alliance members.

    During these past few days, the eastern weaves remained very quiet, as all of the various affiliated powers were busy preparing for the uing Great Eastern Alliance Conference. As for the others, Lu Yin was not too clear on the details, but they were probably making their own plots.

    The Outerverse¡¯s native powers wanted to gobble up the colossal organizations that had dominated the universe for centuries. In some sense, this was inevitable, but nothing would happen before the Alliance Conference, as even Wei Rong himself was headed towards Frostwave Weave.

    Exactly twenty months after the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse, the Limiteer Mistchild from Mafioso sent word that they had confirmed Old Gu De¡¯s location. There were still thirteen days left before the Alliance Conference.

    Lu Yin immediately decided to take Yan Yan with him for a look.

    When En Ya received word that Lu Yin was about to leave, she hurriedly tried to stop him. ¡°Your Highness, the Alliance Conference is about to begin, and the top echelons of the various weaves will soon arrive at Zenyu Star, one after another. If Your Highness leaves now, it will show that our Great Yu Empire has no sense of propriety.¡±

    ¡°Just tell them that I¡¯m in temporary seclusion and help me to wee them,¡± Lu Yin sternly requested. Old Gu De had been his enemy for many years, and even before he had started cultivating on Earth, he had been thinking about getting revenge. Now that revenge was right before him, nothing would be able to stop him.

    En Ya felt helpless, as she could only follow Lu Yin''s instructions.

    ***

    In Darkmist Weave, on a dim, primitive, an enormous spacecraft with people asionally flying in and out floated in midair. These people were huntingrge beasts and then taking the corpses back to the vessel.

    This was a huge vessel that couldfortably hold at least 20,000 people.

    Within the spacecraft, there were cultivation rooms, gravity training rooms, entertainment facilities, and more. It was extremely well-equipped.

    Old Gu De was lying in a luxurious lounge. There was a trembling girl sitting on hisp and carefully slicing meat to feed to him.

    Suddenly, someone shoved the door open, and Gu Er barged in, draining the ss of alcohol in his hands as he did so. ¡°How much longer are we going to hide in this wretched ce for?¡±

    Old Gu De looked at Gu Er with discontent. ¡°Why are you being so impatient?¡±

    Gu Er snorted and sat down. ¡°If it were up to me, we¡¯d head to the central weaves. At least there, there are a lot fewer people who will recognize us. It has to be better than hiding on such a primitive. There¡¯s nothing but beasts and more beasts here.¡±

    ¡°We will definitely leave, but not right now. The brat that we were chasing before escaped into Frostwave Weave, and she must have reported us to Lu Yin. We cannot go anywhere right now. We¡¯ll only discuss moving again after the various waves have settled down,¡± Old Gu De said sternly.

    ¡°Lu Yin, Lu Yin, and Lu Yin again. This bastard has caused me trouble since the Astral Combat Academy days, and now even my father is scared of him!¡± Gu Erined.

    Old Gu De¡¯s eyes turned malicious. ¡°That brat has killed a few Enlighters, and he has too many tricks up his sleeves. Now that he¡¯s established this Great Eastern Alliance, his influence is enormous. Remember this: never go where he might appear in the future. Don¡¯t forget¡ªyou¡¯ve already crossed paths with him before, and he¡¯s also mentioned to you that he holds some animosity against me.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Gu Er was not satisfied. He nced at the girl sitting on Old Gu De¡¯sp, and his gaze suddenly grew more heated. But then, he seemed to remember something. ¡°Right, was that brat really someone from the upper levels of the Sea King¡¯s Dome?¡±

    Old Gu De sneered. ¡°One of the other Astral River Envoys sent me her image before. For her to have a spacecraft that bears the symbol of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, she has to be someone from their higher levels. Let¡¯s ignore the bit about her possessing some of the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s treasures. After a few more years, once the Innerverse and Outerverse are reconnected, you¡¯ll be someone who¡¯s a part of the Sea King¡¯s Dome if you can wed her. Then, nobody will be able to touch you. Do you think that the two of us will still have to remain trapped on the Astral River Ark at that time?¡±

    Gu Er grew excited. ¡°Then, Dad, let¡¯s hurry up and find her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that we can¡¯t touch them for now. First, wait for the waves to settle down. She was constantly skulking around the Astral River, so she must be trying to find a way to enter the Innerverse. If that¡¯s the case, she will definitely be back,¡± Old Gu De said.

    Gu Er nodded, licked his lips, and then downed another ss of wine.

    At the top of a spacecraft that was some distance away from the primitive, the bespectacled Limiteer Mistchild appeared in front of Lu Yin with a smile. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯vepleted a task for you.¡±

    Lu Yin stared in the direction of the. ¡°Go on, tell me about his strength.¡±

    She adjusted her sses. ¡°The strength that Old Gu De has gathered during his many years on the Astral River Ark is quite impressive. At the moment, he has five Cruisers, seventeen Explorers, and over 3,000 cultivators of lower grades. Those people from the Astral River Ark have offended too many cultivators in the Outerverse, so most of them continued to follow Old Gu De after the separation. This ship won¡¯t be easy to deal with.

    ¡°Old Gu De himself is a Hunter, and the amount of time that he¡¯s spent fishing in the Astral River Ark must have allowed him to umte quite a few treasures as well. You¡¯ll need to trap him first before you deal with him.¡±

    ¡°Go on, let''s head to Old Gu De¡¯s hiding spot,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    She quickly gave a reminder, ¡°Your Highness, Old Gu De is very cautious. If we suddenly show up, we have to trap him beforehand. Otherwise, he¡¯ll slip away as soon as we move, and then it¡¯ll be very difficult to find him again.¡±

    ¡°I got it.¡±

    Their spacecraft quickly flew towards the primitive.

    Although it was quite some distance away, the Aurora was fast, and they soon neared the. At this range, Lu Yin could observe the rune lines on the.

    Old Gu De¡¯s rune lines were extensive, but they were definitely not on par with Aden or Yan Yan¡¯s.

    Ever since Yan Yan had awakened, his power level had continuously risen. His Iceburst mes could give Lu Yin a sense of crisis even when his universal armor was on. Although Yan Yan¡¯s power level had decreased a great deal after his initial outburst, he had still stabilized at the same level as a Hunter. By Lu Yin¡¯s estimation, Yan Yan¡¯s original power had been at least that of a peak Hunter, and at this moment, his rune lines had surpassed Old Gu De¡¯s.

    Above the primitive, an rm rang out on therge luxury spacecraft, and Old Gu De immediately appeared in the control room and looked at a screen.

    ¡°Captain, a spacecraft stopped outside of the, and we can¡¯t tell what their goal might be.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s face was solemn. ¡°Have we identified whose spacecraft it is?¡±

    ¡°No, as the symbol has been hidden.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s heart dropped. He had a bad feeling about this. ¡°Immediately take off from this. Hurry!¡±

    At that moment, a figure floating through outer space appeared on the screen. That person then suddenly raised both of their hands. A white frost shot out that rapidly enveloped the before the screen suddenly went entirely white.

    Old Gu De¡¯s pupils shrank, and he leaped out of the spacecraft. He threw all sorts of weapons that sted into outer space, distorting the void as they did so. The disturbances left deep cracks on the sturdy ice, but they could not break through it.

    Just ten secondster, the was surrounded by the sturdy white ice, and the extreme chill caused the to suddenly enter an ice age. The animals and nts rapidly froze and died while the oceans and streams were frozen solid in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 715: Lu Yinâ€™s Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 715: Lu Yin¡¯s Revenge</h4>

    The sturdy ice only covered the¡¯s atmosphere, but it did not affect everything within it. The interior was only filled with a freezing cold.

    Old Gu De¡¯s expression changed, and he ferociously charged into the atmosphere as he unleashed a palm strike towards the sturdy ice. The barrier cracked upon impact, but it didn¡¯t shatter. The chilly aura spread out, and the cracked ice merged together into a pristine whole once again.

    Old Gu De¡¯s face went pale. He unleashed all of his battle techniques at once, striking out again. Multipleyers of the sturdy ice shattered this time, but the ice recovered just as quickly as before. Outside the ice, Yan Yan¡¯s expression grew chilly as well¡ªhe waspeting against Old Gu De. If he was defeated, the ice barrier would shatter, and Old Gu De would be able to escape. However, if Old Gu De was stalled here, the man would remain trapped on the, which was precisely Lu Yin¡¯s objective.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you attacking me?¡± Old Gu De roared.

    A thinyer of frost appeared on the spacecraft¡¯s hull as the space-exploring powerhouses dashed out to attack the sturdy ice. However, nothing they did had any effect. Only Old Gu De was able to cause any damage to theyer of ice.

    Gu Er trembled within therge spacecraft as he stared at the nk expanse of white surrounding them outside.

    Lu Yin quickly appeared beside Yan Yan, and he looked at Old Gu De through theyer of ice.

    Old Gu De simrly looked through the ice to see Lu Yin, upon which his expression immediately twisted. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    A wicked smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°Old Gu De, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Old Gu De barked, ¡°Lu Yin, your grudge with my son is just a small thing. Is there really a need toe after us like this?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re still dreaming. Get him to sober up a bit more.¡±

    Yan Yan¡¯s expression iced over, and the coldness emanating from the shell of ice intensified even further, causing some of the cultivators who had stepped out of the spacecraft to instantly freeze into blocks of ice. Only the space-exploring powerhouses were able to withstand the chill.

    Old Gu De¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Everyone, get back inside the spacecraft.¡±

    The primitive had turnedpletely white by this time, and even the storms had frozen over with the rain transforming into ice pelting the ground.

    A soft thump was heard from the spacecraft as various internal mechanisms froze over and were destroyed.

    Old Gu De red at Lu Yin,pletely furious. ¡°Is this because of that brat from the Sea King¡¯s Dome?¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused. ¡°Come on, you chased after Qiqi so hard, and you even tried to force her to marry your son. You clearly know who she is.¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. Gu Er sincerely likes her,¡± Old Gu De shouted back.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you don¡¯t have a big grudge against my son, and if that brat doesn¡¯t want to marry him, then we won¡¯t try to force anything. Please, let us go! I¡¯ve gathered some treasures during my years on the Astral River Ark, and I¡¯ll give them all to you. Please, let us go. I swear that I¡¯ll never return to the eastern weaves for the rest of my life,¡± Old Gu De pleaded.

    When Lu Yin saw Old Gu De¡¯s imploring attitude, he recalled the desperation that he had felt when his group had been in the Innerverse, waiting for the Astral River Ark to arrive. At that time, they had precisely calcted when it would arrive, and they knew that they would be able to break free from their pursuers and hide in the Outerverse. However, it was precisely because Old Gu De had intentionally dyed the vessel and had stopped mid voyage that the pursuers had caught up to Lu Yin and the others.

    Seventy two lives had been lost because of that, and Lu Yin still clearly remembered each and every one of his fallenrades¡¯ faces. They had all been good to him, and none of them had looked down upon him for his status as amoner. Each of them had been his brothers and sisters, but because of this old bastard in front of him, they had all died.

    They had all died miserable deaths.

    On Earth, Lu Yin had lived an ordinary life, but he often dreamt of those people, and also of Old Gu De¡¯s disgustingly smug face.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s heart, Old Gu De was definitely one of the people who he hated the most.

    At this moment, he could finally avenge his hatred. He definitely would not allow Old Gu De to die an easy death, as Lu Yin wanted to let the older man experience the agony that he had suffered through before.

    ¡°Every hour, eliminate one Explorer,¡± Lu Yin calmly instructed.

    Yan Yan¡¯s eyes turned even colder. Of those who were attacking his ice barrier, one Explorer¡¯s limbs suddenly froze, and he plummeted down into the ground. He had been frozen to death.

    The surrounding people were terrified, and they immediately rushed back inside the spacecraft.

    Old Gu De shouted, ¡°Lu Yin, what made you hate me? What did I do to deserve this?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure suddenly disappeared, as he had returned to his own spacecraft as well. He was in no hurry and he intended to take his time and slowly vent all of the resentment that he had kept bottled up for so many years.

    Some people have said that tormenting an enemy is actually tormenting oneself. Lu Yin agreed with such thinking, especially since tormenting one¡¯s enemies could be an addictive behavior. However, he could not stop himself at this moment. The hatred that he felt for Old Gu De was just too strong. He had enemies who were much stronger than him, and so, he felt no motivation to take revenge against them. He had no idea when he would actually be able to take revenge at all, and so, he would voluntarily fall into this addiction to further push and stoke his desire for revenge.

    In Frostwave Weave, Zenyu Star¡¯s space station had been sealed off in preparation to receive the representatives of major powers within the allied weaves. Both Zenyu Star and all of its surrounding regions were filled with cultivators and soldiers from the Great Yu Empire, all of them stationed here to ensure that the first Alliance Conference would proceed without incident.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were hidden in the background; Huo Qingshan, the blind monk, and the other Hunters had all put everything on hold so that they would be avable to oversee the Alliance Conference.

    Inside Zenyu Star¡¯s space station, a group of people walked out from a vessel, led by an elder. He was wearing extravagant clothes, and he seemed quite respectable at first nce. His face also contained an excited and expectant smile.

    Nearby, En Ya and Hill Auna led a group over to wee the new arrivals.

    When he saw En Ya, the elder¡¯s smile grew even warmer, and he hurriedly walked over to politely greet her. ¡°You must be Lady En Ya, and this must be Lord Hill Auna. We¡¯vemunicated through calls before, and I finally get to meet you in person now, haha.¡±

    En Ya smiled. ¡°Wee, Chairman Gibu. His Highness is currently in seclusion, and he is therefore unable to appear at this moment, so please forgive us.¡±

    Gibu hurriedly replied, ¡°The cultivation of His Highness, the Royal Regent, is of the utmost importance as His Highness¡¯s strength is the most stable cornerstone of our alliance.¡±

    Hill Auna smiled. ¡°Chairman Gibu is still so full of vitality. It appears as though you¡¯ll be able to maintain your position for a long time still.¡±

    This was pleasant to hear, and Gibu chuckled happily. He had sided with the Great Yu Empire not only because they had ckmailed him with his dark secrets, but also because the Great Yu Empire had offered to reinstall him as chairman, which he had originally obtained by betraying his own dignity and conscience. Thus, he naturally greatly treasured his post.

    During this Alliance Conference, the most important thing for the participants to discuss was the Alliance Conference treaty and how the Allied Forces would be organized. These details did not actually require the highest ranking member of each weave to personallye. After all, their personal safety was very important. However, to Gibu, the most important goal for him in this conference was to obtain some sort of definitive guarantee for his position as chairman from the Great Yu Empire. Hence, he had personally made the trip.

    Hill Auna¡¯s words were actually the guarantee that Gibu had been after, and since En Ya had not rebuffed thement, Gibu finally felt at ease. He had not thought that he would attain his objective the moment he arrived on Zenyu Star. Now, he would be able to rx for the remainder of the conference since the uing discussions were none of his business. The Great Yu Empire could do whatever it pleased!

    After exchanging pleasantries for a while, someone reported that the representatives from the Six-Fingered Tribe had arrived.

    ¡°Chairman Gibu, please go on ahead and rest first.¡± En Ya smiled and instructed some people to lead Gibu away.

    Not long after Gibu left, another group appeared, and this time, the leader was a youth with a calm expression and a faint smile. He had a rather elegant mien, as he was the Six-Fingered Tribe Leader Bach Shamus¡¯s son, Jake Shamus.

    Bach Shamus was the leader of the Six-Fingered Tribe, and he typically did not travel very far away from the tribe so as to prevent any idents from urring. Jake Shamus was able to represent him and make decisions on behalf of the tribe, and this was the same approach that many powers were using for Alliance Conference, and only a minority of powers had sent their highest figure to participate.

    The Alliance Conference did not only consist of the Vastdearth Sect, Evenground Pce, and the other major powers. There were also many other, smaller powers in the eastern weaves. After all, those top organizations were just the main guiding powers, not the only powers in their respective weaves.

    This Alliance Conference had people from over a hundred affiliated powers participating, and only those from major powers merited En Ya and Hill Auna¡¯s personal wee. The other powers would be weed by other officials.

    Jake Shamus had an umonly charismatic aura; as the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s Young Leader, his bearing and choice of words made others feel even morefortable than Gibu¡¯s. He was neither overly subservient nor overbearing, though there was a slight trace of arrogance in his words. However, he restrained that trace when conversing with En Ya.

    After Jake Shamus¡¯s arrival, Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect showed up next, which was actually Lu Yin¡¯s hidden power since Tianming was his puppet. Getting the Nine Stacks Sect to join the Great Eastern Alliance had just taken a sentence on his part. For the conference this time, the Nine Stacks Sect had sent over Lan Wu, who was the Hunter that had noticed the issue with Tianming but chosen to not reveal it to the sect.

    ¡°Lady En Ya, when will His Highnesse out of seclusion?¡± Lan Wu asked.

    En Ya smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it will definitely be before the Alliance Conference begins. Why? Is there any particr matter you need to discuss with His Highness?¡±

    Lan Wu smiled. ¡°I simply wish to extend my greetings.¡±

    En Ya nodded and then instructed some people to escort Lan Wu out of the space station.

    Lan Wu looked back, seemingly slightly apprehensive. Back when Lu Yin had offered to bring her into the Great Yu Empire to be a captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, she had rejected him. Being a captain would not be asfortable as being the ambassador for a region. However, her thoughts had changed after the Great Eastern Alliance had been established. The Great Yu Empire was now the dominant power, and Zenyu Star was undoubtedly the heart of authority for the entire eastern weave system. Only by staying in this ce could one enjoy true authority, as well as the best resources that the eastern weaves could offer.

    She wished to be stronger, as otherwise, she would forever be a puppet trapped in Grandtop Weave, forever apanying Tianming. That was not the life that she wanted.

    She could only wait for the Alliance Conference to end before going to look for Lu Yin.

    The space station where En Ya and Hill Auna were waiting was very quiet, as it had been reserved to specially wee the representatives of the various dominant powers. A bit further away from them was another space station, and it was a very different story there. People were continuously arriving at that space station, and they were from all kinds of different major powers in the eastern weaves, making the space station quite busy.

    En Ya and Hill Auna looked over, and they saw that the leaders of the various powers arriving at the second space station all smiled politely as they arrived.

    Hill Auna sighed. ¡°In the past, our Great Yu Empire was not that much stronger than those minor powers. It¡¯s all due to His Majesty Undying Yushan that we were able to break into new territories and reach the heights that we have.¡±

    En Ya faintly replied, ¡°Undying Yushan indeed set the foundation, but the Royal Regent is the one who truly built up the Great Yu Empire to these heights.¡±

    Hill Auna smiled. ¡°Of course, His Majesty Undying Yushan spent his entire life, but he was unable to even unify the Frostwave Weave. His Highness the Royal Regent has established the Great Eastern Alliance, which is an iparable miracle. If the Royal Regent could one day cease to be the substitute ruler for the empire, it would be our Great Yu Empire¡¯s blessing.¡±

    En Ya did not reply to him, as Hill Auna was actually expressing the Auna family¡¯s stance with this statement. They were nowpletely dedicated to Lu Yin, as they had offended many government officials by fulfilling their duties, being cursed by many in the process. However, they did not care about any of that as they wanted Lu Yin to obtainplete control of the entire Great Yu Empire more than anyone else.

    Hill Auna saw that En Ya did not reply, though she was also unflustered by his words. On the surface, she made no response, but he knew that she would definitely pass on his words to the Royal Regent in the future.

 Chapter 716: That Person

    <h4>Chapter 716: That Person</h4>

    In Darkmist Weave, above the primitive, Lu Yin reappeared.

    ¡°Your Highness, five Explorers have already died,¡± Yan Yan reported.

    Since he was killing one person every hour, and after including the person who had died in the beginning, it meant that four hours had passed since Lu Yin had given the order. Old Gu De had pleaded to speak with Lu Yin on multiple asions during this time, but Lu Yin had disregarded him every time. However, he had always been watching as Old Gu De fell into the pits of despair.

    As soon as he saw Lu Yin appear, Old Gu De shouted out, ¡°What the hell do you want? Any grudge can be settled, and I have umted many treasures over the years, enough to buy all of our lives!¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s see them,¡± Lu Yin said calmly.

    Old Gu De grew cautious. ¡°Let us out first.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother uttering another word. and he simply left. No matter how desperately Old Gu De shouted, it was all for naught.

    Very soon, two more hours passed, and another two Explorers were killed.

    There had been seventeen Explorers initially under Old Gu De, and seven of them had already died, causing the remaining few to start panicking. They all looked at Old Gu De with strange expressions, as they had evidently been dragged into this mess because of him.

    Lu Yin reappeared, and he only said the same thing as before: he ordered Old Gu De to reveal all of his various treasures that he had gathered.

    Old Gu De had spent many years at the Astral River, and he was as wily as a fox. Thus, there was no way he would trust Lu Yin so easily. ¡°What exactly is your grudge against me?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Old Gu De. ¡°After all these years, do you remember how many enemies you have made?¡±

    Old Gu De frowned, and he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°If you tell me, then I¡¯ll at least know what hatred you have against me, and what was so important that it motivated you to leave Frostwave Weave toe after me.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and then left. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak any further with the older man.

    Time passed quickly, and the Explorers on the spacecraft steadily died one after another. The spacecraft was shrouded with a desperate atmosphere, and the looks directed towards Old Gu De had be even stranger than before.

    Finally, twelve hours had passed, and thirteen Explorers were dead. One Explorer flew out and shouted at Yan Yan, ¡°Release us! We¡¯re willing to hand over everything we own. Spare us!¡±

    Yan Yan coldly answered, ¡°Old Gu De¡¯s belongings must be handed over.¡±

    The Explorer seemed to despair at these words. ¡°Old Gu De is a Hunter, and we have no choice in this matter.¡±

    Yan Yan did not reply again.

    Lu Yin stood within his spacecraft and stared at the frozen, his gaze calm.

    Behind him, the female Mistchild was rather curious by how the events had developed. ¡°Your Highness, what sort of hatred do you have against Old Gu De? Did he stop you from entering the Innerverse before?¡±

    Lu Yin looked out the window at outer space and muttered, ¡°What do you think Old Gu De cares about the most?¡±

    The Limiteer Mistchild answered without hesitation, ¡°His son, Gu Er.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Gu Er.¡±

    On the primitive, after another Explorer was frozen to death. After that, the final three Explorers and five Cruisers could not take the pressure anymore, and they all went to Old Gu De, begging him to hand over his life savings.

    Old Gu De¡¯s expression turned sinister. ¡°Do you think that that man will let you guys over once I hand over my wealth? Impossible! His hatred for me runs too deep, and there is no way he will allow you to leave this ce alive.¡±

    ¡°How will you know if you don¡¯t at least try? Captain, please, hand over your savings,¡± one of the Cruisers pleaded.

    The others also moved to encircle Old Gu De.

    Inside the spacecraft, Gu Er trembled and looked out in fear.

    Old Gu De grinned coldly. ¡°What¡¯s this? Are you trying to force me? Just you all by yourselves?¡±

    The few powerhouses exchanged nces, and although they appeared to be absolutely terrified, there was a firm sense of resolve in them as well. ¡°Captain, we don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    Old Gu De moved suddenly, a long knife tearing through the void and easily decapitating a Cruiser, causing fresh blood to spurt out from his neck stter across the others¡¯ faces. They turned pale and were overwhelmed by what had just happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m your captain, as well as a Hunter! You guys must be looking for death, with just the few of you trying to rebel against me!¡± Old Gu De bellowed. He then looked up at Yan Yan, who was still standing outside the sturdy ice. ¡°I know that you want to force them to rebel against me and see how desperate I be. I will fulfill your desires!¡±

    The remaining seven people could not withstand Old Gu De at all, and fresh blood quickly stained the white ground red as he ughtered them all. The remaining 3,000 odd cultivators who were still in the spacecraft looked down in desperation as their terror rose without end.

    Old Gu De clenched his knife and exchanged nces with Yan Yan. ¡°Satisfied now? I want to see Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly appeared from behind Yan Yan, and he looked at Old Gu De with admiration on his face. ¡°You are certainly ruthless enough. Those people were all subordinates who followed you for years. Don¡¯t you feel anything after killing them like that?¡±

    Old Gu De red at him coldly. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t kill them, they still would have died at your hands. Isn¡¯t this what you wanted to see? The thrill of vengeance? I¡¯ve already fallen into despair, so you¡¯ve achieved your goal.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°From the very beginning, you never actually wanted to save their lives. To you, they were nothing more than resources to spend in an attempt to assuage my resentment. You¡¯ve done well, and your actions just now have indeed improved my temper. Now, you can hand over your savings, and I may still spare you.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s eyes shed, and he hesitated for a moment. However, he grabbed the cosmic ring that was on his finger and ced a drop of his blood into a bottle. He then pressed these two items against the barrier of ice. The ice moved as though it were alive, carrying the cosmic ring and the bottle through the barrier and depositing them in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    Lu Yin used Old Gu De¡¯s fresh blood to open the cosmic ring, and he then scanned through its contents. He was astonished to discover that there was actually a veritable mountain of star crystals within it.

    Old Gu De¡¯s cosmic ring had a massive capacity, and it was muchrger than any cosmic ring sold on the open market. It was actually nearly asrge as the cosmic ring that Northgate Lie had given Lu Yin, the one from the Starfall Sea that was valued at around 20,000 star essence. Old Gu De had been able to obtain such a ring with his position as the Astral River Envoy, which was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    There were many items stored in the cosmic ring, and the most eye-grabbing ones were the almost 60,000 star crystals, thousands of star essence, some Mavis Bank cards, various medications from Shamrock Enterprises, and some weapons. Among the equipment, there was even a bracer that boasted an exceptional amount of rune lines nearly equivalent to a Hunter¡¯s.

    Lu Yin took the bracer out and looked at Old Gu De.

    Old Gu De saw the bracer that he treasured greatly. ¡°That¡¯s a power vessel. Anyone who wears it will be able to disy doubled physical strength so long as the power does not surpass that of a peak Hunter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked at the bracer fervently. This was a good item, and it coincidentally suited him very well.

    As for whatever peak Hunter strength that he had just been told, that was all nonsense. He could simply upgrade the bracer until it could handle doubling an Enlighter¡¯s strength or even more. Just thinking about doubling the strength of one of his punches was a scary thought.

    ¡°I¡¯ve given you everything I¡¯ve gathered through all these years, so please, let us go,¡± Old Gu De pleaded.

    Lu Yin casually threw the young Mistchild one million star crystals as her reward. Phantom Sting¡¯s starting rate was three million star crystals, and paying the Limiteer Mistchild one million was already way above market rates.

    However, she did not want the crystals. ¡°I only want poisons.¡±

    Lu Yin did not give her any. ¡°This task was not worth those poisons. Those were made by the Enlighter, Elder Wu.¡±

    Her lips twisted.

    ¡°Lu Yin, please, let us go!¡± Old Gu De screamed.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Gu De. ¡°How can I believe that you¡¯ve really given me all of your savings? You¡¯ve roamed the universe for so many years. Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m that naive.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s face went pale, and he pointed at Yan Yan. ¡°Ever since this was frozen, I¡¯ve never left that person¡¯s sight. Just ask him!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Someone like you would have hidden your most important objects long ago. For example, on your son.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s expression changed in an instant as explosive sounds suddenly rang out from the spacecraft below him. An inferno rose up, carrying Gu Er¡¯s cries along with it for all to hear.

    Old Gu De immediately charged over to save Gu Er, but he was blocked from moving by the deadly frost. He screamed in anger, ¡°Lu Yin, what the hell do you want?¡±

    ¡°Hand over all your savings. Then I can allow you to save him,¡± Lu Yin responded calmly.

    Old Gu De shed out with his knife continuously, desperately trying to cleave through the ice as he arduously made his way towards the spacecraft.

    But below him, Gu Er¡¯s cries rang out even louder until it broke out into a full on wail.

    Old Gu De¡¯s eyes went wide, and he looked at where Gu Er was desperately screaming. His son¡¯s skin had already been burnt off. He then tore his jacket apart, retrieved a cosmic ring that had been hanging around his neck, and quickly threw it at the ice.

    Lu Yin did not find this unexpected, as it would be strange if this type of person did not keep a trick or two hidden up their sleeves¡ªnot having one would actually be more strange. This might not even be Old Gu De¡¯s final stash, but that was alright. The man¡¯s wealth was not Lu Yin¡¯s true objective.

    ¡°Lu Yin, let me save him!¡± Old Gu De screamed even as he continued to slice at the robust ice blocking his path.

    Lu Yin waved a hand at Yan Yan. ¡°Alright, let him go.¡±

    Yan Yan felt rather helpless. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness, but he¡¯s already dead.¡±

    As the solid ice gradually dissipated, they all saw that Gu Er had already been reduced to dust, his bodypletely gone.

    Old Gu De¡¯s pupils shrank, and his entire body trembled as he returned to his spacecraft. He stared nkly at the ashes on the floor before whirling around to re vehemently at Lu Yin. His expression was so bitter that it looked as though he wanted to devour the youth alive.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Late toe to the rescue¡ªdoes that ring any bell? About eight years ago?¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared at Lu Yin. Suddenly, he started tough maniacally. Gu Er¡¯s death had caused him to lose control of his emotions. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is! Hahaha! Now I remember¡ªyou were one of those people. Eight years ago, there was a group of homeless dogs that were being pursued and chased out of the Innerverse, and I intentionally stalled them for a while to make sure that they would suffer heavy losses. So that was you! Hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin had Yan Yan remove the barrier of ice. He stood high in the sky as he looked down at Old Gu De. ¡°Since you remembered it, then you know that your son did not die unjustly.¡±

    Old Gu De¡¯s eyes shed red as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I never thought that one of those homeless dogs from eight years ago would be able to reach such a level. If I had known back then, I would have listened to that person and ughtered all of you before throwing your remains into the Astral River as fish food!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he suddenly vanished, only to reappear right beside Old Gu De. He kicked out and sent Old Gu De flying and crashing onto the ground. Old Gu De wanted to resist the blow, but his four limbs were being restricted by the terrible frost, so his body was like a loose sandbag that was flung into the ground.

    Lu Yin pressed his foot upon Old Gu De¡¯s body and looked down at the old man. ¡°Who was it that gave the order?¡±

    Old Gu De spat out a mouthful of blood. His hair was a mess, and his eyes werepletely bloodshot. ¡°Do you think that I would have intentionally stalled without someone else¡¯s orders? Do you think that you bunch of homeless dogs were casually being chased? Do you have any idea how strong the person who was chasing you is?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as he actually did not know. Ever since he learned that Big Sis was from Leon¡¯s Armada, he had realized that this matter was not as simple as he had initially thought.

    Leon¡¯s Armada was a dominant force in the Cosmic Sea, and it was even one of the undisputed chiefs of that ce. Any random member of that crew was not someone who could be provoked. The fact that Big Sis and the others had been allowed to safely leave Leon¡¯s Armada was enough to prove that their status in the crew was extremely high, and that also indicated that they were very powerful. Not many people in the Innerverse, let alone the Outerverse, were able to chase down and kill that group of people.

    That pursuit had directly resulted in seventy two deaths, and Lu Yin had not dared to watch the battle back then as he had been nothing more than amoner. However, with his current outlook, he could imagine how bitter that battle must have been, and also how powerful their pursuers must have been. It was not some Leo family like what Uncle Reuben had told him. That family might have participated in the pursuit, but they were undoubtedly not the driving force behind the chase, as even Old Gu De had taken part.

    The true pursuer had used quite a few powers from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so they definitely held a high position. Their position might actually be so high that even the Ten Arbiter who had condemned the people surnamed Lu on that paper might have been nothing more than another pawn.

 Chapter 717: Late Clues

    <h4>Chapter 717: Late Clues</h4>

    The Ten Arbiters, Old Gu De, and the Leo family. For someone to gather all of these powers together meant that they possessed an ability that surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s imagination.

    ¡°Who is that person?¡± Lu Yin stared at Old Gu De.

    Old Gu De smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you hate me so much that you forced me into such desperate circumstances. You tortured me, burned my son alive, and put me through the pain of not being able to rescue someone dear to me. Lu Yin, you¡¯ve acted right, and you¡¯ve done well. You¡¯ve tortured me to your heart¡¯s content, so now it¡¯s my turn. I won¡¯t tell you who it was. You can only go and find out yourself! Hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin stepped on Old Gu De¡¯s arm and broke it. His expression was absolutely cial.

    Old Gu De howled withughter. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this¡ªthat person is someone from the Cosmic Sea, but I won¡¯t tell you the rest! You can go and search, but in the end, you¡¯ll only find hopelessness, hahaha!¡± Old Gu De then spat out a mouthful of blood as he killed himself.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Gu De¡¯s corpse while he contemted what he had just been told.

    Yan Yan and the Limiteer Mistchild waited nearby, but they did not approach, and neither did they make any sounds.

    The fact that the mysterious person was from the Cosmic Sea might leave Lu Yin desperate, as it meant that their pursuers back then had been one of the four pirate crews. Only they possessed enough strength to render the current Lu Yin helpless.

    Old Gu De definitely did not know what Big Sis¡¯s origins were, or else he would not have dared to intentionally stall the Ark at that time. Leon¡¯s Armada was fully worthy of its position as a top overlord of the Cosmic Sea, and while Lu Yin could not take revenge, Leon¡¯s Armada was different. It was a pity that Old Gu De had not specified which crew it had been.

    It had definitely been one of the Four Pirate Crews. Lu Yin was certain of that, as only they would dare to challenge Leon¡¯s Armada.

    This incident involved the Cosmic Sea¡¯s internal power struggle, where anyrge crew would have the strength to challenge the Daynight n. The battles there were always very cruel.

    The gradually thawed, but it¡¯s temperature had already dropped significantly, and snow began to drift down from the sky.

    Some distance away, Old Gu De¡¯s spacecraft was still burning, and the 3,000 plus cultivators had all fled in different directions out of fear of being ughtered.

    Lu Yin had no ns to kill these people. Although they had indeed once acted like tyrants when they worked aboard the Astral River Ark, that did not necessitate their deaths, and he was not some warrior of justice either.

    The bespectacled Mistchild moved over behind Lu Yin and then cautiously said, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve searched through the spacecraft, and Old Gu De was not hiding anything else.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the man¡¯s corpse. ¡°Burn it.¡±

    Yan Yan raised a hand, and an inferno descended thatpletely burned Old Gu De¡¯s corpse to ashes.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return to Zenyu Star,¡± Lu Yin said calmly. After exacting this bit of revenge, although he felt very carefree, he was not much happier, especially after learning more about the people who had been behind the scenes. This was actually an emotional burden on Lu Yin, as the Innerverse was currently being invaded by the Sixth Maind. He had no way of knowing how Leon¡¯s Armada would fare in the invasion, or how Big Sis and the others were at the moment.

    Although he had not met Highsage Leon himself, Lu Yin had a good opinion of the man. This was because he had made a promise to Lu Yin a while ago. ¡®Kid, you can do whatever you want and offend whoever you want. If anyone tries to bully you, I¡¯ll back you up. Remember, I got your back.¡¯ It had been crude, but also very down-to-earth. The promise had made Lu Yin feel warm, and even at this moment, it made him feel like he was being protected.

    He hoped that Leon¡¯s Armada would be alright, as the current him could not do anything for them.

    On Zenyu Star, En Ya and Hill Auna weed the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Elder Huaqiao. During the process of establishing the Great Eastern Alliance, the Vastdearth Sect had always been a little more difficult to work with. First, it had coborated with the Daynight n and Xun family, then with Darkstar Gorge, and after joining the Great Eastern Alliance, it had tried to unite the other alliance members to force the Great Yu Empire into a difficult position. Lu Yin was not very fond of these people, and neither was En Ya, but they would not reveal their dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Elder Huaqiao, wee to Zenyu Star,¡± En Ya said pleasantly.

    Hua Qiao nodded. He looked up and then sighed. ¡°In the end, I still came. His Highness the Royal Regent¡¯s methods and courage are quite admirable.¡±

    Hill Auna smiled. ¡°Elder Huaqiao must be tired. We have already arranged quarters for you to rest in. Please.¡±

    The elder nodded and then left without speaking any further.

    ¡°It seems that this Vastdearth Sect won¡¯t give up. Meng Tianlong is reportedly maintaining a vigil outside of Elder Meng Qing¡¯s door, waiting for him to awaken.¡± Hill Auna was unhappy with the man¡¯s attitude.

    En Ya¡¯s eyes radiated a certain coldness. ¡°Meng Qing is an Enlighter, and if he awakens, things will indeed be a little troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Has His Highness made any arrangements?¡± Hill Auna asked.

    En Ya shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Some hourster, a spacecraft appeared and docked at the space station. It was not from another weave, as it was actually one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s own vessels that came from Zenyu Star.

    When it appeared, En Ya arranged her expression, as the people from Shenwu Continent had arrived.

    En Ya valued Shenwu Continent because it was the home of Lu Yin¡¯s most important person.

    There was no way that Shenwu Continent could send out Ming Yan at this time, and all the other members of the Ming Family had been eliminated. As such, the person who had been sent out this time was Bei Hong, someone who En Ya felt surprised to see.

    Bei Hong had been a military advisor when Ming Zhaotian had been the emperor, and logically, he should have been taken care of by Ming Zhaoshu. There had been reports long ago that he had been killed, and no one had expected that he would suddenly appear as Shenwu Continent¡¯s representative for the Alliance Conference. His arrival caused En Ya to feel surprised.

    Behind Bei Hong stood a young man who looked around with curiosity. He was Bei Qing.

    Shenwu Continent had gradually developed more connections with the outside universe, though they still could not freely enter the universe due to the five sealings. Hunters in the space station above the continent had to help whenever someone wanted to leave the continent and enter the Outerverse.

    Shenwu Continent had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, which naturally meant that it was under Lu Yin¡¯s protection. This meant that even the Daynight n members in the space station did not dare to act against the continent any longer.

    Only by leaving Shenwu Continent could one appreciate the vastness of the universe. Bei Qing¡¯s eyes lit up as he looked all about. This was all too mysterious, and he had clearly traveled far from home.

    ¡°Wee to Zenyu Star, Lord Bei Hong.¡± En Ya weed the two men with a smile.

    Beside her, Hill Auna also greeted them. Although he was the minister for foreign affairs, he was still second to En Ya when it came to matters rted to the Great Eastern Alliance, and he was very clear where his position was.

    Bei Hong courteously replied to En Ya, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to trouble Lady En Ya to wee us personally. I cannot bear to cause you such an inconvenience.¡±

    En Ya smiled. ¡°His Highness is currently in seclusion. Lord Bei Hong must be tired. Please go rest first and wait for the Alliance Conference to begin in a few days.¡±

    Bei Hong nodded, as this was not a suitable ce for a serious discussion. He suddenly looked at Bei Qing. ¡°Unfilial son, quickly greet Lady En Ya and Lord Hill Auna.¡±

    Bei Qing hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to the two officials.

    En Ya smiled. ¡°This must be Bei Qing. His Highness has mentioned you to me, and I¡¯ve looked forward to meeting you.¡±

    Bei Qing was stunned. ¡°He mentioned me? Does His Highness the Royal Regent know me?¡±

    En Ya smiled, but she did not answer. Instead, she instructed people to bring Shenwu Continent¡¯s entourage to a ce to rest.

    On their way to their quarters, Bei Qing felt lost. ¡°How could Royal Regent Lu Yin know me?¡±

    Bei Hong calmly replied, ¡°How do you think His Majesty works with him? Lu Yin visited Shenwu Continent long ago, and he must have disguised himself during that time. He probably saw you at that time, and he may have even had some interactions with you, all without you knowing.¡±

    Bei Qing was in a daze, as how would he remember some minor coachman?

    Not long after Shenwu Continent¡¯s group arrived, the people from the Adonis Weave¡¯s Greenpeak Gorge made their appearance. Their person in charge was L¨¹ Ran, who was an elder from Greenpeak Gorge, as well as a Hunter. His entire body was covered in green skin, and it looked quite horrifying.

    Greenpeak Gorge¡¯s attitude was very respectful, and there was not even a trace of shoring in their posture.

    En Ya and Hill Auna exchanged pleasantries with the representative before sending the group to rest.

    Neither En Ya nor Hill Auna liked Greenpeak Gorge, as this power was easily swayed. On the surface, it seemed that they had actively joined the Great Eastern Alliance, but in truth, they had agreed to cooperate with the Vastdearth Sect on the side. After they learned that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was going to relocate its headquarters to Frostwave Weave, they had quickly put a stop to their rtions with the Vastdearth Sect. They had a habit of double-crossing, which caused people to look down on them.

    Although the Vastdearth Sect had always tried to cause trouble, their actions had been done in the open while Greenpeak Gorge was different.

    There were eight great weaves currently in the Alliance, and En Ya was the most wary and disdainful towards Greenpeak Gorge.

    The final group to arrive was Bard Weave¡¯s Evenground Pce. Bard Weave was the furthest weave from Frostwave Weave, and both Elder Meiya and Young Mistress Doro had made an appearance as representatives of their sect.

    They exited their spacecraft, and Doro looked around curiously¡ªshe could sense a different energy fluctuation here. At this moment, the top forces of the Great Yu Empire should have gathered on Zenyu Star, including Lu Yin, who was even able to hold his own against Enlighters. In the Outerverse, there were very few powers that could contest with the current Zenyu Star.

    Her master had to be hopping mad by now, as she had wanted to head to Frostwave Weave and y. However, she had been stopped by the various elders, though to Doro, it was all very amusing.

    However, it had been the right decision to not allow her master to go on this trip. Doro still felt a little nervous when she remembered how Mu Nichang had wanted to seduce Lu Yin. Who knew if her master truly nned on doing so, but as senseless as she was, Mu Nichang might have actually made such ns. Thus, it was rather lucky for their sect that someone else was making this trip.

    Elder Meiya led Doro to meet En Ya and the others, disying a neutral attitude. It was not very proactive, but it was not repulsive either.

    En Ya had someone escort Elder Meiya and her group to a ce to rest, and then she canceled the lockdown on the space station. The major powers had all arrived, so now, they simply had to wait for the Alliance Conference to officially convene.

    The State House was where the representatives of the visiting great powers were staying, and it had only been built a short distance away from King Zishan''s pce. It had been built in the suburbs and was located in a pleasant environment with tight security.

    As the various great powers arrived, the State House became increasingly bustling.

    The ce was quiterge, and it had been divided into many courtyards. Each courtyard was located a fair distance from all others. However, if people wished to meet, the distance would not interfere with such activities either.

    At this Moment, L¨¹ Ran from Adonis Weave coincidentally bumped into the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Elder Huaqiao.

    ¡°Elder Huaqiao, what a coincidence, our quarters are actually nearby,¡± L¨¹ Ran said with a smile.

    Elder Huaqiao nced at L¨¹ Ran with a loathing expression. ¡°That¡¯s right, quite a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°Is Elder Huaqiao visiting next door? If I¡¯m not wrong, next door should be the quarters that were arranged for Evenground Pce. Is Elder Huaqiao still unresigned, wanting to make things difficult for the Great Yu Empire?¡± L¨¹ Ran asked in a surprise tone with a rather loud voice.

    Elder Huaqiao¡¯s face grew extremely ugly, and he stared intently at L¨¹ Ran. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense. I¡¯m just heading over to greet them.¡±

    L¨¹ Ran covered his mouth and chuckled. ¡°My apologies, I forgot that this is Zenyu Star and that there are ears all around us. Alright, Elder Huaqiao, do as you wish. I won¡¯t apany you any further.¡± And with that, he walked away with a massive grin stered across his face.

    Hua Qiao snorted. Despicable.

    He had originally nned on meeting with the people from Evenground Pce to ask for a rification on why they had humiliated his Vastdearth Sect. However, after L¨¹ Ran¡¯s meddling, if he still tried to meet with them after that, his actions would likely be interpreted as his sect trying to ally with Evenground Pce. Helpless, he could only return to his own quarters.

    At this moment, he had been embarrassed by L¨¹ Ran.

    Doro actually owed L¨¹ Ran thanks, as if he had not interfered, the message that she had sent to the Vastdearth Sect would have absolutely been discovered by Elder Meiya and the others who made up the highest levels of Evenground Pce. It was incredibly disrespectful to send such a message to arge sect, and it was an incident that could easily lead to enmity developing between their two organizations. Although Mu Nichang had ordered Doro to send the message, who would believe such a thing? In the eyes of many elders of Evenground Pce, Mu Nichang was a very steady, aware, and mature leader. There was no way such a respectable person would give such amand, and so, the me for the incident would definitely fall solely onto Doro¡¯s shoulders.

 Chapter 718: Visit

    <h4>Chapter 718: Visit</h4>

    In another area of the State House, Gibu sessively visited the members of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Imperial Cab¡¯s upper levels as well as the four ministries, including the Huo family and the Auna family. Gibu had not said much during these visits, as his main purpose was to meet these officials and introduce himself.

    During this entire time, Lan Wu stared at King Zishan''s pce, eagerly waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s return.

    Bei Hong and the others casually strolled along the streets of Zenyu Star, excited to experience more of the wider universe.

    Each weave¡¯s delegation had its own ns.

    Traveling through outer space, Lu Yin sat in the lounge of his vessel and rubbed his head. He had used the status granted by his Honor Points to search for more information regarding the four pirate crews, but he had not found much.

    The Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews were known to many, but very few people actually knew anything substantial about them. This made it so that it was not too realistic to search thework for public information on them.

    Lu Yin had also asked the Limiteer Mistchild about the four pirate crews, but she waspletely ignorant of them. She was only an assassin who had started cultivating on the Outerverse¡¯s Mafioso. She had never even been to the Innerverse, so there was no way for her to know anything about the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews.

    Lu Yin thought about it and decided to stop searching for more information. The Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, so there wasn¡¯t actually a reason for him to continue searching. He would try again in the future!

    When Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society arrived at Hydrotink at almost the same time.

    Hydrotink was not very far from Zenyu Star, as they were in the same fment. This was so that Lu Yin could visit the Lockbreaker Society headquarters at his convenience, and the had been chosen for this specific reason.

    Hydrotink had native inhabitants, and the also had not been overly transformed by technology. However, despite its rustess, it was rather connected to the rest of the universe as it had a space station and also awork for gadgets.

    The Lockbreaker Society¡¯s arrival had initially faced opposition from the¡¯s natives, but that had been quickly resolved.

    To prevent the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society from being disturbed by the native inhabitants, Huan Sha had specially ordered the two parties to be segregated, and she used an ocean to act as a buffer between the two groups. They could still interact with each other, but they would not share territory.

    With their current technology, it would not take them too much time to build a city, much less basic residences for Lockbreakers to live in. There were only a few thousand Lockbreakers that had immigrated to Hydrotink with the society, so it was easy to make arrangements for all of them.

    Lu Yin was concerned about the various treasures of the Lockbreaker Society. Many objects had been stolen from the Hall of Insight, but Lu Yin did not believe that the attackers had managed to grab all of the Society¡¯s treasures, as it definitely possessed many more sourceboxes.

    At the moment, only Felynn knew where those treasures were hidden.

    The most unfortunate part about the relocation was that the four tree-shaped sourceboxes could not be removed and transported, and thus, they had been left behind on Sourcepeak.

    Sourcepeak was already about to copse, and it would definitelypletely vanish in just a few more years, at which point it would be a ckhole. The loss of those four tree-shaped sourceboxes was a pity.

    The Lockbreaker Society had just started settling on Hydrotink when Cai Jianqiang arrived.

    Felynn was very surprised to learn of his arrival, and she immediately met with him.

    ¡°What happened to Sourcepeak?¡± Cai Jianqiang asked sternly.

    Felynn sighed and then briefly described the events that had urred on Sourcepeak, though she intentionally left out how she had been yed by the Wei family and Lu Yin. ¡°The other party must have wanted to steal the items that were in President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room, which is why they mounted a raid on the Hall of Insight. Fortunately, Senior Li and Lu Yin cooperated to protect those items, or else we would have let down President Geoffrey.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang frowned and secretly regretted his earlier decision. He would not have left thepetition so early if he had known that something like this would happen. He had not thought that so much would happen right after he left.

    Felynn looked at the young Hunter and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to me yourself¡ªonly Saul should be med for using such despicable methods. If hadn¡¯t participated, then the other Lockbreakers and Lu Yin would have been able to prevent Sourcepeak from falling into such a desperate situation, and at the very least, we would have been able to protect Hall of Insight.¡±

    ¡°I will look for Saul, and I will make him pay for what he did,¡± Cai Jianqiang stated coldly in a very determined voice.

    Felynn¡¯s heart leaped in her chest, and she looked at Cai Jianqiang in surprise. Had this person¡¯s battle strength reached such a high level that he was confident in dealing with Saul? Saul was able to fight against Enlighters!

    ¡°Will you all remain here in Frostwave Weave in the future?¡± Cai Jianqiang asked.

    Felynn nodded and then looked over at the busy Lockbreakers. ¡°Lu Yin has promised that the Great Eastern Alliance will protect us, and you should know that President Geoffrey is currently stranded in the Innerverse. Meanwhile, Saul has defected, and Senior Li is dead. Yi Feng and Mr. Jun have both left, so I am not able to protect everyone on my own. Lockbreakers have too lofty of a status, and we have likely offended many people in the past. Thus, we now need someone to protect us.¡±

    ¡°Could those people who attacked Sourcepeak be rted to Lu Yin?¡± Cai Jianqiang voiced a guess, as Lu Yin was the one who had gained the most from this entire situation.

    Felynn shook her head. ¡°It had nothing to do with him. If he had been involved, then the items stored in President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room would have been stolen, as our foe¡¯s primary objective had been to grab those things. From start to end, Lu Yin stood against the attackers, and because of him, many treasures were recovered, and many Lockbreakers did not die in vain.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s eyes shed, as these reassurances were still not enough to cement his trust in Lu Yin. As soon as he had learned that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters was being relocated to the Frostwave Weave, he had immediately started looking into Lu Yin. There was not a small amount of information about this youth, and when everything was looked at together, Cai Jianqiang felt that Felynn¡¯s excuses were not enough topletely exonerate Lu Yin.

    ¡°I want to meet Lu Yin,¡± Cai Jianqiang said calmly.

    Felynn grew worried. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around. I can swear and promise you that this matter is unrted to him and that he just coincidentally happened to be participating in thepetition.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang snorted. ¡°As long as everything turns out to be unrted to him, I won¡¯t do anything to him.¡±

    Lu Yin was very busy at this moment, and he was too upied to make a trip to Hydrotink.

    When he returned to King Zishan''s pce, Lan Wu visited Lu Yin, as she had been staring at his residence ever since she had arrived.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡± Lan Wu bowed respectfully.

    Lu Yin acknowledged her. ¡°Have a seat.¡±

    Zhao Ran brewed some tea for Lan Wu.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? If it¡¯s rted to the Alliance Conference, we can speak about it in two days,¡± Lu Yin said, as he did not have enough leisure time to privately meet with each representative one by one.

    Lan Wu took a moment to gather some words together. ¡°Your Highness, you once offered to allow me to be a captain of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. Is that offer still valid?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, as he had long since forgotten about that. After he had killed Lei Long, he had indeed made such an offer to this woman, as the Great Yu Empire had been severelycking in experts at that time. They had not had Phantom Sting, Aden, or Yan Yan at that time, and he had always hoped that his captains would be Hunters, which was why he had extended such an offer. However, there were now many more experts in the Great Yu Empire, and his previous craving for recruiting Hunters had died down. Although the Fifth and Tenth Squadrons were still captainless, he wanted to find absolute powerhouses such as Aden or Yan Yan to lead them, not some ordinary Hunters.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons held a very important ce in his heart, though he wanted to change out all of the old captains such as Peach, Shalosh, Rocky Auna, Ban Jiu, and Liuying Zishan. He wanted to change them out not because he was heartless, but rather because they could not keep up in terms of strength. However, this was not the time to make such changes.

    Lan Wu grew flustered when she saw how Lu Yin was considering her question. ¡°Your Highness, this subordinate truly wishes to serve you, so please give me a chance.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Lan Wu and thought about her request. ¡°Fine. If you can find a Hunter to oversee the Nine Stacks Sect and assist Tianming, I can allow you to be a captain in the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lan Wu was delighted at this answer. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness!¡±

    After Lan Wu left, Gibu, L¨¹ Ran, and Jake Shamus each came to see him as well. They had nothing much to discuss, and each one simply wanted to meet him.

    After they left and when the skies had darkened, Lu Yin received Elder Huaqiao.

    Elder Huaqiao adjusted his expression when he saw Lu Yin, and he bowed deeply. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Elder Huaqiao doesn¡¯t need to be so polite. The fact that the Vastdearth Sect was able to join the Great Eastern Alliance is inrge part thanks to you.¡±

    Huaqiao smiled, ¡°I dare not neglect Your Highness¡¯s instructions.¡±

    Sometimes, manipting someone did not mean that you needed to learn their deepest secrets. All humans had emotions and desires, and as long as one was human, they would also have weaknesses, and Huaqiao was no exception.

    Cheng Yan had been exposed by the Xun family and killed, leaving the Great Yu Empire without an insider in the Vastdearth Sect. It looked like their losses had been rather great, but nobody knew that Cheng Yan had merely been their surface contact. Lu Yin did not like letting other people seize the initiative, and to him, the secrets that he had learned had alle from Mafioso. Whoever learned of this information would be able to control these people, so they were not very dependable from Lu Yin¡¯s point of view.

    Having someone who was only in his palm was the most dependable way to proceed.

    Huaqiao was one such person, and nobody knew that he was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s true mole that they had ced within the Vastdearth Sect.

    ¡°I will remember your contributions, and I will satisfy your requests, so rest assured.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Elder Huaqiao felt grateful with this acknowledgement, ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°I will have to depend on Elder Huaqiao to report back on Meng Tianlong¡¯s actions in the future,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Huaqiao replied with a serene voice, ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness. I will definitely do my best for you.¡±

    ¡°Right, did Meng Qing truly die?¡± Lu Yin suddenly thought of this matter and asked about it. Meng Qing was the only Enlighter who hade from the Vastdearth Sect, and he had not appeared even a single time after going into seclusion. Meng Tianlong had been waiting in front of Meng Qing¡¯s quarters for a long time, which made Lu Yin feel uneasy, as an Enlighter could change certain situations.

    Huaqiao answered awkwardly, ¡°Your Highness, nobody knows the answer to this question. Elder Meng¡¯s status is a mystery to all.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered something to himself.

    ¡°Your Highness, Meng Tianlong has been waiting around Elder Meng¡¯s area of seclusion every day, and it¡¯s likely that Elder Meng is not dead yet. Please be prepared for that, Your Highness,¡± Huaqiao advised respectfully.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Alright, you may go.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Vastdearth Weave had two Enlighters: Granny Zhuo, and Meng Qing.

    Granny Zhuo was still in Ironblood Weave at the moment. She was not a part of the Vastdearth Sect, and although it was possible that she had some rtions with them, she was not qualified to meddle in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s matters. However, Meng Qing was different, as he could singlehandedly decide whether or not the Vastdearth Sect would stay in the alliance. Once he emerged, he would be able to look for Granny Zhuo¡¯s cooperation, and it would be rather troublesome to face two Enlighters at once.

    On one hand, Lu Yin hoped that Meng Qing would not emerge, as the enlighter might disrupt Lu Yin¡¯s ns. On the other, he was hoping that Meng Qing would emerge, as it was likely that the Sixth Maind would invade the Outerverse with the Technocracy¡¯s support. If that happened, then the Outerverse would absolutely need experts with higher power levels.

    It was a dilemma.

    Of the major powers¡¯ various representatives that had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, only Darkmist Weave¡¯s Bei Hong and Bard Weave¡¯s Elder Meiya had not visited Lu Yin thus far. He therefore summoned them, as he might as well finish seeing all of the major representatives on the same day.

    When Elder Meiya met with Lu Yin, her attitude was identical to Elder Huaqiao¡¯s, because she was the mole that the Great Yu Empire had nted in Evenground Pce, and her secrets were in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    Doro was not summoned. She truly wanted to meet with Lu Yin, as it had only been a few years since she had seen Lu Yin, but he had changed so much.

    When Lu Yin had first contacted Evenground Pce, he had asked for their assistance in pressuring the Ross Empire to pull back its troops. But now, he was able to force many of the eastern weaves to submit. With the power that Lu Yin currently possessed, there was no reason for him to ever be afraid, even if the Ross Empire invaded again!

    In just a few years, his power had risen to the point where he could rival the Innerverse¡¯s great powers. This person was a legend.

    Elder Meiya stepped out from her meeting with Lu Yin, and Doro curiously asked her, ¡°Elder, what did you discuss with Lu Yin?¡±

    Elder Meiya red at the girl. ¡°Watch your attitude when you speak of him. In just two days, he will be the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and he cannot be referred to by name.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Doro acknowledged. She looked at King Zishan''s pce, and her eyes filled with curiosity.

 Chapter 719: Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 719: Hostage</h4>

    Bei Hong was the final person to visit King Zishan''s pce, along with his son Bei Qing, as Lu Yin had summoned them together.

    ¡°Subject Bei Hong greets my lord.¡±

    ¡°Bei Qing greets my lord.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Please, sit.¡±

    Bei Hong bowed once again before sitting down nearby. Bei Qing stood behind his father, and he asionally nced at Lu Yin, as he had heard that they had met before.

    Zhao Ran brewed another pot of tea, and she eyed Bei Hong curiously. There had been many visitors today, and fortunately, she had prepared enough teawater. She even had enough for a few more pots of tea.

    ¡°How long has Lord Bei known the Reverent King for?¡± Lu Yin casually asked.

    Bei Hong replied in a respectful tone, ¡°This subject came to know of the Reverent King at a young age, and we even participated in the court examination at the same time.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°The Reverent King also took the court examination?¡±

    Bei Hong smiled. ¡°Yes, the Reverent King¡¯s literary skills are brilliant and worthy of respect, though he did not pass the exam.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Lord Bei has quite a close rtionship with the Reverent King,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Bei Hong adjusted his expression. ¡°The Reverent King has bided his time for many years, and so has this subject. No matter if it was openly or secretly, this subject did not have any interactions with the Reverent King, and I have also never said anything good about the Reverent King. If this subject had not done so, this subject would not have lived to this day.¡±

    ¡°It sounds like the Reverent King has been recruiting the troops that have surrendered, and it also sounds like Lord Bei has made great contributions,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Bei Hong looked at the floor and did not reply, as he naturally had nothing to say about thisment. He did not know what Lu Yin meant by his words, and he was uncertain about what sort of person the Royal Regent was. Every time the Reverent King mentioned this person, he had warned Bei Hong to be cautious.

    Lu Yin looked at Bei Qing, and his lips curled up. ¡°It looks like your son, Bei Qing, has finally recognized me.¡±

    Bei Hong turned around.

    Bei Qing¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He quickly bowed and respectfully answered, ¡°Back when the Demon Hunters Society was chasing after the rebel, Elder Hammer, there was a bit of misunderstanding between us and Your Highness. Please forgive me.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Back then, it was indeed suspicious that I was there, so there¡¯s no reason to me you. You guys were even injured by me. How are you doing now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you, my Lord, for your concern,¡± Bei Qing replied.

    Lu Yin looked back at Bei Hong. ¡°What position does Lord Bei currently hold in the Shenwu Empire?¡±

    Bei Hong replied, ¡°This subject is still the Minister of Defense.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded as he looked into Bei Hong¡¯s eyes. ¡°That means that, in the future, Princess Ming Yan will also need to rely on Lord Bei, correct?¡±

    Bei Hong replied, ¡°The princess is exceptionally intelligent, and this subject will do his best to support her.¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze, as Bei Hong was not the slightest bit surprised to hear that Ming Yan would be the one to seed the throne. It seemed that Ming Zhaoshu truly trusted this person if he had told him about such a detail. ¡°Lord Bei, you should know about my rtionship with Ming Yan. Be it for public or personal reasons, I do not wish for Shenwu Continent to turn into a mess. I hope that you will do your utmost to assist Ming Yan, and I will naturally reward you in the future. After this Alliance Conference, please allow your son, Bei Qing, to remain here, and I will open up a future for him.¡±

    Bei Hong was surprised, ¡°My lord, this-¡±

    At the same time, Bei Qing stepped forward and loudly said, ¡°Thank you, my lord, for showing me such care. Bei Qing is willing to work for my lord.¡±

    Bei Hong turned back to re at Bei Qing, about to say something.

    However, Lu Yin smiled and spoke first. ¡°Good! Seasoned officials may be more steady, but they alwaysck vitality, so I like to make use of young people when possible. As long as Lord Bei Qing has the ability, I will definitely not treat you unfairly.¡±

    Bei Qing excitedly acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s offer. Ever since he had left Shenwu Continent and experienced themotion and mysteries of the wider universe, he had wanted to remain behind, and this was his opportunity to do so.

    Bei Hong sighed and deeply bowed to Lu Yin. ¡°Sorry to cause you trouble, my lord.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded as two men soon departed.

    Ming Yan needed capable people to assist her when she inevitably rose to power in Shenwu Continent. Since Ming Zhaoshu trusted Bei Hong so much, it showed that the man was capable, so Lu Yin had to be able to control the man. Lu Yin was not Ming Zhaoshu, and he would not trust someone without a good reason. Thus, Bei Qing had to remain behind.

    Of course, Bei Qing himself was not ipetent, and he hadpletely changed since Lu Yin had first met him. After all, Bei Qing had been able to join the Demon Hunters Society and hunt down the surviving remnant sect members. This proved that he had changed; in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he could see that Bei Qing had passion and a goal, and Lu Yin liked working with such people. Only with passion would someone have motivation.

    When they returned to the State House, Bei Hong scolded Bei Qing. ¡°Do you know what you just did? Do you know how dangerous it is to follow Lu Yin? That person is very scheming, and he has offended too many powerful people with his ruthless methods. It¡¯s extremely dangerous to follow him.¡±

    ¡°Then why are there so many people following him?¡± Bei Qing retorted.

    Bei Hong opened his mouth, but he could not think of anything to say, as that was indeed the truth.

    ¡°Father, Lu Yin has been able to gain total control of the Great Yu Empire, and he has even established the Great Eastern Alliance. These feats are proof of his own ability. The actual methods are not that important, as you yourself once told me. Following him will at least be safer than roaming about alone. Anyways, I don¡¯t want to return to Shenwu Continent again,¡± Bei Qing said.

    Bei Hong had been beaten.

    ¡°Also, you¡¯ve seen what the situation is like tonight. Do we even have any room to negotiate?¡± Bei Qing asked.

    Bei Hong sighed. ¡°Since you wish to follow him, then be careful. Make sure that you think twice before doing anything. You must be even more cautious against Lu Yin than against the Reverent King.¡±

    ¡°I know, Father. Right, what did His Highness¡¯s words mean earlier? Assist Ming Yan? Could it be that the Shenwu Empire will be handed down to Ming Yan? That¡¯s impossible. His Majesty is still young, and he will definitely have a son,¡± Bei Qing asked.

    Bei Hong red at his son. ¡°Mind your own business, and stop asking so many questions.¡±

    Bei Hong instantly regretted responding to Lu Yin so quickly, for if he had pretended to be ignorant with his stance towards Ming Yan, then his son would not have been pulled into staying in the Great Yu Empire. Bei Hong realized that he had been trapped by Lu Yin. The Royal Regent might be young, but he was very smart.

    After spending one full day receiving all of the important people from the various weaves, there was no longer any need for Lu Yin to summon the people from the remaining powers, especially since those people were not qualified to meet him alone.

    It was now time for him to go to Hydrotink and meet with Felynn and the others, as he could not just leave the Lockbreakers alone by themselves. He had to hand over some of the memory chips to Felynn, and more importantly, Lu Yin wanted to investigate and pry around for information concerning the primeval surnames.

    The primeval surnames had always been a minor issue until one of the Ten Arbiters had taken out a paper with a list of people surnamed Lu and banished them all, his actions unable to be protested by anyone. The status of anyone with a primeval surname was miserable in this universe, and the Lockbreaker Society had even expressly stated that it would not ept anyone with a primeval surname that had an illegal status. This led Lu Yin to think that he could perhaps find out something from that source.

    On Hydrotink, Felynn was busy tidying up the current list of Lockbreakers when her gadget beeped. She nced at it: Lu Yin had arrived.

    Before long, Lu Yin arrived on Hydrotink. This had lush, green vegetation, wide seas, and fresh air everywhere. It had always been a popr tourist destination, though that was before it became the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters. Its status had changed vastly, going from an ordinary tourist to one of the most influentials throughout the Outerverse.

    The cost of living on the had not originally been very high, but the cost had multiplied several times in a single day, and they still showed no signs of stopping. Countless merchants had flocked to the, and if not for the temporary restriction blocking outsiders from entering, then the may have very well burst at the seams.

    Even with the restrictions preventing outsiders froming in, there were still numerous spacecraft crowded above the. On the nearbys, many people had established a local base or residence. It was almost as if this ce had be a second Zenyu Star, though its reputation might even surpass that of Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin towered high in the sky, floating above a sea, and he was able to see that the rune lines at the bottom of the sea were not small in number. These rune lines belonged to a Limiteer realm marine creature. Hydrotink had some Limiteer realm beasts, which were rtively dangerous for the natives, but they were basically harmless to any Lockbreaker.

    Felynn soon appeared and approached Lu Yin. ¡°I thought that you would onlye after the Alliance Conference concluded.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society has just arrived, so I have to pay a visit as your host, and I¡¯m also here to give you some things in passing.¡± He then passed Felynn a cosmic ring. ¡°There are some memory chips in there that contain the lockbreaking experience of several Lockbreakers, gathered over their entire lives. This is the condition that I promised you.¡±

    Felynn epted the ring, as she knew that these memory chips hade from the Hall of Insight. However, because they had not been able to protect the Hall of Insight, others had reaped the benefits.

    ¡°Senior Li¡¯s lockbreaking experience must be shared, as this was also one of the agreed upon conditions. I hope that you haven¡¯t forgotten,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn remained silent for a while before speaking. ¡°What do you need the Lockbreaker Society to do for you?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t thought it through yet, but we¡¯ll speak again, since you guys have already helped me a great deal,¡± Lu Yin said. He then looked at Felynn ¡°There¡¯s something that I¡¯m very curious about, and I hope that you can shed some light on it for me.¡±

    Felynn nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before speaking very seriously. ¡°Why does the universe reject those with primeval surnames?¡±

    Felynn was surprised that Lu Yin would ask such a question, but then she thought about it and remembered that this person¡¯s surname was Lu. He was precisely one such bearer of the primeval surnames. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin stared straight into Felynn¡¯s eyes.

    Felynn did not shrink back, and she looked right back into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as she seriously answered, ¡°This is actually a rule that¡¯s been passed down since ancient times. All people with primeval surnames must obtain a legal status, or else they will be emunicated and killed. No organization under the Hall of Honor will ept anyone with an illegal primeval surname into their ranks, and vitors will be killed without question. In fact, this rule was not set by the Lockbreaker Society, but rather by the Hall of Honor itself.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°The Hall of Honor?¡±

    Felynn nodded. ¡°Even President Geoffrey might not be able to answer this question of yours, as too much time has passed and too many powerful sects have disappeared from this universe since ancient times. Every powerful sect has documented records that orders them to reject those with primeval surnames, and no matter how old they are, they all have these records. It¡¯s as if, when humans were first born, this rule was already encoded within our genes, being passed down to the present day since then. Nobody can give an explicit reason for why this rule must be upheld, but everyone knows that this is something they must do.

    ¡°And truthfully, nobody can urately pinpoint which family names belong to the primeval surnames. The ones we are aware of are Lu, Liu, Wang, Xia, and Bai, but nobody knows the rest.¡±

    ¡°Does the Lockbreaker Society have any records about this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Felynn replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already mentioned that every powerful organization will have these records, though none of the documents describe the reasons behind these rules. However, our society¡¯s ancient documents have disappeared along with the Hall of Insight.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a pang of pity strike him and sighed. Why were those with primeval surnames rejected like this? Did they not belong to this part of the universe?

    In the end, it seemed like he had to ess Jupiter to learn more. However, with his current strength, he would not be able to break through Jupiter¡¯s defense.

    ¡°Wei Rong will not let you off,¡± Felynn suddenly said.

    Lu Yin looked at her and felt amused at herment. ¡°You want to cause discord?¡±

    Felynn shifted her gaze away. ¡°You are even more clear on Wei Rong¡¯s character than me. He used the society¡¯s internal conflicts to destroy Sourcepeak and then took in a bunch of Lockbreakers. But despite his meticulous nning, your harvest was even greater than his, and you even used the path that he paved. He will not let that go, and furthermore, the Great Eastern Alliance borders Armament Weave, so he definitely will not feel at ease leaving you alone.¡±

    Lu Yin looked Felynn up and down. ¡°You¡¯ve be more shrewd.¡±

    Felynn frowned, but she did not respond. She was aware that she had been too naive in the past. She had thought that Wei Rong would help her be president of the society and had sincerely believed that he had merely wanted to gain her goodwill.

 Chapter 720: Planet Hydrotinkâ€™s Guardian Angel

    <h4>Chapter 720: Hydrotink¡¯s Guardian Angel</h4>

    Felynn had underestimated Wei Rong by looking down upon him from the high pedestal of Lockbreakers, assuming that Wei Rong would want to work for her. However, Wei Rong had been standing somewhere even higher than Felynn, and he had not just looked down upon her; he hadpletely disregarded her. In the end, she had been thoroughly yed.

    Wei Rong had not been the only one to take advantage of her, as Lu Yin had entered the struggle midway, but he had also seized the initiative, sessfully obtaining even more than Wei Rong. Although Felynn had be the Society¡¯s president, she was still the biggest loser.

    At the present moment, the times had changed, and Lockbreakers were no longer as exalted as before. Her mindset had also changed; she had learned to analyze the details, seize opportunities when they came, and urately judge herself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle the matter with Wei Rong, and you¡¯ll soon be able to meet with him,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Felynn was at a loss.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°If I recall correctly, Wei Xin''er is your disciple, and as her elder brother, shouldn¡¯t he meet with his sister¡¯s mentor?¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong ising to Hydrotink?¡± Felynn¡¯s eyes turned cold, and killing intent shed through her eyes.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t make things difficult for me. Some matters can be resolved with crude violence while others cannot. Wei Rong is too smart, and he won¡¯t ce himself in a situation where there¡¯s any risk of danger to himself. I do not hope to end up on the passive side because of you.¡±

    Felynn snorted and quickly turned around to leave.

    Lu Yin watched her figure depart. Although this woman had learned to analyze the situation, her attitude had notpletely changed yet, and that would require some time.

    As he thought about Felynn, Lu Yin turned around to look in another direction, where a boundless amount of rune lines had filled the sky. The amount had practically matched up to that of an Enlighter. It was Cai Jianqiang.

    Lu Yin had not expected that Cai Jianqiang would show up on Hydrotink, but it seemed that his feelings for the Lockbreaker Society ran quite deep. If he had not left the stage of thepetition so early and had been present for the battle of Sourcepeak, then the oue of the battle might have been different.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time formally meeting Cai Jianqiang. They had not exchanged any words during the Lockbreaker Competition, and they had only briefly exchanged blows.

    Cai Jianqiang looked serious as he sized Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Why have you lured the Lockbreaker Society to this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin answered with a question of his own. ¡°Since Sourcepeak is no longer habitable, is there a problem with me moving them here? Or do you think that the current Outerverse Lockbreaker Society can withstand the pressure of the lurking pirates that are envious of them?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you also a pirate?¡± Cai Jianqiang held nothing back as he responded in a stern voice.

    Lu Yin could not help himself fromughing. ¡°At least not openly.¡±

    ¡°That still means that you plotted against the Society.¡± Cai Jianqiang clenched his fists, and in that moment, the surrounding space froze. Cai Jianqiang¡¯s star energy had forcefully fixed space in ce, and it was as if this area of the universe had been isted. At this moment, Cai Jianqiang¡¯s rune lines rose sharply, and they reached an amount that caused Lu Yin to feel fearful.

    He suddenly remembered this person had been unrivalled within his generation, and he had even suppressed the Universe Youth Council councilors of his era. He was an existence that could easily challenge opponents in higher realms, and his current rune lines did not just rival an Enlighter¡¯s¡ªat this moment, Cai Jianqiang¡¯s rune lines had surpassed those of an average Enlighter.

    During the third stage of the Lockbreaker Competition, if Lu Yin had not teamed up with Ku Wei, and if this person had not failed to finish his lockbreaking attempts, then the two of them would not have been able to disqualify him as his power was too terrifying.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society can help me spread my reputation further, and it can also help me in improving my lockbreaking and finding sourceboxes, so its value is too great. Of course, I can plot against them, but correspondingly, I¡¯ll have to give back a lot. Don¡¯t forget that there was someone constantly watching those items that were in President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang unexpectedly calmed down at this moment. ¡°Do you know what those items are?¡±

    ¡°No, I don''t, but I¡¯ll protect them well,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Cai Jianqiang frowned. ¡°Just you? Do you even know who wants to get their hands on those items?¡±

    Lu Yin was about to say the Neohuman Alliance, but then he suddenly stopped himself. He raised his head. ¡°The Three Dark Hands.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s eyes sharpened.

    The two fell silent.

    ¡°If you¡¯re worried that I¡¯ll end up harming the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, then why don¡¯t you stay? With your strength, you¡¯ll be able to protect them,¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    Cai Jianqiang solemnly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have any obligations to protect them.¡±

    ¡°I know Master Wusheng,¡± Lu Yin said, and Cai Jianqiang¡¯s eyes flickered. He stared at Lu Yin, and the younger man continued, saying, ¡°My lockbreaking qualifications were tested by Master Wusheng. I also know that he cares deeply about the Lockbreaker Society. Although he did not say it explicitly, I could tell from his tone. If possible, he would do all that he could to protect the Society, even if it led to his death.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s expression grewplex, and he stared at the undting surface of the sea as the breeze softly blew into his face.

    ¡°I believe that you¡¯re the same¡ªit¡¯s just that youck a reason to protect the Lockbreaker Society. If I give you a reason, will you stay?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Jianqiang stared at him. ¡°What reason?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll provide you with some senior Lockbreakers¡¯ lifetime umtion of lockbreaking experiences for you to study. You can treat it as a reward for staying here and protecting Hydrotink. That way, you can feel assured.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang muttered to himself for a while before finally answering, ¡°Fine.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and tossed the Hunter a memory chip. ¡°This is the first one. Whenever you¡¯re done studying it,e find me for the next one.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang stored the memory chip away and then looked at Lu Yin strangely. ¡°Since you know that the Three Dark Hands are plotting to acquire those items, why are you still willing to harbor the Society? What means do you have to protect yourself and them? Is this just because you previously killed an Enlighter? That power vessel was already destroyed in the Ironblood Weave, so why aren¡¯t you afraid of going up against the Three Dark Hands? Or do you think that, because the Innerverse and Outerverse are isted, that the Three Dark Hands are of no threat to you?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m passionate about lockbreaking just like you, and I simrly don¡¯t wish to see the Society destroyed. President Geoffrey has protected those items so carefully, so they must be something extremely important. Since that¡¯s the case, I definitely won¡¯t allow them tond in the hands of the dark powers, even if it means death.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s expression shifted, and his voice took on a calm tone. ¡°It looks like the outside world¡¯s evaluation of you isn¡¯t entirely true.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Some paths can only be taken by a single person, and they will end up facing countless criticisms, to the extent that such criticism will feel normal. I don¡¯t care about the outside world¡ªas long as those who I care about understand me, it¡¯s fine. Brother Cai, Hydrotink can only be handed over to you.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang solemnly replied, ¡°As long as I¡¯m here, Hydrotink will be safe.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and did not say anything more. He stepped back into outer space and left Hydrotink.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that guy is very powerful, but he was still so easily moved by you with just a few sentences, haha!¡± The Ghost Monkeyughed.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°I was telling him the truth, and I wasn¡¯t trying to pull one over on him. He has a sincere personality, and there aren¡¯t many people like him around anymore.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s easily tricked.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t trick him. He wants to stay behind to protect Hydrotink, but it just so happens that his lockbreaking ability is so poor that he couldn¡¯t ovee that mental barrier. Thus, I just helped him achieve that.¡±

    ¡°But Seventh Bro, that fellow really is terrifyingly powerful. I think that he might even be stronger than Aden,¡± the monkeymented seriously.

    Lu Yin had been able to sense that as well. It was not that Cai Jianqiangpletely surpassed Aden, but rather that Aden focused mostly on defense, while Cai Jianqiang focused mostly on offence. Every movement that he made was filled with a berserk aura, and it was the exact opposite of Aden. Cai Jianqiang would remain on Hydrotink for the moment, and when the time was ripe, there might be an opportunity to pull him into the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.

    Even if the Hunter could not be lured over to Lu Yin¡¯s side, Hydrotink was not too far from Zenyu Star, and this person was also a guardian. The price he had paid was just the lockbreaking memory chip, which was too easy.

    When there was just one more day until the start of the Alliance Conference, Wei Rong and Wei Xin''er appeared on Zenyu Star. They did not conceal their arrival, and so Lu Yin quickly heard the news.

    With Wei Rong¡¯s identity, Lu Yin should have personally weed him. Wei Rong was the heir of the Armament Weave¡¯s Wei Family whereas Lu Yin was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, which meant that their statuses were about equal. However, the Alliance Conference was about to begin, and weing Wei Rong at this moment might lead to the outside world forming baseless conjectures. After Lu Yin thought about it, not only did he not wee the siblings, but he even forbade En Ya, Huan Sha, Hill Auna, or any of the others from going. Instead, he only sent Kayze to escort Wei Rong to King Zishan''s pce.

    At the space station, Wei Xin''er seemed to be seething. ¡°Bro, this Lu Yin is too arrogant! He only sent a doorman to wee us, and such an ugly one at that.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled and then looked at Kayze¡¯s figure, where he was floating within the vehicle ahead of the two of them. ¡°Don¡¯t look down upon this doorman. He¡¯s from the Dire Barbarian n.¡±

    ¡°The Dire Barbarian n?¡± Wei Xin''er was surprised.

    Wei Rong exined, ¡°The Dire Barbarian n is arge n from the Innerverse¡¯s Soulseal Flowzone, and they are constantly at war with the Souldream Tribe, just like us with Lars Weave¡¯s Six-Fingered Tribe. This man is called Kayze, and during the battles for pyrolyte ore in the Astral Wilderness, he was a valued young expert from the Dire Barbarian n. His strength should put him in the upper eighty of the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Wei Xin''er stuck out her tongue. ¡°He¡¯s so powerful, and yet he¡¯s still just a doorman.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Yes, just a doorman. Lu Yin did not wee us himself, and neither did he allow any of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s important officials to appear, as he¡¯s afraid that our arrival might causeplications for his Alliance Conference. Thus, he sent this person to represent the attitude of King Zishan''s pce, and this person also represents Lu Yin himself, though in a capacity that is unrted to the Great Yu Empire. Additionally, he was sent to show off Lu Yin¡¯s own might, as he wants to let me know that even the Innerverse¡¯s powerful ns can only yield to him. He¡¯s such an interesting opponent.¡±

    Wei Xin''er snorted. ¡°So what if he¡¯s from one of the Innerverse¡¯s strong ns? Didn¡¯t the Lockbreaker Society already copse?¡± Wei Xin''er felt regret as soon as the words left her mouth. ¡°I originally wanted to cultivate on Sourcepeak. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s gone.¡±

    She was still unaware that the mastermind behind the battle of Sourcepeak had been her very own brother.

    Wei Rong rubbed her head. ¡°Sourcepeak is gone, but Hydrotink is still here, so just treat it as a new beginning. When you follow Master Felynn, you¡¯ll have to be serious. Since you want to learn lockbreaking, you must give it your all and not lose face for our Wei family, understand?¡±

    ¡°Mmhm, I got it,¡± Wei Xin''er acknowledged her brother with delight. Although her eyes gave her a crafty appearance, her ultimate goal in learning lockbreaking was so that she could shake off her family¡¯s influence and independently lead her own life. Now, she was one step closer to fulfilling this dream.

    Soon after, their small party arrived outside of King Zishan''s pce, but Lu Yin still did not step out to wee them. Since he had decided to put on a show to demonstrate his attitude towards Wei Rong, he nned to see it through to the very end. Regardless, it was already clear that Lu Yin and Wei Rong were destined to be enemies and not friends in the future.

    Kayze led them through the front entrance and soon led them into the sitting room. ¡°Please, sit. His Highness will be with you shortly.¡± He had already grown ustomed to his role.

    Wei Rong smiled and nodded. He then sat down in a chair with a calm demeanor.

    Wei Xin''er snorted unhappily, as she had not ever been treated this casually when visiting someone in a formal capacity. She wanted to see what kind of brain this Lu Yin had and discover whether or not he was actually as amazing and arrogant as rumors imed.

    The two siblings only sat around for a few minutes when Lu Yin stepped into the room. He beamed at Wei Rong, who immediately stood up to greet Lu Yin. ¡°The Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Armament Weave¡¯s Wei Rong?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. Brother Lu, it¡¯s my pleasure to meet you in person.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother Wei, I¡¯ve also looked forward to meeting you.¡±

    The two both hadrge smiles on their faces, appearing to hold each other in great esteem.

    Wei Xin''er twisted her lips as she sat in her seat, motionless.

 Chapter 721: Lu Yin And Wei Rong

    <h4>Chapter 721: Lu Yin And Wei Rong</h4>

    Wei Rong looked over at Wei Xin''er and barked, ¡°Xin¡¯er, where are your manners? Stand up.¡±

    Wei Xin''er snorted and turned around.

    Wei Rong wanted to say something else to the girl, but Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Long time no see, Miss Wei Xin''er.¡±

    Confused, Wei Xin''er turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Have we met?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face transformed as he went back to the appearance that he had used on Sourcepeak.

    Wei Xin''er was astounded, and she stood up and covered her mouth before pointing at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed at her and gestured for Wei Rong to sit. He then had Zhao Ran serve some tea.

    Wei Xin''er red at Lu Yin with wide eyes. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin. Aren¡¯t you a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker? Why did you go through the initial assessment? Hold on, you must have some unspeakable secret if you had to alter your appearance for the exam! Are you the one who instigated the battle on Sourcepeak?¡±

    Lu Yin gasped in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re Wei Rong¡¯s sister¡ªyou¡¯re so smart. There was indeed someone who instigated things there, but it wasn¡¯t me. You should ask your brother about it.¡±

    Wei Xin''er was at a loss, and she looked over at Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong softly said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it when we get back. For now, sit down.¡±

    Wei Xin''er¡¯s eyes were filled with curiosity and confusion, but she knew that this was not the time to discuss such things. She could only purse her lips and sit back down as she looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Brother Lu, we didn¡¯t meet on Sourcepeak, which is such a pity. This trip to Zenyu Star has already allowed me to meet with Brother Lu, and this meeting has also confirmed for me that my loss on Sourcepeak wasn¡¯t undeserved,¡± Wei Rong said in a rxed manner as he smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Loss? Why is Brother Wei using such words? You clearly achieved your objectives.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°But the truth is that I paved the way for Brother Lu, who ended up as the biggest winner.¡±

    ¡°I was only at the right ce at the right time. Brother Wei¡¯s methods were brilliant, and actually, after the battle concluded, I was hoping to be able to meet with Brother Wei,¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°We are both the same in this. There¡¯s a matter that I wish to consult Brother Lu about.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    Wei Rong said, ¡°At the beginning of everything, Brother Lu clearly agreed to call out Saul at the end of thepetition, so why did you suddenly go back on your word?¡±

    Lu Yin did not hide anything and directly answered, ¡°Because I discovered that there were still other people cooperating with Felynn, and since that person didn¡¯t want to be discovered by me, there had to have been some reason for it.¡±

    Wei Rong instantly came to a realization. ¡°So Brother Lu discovered my people. Only Felynn can be med for being so foolish. She had some understanding of Brother Lu, but she still wanted to pull him into the events.¡±

    ¡°Felynn pulled me in to guard herself against you. Among the Lockbreakers, she can already be considered as a rather astute person.¡±

    ¡°But from start to finish, she never considered the fact that Lu Yin is the person who unified the eastern weaves. Thus, she could not have predicted the oue of using such methods.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I have a doubt that I would like Brother Wei to clear up as well.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    ¡°Why not go with Felynn? With Brother Wei¡¯s methods, controlling Felynn would be too simple. Yi Feng could then keep his identity hidden, remaining inside the Society. There was no need to expose him.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Because I don¡¯t need a woman who tries to act smart on her own.¡±

    Lu Yin understood and also thought that Wei Rong was right. If not for Felynn trying to act smart by pulling Lu Yin into existing ns, he would have never discovered the Wei family¡¯s participation. If that hadn¡¯t happened, then he would not have contacted Wang Wen, and the final oue of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society moving its headquarters to Frostwave Weave would have never urred. All of these events had ultimately urred because of Felynn; she had thought that she was smart by bncing the Wei family against Lu Yin. However, she had ended up being yed by both sides, even trapping herself in the end.

    This sort of person would cause more problems than achieve aplishments.

    Wei Xin''er listened to their conversation, and her eyes kept jumping from one to the other. She felt that they were very simr. From what they were saying, the Interim President of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, Felynn, was nothing more than a foolish woman. These two looked down upon everything, treating the universe as if it was a chessboard and they the yers. To them, Felynn, the Lockbreaker Society, and even Saul and the Enlighters were nothing more than chess pieces.

    Lu Yin and Wei Rong did not avoid any topic, and they also did not conceal anything from each other concerning the matters of Sourcepeak. Of course, what should be asked was asked, and what should be omitted was omitted by both of them. As they continued to chat, Lu Yin and Wei Rong both felt the other was very agreeable.

    Zhao Ran brewed some more tea for the two youths.

    Wei Xin''er yawned, as these two had already talked for more than an hour. Two men talking for so long while constantly smiling was really quite nauseating. How about a peck on the cheek?

    ¡°It¡¯s really delightful that I was able to chat with Brother Lu today. This trip to Frostwave Weave was not in vain.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Lu Yin simrly felt good about this meeting, and although they were not scheming against each other at this moment, their conversation felt even more brilliant than conducting schemes. This was the way smart peoplemunicated with each other, and the two young men both avoided questions that their opponent would not or could not answer. ¡°Brother Wei, if you are able to stay for a few more days, allow me to fulfill my duty as your host.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Brother Lu said that he would take me out to tour Zenyu Star before.¡±

    ¡°Haha, no problem. After the Alliance Conference, Brother Wei can look for me at any time.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±

    ¡°A deal. Right, I have one more question.¡± Lu Yin looked at Wei Rong seriously and then calmly asked, ¡°Why did you choose the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society?¡±

    Wei Rong rearranged his face, and his lips curled upwards. ¡°Because they stand in a position that is too high.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s true. The higher one¡¯s position, the greater the fall.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, I knew that Brother Lu would be able to understand me. It¡¯s no longer early, and I need to take my sister to Hydrotink. Brother Lu, we¡¯ll take our leave now.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Lu Yin gestured at him and then watched as Wei Rong took Wei Xin''er away. Once they were gone, he fell into a contemtive mood.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you seem to like him a lot,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°This person is too smart, and his words and actions don¡¯t give off the impression of a schemer, but rather feel more like that of a good friend whom I haven¡¯t met in a long time. Seemingly insignificant topics were used to pull out a great deal of information about me. He was always observing me and constantly collecting my data.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s threatening, isn¡¯t he? This monkey has lived for so many years, and I have seen a few of these types before. They aren¡¯t impressive when ites to their power level, but their brains are even scarier than raw strength,¡± the monkey muttered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Lived for so many years? How long?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was stumped. ¡°What ¡®so many years?¡¯ We astral beasts don¡¯t calcte our age the same way as you humans, so don¡¯t overthink things.¡±

    Lu Yin did not retort, as this stupid monkey was still hiding a lot of information. There were not many people in the universe who were simr to Wei Rong, and those who Lu Yin was aware of included the likes of Wang Wen and possibly Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao, but there were not many others. This damned monkey had actually said that he had seen a few, which did not feel quite right. Of course, it was possible with luck, but the tone that the monkey had used sounded more like the monkey had been reminiscing.

    After this Alliance Conference, he had to look for a Beast Tamer expert and find out more details about tamed beasts.

    After leaving King Zishan''s pce, Wei Rong¡¯s face fell, and he looked as though he was thinking about something.

    Wei Xin''er looked at him carefully, as she understood her own brother. This particr expression meant that he was not in a great mood.

    ¡°Brother, are you unhappy?¡± Wei Xin''er asked.

    Wei Rong exhaled before his lips suddenly curled upwards. ¡°Happy, definitely happy. It wasn¡¯t easy to find a decent opponent, but it¡¯s such a pity that he¡¯s destined to be an enemy.¡±

    ¡°Enemy? Are we going to war against the Great Yu Empire?¡± Wei Xin''er asked.

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression grewplex, as war was already certain, but just their Armament Weave alone was certain to suffer defeat. Lu Yin was already a step ahead; Weir Rong had initially thought he was the trailzer, but after his conversation with Lu Yin, he had realized that, regardless of if it was aspiration, vision, or future prospects, Lu Yin was at least his equal, and Lu Yin even hid an ambition that Wei Rong could not fully understand.

    He had initially thought that Lu Yin had truly simply been in the right ce at the right time during the events on Sourcepeak and that the Great Eastern Alliance had only been established because of the Ironblood Weave. To some degree, Wei Rong had even thought that the Hall of Honor had been the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes. But now, he knew that he had been wrong. This person had long since walked on the same path as him, and he was actually ahead of Wei Rong by quite a bit. Rather than saying that Lu Yin had borrowed the path paved by Wei Rong during the events on Sourcepeak, it was more urate to say that Wei Rong and Lu Yin¡¯s paths had converged, causing them to discover the existence of the other.

    This person presented too great of a threat to him, and he had to be eradicated early. However, with the Great Eastern Alliance dominance, it would be very difficult to crush it unless Wei Rong was able to unite the central region. And that would lead to a great battle spanning the entire Outerverse.

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression turned frosty, as this great war would erupt sooner orter.

    He was already feeling slightly regretful, for if he had understood Lu Yin earlier, then he would not have destroyed the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and he would have only considered it after unifying the central weaves. Now, he was in a predicament of being forced into the passive role.

    At the same time, he was also rejoicing slightly. Fortunately, he hade to Frostwave Weave at this time, or else he would not havee to understand Lu Yin, and therefore would have allowed him to freely develop. Things might have proceeded in such a fashion that Wei Rong would not have any leeway to resist in the future.

    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s Jake Shamus?¡± Wei Xin''er cried out as she looked over.

    Wei Rong raised his head, and he also saw Jake Shamus. His eyes shed as he raised a finger and lightly tapped out with it. A strong gale swept across the air and struck Jake Shamus¡¯s vehicle in the sky.

    Jake Shamus looked down and exchanged nces with Wei Rong. The moment he did so, his pupils shrank, and he immediately dropped down.

    The vehiclended on the ground with a thump, and Jake Shamus stared at Wei Rong. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Wei Xin''er barked back, ¡°Eh? What are you going on about? No manners.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Brother Lu invited me to take a tour of Zenyu Star. Is there a problem?¡±

    Jake Shamus¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Lu Yin invited you here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. We talked for over an hour, and I regret not meeting him earlier. Oh, right, your Six-Fingered Tribe seems to be one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s allies. I nearly forgot.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Jake Shamus red at Wei Rong, seething with anger. The Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s rtionship with the Wei family was akin to that of fire and water, and a battle would ur whenever they met.

    Many people gathered around them, and arge circle had already formed around this confrontation.

    Jake Shamus was normally a calm individual, but it depended on who he was faced with. Against Wei Rong, not a single Six-Fingered Tribe person would be able to suppress their anger. Although Jake Shamus was just a Limiteer, he still wanted to make a move against Wei Rong, who was an Explorer. The star energy in the area trembled as Jake clenched his fists and his eyes filled with killing intent.

    Wei Xin''er stepped forward to stare at Jake Shamus, as she would definitely not let her brother gain a reputation for bullying the weak. She was a Melder, so it would be nice for her to cross realms and challenge this person.

    Wei Rong kept smiling, but he did not stop his sister.

    Just as Jake Shamus was about to act, the surrounding star energy suddenly froze in ce. This was because an expert way stronger than him had arrived: Huo Qingshan

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Huo Qingshan looked at Wei Rong as he asked the question.

    Wei Rong shrugged. ¡°This person wants to attack me.¡±

    Huo Qingshan looked at Jake Shamus. ¡°Young Master, His Highness has requested your presence.¡±

    Unreconciled with the turn of events, Jake Shamus red at Wei Rong. He gradually rxed his hands and snorted before finally flying towards King Zishan''s pce. He had truly considered attacking the siblings.

 Chapter 722: An Alternative Path

    <h4>Chapter 722: An Alternative Path</h4>

    Huo Qingshan faced Wei Rong and apologized. ¡°This happened due to our negligence. I ask that Sir Wei Rong doesn¡¯t take any offense.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    Huo Qingshan sized the youth up and down in a serious manner and then dismissed the surrounding people.

    ¡°Bro, why did you intentionally provoke Jake Shamus?¡± Wei Xin''er was confused.

    Wei Rong calmly replied, ¡°I must find something to keep Lu Yin busy with. I can¡¯t allow him to be rxed.¡±

    Wei Xin''er did not really understand, but she nheless obediently followed her brother back to the space station.

    Some ways away, Jake Shamus furiously stomped up to King Zishan''s pce and immediately entered without even announcing himself.

    Lu Yin was leisurely sitting in the sitting room when Jake Shamus charged up to him. ¡°Your Highness, Royal Regent, why is Wei Rong on Zenyu Star?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Are you questioning me?¡±

    Jake Shamus felt his mind go nk as he was confronted with Lu Yin¡¯s frosty gaze, and he suddenly recalled that this person was not someone from the Six-Fingered Tribe. Instead, he was the future Great Eastern Alliance Leader. A single sentence from Lu Yin could reduce the Six-Fingered Tribe to a river of blood.

    Jake Shamus took a deep breath and then slowly bowed. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness. I¡¯m the one who was too impulsive.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly told him, ¡°Sit.¡±

    Jake Shamus sat down and looked at the Royal Regent. Although he had suppressed his fury, he could not pacify his emotions, especially since he was worried about what sort of agreement the Great Eastern Alliance might havee to with Armament Weave, as anything at all would be uneptable to their Six-Fingered Tribe.

    Recently, Armament Weave had absorbed an influx of various Lockbreakers. If Armament Weave indicated that it wanted to join the Great Eastern Alliance, the Six-Fingered Tribe had no confidence in being able to chase them away.

    ¡°It looks like your Six-Fingered Tribe has a poor rtionship with the Wei family,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Jake Shamus solemnly replied, ¡°Either we die or they do.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°If I told you that Wei Rong came here to issue a deration of war, would you believe me?¡±

    Jake Shamus was surprised. ¡°A deration of war?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then casually answered, ¡°Pretty much. He¡¯s here to investigate the situation, and there will definitely be a great war between us in the future.¡±

    Jake Shamus grew furious. ¡°With just them? Your Highness, as long as you give the word, our Six-Fingered Tribe will definitely be at the vanguard, and we¡¯ll vanquish Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. The Allied Forces still need to be established before we can wage war. Otherwise there¡¯d be no meaning in establishing the Great Eastern Alliance. Don¡¯t forget¡ªthe alliance contract states that the Great Eastern Alliance must protect all of its members. Your Six-Fingered Tribe is also a member, and if war is to be had, then the entire Great Eastern Alliance will participate as well.¡±

    Jake Shamus was delighted at these words, and he stood up to bow. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged him and then said, ¡°But before that, you will have to keep your temper in check. You can¡¯t let Wei Rong provoke you into attacking him. If you do, you will be throwing away our Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s face. Understand?¡±

    Jake Shamus hurriedly replied, ¡°I understand, Your Highness. Rest assured, I won¡¯t.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then dismissed Jake Shamus.

    He had quite the headache, as just a casual action from Wei Rong was enough to sow discord, which made Lu Yin very ufortable. He thought about it for a moment and then called Wang Wen.

    ¡°Wei Rong is on Zenyu Star? It looks like he wants to get his own understanding of you. You¡¯ve already entered his focus.¡± Wang Wen was delighted by this development, and he sounded a little happy at Lu Yin¡¯s woes.

    Lu Yin felt his headache worsen. ¡°As soon as he left, he started causing waves. If I didn¡¯t have some level of prestige, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to suppress the Six-Fingered Tribe. What do you think I should do?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to know what Wei Rong ns to do? Let me tell you this¡ªI don''t know. He¡¯s only a little dumber than me and can barely be considered to be on my level, which is why it¡¯s difficult for me to guess at what this opponent is thinking. But I can tell you one thing: divert attention,¡± Wang Wen exined.

    ¡°Divert attention?¡± Lu Yin did not get what Wang Wen was saying.

    Wang Wen was pleased with himself. ¡°Right now, Wei Rong only wishes to better understand the Great Eastern Alliance, and he¡¯ll also think of some ways to break it up. There¡¯s still one more day before the Alliance Conference convenes, and if you want some peace and quiet, then find something to keep him busy.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I got it.¡±

    He hung up and quickly started thinking about the situation. After a moment, he called Felynn. ¡°I want to pull Sourcepeak Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Felynn was surprised, as she had not thought that Lu Yin¡¯s first words to her would be this. ¡°Sourcepeak Weave is a little too far from Great Eastern Alliance, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I need your help. Since the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s foundation is in Sourcepeak Weave, it¡¯s quite feasible, but it has to be fast.¡±

    Felynn felt that this was a difficult task.

    ¡°You can also tell Wei Rong about this matter,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn did not understand this bit. ¡°Tell him? Aren¡¯t you afraid that he¡¯ll cause trouble?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°The more trouble, the easier it will be for Sourcepeak Weave to be pulled in. Just do as I say.¡± And with that, he ended the call.

    Felynn was lost¡ªwhat did Lu Yin mean by that? Could he be trying to probe her? She could not understand. Wait, hang on. Wei Rong¡¯s here?

    When Wei Xin''er met Felynn this time, she felt a little apprehensive, as she had learned the truth about what had urred on Sourcepeak while on her way to Hydrotink.

    Wei Rong and Felynn met each other by themselves afterwards. When faced with this young man, Felynn was seething. ¡°You really have some tricks.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°President Felynn, each one of us took what we needed. Aren¡¯t you actually the president now?¡±

    Felynn¡¯s face normally had a gentle expression, but at this moment, her eyes were icy. ¡°If not for Lu Yin, before I even had a chance to be appointed as president, all the Lockbreakers would have been lured over to Armament Weave by you. Unfortunately for you, your schemes were disrupted, and you ultimately lost to Lu Yin.¡±

    Wei Rong did not mind. ¡°I also achieved my own objectives, which is enough.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I will make an effort to teach your sister?¡± Felynn asked coldly.

    Wei Rong maintained his smile. ¡°You will teach her well. You are smart enough to leave an alternative path for yourself. Xin¡¯er is precisely that path, and this is the same reason why you pulled Lu Yin into thingsst time.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need an escape route. This ce is already my alternative path.¡± Felynn was firm.

    Wei Rong shook his head with a smile. ¡°Really? If that¡¯s the case, then why did you still meet with me?¡±

    Felynn fell silent.

    ¡°You should already know of Lu Yin¡¯s character. He and I are the same kind, and we are both plotting against the Society. If you aren¡¯t at ease with me, then you simrly won¡¯t be at ease with him. I came here to offer you an alternate path so that you won¡¯t bepletely under Lu Yin¡¯s control. You should be thanking me.¡± Wei Rong¡¯s smile widened.

    Felynn¡¯s eyes narrowed. She was actually a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and she was also the Interim President of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. However, despite her titles and power, she was trapped in the palms of others without any ability to resist. The helplessness and sullenness that she felt in her heart had already reached the maximum.

    ¡°President Felynn, I hope that you can differentiate the differences between Lu Yin and myself. Although I caused Sourcepeak to crumble and plotted against you guys, I didn¡¯tpletely suppress your authority. But what about Lu Yin? He¡¯s someone who has killed Enlighters, which means that, even if Saul returns to the Society, he might not be able to shake off that level of control,¡± Wei Rong exined.

    ¡°Regardless of what I say right now, you won¡¯t believe me, but that¡¯s alright. Take it slow, and I¡¯ll leave you an escape route in the form of Xin¡¯er. Take care.¡±

    Felynn stared at Wei Rong. ¡°Back when you said that you were willing to support me, were you already plotting against Sourcepeak Weave?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Why do you think that?¡±

    Felynn replied, ¡°Lu Yin had me contact some people in the Sourcepeak Weave, as he wants to pull Sourcepeak Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s face turned solemn, as he had indeed considered this possibility, which was why he had been willing to support Felynn as the interim president. It was all a part of his n to destroy the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. The Sourcepeak Weave had been one of his targets, but he had temporarily set that goal aside after Felynn had relocated the Society¡¯s headquarters over to Frostwave Weave. He had not expected that Lu Yin would also be targeting the weave.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was currentlyposed entirely of eastern weaves, but Sourcepeak Weave was in the center of the Outerverse. If Lu Yin was able to gain control of Sourcepeak Weave, it meant that he was nning on meddling in the affairs of the central weaves, which was troublesome for Wei Rong. In fact, given Lu Yin¡¯s current influence, it was already possible for him to reach out and interfere in the central weaves¡¯ affairs.

    Wei Rong had been just thinking about how he could unite the central weaves to counter the Great Eastern Alliance, but he had not thought that Lu Yin would once again n to walk in front of him.

    ¡°You n on helping him?¡± Wei Rong looked at Felynn.

    She calmly replied, ¡°I have no choice.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s gaze shed. ¡°If you want the Lockbreaker Society to regain its previous status, you cannot help him.¡±

    Felynn did not speak.

    ¡°In the past, Lockbreakers had an outstanding status in the past, partly because they did not meddle in the struggles between the various powers, which was an irond rule. If you break this, then when we reconnect to the Innerverse, you will be condemned by the Innerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society as well as the Hall of Honor,¡± Wei Rong threatened.

    Felynn looked at him and mockingly asked, ¡°Are you afraid?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s face seemed indifferent.

    ¡°It seems like Lu Yin really does put a great deal of pressure on you. Rest assured, Sourcepeak Weave won¡¯t be easily roped in, or at the least, it won¡¯t be aplished quickly. You still have time to make your own ns,¡± Felynn said.

    ¡°I hope so,¡± Wei Rong replied.

    Lu Yin had encouraged Felynn to reveal his n of winning over Sourcepeak Weave in hopes that it would divert Wei Rong¡¯s attention. That way, Wei Rong would not cause anymotion during the Alliance Conference. However, Wei Rong¡¯s conversation with Felynn had caused the woman¡¯s thoughts to change once again. Wei Rong¡¯s words had been effective, and Felynn decided to keep Wei Xin''er avable as an alternative path, as she truly felt that Lu Yin was even scarier than Wei Rong.

    As for the Sourcepeak Weave, she really did not n on making any moves because, as she had said to Wei Rong, the Sourcepeak Weave would not be easily roped into the Great Eastern Alliance. If the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society''s headquarters had still been on Sourcepeak, it would have been possible. However, now that they had moved, their influence in Sourcepeak Weave had fallen greatly.

    In Ironblood Weave, due to the assistance of the various Enlighters, the different strongholds had gradually finished their restoration efforts. Their vigil towards the Primal Zone had started once again.

    However, Elder Lohar had no ns of allowing the Outerverse¡¯s Enlighters to leave. From his perspective, the Outerverse was currently calm, and it was better if these Enlighters were restrained. He also wanted to see what Lu Yin could achieve. A united Outerverse was not something that the Hall of Honor would support, but Elder Lohar hoped that it would be unified, as he was worried about the Sixth Maind.

    The Astral Beast Domain had already been invaded by the Sixth Maind, and it would not be too long before the Outerverse faced its own invasion as well.

    Near Seasons Fort, there was a defensive that was close to the border withrge, shadowed areas. This was actually located behind Seasons Fort, and it was positioned rather covertly so that it typically did not have any light shining on it.

    Topmist was on this. As an assassin, he could not be seen in the light.

    In the skies above the, an old woman suddenly appeared, and an Enlighter¡¯s star energy swept over the entire. She then vanished and reappeared in an extremely dim location on the. ¡°Topmist,e out.¡±

    ¡°Granny Chan, I have never had any associations with you, so what motive could you have to look for me?¡± Topmist¡¯s voice came out from all directions, and even Granny Chan could not tell where he was hidden.

    Granny Chan replied, ¡°You should have also heard about what happened in the Outerverse.¡±

    Topmist did not respond.

 Chapter 723: Your Home Was A Mining Planet?

    <h4>Chapter 723: Your Home Was A Mining?</h4>

    ¡°The eastern weaves have already been united, and Lu Yin has established his Great Eastern Alliance. Darkmist Weave is also a part of it. Your Mafioso won¡¯t be able to escape,¡± Granny Chan said.

    Topmist sullenly answered, ¡°So what?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that he¡¯ll deal with your Mafioso?¡± Granny Chan asked.

    Topmist solemnly said, ¡°Mafioso is merely the ce where we reside. As assassins, we have no fixed home. If he wants the, he can have it.¡±

    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s still your ancestral grounds. Are you really that willing to give it up?¡± Granny Chan questioned.

    Topmist¡¯s tone remained calm. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Granny Chan replied, ¡°Go to the Outerverse with me to eliminate this cmity.¡±

    Topmist felt that her request was rather strange. ¡°If I recall correctly, your Northline Flowzone has a pretty good rtionship with him. Why do you want to get rid of him?¡±

    ¡°He drove my Northline Flowzone¡¯s people away from the Tri-Banner Federation and infringed upon our benefits.¡±

    Topmist did not answer.

    Granny Chan raised her voice, ¡°This kid, Lu Yin, was acknowledged as the Enlighters¡¯ Bane when he was nothing more than a Limiteer! And he is arrogant beyond measure. Now that he has broken through and be an Explorer, he¡¯s even more insufferable. Are you really willing to let such a person be universally acknowledged as standing over us? The moment he started working to establish his Great Eastern Alliance, you should have noticed that this kid is not willing to be independent. He seeks not only power, but also authority.¡±

    ¡°Let me think about this,¡± Topmist replied.

    Granny Chan said, ¡°Alright, but hurry. I¡¯ve already discussed this with Granny Zhuo. With you, three of us Enlighters should be able to deal with him.¡±

    ¡°You had best be clear on the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude towards him, and don¡¯t forget that Nightqueen Qiuyu was already warned by Elder Lohar,¡± Topmist replied.

    ¡°I know,¡± Granny Chan said before vanishing.

    After she left, Topmist¡¯s image appeared, and he activated his gadget without any hesitation. He then contacted someone he never thought he would reach out to: Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was on the distant Zenyu Star, and he had not expected Topmist to contact him. They had exchanged contact information when they fought together in the Ironblood Weave, though neither of them had ever expected to contact the other in the future.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t spoken for a while, Lu Yin.¡± Topmist appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen, and he was garbed entirely in ck.

    Lu Yin looked at the Enlighter realm assassin, very confused. ¡°Why did you contact me?¡±

    ¡°Granny Chan just reached out to me and asked me to cooperate in dealing with you,¡± Topmist exined, betraying the old woman without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned sharp. ¡°Granny Chan?¡± He had not forgotten about this woman. During the events on Pyrolyte, the two had got along well, and Granny Chan had even promised to help the Great Yu Empire rise in power. After that, however, her attitude had seemingly gone in aplete 180. She was actually the person who had secretly told Darkstar Gorge about the methods that Lu Yin had used to kill Lei Long, which had resulted in him being pursued by Darkstar Gorge. Even now, she was still making moves to eliminate Lu Yin, which seemed rather strange.

    Lu Yin¡¯s best guess was that Granny Chan did not feelfortable with the title that he had been given: Enlighters¡¯ Bane, and that her difort was the main reason she wanted to strike him when he had been down. However, things were no longer as simple¡ªshe was now deliberately and directly trying to kill him.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Lu Yin could not understand Topmist¡¯s motivations.

    Topmist replied, ¡°With your abilities, I have the feeling that you won¡¯t be dealt with as easily as she expects. I would rather do you a favor, so remember this moment well.¡±

    ¡°Assassins also do favors for people?¡± Lu Yin felt awkward.

    ¡°Assassins are also people,¡± Topmist calmly replied. He then simply ended the call.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget as he contemted things. Killers often had sharper senses than regr people, let alone one that was an old fox like Topmist.

    Why exactly was Granny Chan so eager to deal with him? Was it just because he had killed Enlighters? Or was it because the Tri-Banner Federation had banished the people from Northline Flowzone? However, the truth of the matter was that Lu Yin had not banished them. Rather, they had left the Tri-Banner Federation of their own ord. Why had they left? Lu Yin thought about it, and he quickly realized that it was very possible that Granny Chan had realized that her snitching had been exposed. This might actually be her gaining an advantage by making the first move.

    She may have only exposed his secrets in the past because she did not find him to her liking, and it might have even merely been something that she had done in passing. However, after it was exposed, her only choice was to deal with him.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. It seemed that he would need to take care of this old grandma, especially since she had taken the initiative to contact outsiders to organize a group to deal with him. Such initiative!

    The following day, the Alliance Conference formally convened.

    The Great Eastern Alliance provided a live broadcast of the conference to the various great weaves of the Outerverse. There were a total of 172 people participating in the conference, all of them representing various powers from the eight weaves that had united to establish the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Outerverse¡¯s weaves had different guiding powers, but that did not mean each weave¡¯s guiding powerpletely dominated their weave. For example, the Great Yu Empire was an unrivalled dominant force in the Frostwave Weave, but there were still other powers in the weave. An individual weave was simply too big, which meant that it was unrealistic for such arge region to be underplete supervision.

    If this was the case for even Frostwave Weave, then the other weaves were no exception. Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect was the weave¡¯s greatest power, but it also only controlled half of the weave while the other half was controlled by dozens or even hundreds of other powers. There also existed hundreds ofrge and small powers in Darkmist Weave, which existed both openly and secretly.

    These various powers were scattered throughout each weave, andbined, they were the masters of entire weaves.

    The Great Eastern Alliance reportedly consisted of eight weaves, butpletely controlling all of that territory would require time. Still, it was just a matter of time.

    Although only a hundred odd people were participating in this Alliance Conference, they were enough to represent a majority of the eastern weaves.

    The eastern weaves consisted of more than just the alliance¡¯s eight weaves. There were still others such as Eastly Weave, Northcastle Weave, Woori Weave, and Ironblood Weave. But each of those weaves had some reason or another to remain independent, and Mafioso also did not contain any dirty secrets regarding the upper echelons of the guiding powers in those weaves. These two factorsbined made it far more difficult to rope them into the alliance.

    The Great Eastern Alliance Conference was the central focus of countless people, and anyone watching this scene, regardless of where they were in the Outerverse, would be anticipating the uing events. This conference was a momentous asion, and the impact that it brought with it was in no way smaller than that of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society crumbling. It was to the extent where even Ironblood Weave was watching the conference.

    The Alliance Conference was being held in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial pce, and there were at least ten Hunters participating and safeguarding the meeting. All of Zenyu Star, and even the nearbys and regions were being strictly monitored.

    Each power¡¯s representatives entered the pce, and thest to appear were those like Lan Wu and Jake Shamus.

    172 people sat around an enormous roundtable, though the top seat had been left vacant. That was Lu Yin¡¯s position.

    One of the primary goals of this particr Alliance Conference was to select the Alliance Leader, though that was nothing more than a show that the representatives were putting on. The leader could naturally only be Lu Yin.

    Outside of the imperial pce, Ku Wei tried to enter with a deadpan expression, but he was recognized by Huo Qingshan and was immediately driven out.

    Ku Wei sternly told the Hunter, ¡°Don¡¯t stop me! I¡¯m the master of the great Wei Mountain, and I am representing it in this Alliance Conference.¡±

    Huo Qingshan growled, ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble.¡±

    ¡°I know Lu Yin, and I¡¯m his brother. Since he¡¯s holding a meeting, why can¡¯t a brother like me go in and support him? Right! There¡¯s also this-¡± Ku Wei suddenly took out a huge g that had the words ¡°Do your best¡± written on it, causing the nearby people to do a double take.

    Huo Qingshan was rendered speechless. ¡°We¡¯ll lock you up if you try to cause any more trouble.¡±

    Ku Wei still wanted to say something, but the g in his hand was suddenly grabbed by another person. ¡°Bro, give this g to this master here.¡±

    Ku Wei turned around and saw a wretched-looking old man who was dressed in grey silk robes. He had a star chart printed on the back of one of his hands, and he was staring longingly at Ku Wei¡¯srge g. The young man instantly became upset. ¡°Where did this beggare from? Scram!¡±

    The wretched man held the g tightly and would not let go. ¡°Little brother, Master will read you your fortune once, and I can treat this big g as mypensation. Master¡¯s g was destroyed by others, and this is exactly what I¡¯ve been looking for.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of my business¡ªyou actually dare to snatch Brother Wei¡¯s items? I think that you must be tired of living. Does your home have a mining?¡± Ku Wei was getting increasingly irritated.

    The wretched man looked at Ku Wei seriously. ¡°How old-fashioned. What use does a mining have? Master will tell you your fortune! I¡¯m Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    Ku Wei red at the old man with wide eyes. ¡°You actually dare to im such a thing!¡±

    The old manughed. ¡°That¡¯s a fact, and Starsibyl cannot deny it for her entire life. So what¡¯s it going to be? Let Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu read your fortune. They¡¯re very urate.¡±

    Ku Wei frowned. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Xuan Jiu.¡± The man grew pleased.

    Ku Wei sized the old man up and down. ¡°Are you from the Starsibyl Sect?¡±

    Xuan Jiu coughed. ¡°Why are you probing so much? So what? Are you doubting Master¡¯s identity?¡±

    Ku Wei straightforwardly nodded.

    Xuan Jiu looked over at Huo Qingshan. ¡°Hey kid, go and call that Lu Yin out. Get him to testify for Master¡¯s identity.¡±

    Huo Qingshan coldly nced at the two men¡ªno, the two nutcases.

    ¡°You know Lu Yin?¡± Ku Wei¡¯s eyes brightened.

    Xuan Jiu barked, ¡°Of course! Master once helped him by calcting his fortune. It¡¯s a pity that the kid¡¯s life isn¡¯t that great. He has even exchanged looks with the dead. That¡¯s something that he won¡¯t be able to shake off in the future.¡± Then, Xuan Jiu looked at Ku Wei seriously. ¡°Kid, why have you also exchanged looks with the dead just like him?¡±

    Ku Wei blinked. ¡°Royalty? Which royalty? I can¡¯t see any.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the dead.¡±

    ¡°Royalty?¡±

    ¡°The dead.¡±

    ¡°Which royalty is it?¡±

    Xuan Jiu was left speechless by Ku Wei¡¯s denseness. ¡°You¡¯vee into contact with the deceased.¡±

    Ku Wei became pissed. ¡°You¡¯vee into contact with the deceased.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to say that you¡¯ve never interacted with the deceased, outside a great tomb in space.¡± Xuan Jiu spoke with certainty.

    Ku Wei was about to open his mouth to scold the old man, but then he suddenly thought of something, and he looked at Xuan Jiu in a strange manner. ¡°What else do you know?¡±

    Xuan Jiu snickered. ¡°Master knows that you¡¯ve always wanted to enter that great tomb, which is why you¡¯re here.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Xuan Jiu responded solemnly, ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s brow rose. ¡°You can¡¯t be messing with me, right?¡±

    Xuan Jiu snatched the g and then immediately changed the words written upon it so that the g now read ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu¡± on the front. On the back, he wrote the words ¡°Fortune telling, up to you to believe.¡±

    ¡°Master tells fortunes and looks at opportunities. Your fortune can be told, but only the heavens can decide whether or not you believe it.¡±

    Ku Wei grabbed Xuan Jiu¡¯s sleeve. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told me mine. So tell me, can I enter that tomb?¡±

    Xuan Jiu stared at Ku Wei¡¯s face, sighed, and then shook his head. ¡°You can¡¯t enter, not in this life.¡±

    Ku Wei was caught off guard.

    ¡°Bro, don¡¯t listen to him! He¡¯s immoral, and he¡¯s never been urate in his fortune telling. You can just take the opposite as the truth,¡± someone interjected.

    Xuan Jiu became furious and red fiercely at the bystander. ¡°You¡¯re the immoral one. Your entire family is immoral! No, they¡¯re rotten trash! You guys are all rotten trash!!¡±

    ¡°Here! The rotten trash is here.¡± Zhao Ran excitedly shouted from nearby as she looked at Xuan Jiu. ¡°Gramps, I remember you! I¡¯m the rotten trash! I¡¯m here!¡±

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s mouth fell open as he gaped. ¡°How is she everywhere?¡± He hurriedly ran away.

    Ku Wei stood in ce without reacting, as he felt that these recent events were a little strange.

    Next to the pce, Xi Qi looked at a screen and admiringly said, ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s very outstanding.¡±

    The fish atop her head disdainfully responded, ¡°Outstanding my ass! He just rules over a bunch of two-legged beasts. Just wait. Lord Fish will definitely have more two-legged beast ves than him! No, Lord Fish recalls that there used to be many more two-legged beast ves¡­ Right, there were many of them. Where did they go?¡±

    Xi Qi mumbled to herself, but she did not respond to the fish.

    Just a reminder fromst time, "dead" and "royalty" are homonyms.

 Chapter 724: Alliance Leader Lu

    <h4>Chapter 724: Alliance Leader Lu</h4>

    There was a mor outside the imperial pce, though it was deathly silent inside. All around the roundtable, everyone looked solemn, though they all asionally turned to look at the empty seat.

    Before long, the void trembled, and Lu Yin appeared. He then very naturally took the seat of honor. He looked across all the representatives and smiled. ¡°Thank you, everyone, for joining the Great Eastern Alliance. This alliance is a unified body, and it aims to share its resources among its members, mutually helping one another out. Now, I will formally announce that the Alliance Conference has begun. The first item on the agenda is to read out the alliance contract¡­¡±

    As Lu Yin continued to go through the announcements, countless people on Zenyu Star cheered. The establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance meant that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s position in the Great Eastern Alliance¡ªno, in the entire Outerverse¡ªwould change substantially, and those from the Great Yu Empire would have their status throughout the Outerverse rise ordingly. All of Zenyu Star was celebrating, the entire Great Yu Empire was celebrating, and all of Frostwave Weave was celebrating.

    On Hydrotink, Felynn watched as Lu Yin leisurely recited his announcements on a screen, though she appeared apprehensive. This person was definitely more dangerous than Wei Rong. She had been plotted against by Wei Rong, and then by Lu Yin as well. In the end, she had been left with no choice but to relocate the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to this. However, after careful thought and analysis, everything that Lu Yin had aplished had taken ce before Wei Rong. Lu Yin had an extraordinary ambition and ability, and even more frightening, he also had incredible luck.

    Cooperating with such a person required her to either haveplete devotion or to avoid them as much as possible. Wei Rong had been right. Felynn needed to leave an alternate path avable for herself.

    At this moment, Wei Rong was also looking at a screen, and there was a smile on his face. The Great Eastern Alliance? The establishment of this alliance was indeed a threat to him, and it would also allow Lu Yin to walk ahead of Wei Rong. However, it might also catalyze the unification of the central weaves, as only an overt threat like this could make them more vignt. Wei Rong felt that he should even thank Lu Yin, for if he hadn¡¯t established the Great Eastern Alliance, it would be far more difficult for Wei Rong to unite the central weaves.

    In the Ironblood Weave, Elder Lohar watched his screen with an expression of admiration. He had seen many highly talented geniuses, and the Neoverse did notck for such youths either, but someone like Lu Yin, who had reached his current position despiteing from the Outerverse, was too rare. Even the Ten Arbiters in the past had relied on the Hall of Honor¡¯s help as well as the support of the various powers behind each one of them to reach their current positions. In contrast, this person had relied entirely on his own hard work.

    From Elder Lohar¡¯s perspective, if not for the disparity in strength, this kid would not be inferior to any one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Unfortunately, the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, or else he definitely would have rmended that Lu Yin take over one of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ positions, as some of them could already be considered too old.

    The Ten Arbiters definitely would not willingly step down, and it would require a bit of struggle to rece them. Elder Lohar did not think that there were any youths in the Innerverse who could contest with them, even if it was the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings. This sort of contest did not just test the youths¡¯ individualbat power, as it was more about their strategies and tactics. Lu Yin was the most suitable youth that Elder Lohar knew of, so it was a pity indeed.

    In Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ East Outerverse headquarters, Shen Fu looked at a screen before him, and his secretary, Xiao Qin, was standing behind him. The two paid close attention to Lu Yin¡¯s image on the screen. ¡°Prepare some gifts and send them over as congrattions for the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance. Also, have someone get in contact with Lu Yin. I need to know what his attitude is regarding Shamrock Enterprises.¡¯

    ¡°Yes, Chief Shen,¡± Xiao Qin replied.

    In the imperial pce, Lu Yin read through the alliance contract, and after he verified that none of the representatives had any doubts, he continued on in a stern voice, saying, ¡°Since this is an alliance, there must be an Alliance Leader. The next topic of discussion is to verify the candidates. Does anyone have any suggestions?¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, Jake Shamus immediately dered, ¡°I rmend that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent Lu Yin be the Alliance Leader.¡±

    On the other side of the table, the xen Weave¡¯s Gibu also hurried to speak. ¡°I also rmend the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent Lu Yin to be the Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡°I agree to have the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent Lu Yin as the Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡°I agree to have the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent Lu Yin as the Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡­

    This bit was just them going through the motions, and nobody was surprised at the oue. Not even themoners were surprised. It was a given that Lu Yin would be the Alliance Leader.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Since everyone has chosen, I am honored to ept this position. Alright, the appointment of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s first Alliance Leader will go to me, Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, leader.¡± Everyone stood up and bowed.

    Countless people on Zenyu Star, throughout Frostwave Weave, and even from many other weaves all bowed at the same time. ¡°Greetings, leader.¡±

    At this moment, the Great Eastern Alliance produced a ripple that shocked the universe. Regardless if the allies were once unwilling participants or not, nobody could alter this moment.

    ***

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression changed as he listened to the surrounding cheers. He walked to his window to look outside, where countless people were excitedly looking up at a screen as they grew into a frenzy. His gaze grew heated, as he would one day enjoy this moment as well.

    What was the power of the united eastern weaves? Nobody knew, not even Wei Rong. This was because nobody had managed to unite so many weaves even in ancient times.

    If not for the Innerverse and Outerverse being separated, Lu Yin never would have found the opportunity to seed, no matter how powerful he became. The various great powers of the Innerverse definitely would not have allowed such a thing to happen. Even Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had been denied when he suggested it, and he had boasted a great reputation as themander of Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront. Despite his achievements and contributions, he had been casually denied permission by the Hall of Honor, as uniting multiple weaves was an untouchable taboo. But when the conditions turned favorable, Lu Yin had managed to aplish this unprecedented achievement. His sess would lead to countless others trying to follow the trend, but he was undoubtedly the trailzer at this moment.

    ***

    In outer space, the beautiful Madam Nn stared at her screen and watched Lu Yin¡¯s figure. How many years has it been? Three, or four? She could still recall that initial moment when they had discovered this person¡¯s ruined spacecraft and rescued him by pulling him onto the Nn family¡¯s vessel. Back then, she had been in danger due to someone else¡¯s schemes, and from then on, the two of them had been bound together, even now in the present moment.

    Even when she had discovered that this person had been sentenced by one of the Ten Arbiters, she still had not given up on him, continuing to maintain a rtionship with him. She had never expected that in just a few short years, this person woulde to upy one of the highest positions in the entire Outerverse. Everything was liable to change, but this particr change had been too great and too fast.

    It had only taken this young man a few years to climb to this height. What would happen if he was given ten years? Twenty? Just how far would he progress?

    Some had said that once a person climbed to the highest peak, the only oue that remained was to fall to their death. Madam Nn believed this saying, but just how high was Lu Yin¡¯s highest peak?

    Perhaps, when the Innerverse and Outerverse rejoined, that would be the moment of his fall. Of course, it was also possible that the second highest peak would wee him instead.

    Her eyes were bright. ¡°I wish to gamble with you, Lu Yin. I hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    ***

    In the headquarters of Frostwave Weave¡¯s Endless Borders, Di Nuo¡¯s eyes lit up as he focused his screen. ¡°Someone, prepare some generous gifts to be sent to Zenyu Star¡¯s King Zishan''s pce.¡±

    Now that the Great Eastern Alliance had been formally established, it meant that the resources of its various member weaves would be unified, but that also meant that those resources would need to be transported around and that new routes would need to be set up. All of these tasks were within the Endless Borders¡¯ purview, and Di Nuo did not care about what attitude his superiors held towards the Great Eastern Alliance, as he only cared about business and profit. He wanted to monopolize the entire Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s transport business, which would allow his name to reverberate throughout the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s rise to power had given Di Nuo an enormous opportunity, and he wanted to cherish it.

    ***

    Earth¡¯s celebrations rang to the heavens. Just a few years ago, Earth had been a very tiny, unassuming in Frostwave Weave, and its technology had only recently begun to advance to the universe¡¯s level. Although it had once been at the stage where it was busy trying to explore its surroundings, in the span of just a few years, Earth had both gone through a desperate doomsday and a renewed golden age. Lu Yin hade from Earth, and he had not just shone on Frostwave Weave¡¯s stage, but he had even illuminated the entire universe.

    This was a proud day for those of Earth, as their identities would bepletely different from this moment forward. Lu Yin¡¯s statue could be found throughout all corners of Earth, and he had be the only being that the Earthlings believed in.

    In Jinlin, Zhou Shan looked up at his screen, his face flushed red. He had not been courageous enough to walk away from Earth, and now, this person who had once fought alongside him had brought great glory that enveloped the entirety of Earth.

    ¡°Daddy, huggies.¡± Zhou Xixi, the child at Zhou Shan¡¯s thigh, was four years old, and she spread her arms wide as she looked up at her father.

    Zhou Shanughed and picked her up. He then pointed at the screen. ¡°Look, that¡¯s Uncle Lu Yin, Daddy¡¯s friend.¡±

    Zhou Xixi blinked with her bright eyes and then widened her arms towards the screen to embrace it. Zhou Shanughed. ¡°That¡¯s just an image, but when uncle returns to Earth, Daddy will get him to hug you.¡±

    ¡°Huggies, huggies!¡± Zhou Xixi smiled as she spoke cutely.

    ***

    On the ins of a distant, Wu Sheng looked up at the sky. He was still wearing a military uniform. ¡°I wonder how Zhang Dingtian is doing? And has he seen this as well?¡±

    ***

    In East San Dios, Liu Shaoge also looked at his screen in astonishment. ¡°You really move fast. We walked different paths, and have proceeded in different styles, but you might not actually be in front.¡±

    ***

    On Zenyu Star, in her own manor, Wendy Yushan was looking towards the imperial pce. ¡°Father, he managed to aplish what you couldn¡¯t, but this must be what you were always hoping for.¡±

    At this moment, Jeraldine, Geine, Gerbach, and many others also looked up into the sky. They and Lu Yin had be twopletely separate types of people. He was way up high and looked down upon the rest of them while they could only hopefully look up towards him.

    In the imperial pce, Lu Yin formally took up the appointment of Alliance Leader, and he could only imagine how hard the outside world was cheering. He was very excited at this moment, and in the beginning of his cultivation journey, he had never thought that he would one day have the desire to take such authority. The matter at the pirate port hadpletely changed him, as at that time, Zhuo Daynight had been safely sent away while he had been directly shipped off as white meat and thrown onto a deste. This had directly imprinted upon him the power of one¡¯s position.

    From that moment on, Lu Yin had steeled his resolve to not be controlled by others in his life, and he instead desired to rise up and stand above others. He desired to reach a ce where he could decide the fate of others with a simple sentence. Even if he had not been aware of it, he wanted his name alone to cause countless others to shudder.

    Such a thing was possible through cultivation, but it would take too long. If he merely cultivated naively, he would just be an Explorer at this moment with the influence of an Enlighter. Instead, he had taken a different path, and now, the entire Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s resources were avable for him to distribute, and this was the result ofbining both authority and strength.

    But this was still not enough, and it was even horribly insufficient in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. If the day came where he could integrate the resources of the entire Outerverse, then with his die¡¯s ability, his future would be unimaginable.

    The position of Alliance Leader had a term limit, and even the alliance contract explicitly mentioned it, but Lu Yin did not mention that part, and nobody had questioned him on it. Everybody knew that if the alliance was not handled well, it would fall apart sooner orter. And if handled well, the position of Alliance Leader could only be assumed by the strongest powerhouse, and any term limits would be meaningless.

    After verifying the election of the Alliance Leader, Lu Yin moved onto the second topic of the day, which was establishing the Allied Forces. This was a topic that everyone cared about greatly.

    The establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance was aimed at integrating resources and information while also providing mutual help for one another. The creation of the Allied Forces was meant to protect the allied powers from external organizations. It would not manage how each internal power strove against one another, and instead, the Allied Forces¡¯ attention would always be ced outwards.

    Establishing the Allied Forces was anotheryer of protection, and it was critically important to many of the smaller powers.

    ¡°This is thebined data of the Allied Forces, and everyone can peruse it.¡± Lu Yin waved a hand as En Ya sent the information to all of the representatives.

    The information detailed the structure of the Allied Forces, which called for two Hunters, five Cruisers, twenty Explorers, 1,000 Limiteers, 20,000 Melders, 100,000 Sentinels, and two million Seekers. Commoners could not apply to join the Allied Forces.

    Aside from cultivators, the Allied Forces also required 500 battleships and 10,000 ordinaryrge spacecraft to be in its forces.

 Chapter 725: Future Battle

    <h4>Chapter 725: Future Battle</h4>

    The strength of the Allied Forces shocked the crowd of representatives. If these Allied Forces really came into being, then they would be strong enough to sweep across many of the allied powers, and even some weaves¡¯ guiding powers felt slightly flustered at the thought of facing these Allied Forces.

    ¡°Leader, isn¡¯t the required strength of these Allied Forces too strong?¡± L¨¹ Ran asked carefully, as he was worried that Lu Yin would personally wield these Allied Forces and direct them to extinguish the other powers.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Elder L¨¹ Ran, don¡¯t you wish to have stronger people protect you?¡±

    L¨¹ Ranughed dryly, as he clearly hoped for that. However, who knew if this strength was meant to protect or vanquish their organizations.

    Lu Yin understood that the crowd would have such worries. ¡°The establishment of the Allied Forces will be held ountable by all of the Eastern Weaves, and no matter how the internal members of the Great Eastern Alliance contest against each other, the Allied Forces will not intervene. Even if, for example, everyone unites to deal with my Great Yu Empire, the Allied Forces will not intervene. The goal of the Allied Forces¡¯ existence is to protect the alliance against outward threats, not internal ones. I, Lu Yin, can promise the veracity of this point, and I want everyone to hear and see this.¡±

    The representatives all exchanged mutual nces.

    ¡°My Lars Weave is agreeable to these terms.¡± Jake Shamus immediately dered his stance. He was more worried that Armament Weave would act against his Six-Fingered Tribe, and with the Armament Weave¡¯s recent influx of Lockbreakers, their Six-Fingered Tribe was notpletely confident in being able to hold on against the weave. It was in their best interest to have the Allied Forces¡¯ strength be as powerful as possible, until it reached the point where it could head out and directly exterminate the Wei family.

    Bei Hong dered, ¡°Shenwu Continent is also agreeable.¡±

    Lan Wu followed closely behind. ¡°Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect is agreeable.¡±

    Bard Weave¡¯s Elder Meiya said, ¡°Our Evenground Pce is agreeable.¡±

    ¡°The Tri-Banner Federation is agreeable,¡± Gibu said.

    Only the Vastdearth Sect and Greenpeak Gorge remained silent, as there was no need for the remaining hundred-odd powers to dere their stance. Their participation in the alliance was more to supplement the numbers, and they did not have many rights when it came to making decisions.

    The crowd looked over at L¨¹ Ran and Elder Huaqiao.

    L¨¹ Ran nced at Elder Huaqiao and then saw Lu Yin look over at him. His heart trembled, and he promptly announced, ¡°Our Greenpeak Gorge is agreeable.¡±

    Elder Huaqiao coughed. ¡°Our Vastdearth Sect is agreeable.¡±

    The structure and the strength of the Allied Forces had now been determined, and Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I am very clear what everyone¡¯s concerns are, and I will promise you this all once again¡ªthe Allied Forces definitely will not act internally, and will only move against external threats. Right, we can decide on the Commander of the Allied Forces now. I propose that the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteenth Squadron Captain Liuying Zishan assumemand. She might be just a Cruiser, but she has extremely high military aplishments.¡±

    The Commander of the Allied Forces was a position that would definitely be appointed by Lu Yin, and the representatives were already mentally prepared for this, which was why no one nned to contest his proposal. The agreement was unanimous, and the various allies knew that they could still strive for the other positions of the Allied Forces. Lu Yin did not intervene, as he still had to leave some benefits for the others. Furthermore, if the other powers weren¡¯t able to have any of their people in the uppermand structure of the Allied Forces, then none of them would be able to rest assured.

    The reason why Lu Yin had proposed for Liuying Zishan to take the position of Commander of the Allied Forces was because her strength was not able to keep up with Lu Yin¡¯s benchmark that he had set for the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. He wanted to rece them one by one, but the captains had notmitted any mistakes. Thus, he could only transfer them to another position of equal prominence. Liuying Zishan¡¯s initial attitude towards Lu Yin was the primary reason why he had considered her for the position ofmander, as he felt quite assured by her loyalty.

    He did not need the Commander of the Allied Forces to be capable, as they just had to be loyal. Once a great war broke out, themander would be nothing more than just a puppet, as Lu Yin was the only one who would be making any strategic decisions. It would be troubling if themander was truly capable, as Lu Yin did not want the alliance¡¯smander-in-chief to not wield the ultimate authority or the Commander of the Allied Forces to be able to negatively influence a battle.

    The two biggest topics of discussion had already been covered, and the next topic concerned the integration of resources, a series of regtion systems to be established regarding tariffs, and other simr economic policies. These details were mainly chaired and discussed by Huan Sha and Gavin with Lu Yin merely listening.

    Truthfully, he did not understand many of the things that were being discussed, but neither did Jake Shamus nor many of the others, which was why they had all brought their own experts.

    The Alliance Conference carried on like this for two days, and the various representatives discussed many matters during this time. The conference formally ended at noon on the third day, which marked the close of the curtains for the first Great Eastern Alliance Conference.

    The matters that the representatives had discussed were announced to the public, but in reality, the truly important matters that needed to be discussed would be addressed only after the Alliance Conference.

    Lu Yin and Gibu hung around within the pce afterwards and dismissed the others. A screen then rose up in front of them, disying the figures of Bach Shamus, Meng Qing, Mu Nichang, and Greenpeak Gorge¡¯s Master Feng Shu. This was an official Alliance Conference, so how could the heads of the various top powers not meet with each other? The Alliance Conference that had just concluded was nothing more than a show for outsiders to watch, and this video conference was the true Alliance Conference.

    Some matters could not bepletely exposed, such as the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ military routes and the establishment of the Rapid Response Team. These matters required discussion among those who actually mattered.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting the leaders of the various powers at the same time. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s been a long time, and now, we¡¯ve all finally met.¡±

    Meng Qing looked at Lu Yin withplex emotions, as he had seen Lu Yin¡¯s picture multiple times, but he was still astounded when he saw the actual youth. This kid was just too young.

    Mu Nichang was curious as she sized Lu Yin up and down. He had a decent face and was rather pleasing to the eye.

    Feng Shu smiled, seemingly in a good mood.

    Bach Shamus smiled. ¡°The establishment of this alliance should be credited to the leader.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across the few people in front of him. ¡°Everyone, you should have seen the list of topics that I sent to you. If you have any thoughts, please share them now.¡±

    ¡°I only want to know one matter. Regarding the leader¡¯s proposal to hide troops among the citizens, who are you trying to guard against?¡± Mu Nichang asked curiously.

    Lu Yin looked at her, and an expression of amazement shed across his eyes. He then smiled. ¡°The events that urred on Sourcepeak should be familiar to everyone. The person who was controlling the situation from behind the scenes was the Armaments Weave¡¯s Wei family. Leader Bach should be very clear on this man¡¯s details.¡±

    Bach Shamus solemnly asked, ¡°Wei Rong?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°As for hiding troops among the citizens and establishing express military passages, both of these things are to prepare for what may possibly happen soon: the battle between the eastern weaves and the other weaves¡­¡±

    ¡­

    This meeting could be considered as the Alliance Conference within the Alliance Conference. Although it did notst long, the contents of its discussion could not be publicized.

    While Lu Yin and the others were discussing the hidden details of the alliance, Wei Rong¡¯s investigation of Sourcepeak Weave had reached its conclusion. Since Wei Rong knew that Lu Yin was scheming against Sourcepeak Weave, he could not just let the matter slide. No matter what, he could not allow Sourcepeak Weave to be roped into joining the Great Eastern Alliance. Not only that, but Wei Rong also had to somehow convince the other central weaves to unify.

    Before he could go through all of the reports, sharp killing intent appeared from all directions, and his room was instantly shattered.

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression did not change, and he stood in ce as several assassins appeared around him. But before these killers could even approach within a meter of Wei Rong, they were all decapitated. Wei Rong only saw a shadow appear from the void, but he did not know what the expert looked like or what sort of strength they had.

    ¡°Help me thank the Royal Regent for his protection.¡± Wei Rong smiled even if he could not see anyone.

    In the darkness, Phantom Sting disappearedpletely.

    He had been ordered by Lu Yin to ensure that Wei Rong would remain safe. More importantly, he also had to monitor Wei Rong and ensure that he would not create a scene. Phantom Sting had not expected that there would actually be people who would try to assassinate Wei Rong here.

    After the meeting with the various leaders ended, Lu Yin received news from Phantom Sting, and his expression fell. ¡°Send Young Leader Jake Shamus to see me.¡±

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin changed his clothes, and when he emerged, Jake Shamus was already waiting in the sitting room. He looked a little nervous and felt a bit restless.

    When he saw Lu Yin enter the room, he immediately stood up. ¡°Your- No, Alliance Leader, do you have any instructions for me?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the young man carefully. ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t respect me.¡±

    Jake Shamus¡¯s expression changed, and he hurriedly replied, ¡°Leader, you are mistaken. Actually-¡±

    Lu Yin put up a hand to stop the man¡¯s exnation and coldly said, ¡°I¡¯ll repeat this onest time: within Frostwave Weave, you are not allowed to act against Wei Rong. If I learn that yoush out at him again, your Six-Fingered Tribe had better get ready to wee the Wei family¡¯s revenge. The Allied Forces serve the alliance and will provide protection, but it will not pay the bill for personal grievances.¡±

    Beads of sweat rained down from Jake Shamus¡¯s forehead, and he remained utterly silent.

    Lu Yin walked out of the room. ¡°I was able to change Adonis Weave¡¯s guiding power to Greenpeak Gorge, and I can simrly change Lars Weave¡¯s guiding power.¡±

    He then left.

    Jake Shamus felt entirely drained of strength from head to toe, and he was terrified.

    He believed that Lu Yin could do exactly what he had just threatened. It seemed like Jake Shamus could indeed not act against Wei Rong while within the bounds of Frostwave Weave, but it was such a pity to let this opportunity slide.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, isn¡¯t it better if the Six-Fingered Tribe knocks off Wei Rong? That person¡¯s too much of a threat,¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin smiled coldly. ¡°Do you really think Wei Rong would be that easy to kill? If Wang Wen has something that can allow him to survive against Enlighters, then there¡¯s no reason why Wei Rong wouldn¡¯t. If this idiot, Jake Shamus, had managed to seed in this assassination attempt, then that would have been humiliating for me.¡±

    ¡°You humans act too cleverly, unlike our Astral Beast Domain that prides itself on strength,¡± the monkey said with clear disdain.

    ¡°So what? You guys are called beasts, and we¡¯re humans,¡± Lu Yin retorted, which left the monkey speechless for half of a day.

    Because the first Alliance Conference of the Great Eastern Alliance had been sessful, Zenyu Star celebrated for three days straight, and countless people cheered for the aplishment. The position of the Great Yu Empire would rise in the entire Outerverse.

    Ku Wei was still trying to enter the imperial pce, but he was constantly turned back. Huo Qingshan had also grown impatient with the youth, and if Lu Yin hadn¡¯t specifically mentioned Ku Wei, Huo Qingshan would have long since captured him.

    Xuan Jiu went around Zenyu Star, hoping to tell people¡¯s fortunes, but there was a stubborn person who he had scammed before following him. That person constantly shadowed the old man everywhere, and every time Xuan Jiu tried to tell someone¡¯s fortune, his former victim would undermine him, which led the old man to be rather depressed.

    There was also a Zhao Ran who constantly looked for him, and these two factors drove Xuan Jiu to leave Zenyu Star.

    The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head was simrly gloomy. Zenyu Star was one big party at the moment, and it was noisy everywhere. The fish¡¯s words were all drowned out, so its ridiculingments were useless. No matter how loudly it shouted, nobody could hear the fish.

    Wei Rong leisurely walked along the streets.

    There were a few Lockbreakers on Zenyu Star, who were all from Hydrotink, and they frequently attracted cries of surprise from nearby passersby. However, those sounds would be quickly drowned out by the constant cries of jubtion.

    All around Zenyu Star,ughter and cheers could be heard, and distant lights illuminated the capital city.

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin appeared to be calm, and he asionally looked up to nce at the three maind rings surrounding the.

    ¡°You have done what Father dreamed of for his entire life but never managed to aplish.¡± Wendy Yushan¡¯s voice sounded out from behind Lu Yin as a distinct fragrance entered the room.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I was just lucky.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at the imperial pce withplex emotions on her face. ¡°If mere luck allowed you to unify the eastern weaves, Father would not have been so depressed.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled Ku Wei¡¯s earlier words, and he tried to casually ask, ¡°What sort of person was Undying Yushan?¡±

    Wendy Yushan considered the question before answering, ¡°He had outstanding talent but insufficient opportunities. He had a huge ambition, but he did not have the methods or the strength to match it.¡±

    ¡°You are truly merciless to speak about your own father in such a way,¡± Lu Yin joked.

    Wendy Yushan went silent and did not reply.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

 Chapter 726: Seven Skygods

    <h4>Chapter 726: Seven Skygods</h4>

    Wendy Yushan shook her head, not minding Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°Sometimes, I really don¡¯t understand him. He¡¯d obviously entered the Innerverse, and he was even in the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings. He must have seen some truly grands and had some unforgettable experiences, but in the end, he chose to return to the Great Yu Empire and be the emperor. He then led this unassuming state to conquer its surrounding territory. What was he nning? There¡¯s no way he didn¡¯t know that there were people from the Innerverse who wouldn¡¯t let him off, but he did it anyways.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the people from the Starfall Sea who conspired to steal the Undying Manual?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Those people remained hidden within the Great Yu Empire for many years, and they restrained Father both openly and in secret. But despite all that, he still persevered to protect this ce. He even instigated Eldest Brother and Second Brother to fight and have a falling out. I truly don¡¯t understand him.¡±

    ¡°Was he a lockbreaker?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head and then asked in a puzzled voice, ¡°Why would you ask?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I just suddenly thought about it. With his many talents, he might have known it.¡±

    Not muchter, Wendy Yushan left. She might have stopped by to thank Lu Yin or perhaps to find a rtive to reminisce about her father with. Lu Yin had just fulfilled Undying Yushan¡¯s lifelong dream that he had never been able to achieve. Wendy was also human, and her emotions would spill over asionally; she could not remain entirely aloof at such a time.

    If Lu Yin had been willing, he might have been able to embrace this beauty, but he didn¡¯t. He did not even know what he was thinking.

    He stood beside King Zishan''s pce while looking down below. He saw the feasting, the festivals, and all the people celebrating. Everything that these people were celebrating had been personally aplished by him. He hadpleted a magnificent feat that nobody had ever managed to do before. To Frostwave Weave, Lu Yin was a hero, but to the other weaves, he was a ruthless and formidable person. Both of these aspects were Lu Yin, and he did not know how history would look back and judge these actions in the future.

    For some reason, Lu Yin suddenly thought of Progenitor Chen. The Progenitor had been a character who history had not even dared to record. Could it be that Lu Yin¡¯s ambitions were still too small?

    At that moment, as he looked down at Zenyu Star, which was within the palm of his hand. The heroic feelings in Lu Yin¡¯s chest expanded, and green lines enveloped his body before slowly turning blue. In the end, he waspletely shrouded from head to toe with a blue aura, and among the blue were purple-red veins highlighting it. His battle force had improved along with his expanding ambition. It allowed his very essence to surge forth, and he had ultimately broken through and achieved eight lined battle force.

    He had cultivated eight lined battle force at such a young age. If this information was leaked out, then it would definitely shock the entire universe.

    The Sandmaster had been right. Improving battle force was not exclusively reliant on battle experience; it also depended on a person¡¯s spirit and ambitions.

    The universe contained both light and darkness. The lights of King Zishan''s pce had illuminated arge area of the, and to countless people, it was a brilliant sun that lit up everything around the pce, just as Lu Yin had lit up the whole Frostwave Weave.

    However, inside King Zishan''s pce, on the other side of the bright light, Lu Yin suddenly felt gloomy and cold, as if he had fallen into an ice bath. The sounds of celebration all around him faded away, no longer able to enter his ears. It was as if he had been isted from the surrounding area, thrust into a solitary room filled a certain chill.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare move, and he saw an indescribably terrifying number of rune lines distort the surrounding space and envelop all of Zenyu Star. Others could not see this, but it was crystal clear to Lu Yin. To his shock, these rune lines surpassed what he had seen on Elder Lohar, and the unprecedented level of danger had overwhelmed him, to the point where he did not even think to don his universal armor.

    He was ready to crush the stone talisman that Mister Mu had given him at any moment.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you, Sir Lu Yin,¡± an icy voice called out. It sounded like metal grating on metal, and the noise was ufortable to the extreme. The moment the voice came out, a shadow simultaneously appeared on the ground, and it dispelled all the light as if its existence was the antithesis of light. The shadow also appeared beneath Lu Yin, and it seemed to be connected to him.

    A single leaf fell from the branch of a tree, but it turned to ash the moment it touched the shadow, vanishingpletely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went utterly numb. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°ckless God of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his heart plummeted. The Neohuman Alliance?

    ¡°Sir Lu Yin, there¡¯s no need to panic, as I¡¯ve onlye here to speak with you. I despise killing at every turn, as that only incites terror, which is of no help to the cause. When facing me, it¡¯s no different than facing Wei Rong.¡±

    Lu Yin went pale. ¡°What is it that you want?¡±

    ¡°I admire Sir Lu Yin¡¯s style of handling his affairs. You understand our Neohuman Alliance¡¯s situation in the universe, and we consider the Outerverse useful as well. And although we may think that, we cannot take care of it just by ourselves, which is why we want to enlist the help of Sir Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°You want to cooperate with me?¡±

    ¡°You could say that. As long as Sir Lu Yin wishes it, the Neohuman Alliance will give its all to assist you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Cooperating with you means that I¡¯ll be the entire universe¡¯s enemy.¡± Lu Yin rejected the offer without any hesitation.

    ckless God calmly replied, ¡°Nobody need know that you are cooperating with us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible as well.¡± Lu Yin was firm in his rejection. He was already holding the jade talisman in his hand, but he did not know if it would activate in time. He could only hope that Mister Mu would be able to rush to him in time!

    Although Lu Yin was willing to use certain underhanded means when handling various matters, he had certain bottom lines that he would not cross. After he realized just how deep the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s darkness went, he knew that he would never cooperate with them. This organization possessed the universe¡¯s deepest darkness, and even Ku Wei from the Seven Courts had admitted to as much.

    ¡°It seems like Sir Lu Yin does not understand our Neohuman Alliance¡¯s capabilities. If sir wishes to cooperate, then we can cause the central weaves to fall under your rule within a month,¡± ckless God calmly exined.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°You guys have that much influence?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t doubt the Neohuman Alliance. We are enemies against the entire universe, but we have remained safe and sound even now. You can imagine our power.¡±

    ¡°What is your ultimate goal? Is it to turn humans into zombies?¡± Lu Yin asked. Even when he had Possessed that Specter n member, he had not been able to discover the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s true objective. That memory had felt forbidden, and he hadn¡¯t even been able to probe it.

    ckless God continued, saying, ¡°If Sir Lu Yin wishes to cooperate with us, then you will naturally know our objective. I can represent the Seven Skygods and recognize Sir Lu Yin¡¯s position in the Neohuman Alliance. You will then be one of our spokespeople in the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°After all humans have turned into zombies, I¡¯ll also end up bing one of your zombies. Is that meaningful?¡±

    ¡°It seems like Sir Lu Yin has declined my offer. No worries, as I still will not touch sir since I like making people give in. Violence is just one method, but it does not suit you. Today¡¯s events will end here, and sir can slowlye to taste the desperation that the Neohuman Alliance can bring. That desperation will allow you to think things over.¡±

    After these words were uttered, another leaf fell, but this time, it did not turn to dust. Instead, itnded on the ground in a very normal manner.

    Lu Yin whirled back around, but he did not see anyone. The shadow on the ground that had been connected with him was gone, and the sounds of celebrations once again entered his ears. Everything had returned to normal.

    The terrifying amount of rune lines instantly had vanished without a trace, almost as if they had never been there at all.

    Lu Yin felt powerless, as he had just walked along the razor edge of death. If that ckless God had so much as slightly moved a single finger, Lu Yin would have been finished.

    Beads of sweat dripped off of his forehead. Lu Yin had not felt the sensation of not being in control of his own life in a long time. Unexpectedly, the Outerverse still contained such monstrous experts. If he had not unified the eastern weaves, there was no way that person would have appeared before him.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. He had established the Great Eastern Alliance, but it seemed as though he had drawn out a few deeply hidden individuals. He had a feeling that he could now truly touch a new part of the universe.

    ¡°Monkey, are you sleeping?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Eh, why am I sleeping? Strange...¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled.

    ¡°Have you heard of the Seven Skygods?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey was lost. ¡°What sky?¡±

    A certain distance outside the imperial pce, Ku Wei leaned against the wall and stubbornly stared at the building. He had tried to enter so many times, but he had been obstructed each and every time. The one blocking him was a Hunter, so it was not easy for him to enter.

    Should he continue to look for Lu Yin? Brother Wei also considered searching elsewhere for the Yu family¡¯s secret.

    Suddenly, Ku Wei turned around and saw a figure slowly walking over from nearby. It was Lu Yin.

    Ku Wei was delighted when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, we definitely have a telepathic connection. Brother Wei was just thinking of you, and now here you are.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Are you free? Let¡¯s go and get a drink.¡±

    ¡°No hurry, let¡¯s go. Take Brother Wei on a tour of the pce.¡± Ku Wei enthusiastically pulled Lu Yin towards the imperial pce, but he could not make the Royal Regent even slightly budge.

    ¡°Apany me for a drink.¡± Lu Yin turned to leave before vanishing with a single step. His body had already moved a thousand meters away.

    Ku Wei curled his lips. ¡°It¡¯s not like this is our bridal night, so why are you in such a hurry to have a drink?¡±

    Although he was unhappy about his situation, he still chased after Lu Yin.

    They ended up in that one small tavern that had a certain, familiar feeling.

    Lu Yin had kept a special eye on this ce, which meant that this small tavern could not be destroyed. Otherwise, when the Alliance Conference was announced, this ce would have long since been torn down.

    Ku Wei frowned after taking a swig of wine. ¡°It¡¯s not that good. Anyways, why were you looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin set his wine ss down. ¡°I want to know some details about the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s brow arched up. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance? Why do you want to ask about them? They¡¯re a bunch of lunatics, and they just try in vain to exterminate humanity and transform us all into zombies.¡±

    ¡°How long ago did they appear?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei thought about it. ¡°I don¡¯t really know much about this, but it¡¯s definitely a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Compared to your Seven Courts, who¡¯s stronger? And who¡¯s older?¡±

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. ¡°Bro, how would I know? Forget about the Seven Courts¡ªI don¡¯t even know what kind of old monsters are hiding in my Ku family. As for which is older, it should be our Seven Courts. We were already united when we first entered the Neoverse, and the Neohuman Alliance only appeared after that.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lu Yin was in disbelief, but it really seemed like Ku Wei did not know much about the Neohuman Alliance. The scarlet eyes that had appeared in the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s ancestral grounds belonged to an ancient era that predated the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s appearance. Lu Yin¡¯s best guess was that the Neohuman Alliance had possiblye into being at an even earlier time, though it might not have been called the Neohuman Alliance at that time.

    However, the truth was uncertain.

    ¡°So tell me, why are you suddenly so curious about those crazies?¡± Ku Wei felt that these questions were a bit strange as he ate some snacks.

    ¡°Have you heard of the Seven Skygods?¡± Lu Yin casually asked.

    Ku Wei spat out all his alcohol and stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°How do you know about the Seven Skygods?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face had a bizarre look on it. ¡°You know about them?¡±

    ¡°Of course I know them! The Seven Skygods are the people who hold the seven highest positions within the Neohuman Alliance. Legends say that the seven of them created the Neohuman Alliance. No matter how many ages pass, those few wielding the top power in the Neohuman Alliance will inherit the title of the Seven Skygods. Anyone who inherits such a title is definitely one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s masters,¡± Ku Wei exined.

 Chapter 727: Yu Bloodline

    <h4>Chapter 727: Yu Bloodline</h4>

    ¡°Wait, all of this information is a secret from the Neoverse, and even some of the powers in the Innerverse might not be aware of them. So just where did you hear of the Seven Skygods?¡± Ku Wei looked at Lu Yin with a doubtful expression.

    ¡°I saw it in a powerhouse¡¯s journal,¡± Lu Yin calmly lied, actually solemn within. If what Ku Wei had just told him was true, then could the person who had just spoken to him actually be one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s masters? That was impossible! How could he have attracted the attention of one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s masters? They were the rulers of one of the Three Dark Hands, and they held a supreme position that not even Elder Lohar could contest. Still, the strength that he had felt from that person was terrifying beyond imagination.

    Could that person have really been one of the Seven Skygods?

    ¡°A powerhouse¡¯s journal? Which powerhouse¡¯s journal would have possibly recorded down the Seven Skygods? If not for my background, there¡¯s no way I would have even heard of the title ¡®Seven Skygod¡¯ in my entire life.¡± Ku Wei evidently did not believe Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin became solemn. ¡°Tell me, would the Seven Skygods evere to the Outerverse?¡±

    ¡°You must be joking. Of course not! They might not even go to the Innerverse. They are some of the strongest beings in the entire universe, and they dare to be enemies against the entire human race. Why would they possibly visit some remote ce like the Outerverse? I can assure you that there are many people in the Neoverse who don''t even know that the Outerverse exists. In their minds, the Innerverse is the Outerverse,¡± Ku Wei said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank even further, as a low probability of one of the Seven Skygods visiting the Outerverse did not guarantee that they would note. If it had really been one of the Seven Skygods just now, then something in the Outerverse must have lured them out. Actually, that person had even said so themselves. Should he tell Elder Lohar?

    ¡°How did you find out about the Seven Skygods?¡± Ku Wei stared intently at Lu Yin.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, a powerhouse¡¯s journal.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a graverobber?¡±

    ¡°Archaeologist.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, stop using this Monkey¡¯s past deeds to cover for yourself!¡± The Ghost Monkey felt helpless.

    Ku Wei grudgingly replied, ¡°Fine. We¡¯ve drank now, and you¡¯ve asked what you wanted, so let¡¯s go on a tour of the pce.¡±

    ¡°Are you that certain that the imperial pce is somehow rted to the Yu bloodline?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Ku Wei answered, ¡°We¡¯re just probing. After all, Undying Yushan stayed there for many years. Do you really believe that they aren¡¯t rted?¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he paid the bill. He then took Ku Wei over to the imperial pce. The guards simultaneously bowed to Lu Yin, and Ku Wei raised his head, pleased with their reception. ¡°I told you that I can enter, but you guys just wouldn¡¯t believe me. Look, my brother¡¯s here.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ku Wei sniggered as they entered the imperial pce.

    Ever since Undying Yushan had passed away, the pce had remained unupied. A long time had passed since then, and the pce had sat here the whole time, unused aside for the court meetings and the Alliance Conference. The guards and maids were the closest thing to owners that the pce had.

    Ku Wei ran around the pce, but he could not find what he was looking for, which left him rather vexed.

    Finally, he ascended into the sky and positioned himself above the central most part of the pce, broadening his view. His eyes quickly lit up. ¡°Sure enough. It¡¯s no wonder why I¡¯ve always felt this ce was familiar.¡±

    Ku Weinded back on the ground beside Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Allow me to show you something good.¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange, but he followed behind Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei quickly arrived at a corner of the pce and pressed down with his leg, exerting quite a bit of force. The ground split open, and the crack extended to a nearby stream as everything in a thousand meter radius shattered apart. A spacious, underground room was suddenly revealed.

    Upon hearing the disturbance, guards hurriedly ran over, but they were stopped by Lu Yin. The two youths then entered the underground room.

    It was very spacious, and there was nothing much inside.

    Lu Yin felt strange, as he had once used his domain to envelop the entire pce, but he had not discovered this secret room despite doing so.

    ¡°The materials used to build this room are able to iste it from domains. Just as Brother Wei guessed, this pce is not something simple.¡± Ku Wei was quite pleased with himself.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing here,¡± Lu Yinmented, as the room was absolutely empty.

    He had also run into a hidden room in the Daosource Sect that had been hidden from domains.

    Ku Wei made one circuit around the room before moving to the center of the open space. He then started to repeatedly bang on the ground. It was unknown how he aplished it, but the ground suddenly trembled as a cubic stone rose up from the floor.

    Lu Yin was surprised when he studied the stone. Then, out of the blue, the stone emitted a faint radiance, and rune lines appeared from it without any warning that covered arge area.

    Lu Yin and Ku Wei hastily backed away, as this was a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. On to the next one.¡± Ku Wei excitedly ascended from the subterranean room and headed towards another corner of the pce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face sank as he followed close behind. They soon arrived in another corner that corresponded to the previous hidden room, and a stone simrly appeared from underground, containing another sourcebox that unleashed a danger zone.

    ¡°See, Brother Wei knew that the Yu bloodline would not die off so easily. This pce is modelled after the Yu bloodline¡¯s ancestral grounds. From most viewpoints, there appears to be nothing here, but when this pce is looked at from the center, you¡¯ll be able to discover that, if you look at various corners, the arrangements of the buildings are all the same. In reality, this pce is actually an array, a sourcebox array that only the Yu family canprehend.¡± Ku Wei was thrilled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became solemn, and he turned to look at thest two corners that corresponded to what should be two more secret rooms. One of the locations was actually the secret room that Undying Yushan had once taken Lu Yin to.

    ¡°A sourcebox arrays formed by four sourceboxes. If it was activated, what would happen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Based on the effects of the Yu bloodline¡¯s ancestral ground¡¯s array, once it¡¯s activated, anyone caught within the sourcebox array will be trapped, and all of their strength will be stripped away. This includes star energy, physical strength, and even spiritual force. Absolutely everything would be subservient to the array controller¡¯s will.¡±

    A chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine.

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s the effect of the array in the Yu bloodline¡¯s ancestral grounds. The sourceboxes here can¡¯t even hold a candle to those in the Yu bloodline¡¯s ancestral grounds, which means that the array¡¯s effects naturally won¡¯t be as good either. But even if this array is weak, someone would have no problem using it to deal with Enlighters. Do you still think that Undying Yushan is dead?¡± Ku Wei teased.

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings, and he recalled every time he had interacted with Undying Yushan. He then remembered Wendy Yushan¡¯s words and felt that they had never truly been able to understand this person. He had been an absolute genius who had entered the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings. Why would he have resigned himself to suffering the fate of dying as a sunset emperor? How could the Yu bloodline of the Seven Courts be exterminated like this?

    Lu Yin had never really seriously pondered all of these details.

    Was Undying Yushan really not dead? Had the surviving Yu bloodline remnants also concealed themselves? Why had they only left Wendy behind? Why had the Great Yu Empire been handed over to Lu Yin for him to control?

    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s also another possibility, which is that Undying Yushan himself didn¡¯t know about any of this. These things might have actually been arranged by the old monsters from the Yu bloodline. He might truly be dead, but that possibility doesn¡¯t seem very likely,¡± Ku Wei mused.

    ¡°Why did the Yu bloodline betray the Seven Courts back then?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you about any of that, as those secrets belong to my Seven Courts. Anyway, I¡¯ve found what I wanted. The Yu bloodline is definitely still alive, and with that, there¡¯s a possibility of negotiation.¡± He chuckled strangely and then suddenly hollered, ¡°Yu family, the Ku family is here! Come out for a chat!¡±

    The roar startled Lu Yin, and all of Zenyu Star heard it.

    Lu Yin hurriedly made Ku Wei shut up. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Hall of Honor will make trouble for you?¡±

    Ku Wei shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. I haven¡¯t done anything atrocious, and although the Hall of Honor is enemies with my Seven Courts, we won¡¯t fight to the death upon sight. I¡¯ve already told you this¡ªthe Seven Courts is different from the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain that the Yu family is still on Zenyu Star?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei replied, ¡°I¡¯m notpletely sure, but how else can I be certain without shouting? Are you going to try to make me search the entire universe for them? That¡¯s unrealistic.¡±

    ¡°The Yu family shouldn¡¯t be on Zenyu Star,¡± Lu Yin said firmly. During all this time, he had never seen any especiallyrge gatherings of rune lines, though that was useless if anyone was concealing their strength.

    Ku Wei snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re still around or not. Anyways, there¡¯s still Wendy Yushan, so I¡¯ll keep watching her. Some day, the Yu family will contact her.¡± He then suddenly looked strangely at Lu Yin. ¡°I almost forgot¡ªthere¡¯s also you. The Yu family established the Great Yu Empire, but it was passed over to you, and they even gave you their secret technique. There has to be a reason. Perhaps watching you might work too.¡±

    Lu Yin was not in a good mood at the moment. First, the Neohuman Alliance had contacted him, and now, it was the Yu bloodline. He felt like he was being watched by hidden people at all times and that everything he was doing had somehow been for the benefit of others. This was not something that he could not say, but regardless of whether it was the Neohuman Alliance or the Yu family, they had better not be scheming to take everything from him.

    The only strength that he could rely on was the Hall of Honor.

    He chased Ku Wei away and then resealed the two secret rooms that had been opened up. Without giving the matter another thought, he hurried over to the Princess¡¯s manor, as Wendy Yushan must have Ku Wei¡¯s shouting. Others might not understand what he had said, but she definitely would.

    Wendy Yushan appeared to be waiting for Lu Yin. ¡°Someone was shouting for the Yu family. Were they looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin quickly exined, ¡°Someone from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family is here. He¡¯s certain that the Yu family was not exterminated, and he wants to look for the Yu bloodline.¡±

    Wendy Yushan was surprised. ¡°The Yu family isn¡¯t gone?¡±

    Lu Yin carefully observed her eyes, as he did not know whether or not Wendy Yushan was truly faking her ignorance. For the time being, he could only assume that she did not know anything either.

    Lu Yin told Wendy Yushan about what happened in the pce, and she fell silent.

    ¡°If the Yu family isn¡¯t gone, then why have they left me all alone?¡± Her expression becameplex.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Actually, his guesses might not actually be true. The sourcebox array within the pce might have really been left by the Yu family¡¯s ancestors, but Undying Yushan never activated them, so maybe he didn¡¯t know about it himself.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to make me believe that Father is absolutely dead?¡± Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin, amused.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stumped before he awkwardly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    Wendy Yushan shifted her gaze. ¡°I hope that Father and the others aren¡¯t dead.¡±

    Lu Yin got up. ¡°I¡¯ll head out first.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked at him. ¡°No matter what, even if they are still alive, I¡¯ll still support you as the leader of the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Yin could not conceal his ambition regarding the Great Yu Empire. He had already paid so much, and he would not readily surrender it if someone from the Yu bloodline suddenly appeared.

    He left Wendy¡¯s home and then went to look for Aden. ¡°You once said that Undying Yushan was a Lockbreaker. Is that true?¡±

    Aden felt that it was strange that Lu Yin would suddenlye to him just to ask this. ¡°It¡¯s definitely true. In fact, back then, I suspected that the reason why he could breach my defenses might be rted to his lockbreaking methods, but since his lockbreaking methods were too advanced, I wasn¡¯t able to confirm it.¡±

    Lu Yin then asked, ¡°You also mentioned that you were certain that Undying Yushan had obtained the Undying Manual. What makes you so sure?¡±

    Aden replied, ¡°He told me himself. He said that to convince me to follow him, and it was also a form of temptation, as he said that he was willing to impart it to me.¡±

    Lu Yin felt something was strange. ¡°And you didn¡¯t doubt the truth of his words?¡±

    Aden matter-of-factly replied, ¡°Why are you doubting them? There are very few people who can break through my defenses within the same realm. There¡¯s nothing strange if such a person was able to obtain the Undying Manual. Although it¡¯s certainly famous, the Starfall Sea also has other simr legends. It¡¯s not too strange for someone to asionally meet their destiny and get their hands on something like that.¡±

 Chapter 728: Bizarre Ball Of Light

    <h4>Chapter 728: Bizarre Ball Of Light</h4>

    ¡°What sort of technique exactly is the Undying Manual?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he did not have a firm understanding of it.

    Aden shook his head. ¡°I don''t know. The rumors say that those who cultivate it will live forever, but nobody believes that. Only Progenitors can live forever in this universe, so how could there be a technique that gives someone evesting life?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, he¡¯s right. How could a mere technique give evesting life? That¡¯s too extreme,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin naturally did not believe such a im either, but the Undying Manual was so famous that it had caused many powers from the Starfall Sea and Innerverse to keep a watch on Undying Yushan. The technique might not be so simple either. It was still alright if Undying Yushan had been lying to Aden, but if he had truly obtained the Undying Manual, then the odds of him still being alive would be even higher.

    But if Undying Yushan wasn¡¯t dead, then why had he faked his death?

    After that, Lu Yin met with Undying Yushan¡¯s previous supporters one by one, including Huo Qingshan, Peach, Shalosh, Rocky Auna, and the blind monk. He wanted to use their memories to piece together Undying Yushan¡¯s true personality, but his efforts were in vain. Although these people had been handpicked by Undying Yushan, they had never known him very well.

    Lu Yin met Liuying Zishanst, as she was someone who was filled with gratitude towards Undying Yushan. Without him, she might not have managed to withstand the many years of misunderstanding and mistreatment. She might appear to be detached, but there was a limit to how strong a person could be, and Undying Yushan had helped her a great deal.

    ¡°Without His Majesty, I would not be the person I am today,¡± Liuying Zishan said.

    Lu Yin nodded and let out a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s right. His Majesty was insightful, and he handpicked you, the blind monk, and Huo Qingshan. The former Great Yu Empire was actually enough to sweep through the Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Liuying Zishan felt that something was strange. ¡°Why is Your Highness suddenly asking about His Majesty, Undying Yushan?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Since the Great Eastern Alliance has been established, I¡¯ve been thinking about His Majesty recently. It would be great if he was still alive.¡±

    Liuying Zishan felt a pang of grief. ¡°That¡¯s true, it would indeed be great.¡±

    Not muchter, Lu Yin stepped out of Liuying Zishan¡¯s home. He had not managed to ask her much, and he had instead listened as a flood of praises for thete emperor had poured out of her. Undying Yushan¡¯s reign had been the Great Yu Empire¡¯s great restoration period. Before he ascended to the throne, the Great Yu Empire had just been a remote nation that ruled over a few fments, and it had not been any more powerful than Firesmelt. But subsequently, the Great Yu Empire had expanded to cover thirteen regions, and even surrounding weaves like the Northcastle Weave had felt threatened by the empire. Undying Yushan had then arranged for the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons to guard the thirteen fments, which had stabilized the empire.

    Without him, the current Great Yu Empire would not exist. His ambition had been clear, but as an emperor during the resurgence period, it had been all too normal for the ruler to possess some degree of ambition.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky, pondering his own emotions towards Undying Yushan¡¯s supposed death.

    Undying Yushan had shown Lu Yin great kindness, and he had even been willing to give him the Yu Secret Art. This was something that even many of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers did not possess, and this gift was enormous.

    At this moment, a familiar person walked over¡ªDa Lei. The first time Lu Yin had rolled six pips: Possession on his die, he had Possessed Da Lei¡¯s body. This allowed him to experience the young man¡¯s impressive control of star energy, which had then allowed his strength to quickly improve. Da Lei had left a deep impression on Lu Yin, and if not for Lu Yin back then, Da Lei and his girlfriend might have long since died.

    Da Lei also noticed Lu Yin, and he hurried forward to bow. ¡°Da Lei of the Thirteenth Imperial Squadrons greets His Highness, the Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You may rise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡± Da Lei stood straight and respectfully moved to the side.

    Lu Yin did not speak much with the soldier, as the disparity between their positions was too great. By now, they had nothing inmon at all.

    As Lu Yin walked past Da Lei, a strange sensation struck him, and his vision suddenly shifted. Not only could he see ahead of him, but he could also see his own side profile. This was Da Lei¡¯s vision. Lu Yin¡¯s vision had actually been superimposed with Da Lei¡¯s!

    Lu Yin suddenly froze, and he turned towards Da Lei.

    Da Lei looked to be perfectly normal, and he did not seem to know that his vision was being shared with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart jolted; did the die¡¯s Possession ability not only allow him to merge with a person, but also allow him to repossess that person if they came within a certain distance? And was that person also unable to sense the repossession?

    Lu Yin stood there, frozen in ce, as he pondered the implications of what he had just discovered.

    Da Lei felt that something was strange, but he did not say anything. Instead, he merely lowered his head.

    Lu Yin could see two different viewpoints, and delight shed through his eyes. He had not expected the die¡¯s Possession to contain such a wonderful hidden use, and this feeling was very fascinating. He walked a few steps away from Da Lei, and the double vision vanished. The double vision seemed to require a certain distance.

    Lu Yin thought about it, turned around, and walked back towards Da Lei. As he did so, his vision became doubled once again.

    Da Lei felt odd; what was His Highness doing?

    Lu Yin stood in front of the soldier. ¡°I remember that thest time we met, you were a Limiteer. Why are you still just a Limiteer? It must have been several years since Ist saw you.¡±

    Da Lei felt ashamed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, Your Highness. I will cultivate more seriously, and I will strive to break through to the Explorer realm as soon as possible so that I may continue to serve Your Highness.¡± He felt very grateful towards Lu Yin, as if it weren¡¯t for the Royal Regent, both he and his wife would have died years ago.

    Satisfied, Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Well spoken. Recently, the Thirteen Imperial Squadron captains have all been outsiders, and I wish to handpick a few people from within the empire to be captains. My hope lies in you guys, so don¡¯t disappoint me.¡± Lu Yin then raised a hand to pat Da Lei¡¯s shoulder.

    Da Lei determinedly said, ¡°I won¡¯t let you down, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then turned to leave.

    Da Lei stared at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating back and was inwardly encouraged. He had to be a captain of one of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.

    After leaving Liuying Zishan¡¯s manor, Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. When he touched Da Lei, he had suddenly been able to read through Da Lei¡¯s memories, and he had seen fragments of the soldier¡¯s life. They contained the memories of his time with the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and one of them had been incredibly bizarre to Lu Yin.

    Da Lei was stationed as a year round guard at Liuying Zishan¡¯s manor, and he would asionally enter the mansion to receive orders. In these recent few years, whenever Liuying Zishan was at home, she would frequently cultivate in the middle of the night. Da Lei had seen it once, and he had been severely punished by her.

    Through Da Lei¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had seen Liuying Zishan¡¯s cultivation method. Da Lei had not been able to discern many details, but he could tell that Liuying Zishan¡¯s rate of absorption of star energy had been dozens of times that of an ordinary cultivator within the same realm. This speed even surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s absorption rate with the nine starred Cosmic Art. Also, Liuying Zishan had been absorbing star energy from star essence.

    This was a bit suspicious, as Liuying Zishan was just a captain in the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire, and she was also only a Cruiser. Where could she have gotten a hold of so much star essence to absorb? And what technique did she possess that was able to increase her star energy absorption rate dozens of times over? It should be known that even heirs of great powers from the Innerverse like Zhuo Daynight and Liu Xiaoyun did not have cultivation techniques that let them absorb star energy so rapidly.

    More importantly, since she was able to absorb star energy so quickly, why was she still a Cruiser? Lu Yin did not believe that she required even more star energy to break through than him, and these strange inconsistencies of Liuying Zishan made Lu Yin feel rather ufortable.

    As the sky turned dark, Lu Yin hid himself and appeared outside of Liuying Zishan¡¯s manor, easily slipping past the guards. He entered the manor and quickly arrived in the location where Da Lei had previously identally encountered Liuying Zishan while she was cultivating. Lu Yin hid inside a fake mountain and set his gadget to block all iing messages.

    A group of clouds drifted across the sky and blocked the moonlight when a person appeared nearby and slowly walked through the garden. From the corner of his eye, Lu Yin could see that it was Liuying Zishan.

    She was dressed in delicate clothes, and she walked towards Lu Yin one step at a time. Each step seemed to be perfectly measured, and her eyes were focused on something in front of her, but her pupils were unfocused.

    Lu Yin squinted, as this expression was oddly reminiscent of someone being controlled.

    Liuying Zishan arrived at the bottom of the fake mountain, where she sat down cross-legged. She waved a hand, which caused many star essence to appear on the ground. She then began to skillfully absorb the star energy from the essence at a rapid rate, and the star energy quickly formed a visible tornado that wrapped around Liuying Zishan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he watched as Liuying Zishan¡¯s rune lines fluctuated. The rune lines that represented the star energy quickly vanished as it entered her body, and it was almost as if there was a ckhole inside her, constantly swallowing the massive influx of star energy.

    Suddenly, a ball of light rose up from Liuying Zishan¡¯s head, and the star energy that she had absorbed flowed back out of her body and into the radiant sphere.

    Lu Yin was astonished upon seeing such an inexplicable scene, and he unintentionally made a sound. Liuying Zishan did not react to the sound, but that ball of light suddenly charged towards Lu Yin. He felt no suppression of star energy; instead, there was a different, silent form of suppression that pressed down upon him. Lu Yin was rmed, as this suppression was through spiritual force.

    Lu Yin swatted a hand at the light, but the ball seemed to be incorporeal. The radiance chased after Lu Yin¡¯s palm before merging into his body and vanishing.

    Lu Yin was taken aback; what the hell had just happened?

    The next moment, his brain felt like it had been jostled, and he suddenly heard the clear sound of evening drums. His ears, nose, and eyes started bleeding with fresh blood, and his head started spinning.

    Lu Yin knelt down on one knee and gritted his teeth. He then began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures without any hesitation.

    ¡°To be good atmunicating, the Dao of Heaven refuses. To jump and lie in the heavens, the Dao of Heaven epts. To jump and lie in the horizon, to condense gas, to swallow rivers¡­¡±

    As he recited the Stonewall Scriptures, the rumbling in his brain decreased slightly, but he knew that the ball of radiance was still crashing about within his brain. This was the materialization of spiritual force, and it was trying to reduce him to an idiot. Fortunately, he had been reciting the Stonewall Scriptures for several years now, and he had developed a healthy resistance towards spiritual force, which allowed him to withstand the attack. Otherwise, he would have been finished the moment he came into contact with the ball of light.

    Inside the fake mountain, Lu Yin continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures, and outside, Liuying Zishan continued to absorb star energy without any sign of awareness. Everything seemed very calm.

    After an unknown amount of time, the sky turned pitch-ck. This was the darkness that came before the dawn.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes, which they blossomed radiantly. They looked as though they had suddenly be exceptionally bright. Everything that he saw seemed clearer than ever before. He looked at his hands and quickly closed his eyes to sense what had happened to him. He quickly became ecstatic, as he discovered that he had actually absorbed that ball of light, and his spiritual force had undergone quite a change. Although he did not know how much his spiritual force had been raised, it seemed to be a pretty decent improvement; all he knew for sure was that his spiritual force was now a good deal stronger than what it had been before.

    He looked out from the fake mountain and at where Liuying Zishan continued to sit and absorb star energy,pletely oblivious to his presence. The star essence had already all been absorbed, and she was currently only absorbing the ambient star energy. At this moment, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, her rune lines had greatly increasedpared to the previous day.

    That ball of light had always been suppressing her, and now that it was gone, the results of her cultivation were able to manifest. Even if her battle power had not reached that of a Hunter yet, she could at least match up to a peak Cruiser.

    What exactly had that ball of light been? Lu Yin really wanted to ask Liuying Zishan, but he knew that she probably did not know anything herself.

    Coincidentally, Liuying Zishan awakened at this moment and opened her eyes. She seemed dazed. ¡°Why am I here?¡± She looked around the garden and then left.

 Chapter 729: The Final Imperial Edict

    <h4>Chapter 729: The Final Imperial Edict</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Apparently, Liuying Zishan had indeed been under some sort of controlling force, but who was controlling her? Out of everyone he could think of, the only people who were proficient enough with spiritual force to control her were the members of the Daynight n. Could it have been them?

    ***

    A gloomy voice rang out in a dark ce. ¡°Why is it gone? Even the memories can¡¯t be transmitted back. How strange.¡±

    ***

    Lu Yin did not feel veryfortable with Liuying Zishan anymore, as she had been appointed as the Commander of the Allied Forces. And since the appointment was so new, there was no way for him to rece her anytime soon. Over the next few days, Lu Yin continued to hide in Liuying Zishan¡¯s mansion to observe her, until he felt certain that there were no problems with her.

    She had most likely been controlled by that ball of light, but now that Lu Yin had absorbed it, she should have broken free from its control. But that did not mean that the person who had been controlling her would not act again. Lu Yin decided to check in on her every once in a while from now on.

    In fact, he rather looked forward to meeting that person acting against Liuying Zishan again, as he would appreciate it if they gave him a few more balls of light to absorb. With the Stonewall Scriptures, he was not afraid of those attacks in the least.

    One day, Lu Yin contacted Elder Lohar. This day marked nearly four months since Lu Yin hadst entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and the Innerverse and Outerverse had already been separated for twenty one months.

    ¡°This junior pays his respect to Senior.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Elder Loharughed. ¡°Kid, you won¡¯t do anything unless there¡¯s something in it for you. Speak up¡ªwhy are you looking for me? I¡¯ll make one thing clear first: I have no interest in the Outerverse¡¯s squabbles.¡±

    Lu Yin rearranged his expression. ¡°Elder is correct. This is indeed about the Outerverse¡¯s conflicts, but it is not rted to the struggles between weaves. This is rted to the Technocracy.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly exined, ¡°This junior took a trip to the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and there, I met with White Knight. She informed me that the Sixth Maind has gained a certain level of control over the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain and that they may pass through the Technocracy to invade the Outerverse.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Is this for certain?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Nobody can say what¡¯s for sure if the events have not taken ce yet, but White Knight shared this information with this junior, and I didn¡¯t dare be neglectful. Thus, I contacted Senior the moment I left the Daosource Sect''s ruins.¡±

    Elder Lohar muttered to himself for a moment and then spoke to Lu Yin in a serious tone. ¡°Kid, you did well. I got it. But you must not spread this news to anyone else out of fear of inciting panic.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, elder. This junior understands.¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded. ¡°I¡¯m relieved with how you¡¯ve handled this matter. I will go and investigate this.¡±

    ¡°What should this junior do to prepare beforehand? Otherwise, as soon as the Technocracy invades, the entire Outerverse will face a disaster,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Elder Lohar replied, ¡°Stock up on supplies. Everything else can be discussed after the Hall of Honor investigates this matter.¡±

    The elder then immediately ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. He had done what he could, and now, everything else depended on luck. If the Sixth Maind really did invade the Outerverse through the Technocracy, then the first ce to suffer would be Endless Weave. The invasion would start in the westernmost stretches of the Outerverse and then travel east. It would be an unavoidable cmity, and their best hope was that the Innerverse would be able to ce more pressure on the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as he knew that he was overthinking things. The Innerverse was already finding it difficult to even defend itself.

    The Sixth Maind was invading the Innerverse on one side, and attacking the Astral Beast Domain on another. Its remaining forces were gathering to invade the Outerverse, which showed how terrifyingly deep its foundation went.

    Lu Yin did not know how the Ten Arbiters were faring in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. It had been four months since he hadst entered that ce, and it was time for him to take another look.

    On Shenwu Continent, the imperial pce in Mingdu had been spruced up quite a bit. Ming Zhaoshu could formally stay there, but he hadn¡¯t. Instead, he continued to summon Bei Hong to the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    ¡°How do you feel about your trip out into the universe?¡± Ming Zhaoshu asked.

    Bei Hong emotionally responded, ¡°The universe is truly vast, and my Shenwu Continent is just a grain of sand within it. Your Majesty has foresight, and you had our Shenwu Continent integrate into the outside universe. Otherwise, we would lose all of our rights one day.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu answered, ¡°My brother was narrow-minded, and he only knew about Shenwu Continent. Most people in the universe are not even aware that a ce like Shenwu Continent exists. Not even all of Darkmist Weave is guaranteed to have heard of Shenwu Continent before, and it¡¯s indeed too minuscule whenpared to the entire universe.

    ¡°However, the strength of our Shenwu Continent should not be looked down upon. Otherwise, Lu Yin would not have had us represent Darkmist Weave and participate in the Great Eastern Alliance Conference.¡±

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s name being mentioned, Bei Hong voiced his worries. ¡°Your Majesty, this Lu Yin¡­ Is he reliable?¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu replied, ¡°I know what you are worried about. The child is wildly ambitious, and he has also hidden his trump cards well. However, his character has a baseline that he will not cross, he stands up for what he believes is right, and he will always keep his promises, which is the main reason why I chose to cooperate with him. If he was a different person, then even if his authority was even greater, I would not have chosen to cooperate with him, and I definitely would not have passed my daughter to him.¡±

    Bei Hong nodded. "He is indeed popr, and he isn¡¯t like the average leader. He values hisrades greatly, and he has ced limits on how he conducts himself. Your subject also felt this when I interacted with him during this trip. However, when it is time to be ruthless, he shows no mercy.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked at Bei Hong. ¡°I can clearly tell you that, for Bei Qing, this is the chance of a lifetime.¡±

    Bei Hong looked at Ming Zhaoshu.

    Ming Zhaoshu continued, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve known you for decades, and I won¡¯t lie to you. In the long term, it is much more beneficial for Bei Qing to stay in the Great Yu Empire. You can¡¯t hope for him to be a native in the foreigners¡¯ eyes if he is always trapped within the five sealings and ends up bing a good-for-nothing aristocrat.¡±

    Bei Hong nodded. ¡°Your subject understands.¡±

    Ming Zhaoshu looked up. ¡°The five sealings protect Shenwu Continent, but they also seal Shenwu Continent off from the rest of the universe.¡±

    Before Bei Hong left, he asked Ming Zhaoshu when the emperor would move into the imperial pce. Ming Zhaoshu did not give a straightforward reply, and merely said a single sentence in reply. ¡°Ask Yan''er.¡±

    Although it was just a short reply, it caused grief to well up within Bei Hong, as he knew that the man before him did not have much time left.

    Due to Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s iron fisted ruling, Shenwu Continent was currently seething with the discontent of the masses, and rebellions constantly broke out everywhere. During this period, in order to suppress these numerous rebellions, Ming Zhaoshu had executed millions of people, and the current Shenwu Continent was like a dormant volcano that could erupt at any moment.

    In every corner, there were voices opposing Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s reign, and there were assassins that entered the Reverent King¡¯s Residence on a daily basis.

    There were countless assassins hiding along the road that led from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence to Mingdu¡¯s imperial pce. All of them were waiting for Ming Zhaoshu to relocate so that they could carry out their assassination attempts.

    The entire maind had started to reject Ming Zhaoshu.

    Within his study in the Reverent King¡¯s Residence, Ming Zhaoshu bit his finger and wrote a letter with his own blood before sealing it and cing it on the table. It was addressed to Lu Yin.

    He then looked towards an imperial edict on the other end of the table, which he had prepared for Ming Yan.

    Ming Zhaoshu sighed and waved a hand, causing a map of the entire Shenwu Continent to appear before him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve schemed for so many years, and yet, I am already in my twilight after barely enjoying the fruits of mybors. After a few more years pass, who will be able to answer as to whether or not my efforts were a sess or a failure. Hahaha, let me give my final strength to Shenwu Continent. Yan''er, Father has failed you,¡± Ming Zhaoshu muttered as tears of blood flowed down from his eyes. He pulled out a sword and slit his own neck, decapitating himself. His head tumbled down and crashed onto the table, ultimatelynding beside the imperial edict. In the end, the emperor¡¯s gaze continued to be fixated on the map of Shenwu Continent as he died.

    Thump thump thump

    ¡°Father, Daughter seeks an audience.¡±

    Nobody replied, and Ming Yan knocked again, but there was still no reply. There was, however, a faint scent of blood leaking out from the closed study.

    Ming Yan¡¯s expression changed, and she shoved the door open, only to be met with a scene that nearly caused her to faint.

    Standing behind her, Tang Si¡¯s expression did not change, as he had already realized what had happened. He immediately knelt down. ¡°Send off His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Send off His Majesty.¡±

    ¡°Send off His Majesty.¡±

    ¡­

    Ming Yan closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She tentatively stepped into the study and wept as she took Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s head away. She then looked towards the letter and imperial edict that had been left on the table and picked up the edict. She nced at it, and what she read caused her face to turn deathly white.

    Before long, Bei Hong arrived and entered the study.

    Ming Yan passed the imperial edict over to Bei Hong, and as he read through it, his grief became even more apparent with his changing expression. ¡°Princess, ording to His Majesty¡¯s decree, this is his final wish for the empire.¡±

    Ming Yan turned around so that her back was facing Bei Hong. She stared at Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s erect corpse and then asked in a cold voice, ¡°All that Father has been doing during this period has been an act, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    Bei Hong lowered his head, but he did not reply.

    ¡°Father intentionally created dissent, and he focused all of the discontent onto just him, all for this day, correct?¡± Ming Yan shouted sternly.

    Bei Hong half-knelt. ¡°His Majesty did all this for the empire. Princess, please follow hisst request and execute His Majesty¡¯s decree.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s body trembled, and she had to support herself with a chair. Grieving, she spoke in agony, ¡°Is the empire¡¯s foundation really that important? For him to bear this eternal infamy? And for it to even be enforced by his own daughter?! Father is too cruel.¡±

    Bei Hong sighed. ¡°His Majesty¡¯s ascension to the throne carried with it a great deal of unhappiness from many in our Shenwu Continent, and it also incited chaos to spring up everywhere. If this is not done, then the empire will likely be mired in civil war for the next hundred years. Princess, please follow thete emperor¡¯s wishes and execute His Majesty¡¯s decree.¡±

    ¡°Princess, please execute His Majesty¡¯s decree,¡± Tang Si called from outside the office.

    ¡°Princess, please execute His Majesty¡¯s decree,¡± a group of ministers who had all been loyal to Ming Zhaoshu shouted unanimously. ¡°Princess, please execute His Majesty¡¯s decree.¡±

    ¡°Princess, please execute His Majesty¡¯s decree.¡±

    ¡­

    Ming Yan closed her eyes. ¡°Announce the imperial edict.¡±

    Bei Hong finally rxed, and he walked out of the study after hearing those words. He opened the bloodstained decree to read aloud, and his voice was transmitted throughout every part of Shanhai City. ¡°Reverent King Ming Zhaoshu, for preposterous behavior, abuse, nder, rampant massacres, and inciting chaos, is condemned by his daughter, Ming Yan. Ming Zhaoshu hasmitted twenty eight grievous crimes. First, traitor to the nation¡­ Twenty eighth, ignoring advice. On this day, Ming Zhaoshu will be sentenced to death, and this order will be carried out immediately. His Majesty¡¯s daughter, Ming Yan, offers the emperor¡¯s life to respect the heavens, honor the people, and atone for his crimes.¡±

    As she listened to each criminal charge listed in the imperial edict, Ming Yan clenched her fists. Her fingernails were soon embedded deep within her flesh, and fresh blood dripped down from her hands. She did not feel any physical pain, only heartache. She had personally made her own father eternally infamous, and this heartache started to smother her.

    Ming Zhaoshu had intentionally aroused the wrath of the masses and gathered it all onto himself. This had been done so that Ming Yan could represent the heavens and mete out judgement. Then, when she rightfully inherited the throne, she would also gain the goodwill of the people. Although this would stabilize Shenwu Continent, it required Ming Yan to take on the stigma of patricide. The Shenwu Continent would celebrate, and everyone would believe that Ming Yan had acted correctly, but to Ming Yan, this was an extremely cruel turn of events that her father had forced upon her.

    She had to personally proim that her own father was an irredeemable criminal, and this made her heart feel iparably sour, and she nearly choked from the emotion.

    All this time, she had indeed been enduring torment, but Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s torment had been even greater than her¡¯s.

    At this moment, it was like Ming Yan had grown up.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin suddenly stood up, and his expression drastically changed. ¡°What did you say? Ming Zhaoshu is dead?¡±

    En Ya had appeared before him, and her face was grave. ¡°Yes, Ming Zhaoshu is dead, and Ming Yan has inherited the throne. She also announced an imperial edict condemning Ming Zhaoshu of twenty eight horrible crimes that also stripped away all of his achievements. This will leave his legacy as an eternal pariah in Shenwu Continent. This is clearly the path that Ming Zhaoshu paved for Ming Yan so that she could sessfully inherit the Shenwu Empire while also receiving the goodwill of the masses.¡±

 Chapter 730: Desperation

    <h4>Chapter 730: Desperation</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and an overflowing torrent of emotion welled up within his heart. He could imagine Ming Yan¡¯s current desperation, especially considering how she had just been forced into condemning her own father. It had to be unbearable for her, and it was all just for the Shenwu Empire. Was the Shenwu Empire really that important?

    ¡°Immediately make preparations. I¡¯m going to Shenwu Continent.¡± Lu Yin immediately left King Zishan''s pce and made his way towards the space station.

    En Ya quickly sent orders to the space station.

    Before long, an Aurora flew towards Darkmist Weave.

    Lu Yin looked out at the darkness of outer space and felt his mood turn heavy.

    The death of Ming Yan¡¯s father was sure to be a huge blow to her, not to mention how she would suddenly have all sorts of burdens thrust upon her. He did not know if she would be able to push through this event.

    Now that the Great Eastern Alliance had been officially established, even if there was no more Shenwu Continent, Lu Yin would not mind. The reason why he had Shenwu Continent initially join was because he needed someone to set an example. As far as the Great Eastern Alliance was concerned, Shenwu Continent was not even as important as a puppet organization like the Nine Stacks Sect.

    Men Daynight and the others had long since expected that Lu Yin would appear, and all the Daynight members kept their distance from him while he was in the space station since they knew that Lu Yin would not be in a good mood at this time.

    Lu Yin could not be bothered with any of these people, and he directly entered Shenwu Continent with Huo Qingshan¡¯s assistance.

    Ming Zhaoshu had earned an overall horrible reputation in Shenwu Continent, but he had been rather well liked in Shanhai City, where he had lived for so many years.

    Now that he was dead, the people of Shanhai City were grieving.

    All of Shanhai City was bustling to finish arrangements both for Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s funeral as well as Ming Yan¡¯s ascendancy ceremony that would allow her to fully inherit the throne.

    The Ming family¡¯s direct line of descendants had all been eliminated, save for Ming Yan. For countless years, the Shenwu Empire had been controlled by the Ming family. And now, Ming Yan was able to seed the throne upon the premise of righteously condemning Ming Zhaoshu; the twenty eight crimes that he had been convicted of had turned into goodwill for the former princess.

    However, such actions also caused many to feel afraid of her.

    When Lu Yin arrived in Shanhai City, he overheard many discussions as well as many different appraisals of Ming Yan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he quickly entered the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.

    The manor¡¯s security was very tight, and there were two Cruisers used their martial power to constantly monitor the manor grounds at all times. Bei Hong and the other ministers were inside the Reverent King¡¯s Residence at this moment, all of them preparing for Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s funeral.

    Ming Yan was in the main study. Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s corpse had been cleaned up, but there was still a remnant scent of blood in the study. The blood that had spilled onto the table had not been cleaned yet, and there was also a bloodstained letter on it.

    That letter was addressed to Lu Yin.

    Ming Yan had been staring at that letter for a long time.

    The door to the study slowly opened, and the imperial bodyguards entered in an orderly line that then split up to stand on either side of the room. Bei Hong entered and bowed deeply to Ming Yan. ¡°Princess, please restrain your grief. The most important task at this time is to inherit the throne and stabilize the empire.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s voice contained no fluctuations as she said, ¡°Choose a date.¡±

    Bei Hong bowed again. ¡°Yes. Your subject will take his leave.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The guards nearby shouted. Bei Hong and the others looked over, only to see that Lu Yin had appeared outside the study, and he was looking at Ming Yan in an endearing manner.

    The moment Ming Yan saw Lu Yin, tears flowed out of her eyes again, and she got up to run towards him. At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze became sharp. ¡°How dare you.¡±

    Someone within the two lines of guards in the study had suddenly lunged towards Ming Yan and grabbed her throat. A transparent vial appeared in the guard¡¯s hand, and he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±

    This unforeseen turn of events stunned everyone present.

    Lu Yin stared at the man who had grabbed Ming Yan, and understanding dawned on him when he noticed the person¡¯s appearance. He suddenly remembered that this person was Wu Shang, an expert from the Neohuman Alliance who had participated in the trial on Shenwu Continent at the same time that Lu Yin had participated, though he hadpletely forgotten about this person.

    ¡°Release the princess!¡± Bei Hong barked.

    In the sky above them, two Cruisers suddenly appeared, and one of them used his martial power to try to entangle Wu Shang. The attacker¡¯s eyes suddenly turned red, and then under Lu Yin¡¯s shocked sight, changed colors again to be green. This was a Corpse King¡¯s Second Transformation, which was when they exhibited a Green Eyes Transformation.

    ¡°Green Eyes Transformation! Seventh Bro, RUN!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin had not expected that Wu Shang was actually capable of unleashing a Green Eyes Transformation. Wu Shang was just an Explorer, but after undergoing the Green Eyed Transformation, his rune lines increased a hundredfold until they were in no way inferior to an elite Hunter¡¯s. The Cruiser¡¯s martial power was instantly rebuffed by the strengthened Corpse King. ¡°Lu Yin, get everyone else to leave the room if you don¡¯t want her to die.¡±

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Everyone, get out!¡±

    The gathered crowd looked at Ming Yan, but they did not bother paying any attention to Lu Yin as not many of them recognized him.

    Bei Hong hurriedly shouted, ¡°Everyone, withdraw! Now!¡±

    The two Cruisers exchanged nces, but then obeyed Bei Hong and slowly withdrew, ultimately even retreating out of the courtyard where the study was located.

    The courtyard was finally left with only Ming Yan, Wu Shang, and Lu Yin.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Lu Yin stared at Wu Shang, as the green eyes gave him a sense of fear from the bottom of his heart. He concealed his bloodlust, as Ming Yan was an absolute taboo that he could not allow to be harmed.

    Wu Shang¡¯s voice was cold, and he did not speak in a normal tone after undergoing the Green Eyed Transformation. He intermittently forced out, ¡°Lord¡­ said¡­ to¡­ make¡­ you¡­ feel¡­ desperate.¡±

    ¡°The Seven Skygods?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Wu Shang stared at Lu Yin and then shook the vial in his hand. ¡°In here¡­ it¡¯s¡­ the¡­ same¡­ as Ming Zhaoshu. Uses¡­ are the¡­ same.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s expression drastically shifted as she stared at the vial in Wu Shang¡¯s hand, changing to a look of absolute hatred.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face paled. ¡°A vitality poison... What do you want?¡±

    ¡°You¡­ should¡­ know,¡± Wu Shang spoke slowly, though his words were vaguely.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as he stared at the vial that contained the same poison that had affected Ming Zhaoshu. There was no antidote, and the short old man who had poisoned Ming Zhaoshu had wanted to develop an antidote through the process of observing Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poisoning.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a puny Explorer, and your Neohuman Alliance has more than enough powerhouses in their ranks, so why me?¡± Lu Yin asked even as he secretly crushed the jade talisman that Mister Mu had given him behind his back. He could only use this stone as ast resort, but he was not confident in his abilities to rescue Ming Yan from Wu Shang. And since he did not dare to gamble with her life, he could only seek help from Mister Mu.

    Nothing could be allowed to happen to Ming Yan. This was Lu Yin¡¯s only thought at this moment.

    Wu Shang¡¯s voice was cial. ¡°Are you¡­ stalling¡­ for¡­ time?¡±

    Lu Yin sternly replied, ¡°I want to know why your side wants to cooperate with me and what you need me for.¡±

    Wu Shang intermittently exined, ¡°There are¡­ many¡­ who wish¡­ to cooperate¡­ with us, but we¡­ only fancy¡­ a few¡­ people. If you¡­ want to¡­ cooperate, you¡­ must show¡­ your sincerity.¡±

    ¡°Speak,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wu Shang¡¯s green eyes focused on Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°We need¡­ the box¡­ that was¡­ in Geoffrey¡¯s¡­ secret room.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, as this request was not too unexpected. Thest attacker to appear on Sourcepeak had also been a green-eyed Corpse King, and any Corpse King that could use the Green Eyes Transformation definitely was not a rookie. That box was clearly very important to the Neohuman Alliance. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get it for you, but you have to guarantee Ming Yan¡¯s safety.¡±

    ¡°One day¡­ or desperation,¡± Wu Shang coldly said.

    Lu Yin agreed. ¡°I¡¯ll go get it for you right away.¡±

    However, at this moment, nobody was paying attention to Ming Yan. Lu Yin was staring intently at Wu Shang to prevent the Corpse King from acting while Wu Shang was also very cautious of Lu Yin. The youth had too many items that could boost his strength. Wu Shang was concerned, but this caused him to neglect Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan gazed fondly at Lu Yin, turned around, and then bit off the cover of the vial, causing the colorless liquid within it to flow out and enter her mouth. The entire process was done smoothly, and even Wu Shang did not have any time to react. When he finally did, the poison had already entered Ming Yan¡¯s mouth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened, and he pointed a finger at the Corpse King. ¡°You¡¯re looking for death.¡± Then, his hand transformed into a w, and a Skybeast w tore through the void as it released a terrifying howl that sounded as if an ancient beast had descended upon the continent. The w swatted at Wu Shang, who had already let go of Ming Yan. The woman no longer held any value to him, as she was destined to die from the poison. Wu Shang looked up to confront the Skybeast w andshed out with one leg.

    The green eyes transformation increased the strength of a Corpse King¡¯s physical body by a hundredfold, and Wu Shang struck back at the Skybeast w, creating an impact that distorted the void. Suddenly, a giant ck crack appeared in space as two attacks that shockingly surpassed an average Hunter¡¯s tore through the void.

    The Reverent King¡¯s Residence was instantly split into two as Bei Hong and the others stared at the frightening scene of destruction in shock from outside the courtyard. Even the two Cruisers did not dare to make any moves, as this was not a battlefield that they could intervene in.

    The Skybeast w had pushed Wu Shang back, and Lu Yin rushed forward to grab a hold of Ming Yan. Her face had turned a deathly white, and her focus gradually grew hazier even as her hair slowly turned white. Her vitality was being sucked away, and much faster than what had happened to Ming Zhaoshu.

    Lu Yin turned to stare at Wu Shang. ¡°Hand over the antidote.¡±

    Wu Shang frowned and then turned to escape.

    Lu Yin burst forth with his full strength, and eight lined battle force wrapped around his hand as another Skybeast w struck down at Wu Shang from up above. Wu Shang raised both of his arms in an attempt to block Lu Yin¡¯s strike, but his entire body was sted beneath the ground, and the blow even caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    Eight lined battle force was on a different level as seven lined battle force, and it made the recently improved Skybeast w significantly stronger yet again. Even Wu Shang with his hundredfold strengthened physical body still ended up being suppressed.

    Still, it would be very difficult for Lu Yin to kill Wu Shang, as a Corpse King¡¯s physical strength and recovery waspletely beyond what the average person could even imagine. When the formless fluctuations dissipated, Lu Yin¡¯s body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground. This was Wu Shang¡¯s innate gift, and it caused Lu Yin to feel feeble from head to toe.

    Wu Shang had no thoughts of fighting against Lu Yin, and he again leaped up in another attempt to flee.

    Lu Yin growled. Even if he knew that Wu Shang most likely did not have the antidote, he refused to let go of that slightest glimpse of hope, and he could not allow Wu Shang to escape.

    As he saw Wu Shang moving further into the distance, Lu Yin tapped out with a finger as his eyes went ck. The Dream Finger froze the void, and it quickly traversed the distance and closed in on Wu Shang with extreme speed. Then, the finger pierced through Wu Shang¡¯s abdomen, and he crashed to the ground again. Fresh blood flowed freely from his abdomen, gushing onto the ground. He looked like he was in apletely miserable state.

    The ground beneath Shanhai City was rumbling, and cracks opened up throughout the city.

    Lu Yin did not care about his ruptured finger, and he ferociously mmed a leg down as he barked, ¡°Hand over the antidote!¡±

    Wu Shang spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°There¡¯s no¡­ antidote.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned deathly pale, and he looked down as he punched Wu Shang¡¯s abdomen again. ¡°Hand over the antidote!¡±

    Wu Shang coughed out more blood, and he wanted to flee, but he was continuously pummeled into the ground by Lu Yin, punch after punch.

    These two powerhouses were only Explorers, and while Wu Shang had undergone the Green Eyes Transformation, Lu Yin¡¯s physical power was simrly terrifying, as just his eight lined battle force was something that could not be withstood by a normal expert. That,bined with his already abnormally powerful physical body and terrifying battle techniques, meant that Wu Shang¡¯s Green Eyes Transformation was not even able tost for a few strikes.

    When Lu Yin had been a Limiteer, he had already been able to fight against the experts on the Top 100 Rankings. Now that he had be an Explorer who hadprehended eight lined battle force and the Dream Finger Technique, there were very few people within the same realm who could even take a few strikes from him. Anyone that could be equally pitted against him was someone who belonged among the top few of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Wu Shang abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood. By this point, Lu Yin¡¯s figure only appeared as a fuzzy image in his vision. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ no wonder why¡­ the Lord has¡­ taken¡­ a liking¡­ to you. If¡­ you change¡­ into¡­ a Corpse King¡­ and practice¡­ the¡­ Corpse King¡­ Transformation, nobody will¡­ be¡­ your¡­ opponent in¡­ the future.¡±

    Lu Yin punched Wu Shang an unknown distance beneath the ground, but it was so deep that dark red magma could be seen.

 Chapter 731: Twin Souls

    <h4>Chapter 731: Twin Souls</h4>

    Lu Yin panted heavily. His finger had already ruptured, and fresh blood flowed from its tip and slowly dripped down to the ground. His eyes were flushed red. ¡°Antidote, there must be an antidote.¡±

    He leaped down.

    Ming Yan was lying some distance away, and tears flowed from her closed eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m truly sorry.¡±

    Outside the courtyard, Bei Hong ordered the gathered cultivators to evacuate the people of Shanhai City, as underground magma continuously bubbled up from the fissures in the ground, quickly filling the sky with a thick smoke.

    Underground, Lu Yin found a pathetic looking Wu Shang. He grabbed the Corpse King and then dashed back up towards the surface.

    Suddenly, Wu Shang opened his eyes and struggled free from Lu Yin¡¯s grip before rushing into the distance. At this moment, he put the fearsome physical strength of a Green Eyes Transformed Corpse King on full disy. Anyone else who had been attacked by Lu Yin in this manner had always ended up severely injured if not dead, but Wu Shang was still able to make use of the Corpse King Transformation and even seemed fine as he fled.

    Lu Yin tightened his right fist as his eyes lit up. ¡°Day-Night-Punch.¡±

    The sky turned dark, and the colors of ck and white interchanged as the punch shot through Wu Shang. Whistling winds swept across the entire Qiong Ind, knowing countless residents unconscious.

    The Daynight Punch was the battle technique that Lu Yin had obtained from the Daynight inheritance stone, but he had not used it in a long while. The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques were all rted to spiritual force, so the stronger one¡¯s spiritual force was, the greater the might of their battle techniques.

    Lu Yin did not know how powerful his spiritual force had be by this point. After absorbing that ball of light, he had a feeling that his own spiritual force might not even be inferior to the Ten Arbiters¡¯. At this moment, when his punch shot forward, its overwhelming might pierced directly through Wu Shang, and even just the aftershocks were enough to knock all of the inhabitants of Qiong Ind, and even those of the surrounding inds, unconscious. The shockwave continued traveling into the sky, causing even the five sealings to tremble slightly.

    The power of this punch was amazingly formidable, not in its destruction, but rather in its spiritual force. Lu Yin was certain that even a Hunter would be knocked unconscious by this punch.

    Wu Shang¡¯s gaze changed, and his Corpse King Transformation was forcefully undone as his body mmed into the ground. Fresh blood flowed down onto the stone bs once again. His expression becameplex as he looked at the sky. He showed an indescribable reluctance to leave, but then he died.

    Lu Yinnded beside the body and looked at Wu Shang¡¯s corpse as his strength seemed to leave his body all at once. He immediately grabbed Wu Shang¡¯s cosmic ring and opened it with the fresh blood. Lu Yin nced through it and then closed his eyes bitterly. There really was no antidote.

    In the distance, Ming Yan hoarsely called out, ¡°Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and immediately appeared at Ming Yan¡¯s side, and he hugged her tightly. He watched as her hair gradually turned bone-white, and his heart trembled. ¡°Yan''er, I¡¯m sorry. Brother Lu came toote.¡±

    Ming Yan wept. ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s Yan''er who let you down. Yan''er didn¡¯t want to implicate you, and I¡¯ve also grown tired of living. It¡¯s Yan''er who¡¯s selfish and is abandoning you.¡±

    Lu Yin hugged her tightly, out of fear that, if he let go, the girl in his arms would vanish into dust.

    He could not imagine Ming Yan bing as aged as Ming Zhaoshu, nor the desperation that it would bring him. That agony of her fading vitality would not only bring him a physical sense of desperation, but also a spiritual one.

    Ming Yan¡¯s skin began to shrivel, as her poison was even more potent than Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s. Outside the vial of Ming Yan¡¯s poison, there was abel that read, ¡°Regression No. 88,¡± while Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s poison had been ¡°Regression No. 91.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, did you know? Yan''er is tired, and I wish to rest,¡± Ming Yan weakly mumbled as she hugged Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flushed red, and he felt a needle of agony stab his heart. He waspletely powerless at this moment.

    ¡°Yan''er is too selfish. Father already paved the way for me, and he was even willing to be cursed for eternity, but Yan''er still chose death.

    ¡°Brother Lu was willing to cooperate with those freaks for me, but Yan''er doesn¡¯t want to burden Brother Lu anymore. Yan''er is really tired and wishes to go apany Father¡­¡±

    Fresh blood kept flowing through Lu Yin¡¯s hands, and his chest still felt agonizingly breathless.

    Some distance away, Bei Hong had everyone leave the area, and the older man sighed. The Shenwu Empire¡¯s fate had faced many misfortunes, and even their soon-to-be empress was about to die at this moment. What would tomorrow hold for them?

    Lu Yin did not know what to say as he held onto Ming Yan. He had never felt pain like this before, as this pain had prated into his inner soul, and the entire world felt bleak.

    Ming Yan raised up a hand to touch Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he could see affection in her eyes, as well as a sense of relief. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin held her hand, his eyes bright red. ¡°It¡¯s Brother Lu who let you down. When you needed help the most, I wasn¡¯t here.¡±

    Ming Yan shook her head and smiled even as her skin shriveled even further. ¡°Brother Lu, did you know? Yan''er¡¯s most blessed moment was that time when I cut my hair for you. Yan''er will never forget that moment.¡±

    Lu Yin pulled out Ming Yan¡¯s lock of hair from his cosmic ring and held onto it tightly. ¡°You are Lu Yin¡¯s wife, and even through life and death, you always will be. We tied our fates together when we bound our hair as one.¡±

    Ming Yan smiled beautifully. ¡°You fool.¡±

    Lu Yin embraced her tightly and bent his head to kiss her lips, which were already icy-cold,pletely devoid of warmth. Her vitality was quickly draining away, and there were no natural treasures that could counteract this speed. Those natural treasures had not even been able to save Ming Zhaoshu, let alone Ming Yan.

    "Yan''er, let¡¯s get married. I want to help you put on your bridal gown,¡± Lu Yin said gently to Ming Yan as tears streamed down his face.

    Ming Yan shook her head. ¡°Brother Lu, Yan''er is already satisfied with your words. Yan''er is destined to burden you in this life, and if there¡¯s a next life, then Yan''er will be willing to marry you. I wish for you live to an old age.

    ¡°Brother Lu, Yan''er doesn¡¯t want to grow old. Let Yan''er go.¡± Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin with pleading eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned pale as his eyes filled with agony. Even his body trembled slightly.

    ¡°Brother Lu, please. Yan''er doesn¡¯t want you to see me age to myst moments. Let go of Yan''er,¡± Ming Yan feebly pleaded as she hugged Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin closed both eyes as his tears continued to fall. He hated this. He hated himself for not searching through Shenwu Continent for a little longer and for forgetting about Wu Shang. He hated himself for not leaving the short old man alive and making him develop an antidote. At this precise moment, Lu Yin felt a boundless hatred for the Neohuman Alliance, but also for himself.

    He slowly raised a hand even as his palm trembled ceaselessly. He was going to personally send his most beloved woman off on her journey.

    Ming Yan smiled and kissed Lu Yin before closing her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. Let¡¯s meet again in the next life.¡±

    Lu Yin growled and then swatted down. Suddenly, his surroundings turned grey, as his actions were frozen in the void, and there was a deathly stillness all around. In the distance, the surging magma had stopped, and Bei Hong and the others froze in ce with their shocked expressions. It was as if time itself hade to a halt.

    A sigh was heard beside Lu Yin¡¯s ears. ¡°Since you summoned Master, there¡¯s no need to be so desperate. Was there really a need for this?¡±

    Lu Yin became ecstatic as he whirled around to see Mister Mu staring at him.

    ¡°Master!¡± Lu Yin carried Ming Yan over and knelt before Mister Mu. ¡°Master, save her. Please, save her!¡±

    Mister Mu looked down at Ming Yan¡¯s body and shook his head. ¡°A poison that causes one¡¯s life to pass. So the Neohuman Alliance is still manufacturing these kinds of poisons.¡±

    ¡°Master, you know about this? Then please, save her.¡± Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu with hope filling his eyes, much like how a person in the desert would look at an oasis.

    Mister Mu sighed and shook his head. ¡°Master has no antidote, and there¡¯s only one way to save her: the Twin Souls.¡±

    ¡°The Twin Souls?¡± Lu Yin did not understand what Mister Mu was saying as he tightly held onto Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan opened her eyes and looked at Mister Mu in a daze.

    Mister Mu exined, ¡°Master has a way to concentrate all of the poison in her body into a different personality, but you must consider this carefully. If this is done, this child will have two personalities, and while one might care for you, the other one may not necessarily feel the same. Also, the opportunity that Master had originally prepared for you will instead be given to her.¡±

    Lu Yin answered without hesitation. ¡°Master, no matter what, please save her.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded and casually waved his hand. Lu Yin suddenly appeared outside the courtyard, and within it, Mister Mu pressed a single hand against Ming Yan¡¯s head, causing the girl to be lost in a daze.

    Lu Yin watched on from outside the courtyard, but he only saw Ming Yan¡¯s hair turn from ck to white, and then back to ck, and then back again to white. It constantly fluctuated back and forth between these two colors, and Lu Yin could only really see that her rune lines were incessantly rising.

    Lu Yin rxed. It was fortunate that he had called for his master.

    Bei Hong arrived behind Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader, what is happening?¡±

    ¡°Immediately seal off Shanhai City, and move everyone who lives here over to Mingdu. Without my orders, nobody is to approach this ce. There¡¯s no need for any further exnations, and whoever dares to ask anything more can be killed instantly,¡± Lu Yin coldly ordered.

    Bei Hong hurriedly set out to carry out Lu Yin¡¯smands.

    Lu Yin remained standing beside the courtyard, all the while feeling slightly nervous.

    An hour passed, during which Mister Mu and Ming Yan remained in the exact same position. However, to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the way Ming Yan¡¯s rune lines were increasing was a little strange.

    Originally, Ming Yan had not been a powerful cultivator in any sense. At best, she was a Seeker who was not much different from amoner. She had possessed pitifully few rune lines, but at this moment, her rune lines had reached the point where they matched a Melder¡¯s, and they were still rising without stopping.

    Lu Yin watched on in disbelief as this treatment apparently could also raise her cultivation. He did not understand what Mister Mu was doing, as in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Mister Mu did not have any rune lines at all. In some sense, he appeared to existpletely independently of everything else.

    Soon, two hours passed, and Ming Yan¡¯s rune lines had already surpassed a Limiteer¡¯s, but they still did not stop increasing, which was very odd.

    When the third hour passed, Mister Mu finally lifted his hand, allowing Ming Yan to fall onto the ground.

    Lu Yin hurriedly entered the courtyard and rushed over to support her. He then looked at Mister Mu. ¡°Master, what happened?¡±

    Mister Mu replied, ¡°She won¡¯t die, but she will have two souls in her body from now on. You must be mentally prepared for this.¡±

    Lu Yin had not considered what ¡°Twin Souls¡± actually meant before, as all that had mattered to him was saving Ming Yan. ¡°What exactly is the Twin Souls?¡±

    Mister Mu looked at Ming Yan, who was lying in Lu Yin¡¯s arms. ¡°See for yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down, only to exchange nces with a pair of cold eyes. In them, he saw an icy chill and an emotionless expression. These were Ming Yan¡¯s eyes, but this expression waspletely foreign to him. He stared at Ming Yan in shock, whose head was now covered with white hair.

    ¡°Let go of me with your dirty hands!¡± the white-haired Ming Yan barked, her gaze frosty as she pped at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was smacked away by the white-haired Ming Yan, and he stared at her, lost. "Yan''er, it¡¯s me, Brother Lu.¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan shot Lu Yin a look and frowned at him. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°How are you?¡± Lu Yin felt like she was acting strange.

    She barked, ¡°Shut up! Lest Her Majesty bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, and was stumped.

    Mister Mu sized the white-haired Ming Yan up and down in surprise, as though this was his first time encountering such a situation.

    Ming Yan nced at Mister Mu, but she did not even greet him. Instead, she briskly walked out of the courtyard.

    "Yan''er!¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to chase after her, but he was stopped by Mister Mu. ¡°There¡¯s no need to go. She¡¯ll be better once her other personality awakens. Before then, even if you go after her, it will be useless.¡±

 Chapter 732: Bury You

    <h4>Chapter 732: Bury You</h4>

    Lu Yin was lost at this moment. ¡°Another personality? Are you saying that she now has two personalities?¡±

    Mister Mu nodded. ¡°Master once obtained a secret technique known as Strip. It is able to strip away everything that has ever happened to one¡¯s body, such as battle techniques, arts, innate gifts, and even injuries, emotions, and personalities. Anything that ever happened to someone can be stripped away once this secret technique has beenprehended. Of course, the body also has to pay a corresponding price.

    ¡°The only way to save that child was to Strip away her poison, but she does not know this secret technique. Thus, when Master used the secret technique for her, the only possibility was for a Dual-Soul Body to appear, as I needed to use the second personality to take all the poison. What you just saw was that second personality.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide upon discovering that such a secret technique actually existed. Even a person¡¯s personality, emotions, and even injuries could be stripped away. That was too mysterious.

    ¡°Master, Ming Yan¡­ She¡¯ll be fine, right?¡± Lu Yin asked apprehensively.

    Mister Mu shook his head. ¡°Master does not know for certain, as this is also Master¡¯s first time using the Strip secret technique on another person.¡±

    ¡°How did her personality change to that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu looked over at Ming Yan, who was leaving the courtyard. ¡°That¡¯s the price that must be paid. The secret technique saved her life, but something must be paid in return. That is how the universe works¡ªyou must pay for what you obtain.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Ming Yan in disbelief as she moved further and further away from him. This sudden change in personality was too drastic. Additionally, the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s rune lines had almost reached those of an Explorer, but she had clearly not actually cultivated.

    ¡°Right, Master, is this Strip secret technique that you just mentioned what you had prepared to impart to this disciple?¡± Lu Yin asked Mister Mu.

    Mister Mu nodded. ¡°This secret technique is one that can only be passed on, as it cannot be learned. Master has used it on that child¡¯s body, so she has inherited this secret technique. However, it will be up to her if she canprehend it or not. However, her second personality has rather strange emotions, though her natural talent is exceptional. Not only can that personalityprehend the Strip secret technique, but it can also use the poison that was sapping her vitality as a weapon inbat. Even if she doesn¡¯t cultivate, her destructive ability will still be very powerful. Few within the same realm will be her opponent.¡±

    Lu Yin was pained, as he did not wish for Ming Yan to be too powerful. No matter what, it seemed that her second personality would not be easy to deal with, and the more powerful she became, the harder that personality would be to deal with.

    Mister Mu looked at Wu Shang¡¯s corpse and sighed. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been targeted by the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched, and he looked over at Mister Mu. ¡°Master, Disciple encountered one of the Seven Skygods.¡±

    Mister Mu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°ckless God.¡± Lu Yin was gloomy.

    Mister Mu pondered this matter and then shook his head. ¡°What you spoke with wasn¡¯t ckless God itself, but rather a strand of its spiritual force. If it had been ckless God itself, you wouldn¡¯t have been even able to resist.¡±

    ¡°Disciple was indeedpletely unable to resist.¡±

    ¡°What Master means is that you wouldn¡¯t have been able to even preserve your own sense of self. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods are dominating masters, and even the Sea King whom you¡¯ve met before wouldn¡¯t be a match for a single one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished by this information, and he felt his blood suddenly run cold. ¡°What should Disciple do now?¡±

    Mister Mu raised a hand, and another jade talisman appeared that flew into Lu Yin¡¯s hand. ¡°Take this. If ckless God seeks you out again, this jade talisman will be able to protect you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Even the Sea King was not able to deal with ckless God, but Mister Mu was clearly confident that he could protect Lu Yin. It appeared that he had underestimated Mister Mu, as it was very possible that Mister Mu¡¯s strength greatly surpassed the Sea King¡¯s.

    ¡°Master, when the Sixth Maind invaded the Innerverse, was the Innerverse able to withstand their invasion?¡± Lu Yin could not stop himself from asking this.

    Mister Mu calmly replied, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know about that. This universe is not as simple as you believe it to be, and neither is it as simple as the Sixth Maind imagines. Alright, Master is leaving, and the next time we meet, Master will check your destined opportunities once again. If they are sufficient, Master will reward you with good luck.¡± Mister Mu then vanished without any sort of warning.

    Lu Yin called out, as he still wanted to ask about Ming Yan, but his master had already disappeared.

    The spot where he had been standing remained empty, though traces of scorching heat continued to radiate up from underground, and a pungent smell pervaded the entire area.

    Shanhai City was in the midst of copsing from the previous battle.

    In the distance, the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard Her Majesty¡¯s words? Immediately execute them.¡¯

    Bei Hong and the others replied, ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was off, as it had only been a brief moment since Ming Yan had left the courtyard, but they were already calling her, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±

    He stepped out of the courtyard and approached the white-haired Ming Yan, who suddenly turned around to look at him. ¡°You are not allowed to approach me.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped. "Yan''er.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to call me that either. My name is taboo to others, and no one is allowed to call out to me so casually,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan dered.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Then- that- how¡¯s your body?¡±

    ¡°That is none of your business,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan barked. She then turned around and looked sternly at the two Cruisers who were some distance aways. ¡°You two good-for-nothings, Shanhai City has already been destroyed to this degree, but you two are still doing nothing.¡±

    Those two Cruisers exchanged nces, feeling quite ufortable. Even Ming Zhaoshu had spoken quite courteously to them when he had been alive, and they did not yet view Ming Yan in the same light as her father.

    Her eyes turned cold. ¡°What? Can you not hear Her Majesty talking to you? Or do you not understand human words?¡±

    One of the Cruisers stepped forward and spoke in a gloomy voice, ¡°Princess Ming Yan, please speak more courteously. I-¡±

    He was interrupted by white-haired Ming Yan before he could even finish speaking. ¡°You will refer to yourself as ¡®your subject¡¯ when before Her Majesty.¡±

    That Cruiser¡¯s eyes changed, and he snorted. ¡°I¡¯m quite old, and I am no longer able to work for the empire. Princess Ming Yan, please find someone more qualified than me.¡± He then turned to leave.

    Bei Hong looked at Lu Yin in worry, afraid that Lu Yin would act.

    Lu Yin indeed wanted to do something, as the white-haired Ming Yan was Ming Yan¡¯s second personality. This personality¡¯s emotions were very fickle, and she seemed to act without reason. Lu Yin could not allow this white-haired Ming Yan to destroy the seeds that Ming Yan had caringly nted when it came to the empire. He feltpelled to stop her despite not caring about the Shenwu Empire, and a part of him even wanted to take Ming Yan away.

    However, before he could act, the white-haired Ming Yan moved first, and she pped out at the leaving Cruiser with a palm. The surrounding people did not see anything happen, and only Lu Yin was able to see the rune lines streak through the void and strike the Cruiser. After the attacknded, the man visibly aged before everyone¡¯s sight.

    This scene caused the onlookers¡¯ scalps to turn numb.

    The Cruiser was terrified, as he had not felt anything happen to him, but he had begun to age rapidly all of a sudden. What was going on?

    Lu Yin stared at the white-haired Ming Yan in shock. Was this what Mister Mu had been referring to? Was this how she could use the vitality draining poison to bolster her own strength? She could actually formlessly cause one¡¯s vitality to flow away, and she could even be thought of as a humanoid poison. This white-haired Ming Yan reminded Lu Yin of the Limiteer Mistchild, butpared to the young assassin, this white-haired Ming Yan was even more terrifying, especially because this poison had no cure.

    The crowd stared at the princess in terror, and the Cruiser was also rmed. He watched as his body shriveled up, and he hurriedly started begging for mercy.

    The white-haired Ming Yan snorted and retracted her hand. She then sternly looked around at the surrounding people. ¡°Who still dares to ignore Her Majesty¡¯s words in the future?¡±

    The crowd knelt down together. ¡°Your subjects dare not. We greet Her Majesty.¡±

    ¡°We greet Her Majesty.¡±

    ¡­

    Out of everyone present, only Lu Yin remained standing, and he stared at the white-haired Ming Yan with aplex gaze.

    The white-haired Ming Yan nced back at Lu Yin. She then snorted, but her body suddenly quivered as she fell to the floor.

    Lu Yin immediately rushed over to grab her, and before his eyes, Ming Yan¡¯s white hair gradually turned back to ck as shey in his embrace. She slowly opened her eyes and locked eyes with Lu Yin. He felt the previous sense of familiarity between them return.

    Lu Yin was delighted. This time, Ming Yan¡¯s expression was gentle like water, and her eyes contained an unbreakable helplessness and tenderness.

    ¡°Brother Lu,¡± Ming Yan murmured.

    Lu Yin hugged her, and they instantly vanished, leaving behind a confused crowd.

    Lu Yin appeared atop a distant mountain peak, still embracing Ming Yan in his arms as he delightedly said, "Yan''er, you¡¯re back.¡±

    Ming Yan apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu, to have said all those things to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised at this., ¡°You remember what happened while your other personality was active?¡±

    Ming Yan nodded. ¡°Yes, but Yan''er cannot control her. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin kissed her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s alright. As long as you survive, nothing else matters.¡±

    Ming Yan smiled happily and hugged Lu Yin tightly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s emotions wereplex, as the Ming Yan in his embrace was clearly more optimistic than she had been before. It seemed that the Strip secret technique had transferred many of the negative parts of her original personality to the second personality. Even the pain and desperation that she had felt when she condemned Ming Zhaoshu might have been transferred over. This would cause the second personality to be more detached. Now that he thought about it, the white-haired Ming Yan was like a mourning version of herself, which made Lu Yin feel rather heartbroken.

    Be it the Ming Yan in his embrace or the second personality of the white-haired Ming Yan, they were both still Ming Yan. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze firmed, as they both belonged to him.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what about Shanhai City?¡± Ming Yan suddenlymented as she looked at the shattered ground below the mountain.

    Lu Yin asked, "Yan''er, do you still want to stay here on Shenwu Continent?¡±

    Ming Yan nodded without any hesitation. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why? You can return Lu to the Great Yu Empire with Brother and leave Shenwu Continent to someone else to manage.¡± Lu Yin tried his luck.

    Ming Yan shook her head, and the light in her eyes dimmed. ¡°Father was willing to be cursed for eternity so that I could sessfully inherit the throne. Yan''er does not wish to disappoint him, and I want to inherit the throne. I will be the only female ruler in the history of the Shenwu Empire!¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as Ming Yan had changed. The feeble Ming Yan that he had once known was now gone. The current Ming Yan was stronger and also more responsible. He could not forcefully take her away. ¡°You can bear letting Brother Lu be alone in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Ming Yan looked at him. ¡°Then Brother Lu can stay here, and Yan''er will give the empire to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°I¡¯m the Great Eastern Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡°In Yan''er¡¯s eyes, you will always be that coachman, Lu Seven,¡± Ming Yan said tenderly.

    Lu Yin could not hold himself back any longer. He hugged Ming Yan tightly and then kissed her, fully embracing her gentle softness. But then, his body was suddenly pushed back by a tremendous force; the ck-haired Ming Yan had turned into the white-haired Ming Yan, and she was now staring at him with sharp eyes. ¡°Let me warn you¡ªif you dare to take advantage of Her Majesty again, I will bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Isn¡¯t this change a bit too fast?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan red at him fiercely and then turned to leave. When she arrived at the bottom of the mountain, she turned back into the ck-haired Ming Yan. Lu Yin waspletely helpless. "Yan''er, why do you change back and forth between your two selves so frequently?¡±

    Ming Yan apologized again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. I will learn to control it in time so that I can maintain personalities for a longer time.¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly said, ¡°Work hard.¡±

    Ming Yan pursed her lips, appearing rather sullen.

    For the next few days, Lu Yin guarded Ming Yan at every moment. asionally, he was stopped by the cold white-haired Ming Yan, only to be gentlyforted by the ck-haired Ming Yan soon after. It was rather difficult for him to cope with these two extremes, but he forced himself to keep going for a few days, or at least until Ming Yan¡¯s condition stabilized.

 Chapter 733: Genius Of The Sword

    <h4>Chapter 733: Genius Of The Sword</h4>

    Shanhai City had be uninhabitable. After taking care of the details regarding Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s funeral, Ming Yan and many other ministers moved out and headed towards Mingdu so that they could start preparing for her to officially ascend to the throne.

    When Lu Yin arrived in Mingdu, he found that the busiest city on Shenwu Continent had already recovered a tremendous amount. During thest battle there, the entirety of Mingdu had been destroyed. Ming Zhaoshu had ordered a group of cultivators to aid in its reconstruction, which allowed it to quickly return to its former appearance.

    Although Mingdu¡¯s appearance had been restored, the people who had died during that battle could not be revived, and it would remain in history as Mingdu¡¯s darkest day.

    Lu Yin felt apologetic towards the people of Mingdu, but even if he went back in time, he would not change a thing. If they had not taken care of the Neohuman Alliance at that moment, more than a billion people on Shenwu Continent would have eventually been turned into zombies, and the continent would have ultimately beenpletely destroyed by the Hall of Honor, and that would have been a truly miserable affair.

    After escorting Ming Yan to Mingdu, Lu Yin roamed across Shenwu Continent once again, determined to ferret out any remnant Corpse Kings from the Neohuman Alliance.

    Half a monthter, multiple ships all arrived at a single isted ind thaty outside Shenwu Continent, and each ship was filled with crude pirates. They had kidnapped many people, who they were bringing to the ind. Cries were asionally heard from the group of captives, which incited angry rebukes from the pirates.

    The entire ind was under the control of the pirates, and there were probably a few thousand of them there.

    The leader of the pirates was a cultivator who had reached the Martial King realm, which was the equivalent of the Limiteer realm.

    On the ind¡¯s coast, there was a group of girls dressed in tattered clothes who were being forcefully pulled onto the ship. They were being sold to other pirates as goods, and some of the girls were crying in a rather heart-wrenching manner.

    At this moment, a figure trod over the waves, walking across the ocean at a leisurely pace.

    Some pirates noticed the person¡¯s arrival, and they immediately shouted, ¡°Heads up!¡±

    During this era when cultivators reigned supreme, there were times where just a single cultivator was enough to destroy an entire troop of soldiers, and this was even a somewhat normal urrence. The pirates were also afraid of encountering such an expert.

    The pirates closely observed the approaching person, and they quickly saw that it was a young male carrying a long sword on his back. He walked towards the isted ind, crossing the waves step by step.

    A few pirates exchanged nces before stepping forward and shouting, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The youth looked ahead as his eyes ran across the coast, covering an immense distance to focus in on the Martial King realm pirate leader. At that moment, the leader felt a chill run down his spine, and he even pushed the woman in his embrace away. He pulled out his warde and then stared out at the ocean.

    ¡°Hey, brat, we¡¯re talking to you. Who are you?¡± a pirate shouted.

    The youth shifted his focus and grabbed the hilt of his sword. Nobody saw him make a single movement, but the pirate standing in front of the youth slowly crumbled to the ground. In the distance, many of the pirates¡¯ expressions suddenly changed. ¡°Ambush!¡±

    In just a few breaths, all of the pirates who had been on the shore fell to the ground, not a single one able to withstand the youth¡¯s sword qi. Meanwhile, the girls who had been kidnapped by the pirates were screaming at the youth to save them.

    The youth looked towards the interior of the ind again, and this time, his sword sliced out at an angle, causing the void to fluctuate as the air was torn apart. Visible streaks of sword qi cut through the space and chopped off the peak of the ind, right where the pirate leader was standing. The sword qi that surged towards the pirate leader split him in two, as he also had no ability to withstand the youth¡¯s attack.

    The sight of the pirate leader¡¯s death shocked everyone, as just one sword had almost split the entire ind in two. What powerful strength.

    The remaining pirates quickly fled.

    The youth did not pursue any of them, and he simply sheathed his sword. He then looked up. ¡°It¡¯s time to break through.¡±

    The sky had dimmed without anyone noticing, and the wind whistled as the waves churned back and forth.

    The people who had been kidnapped and dragged to the ind by the pirates all hid in the center of the ind, and they stared outwards in fear. The entire region was being buffeted by strong winds, and anything more than a hundred meters away became fuzzy.

    From amoner¡¯s point of view, these winds were just gales, and only cultivators would be able to recognize these gusts of winds as martial power. Someone was breaking through.

    There was another ind that was rtively close to the isted ind, and it was simrly upied by pirates. The pirates who had fled from the ind sought shelter at this neighboring ind, and they also tried to coerce the owner of this ind to seek revenge for them.

    That ind¡¯s pirate leader was arrogant to begin with, and after he heard just a few sentences from the refugee pirates who were trying to convince him to help, he immediately gathered a group of pirates and a naval fleet to mount an invasion. However, they were quickly frightened away by the strange phenomenon. The pirate leader was not a fool; such drastic changes in the sky could only be caused by someone who was breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm at the minimum. At that time, a cultivator would be able to freely explore outer space, and mortal cultivators like the pirates could notpare to such powerhouses.

    This entire area was filled with martial power. There were some Martial Emperor experts exploring above the ocean, and they were able to feel the sharpness of this aura when they approached the ind, nearly being injured in the process. They were shocked by this, as a breakthrough at this level indicated that the person was definitely not just any ordinary Martial Emperor.

    The youth¡¯s breakthrough caused the ocean to surge, and the surrounding inds trembled one after another. Lines of sword qi shot through the water, causing all living organisms on the ocean bed within a radius of over 10,000 kilometers to flee.

    After a few hours, one final strand of sword qi ripped the sky apart and released a gas that dispersed in all directions before the area returned to normal. Aside from thepletely ruined state of the ind, nobody could tell that there had just been a martial power phenomenon sweeping across the heavens and earth in this ce.

    The youth let out a slow breath and looked up at the sky. He had finally broken through after being stuck in the Martial King realm for so long. In fact, some of the people who had stepped into the List of Tempering at the same time as him had long since broken through. Meanwhile, he had been ranked second on the List of Tempering, but it had taken him this long to break through.

    The youth was Li Zimo, second on the List of Tempering andmander of the Ming Vanguard.

    Ever since that battle in Mingdu, a new regime had been born. The Ming Constables¡¯ master, Ming Zhaocai, had been forced tomit suicide, and the Ming Constables themselves had been forced to disband. Li Zimo could have joined the Demon Hunters Society or the Reverent King¡¯s Residence to work for Ming Zhaoshu, but he had declined both. Instead, he had decided to roam the continent and focus on his cultivation.

    He had taken this trip to the ocean when he felt like his breakthrough was. He had then followed the natural order of things and be a Martial Emperor expert, which was an Explorer.

    If it was before, he definitely would have been ted upon breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm. But now, after Ming Zhaoshu cooperated with the outsiders, foreign civilizations had brought their culture into Shenwu Continent, which had made Li Zimo realize just how insignificant his view of the universe actually was.

    Li Zimo looked up at the five sealings in the sky. He strongly desired to head out into the wider universe and see what sort of experts those boundless heavens contained, and also to see how far his path of the sword could take him.

    However, it was impossible for him to leave Shenwu Continent, unless, of course, he relied on the new empress. His only option was to seek her permission.

    Li Zimo looked down at his own sword. His sword path did not allow him to lower his head and sacrifice his self-respect. Otherwise, he would have no sword path, and there would be no Li Zimo.

    ¡°Congrattions on breaking through and bing a Martial Emperor,¡± a voice called out from behind him, which made Li Zimo feel a chill. Someone had actually managed to approach this close to him without his realization. When had they appeared? He suddenly turned around and saw a familiar, yet foreign face.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Li Zimo asked in an overcast tone as he stared at the man before him.

    It was Lu Yin, who had been searching for the Neohuman Alliance. This time around, he was doing a very thorough job, and while he was scouring the ocean, he had been attracted by the telltale activity of a breakthrough. To his surprise, he had not expected to run into an old friend.

    Actually, they weren¡¯t really friends, as Lu Yin had changed his appearance when he joined the Ming Constables during the Outerverse trial. Although the two had fought at the Tower of Resonating Light, it had been too brief of a fight. Their most recent meeting had been during the battle at Mingdu, where Lu Yin had broken Li Zimo¡¯s sword and spared the swordsman¡¯s life.

    Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Li Zimo was rather deep, and Li Zimo¡¯s impression of Lu Yin was the same. This was especially so because of the battle at the Tower of Resonating Light, as that had been Li Zimo¡¯s most miserable loss in his life. The person before him looked young, but Lu Yin clearly possessed the strength to crush Li Zimo. Now, the disparity in their strength was even more evident, as Lu Yin had broken his sword during the battle at Mingdu. If not for Lu Yin showing mercy, Li Zimo would already be dead, and that was the same battle that had steeled his resolution to roam the continent.

    He wanted to grow stronger, until he could at least somehow retaliate when he met Lu Yin again in the future.

    ¡°Are you surprised to see me?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Li Zimo tightly clenched his sword hilt. ¡°Not surprised. The Shenwu Continent has already be a garden for you aliens, and you guys cane and go as you wish.¡¯

    Lu Yin looked at Li Zimo¡¯s sword. ¡°Did you change swords? Or get it repaired?¡±

    Li Zimo stared at him. ¡°What do you want?¡¯

    Lu Yin was surprised by his reaction. ¡°You don¡¯t want to challenge me?¡±

    Li Zimo gloomily answered, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a match, so there¡¯s no point in fighting.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Being able to judge your own strength clearly is pretty good. Just now, you looked up at the sky thrice. Why? Do you want to leave Shenwu Continent?¡±

    Li Zimo¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked up once again, not responding.

    Lu Yin sighed emotionally. ¡°Shenwu Continent is too small, and it¡¯s not enough to hold you. Here, your aplishments will forever be limited. I believe that you must have heard of the Sword Sect.¡±

    Li Zimo looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°The aliens¡¯ Sword Sect from the Innerverse?¡±

    ¡°The Sword Sect has Thirteen Swords, which have long since been unrivalled. Aside from the Sword Sect in the Innerverse, there¡¯s also the Myriad Swords Peak, and the Outerverse also has the Moke Sword Sect and the Shadowsword Sect. There are too many sword sects in the universe to count, so do you want to go out and experience them?¡± Lu Yin said.

    Li Zimo clenched the hilt of his sword even tighter. ¡°You can take me out?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Li Zimo said in a low voice, ¡°Conditions.¡±

    ¡°Join the Great Yu Empire,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Li Zimo fell silent.

    Lu Yin tried to entice the new Explorer. ¡°Without me, you will never be able to leave Shenwu Continent in your entire life. Here, your aplishments will always be limited, and you won¡¯t be able to kill your way out regardless of how powerful you be. I can take you to see the vastness of the universe and to taste the uniqueness of each sword sect. In the future, I might even be able to help you enter the Innerverse and join the Myriad Swords Peak, or possibly even the Sword Sect.¡±

    Li Zimo was resolute. ¡°I don¡¯t need to join the Sword Sect, but I want to fight with their heirs and experience their Thirteen Swords.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°No problem. The Sword Sect¡¯s premier disciple, Liu Shaoqiu, has fought with me on several asions. The Thirteen Swords are unequaled for a good reason, as that technique is indeed powerful. Your wish can be achieved in the future.¡±

    Li Zimo nodded and put his sword away. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards, as this had turned out to be an idental harvest. Li Zimo¡¯s natural talent for the sword was the greatest out of everyone Lu Yin had ever seen. If not for the Thirteen Swords, then even Liu Shaoqiu might not be Li Zimo¡¯s opponent. This person had developed Silence on his own, which had astonished even Lu Yin, and this feat was a perfect demonstration of Li Zimo¡¯s talent.

    Lu Yin had not been joking, as he really did want to arrange for Li Zimo to join the Sword Sect. Of course, that depended on when the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected. Given Li Zimo¡¯s talent for the sword, having him join the Sword Sect would be very easy.

    Once Li Zimo got in, Lu Yin would have someone he couldmunicate with inside of the Sword Sect.

    Another dozen days passed, during which Lu Yin brought Li Zimo along as he roamed through the continent and searched for traces of the Neohuman Alliance. During this time, Li Zimo exchanged blows with Lu Yin several times, but he suffered nothing but crushing defeats. Lu Yin did not hold back, as he was sure that Li Zimo would not be emotionally damaged by such blows.

    Since he had developed Silence, Li Zimo¡¯s willpower had to be very strong, and he would not be afraid of setbacks. Rather, he was only worried that others would not be able to give him the strikes that he needed.

    Finally, Lu Yin roamed through the entire Shenwu Continent, and he did not find any further traces of the Neohuman Alliance. This time, the Neohuman Alliance had truly disappeared from the continent since he had searched even more carefully than before. With Lu Yin¡¯s top speed, he could traverse the entire Shenwu Continent in just a moment, but he had made sure to spend an entire month canvassing the continent for the Neohuman Alliance.

 Chapter 734: Returning To The Daosource Sect

    <h4>Chapter 734: Returning To The Daosource Sect</h4>

    Lu Yin stored the scarlet eyes that he had obtained from Wu Shang. Once in a while, when Lu Yin had nothing else to do, he would take them out for a look, using them to test if the surrounding area would react to them.

    Ming Yan had formally ascended the throne ten days before, and she had be the first empress in the history of the Shenwu Empire, inheriting the title of Shenwu Empress.

    Her inauguration was different from Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s, as Ming Zhaoshu had forced Ming Zhaotian to abdicate the throne and then forced the empire to cooperate with foreigners, which had led to rebellions breaking out across the entire continent. This had subsequently led to a series of endless battles, culminating in him using his own death to take responsibility for his past deeds. Although Ming Yan was Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s daughter, she had denounced Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s crimes, and stabilized the sentiments of the poption with this move. She was also the only remaining heir of the Ming family, so very few opposed her seeding the throne of the Shenwu Empire.

    With the current cultural mixinging from the wider universe, many people on Shenwu Continent had already adapted to the changes. Thus, they did not use this issue to oppose Ming Yan, making her session very smooth.

    In Mingdu¡¯s pce, within the imperial study, Ming Yan¡¯s expression lookedpletely beaten. She picked up some memos to read through, as she had be ustomed to doing.

    A knock sounded from the door. ¡°Enter.¡±

    Lu Yin walked in.

    Ming Yan was delighted to see that it was Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, you don¡¯t have to knock before entering.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Basic courtesies are always required, even if we do belong to each other.¡±

    His words made Ming Yan feel bashful.

    ¡°So how¡¯s it going? Are you getting used to your days after seeding the throne?¡± Lu Yin walked over to Ming Yan and embraced her shoulders, her scent wafting into his nostrils.

    Ming Yan leaned into Lu Yin¡¯s embrace. ¡°I¡¯m used to it. It¡¯s not much different from back in the Reverent King¡¯s Residence.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Right Brother Lu, this is for you.¡± Ming Yan¡¯s still face belied herplicated emotions as she took out a bloodstained letter and offered it to Lu Yin. ¡°Father wrote this for you before he died.¡±

    Lu Yin took the letter, opened it in front of Ming Yan, and began reading it.

    The contents of the letter were very brief, as it was a letter of entrustment. Although Ming Zhaoshu had forced Ming Yan to inherit the Shenwu Empire, in the depths of his heart, especially at the moment right before he perished, he had not been able to bear it. Thus, he had left Lu Yin a letter telling him that he hoped that Lu Yin would be able to take Ming Yan away from Shenwu Continent if she was unhappy with things. As for the Shenwu Empire, Ming Zhaoshu did not even mention it once.

    At the moment of their death, a father would only be able to think of his daughter, and any of his great undertakings would fall to the wayside.

    The letter was light, and it had no real weight to it, but Lu Yin felt that it was rather heavy. The lines of Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s words looked very in, but they represented the man¡¯s most sincere emotions in his entire life: the affection a father held for his daughter.

    Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin. She had not looked at the letter, and so she wanted to know what her father had written.

    Lu Yin passed the letter over to her. Ming Yan read it and immediately began sobbing. She waspletely broken-hearted.

    Lu Yin raised Ming Yan¡¯s head up and helped her wipe her tears away. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again¡ªdo you really want to stay here? Your father agreed that you could leave, and he did not want to force you to carry on this responsibility.¡±

    Ming Yan wiped her tears away and determinedly answered, ¡°I want to remain here. I want to clean away Father¡¯s criminal record. Father should be celebrated for eternity, as he¡¯s the one who cooperated with the outsiders to establish a future for the entire continent. He did it for everyone¡¯s future, and until these people are able to understand Father, I will not leave.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed, as he had already guessed that her response would be along these lines.

    ¡°No matter what your decision may be, Brother Lu will always support you. Remember, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have anyone behind you¡ªyou still have Brother Lu,¡± Lu Yin gently said as he hugged her.

    Ming Yan acknowledged him quietly, acting helplessly. She would only reveal this side of herself in front of this man, as she was the empress in front of everyone else.

    ¡°Right, how do you switch with her?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Ming Yan exined in a dull voice, ¡°Actually, the time that she can stay awake for cannotst too long, as she¡¯s the second personality that was created by the poison¡¯s removal. So, during the day, it¡¯s always me, and during the night, there¡¯ll be a period of time when she gains control. And if there¡¯s any danger, she will automatically awaken.¡±

    ¡°And in this way, not only do you know what she does, but she also knows what you do?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Ming Yan nodded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face soured. ¡°If she awakens at night, then what¡¯s our future going to be like?¡±

    Ming Yan was lost. ¡°What future?¡±

    Lu Yin leaned close to Ming Yan¡¯s ear and whispered some words, causing Ming Yan¡¯s face to blush deeply. She hurriedly pushed Lu Yin away as she eximed, ¡°Who- who¡¯s going to do that with you?! You¡¯re too dirty!¡±

    Lu Yinughed, but soon, he could not smile any longer. The white-haired Ming Yan had appeared, and she stared at him coldly. ¡°If you dare to tease Her Majesty again, be aware that I¡¯ll bury you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you only wake up at night?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    The white-haired Ming Yan snorted. ¡°Get out.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered helpless as he looked at her. ¡°Although you are the second personality, your internal feelings should still be the same, which means that you should like me just as much as Ming Yan.¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You imagine that your love is reciprocated. Be careful, lest Her Majesty bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like her words were strange. ¡°Where did you hear this phrase?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s eyes shed, and she quickly sat down to sort through the various memos.

    Lu Yin stared at her and suddenly felt a bit reassured. Ming Yan was rather delicate by nature, and she would inevitably be strained after handling the huge Shenwu Empire for some time. But the white-haired Ming Yan was different. She had a valiant spirit that a monarch should possess. With her around, Ming Yan would not fall into a disadvantage.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you in the future,¡± Lu Yin said suddenly.

    The white-haired Ming Yan was sifting through documents, but she paused when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°With you around, I can feel at ease about things. Take care of yourself.¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan continued to focus on the memos. ¡°Her Majesty will definitely bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin was struck speechless again. She coldly added, ¡°However, only Her Majesty can bury you. Before that day, make sure that nothing happens to you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart warmed, as this was likely the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s way of showing concern for him.

    ¡°Alright, I got it. I¡¯ll wait for you to bury me.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s figure suddenly disappeared, but not before he lightly kissed the white-haired Ming Yan.

    The white-haired Ming Yan grew furious. ¡°How audacious of you to disrespect Her Majesty! The next time we meet, Her Majesty will definitely bury you!¡±

    A bit of red clothing floated down from the sky andnded next to Ming Yan. This was one of the treasures stolen from the Hall of Insight that Lu Yin had recovered. It was a lockbreaking tool that also had some defensive capabilities. When Lu Yin had been scouring the continent for the Neohuman Alliance, he had used his spare time to roll his die, and he had used almost 20,000 star essences to upgrade this red cloth until its rune lines matched those of a powerhouse with a power level of around 200,000. This meant that this red cloth could defend against a peak Hunter¡¯s attacks.

    This was the most Lu Yin could do; nobody on the entire Shenwu Continent could breach the red clothing¡¯s defense, as only a few in the entire Outerverse were able to do so. With this, he could at least ensure Ming Yan¡¯s safety, as Lu Yin did not believe that there was anybody who could harm Ming Yan through poison.

    Speaking of which, the white-haired Ming Yan had appeared because of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s poison that drained away one¡¯s vitality. Even Mister Mu had known of it, which meant that the Neohuman Alliance valued that sort of poison. The white-haired Ming Yan was able to absorb poison now, which could possibly make her a great threat to the Neohuman Alliance in the future.

    Lu Yin had spent a month¡¯s time on Shenwu Continent, but fortunately, the Great Yu Empire had its Imperial Cab and four ministries to handle any administrative duties so that Lu Yin would not be overburdened by the empire¡¯s affairs.

    The Allied Forces had been sessfully established, and the troops were currently training in a specified location. Liuying Zishan had been acting very normal during this time, and Lu Yin knew this since he had ordered Phantom Sting to monitor her. However, that ball of light had never reappeared.

    The special forces that Lu Yin had discussed with the various allied powers had also entered their final stages of preparation.

    The special forces would also be known as the Rapid Response Team, and 113 people had already been confirmed as its members. Each and every one of them was a space-exploring powerhouse, and they were still just the preliminary troops. These experts came from the various allied forces, so they needed time before they could be a single cohesive unit. Once this battalion was under Lu Yin¡¯splete control, he would be able to integrate the androids into the team, which would allow it to be a superb strength that could make its way throughout the Outerverse unimpeded, bing a sharp knife for him to wield.

    During this month, the Wei family also had not beenzing around. Wei Rong¡¯s had long since disappeared, and Lu Yin believed that the man was running around to unite the central weaves so that they could stand up to his own Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin had discussed this before with the Limiteer Mistchild, and he had managed to get Mafioso to send people to stir up trouble there, as he could not allow Wei Rong to lead an easy life.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had been in existence for a month, and the integration of the various eastern weaves¡¯ resources was proceeding smoothly. Also, during this time, many hidden interster pirates had been weeded out, and Endless Borders had acted very proactively.

    Lu Yin had now experienced the kindness of Endless Borders, the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, Shamrock Enterprises, and the other financial titans, though he had also experienced the malice of Aegis. The Second Squadron had discovered that quite a few cultivators from hidden, dark powers had sneaked into Zenyu Star, and Lu Yin suspected that these people were from Aegis.

    He was the most concerned about Ku Wei, as the Yu bloodline had recently be a thorn in his heart. He was no longer certain whether Undying Yushan was dead or alive, which made him feel rather uneasy.

    However, even after a month, Ku Wei still had not found anything.

    There was no use to rush things. If the Yu bloodline truly wanted to hide, then Lu Yin knew that it would be very difficult for him to find them. Even the Neohuman Alliance could not find them, let alone Lu Yin by himself.

    He arranged for Li Zimo to join the First Squadron and then returned to King Zishan''s pce. He pulled out the Enneadic Wings and the pike, clenching them in his hands before sitting down on the yellow futon. It had been five months since he hadst entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins. ording to his best guesses, the battle between the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings should have died down after so much time. It was time to return.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin reentered the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he appeared in the floating maind once more.

    When hest came to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, White Knight had forced him to ascend to this maind, and she had told him that he would reappear in this ce the next time he returned to the Daosource Sect. This ce was near the Sierra Sea, which contained a hidden Progenitor''s inheritance.

    Lu Yin recovered his senses after the transfer, only to suddenly feel the world spin around him as the maind beneath his feet crashed towards the sea. No, it wasn¡¯t crashing; it was being absorbed. There was an enormous attractive forceing from the bottom of the sea that was pulling this maind towards it.

    To one side, two figures stared at Lu Yin, dumbstruck.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw two people he recognized: White Knight and Shang Rong.

    In that instance, Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb, and he felt a strong impulse to curse. How bad could his luck be for him to run into their battle the exact moment he entered the ruins?

    Hold on. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze streaked past White Knight and Shang Rong, and he saw that there were other floating mainds in the distance that were also being drawn towards the bottom of the sea. There were also figures on those other mainds. Could all of these people be Ten Arbiters and Realmlings? They were apparently participating on the same battlefield as White Knight and Shang Rong, so did this mean that he had fallen into the abyss?

    White Knight stared nkly at Lu Yin. They had parted ways a few months before, but this person had actually chosen this moment of all times to reappear. He truly knew how to pick his timing.

    Shang Rong also stared at Lu Yin in shock, as he had never seen such a person. He shouldn¡¯t be one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s evil survivors, as they had already met all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters over these few months, and they had also exchanged blows with all of them. Out of the entire Fifth Maind, only the Ten Arbiters could enter this ce.

    ¡°My bad, did I interrupt you guys?¡± Lu Yin asked, his speech sounding a little unnatural, and a little pained as well.

    White Knight did not answer.

    The maind continued to plummet towards the bottom of the sea.

 Chapter 735: Apex Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 735: Apex Battlefield</h4>

    Shang Rong stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Which realm are you from?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and without any hesitation, he responded, ¡°The War Martial Realm¡ªyou can call me Mr. Bai.¡±

    ¡°Take care of this evil Fifth Maind member today, and I¡¯ll leave a portion of what¡¯s beneath the sea for you,¡± Shang Rong shouted as the imprint that Lu Yin had seen once before appeared behind the Realmling. A powerful fluctuation swept out, leaving Lu Yin breathless. This was the strength of a Hunter, and all Realmlings were clearly Realmbreakers. The power that Shang Rong was currently disyingpletely matched that of an Enlighter.

    White Knight did not speak and merely thrust her spear at Shang Rong. The Realmling raised a hand, causing the void to start decaying even before his attack struck White Knight.

    This was not the first time that the two had exchanged blows, and it seemed like they had fought against each other quite a few times by now from the way they were both acting. They seemed to be fairly familiar with each other.

    Lu Yin agonizingly responded, ¡°Uh, about that¡­ Realmling Shang Rong, I cannot help you with my strength.¡±

    Shang Rong defended against White Knight¡¯s attack and shouted back, ¡°If you don¡¯t help me, then I¡¯ll chase you through the War Martial Realm! Shang Rong will do what he promises.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°Alright, but take it easy. Don¡¯t hit me.¡±

    His Enneadic Wings trembled as he gripped his long pike. Eight lined battle force shrouded his body before he stabbed fiercely at White Knight.

    White Knight¡¯s eyes narrowed. She looked over at Lu Yin, and the two exchanged nces.

    Lu Yin thrust his pike forward and rushed towards the battle at top speed. Shang Rong¡¯s imprint gave Lu Yin a sense of suppression that made him feel light-headed. He growled as he forcefully endured the relentless pressure to stab his pike at White Knight¡¯s back.

    Shang Rong was thrilled, and he grabbed White Knight¡¯s spear. Even the shaft of the spear began to slowly dpose and dissipate into points of light as it broke down.

    White Knight¡¯s Skycastle suddenly appeared, though Shang Rong had long since been prepared for this. A white, mist-like air quickly pervaded the castle. Shang Rong possessed the Cauterizing Beam Bloodline, and its ability was to dpose all things within the white air, and Shang Rong intended to pave the way for Lu Yin.

    ¡°Stab him to death for me!¡± Shang Rong growled as he stared at White Knight with fervent eyes. This person had already used their Soulsplitting Technique earlier, so now that their original body was being locked down, there was no escape.

    Lu Yin roared, ¡°I got it!¡± as he arrived right behind White Knight. He then shot forward with the pike,pletely reinforced with his eight lined battle force.

    Fresh blood dripped from the pike, and while White Knight was alright, Shang Rong looked down in disbelief. The pike had pierced through his abdomen.

    He red at Lu Yin with death in his eyes. ¡°You, you¡¯re an evil survivor of the Fifth Maind!¡±

    Lu Yin acted innocent. ¡°Sorry, I missed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± Shang Rong bellowed. The white air suddenly solidified all around the battlefield. Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, as he had witnessed this scene before. Last time, this Realmling had created a white sun that had nearly killed White Knight.

    White Knight grabbed Lu Yin and fled as the clock thrummed out from within the Skycastle, the sound carrying a tremendous sense of dignity with it.

    Shang Rong was furious that he had been yed. Fresh blood was flowing from his abdomen, and the wound was excruciatingly painful. Even though he had fought against White Knight for many days, he had never been this severely injured before. He was astonished to discover that Lu Yin was actually from the Fifth Maind, and he was even more stunned that Lu Yin¡¯s weapon had actually been able to tear through his defenses. That pike was clearly not simple.

    ¡°Why did youe here?¡± White Knight asked softly as she nced at the pike.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to, but it¡¯s already been five months. How could I have known that, as soon as I appeared, I would see you all fighting. Could it be that you¡¯ve been fighting for five straight months?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very normal for cultivators to fight for several years at a time. It¡¯s just that youck experience.¡± White Knight threw Lu Yin behind herself as Shang Rong¡¯s white sun gradually took shape. Even the void started disintegrating.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes twitched, as he had not worn his universal armor this time around. He would definitely be in trouble if he touched that thing.

    At that moment, the sea was already right before them. Lu Yin wanted to escape, but White Knight shouted at him, ¡°Where are you running off to? There¡¯s good stuff down there.¡±

    ¡°No matter how good the treasures may be, there¡¯s still not enough for you people to share.¡± Lu Yin clearly knew where his strength stoodpared to them, and only those who were tired of living wouldpete with the Ten Arbiters or the Realmlings for treasure.

    He wanted to leave, but there were some people present who did not want him to go. Lu Yin had just moved up when the pike in his hands suddenly forced him towards the bottom of the sea again. There was some foreign strength that had started controlling the pike, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched as he looked into the distance. There was a man standing there who was coincidentally looking at Lu Yin, and that man was the one who was controlling the pike.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. This man was another apex expert. Another Realmling had appeared.

    Eh? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide when he suddenly realized that Nightking Zhenwu was the Ten Arbiter fighting against this strange Realmling.

    An enormous force was quickly pulling everything into the sea, and Lu Yin used the pike that he had reinforced with his eight lined battle force to shake off the Realmling¡¯s control. However, despite his best efforts, he still ended up falling into the sea along with White Knight and the others, the water rising up all around them.

    Lu Yin used his star energy to push back the water and try escaping once more. However, the moment he made contact with the water, the pulling force increased by a thousandfold, and he could no longer escape. He could only let the flow of the water carry him down into the unknown depths of the sea.

    There was a thump as the pulling force suddenly vanished. Lu Yin crashed to the bottom of the sea andnded in the mud that made up the seafloor.

    Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger, and he hurriedly dodged to the side with his Enneadic Wings that were able to rival an Enlighter¡¯s speed. The mud where he had just been standing dposed, and a streak of white air shot past Lu Yin¡¯s fleeing figure. Shang Rong had attacked.

    Lu Yin was delighted, as he had fortunately decided to wear the Enneadic Wings during his trip to the Daosource Sect. These wings had been upgraded with his die¡¯s Enhance, so not only could they withstand a peak Hunter¡¯s attacks, but they could also rival an Enlighter¡¯s speed. If not for these upgrades, he would have been forced to use his secret technique to counter the attack.

    Shang Rong stared angrily at Lu Yin from nearby before ferociously charging over and pressing down with a palm. After that, the entire sea started to boil, and the white air above the Realmling¡¯s palm dposed everything as it enveloped the entire area.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb, and he felt the impulse to use his Enneadic Wings¡¯ speed to escape without any dy.

    Suddenly, White Knight appeared in front of Lu Yin, and she swept her spear forward to repel Shang Rong¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin rxed, but he was not safe quite yet. The pike in his hands mysteriously stabbed towards his own body, and he had to immediately use his eight lined battle force to regain control of the pike.

    In the distance, the Realmling was startled, as he had never expected that Lu Yin would be able to regain control of his own weapon despite the Realmling¡¯s maniption.

    ¡°You dare to be distracted while fighting me? You¡¯re destined to die today,¡± Nightking Zhenwu shouted as he arrived right in front of the Realmling. The colors white and ck suddenly interchanged, causing the Realmling to grow nervous as he hurriedly dodged aside.

    ¡°You want me to die? Impossible, I¡¯m Toolwielder!¡± The image of a sturdy elder appeared behind him. ¡°Toolwielder Ancestor, Empyrean Imprinter.¡± With a howl, Toolwielder tightly clenched both of his fists before ferociously charging towards Nightking Zhenwu. The region at the bottom of the sea suddenly seemed to solidify.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he raised a hand. ¡°Nightking Punch.¡±

    An explosion rocked the sea as the entire seafloor was overturned.

    Lu Yin was sent flying away. He was not yet qualified to participate in a battlefield of this level.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt the sense of danger intensify, and he looked up. Dozens of strands of sword qi from an unknown opponent sliced down at him, and his gaze sharpened. Each strand of this sword qi was enough to fry his brain, and he was certain that he would not be able to withstand even a single attack. Even the defense of his Enneadic Wings would not be enough to take a single attack, as this was definitely an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    He wanted to flee at full speed.

    ¡°Literary Prison.¡± He heard a familiar voice speak up, and ancient characters suddenly appeared around Lu Yin, forming a prison that sealed him inside. As the sword qi fell, it caused a tremendous sound to ring out as it sliced against the Literary Prison. Lu Yin felt like an ant hiding in a box, and the Literary Prison was sted an unknown distance away as it fell to the bottom of the sea.

    When everything calmed once again, the Literary Prison broke open, and Lu Yin leaped out. He saw two men engaged in an intense battle. One of them was wielding a sword that looked like it was carved from a rock, and the sword qi that had attacked Lu Yin earlier should have been sent out by this person. Lu Yin had seen the other person several times before, and they could be considered one of the Ten Arbiters he was the most familiar with: Wen Sansi.

    The seafloor in this ce had already attracted the attention of three Arbiters and three Realmlings, and it had turned into a battlefield where Lu Yin¡¯s chances of survival were incredibly low. Just these few moments had been enough to cause him to brush against death multiple times.

    Wen Sansi dodged the sword qi and appeared next to Lu Yin. ¡°How did you get a futon?¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer as white radiance floated over the seabed. When he looked back, he saw that Shang Rong was maniacally creating a massive white sun.

    ¡°Skyless.¡± Shang Rong roared as he lifted the white sun up high.

    Wen Sansi frowned. ¡°Lunatic.¡±

    He waved a hand, and Lu Yin reappeared inside the Literary Prison. Under these circumstances, the Literary Prison imprisoned him, but it was also protecting him.

    Sword qi sliced out once again, and Wen Sansi looked solemn. ¡°Take care, as the Realmlings¡¯ strength is not something that you can rival. Leave if you are able to.¡±

    He then pinched the sword qi with a hand, causing a bang to ring out as the sword qi was shattered. The Arbiter then collided with the man who was wielding the stone sword.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as he had wanted to flee since the beginning, but he wasn¡¯t able to. As soon as he had entered this battlefield, he had realized that he did not even qualify to leave.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him that was dressed in a ck gown. They approached Lu Yin step by step and strangely phased through a stone before ultimately reaching a hand into the Literary Prison. The figure then appeared in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt his blood turn cold, as this person actually broken through the Literary Prison.

    Above the battlefield, the white sun that Shang Rong had created grew everrger. By now, the white air had permeated through the entire seabed and was spreading towards White Knight, Nightking Zhenwu, and Wen Sansi.

    The three could not break free for the moment.

    Toolwielder and the Realmling wielding the stone sword retreated in another direction.

    White Knight leaped forward, and stabbed her spear towards Shang Rong.

    In another ce, Lu Yin stared intently at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The person sinisterly answered, ¡°White Knight seems to care a lot about you, so you can leave now.¡±

    The person then swatted at Lu Yin. Lu Yin raised a hand that transformed into a w reinforced with eight lined battle force. As the Skybeast w was formed, an ancient beast howled, but it could not connect with the figure¡¯s palm. The man phased through the Skybeast w and pressed his palm against Lu Yin¡¯s chest. Lu Yin instinctively used his Fatesand to try to defend against the palm, but his organs were still damaged by an oppressive attack. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body wasunched towards Shang Rong by the impact.

    White Knight stabbed at Shang Rong, but Toolwielder interfered with her attack. By the time she shook him off and attacked Shang Rong again, Lu Yin¡¯s body was already crashing towards the ground in the distance. He was headed right towards the area with the white sun, Skyless.

    White Knight was startled, and she altered the direction of her spear to sweep in front of Lu Yin in an attempt to catch him.

    No longer bothering to deal with White Knight¡¯s interference, Shang Rong grinned. ¡°Enjoy this¡ªthe strongest Skyless!¡± He then sent the white sun crashing down towards White Knight and the others.

    No matter if it was Nightking Zhenwu or Wen Sansi, everyone had been obstructed by the white air. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings had been coordinating with Shang Rong, and at this moment, all of them had already retreated, which meant that this attack was rushing towards solely the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin looked up, and a white radiance filled his eyes.

    White Knight looked serious, and she gripped her spear tightly.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He could not escape, and White Knight had given up on stopping Shang Rong¡¯s Skyless to save Lu Yin. Thus, he could not allow her to be freely attacked. He thought about it and then growled, ¡°Protect me,¡± as he leaped upwards.

    White Knight was stunned, but she acted decisively. The sound of the clock reverberated within the Skycastle that shrank down to protect Lu Yin.

 Chapter 736: Lu Yinâ€™s Decision

    <h4>Chapter 736: Lu Yin¡¯s Decision</h4>

    Lu Yin drew close to the white sun, but the closer he approached, the stronger the terror in his heart. The sound of White Knight¡¯s clock that was protecting him was starting to break down, and the Literary Prison around him was also falling apart. In the distance, Wen Sansi and Nightking Zhenwu were both looking up at the scene above them.

    Lu Yin was only a footstep away from the white sun when the Literary Prison around his bodypletely disappeared. At thest possible moment, he waved his right hand and activated the Yu Secret Art, causing the white sun to instantly vanish before reappearing, now heading towards Shang Rong and the other Realmlings.

    Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique shocked everyone.

    Shang Rong¡¯s expression changedpletely. ¡°Secret technique.¡±

    The Realmling with the stone sword and Toolwielder both immediately pulled back.

    Even farther back, the man who had previously broken into the Literary Prison moved even further away.

    As the white sun exploded above the seabed, an immense impact apanied the dposing energy, both sweeping across the seafloor. The entire sea started dposing, and the seabed kept vanishing.

    The gathered cultivators fled in all directions.

    Lu Yin used his Enneadic Wings to escape at top speed, and his speed was in no way inferior to any of the others¡¯.

    Not too long after, the white sun¡¯s explosion died down, revealing an enormous pit in the seafloor, the edges of which could not even be seen.

    Lu Yin did not even hesitate to continue racing towards the surface of the sea. He had no desire to participate in such a battlefield and would flee whenever the opportunity arose.

    At this moment, sword qi streaked through the void,ing from the Realmling who wielded the stone sword. His path of retreat had put him near Lu Yin, and when he saw that Lu Yin was fleeing, he had attacked the youth.

    Lu Yin was not able to react in time, and he could only use his pike to block the attack. There was a sharp cracking sound as the pike shattered apart, but the sword qi continued to grind against the protection provided by the Enneadic Wings. It caused theyer of defense to crack apart, and the slice left a massive wound on Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin had been injured by the sword qi. Thatpounded with his previous injury from the palm of the man who had phased through Literary Prison, and Lu Yin was not able to endure this second attack. He spat out a mouthful of blood, losing any bit of energy that he might have used to escape.

    At that moment, someone grabbed his arm. It was White Knight. Her spear smashed apart the sword qi that had sneaked over again, and she looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you still alive?¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°Let me go! I¡¯m leaving!¡±

    White Knight frowned. ¡°You can¡¯t escape, so follow me.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his mouth, wanting to retort, but a green radiance suddenly shot up from the seafloor, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. They all saw a palm-sized bit of jade stone float out, and it silently hovered over the seabed.

    White Knight¡¯s gaze grew fervent. ¡°A Progenitor''s inheritance. Grab it!¡± She pulled Lu Yin over towards the jade.

    The others also acted at the same time, everyst one of them exerting their full effort at this moment.

    Lu Yin was being dragged along by White Knight. ¡°I¡¯m not taking it, so let me go!¡±

    White Knight quietly said to him, ¡°We all have our own opponents, so only you can seize it. Use your secret technique.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to scold her. It turned out that she had forced him to stay, not to save his life, but rather to make him her puppet to help her seize the Progenitor''s inheritance.

    Everyone dashed towards the jade stone that was floating above the seabed, and while White Knight was the furthest away, she did not hesitate to throw Lu Yin over. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was powerful, but he could not resist her due to his injured state, and he was flung straight at the piece of jade by the knight¡¯s tremendous might. At the same time, from the opposite side of the jade piece, Wen Sansi lightly tapped out, creating a gale that struck the stone and pushed it towards Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Lu Yin suddenly became the person closest to the stone while everyone else was embroiled in a fight. Wen Sansi was even facing two opponents on his own as he held two Realmlings back.

    The jade stonended in Lu Yin¡¯s hands as everyone watched on.

    The moment he obtained the jade stone, a refreshing aura spread through his palm and into his body that quickly treated his injuries. He was ecstatic, and he clenched it tightly.

    ¡°Give it to me,¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s voice called out, and Lu Yin saw the Nightking staring at him with imposing eyes.

    Lu Yin scanned the surroundings and saw that everyone was quickly approaching him. He could not remain in this ce for too long, especially since the stone sword Realmling was unleashing more strands of sword qi at him, which Lu Yin could not block at all. He waved his hand to toss the jade stone towards White Knight while he himself moved in a direction without any people.

    None of the people present paid any more attention to Lu Yin as they were all focused on the jade stone.

    Soon after, an unfathomable attack swept through the area, releasing an aura that caused thebatants¡¯ scalps to turn numb.

    Lu Yin turned around and fled as fast as he could. This was not a ce where he could linger around¡ªso what if it was a Progenitor''s inheritance? If he lost his life, any inheritance would be useless.

    There was a bang as Lu Yin dashed up from the seafloor before rxing as he headed into the distance.

    But his luck was poor; as he dashed up from the seafloor, the jade stone was actually flung out by an enormous strength, and it lit up with a green radiance as it flew into the sky .

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The figures of the Arbiters and Realmlings also charged up, and their battle instantly spread out to cover the surface of the sea.

    Lu Yin had no idea who had attacked or how the piece of jade had been sent straight towards him again, but he really wanted to curse. Why did he keep bumping into this thing even when he was trying to flee from it?

    Sword qi, it was that sword qi yet again. That Realmling with the stone sword unleashed the imprint of a three-inch elder behind him, and a majestic pressure descended as the stone sword revolved around his body while emitting a countless amount of sword qi that swept out in all directions.

    White Knight and the others were all forced back.

    That Realmling grabbed at the jade stone, but right when he was about to reach it, ck and white interchanged in the distance.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. This was not good; it was a Daynight n battle technique. He reflexively dashed back down towards the seabed with the intent of evading the attack since he was along the line formed by the attack, the piece of jade, and the stone sword wielding Realmling. In other words, he was being targeted by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attack.

    Still, Lu Yin was one step too slow. He did not know what battle technique Nightking Zhenwu had used, but it bombarded his mind. That was fine, since he was not afraid of spiritual force attacks, but his body was also torn apart by the attack. Lu Yin¡¯s fresh blood scattered about even as he involuntarily spat out another mouthful of blood. The intense pressure left him breathless, and the protective shield of the Enneadic Wings was instantly shattered while the soil that was his Fatesand was pressed up against his chest. Even his Fatesand was unable to withstand the pressure while the void was torn apart. Fortunately, the Literary Prison reappeared in front of Lu Yin to protect him from the attack.

    The Realmling wielding the stone sword was not having a good time either, as this attack from Nightking Zhenwu was terrifying, and he had not used it when they had all been down on the seafloor. Blood flowed from the corner of the Realmling¡¯s mouth as his skin was torn away in thin strips. Although he was just a step away from the jade stone, he could not even move an inch.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s figure shed, and he rushed towards the jade stone.

    The Realmling with the stone sword looked up, and his eyes turned chilly. Suddenly, a strange fluctuation appeared from his body, and all of his injuries instantly healed up before he grabbed the jade stone.

    Nobody was able to react to this change of events, including even Shang Rong and the other Realmlings.

    ¡°It''s the Progenitor of Secrets¡¯ Reversal Cycle Secret Technique!¡± Toolwielder shouted.

    The Realmling wielding the stone sword turned around, and a countless amount of sword qi swept out that enveloped everyone, and the sky itself was torn apart by the immeasurable sword qi.

    After unleashing the torrent of sword qi, the Realmling wielding the stone sword turned to leave, but one person actually broke through the sword qi and approached the Realmling at high speed.

    The stone sword Realmling¡¯s gaze remained indifferent. ¡°Di Fa.¡±

    ¡°Shi Zhongjian, I won¡¯t stop you from taking the jade stone, but how about we research it together?¡± Di Fa asked.

    The Realmling wielding the stone sword snorted, but before he could respond, a figure shot up from the seabed to appear right beneath him with the powerful sound of the clock apanying them. It was White Knight, as her Soulsplitting Technique had been restored; She now had one clone atop the surface of the sea with another one hidden on the seafloor.

    White Knight¡¯s appearance was unexpected by both Shi Zhongjian and Di Fa, and she stabbed at Shi Zhongjian with her spear while Di Fa was suddenly trapped by a Literary Prison.

    Shi Zhongjian shifted his stone sword to sh with the spear, and the impact caused the void to tear horizontally for a great distance. White Knight then grabbed at the jade stone, but Shi Zhongjian raised his shoulder to obstruct her. When the palm mmed into the shoulder, there was a rumbling sound. It was clear that White Knight was trained in closebat, and her palm nimbly bypassed Shi Zhongjian¡¯s defenses and grabbed the jade stone. ¡°Let go.¡±

    Shi Zhongjian¡¯s eyes went wide, and majestic star energy sted at White Knight.

    In the distance, Lu Yin silently made his escape. That strike from Nightking Zhenwu had caused him to suffer heavy injuries again, and he would be sure to remember that attack.

    Eh? What¡¯s that up ahead? Lu Yin looked in front of himself, and his expression changed. Not good¡ªthere¡¯s another powerhouse. The aura from this person was no weaker than that of White Knight and the others, which meant this person had to either be one of the Ten Arbiters or a Realmling. At a time like this, there was no differentiating between friend and enemy, so Lu Yin could only turn to escape in another direction.

    White Knight was still locked in a stalemate with Shi Zhongjian while Wen Sansi was holding Di Fa and Shang Rong back. Meanwhile, Nightking Zhenwu was tangled up with Toolwielder.

    Lu Yin screamed, ¡°Another one¡¯s here!¡±

    The crowd all looked over.

    A girl appeared behind Lu Yin in the distance. She had a detached look on her face, but her eyes were locked onto the jade stone emitting a green light in Shi Zhongjian¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Xin N¨¹?¡± Shi Zhongjian was stunned.

    White Knight¡¯s gaze sharpened as this was another Realmling-level powerhouse. She nced over at Lu Yin and secretly messaged him. ¡°Use your secret technique to seize the inheritance. Remember, these objects all belong to our Fifth Maind, and they cannot be taken by the Sixth Maind.¡±

    She then grabbed Shi Zhongjian and dashed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and waved his hand to activate the Yu Secret Art. He shifted the jade stone from Shi Zhongjian¡¯s hand straight into the air, and then he simply raised his own hand to grab it. Just like that, the jade stonended in his possession for the second time.

    He had to sigh at such a moment, because the Yu Secret Art was really too good of a trick to grab a hold of things.

    Shi Zhongjian stared angrily at Lu Yin, as this person¡¯s strength was so weak that he wasn¡¯t even able to take a single one of his sword attacks. However, he had still managed to hinder him more than once. He had no way to block that secret technique.

    ¡°Hand it over.¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s voice drew closer, as he had torn away from Toolwielder to grab at Lu Yin. ck and white colors interchanged in his hands, as he was attacking. He did not care if Lu Yin lived or died. In other words, he was actually hoping that Lu Yin would die, as he had recognized Lu Yin.

    Killing intent shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. At this moment, as far as he could tell, everyone was staring at him. It wasn¡¯t just Nightking Zhenwu who was attacking him; the girl who had rushed to this ce from off in the distance had also lifted her hand, giving him a sense of impending crisis.

    Everyone wanted to obtain the jade stone, and nobody cared if Lu Yin lived or died. He felt like an ant that had unintentionally barged into a storm, and he did not even have even the slightest opportunity to catch his breath.

    The jade stone could not be allowed tond in the hands of anyone from the Sixth Maind, but it also could notnd in Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands. Lu Yin was not someone that selfless, and he would not sacrifice himself for the Fifth Maind. Since nobody cared if he was dead or alive, then what did he need to care about here?

    Crack!

    Time seemed to freeze, and everyone¡¯s expressions changed as they all stared at Lu Yin¡¯s hand in disbelief. That jade stone had just cracked.

    Lu Yin had actually crushed it, and while everyone was still distracted by his actions, he retrieved the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh from his bosom. This was his greatest assurance that he would be able to escape from any situation. He had taken it back from Wendy Yushan before returning to the Daosource Sect''s ruins this time so that he would have something that could save his life in a dire crisis, though he had refused to use it until thest possible moment. Space in the Daosource Sect''s ruins had been shattered, and he did not know if he would unintentionally barge into some forbiddennd. However, he had no choice at this time but to use it as it was the only way he would be able to escape.

    He only had this one chance, so he had to make use of it while everyone was still stunned. Otherwise, there would be no more opportunities for him to slip away.

    Lightning flickered and roused everyone from their stupor as the void where Lu Yin was standing distorted, but then, his entire body vanished. Only a green radiance remained floating in midair, which was the remnants of the Progenitor''s inheritance.

 Chapter 737: Lucky Star

    <h4>Chapter 737: Lucky Star</h4>

    Who would have thought that there would actually be someone who could bring themselves to destroy a Progenitor''s inheritance. That was a supreme inheritance throughout the entire universe, and even the Ten Arbiters would try to snatch one regardless of how much peril it posed. But despite that, one such inheritance had just been destroyed before their very eyes.

    No matter their thoughts on this oue, Lu Yin had already done it.

    White Knight stared at the ce where Lu Yin had just disappeared from asplicated emotions filled her heart. There was a tinge of regret, but also admiration. Even she could not bear to destroy a Progenitor''s inheritance. This person was truly ruthless.

    Further away, Xin N¨¹, whom Shi Zhongjian had called out towards, looked at where Lu Yin had vanished. This person¡¯s aura felt familiar, and it made her want to get close to him. She even felt some sort of bloodline resonance between them. Who was that person just now? Where had hee from? Perhaps he could help her search for her lost memory.

    ***

    There was a rumble as a spike of pain shot through Lu Yin¡¯s back; his entire body had crashed into something before slowly falling down. There was a human-shaped mark on the mountainside cliff that he had struck.

    He looked up and then checked his surroundings before finally rxing. Fortunately, he had ended up in a ce that did not seem to be overly dangerous, a very normal looking valley.

    He endured the immense pain to retrieve one of Shamrock Enterprises special medications and then began to treat himself. This time, his luck had been the worst, as he had appeared smack dab in the middle of a battlefield involving the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings. He could already be considered very lucky since he had not died, and he had also been saved by White Knight and Wen Sansi, as he would have been doomed without those two.

    Up until now, Lu Yin had not been too clear on the disparity between himself and the Ten Arbiters, but he now had a better understanding. When he had encroached upon their battlefield, he had only been able to divert their attacks by using the Yu Secret Art, as he did not have the ability to normally resist a single one of their attacks. Even with the Enneadic Wings that had been upgraded to the point where they could defend against a peak Hunter¡¯s attacks, he had been suppressed so badly that he had been left with no time to catch his breath.

    From start to finish, Lu Yin had only felt one thing: that he could not catch his breath.

    Perhaps only by bing a Cruiser would he be able to participate in such a battlefield.

    There was a bang behind him as the Enneadic Wings shattered and becameplete scrap.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as he had prepared quite a bit for this trip. The Enneadic Wings had been able to protect him from peak Hunters and also boosted his speed until it could rival an Enlighter¡¯s. The pike had been able to pierce through an Enlighter¡¯s body, and with the addition of the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh, he had been confident that he was well-prepared for the Daosource Sect''s ruins this time. However, everything that he had brought with him had been ruined on that one battlefield.

    From start to finish, it had onlysted a little more than ten minutes, but those ten minutes had felt like an eternity since he had faced death during every second of that time.

    For now, he could not go out, at least until he recuperated.

    Still, this trip had not beenpletely wasted, and Lu Yin was rather pleased. He had destroyed that jade stone, which would make those Realmlings feel regret, and Nightking Zhenwu should be feeling even more pathetic. Until the veryst moment, the Nightking had been fully confident that he would be able to seize the jade stone, but it had been ultimately destroyed by Lu Yin.

    The Progenitor''s inheritance that had been so close to him was now gone forever. Wouldn¡¯t that make the Nightking angry to the point of spitting out blood? Lu Yin was highly anticipating the Arbiter¡¯s reaction.

    Of course, he also felt that it was a pity to lose the inheritance.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Monkey admires you. To think that you even dare to straight up destroy a Progenitor''s inheritance.¡± The Ghost Monkey sighed.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t destroyed it, should I have just allowed them to ughter me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. There was only one correct choice in that sort of situation. But from what I saw, that definitely was not a Progenitor''s inheritance, and it may not have even been a true inheritance. How could an actual Progenitor''s inheritance be destroyed by an Explorer like you? That would be a joke,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I know, but even if that wasn¡¯t a true inheritance, it should still have been something rted to a Progenitor. Perhaps it recorded some sort of battle technique or the location of the true inheritance.¡±

    ¡°Stop talking about it! It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s gone,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin¡¯s injuries were rather severe, as he had suffered from Di Fa¡¯s palm, Shi Zhongjian¡¯s sword qi, as well as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle technique. He stayed within that valley and recuperated for ten days, not daring to take a single step outside during this time.

    After ten days passed, he moved his arms, feeling much better.

    He had entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins this time with the intention of obtaining the battle technique from the cauldron. He had a way toprehend that technique, so he wanted to try.

    However, he did not know where the space with the Nine Cauldrons was located.

    He left the valley and carefully made his way forward. At a time like this, there should be very few ordinary cultivators within the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and the weakest who would appear were probably those whose strength wereparable to Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s, while the odds of meeting one of the Realmlings or Ten Arbiters seemed much higher.

    There was a meadow outside the valley, but even after Lu Yin walked for half a day, he still could not see the end. This area was veryrge.

    At this point, he was not even certain if he was still in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. Could the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh have somehow brought him to the Sixth Maind itself? That would be rather interesting.

    He carefully unleashed his domain, and before long, he sensed another person thousands of meters away. This person was also advancing very cautiously. In fact, they were being even more careful than Lu Yin, and they were almost crouching in the grass as they advanced.

    When he saw this person, Lu Yin felt that they looked familiar, so he reduced his aura and began to slowly approach them.

    A person who advanced like this was probably not an expert.

    Lu Yin approached the familiar person, though the person himself remained clueless.

    When Lu Yin saw the profile of the person, his expression changed. Wasn¡¯t this person Brother Hoe?

    In front of Lu Yin, Nong Zaitian was very carefully crawling forward while constantly mumbling, ¡°Ancestors, please protect your descendant and allow me to avoid meeting any monsters from the Fifth Maind. I don¡¯t hold great hopes, and I only want to take away these objects. Ancestors, please protect your descendent. Ancestors, ancestors¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze shed. These objects? It sounded like this person had found some good stuff.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Monkey remembers him. Without him, it would have been very difficult for you to escape from the clutches of Blood Looney. This fellow is your lucky star,¡± the monkeymented with a snigger.

    Lu Yin also reckoned that to be the case. Speaking of which, this person¡¯s hoe was still in his cosmic ring, though it could not be taken out in the Daosource Sect. It was a pity that it was inessible, as that toy¡¯s speed was no slower than the Enneadic Wings, and it was able to rival an Enlighter¡¯s speed, which had once allowed Lu Yin to escape from the hands of a Realmling.

    Lu Yin did not show himself. Although he had not interacted that much with Nong Zaitian, he could tell that this person was very methodical, and he definitely would not expose those ¡°objects¡± that he had just mentioned if Lu Yin suddenly appeared in front of him. Thus, Lu Yin decided to just follow behind the young man for the moment.

    As such, two figures slowly crawled forward, advancing through the meadow with one person in front of the other. The person in the front asionally checked his surroundings, but he never noticed the person behind him. On the other hand, the person in the back merely kept a careful eye on the one in front.

    Unfortunately, neither of them realized that, even further from them, there was another person slowly walking in the same direction as the two of them.

    Nong Zaitian was overly cautious, and his speed was extraordinarily slow, which made Lu Yin feel rather frustrated. What was up with this guy¡¯s caution?

    Of course, a little caution was good, and the experience that Lu Yin had suffered ten days before was unforgettable. Perhaps this fellow had also gone through a simr encounter.

    One dayter, Nong Zaitian arrived at the bottom of a strange-looking mountain that was reminiscent of an exceptionallyrge sphere with a horn.

    Nong Zaitian excitedly took out his hoe and began to dig.

    Lu Yin was stumped, as he was watching the hoe actually be used as one. This really could not be condemned.

    Nong Zaitian was excavating very excitedly when sparks suddenly emerged from underground¡ªhe seemed to have struck something. Lu Yin heard some thumping sounds before Nong Zaitian leaped into the hole that he had dug and disappeared underground.

    Lu Yin blinked and walked over. During this entire time, he maintained his domain as he followed Nong Zaitian underground. He was surprised; this fellow must have visited this ce before since there was already an underground passageway that had been dug out.

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin also leaped down.

    The passageway was not very long, and Lu Yin restrained his aura as he followed along behind Nong Zaitian. The tunnel eventually exited into a ce that felt like a fine spring day. There was even a delicate fragrance that wafted into Lu Yin¡¯s nostrils and elevated his spirits. There were all sorts of peculiar nts growing nearby that gave off a soft radiance, densely covering the ground.

    Lu Yin was dazed, as this ce was actually filled with all sorts of natural treasures that had been nted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned¡­ There¡¯s so many natural treasures here. We¡¯ve struck gold!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Ahead of Lu Yin, Nong Zaitian was digging up something from the ground with his butt sticking up in the air when suddenly, he fell backwards onto the ground. A ball of light flew straight up. This was a natural treasure that had already reached the point of instinctively avoiding danger, and it started bouncing around the area.

    Nong Zaitian grew very excited and wanted to seize the natural treasure, but at that moment, he saw Lu Yin out of the corner of his eyes. His face turned deathly pale, and he stared at Lu Yin as if he had seen a ghost. ¡°You- you- How did you get in here?¡±

    Lu Yin came to his senses and coughed. ¡°I was just passing by.¡±

    Nong Zaitian red at Lu Yin, but then he suddenly remembered something. pointed at Lu Yin, and angrily bellowed, ¡°It¡¯s you! Return my hoe!¡±

    Back when Lu Yin had been escaping from the pursuing Blood Looney, he had run into Nong Zaitian with his true appearance. Because Nightking Zhenwu had been here this time, Lu Yin had changed his appearance. Nong Zaitian had only seen Lu Yin¡¯s true face during their previous meeting.

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to bring it. I¡¯ll return it next time.¡± Lu Yin smiled drily.

    Nong Zaitian gritted his teeth and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Get out of here.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother with the young man and nced around with an astonished expression. ¡°These natural treasures must have lived for over 10,000 years. No, for them to develop the instinct to avoid danger, they might¡¯ve even lived for tens of thousands of years. This is a good ce that must not have been discovered for a long time.¡±

    Nong Zaitian stared behind Lu Yin, mulling over how he could deal with this person. But as he thought about it, his face soured. This fellow had escaped from Blood Looney¡¯s pursuit, so this was not someone who Nong Zaitian could deal with.

    ¡°How did you find this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s eyes spun. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s make a deal. Why don¡¯t we split the stuff here ny-ten? I¡¯ll take ny, and you¡¯ll take ten.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Nong Zaitian like he was an idiot.

    Nong Zaitian also felt as though he was dreaming, and he quickly corrected himself. ¡°Alright, eighty-twenty.¡±

    Lu Yin diverted his gaze andpletely ignored the other youth.

    Nong Zaitian started to get anxious. ¡°Seventy-thirty, but this is the lowest I can go. I won¡¯t go any lower. How about seventy-thirty?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Okay, seventy-thirty.¡±

    Nong Zaitian was thrilled. ¡°Alright, deal!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°I¡¯m seventy, and you¡¯re thirty.¡±

    Nong Zaitian opened his mouth, furious. ¡°I found this ce! Do you have any shame? You want topete for this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°This is the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins, not your home. Everyone has a share to the stuff here. Whoever¡¯s fist is biggest, wins.¡±

    Nong Zaitian clenched his hoe, and from his stance, it looked as though he wanted to give Lu Yin a taste of it, but he gave up after an internal battle. ¡°Fifty-fifty then.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not speak as he walked over to a nt in front of him. ¡°Do you recognize this?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey answered, ¡°No, I¡¯m not an encyclopedia either way.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Nong Zaitian. ¡°Do you have some knowledge of these nts?¡±

    Nong Zaitian was crushed. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°How did you find this ce?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Nong Zaitian replied, ¡°I was avoiding enemies and found it by ident.¡±

    ¡°The Daosource Sect has survived for countless ages, so if these nts were nted in the age of the Daosource Sect, then after all these years, they would not merely be at the stage where they can instinctively avoid danger. In fact, some of them might have even turned into sourceboxes long ago. Thus, they could not have been nted by the people from the time of the Daosource Sect,¡± Lu Yinmented as he nced at Nong Zaitian.

 Chapter 738: Wu Taibai

    <h4>Chapter 738: Wu Taibai</h4>

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s expression remained perfectly normal, not revealing any information.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t those people from the Daosource Sect who grew these nts, then it must have been some other people from hundreds of thousands years ago. Since they dared to grow them, then they must have had a way to ensure that others wouldn¡¯t discover them. Thus, there¡¯s only one possibility concerning the identity of the person who discovers this area.¡± He looked straight at Nong Zaitian. ¡°They must be the descendant of the people who made this area.¡±

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s expression changed, and he let out a deep breath. ¡°Good guess. These herbs were nted by my Nong family¡¯s ancestors.¡±

    ¡°Something about that still sounds wrong. I heard that the Nong family¡¯s ancestors obtained all of their treasures from an auction house in one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s subsidiary cities, which is how the Nong family was able to abruptly rise to power. These nts should be at least tens of thousands years old, and your Nong family probably hadn¡¯t even stepped onto the path of cultivation back then,¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°My Nong family has passed this inheritance down through countless years. Not just tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of years ago¡ªmy Nong family was once one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s legends. However, my Nong family has always kept a low profile, never mentioning our past.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak further, as this area was veryrge. There were at least hundreds of natural treasures in this ce, and it was possible that there were even hidden ones that had reached the level of avoiding danger. Hepletely unleashed his domain to discover exactly how many natural treasures were in this ce. But then, he suddenly turned around to look at the entrance, as he had just noticed one other person entering without either of them noticing. His ck-and-white hair was very distinct. It was Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he would have never even dreamed that Nightking Zhenwu would appear in this ce.

    Nightking Zhenwu had a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I never thought that I would actually bump into you here, Lu Yin. Your luck is terrible.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb, and he slowly retreated.

    Nong Zaitian was stunned, and he stared at Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°How did you get in here?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu nced at the youth. ¡°Ten years ago, there was someone from the Nong family who came here and died at my hand.¡±

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s expression changed, and both of his fists were clenched tightly as he stared at Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°So you¡¯re the one who killed my cousin.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu remained arrogant. ¡°This ce that your Nong ancestors found is pretty decent, and it has provided me with quite a few good items over thest ten years. You guys can remain here and be its fertilizer.¡± He then directed his icy cold eyes towards Lu Yin. ¡°Especially you. You even dared to destroy a Progenitor''s inheritance!¡±

    Neither of the two saw the Nightking make any movements, but Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian both saw ck and white appear before their eyes. Nong Zaitian immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly fainted whereas Lu Yin was able to once again sense a certain level of suppression from Nightking Zhenwu.

    Against Nightking Zhenwu, even Lu Yin¡¯s Yu Secret Art that could divert attacks could not help him, as Nightking Zhenwu was in no way inferior to an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin did not want to just wait to die, and he raised his hand that had transformed into a w. The Skybeast w pushed forwards, though Nightking Zhenwu looked at it with disdain as he lifted a single finger and easily shattered the w. A momentter, Lu Yin¡¯s eight lined battle force appeared, and his eyes went ck as he tapped out with a finger while the void froze. Nightking Zhenwu was astonished, and he simrly raised his index finger and tapped out.

    The two index fingers struck each other in the void, and the strength of their sh burst forth and tore apart the space in the area. It released an earth-shattering amount of star energy that blew away both Nong Zaitian and many of the surrounding natural treasures.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger had been blocked, seemingly effortlessly, while from Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s perspective, his own finger had also been blocked.

    He was Arbiter Zhenwu¡ªa Hunter!¡ªand the battle technique that he had just unleashed with the strength of his finger had actually been blocked by an Explorer, which was uneptable to someone so arrogant.

    Lu Yin was blown back a dozen steps, and a gust of wind shot out in front of him. His Fatesand immediately appeared before his chest with its appearance as a clod of dirt that blocked the gale. His body was forced back another dozens of metres, and he coughed out blood.

    Nightking Zhenwu was astonished. ¡°Fatesand? You actually have quite a few good things. What a pity that they¡¯re all foreign objects.¡±

    Then, he stepped forward. ¡°Nightking Finger.¡±

    It was an identical finger battle technique to the previous one, and it flickered with a ck-and-white radiance as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force steadily swept forward. Nong Zaitian waspletely unable to resist the attack and was pressed firmly against the mountain wall whereas Lu Yin was unable to use the Dream Finger again.

    As the Nightking Finger approached, Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art to forcefully change the direction of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s finger technique, but the next moment, the fingernded and tapped against Lu Yin¡¯s chest. ¡°That secret technique is not invincible. The difference between us is too great.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was pierced by the finger, and his entire body was mmed against the mountainside.

    Even an ultimate treasure like his Fatesand was unable to defend against Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s attacks.

    Ten days ago, when Lu Yin had participated in the battle between the Arbiters and the Realmlings, he had learned of the huge gap that existed between himself and those like the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings. From beginning to end, he hadn¡¯t been able to take a single breath, and he hadn¡¯t even directly confronted any of them. No matter if it was the Ten Arbiters or the Realmlings, they each had their own opponents. What Lu Yin had suffered from had been nothing more than the aftermath of those battles.

    However, at this moment, he was directly facing Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attacks, though they may have been nothing more than just casual strikes. Lu Yin could not resist at all, and even his Yu Secret Art was not able to divert Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s finger technique, leaving Lu Yin severely injured.

    This was Arbiter Zhenwu. This was the true strength of the universe¡¯s Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters had dominated their own generation throughout the universe, and every one of them had a strength that couldpletely suppress those of the same generation. They had been able to shift authority to the younger generation not just because of the powers that stood behind them and their qualification to enter the Daosource Sect, but even more so because of their personal strength.

    These were the Ten Arbiters: characters who held supreme authority to judge the younger generation.

    ¡°Your secret technique looks very familiar.¡± Nightking Zhenwu looked down at Lu Yin.

    From the corner of his eyes, Lu Yin nced over at Nong Zaitian, as he was hoping that this person had some way to flee.

    ¡°I remember now. Back in the Budding Terrace, Wendy Yushan also used this secret technique,¡± Nightking Zhenwu said coldly, though he sounded as if he was simply mentioning something unimportant.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Why did you attack Wendy Yushan?¡±

    The Nightking¡¯s tone remained indifferent. ¡°She¡¯s just trash from the Outerverse: so what if she dies? Do I need any sort of reason to act against her?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened, and he clenched both fists as bloodlust surged in his heart.

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s Wendy Yushan or you, you are both just trash, and it won¡¯t affect the broader situation even if you die. However, I¡¯m very curious¡ªhow did you obtain a futon that lets you enter this ce? Also, where did you get your secret technique?¡± Nightking Zhenwu spoke slowly as he approached Lu Yin.

    ¡°You want to obtain the secret technique? Quit dreaming.¡± Lu Yin sneered.

    A disdainful smile spread across Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face. ¡°Although that secret technique is good, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have one. It¡¯s just that you cannot even make me use it. Still, it would be pretty good if I could obtain another. I¡¯ll give you a chance. Hand over that secret technique, and I¡¯ll erase every bit of the grudge that Yanqing has with you, and I can even allow you to leave this ce alive. However, if we meet again, you had best think of a way to save your life.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this was the true face of the Nightking n. They were arrogant by birth, exactly the same as Nightking Yuanjing, who Lu Yin had dealt with before. You had to think of a way to survive by pleading with them and demonstrating your value. Otherwise you would die. This sort of arrogance and disregard came from their very bones, and they did not view anyone as being worthy of their regard.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°I¡¯ll repeat myself for the final time. Hand over the secret technique, and I¡¯ll let you leave.¡±

    He shifted his focus over to Nong Zaitian. ¡°As for you, just die.¡±

    He was about to act, but suddenly, his movements slowed, and his face fell. He slowly turned around and looked towards the entrance, exactly where he had just been standing when he had severely injured Lu Yin. In walked a man in white clothes, and he surveyed the area with an astonished expression on his face. ¡°I never imagined that there would be such a paradise here. Such luck!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the man in astonishment. ¡°Mr. Bai?¡±

    The person who had just arrived was indeed Mr. Bai.

    Mr. Bai noticed Lu Yin and excitedly waved at him. ¡°Deafmute Bro, what a coincidence.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°You didn¡¯t pick a very good time to show up.¡±

    Mr. Bai blinked. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The natural treasures in this ce have not been taken away yet, and no one here can use a cosmic ring. You three can¡¯t possibly take away all of these natural treasures, so why don¡¯t we split them evenly?¡±

    ¡°I agree, let¡¯s split them evenly!¡± Nong Zaitian shouted crazily as he tried to catch Lu Yin¡¯s attention with his eyes.

    Lu Yin was confused, as this guy was insane. Nightking Zhenwu was able to easily ughter all three of them by himself. How would they split anything evenly?

    ¡°See, that brother has already agreed.¡± Mr. Bai smiled.

    Nightking Zhenwu turned towards Mr. Bai. ¡°If you wish to split things evenly, then it will depend entirely on your strength.¡±

    ¡°Then I shall not disappoint you.¡± Mr. Bai smiled.

    Lu Yin felt something was off, since Nightking Zhenwu seemed to be acting slightly apprehensive when facing Mr. Bai.

    Nong Zaitian carefully walked over to Lu Yin¡¯s side, then asked softly, ¡°Big bro, how do you know him?¡±

    Lu Yin grew curious upon seeing Nong Zaitian¡¯s reaction to Mr. Bai¡¯s arrival. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Nong Zaitian grinned. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to my Nong family¡¯s ancestors. They forced all of us to memorize every expert within our generation who might pose a threat to us. You may not recognize this person¡¯s face, but you must have heard his name before.¡± Nong Zaitian coughed and then solemnly said, ¡°Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai.¡±

    A chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine asplex emotions surged through his heart. He should find a fortune teller to predict his death, as his luck in this trip to the Daosource Sect''s ruins had been just too horrendous. First, he had ended up being implicated in a huge battle between the Ten Arbiters and several Realmlings. Then, he had followed Nong Zaitian with great difficulty, believing that he had obtained some great treasure, but ended up bumping into Nightking Zhenwu. Now, he had to face Wu Taibai.

    Mr. Bai turned out to actually be one of the Daosource Three Skies, and if not for the apprehension in Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin would have never believed Nong Zaitian¡¯s words. Back in the cauldron, Mr. Bai had been rescued by Lu Yin, but now he turned out to be Wu Taibai?

    Although Lu Yin had never seen the Daosource Three Skies make a move himself, everyone had referred to them as three powerhouses who could decide everything, and there was no one within the same generation who could possibly be a match for any of the Daosource Three Skies. Even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings were beneath the Daosource Three Skies, and it was widely known that they had the strength to decide everything. The discrepancy was sorge that many did not even consider the Daosource Three Skies as a part of the younger generation since their talents transcended time. How could Mr. Bai be Wu Taibai?

    No matter what, the oue was clear. No matter who emerged victorious between Nightking Zhenwu or Mr. Bai, it would not be beneficial to Lu Yin or Nong Zaitian.

    They heard a bang as Nightking Zhenwu and Mr. Bai continued to look intensely at each other. A seemingly casual probing attack by the two of them had actually exerted such a strong star energy pressure that many of the natural treasures in the area had been destroyed.

    Nong Zaitian sat on his hoe, and he was just about to leave when he looked over at Lu Yin and remembered the time this bastard had used a secret technique to steal his hoe. After a moment, he helplessly said, ¡°Get on.¡±

    Lu Yin did not stand on ceremony, and he quickly sat on the hoe with Nong Zaitian. The next moment, the hoe flew towards the entrance at top speed. Neither youth had any remaining desire for these natural treasures. Against Nightking Zhenwu and Wu Taibai, it was pointless regardless of the number of natural treasures, as they simply would not be able to seize any of them.

    When the entrance was right before their eyes, two figures flitted past them, and the void was torn apart. Nightking Zhenwu and Wu Taibai were still fighting against each other, and Nong Zaitian was forced to quickly change directions, causing the hoe and the two youths to crash into the mountainside to avoid the spatial tear.

    Nightking Zhenwu and Mr. Bai were simrly flung against the mountainside, but strangely, the mountain merely split open instead ofpletely shattering.

 Chapter 739: Blazing Furnace

    <h4>Chapter 739: zing Furnace</h4>

    With the intensity of these attacks, to say nothing of a mountain, even a should have been destroyed.

    Something was strange about this mountain.

    ¡°Hurry!¡± Nong Zaitian was sprawled across the ground, but he quickly moved to crawl towards the entrance, afraid to attract attention from the two powerhouses.

    Lu Yin looked at something nearby where the colors of ck and white were continuously interchanging. The intensity of these attacks made his scalp go numb, but Mr. Bai seemed to bepletely unconstrained, and the struggle in the void caused a great deal of destruction as the attacks fell like raindrops.

    Lu Yin knew that the two of them could not remain in this ce, or else they would be caught up in the battle and killed sooner orter.

    The two youths ran along the underground tunnel in an attempt to escape, but the ground quivered. Suddenly, a strange fire appeared from underground that rapidly spread out until it covered the entire mountain. The exit in front of Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian was also caught up in the ze.

    The congration was not only burning the mountain, but even the void, causing it to distort. The void had been set on fire as though it was paper, and a dark space of nothingness appeared.

    Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian exchanged nces, and they headed back through the tunnel without any hesitation. This sort of inferno was not something that they could withstand.

    They returned to the space with the natural treasures, and upon entering, they saw a bright roof, as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle against Mr. Bai had pierced through the top of the mountain.

    It was very easy to break through a mountain for cultivators like them, but this mountain was different. Nong Zaitian was very clear how durable this particr mountain was, as otherwise, he would not have dug his way inside. His face turned deathly pale as soon as he saw that the top of the mountain had been broken through. These two were monsters.

    Mr. Bai suddenly dropped down, and hended solidly on the ground. He looked up, only to see Nightking Zhenwu towering high in the sky, aiming downwards with the posture of an archer.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed with shock, and he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis, as if the entire area had been locked down.

    ¡°Wu Taibai? I¡¯ll let you die to one of your Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors¡¯ battle techniques,¡± Nightking Zhenwu shouted as he released his right hand. The phantom image of an arrow with three glistening tail feathers mysteriously appeared in front of him. As he loosed the arrow, it flew directly at Mr. Bai.

    Mr. Bai¡¯s face looked solemn as he stepped forward and raised a palm, causing an imprint to appear above it. Under the shocked sights of the few people watching, he actually grabbed a hold of the arrow and then charged towards Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°Arbiter of the Fifth Maind, you have still underestimated me.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly shot out another arrow. Mr. Bai waved a hand, as another surprising collision released a tremendous amount of pressure upon the area. Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian were sent sprawling onto the ground, and since Lu Yin had already been severely injured to begin with, this pressure caused him to immediately pass out.

    Nong Zaitian was not in a good state either, and his organs seemed to have been pulverized. He spat out a mouthful of blood and strained to look up at the sky. He could no longer see the silhouettes of Mr. Bai or Nightking Zhenwu, so he stood up with great difficulty. He didn¡¯t bother with Lu Yin anymore, and he rose up to flee. However, he was forced back down again by a surge from the inferno.

    Nong Zaitian gave up. ¡°I¡¯m doomed. I¡¯m going to be cooked.¡±

    The appearance of thisrge mountain was very peculiar, and the inferno continuously surged up from beneath the surface of the ground to envelop the entire mountain. As the fire continued to burn, the form of the mountain gradually copsed, until finally, a golden lustre was revealed beneath it.

    When the body of the mountainpletely copsed, a furnace appeared within the ze, and it looked like a furnace used to refine medicine. This was not actually a mountain; rather, it was a refining furnace, and these natural treasures had been growing within it.

    A refining furnace naturally needed mes to refine its medications, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle with Mr. Bai had dug up a fire that had been buried for countless years. They had already left the region, but the ze continued burning Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian alive.

    Nong Zaitian did not know that the two of them were currently being refined like pills. He could only feel his body bing hotter and hotter, and the heat was quickly bing unbearable.

    Beneath the ground, the natural treasures also began to ignite one by one.

    Nong Zaitian felt a heart-wrenching pain, and he tried to move forward to extinguish the mes, but the temperature of the ground rose ever higher. By now, even the soil was slowly turning red from the heat.

    Lu Yin was awakened by the scalding temperature. With the power of his physical body, he would be fine even if he was thrown onto a star, but this subterranean fire was hot enough to actually scorch him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Yin nced around the area. ¡°Where¡¯s Nightking Zhenwu? Mr. Bai?¡±

    ¡°Why do you still care about them? Take care of yourself first! We¡¯re getting cooked alive!¡± Nong Zaitian shouted urgently at Lu Yin from a position high up above the ground.

    Lu Yin remained standing on the ground, but then he felt the boiling heat beneath his feet. When he looked down, he noticed that his shoes were being charred. He then looked over and saw the inferno blocking their exit. ¡°Where did these mese from?¡±

    ¡°How would I know? Think of a way to escape!¡± Nong Zaitian screamed.

    Lu Yin leaped up into the air and endured his injuries as he used the Yu Secret Art. He wanted to either shift the fire away or transfer himself out of this ce.

    However, both attempts failed, as this ze had scorched even the void, burning space itself. In other words, the two youths had been isted in a separate space. The Yu Secret Art was restricted by distance, and Lu Yin could not cover the distance that he needed to escape.

    Nong Zaitian was agitatedly hopping about even as the temperature rose higher and higher. Soon, the void within the mountain also began to twist and warp as those natural treasures had already begun to burn. The treasures that had reached the stage of instinctively evading danger were also trying to flee, but they were all forced back by the fire.

    Lu Yin looked miserable as he panted heavily. He was done, as he might actually die at this time, but he never thought that he would end up being burned to death.

    He moved over to the mountainside and struck out with his Skybeast w, which left a scar on the mountain and also revealed the golden lustre beneath.

    Lu Yin then attacked the metal itself, but that only resulted in a loud bang, the attack unable to leave a single mark left on the metal.

    ¡°We¡¯re doomed! We¡¯re going to burn to our deaths,¡± Nong Zaitian howled in desperation. He had already taken off his outer clothing, as it was too hot in this ce.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t your ancestors tell you what sort of ce this was?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Zaitian answered bitterly, ¡°Nope. Those ancestors found it by ident.¡±

    Lu Yin continuously tried to probe the other youth in order to find a means of escape, but it proved useless. The best method was most likely to flee straight up, but the mes had blocked off that path.

    The ground had turned red, and all around them, the mountain body was copsing, revealing a golden lustre that was also gradually turning red.

    The natural treasures all started to burn, including those that could evade danger.

    Nong Zaitian was brimming with sweat, and he panted heavily as he could not take it anymore. He started to mutter incessantly while his gaze ckened.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what¡¯s going on? Why¡¯s it so scorchingly hot?¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke up. He had been knocked unconscious by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attack, and he had only awakened at this moment.

    ¡°Where are we? Why does this look like a furnace?

    ¡°There¡¯s something up with this ce. With this sort of fire, this is definitely a furnace. This is an inferno that carries some of the strength of a predecessor! Seventh Bro, this Monkey is going to die sooner by being with you.¡±

    Lu Yin had already been injured to begin with, and at this point, he started to feel dizzy. When he heard the monkey speak, he grudgingly responded, ¡°We¡¯re going to die.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, this fire only has some of the strength of a predecessor, so it won¡¯t burn for long. Hang on, Seventh Bro! This Monkey doesn¡¯t want to die!¡± the monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°What did you say? This won¡¯t burn for long?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. This fire came from some powerhouse¡¯s innate gift, so if that powerhouse was still alive, then this fire could burn for however long they wished. However, we¡¯re in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, so this powerhouse can¡¯t still be alive, which means that this fire must have been sealed by that powerhouse beneath this furnace long ago. It was probably released due to some outside pressure, and without the support from that powerhouse, these mes won¡¯t burn for long. So hang on and we don¡¯t die!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    ¡°How long will it burn for?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know, but definitely not too long.¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and kicked Nong Zaitian. The youth woke up and looked at him with hazy eyes before dispiritedly asking, ¡°What are you doing? Can¡¯t you let a man die a peaceful death?¡±

    ¡°Hold out for a bit. These mes will be exhausted after a day,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s eyes lit up, and he hopefully asked, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but we must hold out for a day.¡±

    Nong Zaitian looked around and then directly took off all of his clothes. Keeping them on was pointless since they were just about to burnpletely away.

    Lu Yin followed Nong Zaitian¡¯s lead.

    ¡°How do west for a day?¡± Nong Zaitian asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Figure it out for yourself.¡± He had said that the mes would end after a day to trick Nong Zaitian, as Lu Yin had no idea how long these mes wouldst for. With the current strength of his physical body, he would be able tost for a day or two, but any longer than that would be difficult. He had to first improve his strength. No¡ªfirst, he had to treat his injuries.

    The air was filled with a fragrance released by the many natural treasures currently being refined in this ce. The furnace was filled with star energy, and it had actually condensed into a liquid form reminiscent of raindrops as it fell down, only to be revaporized by the high temperature back into a gaseous state. After condensing in the sky, the star energy would once again precipitate, forming a constant cycle.

    Inspiration struck Lu Yin, and he quickly sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the ambient star energy.

    The natural treasures were being refined by the mes, and their natural energy had infused the air itself. Since the fire had isted the area and was preventing even a trace of energy from leaking out, Lu Yin was able to absorb the ambient star energy in the furnace¡¯s atmosphere, which also allowed him to absorb the beneficial effects of the natural treasures.

    Aside from the various effects of the many natural treasures, there was also an enormous amount of ambient star energy. The growth of all these natural treasures required star energy, and over the countless years, they had absorbed too much star energy. Now that the natural treasures were all being burned apart by the mes, all of their star energy had been released into the atmosphere, filling the furnace. In fact, it had almost condensed into a physical substance. There really was too much of it.

    If a normal person took a breath in this ce, they might be able to instantly be a cultivator in the Seeker realm. There would be no need for them to cultivate, as the ambient star energy in this ce was dense enough to propel them upwards.

    Close to Lu Yin, Nong Zaitian also realized what he needed to do, and he also began to absorb the ambient star energy, just like Lu Yin.

    These two buck-naked young men continuously absorbed the star energy inside this zing furnace, and soon enough, the star energy in the furnace formed two vortexes centered around the two of them, though Nong Zaitian¡¯s rate of absorption could not evenpare to Lu Yin¡¯s. The youth asionally peeked over at Lu Yin, and he was frightened by what he saw every time. The star energy revolved around Lu Yin like a hurricane while the vortex surrounding Nong Zaitian was a dozen times smaller than Lu Yin¡¯s.

    This left Nong Zaitian speechless. His Nong Family was, after all, a Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s family. Their battle techniques far surpassed those of ordinary people, and their rate of absorption when cultivating was dozens of times faster than the average speed. But despite that, he did not evene close to matching this fellow¡¯s absorption rate. What could his background possibly be?

    This person had seemed to recognize that Fifth Maind¡¯s Arbiter, so could he actually be from the Fifth Maind? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, as anyone who coulde to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins from the Fifth Maind was a monster.

    Cultivating in this ce allowed both youths to absorb star energy at a rate that greatly surpassed what was possible in the outside world. Lu Yin opened his eyes, as he had realized that, even though his physical body was being burned by the mes, the rate that he was absorbing the star energy was growing even faster. He did not know why, and it was possible that this effect was unrted to his physical body or that this star energy that had been burned by the mes was somehow easier to absorb.

    He nced over at Nong Zaitian, as this person¡¯s absorption rate was not slow either.

    Lu Yin thought about it, closed his eyes, and then revolved his Cosmic Art with his full strength. By this time, he had cultivated his Cosmic Art to sixty five stars, which meant that he could cultivate sixty five times faster than the standard cultivator¡¯s speed. However, in this ce, his star energy absorption rate far surpassed a mere sixty five times speed. It had actually reached the point where he felt like he was not absorbing the star energy, but rather devouring it.

    Such a terrifying speed caused all of the surrounding star energy to converge around Lu Yin and form a vortex, and all the while, Lu Yin¡¯s injuries were also rapidly healing.

 Chapter 740: Terrifying Absorption Rate

    <h4>Chapter 740: Terrifying Absorption Rate</h4>

    One whole day quickly passed in this fashion, and when Nong Zaitian opened his eyes, he saw that the fire was still raging strong. The temperature in the entire area was still as high as ever, and he could not help but ask Lu Yin, ¡°Hey, a day¡¯s already passed. Why hasn¡¯t the fire died down?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who released it, so how should I know?¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Nong Zaitian was taken aback, but then he angrily replied, ¡°You¡¯re just messing with me!¡±

    Lu Yin shouted back, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Nong Zaitian was furious, and he really wanted to go over to give this bastard a kick. However, after thinking it over, he quickly abandoned the thought. The ambient star energy had also formed a small vortex over him, reducing how much the high temperature was affecting him by quite a bit. Also, he didn''t dare to move out of fear that the vortex would vanish, leaving him to be instantly incinerated. He could only grind his teeth in anger and continue to endure.

    Soon, three days passed in the same monotony, but the ze still did not diminish, and they could only see a dark expanse outside of the furnace. The space within the furnace was thoroughly isted by now, and Nong Zaitian was worried that even if the fire did not burn them to death, it would be difficult for them to leave this ce.

    The only way for them to survive was to persevere until their time ran out, and then they would vanish from the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    But when Nong Zaitian calcted his time, he realized that he still had twelve days left before his time expired. Could hest for that long? He looked over at Lu Yin and then rubbed his eyes. Could he be mistaken? This guy actually looked like he was smiling!

    Nong Zaitian had not seen wrong, as Lu Yin was indeed smiling. During the previous four days, he had absorbed an amount of star energy that would have normally taken him years to absorb, and his absorption speed was still rising.

    This was unimaginable, as his normal star energy absorption rate was already dozens of times faster than others¡¯ to begin with, but what he was doing at this moment could not even be considered cultivation anymore. It would be more urate to say that he was simply swallowing the star energy and allowing it to be poured into his body. If he tried to calcte his current cultivation speed, then it should be around 600 times faster than his speed with his Cosmic Art in normal circumstances.

    In other words, Lu Yin¡¯s current absorption rate was the same as if he were revolving more than 40,000 stars with the Cosmic Art, which meant that he was gaining star energy 40,000 times faster than a normal cultivator.

    40,000 times. Lu Yin did not even know if the Cosmic Art could cultivate that number of stars. This speed could safely be considered the very peak of his generation, but it was only for this time. As soon as he left the furnace, without this fire and the incinerated natural treasures, his speed would definitely revert back to normal. Even if he encountered another inferno, it would be useless without aparable number of natural treasures.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, and his eyes brightened. He felt like he might have found a shortcut to raising his strength. Others mayck natural treasures, but how could he? It was impossible so long as he had his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance. With that, any spiritual nt could be upgraded to the level of instinctively evading danger. If he added in a high temperature me that constantly burned those upgraded nts and then ced them within a sealed environment, he could replicate this cultivation paradise where his cultivation speed was faster by a magnitude of tens of thousands.

    As he thought of this, Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew a bit ragged. He did not want to cultivate slowly, and even if he cultivated his Cosmic Art to 100 stars, its speed would still be significantly inferior to his present cultivation speed.

    He had decided¡ªhe would attempt to reconstruct this environment, and he would ce more importance on searching for natural treasures when he returned home.

    ¡°Hey, how much longer before this fire dies out?¡± Nong Zaitian urgently asked when he saw that Lu Yin had opened his eyes.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Ask it yourself.¡±

    Nong Zaitian choked on his next words, as he felt that this fellow was quite revolting. First, he had stolen Nong Zaitian¡¯s hoe, then he had followed Nong Zaitian to this hidden ce, but that still wasn¡¯t enough! Now the bastard even dared to tease Nong Zaitian. Was this really the time to crack jokes?

    Nong Zaitian sulked by himself while Lu Yin was suddenly feeling rather conflicted, as he had forgotten an important detail. With his level of physical strength, it would not be simple to find a me that could threaten him. He had lucked out to stumble upon this ze that had been left behind by an ancient powerhouse which was able to rapidly raise his cultivation. A normal fire was simply of no threat to him, and it would simrly be unable to burn any natural treasures, let alone create an isted, restricted space.

    This was bing a troublesome task, but he had to find such a fire.

    Outside the furnace, Mr. Bai had returned. His clothes were tidy, and he looked as if he had not fought at all.

    He saw the furnace and thepletely isted space within, and he stared at the ze with regret. He did not dare to touch such an inferno, which meant that those two were dead beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    ¡°Deafmute Bro, it seems that this is farewell forever. What a pity.¡± Mr. Bai shook his head and left. Nobody knew if he was feeling pity for Lu Yin or for the loss of those natural treasures.

    There had been many natural treasures within the furnace, and they had released an exorbitant amount of star energy after being incinerated. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s hugely increased rate of absorption, he still could notpletely absorb all of the ambient star energy despite Nong Zaitian also absorbing a portion.

    The star energy had even formed vortices, isting the two youths from the high temperature, which allowed them to survive inside of the furnace. These circumstances persisted for ten days, after which the vortex of star energy surrounding Nong Zaitian¡¯s body started to slowly shrink.

    He started panicking. ¡°Hey, slow down! You¡¯re taking all of it.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his eyes to nce at hispanion. ¡°A decent harvest, huh?¡±

    ¡°Decent your ass! I don¡¯t want this kind of harvest. Slow down and don¡¯t take away all of the star energy,¡± Nong Zaitian hurriedly replied.

    Lu Yin did not want to harm this person. Even though Nong Zaitian was from the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin felt that Nong Zaitian was his lucky star, as something good happened every time Lu Yin ran into him. Because of this, Lu Yin reduced his speed of absorption.

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s star energy vortex persisted for another two days, and after that, heughed maniacally. ¡°My time¡¯s up! I¡¯m leaving first. Thank you, bro, as without you, I would have been burned to a crisp. I hope that you can leave soon too.¡± He then vanished and left the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    As he watched Nong Zaitian leave, Lu Yin released a breath, and his gaze trembled. He then began to voraciously absorb all of the remaining star energy at his fastest speed, as he would also disappear from the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins in less than two days.

    As Lu Yin started cultivating at top speed, the vortex that had formed around him became evenrger as all of the star energy within the entire furnace gathered around his body. He was like a beast that was crazily devouring all of the star energy.

    When a normal person broke through to the Explorer realm, they would need a bit more than 100 star essence toplete one cycle of their cultivation, which amounted to 10,000,000 star crystals. In contrast, Lu Yin required 20,000 star essence per cycle, which was 200 times the amount needed by a normal cultivator. Additionally, this meant that he took much, much longer toplete a single cycle, so his cultivation rate ended up being slower than an ordinary cultivator.

    However, at this moment, with his terrifying rate of absorption, it took him just slightly over ten days toplete a cycle.

    As the cyclepleted, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and his surging star energy swept out, destabilizing the void. The amount of star energy within his body now surpassed even that of a normal Hunter, which meant that not even a Hunter would be able to use their star energy to suppress Lu Yin in a fight. In fact, they might even be counter-suppressed by him instead.

    This was one of the many benefits of cultivating and cycling star energy. Each additional cycle would take more star energy toplete as well as a longer period of time, but correspondingly, the increase in one¡¯s strength would also be more significant.

    At this time, Lu Yin no longer needed to use his universal armor, the Yu Secret Art, or even the Dream Finger to fight on par with an ordinary Hunter.

    In general, most cultivators¡¯ power level would increase by 10,000 each time theypleted a cycle. Additionally, each subsequent cycle would require double the star energy and time of the previous cycle. Lu Yin was no different, and he would have to absorb twice the amount of star energy for him toplete his second cycle.

    He exhaled: double the amount. Unless the Cosmic Art increased his rate of absorption by 100 times, it would take him decades toplete his second cycle. He could not afford to wait that long.

    After the second cycle, there was still the third, all the way until the ninth cycle waspleted, after which he would break through to the Hunter realm. But even after that, a Hunter still needed to absorb multiple cycles of star energy, and it was the same even when one became an Enlighter. This was part of the endless journey of cultivation, and if his estimations were made with a hundredfold increased rate of absorption, even his entire lifetime would not be enough to rise to the top. He had to find another way; he had to find a simrly powerful fire.

    The scenery before his eyes suddenly turned fuzzy, as his time had run out. Lu Yin rxed, as he was still alive despite everything that had happened, though he also felt slightly regretful. If he could have stayed inside the furnace for a bit longer, he would have been able topletely absorb all of the star energy released by the incineration of the natural treasures. Then, he might have been able toe close topleting his second cycle.

    The view in front of him suddenly changed, and Lu Yin returned to King Zishan''s pce¡¯s secret room. His appearance waspletely wretched at the moment; his clothes were gone, his body had been scorched ck by the fire, and there were even burn marks on certain areas of his skin. The pike, his Enneadic Wings, and the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh that he had taken to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins were all gone. While he did not know if this trip had been worth the costs, it had certainly been a memorable one.

    After experiencing two narrow escapes from death, Lu Yin decided not to head back to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins in the short term as he had no strength to retaliate, no matter if he ran into one of the Ten Arbiters or a Realmling. He would only return once he waspletely confident that he was able to escape from them.

    Over this period of time, Zhao Ran had be extremely upset. She was staying in King Zishan''s pce, and she enjoyed a life of leisure since the good person, who was also His Highness, did not show his face very often. Thus, she often did not need to do anything at all. However, ever since the Great Eastern Alliance was established, she had be much busier. The various regions of the universe were constantly sending congrattory gifts to King Zishan''s pce, and these gifts had not been sent to the Great Yu Empire, but rather specifically addressed to that good person, His Highness.

    The problem facing Zhao Ran was that there were simply too many congrattory gifts, and the warehouses could not hold them all. If it were just these gifts guing her, then she could have just slowly arranged them. However, the annoying part of it all was that she frequently forgot everything while in the middle of organizing things, causing her to rearrange them all over again. And all the while, new gifts continued to stream in. Zhao Ran was rather dejected, as it was too difficult to organize everything!

    Right, why not let the good person, His Highness, enjoy a bit of the gifts? Zhao Ran¡¯s eyes lit up at this thought, and she quickly moved to the sitting room to wait for the good person, His Highness.

    Not much time passed, and Lu Yin ordered Gavin to meet in King Zishan''s pce with him, as Lu Yin wanted to ask how the situation of their cooperation with the Nn family had been going over the past month.

    Zhao Ran was already in the sitting room, clearly wanting to say something.

    Lu Yin was amused to see her. ¡°Zhao Ran, is something wrong?¡±

    Zhao Ran nodded, and her eyes went wide as she looked at Lu Yin. She was just about to speak when her eyes suddenly turned confused, and she asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless at this abrupt change.

    After some time, Zhao Ran looked at the paper that she kept in the locket on her chest where she recorded her memories, and then she remembered what she had wanted to say. ¡°Oh, good person, Your Highness, you¡¯vee out!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Zhao Ran, memory loss is a disease, have you ever tried to treat it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Rotten Trash, so it can¡¯t be treated,¡± Zhao Ran seriously answered.

    Lu Yin could not respond to that. ¡°Alright¡­ Then what did you want to say earlier?¡±

    Zhao Ran thought about it for a moment. ¡°Oh, right, I remember now. The warehouse is full.¡±

    ¡°The warehouse is full?¡± Lu Yin did not understand what she meant.

    Zhao Ran nodded. ¡°Many people sent gifts to the good person, His Highness, so the warehouse is now full, and it¡¯s not easy to organize. Please use some of it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. That was right¡ªhe hadpletely forgotten about this. The Great Eastern Alliance had only recently been established, and many powers that did not belong to the Great Eastern Alliance had sent him gifts, including Shamrock Enterprises, Endless Borders, and more. These gifts had all been piled into a warehouse, untouched.

    Lu Yin felt tempted, as he had spent hundreds of thousands of star essences when hest rolled six pips: Possession on his die. Recently, he had been rather worried about being broke. On top of that, he had now discovered a method to rapidly absorb star energy, but it would require arge number of natural treasures, which meant that his finances were a growing problem for him. ¡°Let¡¯s go. You can show me.¡±

    Zhao Ran hurriedly led the way, happy that she would finally not need to worry about organizing the warehouse every day.

 Chapter 741: Origins

    <h4>Chapter 741: Origins</h4>

    Forrge families, it was often a standard practice to not store family items in cosmic rings, as it was simply impractical to do so. Opening a cosmic ring required the blood of a designated person, and if a family were in an emergency and said individual was not present, it would be very problematic. If the person¡¯s blood were stored in some other location, then that would lead to a whole different set of problems.

    There were many individuals in the universe who possessed unique battle techniques or peculiar innate gifts, so no one could say for sure whether or not someone could use a person¡¯s blood to manipte and influence them

    Thus, for any family, items were generally not stored within cosmic rings. Instead, they would be stored in a physical space typically under the protection of skilled individuals.

    King Zishan¡¯s pce was enormous but there were only three individuals inside it. They were Lu Yin, Zhao Ran, and Kayze, who was the gatekeeper. Gavin and the others had advised Lu Yin many times to employ more guards and servants for King Zishan¡¯s pce. However, such proposals had always been rejected by Lu Yin. He simply had too many secrets that could not be leaked, and the presence of more people would onlyplicate matters further. Besides, Zhao Ran¡¯s presence was enough, despite her being unreliable.

    The warehouse that was a part of King Zishan¡¯s pce was to the northeast of the residence, and it took up a huge amount of space. There were no guards, but neither was there any need for them. Just like the imperial pce, King Zishan¡¯s pce was surrounded by roving patrols from the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. If anyone was capable enough to steal from King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin would take his hat off to them.

    When Lu Yin saw the consolidated list that Zhao Ran brought up of all the items that were stored inside the warehouse, his eyes lit up. All of these gifts were very valuable. There were antique paintings, personal writings from ancient powerhouses, exquisite wares, carvings, and more. Needless to say, there were also star crystals and star essences, though there were too many of them. It was rare for people to directly give such items as gifts. What surprised Lu Yin the most was the gift that he had received from Endless Borders: it was a star chart that showed an undiscovered route that ran from Frostwave Weave to Vastdearth Weave. Following this route would save them roughly a quarter of the time the mostmon route for this trip took.

    This chart was a priceless treasure. The time that it could save was not to be disregarded, as it also meant that one would be able to save money by following this route. If this map were ced on the open market, it would definitely be purchased for astronomical prices by transportpanies.

    Endless Borders had spared no expense when selecting their gift. Lu Yin had the chart delivered straight to Gavin and allowed the Minister of Finance to utilize it.

    After the pleasant surprise of Endless Borders¡¯ gift, Lu Yin quickly found that Shamrock Enterprises did not fall far behind in their generosity. They had sent over ten natural treasures that sparkled like gems. Even though they were nowhere near as precious as the natural treasures that Lu Yin had discovered in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, they were still very rare, most likely over ten thousand years old.

    The Nn family had been very upfront, giving Lu Yin a crystal Mavis bank card. Madam Nn knew Lu Yin well, and she knew that giving Lu Yin money would make him the happiest. This was very true as Lu Yin was over the moon when he saw that he had received money.

    Many powerhouses had sent over congrattory gifts. There were some who were friends of the Great Eastern Alliance and others who were hostile towards the Great Eastern Alliance. In particr, the Wei family of the Armament Weave had also sent gifts. Even though it was not anything valuable, it still was a token from the Wei family. Wei Rong was a man of great ambition, and he never would act in a shortsighted manner.

    Lu Yin saw that the Amethyst Exchange was listed among those who had sent gifts. They had given him five percent of the profits from Zenyu Star¡¯s Amethyst Exchange.

    Things were getting interesting.

    Lu Yin stared at the emblem of Amethyst Exchange, as this gift was essentially the same as giving him performance shares.

    At the very bottom of the document detailing Amethyst Exchange¡¯s congrattory gift, there was a name: Zi Xianxian.

    Amethyst Exchange was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four major corporations. On the surface, while it might seem that they ran a retail chain covering all seventy-two weaves of the Outerverse, the truth was they were actually thergest intelligence organization in the Outerverse. They were not nearly as simple as they seemed to be.

    Lu Yin did not understand why they had given him performance shares. He felt that it would be good to set aside some time and meet up with this Zi Xianxian.

    Of the Outerverse¡¯s four major corporations, three of them had sent gifts, and the only one that had remainedpletely silent was Aegis. Lu Yin did not mind as he had had no dealings with Aegis. However, when considering that Aegis had a close rtionship with Wei Rong, it was hard to say whether they would be friends or foes in the future.

    Lu Yin wanted to convert the majority of the items in the warehouse into cash, and at that moment, Gavin arrived. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and turned around to look at Gavin. ¡°How are the various joint ventures we have with the Nn family going?¡±

    Gavinughed. ¡°Everything has been going smoothly. Ever since the Imperial Second Squadron started investigating many corrupt government officials, many of the joint ventures that the empire has with the Nn family were released to privatepanies. This has resulted in higher employment rates throughout the empire, improved services, and lowered negative public opinions. The empire¡¯s economy is improving by the day, and everything is returning back to normal.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head with a smile. ¡°If that is the case, then shouldn¡¯t the empire start paying me back?¡±

    An embarrassed look appeared on Gavin¡¯s face. ¡°Your Highness, the imperial treasury does not have much cash at the moment, so can you give us a bit more time?¡±

    Lu Yin had merely been teasing the minister, though the debt was not something that he would simply forget. The empire still owed him 50,000 star essence, which was not a small amount. In fact, he was currently the Great Yu Empire¡¯s greatest creditor at the moment.

    ¡°Alright then, I have something else to discuss with you at the moment.¡± He passed over the list of items in the warehouse to Gavin. ¡°Sell everything on this list for star essence. After that, buy natural treasures with the profit, the more the better.¡±

    Gavin nced over the list. ¡°Your Highness, exchanging these items for star essence will be a challenge.¡±

    ¡°Go talk to the Mavis bank. They still have deep reserves of essence,¡± Lu Yin suggested. There was virtually no star essence left in the Outerverse, and most people were conducting transactions with star energy crystals at the moment. For example, when Lu Yin had visited the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s treasury, he had seen that the sect had an abundance of star crystal, but they had a tiny amount of star essence. The only exception to this standard was the Mavis bank. While they did not conduct star essence transactions with others, Lu Yin knew that the bank had its own private reserve of star essence. There were a very small number of people who could exchange star essence with Mavis bank, but Lu Yin was one of them.

    ¡°Your Highness, the Mavis bank branches in the central weaves have recently run into some trouble. Someone has started a rumor iming that the Mavis bank has exhausted their entire reserve of star essence and are unable to exchange them anymore. Following that rumor, many people have started withdrawing their entire savings ounts from the bank, and this has resulted in the Mavis bank of one particr weave being forced to continuously transfer funds from other weaves. To make matters worse, each transfer was either robbed or encountered an ident midway through the trip. Due to all this, the Mavis bank is suffering rather badly at this moment.¡± Gavin said.

    Lu Yin was shocked at this news. ¡°I remember that something simr once happened in Frostwave Weave in the past. Back then, someone started a rumor, and the Mavis bank was forced to request funds from other branches. Are you saying that they are unable to cope this time around?¡±

    Gavin solemnly responded, ¡°That is something that I am not sure about. The Mavis bank has deep pockets, and it¡¯s very possible that they can just ride this out, but it¡¯s also possible that they will not be able to do so. The most important thing to note is that, at this time, the problem did not happen in just one weave¡ªit is urring simultaneously in more than ten weaves. Furthermore, the transports carrying the funds keep encountering various mishaps. There are also rumors abound that the Mavis bank is going bankrupt, and many people are buying into those rumors as well.¡±

    The central weaves? Lu Yin muttered to himself. Could Wei Rong be the person behind all of these incidents? That would mean that he had acted very quickly. He had first dealt with the Lockbreaker Society, and now he was moving straight onto the Mavis bank. Could he handle it? The Mavis bank was not some piece of cake that the isted Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had been.

    The backbone of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was President Geoffrey, who was currently trapped in the Innerverse, and that was the main reason the society had crumbled. If Wei Rong tried to treat the Mavis bank like the Lockbreaker Society with an absent Geoffrey, he would be in trouble.

    However, Lu Yin had a nagging feeling that it was also possible that Wei Rong was not behind these incidents. Lu Yin was in no hurry to find out.

    ¡°In that case, contact Shamrock Enterprises. Exchange these items for some of their natural treasures,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin was stressed by this order. The items on this list were paintings by famous masters and manuscripts by famous people, but would anyone even want them? However, since Lu Yin had spoken, he had no choice but to carry out the Royal Regent¡¯s orders. If these items were not epted, then he would be forced to seek out collectors who would buy the items and then use the proceeds to trade with Shamrock Enterprises.

    Also, Shamrock Enterprises did not seem prone to selling their natural treasures, as they mainly sold pharmaceuticals.

    As he thought about natural treasures, Lu Yin¡¯s mind suddenly drifted to that Bushtree. It had been that particr that had led to his falling out with Puyu.

    Bushtree was located in the Woori Weave, and it was a strange. All of the¡¯s water reserves were buried deep underground, and there were no animals on the. Instead, it was filled with vegetation and boasted an abundance of natural treasures. Unfortunately, the lifespan of those natural treasures was only a decade long, and they would invariably wilt after that. To arge percentage of cultivators in the universe, natural treasures that could only live for a decade werepletely useless. Even if they could take them away from the, they would be rendered unusable after just a decade.

    Such natural treasures were only useful for young cultivators, which was the reason why Darkstar Gorge had used the Bushtree as their exclusive training ground in the past.

    Ever since Lu Yin had chased Darkstar Gorge away from the, he had kept Bushtree under close watch. He did not allow anyone to train there, and he had always wanted to take some time to visit it. It would seem that this was the right time, and if it turned out that he could use the natural treasures found on that, it would be perfect for his cultivation.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin left Zenyu Star aboard a spacecraft headed straight for Woori Weave. While the Woori Weave shared amon border with Darkmist Weave, Woori Weave did not have a guiding power that held sway over the entire weave. If Lu Yin wanted to pull Woori Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance, then he would be forced to gather the several hundred smaller, internal organizations together. Also, these powers did not have many secrets that Mafioso could exploit, which made everything rather cumbersome. This was why Lu Yin had excluded Woori Weave from his initial ns for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    However, this weave was still in the eastern regions of the Outerverse, it was inevitable that it would eventually be absorbed into the Great Eastern Alliance.

    There were far more than eight weaves in the eastern region of the Outerverse, and it was just a matter of time before Lu Yin would have to rope in the other weaves. This was something that had been keeping En busy recently, as it was not an easy task, especially when there was the possibility of Wei Rong creatingplications.

    Lu Yin would asionally get stuck in a rut, wasting some time, but there were also times when no appropriate solution could be found. It was just like when he had been working to establish the Great Eastern Alliance. If he had not gotten a hold of Mafioso¡¯s secrets, it would have been incredibly difficult to establish the alliance. As for the remaining eastern weaves, there were methods to handle them, but he had simply not found them yet. Although, Lu Yin believed that he would eventually find those methods.

    After reciting the Stonewall Scriptures for a while and checking the different avable routes, Lu Yin was only an hour away from Bushtree. Lu Yin pondered for a moment before turning his personal gadget on, reading up on information regarding Peach and the other original captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.

    The situation that he had witnessed with Liuying Zishan had be a constant thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. He wanted to know where that ball of light hade from and also why it had seemed to have its own consciousness. He suspected that it was something left behind by a powerhouse who had forced their way into Liuying Zishan¡¯s body, and she had likely not even been aware of anything. He suspected that it had something to do with the Yu bloodline.

    After witnessing the situation with Liuying Zishan, Lu Yin had grown suspicious; what about Peach, the Blind Monk, and the rest?

    After monitoring the few original captains for several days, he still had not observed any signs of anything resembling the situation with Liuying Zishan. However, he still felt unsettled, so he had decided to check through the backgrounds of the original captains.

    After browsing through the information, he discovered something strange: all of the captains were from different weaves.

    He had initially been under the impression that all of the original captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadron hade from Frostwave Weave. This was also what someone had once told him in the past. However, with his status as Royal Regent, he had ess to the original information and could see where the captains were truly from, and now, he had found out the truth of the matter.

    Peach was from Mordo Weave, Shalosh was from Canopy Weave, the blind monk was from Chong Sen Weave, and Ban Jiu was from Morrow Weave. Even when the captains who had already passed away were included, not one of the captains hade from Frostwave Weave aside from Huo Qingshan and Rocky Auna.

    This was quite odd, and where had Undying Yushan found these people? These captains had all been born in various ces covering nearly half of the entire eastern region of the Outerverse, and many of them came from weaves that Lu Yin had not even heard of before.

 Chapter 742: Changes In The North

    <h4>Chapter 742: Changes In The North</h4>

    Lu Yin had assumed that these captains surpassed their Outerverse peers¡¯ strength due to Undying Yushan¡¯s guidance, but it seemed that these individuals themselves were not simple either.

    Undying Yushan had possessed the Yu bloodline¡¯s battle techniques, so why had he not taught them to Frostwave Weave¡¯s cultivators, instead recruiting these people?

    Lu Yin felt that something was off about this. There was clearly a problem, but he could not see where the issuey at this moment.

    He had assumed that Undying Yushan had been an unfortunate fallen genius, but after listening to Ku Wei¡¯s words and Aden¡¯s reminiscing, Lu Yin had realized that Undying Yushan had not been as simple as he had appeared to be.

    However, he still had not found any evidence supporting the im that Undying Yushan was still alive. Just Aden¡¯s remarks and the sourcebox array found in the pce were not enough to prove that Undying Yushan was still alive. At most, it simply proved that the Yu bloodline still existed.

    The Yu bloodline? Lu Yin muttered under his breath, as that was another annoying topic. The higher he climbed, the closer he approached certain secrets, but the bigger the issues he encountered as well. However, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained bright as many of these problems were also interesting.

    Bushtree was not arge, and it was about the same size as Earth. However, Earth was blue while Bushtree was pure green, and a very brilliant green at that. Its greenness was so dense that it even baffled some people.

    There were people from the Outerverse Youth Council stationed around Bushtree to monitor it. Although the Outerverse Youth Council had not declined in terms of numbers, it no longer wielded as much authority. Still, it was well positioned concerning its control of certain areas, and Bushtree was one of them.

    Lu Yin entered after announcing his identity.

    With a thump, the spacecraftnded on the ground, creating arge crater.

    Lu Yin stepped out, and the fresh feeling in the air made him feel rejuvenated, though the odor that came with it was not very pleasant. There were too many nts, and it resulted in the atmosphere smelling a bit astringent.

    The soil was damp, as there were hidden streams of water flowing underground all across Bushtree, and it caused the entire¡¯s surface soil to be moist.

    This had a much greater surface area than Earth since Earth wasrgely covered by oceans, whereas this was almost entirely covered in soil, and the soil was alsopletely covered by nts. There were even carnivorous nts and all sorts of strange nts. In fact, the entire ecosystem was naturally formed from nothing but nts.

    After he arrived on the surface, Lu Yin looked through quite a few introductions to Bushtree, and he squatted down to touch the ground. He pressed down against the ground with his palm, exerting enough force to cause it to shatter and the hidden water to ssh into the sky.

    The air was normal, the water was normal, and so was the soil. Everything was normal, but the nts on this werepletely abnormal. He could disregard the ordinary details, but he had to pay attention to the fact that any natural treasure from this would immediately wilt after ten years.

    He released his domain and instantly noticed quite a few natural treasures around him, of which he randomly selected one.

    The greatest difference between natural treasures and normal nts was how they absorbed star energy. Normal nts could not absorb star energy and only natural treasures could. Of course, there also existed natural treasures that did not absorb star energy, but any nt that could would be considered a natural treasure, and all of them had unique aspects.

    After half a day, Lu Yin exhaled, as he had found more than 100 different natural treasures around him. It was a pity that they had only lived for such a short time, as if they had managed to live for at least 10,000 years, they would be much better. At that point, they would be much more beneficial to cultivators who were in the Explorer realm.

    But if that were the case, then this would have long since been picked clean.

    With a whoosh, the ground shattered, and a strange attack shot towards Lu Yin from below. Lu Yin casually waved a hand, and the underground nt was smashed to bits as it exploded and released a green liquid that then seeped out.

    This was filled with many nts that would attack, and this was also one of the reasons why it had be a that hosted youth trials.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is useless to you, as all of these natural treasures are less than ten years old, which are no different than weeds to you. Even if you take them to another where they can grow endlessly, your life won¡¯t be long enough for you to enjoy them,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    ¡°Tell me¡ªthese natural treasures can¡¯t live any longer than ten years, but what about their efficacy? If there was a way to elerate their life, would they still wilt?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey replied, ¡°Probably not, this Monkey just saw a few natural treasures that were more potent than they should be after only living for ten years, so they seem to be fine so long as their age doesn¡¯t exceed ten years.¡±

    Lu Yin thought that this to be the case as well, but thinking it was one thing. He still had to experiment and verify his thoughts.

    As he thought about it, he quickly screened the monkey off and brought out his die. It had been almost a month since he hadst rolled it on Shenwu Continent, so he could roll it again.

    He was afraid of rolling six pips: Possession, so he ced his cosmic ring aside and tapped the die. It slowly stopped spinning, immediatelynding on three pips: Enhance. His luck was amazing this time.

    Lu Yin was quite emotional, as he felt like his streak of bad luck was about to end.

    Two light screens appeared, which was a familiar scene to him. Lu Yin plucked a random natural treasure, threw it on the top screen, and then tossed a star essence onto it as well. But then, he stopped suddenly. His expression changed, and he stared nkly at the screen, as he felt like he had been mistaken about something.

    The natural treasures in the Daosource Sect''s ruins had been able to release that much star energy because they had absorbed it for a sufficient number of years, allowing a boundless amount of star energy to appear once they were burned. However, what about these natural treasures? His die¡¯s three pips: Enhance only upgraded their efficacy, as it required time for them to absorb star energy. Even if he upgraded these natural treasures to a level where they instinctively evaded danger, it would still be useless, as they would not have spent enough time to absorb a massive quantity of star energy. Even if they were burned, only their medicinal efficacy would be released, but almost no star energy.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as it really wasn¡¯t easy to find a shortcut. Bushtree could not be used as a tool for his cultivation hack.

    The only constion he had was that these natural treasures were just as he had guessed, and they were fine so long as they did not over-age. They would not wilt despite their efficacy surpassing what they should have after ten years¡¯ worth of growth, and even if they could not help him rapidly upgrade his power, they could still be of use.

    He looked around, and he saw quite a few other natural treasures, though he did not know any of their uses. The die¡¯s Enhance screens were still there, and Lu Yin could not possibly stop screening the Ghost Monkey off. Thus, he had no choice but to look for a few of gentler-seeming natural treasures to upgrade.

    That white fruit that he had upgraded in the past had been brimming with vitality and it had taken 100 star essence before reaching the level of avoiding danger, and the natural treasures that he had given to Ming Zhaoshu had simrly consumed 100 star essence each. The average natural treasure would probably require that amount to reach the level of avoiding danger.

    Lu Yin upgraded twenty two natural treasures to the degree where they were all capable of instinctively avoiding danger and stored them in his cosmic ring before leaving Bushtree.

    He would return to this ce again in the future, and he did not know how many years those twenty two natural treasures had already lived for. Some of them might already be close to reaching ten years, so they would need to be used soon.

    ***

    In the darkness of outer space, the asional meteorite streaked past, some strikings and rising to high temperatures due to the friction as they entered the atmosphere. They would burn red, and some would even continue to fly out from a¡¯s atmosphere and into the boundless universe to ces unknown.

    Onerge meteorite flew towards the Outerverse¡¯s north at an exceptional speed, though nobody knew where it hade from or how it had started to move.

    This meteorite was massive, even bigger than an ordinary. If it bumped into some at its current speed, the would most likely crumble.

    Suddenly, therge meteorite split apart at the center, forming two halves. An astral beast released the rion cry of an eagle as it appeared at one end of the meteorite. Its ws forcefully pushed the two halves of the meteorite apart with its star energy, and they then flew away in opposite directions.

    This astral beast looked like an eagle, but it had two heads. Its eyes looked like they contained lightning, and it flew very fast; every time its wings pped, it caused the void to fluctuate. This was an astral beast that had a power level above 100,000.

    In the Outerverse, there were not many astral beasts that were this strong, especially within the eastern weaves. Such strength was enough for a beast to im control of an entire area, but at this moment, this particr astral beast made for a sorry image. Large amounts of blood asionally gushed out from its abdomen, and one of its wings was even bent. Some of its originally horrifying ws had been snapped apart, and terror flickered through its eyes like lightning. All the while, it rushed in a particr direction at its top speed.

    ¡°No, not there. That¡¯s Frostwave Weave,¡± a man atop the beast said. He had a pale face, and half of his body was stained with blood. Evidently, he had been severely injured.

    The beast chirped, as if asking where to go.

    That man feeblyy down on the beast¡¯s back. ¡°East, fly east.¡±

    The beast changed directions and flew towards the east.

    After some time, the astral beast seemingly sumbed to its injuries. It copsed with a moan and crashed towards a.

    The people on the looked up to see an enormous creature crashing down, which incited mass hysteria.

    The astral beast fell into an ocean on the, causing a tsunami that drowned the entire coastal area and killed many.

    This had only just recently developed technology, and the natives had not ever encountered such a terrifying astral beast before. Fortunately, there were stronger civilizations monitoring the, and they quickly carried the injured bird as well as the person on its back away, leaving nothing on the aside from a legend.

    ***

    In space, an Aurora was headed towards Zenyu Star with Lu Yin sitting inside as he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures and contemted the next step he should take.

    He wanted to finish cultivating all ny nine stars of the Cosmic Art that his master had given him, and lockbreaking sourceboxes seemed to be the fastest way to proceed in this.

    Only by perfectlypleting the Cosmic Art would he be able to speed up his star energy absorption rate.

    Apart from that, there was also his battle force, domain, battle techniques, and more aspects that required attention and improvement. He had seemingly developed too many tools, and the Great Yu Empire was a massive responsibility as well.

    It was no wonder why many cultivators frequently ignored the mundane daily routines and instead focused solely on cultivation.

    However, due to Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift, the more resources he possessed, the faster his rate of improvement would be, which was something that he could not help.

    When he returned home this time, he would find a way to make as much money as possible, and he had to frequently try to use his die¡¯s six pips: Possession. The Skybeast w had given him the sweet taste of sess, and the next person he Possessed might be able to grant him even greater benefits. Right, it was not impossible that he would Possess one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, any disciple of the Cosmic Sect that he could merge with would definitely not be a low ranked disciple, and even if they were not a top disciple, he would be able to at least Possess one of their descendants.

    Lu Yin still held that much self-confidence. So what if the Neoverse was even stronger? He was confident that, within the same realm, he was close to bing unrivalled, just like back when he had still been a Limiteer.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget made a notification sound.

    Lu Yin looked down, and he was surprised to see that Tianming was calling him.

    Ever since Tianming had been nted as a puppet in Grandtop Weave¡¯s Nine Stacks Sect, the two youths seldom contacted each other. If Tianming had something to report, he would go directly to Huan Sha or En Ya, and he generally did not contact Lu Yin.

    He quickly answered the call.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tianming¡¯s heavy voice sounded on the other end. ¡°Your Highness, Anfield is in the Nine Stacks Sect, and he¡¯s been severely injured.¡±

    ¡°Anfield?¡± Lu Yin felt like he had heard this name before.

    ¡°Anfield is a Hunter from the Innerverse¡¯s Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Second Grade Hall, and he was one of the experts who was present during the events on Pyrolyte in the Astral Wilderness. He also participated in the defense of Ironblood Weave,¡± Tianming reminded Lu Yin.

 Chapter 743: The Empire Moves Out

    <h4>Chapter 743: The Empire Moves Out</h4>

    Lu Yin then remembered the Hunter from the Second Grade Hall. ¡°Why¡¯s he with you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to him, and Anfield told me that he was beaten by people from Aegis. If not for the speed of his tamed beast, he would have been dead,¡± Tianming replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Aegis?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Ever since the contest on Pyrolyte, the Second Grade Hall has remained in control of Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty. In recent days, someone from the Greatsword Dynasty paid an astronomical price to hire Aegis, and that prompted mercenaries to start massacring all the members of the Second Grade Hall in a bid to recapture the Greatsword Dynasty. The person who hired them is Ding Xing,¡± Tianming exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°I got it. Do you know the group that Aegis sent to the Greatsword Dynasty?¡±

    ¡°Anfield gave me a full report: one Hunter, three Cruisers, and ten Explorers.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°Aegis¡¯s Hunter was able to injure Anfield that badly? I want to speak to him.¡±

    ¡°I am- cough cough- Anfield,¡± Lu Yin heard a feeble voice call out.

    Lu Yin coldly ordered, ¡°Exin what happened in detail.¡±

    Anfield stammered, ¡°Aegis- Aegis¡¯s Hunter is an expert with a power level of 150,000. Also, Aegis did not face us directly. Instead, they first released a poisonous gas before taking us out with assassination techniques¡­¡±

    Anfield did not say much, as the entire process had been rather short, but it still painted a bloody scene for Lu Yin.

    Aegis had used the most despicable methods avable to them to massacre everyone from the Second Grade Hall, and they had shown no hesitation in their actions.

    If the Outerverse was not currently isted from the Innerverse, or if the Second Grade Hall¡¯s Enlighter, Karthika, had not died, then Aegis definitely would not have had the nerve to make such a bold move. But in this case, they had acted without almost any restraint.

    Anfield absolutely hated Lu Yin with every fiber of his being. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s actions, Karthika would not have died, and the Second Grade Hall would not have been thrust into such a desperate situation. Just a single Enlighter was enough to elevate an organization from prey to predator.

    Anfield¡¯s hatred towards Lu Yin was also the reason why he had not gone to the Frostwave Weave despite his injuries. He had been afraid that people from Aegis would kill him, but he was even more afraid that Lu Yin would kill him. However, he had never thought that he would indirectly end up delivering himself into Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    ¡°ording to you, the people from Aegis are basically assassins,¡± Lu Yin said seriously.

    Anfield replied, ¡°They¡¯re professional killers.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted towards Anfield, and then he gave Tianming certain instructions. He was just about to disconnect when he suddenly thought of something. He screened the Ghost Monkey off and then asked Anfield, ¡°How do you guys capture beasts to tame them? Has there ever been a case where a beast was afraid of death and voluntarily merged into a human¡¯s body?¡±

    Anfield was surprised at this question. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing. Our Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone imparts a technique to us that allows us to tame beasts, and we use it to stamp the beasts into our bodies.¡±

    ¡°Has there really never been a beast that voluntarily merged into a person¡¯s body? Like a beast that might have grasped the taming technique?¡± Lu Yin tried to ask again.

    Anfield replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a beast that couldprehend a human technique, just as humans cannot cultivate the astral beasts¡¯ techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought and then quickly ended the call.

    Lu Yin looked at his right arm. Could the Ghost Monkey have reallyprehended the astral beast taming technique? Originally, the monkey had told Lu Yin that it had used the Beast Tamers¡¯ technique to imprint himself onto Lu Yin¡¯s body, bing a tamed beast. Logically, if that were true, then Lu Yin should be able to control the monkey¡¯s movements, and he should also be able to eliminate it at any moment. However, Anfield¡¯s exnation left Lu Yin feeling lost.

    The Ghost Monkey had either deceived him, or Anfield had lied to him. Of course, it was also possible that Anfield simply didn¡¯t know the information that Lu Yin was looking for.

    Lu Yin exhaled slowly. No matter what, if he wanted some light shed on this matter, he would have to ask a more powerful expert from Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone. Anfield was just an initial stage Hunter, so his experience and knowledge were limited, especially since he was also from the Second Grade Hall. Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone¡¯s top power was the Divine Grade Hall, which meant that even Kuang Wang might know more than Anfield.

    Lu Yin set the matter with the Ghost Monkey aside, as he currently had to consider the situation with Northcastle Weave and Aegis.

    Ding Xing had actually requested Aegis¡¯s help, but just where had he gotten the money to do so? He must have used the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s treasury as coteral, which had already been promised to Lu Yin. However, since he had done nothing to help the Greatsword Dynasty chase the Second Grade Hall away so far, it seemed that they had abandoned the Great Yu Empire and instead sought out Aegis.

    Still, from the beginning, Lu Yin had stationed some people around Ding Xing to monitor him. This was to not allow him to leave precisely in order to prevent him from looking for other sources of help.

    Lu Yin contacted Zenyu Star and quickly was informed that those who had been monitoring Ding Xing had been injured. His expression sank. How ballsy.

    He currently felt as though his own possessions were being stolen away from right beneath his nose. But more importantly, Ding Xing was an important figure that could push Northcastle Weave to join the Great Eastern Alliance. After all, the Greatsword Dynasty was the top power in Northcastle Weave, so if Lu Yin could exert influence over Ding Xing after helping him to recover the Greatsword Dynasty, then he would not have to worry about Northcastle Weave not joining the Great Eastern Alliance.

    But now, Aegis had moved first. Not only had Lu Yin suffered a loss of material goods, but he had also suffered the loss of potentially expanding the alliance.

    Lu Yin definitely would not take such a loss lying down. He considered his options before quickly contacting Yan Yan and ordering the Seventh Squadron to head towards Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty. Their orders were to seize Ding Xing and drag him back to stand trial for the crime of injuring the Great Yu Empire¡¯s cultivators.

    At the same time, Lu Yin also warned Yan Yan to remain vignt, since Aegis had acted in secret. Of course, Lu Yin was not too worried. If Yan Yan could not deal with Aegis¡¯s people in Northcastle Weave with his strength, then he simply did not need to fight against them.

    ***

    Wei Rong was slightly busier than normal during this period, as he had been brainstorming ideas on how to best interfere with the Great Eastern Alliance while also reaching out to contact the various central weaves. His intention was to form an alliance that could withstand the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s pressure. But he also had to prevent Sourcepeak Weave from being snatched up by Lu Yin, and even with Wei Rong¡¯s capabilities, he felt that he had too much work to do.

    But on this particr day, he received a bit of good news. Aegis had actually moved into the eastern weaves after being employed by Northcastle Weave¡¯s Greatsword Dynasty.

    Wei Rong was prudent in his tasks, and since he was fated to be enemies with Lu Yin, he had already investigated the myriad matters rted to the Great Yu Empire, including the fact that the Greatsword Dynasty had once requested the Great Yu Empire¡¯s assistance. He had paid attention to this situation and had even wanted to use it to cause some issues once. However, who could have expected Aegis to interfere on their own?

    There was clearly no bad blood between Aegis and Lu Yin, but Aegis had still acted ruthlessly at this time. Ever since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, Aegis had begun acting with less and less restraint.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin behaved in a simrly tyrannical manner, and he was definitely not the type of person who would let themselves be taken advantage of. Since Aegis had snatched away something from the Great Eastern Alliance, the conflict between the two had already been set in motion, and Wei Rong was looking forward to watching a good show.

    ¡°Young Master, do we have to do anything?¡± A figure appeared behind Wei Rong and asked in a deep voice.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Aegis and Lu Yin are ipatible. Even if we don¡¯t act, they will naturally be hostile towards one another.¡±

    Northcastle Weave was located to the north of Frostwave Weave. Before the events that had urred on Pyrolyte, Northcastle Weave had been a bustling hub, as anyone from the Innerverse or Outerverse who wanted to enter the Astral Wilderness from the east side had to go through Northcastle Weave, and these people had brought an enormous amount of wealth into Northcastle Weave.

    Unfortunately, after everything that had happened on Pyrolyte, Northcastle Weave had be just another Outerverse weave that was cut off from the Innerverse. The Greatsword Dynasty had been one of the strongest powers in Northcastle Weave, but they had been casually taken over by the Second Grade Hall.

    Swordian was one of the more specials in Northcastle Weave. It was not actually urate to call it a, as Swordian was shaped like a broad-edged sword, which was where its name came from. It would be more urate to call it a floating continent that drifted through the universe, and the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s history had first started on this Swordian.

    In its most flourishing period, the Greatsword Dynasty had ruled over twenty fments, and it had been the undisputed ruler of Northcastle Weave. But as the dynasty¡¯s sessive emperors became more and more muddleheaded, the dynasty¡¯s territories had gradually broken away until the dynasty only controlled twelve fments during the time of the events on Pyrolyte. The emperor at that time had not even been willing to interact with Frostwave Weave due to him having certain misgivings about Undying Yushan.

    At this moment, in the capital of Swordian, within a majestic pce, a group of ministers were kneeling on the floor, trembling. A youth in embroidered clothing was standing in front of them, and next to him stood Ding Xing while surrounding them were mercenaries from Aegis, who were clearly distinct from Ding Xing and the others even at just a casual nce.

    These mercenaries hailed from all parts of the Outerverse, and they were all wearingbat suits unique to Aegis as well as carrying firearms. They looked majestic and formidable. Most of them had normal appearances, but there were a few people who had more bizarre body shapes, such as their arms being exceptionally long, their heads being square-shaped, their skin being scaled, and more. Different environments gave birth to different types of people, and although they were all still human, some ces had gone through hundreds, thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of years of development, which would lead to various changes in their anatomy.

    Aegis¡¯s mercenaries were trained and gathered from all over the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse, and naturally, there were all sorts of people among them.

    Of this group, their leader was a thin person who was about three meters tall, though his legs were exceptionally slender, and they looked to be about two meters long on their own. The man also looked slightly out of sorts.

    Ding Xing asionally looked up with terror in his eyes, and he felt very conflicted. He had originally been livingfortably on Zenyu Star, waiting for Lu Yin to rescue the Greatsword Dynasty. However, he had constantly been very anxious there, since he felt like he had been left with no other choice. But then, one day, someone from Aegis had suddenly contacted him and enquired if he wanted to save the Greatsword Dynasty, cing him in a dilemma. He had tried to meet the Royal Regent, even requesting an audience several times, but never managed to do so. Thus, in his nervous state, he had employed Aegis.

    Aegis had acted too ruthlessly. Not only had they massacred the members of the Second Grade Hall, but they had even killed off quite a few cultivators who had originally been a part of the Greatsword Dynasty that happened to be in the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s pce. These mercenaries from Aegis did not care who had been killed, but more importantly, they had no ns of leaving at all.

    Ding Xing had thought that by offering the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s treasury to these people, they would leave, as that had been the originally agreed upon payment. But now, Aegis had reneged on their original agreement, and they wanted to stay in the Greatsword Dynasty in much the same way that the Second Grade Hall had before. Their excuse was that they wanted to establish a training base on Swordian, and it was this request that made Ding Xing realize that he had been duped.

    Aegis had wanted to upy Swordian from the very beginning, which was why they had lured Ding Xing away from Zenyu Star. These people¡¯s final objective had always been the Greatsword Dynasty.

    The tall, thin leader was sitting nearby while looking at a star chart on his gadget. Aegis¡¯s objective this trip was to gain control of the Greatsword Dynasty, and this location was vital to the mission. Although the Outerverse was currently isted from the Innerverse, the search for pyrolyte had not diminished at all, and many people were still entering the Astral Wilderness to find more pyrolyte. The price of pyrolyte on the ck market had continuously risen, which pushed the demand to find more constantly higher. The situation had moved away from the few great powers of the Innerverse searching, and now, there were countless independent cultivators from the Outerverse looking to strike it rich.

    Before the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, Aegis had not dared to scheme for any pyrolyte. It wasn¡¯t just them¡ªno Outerverse power had dared to have any thoughts about it. But right now, since they were separated from those Innerverse organizations, Aegis was no longer afraid of anybody. Their sights had naturally been drawn towards pyrolyte, and if they controlled the Northcastle Weave, then it would be equivalent to them controlling the only passageway between the Outerverse and the region of the Astral Wilderness where pyrolyte could be found. Not only would this be convenient for transport and exploration, but it would also facilitate their plundering.

    The more pyrolyte they obtained, the more powerful their weapons would be, and the stronger their organization would be.

    This was Aegis¡¯s dream, as they wanted to intimidate the entire Outerverse.

 Chapter 744: Lu Yinâ€™s Power

    <h4>Chapter 744: Lu Yin¡¯s Power</h4>

    ¡°Ding Xing, where is this treasury you mentioned that¡¯s able to restore the empire?¡± the tall, thin person leisurely asked. Their goal was to upy the Greatsword Dynasty, but they still wanted their promised reward.

    Ding Xing¡¯s expression changed. ¡°If we deliver that to you, will you leave?¡±

    The tall and thin person sneered. A figure suddenly appeared in front of Ding Xing, and kicked him a hundred meters back, where he crashed against a wall.

    Ding Xing felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and he almost couldn¡¯t breathe after being kicked.

    Everyone else in the room was stunned, and the youth almost soiled himself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that you understood me. Remember this: we are from Aegis,¡± thenky man stated confidently.

    Ding Xing¡¯s lips were bleeding, and he panted heavily as he lowered his head. He regretted his decision to leave Zenyu. These people from Aegis were clearly intimidated by Lu Yin, which was why they had tricked Ding Xing into leaving Zenyu on his own. He couldn¡¯t believe that he had fallen for their scam, not to mention the fact that he had even revealed his prince¡¯s identity.

    He turned to look at the youth, and the tall, thin man walked towards the youth at that same moment.

    The youth was the prince of the Greatsword Dynasty, and he was also the only member of the imperial family who had survived the Second Grade Hall¡¯s massacre.

    Ding Xing was very loyal to the imperial family, as his entire goal was to rebuild the Greatsword Dynasty. However, at this moment, he was powerless.

    Thenky man bent over and looked down at the youth. ¡°Tell me, are you willing to let us stay here and help you?¡±

    The youth turned pale. ¡°Yes, yes.¡±

    The tall, thin man smirked and patted the youth on the shoulder. He then nced over at Ding Xing. ¡°Go and bring the treasury over. Otherwise, you will die.¡±

    Ding Xing answered bitterly, ¡°This is Northcastle Weave, and we are very close to Frostwave Weave. Aren¡¯t you scared of the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    His words caused thenky man¡¯s face to be quite grim. Aegis had always been very aggressive, and they normally would have never even tried to negotiate with the Greatsword Dynasty. In the past, they would have just directly taken over the area simr to what the Second Grade Hall had done. However, Aegis was holding themselves back by trying to gain the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s official support, and this was precisely because of the Great Eastern Alliance and Lu Yin.

    Although they weren¡¯t scared of Lu Yin, they still didn¡¯t want to give him any excuse to create trouble for them, as that would certainly be a huge hassle. Thus, they were eager to gain the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s official support. Otherwise, they would have never stayed in this ce.

    This reminder annoyed thenky man as Aegis had never been worried about anyone before, let alone some Explorer. The Great Eastern Alliance was just some small fry to them.

    A loud crack rang through the hall as Ding Xing was kicked again, and he almost spat out his intestines.

    ¡°Nobody dares to rebuke Aegis¡¯s actions,¡± thenky man said coldly.

    Ding Xing¡¯s heart fell, as it seemed that the Greatsword Dynasty was finished. He watched on as blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth and froze as itnded on the floor. Wait, hold on. Ice?

    Ding Xing touched the floor and was shocked at how cold it was. Swordian was perpetually sunny, and it was impossible to find ice anywhere on the maind. Ding Xing looked around the great hall. Could this chill be because of the innate gift of someone from Aegis? He nced around, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone using their innate gift.

    Ding Xing was confused, and he looked back down at the floor, only to be stunned even more. The floor hadpletely frozen over, and his legs were stuck now. He tried to pull his legs out of the ice, but he quickly realized that he had lost all feeling in his legs, and the chill was quickly spreading all around him.

    Ding Xing was frightened. He was a Cruiser with a power level of 60,000, but he had still been frozen by someone without even realizing it. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    At that moment, everyone realized that they had been frozen in ce.

    Thenky man was astonished by this sudden change, and the ice beneath his feet shattered as he rose into the sky. He was the only person not frozen to the floor, as everyone else¡ªincluding the Aegis mercenaries¡ªhad been frozen in ce.

    The mercenaries tried their best to free themselves as soon as they realized that they were stuck.

    Thenky man looked up and saw what seemed like crimson meteors crashing towards the ground. These meteors were actually personal spacecraft, and from the looks of it, at least a hundred people hadnded on the.

    Thenky man was shocked. ¡°Who would dare to move against Aegis?¡±

    Ding Xing felt the iciness that surrounded him and suddenly thought of a person: the captain of the Seventh Imperial Squadron.

    Ding Xing had stayed on Zenyu for quite a long time, and he had be quite familiar with the captains of the Imperial Thirteen Squadrons. The captain of the Seventh Imperial Squadron was rtively newpared to the rest, and Ding Xing had heard rumors iming that this person had almost frozen the entire Auna family solid, and even Xueshan Auna, who was a Hunter, hadn¡¯t been able to withstand his power. This person was definitely one of the most elite fighters among the captains of the Imperial Thirteen Squadrons.

    Ding Xing¡¯s eyes gleamed. If it really was that person, then that meant that Lu Yin was taking action.

    The tall, thin leader of Aegis¡¯s forces grew restless, and he looked into the distance, where he saw someone slowly walking towards them. It was Yan Yan, and the cold grew more intense as he drew closer. However, Yan Yan had only frozen the bottom half of the people in the pce. Nobody, not even the Cruisers, were able to move a finger aside from the skinny leader.

    Yan Yan was someone who even Old Gu De hadn¡¯t been able to deal with, and Xueshan Auna had not been able to withstand Yan Yan¡¯s powers either. He was a powerhouseparable to Aden, and there was no way that these people from Aegis could defeat him.

    Yan Yan had listened to Lu Yin¡¯s warning, and since these people were good at ying dirty, he had been determined to immobilize them as quickly as possible. This was the sort of task that Yan Yan excelled at.

    Multiple figures appeared in the sky, and they quickly surrounded the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce.

    Thenky man red at Yan Yan. ¡°Who are you? We are from Aegis!¡±

    Yan Yan raised his head. ¡°I¡¯m Yan Yan, the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Seventh Imperial Squadron.¡±

    The skinny man¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had already expected this to happen. The Great Yu Empire would definitely take action once Aegis gained control of Northcastle Weave, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to retaliate so quickly.

    ¡°Aegis was hired by the Greatsword Dynasty to get rid of the Second Grade Hall. What does the Great Yu Empire want?¡± thenky man asked sternly.

    Yan Yan answered in a cold voice, ¡°We want to arrest the criminal, Ding Xing, for the crime of attacking our cultivators.¡±

    Thenky man quickly responded, ¡°Alright, you can take him away.¡±

    Ding Xing shouted, ¡°Captain Yan Yan, I have a deal with the Royal Regent, and he promised me that the Great Yu Empire would help reinstate the Greatsword Dynasty. Captain Yan Yan, please fulfill that promise!¡±

    The tall, thin man became furious, and heshed out at Ding Xing, but he was stopped by a wave of frost.

    Yan Yan red at the man. ¡°Ding Xing¡¯s crime will be judged by the Great Yu Empire. The Royal Regent has ordered that whenever Ding Xing calls for the Great Yu Empire¡¯s aid, we must provide assistance ording to their agreement. Aegis can leave now.¡±

    The thin man¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Captain Yan Yan, you can¡¯t conduct business like this. Aegis has already chased away the members of the Second Grade Hall, so isn¡¯t it toote for you to try to help them now?¡±

    Ding Xing piped up anxiously before Yan Yan could even answer. ¡°I made a deal with the Royal Regent to reinstate the Greatsword Dynasty! That¡¯s not just limited to chasing away the Second Grade Hall. Anyone who dares to attack the Greatsword Dynasty will be treated as an enemy.¡±

    Thenky man was furious, and he red at Ding Xing. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Ding Xing wasn¡¯t scared of death; the only thing that mattered to him now was the survival of the Greatsword Dynasty. Aegis clearly wanted to take over the Greatsword Dynasty, but Ding Xing would never let that happen. He knelt down as he faced Yan Yan. ¡°Captain Yan Yan, please help the Greatsword Dynasty chase away the members of Aegis. I will be eternally grateful.¡±

    Yan Yan looked over at thenky man. ¡°You also heard him. Leave.¡±

    Lu Yin had told Yan Yan that he wasn¡¯t to fight against the people from Aegis if he could help it, as Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to be enemies with them.

    Thenky man had realized how powerful Yan Yan was, and just his frost energy alone was enough to make the leader of Aegis¡¯s forces anxious. There weren¡¯t many experts in the Seventh Squadron, but their captain was intimidating enough already. How could there be such an overwhelming expert in the Great Yu Empire?

    ¡°Fine, Captain Yan Yan. Aegis will remember today¡¯s events, so please inform the Royal Regent of our stance. I hope that he can handle the consequences.¡± He then leaped into the sky and quickly flew away.

    Yan Yan melted his ice, and the other people from Aegis quietly left in an orderly fashion.

    Yan Yan watched them all leave in surprise. These people were from Aegis, the most powerful security and mercenarypany in the Outerverse. The Great Yu Empire had definitely made some powerful enemies this day.

    Aegis wasn¡¯t some remnant of a major Innerverse power that had been stranded in the Outerverse. Those forces didn¡¯t have a strong foundation in the Outerverse and were only able to survive by relying on their Enlighter realm powerhouses. If anything happened to their Enlighter powerhouses, they would be doomed and unable to aplish much of anything. However, Aegis was different. They had an extremely strong foundation in the Outerverse and were also familiar with many of the underworld powers. If they made a move, then they would definitely be able to cause much more trouble than a single Enlighter powerhouse.

    After Aegis left, Ding Xing expressed his gratitude to Yan Yan. ¡°Thank you for your help on behalf of the entire Greatsword Dynasty, Captain Yan Yan.¡±

    Yan Yan coldly answered, ¡°His Highness has already verified your crime.¡±

    Ding Xing bitterly responded, ¡°I understand, and I will definitely admit to my guilt.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the treasury?¡± Yan Yan asked.

    Ding Xing said, ¡°I will go bring it now.¡±

    The youth fearfully looked up at Yan Yan from the crowd. He was a prince from the Northcastle Weave, but he was so terrified at this moment that he didn¡¯t even have the courage to stand up. The Greatsword Dynasty had beenpletely controlled by the Second Grade Hall for nearly two years, and the royal family had lost all of its dignity.

    Although the past few emperors of the Greatsword Dynasty had been useless, they had still maintained the tradition of taking care of their national treasury.

    The cosmological location of the Greatsword Dynasty was unique, as it was situated right next to the Astral Wilderness. The previous emperors of the dynasty had possessed great foresight, knowing that their empire would encounter troubles in future. This was where the treasury came into y.

 Chapter 745: Revenge

    <h4>Chapter 745: Revenge</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he looked at the inventory that Yan Yan sent him. He hadn¡¯t expected the treasury of the Greatsword Dynasty to provide such a pleasant surprise to him.

    Most treasuries held valuable items that weren¡¯t easily traded, but the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s treasury was very simple; it was straight up star crystals and star essence, as well as a bit of savings in universal currency.

    The Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s treasury consisted of three billion star crystals and twelve thousand star essence, the total value of which was more than forty thousand star essence. This was arge sum that could even pique the interest of Enlighters.

    Lu Yin felt as though he had struck gold.

    Hemanded Yan Yan to transport all the star essence to King Zishan¡¯s pce while the three billion star crystals were to be delivered to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s treasury. He had sent the Seventh Squadron over this time, so he couldn¡¯t keep all of the loot for himself.

    Nheless, he still went ahead and quietly increased the amount that the empire owed him to 80,000 star essence. He was treating these star crystals as a loan to the empire.

    The treasury was just an unexpected bonus, as what Lu Yin truly wanted was the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s influence over Northcastle Weave.

    Northcastle Weave had been on the verge of copsing during the battles on Pyrolyte, and the Greatsword Dynasty had long been the most powerful force in Northcastle Weave for many years. Therefore, once the Greatsword Dynasty joined the Great Eastern Alliance, all of Northcastle Weave could be considered theirs as well.

    But when he thought about Aegis, Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. ording to what Ding Xing had just told him, the mercenaries had actually been nning on upying the Greatsword Dynasty, which was not as simple as merely taking over Lu Yin¡¯s employment contract.

    It seemed that Aegis had grown much more ambitious; it wanted to imitate the Innerverse powers and obtain its own pyrolyte stash. That was just looking to die. If it was possible, then Lu Yin would have long since taken action to gather pyrolyte. However, Elder Lohar had once said that pyrolyte was a strategic resource, and whoever tried to take it would die. Lu Yin did not dare to cross that line.

    Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, Aegis had grown more confident, and they also had their own Enlighters, which was why the mercenaries dared to act without inhibition.

    A power that was domineering to begin with had acquired an inted ego, which was very disturbing, as they werepletely fearless.

    Lu Yin had already been making preparations to wage war against Aegis, as he would not abandon roping Northcastle Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance.

    However, even if Lu Yin had made preparations for war, he had never expected Aegis to actually act this quickly.

    Only two days passed, and Lu Yin was currently lockbreaking on a deste that was close to Zenyu Star. Zenyu Star was densely popted, and the sourcebox that he was currently unlocking was at the Perceptive Intermediate level. He had been worried that the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger might leak out and cause deaths on Zenyu Star, so he had decided to conduct his lockbreaking session in a more isted ce.

    This had been swept clean of people by some of the empire¡¯s troops, and he had decided that this ce would be his personal hideaway for any future lockbreaking or cultivating. That way, no one else could possibly get caught up in anything if an ident urred.

    Many space-exploring powerhouses tended to cultivate in ces where there were no other humans. This was because if an ident urred during cultivation, the range of the potential disaster would be devastating.

    In the past, Lu Yin had practiced the Skybeast w, and Wendy Yushan had warned him about the potential danger to normal people and weaker cultivators as an effect of such training sessions. This was what had prompted him to leave Zenyu Star for this lockbreaking session.

    The sourcebox that he was currently working on was one that he had gotten from the Lockbreaker Society. When Felynn had relocated the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters to Hydrotink, they had also taken everything remaining on Sourcepeak with them. The Hall of Insight¡¯s treasures had been plundered during the attack, but fortunately, many of their sourceboxes had been stored elsewhere.

    Lu Yin did not know exactly how many sourceboxes the Lockbreaker Society possessed, but any time he wanted to do some lockbreaking, he would send people over to Hydrotink and buy some sourceboxes.

    A one star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox had a starting price of 500 star essence, but Lu Yin had spent just 300 star essence to buy this one, which was not too expensive.

    It took a long time to sessfully unlock a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and even though Lu Yin had done so before, this one was a little more difficult since it was not harmless. Additionally, it also constantly emitted a suffocating stench.

    Lu Yin was left speechless by the unique way this sourcebox¡¯s formless danger manifested, and he felt like Felynn had intentionally chosen to sell this particr sourcebox to him. This sourcebox did not hold any special danger, but it was just horribly smelly, to the point where the smell was unbearable. Even if one did not breathe it in, the smell would still prate straight to one¡¯s brain, and there was no way to avoid it.

    It was precisely because of this smell that, even if this sourcebox held no danger, no Lockbreaker would willingly touch it. Thus, Felynn had taken advantage of this opportunity to rid herself of it.

    Lu Yin was very curious as to what was inside this sourcebox.

    The stench even had a visible sheen and form to it, which showed just how strong this smell was. Lu Yin was utterly surrounded by it as he approached the sourcebox, and he had to constantly fight the urge to vomit. He was sure that Felynn had purposefully chosen this sourcebox to disgust him.

    As he began lockbreaking, oddly enough, Lu Yin felt his heart palpitate as though someone or something was staring at him. He unleashed his domain, not to observe the sourcebox, but rather to check his surroundings. He trusted his intuition, even if he couldn¡¯t see any rune lines nearby.

    The next instance, a deathly pale radiance streaked by, and Lu Yin saw multiple cutting edges fall down towards him. An assassin.

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin stopped lockbreaking and pulled back from the sourcebox as he watched the des fall before him. This was a Hunter realm assassin. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled as he retreated step by step. This attacker was extremely fast, as he was causing multiple des to appear from all directions, each one of them tearing through the void towards Lu Yin. The knives cut thend and the sky apart, and ck spatial tears spread out in all directions.

    This was a blitzkrieg attack that did not give Lu Yin a single moment to catch his breath, especially since there was always a de that continuously chased after Lu Yin¡¯s right hand, preventing him from retrieving anything from his cosmic ring.

    External items were not unbeatable, as if a person could not ess them, then they might as well not have them.

    Lu Yin realized this detail at this moment. He had a set of universal armor, but at this moment, it was nearly impossible to put it on since he had not found an opportunity to do so since the battle began. This assassin was an experienced veteran.

    But Lu Yin had never nned on taking out his universal armor. If he actually wanted to take it out, then this person could not stop him. So why hadn¡¯t he grabbed it?

    He lightly stepped forward and shifted his body with Secret Sidestep. He then raised a hand and punched out in a direction where there was seemingly nothing. A spiritual force attack swept out in all directions, and Lu Yin heard a dull groan. From close by, a person suddenly appeared. Unexpectedly, this person had been lying on the ground the entire time. The des that were flying around had to be controlled by a person, but they had appeared without any visible cause. Thus, they could only have been the innate gift of an assassin hiding nearby.

    Although Lu Yin did not know how to specifically unleash a spiritual force attack, the Daynight Punch was able to unleash his raw spiritual force, which was able to rival the Ten Arbiters¡¯. The hidden assassin could not withstand such an overpowering spiritual force, and he had been forced out after being caught off guard.

    With a single finger, Lu Yin tapped out, and this attack caused the killer to feel dizzy. He could not understand how Lu Yin could unleash such a terrifying spiritual force attack. Still, as an assassin, he had firm willpower and was a Hunter. Thus, he had been able to forcibly endure the pressure and had not fainted.

    With a bang, Lu Yin tapped on the assassin¡¯s body, but it felt more like he had struck a weapon. It felt as though his fingertip had not touched a human body, but rather an icy cold weapon.

    With a whoosh, the assassin fled, and all of the killing intent withdrew like the tide. He fell back a thousand miles, which was typical of an assassin.

    Still, Lu Yin would not let him leave that easily, and he pressed down in the direction that the killer had fled with a Skybeast w. An ancient beast howled from across the ages as a w descended and covered an area of a hundred miles, causing the to tremble. The attack was so terrifying that even the started rupturing, andva shot up into the sky that had temperatures so scorching hot that it burned the void.

    However, the assassin had already vanished, and even with a wide area attack, Lu Yin was not able to find any trace of the man.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. Where were the rune lines? This person was a Hunter, and he should have rune lines, so why couldn¡¯t he see any? This assassin had been difficult to find to begin with, but rune lines had long since allowed Lu Yin to predict many things in advance. If someone was able topletely hide their rune lines, then it would be extremely disadvantageous for Lu Yin as he had alreadye to heavily rely on them.

    The universe was filled with mysterious things, and there would always be something that surpassed one¡¯s understanding. However, Lu Yin had never thought that this situation would arise so quickly.

    However, in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, there were also no rune lines. Could the two events be rted?

    Lu Yin immediately contacted Phantom Sting and described the attack to the assassin. On his screen, Phantom Sting quietly replied, ¡°That was Feng Zi, who¡¯s ranked ninth among the Outerverse¡¯s assassins. He should be the one who just tried to assassinate you.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s he from?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Phantom Sting answered, ¡°I don''t know, but ording to some rumors, he should be connected to Aegis. Six of the Outerverse¡¯s top ten assassins are from Aegis, and this person should be one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin had already guessed as much. Aegis was the only group that was both desperate to see him dead and had the means of deploying such an assassin.

    He had not thought that Aegis would seek revenge this quickly. This was not a simple warning, but an act of war. Aegis had acted too ruthlessly this time. They had not even made an attempt to negotiate, instead opting to immediately send an assassin. Lu Yin had not experienced such ruthlessness in a long while. In fact, he had not felt this since he had killed several Enlighters. After returning from the Ironblood Weave, aside from the people in the Daosource Sect''s ruins who could make him miserable, he had ascended to practically the top in this part of the universe.

    Aegis¡¯s behavior reminded him of how the Daynight n had treated him before. This was aplete disregard, and they had an attitude that overlooked everyone else.

    ¡°What does Aegis use to train so many assassins? And what¡¯s your rank?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Phantom Sting seriously replied, ¡°Twelfth.¡±

    ¡°That low?¡± Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Your innate gift is pretty decent, and you¡¯re also a Hunter who¡¯sprehended a domain. But despite that, you¡¯re not even in the top ten?¡±

    ¡°Assassins are ranked by efficiency, not strength. My innate gift gives me a powerful survival ability, but it cannotpare to the top ten in terms of efficiency. As for Aegis, it¡¯s rumored that their top assassins all have the ability topletely hide their auras, but I don¡¯t know any specific details. The sess rates of Aegis¡¯s assassins far surpass those of other assassin organizations. Thus, for countless years, Aegis has long been the Outerverse¡¯srgest assassination organization, and it has even reached the point where the Innerverse fears it,¡± Phantom Sting exined.

    Lu Yin mulled over this new information. If they were able topletely restrain their aura, then it was no wonder why he had not been able to see any rune lines. Dealing with Aegis was going to be a little troublesome.

    Lu Yin finally managed to unlock the smelly sourcebox after great difficulty, and when it opened, it revealed something that looked like a fruit. He casually picked it up and then left the deste.

    Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star and received a call request from an unknown ID. He was instantly suspicious, as not many people had his contact details. Regardless, he epted it anyways.

    ¡°Your Highness Lu Yin, did you like our gift?¡± A sinister voice was heard that could make people shiver in fear.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Who are you guys?¡±

    ¡°You should have already realized. We are from Aegis.¡± The sinister voiceughed strangely.

    Lu Yin softly replied, ¡°Feng Zi was the gift you sent?¡±

    ¡°We do not wish to be enemies with Sir Lu Yin, and so long as Your Highness does not intervene in Northcastle Weave, Aegis is willing topensate you. Throughout history, few people have been able to receive such treatment from us. Sir Lu Yin, we wonder, would you be willing to ept our goodwill?¡± The sinister voice sounded like the person was smiling, and Lu Yin could hear arrogance and self-satisfaction in the voice¡¯s tone. This was not going to be easy.

    ¡°If nearly seeding in an assassination attempt is showing me Aegis¡¯s goodwill, it¡¯s difficult to ept such a gift,¡± Lu Yin mocked the voice.

    ¡°Your Highness has experience in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and you are not a simple person either, so why bother dancing around? If you were able to survive our assassin¡¯s attack, then it demonstrates that you are worthy of our respect. To put it bluntly, Feng Zi is only the ninth ranked assassin, and there are certainly people who are more powerful than him. You should have heard a little about our strength, and just because Feng Zi wasn¡¯t able to seed doesn¡¯t mean that others cannot. Your Highness, it¡¯s best to consider things carefully.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned gloomy. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    ¡°If Your Highness wants to take it as such, then that¡¯s not entirely wrong. Lord Egret has asked me to send his regards,¡± the sinister voice indifferently responded in the same sharine, smiling tone.

    Lu Yin fell silent, as Aegis indeed possessed numerous assassins, as well as Lord Egret, who was an Enlighter. Their strength was very impressive. In the past, when the Outerverse had still been connected to the Innerverse, they had remained low-profile. However, now, they were baring their fangs.

    ¡°Why must you guys gain control of Northcastle Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°This is none of Your Highness¡¯s business. Please give us an answer, as the people above don¡¯t like to wait.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly answered, ¡°Get your boss to talk to me.¡±

    ¡°I am enough. If Your Highness has anything to say, then please feel free to speak to me.¡±

    Lu Yin replied in an even colder voice, ¡°You aren¡¯t qualified to speak with me.¡±

    The voice fell silent. ¡°Your Highness, Lu Yin, it seems that you haven¡¯t understood the situation of the current Outerverse. When you are able to more clearly understand things, we¡¯ll speak again. At that time, I hope to see how you are able to remain this arrogant.¡±

    The person then immediately ended the call.

 Chapter 746: All-Out War

    <h4>Chapter 746: All-Out War</h4>

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and returned to King Zishan''s pce. He then summoned Phantom Sting to ask him about the locations of all of Aegis¡¯s bases.

    Phantom Sting was able to share the locations of a few, but these were only the bases that Mafioso was aware of. However, Aegis was not just an assassination organization, as they were also a mercenarypany that took on protective details and other simr missions. Just the eastern weaves alone contained more than a thousand separate detachments of Aegis¡¯s mercenaries, not to mention the hidden contacts and assassinationmissions.

    Lu Yin did not bother trying to hide the matter of Aegis attempting to kill him. Instead, he announced it while also dering that the Great Eastern Alliance would purge Aegis from its territory. It didn¡¯t matter if they were mercenary detachments or underground contacts that took on assassination requests; anything rted to Aegis was to be purged so long as there was even a sliver of a connection to the conglomerate.

    This was the greatest undertaking that the Great Eastern Alliance had ever attempted since its establishment, and the entire Great Eastern Alliance was mobilized.

    After just a few days, any organization that was known to be rted to Aegis was purged from the eastern weaves, and all of their personnel were captured. Aegis¡¯s assassins were either captured or killed, which led to great losses for Aegis within the territories of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The greatest loss that the corporation suffered was the loss of Aegis¡¯s training grounds.

    They had many training grounds scattered throughout the Outerverse that were specially used to train mercenaries, assassins, bodyguards, and other specialists. It took exorbitant amounts of time and money to build each training ground, and losing any one of their training grounds was a massive loss for Aegis. But this time, the Great Eastern Alliance had eliminated a dozen training grounds within just a few days after the allies moved to weed out Aegis¡¯s public strength.

    Also, because of Aegis¡¯s training ground being eliminated, many people in the eastern weaves learned about Aegis¡¯s hidden activities and how thepany did not merely provide mercenaries and bodyguards but was actually more of an assassination organization.

    The Vastdearth Sect, Evenground Pce, the Six-Fingered Tribe, and others all contacted Lu Yin to ask what had triggered this move.

    Lu Yin did not hide anything, and he straightforwardly shared the details about what had happened between him and Aegis, though he did keep thepany¡¯s full strength hidden. He didn¡¯t want anyone defecting from the alliance out of fear, as the Great Eastern Alliance had not yet solidified as a single entity.

    In many people¡¯s eyes, Aegis was one of the wealthiest corporations in the Outerverse, though they had never bothered considering just how powerful such an organization really was.

    Lu Yin believed that once Aegis¡¯s true strength was revealed, Greenpeak Gorge, the Vastdearth Sect, and the other powers might possibly not want to participate in the operation against Aegis. And Lu Yin definitely could not risk facing such a monster on his own.

    Of course, even if he did not speak up, there was no way Aegis would remain silent. To prevent Aegis from threatening the various great powers of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin attributed many past assassinations to Aegis, regardless of whether or not they were actually guilty. Even Mafioso¡¯s assassinations ended up being thrown onto Aegis¡¯s head, which incited many voices of condemnation.

    Many powers and great families had suffered from their members being assassinated in the past, and those killers had finally been found. Despite the fact that the true culprit was the person who had hired the killer, Aegis had still been the executioner.

    Suddenly, the cries to purge Aegis from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory grew louder, as countless people called for thepany to be eradicated.

    Lu Yin was the type of person who generally did not do much, but as soon as he made up his mind to aplish something, he would see it through to the very end, and he would not tread slowly either. Given Aegis¡¯s attitude in the call, it was obvious that Lu Yin could not coexist peacefully with them, so he would go all the way when moving against them. As a bonus, he was also using Aegis as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s first trial.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin activated his gadget as the screen appeared before him. Madam Nn greeted his eyes, though she was looking at him with a stern face. ¡°Your Highness, are you really waging war against Aegis?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who wants a war, but they started things with me first,¡± Lu Yin defended.

    She revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Your Highness, if possible, try not to be mortal enemies with Aegis. They are not like the Innerverse powers, and they have very deep foundations in the Outerverse, to the extent where even I don¡¯t know which powers support them from the shadows. They have nurtured countless mercenaries as well as countless assassins over many years, which has led to them having partnerships with countless powers. It¡¯s not very prudent to wage an all-out war against them.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m aware of this, but you should know about them trying to assassinate me. If I don¡¯t respond to such tant aggression, then what was the purpose in establishing the Great Eastern Alliance? How can I continue walking my path in the future? If Aegis is willing to try to kill me just because of some mild offense, then how will they treat others? Aegis is attempting to use me to assert their dominance over the current Outerverse.¡±

    She replied, ¡°Has Your Highness considered the possibility that this might be a part of Wei Rong¡¯s schemes? That he might be the one instigating you into bing enemies with Aegis?¡±

    Lu Yin emotionally answered, ¡°Wei Rong is indeed smart, and it¡¯s not impossible for this to be something that he nned. However, my current circumstances are clear. So what even if we know that he¡¯s the one who started this? Aegis and I are ipatible, and Aegis will eitherpletely back out of the areas where I have control, or Aegis will simply take care of me. There are the only two possible oues.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Your Highness, the scariest aspect of Aegis is not just their assassins and Enlighters, but rather their control of the human heart. They are adept at creating public panic, as this is what their mercenaries are best at. They may not necessarily act directly against you, but rather the entire Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow arched up. ¡°Do you have any suggestions?¡±

    She solemnly answered, ¡°If Your Highness truly wishes to wage an all-out war against Aegis, then you cannot go in blind. You must know exactly how much strength Aegis has hidden within the Great Eastern Alliance, and you muste up with ways to discover where their headquarters are hidden. You will need to learn exactly how powerful they are and who they cooperate with, but I am unable to provide you with such assistance.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly made a connection. ¡°Amethyst Exchange?¡±

    The beautiful Madam Nn smiled sweetly. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about what Your Highness is speaking of. I merely gave you some friendly advice as one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations. Since Your Highness doesn¡¯t wish to heed my advice, then I¡¯ll simply wish you speedy sess.¡±

    And with that, she disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin opened thework to search up some information on the Amethyst Exchange when a name suddenly appeared in his mind: Zi Xianxian. This girl had given him 5% of Zenyu Star¡¯s Amethyst Exchange¡¯s annual profits as a gift despite Lu Yin having never interacted with Amethyst Exchange before. They were another one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations, and such an excessive gift had guaranteed that Lu Yin would remember them. It seemed that it was time to pay a visit to this Zi Xianxian.

    Suddenly, his gadget received another call, and Lu Yin answered it. Huan Sha appeared on his screen, looking solemn as her eyes contained both anxiety and resentment. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s a problem. Dozens ofs throughout the empire are being attacked, and the preliminary casualty estimation numbers in the tens of millions. Three military bases have beenpletely destroyed, and a dozen ministers have mysteriously died. Over a thousandpanies have dered bankruptcy, and protests and demonstrations have erupted in various fments of the empire. They¡¯re protesting the creation of the Great Eastern Alliance while also iming that you are trying to pull in outsiders into the empire.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as Aegis had acted yet again, and with quite ruthless methods once again.

    Following Huan Sha¡¯s report, En Ya also delivered a report. Various allies of the Great Eastern Alliance had also suffered losses. Over a hundred disciples from the Vastdearth Sect who had been out training had died. The Six-Fingered Tribe, the Tri-Banner Federation, Greenpeak Gorge, and more had also suffered from assassinations, whereas the Evenground Pce¡¯s Mistress Mu Nichang had personally suffered from an attack, and she had even been mildly injured. Numerous casualty reports continued to pour in.

    Lu Yin had underestimated Aegis¡¯s capabilities, as they had actually retaliated against the entire Great Eastern Alliance, showing that their influence had spread throughout all the eastern weaves.

    ¡°Your Highness, some people in Northcastle Weave, Eastly Weave, and various other ces have started spreading nderous rumors about the Great Eastern Alliance. Quite a few organizations from those weaves have now vowed to never join the Great Eastern Alliance,¡± Lord Garope reported.

    ¡°Your Highness, the empire¡¯s transport vessels were destroyed by an unknown group. Not only did they destroy the resources being carried, but they also killed everyone on the spacecraft. They were utterly merciless,¡± Gavin reported.

    ¡­

    Bad news flooded in one after another, which fully put Aegis¡¯s enormous influence on disy. All of these incidents could not have been aplished by Aegis on its own, but after existing in the Outerverse for countless years, Aegis had established rtionships with many other organizations. Thus, they did not need to take any direct action now since there were many others who were happy to make a move on Aegis¡¯s behalf.

    Just Mafioso alone had been able to gather many secrets concerning quite a number of forces throughout the eastern weaves, so there was no need to even mention Aegis, which was thergest assassination group.

    The Great Eastern Alliance dering war on Aegis was akin to poking a bee¡¯s nest, and countless people now realized the terror of thispany.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was a legitimate and open power, but Aegis hid in the depths of darkness. Thus, the alliance would always be at a certain disadvantage no matter how the war was waged.

    Meng Tianlong had long since contacted En Ya, hoping that Lu Yin would quicklye up with a solution. He had a feeling that he was being implicated. The Vastdearth Sect had had no dealings with Aegis in the past, but they were currently being targeted without a valid cause. He was especially concerned because he could already tell that Aegis was not a group that would cave to pressure. Instead, they would only bring about more trouble.

    Meng Tianlong was not the only one who had reached out; Mu Nichang, Feng Shu, Bach Shamus, and the other leaders had all done the same, and they were frequently calling En Ya in hopes that Lu Yin would quickly resolve the conflict with Aegis.

    Lu Yin ended his call with En Ya. The cons of this alliance had now appeared. It had been established too quickly, and their hearts had not unified yet. In fact, they were even suspicious of one another. As soon as trouble appeared, such an alliance would quickly fall apart. These people were all only thinking of their own organization, and they had no concern for the overall alliance.

    This was indeed the first trial, and it even targeted every single member of the Great Eastern Alliance. If they sessfully passed this trial, the Great Eastern Alliance would be as steady as a boulder, and it would gradually pull in the remaining eastern weaves.

    However, if they failed to make it through this trial, the Great Eastern Alliance would cease to exist, and Lu Yin would be a joke throughout the entire Outerverse. He would never let such a thing happen, and he was busy pondering over the situation as he left King Zishan''s pce.

    Zenyu Star was the capital of the Great Yu Empire, and as such, it was exceptionally busy. Practically all the major corporations had a branch on the, especially after the Great Yu Empire had unified Frostwave Weave and increased their prestige even further. Even Shamrock Enterprises, which was a great corporation that was found throughout both the Innerverse and Outerverse, had established a branch on the.

    Amethyst Exchange had simrly established a mall here, and it wasrge enough to upy an entire block on the busiest street on all of Zenyu Star. This street also held the offices of Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, and various spacecraftpanies, making it the financial hub of the entire Great Yu Empire. Anypany that could afford a venue on this street had to be able to influence at least a gxy or even an entire fment.

    Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall sold all sorts of items, so there were many peopleing and going on a daily basis, as well as many people who visited just to window shop.

    Lu Yin followed the crowd into Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall and looked around inside, fairly surprised at what he saw. There was indeed everything avable in this ce. Various retail stores sold products that catered to all aspects of human existence, and there were also powerful cultivators standing guard nearby. There was merchandise as far as the eye could see, and nearly every universally recognized brand could be found within this trading center. This was Amethyst Exchange.

 Chapter 747: Zi Xianxian

    <h4>Chapter 747: Zi Xianxian</h4>

    Those who could shop in Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall were in the uppermost echelon of society. What¡¯s more, there seemed to be an excessive number of beautiful women scattered around, which gave the ce a pleasant atmosphere as there were many beauties who were young and full of vitality.

    Lu Yin also felt himself rx as he looked at the young women. These people had sought shelter in the Great Yu Empire, and he would not let their smiles disappear.

    ¡°Sister Ya, look at that country bumpkin. He¡¯s still smiling at us,¡± whispered a few girls who were standing nearby Lu Yin. They asionally tittered to themselves like bells, which attracted a bit of attention.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face blushed red. Country bumpkin? Did he really look that unsophisticated?

    Lu Yin looked down at his own clothes and started to sweat a bit. His sense of style could be considered rather simple, and all of his outfits fell into the same few styles, which were all out of fashion. Actually, when he thought about it, why hadn¡¯t Zhao Ran prepared some more suitable clothing for him?

    Lu Yin thought of Zhao Ran¡¯s vacant expression and sighed. Maybe King Zishan''s pce should look for a housekeeper.

    ¡°See, he¡¯s embarrassed now, hehe,¡± the girl giggled.

    "This person looks somewhat familiar. I feel like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, although his appearance is rather ordinary, he¡¯s not bad looking, and his temperament seems special. Sisters, who¡¯s going to go tease him?¡± a girl wearing a more revealing outfit eagerly asked.

    ¡°Girl, don¡¯t be desperate to fall in love. You should be careful of being caught by a man.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all nothing but hypocrites putting on an act. It¡¯s not often where you can see this kind of country bumpkin walking around. Sister Ya, let¡¯s hurry up and head over,¡± the girl urged.

    The one named Sister Ya was currently looking at the directory listing the shops, and she grudgingly looked up. ¡°Don¡¯t tease others unnecessarily.¡±

    She then reflexively nced over at Lu Yin, and her entire body froze.

    The other few girls could tell that something was up with Sister Ya, and they hurriedly rushed over to her. ¡°Sister Ya, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±

    She was stumped, but then she gathered herself and suppressed the shock in her eyes. ¡°Nothing much, what were you girls talking about?¡±

    ¡°We said that we wanted to go tease that country bumpkin. Sister Ya, are you going with us?¡± The girl with the revealing clothing giggled at Sister Ya.

    Sister Ya rearranged her face and then loudly said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡±

    The few girls were startled, as they had never seen Sister Ya this angry before. She was their immediate superior, as they all worked for a very influential mediapany. They were normally quite close, so why was she treating them so harshly right now?

    Still, since Sister Ya was angry, the other girls didn¡¯t dare talk back to her. They all sullenly hung their heads, not knowing what was going on.

    Lu Yin was still looking around the mall curiously, as he was wondering where Zi Xianxian could be. After a moment, he gave up and decided to just head to the top, as the decision-makers were usually at the top levels of a building.

    Nearby, those few girls were feeling very wronged.

    Sister Ya took a deep breath. ¡°You girls, stay here and don¡¯t move around.¡± She then swallowed her saliva and walked over towards Lu Yin.

    The few girls exchanged nces in surprise; had Sister Ya taken a fancy towards that country bumpkin? Was she infatuated? That was news.

    ¡°He- hello. I¡¯m Xiao Ya from the empire¡¯s morning newspaper. It¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡± Sister Ya walked before Lu Yin, bowed very respectfully, and did her best to keep her face calm as she greeted him.

    Behind the two people, the group of girls was surprised by Sister Ya¡¯s deferential mien, and they exchanged nces. They were not stupid; Sister Ya¡¯s previous reactionbined with her current behavior could only mean one thing: that country bumpkin was actually a very important person and not someone ordinary at all. Their morning newspaper wielded great influence, and they themselves could even meet the top members of the empire. Sister Ya was even more adept, and apparently, she could even meet the cab members. Despite that, she was being extremely respectful at this moment, which showed that this young man must have a terrifying identity.

    They adjusted their expressions and no longer dared to speak a word.

    Lu Yin turned around in surprise. ¡°You recognize me?¡± He had made some slight adjustments to his appearance before visiting the mall in order to prevent others from recognizing him.

    Sister Ya respectfully answered, ¡°You are His Highness, the Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°How did you recognize me?¡±

    She took a deep breath to suppress the nervousness running rampant in her heart and replied, ¡°Every cultivator, especially those with great strength or influence, will often change their appearance when they step out. We¡¯ve long since created models of such changes for many of the empire¡¯s top members and have simted those alternative looks. Your Highness¡¯s adjusted appearance is still within our simted predictions.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and muttered to himself. ¡°It looks like in the future minor adjustments won¡¯t cut it.¡±

    She looked at Lu Yin and respectfully asked, ¡°Is Your Highness strolling about? Xiao Ya is willing to show you around and give you a tour.¡±

    ¡°You know this ce well?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Sister Ya replied, ¡°Wee here every week, so we¡¯ve been here many times.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re a wealthy woman.¡±

    Her face flushed, as Lu Yin¡¯s teasing had reduced her nervousness a bit. The person standing before her was truly the most important person who stood at the pinnacle¡ªnot just the pinnacle of the Great Yu Empire, but even the pinnacle of the entire Great Eastern Alliance. A single sentence from him could determine the fate of countless people. Although Sister Ya was well-connected and could even visit members of the Imperial Cab, she had never even dreamed that she would be able to speak with Lu Yin or that such an opportunity woulde to her.

    ¡°Show me around. I¡¯m rather curious about Amethyst Exchange,¡± Lu Yin said, as he wanted to understand more about thispany before meeting or cooperating with them.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Just call me Brother Lu.¡±

    She blinked. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re younger than me.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Then call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    Isn¡¯t that the same thing? Sister Ya thought to herself. She found that the Royal Regent was very different from what she expected; he was not the stern type that tended to scare children. Rather, he was actually someone who joked around.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, may I ask you some questions?¡± she asked carefully while leading the way.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Sure.¡±

    Sister Ya was delighted.

    ¡°Just don¡¯t publish anything,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    She was left speechless at that.

    ¡­

    The few girls stared on nkly as Sister Ya respectfully led the country bumpkin around the mall, carefully following behind him. Their eyes sparkled, as that person was clearly someone very important.

    ¡°Do you girls think that that person looks very familiar?¡± one pipped up.

    ¡°I said that he looked familiar from the beginning, but I just can¡¯t think of where.¡±

    The girl with revealing clothing suddenly covered her mouth. ¡°He changed his looks.¡±

    The other girls¡¯ expressions abruptly changed before they all weaved through the building, repositioning themselves so that they could see Lu Yin¡¯s face from the front. They then exchanged nces, as they had all realized his identity. It was no wonder why Sister Ya was being so respectful.

    ¡­

    Even after half an hour, they had not finished going through even a tenth of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall. This ce was truly mammoth.

    After listening to Sister Ya¡¯s words, Lu Yin was able to gain a better understanding of Amethyst Exchange. This tradingpany held a certain status in the hearts of themoners, and it could be described as a provider of great bargains.

    ¡°Amethyst Exchange does not sell items at high prices, and they seem to make their profits by purchasing in bulk. Even extravagant jewelry is much cheaper here than elsewhere. Rumors im that their prices are low because they don¡¯t pay taxes and that their suppliers are too widespread. However, others im that the prices are low because they manufacture many of their items themselves. Regardless, there are all kinds of theories about their business model,¡± Sister Ya exined.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t anybody suspect that the items are fake?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled. ¡°Even if they do sell fake products, due to Amethyst Exchange¡¯s influence, the fakes would quickly be more valuable than the original products, as long as Amethyst Exchange is the one selling it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. That was true¡ªso what if the products were fake? As long as the seller had enough influence, fake products could be even more valuable than the authentic versions. Lu Yin¡¯s own status as King Zishan had been faked, but his current status greatly surpassed Undying Yushan¡¯s previous position when he had been alive.

    ¡°Your colleagues are rather lively,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    She quickly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry if they¡¯ve disturbed you, Seventh Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, they¡¯re interesting.¡± He then looked up at the highest level of the trade center. ¡°Have you heard of Zi Xianxian?¡±

    Sister Ya shook her head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted. ¡°Alright, thanks for today. You can go and do your own business now.¡± He then suddenly vanished, almost as if he had never been there.

    She vacantly stared at the empty space and reached out a hand, but Seventh Bro was already gone.

    Not too far away, the few girls who had been following them saw Lu Yin leave, and they all hurriedly rushed over to boisterously interrogate Sister Ya.

    Sister Ya sternly told them, ¡°Nobody is to say a word about today to anyone. If I find out that any of you are speaking nonsense, it won¡¯t be as simple as just getting sacked. There will be no ce in the entire Great Yu Empire for you to hide. Do you understand?¡±

    The girls were frightened, and they quickly acknowledged Sister Ya¡¯s words.

    Sister Ya was quite experienced, and she had a broad range of knowledge, so she vaguely knew that Amethyst Exchange was not as simple as it appeared to be on the surface. The fact that the Royal Regent had appeared in this ce indicated some deeper purpose, and while Sister Ya could make some conjectures, she didn¡¯t dare to make any wild guesses. Also, just like the Royal Regent had said, they could not publish anything about this event.

    The Great Yu Empire and Amethyst Exchange, or rather, the Great Eastern Alliance and Amethyst Exchange¡ªSister Ya was determined to remember the connection between these two, as well as the name ¡°Zi Xianxian.¡±

    After his conversation with Sister Ya, Lu Yin had gained a basic judgement of Amethyst Exchange, and he had also used his domain to search for Zi Xianxian. Even though he had no idea what she looked like and there was practically no information about her online, he still found her quite easily. There was only one girl who was at the top level of the building, and she was wearing a purple gown, so who else could she be?

    Strangely, he was only bumping into girls today.

    Zi Xianxian was very upset. She was the third heir to Amethyst Exchange, and the family expected a great deal from her. However, in reality, she did not want to participate in Amethyst Exchange¡¯s affairs. She med her situation on her second brother, who was a cultivating idiot. It was all he knew and all he focused on, and it had nearly led to him having a falling out with their family. Although he had not been ultimately estranged, her second brother had given up on the possibility of inheriting Amethyst Exchange.

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s eldest brother was the first heir, and if nothing went wrong, he would be the one to inherit thepany. However, Zi Xianxian did not know who, but someone had created a rift between her and her brother by telling him that she waspeting against him to inherit thepany, and this had led him to oppose her at every turn.

    Because of this, Zi Xianxian had been forced to escape to the eastern weaves, as she had thought that she would be able to live a peaceful life there. But inexplicably, the eastern weaves had united and established some Great Eastern Alliance.

    This turned out to be good, as the board of directors had suddenly startedplimenting her on her vision,menting on how the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s market would greatly surpass her eldest brother¡¯s avable prospects in the central weaves¡¯ markets, how Lu Yin was someone who was unwilling to be left behind, how the Great Eastern Alliance had a great future, and other such drivel.

    Anyway, ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had been established, the board hadvished her with praise.

    Due to this strange turn of events, Zi Xianxian had suddenly fallen victim to her brother¡¯s insane resentment, and he had even scolded her during several video calls.

    Zi Xianxian felt very helpless, as how could she have foreseen something like the alliance being formed? Her brother¡¯s tirades made her angry, and she had decided to actually go against him. Regardless of whether or not she would inherit thepany in the future, she wanted to prove to her brother that she would not be easily bullied, as only that would stop him from causing more trouble for her in the future. Thus, she needed to create some trouble for him at this time.

    This had been her motivation behind her decision to give Lu Yin 5% of the profits from Zenyu Star¡¯s Amethyst Exchange. She had wanted to attract his attention, as she had seen that the Royal Regent was very adept at causing trouble.

    However, even after such a long time, Lu Yin still had not sought her out, which seemed very strange.

    However, in the near future, he would absolutelye look for her. Aegis would force Lu Yin toe, as that crazy assassination organization would definitely put him under a great deal of pressure.

    Speaking of which, Aegis was clearly crazy, but that was fine. This heap of trouble was intended for her brother, afterall, and only they could satisfy her desire to create trouble for him.

    ¡°Dearest Eldest Brother, what a huge pile of a mess is waiting for you, hehe.¡± Zi Xianxian smiled happily. She would let him deal with Aegis¡¯s mess, as her greatest task was to prod Aegis when she had nothing to do. Thus, Aegis would go look for her brother to vent their anger.

 Chapter 748: Mislead

    <h4>Chapter 748: Mislead</h4>

    Thud thud thud!

    ¡°Come in.¡± Zi Xianxian stretched her body out. Making trouble for someone else was rather tiring, as it required her to think a lot.

    Lu Yin walked into the room. He did a serious double take when he saw the pink sofa across from Zi Xianxian. It was exceptionally pink. Who would ce such a pink sofa in their office? Was this actually meant to be sat on?

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s gaze trembled as she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin had wanted to sit down to speak with her, as that would have been more conducive towards presenting the image that he wanted to. However, he decided against it after realizing that his backdrop would be the intensely pink sofa. He returned to his normal appearance and looked at her. ¡°This is the first time we¡¯re meeting. Hello, Miss Zi Xianxian.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was not unfamiliar to Zi Xianxian, as she had seen his picture before. She had also been expecting him to look for her some time soon, though she had not thought that it would be at this moment. ¡°So it¡¯s the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader. I have been looking forward to meeting you. Please, sit.¡±

    Lu Yin felt awkward. Sit? That didn¡¯t feel right. With the bright pink sofa as the only option, he really didn¡¯t dare to sit down.

    Zi Xianxian blinked, gestured towards Lu Yin, and then brought him out of the office and into another, more spacious one.

    Upon entering the second office, Lu Yin saw another vividly pink sofa. How many pink sofas did this woman have? Fortunately, there was also a tea set in this room, which gave it a slightly more refined atmosphere.

    Zi Xianxian gestured for Lu Yin to sit down, and then personally brewed him a cup of tea. ¡°Why has the Alliance Leadere looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin took the offered cup and tasted the tea, but it was nothing special. ¡°Miss Zi Xianxian gave me 5% of this exchange¡¯s shares, so I can also be considered a shareholder, correct?¡±

    Zi Xianxian smiled. ¡°Of sorts. Did the Alliance Leadere by to offer your opinions on the exchange? Or are you here to collect a bonus?¡±

    Lu Yin set down the teacup. ¡°Neither. My objective, as Miss Zi Xianxian knows, is to obtain the top-tier information that is in Amethyst Exchange¡¯s possession.¡±

    ¡°It looks like the Alliance Leader is in trouble.¡± Zi Xianxian beamed at Lu Yin. At this moment, Lu Yin finally took a serious look at the girl, as all his attention had previously been distracted by the pink sofas.

    The young girl in front of him was very pretty, and her eyes were bright and lively. She even had bangs with the rest of her hair falling all the way to her waist, all of which gave her a very gentle demeanor. She seemed to be around the same age as Hai Qiqi, though she also felt a bit more mature than Hai Qiqi.

    The most striking aspect of her was her purple gown that matched her ck boots, and her outfit contained a hint of a fairytale princess¡¯s charm. She was obviously from a wealthy background.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious¡ªhow does Amethyst Exchange charge people for the information it provides?¡± Lu Yin got right to the point, as he felt that the pink sofa was exceptionally irritating.

    Zi Xianxian sized him up with her bright eyes, and she continued to stare at him curiously, some degree of probing visible in her gaze.

    Lu Yin felt awkward. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±

    Zi Xianxian smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about how best to cooperate with you.¡±

    Lu Yin acknowledged her with a grunt, but he said nothing more after that. He simply minded his own business and sipped his tea as he waited.

    After looking at him for a while, Zi Xianxian finally shifted her gaze, ¡°We¡¯ve conducted some investigations into your background. You have cultivated for no more than seven years and only began to rise up over thest two years. Before the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, you were just a normal male who was a part of the younger generation. However, ever since the Outerverse was isted, you¡¯ve undergone aplete change that started off with you killing Enlighters and bing a brilliant star in the Outerverse. I am very curious¡ªwere you always keeping yourself hidden, or did you suddenlye across some lucky opportunity?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at her. ¡°Is this rted to our cooperation?¡±

    ¡°If we are to cooperate with you, then we must firste to understand all we can about our potential partner. Our Amethyst Exchange believes that we can gain aplete view of the background of anyone from the Outerverse, but we were still very surprised by your sudden rise. Aside from that, we are even more baffled at how we cannot find any reason to exin how you managed to kill Enlighters, where your external items came from, how you obtained your secret technique, or even how you survived the attack on the pirate port in the past. We have no clue regarding any of these questions.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here to purchase information, not to provide it for you.¡±

    Zi Xianxian casually took out a memory chip from her cosmic ring and set it on the tea table. ¡°This chip contains information on all the various powers rted to your Great Eastern Alliance as well as the ones rted to Aegis. As long as you answer my questions, this chip is yours.¡±

    Lu Yin pondered a moment and then lightly tapped the table. Those who knew him well would recognize this as a habit of his.

    He looked at the memory chip and said, ¡°Some time ago, the Innerverse¡¯s Xun Family and the Daynight n allied to deal with me so that they could prevent the Great Eastern Alliance from being established. During this, some members of the Xun family personally appeared to obstruct me, and they also used me of crimes that made it all the way to the Hall of Honor. Do you know about this matter?¡±

    Zi Xianxian nodded. ¡°Yes. The Xun family was then abandoned by the Hall of Honor, and the Daynight n no longer moved against you. This hassted until today, and they are almostpletely low-profile.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Do you know how Darkstar Gorge was annihted?¡±

    Zi Xianxian nodded. ¡°Yes. They colluded with the Neohuman Alliance and were therefore exterminated by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°The Daynight n, the Xun family, and Darkstar Gorge all tried to interfere with the establishment of my Great Eastern Alliance, but not one of them seeded. There¡¯s onemon factor in all of these situations.¡± At this time, Lu Yin paused, no longer speaking as he simply stared at Zi Xianxian with a sly half-smile on his face.

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s expression changed, as themon detail was the Hall of Honor. She stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°Could you actually be-¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop Zi Xianxian frompleting her sentence. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you anything, and I cannot tell you anything either.¡±

    Zi Xianxian quickly thought things through. If this was true, then it was no wonder how Lu Yin had been able to repeatedly obtain such opportunities and establish the Great Eastern Alliance so quickly. Not even their Amethyst Exchange could check on those messages. This person had to be from the Hall of Honor, as nothing else could exin why the Hall of Honor supported him so much. Even the Xun family and the Daynight n had been abandoned, as the Hall of Honor was directly supporting Lu Yin.

    Those external items of his that had been able to eliminate Enlighters must have also been given to him by the Hall of Honor. Otherwise, how else could a puny Limiteer cultivator have obtained such items? Even their Amethyst Exchange might not necessarily possess such powerful power vessels¡ªonly the Hall of Honor would.

    Reportedly, during the defense of Ironblood Weave, Lu Yin had obtained extraordinary rewards from his Ironblood Points, which was very strange. How could a Limiteer achieve such impressive contributions? There were even rumors iming that he had forced back an old monster with a power level of 300,000. That was only possible if this person had the Hall of Honor¡¯s support? With this added detail, everything suddenly made sense.

    The more Zi Xianxian thought about it, the more certain she became that this person was backed by the Hall of Honor and that they had also assisted him in establishing the Great Eastern Alliance. Hold on, could the Hall of Honor¡¯s goal be to unify the entire Outerverse? Zi Xianxian instantly felt as though she had stumbled upon some supreme secret.

    Throughout history, the Hall of Honor had stood above the rest of the universe, seldom intervening with the Outerverse¡¯s affairs. But now that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, had the Hall of Honor¡¯s policies somehow changed?

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s mind was in turmoil, as the four great corporations could notpete against the Hall of Honor; not a single one of them was a colossal giant like Shamrock Enterprises, Aurora Enterprises, Mavis Bank, or other such monsters. The Hall of Honor was the true master of the Human Domain, dominating all others. Once it decided to act, who could possibly go against them? The person in front of her had hidden his immense backing all along.

    Lu Yin smiled to himself, as he knew that Zi Xianxian had misunderstood his words. This was the effect that he had intended to have, and it was not that Zi Xianxian was being foolish, but rather that the Hall of Honor¡¯s support could easily create misunderstandings. He knew that he had gained the support due to his futon, but others did not know about that. Thus, they would simply assume that the Hall of Honor was supporting him. Once some choice words were added to instigate certain thoughts, even Wei Rong would likely find it hard to refute the idea, and so, people could only choose to believe it.

    He slowly reached out and picked up the memory chip.

    Zi Xianxian saw what he was doing, but she did not stop him. She was still considering her best course of action. If the Hall of Honor was nning on supporting this person and unifying the Outerverse, then what should their Amethyst Exchange do? How would the Outerverse¡¯s situation shift in the future? She did not know, as the details concerning this matter were tooplex.

    ¡°What is it that you intend to do?¡± Zi Xianxian stared at Lu Yin. She had originally only wanted to stir up some trouble for her brother, but she had inadvertently stumbled upon a huge secret. If his information was improperly handled, then it might even lead to Amethyst Exchange being utterly destroyed. Against the Hall of Honor, even all four great corporationsbined would not be able to do much.

    Lu Yin smiled at her. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s voice trembled slightly. ¡°You want to unify the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin deftly spun the memory chip around in his fingers. ¡°I don''t know, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to say even if I did know. The consequences concerning this matter are very severe, so you best not say anything or make any wild guesses, as they may not even be urate.¡±

    She had definitely been correct with her guess; Zi Xianxian waspletely certain of this. The more this person denied her guesses or refused to answer, the stronger she believed that she had discovered the truth.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, our Amethyst Exchange has never held any malice towards you. It¡¯s the same now, and it will be in the future as well. We are just ying our role as business people,¡± Zi Xianxian gently exined.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I know, which is why I came here to do business with you.¡±

    Zi Xianxian averted her eyes. ¡°The memory chip has been given to you, and that should be enough for you to work with for a while.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough. Once the powers listed in this memory chip are taken care of, the others will immediately run and hide. I need the full list of all the powers.¡±

    Zi Xianxian replied, ¡°Although there¡¯s only a portion of the organizations listed in that information chip, the scope is simply too broad. With Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s current control over the alliance, it won¡¯t be easy to exterminate all of them, and attempting anything further would be impossible. Alliance Leader Lu, you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of taking care of Aegis in one breath, right? That¡¯s just not possible.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed after thinking about it. The forces recorded in this memory chip were about what the current Allied Forces should be able to handle. If more were added, the alliance might not be able to wipe out all of the forces, and some of the allies might even leak some of the information to Aegis to gain a bit of favor. Lu Yin was not overly hopeful about those organizations, and after thinking about it, he stood up. ¡°It was a pleasure chatting with you today, Miss Zi Xianxian. Thank you for the gift.¡±

    Zi Xianxian hurriedly denied his words, ¡°It¡¯s not a gift. This was an equal exchange.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, as it seemed that Amethyst Exchange¡¯s doctrine of maintaining a neutral position had been engraved into their very bones. She believed that she had verified the secret that the Hall of Honor was backing Lu Yin, but she was still unwilling to support him. That¡¯s fine, as this at least meant that they would not lean towards supporting Aegis either.

    Aegis by itself was already so difficult to deal with, and he could not afford to offend any of the other corporations at the moment.

 Chapter 749: Clean-Up Operation

    <h4>Chapter 749: Clean-Up Operation</h4>

    The darkness of outer space could be very oppressive. In one corner of Vastdearth Weave, there were three connecteds that were revolving around an enormous star. Numerous spacecraft asionallynded or took off from these threes.

    There were also various fluctuations around thes that spread out into the surrounding space.

    This was one of Aegis¡¯s secret training grounds within Vastdearth Weave, and it was also thergest one in the weave. At least 10,000 mercenaries, assassins, and bodyguards graduated from this ce every year.

    For them, this cruel training was an ordinary day. To those who were being trained, the days here felt endless.

    Suddenly, a piercing rm sounded, and dozens of light beams shot towards the threes from the distance. A battleship was attacking.

    Aegis activated thes¡¯ defensive barriers, and their own spacecraft shot up into space to do battle, only to be shot down by the light beams.

    Light beams rained down upon thes from all directions, not giving the Aegis base even a moment to react, preventing them frommunicating with anyone.

    Multiple figures stepped into outer space from thes and attacked in a specific direction. They were all Cruisers who were responsible for guarding thepany¡¯s bases in this region.

    At an unknown time, another figure appeared in outer space and then just stood there silently.

    Four Cruisers charged out from the and faced the figure, ¡°This is one of Aegis¡¯s bases. Who are you guys?¡±

    The figure grinned back at the Cruisers. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces.¡±

    The defenders were shocked, and their faces went pale as they exchanged nces. They then gritted their teeth and moved to attack in unison. The person in front of them was a Hunter, and they had absolutely no confidence in their ability to win.

    Now that the Great Eastern Alliance and Aegis had officially gone to war and fought against each other for a few days, all Aegis members knew that once they encountered Great Eastern Alliance troops, there was no need for discussion. It would always be a battle to the death.

    This Hunter was not from any of the major powers from the eightrge weaves, and he had instead been independently recruited by Lu Yin from one of the eastern weaves. He was an independent cultivator, and against these four Cruisers, he drew a long de and sliced across space. One of the Cruisers died instantly, but the other three were able to disy their battle techniques.

    Still, there was just too great of a disparity between a Cruiser and a Hunter. Even though these Cruisers had been trained, they were still ordinary Cruisers who, at best, were better than average when it came to concealing their presence. They were quickly reduced to bloody pools under the Hunter¡¯s de, their corpses strewn across the emptiness of space.

    Suddenly, the Hunter¡¯s de flew out, and its shadow became a radiant white as it sliced out in all directions, tearing the firmament apart and forcing a hidden figure to appear.

    ¡°His Majesty was right. There really was a hidden assassin.¡± The Hunter¡¯s de sliced upwards. The newly revealed cultivator was also a Cruiser, and they werepletely powerless to resist against such a terrifying attack, and they were summarily sliced in half.

    Five Cruisers had guarded this base, which showcased Aegis¡¯s strength. Back when Undying Yushan had ruled the Great Yu Empire, only the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ captains had reached the Cruiser realm or above, and the entire empire had contained less than twenty Cruisers. There were five in just this solitary base, and this was just one of the Aegis¡¯s training grounds in the eastern weaves.

    Once the five Cruisers were killed, Aegis¡¯s base was quickly cleaned up as well.

    At the same time that this attack was carried out, the Allied Forces alsounched fourteen other attacks on other secret bases of Aegis¡¯s. Not every base had five Cruisers guarding it, but they all had at least one. Lu Yin even had to send the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons into battle, which meant that all of the secret bases had been destroyed at the same time.

    They didn¡¯t just target these secret training grounds, and some powers that had established forms of cooperation with Aegis were also eliminated by the Allied Forces.

    The Allied Forces then headed towards Northcastle Weave, where they continued their clean-up mission.

    This operation shocked all of the eastern weaves. Not only were they surprised at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s strength, but they were even more stunned at Aegis¡¯s hidden strength.

    Who would have thought that a mere mercenarypany was hiding such enormous battle potential? Together, all of the mercenaries that had been targeted by the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s clean-up operation was enough to wage a bloody war against an entire weave.

    The Vastdearth Sect and other powers now clearly understand Aegis¡¯s strength and threat, and they were both frightened and thrilled. They had had no inkling whatsoever that such a terrifyingly overwhelming power had been hiding so close to them.

    Aegis was not able to react to this clean-up mission. They could live with some of their bases and associated organizations being destroyed, but the current level of destruction was different, as it had even wiped out their hidden bases and associates. Some of the bases were located in hidden ces that even some of Aegis¡¯s higher ups might not necessarily know about. So, how had the Great Eastern Alliance learned of them? The only possibility was Amethyst Exchange.

    Even with Aegis¡¯s conceited and tyrannical nature, they still didn¡¯t dare im that their operations could be entirely hidden from Amethyst Exchange.

    Aegis leveled aint against the intelligence dealer. Even though the mercenaries were tyrannical, they were not courageous enough to go overboard when dealing with the Amethyst Exchange. They were both a part of the four great corporations, and the two of them had simrly deep foundations. Aegis did not care about some newborn government organization that had yet to be firmly established, such as the Great Eastern Alliance, but they were fearful of a power that had deeply hidden methods like Amethyst Exchange.

    At the top of an impressive tower, a loud thump rang out in a luxurious office as a youth angrily shattered a table. ¡°What is she thinking? Waging war against Aegis? That stupid slut!¡±

    The young man was Zi Fang, and he was Amethyst Exchange¡¯s first heir and future chairman.

    Originally, Amethyst Exchange¡¯s businesses had been proceeding rather normally, as external disputes were not their problems. However, one call had disrupted Zi Fang¡¯s peaceful life. People from the board of directors had also reached out to contact him, ordering him to investigate who had revealed the locations of Aegis¡¯s secret bases to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    There was no need for him to check, as the only person who would do such a thing was that slut, Zi Xianxian, as only she was stationed in the Great Eastern Alliance.

    He thought about it and immediately contacted Zi Xianxian.

    After a long wait, Zi Xianxian¡¯s image finally appeared on his screen with azy appearance, obviously having just woken from a nap. In fact, she was still chewing on a piece of fruit. She had a very leisurely and content expression.

    Zi Fang was infuriated as soon as he saw her. ¡°Did you sell the locations of Aegis¡¯s bases to Lu Yin?¡±

    Zi Xianxian blinked and swallowed her fruit, ¡°Bro, when did you be the chairman? Congrats!¡±

    Zi Fang was seething. ¡°Zi Xianxian, don¡¯t test my patience! You should know how severe this matter is. Aegis has never had any enmity with us, and sharing this information will damage the rtionship that we have built up after countless years. This will cause massive losses for the exchange.¡±

    Zi Xianxian yed with her hair. ¡°Are you saying that our Amethyst Exchange is afraid of Aegis?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of being afraid of them¡ªthere¡¯s simply no need to provoke Aegis! They are a bunch of lunatics. If you want to live a good, long life, then don¡¯t draw their focus,¡± Zi Fang said, his tone settling a little.

    Zi Xianxian pondered his words. ¡°Right, being watched by a bunch of lunatics wouldn¡¯t be good. Alright, when Lu Yines again, I won¡¯t sell him any more information.¡±

    Zi Fang rxed, and his expression became more gentle. ¡°Alright, you must clearly remember the severity of this matter. None of the four great corporations should be provoked without heavy consideration, as the losses that we¡¯ll suffer won¡¯t be small.¡±

    ¡°Then what about this situation?¡± Zi Xianxian was curious.

    Zi Fang replied, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. Don¡¯t make any further dealings with Lu Yin in the future, as this person will always cause trouble. You should already know that.¡±

    He then quickly ended the call.

    Zi Xianxian watched as the call ended before smiling happily. ¡°Dear brother, I told you that I won¡¯t sell Lu Yin any information, but I never said that I wouldn¡¯t give it to him. Your trouble is just beginning, so let¡¯s have a good game. Hmph, who told you to scold me!¡±

    Zi Fang did not understand women at all. Sometimes, there was no logic to their actions; they simply wanted to be happy.

    ***

    Lu Yin did not allow himself to rx despite cleaning out a huge portion of the Aegis¡¯s forces in the eastern weaves. Instead, he ordered the Great Eastern Alliance to remain fully vignt, as he was certain that Aegis would retaliate.

    From his trip to Amethyst Exchange, Lu Yin had gained a rather deep impression of Sister Ya, especially of a particr sentence that she had spoken. ¡®The responsibility of the media is to reveal the truth to the public.¡¯

    Lu Yin felt that he should give the Outerverse a proper opportunity to learn more about him.

    Cai Jianqiang, Felynn, Wei Rong, and many others had not had a very high opinion of Lu Yin before meeting him in person, as their impressions had been formed purely from the information avable online or rumors that they had heard. This made Lu Yin very ufortable, and it had also taught him a salient point: he had ignored the media¡¯s propaganda about him for too long.

    Many news outlets painted Lu Yin in a poor light, and Lu Yin had seen that when he looked himself up on thework. The media groups within the eastern weaves were somewhat better since none of them dared to offend him. However, the further west the media group was located, the worse their opinions of him became. They made him out to be a conniving person with wild ambitions and ruthless methods who freely abused people¡¯s lives. The publicly avable information on him made Lu Yin¡¯s brows twitch the more he read.

    Was he really such a person? Definitely not! These people were ndering him. Was being smart the same as being conniving? Was it wildly ambitious to not want others to control his fate? These ruthless methods referred to him killing his enemies? The universe obeyed thew of the jungle, and the strong stood at the top. If he was not ruthless to his enemies, then he would be trampled over sooner orter.

    The greatest value of the media was advertising. In other words, it was to build a reputation. Lu Yin definitely would not allow others to continue ndering him, as that would impact his future ability to recruit talented individuals as well as his own development.

    He thought about it and then sent someone to summon Sister Ya from the empire¡¯s morning newspaper.

    Sister Ya¡¯s full name was Ah Ya, and although she was used to interviewing important figures, she had never expected to receive an invitation to King Zishan''s pce. Lu Yin¡¯s face entered her mind, and she quickly packed her things and followed the escort of soldiers to King Zishan''s pce.

    ¡°Miss Ah Ya, please sit.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    She was very nervous, as she was not meeting him in the Amethyst Exchange this time. Right now, the person in front of her was speaking to her as the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire, and this made her have some difficulty breathing.

    Lu Yin smiled and got Zhao Ran to serve her a ss of fruit juice, as some girls did not care to drink tea.

    ¡°Miss Ah Ya, I requested you to visit me so that I could ask you some questions.¡±

    She nodded respectfully. ¡°Please ask them, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen the media¡¯s description of me?¡±

    She thought about it and then nodded. ¡°Some ounts were shared to intentionally discredit Your Highness, so there¡¯s no need to pay them any mind.¡±

    He looked at her. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t pay them any mind before, I can no longer continue to do so. Can you think of any ways to reverse my negative public image? I¡¯m not just talking about the eastern weaves, but throughout the entire Outerverse.¡±

    Ah Ya felt that this would be difficult. ¡°Your Highness, the empire¡¯s morning newspaper only has some limited influence within the Frostwave Weave, and it cannot even spread throughout the Great Eastern Alliance, let alone the entire Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°If the Great Eastern Alliance wholly supports a media outlet, then would there be any way to spread its influence throughout the entire Outerverse?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s very difficult. Larger mediapanies are supported by local governments in exchange for promoting those local powers. If an external mediapany wants to enter, then they have to follow the local powers¡¯ positions. Otherwise, they will not survive.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s not too realistic for me to change my image?¡± Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 750: Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 750: Disappearance</h4>

    Ah Ya thought about Lu Yin¡¯s question and then replied, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any methods. With just a sentence from you, the entire Great Eastern Alliance will start campaigning for you. That means that, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s size increases, its influence will naturally grow as well. The media can only follow the empire. Otherwise, they will be censored.¡±

    ¡­

    After talking with Ah Ya for a short while, Lu Yin dismissed her. The responsibility of the media was to disseminate the truth to the masses, but was that saying actually the truth of the matter? Lu Yinughed; if he could not influence any outside regions, then he would just work on influencing the Great Eastern Alliance for the moment.

    He contacted Gavin and had the minister send out an order making all the mediapanies in the entire Great Eastern Alliance speak highly of him. Just this simple order was enough. It didn¡¯t matter what the outside universe thought about him for the moment, but the Great Eastern Alliance at least needed to be filled with voices of approval.

    Something like reputation could not be seen or touched, but its uses were greater than what could be imagined.

    Ever since Old Gu De had died, that brat, Hai Qiqi, had spent all of her time at the Astral River¡¯s border, still exploring.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Wendy and wondered how her recovery from the injuries that she had suffered in the Daosource Sect was going. Once the thought entered his head, he moved out to visit her manor. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the Fifth Princess¡¯s residence, he was told that she was not avable. She was not in seclusion this time, and had instead gone out with a young man.

    ¡°Did she elope? Seventh Bro, your woman just eloped with someone else!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin directly screened the monkey off and then replicated Ku Wei¡¯s image with star energy. ¡°Is this who she went out with?¡±

    The guard quickly answered, ¡°Yes. This man requested an audience with the princess. Then, she left with him. Neither of them have returned yet.¡±

    ¡°Did they say where they were headed?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    The guard shook his head.

    Lu Yin sent out an order throughout the empire to be on the lookout for any traces of Ku Wei. Since Wendy Yushan had left with him, then did that mean that he had discovered a trace of the Yu bloodline?

    This possibility left Lu Yin feeling a bit uneasy. If members of the Yu bloodline appeared, then who would end up ruling the Great Yu Empire? If Undying Yushan was actually not dead, then would Lu Yin still have any authority as the Royal Regent?

    Not much time passed before Ban Jiu contacted Lu Yin, reporting that 200 of the androids had beenpleted.

    Lu Yin went to visit the Technology Department, where he saw 200 androids silently standing in ce. He could see that each one of them had rune lines that nearly matched those of a Cruiser, leaving him ecstatic. He immediately added them to the empire¡¯s First Squadron.

    200 peak Explorer realm androids amounted to a rather frightening strength, and they would be enough to shock many when they were sent out.

    Not even Aegis could assemble so many peak Explorers at such short notice.

    Currently, the First Squadron consisted entirely of Lu Yin¡¯s trusted people. Those who had joined previously included Kayze, Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, and Ah Fan, who wereter followed by Li Zimo and Bei Qing. All of the First Squadron¡¯s members boasted extraordinary talent. And now, 200 androids and Lu Yin himself had been added to their ranks, which allowed the First Squadron topletely surpass the other twelve squadrons. Even if Undying Yushan were still alive, unless his strength had reached a level where Lu Yin could not even resist, then he was confident that he could at least stay alive.

    Unfortunately, the Yu bloodline might also have old monsters hidden away, which was a most frightening possibility.

    Ding!

    A message arrived, and Lu Yin grew somber as soon as he read it. Aegis was about to retaliate.

    He had managed to eradicate around half of Aegis¡¯s bases and strength that had been scattered throughout the Great Eastern Alliance. This move had forced Aegis into a situation where their only option was to prepare for a direct confrontation.

    The message that Lu Yin had just received had been sent by the bespectacled Mistchild. Aegis had made an announcement to the entire underworld and were recruiting assassins tounch a sneak attack on Zenyu Star. They wanted to eradicate all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s upper levels in one go.

    Many weaves in the Outerverse were still isted, but despite that, Aegis was able to gather a considerable number of assassins and mercenaries as well as Enlighters such as Lord Egret. If an attack was reallyunched on Zenyu Star, the result would be devastating.

    Lu Yin did not doubt that Aegis had the ability to sneak into Frostwave Weave undetected.

    These assassins and mercenaries were well trained and experienced, and thus, they would not be discovered by the empire¡¯s soldiers.

    Aegis¡¯s nned retaliation was well within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, and at this moment, he was not even thinking about Aegis. Rather, he was thinking about Wei Rong.

    Aegis appeared to have a great deal of strength, but in truth, they were not strong enough to actually frighten him. Wei Rong was the true hidden snake. Since he had lurked behind the scenes and orchestrated the events that led to the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s copse, Lu Yin did not doubt Wei Rong¡¯s ability to take advantage of this chaotic situation that Aegis was stirring up with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    After Lu Yin thought about it, he quickly contacted Felynn. ¡°President Felynn, how are things progressing with Sourcepeak Weave?¡±

    Felynn had an awkward look on the screen. ¡°Sourcepeak Weave and the Great Eastern Alliance are too far apart, as there are several weaves separating them. Thus, they aren¡¯t willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin replied in a low voice, ¡°Raise the price. President Felynn, I hope that you can take care of this matter for me, and I can guarantee that I won¡¯t mistreat you in the future. I have a general idea concerning Deng Pu movements, and he holds some pages of the True Insight. If you can pull Sourcepeak Weave into joining the Great Eastern Alliance, then you will receive a portion of True Insight.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You¡¯ve discovered Deng Pu¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. My people discovered him in the Astral Wilderness, but unfortunately, he slipped away. However, he won¡¯t be able to escape, and it won¡¯t take long to actually capture him. By that time, I hope that you will be able to give me a reason for me to reward you with the True Insight.¡± Lu Yin then abruptly ended the call.

    He had always been searching for traces of Deng Pu, but the man had proven to bepletely untraceable. Still, that did not stop Lu Yin from tempting Felynn with the True Insight.

    No Lockbreaker was able to ignore True Insight, as it was truly a supreme treasure to all Lockbreaker.

    On Sourcepeak, the scene of that Corpse King being instantly disintegrated by the sourcebox array had been seen by not only him, but also by Felynn. She fully understood the terror of a sourcebox array, and True Insight was something that she strongly desired.

    However, Lu Yin was not actually counting on her pulling Sourcepeak Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance, as he only wanted to use this to keep Wei Rong as busy as possible.

    Lu Yin was certain that he was doing the right thing. Regardless of what Felynn¡¯s efforts became, a portion of Wei Rong¡¯s energies would be consumed by her actions.

    Although Felynn had an escape route in Wei Xin''er, and even though she also asionally provided Wei Rong with a bit of information, the allure of True Insight was too strong, and she could not ignore it. She started to seriously pursue the matter concerning Sourcepeak Weave, and it eventually led to Wei Rong having to personally head to Sourcepeak Weave to stymie her efforts.

    Lu Yin was not sure how much the matter with Sourcepeak Weave could upy Wei Rong¡¯s attention, and he did not count on that entirely. His die was what he was truly relying on.

    Only his die gave him the confidence to deal with Aegis.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, why don¡¯t you make use of the Hall of Honor to suppress Aegis? They dared to openly try to assassinate you, and if you die, the Hall of Honor will investigate your death and seek revenge. They are going after the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation,¡± the monkey curiously asked.

    ¡°The Hall of Honor is not a bodyguard. Them investigating the cause of death and seeking revenge is simply the Hall of Honor safeguarding their own dignity. The Hall of Honor will not intervene in struggles between powers, and as long as Aegis doesn¡¯t kill me, the Hall of Honor will not interfere no matter what. Even if they destroy the Great Yu Empire, the Hall of Honor will not step forward. Only we can resolve the problem that is Aegis,¡± Lu Yin answered in a low voice.

    There was no reason why Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t use the Hall of Honor to deal with Aegis if he could, but with the way things were, the Hall of Honor would not help him since they would be breaking their own rules to do so. Breaking the rules in such a fashion would lead to a terrible oue, and this was why the Hall of Honor never intervened in struggles between the various powers of the Human Domain.

    Otherwise, it would have only taken a single sentence from Elder Lohar to establish the Great Eastern Alliance, and there would have been no need for Lu Yin to go through so much trouble.

    The Hall of Honor surpassed countless powers and protected its own dignity, but once it intervened, nobody could predict the final oue.

    Still, Aegis was certainly crazy, as they had dared to send Feng Zi to kill Lu Yin despite knowing that he had eleven Honor Points. Had they been that certain he would not die? Or were they crazy to the point where they were not intimidated even by the Hall of Honor? The Outerverse was currently isted from the Innerverse, and Aegis had been acting too arrogantly. Not even the Daynight n dared to openly challenge the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed, as he had just thought of another possibility.

    Lu Yin immediately went into seclusion when he returned to King Zishan''s pce. Aegis, the Yu bloodline, and the Daosource Sect''s ruins: all of these issues demanded that he increase his strength, and there was nothing wrong with Lu Yin upgrading his own strength. However, he simply did not have enough time. Just like when Karthika had intimidated Lu Yin when the Outerverse and Innerverse were first separated, Lu Yin once again needed a strength that could shock everyone.

    He screened the Ghost Monkey off and pulled out a few objects. The first was his universal armor, which was strong enough to withstand attacks from powerhouses whose power levels were around 300,000. Although some force would still prate through the universal armor and attack his body, he was able to withstand those forces with his own physical strength.

    The next item that he pulled out was a Money Bomb, thest one in his possession. He had already upgraded it to the point where it could threaten an Enlighter, and when he used it inbination with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, it could kill Enlighters.

    These were Lu Yin¡¯s trump cards.

    It was a pity that Granny Chan had exposed the existence of this item in the past, as it had led to many people bing familiar with how he could kill Enlighters. It was very difficult for such a method to seed against people on guard against it, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how a small piece of Progenitor Wushang''s Hide was still suppressing the mummy in the Primal Zone. Fortunately, Lu Yin still had therger piece in his possession. It gave him some degree of protection.

    The only external items that Lu Yin could rely on at the moment were these two. Wait, he also had Elder Wu¡¯s poisons. The other powerful items that he had owned, such as the Enneadic Wings, the pike, his gun, and the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh, had all been ruined.

    It was time to upgrade another batch of items to the level of being able to threaten Enlighters.

    Recently, after the establishment of the Great Eastern Alliance, many people and organizations had sent Lu Yin gifts. That,bined with what he had gained from killing Old Gu De and destroying Aegis¡¯s various associates and bases, meant that he now had several decent items. Once they were upgraded to the level of being a threat to Enlighters, they would be able to serve his purposes.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and his die appeared. He took a deep breath and ced his cosmic ring to one side. He tapped out, and the die slowly spun before finally stopping on four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin quickly grabbed his cosmic ring as the scenery changed before his eyes. He had appeared in the Timestop Space.

    Coming to this ce allowed him to feel at ease, because as long as he stayed in this ce long enough, he was guaranteed to eventually roll three pips: Enhance.

    After thinking about it, he restored the die and tapped it again. It spun, before finally stopping on three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin was delighted. That had been so easy!

    The first item to be upgraded was the bracer that he had gotten from Old Gu De. It was a power vessel that, ording to Old Gu De, would double the wearer¡¯s physical strength as long as their strength did not surpass the upper limit of a Hunter¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin had tested it before, and sure enough, it could only upgrade his strength to the point of matching a peak Hunter¡¯s.

    Still, that was fine. Lu Yin held high expectations as he set the bracer on the upper light screen. He then started to throw out a crazy amount of star essence as he upgraded the bracer over and over again. His eyes grew brighter as the bracer was continuously upgraded, until it finally reached the point where it made Lu Yin palpitate, at which point he stored it away.

    He had upgraded it seven times, which had cost him about 20,000 star essence, which was much more than what he had previously spent on upgrading the gun. It had cost him 27,000 star essence to upgrade the gun thirteen times. Still, the bracer was cheaper than the pike. He had had to use 26,000 star essence to upgrade the pike just six times.

    Different items required differing amounts of star essence for their upgrades. The Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh had also been extremely expensive to upgrade, but Lu Yin had not even counted since there had been nothing he could do about it. No matter how much it cost, he had had no choice but to follow through, so there had been no point in counting the costs.

 Chapter 751: Limited Outlook

    <h4>Chapter 751: Limited Outlook</h4>

    With the newly upgraded bracer, Lu Yin would be able to double his physical strength. That meant that he could now blow away an ordinary peak Hunter with a single punch. The upper limit of this bracer should now be close to the physical strength of an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. Lu Yin was curious if one of his punches with this bracer would be enough to break through Aden¡¯s thunder shield. He was really looking forward to finding out!

    He had 50,000 or so star essence remaining, so he retrieved a certain box without any hesitation. This box contained a pearl that was about the size of a palm and had a transparent luster. He did not know what this toy was called, but it was something else that he had taken from Old Gu De¡¯s collection, and it was another power vessel.

    Old Gu De had not cared about this pearl. Its ability was to absorb and then reflect an opponent¡¯s attack, but unfortunately, the most it could absorb was an Explorer¡¯s strength. It was worthless to someone like Old Gu De, which was why he had not mentioned it to Lu Yin before his death. Still, he had felt like it would be a pity to throw such a unique item away.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had noticed it when he was sorting through everything that Old Gu De had left behind.

    It had been useless to Old Gu De, but it was very useful for Lu Yin. Something that was able to absorb attacks and then reflect them back at the attacker was a very beautiful ability.

    He named the pearl the Bacsh Pearl before starting to crazily upgrade it.

    He was more fond of the pearl than the bracer or the pike, namely because, if this pearl was used well, it could make an opponent question their life. Thus, Lu Yin unrestrainedly upgraded it eleven times, using up 35,000 star essence in the process. He wanted to upgrade it one more time, but that would have taken 20,000 star essence. That was all he had left, which meant that he could not upgrade the pearl any further at this time.

    Still, after he upgraded the Bacsh Pearl eleven times, it was now able to reflect attacks from someone with a power level of around 200,000, which was an Enlighter level attack. The twelfth upgrade would probably only increase the amount it could handle to around 220,000, which was not much of an upgrade. Once Lu Yin¡¯s funds recovered, he was nning on upgrading the pearl until it could reflect attacks with a power level of 300,000, which would allow him to wander the Outerverse unhindered.

    However, he would have to leave it alone for now since there was one more item that needed to be upgraded.

    The Ultra sh Tear Bomb. He looked down at a ball in his hands, which was the final item that Lu Yin needed to upgrade rather urgently.

    Ordinary people used sh bombs as amon weapon, and even if they had a great effect against other ordinary people, they weren¡¯t of much use against cultivators. However, while cleaning out one of Aegis¡¯s bases, the Allied Forces had suffered losses when Aegis forces used an improved sh Tear Bomb on them that was able to cause even Explorers to lose their sight for a moment. Just a single attack had caused the Allied Forces to lose multiple Explorers.

    This event had piqued Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and he felt that this item could be very useful. He had then made Ban Jiu manufacture an Ultra sh Tear Bomb with prium essence. If used well, this toy could save his life, and because it was a basic weapon, it did not cost too much star essence to upgrade. Thus, he started right away.

    Although this sh Tear Bomb wasn¡¯t a power vessel and did not take too many star essence to upgrade, it still needed to be upgraded quite a number of times before it could have any sort of effect on Hunters or Enlighters.

    Lu Yin used a total of 6,000 star essence to upgrade a single sh Tear Bomb twenty two times. He felt that it could currently temporarily blind even peak Hunters and make them shed some tears. His remaining funds were enough to allow him to upgrade two more bombs, which meant that he would have three upgraded Ultra sh Tear Bombs in total. Although that was not a lot, each one would have an extraordinary impact if used at a crucial moment.

    And with that, he was broke again.

    Lu Yin looked at the empty space within his cosmic ring. At his peak, he had possessed almost 200,000 star essence. Rolling six pips: Possession had burned through a bit more than half of that, and he had just used up the rest. At this moment, he only had a bit more than 2,000 star essence on him.

    Lu Yin could not help himself from wanting to force the Great Yu Empire to repay its debt to him, as it currently owed him 80,000 star essence.

    He sighed, as he had two days left in the Timestop Space. He spent the remaining time resting and silently revolving the Cosmic Art to absorb a bit of star energy.

    ***

    In the Sourcepeak Weave, a giant spacecraft was floating through space, and inside it, Wei Rong was sitting in front of five screens, each one showing a different person. There were both men and women being shown, and though they were all human, minute differences could be seen among them.

    These five people each represented a different guiding power of five of the central weaves.

    Even if Wei Rong despised their attitudes, he could not afford to act too impudently in front of them. He reduced the arrogance that normally zed in his eyes and reced it with modesty and resentment.

    ¡°Are you saying that the Great Eastern Alliance is targeting our central weaves?¡± someone asked in a deep voice.

    Wei Rong nodded, and there was an edge of anger in his voice as he replied, ¡°All of you should understand this person, Lu Yin. He has always been arrogant, and he even dared to provoke the Daynight n when he was in the Innerverse. Now that he¡¯s established this Great Eastern Alliance, it¡¯s clear that his ultimate objective is to unify the entire Outerverse. Our central weaves will definitely be his next target.¡±

    Someone sneered. ¡°Unify the Outerverse? What a joke. Forget about Lu Yin¡ªnot even an enormous Innerverse power like the Daynight n could aplish that. You overestimate this Lu Yin. He¡¯s just a youth who¡¯s overly ambitious, keke.¡±

    Wei Rong replied, ¡°What if he¡¯s supported by the Hall of Honor?¡±

    The few people there all had a change of expression. ¡°He has the Hall of Honor behind him?¡±

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been verified yet, but while working to establish the Great Eastern Alliance, he repeatedly received assistance from the Hall of Honor, and their attitude towards him could not be any clearer. Or, perhaps unifying the Outerverse is what the Hall of Honor desires.¡±

    The five people all sank into silence.

    ¡°So what if the Hall of Honor is behind him? Now that the Outerverse is cut off from the Innerverse, the Hall of Honor¡¯s strength is not as fearsome as we previously imagined. Moreover, the Great Eastern Alliance is currently battling against Aegis, and the eastern weaves are very remote. The people there may not have a clear understanding of Aegis¡¯s strength, but what of us? We all know that Aegis is extraordinary,¡± one person said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll talk again if the Great Eastern Alliance is able to survive their confrontation with Aegis, but I think this is all baseless at this junction.¡±

    ¡°Aegis has Enlighters.¡±

    ¡­

    Wei Rong did not interrupt the five, and he instead silently observed them as they discussed the matter. Their responses were all within his expectations; if an alliance could be established so easily, then the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse would not have remained fragmented for all these countless years.

    Wei Rong found it quite believable that the Hall of Honor was supporting Lu Yin, and as long as there was even a trace of a possibility, he would make sure to prepare for the worst case scenario.

    The central weaves were not the eastern weaves, and the situation concerning Ironblood Weave was rather unique. The eastern weaves had always been more remotepared to the rest of the Outerverse, and more than half the Outerverse¡¯s powers simply didn¡¯t dare to step foot there out of fear that their stronger members would be drafted into Ironblood Weave. This had led to the current situation, where they did not quite understand the eastern weaves, and thus, they simply did not give any weight to the situation concerning the Great Eastern Alliance.

    In fact, Wei Rong had once been the same, and when he had roamed about the Outerverse in the past, he had also avoided the eastern weaves. One reason had been his apprehension towards Ironblood Weave, but besides that, he simply did not fancy the eastern weaves in any way. Many experts had left that region, moving towards either the Innerverse or the western half of the Outerverse.

    These people holding a discussion in front of Wei Rong were no different.

    Wei Rong had not expected them to be apprehensive of the Great Eastern Alliance, as his goal for this discussion was just to leave an impression upon these five. Nothing would be a problem if the Great Eastern Alliance ended up worn down by Aegis. However, if even Aegis was not able to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance, these people¡¯s attitude towards the Great Eastern Alliance would experience an abrupt change, and that would work to his advantage in his efforts to unite the central weaves.

    After a period of discussion, the leaders all disconnected from the conference call.

    Wei Rong stood in ce and stared into the darkness of space. Some believed that the eastern weaves had a limited future, but in truth, they were the ones who werecking in potential. Wei Rong had a feeling that Aegis would not be able to defeat Lu Yin, and nobody knew for certain who was hiding behind Lu Yin. Even Amethyst Exchange did not have a good understanding of this person, which left Lu Yin shrouded in mystery with many hidden secrets.

    ¡°Young Master, we¡¯ve arrived at Aykar,¡± someone reminded Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong looked at the slowly rotating in front of them and adjusted his expression.

    Ayker was home to one of the stronger ns in Sourcepeak Weave, and only by roping them in could he hope to pull Sourcepeak Weave to his side.

    Felynn had been in contact with the Ayker n recently, and Wei Rong had naturally learned of this matter. He had spoken with Felynn about it, intending to intimidate her into stopping her meddling in Sourcepeak Weave. However, during his most recent call with her, Felynn¡¯s attitude had been quite unyielding. Wei Rong did not know what Lu Yin had promised Felynn, but she had clearly set her heart on pulling Sourcepeak Weave into the Great Eastern Alliance, which was something that Wei Rong absolutely could not allow to happen.

    As such, he had personally traveled to Sourcepeak Weave to stymie Felynn¡¯s efforts.

    Half a month quickly went by, and now, it had been a full month since Lu Yin had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins. He had no ns on returning anytime soon, as all of his life saving items were useless against an Arbiter or a Realmling, and he had no intention of wasting his treasures.

    He would wait a while longer!

    He did not know where Wendy had gone with Ku Wei, as he had not heard anything from either of them.

    Hai Qiqi, on the other hand, actually asionally sent him messages to let him know that she was safe.

    Shenwu Continent¡¯s situation had gradually stabilized, as Ming Zhaoshu had sacrificed his own reputation to purchase a period of temporary peace and stability for Ming Yan. Ming Yan had not let her father down, and she had stabilized the Shenwu Empire. This in part due to the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s contributions, and Shenwu Continent was peaceful at the moment.

    Lu Yin had wanted to send some people to help Ming Yan with her administrative duties, but he had eventually given up on that thought. Ming Yan had not gone to the Great Yu Empire with him so that she could live up to Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s expectations. If Lu Yin helped Ming Yan too much, it would just make things difficult for her.

    During this time, Lu Yin had also been secretly monitoring Liuying Zishan, though the only information he obtained was that the light ball never appeared again. He still felt very uneasy about the light ball, as he did not know where it hade from. However, none of the other captains exhibited any simr situations, though that might be because the person who had influenced Liuying Zishan had been scared by Lu Yin absorbing the ball of light. Theck of activity may just be the other party¡¯s cautiousness.

    This matter was constantly bugging Lu Yin in the back of his mind.

    The further everyone progressed, the less Lu Yin was able to observe Liuying Zishan. She had been appointed as the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, so she could not stay on Zenyu Star.

    After she became the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, the Thirteenth Squadron had been left without a captain.

    Lu Yin had considered appointing the Nine Stacks Sect¡¯s Lan Wu, but he was not satisfied with her. Ideally, his captains should all be at least at the level of Huo Qingshan or the blind monk. Even if they could not match up to Aden and the other captains, there could not be toorge of a disparity between the captains. Lan Wu was just an ordinary Hunter, and she was nowhere near close to Huo Qingshan¡¯s match, let alone Aden and the others.

    Aegis had been very peaceful in this period, disturbingly so.

    The quieter his enemies were, the greater the schemes beingid, which made Lu Yin feel uneasy. The reports that he received from the bespectacled Mistchild also made him wary of Aegis at all times. Aegis had a training method that allowed its top assassins to conceal their rune lines, which was the greatest source of Lu Yin¡¯s worries. If even he wasn¡¯t able to detect Aegis¡¯s assassins, then there was no way anyone else would be able to.

    Constantly being alert to assassins had taken a toll on his mental energy.

    Lu Yin also wanted to take the initiative to act, but he could not think of any way to do so.

    He had gone to the Amethyst Exchange a second time, but Zi Xianxian had told him that Aegis had relocated all of its remaining bases out of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. Its associate organizations were also continuously moving around, so Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even find any targets to act against.

    Aegis¡¯sprehensive shifting of its assets could only mean one thing: they were preparing for a blitzkrieg attack that would far outdo Feng Zi¡¯s previous assassination attempt.

 Chapter 752: Overbearing Mavis

    <h4>Chapter 752: Overbearing Mavis</h4>

    After half a month passed by in peace, a piece of news that rocked the Outerverse was released. Even Lu Yin was left stunned by it.

    The Mavis Bank had been attacked. It was not just one branch that had been targeted, but more than a hundred scattered throughout the Outerverse were focused. And as a result, almost half of them had been destroyed.

    This was obviously a premeditated attack that had been nned a long time ago that was aimed directly at the Mavis Bank.

    Lu Yin could not quite believe the news when he first heard it. Someone had actually been daring enough to act against the Mavis Bank, and on such arge scale as well.

    Every branch of the Mavis Bank boasted powerful defenses, and even a Hunter might not be able to take down a single branch. But despite that, nearly half of their Outerverse branches had been attacked and destroyed. This proved that the attackers¡¯ strength was absolutely terrifying. It should be remembered that Gavin had personally seen a Hunter being torn apart by one of the trees standing guard over a branch of the Mavis Bank. If an ordinary tree branch from one of those trees had the strength to kill a Hunter, then could this attack on the Mavis Bank have involved more than a hundred Hunters?

    That was impossible.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin immediately headed over to Amethyst Exchange to speak with Zi Xianxian.

    At this moment, Zi Xianxian was sitting on the pink sofa, thinking about something as she stared up at the three maind rings in the sky.

    When Lu Yin arrived, she was still lost in thought.

    ¡°I wish to purchase all the information rted to the Mavis Bank raids,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zi Xianxian looked over at him, ¡°Deal. Five star essence.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as this was his first time actually conducting a regr transaction with Amethyst Exchange, and the price was truly exorbitant. Five star essence was equivalent to 50,000 star crystals.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. The Mavis Bank instantly sealed all of the information as soon as they were raided, and nobody can uncover the true situation aside from us. It¡¯s entirely up to you whether or not you want to pay,¡± Zi Xianxian said.

    Lu Yin handed her five star essence, and she tossed him a memory chip in return. Lu Yin immediately inserted it into his gadget and perused the stored information with a serious look. There was detailed information about the raids and even a few videos.

    The attackers had mostly consisted of mere Explorers with not even twenty Cruisers among them and hardly any Hunters. The attacks on the bank¡¯s branches were an overpowering show of force from the beginning, with the attackers taking out almost half of the bank building in an instant, which was just like what Lu Yin had heard. That great tree then killed almost all the attackers, who were naturally unable to retaliate since the tree was even able to wipe out a Hunter.

    But then, the tree suddenly rapidly wilted away, and the rest of the Mavis Bank¡¯s defenses were obliterated in the blink of an eye. This abrupt change had led to almost half of the Mavis Bank being destroyed. The remaining area was robbed clean, even the sections that had not been destroyed.

    Lu Yin carefully read over Amethyst Exchange¡¯s analysis, as these attackers were definitely not from a single power, since their movements were actually very uncoordinated and muddled. The vast majority of the attackers were independent cultivators, moving around chaotically like mixed fish. Lu Yin made someparisons and realized that his 200 androids could wipe out this motley group of attackers, but somehow, despite everything, they had managed to sessfully attack the Mavis Bank.

    It was all very strange, and the entire ordeal was quite bizarre, especially the part where the bank¡¯s guardian tree had actually wilted. He had never noticed anyone damaging it.

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Xianxian in puzzlement, and before he could say anything, Zi Xianxian told him, ¡°Don¡¯t bother asking. Amethyst Exchange has sold you everything that we know. If you don¡¯t know, then we don¡¯t either.¡±

    ¡°Such as what happened to that tree?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian looked at him with a serious face. ¡°The Mavis Bank is the master of the universe¡¯s finances, and nobody knows the depths of their strength. Any branch of the bank has the power to kill a Hunter, and this ismon knowledge throughout the universe. However, thatmon knowledge was overturned today. Honestly, we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, and our desire to find out is even more than yours.¡±

    ¡°Who were those attackers?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian answered, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you¡ªyou know what we know, and we don¡¯t know what you don¡¯t. All of our conjectures on those attackers are included in the memory chip.¡±

    ¡°Someone was clearly controlling things from behind the scenes, so what¡¯s your conjecture on that? Or do you guys really not know who the mastermind is?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t insult our professionalism. Amethyst Exchange will forever remain neutral. If you pay up, we¡¯ll tell you everything we know and not hide a thing. Also, we won¡¯t try to deceive you if we don¡¯t know something.¡±

    Someone had actually moved against the Mavis Bank, and Lu Yin could not even imagine how they had done it. Wei Rong had set a very bad precedent with his raid on the Lockbreaker Society, and Lu Yin had previously guessed that one of the colossal organizations that had dominated the Outerverse would be targeted again, but he had never thought that it would be the Mavis Bank.

    Out of all the colossalpanies and organizations, the Mavis Bank stood at the very top. Lu Yin even reckoned that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society with Geoffrey at their helm could not surpass the Mavis Bank. But inexplicably, it had been raided on this day, and the crux of the issue was that the attackers had actually seeded.

    Lu Yin returned to King Zishan''s pce with bright eyes. He then quickly contacted Phantom Sting and had him secretly leak the information that the people who had raided the Mavis Bank were a part of Aegis and that the mercenaries had masterminded everything.

    He knew that Aegis was nning onunching a blitzkrieg attack on Zenyu Star, and he wanted to see if he could use the Mavis Bank to force them out of the shadows.

    Lu Yin was not counting on the Mavis Bank to take fully care of Aegis, as the Mavis Bank was not filled with fools. They definitely would not trust this information that came from swirling rumors. Rather, Lu Yin wanted information on Aegis; regardless of if the Mavis Bank believed the rumors, there were simply too few organizations in the current Outerverse that had the power to go up against the Mavis Bank, and Aegis just happened to be one of them. Also, the mercenarypany had been much more active than normal in recent days, so the Mavis Bank would definitely at least look into these rumors.

    Aegis was like a poisonous snake hiding in the dark, and Lu Yin was hoping that the Mavis Bank would be able to cast some light onto the serpent. Even if only a small part was revealed, it would still be enough to embarrass Aegis.

    Of course, he was not overly hopeful and was just testing the waters. Even if things didn¡¯t work out as he hoped, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about it.

    Lu Yin was only casually testing out a method to force Aegis out and humiliate them, but the actual resultspletely caught him by surprise.

    An executive from the Mavis Bank had immediately destroyed one of Aegis¡¯s bases, astonishing countless people.

    Ruthlessness, unreasonable, tyrannical: all of these words were used to describe Aegis, but at this moment, all of these adjectives were thrown onto the Mavis Bank.

    Aegis was famous for being ruthless, but the Mavis family were even more tyrannical than the mercenaries. The issue of whether or not Aegis had been the mastermind behind the raids on the bank was something that the Mavis Bank would discuss after destroying one base, and an important base at that. This forced Aegis to send out someone from their upper echelons to negotiate with people from the Mavis Bank.

    The Mavis Bank¡¯s actions were crude and simple, just like how Aegis dealt with other organizations. This was them looking down on the mercenaries, or rather, disregarding them.

    The Mavis Bank had presented a pleasant attitude to customers for countless years, and they were rated very highly for their service and appraisals. Who would have thought that with one move, they would overturn the perceptions of so many people.

    The Mavis Bank was like an honest person who seemed to be easily bullied, but once they resisted, their enemy would not even have an opportunity to apologize.

    This was what had happened to Aegis. One of their bases was almost instantly destroyed, and they were forced to send a powerful member to personally visit the Mavis Bank and deescte the situation.

    This was the Mavis Bank. It was a true colossal organization whose terrifying strength made even Aegis lose the courage to resist.

    This also provided some insight for Lu Yin.

    He had only wanted to probe Aegis, and he had never thought that they would instead end up being probed by the Mavis Bank. This was a genuine colossal organization, and even if Aegis wanted to work out an agreement, it all depended on the Mavis Bank¡¯s stance.

    They had been too low-profile. Lu Yin looked at a star chart that listed the locations of the Mavis Bank¡¯s thousands of branches that were scattered throughout the universe. The bank had remained low profile for centuries, and even if Lu Yin had always felt that the Mavis Bank was terrifying, he had never imagined that they would be so fearsome. This was how they had be the masters of the universe¡¯s finances.

    The Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, and only after that had Aegis dared to act tyrannically. However, even now, they still did not dare to act up in front of the Mavis Bank.

    Due to the Mavis Bank¡¯s rapid reaction, the masterminds behind the assaults on the bank would not dare make a move after this. Lu Yin had ended up inadvertently helping them.

    Could it be Wei Rong? Lu Yin guessed.

    At this moment, Kayze arrived. ¡°Your Majesty, the First Squadron has reported that there are people fighting on an unupied near Hydrotink. Also, the power level detectors have sensed power levels of over 100,000, which means that there are Hunters there.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who they are?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Kayze replied, ¡°No, the people investigating didn¡¯t dare approach the battlefield.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted, ¡°Got it.¡±

    He then quickly left King Zishan''s pce and headed towards Hydrotink.

    He was not worried, as Hydrotink had Felynn as well as many other Lockbreakers, not to mention Cai Jianqiang. Unless an Enlighter made a move, not much could threaten them, especially since the¡¯s defenses were not much worse than Zenyu Star¡¯s.

    Hydrotink was not very far from Zenyu Star, and when Lu Yin arrived at the overgrown, he saw a boundless de slice down. Even though he was still in outer space, he could acutely sense the impressive disy of power, as this de was filled with an endless malice as it tore through the void. The shuddered as the de descended with a cold light that illuminated the entire region. The instruments on the spacecraft monitoring nearby power levels instantly shattered.

    Lu Yin reflexively moved away, and his expression turned solemn. This de was very terrifying yet also as majestic as a mountain. It carried a boldness with it that sought to slice everything apart.

    Following the de, arge amount of berserk star energy surged forth, and the cold de was actually split apart, unable toplete its strike. The de was ultimately reduced to shreds that ricocheted into the void before scattering in all directions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as this berserk energy was Cai Jianqiang¡¯s strength. It seemed that there was a person who was actually exchanging blows with Cai Jianqiang. From their rune lines, it seemed that they were also at a peak of the Hunter realm and that they were just slightly shy of bing an Enlighter.

    As the depletely dissipated, the swordsman¡¯s rune lines rapidly dwindled away before finally stabilizing at a power level of around 150,000.

    Lu Yin moved forward and flew through space towards the unregistered.

    There were huge cracks spread all over the surface, and a turbid gas leaked out from the ground, rising into the sky and feeding into a massive hurricane. This was covered with poisonous gases that made it unsuitable for normal humans to inhabit, and it also had dreadful storms that constantly roamed about.

    There was a loudugh, and Lu Yin looked over to see a man on the ground wielding a huge de while facing Cai Jianqiang. His sturdy muscles bulged out, and there was a faint glow that flowed around him. With one look, Lu Yin could tell that this person had a powerful physical body. Additionally, the ground beneath this swordsman¡¯s feet had beenpletely pulverized, but it was currently being held together by the man¡¯s star energy.

    ¡°Brother Cai, we haven¡¯t met for more than ten years, yet you¡¯re still so powerful. Even if I¡¯ve managed to cultivate my Battalion sh to such a degree, I¡¯m still not your match. Hahaha, it¡¯s no wonder why you are the top of our generation,¡± the manughed, but then he suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze fixated on Lu Yin. Suddenly, he sliced out with his de. ¡°Who¡¯s this puny junior?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he raised a hand to suppress the surging star energy before gathering it into an attack with the Oveying Stacks Path in the blink of an eye. He then used the Skybeast w to grab at the de¡¯s approaching light. With a bang, the radiant delight shattered and broke apart into motes of light that gradually dissipated.

    The swordsman on the ground was astonished. Despite only casually releasing an attack with his sword, that had still been an attack from a Hunter. The youth in the sky was just an Explorer, but he had been able to block the attack and had even shattered it. Interesting.

 Chapter 753: The Spirit Of Cultivation

    <h4>Chapter 753: The Spirit Of Cultivation</h4>

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s eyes lit up as he watched Lu Yin shatter the sword attack. He then said, ¡°Brother Zi, this is Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    The man standing across from Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°That¡¯s Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin descended tond between Cai Jianqiang and the other man. He nodded in greeting to Cai Jianqiang and then turned to look at the other man. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. May I know who you are?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang introduced hispanion, ¡°This is Zi Rong. He¡¯s the second young master of Amethyst Exchange.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he looked closely at Zi Rong. He had heard of this person before, and he knew that the second Young Master of Amethyst Exchange had never worked for the family business. Instead, he had devoted all of his time and energy to cultivation and fighting. He was truly a battle maniac, and Lu Yin had been very intrigued when he first heard of this person. However, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t bothered to find out more about Zi Rong since a battle maniac most likely didn¡¯t have much influence within Amethyst Exchange.

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t expected to meet this person here.

    Zi Rong grinned at Lu Yin. ¡°So you¡¯re Lu Yin. I heard that your nickname is Enlighters¡¯ Bane. Show me what you can do. You can use any items to fight¡ªI don¡¯t mind.¡±

    The man¡¯s de instantly crashed towards Lu Yin, distorting the void around them.

    He truly is a battle maniac, Lu Yin thought to himself as he answered, ¡°I¡¯m not here to fight, Brother Zi. I heard about you a long time ago.¡±

    Zi Rong smirked. ¡°My reputation isn¡¯t that good, but you¡¯ve already killed quite a few Enlighter powerhouses who came from the Innerverse. You¡¯re pretty strong, so have a taste of my Battalion sh.¡± The man then raised his de again to attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. This fellow had to be crazy!

    Cai Jianqiang moved to stand in front of Lu Yin and admonished Zi Rong, saying, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu is just an Explorer, and you¡¯re much older than him. Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to attack him?¡±

    Zi Rongughed and put his weapon away. ¡°Age is just a number. The current Ten Arbiters challenged us in the past, and I couldn¡¯t even defend myself. Age is no longer important. The universe has truly changed.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang was insistent. ¡°No matter what, Alliance Leader Lu is still just an Explorer while you¡¯re a Hunter. This fight isn¡¯t fair.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a brow. So there¡¯s still going to be a battle?

    Cai Jianqiang turned around and whispered to Lu Yin, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, Zi Rong is nuts, and he always wants to fight against powerful people. If you don¡¯t agree to a fight, then he¡¯ll just keep pestering you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and then turned to ask Zi Rong, ¡°Do you really want to fight?¡±

    Zi Rong clenched the hilt of his de tightly. ¡°Are you scared? That¡¯s fine. I can suppress my power to the Explorer realm.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That would be too boring. Your attack just now seemed like something that you¡¯ve spent a great deal of time honing. I would like to face that.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, don¡¯t be reckless. Zi Rong¡¯s de has almost reached the same level as an Enlighter¡¯s attack. He practices everyday and has never cked off once. His attack is far more powerful than you believe.¡±

    Birds of a feather flock together. One would never be able to interact with certain people without reaching a certain level.

    Regardless of whether it was Cai Jianqiang, Aden, or Yan Yan, each and every one of them was a genius Realmbreaker.

    Lu Yin could already tell how strong Zi Rong was since he had seen the man¡¯s rune lines. In the past, Enlighters had been light years away from Lu Yin, but now, at his current level, Enlighters were no longer that umon. He encountered them all over the ce, and this was the level that he had reached. This was what he was due. He now had the right to frequently interact with Enlighter realm powerhouses.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I truly want to experience that kind of power.¡± Lu Yin wasn¡¯t nning on defeating Zi Rong, but the attack just now gave him a different feeling. What was cultivation? It was one¡¯s determination and perseverance. Although Lu Yin was strong, had been hailed as invincible when he was a Limiteer, and was currently able to face off against Hunters while still in the Explorer realm, he had always felt like he wascking something.

    His power had been built off of his die and destiny, which meant that hecked perseverance. He didn¡¯t even recite the Stonewall Scriptures everyday, and he rarely practiced his Cosmic Art. Despite everything, his battle force had improved by leaps and bounds. He had spent even less time on his domain, and he had no clue why it kept improving. All in all, none of his power came from his own determination.

    Despite that, Lu Yin could feel Zi Rong¡¯s intense determination in that previous attack. He wanted to experience it directly and see if he could determine his future cultivation path.

    Zi Rong looked at Lu Yin in astonishment. ¡°You¡¯re brave. I heard that you know a secret technique that can divert even an Enlighter¡¯s attack. That would make it possible for you to withstand my attack.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°What¡¯s the point of me facing your attack if I use a secret technique? Come on.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes shed, and he turned to nce at Cai Jianqiang. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you were willing to stay here and protect Hydrotink. I¡¯m also impressed by his courage.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang wanted to say that he hadn¡¯t stayed because of Lu Yin, but rather to gain some experience from the senior Lockbreakers. However, he didn¡¯t say this to Zi Rong, as Lu Yin¡¯s actions just now had actually impressed him as well. Not everybody had the courage to face Zi Rong¡¯s attack, and on top of that, Lu Yin was just an Explorer. Cai Jianqiang stared at Lu Yin in awe, and he suddenly realized that the myriad rumors about this person were not true.

    Zi Rong raised his de as shadows formed and dissipated around it. Although everything happened slowly, Lu Yin could see all of these details clearly with his eyes. The next moment, an astonishing light fell upon him that was quickly followed by an indescribable aura. No matter how powerful this attack ended up being, it would carve out a path for his future¡ªLu Yin could feel this in his bones.

    As the radiance fell onto Lu Yin, he could feel Zi Rong¡¯s spirit, determination, and perseverance through it. He was stunned by Zi Rong¡¯s perseverance, and Lu Yin felt as though he was facing an indestructible rock. He couldn¡¯t win. There was absolutely no way he could defeat this attack.

    Lu Yin felt an urge to put on his universal armor and use the Yu Secret Art. These actions had already be an ingrained habit of his, but he forcefully stopped himself as he felt Zi Rong¡¯s perseverance. The rune lines of this attack didn¡¯t match up to an Enlighter¡¯s, as Zi Rong hadn¡¯t used his full power. However, this attack was still sincere, and despite Zi Rong reducing the attack¡¯s powerpared to his battle with Cai Jianqiang, Zi Rong had still managed to put his perseverance, spirit, and determination on full disy.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and unleashed his domain. His eight lined battle force appeared and covered his body as visible shockwaves of power emanated out from him. He then lifted his hand and formed a w, causing an ancient beast¡¯s roar to ring out. He used the Skybeast w in conjunction with his battle force and domain to defend himself from the attack.

    The ground shattered with a bang as a countless amount of invisible force surged into space, causing the various spacecraft observing the to tremble. Spatial shockwaves also rippled out into the distance.

    Lu Yin fell to the ground as the Skybeast w had only helped him block the attack for a brief moment before quickly disintegrating. Although Lu Yin could battle against Hunters with his current strength, Zi Rong wasn¡¯t anything like a normal Hunter. He was a Hunter powerhouse who could challenge Enlighters, and even if he hadn¡¯t reached the peak Hunter realm, his attack still wasn¡¯t something that Lu Yin could easily face.

    The ssification of realms wasn¡¯t the only way of measuring one¡¯s power. Kong Shi had already reached the peak Hunter realm, but she couldn¡¯tpare to Zi Rong at all.

    Lu Yin had used the Yu Secret Art to divert his opponent¡¯s attack any time he had faced off against a strong opponent on the level of Yan Yan, Twin Daemon, or Enlighters. He had never directly fought against such people with his own pure strength; after all, those people had far exceeded his strength, so he had never felt embarrassed at using the Yu Secret Art. However, now that he was facing Zi Rong, he didn¡¯t feel like retreating. Cultivation was intended to train one¡¯s body, and one had to train both their strength and their soul. Without the soul of a powerhouse, one would never be able to achieve greatness no matter how strong their body was.

    Zi Rong had only attacked once, but his attack had ignited Lu Yin¡¯s passion for cultivation.

    He roared and used the Skybeast w once again. He continued to use the Skybeast w in rapid session, trying to whittle away at Zi Rong¡¯s attack.

    Cai Jianqiang watched the two in shock. It was rare that an Explorer could survive an attack from Zi Rong, let alone fight back against it. Even the Ten Arbiters might not have reached Lu Yin¡¯s level when they had been Explorers.

    Zi Rong maintained his stance and carefully watched Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, the space around them solidified, and a strange power caused them to shiver.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and used the Dream Finger. The attack was finally shattered with a ng, but Lu Yin¡¯s finger was bleeding profusely.

    The effects of practicing the Finger Tap Technique could be clearly seen now, as Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t have been able to shatter this attack and keep his finger intact before.

    Crack.

    The mountain range in the distance shattered apart as invisible energies tore the ground apart. Normal cultivators would no longer be able to approach this area as remnants of the de attack remained in the sky.

    Lu Yin smiled despite panting heavily. He had managed to withstand the attack. He had truly held his own against a genius Hunter. Although Zi Rong hadn¡¯t used his full strength, Lu Yin had also held back. He could have easily diverted that attack away with the Yu Secret Art, but he hadn¡¯t done so because he had wanted to experience Zi Rong¡¯s perseverance.

    He had aplished his goal, but Lu Yin wasn¡¯t going to change his battle style. He would continue to use the Yu Secret Art and external items whenever he fought against someone like Zi Rong in the future. However, he was no longer confused about his cultivation path either.

    Lu Yin felt that he had learned a lot on this day, and he had a feeling that this battle would have a profound effect on his future.

    He hadn¡¯t improved his strength, but he had nourished his spirit.

    p p p p!

    Cai Jianqiang looked down at Lu Yin from the sky and apuded. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I am rarely impressed by people, but you have done it.¡±

    Zi Rong also looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I am also rarely impressed by people, but you are one of them.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and quickly bandaged his finger. He then used some special medications from Shamrock Enterprises to help his finger recover quickly.

    He then leaped up out of the pit and nced around. There were countless rune lines hanging in the air, signifying the remnant energy from Zi Rong¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin felt relieved; if Zi Rong¡¯s attack had been slightly stronger, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten off with just a simple finger injury.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t use your full strength,¡± Lu Yin told Zi Rong with a smile.

    Zi Rong shrugged. ¡°I just wanted to witness the abilities of the renowned Lu Yin. I wasn¡¯t nning on killing you. Why? Do you want to attack me too? It¡¯s only fair.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°No, thank you. My attacks would be useless against you.¡±

    At present, his most powerful attacks were the Finger Tap Technique and the Skybeast w, but even when he used both techniques together, he had only barely been enough to block Zi Rong¡¯s de. Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t be able to injure the Hunter with any of his attacks, and although his spiritual force wasparable to the Ten Arbiters¡¯, Zi Rong was a person with incredible determination, which meant that his spiritual force was likely equally as strong.

    Zi Rong grinned, as he already knew that.

    ¡°This guy¡¯s so annoying! Seventh Bro, you shouldn¡¯t have risked your life,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a sneer.

 Chapter 754: The Goddess, Luo Shen

    <h4>Chapter 754: The Goddess, Luo Shen</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Rong and then at Cai Jianqiang. ¡°You guys know each other?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang nodded. ¡°We met several times when we were younger. If we didn¡¯t end up fighting, we wouldn¡¯t have be friends.¡±

    Zi Rong regretfully said, ¡°This bastard beat the people of our generation until we came to our senses. None of the Ten Arbiters back then¡ªno, there weren¡¯t any Ten Arbiters back then¡ªnone of the Universe Youth Councilors were his match in any way. I was unlucky enough to be a part of them, so I also took a beating from him.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You were a Councilor in your generation¡¯s Universe Youth Council?¡±

    ¡°I was one of the Outerverse Youth Councilors,¡± Zi Rong corrected.

    ¡°Do you know Kong Shi?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Rong replied, ¡°I¡¯ve heard of her, but I¡¯m one generation older than Kong Shi. Cai Jianqiang and I are from the previous generation, so she¡¯s one generation younger than us.¡±

    ¡°Then why is her power level higher than yours?¡± Lu Yin was baffled.

    The corner of Zi Rong¡¯s mouth twitched as he looked away. This asshole did not know how to have a conversation.

    Cai Jianqiangughed, ¡°Kong Shi was a Councilor from the previous Universe Youth Council, and he¡¯s just one generation older than her and was in the Outerverse Youth Council. You can think of it as the difference between Wendy Yushan and the Ten Arbiters, though not quite that exaggerated. Still, there was a difference, but only in power level. If they truly fought against each other, Kong Shi may not actually be his match.¡±

    Zi Rong rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t make aparison between us based on our statuses. Our generation¡¯s councilors all had simr levels of strength, unlike now, where any one of the Ten Arbiters can sweep across several generations of Universe Youth Councilors. Someone like me wouldn¡¯t even qualify to receive a move from one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°Yes, the times have changed. Even I can¡¯t deal with those monsters.¡± Cai Jianqiang sighed.

    Lu Yin looked over at Cai Jianqiang curiously. ¡°Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t even seen you use all your strength. You¡¯re supposed to be the definition of someone unequalled within their generation.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m about the same as this fellow here, and there¡¯s not much difference between us. Don¡¯t listen to other people¡¯s wild exaggerations. Compared to cultivating, I enjoy lockbreaking more.¡±

    Zi Rong snorted, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, don¡¯t let this guy trick you. When he erupts with his true strength, it¡¯s enough to scare people to death. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s never beaten up an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± Cai Jianqiang red at Zi Rong.

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that Cai Jianqiang had actually defeated an Enlighter before, and he probably had not relied on any items to boost his strength either. That was amazing. In that case, how strong would this person be once he became an Enlighter? In that case, wasn¡¯t this person at around the same level as the Ten Arbiters? If that was so, then he could serve as a benchmark. If Lu Yin could go head to head with Cai Jianqiang, then that might indicate that his strength was approaching that of the Ten Arbiters. Lu Yin became a little excited when he thought of this.

    Lu Yin was still uncertain how strong the Ten Arbiters truly were. From start to end, during the chaotic battle in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, Lu Yin had been either trashed or rescued. And against Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin had not even been able to retaliate. With a fresh benchmark in front of him, Lu Yin nned toe back to this person in the future to test his personal strength after improving.

    Cai Jianqiang took out three jars of wine from his cosmic ring, which were actually traditional earthen jars. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we drank. Come on, cheers.¡±

    ¡°Is this a cup?¡± Zi Rong¡¯s eyes went wide.

    Cai Jianqiang drank to his heart¡¯s content and then wiped the corner of his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t be confused. I got these from a that had just broken away from a ving civilization. It¡¯s the best wine, and it can¡¯t be purchased anywhere else.¡±

    Lu Yin took a mouthful; the wine refreshed his throat, and it was actually very invigorating. There was an uninterrupted sweetness as he drank followed by a fire that seemed to ignite his belly, but the heat quickly cooled afterwards. It was a very contradictory feeling, but it was also very pleasant. ¡°Good wine.¡±

    ¡°Good taste.¡± Cai Jianqiang appreciated Lu Yin more. He would only use this wine when entertaining people whom he recognized.

    Zi Rong took a mouthful. ¡°Not bad. Where did you get it from?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang quietly replied, ¡°Not telling.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from Amethyst Exchange! If I tell you, this wine will end up bing widespread.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that better? Then you¡¯ll be able to drink it more often.¡±

    ¡°The rarer, the more valuable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unrted to food and drinks. People who say that are talking about items.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same logic.¡±

    ¡°What a wooden brain! You clearly have an amazing talent for cultivating, but you only enjoy lockbreaking. This is why you haven¡¯t aplished anything in your life!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin took another sip of the wine as he watched the two bicker, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere. He had just been strangers with the two of them a short while ago, but these two clearly got along well.

    ¡°Hey,e on, tell me. I never meddle with the exchange. You should know that.¡± Zi Rong looked expectantly at Cai Jianqiang.

    Cai Jianqiang nced over at his friend. ¡°I seem to recall that you don¡¯t like drinking wine, but here you are, demanding my source so energetically. If you¡¯re not asking on behalf of the exchange, then what?¡±

    Zi Rong grinned and then gloomily took arge mouthful of the wine.

    Lu Yin set his earthen jar down. ¡°I seldom drink wine, but it¡¯s quite refreshing.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang smiled. ¡°Every time a lockbreaking session doesn¡¯t go smoothly, I have a drink and drown my sorrows. There¡¯s no need to dispel it with star energy.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°Honestly, why do you pursue lockbreaking so strongly?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang longingly answered, ¡°It¡¯s a dream.¡±

    ¡°Dream your ass! You just don¡¯t want to lose to your brother,¡± Zi Rong mocked.

    Cai Jianqiang quietly said, ¡°It was like that at the start, but when I seeded for the first time and saw the object that had been sealed away by the universe for countless years, it felt as if I was snatching treasures away from the universe. This feeling is something that can never be experienced by those who can¡¯t lockbreak.¡± He then looked over at Lu Yin, and his eyes lit up. ¡°I really wish I had the lockbreaking talent that you guys have, but¡­ Hai.¡±

    This person truly liked lockbreaking, and Lu Yin did not know how tofort him. Talent for lockbreaking? Did Lu Yin have such a thing? He didn¡¯t know, as he simply relied on his Cosmic Art to supplement his lockbreaking. It seemed as though Cai Jianqiang was not inferior in terms of perception or his star energy control, but for some reason, his lockbreaking did not improve smoothly. And thus, the man was only able to me himself.

    Lu Yin looked over at Zi Rong. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to get involved in the Exchange¡¯s business?¡±

    Zi Rong took another swig of wine. ¡°It¡¯s too annoying. There¡¯s nothing more delightful than cultivating.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang countered, saying, ¡°He¡¯s afraid of trouble, so he doesn¡¯t cultivate any other techniques besides his Battalion sh. He has trained that one technique for decades.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°It¡¯s not because of his perseverance?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯szy,¡± Cai Jianqiang ruthlessly mocked.

    Zi Rong retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, I definitely have perseverance. How else would I have managed to persist for decades?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, and he had a feeling that hismon sense was being destroyed. Everything had a cause and an effect; Zi Rong had cultivated his Battalion sh for decades, and even if that was because of hisziness, he also possessed great determination. It was only his motivation that put others off. Lu Yin had nearly worshipped Zi Rong¡¯s determination, but now, Lu Yin felt his blood starting to run cold.

    There were some things that really should not be said aloud, for once they were spoken, the truth might not match the appearance. Sometimes, imagination was enough.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I know why you are here. I tell you straightforwardly that I cannot represent Amethyst Exchange, and I cannot help you in your feud with Aegis,¡± Zi Rong said.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this, as he had realized that the moment he saw the Battalion sh, and he had known that he would inevitably be rejected. ¡°It¡¯s alright, your sister has helped me enough.¡±

    Zi Rong suddenly moved closer and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t make any moves on her. She¡¯s going to marry a schr in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I¡¯m a schr.¡±

    ¡°Knowing how to read doesn¡¯t make you a schr,¡± Zi Rong retorted in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin did not know how to reply to that. Should hee up with a poem on the spot?

    Before long, the three men finished the wine in the three earthen jars. Not one of them used any star energy to sober themselves up, and they were all quite clearly drunk.

    Cai Jianqiang was hugging his jar and lockbreaking while crazilymenting about something or another.

    Zi Rong wielded his de while hacking away with it, slice after slice. It was impossible to tell if he was drunk or sleepwalking.

    Lu Yin fell to the ground and reminisced about past memories, though he could not recall what had happened nine years ago. His memory was limited to only these nine years. During this time, he had lived with Big Sis and the others for a year, spent more than a year peacefully living on Earth, and then another seven years cultivating. That was the extent of his memories, and there was nothing from before that.

    He felt like a rootless weed, and Earth could barely be considered his roots.

    The following day, at King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin massaged his head. He had drunk too much the previous day, but fortunately, he had still managed to get home.

    He moved star energy through his body, and his mind became much clearer as his difort faded away.

    He did not know what had happened to the other two. One had been crazily lockbreaking while the other had been waving a de about in a berserk fashion. They wouldn¡¯t have inexplicably started fighting each other, right? Fortunately, he had been the first to leave.

    He had just entered the pce¡¯s courtyard when Gavin requested an audience, his face showing a sense of urgency and excitement.

    ¡°Your Highness, good news! The Goddess, Luo Shen is on Zenyu Star. Do you want to see her?¡± Gavin excitedly informed Lu Yin, his expression a little strange.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Luo Shen? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    Gavin was surprised. ¡°Your Highness doesn¡¯t know of the Goddess? She¡¯s the most popr celebrity beauty! She¡¯s a jade goddess who¡¯s popr throughout half of the Outerverse. You¡¯ve never heard of her?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°What does some celebrity have to do with me?¡±

    Gavin quietly answered, ¡°Luo Shen wants to socialize and meet some new friends on Zenyu Star with a concert. If Your Highness is interested, your subject can invite her to dance for Your Highness alone. With your current status, I don¡¯t believe that Luo Shen will reject an invitation.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Gavin in astonishment, as this old fellow¡¯s expression did not look quite right. Could this man be trying to bend some rules to dote on Lu Yin? Lu Yin suddenlyughed. ¡°Is she really that beautiful? To the point where Lord Gavin cannot maintain himself?¡±

    Gavin smiled sheepishly. ¡°Your Highness is funny, and your subject does not have the good fortune to be able to watch Luo Shen dance by myself. Right!¡± Gavin quickly activated his gadget, and a woman appeared on the screen. ¡°Take a look, Your Highness. This is The Goddess, Luo Shen! The jade goddess of Amethyst Exchange.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over and was amazed. His breath was truly stolen by this girl.

    The girl on the screen looked to be about twenty years old, and golden hair hung to her waist. She had a gentle look and was attractive in a non-dazzling way. Her appearance was exquisite and refined, beautiful and pure. There was an indescribable attraction about her, and she had a faint smile on her face, as if she was an angel that had descended from the Heavens. Even Lu Yin, who had seen Ming Yan, Bai Xue, Madam Nn, and other stunning beauties, felt that Luo Shen¡¯s beauty was extremely rare. She was different from any other beautiful woman he had seen before.

    This girl had an intoxicating appearance and a smile that could purify people.

    Her smile felt like it could illuminate even the darkest corners.

    Gavin closely observed Lu Yin, and when he saw the Royal Regent¡¯s eyes brighten, he quietly asked, ¡°Your Highness, do you want a private performance?¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze. ¡°Is that possible?¡±

    Gavin replied, ¡°For others, of course not. However, this subject can invite her in Your Highness¡¯s name.¡±

    After that, Gavin opened up other images of Luo Shen to share with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had only noticed her face before being instantly stunned, and he had not really paid much attention to her figure. It had to be said that beautiful women practically all had good figures, and this Luo Shen was no different. Her chest was sorge that it did not match her innocent face at all.

 Chapter 755: Zi Xue & Bai Xue

    <h4>Chapter 755: Zi Xue & Bai Xue</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly barked, ¡°Stop!¡± and Gavin paused right when he was about to switch to another picture.

    Lu Yin stared at the screen. The image disyed was still that of Luo Shen, but this time, it was a group photo of her with some other people.

    Lu Yin stared closely at a corner of the picture, where he could see a figure that left him in disbelief, but also very happy. There was only a side profile of a face, but that person was clearly another girl. Despite only seeing a partial profile, the girl¡¯s beauty could not be hidden, and Lu Yin was drawn to the girl in an instant. That was¡ªBai Xue.

    ¡°Where was this picture of Luo Shen taken?¡± Lu Yin asked, his tone sounding rather urgent.

    Gavin smiled. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s no rush. Let this subject arrange things.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the minister rather sharply. ¡°Speak.¡±

    Gavin trembled, and he felt that something was off with Lu Yin. ¡°In Amethyst Exchange. Goddess Luo Shen has been the jade goddess of Amethyst Exchange for almost the whole past five years, and she has also been a spokesperson for Amethyst Exchange. She will be performing at Amethyst Exchange during her trip to Zenyu Star in order to promote thepany.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly vanished as he headed towards Amethyst Exchange.

    Amethyst Exchange was packed with people at the moment, as Luo Shen was famous throughout the Outerverse. Even someone like Lu Yin was astounded by her beauty, let alone others who were attracted to beautiful women.

    With Luo Shen¡¯s arrival, Amethyst Exchange was overflowing with impassioned crowds of fans, and the security had been raised to the maximum. But even then, they still could not stop the raging crowds. Many carried the celebrity¡¯s pictures in raised hands as they shouted frantically. Luo Shen¡¯s fans filled every corner of the trade center. Even Amethyst Exchange¡¯s employees were looking upwards with expectant faces, hoping that she would appear and that they might be lucky enough to end up getting closer to her.

    In Zi Xianxian¡¯s office on the top level of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall on Zenyu Star, Luo Shen was sitting on the pink sofa,zily indulging in itsfort. ¡°Howfortable. Xianxian, you¡¯re still the only one rxing. I¡¯m about to be worked to death.¡±

    Across from her, Zi Xianxian sat behind the desk as she casually responded, ¡°What rxing? Eldest Bro is creating trouble for me every day. I¡¯m frustrated as well.¡±

    Luo Shen giggled. ¡°Brother Zi Fang has a soft heart despite his hard exterior. At worst, he¡¯ll just scold you a bit more, but he hasn¡¯t made any real moves against you.¡±

    Zi Xianxian proudly stated, ¡°If he dares to try, then Second Bro will pull off his skin.¡± At that moment, Zi Xianxian frowned and looked over at a beautiful woman standing beside the window. ¡°Where is Second Bro?¡±

    The woman turned around, her looks brightening the office a little bit more. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Luo Shen looked over at the woman as well. ¡°Sis Zi Xue, Brother Zi Rong tells you wherever he goes, but you¡¯re saying that he didn¡¯t tell you this time?¡±

    That girl called Zi Xue indifferently answered, ¡°I have no rtionships with him.¡±

    Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes. ¡°Whatever. Wherever you go, my Second Bro follows, and you can¡¯t shake him off. Sis Zi Xue, just get used to it. When should I start calling you Second Sister-inw? Hehe.¡±

    Zi Xue did not respond. Instead, she silently stared out the window with aplex light in her eyes that she did not let the two girls behind her see.

    At this moment, there was a knock on the door, causing Zi Xianxian to frown. ¡°Strange, who could it be? We already said that we weren¡¯t receiving any guests today.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was heard through the door.

    At that moment, Zi Xue¡¯s body trembled where she stood beside the window, but nobody noticed.

    Zi Xianxian was stunned. ¡°Lu Yin? What are you doing here?¡±

    Luo Shen stood up and looked over curiously. Lu Yin: this was a name that had spread throughout the Outerverse and be a legend. She had heard it countless times, and she had also seen this person¡¯s picture as well. This was one of the most influential figures in the entire Outerverse: the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡°May I enter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes. ¡°Come on in.¡±

    When the door opened, Lu Yin first looked at Zi Xianxian, followed by Luo Shen, who was sitting on the pink sofa. She gave off a different feeling in personpared to her photos. Luo Shen was sitting upright in a still position, but her appearance still took Lu Yin¡¯s breath away. However, he had note for Luo Shen today, and his eyes moved past her to look over at thest person beside the window. Even with her back to him, this beautiful woman was very familiar. Despite the two not seeing each other for many years, Lu Yin would never forget this person: Bai Xue. She was someone who had left Earth with him, but she had been taken away by the Hidden Earth Society and had gone missing.

    Lu Yin and Bai Xue were not too well acquainted with each other, and there had been no tangled emotions between them either. However, ever since Bai Xue had left Earth together with him, Lu Yin had not been able to rest easy with her disappearance. He had discovered that Zhang Dingtian was in the Starfall Sea, but there had been no news about Xu San or Seruzen. But right now, Bai Xue was right in front of him.

    Lu Yin stepped into the office and stared towards the window.

    In front of the window, the girl called Zi Xue turned around and calmly looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Bai Xue, it¡¯s been a very long time.¡±

    The office fell into an awkward silence before Zi Xianxian asked, ¡°Bai Xue? Lu Yin, who are you talking to?¡±

    Lu Yin continued to stare straight ahead. Bai Xue¡¯s appearance hadn¡¯t changed in the slightest, and as he looked at her, Lu Yin was reminded of a moment back on Earth, when Zhou Shan had described Bai Xue as a cloud in the sky.

    Luo Shen blinked curiously and looked at Lu Yin before shifting her gaze over to the window.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu has mistaken me for someone else. My name is Zi Xue, not Bai Xue,¡± the girl beside the window said coldly. There was an atmosphere to her that made people feel like strangers should not approach her.

    Lu Yin brows furrowed. ¡°Zi Xue? Aren¡¯t you Bai Xue?¡±

    Zi Xue coldly answered, ¡°No.¡±

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s eyes shed, and she said, ¡°Lu Yin, you are mistaken. She¡¯s Zi Xue, my Second Brother¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Luo Shen was very interested in this development. Could there be some melodramatic story behind this? Could Brother Zi Rong¡¯s fianc¨¦e have some kind of rtionship with this legend, Lu Yin? Was Sister Zi Xue actually this Bai Xue that he had mentioned? Could she have lost her memory and been saved by Brother Zi Rong? Suddenly, Luo Shen¡¯s mind was filled with countless convoluted stories, and she looked at Lu Yin sympathetically.

    Lu Yin could not believe Zi Xue, as this woman was the splitting image of Bai Xue. ¡°Did you lose your memory?¡±

    Zi Xue¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°No, I¡¯m Zi Xue. This is the name I¡¯ve had since I was little.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you from Earth?¡± Lu Yin still was in disbelief.

    Zi Xue started to get a little impatient. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, for thest time, I¡¯m Zi Xue, not this Bai Xue you speak of. And I didn¡¯t lose my memory.¡±

    Lu Yin stared closely at Zi Xue¡¯s appearance, still inplete disbelief at her denial.

    Zi Xianxian walked over and blocked Lu Yin¡¯s view. ¡°Lu Yin, I can testify that Sister Zi Xue did not lose her memory. Do you have any other matters to talk about? If not, please leave.¡±

    Lu Yin averted his gaze. How was it possible for there to be two absolutely identical people, and furthermore, both of their names were Xue.

    She hadn¡¯t lost her memory? Could her memory have been tampered with? Impossible.

    He looked at Zi Xue. ¡°Could we speak alone?¡±

    Zi Xianxian became furious. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re going too far! Sister Zi Xue is my Second Bro¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Do you think meeting to speak with her alone is appropriate?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew cold, and an enormous pressure descended that stifled Zi Xianxian slightly. ¡°I was talking to her.¡±

    Suddenly, a second tremendous pressure descended before converging onto a square meter of space that sted down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he shook his body to resolve the pressure as Zi Rong¡¯s figure appeared before him. As he appeared, he red furiously at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot myself.¡±

    Zi Rong stared closely at Lu Yin, and his eyes narrowed before he looked at Zi Xianxian. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Zi Xianxian quickly recounted what had just happened.

    Zi Rong was surprised, and he said to Lu Yin, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I can promise you that Zi Xue is Zi Xue and not Bai Xue. You must be mistaken, as she has neither lost her memory nor has it been tampered with.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face Zi Rong, and then Zi Xue, before apologizing. ¡°I suppose that I must truly be mistaken. I¡¯m sorry, Brother Zi.¡±

    He then left with his scattered thoughts.

    Zi Xianxian resentfullymented, ¡°What kind of person is he? I thought that he was decent, but it turns out that he just tries to strike up a conversation with anyone beautiful, and he even wants to use force.¡±

    Zi Rong said, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Alliance Leader Lu is not that kind of person.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are you that familiar with him?¡± Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes.

    Zi Rong sighed. "This person is a son of the heavens. I drank with him yesterday, and I believe my ability to judge character to be rather decent. It should truly be that he was mistaken. Xianxian, don¡¯t take offense.¡±

    Zi Xianxian snorted.

    Zi Rong nodded at Luo Shen and then walked over to Zi Xue. ¡°Sorry to have startled you.¡±

    Zi Xue calmly answered, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him. Alliance Leader Lu was mistaken,¡± Zi Rong said.

    Zi Xue remained indifferent. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Zi Rong stared at Zi Xue¡¯s beautiful face, and his eyes suddenly grew heated. He had liked this girl for several years, and he had beenpletely smitten the moment he first saw her. ¡°Zi Xue, we-¡±

    He was interrupted by Zi Xianxian, ¡°Second Bro, we¡¯re still here, so watch what you say and don¡¯t gross us out.¡±

    Zi Rong turned around to stare at Zi Xianxian, but he stopped speaking.

    After leaving Amethyst Exchange, Lu Yin was deep in thought all the way back home. Huo Qingshan had admitted that the Hidden Earth Society had taken Zhang Dingtian and the others into the Innerverse, but that meant that Bai Xue should be in the Innerverse right now.

    Lu Yin had just looked up some information about Zi Xue, and he quickly found that, a few years ago, she had been adopted by Amethyst Exchange¡¯s Chairman Zi Tianchuan. This meant that she had been in the Outerverse for several years. However, nobody knew any details about her past before that.

    Lu Yin still believed that this woman was Bai Xue, and he intended to investigate this carefully. How could there be two people with identical appearances? Right, there was also Luo Shen and the Sage of Aqua, though they were not the same person. In the past, Bai Xue had been known as the Sage of Aqua, which sounded rather simr to Goddess Luo Shen¡¯s name, though the title of Goddess may not have necessarily been suggested by Bai Xue.

    Zi Rong hade to Zenyu Star since he was protecting Zi Xue and Luo Shen. After another two days, Amethyst Exchange would finish preparing the stage where Luo Shen would perform.

    Amethyst Exchange''s typical method was to prepare an outdoor stage and hold a performance within one of their malls.

    As for advertising, they had already been doing so for a month. Quite a lot of people had arrived at Zenyu Star during this month, all of them to see Luo Shen.

    Lu Yin did not disturb Zi Xue during these two days, as he was still investigating information concerning Amethyst Exchange.

    One night, Luo Shen began her performance before the crowd¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin was sitting in the foremost row, and beside him sat some important characters from the Great Eastern Alliance. There were some merchants who had associations with Amethyst Exchange in the second row.

    The Goddess, Luo Shen, was famous throughout the Outerverse, and aside from her mesmerizing appearance, her dancing was also able to enthrall countless people, and it would leave countless people spellbound.

    Lu Yin hade to the performance to observe Zi Xue, but when Luo Shen began dancing, he also became engrossed.

    A heavenly pce reverberated with the music, and Luo Shen turned around with a smile. There was only one person on the stage, and with her jade flute, white clothes, and golden hair, she danced in a fairy-like performance. It felt like nothing else existed at this moment besides a single beam of light illuminating Luo Shen and Lu Yin. At that moment, Lu Yin felt like only Luo Shen and he existed in this ce, no one else. He was no longer seated in a mall, but rather in a pce in the heavens.

    All the stars in the sky seemed to sway along to the rhythm of that beautiful head of hair that was dancing like a dragon.

    A pair of bright eyes could be seen through the white clothes, and just seeing them sent a gentle shock coursing through the beholder¡¯s body that resonated with the soul.

    This is referring to the Chinese names and pronunciation.

 Chapter 756: Surprise Attack

    <h4>Chapter 756: Surprise Attack</h4>

    Lu Yin had never thought that one person¡¯s dance could fascinate him this deeply. He wasn¡¯t alone, as everyone else watching was also enthralled. There were tens of thousands of people watching Luo Shen dance, but not a single one of them made a sound. All of them were dazed by her performance.

    At this moment, there was a beam of light connecting the earth and sky. It was the Goddess, Luo Shen, and everyone felt like they were alone with this enchantress.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, something isn¡¯t right,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice suddenly interrupted, and Lu Yin awoke from his daze to see that rune lines were filling the sky. There was obviously no one to be seen, nor was there any kind of attack or technique that was being used. But despite that, the entire sky was filled with rune lines, and the entire Amethyst Exchange mall was being enveloped in it.

    ¡°It¡¯s poison gas!¡± the monkey bellowed.

    The rune lines in the sky suddenly fell, about to cover everyone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows shot up. These rune lines represented a poisonous gas that could even suppress a Hunter. Space-exploring powerhouses would instantly die if they came into contact with this gas, let alonemoners. He took out the Bacsh Pearl and leaped up. He hurriedly used the pearl to absorb as much of the poisonous gas as he could, and at the same time, he shouted, ¡°Everyone, leave!¡±

    Luo Shen¡¯s dance was abruptly interrupted, which initially upset everyone, but when they realized that Lu Yin was the one shouting, they were all stunned.

    ¡°Everyone, leave now!¡± Lu Yin roared again as he unleashed his domain to search for the person who had released the poisonous gas.

    Zi Rong walked out from backstage with a solemn expression on his face.

    In the sky, the poisonous gas was absorbed by the Bacsh Pearl and did not descend upon the audience.

    In one corner, a pair of vulture-like eyes stared at Lu Yin and the Bacsh Pearl in his hand. ¡°That thing can actually absorb my poisonous gas. As expected, it won¡¯t be that easy to deal with him.¡±

    Countless people ran away from the mall, but there were simply far too many people present. It was not easy to efficiently evacuate tens of thousands of people.

    Lu Yin wanted to use his star energy to forcefully push the crowd out, but he quickly saw quite a few bursts of rune lines appear outside the mall. A certain chilliness fell upon the area, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. This was the sensation that he had felt when attacked by Feng Zi. One of Aegis¡¯s assassins was attacking at this time.

    He immediately donned his universal armor, and he looked to his right, where a boundless number of rune lines were shing.

    A blood-curdling cry pierced the atmosphere, and a ssh of fresh blood erupted in the crowd of people, staining others red. The assassin had suddenly started killing themoners in the crowd.

    Lu Yin was enraged. ¡°An assassin.¡±

    There was a thump, as the killer from Aegis hidden within the crowd had been blocked. The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons had arrived, and the soldiers tried to evacuate the crowd out of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall as quickly as possible.

    Zi Rong clenched his fists, thoroughly enraged. This was an audacious move on Aegis¡¯s part.

    At the same time, normal spacecraft above the began to morph, revealing weapons that were aimed at Zenyu Star. Attacks rained down upon the.

    Fortunately, Zenyu Star had a protective barrier. Otherwise, the numerous attacks would have destroyed the three maind rings.

    At this very moment, Aegis wasunching a surprise attack upon Zenyu Star.

    The full strength of Zenyu Star burst forth. The captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons all moved out as Aden, Huo Qingshan, and Yan Yan stepped into outer space.

    All around Zenyu Star, a chaotic battle broke out. Not only had Aegis gathered its assassins and mercenaries, but it had also hired independent mercenary cultivators. Aegis wanted to not only deal with Lu Yin, but alsopletely destroy Zenyu Star. Their goal was to show their might to the entire Outerverse.

    Inside the mall, Lu Yin was still searching for Feng Zi when Phantom Sting appeared. ¡°Your Highness, Poisonmaster is here. He is ranked second on the Outerverse¡¯s Assassins List.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Is he the one who released all that poisonous gas?¡±

    ¡°Yes, this person once set a record for massacring a hundred billion people in the shortest amount of time, and he also once destroyed an entire fment. He¡¯s very hard to deal with,¡± Phantom Sting solemnly exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, as this sort of poison was a frightening prospect to worry about in the middle of a fight. ¡°Go and look for Poisonmaster. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything else.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Phantom Sting acknowledged his orders as he vanished.

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings. There were chaotic battles taking ce all around him, and Zi Rong had also started fighting. Zi Xianxian, Zi Xue, and the others had moved backstage, but they were simrly facing off against assassins there. The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons had already surrounded the entire mall, but Lu Yin saw more rune lines continuing to appear outside the perimeter. All of Zenyu Star was in a mess at this moment.

    Strangely, when he looked up, he saw a boundless amount of rune lines appear. It was an Enlighter, and Lu Yin had seen these rune lines before. It was Lord Egret; Aegis was truly ruthless in its actions during this attack. They had mobilized a majority of their assassins and an Enlighter for the same assault.

    Lord Egret appeared and pressed a hand towards Zenyu Star. With the strength of Zenyu Star¡¯s protective shield, it was difficult for it to resist an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    Aden gritted his teeth and dashed into space. ¡°Thunder Mountain Breach: Thunder Shield.¡±

    There was a bang as Aden was sent flying back by Lord Egret¡¯s palm, crashing into the three maind rings.

    He quickly flew up once again. He had also blocked Enlighter realm astral beasts back in Ironblood Weave, and he was experienced with facing such powerhouses.

    Lord Egret was stunned, as he thought that the only person who would be able to resist him for any amount of time on this was Lu Yin, and that was only when the youth used his various items. He had never imagined that there would be someone else who could block him.

    Inside the mall, a de light swept out and bisected three assassins at the waist. Zi Rong nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin was still using the Bacsh Pearl to absorb the poisonous gas when long, ck hair appeared beneath his feet twined around him, binding his ankles together. Then, Lu Yin felt his body be powerless as his vitality started being siphoned away.

    His expression changed. This was an attack from a powerhouse. Lu Yin pressed down with a hand, using a Skybeast w to tear through the hair. He then followed the broken strands back to a nearby ce. There was a tall figure hidden there, and he started constantly moving about to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, but his eyes remained fixed upon Lu Yin at all times.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Magistrate, ranked fourth on the Assassins List,¡± Zi Rong informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Poisonmaster, the Magistrate, and Feng Zi. Aegis had six top-tier killers; would all of them appear today?

    There was a cry heard from atop the stage as Amethyst Exchange¡¯s experts who were protecting Luo Shen all clutched their necks and fell down while countless des descended and shot towards Luo Shen.

    Her face went pale as she hopelessly watched the approaching sharp des.

    Zi Rong raised a hand and sliced down with his de, breaking apart all the other des. ¡°Aegis, how bold! Are you really trying to start a war with my Amethyst Exchange?¡±

    Unfortunately, his words proved to be ineffective. Lu Yin saw rune lines snake through the void towards Luo Shen that looked simr to the poisonous gas¡¯s rune lines. Aegis¡¯s goal with this operation was not just to deal with Lu Yin, as they also wanted to showcase their strength. Luo Shen was incredibly influential in the Outerverse, so Aegis wanted to kill Luo Shen on Zenyu Star, which would disgrace the Great Yu Empire as well as the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as he appeared atop the stage. He then used the Bacsh Pearl to absorb the poisonous gas again. He grabbed Luo Shen and threw her towards the nearby Zi Xue.

    Zi Rong was truly infuriated this time, and his long sword sliced out, killing several assassins. His power was unstoppable, but Aegis had sent multiple assassins for this assault, rendering Zi Rong¡¯s power useless since he was unable to find all of the attackers.

    Lu Yin had not counted on Zi Rong to provide much help. Aegis naturally had a way to stall the elite Hunter, and Lu Yin was more worried about Poisonmaster. This killer had been constantly releasing poison from the beginning, which had been keeping Lu Yin busy.

    Beneath him, the ck long hair twisted about once again, attempting to absorb his vitality. Lu Yin sliced at the hair again, but his attack was not as sessful this time, as the hair was actually covered with eight lined battle force.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and the battle force shrouded hair stabbed forward like a spear. Against this imminent threat, Lu Yin revolved his Cosmic Art and bent his head to the side, causing the hair to hit nothing but air. The strength of the attack rattled the entire mall, and the aftershocks radiated all the way into space.

    Lu Yin was frightened. If he had not dodged thatst attack, although he still wouldn¡¯t have died due to his universal armor, his brain still would have been jostled at the very least.

    Behind him, The Magistrate appeared. His long, ck hair wrapped around Lu Yin from all directions. This hair was reinforced with eight lined battle force, and Lu Yin quickly fell back even as a chill descended. Yan Yan appeared, and his sturdy ice formed a spear that stabbed at the Magistrate while five interlocking plum blossoms sealed the long hair before causing it to freeze and shatter.

    The Magistrate nced at Yan Yan before backing away as his figure vanished. Once he disappeared, not even his rune lines could not be seen.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you fine?¡± Yan Yan asked.

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°Seal off Amethyst Exchange. Don¡¯t let a single one of them escape.¡±

    ¡°What about your safety?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Seal this ce off immediately!¡± Lu Yin barked. He then released a Finger Tap that bore through an assassin¡¯s neck. He casually tossed the corpse aside.

    He was most afraid of Poisonmaster releasing poison into the rest of Zenyu Star, as that would finish the. Nothing could be allowed to happen to Zenyu Star.

    Yan Yan rose into the air as his body radiated a cold energy. Gradually, Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall was sealed within manyyers of ice. From outside, it seemed as if the entire street had been enveloped in a sturdy ice shell.

    Zi Rong sternly said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, let Luo Shen and the others leave first.¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, ¡°No one can leave right now. Rest assured, I will protect them well.¡±

    Zi Rong wanted to reply, but he suddenly felt something peculiar at the top of his head, causing him to raise his de, slice out, and behead two assassins.

    The entirety of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall reeked of blood.

    It wasn¡¯t just Luo Shen and the others that had been trapped, as the majority of the audience consisting of tens of thousands of people had been trapped as well. However, Lu Yin had no choice but to do this as he could not allow Poisonmaster to leave this ce. As soon as Aegis became desperate enough and allowed Poisonmaster to attack Zenyu Star, it would not end with just tens of thousands of lives being lost, but possibly several billions.

    Another benefit of the ice seal was that it dampened the battle¡¯s destructive aftershocks. Otherwise, the moves made by the experts fighting would be enough to damage the itself.

    Behind Lu Yin, the long, ck hair that was reinforced with eight lined battle force stabbed at him once again. The Magistrate seemed to be the person who had been assigned to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold, and he turned around as he tapped out with a finger. The long ck hair stabbed at Lu Yin, but it was diverted by the Yu Secret Art. Lu Yin¡¯s solitary finger then struck the Magistrate. The assassin¡¯s eyes lit up with glee; he had been sent to assassinate Lu Yin, and how could Aegis have not investigated Lu Yin¡¯s abilities?

    He had been chosen as the primary attacker to deal with Lu Yin because he was extremely fast. When he saw the finger approaching him, the assassin¡¯s figure shed, and although the finger caused the void to solidify, the Magistrate also ended up moving further and further away from the finger.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s lips arched up, and his fingers curled up to form a fist: Daynight Punch.

    The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques contained spiritual force attacks, and Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had be quite powerful. In fact, he believed that he could even rival the Ten Arbiters in this one aspect. Before this one punch, ck and white colors interchanged, and it caused the Magistrate¡¯s expression to abruptly change. His entire being was caught up in an endless spiritual storm, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood as he retreated at his top speed. However, Lu Yin then tapped out with another finger that solidified the void: Dream Finger.

    The Magistrate could not dodge this attack, and his heart was struck by the finger. There was a soft thump as his entire body was sted against theyer of ice with enough force to crack it.

    Seeing Lu Yin injure The Magistrate left Zi Rong astonished. The Magistrate was a peak Hunter, but Lu Yin had diverted the assassin¡¯s attacks with that secret technique that could transform trash into treasure. However, what was that punch just now? Had that been a Daynight battle technique?

    Afternding a strike on The Magistrate, Lu Yin did not give the Hunter a single moment to catch his breath, and he immediately attacked again. This type of fighter prioritized preserving their own life, so it was best to finish them off as fast as possible.

    Lu Yin had not made the wrong assumption, but he had underestimated The Magistrate. As a top ranker on the Assassins List, his life-preserving methods were extraordinary, and he had long since buried multiple strands of hair beneath the ground. When Lu Yin struck him heavily with Dream Finger, the Hunter had already activated his hair to absorb the crowd¡¯s vitality.

 Chapter 757: Chaotic Battle

    <h4>Chapter 757: Chaotic Battle</h4>

    The assassin¡¯s strands of hair were thin and delicate, so nobody noticed them, which meant that nearly 10,000 people had been caught by the hair. They lost all of their life force in an instant and were reduced to corpses. These people had just beenmoners, not even as strong as the weakest sort of cultivator. Thus, they had no way to stop the Magistrate from absorbing their life force.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You dare!¡±

    The Magistrate had sunk into the ice seal and absorbed the life force of nearly 10,000 people with his hair. He watched as Lu Yin¡¯s hand sneaked out, and he also raised a hand to counter Lu Yin¡¯s attack. There was another thump as the Magistrate was once again smashed into the ice by Lu Yin, causing the ice to fracture. But Lu Yin did note out of the exchange unscathed either, and he was forced back several steps. His Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm had actually been reflected back at him, which had rendered his right arm momentarily powerless.

    He looked up, astonished. He saw that the Magistrate had been embedded into the ice seal, but the assassin¡¯s body was now shrouded with a purple-red battle force lined with red stripes. This was nine lined battle force.

    The Magistrate had absorbed the vitality of 10,000 people, and he had also managed to improve his battle force to nine lines.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb as the Magistrate gave him a cold smile before his figure shed away. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Lu Yin, his hair stabbing forth. The assassin¡¯s nine lined battle force stunned Lu Yin, but he still activated the Yu Secret Art to quickly divert the hair attack. However, the Magistrate would not fall for the same move twice. Countless strands of hair shot out of the void and stabbed at Lu Yin, each one of them reinforced by nine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin was struck by countless strands of hair, and his body was flung back into the ground.

    The Magistrate dashed forward again, his hair piercing through the void and stabbing into the ground. Suddenly, the direction of the hair changed as the radiance from a de sh tore through the area, signalling an approaching attack.

    The hair blocked the delight, causing a dazzling cascade of sparks to burst forth. The Magistrate was forced back repeatedly by the surging delight until the radiance shattered with a bang. However, a second wave of delight appeared from Zi Rong right after. A sinister look entered the Magistrate¡¯s eyes, and his body suddenly shed and disappeared.

    Zi Rong¡¯s delight sliced cleanly into the ice seal and caused it to quiver as a solid chunk of ice was shaved off. Still, the attack did not break through it.

    Zi Rong was stunned to discover that there was a fellow Hunter in the Great Yu Empire who could actually block his delight.

    Outside the iceyer, Yan Yan was also surprised by the de attack. The delight had nearly gone through his ice seal, which showed that the attacker was an exceptional powerhouse. As he thought about it, Yan Yan continued to build up the ice, as he definitely would not allow anyone to escape from the battle.

    Underground, Lu Yin was panting heavily as waves of pain emanated out from a point in his chest. If not for his universal armor, he would have been killed by that earlier attack since nine lined battle force could easily prate his body.

    He looked at the delight that had shot across the ground, and Lu Yin leaped up to look for the Magistrate.

    However, he could not find the Magistrate, though he saw arge number of rune lines approaching Zi Xue and Luo Shen from underground. Zi Rong was busy fending off some other threat, his face solemn. It appeared that he had not noticed the sneak attack yet.

    Lu Yin did not bother warning the Hunter out of fear that the hidden assassin would unleash their attack immediately. Lu Yin had no choice but to silently rush over himself.

    Unfortunately, he had forgotten that he was actually the primary target of the assassins. As soon as Lu Yin moved out, the underground killer knew that he had been exposed, and he struck at Luo Shen without hesitation as a de flickering with a cold light shed out. It was Feng Zi.

    Zi Rong turned around and barked, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Luo Shen helplessly watched on as the tip of the de closed in on her, but then, ayer of blue ice suddenly appeared in front of her. It was Zi Xue, and although the knife easily shattered the blue ice when it struck it, the ice had slowed down the attack enough that Lu Yin was able to arrive. He grabbed Luo Shen for the second time and tossed her away from danger before striking the ground with a loud bang. He ruthlessly unleashed an Oveying Stacks attack without any restraint and shattered the ground, though there was absolutely no trace of Feng Zi to be seen.

    These assassins were very skilled at hiding and disguising themselves, and they also had power vessels that could cause their rune lines to vanish. Even Lu Yin found it difficult to deal with these people, and it was clear that Aegis had made ample preparations for this attack. Even thebined forces of all cultivators on Zenyu Star and Zi Rong couldn¡¯t avoid being drawn into a bitter battle.

    In outer space, above the, Aden was sent flying away once again with another thump. He had blocked Lord Egret¡¯s attacks quite a few times now, and his thunder shield was no longer as robust as before. Blocking this Enlighter¡¯s attacks was not any easier than defending against the attacks of the Enlighter realm astral beasts back in Ironblood Weave.

    Lord Egret¡¯s current mood was not great, as he had encountered a Hunter who could actually block him. He felt like he would never be able to beat this person to death, and he couldn¡¯t even break through the defense of this thunder shield. Where had such a freake from, and why had he joined the Great Yu Empire? This man was actually able to block an Enlighter like Lord Egret.

    Within the sealed mall, many assassins seemed to sense that they would not be able to deal with Lu Yin, especially The Magistrate. He had not shown any mercy in hisst attack against Lu Yin, which should have been strong enough to kill even a Hunter. However, Lu Yin was still dashing about in the battlefield. The kid¡¯s defensive items were too absurd, and not even the Magistrate could deal with him. They would have to go with their second n.

    The Magistrate¡¯s body shed, and he suddenly appeared below the ice seal with a growl. He then struck at the ice seal with his nine lined battle force reinforcing his hair at full force. Even if Lu Yin did not die here, Aegis still wanted to destroy Zenyu Star and let the entire Outerverse know the costs of offending Aegis.

    The ice seal shattered bit by bit, and outside, Yan Yan¡¯s expression turned solemn as he continuously reinforced the seal. The two quickly entered a deadlock.

    The Magistrate¡¯s attacks grew even more intense, but then, a shovel suddenly appeared beside him and swatted at him. He waspletely unprepared for the attack and was sent flying away. The blind monk had joined the battle.

    When Lu Yin saw that the blind monk had arrived, he let out a sigh of relief. If this person had arrived, then it meant that the chaos on the rest of Zenyu Star had already stabilized.

    Fortunately, to defend against Aegis¡¯s impending attack, Lu Yin had kept all the Hunter realm captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons close by. Otherwise, they would not have managed to quell the chaos on Zenyu Star in such a short time, as ordinary cultivators would not have been able to defeat the assassins.

    Another beam of delight sliced out, and Zi Rong arrived beside Zi Xue and Luo Shen. His eyes were cold, and his expression remained vignt.

    Lu Yin surveyed the area. Screams wereing from all directions, and he could tell that there had already been thousands of casualties. There were still quite a few assassins hiding out there, but the most important ones were Poisonmaster, the Magistrate, and Feng Zi. These assassins definitely would not let Lu Yin go free.

    Assassins generally followed the pattern that, if their first attack missed, they would retreat a thousand miles away. But right now, Aegis¡¯s assassins were determined to demonstrate their superiority, and they did not intend to give Lu Yin a single moment of respite.

    Feng Zi appeared behind Lu Yin again, and the Royal Regent quickly turned around to swat out with a Skybeast w. The w shattered the approaching de, but even more cold des appeared from all directions, surrounding him.

    Lu Yin felt like something was off. The Magistrate¡¯s full powered attack had not been able to kill him, and Feng Zi should be aware of Lu Yin¡¯s defensive capabilities. If that was the case, then why would he still take action? That is, unless there were other assassins lying in wait nearby.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin¡¯s awareness grew hazy, and the scene he saw changed before his eyes. He was suddenly sitting in a spacecraft in space, and there were shouts echoing through the area. He saw a familiar scene; this was the edge of the Astral River, and the Astral River Ark was still inside the Astral River, noting out. It waste.

    All around him, numerous powerful enemies appeared while Big Sis and the others did everything they could to fight the attackers off. Only Lu Yin had been left inside the spacecraft.

    One familiar face after another fell during the bloodbath, and space itself was destroyed. Some people were even torn to shreds so thoroughly that not even a corpse remained.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision was filled with blood, and he screamed, demanding to go out; he had be powerful, and he could fight with Enlighters now. He could help Big Sis and the others.

    But no matter what he did, he could not leave the vessel. All of his previous strength had disappeared, and he had returned to the regr person who had never cultivated. Once again, he experienced the desperation of the powerless.

    But then, the sound of the Stonewall Scriptures reverberated through his mind, clearing his thoughts, and Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. Not good¡ªthis was an illusion and the work of another top ranked assassin.

    The scenery once again shifted before his eyes as he returned to the mall. It had only taken a split second for all that to happen, but there were already multiple strands of nine lined battle force reinforced hair in front of him as well as countless cold des. Lu Yin also noticed that these two attacks had been joined by an even more terrifying air current. Three attacks connected andnded directly on Lu Yin.

    Poisonmaster, the Magistrate, and Feng Zi had joined forces tounch a cooperative attack while Lu Yin was caught in an illusion. This assault was something that even an Enlighter would find difficult to withstand, and it sted Lu Yin back beneath the ground.

    Zi Rong saw this, and his expression changed.

    Zi Xue saw it, and her fists clenched tightly.

    Luo Shen, the blind monk, and quite a few others also witnessed this attack. Three top ranked assassins had just joined forces tounch a single attack; could Lu Yin possibly survive?

    At this moment, Phantom Sting who had remained hidden from the very start, finally discovered Poisonmaster¡¯s location. His dagger transformed into a white lotus that glistened, and it streaked past Poisonmaster, drawing some blood. Then, Poisonmaster disappeared once again.

    Phantom Sting¡¯s eyes grew cold, and he also vanished. He did not know what Poisonmaster¡¯s current condition was, and he could not even tell where his knife had struck Poisonmaster. It was no wonder why this person was the second ranked assassin, as the ranks were not solely determined by the number of people they had killed. Poisonmaster¡¯s ability to stay alive was also top-notch.

    The Magistrate and Feng Zi did not pause even for a moment, and they also vanished. They followed Lu Yin underground, as they did not know what Lu Yin¡¯s condition was like. If it was possible, they wanted to at least cripple him, as they did not necessarily have to kill him. Death was not the most frightening sentence.

    ¡°Hurry up and help him,¡± Zi Xue screamed as she stared anxiously at Zi Rong.

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes shed, but before he could move, an intense beam of light shone from underground. This light had appeared too suddenly, and the luminosity even caused the void to ripple. The entire mall was lit up, and the light even shone through the ice seal, lighting up all of Zenyu Star. Even outer space was lit up, and the light drew Lord Egret¡¯s attention.

    The next moment, a light beam shot out from Zenyu Star and into space. Along its path, space trembled andyers of the void started to break open.

    Lord Egret was stunned; that attack was terrifying beyond belief. If he had taken it headon, then it would have been difficult for him to survive. It was enough to tear through his defenses.

    Within the ice seal, beneath the mall, Feng Zi stared at the left half of his body in disbelief. Well, he stared at where that half of his body used to be, as it was now gone. He had been utterly unable to resist that beam of light.

    That light beam hade from underground. It hade from Lu Yin.

    To the side, the Magistrate¡¯s scalp waspletely numb, and his figure shed as he instantly vanished.

    From underground, Lu Yin looked upwards and set down the Money Bomb. Hisst one had just been used. Such a pity.

    The Ultra sh Tear Bomb had been quite effective. If not for the sudden bright sh, then the Money Bomb would not have been able to hit Feng Zi since the assassins were too adept at evading attacks.

    One strike had killed Feng Zi, which resolved one of thergest threats.

    Lu Yin leaped out from underground once again, which left many feeling bbergasted. Even Zi Rong was astonished to discover that Lu Yin had survived. It seemed like no one couldpare to this youth in terms of survival. The previousbination strike would have even seriously wounded Zi Rong if he were forced to endure it. Sure enough, this person had power vessels that could defend against Enlighters¡¯ attacks, just like the rumors imed. Was it that universal armor?

    With these power vessels, it meant that Lu Yin was invincible.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you alright?¡± Phantom Sting appeared and asked in a gloomy voice.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Poisonmaster?¡± Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings to search for the assassins.

    ¡°I don''t know. I injured him, but I don¡¯t know how badly.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he was panting heavily.

    ¡°The one who attacked you before is ranked eighth on the Killers List, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty . She has a strange appearance with two heads: a human head as well as a snake head. She is very adept at creating illusions, so be careful.¡±

    Phantom Sting then vanished.

    Lu Yin smiled coldly, as Aegis was truly putting forth a huge amount of effort. For this one operation, they had sent out four of the top ten ranked assassins. This was certainly ruthless enough.

    In outer space, Aden blocked another strike, but his entire body was sted away like a meteorite.

    Lord Egret did not want to engage with this person anymore, and he turned to face Zenyu Star, only to be blocked once again by Aden, who gritted his teeth.

    Lord Egret was won over by the man¡¯s determination. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of death?¡±

    Aden had already activated his nine lined battle force long ago, or else he would not havested this long. ¡°Just try to kill me.¡±

 Chapter 758: Spear And Shield

    <h4>Chapter 758: Spear And Shield</h4>

    Lord Egret¡¯s expression was icy, but it suddenly changed as he turned around to see the space behind him shatter. An iparably berserk star energy surged out in a wave, as if a massive beast had descended in the distance.

    Lord Egret¡¯s face looked grave.

    Aden and the others also felt the disturbance, as this berserk strength had shocked them all. The most astonishing thing about this strength was that it had not surpassed the realm of a Hunter, which meant an absolutely incredible person was about to arrive.

    Lord Egret was about to speak up when the newly arrived person greeted him with a punch. There was a profound light at the center of the fist where an iparably berserk energy converged. Lord Egret instinctively wanted to avoid this attack, and he quickly evaded away. A deep darkness appeared at the fist¡¯s point of impact, and the void was scattered. The aftershocks rippled away and struck Lord Egret, and they made his eye twitch. That had been a ferocious attack.

    ¡°Are you the Lord Egret who fought against Saul before?¡± Cai Jianqiang revealed himself as he asked from nearby.

    Lord Egret stared closely at the Hunter. ¡°So it¡¯s you.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang kneaded his right palm. ¡°If not for you, Sourcepeak might not have been reduced to such a terrible state. I¡¯m going to make you pay the price for your actions on that day!¡±

    Nine lined battle force burst forth from his body, and Cai Jianqiang¡¯s figure vanished with an explosion.

    Lord Egret shouted, ¡°Arrogant junior!¡±

    A white light radiated from his body, and the phantom image of an astral egret appeared above him. This was his innate gift. He had not used it against Aden earlier, but that was because this egret¡¯s nature was not offensive, but rather defensive.

    Cai Jianqiang pressed down with a palm. ¡°Heart-Dipping Palm.¡± This palm had a violent force to it, and the surrounding space could not endure its strength. The palmpressed space itself as the hand swatted out and engulfed an entire region. It pressed down upon Lord Egret¡¯s head, but it was stopped by the white light. ¡°Junior, you underestimate me. I¡¯m an Enlighter with a power level of 260,000 who came here after cultivating in the Innerverse. You cannotpare me to those Outerverse Enlighters who only just broke through!¡±

    A bird¡¯s crowing was heard as the egret flew out from the Enlighter¡¯s hand and rushed towards Cai Jianqiang.

    The birdnded with the force of a thousand mountains, and Cai Jianqiang was sent flying away by the enormous strength.

    Lord Egret¡¯s gaze turned cold, and he raised a hand. One bird after another spread its wings and shot through space, streaking towards Cai Jianqiang, Aden, and also Zenyu Star.

    This was Lord Egret¡¯s true strength, as Cai Jianqiang had made the man feel threatened.

    Cai Jianqiang turned around and shook off the force of the birds¡¯ impact. He then stared at Lord Egret as a smile crept onto his face.

    Lord Egret saw Cai Jianqiang smile and felt that something was off. The next moment, he let out a dull groan, and his expression changed. He hurriedly merged the phantom image of the astral egret back into his body, but a trace of fresh blood dripped down from his lips.

    ¡°What sort of battle technique is this?¡± Lord Egret stared at Cai Jianqiang. His heart had been damaged.

    Cai Jianqiang dodged another flying bird. ¡°Heart-Dipping Palm. It¡¯s a technique with ancient roots. How many palms can you take?¡±

    Lord Egret wiped the blood from his lips. ¡°I underestimated you, but it''s a pity that just this sort of battle technique cannot defeat me.¡±

    Aden dashed forward again, his thunder shield expanding without end. The birds crashed against his thunder shield one by one, forcing him to continuously retreat.

    Cai Jianqiang streaked over in front of the thunder shield and raised his hands before pressing down with both hands and releasing countless Heart-Dipping Palms that exploded towards Lord Egret.

    The birds flew forth from Lord Egret¡¯s palm and crashed towards Cai Jianqiang, yet they were all stopped by the thunder shield, which strangely did not block Cai Jianqiang¡¯s Heart-Dipping Palm. This shield was a unidirectional obstruction, and Lord Egret either had to evade or block the attacks headed his way.

    Evidently, Lord Egret was unwilling to take the Heart-Dipping Palm straight on, and he was forced to helplessly evade them.

    Cai Jianqiang took the position of the berserk spear while Aden acted as the durable shield. Thebination of this spear and shield was enough to leave even Lord Egret helpless. Before long, Lord Egret vanished and left.

    In the distance, Huo Qingshan stared on in astonishment. He had been constantly observing the battle taking ce in outer space. He was stunned to see that, even without Lu Yin, Zenyu Star still had the strength to repel an Enlighter. The Great Yu Empire had truly risen in power.

    Lord Egret¡¯s retreat signified that the surprise attack had ended. Aden was free to return to Zenyu Star, and he soon arrived inside the ice seal that surrounded the mall.

    He was one of the few powerhouses who could change the situation of the entire battlefield.

    Aegis apparently had some understanding of Aden¡¯s strength. As soon as he appeared, the assassins from Aegis all prepared to flee.

    Zi Rong was thrilled to see that Aegis¡¯s assassins were trying to escape, as it gave him some degree of relief. However, Lu Yin saw that there was arge number of rune lines hidden in the void, but they were still moving to envelop Luo Shen. This wasn¡¯t the poison gas, as it was instead an illusion. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty was making a move on Goddess Luo Shen by dragging her into a fantasy.

    Lu Yin fiercely charged over, grabbed a hold of Luo Shen, and threw her to the side for a third time. After that, he turned and rushed towards the source of the rune lines, where he saw <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty. This person had actually disguised themselves as one of the corpses that the Magistrate had drained of life force, and they had always been lying near Luo Shen and the other women.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand turned into a w as he unleashed his Skybeast w. <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty were unable to remain disguised any longer, and she stood up as she red coldly at Lu Yin. At the same time, a giant python emerged from beneath the ground that moved to snap at Lu Yin. The python¡¯s body was strangely connected with the human body of Peerless Beauty. She had two heads: one human and one snake.

    Lu Yin did not bother evading, and he calmly allowed the python to swallow him.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty was stunned, as she had never expected to swallow Lu Yin so easily.

    But the next moment, her expression changed drastically, and she wailed mournfully. The body of the python began to corrode from within. She had been poisoned.

    Lu Yin tore through the python¡¯s body and poured the remaining bit of poison from one of Elder Wu''s bottles onto <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty .

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty''s python body had been corroded by the poison. She could not escape it, and her human body had simrly been struck by the poison, her body quickly eroding away.

    Her wails echoed throughout the entire mall.

    Zi Rong and the others watched the events unfold, staring indifferently as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty was reduced to a puddle of blood that finally evaporated, leaving nothing at all behind.

    Another top ranked assassin had perished.

    The remaining Aegis assassins suddenly gathered together under orders from some unknown person, and they all attacked the ice seal in unison. With the Magistrate¡¯s hairbined with Poisonmaster¡¯s poison, the ice seal was not able to endure as a hole was torn open, though which the various attackers charged out of the ice seal.

    Yan Yan tried his best to hold them back from escaping, but multiple assassins still managed to seed.

    Poisonmaster left the ice seal, releasing his gas the entire way, and it rapidly pervaded the surrounding area.

    Lu Yin grew anxious, and he hurriedly used the Bacsh Pearl to absorb all the poisonous gas. Meanwhile, Aden and the others were still exterminating the remaining assassins that were in the mall. After a bit more time, everything calmed down, leaving only a huge mess behind.

    Zenyu Star¡¯s most bustling street had beenpletely destroyed. The ice seal melted, and the cold water trickled down, diluting the blood as it flowed into the sewers.

    The remaining 20,000 odd people had escaped with their lives, and many of them were bawling and rejoicing that they were still alive.

    On the ground, piles of corpses were strewn about in disorder.

    The venue for the performance had devolved into this macabre scene.

    Lu Yin floated calmly in the sky. Unexpectedly, he was not furious, and there were no other emotions within him either. He was already enemies with Aegis, so being attacked by an opponent was nothing unexpected. This debt would have to be paid back some day.

    On the other hand, Zi Rong was exceptionally angry. Aegis had carried out an assassination attempt within Amethyst Exchange. They had not just merely destroyed the mall, as they had repeatedly tried to assassinate Goddess Luo Shen. This would have harmed Amethyst Exchange¡¯s reputation. Aegis had gone overboard this time.

    Gavin, Garope, and the other high officials from the Great Yu Empire quickly arrived to pacify the masses.

    There were many spacecraft wrecks and cultivator corpses scattered throughout space, and all of this had to be taken care of.

    Lu Yin gave out some orders and alsomanded them to not publicize this attack.

    Aegis would definitely disseminate information about this attack, and they might have even secretly recorded it, which was something that Lu Yin could not control. He could only reduce his side¡¯s casualties to the minimum.

    He looked towards the ruins of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall, coincidentally exchanging nces with Zi Xue in the process. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as at one point during the chaotic battle, Luo Shen had been protected by a wall of blue ice. That blue ice was Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift. He was nowpletely certain that Zi Xue was Bai Xue, and Lu Yin descended to the ground, wanting to talk to Zi Xue.

    Zi Xue saw that Lu Yin was approaching her, and she quickly turned to leave.

    Lu Yin wanted to chase her, but he was stopped by Zi Rong.

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression was not good, but he could not be angry at Lu Yin. During the attack, if not for Lu Yin, Luo Shen would have died. However, this attack had also been because of Lu Yin¡¯s grudge with Aegis. Zi Rong did not quite know what to say. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, our Amethyst Exchange has always refrained from getting involved in the struggles between the various powers. This time, because of your conflict with Aegis, this mall waspletely destroyed. I wonder, how are you nning onpensating us?¡±

    Lu Yin apologetically answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will take responsibility.¡±

    Zi Rong nodded, but he did not say much more. He rather appreciated Lu Yin and had even pleasantly drank wine with him before, which was notmon for the Hunter.

    Lu Yin still wanted to look for Zi Xue, but Zi Rong blocked his way.

    Lu Yin had no choice, so he turned to leave.

    As Lu Yin left, Goddess Luo Shen was nearby. She wanted to hurry over to thank Lu Yin, but she was simrly stopped by Zi Rong.

    ¡°Brother Zi Rong, I wish to thank Alliance Leader Lu,¡± Luo Shen delicately said, and as she looked over at Lu Yin, her eyes spun. They seemed to be filled with curiosity along with a hint of something else. She had just been saved by this man thrice, and she had also been embraced by him thrice. From a young age, nobody had ever held her in such a fashion, but it had been veryfortable.

    ¡°You¡¯re not permitted to go over there, and you are not allowed to have any rtions with him.¡± Zi Rong rejected her request without mercy.

    Luo Shen grew sullen. ¡°Brother Zi Rong, he saved me three times. Shouldn¡¯t I thank him?¡±

    ¡°This attack also happened because of him, and keeping you safe is a must. There¡¯s no need to thank him,¡± Zi Rong replied.

    Luo Shen pursed her lips and looked over Zi Rong¡¯s shoulder. She watched as Lu Yin¡¯s figure gradually vanished, and her heart sank.

    Lu Yin immediately returned to King Zishan''s pce and activated his gadget to contact Madam Nn.

    She quickly answered his call.

    ¡°Aegisunched a surprise attack on Zenyu Star.¡± Lu Yin got right to the point.

    She was not surprised. ¡°This matches with Aegis¡¯s style, so it¡¯s not unexpected. Didn¡¯t Your Highness already know that Aegis would attack Zenyu Star?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I never expected the scale of their forces would be so great. Four of the top ten assassins of the Outerverse came, and there were at least 100 other assassins scattered across Zenyu Star, ced there solely to ughtermoners and create chaos. On top of that, there were mercenaries that attacked from space, hired independent cultivators, as well as Lord Egret. That wasn¡¯t something as simple as a raid. That was war,¡± Lu Yin exined in a low voice.

    She smiled. ¡°It looks like Your Highness is not injured. Are you angry? How can I help?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Give me a brief introduction of Aegis. I need to know some deeper secrets about them.¡±

    Her eyes shed. ¡°Your Highness, the four great corporations of the Outerverse will not interfere in each other¡¯s affairs. These are the rules. If you want information, you can look towards Amethyst Exchange. Selling information is just another part of their business, so Aegis cannot do anything even if they tell you everything.¡±

    ¡°Looking for Amethyst Exchange will cause Aegis to be wary, and they will definitely cover up the secrets that Amethyst Exchange tells me, so there¡¯s not much meaning in going to them. I wish to obtain some information from your side that even Amethyst Exchange may not necessarily be aware of,¡± Lu Yin said.

 Chapter 759: Smoker

    <h4>Chapter 759: Smoker</h4>

    Madam Nn shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, Your Highness. If Amethyst Exchange doesn¡¯t know it, then there¡¯s no way I would. I only have some very limited information that I could share with Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Then share all of your limited information with me. Rest assured, I only want to know the general situation better. If you could tell me information that would allow me to deal with Aegis, then they would have long since disappeared,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She thought about it and then helplessly responded, ¡°Very well. Listen closely, Your Highness.¡± She then paused for a moment before continuing in a serious voice. ¡°Tens of thousands of years ago, a huge extermination operation wasunched against the Outerverse. As for who instigated it or why, nobody knows anymore. However, that operation specifically targeted all of the Outerverse¡¯s assassination organizations. This operation wiped out more than half of them, and the ones that were the most powerful and also the most important were naturally taken out as well. However, the masterminds behind those assassination organizations managed to escape.

    ¡°They were the ones who created Aegis afterwards, and this is also the story of how Aegis was started. Those few people were very smart, and they knew that if they recreated those assassination organizations and grew too strong, it would simply lead to another extermination operations. Hence, they established a mercenarypany in the open and trained mercenaries to umte wealth from wars. The assassins remained secret.

    ¡°These people created Aegis, and they are also the masterminds behind its structure. Nobody knows how many peopleprise the original group of founders, only that they take turns in cryostasis. Every hundred years, one of themes back to life and manages the organization for a hundred years before going back into cryostasis. The next one then takes over, and they take turns managing Aegis like this. They are the true managers of Aegis.

    ¡°These people are very smart, and they did not create Aegis to be a private organization. Instead, they have an external board of directors who are supervisors secondary only to the original founders. These board members might be recruited fromrge ns or huge corporations, and after so many years, nobody knows how many ns and corporations have joined Aegis. The reason why they join is usually to borrow Aegis¡¯s strength, while also avoiding Aegis¡¯s assassins and the fate of ending up as mere sacrifices. Even my Nn family is a member of Aegis¡¯s second level management¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised as he listened to Madam Nn describe the development andposition of the colossalpany that was Aegis. Its founders had essentially gathered together the strength of many Outerverse families and corporations. When the Innerverse and Outerverse had still been connected, they had not dared reveal too much of their strength out of fear of being struck down by the Innerverse. However, now that the Outerverse was isted, they had be more unrestrained, and to a certain degree, their strength had burgeoned.

    It was no wonder why so many powers in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory had been very willing to work with Aegis. The Allied Forces had exterminated no less than 100 groups, and they had all joined Aegis¡¯s second level management.

    ¡°Aegis¡¯s second level management is roughly estimated to consist of thousands of people. They are not able to decide the direction of Aegis, but they are able to influence Aegis in certain other aspects. For example, they can decide which member of a certain family is to be assassinated, or which side should be supported in a war, and so on. More importantly, Aegis is able to borrow the strength and influence of its second level members toplete certain tasks, such as discrediting your Great Yu Empire and the Great Eastern Alliance or finding certain powers to ally with to boycott the Great Eastern Alliance. Such things are rather easy to aplish for Aegis.

    ¡°So, Alliance Leader Lu, as I¡¯ve told you before, it¡¯s best not to provoke Aegis. Once you irritate them, it¡¯s the same as provoking hundreds or even thousands of powers throughout the Outerverse. After so many years, these powers have already grown ustomed to the existence of Aegis, and they have be used to Aegis helping them with tasks that would normally be considered shameful. If you are enemies with Aegis, then those powers will naturally also oppose you.¡±

    Lu Yin had a sudden realization. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how Aegis has the ability to provide for Lord Egret. They should be very wealthy.¡±

    She smiled faintly. ¡°Is Your Highness tempted?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Who¡¯s the highest administrator of Aegis at the moment?¡±

    ¡°Starfox, a mastermind from an assassination organization that existed tens of thousands of years ago. For thest 100 years, he¡¯s been the one managing Aegis. All of the ns that were carried out against you were ordered by him. He¡¯s very cunning,¡± Madam Nn said.

    ¡°Have you interacted with him?¡± Lu Yin asked

    She shook her head. ¡°Not really, but we¡¯ve chatted a little. After all, our Nn family is part of the second level management.¡±

    ¡°If I destroy Aegis, would that cause great losses for your Nn family?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    She smiled. ¡°If Your Highness thinks that you can cause Aegis to copse, then by all means, please try. That loss is one that my Nn family can withstand. Though, I must warn Your Highness once again: with the enemy in the dark and you in the light, a fight to the death will only result in greater casualties to the legitimate side.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then ended the call.

    No matter how morous the outside world became, Lu Yin did not bother with it as he contemted the information that the beautiful Madam Nn had just shared with him. He was waiting for Aegis to contact him.

    To Aegis, this raid had been conducted to demonstrate their dominance, and thus, they would be eager to contact Lu Yin and have him admit defeat. And the person to contact him would definitely be the same person as before.

    Lu Yin did not have to wait very long before he received a call from an unknown ID. It was only a voice call.

    Lu Yin answered it.

    ¡°Sir Lu Yin, did you like our gift?¡± The same gloomy voice from before was heard, and it sounded incredibly cold.

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, ¡°It was alright. The corpses of Feng Zi and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Peerless Beauty have some research value.¡±

    The opposing party fell silent for a moment. ¡°They¡¯re just two useless people, so it¡¯s not a problem for Sir Lu Yin to research them. This is our second time speaking to you¡ªhas Sir Lu Yin thought things through? Will you be friends or foes with our Aegis?¡±

    ¡°I still have the same question as before: why do you guys want to gain control of Northcastle Weave?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I will not answer Sir Lu Yin¡¯s question. I just need your reply: friend or foe?¡± The sinister voice still sounded extremely arrogant.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Does your Aegis wish to be friends or foes with me?¡±

    ¡°It would seem that Sir Lu Yin still hasn¡¯t recognized the current situation. Zenyu Star may be able to block a surprise attack, but I wonder, can the others of the Great Yu Empire withstand such an assault? Has sir heard of Poisonmaster¡¯s previous record?¡± The sinister voiceughed softly and then ended the call.

    Lu Yin put his hand down. He looked rather depressed. Poisonmaster had poisoned hundreds of billions of people to death in the shortest amount of time on record, and he also held the record for having killed the most people. With such records, even if he wasn¡¯t a peak Hunter, and even if his assassination techniques were not as terrifying as the Magistrate and the others, it made sense that he was ranked second. This was all due to Poisonmaster¡¯s records.

    Aegis was willing to do things by hook or by crook.

    If that was the case, then there was no need for Lu Yin to restrain himself either. If the enemy was in the dark while he was not, then he just had to use someone also in the dark to deal with this hidden enemy.

    ¡°Phantom Sting.¡±

    Phantom Sting appeared behind Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Contact Smoker,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Phantom Sting was taken aback. ¡°Your Highness, Smoker¡¯s price is steep.¡±

    ¡°I know, but I have what he needs. Just initiate contact,¡± Lu Yin said gravely.

    Phantom Sting acknowledged his orders and vanished.

    Smoker. Nobody knew the history behind this name, and nobody knew if this person was male or female. The only known information about Smoker was that they had once attempted to assassinate the ze Realm¡¯s master and then escaped unscathed. They were the top assassin in the entire Outerverse.

    The ze Realm was the guiding power of zing Mist Flowzone, which was one of the Eight Great Flowzones of the Innerverse. Nobody knew how many experts that flowzone possessed, nor what level of strength the ze Realm¡¯s master had reached. But one thing was for certain¡ªthe ze Realm was home to more than just one Enlighter.

    Smoker had been able to sneak deep into the ze Realm¡¯s territory and had even attempted to kill its master. Although they had ultimately failed, they had still managed to escape unscathed.

    Back then, this assassination attempt had shaken the entire Outerverse to its core, and this achievement was how Smoker had be the top on the Assassins Ranking. Nobody had been able to pose a challenge to their position throughout the countless years.

    The price Smoker desired could not be paid in star crystals, essence, weapons, battle techniques, or power vessels. Smoker only epted payment in the form of natural treasures that had reached the degree of instinctively avoiding danger.

    After the initial conflict with Aegis, Lu Yin had checked the Outerverse Assassins Ranking, and that was when he had be especially interested in Smoker, as what Smoker wanted was coincidentally what Lu Yin had. Without any exaggeration, he could say that nobody in the Outerverse was more suitable to hire Smoker, because Lu Yin had numerous natural treasures.

    Hiring an assassin to deal with other assassins was Lu Yin¡¯s bottom line. He had only decided to employ a hitman because Aegis had crossed Lu Yin¡¯s bottom line. He did not n to let his principles restrain him when acting against them any longer, and he would plunge the Outerverse into the panic caused by the top assassin.

    Not much time passed before Phantom Sting reappeared. ¡°Your Highness, Smoker has agreed to act, and he wishes to discuss things with you personally.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at a screen in front of him. The disy was pitch-ck with only a faint white smoke that asionally blew across it. The smoke finally formed a word: ¡°Target.¡±

    ¡°Number two ranked assassin, Poisonmaster,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Five natural treasures that have reached the level of evading danger.¡± The white smoke continued to form words.

    ¡°Sure, but I must tell you something. The natural treasures that I will give you must be used quickly, as they were all obtained from sourceboxes. Thus, they cannot remain outside for too long, or else they will dissipate.¡±

    The white smoke wafted across the screen to form more words. ¡°Okay, but if you go back on your word, you will not survive.¡±

    Smoker gave Lu Yin a warning, and then everything on the screenpletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin looked at the sky. ¡°Tell me, can Smoker kill Poisonmaster? Poisonmaster killed billions of people in the past and threw the Outerverse into a panic. Even the Innerverse sent out experts to kill him, but he still survived.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Phantom Sting answered very confidently.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Smoker¡¯s price was indeed exorbitant. For a natural treasure to reach the point of avoiding danger, they had to have lived for at least 100,000 to 200,000 years. These were treasures that nobody would be willing to sell. Obtaining five such treasures was very difficult, and this was why nobody had hired Smoker to act and assassinate Poisonmaster.

    Of course, the various great powers would also not pay such a price for themoners¡¯ sake, as in their eyes, the world would be alright no matter how manymoners died.

    Lu Yin might not possess much else, but he had an abundance of natural treasures. However, he actually did not have enough even though there were more of them on Bushtree. These natural treasures had to be used quickly, or else they would wither away as soon as they reach ten years of age.

    Lu Yin had twenty two of these kinds of natural treasure in his cosmic ring right now, which should be enough to hire Smoker four or five times. If Aegis wanted to y, then Lu Yin would apany them and give them a good game.

    ¡°Has Feng Zi¡¯s corpse been checked?¡± Lu Yin suddenly had a thought.

    Phantom Sting replied, ¡°Yes, no abnormalities were found.¡±

    ¡°What about the power vessel that he used to evade detection?¡± This was what Lu Yin was most concerned about. He needed to know how Aegis¡¯s assassins made their rune lines disappear.

    Phantom Sting answered, ¡°Nothing was found.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity, but he was not overly disappointed. If it was that easy to find the power vessels, then the assassins wouldn¡¯t have been ranked among the top ten.

    Dayster, the Minister of Finance, Lord Garope, requested an audience.

    Garope¡¯s expression did not look too great, as he had been busy handling the aftermath of the attack without any time to rest.

 Chapter 760: Lu Yin And Luo Shen

    <h4>Chapter 760: Lu Yin And Luo Shen</h4>

    ¡°Your Highness, rumors are spreading incessantly, with many people saying that the empire has offended the universe¡¯s assassins and that another attack wille soon. Many of them are nning to leave Zenyu Star because of this. Your Highness, please step forward to suppress these rumors,¡± Garope said in an urgent tone as he bowed to Lu Yin.

    ¡°I understand. You can leave now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Garope wanted to say more, but he remained silent in the end. It wasn¡¯t just the citizens who were moring for more information; even the various ministers wanted to know what was going on. This sneak attack had not been some minor issue. At least five Hunters had been stationed on Zenyu Star prior to the attack, but the capital had still been thrust into such a miserable state of affairs. Even an Enlighter had appeared during the attack, and many people were terrified because of this.

    Even the ministers were feeling uneasy, let alone themoners.

    Lu Yin did not n to give Garope any exnations, as he was waiting for the news from Smoker. Lu Yin was still worried that Poisonmaster might suddenly act and poison countless people, which would shake the entire Outerverse. Still, these rumors could not be allowed to spread unchecked.

    After Lu Yin thought about it, he left King Zishan''s pce and headed towards Hydrotink.

    It was still rtively easy to manage rumors within the Great Eastern Alliance, but it was much harder to do the same outside its territory.

    Sister Ya¡¯s mediapany had received Lu Yin¡¯s support, and it was working on increasing its coverage area. However, it would be difficult for them to aplish any great achievements at the moment, let alone alter such rampant rumors.

    The only person who could help Lu Yin at this moment was the Goddess, Luo Shen. She was a celebrity whose fame had spread through half of the Outerverse.

    After great difficulty, Lu Yin eventually obtained approval from Zi Rong, and he finally managed to meet with Luo Shen.

    When she saw Lu Yin, her eyes lit up. She bit her lips with a shy expression, and both nervousness and some hints of expectations could be seen within her eyes. ¡°Al- Alliance Leader Lu, were you looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her strangely. ¡°Why is your face red? Are you sick? I have some medicines from Shamrock Enterprises here.¡± He then poured out a pile of medications.

    Luo Shen became even more nervous. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need. Thank you for saving me three times.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°No worries. You faced those assassins because of me. I¡¯m actually the one who is in the wrong, and I should be apologizing to you.¡±

    Luo Shen hurriedly denied his ims. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Being a nomad in the Outerverse allows one to live through all kinds of experiences. This wasn¡¯t much.¡±

    ¡°A nomad?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Luo Shen forced out a smile. ¡°Yes. We artists are able to perform in all different areas, but we are actually just nomads, with no ce to stay or call home. Wherever we go, there is always the chance of running into an ident.¡± She then lowered her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve said too much. Is there anything that I can help you with?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Luo Shen¡¯s helpless and lonely expression and suddenly recalled what Gavin had mentioned before. This girl had probably faced various incidents in the past, as influential local officials would not be impressed or intimidated by performers. ¡°You are the Jade Goddess, and you are protected by Amethyst Exchange. I would have thought that you¡¯d be living ratherfortably.¡±

    Luo Shen squeaked out an acknowledgement, ¡°Things became much better after I became the Jade Goddess.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good, but by all means, look for me if you need any help in the future.¡± He then shared his contact details with Luo Shen.

    Luo Shen¡¯s heart warmed, and she looked up at Lu Yin with a sweet smile. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    This smile was very pure, and it caused a peculiar feeling to arise in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, as if he had been touched by something. It really made him want to protect this girl. He hurriedly tried to suppress these emotions and coughed to dispel the atmosphere. ¡°Actually, I came here today to ask for your help.¡±

    Luo Shen turned solemn as she carefully saved Lu Yin¡¯s contact details. Then, she doubtfully responded, ¡°What is it that Alliance Leader Lu would like?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I want you to announce that the attack that Zenyu Star fought off was not very strong so that we can limit the current rumors circting about.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Luo Shen readily agreed. She continued to stare at Lu Yin with her bright eyes.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed that she was looking at him in such a fashion. This girl¡¯s appearance was very innocent and bright, and all the schemes in the world seemed to melt away before it. Perhaps only a person like her could perform a pure and beautiful dance that could even entrance Lu Yin.

    ¡°Your dance was very beautiful,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Luo Shen smiled happily, but then she blushed again and lowered her eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey¡¯s in love! I''ve decided that this girl will be a member of my harem. Don¡¯t snatch things from me!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked excitedly.

    Lu Yin directly screened it off¡ªwhat such a nuisance.

    ¡°Right, could you please set up a meeting for me with Zi Xue? I wish to speak with her,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Luo Shen nodded, her mood suddenly turning slightly downcast. ¡°Alright. Just wait a moment, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin murmured his assent.

    Zi Rong had always stopped Lu Yin from meeting with Zi Xue, so hopefully, he would not step forward this time. The blue ice that Lu Yin had seen during the surprise attack was irrefutable proof that Zi Xue was indeed Bai Xue.

    Before long, Zi Xue arrived to meet with Lu Yin, but she was followed closely by Zi Rong, and the Hunter kept his eyes glued to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, but he had indeed been a little too impulsive when he first met Zi Xue. Otherwise, the situation would not have developed into the present moment.

    ¡°You are called Zi Xue?¡± Lu Yin looked at the familiar yet foreign girl before her.

    Zi Xue stared at him coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve been called Zi Xue ever since I was young. Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve mistaken me for someone else.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the situation with your innate gift? Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift was also blue ice,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zi Xue¡¯s brows knitted together. ¡°There are many coincidences in the universe, and not seeing them doesn¡¯t mean that they don¡¯t exist. You¡¯ve seen me, and apparently, I¡¯m very simr to this Bai Xue who you speak of, and I even have a simr innate gift. However, that¡¯s all just a coincidence. There¡¯s no need for any more exnations.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Xue with a serious expression. ¡°Is there something that you can¡¯t speak about? Tell me. I can handle it with my current position. The Hall of Honor is behind me, as well as my Master. There¡¯s nothing in the Outerverse that I cannot handle at this time.¡±

    Zi Xue stood up. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve already said what I needed to. I¡¯m not this Bai Xue you¡¯re looking for. I¡¯ll say this onest time: I¡¯m not her!¡± She then turned to leave.

    Lu Yin did not move to chase after her, as Zi Xue¡¯s attitude had been resolute. He had never been that well acquainted with Bai Xue either, so it was useless to chase after her.

    Zi Rong sat across from Lu Yin. ¡°You should give up. She really is Zi Xue, and she¡¯s been like that since I first met her.¡±

    Lu Yin decided not to bother Zi Xue any further. After all, she was not his wife, and he had already made multiple attempts to investigate this. This was the best that he could do. If she did not want to admit to her identity, then he had no choice in the matter. He had already said everything that he needed to.

    ¡°Brother Zi, this incident is my responsibility, and I didn¡¯t protect your people well. I formally apologize,¡± Lu Yin spoke solemnly.

    Zi Rong raised a hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Nobody would have thought that Aegis would dare make a move during a performance in an Amethyst Exchange mall. We will not let this matter rest, and we also won¡¯t stop Luo Shen from quelling the rumors. However, you mustpensate us for the expenses of the performance as well as the losses suffered in the mall.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a given. I have to thank Brother Zi for being there this time, as otherwise, things would have been much more troublesome.¡±

    Zi Rong smiled. ¡°You should thank Brother Cai instead, since he was the one who held back Lord Egret.¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Rong shrugged. ¡°No clue. Maybe in the Lockbreaker Society''s headquarters?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and left after chatting with Zi Rong for a while. He did indeed need to thank Cai Jianqiang, and it had been the right decision to keep the man close by. Without him, the raid would not have ended as quickly. Lord Egret was no ordinary Enlighter; his power level had reached 260,000, and he had even cultivated in the Innerverse. His strength also surpassed the few Innerverse Enlighters that Lu Yin had encountered before, like Karthika, Huo Houye, and Granny Chan.

    Cai Jianqiang and Aden had teamed up to chase Lord Egret away, which had been a huge turning point in the battle.

    Hydrotink still forbade outsiders from entering, but the Lockbreakers were gradually growing ustomed to being in Frostwave Weave, mainly because the Great Eastern Alliance would periodically send over batches of resources for them to use, not to mention the lockbreaking records of past generations of Lockbreakers that Lu Yin had shared. The Lockbreakers were enjoying themselves and living very contentedly, their life just as easy as before.

    However, these days were about to end soon, as the Great Eastern Alliance would not freely provide so many resources forever. In the past, Lu Yin had mentioned to Felynn that the Great Eastern Alliance would eventually ask for the Lockbreakers¡¯ help, and not just in lockbreaking. They would ask the Lockbreakers to help them explore various strange areas and also train some cultivators. There were too many ces to employ Lockbreakers.

    The price that they had initially paid had just been in anticipation of days toe.

    Cai Jianqiang was indeed at the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society''s headquarters, and he was not far from Felynn¡¯s quarters. It looked as though he was protecting the box that had been hidden in Geoffrey¡¯s secret room.

    It was not time yet, but one day, Lu Yin would personally open that box.

    Cai Jianqiang sensed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, and he stepped out to invite Lu Yin into his own quarters.

    Off in the distance, Felynn was mentoring her own disciples, and there were at least ten of them, including Wei Xin''er.

    Felynn was guiding them, and the handful of her disciples looked at her with reverence and adoration. To them, Felynn was the sky, and she was the most incredible Lockbreaker in the entire Outerverse.

    They dreamed of one day bing someone like Felynn. They did not wish to be the Outerverse Society¡¯s President, but rather just hoped to be an executive.

    Wei Xin''er also stared at Felynn, but her gaze did not contain the same respect that it had back when she first met Felynn on Sourcepeak.

    The President seemed to be generally quite well-regarded, but Wei Xin¡¯er could not keep herself from continuously remembering her brother¡¯s conversation with Lu Yin. From what they had said, this Outerverse Lockbreaker Society President was a foolish woman who could be easily used. That conversation had affected the way Wei Xin¡¯er saw her master, and she was unable to respect her master like before.

    Involuntarily, she thought of Lu Yin, who had chatted cheerfully with her brother. He was a man whose decisions could affect the entire universe. Even her brother admired the young man, while also feeling a hint of danger from him. In her entire life, Wei Xin¡¯er had never seen her brother hold someone in such high regard before. Not even those two others had made her brother feel such a crisis.

    Lu Yin, this name is also strange, Wei Xin''er thought to herself.

    The next day, while standing in front of countless cameras that belonged to various media outlets from all over the Great Eastern Alliance, Goddess Luo Shen helped Lu Yin suppress the rumors.

    An effect could be immediately seen. Many believed her words, but there were also others who continued to secretly spread rumors that were damaging to the Great Yu Empire. This was something that had been ordered by the second level management of Aegis. Among their ranks, there were some that did not care about the conflict between Aegis and the Great Eastern Alliance, like the Nn family, but there were also those that shared glory and dishonor together with Aegis. These powers began to crazily campaign for Aegis, trying to discredit the Great Yu Empire.

    For a short while, two conflicting rumors shed everywhere, but the rumors discrediting the Great Yu Empire easily gained the upper hand once the many photos of Zenyu Star were released. That battle had ended with tens of thousands of casualties, and quite a few of those people hade from other weaves. Those who had traveled to Zenyu Star to watch Luo Shen¡¯s performance had all been people with decent statuses.

    Thework allowed the families of the deceased to connect and work together, creating argemotion. This development was rather discouraging for Lu Yin, as he could not control them at all.

    Under these circumstances, Wei Rong contacted Lu Yin.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it looks like you¡¯re suffering from endless troubles recently. There¡¯s news about you every single day,¡± Wei Rong spoke with a rxed and melodious tone of voice.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother Wei can just enjoy a good show. Before long, I believe that I¡¯ll be able to watch Brother Wei¡¯s show.¡±

 Chapter 761: Member

    <h4>Chapter 761: Member</h4>

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°I don¡¯t have any good shows to share with Brother Lu, so you will be disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Brother Wei, don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re just going to stay there and watch over just your own territory. With how ruthless Aegis has been acting, Brother Wei will definitely meet some sort of impediment when stepping out of Armament Weave. Since they were willing to make such a move against me, then they will definitely move against Brother Wei as well. I know that you have had some dealings with Aegis, but it is yet to be seen if you¡¯ve established a strong enough rtionship to have reliable benefits,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Is Brother Lu trying to incite discord?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m stirring up a conflict in Brother Wei¡¯s rtionship with Aegis. I believe that Brother Wei will put on a show sooner orter, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too far off,¡± Lu Yin said jokingly.

    Wei Rong smiled gently. ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. But until then, I hope that Brother Lu will stay safe and sound.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Brother Wei, for your kind wishes.¡± Lu Yin smiled and quickly disconnected from the call.

    A few days had already passed since Aegis¡¯s attack, and there was still no news of Poisonmaster attacking Frostwave Weave, but neither was there any news of Smoker killing Poisonmaster, which made Lu Yin a little uneasy. Poisonmaster presented far too great of a threat. He was also very difficult to track down, which was very unsettling for those he targeted.

    Lu Yin had not been able to rest well for several days.

    One night, he was standing inside the courtyard of King Zishan''s pce while staring into the distance. The three maind rings cast shadows onto the capital, but the shadows of the mainds were not able to darken the lights of the capital.

    That same small tavern was still open, and although the owner had saved up enough money to update the business to a more modern appearance, he didn¡¯t. He continued to maintain the same small pub.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a shiver go down his back as an icy wind pierced him to the bone. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he saw a terrifying number of rune lines manifest in his vision until they extended to his feet. This was a familiar feeling to Lu Yin as he had felt it once before: ckless God of the Seven Skygods had arrived.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as Ku Wei had told him about the terror of the Seven Skygods, and Lu Yin had learned that these powerhouses were the masters of the Neohuman Alliance. They were terrifyingly powerful experts who had immeasurable strength, and Lu Yin could not understand why this pinnacle expert had appeared in the Outerverse, much less why they would seek out some measly Explorer. Regardless, it was indisputable that Lu Yin waspletely petrified, as anyone would be when facing such an absolute powerhouse.

    Nobody was fearless in the face of death, and he was no exception.

    Mister Mu had Told Lu Yin that the youth had not spoken to ckless God¡¯s true body and that it had actually been nothing more than a strand of spiritual force. Even so, Lu Yin had no ability to mount any resistance at all.

    Fortunately, Mister Mu had also given Lu Yin a jade talisman that could protect him.

    ¡°Sir Lu Yin, we meet again.¡± He heard a sinister voice that sounded like grating metal. It was a sound that caused people to shudder with fear.

    Lu Yin did not move, and he answered in a gloomy tone, ¡°You are not ckless God. There¡¯s no way he would appear in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°It would appear that Sir Lu Yin tried to learn a bit about the Seven Skygods. I am indeed ckless God, though I am also not ckless God. I came here this time to find out if Sir Lu Yin has experienced any changes in your thinking. As long as Sir Lu Yin gives his approval, Aegis will immediately be eliminated, and we can even help Sir Lu Yin easily unite the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin ridiculed, ¡°It¡¯s still that same piece of bait. If everyone turns into zombies, what will it matter if I unify the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Then your desperation will continue, Sir Lu Yin. I look forward to meeting you next time.¡± The sinister feeling vanished, and the hubbub of the capital once again filled Lu Yin¡¯s ears.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and looked around, but he could not find any trace of ckless God¡¯s rune lines.

    Aegis and ckless God had both let Lu Yin realize that rune lines were not all-powerful and that there were still some people out there who could conceal themselves.

    What exactly was it about Lu Yin that the Neohuman Alliance had taken a fancy to? They had even said that they were willing to help him unify the Outerverse and that there was no one in the Outerverse more suited for it than him. This seemed very strange.

    The current situation made his head hurt a little. There was Aegis, the Yu bloodline, the Neohuman Alliance, as well as Wei Rong and the central weaves.. Even with the Outerverse cut off from the Innerverses, the situation still was not simple. It could be said that when the Astral River cut off theplexities caused by the Innerverse, it had also liberated the Outerverse.

    The Outerverse had never been simple; it had merely been suppressed by the Innerverse.

    Right, he was still broke! Lu Yin had suddenly remembered a very serious problem: being broke meant that he could not improve his own strength, which was uneptable. He had to think of a way to earn some money.

    Another ten days quickly passed by, and during this time, various rumors never stopped circting outside the Great Eastern Alliance, especially in the central weaves. Countless people spread rumors iming that Lu Yin was afraid of Aegis and that he did not even dare to make a sound after being attacked by Aegis just once.

    Lu Yin indeed had not made any appearance at all during this time, and his absence allowed countless rumors to propagate.

    Even within the Great Eastern Alliance, there were still many people ndering Lu Yin, and some had even organized protests calling for Lu Yin to abdicate from the position of Alliance Leader. These demonstrations were quickly put down, but just their existence showed that Lu Yin¡¯s reputation within the Great Eastern Alliance had fallen quite low.

    Aegis intended to use these sorts of methods to demonstrate their power. Each day that Lu Yin did not give in was another day that Aegis would not give up. Lu Yin had unified the Great Eastern Alliance, and that aplishment had raised his reputation to a high standard throughout the Outerverse, which was exactly the type of individual that Aegis needed at this time. Only by suppressing such a person could they demonstrate Aegis¡¯s might to the Outerverse.

    The various organizations made no movements during this time, and Amethyst Exchange also did not take any actions. They only silently watched the situation develop.

    Lu Yin nervously waited for news from Smoker, but he was also afraid that he would instead receive notice that Poisonmaster had killed many of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s citizens.

    Then one afternoon, a bit of news rapidly spread throughout the Outerverse that shocked many people: Poisonmaster was dead.

    Poisonmaster had been a legend, and even if he had been infamous, he had still set the record for killing the most people in the shortest amount of time, which was a numbing figure in the hundreds of billions. All of them had died at his hands, and it had even led to the Innerverse and Outerverse both sending bounty hunters after him. Even the Hall of Honor had spoken up.

    But despite all of that effort, no one had ever found Poisonmaster.

    Poisonmaster¡¯s strength in a direct fight may not have been as high as some of the other assassins, but his ability to hide and stay alive had been too impressive.

    Although the bounty hunters at that time had not managed to take care of Poisonmaster, their efforts had forced Poisonmaster into hiding for decades, with him not making a reappearance until the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse. Recently, Poisonmaster had been reemployed by Aegis, and he had wanted to use the Great Yu Empire to set a new record.

    Aegis had not merely been trying to scare Lu Yin, as they had truly intended for Poisonmaster to act against the Great Yu Empire. He should havepleted his task a few days ago, but he had instead been targeted by Smoker and forced to try to escape through all sorts of methods. But in the end, Poisonmaster had not been able to escape and had died in space.

    News and images of Poisonmaster¡¯s death shocked the Outerverse, while also allowing countless people to see Poisonmaster¡¯s true appearance. He had been a very ordinary-looking short little old man. But despite his unassuming appearance, no one questioned the identity of the corpse because this person had died at the hands of the top ranked assassin: Smoker.

    When news of Poisonmaster¡¯s death reached Lu Yin¡¯s ears, he finally was able topletely rx.

    He was not worried about the other assassins, as no matter how powerful they were, there was a limit to how many people they could kill. Poisonmaster had been the only one to possess such massacring abilities of that magnitude, so his death allowed Lu Yin topletely rx.

    Poisonmaster¡¯s death caused countless to guess who might have hired Smoker. Aegis grew even more furious, and thepany tried its best to contact Smoker.

    Lu Yin immediately had some people secretly release the rumor that he had been the one to employ Smoker.

    This sort of situation of him hiring an assassin to deal with another was quite embarrassing, and Lu Yin was not willing to openly announce it. However, he still needed to let others know his stance, so his only option was to do so in a round-about manner.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Smoker to contact Lu Yin and demand his payment of natural treasures.

    Lu Yin sent Smoker the coordinates of a location where he had preemptively stored twelve natural treasures that had reached the point of evading danger. The price of killing Poisonmaster was five. He had added another five to pay for him to take out the Magistrate, and the final two extra treasures were due to Lu Yin¡¯s goodwill. In much the same way that the various major organizations worked to join Aegis¡¯s second level management to avoid being targeted by Aegis¡¯s assassins, Lu Yin wanted to find a way to dissuade Smoker from epting assassination jobs on him.

    A person who was confident enough to try to assassinate the master of the ze Realm was not someone whom Lu Yin wanted hunting him. Who knew what sort of methods Smoker had avable.

    The fact that one was on the Outerverse Assassin Rankings was proof that they had not reached the Enlighter realm, but Smoker had still been able to sessfully escape from the ze Realm despite that, which showed that this killer had mysterious methods. Lu Yin had no confidence in being able to protect himself from Smoker, especially since he could not constantly wear his universal armor.

    ¡°Too many.¡± White smoke formed two words on Lu Yin¡¯s screen.

    Lu Yin softly answered, ¡°The next target is the Magistrate, and there are two extra for you.¡±

    The white smoke floated across the screen, forming the word, ¡°Membership?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked and then rubbed his eyes. Had he just seen wrong? Membership?

    ¡°Membership? What membership?¡± The Ghost Monkey was astonished.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What membership?¡±

    The white smoke wafted across the screen, writing out, ¡°For the price of ten natural treasures that have reached the point of evading danger, you can enjoy my top service. Missions issued by you will be given top priority. A member¡¯s targets will be prioritized, and if someone posts a bounty on a member in the underworld, I will inform that member and provide the services of a reverse assassination. If a member encounters a threat, then within a certain distance, I will make allowances to help. If¡­¡±

    This number of benefits made Lu Yin go dizzy, and the white smoke formed so many words that he was stunned. This Smoker had a knack for business and was actually providing membership privileges.

    ¡°How many members do you have?¡± Lu Yin felt like something was still strange.

    The white smoke drifted about the screen for a while before finally forming a number. ¡°0.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless to discover that Smoker actually didn¡¯t have even a single member in his program, though that actually made sense. Not just anyone had such a high number of natural treasures that had reached the point of instinctively avoiding danger. There were very few people who were able to give out ten such natural treasures at the same time. However, this membership service seemed very suitable for Lu Yin. He might not have much, but he certainly had plenty of natural treasures.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll join. I¡¯ll add another ten natural treasures,¡± Lu Yin said generously. He felt like he no longer needed to be so serious when conversing with Smoker, as this person did not seem to bepletely inflexible.

    ¡°Thank you, Boss.¡± The white smoke spelled out.

    ¡°Go and take care of the Magistrate as quickly as possible,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Rest assured. It will be done very quickly.¡±

    The screen disappeared, leaving Lu Yin in a good mood. Assassins turned out to not be as inflexible as he had thought, and this Smoker would be very useful for the moment. Who would have thought that the top ranked assassin actually had something like a membership program.

    News of Lu Yin hiring Smoker to assassinate Poisonmaster gradually leaked out, and many people looked to Lu Yin for him to verify the information, but Lu Yin would neither admit nor deny anything.

    Aegis also contacted Smoker, wanting him to stop taking out their members, but the assassin¡¯s reply left Aegis without a choice. Assassins were used to take things from others and to avoid a cmity, which was something that Aegis understood. If possible, thepany wanted to either eliminate Smoker or lure him into their ranks, but both of those options were beyond their abilities.

    Even while Aegis was considering how to best take care of this new issue, news was released announcing the Magistrate¡¯s death. Arge number of high quality pictures appeared on the Outerverse¡¯swork, and once again, Smoker took credit.

    The Magistrate¡¯s death created an evenrgermotion than Poisonmaster¡¯s.

 Chapter 762: Lu Yinâ€™s Conditions

    <h4>Chapter 762: Lu Yin¡¯s Conditions</h4>

    Even though Poisonmaster had been higher ranked than the Magistrate, that was solely because of his rmingly high kill count. That disturbing number, coupled with the fact that he had not been active for many years, meant that therge majority of the Outerverse had already forgotten about just how terrifying he was. However, the Magistrate was different; he had always been active in the assassin world with the solid ranking of fourth, a definite heavyweight within the field. He had been known to never miss his intended targets.

    The death of such an elite assassin sent chills running down many people¡¯s spines. An assassin like the Magistrate, who could kill even the mighty Poisonmaster, was still killed, so just how powerful was this Smoker? Could they be so powerful that anyone who hired them would be able to eliminate whoever they wished?

    This question struck true fear into the hearts of many. Additionally, many people found out the price to request Smoker¡¯s services. Once they discovered that they would have to pay in natural treasures that could evade danger, they begrudgingly gave up all thoughts of employing his services. Such items were unattainable to most.

    Aegis was livid. They once again contacted Smoker, asking them to stop, but Smoker paid them no heed.

    Many people then turned their attention to Lu Yin. Had he actually hired Smoker? The price to kill two top level assassins was definitely not as low as just one or two natural treasures, so just how many natural treasures did the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent have? How many more times could he still use Smoker¡¯s services? These questions floated through the minds of many people in the Outerverse, and it was also a question that Aegis wanted the answer to.

    The reason why Aegis was so feared throughout the Outerverse was inrge part due to the fact that six of the top ten ranked assassins belonged to them. However, Lu Yin had recently taken out two of their ranked assassins, and another two had been taken out by Smoker, leaving them with just two assassins in the top rankings. Their threat level had suddenly been reduced by a considerable degree. If Lu Yin continued to hire Smoker¡¯s services to kill more of their assassins, they would end up in deep trouble.

    Even a huge number of mercenaries was not as threatening as a single top tier assassin.

    Aegis could not afford to lose any more of their top assassins. Thus, left with no other choice, they quickly contacted Lu Yin. It was still the same person calling him, but this time, the voice contained less arrogance.

    ¡°Sir Lu Yin, were you the one who hired Smoker?¡± the sinister voice asked.

    Lu Yin had recently heard many voices simr to this one, and they all belonged to people from the underworld. He had be used to them. ¡°So what if it was me?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to start an all out war with Aegis?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°If you want to say it like that, sure. My next target may not be an assassin, but rather you or even Starfox.¡±

    ¡°It looks like you know quite a bit about Aegis, though it¡¯s a pity that what you know barely scratches the surface. We, Aegis, have survived cmities for tens of thousands of years during which our assassins have been purged. We do not rely on a mere few assassins to preserve our power. I hope that you will reconsider your decision, Sir Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°From the first moment you dared to threaten me, you incurred my wrath, and you must now bear the consequences. I, Lu Yin, will not tolerate any threats to me. Since I don¡¯t even fear the Daynight n, your Aegis is nothing to me. I hope that the defenses of your headquarters are as tight as the ze Realm¡¯s security. Otherwise, it won¡¯t even be a challenge for Smoker.¡±

    After those words, the call immediately terminated. The person from Aegis had hung up, obviously infuriated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. Evil could only be answered with evil; this was a contest to see who could oust the other. After thinking about it, Lu Yin contacted Smoker again. His next target was ck Tiger, the tenth ranked individual on the Assassin Ranking, and he was another one of Aegis¡¯s assassins.

    Over the next few days, a bitter war broke out in the Great Eastern Alliance. Following the deaths of several of its top assassins, Aegis went crazy and sent arge number of assassins and mercenaries to different weaves of the Great Eastern Alliance, all of them ordered to assassinate several key officials. This provocation of war sent many of therge weaves spinning into chaos. However, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and try to fight off Aegis¡¯s attackers.

    Over the course of just a few days, more than a dozen powerhouses of the Great Eastern Alliance were eliminated. Around a thousand important officials from the various weaves were assassinated, sending the entire Great Eastern Alliance into panic.

    There was a never-ending series of messages being sent to En Ya, each one requesting Lu Yin¡¯s assistance and for the alliance to send the Allied Forces over as reinforcements. However, when mercenaries and assassins were attacking all over the Great Eastern Alliance, there was no way for the Allied Forces to assist everyone.

    Aegis was trying to use these methods to force Lu Yin to yield.

    However, after a few more days passed, a picture of ck Tiger being killed by Smoker was spread across the entirework. Powerhouses in the Outerverse were shocked by thistest piece of news, as it had be clear for all to see that this was an all out war between Lu Yin and Aegis.

    At this time, Aegis only had one top ranked assassin left. Even though the Great Eastern Alliance had descended into chaos and many people were upset with Lu Yin, Lu Yin had already consolidated his power. Since there were no longer any top ranked assassins left within Aegis, they could not threaten the true decision makers of the alliance. This also meant that, in the near future, nobody would attempt to go after Lu Yin like Aegis had.

    Aegis tried to contact Lu Yin again, but this time, Lu Yin did not ept themunication request. It had always been Aegis contacting him while he had remained passive. But this time around, Aegis was the anxious party. If their veryst top assassin was killed, then all of their prestige would be gone. Although there were others from Aegis who could fill the void of the eliminated top ranked assassins, Smoker merely had toplete a few more hits or even target Starfox himself in order to deliver a crushing blow to Aegis.

    This was also the reason why Lu Yin had not yet instructed Smoker to kill Starfox; he was nning to negotiate.

    Not long after, Madam Nn contacted Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin saw that it was Madam Nn contacting him, a slight smile spread across his face. This meant that Aegis had admitted defeat.

    As he answered the iing call, Madam Nn¡¯s alluring face appeared. This time, she had a strange glint in her eyes as she smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, hats off to you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°What is there to admire?¡±

    Madam Nnughed. ¡°Over the years, there have been very few people who could force Aegis into retreating. There are very few people, even in the Innerverse, who are capable of this feat, but you are one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°There will always be casualties on both sides. Winning is all about who can hold out longer.¡±

    Madam Nn solemnly replied, ¡°To be honest, Aegis could afford to continue the war if they really wished to. In the central weaves, as well as the western and eastern weaves, they have countless training grounds, and these locations are able to churn out about ten thousand mercenary officers and assassins each day. If these people are then scattered throughout various parts of the Great Eastern Alliance, the alliance would be reduced to utter chaos in a matter of months.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I believe you. However, I also believe that, when that happens, Aegis will no longer have a top level or a second level of management.¡±

    ¡°That is why I wish to act as a peacemaker. I want to mediate this dispute between both sides,¡± Madam Nn exined with augh.

    Lu Yin sat down and made a gesture for the temptress to continue. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°Aegis does not want to remain your enemy. They will not do anything else to the Great Eastern Alliance for as long as you remain the leader. As for the weaves that do not fall under the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s control, both of you are allowed to have a fairpetition. In return, you are not to hire Smoker to kill anyone else from Aegis.¡±

    Lu Yin contemted these terms.

    Madam Nn cautioned him, saying, ¡°Your Highness, this is the best deal that you can hope for. Aegis is one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations, and they need to maintain their reputation. You cannot truly expect them to apologize to you before the entire universe.¡±

    Lu Yin coldly answered, ¡°Am I just supposed to forget about the deaths that they caused on Zenyu Star? Tens of thousands of people died at that time, and arge number of them were citizens of my Zenyu Star. I will not let this matter rest so easily.¡±

    Madam Nn continued her persuasion. ¡°Aegis can offer youpensation and will remove all of their secret bases that are within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. Actually, this deal is already a show of sincerity from them, and everyone will know.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the table.

    Madam Nn stared at Lu Yin through the screen. She had never in her wildest dreams expected that Lu Yin would make it this far. In her opinion, the Great Eastern Alliance should have been on the losing end of this conflict since Aegis was hidden in the shadows with all of its resources and members. The second level managers were all people connected to countless powers from all over the Outerverse, and they naturally had deep pockets and extensive influence. No one would have imagined that a lone Smoker could change all that.

    This was how the universe worked: absolute experts were able to change the entire situation.

    One question that she still could not find an answer to was, just how had Lu Yin managed to pay Smoker? Even the Nn family did not have that many natural treasures that had reached the level of avoiding danger, but Smoker had actually killed three top level assassins from Aegis in recent days. The amount needed to pay for all these assassinations could not be any less than ten natural treasures, so where had Lu Yin gotten them? Could the rumors that he was supported by the Hall of Honor actually be true? If so, then why had the Hall of Honor not struck on their own?

    With a loud thud, Lu Yin loudly hit the table with one finger and looked towards Madam Nn as he said, ¡°I have one more condition. If this can be met, I will wipe the te clean with Aegis.¡±

    ¡°Let me hear it,¡± Madam Nn replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned deep. ¡°I want to join the second level management of Aegis.¡±

    Madam Nn was shocked. ¡°You want to join Aegis?¡±

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°Yes, I want to be one of the second level managers.¡±

    Madam Nn did not understand Lu Yin¡¯s request. ¡°Why do you want to join Aegis? Based solely on the fact that you can hire Smoker, there is no assassin in the Outerverse who can pose a threat to you. There are absolutely no benefits to you joining Aegis, Your Highness. Aegis will not share any portion of their profits with you either.¡±

    ¡°I know, but this is my condition. Please ask them if they are amenable to this condition. If not, we will continue to drag things out. If worsees to worse, then I¡¯ll simply dismantle the entire Great Eastern Alliance. I have a wealth of resources and can hire Smoker many more times, at least enough to wipe out Aegis¡¯s assassins,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Madam Nn cut off the call and quickly contacted Aegis.

    Very soon, an unfamiliar call request came through, which Lu Yin answered promptly. It was once again that certain sinister voice. ¡°Sir Lu Yin, the word is that you want to join Aegis, is that correct?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°May I ask why? Most of the people who wish to join our second level management do so to avoid being targeted by us, but you do not have such a worry.¡±

    Lu Yin replied coldly, ¡°Not only do I want to join the second level managers of Aegis, but I also want to meet Starfox. I want to be able to weigh in on Aegis¡¯s decision making.¡±

    ¡°On what grounds?¡± The sinister voice asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Based on the fact that I can hire Smoker at my pleasure. Based on the fact that I am the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. Based on the fact that I have the Hall of Honor as a backer.¡±

    The opposing party paused for a moment before answering, ¡°I am Starfox.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this information. ¡°Alright then, so what is your answer?¡±

    ¡°You may join Aegis and offer us some suggestions. However, I cannot guarantee that your suggestions will be epted. If Aegis faces problems that we are unable to handle, then I hope that you will step up to help us in any way you can. Are you agreeable to these terms?¡± Starfox asked.

    Lu Yin agreed, ¡°Not a problem.¡±

    He ended the call as soon as he said those words.

    Lu Yin had onlye up with the thought of joining Aegis a few days ago. He hade to the conclusion that although he could use his power to hire Smoker as a threat, he would never be able topletely eradicate Aegis simply because they had too much hidden power. In fact, he was still uncertain just how much influence Aegis held among the powers that made up the Great Eastern Alliance.

    In the past, Wei Rong had joined forces with Aegis when he had attacked Sourcepeak. Lu Yin was worried that Wei Rong might try to slowly gain influence from within Aegis and possibly even lead thepany. Since Lu Yin knew that he could notpletely eradicate Aegis, this was the best Lu Yin could do to ensure that Aegis would not help Wei Rong work against him.

    Lu Yin had correctly assumed that, left with a choice between him and Wei Rong, Aegis would rather let go of Wei Rong than have Lu Yin as their enemy.

    During the recent conflict with Aegis, Lu Yin had revealed his power to the entire Outerverse. He had proven that he had the strength to force Aegis out of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, shocking many people with his ruthlessness and determination.

 Chapter 763: Neo-Vestige Sect

    <h4>Chapter 763: Neo-Vestige Sect</h4>

    The countless people within the Great Eastern Alliance who had been ndering Lu Yin practically vanished overnight. Now, his praises were being sung everywhere. The great weaves of the alliance also immediately expressed their goodwill and praised Lu Yin to the skies as well.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to purge a few of the powers that had been constantly opposing the Great Eastern Alliance, and he also increased his efforts to integrate the various powers¡¯ resources.

    Now that his prestige was at an all time high, nobody would oppose Lu Yin no matter what he did.

    This was especially apparent when quite a few powers from Northcastle Weave joined the Great Eastern Alliance, causing Lu Yin¡¯s reputation to rise once again. The Great Eastern Alliance currently had nine weaves as its members, and the remaining eastern weaves were not too far away from joining.

    Zenyu Star had been attacked, and thepensation for those deaths had all been delivered. Lu Yin had even added a little more on top before sending all of thepensation out to the affected parties.

    The reparations to Amethyst Exchange was simrly taken of by Aegis, as it was just a single mall. Although its scale might not seem small, it was just a drop in the ocean for a behemoth like Aegis.

    Goddess Luo Shen really wanted to perform on Zenyu Star again, but she was not able to obtain the required approval from Amethyst Exchange¡¯s upper levels. Her performance schedule was very strict, and she would only be able to return to Zenyu Star some time in the future.

    Lu Yin sent off Zi Rong¡¯s entourage, and Zi Xue did not acknowledge him, leaving him with no choice in the matter. However, Luo Shen¡¯s reluctant expression made him feel a little strange.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey¡¯s woman is leaving.¡± The Ghost Monkey sounded depressed, leaving Lu Yin speechless.

    In Sourcepeak Weave, in a certain region of space, Wei Rong dismissed everyone in front of him before activating his gadget. Soon, a sinister voice was heard from it, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°You guys epted defeat?¡± Wei Rong said.

    The sinister voice contained an innate chill. ¡°Be careful of your attitude.¡±

    Wei Rong sneered, ¡°Since you guyspletely pulled out of the Great Eastern Alliance, it seems that you guys are actually afraid of Lu Yin.¡¯

    ¡°We cannot deal with him for now, but it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult for us to eliminate the Wei family.¡±

    Wei Rong ignored thement. ¡°Actually, Lu Yin can hire Smoker, which he can only do by relying on the entire Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s support. Otherwise, how would he have the resources to hire Smoker? What about this¡ªif we cooperate, and if you guys provide me with mercenaries, then there¡¯ll be no need for your side to act. I¡¯ll take care of Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Just by yourself?¡±

    Wei Rong replied, ¡°Of course not. I can unite the central weaves, just like the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll speak again after you unite them then.¡± The other person quickly hung up the call.

    Wei Rong let out a breath and stared out at space in amusement. ¡°Even the grand Aegis was actually beaten into fear. Lu Yin, you are certainly ruthless, but I¡¯m curious as to who actually acted against the Mavis Bank. That¡¯s the real ruthless person.¡±

    Aegis hadprehensively pulled out their troops from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, and the eastern weaves suddenly became more peaceful.

    Lu Yin found some time to hold a court meeting. When he looked at the ministers in the court, he felt a little embarrassed, as he had not participated in any of these meetings for a long time.

    There was a steady flow of resources delivered to all departments, though the Technology Department was prioritized since Lu Yin was hoping to increase the numbers of the androids.

    He also found some time to visit the three mainds, where he saw Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, and the others training the Yu Academy¡¯s students.

    Bei Qing was nowhere to be found, and Lu Yin did not know where he had run off to.

    Li Zimo had always wanted to challenge Kayze, though thetter did not bother with the swordsman at all. Ever since Lu Yin had recruited this Dire Barbarian n member, Kayze had proven to be extremely dependable. He had changed so much that Lu Yin even wondered if the man had been reced.

    He was the most concerned about Wendy Yushan and Ku Wei at this moment, as neither of these two had reappeared, and no one knew where they had gone.

    The bespectacled Mistchild contacted Lu Yin during this time as well, sending some words of admiration. Her call reminded Lu Yin of Topmist, so he quickly called the Enlighter assassin.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Topmist¡¯s voice could be heard.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Do you know much about Aegis?¡±

    Topmist felt that this question was rather strange. ¡°Didn¡¯t you and Aegis patch things up?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Do you know how strong Aegis¡¯s old assassins are? The ones who¡¯ve always been kept in cryostasis,¡± Lu Yin asked. This was what he was the most concerned about. Assassins like Poisonmaster or the Magistrate were modern assassins of the current era, but those ancient assassins had founded Aegis, and they posed a much greater threat. In ages past, they had survived a purge targeting all of the assassins in the Outerverse, which proved that they were exceptional people.

    Topmist answered in a low voice. ¡°I¡¯m not privy to the details, but there are definitely Enlighters among them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow rose. ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a time limit to how long one can remain in cryostasis for, and no one can stay like that forever. Only space-exploring powerhouses can be frozen for 10,000 years, Hunters canst for tens of thousands years, and Enlighters even longer. If they came from the era before the cmity that befell the assassins¡¯ world that took ce tens of thousands years ago, and are still frozen today, then there must be Enlighter assassins among them. Otherwise, Aegis would not still exist,¡± Topmist exined.

    ¡°How do theypare to you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Topmist indifferently replied, ¡°We have never beenpared. Although Mafioso and Aegis have had some dealings, there has never been any direct rtionship. Our Mafioso¡¯s history is even longer than that of Aegis whereas Aegis is just an integrated conglomerate. They¡¯re not an actual unified power that¡¯s been handed down from one generation to the next.¡±

    ¡°What does it take to hire you?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Topmist fell silent for a moment. ¡°Very expensive.¡±

    And with those two words, he instantly ended the call.

    Lu Yin had still wanted to ask him about the situation with Granny Chann, and he had even hoped to employ the old assassin to deal with Granny Chan. However, it seemed that the old fart did not want to keep talking with Lu Yin.

    That was fine. After all, they had once been enemies, and even if they were no longer enemies, that did not mean that they were friends.

    These peaceful dayssted for over half a month, during which the two year anniversary of the Innerverse and Outerverse¡¯s separation came and went. Many weaves that had been isted from the rest of the Outerverse gradually reconnected and returned to normal. During this time, Lu Yin asked Madam Nn more about the Outerverse, and he learned that it would not be much longer before Tyrannical Weave reconnected to the rest of the Outerverse. The Enlighter that the Nn Family supported would soon appear, which meant that they would not need his protection for much longer.

    Many ces in the eastern weaves that had once been isted gradually returned to normal.

    One day, Lu Yin was checking his star chart when a message came in that caught him unprepared: Peach had been captured.

    Peach was the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Sixth Squadron, and even if Lu Yin had made ns to eventually rece the original captains, he had not done any of that yet; Peach was still a captain and was entitled to the full authority of that position. She was an important figure across all of the eastern weaves, but someone had still dared to make a move against her.

    At this time, the blind monk requested an audience with Lu Yin, who allowed the old man to enter.

    When the blind monk approached Lu Yin, he bowed respectfully and then quickly said, ¡°Captain Peach has been captured. Please save her.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°I just learned of this as well. Who captured her?¡±

    The blind monk¡¯s face turned ugly as he solemnly answered, ¡°Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Mordo Weave¡¯s Neo-Vestige Sect?¡±

    The blind monk nodded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Neo-Vestige Sect was no ordinary power.

    When speaking of the Outerverse, although it¡¯s territory was massive, the region¡¯s overall strength was nowhere near as powerful as the Innerverse¡¯s. But even then, there were still a few Outerverse powers that even the Innerverse was unwilling to provoke. ording to some secret information, some of these powers could even rival the organizations from the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. Neo-Vestige Sect was one of these powers.

    On the surface, there were three great powers from the Outerverse that could cause even Innerverse forces to feel apprehension. They were Mordo Weave¡¯s Neo-Vestige Sect, Tyrannical Weave¡¯s Millions City, and Endless Weave¡¯s Dark Phoenix family.

    Millions City had gathered a considerable portion of the entire Outerverse¡¯s wealth, and their slogan was ¡°as long as you have the ability to enter Millions City, Millions City has the ability to make you rich.¡± Even the four great corporations held their most important meetings solely in the Millions City, as only this so-called ¡°wealthiest city¡± was able to host them. It was reported that even a beggar in that ce could be rich¡ªit all depended on whether or not one had the ability to sneak into the city to be one.

    With so much money, what could they not do? That was the Millions City¡¯s foundation; their weapon was money.

    As for the Dark Phoenix family, they were known as the fallen Undying Bird. They were the Innerverse¡¯s Phoenix family¡¯s mortal enemy, but they had also been banished from the Innerverse. The members of this n had the ck mes of the fallen Undying Bird.

    The Phoenix family was an extremely powerful family in the Innerverse that had a massive foundation, and the fact that they remained low-profile did not mean that they had no strength. Even the Daynight n rarely provoked them, as there was someone from the Phoenix family among the Ten Arbiters. Being mortal enemies with such a family and still existing showed how terrifying the Dark Phoenix family was.

    Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s strength could therefore be estimated since it was considered to be on par with Millions City and the Dark Phoenix family.

    The most famous organization in the eastern weaves was Neo-Vestige Sect, but all this time, it had remained sealed, and they had not interacted with any outsiders. Thework only said that the members of Neo-Vestige Sect were adept at using bows and arrows. However, nobody knew any concrete details.

    When Ironblood Weave had drafted powerhouses from the Outerverse for its defense, Mordo Weave, Canopy Weave, Forested Weave, and various other weaves had been isted back then, so nobody from those weaves had appeared. If they had, the humans would not have suffered so terribly.

    Speaking of Neo-Vestige Sect, this was the only power in all the eastern weaves that had spread across two weaves. Neo-Vestige Sect held control of both Mordo Weave and Canopy Weave.

    ¡°Has Mordo Weave reconnected?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The blind monk quietly answered, ¡°Ten days ago, the energy barrier fell, and the weave became unobstructed.¡±

    ¡°Why did they capture Peach?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    The blind monk hesitated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°If I had not looked into your backgrounds, I would have believed that you were all from Frostwave Weave. Peach was originally from Mordo Weave, so is she somehow rted to Neo-Vestige Sect? You¡¯re the closest one to her, but she¡¯s still under mymand. Tell me everything about her, or else I won¡¯t be able to save her. You should know what Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s strength is like, and they are not the same as Aegis.¡±

    The blind monk nodded and then solemnly replied, ¡°Your subject truly doesn¡¯t clearly understand the situation. However, Peach once said that, if she disappeared one day, that it would be because of Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the older man. ¡°What else?¡±

    The blind monk and Lu Yin faced each other. ¡°I¡¯m really not sure, but Peach once told me that Neo-Vestige Sect would not let her go. Also, there¡¯s one more thing¡ªPeach is actually only twenty two years old.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°What? Peach is only twenty two?¡±

    The blind monk nodded.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he remembered that someone had once told him that Peach was over 100 years old and that her appearance was because she had eaten some natural treasure. ¡°Doesn¡¯t her background state that she¡¯s over 100?¡±

    The blind monk shook his head. ¡°His Majesty altered that information for Peach. She¡¯s been acting like she¡¯s experienced this whole time to pretend to be older than 100, and this is also why she¡¯s always tried to maintain arge presence: to avoid being captured by Neo-Vestige Sect. I never thought that Neo-Vestige Sect would still be able to find her after all this.¡±

    Lu Yin recalled Peach¡¯s every movement and action and realized that he had indeed been too careless. How had Peach ever seemed like someone who was older than 100? She liked to eat snacks, apologized when she had done something wrong, treated everyone sincerely, and had viewed Lu Yin as a friend. Weren¡¯t all of these a child¡¯s characteristics? But he had actually believed her to be older than 100. What a joke.

    Hold on, if Peach was just twenty two now, then that meant that, when they first met, she had only been around fifteen years old. Just how had she cultivated to the Cruiser realm at that young age? Lu Yin stared at the blind monk in disbelief, and the blind monk seemed to understand Lu Yin¡¯s doubt, but he shook his head. ¡°Your subject truly doesn¡¯t know any details. Your Highness, please save Peach. She¡¯s always treated you as her friend.¡±

    Lu Yin decisively summoned Aden as well as the blind monk, bringing them with him into a spacecraft that was headed towards Mordo Weave. No matter the reason, he could not stand by and just allow Peach to be captured without doing anything. Peach was his subordinate and also a friend.

 Chapter 764: Intercept

    <h4>Chapter 764: Intercept</h4>

    There was an odd-looking arrow-shaped spacecraft that was flying through the Outerverse towards the east. Peach was inside, and there was blood smeared on her lips. She was tied to a column, and there was a gloomy-looking youth in front of her who was looking at her with cold eyes.

    The current Peach was not as diminutive as the person that Lu Yin remembered, as she was currently a 1.6 meter tall young woman. Her face had also changed quite a bit, though she was still easily recognizable. This was her true appearance that she had kept concealed with star energy ever since Undying Yushan had first taken her to the Great Yu Empire. She had constantly maintained the image of a young girl, and since Lu Yin had be ustomed to her appearance, he had never noticed anything peculiar about it.

    ¡°Peachy, we haven¡¯t met in a few years, and now, you¡¯ve already grown into a finedy. Your mind must also have matured during this time, so just hand it over so that we can avoid any hardship,¡± the youth coldly ordered her.

    Peach spat in contempt and red at the young man. ¡°Shao Zisong, don¡¯t be delusional. There¡¯s no way I could possibly give you guys the arrow, so just give up.¡±

    Shao Zisong suddenly raised a hand and pped out, leaving a striking red palm mark on Peach¡¯s face. ¡°Stupid brat! Still acting as tough as back then, huh? Do you think anyone will actually save you? Sect Leader has note out in decades, and my master has long since be Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s decision maker. If he wants you to live, you will live. If he wants you to die, you will wish you were dead. I¡¯m warning you¡ªyou had best be sensible and hand over that arrow. I can allow you to live a little morefortably that way.¡±

    Peach red resentfully at Shao Zisong, her eyes filled with killing intent.

    Shao Zisong sneered at her. ¡°Right, I nearly forgot, you¡¯re still that Sixth Squadron or whatever¡¯s captain, from some Great Yu Empire. Tell me, if Master sends out some people to destroy that Great Yu Empire, will you feel guilty?¡±

    Peach¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°This is my issue. It has nothing to do with the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    ¡°Back then, the Great Yu Empire saved you, and just that one incident is enough. You understand the strength of our Neo-Vestige Sect, and a puny Great Yu Empire is not even worth our attention in the least,¡± Shao Zisong said threateningly.

    Peach suddenly smiled and looked at him in a taunting manner. ¡°Neo-Vestige Sect has been isted all these years, and it has secluded itself from the outside world. Have you guyspletely stopped watching the news? Do you really think that you can vanquish the Great Yu Empire? What a joke! Check it for yourself¡ªthe Great Yu Empire now is no longer the Great Yu Empire from a few years ago.¡±

    Shao Zisong¡¯s brow arched up and he turned to look behind himself.

    A person stepped forward and activated his gadget, disying an introduction to the Great Yu Empire and the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Shao Zisong was shocked at the recent developments. ¡°Great Eastern Alliance? Lu Yin? Enlighters¡¯ Bane?¡±

    Peach sneered. ¡°You better let me go. Otherwise, be prepared to face the wrath of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Shao Zisong stared at the screen for a long time, and his face turned solemn. But in the end, he still turned around and gave Peach a cold smile. ¡°Little Peach, have you forgotten how my Neo-Vestige Sect obtained its current status?¡±

    Peach¡¯s expression changed, and she suddenly seemed to be very apprehensive.

    A long time ago, Neo-Vestige Sect had faced off against a powerhouse from the Innerverse whose power level was at 300,000. This person had not cared about the Outerverse and wanted to forcefully take over Neo-Vestige Sect. However, they ended up being killed by a single arrow from Neo-Vestige Sect. That incident had also been the moment Neo-Vestige Sect first started enjoying an extraordinary status.

    Even a great number of forces from the Innerverse did not have ancient powerhouses with power levels exceeding 300,000. The fact that Neo-Vestige Sect could eliminate such a powerhouse showed its hidden strength.

    Peach knew that Neo-Vestige Sect possessed three Enlighters as well as methods to defeat a foe with a power level surpassing 300,000. That was the true strength of Neo-Vestige Sect.

    When he saw Peach¡¯s expression change, Shao Zisong sneered. He grabbed her hair and stared at her. ¡°If that Lu Yin-whatever¡¯s Bane doesn¡¯te, then that will still be alright. But if he does, then my master will instantly take him out. What Great Eastern Alliance? It¡¯s just a bunch of fools in the eyes of my Neo-Vestige Sect!¡±

    Peach¡¯s face went pale, and she gradually slumped back into despair. Neo-Vestige Sect wasparable to a great power from the Innerverse. Although the Great Yu Empire could withstand one or two Enlighters, it could not withstand Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s hidden might, much less rescue her. Nobody in this part of the universe could rescue her from the clutches of Neo-Vestige Sect.

    In the eastern weaves, an arrow-shaped spacecraft represented Neo-Vestige Sect. Wherever such a vessel traveled, it would be able to charge through without a care as no one would dare to block their way.

    But on this day, an arrow-shaped spacecraft from Neo-Vestige Sect was intercepted by people from the Vastdearth Sect.

    Shao Zisong instantly became furious. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    A Neo-Vestige Sect disciple gave a report. ¡°Reporting to Senior Song: the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s Elder Hua Qiao has intercepted our spacecraft, and he said- said-¡±

    ¡°He said what?¡± Shao Zisong¡¯s tone was cial.

    The disciple had an ugly expression on his face. ¡°He said that he wants to search the vessel.¡±

    Shao Zisong shattered the table in front of him with a thump. ¡°How bold of the Vastdearth Sect! They actually dare to search our Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s spacecraft?¡±

    Then he suddenly looked over at Peach and saw that hope had appeared in her eyes, causing his own eyes to narrow. Out of nowhere, he gave her another p that was so violent that a bit of Peach¡¯s mouth tore about. ¡°Stupid brat! You better pray that this Great Whatever Alliance doesn¡¯t try to make any trouble for my Neo-Vestige Sect. Otherwise, I¡¯ll ask Master to head out and destroy them.¡±

    He then snorted and stepped out of the vessel.

    Peach stared resentfully at where Shao Zisong¡¯s figure had disappeared from, her eyes betraying herplex emotions. The Vastdearth Sect would not have intercepted Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s spacecraft without a good reason. Had His Highness really taken action? Neo-Vestige Sect was not Aegis, and their hidden strength was enough to kill off powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 300,000.

    Outside the vessel, the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s spacecraft were lined up in a row, blocking the arrow-shaped spacecraft¡¯s path. Elder Hua Qiao towered above the ships and looked down at the arrow-shaped spacecraft in front of their fleet with apprehension. Neo-Vestige Sect was a terrifying force that stood far above the rest of the eastern weaves, and it was actually a top power that stood above almost the entire Outerverse. He had never expected that this monster would reconnect to the rest of the Outerverse so quickly.

    If Neo-Vestige Sect had reconnected even one step earlier, then the Great Eastern Alliance might not have been established as smoothly.

    Fortunately, this power had been disconnected from all the other weaves, and even before that, it had never really participated in the disputes between the other Outerverse powers for countless years. If possible, Elder Hua Qiao did not want to provoke such a power, but he could only put on a brave front and obstruct them since these orders hade from above.

    Shao Zisong emerged from the spacecraft and saw Hua Qiao. He sneered, and his figure shed before he appeared directly in front of Hua Qiao. ¡°Elder Hua Qiao, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Hua Qiao looked at Shao Zisong, and his brows furrowed. ¡°You are?¡±

    "Shao Zisong, the first disciple of the Neo-Vestige Sect''s Training Elder, Master Bei.¡± A loud voice was transmitted through the region of space, striking fear in the hearts of the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s disciples.

    Elder Hua Qiao recalled this person and solemnly answered, ¡°So you¡¯re Master Bei¡¯s senior disciple. We did meet once before.¡±

    Shao Zisong coldly stared at Hua Qiao. ¡°Elder Hua Qiao, when did our Neo-Vestige Sect offend your Vastdearth Sect for you to actually obstruct us like this?¡±

    Hua Qiao hesitated, and then awkwardly answered, ¡°Truth be told, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Sixth Squadron Captain Peach has gone missing, and Alliance Leader Lu suspects that she was taken by you guys, which is why we intercepted you. Please forgive us if we have caused any offense.¡±

    Shao Zisong¡¯s eyes turned even colder. ¡°What does this mean? Are you saying that, when the Great Yu Empire¡¯s people go missing, they can me it on our Neo-Vestige Sect? It looks like after just a few years of not appearing, the eastern weaves have already forgotten about our Neo-Vestige Sect. Do they really think that some Great Eastern Alliance can suppress our Neo-Vestige Sect?¡±

    Hua Qiao did not answer, as he had previously heard of the legends attributed to Neo-Vestige Sect, and he had also heard the story of where even an Innerverse powerhouse with a power level of over 300,000 had been instantly killed. This organization¡¯s hidden strength surpassed the standards of the Outerverse, which waspletely different from Aegis. Against Neo-Vestige Sect, Elder Hua Qiao was rather nervous.

    Shao Zisong coldly ordered, ¡°Move aside. I have urgent matters that I must report to Neo-Vestige Sect. If this report is dyed, can your Vastdearth Sect pay the price?¡±

    Elder Hua Qiao apologized, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, but please hold on. Alliance Leader Lu will be here shortly.¡±

    Shao Zisong indignantly eximed, ¡°What a joke! My Neo-Vestige Sect has never faced an obstruction like this when traveling about the universe, but you are actually making us wait for some Lu Yin. How bold of you!¡±

    Elder Hua Qiao¡¯s expression did not change, and he allowed Shao Zisong to holler all he wanted. The older man did not even respond. He was merely tasked with stalling Shao Zisong¡¯s group and then handing them over to Lu Yin. After that, whatever trouble was incited would naturally be borne by the Great Yu Empire. Of course, the search that Hua Qiao had mentioned at the start was not going to be conducted. Shao Zisong¡¯s identity meant that a Vastdearth Sect elder would not be able to search their vessel, as that would be disrespectful to Master Bei.

    Master Bei was one of the Enlighters of Neo-Vestige Sect, and the Vastdearth Sect did not want to offend him.

    Shao Zisong indignantly questioned the elder, hoping to intimidate Elder Hua Qiao into moving aside, but Elder Hua Qiao remained aloof. Shao Zisong even thought about taking action himself, but in the end, he held back. After all, this was the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s territory, and he could not just charge over all by himself.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait here. Let¡¯s see if this Alliance Leader of yours dares to search my Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s spacecraft. You had best think hard about the consequences.¡± Shao Zisong then turned and returned into the spacecraft.

    Elder Hua Qiao sighed. Lu Yin incessantly stirred up trouble, just like what the rumors imed. He had just finished a conflict with Aegis, but now, he was moving to offend Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Neo-Vestige Sect was on apletely different level from Aegis, and they could not be frightened into submission by just a single assassin like Smoker. Once this power was annoyed, they would utilize the strength that they had used to kill a powerhouse with a power level of 300,000, and the Great Yu Empire would be finished.

    Lu Yin naturally knew of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s strength, which was why he had tasked the Vastdearth Sect with intercepting Shao Zisong¡¯s vehicle. This was all so that he could rescue Peach outside of Mordo Weave. Once they made it inside Mordo Weave, nothing would be certain since they would be within Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s territory.

    After a full day passed, Elder Hua Qiao¡¯s expression turned expectant. ¡°Lu Yin brought Aden and the blind monk. They have finally arrived.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader.¡± Elder Hua Qiao bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the arrow-shaped spacecraft that was floating nearby, and his eyes narrowed. He saw some rune lines, and to search for Peach, he immediately unleashed his domain and had it envelop the ship.

    Within the spacecraft, Shao Zisong sensed a domain, and his expression turned cold. ¡°How bold! He even dares to snoop on my Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    He grabbed a bow and arrow from his cosmic ring and shot a single arrow in Lu Yin¡¯s direction.

    Shao Zisong had a power level of 130,000 and was already a Hunter. It was reasonable to say that his attacks were not overly powerful, and they were nowhere near the level of the Magistrate or the other assassins¡¯, but this arrow still shocked Lu Yin. Noplex battle technique or any sort of bizarre innate gift had been used, but as this arrow pierced the void, an absolute offensive power converged upon the arrow. It was to the extent where it almost felt as though the greatest truths could be made simple.

    The rune lines contained in this arrow far surpassed a power level of 130,000, and it even looked to be approaching a power level of 180,000.

    Aden stepped forth and blocked the arrow with his thunder shield, obliterating the arrow. This sort of attack was not enough to force him back.

    Lu Yin was surprised at the intent within Shao Zisong¡¯s arrow, but this level of attack was not very threatening. Ever since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, he had faced off against quite a few Enlighter realm opponents, and even his weakest opponents had been peak Hunters. Shao Zisong¡¯s arrow was not worthy of Lu Yin¡¯s attention, despite how extraordinary the aura from the arrow was.

    Shao Zisong did not expect his arrow to be defeated so easily. He stepped out of the vessel and coldly looked over at Aden and Lu Yin.

 Chapter 765: Three Arrows

    <h4>Chapter 765: Three Arrows</h4>

    During the day that he was held up for, Shao Zisong spent it looking up a great deal of information about Lu Yin, studying the youth. He had to admit that this person was a genius, though his personality was rather reckless. Although Shao Zisong was arrogant and looked down upon these people from the Great Eastern Alliance, he was not foolish, and he would restrain his temper while facing thesewless people with much greater strength.

    As he thought about it, Shao Zisong barely managed to squeeze out a smile as he flew towards Lu Yin. After all, he was still within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, so it would be best to resolve things peacefully. He was still thinking about how he could threaten this Lu Yin into not pursuing the matter with Peach so that he could sessfully take her away.

    Shao Zisong had gone over the many different ways he could present himself, and he even considered contacting his master and having him speak with Lu Yin instead. However, Shao Zisong had never imagined that what awaited him when he reached Lu Yin was a p¡ªno, two ps.

    Lu Yin moved very quickly, and Shao Zisong had only just arrived in front of him, ready to speak. There was even a faint smile on the man¡¯s face as he approached Lu Yin. But the Royal Regent instantly pped the Neo-Vestige Sect disciple when he came within range, leaving Shao Zisong stunned. These ps also shocked Elder Hua Qiao and everyone else who witnessed this scene.

    However, before the sound of the first p could dissipate, another p quickly followed up and struck Shao Zisong¡¯s face, causing both sides of his face to swell up.

    Shao Zisong himself was stunned. Someone had actually dared to beat him in such a humiliating manner. He was someone who could speak frankly even with those from the Innerverse¡¯s great powers, but at this point, his mind waspletely nk.

    The blind monk stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. Hadn¡¯t His Highness searched and read up on a great deal of information rted to Neo-Vestige Sect? Why had he still done such a thing?

    Aden¡¯s lips bent upwards, as he enjoyed this sort of personality.

    Lu Yin shook his wrists and then looked at Shao Zisong. ¡°Does it feel good?¡±

    Shao Zisong came to his senses, and his eyes werepletely filled with resentment and rage. ¡°You have a deathwish!¡±

    He moved to attack Lu Yin, but he was easily stopped by Aden. Under the man¡¯s nine lined battle force, Shao Zisong could not budge in the slightest, and Aden a;so punched Shao Zisong in the gut, causing him to curl over like a shrimp and vomit. His misery was in for anyone to see.

    The disciples from Neo-Vestige Sect aboard the arrow-shaped spacecraft flew into a rage, and they moved out in unison. But the blind monk stepped forward as his Hunter realm star energy swept out, preventing the disciples from even mustering up the courage to move.

    Neo-Vestige Sect was very powerful, but that did not mean that their disciples were fearless in the face of death. Even the Daynight n had been beaten by Lu Yin until they were convinced to leave him alone, let alone Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Elder Hua Qiao was frightened to the point that his face became deathly pale. ¡°Your Highness, you-¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop Elder Hua Qiao from speaking. Instead, he looked over at the blind monk. ¡°Go, and bring out Peach.¡±

    The blind monk acknowledged his orders, and he immediately flew towards the arrow-shaped vessel.

    Shao Zisong stared at Lu Yin with eyes full of resentment. ¡°You¡¯ve got balls! Do you know who I am? I¡¯m Master Bei¡¯s disciple! A disciple from Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin bent over and looked Shao Zisong in the eyes. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    Shao Zisong¡¯s eyes had already gonepletely red. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯ve gone insane! You dare to offend my Neo-Vestige Sect? You¡¯re finished! Master definitely will not let you off! Your Great Yu Empire is finished. Even your Great Eastern Alliance is finished!¡±

    Lu Yinshed out with another p, and a crisp noise rang through the air as the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples on the spacecraft seethed in anger.

    ¡°You kidnapped one of my people, but you still dare to threaten me? Even if what you say is true, if I die, you¡¯ll die before me. Do you not believe that?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    For a moment, Shao Zisong didn¡¯t dare to speak. He had forgotten that the person standing in front of him was a lunatic who had even dared to go against the Daynight n. The people from the Innerverse¡¯s Xun family who had been left behind in the Outerverse had also been defeated by him along with the Enlighters from Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone and the Dire Barbarian n.

    Lu Yin clearly was not afraid of even the Innerverse¡¯s great powers, and he acted without any restraint. It remained to be seen whether or not he would be willing to kill Shao Zisong.

    As he thought of this, Shao Zisong was scared, and his hatred and resentment were quickly reced by an endless fear. ¡°Wha- what do you want?¡¯

    Aden sneered. This person was just trash.

    At this moment, the blind monk brought Peach out of the spacecraft.

    When Lu Yin saw Peach, a strange expression appeared on his face. The Peach before him was not a young girl but a young woman. This was her true appearance, as she had maintained the image of a young girl to avoid Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s discovery.

    Peach looked at Lu Yin. Her expression was as if someone had offended her, and she started to wail.

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he watched on as Peach hugged him whilementing about her grievances like a child. He did not know what to do, as she was clearly a young woman.

    This brat had maintained her childish nature, and it was something that could not be changed.

    Lu Yin hurriedly started to console Peach, but it took a while before she was pacified.

    Tears continued to drip from Peach¡¯s eyes. ¡°Your Highness, you shouldn¡¯t havee.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve already cried, so why are you saying this now? If I didn¡¯te, who was going to take revenge?¡±

    Peach¡¯s face instantly transformed from grief to happiness, though the two palm prints on her face were exceptionally clear.

    The blind monk passed over some ointment to her that she applied to her face, and the palm prints quickly vanished.

    She looked past Lu Yin, and her eyes grew angry when she looked at Shao Zisong.

    Lu Yin pulled her over towards the man. ¡°Take your revenge¡ªbeat him.¡±

    Shao Zisong looked up. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already beat me?¡±

    ¡°That was just because looking at you was unpleasant. This is revenge,¡± Lu Yin exined before turning back to Peach. ¡°Beat him however much you want. There¡¯s no need to hold back.¡±

    Peach bit her lips tightly. Then, two crisp sounds rang through the air from Shao Zisong getting pped twice more. The sounds made Hua Qiao¡¯s heart tremble, but he was helpless. Forget it, since Shao Zison had already been beaten, it wasn¡¯t a big deal if there were a few more ps. The enmity had already been set in stone.

    Shao Zisong¡¯s cheeks were now extremely swollen, and he red at Lu Yin with both resentment and fear before looking back at Peach.

    Aden also pped him. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Shao Zisong sullenly lowered his head, his eyes filled with discontent.

    Lu Yin nced at Shao Zisong before taking Peach onto his spacecraft. Once it was just the two of them, he started questioning her. ¡°Alright, tell me, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Looking aggrieved, Peach stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Can I not?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lu Yin red at her.

    Peach lowered her head and tugged at her clothes.

    Lu Yin helplessly prodded her, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, how can I help you? You¡¯ve been in the Great Yu Empire for so many years, but Neo-Vestige Sect still refuses to give up, and it¡¯s not like they will in the future. There wille a day when we¡¯ll sh with Neo-Vestige Sect, and you wouldn¡¯t want me to die without even knowing why, right? We¡¯re friends after all.¡±

    Peach pursed her lips and transformed back into the cute and adorable little Peach that Lu Yin was ustomed to. ¡°This is morefortable. I¡¯m already used to this.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and pulled out a bag of snacks from his cosmic ring.

    Peach¡¯s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly grabbed the bag with a sweet smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head helplessly. It looked like this naivety would never fade, as this girl had already be used to it.

    After grabbing a mouthful of food, Peach looked up into space before slowly exining things to Lu Yin. ¡°ording to an ancient legend, the old ancestors created Neo-Vestige Sect because they obtained three foreign arrows. These three arrows each had a strength that could not be estimated. Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s arrow auraes from these three arrows, and it eventually evolved into battle techniques for divine arrows as people have sought after the ideal of one arrow piercing through everything.

    ¡°For countless years, Neo-Vestige Sect has been studying these three arrows without interacting with the outside world, and its strength rose daily. From the beginning, these three arrows were safeguarded by the three ancestors who founded Neo-Vestige Sect. Now, one arrow is in Sect Leader Gong Ling¡¯s hands, one in the Training Elder Master Bei¡¯s hands, and thest one¡­¡± Peach paused as she looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Is in my hands.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You have one?¡±

    Peach nodded. ¡°My master was the descendant of this arrow¡¯s guardian, so it was naturally passed down to me. Unfortunately, our line has withered, and we ended up attracting trouble for protecting it. Master Bei¡¯s line has always coveted after our line¡¯s arrow, and they have hatched countless schemes to obtain it. If not for His Majesty, Undying Yushan, I would have died ten years ago.¡±

    Lu Yin now understood, and it was no wonder why Neo-Vestige Sect was unwilling to give up on Peach. He wouldn¡¯t either if he was in their position, as those arrows were the core foundation of the entire sect.

    Peach looked at Lu Yin as her tone became filled withplex emotions. ¡°Your Highness, you came to save me, and I cannot express how much gratitude I have to see that our friendship was not in vain. But things end here, as the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s background is too obscure, and you cannot imagine its depths. Go back. This is an internal struggle concerning Neo-Vestige Sect, and it¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Is your strength rted to that arrow?¡±

    Peach nodded. ¡°I don''t know why, but that arrow caused my strength to suddenly spike up to a Cruiser¡¯s before limiting my growth. Over these recent years, my strength hasn¡¯t really changed.¡±

    ¡°If you return to Neo-Vestige Sect, what will happen to you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Peach continued to eat the snacks as her legs started to shake. ¡°If I¡¯m lucky, our Sect Leader wille out of seclusion, and I¡¯ll be able to tell him what¡¯s happened. If I¡¯m unlucky, I¡¯ll have no choice.¡±

    ¡°Your Sect Leader is in seclusion?¡±

    ¡°Mm. He has been for decades, and I¡¯ve never seen him.¡±

    ¡°If hees out, can he guarantee your safety?¡±

    Peach nodded. ¡°Master told me that the Sect Leader is fair. If they wanted to seize our arrow, then they would have done so a long time ago, and it would have never even reached the point where Master Bei would plot against me. It¡¯s just because Sect Leader has gone into seclusion that Master Bei dared to act. Thus, Master instructed me that, no matter what, I have to endure until Sect Leaderes out.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°Since your sect leader went into seclusion, then forget decades¡ªeven centuries of seclusion could be possible. You can¡¯t endure for that long, so it¡¯s time to wake him up.¡±

    Peach was astonished. ¡°Wake him?¡±

    Lu Yin pressed a hand against Peach¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re one of my people, and I won¡¯t let anything happen to you. Let¡¯s go to Neo-Vestige Sect together.¡±

    Peach widened her mouth into an ecstatic grin. ¡°Really? You¡¯re willing to go back to Neo-Vestige Sect with me?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Naturally. You¡¯re the captain of my Sixth Squadron.¡±

    Peach cheered, but her expression quickly changed. ¡°No, that won¡¯t do. It¡¯s too dangerous. Neo-Vestige Sect once obliterated an old fart with a power level of over 300,000. Your Highness, if you go, it¡¯ll be too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯re many situations that are dangerous, and we could even be wiped out by some cosmological phenomenon when flying through space. This is all a part of our destiny as cultivators. Rx, I¡¯m confident,¡± Lu Yin told her. After all, he still had Mister Mu if it really came down to it. If he was unafraid of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods, then what was some Neo-Vestige Sect?

    He would not watch on without doing anything as Peach was sent to her death. His determination was not just because they were friends, but also because, if he did not help Peach at this time, who would be willing to follow him in the future? No matter if it was for their friendship or for his future benefits, Lu Yin knew that he had to do his best to save Peach.

    Neo-Vestige Sect would not stop pursuing that arrow. Since Peach was willing to give up, she would not suffer, but it also meant that their only choice was to go to Neo-Vestige Sect to face things head on.

    Shao Zisong never expected that Lu Yin would actually dare to head to Neo-Vestige Sect, and he could not restrain his excitement, which caused him to receive another p. This time, it was from the blind monk, as he had the closest friendship with Peach. He had long since wanted to beat this bastard, but he just hadn¡¯t been able to find an excuse. Finally, he had found one; who had allowed this bastard to smile in such a sinister fashion?

    Shao Zisong spat out a mouthful of blood and then red gloomily at Lu Yin and the others. Just wait. As long as you make it to Neo-Vestige Sect, I¡¯ll wait for you to beg for death.

 Chapter 766: Civilization

    <h4>Chapter 766: Civilization</h4>

    Lu Yin did not hurry over to Neo-Vestige Sect. Since he was already in Vastdearth Weave, he naturally had to make a trip to the Vastdearth Sect.

    He had first heard of the Vastdearth Sect from Meng Yue, and Lu Yin¡¯s deepest impression of the Vastdearth Sect was actually the Deste Palm. Back then, he had been extremely startled by that technique, and he had even thought that the Deste Palm allowed one to directly absorb life force, and the rumors that he had heard about the sect were the same. With one palm, all living creatures within a certain scope would wilt. But as his cultivation increased, Lu Yin had gradually realized that this effect was impossible, as life force was not that easy to absorb. The Deste Palm was not actually absorbing life force, but rather depleting water from the affected creatures¡¯ bodies, which waspletely different from absorbing life force.

    Of course, even if the technique was not absorbing life force, its power still was not to be underestimated.

    The Vastdearth Sect was the guiding power of Vastdearth Weave, and it had been established on a maind. Dozens ofs were floating through space around it, which made for a magnificent sight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival at the Vastdearth Sect was shocking, and even Sect Leader Meng Tianlong joined the disciples to wee Lu Yin. This grand reception showed Lu Yin the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s respect for him.

    Even though the Vastdearth Sect had caused Lu Yin a great deal of trouble at the start, after they joined the Great Eastern Alliance, he had not found any signs of them being involved in any sort of traitorous matters. Aegis had threatened the Great Eastern Alliance, but the Vastdearth Sect had helped him fight Aegis off, and they had not stood by and allowed Lu Yin to be humiliated. He still had a pretty decent impression of the Vastdearth Sect.

    There was only one matter rted to them that concerned him, which was the fact that Meng Tianlong frequently waited outside of Vastdearth Sect Elder¡¯s Meng Qing¡¯s training area, waiting for Meng Qing to emerge.

    This had caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention, as Meng Qing was an Enlighter, though he had not appeared after going into a strict, isted seclusion. Even if his emergence from seclusion couldn¡¯t affect the bigger picture, his presence would still be enough to allow the Vastdearth Sect to break away from the Great Eastern Alliance, and it would also counter Lu Yin himself to some degree.

    This was also the main reason why Lu Yin had decided to visit the Vastdearth Sect now, as he wanted to see the situation concerning Meng Qing for himself.

    The truth of the matter made his heart fall, as he could see Meng Qing¡¯s rune lines. Others might not be able to see them, but Lu Yin could. The rune lines that he saw were not from any sort of explosive power, so they could only belong to an Enlighter. Meng Qing was still alive.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, let me take you on a tour,¡± Meng Tianlong courteously offered Lu Yin. This was his first time actually meeting the youth, but since they had already talked through other forms ofmunication many times, he was not shocked to meet Lu Yin in person. This youth actually gave him, the sect leader, a sense of danger despite him being a peak Hunter.

    It was no wonder why Aegis had ended up giving in and why Lu Yin had no fear of facing off against Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded before following Meng Tianlong along on a tour of the Vastdearth Sect. As they proceeded, they coincidentally saw the Vastdearth Sect conducting an entrance test to ept disciples. There were millions of elite cultivators from all parts of Vastdearth Weave who had managed to distinguish themselves on their homes, so they hade to the Vastdearth Sect to participate in this trial and attempt to join the sect. It was a magnificent sight indeed.

    Lu Yin had experienced Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam, and he had also been a trial taker himself, but he had never really been an observer. He was now observing millions of youths struggling for their lives and gambling with death to fight for the limited slots, and it filled him with ratherplicated emotions.

    These youths were all elites on their homes, and great things were expected of them. The more outstanding ones had reached the Sentinel realm and could fly, just like the Seven Sages back on Earth, though the Earthlings had called them Sky rank powerhouses. Such cultivators were practically gods in the eyes ofmoners, but they were only at the very beginning of their cultivation. Even in the eyes of the Great Yu Empire, back when Lu Yin had participated in the trial, Sentinels were not even within consideration for further training; they were just used as cannon fodder or roaming soldiers.

    Some of the trial takers had cultivated with formcast models, and they had rather decent talent, so they were able to draw some praise from some of the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s older generation. However, when looking at the entire Vastdearth Weave, these people were very ordinary, and it was even worse if one looked at the entire Outerverse, let alone the entire universe. This was not a difference in cultivation, but rather a difference in fundamental levels.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin did not even know how he had managed to reach his current position, especially since he had only been cultivating for seven short years.

    This was also a reason why he was viewed as a legend.

    ¡°These fellows¡¯ experience is too limited, and their cultivation is shallow, so please forgive their poor performance,¡± Meng Tianlong said.

    Lu Yin watched some disciples struggle to the death on a screen. It was true¡ªtheir world view was too narrow, and to them, the Vastdearth Sect was the peak of the universe. However, was Lu Yin himself that much different? The majority of people in this part of the universe wallowed in their ignorance and would never know that they lived in a ce formed from the merging of five copsed Mainds. They would never know that the Sixth Maind was still out there, or that the Astral Wilderness was endlessly vast and might even contain civilizations even more powerful and capable of suppressing the entire Human Domain.

    Back when Lu Yin had been at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront, he had personally witnessed how a more advanced civilization could look down and observe a more primitive one. Was it guaranteed that they were the highest civilization? Could there be a pair of eyes above him that were constantly observing him?

    As he thought of this, the arrogance in his eyes vanished. If he looked down upon others, he himself had to be standing in a higher ce, and he had not attained such a lofty position yet.

    ¡°Sect Leader Meng, during this trip to Neo-Vestige Sect, do you want toe along with me?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Meng Tianlong was surprised. ¡°Alliance Leader, are you asking me to apany you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and looked at the older man. ¡°Paying a formal visit with your identity as the Vastdearth Sect Leader.¡±

    Meng Tianlong was instantly ced in a difficult position, as he truly did not want to go. This incident started as Lu Yin¡¯s conflict with Neo-Vestige Sect, but if he went, it would mean pulling the Vastdearth Sect into the conflict as well. He wanted to refuse, but Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°Sect Leader Meng, the Great Eastern Alliance is officially paying a visit to Neo-Vestige Sect, and as an ally, heading there together should be a given. If the Alliance Leader visits on his own, then there will be an unavoidable loss to our prestige, and we may even have some people sneering at our Great Eastern Alliance for not being united.¡±

    Meng Tianlong was still ambivalent. ¡°Alliance Leader, Neo-Vestige Sect is not as easy to get along with as most other powers.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Will they dare to attack you or me? Since we will be visiting with the authority of an official visit from the Great Eastern Alliance, the two parties should not behead envoys even during wartime. Furthermore, Neo-Vestige Sect controls two weaves. Then it¡¯s settled. We set off straight away for Mordo Weave.¡± Lu Yin then turned to leave without even giving Meng Tianlong an opportunity to reply.

    Mordo Weave was located to the southwest of Vastdearth Weave, past an asteroid belt and a no-man¡¯snd that was part of neither weave. After traversing through the uninhabited region, they would formally arrive within the borders of Mordo Weave.

    Neo-Vestige Sect had remained isted from the outside universe for many years, and its members rarely interacted with others. There were some Neo-Vestige Sect disciples standing guard at the borders of Mordo Weave, and no one could enter without Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s express approval.

    Shao Zisong was a living signboard, and as soon he showed himself, the spacecraft smoothly entered Mordo Weave.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not understood why Neo-Vestige Sect would not interact with the other powers, but after listening to Peach¡¯s story, he had gleaned several details. With the existence of the three arrows, they did not need to go out and learn battle techniques from other sources. Instead, they could study the arrows and create their own techniques. Additionally, Neo-Vestige Sect was likely afraid of revealing the existence of the three arrows as organizations from the Innerverse might covet them.

    No matter how powerful Neo-Vestige Sect might be, it could at best rival the Innerverse powers like the Dire Barbarian n or the Frostmoon Sect. It was not at all on par with the Daynight n or the Sword Sect. Otherwise, they would not have sent out someone who was only at the initial stages of the Hunter realm to seize Peach like Shao Zisong and would have instead sent out an Enlighter instead.

    Lu Yin maintained this train of thought all the way until he saw Neo-Vestige Sect. When he did, he was stunned. Perhaps everyone had underestimated Neo-Vestige Sect, as it contained rune lines that were so overwhelming that his eyes experienced a stabbing pain. He had felt this pain only a few times before: in Tempest Flowzone, in the isted space with the golden ocean, and also at the Sea King¡¯s Dome in the Starfall Sea.

    Although the rune lines that he observed at Neo-Vestige Sect were not able to match those of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, where he could not even look at the mountain, these rune lines still made him feel a stabbing pain. These rune lines did not belong to some expert with only a power level of 300,000, and they were definitely from someone whose power level surpassed 500,000. Only an Envoy or someone even more powerful could have such a terrifying number of rune lines.

    It was no wonder why Neo-Vestige Sect had been able to instantly kill a powerhouse with a power level of 300,000 with just one arrow.

    Lu Yin solemnly stared at the distant tall mountain that towered high into the sky with a sense of reverence.

    Peach stood beside Lu Yin with aplex expression. ¡°I was born here, and I nearly died here.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at her and saw her reminiscing with a rather terrified expression. He ced a hand on her head. ¡°Rx, nothing will happen.¡±

    Peach looked at him. ¡°Your Highness, if there is any danger, you should leave first and just ignore me. Got it?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I got it, rx.¡±

    Peach murmured in acknowledgement.

    Behind them was Shao Zisong, who was tied to a column. He wore a gleeful smile. Now that they had arrived at Neo-Vestige Sect, he would make them all wish for death.

    With a meaty st, a hand crisply pped Shao Zisong¡¯s face. He was furious, and he turned to re at the blind monk next to him. This bastard hadshed out at him many times during the journey here, and he had even attacked him more times than all the othersbined. Shao Zisong would definitely make this worm pay a price.

    ¡°Your smile is so sickening. No smiling.¡± Peach turned around to look at Shao Zisong as she threatened him.

    Shao Zisong snorted coldly and then looked down as his eyes flickered. He was thinking of how he could mess with this group.

    The spacecraftnded at the base of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s mountain. Before anyone could exit from the vessel, it had already been surrounded by many Neo-Vestige Sect disciples, and countless arrows were aimed at the ship. Each one of them emitted a terrifying killing intent.

    Although these disciples were mostly Sentinels, there were also quite a few Melders, Limiteers, and even a handful of Explorers among them. However, Lu Yin paid more attention to the Hunter level rune lines hidden in the distance, and there was not just one. This was the critical moment.

    The blind monk grabbed a hold of Shao Zisong¡¯s neck and walked out of the spacecraft.

    The many Neo-Vestige Sect disciples shouted in indignation.

    Lu Yin led Meng Tianlong, Aden, and Peach out as well.

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s expression turned ugly, and he took several steps forward. ¡°Vastdearth Sect Leader Meng Tianlong pays a visit to Neo-Vestige Sect Sect Leader Gong Ling. Kindly report our arrival.¡±

    The surrounding Neo-Vestige Sect disciples revealed eyes that were filled with bloodlust, and one youth in particr stepped forward. He looked rather simr to Shao Zisong, and he stared at Meng Tianlong with gloomy eyes. ¡°Sect Leader Meng, your Vastdearth Sect is truly quite bold. Do you want to wage war with our Neo-Vestige Sect? Release my brother at once!¡±

    Meng Tianlong smiled. ¡°You should be one of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Golden Arrow disciples, Shao Ziyu. Although I¡¯m from the Vastdearth Sect, I¡¯ve heard of your name. You once traveled to the Innerverse and challenged experts on the Top 100 Rankings. You are truly a young elite.¡±

    Shao Ziyu heard Meng Tianlong¡¯s praise, and although his expression warmed a little, his voice remained cold. ¡°Since Sect Leader Meng has heard of me, then you should know that I¡¯m Master Bei¡¯s disciple. Currently, everything rted to Neo-Vestige Sect is being handled by Master Bei. What are your intentions in kidnapping my elder brother?¡±

    Meng Tianlong helplessly answered, ¡°Your brother kidnapped and ckmailed someone from my Great Eastern Alliance, and although my Vastdearth Sect wanted to dissuade them, we were humiliated by your brother. I had no choice but toe up with such a n. Please report to Sect Leader Gong Ling that Meng Tianlong is here for a visit. If any offense was made, let me be lectured personally by Sect Leader Gong Ling, and my Vastdearth Sect will offer appropriatepensation.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking shit! I didn¡¯t ckmail anyone!¡± Shao Zisong hollered.

    The blind monk ced a hand on the younger man¡¯s waist, and for some reason, Shao Zisong¡¯s expression immediately became extremely pained, though he did not utter a single sound.

    Shao Ziyu stared at Shao Zisong and then at Meng Tianlong. ¡°Sect Leader Meng, our Sect Leader is in seclusion and is not receiving any visitors. I will report to my master, but first, release my brother.¡±

    Meng Tianlong looked over at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 767: Lu Yinâ€™s Single Punch

    <h4>Chapter 767: Lu Yin¡¯s Single Punch</h4>

    Lu Yin stepped forward and nced at Shao Ziyu before looking up in the direction of Neo-Vestige Sect and shouting, ¡°Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin requests to see Sect Leader Gong Ling.¡±

    ¡°Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin requests to see Sect Leader Gong Ling.¡±

    ¡°Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin requests to see Sect Leader Gong Ling.¡±

    ¡­

    The deafening sound reverberated throughout the entirety of Neo-Vestige Sect, and it caused countless Neo-Vestige Sect disciples to look towards the base of the mountain.

    Shao Ziyu was infuriated. ¡°Shut up! What gave you the courage to disturb Sect Leader¡¯s training? Fellow disciples, kill this person and don¡¯t show any mercy.¡±

    As his words were spoken, many Neo-Vestige Sect disciples pulled their bowstrings taut in unison before loosing a volley of arrows aimed directly at Lu Yin. They had not left any room for negotiation.

    Lu Yin did not move, but Aden suddenly appeared in front of him with his erged thunder shield, ready to block the numerous arrows, especially those that had been fired by the Hunters hidden in the darkness. All of the arrows were simrly blocked.

    ¡°Your Highness, there are hidden experts,¡± Aden warned in a low voice.

    Aden was referring to the two hidden Hunters, but Lu Yin was looking at the sky. An Enlighter¡¯s rune lines had appeared; Master Bei had arrived.

    An Enlighter possessed the strength to crush everything, and while Master Bei¡¯s star energy was not as berserk as Cai Jianqiang¡¯s, it radiated a supreme form of dignity and might. A giant arrow appeared in the sky that was aimed at the foot of the mountain.

    The arrow was massive, and it looked like a pir that was holding up the heavens as it plummeted towards the crowd.

    Shao Ziyu was panic-stricken, and he hurriedly hid himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as this Master Bei clearly did not care about Shao Zisong¡¯s life any longer by immediately taking action. Did he not want to get that arrow from Peach either?

    Shao Zisong stared up at the descending arrow and shouted in terror, ¡°RUN! Hurry up and run!¡±

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s face paled. Just as he had expected, Neo-Vestige Sect was not easy to deal with. They had actually been attacked before they could even meet the Sect Leader, and by an Enlighter at that.

    Aden growled as nine lined battle force covered his entire body before he leaped up into the sky with his thunder shield, shing solidly against the colossal arrow.

    There was a bang, and an oppressive pressure descended upon everyone in the area, and even the base of the mountain sank down slightly. The overwhelming pressure stopped the crowd from drawing breath, and Peach nearly lost consciousness.

    In the sky above them, Aden bellowed as his thunder shield was continuously forced down. It could not stand up against the arrow.

    Countless Neo-Vestige Sect disciples were stunned, but also excited to see that Master Bei had taken action. That arrow was formed from nothing more than star energy, but it was so terrifying that it could sweep everything else away.

    This Master Bei¡¯s power level was around the same as Lord Egret, but his strength was on a whole different level. Even though they had simr power levels, this person was definitely no weaker than a powerhouse from the great powers of the Innerverse.

    The thunder shield broke apart as Aden could not quite withstand it any longer. He could at best block the attacks of ordinary Enlighters from the Outerverse, and he had already found it difficult to face off against Lord Egret, let alone Master Bei.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He then took out a trumpet from his cosmic ring followed by another, and still another. Hebined all of them together, as this was something that he had borrowed from An Shaohua. In the past, An Shaohua had used this item to call for help from inside the Tower of Resonating Light, and although it had not been sessful, Lu Yin had noticed the clever use of this toy. Thus, he had brought it along on this trip.

    As he watched Aden stubbornly block the arrow, Lu Yin had Meng Tianlong and the blind monk work together. He then positioned himself in front of the trumpet and shouted, ¡°Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin requests to see Sect Leader Gong Ling!¡±

    The volume of his shout caused many people to jump, as it was simply too loud. When he shouted with his full strength, the force of his voice actually caused the void to ripple as the sound waves swept across the entirety of Neo-Vestige Sect, and everyone was able to hear his words.

    In the sky, the arrow suddenly demonstrated its power as the thunder shield shattered. Meng Tianlong and the blind monk acted together, but both of them were overpowered. Master Bei was furious as he had wanted to use one arrow to take care of all these trespassers.

    Lu Yin hollered again, which caused some people in Neo-Vestige Sect to jump out of fright again.

    Thump thump thump!

    There were three consecutive bangs as Aden¡¯s trio was forced underground. All the while, the arrow in the sky grew smaller as it flew towards Lu Yin.

    Peach¡¯s face turned deathly white. ¡°Your Highness, be careful!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed, and he donned his universal armor as a bracer appeared on his right arm. He then clenched his fist tightly, oveying it with battle force as he diverted the three grains of Fatesand. He looked up as he pulled his right arm back, staring intently at the falling arrow.

    In the distance, countless Neo-Vestige Sect disciples watched on in amazement. This guy couldn¡¯t possibly want to take on Master Bei¡¯s arrow, could he? Was he crazy? He was just an Explorer!

    As he watched the arrow fall, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned sharp as he punched out. The bracer gleamed as multipleyers of the void rippled and vibrated beforepletely rupturing. The tremendous force broke away from the crowd¡¯s vision and mmed directly against the arrow.

    Lu Yin had upgraded this bracer several times, and it was now able to increase his physical strength to the level of an Enlighter whose power level was at 300,000. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had already surpassed that of a peak Hunter, and when boosted by the twofold reinforcement of the bracer, his attacks had surpassed the Hunter realm and entered the realm of Enlighters. With this one punch that was supported with the durability of his universal armor, Lu Yin was able to shatter the arrow, which was iprehensible to many people.

    The ground in the entire area dropped down as a berserk shockwave swept out in all directions.

    Lu Yin had restrained himself from using this punch for a long time. He had wanted to unleash such an attack back on Zenyu Star during the assassins¡¯ sneak attack, but the resulting destruction would have been too great. With this punch, those assassins would have indeed been finished, but so too would have Zenyu Star.

    At this moment, he was finally able to erupt with his full strength, and his berserk power was too much for a to endure. But surprisingly, the destruction turned out to be not too severe. After all, this was Neo-Vestige Sect.

    As the smoke dissipated, everyone stared on,pletely dumbfounded. That Explorer had actually shattered Master Bei¡¯s arrow with a single punch. This was simply unbelievable.

    Aden and the others were also shocked. The physical strength that Lu Yin had just demonstrated was a little too freakish. How could an Explorer withstand such power? His physical body should not be able to support such force.

    Shao Ziyu and the others were in an indescribable state of mind, as that attack had been no different than one from a berserk astral beast!

    In the sky, Master Bei was also surprised, but then, an even more terrifying killing intent gathered within him. He could not allow this kid to remain alive. Just as he was about to make another move, a youth flew over from the distance, stopped in front of Master Bei, and spoke to the elder in a respectful voice. ¡°Sect Leader calls for Training Elder Master Bei.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Has Senior Sect Leadere out of seclusion?¡±

    The youth replied, ¡°Yes, he just came out.¡±

    Master Bei was furious. ¡°It must be because of this group of people below, as they have disturbed Senior¡¯s cultivation. Let me take care of them first. Then I¡¯ll go meet Senior in the main hall.¡±

    The youth responded, ¡°Sect Leader has also invited them to the main hall. Please, Elder, head over first.¡±

    Master Bei was unsatisfied, and he nced at Lu Yin and the others below. His eyes lingered especially long on Peach, but then he helplessly said, ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    He then vanished in an instant.

    The youth watched as Master Bei left. Then, a look of disdain appeared on his face before he descended to the ground.

    As the dust cleared, Lu Yin flew up from a hole in the ground with a clenched right fist. Although he had blocked that arrow, doubling his physical strength for a burst attack had been more than what his body could handle, and he had suffered from some torn muscles. Fortunately, this was just a minor injury.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you alright?¡± Peach hurriedly ran over and asked in concern.

    Lu Yin shook his head and looked at the sky. Master Bei¡¯s rune lines had vanished. In his ce, an Explorer realm youth was approaching him.

    Aden and the others rushed over.

    The youth descended from the sky and looked at Lu Yin in appreciation. ¡°You must be Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin. I am Gong Chou.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and this name sounded rather familiar.

    Gong Chou greeted Lu Yin and then looked at Peach with an apologetic expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Little Peach. You¡¯ve suffered.¡±

    Peach stared at Gong Chou, and her expression became extremelyplicated. There was no hatred like when she looked at Shao Zisong, but there did not seem to be any affection either.

    Gong Chou sighed as he looked at her. ¡°Father has been in seclusion for decades, and I left to explore the Innerverse back then. We were unable to protect you. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Peach lowered her head and remained silent.

    Lu Yin looked at the youth. ¡°You and Peach know each other?¡±

    Gong Chou nodded. ¡°Family friends. When she was born, I even held her.¡±

    ¡°Right, and that Shao Zisong should be a family friend as well,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Gong Chou nodded. ¡°Master Bei is skilled at scheming and using hidden methods. Not protecting Little Peach is our fault, but rest assured. Father has alreadye out, and he will not tolerate Master Bei¡¯s outrageous behavior.¡± He then looked at Peach. ¡°Come with me to see Father. He hasn¡¯t seen you yet.¡±

    Peach¡¯s eyes turned red, and she nodded silently.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Gong Chou was ranked seventy fourth on the Top 100 Rankings. It was no wonder why his name had sounded familiar¡ªthis person was even the child of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader Gong Ling. He was a truly powerful second generation heir.

    Only a select few of the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation could enter the Top 100 Rankings, and the most dazzling of them was undoubtedly Moore, West San Dios¡¯s Councilor. He had been born in the Outerverse, and his birth had reportedly been apanied by the deaths of one billion people, making his existence somewhat inauspicious. Next was Puyu, who had been ranked thirteenth, and finally was Taylor Phoenix of the Dark Phoenix Family, who was ranked fourteenth. These three were coincidentally all ranked close together, but this Gong Chou was simrly in the Top 100 Rankings, which showed Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s power.

    ¡°Please, everyone. Father is waiting in the main hall,¡± Gong Chou courteously said, asking them to move on.

    Lu Yin nodded, and the group followed Gong Chou towards the main hall. As for Shao Zisong, he was still being held captive by the blind monk, and Gong Chou did not bother with him at all as this was a form of punishment for him.

    At this moment, Master Bei appeared inside Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s main hall, and he saw that someone else was already sitting there. That person was staring at a painting hanging in the main hall that showed three seemingly ordinary arrows. However, these were the three arrows that had led to the establishment of the current Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Master Bei entered the main hall and moved behind the person. ¡°Senior, congrattions on emerging from seclusion.¡±

    The person turned around, and his face was that of a middle-aged man with a rosy expression and bright eyes. He had a kind expression, and there was also a smile on his face. This was Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader, Gong Ling. ¡°I still wanted to continue cking off, but I was awakened, keke.¡±

    Master Bei said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Senior, that I allowed someone to disturb your seclusion.¡±

    Gong Ling raised a hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Sit, Junior.¡±

    Master Bei nodded and then sat down to the sect leader¡¯s right.

    Gong Ling sighed. ¡°After all these decades of seclusion, there must have been a great deal of changes in the outside world.¡±

    Master Bei shared the incident of the Outerverse being cut off from the Innerverse with Gong Ling and mentioned a few other matters, but he did not say anything regarding Peach at all.

    Gong Ling felt rather saddened. ¡°I never thought that the universe¡¯s circumstances could change so quickly. Right, what did that fellow who awakened me say about being the Great Eastern Alliance Leader? What¡¯s the deal with this Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Master Bei answered in a deep voice, ¡°Speaking of the Great Eastern Alliance¡­ This person must be mentioned first: Lu Yin. He¡¯s be a legend¡­ This kid established the Great Eastern Alliance and dreams of unifying the eastern weaves. He hasmitted countless massacres, and incited disputes between various great powers, and even became enemies with the four great corporations. His ambition is truly excessive, and his methods are ruthless. Senior, we must be wary of this person.¡±

 Chapter 768: Meeting In Person

    <h4>Chapter 768: Meeting In Person</h4>

    After listening to Master Bei¡¯s exnation, Gong Ling eximed, ¡°There¡¯s actually such a capable youth? I want to meet him. So that¡¯s why he has the courage to barge into our Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Ever since this kid established the Great Eastern Alliance, he has caused millions to die tragic deaths. He¡¯s actually terrifying. This disaster should best be taken care of.¡±

    Gong Ling smiled and sipped from a cup of tea, though he did not respond to Master Bei. Instead, he said, ¡°Right, I heard Gong Chou mention that only Little Peach is left from that line. How is Little Peach? What happened?¡±

    Master Bei smiled drily. ¡°She¡¯ll be arriving soon. Senior will be able to meet with her shortly.¡±

    Gong Ling eximed, ¡°After being in seclusion for some decades, my old friends are no longer around. Little Peach, keke. It¡¯s just like her to pick such a name.¡±

    Neo-Vestige Sect was a rather sparse sect. Other than a space station that floated outside the mountain gate to receive iing spacecraft, the only form of travel within the mountain was walking, as there were no teleportation devices. Fortunately, the speed of the current group was quite fast. If it weremoners, they would not have been able to reach the main hall even after walking for ten years.

    ¡°Brother Gong, what is that ce?¡± Lu Yin asked as he pointed to a certain location that he saw on their way to the main hall.

    Gong Chou replied, ¡°That¡¯s Arrow Mountain. My Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s weapon of choice is the bow and arrow, and over the course of countless years, we have searched far and wide for all sorts of rare materials that can be used to create arrows. Those arrows are then ced on Arrow Mountain. Disciples with contributions can go there and exchange contribution points for them.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, Arrow Mountain¡¯s arrows were all created using rare treasures, and even the worst ones are more precious than the arrows that you normally see. They are all very valuable,¡± Peach quietly exined as she moved over to Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin nodded. He had noticed Arrow Mountain not because of the arrows, but rather because there was a peculiarly boundless amount of rune lines there. Neo-Vestige Sect contained an absolutely terrifying number of rune lines, most of which came from Arrow Mountain. Could the rune lines all be from those arrows? That was impossible. No matter how precious these weapons might be, they could not possess such a terrifying number of rune lines.

    Peach was in possession of one of the original three arrows, and it had continued to be passed down since ancient times, but Lu Yin had never seen such terrifying rune lines from her.

    ¡°Arrow Mountain¡¯s security must be very tight,¡± Lu Yin said casually.

    Gong Chou smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no security, just an Elder who oversees it year round.¡±

    ¡°An elder? Are they an Enlighter as well?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Gong Chou smiled. ¡°Perhaps. We are rarely able to see that elder.¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that a single arrow from Neo-Vestige Sect took out a powerhouse from the Innerverse whose power level was over 300,000. It must have been this elder who attacked,¡± Meng Tianlong probed.

    Gong Chou nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Elder rarely makes a move, but once he does, there¡¯s no trouble that he cannot take care of.¡± This sentence was said with a tone of arrogance, but nobody could refute such a im. This crowd knew just how powerful a powerhouse with a power level of over 300,000 was.

    Just a few minutes ago, Master Bei had nearly overpowered all of them to the point of exhaustion, so there was no need to mention an expert whose power level exceeded 300,000.

    Regarding powerhouses at this level, the only ones that Lu Yin remembered were Northgate Taisui and that elder from the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u family. As for the Sea King, Mister Mu, ckless God, and other such experts, Lu Yin did not know how powerful they were at all, though they all definitely surpassed a power level of 500,000.

    A power level of 500,000¡­ Lu Yin wondered when he would be able to achieve such strength, and he was looking forward to that day.

    Soon, the group arrived at Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s main hall, which was at the top of the mountain.

    The main hall was grand and magnificent, but it was not overly impressive to Lu Yin since he had visited the Sea King¡¯s Dome in the past.

    The rune lines that he saw in the main hall were very majestic, and he could tell that there were two Enlighters here. One of the rune line groups was from Master Bei, who had just attacked them, so the other should belong to Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader Gong Ling.

    In the Outerverse, any organization that had an Enlighter could dominate an entire region. Frostwave Weave, Northcastle Weave, and quite a few other weaves did not even have a single Enlighter, but Neo-Vestige Sect had three Enlighters along with an unfathomable elder. This was a great power that possessed multiple hidden trump cards that could make even forces from the Innerverse hesitate.

    Lu Yin had visited this ce with his status as the Great Eastern Alliance Leader along with the Vastdearth Sect Leader Meng Tianlong, which meant that this trip was a more formal asion. However, as soon as they entered the main hall, Gong Ling did not bother with anyone and simply stared straight at Peach.

    Peach saw Gong Ling as well, and her eyes turned red.

    Gong Ling instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin and the others, and he looked at Peach apologetically as he reached out with his hand to lightly touch Peach¡¯s hair. ¡°You have suffered, child.¡±

    Peach was once again reminded of the pain that she had gone through, but she did not cry like she had been alone with Lu Yin. However, her expression was even more heart-wrenching in this moment.

    Gong Ling looked over at Gong Chou. ¡°Back then, which disciples chased after Little Peach? Has this been investigated?¡±

    Gong Chou answered in a deep voice, ¡°The investigation was finished long ago, but Training Elder did not allow us to take action.¡±

    Gong Ling looked at Master Bei with cold eyes.

    Master Bei stood up. ¡°There might have been a misunderstanding back then. I know those disciples, and they are not bad people by nature. Possibly-¡±

    Gong Ling quickly raised a hand to cut off Master Bei, and he looked at Gong Chou. ¡°No matter what their reason is, anyone who acted against Little Peach back then shall be captured and thrown onto Arrow Mountain as ves. Return everything that once belonged to Little Peach¡¯s line back to their original owner, and anything that is missing will be reced by those disciples¡¯ seniors and mentors.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sect Leader,¡± Gong Chou acknowledged.

    Master Be¡¯s face twisted into an ugly expression. He was an Enlighter, but he had just been forcibly interrupted, and the Sect Leader¡¯s unspoken meaning was in for Master Bei to hear.

    ¡°Sect Leader, how should we handle Shao Zisong?¡± Gong Chou asked.

    Master Bei looked over at Gong Ling.

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression trembled. ¡°Throw him onto Arrow Mountain as a ve for ten years. Nobody is to plead for mercy for him.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Shao Zisong¡¯s face turned ashen, and he looked pleadingly at Master Bei. Although there would be no threat to his life while he worked as a ve on Arrow Mountain, how would he ever be able to lead Neo-Vestige Sect after enduring such an experience? How would he ever be able to fight for the position of Sect Leader in the future?

    Master Bei desperately wanted to plead for mercy, but when he saw Gong Ling¡¯s icy expression, he ultimately decided not to speak up.

    Lu Yin observed this Neo-Vestige Sect Sect Leader¡¯s actions with a calm expression.

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s expression became even uglier as, after all, he was the Vastdearth Sect Leader. But despite that, he was being shunned to a corner.

    ¡°Little Peach, how are you? Come and let Uncle Sect Leader take a look at you,¡± Gong Ling cooed at Peach in a gentle and apologetic tone.

    Peach shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I¡¯ve been living in the Great Yu Empire all this while, and it¡¯s thanks to His Majesty that I was saved.¡±

    Gong Ling only noticed Lu Yin and the others at this moment, and he looked at Lu Yin with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re the one who awakened me?¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°I disturbed Senior¡¯s seclusion, but I really had no other choice. I ask for Senior¡¯s forgiveness in this matter.¡±

    Gong Ling smiled. ¡°Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. You are very intelligent and also very daring. It¡¯s makes sense how you were able to establish the Great Eastern Alliance. Even Sect Master Meng has been pulled in by you.¡± Finally, at this time, the Sect Leader looked at Meng Tianlong.

    Meng Tianlong forced a smile onto his face. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Sect Leader Gong.¡±

    Gong Ling nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve be so big in just the blink of an eye. Back then, I even drank with your grandfather.¡±

    This sentence stifled Meng Tianlong, as how could he respond to that? His grandfather had been brought into the conversation in an instant.

    Lu Yin looked at Meng Tianlong with sympathy. From start to end, this Vastdearth Sect Leader had had no presence. Not only had he been ignored by Neo-Vestige Sect, but he was even two generations younger than their Sect Leader. It was no wonder why he had been so reluctant to travel here with Lu Yin.

    ¡°Everyone,e and take a seat while we talk,¡± Gong Ling said as he invited them to take their seats.

    Master Bei said, ¡°Senior, I have something to take care of, so I¡¯ll head out first.¡±

    Gong Ling grunted in acknowledgement, and he did not keep the elder behind.

    Master Bei nced at Lu Yin with a deep emotion in his eyes before leaving.

    Gong Ling did not really seem to care about the guests from afar, or rather, he did not care much about Lu Yin or Meng Tianlong. He only bothered to speak with Peach.

    Peach was honest and shared everything that happened during her years in the Great Yu Empire, and the two of them talked for half an hour.

    Lu Yin was not in any sort of rush, so he merely watched on as the two spoke.

    With some difficulty, Gong Ling finally diverted his attention over to Lu Yin and Meng Tianlong.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, Sect Leader Meng, I¡¯ve neglected the two of you.¡± Gong Ling smiled.

    Meng Tianlong hurriedly made some courteous remarks.

    Gong Ling looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Peach has caused a great deal of trouble for your Great Yu Empire these years. As repayment for your kindness in saving her, my Neo-Vestige Sect will naturally offer you some rewards. You may go to Arrow Mountain and choose any five arrows to take with you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow arched up. Only five?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this old fart is too stingy! Five arrows? You are the Great Eastern Alliance Leader!¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Behind Lu Yin, Aden¡¯s expression was not too pleased either. They had been looked down upon with contempt ever since they had arrived at Neo-Vestige Sect, and now, the sect leader wanted to send them away with merely five arrows, which was simply too condescending. He was treating them as if they were just some random Outerverse sect.

    Peach kept trying to give Lu Yin covert looks, and she nearly squeezed her eyes together, much to Gong Ling¡¯s amusement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart moved. ¡°In that case, thank you, Sect Leader Gong. Lu Yin will reluctantly ept your gratitude.¡±

    Gong Ling smiled. ¡°How straightforward. If you have any matters in the future, feel free to contact my Neo-Vestige Sect, and we will help you if we are able.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted at this offer. ¡°Thank you, Sect Leader Gong.¡±

    The few of them stayed there for half a day, but most of the time was taken up by Gong Ling chatting away with Peach.

    Lu Yin grew bored, and he had Gong Chou take him on a tour of Neo-Vestige Sect. Meng Tianlong hurriedly followed after the two youths, and Gong Ling did not mind their departure.

    That night, Lu Yin and the others rested in Neo-Vestige Sect, and nobody caused any trouble for them.

    In another part of Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Chou gave his father an in depth introduction of the Great Easter Alliance, as Gong Ling was not willing to rely on Master Bei¡¯s biased exnation.

    However, various parts of the Outerverse held varying opinions of Lu Yin, and when Gong Ling saw the various online reports and news clips, he was rather amused by the whole deal.

    ¡°The four great corporations have always remained low key, but then the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse. This allowed Aegis to develop an inted sense of ambition, so they started acting overbearingly. They would have fallen to a disadvantage sooner orter, but I never would have thought that it would be at the hands of a junior. Although Aegis has not been around for a very long time, they still have a hidden foundation. Despite that and their enormouswork of second level managers, they still lost. This kid is pretty good,¡± Gong Ling praised as he looked at a screen.

    On the screen was an image of Zenyu Star being attacked.

    Gong Chou said, ¡°As a Limiteer, Lu Yin was able to challenge experts on the Top 100 Rankings, defeated the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s Ze Lin on Pyrolyte, and was even known as an unequalled Limiteer. After he broke through to the Explorer realm, he was able to participate in battles with Hunters without relying on any foreign objects, and he has the strength to rival the top ranked individuals of the Top 100 Rankings. He¡¯s a genius, and when he uses his various external tools, he can even join in battles involving Enlighters.¡±

    Gong Ling eximed, ¡°That¡¯s not as simple as being a genius¡ªthis kid is a true monster. And he¡¯s only cultivated for seven years.¡±

    Gong Chou felt ashamed. ¡°Compared to him, everyone else fades inparison.¡±

    Gong Ling smiled. ¡°It would be alright if he was just talented in cultivation, but this kid¡¯s ambition goes beyond most cultivators¡¯ imagination. It turns out that his abilities match up to his ambition¡ªthat is what¡¯s most astonishing about him. The establishment of this Great Eastern Alliance shows that this kid is extraordinarily courageous and that there¡¯s no limit to his future achievements.¡±

    ¡°Is Father that optimistic about him?¡± Gong Chou asked.

    Gong Ling fell deep into thought, but he did not reply.

 Chapter 769: Agreement

    <h4>Chapter 769: Agreement</h4>

    The next day, Lu Yin was summoned alone to meet with Gong Ling alone.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I neglected you yesterday,¡± Gong Ling courteously apologized to Lu Yin as soon as they met.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, ¡°Where are these wordsing from, Senior?¡±

    Gong Ling studied Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu is not even thirty this year, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°How young and promising. When I was as old as Alliance Leader Lu, I could not even dream ofpeting for a position in the Top 100 Rankings. Alliance Leader Lu has already gained so many des, and given ten more years, perhaps all of the eastern weaves will be under the authority of Alliance Leader Lu.¡± Gong Ling smiled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Senior is exaggerating your praise. My sess stems not from any special abilities that I may have. Rather, it is because I have various friends who have given me help. That,bined with certain external threats, has all contributed to how I developed into the me of today.¡±

    Gong Ling was curious. ¡°External threats? Is Alliance Leader Lu referring to the Astral Beast Domain?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the older man. ¡°Has Sect Leader ever heard of the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression changed, and he blurted out, ¡°How do you know about that?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned deep. ¡°I¡¯m more curious as to how Sect Leader knows about it.¡±

    The secret of the Sixth Maind had long since been concealed by the Hall of Honor, and few powers, even in the Innerverse, were aware of it. He had asked Gong Ling to casually probe the man, as there were a terrifying amount of hidden rune lines at Neo-Vestige Sect. If Gong Ling did not know about the Sixth Maind, then Lu Yin would have simply avoided the topic. However, since Gong Ling was indeed aware of it, Lu Yin instantly became even more apprehensive towards Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s foundations.

    Gong Ling and Lu Yin exchanged looks as each tried to gleam something from the other¡¯s eyes. However, it was a pity that Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were too deep. Since he had experienced too many things, Gong Ling could not determine anything from them.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll get straight to the point. My Neo-Vestige Sect has records concerning the Sixth Maind. After all, our sect was founded ages ago, and we are also privy to certain secrets regarding the ancient war. Alliance Leader Lu is very young, so where did you learn about the existence of the Sixth Maind?¡± Gong Ling asked.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly as he said, ¡°The Hall of Honor.¡±

    Gong Ling frowned. ¡°In that case, the rumors circting around outside are not false. So Alliance Leader Lu has long since obtained support from the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin did not admit or deny that statement, and he calmly said, ¡°The Sixth Maind is a great threat to us. Everyone knows about the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s attack on Ironblood Weave. Elder Lohar said that their attack stopped because the Sixth Maind invaded the Astral Beast Domain. However, just the Astral Beast Domain alone may not necessarily be enough to fend off the Sixth Maind. Thus, the Outerverse must integrate all its forces, as a fragmented Outerverse is too frail.¡±

    Gong Ling was in favor of this opinion. ¡°The Outerverse is actually not that weak, but it¡¯s simply too scattered.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the older man. ¡°Since Senior agrees with Junior¡¯s thoughts, then why not join the Great Eastern Alliance and prepare to defend against the future threat? The other weaves are not clear of the threat that the Sixth Maind presents, but Senior should know it very well. Senior should also be aware that a divided Outerverse will absolutely not be able to resist the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Gong Ling smiled. ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s threat is just your side of the story. I cannot possibly toss aside so many years of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s traditions just based on a few of your sentences.¡±

    ¡°Is Senior talking about the tradition of being isted?¡± Lu Yin asked a rhetorical question.

    Gong Ling smiled. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu saved Little Peach, and Neo-Vestige Sect is grateful for that. Thus, those five arrows are a gift of thanks from my Neo-Vestige Sect. However, I also have my own gift of thanks.¡±

    Lu Yin was unsatisfied with his response. He could use force against other powers and weaves, but that was not possible with Neo-Vestige Sect. What¡¯s more, Gong Ling was also aware of the Sixth Maind, which made Lu Yin feel even less confident. Neo-Vestige Sect might also have more hidden strength than what he had seen so far. ¡°Senior, Neo-Vestige Sect enjoys an amazing reputation in the Outerverse, and the moment it joins the Great Eastern Alliance, it will certainly spur numerous powers observing from the sidelines into joining as well. Integrating the full power of the Outerverse will provide incredible benefits for all of us. Does Senior want to casually watch on as we are swept away by a disaster?¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu wields great power in the Great Yu Empire, but if I asked you to bring the Great Yu Empire and the entire Great Eastern Alliance under Neo-Vestige Sect in order to defend against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, would Alliance Leader Lu agree to it without hesitation?¡± Gong Ling retorted with a smile.

    Lu Yin was stumped, but then he firmly answered, ¡°If we were facing truly desperate circumstances and it had to be done, I would not hesitate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it, and you said it well: only when facing truly desperate circumstances. However, the Outerverse is at peace for now, so where¡¯s the necessity? I know about the Sixth Maind, but the others who belong to Neo-Vestige Sect don¡¯t. How could I convince them to join the Great Eastern Alliance? And furthermore, what benefits can your alliance offer to Neo-Vestige Sect for us to join? Everything that Neo-Vestige Sect needs can be obtained from Mordo Weave and Canopy Weave, so we simply don¡¯t need any sort of support from other weaves,¡± Gong Ling exined.

    Lu Yin fell into silence.

    Gong Ling smiled and did not speak. He calmly sipped his tea as he watched Lu Yin with interest. This kid had actually wanted to use a few words to rope Neo-Vestige Sect in, but that was far too naive. Although, this kid actually knew about a top secret like the Sixth Maind, and the Hall of Honor truly did favor him.

    Unfortunately, the few weaves that had already joined the Great Eastern Alliance had been practically threatened into doing so by this youth, and Neo-Vestige Sect could not be intimidated by him. With the Outerverse isted from the Innerverse, not even the Hall of Honor could intimidate Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the table and looked up at Gong Ling. ¡°Senior, for Neo-Vestige Sect, nothing should be more important than the bow and arrow, right?¡±

    Gong Ling nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Our Neo-Vestige Sect seized control of Canopy Weave because they have many minerals there that can¡¯t be found in Mordo Weave, and those minerals are all very suitable for forging bows and arrows.¡±

    Lu Yin lips curled upwards. ¡°If Junior can forge a better bow and arrow than Neo-Vestige Sect, and in huge quantities as well, then will Senior be willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance and cooperate with Junior?¡±

    Gong Ling was stunned. ¡°A better bow and arrow than my Neo-Vestige Sect? Alliance Leader Lu, you are truly underestimating my Neo-Vestige Sect. Ah, that¡¯s right. You still haven¡¯t been to Arrow Mountain. I agreed to give you five arrows, so I¡¯ll take you there now for you to choose.¡±

    The Sect Leader quickly stood up.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Could Senior be scared?¡±

    Gong Ling was actually amused. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, my Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s history in forging bows and arrows is longer than your Great Yu Empire¡¯s entire history. I¡¯m trying to leave you some face and not put you in a bind, so please stop trying to get tangled up in your words.¡±

    ¡°How about this¡ªlet¡¯s use the five arrows that Senior is giving Junior as a wager. If Junior can improve those five arrows to a higher level, then that should be enough to prove Junior¡¯s ability,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gong Ling was intrigued. ¡°Since Alliance Leader Lu is so determined, then fine. For the sake of Peach¡¯s face, twenty weaves. If your Great Eastern Alliance can unite twenty weaves, then my Neo-Vestige Sect will join you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really?¡±

    Gong Ling nodded and smiled. ¡°Naturally. It looks like Alliance Leader Lu is very confident, but I want to remind you that all the eastern weavesbined total to less than twenty weaves.¡±

    Lu Yin was indeed aware of that fact, and he also could not count Mordo Weave or Canopy Weave among those twenty. This meant that he would have to act against the central weaves in order to rope in Neo-Vestige Sect.

    ¡°No matter what, this is still an opportunity. Senior, let¡¯s make an agreement: twenty weaves,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Gong Ling nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    They had agreed upon twenty weaves, but to Lu Yin, the more important detail was the bows and arrows. If he could truly forge a bow and arrow that was more powerful than Neo-Vestige Sect, then he would definitely be able to change their perception of him.

    Arrow Mountain was the core of Neo-Vestige Sect, and it took up a considerable amount of space. Each arrow was embedded into the dark red soil, and they all emitted a sharp aura. The aura was so pervasive that there were even phantom images of arrows streaking across the sky from unknown locations.

    With Gong Chou¡¯s guidance, Lu Yin, Peach, Aden, the blind monk, and Meng Tianlong arrived at Arrow Mountain. Lu Yin looked at the rune lines that filled the sky and was astounded. It was obvious that this was the core of Neo-Vestige Sect, as each arrow in this ce had been crafted from rare minerals and various treasures. Even if amoner fired one of these arrows, they would be able to exhibit astounding power.

    Nobody noticed that, as they approached Arrow Mountain, all of the arrows there trembled imperceptibly as a pair of murky eyes opened in the depths of the darkness.

    As he looked at Arrow Mountain, Aden suddenly eximed, ¡°So there¡¯s actually a power in the Outerverse that is able to create so many powerful arrows. How impressive!¡±

    Meng Tianlong seemed apprehensive, as this was Neo-Vestige Sect. If the disciples who had confronted them earlier had each taken a single arrow from this ce, then their small group would have been in trouble. It also had to be mentioned that some of the arrows in this ce contained various additional effects.

    Gong Chou was pleased by the group¡¯s reaction. When discussing arrows, their Neo-Vestige Sect would not admit inferiority to anyone else, and Arrow Mountain was their pride and joy.

    Peach looked at Arrow Mountain with a reminiscent expression before pulling Lu Yin over and quietly telling him, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside. The ones on the edges aren¡¯t that good.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then took Peach with him as they walked further in.

    Gong Chou¡¯s lips twitched, and he felt as if his daughter had married out and left the fold.

    On Arrow Mountain, each arrow was separated from the others by at least a thousand meters, and there were some that were even tens or hundreds of thousands of meters away from any other arrow. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, some of the arrows¡¯ rune lines shot up towards the sky, others radiated out in all directions, and still others shot underground.

    He was not nning on blindly choosing an arrow. Instead, he was observing the rune lines.

    Now, he was torn. If he chose arrows that were too valuable, it might cause Neo-Vestige Sect to be unhappy with him.

    A whooshing sound was heard nearby, and an arrow trembled. A phantom image of an arrow shot through the void, and the entire arrow disappeared.

    ¡°This arrow has selected its own owner,¡± Gong Chou exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°They have reached that high a level?¡±

    Gong Chou smiled. ¡°Everyone in my Neo-Vestige Sect can forge arrows, and the arrows can also sense arrow aura while someone is forging. Our cultivation has been passed on for many generations, and some arrows have been merged with specific arrow auras. Arrows that sense people with simr arrow auras may select an owner by themselves.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. When a master forged arrows and left them on Arrow Mountain, that arrow mightter sense an aura from an arrow from a passing disciple that resembled the arrow¡¯s creator¡¯s arrow aura. For the disciples, this was also a good way to choose the most suitable arrow, which was rather interesting.

    This was the difference in foundations. There were so many arrows scattered across Arrow Mountain, and they represented the many generations of Neo-Vestige Sect disciples.

    The group continued to walk towards the depths of Arrow Mountain, and they encountered quite a few disciples who were aimlessly wandering around, seemingly looking for arrows.

    They also saw many people in tattered clothes who were walking about in a numb manner. These people were the ves of Arrow Mountain. They waited on Arrow Mountain for people who were forging arrows to summon them, and then they would hurry over to assist in the forging process.

    ¡°Brother Gong, what happens if a disciple unintentionally obtains a powerful arrow?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gong Chou replied, ¡°That is something that depends whether or not they have the ability to obtain such an arrow.¡±

    Coincidentally, in the distance, a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple cried out as his hands was charred; evidently, he had been burned. In front of him, there was an arrow that was flushed red, and its temperature was so high that it nearly distorted the void.

    Peach¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Your Highness, that arrow isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious, so he walked over.

 Chapter 770: Arrow Selection

    <h4>Chapter 770: Arrow Selection</h4>

    The disciple was not reconciled with his failure, and when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s group walking over, he thought that they wanted to snatch the arrow that he was after. Without thinking, he grabbed it again. Another wail rang out, and this time, the arrow did not merely burn his hands, and even his hair was scorched by the arrow¡¯s scalding temperature.

    Peachughed.

    That disciple snorted and stood up. He then moved over to the side and stared at Lu Yin in a provocative manner, as if waiting for Lu Yin to make a fool of himself.

    Gong Chou smiled and shook his head. Naturally, Lu Yin could easily grab this arrow with his strength.

    Suddenly, the fiery red arrow trembled and flew into the distance, where itnded in the hands of another Neo-Vestige Sect disciple.

    The crowd looked over, stunned, as it was actually someone they were familiar with: Shao Ziyu.

    Shao Ziyu looked at Lu Yin¡¯s group with glee while toying with the arrow in his hands. ¡°Sorry, everyone. This divine arrow selected its owner, and I managed to get it a little quicker.¡±

    Gong Chou did not speak.

    Peach was furious. ¡°Lucky bastard.¡±

    Shao Ziyu sneered, ¡°I heard that the Sect Leader has allowed you guys to select five arrows, so I suggest that you guys select them from the foot of the mountain. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to make it out alive.¡±

    ¡°You dare to threaten us?¡± Peach was furious.

    Gong Chou stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice. ¡°Shao Ziyu, watch your attitude. These people are all distinguished guests of the Sect Leader.¡±

    Shao Ziyu sneered and continued ying with the arrow as he had been doing while looking at Lu Yin with a challenge in his eyes.

    Lu Yin had been uninterested in that arrow from before, and he had only approached it since he was slightly curious. There were numerous arrows on Arrow Mountain, and that burning arrow could not be ranked highly at all. As Lu Yin thought about it, he looked towards the depths of Arrow Mountain and slowly continued walking over.

    Shao Ziyu followed behind them while continuing to y with the arrow in his hands, ready to taunt Lu Yin the moment he chose a lousy arrow. These people had caused his elder brother to be an Arrow Mountain ve, and even if Shao Ziyu wasn¡¯t able to get revenge, he still had to find a way to vent his frustrations.

    He wasn¡¯t content with just watching and mocking Lu Yin himself, as he called up a group of disciples to join him and watch Lu Yin make a fool of himself.

    Only people like them, disciples who yed with bows and arrows all year round, knew how to select an appropriate arrow. Those that appeared to be powerful may not necessarily be better than one that appeared inferior. Even if Shao Ziyu could not deal with this person, he could still make him miserable.

    ¡°That fellow is really revolting,¡± Peach said while seething. Shao Zisong had chased her in the past, and now, she was being stalked by Shao Ziyu, which made her rather upset.

    Gong Chou was helpless. ¡°He¡¯s Teaching Uncle¡¯s disciple, and in our Neo-Vestige Sect, Training Uncle¡¯s line holds a rather high status.¡±

    Lu Yin was well aware of that. Since one of the three arrows was in Master Bei¡¯s hands, it was not as simple as the man having a high status. It would be more urate to say that he was untouchable.

    The crowd headed further into the depths of Arrow Mountain, though none of them noticed that a pair of eyes were focused on them. Eventually, theynded on Lu Yin and grew puzzled.

    Lu Yin paused and looked about in all directions, as a chill had just run down his spine. He had experienced this sensation more than once in the past, and he was aware that it meant that a super powerhouse was focusing on him. Could it be that Arrow Mountain Elder?

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings with a serious expression as the rune lines from that Arrow Mountain Elder filled Arrow Mountain. However, Lu Yin could not pinpoint the expert¡¯s location.

    ¡°You¡¯re putting on quite a show! Do you really think that you can choose the best arrows?¡± Shao Ziyu asked with a sneer as he looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    The crowd of disciples behind were jeering at them as well.

    Peach¡¯s face flushed red.

    Gong Chou frowned, as these people were being rather troublesome.

    Lu Yin looked over at Shao Ziyu. ¡°Are you saying that I can¡¯t choose a good arrow?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Shao Ziyu replied.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°All of the arrows on Arrow Mountaine from your Neo-Vestige Sect and were forged by your own people. So tell me, which one is inferior?¡±

    This sentence stifled Shao Ziyu, as did he dare toment on which one was lousy? That would just be offending his own sect.

    Peach shouted, ¡°Right, tell us, which one is lousy?¡±

    Gong Chou looked on in amusement, as Shao Ziyu had certainly stuck his foot in his own mouth.

    Shao Ziyu coldly answered, ¡°Kid, you have quite a sharp tongue. The Sect Leader has allowed you to pick five arrows, so let¡¯s see what you can get.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up into the sky and sighed, ¡°Out of gratitude towards me for taking care of Peach, he offered me five arrows. At first, I didn¡¯t n on putting too much effort into selecting them, since taking care of Peach is my responsibility. However, since you¡¯ve said so much, I guess I¡¯ll have to select something better.¡±

    Shao Ziyu sneered while a taller girl behind also mocked Lu Yin. ¡°Just by yourself? Go on, pick one! You¡¯re nothing but talk until you take action.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just go on and try!¡± The entire crowd of disciples started jeering at Lu Yin, which attracted more disciples, causing them to trickle towards themotion one after another.

    Peach pulled at Lu Yin¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Your Highness, do you really know how to pick out an arrow? How about this¡ªwhy don¡¯t I get Uncle Sect Leader to help us out?¡±

    Lu Yin patted Peach on the head and then casually walked over to a boulder that had a very ordinary looking arrow embedded in the ground beside it. This arrow waspletely different from the nearby arrows that could cause phantom arrows to appear. This one looked like a piece of scrap that had been left behind.

    Lu Yin crouched down and picked it up easily. ¡°I just want this one.¡±

    Shao Ziyuughed when he saw Lu Yin pick up that particr arrow, and the crowd behind him simrly guffawed and taunted Lu Yin.

    Peach was so upset that she stomped her feet.

    Aden¡¯s trio were more calm, as they knew Lu Yin¡¯s personality. How could possibly he allow these people to treat him as if he were a clown?

    Gong Chou grew suspicious, as he could not see anything special about that arrow at all. This person was truly difficult to understand.

    Lu Yin smiled as he spun the arrow around in his hands. He then looked at Shao Ziyu with a teasing expression on his face. ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that, even if all of you were sold, you still wouldn¡¯t amount to the value of this arrow?¡±

    Shao Ziyuughed. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re the Great Eastern Alliance Leader¡ªwhat an ostentatious way with words you have! You must have developed your ability to create deliberate misconceptions as you suppressed all those other weaves, right?¡±

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s face immediately fell.

    ¡°Shut up, you foolish spawn!¡± a voice barked as a rumbling noise descended from the sky.

    Everyone looked up to see that Master Bei had appeared suddenly, and his face was incredibly gloomy as he stared closely at the arrow in Lu Yin¡¯s hands. ¡°The <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness: it conquers all and can withstand a power level of 300,000. One of the best arrows on Arrow Mountain.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s words shocked everyone like a lightning strike. Even Aden and the others had not thought that Lu Yin would choose one of the best arrows on Arrow Mountain as his first choice. They had known that Lu Yin would not allow the other party to mock him without giving a rebuttal, but this counterattack was just too cruel.

    Shao Ziyu was stunned; was this actually possible? He had walked through Arrow Mountain multiple times, and he had seen that arrow countless times. However, he had never even considered picking it up. Now, it turned out that it was one of the best arrows!

    The disciples from Neo-Vestige Sect were simrly dumbfounded, and they stared fervently at the arrow in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    Peach was delighted, and she bounced over in front of Lu Yin. She took the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness and eximed, ¡°This is one of the best arrows? Really? An old person wouldn¡¯t be mistaken, right?¡±

    Master Bei did not let Peach¡¯s rudeness bother him, and he instead simply stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, how did you find it?¡± He did not believe that Lu Yin could have such a deep understanding of arrows that he had spotted the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness in just a single nce. Sect Leader Gong Ling must have told him, which meant that the man had used his position for personal gain, which was too excessive.

    Lu Yin shrugged and pointed at Shao Ziyu. ¡°He told me.¡±

    Master Bei red over at Shao Ziyu.

    Shao Ziyu was stunned. ¡°I- I- when did I tell you anything? Stop spouting nonsense! This will be the death of me!¡±

    To Neo-Vestige Sect, arrows were of the utmost importance, and the arrows on Arrow Mountain were even more important. They held a simr position as the inherited techniques that had been passed down within many families and sects, but right now, one of the best arrows in Neo-Vestige Sect had been taken away by Lu Yin. Shao Ziyu would end up being killed if he had actually guided Lu Yin to it. Even if he was Master Bei¡¯s disciple, there still would not be anyone who could protect him.

    Master Bei red at Lu Yin once again, as he naturally did not believe that his own disciple had guided this brat to the arrow. His disciple was not crazy, and if he had known about the value of that arrow, he would have taken it away long ago.

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°I only wanted to choose five random arrows from the foot of the mountain, but you started annoying me. Thus, I picked one up at random. My luck has always been pretty good, so I managed to select one of the best arrows.¡±

    Shao Ziyu¡¯s face twisted into an ugly expression.

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes narrowed before they coldly swept over Shao Ziyu. ¡°You¡¯ve proven to be unable to aplish anything, but you can still spoil everything.¡±

    There was no need to guess, Shao Ziyu already knew that he was in big trouble. He had only made somements as a joke. Who could have expected Lu Yin to actually choose the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness of all things? Shao Ziyu knew that he was destined to shoulder responsibility for this. He was already doomed.

    Lu Yin stored the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness away and looked around. ¡°You kept pissing me off, and mocking me, saying that I don¡¯t know a thing about arrows. Fine, I¡¯ll seriously choose another.¡±

    He walked further into the depths of Arrow Mountain as the crowd followed.

    Shao Ziyu watched on,pletely depressed. This bastard¡¯s luck was just too good.

    Master Bei did not leave. Instead, he was determined to observe Lu Yin from start to end while the youth chose his next arrow. The elder also wanted to see how many good arrows Sect Leader Gong Ling had told this kid about.

    Lu Yin walked on at a leisurely pace, and before long, he stopped and looked to his right. There was an arrow in that direction that was frozen in the void. At first nce, it seemed pretty strong as it emitted a cold aura that was in for everyone to see.

    This was an arrow that carried a desperate cold with it.

    Lu Yin walked over.

    Shao Ziyu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly nced at someone behind him. That disciple hurriedly rushed over and pressed a hand against the arrow with the cold aura, one step ahead of Lu Yin. That person was evidently skilled in battle techniques that were rted to ice, so he was able to smoothly recover the arrow.

    Shao Ziyu was pleased, and Master Bei¡¯s expression improved greatly.

    Peach asked in a heated voice, ¡°Your Highness, why did you walk so slowly?¡±

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Peach pointed back at Shao Ziyu. ¡°Those people stole your arrow! How annoying.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°What arrow? Oh, are you talking about the arrow with the cold aura? That¡¯s none of my business. I didn¡¯t want that one anyway.¡±

    After speaking, he continued to casually walk towards the area where that icy arrow had been embedded before bending down. A smile spread across his face as his eyes brightened.

    In the sky, Master Bei¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Junior, don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    Lu Yin did not listen to the elder. Then, he grabbed¡­ the shadow. The crowd felt that something was off, as that icy arrow had clearly already been taken, but its shadow had remained behind. What was going on? Unless, that wasn¡¯t actually a shadow, but rather an arrow.

    They had guessed correctly, and Lu Yin directly grabbed a hold of that shadowy ck arrow. The image of the arrow briefly distorted, causing the surrounding area to be devoid of all light, and everyone was temporarily blinded. Everyone felt as if they had been sucked into a ckhole in space and swallowed.

    The blinding effect was just temporary, and when they opened their eyes, the crowd saw that the arrow in Lu Yin¡¯s hands still seemed to be distorting, and they were dumbfounded. Even a fool could tell that this was no ordinary arrow.

    Lu Yin sneered, ¡°You still want to run afternding in my hand? Now show me your true form.¡±

    The shadowy arrow then changed into two arrows: one ck, and one white. Suddenly, two identical arrows had appeared before the crowd¡¯s eyes.

    Shao Ziyu was stunned. Just what was going on?

    In the sky, Master Bei suddenly grabbed at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, release that arrow!¡±

    But then, another power appeared that forced Master Bei back. Sect Leader Gong Ling had appeared, and he looked sullen.

    Master Bei saw Sect Leader Gong Ling arrive, and he quickly asked, ¡°Senior, why did you stop me?¡±

 Chapter 771: Five Arrows

    <h4>Chapter 771: Five Arrows</h4>

    Gong Ling stared back at Master Bei. ¡°I agreed to give him five arrows, and I allowed him to make his choices freely. Since he has already chosen, we cannot go back on our word. Do you want our Neo-Vestige Sect to be treated as a joke?¡±

    ¡°But-¡± Master Bei was unwilling to back down.

    Gong Ling looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you are quite the expert, and it would seem that everyone has underestimated you.¡±

    Lu Yin stored the twin ck and white arrows away and looked up at Gong Ling. ¡°What does Senior mean? Junior actually just wanted to randomly choose five arrows from the foot of the mountain, but your disciples looked down on me. As the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, I must seriously choose my arrows now. Of course, my luck is also quite decent.¡±

    Gong Ling nced over at Shao Ziyu. ¡°You really enjoy shooting off your mouth.¡±

    Shao Ziyu was about ready to cry, as he had simply wanted to taunt Lu Yin slightly. His motivations had been very pure.

    ¡°The Caving Arrow and the Lightless Arrow. 10,000 years ago, a Sect Leader forged them from a ckhole in the void. The Caving Arrow has a devouring power while the Lightless Arrow can cause heaven and earth to lose their color. The fact that Alliance Leader Lu was able to find them is indeed impressive,¡± Gong Ling slowly said in an appreciative tone.

    Gong Chou stared at Lu Yin in shock. What sort of ability did this person possess that had allowed him to reach this ce? Choosing arrows was not fighting, so how did this work?

    Lu Yin humbly answered, ¡°It¡¯s all luck. It¡¯s all luck. I still have to thank your sect¡¯s disciple for his encouragement.¡±

    Shao Ziyu¡¯s face twisted even further, and he looked at Lu Yin with pleading eyes. Please stop talking about me! I beg you, stop mentioning me in every sentence!

    Peach excitedly pulled Lu Yin further into the depths of Arrow Mountain.

    Master Bei¡¯s face had be extremely ugly, and he looked over at Gong Ling. ¡°Senior, our Neo-Vestige Sect doesn¡¯t have many such divine arrows. If we give them away to outsiders like this, I¡¯ll have to see how you exin yourself to Elder.¡±

    Gong Ling softly replied, ¡°Elder is also watching, so there¡¯s no need for me to give an exnation.¡±

    Master Bei snorted and continued following Lu Yin. He wanted to see which two arrows this kid would pick as his final choices. Since this kid had been able to get his hands on such divine arrows, Gong Ling most likely had not told Lu Yin about the arrows¡¯ locations, unless he was Gong Ling¡¯s illegitimate child or something. There was no way Gong Ling would be willing to give this kid three divine arrows. As for luck, that was even more impossible, and Master Bei wanted to see what this kid was relying on to find the divine arrows.

    Lu Yin was very happy at this moment. Choosing? Did that even mean anything? The rune lines made everything obvious, but these people simply could not see them. Sometimes, the course of life destined one to be as lonely as the snow. Lu Yin had no soul mates in this ce.

    Peach became very arrogant, and she raised her head proudly as she strutted about like a victorious peacock.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he continued walking into the depths of Arrow Mountain. He had long since noticed another arrow with a massive amount of rune lines. The strength of this arrow could even be seen by other cultivators, but it had remained here up till now, which had piqued his curiosity.

    When Gong Ling and Master Bei noticed the direction that Lu Yin was walked in, they exchanged nces. Did this kid n to take away that arrow as well?

    Gong Chou also thought of something, and he looked at Lu Yin. His heart instantly sank when he saw the youth¡¯s self-confident expression. Perhaps it was because of the three arrows that had already been selected, but Gong Chou felt that this fellow would be able to take away that arrow as well.

    ¡°Ah, I remember now, the Battle Arrow is in front of us!¡± Peach suddenly cried excitedly.

    Lu Yin and the others became curious. ¡°The Battle Arrow?¡±

    Peach nodded. ¡°Yes, Master once told me that this Battle Arrow retains the strength of the predecessors. It was forged by a Training Elder of Neo-Vestige Sect, and he had once visited the Innerverse, where he cultivated his battle force to a very high degree. When that arrow was forged, battle force was infused into it, and nine lined battle force at that. It¡¯s very powerful, but it¡¯s a pity that nobody has been able to take it away even after so many years. It seems that it can only be taken by an expert who has trained in battle force.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at Gong Chou.

    Gong Chou nodded. ¡°Indeed, those who do not have nine lined battle force cannot take this arrow away. Once that arrow is fired, its strength will be at the nine lined battle force at the minimum, and it¡¯s a rare divine arrow. Every year, many disciples try to take it, but clearly, none have not seeded. I urge you not to try, as you will get injured.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards as he looked at Aden.

    Aden seemed toe to a tacit understanding with Lu Yin, but his expression did not change.

    Nine lines? Lu Yin had not reached that level yet, but Aden had, which was quite the coincidence.

    In the sky, Master Bei¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Senior, there is someone within their group who hasprehended nine lined battle force.¡±

    Gong Ling was astonished. ¡°Who?¡±

    Master Bei pointed at Aden. When Master Bei had attacked Lu Yin¡¯s group, he had been initially blocked by a thunder shield that had been reinforced with nine lined battle force, so his impression of Aden was rather deep. Not just anyone could withstand an Enlighter¡¯s strength while being an entire realm lower, and Master Bei was no ordinary Enlighter either.

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression turned sour. Was this kid really going to take away four divine arrows?

    At this moment, Master Bei spoke, and his voice resonated through the sky. ¡°You are not allowed to seek assistance from others when selecting your arrows, as that would be considered cheating. If you do, you will be expelled from Arrow Mountain.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up, as those words were clearly targeting him. It was still fine, as he was just nning on taking a look.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the group to arrive at a spacious wastnd that didn¡¯t have a single de of grass growing within 10,000 meters of its center. Also, not a single arrow could be seen within this range aside from a very simple-looking arrow embedded in the ground at the very center of the wastnd. It emitted a dense, suppressive aura.

    Aden looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin slowly walked over to the arrow while the rest of his group waited for him at the edge of the wastnd.

    The various people all stared at him intently.

    Shao Ziyu sneered. Did this bastard think that the Battle Arrow could be easily taken away? It was simply impossible to take this arrow away unless one¡¯s battle force had reached nine lines.

    As Lu Yin approached the Battle Arrow step by step, he felt the pressure on him grow stronger and stronger. When he entered within a meter of the Battle Arrow, he saw that its shaft actually contained purple-red veins, and the asional line would also sh across it. This was the telltale mark of nine lined battle force, and this arrow had indeed been imprinted with the strength of nine lined battle force.

    Some people could leave an impression of their strength on other people or other objects, such as Nightking Zhenwu and the Sea King. Those items would then be power vessels, and this Battle Arrow was actually a type of power vessel.

    Eight lined battle force suddenly appeared and covered Lu Yin¡¯s body, much to the shock of the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples. He then suddenly grabbed at the Battle Arrow and tried to pull it out.

    The Battle Arrow did not budge, and the arrow¡¯s nine lined battle force even tried to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s eight lined battle force. Lu Yin gritted his teeth; he was actually unafraid of nine lined battle force in terms of just strength, as his full power was enough to withstand Aden, which was equivalent to withstanding at least one attack backed by nine lined battle force. However, to obtain this Battle Arrow, one could only rely on their battle force, which meant that he probably could not use the Yu Secret Art.

    Hold on. Lu Yin¡¯s mind whirled as something suddenly urred to him. Right, why not?

    Back in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, he had once identally barged onto a battlefield between the Ten Arbiters and several Realmlings. At that time, he had relied on the Yu Secret Art to snatch a jade stone that had been a Progenitor''s inheritance. The Yu Secret Art was actually perfect for snatching objects.

    Lu Yin straightened his back and stood up, which caused the crowd from Neo-Vestige Sect to rx, as they had never imagined that Lu Yin would actually possess eight lined battle force. He must be crazy, as how else could he have cultivated his battle force so far? Fortunately, eight lined battle force was still not enough to take away the Battle Arrow.

    It was not as if powerhouses with eight lined battle force had never appeared throughout the long history of Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Gong Ling and Master Bei exchanged nces and were rather jubnt. If the Battle Arrow was taken away as well, Neo-Vestige Sect would be humiliated. After all, the Battle Arrow was quite famous, and all of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s disciples knew about it.

    However, their thinking turned out to be too simple. Lu Yin turned around to smile at Gong Ling and Master Bei and then waved his hand. The Battle Arrow vanished before reappearing in his hand. This was the Yu Secret Art.

    It allowed an Explorer like Lu Yin to even divert Enlighters¡¯ strength, and all secret techniques were able to turn the rotten into the mystical since they were techniques that had been created by Progenitors. Thus, how could this Battle Arrow with mere nine lined battle force stop the Yu Secret Art?

    Everyone stood in ce, dumbfounded as they stared at Lu Yin. What had just happened?

    Gong Ling¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°A secret technique.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s gaze grew excited. A secret technique! If he could get a hold of such a thing, then not even Gong Ling would be his match. Unfortunately, it had actually been taken by this kid.

    Lu Yin had a secret technique, and the entire Outerverse already knew about it. Thus, there was no need for him to hide it.

    ¡°Cheating! You¡¯re cheating!¡± Shao Ziyu shouted at Lu Yin.

    Behind him, the disciples who were following along also screamed in indignation.

    Peach could not restrain herself any longer, and she turned around to bicker with them.

    Lu Yin carefully sized the Battle Arrow up and down, as this arrow was not dependable even after it had been taken¡ªit was constantly trying to overpower Lu Yin with its nine lined battle force. Unfortunately for the arrow, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was sufficient to make up for the deficiency in his battle force.

    ¡°Alright, stop making a scene,¡± Gong Ling barked as he red at Shao Ziyu. ¡°One just has to rely on themselves when retrieving arrows from Arrow Mountain. As long as others do not offer any sort of help, no cheating was involved.¡±

    Shao Ziyu did not dare to keep speaking.

    Master Bei could not ept this turn of events, and he softly said, ¡°Senior, this kid has already taken four of our divine arrows. This is a great loss for our Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Gong Ling quietly answered, ¡°If Peach had died outside, we wouldn¡¯t have lost these four arrows, but that one arrow.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes shed, as he knew what Gong Ling was saying, so he stopped speaking.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thank you, Senior Sect Leader, for your generosity.¡±

    ¡°You took that arrow with your own abilities, so it¡¯s none of my business,¡± Gong Ling said. He then sighed. ¡°After so many years, Arrow Mountain has concealed many arrows, but those that can be called divine arrows don¡¯t amount to more than ten, and yet, you¡¯ve already taken four of them. You have one more arrow remaining, so hurry up and select it.¡±

    Lu Yin put away the Battle Arrow. He admired this Sect Leader Gong Ling. To Neo-Vestige Sect, these divine arrows were their most valuable treasures that had been passed down through multiple generations. However, this Sect Leader was actually willing to allow an outsider like Lu Yin take them away. This man truly had a great heart. These few arrows should have been forged by the most elite powerhouses in the history of Neo-Vestige Sect, and they were all extremely valuable. Lu Yin himself did not actually know how to fire arrows, so there really was no point to him taking these arrows away.

    As Lu Yin thought about this, his eyes suddenly went wide, and he raised a hand to grab at the void. A beast howl that echoed through the eons sounded out as he unleashed a Skybeast w. This howl caused many of the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples¡¯ hearts to tremble, and they stared on nkly as Lu Yin seized an arrow from the void.

    The crowd felt stumped. What the heck? How did he get that arrow?

    Lu Yin looked at his right hand as an indistinct arrow appeared there. Actually, he had noticed this arrow the moment he entered Arrow Mountain, as it had been continuously hovering around Arrow Mountain, moving up and down. It had coincidentally been right next to Lu Yin just now, so he had conveniently grabbed it. Actually, this arrow was able to hide itself, which was quite mysterious.

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression changed when he saw which arrow was in Lu Yin¡¯s hands. ¡°The <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance: forged by the Fifth Sect Leader¡¯s hands and made from the mysterious ores of the heavens. It is formless when attacking people, and it is truly all-conquering.¡±

    Shao Ziyu was really about to cry, as this bastard had just managed to take away around half of the divine arrows that had been on Arrow Mountain. Lu Yin simply did not want them to continue living. The worst part of it all was that this bastard had been continuously repeating how Shao Ziyu had infuriated and instigated him into seriously searching for arrows. He waspletely doomed. Shao Ziyu could only imagine how angry the higher ups of Neo-Vestige Sect would be when they learned of these events, and he would face a fate a thousand times worse than his brother, Shao Zisong.

    Peach and the others looked at the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance curiously, as this was the first time they had seen an arrow that could hide itself. The most important detail about it was that it was all-conquering, just like the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Toughness.

    ¡°No, you cannot take that! Junior, put the down the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance!¡± Master Bei grew anxious andnded on the ground next to Lu Yin.

    In the sky, Gong Ling felt as if things had be extremely difficult, as this kid had taken almost half of all the divine arrows that were on Arrow Mountain. It would be difficult for him as a Sect Leader to justify himself to those in the sect. This was especially so for the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance, which was more valuable than the other four divine arrowsbined. It could reasonably be said to be one of the most valuable arrows on Arrow Mountain.

 Chapter 772: Residual Aura of an Arrow

    <h4>Chapter 772: Residual Aura of an Arrow</h4>

    ¡°Uncle Sect Leader, His Highness selected these arrows by himself, and there was no cheating involved. Besides, you were the one who offered this. You wouldn¡¯t go back on your word, right?¡± Peach looked up at Gong Ling and spoke gently.

    Master Bei barked, ¡°Divine arrows have souls, and they are not some sort of bright pearls that are covered in dust. It would be fine if you were adept at battle techniques involving bows and arrows, but not a single one of you is. Thus, it¡¯d be a waste to give these divine arrows to you.¡±

    Gong Ling had been ced in a difficult position.

    Meng Tianlong looked at Lu Yin in envy. Five divine arrows¡ªthat was really too valuable. Any one of these arrows, if used well, could present a threat to an Enlighter. These arrows were Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s hidden strength. The Vastdearth Sect leader believed that Neo-Vestige Sect would not ce its best divine arrows on Arrow Mountain and that they also maintained a hidden collection, as this sect was too powerful.

    Peach ran over to Gong Ling¡¯s side and tugged at his sleeve. ¡°Uncle, you promised.¡±

    At this moment, a few Neo-Vestige Sect elders appeared. They had heard about the current situation, and so, they all surrounded Lu Yin, clearly not intending on allowing him to leave with the divine arrows.

    Aden and the blind monk moved to stand beside Lu Yin, and they softly asked, ¡°Your Highness, what should we do?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and exchanged looks with Gong Ling. ¡°Senior Sect Leader, Master Bei is right. Junior doesn¡¯t know any battle techniques for bows and arrows, so it¡¯s a waste even if I take these.¡±

    Gong Ling¡¯s eyes lit up, and the elders surrounding the small group rxed a bit, as this child seemed to be rather tactful.

    ¡°However, Senior did indeed promise me five arrows, and once that promise is broken, it won¡¯t be too great for Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s reputation,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Gong Ling¡¯s eyes shed, and he did not speak. Instead, an elder beside him growled, ¡°What do you want? State your terms.¡±

    Lu Yin yed with the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance. ¡°Simple. Of the five arrows, Junior will keep two and return the other three to Neo-Vestige Sect. Of course, I do hope that Neo-Vestige Sect will be able to reimburse me for this loss.¡±

    That elder retorted, ¡°Leave all five arrows here.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze flickered with a cold light. ¡°Elder, are you joking with me?¡±

    That elder¡¯s brows rose up. He was an elder of Neo-Vestige Sect, but this person actually dared to talk to him in such a manner. He was about to raise his voice, but he was stopped by Gong Ling. ¡°Alright. The Arrow of Valiance, Toughness, , and Battle will remain here while you can take the Caving and Lightless Arrows away. For each arrow, my Neo-Vestige Sect willpensate you with 10,000 star essence. How does that sound?¡±

    After the Sect Leader spoke, the surrounding elders did not dare to butt in, though they all stared at Lu Yin in a menacing manner.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Junior would like to take the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance and Battle Arrow away. As for the other three, well, Junior really is in need of money.¡±

    Gong Ling frowned.

    Master Bei leaned over and spoke in a sinister voice, saying, ¡°Junior, you had best think this through. From the moment our Neo-Vestige Sect was first established, no one has ever dared to tell us ¡®no.¡¯¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lu Yin straightforwardly replied, which caused Master Bei¡¯s face to flush red.

    Gong Ling shook his head andughed. ¡°Alright, leave behind the Caving, Lightless. and Boulder Arrows. Neo-Vestige Sect willpensate you with 60,000 star essence.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted, as he had not nned on taking those three arrows away anyways, as the <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Arrow of Valiance and the Battle Arrow were the best of the five. ¡°Thank you, Senior.¡±

    He was rich again, and although this was not a great deal of wealth, it demonstrated Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s hidden background. They were just an Outerverse sect, but they didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid at paying Lu Yin 60,000 star essence. Not even that Master Bei seemed to mind, which made Lu Yin certain that this Neo-Vestige Sect was rich, very rich. He simply could not view them as an Outerverse sect.

    The arrow selection was now over, and Shao Ziyu was feeling very down on his luck. He couldn¡¯t even imagine what his punishment would be, and he felt as though his own father had just died.

    Just as the crowd was about to leave Arrow Mountain, all of the arrows on it started to shudder. Gong Ling and the few others were pleasantly surprised, and they all looked in a certain direction in unison. Their ancestor had awakened.

    Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Arrow Mountain Elder was a legend, and he was a powerhouse who had once taken out an Innerverse expert whose power level was 300,000. That event had shocked the universe.

    There were very few Enlighters In the Outerverse, so the appearance of such a powerhouse was incredibly sensational, to the point where the Arrow Mountain Elder was even known within the Innerverse.

    Many powers preserved their powerhouses through cryostasis, only awakening them at crucial moments. The Arrow Mountain Elder was no different, and it was rumored that he had already lived for hundreds of thousands of years, being cryopreserved this whole time. Many Neo-Vestige Sect disciples would not have the opportunity to see him in their entire lives, but he had awakened at this moment.

    All of the Neo-Vestige Sect members bowed, even Gong Ling and Master Bei.

    Lu Yin stared at the rune lines that pervaded the sky in shock. This amount of rune lines even surpassed what he had seen on Elder Lohar, and the amount was so unimaginable as to be terrifying. It was possible that these rune lines surpassed even those of Northgate Taisui.

    As Lu Yin was thinking about what he was seeing, the void in front of him was torn open, and a withered hand shot out to grab Lu Yin and Peach, snatching them away in an instant.

    The next moment, everything had already returned to normal.

    Meng Tianlong felt his scalp go numb. It was terrifying beyond belief that there was actually such a monster hidden away in Neo-Vestige Sect. The moment that palm had stretched out, he had not been able to move an inch.

    Aden and the blind monk were the same, and their expressions changed drastically as they looked over at Gong Ling.

    Gong Ling said, ¡°Elder has summoned them. There¡¯s no need to worry.¡±

    Aden¡¯s gaze grew solemn as he pondered the fact that the Outerverse could actually give rise to such a powerhouse. The universe was boundless, and there were some ces that were naturally more mysterious than others.

    Master Bei¡¯s face betrayed how stunned he was. The Arrow Mountain Elder had not bothered with Master Bei or even Gong Ling, and he had only taken away those two members of the younger generation. What did that mean?

    ***

    Lu Yin saw a dark area in front of him, and he wasn¡¯t able to move at all. When he had been seized by that withered hand, he had not even been able to think about retaliating or grabbing anything from his cosmic ring. At that moment, he had felt no different from an ant, and it was just like when he had encountered Northgate Taisui in the past.

    That sensation of powerlessnesssted for two seconds before his vision was restored. The dazzling sunlight immediately caused him to instinctively lift his hands to block the unbearable light. At that moment, he was greeted by an enchanting view of chirping birds and fragrant flowers. Peach was standing beside him and holding onto him tightly, clearly a bit scared.

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings and saw that they were in a very ordinary-looking valley with a decent view, and he even saw a bit of flowing water in the distance. An old, hunchbacked man was standing nearby with his hands sped behind his back as he stared at Lu Yin with curious eyes.

    Lu Yin dared not slight this man, and he hurriedly pulled Peach forward. ¡°Junior Lu Yin greets Senior.¡±

    Peach quickly bowed. ¡°Peach greets Ancestor.¡±

    The elder beamed at the two youths as he nodded. He then nced past Lu Yin and focused on Peach, his eyes lighting up. ¡°Little girl, you are this generation¡¯s custodian?¡±

    Peach pursed her lips and murmured in answer. ¡°Yes, I am Peach. Elder can call me Little Peach.¡±

    The elderughed. ¡°You¡¯re a cute girl. I have seen many custodians, and there¡¯s been all sorts of characters, but I¡¯ve never seen a little girl like you. How¡¯s your master?¡±

    Peach was aggrieved. ¡°Master died ten years ago.¡±

    The elder sighed. ¡°Everything is predestined. Little girl, don¡¯t be sad.¡±

    Peach murmured an acknowledgement, all the while acting very obediently.

    At that moment, the elder looked at Lu Yin. He had been watching the old man the entire time, unsure of why this elder had dragged him in along with Peach. She was originally from Neo-Vestige Sect, and she was even the custodian of one of the three arrows, so it wasn¡¯t unusual for her to meet with the sect¡¯s elder.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was merely an outsider.

    ¡°Kid, I can sense a powerful aura from an arrow on your body, and it feels rather familiar.¡± The elder¡¯s murky eyes suddenly became iparably deep as he spoke.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Senior, Junior has not learned any battle techniques for a bow and arrow.¡±

    The elder was surprised, and he circled Lu Yin several times before remarking, ¡°That¡¯s it¡ªit¡¯s definitely a powerful aura from an arrow, and it¡¯s very simr to our Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s three arrows.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished at these words. Was this elder crazy? How could Lu Yin have any residual aura from an arrow on him? Was it because he had spent too much time with Peach?

    Peach was also confused. ¡°Elder, His Highness hasn¡¯t even learned how to fire arrows, so where is this residual arrow auraing from?¡±

    The elder replied, ¡°He doesn¡¯t necessarily have to have learned it. If he confronted an expert who cultivated such an arrow aura, then he may have been affected by it. This fellow¡¯s arrow aura is rather thin, and it¡¯s also constantly dissipating. Thus, he should have been unintentionally infected by this intent.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost; he¡¯d been infected?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, at the Daosource Sect''s ruins! Nightking Zhenwu!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he suddenly recalled that, back in the furnace in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, during Nightking Zhenwu and Wu Taibai¡¯s battle, the Nightking had fired an arrow at thest moment and been absolutely certain that it would kill Wu Taibai. Lu Yin had also been inside the furnace, and that arrow¡¯s strength had enveloped the entire furnace. Thus, he must have been infected by it at that time.

    Apart from that incident, he had never really interacted with any powerful bow experts.

    ording to this elder, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow aura was very simr to Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s three arrows, which meant that the arrow technique that Nightking Zhenwu had cultivated was very simr to the arrows that Neo-Vestige Sect had been founded upon. Right, that Arbiter had also said that he would let Wu Taibai die under the Sixth Maind¡¯s battle techniques. Did that arrow technique originate from the Sixth Maind?

    The elder was observing Lu Yin and noticed his change in expression. ¡°You remember now?¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°I have remembered. Junior indeed met an expert with arrow techniques, but we only exchanged blows once, and not for very long.¡±

    The elder nodded. ¡°Yes, otherwise the residual arrow aura in your body would have caused Arrow Mountain to tremble.¡±

    ¡°Junior will go back, find the person who fought with me before, and request their arrow aura on behalf of Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    The elder shook his head. ¡°Everything is predestined, and there is no need to force matters. This aura from an arrow may be simr, but it cannot be identical. After all, too much time has passed. There¡¯s no need to force things. Elder just wants to observe this residual arrow aura from a closer position.¡±

    He then smiled at Peach and waved a hand. The scenery before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes changed, and he was sent back into the darkness. When he could see again, he had already returned to Arrow Mountain, and he was even in the same position that he had been in before he was snatched away.

    Everyone stared at him with shock and envy.

    He coughed. ¡°The elder likes Peach, and he has kept her behind to speak with her a bit longer. He might be lonely, as he mentioned that he wants to give her some things or teach her some techniques, which is very kind of him.¡±

    ALl the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples erupted in an uproar, and they seemed to be enviously discussing something.

    Master Bei¡¯s face became extremely ugly; that stupid brat wouldn¡¯t tell on him, right?

    Two dayster, as they looked behind at the gradually shrinking Neo-Vestige Sect, Peach cheered, ¡°We can finally return home. How wonderful!¡±

    Lu Yinughed, as Gong Ling had not wanted to let Peach leave. She was burdened with the mission of protecting the ancient arrow, and things would be incredibly troublesome if she lost it. However, under the pretense of obeying the Arrow Mountain Elder, she had managed to sessfully persuade Gong Ling. In the end, he had just watched on with a nk face as she left. Still, he had sent a Hunter and several Limiteers along to protect her.

    Peach was very vexed by this, as these people followed her wherever she went.

    Lu Yin was happy, as more experts had joined him. As long as Peach stayed in the Great Yu Empire, Neo-Vestige Sect would act as his backup, and there were no disadvantages to this situation for Lu Yin.

    ¡°Your Highness, this is for you.¡± Peach looked around before sneakily handing a cosmic ring over to Lu Yin with a very solemn expression.

    Lu Yin took it. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

 Chapter 773: Old Pirate Friend

    <h4>Chapter 773: Old Pirate Friend</h4>

    ¡°Uncle Sect Leader passed this ring to me. It contains Master Bei¡¯s apology as well as the many years of rpense that Neo-Vestige Sect owed me. All this is inside, and it¡¯s for you,¡± Peach offered.

    Lu Yin hurriedly declined and cracked a joke. Although he was in need of money, he would not stoop to stealing from a child. Even though Peach was not much younger than Lu Yin himself, her appearance was rather deceiving. Additionally, she had always maintained her childlike nature, which could not be changed, and that simply meant that she was a child.

    Lu Yin would feel embarrassed if he took her belongings.

    ¡°I still have a lot, and all of the items belonging to my line have been returned to me. Your Highness, take it as a gift of thanks from me.¡± Peach was persistent, as she wanted Lu Yin to keep the ring.

    Lu Yin simply refused, as it was indeed rather embarrassing for him.

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± Peach took out a pocket-sized, arrow-shaped carving from around her neck. ¡°Master carved this for me to y with. I¡¯ll give it to you, and you can¡¯t refuse it. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be friends any longer,¡± Peach said stubbornly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep it.¡± He then quickly stored it awy in his cosmic ring. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±

    Peach smiled brightly and left.

    There were a few Neo-Vestige Sect disciples nearby that red fiercely at Lu Yin, looking as though they were keeping an eye on a con artist.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how embarrassing! So you would even take things from a little girl,¡± the Ghost Monkey taunted.

    Lu Yin deep fell into thought and did not even bother with the monkey, as he was already thinking about something else.

    Back when they had been in the Neo-Vestige Sect, Lu Yin had asked Peach how she had been rescued, and Peach had told him that Undying Yushan had taken her away.

    With how highly Master Bei regarded that arrow, it was impossible for him to not have personally taken action against Peach. The fact that Undying Yushan had been able to take Peach away while also preventing Neo-Vestige Sect from finding any sort of trace of her whereabout under those circumstances gave Lu Yin a fresh understanding of Undying Yushan¡¯s abilities.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the blind monk. If Peach had such an origin story, then what about the blind monk?

    ¡°What did you say? You¡¯re a prince from the strongest tribe in Forested Weave?¡± Lu Yin stared at the blind monk, dumbfounded. This royal identity just did not match the man¡¯s image.

    The blind monk waspletely unperturbed by Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. ¡°During a tribal war, your subject unintentionally lost his way and was rescued by His Majesty. A few yearster, your subject¡¯s tribe was victorious, and my rtives came to find me. However, your subject wanted to stay in the Great Yu Empire for a while longer, and so, I have not gone back and have dyed it even until now.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood the monk¡¯s circumstances. ¡°So is your tribe very powerful?¡±

    The blind monk thought about it and then answered, ¡°It¡¯s the weave¡¯s guiding power.¡±

    Lu Yin eximed, ¡°Could you convince Forested Weave to join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    ¡°I can try. It should be possible,¡± the blind monk answered very straightforwardly. He was very confident. After all, he was a prince.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything about this before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The blind monk fell silent.

    Lu Yin guessed that, because he had saved Peach, this fellow now wanted to sincerely follow Lu Yin. Otherwise he would have continued to hide his identity.

    What had Undying Yushan been trying to do back then? None of the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons seemed to have simple backgrounds. Had the old emperor truly wanted to unite the eastern weaves back then? It wasn¡¯t impossible. After all, the Greatsword Dynasty had been wary of Undying Yushan¡¯s ambition, which made it clear that the man had notpletely restrained his ambitions.

    In some sense, many of Lu Yin¡¯s own achievements should be credited back to Undying Yushan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became quiteplex, and he suddenly wondered if he should hope for Undying Yushan to be alive or dead.

    ¡°Monkey, do you think that Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow aura could be somehow rted to Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s three arrows?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very possible, but because those arrows are too ancient, the elder probably couldn¡¯t make any sort of connections. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow techniques might havee from the Sixth Maind, and he probably obtained them from the Daosource Sect''s ruins. Isn¡¯t being from the Daosource Sect''s ruins basically a synonym for being very ancient?¡± the monkey analyzed.

    Lu Yin agreed with this train of thought. ¡°So we shouldn¡¯t let Neo-Vestige Sect ever learn of the matter regarding Nightking Zhenwu.¡± Then, his eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°No, we should let them find out.¡±

    The monkey sniggered. ¡°Do you want to tempt Neo-Vestige Sect into dealing with Nightking Zhenwu?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, as Neo-Vestige Sect was only able to obtain three arrows back then. If Nightking Zhenwu was able to get a hold of a moreplete inheritance, then what do you think Neo-Vestige Sect would do?¡±

    ¡°Of course they would try to think of a way to seize it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Still, this scheme will have to be carefully nned out. Otherwise, if it doesn¡¯t work, then they might end up teaming up against me, and that would be dreadful,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself.

    During the group''s trip back, Meng Tianlong left the group at the Vastdearth Sect. This trip to Neo-Vestige Sect hadpletely shocked him. First, there had been the confrontation with that Enlighter. Later, he had witnessed some of the hidden secrets of Arrow Mountain. And finally, he had felt the power of the Arrow Mountain Elder. Meng Tianlong had been thoroughly convinced that his Vastdearth Sect was not on the same level as Neo-Vestige Sect.

    And the most frustrating thing of all was that Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader Gong Ling seemed to greatly appreciate Lu Yin, along with that little brat, Peach. It was entirely possible that Neo-Vestige Sect would end up cooperating with Lu Yin, and if they did, all of the eastern weaves would fall into Lu Yin¡¯s pocket.

    Meng Tianlong no longer bothered with visiting Elder Meng¡¯s training grounds daily, as he had realized that it was pointless. If Lu Yin wasn¡¯t intimidated by Neo-Vestige Sect, then there was no way he would care about their Vastdearth Sect Elder.

    What he needed to do right now was borrow the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s strength and bolster the Vastdearth Sect¡¯s strength.

    ¡°It looks like Meng Tianlong has been frightened.¡± Aden was amused by the noticeable change in the sect leader.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°In the universe, a sect can hand down an inheritance for tens or hundreds of thousands of years, and the sects that have developed to the level of the Vastdearth Sect usually have to produce their own Enlighter if they want to advance another step further. Neo-Vestige Sect is a much more ancient power, and their hidden strength is something that Meng Tianlong cannot even imagine.¡±

    ¡°Is Gong Ling really willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡± Aden was curious about this bit.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Once we have twenty weaves. Right now, the Great Eastern Alliance has nine. Even if we rope in all of the eastern weaves, it still won¡¯t be enough.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Your Highness has other ideas,¡± Aden said, but then he turned to leave.

    Lu Yin eyes flickered, and he raised a hand to activate his gadget. He looked at a star chart, and he focused on the border of the eastern weaves, and specifically, on Armament Weave.

    Wei Rong should have settled the situation within Sourcepeak Weave for the moment, as that should have been within the man¡¯s capabilities. However, Lu Yin did not know what the man¡¯s next move would be. It was certain to be rted to the central weaves, but where would Wei Rong start his ns?

    In the past, Lu Yin had been able to establish the Great Eastern Alliance due to all the ckmail that he had obtained from Mafioso, and that information had greatly helped him. That information,bined with his own methods and hisbat record, had led to his sess.

    Wei Rong would definitely use alternative methods, but it was also certain that he would use Lu Yin.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s existence was a huge threat to the central weaves, and Lu Yin¡¯s own existence would very likely help Wei Rong elerate the unification of the central weaves.

    When the spacecraft had just left the Vastdearth Sect, an rm suddenly sounded from within the vessel.

    ¡°Your Highness, there are interster pirates!¡± Peach shouted excitedly as she stared closely outside the ship.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Interster pirates? Robbing us? Are they crazy?

    The group was traveling in an Aurora, but in order to avoid any idents, Lu Yin had removed the Great Yu Empire¡¯s emblem from the ship¡¯s hull before they had set off for Neo-Vestige Sect. Still, very few pirates would have the courage to rob an Aurora, as the vessels represented status and wealth. Additionally, the defensive capabilities of an Aurora were beyond the capabilities of what pirates could tear through. This was strange.

    In the distance, a row of dpidated spacecraft lined up to block the way of Lu Yin¡¯s group on the route back to Frostwave Weave. The ships had all armed their weapons and were obstructing the way forward.

    On one of the broken-looking vessels, a few people had gathered together and were busy bickering. ¡°Hurry up and let them go! That¡¯s an Aurora, and those things can even fend off a Cruiser¡¯s attacks. There¡¯s no way we can break through that thing¡¯s hull with our firepower, and we might even end up provoking some strong enemies.¡±

    ¡°We have no choice! We¡¯re at the end of our rope! If we don¡¯t rob these people, then we¡¯re going to starve to death!¡± someone else shouted.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go anywhere else, as these ships simply can¡¯t fly anymore. There¡¯s no habitables nearby where we cannd, and there are no enemies to go against us. Thus, we can only rob these people. Hopefully, with a little luck, we¡¯ll be able to intimidate them,¡± a rough looking man said helplessly.

    ¡­

    Just as these pirates were discussing their options, an immense pressure descended upon them that forced all of the pirates to prostrate on the floor. Star energy was suppressing them and making it hard for them to breathe, giving the pirates a sense of desperation. Such overwhelming pressure could onlye from a Hunter while the powerful enemy that had forced them into such dire straits had just been a Cruiser. What luck to bump into a Hunter at this moment.

    The blind monk stepped out of the void and casually grabbed two people. He then tore back through the void and left.

    With a thump, two pirates were pathetically thrown onto the floor in front of Lu Yin. The blind monk then walked over next to Lu Yin, where he stood silently.

    The two pirates exchanged nces and looked up in terror. They saw Lu Yin, the blind monk standing beside Lu Yin, as well as Peach, who was staring at them curiously.

    ¡°So- sorry, Lord. We are as blind as bats, and we disturbed you lords. We were blind,¡± the ruffian-looking pirate hurriedly begged for forgiveness.

    Lu Yin looked at the man, feeling that this person seemed familiar. Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Little Eight?¡±

    The ruffian was stumped. ¡°Little Eight.¡± That was such a distant yet familiar-sounding nickname. In the past, when he had just be a pirate, afterpleting only five robberies, he had run into a madman. That man had insisted that he guide him to rob other pirates, and they had parted ways at the pirate port. Little Eight had been the name that the madman had bestowed upon him. He stared nkly at Lu Yin before quickly growing ecstatic. ¡°Boss? It¡¯s you, boss! It¡¯s really you! Boss, Little Eight looked for you so desperately!¡±

    As Lu Yin looked at the ruffian-looking pirate grabbing his thigh, he kicked the pirate away. ¡°Back then, didn¡¯t you tell me that you were going to stop being a pirate? Why are you still working as one now?¡±

    Little Eight¡¯s face showed his anguish. ¡°Boss, you don¡¯t know how much agony Little Eight has endured. Back then, after our parting at the pirate port, we were robbed again. I¡¯ll be damned, but that bunch of scoundrels betrayed us, and they sold our location to other pirates, who then sold us to some ck-hearted merchants as ves. If not for some decent luck, Boss wouldn¡¯t even see Little Eight right now. Boss, take me in! Boss!¡± The man once againtched onto Lu Yin¡¯s thigh.

    Peach and the few others were astonished. Boss? Pirates?

    The other pirate was also confused. Little Eight? Isn¡¯t he called Little Seven?

    ¡°Little Seven, do you know this lord?¡± the other pirate asked.

    Little Eight turned back and vehemently snarled, ¡°I¡¯m Little Eight! Remember that, Little Eight!¡±

    Lu Yin kicked Little Eight away a second time. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s going on? Why are your spacecraft so broken?¡±

    Little Eight wailed, ¡°Boss, you don¡¯t know how miserable we¡¯ve been. We¡¯d been living pretty well in the Darkmist Weave, and although we asionally robbed some people, we worked in a more refined manner. Recently, who knows who we offended, but all of the pirates in Darkmist Weave are being chased after, and the ones that areing after us are also pirates, who are supposedlying from the west. They chased all of us away. Boss, Little Eight is having a tough time.¡±

    Lu Yin grew interested. ¡°The pirates from the west are kicking you guys out?¡±

 Chapter 774: Sheepshead Port

    <h4>Chapter 774: Sheepshead Port</h4>

    Little Eight nodded before proceeding to systematically describe the tragic experiences that he had suffered through during this time. Lu Yin listened for half a day and then raised a hand to interrupt the pirate. ¡°Why are you so certain that they¡¯re from the west?¡¯

    This time, Little Eight didn¡¯t answer, and another pirate hurriedly interjected, ¡°Because there¡¯s someone from the Shadowsword Sect with them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Little Eight turned his head around to fiercely re at that pirate before going back to currying favor with Lu Yin. ¡°Boss, our pirates¡¯ view of the universe is pretty decent, and some of our brothers have traveled extensively and seen all sorts of people. There was someone from the Shadowsword Sect among those that chased after us, and the Shadowsword Sect is from the Suna Weave to begin with, which is in the west. Boss, you have to stick up for us! Even the west is bullying us, and that¡¯s just pping Boss¡¯s face. Back then, Boss dominated the pirate world.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin barked. He then stared at Little Eight. ¡°Are you certain that those people are pirates?¡±

    Little Eight nodded. ¡°Absolutely certain. Some of us even bumped into our brothers at Sheepshead Port.¡±

    The Shadowsword Sect. Lu Yin pondered over this new information. That sword sect reminded him of Wei Rong, and Lu Yin had just been considering what Wei Rong might have been nning to use to deal with him. Could Wei Rong have teamed up with pirates? It actually seemed possible.

    Although pirates were vulgar to the bone and did not seem very effective, they also had their uses at times. Pirates efficiently shared information between each other, and they even had their own means ofmunications. If Wei Rong had considered using pirates to infiltrate the Great Eastern Alliance, then the alliance might not even be able to discover anything until it was toote.

    Of course, this was just pure conjecture. It was entirely possible that the presence of experts from the Shadowsword Sect was just a coincidence.

    Little Eight was now tightly holding onto Lu Yin¡¯s thigh, and it seemed as though he did not n on ever letting go. He had suffered a great deal recently, and Lu Yin was the Great Eastern Alliance Leader. Pirates also watched the news, and Little Eight had long since wanted to cast his lot in with Lu Yin¡ªhe had just never been able to find a way to get in touch with Lu Yin. With Little Eight¡¯s identity, forget the Great Yu Empire, he might die just trying to enter Frostwave Weave. He was afraid that Lu Yin would be unwilling to allow his dark history to be revealed and would kill him to silence him.

    Now that this coincidental encounter had urred, Little Eight would try absolutely everything to stay. He was truly desperate, and he continued to clutch at Lu Yin¡¯s legs.

    ¡°Did you just say, ¡®Sheepshead Port?¡¯¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Little Eight replied, ¡°That¡¯s a ce where us pirates gather sometimes. Right, Boss, do you want to take a look? Recently, because of those wretched assholes that invaded Darkmist Weave¡¯s pirate world, Boss Thousand Eyes has called for a meeting in Sheepshead Port, and he wants to figure out a way to handle this matter.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then. On to Sheepshead Port. Lead the way,¡± Lu Yin ordered. He had to find out what was going on in the pirate world. If Wei Rong was truly trying to use pirates against the Great Eastern Alliance, it would be impossible to effectively defend themselves with traditional methods.

    Lu Yin was bing more and more wary. If Wei Rong truly wanted to use the pirate world to move against him, then he was actually even more treacherous than Lu Yin had imagined. Who would have thought that this person would start ying a hidden game before uniting the central weaves. His vision was too wide, and Wei Rong would not be limited to using just one region or one weave, which was the hardest type of person to deal with.

    Sheepshead Port was located to the west of Darkmist Weave, and the average person neither knew of it nor would be able to find it, as the pirates kept the location secret. The port was rumored to have been formed from the skull of an astral beast.

    Sheepshead Port truly had nond, and it was nothing more than barren bone. But despite that, it covered a veryrge area.

    When Peach learned that they were headed for Sheepshead Port, she grew excited. However, Lu Yin was far more interested in this Thousand Eyes person.

    ¡°Boss Thousand Eyes is someone in the Outerverse who has the rare ability to contact the Pirate King, and he ims to be the Pirate King¡¯s spokesperson in the Outerverse. He¡¯s extremely respectful towards the Pirate King, and his Thousand Eyes Pirate Crew is one of the biggest in the Outerverse¡­¡± Little Eight shared what he knew with Lu Yin.

    The Pirate King? Lu Yin pondered over this for some time. When it truly came down to it, Lu Yin himself was also a tiny pirate, and this was something that he would never be able to remove from his identity for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Right, Boss, we have to go through Darkmist Weave to get to Sheepshead Port. The pirates that chased us out will definitely recognize our spacecraft.¡± Little Eight suddenly became worried.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, ¡°Why do you think I wanted to drag your beat up ships along?¡±

    A lightbulb seemed to light up in Little Eight¡¯s mind. This person was the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, so what did they need to be afraid of? He immediately started brown nosing. ¡°Boss is so wise.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t easy to aimlessly roam about the universe, as it wasmon for powers to seal off the borders of their weaves, making everyone go through an inspection check at the borders. Even the Great Yu Empire had such policies.

    However, the Darkmist Weave did not have any such rules, as this ce was the underworld of the Outerverse. Even the pirate port near the Astral River used to have a legitimate presence before it had been destroyed, let alone a mere spacecraft.

    Of course, there were many pirates in this weave. Naturally, those who visited Darkmist Weave had to be prepared for an attack at all times, and they also needed to be prepared to be swept up into others¡¯ battles.

    Not long after arriving in Darkmist Weave, the fleet was surrounded.

    Little Eight was angry as he looked outside the vessel. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s them! Those are the pirates from the west.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted a finger, prompting the blind monk and Peach to both move out. The people from Neo-Vestige Sect also rushed out in order to prevent any idents from befalling Peach. Theirbined force quickly routed the pirates, and a Cruiser realm Shadowsword Sect member was also killed in the sh.

    ¡°We wanted to capture him alive, but he killed himself,¡± the blind monk said.

    Lu Yin looked at the corpse of the Shadowsword Sect expert that was lying on the floor, but then he just casually tossed it out. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. We¡¯re headed for Sheepshead Port.¡±

    Sheepshead Porty in a dark part of the universe, and around it, there was no light from any stars that could be seen. It was as if a white bone was the only thing floating through space.

    Sheepshead Port was bustling when Lu Yin¡¯s party arrived, as it was nearly time for the assembly that Thousand Eyes had called to begin. Pirates from both the eastern and western weaves had rushed over one after another.

    In this ce, everyone was a pirate, the dregs of society in everyone else¡¯s eyes.

    There were traces of light inside of Sheepshead Port, and that was where all of the spacecraft had casually docked. There was no space station here, as pirates would not be willing to leave their vessels in a ce where just anyone could ess them.

    With the guidance of Little Eight and a few other pirates, Lu Yin disguised himself before bringing Aden and Peach into Sheepshead Port, as Peach had insisted on observing themotion.

    There was indeed no soil on Sheepshead Port, but this bone was truly too massive. Could this really be an astral beast¡¯s skull? If so, it had to havee from a beast whose size couldpare to that of the ancient centipede that Lu Yin had once seen in the past.

    The universe was boundless, and it had produced countless miracles that humans could not even fathom. At times, Lu Yin rather admired his ancestors. If they hadn¡¯t conquered the Human Domain, they humans would have never been able to safely survive in the universe since almost any astral beast could swallow countless regr humans.

    ¡°Boss, the ck market¡¯s over there, that¡¯s the casino, and that¡¯s the business area. Over there is¡­¡± Little Eight pointed everything out to Lu Yin in an incessant monologue, and he seemed rather familiar with the whole ce.

    Lu Yin felt this was rather. ¡°Youe here often?¡±

    Little Eight answered, ¡°I followed my former bosses here a few times, but they¡¯re all pretty much dead now.¡±

    The group walked across the broad bone, and as they moved along, they saw several peculiar-looking houses that had been built atop the bone. They had a gloomy appearance, and the creepy design even flustered some people.

    Quite a few pirates lowered their heads as they walked by the group. Few people said anything at all. Everyone in this ce looked like a demon, and many of them had altered their appearance. Some were simr to Lu Yin and were looking around curiously, showing that this was their first time at Sheepshead Port.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, and it quickly expanded out, covering arge area. He wasn¡¯t at all concerned that someone would notice his domain, as this was a gathering ce for pirates. Only a rare few of them hadprehended a domain, and if there was actually anyone who could discover his domain, they would merely pique Lu Yin¡¯s interest.

    Along the way, Little Eight also pointed out quite a few pirate crews that were famous in the Outerverse. A few were from the eastern weaves, but most of them were spread throughout the Outerverse. At first nce, pirates didn¡¯t hold much power, and their crews were frequently annihted. However, once they united, they possessed a considerable amount of strength.

    Lu Yin thought back to the time when numerous pirates had targeted the various powers supporting Puyu, which had raised quite a fuss in the Outerverse.

    Thergest number of rune lines in all of Sheepshead Port merely belonged to a Hunter, and there were only one or two Hunters at that. The power of Lu Yin¡¯s group was more than enough to tear apart everyone on Sheepshead Port.

    As for the underworld powers, Lu Yin was not adverse to working with them. After all, he himself was one of Aegis¡¯s second level managers.

    Lu Yin and the others stayed on Sheepshead Port for a few days, and during this time, more and more pirate crews arrived, one after another. Of note, Lu Yin noticed that two more Hunters had also arrived.

    Peach was exceptionally interested in the ck market, as the people who shopped around there had intentionally disguised themselves with entric fashion styles to unnerve any onlookers. Peach¡¯s greatest interest was not in buying anything from the ck market, as she was much more interested in watching the people who were dressed up. Sometimes, some of the vendors also intentionally disguised themselves with very ugly appearances, to the point where even Peach was nervous, as she thought that they were enemies. The girl had a great deal of interest in these odd people.

    However, the people in the ck market were helpless towards the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples who constantly shadowed Peach, as they were clearly not people who should be provoked.

    Lu Yin also took a spin around the ck market, but he did not buy anything. These pirates were rather low-end, and they could notpare to the pirates of the Innerverse. The items that these people sold looked extremely ancient, but in reality, most of them had been artificially aged. Some of these trinkets might look decent to an average cultivator, but they were all useless to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Boss, the meeting is about to begin. We need to think of a way to get an admission token, or else we won¡¯t be able to see Boss Thousand Eyes,¡± Little Eight said.

    ¡°What¡¯s an admission token?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°There are so many pirate crews gathered here, with at least 800 if not 1,000 on the port right now. Only a few pirate crews are actually qualified to talk business with Boss Thousand Eyes while there are also some others who are qualified to watch. However, most crews aren¡¯t qualified to even participate, so they can only wait to be informed of the proceedings.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then raised a hand to reveal an unadorned human skull. ¡°Is this it?¡±

    Little Eight was astonished. ¡°Boss, how did you get that?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled; he had his domain as well as the Yu Secret Art, so there was nothing that he could not retrieve.

    ¡°This token allows you to sit down with Boss Thousand Eyes and discuss things with him. Boss, you¡¯re too amazing!¡± Little Eight cheered, though he was clearly putting on an act. The person he was speaking to was the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, and forget joining the discussions, a single order from Lu Yin was enough to wipe out the entirety of Sheepshead Port.

    It had to be said that Little Eight¡¯s ttery was very blunt and crude, but it was also veryfortable to hear.

    Another two days passed, and the appointed time of the gathering finally neared. By this time, hundreds of thousands of pirates had gathered on Sheepshead Port.

    The ce where the more important pirate captains would gather to discuss matters was located at the sheep¡¯s horn, and Lu Yin¡¯s group arrived early.

    Every member of their group had disguised themselves to look more pirate-like.

    Peach had gone all out after spending a few days observing the people in the ck market. Her disguise was simr to the people she had observed, and she ended up looking like a short witch. In truth, her appearance was horrifying, and the mouthful of yellow teeth that she sported was nauseating.

    The pirates were not pretentious, and there was an ordinary looking table that was rectangr and worn-out in the meeting room, though only the pirate leaders with a skull token were allowed to sit at the table. The other pirate leaders could only stand to the side

    and watch from further away.

 Chapter 775: One-Eyed

    <h4>Chapter 775: One-Eyed</h4>

    Lu Yin informally propped both of his feet up on the table. With a ck cloth covering one eye and a hand holding onto a dagger, he casually ate some fruit with his other hand that was covered with golden rings. Behind him stood the oddly disguised Peach, and next to her was Aden. Little Eight was standing directly behind Lu Yin, and he was massaging Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders. Finally, the Hunter from Neo-Vestige Sect, who was called Gong Ke, rounded out their group, though he remainedpletely focused and had the most normal appearance of their entire group.

    Aside from Lu Yin, there were already a few other pirate leaders waiting at the table, and each one of them looked extremely fierce. They all seemed wary of one another, though they were also clearly acquaintances as they greeted one another.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Haven¡¯t you ever seen such a dashing pirate before? Beware, lest our One-Eyed Pirates vanquish you!¡± Peach stood behind Lu Yin, but she was staring at another group of pirates in a very intimidating manner.

    Lu Yin was sitting across from a muscr man, and although the man only had one leg, his expression quickly changed when he heard Peach¡¯s threats, and he red fiercely at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Still dare to look? Beware of being poisoned!¡± Peach threatened the man once again.

    The people opposite them were furious, but Peach¡¯s appearance was rather disturbing. Just one nce at her was enough to tell that she was no pushover, and it seemed rather likely that she had some skills rted to poison.

    But Lu Yin felt depressed. ¡°One-Eyed Pirates?¡± He had simply covered one of his eyes, and because of that, they had ended up being called the One-Eyed Pirates? This name was too embarrassing¡ªactually, hadn¡¯t they agreed upon a name earlier? They were supposed to be the Seventh Bro Pirates.

    ¡­Forget it. Since Peach had already announced their name, they couldn¡¯t change it anymore.

    The one-legged, muscr man across from Lu Yin put on an obviously fake smile. ¡°The One-Eyed Pirates? I wonder where this brother made his fortune? Why haven¡¯t I heard of your name before?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because your information is all blocked off and your eardrums are nothing but muscles,¡± Peach taunted.

    The one-legged muscr man frowned as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, you weren¡¯t fooling around in the west, right?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the man, though he felt a little ufortable looking around with his one eye. ¡°We¡¯ve been muddling along in Mordo Weave for a while, and we only recently reconnected. Sorry to make a scene.¡±

    The surrounding pirate crews fell silent at Lu Yin¡¯s words, and they looked at him in astonishment.

    ¡°Mordo Weave? Bro dares to run loose in the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s territory?¡± The muscr man couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing.

    Behind them, Peach dragged Gong Ke forward. ¡°Show them something to prove that we robbed Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Gong Ke was stumped, and he was very unwilling, but under Peach¡¯s fierce gaze, the Hunter pulled out a bow from his cosmic ring that had Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s emblem visibly engraved on it.

    Suddenly, all the surrounding pirates sucked in a deep breath, and their look towards Lu Yin¡¯s group changed to respect, as if they were looking at a group of monsters. Lu Yin¡¯s group was obviously reckless beyond belief, since they even dared to steal from Neo-Vestige Sect.

    ¡°Bro, respect!¡± the one-legged muscr man hurriedly said.

    Peach was delighted.

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. We n to raid Zenyu Star next.¡±

    The surrounding people all fell speechless, and they looked at Lu Yin as if he were a fool. Clearly, nobody believed him. Raid Zenyu Star? What a joke! Even Aegis was terrified of that ce, and that band of assassins was even more cutthroat than them pirates.

    The muscr man felt that these One-Eyed Pirates were not reliable. They might have a bit of strength, but they were clearly stupid. He did not want to get caught up in their business.

    The other pirate captains felt the same.

    Lu Yin had sessfully scared this bunch, but he was worried that they might end up exposing themselves if they overdid it.

    Little Eight started to knead Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders even harder, as his boss was The Boss, and this scene was awesome. Little Eight had never been in a position of such awe before.

    More and more pirate crews arrived, and the asional pirate crew discussed Lu Yin¡¯s group while sneaking nces at them, but nobody spoke to them.

    Pirates were rather adept at staying alive, and nobody was willing to get involved with a reckless fool who wanted to raid both Neo-Vestige Sect and Zenyu Star.

    Not long after, Little Eight softlymented, ¡°Boss, Thousand Eyes is here.¡±

    Lu Yin turned towards the door, and the others also looked over at the same time.

    An unrestrained-looking middle-aged man appeared before them. He was wearing a ck felt hat, and his eyes were lined with thick, dark circles that seemed to be some sort of smoky makeup. He revealed a mouthful of gold teeth, and his hand was a mess of numerous rings. He wore slippers on his feet, but what left everyone speechless was that he was wearing a cosmic ring on his toe, which tapped against the floor with every step he took.

    His gait was also weird and slightly effeminate. When he walked through the entrance of the meeting room, his eyes ran across everyone present, and they all felt as though his eyes had stopped on them even though they never seemed to really pause.

    This person was Thousand Eyes, one of the most powerful pirates of the Outerverse. He was someone who followed the Pirate King, and he could be either upright or demonic when he took action. He was principled in that he did not willfully kill the innocent, but he was also unprincipled in that he would even steal from kids. In brief, he was a very contradictory person.

    ording to Little Eight¡¯s exnation, this person was called Thousand Eyes because he had multiple scouts spread throughout the various weaves of the Outerverse, and even Amethyst Exchange would asionally contact him to verify pieces of intelligence. Thus, he actually yed a very influential role in the Outerverse.

    Thousand Eyes smiled brightly, his mouthful of golden teeth dazzling under the illumination of the room¡¯s singr light, and his eyes darted about. ¡°Beloved brothers and sisters, we meet again! I¡¯m d that we were all able to live till now and see everyone again.¡±

    The gathered pirates watched him somberly. Even if this person did not have the support of the Pirate King, just his abilities could make them all wary.

    Thousand Eyes walked to the seat of honor at the tattered table, step by step, and smiled at the crowd again as he sat down. Following his arrival was a half hour of nonsense as they discussed the current situation of different pirates in various weaves. There were also pirates who were looking for information, though those questions were always avoided by Thousand Eyes¡¯s jesting.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Thousand Eyes from start to end, as he was one of the few Hunters in Sheepshead Port, and he was one of the more powerful ones at that. Thousand Eyes¡¯ rune lines could notpare to Aden¡¯s, but they actually surpassed Huo Qingshan and the blind monk¡¯s. If this were the Great Yu Empire, he would rank within the top five experts.

    And this was just what Lu Yin could see on the surface. He believed that the fact that this man had survived for so long meant that he had a powerful survival ability. Thousand Eyes¡¯ sense of self preservation was probably not any less that those top ranked assassins¡¯.

    ¡°Boss Thousand Eyes, you should already know why we¡¯ve asked you to call this assembly. The western pirates have been wantonly invading our eastern weaves, and many of our brothers have been forced to the end of their ropes. We ask Boss Thousand Eyes to please make a decision,¡± a pirate leader spoke loudly with an impatient tone.

    The various standing pirate captains murmured in agreement.

    Thousand Eyes gave a slight smile. ¡°Have any pirate crews from the weste here?¡±

    The people around the table exchanged nces. ¡°No, those people are truly too brazen! They dared to note even after Boss Thousand Eyes called for an assembly. They wouldn¡¯t have had such balls in years past.¡±

    Thousand Eyes felt a headacheing, and he rubbed his head. ¡°Have the various captains here thought about why these people would not dare to do so in the past, but are so brazen now? Or why they dare to kill pirates in the eastern weaves without fear? Has anyone considered that? More importantly, has anyone thought of where their power is from?¡±

    The crowd exchanged nces, feeling lost.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards, as some crimes were best kept hidden under the table.

    Thousand Eyes said, ¡°This involves a wide range of things, and it¡¯s not an arena that we can participate in. In this ce, I Thousand Eyes, would like to offer some advice: avoid this problem if possible, and at the very least, do not go against it. Even I¡¯m unable to help in this situation.¡±

    ¡°Can Boss Thousand Eyes also not be able to stop those scoundrels from the west?¡± The one-legged muscr man was frustrated by his answer.

    Thousand Eyes spread his hands apart helplessly and blew his hair off his face. ¡°Congrattions! You¡¯ve hit the nail on the head! I can¡¯t stop them.¡±

    The crowd broke out into various discussions and became rather noisy.

    ¡°Boss Thousand Eyes, could you borate on your guesses? If you want us brothers to back away without saying anything, that¡¯s very difficult. You can¡¯t be hoping to watch us throw our lives away, right?¡± Lu Yin said as he looked at Thousand Eyes with one eye.

    Thousand Eyes appeared to be at a loss.

    The other captains on the table also spoke up, wanting Thousand Eyes to say something more.

    Thousand Eyes felt helpless. ¡°I don¡¯t dare.¡±

    The crowd became even more confused.

    ¡°Since he doesn¡¯t dare, then allow me to speak,¡± a voice rang out from outside the room, and a group of people pushed aside the pirates in front of the door as they stepped in. Their leader was an old person with a pockmarked face, and about a dozen men and women followed him to the table, all looking like pirates.

    There was a thump, and the one-legged muscr man shouted, ¡°Pockmarks, you dare toe here? You massacred my Bard Weave¡¯s pirates! How do you intend topensate us?¡±

    ¡°Chou Laotai, you dared to massacre my Woori Weave¡¯s pirates and broke the rules! You should pay up!¡±

    ¡­

    Quite a few pirates instantly leaped to their feet and started shouting, and the pirates who had previously been standing around and observing quickly moved to surround the neers. Everyone¡¯s eyes were radiating bloodlust as they red at this new group.

    The pockmarked elder sneered. ¡°Anyone that dares to take another step will be killed.¡±

    ¡°How confident! A pirate captain stepped forward to grab Pockmarks, but before he could do so, a ck shadow suddenly shed by. Then, the pirate captain clutched at his throat in agony as fresh blood flowed down from his neck and slowly dripped onto the floor. As this happened, everyone became horrified.

    That dying pirate captain had been a Cruiser, but he had still been instantly killed by someone, which meant that the attacker had to be a Hunter.

    There were extremely few Hunters among these pirates.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes could tell that it was someone from the Shadowsword Sect once again. Was this sword faction somehow connected to Wei Rong and being directed by him, or was this sword sect interfering with the pirate world of its own ord? The possibility of the former seemed to be the highest. The various great powers of the Outerverse looked down heavily upon pirates, so only someone who was adept at using various powers, like Wei Rong, would see the value in using pirates.

    Pockmarks stepped upon the dead pirate leader¡¯s body and stared down at everyone else in the room. ¡°Does anybody else still want to take revenge?¡¯

    The pirates standing around the room fell silent, as this mysterious Hunter was like a silent demon. They could not afford to offend such a person. Even the Hunter realm pirates present in the room were extremely apprehensive towards the powerhouse from the Shadowsword Sect.

    ¡°Pockmarks, this is Sheepshead Port. It¡¯s not a ce for you to show off your power,¡± Thousand Eyes said as he spun an unadorned pistol around his fingertips.

    Pockmarks smiled. ¡°Boss Thousand Eyes, your informationwork is vast, and you have numerous connections. Everyone has always respected you, and so, my boss told me to give you a message. Let¡¯s cooperate, and there will be many future prospects for you.¡±

    Thousand Eyesughed. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m just some tiny pirate, and I don¡¯t have any ambitions. I¡¯ve already mentioned that since you want to y like this, we can only withdraw. Regardless, I n to back out.¡±

    Pockmarks sneered, ¡°Fine, but first, hand over the intelligencework that you¡¯ve built up.¡±

    A coldness emerged from deep within the eyes of Thousand Eyes, and the thick, dark circles around his eyes shrank slightly. ¡°Pockmarks, I, Thousand Eyes, have been able to survive all the way until now, and I will not be affected by the various great weaves¡¯ extermination efforts. Do you really think that the people supporting you are able to actually force me?¡±

    ¡°Boss Thousand Eyes, just tell us who¡¯s behind Pockmarks. Us old people have all lived life on the edge, and our lives have been long enough. There isn¡¯t much that we¡¯re afraid of, and we can just risk it all. That¡¯s at least better than being driven out like a bunch of dogs,¡± the one-legged muscr man said.

    The surrounding pirates shouted their approval, and one of the Hunter pirates in the room even reached out for Pockmarks.

    Pockmarks was terrified, and he hurriedly backed away.

    Space suddenly seemed to tear open as a ck knife sliced out at the Hunter realm pirate, and at the same time, a petite figure shed out from behind Pockmarks. This second figure¡¯s hands waved as strange looking flowers formed from star energy manifested out of thin air. The flowers blossomed on the pirate Hunter¡¯s body, and he was forced to endure two simultaneous attacks.

    His figure shed as he tried to dodge away, but the star energy flowers all exploded at once, and although they did not cause any external damage, the Hunter spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly injured. At that moment, the ck knife was already falling down towards the Hunter.

    This was a pincer killing tactic, and even the Hunter powerhouse was powerless to resist.

 Chapter 776: Forced

    <h4>Chapter 776: Forced</h4>

    Thousand Eyes suddenly made a move, raising his hand and firing a shot from his gun. The bullet managed to strike the ck knife, which caused the de to slightly deviate from its path, which saved the pirate Hunter¡¯s life.

    The ck de vanished, but an instantter, mournful cries rang out as the surrounding pirates started being massacred.

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ eyes spun as he stood in ce and observed the rest of the room.

    The delicate Hunter was wildly and unrelentingly attacking the Hunter realm pirate, and while the attacks seemed gentle, the Hunter realm pirate found it difficult to resist the blossoming flowers.

    Lu Yin frowned, as these Hunters were from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and the Shadowsword Sect, which indicated that Wei Rong was almost definitely the one behind the changes in the pirates. Only he had the ability to unite two powers from non-neighboring weaves.

    Suddenly, the ck de sliced through the void and headed straight towards Thousand Eyes, who still had not moved at all. He allowed the pirates in the room to be massacred, and the spilled blood had long since gathered into a stream that steadily flowed out of the room. At this time, it was his turn.

    Even as the ck de streaked towards him, Thousand Eyes still did not move. The de prated his body and beheaded the one-legged, muscr man who had been hiding behind Thousand Eyes.

    That pirate captain had been quite smart; after inciting the other pirates in the room to act, he himself had sought to hide and remain safe. However, he still had not been able to avoid death.

    The strangeness of Thousand Eyes left the Hunter from the Shadowsword Sect astonished, but the de continued to slice through the void and into the sky. Sheepshead Port erupted in panic as countless pirates fled in all directions, trying to escape.

    However, it was not that easy to escape, since the pirates from the west had already surrounded Sheepshead Port along with experts from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and the Shadowsword Sect. The pirates had thought that today¡¯s gathering was to discuss how the eastern pirates could cooperate, but the announcement had merely made them an easy target. If nothing went wrong for the attackers, then all of these pirates could simply forget about leaving this ce unscathed.

    Pockmarks grew excited, and the pirate captain behind him was even more so. Although there was still another boss above them, their power was about to increase a great deal.

    Pockmarks licked his lips as he listened to the wails from the dying pirates all around him. Had these fools truly thought that they could contend against those people? A single sentence from them could lead to all of them being ughtered, and these eastern pirates simply couldn¡¯t adapt to the new circumstances.

    Eh? What¡¯s going on with those people? Pockmarks looked at a group of people who were more bothersome, as five people had remained silently in ce. They had not moved to stop the sneak attack, but they also had not made any moves to escape. Of particr note was the short one¡ªwhat was with that excited look? And why was it directed towards his group?

    As he thought about this anomaly, Pockmarks crooked a finger towards the captain of the Single Eyed Pirates, beckoning for him to approach.

    Lu Yin frowned; was that old man trying to tempt him?

    ¡°Your Highness, he¡¯s tempting you!¡± Peach became excited.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that old fart is trying to seduce you,¡± the Ghost Monkey sniggered.

    Lu Yin just stared at Pockmarks. ¡°Yes?¡±

    Pockmarks was stunned, as this person¡¯s expression waspletely unsuited towards the current circumstances. He looked as though he waspletely disconnected from everything that was happening around him. The disgust in this person¡¯s eyes was clear to see, and his expression was as if he was just watching a show.

    Lu Yin¡¯s detachment angered Pockmarks, and he waved a hand, ordering the pirates still waiting behind him to join the ughter and focus on killing Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    Lu Yin still did not move. Instead, Peach excitedly dashed forward. After finally resolving things with Neo-Vestige Sect, she had be extremely rxed. Even while the other people in the room were being massacred or pushed into desperate straits, she was still smiling so happily, as if she was about to go on a pleasant stroll somewhere.

    The next moment, she left phantom images everywhere. This was sh Step, a technique that theoretically had no upper limit in terms of speed. Lu Yin had guessed that this technique was a part of the Yu bloodline¡¯s inheritance, and when he used it with his own physical strength, he could reach speeds high enough to even tear through the void. This was not tearing through the void of the past, but rather the void after the universe had changed when the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse.

    Peach¡¯s obvious delight caused Pockmarks to be both stupefied and furious. This person was looking down on him, and he quickly took action.

    Pockmarks was also a Hunter, but he had only recently broken through to that realm. He was old and had no desire to fight, but Peach had disgusted him, especially her mouthful of yellow teeth which were extremely nauseating.

    Peach held no fear towards Pockmarks taking action, but it still made Gong Ke unhappy. Some pathetic pirate dared to attack Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s young mistress, and that was unforgivable. As Gong Ke thought about this, he knocked an arrow, and an indescribably sharp aura shot into the sky that sent a shill down everyone¡¯s spine. Stunned, they all turned around and looked at him in unison.

    At that moment, whether it was Pockmarks, Thousand Eyes, or the experts from the Shadowsword Sect and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, everyone was staring at Gong Ke in shock. His strength was simply too terrifying!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Gong Ke only had a power level of around 130,000, which could notpare to Aden or Yan Yan¡¯s. However, the arrow technique that Gong De was currently disying exhibited an amount of power that could not be underestimated. This arrow could even make peak Hunters feel apprehensive, and aside from Thousand Eyes, who no one fully understood, nobody else present was able to block this attack.

    The bowstring trembled, and although Gong Ke did not seem to do much, Pockmarks¡¯ eyes suddenly bulged out. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his heart burst before he fell to the ground,pletely dead.

    The arrow had already flown out, but almost nobody had seen it move.

    This was a battle technique from Neo-Vestige Sect that had been passed down throughout the generations since ancient times, and it was a technique that had beenprehended from one of the three arrows.

    Gong Ke was arrogant, and he looked down upon everyone else in this ce.

    Thousand Eyes carefully backed a little ways away.

    All of the other pirates were simrly frightened.

    The ck knife de from before did not reappear, and the petite Hunter from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe did not take any further action aside from slowly retreating, clearly nervous towards Gong Ke.

    ¡°Tha- If I¡¯m not wrong, that¡¯s Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s arrow technique.¡± Thousand Eyes smiled brightly at Lu Yin, showing his mouth full of golden teeth while with an expression that clearly indicated his desire to butter up to Lu Yin.

    The moment Neo-Vestige Sect was mentioned, all of the other pirates backed away, and quite a few of them looked at Lu Yin¡¯s group strangely. Didn¡¯t these people im that they had robbed Neo-Vestige Sect? Had they even stolen their battle techniques? How stupid! No, these people themselves had to be from Neo-Vestige Sect.

    That Umbral Butterfly Tribe Hunter moved to escape without any hesitation.

    ¡°Get her!¡± Peach shouted.

    Gong Ke raised his bow and fired again. This time, many people saw the attack. Gong Ke did not shoot a physical arrow, but rather, arrows that were formed of star energy. The star energy arrow pierced through the void, leaving the delicate Hunter with nowhere to escape to. She could only try to block the arrow.

    Fresh blood then burst out from the back of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s Hunter. Gong Ke¡¯s arrow had gone straight through the Hunter, and her body was now pinned to the white bone of Sheepshead Port.

    In the room, Lu Yin lightly tapped out, and a shadow in the corner of the room was suddenly forced out. The Hunter¡¯s ck knife de shed out multiple times, but Aden stepped forward and blocked all of the attacks with his thunder shield beforeshing out with a single fist. A single bang rang out as Aden¡¯s fist crashed against the ck de before the knife cracked. Aden¡¯s punch had shaken the void itself, forcing a figure to appear from the void as they sprawled across the ground.

    Two Hunters had been severely injured in an instant, though Gong Ke and Aden had only made a single move each.

    The difference in strength was just too great, as there was too great a disparity between the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and Neo-Vestige Sect, not to mention the difference in strength between the entire Shadowsword Sect and Aden. The only person in the Shadowsword Sect who could trade blows with Aden was Twin Daemon.

    All the other pirates in the room stared at the scene, dumbfounded. This battle had beenpletely one-sided! Where had these peoplee from? Were they actually from Neo-Vestige Sect? How scary.

    Little Eight raised a hand, looking quite pleased with everything. This was exactly the oue that should await these tiny ants when confronting the Great Eastern Alliance Leader. Upon thinking of this, Little Eight bent down and continued massaging Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders.

    Lu Yin looked very natural, sitting at the head of the table. He then waved his hand, dismissing the surviving pirates and only keeping Thousand Eyes and the few Hunter realm pirates behind.

    ¡°I want to know what exactly you have discovered.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s legs were propped up on the table, and he watched Thousand Eyes curiously.

    Thousand Eyes smiled, again shing his golden teeth at the people in the room. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, I really don¡¯t. Right, I intend to retire from the pirate world, so if this brother wants my intelligencework, that¡¯s no problem! It¡¯s all yours.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused, and he pointed at Pockmarks¡¯ corpse. ¡°Who¡¯s behind him?¡±

    Thousand Eyes immediately shook his head. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Aden very calmly walked over behind Thousand Eyes and merely looked at him.

    The corner of Thousand Eyes¡¯ mouth twitched, and he once again tried to gain Lu Yin¡¯s goodwill through schmoozing. ¡°Bro, the fight between big characters like you doesn¡¯t have to involve people like us, who just want to avoid ending up as cannon fodder. We¡¯re only pirates, and we merely want to survive and fill our bellies. If you don¡¯t want us to stay in these nearby weaves, then we can leave without creating any problems. We definitely won¡¯t create any troubles for you.¡±

    ¡°Why? Do you know who I am?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Thousand Eyes sighed. ¡°I don''t recognize you, but I recognize that one behind me, brother. If I remember correctly, he should be the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fourth Squadron Captain Aden. There are very few Hunters who can fight against Enlighters, and for him to serve as your attendant means that you can only be one person: The Great Eastern Alliance Leader, Lu Yin.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He then removed the ck cloth covering his eye and reverted back to his true appearance. ¡°Smart, and the fact that you can recognize Aden shows that your name of Thousand Eyes is not in vain. So, do you also know who¡¯s behind that Shadowsword Sect person?¡±

    Thousand Eyes sighed. ¡°It should be Armament Weave¡¯s Wei Rong. He has been rather active in the central weavestely, and he also has close connections with the Shadowsword Sect and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. There are even rumors that he¡¯s about to wed the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress, Angie, and integrate their forces even further.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong used pirates to seep his way into the Great Eastern Alliance. That¡¯s a good move, but unfortunately, his luck wasn¡¯t very good. Can you guess what I¡¯m going to do next?¡± Lu Yin beamed at Thousand Eyes.

    Thousand Eyes blinked and then smiled good-naturedly. ¡°Actually, I have a dream. I want to be andlord at home after I save up enough money.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you a piece ofnd in Armament Weave,¡± Lu Yin generously offered.

    Thousand Eyes was left speechless, and he started begging. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you people all stand at the very top of the Outerverse. You can move so many people with just a single sentence, so why would you bother with us pirates?¡±

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table top. ¡°Everyone has their own uses, and if someone can¡¯t be used, then it simply means that their use hasn¡¯t been discovered yet. I¡¯ve just thought of something right now¡ªI¡¯m missing someone to help me, and I feel like you¡¯re a pretty decent candidate.¡±

    Thousand Eyes replied, ¡°I won¡¯t get involved in your affairs, as it¡¯s really easy to die there.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, then you can die now,¡± Lu Yin leisurely offered.

    Thousand Eyesughed. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s not that I look down on you, but if I, Thousand Eyes, wish to leave, then nobody can stop me. At most, I¡¯ll flee into another part of the universe, as that¡¯s better than being sacrificed for your goals.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Go ahead and try. It¡¯ll be truly impressive if you are able to escape from me.¡±

    Thousand Eyes stared at Lu Yin, as if he were trying to see something in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin stared right back, his eyes full of confidence.

    Little Eight swallowed his saliva as he watched the pirate captain whom he had once admired fawning and acting humble over Lu Yin. Little Eight felt proud and was ted; even though he was just some tiny pirate, he had chosen to follow the right person.

    After a while, Thousand Eyes grew dejected, and he pleaded again, saying, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, why don¡¯t I just give you my entire intelligencework? Wei Rong merely wants to get his hands on mywork.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°Everyone, leave.¡±

    The various people felt that this was strange, but no one hesitated, and they all left.

    Lu Yin blocked off all outside sound and stared at Thousand Eyes. ¡°Are you very dedicated to the Pirate King?¡±

    Thousand Eyes nodded. ¡°The Pirate King is the idol of all pirates. It¡¯s not just me¡ªmany pirates hold him in high regard. We pirates have always been looked down on, but he¡¯s forcibly propped up the sky for us. If not for the Pirate King, then our lives would be even more difficult.¡± He then nced at Lu Yin with a great deal of reluctance in his eyes. ¡°If the Innerverse and Outerverse were not separated, then Wei Rong would not have dared to force me to this point.¡±

 Chapter 777: Luâ€™s Grand Auction

    <h4>Chapter 777: Lu''s Grand Auction</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at Thousand Eyes. ¡°Do you know who the Pirate King is?¡±

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ re turned icy, and he shook his head. ¡°I do not know.¡±

    ¡°Then how do you get in contact with him?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Thousand Eyes did not respond, and Lu Yinmented, ¡°I usually contact him through Reuben.¡±

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ eyes went incredibly wide, he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°You- You know Reuben?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled up as he stood up. ¡°Reuben, Da Chong, the unclean brothers, and Big Sis.¡±

    ¡°Kuma the third and Crutches.¡± Thousand Eyes mentioned another two people.

    Lu Yin went on to rattle off a few more names, all of which were mercenaries under Big Sis who had escaped to the Outerverse with Lu Yin but had since returned to the Cosmic Sea.

    Thousand Eyes was shocked. ¡°Who are you? How do you know people from Leon¡¯s Armada?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m a part of Leon¡¯s Armada.¡±

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ mouth gaped open, as he could not believe his ears. The person in front of him was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance as well as the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire. This was someone who wielded ultimate power and stood at the peak of the entire Outerverse. This young man had aplished incredible achievements in Ironblood Weave and had saved the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. He was so powerful that he had brought the top Outerverse assassin organization to its knees. This was someone who should be an upright, selfless, hardworking person who stood in the light, so just what was going on? Could this Lu Yin really be a pirate?

    Wei Rong¡¯s determination to exterminate the pirates of the eastern weaves could not shake Thousand Eyes, but Lu Yin revealing the truth of his identity hadpletely stunned the man.

    How had things turned out like this?

    Lu Yin was not at all worried that Thousand Eyes would leak the information concerning his identity to anyone else. First of all, no one would believe such a thing. Secondly, even if they did, there was no evidence that could prove that what Lu Yin had just said was true. And finally, Lu Yin had merely imed to be part of Leon¡¯s Armada, and he had never admitted to being a pirate.

    Even though Leon¡¯s Armada had been created by the Pirate King, Highsage Leon, his crew were not all pirates on the surface. Instead, they were known as one of the Four Pirate Crews of the Cosmic Sea. Even the Hall of Honor had to admit that even though everyone was aware that Highsage Leon was a pirate, no one could do anything to him. His status was that of the leader of one of the Four Pirate Crews, and his crew was a powerful presence in the Cosmic Sea.

    If the Outerverse was not isted at this moment, then Lu Yin would have been worried about the negative effects that could be brought about by him revealing his status. But given the current circumstances, there was nothing for him to worry about.

    He was constantly frustrated by hisck of intelligencework, and relying on Amethyst Exchange¡¯s channels was not a long term solution. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the steep prices that their services cost.

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ greatest valuey in his informationwork. Revealing a bit of useless information, such as Lu Yin¡¯s status, to test this man was worth it. Besides, if this man was really that loyal to the Pirate King, then he would be loyal to Lu Yin as well.

    ¡°Are you really from Leon¡¯s Armada?¡± Thousand Eyes asked once again.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know Big Sis¡¯s secret?¡± Thousand Eyes asked.

    Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard. ¡°You also know about Big Sis¡¯s secret? That¡¯s impossible! She would never tell anyone that apart from us.¡±

    Thousand Eyes nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s true. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Whether you believe me or not, you have to help me now. If I really am from Leon¡¯s Armada, helping me would mean helping the Pirate King. If I am not from that ce, then when the Outerverse reconnects with the rest of the universe, you can simply have Leon¡¯s Armada finish me off. Also, if that happens, you won¡¯t even have to worry about the Great Eastern Alliance¡ªeven thebined might of the Outerverse doesn¡¯t stand a chance against the Pirate King. Think it through,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Thousand Eyes thought about his current situation and felt that Lu Yin was right. Regardless, there was no other choice that he could make. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°Work against Wei Rong, but do not reveal your connection to me. As a part of the battle tonight, kill everyone who attacked us. Don¡¯t spare anyone, not even the Hunter realm pirates,¡± Lu Yin said coldly. He was not a merciful man, and in any event, these people were all pirates and not good people.

    Thousand Eyes did not hesitate after hearing his orders. ¡°Killing those people is easy, but how am I supposed to fight against Wei Rong?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way for pirates to contend against the big weaves, so you can only use gueri tactics to ensure that the pirates from the western weaves aren¡¯t able to break through. When the time is right, I¡¯ll ensure that you have an opportunity tounch a counter attack. As for my end of things, I¡¯ll inform themander of the Allied Forces to assist you in any way, so long as it¡¯s done in a discreet fashion. However, I do hope that you won¡¯t need help from the Allied Forces, as there is always the danger of being exposed,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Thousand Eyes felt helpless. ¡°It would have been very difficult for us to resolve the issue tonight without your assistance. Wei Rong is sure to conduct a thorough investigation.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Thousand Eyes, amused at the man. ¡°For someone who knows about Uncle Reuben, I don¡¯t believe that you would have had any trouble in disposing of those Hunters from the Shadowsword Sect or the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. I have faith that you can handle things on your side.¡± Once he was done speaking, Lu Yin stood up to leave, but before he walked out, he left behind five Ultra sh Tearbombs. ¡°These bombs are very useful and might be able to save lives. In the future, connect your intelligencework directly to King Zishan¡¯s pce, and I¡¯ll get the Second Imperial Squadron to partner up with you.¡± He left immediately after saying this.

    ¡°What do I get in return?¡± Thousand Eyes asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave a territory in Armament Weave for you.¡± Lu Yin waved a hand as he led Aden and the others away from Sheepshead Port.

    A key indicator of how useful Thousand Eyes would be to him was his willingness in handing over his intelligencework. However, even if the pirate did hand overplete control of hiswork, Lu Yin still would not be able topletely trust the man. Trust required time to be established, and in the case of the bespectacled Mistchild, Lu Yin still didn¡¯t trust her.

    Lu Yin left Little Eight behind to apany Thousand Eyes. This person could not be brought out in the open as that would only cause problems. Having him stay behind with the pirates was a good idea as well, as Little Eight¡¯s presence would allow Lu Yin to keep an eye on the pirates.

    Lu Yin did not even consider whether or not Little Eight was willing to stay behind. At this time, he still had to go to Bushtree.

    Bushtree was located in Woori Weave, which was close to Darkmist Weave and not too far from Sheepshead Port either.

    The natural treasures from Bushtree that he had upgraded had all already been given to Smoker as payment, so Lu Yin needed to prepare a fresh batch.

    There were a lot of natural treasures on Bushtree, and Lu Yin spent close to ten thousand star essence upgrading 100 natural treasures to the point where they were capable of evading danger, which was enough to hire Smoker a dozen more times. Naturally, Lu Yin intended to use some of these natural treasures himself as well.

    As far as he was concerned, Bushtree was an absolute treasure trove. He repeatedly ordered for it to be carefully protected, and only after that did he lead Peach and the others back to the Great Yu Empire.

    On this expedition to Neo-Vestige Sect, Lu Yin had witnessed the true might of the Outerverse, and this strength was much more powerful than just Elder Lohar. There were two other forces that were just as famous as Neo-Vestige Sect, which were the Dark Phoenix family and Millions City. The Outerverse was truly not simple.

    Wei Rong had sent pirates to infiltrate the Great Eastern Alliance, which gave Lu Yin a sense of urgency. The man had acted immediately with acute foresight, which meant that Lu Yin had to act as well.

    Relying solely on pirates was not enough. Wei Rong had already had the idea of using pirates, so Lu Yin had to think of something else.

    Shortly after Lu Yin returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce, Bei Qing requested a meeting with him.

    With regards to Bei Qing, Lu Yin had only thought of the young man as a hostage whose presence in the Great Yu Empire would force Bei Hong to fully concentrate on aiding Ming Yan. Lu Yin had no special arrangements for the youth, and just like Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, and the others, Bei Qing had essentially been let out to freely graze.

    The reason why Bei Qing had requested a meeting with Lu Yin at this time was because Bei Qing was hoping that Lu Yin would allow him to transfer to another squadron of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. The First Squadron consisted of Lu Yin¡¯s personal guards, and they never saw any action regardless of the circumstance and were thus extremely idle. Yue Xianzi and the others had grown so bored that they had chosen to visit the Yu Academy to teach the students there.

    But before Lu Yin could say much to Bei Qing, Gavin requested an audience as well, and his face was full of dejection when he entered.

    ¡°Your Highness, the items that you handed to me for sale are extremely unseble,¡± Gavinmented.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What items?¡±

    ¡°The items that you took from this pce¡¯s warehouse,¡± Gavin answered.

    Lu Yin then remembered what the Finance Minister¡¯sint was about. In the past, Zhao Ran had been a thorn in his side, and he had also needed money. Thus, he had passed numerous items that he did not require over to Gavin and then instructed Gavin to sell them for either money or natural treasures. To date, Gavin had not found any buyers for the items.

    ¡°No one wants to buy them?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Gavin forced out a pained smile. ¡°The Mavis Bank was robbed, and the effects of that have spread to the other banks, even the bank that we established in the Great Yu Empire. Many people only want to keep ahold of their resources now, and no one dares to wastefully spend money. The items that you gave me to sell are all ancient paintings, calligraphies, and other such items meant for collectors. While these kinds of items may be in demand during times of peace, no one wants to buy them in such uncertain times.¡±

    ¡°Are there no buyers out there, or is it that you don¡¯t know how to market these products?¡± Lu Yin asked bluntly.

    Gavin sneered. It was not that he did not know how to sell these items, but rather that he was ashamed of selling them. To sell off these expensive gifts, Gavin could only attempt to sell them back to the same crowd who had offered the gifts in the first ce. For people to buy back goods that they had sent as gifts was just absurd, and it was no different from telling everyone that King Zishan was broke. In the end, Gavin was simply too embarrassed to sell the items. As for Shamrock Enterprises, they simply did not have any natural treasures that they would trade.

    To Lu Yin, while those items were useless, he felt that it would be a waste to throw them away. However, there was no way to exchange them for money right now, and they couldn¡¯t even be recycled.

    ¡°Your Highness, I have an idea that would help you sell those items,¡± Bei Qing suddenly spoke up with an excited glint in his eyes.

    Lu Yin and Gavin both looked at him, and Gavin was doubtful. Wasn¡¯t this kid a hostage from Shenwu Continent?

    ¡°What is your idea?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bei Qing exined, ¡°Hold an auction. Sell premium goods together with these second-rate ones. Your Highness, I believe that you have a few natural treasures that have reached the point of evading danger. I suggest that you take out a few of them and put them up for sale. However, add a caveat that they cannot be purchased alone and that they must be bought along with the secondary items. For example, you can pair a natural treasure with a painting and sell them as a single set. Everyone wants more natural treasures, and people will willingly form long queues all the way from other weaves to get them. To obtain natural treasures, purchasing a few paintings would be a small price to pay, and they aren¡¯t highly priced either. Thus, you should be able to sell them off quickly enough.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he wondered why he had not thought of this himself. He often came into possession of items that he could not use himself. For example, there were some items that he had picked up at the Hall of Insight and also the things that Old Gu De had left behind. There were many items and objects that he did not need, and this way of disposing of them was a great idea.

    ¡°What rubbish! His Highness is the Royal Regent! How can he organize an auction?¡± Gavin admonished Bei Qing.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and looked towards Bei Qing while shing a smile at him. ¡°Use your name to organize an auction. I¡¯ll leave this matter to you. From now on, you will be in charge of all the items that I don¡¯t need.¡±

    Bei Qing was ted. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness!¡± He had truly been bored out of his mind, so this project would give him something to do. Besides, it was also a project that he could use to elevate his own position, especially since he had heard many rumors iming that the Royal Regent was a money grubber. If he was able to handle this auction well and earn Lu Yin some money, then he would definitely have a bright future ahead.

    Lu Yin ordered Gavin to hand the remaining items over to Bei Qing, and he also told Gavin to wholeheartedly support Bei Qing with the auction. At the same time, he handed over a list of precious items, which were the items that would be sold in tandem with the unwanted items in order to guarantee sales. The main point to ensuring the auction¡¯s sess was to sell absolute treasures.

    After some thought, Lu Yin put ten natural treasures that had reached the point of evading danger down on the list.

    Ever since Smoker had assassinated a few top-ranked assassins and forced Aegis into begging for mercy, news had leaked out concerning the top assassin¡¯s prices, as well as Lu Yin¡¯s ability to hire him despite his exorbitant prices. Now, natural treasures were no longer restricted to improving one¡¯s cultivation and healing illnesses. Smoker was the top assassin of the Outerverse, and anyone who could afford to hire him held control of the fate of others.

    This was Uncle You Ling before. Was updated to avoid too many "You" characters.

 Chapter 778: Sensation

    <h4>Chapter 778: Sensation</h4>

    Countless wealthy people had be simultaneously panicked and envious of Lu Yin¡¯s ability to hire Smoker. This demand had then caused the prices of natural treasures that could evade danger to continuously rise.

    Natural treasures of that quality were already pricey to begin with, and even though they did not have many uses, they could always be sold for exorbitant prices. At this moment, the prices for such treasures had be even more excessive, as pharmaceutical giants such as Shamrock Enterprises were constantly gathering natural treasures. No matter how high the prices rose, there was always a demand for natural treasures, as countless people sought to obtain even just one.

    Even if they could not hire Smoker, such natural treasures could save their lives at a critical moment or be stored away to appreciate in value. In the worst case, they could always sell it to Shamrock Enterprises without suffering any financial losses.

    Many people in the Outerverse were specting on the natural treasures market.

    In this situation, the announcement of an auction selling off natural treasures that could evade danger as a one-time event shocked the various great weaves.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s strength, he was unafraid that people might be concerned about his wealth. On the contrary, he was actually eager for someone to cause trouble for him.

    But just selling natural treasures was too monotonous. After Lu Yin thought about it, he decided to also list the gemspring water, which was a lockbreaking tool. It had been stored within Hall of Insight, and since he only had twenty five drops in his possession, it would be fine to sell five of them. But even that was enough to attract crowds of Lockbreakers to the auction; after all, they were all quite wealthy.

    After that, he also listed one of Elder Wu''s poisons that was potent enough to even threaten Enlighters.

    He wanted to use this bottle of poison to demonstrate to the various weaves of the Outerverse that, in his auction, he would sell and also ept anything. Who cared if it was something legal or illegal? He would ept and sell everything.

    He wanted to turn this auction into a moneymaking machine.

    When Lu Yin handed the updated list over to Bei Qing, the young man was stunned. ¡°Your Highness, are there really ten natural treasures at the level of evading danger?¡±

    Gavin was also surprised. So many?

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Advertise to the public using this list.¡±

    Bei Qing was ced in a difficult position. ¡°Can this poison even be sold? Can it really pose a threat to Enlighters?¡±

    ¡°The auction can be called the Grand Lu Auction, and these various items will help its reputation soar. I¡¯ll have Xiao Ya and some other people help you coordinate your advertising, so hurry up and get this list published. If the auction¡¯s reputation besrge enough, others will send over items to be auctioned off as well. Pay attention to everything that is to be auctioned, and we can just buy whatever we find useful,¡± Lu Yin said. This was the benefit to running an auction, as he would be the first to obtain any information on the goods being sold.

    Gavin hesitated. ¡°Your Highness, can something like that poison be auctioned secretly? This will harm the empire¡¯s image.¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Then just don¡¯t call it a poison. Change the name¡ªfor example, call it a life-preserving object or something like that. It¡¯s simple.¡±

    Gavin then stopped speaking.

    Bei Qing left in excitement.

    The establishment of this auction turned out to be very simple, and with Lu Yin¡¯s support, Bei Qing was able to quickly build an auction house in Zenyu Star¡¯s most bustling district in just two days. The main issue to take care of now was the advertising.

    Bei Qing met with Sister Ya, who also enjoyed Lu Yin¡¯s support. She had since be the go-to person for the empire¡¯s propaganda needs, and she could even influence the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s media now. It would not be too difficult for her to publicize Bei Qing¡¯s list of auction goods.

    After the news was released, it shocked the entire Great Eastern Alliance, just as expected. The news continued to spread at lightning speeds; the surrounding weaves and even the central weaves soon learned of it.

    The impact of auctioning off natural treasures was just too great, and not even Lu Yin could have predicted how much attention would be drawn to it. Sister Ya even had some people secretly hype up the auction, and it was soon predicted that the prices of these natural treasures would end up as multiples of their original prices.

    The Grand Lu Auction¡¯s name quickly spread throughout the various weaves in the shortest amount of time possible, and news of it continued spreading to even further weaves.

    The first auction was scheduled to be held one month after the initial announcement, as Bei Qing needed to let the wealthy travel to Zenyu Star.

    Actually, an online auction was not a bad idea either. However, building an auction house served more purposes than just making money; Lu Yin needed it to draw in people as well.

    When the publicity of the Grand Lu Auction reached its zenith, countless people and organizations tried to contact them and purchase the items that they needed in advance, but they were all summarily rejected by Bei Qing. It was a seller¡¯s market, and he was the least afraid of people not wanting their items. Those who wanted to buy the goods could travel to Zenyu Star, and it would be up to the potential buyers on whether or not they wished to bid on a given item.

    Bei Qing¡¯s attitude left many infuriated, but they didn¡¯t dare to do anything about it, as the auction was being held on Zenyu Star under Lu Yin¡¯s supervision. This was a ce where not even Aegis could exert its dominance, let alone smaller powers.

    ***

    On Hydrotink, Felynn stared at the list of items for the auction with an ugly expression.

    gemspring water was something that had been exclusively stored in Hall of Insight, which meant that the drops that were about to be sold in the Grand Lu Auction had to be Lu Yin¡¯s. He must have stolen some of Hall of Insight¡¯s treasures during themotion back then. What a despicable person.

    To Lockbreakers, the importance of a lockbreaking tool did not need to be mentioned. Even Felynn wanted to obtain some of those drops of gemspring water, let alone other Lockbreakers.

    Urgent footsteps rang out from behind her as Master Kai approached. ¡°President, this gemspring water is definitely from the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s former headquarters!¡±

    Felynn replied, ¡°I know, but let¡¯s wait for the auction to begin. As for our resources, even though Hall of Insight was raided, only a portion of its stores were taken. We still have a portion remaining in our possession.¡±

    Master Kai had an ugly expression. ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted the Grand Lu Auction, but the boss, Bei Qing, still won¡¯t agree to sell those drops to us. They¡¯re not giving us any face, hmph!¡±

    Felynn was helpless. ¡°The one behind the curtains of this auction house is Lu Yin.¡±

    Master Kai was surprised. ¡°Lu Yin? Why would it be him? It¡¯s no wonder why this auction is so exaggerated¡ªthere¡¯s even ten natural treasures up for grabs.¡±

    On the list of auctioned goods, there was more than just the gemspring water that appealed to these two. There were also natural treasures and life-preserving items that could threaten Enlighters. All of these items were desirable.

    ***

    In Armament Weave, when Yi Feng saw the auction list, he immediately contacted Wei Rong. He wanted some resources to purchase the gemspring water, but he was quickly turned down by Wei Rong. They also had some drops of gemspring water, as Lu Yin had only obtained a small amount of the stores. Thus, there was no need to fight over it. As for the natural treasures, Wei Rong had no confidence in being able to outbid Shamrock Enterprises for them, so it would only be a wasted trip.

    ***

    In a gloomy ce, a cold voice muttered to itself, ¡°There¡¯s actually ten natural treasures there. It¡¯s lucky that we didn¡¯t pit ourselves against Lu Yin then. Otherwise, Smoker would have be our nightmare.¡±

    ¡°No matter what, we have to obtain those natural treasures as well as that life-preserving item that can threaten Enlighters. There must be someone supporting Lu Yin, but just who is it exactly? Could it truly be the Hall of Honor?¡±

    ***

    In outer space, Di Nuo sat atop a massive spacecraft as he calcted his nned expenditures. His luck was good, and he was representing Endless Borders within Frostwave Weave, which was the heart of the Great Eastern Alliance. He had to improve his own business while suppressing all others, or else he might find himself reced.

    At this moment, his gadget rang, and Di Nuo looked down. ¡°Captain Yang, please speak.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen the list of goods for Lu¡¯s Grand Auction?¡± a gloomy voice asked.

    Di Nuo quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯ve seen it, yes.¡±

    ¡°Buy at least three natural treasures and one drop of gemspring water, and try your best to purchase that life-preserving item as well,¡± the gloomy voice ordered.

    Droplets of sweat streamed down from Di Nuo¡¯s forehead. ¡°This- Captain Yang, I don¡¯t have that many funds avable.¡±

    ¡°I will request for headquarters to send you more, Mr. Di Nuo. You should understand the difficulties and dangers that our expedition crews face. These items are all life-saving treasures, and as such, they are all iparably precious to us.¡±

    Di Nuo hurriedly replied, ¡°I got it, I understand. Rest assured, Captain Yang, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    The call ended, and Di Nuo¡¯s expression grew bitter. He was aware of the importance and influence of this auction, and he knew that countless eyes would be focused on it. Although their Endless Borders was one of the four great corporations, there was still Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, and other colossal financial titans that towered above them. Just how could they seize these treasures with the amount of resources they had? He was in trouble.

    After thinking about it, Di Nuo contacted the Grand Lu Auction in an attempt to purchase some items in advance, but he was instantly and mercilessly rejected. He did not grow angry, as it was clear from a nce that this Grand Lu Auction belonged to Lu Yin.

    If Di Nuo was left with no other choice, then he would look for Lu Yin himself to purchase some of the items.

    ***

    As for Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ headquarters, it was still based on that same green. Shen Fu was casually rocking in his recliner as usual when his secretary, Xiao Qin, approached from nearby and handed him a list.

    Shen Fu took a look and gasped. ¡°Ten danger evading natural treasures? What¡¯s the background of this Lu¡¯s Grand Auction?¡±

    ¡°ording to the rumors, the boss, Bei Qing, is from Shenwu Continent, and he is also a member of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s First Squadron,¡± Xiao Qin coldly reported.

    Shen Fu replied, ¡°The First Squadron is Lu Yin¡¯s personal army. It looks like Lu Yin found a good ce that has many natural treasures that have lived for tens of thousands of years. Perhaps it¡¯s the ruins of some ancient sect. It¡¯d be best to check this situation out carefully. As for this auction, since there are natural treasures, my Shamrock Enterprises must also join in the fun as a matter of face. Represent me by going there and buying them all.¡±

    Xiao Qin frowned. ¡°The advertising for this Lu¡¯s Grand Auction has been rather well done, and all the great weaves are aware of it. The prices will likely be driven up.¡±

    Shen Fuughed. ¡°My Shamrock Enterprises has no fear of spending money. Go on.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Chief Shen.¡±

    ***

    Countless people were staring at the list of goods to be auctioned and were counting how much money they would need to obtain the items that they wished to acquire.

    Lu Yin did not really pay attention to themotion that he had stirred up, as the markets were constantly changing. The prices of these items would be driven much higher than normal, but it would not end up being too excessive. Every item had a maximum price, and anyone who was able to participate in this auction was knowledgeable enough to know the upper limit, so as soon as the price reached an excessive amount, people would definitely back down and think of another way to acquire the goods. The price that an item reached in an auction was just a reference for the prices that would be used in sessive transactions.

    However, Lu Yin would not release too many natural treasures into the market at once. If the number of such treasures increased too quickly, the market would descend into chaos. Lu Yin trusted that the great financial powers like Shamrock Enterprises or the Mavis Bank already had their own reserves of danger evading natural treasures and that they had simply never exposed their reserves, as that was their foundation.

    However Lu Yin had no choice, as he was broke!

    During this time, many people contacted him, and even Smoker had taken the initiative to contact him once. The assassin had inquired if Lu Yin wanted to upgrade his membership status, which had left Lu Yin rather speechless. In the end, he did upgrade his membership, and in doing so, gave another ten natural treasures to Smoker. After all, Lu Yin was not short of such treasures.

    But why did Smoker want so many natural treasures? Lu Yin was rather curious about this.

    Time quickly passed by, and soon, there was only half a month left before the auction. The auction house waspletely sealed off, and the Imperial First Squadron itself was actually guarding it, which piqued many people¡¯s curiosity.

 Chapter 779: Blood-Red Bell

    <h4>Chapter 779: Blood-Red Bell</h4>

    During these two weeks, Zenyu Star became incredibly busy as all sorts of wealthy people arrived from the surrounding weaves. Naturally, this led to the busiest street on Zenyu Star to be even more bustling. The Mavis Bank and otherrge banks all rushed to transfer money over to their branches in the capital of the Great Yu Empire so that they could prevent those branches from being overdrawn.

    Simultaneously, Amethyst Exchange took advantage of the heightened numbers of tourists by expediting their efforts to rebuild their mall. Soon, they were just about ready to finish construction.

    Shadows of the wealthy fell upon every corner of Zenyu Star.

    Many people went to pay a visit to King Zishan''s pce, but they were all turned away by Kayze.

    It had to be said that the fierce appearance of the Dire Barbarian n members had many uses, and the fierce looking man had scared away quite a few people. Additionally, Kayze¡¯s status within the Dire Barbarian n made many powers feel apprehensive, and they cursed Lu Yin for being toowless.

    The Dire Barbarian n was one of the most powerful ns in the Innerverse¡¯s Soulseal Flowzone, and the n was famous for being ruthless and tyrannical. From many people¡¯s point of view, once the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, there would be a good show to watch.

    Many people believed that the person happiest about the Outerverse being cut off from the Innerverse was Lu Yin, as this situation had allowed him to nearly climb to the top of the Outerverse. But once the two regions reconnected, it seemed that Lu Yin would face the consequences for his actions as those strong powers from the Innerverse would easily crush him.

    However, these people did not know that the Innerverse could barely defend itself at the moment.

    Lu Yin was frequently worried that the Progenitors from the Sixth Maind would make a move and wipe out all the great powers of the Innerverse.

    Nearly four months had passed since Lu Yin hadst gone to the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he was nning on returning once the auction ended. He hoped that his next trip would not be as unlucky as his previous one, as he had only very narrowly escaped deathst time.

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin met with Bei Qing, but they didn¡¯t speak for long before Bei Qing walked out with a gloomy expression.

    Lu Yin felt a headacheing along, as Shamrock Enterprises, Endless Borders, and quite a few of the major powers had contacted him regarding the possibility of purchasing the natural treasures in advance of the auction. Even Aegis and the beautiful Madam Nn had reached out to him.

    Ten natural treasures clearly would not be enough for everyone who wanted them, and these people were certain that Lu Yin still had a hidden stash. Thus, they had sought him out to purchase from his hidden reserve.

    He found it hard to refuse the offers, as he had already upgraded 100 natural treasures during hisst visit to Bushtree. However, he could not release them all at once.

    As he thought about this, he organized his own cosmic ring.

    The majority of the items that he possessed were normal, but there were also quite a few abnormal ones, such as that stinky fruit-like item that he had obtained through lockbreaking.

    Since this item had been able to be a sourcebox, it was clearly not just a piece of trash, especially since it hade from a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox at that. Lu Yin did not know what uses this strange little fruit might have, but it could not possibly be for sustenance. He had asked many people, but nobody knew what use the smelly item might have.

    He really wanted to toss it away, but he could not bear to do so as it was something that he had gained through lockbreaking.

    Helpless, he stored it away and pulled out a transparent crystal vial, the sight of which made his expression turn solemn. This vial contained the poison Regression No. 91, which he had obtained from the Neohuman Alliance. This was the poison that had killed Ming Zhaoshu, and it had also nearly taken Ming Yan¡¯s life as well. Every time he looked at this vial, Lu Yin felt a deep coldness, as the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s darkness made him feel iparably chilly.

    There was also that disk, the jade stone, Progenitor Wushang''s Hide, the scarlet eyes with the vertical pupils¡­ Oh right, Yao Gu¡¯s bank card, the pages of True Insight, and more. There were simply too many good items in his cosmic ring. At this moment, Lu Yin pulled out a thumb-sized, blood-red bell.

    This was something that he had obtained from rolling one pip on his die, and he had actuallypletely forgotten about it. When he had previously looked at this little bell, he had been scared out of his wits and felt as if he had lost control over his own life. At this moment, that same feeling manifested once again.

    He gave the blood-red bell a little shake, and a light tinkling tone rang out. At that moment, not only did Lu Yin hear it, but the entire poption of Zenyu Star, and even the entirety of Frostwave Weave heard the bell¡¯s chime. Countless people felt a chill run through their bodies as their scalps turned numb. They felt as though they had just seen a heavenly shadow pressing downwards upon them with a hand, and a bone deep terror involuntarily welled up from inside.

    At that moment, no matter who they were, everyone was suppressed by the might of the heavens.

    Aden, Yan Yan, Phantom Sting, and other such powerhouses were no different as everyone in Frostwave Weave was affected. Even someone like Lord Egret, who had just entered the weave, shuddered with fear. The iparable feeling of panic made the Enlighter turn around and flee without even ncing behind him, as there was definitely something beyond terrifying in that ce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression went nk. When his senses returned, there was sweat dripping from his forehead. What just happened? Right at that moment, there had been an overwhelming sense of suppression, but where had ite from? Could it be¡­

    He looked at the blood-red bell. That was the source of the chime that he had just heard!

    He gazed at the blood-red bell in his hand,pletely dumbfounded, and his face turned pale. That little chime could actually make him feel as if he had been confronting the might of the universe. Could there be some remnant strength of the predecessors in this little bell?

    Lu Yin was still unaware that the bell¡¯s chime had affected not only him, but also everyone in all of Frostwave Weave. They had all been struck by the same overpowering sensation.

    He slowly lowered the bell.

    ¡°Monkey, have you seen this before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that toy¡¯s not very impressive, but that feeling is too terrifying. I¡¯ve only felt something like that when I faced Teacher Skymender, which is a little terrifying.¡± The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice sounded hoarse.

    ¡°Where did you get this thing from anyways? You always end up with such strange items, like that futon as well,¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but his gadget suddenly rang, startling him rather badly. It was Elder Lohar, and when Lu Yin activated his gadget, the elder¡¯s image appeared on the screen.

    Elder Lohar appeared to be in good spirits. He was smiling broadly and was just about to speak when he suddenly noticed the little blood-red bell that Lu Yin had ced on the table. His attention immediately focused on the bell as the old man¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks. His expression morphed to one of disbelief, and even his mouth gaped open slightly. The elder looked as though the universe itself had copsed. There was dread, respect, admiration, and many otherplex emotions swirling in the man¡¯s eyes, all of which Lu Yin was able to observe in a split second.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s face became deathly white, and he pointed behind Lu Yin. ¡°Why do you have that?¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he turned around to look before answering without any hesitation. ¡°Someone gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Who? Lord- no, who gave it to you?¡± Elder Lohar urgently pressed.

    At this moment, Kayze reported to Lu Yin that Aden was requesting an audience.

    Lu Yin did not bother with Kayze, and he looked at Elder Lohar with a strange expression. ¡°Elder, you recognize this object?¡±

    ¡°How did you obtain that?¡± Elder Lohar¡¯s eyes were exceptionally wide.

    Lu Yin thought about it and remembered what had happened when he heard the bell chime. He then answered, ¡°I don''t know myself, but at that time, I felt as if the might of the universe had swept over me and as if reality itself had copsed. I heard a voice tell me that this bell would be given to me, and when I woke up, it was there next to my chest.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s pupils shrank before his eyes went wide again. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief, almost as though he was looking at a deity.

    When he saw Elder Lohar¡¯s expression, Lu Yin knew that the exnation he had just given the old man might have caused the elder to doubt his own life. This bell must have some impressive background, and it must be rted to something that not even Elder Lohar could stand up to.

    Lu Yin quietly waited, and asionally, his eyes would sweep across Elder Lohar¡¯s expression, trying to understand something.

    At this moment, Kayze reported again, ¡°Your Highness, Captain Aden is urgently seeking an audience.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the man, as his current call was clearly more urgent.

    Elder Lohar exhaled. ¡°Little- No, Alliance Leader Lu, I contacted you at this time to tell you about the Technocracy. There have been no abnormal changes at the moment, so there is no need to worry.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and grunted in acknowledgement, but he simply continued to look at Elder Lohar.

    The way the old powerhouse addressed Lu Yin had suddenly changed, and it felt like the elder had suddenly gained a deep respect for Lu Yin. It seemed as though Lu Yin had guessed correctly; this blood-red bell was clearly connected to some very important individual.

    The die¡¯s one pip: Pilfer had grabbed a hold of something incredible.

    ¡°I have some other matters that I need to attend to at this moment, so that is all for now. Right, if you have anything you need help with, just call me,¡± Elder Lohar said. He then looked reverently at the blood-red bell once again. This time, his expression was a little strange, as there was some doubt to it.

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. ¡°Elder, Zenyu Star suffered from a sneak attack recently, which I believe you should have also heard about. Junior was thinking that if Zenyu Star had an Enlighter overseeing it, it would be better.¡±

    Without any hesitation, Elder Lohar answered, ¡°Alright, I will send an Enlighter over to help you keep watch.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, as that was a very refreshing reply. He had merely been probing with that request.

    ¡°Elder, do you know where this bell came from?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°That voice didn¡¯t tell you?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Elder Loharughed. ¡°That¡¯s right. If you knew about it, then you wouldn¡¯t have previously-¡±

    He abruptly stopped himself from saying anything more. ¡°Alright, I have other matters to attend to, so that¡¯s it for now. The Enlighter will arrive at Zenyu Star soon.¡± He then immediately ended the call.

    Lu Yin stared at the blood-red bell and fell deep into thought; what exactly was this thing? It could even badly rattle a Hall of Honor expert whose power level was over 300,000.

    At that moment, Aden barged into the room, with Kayze trailing behind him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness, I couldn¡¯t stop him,¡± Kayze shouted in a panic.

    Lu Yin waved a hand for Kayze to withdraw, and then he looked at Aden curiously. ording to Lu Yin¡¯s impression of the man, Aden was steady and hardly ever panicked no matter what he encountered. He had not lost his self-control even when he was facing Enlighter realm astral beasts in Ironblood Weave.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Aden¡¯s face was solemn, and there was a trace of an inexplicable rm that could be seen within the depths of his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s trouble, the Hall of-¡±

    Aden¡¯s eyes were suddenly drawn to the blood-red bell, and he exhibited the exact same response that Elder Lohar had just shown, but Aden¡¯s reaction was even more exaggerated than Elder Lohar¡¯s. He pointed at the bell in disbelief. ¡°Wh- why¡¯s that thing here?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You recognize it?¡±

    Aden stared closely at the blood-red bell and then approached it step by step before stopping just two meters away from it. He then swallowed his saliva. ¡°This feeling, that¡¯s right, it¡¯s this.¡±

    He looked back at Lu Yin, and his eyes went wide. ¡°Your Highness, did you give this bell a shake just now?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart trembled¡ªcould it be that he hadn¡¯t been the only one affected by the bell¡¯s chime? ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Aden smiled bitterly. ¡°I came here precisely because of this matter. It wasn¡¯t just me. The entire Great Yu Empire¡ªno, the entire Frostwave Weave and even the other nearby weaves were able to sense that¡­ universal power.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Aden solemnly asked, ¡°How did Your Highness obtain that bell?¡±

    Lu Yin repeated what he told Elder Lohar, and Aden stared at him in disbelief. ¡°How is that possible? How could that person have given you this bell? Even if you were their own son, they wouldn¡¯t give it. This shouldn¡¯t be. It¡¯s impossible,¡± Aden muttered to himself before looking at Lu Yin with piercing eyes. ¡°Your Highness, tell me the truth. Were you really born in the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°Tell me, what exactly is this thing?¡±

    Aden stared at the blood-red bell again as he carefully enunciated every word. ¡°The Hall of Honor¡¯s Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s emblem.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he was suddenly unable to think clearly. Everything that had just happened all suddenly made sense. It was no wonder why Elder Lohar had shown such an extreme reaction, and it was also no wonder why Aden had done the same. This exined how this tiny bell had been able to release such an overpowering disy of might that had shaken an entire weave.

    The Hall of Honor was the Human Domain¡¯s acknowledged master, and it had the authority to judge all things. Next in the hierarchy was the Interster Supreme Court, the Lockbreaker Society, the Ten Arbiters Council, and so on and so forth. Any power that was recognized as possessing the authority to judge matters within the Human Domain was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s various subsidiary organizations.

    Of these various powers, the most terrifying one was the Interster Supreme Court. They were the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcer as well as the Hall of Honor¡¯s sharpest sword. It had the authority to judge everything, and it also had the strength to determine everything.

    Whoever it was, as long as they were judged by the Interster Supreme Court, they would have no path of escape.

    It was publicly known that the Interster Supreme Court was the universe¡¯s most terrifying enforcement power. Even the Innerverse¡¯s Daynight n and Sword Sect, the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, the Starfall Sea¡¯s Sea King¡¯s Dome, and the various powers on Grayweed Continent dared not provoke the Supreme Court; it was truly an unrivalled force.

 Chapter 780: Monstrous Lie

    <h4>Chapter 780: Monstrous Lie</h4>

    The Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court was one of the top powerhouses who stood at the peak of humanity, and he was an enigmatic character.

    Generally, even if an enormous power like the Daynight n was judged, such matters would not require the Chief Justice¡¯s intervention, and the three Judicial Commissioners were generally more than enough. Just this fact was enough to show the Chief Justice¡¯s influence, as he stood above all living things and was essentially a god amongst men.

    Many theorized that the Chief Justice¡¯s strength had surpassed a power level of 1,000,000, but it was certain that he was an absolutely terrifying character who could control everything.

    Lu Yin stared at the little blood-red bell, and a chill spread across his entire body. He had actually unintentionally stolen the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem.

    Elder Lohar was already a powerhouse that Lu Yin would find it hard to defend against, while the Arrow Mountain Elder from Neo-Vestige Sect, Northgate Taisui from the Innerverse, and the Y¨­u Elder from the Seven Courts were all able to crush Lu Yin like an ant. And yet, all of these people were mere ants in the Chief Justice¡¯s eyes as he was in theirs.

    It was no wonder why Elder Lohar¡¯s attitude toward Lu Yin had changed so drastically.

    Lu Yin knew that he had just told a monstrous lie, and it was one that could possibly condemn him forever. Even if the Outerverse was currently isted from the Innerverse, once this lie was exposed, Lu Yin would absolutely be imprisoned for eternity without any chances of being saved.

    Once the Innerverse and Outerverse were reconnected, his lie would be exposed, and at that moment, not even Highsage Leon would be able to protect him. Nobody would.

    Lu Yin regretted his actions as he should not have lied about the bell. Once the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, the lie would be immediately exposed.

    But if he had not lied, then how could he have exined having the bell? What could he even use to steal something that belonged to the Chief Justice? Should he have tried to im that the bell was fake? Elder Lohar had immediately sent an Enlighter over, and that might have been with the intention of verifying its authenticity. However, Aden had also said that the entire weave had felt that overwhelming might, which was not an incident that could be hidden.

    No, the lie had to be perpetuated, and Lu Yin definitely could not let himself be exposed. His gaze steadied¡ªsince he could not justify how he had obtained this bell, he would just follow through with this lie. After all, who knew when the Innerverse and Outerverse would reconnect.

    At least for the moment, Lu Yin had no wish to die.

    Not to mention, this lie would be of tremendous help to him for the time being.

    He looked at the blood-red bell, and his lips went dry. His die¡¯s one pip: Pilfer could truly grab anything, and it had even stolen from the Chief Justice. Would it steal something from one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors next? Lu Yin would have to thank the heavens if that happened.

    ¡°The Chief Justice of the Human Domain¡¯s Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court¡¯s emblem. Seventh Bro, this Monkey will be blunt¡ªwe¡¯re screwed.¡± The Ghost Monkey was in despair.

    Lu Yin picked up the blood-red bell and solemnly stored it away before looking at Aden. ¡°Are you certain that this is the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem?¡±

    Aden¡¯s expression grewplex, but he still seriously responded, ¡°When I was roaming about the Neoverse in the past, I once felt this sort of overpowering might before, and it was the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem. There¡¯s no mistake.¡± He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, what rtionship do you have with the Chief Justice? Why did he pass his emblem over to you?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know.¡± Lu Yin immediately yed stupid.

    Aden did not ask anything more, as he naturally associated the bell with how Lu Yin had mysteriously acquired so many items, such as those natural treasures. Everyone was curious about how Lu Yin had obtained them. Aden himself thought that the Hall of Honor must have given them to Lu Yin, as this youth¡¯s backer seemed to indeed be the Hall of Honor, which meant that he had an extraordinary status.

    Because of the Grand Lu Auction, countless influential figures hade to Zenyu Star. Under these circumstances, Amethyst Exchange sped up its construction speed, and they were able to finish rebuilding their mall after just a few more days, after which it quickly opened back up for business. The building was filled to the brim on its opening day, and there was an unceasing flow of people after that.

    At the top level of Amethyst Exchange, Zi Xianxian was leisurely curled up on a pink sofa as she yed games on her gadget.

    A notification sound beeped, which Zi Xianxian tapped open. She then suddenly stood up. Deng Pu had been sighted.

    And at the same time, Zi Fang tried to call her.

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s lips curled up as she epted the call. She looked at Zi Fang on her screen and casually asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Brother?¡±

    Zi Fang coughed and looked at Zi Xianxian with a serious expression. ¡°How¡¯s the situation with the mall¡¯s rebuildinging along?¡±

    Zi Xianxian cried out, ¡°When did Brother be Chairman? Why haven¡¯t I received any announcements about that? You need to tell me these things earlier as I definitely would have sent you news about the reconstruction progress.¡±

    Zi Fang did not appreciate the mocking tone that Zi Xianxian was using, and he wanted to berate her for it, but after thinking about it, he simply endured it. He then used a patient tone to say, ¡°Xianxian, Brother knows that I was too fierce with you in the past, and I would like to apologize to you.¡±

    Zi Xianxian looked at Zi Fang strangely, and her expression turned wary.

    Zi Fang continued, saying, ¡°Aegis raided Zenyu Star, and they¡¯ve already offered reasonablepensation to us. Thispensation will be entirely under your name, and not a single star crystal will be removed from the total. This amount will be enough to build a few hundred branches. This matter will end here, and the board does not wish to continue investigating this matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t really mind,¡± Zi Xianxian said.

    Zi Fang stared at Zi Xianxian. ¡°Right, have you received the recent piece of intelligence?¡±

    Zi Xianxian nodded. ¡°Deng Pu being discovered?¡±

    Zi Fang¡¯s eyes grew fervent. "Deng Pu has True Insight in his possession, and you should understand the value of that treasure. Do not sell that information to anyone else, as our Amethyst Exchange wants to get a hold of Deng Pu.¡±

    Zi Xianxian felt that this was a bit strange. ¡°We don¡¯t have any Lockbreakers in our ranks, so why do we need True Insight?¡±

    ¡°With True Insight, we will definitely be able to lure over powerful Lockbreakers. With that, we can even cooperate with Saul, who¡¯s an expert on the level of an Enlighter,¡± Zi Fang exined.

    Zi Xianxian thought about it. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t sell it.¡±

    Zi Fang smiled in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±

    He then ended the call after making a bit of polite small talk.

    Zi Xianxian walked over to a window to look down at the throngs of the crowds around the mall as well as the distant King Zishan''s pce. ¡°Don¡¯t sell that information? How is that possible? If you want to coerce me into not causing any trouble for you with just a few sentences, then you must be incredibly naive.¡±

    At this same time, Lu Yin also obtained news of Deng Pu¡¯s appearance, though his information came from Thousand Eyes.

    Thousand Eyes¡¯ intelligencework could notpare to Amethyst Exchange¡¯s, as it was inferior in its coverage. However, its uracy was not any worse than Amethyst Exchange¡¯s. This was especially true for any underworld-rted information, as Thousand Eye¡¯s affiliates had their fingers in every pie. The information regarding Deng Pu had coincidentally been intercepted by Thousand Eyes¡¯work, and he quickly passed that information over to the Second Squadron, which then passed it on to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was excited, as Deng Pu had finally appeared. He immediately had Yan Yan and Phantom Sting set out to capture Deng Pu.

    At this time, Zi Xianxian invited Lu Yin to visit her at Amethyst Exchange¡¯s newly rebuilt mall for a tour, as he was one of the shareholders. It was only natural that he would be invited for such an event after the rebuilding waspleted.

    But did rebuilding a mall really need Lu Yin to observe it? He quickly guessed that the invitation was actually rted to Deng Pu. Whatever Thousand Eyes was able to learn, Amethyst Exchange was naturally capable of obtaining as well.

    Lu Yin quickly appeared at Amethyst Exchange¡¯s highest level, from where he looked down at the crowds on the ground below. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder this is one of the four great corporations, as even just a single mall is enough to drive the economy of an entire street.¡±

    Zi Xianxian smiled. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu is overpraising us. The economy of this street is not spurred on by only our Amethyst Exchange. There¡¯s also the Mavis Bank, Shamrock Enterprises, Aurora Enterprises, Endless Borders, the Nn family, and more. This street has embraced practically all of the Outerverse¡¯s most famouspanies, and our Amethyst Exchange is just one of them.¡±

    Zi Xianxian was right, as this bustling street on Zenyu Star had be very famous. For a group to establish a business in this ce, they had to at least be on the level of a financial power that spanned multiple weaves. Even the wealthiest corporation in the Great Yu Empire had moved away from this street, as they simply did not qualify to remain there.

    Also, for anyone to conduct business or shop on this street, one had to be a brilliant or famous person within certain circles, and any given person was able to influence the economy of a fment or more.

    This was also why the effect of Aegis¡¯s raid had been so overwhelming, as anyone who had died during the raid had not been someone with a simple background.

    If not for Lu Yin using his influence, the Grand Lu Auction could not possibly have had a ce on this street.

    This was the most flourishing street in the entire Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡°Miss Xianxian shouldn¡¯t have invited me here for something as simple as just looking at the rebuilt mall, correct?¡± Lu Yin probed as he smiled at Zi Xianxian.

    Zi Xianxian sipped from a ss of fruit juice and licked her red lips, her eyes lighting up as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you are a Lockbreaker, no?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. No, wait, after the Lockbreaker Competition, I was promoted to a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°So, Alliance Leader Lu should also want to obtain True Insight, no?¡± Zi Xianxian smiled as she looked at him. She hoped to see Lu Yin lose his self-control, as the chance of obtaining True Insight was enough to cause any Lockbreaker to lose control.

    Zi Xianxian had guessed correctly, as True Insight could indeed cause Lu Yin to lose his cool. However, it was a pity for her that Lu Yin had already done so; she just had not been there to see it.

    ¡°What is Miss Xianxian suggesting? Does your Amethyst Exchange have True Insight?¡± Lu Yin asked despite knowing the answer.

    Zi Xianxian looked proud, and she smugly answered, ¡°We don¡¯t, but Deng Pu does, and coincidentally, we know Deng Pu¡¯s location. Would Alliance Leader Lu like to know?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lu Yin answered very bluntly.

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s proud expression didn¡¯t fluctuate in the slightest, as she thought that she had misheard Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Come again?¡±

    ¡°I said ¡®no,¡¯¡± Lu Yin calmly said.

    Zi Xianxian was lost, as the situation was not following the script that she had nned. ¡°You don¡¯t want True Insight?¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°Of course I want it, but I can¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°I know where Deng Pu is, and he has True Insight,¡± Zi Xianxian repeated, still lost.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s good that you have that information, but let someone else go and fight over it. It¡¯s none of my business. I don¡¯t want Saul going crazy and creating trouble for me.¡±

    He waved a hand at Zi Xianxian. ¡°If Miss Xianxian doesn¡¯t have anything else to discuss, then I¡¯ll head out first as I¡¯m rather busy.¡± And with that, Lu Yin immediately disappeared.

    Zi Xianxian stood rooted in ce and did not react for half a day. What was this? Lu Yin did not even want to chase after True Insight? He was afraid of Saul? That was impossible! He wasn¡¯t even afraid of Aegis, so why would he be afraid of Saul? What had gone wrong? Zi Xianxian could not figure out what had just happened.

    But the more she was unable to figure things out, the more curious she became. ¡°No, I have to know the reason!¡±

    She then rushed over to King Zishan''s pce. She did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s reaction, as his response had been just too unusual. From Amethyst Exchange¡¯s analysis of Lu Yin¡¯s character based on all of their gathered data, she knew that he should not have had such a reaction. This meant that something was definitely wrong. Had someone else from the exchange already sold Lu Yin this information?

    ***

    Spacecraft were not the only means of transportation through the universe¡ªthere were also some extremely bizarre vehicles. For example, in the western weaves, there was a region that was significantly colder. In fact, their frigid temperature causedyers of ice to form even in space, which created a peculiar image.

    Although the temperatures were low here, there were countless people who visited this region every year as this was a rarely seen phenomenon.

    Within that region, there was an icy rail that shot out towards the west, and there was a frozen car sliding atop this rail. This was the vehicle that tourists usually used to roam through this frozen region of the universe.

    The icy vehicle was sky blue, and it had been constructed entirely out of ice, but it was not much slower than a spacecraft as it flew towards the west.

 Chapter 781: Icy Carriage Battle

    <h4>Chapter 781: Icy Carriage Battle</h4>

    Deng Pu was sitting within this frozen car, and he had unintentionally revealed his true appearance when he had been smacked to the side by another passenger, who was actually just a randommoner.

    Deng Pu had never imagined that he would be smacked by amoner who had no idea what his true identity was. It was only once his picture was published on thework that he had been recognized, after which his whereabouts were quickly exposed.

    At this time, Deng Pu still did not know that his location had been exposed, and he had altered his appearance to that of a sickly youth as hey in the frozen cart. His appearance made it clear that he did not have much time left and that he wished to use his remaining time to tour the frozen cart at least once.

    Nobody would have believed that this sickly youth was a famous person who had shocked the Outerverse.

    As he stared at the cold that had even frozen space outside his window, Deng Pu¡¯s heart was still fiery.

    He had slipped away from the battle on Sourcepeak when Felynn had stepped forward to testify against Saul¡¯s misdeeds. As expected, Saul had been expelled from the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and Sourcepeak had been ultimately pushed past the point of no return, leading to the society being forced to relocate to Frostwave Weave.

    Deng Pu had celebrated his own resourcefulness countless times, and he had remained hidden for quite a long time. Finally, an opportunity was about to present itself. The energy that isted Tyrannical Weave was about to dissipate, and once Millions City appeared, he would head straight over there. He wanted to sell True Insight in that ce and then cultivate without any worries.

    Only in this wealthiest city of the Outerverse could True Insight be sold for its true value.

    Even though Deng Pu was a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker himself and also desired to possess True Insight, he knew that he would never be able to study it peacefully and that he would eventually be discovered. Hence, he had steeled his determination to sell True Insight to another party.

    He was getting close, and it was almost time. Once he arrived in Tyrannical Weave, he would not be too far from Millions City.

    He was already considering how he would sell his treasure within Millions City, as well as to whom.

    While he was entranced in his fantasy, a formally dressed, middle-aged man walked up and sat next to him while giving him a slight smile.

    Deng Pu feigned a feeble smile, but the very next moment, his expression abruptly changed. His arm was seized by the well dressed, middle-aged man. Deng Pu stared at the man as his heart sank. He had quickly discovered that this person¡¯s star energy was as boundless as an ocean, and he was definitely a Hunter. Deng Pu realized that his identity had been exposed.

    "Deng Pu, we¡¯ve spent a long time looking for you,¡± the man said as he smiled at Deng Pu.

    Beads of sweat streamed down from Deng Pu¡¯s forehead as he nervously answered, ¡°I- I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    The middle-aged manughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need to keep up the act. Come with me. Rest assured, we won¡¯t do anything to you, as long as you sell us True Insight. Do that, and we¡¯ll guarantee your safety. Of course, you can also just join us. I¡¯m from Amethyst Exchange.¡±

    Deng Pu¡¯s face paled. It turned out that this person was from one of the four great corporations, which meant that he was in trouble.

    Suddenly, the middle-aged man leaned his neck back as a white light shed in front of his eyes several times, obviously an attempt to im his life. He was then forced to release Deng Pu to continue evading the attacks as his attacker was a Hunter realm assassin, which meant that it had to be someone from Aegis.

    At this moment, there were very few organizations that were capable of receiving the information rted to Deng Pu¡¯s whereabouts, but Aegis was one of them.

    The assassin forced the middle-aged man back, showing no signs of giving up. A de tip streaked by that caused the icy car to tremble as it was sliced in half. The middle-aged man bellowed in rage, ¡°Aegis, do you guys really want to start a war?¡±

    His Hunter realm strength then erupted amid the wails of grief and despair that echoed throughout the car.

    Deng Pu charged towards a window, attempting to escape into outer space, but the assassin appeared in front of him and attacked him instead of the middle-aged man. Fortunately, Deng Pu wasn¡¯t too weak himself, as he was a Cruiser and also a Lockbreaker. Thus, a killer who had not reached the Hunter realm truly could not deal with him.

    Within the frozen carriage, Zi Fang¡¯s face grew solemn, and he waved a hand, causing another two Hunter realm experts to appear. He had taken a ratherrge gamble to capture Deng Pu this time, even mobilizing three Hunters. If he could not seed here, he would be punished. The Amethyst Exchange had never contested others through the use of force, but Zi Fang was breaking this tradition today.

    One of the Hunters dealt with the Aegis assassin while the other attempted to grab Deng Pu.

    Countless mercenaries appeared from all directions, all of them aiming for Deng Pu. Amethyst Exchange¡¯s experts all moved as one, and the icy car shattered into pieces.

    ¡°Stop!¡± one voice barked as a girl arrived from some distance away. ¡°Icy Crystallization.¡± As her shout faded, ice crystals began to spread through the void and rapidly sweep out in all directions, with the intent to freeze everyone.

    Zi Fang¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this girl had actually shown up. Cool Sis, ranked tenth on the Top 100 Rankings. But shouldn¡¯t she be in Ironblood Weave?

    A crash was heard as the ice did not manage to seal off everyone. One of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s Hunters had shattered it with a single punch, and a powerful gust of wind continued to st towards Cool Sis.

    Cool Sis¡¯s expression turned cold, and she raised a hand as anotheryer of ice crystals spread out to freeze the gust of wind apanying the Hunter¡¯s punch. In addition, the crystals also formed a spear that shot towards the Hunter.

    The Hunter was overwhelmed, and he had a feeling that he would not be able to withstand Cool Sis. Although she was just a Cruiser, she was rather terrifying, and he was forced to give up on chasing after Deng Pu and focus on defending himself against Cool Sis¡¯s attacks.

    Cool Sis was a Cruiser with a power level of 80,000 and was ranked tenth in the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that she was a Realmbreaker who was strong enough to challenge Hunters. Even a peak Hunter like Kong Shi was not confident in being able to defeat her, let alone these Hunters.

    Cool Sis had even surpassed Kong Shi on the Ironblood Rankings.

    It was not that Kong Shi was not as powerful as Cool Sis, but rather that the younger woman had spent more time in Ironblood Weave than Kong Shi. Her style ofbat was also more frantic, and even a bit reckless than his.

    Once one was embroiled in a fight with Cool Sis, it was difficult to shake her off unless they absolutely crushed her.

    Zi Fang¡¯s face turned gloomy as he stared at Deng Pu.

    Deng Pu was attacked by many mercenaries, but he evaded them all rather adeptly. Those mercenaries moved about as though they were attempting to kill their target, which made Zi Fang extremely angry.

    Suddenly, the temperature plummeted. It had already been extremely cold to begin with, and Cool Sis¡¯s arrival had caused the temperature to drop even more. However, this time, it was an even more intense change. The surroundings grew ever colder, and an extremely cold frost shrouded everything.

    The first to suffer were the mercenaries, followed by the assassins.

    Zi Fang¡¯s face went, as the true experts had arrived.

    Cool Sis was shocked as this frost was even more intense than her own.

    A whooshing sound was heard as the void froze; Yan Yan had taken action. Deng Pu¡¯s entire body trembled, and he rushed to try to make an escape as the mercenaries and assassins were both frozen. However, Phantom Sting¡¯s dagger glinted in the dark before shing out across both of Deng Pu¡¯s legs, leaving him severely injured. The assassin then grabbed a hold of Deng Pu and started to drag him away.

    However, the next moment, Phantom Sting¡¯s gaze trembled, and two swords suddenly stabbed at his abdomen from two interconnected shadows that had sneakily appeared behind him before the attack. This attack had beenunched by Twin Daemon, who was the strongest expert from the Shadowsword Sect.

    Phantom Sting¡¯s body bumped against a fallen ice crystal, but he sensed that something was amiss with his intuition, and he quickly escaped with his innate gift. If he had been any slower, he would have died.

    Twin Daemon¡¯s appearance made Deng Pu be more panicked, and he desperately tried to escape while enduring the bleeding from his thighs.

    Zi Fang gritted his teeth as he watched these events unfold. Just how many people knew of Deng Pu¡¯s whereabouts? Twin Daemon¡¯s appearance suggested that even the Shadowsword Sect had received the information. And if Zi Fang was not mistaken, that other assassin should be the one currently ranked seventh on the Outerverse¡¯s Assassin Rankings, which was Mafioso¡¯s Hunter Mistchild. ording to certain reports, this person might actually be working for Lu Yin. Thebination of these new people and Aegis¡¯s people meant that it would be difficult for Amethyst Exchange¡¯s party to seed.

    Yan Yan moved to block Twin Daemon, but Twin Daemon was someone who was able to fight against Enlighters, and their technique, the Daemon sh, had even severely injured Fiend Li in the past. Although Yan Yan was very powerful, it was also very difficult for him to defend against Twin Daemon¡¯s attacks. His forte was not in defense, and Aden would have had a much easier time in this situation.

    Another figure suddenly appeared in the area. It looked downwards sharply and shouted in anger, ¡°Wicked disciple!¡±

    Everyone looked up and was overwhelmed, as Saul himself had actually shown up.

    When everyone saw Saul, the most terrified person was actually Deng Pu. All of the blood had drained out of his face, and he slowly knelt down. ¡°Ma- master.¡±

    Saul seized Deng Pu. ¡°Wicked disciple! Hand over the pages of True Insight.¡±

    ¡°Retreat!¡± Phantom Sting¡¯s voice rang out.

    Yan Yan fled without any hesitation.

    Twin Daemon also vanished from the void, but they suddenly reappeared to attack Saul.

    Saul bellowed and faced off against Twin Daemon.

    Deng Pu¡¯s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly made his escape.

    Phantom Sting and Yan Yan wanted to grab the fleeing Lockbreaker, but at that moment, Saul¡¯s star energy descended upon the area and enveloped everyone.

    Deng Pu spat out a mouthful of blood and put on his lockbreaking tool despite the bleeding from his thighs. He managed to dash out of Saul¡¯s suppression range even though not even the Hunters could do so. Deng Pu alone was able to leave, precisely because he was a Lockbreaker.

    When Saul saw that Deng Pu had escaped, he did not give chase, as he still had a backup n in ce.

    Deng Pu fled to the west, but before long, another figure appeared to block his path. The neer had a solemn expression. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Deng Pu.¡±

    Deng Pu¡¯s expression changed, and he hurriedly changed directions.

    The figure tore through the void and once again blocked Deng Pu¡¯s path. ¡°What? Are you still trying to escape? Come with me to see Saul.¡±

    This person was Mr. Jun, who was the backup n that Saul had brought with him to ensure that Deng Pu would be captured.

    After the battle on Sourcepeak, Felynn was not the only one who had be smarter. Saul had also learned his lesson, and he had realized that he could not use all of his tricks at once. At this moment, his newfound caution had finally paid off.

    When he saw the despair and confusion in Deng Pu¡¯s eyes, Mr. Jun frowned, and he seemed to think of something. He grabbed a hold of Deng Pu, but when he did so, he found that this person was just an ordinary Cruiser. This person wasn¡¯t even a Lockbreaker even though he was carrying a lockbreaking tool.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Mr. Jun asked sternly with a fierce look on his face.

    That person was agonized. ¡°I¡¯m just that person¡¯s body double! He already escaped.¡±

    Mr. Jun grew furious. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    The double shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just a decoy, so why would he tell me where he¡¯s headed?¡±

    Mr. Jun pped the person dead and grabbed the lockbreaking tool before dashing back towards the ice car. They had made a mistake. Deng Pu had been too crafty, as he had even arranged a double in advance. No, this body double might not have even been arranged beforehand; he might have always been following Deng Pu in order to be a scapegoat at any given moment.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin lowered his gadget with a calm expression on his face.

    Deng Pu had managed to escape, and he had lived up to what Lu Yin had expected from a person who had managed to slip away from Sourcepeak. Powers from various forces had all acted at this time, and even Saul and Twin Daemon had appeared. But despite everything, Deng Pu had still been able to escape, which proved how sly he was.

    However, Lu Yin had not expected so many organizations to be aware of Deng Pu¡¯s whereabouts, and it would definitely be harder to capture him the next time. After this battle, there was no way the fleeing Lockbreaker would show himself again in the near future.

    ¡°Your Highness, Lord Gavin requests an audience,¡± Kayze¡¯s voice sounded.

    ¡°Send him in.¡±

    Soon, Gavin appeared before Lu Yin, and he respectfully said, ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Does Lord Gavin have something that he wishes to discuss?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin replied, ¡°Yes, Your Highness. Tyrannical Weave is expected to be essible again in the near future, and the Nn family has already started to shift to the west. Your subject wishes to ask Your Highness what arrangements we should make for the Nn family.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°ess to Tyrannical Weave is about to be restored?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Gavin replied.

 Chapter 782: Setting Off

    <h4>Chapter 782: Setting Off</h4>

    Lu Yin opened up a star chart. He first checked the location of the frozen carriage before looking further westward. Tyrannical Weave was just a bit further to the west of the frozen carriage, so did that mean that Deng Pu was nning on heading towards Tyrannical Weave?

    Deng Pu possessed True Insight, and so, the entire Outerverse was after him. The fugitive had neither the tools to protect himself nor the resources to cultivate to the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker level. True Insight was actually useless to him at the moment, and if Lu Yin were in his position, he would absolutely sell off True Insight in order to gain more resources for cultivation. At least he would be able to protect himself then, and selling off True Insight would also divert attention away from him and stop him from being constantly targeted.

    And the best ce to sell such a treasure was Millions City.

    ¡°When will ess to Tyrannical Weave be restored?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin replied, ¡°Anywhere from half a month to a month.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about the timing. There were still about ten days left before the Grand Lu Auction. Even if he waited until after the auction to head out towards Millions City, he would still have enough time. However, if Lu Yin could figure out Deng Pu¡¯s objective, then Saul, Wei Rong, and the others would obviously be able to do so as well. Thus, he had no time to waste.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin told Gavin, ¡°Allow the Nn family to arrange their own affairs. Don¡¯t force things even if they wish to back out of some of the joint ventures.¡±

    Gavin murmured his acknowledgement.

    ¡°Also, cooperate with Bei Qing to take care of the auction,¡± Lu Yin said as he dismissed Gavin. Next, he called Yan Yan and Phantom Sting over beforemanding the two Hunters to head to the border of Tyrannical Weave and wait.

    After that, Lu Yin contacted Elder Lohar to inquire about the Hall of Honor¡¯s Enlighter who would be stationed at Zenyu Star.

    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ve already sent <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"akira"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Akira over to you. He¡¯s my disciple,¡± Elder Lohar said.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Elder, ess to Millions City is about to be restored, and Junior wants to head there. Thus, I will not be able to host Senior <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"akira"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Akira. I ask for Elder¡¯s understanding.¡±

    Elder Lohar felt that this trip was slightly odd. ¡°What are you going to Millions City for?¡±

    Lu Yin did not hide anything, and he quickly exined the situation concerning Deng Pu. There was no need to conceal this sort of information, as the Hall of Honor would definitely be able to find out if they wanted to.

    Elder Lohar sighed. ¡°True Insight is not inferior to a secret technique in the slightest, and the value of theplete True Insight may even surpass that of a secret technique. To you Lockbreakers, any page of True Insight is an unmatched treasure, so I understand. Go on. I will exin things to <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"akira"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Akira.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder,¡± Lu Yin rxed. With <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"akira"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Akira about to be stationed on Zenyu Star, the capital would be safe from any potential problems. Well, at least until the Hall of Honor exposed Lu Yin¡¯s lies. Before that time, they would do everything they could to protect him.

    At this time, the Hall of Honor¡¯s deterrence towards the many powers of the Outerverse had dropped significantly, but it still had the prestige that it had umted over many years. Even now, there was no power that dared to treat them lightly.

    Due to the fight at the icy carriage, Deng Pu¡¯s information had beenpletely leaked out.

    On Hydrotink, Felynn excitedly paced back and forth. True Insight was too important to Lockbreakers, and it also carried a symbolic significance to them. Thus, it could not be allowed tond in outsiders¡¯ hands. Otherwise, once the Innerverse and Outerverse were reconnected, there would be too much responsibility for her to bear.

    However, just the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society alone would not be able to snatch back True Insight.

    Felynn did not n to seek out Lu Yin¡¯s help, as he definitely would not give her True Insight even if he did obtain it. After thinking about her situation, she went to look for Cai Jianqiang. Out of everyone in the current Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, only Cai Jianqiang stood a chance of being able to seize True Insight. He was a powerhouse who had been unrivaled within his own generation.

    Cai Jianqiang did not hesitate, and he immediately agreed to head west and search for Deng Pu. Before he left, he even gave Lu Yin a call and asked the youth to take care of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    Through Cai Jianqiang¡¯s few interactions with Lu Yin, he hade to appreciate this youth, and his opinion of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader waspletely different from the outside world¡¯s. His impression had be even more favorable after he saw Lu Yin take on Zi Rong¡¯s de and after they drank together afterwards.

    After receiving Cai Jianqiang¡¯s call, Lu Yin felt a headacheing on, as this was a person who had been unrivaled within his generation. Although Cai Jianqiang was from a different era, Lu Yin was still not confident about how powerful the man actually was. One thing was for sure though, Cai Jianqiang had the strength to defeat an ordinary Enlighter.

    If this powerhouse also participated in the contest for True Insight, the probability of Lu Yining out on top would fall sharply.

    Fortunately, it would be the same for the otherpetitors as well, and Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Cai Jianqiang was pretty decent. Even if the Hunter was able to snatch True Insight, he would still be under Lu Yin¡¯s observation, and the younger man was confident in eventually being able to get his hands on the treasure.

    When Felynn discovered that Cai Jianqiang had intentionally informed Lu Yin of his ns, her expression was wondrous to behold. She stared at Cai Jianqiang¡¯s reassured expression, but Felynn only wanted to tell the man that his greatest opponent for this mission might actually end up being Lu Yin. However, after thinking it through, she decided to remain silent.

    ***

    In another part of the Outerverse, Wei Rong contacted the Shadowsword Sect, Endless Borders, Aegis, and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. He wanted all of them to team up and fight for True Insight. Endless Borders hardly ever participated in the struggles between the various powers, but they were also motivated to obtain True Insight. This was the same as the attack on Sourcepeak, and they agreed to cooperate. Due to their struggle against Lu Yin, Aegis¡¯s strength had been greatly reduced, but they also agreed to cooperate. The Umbral Butterfly Tribe was practically already tied to Wei Rong, and only the Shadowsword Sect was rather hesitant.

    Still, in the end, the sect also agreed to cooperate, mainly because Wei Rong had brought up the threat that Cai Jianqiang posed, and the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s Twin Daemon was not confident in being able to deal with Cai Jianqiang.

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression was deep as he stared out at space and muttered, ¡°True Insight, Millions City.¡±

    ***

    Shamrock Enterprises was spread throughout all seventy two weaves of the Outerverse, and the highest seat in the corporation was the Chairman, Yu Mu, who had the authority to oversee all of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ branches in the entire Outerverse. Immediately below Yu Mu was the Western Chairman, Hoffman, and the Eastern Chairman, Shen Fu.

    When news of True Insight¡¯s location spread out, Hoffman received orders from Yu Mu and immediately moved off of his and towards Tyrannical Weave. He was also an Enlighter.

    ***

    From Aurora Enterprises, a single, personal spacecraft shot towards Tyrannical Weave at an unimaginable speed. This was an Eonlight-grade Aurora, which was something that nobody else in the Outerverse possessed. The highest graded Aurora that Lu Yin had ever used was only a ckhole grade.

    ***

    On one particrly bustling, universal currency floated to the ground, but nobody picked any of it up. This was the location of one of the Mavis Bank¡¯srgest branches, and anyone who could visit this ce was someone with both wealth and respect, and such people could not be bothered by the banknotes falling to the ground. To the people visiting this, they were stepping on trash.

    One refined-looking woman with green clothes stepped out and stretched. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I moved about. True Insight? I can finally take a look at it. Those old farts from the Lockbreaker Society are too stingy, but fortunately, the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse right now.¡±

    After speaking, she vanished in an instant.

    There had been people all around the ce where the woman had been standing, but all of them behaved as if none of them had even seen the woman.

    ***

    True Insight was much like the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance. If the Outerverse was not isted from the Innerverse, then nobody would dare to scheme over such a precious item out of fear that terrifying Lockbreakers from the Innerverse or even the Neoverse mighte. However, since the Innerverse and Outerverse were currently separated, the various great powers felt no apprehension at all, and everyone wanted to take a nce at True Insight¡¯s contents and see just how extraordinary this treasure was for it to rival the value of a secret technique.

    Lu Yin also left Zenyu Star and headed towards Tyrannical Weave. He did not know that the people chasing after True Insight were not members of the group that he was anticipating. Rather, they included powerhouses from organizations like the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, and other such behemoths.

    If Lu Yin knew this, he might have chosen to stay behind and not attempt to seize True Insight, as all of these heavyweights had terrifying backgrounds. He had already witnessed the power of Neo-Vestige Sect for himself, and they were just an Outerverse power no matter how strong they became.

    Countless powers looked towards Tyrannical Weave and Millions City, waiting for True Insight to appear.

    At this same time, countless people were also looking towards Zenyu Star¡¯s Grand Lu Auction, as it was about to begin.

    The Lu¡¯s Grand Auction had created quite amotion one month ago when it had first published the list of goods that it was auctioning off. This had lured many influential figures towards Zenyu Star, which had slightly improved Zenyu Star¡¯s economy.

    Ever since the announcement was made, people would asionally contact Bei Qing, hoping to auction their own goods, which had led to the original number of goods increasing by threefold.

    Bei Qing was exceptionally delighted, as this was very different from simply having a great reputation. This auction had seeded before it had even begun! Still, it was mainly the items being offered by His Highness that had stunned others.

    At this moment, the benefits of the auction revealed themselves, as somebody was actually trying to sell pyrolyte. Lu Yin waspletely astonished when he learned of this.

    When pyrolyte had first appeared, it had captured the attention of the various great powers of the Innerverse. Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse were currently separated, the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, and other such powers were still exploring the Astral Wilderness, searching for pyrolyte. After the defense of Ironblood Weave had ended, Elder Lohar had explicitly ordered that pyrolyte was a controlled substance and that whoever touched it without authorization would die. Thus, only an extremely small amount of pyrolyte came out of the Astral Wilderness anymore.

    Aegis had tried to upy Northcastle Weave, which Lu Yin had guessed came out of their desire for pyrolyte. If he hadn¡¯tcked definitive proof, he would have reported them to Elder Lohar, and he wouldn¡¯t have been forced to struggle so desperately against Aegis.

    But at this moment, there was actually someone who was attempting to auction off pyrolyte! Wasn¡¯t this an attempt to frame Lu Yin? This was openly challenging the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin had Bei Qing carefully investigate the identity of the seller, and he also quickly contacted Elder Lohar. Lu Yin did not want to inadvertently alert the seller, so he continued to list the pyrolyte as if it were a normal auction item while also investigating the seller¡¯s trail. Elder Lohar also wanted to know if the other party had only managed to obtain a bit of pyrolyte or if they had ess to a stable supply chain.

    This whole time, Lu Yin had only thought of framing others. Who cared how they had obtained the pyrolyte¡ªhe would simply frame whoever was his enemy.

    In space, a spacecraft steadily cruised along as Lu Yin stared at a screen in front of him. The auction was about to begin.

    Lu¡¯s Grand Auction was presented in a veryvish style, but surprisingly, there was no auctioneer. Instead, all of the auctioned items were disyed on the buyers¡¯ screens, where the items¡¯ uses, prices, and details were all disyed. All of the auction participants had entered the building from below and sat down in their assigned positions, after which the seats then rose into the air, finally bringing them to the main hall of the auction house.

    This was just for the ordinary seats. There were also high-ss rooms, but to gain ess to those rooms, people had to verify their family or backgrounds before they were allowed to enter.

    People flocked into the main hall, and the upants of the private rooms also arrived one after another.

    Lu Yin monitored the situation in each suite, and he saw that Zi Xianxian had arrived as well as people from Shamrock Enterprises. There was also Endless Borders¡¯ Di Nuo, and someone from the Nn family had also arrived. Anyone who was able to ess the suites was naturally someone with a befitting background.

    People from corporations that merely spanned across a few weaves were only able to sit in the main hall.

    There were naturally some people who created a fuss, but they were quickly suppressed. After they learned the identities of the people in the suites, nobody dared to object any further. Whoever was able to enter a suite had to be from a great power that spanned the entire Outerverse.

    Bei Qing was very pleased by the turnout, as the suites had all been filled and the main hall was about to be fully upied as well. Many people were not able to enter the building, but Bei Qing had no choice in the matter. The auction house had been built in the most expensivend of the entire Great Eastern Alliance, and with such property values, their building simply could not hold excessive numbers of people.

    When the first goods to be sold appeared, the atmosphere immediately surged, as the very first item was a natural treasure that could evade danger paired with a work of art by a master from 10,000 years ago.

    As Lu Yin looked at the crowd on the screen and saw how they were contesting against each other until everyone was flush with excitement, he smiled. This was the way forward, as he had many other items that were useless for him. Thus, the Grand Lu Auction would be the channel for him to dispose of such goods in the future.

    The auction proceeded very smoothly, and the bids grew very intense, though Lu Yin was not worried about matters of safety.

    Meanwhile, he had arrived at the location of the icy carriage.

 Chapter 783: Iceform Sutra

    <h4>Chapter 783: Iceform Sutra</h4>

    The icy carriage had stopped working since most of the vehicle¡¯s middle section had been destroyed. So when Lu Yin arrived, it was sitting there being repaired.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain; some people favored the shadow that was the closest to the light, and he did not know if Deng Pu was such a person. After a while, Lu Yin disappointedly withdrew his domain, as Deng Pu turned out to not be such a person.

    He noticed that there were many cultivators searching around the area, trying to find any bit of useful information, and there was someone familiar among them: Cool Sis.

    Cool Sis had also sensed Lu Yin¡¯s domain, so she immediately headed over to greet him.

    She was in a bad mood, as the battle to capture Deng Pu had ruined the icy carriage. Coincidentally, that was where she had been meditating and where she could reach the best mental state. If not for that, she would not have stopped the various parties from battling in this ce.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you arrived toote.¡± Cool Sis arrived in front of Lu Yin, her expression still looking rather detached.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just passing by and wanted to take a look. How are you doing? I heard that even Saul and the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s Twin Daemon appeared.¡±

    Cool Sis coldly replied, ¡°So what? That person still managed to slip away.¡±

    ¡°I heard that you took action as well. You want True Insight?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Cool Sis looked around and then answered, ¡°I just didn¡¯t want the icy carriage to be destroyed.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at the vehicle that was still being repaired. ¡°That¡¯s truly regretful.¡±

    He then prepared to leave.

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Cool Sis called out. She looked into Lu Yin¡¯s puzzled eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve killed Enlighters.¡±

    Lu Yin helplessly answered, ¡°That¡¯s only with the help of external supporting items.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve traded blows with Kong Shi?¡± Cool Sis asked.

    ¡°No, we just tested each other out,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Cool Sis¡¯s gaze turned sharp. ¡°She said that I¡¯m not your match.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, as Kong Shi had not said that to him at the time.

    Cool Sis continued, proposing, ¡°Let¡¯s have a match to see whether or not I¡¯m not your match.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Bullying females isn¡¯t my style.¡±

    Cool Sis¡¯s expression grew frosty. ¡°You don¡¯t want to enter the top ten in the Top 100 Rankings?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get to choose whether or not we fight.¡± Cool Sis released a burst of cold air around herself, which caused multipleyers of ice to bloom while the void surrounding Lu Yin also froze.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. Cool Sis was ranked tenth in the Top 100 Rankings, and she was an expert who surpassed countless others from her generation. Even Kong Shi, who was a peak Hunter as well as a Councilor from a previous generation¡¯s Universe Youth Council, did not have the confidence to emerge victorious against Cool Sis.

    Kong Shi¡¯s strength was that of a peak Hunter, but she definitely could notpare to Zi Rong, who had painstakingly refined the de that Lu Yin had experienced. Rather, Kong Shi¡¯s strength wasparable to Cool Sis¡¯s, which meant that Cool Sis had the strength to go up against peak Hunters.

    Lu Yin had interacted with the peak Hunter level on many asions. Saul, Twin Daemon, Aden, Cai Jianqiang, and Kong Shi were all at this level, but the difference between each of the various people there was extremely huge. Cool Sis was the most monstrous Cruiser realm genius Lu Yin had evere into contact with.

    ¡°Icy Crystallization,¡± she shouted as she unleashed her attack, causing Lu Yin¡¯s body to begin freezing over. This coldness was not something that couldpare to Yan Yan¡¯s, but Lu Yin¡¯s limbs still started going numb, and the rune lines that he could see were entirelyparable to Kong Shi¡¯s back when he had faced off against her.

    Cool Sis was the first genius Lu Yin had faced who was in the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings, and he was actually a bit excited for this battle. His domain burst forth as his forcefield swept out. He then raised a hand and struck out with a palm with Oveying Stacks, but the cold air in front of Cool Sis suddenly converged to form ayer of ice that blocked Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    There was a bang as Lu Yin¡¯s palm mmed against the ice barrier, and the impact warped the void right as a st of cold air swept out in all directions. The cultivators who were repairing the icy carriage were all terrified, and they hurriedly fled from the area.

    There was a cracking sound as the ice barrier split open, causing Cool Sis¡¯s expression to change. All around them, cold air converged upon their position to form a massive ice crystal that then crashed towards Lu Yin. In response, he shouted out as his eight lined battle force appeared around them. Another explosive sound rang out as the ice shattered once again, allowing Lu Yin to break through and rush over to Cool Sis. He raised a hand that transformed into a w. A beast howl echoed throughout the ages and rumbled out from the void, bringing an aura of palpable fear with it. The Skybeast w descended.

    Cool Sis closed her eyes and then suddenly opened them wide. Her two eyes went white, and an indescribable feeling radiated out from her. The next moment, the Skybeast w itself froze and shattered.

    Lu Yin hurriedly retreated, as Cool Sis had suddenly made him a bit nervous. The power of his Skybeast w was second only to his Dream Finger, but it had been shattered by this intense cold. Not to mention, Cool Sis¡¯s rune lines had suddenly surged to the point where they could now rival those of Aden.

    How was that possible? Was this woman¡¯s strength actually able to rival an Enlighter¡¯s? Didn¡¯t this strength already surpass Kong Shi¡¯s?

    Plop!

    Cool Sis spat out a mouthful of blood, and the fresh blood froze in midair. At the same time, her white eyes continuously fluctuated.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this woman is putting her all into this attack!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned solemn, as this woman¡¯s true strength matched up to Kong Shi¡¯s at best. But at this moment, she had exploded past her limits, which meant that she had to be using some sort of battle technique or battle art that went beyond her ability to endure.

    ¡°<span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"iceform="" sutra"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Iceform Sutra,¡± Cool Sis growled as her hair flew about. This was her best technique, and she had intended to use it to challenge Cang Mu and Hai Dashao. The pressure that Lu Yin had exhibited had been too much, especially his eight lined battle force, which made him nigh invulnerable, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning his forcefield that also made it difficult for her to breathe. Her star energy actually gave her no advantage, so if she did not disy this absolute technique, then she would not be able to win. This person qualified to go against her maximum potential in this fight.

    Lines that were actually spatial cracks extended out, but they soon froze as a peculiar diagram inexplicably appeared behind Cool Sis that looked like boundless icy ins. At this moment, the Fatesand inside Lu Yin¡¯s body actually shuddered.

    Cool Sis¡¯s rune lines had already reached the point where they could nearly match Aden¡¯s, and the cold aura around her felt simr to Yan Yan¡¯s, and it actually reminded Lu Yin of Yan Yan¡¯s Iceburst mes. He didn¡¯t wait any longer, and he raised a hand as he tapped out with a finger that congealed the void.

    There was a thump as the phantom image of the icy ins suddenly shattered. Cool Sis was forced back a dozen steps, where she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her face turned a deathly shade of white, and she looked at Lu Yin with disbelief etched on her face.

    That finger had actually broken through her absolute technique.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger ached, but it was still alright since he had cultivated the Finger Tap technique, which had stopped the tip of his finger from being injured.

    ¡°The victor has been decided,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    The icy cold gradually dissipated from the void.

    Cool Sis reluctantly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her eyes had returned to normal. ¡°I lost.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her strangely. ¡°For you to have reached such strength as a Cruiser, it¡¯s no wonder why people have said that the current younger generation is terrifying. Kong Shi once told me that she was not confident in being able to defeat you, and it seems that her apprehension was correct.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you justplimenting yourself?¡± Cool Sis wiped the blood away from her lips.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I still have many areas where I¡¯m deficient. Being able to defeat you doesn¡¯t mean that I can defeat any of the others. The nine ranked above you should also have their own hidden trump cards.¡±

    If Cool Sis was so incredibly strong, then how much stronger were the other people in the top nine of the Top 100 Rankings? What about the top five, top three, or even the number one ranked person? Lu Yin suspected that perhaps not even Cai Jianqiang would be able to beat the top three ranked experts on the Top 100 Rankings.

    And besides them, the Ten Arbiters were even more terrifying.

    The way Nightking Zhenwu had crushed Lu Yin in the Daosource Sect''s ruins had already shown Lu Yin everything. When the various people had been fighting for the Progenitor''s inheritance, they had actually been restraining themselves; otherwise, he would not have merely watched battles between people with the strength of normal Enlighters. Was it possible that each of the Ten Arbiters was strong enough to rival Elder Lohar? That would be too horrifying.

    Lu Yin did not understand why Kong Shi was so upset by the difference in strength or why she had pinned all her hopes of defeating Nightking Zhenwu onto him. This generation¡¯s youth had absolutely surpassed the previous.

    Even Zi Rong would have to give his all to deal with Cool Sis¡¯s best technique!

    ¡°What about your secret technique?¡± Cool Sis asked.

    Lu Yin smiled, as he had not needed the secret technique to deal with her.

    Cool Sis¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°You¡¯re just an Explorer who hasn¡¯t even cultivated for ten years, but you¡¯ve already reached such a level of strength. Maybe you really areparable to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now,¡± Lu Yin said, as did not wish to reveal any further information about his strength. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ information was hidden too deeply, and it was not something that he or Cool Sis could guess at.

    ¡°Are you headed westwards?¡± she asked.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Can you bring me along?¡± she asked.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re going west as well? Where?¡±

    ¡°Millions City,¡± she replied.

    Lu Yin gestured for her to board his spacecraft, and Cool Sis thanked him before stepping onto the vessel.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s personal means of transportation, so naturally, it was a veryrge vehicle that was also a radiant-grade Aurora.

    Cool Sis retreated to the room that she had been given to treat her injuries, though Lu Yin remained sitting in the lounge, as the auction was still going on.

    The natural treasures were indeed spiking in price, and six of them had already been sold at an average price of 3,000 star essence.

    It should be known that 1,000 star essence was enough to employ Phantom Sting for a full year, and the man was a Hunter realm assassin. This clearly demonstrated the extravagant value of each natural treasure.

    At such prices, Lu Yin felt a little pained, since that bugger, Smoker, had taken almost thirty natural treasures for themselves, twenty of which had been used to purchase and upgrade Lu Yin¡¯s membership so that he could directly employ the assassin in the future. In addition to that, the assassin had been paid with around a dozen natural treasures for the actual jobs themselves, which was equivalent to about 40,000 star essence. For an assassin, this price was simply outrageous.

    At this time, a transparent vial appeared on the main screen of the auction house, and there was an introduction to it beside the image. This was one of Elder Wu''s poisons, though it was of course being called a life-preserving object in the auction.

    This vial¡¯s rune lines showed that it could even threaten an Enlighter, and anyone who obtained this poison would have another trump card.

    Nobody doubted the respectability of Lu¡¯s Grand Auction, and any discerning person already knew the auction belonged to Lu Yin. If Lu Yin lied about the items that he was selling here, no one would ever trust him enough to cooperate with him in the future. As the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, he could not cheat people for money.

    The starting price for Elder Wu''s poison was 3,000 star essence. Few powers in the Outerverse had any star essence, and they tended to hoard what little they did. However, the auction¡¯s rules stipted that all prices would be calcted in terms of star essence, which meant that this auction had caused another frenzied round of exchanges at the Mavis Bank, and the branch manager of Zenyu Star¡¯s Mavis Bank had grumbled a fair bit.

    Something that could threaten Enlighters was rarely if ever found in the Outerverse, and there was not an Enlighter to be found anywhere in Frostwave Weave. Of the Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves, the vast majority did not have any Enlighters, which showed how precious such a poison was. Whoever obtained this would be able to intimidate an entire weave, or even a whole group of weaves, and this caused the price to continuously climb higher and higher.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, only those few top powers could afford this poison, which could be seen in the expressionless faces of the people from the Mavis Bank as they sat in their suite and continued to push the price even higher. They raised the bid by 100 star essence each time, which left the other bidders dumbfounded.

    Aurora Enterprises waspeting with the Mavis Bank, and they simrly raised their bid by 100 star essence each time.

    These two financial giants werepeting with money, and the others quickly gave up.

    Finally, the bid settled at 6,000 star essence, though Shamrock Enterprises was the one that ended up winning.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew fervent, as these few top powers were truly rich. They were able to pay out thousands of star essence without even batting an eye. He had been too benevolent, and he still felt embarrassed about when Madam Nn had lent him money in the past. To these wealthy corporations, thousands¡ªno, even tens of thousands of star essence was not important.

    His world view was still too limited.

 Chapter 784: Millions City

    <h4>Chapter 784: Millions City</h4>

    Lu Yin thought back to when he had spent nearly 10,000 star essence in the Sea King¡¯s Dome by taking advantage of the Sea King¡¯s token, and Lulu had also spent a fair bit. Even if the others in the selection had spent much less than the two of them, the total expenditure must have surpassed 100,000 star essence, but that was nothing much to the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    This was the foundation of a great power. The four great corporations spanned the entire Outerverse, and their umted wealth was probably far more than what Lu Yin could even imagine while those financial powerhouses like Shamrock Enterprises probably had even more, let alone the Mavis Bank which controlled the entire universe¡¯s finances. Perhaps even they themselves did not know how wealthy they were.

    Lu Yin still needed to expand his worldview, and it had to be done continuously.

    At this moment, pyrolyte appeared on the auction screen.

    When this item first appeared, quite a few participants in the auction were puzzled, as only a few people were able to recognize what was even being disyed. However, the people in the private suites were momentarily stunned, and even the people from the Mavis Bank were temporarily taken aback.

    Zi Xianxian was stupefied. ¡°Lu Yin is crazy! He even dares to sell something like this? Isn¡¯t he afraid that the Hall of Honor will cause trouble for him?¡± But then, Zi Xianxian suddenly remembered that the Hall of Honor was seemingly the one backing Lu Yin. She had only half believed the rumors before, but this made her absolutely certain in them. If the Hall of Honor didn¡¯t create any trouble for Lu Yin even after this happened, then they must be supporting him.

    Zi Xianxian was not the only one with such thoughts, and an ordinary-looking man in another suite also let out a long breath. He was representing Aegis in this auction, and he had only bought one natural treasure so far as thepetition had been too intense, rendering him only able to afford one.

    When he saw that pyrolyte was being auctioned off, his thoughts followed the same line as Zi Xianxian¡¯s, and he quickly associated the sale of pyrolyte as proof that the Hall of Honor was behind Lu Yin.

    Although Lu Yin had caused Aegis to suffer great losses, they were actually rather grateful towards him. They had indeed wanted to upy Northcastle Weave to gain ess to pyrolyte, but they had btedly realized that the Hall of Honor had ced extraordinarily strict controls around pyrolyte only after their struggle with Lu Yin. To their shock, quite a few powers had been extinguished because of this, and they actually rejoiced that they had dodged this minefield.

    People were also rather apprehensive of the hidden strength that the Hall of Honor might still have in the Outerverse. If they were supporting Lu Yin, then it was fortunate that Aegis had not continued to fight to the death. It would have been truly difficult to predict who would havee off worse in the end.

    The auction for the pyrolyte did not proceed very smoothly, as nobody dared to purchase it. In the end, one of Bei Qing¡¯s employees bought it at a price that was 100 star essence higher than its starting value, so as not to embarrass the auction house.

    Due to pyrolyte being sold at his auction, Lu Yin suddenly seemed even more mysterious than before due to his hidden support bing even more terrifying.

    However, many people who were hidden in the shadows also started paying more attention to Lu¡¯s Grand Auction. If this auction house was willing to sell even pyrolyte, then what would they not be willing to sell? All of a sudden, many people started nning to sell off certain objects that were better off kept a secret.

    The auctioning of the pyrolyte was just a primer, as Lu Yin was not in a hurry to reach the final oue. He had already ordered Bei Qing to track down the person who had sold the pyrolyte. If it was just someone who had identallye across a bit of the mineral, then that would be fine. However, if the seller had a steady means of obtaining more pyrolyte, that would be crossing the Hall of Honor¡¯s bottom line, and they would have to be eradicated.

    The auctionsted for two more days, and when Lu Yin saw the total amount that Bei Qing had brought in, Lu Yin couldn''t stop himself from smiling. He was very happy, as the auction had actuallyted him 50,000 star essence. The ten natural treasures had sold for 30,000. In addition, they had also sold Elder Wu''s poison, the five drops of gemspring water, King Zishan''s pce¡¯s collection of artwork and other misceneous gifts, as well as all themissions that he had received from the other auctioned items. All in all, the auction had brought in a small fortune for Lu Yin in just a short amount of time.

    Before the auction, he had had 52,000 star essence, and with the profits of the auction added on, his funds had now surpassed 100,000. Lu YIn suddenly felt a sense of security.

    100,000s star essence was enough for him to live rather extravagantly, but if he wanted to upgrade some items with his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance, then it still was not enough. Also, if he rolled another six pips: Possession, he might potentially squander his entire fortune in one go.

    He still had to work hard to earn more money.

    With a new sense of financial security from his recent windfall, Lu Yin arrived at the border of Tyrannical Weave within his aircraft.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the scene before him, as there was a boundless river of energy blocking his way. The Astral River was much more spectacr now than before.

    Once the energy dissipated, Tyrannical Weave would regain its connection to the outside universe.

    This energy barrier had isted Millions City for over two years, and they would soon be able to see the light of day again.

    The inhabitables outside of Tyrannical Weave¡¯s border were already filled with people. Lu Yin and Cool Sis went their separate ways, as Lu Yin went to meet up with Yan Yan. After a few inquiries, he learned that all of these people were waiting for Tyrannical Weave to be essible again.

    Or more urately, they were waiting for ess to Millions City.

    Millions City had gathered a considerable portion of the wealth of the Outerverse, especially star crystals.

    When Millions City had first been isted, more than ten weaves had been affected by the plummeting number of avable star crystals. Not only had the merchants suffered, but the cultivators had been even more severely afflicted. Without any star crystals, they could only slowly absorb the ambient star energy roaming about the universe, forcing their cultivation to slow to an extreme crawl.

    Countless people were waiting for Millions City to be essible.

    Lu Yin had also learned that the Mavis Bank¡¯s wealthiest Outerverse branch was located in Millions City.

    He looked above him, at space, and he could see the asional rune lines streak by. The people waiting for the energy barrier toe down were not only merchants, and some of these people had likelye to this ce with the intent of capturing Deng Pu. Lu Yin¡¯s assumption was confirmed when he spotted Saul¡¯s rune lines moving about as well.

    That old fogey had always been single mindedly focused on iming True Insight. Once he obtained it and broke through to be an Enlighter, very few in the Outerverse would be his match.

    When he recalled the terror of that sourcebox array formed from those fourrge, tree-looking sourceboxes, Lu Yin shuddered in fear.

    He could not allow Saul to obtain those pages. Of course, he also could not allow any other Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker to obtain them either.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Phantom Sting?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Yan Yan softly replied, ¡°Searching for Deng Pu.¡±

    ¡°Tell him to stop looking,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The border of Tyrannical Weave was currently very busy, as there were merchants, cultivators, experts from various great powers who were looking for Deng Pu, and assassins and mercenaries.

    If Deng Pu was not foolish, he definitely would not make any sort of appearance for quite a while. He had been able to hide himself for this long because he was a Lockbreaker, and there was no way for Phantom Sting to find him. Otherwise, he would have long since been discovered by members of Aegis.

    Two dayster, a piece of news spread through the crowd gathered at the border of Tyrannical Weave: Deng Pu had escaped.

    No one seemed to know where this piece of information had originallye from, but the rumors seemed to have spontaneously sprung up everywhere. All of them were simr in that they imed that Deng Pu was afraid of being captured and that he didn¡¯t dare to head towards Tyrannical Weave. However, some imed that Deng Pu had fled to the north while others said that he had fled to the east. Some even said Deng Pu had nevere to the west in the first ce and that he had immediately fled to the east.

    There were many rumors, and they all seemed to appear at the same time.

    Lu Yin firmly believed that Deng Pu had hired people to intentionally release these rumors so that the chaos would keep him safe. Still, these methods had some effect as many of the people and groups that were searching for Deng Pu moved out and headed in other directions to look for him.

    Lu Yin did not leave, as capturing Deng Pu was a matter of pure luck. For the moment, he only wanted to get a glimpse of the legendary Millions City.

    This city was just as famous as Neo-Vestige Sect and the Dark Phoenix family. These were the three great powers of the Outerverse that everyone knew could not be provoked, and Millions City was also the ce with the greatest wealth.

    As for money, Lu Yin had always valued it highly, and he was constantly feeling itsck.

    After another few days passed, the energy barrier separating Tyrannical Weave from the rest of the Outerverse grew very thin. It had even reached the point where one could vaguely see the other side of the barrier.

    Crowds had not only gathered outside of Tyrannical Weave¡¯s border; there were also countless people inside who were expectantly looking out, as they wanted to leave.

    Back when Tyrannical Weave had first been isted, the four great corporations had coincidentally been holding a meeting. Various merchants andpanies of all sizes had attended to look for business opportunities, and some of these corporations even spanned across several weaves. The appearance of the energy barrier had trapped a number of wealthy people from the Outerverse, including the Enlighter who supported the Nn family.

    As that energy grew thinner, everyone became increasingly excited, as Millions City was about to open up again.

    In space, within his spacecraft, Lu Yin calmly watched on. As the opposing scenery gradually becamepletely clear, countless spacecraft shot forward towards Tyrannical Weave, along with countless cultivators.

    Lu Yin had never seen so many vesselsing and going through the same region of space before.

    The universe was vast, and the human eye could only see so far. Generally, when two spacecraft flew towards each other, it was extremely unlikely that the upants would be able to see each other. However, most routes were pre-nned such that vessels would never draw close enough to be seen by the naked eye.

    It was indeed very rare to witness countless spacecraft weaving through one another like what Lu Yin was seeing.

    Cool Sis¡¯s location was unknown, as she had not entered Tyrannical Weave with Lu Yin.

    Yan Yan and Phantom Sting were standing next to Lu Yin, and they entered Tyrannical Weave inside his spacecraft that steadily moved towards Millions City.

    At this point in time, the Outerverse¡¯s news cycle was about to explode, and all of the reports were rted to Tyrannical Weave reconnecting with the rest of the Outerverse. Millions City held too powerful an influence on the rest of the Outerverse.

    Millions City was situated slightly to the west of Tyrannical Weave¡¯s center, and it took Lu Yin¡¯s ship seven hours to arrive. During this time, Lu Yin read up on some information rting to Millions City so that he could develop a greater understanding of the ce.

    It was a city of money-grubbers, and anyone who wanted to enter the city was required to pay an entry tax of 10,000 star crystals. This was just the entrance fee, and it could also be seen as the doorstop that kept the poor outside of the city.

    Not just anybody had 10,000 star crystals on them, as back during the trial on Earth, it had already been considered pretty decent if a participating student of the Great Yu Empire had a few fragments of a star crystal, which wasn¡¯t even enough to form aplete crystal. 10,000 was an exorbitant price for such people, and that was just the entrance fee for Millions City.

    Not only that, but there was also a time limit for how long one could remain within the city. It cost a full star crystal to stay within Millions City for a day, and thus, it cost more than 300 star crystals to remain there for a full year.

    Being able to afford the entrance fee was not actually overly impressive, but there were simply too many people who wanted to visit Millions City. Since this fee was collected from all of them, the amount that Millions City raked in on any given day was unimaginable.

    Food and lodging within Millions City also cost money, and obtaining permanent residence within the city was a very lengthy and arduous process, though everything could be resolved with enough money.

    In short, everything could be settled with money within Millions City. If one wanted to discuss business with a certain person, then as long as they could afford it, the city owner would arrange an appointment for them. This was Millions City, a city where money was the answer to everything.

    Millions City also had a special characteristic, which was that each person had to authenticate their identity along with their wealth, and there were certain areas within the city that prohibited ess to those who could not qualify, such as exclusive restaurants, libraries, entertainment centers, and so on. Many ces required the clients to have a certain level of qualification, and the differentiation between sses was made very clear. Practically everyone had to dere their personal assets in order to participate in any business, and whether or not someone had money, as well as how much, could be readily found out through each person¡¯s verified status. This was simr to how some people had to verify their assets before they qualified to purchase certain luxury spacecraft.

    There was no fighting allowed within Millions City. If any sort of fighting was discovered, the participating individuals would have to pay a fine for their actions or they would be expelled from the city. This was also the minimum punishment, as the rulers of the city had to guarantee the safety of everyone within it.

    Although it was a city founded on the concept of openness, Millions City was still one of the safest ces in the entire Outerverse.

    The Qiong family was the master of Millions City, but despite their name, they had graspedplete control of the wealthiest city.

    As he had already seen Neo-Vestige Sect, Lu Yin assumed that he would not be too surprised when visiting Millions City. But the moment he saw it, he waspletely astonished. This was because the rune lines that he saw from Millions City were overwhelming, and this city indeed possessed a hidden strength that could rival the power of Neo-Vestige Sect.

    "Qiong" is a homonym for being poor.

 Chapter 785: Qiong Xiâ€™er

    <h4>Chapter 785: Qiong Xi¡¯er</h4>

    Millions City had not been not built on a, and it was actually a lone city that floated through the universe with hot stars as well as countless satellites revolving around it. From afar, it seemed like a four-sided maind, and it grew bigger the closer they got.

    The city¡¯s overall area was about equal to ten Zenyu Stars spread out. It looked like a colossal creature creeping through space.

    Countless spacecraft were queued up, waiting to enter Millions City. To proceed, all of the vessels had to stop at a satellite near Millions City, after which the people would have to take a Millions City spacecraft to enter the city itself. Lu Yin¡¯s group was no exception; they had to first pay the entrance fee before boarding the Millions City spacecraft, and they also authenticated their identities and assets while they boarded the spacecraft.

    Authenticating one¡¯s wealth was very simple. One simply had to report it on their own before verifying it with someone from Millions City. Reporting an amount lower than what the visitor actually possessed would cause them to receive a lower authentication status, which would only ce the visitor at a disadvantage. Thus, Millions City didn¡¯t care about such things.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t have to sit around in the public transport spacecraft for very long, but while he sat there, he used his domain to observe the situation around himself.

    ¡°Your Highness, we can actually contact the masters of Millions City and enter straight away,¡± Yan Yan mentioned. Many disciples from the great powers have their own means to directly enter Millions City, as they enjoy the same elite status no matter where they go. After all, the universe was not fair. Were Enlighters supposed to take the same public spacecraft when they arrived? Millions City was not run by fools.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, this is just an experience. This is the Outerverse¡¯s wealthiest city after all.¡±

    Using his domain, Lu Yin watched as others authenticated their statuses, and it turned out to be a simple procedure. As for the authentication itself, it was just a tattoo imprinted on the wrist of the visitor. Once they left the territory of Millions City, the tattoo would vanish, and it would only reappear whenever they returned. If they wanted to modify the tattoo, they would have to re-authenticate themselves.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s turn soon, and an adorable girl stepped up to authenticate his wealth and status.

    Lu Yin smiled gently. ¡°50,000 star essence.¡±

    The girl was stumped, and she paused for a long moment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, how much did you say?¡± She felt that she must have heard wrong. 50,000 star essence? That was impossible. Someone with that much wealth would be a distinguished guest, and they would be able to enter through special means. Those people did not sit on public transports.

    Lu Yin repeated the number again and then passed the girl his cosmic ring along with a drop of his blood.

    The girl examined the ring before respectfully returning it back to Lu Yin. She then solemnly retrieved a certain seal that looked as though it was something that was seldom used. ¡°Sir, your authenticated status is of the Qiong mark.¡±

    ¡°Is there some difference with this mark?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The girl became rather nervous, and she looked at Lu Yin with fervent eyes as she gave him a charming smile. ¡°Our Millions City¡¯s authenticated statuses are split into five grades. From lowest to highest, there is white, blue, gold, Qiong, and Millions City. You have been given the second highest grade, and guests with the Qiong mark can directly enter the City masters¡¯ residence, as well as any public area in Millions City. You will not be obstructed in such ces.¡±

    She then very gently ced the seal against Lu Yin¡¯s wrist, though her finger lingered on Lu Yin¡¯s palm for a while, with clear hints of seduction.

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not say anything further, which left the girl very disappointed. She authenticated a blue mark for Yan Yan and Phantom Sting before leaving, though not without looking back a few times.

    Not long after, Lu Yin was finally able to look down upon Millions City from up high, and he gasped in admiration.

    This city had a simple and unadorned style, though many of its buildings felt like they were technologically advanced. The entire city was an amalgamation of modern and ancient eras, and there were manyndmark buildings.

    Lu Yin saw the Mavis Bank branch, which was very obvious, and that wealthy feeling could not be concealed.

    When he entered Millions City, he saw countless stores and broad streets that were filled with people. The vehicles moving about had been manufactured with levitation technology, and they resembled flying saucers as they shuttled to and fro through the sky with their passengers.

    Lu Yin stopped one and boarded it with Yan Yan and Phantom Sting. He then immediately chose their destination, which was the nearest hotel.

    ¡°The Mavis Bank is too overbearing. They actually won¡¯t even allow people to withdraw money! And based on what? They¡¯re just a bank!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s trio ate inside the hotel while they listened to the conversations taking ce around them.

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of that cheapskate, Qiong Xi''er! She¡¯s united all of Millions City¡¯s merchants to suppress the outflow of star crystals and star essence. You can spend money, but they won¡¯t give you any back, which has caused everything to be suppressed even further. Prices have been lowered by almost halfpared to what the baseline was two years ago.¡±

    ¡°What does that slut want?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s simple¡ªMillions City was sealed off, so the flow of resources in has been reduced. Thus, their purchasing power has greatly increased, and therefore, the price of all goods has dropped significantly. Qiong Xi''er instigated all of the major corporations to stock up on money without any restraint since they still have purchasing power. Then, they¡¯ll wait to release their star crystals and simr resources, which will then once again increase the price of those goods. By repeating this multiple times, she can make a profit there.¡±

    ¡°Qiong Xi''er has reportedly already formed an agreement with the various corporations, and she draws a 1%mission from the profits. That woman is sucking our blood out.¡±

    ¡°That slut. Because of her, we¡¯re earning much less.¡±

    ¡­

    As he listened to the conversations taking ce all around him, Lu Yin was astonished. Such tant economic maniption was allowed to take ce? It was not easy to forcefully create a price differential ording to what these other visitors to Millions City were discussing, as this involved certain financial patterns, market analysis, and other abstruse skills. However, it was certain that these people were earning less, and their former profit margins had flowed into the coffers of themercial corporations that had been sealed within Millions City. This meant that those corporations were earning a significant amount more, and 1% of all that belonged to this Qiong Xi''er.

    Just how much money did that 1% amount to? The value of all the daily transactions in Millions City was very exaggerated, and even if it was just a 1%mission, a single day¡¯s worth ofmissions was probably more than Lu Yin¡¯s entire wealth. Qiong Xi''er: Lu Yin made a point to remember this name, which wasn¡¯t quite difficult as everyone around them was talking about her.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget rang: Tyrannical Weave¡¯smunicationwork had been restored.

    Wang Wen¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, you should be at Millions City by now.¡±

    ¡°How did you know that I came to Millions City?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Ha! How can I not know something that you ordinary people think of? Deng Pu showed up, and he¡¯ll definitely head to Millions City to sell off True Insight, so how could you not have made a move?¡± Wang Wen was pleased with himself.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°So, what are you calling for me for?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. I just wanted to remind you to beware of a certain woman,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Qiong Xi''er.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as this was the name that he had constantly been hearing ever since he had first arrived in Millions City. And now, apparently even Wang Wen knew about this woman. ¡°You know her?¡±

    Wang Wen sniggered. ¡°In the entire Outerverse, there¡¯s only two other people who are worthy of my attention since they can barely qualify topare to me in intelligence: Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er. I¡¯m in the east, Wei Rong is in the center, and Qiong Xi''er is in the west. How can I put this? Nobody knows what that woman is thinking. She might suddenly trap you, and in the end, you might not even know how you died.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s that smart?¡± Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Wang Wen leisurely replied, ¡°Just be careful when you meet her. That woman has the ability to instantly deduce how a situation will develop from some minor details. A single gesture can allow her to deduce thousands of possibilities, and she¡¯s very troublesome to deal with. I don¡¯t want you to be finished before I can leave Ironblood Weave, so be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin then repeated what he had heard about Qiong Xi''er from theining merchants to Wang Wen.

    Wang Wenughed. ¡°That¡¯s her style, though what you just mentioned is only a small path. Nobody even knows who she¡¯s truly plotting against. This woman is just embarrassing those people, or it might be a bad joke for her. Don¡¯t grab her attention. Right, there¡¯s one more point to mention: this woman is a little strange.¡±

    Wang Wen then abruptly disconnected.

    Lu Yin rubbed his forehead, as he was most afraid of encountering such intelligent people.

    He was not afraid of powerful opponents; rather, he was more wary of the smart ones. As long as there was not an overwhelming difference in strength, brains were usually harder to deal with than raw muscle.

    He had to gain a deep understanding of Millions City, which meant that it was time to visit the Enlighter that the Nn family supported, and she seemed to be called <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian.

    ***

    Fragrance Pavilion was Millions City¡¯srgest brothel, and it also happened to be one of thergest money sinks in all of Millions City. It took up arge amount ofnd, and it hadrge numbers of clients all year round. The girls who belonged to the brothel were proficient at ying various musical instruments, adept at ying all sorts of characters, were of all colors and types, and had legendary outfits.

    Unlike many other brothels, Fragrance Pavilion had a refined design, and it was separated into many individual courtyards with numerous small bridges that crossed over the running water and wound about the grounds.

    Any man who visited Millions City dreamed of being able to freely walk about Fragrance Pavilion. The expenses in this brothel were high, and even if one could afford to enter, they still weren¡¯t likely to be able to freely spend their money in the establishment.

    Fragrance Pavilion looked like a sprawling garden filled with multiple courtyards.

    As soon as Millions City reconnected with the rest of the Outerverse, countless people had flooded into the city, and arge number of visitors had also entered Fragrance Pavilion.

    One particr courtyard within Fragrance Pavilion was filled withughter, joyous sounds, and music. At the moment, more than ten beautifuldies were being chased around by a thin, blindfolded person, and the girls asionally let out excited shrieks.

    A more adorable looking girl suddenly entered the courtyard, although she did not seem to find the situation before her strange. ¡°Young Master, a few important characters who have entered the city.¡±

    That figure chasing the girls around suddenly dashed over to hug the adorable neer, and he ran his hands all over her body, causing the girl¡¯s face to flush red. ¡°Young- Young Master, do you want to see?¡±

    That person let out a strangeugh, and hearing their voice would allow one to realize that this person was actually a girl, though her tone was gender neutral. ¡°Read out which important characters have arrived to Young Master.¡±

    The girl did her best to push the person¡¯s hands groping her away to prevent any improper touching while quickly saying, ¡°Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Western Chairman Mr. Hoffman, Aurora Enterprises¡¯ ze Engineer, San Dios Councilor Moore, the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Senior <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix and Taylor Phoenix, Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family¡¯s Wei Rong, and the Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin. Ah, right, there are also many spacecraft from Endless Borders waiting outside the weave.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong? That treacherous fellow is also here?¡± The person pulled down the cloth blindfolding them to reveal an exquisitely beautiful face. She was a girl with short hair, and even though she was wearing male clothing, she also had lipstick on, which gave her a peculiar beauty.

    This person was clearly a woman, but she liked to tease girls and took pleasure in pursuing them. This was none other than Millions City¡¯s Qiong Xi''er.

    ¡°Young- Young Master, could you please release me?¡± The adorable girl¡¯s face had flushed a deep red, as the most sensitive parts of her body were still being touched by Qiong Xi''er. It was very ufortable, but also strangelyfortable, making it a contradictory feeling.

    Qiong Xi''erughed and kissed the girl. ¡°Nans, you¡¯re developing nicely under Young Master¡¯s servitude. In the past, that old man even wanted to marry you out, but let me tell you that that¡¯s impossible. You¡¯ll be Young Master¡¯s girl for your entire life, hehe.¡±

    Nana lowered her head, looking extremely embarrassed.

    Qiong Xi''er waved her hand and dismissed the girls from Fragrance Pavilion. She then activated the screen on her gadget to look over the report listing all the names that Nana had just shared with her, along with an introduction to each person.

    Millions City was naturally not able to obtain so much information in such a short period of time; instead, all of this information had been bought from Amethyst Exchange. Amethyst Exchange considered Millions City to be one of its more distinguished clients, as they were incredibly wealthy.

 Chapter 786: Qiong Familyâ€™s Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 786: Qiong Family''s Banquet</h4>

    ¡°Shamrock Enterprises, Aurora Enterprises, the Dark Phoenix family, and even that fellow Wei Rong are here. This doesn¡¯t seem right. What are they all doing here?¡± Qiong Xi''er asked.

    Nana softly replied, ¡°The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was attacked on Sourcepeak, and some pages of True Insight fell into the hands of some Lockbreaker called Deng Pu. They¡¯re all here to capture him.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er eyes shed, and she immediately pulled up information detailing what had happened in the rest of the Outerverse during the time that Millions City had been isted. After a while, she shifted her gaze. ¡°True Insight¡ªthat¡¯s definitely something good. However, whoever obtains it will be the unlucky one.¡±

    ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t we also have a chance to get it?¡± Nana asked out of curiosity as her eyes went wide. Her eyes were bright, but they also contained a trace of grievance and helplessness. Overall, it was a very appealing look.

    Qiong Xi''er kissed the girl again. ¡°No. The Outerverse will eventually reconnect with the Innerverse, and the Lockbreaker Society is not some ordinary power. That old fogey, Geoffrey, is very hard to deal with, and as soon as the Neoverse Lockbreaker Society steps forward, even we will have to give in. Thus, whatever we gain from this situation can only be sold.¡±

    ¡°Such a pity. It was able to draw so many people here, so it must be incredibly valuable,¡± Nanamented.

    Qiong Xi''erughed. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to regret, as only Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers canprehend True Insight. This toy would be useless to us even if we did obtain it, so just let these people enjoy their dogfight.¡±

    She paused for a moment and continued molesting Nana¡¯s body as she muttered to herself, ¡°They¡¯ve alle to Millions City, but they can¡¯t fight within the city. Even if there was a way to chase them all away, it would just offend too many people, which isn¡¯t worth it. There has to be some other way.¡±

    ¡°Young Master, there are also some people from the Mavis Bank here,¡± Nana cried, as another name had appeared on the screen: Yuehua Mavis, who was from the Mavis Bank.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s expression changed, as she definitely could not allow these people to raise amotion in the city.

    Her gaze swept across every name on the list before finally stopping on Wei Rong¡¯s name. Her brows involuntarily quirked up. With this fellow around, it would be impossible for the situation to remain peaceful no matter how badly she wanted to avoid a chaotic situation. This person could kill without drawing blood, and he was truly treacherous.

    Below Wei Rong¡¯s name was another: Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin.

    She had just been reading about what had happened on Sourcepeak, and Lu Yin¡¯s name had appeared among the reading material, along with Wei Rong¡¯s. If her guesses were correct, then that matter should be rted to Wei Rong, as she understood him too well. However, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had ultimately relocated to Frostwave Weave, which was where Lu Yin was based. Either these two had cooperated or someone had actually gained the upper hand against Wei Rong.

    The chances of them cooperating were not too great, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s existence posed a grave threat to Armament Weave. Thus, the two should have an antagonistic rtionship.

    It was not easy for someone to gain the upper hand against Wei Rong, and so, this prompted Qiong Xi''er to check Lu Yin¡¯s previous achievements as well. She grew more astonished the more she read. This person had only cultivated for a bit more than seven years, but he was already able to kill Enlighters when the Outerverse was separated from the Innerverse. And after that, he had established the Great Eastern Alliance and even subdued Aegis. Each aplishment after the next showed that this Lu Yin was not some simpleton.

    Qiong Xi''er quickly developed an interest in this Lu Yin, especially after learning that he had even created amotion after going to Ironblood Weave. It was rumored that the final defense of Ironblood Weave was also somehow rted to this person. If he had gone there, then Lu Yin must have also met that blockhead, Wang Wen, and be acquaintances with him. Lu Yin had also run into Wei Rong, but Lu Yin had managed toe out on top. He was an interesting person.

    ¡°Help me keep an eye on this guy called Lu Yin,¡± Qiong Xi''er ordered.

    Nana immediately murmured her acknowledgement and sent out the relevant instructions.

    ¡°Hold up.¡± Qiong Xi''er seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and her expression grew lively as her face took on an enchanting mien. ¡°Go and tell the old man to host the Qiong''s Banquet.¡±

    Nana was astonished at this turn of events. ¡°Yes, Young Master.¡±

    The Nn family had quite a few properties within Millions City, and they even had an enormous vi within the city limits.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian resided within Millions City.

    Lu Yin had originally thought that he would be able to easily find the Enlighter¡¯s location through her rune lines, but he had been thinking too simply. At this moment, there were actually five Enlighters in Millions City, and one of them had rune lines that approached Elder Lohar¡¯s. Even if that expert did not have a power level of 300,000, they were very, very close.

    Being near a powerhouse of this level left Lu Yin feeling a bit suppressed.

    This sort of powerhouse was someone who could easily deal with even Cai Jianqiang.

    As dusk fell upon the city, Lu Yin led Yan Yan to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian¡¯s residence, intending to pay a visit as a friend of the Nn family.

    Madam Nn should have already given <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian a heads-up about Lu Yin¡¯s visit.

    Soon, Lu Yin was brought in by a servant while Yan Yan waited outside.

    10,000 years ago, there had been a vi in the Outerverse known as Waterlotus Vi, and it had flourished for a period of time. It had even been able to produce an Enlighter and be the guiding power of an entire weave. However, it had been wiped out in the course of just one night with only the injured, cryopreserved master escaping. That master was this very <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian.

    i<span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian had been unsealed by the Nn family, and she had been in their employment ever since.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s visit beforehand, and she was rather curious about this youth who had abruptly risen up from nothing, to the point where he was already able to stand at the peak of the Outerverse. She had seen many geniuses, but none of them could rival this Lu Yin.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian .¡± Lu Yin bowed respectfully when he arrived. This old woman¡¯s rune lines even surpassed those of Lord Egret, and ording to Lu Yin¡¯s best estimate, her power level was approaching 300,000, which meant that she was one of the strongest people in the entire Millions City.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian¡¯splexion showed her age, though her expression remained serene as she sized Lu Yin up and down before nodding. ¡°Fuxue already contacted me, and she told me that you would pay me a visit. You arrived rather quickly.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s given name was Liu Fuxue, though Lu Yin had almost forgotten about it. That entrancing fairy of a woman had such a pretty name, and it matched her image very well.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Junior didn¡¯t dare to make Senior wait for too long.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian smiled. ¡°During the time that Tyrannical Weave was isted, the Nn family received no help from me. So, thanks are owed to Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°Senior can call Junior Little Seven.¡± Lu Yin hurriedly tried to suck up to the woman.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian did not reject his offer. ¡°Little Seven? You¡¯re ranked seventh in your family?¡±

    ¡°I just like the number seven. It has nothing to do with my family.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian nodded. ¡°Is there any particr matter that prompted you toe look for me?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I won¡¯t conceal this matter from Senior. Junior wishes to find Deng Pu.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lianughed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of this matter, and anyone would want to obtain True Insight, though Fuxue did not ask me to look for Deng Pu. You should know the reason why.¡±

    ¡°Millions City belongs to the Qiong family, and it wouldn¡¯t be very respectful of Senior to search through their domain.¡±

    ¡°As long as you know. The Qiong family has wielded control of Millions City for many years, and during this time, many experts have coveted this ce, but none have ever seeded. Even those enormous powers from the Innerverse have threatened the Qiong family in the past, but none of them seeded either. This is because there¡¯s a strength hidden here that¡¯s enough to even make Envoys feel apprehensive. Thus, I feel that it would be best for me to remind you: don¡¯t cause amotion here in Millions City. If you canpete for True Insight, then go for it, but if you can¡¯t, then just let it go peacefully. Sometimes, being unable to obtain something is actually a blessing in disguise,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian spoke emotionally, seemingly reminiscing about an old memory.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, ¡°Junior has benefited from your advice. Actually, Junior does not hold too much hope in obtaining True Insight. Rather, I am actually more curious about Millions City, and I would like to ask Senior some questions.¡±

    ¡°What do you wish to know?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian asked.

    Lu Yin thought about what he had learned so far. ¡°The Qiong family, as well as the other families that are able to influence Millions City.¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian looked up into the sky as it grew darker. ¡°The only families that can influence all of Millions City, apart from the Qiong family, are the Zhu family. Anyone with enough wealth is able to establish a residence in Millions City, even if that means that their ancestral grounds have to be relocated. But even after so many years, the only two families that have been here from the very start are the Qiong family and the Zhu family, while the rest are powers such as the Mavis Bank.

    ¡°Millions City is like a ce where anyone can join in on thepetition. Money is the only weapon avable, and the Qiong family is the only n that canpletely control Millions City without using their money. The current head of the Qiong Family is Qiong Shanhai, who¡¯s another Enlighter, and he also should not be provoked. In addition to him, the Zhu family also has their own Enlighter realm ancestor.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like something was strange. ¡°If it¡¯s a matter of money, then shouldn¡¯t many powers from the Innerverse be able to set themselves up in Millions City?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lianughed. ¡°Who would be willing to lodge under another¡¯s roof? They won¡¯te here unless they feel like they can gain control of Millions City. And since none of them think that they can, they will not waste too much energy on this ce. In the end, for most people, this is just a ce to make money and nothing more. This is not a paradise that can give rise to a powerhouse.¡±

    Lu Yin chatted with <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian for a little longer before he bade the old woman farewell. She had remained in Millions City for two years, and so, she had naturally developed a deep understanding of this ce, and her experience allowed Lu Yin to learn more. He hade to understand that the Qiong family should not be provoked, and neither should the mysterious Zhu family.

    He was especially interested in the Zhu family, as their ancestor was called Zhu Tiezhu, which was a peculiar name. Even after bing an Enlighter, the man had made no move to change his name, which made Lu Yin admire this ancestor Zhu Tiezhu.

    Right as he stepped out of <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian¡¯s residence, a middle-aged man who had been standing nearby bowed respectfully to Lu Yin. ¡°City Master Qiong invites Alliance Leader Lu to join the Qiong''s Banquet tomorrow night. Would Alliance Leader Lu please do us the honor of attending?¡± The man then offered Lu Yin a written invitation with both hands.

    Lu Yin took it. ¡°Many thanks.¡±

    The middle-aged man bowed again before turning to leave.

    Lu Yin opened the letter, only to discover there was not much written within it and that itrgely reflected the middle-aged man¡¯s words. It was signed by Qiong Shanhai.

    The Qiong Family''s Banquet? Lu Yin put the invitation away and looked around. Finally, he led Yan Yan to an unadorned hotel that overlooked a river.

    There were mountains and water inside Millions City as well as a wide river that flowed through it. The hotel where Lu Yin had decided to stay was close to the riverside, and although it was not that luxurious, it was one of the most famous establishments within Millions City. Its im to fame was therge number of important guests that it had hosted throughout the years. In particr, it was proud of the various schrs who had left inked treasures behind. It was even rumored that the Daynight n¡¯s leader, Nightking Dijiang, had visited this hotel before.

    Not just anyone could enter the Riverside Hotel that overlooked the waterway. One needed to have at least a gold mark authentication before they qualified to eat a meal there, which was a symbol of status.

    Yan Yan¡¯s authenticated status was only at the blue mark, which meant that he was not allowed inside the hotel. Thus, Lu Yin reserved a room in a nearby hotel for the man to stay in.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Qiong mark allowed him to enjoy the hotel¡¯s warm hospitality, and they specially arranged for him to be seated at the table closest to the river and his room on the third floor. The hotel had a total of five levels, and although the building was not very tall, it was filled with a dense history.

    As he looked at the flowing river water and sipped his wine, Lu Yin felt a new sort of sensation.

    Those who could enter this hotel were all wealthy people. Lu Yin observed his surroundings as he listened to the conversations taking ce around him. He was able to obtain a great deal of useful information in a ce like this.

    ¡°The Qiong''s Banquet is about to be held again. Do you know what kind of people are being invited? I bet that the names will scare you.¡± A man spoke up in a slightly louder voice, and he proudly looked at everyone else sitting at his table before continuing. ¡°My uncle is on duty at the City Master¡¯s estate, and he¡¯s the one who told me that this Qiong''s Banquet is going to be one of the more extravagant ones in history. There will be at least six Enlighters, which include the City Master, Qiong Shanhai, Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Western Chairman Hoffman, Aurora Enterprises¡¯ ze Engineer, the Nn family¡¯s <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix, and the Mavis Bank¡¯s Yuehua Mavis.¡±

 Chapter 787: Strange Conversation

    <h4>Chapter 787: Strange Conversation</h4>

    After listening to the man¡¯s introduction, a woman cried out, ¡°The Mavis Bank also sent someone over?¡±

    ¡°I heard that they came for True Insight, as some Lockbreaker called Deng Pu thought that he could sell True Insight here in Millions City. These people all came here for him,¡± the man beside her exined in a deep voice.

    ¡°The City Master has organized this Qiong''s Banquet to warn these people not to take action within the city. Otherwise, that many powerhouses might actually ruin our Millions City,¡± someone else said.

    ¡°Remember how Innerverse experts have also looked for trouble in Millions City? Whenever that¡¯s happened, the City Master always hosts the Qiong Family''s Banquet to resolve the crisis. Let¡¯s just hope that this time is no different.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I never dreamed that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society would actually end up in such a miserable state. Things are so bad now that people are even plotting to take their True Insight. Back when the Innerverse was still connected to the Outerverse, even if True Insight had gone missing, there wouldn¡¯t have been anyone who would dare to brazenly grab it.¡± Someone was discussing recent events on the second floor.

    ¡°The times have changed. I heard that the eastern weaves have been subdued by this fellow called Lu Yin, and he¡¯s just an Explorer,¡± someone mocked.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t that because he¡¯s supported by the Hall of Honor? It¡¯s all because Lu Yin has eleven Honor Points. Nobody is willing to risk killing him as the Hall of Honor will chase down his murderer.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say it like that¡ªthe Hall of Honor isn¡¯t anyone¡¯s nanny. Even if no one¡¯s willing to kill Lu Yin, they must still have some way to capture him! This person was able to form this Great Eastern Alliance with his own methods and ability. Now that the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse, the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence has dropped significantly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, even Aegis was beaten back.¡±

    ¡°Aegis is just afraid of Smoker, and this Lu Yin is incredibly lucky. Wait a while longer to see if the central weaves will let him continue his streak.¡±

    ¡°This Qiong''s Banquet¡¯s main target isn¡¯t him, but rather those Enlighters. Let¡¯s hope that a huge battle doesn¡¯t break out.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin calmly smiled and continued enjoying his wine.

    In another corner of the hotel restaurant, there were other people having simr discussions. ¡°The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was attacked, and someone even raided the Mavis Bank recently. The Outerverse is bing more and more chaotic, and it¡¯s safer to stay here in Millions City.¡±

    ¡°How long can you actually stay in Millions City for? You¡¯ll need to leave someday. No matter how good things are here, it¡¯s still not our home.¡±

    ¡°Bah.¡±

    ¡­

    The nearby conversations all entered his ears. These people all had some degree of wealth and status, but they were still terrified of the current chaotic universe. In that case, then what about themoners? Or ordinary cultivators? The current Outerverse was showing signs of bing even more chaotic, and Lu Yin was actually a portent of that disorder, as was Wei Rong.

    As Lu Yin thought about Wei Rong, Wei Rong actually arrived outside the Riverside Hotel and coincidentally exchanged nces with Lu Yin.

    He had not expected to bump into Lu Yin in this ce.

    This Riverside Hotel often publicized that it had served the Daynight n leader, Nightking Dijiang. Everyone also knew about Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with the Daynight n, but Lu Yin had still chosen to visit this ce.

    Wei Rong quickly ascended three stories and casually sat down to join Lu Yin, and beside him was the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress, Angie.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re still rather rxed. Aren¡¯t you afraid that someone else will catch Deng Pu before you?¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Lu Yin smiled back and poured a ss of wine for both Wei Rong and Angie. ¡°That¡¯s fine. If it¡¯s destined to end up with me, then it won¡¯t get away. If it doesn¡¯t belong to me, then I won¡¯t get it even if I beg for it.¡±

    ¡°Well spoken. Cheers, Brother Lu!¡± Wei Rong raised his wine ss.

    Lu Yin simrly raised his wine ss and clinked sses with Wei Rong.

    When they had met on Zenyu Star in the past, the two had chatted with each other in a very agreeable manner. Although they were enemies, their conversations tended to be even more carefree than one between true friends. They were both intelligent people, and they were both tactful in their words. They were mutually probing the other, and neither felt embarrassed by their verbal sparring. They were each trying to obtain information from the other party, and searching for weaknesses by reading between the lines.

    ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s battle against Aegis was very impressive,¡± Wei Rongplimented.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°If it had been Brother Wei, you would definitely have been able to resolve things much more easily. I must thank Brother Wei for not creating more trouble for me.¡±

    ¡°I wanted to, but things were beyond my influence. Aegis has been growing increasingly ruthless, and they even dared to openly attack Brother Lu. Even the Hall of Honor can¡¯t hold them back, so naturally, I have no ability to intervene in their affairs.¡± Wei Rong sighed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Actually I¡¯m very curious about something. Aegis was willing to openly try to kill me¡ªwas that because they were certain that I wouldn¡¯t die, or was it because they wanted to give me a warning? Or, is there someone else hiding in the shadows behind them giving the orders and trying to probe the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin had thought of this possibility even before his all-out war with Aegis. Back then, he had suspected Wei Rong of trying to use Aegis to sound out how much strength the Hall of Honor still had in the Outerverse, but he had quickly ruled out that possibility. No matter how much hidden strength the Hall of Honor possessed, at the very least, everyone was aware of Elder Lohar¡¯s existence. Unless Aegis had a powerhouse who wasparable to Elder Lohar, there was no way they would be willing to antagonize the Hall of Honor.

    Aegis was not run by fools. Even if Wei Rong had wanted to probe the Hall of Honor, Aegis would not have allowed him to act as he wished. Hence, Lu Yin had pushed this conjecture to the bottom of his list. Instead, he had simply assumed that, from the very start, Aegis had been confident that Lu Yin would not die to their assassination attempt. After all, he was someone who had killed Enlighters before and that their assassination attempts must have been nothing more than a warning. As long as Lu Yin did not die, the Hall of Honor would not pursue his attackers.

    Now that Lu Yin was meeting with Wei Rong again, for some reason, Lu Yin suddenly vented this suspicion that he had kept hidden in the depths of his heart.

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Does Brother Lu suspect that I may have instigated Aegis?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Brother Wei is not that impulsive. Back when you attacked Sourcepeak, it was only because President Geoffrey wasn¡¯t around. Even if Brother Wei hopes to spark a revolution and have the Outerverse cast off the constraints that those colossal organizations have ced upon us, you would still never choose the Hall of Honor as a target. In fact, they could only be the final target,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Hall of Honor has long since controlled the Human Domain, and its foundation is unfathomable. To me, Elder Lohar¡¯s existence is only what the Hall of Honor has revealed on the surface. It is very possible that they are hiding even more terrifying powerhouses. Only if the Astral Beast Domain had truly invaded the Outerverse back then, or if some powerhouse who couldn¡¯t be handled by the Outerverse¡¯s forces had appeared would the hall¡¯s hidden trump cards make a move. I will not even make ns to probe the Hall of Honor even at this moment, as I¡¯m not that foolish.¡±

    ¡°Then does Brother Wei think that my conjecture has any merit?¡± Lu Yin looked at Wei Rong. He had not brought this question up to anybody else, as there were only a few people, like Wei Rong, who qualified to answer.

    Wei Rong felt that this question was somewhat strange. ¡°Isn¡¯t Brother Lu already a member of Aegis¡¯ second level managers? In that case, you must have spoken with Starfox. Didn¡¯t you ask them?¡±

    ¡°Does Brother Wei think that Starfox would speak about such things?¡± Lu Yinughed.

    Wei Rong raised his ss, stared at the wine it held, and then at the roiling river water. ¡°The circumstances of the Outerverse are like the river¡¯s water in that neither can be reversed. You and I are only able to see what¡¯s on the surface, but if Brother Lu¡¯s suspicion is correct, then that means that there is someone who can use Aegis to test the Hall of Honor. Such a person is definitely not someone who either of us canpare to.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought, and he suddenly thought of Ku Wei. The Court of Seven Names¡¯ Ku family had definitely sent other people to the Outerverse, and he also remembered meeting ckless God. The Three Dark Hands and the Hall of Honor were hostile to each other, and it would be perfectly reasonable for one of those two to probe the Hall of Honor.

    Although this was just Lu Yin¡¯s conjecture, it was also possible that the assassination attempt had been nothing more than a mere warning from Aegis.

    ¡°Right, Brother Lu, I have a question that I would like to consult you about.¡± Wei Rong ced his ss down and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Will the Neo-Vestige Sect join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Angie¡¯s expression changed, and she turned to closely observe Lu Yin.

    Neo-Vestige Sect was one of the three top powers of the Outerverse that could not be provoked. If Neo-Vestige Sect had really joined the Great Eastern Alliance, then the central weaves would have to rope in both Millions City and the Dark Phoenix family to contend against the alliance.

    Lu Yin felt distressed. ¡°That will be very difficult, but it¡¯s not entirely impossible. As long as the Great Eastern Alliance has twenty weaves among its members, the Neo-Vestige Sect will also join us.¡±

    Wei Rong shouted in admiration, ¡°Brother Lu was actually able to convince the Neo-Vestige Sect! That¡¯s impressive!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there aren¡¯t even twenty weaves in the entire eastern region. I¡¯ll have to find a way into the central weaves, and I hope that Brother Wei will show some mercy at that time.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! There¡¯s no way I¡¯d allow Brother Lu to get what you want. Otherwise, the entire Outerverse will fall under your control.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s wait and see. I¡¯m quite confident.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    ¡°I am very confident as well, haha.¡± Wei Rongughed.

    ¡°Since Brother Wei is so confident, then it would appear that the formation of the central weaves¡¯ alliance is proceeding smoothly?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s more troublesome, as those old farts don¡¯t really understand you. I can only try to smear Brother Lu¡¯s reputation in order to make them more wary of you, but it will still take some more time for them to ally together.¡± Wei Rong was clearly vexed.

    ¡°That¡¯s very normal. Otherwise, an alliance would have formed a long time ago. Brother Wei will have to work harder, but of course, I won¡¯t allow you to have an easy time of things.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Wei Rong raised his ss. ¡°I also won¡¯t allow Brother Lu to have an easy time as you try topletely take control of the eastern weaves. Cheers!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    Angie speechlessly looked back and forth from one to the other. What did this conversation mean? Had they really spilled their own secrets that casually? Had they really not hidden anything at all? During their entire t¨ºte-¨¤-t¨ºte, they had seemed more like good friends than bitter rivals, which was something that Angie could not wrap her head around.

    Under normal circumstances, shouldn¡¯t these two be trying to infiltrate the other¡¯s thoughts and obtaining secret information to wreak destruction on the other, or at least taunt each other? Why did these two speak to each other so strangely?

    ¡°Everyone, get out for Young Master! Young Master is reserving all the seats!¡± an arrogant voice echoed throughout the restaurant. The diners all looked down at the ground floor to see that a group of youths were surging in, and themotion had even caused the hotel owner toe out and repeatedly bow while saying something indiscernible.

    Wei Rong was astonished at who he saw. ¡°It¡¯s actually him¡ªZhu San, the Zhu family¡¯s heir.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down as well. The Zhu family was an existence that was second only to the Qiong family within Millions City, and he had also heard of Zhu San¡¯s name before. Reportedly, this person was arrogant, but other than that, he was not too bad. At least he had notmitted any heinous crimes.

    ¡°Lord San, there are many guests here today, and it¡¯s quite difficult for you to reserve all of our seats. Could you be a bit charitable? We will reserve a private room for you, if that¡¯s agreeable¡­?¡± The boss incessantly apologized.

    Zhu San proudly answered, ¡°Alright, but Young Master wants that private room.¡±

    The boss¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°That- that-¡±

    Zhu San red at the older man. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse have been separated for almost two years already, and yet you¡¯re still trying to tter the Daynight n? I want that private room, and that¡¯s a must.¡±

    The boss sighed. ¡°Very well. Please head inside, Lord San.¡±

    Zhu San was just about to enter the room, but two people suddenly walked in front of him and moved straight towards the second floor.

    Zhu San was furious that he had been ignored, and the group of youths behind him also grew angry since these people had actually dared to walk in front of their young master. ¡°You two, stop right there!¡±

    The two people turned to face Zhu San, letting the people there see that they were both men. One was a middle-aged man with narrow eyes and snow-white skin who had a dashing aura. The other was a youth with ordinary looks and a downcast expression.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the two of you see Young Master? How dare you walk in front of me! Are you tired of living?¡± Zhu San raged.

    That downcast-looking youth frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t notice.¡±

    The dashing, middle-aged man beside the youth smiled. ¡°Little bro, we¡¯ve offended you, so please head on in first.¡±

    Zhu San was still unhappy. ¡°It¡¯s not up to you where this lord goes.¡±

    ¡°Are you going or not?¡± The downcast-looking man asked impatiently.

    Zhu San shouted back, ¡°This Lord has not lost my patience yet, but a country bumpkin like you actually dares to act haughty in front of me. Brothers, it seems like quite a few blind people have sneaked into Millions City. Beat him up for your lord!¡±

    The group of youths behind Zhu San immediately picked up tables and chairs and rushed towards the two men.

 Chapter 788: Tomboy

    <h4>Chapter 788: Tomboy</h4>

    The middle-aged man put on a helpless expression as the gloomy-looking youth stepped forward. As he did so, all of the furniture was repelled by a mysterious strength. The youths who had moved forward to attack the two men were just Melders, and they also did not seem to have any actual battle experience, so they were easily knocked over when the furniture crashed into them. Only Zhu San was able to avoid an iing table, after which he looked apprehensively at the youth before spitting out some menacing words. ¡°You just wait! Wait for me! Young Master will remember you! You¡¯d best beware of me!¡±

    After that, he fled the hotel without showing any care for hispanions.

    The hotel boss smiled bitterly, though he was not surprised. In Millions City, the number one troublemaker was precisely Zhu San. It was good that the youth never would actually ask his family to seek revenge for him. At most he would verbally threaten some people.

    The hotel owner turned to the two men and said, ¡°Gentlemen, please don¡¯t mind him. He actually won¡¯t do anything, so please just head inside.¡±

    The middle-aged man then tapped the youth¡¯s shoulder and led him to the second floor of the restaurant. When they were about halfway to the second floor, the man seemed to sense something, and he turned to look up at the third floor, where he saw Lu Yin and Wei Rong. He was surprised to see the two of them there, but he merely nodded at them with a polite smile.

    The gloomy youth beside the man also noticed Lu Yin, and a flicker of apprehension shed through his eyes. However, he lowered his head and seemed to stay quiet.

    Wei Rong was astonished to see the youth. ¡°That¡¯s Moore, a Councilor from West San Dios. I never thought that he woulde here too.¡±

    Lu Yin felt something was strange. ¡°Does Moore also want to try to obtain True Insight?¡±

    Wei Rong shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it. With his strength, there is no way he stands a chance.¡±

    West San Dios¡¯s Councilor was someone who used to be an important character, but after the Outerverse separated from the Innerverse, San Dios¡¯ influence had fallen apart. The members were all youths, and they no longer had the Innerverse¡¯s support, so unless they were someone like Puyu who had enjoyed the support of Darkstar Gorge, the councilors and representatives could only be considered talented youths.

    Wendy Yushan had been one, and so had Liu Shaoge, which was why no one discussed them any longer.

    Lu Yin was not concerned about Moore, as he was more interested in that Zhu San.

    The others had not noticed anything, but Lu Yin had seen something interesting. His mind kept reying the scene of Zhu San dodging Moore¡¯s attack.

    It had not looked like anything special, but Zhu San¡¯s movement when he was evading had actually been slightly faster than Moore¡¯s attack. If not for the rune lines, Lu Yin would not have been able to notice anything either, but at the moment that he dodged, Zhu San¡¯s rune lines had been somewhat peculiar. It had seemed like a simple evasive maneuver, but his rune lines had actually suddenly exploded at that moment. That movement had been a battle technique.

    Zhu San had relied on a battle technique to dodge Moore¡¯s attack, but neither Moore nor anyone else on the scene had noticed a single thing.

    Lu Yin had initially thought that this Zhu San was just a good-for-nothing rich brat, but that subtle battle technique had made Lu Yin suddenly realize that the youth was not so simple after all. Zhu San had been able to predict the direction of Moore¡¯s attack in advance, and that alone was not something that the average person could do. It also had to be acknowledged that Zhu San was just a Limiteer.

    The Zhu family had been able to survive in the Millions City since the beginning, and even <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian did not fully understand them, which showed that they were truly not a simple family.

    After another hour of chatting, Wei Rong finally took his leave. ¡°Brother Lu, tomorrow night¡¯s the Qiong Family''s Banquet, so I¡¯ll see you then.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll meet there.¡±

    Wei Rong escorted Angie away, but when he arrived at the stairs, he seemed to suddenly remember something. ¡°Right, did Brother Lu recognize the person who was with Moore?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Does Brother Wei know him?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Starfox.¡± Wei Rong smiled at Lu Yin before simply waving a hand and leaving.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately unleashed his domain only to realize that Starfox had already left the hotel along with Moore. It was a pity, as Lu Yin had wanted to meet Starfox face to face. Clearly, Wei Rong had purposefully not mentioned this information earlier and had only informed Lu Yin as he was leaving to embarrass Lu Yin, and it had definitely worked. Lu Yin felt humiliated.

    Many experts had gathered in Millions City, and it was precisely them who had received invitations to the Qiong''s Banquet.

    The next night, Lu Yin led Yan Yan to the Qiong Forest, which was being held in the northwest of Millions City. This was the location of the Qiong''s Banquet.

    This so-called Qiong''s Banquet was essentially just the City Master hosting a feast, but it was also an event that would put many unrestrained experts in their ce. Only then would they not stir up trouble while within the city.

    Congenially, it was a banquet, but it could also be called a warning. Throughout countless years, the Qiong family had used this method to warn potential troublemakers, and the Qiong''s Banquet had be famous in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Even Nightking Dijiang had participated in the Qiong Family''s Banquet in the past. Of course, this was nothing more than a rumor, as nobody was able to verify it.

    Qiong Xi''er was the one who weed Lu Yin when he arrived.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing her, and even if he had mentally prepared himself, he was still surprised. This was because Qiong Xi''er had dressed herself up formally; she looked like a very beautiful tomboy, and she had even put on a light lipstick.

    When Qiong Xi''er saw Lu Yin, her eyes lit up, and she passionately approached Lu Yin before giving him a hug. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s an honor to meet you. Wee to Millions City. I¡¯m Qiong Xi''er.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled drily. ¡°So you¡¯re Miss Xi''er.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er fiercely pped a hand upon Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that¡ªcalling me Brother Qiong will do fine.¡±

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°Brother Qiong, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er smiled. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please step inside. I hope that you can have a good time tonight.¡±

    She then moved her head closer and softly said, ¡°If Alliance Leader Lu feels that this area is not exciting enough, I can take Brother Lu on a tour of Fragrance Pavilion¡ªI¡¯ll even arrange everything so that you can have a good time. How about it? Is Brother Lu interested?¡±

    Lu Yin had heard of Fragrance Pavilion¡¯s reputation, so he immediately declined.

    Qiong Xi''erughed. ¡°Brother Lu, there¡¯s no need to be so reserved! We¡¯re all brothers here. Please,e in.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and entered the Qiong Forest, feeling a bit awestruck while Yan Yan waited outside.

    The Qiong Forest had a quiet and secluded environment. With the guidance of some attendants, Lu Yin was escorted to the center of ake thaty beneath a waterfall. A tidy stage had been set up in the middle of theke with the atmosphere of an ancient feast. Everyone had their own dining table, and they were all arranged in a circle so that there wouldn¡¯t be any sense of segregation or priority among the various parties.

    Quite a few people had already taken their seats by the time Lu Yin arrived, and they were all dressed in luxurious clothes. Clearly, there were nomon people in this ce, and almost all of the attendees were space-exploring powerhouses who represented various powerful organizations.

    However, Lu Yin did not recognize a single person. The universe was too vast, and Millions Cityy in Tyrannical Weave, which was so far from Frostwave Weave that the two weaves rarely ever interacted if at all. Millions City mostly maintained rtionships with the various great powers of the western weaves.

    If this was the past, then Lu Yin would have been very wary of these people and the powers that they represented. But at the present time, there was no need for him to introduce himself to most of these people. With his current position, if he was going to have any interaction with these powers, then he would speak directly to the people in charge rather than these representatives.

    The Qiong family¡¯s true targets with tonight¡¯s Qiong''s Banquet were the Enlighters who werepeting for True Insight, and these other people were just additional guests.

    Lu Yin was one of the people who had arrived the earliest.

    Not much time passed before the middle-aged man who had been a part of themotion at the Riverside Hotel appeared, and he walked straight over and sat beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°Starfox?¡±

    The middle-aged man smiled. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve interacted many times before, but this is still my first time seeing Starfox for myself, and your appearance is totally outside of my expectations.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Starfox was surprised at Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. ¡°Can I ask what the Starfox in Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s mind looked like?¡±

    ¡°At the very least, his voice was not so gentle,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Starfoxughed. ¡°That¡¯s merely a simted voice. An assassin must always be wary of being discovered.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I have a question. Would you mind helping me answer it?¡±

    Starfox gestured for him to continue. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu is also a member of Aegis, so there¡¯s no harm in asking your question.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°Back when sir sent Feng Zi to attack me, did you really want to kill me?¡± In the past, he had hidden this question away in the bottom of his heart, never nning to ask it openly, as it was likely that he would not receive an answer. However, he had inadvertently brought it up when he was speaking with Wei Rong, and so, he had decided to try bringing it up now that he was face to face with Starfox.

    Starfox¡¯s expression did not change, though he did give a slight smile. ¡°That attack was just a warning. Alliance Leader Lu is able to participate on a battlefield with Enlighters, so how could a mere Feng Zi kill you?¡±

    ¡°And what if I had actually died?¡± Lu Yin stared closely at Starfox¡¯s eyes.

    Starfox maintained the same calm expression. ¡°Then our Aegis would have sacrificed a bunch of people who would have followed after Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin knew what Starfox meant. If he had died, then the Hall of Honor definitely would have investigated his murderer, and there would have been no way for Aegis to avoid being implicated, and they would have been forced to make sacrifices. Lu Yin did not believe that the Hall of Honor would be willing to eradicate all of Aegis just for him, but the price that Aegis would have had to pay would have been steep as well.

    Lu Yin did not know if what Starfox told him was true, but he hoped that it was. Otherwise, if someone had truly tried to use Aegis to probe the Hall of Honor, the situation would be even more serious.

    The stability of the Hall of Honor also represented the stability of the entire Human Domain. If a problem appeared within the Hall of Honor, then the Outerverse would be thrown into chaos. Lu Yin did not wish for the Outerverse to be too chaotic, and he also still wanted to rx for a bit longer under the shade of the Hall of Honor¡¯s g.

    ¡°Right, Alliance Leader Lu, we are no longer enemies, so will the Great Eastern Alliance wee Aegis¡¯s returned presence?¡± Starfox smiled.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Of course, anytime.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks,¡± Starfox said.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Where do you n to set up?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t considered that part quite yet. The powers that we cooperated with in the past have more or less suffered certain losses. Not even mentioning the costs of rebuilding the bases, it will take us some time to move into the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory again, but we hope to receive Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s valuable assistance at that time.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, as the current atmosphere had be rather harmonious.

    At this moment, a middle-aged man arrived from the Qiong Forest side entrance. Qiong Xi''er stood beside the man in a respectful manner, her mienpletely different from when she had weed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over and was puzzled by the middle-aged man¡¯s identity, as he was definitely an Enlighter.

    Starfox quickly enlightened Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s Hoffman, Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Western Chairman who¡¯s stationed in the Outerverse. He¡¯s also an Enlighter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned solemn. Shamrock Enterprises: even this colossal monster had appeared. People like Hoffman were the true protagonists of this Qiong''s Banquet, and even Starfox was a part of the background.

    It was not unexpected that Wei Rong would want to disintegrate these top powers, as nobody liked having a bunch of people stand above them. Shamrock Enterprises often hid their strength, but once they were crossed, their opponent would face a very terrifying oue.

    Even Starfox¡¯s face showed a tinge of apprehension when his gaze fell on Hoffman.

    Hoffman took a seat that wasn¡¯t too distant from Lu Yin, and he also looked over at Lu Yin and Starfox. However, he didn¡¯t show any sort of reaction and simply remained arrogant and aloof.

    Lu Yin did not n to get close to this man. However, he had been hoping to chat with the Eastern Chairman, Shen Fu, as they were located closer to each other.

    At this moment, Starfox¡¯s expression grew much uglier when he looked at the entrance.

    A woman dressed in dark green had appeared. She was beautiful, and she gave off an aura of freshness despite her indifferent expression.

    Qiong Xi''er hurriedly ran over to wee the woman, and she acted even more respectfully and cordially than when she had weed Hoffman.

    ¡°Someone from the Mavis Bank?¡± Lu Yin asked, as this style of clothing was identical to Lulu¡¯s.

    Starfox softly replied, ¡°That¡¯s Yuehua Mavis, one of the Outerverse Mavis Bank¡¯s guardians. She¡¯s a woman who truly cannot be reasoned with.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the man in astonishment. ¡°Back when the Mavis Bank was raided, was she the one who caused trouble for Aegis?¡±

    Starfox remained silent.

    It seemed that it had indeed been this woman.

 Chapter 789: Beginning Of The Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 789: Beginning Of The Banquet</h4>

    Yuehua Mavis didn¡¯t have an overwhelming number of rune lines, but the people from the Mavis family could not be judged by conventional methods.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s appearance caused even Hoffman to stand up while Lu Yin, Starfox and the others rose from their seats. This was a sign of their respect towards the Mavis family.

    Yuehua Mavis silently sat down and closed her eyes, showing no response to anyone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow rose. He had had a considerable amount of interactions with the Mavis family before, and this Yuehua Mavis was rather detached from everything.

    After that, people constantly arrived at the banquet, and the ambient noise grew louder.

    Lu Yin and Starfox did not interact with each other any further.

    Qiong Xi''er then personally weed another person to the banquet. This time, it was a short old man who was not even a full meter in height. The man had thick sses, but the strangest thing about him was that he was actually carrying a screwdriver with him, and he seemed like a skilledborer.

    This person was not dressed like the others at the banquet. If not for Qiong Xi''er personally escorting him inside, many people would have thought that the man was a plumber.

    ¡°Aurora Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse Engineer, who doesn¡¯t have a given name. Everyone calls him the ze Engineer,¡± Starfox introduced.

    Lu Yin frowned, as yet another Enlighter had shown up, and the person was actually from Aurora Enterprises this time. His manner of dressing seemed to match his job well.

    ze Engineer sat down and began downing drinks in huge gulps. He then set his screwdriver on the banquet table and surveyed his surroundings. ¡°Good wine, very refreshing, hahaha.¡±

    Across from him, Hoffman said, ¡°ze Engineer, I heard that you arrived on an Eonlight-grade Aurora. Are there any more? I want to buy one.¡±

    The ze Engineer let out a breath that reeked of liquor. ¡°Not selling.¡±

    Hoffman frowned. ¡°Price is no issue.¡±

    ¡°I only deal with repairing, not selling. Go look for someone else,¡± the ze Engineer replied.

    Hoffman¡¯s expression remained calm, and he did not take any offense.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian soon arrived as well, and Qiong Xi''er also escorted her in, and this time, Lu Yin immediately moved to greet her.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian smiled at Lu Yin and then sat down near Yuehua Mavis.

    More and more Enlighters were gathering at the banquet, and as their numbers increased, the conversations dwindled. Not everyone dared to chat and joke around these big shots.

    Wei Rong soon arrived as well, and he brought Angie to sit near Lu Yin, behaving in a very humble and low-profile manner.

    Soon after, Qiong Xi''er escorted another two people in, and their presence astonished quite a few guests, as these people were from the Dark Phoenix family.

    There were three powers in the Outerverse that everyone knew were not to be provoked, and two of them had already gathered in this ce. Neo-Vestige Sect had always remained isted and aloof; otherwise, all three of the Outerverse¡¯s great powers might have gathered in this ce.

    The Dark Phoenix family had sent an Enlighter named <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix and a youth, Taylor Phoenix. Lu Yin had heard of this Taylor Phoenix before, as he was ranked fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings, and he was an absolute expert within the younger generation who was ranked just below Moore and Puyu.

    In the Innerverse, Lu Yin had also interacted with the Dark Phoenix family, and he had also learned a bit about the animosity between the Dark Phoenix family and Phoenix family. This Dark Phoenix family was clearly extremely powerful since they were able to survive as an enemy of the Phoenix family. After all, the Phoenix family had given birth to one of the Ten Arbiters, and not even the Daynight n dared to provoke them.

    ¡°Are you that Lu Yin?¡± A frivolous voice was heard from beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around to look, and he saw that someone had suddenly appeared in the previously empty chair beside him: Zhu San. Lu Yin had never thought that it would be this person.

    ¡°You¡¯re Zhu San from the Zhu family?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhu San looked pleased. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve heard of me.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°We crossed paths in the Riverside Hotel yesterday.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s face turned ugly upon mention of this incident, and he snorted. ¡°Young Master¡¯s stomach was hurting at that time. Otherwise, that kid would have had his just desserts.¡±

    He suddenly looked past Lu Yin and exchanged nces with Starfox, and his expression suddenly became incredibly interesting to look at. ¡°Why are you here as well?¡±

    Starfox smiled. ¡°Young Master Zhu, we offended you yesterday.¡±

    Zhu San gritted his teeth. ¡°Stupid old man!¡±

    Starfox was stumped, and stopped speaking to the youth any further. This kid was very vulgar, as Starfox hadn¡¯t even been the one to move against this brat.

    Lu Yin was amused, and he asked Zhu San, ¡°I was wondering, what is the battle technique that Brother Zhu San disyed yesterday? I¡¯m very curious about it.¡±

    Zhu San blinked. ¡°Battle technique? What battle technique? Did I disy one? Hahaha, I¡¯m a genius, so I¡¯ve just casually fiddled and yed with everything however I want. Thus, there¡¯s no reason to give the techniques any names.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and did not ask any further questions.

    When the night sky¡¯s silvery radiance fell down, everyone finally arrived. Qiong Xi''er was naturally standing in the center of the banquet, and even though she was dressed as a boy, her facial features were exquisitely beautiful.

    Before long, Millions City Master Qiong Shanhai appeared. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, wee to Millions City. Qiong Shanhai greets you.¡±

    He then bowed in each direction, and all the guests stood up to return his greetings.

    Qiong Shanhai smiled. ¡°Millions City is located in Tyrannical Weave, and despite the vicissitudes of many ages, it still has not fallen. The city has only been able to do this through all of your support and forgiveness. Millions City has its own rules, and the Qiong family humbly requests that no one use force in Millions City. If there¡¯s any conflict, you can resolve it here tonight during the Qiong''s Banquet. After this, please show me some face. Thank you.

    ¡°I trust that everyone has heard of our Qiong Family''s Banquet. Before we formally convene the banquet, we will host a mini-auction, and all proceeds from this auction will go towards the upkeep of Millions City, and it will also be treated as everyone¡¯s contributions towards Millions City. I would like to express my gratitude in advance.¡±

    He then waved a hand towards Qiong Xi¡¯er before taking an empty seat near Yuehua Mavis and the other Enlighters.

    Qiong Xi''er walked to the center of the stage and made some courteous remarks.

    Zhu San looked on, clearly entranced as he practically started drooling.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Brother Zhu likes her?¡±

    Zhu San muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then why would you-¡±

    But before Lu Yin could finish asking his question, Zhu San said, ¡°It¡¯s infatuation.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fellow is pretty disgusting,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin felt a bit ufortable as this Zhu San¡¯s taste was rather odd. Few men would be attracted to someone like Qiong Xi''er, and for that matter, did Qiong Xi''er even like men? It was rumored that she liked to tease girls and that she even brought some back to the Qiong family¡¯s estate every night.

    Zhu San cleaned the corner of his mouth. ¡°None of you understand Xi¡¯er. I¡¯ve grown up with her and known her since we were little, and we were even childhood sweethearts. Thus, I understand her all too well. She¡¯s the kindest and most beautiful woman in the entire universe.¡±

    Beautiful was an eptable description, as even if she was dressed like a boy, there was no way she could hide her pretty face. But kind? ¡°She¡¯s kind?¡±

    Zhu San nodded, but he only continued to stare nkly at Qiong Xi''er. ¡°She¡¯s very kind, but none of you can understand her. To prevent humans from bing ves to money, Xi¡¯er thought of many methods to line her own pockets with the money of others, all so that they would not be dazzled by money. To prevent certain ingrates from prevailing, she also took quite a few girls back to the city master¡¯s residence to educate them, often for an entire night. To make me understand the principle of learning to take punches before fighting, Xi''er has always personally beaten me from when we first met. She is the kindest person I know.¡±

    Lu Yin silently stared at Qiong Xi''er in the center of the stage. It was obvious that Zhu San had gone crazy.

    Suddenly, Zhu San red fiercely over at Lu Yin. ¡°After telling you so much, you won¡¯t think of snatching Xi''er from me, right?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Rx. I absolutely will not.¡±

    Zhu San nodded in satisfaction, revealing an expression that he had recognized Lu Yin¡¯s tactfulness.

    ¡°The first item to be auctioned: fire fungus.¡± At that moment, the maid, Nana, brought out a box and opened it up. A fiery-red nt shot into the sky and tried to flee into the distance, but it was pulled back by an invisible strength.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually a danger-evading natural treasure!¡± someone cried out.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as he had not thought that they would even sell natural treasures during this banquet.

    Qiong Xi''er smiled. ¡°This fire fungus has been in my Qiong family for many years, but tonight, it will seek out its destined owner. The starting price is one star essence, and everyone can start bidding now.¡±

    Someone immediately ced a bid the moment that Qiong Xi¡¯er finished speaking, and the initial bid was 3,000 star essence.

    ¡°The ten natural treasures auctioned by the Lu''s Grand Auction were sold at an average price of 3,000 star essence, but none of those can survive for more than a year. For this one, I¡¯ll bid 4,000,¡± someone else in the distance mentioned.

    ¡°4,500.¡±

    ¡°4,800.¡±

    ¡°6,000,¡± Starfox called out. Danger-evading natural treasures had be very popr recently, and it was mostly because of what had happened to Aegis. Starfox nced over at Lu Yin and was determined to buy this natural treasure.

    Lu Yin did not bother cing any bids, as nobody knew how many of these danger-evading natural treasures he had in his possession.

    Qiong Xi''er beamed as she nced past Lu Yin. ¡°Mr. Starfox has bid 6,000 star essence. Are there any other offers? If not, this fire fungus will go to Mr. Starfox.¡±

    ¡°7,000,¡± Hoffman offered. Although this price surpassed the fire fungus¡¯ intrinsic value, every natural treasure was a money making tool for Shamrock Enterprises. It was just 7,000 star essence anyway, and that amount could easily be earned back.

    Starfox did not continue after seeing Hoffman bid. The Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations could notpare to a colossal financial giant like Shamrock Enterprises. Even if the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, he had no desire to go head-to-head against such behemoths.

    Lu Yin was envious, as this natural treasure was actually able to sell for 7,000 star essence, which was double the price that his Lu''s Grand Auction had reached. Even if there hadn¡¯t been any sort of time restriction, the Lu''s Grand Auction¡¯s natural treasures would at most fetch a price of 4,000 star essence, and they would never reach 5,000 star essence. There were too many wealthy people at this banquet. Perhaps the Lu''s Grand Auction should open a branch in Millions City.

    ¡°The next item for tonight is a technique: Induction Burst.¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er opened the screen and disyed an introduction of the technique. It was a technique that allowed cultivators to absorb star energy at a rate five times faster than ordinary cultivators.

    A fivefold absorption rate was pretty decent, and before Lu Yin had been given a moreplete version of the Cosmic Art by Mister Mu, his own technique had only been ninefold.

    ¡°The Induction Burst¡¯s starting price is one star essence. The bidding may begin.¡±

    This Induction Burst Technique caused many to suddenlypete for it. All of the powers represented by the individuals attending the Qiong''s Banquet had their own powerful battle techniques, and they naturally surpassed the slow absorption speed of an ordinary cultivator. Still, nobody would object to obtaining another technique.

    Those who contested over this technique were mostly aristocratic children like Zhu San, and in the end, Zhu San bought it for 8,000 star essence.

    Lu Yin grew more and more envious. In the past, the Jade Meditation Technique that he had sold to the Nn family was able to assist a person inprehending a domain, but he had only received 100 star essence for it. Even though its value could notpare to this Induction Burst, it should not be too far off. Sure enough, one had to visit Millions City if they wanted to sell something valuable, as the prices there could reach levels that greatly surpassed the value of the goods themselves.

    It was not unreasonable for Deng Pu to risk his life to travel to Millions City.

    ¡°Xi''er, this is for you!¡± Zhu San then shamelessly ran over to Qiong Xi''er and tried to pass the Induction Burst Technique over to her.

    Qiong Xi''er smiled slightly before very naturallyshing out with a kick that sent Zhu San sprawling away. It seemed like she had not held back, and the fierce kick looked like it had hurt.

 Chapter 790: Divination Qualification

    <h4>Chapter 790: Divination Qualification</h4>

    That kick was bold andpletely unfeminine. In fact, it even astonished Hoffman and the others to the extent where even Yuehua Mavis looked askance at Qiong Xi''er.

    ¡°Haha, Xi''er, don¡¯t be disrespectful,¡± Qiong Shanhai berated the girl.

    Qiong Xi''er smiled as she apologized, and Zhu San very casually rearranged his clothes as if he was used to such treatment.

    Lu Yin admired the youth, as this guy was certainly brazen.

    ¡°The next item to be auctioned is this ancient medicinal pill, whiches from 50,000 years ago. The starting bid is one star essence, and everyone can ce your bids now,¡± Qiong Xi''er said.

    ¡°1,000.¡± Hoffman was the first to speak, as their Shamrock Enterprises needed all sorts of medical pills to research.

    ¡°2,000,¡± Lu Yin called out, as the more things like these medicinal pills that he had, the better.

    Hoffman nced over at Lu Yin. Normally, no one would bid against him. He shifted his attention over Lu Yin for the first time this evening. ¡°3,000.¡±

    ¡°4,000,¡± Lu Yin indifferently continued.

    Hoffman frowned, but he did not raise the bid any further. Hispany obtained too many of these pills to count on a daily basis, and it would be a long time before they even finished researching everything currently in their possession. Thus, they did not particrly need this one. ¡°Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin, I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Western Chairman, Mr. Hoffman, I¡¯ve also looked forward to meeting you.¡±

    Hoffman smiled slightly, but he did not reply.

    Qiong Xi''er sent someone to deliver the pill over to Lu Yin. ¡°The next item to be auctioned is a lockbreaking tool: White Sand.¡±

    Every item that the Qiong family brought out for this auction was extremely valuable, so there was no meaning to the starting bid. The White Sand was eventually won by Wei Rong for 3,000 star essence, and after that, a horn from the Celestial Ice Phoenix n was brought out. This horn was able to emit a tricolored light that could dissolve battle techniques.

    The Ghost Monkey kicked up a fuss, begging Lu Yin to buy it, but it was eventually won by ze Engineer for 6,000 star essence, and the small man looked as if he had gained the most precious treasure.

    ¡°I wonder if anyone will be interested in the next auctioned item.¡± Qiong Xi''er pped her hands, and a Spiritual Thread box was brought into view.

    The crowd was astonished, as this was clearly a sourcebox.

    Qiong Xi''er did not have anyone open the box. Instead, she activated the screen once again, which then disyed a video of the sourcebox with a rocketing me. The extraordinary temperature was enough to scorch the void.

    ¡°This sourcebox was already mostly unlocked by the time we discovered it, and it only requires a light touch to be finished now. Also, this sourcebox contains an ancient tinder. The might of the ze is unclear to us, but just the high temperature of the sourcebox is able to scorch the void. If there¡¯s a powerhouse who cultivates fire battle techniques, then they can try to use this me,¡± Qiong Xi''er introduced.

    The crowd stared at the screen, as this sourcebox actually contained an ancient tinder. They first thought of the ze Realm, as their inherited battle technique, the Karmic me Sword, needed to be guided by the Karmic me. Not many within the universe knew this secret, but there were quite a few at this banquet who were privy to this information.

    Even if the ancient tinder within this sourcebox was not able to reach the same level as the Karmic mes, it would still be very beneficial when cultivating fire-based battle techniques.

    But at this moment, there was no one else who was more excited than Lu Yin, as he had wanted to obtain a powerful me more than anyone. Doing so would allow him to cultivate by burning natural treasures and absorbing their vaporized star energy, as he had found that this cultivation method allowed him to rapidly increase his cultivation. Even if the natural treasures on Bushtree were severelycking in star energy, he still wanted to find a powerful me as it would still be a great shortcut for him.

    Qiong Xi''er had not even started the bid, but the ze Engineer already spoke up. ¡°10,000.¡±

    Quite a few people who had initially wanted topete for this me were stunned, as the starting bid was already 10,000 star essence. But it was no wonder, as the bidder was the Aurora Enterprises¡¯ Chief Engineer.

    ¡°15,000,¡± Hoffman offered, as it seemed as though he also wanted this sourcebox.

    Starfox joined the bidding. ¡°20,000.¡±

    ¡°30,000,¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian said.

    ¡°40,000,¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix spoke up.

    ¡°45,000.¡±

    ¡°50,000.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°80,000,¡± Lu Yin called out, instantly raising the price to the highest of the night.

    The crowd was astonished.

    Hoffman¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The younger generation will certainly surpass us in the future.¡±

    The ze Engineer was astonished. ¡°Young fellow, do you have that much money?¡±

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian stared at Lu Yin,pletely bbergasted. 80,000 star essence was no small sum, and even she would have to seek approval before spending such an amount, even if she was representing the Nn family.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for Senior to be troubled. Junior can afford just 80,000.¡±

    ¡°The Grand Lu Auction brought in a profit of tens of thousands of star essence during its first auction, so it¡¯s not too difficult for Alliance Leader Lu to bring out 80,000.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Qiong Shanhai looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. This person was the Great Eastern Alliance Leader? He certainly was young.

    Lu Yin was very nervous, as he had only brought 50,000 star essence with him while he had another 50,000 on Zenyu Star. 80,000 was truly the upper limit of what he could afford, and if these old people continued to bid, then he would not be able to win the sourcebox.

    To these monsters, was 80,000 a lot? No. Hoffman, the ze Engineer, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix, and any of the powers behind them could easily take out 100,000 to 200,000 star essence, not to mention Yuehua Mavis. She could probably effortlessly bring out 1,000,000 star essence.

    Hence, Lu Yin was extremely nervous at this moment.

    Fortunately, no one bid against him. These great powers all had immeasurable foundations, and this strange fire was not very precious to them. Otherwise, the Qiong family would not have taken it out to auction off, which naturally meant that they had better stuff of their own.

    Only when Qiong Xi''er announced that the sourcebox belonged to Lu Yin was he able to rx, but he also felt exceptionally regretful. He had already spent 84,000 star essence in this auction, and he was broke once again. This sort of me was not something that could be easily found, which had forced him to buy it, as there was nothing more important than raising his personal strength.

    ¡°The next item to be auctioned are the Cloud Boots, which everyone may have heard of.¡± Qiong Xi''er smiled.

    The ze Engineer was amazed. ¡°A part of the ancient Cloud Outfit?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er nodded smilingly. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°The Cloud Outfit?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Starfox, who was beside him, exined, saying, ¡°The Cloud Outfit was a set of equipment that was discovered in some ancient sect¡¯s ruins, and the full set included weapons as well as protective gear. ording to the sect¡¯s records, if an ordinary person puts it on, they will be able to survive attacks from any powerhouse whose power levels are below 300,000, which means it¡¯s incredibly valuable. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s parts have been scattered.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood. It was no wonder why this thing was so famous. For something to be able to defend against attacks from experts whose power levels were at 300,000, it meant that it was on the same level as his universal armor. To the majority of cultivators, a power level of 300,000 was already the peak, which meant that they would be able to preserve their lives under almost any circumstances if they obtained this Cloud Outfit.

    Quite a few started to bid for the boots, and once again, it was the young aristocrats who raised the price, as they were the only ones present who needed such equipment. Finally, the Cloud Boots were purchased by Zhu San for 50,000 star essence. Unsurprisingly, the scene from before repeated itself with Qiong Xi''er viciously kicking him away once again. However, the Cloud Boots remained behind, which rendered the crowd speechless.

    Lu Yin rather admired Zhu San, as it must not have been easy for this person to survive up till now.

    ¡°The next item to be auctioned is a little more special, as it¡¯s not something physical. Instead, it¡¯s a promise. This is the qualification to receive a divination from the Starsibyl Sect,¡± Qiong Xi''er introduced.

    The crowd¡¯s expressions changed: a divination from the Starsibyl Sect?

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s eyes went wide, and she turned to look at Qiong Shanhai in astonishment.

    The ze Engineer and Hoffman were also stunned.

    The Starsibyl Sect was the most mysterious sect in the entire Human Domain. Although it might not be considered powerful, it was a sect that even ordinary people had heard of before, as the name of Starsibyl was known throughout the universe. Also, the top geniuses of the younger generation had all met one of the Starsibyls before, including the Ten Arbiters.

    The transformation of the universe and the Top 100 Rankings were both rted to the Starsibyl Sect. Even when the Sea King had stolen all of the pyrolyte, his actions had been uncovered by the Starsibyl Sect.

    It was widely epted that this sect could understand the past and also look into the future.

    Anyone who wished to know their own future would want to ask the Starsibyl Sect for a divination. However, not even a handful were able to truly enter the Starsibyl Sect and obtain the qualification for a divination.

    However, the Qiong family actually wanted to sell off something like this.

    Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse were currently separated, one day, the connection between the two would be restored. Additionally, a qualification to receive a divination from the Starsibyl Sect would definitely be able to be passed down to subsequent generations, so why did these people wish to sell this?

    ¡°100,000,¡± Yuehua Mavis said softly.

    Everyone was thrilled, as this was the highest price that had been called out during the day¡¯s auction so far, and it was just the starting bid! Everyone looked at Yuehua Mavis withplex expressions. To this woman, money was just a number!

    It was fated that nobody would bid after Yuehua Mavis spoke, as nobody dared topete with the Mavis family when it came to money.

    Qiong Xi''er smiled and passed the qualification for a divination over to Yuehua Mavis. With this, the Qiong Banquet¡¯s auction ended, and the feast formally began.

    Gorgeous and fragrant dishes were served to all the guests, and each dish was something that was difficult to find anywhere else. Even if Madam Nn had served sumptuous and luxurious dishes to Lu Yin, he was still stunned by the dishes that were present at this banquet because this food actually had rune lines.

    The raw ingredients for the food had alle from living organisms or nts that had gained their own rune lines, which was extraordinarily extravagant.

    ***

    In Millions City, the Zhu family was second only to the powerful Qiong family. Although this top family was not veryrge, they had still managed to stand tall in Millions City without ever falling.

    The Zhu family owned a mountain, and the region within a 10,000 mile radius of the mountain was the family¡¯s gardens.

    When the Qiong''s Banquet began under the moonlight, there was a man who requested an audience with the Zhu family patriarch iming to be¡ªDeng Pu.

    ¡°You are Deng Pu?¡± In the Zhu family¡¯s salon, the patriarch Zhu Jie was sitting as he looked at an obviously panicking man.

    The man trembled and bowed in a panic. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to deceive me?¡± Zhu Jie¡¯s gaze became fierce.

    The man instantly became even more terrified. ¡°It- it was that person called Deng Pu who had me request to see Lord Zhu, and he said that he wanted to sell you something.¡±

    Zhu Jie¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What thing?¡±

    The man continued despite his terror, ¡°He- he says you already know.¡±

    Zhu Jie stared at the man. ¡°The price and method of trade.¡±

    ¡°Two- two million star essence, to be transferred into ten Mavis Bank ounts,¡± the man said in a quivering voice as his entire body trembled. He had never seen two million star crystals in his entire life, let alone two million star essence. He felt terrified to even mention such a price.

    But Zhu Jie remainedpletely calm. ¡°Very well, my Zhu family will buy his item. You can report back to Deng Pu, but do not fool around with me! Otherwise, my Zhu family will make him understand what it means to enter truly desperate straits.¡±

    ¡°Yes, your humble servant understands.¡±

    Beneath the silvery moonlight¡¯s illumination, Millions City looked very beautiful, and it even resembled a pearl that shone through the dark heavens of the universe.

    Within Millions City, Cai Jianqiang continued to search for Deng Pu, but to no avail.

    Countless other people also shuttled through the dark, looking for Deng Pu.

    But none of them would have thought that Deng Pu had already struck a deal with the Zhu family.

    Two million star essence was not a high price. When considering a priceless treasure like True Insight, such a treasure would normally be considered priceless. However, Deng Pu was only able to ask for so much, as he was afraid that the Zhu family would do something to him if he asked for anything more.

    Saul had also arrived at Millions City, but he had not gone to the Qiong''s Banquet despite receiving an invitation.

    He only wanted to find Deng Pu and personally eradicate that disloyal disciple of his. His hatred for Deng Pu had be irrepressible, and it even surpassed what he felt for that group of people who had attacked Sourcepeak.

    Twin Daemon had also arrived in Millions City, and they simrly did not participate in the Qiong''s Banquet. On this night, Millions City was exceptionally sinister.

 Chapter 791: One Move

    <h4>Chapter 791: One Move</h4>

    Before the Qiong''s Banquet came to a closure, Qiong Shanhai proved that his words were not just for show. The Qiong Family''s Banquet was a feast to wee everyone, but it was also a ce where all the guests could resolve their conflicts.

    ¡°Grudges are to be resolved during the Qiong''s Banquet, and no force of any kind is to be used in Millions City. I believe that everyone has heard this rule before, so right now, everyone can battle to their hearts¡¯ content beneath the waterfall. After the banquet, I hope that everyone will give me some face and not use any sort of force in Millions City,¡± Qiong Shanhai said.

    The crowd ate their food and drank their wine as some of them exchanged nces.

    They had mentally prepared themselves before arriving, and had not nned to do much in Millions City. Since the Qiong family respected these people enough to host this banquet, they also had to give the Qiong family some respect in turn.

    Very few people actually fought during a Qiong''s Banquet, but this banquet turned out to be an exception.

    Taylor Phoenix stood up and looked towards Lu Yin. ¡°I heard that you defeated Puyu, so let¡¯s have a go.¡±

    The crowd grew excited, as the younger generation¡¯s most famous members were those in the Top 100 Rankings, and Lu Yin had be famous in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse by stepping over experts on the Top 100 Rankings. This was the reason why Cool Sis had challenged him earlier, as well as why Taylor Phoenix wanted to challenge him at this moment.

    The crowd all looked over.

    Qiong Xi''er looked at Lu Yin with interest, as this person was known as the Enlighters¡¯ Bane. However, that name had been gained through his extraordinary external items. In that case, what was Lu Yin¡¯s personal strength? Everyone was quite curious about this.

    Several of the Enlighters also looked over. While there were only a few in the junior generation who could catch their attention, at this moment, the most famous one of those few was Lu Yin, the Enlighters¡¯ Bane. This was a title that really upset them.

    Lu Yin looked back at Taylor Phoenix. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t think of any sort of grudge between us, so there¡¯s really no reason for us to fight.¡±

    Lu Yin had already defeated Cool Sis on his way to Millions City, and even though news of that battle had not spread, he had no interest in sparring with someone at Taylor¡¯s level. Lu Yin already had a reputation, and he did not need to defeat Taylor to make a name for himself. Things might be different if one of the top ten experts on the Top 100 Rankings had challenged him, as that would benefit Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, but Taylor was not on that level.

    ¡°You don¡¯t dare?¡± Taylor sneered. ¡°There are rumors iming that you always use some kind of external item when you fight, which is a despicable method to fight. It turns out those rumors are true¡ªyou can only back down when facing an expert.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face sank.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fellow isn¡¯t being very friendly, so just give him a beating,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Next to Lu Yin, Zhu San looked at his dinnerpanion in surprise. ¡°You can only rely on external aids? That¡¯s disgusting! Even though this young master has so much money, even I don¡¯t use any foreign objects. If you can¡¯t beat your opponent, then you just can¡¯t beat them.¡±

    Starfox smiled. The truth was that, in the battles where Lu Yin had be famous for relying on external items, most people did not consider who he had been fighting. Lu Yin was actually just an Explorer, but he typically fought against experts who were at least in the Hunter realm, and he had even fought against many Enlighters. The fact that he had used external items to contend against such people was not something to be ashamed of, and Lu Yin had no need to exin himself to anyone.

    ¡°Taylor, there¡¯s no need to force him. Some people will do whatever it takes to be famous, but they¡¯re only able to shrink back in fear when faced with a true challenge. This is very normal,¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix said with augh.

    Many looked over at Lu Yin, and some of the guests even started looking down on him while others were puzzled. Others were even rejoicing at how the scene was unfolding, especially the other youths. They were all of simr ages, so what had this Lu Yin relied on to step onto the Enlighters¡¯ battlefield, and how had he even gained a title from it? At least he was not being exposed!

    Wei Rong stared disdainfully at <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix. These people often thought that their towering backgrounds and Enlighter realm backers meant that they could look down upon others. But in the future, when these people started crying, it would already be toote. The times were changing, and the old powers were being eliminated one by one. Wei Rong and Lu Yin were the ones who were walking the correct path.

    Lu Yin stood up and rolled his sleeves up. ¡°If you just want to fight, then that¡¯s fine.¡± His eyes suddenly turned fierce as he stared at Taylor. ¡°But don¡¯t cryter.¡±

    Taylor was infuriated. ¡°How arrogant!¡±

    He leaped towards the waterfall, clearly eager for the fight.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, and his body suddenly vanished. He had moved at a speed that was so fast that not even Starfox and the other Hunters could track his movements. The Enlighters were all surprised, as his speed was so fast that an ordinary Hunter would not even be able to catch up to Lu Yin.

    Yuehua Mavis looked at Lu Yin with a bit of interest. The Mavis family had recognized this youth a long time ago, and they were already reasonably positioned to invest in him. This person should be proud that he had been able to grab the attention of the Mavis family, and it should be known that not even the top ten experts in the Top 100 Rankings were guaranteed to draw the notice of the Mavis family.

    Qiong Shanhai stared at Lu Yin with astonishment. As soon as Millions City had been unsealed, most of the information that he had received and essed had been about this youth whose reputation had risen like aet while everything else had gotten more and more out of hand. This person had unified the eastern weaves, and his personal growth was also overwhelming. Qiong Shanhai had always been very curious about this person, no matter if it was the youth¡¯s power level, personality, methods, or anything else. This person was outstanding in every aspect, though he still had not reached a sufficient level in Qiong Shanhai¡¯s view.

    The so-called ¡°Great Eastern Alliance¡± still was not enough to enter his sight, and if he wished for it, his Millions City could easily destroy the alliance. But despite all that, Qiong Shanhai still had to take this youth seriously.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix frowned, as the youth¡¯s speed was not simple. This kid had be famed throughout the universe, and he had even been hailed as the unequalled Limiteer for a time, and such things could not be achieved just through relying on foreign objects. Otherwise, if such feats were possible by relying on external items, then powers like the Daynight n, which had far more items and resources than Lu Yin, would have long since imed them.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix looked back at Taylor as a bad premonition welled up within him.

    ¡°Both brothers are among the universe¡¯s most elite experts of the same generation, and this fight is merely a spar, though you may even receive some appraisal from the seniors here. Please keep things to nothing more than a spar, and please maintain the peace of the city,¡± Qiong Xi''er said loudly.

    Below the waterfall, Taylor arrogantly faced Lu Yin. Before the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, he had heard too many legends about the fellow currently in front of him. This brat was supposed to be some champion of the Tournament of the Strongest, an unequalled Limiteer, and the Starfall Sea¡¯s son-inw. It was as if the entire universe revolved around this Lu Yin, and it bothered Taylor a great deal.

    When the energy that had isted the Dark Phoenix family lifted, Taylor had heard legends of Lu Yin yet again, though they had be even more exaggerated than before with him even gaining the title of Enlighters¡¯ Bane. Before, Taylor had been irritated, but he had not thought much of the brat. However, everything had changed when he learned that Lu Yin had killed Puyu.

    Puyu had been ranked thirteenth on the Top 100 Rankings while Taylor was ranked fourteenth. However the rumors all imed that Puyu had died to Lu Yin. Didn¡¯t that mean that Lu Yin should be able to crush Taylor? This brat was still just an Explorer.

    Ever since the Dark Phoenix family had received the news of Puyu¡¯s death, Taylor had heard countless taunts. He had once been regarded as the child who brought pride to the Dark Phoenix family, and he had been heralded as an absolute genius who represented the Dark Phoenix family in their contest against the Innerverse¡¯s Phoenix family. But now, all of that limelight had been stolen by this bastard, which was what had triggered Taylor¡¯s hatred. These old and new grudges had motivated Taylor to challenge Lu Yin at the first opportunity he got; Taylor thirsted to defeat this bastard and show the entire universe that this person was a liar who had used foreign objects to gain his fearsome battle reputation. No, Taylor had topletely crush him.

    ¡°I will show everyone the liar that you are and that you¡¯re just another piece of trash,¡± Taylor shouted with a sneer as a ck ze that distorted the void shrouded his body. These were the ck mes of the Dark Phoenix family, and they gradually took the form of a ck Undying Bird before soaring into the sky and letting out a rion cry. As it pped its wings, it tore through the void.

    The crowd eximed in surprise, as these were the mes of the ck Undying Bird. Just the release of these mes was enough to scorch the void and reach the destructive power of a Hunter. Taylor was just a Cruiser, which showed that this me was extremely powerful, and it was no wonder why the Dark Phoenix family was able to rival the Innerverse¡¯s Phoenix family.

    The Dark Phoenix family was one of the Outerverse¡¯s three powers that everyone knew should not be provoked, as they had an extremely powerful strength.

    Taylor was pleased by the crowd¡¯s attention, and as the ck mes of the Undying Bird surged around his body, three ck feathers appeared.

    Hoffman was surprised at the appearance of these feathers. ¡°It¡¯s rumored that the Dark Phoenix family powerhouse¡¯s mes can give rise to plumes. Since he can manifest three plumes, it¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s a genius of the Dark Phoenix family and a top expert in the Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix humbly responded, ¡°It¡¯s still not enough. He has to train more.¡±

    ¡°He indeed has to train more,¡± Yuehua Mavis said, which was the first sentence she had uttered since arriving. Her words, however, caused <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s expression to turn ugly. He had just been acting humbly whereas this woman was actively mocking him. Although, with her status, he did not even dare to respond.

    Even in the face of Taylor¡¯s mighty mes, Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°Are you done with your performance yet?¡±

    Killing intent shed through Taylor¡¯s eyes. ¡°You will regret that sentence for the rest of your life!¡±

    He then pushed both of his hands down as the ck mes converged upon the area and sted towards Lu Yin. The waterfall began to rapidly evaporate, and even the void started to shatter apart inyers.

    It had to be recognized that the runes lines representing Taylor¡¯s mes were very numerous, and they could even rival an elite Hunter¡¯s. His position as fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings and his reputation as a Realmbreaker were both well deserved, but unfortunately, it still wasn¡¯t enough. Not even close.

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand that turned into a w. A beast¡¯s howl tore through the void, transcending the ages and shocking everyone. As the Skybeast w descended, it tore straight through the ck Undying Bird andnded directly on Taylor, ruthlessly flinging him an unknown depth into theke while his Undying Bird was split in half and burned away in the void.

    The crowd went silent, and all the spectators looked at Lu Yin in shock. One move¡ªjust one move had defeated the expert ranked fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. This could not be real!

    Lu Yin retracted his hand, as the power of his Skybeast w was second only to his Dream Finger. The only reason why this technique had not been very effective against his recent enemies was simply because most of his recent enemies had been too powerful. Only his Dream Finger was able to injure them, but against experts of his own generation, even someone like Cool Sis, who was ranked tenth on the rankings, would have their limits tested by this Skybeast w.

    Cool Sis had been able to freeze and shatter his Skybeast w, but she had only been able to do so by relying on her best technique, which she had wanted to reserve for when she challenged Hai Dashao. Using that kind of technique would harm both the practitioner and their enemy, and it had forcefully bolstered Cool Sis¡¯ strength to the point where it had been able to rival Aden¡¯s. In other words, that technique could even cause Enlighters to raise their brows, and it had already surpassed a Hunter¡¯s power level.

    Cool Sis had been forced to use such an absolute technique to break through the Skybeast w, so there was no need to mention Taylor.

    The top ten of the Top Hundreds Rankings and those who were ranked beyond them, even eleventh, were simply onpletely different levels. The difference between Taylor and Cool Sis was simply too vast.

    Skybeast w: one form was more than enough to instantly kill. This was Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, and of his generation, only the top ten experts of the Top 100 Rankings were able to challenge him. This was also in the circumstance where he did not use his secret technique.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix sprang to his feet and stared at the scene in disbelief. How was this possible? Taylor had not even been able to receive one move from his opponent! Even if the rumors were true, Lu Yin should have been able to rival Taylor¡¯s strength at best, and Taylor should not have been defeated this easily.

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s eyes shed, and he looked at Lu Yin appreciatively. This youth was an absolute genius.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian had a smile on her face; the head of the Nn family had been right, and this youth had boundless potential.

    Yuehua Mavis stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. This person¡¯s value had risen once more in her heart, and the amount that they were willing to invest had increased.

    Lu Yin nced across the banquet area, and his focus streaked past everyone before finallynding on <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s face. ¡°Rx, he¡¯s not dead, though he may have started crying.¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix became furious. ¡°Junior, you are too arrogant!¡±

 Chapter 792: Meanness

    <h4>Chapter 792: Meanness</h4>

    Lu Yin sneered. With his current abilities and status, there was no need for him to be courteous to anyone here. Since he had dared to challenge the Daynight n in the past, the Dark Phoenix n was nothing to him. ¡°I¡¯ve fought against people from the Phoenix family before, and their Undying Bird was golden. It was much nicer than this ck one.¡±

    Everyone stared in disbelief, as those words were derogatory to the extreme.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix''s eyes zed with anger, as the members of the Dark Phoenix family would not stand someone iming that they were inferior to the Phoenix family. Immediately, a storm descended as the star energy of an Enlighter rushed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin merely waved his hand, The void churned, and the attack was quickly dispersed. Lu Yin had merely shaken a hand, but his eyes had turned cold. He had alreadypleted two cycles after bing an Explorer, and the amount of star energy that he currently possessed had already far exceeded what many peak Hunters had. A burst of star energy from an Enlighter wasn¡¯t enough to suppress Lu Yin.

    Each cycle that Lu Yinpleted required two hundred times the amount of star energy that an ordinary Explorer needed. Each cycle, even with his hundredfold star energy absorption rate, would take Lu Yin more than twenty years to finish normally. That was ridiculous, and it was also nearly impossible to aplish, but it was also the reason why not even powerful Enlighters could suppress Lu Yin through pure star energy; he had too much of his own.

    Everyone was stunned. Who was this guy who even dared to challenge a powerful Enlighter? This couldn¡¯t be! However, once they considered his title, it no longer feltpletely unbelievable.

    A glint of murderous intent shed through <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s eyes as he prepared to strike again. However, right before he acted, Yuehua Mavis spoke up. ¡°One of the older generation has to defend his junior¡¯s defeat; how shameful.¡±

    Before Sall Phoenix could retort, Taylor charged out of theke with staggered breathing. His clothes had been badly torn, and he was a sorry sight for all to see. Bloody w marks could still be seen on his chest.

    He threw a sinister re at Lu Yin. Just like Sall Phoenix, Taylor was in a state of disbelief. He could not believe that he had been defeated by a single move from Lu Yin.

    A smirk tugged at the corners of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth as he looked at Taylor. ¡°Are you going to cry?¡±

    Taylor gave him an evil look, his eyes burning with hatred. If word leaked out that he had been crushed to such a state, his reputation would be obliterated.

    With a loud whoosh, the ck Undying Bird appeared once again, and the three tall feathers transformed into a ck current that gushed into Taylor¡¯s body.

    Everyone grew excited at what they were seeing. These two were about to duke it out.

    After the three tail feathers vanished, the ck mes covering Taylor¡¯s body rose even higher, and the void around him boiled like water. ¡°I will make you regret your existence.¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he charged at Lu Yin at top speed. He pushed both of his hands down, and the ck Undying Bird charged to the sky. Apanied by inexhaustible ck mes, it shot straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his hand again as it turned into ws once more. He used the Skybeast w a second time, but this w was reinforced with seven lined battle force. Following the howl of the ancient beast, the Skybeast w ripped through the ck Undying Bird for the second time, once again suppressing Taylor.

    Taylor became desperate¡ªwhy was his situation still the same? It was just one attack, but this one attack was overwhelming him to the point where he couldn¡¯t even counterattack.

    ¡°Stop!¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix cried out angrily. Following his roar, ck mes started to spread through the void. These ck mes blocked the Skybeast w, and they prevented Taylor from being hit.

    Taylor had a sinister look in his eyes, and he pulled out a ck plume from his cosmic ring that then lit itself on fire. ¡°Go to hell.¡±

    This new tail feather suddenly burst into mes that surged into the ones already surrounding him. The ck Undying Bird behind Taylor shrieked with renewed power as it spread its wings, bursting forth with unlimited energy that neared the power level of a peak Hunter.

    Lu Yin immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Despicable!¡±

    With that one word, the battle force shrouding his hand condensed into eight lined battle force, and his Skybeast w pressed down upon <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s raging ck mes even as they continued to shield Taylor¡¯s body. Meanwhile, Taylor¡¯s ck Undying Bird charged through <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s mes, headed straight at Lu Yin.

    At this moment, the expressions of everyone present changed, as this was truly a despicable move.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s re turned icy as her fingers twitched slightly. With that minute movement, an indescribable force swept towards <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s ck mes. At the same time, Yuan Zhuangzhu and the ze Engineer acted in unison. Theirbined effort snuffed out all of the mes that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix and Taylor Phoenix had unleashed. Naturally, Lu Yin¡¯s Skybeast w was also dispersed.

    The expressions of everyone present had already soured. This was supposed to be a spar between equals, but a supposedly grand Enlighter had actually done something so shameless. Without even mentioning the interference, Taylor¡¯s use of a power vessel was already an absolutely despicable move.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned frigid as his re darted past Taylor and towards <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix. ¡°Ah, is this how the Dark Phoenix family conducts themselves in battle? Thank you for showing me your character.¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix snorted coldly. ¡°Junior, you will pay for your arrogance.¡±

    Taylor stared at Lu Yin in a menacing manner. ¡°Count yourself lucky today.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked as he stared at Taylor. ¡°Remember what I said: I¡¯ll make you cry.¡±

    Taylor sneered, but he otherwisepletely ignored Lu Yin.

    Qiong Shanhai stood up to mediate and pacify the tense situation.

    Everyone present had been riled by the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s tactics, though no one would actually go against the Dark Phoenix family over something like this. After all, no one in this ce had any sort of rtionship with Lu Yin.

    Yuehua Mavis was the only one who had called them despicable, but just that was enough to make <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix very angry, and he once again cast a cold look towards Lu Yin.

    As Lu Yin returned to his seat, the Ghost Monkey incessantly murmured, ¡°Seventh Bro, just kill them all! You¡¯ll have to kill them all sooner orter.¡±

    Zhu San looked at Lu Yin with admiration. ¡°Well done, brother. You only used three moves¡ªah, I mean three ws¡ªto render that bird unable to fight back. You have my respect.¡±

    Lu Yin gave him a slight smile, as what had just happened was practically a farce. It was a good thing that he had not been hurt, though he would remember what the Dark Phoenix family had done to him on this day.

    Wei Rong had merely observed the situation from start to finish. He looked at Lu Yin with a high degree of interest before slowly turning his sparkling eyes to Taylor. A strange smile then spread across his face.

    Even though the earlier battle had been interrupted, everyone had fully witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s might. It had onlysted for an instant, but everyone was now looking at him in a different light. This was especially so for the younger women, who had started fawning over him.

    Angie eximed, ¡°This Lu Yin really is an expert! In the younger generation, perhaps only the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings can actually fight against him, and perhaps only the top three are able topare to him!¡±

    Wei Rong let out a slight smile. ¡°Some people cannot stand to see others seed. People will therefore naturally gain more enemies as they be more powerful. This is a rule of reality that will never change.¡±

    Angie nodded her head. She was not attracted to men like Lu Yin, who acted rashly, and she preferred men like Wei Rong, who meticulously nned his strategies.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er walked over to Lu Yin and offered him a drink as she repeatedly told Lu Yin to call her Brother Qiong. Interacting with this girl tired Lu Yin out even more than fighting. He really did not know how to deal with such a woman, as no one had ever taught him how!

    He was willing to get close to Qiong Xi¡¯er for one reason and one reason only: this woman was extremely rich.

    ¡°Brother Qiong, are you interested in joining the Great Eastern Alliance? You can simply invest, and I¡¯ll definitely offer you a sweet deal,¡± Lu Yin said warmly.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er clinked sses with Lu Yin. ¡°I have never invested in businesses¡ªI only invest in people.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused; what was that supposed to mean?

    Qiong Xi¡¯er moved in towards Lu Yin¡¯s ear and softly whispered, ¡°I will invest in you! Tell me how much you want.¡±

    Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s red lips were currently mere centimeters from Lu Yin¡¯s face. A heavy scent of alcohol wafted towards him along with the unique scent of a woman. He suddenly became repulsed by this girl¡¯s actions, as he felt like he was being seduced by another man.

    Zhu San could not take it anymore, and he moved in between the two as he stared fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother, you shouldn¡¯t make moves on your friend¡¯s wife.¡±

    Qiong Xi¡¯er rolled her eyes and walked away.

    Lu Yin was baffled. ¡°Are we friends?¡±

    Zhu San threw a cosmic ring at Lu Yin thatnded with a heavy thud.

    Lu Yin checked its contents, and found that there were twenty thousand star essence inside. This was a very generous gesture, and his eyes were glowing when he looked back at Zhu San as he seriously said, ¡°Friends.¡±

    ¡°If we are friends, then don¡¯t hold any intentions towards Xi¡¯er. She¡¯s mine,¡± Zhu San said with a soft growl.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll be yours forever,¡± Lu Yin immediately promised.

    Zhu San was satisfied with Lu Yin¡¯s answer, and he returned to his seat.

    ¡°Hey friend, do you want to invest? The Great Eastern Alliance will wee you.¡± Lu Yin had already thought it through before saying anything to Zhu San.

    Zhu San pursed his lips. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this after I get my allowance next month.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped. Apparently, he was dealing with extraordinarily wealthy people; had Zhu San just been spending his allowance earlier? Lu Yin started to question everything he thought he previously knew, and he quickly realized that he had been living among poor people his entire life.

    At this moment, Qiong Shanhai finally spoke up. ¡°Thank you, all, for demonstrating your kindness to the Qiong family. The Qiong family has stood at the top of Millions City for countless years, and we enjoy making friends. For the auction that just took ce, our Qiong family will return every star essence that you may have spent. For those who did not manage to sessfully win any of the bids, my family will also give you a humble token of appreciation.¡±

    Once he was done, he waved an arm, and everyone who had not won any of the auctioned goods were given gifts.

    Lu Yin was amazed, as these people were clearly wealthy beyond hisprehension. The eight items that had been auctioned off earlier on had sold for roughly 210,000 star essence in total. But despite that astronomical sum, the Qiong family had just written it off. And just to be friends?

    Lu Yin realized that he was indeed a poor man.

    However, Lu Yin immediately snapped out of his ecstatic daze. He had just spent eighty thousand star essence that would all be returned to him. In short, just from attending this Qiong''s Banquet, he had gained 80,000 star essence. Additionally, there was also the 20,000 star essence that Zhu San had given him.

    This was what Millions City was all about. This was the richest city in the Outerverse, and it was known for making whoever visited wealthy.

    Lu Yin could now truly understand how local tyrants felt.

    ¡°Oh yes, there is one more thing.¡± Qiong Shanhai looked around the banquet, and his eyes lingered on the many young people who were attending as he smiled. ¡°Xi¡¯er has been of age for many years, and it is time for her to be wed. All of you know that she is my only daughter and that she is also the only heir to Millions City. Therefore, she will not be betrothed to another family, but instead, her husband will join our family. If anyone here is worthy of her hand, I would be most grateful.¡±

    Everyone nced around at each other, and all the youths saw determination in each other¡¯s eyes. Bing the Qiong family¡¯s son-inw would not be easy. Qiong Xi¡¯er was the only heir to the family, which meant that whoever married her would undergo an earth-shattering change in status.

    Lu Yin directed his attention towards Wei Rong, who was looking at Lu Yin in turn. They each gave the other a smile.

    Neither of them were afraid that the other would be a part of the Qiong family. Even though they had only met a few times, they had an excellent understanding of each other. Neither was the sort of man who would marry into another family. Thus, they were instead more afraid that the future Qiong son-inw would utilize his newfound power to greatly influence the universe.

    Neo-Vestige Sect, Millions City, and the Dark Phoenix family were the three Outerverse powers that could not be provoked. As far as Lu Yin and Wei Rong were concerned, the influence that Millions City wielded far surpassed that of the Dark Phoenix family or Neo-Vestige Sect for one reason alone: this city was the wealthiest of the three powers.

    Wars were fought over money, and the victor was often the side that had the most resources. Thus, the likelihood of any particr power¡¯s victory would greatly increase if they managed to gain the backing of Millions City.

    Wei Rong said that he hade here to look for Deng Pu, but since stepping foot in Millions City, he had not made any efforts to find the Lockbreaker. As far as Wei Rong was concerned, a priceless treasure like True Insight paled inparison to Millions City itself.

    Lu Yin shared the same belief, as Millions City was just too important.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s choice of a husband would not just affect Millions City. With the Outerverse isted from the Innerverse, the situation had changed drastically. Millions City had now be an extremely important power.

    ¡°Me, Uncle Qiong! I am willing to vie for her hand!¡± Zhu San shouted excitedly as he jumped up. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

 Chapter 793: Betrothal Gift

    <h4>Chapter 793: Betrothal Gift</h4>

    Qiong Shanhai nced at the excited youth. ¡°The Zhu family only has you, Zhu San, as their heir, so can you be a member of your wife¡¯s family? Just forget about it and stop making a scene.¡±

    Zhu San hurriedly replied, ¡°Uncle Qiong, I¡¯m not messing around! Xi''er is mine, forever mine! I want to be a member of your family. I want to live with my wife!¡±

    But Qiong Shanhai no longer bothered with him.

    Quite a few looked at Qiong Xi¡¯er, wanting to see her reaction. However, what the crowd saw left them all speechless; Qiong Xi¡¯er was currently in the middle of teasing Nana, and she was sporting a smile that was remarkably reminiscent of a yboy¡¯s.

    The crowd was rendered speechless.

    ¡°Uncle Qiong, give me a chance! I want to marry Xi''er!¡± Zhu San shouted loudly.

    Qiong Shanhai frowned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Zhu San became dejected, and he helplessly looked at Qiong Xi''er. He then suddenly shouted, ¡°Xi''er, I can¡¯t take care of you, so take care of our twelve children.¡±

    The crowd became excited at this new development: twelve children?

    Qiong Xi''er looked over and furiously replied, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡±

    Zhu San had an innocent look on his face. ¡°It can¡¯t be hidden. Anyway, you aren¡¯t-¡±

    He suddenly paused with a smile stered across his face.

    Qiong Shanhai flew into a rage. ¡°Get out of here!¡±

    Zhu San was then tossed out of the Qiong''s Banquet.

    Qiong Shanhai immediately tried to exin, but the crowd¡¯s expressions were rather strange, as their suspicions were not impossible considering Qiong Xi''er¡¯s masculine mannerisms. Also, this Zhu might actually be the victim, since this tomboy seemed to be rather casual towards male-female rtionships. In fact, her arms had been wrapped around someone else just now.

    Qiong Xi''er was in no mood to tease Nana any longer, as Zhu San had infuriated her.

    Lu Yin was rather amused; that fellow was willing to do any unscrupulous things as long as he was able to wed Qiong Xi''er. On top of that, he seemed to be truly unafraid of death.

    Before much more time passed, the Qiong Family''s Banquet ended with a strange atmosphere.

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s initially good mood waspletely gone by the end of the banquet. If not for his apprehension towards the Zhu family, he had even considered throttling Zhu San.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s expression was not too great either, as she was also disgusted by Zhu San. All this time, she had been the one plotting against others, but she had actually been made a fool of by Zhu San. A shameless person was truly invincible.

    ¡°Just wait for it. Today¡¯s debt will be collected another time,¡± Taylor Phoenix threatened Lu Yin before leaving.

    Sall Phoenix¡¯s gaze was gloomy, and although he did not say anything, the implication of Taylor¡¯s threat was evident.

    Lu Yin did not care, as he had already put the Dark Phoenix family on his cklist. Although the n was powerful, Lu Yin was not a weakling either, and the Hall of Honor would continue to support him.

    Taylor regretted that the Dark Phoenix family was located too far away from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Wei Rong brought Angie over to speak with Lu Yin again. ¡°Brother Lu, that was marvelous.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was tranquil as he replied, ¡°I just got another enemy for free. Brother Wei must be quite happy.¡±

    Wei Rong shook his head. ¡°No, not that happy. Their attitude towards Brother Lu is about the same as their attitude towards me, though they currently don¡¯t take me as seriously as they do Brother Lu. You may have noticed this, but during this Qiong''s Banquet, nobody really spoke with me from start to finish.¡±

    Lu Yin motioned towards Qiong Xi''er as he said to Wei Rong, ¡°She hasn¡¯t forgotten you, and her attention keeps returning to you.¡±

    ¡°Has Brother Lu ever felt like the Outerverse is not very transparent? Are the people who came here truly the only Enlighters that belong to those various great powers? I don¡¯t think that that¡¯s the case. Rather, what we saw today should only be their public strength. Also, there¡¯s still the Hall of Honor as well as the hidden powers. Brother Lu, we still have a long ways to go on our journey,¡± Wei Rong said with an emotional sigh.

    Lu Yin nced over at Angie. ¡°It would seem that you have the Umbral Butterfly Tribe in your grasp.¡±

    Angie¡¯s brow arched up upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, as his tone did not sound very friendly.

    Wei Rong put a hand on Angie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The Neo-Vestige Sect should also already be in Brother Lu¡¯s bag. We are just enjoying some mutual coborations.¡±

    The two left the Qiong''s Banquet and returned to the entrance, where Yan Yan and the others were waiting. There, Lu Yin saw someone familiar: Ah Mu.

    Angie had taken Ah Mu along on the attack on Sourcepeak, and she had once again brought him with her on her trip to Millions City. It appeared that Ah Mu was rising up in the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s ranks.

    The two of them acted as though they were strangers, and they merely exchanged nces before looking in different directions.

    ¡°Brother Lu, have you considered bing the Qiong family¡¯s son-inw?¡± Wei Rong asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at Angie. ¡°What if I say yes?¡±

    Wei Rong thought about it and then seriously replied, ¡°Then I¡¯d be very happy.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, but I am also confident that you have absolutely no thoughts of joining her family. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be the Wei Rong that I know.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone who¡¯s very suitable to be their family¡¯s son-inw, and Qiong Xi''er¡¯s personality would even control him.¡± Wei Rong smiled and looked at Lu Yin before saying, ¡°Wang Wen.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as Wei Rong seemed to be aware of everything. However, that was rather normal. Lu Yin¡¯s encounters with Wang Wen were not a secret, and it was also quite normal for Lu Yin to have met Wang Wen. Thus, Wei Rong had long since known that the two youths knew each other.

    Soon after, the two separated, and the Ghost Monkeymented, ¡°Seventh Bro, if it was up to me, I¡¯d take care of this Wei Rong right now. I get the sense that he¡¯s either plotting something right now or preparing to do so soon.¡±

    ¡°This Qiong''s Banquet will temporarily prevent these parties from acting against each other. The Qiong family is attempting to use diplomacy before they use force, and we cannot be the first to make a move. Millions City has survived for many years without being conquered by any other power, and it has even fended off plots from the great powers of the Innerverse. Thus, their hidden foundation can¡¯t be any less than that of Neo-Vestige Sect,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°What hidden foundation? If you don¡¯t tear it open, then nobody will ever know about it.¡± The monkey rolled his eyes.

    Won¡¯t know? Lu Yin¡¯s gaze deepened, as he was aware of the city¡¯s hidden power since rune lines could not be faked. The rune lines of Millions City were rather terrifying.

    News of what had happened during the Qiong''s Banquet quickly spread throughout Millions City, and countless were surprised at the Qiong family¡¯s extravagance, though they were also astounded at Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Still, the most shocking piece of news was that the Qiong family was looking for a son-inw.

    In a short amount of time, countless young men were racking their brains to think of who they knew that could transmit their personal details to Qiong Shanhai, all of them hoping to be able to join the Qiong family.

    Although it was generally considered shameful for a groom to join the bride¡¯s family, that greatly depended on the bride¡¯s family. Millions City¡¯s Qiong family was one of the Outerverse¡¯s most powerful ns, and even the heirs of great powers from the Innerverse would feel proud to marry into such a family. The Qiong family only had one heir, Qiong Xi''er, and once someone married into the family, even if they would not be able to take control of the Qiong family¡¯s enormous financial empire, their own child would eventually be able to do so.

    To many, this was a good opportunity to achieve instant sess.

    In the City Master¡¯s residence, Qiong Xi''er disinterestedly flipped through some photos of candidates, as they had all sent over their resumes. She looked through them for a while, but eventually tossed all of them aside. ¡°A bunch of trash. Not a single one of them canpare to Nana, but they want to marry into my family? No way!¡±

    Qiong Shanhai said, ¡°Xi''er, there are very few youths in the Outerverse who can catch your eye. Are there really none here that catch your fancy?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er thought about it before replying, ¡°None.¡±

    ¡°What about that Lu Yin? You seem to find him pleasing to the eye,¡± Qiong Shanhai asked.

    Qiong Xi''er was amused. ¡°Do you think that he would marry into our family with his personality?¡±

    ¡°As long as you set your mind to such a thing.¡± Qiong Shanhai was confident.

    Qiong Xi''er shook her head. ¡°Lu Yin is not as simple as he seems to be on the surface. He has the Hall of Honor behind him, and also¡­¡± Qiong Xi''er suddenly grew serious before she continued, saying, ¡°I have no confidence in being able to suppress him. This person¡¯s ambition is too overbearing, and he also has the means and talent that support that ambition.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai was quite surprised by this response. From a young age, his daughter had never ever appraised someone this highly before. Even Wei Rong and Wang Wen, who were as famous as her, were only seen as opponents. However, this Lu Yin was evaluated to be even more outstanding than those two.

    Qiong Xi''er looked at her father. ¡°If Lu Yin agrees to marry into our family, then who do you think will make the decisions for Millions City in the future?¡±

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Then just forget it.¡±

    At this moment, someone reported that the Zhu family patriarch, Zhu Jie, had arrived for a visit.

    Qiong Shanhai felt that this visit was rather odd. ¡°Could he be here about the matter of Zhu San being tossed out of the Qiong Family''s Banquet?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er shook her head. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be. I¡¯ll head out first.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai nodded.

    Soon after, Zhu Jie stepped into the City Master residence¡¯s sitting room, where he saw Qiong Shanhai.

    Upon meeting, the first thing the Zhu patriarch did was immediately apologize. ¡°City Master, my son caused you a great deal of trouble during the Qiong''s Banquet.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I watched that child grow up, and he has a decent personality. He¡¯s just a little more yful than the rest. What matter has brought Brother Zhu here to see me this time?¡±

    Zhu Jie retrieved a box from his cosmic ring and offered it to Qiong Shanhai. ¡°Brother Qiong, please take a look.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai was curious, so he opened the box, only for a golden radiance to illuminate his face. He reflexively closed the lid and then blurted out, ¡°True Insight!¡±

    Zhu Jie smiled. ¡°Brother Qiong is sharp. That¡¯s right¡ªthat is indeed True Insight.¡±

    ¡°Did your Zhu family find Deng Pu?¡± Qiong Shanhai was astonished.

    ¡°It was he who sought us out and sold it to us. How about it? Brother Qiong, if you want it, it¡¯s yours.¡± Zhu Jie smiled.

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s eyes flickered. At this moment, there were many experts in Millions City who hade here just to obtain this True Insight. If he publicly auctioned it off, then not only would he be able to earn an immense profit, but he would also be able to resolve the matter that was currently guing him by preventing all the gathered experts from creating trouble within Millions City. This would be killing two birds with one stone.

    ¡°Brother Zhu, could you please state your conditions?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked.

    Zhu Jie¡¯s tone grew solemn, and he became very serious. ¡°True Insight is my Zhu family¡¯s betrothal gift to your Qiong family. My son, Zhu San, wishes to wed Xi''er.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai stared nkly at Zhu Jie for a moment, but then he very directly pushed the box back towards Zhu Jie. ¡°My Qiong family is unable to ept this betrothal gift.¡±

    ¡°Brother Qiong, I only have but one son, and he¡¯s the most precious thing in the world to me. The only desire he has is to wed Xi''er, and so I hope that Brother Qiong can give me some face. True Insight is merely one of the betrothal gifts, and if Brother Qiong is willing, then my Zhu family is willing to part with half of our wealth as the other part of the betrothal gift.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai sighed. ¡°Brother Zhu, my Qiong family only has one Xi''er as our heir. If we give her to you, then how will our Qiong family manage?¡±

    Zhu Jie quickly replied, ¡°Brother Qiong is still young, and you are absolutely able to have another child.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to speak any more words. If Brother Zhu is willing, then my Qiong family is willing to purchase True Insight for multiple times its value. Otherwise, we can simply forget about it.¡±

    Zhu Jie saw Qiong Shanhai¡¯s unwavering attitude, and he could only helplessly bid his host farewell.

    Qiong Shanhai watched Zhu Jie¡¯s departing figure, and his expression fell. Did this man truly think that Qiong Shanhai would fall for the excuse of Zhu San liking Xi''er? Once the two families were maritally joined, it would be impossible to predict who would rule Millions City in the future. He would rather marry Qiong Xi''er off to the eastern weaves than to the Zhu family.

    The next day, news of the Zhu family offering True Insight as a betrothal gift leaked out. Nobody believed these rumors at first, but then Zhu San went and announced it without restraint, supposedly to demonstrate his sincerity for Qiong Xi''er. That caused countless people to believe the news, and they epted this as verification that True Insight was really with the Zhu family.

    Saul was the first to demand it from them, but he was summarily rejected by the Zhu family. They had their own Enlighter realm ancestors, and this was Millions City. Thus, they were not intimidated by Saul.

    After Saul, Hoffman, the ze Engineer, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, and more took turns visiting the family. Even Cai Jianqiang and Wei Rong made a visit, but everyst one of them was refused by the Zhu family.

    The Zhu family did notck for money, and they were also unafraid of threats.

    At this moment, the Zhu family¡¯s estate had be the most watched ce in all of Millions City, and countless people had surrounded the entrance to their home.

 Chapter 794: Lu Yin, Love Expert

    <h4>Chapter 794: Lu Yin, Love Expert</h4>

    Lu Yin did not go to the Zhu family, as doing so would bepletely useless. The Zhu family had clearly demonstrated that they were not going to give anyone face, which he felt was strange. If that was the case, then why was the Zhu family still hanging on to True Insight? The family had no powerful Lockbreakers. Thus, they must be either waiting for a better offer, or they had some other use for the pages.

    Not even a few days had passed before the Zhu family released an announcement, stating that the family would be willing to give True Insight to whoever was able to help Zhu San marry Qiong Xi¡¯er. In addition, the family was also offering an additional 300,000 star essence as a gift to that person.

    As soon as this announcement was released, the news shocked the entire Outerverse. The family wasn¡¯t only offering True Insight, but also 300,000 star essence, which was an insane amount of money that the vast majority of cultivators would never be able to see in their entire lifetime.

    Countless people contacted Zhu San and tried to design some kind of scheme for him, and they all offered advice on how to chase girls.

    However, Qiong Xi''er was not an ordinary girl. Over the course of ten days, Zhu San tried various methods, but he always ended up being beaten by Qiong Xi''er, which made him only feel anger towards the people who had given him advice. After these few days, he started beating these people before they could even approach him.

    Qiong Xi''er was even more frustrated; who would have thought that the Zhu family woulde up with such a bizarre n. She was certain that she would not marry Zhu San, but this sort of scheme left her feeling disgusted. Even if she remained hidden within the City Master¡¯s residence, Zhu San still managed to think of all sorts of crazy methods to demonstrate his affection. The most outrageous incident was when she had been taking a bath. Suddenly, a bunch of mice had appeared, and each one of them had Zhu San¡¯s derations of love carved onto them. This entire situation was close to driving her crazy.

    Qiong Shanhai was also infuriated, and he even went to meet with Zhu Jie and ask the Zhu family patriarch to revoke his promise. However, Zhu Jie was not epting any visitors during this time. Even if Qiong Shanhai was the City Master, the man in question had notmitted any heinous crimes, so he was left helpless.

    During this period, everyone in Millions City discussed how Zhu San could woo Qiong Xi''er.

    It was not just Zhu San doing this, as those who wanted to marry into the Qiong family were all using various methods to try to win over Qiong Xi¡¯er. Zhu San would also asionally pick a fight with these people, which caused Millions City to be rather chaotic.

    Lu Yin watched as the crowd below him dispersed, as they had gathered here just to fight. Each party was attempting to force the others to stop pursuing Qiong Xi''er.

    He was left speechless by these events. This tomboy had actually managed to whip so many people into a frenzy with just her status alone.

    This matter not only affected Millions City, but its effects had also rippled out throughout the entire Tyrannical Weave, even affecting the rest of the Outerverse. Various powers wanted to cooperate with Millions City, so this entire matter caused many other ces to turn chaotic as well.

    Qiong Xi''er was now thoroughly famous, and people everywhere suddenly knew not only her family and backing, but they also knew her hobbies, personality, style, and even how she often had women stay overnight. Every incident of her existence ended up being dug up.

    Still, that didn¡¯t change anything. Even if this girl was promiscuous, there were still many who would fight to be with her.

    This whole matter was a farce, but Lu Yin did not intend to remain as a spectator; even a farce could be an opportunity for him to take advantage of. If someone out of this group of aspiring suitors really managed to marry into the Qiong family, then the situation of the entire Outerverse could easily change, and Lu Yin would not allow something that he could not control to happen right before his eyes.

    As he thought about this, he contacted Wang Wen, as this person understood Qiong Xi''er rather well.

    ¡°You want to chase after Qiong Xi''er!¡± Wang Wen cried out loudly.

    Lu Yin rubbed his ears. ¡°Not me. Rather, I want to help Zhu San woo her. So do you have any suggestions?¡±

    ¡°No. That woman is a freak no matter what she does or where she goes. She''s able to dress up nicely and act dignified and natural during the Qiong Forest Banquets, but she can also be a yboy in the brothel. This kind of woman is very strange, and you have to be a woman to chase after her. She has no interest in men,¡± Wang Wen stated.

    A lightbulb seemed to light up in Lu Yin¡¯s brain. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Wang Wen blinked. ¡°She has no interest in men.¡±

    ¡°Before that,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°You have to be a woman to chase her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s that part¡ª¡®be a woman!¡¯¡± Lu Yin pped the table and closed the screen. He then quickly headed straight towards the Fragrance Pavilion. During these past few days, Qiong Xi''er had spent a great deal of time at the brothel, almost as if she was announcing to the universe what sort of person she was and that everyone should leave her alone.

    Zhu San was also in the Fragrance Pavilion, nkly watching her.

    He felt like, if he did not win over Qiong Xi''er, he would be lost in despair for the rest of his life. Thus, he watched her all day, every day. He trashed anyone who dared to strike up a conversation with her, and if he could not beat them, then he would have his Zhu family find someone else to do the job. There was nobody the Zhu family didn¡¯t dare cross within Millions City. Unless, of course, it was someone whom they could not defeat.

    The Fragrance Pavilion wasid out in a series of courtyards, and Zhu San had booked all of the courtyards surrounding the one that Qiong Xi''er was in, and there were multiple people having discussions in these reserved courtyards. These people were all self-proimed love experts creating ns for Zhu San.

    Zhu San paced back and forth, clearly on edge.

    Wei Rong and Starfox had arrived some distance away. Since arriving at Millions City, this was the first time these two had met alone.

    As they observed Zhu San in the distance, Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Actually, if he can manage to marry Qiong Xi''er, that would be pretty good.¡±

    Starfox nodded. ¡°The Zhu family will not step foot outside of Millions City, and the Qiong family will be nothing more than a powerful n if they ever leave Millions City. Neither of them can evene close to being able to alter the situation.¡±

    ¡°There are only a few powers that are able to truly alter the situation of the Outerverse. However, it is exactly those few powers whose true limits nobody knows,¡± Wei Rong replied.

    Starfox did not respond. Instead, he continued to look into the distance with some interest.

    Lu Yin had just arrived, but he did not bother with Wei Rong or Starfox. Rather, he directly approached Zhu San. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try my n?¡±

    Zhu San was doubtful towards Lu Yin. ¡°You have a n?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Try it. It might work.¡±

    Zhu San remained skeptical, and he quietly asked, ¡°Could you be intentionally trying to break us up? Let me tell you something, Lu Yin. If I can¡¯t wed Xi''er, you won¡¯t be able to either.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. When someone was infatuated with another person, they tended to assume that everyone else was also infatuated with that person. This was a ssic aspect of a one-sided love affair.

    He did not continue exchanging nonsense with Zhu San. Instead, Lu Yin quickly pulled him into a corner and then whispered something in his ear.

    Zhu San listened attentively, and his mouth gradually fell open, wider and wider, as his expression turned rather sluggish. It looked as though he had just heard something that made him doubt his life.

    ¡°Do you dare to try?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhu San swallowed his saliva. ¡°Are- are you certain?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You should know her strange personality better than anyone else, and you definitely will not be able to woo her through normal methods. Try this. Can your situation even get any worse than it currently is? She doesn¡¯t merely dislike you right now, as she actually loathes you. Do you understand that? Loathing? That means that, when she sees you, she can¡¯t stop herself from wanting to trample you underfoot and then spit on you.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s lips twisted, as these were the most savage words he had heard these past few days. He gritted his teeth before determinedly saying, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll try it. I¡¯m willing to do anything for her, even if it means bing aughingstock.¡±

    He then headed towards another courtyard without turning back, and he even instructed the Fragrance Pavilion to send some girls to him.

    The crowd grew curious as to what Lu Yin had proposed to Zhu San.

    Wei Rong and Starfox were simrly curious.

    Over the course of these past ten days, Zhu San had already used all sorts of methods, but all of them had beenpletely ineffective on Qiong Xi''er. Zhu San was like a gambler who had already lost everything, so would he take things too far this time?

    It didn¡¯t take long for Zhu San to reappear.

    And when he did, everyone was stunned at his appearance.

    Wei Rong was unable to control himself, and he spat out the tea that was in his mouth, showering Starfox.

    Despite being an Enlighter, Starfox actually didn¡¯t dodge the spray of tea, as he was staring dumbfoundedly at Zhu San.

    Everyone was stunned by Zhu San, as he hade out dressed as a woman.

    There were all sorts of strange things in the universe, and this was just a simple act of crossdressing that evenmoners participated in, and it was often someone¡¯s hobby or fetish. After all, everyone had their own interests. However, Zhu San was the Zhu family¡¯s only heir, and his reputation in the Outerverse was not unknown.

    The Zhu family was one of the most powerful families in Millions City, as they were second only to the Qiong family.

    Just now, Zhu San hade out, dressed as a woman, and this image shocked all of Millions City like a sudden p of thunder. The Zhu family¡¯s reputation would be gone after this matter.

    Wei Rong stared at Zhu San in amazement, as the young man¡¯s courage was trulymendable. He then looked over at Lu Yin. This person was ying with fire! Wasn¡¯t he afraid that the Zhu family¡¯s ancestor would make a sudden appearance and crush him?

    Those Zhu family followers and retainers felt like crying on the spot. They were doomed. Nobody could save them now.

    Nobody knew how much courage Zhu San had mustered up, but he walked towards Qiong Xi''er¡¯s courtyard step by step as countless eyes were glued to his figure. He knew that his clothing choices would soon spread throughout the entire Outerverse, but he had still decided to give this a try. For his beloved, he was not even afraid of death, so there was nothing that was too terrifying.

    Lu Yin felt nothing but respect for Zhu San, as he did not have this kind of courage himself.

    When the door to the next courtyard swung open, Lu Yin and the rest could hear the sounds of cheerful conversations with Qiong Xi''er¡¯s wilfulughter sprinkled through.

    But as soon as Zhu San walked in, theughter abruptly stopped.

    The crowd was waiting to see if Zhu San would be kicked out, as that scene had urred numerous times already, and the spectators were no strangers to it.

    But even after waiting for a while, there was no change.

    Those under the Zhu family grew panicked. Could Qiong Xi''er have been so disgusted and ashamed by their young master¡¯s appearance that she had killed him in a fit of fury? They quickly dashed into the courtyard, but then they ran out just as quickly. When they exited, they were all wearing ecstatic expressions, as their young master was actually enjoying himself with Qiong Xi''er.

    The crowd took in a breath of cold air, as such a wild gambit had actually seeded. They all looked over at Lu Yin, as he was indeed a love expert.

    Lu Yin felt a heavy weight lift from his chest, as he had actually been gambling. This was a desperate situation where one would be willing to try just about anything. Dealing with someone as strange as Qiong Xi''er required techniques that were just as strange. Lu Yin had not personally carried too much hope for this attempt, and when Zhu San had walked out fully dressed in female clothes, Lu Yin had already prepared himself to face the wrath of the Zhu family. However, to his surprise, Zhu San had actually seeded so quickly.

    This incident caused Lu Yin to be famous all over again, not because of his strength and backing, but rather because he had seeded in helping Zhu San get close to Qiong Xi''er. Reports came out that she had happily spent her time with Zhu San and that the two had stayed at the Fragrance Pavilion for the entire night.

    Wei Rong rather admired Lu Yin for being able toe up with such an unusual method.

    As Starfox looked over at Lu Yin, he was struck by a slight sense of post-traumatic stress. This person would truly dare to do anything, and fortunately, Starfox had been sensible enough to not fight Lu Yin to the death. Aegis was not afraid and would have been able to go toe-to-toe with Lu Yin, but who could predict what methods this sort of enemy would be willing to deploy?

    Starfox swore to himself that, no matter what happened in the future, Aegis would not be enemies with this person, as he had no bottom line.

    Still, Lu Yin was not the only one without a baseline.

    After Zhu San managed to sessfully approach Qiong Xi''er, the following day, many other men also dressed up as women and visited the Fragrance Pavilion, which stumped many of the establishment¡¯s patrons. They quickly assumed that this was a new service being offered by the pavilion, and one client was even interested. However, when he tried to tease one of the crossdressers, his leg was broken by the man.

    Zhu San was immediately abandoned, as Qiong Xi''er found a new ymate who had dressed himself up even more enchantingly than Zhu San. This person had no hesitations, and hepletely let himself loose.

    Zhu San gave it his all, and he even learned an erotic dance.

    The others were not too bad either, and they quickly learned to do whatever a woman could do. They allpeted in the feminine arts within Qiong Xi''er¡¯s courtyard, which caused many of the men outside to rub their eyes in disbelief.

    Lu Yin did not go to the brothel anymore, as this was just too much for his eyes, and the scenery of that ce hadpletely changed. He felt as though he had opened a can of worms.

    One day, Lu Yin received an invitation from Qiong Shanhai, and he quickly headed straight for the City Master¡¯s residence.

    Ever since Lu Yin had arrived in Millions City, this was his first time visiting the City Master¡¯s residence.

    It was located in the center of Millions City, and rather than the City Master¡¯s residence, it would be more aptly called the Qiong family¡¯s estate.

 Chapter 795: Reappearance Of Death Energy

    <h4>Chapter 795: Reappearance Of Death Energy</h4>

    Lu Yin assumed that Qiong Shanhai wanted to discuss the matters of thest few days, as Lu Yin had indeed been the one who had triggered this unhealthy trend.

    However, when Lu Yin saw the corpse inside the City Master¡¯s residence, his face fell, and his expression turned cold.

    Phantom Sting was dead.

    When they had first arrived in Millions City, Yan Yan had been the one following Lu Yin around while Phantom Sting had moved about in the dark, searching for information. This mean that he had almost never revealed himself.

    As a Hunter realm assassin with a peculiar innate gift, even Lu Yin would be forced to rely on observing rune lines if he wanted to search for Phantom Sting. However, the man¡¯s corpse was now lying in front of him.

    ¡°Who did it?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was low, and he looked directly at Qiong Shanhai.

    Qiong Shanhai shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re not sure. When we found him, he was already like this.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡¯

    ¡°In an alley outside the Qiong Forest.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix. If someone had easily killed Phantom Sting without creating a hugemotion, then it could only be an Enlighter.

    But he quickly refuted this assumption. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix had never seen Phantom Sting, and so he had no reason to take action against the assassin. Even if he had made a move, it would not have been this inconspicuous. The Dark Phoenix family¡¯s abilities were too distinctive, and on top of that, Phantom Sting was a seasoned assassin. For him to die so soundlessly, he had to have been ambushed.

    Unless <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix had both the strength to instantly kill a Hunter realm assassin and the knowledge that Phantom Sting was working for Lu Yin, the probability of the Dark Phoenix elder being the killer was too low.

    ¡°How did City Master find out that he worked for me?¡± Lu Yin felt that this detail was strange.

    Qiong Shanhai took out a token that had the Second Imperial Squadron Captain¡¯s symbol on it. ¡°His cosmic ring was left intact, and nothing was taken from it.¡±

    Lu Yin crouched down and examined Phantom Sting¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to check¡ªonly his internal organs were shattered. There are no superficial injuries either, and the assant only used a single strike,¡± Qiong Shanhai exined.

    Lu Yin frowned, as the murder victim in question was Phantom Sting. While he couldn¡¯tpare to Aden or Yan Yan in terms ofbat strength, his ability to stay alive was not inferior to Aden¡¯s in any way. But despite that, he had been killed in one strike.

    Lu Yin pressed one hand against Phantom Sting¡¯s body, and strangely enough, he felt a familiar energy that made his scalp turn numb. It was death energy.

    Phantom Sting¡¯s organs had almost definitely been shattered by the death energy that had pervaded his body, and only the Specter n possessed death energy. The Neohuman Alliance had made a move.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he lowered his head so as to not prevent Qiong Shanhai from noticing anything peculiar.

    He slowly stood up and said to Qiong Shanhai, ¡°City Master, please investigate and discover the culprit. This man was the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Second Imperial Squadron Captain, and he was also this Junior¡¯s subordinate. He cannot be allowed to die without good cause.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai nodded. ¡°Rest assured, Millions City will not allow anyone to get away with murder. This person dared to kill someone here, so they had better be prepared for my Millions City¡¯s punishment.¡±

    Lu Yin cremated Phantom Sting¡¯s corpse before departing from the residence with a heavy heart. The Neohuman Alliance had shown up. For Lu Yin, it would have been better if a Corpse King hade, but it was actually someone from the Specter n.

    Lu Yin¡¯s previous experience of Possessing someone from the Specter n had given him a deep understanding of the status that the Specter n held within the Neohuman Alliance. Whenever a Specter n member appeared, it was a sign that the Neohuman Alliance was nning something big. It should be known that a Specter n member did not appear even on Sourcepeak, but one had actuallye to Millions City at this time.

    There was definitely something that the Neohuman Alliance wanted dearly in Millions City.

    Whenever the Neohuman Alliance took action, it would definitely result in nothing good. Millions City might possibly be in huge trouble.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin wrote a letter and immediately hired someone to deliver it to Qiong Xi''er in the Fragrance Pavilion. He was nning on leaving with Yan Yan for a nearby, where he could analyze the situation calmly. He had a nagging feeling that he was constantly under the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s surveince, and he felt that staying in Millions City was too dangerous.

    ¡°Brother Lu, Brother Lu, you must help me!¡± Zhu San found Lu Yin and tightlytched onto him as he cried out, ¡°Brother Lu, Xi''er doesn¡¯t want me again. You have to think of another way!¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly pushed the young man aside. ¡°My apologies, Brother Zhu, but I have something else that I have to attend to, and I have to leave Millions City for now. We¡¯ll talk again once I return.¡±

    ¡°No! Nothing is more important than Xi''er! Brother Lu, you must help me. 100,000! 100,000 star essence if you help mee up with another idea.¡± Zhu San tried to entice Lu Yin with money, but Lu Yin remained unmoved. Despite the number of powerful Enlighters currently in Millions City, the Neohuman Alliance still dared to make a move. Lu Yin had no confidence in his ability to face them, and although Mister Mu had said that his jade talisman could even defend against an attack from ckless God, it only contained one strand of spiritual force. How would Lu Yin deal with a Neohuman Alliance expert whose power level was over 300,000?

    These people dared to plot against Millions City, which was in and of itself proof that they had a way to contest Millions City¡¯s formidable strength. In other words, the power of Millions City would be soon rendered useless. Lu Yin did not want to stay in such a dangerous ce any longer than he had to.

    As for getting revenge for Phantom Sting, he would collect the debt some day, as he could not coexist with the Neohuman Alliance.

    ¡°Brother Zhu, let¡¯s talk another time.¡± Lu Yin started to get impatient.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you truly don¡¯t want True Insight?¡±

    ¡°Nope. You can keep it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my family¡¯s to begin with.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was entangled by Zhu San for half a day before he was forcibly dragged to a teahouse and dyed even further.

    Suddenly, Millions City shuddered, and a huge explosion detonated in the distance as a powerful shockwave shot into the sky and through the clouds, where it exploded. Countless people felt an immense pressure descend, and quite a few buildings shattered.

    Everyone in Millions City looked up towards where the explosion had urred.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as a boundless amount of rune lines had risen in the sky and were dashing towards the edge of Millions City. These rune lines were no less than those of an ordinary Enlighter.

    ¡°Who dares to attack my Zhu family?¡± A roar reverberated throughout Millions City, and multiple figures dashed towards the outskirts of Millions City, including even a few Hunters. The Zhu family was second only to the Qiong family within Millions City, and they had quite a few Hunters as well as hidden Enlighter realm ancestors.

    ¡°That¡¯s my family! My family home has been attacked!¡± Zhu San cried out in fear.

    Lu Yin looked at the rune lines that had attacked the Zhu family estate and were currently fleeing into the distance. There was a golden radiance that glinted in the wake of the fleeing rune lines while star essence sprinkled down from the sky, which shocked many people.

    ¡°True Insight is not something that your Zhu family can keep. I¡¯m taking it away,¡± a sinister voice sounded throughout the sky.

    ¡°Thief! How bold!¡± bellowed the Zhu family patriarch, Zhu Jie, as he gave chase, quickly vanishing into outer space, above Millions City.

    Closely following behind the patriarch was Hoffman, the ze Engineer, Saul, Yuehua Mavis, and the other Enlighters. They all appeared in outer space together, looking as if they were trying to investigate something. It didn¡¯t take long before they all gave chase as well, but they were stopped by Qiong Xi''er, and a protective barrier that enveloped Millions City had appeared.

    ¡°Qiong Xi''er, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Hoffman¡¯s temper was bad, and he immediately questioned the girl.

    Saul snorted coldly and tried to dash into space, only to be stopped by the protective barrier. He then ced a hand on it, as if about to attempt to break it down.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste your efforts. This is my Millions City¡¯s barrier that can even defend against powerhouses whose power levels are above 300,000. Unless a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker makes a move, there¡¯s no way this barrier can be ovee in a short period of time,¡± Qiong Xi''er exined.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix coldly asked, ¡°What does Millions City mean by this? Are we not allowed to leave?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes scanned across the various Enlighters, and she apologetically replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Seniors. My father has just been attacked and is gravely injured, and at the same time, the Zhu family¡¯s estate was invaded. In all of Millions City, only you few seniors are able to do something like this. Please wait in Millions City until this matter is fully investigated. The Qiong family will naturally provide an ounting to the Seniors who are here.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis looked up. ¡°The person who attacked the Zhu family seized hold of True Insight and fled from Millions City. We all know that, but we did not notice any other expert attacking the City Master.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er spoke in a seething voice, saying, ¡°That¡¯s the most terrifying detail. The attacker must have at least been an Enlighter to carry out such an attack. Senior Yuehua is wise and farsighted, so I trust that you all can understand our stance in this matter.¡±

    Hoffman frowned. ¡°We were not the ones who did such a thing, so let us out and we can help the Zhu family recover True Insight.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Seniors. My father has been attacked, and this matter has to be investigated first. Seniors, please wait here patiently,¡± Qiong Xi''er said in an apologetic manner.

    No matter who questioned her, she would not allow anyone to leave the area. Within Millions City, there was nobody who dared to rashly do anything to this girl. With the status that Millions City held at present, these Enlighters knew that there were some hidden details, and that made all of them remain cautious.

    Lu Yin, Starfox, Wei Rong, and the others all also arrived on the scene, and they exchanged nces.

    ¡°Something¡¯s not right. Brother Lu left the City Master¡¯s residence not long ago, so the Qiong family patriarch was injured within that small time window, and there wasn¡¯t even a sign of an attack. Even the Enlighters who are here would find it hard to do such a thing, as the Millions City Master is also an Enlighter. The hidden power of the Qiong family is not something that just one or two Enlighters can deal with. In addition to that, Qiong Xi''er is even intentionally forcing us to stay behind,¡± Wei Rong said as he looked deeply at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm, but internally, he was very anxious.

    It was obvious that the people who had attacked the Zhu family wanted to intentionally lure these Enlighters away from Millions City. Otherwise, the person would not have revealed that they had True Insight. It was highly likely that this person was from the Neohuman Alliance. They had moved against Millions City, but they were clearly unafraid of the few Enlighters present cooperating, and thus, they had made an attempt to lure these powerhouses away. Qiong Xi''er had realized this detail, and so she had thought of a way to force these Enlighters to stay behind. That way, they would have to face the impending crisis alongside Millions City.

    The fact that Qiong Xi''er had been able to figure this all out so quickly had to be rted to Lu Yin¡¯s note.

    In that note, he had mentioned that Phantom Sting might have died at the hands of a Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse King. Given Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s shrewdness and intelligence,bined with the fact that the Zhu family had just been raided, she could only focus on making the best short term decisions for Millions City.

    Lu Yin secretly regretted his actions, as he should not have shared that information with Qiong Xi''er so soon. At least, he should have waited until after he left the city. He was flustered now, as the Neohuman Alliance was the Human Domain¡¯s greatest enemy, and he did not understand much of this deep darkness.

    Things had happened too coincidentally, and he had been left with no choice.

    The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s scheme had been close to seeding, as they would have easily lured the various Enlighters away, but their ns had ultimately failed because of him. The unlucky part was he had also ended up trapping himself.

    Fortunately, the fact that the Neohuman Alliance had wanted to lead so many Enlighters away showed that they were not confident in their ability to deal with them all. Thus, he still had an opportunity.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what do you think of this?¡± Wei Rong looked at him.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I think that you¡¯re right.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s brow quirked up. ¡°I¡¯m right?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and then he asked in a confused manner, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled, ¡°I said, the Qiong family is considering having Brother Lu marry into their family.¡±

    Lu Yin was about to deny such a thing, but then Millions City shuddered once again, and this time, the rumbling hade from the City Master¡¯s estate. Everyone looked over. Initially, they were only able to hear a stifled roar, but then, a cold and gloomy cry echoed out that made their scalps turn numb.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as this was the roar of a Corpse King.

    Everyone else¡¯s expression changed as well. They were all very experienced people, seeing as they had cultivated to the Enlighter realm, and it was too easy to recognize the aura of someone from the Neohuman Alliance. They did not have to hide their knowledge, as they could all recognize this aura.

    In the distance, above the City Master¡¯s estate, Qiong Shanhai spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was sent flying by a powerful force. The resulting shockwave formed a sharp de that swept out and split the estate in two.

    ¡°It¡¯s a Neohuman Alliance Corpse King! Time to move,¡± Yuehua Mavis barked as her figure vanished.

 Chapter 796: Mobile Fortress

    <h4>Chapter 796: Mobile Fortress</h4>

    The other Enlighters all acted simultaneously, as the Neohuman Alliance was the number one public enemy of all of humanity. All cultivators would instinctively move to kill members of the Neohuman Alliance as soon as they appeared.

    Yuehua Mavis suddenly appeared beside the Corpse King, and she swatted out with a palm. An emerald green radiance illuminated the face of the Corpse King, who raised its arm to block the attack in turn. Yuehua Mavis¡¯s palm attack seemed casual, but it forced the Corpse King back 1,000 meters, and one of his arms was very visibly distorted after the fact. This palm strike had been extremely powerful, and it caused a chill to run down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. Its rune lines just now had surpassed what Lu Yin had seen on all the Enlighters whose power levels were above 200,000.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix appeared next, and a ck Undying Bird cried out. Its appearance caused the general temperature of Millions City to rise steeply, and many looked up at the ck Undying Bird in shock. This manifestation of the Undying Bird actually had five plumes, and it proudly shot through the sky towards the Corpse King, burning it within ck mes and causing it to wail in agony.

    Hoffman¡¯s clothes tore apart, and he pressed both palms together to firmly smash downwards. Space itself was visiblypressed, but it did not tear apart under his precise control. This was an Oveying Stacks technique that far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities. While Lu Yin was only capable of unleashing Thirty Stacks, Hoffman¡¯s strike contained Seventy Stacks or even possibly more.

    The ze Engineer suddenly appeared from an unknown ce, and mes once again raged on the Corpse King¡¯s body, and these new mes seemed to rival the ck mes that had burnt it before, which rather irritated <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian casually waved a hand, causing phantom lotuses to bloom all around the Corpse King. This was her battle technique, Lotus Strike, and it could even restrict Enlighters. A weaker Enlighter could not even dream of breaking free from this technique.

    Five Enlighters had just attacked together, and not a single one of their attacks had missed the Corpse King¡¯s body. If the creature had just been an ordinary Enlighter, then even if its power level approached 300,000, it still would have been severely injured by such a ferocious series of attacks. However, aside from a twisted arm and singed hair due to the two mes, the Corpse King¡¯s body had no other discernible injuries, and its aura became even more ominous.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the creature, as this Corpse King was also an Enlighter, and its rune lines were about on par with <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s. However, the creature possessed an unimaginable physical strength, and that made it much harder to deal with than someone like <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix. Also, the most worrying thing was¡­

    Lu Yin sighed, as things were turning out about as he had expected: Corpse King Transformation.

    Cold air spun and whirled around the Corpse King. It then suddenly looked up, and its now grey eyes caused the crowd to do a double take.

    ¡°Corpse King Grey Eyes Transformation! Everyone, attack!¡± Yuehua Mavis ordered, attempting to rally the Enlighters together to defeat this Corpse King.

    However, the next moment, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian¡¯s Lotus Strike was forcibly shattered, and the Corpse King¡¯s uninjured hand suddenly swatted towards <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian. She shed away and evaded the attack as the other Enlighters all attacked as one.

    Suddenly, faint lights appeared in all directions that shot towards the Enlighters fighting in outer space.

    Lu Yin looked around, as these narrow beams of light actually had rune lines that wereparable to an Enlighter¡¯s, and their might was enough to make even Enlighters wary. More importantly, Lu Yin had seen these thin light beams before: when he had been attacked during the Lockbreaker Competition.

    Many people in Millions City suddenly revealed sluggish expressions. These narrow light beams had been shot by these people.

    Millions City was instantly plunged into chaos.

    Everything happened too suddenly, and nobody was prepared for this.

    ck lightning exploded in outer space, and it ruthlessly dispelled <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s ck mes. The Corpse King then unleashed a punch thatnded on Hoffman¡¯s body, and Hoffman was heavily mmed into the ground with a distinct indent on his chest. Just one punch had been enough to severely injure Hoffman.

    In the City Master¡¯s estate, Qiong Xi''er searched for her injured father.

    ¡°Quickly, gain control of Millions City and activate the Zenith Beam. The Neohuman Alliance wants to scheme against our Millions City, and there¡¯s more than just that one Corpse King that was already detected. Be careful.¡± Qiong Shanhai coughed up blood as he urged his daughter to action. He was an Enlighter and was not weak, but he had still been severely injured by the Corpse King¡¯s ambush. This was a very serious injury, and the excuse that Qiong Xi''er had used to hold back the visiting Enlighters had actuallye true.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face went pale, and she hurriedly descended into the estate¡¯s underground facilities.

    In the sky, the Corpse King¡¯s body glinted with ck lightning, and it was in the midst of a great battle against Yuehua Mavis and the other Enlighters. Even though the Corpse King was being continually beaten back, its grey eyes meant that its physical strength had increased by tenfold. The Enlighters¡¯ all-out attacks were no longer enough to restrain it.

    Lu Yin looked for a person who had shot one of the thin beams of light, and he immediately took action. He quickly restrained the person, but as soon as he did so, there was an explosion, and the person suddenly blew up. Lu Yin was forced several meters back as he waved his hand to dispel the smoke that had filled the air. Once the air cleared, he saw scattered bits of machinery alongside a mangled corpse.

    This scene yed out not only with Lu Yin, but also with many experts all across Millions City. They moved against the people who had fired off the light beams, and every single one of them faced the same situation, and some were even injured by the resulting explosions.

    These explosions rang out everywhere in Millions City.

    Lu Yin noticed Cai Jianqiang, Cool Sis, Moore, and Mr. Jun fighting, and he also saw Twin Daemons¡¯ rune lines. These people were all either hiding or fighting back, and all sorts of people had appeared in the chaos.

    Even the Neohuman Alliance would not dare to take this ce lightly when they were forced to face off against so many powerhouses. After all, the Neohuman Alliance did not haverge numbers. However, this whole situation gave Lu Yin an uneasy feeling. The Neohuman Alliance had never seemed to try overwhelming their enemies with numbers; they had always acted with just one or two of their members at a time.

    A sudden, ring light appeared from outer space.

    Lu Yin looked up and squinted. A group of rune lines had suddenly appeared that approached a power level of 300,000, and these runes formed a beam of light that shot at the Corpse King.

    At the same time, dozens of light beams shot out from certain locations within Millions City, and they all converged upon that powerful light beam.

    Meanwhile, in outer space, a giant spatial crack appeared and neared the city, looking like a strange beast that was attempting to devour Millions City. Its descent caused an enormous shockwave to ripple out and shatter countless structures. The Fragrance Pavillion and the Riverside Hotel were both instantly sted into bits and pieces.

    Countlessmoners were injured by this st, and even some cultivators were not able to withstand the pressure.

    The light beam was not destroyed by the narrow beams. Instead, it fused with them and continued to shoot on toward the Corpse King. However, the massive light ray had been slowed by the narrower beams, which bought enough time for the Corpse King to evade the attack.

    Next, a second and a third ray of thick light followed close behind the first one.

    However, even more narrow beams of light emerged from all over Millions City. Nobody could tell how many dead warriors the Neohuman Alliance had sent to this ce.

    Lu Yin was puzzled; could the person who had tried to assassinate him before have also been from the Neohuman Alliance?

    Beneath the City Master¡¯s estate, at the end of a dark passageway, there was a control room that was filled with all sorts of advanced technology. That room also contained a bright screen that was disying multiple different areas of Millions City at the same time, including what was happening in outer space above the city.

    Qiong Xi''er pressed her hand against the screen. Her hand was covered with fresh blood, her face was pale, but she stared unwaveringly at the Corpse King. Beneath her feet was a countless number of star essence. ¡°Again.¡±

    As these words were uttered, a bit of the star essence beneath her vanished, seemingly absorbed by something. The next moment, another light beam shot out across the sky and rocketed towards the Corpse King.

    ¡°So the Qiong family¡¯s blood is indeed the key to this mobile fortress,¡± a sinister voice called out from behind Qiong Xi''er.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face turned a deathly shade of white as she slowly turned around to see a pair of white eyes. These dead eyes were apanied by a specter that existed in a form of ck mist that was staring straight at her.

    In that instant, Qiong Xi''er¡¯s entire body seemed to freeze up, and she did not move a single muscle. No, it was more that she didn¡¯t dare to move. She felt like she was prey being stared at by a predator, and that any movement would result in her death.

    The ck mist slowly spread out and enveloped her as she stared at the specter in front of her in terror. ¡°Who- who are you?¡±

    The man¡¯s white eyes focused on the screen that was disying multiple Enlighters surrounding the Corpse King. He then slowly ordered, ¡°Attack Yuehua Mavis.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s expression changed drastically, but she did not react.

    The white eyes turned to stare at her again, and the man slowly enunciated every syble as he repeated hismand. ¡°A-ttack-Yue-hua-Ma-vis.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes trembled, and they gradually turned nk. She then activated the Zenith Beam again, but this time, it was aimed at Yuehua Mavis.

    In the sky above the City Master¡¯s estate, the Enlighter who had been dealing the most damage to the Corpse King was Yuehua Mavis. It could not evade any of her attacks, and she was the only one who was actually able to harm the Corpse King¡¯s tough physical body. The Mavis family controlled the entire Human Domain¡¯s finances, which led to everyone associating them with money, but it took strength to protect such wealth.

    The Mavis family was from the Neoverse, and they were not afraid of the Three Dark Hands.

    An emerald-green radiance shed out as Yuehua Mavis¡¯s palm struck the Corpse King¡¯s back, causing it to wail in agony as <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, the ze Engineer, and all the other Enlighters¡¯ attacks were all simply ignored. It was only wary of Yuehua Mavis.

    A massive ray of light shot into outer space again, and once again, it was obstructed by the narrow beams of light. However, unlike the previous times, the ray struck Yuehua Mavis¡¯s body this time.

    Nobody had expected for this to happen, least of all Yuehua Mavis. She had not even tried to dodge. But despite striking her head on, the light ray was not able to cause much damage. IN fact, Yuehua Mavis only looked slightly dishevelled by it.

    An invisibleyer of protection had appeared around her body, and it gave her a divine appearance.

    Yuehua Mavis looked up above, puzzled, and she saw another light ray emerge. Once again, she was the target of this attack.

    Something was off, and it seemed that some misfortune had urred down in Millions City.

    This time, Yuehua Mavis easily dodged the light ray, and she looked down at the ground, her expression contemtive.

    In the distance, a powerful aura surged forth. However, this aura ignored the Corpse King. Instead, it immediately charged down toward the area beneath the City Master¡¯s estate. It was the Zhu family¡¯s ancestor, Zhu Tiezhu.

    He was also an Enlighter, but even though Zhu Tiezhu fiercely charged underground, he was quickly and pathetically beaten back. As he retreated, he panted heavily, and there was a trace of blood on the corner of his lips. He had clearly been at a disadvantage against whatever was down there.

    Zhu Tiezhu shouted, ¡°Everyone, Millions City is an ancient mobile fortress, and if the Neohuman Alliance takes control of it, even an Envoy will die inside it. Everyone, please, we have to stop the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis and the others were not surprised by this announcement, as they and the powers behind them had already made their own conjectures concerning Millions City.

    ¡°The key to activating Millions City is the Qiong family¡¯s blood, and an underground Neohuman Alliance expert has already taken control of Qiong Xi''er. It won¡¯t be long before an even more powerful attack isunched against us,¡± Zhu Tiezhu shouted. This was also the reason why he had charged underground without any hesitation. He had not wanted to reveal himself earlier, and he had not appeared even when True Insight had been stolen from his family. The Zhu family coveted control over Millions City, but their ancestor could not remain concealed at this time; otherwise, they would all die.

    The Neohuman Alliance had truly made a bold move this time, and it waspletely terrifying.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian¡¯s eyes trembled. As the void was ripped open, multiple blooming lotus flowers emerged to entangle the Corpse King. The might of this attack waspletely different from her previous ones, as this time, the lotuses could even lock down the void. The Corpse King was unable to break free from the blossoms. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the ze Engineer and <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix immediately attacked together, and their two mes burned away at the Corpse King¡¯s body. Yuehua Mavis also acted, sping both of her hands together before slowly opening them back up. A soft radiance of moonlight gradually emerged from the centers of her palms, and the light easily pierced through the Corpse King, forcing it to violently spit out a mouthful of blood. It then slowly fell towards the ground.

    This attack truly frightened the other Enlighters. The Mavis family¡¯s hidden strength was in no way inferior to the Three Dark Hands¡¯. In fact, their family was so old that they had been around even longer than the Neohuman Alliance. The other Enlighters were barely able to harm the Grey Eyed Corpse King, but it had been cautious towards every attack from Yuehua Mavis.

 Chapter 797: Double Power

    <h4>Chapter 797: Double Power</h4>

    ¡°Chase after it,¡± Yuehua Mavis ordered as she rushed toward the ground.

    The ze Engineer and Zhu Tiezhu immediately followed after her.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian used her Lotus Strike to trap the injured Corpse King before rushing underground as well.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix was the only person who didn¡¯t follow. Instead, he turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt a chill crawl down his back as he turned around to directly look at <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix .

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix smirked. ¡°Young fellow, let me teach you how to speak to your seniors.¡± The Enlighter waved a hand, causing ck mes to sweep towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin put on his universal armor and his wrist guard, his expression instantly turning serious.

    An extremely cold st of wind froze the approaching mes as Yan Yan appeared in front of Lu Yin. ¡°Retreat, Your Highness.¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix smirked. ¡°You¡¯re going to die.¡±

    The ck Undying Bird crowed out as it flew towards Yan Yan.

    Yan Yan¡¯s eyes narrowed as his cold aura was burned away by the mes. The ck Undying Bird flew past him and forced him down towards the ground as ck mes ran rampant over his body.

    Lu Yin leaped up and caught Yan Yan. He then used his Bacsh Pearl to absorb the mes before redirecting them back towards the ck Undying Bird.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix was surprised by this move. ¡°Young man, give me that power vessel that can absorb my attack.¡±

    Lu Yin released Yan Yan and stored his Bacsh Pearl away. ¡°Old man, I¡¯m going to kill you.¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenixughed. ¡°How dare you! My power level has reached 260,000 and you¡¯ll never be able to withstand my attack. Your power vessel won¡¯t be able to help you either.¡±

    The ck Undying Bird behind them then unfurled its wings as ck mes covered the sky, causing Millions City to turn dark. The ck Undying Bird instantly dove towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist and flew up towards the ck Undying Bird.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix smiled darkly. ¡°Just die.¡±

    Lu Yin waved his left hand and used the Yu Secret Art to slightly redirect the ck Undying Bird. He then raised his right fist and unleashed a punch at <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix. His attack included the wristguard¡¯s effect, and the physical power of his attack was doubled, which caused it to shatter space around them.

    The surrounding void erupted with a bang as a huge spatial crack spread out, reaching far into the distance and stunning countless nearby people.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim, as his attack hadn¡¯tnded on <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix.

    ck mes engulfed Lu Yin as <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix reappeared. ¡°Young man, you¡¯ve underestimated me.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his palm, and the sh Tearbomb that he had been holding exploded, causing a blinding light to illuminate all of Millions City. <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix involuntarily closed his eyes, and Lu Yin took advantage of that instance to attack again. However, <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix quickly fell back, managing to fend off Lu Yin¡¯s second attack as well. As an Enlighter, he had gained a huge amount of battle experience, and he was able to reflexively dodge enemy attacks.

    However, Lu Yin had already expected <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix to dodge his second strike. Thus, he had used the Daynight Punch this time.

    The interchanging ck and white colors were hidden by the sh Tearbomb¡¯s blinding light, and an overwhelming amount of spiritual force struck <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix, dazing him and even causing him to start bleeding. An individual¡¯s power level did not correspond to their spiritual force, and an Enlighter powerhouse who had never undergone any special training might not have as much spiritual force as a Daynight n Hunter. Furthermore, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force would be extraordinary even for a Daynight n member.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch nearly knocked <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix unconscious, and the older man had to turn into a ck Undying Bird to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin was panting heavily. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to injure <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix without using the Daynight Punch.

    Some distance away, Taylor Phoenix turned into a ck Undying Bird; when he saw that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix was about to be defeated, he had decided to try to ambush Lu Yin.

    However, Taylor Phoenix was nearly frozen through when ice crystals suddenly appeared on his body. An icy chill that was nearlyparable to Yan Yan¡¯s descended upon the area, causing multipleyers of ice crystals to cover the sky and hold the ck mes at bay.

    Taylor Phoenix turned around in shock as Cool Sis appeared in front of him. ¡°You¡¯re the expert who¡¯s ranked fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. Using an ambush is too despicable.¡±

    Taylor Phoenix red at Cool Sis in disbelief. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Cool Sis waved a hand, causing the surrounding ice crystals to vanish. Taylor Phoenix took advantage of this opportunity to attack, and his ck Undying Bird collided against the remaining ice crystals. The two opposing elements of ice and fire resulted in a massive amount of steam clouding everyone¡¯s vision.

    The spectators nearby hurriedly ran away.

    Taylor Phoenix¡¯s ck Undying Bird was frozen by Cool Sis¡¯s ice again, causing it to plummet toward the ground. Cool Sis then suddenly appeared in front of him as Taylor started shivering.

    ¡°Do you want to be an enemy of my Dark Phoenix family?¡± Taylor threatened.

    Cool Sis mmed down with a palm. Taylor was much weaker than her, since the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings were on an entirely different levelpared to those below them; Taylor would never be able topare to a top ranker like Cool Sis. Taylor could only watch on as Cool Sis¡¯s palm drew closer, and everything in his vision turned white as he felt an overwhelming sense of doom overtake him.

    Suddenly, Taylor Phoenix was yanked away by an overpowering force, causing Cool Sis¡¯s attack to miss. She coldly looked in front of her.

    A man had appeared behind Taylor. He was Moore, a Western San Dios Councilor, as well as the person ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings.

    ¡°Cool Sis, your attack doesn¡¯t have to be so intense, does it?¡± Moore asked calmly. His body looked ethereal, and he almost appeared to be transparent.

    There were rumors that Moore was the product of an experiment that had been conducted in the Outerverse and that he had only been sessfully created by sacrificing an entire. He didn¡¯t have a physical body, and he looked more like a phantom. Apparently, he was a product of the sacrifice of billions of lives, and he looked even more illusionary than Ghostfire.

    Taylor stared at Cool Sis in fear, his limbs still stiff and frozen.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m fighting, why wouldn¡¯t I use my best efforts?¡± Cool Sis coldly replied.

    Taylor bellowed, ¡°How have I offended you?¡±

    Cool Sis just ignored him.

    Suddenly, the three youths¡¯ expressions changed. Countless ck mes fell down likeets as a powerful shockwave swept through the area, forcing all of them back while all of the buildings in the immediate area were instantaneously pulverized.

    A deafening noise drew everyone¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attack had collided against <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s ck Undying Bird. With the help of his bracer, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had risen to the same level as the ck Undying Bird, which shocked everyone watching.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Taylor eximed. He had heard rumors iming that Lu Yin could kill Enlighters through the help of his various external items, but in his mind, it should have still been impossible for Lu Yin to withstand <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix in a direct confrontation.

    Everyone else was also stunned as they watched the two people in the sky face off against each other.

    Numerous shreds of ck mes fell down upon Millions City from the sky, and these mes were even more destructive than the aftershocks of the battle between the Enlighters and the Corpse King.

    Cool Sis was also astounded; how could Lu Yin be so powerful? He was probablyparable to the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings, though it was highly unlikely that he would be able to defeat Avery, who was ranked fourth, let alone the top three geniuses in the rankings. Despite that, out of everyone within the younger generation, only those top three ranked individuals and the Ten Arbiters were able to fight against Enlighters. Did this mean that Lu Yin had also reached their level?

    How much of his power had he concealed during his fight with her?

    Lu Yin definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix head on, but he was able to withstand the Enlighter¡¯s attacks with the help of his universal armor and wristguard. However, he was still relying on external items as he wasn¡¯t able to do this on his own.

    At most, Lu Yin could defend himself against Hunter powerhouses if he were relying solely on his battle techniques and secret technique. Enlighters were in an entirely different league.

    Moore warily observed the battle between <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix and Lu Yin. This Lu Yin was too scary; he was just an Explorer, but he had already attained such a monstrous level of strength. What would happen when this youth became a Cruiser, let alone a Hunter? At that time, only the Ten Arbiters would be able to fight against him! This youth was a true genius.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s roar reverberated throughout all of Millions City. He would be the joke of the Dark Phoenix family if he couldn¡¯t defeat this Lu Yin.

    Another exciting battle had broken out some distance away, where Saul and Twin Daemons were battling against each other. Neither of them had attended the Qiong''s Banquet.

    Taylor nced over at Moore. ¡°Let¡¯s fight her together.¡±

    They then attacked Cool Sis as one.

    Cool Sis wasn¡¯t afraid. So long as a member of her generation hadn¡¯t entered the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings, she was unconcerned.

    There were battles breaking out all over Millions City,

    Hoffman slowly stood up, as he had been badly injured by the Corpse King.

    The Corpse King was still trapped by the Lotus Strike, unable to escape. As Hoffman gathered himself despite the excruciating pain, he slowly approached the Corpse King.

    Beneath the Qiong family estate, Yuehua Mavis, the ze Engineer, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, and Zhu Tiezhu had already found Qiong Xi¡¯er, who was being held hostage by a powerhouse from the Specter n.

    Yuehua Mavid ordered, ¡°You, from the Specter n, release Qiong Xi¡¯er.¡±

    The Specter n expert calmly looked at the gathered Enlighters with his white eyes.

    Yuehua Mavis quickly reminded everyone, ¡°Don¡¯t look at him. Otherwise, you might be controlled.¡±

    ¡°The Mavis n will eventually need to pay, but let me collect some interest early today,¡± a cold voice rang out. The ground started trembling, and Yuehua Mavis and the rest instantly realized that hidden gears and machines were shifting about in the ground.

    All of Millions City started to change, and the ground cracked open, as if something was about to appear.

    Back in the estate, Qiong Shanhai¡¯s eyes narrowed. Oh no, the mobile fortress is starting to appear. He wanted to rush underground, but his injuries were too severe, and he copsed after only taking a few steps.

    From an aerial viewpoint, the surface of Millions City was undergoing a huge transformation. An enormous cannon had emerged, causing the ground around the City Master¡¯s estate to crumble away and open up vast fissures that many people fell into.

    Lu Yin and <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix paused their fight and watched on in awe as these events unfolded.

    Everyone else also stopped to see what was happening.

    Nobody was more surprised than Lu Yin, as the rune lines surrounding Millions City were rapidly approaching those of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s, and they had already far exceeded what he had seen on Elder Lohar and Northgate Taisui. If he were topare then, the rune lines of Millions City were currently close to matching an Envoy¡¯s who had a power level of 500,000.

    Was this Millions City¡¯s true form? Just what had happened underground?

    Starfox, Wei Rong, Angie, and Ah Mu were together. Wei Rong¡¯s expression turned grim, and he turned to Starfox. ¡°We have to leave immediately.¡±

    Starfox was frustrated. ¡°I had heard that Millions City had its own secret, but I never expected that it would actually be an enormous fortress.¡±

    ¡°Stop thinking about that! Let¡¯s go. Can Endless Borders get us away from here?¡± Angie asked anxiously.

    Wei Rong frowned. ¡°We have to get out of Millions City¡¯s shield first. Otherwise, no one will be able to take us away.¡±

    He quickly checked their surroundings. ¡°There must be a lot of people who want to leave, so we should all work together to escape.¡±

 Chapter 798: Desperate Straits

    <h4>Chapter 798: Desperate Straits</h4>

    After listening to Wei Rong, Starfox¡¯s eyes deepened. ¡°We¡¯ll have to charge out.¡±

    In the distance, Saul and Twin Daemons stopped fighting while Wei Rong¡¯s voice echoed out in everyone¡¯s ears, calling for them to put their shared grudges down and to charge into the heavens together.

    Twin Daemons revealed themselves and looked up at the sky. They did not want to remain behind in Millions City either, as this ce had be too dangerous.

    Suddenly, the twins¡¯ hair stood on end as a sense of crisis sprang up within their heart. They instinctively used the Daemon sh technique to flee into the void, but it was already toote. A single palm pressed against the twins¡¯ back, reinforced with exceptionally dazzling nine lined battle force.

    ¡°This palm is for Sourcepeak.¡± A low voice entered the twins¡¯ ears and made their scalps turn numb. Next, the twins¡¯ heart quivered, and the void shattered in a spiderweb pattern. There was a soft shockwave that shuddered through space and released a thump against Twin Daemons¡¯ chest. Then, fresh blood sttered onto the ground.

    Saul, Wei Rong, and a few others looked over. This was their first time seeing Twin Daemons¡¯ true appearance, though it was also theirst. Cai Jianqiang slowly walked out from behind the fallen twins.

    ¡°Sourcepeak¡¯s grudge has been avenged, but what you owe the society still needs to be returned,¡± Cai Jianqiang coldly said to Saul.

    Saul instantly became apprehensive, as he knew that this person was an exceptionally talented fighter who was unrivalled within his generation. Despite knowing all that, Saul still had not thought that Cai Jianqiang would be so terrifying that he could kill Twin Daemons in a single strike. Although there had been an element of surprise to the attack, that palm¡¯s power had absolutely horrified Saul, and he knew that he would have died without question if that attack had struck him instead. ¡°I don¡¯t owe the society anything. Felynn is the one who cooperated with outsiders to force me out.¡±

    ¡°Anything you want to say can be said after returning to Hydrotink,¡± Cai Jianqiang stated firmly.

    Saul was infuriated. ¡°How dare you! As long as the Neoverse Lockbreaker Society has not revoked my position, I am still the Vice President of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society! Cai Jianqiang, you are merely a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. On just what basis are you qualified to arrest me?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang arrogantly replied, ¡°On the basis of my strength.¡±

    Saul was enraged, and it seemed thatmunication between the two had broken down.

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes narrowed. Twin Daemons was actually dead, which was actually great for them, but this Cai Jianqiang was absolutely terrifying.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Cai Jianqiang turned around just in time to see Mr. Jun appearing from the void. He had a lockbreaking tool pasted to his forehead, and he hurled a palm at Cai Jianqiang.

    Cai Jianqiang snorted and mirrored Mr. Jun by raising his own hand to answer the iing palm strike. The attacks collided, and Mr. Jun spat out a mouthful of blood as his entire body was blown back. Cai Jianqiang leaped up after the man and seized him by his neck. ¡°Despicable man, it¡¯s time for you to die.¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Saul tried to intervene.

    Cai Jianqiang¡¯s face remained solemn.

    Off to the side, the ck Undying Bird above <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s head flew even higher as its five plumes zed ck. Its scorching mes caused the ck Undying Bird to continuously expand until it covered all of Millions City. Its high temperature could even burn the sky, but the boundless ck mes suddenlypressed into a condensed ck Undying Bird whose darkness was so deep that it even swallowed the surrounding light. The runes lines of this ck Undying Bird had multipliedpared to earlier, and they were now infinitely close to Elder Lohar¡¯s.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix haughtily dered, ¡°Junior, the Dark Phoenix family was able to kill our way out of the Innerverse, and our strength is not something that you can imagine. Today, you will be a grieving soul after perishing in our mes.¡±

    Thepressed ck Undying Bird then shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grave. His universal armor was able to withstand attacks that exceeded power levels of 300,000, but even then, he felt apprehensive towards this ck Undying Bird. His universal armor might be able to block it, but he was certain that he would not have an easy time of it.

    Helpless, Lu Yin punched at the ground, as he had seen that there were a tremendous number of rune lines directly beneath him that represented several Enlighters.

    Although he did not know how Yuehua Mavis and those few Enlighter had suddenly appeared beneath him, as long as they came out, there would be others to share the pressure of <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s attack with him.

    At the same time, directly beneath Lu Yin, Zhu Tiezhu and the ze Engineer simrly attacked towards the surface. Their position had been mysteriously shifted away recently, and they could no longer sense any traces of Qiong Xi''er or that Neohuman Alliance expert. The ck mist that had appeared in the air was being blocked by Yuehua Mavis and <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian while the two men were in charge of breaking through to the surface.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch mmed into the ground, and he was one step faster than Zhu Tiezhu and the ze Engineer. The ground split open as the surfaceyerpletely disintegrated. Not only Lu Yin, but Saul, Cai Jianqiang, and Mr. Jun were also all caught up in the destruction. As all of them fell down, the ze Engineer and Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s attacks had already been unleashed, and they could not take their attacks back. Coincidentally, at the same time, the ck Undying Bird had also already pped its wings and was flying towards the group.

    The ze Engineer and Zhu Tiezhu immediately controlled their attacks to aim towards the ck bird.

    An explosion erupted over Millions City, and the entire city shuddered as an earth-shattering inferno filled the sky.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix had never thought that his attack would be stopped like this, and he was not able to react to the explosion in time, which meant that the aftershock knocked him down.

    Lu Yin and the othersnded not too far away from Zhu Tiezhu and the rest, and Zhu Tiezhu was delighted. ¡°We can get out now!¡±

    But right after he said that, a tremendous pulling force appeared beneath them. Although <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix had already managed to stabilize himself, he was dragged back down again by the force, and it did not let up.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix growled and tried to break away from the force, but then, Taylor suddenly shouted from further below, ¡°Uncle, save me!¡±

    He was also being dragged underground.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix hesitated, but it was only for a moment. Still, due to that moment of hesitation, he was also dragged down by that intense pull.

    Even Enlighters would find it hard to break free from this force.

    Zhu Tiezhu and the others had no chance of escaping either.

    When <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenixnded with a crash, a loud thump rang out. It seemed as though something had covered the space over their heads as the area had been plunged into pitch-ck darkness.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix shouted.

    Everyone else was also confused.

    Millions City had opened up because of the giant cannon slowly rising out of the ground, and Lu Yin and all the others had actually been trapped inside of the cannon barrel itself. What had just sealed off the space above them was the cannon¡¯s breechblock, and they were nowpletely trapped.

    On the other side of the underground space, the Specter n expert¡¯s lips curled upwards as he looked at the group on a screen. He then ominously said, ¡°Everyone, have you ever experienced the power of an Envoy? Today, you will have that opportunity, so at least your lifetime of cultivation has not been in vain.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er then spoke in a sluggish voice. ¡°Activate everything.¡±

    As soon as these words were uttered, Millions City trembled, and the giant cannon suddenly started shing red as the underground mountain of star essence waspletely absorbed by something. A low rumbling then emerged from deep underground. It sounded as if something was about to boil over.

    Inside the cannon, Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s face turned a deathly shade of white. ¡°We¡¯re finished! We¡¯re all going to be sted into smithereens by an attack with a power level of several hundred thousands!¡±

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix red sharply at the man. ¡°What did you just say? Repeat that.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis coldly exined, ¡°We are inside Millions City¡¯s fortress cannon, and it can fire an energy st from its main cannon, and we are within that cannon¡¯s barrel. This energy shot will first reduce us to dust and then fire us out into space. We have no way of escaping, as this cannon can even iste the void.¡±

    The crowd grew horrified, as such a prospect was too terrifying.

    ¡°No! I want to get out! Uncle, I want to get out! SAVE ME!¡± Taylor Phoenix screamed.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix shouted at the youth, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Saul and the others all had gloomy faces, as they had sensed that, deep underground, an unimaginable amount of energy was indeed converging. If what Yuehua Mavis had said was true, then how could they survive such a thing?

    ¡°How powerful is the energy st?¡± <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian frowned as terror shed through her eyes.

    The ze Engineer pulled out a sk of alcohol, took a swig, and then answered, ¡°It depends on how many resources they¡¯ve used to activate it. In the worst case scenario, with Millions City¡¯s reserves, it should be a st at a power level of at least 400,000.¡±

    The crowd became desperate.

    ¡°Let¡¯s work together and fight our way out.¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix felt that this was possible, as he had a power vessel.

    The ze Engineer sniggered. ¡°Stop dreaming. This cannon is able topress energy to a power level of 400,000 before unleashing it all at once. This isn¡¯t something that just the few of us can destroy. Also, an attack with a power level of 400,000 is just an optimistic estimation. That fellow did say this was going to be something at the level of an Envoy, which means a power level of 500,000. Even if all of us here worked together, we wouldn¡¯t be able to harm a single hair of an Envoy even in our dreams, and this cannon¡¯s the same.¡±

    ¡°Then are we supposed to just wait here to die?¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix bellowed.

    Yuehua Mavis looked helpless. ¡°Nobody wants to die. Everyone, all the best to you.¡±

    Thump thump thump!

    Mr. Jun, Taylor, and <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix all started desperately attacking the sides of the chamber in an attempt to break the cannon, and they even took out several power vessels.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, think of a way to escape!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings. ¡°When will this cannon fire?¡±

    ze Engineer replied, ¡°In about fifteen seconds.¡±

    Lu Yin had no other choice; even if he crushed the jade talisman, Mister Mu would not be able to arrive in time, as fifteen seconds was too short a timeframe. He could use the futon to hide himself in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, but when he returned, he would return to this same ce, and at that time, this mobile fortress would have fallen under the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s control, in which case he would still face death. He did not want this mobile fortress to fall into the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s hands, as that oue was too terrifying to even contemte. Of course, if there was truly no other choice, then he would have to use the futon to escape before the attacknded, as facing death in the future was still much better than unquestionable death in the present.

    Underground, an enormous amount of rune lines became even more concentrated, and the amount that Lu Yin saw made his scalp go numb. These rune lines were more than sufficient to turn all of them to ash. This was an energy cannon, and Lu Yin did not believe that his secret technique could divert such a massive attack. His secret technique was not invincible, and it had an upper limit. Even if he did not know what that limit was, it was unlikely that he would be able to divert an attack whose power level was between 400,000 to 500,000.

    ¡°Hand over all your star essence to me, and I can try to save all of us,¡± Lu Yin spoke hurriedly.

    Everyone stared at him in shock.

    ¡°Just by yourself?¡± Taylor questioned.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You can choose to not believe me, but I really do have a way. You can give it a try, or else we¡¯re all toast.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis unhesitatingly threw her cosmic ring along with a drop of blood to Lu Yin, while the ze Engineer, Zhu Tiezhu, <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian, Cai Jianqiang, Saul, Mr. Jun, and even <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix did the same. At this point, foreign objects had no use to them whatsoever, so they might as well take a gamble.

    ¡°No peeking, or else we will all die together,¡± Lu Yin threatened.

    The crowd could only listen to him.

    Lu Yin turned his back to them and raised his hand, causing his die to appear.

    At this moment, the underground red radiance grew even richer, and the energy suddenly felt closer to everyone than ever before. The energy cannon was about to fire.

    This was a desperate situation, and just like how amoner would fare upon falling into a sealed volcanic shaft, they were certain to die as soon as the volcano erupted.

    Lu Yin did not want to die, so he tapped out. The die slowly spun before stopping on one pip. He quickly restored it and tapped again.

    As the cannon¡¯s energy shot charged upwards at an extreme speed, an unimaginable despair gripped everyone¡¯s soul, and they all closed their eyes. In this situation, anyone would be scared of death.

 Chapter 799: Hope

    <h4>Chapter 799: Hope</h4>

    In another part of the mobile fortress¡¯s underground structures, the Specter n expert was feeling very pleased. In one fell swoop, he had taken care of five Enlighters and two experts who were close to bing Enlighters. In the Outerverse, this was an impressive feat, and the victims even included a member of the Mavis family. This was a huge achievement, and the additional merit of seizing the mobile fortress would mean rich rewards for him. Hopefully, they would allow him to advance another step further, and he would even receive a silver opportunity to improve.

    The die stopped spinning on four pips, and Lu Yin was delighted. The scenery changed before his eyes changed, and he next appeared in the Timestop Space.

    His panic and anxiety immediately faded away when he arrived in this space, as he now had all the time in the world.

    He lined up all of the cosmic rings and then took off his universal armor. ¡°Hopefully, this universal armor can be upgraded to the point where it can defend against an Envoy¡¯s attack.¡±

    Every item that he upgraded was restricted by the inherent quality of the materials that it was made of, putting an upper limit on how far the item could be upgraded. Although Lu Yin was not certain what the upper limit of his universal armor might be, it should not be too high. Since that was the case, he took out another item: the metal te that contained trace Ancient Scarlet Copper. Back when he had obtained this piece of metal from a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, he had heard that this material was mainly used to manufacture weapons that could unleash attacks with power levels of 500,000. It was supposed to be extremely rare with an extremely invasive nature, but it was exactly what Lu Yin needed at this moment.

    At this moment, he was not afraid of the metal¡¯s invasive nature; rather, the more invasive it was, the better. In fact, it would be best if this Ancient Scarlet Copper couldpletely rece the universal armor¡¯s previous materials.

    If anyone else was in Lu Yin¡¯s position, they would have had no way to extract and refine the Ancient Scarlet Copper from the piece of scrap metal. However, Lu Yin had a way. He looked back at his die and tapped it again. After a while, the die slowly came to a stop, but it was on one pip: Pilfer. Lu Yin remained calm upon seeing this result, and he quickly used some star essence to extend his time in the Timestop Space to thirty days. After all, right now, all he had was star essence.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin rolled the die again, and things proceeded very smoothly this time. The die stopped on two pips: ckhole Disassembly, which was exactly what he needed.

    He ced the piece of metal in the ckhole for it to be refined, and the Ancient Scarlet Copper that the Ghost Monkey had once described to Lu Yin quickly appeared, though in very scant quantities. Still, no matter how little there was, it was what Lu Yin needed. He had to improve the quality of his universal armor¡¯s base materials, or else he would not be able to upgrade it to a high enough level.

    The Ancient Scarlet Copper had to be fused with the armor, and it was one of the primary materials used when manufacturing items capable of withstanding power levels of 500,000. However, it was very difficult to heat it up to the point where it could fuse with other materials. At the very least, with Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, it was beyond his abilities. Thus, he took out the sourcebox that contained the ancient tinder.

    Perhaps the heavens had foreordained this moment, as Lu Yin actually had everything that he required on hand.

    Right, he also had the other people¡¯s cosmic rings as well. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he quickly opened each of the cosmic rings, though he was especially excited about the one that he had received from the ze Engineer. That old fart was an engineer, so he should have quite a few materials in his ring.

    When Lu Yin opened Yuehua Mavis¡¯s cosmic ring, he was rather stunned, as this woman was simply too wealthy. The capacity of the woman¡¯s cosmic ring was several fold greater than Lu Yin¡¯s, and it was all stuffed with star essence, numbering in the several millions!

    Lu Yin was speechless; if this much star essence was released, the universal markets would instantly turn chaotic.

    It was no wonder why she was a part of the Mavis family.

    After going through all the cosmic rings, Lu Yin was able to find more than ten different types of materials, though he didn¡¯t recognize any of them. Still, that was fine; he would just fuse all of them into his universal armor.

    The sourcebox containing the ancient tinder was only one step away from being sessfully unlocked, but Lu Yin still needed to take two days topletely unlock it. The extremely high temperature smoldered within the Timestop Space, and if he was not in this unique space, the high temperature would have already incinerated him. However, this was his Timestop Space, and he could control everything within this ce and easily iste the scorching heat.

    He tossed the Ancient Scarlet Copper and all of the other materials into the zing fire. After a short while, all of the materials looked like they were slowly melting. Lu Yin then hurriedly pulled them all out and tossed them towards his universal armor.

    The other materials somewhat retained their shape, and they simply stuck to the surface of the armor, very much looking like a ugly patchwork piece of metal. Only the Ancient Scarlet Copper, even in its extremely limited amount, actually merged into the universal armor, and it did so very quickly. It even tinted the universal armor¡¯s color slightly, giving a hint of green that quickly spread throughout the whole set.

    It was no wonder why this material was known to have an invasive nature; even a little bit was enough to change the universal armor¡¯s internal structure.

    The ancient tinder continued burning, but without anybustible materials, the me would gradually expire.

    Lu Yin could not bear to let it extinguish so quickly, and he suddenly thought of something. He hurriedly threw a handful of star essence into the fire, and the star essence naturally melted. A scorching burst of vaporized star energy filled the frozen space, and the high temperature gradually returned to the area. His physical body was being burned alive, and the intense agony caused his entire body to sweat. The high temperature of this me was rather peculiar, and it was not something that he could fully withstand. He could only adapt to it little by little as he gradually approached the fire. However, there was a limit to how much he could adapt, and he was never able topletely adapt to the scorching heat.

    Still, that was enough. Within the overwhelming high temperature, Lu Yin quickly started absorbing the star energy, and his eyes went wide as he delighted that this method was actually still effective. The vaporized star energy released by the star essence burned by the high temperature ancient ze,bined with the high temperature that was cooking his body, allowed him to absorb the star energy much faster than if he were directly absorbing the star essence. Although it could notpare to his exaggerated cultivation speed when within that furnace, this method was still several times faster than when Lu Yin cultivated normally.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin quickly activated his Cosmic Art, causing the star energy to form a visible tornado that revolved around him as it was absorbed into his body, where it quickly vanished.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and released a breath. With the ancient fire burning the star essence and him, his cultivation speed was twenty times that of when he used the Cosmic Art normally, and his cultivation speed when using the Cosmic Art was already a hundred times that of normal cultivator¡¯s. In other words, this method was 2,000 times faster than the rate at which a normal cultivator absorbed star energy, which was an insane number.

    Although it could notpare to the 40,000 times effectiveness that he had achieved within the ancient furnace, this was still absurdly fast.

    Unfortunately, of the star energy released by burning the star essence, roughly half was wasted. This method was ultimately too wasteful, and as Lu Yin looked at the ze, he noticed that it was already slightly smaller than before. This method also depleted a great deal of the ancient fire¡¯s energy.

    This was a cultivation technique that chased after speed bypletely disregarding cost and efficiency.

    He stood up and touched his arm, which was still scorchingly hot. This sort of cultivation technique was not something that ordinary cultivators could withstand. His physical body was abnormally tough, but even so, it had still been difficult for him to withstand the ancient me¡¯s high temperature. For any normal cultivator, before they could absorb even a scrap of star energy, they would probably have already been burned to a crisp.

    Even though this method had many cons, it was still a shortcut that rapidly increased his strength. Lu Yin involuntarily looked at the other cosmic rings, feeling as if he was about to make a fortune.

    The ze continued to burn, and as it did so, Lu Yin constantly fed various items into the me so that it would not burn out too fast.

    Ten days quickly passed by, and Lu Yin impatiently tapped out again, causing his die to spin.

    Six pips: Possession was useless in this ce, and Lu Yin helplessly had to wait another ten days before he could roll the die again. This time, he rolled three pips: Enhance. This was the roll that he had been waiting for.

    The universal armor had already cooled down by now. It had be much uglier, as the many materials that had been stered on looked like haphazardly welded patches, and it had also turned slightly green. All in all, the armor had be exceptionally ugly, but Lu Yin had no other choice. He did not know how to properly refine armor, so he could only use this clumsy method. The only thing that mattered was if it proved effective.

    He ced the universal armor on the upper light screen and then generously threw out tens of thousands of star essence. It piled up into a small hill, and the universal armor instantly dropped down.

    It had already been upgraded eleven times in the past, which had raised its defenses to the point where the armor could withstand attacks with power levels of nearly 300,000. Now, the first upgrade during this session cost 15,000 star essence. It was absurdly expensive, but it was worth it.

    He picked up the armor and put it back on the top screen, and it easily dropped through, going through a second round of upgrades. However, the mountain of star essence that he had thrown out had already been nearly depleted.

    Almost 50,000 star essence had been used up just like that, and Lu Yin had already used up everything that <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix had had in his cosmic ring. That old fart was just too poor! The Dark Phoenix family was not a power that some random Outerverse Enlighter couldpare to, and that family was evenparable to some of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers. But despite their power, one of their Enlighter realm elders only had around 50,000 star essence in his cosmic ring. Even Lu Yin found this rather pitiful.

    He did not think about this any further, as the cosmic rings that he had looted from those few Innerverse Enlighters like Karthika had actually contained even less than <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix¡¯s. Compared to them, the old man could actually be considered quite wealthy.

    Next was Mr. Jun¡¯s ring, but as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, he only had 2,000 star essence. Embarrassing.

    Lu Yin internally looked down upon the man before quickly taking out Saul¡¯s cosmic ring, which caused his eyes to light up. Not bad¡ªthis old man had more than 100,000 star essence on him. As expected of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President. However, this should just be the man¡¯s backup money, as his true wealth was kept in a Mavis Bank card. What a pity.

    Lian Zhuangzhu¡¯s cosmic ring merely held nearly 30,000 star essence, which left Lu Yin somewhat speechless. After all, she was from the Nn Family, but was actually this poor.

    Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s cosmic ring contained more than 200,000 star essence. It was of no wonder, as this old man was a Zhu family elder, though this still did not satisfy Lu Yin. Zhu San had offered to pay him 100,000 star essence at one point, and that had been quite a generous offer.

    The ze Engineer did not have much money in his ring, as it mostly contained materials, which left Lu Yin quite sour.

    Lu Yin did not touch Cai Jianqiang¡¯s ring, as that fellow probably did not have much money.

    Aside from Yuehua Mavis, he managed to gather a total of about 350,000 star essence from the various cosmic rings. However, as soon as Yuehua Mavis¡¯s ring was added into the pool, the amount rose to a jaw-dropping amount of nearly three million star essence.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were bright as he upgraded the universal armor again and again. He continued using the star essence until they were greatly depleted, and finally, after being upgraded six more times, the universal armor no longer showed any signs of changes, which showed that it would be useless to try upgrading it any further.

    Lu Yin sighed. Had the armor reached its limit? If he hadn¡¯t incorporated the Ancient Scarlet Copper into it, it might have only been able to handle another one or two upgrades at best. Unfortunately, he had had too little Ancient Scarlet Copper, and the other materials were toocking inparison.

    Lu Yin was unsure what the universal armor¡¯s defensive abilities had be, but he was sure that it could at least handle an attack with a power level of around 400,000.

    There were still nearly two million star essence remaining, and after Lu Yin thought about it. He took out the Bacsh Pearl and began continuously upgrading it. It managed to go through five upgrades before reaching its limit, which depleted around 300,000 star essence. The fully upgraded Bacsh Pearl could probably absorb attacks from powerhouses whose power levels were at almost 300,000.

    He began upgrading the bracer as well, but unfortunately, its materials did not allow it to be upgraded more than two more times. However, the bracers should now be able to double his physical strength until it reached the level of an attack with a power level of about 300,000.

    He still had around 1.5 million star essence remaining, and Lu Yin unrestrainedly upgraded a Ultra sh Tearbomb twenty times, which was its maximum limit, and that used up around 100,000 star essence.

    There were still 1.4 million more star essence left. That,bined with Lu Yin¡¯s personal savings of 120,000 star essence, meant that he had ess to a great deal of wealth.

    Lu Yin did not n on upgrading any more of his items. Instead, he nned to use the remaining star essence to cultivate.

    He looked at the timer on the wall and then increased it by another hundred days. The ze would not burn for much longer, so every little bit that he absorbed was another bit of strength gained.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin quickly tossed star essence into the fire and then allowed the high temperature to scald his physical body before crazily absorbing the vaporized star energy.

    The days passed one by one, and the fire grew weaker and weaker with each passing day until itpletely vanished. This process took ce over the course of seventy days, and during this time, Lu Yin absorbed the star energy of almost 3,000 star essence. If he had absorbed this amount in a more traditional fashion, then it would have taken him four years. But in this special environment, he had only used seventy days to do so.

 Chapter 800: Absorption And Cycles

    <h4>Chapter 800: Absorption And Cycles</h4>

    The ze finally burned out, after which Lu Yin raised a hand and let out a long sigh. He would be able to leave when the time ran out. However, to protect himself from anything unexpected happening, he preemptively took out his futon. If anything went wrong, he would immediately sit down on the futon and escape. He had no other choice, as that was absolutely better than dying together with everyone.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin put on his universal armor and reappeared inside the cannon. At this moment, the cannon¡¯s energy st was rapidly approaching them, and Yuehua Mavis and the others all had pale faces. They had no hope in Lu Yin¡¯s ability to stop the energy st, and they had only given him their cosmic rings in a final, desperate attempt. How powerful could an Explorer possibly be? At best, this youth could rival an Enlighter whose power level was at 200,000 with his external items, but this cannon¡¯s energy st had a power level of at least 400,000.

    Everyone was desperate, and at this time, there was a rumbling sound from outer space, outside of Millions City. A certain suppression caused the nearbys to tremble, and the volcanoes on all of them erupted at the same time.

    Everyone on Millions City felt as though an unimaginably terrifying creature was being born underground. Hoffman, Starfox, Wei Rong, Cool Sis, and a few others all rose into the sky when they sensed that mighty pressure.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the cannon¡¯s energy st as rune lines filled the area. His gaze then turned solemn as he tried to make a directparison between it and his armor. He should be able to withstand this st, as the power level of this shot from the energy definitely had not reached 500,000; at most, it was at around 400,000. Thus, his newly upgraded universal armor should be able to withstand it.

    There was a whooshing sound as a red radiance filled everything in their sight, and an unimaginable scorching heat apanied a terrifying pressure that fell upon the group. In that instant, the attack directly rammed into Lu Yin¡¯s body, as Lu Yin had moved forward to block everyone from the energy st. He growled in defiance as the tremendously high temperature passed through the universal armor and cooked his body to the point where his skin actually began to crack.

    Yuehua Mavis and the others were overwhelmed; was Lu Yin actually able to withstand that energy cannon by himself? How was that possible? Was he really going to do this?

    There was another whooshing sound, as Lu Yin had not managed topletely block the energy cannon, only a majority of it. A trace of the attack swept past his body and shot towards those behind him, enveloping Yuehua Mavis and the others. Taylor Phoenix was instantly vaporized without even having a chance to cry out. Next was Mr. Jun, who could only withstand the attack for a moment before being vaporized.

    The rest were mostly Enlighters. In the end, Lu Yin, Saul, and Cai Jianqiang were the only survivors who were not.

    Cai Jianqiang continuously waved his palms as nine lined battle force shrouded his body while his berserk star energypressed itself into a wave that withstood the aftershock of the energy cannon¡¯s st. Saul, on the other hand, continuously retreated. Although he was reduced to a miserable state, he was able to gradually dispel the energy.

    The Enlighters had a slightly easier time withstanding the st, but only slightly so.

    If not for Lu Yin blocking the majority of the st by standing in the front, everyone else would have been instantly vaporized, just like Taylor.

    Lu Yin was not in a good state at this moment either. A faint hairline crack had actually appeared on his universal armor, which caused his heart to sink. In theory, based just on their rune lines, his universal armor should have been able to withstand the energy cannon¡¯s attack. However, that was just in theory. When the two actually collided, the universal armor was not able to fully bear this attack.

    The scorching heat had seeped in through the armor¡¯s crack and flooded its interior. Right now, Lu Yin could only clench his teeth tightly as he experienced a boundless pain. His physical body had forcefully withstood a pressure that could vaporize powerhouses whose power levels were in the tens of thousands. He immediately took out the Bacsh Pearl and ced it next to that tiny crack.

    The heat and pressure seeped into the armor through the crack was slightly stronger than the remnant energy that had vaporized Taylor and Mr. Jun. However, the newly upgraded Bacsh Pearl could absorb attacks that had a power level of 300,000, so it could just barely hold out.

    Even if the Bacsh Pearl was able to plug the gap for now, as time passed, more cracks would appear in the armor, and when that happened, Lu Yin would die without question.

    But strangely enough, Lu Yin suddenly realized that the energy that had seeped into his armor seemed to bepatible with him. His mind shed with a bold thought: could all of this energy actually be star energy? Could this terrifying destruction be the result of star energy beingpressed to the extreme? If this was all star energy, then couldn¡¯t he absorb it?

    This star energy that had beenpressed to the extreme and formed into an energy st was inherently the same as the star energy released by the incinerated natural treasures in the furnace in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. In some sense, this ce was also equivalent to a furnace.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He did not care if it was reasonable or not, as he would simply try it again. Stil, before he made the attempt, he crushed the jade talisman. Even if an ident urred, Mister Mu should still be able to arrive in time to rescue them¡ªjust Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor and Bacsh Pearl would be enough to stave off the energy st for another half a minute without any problems.

    He shifted the Bacsh Pearl slightly, allowing the scorching heat and pressure to seep into the universal armor once again. Lu Yin screamed in pain, and his body was immediately flushed red as he burned. He revolved his Cosmic Art rapidly as he began frantically absorbing the zing star energy. Soon, all of the insanely hot energy that had trickled through the crack in the universal armor was absorbed by Lu Yin. He had guessed correctly¡ªthe energy st was indeed unleashed throughpressing a countless number of star essence, and this st was fundamentally nothing more than star energy.

    This ultrapressed star energy that had been heated to a high temperature was the same as the vaporized star energy that had been ubiquitous within the furnace, though the ultrapressed star energy was even better suited to being absorbed. Even if Lu Yin was only able to absorb the energy that seeped through the crack in his armor, it still formed a tornado-like star energy vortex that was frenziedly consumed by Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s star energy absorption rate in the furnace in the Daosource Sect''s ruins had been 40,000 times that of a normal cultivator, it was even faster at this moment. This was because this star energy had been denselypressed, and it was in the most suitable state for being absorbed.

    Generally, no one should be able to absorb this energy, as the force of this energy st was enough to almost instantly vaporize any powerhouse, and any expert that could withstand it had no need to absorb this star energy.

    But in this unique situation, the energy st was being blocked by Lu Yin¡¯s armor, and only a small amount was leaking through and being absorbed by him.

    Behind him, Yuehua Mavis and the others were having a difficult time just trying to withstand the aftermath of the energy st.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was withstanding the energy st while simultaneously absorbing it.

    In another part of the mobile fortress, the expert from the Specter n had a strange look on his face as he stared at the screen. Once the energy cannon fired, he had no longer been able to observe the situation inside the cannon, but why had the cannon st note out yet? Could the cannon be too old and damaged, or had the st somehow gotten stuck?

    The power released by the energy cannon in the instant that it had been fired was too overwhelming. Thus, even if it was blocked, the strength of the st would gradually dwindle.

    Half a minute passed. Then, a minute, and two minutes.

    The crack in the universal armor started to widen, but fortunately, the Bacsh Pearl was able to help Lu Yin bear the brunt of the burden. Additionally, the widening of the crack in the armor allowed him to better absorb the star energy.

    He did not know how fast his current star energy absorption rate was, but he knew that it definitely surpassed his absorption rate when he had been in the Daosource Sect''s ruins because he could clearly sense his third cycle within his body. He had originally assumed that it would take him a long time toplete it, but at this point, he had a feeling that he was close topleting it. Additionally,pleting his third cycle would mean that he would be one step closer to bing a Cruiser.

    The harsh red light was the only thing anyone could see, and after some time, the Specter n expert grew impatient and decided to fire a second energy st from the cannon. However, he then discovered that the star essence reserves were insufficient to do so.

    Inside the cannon, the might of the energy st had clearly fallen, and the power level of the attack had declined to around 350,000 at this time.

    More cracks had appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor, and if it had been in such a state in the beginning, then it would have failed to withstand the energy cannon¡¯s initial burst. But fortunately, it was still enough to withstand the weaker attack that Lu Yin was currently facing.

    The energy cannon was blocked by Lu Yin for a good ten whole minutes.

    And during this time, he hadpleted the third cycle within his body.

    His star energy absorption rate during this period could not be calcted in terms of a normal cultivator¡¯s rate. Instead, it could be considered as apletely separate way to absorb star energy as it was more like a torrential overflow. It had coincidentally taken advantage of unique, suitable conditions to form a perfect opportunity for him toplete the third cycle.

    The energy st became weaker and weaker, and it had now reached the point where it was equivalent to an attack with a power level of 200,000.

    Lu Yin punched out, eliminating the remainder of the energy st and pushing the remnant pressure back underground.

    Behind him, Yuehua Mavis and the others simply stared at Lu Yin in shock. They had all been reduced to a pathetic state, but they simply stared at Lu Yin. This youth had actually blocked an attack with a power level of 400,000. Just how had he done it?

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°Hurry up and escape! There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be able to take on another one of those.¡±

    The crowd seemed to awaken from a daze, and the ze Engineer said, ¡°Head underground.¡±

    ¡°Why not to the mouth of the cannon? We can exit straight from there,¡± <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix asked in a low voice.

    The ze Engineer sniggered. ¡°If it was that easy to escape, then this wouldn¡¯t be an ancient mobile fortress. The more something seems to be an exit, the harder it will be to use as an exit.¡±

    He then streaked past Lu Yin and dashed deep underground.

    Yuehua Mavis nced at Lu Yin and then simrly rushed underground.

    <span data-sheets-form-bar-text-style="font-size:13px;color:#000000;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:''arial'';font-style:normal;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;">Vi Mistress Lian and Zhu Tiezhu both followed closely behind.

    <span data-sheets-userformat="{" 2":4739,"3":{"1":0},"4":[null,2,65280],"10":2,"12":0,"15":"arial,="" sans,="" sans-serif"}"="" data-sheets-value="{" 1":2,"2":"sall="" phoenix"}"="" style="font-weight: normal; font-style: normal">Sall Phoenix could only follow behind the others, though he nced at Lu Yin with a boundless killing intent and wariness in his eyes. This kid could not be allowed to live.

    Saul and Cai Jianqiang exchanged nces before also flitting past Lu Yin and dashing underground.

    Lu Yin stopped Cai Jianqiang, and then offered the man his cosmic ring back. ¡°This is yours.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang took it back and solemnly said, ¡°I¡¯ll remember this time that you saved me.¡±

    After that, he hurried underground.

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath. He looked at his universal armor that was now covered with multiple cracks. He would have to find a recement when he returned. This armor still had a robust defense, as even with these cracks, it was able to withstand an attack with a power level of 300,000. However, that was only against something like the energy st. If Lu Yin was facing an Enlighter¡¯s battle technique attack, the existence of these cracks would prove fatal for him.

    Yuehua Mavis and the others were searching for a way to escape from the cannon while the Specter n expert had left his original underground location. He started moving towards the City Master¡¯s estate to search for more star essence. He wanted to fire the energy cannon a second time, as he did not believe that these people would be able to survive a second st.

    After the Specter n expert left, another person sneakily infiltrated the room. It was actually Zhu San.

    The Zhu family had lived within the Millions City for countless years, and they understood Millions City better than anyone else. The Zhu family¡¯s ancestor had noticed early on that Qiong Xi''er was being controlled, and the Zhu family also naturally had their own ways to infiltrate the City Master¡¯s estate.

    If not for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s ambush, the Zhu family would have never exposed these secrets so soon.

    Even if the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s ambush failed this time, the Zhu family would still be forced to leave Millions City, as the Qiong family definitely would not allow it.

    Zhu San sneakily moved through the underground passages; there was just onest corner separating him from the control room where Qiong Xi''er was controlling Millions City.

    Just as Zhu San was about to enter, his expression changed. Qiong Xi''er, who should have been under the control of the Specter n expert, actually moved. Her eyes were clear, and it was readily apparent that she was not being controlled.

    ¡°Who?¡± Qiong Xi''er barked as she looked in Zhu San¡¯s direction. She then stretched out her right hand as her fingers bent to form a peculiar design with one finger tapping towards the direction where Zhu San was hiding.

    If Lu Yin could see Qiong Xi''er¡¯s finger at this moment, he would have definitely been startled. Qiong Xi''er was obviously just a Limiteer, but this finger¡¯s power level could rival those on the Top 100 Rankings. Although it had not reached the level of strength that Lu Yin had possessed as a Limiteer, it was not too far off.

    Zhu San was petrified. ¡°Xi¡¯er, it¡¯s me!¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s gaze turned cold, and the finger formed a peculiar diagram that continued traveling towards Zhu San without any hesitation. Killing intent filled the room, and Zhu San¡¯s pupils shrank. As he stared at Qiong Xi''er¡¯s finger that was approaching him, he dodged the attack at thest juncture, her finger mming into the wall behind him and leaving an unusual mark there.

 Chapter 801: Blackless God And Mister Mu

    <h4>Chapter 801: ckless God And Mister Mu</h4>

    Qiong Xi''er stared at Zhu San with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°You actually dodged that?¡±

    Zhu San cried out, ¡°Xi¡¯er, I came to save you!¡±

    ¡°Your Zhu family¡¯s gotten something wrong.¡± Qiong Xi''er folded her hands together again, forming another strange shape that then shot towards Zhu San. Shockingly, the power of this strike was even higher than the first. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you dodge this.¡±

    Zhu San sighed, and his eyes flickered as he observed Qiong Xi''er¡¯s strike. He raised a hand, and his fingers impressively bent into the same shape that Qiong had just used before he tapped out as well.

    Qiong Xi''er was astonished, and the collision between the two attacks forced Zhu San more than ten steps back. Although his finger was bent in a strange and clearly injured manner, he had still actually managed to block Qiong Xi''er¡¯s attack.

    ¡°How do you know the Yinyang Trisage Technique?¡± Qiong Xi''er barked as she stared intently at Zhu San.

    Zhu San hurriedly replied, "Xi''er, that monster¡¯sing back, so let¡¯s leave this ce first. I¡¯ll exin everything to youter.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er stared at Zhu San, but then her eyes flickered, and she ran off in another direction. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Zhu San hurriedly chased after her.

    The Specter n expert quickly plundered all of the star essence in the City Master¡¯s estate, but when he returned to the underground room, he discovered that Qiong Xi''er had disappeared. He was about to chase after her, but he coincidentally nced to the side and noticed the mark left behind by Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s battle technique. It surprised him, and he eximed, ¡°This is-¡±

    But before he couldplete his thought, a rumbling sound came from even deeper underground. His expression changed. This isn¡¯t good¡ªthose Enlighters are about to escape!

    He had spent so much effort to force them all into the cannon barrel, but now, they had all escaped, and all his efforts had gone down the drain. He could not remain in this ce any longer.

    There was a thump as the stone wall in front of him suddenly split open. ze Engineer stepped out, carrying his screwdriver as he coincidentally moved in front of the Specter n expert¡¯s path. The Specter n expert looked over with his white eyes and exchanged nces with an unprepared ze Engineer. The Enlighter from Aurora Enterprises felt his heart tremble as his eyes went ck. Death energy formed a sickle that quickly sliced out at the defenseless ze Engineer. Right before the sickle sliced into him, Lu Yin popped out and activated the Yu Secret Art, diverting the sickle and saving ze Engineer¡¯s life.

    The Specter n expert did not even consider fighting these people head on, so he quickly changed directions and tried to flee. However, he was blocked by Sall Phoenix, and the man¡¯s ck Undying Bird crowed as it flew over.

    The death energy immediately whooshed forward and entangled the ck Undying Bird, rendering Sall Phoenix¡¯s attackpletely useless.

    The void trembled, and Yuehua Mavis suddenly appeared. ¡°Moonkill.¡±

    The Specter n expert¡¯s expression changed. He might be able to disregard the others, but the only one he could not ignore was this woman from the Mavis family. As the Moonkill battle technique fell down upon him, he tried to block it with his death energy, but at the same time, a Lotus Strike entangled him from below.

    With the crowd of Enlighters all attacking the man at the same time, not even a powerhouse from the Specter n was able to withstand the assault.

    Cai Jianqiang, Saul, and Zhu Tiezhu also joined the efforts to suppress the Specter n expert.

    His entire body transformed into death energy that then dissipated only to recondense in another area. But when he looked around him, he was already surrounded.

    ze Engineer had woken up from his daze, and he gratefully thanked Lu Yin. ¡°Thank you, young fellow.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the Specter n expert; if this person had been a grey eyed corpse king, thisst round of attacks would have suppressed him. However, this Specter n expert had managed to somehow withstand everything. It was no wonder why he had sensed death energy, and Lu Yin wondered if his ability to suppress death energy would be effective against this person.

    ¡°Do you people really want to be enemies with my Neohuman Alliance?¡± a sinister voice called out as the Specter n expert intently stared at Yuehua Mavis.

    Yuehua Mavis looked over at the man, and she actually purposefully exchanged nces with him. Her eyes shed with a verdant green tone, and the white pupils stared at the green eyes as they each tried to take control of the other, but both were deadlocked in a stalemate. ¡°The universal, irondws state that all members of the Neohuman Alliance must be killed.¡±

    The Specter n expert sniggered in a strange manner. ¡°The Outerverse has been cut off from the Innerverse, so who can possibly help you? This is the final warning: let me go, or you will all die.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your confidenceing from?¡± Zhu Tiezhu growled out. ¡°Where¡¯s Qiong Xi''er? What have you done with her?¡±

    The Specter n expert¡¯s white eyes remained emotionless. ¡°Since you want to die, then I¡¯ll fulfill all of your wishes.¡±

    The man then closed his eyes as all the death energy returned to his body. He then simply stood there silently, as if his entire body was nothing more than a corpse.

    Everyone paused, not wanting to make any reckless moves as the reputation of the Three Dark Hands was too terrifying¡ªthe Neohuman Alliance was the greatest darkness that humanity had. Even with the numerous Enlighters present, not a single one of them dared to im that they would absolutely win.

    This person¡¯s words made all of them tremble.

    ¡°Yuehua Mavis, what did he mean? What other methods does he have?¡± Sall Phoenix asked.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    The Mavis family boasted an incredibly long history, and they had been around almost as long as humanity itself. Their history even surpassed that of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s, but despite that, they still did not have a clear understanding of the Neohuman Alliance. The origin of this darkness, the methods that it possessed, and even its objectives were all unknown to Yuehua Mavis.

    A n elder might be aware of such details, but she definitely wasn¡¯t.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, as the Specter n expert¡¯s rune lines hadpletely vanished in an instant. Were they truly gone with him bing like amoner, or was he instead preparing to escape? No, that was impossible. Lu Yin had always been observing this person, and there would definitely be rune lines if he was preparing to escape, unless he possessed a method topletely suppress his aura simr to Aegis¡¯s assassins.

    The crowd was confused, but nobody dared to approach the man. The Specter n expert¡¯s eyes remained closed, and he seemed like a dead person without any spark of life. However, this strange state was exactly what scared the Enlighters the most.

    ¡°Stop messing with us.¡± Cai Jianqiang¡¯s voice was low. As he spoke, he tapped out with a finger reinforced with nine lined battle force, and his attack shot towards the Specter n expert. This attack had enough power in it to instantly kill an ordinary Cruiser, as it was boosted with nine lined battle force.

    However, the attackpletely copsed when it was less than a centimeter away from the Specter n expert.

    Despite the copse of Cai Jianqiang¡¯s attack, nobody had sensed any aura fluctuations or seen any rune lines appear.

    Lu Yin felt apprehensive, as this entire situation was weird.

    Suddenly, the Specter n expert opened his eyes. However, his eyes were no longer the white eyes that they had seen before, but rather a pair of very normal looking eyes. They were bright and lively, though they were also deep and vast like the heavens, as their depths could not be seen.

    Then, the eyes changed yet again. This time, three pitch-ck and colorless lines superimposed upon each other to form a star-like diagram within his eyes, giving them a very crafty look.

    Everyone warily watched the Specter n powerhouse.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape,¡± Zhu Tiezhu barked.

    The Specter n expert released no aura whatsoever, and as far as everyone could tell, he seemed to be a dead person or perhaps amoner. His eyes moved, and he looked over the crowd, his gaze slightly lingering on Yuehua Mavis. He then moved on and continued to scan through everyone one by one before his eyes finally settled on Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s body, at which point he showed tant amazement. ¡°Someone from the Ce family! Interesting, do you guys also want this mobile fortress?¡±

    Most of the others did not understand what he was talking about. Only Yuehua Mavis¡¯s eyes shrank, and she turned to stare at Zhu Tiezhu. The Ce family? Is it that Ce family? Why would they be here?

    Zhu Tiezhu frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±

    The Specter n expert gave a rxed smile. ¡°You dare y dumb in front of me? Well, since you are from the Ce family, you have to die as well.¡±

    Suddenly, the diagram within his eyes started to spin. Then, seemingly without anything happening, Zhu Tiezhu was dead. He slowly crumpled to the floor, no longer showing any signs of life.

    At this moment, everyone was horrified, and they started to back away as one. They stared at the Specter n powerhouse in disbelief. Had he really just killed an Enlighter? How had he done it? How had this person acted without making any moves?

    Lu Yin was petrified, as he had not seen any rune lines appear. A chill ran down his spine.

    The Specter n expert gave a slight smile and turned to look at Yuehua Mavis. ¡°There are only a few members of the Mavis family left, and there are likely only one or two of you in the Outerverse. Since you¡¯re one of them, I can vent a bit of anger by killing you, even if there¡¯s not much meaning to doing so. Do you think that I should kill you?¡±

    Yuehua Mavis asked in a low voice, ¡°Who are you exactly?¡¯

    The Specter n expert suddenly stared straight at Lu Yin. ¡°ck-less-Spirit.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his scalp went numb. The greatest disaster had just appeared.

    Everyone else had no idea who he was, as even Vi Mistress Lian, Sall Phoenix, Saul, and Cai Jianqiang had no knowledge of ckless God. The Seven Skygods¡¯ existence was not known to most people, with the exception of a few old freaks. Typically, only those who were a part of the Three Dark Hands had heard of them. Yuehua Mavis was one of the Mavis family¡¯s true members, so she also knew of this name.

    ¡°Why are you in the Outerverse?¡± Yuehua Mavis¡¯s expression hadpletely changed. Even when she had been faced with death within the barrel of the energy cannon, she had not lost herposure. But at this moment, terror and even desperation were easily seen within her eyes.

    ckless God smiled, but he did not answer. Instead, he simply looked at Lu Yin. ¡°This is our third time meeting, so please give me an answer.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis looked at Lu Yin in utter confusion. ckless God was a powerful character who stood at the true pinnacle of the entire universe, but he had seemingly met Lu Yin several times. What did ckless God see in this youth?

    The others did not utter any words, nor did they move, though that was because they were unable to. As soon as ckless God had appeared, not to mention the Enlighters present, but even a powerhouse with Northgate Taisui¡¯s strength would not be able to move. And this was all just from a strand of ckless God¡¯s spiritual force.

    In ckless God¡¯s eyes, there was not much difference between someone with a power level of 200,000 and 10,000; they were all ants in his eyes.

    Lu Yin was growing anxious; where was Master? Why hadn¡¯t he appeared yet? Lu Yin had crushed the jade talisman long ago. Was his master really so unreliable? The being before them was able to casually wipe out an Enlighter, and Lu Yin would feel no sense of safety even if he put his universal armor back on.

    The diagram in ckless God¡¯s eyes consisting of the interposed lines started to spin. ¡°Answer me.¡±

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva. ¡°Let me ask you a question: do you know Mister Mu?¡±

    ckless God¡¯s expression did not change in any way. ¡°Are you trying to stall for time? Who are you waiting for? Do you truly believe that there is anybody who can save you? Tell me: who, exactly, can save you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s waiting for me.¡± Four words suddenly rang out in the underground space, and they seemed to ring right next to everyone¡¯s ears without any warning.

    ckless God¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he suddenly looked up at the distorting void, from which Mister Mu slowly walked out.

    The diagram of lines in ckless God¡¯s eyes suddenly began to spin much quicker. ¡°It¡¯s you? What are you-¡±

    Mister Mu raised a hand and pressed down with a single palm thatnded on top of ckless God¡¯s head. Millions City and the space around it all slightly trembled at the same moment, and the gathered people only saw a thread of ck gas float out from the top of the head that then dissipated.

    Everyone stared at this scene, bbergasted and unsure of what was going on.

    ¡°It was residing within this person¡¯s body through its spiritual force, and this trace of spiritual force has been erased by Master,¡± Mister Mu calmly exined.

    Lu Yin was stumped, as his master had resolved things way too quickly.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Master, be careful!¡±

    That Specter n expert that ckless God had possessed suddenly awakened, and he gathered death energy into his hand to m it towards Mister Mu. The attack squarely hit Mister Mu, but Mister Mu showed no reaction. Instead, there was only the sound of a stifled groan, and when everyone looked, they saw that blood was spilling from the Specter n¡¯s expert mouth while his face was contorted as though he was suffering from some indescribable pain. In addition, his white eyes were filled with an endless terror. Then, he fell to the floor,pletely devoid of any vitality.

 Chapter 802: Ce Secret Art

    <h4>Chapter 802: Ce Secret Art</h4>

    Mister Mu had killed the elite powerhouse from the Specter n without even moving.

    The present Enlighters were all shocked to their core. Just what was going on today? Experts were showing up one after another, each more powerful than the next.

    Mister Mu waved a hand, causing Yuehua Mavis and the others to fall unconscious, leaving Lu Yin as the only person awake.

    Lu Yin practically wanted to worship his master. ¡°Master, you came at the perfect moment!¡±

    Mister Mu calmly answered, ¡°ckless God should have only had one strand of spiritual force in the Outerverse. Now that it¡¯s been destroyed, you probably won¡¯t encounter him again.¡±

    What was Mister Mu saying? Was he not going to give him another jade talisman? Lu Yin started to grow anxious. ¡°Master, the Neohuman Alliance is nning something big. There are seven Skygods in total, so there might still be another one in the Outerverse.¡±

    Mister Mu replied, ¡°The Outerverse is not significant enough to warrant the personal attention of any of the seven Skygods, though there might be some of their other elites lying around.¡± He then passed another jade talisman over to Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to use this unless there is an urgent need. Otherwise, I¡¯ll disown you as my disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin was extremely grateful. ¡°Thank you, Master.¡±

    Mister Mu nced at the people who were now lying on the floor, and his gaze also lingered on Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s corpse for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see someone from the Ce family in this ce.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°The Ce family?¡±

    ¡°The Ce family of the Court of Seven Names,¡± Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin finally remembered now. The Ce family was a part of the Seven Courts. Upon realizing this, Lu Yin looked down at Zhu Tiezhu in shock. ¡°He¡¯s from the Ce family of the Seven Courts?¡±

    Mister Mu looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°I previously said that I had been nning on giving you an opportunity, but of your own volition, you gave that opportunity to that girl. Today, I can give you another opportunity, but you¡¯ll have to grasp this one with your own ability. It will be up to your ownprehension as to whether or not you are able to receive it.¡±

    He lifted a hand, causing Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s body to float off of the floor. A droplet of blood emerged from the dead man¡¯s forehead that Mister Mu then tossed towards Lu Yin, only for it to enter Lu Yin¡¯s body. ¡°This is the Ce family¡¯s blood. I can help you traverse the rivers of time to watch the chess match.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes zed over as his sight went dark. Momentster, he appeared in an enclosed spacepletely devoid of light. The only visible area was a corner illuminated by a faint beam of moonlight. Within the moonlight, he could see an ancient chessboard. He instinctively walked up to it and carefully examined it. He didn¡¯t know how to y chess, but at that moment, he felt as though he had been integrated into the chessboard.

    If someone could see Lu Yin at this moment, they would instantly notice that he was no longer Lu Yin, but rather Zhu Tiezhu. His appearance hadpletely changed into Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s.

    The chessboard was ancient, and the chess pieces on the board were all covered in dust.

    Lu Yin stared at the board in a daze as scenes of chess games started to whirl through his mind. He saw peopleughing, strategizing, and feeling regret. The matches that he saw were very exciting, and he vicariously experienced the tumultuous vicissitudes even though he couldn¡¯t understand the games themselves.

    Every chess piece was a star while the chessboard was the universe. He was on the chessboard, and he was also in the universe.

    Was he a chess piece or a yer? Was he being manipted, or was he manipting others? Lu Yin lost his sense of self and felt as if he had be a chess piece but also aughing yer at the same time.

    ¡°Hahahaha, I, Ce Wangtian, have finally created a secret technique: Astral Chessboard. After ying chess for decades. I¡¯m the only person in the universe who can take back a move! Nobody can rewind their life, but if I want to do so, then only I can take back my move! Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard.¡±

    A chess piecended on the chessboard with a bang. The sudden change dispersed the darkness, and Lu Yin was jolted back to reality. His vision was no longer filled with scenes of the ancient chessboard, as he was back in Millions City, and Mister Mu was standing in front of him.

    Lu Yin was covered in a cold sweat when he recalled what he had just seen. Ce Wangtian? Taking back his move? The Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard? That must be the Ce family¡¯s secret technique!

    ¡°How was it?¡± Mister Mu asked calmly.

    Lu Yin hesitantly answered, ¡°Master, I¡¯m not sure whether or not I understood what I saw.¡±

    Mister Mu nodded. ¡°That¡¯ll be up to fate. But even if you don¡¯t understand it, it was still an experience.¡±

    Lu Yin still wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he hadprehended what he had just witnessed. The Ce Secret Art was very different from the Yu Secret Art. He was able to practice the Yu Secret Art, but this Ce Secret Art felt more like a mindset, and it seemed to be some sort of inheritance left behind by Ce Wangtian through the chessboard. ¡°Master, where is that chessboard?¡±

    He wanted to experience what he had seen again, as it would be a waste if he couldn¡¯tprehend the Ce Secret Art. Although he didn¡¯t even know what the Ce Secret Art¡¯s true power was, the speech he had heard from Ce Wangtian had inspired him. If one could take back a move, then that implied having the power to turn back time and retrying an event that had already urred. Ce Wangtian had managed to do so, and he was the only person who had seeded in doing so.

    Could the Ce Secret Art help Lu Yin achieve that as well?

    He really wanted to learn this Ce Secret Art.

    ¡°That chessboard is an ancient inheritance of the Ce family from the Court of Seven Names, and even the true heirs of the Ce family only ever have one chance to see it in their entire lifetime. This person never visited that ce, and I only helped you get in by using his blood. You can only go there again if the Ce family agrees to it,¡± Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin anxiously asked, ¡°Master, the son and grandchildren of this man are just outside of here, so can their blood take me back to that ce?¡±

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. ¡°Yes, but they will have to die to do so.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled awkwardly. ¡°Never mind then.¡±

    He had no enmity with the Zhu family, and he didn¡¯t want to kill any of them. Mister Mu would probably disown him as a disciple if he truly asked him to kill Zhu San so that he could take another look at the chessboard.

    ¡°Oh, right. Master, what should we do with the rest of them?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu suddenly disappeared as Lu Yin heard him say, ¡°Some parts of their memory have been removed.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed in relief, as that was a good thing. He didn¡¯t want them to remember that he had saved them from the cannon¡¯s energy st. Wait a second, since their memories had been removed, then did that mean that their cosmic rings now belonged to him?

    Lu Yin blinked and rubbed his chin in consideration. Would it be too despicable for him to simply keep them? In the end, he felt bad about it as he had already taken all of these people¡¯s star essence, so he should probably return their cosmic rings.

    Lu Yin returned everyone¡¯s rings to them, except for Sall Phoenix¡¯s. He was no saint, and Sall Phoenix was his enemy. Thus, Lu Yin felt that he was already being kind by not killing the man.

    Actually, should he kill him? Lu Yin was torn.

    Suddenly, he thought of something and unleashed his domain. He quickly found Qiong Xi¡¯er and Zhu San nearby, and they had both fallen unconscious as well. Mister Mu had not left anyone awake. However, Qiong Xi¡¯er should have been under that Specter n expert¡¯s control.

    Lu Yin collected a bit of Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s blood for safekeeping as he had heard that Millions City was controlled by the Qiong family¡¯s blood. If that was the case, then he should probably prepare a backup n. As for Zhu San, Lu Yin had already realized that the young heir wasn¡¯t a normal person back when they first met, though he had never expected this family to be part of the Court of Seven Names.

    Lu Yin had already met people from the Y¨­u, Yu, Ce, and Ku families of the Court of Seven Names. There were now only three families that he had never encountered.

    The incidents underground hadn¡¯t affected the situation on the surface at all.

    Wei Rong was still cooperating with many others to attack the barrier that had formed around Millions City. Hoffman had also regained consciousness, though he was now nning to escape instead of making his way underground.

    When he had first regained consciousness, he had wanted to kill the corpse king. However, he wasn¡¯t able to kill the corpse king no matter how fiercely he attacked. The Grey Eyes Transformation meant that the corpse king¡¯s power had increased by tenfold, and not even Hoffman was able to defeat this transformed corpse king. Thus, the only thing he wanted to do at this point was to leave.

    The corpse king roared, and the Lotus Strike trapping it started cracking. It didn¡¯t take long for it topletely shatter.

    Hoffman and countless other cultivators were all still attacking the barrier covering the city. But when the corpse king bellowed, its roar shook Millions City to its core.

    Hoffman¡¯s expression changed, and he turned to look at the ground. The corpse king red at him in the same moment that he looked down before leaping into the sky. ck lightning then descended upon the city.

    Millions City fell into darkness once again as ck lightning streaked across the sky, injuring numerous cultivators.

    Starfox and the others quickly dropped to the ground.

    Qiong Shanhai spat out a mouthful of blood, as his injuries had only started slowly recovering just now. He ignored the corpse king¡¯s attack and ran towards the underground entrance, as that was the most important location to him at this moment.

    The corpse king used his ck lightning to attack everyone in the sky as he dove towards Hoffman.

    Hoffman¡¯s body suddenly transformed into a humanoid beast that was ten meters tall before he turned to sh with the approaching corpse king.

    This was Hoffman¡¯s innate gift: Tyrant Bluster.

    A shockwave tore through the sky, looking like a ck screen that covered all of Millions City, which caused many to scream in terror.

    Even though Hoffman had activated his innate gift and transformed, he still couldn¡¯t match the corpse king¡¯s raw power. His w attack was pierced through, and the corpse king suddenly appeared above Hoffman¡¯s head. The ck lightning struck Hoffman head on, and the man screamed in pain as he frantically pushed the corpse king away. He then clenched his wed fingers and rushed at the corpse king. This time, he used his Oveying Stacks technique, which reverberated throughout all of Millions City.

    In response, the corpse king gathered all of the surrounding lightning and unleashed it all in one powerful attack.

    Many people in Millions City died from internal bleeding caused by the aftershocks of the two powerhouses¡¯ sh in the sky, and even Wei Rong was bleeding from his mouth. He looked up in shock and saw that the Tyrant Bluster¡¯s arm had been broken. The corpse king then flew down in front of the Tryant Bluster and another round of ck lightning sent the Tyrant Bluster tumbling to the ground, where it transformed back to Hoffman¡¯s original appearance. His head waspletely charred, and his breathing had also stopped. The corpse king¡¯s ck lightning had seared the man¡¯s brain, instantly killing him.

    The corpse king had already possessed a higher power level than Hoffman, and after its Grey Eyes Transformation, there was nobody among the gathered Enlighters who could defeat the transformed corpse king aside from Yuehua Mavis.

    Qiong Shanhai managed to find everyone who had gone underground, and he also saw Hoffman¡¯s death on a screen. He immediately removed the protective barrier surrounding Millions City.

    The corpse king leaped into the sky and disappeared.

    Qiong Shanhai was relieved. When he nced at the monitors again, he saw that everyone was unconscious. So, he immediately moved to wake Qiong Xi¡¯er up and ask her what had happened.

    However, Qiong Xi¡¯er could only remember running into the Specter n expert and pretending to be under his control, but she didn¡¯t remember anything else after that.

    She had forgotten almost ten minutes worth of memories, which corresponded to the time between when the cannon had been activated and when Mister Mu had left. Everyone¡¯s memory of this period of time had been removed, with the sole exception of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pretended to be unconscious like the others, and he was soon ¡°awakened¡± by Yan Yan.

    The rest of the people slowly woke up as well, but nobody could remember anything that had happened during those ten minutes.

    Everyone was stunned to discover this, as it wasn¡¯t easy to remove the memories of cultivators. Furthermore, Yuehu Mavis was also affected; the Mavis n members were especially protective of their memories, but her memories had still been altered. This was proof that someone very powerful hade.

    Finally, both Zhu Tiezhu and the expert from the Specter n were found dead. Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s body had even beenpletely drained of all blood, which was very disturbing.

    Everyone present immediately contacted the major forces supporting them before trying to confirm their memories of what had happened with each other.

    Ce means strategy in Chinese. Also, many of the names in this story have important meanings to them. Pleasement if you would like us to keep sharing the meanings or not.

 Chapter 803: Captain Of The Fifth Squadron

    <h4>Chapter 803: Captain Of The Fifth Squadron</h4>

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s expression turned grim. Fortunately, the Neohuman Alliance had been defeated, so Millions City was still under the Qiong family¡¯s control.

    ¡°Your Highness, do you remember what happened?¡± Yan Yan asked. He had been seriously injured during the battle with Sall Phoenix.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t remember. It seems like someone¡¯s removed our memories. What about you? Did you find anything strange above ground?¡±

    Yan Yan shook his head. ¡°Hoffman was killed by the corpse king, but nothing important happened aside from that.¡±

    Everyone was talking to each other to verify their recent memories, but it seemed that, without exception, nobody remembered what had happened in thest ten minutes.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er was extremely pale, as she had lost a lot of blood.

    Zhu San and Zhu Jie sadly checked Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin nced over at Zhu San. Lu Yin knew that this youth wasn¡¯t actually from the Zhu family and that their entire n belonged to the Ce family. They had stayed in Millions City for so long because they had the same desire as the Neohuman Alliance: they wanted to take over the mobile fortress. However, now that Zhu Tiezhu had died while the Outerverse was still cut off from the Innerverse, the Ce family wouldn¡¯t be able to assist them, and they were no longer capable of fighting for control of Millions City. They might even be wiped out by Qiong Shanhai.

    Sall Phoenix was also searching for Taylor Phoenix, but he wasn¡¯t able to find any sign of the youth since he had been vaporized by the cannon.

    The same thing had happened to Mr. Jun as well.

    Cai Jianqiang had been seriously injured, and he was looking for a ce to recuperate at this time.

    Saul had also retreated somewhere else to rest.

    Everyone simply wanted to recover from their injuries, and they had all forgotten about True Insight.

    Qiong Shanhai arranged aodations for everyone, and he also gave all of them some star essence out of gratitude for their help.

    As soon as the City Master mentioned star essence, everyone felt a strange sense of deja vu, as if something simr had happened before.

    Lu Yin started to get worried. He could only hope that nobody would recall anything!

    Yuehua Mavis and the others scanned through their cosmic rings and realized that all of their star essence were missing. Where had it all gone?

    ¡°Where¡¯s my cosmic ring?¡± Sall Phoenix asked.

    Qiong Shanhai immediately sent some people into the underground regions to search for Sall Phoenix¡¯s ring, but they would never be able to find it. After all, the man¡¯s ring was still in Lu Yin¡¯s possession.

    Through this ordeal, Lu Yin had managed toplete his third cycle as well as obtain more than a million star essence. He had also upgraded his universal armor to its maximum potential and learned a bit about the Ce Secret Art. Although he wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he had properly understood the Ce Secret Art, he had still experienced it once, which was definitely beneficial for him.

    Aside from all of these tangible benefits, another important detail was Millions City.

    Lu Yin possessed the blood of someone from the Qiong family, and he was wondering if he could control this mobile fortress by using the blood that he had obtained.

    This battle had been started by the Neohuman Alliance. Just the presence of a Grey Eyed corpse king and a powerhouse from the Specter n had plunged the various Enlighters who had been present into a desperate struggle. This encounter had forced Lu Yin to reevaluate his opinion of the Neohuman Alliance, as the power of the organization clearly far exceeded his expectations.

    Although Qiong Shanhai had prepared amodations for everyone, most of the people didn¡¯t stay in Millions City for long.

    Saul was the first one to leave, and although Cai Jianqiang wanted to pursue the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President, Lu Yin held him back. ¡°There¡¯s no point in you chasing after him. You won¡¯t be able to stop him on your own.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang was reluctant to let Saul get away, but he still listened to Lu Yin¡¯s advice. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he had a feeling that he should be thankful to Lu Yin, and he felt indescribably grateful towards Lu Yin. ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I got lucky, though maybe the Neohuman Alliance just didn¡¯t think that I was worth targeting.¡±

    Cai Jianqiangughed. ¡°You¡¯reparable to any one of us when you use your various external items.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled but remained quiet. When he looked over, he noticed that Starfox was staring at him with a curious gaze. However, Starfox looked away as soon as Lu Yin nced over.

    During his conversation with Cai Jianqiang, Lu Yin quickly realized that he had forgotten about something. Regardless of whether it was Yuehua Mavis or Vi Mistress Lian, everyone in this ce was looking very disheveled, as they had all been subjected to the shockwaves of the cannon. However, Lu Yin looked perfectly fine, and since Cai Jianqiang and Starfox had noticed this detail, the others must have as well.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he hadpletely forgotten about this. Most of the people around him must have already noticed that he looked different from everyone else who had been underground.

    Lu Yin immediately bid Qiong Shanhai farewell and prepared to return to the Great Yu Empire.

    Qiong Shanhai didn¡¯t ask the youth to stay. Instead, he simply gave him 50,000 star essence as an apology, which Lu Yin naturally epted with delight.

    If not for Millions City¡¯s barrier, none of the cultivators would have been forced to stay in Millions City and fight against the Neohuman Alliance. The reason why nobody had attacked Qiong Shanhai over this was simply because the enemy that they had faced was the Neohuman Alliance, which was considered the greatest enemy of the universe. Thus, nobody could me Millions City for taking such actions. However, if the enemy hadn¡¯t been the Neohuman Alliance, Qiong Shanhai would have been killed for trying to force these powerhouses to battle against the city¡¯s enemy.

    No matter how apologetic Qiong Shanhai behaved, everyone still held a grudge against him.

    Qiong Shanhai understood this, and so he was polite in sending Lu Yin off.

    Everyone also understood that the Neohuman Alliance had stolen True Insight in order to lure them away from Millions City.

    Since True Insight had been stolen by the Neohuman Alliance, nobody believed that they would be able to retrieve it.

    A mere two elites from the Neohuman Alliance had been enough to defeat an entire group of Enlighters and powerhouses, and none of them wanted to go against the Neohuman Alliance again.

    ¡°City Master Qiong, you should consider how you¡¯re going to deal with Shamrock Enterprises,¡± Lu Yin suggested to Qiong Shanhai before he left with Yan Yan, Cai Jianqiang, and Cool Sis.

    He had given Cool Sis a ride to this ce, and so, he had naturally asked her to continue traveling with him when he left.

    Cool Sis had helped Lu Yin by holding back both Taylor Phoenix and Moore during the chaotic battle, which made Lu Yin very grateful to her.

    Qiong Shanhai smiled bitterly, as it wasn¡¯t just Shamrock Enterprises that he had to deal with. He had to address the families of everyone who had died during the battle, which also included the Dark Phoenix n and the Zhu family.

    As soon as he remembered the Zhu family, Qiong Shanhai¡¯s face turned grim. How much did that family know about the mobile fortress that was Millions City¡¯s true form?

    Wei Rong left along with Starfox and Angie, though Qiong Shanhai didn¡¯t pay much attention to them. They had barely participated in the battle, and they had even encouraged people to destroy the barrier surrounding the city.

    Wei Rong knew that his group hadn¡¯t done much, which was why he chose to leave secretly.

    Although Millions City looked deste after the battle since the entire city had been destroyed, what had the city truly lost? The Qiong family was disgustingly wealthy, and everyone who lived in Millions City was wealthy to some degree, so it wouldn¡¯t be hard for them to rebuild the city. The more important thing was that everyone had realized that the true power of Millions City, the mobile fortress, still hadn¡¯t been fully utilized.

    Only people like Lu Yin, who had seen the energy st inside the cannon barrel, had an idea how powerful this mobile fortress was. Additionally, that cannon might not even be the most powerful aspect of Millions City.

    Lu Yin stared back at Millions City with a fervent gaze. He was determined to eventually take control of this mobile fortress.

    ¡°Thanks for your help,¡± Lu Yin mentioned as he passed Cool Sis a ss of fruit juice.

    Cool Sis epted the refreshment. ¡°It actually didn¡¯t mean anything since they wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything to you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It was still a nice gesture, and I¡¯m truly grateful. So what are you nning to do now?¡±

    Cool Sis calmly looked at the sky; her ns? She wasn¡¯t too sure. She had only been temporarily cultivating in the icy carriage, and there was no reason for her to return to Ironblood Weave since the battle had ended. She wasn¡¯t sure where she should go at this moment.

    ¡°Have you ever thought of going to the Great Yu Empire?¡¯ Lu Yin asked.

    Cool Sis looked at him. ¡°Is there any reason for me to go there?¡±

    Lu Yin paused. ¡°You can watch as I increase the gap between me and the rest of you.¡±

    Cool Sis arched her brow as she nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Your words are really obnoxious.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°But they¡¯re the truth. Or would you rather randomly meet me in space one day only to find out that you can¡¯t even gauge my strength? Wouldn¡¯t that leave you disappointed?¡±

    Cool Sis rarely smiled, but she was smiling at this moment. ¡°Maybe. I have never seen anyone invite a guest like this. You use rather unique methods.¡±

    ¡°What if I said that I¡¯m not inviting you as a guest? Since you have nothing to do right now, then why don¡¯t you change your cultivation method for a time and join the real world?¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    Most cultivators, especially those who didn''t have to worry about resources, spent their entire lives cultivating, and they would never do anything aside from training and fighting. To Lu Yin, cultivators like that would invariably lose to independent cultivators if the two sides were in simr positions. Independent cultivators would use any method avable to them when fighting as long as it increased their odds of survival.

    However, independent cultivators tended tock resources, battle technique, power vessels, and basically everything, which was why they were generally weaker. But despite their deficiencies, it didn¡¯t mean that all independent cultivators were weak.

    Lu Yin had achieved his current status by slowly climbing his way up. He had earned his own money and fought for his own power. He had obtained everything by himself, and to him, this was how cultivation was intended to be.

    For the cultivators from influential backgrounds, the separation of the Innerverse and Outerverse was their first introduction to the real world, and it was a new situation where they had to support themselves entirely.

    Cool Sis was confused. ¡°What are you nning to do?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°As the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire, I am formally inviting you to be the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fifth Squadron.¡±

    Cool Sis smirked. ¡°If I were willing, then even the Daynight n would give me a great amount of power as well as a high status. Why would I go to your Great Yu Empire?¡¯

    ¡°Because we can make our way up from the bottom.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even want to try? Anyways, you have nothing else to do right now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Cool Sis looked at her fruit juice and swirled it around her ss. Her expression wasplicated.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, I have nothing to do.¡± She nodded after thinking for a moment. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll treat it as training. However, I want to make it clear that I will have absolute freedom and that I can leave whenever I want. Do you agree to this?¡±

    They clinked their sses, and Lu Yin smiled at her. ¡°Wee.¡±

    Cool Sis smiled, as she truly wanted to see how this person would widen the gap between them. It had only been seven years, but he had already reached his current level in this short timespan. His talent for cultivation was truly extraordinary. She would treat him as her goal during this period when the Outerverse and Innerverse were separated. Even if he wanted to widen the gap between the two of them, she would still be able to influence that situation. Thus, they would just have to see who would end up winning.

    The spacecraft rocketed towards the eastern region of the Outerverse, and Lu Yin was enviously looking at a picture on his gadget. It was a picture of a spacecraft that looked absolutely amazing. Although it was very small, its price tag was unbelievable. The most important thing was that nobody could buy it, as this was the Eonlight-grade Aurora spacecraft from Aurora Enterprises, which was one grade higher than the ckhole grade and two grades higher than the Radiant grade. The speed of this vehicle was a thousand times faster than a normal spacecraft¡¯s and a hundred times faster than Lu Yin¡¯s Radiant-grade Aurora. If he had been on such a spacecraft, he would have already arrived in the Great Yu Empire by now.

    This exact spacecraft had overtaken them just moments ago, and the only passenger on it had been ze Engineer.

    No man could resist the lure of a high-quality spacecraft, and Lu Yin had immediately contacted Aurora Enterprises to purchase one of these vessels. However, his request had been rejected forthright as thepany had stopped selling both Eonlight and ckhole grade vessels after the Outerverse¡¯s istion.

    He would have to upgrade his spacecraft himself if he wanted a faster one.

 Chapter 804: Forceful Slander

    <h4>Chapter 804: Forceful nder</h4>

    Lu Yin had already decided to have the Great Yu Empire fully upgrade his previous small Radiant-grade Aurora. However, upgrading it to the ckhole grade was not a simple task, and it required time.

    Such a spacecraft was essentially a strategic military resource.

    That was right¡ªEast San Dios should also have a ckhole-grade Aurora in its possession. Wendy Yushan¡¯s vessel had been destroyed in Tempest Flowzone, but there should be some more ships that belonged to the other councilors.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin immediately contacted Barley to inquire about the ckhole-grade Auroras.

    Barley was ced in a difficult position. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Representative Lu, but East San Dios doesn¡¯t have any other ckhole-grade Auroras.¡±

    ¡°Where did they go? Shouldn¡¯t there still be five left?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s void betrayed that his mood wasn¡¯t great at this moment. It had taken him a while to think of this option, but now, he was finding out that it was all for naught.

    Barley answered, ¡°Indeed, there were five, one each for each councilor. But three of them vanished when the councilors died, and Councilor Wendy¡¯s vessel was taken by you. Finally, Councilor Puyu¡¯s spacecraft was taken by Councilor Liu.¡±

    ¡°Liu Shaoge left San Dios?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled.

    Barley replied, ¡°He has already returned, but that spacecraft is now missing.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Pay attention to Liu Shaoge, and don¡¯t allow him to leave again. If he does, let me know immediately.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Barley answered respectfully as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

    For some reason, Lu Yin was extremely wary of Liu Shaoge, and it was quite possibly rted to his personal history. He was perfectly aware of how difficult it was to start cultivating from a remote like Earth and make one¡¯s way into the rest of the universe, let alone reach his current status. Lu Yin had survived numerous narrow scrapes with death, and he had actually had a much easier time than most because Big Sis and the others had helped him forge a new identity. Otherwise, he would have never even had the chance to reach his current status. But in that case, what about Liu Shaoge? The man was a genuine Earthling who had managed to be a Representative of San Dios, which proved that his abilities were astounding.

    He was an Earthling who had entered Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s eyes and even qualified to borrow his strength, when someone from the Nightking n might not have the opportunity to do so. Liu Shaoge¡¯s thoughts, methods, and schemes were allpletely terrifying.

    Wang Wen had said that he only cared about Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er as he only recognized them as being on the same level of intelligence as himself. However, Lu Yin believed that if these three had all been born on Earth at the same time, they may not have done as well as Liu Shaoge had, who was a truly mysterious person.

    Earth was a mysterious; not only had it produced Liu Shaoge, but Bai Xue and Zhang Dingtian also hailed from it. The former had joined Amethyst Exchange while thetter was on the Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent. There was also another person who had yet to appear, but she still silently existed in Lu Yin¡¯s memory: Bai Qian, who was Bai Xue¡¯s older sister. She had discovered Qingyu, and she had also been the first to step out into the greater universe. She was someone who even Zhang Dingtian could not match up to.

    If that woman was still alive, Lu Yin wondered how she was doing for herself. She had been able to suppress Zhang Dingtian, Liu Shaoge, and other such people back on Earth. If she had not died, then she might reappear in the future after obtaining some astounding status.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the screen of his gadget appeared. Elder Lohar appeared on it, and he looked at Lu Yin with a kindly expression.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Senior,¡± Lu Yin respectfully greeted the man.

    Elder Lohar hurriedly said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu has no need to be overly courteous. You can just call me Lohar.¡±

    Ever since the old man had seen Lu Yin¡¯s blood-red bell, Elder Lohar¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had taken aplete 180.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°How would that be eptable? After all, Senior is Senior.¡±

    Elder Lohar said a few more courteous words, but then he asked Lu Yin about the incident that had urred at Millions City. Any move that the Neohuman Alliance made was a big deal to the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin described the event from Millions City to the elder in detail, and he also mentioned that he had lost his memory when they went underground, which was the same as everyone else¡¯s report.

    Elder Lohar was disappointed, but he did not ask any further questions. He clearly already knew what had happened to the others, as everyone had reported that they had lost their memories of those ten minutes.

    ¡°As long as Alliance Leader Lu is alright, everything is fine. In the future, you must inform me as soon as you encounter anyone from the Neohuman Alliance. I do not wish for anything to happen to Alliance Leader Lu,¡± Elder Lohar said.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thank you, elder.

    ¡°Right, is Senior Akira ustomed to life on Zenyu Star yet?¡± Lu Yin quickly asked. Akira was the Enlighter who Elder Lohar had sent to protect Zenyu Star at Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    Elder Lohar smiled. ¡°There¡¯s nothing for him to grow ustomed to. He¡¯s merely cultivating in a different ce. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for your concern.¡±

    Lu Yin made a few courteousments to maintain the conversation.

    ¡°Right, there is something else that I must share with Alliance Leader Lu.¡± Elder Lohar¡¯s face became more solemn. ¡°Do you have any sort of conflict with the Dark Phoenix family?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°There was indeed a little conflict during Millions City¡¯s Qiong''s Banquet. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Elder Lohar frowned. ¡°Only at the Qiong''s Banquet? Was Taylor Phoenix¡¯s death rted to you in any manner?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Definitely unrted. Junior only remembers up until when everyone fell underground, but that¡¯s where my memory stops. When we got out, Taylor Phoenix was nowhere to be seen.¡±

    Elder Lohar continued, ¡°ording to the information that I received, Sall Phoenix has pushed the me for Taylor Phoenix¡¯s death onto you. He ims that you were the one who caused Taylor to fall underground, where he died, and that he witnessed this himself.¡±

    Lu Yin grew furious, and he nearly cursed. Taylor had clearly been vaporized by the st from the energy cannon, but that stupid old bastard actually wanted to nder him, and he was even iming that he had personally witnessed it. It was nauseating, and it was also forceful nder that was taking advantage of everyone¡¯s loss of memory.

    ¡°Elder, Junior definitely did not kill Taylor, and the others can bear witness to this matter,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Elder Lohar felt helpless. ¡°Everyone lost their memories of that period of time. Sall Phoenix reported that his impression of you killing Taylor is too deep, that he will never forget it, and that it can never be eradicated from his memory. He insists that you are the one who killed Taylor, and today, the Dark Phoenix family put you onto their must-kill list. Taylor was the youngest son of the patriarch of the Dark Phoenix family, so you must be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this was an unexpected disaster. There was no way for him to exin this nderous misunderstanding since there was no one who could attest on his behalf. That was, unless of course, everyone¡¯s memories were restored. He really wanted to curse.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, did you really kill Taylor?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked. He had also lost his memories of those ten minutes, as Mister Mu¡¯s methods were all-inclusive. Even the Ghost Monkey had not been able to escape from it.

    Lu Yin remained silent, as it was useless to try and exin himself at this time. The Dark Phoenix family would definitely believe Sall Phoenix, which meant that Lu Yin had gained yet another powerful enemy in the Outerverse in the form of the Dark Phoenix family.

    He ended his call with Elder Lohar and then opened the star chart to check the location of the Dark Phoenix family.

    Endless Weave was thergest of the Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves, and it was also the weave with the most experts. The eastern weaves¡¯ responsibility was to defend against any invasions from the Astral Beast Domain, and in doing so, support Ironblood Weave. Meanwhile, the western weaves were tasked with withstanding any invasion from the Technocracy. In other words, Endless Weave was the warfront that resisted the Technocracy.

    Due to Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s actions, in the past, nearly half of Endless Weave had been upied by the Technocracy. Even so, there were still a vast number of powerhouses in Endless Weave, and the Dark Phoenix family was often constantly embroiled in wars with other powers, which was different from Neo-Vestige Sect and Millions City¡¯s situations.

    Since they had be mortal enemies, even if they were based as far away as possible, the Dark Phoenix family would still be a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin had to consider what would happen next. The Dark Phoenix family was no Aegis, and just Smoker would not be able to subdue the n¡¯s formidable nature.

    In the same region of space, but aboard a different spacecraft, Wei Rong embraced Angie¡¯s waist as he calmly looked at the screen in front of him. There was a skinny middle-aged man on it, who was the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s leader, Gui Wuzong.

    Twin Daemons¡¯ death was a heavy blow to the Shadowsword Sect. Originally from the Suna Weave, the Shadowsword Sect stood at the same level as the Moke Sword Sect, and they could even beat them. However, with Twin Daemons¡¯ death, the Shadowsword Sect would definitely be unable to withstand the Moke Sword Sect.

    Gui Wuzong spoke in a cold voice. ¡°We will make Cai Jianqiang pay the price, but Wei Rong, you must take responsibility for this matter as well.¡±

    Wei Rong held a ss of wine as he replied in a perfectly calm voice, saying, ¡°I already told Twin Daemons that they couldn¡¯t be exposed within Millions City, but they were still discovered by Saul and even ended up being ambushed by Cai Jianqiang. Even if I was on the scene at that moment, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to save him. Cai Jianqiang is no ordinary Hunter.¡±

    ¡°This is not the answer that I¡¯m looking for,¡± Gui Wuzong retorted fiercely.

    Wei Rong looked up. ¡°I promise you that I will take care of the Great Eastern Alliance, and Cai Jianqiang will be given to you to handle as you wish.¡±

    Gui Wuzong stared at Wei Rong. ¡°You really do think that you can deal with Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not by myself, and it¡¯s still impossible even with your assistance. However, what if we ally ourselves with the Dark Phoenix family?¡± Wei Rong continued

    Gui Wuzong was stunned. ¡°You¡¯ve convinced the Dark Phoenix family?¡±

    ¡°My enemy¡¯s enemy is my friend. The Dark Phoenix family now views Lu Yin as their mortal enemy, but since their base is too far away, they will need a springboard to invade the Great Eastern Alliance, and my Armament Weave can coincidentally provide that service,¡± Wei Rong said in high spirits as he looked at Gui Wuzong. ¡°With the assistance of the Dark Phoenix Family, the Great Eastern Alliance is no longer a threat to us.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin has the Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    ¡°Wrong, the Neo-Vestige Sect has not allied with him yet, and I naturally have my ways to prevent him from gaining their support.¡±

    Gui Wuzong fell silent for a moment. ¡°Something¡¯s happened with the pirates.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°The people that I sent to assist the pirates have all disappeared, and people like Thousand Eyes are still living well,¡± Gui Wuzong exined.

    Wei Rong¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°When did this happen?¡±

    ¡°Before you went to Millions City,¡± Gui Wuzong replied.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡± Wei Rong¡¯s expression was ugly.

    Gui Wuzong did not reply. Before the events in Millions City, he had still had Twin Daemons, and his cooperation with Wei Rong had not been as important. Thus, this sect leader naturally would not report everything to Wei Rong. However, things had changed, as the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s strength had dropped dramatically after Twin Daemons¡¯ death. Now, Gui Wuzong¡¯s attitude had subsequently shifted, and he had to clearly exin the situation to Wei Rong.

    ¡°Are these pirates very important to you?¡± Angie asked. She hardly ever intruded into Wei Rong¡¯s conversations.

    Wei Rong nodded and then caressed Angie¡¯s cheek. ¡°All pirates are a bunch of maggots, but they are also unassuming and found everywhere in the universe. Thousand Eyes¡¯ intelligencework is extremely effective, and if we took control of the eastern weaves¡¯ pirates, then they would be able to provide us with countless pairs of eyes to monitor Lu Yin, and they wouldn¡¯t be easily discovered either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll send my nsmen to assist you,¡± Angie offered.

    Wei Rong thought about it, but then he shook his head. ¡°With the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s strength, they are already able to eliminate the eastern weaves¡¯ pirates, but despite that, they still failed. This means that there are other powers interfering. Lu Yin is very smart, and there aren¡¯t any movements that can be hidden from him. If themotion bes too big, it will naturally draw his attention. We won¡¯t be able to use the pirates any longer.¡±

    Wei Rong then looked at Gui Wuzong. ¡°Leave those pirates alone and cease all interactions with them. Also, banish all pirates from the central weaves.¡±

    Gui Wuzong frowned. ¡°Do we really need to go that far?¡±

    ¡°Follow what I say or else you¡¯ll suffer from Lu Yin¡¯s counter.¡± Wei Rong¡¯s tone was unquestionable.

    Gui Wuzong couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°Aren¡¯t you evaluating this Lu Yin too highly?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°We must always be cautious when dealing with him, and we can¡¯t afford to slip up in the slightest. Otherwise, we¡¯ll all be ghosts by his sword.¡±

    Wei Rong directly ended the call and then rubbed his forehead to dispel his growing headache.

 Chapter 805: Yu Elder

    <h4>Chapter 805: Yu Elder</h4>

    Angie walked behind Wei Rong and started massaging him.

    Meanwhile, Ah Mu walked in and silently stood to the side, his expression calm.

    ¡°What a bunch of imbeciles. If not for me, then Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t even need to exert any effort to capture the central weaves,¡± Wei Rong said in exhaustion.

    Angie replied, ¡°Back then, I never thought that an unassuming student from Astral-10 would actually reach the heights that he has now.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Everything is variable. Ever since he stepped into the universe, this universe was fated to change. However, nobody could have expected it to happen so fast, and the Outerverse has actually be a battlefield between the two of us.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to care too much about others,¡± Angiemented.

    Wei Rong took a deep breath. ¡°Many have stood at the peak, but they were destined only to fall and never climb up again. There is limited space at the top, and there are only a few people who are able to continue climbing upwards. Those who are truly capable of standing at the top are only Lu Yin and me.

    ¡°I initially thought that I was the sole trailzer along this path, but it turns out that he was treading it even earlier than me. This person is very difficult to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Has the Dark Phoenix family really agreed to cooperate with you?¡± Angie asked.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°They have to work with me. How else can they move against Lu Yin from such a vast distance? Taylor Phoenix was the Dark Phoenix patriarch¡¯s favorite son, and he was also ranked fourteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. The hopes of the Dark Phoenix family were all pinned on him, and now that he was killed by Lu Yin¡¯s hands, the entire Dark Phoenix family must be going crazy.¡±

    ¡°Was Taylor really killed by Lu Yin?¡± Angie asked.

    ¡°Does it even matter anymore? The important thing is that their heir died, which means that someone has to assume responsibility for his death. It¡¯s either Sall Phoenix, Millions City, or Lu Yin. So who do you think is the most appropriate scapegoat?¡± Wei Rongughed.

    Angie nodded. ¡°Lu Yin is just really unlucky then. He¡¯ll be unquestionably doomed when the Dark Phoenix family moves.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes flickered. Unquestionably doomed? Not necessarily. He still had the Hall of Honor behind him.

    Wei Rong did not know why the Hall of Honor supported Lu Yin so staunchly, but as long as that group intervened, even the Dark Phoenix family would hesitate. Even if the Outerverse was currently isted from the Innerverse, Wei Rong did not believe that the Hall of Honor would fear the Dark Phoenix family one bit. They had concealed their strength too deeply and for too long.

    To gain the upper hand against Lu Yin, Wei Rong would have to make the Hall of Honor abandon him. This would be the most difficult task, but it was not impossible.

    In the corner of the room, Ah Mu looked at Angie, who was being embraced by Wei Rong. He then slowly returned to his own room. He activated his gadget, and a voice was heard from it. ¡°Ah Mu?¡±

    Ah Mu respectfully replied, ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Ah Mu was calling Lu Yin, who had not expected Ah Mu to suddenly contact him. They had shared their contact information when they had coincidentally run into each other on Sourcepeak, but this was the first time they had actually talked since then.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Even through the gadget, Ah Mu¡¯s voice was tinged with a deep exhaustion and mncholy. ¡°I wish to make a deal with Seventh Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Continue.¡±

    ¡°Wei Rong has contacted the Dark Phoenix family, and they n to use Armament Weave as a springboard tounch a war to invade the Great Eastern Alliance,¡± Ah Mu said.

    Lu Yin was astonished. He had expected Wei Rong to approach the Dark Phoenix family for cooperation, but he had never thought that Wei Rong would move this fast.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that. Wei Rong also wanted to use pirates to infiltrate the Great Eastern Alliance and gather information, but recently, some huge changes took ce within the piratemunity. He gave up on them and even ordered the central weaves¡¯ pirates to be driven out¡­¡± Ah Mu informed Lu Yin of many matters while Lu Yin silently listened on.

    More than ten minutes passed before Ah Mu stopped speaking.

    After Ah Mu finished, Lu Yin calmly responded, ¡°I got it. So, what is it that you want for telling me all of this?¡±

    Ah Mu apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Seventh Bro. You helped me out on Gigastar, and you even rescued me. I really shouldn¡¯t be trying to make a deal with you. It should be a given that, after all that, I would tell you all this. However, I really don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    ¡°You already warned me to leave Sourcepeak before anything happened, and the favor you owed me from Gigastar was repaid in full with that. Tell me, what is it you want?¡± Lu Yin said gently.

    Ah Mu fell silent for a moment and then seriously answered, ¡°Angie.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°The Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress? That Angie?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I wish to obtain Angie. Seventh Bro, please help me.¡± Ah Mu emotionally shared his desire with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You like Angie?¡±

    ¡°Ever since I was young.¡± Ah Mu¡¯s voice was downcast. ¡°But now, she¡¯s being embraced by Wei Rong, and I can¡¯t take it. Seventh Bro, please help me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, I can promise you this: as long as Wei Rong can be dealt with, Angie will be yours.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Seventh Bro.¡± Ah Mu was delighted.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°Are you so certain that I can help you get Angie? What if I fail?¡±

    Ah Mu answered with conviction, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Wei Rong has never treated anyone as seriously as he does you, and it¡¯s actually slightly confusing. Seventh Bro, you¡¯ll definitely be able to unite the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled at Ah Mu and then ended the call. Ah Mu was extremely confident in Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, and there was a saying that the worst enemy was someone who truly understood themselves. Wei Rong¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had influenced Ah Mu, and Lu Yin had to pay attention to this. He definitely could not allow himself to be confused. Otherwise, not only would Lu Yin himself fall into chaos, but the same fate would befall his followers as well.

    Ah Mu had given Lu Yin a great deal of information, as everything that he had said were secrets that Wei Rong had shared with the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. Lu Yin had paid particr attention to the information regarding the pirates, as this showed just how wary Wei Rong was of Lu Yin.

    Just because the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s people had lost contact, Wei Rong had decisively abandoned the pirates. This person¡¯s thinking was too meticulous.

    Lu Yin quickly called Thousand Eyes and had the pirate captain order his people to go into hiding. In the near future, the central weaves would put great effort towards driving all of the pirates in their territories out, and the pirates would not have an easy time.

    After ending his call with Thousand Eyes, Lu Yin received a message from Wendy Yushan.

    Lu Yin leaped to his feet upon seeing this. Wendy Yushan and Ku Wei had vanished for a period of time, and Lu Yin had sent out people to search for them ever since they had disappeared. However, he hadn¡¯t expected one of them to suddenly call him.

    The message was very simple, as it was just a set of coordinates.

    Lu Yin immediately called Wendy, and her clear voice responded from his gadget. ¡°Meet me at that location.¡±

    ¡°Where are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m at the coordinates that I sent you,¡± Wendy Yushan replied.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Ku Wei? Have you guys found any traces of the Yu bloodline?¡± Lu Yin urgently asked.

    Wendy Yushan answered, ¡°You¡¯ll understand everything when you get here. The Yu bloodline still exists, but it also doesn¡¯t.¡±

    She then abruptly ended the call.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget and fell deep into thought. After a moment, he no longer hesitated and input the coordinates that he had received into his spacecraft, heading straight there.

    No matter what, Wendy Yushan was there, and he had to take her back. Even if there was some powerhouse from the Yu bloodline in that ce, he still had to make the trip.

    Truthfully, after facing the energy st from the cannon in Millions City, Lu Yin¡¯s horizons had expanded yet again. More importantly, he had seen Mister Mu extinguish ckless God¡¯s spiritual force with a single palm with his own eyes, which meant that there was likely nobody in the Outerverse who could withstand Mister Mu¡¯s power.

    The coordinates that Lu Yin received from Wendy Yushan corresponded to a location in Frostwave Weave that was not too distant from Zenyu Star, and it was also in the weave¡¯s first fment.

    After a few days of travel, a pale, blue appeared on the screen. This was what Wendy¡¯s coordinates had led Lu Yin to, which meant that she was on this.

    Lu Yin looked over, but there weren¡¯t many rune lines to be seen from the. Did that imply that the Yu bloodline was located somewhere else?

    The native civilization of the pale, blue was still in the feudal ages, and they practically didn¡¯t even have any technology; the natives had not even invented paper yet. Instead, they wrote on bamboo slips.

    Lu Yin asked Cai Jianqiang and Cool Sis to remain aboard the spacecraft, and he only took Yan Yan down with him. He unleashed his domain, and it didn¡¯t take him long to find Wendy. She was in a vige surrounded by several mountains.

    This area had been cut off from the rest of the world, and the civilizations outside the mountains were unable to intrude upon this ce.

    Lu Yin stood atop a mountain as he looked down at the vige. Aside from the rune lines belonging to Wendy Yushan and Ku Wei, there was no other existence that possessed rune lines in this ce.

    Wendy Yushan and Ku Wei had both sensed Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and they appeared in the open.

    Lu Yin led Yan Yan over to them.

    Wendy Yushan had be a bit thinner, though Ku Wei¡¯s smile was still asking for a beating.

    ¡°Bro, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?¡± This was the first thing that Ku Wei said to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked right past Ku Wei and focused on Wendy Yushan. ¡°You don¡¯t look too good.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression wasplex. ¡°This is where the descendents of the Yu bloodline are.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished.

    Ku Wei again asked, ¡°Bro, which do you want to hear first?¡±

    ¡°The good news.¡±

    Ku Wei smiled. ¡°Nobody will try to take the Great Yu Empire from you. The Yu bloodline still exists. The Great Yu Empire really was established and built up by them, and that sourcebox array was even created by them, but their bloodline has grown weak. Now, aside from a half-dead old man, most of the family members have never even left this, and the family haspletely fallen apart.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Then what¡¯s the bad news?¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s face turned solemn. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to obtain any help from your inws.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin waspletely lost.

    Ku Wei pouted, and then looked over at Wendy Yushan. ¡°When you eventually marry her, won¡¯t the Yu bloodline be your inws? It¡¯s a pity that they won¡¯t be able to help you, so isn¡¯t that bad news?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as he had thought that Ku Wei would say something about Undying Yushan.

    The fall of the Yu bloodline indeed allowed him to rx, but they could not havepletely fallen, right? He looked back at Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan walked back into the vige, and they soon arrived outside the centermost thatched cottage. ¡°Elder, Lu Yin is here.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and looked at the cottage. Elder? The person inside should be one of the Yu bloodline¡¯s elders, but this person actually had no rune lines.

    ¡°Bring him in,¡± an aged voice called out.

    Lu Yin followed Wendy Yushan into the cottage, though Ku Wei and Yan Yan waited outside.

    It was very musty inside, and the cottage was furnished extremely simply, as there was only a wooden bed and some basic furniture. A wizened elder sat on the bed, and at first nce, Lu Yin even thought he was a dried corpse. The ancient man¡¯s eyes were murky but shoen with experience. He really looked to be half-dead, and his body even emitted a cold air.

    Could the old fellow that Ku Wei had been referring to be this old man?

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to the elder,¡± Lu Yin greeted the old man respectfully.

    The wizened elder studied Lu Yin and then nodded in satisfaction. ¡°You are very outstanding, and you are alsopatible with Wendy.¡±

    Wendy Yushan lowered her head, but she did not speak.

    Lu Yin nced at her. ¡°Elder is mistaken. Junior and Wendy are friends and also family.¡±

    The elder hoarsely said, ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve only cultivated for a bit over seven years.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Junior has indeed cultivated for just over seven years.¡±

    The elder marvelled at this. ¡°In a little over seven years, you have cultivated to such a high realm and have even surpassed those of your generation. Your talent can evenpare to the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost. The Cosmic Five? What is that?

    He looked over at Wendy Yushan, but it seemed like this was also her first time hearing this term. ¡°Elder, who are the Cosmic Five?¡±

 Chapter 806: The Cosmic Five

    <h4>Chapter 806: The Cosmic Five</h4>

    The ancient man let out a deep breath, and his eyes misted over as he started reminiscing about old memories. He then finally slowly said, ¡°This universe is not as simple as it looks. When the Sixth Maind invades, they will be the ones at a disadvantage. You guys have experienced the Outerverse and Innerverse, but the true strength of this universe lies within the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin silently listened to the old man. Just this first part told him that Wendy Yushan must have already told this Yu family elder about them visiting the Daosource Sect and what they had learned from that ce. Thus, this old man had to know that Lu Yin had also entered the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    ¡°In the ancient Daosource Sect, there once existed nine mountains and eight seas. Some timeter, five of the mountains and five of the seas were moved to the Neoverse by senior powerhouses with their unbelievable power. They moved them to the Neoverse to search for proper inheritors. In order to avoid the Sixth Maind¡¯s attention, they named those likely inheritors as the Cosmic Children and the five mountains and seas as the ¡®Astral Tower.'' Those people are known as the Cosmic Five.¡± The elder then looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°One must be a part of the younger generation to be one of the Children of Stars, as they must not have finalized their form of cultivation yet. Only those of the younger generation are able to inherit the Astral Tower, which has been passed down through the generations. They are the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. Cosmic Five. So they are those who have received an inheritance from the mountains and seas.

    It seemed that these five youths were the top elites of the Neoverse¡¯s younger generation, which indicated that they were the Neoverse¡¯s equivalent to the Outerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings and Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°This universe has undergone vast changes, especially with the appearance of the formcast model. In the past, the Cosmic Five towered at the peak, but now, the truth is anyone¡¯s guess. I¡¯ve already heard of the existence of these Ten Arbiters. Your generation is very wondrous.¡± The elder sighed before continuing, saying, ¡°Little fellow, you have a great deal of potential, but not enough fate since you¡¯ve been trapped in the Outerverse. Even if you are able to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, so what? The positions of the Cosmic Five have to bepeted for. It¡¯s possible that thepetition for the Cosmic Five of your generation hasn¡¯t started yet, but it¡¯s a pity that you won¡¯t be able to participate.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully asked, ¡°Senior, Junior has always felt confused about something. Why did the Yu bloodline betray the Seven Courts?¡±

    The elder looked puzzled. ¡°Betrayed? When?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, and he looked over at Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan exined, ¡°The Yu bloodline never betrayed the Seven Courts. We were told this by Ku Wei, and there was indeed a conflict in the past. The Yu family left the Neoverse with the intention ofing to the Outerverse and shunning the universe, but they ended up being pursued.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at the elder.

    The elder sighed. ¡°Shaman God, who is one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods, chased after my Yu bloodline and caused our patriarch and many of our descendants to be wounded or killed in the process. Only a few people managed to survive the trip to the Outerverse, and our inheritance was severed. I was heavily injured because of these events, and so, I hastily created that sourcebox array and cryopreserved myself while everything else was done by the other surviving members.¡±

    Lu Yin never thought that the truth would be something like this. He had previously believed that the Yu family had been chased out of the Seven Courts, and this situation was actually quite simr to what he had discovered about the Y¨­u family when he had Possessed that Specter n member. The Y¨­u family had deceived everyone, which was why their true descendants avoided the Seven Courts. In contrast, the Yu family had truly fallen far from grace.

    The elder¡¯s age was too great, and he went back to sleep after speaking just a few sentences. He then returned to cryostasis and fell back beneath the ground while Lu Yin watched on.

    Wendy Yushan quietly said, ¡°The elder held out until now just to see you. Otherwise, he would have long since returned to cryostasis by himself.¡±

    ¡°How did you guys find this ce?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    ¡°Ah, that was me! I found it,¡± Ku Wei called out from outside as the youth pushed the door open. ¡°The Seven Courts made their own vows back then, and there¡¯s a certain attraction between our bloodlines, so I was naturally able to find this ce.¡±

    ¡°If you were able to find it, then why hasn¡¯t anyone else found them even after looking for so many years?¡±

    Lu Yin did not believe Ku Wei, but the only reply he got was an eye roll. ¡°Nonsense. The attraction between bloodlines requires willingness from both parties. How else do you think your woman became so skinny? It¡¯s because she¡¯s lost too much blood.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished by this reveal, and he turned to look at Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s easy to die during the process of initiating attraction if one¡¯s cultivation is too low.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood why no one else had been able to find the remnants of the Yu family. Aside from Undying Yushan and Wendy Yushan, no one else from the Yu family would have been able to use the bloodline attraction.

    ¡°Right, then what about your father?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Ku Wei sniggered. ¡°Bro, there¡¯s another bit of good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?¡±

    ¡°The good news,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Let me tell you the bad news first. Undying Yushan went against the Yu ancestors¡¯ orders and roamed about the Innerverse, and as a result, the Yu family has long since struck him from the family registry. This also means that the Great Yu Empire has been abandoned by the Yu family,¡± Ku Wei said.

    ¡°What¡¯s so bad about this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei replied, ¡°There¡¯s no way to prove whether Undying Yushan is dead or alive, so isn¡¯t that bad news?¡±

    ¡°Then what about the good news?¡±

    ¡°Since there¡¯s no way to determine Undying Yushan¡¯s status, then that¡¯s the good news.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched a fist, as he wanted to smack someone.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, beat him! Beat him to death!¡± the Ghost Monkey cried out.

    Wendy Yushan filled him in on a bit more information. ¡°My father went to the Innerverse by himself back then, but his actions there caused quite a few people from the Starfall Sea toe to Frostwave Weave. It was at that time that the Yu familypletely severed its interactions with the Great Yu Empire, as they wanted to prevent the Neohuman Alliance from bing aware of their existence. After so many years have passed, they haven¡¯t heard any news about Father, and they also never verified his death. ording to that elder, Father is most likely dead, simply because the Neohuman Alliance rarely fails at their tasks when they move.¡±

    ¡°Rarely fails? Seventh Bro, the Neohuman Alliance rarely wins when they¡¯re against you, right?¡± the monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, as the main evidence supporting the theory that Undying Yushan might still be alive had been the sourcebox array at the imperial pce and the possibility that the emperor might have cultivated the Undying Manual. Now that the sourcebox array was confirmed to have been set up by this Yu family elder, it seemed that Undying Yushan was most likely dead if he had not cultivated the Undying Manual.

    But even if he had cultivated that technique, there was still nothing that could be known or proven.

    Fortunately, the Yu family would not make things difficult for Lu Yin, and that was definitely good news.

    However, he had also inadvertently learned about these Cosmic Five, and he believed that these five youths could definitely rival the Daosource Three Skies. However, then what about the Ten Arbiters? They probably surpassed the Realmlings, and thus, their strength likelyy somewhere between that of the Cosmic Five and the Daosource Three Skies, but it was also quite likely that they were hiding secrets of their own.

    The Yu elder had mentioned that the universe had been transformed and that the existence of the Ten Arbiters was an ident. As for how far this ident extended, nobody knew.

    If things were truly as the elder had mentioned, then the contest for this generation¡¯s Cosmic Five had not begun yet.

    The elder had also mentioned that this universe was not as simple as it appeared and that the Sixth Maind would suffer a disadvantage if they tried to invade the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin did not understand thisment; the Sixth Maind had three Progenitors of their own, so why would they fall to a disadvantage?

    Unless, could this universe have hidden Progenitors who had not died? In that case, they were most likely hidden in the Neoverse.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back,¡± Lu Yin said to Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan nodded, but then she looked around the tiny vige in sorrow. ¡°This is our arcadia. If the remnants of the Yu bloodline can live here peacefully, then their life must be pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Did the elder tell you why they initially left the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. ¡°No.¡±

    Ku Wei moved closer, showing a toothy grin. ¡°Bro, I have a bit of good news, and an even better piece of news. Which do you want to hear first?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at him with cold eyes. ¡°If you continue to talk to me like that, I¡¯ll have to teach you how to be a better person.¡±

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t even crack jokes with you. Forget it, I¡¯ll just tell you. The good news is that Brother Wei has gained the Yu family¡¯s opportunity to enter Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°The Yu family just gave it to you?¡±

    Ku Wei nodded excitedly.

    Lu Yin looked over towards Wendy Yushan.

    Wendy Yushan quietly exined, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Our family has no more connection to the Seven Courts any longer. He¡¯s already promised not to reveal this location, and the elder gave our opportunity to him.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Congrattions, but you can¡¯t get to the Neoverse.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s lips twisted, and he stubbornly said, ¡°There should be a way! Brother Wei doesn¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t get back there. At worst, I¡¯ll just take a detour.¡±

    ¡°A detour?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed.

    Ku Wei replied, ¡°I can cut through the Technocracy to get into the Starfall Sea, as those two regions border each other. I should be able to get back from there.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. The Technocracy?

    He had heard of this ce before, and he only knew that it was rumored that the entire territory waspletely monitored. Anyone who entered that ce would be discovered, and it was not very realistic to return to the Innerverse through that ce.

    At regr intervals, there were human powerhouses who would storm into the Technocracy and investigate the situation within this region, but they were all Envoys at the very least. Lu Yin and the others were still too weak.

    Furthermore, the Starfall Sea was currently at war, and there were most likely powerhouses from the Sixth Maind in the Technocracy as well. Taking such a detour would just be asking for death.

    Ku Wei moved closer. ¡°Brother Lu, Brother Wei has decided to wait for a decade. If the Astral River¡¯s connection has not been restored by then, then I¡¯ll take the detour through the Technocracy. However, a decade is very long, and that¡¯s a lot of time to kill. Brother Wei will give you a chance to recruit an expert, so why don¡¯t you give Brother Wei a part-time job in the Great Yu Empire? Brother Wei promises not to be corrupted!¡±

    Lu Yin felt strange. ¡°You want a position in the Great Yu Empire?¡±

    Ku Wei nodded helplessly. ¡°I have no choice. There¡¯s nothing else to do¡ªthere¡¯s nowhere else really worth exploring in the Outerverse, and the Astral Wilderness is too dangerous. Thus, I can only cast my lot in with you. Speaking of which, your ambition doesn¡¯t seem too small, so this should be fun.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and then said, ¡°The position of the Tenth Squadron¡¯s captain is vacant, so you can fill in there for now.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Ku Wei was very happy with this offer. ¡°I¡¯m an officer now, hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. Given Ku Wei¡¯s strength, he definitely qualified to be a captain. He was just an Explorer, but his strength rivaled a Hunter¡¯s. More importantly, Lu Yin wanted to keep an eye on Ku Wei, and he wanted to see exactly what this person was trying to do.

    There were definitely still other people from the Ku family hiding in the Outerverse, so if Ku Wei helped Lu Yin, then that would be quite therge helping hand.

    Based on his interactions with Ku Wei, Lu Yin could sense that the Court of Seven Names waspletely different from the Neohuman Alliance. As Ku Wei had said, they had only united for Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, and they were not actually evil.

    This person wanted to join the Great Yu Empire, and it was possible that he was just following the Ku family¡¯s arrangements. Even if Lu Yin did not agree to give Ku Wei a government position, the youth would stillze about in the Great Yu Empire, so Lu Yin might as well agree.

    Lu Yin did not disturb the remnants of the Yu bloodline anymore, and he led their small group back to the spacecraft as they all returned to Zenyu Star.

    During their trip back, he enquired about the matter of Shaman God, but Wendy Yushan did not know anything as the elder had not said much about that. The elder had lived for far too long, and his memories had be a little murky.

    This Shaman God must have been terrifyingly powerful if they had massacred the Yu family.

    ¡°Since the Yu family did not betray the Seven Courts, and this Shaman God chased after the Yu family, then why wasn¡¯t there some sort of retaliation from the Seven Courts?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nced at him, and duly responded, ¡°Even if you ask me, who should I ask?¡±

    Lu Yin choked on his words, as that was indeed true. Wendy Yushan did not know much more than him.

    ¡°Right, why was that elder waiting for me?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled by this.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression became a bit awkward, and she turned around. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, but this woman¡¯s temper seemed to have be even worse. She didn¡¯t seem as detached as before, but she had be a little more entric, and it made it even harder to understand her.

 Chapter 807: Suppress

    <h4>Chapter 807: Suppress</h4>

    Midway through their journey to Zenyu Star, Cai Jianqiang left to head toward Hydrotink. He expressed his gratitude once again to Lu Yin before leaving. Despite not knowing where this overpowering sense of gratitude came from, Cai Jianqiang could not control it.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of pulling this person into the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons as another captain. If he seeded, then the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ strength would bepletely replenished.

    Cool Sis and Ku Wei had both joined, so currently, only the Second and Thirteenth Squadrons were still captainless. Phantom Sting had died and Liuying Zishan had be the Allied Forces Commander, so he needed to seek new people to fill thesest holes.

    He already had someone in mind to be the Second Squadron¡¯s captain: Smoker. However, Lu Yin was not confident in being able to recruit that old assassin.

    As soon as he returned to Zenyu Star, the first thing Lu Yin did was visit the Enlighter who had been sent over by the Hall of Honor: Akira.

    Akira had been staying within the mountains thaty on the outskirts of Zenyu Star¡¯s capital city, and he had sealed off the area with star energy so that nobody could approach.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Akira hurriedly greeted the youth while exhibiting an exceptionally respectful attitude. It seemed that Elder Lohar must have informed his disciple about Lu Yin possessing the blood-red bell.

    ¡°Has Senior be ustomed to living here yet? Please share any requests if you would like anything, and Junior will get someone to take care of it,¡± Lu Yin offered courteously.

    Akira smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s very good here.¡±

    The two chatted a while, but Akira hesitated a few times during their conversation.

    Lu Yin could tell from the Enlighter¡¯s eyes that he wanted to see the blood-red bell. The fact that Elder Lohar had directly sent this person to Zenyu Star indicated that the Hall of Honor elder must have some intentions of verifying whether the bell was true or fake. Although Lu Yin had shaken the bell and countless people had heard it, Elder Lohar must still want a Hall of Honor personnel to check the bell. This was the only way he would feel reassured without seeing the bell for himself.

    Lu Yin retrieved the blood-red bell from his cosmic ring. ¡°Senior, do you recognize this?¡±

    Akira looked at the blood-red bell, and his pupils abruptly shrank as his expression became very respectful. ¡°This- this is it, definitely.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°Senior recognizes this?¡±

    Akira hurriedly said, ¡°I ask that Alliance Leader Lu to please keep it safe.¡¯

    Lu Yin put it away and then looked at Akira. ¡°Senior, what is it? The person who passed it to me didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Akira replied, ¡°If that person didn¡¯t say anything, then that is more than sufficient reason for me not to say anything either.¡± He then looked at Lu Yin with a solemn expression. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this bell must be kept safe, as it will definitely be useful in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin had already learned from Aden that this bell was the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s emblem. That man was a supremely important figure who stood at the top of the universe, and he was not someone who these Enlighters could contact. In Akira¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin¡¯s own status was probably through the roof!

    ¡°Since Senior Akira is unable to easily tell me, then Junior will head out first. If Senior has any requests, please let me know.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Akira respectfully saw Lu Yin out before immediately contacting Elder Lohar. ¡°Master, it¡¯s real.¡±

    Elder Lohar was not surprised. ¡°He shook it once, and everyone within Frostwave Weave felt the Chief Justice¡¯s supreme might, so it must be real. But why does he have it?¡±

    Akira took a guess. ¡°Master, this person has only been cultivating for about seven years, yet he is already so powerful. Could it be...?¡±

    Elder Lohar quickly thought of something. ¡°Are you saying¡­? The Cosmic?¡±

    Akira nodded.

    Elder Lohar inhaled deeply as his face grew solemn. ¡°That¡¯s possible. Alright, there¡¯s no need to keep guessing. No matter what, he has the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, and the Chief Justice must have given it to the youth himself, as no one can possibly take that emblem from the Chief Justice. You must keep his identity secret while also ensuring his safety. We absolutely can not risk being negligent.¡±

    Akira respectfully replied, ¡°I understand, Master.¡±

    After leaving Akira, Lu Yin looked up at the sky. He was walking along a road that he could not turn back on. Once the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, this bell could mark the end of his life.

    Forget it, he would not think about this matter any longer since he could only leave future matters to the future. He still had Mister Mu behind him, and it was difficult to say when the Innerverse and Outerverse would rejoin.

    After returning to Zenyu Star, Lu Yin formally appointed Cool Sis and Ku Wei to their new positions before going back to King Zishan''s pce, where Gavin and the others were already waiting for him.

    Although he had not been away from Zenyu Star for too long, there were still many matters that required his attention.

    Lu Yin spent half a day listening to reports from Gavin, Huan Sha, and others. He settled what he could and then finally saw Bei Qing.

    Bei Qing handed 50,000 star essence over to Lu Yin, which were the profits from the auction.

    Lu Yin took them with a satisfied look on his face. ¡°There weren''t any mishaps, right?¡±

    Bei Qing respectfully answered, ¡°No sir, everything went smoothly. Nobody dared to make a scene on Zenyu Star.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°How¡¯s the investigation going regarding the pyrolyte seller?¡±

    Bei Qing replied, ¡°This is precisely the matter that I wanted to report to Your Highness. We have determined the origin of the pyrolyte that we received¡ªit was leaked from those Innerverse powers that mined pyrolyte.¡±

    ¡°So it was ill-gotten,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Bei Qing replied, ¡°Currently, all the great powers are required to transport their mined pyrolyte to Ironblood Weave, after which the Hall of Honorpensates them. However, the great powers are not allowed to build up a stash of their own, and trace amounts of pyrolyte trickle out from time to time. They are generally small amounts that the disciples mining the pyrolyte smuggle out. As the quantities are too small, nobody pays attention. For example, the pyrolyte ore that was auctioned this time would produce a few grams of pyrolyte at most after being refined.¡±

    The true value of pyrolyte was in its ability to endlessly scale its power with its quantity. For example, the explosion of 100 grams of pyrolyte had a power level of 1,000,000. Although the actual power of such an explosion could notpare to a powerhouse who also possessed a power level of 1,000,000, the explosion¡¯s overall power would be at the same level, which made it a strategic military resource that was absolutely terrifying.

    Ever since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, the great powers of the Innerverse, such as the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, the First Grade Hall, and so on, had continued mining pyrolyte. However, during the defense of Ironblood Weave, Elder Lohar had discovered the value of pyrolyte and had ordered all pyrolyte to be delivered to Ironblood Weave. None of the great powers of the Innerverse dared to resist the Hall of Honor, they were still helping the Hall of Honor mine the pyrolyte ore even now.

    Lu Yin did not know exactly how much pyrolyte Ironblood Weave had stockpiled at the moment, but because of his auction, he had gained close to five grams of it.

    ¡°Your Highness, what should we do?¡± Bei Qing asked.

    Lu Yin quietly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to release this information. Instead, leak out news that the pyrolyte offered in the previous auction was obtained before the Outerverse¡¯s istion. It was coincidentally obtained by someone roaming the Astral Wilderness more than two years ago, and it has no connection to the present mining operation in the Astral Wilderness. Go and contact the person who sold the pyrolyte and have someone make a deal with him. I want their entire pyrolyte stash, and we¡¯ll base the price off of how much the pyrolyte sold for in the auction price.¡±

    ¡°Based off of the auctioned price? Then the price will be very excessive,¡± Bei Qing eximed.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°If the money is not enough, then those disciples will desperately continue to hide pyrolyte. This pyrolyte is more important than money.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Bei Qing acknowledged his orders.

    ¡°Remember, do not reveal our identity. We definitely cannot provide the Hall of Honor with any information that could be used against us,¡± Lu Yin solemnly emphasized. Although he could basically do as he wished with his current status, he still had to maintain a low-profile and could not grantly break the rules that had been set in ce. Otherwise, if the Hall of Honor¡¯s prestige fell even further, then Lu Yin would actually be the one to suffer despite the Hall of Honor not holding the same status that it had in the past.

    ¡°I understand, Your Highness. Also, when should we hold the next auction?¡± Bei Qing asked.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Hold on for a while. Thisst auction should have attracted quite a few clients, so I¡¯ll pass you some more treasures in a while.¡±

    Bei Qing was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    The battle at Millions City was the only notable piece of news in recent days, and aside from that incident, the Outerverse had been very calm.

    Lu Yin calcted the time and realized that it had been about six months since he had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins. He decided to first find another escape tool like the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s flesh before his next visit. He had to obtain the battle technique of the Nine Cauldrons. If the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ nine battle techniques could be merged into one, then it would be unrivaled; these thoughts continually pushed him onwards.

    He did not know how the war in the Innerverse was proceeding. The Sixth Maind had said that their Progenitors would act, but the Innerverse couldn¡¯t have fallen already!

    The Innerverse was spread throughout the countless flowzones, and each one was separated by the Astral River¡¯s tributaries. When the universe had changed, the Astral River must have also be more vtile, likely isting each flowzone as well. However, that ce was still the Innerverse, and he could not even estimate the strength of the powerhouses living there. They were on apletely different level from the Outerverse.

    The Outerverse was not able to break through the Astral River¡¯s berserk energy, but that did not mean the Innerverse could not.

    When Lu Yin had previously Possessed Tong Chou¡¯s body, Tong Chou had not had any impression of the Innerverse¡¯s various flowzones beingpletely isted. Instead, he had known that the various great powers of the Innerverse had united.

    This showed the difference between the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Lu Yin was a little worried about the Innerverse.

    If the invasion into the Innerverse did not go smoothly, then the Sixth Maind would simply go to another battlefield, which was exactly what Lu Yin had heard with regards to their ns to use the Technocracy as a springboard to invade the Outerverse. At this moment, there was nothing abnormal going on with the Technocracy, but did this mean that their invasion into the Innerverse was going smoothly?

    Lu Yin hoped that the Yu family¡¯s elder was right and that the Sixth Maind would be at a disadvantage in their invasion. Otherwise, once the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, the Outerverse would end up being the one down on its luck.

    ¡°Your Highness, Lord Gavin requests an audience,¡± Kayze reported.

    ¡°Let him in,¡± Lu Yin responded softly.

    Soon, Gavin entered the pce and bowed to Lu Yin, though he had a solemn expression. ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s a situation in the western weaves. Various pharmaceuticalpanies have significantly lowered their prices in a small amount of time.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as someone was taking action against Shamrock Enterprises.

    All this time, the prices for medications in the Outerverse had been controlled by Shamrock Enterprises, and their prices set the industry¡¯s benchmark. Every pharmaceuticalpany had been forced to follow Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ example, which did not allow prices to fluctuate too greatly, and this safeguarded the stability of the market. But now, the prices of pharmaceuticals in the west had suddenly dropped, which meant that Shamrock Enterprises was no longer able to control the market.

    ¡°When did this happen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Not long after you returned,¡± Gavin replied.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and quickly looked up any news concerning Shamrock Enterprises in the western weaves. However, he quickly saw that the various publications there were mainly covering news of Hoffman¡¯s death.

    Hoffman had been the Western Chairman of Shamrock Enterprises, and his death would have a great impact on thepany. Precisely because of his death, there were some people who could not resist testing this financial behemoth.

    ¡°Your Highness, aside from this matter, many spacecraft-manufacturingpanies in the universe have shed the prices of their vessels while raising the prices of various materials,¡± Gavin said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this indicated that not only was Shamrock Enterprises facing difficulties, but also Aurora Enterprises.

    Upgrading an Aurora required materials. A surge in price for raw materials implied that the price for an Aurora would fluctuate drastically while the prices of ordinary vessels would drop. This move was obviously meant to disrupt Aurora Enterprises¡¯ market power.

    Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises were both put under great pressure at the same moment, not to mention what had happened to the Mavis Bank not long ago.

    There had to be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. Otherwise, just the organizations of the Outerverse themselves would not be able to do such a thing, let alone gather the courage to make such a move.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Wei Rong, as he had orchestrated the copse of Sourcepeak, and he had also been the one who had broken up the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, initiating a very bad trend. In that case, could the events this time have also been arranged by the youth?

    Although Lu Yin had such thoughts, it was not too likely, as Wei Rong did not have such overwhelming capabilities.

 Chapter 808: Brave Torrential Progress

    <h4>Chapter 808: Brave Torrential Progress</h4>

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. Regardless of who was actually behind the schemes targeting those three corporate giants, it was none of his business at the moment. Those financial titans were arrogant, and it would also be beneficial for him if they suffered.

    He asked Gavin to pay attention to this matter, as he was interested in seeing how Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises would retaliate.

    He stood up, as it was time for him to head to the maind of the first ring around Zenyu Star.

    Yu Academy was currently recruiting new students, and these prospective students came from not only Frostwave Weave, but also other weaves.

    The current Great Yu Empire stood at the peak of the Outerverse, and Yu Academy was the academy that nurtured the Great Yu Empire¡¯s young elites. Those who entered Yu Academy could learn how to better cultivate, and they might even get the chance to see Lu Yin, which was a prized opportunity for countless youths in the Outerverse.

    Even if there was only a trace opportunity to meet Lu Yin, many people would risk their lives for it. It was just like how Lu Yin had participated in Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam in the past, which he had simply considered an opportunity.

    The first maind ring of Zenyu Star was currently very lively with many spacecraft hovering in outer space above it. Many youths excitedly jumped into the sea and swam towards the nearby coast, which was where the entrance exam was being held. The applicants were allowed to use all sorts of methods, and those that survived till the end would be allowed to join Yu Academy. Yu Academy was recruiting a total of 500 students this time.

    However, there were 1,000,000 applicants participating in this examination.

    Choosing 500 students from 1,000,000 applicants meant that there was a one in 2,000 chance of eptance, and this was also under the premise that the majority of the applicants had already been eliminated. The number of people who had applied had already shattered the record from several years ago, and it had nearly reached 100 million this cycle. The million applicants here had all been carefully selected from the various great weaves, and each one had to have the qualifications to even register. This showed how arduous Yu Academy¡¯s entrance exam had be.

    Lu Yin saw the youths who were fighting for their lives on a screen, and he felt rather nostalgic.

    Back during Earth¡¯s apocalypse, the Seven Sages of China had dominated the sky and had towered far above billions of Earthlings, being known as Sky rank powerhouses. However, such powerhouses might not even qualify to participate in Yu Academy¡¯s entrance exam, which just went to show how stringent the application process was. This academy was the foundation of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s future, and its importance had risen countless times higher after the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s establishment, which had led to the present situation.

    The Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Masters were all Limiteer realm experts, and the hall members were mostly Melders with the rare Sentinel. Those who were qualified to register were practically all Sentinels, and those who had made it to Zenyu Star¡¯s first maind ring had either used formcast models to cultivate or had high power levels. Either way, they hadsted through several elimination rounds to reach this stage.

    ¡°Your Highness, we have arranged for almost 100 Yu Academy students from the maind to join and inconspicuously blend into the applicants. As long as an applicant is able to defeat a Yu Academy member, they will obtain the qualifications to join the Yu Academy in advance. These Yu Academy students are all Melders,¡± Huo Zhong exined as he respectfully stood behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then looked at one of the center screens that was disying Fu Xiaoshu. He hade from Earth, and Lu Yin had some impression of this young man. He had an innate gift of illusions and his cultivation speed was also quite fast, which had allowed him to rise to the level where he was second only to the Hall Masters in strength within the Yu Academy.

    There were dozens of cultivators surrounding Fu Xiaoshu, and there were even three Melders from other weaves. These cultivators all moved against Fu Xiaoshu together, hoping to defeat him.

    But Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s eyes simply flickered before the people surrounding him all fell to the ground, immersed within his illusion.

    The low strength of these applicants meant that their numbers were meaningless against Fu Xiaoshu¡¯s abilities.

    Lu Yin diverted his attention to another screen, which showed another Yu Academy member being surrounded. Between this student¡¯s Skybeast w and his star energy control, he easily defeated two Melders who had teamed up before proudly moving on.

    The cultivators participating in this entrance exam were all elite disciples from various powers of multiple weaves, and their power levels roughly matched up to the standard Yu Academy student of a few years ago. In fact, some of the applicants even surpassed that old standard, and they would have been able to go against the Hall Masters of that time.

    However, the current Yu Academy was apletely different cepared to a few years ago. In the past, there had only been a few Melder realm students, but that had been before Schutz had returned from training in the Innerverse. He had spent several years guiding the Yu Academy students, and with the additions of Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, Ah Fan, and the others, the overall strength of Yu Academy had increased tremendously. Yu Academy had already surpassed the confines of the Outerverse¡¯s standards.

    Of course, there were also experts among the examination applicants who were able topete with the ordinary Yu Academy students.

    Lu Yin checked the other screens with interest and saw that Huo Xiaoling was actually among the students. This kid was actually already a Limiteer, but she had still gone there to join in on the fun.

    Huo Zhong saw Lu Yin¡¯s attention drift towards Huo Xiaoling, and he awkwardly said, ¡°She said that she¡¯s been too bored staying at home, so she wanted to go out for a walk.¡±

    As he uttered those words, the screen disyed the descent of Huo Xiaoling¡¯s fire phoenix, which incinerated the area a thousand meters radius around her and forced countless applicants to silently retreat.

    Lu Yinughed, but he did not stop anything. Luck was also a part of cultivation, and these people were simply unlucky to have met Huo Xiaoling. There was no one they could me. Back during Earth¡¯s trial, Lu Yin had run into the Daynight n¡¯s Nightking Qingyu, but he had still managed to rise to his current position.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Schutz?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huo Zhong replied, ¡°He¡¯s close to breaking through and bing an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised to hear that Schutz was about to break through, though it was true that he had been a Limiteer for too long. Since he had trained at Astral-10, he should have broken through long ago. However, after he broke through to the Explorer realm, one of the Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Master positions would be vacant.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin looked back at Huo Xiaoling. ¡°After Schutz breaks through to the Explorer realm, let Huo Xiaoling inherit his position of Hall Master.¡±

    Huo Zhong was delighted at this news. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused by the man¡¯s reaction. ¡°Why are you thanking me? This isn¡¯t favoritism¡ªshe¡¯s earned the position based on nothing more than her own strength.¡±

    Huo Zhong immediately agreed.

    Lu Yin left after a short while. Although the people at the academy were all about the same age as him, and there were even some who were a bit older, their world view waspletely different. Lu Yin held no further interest in watching their entrance exam.

    Yu Academy had true geniuses among its students, especially the batch of cultivators from Earth. Fu Xiaoshu hadprehended a domain, Song Shi hadprehended battle force, and those like Zhen Tong or Qin Xuan possessed powerful innate gifts. It seemed that Yu Academy would churn out quite a few more experts in the future.

    Seeing some people from Earth suddenly reminded Lu Yin of Jupiter, which was a thorn that had been lodged in his heart from start to end. The secrets still hidden within that might answer a great deal of his questions, but he could not enter.

    Depressing.

    ***

    In Frostwave Weave, there was a dark-red located slightly west of the weave¡¯s center. This constantly spewed smoke and poisonous gases out into the atmosphere while boilingva seeped out to the surface. This waspletely uninhabitable, and no living creature was able to survive here.

    But then, suddenly, a spacecraft appeared above the atmosphere. It was jerking oddly as it quickly fell to the ground before finally crashing into theva and causing a minor surge. Everything within 10,000 meters of thending site disintegrated.

    ck smoke floated out of the spacecraft, and it was clearly damaged.

    Many people wearing universal armor walked out of the spacecraft, and they moved towards the damaged section of the vessel. Following them, a middle-aged man emerged from the ship without a set of universal armor. Since he could survive in this harsh environment on his own, the man was clearly at least at the Explorer realm.

    The middle-aged man casually waved a hand, unleashing a gale that swept aside all of the surroundingva, and the shockwave shot into the distance where it eventually decapitated a ck mountain.

    ¡°Chief, there¡¯s no signs of any life on this,¡± a voice called out from the middle-aged man¡¯s gadget.

    ¡°Got it. Repair the spacecraft quickly, as we still have to head out for our mission,¡± he replied.

    ¡°Yes, chief.¡±

    The spacecraft was huge, and it carried more than 1,000 people. They were not upset about the spacecraft being damaged. While the ship was being repaired, everyone simply cultivated, rested, or went to one of the bars inside the vessel to have a good time.

    These people were the Ordnance Mercenaries, the most famous mercenaries in the Great Yu Empire. The deputy captain was the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Eight Squadron, Shalosh. Within the Great Yu Empire, these people could roam about freely and unobstructed.

    Within one of the bars, a tall, beautiful woman with a whip danced around a pole with ck heels, and all the people in the bar were whistling and shouting excitedly.

    Seated at the bar, Ian frowned, as he did not enjoy this sort of environment. He had been with the Ordnance Mercenaries for several years by now, but he had never fully integrated, especially since this particr woman practically went insane at times.

    The beautifuldy finished dancing to the song, and the crowd kept cheering. Sheshed her whip and danced wildly, hitting quite a few people, but the crowd only grew even more excited.

    ¡°Scram, you bunch of wolves!¡± the woman shouted.

    The crowd cheered even more resoundingly.

    Not long after, the woman walked over next to Ian, embracing Ian¡¯s shoulders. The heavy smell of alcohol still hung about her lips. ¡°Little Ian,e and have a dance with me.¡±

    Ian was helpless. ¡°Sister Dana, you head on by yourself. I don¡¯t know how.¡±

    The woman was Dana, and she was the daughter of the Ordnance Mercenaries¡¯ leader, Qi Jin. Back on Zenyu Star, this woman was the one who had brought Ian into the Ordnance Mercenaries. Although she frequently bullied this elite youth, she had also taken good care of him. If not for Dana, Ian would have died during their previous mission.

    Although Ian was notfortable with how Dana interacted with him, he still felt genuinely grateful towards her. Of course, there were also a few other feelings that he could not quite put into words.

    Dana rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s already been a few years, but you¡¯re still the same. Don¡¯t worry, Sis will take care of you, hmph!¡±

    She then made her way over towards the dance floor where she proceeded to crazily twist her body about.

    Ian felt helpless. He rubbed his head and then walked out of the bar. After thinking for a moment, he donned his universal armor, having decided to head out for a stroll.

    There were manys in this region of the universe that werepletely vacant. Without any water or oxygen and often with deadly gases pervading the air, theses felt more like some kind of strange hell. Ian had seen too many ces like this.

    Over the span of several years, he had gone from being the top student in the Imperial Military Academy to a seasoned mercenary. Sometimes, he even thought that if he had possessed such battle experience back in that trial on Earth, he wouldn¡¯t have lost to the Royal Regent!

    He walked across the scorching dark red surface and looked off into the distance. There was a giant, fiery tornado that connected the sky and the ground, and it snarled as it whirled over.

    From behind, Qi Jin appeared and casually waved a hand. The tornado was torn apart, and the powerful gale from the captain¡¯s hand had already sent theva on the ground flying away.

    ¡°Still not used to this?¡± Qi Jin asked Ian.

    Ian smiled. ¡°Just feel a little stifled.¡±

    Qi Jinmented, ¡°Mercenaries and troops are different, with soldiers having scatteredbat. Although mercenaries have richer battle experience, they have no discipline, which is theplete opposite of the education that you received.¡±

    Ian mentioned, ¡°The discipline of our mercenaries is pretty decent.¡±

    Qi Jin patted Ian¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve watched your performance these past few years, and you were a top student in military affairs. It¡¯s a waste for you to stay here in a mercenary group. I¡¯ll find some time to speak to Shalosh¡ªit¡¯s time to send you to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.¡±

    Ian¡¯s eyes lit up, but when he thought of Dana, his emotions became all tangled. He did not want to separate from that splendid big sister of his.

    Dana had already be an integral part of his life, and he lowered his head to ponder his situation. Suddenly, his gaze trembled as he stared at the ground in shock. There was a strange mark right where he was staring.

    This mark¡­ He bent down and carefully blew the surrounding ash away before studying the mark intensely. After a while, he turned around to check in all directions. It seemed as though he had discovered something.

    Qi Jin felt that something was strange, but he did not give it much thought. During Ian¡¯s years as a part of the mercenaries, although he hadn¡¯t made any great contributions during conflicts and battles, he had provided some pretty good suggestions at times, especially in situations against multiple enemies. Many of his suggestions could lead to extraordinary effects, which amply demonstrated his military talent.

 Chapter 809: Enemy Troops

    <h4>Chapter 809: Enemy Troops</h4>

    After observing his surroundings for a while, Ian¡¯s face turned solemn as he stared off into the distance. ¡°Captain, can you help me look at the nearby area?¡±

    Qijin did not inquire further, and he simply took Ian along as he flew along. Ian had already be a Limiteer and had the power level to destroy an ordinary, so if he was asking forpany, then it meant that there were probably enemies nearby.

    Qijin told his troops to stay alert.

    Ian spent over an hour looking around. Finally, with a serious look on his face, he looked at Qijin. ¡°Captain, I would like to talk with deputy captain Shalosh.¡±

    In King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin opened his gadget, and Shalosh¡¯s image appeared on the screen. ¡°Your Highness, the Ordnance Mercenaries may have discovered other troops hidden within Frostwave Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked.

    Without any hesitation, he immediately sent the Rapid Response Team over to the uninhabited where the Ordnance Mercenaries hadnded for emergency repairs.

    The members of the Rapid Response Team had been personally handpicked after the summit talks between Lu Yin and the various heads of the different allied powers in the Great Eastern Alliance. This team travelled around in a radiant-grade Aurora so that they couldplete their tasks in the shortest amount of time possible. There were 113 people in the Rapid Response Team, which consisted of one hundred Explorers, ten Cruisers, and three Hunters.

    This squadron was the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s special forces, and this was the first time Lu Yin had mobilized them.

    The three hunters had all been independent cultivators, and there were only two people who could give them orders: Lu Yin and themander of the Allied Forces, Luying Zishan.

    ***

    On the deste, Ian spoke in a low voice. ¡°Captain, it¡¯s possible that we¡¯re being watched right now, so let¡¯s put on a bit of a show to avoid being wiped out.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain that there are enemies here?¡± Qijin asked. Shalosh had already contacted the Royal Regent. If it turned out that there were no enemies, things would be very humiliating, and even worse, it would attract the Royal Regent¡¯s attention.

    Ian replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if there are any still here, but they were definitely here earlier.¡±

    Qijin¡¯s heart sank. ¡°How long ago?¡±

    Somewhat uncertainly, Ian said, ¡°Around ten days ago.¡±

    Qijin heaved a sigh of relief. It would not look too bad if enemies had indeed been on this around ten days ago.

    Qijinmanded the Ordnance Mercenaries to act as though they were looking for minerals in the surrounding region, as he intended to use this ruse to confuse any enemies that might still be in the area.

    Far away from the mercenaries, deep underground, there was a huge open space. There were a hundred thousand soldiers in this space. Ian was right¡ªthere were indeed enemy forces nearby.

    ¡°General, shall we destroy them?¡± In a spacecraft in the subterranean space, a middle-aged man was studying a map while listening to a report from his aide-de-camp.

    They had not been monitoring the surface as using any sort of monitoring equipment had a chance of being discovered. Instead, they had used the most primitive observation device: a specially made telescope that specialized in star observation.

    The middle-aged man solemnly replied, ¡°Are these the Ordnance Mercenaries from Frostwave Weave?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t touch them. The deputy captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries is Shalosh, who¡¯s the captain of the Eighth Imperial Squadron. If we wipe out these mercenaries, then Shalosh won¡¯t let the matter rest. He will definitely look into who did it, and that would blow our entire cover,¡± the middle-aged man said.

    The aide-de-camp replied, ¡°Will they discover us?¡±

    The middle-aged man shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. Haven¡¯t we already erased all traces of our arrival from the surface? Even people who have received high level military training wouldn¡¯t be able to discover us, much less some mere mercenaries.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Back on the surface, Ian returned to the spacecraft. Dana rushed over and grabbed Ian. She moved closer to him and drunkenly said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go and have some fun!¡±

    Ian did not know what to do. ¡°Sister Dana, you¡¯re drunk.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk! You won¡¯t be here for much longer anyways. Father said that he¡¯s going to rmend you to the Imperial Thirteen Squadrons. Do you really want to leave?¡± Dana questioned Ian.

    Ian did not know how to respond.

    Dana suddenly vomited all over Ian. Ianughed bitterly, as he was already used to this behavior.

    Ian held Dana as he looked out of the spacecraft, asionally ncing at his personal gadget. He raised his head. Soon, soon.

    Even though Frostwave Weave was massive, the incredible speed of a radiant-grade Aurora made the distance seem much smaller.

    With the appearance of a spacecraft in the sky, Ian heaved a sigh of relief. They had arrived.

    In the underground space, the aide-de-camp¡¯s face changed as he received a new report. ¡°General, something is off.¡±

    Right as he spoke these words, the ground trembled. A mighty force had surged forth and permeated the entire. This was the power of a Hunter.

    The middle-aged general was stunned. ¡°Hurry! Board the spacecraft and prepare for battle!¡±

    However, it was already toote. A powerful Hunter tore through the and suddenly appeared in front of the soldiers. There were only two powerful Cruisers among these troops, and they had no way to fight off a Hunter. The soldiers were quickly defeated, and the general was captured.

    ***

    In front of King Zishan¡¯s pce, Qijin had a nervous expression on his face. As the captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries, he had ovee many adversities, but the person he was about to meet was an absolute legend. Given the captain¡¯s standing, it had been extremely unlikely for him to ever meet such a person, but at this moment, he was really going to meet the Royal Regent, Lu Yin, a legend of the universe.

    Ian stood beside Qijin. He had contributed a great service, and Lu Yin had specifically mentioned that he wanted to meet Ian.

    Ian was feeling rather torn. Back during the trial on Earth, he had been robbed by Lu Yin. Everyone had ridiculed Ian for that, and he had be aughing stock. After that, he had gotten drunk in a bar and vited Dana, which had forced him to join the Ordnance Mercenaries. It could be said that his life hadpletely changed by that single event.

    Before the trial on Earth, he had been the top student of the Imperial Military Academy, the cream of the crop, and a definite shoo-in for Yu Academy. He had had a bright future ahead of him.

    But after the trial, he had be nothing more than an insignificant mercenary.

    In the beginning, Ian had hated Lu Yin. However, as Lu Yin¡¯s reputation grew, especially after the Tournament of the Strongest, where Lu Yin had be a household name, Ian¡¯s feelings towards the youth had changed. At that time, he had even told Dana that not everyone had the chance to battle against a legend.

    He had initially thought that he would never have any more interactions with the man, and he had certainly not expected to meet Lu Yin so soon again. This was the person who had robbed him but was still known as a legend.

    ¡°The captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries, Qijin, pays his respects to His Highness, the Royal Regent.¡± Qijin bowed outside of King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    ¡°Ian of the Ordnance Mercenaries pays his respects to His Highness, the Royal Regent.¡± Ian bowed as well.

    Lu Yin smiled at the two men. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the formalities. Have a seat.¡±

    Qijin looked at Ian as he cautiously sat down.

    ¡°The Ordnance Mercenaries. I¡¯ve heard that name many times before. Deputy Captain Shalosh is the captain of the Eighth Imperial Squadron, and he¡¯s known as a powerful Cruiser even within the scope of the entire Outerverse. How did he join the Ordnance Mercenaries in the past?¡± Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    Qijin respectfully replied, ¡°Shalosh was heavily injured at one point, and the Ordnance Mercenaries were coincidentally in Canopy Weave at the same time. We saved him, and after that, he joined our mercenary group.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Lu Yin acknowledged with a nod. It had been noted in Shalosh¡¯s personal file that he hade from Canopy Weave. Lu Yin spected that Shalosh had most likely been rmended by a powerful figure from Canopy Weave. However, the weave hadter been destroyed by the Neo-Vestige Sect when it had tried to gain control of two weaves. This was something that had happened very long ago, and Shalosh had only inherited some battle techniques. There really was not much of a connection between him and the former powers of Canopy Weave.

    ¡°How did Shalosh join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons?¡± Lu Yin asked, as this was not recorded in the captain¡¯s personal file.

    Qijin responded, ¡°Shalosh took part in the selection of his own ord and was chosen by thete emperor. He then slowly rose up through the ranks to eventually be the captain of the Eighth Squadron.¡±

    Lu Yin finally gained a clearer understanding of this captain. His focus next shifted over to Ian as he smiled gleefully. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw you.¡±

    Ian¡¯s expression changed as he respectfully answered, ¡°Forgive me for offending you in the past, Your Highness.¡±

    Qijin knew that Ian had participated in Earth¡¯s trial in the past and also that the Royal Regent had attended Earth¡¯s trial at that same time. Thus, the two had likely had some sort of interaction at that time.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I remembered robbing you, but I don¡¯t remember you offending me. Why? Were you scolding me behind my back?¡±

    Ian felt ufortable.

    Lu Yin smiled and then gestured for the other youth to sit. He looked at Ian with a sense of astonishment. ¡°Tell me, how did you discover the underground troops? They shouldn¡¯t have left any obvious signs.¡±

    With the topic on, Ian instantly became much more confident, as this was his forte. ¡°No military movement can bepletely traceless. Back in the academy, my learning centered on the anchorage position of spacecraft as well as psychological analysis. These particr courses were rather neglected in the Imperial Military Academy, and almost nobody took them. However, they¡¯re actually very useful. Whenever spacecraftnd on an unknown where the troops are faced with unknown threats, they will always take on a defensive position pointing outwards. Even the captain¡¯s mental state is very important at such times, and all of these details can be used to analyze many things¡­¡±

    Ian spoke for almost five minutes, though Lu Yin did not really understand what the youth was saying. Lu Yin had not received any military training, but he hade to roughly understand a little. Tracking down military troop movements was simr to analyzing a criminal¡¯s psychology, and Ian had applied such analysis techniques towards military affairs, particrly towards the captain of the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered this academic course to be mandatory for graduation, and at the same time, he ordered all the officers of the empire to review the material as well. No matter how much they absorbed, they all would have to study it, as psychology was very important.

    As he looked at Ian, Lu Yin eximed, ¡°You¡¯re pretty good, and leaving you as a mercenary is too wasteful.¡±

    He looked at Qijin. ¡°Captain Qijin, would you mind if I stole a talent from your members?¡±

    Qijin immediately responded, ¡°Being able to receive Your Highness¡¯s attention is Ian¡¯s fortune.¡± He then hurriedly cast a meaningful nce over at Ian.

    Ian stood up. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The Thirteen Squadrons arebat oriented, and with your power level, you won¡¯t be able to have much of an impact. Since that¡¯s the case, you can instead join the Allied Forces of the Great Eastern Alliance and assist Commander Liuying Zishan in handling certain matters. Your status won¡¯t be very high, but your future prospects will be decent. It will all depend on you whether or not you can climb upwards.¡±

    Ian was delighted, as he did not have a strong desire to join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons either. They were essentially the empire¡¯s butcher knife, and it would not have been too different from being a part of the mercenary group. He looked forward to being in a formal military, which was why he had entered the Imperial Military Academy, and the alliance¡¯s Allied Forces were indeed the most suitable ce for him. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. I will not let you down.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then dismissed the two men before summoning the Foreign Affairs Secretary, Hill Auna.

    ¡°We¡¯ve determined the origins of those troops, and theye from Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family. Immediately send out a notice to the Wei family demanding them to hand over the master ns as well aspensate us with 3 million star essence. Otherwise, we will dere war,¡± Lu Yin said sternly.

    Hill Auna was surprised. ¡°3 million star essence? Your Highness, isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡± The taxes collected from the entire Great Yu Empire in one year was around 3 million, and that was an astronomical amount. Forget 3 million¡ª30,000 would already be considered a decent sum. This was still the Outerverse, not the Innerverse.

    However, Lu Yin remained firm, and he made it clear that there was no room for negotiation. ¡°Three million, and not one essence less.¡±

    Hill Auna instantly understood¡ªthe demand forpensation was a farce whereas the deration of war was the real deal. The Royal Regent wanted to wage war, and so Hill Auna didn¡¯t dare to say another word. He simply acknowledged his orders and withdrew.

 Chapter 810: Invasion

    <h4>Chapter 810: Invasion</h4>

    When Ah Mu had informed Lu Yin that Wei Rong was cooperating with the Dark Phoenix family, Lu Yin had wanted to dere war immediately. If he did not start fighting against these people soon, it would be much more difficult for him to resist when more of his enemies united. However, he had not been able to find an excuse to dere war, and he could not unterally attack other powers of his own ord. Even if the universe was a dog-eat-dog world, one still needed a reasonable excuse to wage war, even if the excuse was false.

    However, Lu Yin was not using a fake excuse as the troops that had been discovered were truly from the Wei family. Originally, the Wei family had used these troops to attack Lars Weave¡¯s Six-Fingered Tribe since Frostwave Weave was very close to the Lars Weave. From their position in Frostwave Weave, the military detachment had been able to ambush the Six-Fingered Tribe and inflict heavy damage on them. But after the Great Eastern Alliance was established, this troop had concealed themselves and helped the Wei family to monitor the Great Yu Empire.

    When the Great Eastern Alliance had been established, it had be impossible for the Wei family to send troops into Frostwave Weave any longer. The troops that were hiding on that deste had been hiding there even before the alliance had been established. However, they could be treated as Wei family soldiers who had appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, Ian had discovered this force, and not only had this helped Lu Yin remove the obvious hidden danger, but it had also been a convenient excuse to dere war with. Ian¡¯s contributions this time had been overwhelming, and not even Ian himself was aware of how important his achievement was. Still, due to the education that he had received in the past, he was well qualified to join the Allied Forces and assist Liuying Zishan.

    In Armament Weave, all of the direct members of the Wei family had gathered, and the patriarch, Wei Baichuan, had a solemn expression.

    There were dozens of direct members of the Wei family, and apart from Wei Baichuan¡¯s line, there were also his younger brothers and their descendants. Dozens of people had converged within the ancestral hall, which was only ever used as a meeting ce when something big urred.

    ¡°Patriarch, what happened?¡± someone asked.

    Wei Baichuan solemnly answered, ¡°The Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent Lu Yin has demanded 3 million star essence aspensation from our Wei family.¡±

    Everyone erupted in an uproar. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Patriarch, what is he using to demandpensation from us?¡±

    ¡­

    Wei Baichuan looked at his younger brother, Wei Dan. ¡°Remember how when we were waging war against the Six-Fingered Tribe ten years ago, there were some ambush troops that you hid within Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Wei Dan¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Did the Great Yu Empire find them?¡±

    Wei Baichuan nodded.

    ¡°But brother, those ambush troops were intended to be used against the Six-Fingered Tribe, and they arepletely unrted to the Great Yu Empire,¡± Wei Dan hurriedly protested.

    Wei Baichuan replied, ¡°Do you think that Lu Yin will believe that? Those soldiers were discovered in Frostwave Weave, and no matter why they were sent there, it¡¯s already enough to use as an excuse to dere war. Lu Yin has demanded 3 million star essence from our Wei family aspensation and also for the master scheme to be handed over.¡±

    Wei Dan¡¯s face turned deathly pale.

    Everyone fell silent, as the troops'' presence was a piece of undeniable evidence that could not be ignored. Even if theypletely denied the existence of those troops, regardless of whether or not they seeded in averting this crisis, they would lose the trust of their soldiers and military by doing so. Nobody would be willing to serve the Wei family anymore, and their losses would be catastrophic.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    Wei Baichuan¡¯s gadget rang, and when he connected to the iing call, Wei Rong appeared on the screen with a solemn expression. ¡°Father, did Lu Yin discover those hidden troops?¡±

    Wei Baichuan nodded.

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes narrowed as he pondered this development.

    ¡°Little Rong, you know Lu Yin, so contact him and find out what his goal is. Paying out 3 million star essence is impossible, and at most, we can do 30,000. He must have some other objective,¡± Wei Baichuan said solemnly.

    Wei Rong had a headache, as he had just reached an agreement with the Dark Phoenix family to team up and deal with the Great Eastern Alliance. However, the Great Eastern Alliance had still somehow managed to make the first move. Did Lu Yin know what he had been up to? Otherwise, with just one group of soldiers, there was no reason to demand such an exorbitant price. Lu Yin was obviously trying to start a war.

    In Wei Rong¡¯s considerations, the Great Eastern Alliance should have only dered war against the central weaves after all of the eastern weaves were gathered into the Great Eastern Alliance. He had thought that he still had sufficient time to prepare, never thinking that Lu Yin would move so fast. There was only one possibility: Lu Yin had realized that Wei Rong had allied with the Dark Phoenix family.

    ¡°Little Rong, try getting in touch with Lu Yin.¡± Wei Baichuan was growing anxious.

    Wei Rong felt helpless, but no matter what, he had to speak with Lu Yin first. It would be

    best if this situation could be somehow stabilized. The Dark Phoenix family needed more time to prepare themselves, and the unity of both sides of the alliance still needed some work.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Wei Rong to call Lu Yin, and Lu Yin soon appeared on Wei Rong¡¯s screen.

    Lu Yin had already guessed that Wei Rong would contact him very quickly, and he had actually been waiting!

    ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s only a few days after we parted ways in Millions City, and a misunderstanding has already urred between us. This is not what I wished to see,¡± Wei Rong said.

    Lu Yin lookedpletely calm. ¡°What is Brother Wei saying? If this was just a misunderstanding, then I would be willing to settle things. But an entire battalion of 100,000 soldiers hiding right in my Frostwave Weave? And not too far from Zenyu Star at that. How is this a misunderstanding?¡±

    Wei Rong sincerely answered, ¡°These troops were originally dispatched to deal with the Six-Fingered Tribe, but once the Great Eastern Alliance was established, the border controls became much more strict, and the soldiers were not able to return home. They were never going to act against the Great Yu Empire, so I must ask Brother Lu to please calm down. My Wei family is willing topensate you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face remained at ease. ¡°Anything can be discussed if thepensation is paid. 3 million star essence and the mastermind behind this plot must also be handed over.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Let¡¯s not lower ourselves to insinuations. 3 million is honestly too much. Brother Lu visited Millions City earlier, so are you now using Millions City¡¯s standards to evaluate the other weaves? My Wei family is willing to hand over 20,000 star essence to resolve this misunderstanding.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Is Brother Wei joking? This isn¡¯t how haggling is conducted. Here, I¡¯ll give Brother Wei some face: there¡¯s no need to hand over the mastermind behind this scheme, but you still have to pay out 3 million star essence and not one bit less.¡±

    Wei Rong felt helpless. ¡°Looks like Brother Lu is bent on starting a war.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to start a war, but when a war does break out, it will be a battle of resources. It¡¯s perfectly fine to discuss how money is spent, but once human lives are lost, they are gone forever. I don¡¯t wish to see dead people, and thus, everything depends on the Wei family¡¯s sincerity.¡±

    Wei Rong adjusted his expression and put on a stern look. ¡°There¡¯s no use in talking any further. Since Brother Lu clearly wants to start a war, then I will apany you. However, I must warn Brother Lu: anything can happen. Although the Great Eastern Alliance is powerful, it¡¯s not invincible.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and ended the call. When he next activated his gadget, Liuying Zishan appeared on his screen. ¡°Dere war against Armament Weave.¡±

    Liuying Zishan¡¯s face looked serene. ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°Now. Fight!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    These words signified the beginning of the war.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had already been fully assembled, and the entire military force headed towards Armament Weave. 200 battleships and over 1,000rge transport vessels cruised through outer space, creating a rather magnificent sight.

    Every single member of the entire Great Eastern Alliance received notice that a war was about to start and that they were fighting against Armament Weave.

    In the Vastdearth Sect, Meng Tianlong¡¯s face turned solemn. The alliance was reportedly waging war against Armament Weave, but in truth, the Great Eastern Alliance was invading the central weaves, which could easily cause public bacsh. Fortunately, the Great Eastern Alliance had a valid reason, so they might be able to avoid retaliation from the rest of the central weaves.

    In Evenground Pce, Mu Nichang had not thought that war woulde so soon. When Lu Yin had hastened to establish the Allied Forces, he must have been anticipating this day!

    ¡°Master, do you think that Armament Weave can withstand this attack?¡± Doro asked.

    Mu Nichang shook her head. ¡°The Armament Weave alone should not be able to defend against the Allied Forces, but the Wei family is different. That kid, Wei Rong, has made his way around everywhere, and his silver tongue is very glib. Thus, he may be able to recruit some reinforcements. This war will all depend on whether or not the Allied Forces can seed in a blitzkrieg attack.¡±

    Doro nodded and then looked back at a star chart.

    The Six-Fingered Tribe became very excited, as they had been age-old enemies of Armament Weave for many generations; it would be apliment to say that the two sides were just enemies. The tribe had always been suppressed by the Wei family, and if not for their hidden foundation running too deep, they would have long since been wiped out. But now, the Allied Forces were about to battle against the Wei family, and the Six-Fingered Tribe were anticipating the imminent destruction of the Wei family, meaning that their feud could finallye to an end.

    Part of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces were already stationed in Lars Weave, and these troops were the first ones to invade Armament Weave. They simply pulled out of Lars Weave and moved into Armament Weave, which was too rapid a move for Armament Weave to respond.

    Armament Weave had not expected a battle to break out so quickly, and the strategists in the Wei family were still in heated discussion when the battle had already broken out.

    The borders were thrown into a state of emergency, and 200 battleships let loose with their energy cannons, which caused almost ten Explorers to instantly die as Armament Weave¡¯s defenders were squeezed tight like a cork.

    One weave alone could not defend against the united strength of the Allied Forces. The Wei family did not have more than a hundred battleships in total, and thirty of them had been stationed at the Lars Weave border, which indicated that they had already ced the Lars Weave border as the highest level of caution. However, 200 battleships quickly annihted the defense forces, and the Allied Forces tore straight into Armament Weave.

    When Wei Baichuan was informed of this development, the Allied Forces had already destroyed Armament Weave¡¯s border patrols.

    This was a ssic example of a rapid battle that was driven by numbers, and the results caused the Six-Fingered Tribe to get fired up. They were eager for the Allied Forces to destroy the Wei family.

    A great war in space was a grand thing to witness, and countless light beams swept out through the vacuum of space. Spacecraft asionally exploded, and more often than not, transport vessels were also destroyed, causing thousands of soldiers to perish each time.

    The Allied Forces had sent out ten Explorers, two Cruisers, and one Hunter along with their fleet, and they entered space unapanied so that they could destroy the enemy¡¯s vessels. The cosmos was lit up with explosions and fires as countless corpses burned, as even more countless corpses floated about through space.

    The Allied Forces bulldozed their way across a tenth of Armament Weave in five days before they finally encountered some meaningful resistance.

    Wei Rong¡¯s campaigning efforts from before finally showed their results at this time, as the Shadowsword Sect, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and even the Moke Sword Sect, the Ayker n, and a dozen other powers joined Armament Weave¡¯s defense. They hid themselves among the native defenders of Armament Weave, which allowed the defense to finally block the Allied Forces. An intense battle broke out between the two sides.

    Although the troops defending Armament Weave were still being overpowered, they were able to maintain their current position.

    The astral warhorses that the Wei family possessed in abundance also appeared in these battles. Although they did not have much offensive power, the impact of their presence was rather strong as each one¡¯s strength neared that of an Explorer. A single collision could usually destroy multiple spacecraft, and even the battleships were unable to withstand the impacts.

    The Allied Forces were suddenly suffering losses on their end as well.

    Liuying Zishan stood within one of the spacecraft, her expression unchanging. Only a third of the Allied Forces¡¯ strength had been deployed, and the majority of their strength had not even been used yet. There was even the Rapid Response Team lying in wait, which was their true hidden dagger.

    The battle became worrying, as the Allied Forces did not make much progress for ten consecutive days.

    Meanwhile, within the Great Yu Empire, Hill Auna sternly criticized the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, the Shadowsword Sect, and the other powers, condemning them for joining the war without good reason and causing this conflict to escte.

    The Umbral Butterfly Tribe and other powers were not about to let themselves be outdone. They also used the media to project their own standpoints to the rest of the universe, ming the Great Eastern Alliance for starting the invasion.

    The two sides were both awfully busy during this media blitz.

    The remaining strength of the Allied Forces started to make their way towards Armament Weave, and Wei Rong also constantly roped in reinforcements, causing the war to intensify ven further.

    This war was having a butterfly effect.

    Lu Yin had no way of stopping Wei Rong from lobbying the central weaves, and he also could not possibly make any promises to those weaves. He truly did want to pull them into the Great Eastern Alliance, which was an undeniable truth.

 Chapter 811: Probing

    <h4>Chapter 811: Probing</h4>

    At this time, Lu Yin was sitting inside a spacecraft that was headed towards the war''s battlefront. This war was very important to him, and victoryy in speed. Once Wei Rong was able to stabilize the situation, it would be very troublesome. Lu Yin might be able to eventually win even against many surprise reinforcements, but he could not disregard the Dark Phoenix family.

    His gadget beeped quietly, and Lu Yin opened it to hear Ah mu¡¯s voice call out, ¡°Seventh Bro, Wei Rong has borrowed a huge amount of money from Millions City.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°How do you know this?¡±

    ¡°He told Angie, and she didn¡¯t bother hiding it from me,¡± Ah Mu said.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered, ¡°Disconnect from this call and delete my contact info! You¡¯re being tested, so think of a way to protect yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin then immediately ended the call.

    War was all about utilizing resources efficiently, and borrowing money from Millions City meant that the Wei family could not hold out any longer. Once this news leaked out, it would cause a huge blow to the Wei family. Wei Rong was not foolish, and he would never allow this kind of information to be leaked. The only possibility was that he had intentionally leaked the information to Ah Mu in order to test if he was a traitor.

    Since Lu Yin had rushed to attack Armament Weave, it had seemingly forced Wei Rong towards different measures. Right, normally, he shouldn¡¯t have rashly attacked Armament Weave before he united all of the eastern weaves into the Great Eastern Alliance. But since Lu Yin had done something unexpected, it was quite normal for Wei Rong to be suspicious.

    This news had to be false, and Lu Yin would not even try to verify it with Millions City, as such a move would confirm that Ah Mu was the mole. He hoped that Ah Mu would be able to handle this matter well and not be discovered.

    On the other end of the call, where the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was located, Ah Mu¡¯s expression changed drastically after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words. He immediately erased all of Lu Yin¡¯s contact details as well as all of his call records with Lu Yin. Simultaneously, he released several ant-like creatures. He then used his innate gift that allowed him tomunicate with such organisms to give them certain instructions. Finally, he walked to the wall and pressed his hand against it before unleashing his star energy in a trembling pattern.

    On the other side of the wall was a woman from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe who had been resting, and she was knocked unconscious by Ah Mu¡¯s star energy.

    At this moment, amotion was heard outside the door to Ah Mu¡¯s room, and quite a few people gathered outside Ah Mu¡¯s room where they waited.

    Ah Mu¡¯s expression did not change, and he inhaled deeply as he closed both eyes.

    Before long, Angie arrived outside the door and knocked loudly.

    Ah Mu opened the door and respectfully greeted Angie, ¡°Young Mistress.¡±

    Angie grunted in acknowledgement, but her focus was on Ah Mu¡¯s gadget. ¡°Did you call anyone just now?¡±

    Ah Mu felt that this was a strange question. ¡°Why is Young Mistress asking about this? Your subordinate¡¯s gadget has been damaged since yesterday, and I forgot to repair it. Thus, I haven¡¯t been able tomunicate with anyone.¡±

    ¡°Damaged?¡± Angie evidently did not believe this, as she made Ah Mu take off his gadget so that she could examine it. It was indeed ruined, but that was even more suspicious, since the timing was too coincidental.

    Wei Rong believed that Lu Yin had hurried to invade Armament Weave because he had somehow learned that Wei Rong was cooperating with the Dark Phoenix family. Few were aware of this news aside from Gui Wuzong from the Shadowsword Sect and the Dark Phoenix family itself. If Lu Yin truly was aware of this alliance, then that meant there was a mole among his members, and the possibility of Ah Mu being the mole was rather high.

    Although Angie suspected Ah Mu, she could not understand how Ah Mu could have possibly managed to get in contact with Lu Yin. Had the two of them met previously? There did not seem to be such a possibility, and their positions were strikingly different. Even if Lu Yin was capable of luring in Ah Mu, he could not have done it this quickly.

    Ah Mu¡¯s status in the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was still quite eptable. Although Angie was the Young Mistress, she still could not interrogate Ah Mu without cause. After thinking about it, she asked, ¡°Did you tell anyone about the matter of the Wei family cooperating with the Dark Phoenix family?¡±

    Ah Mu hurriedly shook his head, but then he seemed to suddenly think of something, and his expression twitched.

    Angie¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Tell me, who did you tell?¡±

    Ah Mu replied, ¡°I really didn¡¯t tell anyone! On the way back from Millions City, I drank with Miss Qing and got a bit drunk.¡±

    Angie immediately ordered, ¡°Go and bring Ah Qing here.¡±

    At the same time, she felt slightly puzzled. Ah Qing¡¯s quarters were right next to Ah Mu¡¯s, but despite being so noisy, she had note out for a look. Why hadn¡¯t shee out of her room?

    In the adjacent room, the girl who had been knocked unconscious by Ah Mu was the Ah Qing in question. Her gadget contained Lu Yin¡¯s contact details, which was irond evidence that had been nted by Ah Mu¡¯s ants.

    When Angie found Lu Yin¡¯s contact details in Ah Qing¡¯s gadget, the killing intent that filled her eyes caused the others to tremble.

    ¡°Go rest, and don¡¯t drink alcohol anymore in the future,¡± Angie ordered solemnly.

    Ah Mu immediately murmured in acknowledgement.

    Everyone left, and Ah Mu released a pent-up breath. He had sessfully passed this trial, and he was lucky that Seventh Bro had reacted so quickly and cut their call short, preventing their call from being traced. Otherwise, Ah Mu would have been doomed.

    He fearfully wiped the dirt off of his gadget. Angie could not have possibly deduced that Ah Mu was behind everything that had happened. Thus, only Wei Rong could have guessed that there was someone leaking their secrets.

    That person¡¯s thinking was too meticulous, and it was quite frightening. Even if he was only working with a guess, he still would not let go. Ah Mu clenched his fists tightly, as he had almost died this time.

    As for Ah Qing, Ah Mu did not feel even the slightest bit of guilt towards her. He hated the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and he hated everyone who was a part of it. His hatred had reached the point where he would not care even if they all died, and to some degree, he actually hoped that they would all die. As for Angie, he had simply brought her up as an attempt to deceive Lu Yin. He didn¡¯t actually want Angie. Rather, he wanted to gain total control of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    The Allied Forces of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s overall power surpassed Armament Weave¡¯s. Even if the Wei family was able to call upon quite a few reinforcements, they were still only barely able to resist the invasion, and the Wei family had to struggle to defend themselves.

    Lu Yin had thought that it would only take the Allied Forces five or six days at most to push their way into the depths of Armament Weave. However, the Wei family¡¯s reinforcements proved to be unending, and their reinforcements had also arrived much faster than he had expected. Thus, the defenders had managed to hold out for an additional half month.

    Something was going on; the space within the universe was fixed and could not shrink or change. The routes that the western weaves could send reinforcements through had been analyzed by the Great Eastern Alliance, and they had determined that it should be impossible for reinforcements troops to arrive this quickly.

    Within a battleship, Lu Yin looked at a distant skirmish as Peach and Aden followed behind him. There was also a row of Great Yu Empire soldiers behind the two captains as well as En Ya, Xueshan Auna, and some of the older veterans from the Lu Office of Defense.

    Although battles in space weremon, arge-scale conflict such as this one was more umon. Lu Yin wanted to provide these people with some experience, as they would have to deal with even greater wars that he might have to conduct in the future.

    ¡°Your Highness, Armament Weave¡¯s reinforcements are arriving rather quickly, and this has essentially be us waging war on all of the central weaves. This deadlock will continue,¡± En Ya said.

    Lu Yin frowned and studied a star chart. ¡°Why are their reinforcements able to arrive so quickly? Does anybody know?¡±

    Sigmund Mathers stepped forward. ¡°There are only two possibilities why they can pull in reinforcements quicker than expected, since space cannot be changed. The first is the same as our Great Eastern Alliance, which is that an express military route has been created that allows their troops to travel about much more quickly. The second is that they have discovered new routes.¡±

    ¡°However, it can¡¯t be an expressway, as that would mean constructing a passageway that goes through the various borders, and no power would allow such a thing without some degree of trust. It should be the second possibility,¡± En Ya said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he quickly contacted Gavin. ¡°Get Di Nuo to call me.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for Di Nuo¡¯s image to appear on the screen. ¡°My lord, you were looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin shared an image of the astral battlefield, and coincidentally, an Armament Weave spacecraft exploded at that same time. Countless bits and pieces of debris floated through space, apanied by many corpses that were halfplete or in even worse shape. Fresh blood floated through space, only to be burned up.

    Di Nuo was taken aback by the macabre scene. ¡°This is?¡±

    ¡°This is the battlefield in Armament Weave, thergest battlefield in the Outerverse at this moment. There were almost 10,000 soldiers on that spacecraft, and they were all cultivators. Now, they¡¯re all dead,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    Di Nuo did not understand why Lu Yin was showing him all this. ¡°Lord, what do you mean by this?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°This war could have been finished quickly, but the opposing side has been able to call in reinforcements too quickly. This has led to things being dragged out, which has led to countless more casualties. I want to know if your Endless Borders has participated by assisting their transportation efforts.¡±

    Di Nuo was puzzled. ¡°Lord, I¡¯m just the person in charge of Frostwave Weave, so I truly don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Then go and check everything rted to this war. I don¡¯t wish to face unknown enemies, and I also have no desire to not even know anything before new enemies appear!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Di Nuo was stunned, and he immediately began to check into things.

    It was not easy to discover new transportation routes, which meant that the first group that hade to Lu Yin¡¯s mind in this topic was Endless Borders.

    When the Great Eastern Alliance had first been established, Endless Borders had given Lu Yin a gift, which was a newly discovered route that greatly surpassed the efficiency of the known routes of the time.

    If Endless Borders was able to give him a route so easily, then that meant that they had better ones still. If that was the case for Frostwave Weave, then it meant that it was quite likely that they had more efficient routes for Armament Weave as well.

    Before long, Di Nuo called Lu Yin again, this time with an ugly expression. ¡°Lord, I¡¯m sorry. Endless Borders has indeed helped in transporting troops.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face sank. ¡°What does Endless Borders mean by this? Are you trying to be enemies with my Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Di Nuo hurriedly denied such allegations. ¡°Lord, please don¡¯t be mistaken. This was not done by our headquarters, as it was the decision of Mo Si, who is in charge of Armament Weave. Also, he was forced into a corner.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to hear any excuses. This is war! And it should not be dragged out for another minute or second! Immediately contact Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters. I want to speak to the highest ranking person.¡±

    ¡°Lord, even if you are able to contact our headquarters, it¡¯s no use. The situation within our Endless Borders situation is rather unique, and the one who is helping Armament Weave at this time is the captain of an expedition crew, Bach. These groups have their own, independent authority, and they are even able to reject requests from headquarters,¡± Di Nuo exined.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Are you saying that Endless Borders can¡¯t control this so-called ¡®expedition crew?¡¯ Do you think that I¡¯m that stupid?¡±

    Di Nuo¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Lord, all of these expedition crews have made great contributions to ourpany. As for the captains of these expedition crews, they are all a part of our board of directors. Even if headquarters sends orders to such a group, they must first receive approval from the board. Our Endless Borders¡¯ foundation is in discovering new shipping routes, and these expedition crews are the core of Endless Borders. Moreover, Armament Weave hired Endless Borders for transport, and there¡¯s nothing illegal about such a request. Thus, it is up to thepany if they will ept such a request or not. Nobody can object even if Captain Bach epts such a request.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°So, as long as that Bach rejects this request, yourpany won¡¯t bother with it either?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Our Endless Borders won¡¯t participate in conflicts between powers. Generally, such requests that are rted to warfare are not epted, but Captain Bach seems to have some rtionship with someone from the Wei family, so he epted thismission. Our headquarters can¡¯t do anything about it,¡± Di Nuo exined.

    ¡°I want to talk to Bach,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Di Nuo was ced in a difficult position.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned much colder. ¡°What? Can¡¯t it be done?¡±

    Di Nuo agonizingly answered, ¡°I just spoke to Captain Bach, and he asked that you dismiss your troops.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, but then he became so furious that he smiled. ¡°Some captain of an expedition crew wants me to dismiss my troops? He¡¯s got balls.¡±

    Di Nuo became even more nervous, and he did not even dare to look at Lu Yin. He had gained some understanding of Lu Yin during the time as the person responsible for Endless Borders¡¯ business within Frostwave Weave, and he felt that nothing good woulde of offending this person. Di Nuo had seen the fates that awaited even the disciples of powerful organizations from the Innerverse. Thus, he had tried to persuade Bach during their call. Unfortunately, Bach was haughty to begin with, and he had begun to disregard most people after bing the captain of an expedition crew, even other expedition crew captains. This time, his disregard had stirred up a great deal of trouble.

 Chapter 812: Threat

    <h4>Chapter 812: Threat</h4>

    ¡°Help me remind Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters that this is a war. Since Bach has participated, then there¡¯s no need to discuss his life and death. If this Bach ends up dead, then don¡¯t me me.¡± After saying that, Lu Yin directly ended the call with Di Nuo and reached out to Smoker. He paid five natural treasures for the top assassin to take out Bach.

    Bach¡¯s strength may not be as impressive as top ranked assassins like The Magistrate, but he had a very high status, and his location was also a secret. Thus, so five natural treasures was not an excessive price.

    In fact, Lu Yin had considered employing Smoker to assassinate Wei Rong at one point, but in the end, he had decided against it. He did not know precisely why, but he felt that there were some things that required a bottom line. Wei Rong was a worthy opponent, and although they had only met a few times, Lu Yin found it hard to bring himself to deal with Wei Rong through using underhanded means.

    ¡°Your Highness, the Sixth Squadron asks to join the fight.¡± Peach fidgeted from her eagerness.

    Nearby, Gong Ke, who was acting as Peach¡¯s bodyguard, eximed, ¡°No! The battlefield is too dangerous! You can¡¯t go.¡±

    The Neo-Vestige Sect expert then stared at Lu Yin with a tant warning shining from his eyes.

    Lu Yin did not care about the Hunter, and he told Peach, ¡°Go ahead if you want. Just take care of yourself.¡±

    Peach became excited. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness!¡±

    She then flew out of the spacecraft and headed towards the battlefield.

    Gong Ke was taken aback, and he red at Lu Yin. ¡°If anything happens to her, Neo-Vestige Sect will not let you off.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°My mood isn¡¯t very good right now, so watch your tone.¡±

    Gong Ke wanted to protest, but he swallowed his words when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s cold eyes. It would not be wise to provoke this person as Lu Yin clearly could not be controlled. With no other choice, Gong Ke reluctantly rushed towards the battlefield himself to protect Peach. As he flew over, he made sure to contact Neo-Vestige Sect as well.

    In Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s main hall, Master Bei grew furious. ¡°This Lu Yin is too bold! He actually dares to allow Little Peach to participate in this battle! Who¡¯s going to be held responsible if anything happens to her?¡±

    He was not actually concerned about Peach¡¯s well being. Rather, if the arrow that she carried was lost on the battlefield, it would not be easy to recover.

    Gong Ling immediately called Lu Yin.

    As soon as Peach had headed for the battlefield, Lu Yin had already guessed that the Neo-Vestige Sect would reach out to him.

    ¡°Sect Leader Gong Ling, is there anything that I can do for you?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression was stern. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, if anything unexpected happens to Little Peach on the battlefield, do you know what the consequences will be?¡±

    Lu Yin adjusted his expression. ¡°Is Sect Leader Gong Ling threatening me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Alliance Leader Lu is a formidable person within his generation, and even my Neo-Vestige Sect must show respect to Alliance Leader Lu. However, Little Peach is very important to my Neo-Vestige Sect. If anything happens to her, then no matter who might be responsible, my Neo-Vestige Sect will not let them off,¡± Gong Ling said coldly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand what Sect Leader Gong is saying, but war is upon us, and Peach is, after all, the captain of the Sixth Imperial Squadron. She even requested to enter battle of her own initiative. I should not reject her, as otherwise, what would the others think? That I¡¯m giving her preferential treatment? As the leader of an organization, Sect Leader Gong should understand that being in such a position is not simple.¡±

    ¡°I hope that Alliance Leader Lu understands what my Neo-Vestige Sect has relied on to obtain its current status,¡± Gong Ling said before finally ending the call.

    Lu Yin put his gadget away and looked back towards the battlefield.

    The battle had be very intense, and there were already more than five Cruisers participating. The next to make a move would be the Hunters.

    They were still too far from the peak of the battle.

    ¡°Your Highness, your subordinate requests to join the battle,¡± Xueshan Auna requested respectfully as he walked out.

    The Auna family had thoroughly be Lu Yin¡¯s de. After the family weeded out a massive number of corrupt officials, they had be universally hated by everyone within the Great Yu Empire, and they had suffered huge losses. However, they had also achieved their objective, and the Auna family now had Lu Yin¡¯s trust. This time, Lu Yin had even specifically brought Xueshan Auna with him, and Hill Auna was still the Imperial Cab¡¯s Foreign Secretary, which allowed the Auna family to feel at ease.

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°This battle does not need you, as we are relying on the Allied Forces.¡±

    Then, Lu Yin sent out new orders to the Allied Forces, prompting the two Hunters to directly join the battle. As soon as they made a move, Armament Weave suffered horrible casualties. They had purposefully chosen to not send out their Hunters all this time, as they did not want to escte the situation. However, they were forced to respond since the Allied Forces had taken the initiative.

    A single Hunter was enough to change the entire battlefield, let alone two.

    From afar, a light beam shot through space.

    This attack had a considerable amount of energy behind it. Armament Weave had discovered the location where Lu Yin and the others were observing the battlefield, and they had directly attacked them.

    However, this light beam was easily blocked by Aden.

    Peach was effortlessly suppressing an enemy Cruiser, which forced Armament Weave to send out more people to hold her back.

    Lu Yin constantly paid attention to Peach, as he had never seen her use any battle techniques from Neo-Vestige Sect. It was impossible for her to not know any, so it simply meant that nobody had been able to force Peach to show her true power, though this battle should be able to do so.

    More than ten days passed, and reinforcements continued to endlessly pour into Armament Weave, all of them being brought by Endless Borders transport services.

    Lu Yin continued to wait for news from Smoker.

    During these ten days, neither side stopped fighting. Although the Allied Forces continually held the upper hand, they were unable topletely suppress the forces of Armament Weave from beginning to end.

    There were five Hunters who were on Armament Weave¡¯s side, and Lu Yin was forced to dispatch Xueshan Auna and Aden to the battlefield, though he still did not expose the Rapid Response Team.

    Countless people were observing the endless battle during these ten past days, and they weren¡¯t just from the eastern and central weaves. There were even news outlets from the western weaves that were covering this war, and it had be the focus of the entire Outerverse.

    In Millions City, Qiong Xi''er had remained focused on this battle for an entire month, which was essentially the entire duration of the war.

    Thebined strength of the entire Great Eastern Alliance was still unable to take down Armament Weave, which showed that Wei Rong was indeed quite skilled.

    Millions City was still in the process of rebuilding, and although the reconstruction efforts were expensive, it was just a drop in the ocean for the Qiong family.

    Qiong Shanhai did not pay much attention to this war, though he was rather interested in the two youths Lu Yin and Wei Rong. In his heart, Qiong Xi''er¡¯s achievements were his focus.

    Still, no matter if one was talking about Lu Yin or Wei Rong, neither of the two had any thoughts of joining their wife¡¯s family. These two people possessed great ambitions, particrly Lu Yin. For such a person to join his wife¡¯s family, the conditions would have to be sufficient to appease him. Still, Qiong Shanhai remembered what Qiong Xi''er had mentioned before, and truthfully, he did not dare to allow Lu Yin to join his family. This would be less like recruiting a son-inw and more like inviting a ravenous wolf in.

    "Xi''er, what do you think of this war?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked.

    Qiong Xi''er felt puzzled. ¡°Father, you¡¯re watching it too?¡±

    Qiong Shanhai replied, ¡°After all, those two youths did participate in the Qiong''s Family Banquet. Naturally, I¡¯m curious about them.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er casually closed her gadget. ¡°If nothing unexpected happens, then the Wei family will be finished.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re that certain? Wei Rong is someone who can even make you wary, and everyone else says that this kid is able to find advantages in chaos and that he is quite adept at finding opportunities. But despite all that, you¡¯re saying that he isn¡¯t Lu Yin¡¯s opponent?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked in astonishment.

    Qiong Xi''er replied, ¡°Hence why I said if nothing unexpected happens. Wei Rong is adept at doing the unexpected, but Lu Yin is even craftier. Nobody knows what sort of methods he has avable. It¡¯s just like this war, which started mysteriously. Everyone had previously assumed that Lu Yin would only deal with the central weaves after uniting all of the eastern weaves, but he started fighting before that, and he doesn¡¯t even seem to be afraid of a counterattack from the rear.¡±

    ¡°What if he has to fight?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked profoundly.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Father, do you know something?¡±

    Qiong Shanhaiughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need to act¡ªhow could you not already know? You should have guessed it already. The Qiong''s Banquet gave Wei Rong a tform through which to contact the Dark Phoenix family, and with his personality, how could he not have contacted them? Sall Phoenix ims that Lu Yin is responsible for Taylor Phoenix¡¯s death, and the Dark Phoenix family hates Lu Yin, which has provided Wei Rong with a great opportunity.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Since Sall Phoenix pushed the me for Taylor¡¯s death onto Lu Yin, this war is unavoidable. Even if Wei Rong did not contact the Dark Phoenix family, Lu Yin would still not just sit around. Clearly, he is trying to use this period when the Dark Phoenix family is still unable to intervene in this war to quickly eliminate Wei Rong. Unfortunately, the war has dragged on too long for Lu Yin. Wei Rong has managed to dy things long enough, and now, there will be certain effects. The Armament Weave will survive for now, but their future survival all depends on whether or not the Dark Phoenix family will participate in this war. Once the Dark Phoenix family moves, it won¡¯t be easy for Lu Yin to eliminate the Wei family.¡±

    ¡°So what if the Dark Phoenix family participates? The Great Eastern Alliance is also difficult to deal with,¡± Qiong Shanhai rebutted.

    Qiong Xi''er disdainfully replied, ¡°Just the Dark Phoenix family alone isn¡¯t enough to deal with Lu Yin. Although all of us lost our memories of the underground battle, Lu Yin seemed to be the only one who was perfectly fine when we emerged. Even Yuehua Mavis had been roughed up, so clearly, Lu Yin¡¯s methods must be impressive. Moreover, he has the Hall of Honor supporting him, so it¡¯s difficult for the Dark Phoenix family to deal with him. And that¡¯s not even mentioning Neo-Vestige Sect, which still needs to be considered.¡±

    When she mentioned this other great power, Qiong Xi''er looked at Qiong Shanhai. ¡°Father, it would be better if you don¡¯t get involved in this conflict. There are no benefits for us no matter which side we choose.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai replied, ¡°Rx, Millions City is still in the process of rebuilding, and I don¡¯t have the spare energy to participate in other people¡¯s projects.¡± He was not in a bad mood, as despite the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s efforts to seize Millions City, their operation had failed, which meant that there should not be any other power in the Outerverse that could act against Millions City for the time being. Since the Zhu family¡¯s ancestor had died, the Zhu family was no longer any threat to them either, and Millions City seemed to have been secured.

    Qiong Xi''er looked at Qiong Shanhai¡¯s rxed expression, but she could not rx herself. She leaned towards supporting the Wei family in this conflict, as she hoped that they would be able to block the westward expansion of the Great Eastern Alliance. Otherwise, after Lu Yin conquered all of the central weaves, their Millions City would enter his sights.

    Although Millions City had the ability to protect themselves, if the surrounding region became Lu Yin¡¯s territory, they would be no different from a turtle trapped in a jar. How long would they be able tost in that situation?

    Lu Yin was not a member of the Neohuman Alliance, and he had a brain. More importantly, he had the Hall of Honor¡¯s support, and he was much more dangerous than Wei Rong.

    There was another detail as well; Qiong Xi¡¯er felt that the memories they had lost about their time underground was actually very important. She had lost a huge amount of blood at that time, but after everyone left, she had not been able to find any traces of her own blood. So just where had all that blood gone? This was the answer that Qiong Xi''er was most desperate to uncover. She was worried that her blood might have been taken away by someone else, and that was extremely worrying.

    In the distant Suna Weave, a radiant-grade Aurora sped towards Armament Weave. This spacecraft belonged to Endless Borders, and within it was one of Endless Borders¡¯ expedition crews, whose captain was Bach.

    Endless Borders did not have many expedition crews, and bing a captain and joining thepany¡¯s board was not as simple as what outsiders would imagine. Bach¡¯s contributions included three secret routes, which was what had given him his current position.

    Any captain of an expedition crew had a high status in Endless Borders.

    Bach had maintained a high profile ever since he had be an expedition crew captain, and there were always people fawning over him no matter where he went. Of course, he did not ck off either, and he was constantly looking for more ways to discover new routes. The more routes he contributed to thepany, the higher his status in Endless Borders would be.

 Chapter 813: Adventurersâ€™ Guild

    <h4>Chapter 813: Adventurers¡¯ Guild</h4>

    ¡°Captain, headquarters has contacted us again, asking us to not interfere in Armament Weave¡¯s war. The person in charge of Armament Weave, Mo Si, has also indicated that he won¡¯t help the Wei family with transportation rted issues anymore, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s pressure is too great,¡± someone reported.

    Bach was not bothered in the least. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance? So what? Is my Endless Borders afraid?¡±

    ¡°Then what about headquarters?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush to reply. Just wait until the war¡¯s over. Then tell them that we were in a dangerous area and weren¡¯t able to find the time to reply,¡± Bach said.

    ¡°Yes, captain.¡±

    Bach sneered as he looked at the star chart. Only with a deep understanding of Endless Borders would one be able to see that it was truly a colossal creature. Although he was unsure how strong the other three great corporations of the Outerverse were, who cared if some puny Great Eastern Alliance had managed to suppress Aegis before?

    Endless Borders¡¯ greatest wealth was in its secret routes. Even if the Great Eastern Alliance wanted to send out experts to deal with Bach, they had to find him first. These secret routes were nothing like an assassin¡¯s concealment methods. Secret routes were basically isted parts of the universe, and few could find such a ce, let alone cause Bach any trouble when he was hiding there.

    If Endless Borders ever wanted, they couldpletely withdraw into their secret routes and then target any power they wished while hiding without any fear of retaliation.

    This was the source of Bach¡¯s confidence, as there was no need for him to fear anyone, especially since he knew some secret routes that not even Endless Borders was aware of. Even if the entire forces of the Great Eastern Alliance turned up, they could only dream of finding him.

    He had coerced Mo Si into helping the Wei family transport their troops for a month, and the Great Eastern Alliance had only been able to watch on helplessly.

    As he thought about it, Bach became even more satisfied, and he put a cigarette between his lips to celebrate. The smoke curled up, which was rather irritating. Bach frowned. Is something wrong with this smoke? Why is there so much of it?

    Suddenly, his heart lurched. Not good!

    He had forgotten about someone.

    The next moment, the smoke twisted about like a python and entered Bach¡¯s body through his various orifices. Bach was a Hunter with a power level of 180,000, an innate gift, battle force, and multiple power vessels. He had spent years painstakingly cultivating and gathering all of these items and abilities, but at this moment, none of them mattered. White smoke entered Bach¡¯s body, but a red smoke emerged, carrying all of Bach¡¯s blood with it.

    His body rapidly shriveled up, and it eventually turned to a dried corpse that fell to the floor.

    When the other crew members eventually entered the room, they were greeted with a terrifying scene. Bach had clearly died without even being able to retaliate.

    Nobody was able to find the secret routes that Bach had kept to himself, but Smoker was different, and their methods were mysterious. Despite being a Hunter, they had once infiltrated the ze Realm, which had multiple old powerhouses with power levels in the several hundred thousands. Although they had not seeded in their assassination attempt, they had still managed to escape unscathed, and not even the various great powers of the Innerverse had been able to discover their methods.

    Nobody knew how Smoker had done such a thing, no matter if it was infiltrating the ze Realm in the first ce or their feat of escaping alive. Even powerhouses with power levels of 300,000 or even 400,000 might not be able to do what Smoker had. This was the top ranked assassin in the Outerverse, and they were an unconventional existence that even the Innerverse dared not offend.

    News of Bach¡¯s death spread quickly, and while the majority did not know who Bach was, those who did all had umon statuses.

    Many were left speechless, as Bach had died at Smoker¡¯s hands, and everyone had already associated Smoker with Lu Yin. Coincidentally, the Great Eastern Alliance was at war with Armament Weave, and the one who had been helping Armament Weave transport its soldiers, reinforcements, and resources was Endless Borders.

    As long as they were not foolish, anyone could guess that Smoker had been hired by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt better, as Smoker was always extremely reliable, and Lu Yin even considered upgrading his membership once again. Eventually, Smoker would be wrapped up by all the natural treasures that Lu Yin had sent to the assassin, and then, Lu Yin would be able to use the assassin as his own personal club. Of course, it would be better if Smoker just joined the Great Yu Empire.

    After Bach died, Endless Borders immediately put a stop to their cooperation with Armament Weave, and Liuying Zishan immediately deployed more troops to the battlefield. As long as the Allied Forces wiped out the batch of enemies before them, they would be able to quickly advance into the depths of Armament Weave.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget and saw that he was being called by an unknown number. He answered the call, and a voice sounded out. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is Endless Borders¡¯ Chairman Yan.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Boss Yan, are you finally willing to talk?¡¯

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what you did was overboard.¡±

    Lu Yin responded in a low voice, ¡°Does Boss Yan understand the importance that this war holds to my Great Eastern Alliance? Your subordinate helped my enemy, the Wei family, and do you know what losses I suffered due to his interference?¡±

    ¡°Everything that was done, was done within the rules. Endless Borders helps with transport. Be it goods or humans, everything is eptable.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I would like to hire Endless Borders to transport my Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s troops to Myriad Weapons. Name your price,¡± Lu Yin stated. Myriad Weapons was the ancestral home of the Wei family.

    The opposite party fell silent for a moment and then replied, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, my Endless Borders has no intention to participate in struggles between other powers, as you should know.¡±

    ¡°I did not ask you to intervene in this dispute. You said it yourself: transport can involve goods or humans, and safety is guaranteed. My millions of soldiers need to step onto Myriad Weapons,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°It seems that today¡¯s not a good day to talk. Alliance Leader Lu, being too smart may cause your own downfall, so please take care.¡± The call then abruptly ended.

    Lu Yin directly immediately called Madam Nn, and his first words to her were, ¡°Tell me more about Endless Borders.¡±

    She helplessly held her forehead. ¡°I already know that Bach was killed by Smoker on your behalf.¡±

    ¡°He helped the Wei family transport military resources, which caused massive losses for me. How could I have convinced the masses if he didn¡¯t die?¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    She sighed. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve already offended Endless Borders with this.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Aegis was just the first, and Endless Borders is merely the second. There¡¯s no worries, as we¡¯ll take things slowly. Just so long as I don¡¯t offend you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? And why is that so?¡± Madam Nn licked her red lips as she looked at Lu Yin with her bright eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sped up under her stern gaze, and he embarrassedly changed the topic. ¡°Quickly tell me more about Endless Borders and what their overall situation is like. Also, why doesn¡¯t their board of directors have any control over their expedition crews? I¡¯ve never heard of such an organizational structure before.¡±

    ¡°For Endless Borders, I¡¯ve already mentioned that their background is very deep, and they have found numerous secret routes. Even Innerverse powers have tried to take control of those secret routes, but to no sess. Endless Borders¡¯ foundation is even able to withstand the great powers of the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too general. I want to know some details,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    She replied, ¡°Actually, Your Highness doesn¡¯t have to be too worried about Endless Borders. Rather than calling it arge corporation or apany, they are more like a guild. Specifically, they are one that existed long ago that was never recognized: the Adventurers'' Guild.¡±

    ¡°A guild?¡± Lu Yin was astonished, as this kind of organization sounded rather foreign to him.

    She continued her exnation, saying, ¡°The universe is seemingly endless, and there will always be a need for people to go out and explore it. Thus, the Adventurers'' Guild rose to the asion, though that was a very long time ago. Initially, the Adventurers'' Guild was a gathering ce for cultivators who were passionate about nothing besides exploring, and it could have even been considered a hobby group. But as time went on, many of the rare items that they unearthed were sold for extravagant prices, and their nature changed into more of a profit-driven organization. Despite their sesses, they had their own struggles¡­ After many ups and downs, the Adventurers'' Guild gradually developed a more structured system, which culminated in the guild taking all of the profits. Nobody, not even their President, can privately take a portion.¡±

    ¡°Reportedly, the Hall of Honor wanted to take over the Adventurers'' Guild, but anyone who joined such a guild did so to preserve their freedom, and they did not want to be supervised no matter what. Hence, the Adventurers'' Guild changed its name upon the suggestion of its president at that time, and they became Endless Borders. They expanded into the transportation business and exploited their secret routes. This is the true history of Endless Borders.¡±

    She paused for a moment before continuing on. ¡°What we see, or rather, what the majority sees is just the surface of Endless Borders. They are still inherently that same Adventurers'' Guild from the past, and their main passion is still for exploration and risk-taking. Thus, they are primarily gathered in¡­ the Astral Wilderness.¡±

    Lu Yin had not expected to learn such a thing about Endless Borders, as he had honestly believed them to be a mammoth corporation. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you ever told me any of this before?¡±

    She smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Your Highness to offend them so quickly, but that¡¯s still alright. As I said before, Your Highness doesn¡¯t need to be overly concerned about Endless Borders. They are more rxed, and they don¡¯t have the same ideologies as other financial powers. This is also the reason why their board of directors cannot restrict their expedition crew captains. You hired Smoker to kill Bach, which will, at most, cause a few people within Endless Borders to be unhappy. However, Bach can only me himself for his ending, so there should not be any retaliation.¡±

    Lu Yin felt reassured, as he did not want to create new enemies for nothing.

    ¡°However, Your Highness must still be cautious. Although Endless Borders might not retaliate against you for this matter, if you ever truly be enemies, their strength is rather terrifying in terms of revenge. Aegis was only able to send out Lord Egret, but Endless Borders may be able to send out far more. Nobody knows how much strength is stationed within the Astral Wilderness, and it¡¯s possible that even the Hall of Honor might not know,¡± Madam Nn cautioned.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I understand. They are able to explore the Astral Wilderness, and that¡¯s something only the great powers of the Innerverse are generally capable of. If Endless Borders has the confidence to do the same and has existed for this long, then their foundations must be incredibly deep.¡±

    ¡°As long as Your Highness understands. The Outerverse is the weakest region in the universe, but it covers a vast amount of space. Many powers want a piece of this pie, but the four great corporations have long been able to tower at the peak and spread their influence across multiple weaves. Your Highness cannot look at things with a narrow mind, and that even includes the fact that Aegis gave in to you. Nobody knows how strong those assassins who are still in stasis really are.¡±

    Lu Yin had never underestimated Aegis, and he had always kept them in mind. Granted, he would not underestimate the other great corporations either, especially the Nn family. They were widely known as the wealthiest family and were ranked on the same level as the other three majorpanies. Thus, their true face was definitely not as simple as it appeared to be. This temptress was someone from the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family, and she had married into the Nn family. But even before she had married into the Nn family, it had already been known as one of the four great corporations.

    This conversation with Madam Nn allowed Lu Yin to understand Endless Borders a bit better. In the end, it was an organization that revered freedom. Although this organization might seem scattered and undisciplined, if he was someone who wielded power within the Hall of Honor, he also would not allow an organization with the name ¡°Adventurers'' Guild¡± to exist.

    Freedom was something very important to independent cultivators. If something called the ¡°Adventurers'' Guild¡± was allowed to exist, countless independent cultivators would naturally flock to the organization, and it would invariably be a colossal organization. He understood why the Hall of Honor had wanted to assimte this organization in the past.

    Since they had rejected the Hall of Honor, that meant that this organization was being supervised. Their strength could not be weak, but it also not be overly powerful. Otherwise, the Hall of Honor would not have let them escape.

 Chapter 814: Dark Phoenix To The Rescue

    <h4>Chapter 814: Dark Phoenix To The Rescue</h4>

    Lu Yin called Di Nuo next. He made it clear that he wanted to talk to an expedition crew captain, but Di Nuo only knew one.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I was told that you¡¯re looking for me,¡± a gloomy voice said. This was one of Endless Borders¡¯ expedition crew captains, Yang Hai.

    Lu Yin courteously replied, ¡°I wonder, how does Captain Yang view the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Yang Hai fell silent for a while. ¡°It¡¯s none of my business.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It must be dangerous searching for secret routes. Di Nuo previously participated in Lu''s Grand Auction, and I believe he came to purchase items for Captain Yang. I wonder what the captain might need?¡±

    Yang Hai curtly replied, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, just get to the point.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I want to purchase undiscovered routes from Captain Yang.¡±

    Yang Hai did not feel that this was unexpected, as this was the only reason why Lu Yin would have reached out to an expedition crew captain. ¡°We¡¯ll have to disappoint Alliance Leader Lu then. All new routes found by expedition crews have to first be sent over to headquarters. If Alliance Leader Lu wishes to buy them, then you¡¯ll have to contact headquarters directly.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Captain Yang doesn¡¯t need to be in such a hurry to reject me. Your Endless Borders is not an entirely for-profit organization, and what mitigates the ever-present risks in exploration the most are life-saving items. I have natural treasures that have reached the point of evading danger, poisons that can harm Enlighters, lockbreaking tools, and many other items that you may need but are difficult to acquire.¡±

    Yang Hai did not respond, but he was evidently moved. Deaths urred regrly in their expedition crews, and nobody knew how many would die whenever they started a new exploration mission. All of the crews were passionate about exploration and happily took on these risks, and they were all cultivators withmon goals. It wasn¡¯t easy for Yang Hai to see hispanions die, and Lu Yin¡¯s conditions had clearly moved him greatly.

    Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters had many life-saving objects, but the majority was given to the expedition crews that worked in the Astral Wilderness, as those regions were more dangerous. Expeditions crews that roamed about the Outerverse would not receive much of those precious items.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, but I can¡¯t agree to your request for now.¡± Yang Hai considered the offer, but he remained firm in his refusal.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s fine. There¡¯s no hurry. Captain Yang can consider this offer carefully for now. Of course, an undiscovered route from Captain Yang would have to be beneficial for me, or else I would have no reason to buy it. Isn¡¯t that so?¡±

    Yang Hai¡¯s voice rose a little higher. ¡°The secret routes in my hand are definitely what you require.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll wait for Captain Yang¡¯s reply. I hope that the next time we talk, it will be to make a deal.¡± Lu Yin then hung up.

    The distant battle continued in an unstoppable manner, and casualty reports constantly flowed in.

    This was typical of a war, especially for an interster war. Those who had not reached the Explorers realm were unable to protect themselves, and a single attack could destroy a spacecraft and kill thousands of soldiers, not a single one surviving.

    The war had already dragged out for a month, and logically, the Dark Phoenix family experts should have arrived by now.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as Wei Rong must have made some preparations from the very beginning of the war.

    If not for Endless Borders helping the Wei Family, one month would have been more than sufficient for the Allied Forces to fight their way to the Wei family¡¯s ancestral. Unfortunately, they had ultimately failed in their gambit to quickly eliminate the Wei family.

    In the distance, dozens of spacecraft were lined up in a row as light beams suddenly descended and swept across everything.

    The Wei family, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, the Shadowsword Sect, and other reinforcements had half of their vessels destroyed by this round of energy attacks, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers were instantly vaporized.

    Wei Rong had never visited the frontlines in person, and he had always been giving orders from the backlines. He had seen that their defenses could not hold out for any longer and had immediately given the order to retreat, pulling back the defensive perimeter.

    Liuying Zishan ordered the Allied Forces to give chase.

    Armament Weave¡¯s defensive line copsed bit by bit. Their reinforcements were no longer able to arrive quickly enough whereas the Allied Forces¡¯ attacks grew stronger with every wave.

    ¡°Send out videos of this war,¡± Wei Rong suddenly ordered, his face solemn. This war was an ample disy of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ power, and if they had not received reinforcements from the various other weaves, the Wei family would have already been crushed. Any weave that faced the Great Eastern Alliance on its own would also quickly be defeated.

    He wanted to show the central weaves and even the western weaves that this was the true power of the Great Eastern Alliance that they had been disregarding all this time.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was already a colossal organization within the Outerverse, and it just barelycked the status to be an unprovokable power on the same level as Neo-Vestige Sect, Millions City, and the Dark Phoenix family. However, in terms of influence, the alliance had already surpassed the other three powers.

    The new battlefront copsed yet again, but this time, the battle onlysted for another half month. By now, the Allied Forces were fewer than five fments away from the Wei family¡¯s ancestral. If everything went smoothly, they would be able to cover this distance in no more than another half month.

    Many in the Wei family were starting to panic, and they begged their elders to reach out to the Great Eastern Alliance and find a way to end the war.

    The Wei family had governed Armament Weave for a long time, and none of them could recall thest time they had faced such a dire crisis. All along, they had been the ones plotting against others, and it had been too long since someone else had brought a war to their doorstep.

    Wei Baichuan had been focused on the war this entire time, and it still had not ended. After all, none of the Lockbreakers were participating in the defense and neither had Yi Feng. Their Wei family had not run out of all options yet.

    ***

    In Frostwave Weave, on Hydrotink, Wei Xin''er desperately pleaded with Felynn, asking her to urge Lu Yin to stop the war. However, Wei Xin¡¯er was emotionlessly rejected by Felynn.

    Felynn had not thought that her alternative route would be cut off this quickly, but was there any purpose in pleading for mercy at this point? Would Lu Yin even listen to her? What a joke! At this point, whoever dared to obstruct Lu Yin was an enemy, and Felynn had no desire to die just yet.

    Although she was the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Interim President, she was fully confident that Lu Yin still had ways to deal with her.

    The various powers of the Outerverse were all focused on this war, but they held differing attitudes towards it. Some were grieving, some ridiculed the two sides, and still others rejoiced at others¡¯ misfortune. However, the vast majority was uncaring. In this war, the Great Eastern Alliance was not in the wrong, as the Wei family had undeniably nted troops within Frostwave Weave. They had brought this war upon themselves.

    This indifference was especially prevalent in the western weaves, and many news outlets werepletely unrestrained in their mockingments towards the war, and they treated it as a confrontation between two weaklings. Many of the western powers had never cared about the Great Eastern Alliance.

    There were many who believed that the Wei family was about to meet their end when the experts from the Dark Phoenix family finally arrived on the battlefield. By this time, the war had been going on for almost two months. The Allied Forces had advanced until they were only three fments away from the Wei family¡¯s ancestral.

    Lu Yin sighed, as these people had stille in the end. Wei Rong had managed to maintain hisposure well. He had not even evacuated the Wei family from their ancestral. Did he really trust the Dark Phoenix family that much?

    A dozen or so experts from the Dark Phoenix family had arrived, and they brought troops from the Dark Phoenix family with them, totaling nearly 10,000 cultivators. Just their appearance caused a ck me to engulf an entire region of space. If not for Lu Yin already being prepared for such an event, the mes would have burned the Allied Forces to a crisp.

    Their arrival prompted the Rapid Response Team to finally act, joining the Allied Forces along with the impatient Six-Fingered Tribe experts who had long been eager to join the fray. A total of seven Hunters participated in the next battle, and the Dark Phoenix family alone mobilized five. The battle between the Hunters superseded the skirmishes of all the other troops, and their confrontation caused space itself to rupture and nearbys to shatter.

    A terrifying pressure descended, and the spacecraft that Lu Yin was sitting in cracked. This was an Enlighter¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as he had noticed Sall Phoenix¡¯s rune lines the moment the Dark Phoenix family had arrived.

    Aden leapt out with his thunder shield that was reinforced with nine lined battle force to block Sall Phoenix¡¯s ck Undying Bird. Sall Phoenix was surprised to discover that there was a Hunter who could actually stop him and that the Great Eastern Alliance had been holding such an expert in reserve.

    Back at Millions City, Yan Yan had also exchanged blows with Sall Phoenix, but he had been easily beaten back. Compared to Yan Yan, Aden¡¯s defense was much more robust since it was his specialty, but it only managed to surprise Sall Phoenix for a moment. The Enlighter¡¯s strength was greater than Lord Egret¡¯s, and he was not someone who Aden could withstand on his own.

    ¡°Junior, I¡¯m going to show you the oue of offending my Dark Phoenix family!¡± Sall Phoenix barked as his ck Undying Bird¡¯s plumes intensified. It was the exact same move he had used back in Millions City.

    When he had first faced this ck Undying Bird, Lu Yin had been forced to shatter the ground and use the other Enlighters to block the attack. But now, it no longer mattered.

    In outer space, as he faced the enormous ck mes that swept towards him, Aden raised a hand, revealing the Bacsh Pearl that instantly absorbed all of the ck mes.

    Sall Phoenix was astonished. ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    Lu Yin had upgraded the Bacsh Pearl sixteen times, and it had been enhanced to the point of being able to reflect attacks of power levels of 300,000. Sall Phoenix¡¯s power level was infinitely close to 300,000, which was coincidentally within the upper limit that the Bacsh Pearl could absorb.

    The ck mes rolled back towards Sall Phoenix, and he gritted his teeth as he allowed the ck mes to descend upon himself. He sneered as he mocked, ¡°I can release my Dark Phoenix family¡¯s mes, and I can naturally absorb them as well. This method cannot do anything to me! Go and die!¡±

    He then tried to maneuver around Aden to directly attack the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly donned his set of universal armor as he stepped out of the spacecraft. He then tightly clenched his right fist, and his bracer trembled as he unleashed a punch.

    Aden quickly moved aside.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch mmed towards Sall Phoenix, who did not make any attempt to dodge. His ck mes crowed as they fiercely plummeted towards Lu Yin in return.

    There was a thump as space distorted before it burst open both near and far. Countless people were stunned, as their scalps had gone numb.

    The ck mes scattered apart, falling in what looked like meteors.

    Sall Phoenix was repelled 10,000 meters back by Lu Yin¡¯s punch, and a clear fist imprint could be seen on his chest.

    He dared not believe this oue. Back in Millions City, a single punch from Lu Yin had indeed forced him back, but it had not been able to harm him at all. But now, this person¡¯s strength had actually risen this far; how was such a thing possible?

    Lu Yin shook his right fist. He had alreadypleted three cultivation cycles, which improved both his star energy and power level. Naturally, this meant that his strength had risen as well. He was not the same person that he had been back in Millions City, and this old fellow had been knocked silly with one punch.

    However, Lu Yin was not in good condition himself, as his universal armor still had cracks in it. Those ck mes had hurt him, but fortunately the cracks were not toorge, and also, the majority of the mes had been torn apart by the power of his fist. Otherwise, even if it had just been a trace of the ck mes, he would have been out of luck.

    Just in terms of power levels, there was no way Lu Yin was anywhere close to being Sall Phoenix¡¯s opponent. However, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had been amplified and doubled by his bracer.

    Lu Yin himself was aware that he had only seeded due to this item, but it was not readily apparent to the others who were watching the exchange. It was easy to recognize the universal armor as an external item, but the bracer was much harder to notice and recognize.

    Not only had Lu Yin¡¯s punch stumped Sall Phoenix, but it had also stumped countless people watching from the battlefield.

    Who would have thought that a puny Explorer would be able to directly repel an Enlighter from the Dark Phoenix family?

    This entire region of outer space suddenly broke out into cheers, as countless soldiers were cheering for their Alliance Leader.

    Lu Yin felt proud, as this was the effect that he had wanted to have. A war was fought with resources and paid in blood, a vitalponent of which was morale. He did not know how to give inspiring speeches, so he could only raise the troops¡¯ morale through his actions.

    He had done the correct thing, as the momentum of the entire battlefieldpletely shifted to their side. Originally, due to the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s reinforcements, the defenders of Armament Weave had enjoyed a huge boost of confidence. But after the exchange between Lu Yin and Sall Phoenix, they became dispirited again. If even an Enlighter was not able to best their enemies, then what hope did they have left?

    Sall Phoenix¡¯s eyes turned blood red. ¡°Junior, die for me!¡±

    He dashed towards Lu Yin as his ck mes swept out and formed a giant hand that grabbed at the youth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, but he did not move. As he remained in ce, an extreme chill appeared from behind him. Yan Yan had appeared, and he moved to block the ck mes.

 Chapter 815: Outside The Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 815: Outside The Battlefield</h4>

    Aden forcefully shoved his thunder shield towards Sall Phoenix.

    Sall Phoenix hollered at Lu Yin, ¡°Junior, fight me if you are able!¡±

    Lu Yin did not care about the taunt, as there was no longer any need for him to act. Repelling Sall Phoenix once was already enough. If he was truly to fight against Sall Phoenix, the cracks in his universal armor might not be able to withstand repeated attacks from the Enlighter. If the old fart gave his all, then his attacks would approach a power level of 300,000.

    Yan Yan and Aden united with the support of the Bacsh Pearl. Although they could not beat Sall Phoenix, they could hold him off for the moment.

    Across the interster battlefield, close to 10,000 cultivators from the Dark Phoenix family had entered the fray, and at the same time, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Rapid Response Team also joined to reinforce the Allied Forces. The sudden influx of forces from both sides caused the battle to escte drastically.

    At this point in time, a sharp radiance appeared in the distance as countless arrows distorted space as they shot towards the cultivators from the Dark Phoenix family.

    The experts from the Neo-Vestige Sect had arrived.

    Peach was participating in this battle, so Neo-Vestige Sect could not restfortably if they left her alone.

    With the intervention from the Neo-Vestige Sect, the battlefield changedpletely, and the Dark Phoenix family no longer held the advantage.

    When Wei Rong discovered that Neo-Vestige Sect had joined the battle, he immediately gave the order to withdraw.

    On a battlefield, Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s members were superior even to the Dark Phoenix family. Their arrow techniques were truly astounding, and they were always executed with great precision. The strength of their attacks was mysteriously high, and they were not something that the Dark Phoenix family couldpete with.

    Sall Phoenix could only helplessly withdraw his forces.

    Everyone who was focused on the war quickly realized that the scales had tipped heavily in Lu Yin¡¯s favor.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the Allied Forces again broke through the defensive perimeter and advanced toward the Wei family¡¯s ancestral. He wanted to see if the Wei family would finally withdraw.

    There were no Enlighters among Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s reinforcements this time, and only several Hunters had arrived, all led by Gong Chou.

    Gong Chou¡¯s expression when he met Lu Yin was very unfriendly. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I want to take Little Peach back to Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed. ¡°Sure thing. Just see if she¡¯s willing.¡±

    Gong Chou immediately contacted Peach, but he ended up being firmly rejected.

    Gong Chou was thus helpless. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please do us a favor and send Little Peach back to Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin said quietly, ¡°Brother Gong Chou, you know that this is a war and not some child¡¯s game.¡±

    Gong Chou was instantly forced into a difficult position. ¡°Father ordered me to absolutely take Little Peach away. I ask that Alliance Leader Lu not make things difficult.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not making things difficult. You can take Peach away yourself, but you can¡¯t use force, as otherwise, that will be considered kidnapping,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Next to Gong Chou, a Hunter barked, ¡°You, the one surnamed Lu, don¡¯t go overboard! Do you really think that we don¡¯t see you trying to use Little Peach to force our Neo-Vestige Sect into this war? Despicable!¡±

    Gong Chou immediately made the Hunter shut up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew frigid. ¡°Brother Gong Chou, I¡¯ll show you some face this time and simply ignore this person¡¯s words. However, there will not be a next time. Otherwise, even if it¡¯s an expert from Neo-Vestige Sect, I will make that person¡¯s life miserable.¡±

    That Hunter still seemed to want to say something, but he was stopped by Gong Chou.

    Lu Yin had climbed to such a position not only by way of schemes and trickery, but more so by his own strength. Without strength to support his schemes, Lu Yin would have died in the time since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated.

    If they were still in Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s territory, they would not have even asked this youth. But outside, this person¡¯s strength surpassed what even Neo-Vestige Sect could match, and even the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Enlighter had not been able to do anything to him. Unless the Arrow Mountain Elder personally intervened, Neo-Vestige Sect would not be able to do much to Lu Yin either.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, the Great Eastern Alliance has many experts, and it even has powerhouses who can withstand Enlighters. There is no need for Little Peach to participate since she¡¯s just a Cruiser,¡± Gong Chou protested.

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that, as long as she¡¯s willing, she can leave with you. I¡¯m not forcing her to do anything.¡±

    Gong Chou smiled bitterly. If Peach was willing, she would have long since left the battlefield, and there would have been no need for them toe to this warzone. Their main objective this time was to protect Peach, but it would be best if they could take her away to a safe ce.

    When Peach had appeared on the battlefield, it was as if the Great Eastern Alliance had drawn Neo-Vestige Sect into the war.

    When Neo-Vestige Sect took action, Lu Yin had been very happy. But even if Neo-Vestige Sect had not made a move, he had other methods to take care of the Wei family with, and Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s help could only be considered as icing on the cake.

    Sall Phoenix had wanted to join the battle on multiple asions, but each time, he was stopped by Wei Rong, as it was meaningless to drag out the fight at this time.

    ¡°Those two Hunters can¡¯t stop me, and it won¡¯t take me long to take care of them all,¡± Sall Phoenix said, irked.

    In a respectful voice, Wei Rong responded, ¡°Senior can naturally take care of them, but taking care of Lu Yin is very difficult. If Senior is willing, Junior would like to ask Senior to deal with the Allied Forces.¡±

    Sall Phoenix frowned. ¡°You want me to attack his soldiers?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Without the soldiers, the Great Eastern Alliance will not be able to defeat us, no matter how strong their experts might be,¡± Wei Rong answered.

    Sall Phoenix thought about it and agreed. It was too difficult to take care of Lu Yin and the other experts. However, it would be trivial for him to deal with regr troops, as just a single ze would be enough.

    But before he could make a move, the Allied Forcesunched their own attack with Aden, Yan Yan and the powerhouses from Neo-Vestige Sect spearheading the assault. Meanwhile, Lu Yin constantly updated Aden with Sall Phoenix¡¯s location in order to prevent Sall Phoenix from annihting the soldiers. If Wei Rong could think of such a tactic, then so too could Lu Yin.

    Interster battles were always the same in one regard: one expert could change the entire situation.

    Wei Rong rubbed his forehead. This Lu Yin was too difficult to deal with, and it seemed like Wei Rong would have to use that dark pawn after all.

    ***

    In Neo-Vestige Sect, the giant fire beneath the ground rose up and shot towards the sky. Master Bei¡¯s expression was solemn, and as he looked at the fire, an arrow gradually took form.

    This was the original form of an arrow that he had been forging for over a hundred years, and he had used countless precious minerals and materials during that time to sharpen the aura of the arrow. He had hoped that this arrow would be one of Arrow Mountain¡¯s most treasured divine, and that it would be recorded down in Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s history.

    Outside, a Cruiser realm Neo-Vestige Sect disciple requested an audience.

    Shao Zisong had a hateful expression. ¡°Master is not someone who you can meet as you please.¡± He had been sentenced to work on Arrow Mountain as a ve, but he had been brought out by Master Bei after just a few days, though he was still considered an arrow ve.

    ¡°Senior Song, I¡¯m not looking for Elder just for myself, but also for Senior Song.¡± The Cruiser disciple tried to fawn over Shao Zisong.

    Shao Zisong frowned and looked at the disciple with a strange expression. ¡°For me? We have never had any sort of interaction, so what sort of rtionship could you have with me?¡±

    The Cruiser realm disciple quietly said, ¡°I have a way to deal with Lu Yin.¡±

    Shao Zisong¡¯s eyes went wide, he grabbed the Cruiser¡¯s cor, and he gritted his teeth, ¡°You dare to mock me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t dare! If Senior Song will allow me to meet with Elder, then I will report the current situation. If Senior Song is not satisfied, then you can simply make me disappear,¡± the Cruiser said hurriedly.

    Shao Zisong¡¯s eyes flickered, and he snorted coldly. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    Before long, Master Bei walked out and looked at the Cruiser disciple. He indifferently asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The Cruiser disciple knelt on the floor. ¡°The Armament Weave¡¯s Wei Rong requests to speak with Elder.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The Wei family? Is it the same Wei family that¡¯s waging a war with the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Master Bei fell deep into thought.

    Shao Zisong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Master, there¡¯s no harm in listening to what he has to say.¡±

    Master Bei nodded.

    Shao Zisong had the Cruiser disciple open the screen on his gadget before both Shao Zisong and the Cruiser disciple withdrew, leaving only Master Bei and Wei Rong to meet through a video call.

    Wei Rong had a respectful expression on his face and he slowly bowed. ¡°Junior Wei Rong pays his respects to Master Bei.¡±

    In a detached tone, Master Bei asked, ¡°Why have youe looking for me?¡±

    Wei Rong serenely answered, ¡°Junior wants to ask Master Bei to enforce justice. The Great Eastern Alliance took the initiative to start this war, which has led to a terrible situation for many in the Outerverse with blood flowing in rivers. It¡¯s well known that Master Bei is consistently just and kind, so I beg Master Bei to please help my Armament Weave.¡±

    Master Bei indifferently replied, ¡°Just this?¡±

    Wei Rong adjusted his expression. ¡°If Master Bei is willing to help, my Wei family will naturally offer a gift.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time.¡± Master Bei began leaving.

    Wei Rong hurriedly spoke up. ¡°Would Master Bei please wait a moment. The Wei family¡¯s gift¡ªand I trust that Master will not reject it¡ªis Peach.¡±

    Master Bei abruptly froze before turning around slowly and revealing an icy expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Wei Rong respectfully responded, ¡°My Wei family is willing to give Peach to Master Bei as a present, so we ask Master Bei to pleasee to our aid.¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Peach is from my Neo-Vestige Sect, but you want to use her to threaten me?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°A straightforward person does not resort to such insinuations. Peach will be given to Master Bei, which will be a secret deal between the two of us. Junior promises that nobody will find out about this matter.¡±

    ¡°What do you know about Peach?¡± Master Bei asked coldly.

    Wei Rong shook his head. ¡°I don''t know much, but there is one thing: there was a period of time where, due to Peach, Master Bei¡¯s disciple became enemies with Lu Yin. In fact, I even heard that Master Bei was about to act. I trust that Peach will definitely be of use to Master Bei, though this junior may not know the reason. Truth be told, I don¡¯t want to know, just so long as this can help Master Bei.¡±

    Master Bei stood in ce and stared at Wei Rong, and his expression grew gentler after a long while. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled upwards.

    Not much more time passed before Master Bei walked out. He then gave Shao Zisong a few instructions. Shao Zisong was delighted, and he quickly left.

    As for the Cruiser realm disciple, Master Bei simply dismissed him. Master Bei had gained some impression of Wei Rong during their conversation, and he had realized that the kid had actually nted a spy within Neo-Vestige Sect. No¡ªjudging by the ages of the two people, that disciple should have been sent by the Wei family rather than Wei Rong himself.

    It was rumored that the Wei family was adept at various plots and that they had their fingers in many pies. Sure enough, they had even ced someone inside Neo-Vestige Sect. They had truly hidden their assets very deeply.

    Although Master Bei was rather unhappy with the Wei family, for the moment, they had amon enemy. They should first take care of that person, and this time, their n should be irond.

    In Armament Weave, Lu Yin watched as the line of defense crumbled yet again. At this moment, there were only two fments standing between the Allied Forces and the Wei family¡¯s ancestral. The war would end soon, but Lu Yin had a feeling that Wei Rong would not go down that easily. At the very least, the Lockbreakers, such as Yi Feng, had not made any moves yet.

    Wei Rong had brought those Lockbreakers into Armament Weave, and they were not there simply for show.

    The astral warhorses appeared again, which marked the fifth time that they had been used during this war. Each appearance had heralded great losses for the Allied Forces. However, ever since the experts from Neo-Vestige Sect had arrived, the losses had been greatly reduced.

    ¡°Your Highness, more reinforcements have arrived, this time from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and some other forces from the nearby weaves,¡± Liuying Zishan reported to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this. The time it had taken these forces to arrive seemed to be about right. If not for Lu Yin eliminating the support that Armament Weave had been receiving from Endless Borders, the reinforcements would have arrived much earlier.

    It seemed like it would take a bit more time to breach the defenses that stood in their way.

    At this time, the Allied Forces were being supported by the Rapid Response Team and the Six-Fingered Tribe, not to mention the Great Yu Empire, Neo-Vestige Sect, and other experts from all parts of the alliance. They had thrown their full strength into the war efforts. Even if Armament Weave received more reinforcements, they would onlyst for an additional day or two at most.

    The most troublesome part of the defense was Sall Phoenix¡¯s presence. If not for Lu Yin lending his Bacsh Pearl to Aden, even thebination of Aden and Yan Yan would not be able to hold off the Enlighter for long.

    In the distance, a scorching heat wave sped towards the Allied Forces yet again, and the surface of Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft was slightly charred with some sections of the hull even melting before gradually breaking away.

 Chapter 816: Tiny Arrow

    <h4>Chapter 816: Tiny Arrow</h4>

    The Dark Phoenix family had united tounch another joint attack, but countless arrows shot westwards, which was Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s retaliation.

    ¡°Your Highness, ording to the most recent calctions, it will take us half a month at most before we arrive at the Wei family¡¯s ancestral,¡± En Ya reported.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t get careless.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness. The Great Eastern Alliance has already set up multiple emergency contingencies, and there¡¯s an Enlighter protecting Zenyu Star. There is no way for Wei Rong to turn the tides,¡± En Ya stated confidently.

    Lu Yin had a tight frown on his face. The further they progressed into Armament Weave, the more likely he felt it was that they would run intoplications.

    ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve obtained some news. People from the Wei family have started to pull out of their ancestral home,¡± someone reported.

    Lu Yin frowned; was Wei Rong admitting defeat?

    The spacecraft trembled as Sall Phoenix suddenly attacked, but it was once again blocked by Aden.

    Lu Yin looked at the rune lines that pervaded the area around him, and he took a deep breath. As long as he was able to deal with Wei Rong and take care of him, Lu Yin would not need to be concerned about the central weaves, even if they did unite.

    Wei Rong was like a rope connecting the central weaves. Once this rope snapped, the unity between those weaves would be easily scattered.

    It was just like how Lu Yin was the one holding the Great Eastern Alliance together. If something happened to him, the Great Eastern Alliance wouldpletely fall apart.

    Lu Yin was caught in a dilemma yet again; should he hire Smoker to take care of Wei Rong? When facing off against Wei Rong, Lu Yin struggled to be as decisive as he usually was. Some of Wei Rong¡¯s aspects seemed to mirror Lu Yin¡¯s, and that made Lu Yin reluctant to resort to dark methods like assassination to deal with Wei Rong. Lu Yin wanted to defeat Wei Rong head on, regardless of the methods required.

    The universe only saw the victor as the king, and it was possible that, at the bottom of his heart, Lu Yin held onto the unrealistic fantasy of subduing Wei Rong. Unfortunately, such a thing was close to impossible.

    Suddenly, urgent footsteps approached. ¡°Your Highness, Captain Peach was killed in action!¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Captain Peach just- her body waspletely destroyed!¡± The reporting soldier had a deathly pale face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and his heart wrenched in pain as he stepped into outer space and sped towards the battlefield.

    On the battlefield at this moment, the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples were frantically attacking the cultivators from the Dark Phoenix family. Gong Ke, Gong Chou, and the others were all shouting something.

    Sall Phoenix was no longer tangled up with Aden. Instead, he was blocking the advancement of the full Allied Forces all by himself.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Sall Phoenix sneered, and his ck mes formed a wall that blocked off the Allied Forces.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples all looked stunned, especially Gong Chou, who was trembling from head to toe.

    Lu Yin arrived next to him and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Gong Chou looked at Lu Yin and roared in anger, ¡°Little Peach is dead! Crushed! You must be satisfied now, as you¡¯re the one who sent her onto the battlefield! You¡¯re the one who killed her!¡±

    The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples all red at Lu Yin with bloodlust in their eyes.

    All around them, the various Hunters from the Allied Forces, as well as Aden and Yan Yan, appeared, and they stood across from the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples.

    Lu Yin stared at Gong Chou. ¡°What is going on? Describe what happened clearly.¡±

    Gong Chou exhaled and bitterly said, ¡°The battlefield was too chaotic, and Little Peach strayed away from us without us noticing. When we found her again, she and a battle spacecraft both exploded simultaneously and were vaporized.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Gong Chou pointed in a certain direction, and Lu Yin turned to see the wreckage of a spacecraft floating through space. As far as he could see, aside from some Neo-Vestige Sect disciples searching through the debris, there were no other rune lines in the area.

    His heart sank, and he approached the wreckage as he unleashed his domain. There were no living organisms and no corpses. Had Peach truly been killed without leaving even a corpse behind?

    ¡°How is it that so many of you strayed away from her?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stared at Gong Chou.

    Gong Chou angrily retorted, ¡°This is a battlefield, and there¡¯s enemies all around us! That¡¯s not even mentioning how that old bastard, Sall Phoenix, suddenly appeared and prevented us from finding Little Peach.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Aden. ¡°Why did Sall Phoenix suddenly withdraw?¡±

    Aden shook his head. ¡°I don''t know, but he suddenly pulled back after fighting here and there across the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Senior, there¡¯s nothing here,¡± a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple reported to Gong Chou. It seemed as though they had been searching for something.

    Gong Chou remained stubborn, and he personally flew over to the wreckage to search.

    Lu Yin knew that the man was searching for the arrow that had belonged to Peach, and he felt his heart sink. Peach had been his friend, and he had to get revenge.

    However, the entire situation was too strange. If Wei Rong wanted to kill Peach and cause a falling out between the Neo-Vestige Sect and Lu Yin, then that would be very normal. However, why were they unable to find Peach¡¯s arrow? Her arrow was a divine arrow that had been handed down through ancient times and had survived the corrosion of time. It could not have been destroyed by a single attack, and Peach had once mentioned that she always carried the arrow on her person.

    If the arrow had truly been on Peach¡¯s body, then it had either been either picked up by someone on the battlefield or Peach was not actually dead. He did not believe that her body had beenpletely destroyed, and just like Undying Yushan, there was a possibility that a person was not actually dead so long as there was no corpse to be found.

    However, Lu Yin had arrived on the scene as soon as he had heard of Peach¡¯s death, but despite that, he could not see any trace of her rune lines.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect disciples continued searching through the wreckage, and although Gong Chou had quarreled with Lu Yin, he still had not left. Gong Chou must have guessed that the arrow had been taken by someone, and he wanted to stay near the battlefield to rendezvous with other Neo-Vestige Sect experts to look for the arrow.

    That arrow was too important to the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft and immediately called Wei Rong.

    Soon, Wei Rong¡¯s smiling face appeared on the screen. ¡°Brother Lu, long time no see.¡±

    Ever since the war had begun, the two had not spoken to each other. Wei Rong had also essentially never even stepped foot near the battlefield, despite the fact that the battles had been going on for two months already.

    ¡°Is Peach dead or not?¡± Lu Yin directly asked in a depressed voice. He was a little expectant and also a little nervous. He was emotional not only because of the looming threat from Neo-Vestige Sect, but more so because Peach had been his friend.

    Wei Rong helplessly answered, ¡°Anything can change in an instant on the battlefield. Brother Lu, restrain your grief.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Is Peach actually dead?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled softly. ¡°Brother Lu should not ask me this question, as I wasn¡¯t near the battlefield. You should ask those Neo-Vestige Sect disciples, as they personally witnessed what urred.¡±

    Lu Yin was stubborn. "Brother Wei, if Peach is not dead but was instead captured by you, I¡¯m willing to end this war right now in exchange for Peach.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression changed, as he had not expected Lu Yin to be willing to pay such a steep price. ¡°Is it worth it?¡±

    Lu Yin firmly answered, ¡°She¡¯s my friend.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Brother Lu must be afraid of the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s retaliation.¡±

    In a low voice, Lu Yin threatened, ¡°You underestimate me too much. The universe preys on the weak and follows the darkws of the jungle. Friends are exceptionally precious, and those who I recognize as my friends will never change in my life.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression grew solemn, and he took a serious look at Lu Yin and sighed with sorrow. ¡°Today can be considered as me learning something more about Brother Lu. Although your ambition is great, you still have a bottom line when ites to aplishing your goals. What a pity. You¡¯ve also disappointed me, as you care about these things too much, so you will fear those losses. However, those losses are what give rise to greatness and great opportunities. Brother Lu, in the future, I will walk ahead of you.¡±

    ¡°Is Peach dead or not?¡± Lu Yin asked sternly.

    Wei Rong sighed. ¡°Very unfortunately, she is dead.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank as he stared straight into Wei Rong¡¯s eyes. ¡°This is your only chance to end this war, so think carefully before you give your final answer.¡±

    Wei Rong replied, ¡°If Brother Lu doesn¡¯t believe me, then I have no choice. Brother Lu had best beware of the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s revenge. Farewell.¡±

    He then ended the call.

    Lu Yin stood inside his vessel and looked out at outer space. The battlefield in the distance had halted. He rather regretted sending Peach out onto the battlefield, and he should have pulled Peach back the moment the Wei family had started evacuating from their ancestral. Sall Phoenix had suddenly withdrawn at that moment, and he must have pulled back to deal with Peach.

    This move by Wei Rong had been brilliant, and it had sessfully dyed the war, as Lu Yin needed to first deal with the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin looked down at his gadget and activated it, causing Gong Ling¡¯s image to appear.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, did you forget what I told you before?¡± Gong Ling¡¯s tone was icy-cold, and his eyes radiated bloodlust.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone was depressed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sect Leader Gong Ling. I didn¡¯t take care of Peach well enough.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for any more words with how the matters stand. Anyone who participated in this war must remain at the battlefield to be investigated carefully. As for you, Alliance Leader Lu, my Neo-Vestige Sect will naturally pay you a visit to see what happened. Even with the Hall of Honor supporting you, my Neo-Vestige Sect will not let this matter rest. I will invite the Arrow Mountain Elder out to make a personal visit.¡± Gong Ling quickly disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. Everything had fallen short of sess due to ack of effort!

    They were not too far from the Wei family¡¯s ancestral, but something like this had still happened.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect would not help him any longer, and without their help, it was not realistic to expect to take down the Wei family in a short amount of time. Sall Phoenix alone was enough to dy the advancement of the Allied Forces.

    ¡°Your Highness, please give amand. Even without Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s help, we can still fight our way to the Wei family¡¯s ancestral,¡± Liuying Zishan said in a determined voice after arriving at Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft.

    Lu Yin shook his head, as Wei Rong¡¯s final defense included not only the reinforcements from the Dark Phoenix family, but also the Lockbreakers who had not made a move yet. The further in the Allied Forces pushed, the more reckless the defenders would be, and Lu Yin would also have to deal with the pressure from the Neo-Vestige Sect from here on out. There was going to be chaos from both in front and behind. If he was not careful, he could lose the entire game due to one wrong move. At this moment, he needed to ponder how to deal with the situation with the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    ¡°Control the battlefield and make sure that no one leaves by themselves,¡± Lu Yin said. That arrow was of the greatest importance to the Neo-Vestige Sect. If they could find the arrow and hand it to the Neo-Vestige Sect, that great power might not end up taking any action.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression looked bleak, as this was a war. He had lost a friend, and Peach¡¯s bell-like, reverberatingughter had been lost forever, and he felt extremely distressed.

    Regret? He only felt a little. If he could do it over again, he would have still chosen to wage this war. But just as Wei Rong had said, the more one feared losing something, the more they would end up losing. Lu Yin was indeed afraid of losing his friends, rtives, and loved ones. But regardless of his fear, he could endure any loss; fear was one thing, and he still had to take action.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, restrain your grief,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice was also mncholic. He rather liked Peach, as she was not a scheming individual and was more like a pure child, which made her rather likeable.

    Lu Yin took out the miniature arrow that Peach had given him and reflected on their times together.

    As he looked at it, the miniature arrow suddenly shuddered.

    Lu Yin thought that he had seen wrong, but then, the tiny arrow trembled once again. It rose into the air and shot off into the void, tearing through the distance.

    Lu Yin immediately followed it, and he just barely managed to keep up with the tiny arrow as it sped away, almost losing it.

    The tiny arrow¡¯s speed grew faster and faster, and it seemed to be heading in a southeastern direction.

    Lu Yin held the tiny arrow tightly and allowed it to take him further away from the battlefield. There was a torrent in his heart, and he suddenly realized that this tiny arrow might actually be one of the three divine arrows, the one that Peach had inherited. Otherwise, he could not exin its mighty force. In his eyes, this tiny arrow¡¯s rune lines greatly surpassed those of an Enlighter, and they were still increasing.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what the hell is this?¡± the monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin was stunned when he realized that Peach had actually given that precious arrow to him, but why had she done so?

 Chapter 817: Lu Yin Vs. Master Bei

    <h4>Chapter 817: Lu Yin Vs. Master Bei</h4>

    There was no time for Lu Yin to even think. The arrow¡¯s speed grew faster and faster as it tore through the void, and its speed even overtook that of a radiant-grade Aurora. Before long, a spacecraft appeared up ahead that was heading to the east.

    There was no emblem on the spacecraft, and its origins were unknown.

    The tiny arrow broke free of Lu Yin¡¯s grasp and shot into the spacecraft, and it did not reappear.

    Lu Yin entered the vessel at the same time as the arrow, sneakily infiltrating the spacecraft. He quickly noticed a delighted Peach holding the tiny arrow, and she had been locked up inside a dimly lit cage.

    Peach was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the arrow, and she looked around as if searching for something.

    When Lu Yin stepped forward, he smiled at her.

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯vee!¡± Peach was ecstatic.

    Lu Yin was thrilled to discover that Peach was still alive. He enjoyed the pleasant surprise of regaining a friend after losing them, and he roughly ruffled Peach¡¯s hair.

    Peach was sullen at such treatment. ¡°Your Highness, that hurts.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Tell me about what happened,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Peach passed the tiny arrow to Lu Yin. ¡°First, put this away.¡±

    Lu Yin retrieved it. ¡°This must be one of the three arrows.¡±

    Peach nodded.

    ¡°And you¡¯re just going to hand it over to me just like that?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Peach replied in a matter-of-fact manner, ¡°Didn¡¯t ite in handy?¡±

    Lu Yin pinched her chin. ¡°Little brat, you¡¯re pretty smart. You knew that some people were scheming to steal that arrow, and so you intentionally left it with me. If anything happened to you, you must have known that you would be able to summon this arrow and that it would bring me to free you. Good.¡±

    Peach looked embarrassed and positively adorable as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness is so smart¡ªyou were able to figure it out right away.¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly replied, ¡°I never thought that I, who always plotted against others, would be so predictable to you.¡±

    Peach tried to butter up Lu Yin by moving behind him and massaging his shoulders. ¡°Your Highness, aren¡¯t I allowed to be afraid? Those people with Master Bei won¡¯t give up, and the sect leader often goes into seclusion. So just what am I supposed to do if something happens to me? Your Highness is fearless, so I¡¯ll be safe as long as Your Highnesses to save me.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to butter me up. Tell me, what happened on the battlefield?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Peach stuck out her tongue. ¡°Gong Ke and the others were drawn away by others, and I was captured by a Shadowsword Sect expert. When I woke up, I found myself on this spacecraft. The guard happened to go do something else, which gave me the time I needed to use my technique to call the arrow and guide Your Highness to me. Fortunately, you weren¡¯t too far away, or else my technique might not have actually worked.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Were Gong Ke and the others lured away by enemies?¡±

    Peach shook her head and solemnly answered, ¡°One of the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples. A Hunter who came with the reinforcements.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned chilly. ¡°It looks like someone is colluding with Neo-Vestige Sect. They wanted to send you back as a gift while also causing me to be hated by the Neo-Vestige Sect. A good n, since if we faced off against both Neo-Vestige Sect and the Dark Phoenix family at the same time, we would undoubtedly be defeated.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, are you talking about Wei Rong?¡± Peach asked.

    ¡°Who else?¡± Lu Yinmented. ¡°But, the Neo-Vestige Sect expert who he colluded with will need to be looked into.¡±

    ¡°Does it? He has to be working with Master Bei.¡± Peach rolled her eyes.

    ¡°We¡¯re certain it¡¯s him, but we still need evidence,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    At this point, his expression changed. ¡°Someone¡¯sing. Keep acting like you were before, and I¡¯ll hide for now.¡±

    Peach nodded, as it was meaningless for her to be saved at this time. They would have to wait until the veryst moment to see who she would be given to. As she thought about it, Peachid down and went to sleep.

    From outside her cell, someone nced in to check on her, but they did not notice anything amiss, so they continued to calmly keep watch.

    On the battlefield in Armament Weave, Liuying Zishan and the others were notified by Lu Yin and ordered to not restart the battle.

    The spacecraft that was transporting Peach had no emblem on its hull, but its journey proceeded unhindered, and it effortlessly entered Mordo Weave. However, it did not head towards Neo-Vestige Sect. Rather, it headed in another direction.

    Along the way, Lu Yin had no other opportunities to speak further with Peach. He had wanted to contact Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader Gong Ling, but he stopped himself. Could it really be that the only one coveting Peach¡¯s arrow was Master Bei? Was Gong Ling truly that impartial? Lu Yin did not know, but before he couldpletely ascertain that Gong Ling was harmless, he did not want to risk inadvertently alerting their foe.

    Before long, the shipnded on a deste, and Peach was immediately dumped out. The spacecraft did not even stop moving, and it quickly flew back up towards outer space to leave.

    Lu Yin quickly took action and caused the spacecraft to suffer a malfunction.

    This was uninhabited, and if Lu Yin allowed the spacecraft to leave, it would be too easy to notice him, so he had to make sure that the vessel stayed behind.

    The spacecraft was just about to leave the atmosphere when it wobbled back down towards the surface, where the maintenance crew began repairing it.

    Suddenly, an enormous pressure fell upon the and instantly crushed the spacecraft into fragments. Not a single soul survived.

    Lu Yin was also sted underground by the enormous force.

    High above, a figure appeared. It was actually Master Bei.

    Master Bei had originally wanted to wait for the spacecraft to leave before showing up, but it had malfunctioned. He could not wait any longer, and he had decided that he might as well act and destroy all of the evidence. He did not want anyone to witness what he was about to do.

    He stepped towards Peach, who was near where he had appeared. A drop of waternded on Peach¡¯s face, and shezily woke up and rubbed her eyes, only to see Master Bei standing nearby.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Peach¡¯s brows nted as she looked at him in anger.

    Master Bei sped his hands behind his back as he looked down at Peach. ¡°Little Peach, we meet again.¡±

    Peach bellowed, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Then, she looked at her surroundings. ¡°Where is this ce?¡±

    Master Bei¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be concerned about where this ce is. Regardless, nobody can save you. Hand over that arrow, and I can let you have a peaceful death. Otherwise...¡±

    ¡°Dream on! The sect leader won¡¯t let you off, and neither will the Great Eastern Alliance!¡± Peach defiantly refused.

    Master Bei sneered. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance? They¡¯re nothing more than a bunch of wild dogs! As for the sect leader, I will take over his position sooner orter. There¡¯s no need for you to continue wallowing in your delusions. Nobody will know that you died here, and this is quite far from Armament Weave, so no one will discover your corpse even after you die.¡±

    Peach¡¯s face went pale, and she fearfully said, ¡°I was at the battlefield just now, so why am I here?¡±

    Master Bei was growing impatient. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to exin everything to you! Hand over that arrow for a painless death, or you will regret ever living!¡±

    Cough cough!

    From beneath Master Bei, Lu Yin coughed twice.

    Master Bei was surprised. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    Lu Yin blew open the surface of the ground and shook his head as ayer of ash drifted down. ¡°Master Bei, there¡¯s no need for such heavy-handed methods¡ªyou nearly destroyed this. I was knocked underground by you.¡±

    Master Bei stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Peach¡¯s expression changed, and her originally terrified expression suddenly became one of ridicule as she nced at Master Bei with disdain. She then ran towards Lu Yin to help him brush off the dust.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need for that. It¡¯ll just get dirty again soon,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Junior, what are you doing here?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°First tell me this: how did you end up colluding with Wei Rong?¡±

    Master Bei was so furious that he smiled, and his star energy swept out in all directions, even extending past the and into outer space.

    Peach was puzzled. ¡°Your Highness, did he go nuts?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°He¡¯s checking to see if there are any others. Peach, you head up into outer space.¡±

    Peach started to get worried. ¡°Your Highness, he¡¯s not an average Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°Rx, at best, he¡¯s at Sall Phoenix¡¯s strength, and I¡¯m not afraid of him either,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Peach murmured an acknowledgement and flew away from the.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of escaping.¡± Master Bei immediately took action, and the star energy that he had already released formed arge hand that grabbed at Peach. Lu Yin donned his universal armor and blocked the hand reaching towards Peach as he unleashed his own star energy from within his body.

    When it came to star energy, Lu Yin was confident that his reserves surpassed that of Hunters. Even if he did not have more than Master Bei, he was confident that he would not have much less.

    Master Bei never dreamed that Lu Yin would have such vast reserves of star energy, and he quickly realized that he could not suppress the youth despite the gap of three realms between them. This should be impossible, and the Enlighter turned his palm, causing the star energy to transform into an arrow that shot forward.

    Lu Yin had already experienced this attack in the past. Back when he had first arrived at the Neo-Vestige Sect, Master Bei had tried to wipe out Lu Yin¡¯s entire party with one arrow.

    Master Bei¡¯s arrow was gigantic.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned grave, and eight lined battle force covered his body as he equipped his bracer. He punched out, and the giant arrow deviated from its original course. Lu Yin seized this opportunity to throw Peach towards outer space.

    Master Bei suddenly appeared behind Lu Yin, and he tapped out with a finger, which instantly took the form of an arrow that sliced through the air towards the back of Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art to shift Master Bei¡¯s finger attack, which pierced through nothing instead. A gale punctured the, and the entire globe suddenly trembled.

    Lu Yin swatted a hand towards Master Bei. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    There was a thump, but Master Bei did not move at all. ¡°Junior, you underestimate me! All Neo-Vestige Sect disciples forge bows and arrows, so how could our physical bodies be weak?¡±

    He then ced a single palm against Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and an oppressive pressure descended upon the youth that caused Lu Yin¡¯s palm to fly away.

    Lu Yin was not injured by the counterattack, but a trace of the palm strike¡¯s force seeped through the cracks in his universal armor and struck Lu Yin¡¯s body. However, the power was too scattered. It could at most match up to the power of a peak Hunter, which was unable to breach his body¡¯s defenses.

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes went wide, and he suddenly retrieved a longbow from his cosmic ring, followed by an arrow. This was an actual arrow, and not one that had been formed from star energy. With Master Bei¡¯s status and strength, his physical arrows were definitely some of the strongest around.

    When the arrow was ced in the bow, Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. An iparably sharp aura tore through the area, which the surrounding space was unable to endure. The arrowhead was aimed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor had received an energy cannon¡¯s direct st that had a power level of 400,000, but cracks had still eventually appeared on it. Still, that had been an energy cannon whereas this was a battle technique. If this arrow struck Lu Yin and pierced through a crack, its power was guaranteed to severely injure him.

    This arrow was equivalent to Sall Phoenix¡¯s attack after burning five plumes.

    When the arrowhead was revealed, even the void shuddered.

    Lu Yin directly pulled out an Ultra sh Tearbomb and detonated it.

    The dazzling radiance burst forth like a star and illuminated the whole gxy. Every Ultra sh Tearbomb in Lu Yin¡¯s possession had been upgraded twenty two times, which was enough to even rob peak Hunters of their sight and cause them to tear up. Even Enlighters would be affected and be blinded for a moment.

    Lu Yin did not take the opportunity to escape. Instead, he threw out one of Elder Wu''s poisons right after the sh bomb.

    Although Elder Wu had only been an ordinary Enlighter from the Outerverse, his poisons were extremely frightening. Poisons were unrted to power level, and when used well, they could even kill powerhouses that surpassed their creator.

    The sh bomb had caused Master Bei to lose his sight for less than two seconds, but when he regained his sight, he found that Lu Yin was still standing in the same ce. He had assumed that this youth would have taken the opportunity to flee.

    With a whoosh, the arrow was released, and it instantly vanished. Lu Yin¡¯s scalp turned numb, and as a sense of extreme danger shrouded him, he heard a melodious sound. He instinctively activated the Yu Secret Art, and the void in front of him burst open as the arrowhead emerged. At the same exact moment that it struck Lu Yin¡¯s body, the Yu Secret Art activated. However, it could only be shifted away by a small distance, and it still struck the left side of his abdomen. Coincidentally, it struck one of the armor¡¯s cracks, and the sharp tip passed through the crack to stab into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

 Chapter 818: 100,000 Disciples

    <h4>Chapter 818: 100,000 Disciples</h4>

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt as though his organs had been rearranged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood even as he hurried to swallow a special healing medication.

    Not even with his eight lined battle force reinforcing his already tough physical body was enough to withstand the force of the small arrowhead that had connected with his body.

    His entire body was sted into outer space by the heavy impact of the arrow.

    Master Bei sneered, as his arrow had been made from materials that were unstoppable, and it was in no way inferior to the Arrow of Toughness that Lu Yin had found on Arrow Mountain before. This arrow,bined with Master Bei¡¯s aura of the arrow, would be difficult to defend against even for an expert with a power level of 300,000.

    But Lu Yin was actually not pierced through by the arrow, and the universal armor¡¯s defense had still managed to exceed the Enlighter¡¯s expectations.

    Master Bei raised a foot and prepared to chase after Lu Yin, but his expression suddenly changed as ck-brown spots appeared all over his body. An intense pain erupted within his body that felt as though he was being bitten by countless ants. He looked up and sternly shouted, ¡°Junior, you poisoned me!¡±

    Lu Yin had been brutally sted into outer space, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. He looked down and saw that the arrow head was still embedded in the crack of his armor. He was panting heavily, as he had been too unlucky; that arrow had coincidentallynded right in one of his armor¡¯s cracks, and it had caused worse injuries than what Lu Yin had expected.

    Fortunately, he had upgraded his universal armor back in Millions City. Otherwise, even if it had been intact, it would not have been able to withstand Master Bei¡¯s arrow.

    Neo-Vestige Sect and the Dark Phoenix family were equally famous and while Master Bei¡¯s rune lines were not as numerous as Sall Phoenix¡¯s, this single arrow meant that the Neo-Vestige Sect Enlighter¡¯s threat level to Lu Yin hadpletely surpassed Sall Phoenix¡¯s.

    This was because of the loosed arrow¡¯s destructive power. In the first ce, their arrows were what gave Neo-Vestige Sect the strength to dominate the battlefield.

    ¡°Your Highness, what happened to you?¡± Peach rushed over to Lu Yin with a pale face.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Nothing. Get further away.¡±

    On the¡¯s surface, Master Bei flourished his star energy in a manner that caused the void to shatter. He stepped forward as the beneath him continued to break apart. It was clear that this world would not be able tost for much longer.

    Master Bei red vehemently at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, you poisoned me!. How despicable.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°An almighty Enlighter is fighting against an Explorer like me. Just who¡¯s the despicable one here?¡±

    The brown-ck spots grew more numerous as they spread across Master Bei¡¯s body, and it started to ache even more. He gritted his teeth and growled, ¡°Junior, when I catch you, I¡¯ll make you wish you were dead!¡±

    He then took out another arrow and aimed it at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Why was there another arrow? How did Neo-Vestige Sect have so many of these powerful arrows?

    ¡°Your Highness, use that one.¡± Peach made two gestures.

    Lu Yin understood that she wanted him to use the miniature arrow she had given him. ¡°How?¡±

    Peach was about to teach Lu Yin the technique to control the miniature tiny arrow, but a loud voice suddenly called out from the distance. Another arrow appeared, but this one was made out of star energy, and it tore through the void, aimed straight at Master Bei.

    Master Bei¡¯s heart sank. Why did the sect leadere?

    Lu Yin finally rxed. When Master Bei had destroyed the spacecraft that dumped Peach on the deste, Lu Yin had already sent a message to Sect Leader Gong Ling. This was in Mordo Weave, and although it was a certain distance from Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling had arrived just in time with an Enlighter¡¯s speed.

    Gong Ling¡¯s appearance had resolved the crisis that Lu Yin and Peach were facing, but it also infuriated Master Bei, as there was nothing more that he could do. He had been given a golden opportunity by the heavens, but he had still failed.

    ¡°Sorry, Master Bei, to disappoint you again,¡± Lu Yin mocked the angry Enlighter.

    Master Bei red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, I will not let you off.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. ¡°I won¡¯t let you off, either.¡±

    Gong Ling appeared between the two men, and he first nced at Peach to see that she was alright before he released a pent up breath. Then, he red at Master Bei in fury. ¡°Give me an exnation.¡±

    ¡°Exnation?¡± Master Bei looked puzzled, but then he seemed to have an epiphany. ¡°Could Senior be mistaken? The battlefield is dangerous, and so I had to use some unorthodox methods to bring Little Peach back. Senior, please don¡¯t take things the wrong way.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! You were obviously trying to kill me to steal the inherited arrow!¡± Peach indignantly denounced the Enlighter.

    Master Bei smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°Little Peach, you are indeed mistaken. Someone else must have told you that. The person who covets our Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s arrow is not me, but rather the person standing next to you.¡±

    Gong Ling looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not thought that an almighty Enlighter like Master Bei, whose strength even slightly surpassed Sall Phoenix¡¯s, could be so shameless. This man¡¯s skin was indeed exceptionally thick.

    Peach was so angry that she started grinding her teeth.

    Master Bei had a calm expression. He was Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Training Elder, and he held a very high status. On top of all that, he was also one of the people who had inherited one of the three arrows. As long as there was no concrete proof, the sect leader would not do much to him.

    Lu Yin looked at Master Bei and smiled. He then activated his gadget, and it reyed the conversation between Master Bei and Peach:

    ¡®Hand over that arrow, and I can let you have a peaceful death. Otherwise¡­¡¯

    ¡®As for the sect leader, I will take over his position sooner orter. There¡¯s no need for you to continue wallowing in your delusions. Nobody will know that you died here, and this is quite far from Armament Weave, so no one will discover your corpse even after you die¡­¡¯

    Master Bei¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he shot a death re at Lu Yin, looking as if he wanted to swallow this person alive.

    Gong Ling¡¯s expression became gloomy, and he looked at Master Bei. ¡°Junior, you aren¡¯t satisfied with your position as Training Elder?¡±

    Master Bei shouted, ¡°Senior, this is fake! They faked this!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that they knew that you would capture Little Peach and bring her to this area and were even able to create a fake video in advance? Even to the point where they captured the details of the¡¯s surroundings?¡± Gong Ling retorted.

    Master Bei¡¯s eyes danced about, and he clenched both of his fists, as he was unable to defend himself.

    Peach was pleased at this development. ¡°See, he had such grand schemes. This sort of person is too sinister. Kill him! He needs to be ughtered!¡±

    Gong Ling looked at Master Bei, and a cold glint shed across his eyes. He took a deep breath, and said, ¡°Return to Neo-Vestige Sect and then go into seclusion to reflect for 100 years. Do not take a single step out.¡±

    Master Bei begrudgingly responded, ¡°Yes, Senior.¡±

    His eyes flitted past Gong Ling towards Lu Yin. At this point, even Peach was insignificant in his eyes. There was only this person, this youth whom he had disregarded at the start. Not only had Lu Yin blocked Master Bei¡¯s attack, but he had even poisoned the proud Enlighter, which had wracked Master Bei¡¯s body with an unending pain. Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s schemes had even caused Master Bei to be sent into seclusion for 100 years. He would remember this enmity.

    Lu Yin watched as Master Bei departed, and he noticed that the man had a calm and seemingly tranquil expression. He was not at all like his previous self that had been filled with bloodlust and overflowing with anger. But the more calm the Enlighter behaved, the more scary he actually was.

    Gong Ling sighed and looked at Peach before apologetically saying, ¡°I never thought that something like this would happen. Rx, Little Peach, as I will make sure to look after him carefully. I will ensure that he cannot scheme against you anymore.¡±

    Peach grunted an acknowledgement, as her eyes went wide while she looked at Gong Ling. At the same time, she pulled Lu Yin over with a small hand and muttered to him, ¡°Getpensation.¡±

    These words were like a call to wake up from a dream for Lu Yin. Right, he had nearly forgotten:pensation.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s head. ¡°Seventh Bro, this young girl has been with you for too long, and she¡¯s bing more like you! She¡¯s even helping you to getpensation from her own people now. How interesting.¡±

    Gong Ling also heard Peach¡¯s words, and he smiled bitterly. ¡°For this matter, my Neo-Vestige Sect will indeed have to fork outpensation. The losses suffered by the Great Eastern Alliance will be returned by my Neo-Vestige Sect. For this incident, how about 100,000 star essence?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head and said in a respectful tone, ¡°If the losses were only my personal losses, I would have done everything for free. After all, the sect leader did arrive in time to protect us. However, Master Bei did take Peach away, which had a massive effect on my Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s war with Armament Weave. This isn¡¯t something that will be easy to deal with.¡±

    His appetite had grownrger. After visiting Millions City, 100,000 star essence were no longer enough to impress him, even if it had been a sky-high sum to him before.

    Gong Lingughed. ¡°What would Alliance Leader Lu like?¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, ¡°Where losses were suffered,pensation should be given. Junior would be so bold as to request Neo-Vestige Sect to join the war efforts and help the Great Eastern Alliance break through Armament Weave¡¯s defenses.¡±

    Gong Ling frowned, as their Neo-Vestige Sect had always remained neutral towards outside conflicts. When they had invaded Canopy Weave before, it had merely been because Canopy Weave had the minerals that they had needed. If they participated in this war at this time, it would defy the ancestral teachings of the Neo-Vestige Sect that had been passed down since ancient times. This request put Gong Ling in a bind.

    Peach moved over next to Gong Ling and sullenly said, ¡°That baddy Master Bei hurt us. See? His Highness even spat out blood, and it was all done to save me.¡±

    There was still a trace of blood next to Lu Yin¡¯s lips, as Master Bei¡¯sst arrow had indeed not been easy for Lu Yin to deal with.

    Gong Ling softly said to Peach, ¡°Our Neo-Vestige Sect cannot participate in a conflict between other powers. It is not because we have no wish to get involved, but rather because of the pressure from the Innerverse¡¯s various forces. If our Neo-Vestige Sect acts, then who in the Outerverse can resist us? But if we do take action, then it won¡¯t just be these Outerverse organizations dealing with us, but even the Innerverse. And it¡¯s even possible that the Hall of Honor will get involved. Do you understand?¡±

    Peach blinked. ¡°But the Dark Phoenix family has already joined in.¡±

    Gong Ling felt stifled, as the three great powers of the Outerverse had all received simr warnings in the past to not casually invade the other weaves. When the Neo-Vestige Sect had invaded Canopy Weave, it had created a great deal of dissatisfaction among the Innerverse powers. Since they felt that way towards the Neo-Vestige Sect, they also held the same position towards the Dark Phoenix family and Millions City. Now that the Dark Phoenix family had joined the war, there really weren¡¯t any excuses that Gong Ling could use to back out.

    And that wasn''t even mentioning how Peach was looking at the old man as though she had been extremely wronged. This brat had suffered too much, and she could not change her childish form that she had used for many years. The sight alone made his heart ache.

    Gong Ling sighed. ¡°Alright, I promise that my Neo-Vestige Sect will join the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s war efforts to invade Armament Weave, but only against Armament Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted, and he immediately bowed. ¡°Thank you, Senior.¡±

    Gong Ling red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Take good care of Little Peach. If anything else happens to her, you¡¯re the only one that will be questioned.¡±

    Then, he turned to leave.

    Peach made a victory gesture towards Lu Yin, who had quickly be high-spirited, and he turned to look towards Armament Weave. Since Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s going to formally participate in the war, let¡¯s see what else Wei Rong cane up with.

    Within a spacecraft floating through space, Wei Rong stared off into the distance, but his expression was not calm at all.

    Yi Feng appeared near the youth. ¡°What are you worrying about?¡±

    Wei Rong quietly answered, ¡°Lu Yin vanished.¡±

    ¡°He should have gone to the Neo-Vestige Sect to offer his humble apologies.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled, but he disregarded the Lockbreaker¡¯s opinion. "Neo-Vestige Sect indeed has a deep and hidden strength, and it even has the strength to extinguish the Great Eastern Alliance. However, the Hall of Honor is the one backing Lu Yin, and if there truly is a falling out, then he may not necessarily be afraid of Neo-Vestige Sect.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the Wei family? That little girl died on the battlefield, and she died at our subordinates¡¯ hands at that,¡± Yi Feng asked.

    Wei Rong had not told anyone about the details concerning Peach¡¯s abduction, and he did not reply to Yi Feng¡¯s question.

    Lu Yin was not an impulsive person. If he had suddenly vanished in a manner that left even those like Liuying Zishan unaware of his movements, then there was only one possibility: he had discovered something.

    Wei Rong felt very confident in his own arrangements, and he was certain that nobody could have realized that Peach had been sent into Mordo Weave. Even if Lu Yin felt that something was amiss, he would not be able to find the girl or her abductors.

    But for some unknown reason, Wei Rong could not calm down.

    Soon after, his gadget beeped with an urgent notification, and the screen opened to show Wei Baichuan¡¯s image. The Wei patriarch¡¯s face was pale, and there was a hint of desperation to be seen. ¡°Little Rong, it¡¯s not good. 100,000 disciples from the Neo-Vestige Sect have moved out to formally join the war, and they are on their way to help the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

 Chapter 819: Western Weavesâ€™ Invasion Plan

    <h4>Chapter 819: Western Weaves¡¯ Invasion n</h4>

    Upon hearing Wei Baichuan¡¯s words, Wei Rong¡¯s mind was jolted, he felt as if a hammer had hit his entire body, and his face wentpletely pale. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Little Rong, we have decided to truly evacuate our ancestral and head for Millions City,¡± Wei Baichuan said. The previous evacuation had just been Wei Rong putting on a show to lull Lu Yin into a false sense of security. But this time, the Wei family was truly afraid.

    Wei Rong¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ve already made preparations.¡±

    Wei Baichuan was surprised. ¡°You have preparations?¡±

    Wei Rong closed the screen and then closed his eyes.

    Yi Feng was amazed. ¡°You really made preparations?¡±

    Wei Rong opened his eyes. ¡°Destroy everything indiscriminately.¡±

    Yi Feng seriously said, ¡°No matter what you do, consider the Wei family. This family hassted for countless years, and their lineage has nearly been cut off several times. Don¡¯t force the entire Wei family to apany you to the grave just for your own sake.¡±

    Wei Rong activated his gadget. He did not actually know who he was contacting, but he only said, ¡°Begin.¡±

    He never thought that he would actually use this option. He was cautious, and no matter who his opponent was, he would always leave more than one option avable. However, this time, he had used all of the Wei family¡¯s options, and even his hidden contact in Neo-Vestige Sect had beenpletely exposed, but none of that had been enough to resolve this crisis. Thus, he could only make one final gamble.

    He had once thought that his ultimate opponent might be Wang Wen or Qiong Xi''er, or even possibly one of those arrogant scions from the Innerverse. He had never imagined that Lu Yin would force him to this point or that even all of his hidden trumps would end up being revealed by him.

    ***

    In outer space, Lu Yin took Peach to a nearby spacecraft before heading back towards Armament Weave. It was just an ordinary spacecraft, and it would take them at least a month to return. Lu Yin quickly decided that, as soon as they left Mordo Weave, he would look for a ce to buy a radiant-grade Aurora.

    Unfortunately, the copsible spacecraft belonged to Hai Qiqi, and she had once again gone to the Astral River to explore.

    Actually, deep in his heart, Lu Yin hoped that the Innerverse wouldn¡¯t reconnect to the Outerverse anytime soon, as the lies that he had told made him nervous.

    In the Outerverse, the people most likely to find a route back into the Innerverse were Endless Borders.

    Lu Yin was still thinking about how he could find some time to meet with Endless Borders and improve their rtionship. If he could join their board as he had with Aegis, it would be wonderful.

    ¡°The sect leader is very efficient, and with 100,000 disciples joining the war, we¡¯re guaranteed victory.¡± Peach was quite happy.

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. With the Neo-Vestige Sect reinforcing the Allied Forces, it was over. Even if the Dark Phoenix family was closer, and even if they moved into Armament Weave, so what? On the battlefield, the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s power was not something that the Dark Phoenix family couldpare to.

    The Outerverse powers remained silent. Since the Neo-Vestige Sect had entered the fray, the Wei family was doomed.

    Quite a few powers from the central weaves withdrew their forces from the battlefield.

    Even the Umbral Butterfly Tribe moved out of Armament Weave, and all of Angie¡¯s various methods were useless, as the Umbral Butterfly Tribe was not willing to be buried alongside the Wei family.

    The Dark Phoenix family also retreated.

    This war was over, as nobody could stop the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s advance anymore.

    Hill Auna was very busy at this time, as many of the central weave¡¯s powers that had aided Armament Weave were hurriedly contacting the Great Yu Empire¡¯s minister and making their best attempts to mend their rtionships. The Wei family was already doomed, and no one wanted the Great Eastern Alliance to aim its spear their way because of this war.

    In the span of a single night, the Wei family seemed to have been abandoned by the entire universe.

    In Millions City, Qiong Xi''er held Nana as she pondered the recent events.

    Nana felt embarrassed, and her face was flushed red. ¡°Young Master, is the Wei family finished?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er stared intently at therge star chart in front of her, as if she was waiting for something.

    Her gadget rang, and a notice appeared. When Qiong Xi''er looked at it, she suddenly rxed.

    Nana was puzzled at the change. ¡°Young Master, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er forcefully carressed Nana¡¯s face. ¡°Wei Rong, that bugger, has not admitted defeat yet. It won¡¯t be easy for Lu Yin to achieve victory.¡±

    Nana was still lost. ¡°Why?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Because the people of the Wei family have not actually evacuated their ancestral.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er was not hoping for the Wei family to be defeated. She did not like Wei Rong, but she was more afraid of Lu Yin winning the war and conquering Armament Weave.

    Wei Rong wished for the whole universe to descend into chaos, as he believed that he had the ability and skill to navigate the rough waves and aplish groundbreaking achievements. But from Qiong Xi''er¡¯s perspective, Wei Rong was just throwing a tantrum as the Wei family did not have the strength to conquer the Outerverse, and he could not aplish such a thing with just brains alone.

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, was different. This person was truly dangerous, and he even had the Hall of Honor¡¯s support. He had an amazing talent for cultivation and ruled with an iron fist. It seemed as though everything he had ever done had been in preparation to unite the Outerverse. As soon as he obtained a foothold in Armament Weave, he would possess a springboard that he could use to conquer the central weaves, and following that, Millions City would be in danger.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er had never trusted in the nonsense about the three unprovokable powers. The Neohuman Alliance had nearly seized control of Millions City already, andpared to the Neohuman Alliance, Lu Yin would not be any easier to deal with. In fact, he might actually prove to actually be more difficult.

    Fortunately, Wei Rong had been reliable so far, and hopefully, he would be able to halt Lu Yin¡¯s advance.

    The 100,000 disciples of the Neo-Vestige Sect took a radiant-grade Aurora, which was much faster than the vessel carrying Lu Yin. They would enter Armament Weave after just a day¡¯s worth of travel.

    And at this point, an incident quickly put an end to the oue that everyone had predicted.

    On the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Zenyu Star, ns were leaked from the Lu Office of Defense that revealed ns for invading the western weaves, and the one to propose the n was En Ya.

    There were extremely thorough procedures in this invasion n, and it had even been arranged in order. The first step was to force the western weaves into chaos, and the targets were Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises. By disrupting these financial behemoths¡¯ markets, the Great Eastern Alliance would shake up the western weaves¡¯ current situation. In addition, it would destroy Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ pharmaceutical monopoly and make it difficult for Aurora Enterprises to procure the materials needed to produce radiant-grade Auroras and other high-end spaceships.

    This n contained thousands of words, and the drafter¡¯s firm determination to invade the western weaves clearly shone through.

    When the n was leaked, it shocked the universe, and it did not even take an hour to spread from the eastern weaves to the western weaves.

    Countless people saw the leaked proposal online, and the ambitions of the Great Yu Empire were revealed.

    The name ¡°En Ya¡± also spread throughout the Outerverse, and it was naturally apanied by her background. Everyone learned that she had formerly been stationed at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront and that she had been Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s personal aide. The structure of the Great Eastern Alliance had also been drafted by her.

    Lu Yin also saw the leaked n that had been spread throughout thework. Xiao Ya informed him that their news outlet had also received a copy, but they had not dared to report on it. Still, many other news outlets had revealed everything, and the n quickly became widely known.

    Lu Yin wanted to stop it, but there was nothing that he could do about it. Unless he had control over the entire Outerverse and thework, there would be no way for him to stop this from spreading.

    This n actually didn¡¯t even exist. Although Lu Yin did indeed have the intention ofpletely uniting the Outerverse some day, he had never drawn up a formal n and neither had En Ya. This leaked n had reportedlye from the Lu Office of Defense, but more importantly, it recorded their ns to target Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises, which happened to be identical to what had happened to those twopanies earlier.

    Someone was using those previous events to frame Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Wei Rong.

    But before he could even call Wei Rong, his gadget beeped lightly, informing him of an iing call from an unknown number.

    Lu Yin epted, and a voice spoke up. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is Yu Mu, Chairman of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse Division.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he had heard of Yu Mu as well. This man stood above even Hoffman and Shen Fu, and he held the greatest authority in Shamrock Enterprises within the entire Outerverse.

    He had never thought that Shamrock Enterprises would contact him so quickly.

    ¡°Chairman Yu, it¡¯s an honor to speak with you,¡± Lu Yin courteously greeted the man.

    Yu Mu lowered his voice and suppressed his rage. ¡°My Shamrock Enterprises has always stood above conflicts, and it seems that this has caused Alliance Leader Lu to underestimate us. I¡¯ve heard that you want to invade the western weaves, and that your first step is to deal with my Shamrock Enterprises.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°Chairman Yu is mistaken¡ªthat leaked n is fake.¡±

    ¡°I will ascertain the truth myself. I will personally take a trip to Zenyu Star, and I will arrive in no more than five days, and Alliance Leader Lu, I hope that you will be on Zenyu Star yourself. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for acting nasty. I know that you have the Hall of Honor¡¯s support, but I can explicitly tell you that even the Hall of Honor needs to be wary of some people,¡± Yu Mu spoke loudly.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Chairman Yu is thinking too much of himself. When I was a Limiteer, I wasn¡¯t even afraid of Enlighters.¡±

    ¡°Ask Elder Lohar and see if he can take me,¡± Yu Mu said rudely before cutting the call short.

    After the call was cut off, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget instantly beeped with another notification as Madam Nn was trying to contact him. Lu Yin epted her call as well.

    She asked in a disgruntled voice, ¡°Your Highness, what should I say to you?¡±

    ¡°The n is fake,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She replied, ¡°I know. It wouldn¡¯t have been exposed if it was real, but you must still be careful. Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises are colossal titans on different levels from the four great conglomerates.¡±

    ¡°How much do you know?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    She replied, ¡°It would be best if you asked the Hall of Honor that question, as I¡¯m not too sure myself.¡±

    Following that, many other people tried to get a hold of Lu Yin to try to understand what was going on, among them people like Meng Tianlong and Mu Nichang.

    Lu Yin was pestered beyond his limits, and he did not answer the calls. Instead, he tried to call Elder Lohar. However, he was unable to get in contact with the elder.

    Elder Lohar did not remain in Ironblood Weave all the time, and there were many ces in the universe that were disconnected from thework.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin decided to try calling Wei Rong, as only he could set up such a scheme.

    At that moment, Lu Yin received additional news from Xiao Ya: another n had been discovered, and this one was known as the Western Weaves Integration n, and the author was reported to be Wei Rong. This n had been found on the Wei family''s ancestral.

    When Lu Yin received this piece of news, he lowered his hand and decided to not call Wei Rong. At this point, not only had he cleared all of his doubts regarding Wei Rong, but Lu Yin was also absolutely certain that Wei Rong was the one behind the creation and leaking of these two ns.

    Since both drafted ns had been falsified, it was not hard for the people targeted by the ns to confirm that they were fake given their capabilities. The ones who stood to profit the most from these fake ns were naturally the ones who had set them up. If Lu Yin was the one being framed, then Wei Rong would be the one to benefit as he would be able to use Shamrock Enterprises to deal with Lu Yin. However, once the truth was revealed, the Wei family would certainly face a cmity.

    Now that Wei Rong had intentionally exposed this n that also implicated him, it was no different from telling everyone that he was also being framed. Even though Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises might not believe him, it would still lower the suspicions surrounding Wei Rong. With his level of caution, as long as Yu Mu and the others did not suppress Wei Rong through absolute strength, it would not be too realistic to expect them to discover the truth.

    This was in line with Wei Rong¡¯s methods, so there was no point in Lu Yin contacting his opponent at this time.

    Lu Yin felt a deep chill; just how many escape routes had this person prepared? Lu Yin really had to make sure that he took care of Wei Rong this time around. When this war concluded, Lu Yin would ask Smoker toe out. Wei Rong was simply too dangerous and could not be left to roam free any longer.

    ¡°Your Highness, where should we go now?¡± Peach asked.

    In a low voice, Lu Yin answered, ¡°Return to Zenyu Star.¡±

    It would take too long for a normal spacecraft to travel to Zenyu Star, so after another day of traveling, Lu Yin arrived at a bustling. After great difficulties, he managed to purchase a luxurious spacecraft that was five times as fast as his former vessel. Although it still could notpare to a radiant-grade Aurora, he still had four days to arrive before Yu Mu¡¯s deadline, which was enough for him to make it to Zenyu Star.

 Chapter 820: Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 820: Dominance</h4>

    Yu Mu¡¯s words reverberated in Lu Yin¡¯s head. This person was the Outerverse Chairman of Shamrock Enterprises, and he could apparently even disregard Elder Lohar, which indicated that his power level might very well approach 400,000.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time experiencing the foundation of a financial titan firsthand.

    In the Outerverse, there were extremely few experts whose power levels exceeded 300,000, and the ones that Lu Yin were aware of could be counted on a single hand. Although he did not know what Yu Mu¡¯s precise power level was, could it be possible that it was over 400,000? That shouldn¡¯t be the case.

    Publicly, Shamrock Enterprises had been nothing more than a pharmaceuticalpany that strove to make a profit, but Lu Yin would never forget his former ssmate, Darkvoid, who was one of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ seeds. Darkvoid¡¯s innate gift allowed him to rupture the void, and when the students had beenpeting for the seat of Astral-10¡¯s top student, Darkvoid had only been inferior to Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and Silver. In fact, he had actually been a bit stronger than Lulu Mavis and Michelle. This was enough to show how powerful Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ selected seeds were.

    How many seeds did they have with simrly overpowered innate gifts? Nobody knew. Darkvoid had just been a Limiteer back then, but what about their seeds that were in the Explorer realm? Cruiser realm? Hunter realm? There were definitely seeds in those realms.

    This truly showed the foundation of a colossal organization.

    After traveling for four days, Lu Yin finally arrived at Zenyu Star.

    At this time, the most explosive news in the Outerverse was still the two ns that had been leaked, both containing schemes to take over the western weaves, which, of course, infuriated the various great powers in that region. There was a vaguely discernible attitude that the different forces even wanted to dere war against Lu Yin and Wei Rong, as these forces felt like they were being looked down upon.

    When Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star, Huan Sha hurried over to see him and hastened to report the oue of the investigations.

    Just as Lu Yin had assumed, it was not difficult to get to the bottom of the matter, as the so-called ¡°invasion n¡± had only been created a month ago. At that time, En Ya had been apanying Lu Yin in Armament Weave, so neither of them could have created the n.

    Lu Yin ordered for all the evidence to be gathered together and organized before being sent to King Zishan''s pce. Meanwhile, he went to await Yu Mu¡¯s arrival.

    When the Enlighter did arrive, he brought En Ya along with him.

    An immense pressure descended upon Zenyu Star, which was Yu Mu announcing his arrival. He appeared with En Ya in his hands.

    En Ya¡¯s face was pale, and her lips were dry. She had a haggard appearance, and she clearly had not had an easy time traveling to Zenyu Star from Armament Weave. Yu Mu had not treated her kindly, and she had been more like a captive prisoner.

    Lu Yin was furious. ¡°Release her!¡±

    Yu Mu tossed En Ya over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurried to catch her, and angrily looked up, wanting to curse. However, he was feebly stopped by En Ya. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t be impulsive.¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as veins appeared on his forehead. When he thought of the conversation that he had had with Elder Lohar two days prior, he suppressed his anger and said to Yu Mu, ¡°Chairman Yu, all of the evidence is here. You can review it.¡±

    Elder Lohar had contacted Lu Yin two days ago, and he had told Lu Yin a bit more about Yu Mu. This person¡¯s power level was 370,000, which surpassed even Elder Lohar¡¯s. This chairman was an existence who could not be provoked in the Outerverse.

    Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse operations were a colossal organization, and besides their immense influence, terrifying wealth, and background, the greatest deterrence that they had was this person¡¯s existence. If Geoffrey was in the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, then nobody would be able to do anything to them. Simrly, with their regional chairman in the Outerverse, Shamrock Enterprises was untouchable by the same logic.

    Yu Mu¡¯s expression remained calm, and he tantly ignored Lu Yin¡¯s suppressed rage. He did not care about this youth at all. Even before the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, thepany¡¯s general headquarters had told him to try to win over this person, which he had done so. He had even told Shen Fu to send gifts over when the Great Eastern Alliance was first established, but all that was just the behavior of a true merchant. In the depths of his heart, Yu Mu did not care about Lu Yin at all.

    His star energy swept out, and he quickly browsed through all the gathered evidence. Yu Mu then softly said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it appears that somebody wants to use my Shamrock Enterprises to deal with you. Do you know who that could be?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned frigid. ¡°No.¡±

    Yu Muughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need to take offense, Alliance Leader Lu. That woman of yours was the second-inmand of the traitor, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao, and she cannot be believed. That is why I had to make a personal trip.¡±

    He then very casually threw out a cosmic ring. ¡°I am a merchant, and I value equal trade. This can be considered aspensation, Alliance Leader Lu. Take care.¡±

    And with that, the powerhouse vanished.

    He had arrived so violently that Zenyu Star itself had shuddered as though it could not endure the pressure. But when Yu Mu left, his departure was as calm as a spring day breeze. This was a true powerhouse.

    From the time that the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, Lu Yin had rarely experienced such situations. This episode had felt simr to when he had faced various powerful families and factions back in the Innerverse, and he had been forced to be extremely cautious at every turn. This Yu Mu had left a very deep impression.

    Kayze carefully walked over and looked at the cosmic ring on the ground for a moment before picking it up.

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°Bring it here.¡±

    Kayze carefully handed over it.

    Lu Yin took it, but he did not check what was inside it. Instead, he immediately stored it away. He wanted to return this cosmic ring to Yu Mu in its original state, no matter what it contained. Even if there were ten million essences within it, he would not ept a single one.

    ¡°Your Highness, please do me a favor,¡± En Ya softly said in a very weak voice.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will help you get revenge.¡±

    En Ya shook her head, and then she said in an agonized tone, ¡°I don¡¯t mind how Yu Mu has treated me, but Your Highness, please seek justice for the Grand Marshal for that person¡¯s insults.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness,¡± En Ya said gratefully before immediately fainting.

    Lu Yin hurriedly had someone treat the unconscious woman. En Ya had not been too badly injured, and she had been reduced to her current state because powerhouses such as Yu Mu could shuttle through the universe at speeds that were far too much for her body to endure. Even though her body had been protected, her mind would still not be able to handle it.

    The evidence had been easily gathered, and Yu Mu had been able to understand it in one nce, as there were simply far too many gaps.

    If the situation on Zenyu Star had ended with such a quick resolution, then the Wei family would have had a simr situation, as the evidence was easily understood with just one look. Implementing such a plot could not buy much time, so why had Wei Rong still proceeded with it? Lu Yin just could not understand.

    This whole ordeal would only buy Armament Weave about ten day¡¯s respite from battle while Yu Mu investigated the two ns. After that, the war would immediately continue, and the Wei family would still have to face the oing cmity. Was there any meaning to Wei Rong working so hard to gain these few days?

    That night, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, as Wei Rong was calling him.

    The screen came alive, and Wei Rong¡¯s image appeared on it. He showed a slight smile that made him look as though he was rejoicing in Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune. ¡°Brother Lu, how¡¯s the taste?¡±

    ¡°Yu Mu has already left for Armament Weave, so I trust that you have already prepared your evidence,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Naturally. Somebody was obviously trying to frame us, so it wasn¡¯t too difficult to investigate.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Yu Mu isn¡¯t stupid, and even if you implicated yourself, he will still suspect you. Are you truly confident that you canpletely remove all doubts?¡±

    Wei Rong shrugged. ¡°It wasn¡¯t done by me, so Chairman Yu won¡¯t mistreat an innocent person.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. ¡°Even if Yu Mu intervenes and temporarily stops the war, it will only buy you another ten days of time at most. What can you do during this period of time?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. I want to ask Brother Lu something: how did it feel today?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that his opponent was asking about Yu Mu¡¯s attitude, and Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°What are you trying to get at?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. It¡¯s just that someone before also suffered the feeling that Brother Lu experienced today, and I¡¯m about to face the same thing as well. Thus, I¡¯m just asking out of curiosity.¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Are you referring to Starfox?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s right. When the Mavis Bank was robbed, Aegis was also treated unjustly, and one of their important bases was even destroyed. However, they didn¡¯t even receive an apology. A colossal organization indeed.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched, as Wei Rong¡¯s words had moved him. Yu Mu¡¯s charitable attitude had enraged him far more than the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s despicable attitude, and it was the arrogance of a mammoth organization that towered above all others. Even now, Lu Yin had yet to hear a single ¡°sorry.¡± Instead, all he had received was a cosmic ring that had been tossed onto the ground and left behind.

    Wei Rong beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t mind them, as that¡¯s just how they are. Unless the times change, these monsters will continue to sit at the top of the Outerverse. They are the ones who judge what is important while we are nothing more than clowns in their eyes.¡±

    Lu Yin stared intently at Wei Rong. ¡°No matter what you say, it won¡¯t change the oue of this war.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just casually mentioning some random things, and I hope that Brother Lu will remember my words. As for this war, it¡¯s about to end soon.¡±

    He then waved goodbye to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; the war was about to end soon? Wei Rong would not mention such a thing without reason, and he was definitely feeling confident.

    Where was that confidenceing from? Whether or not the battle ended depended on Lu Yin¡¯s initiative, so why was Wei Rong so confident?

    Lu Yin could not help himself from contacting Wang Wen. The war had already proceeded to this point, and he did not want to give up at the finish line.

    Wang Wen could not give Lu Yin any concrete answers, as he did not know anything either.

    Plotting against others was easy, but knowing that others were plotting against you was very, very difficult. And this was especially so if the person behind the schemes was someone smart like Wei Rong.

    The only thing that Lu Yin could think of was that Wei Rong had borrowed the strength of other powers, which would force Lu Yin to stop the war. In the Outerverse, only the colossal organizations or Millions City were capable of such a thing.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Millions City. Was Wei Rong capable enough to make them move? That city was actually a mobile fortress, and its energy barrier could defend against attacks with power levels over 400,000, and it had even stronger barriers as well. If Millions City moved against the Great Eastern Alliance, then the war would indeed end.

    ¡°Check and find out if there have been any abnormal movements from Millions City recently,¡± Lu Yin ordered Thousand Eyes.

    ¡°None. They¡¯ve been focusing all of their efforts on rebuilding, and I¡¯ve been staring at Millions City this whole time,¡± Thousand Eyes replied immediately.

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the table and pondered over all the possibilities.

    But no matter what Lu Yin considered, he could have never guessed that Wei Rong would release an even more shocking secret than those two invasion ns.

    After Yu Mu left Armament Weave and verified that the two ns were fake, the Outerverse media outlets changed their reporting. Soon, everything surrounding the issue began to settle down.

    The western weaves were satisfied with this oue, as this felt right. They were not pushovers, so how could there be someone who was bold enough to desire conquering their territory? How bold!

    Due to Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ intervention, the war was halted for ten days. When Yu Mu left Armament Weave, Liuying Zishan immediately contacted Lu Yin, asking if the troops should resume the war.

    Lu Yin directly gave hismand: fight.

    100,000 Neo-Vestige Sect disciples had already moved into ce and arrived at the war¡¯s frontlines. This opportunity would be gone if the troops stopped fighting.

    Lu Yin sent his orders, and the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s disciples¡¯ arrows flew towards the defensive line protecting Armament Weave. Spacecraft, astral warhorses, and cultivators were all pierced through in an instant, and their defenses copsed.

    Armament Weave could not resist the assault of Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s disciples.

    It wasn¡¯t just the Wei family¡¯s abilities that the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s disciples surpassed; even if they were still supported by the Dark Phoenix family, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, the Shadowsword Sect, and the various other powers, they still would not have been able to hold. Thus, it was even more impossible to continue defending after Armament Weave had been abandoned.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect rarely participated in conflicts, so this battle shocked the universe.

    In Frostwave Weave, Little Ya arranged for media reports to sing Lu Yin¡¯s praises, and she looked at a group of her subordinates with dissatisfaction. ¡°This matter is too small, and the contributions of His Highness cannot be so little. If there¡¯s nothing there, then give it to me, and I¡¯ll weave it into a story. The objective of our existence is to make the image of His Highness be even more glorious and noble, especially during a period of war. Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°Yes, editor,¡± the crowd acknowledged, but they all felt rather vexed. Create? They didn¡¯t dare do such a thing, as they were talking about the Great Eastern Alliance Leader! What if their story wasn¡¯t woven together well enough?

 Chapter 821: Lu Yinâ€™s Secret

    <h4>Chapter 821: Lu Yin¡¯s Secret</h4>

    While the news outlet¡¯s staff was working hard to create a glorious image for Lu Yin, the door suddenly swung open, and a female charged in with a panicked look. ¡°Sister Ya, it¡¯s bad! Look at thework!¡±

    Xiao Ya immediately opened her gadget, and at the same time, countless other people in the Outerverse were also browsing thework, and they all saw a groundbreaking secret be revealed.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin arrived at the space station with the intention to head towards Armament Weave, as he wanted to personally supervise the final battle. He was still afraid that Wei Rong had other hidden arrangements, so he wanted to be the first to know about anything.

    But at that moment, Gavin, Garope, and the other ministers all rushed over and blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path with rmed expressions on all their faces. ¡°Your Majesty, quickly look at thework.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, and he immediately activated his gadget. When he navigated to thework, his expression changed drastically. He had nned for all possibilities, but he had never dreamed that Wei Rong would actually uncover his deepest secret.

    His personal history was strewn all over thework, from the time he had participated in Earth¡¯s trial to when he had taken part in the Astral Combat Tournament after leaving Earth. These details were even known to themoners, but these were not the details that Wei Rong had exposed. Instead, the hottest news on thework was the experiences Lu Yin had gone through before arriving on Earth, such as when he had been judged by one of the Ten Arbiters and the paper that listed seventy two people surnamed Lu.

    That one paper listing people surnamed Lu had represented seventy two human lives, and it was what Lu Yin cared about the most. That paper was his main source of motivation to cultivate, and now, it had been revealed to the entire Outerverse.

    It turned out that he, Lu Yin, was not someone whose primeval surname had a legal status. Rather, he had once been judged by one of the Ten Arbiters along with more than seventy other people. It turned out that he had only lived on Earth for one short year. The most important detail of the expos¨¦ was that Lu Yin had once been judged by one of the Ten Arbiters and that his primeval surname actually did not have a legal status.

    The universe held an intense prejudice against people with primeval surnames. Anyone who had such a surname without a legal status would be treated like a street rat, scorned by all in the Innerverse. Once such a person was discovered, even though people would not go so far as to kill them outright, they would certainly be shunned.

    Big Sis and the rest had left because Lu Yin¡¯s surname was not legal, and he had been banished from the Innerverse as a result.

    Although the Outerverse¡¯s prejudice was not as extreme as the Innerverse¡¯s, they still held an intense discrimination against those people with illegal primeval surnames.

    More importantly, the Hall of Honor¡¯s prejudice was even stronger against such people.

    Everyone knew that Lu Yin had the Hall of Honor as his backer, but now that his history had been exposed, would the Hall of Honor continue to protect himself? Was there even any possibility of their rtionship continuing?

    Even if the Hall of Honor wanted to protect Lu Yin, the entire Outerverse knew about his illegal status now. How could the Hall of Honor continue supporting Lu Yin with so much attention ced on him?

    What would those people who were fighting on his behalf in the Outerverse think? What would the various powers of the Great Eastern Alliance think? What would the soldiers of the Allied Forces think? How had someone with an illegal primeval surname be the Alliance Leader? What had they relied on to start the current war?

    This was basically the equivalent of a thief trying to be an emperor; how could the royal aristocrats or intellectual schrs ever agree to such a thing?

    Lu Yin had never imagined that Wei Rong would actually release such a secret.

    Ever since Lu Yin had arrived on Earth, he had never revealed his secret to anyone, though it was not very realistic to expect to hide it forever. After all, people could always investigate it if they wanted to. However, no one had ever dug deep into Lu Yin¡¯s history as his status had always appeared to be perfectly normal. Still, Wei Rong had exposed Lu Yin¡¯s true personal history at this time.

    The war in Armament Weave instantly stopped, and the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples did not make any more moves. They had received orders from their sect leader to remain in ce and observe any changes that urred.

    Inside Armament Weave, people from various great powers from the Innerverse started to arrive, and they all joined the Wei family¡¯s defenses to face off against the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces.

    Some of these cultivators were from the Daynight n, some from Northline Flowzone, and others from the Xun family and other such powers. Their objective was simple: to repel Lu Yin and maintain the universe''s prejudice towards primeval surnames.

    The strength of the Innerverse was not something that the powers of the Outerverse could contest. Any random disciple from the Innerverse was decently strong, and so, the deterrence of these gathered Innerverse forces surpassed what the Dark Phoenix family had represented by itself even though the Innerverse forces were not supported by anyone at the level of Sall Phoenix.

    Their presence represented the Innerverse¡¯s attitude.

    Many eyes were focused on Zenyu Star, as they were all waiting for the Hall of Honor¡¯s response.

    Wei Rong was pleased by this turn of events, as he had investigated and eventually discovered this secret after leaving Sourcepeak. His habit was to learn about everything that could be understood about a given person when dealing with them.

    He had not used this information this entire time, and he had never mentioned what he had discovered to anyone, all in anticipation for this moment. He wanted Lu Yin to ascend to the peak only to then fall to his death.

    Only by releasing this information at the peak of a monumental war that had captured the attention of the entire Outerverse could Wei Rong guarantee that it would immediately spread throughout the entire Outerverse, which would practically force the Hall of Honor to abandon Lu Yin. If they had chosen someone to unite the Outerverse, then Lu Yin was indeed the most suitable candidate.

    Of course, there was also some element of risk involved, as Wei Rong was gambling on how much importance the Hall of Honor ced upon illegal primeval surnames. It was just as Yi Feng had said¡ªthey needed to gamble a little.

    Madam Nn looked up at the sky withplex emotions in her eyes. She had long since discovered this secret, but she had never mentioned it. In fact, after so long, she had almost forgotten about it. She could have predicted that Wei Rong would eventually discover this secret, and she should have told Lu Yin about it so that he could prepare. However, it was toote now.

    Nobody knew exactly what the problem with having an illegal status and a primeval surname was, but there was one thing that was known by all. The entire universe must repel the primeval surnames, and it was a memory that flowed in their very blood.

    The Hall of Honor rejected people with illegal primeval surnames without exception, and this was a setback that Lu Yin could not easily ovee.

    Lu Yin calmly observed the information on thework before returning to King Zishan''s pce.

    Garope, Gavin, and the others all did not speak a single word. Instead, they continued bowing with solemn expressions on their faces.

    Such a sudden blow had left them all rather shocked. If it was verified that Lu Yin had an illegal status, then everything connected to him would be doomed. In the worst case, he might even face a trial from the Hall of Honor. Furthermore, there was already an Enlighter from the Hall of Honor on Zenyu Star. Their faces went pale. Could it be that the glory of their Great Yu Empire was destined to be a brief sh in the pan?

    Wendy Yushan looked at the information shared on thework, but she did not pay the status of his primeval surname any mind, since Lu Yin¡¯s surname of Lu was not anything new to her. Rather, what stood out to her was the experiences that Lu Yin had lived through before. When he had first been taken to Zenyu Star, the Great Yu Empire had investigated Lu Yin¡¯s background, but they have not found anything rted to this recent bit of news. Wendy had never expected Lu Yin to have been judged by one of the Ten Arbiters in the Innerverse.

    Ku Wei read all of this information with great interest. This war had been interesting to watch, as both sides had employed all sorts of tricks. Lu Yin and Wei Rong were not only battling with soldiers on the battlefield, but also with various plots and schemes off of it. This Wei Rong was not bad, as seen by how long he had forced the war drag on for.

    Wei Rong had given Lu Yin a ssic lesson: war was fought not just on the battlefield, but outside of it as well.

    Generally, the information that Wei Rong had just exposed would be more than enough to cause Lu Yin to lose everything. Even if he did not die from it, there would be no possibility of him turning the tables. However, that was all disregarding the fact that his blood-red bell had been seen by Elder Lohar. Was Lu Yin afraid?

    He calmly called Elder Lohar, and before long, the old man¡¯s image appeared.

    ¡°Elder, Junior is dealing with some trouble,¡± Lu Yin respectfully told the elder.

    Elder Lohar stared at Lu Yin with a strange expression. ¡°How is Alliance Leader Lu nning on reacting to the newly released information online?¡± He was probing the youth because he did not know the exact details of Lu Yin¡¯s status. However, what had been revealed on thework had to be false. How could a person with an illegal primeval surname possibly possess the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem?

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I implore Elder to help to clear up the legality of Junior¡¯s status.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Elder Lohar asked.

    Lu Yin straightened up. ¡°If Elder does not know how to clear it up, then perhaps this can help you.¡± Lu Yin pulled out the blood-red bell.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression changed drastically as soon as he saw the blood-red bell, and he blurted out, ¡°You know what that is, right? You didn¡¯t actually lose your memory.¡±

    In a gloomy voice, Lu Yin answered, ¡°Junior did lose his memory, and there are certain things that I can¡¯t remember. However, I still have some impressions of them, such as-¡± He then pointed at the blood-red bell.

    Elder Lohar hurriedly replied, ¡°Alright, I got it. I¡¯ll help Alliance Leader Lu clear things up.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Only then did he put the bell away.

    Elder Lohar disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. His lies were bing more and more exaggerated, but if he did not speak up at this time, then he would lose everything that he had gained so far.

    The war with Armament Weave had paused with many people changing their attitudes towards Lu Yin. Someone with an illegal primeval surname status had to constantly hide themselves, and the only ones who could help him were those standing at the peak of humanity: the Hall of Honor.

    The universe¡¯s prejudice against illegal primeval surnames came from the Hall of Honor, and only that organization could help Lu Yin out of this predicament.

    Elder Lohar was amazingly efficient, or rather, the Hall of Honor was entirely too influential within the Human Domain. In just one hour, all of the information rted to Lu Yin¡¯s past had been removed from thework, and at the same time, several influential people appeared and testified on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf, seemingly proving that he didn¡¯t possess an illegal primeval surname. On top of that, many powers were pressured by something. The winds suddenly started blowing in another direction.

    The Hall of Honor would not publicly announce anything on thework. However, with their massive influence, they were able to forcibly avert the disadvantageous situation for Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong had originally nned to unite the various powers from the Innerverse to rise against the Great Eastern Alliance after Lu Yin lost his prestige, or at the very least, allow his family to take care of their old enemy, the Six-Fingered Tribe. But these sudden winds of change were something that he had not predicted. After verifying the changes taking ce , his heart sank into the abyss. He had made the wrong bet, as Lu Yin had also had a backup n.

    In the present Outerverse, only the Hall of Honor was able to influence all of the powers. Although the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, and even though the Hall of Honor¡¯s power had fallen a great deal, they were still a terrifying force. Wei Rong had never thought that the Hall of Honor would be so steadfast in their support of Lu Yin as to not even care about his status.

    Wei Rong was fully confident that he had uncovered the truth, but since the Hall of Honor had decided to side with Lu Yin, it meant that Lu Yin was protected from this scheme.

    Wei Rong had the Wei family evacuate the ancestral as soon as possible, and he also called another of his contacts and said something. However, he did not sound as confident as he had in the past.

    He then lowered his gadget and bitterly said, ¡°I was still a little too anxious. I thought that I had all of my bases covered, but I ended up discovering that the enemy is vastly more powerful than I had imagined. Whether the Wei family can survive now dependspletely on the will of the heavens.¡±

    The various powers from the Innerverse immediately left Armament Weave after the situation changed once again. They did not even offer any sort of politements with their departure, leaving even more tantly than the Outerverse forces like the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces spent two days reorganizing themselves before returning to the war efforts. This time, everyone was absolutely certain of the oue of the war, as it could not be changed yet again. Wei Rong had attempted absolutely everything avable to him, and if the oue could still be changed at this point, then it would not be due to his schemes, but rather fate.

    Lu Yin boarded a spacecraft that was headed for Armament Weave. He did not believe that Wei Rong could still have any more backup ns, and he intended topletely wipe out the Wei family, especially Wei Rong.

    The Wei family was conducting theirst-ditch efforts in space, but they would soon fade away.

    The Allied Forces spent three days to breach the Wei family¡¯s final defenses. During this time, Yi Feng led a group of Lockbreakers who were loyal to him to join the defense, but they were still eventually routed. The Allied Forces were now extremely close to the Wei family''s ancestral.

    On Millions City, Qiong Xi''er sighed. ¡°So they were still defeated in the end, unable to resist the great trend.¡±

 Chapter 822: Fate Decided By The Heavens

    <h4>Chapter 822: Fate Decided By The Heavens</h4>

    There was an ugly expression on Qiong Shanhai¡¯s face. ¡°The Wei family has been defeated, and who else in the central region can still unite the weaves? They¡¯re all exposed to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s iron hoof.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er calmly replied, ¡°Rx, the powers of the central weaves aren¡¯t stupid. The key takeaway from this war is that the Hall of Honor is indeed supporting Lu Yin. Thus, going against Lu Yin doesn¡¯t merely mean having to deal with Lu Yin, but also the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin on his own may not be worth their attention, but the Hall of Honor is apletely different story. As soon as Wei Rong dies, the central region will unite, and those weaves will not allow Lu Yin to easily conquer them.¡±

    Qiong Shanhaiughed. ¡°Everyone has their own schemes. If they lose Wei Rong, then the central region will have lost its mastermind.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai looked over at his daughter. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    As he watched Qiong Xi''er sink into deep thought, he sternly said, ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of intervening. No, our Millions City definitely cannot interfere. Even if Lu Yin unites the Outerverse, he¡¯ll still be unable to pose any sort of threat to our Millions City, so don¡¯t give him a reason to want to deal with us.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er replied, ¡°I know.¡±

    Everyone was waiting for the final moment when the Wei family was annihted.

    Wei Rong had ordered the Wei family to evacuate from their ancestral, but Wei Baichuan did not leave. He was the Wei family patriarch, and he could not leave.

    The Allied Forces quickly approached the ancestral.

    Wei Baichuan felt grieved. At this point, he was just waiting for death and the end.

    Had the Wei family¡¯s actions of so many years been wrong? Despite having so many connections and a vastwork, they still had not been able to ovee Lu Yin¡¯s momentum, and their various allies had all abandoned them without hesitation. This was the result of their diplomacy, and they could only sumb to the trend of the times.

    Lu Yin arrived in Armament Weave and headed straight toward the Wei family''s ancestral at top speed.

    Wei Rong was not on the, and Lu Yin did not want to execute Wei Baichuan. Instead, he wanted to use Wei Baichuan to lure Wei Rong out. Lu Yin did not actually consider the Wei family worthy of his time, as only Wei Rong was able to catch his attention.

    Man proposes, but Heaven disposes.

    When Lu Yin finally met up with the Allied Forces and prepared to break through the Wei family¡¯s final line of defense,the entire Outerverse was shocked: The Technocracy had invaded!

    The Hall of Honor immediately ordered all conflicts to cease as they mobilized all of the Outerverse¡¯s resources towards Endless Weave. At this same time, all of the powerhouses in the western region immediately headed for the border in Endless Weave, and a draft list was quickly published on thework.

    This was identical to when Ironblood Weave had been invaded by the Astral Beast Domain in the past. Simrly, everyone was ordered to rush to Endless Weave and arrive within a designated amount of time.

    When Lu Yin heard this news, his face turnedpletely pale. Had the invasion of the Sixth Maind finally begun?

    He immediately called Elder Lohar, who informed Lu Yin that he was unsure of the details. All that could be confirmed was that the Technocracy had initiated a war against Endless Weave¡¯s border, but nobody knew if it was rted to the Sixth Maind.

    What they needed to do at this time was to prepare for the worst case scenario.

    Even though Lu Yin possessed the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, making Elder Lohar act extremely respectfully towards the youth, when faced with a war between domains, even if there was just a single step left before the Great Eastern Alliance took care of the Wei family, they could not make any more moves. This was a conflict between domains, and it affected all of humanity.

    Countless people in the Great Eastern Alliance felt that this development was a pity, as it would just take a tiny effort for them to fully upy Armament Weave.

    Floating through space, Wei Rong closed both of his eyes. In the end, his luck had turned out to be pretty good.

    He had orchestrated this matter from the start. The Wei family had produced intellectuals since ancient times. The good thing about smart people was that they never assumed that everything was under their control. Instead, they believed that everyone had their own destinies, and the Wei family was no different. Starting in some past generation, the Wei family had introduced an irondw that could not be removed, which was that they must always have a family member in Endless Weave at the Human Domain¡¯s border with the Technocracy as well as someone in Ironblood Weave near the border with the Astral Beast Domain. The purpose was so that they could incite a war between the two domains at a critical moment.

    A war between domains would force any and all conflicts between them humans to stop, and it would therefore introduce a forced armistice.

    This time, Wei Rong had used his final option, and he had ordered the people that the Wei family had hidden near Endless Weave¡¯s border to take the initiative to attack the Technocracy, thereby inciting a Domain War.

    The Technocracy had invaded Endless Weave, which was very far away from Armament Weave. Thus, the conflict might not have necessarily forced the war in Armament Weave to stop. Wei Rong had gambled on his luck again, hoping that the Hall of Honor would attach some importance to the invasion. If possible, he had also wanted to instigate the Astral Beast Domain into invading Ironblood Weave. That way, not only would the conflict in Armament Weave stop, but all of the known powerhouses in the region would be drafted to Ironblood Weave¡¯s defense.

    Unfortunately, the people that the Wei family had nted in Ironblood Weave had died during the most recent invasion.

    At this time, Wei Rong had intended to use luck to save his family, but he had never dreamed that the Hall of Honor would view this invasion with so much importance. In fact, they had practically exaggerated the magnitude of this incident. Not only did they stop all the conflicts throughout the entire Outerverse, but they had also mobilized countless experts and drafted them to Endless Weave, all the while acting as if the Technocracy was about tounch a full-scale invasion.

    Wei Rong had a feeling that the border skirmish he had orchestrated was not as simple as he had assumed.

    Only a few people in the entire Outerverse were aware of what Lu Yin had told Elder Lohar. When Lu Yin had Possessed Tong Chou, who was someone from the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin had discovered that the Sixth Maind might have gained control over a portion of the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain¡¯s authority and that they were nning to use the Technocracy¡¯s territory as a springboard to invade the Outerverse. The Hall of Honor had been investigating this matter this whole time, and although there had been no signs of invasion in their previous investigations, war had suddenly broken out. Thus, the Hall of Honor naturally viewed it as a serious threat.

    Any matter that was linked to the Sixth Maind was a huge event that could potentially drive the Fifth Maind¡¯s humans to extinction.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity that he could notpletely defeat the Wei family. However, even the entire Wei family was too insignificantpared to the Sixth Maind.

    The border war that Wei Rong had orchestrated had caused both the Hall of Honor and Lu Yin to misunderstand the situation, but it had also saved the Wei family. It could only be said that it wasn¡¯t the Wei family¡¯s time to die just yet.

    Lu Yin ordered the Allied Forces to withdraw back to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, and the 100,000 disciples from the Neo-Vestige Sect all returned to Mordo Weave. The invasion of Armament Weave could only be put on a temporary hiatus.

    Still, it was only a temporary armistice. As soon as the Human Domain¡¯s border was confirmed to be safe, the Allied Forces would instantly return.

    Lu Yin ordered the experts from the various powers of the Great Eastern Alliance to join the Allied Forces in preparation for their next battle. Of course, these efforts were also made with the possibility of an invasion from the Technocracy in mind, as Lu Yin wanted to be ready.

    ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s such a pity. We were just one step away,¡± En Ya said reluctantly.

    Lu Yin had already returned to Zenyu Star by now, and he was looking at a star chart, studying the border between Endless Weave and the Technocracy. ¡°If the Outerverse is taken out, then just the Wei family is nothing.¡±

    ¡°What did you say, Your Highness?¡± En Ya was puzzled.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Nothing. Go and tally up our casualties. Then, quickly recruit some experts into the Allied Forces so that we can maintain the Allied Forces at full strength.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The war had stopped, but there was still a pile of matters that needed to be attended to, and all of this administrative work was giving Lu Yin a headache.

    When the war against Armament Weave had first started, everyone had been united as if they were facing an outside threat and were working towards amon goal. But now that the war had stopped, the divisions had reappeared.

    His gadget rang, and Lu Yin saw that it was a call from Wei Rong.

    He opened the screen, and Wei Rong appeared with a very happy smile. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, ¡°This border war concerns our entire domain, so it would be best if you used your smarts to deal with the Technocracy. I¡¯m d that I didn¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression remained serene. ¡°I admire Brother Lu¡¯s righteousness.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°During this war, Brother Wei gathered his forces together at every step, and you also schemed three steps further at every turn. I also admire you.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°But unfortunately, we still ended up losing to Brother Lu in the end. Speaking of which, I have to thank Brother Lu for not hiring Smoker to assassinate me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me so early.¡±

    Wei Rongughed. ¡°Did Brother Lu consider hiring Smoker to assassinate me?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Wei Rong looked into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and then sighed. ¡°We really are the same type. If I had a way to kill Brother Lu, I also would not have been able to bear letting Brother Lu die so easily. What a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin declined toment.

    ¡°Brother Lu, why don¡¯t wee to an agreement?¡± Wei Rong suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin was interested. ¡°Speak.¡±

    Wei Rong spoke solemnly, ¡°In the future, if Brother Lu can defeat me openly and upy the central region of the Outerverse, then I¡¯ll willingly assist Brother Lu in opening new frontiers. I¡¯ll be yourckey and help you ovee all obstacles as we kill our way into the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°¡®Kill our way into the Innerverse¡¯? I¡¯m not that ambitious.¡±

    ¡°If Brother Lu can truly unite the full Outerverse, then regardless of whether your ambition leans that way or not, the circumstances will force Brother Lu into that direction,¡± Wei Rong said in a profound manner.

    Lu Yin shook his head, as the Innerverse was still on the verge of copse since it was currently facing the invasion of the Sixth Maind. It was actually impossible to know how many survivors there were at the moment. ¡°You must be afraid that I¡¯ll hire Smoker to take you out.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Then is Brother Lu willing to ept this proposal?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Wei Rong for a while. ¡°Sure.¡±

    Employing assassins was a bad move, and doing so would not be too different from how those great powers from the Innerverse used their overbearing strength to push others around. Wei Rong was correct¡ªLu Yin could not bear to give up on Wei Rong. However, nobody had said that Lu Yin could not use other methods to kill Wei Rong. If the war became heated enough, Lu Yin would not show mercy, as he was no fool either.

    Wei Rong wanted to use words to agitate Lu Yin, as he naturally still had a backup n.

    ¡°Alright, since the proper businesses have already been discussed, then there¡¯s another question I would like to have rified by Brother Lu,¡± Wei Rong said solemnly.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Every step that Brother Lu has taken, I have investigated everything that can be found. ording to my analysis of Brother Lu, you should be the type of person that absolutely has to seek revenge. In that case, is Brother Lu curious about which of the Ten Arbiters issued that judgement back then?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold, and he stared at Wei Rong. ¡°You know?¡±

    Wei Rong shook his head. ¡°No, but Brother Lu¡¯s reaction makes me certain of one thing: Brother Lu, you will definitely end up fighting against that Arbiter in the Innerverse in the future. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to make any guesses. No matter who issued that paper with the names of seventy two people surnamed Lu, I will find and chase that Arbiter down as well as all of the people who chased after us. I will find them all.¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll extend my best wishes for Brother Lu¡¯s sess in advance. Right, before you face off against the Ten Arbiters, is there anyone who Brother Lu would like to use as practice? Such as¡­ Yu Mu?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°This must be your true goal. You want to move against Shamrock Enterprises?¡±

    Wei Rong answered grudgingly, ¡°There¡¯s no other choice.¡±

    He took out a cosmic ring that he tossed in the air and casually caught as it fell. ¡°Chairman Yu generously gave this to me aspensation for his actions, but he threw it on the ground.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes were so cold that it felt as though his gaze could pierce straight to the bone. ¡°Since ancient times, our Wei family has always conducted ourselves strategically, and although we¡¯ve never been extremely powerful, we have never been the ones to be looked down upon. I didn¡¯t check what¡¯s in this. What about you, Brother Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin took out a simr cosmic ring. ¡°I didn¡¯t check it either, but one day, I¡¯ll return this to him.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha. Then let us work hard together. Yu Mu is an old monster whose power level approaches 400,000 after all.¡± Wei Rong smiled in a carefree manner as he stored that cosmic ring once again.

    Lu Yin simrly put the one in his possession away. ¡°You¡¯d best cherish this next bit of time, as you don¡¯t have much of it left.¡±

    Wei Rong held his forehead. ¡°If Brother Lu still wants to move against me, then I¡¯d best prepare some more backup ns. Farewell, Brother Lu.¡±

 Chapter 823: Target Of Suspicion

    <h4>Chapter 823: Target Of Suspicion</h4>

    Lu Yin disconnected from the call and frowned. Wei Rong¡¯s words had dragged out some old memories of past events. Had Wei Rong really been unable to find which of the Ten Arbiters had judged them back then, or had he merely been putting on an act? Lu Yin had no way to investigate this issue, but that didn¡¯t mean that Wei Rong was the same.

    Right, Amethyst Exchange. Lu Yin suddenly remembered this option. Since his past had already been made public, he might as well use Amethyst Exchange to investigate the details of that incident.

    Since he had thought of this possibility, then he would follow through with it. Lu Yin vanished, only to reappear on the top floor of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s building on Zenyu Star.

    Zi Xianxian was not surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s arrival at all. ¡°We don¡¯t have much information concerning the Domain War at Endless Weave¡¯s border, so there¡¯s no need to ask about it.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the pink sofa, which was extremely eye-catching every time he visited. ¡°I¡¯m not here about that. I wanted to ask something else¡ªhow much do you guys know about the details of the Innerverse?¡±

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What would you like to ask about?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°So you do know some.¡±

    Zi Xianxian shook her head, though her eyes were still wide open. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°How much do you know about the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Zi Xianxian leaned forward as she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You want to ask which one of the Ten Arbiters delivered the judgement upon those surnamed Lu, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Zi Xianxian eximed, ¡°It¡¯s truly baffling how the Hall of Honor treats you. This question of yours is no different from you admitting that what Wei Rong revealed is true. But even so, the Hall of Honor still supports you. How did you do it?¡±

    ¡°I am purchasing information from you, and I have no need to provide you with any intelligence,¡± Lu Yin replied. Although Thousand Eyes¡¯ pirates could provide a great deal of information, it was not on the same level as what Amethyst Exchange could supply. Those pirates were able to probe into matters connected to the dark side of the Outerverse, but they were not able to cover the Innerverse, as otherwise, they would not be pirates. In the Outerverse, only colossal organizations could investigate such matters.

    Zi Xianxian was helpless. ¡°Sorry, I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin was not disappointed by her response. ¡°Can it be looked into?¡±

    Zi Xianxian shook her head. ¡°Any matter concerning the Ten Arbiters cannot be investigated, as you should know. Even the names of the Ten Arbiters are taboo, let alone the actions that they might have taken.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to leave.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zi Xianxian called out. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry. Even if it can¡¯t be checked, I can conduct an analysis for you.¡±

    She then gestured for Lu Yin to sit. ¡°Have a cup of tea.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and took a seat.

    Zi Xianxian poured Lu Yin a cup¡ªof some pink drink. Lu Yin stared at it incredulously. Didn¡¯t she say tea? Where¡¯s the tea?

    After taking a sip, Zi Xianxian licked her lips. ¡°The Ten Arbiters have tenpletely different personalities, but each one is an unparalleled youth. Of these ten, some are more outspoken while others are more withdrawn. Some like to meddle in others¡¯ businesses, while some only have a few passions. Some even have rather strange personalities. It¡¯s not too difficult to determine which of these ten would deliver a judgement of their own initiative, and I have several candidates.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°You know about the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand them, but my Amethyst Exchange haspleted an analysis of their personalities. This is top secret, so-¡± Zi Xianxian lifted a finger as she paused. ¡°100,000 star essence, no haggling.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°That much?¡±

    ¡°Do you want it?¡± Zi Xianxian felt confident. She would not forget about how she had wanted to spontaneously tell this fellow Deng Pu¡¯s location, but he had not cared in the least. Women tended to hold grudges. Since Zi Xianxian had been embarrassed, she would absolutely embarrass Lu Yin as much as she could now.

    Lu Yin was indeed disgusted, as to him, money was not just money. It was also a direct way to improve his strength. When he saw Zi Xianxian¡¯s gleeful expression, he felt helpless. ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Zi Xianxian felt proud. The truth was that she should not be discussing secrets concerning the Ten Arbiters with an outsider. However, since the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, some secrets had no value if they remained unspoken. ¡°I can tell you, but let¡¯s make something clear: I will not mention any names.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Zi Xianxian solemnly exined, ¡°These are the rules. Even if the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse, allowing us to sell certain secrets, we still have to maintain at least some rules. Otherwise, there will be a great deal of trouble in the future. Back when the Sea King stole that batch of pyrolyte, he had thought that his actions were wless, but was still discovered by the Starsibyl Sect in the end. The cycle of karma cannot be disregarded.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, go on.¡±

    Zi Xianxian took another sip of her fruit juice. ¡°The first person to suspect is a schr. Such people tend to have a lot on their mind, and they must obey various rules. Since ancient times, schrs have delivered many admonishments, so it wouldn¡¯t be too surprising for one of them to carry out a judgement.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He knew who Zi Xianxian was referencing.

    ¡°Although this schr does not seem to have any conflicts with you in the open, their morality may rear its head from time to time. Just like a fanatic, they might condemn whatever displeases them, which is very normal for them. In a certain year, they once handed down judgement over ten times, and all of the cases werepletely unrted to them. ording to our analysis, they just found them to be displeasing,¡± Zi Xianxian exined.

    Lu Yin frowned.

    ¡°The second person to be consideredes from an ancient family whose surname is made up of two words. They are arrogant, disregard all others, and are the type of person who will bite regardless of the circumstances, as long as it concerns them. In their eyes, if you are not obedient and do not fawn over them, then you are disrespecting them. They are more stern and show condescension towards everything. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising at all if this person delivered that judgement,¡± Zi Xianxian exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as he knew who this Arbiter was as well.

    ¡°The third person to consider is also from an ancient family. They like the color white and have an obsession with cleanliness. At first nce, they seem like a deity, and their innate gift is also one filled with dignity. This person does not allow the existence of any stains to persist, and illegal primeval surnames are considered stains upon the universe. Thus, it would be normal for this person to deliver judgement upon them.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as a certain figure from the Daosource Sect''s ruins appeared in his mind.

    ¡°The fourth suspect is someone who carries out massacres.¡± Upon mentioning this Arbiter, Zi Xianxian¡¯s eyes flickered with fear. "This person¡¯s personality is rather carefree, and they dislike trouble. They go about and kill people simply when they don¡¯t like them. When this person acts, they often destroy entires, and just so that they don¡¯t see any dead people, they will often reduce everyone to nothingness.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this was an unknown Arbiter.

    ¡°This particr Arbiter has a special trait.¡± Zi Xianxian¡¯s eyes grew serious, and a trace of puzzlement appeared in her eyes. ¡°They cannot be attacked.¡±

    ¡°¡®Cannot be attacked¡¯? What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin was surprised by this phrase.

    Zi Xianxian shook her head. ¡°I don''t know the specifics, but basically, this Arbiter cannot be attacked. Any and all attacks directed towards them will be reduced to nothingness. ording to our analysis, it should be some sort of innate gift, but as for what it is exactly, nobody can say. This person may seem very happy-go-lucky, but they are actually ruthless. As for why they might have exacted judgement, it¡¯s rumored that one of this person¡¯s ancestors was humiliated by an expert with a primeval surname. Thus, they carry a deep grudge towards all such people.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    Zi Xianxian stood up. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve told you about the four suspects, and you should have some understanding of the first three. It¡¯s very likely that one of these four are behind the judgement that condemned those with the Lu surname.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, ¡°Of the Ten Arbiters, is there anyone who has had any involvement with the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews?¡±

    Zi Xianxian was puzzled by this question. ¡°Why do you ask? There shouldn¡¯t be any, but I¡¯d need to check to be sure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you to check.¡± Lu Yin stood up, paid his bill, and then left.

    He could not forget Old Gu De¡¯s words. Big Sis and the others were from Leon¡¯s Armada, so their pursuers had to have been sent by someone from the Cosmic Sea who dared to pursue them and who had some sort of conflict with them. Old Gu De had also mentioned that the person behind the pursuit was someone connected to the Four Pirate Crews. Thus, as long as Lu Yin found out which of the Ten Arbiters had a rtionship with the Four Pirate Crews, that Arbiter was very likely to be the person who had delivered the judgement upon those surnamed Lu.

    Zi Xianxian looked at the recently vacated chair. ¡°The Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews?¡±

    In response to the Domain War at Endless Weave¡¯s border, almost every part of the Outerverse¡¯s western region had been plunged into war preparations. The Hall of Honor was being extremely cautious, but nobody knew why.

    The Technocracy had invaded the Outerverse frequently in the past, but the Hall of Honor had never exerted such caution ever before.

    In the subsequent days, the Outerverse¡¯swork was filled with reports about the Domain War, and the propaganda even encouraged cultivators to join in on Endless Weave¡¯s war efforts.

    Reports concerning the war in Armament Weave could no longer be found anywhere.

    Lu Yin met with Xiao Ya once during this time, as he had beenpletely defeated by Wei Rong in the media front of their war. Wei Rong¡¯s media maneuvers had been passive, as he did not have the power to directly control the media outlets. However, he had managed to gather support from other forces.

    Any news that Wei Rong had exposed had been automatically broadcasted by various media outlets, and it had all rapidly spread. Concerning this detail, Lu Yin had not found any weapons that he could use to curb such rampant propaganda.

    He needed to gain influence over the media, and that influence could not just be limited to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory.

    Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to control the media, he had to first increase his influence. Otherwise, even if he established a local news outlet, it would be useless if it had no support.

    If he wanted to expand, then he needed to have the influence of the media, and if he wanted the media that he supported to have any sort of influence, then they needed to expand. This was like the question of which came first: the chicken or the egg? The only way for Lu Yin to proceed was to copy Wei Rong¡¯s methods and then borrow the strength of a mediapany while notpletely controlling it.

    Only the Hall of Honor was able topletely control the media.

    Although Lu Yin had the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, it would be unrealistic for him to rely on it to order the Hall of Honor about, not unless he also had a power level of 300,000 that put him on equal footing with Elder Lohar. In the end, foreign objects were foreign objects, and only personal strength was a constant truth.

    ¡°Your Highness, Bei Qing has requested an audience,¡± Kayze reported.

    Lu Yin had Bei Qing brought in.

    Bei Qing respectfully greeted, ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Bei Qing replied, ¡°Your Highness, you originally decided to conduct a high quality auction every three months, but four months have already passed.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered this, as he had indeed forgotten about the auction house. ¡°Right, I forgot about that. Alright, I¡¯ll give you some high quality goods to auction.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Actually, your subject came to see you regarding another matter,¡± Bei Qing said as he looked at Lu Yin in a cautious manner. ¡°There are certain items that should not be seen, and I want to ask Your Highness if these can be auctioned off.¡±

    ¡°Should not be seen?¡± Lu Yin felt this was a strange issue. What could be considered taboopared to pyrolyte?

    Bei Qing continued to exin the origin and details about certain items to Lu Yin, who quickly understood. It turned out that it was like that.

    Some things tantly disyed the emblem of specific families or powers. Normally, if people obtained such items, they wouldn¡¯t dare to openly sell them out of fear of being discovered. Thus, they wished to take advantage of the Lu''s Grand Auction to sell off their contraband. These items were indeed worthy of being categorized as items that were not fit to be seen, as anyone who were selling such things would definitely offend the original owners.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Buy those items and then sell them back to the original owners at a high price.¡±

    Bei Qing was surprised by these orders. ¡°Your Highness, won¡¯t that offend them?¡±

    Lu Yin did not care. ¡°It¡¯s not like we were the ones who stole these items or plundered their property. We¡¯re helping them to recover their lost goods, so don¡¯t we need some reciprocity?¡±

    Bei Qing understood: the intent was to buy these items at a low price and then sell them back to the original owners at a high price. If someone of average status had this opportunity, they would naturally not dare to do such a thing as the original owners would simply eliminate them. However, this was the Lu''s Grand Auction, and so, those powers could only pinch their noses and give in. In fact, they even needed to show some gratitude.

    ¡°We will have to take and save videos of these transactions so that they can¡¯t falsely use us of anything. Also, if there are any unusually precious items, then just keep them,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    ¡°Rest assured, Your Highness. Your subject knows what to do,¡± Bei Qing reassured the Royal Regent.

    ¡°Head back for now ande back again tomorrow at the same time. I¡¯ll give you some more good things to sell then,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Bei Qing was delighted, and he quickly took his leave.

 Chapter 824: Reentering The Daosource Sect

    <h4>Chapter 824: Reentering The Daosource Sect</h4>

    Lu Yin began to search through his inventory. He had numerous precious items, but there really wasn¡¯t much that he could sell.

    He flipped through his cosmic ring, but he had already sold all of his natural treasures, and there were not that many interesting items remaining. There was the blood-red bell, but if he dared to sell it, the Hall of Honor would likely stake everything they had to move against him. There was also the hoe, but nobody would be able to use that toy. Right, he still had the arrows from Neo-Vestige Sect and Elder Wu''s poison, which he could sell. However, Lu Yin felt ufortable at the thought of selling these things, as he would no longer have them afterwards.

    As he considered his options, Lu Yin contacted Ban Jiu.

    In the past, Lu Yin had asked Ban Jiu to manufacture some equipment, such as guns, arrows, armors, and other misceneous items, and to make them with high quality materials.

    Ban Jiu had told Lu Yin that it would be pointless for them to make such items, as they would be useless for Lu Yin and any other powerful cultivator. However, Lu Yin did have a use for them, as he could upgrade such equipment.

    Before too much time passed, the Technology Department sent over one gun, three arrows, and a set of universal armor.

    Lu Yin had also sent Kayze out to buy three formcast models. After collecting all the items, he entered the pce¡¯s secret, raised his hand, and caused his die to appear.

    Recently, Lu Yin no longer rolled the die as frequently as he had in the past. Thus, with the longer gap between rolls, he was more likely to roll the number that he desired. Lu Yin had thought about this before, and since this die was his innate gift, it made sense that it could resonate with his inner desires.

    But hopes were just hopes, and they were not predictions. As a precaution, Lu Yin quickly set his cosmic ring aside, just in case he rolled six pips: Possession.

    His cosmic ring contained over a million star essence, and if he rolled six pips: Possession, he did not know where he would be taken. In fact, he might even Possess someone from the Sixth Maind again, and if that happened, his wealth would be depleted in an instant.

    Although six pips: Possession was a method that could improve his strength and allow him to obtain crucial intelligence, it was not the roll that Lu Yin wanted at this time. He would slowly explore that option when he had the time and resources.

    He tapped out, and the die spun around before directlynding on three pips: Enhance.

    So did this indicate that, the greater his desires or expectations, the higher the odds of rolling what he wanted with the die? Lu Yin considered this possibility.

    Two screens of light appeared, and Lu Yin first threw the gun on top. It was actually rather simr to the fake gun that Lu Yin had sent to the Xun family in the past. This gun had been made from high quality materials, and Lu Yin expected to be able to upgrade it to the point where it could fire attacks with a power level of nearly 200,000, which would be able to threaten Enlighters.

    He spent over 20,000 star essence to upgrade the gun to the maximum level.

    As he held it in his hands, it felt pretty decent.

    Although this gun¡¯s rune lines could not match up to an Enlighter¡¯s, it was still pretty close, and it would be sufficient for the moment. The materials used to make this particr gun meant that it could only be upgraded to this extent.

    Next were the three arrows, but no matter how much Lu Yin upgraded them, they would still have no intrinsic special powers or traits, unlike the Arrow of Valiance that had no form and was unstoppable. These three arrows were perfectly ordinary, but if they were used by a Hunter well-versed in bow and used arrow battle techniques, then their power would be boosted to a decent level, and these arrows could theoretically present a threat to Enlighters.

    It cost him less star essence to upgrade these arrows than the gun for an overall sum of a bit over 10,000 star essence.

    Just upgrading three arrows and one gun had already cost him almost 60,000 star essence. He had never had such arge sum before his trip to Millions City. During that trip, Lu Yin had managed to obtain more than a million star essence from people like Yuehua Mavis, so his savings at the moment were quite considerable.

    There were also those three formcast models still.

    It did not cost Lu Yin too much to upgrade them to five-stage models, but it would cost him 8,000 star essence each to upgrade them to six-stage models.

    However, Lu Yin did not n to upgrade them to that level.

    A six-stage formcast model required an Enlighter to create. If he brought out such treasures, it would cause a greatmotion. Since that was the case, he could only upgrade the formcast models five times before selling them, which would not incite too much excitement.

    Still, five-stage formcast models were not simple, and even a power like the Xun family from the Innerverse may not necessarily have that many five-stage formcast models, let alone the Outerverse powers. Perhaps only Neo-Vestige Sect, Millions City, the Dark Phoenix family, and the four great conglomerates had such items.

    These three upgraded formcast models would be sufficient to support the auction this time. Thus, Lu Yin did not n to provide any additional treasures to sell. Instead, he intended to start preparing to return to the Daosource Sect.

    It had been almost nine months since he hadst visited the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and the dispute between the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings should have died down significantly. However, he would still need to make the necessary preparations.

    The first thing on his list to upgrade was the Arrow of Valiance, which waspletely transparent and moved unseen. This meant that it was the best choice to use in an ambush attack. It also had the trait of being unstoppable, but unfortunately, its destructive power was based upon the strength of its user, and Lu Yin¡¯s own destructive power could only approach that of a Hunter at most.

    He ced the Arrow of Valiance on the upper light screen and began to upgrade it repeatedly.

    The rune lines that he saw on the arrow grew more and more exaggerated. They grew from a Hunter¡¯s, to an Enlighter¡¯s, and then finally, an Enlighter¡¯s with a power level of around 250,000. At this point, it should be enough to injure a Realmling-level opponent.

    Lu Yin did not n to upgrade the arrow any further, as he would not be able to control it if it became too powerful. This was his limit, and it had cost him nearly 100,000 star essence to reach this point, which was quite a lot. The Arrow of Valiance was so expensive to upgrade precisely because of its special traits, which made itpletely different from the normal arrows that he had upgraded earlier. Actually, it was considered as one of the divine arrows.

    Next were various medicines and life-preserving items. He retrieved the ancient medicine that he had bought at the Qiong Forest Banquet¡¯s auction. This pill was different from Shamrock Enterprises¡¯s medications. Instead, it consisted of individual beads. Just a single nce at it was enough to tell that these pills had probably been refined by a cultivating sect.

    The overall effect of these pills were already quite impressive before being upgraded. To start, Lu Yin took out one pill and upgraded it multiple times, only stopping once the rune lines were equivalent to an Enlighter¡¯s with a power level of 200,000. Nobody would be upset at having life-preserving items that were too powerful, but he would not upgrade the pill any further, as there was no reason to upgrade it excessively. Upgrading it to this point had already cost about 20,000 star essence.

    He had only upgraded one pill, though the bottle contained a total of twelve pills. After making some quick calctions, Lu Yin only upgraded three pills, as he only needed that much for his personal use.

    Upgrading the Arrow of Valiance and three pills had drained his reserves by nearly 160,000 star essence.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s personal strength increased, his requirements for his supporting items had also risen. Correspondingly, the amount of money that he had to spend to upgrade those items to that level had also increased. When he eventually became an Enlighter, the external objects he used would have to be at the level of threatening powerhouses with power levels of around 400,000, which would probably require hundreds of thousands of star essence for each upgrade.

    He still had around 1,240,000 star essence left, so next on his list was another set of universal armor.

    His original set of universal armor had cracked, so if he used it, he might easily suffer injuries in a fight. After leaving Millions City, he had instructed Ban Jiu to manufacture a new set of universal armor and to use the best materials possible in its construction. With a conservative estimate, Lu Yin believed that the new armor could be upgraded to the point where it would be able to defend against attacks with power levels of 300,000.

    He quickly upgraded the universal armor sixteen times, pushing it to the point where it could withstand attacks with a power level of almost 260,000 before he stopped. Lu Yin had spent a total of 23,000 star essence on the armor so far, and the universal armor¡¯s base materials would not be able to handle another upgrade, as this universal armor¡¯s base materials were quite inferiorpared to his first one.

    The only advantage was that it was much cheaper to upgrade the universal armorpared to the Arrow of Valiance, and the armor cost about the same as the pills. Right, a universal armor was just a piece of defensive equipment whereas the Arrow of Valiance was an offensive weapon.

    The next day, Lu Yin passed a gun whose rune lines nearly matched an Enlighter¡¯s, three arrows that were the same, and three five-stage formcast models over to Bei Qing.

    Bei Qing¡¯s face was nk, ¡°Your- Your Highness, this is?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Sell them.¡±

    Bei Qing blinked. ¡°Is this information urate?¡±

    Lu Yin was irritated by his response. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯d try to deceive you?¡±

    Bei Qing hurriedly apologized, but he still didn¡¯t truly believe the information that he had been given. A gun that could threaten an Enlighter? Was that a joke!? Was the Royal Regent taking advantage of the fact that Bei Qing was a native who did not know much about guns? And these three arrows¡ªreportedly, they also had the power to threaten Enlighters, but they were apparently still just arrows that could not realize their full power on their own!? However, the three formcast models shocked Bei Qing the most. Five-stage formcast models! He had never heard of anyone selling such things in the entire Outerverse. Who wouldn¡¯t hoard such treasures as family heirlooms to eventually give them to their own heir? Even if the formcast models couldn¡¯t be used by older cultivators, people would absolutely save them to give to their heirs. Just who would sell them?

    Lu Yin knew that Bei Qing would not easily believe the truth of these items, so he simply said, ¡°With the Lu''s Grand Auction¡¯s prestige, feel free to sell these things. There will certainly be people who believe it.¡±

    In the past, Lu Yin had used a gun to kill multiple Enlighters, and he had even gained the title ¡°Enlighters¡¯ Bane.¡± Thus, everybody was aware of that gun¡¯s legend. That gun had been destroyed in Ironblood Weave, and when this one appeared, countless people would invariably remember Lu Yin¡¯s old item, which would prompt them into believing that this gun was authentic.

    ¡°Then, Your Highness, how do we set the prices?¡± Bei Qing asked.

    Lu Yin thought about it; Enlighters were practically the sky in the Outerverse, and not every weave was able to produce an Enlighter. Thus, anyone who bought such an item would be purchasing a deterrence, so the price could not be too low. Lu Yin had no fear of setting the price too high, as there would always be someone who could afford the price, such as the four great conglomerates, the three great powers of the Outerverse, or those colossal financial organizations.

    Lu Yin did not forget about the generosity that Neo-Vestige Sect had shown when buying back those divine arrows.

    ¡°The base price for the gun will be 60,000 star essence, while the three arrows¡¯ base price will be 20,000 each. As for the formcast models¡­¡± Lu Yin thought about it for a moment before replying, ¡°No starting price.¡±

    Five-stage formcast models were items that most people would never be able to ess due to the universalck of supply. Lu Yin had once assumed that almost every Enlighter was able to produce such formcast models, but his thinking had been too simple back then. Even if five-stage formcast models didn¡¯t require an Envoy to produce, the expert would definitely have to be close to that level. Mammoth organizations like Shamrock Enterprises definitely had such experts, so they would not be short for these sorts of formcast models.

    These were two major obstacles to selling these formcast models, as those colossal organizations possessed super experts who could manufacture simr five-stage formcast models, and they would definitely provide them to their own geniuses. On the other hand, any powers without such powerhouses would find it difficult to purchase these formcast models even if they had enough money.

    Each manufactured formcast model was rted to the expert who produced them, and some people were capable of deducing details about the manufacturer¡¯s strength through the unique details of each formcast model. For experts manufacturing formcast models, each model that they produced would increase the odds of their weaknesses being exposed. Thus, high level formcast models would not be released externally unless there was no choice.

    Lu Yin had spent just over 300,000 star crystals when he had upgraded his own formcast model from four to five stages, which was very cheap. It was very difficult to buy high level formcast models simply because no one wanted to sell them.

    As soon as news spread out that this next auction would feature these five-stage formcast models, Lu Yin felt confident that there would be quite amotion, and at the very least, the four great conglomerates would not remain aloof. Thosepanies definitely did not have any experts who could manufacture five-stage formcast models, and it was also practically impossible to buy such things. Additionally, thesepanies all had a great number of youths who they were raising, and who would not want their heir to be even more outstanding? A five-stage formcast model meant greater future prospects.

    Bei Qing left, feeling both excited and nervous.

    Were the items that he had been given to sell this time actually reliable? He was not certain, but he also knew that he could not refuse to sell what he had been given. He had no choice in this matter, and he gritted his teeth. Regardless, everything belonged to His Highness, so even if these items were fake, only the Royal Regent¡¯s reputation would take a hit. Bei Qing stopped caring about the authenticity of the items and decided to just sell them.

    After thinking about it, he quickly contacted Xiao Ya.

    After Bei Qing left King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin called Wendy Yushan. He wanted her to wait a moment to enter the Daosource Sect so that he could enter first and investigate the situation. After speaking with her, he returned to the secret room in the pce and held onto the Arrow of Valiance and the Bacsh Pearl with an Ultra sh Tearbomb tied to his waist. He sat on the futon and then entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins. He had not visited this ce in quite some time, and he was hoping that his luck would not be as terrible as thest time!

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin reoriented himself and quickly realized that he was back in a familiar, yet still foreign ce¡ªhe was back in the futon za outside the First Divine Gate.

 Chapter 825: Championsâ€™ Stage Conferring Titles

    <h4>Chapter 825: Champions¡¯ Stage Conferring Titles</h4>

    This futon za was familiar to Lu Yin because he had appeared in this ce several times before, and this was also the first ce he had evere to in the Daosource Sect. However, it also felt foreign because the entire futon za had changed, as if something had ttened it. The ground had been smoother out by some overwhelming strength, and the terrain had changed on a fundamental level.

    Lu Yin stood up and surveyed his surroundings. He then unleashed his domain, allowing it to spread out further and further. But despite letting it expand unabated, he could not find a single soul within his domain¡¯s range.

    Right, the floating maind above the mountains and seas had fallen into the seabed. Thus, he wouldn¡¯t be able to appear within the mountains and seas at the start anymore, forcing him to return to the futon za.

    Lu Yin then lifted a leg and stomped on the ground, causing his foot to sink into the ground. His eyes shed; this was the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and the terrain¡¯s natural hardness was iparable to an ordinary piece ofnd. However, it had still been pulverized. The culprit had to be one of the Ten Arbiters, one of the Realmlings, or perhaps someone even stronger, like Wu Taibai of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Lu Yin could not determine how long the battle that had destroyed thend had urred just based on the markings on the ground. Thus, he could only carefully head in the direction of the First Divine Gate.

    He sessfully passed through the First Divine Gate without issue, though the path there had also been badly damaged, leaving not many guardians that tried to stop him. Lu Yin asionally ran into some corpses on the ground, but it seemed as though these people had been dead for some time.

    Lu Yin had already unleashed his domain to its fullest extent, but despite that, he still had not found a single trace of any other people.

    After passing through the First Divine Gate, he entered the Budding Terrace, but there still was not a single soul to be seen.

    Although the Realmlings had fought an intense battle against the Ten Arbiters that had resulted in many Sixth Maind cultivators being too afraid to even enter the Daosource Sect, it should not have been so bad that not a single person was present.

    Lu Yin reduced his aura as much as he could and then headed towards the region with the Nine Source Cauldrons. His foremost goal this trip was toprehend the battle technique within the Nine Cauldrons. If he ran into White Knight or Wen Sansi, he would also be able to gain some more information concerning how the war between the Innerverse and Sixth Maind was progressing. If he met any of the other Ten Arbiters, he nned to not reveal himself, as it would be too dangerous.

    It seemed as though there was not a single other person in the entire Daosource Sect. That was, at least until he arrived in the region of space with the Nine Cauldrons. There, Lu Yin finally sensed some people entering and leaving the region through his domain. This caused him to heave a sigh of relief, as if the entire Daosource Sect had been devoid of people, he would have felt rather panicked.

    There were two youths standing in the cauldron where Lu Yin had once been trapped by Blood Looney in the past. These two people seemed to be searching for something.

    Lu Yin restrained his aura and approached the two people while concealing his face.

    The two people inside the cauldron explored around for a short while before one of them sighed. ¡°Sure enough, there¡¯s nothing to be found. Senior, why don¡¯t we leave?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to leave? What''s the hurry? These are the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins, and it¡¯s where all arts, battle techniques, bloodlines and inheritances originate from. If these were ordinary times, would we be able to explore so effortlessly?¡± The other berated.

    ¡°But other people have scoured this ce for countless years, and anything that could be easily discovered would have been taken away long ago. See? The others all headed to the battlefield to hunt down the Fifth Maind¡¯s Title Holders. The reward for killing any one of them is high, and the highest reward is being epted as one of the three Progenitors¡¯ disciples!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, hunt? Idiot! The people who went there still think that that bunch from the Fifth Maind are easy to deal with. However, they¡¯ve all been duped and are being sent into early graves.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°At first, during the invasion of the Fifth Maind, our main force was from the Grand Martial Realm, the War Martial Realm, and the ckblood Realm. If it was possible to hunt down those Fifth Mainders, then would those three realms have casually agreed to allow people from the other realms to join the invasion? But now, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse haspletely changed, and it¡¯s turned into a bloody factory. Whoever goes there, dies.¡±

    ¡°Senior, are the rumors true? Did the Martial Progenitor enter the Fifth Maind bute out severely injured?¡± the junior cried out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression abruptly changed, and he listened carefully.

    That senior looked around, and when he confirmed that there was no one around, he softly answered, ¡°I identally heard some of our sect seniors talking about it. More than half a year ago, the three realms¡¯ invasion of the Fifth Maind wasn¡¯t going smoothly, especially because the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse¡¯s various flowzones were separated by energy barriers, making it difficult to ess each one. It was too time-consuming to break them open one by one, so the invasion force invited the Martial Progenitor to directly eliminate the energy barriers between the Innerverse¡¯s flowzones so that they could quickly start invading the Neoverse.

    ¡°But when the Martial Progenitor acted, it initiated a disaster.¡± The senior swallowed his saliva and continued on with some fear in his voice, saying, ¡°A Progenitor from the Fifth Maind took action.¡±

    ¡°What! The Fifth Maind still has Progenitors?¡± the junior cried out.

    The senior hurriedly shushed his junior and scanned the area again. ¡°Be quiet!¡±

    That junior also swallowed some saliva as he hurriedly nodded.

    The senior checked his surroundings again before saying, ¡°There are no living Progenitors there, but there are Progenitors who once lived. ording to some rumors, a remnant spiritual force collided with the Martial Progenitor, and that collision caused the entire Innerverse¡¯s star energy to transform. Now, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse¡¯s sky is chaotic and boils continuously. Anyone who uses an attack that surpasses a power level of 200,000 will be melted by that freakish boiling energy. It¡¯s just like havingva float above the heads ofmoners¡ªwhoever moves, dies.

    ¡°It''s precisely because of this event that every powerhouse with a power level over 200,000 has withdrawn from the battlefield, and those whose power level is under 200,000 have be the main force of the invasion. The Fifth Maind created something called the Champion''s Stage. Anyone whose power level is under 200,000 can make contributions, after which they¡¯ll be given a corresponding title. They are the Title Holders you¡¯ve heard of before. After that, our Sixth Maind sealed off all of the information about the war so that they can trick everyone with a power level under 200,000 into invading the Fifth Maind and fighting against those people from the Fifth Maind. That¡¯s why the rewards have be better, and it¡¯s reached the point where some of them are just ridiculous.¡±

    The junior disciple was terrified. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no wonder why nobody is in the Daosource Sect''s ruins! They were all duped into heading to the Fifth Maind. Right, a power level under 200,000? Then shouldn¡¯t the Realmlings be the primary attackers?¡±

    That senior shook his head. ¡°I don''t know the details, but no matter who acts on the battlefield in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, their attacks can¡¯t surpass a power level of 200,000, or else they¡¯ll be instantly dissolved. Even Imprinters are no exception, and nobody is able to change this fact. This was a fundamental transformation in that ce¡¯sws of the universe created by a battle between two Progenitors.¡±

    ¡°Then, Senior, what about the Martial Progenitor?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s reported that they¡¯re injured, but the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force also vanished. Thus, many have begged the Secret Progenitor and the Blood Progenitor to move out and reverse the transformation that took ce in the Innerverse. However, all of their requests have been rejected. Now, our two mainds have been locked into a war of attrition where the resources are the cultivators with power levels lower than 200,000. This basically means that our younger generation has be the main force of the invasion.¡±

    ¡°The real power in the war has to be the Realmlings and Daosource Three Skies. Although their attacks have also been suppressed since they can¡¯t surpass a power level of 200,000, when up against others of the same power level, they are still the strongest, followed by the descendants of those Imprinter families. People like us are just expendable fodder,¡± the junior said helplessly.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re aware. The good friends that I was able to contact before have all gone unresponsive. It¡¯s one thing for the battlefield to be sealed off, but supposedly, they¡¯re all dead.¡± The senior disciple¡¯s voice sounded mncholic, and he was clearly terrified of the battlefield.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he did not expect to hear such news. Back when he had Possessed Tong Chou¡¯s body, he had heard that the Sixth Maind had asked their Progenitors to act. However, he had never thought that they would truly take action. But that had just led to an even scarier oue; a Progenitor had been injured while the other two Progenitors did not dare to reveal themselves at all.

    It was no wonder why that Yu family elder had mentioned that the Fifth Maind was not as simple as they believed. The Sixth Maind had assumed that the Fifth Maind was a trapped beast, but they had not thought that they would end up trapped as well.

    But it was not very realistic for the Sixth Maind to withdraw either, as they had expended far too many resources just to give up here. Even their Martial Progenitor had acted, and retreating would be the same as admitting failing in their invasion attempt, which would discredit their Martial Progenitor.

    To preserve their own reputation, the Sixth Maind had been forced to scam all of their cultivators with power levels under 200,000. They had been tricked into heading onto the battlefield and fighting against the Innerverse¡¯s forces.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had heard some good news.

    The Fifth Maind could notpare to the Sixth Maind in terms of cultivators at the top power levels, and it seemed like that remnant spiritual force of a Fifth Maind Progenitor had also been aware of this. Thus, they had intentionally changed the cosmic conditions to the Fifth Maind¡¯s advantage. Lu Yin wondered which Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force had taken action, as he really wanted to witness such a thing.

    Also, he had be greatly interested in this Champion''s Stage. And Title Holders? If they were all cultivators with power levels under 200,000, then that included the Top 100 Rankings, the Ten Arbiters, and even the top youths from the Cosmic Sea as well as those absolute freaks from the Neoverse¡¯s younger generation. They would form the Fifth Maind¡¯s main fighting force. He wondered who could be conferred titles: Mu Rong, Ling Que, Liu Shaoqiu, Zhanlong Daynight, Zhuo Daynight, Long Yun, Zhang Dingtian, and Y¨­u Ye''er were the most likely ones off the top of his head. How would the people whom he was familiar with fare on this battlefield? At best, they would be able to fight against Hunters, and Lu Yin did not know if that would be enough to be given a title.

    Lu Yin stepped forward.

    The pair of disciples had never expected someone to be nearby, and they stared at Lu Yin as if he was a ghost.

    Lu Yin jumped inside the cauldron and looked at the senior disciple. ¡°Just now, you mentioned something about conferred titles¡ªwhat conferred titles?¡±

    The youth frowned and then warily asked, ¡°What conferred titles? Bro, you must have heard wrong.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone turned cold. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with nonsense, so let me ask again: what conferred titles?¡±

    The senior squinted, exchanged nces with his junior, and then acted together. They were both supported by their imprints as they instantly attacked Lu Yin. They acted with murderous intent from the very start, and the two had great cooperation and were both Explorers. The average cultivator would not be able to deal with this joint attack, but the two of them were too far from Lu Yin¡¯s level.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, directly caught the junior disciple¡¯s wrist, and snapped it. He then leaped up and directly crushed the senior¡¯s imprint, causing the youth to spit out a mouthful of blood as he crashed fiercely against the side of the cauldron. Finally, Lu Yin waved his hand to fling the junior disciple away as a terrifying suppressive force directly knocked the junior unconscious as he was thrown out of the cauldron.

    The entire battle was over in less than a second.

    That senior spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Lu Yin in terror. ¡°Who- who are you? You¡¯re so powerful even without using an imprint¡ªyou must be the heir of some Imprinter family.¡±

    Lu Yin approached the young man step by step. ¡°Speak, what conferred titles?¡±

    ¡°How can you not know with your status? What exactly is it that you want?¡± The senior disciple sat on the ground, almost paralyzed with fear as he constantly tried to edge back. He clutched at his chest, and his eyes were filled with fear.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he raised a hand to press downwards.

    A gale blew out that caused the senior disciple¡¯s blood to run cold. ¡°I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk!¡±

    The palm stopped just a centimeter away from that disciple¡¯s skull.

    He asked in terror, ¡°Can you let me go after I tell you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have the power to negotiate with me,¡± Lu Yin coldly retorted.

    ¡°Many people are able to tell you the information you want! None of this is a secret!¡± he said fearfully.

    Lu Yin pressed one hand against the young man¡¯s skull. ¡°Will you tell me or not?¡±

    That senior bitterly answered, ¡°I only overheard it, but the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse¡¯s Champion''s Stage will bestow these titles upon their youths who have made great contributions: General, Marquis, King, and Arbiter. The titles are differentiated ording to each person¡¯s achievements, and our Sixth Maind¡¯s fighters will receive rewards that correspond to the level of the Title Holder we kill.¡±

    With a thump, Lu Yin¡¯s hand struck the senior disciple¡¯s head, knocking him unconscious, before he was tossed out of the cauldron. This pair would not awaken before Lu Yin left the cauldron.

    Gaining titles of General, Marquis, King, or Arbiter? Lu Yin was excited, as this news made his blood run hot! Unfortunately, he could not participate in the greatest battlefield. Countless people would be watching this fight between two mainds, and the participating fighters would be conferred titles and gain contributions by killing their enemies. This was a real war, andparatively, the war that Lu Yin had initiated was just child¡¯s y.

 Chapter 826: Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 826: Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation</h4>

    Lu Yin did not know if he should be happy or not. The battle between Progenitors had not caused any changes in the Astral River¡¯s energy, as otherwise, the Innerverse and Outerverse would have been reconnected.

    He took a deep breath. Forget it. That war was unrted to Lu Yin, and for the time being, he needed to take advantage of this time when the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins were practically empty toprehend the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique.

    After processing all this new information, he sat down cross-legged and emptied his mind. After half an hour, he began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The moment he started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, the cauldron trembled, and Lu Yin was instantly delighted. His attempt was going well, and the Stonewall Scriptures could indeed help himprehend the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique, which was quite strange.

    The legends imed that the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle techniques would be invincible whenbined into a single technique. Lu Yin was eager to discover just how impressive this technique truly was.

    Three-footed cauldron that towers above the skies!

    ¡­

    Lu Yin recited the Stonewall Scriptures, and he didn¡¯t even realize that his consciousness had drifted away. Or more urately, his awareness was no longer entirely his own. He felt as though he had be a temporal meteor streaking across the ages that had crossed the river of time. He eventually arrived in a world from an unknown era of the past.

    He no longer knew who he was. He had no memories, emotions, or consciousness. He had nothing. He was the sky and earth, and the sky and earth were him.

    He saw an iparably enormous tree that towered into the sky, reaching an unknown height. Its branches drooped towards the ground as all sorts of objects hung from the leaves. In fact, there were all sorts of items of every description possible.

    A fuzzy figure appeared, dressed in ragged clothing and looking like a savage person. He held a filthy clump of soil in his hand that he was squeezing into some strange shape. After some time passed, he managed to form a strange-looking item from the dirt with an elongated shape and a sunken section on its top. The savage then broke off a twig and ced it in the sunken area. It looked as though he wanted to light the twig on fire, but the dirt object that he had formed easily tipped over.

    The savage scratched his head and then split the elongated object into two sections. He once again tried to stabilize it, but it still fell over easily. Finally, the savage person became a bit smarter, and he reformed the elongated item with three legs supporting the section with the slight depression. With three legs, the object no longer tipped over, and the savage was clearly happy. He lit the twig and burned something.

    An unknown amount of time passed, but time was meaningless to a temporal meteor.

    The mud structure that had been molded out of a clump of dirt by the savage had be an ugly, three-footed vessel containing a burning fire. After passing through unknown experiences, the vessel became harder. It had gained a form that would not tip over, and it also ended up eventually being used as a weapon by the savage. It was able to tten an area of the universe when it was smashed down.

    That three-footed vessel passed through an unknown amount of time, and it eventually gained a name: cauldron.

    As time passed by, an indescribably gloomy pair of eyes shrouded the sky. This terrifying pair of eyes could not even be directly looked at. Even if Lu Yin had turned into a streak of time, he still felt instinctively petrified. A giant hand suppressed everything as it crossed over, and the cauldron shattered into nine fragments that then scattered in all directions.

    Time changed once again, and the nine fragments of the cauldron were each merged into nine different giant cauldrons. They were ced in one area of a grand sect, and they were given a new name: The Nine Cauldrons.

    When the Nine Cauldrons first appeared, nine radiant suns appeared in the sky that illuminated the entire firmament. This light shone upon countless perplexed eyes, as well as Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes. His arms were braced against the ground, and he was panting heavily. His eyes had a confused look as he gradually came back to himself.

    What had just happened to him? It felt as though he had shuttled back along the long river of history, and he felt as if he had just seen something. However¡­ He shook his head vigorously, as he could not recall what he had just experienced, not a single bit. The only thing that he could remember were the words ¡°Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.¡±

    Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, Lu Yin thought to himself relentlessly. He kept trying to recall what he had seen. Then, his eyes suddenly went wide. He pped a palm against the ground, and the entire cauldron quivered. A formless object condensed and merged into Lu Yin¡¯s palm before merging with his entire body.

    Nobody was there to see what that object was, and not even Lu Yin himself had clearly seen what had merged with his hand. However, he knew that he had absorbed something called cauldron energy. He instinctively knew how to absorb it, and he even knew how to use it.

    Lu Yin raised his left hand as the star energy within his body converged into his palm and gradually formed a ball. Pure star energy converged within his palm, and this ball wasposed of nearly a quarter of Lu Yin¡¯s total star energy reserves. It was a quarter of his reserves, but it had already reached the amount of star energy that an ordinary Hunter would have when their power level reached 150,000. The strength of this ball of energy greatly surpassed the limits of an ordinary Explorer, but it still could not match up to the power that Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques normally disyed.

    Having a technique that used as much star energy as a Hunter¡¯s reserves did not mean that the technique could match a Hunter¡¯s strength.

    All this time, Lu Yin had felt like the star energy in his body had been utilized too wastefully. Besides being able to resist the suppression from cultivators with higher realms, there were not many ways for him to use such a tremendous amount of star energy, and Lu Yin had never been in a situation where his star energy had been depleted.

    However, there was a use for it now.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation required opening nine suns, and each sun was equivalent to one ninth of theplete battle technique. Only by converging all nine suns could the full might of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation be disyed. However, even if Lu Yin could not disy theplete power of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation right now, the singr sun formed by the cauldron energy and his star energy was already capable of unleashing astounding power. The more star energy that the cauldron energy was merged with, the greater the power the technique would be able to unleash.

    He absorbed the cauldron energy into his body with his right palm, and it naturally merged into the gathering ball of star energy in his left hand. Suddenly, the rune lines of the orb of star energy rapidly increased, and it rose to rival the power level of a Hunter. Before, Lu Yin would have only been able to manifest this many rune lines through the Skybeast w battle technique, but now, he had gained another method of reaching that same power level.

    This was only a quarter of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves, and once all of the star energy in his body gathered together, the power of the technique might reach a level that could even shock an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin was delighted, as he had finally obtained another powerful offensive technique. The key to this technique was that there was no upper limit to its power. Regardless of whether it was the Dream Finger or the Skybeast w, neither would increase in power as Lu Yin¡¯s own strength rose, but this Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation was different. The more cauldron energy he absorbed and the more star energy that he managed to merge into the technique, the more powerful the technique would be. Also, the star energy did not necessarily have toe from his body.

    Absorbing star energy meant that Lu Yin could use more star energy with the technique, which meant that this Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation had no upper limit in terms of power. The more star energy that was gathered, the greater the power that would be unleashed.

    Hold on. Lu Yin¡¯s face suddenly turned sour. Star energy meant money, and he was already constantly short on money. He needed money for practically everything, and now, there was one more thing to add to his long list of expenses, as this battle technique also required money to cultivate. He had traveled a long way down the path of poverty after all this time.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation required the user to absorb cauldron energy, and the cauldron energy naturally came from these great cauldrons. Lu Yin had forgotten the reason why, but he could vaguely feel that the origin of this battle technique was contained within this cauldron.

    This was just one cauldron, and Lu Yin instinctively looked in the other directions. There were nine cauldrons in this ce, and this technique was called the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. Wasn¡¯t that hinting that the cauldron energy from each cauldron could only open one sun? Once hepletely absorbed the cauldron energy from all nine cauldrons, all nine suns should be opened with the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformationplete.

    It was no wonder why it was rumored that the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique could be merged into one unrivaled technique. They were not nine different battle techniques, but rather one technique that had been split into nine parts. In other words, the technique required all nine cauldrons for it to bepletely cultivated.

    Lu Yin calmed himself and focused his mind as he sat back down in a cross-legged fashion. He did not know how long it would take for him topletely absorb the cauldron energy in this first cauldron, but regardless of the future, if he wanted to cultivate theplete Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, he had to absorb the cauldron energy step by step.

    As he thought about it, he eliminated all his wandering thoughts and recited the Stonewall Scriptures as he focused on absorbing the cauldron energy from the cauldron.

    Time quickly passed by, and Lu Yi was engrossed in cultivating within the cauldron for almost a whole month, during which he was not interrupted at all. Then, the scenery changed before his eyes as he left the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    There was something that he felt was strange, which was that he had not stayed in the Daosource Sect for much longerpared to his first visit. Since his first visit, he had absorbed the spiritual force in Liuying Zishan¡¯s body, which had greatly increased his spiritual force, but the amount of time he could stay in the Daosource Sect had not increased by much at all. Since hisst visit had been extremely exciting and eventful, he had been eager to leave as soon as possible. However, this time, he had paid careful attention to the amount of time he stayed in the ruins.

    Could his time have not changed by much because he did not know how to use spiritual force? Lu Yin was puzzled.

    He had spent nearly a month in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and Lu Yin looked at both of his hands. He did not know how much cauldron energy he had absorbedpared to the total amount, as it did not have any rune lines, and in some sense, it felt like it did not even exist. However, when it merged with his star energy, it really did raise his strength by an incredible amount, and there was even a bit of undetectable power to the merged energy. It was very strange.

    The universe was too vast, and what people mostly observed were the essential details of cultivation methods. Manys had their own cultivation methods, but they were all basically different means to the same end. Still, some cultivation methods were unique in their paths, let alone a battle technique stemming from ancient times.

    Cauldron energy had no rune lines, and Lu Yin even suspected that this battle technique had been created before the Rune Progenitor¡¯s emergence.

    ¡°How suffocating! Seventh Bro, I don¡¯t have the first clue on what you did in that broken-down cauldron, but you made this monkey foolishly watch on for a month,¡± the Ghost Monkeyined.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future.¡± Lu Yin was in a pretty good mood.

    When he learned that Lu Yin had emerged from isted training, Bei Qing was the first person to rush over to visit Lu Yin. He immediately told the Royal Regent that the Lu''s Grand Auction was scheduled to take ce tomorrow. They had advertised the auction for a month and raised a greatmotion, which helped them achieve even better results thanst time. Many people who held the ability to make decisions on their powers¡¯ behalf had rushed over to Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin had missed the first auction, so he decided that he would head over to the auction house and take a look on the day of the auction. His thirst for money had grown even more intense, as no one else needed money the way he did; to him, money was directly corrted to strength.

    He rested for a while before activating his gadget and calling Elder Lohar.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s image appeared, and he smiled at the youth. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, after having gone into seclusion for a month, your power must have improved by a great deal.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Seeing Elder¡¯s expression, I take it to mean that the Technocracy¡¯s invasion has been handled without incident?¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s tone was quiteid back. ¡°There should be no problems. The Technocracy¡¯s invasionsted for less than ten days before they called it quits.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was serene. ¡°If I were in Elder¡¯s shoes, I would not be so rxed. During this month, Junior went to the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and I bumped into an Arbiter.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression changed, and his heart sank as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s grave expression. ¡°How¡¯s the Innerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, ¡°Elder, rest assured, the Innerverse is fine.¡±

    He then repeated the details that he had learned about the Innerverse and the Sixth Maind¡¯s war, including the Champion''s Stage.

    Elder Lohar was delighted when he heard the news. ¡°That¡¯s good news! Why does Alliance Leader Lu still seem to have such a burden on your mind?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°ording to the information that I received, the Sixth Maind has nine realms, but currently, only the Grand Martial, War Martial, and Bloodburn Realms have invaded the Innerverse while the Blood Homage, Stone, and East Realms have invaded the Astral Beast Domain. Junior is not sure how the war in the Astral Beast Domain is going, but since the Innerverse¡¯s battle has be much more difficult to wage, if Junior were managing the Sixth Maind, I would definitely change tactics. For example, shifting focus to the Outerverse.¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Is Alliance Leader Lu sharing a conjecture?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Elder Lohar fell deep into thought.

    ¡°The pros and cons of invading any ce have to be weighed, and even the Martial Progenitor of the Sixth Maind has taken action against the Innerverse. If their invasion fails, or perhaps if the benefits that they receive do not match their expectations, then the Martial Progenitor will lose face. Does Elder think that the Martial Progenitor will agree to such an oue? Even if the Martial Progenitor doesn¡¯t care, the three realms under the Martial Progenitor may not be fine with such an oue, so they may still go to war. The Sixth Maind has to obtainpensation that corresponds to the efforts they have expended on this war. If the Innerverse cannot be taken down, then the Outerverse has no ce to run to. So please be cautious, Elder,¡± Lu Yin said.

 Chapter 827: Brightstar Corporation

    <h4>Chapter 827: Brightstar Corporation</h4>

    Lu Yin was not purposefully trying to stoke any fears or be an rmist. Although he did not know theplete details of the Innerverse¡¯s situation, he had only shared what he believed to be reasonable conjectures, as it was truly humiliating for a Progenitor to act only to return in failure. The Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse had experts who were very powerful despite having power levels below 200,000, and it would not be easy for the Sixth Maind to defeat them. The upper echelons of the Sixth Maind were relying on deceptive methods to coerce their cultivators whose power levels were below 200,000 to head into the battlefield, and this alone was ample proof of their concern about the invasion¡¯s progress.

    As soon as the invasion stalled out, it was highly likely that their strategists would start considering changing the battlefield.

    This was a certainty, and although Lu Yin did not believe that he was some military professional or an outstanding strategist, it was not difficult to see this particr eventuality.

    Elder Lohar had not been able to see it only because he had just received the news, and also because he did not fully trust Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could only do his best to urge Elder Lohar to make sufficient preparations. The Outerverse could notpare to the Innerverse, and they also did not have a Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force to help them. Even though the Outerverse¡¯s situation was not the same as the Innerverse, the entire Outerverse did not have many experts whose power levels were below 200,000 who could go up against those Sixth Maind elites, and Lu Yin had no wish to die just yet.

    ¡°ording to the news that you obtained, if they invade the Outerverse, which realm would attack us?¡± Elder Lohar asked solemnly.

    Lu Yin considered the question before answering, ¡°The Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for pointing this out. Regardless if the Sixth Maind actually invades the Outerverse, Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s contributions towards the Fifth Maind have already been significant.¡±

    The elder then continued with a small bit of polite talk before ending the call.

    Lu Yin set his gadget down. If he wanted to know whether or not the Sixth Maind was nning to invade the Outerverse, then there was no reason to continue waiting. Given the Hall of Honor¡¯s current influence, it was not realistic for them to gather the entire Outerverse¡¯s strength to defend against the Technocracy unless some truly unrivalled powerhouses with the strength to wipe out everything in an instant acted. That was the only way the entire Outerverse could unite.

    And only by having such a powerhouse of their own would the Outerverse be able to investigate deeper into the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin held high expectations towards the strength that the Hall of Honor had kept hidden within the Outerverse, and it was possible that such hidden strength was about to be revealed.

    In the end, conjectures were just conjectures, and what Lu Yin had said to Elder Lohar had also been partially exaggerated. This was because he really wanted to see what kind of hidden strength the Hall of Honor possessed in the Outerverse.

    The next day, massive crowds surrounded the Lu''s Grand Auction, filled with media members, scouts from various other powers, and intelligence traders. Today was the day that the Lu''s Grand Auction would auction off its premium goods, and they had advertised the goods for this auction for a whole month, and the items for sale this time had caused amotion throughout the entire Outerverse.

    It was mainly because the items up for auction this time were simply too outrageous; there was a gun that could threaten Enlighters and arrows that could simrly harm them. These were still not the most insane items, and nobody would buy them if they didn¡¯t believe the advertised information. Also, selling fake items would just embarrass the auction itself.

    However, the most important aspect of the auction this time was that there were actually five-stage formcast models listed among the goods for sale, and that hadpletely changed the situation.

    Five-stage formcast models were extremely rare, but they were also something that everybody wanted. Nobody could put a price tag on such a precious item, as those who already had a five-stage formcast model would find them worthless, but they would be absolutely invaluable to those who didn¡¯t have one.

    In the current climate of the Outerverse, nobody would sell off a five-stage formcast model. However, Lu''s Grand Auction had actually taken out three five-stage formcast models to sell. They had to be crazy!

    Ever since news of the five-stage formcast models being up for auction had spread, everyone hade to believe that Lu''s Grand Auction had gone crazy. No, it was Lu Yin who had gone crazy.

    He had so many experts working under him, and there were even quite a few geniuses who were still a part of the younger generation. Rather than selling these formcast models, people thought that it would be better for Lu Yin to give them to his own people. Although he wouldn¡¯t be able to make a profit by doing so, it would still benefit his own people, which would increase the value of his assets despite him not receiving any money. Still, Lu Yin had chosen to ce such treasures up for auction.

    Various great powers that were a part of the Great Eastern Alliance had all tried to contact Lu Yin in order to conduct an insider transaction, but Lu Yin had been in seclusion during that time, and they had not been able to reach him.

    Quite a few powers of external weaves had started ridiculing the Great Eastern Alliance. They had said that they had no sense of unity, as they could not even safeguard their joint interests. Others said that Lu Yin was a money-grubber and all sorts of simr insults. Still, all the gossip made the various forces of the Great Eastern Alliance very ufortable.

    When Lu Yin emerged from seclusion and discovered what had happened,he realized that he had been too inconsiderate towards his allies.

    When Hill Auna learned that Lu Yin had emerged, he immediately requested an audience with him. Lu Yin then asked Hill Auna to contact the leaders of the alliance¡¯s various great powers and make it clear that Lu Yin would sell them five-stage formcast models, which calmed them all down and settled theirints.

    If Lu Yin had not done so, then the crowds surrounding the Lu''s Grand Auction would have been evenrger. If they hadn¡¯t been promised internal ess to five-stage formcast models, then the people from the various powers of the Great Eastern Alliance would have also joined in. The small auction house could not hold everyone who wished to participate in the auction this time.

    Lu Yin altered his appearance and reduced his aura before walking out onto the busiest street of the Great Eastern Alliance while looking like nothing more than amoner. Lu Yin felt touched.

    Any business that could set up residence on this street was extremely wealthy and respectable. On the left side of the street was the Mavis Bank, where universal currency asionally fell from the sky, but nobody who walked on this street picked any of it up. In the distance, Aurora Enterprises¡¯ building towered into the sky alongside Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ building, Amethyst Exchange¡¯s mall, Endless Borders office, and others. These buildings all belonged to financial titans and many other massive financial groups all known throughout the universe. They were able to lease manys in other parts of the universe, but on this street, they could only afford an office, though that was already very impressive.

    At that moment, Lu Yin saw a familiar name appear on a section of Endless Borders¡¯ office building: Brightstar Corp.

    Thispany was not unknown to Lu Yin, as during the events on Savage Ape, he had once saved a girl who had turned out to be a manager of Brightstar Corp. Yue Xianzi had been the one to first mention thispany to Lu Yin, which was how he had found out that Brightstar Corp was a financial corporation from the Innerverse that was very wealthy.

    Since they were able to survive in the Innerverse and had even expanded their business into the Outerverse, then thispany could also be considered a colossal organization. However, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t heard anything about their activities this entire time, which indicated that they had been acting rather low profile. However, for him to not hear anything about them at all was a little strange.

    The circumstances in the Innerverse were moreplicated than the Outerverse¡¯s, which Lu Yin understood very well. It could be said that the Innerverse had been portioned out by the eight great flowzones, and anyone who wanted to step out of line would be killed. A corporation that could survive in the Innerverse¡¯splicated environment was definitely not a simple one, and it was fishy for them to be so low-profile in the Outerverse.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin stepped into the office since he still had a bit of time remaining before the auction started.

    Endless Borders¡¯ operations took up a third of the building, which clearly showed the extravagance of a great corporation.

    Lu Yin stepped past the building¡¯s primary office and instead headed in towards Brightstar Corpation¡¯s office.

    This office was much lower profile than Endless Borders¡¯, and it only took up about three office spaces. A vast majority of businesses in the Outerverse would be proud to rent this amount of space, but it felt stingy for such an impressivepany that spanned across both the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Lu Yin was about to step in when another person stepped out. He simply nced at Lu Yin before leaving. He was the regional manager of Endless Borders, Di Nuo.

    Lu Yin had changed his appearance, so Di Nuo had not recognized him.

    Lu Yin continued making his way into the office. Since the amount of space taken up by the three sections of this particr office was not veryrge, he could see the entire space in a nce. There were only seven to eight people in the office, and it did not seem like they were very busy.

    ¡°Sir, how can I help you?¡± A pretty receptionist walked over to Lu Yin and smiled at him as she bowed with a gentle demeanor.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I would like to meet with your manager.¡±

    The receptionist asked, ¡°Does sir have an appointment?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Isn¡¯t your manager called-¡± He paused to think about it for a moment. ¡°Leng Yan?¡±

    The receptionist was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s familiarity. ¡°So sir knows our manager. Please wait a moment, and I¡¯ll inform her.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and as he sat down, someone immediately served him a beverage.

    Lu Yin took a sip and then looked at his cup with a serious expression. The drink that he had just been served was the same one that he had been given in Amethyst Exchange. If he guessed correctly, then this beverage was one that could not be found in the open market, as it was only specially provided to a very select minority.

    He looked around the area. Although there were only a few people around, each and every one of them was a cultivator, and they were all very young and full of energy.

    Somebody would asionally speak up, and it was always in a gentle tone and seasoned manner.

    Although this Brightstar Corp. had been acting in a very low-profile manner thus far, through the details that he could observe, Lu Yin could tell that this group truly was more than what met the eye. In fact, their potential seemed endless.

    Some footsteps sounded out from behind him, and Lu Yin turned around. The receptionist had returned, and she was leading Leng Yan to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he had only met this person by coincidence and that he had not forgotten her name. His memory had proven correct, and Leng Yan was indeed Brightstar Corpation¡¯s Outerverse¡¯s manager. Even if her status could notpare to a chairman that oversaw multiple weaves like Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Hoffman, she was still probably more important than the manager of a single weave like Di Nuo. Thus, Lu Yin had never expected her to be on Zenyu Star.

    The receptionist bowed to Lu Yin and then left.

    Leng Yan walked over, sized Lu Yin up and down, and then smiled at him. ¡°Sir, do we know each other?¡±

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°You could say that we¡¯re acquaintances.¡±

    Leng Yan¡¯s eyes shed, and she gestured to Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s head inside for a chat.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°This drink is good.¡±

    He did not stand on ceremony and followed Leng Yan into her office.

    The two sat down, and Leng Yan smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°You say we are acquaintances, but you look very unfamiliar. I feel that my memory is pretty decent, so has sir altered his appearance?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then changed his appearance back to his original look.

    Leng Yan was surprised, but then she hurriedly stood up and bowed respectfully. ¡°So it¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu. I was too disrespectful.¡±

    Lu Yin motioned for her to sit down and smiled at the woman. ¡°Manager Leng, it¡¯s been quite a long time.¡±

    Leng Yan softly sat back down and adjusted her skirt. She then smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s true. It¡¯s been several years since our encounter on Savage Ape, and Alliance Leader Lu has be far more impressive than before, and you are now famous throughout the universe. That deserves my congrattions.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Manager Lenge to King Zishan''s pce when you arrived on Zenyu Star? After all, we¡¯re old friends.¡±

    Leng Yan put on a helpless expression. "There were simply too many matters demanding my attention, and I never had the time. And when I was able to find the time, Alliance Leader Lu wasn¡¯t around. Thus, we simply missed the opportunity.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then looked outside the window.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Alliance Leader Lu is my benefactor, and I¡¯ve never had the chance to express my gratitude. I really feel ashamed.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°That was no trouble to me, so there¡¯s no need for it to weigh so heavily on your heart. However, I¡¯m very curious¡ªBrightstar Corp. is a financial titan that spans both the Innerverse and Outerverse, so why do you have such a humble office here?¡±

    Leng Yan sighed. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse were separated too suddenly, and we did not make many preparations. Due to that, our cash flow was interrupted, and our business was even snatched away by Endless Borders. We had no choice in the matter, though we were able to persevere, which is already pretty decent.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand how this had happened. ¡°Since yourpany spanned both the Innerverse and Outerverse, Endless Borders still should have shown you some face. I just saw Di Nuo leave here as well.¡±

    Leng Yan stared at Lu Yin and smiled bitterly. ¡°It seems that Alliance Leader Lu has some misperceptions concerning the financial corporations of the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡±

    Leng Yan exined, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu should understand the circumstances of the Innerverse well: there are eight great flowzones, and the great powers of those ces are like the heavens as they suppress all others. No matter who it is, if they step out of line, they will be beaten down into ce. Financial institutes are no different. We can earn money and reap the rewards, but we definitely cannot stick out, as that will prevent us from being able to recruit powerhouses.¡±

 Chapter 828: Meeting An Old Friend Again

    <h4>Chapter 828: Meeting An Old Friend Again</h4>

    Leng Yan¡¯s words caused Lu Yin¡¯s gaze to tremble, as he quickly understood what she was saying.

    ¡°The Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates are able to lure in powerhouses as they please simply because they can recruit Enlighters at best. Things are no different for us. So what if we span both the Innerverse and Outerverse? The majority of the money that we earn still has to be given to those powerful ns, and we don¡¯t have many experts who are able to escort our convoys. My Brightstar Corp. may span both the Innerverse and Outerverse and seem wealthy and powerful, but our strength is not as much of a deterrent to the Outerverse¡¯s four financial titans. As soon as the Outerverse was isted, Endless Borders was immediately able to swallow our business,¡± Leng Yan exined.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Leng Yan sighed. ¡°Di Nuo just gave us theirst diplomatic offer to purchase our business. If we refuse, we will be suppressed on all sides. Our Brightstar Corp. doesn¡¯t even have an Enlighter here in the Outerverse, and we cannot contend against Endless Borders¡¯ resources.¡±

    Lu Yin understood Leng Yan¡¯s words, as those Innerverse powers were truly too overbearing. However, he still did not believe that the Innerverse financial powerhouses would have that bad a time, as many of them actually had some of the great powers backing them.

    He could always try to learn the truth about Brightstar Corporation¡¯s actual condition through Di Nuo. No matter how powerful Brightstar Corp. was, they could notpare to colossal titans like Shamrock Enterprises. Since Shamrock Enterprises and Mavis Bank still existed, then there was no way they would allow Brightstar Corp. to be acquired uncontested like this.

    Lu Yin left after his conversation with Leng Yan. He had merely been curious about Brightstar Corporation¡¯s situation. Even if they did have ns for the Outerverse, they would still have to tread carefully unless their strength was on the level of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Still, he had asked what he should ask.

    Soon after his conversation with Leng Yan, Lu Yin called Di Nuo and asked about the situation concerning Brightstar Corp.

    Di Nuo¡¯s answer was essentially the same as what Lu Yin had heard from Leng Yan, and it turned out that Brightstar Corp indeed could not survive on its own anymore. Lu Yin obtained some additional information on ident, which was that Brightstar Corp. was not its own individualpany. Rather, they were a subsidiary organization that belonged to a giant conglomerate from the Innerverse. That parentpany was the truly top-notch Innerverse financial group.

    ¡°But even with that financial giant behind Brightstar Corp., you still are willing to move against them?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled about this.

    On the other end of the call, Di Nuo grudgingly replied, ¡°Your Highness, it wasn¡¯t me who took action, but rather our headquarters. They need Brightstar Corporation¡¯s star charts. As for that massive conglomerate group, their primary businesses are in the Innerverse. Thus, they won¡¯t be able to influence us too much even if the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnect.¡±

    Lu Yin ended the call. That Innerverse corporate giant? Endless Borders was clearly unafraid of them, and Leng Yan had previously mentioned that the Innerverse¡¯s financial groups were not having an easy time in the Outerverse after being cut off from the Innerverse. They were wealthy, but they had no power. Or could it be that Endless Borders¡¯ background was too powerful? More to the point, had Endless Borders be stronger?

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and stopped thinking about Brightstar Corp. After all, it was none of his business. Besides, the Innerverse was still suffering from the massive effects of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and their final oue was still unknown.

    He hoped that Leng Yan had been stating the truth, as that would be a good thing. Those Innerversepanies were basically individual wallets, and so long as nobody protected them, there was bound to be a way to fish out some money.

    He did not know if his luck was good or bad on this day. Right after he met an old acquaintance in the form of Leng Yan, another person from his past appeared.

    ¡°Geine, my feelings for you are true! Don¡¯t go, Geine!¡± Some distance from Lu Yin, Geine¡¯s brows furrowed in an expression of impatience. There was a handsome youth next to her, and he looked quite wealthy as he had four cosmic rings on his hand.

    Lu Yin watched themotion develop with interest.

    Geine turned back and snapped at the young man, ¡°Can you stop bothering me!? It¡¯s impossible for me to like you, so just give up.¡±

    The handsome youth¡¯s face turned sour. ¡°Geine, we¡¯ve known each other since we were young, and we were even childhood sweethearts-¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Who was childhood sweethearts with you? We¡¯ve only met each other a few times!¡± Geine was getting angry.

    ¡°It¡¯s felt like forever,¡± thed exaggerated.

    Geine was rendered speechless. ¡°You want to get with me just to take advantage of my rtionship with my brother to get into the Yu Academy. Don¡¯t think that I don''t know your true motives! And let me tell you that that¡¯s impossible. My brother does not do any personal favors.¡±

    The man immediately tried to exin himself. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Geine. My feelings for you are true, and they aren¡¯t tainted by any other thoughts. It doesn¡¯t matter whether I get into the Yu Academy or not, so just give me a chance, Geine. Alright?¡±

    Geine felt helpless, and her eyes started to dart about. She noticed the Lu''s Grand Auction in the distance, and her eyes rolled. ¡°If you can get me into the Lu''s Grand Auction, I¡¯ll give you a chance.¡±

    The youth¡¯s expression changed, and he wailed in agony, ¡°Don¡¯t make things difficult for me, Geine! There¡¯s only a few people in the entire Great Yu Empire who qualify to enter the Lu''s Grand Auction. Even my uncle can¡¯t get in despite being a court councilor, and I heard that even the Imperial Cab members have to verify their assets before they¡¯re allowed to enter. This ce only looks at one¡¯s money and not their status. I- I¡¯m not that rich.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t give you an opportunity. It¡¯s fine if we can¡¯t enter.¡± Geine was happy at his response, and she turned to leave.

    The handsome man hurried after her. ¡°I can¡¯t enter, but there¡¯s nobody my age in the entire Great Yu Empire who can enter either. If that¡¯s your criteria, then you won¡¯t be able to find a boyfriend.¡±

    Geine snorted. ¡°This only is relevant to you. It won¡¯t be the same if it¡¯s someone I actually like.¡±

    The man¡¯s expression changed, and he ground his teeth as he stared at Geine¡¯s silhouette.

    ¡°And-¡± Geine suddenly turned and stared at the youth. ¡°The Royal Regent is younger than you, but he can enter.¡±

    He was left speechless. ¡°The auction house actually belongs to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Geine snorted and was about to leave, only to be blocked by someone in front of her.

    ¡°Do you really want to enter?¡± Lu Yin pointed at the Lu''s Grand Auction as he looked at Geine in amusement.

    Geine didn¡¯t respond, but the handsome youth became angry. He rushed forward and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, what are you trying to pull?¡±

    Geine looked at Lu Yin with curiosity, as this person felt familiar to her, especially his slightly thuggish expression.

    Lu Yin looked at her and smiled. ¡°Old friends meet each other once again. Do you remember those happy times when we robbed people together?¡±

    The man grew furious. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m talking to you!¡±

    Geine¡¯s eyes lit up, and she looked at Lu Yin happily. ¡°You- you¡¯re Lu-¡±

    Lu Yin raised a finger and pointed at the Lu''s Grand Auction. ¡°Let¡¯s go in for a look.¡±

    Geine nodded and then suddenly thought of something. ¡°I nearly forgot¡ªcan you bring Jeraldine in as well? She wanted to go too.¡±

    ¡°Jeraldine¡¯s here too? Alright, call her over then,¡± Lu Yin said, as they were all old friends. He remembered Jeraldine in particr, as she had been the first trialtaker he had encountered on Earth, and she had helped to guide him. They had bumped into each other outside his home, and thinking of that moment really took him back. Thest time he had seen Jeraldine, it had already been eight years since the trial on Earth.

    ¡°Geine, who is this youngster?¡± The handsome young man red at Geine.

    Geine used her gadget to contact Jeraldine while tantly ignoring the man.

    The man stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m warning you! Stay away from Geine! My uncle is a minister of the empire, so you had best watch out if you want to keep your life!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the young man. ¡°Got it.¡±

    The man was stumped. Was this kid going to give in just like that?

    At that moment, Jeraldine ran over from nearby. When she saw Lu Yin, she acted slightly reserved. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡±

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Jeraldine suddenly remembered something. Her face flushed red, and she no longer spoke.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± Geine was very eager to see the inside of the auction house, and she pulled Jeraldine and Lu Yin after her towards the Lu''s Grand Auction.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°When did the two of you be so close?¡±

    ¡°We all joined Yu Academy. Didn¡¯t you hear?¡± Geine rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin instantly understood. Yu Academy was not very big, and furthermore, the two of them had participated in the same trial on Earth. Thus, it was very normal for them to get to know each other.

    The handsome young man rushed over. ¡°Geine, where are you guys going?¡±

    Geine shook her head. ¡°To the auction.¡±

    The man was stunned. ¡°The auction? The Lu''s Grand Auction? How are you guys getting in?¡±

    Geineughed, and Jeraldine just smiled. With this old friend of theirs around, not only could they get into the auction house, but there was no ce in the empire that they couldn¡¯t enter.

    Lu Yin very easily escorted the two girls into the auction.

    The man stared on nkly, and then his eyes lit up brilliantly. Could the Lu''s Grand Auction not be verifying people¡¯s assets this time? He hurriedly rushed over and tried to enter, but he was instantly stopped. This confirmed that one¡¯s wealth still needed to be verified to gain entry, so who the heck was that kid? He had been able to enter so easily; could he be somebody from the empire? Or was he a foreigner?

    Inside the Lu''s Grand Auction, Lu Yin had Bei Qing to arrange a random private room for him. Bei Qing did not dare probe into Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with the two girls, but he gave special instructions to take care of Lu Yin¡¯s room before he left.

    ¡°Wah, so this is the Lu''s Grand Auction! I¡¯ve been very curious about what it looks like in here, as there¡¯s almost no information about it even on thework. At least we get to enjoy a new experience today. It¡¯s quite normal,¡± Geine said.

    Jeraldine also looked down at the main floor out of curiosity. There were many people rising up from beneath the floor to appear in the main hall.

    This was also Lu Yin¡¯s first time inside the building.

    ¡°Hey, change your looks back. This face is ufortable to look at.¡± Geine looked at Lu Yin, but she did not seem to be in great spirits.

    Lu Yin restored his normal appearance. ¡°Where¡¯s your brother?¡±

    ¡°On the first maind ring. He¡¯s not interested in things like this.¡± She paused, and her lips twitched before she continued, saying, ¡°He¡¯s also broke.¡±

    ¡°Tell me what catches your eyeter,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Geine was delighted upon hearing this offer. ¡°You¡¯ll buy it for us?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously answered, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a discount.¡±

    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re already the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader, so be more generous!¡± Geine said grudgingly.

    Jeraldine softly said, ¡°Geine, don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I have got no choice. I¡¯m short on money.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re broke? You should be so rich that you can¡¯t even spend it all.¡± Geine didn¡¯t believe him.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but he did not exin. Hisck of money could not be exined through words, as the amount of money that he needed was beyond what normal people could fathom, especially when considering the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. Not even Lu Yin knew how much money it would take to fill up that pit.

    Of course, his die was still what consumed the most amount of money. Rolling three pips and six pips were money-sucking pits that he would not be able to fill for the rest of his entire life.

    ¡­

    ¡°Your Highness, I should return that thing to you,¡± Jeraldine softly mentioned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Has Your Highness forgotten?¡± Jeraldine¡¯s expression dimmed.

    Lu Yin thought about it for a moment. ¡°Oh, you mean that? That¡¯s for you. There¡¯s no need to give it back.¡±

    Jeraldine¡¯s expression then becameplicated.

    Geine bobbed over and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°What did you give Jeraldine? Is it a love token?¡±

    Lu Yin was about to anwer, but Jeraldine hurriedly interrupted. ¡°It¡¯s about to start! The auction is starting!¡±

    Geine¡¯s attention was instantly diverted, and she looked down at the main floor with great interest.

    This was the most famous auction in the entire Outerverse, and she did not want to miss a single moment.

    Jeraldine heaved a sigh of relief. Rings carried a certain meaning for girls, and while Lu Yin did not care, she could not just ignore it. If that ring was discovered by Geine, then rumors would undoubtedly spread everywhere and cause her a great deal of trouble.

    The auction began, and the first item to appear immediately raised the atmosphere to a rowdy climax. It was one of the formcast models, and it was instantly sold without any dy. Everyone had thought that these items would be the grand finale and the Lu''s Grand Auction was acting too willfully by auctioning it off first.

 Chapter 829: Yuan Shi

    <h4>Chapter 829: Yuan Shi</h4>

    The formcast models had no starting price, which was a decision that Lu Yin had personally made.

    The person who started the bidding directly opened with a bid that left many in despair: 30,000 star essence. This was ten times the price that average natural treasure had been sold for in thest auction.

    The Lu''s Grand Auction used star essence for their bids, and this was a house rule.

    Geine was curious. ¡°Star essence? What¡¯s the exchange rate of that for star crystals?¡±

    Lu Yin softly answered, ¡°One to 100,000.¡±

    Geine was struck speechless. ¡°That much?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Geine remained stunned for quite a while before finally managing to utter, ¡°You¡¯ve developed your looting into a civilized form. This is true quality.¡±

    This time, Lu Yin was the one left speechless.

    ¡°Hahaha! Seventh Bro, this brat is right! An auction is basically just looting, but with ss,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented with augh.

    Jeraldine was trying to restrain a smile.

    The bidding contest escted quickly, and those who were bidding were basically all people with private rooms, and only Lu Yin knew who was in each room: Shamrock Enterprises, Mavis Bank, and other such well known powers all had representatives in the auction hall¡¯s private rooms. There were also people from the Neo-Vestige Sect, guiding powers of the central Outerverse weaves, and even some people from the Wei family present.

    Not unexpectedly, thepetition for the first formcast model ended up being mainly contested by the financial behemoths. The first formcast model was snatched by Shamrock Enterprises for an exorbitant price of 150,000 star essence.

    Lu Yin was excited. Even though he had already known that the formcast models would sell for steep prices, he had never thought that they would be bought for so much.

    However, with Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ foundation, they should not becking for five-stage formcast models, which was strange.

    Within a private room of the auction, Xiao Qin was speaking to Shen Fu. ¡°It¡¯s been bought.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You already have a five-stage formcast model, so why did we still buy this one for such a high price?¡± Xiao Qin was puzzled.

    ¡°Chairman Yu behaved quite tyrannically, and he offended the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, we must now express our goodwill.¡±

    ¡°Is this really necessary? With Chairman Yu around, our Shamrock Enterprises doesn¡¯t have to lower our heads to anyone,¡± Xiao Qin asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this another time. Besides, this bit of money isn¡¯t much.¡±

    ¡­

    Geine was still fiddling with her fingers and trying to understand how much 150,000 star essence was worth. She knew that it was a lot, but she had no concept of exactly how much.

    This was a question about one¡¯s level. At her level, she still tended to use universal currency rather than star crystals. One star crystal could be exchanged for one million universal currency, which made Geine¡¯s calctions reach extremely exaggerated heights. It was quite natural that she could not really fathom the amounts being exchanged here.

    At Lu Yin¡¯s level, he basically only used star essence anymore, so universal currency was basically trash to him.

    This was also why the Mavis Bank hung universal currency from the trees outside their branches and allowed the money to float down for people to simply pick up. When one¡¯s level was different, one¡¯s focus would also be different.

    Following the sale of the first item, the auction fell into a more typical pattern, as these next set of items were all goods that had been provided by others, and the auction only took a smallmission from the sales.

    This included some items with unknown origins or even objects that were better off left hidden, but not a single item was left unsold. Quite a number of wealthy people had gathered to participate in the auction, and for some of them, money was nothing more than mere numbers.

    Moreover, the items put up for auction tended to be sold for no more than 1,000 star essence. Many of the attendees felt no motivation to bid on such items, as they hade only for the premium goods being sold by Lu Yin.

    Before long, the next featured item appeared, which was an arrow. This was one of three that Lu Yin had upgraded.

    Many people could use a weapon like the arrow, and the most famous was naturally Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Back when Lu Yin had chosen three divine arrows on Arrow Mountain, he had sold several of them back to Neo-Vestige Sect for 20,000 star essence each. The three arrows that Lu Yin was selling here had all been upgraded to the point where they could pose a threat to Enlighters, which meant that they could also be technically considered divine arrows. 20,000 star essence was not excessive as a base price for such weapons. After all, this was an auction, and there were many wealthy people gathered.

    However, an arrow was still just a dead object. The people bidding were not able to see an object¡¯s rune lines, so they could not really judge its quality.

    Lu Yin had thought that somebody would question the description put forth for the arrows, but as soon as the first one appeared, someone in a private room instantly bid 25,000 star essence.

    Lu Yin knew that the people in that room were from the Neo-Vestige Sect. While others might not be able to determine the quality of those arrows, these people definitely could.

    To the Neo-Vestige Sect, good arrows were of simr value as powerful battle techniques or arts.

    Most people would not bid on the arrows, but those who did would have an attitude that these arrows were must-have items, especially the Neo-Vestige Sect. Each time they ced a bid they raised the price by 5,000 star essence, until the price reached all the way to 45,000 star essence.

    This price was already extremely high. When Lu Yin had sold the divine arrows he had found on Arrow Mountain back to Neo-Vestige Sect, each one had only been sold for 20,000 star essence.

    Once the price reached such a high number, nobody else dared to continuepeting with Neo-Vestige Sect, and the arrow was finally sold for 45,000 star essence.

    Lu Yin smiled. The final price was not bad, and he started considering whether, next time, he should upgrade and sell a whole batch of arrows to Neo-Vestige Sect wholesale, which would make him quite rich. Arrows were, after all, a neglected branch of weaponry for most of the universe.

    After another round of items were sold, the second formcast model appeared. This time, the formcast model was sold for a high price of 120,000 star essence, and the sessful bidder was Amethyst Exchange. Only organizations at their level would be willing to buy a formcast model for such prices, as they had money but no super powerhouse who was able to produce such formcast models.

    Geine stared on in wonder as the auction unfolded, dumbfounded at everything that she witnessed. Every item sold here had been bought for a price that was simply impossible for her to gather herself. If these prices were converted into universal currency, then she wouldn¡¯t even be able to move such an amount of money.

    Meanwhile, Jeraldine had aplex expression on her face, as this was clearly not the Great Yu Empire of the past. If any one of the people below had appeared in the Great Yu Empire of the past, then they would have been treated as honored guests with His Majesty personally entertaining them, and they would have been able to casually obtain all sorts of privileges. Now, these powerful people could only sit in a crowded room and angrily fight each other for the goods being sold off without even qualifying to enter one of the private rooms up above.

    This was the change that Lu Yin had brought about. This person, who had actually been struggling alongside her in life and death challenges more than seven years ago, was currently standing at the top of the universe.

    When the gun was introduced with a base price of 60,000, no introduction was even required, as some people in the private rooms had already begun bidding on it.

    A powerful gun was practically Lu Yin¡¯s calling card. When he had killed Enlighters in the past, it had been with an abnormally powerful gun, and so, nobody doubted the power of this gun.

    There was absolutely no meaning to the base price, as the first bidder instantly bidded 100,000 star essence. This person was aplete stranger, and so, Lu Yin had Bei Qing check on the person¡¯s background, only to unexpectedly discover that this man was from Millions City.

    Lu Yin first thought of the Zhu Family since the Zhu family¡¯s ancestor, Zhu Tiezhu, had died during the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attack on Millions City. After this attack, Qiong Shanhai had be suspicious of the Zhu family, resulting in the Zhu family¡¯s recent days not being very pleasant. Although they still had their money, they no longer had the strength to protect themselves. Due to the tremendous pressure they must be facing from the Qiong family, the Zhu family would naturally want to buy something to protect themselves with.

    Various powers started fighting over the gun, especially those that were more focused on technological research, as they wanted to buy it for its experimental value.

    However, in the end, the gun was nheless bought by the Zhu family, and it was sold for 220,000 star essence.

    This price far exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. He had not imagined that the gun would sell for such an astronomical price, and he could only say that the Zhu family was indeed very nervous.

    220,000 star essence was an exorbitant amount to a great portion of Outerverse powers, and everyone started guessing what the background of the person who had just spent such a sum could be.

    ***

    Time quickly passed, and at the same time that Lu Yin was watching the auction, Elder Lohar left Ironblood Weave and traveled to a deste area of the universe. At a nce, this region was filled with chaotic stars, meteorites, fragments of shattereds, and all sorts of space junk.

    This ce was like an astral cemetery, and asionally, strange cosmic phenomena would sweep through and envelop the entire area.

    Upon arriving, even Elder Lohar would need to proceed carefully.

    ¡°Junior Lohar requests to meet Teacher.¡± His voice reverberated and spread into the depths of the universe.

    Before much time passed, an ancient voice called out, "What''s the matter?¡±

    This voice sounded somewhat illusory, and it was impossible to determine where it came from, but the moment he heard it, Elder Lohar felt as if his entire body had been exposed to an indescribable terror. Additionally, this entire region of the universe changed the moment the voice sounded out, and the strange cosmic phenomenon also vanished.

    As these words were uttered, the entire local space responded to the voice, and nothing dared to create the slightest disturbance.

    ¡°Teacher, the Sixth Maind may pass through the Technocracy to invade the Outerverse. I request that Teacher please investigate,¡± Elder Lohar spoke in a reverent tone as he bowed deeply with an expression of terror on his face.

    The entire area of the universe suddenly trembled, and Elder Lohar¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The next moment, the feeling of being exposed to extreme terror vanished. His teacher had left.

    The Hall of Honor was the strongest power in the entire Human Domain, and it had an immeasurable background. How could the Outerverse be overseen by just Elder Lohar alone?

    Elder Lohar was the person operating in the open, while the true hidden powerhouse had been remaining hidden in this ce.

    On Zenyu Star, the auction ended, and Lu Yin was ecstatic at the results. He even gave Geine and Jeraldine ten star essence each at the end.

    Ten star essence was the same as a million star energy crystals, which was an astronomical sum to them. However, to Lu Yin, this tiny bit of money didn¡¯t really matter.

    During this auction, just the featured items that Lu Yin had put up for sale had sold for 765,000 star essence, and he was rich again. This was not even counting all themissions that he had made off of the other auctioned items.

    His wealth had again risen above two million star essence, and he felt like he couldpete with Yuehua Mavis in terms of wealth.

    When all of his profits were gathered together, Lu Yin felt his spirits soar, and he felt as though he was standing at the top of the universe.

    The only part that left him dissatisfied was the matter concerning thetter two arrows, which had also been picked up by the Neo-Vestige Sect. However, they were only sold for 30,000 star essence each. The rest of the attendees had realized that the Neo-Vestige Sect was determined to obtain all of the arrows, and no one had any intention ofpeting against such a powerful organization. Thus, the Neo-Vestige Sect had been able to grab the other two arrows for a rtively low price.

    Them getting the arrows for cheap meant that Lu Yin was losing out on money, which made him ufortable. He decided to not sell any arrows he upgraded in this manner in the future. Rather, he would instead conduct a bulk trade. He nned on upgrading dozens of arrows in one shot and then selling them all to the Neo-Vestige Sect. This would allow him to sell his arrows more efficiently while also making himself look more impressive.

    Although the auction had already ended, it had given the rest of the Outerverse a great deal to gossip about, especially about the person who had bought the gun. He had ended up being ambushed in an attempted robbery, but with a single shot from the gun, he had sted away a Hunter whose power level was actually above 200,000. At least, that was what the rumors said. This astonished many people, and this botched mugging attempt also made many people feel extremely excited, as this had verified the items sold in the Lu''s Grand Auction as authentic.

    On Zenyu Star, the branch manager of Mavis Bank was quite upset. Every time the Lu''s Grand Auction organized an auction with their featured goods, the branch¡¯s star essence reserves would bepletely depleted. He had already concentrated all of the star essence in all of the Mavis Bank branches in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory into his branch, but it was still not enough to keep up with the rate of depletion.

    If the Outerverse were not currently isted from the Innerverse, then some random, one-off auction of exceptional items would never be able to deplete the bank¡¯s reserves. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t care even if such an auction was held on a daily basis.

    However, the Outerverse only had so much star essence, and even the Mavis Bank¡¯s reserves did not have much left. He hurriedly reported to his superiors so that the upper management could think of a way forward. Perhaps they could negotiate with the Lu''s Grand Auction and have them allow star crystals to be used in the auctions.

 Chapter 830: Toppling The Heavens

    <h4>Chapter 830: Toppling The Heavens</h4>

    n was an ordinary cultivator who hailed from a barren but beautiful. Originally, his life had been very peaceful, but one day, a group of youths iming to be trial takers had suddenly descended. From that moment on, his lifepletely changed.

    Out of the billions of people on his, only a meager few had emerged to follow those trial takers into the greater universe. n had been able to leave his because he had managed to awaken an innate gift¡­ of attentive listening. That¡¯s right, attentive listening. It was an innate gift that was either very useful orpletely useless.

    n was able to hear the heartbeats of nearby people, and from that, determine their strength.

    When those youths had been participating in their trial, he had tried to use his innate gift to take advantage of a low-profile person who had seemed to be in dire straits. However, that person had eventually eliminated all of the other trial takers, bing the brightest star of the trial. With him, n had also sessfully stepped into the greater universe.

    Unfortunately, reality did not turn out to be as great as n had expected. The person who he followed had turned out to be someone from the Dark Phoenix family, and they did not care about n at all. Thus, he had been tossed aside in a random ce. He had been left stranded at the border between Endless Weave and the Technocracy.

    The Technocracy would asionally attack Endless Weave, and the people defending the border were already ustomed to such attacks. However, n knew a secret: this time, the Technocracy¡¯s invasion into the border defenses had been instigated by one of the defenders, and on top of that, the instigator had even been someone who n recognized. Although he had no idea why that person would attack the Technocracy in a suicidal manner, the battle had still been instigated by that person.

    n hated war, as he could die at any time during the battles. Fortunately, the fighting had not gone on for too long before ending this time.

    n was leaning contentedly against a wall as he stared into the dark sky. In the distance, there was a star on the verge of copsing.

    Suddenly, n¡¯s expression changed drastically. His pupils shrank in an instant, and he reflexively covered his ears. What had he just heard? He had just heard a heartbeat that could shock the universe! He had never heard such an intense heartbeat before in his life. Even the almighty powerhouses he had met before did not have such a powerful heartbeat, and the difference was overwhelming. He did not know how wide the gap between him and that powerful being was from hearing their heartbeat, but his intuition told him it was an enormous difference.

    n looked up, but he saw nothing. Still, he was absolutely certain that in the previous moment, someone had passed by, and that person¡¯s strength had been so high that they hadpletely bypassed the defensive forces at the border.

    n¡¯s face went pale; should he report this incident?

    In the end, he decided to remain silent since nobody would believe him anyway.

    The war between the Technocracy and the Human Domain hadsted from ancient times to the present, and nobody could even recall why the two domains fought. It was simr to the Human Domain¡¯s war against the Astral Beast Domain; the war between the domains had already be instinctive.

    The majority of people did not have any understanding of the Technocracy¡¯s situation. Even the great powers of the Human Domain such as the Daynight n were clueless. It was rumored that the Technocracy was controlled by something called the Master Brain, which had the ability to monitor everything within its territory, making it impossible to sneak into the Technocracy¡¯s territory.

    Humans wanted to know more about the Technocracy, but the only way for them to do so was to periodically send a super powerhouse to explore the domain.

    Those who could barge into the Technocracy had to at least be in the Envoy realm. The Technocracy was already ustomed to such trespassers, and they had long since established methods to deal with the humans¡¯ powerhouses.

    However, this time around, every method that the Technocracy had prepared to deal with any intruding human powerhouses copsed. Those towering and powerful super weapons that stood at the Technocracy¡¯s border directly crumbled into pieces, and all of their monitoring systems werepletely ineffective, unable to send back any images.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s teacher had charged into the Technocracypletely unobstructed, and every step that they took distorted both space and time as they crossed an incalcble distance all at once.

    Suddenly, the entire Technocracy trembled, and a pair of eyes opened. ¡°Human super powerhouse. Protect the hub.¡±

    Somewhere within the Technocracy¡¯s domain, a figure suddenly appeared, andyers of ripples appeared in the void, apparently unable to withstand this figure¡¯s pressure.

    ¡°Really, it has been a long time since Ist visited.¡± An aged voice rang out from Elder Lohar¡¯s teacher, who was also known as Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi looked around, focusing on a few particr directions where he could feel terrifying presences.

    The Technocracy had fought against the Human Domain for so many years, and they simrly had many powerhouses whose strength could not be estimated. Despite that, the mysterious Master Brain was still what made Yuan Shi feel the most wary. Even at present, nobody had managed to discover the Master Brain¡¯s location or even its full strength.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s eyes shed, and he stepped forward once again, suddenly vanishing from the region.

    In a corner of the Technocracy, machines were rapidly being assembled to form spacecraft after spacecraft. Nearby, there were other vessels, each of which were carrying humans. They were truly humans and not androids. It would typically be extremely abnormal to encounter any humans within the Technocracy, but these people were different. They were from the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrong. Since one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors had moved, the invasion could not be called off until they achieved something of note. The battle in the Innerverse was extremely intense, so the ones in control of the war had naturally shifted their attention towards the Outerverse, which they had already been nning to invade. Their current connection to the Fifth Maind even bypassed the Astral River, and they were able to invade the Outerverse from the Technocracy.

    Countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind sat inside these vessels as they made their way towards the human¡¯s Outerverse.

    Within one ship, Huang San swallowed his saliva as he carefully peered out. ¡°This is definitely the Fifth Maind. The sky seems so dark, but it¡¯s not connected. Sure enough, this ce was definitely shattered.¡±

    ¡°This is just a corner of the Fifth Maind, as its main part is the Human Domain. The Technocracy¡¯s territory should be much smaller than the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse,¡± Yan Xiaojing calmly exined as she appeared behind Huang San.

    Huang San turned back to her. ¡°Xiaojing, will we be able to return alive?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing remained silent.

    If this was the past, they would have absolutely answered that question affirmatively and without any hesitation. Not only would they have been confident in their survival, but they would have also proimed that they would do so while ughtering the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators and destroying their cultivation system. They had maintained this self-confidence in their Maind for many, many years.

    However, after the fighting in the Innerverse, where even their Martial Progenitor had been severely injured, their beliefs had been changed just like how the Innerverse¡¯s environment had been drastically altered. The Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators no longer felt that the Fifth Maind was such a pushover.

    ¡°Rx, this is the weakest region of human territory within the Fifth Maind. It¡¯s called the Outerverse. With the strength of our Bloodburn Realm, we should be able to easily mow over their forces,¡± Yan Xiaojing said.

    Huang San¡¯s expression grewplex. The Huang family had once been an Imprinter''s family, but even though they had fallen, they had still been able to hear some important information. There were reports that the war in the Innerverse was not going smoothly. Apparently, many Sixth Maind cultivators had died, especially those of their generation¡¯s age. Too many youths had died, and the Innerverse was basically a cemetery in their mind. Would the Outerverse be their Bloodburn Realm¡¯s cemetery?

    Within another vessel, Autumnfrost Qing wore a proud expression that waspletely different from Huang San¡¯s. He was filled with lofty aspirations, and even though he knew that the war being waged in the Innerverse was bitter, he still maintained his confidence. After all, they were only invading the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse; if their Bloodburn Realm could not even take down that ce, then it would be a tragic failure.

    He wanted to obtain some achievements in this war and to ovee those of his generation who were hunting down the Title Holders in the Innerverse.

    Many people could only dream of going to the Innerverse to kill the Fifth Maind¡¯s Title Holders, and even the Realmling, Di Fa, was one of those people. However, Autumnfrost Qing was not like them, as he enjoyed crushing others. If he was not able to crush the cultivators of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, then he would crush the people of the Outerverse.

    Not too far from Autumnfrost Qing was another spacecraft, and in it there was a man with cold eyes that contained a trace of excitement. If Lu Yin was nearby, he would definitely recognize this man as Butcher. This was the expert who Lu Yin had seen back in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. This was the man who had absorbed the dismemberment bloodline.

    The Bloodburn Realm was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s nine realms, and their strength was unfathomable. At this time, the one who was leading the invasion into the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse was Ancestor Mo Jiang, who was a World Imprinter.

    A World Imprinter was someone with a power level that surpassed 800,000. They were all iparably terrifying powerhouses.

    The Sixth Maind had been under the belief that there were not any powerhouses of this level in the entire Outerverse, or at least until Yuan Shi suddenly appeared.

    Ancestor Mo Jiang¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and the universe in the area trembled. ¡°Not good!¡±

    He then took a step out.

    The next moment, quite a number of cultivators from the Sixth Maind felt an immense pressure descend upon them, especially the cultivators who had received their imprint from Ancestor Mo Jiang. For them, the pressure was even more oppressive.

    In the distance, Ancestor Mo Jiang met Yuan Shi.

    ¡°Get lost,¡± Yuan Shi ordered, his voice reverberating across space as it tore through the stars. His voice left many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators overwhelmed, and those who had not reached the Explorer realm all spat out a mouthful of blood at the same time, as they could not endure the force of the voice.

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s face went pale as she looked up into outer space. How was this possible? This was the Technocracy, so was the Master Brain about to move against them?

    ¡°You¡¯ll be destroyed sooner orter, so why struggle? If you surrender, I promise that you will be epted into my Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s elders,¡± Ancestor Mo Jiang offered, his voice also traveling across space.

    The two were just having a conversation, but this region of the universe was unable to endure even that from them, and space itself shattered.

    ¡°I already said, get lost!¡± Yuan Shi barked at the man confronting him, causing the void to copse. Everyone from the Sixth Maind felt like the sky was copsing, and the terror that welled up from their innermost being left them all overwhelmed.

    ¡°Then fight me!¡± Ancestor Mo Jiang shouted back.

    Following that, many cultivators from the Sixth Maind witnessed an unforgettable scene. Two palms collided, and space itself quivered. Countless spatial cracks spread out so far into the distance that their ends could not even be seen. The fleet of spacecraft carrying the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators was mercilessly torn apart, and many vessels exploded as countless cultivators wailed in agony.

    Within one ship, there was an old woman who was another Imprinter. She yelled mournfully and then charged towards the battlefield, but she was instantly reduced to nothing more than a blood puddle.

    An Imprinter was someone whose power level had surpassed 500,000, and such powerhouses were known as Envoys within the Fifth Maind. However, even an expert on that level did not qualify to enter this battlefield.

    The universe seemed to change, tearing apart like a thin sheet of paper. Beyond the tear, there was another region that could not be moved. Nobody had seen this part of the universe before, but it somehow felt more real.

    All of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind were knocked unconscious, and so nobody witnessed this scene.

    After an unknown amount of time, Huang San woke up, and he saw multiple powerful cultivators discussing something in outer space. He checked his surroundings and saw that Yan Xiaojing was still out cold, so he hurriedly tried to awaken her.

    Yan Xiaojing rubbed her temples. ¡°What happened to us?¡±

    Huang San shook his head. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing looked around at their region of outer space. She saw multiple senior cultivators, but none of them had good expressions on their faces. In particr, she noticed Ancestor Mo Jiang.

    Ancestor Mo Jiang¡¯s expression was quite ugly, which indicated that the situation was not very good for them.

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s heart sank; the invasion had not even begun yet, but had they already failed?

    On another vessel, Autumnfrost Qing rubbed his head, slowly stood up while panting heavily, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He had clearly been injured even though that powerhouse had only nced at him. That strength had reached the World Imprinter level, and it turned out that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse had a powerhouse who could contest them.

    But it did not matter. Even if they were more powerful, they still would not be able to stop the Bloodburn Realm. Ancestor Mo Jiang was just one of their World Imprinters, and the Autumnfrost family¡¯s ancestor was also a World Imprinter. The three strongest families of the Bloodburn Realm all had terrifying powerhouses among them, and above them, there was an even more powerful Cosmic Imprinter as well as the fabled Empyrean Imprinter. How could this paltry Outerverse even try to resist such experts? With what?

    Outside the border of the Technocracy, a border patrol that was battling against members of the Human Domain suddenly copsed, and Yuan Shi walked out from the Technocracy¡¯s territory. His pale expression from before had already been restored to his original appearance.

    During the battle with Ancestor Mo Jiang, he had intentionally hidden his strength, out of fear that Ancestor Mo Jiang would retreat and call for even stronger powerhouses from the Sixth Maind to join the battle. Yuan Shi had even feigned injury in order to lull the Sixth Maind into a sense ofcency. At this moment, he needed to buy as much time as he could so that they would be able to assemble the strength of the entire Outerverse to defend against the Sixth Maind¡¯s impending invasion.

 Chapter 831: Compulsory Conscription

    <h4>Chapter 831: Compulsory Conscription</h4>

    Lu Yin was still drunk off his joy at receiving so much money, but a single notification instantly plunged his mood to an all-time low.

    ¡®In the name of Yuan Shi, the Hall of Honor is conscripting cultivators from all seventy two weaves of the Outerverse to reinforce the defense of Endless Weave¡¯s border and assist Elder Daggs in protecting the Human Domain.¡¯

    Before Lu Yin could even react to the news, another notification appeared.

    ¡®The Hall of Honor orders Lu Yin to ept the draft order. You must head to Endless Weave¡¯s Ironblood Lavazone to assist themander in protecting the border. You must arrive at your designated station within one month, and you will be punished if you arrivete.¡¯

    The Endless Weave bordered the Technocracy, and to assist in rebuffing the Technocracy¡¯s innumerable probing attacks, the Human Domain¡¯s border consisted of a defensive line that was made of darkva spread across the entire expanse of the border. This magma had a special characteristic that prevented the Technocracy from deploying their probes. As a result, all of the border defense members were unable to use any sort of firearms without exception, and even gadgets did not have any signal there, rendering them equivalent to trash.

    The defensive line was further divided into smaller Lavazones that each made up a length of the border, and powerhouses would gather in these zones to hold the defensive line.

    Initially, the line of defense had consisted of fifteen Lavazones that spanned the entire border between Endless Weave and the Technocracy. However, ever since the Human Domain¡¯s great defeat in the past, half of Endless Weave¡¯s territory had fallen under the Technocracy¡¯s control, and the line of defense had been pulled back. Now, there were only six Lavazones remaining, and they were known as the Dark Phoenix, Greatwood, Endless, Tri-tform, Honor, and Ironblood Lavazones.

    Lu Yin stared at the notification in shock. It hade without warning, which was exactly the same way the draft notice from Ironblood Weave hade before.

    The main difference was that Ironblood Weave had only drafted cultivators from the eastern region of the Outerverse. Back then, many of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves had still been cut off from the rest of the Outerverse, so it had been more difficult to gather reinforcements. This time, however, the draft notice had been sent to the entire Outerverse, making the situation seem even more severe.

    Also, who was Yuan Shi?

    Lu Yin immediately called Elder Lohar.

    Unfortunately, Elder Lohar did not answer, and half an hour passed before he called Lu Yin back.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s solemn face appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen, and when he saw Lu Yin, he immediately said, ¡°You must have received the draft notice.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Who is Yuan Shi?¡±

    Elder Lohar had a respectful expression. ¡°My teacher.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Your teacher?¡±

    Elder Lohar nodded. ¡°Not only is he my teacher, but he has also mentored many other people in the Hall of Honor. Although Yuan Shi himself has never admitted to it, he has guided many powerhouses, and they all refer to him as ¡®Teacher.¡¯¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s Yuan Shi¡¯s power level?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had immediately realized that Yuan Shi was the Hall of Honor¡¯s true hidden strength in the Outerverse. Elder Lohar was an expert with a power level that was over 300,000, so if there was someone who he called teacher, then it was possible that Yuan Shi might be an Envoy.

    Elder Lohar serenely answered, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is not the time to discuss such things. Hurry and start heading towards Endless Weave¡¯s Ironblood Lavazone. In war, status is useless. If you arrivete, you might really be punished by militaryw. Commander Da Gu is an elder from the Hall of Honor, and he holds the same status as me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and then he cautiously asked, ¡°Are things very serious this time?¡±

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression becameplex. ¡°Yuan Shi will talk to all of the Outerverse¡¯s top-notch powers, as nobody can avoid this war. Nobody.¡± And with that, he ended the call.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s words were enough for Lu Yin to understand the severity of the situation this time. When Ironblood Weave had sent out a draft notice before, things had been quite serious, but Elder Lohar had never reached out to any of the colossal organizations, such as Shamrock Enterprises or requested Yuan Shi to take action. But this time, Yuan Shi had personally stepped forward, which meant that perhaps even those super powerhouses like Chairman Yu would not be able to escape the draft.

    His suspicions had turned out to be valid; the Sixth Maind was indeed trying to invade the Outerverse through the Technocracy.

    Just three of the Sixth Maind¡¯s realms had been enough to force the remnant spiritual force of that Progenitor in the Innerverse to take action, which showed how powerful these invaders were. And now, the realm moving to invade the Outerverse was most likely the Bloodburn Realm. ording to what Lu Yin knew, there were three powerful families in the Bloodburn Realm, and the Autumnfrost family was one of them. Each of these families had a World Imprinter among them, and though he did not know exactly how powerful a World Imprinter was, an Imprinter was already the equivalent of an Envoy. Thus, a World Imprinter definitely surpassed an Envoy. It would be incredibly difficult for the Outerverse to resist this invasion.

    But no matter what, Lu Yin could not run from this battle.

    At that moment, Aden arrived. ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯ve been conscripted.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Go and find out who else aside from you and me has been drafted.¡±

    Right when he spoke those words, Wendy Yushan sent Lu Yin a message informing him that she had also received a draft notice.

    Lu Yin grew worried that all the Great Yu Empire powerhouses were being conscripted. The battlefield was emotionless, and even Envoys might participate in this war. If the Outerverse sessfully defended itself but at the cost of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s experts, then Lu Yin¡¯s future would be extremely difficult.

    After checking with each other, they found that, fortunately, only the three of them had been conscripted from the entire Great Yu Empire. Of course, there was also the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Rapid Response Team. They had been extremely eye-catching on the battlefield in Armament Weave, and they had also been drafted.

    In another weave, Wei Rong also received the same notification as Lu Yin¡¯s, though he was ordered to head to the Dark Phoenix Lavazone to assist Commander Zax Phoenix to protect the border.

    Wei Rong was stunned; could things really be so severe? It shouldn¡¯t be the case, as he had only sent someone to irritate the Technocracy. At worst, they should have only provoked a few skirmishes, so why were they drafting even him to the border? Besides, he was no military genius, so what use was there in sending him to the border?

    He did not want to go, but he could not go against the Hall of Honor¡¯s draft notice.

    Wei Rong was leftpletely speechless. Could something have happened out there without him knowing? Speaking of which, Lu Yin had withdrawn his forces from the war extremely decisively when news of the Technocracy¡¯s invasion had first appeared, which had drastically exceeded Wei Rong¡¯s expectations. He had wanted to use the pressure of the border battles to force Lu Yin into giving up on his war with Armament Weave. Instead, Lu Yin hadpletely withdrawn his forces. Wei Rong did not believe that Lu Yin cared about a skirmish at the extreme border of the Outerverse or about protecting the Human Domain. This all made him absolutely certain that Lu Yin was privy to some secret information that Wei Rong was not aware of.

    Wei Rong wasn¡¯t the only one feeling depressed at this time; Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face was also quite bitter.

    How was this border war rted to her in any way? Why did they have to conscript her as well?

    "Xi''er, this border war is not some trivial matter, especially this time. Even Yuan Shi from the Hall of Honor has revealed himself, which means that things are not simple,¡± Qiong Shanhai solemnly exined.

    Qiong Xi''er was puzzled. ¡°Who exactly is this Yuan Shi?¡±

    Qiong Shanhai shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain, but¡­¡± He took a moment to carefully recall some old memories before continuing, saying ¡°His name is in our Qiong family¡¯s ancestral records, so he should be a very ancient character.¡±

    ¡°Bring out the ancestral records for us to check,¡± Qiong Xi''er said.

    Qiong Shanhai was helpless. ¡°They were destroyed in the previous great war.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er grudgingly asked, ¡°Exactly how long ago did he appear in those records?¡±

    Qiong Shanhai replied in a serious tone, ¡°Conservatively, a million years ago.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er was horrified. ¡°A million! You¡¯ve got to be joking!¡±

    Qiong Shanhai shook his head. ¡°I only remember this: there was a page in the ancestral records mentioning Yuan Shi, but it was almostpletely worn out. It must have been at least a million years old.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s hair stood up on end. Each generation would take over the previous one in the universe, and no matter how ancient one¡¯s history was, they would inevitably vanish into the river of time. Even the powerful ns of the Innerverse that had passed down their inheritances since ancient times had only maintained the concept of time. However, this Yuan Shi was practically jumping out of the river of time. It was impossible for him to live for so long, so he must have been in cryostasis this whole time. Even so, it was still absolutely terrifying for someone to have lived for more than a million years.

    It was no wonder why this old man was so decisive that he had drafted her after making an appearance. When facing this kind of monster, not even Millions City was safe.

    In the Outerverse, there were very few who qualified to receive a mandatory draft notice, and even fewer of them were a part of the younger generation. Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er had been forcibly drafted, but that was all because of Wang Wen. Wang Wen¡¯s presence in Ironblood Weave had been very useful for the Human Domain¡¯s defense, and the Hall of Honor was hoping that the equally famous Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er would not be bad to use either.

    In particr, there were high expectations ced upon Wei Rong, as his methods in conducting the defense of Armament Weave in the war against the Great Eastern Alliance had surpassed themselves one after another. In the end, he had sessfully stalled an enemy that was ten times stronger than his own forces. The Hall of Honor could not ignore such a talent.

    Still, they were just a part of the younger generation. On the other hand, Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Sect Leader Gong Ling also received a draft notice from the Hall of Honor. Neo-Vestige Sect was even ordered to send out an additional Enlighter to participate in the border¡¯s defense.

    Gong Ling could not refuse these summons. Regardless if he was facing the virtuous call to defend humanity or Yuan Shi¡¯s overwhelming pressure, he did not dare refuse the conscription.

    The three great powers of the Outerverse and the top four conglomerates of the Outerverse also all received notices from Elder Lohar under Yuan Shi¡¯s name.

    In Shamrock Enterprises, Yu Mu personally met with Yuan Shi, though, of course, they met virtually through their gadgets.

    Facing Yuan Shi, Yu Mu bowed deeply. ¡°Senior, you have awakened.¡±

    Yuan Shi calmly looked at Yu Mu. ¡°The border is facing a crisis. Report to the Tri-tform Lavazone to protect the border.¡±

    Yu Mu dared not utter even a single extra syble. ¡°Yes.¡±

    At a branch of the Mavis Bank, Yuehua Mavis also met with Yuan Shi.

    ¡°Our elder has tasked me with representing her to send you her regards,¡± Yuehua Mavis respectfully greeted.

    Yuan Shi sighed. ¡°Hundreds of thousands of years have passed with just one retreat. Time does not hold much meaning to those like us. However, if the opportunity presents itself, I will go back on a trip to see her.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis knew that Yuan Shi was not speaking to her and that he was actually just speaking his mind out loud.

    ¡°Report to the Ironblood Lavazone and protect the border,¡± Yuan Shi calmly ordered.

    Yuehua Mavis respectfully acknowledged his words.

    ¡°Be careful. Our enemy this time is from the Sixth Maind,¡± Yuan Shi added.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Understood, Senior.¡±

    In the Outerverse headquarters of Aurora Enterprises, ze Engineer moved underground and activated his gadget, causing Yuan Shi¡¯s image to appear.

    An elder appeared from beneath the ground, faced Yuan Shi, and bowed deeply towards the screen. ¡°Teacher.¡±

    Yuan Shi faintly responded, ¡°There¡¯s no need to call me that. Report to the Endless Lavazone and defend the border.¡±

    The elder respectfully answered, ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±

    Yuan Shi¡¯s image then vanished.

    ze Engineer stared at the elder and asked in a respectful tone, ¡°President Qi, who was that?¡±

    The elder had a reminiscing look as he responded, ¡°An esteemed senior who deserves a great deal of respect and who has guided countless experts. He is one who has truly enlightened numerous cultivators, and you may call him Yuan Shi.¡±

    The Outerverse was like the opening to an abyss; no matter how much it was stirred, its bottommostyer could never be clearly seen, and there would always be something hiding in the depths. However, with Yuan Shi¡¯s appearance, the depths of the abyss had be fully clear, and nobody could shirk their responsibility to defend the border. Perhaps some would arrivete, but they definitely would not be able to escape from their responsibilities. Not even Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Arrow Mountain Elder, the mobile fortress that was Millions City, Endless Borders¡¯ expedition crews that were exploring the Astral Wilderness, or the ancient assassins of Aegis that were frozen in cryostasis were exempt from this. It was even possible that some of the Enlighters who were stationed in Ironblood Weave might move over.

    Lu Yin entered a spacecraft with Aden and Wendy Yushan that then headed towards Endless Weave.

    With the speed of a radiant-grade Aurora, they would arrive in twenty days, as long as they did not encounter any mishaps. This was Lu Yin¡¯s third time participating in a border war, but this was also going to be the most desperate war he had ever witnessed.

    In this context, Yuan Shi means Teacher/Leader of many since ancient times.

 Chapter 832: Mojiang Familyâ€™s Spear Shadows

    <h4>Chapter 832: Mojiang Family¡¯s Spear Shadows</h4>

    Quite a few people left the Great Eastern Alliance, all of them heading towards Endless Weave. Each weave had to send at least two Hunters, five Cruisers, and twenty Explorers. This meant that, from the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse, at least 100 Hunters had moved out to reinforce Endless Weave¡¯s border, which was a terrifying army.

    And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the Enlighters that were also moving over, as well as those few existences beyond the Enlighter realm. The Outerverse had mobilized a strength that could seemingly sweep across everything.

    Still, Lu Yin was not optimistic about their chances, and that was because they were facing the Sixth Maind. Even if they were just going to fight against one realm, that was still a terrifying opponent.

    Earlier, Elder Lohar had specially called Lu Yin to enquire about the details concerning the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Realm. Lu Yin had naturally told the elder everything that he had learned, especially the information that he had gathered about the realm¡¯s three great families.

    The Hall of Honor soon released an announcement describing the Sixth Maind¡¯sbat methods ording to Lu Yin¡¯s information. Countless people among the reinforcements burst into amotion, as they had finally learned that the enemies they were facing were not only from the Technocracy, but also possibly from the Sixth Maind.

    As for the Sixth Maind, the Hall of Honor did not give any further information, and they only described them with a single sentence: ¡®Powerhouses with a power level of one million may appear.¡±

    This information caused many to feel absolutely frightened.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect and Millions City received an additional notification that ordered them to be prepared to mobilize their full forces at any moment.

    This was directed towards that Arrow Mountain Elder, and it included the three inherited arrows as well as the mobile fortress that Millions City had been built upon.

    At this time, the full strength of the entire Outerverse was being mobilized by Yuan Shi.

    Lu Yin looked at a star chart. In the past, this region of the universe had been obscured, but now, he was able to clearly observe it.

    The Endless Weave was different from Ironblood Weave, as it was not a weave that was entirely devoted to war. Aside from the defenses along the border, there were also a few families and powers based in the weave. For example, Endless Borders had been established in Endless Weave. The Dark Phoenix family was simrly based in Endless Weave, and there was also another existence that nobody could disregard: Astral-9.

    The Astral Combat Academy was the universe¡¯s most famous training institution, and it had nurtured countless experts. Naturally, it contained an inestimable amount of concealed strength.

    At this time, Astral-9 also moved, though it had not been conscripted in-name. When dealing with this institution that had such a long, established history, even the Hall of Honor would show some respect, and they trusted that Astral-9 would act with their full strength.

    Astral-9 was very busy on this day, as its students were all excitedly registering to participate in the defense of the border.

    Astral-9 was located in Endless Weave, so the students were not unfamiliar with the border. Every year, some students would participate in the border¡¯s defense, andpared to the other academy branches, the number of times that Astral-9¡¯s students participated in border conflicts was obviously much higher.

    In the past, the students only had to be Melders to qualify to join the border defense. However, this time, the academy had put a new rule in ce requiring the students to be Limiteers before they could join the battlefield. This, of course, created a great deal of dissatisfaction among the students.

    ¡°I want to participate in the battle! I want to fight for the glory of humanity!¡± a student shouted in the za, only to be suddenly sent flying by a p from one of the mentors.

    ¡°Shut up! We¡¯ve already told you that only Limiteers and those stronger are allowed to go!¡± the mentor hollered with a fierce expression. His face struck fear into the students¡¯ hearts.

    All around the academy, students were discussing the recent turn of events, and nearly a hundred students had gathered in the za.

    At this moment, a tall and sturdy man stepped out and announced in a muffled voice, ¡°Mentor, I wish to register.¡±

    Quite a few students started murmuring. ¡°It¡¯s Brother Kuang. He wants to fight.¡±

    ¡°Brother Kuang is an Area Master in the Dao of Change, and he¡¯s extremely powerful. This time, he¡¯ll definitely be famous throughout the Outerverse.¡± Some of the students were envious.

    ¡°All the best, Brother Kuang. Bring glory to our Astral-9 and overshadow Lu Yin!¡± one student called out.

    The faces of the surrounding people instantly changed. Lu Yin¡¯s name was one that they were not willing to mention. He had been Astral-10¡¯s student leader, and he had also been a Council of Astral Academy member. Astral-10 had once been their biggestpetitor, but once Lu Yin rose to power, his status had spiraled out of control. Now, he was even the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This person was no longer on the same level as these students.

    That student¡¯s words caused Brother Kuang¡¯s expression to turn ugly, and he left the za without uttering another word.

    Without even mentioning Brother Kuang, even the former student leader of Astral-9, Liu Yin, who had already graduated, could notpete with Lu Yin still.

    After Brother Kuang left, a few other Limiteers from Astral-9 also registered to join the war efforts.

    Suddenly, the crowd roared again, as another person had appeared, though this was someone who should not have been in Astral-9.

    It was Chao Zhi, who had participated in the Astral Combat Tournament and risen like aet only to ultimately be defeated by Lu Yin.

    Despite her loss, nobody dared to look down on her, as her power spoke for itself. She definitely surpassed the average Area Master, and she could even hold her own against the Realm Masters, who were the student leaders of the various academy branches. Back when she had achieved four lined battle force, she hadbined it with her battle technique, Wind of Seasons, to produce an extremely terrifying attack.

    ¡°Why is she here? Didn¡¯t she graduate?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Back at the Astral Combat Tournament, anyone who made it into the top thirty two should have pretty much all graduated by now.¡±

    ¡°Senior Liu Yin¡¯s already graduated.¡±

    ¡°Senior Liu Yin¡¯s also always been at the border.¡±

    ¡°And there¡¯s also that Rann. He suddenly appeared in the Astral Combat Tournament, but he¡¯s now staying at the border after graduating.¡±

    ¡­

    The students were all buzzing about Chao Zhi¡¯s appearance, and even the mentor was puzzled. ¡°Chao Zhi, why have you returned?¡±

    Chao Zhi¡¯s expression was rather indifferent. ¡°Does Mentor know which Lavazone Lu Yin will be defending?¡±

    The mentor replied, ¡°I heard that he¡¯ll be in the Ironblood Lavazone.¡±

    Chao Zhi nodded. ¡°Student wishes to register through Astral-9. All of its students should be defending the Ironblood Lavazone, right?¡±

    The mentor nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. You want to register? That¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I never thought that Lu Yin would also be stationed in the Ironblood Lavazone. This is going to be quite a show! I heard that Senior Liu Yin is also based in the Ironblood Lavazone.¡±

    ¡°The Ironblood Lavazone is the weakest of the six regions in terms of overall strength. It¡¯s also where they send those without any special connections who don¡¯t have anyone to watch out for them here. Thus, the cultivators who volunteer to join the defenses have almost all been assigned to the Ironblood Lavazone. That ce has the highest numbers, but their strength is the weakest.¡±

    ¡°Our Astral-9 has historically always defended the Ironblood Lavazone. This time, we¡¯ll have to show Lu Yin our courage and let him know that, even if his strength surpasses that of all the students in the Astral Combat Academy, he still can¡¯t beat our passion!¡±

    ¡°I heard that Lu Yin has already broken through to the Explorer realm and graduated. What are you guys stillpeting with him for?¡± another student mocked.

    The rest nced at each other. That was true. Why did they still have topare themselves with him?

    The mentor watched the students with amusement, as each one of them was full of energy. He hoped that they would not die in this war, as the younger generation had to live on.

    The Endless Weave¡¯s defensive border was a continuous line from east to west, and the defenders had used the darkva to form the foundation of the defensive line. All of the cultivators who participated in the border¡¯s defense lived on these ck rocks.

    Since the rocks were molten, they constantly released a pungent, sulfuric scent. If given a choice, nobody would willingly live in such a ce. However, only this darkva was able to stop the Technocracy¡¯s scouting techniques, making them a necessity in Endless Weave¡¯s border defenses against the Technocracy.

    The Hall of Honor had drafted many cultivators from across the entire Outerverse to reinforce the border¡¯s defenses. However, before the new conscripts could arrive, a bitter fight had already broken out.

    The Technocracy hadunched an all-epassing assault against the border. Countless androids were charging towards the Human Domain¡¯s defenses built on the darkva, ready to fight the humans.

    Each of the border¡¯s six Lavazones had an Enlighter overseeing their region along with many subordinates. They did not merely repel the Technocracy¡¯s efforts to invade, as they also asionallyunched counterattacks.

    It didn¡¯t take more than a few days for a fleet carrying cultivators from the Sixth Maind to arrive at the border. The Technocracy¡¯s efforts to break through the Human Domain¡¯s defenses suddenly stopped when they arrived as a dark figure descended upon the Greatwood Lavazone, carrying a terrifying pressure with them. Countless spear shadows tore through the void and hurtled towards the defenders.

    The defensive strength formed by thousands of cultivators in the Greatwood Lavazone continuously converged upon themselves, only to crumble in an instant.Commander Cao of the Greatwood Lavazone, stared at the countless spear shadows in shock, as each one was strong enough to make him quiver. This attack had been unleashed by a powerhouse who greatly surpassed his own strength, as every one of the spear shadows carried a power level that exceeded 300,000.

    If these countless spear shadows were allowed to strike true, then the Greatwood Lavazone wouldpletely vanish in an instant. Both the human defenders and the darkva would be reduced to cosmic dust.

    Countless stared up at the attack in despair.

    Just as countless spear shadows were about to strike, time and space froze. Then, the countless spear shadows gradually transformed into dust. Yuan Shi appeared in outer space, and he stared solemnly into the distance.

    Ancestor Mojiang appeared at the same time and looked at Yuan Shi. ¡°You can¡¯t stop us.¡±

    ¡°Try me,¡± Yuan Shi replied coldly.

    The two disappeared the very next instant.

    Even further away, a middle-aged man stepped out from the void. He held a spear as he stared at the Greatwood Lavazone. He was the person who had justunched the spear attack, and he was known as Mojiang Shan. He was a powerhouse who was second only to their ancestor in the Mojiang family. His power level surpassed 500,000, which meant that he was an Imprinter.

    Yuan Shi had been obstructed by Ancestor Mojiang, so Mojiang Shan snorted coldly, clenched his long spear, and stabbed forward again. Countless spear shadows reappeared and shot towards the Greatwood Lavazone.

    The same desperate scene from before suddenly took ce again.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s gaze trembled as he looked at Mojiang Shan.

    Mojiang Shan felt something strange happen, and his scalp suddenly turned numb as his countless spear shadows were forcibly halted. They did not continue falling, which left him frightened. Yuan Shi had simply looked over, but that was enough to make him the master of this region of the universe.

    Ancestor Mojiang barked, ¡°Attack!¡±

    Mojiang Shan¡¯s eyes shed, and he casually flung his spear forward. Only one spear shadow manifested this time, but it pierced through the void and split space into two halves, following which, the darkva, the entire Greatwood Lavazone, and Commander Cao were all also split in twain.

    Mojiang Shan was scared of Yuan Shi, and so he had not attacked the entire Greatwood Lavazone. Instead, he moved to specifically kill Commander Cao.

    Commander Cao had been an Enlighter with a power level of more than 200,000, and he had guarded the Greatwood Lavazone for over a thousand years. He had even survived through all of the bitter battles during the war when half of Endless Weave had fallen to the Technocracy. Despite all of that, Commander Cao had died so simply.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s gaze turned cold, and he waved a hand, causing a gust of air to sweep out, which forced Ancestor Mojiang to quickly dodge. However, countless androids and weapons from the Technocracy were destroyed in an instance.

    Ancestor Mojiang felt that something had changed, and he immediately retreated.

    Mojiang Shan also pulled back.

    Yuan Shi stood tall in the vacuum of outer space, but there was aplex expression on his face. With his strength, he could have protected Commander Cao, but that would have exposed his full strength, which would have drawn out even stronger powerhouses from the Sixth Maind and forced the Fifth Maind into an even less advantageous position. As such, he had been forced to merely watch on as Commander Cao had perished.

    This was tragic. From the moment he had first attained his current power, there had not once been a single moment where he had lost control of the situation. But at this moment, he had only been able to nkly watch on as the people from the Sixth Maind left the battlefield.

    Yuan Shi sighed and looked towards the east. He was not going to have an easy time, though the Innerverse and Neoverse were undoubtedly also going through a tough period. The Sixth Maind¡¯s desire to conquer them was too strong, and their strength was also too powerful.

    Yuan Shi could only trust that the Outerverse would be lucky enough to sessfully defend itself during this invasion.

    News of the Greatwood Lavazone¡¯s copse spread, and it astonished the Outerverse.

    The Human Domain had been fighting against the Technocracy for countless years, and not once had an entire Lavazone copsed so quickly. What¡¯s more, even the region¡¯smander had died. It was rumored that a powerhouse from the Technocracy with a power level of over 500,000 had appeared. The majority of people did not believe this rumor, as a power level of 300,000 or 400,000 was already considered to be the apex of strength.

 Chapter 833: Black Fiery Phoenix

    <h4>Chapter 833: ck Fiery Phoenix</h4>

    Everyone was still solely focusing on the Technocracy. Even if people like Wei Rong had received a bit of information about the Sixth Maind being a part of the invasion, they could not fathom how powerful their enemy was, let alone the rest of themon people of the Outerverse.

    When Lu Yin heard that the Greatwood Lavazone had fallen, he was not the least bit surprised. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters were all beings with power levels of over 500,000, and there were quite a few such powerhouses among their ranks. Even that fatty, Huang San, had been born into an Imprinter''s family, as well as Yan Xiaojing. Lu Yin expected the Bloodburn Realm to have at least ten Imprinters among its families, and that was also excluding World Imprinters, Cosmic Imprinters, and the almighty Empyrean Imprinter.

    As for whether or not the Outerverse would be able to withstand the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s invasion this time, Lu Yin felt that their hopes were rather dim.

    In the Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling also received news that the Greatwood Lavazone had copsed, and he was shocked. As soon as the Sixth Maind made a move, they had instantly caused a Lavazone to copse. Would the other regions even be able to hold out?

    Soon after, he received a notification, and he immediately contacted the Arrow Mountain Elder. The Hall of Honor had sent out apulsory conscription for the elder to reinforce the Greatwood Lavazone at the border.

    Gong Ling could not refuse the draft notice, so he went to Arrow Mountain and asked to see the elder.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder stepped out of his valley and looked up. ¡°In the end, the war still broke out.¡±

    ¡°Elder knew that a war would start?¡± Gong Ling was shocked.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder shook his head. ¡°Our sect has passed down a warning from one generation to the next that a day of cmity would eventually arrive. This warning should have been referring to the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.¡±

    He then looked at Gong Ling. ¡°Protect the Neo-Vestige Sect well. If the battle goes in their favor, think of a way to leave an inheritance and then flee into the Astral Wilderness.¡±

    Gong Ling replied in a low voice, ¡°Junior is also willing to join the border¡¯s defense.¡±

    Arrow Mountain Elder smiled slightly. ¡°If you are also drafted to join the defenses, then that will indicate that we are in truly desperate straits. Find a way to leave an inheritance.¡±

    After leaving those words of advice, the elder stepped out and left Neo-Vestige Sect.

    In Millions City, Qiong Shanhai stared at his gadget in horror. The Hall of Honor had sent a mandatory draft notice: Millions City was to move out and join the border defense. They were given no room to negotiate. A mobile fortress such as Millions City was needed at this time.

    Qiong Shanhai had never expected a single invasion to terrify the Hall of Honor so badly. Still, he did not dare refuse the summons, and so, he could only guide his Millions City towards Endless Weave.

    At Endless Weave¡¯s border, the Sixth Maind had formally allied with the Technocracy to invade the Human Domain.

    The six Lavazones, including the long, narrow mainds formed from darkva that sat in the middle of each region, all suffered simultaneous attacks. This battle was more intense than anyone could have imagined. The cultivators who were a part of the defensive perimeter had long since made preparations to fend off the Technocracy. After all, they had fought against this enemy for countless years and had developed some degree of understanding of them. However, the Sixth Maind¡¯s joining the invasion had pushed the Outerverse¡¯s defensive line to the brink of copse. Even though no super powerhouses had moved against the Human Domain, the defensive line was still tottering.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind naturally suppressed the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators, and this suppression was especially evident when powerhouses within the same realm fought against each other in solobat. The Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses were not even close to being a match for the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators within the same realm. Moreover, the Sixth Maind cultivators could also boost their power with their imprints and bloodlines.

    The various great powers in Endless Weave incessantly sent cultivators to support the border¡¯s defenses, and only a select few sects were able to leave a handful of people behind to guard theirnd while the rest of their members were sent to the warfront. Even then, it was still difficult for Endless Weave¡¯s forces to hold the line.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s offense was simply too fierce.

    In the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, the defenders were primarily from the Dark Phoenix family, or from powers who were allied with them.

    Of the six Lavazones, the Dark Phoenix Lavazone¡¯s defense had traditionally been the sturdiest, and its line had never been breached. Whenever the ck mes swept across thend, the Technocracy would frequently suffer heavy casualties.

    However, against the forces of the Sixth Maind, even the powerful Dark Phoenix family ended up being suppressed with their members being ughtered. They managed to achieve almost no victories when fighting against opponents within the same realm.

    Bonny Phoenix was panting heavily as he stared at the man in front of him. The man had a frivolous expression on his face, and he gestured at Bonny Phoenix with a finger. ¡°Again.¡±

    Bonny Phoenix growled. Despite everything, he was an elite member of the Dark Phoenix family as well as a genius from Astral-9; he could not lose.

    A ck Undying Bird soared towards the man.

    The imprint of an elder suddenly appeared behind the man as strange lines shot up his body. His fingers then transformed into stony ws that pierced through the ck Undying Bird before continuing on towards Bonny Phoenix.

    Bonny Phoenix immediately fell back, but his chest was still shredded by the gale, and fresh blood dripped onto the ground.

    The man howled withughter. ¡°You Fifth Maind trash, you don¡¯t even have any imprints! What makes you think that you can fight against us?¡± The man then rushed at Bonny Phoenix.

    Bonny Phoenix fell into despair. They were both Limiteers, so the difference between them should not be this overwhelming. He stared at the fuzzy phantom image behind the man. The moment that imprint had appeared, this person had been able to practically crush Bonny. Why? What was that strength? Why did his side not have it?

    Just as the man was about to strike Bonny Phoenix, space trembled as an immense pressure fell upon the area.

    The man suddenly stopped attacking and turned to look at the sky with an excited expression. ¡°It¡¯s Lord Mojiang Shan! You guys are dead.¡±

    Bonny Phoenix simrly looked up, and he saw countless spear shadows descending upon thend. Each spear skillfully avoided all the Sixth Maind cultivators, though they pierced through quite a few Dark Phoenix family members as they fiercely shot towards the ground.

    Just like what had happened to the Greatwood Lavazone, the Dark Phoenix Lavazone was suddenly on the brink of copse.

    Suddenly, the atmosphere fluctuated, and as countless eyes stared on in disbelief, the air transformed into a ck inferno that covered the entire Dark Phoenix Lavazone. No matter if one looked at the Sixth Maind cultivators, the Technocracy¡¯s androids, or Fifth Maind cultivators, every individual on the battlefield was shrouded by these ck mes.

    The difference was that the mes caused no harm to the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators while many of the Sixth Maind cultivators and the androids were reduced to ashes.

    The man who had nearly killed Bonny Phoenix also died in agony due to the mes.

    In outer space, above the defenses, Mojiang Shan¡¯s expression suddenly changed. The boundless ck mes had gathered into a ck Undying Bird that was now charging towards him.

    A phantom image of Ancestor Mojiang appeared as Mojiang Shan¡¯s imprint, and the man stabbed his long spear forward. ¡°Just another Fifth Maind native looking to die.¡±

    The ck Undying Bird had nine burning plumes trailing behind it, and it metamorphosed at this moment. It suddenly transformed into a fiery ck phoenix that scorched the entire region.

    Mojiang Shan¡¯s body was also set on fire, and a massive river of blood started evaporating. He was being exhausted by the confrontation, and even his spear had started melting. This was no ordinary spear, as it was actually a power vessel. However, it was alreadypletely ruined.

    ¡°Native, just wait for me!¡± Mojiang Shan hollered before vanishing into space.

    The Dark Phoenix Lavazone was suddenly filled with high spirits, and countless members of the Dark Phoenix family shouted out in excitement. Everyone knew how powerful the Dark Phoenix family was, as it was one of the three great powers of the Outerverse that could not be provoked. However, nobody knew what the family relied on to maintain its status.

    However, at this moment, they had seen it for themselves. The ck phoenix that had burned the void belonged to the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s elder: Yen Phoenix. He was the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor who had single handedly wed his way out of the Innerverse. At this crucial moment, he had finally appeared.

    Bonny Phoenix heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against a wall of darkva as he looked up at the sky. He had nearly died just now.

    Why were those Sixth Maind cultivators so powerful? As the defenders, they had been easily suppressed one-sidedly. Bonny Phoenix was a student of Astral-9, and he also had the innate gift of the Dark Phoenix family: the ck Undying Bird. Despite all of his remarkable abilities, he had still been beaten by someone within the same realm. Thus, the other defending cultivators must be suffering even more.

    This battle had left his heart in a clouded haze.

    The Dark Phoenix Lavazone had dealt with an attack from an Imprinter. However, at the same time, the Lavazone furthest away from the Dark Phoenix region was also facing an Imprinter¡¯s attack. The Ironblood Lavazone was being attacked by the Yan family¡¯s elder: Yan Cheng.

    The Yan family was another Imprinter family, and all of the family¡¯s honor belonged to their elder. Yan Cheng was precisely the reason behind the Yan family¡¯s current status.

    However, Yan Cheng was not satisfied with his family¡¯s position, and he wanted to establish a marital rtionship with the Autumnfrost family. This was part of the reason why his family was participating in the invasion, as he wanted to use it to further raise his Yan family¡¯s reputation. In the Sixth Maind, Imprinter families were always in an awkward position, as it was neither high nor low. They could not rule over a region and all beings within it, but they also held a status where they could move about unrestricted. Yan Cheng was not satisfied with his family¡¯s current situation, and he intended to bring them onto a broader stage. For him, this war was the most suitable way to aplish that.

    When Yan Cheng appeared, the entire Ironblood Lavazone was suppressed by the sheer terror of an Imprinter. Countless cultivators instantly fell to the ground, paralyzed as a domain descended. Yan Cheng had actuallyprehended a domain, and his domain was by no means weak.

    Everyone from the Sixth Maind obeyed their ancestors¡¯ teachings, so not many people focused on cultivating a domain or battle force. Yan Cheng was the same, but he was an Imprinter with a power level of over 500,000. Even if his domain waspletely average, when wielded with his absolute strength, its power became unimaginable to ordinary cultivators.

    Commander Zhang Ironblood Lavazone lifted himself up off of the ground and into a crouching position with great difficulty as he looked up at the sky, hopeless.

    Yan Cheng waved a hand, prompting countless androids and Sixth Maind cultivators to charge towards thendmass and unleash a massacre. The Ironblood Lavazone¡¯s defenders were simply unable to resist.

    Liu Yin watched on helplessly as a de sliced towards him, unable to resist in any way.

    Despite being the former student leader of Astral-9, he was no different from amoner on this battlefield.

    Suddenly, a green branch burst out of the darkva that formed the ground, extending upwards endlessly. The branches gradually formed a huge, towering tree that covered the entire Ironblood Lavazone.

    Yan Cheng¡¯s domain suddenly popped like a bubble.

    Liu Yin suddenly felt as though he had received a new burst of strength. Although his opponent¡¯s de was already only half an inch away from him, he grabbed onto the hilt of his opponent¡¯s weapon with his renewed vigor. The strength of his grip prevented the Sixth Maind cultivator from continuing their attack, and Liu Yin opened his mouth to release a tremendous sound. The soundwave carried with it the ancient bloodline of the Fantasy Crow, and it caused everyone within a hundred meter radius of him to fall into and of fantasy.

    Liu Yin spun his de around and shed out with it, beheading the Sixth Maind cultivator, whose body fell heavily to the ground as fresh blood flowed onto the ckva floor.

    In outer space, Yan Cheng looked at the towering tree in shock. What was that? His intuition was telling him that this tree was not simple.

    Yuehua Mavis suddenly appeared at the top of the tree, and she calmly looked at Yan Cheng. ¡°You are an Imprinter from the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s expression grew frosty. ¡°Little girl, who are you?¡±

    ¡°Yuehua Mavis.¡±

    Yan Cheng frowned. A Mavis? He had heard of this n from somewhere, though he could not recall exactly where at this moment.

    ¡°Little girl, I have the authority to invite you to join my Sixth Maind and be an elder under my Yan family, thereby sparing your life. How about it?¡± Yan Cheng offered.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s eyes shed with an emerald green glow as she exchanged nces with Yan Cheng. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you have the strength to conquer me.¡±

    Yan Cheng was amused, as he was an Imprinter while the woman in front of him had a power level of around 300,000 at best. Despite their power differences, she still dared to challenge him. Suddenly, Yan Cheng¡¯s expression became dazed as his mind went fuzzy. He felt like he could no longer control his body, and a green radiance had appeared before him.

    He felt rm bells go off in his mind, and he immediately averted his gaze. ¡°You want to control me? Go die!¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s domain suddenly condensed into a giant palm that he swatted down with. ¡°Triple Palm.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis felt that it was a pity; her opponent was too powerful to be manipted by her.

    As she watched the Triple Palm descend, she knew that she would not be able to block such an attack with her strength, but fortunately, she had her great tree.

    The towering tree quivered, and at the top, a fruit slowly emerged.

 Chapter 834: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 834: Arrival</h4>

    Yuehua Mavis plucked the fruit and swallowed it in one smooth gulp. The next instant, her eyes suddenly went wide, and the emerald glow emanating from her eyes became even brighter. She then sped her hands together before gradually opening them. The center of her palms shone with a radiance that resembled the moonlight prating through the void. It tore through the Triple Palm and continued shooting towards Yan Cheng.

    Yan Cheng was astonished, as this Enlighter had actually broken through his attack. At this moment, Yuehua Mavis was actually giving off a dangerous feeling to him!

    Space itself trembled as Yan Cheng faced off against Yuehua Mavis. The towering tree asionally swayed as thin streams of green air continuously merged into Yuehua Mavis¡¯s body. This was what was allowing her to not fall behind Yan Cheng¡¯s greater strength as they fought.

    This was an inconceivable aplishment, but it was really happening.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s power level was just over 290,000, but she was resisting an Imprinter in a direct confrontation.

    This was the power of the Mavis family; every member had a mighty strength that normal people could not imagine.

    With Yuehua Mavis around, Yan Cheng was unable to act against the Ironblood Lavazone, and he was forced to temporarily withdraw.

    Commander Zhang appeared behind Yuehua Mavis and bowed deeply. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis looked exhausted, and the towering tree shrank into a branch thatnded in her palm. ¡°This method will not be able to hold them off for long.¡±

    Commander Zhang¡¯s expression grewplex. ¡°The Envoy-level opponents possess a strength that we cannot fight against.¡±

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s eyes narrowed, but she did not reply.

    The fight that had just concluded was nothing more than a probe. Not even two dayster, the Technocracy¡¯s full forces attacked with the Sixth Maind, which led to an even more bitter battle for the defenders of Endless Weave¡¯s border. This time, however, no Imprinters moved out. Instead, only experts with power levels of 200,000 to 300,000 appeared on the battlefield one after another. The Ironblood Lavazone alone fought against two powerhouses with power levels of over 300,000. If not for Yuehua Mavis, they simply would not have survived.

    The other regions were also forced to the verge of copse.

    The Tri-tform Lavazone did copse, as they were not able to resist the enemy¡¯s assault. If not for Yu Mu arriving in time, even themander of the Tri-tform Lavazone, Commander Baldy, would have died.

    The Hall of Honor did its all to continuously send additional reinforcements to Endless Weave.

    Behind the Greatwood Lavazone, there was a path of darkva extending off into the distance.

    At the defensive perimeter of the border, no firearms were allowed, and that also applied to the weaponry on their spacecraft. This was to prevent the Technocracy from using technological devices to gather intelligence on the Human Domain.

    If reinforcements arrived at the border, this rough ck path was the only means by which more troops could arrive. Additionally, only the most primitive means of transport could be used here, which were basic mopeds. These were the vehicles that carried new troops to the warfront.

    However, space-exploring powerhouses were exempt from this rule as they could fly straight over.

    These mopeds were basically two-wheeled cars that required the driver to use their personal strength to move them. The more power a cultivator exerted, the greater the speed of the moped.

    Above the mopeds, there were figures that streaked past one after another.

    Qiong Xi''er looked up, and she asionally saw a space-exploring powerhouse flying off into the distance. She had already seen the massive Greatwood Lavazone thaty up ahead of her, which meant that they were getting close to the warfront.

    Behind her, Zhu San panted heavily. "Xi''er, wait for me, wait for me.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er felt rather depressed when she heard Zhu San¡¯s voice. ¡°The Hall of Honor didn¡¯t draft you, so why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m here to protect you! You¡¯re my wife,¡± Zhu San dered righteously.

    Qiong Xi''er was left speechless. Instead of responding, she tossed her short hair back and continued speeding onwards.

    When Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San arrived with their batch of reinforcements, the first thing they saw was a battlefield inundated in the fires of war as an endless light beam swept across the sky. On the dark surface of theva floor, the Sixth Maind cultivators were fighting the Fifth Maind defenders to the death alongside countless androids that asionally fired off fatal attacks. Above the darkva, there were Explorers, Cruiser, Hunters, and even Enlighters tangled in closebat.

    Corpses smashed down like hailstones, never stopping for even a moment.

    On this battlefield, there were people constantly dying.

    Zhu San¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Xi, Xi''er, let¡¯s find a ce to hole up in.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face had simrly gone pale, as she had never experienced such a bloody battlefield before. Was this the border warfront that Wang Wen had always been participating in? It was no wonder why that fellow had always looked down on them. Even if one considered the battle that Wei Rong had orchestrated, that battlefield was too far removed from the scale of this warfront. They were not even close to being on the same level.

    Behind the two youths, a group of cultivators dropped their mopeds and charged onto the battlefield.

    In an instant, another group of defenders had died.

    Qiong Xi''er had seen the people who had been behind them when they had been traveling here on the mopeds, and she saw how they all died in an instant. Fear gnawed at her heart.

    Above them, dozens of light beams shot towards their area.

    "Xi''er, be careful,¡± Zhu San hugged Qiong Xi''er and they ran.

    At the ce where they had just been standing, the ground was bombarded by a barrage of light beams, and the mopeds were instantly burned to dust.

    More than ten androidsnded, carrying all sorts of weapons as they opened fire on Qiong Xi''er and the others.

    Qiong Xi''er pushed Zhu San aside and leaped up. Her fingers bent to form a strange pattern, following which she tapped out with one finger. The dozen or so androids were all shattered at the middle of their figures.

    Zhu San cried, "Xi''er, you¡¯re so impressive!¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s fingers trembled. The attack that she had just unleashed was not simple, and it had already surpassed her ordinary limits. The defenses of the androids were quite sturdy.

    In the Endless Lavazone, arrows darkened the sky as they shot across the battlefield.

    The reinforcements from the Neo-Vestige Sect had finally arrived, and Master Bei rose to the sky to cooperate with the region¡¯smander, Fu Laotai, and hold back the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses.

    An expert with a power level of more than 400,000 appeared in the Tri-tform Lavazone. Once he revealed Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s image as his imprint, he dominated the battlefield with his endless strength.

    Themander, Commander Baldy, was severely injured by the assault, and Yu Mu gritted his teeth and leaped into outer space to battle against the enemy¡¯s powerhouses. Blood stained the sky.

    Vi Mistress Lian had also arrived, and she teamed up with Yu Mu to barely stave off the powerhouse in their region.

    In the Honor Lavazone, Zi Rong led the reinforcements from Amethyst Exchange as they had also arrived on the battlefield. His Battalion sh instantly killed dozens of Sixth Maind cultivators, but Zi Rong was quickly tangled up by the more powerful enemies in the area. His opponent was simrly a Hunter, but they had Ancestor Mojiang as their imprint, which allowed them to suppress Zi Rong. He became iparably sullen, as his opponent was actually able to directly receive his Battalion sh.

    Nearby, Zi Xue was looking around with a detached expression even as she fought against a strange-looking android from the Technocracy.

    Not only could the androids have a humanoid appearance, but they could also mimic all sorts of other living creatures. The most annoying models were the miniature androids, as it was difficult to urately sense their location. There were even times when they would fly into the ear of a cultivator and blow apart the person¡¯s head with a single attack.

    A terrifying strength descended from outer space, which everyone hurried to evade.

    Zi Xue was not able to do so in time, and Zi Rong hurriedly tried to rescue her. Fortunately, a middle-aged man blocked the attack, which gave Zi Rong an opportunity to escape with Zi Xue.

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Tradeo,¡± Zi Rong offered his gratitude.

    This middle-aged man was known as Mr. Tradeo, who was the Enlighter whom Amethyst Exchange supported.

    ¡°Be careful. Nobody is safe on this battlefield,¡± Mr. Tradeo reminded them before vanishing.

    In the Ironblood Lavazone, fresh blood flowed from Chao Zhi¡¯s forehead, and there was a Sixth Maind cultivator in front of her. It was another girl who was in a simrly dishevelled state.

    The girl was also an Explorer, and she had a simr power level as Chao Zhi¡¯s. ¡°I never thought that I would be held back by a Fifth Maind native. How humiliating!¡±

    Chao Zhi¡¯s eyes turned cold. She simrly had never thought that she would be forced into such a miserable state by a random cultivator from the Sixth Maind. After all, Chao Zhi was an absolute elite from Astral-9 as well as someone who had participated in the most recent Astral Combat Tournament and reached the top thirty two. She was an outstanding member of the younger generation who had once shocked the universe, and her opponent was clearly not her match. However, there was a strange feeling of suppression whenever they exchanged blows. Also, the imprint that all the cultivators from the Sixth Maind had boosted their strength by too much, and it was the main obstacle to Chao Zhi¡¯s victory.

    ¡°Native, go and die!¡± the girl from the Sixth Maind barked. As she spoke, the imprint behind her suddenly grew a bit clearer, and Chao Zhi could also see that the blood vessels in the girl¡¯s body had undergone certain changes as she charged towards Chao Zhi.

    Chao Zhi took a deep breath, and four lined battle force shrouded her figure. ¡°Wind of Seasons.¡±

    In the distance, Liu Yin, who was still wearing his headphones, was dealing with his own bitter struggle. He had not yet recuperated from the injuries the previous assault had wrought on him, and he was truly facing a crisis of life and death right now. The woman in front of him was terrifyingly powerful. She easily dissolved every one of his attacks, and she had evenprehended a domain.

    ¡°You¡¯re frightened,¡± Yan Xiaojing said as she gazed coldly at the man before her who was wearing headphones. Her attacks did not let up, but her attention streaked past him when she saw the flow of the blood in the man¡¯s body, and she swatted out. ¡°Triple Palm.¡±

    Liu Yin growled when that palm attack struck him squarely in his abdomen, sending him flying away. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body began to tear apart.

    Damn, he really was going to die this time around.

    Yan Xiaojing showed no mercy, and she immediately sent out another palm strike, this time aimed at Liu Yin¡¯s head.

    At that critical moment, a pale-looking man appeared and deflected Yan Xiaojing¡¯s palm, saving Liu Yin.

    Liu Yin hurriedly retreated as he clutched his abdomen. Fresh blood had already stained his clothes.

    ¡°Thank you, Brother Rann,¡± Liu Yin said feebly.

    The person who saved him was Rann, the person who had participated in the same Astral Combat Tournament as the former student leader of Astral-9. He was a man who had been cryopreserved for 200 years, and he looked like a dead person. During the tournament, he had revealed his three lined battle force, but it had since been upgraded to four lines.

    Yan Xiaojing spoke in a cold voice, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s two of you.¡±

    She then attacked again.

    Liu Yin joined forces with Rann, and although they were able to endure Yan Xiaojing¡¯s attacks with their teamwork, they would not be able to persist for long.

    Fortunately, Chao Zhi had taken care of her opponent by this time. She had suppressed her injuries enough to cause her opponent¡¯s body to decay with her Wind of Seasons. That gave her the opening tounch a sneak attack against Yan Xiaojing.

    Huang San was pissed, as he had been watching this take ce all along. He did not care if Liu Yin and Rann cooperated, as the two clearly were not Xiaojing¡¯s opponents. However, three cultivators uniting against Yan Xiaojing was a little overboard, and it was something that he could not tolerate. He charged over to where the four people were fighting. ¡°You bastards dare to bully Xiaojing!¡±

    Yan Xiaojing frowned as she nced at Huang San. ¡°This is none of your business, so go away!¡±

    Huang San was about to respond, but a man descended from above them and proudly waved a hand, sending Liu Yin, Rann, and Chao Zhi all flying away. He then lifted his hand. ¡°Skyrender w.¡±

    At that moment, Liu Yin and the others were overwhelmed. This new person was unstoppable.

    He was Autumnfrost Qing.

    When he attacked, it heralded the end.

    The Skyrender wnded and enveloped Liu Yin and the others.

    Huang San felt pity for them, as they were absolutely doomed.

    Autumnfrost Qing had suppressed three enemies with a single w, and he did not even nce at the oue. They were just three ants that did not deserve his attention.

    Liu Yin¡¯s trio watched as the Skyrender w drew closer and closer; they had already given up all hope.

    There was a thump, and a figure streaked past and shattered the Skyrender w with a kick, blocking it right when it was about to reach Liu Yin¡¯s trio.

    They stared at the figure, dumbfounded. This was such a familiar silhouette.

    Just as Autumnfrost Qing was about to talk to Yan Xiaojing, his Skyrender w was shattered, and he immediately turned around to exchange nces with the person who just arrived. ¡°Another one who¡¯se to bite the dust.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing and Huang San stared at the neer who had shattered the Skyrender w with just one kick in disbelief. Why was he here?

    ¡°Long time no see, you guys,¡± Lu Yin spoke softly as he looked at Huang San.

    Huang San was stumped, and only after Lu Yin had spoken was the fatty able to react. ¡°Deafmute Bro¡­ Are you Deafmute Bro?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing stared at Lu Yin as though she were looking at a ghost. She remembered this person, as he had saved her in the past, and he had always kept the fattypany. They had believed that he was deaf and mute, but he had actually appeared on the battlefield at this moment and saved these natives. ¡°Are you from the Fifth Maind?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at her and then looked at Autumnfrost Qing. ¡°The Autumnfrost family is participating in this invasion, just as expected.¡±

    ¡°Bro, are you really from the Fifth Maind?¡± Huang San asked, as he was at aplete loss for words. He was thrilled that he was able to meet Deafmute Bro once again, but he actually did not want to hear the answer to his own question despite the answer being so tantly obvious.

 Chapter 835: Lu Yin Vs. Autumnfrost Qing

    <h4>Chapter 835: Lu Yin Vs. Autumnfrost Qing</h4>

    Lu Yin sighed when he saw Huang San¡¯splicated expression. ¡°What¡¯s the point of asking questions when we¡¯re meeting on the battlefield? These things are simply a matter of life and death.¡±

    Huang San turned pale. ¡°What''s your name?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t have to remember the name of a dead person.¡± He then attacked Lu Yin with another Skyrender w, but it was much more powerful than his earlier one. Lu Yin used his Skybeast w at the same moment.

    Shockwaves rippled through the area and forced Liu Yin and the others back, including even Yan Xiaojing and Huang San.

    The Skybeast w wasparable to the Skyrender w.

    Autumnfrost Qing was shocked. He was a Cruiser who had alreadypleted eight cycles of cultivation, but Lu Yin was actually able to block his attack. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    The image of Elder Autumnfrost appeared behind the youth as he activated his imprint.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. Autumnfrost Qing wasparable to the top few people on the Top 100 Rankings, and his strength was just beneath the level of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings, who were actuallyparable to the Ten Arbiters. Although Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how strong the top three of the Top 100 Rankings were, he assumed that they were probably at about the same level as Autumnfrost Qing. He hadn¡¯t expected to run into a suitable opponent almost the first moment he stepped foot on the battlefield.

    ¡°I remember you now! You were at the Budding Terrace with Fatty Bro, and I even took you to the Scripture Pavilion about two years ago,¡± Autumnfrost Qing eximed.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°I remember you too. You¡¯re the heir to the Autumnfrost family, and your strength is just below that of the Realmlings. I also remember that you have the Sky Overlord bloodline.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anyone aside from the Ten Arbiters of the Fifth Maind to be able to enter the Daosource Sect ruins. You¡¯re all nothing more than rats,¡± Autumnfrost Qing said arrogantly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Don''t worry. I¡¯ll exterminate you rats from the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Autumnfrost Qing bellowed as he suddenly rushed towards Lu Yin. The image of Elder Autumnfrost behind him grew even clearer, and it almost felt as though he had a mountain behind him,

    Liu Yin and the others promptly retreated as they all stared at Autumnfrost Qing in shock. It was as if an invincible god had just appeared.

    Eight lined battle force appeared around Lu Yin¡¯s body as their attacks violently shed. Autumnfrost Qing was extremely confident in his physical strength as his Sky Overlord bloodline was basically synonymous with absolute strength.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s punch left Autumnfrost Qing stunned. Not only had Lu Yin blocked his attack, but Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks had actually forced Autumnfrost Qing to retreat.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Autumnfrost Qing was astonished. Despite him using his imprint, he had still been forced back.

    Yan Xiaojing and Huang San were both stunned, as they hadn¡¯t expected Lu Yin to be able to overpower Autumnfrost Qing. Autumnfrost Qing was a powerhouse who ranked just beneath the Realmlings within their generation, and there were only a handful of people within the Bloodburn Realm at their age who were able to fight against him. He was able to easily defeat the cultivators from the Fifth Maind, but he had been defeated by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fists were aching, as he had actually unsealed his Fatesand and used his full power to overwhelm Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s Sky Overlord bloodline that had been supported by an imprint.

    Autumnfrost Qing clenched his fists and then rushed back towards Lu Yin. Their fists collided, and Lu Yin kicked Autumnfrost Qing with a bang. The ground cracked, and they both simultaneously fell into the fissure.

    Loud sounds of heavy impacts and collisions could be heard from the fissure, and spatial cracks soon extended out from underground, causing the nearby people to hastily flee.

    The shockwaves caused by this battle caused even some of the Hunter powerhouses to retreat.

    Naturally, both Autumnfrost Qing and Lu Yin had the strength to battle against Hunter powerhouses.

    With a loud explosion, Autumnfrost Qing was sted out of the fissure, and a trickle of blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth.

    Huang San was stunned; Autumnfrost Qing had actually been injured by Deafmute Bro.

    Lu Yin leaped up from underground, only for his figure to suddenly disappear. Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s expression changed, and his body suddenly grew at a great speed as he turned into a giant that was more than ten meters tall. He then released a roar that shook the surroundings, and many people turned towards the source of the sound in shock.

    The Sky Overlord¡¯s roar caused shockwaves to ripple out, covering the entire region.

    The widespread attack forced Lu Yin to show himself, and an enormous palm suddenly appeared in front of him. Autumnfrost Qing smashed down with his palm, and Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s rune lines had surged in an instant, which was due to the youth activating his innate gift in tandem with his Sky Overlord bloodline as well as his imprint. This was the most powerful attack that Autumnfrost Qing could unleash. It wasparable to an attack from a powerful Hunter, and it reminded Lu Yin of Zi Rong¡¯s attack.

    If he had encountered this attack before his trip to Millions City, Lu Yin definitely would not have been able to withstand it without relying on the Yu Secret Art and some external aids. However, during the attack on Millions City, he hadpleted his third cultivation cycle, and he had also been itching to try out the battle technique that he had learned from the Nine Cauldrons.

    Lu Yin raised his right hand to meet Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s attack. Star energy gathered in his palm and formed a pale yellow sphere that was infused with cauldron energy. ¡°Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, First Sun.¡±

    Lu Yin crashed towards Autumnfrost Qing with what looked like a star in his hands. Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed as the condensed sun made his skin crawl.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation¡¯s power was reliant on star energy, so its power would increase the more star energy that was gathered. Moreover, excess star energy could also be used to form a second sun.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current cultivation and familiarity with the technique, the First Sun wasn¡¯t able to exhibit a very high power level. This sun had a power level of around 200,000, but it had also used up about half of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves.

    The Sky Overlord collided with the sun while everyone stared on in astonishment. A massive energy wave rippled across the area and left a massive spatial tear in its wake.

    Yan Xiaojing, Liu Yin, and the other spectators all started bleeding, and they nearly fainted from the shockwave.

    Autumnfrost Qing felt an unbearable heat spread through his giant palm as well as a mighty force that frightened him. It felt as though he was confronting the power of the entire universe, and it flung his body backwards. His arm had beenpletely shattered, and even his bones were poking through his skin.

    The immense pain from his injury caused Autumnfrost Qing to cry out, but Lu Yin had already appeared in front of him. ¡°Thirty times, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    The second attacknded square on Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s abdomen, and the eruption of strength from the Oveying Stacks Path almost shattered all of his internal organs.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t let up, and he immediatelyunched another attack.

    Autumnfrost Qing gritted his teeth and took a power vessel out from his cosmic ring that had the form of a de. Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, as this de had caused him to tremble involuntarily. Any attack from this weapon would definitely surpass a power level of 200,000. He waved his left hand and used the Yu Secret Art to divert the path of the de, which left arge spatial tear along its path.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly took out another power vessel. He then turned into a sh of light that tried to escape. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept across the area, and he started flying in a specific direction, clearly chasing after the fleeing Autumnfrost Qing.

    Yan Xiaojing and the others were all stunned by the oue of the battle. Autumnfrost Qing was basically invincible in their eyes, but he had just beenpletely trounced by Lu Yin despite using all of his external aids.

    Liu Yin and the others were also shocked. They could see that the gap between them and Lu Yin had actually increased. Just what had this youth gone through during thest few years that had allowed him to be so powerful?

    Autumnfrost Qing tried to escape, but Lu Yin wasn¡¯t nning on letting his enemy run away. This guy¡¯s status was just beneath the Realmlings¡¯, and it would be a huge contribution to the Fifth Maind if Lu Yin was able to kill such a young powerhouse.

    Moreover, if this person stayed alive, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be good for the Fifth Maind.

    Autumnfrost Qing had initially thought that he would be able to escape, but he quickly realized that Lu Yin was chasing after him as soon as the Sixth Maind elite turned back to check. Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s face nched; how had Lu Yin found him? The speed of Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s power vessel was so fast that not even Enlighters should be able to catch up to him. Thus, it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for anyone there to track which direction he had fled in.

    Lu Yin pursued Autumnfrost Qing with his top speed.

    Autumnfrost Qing took out another power vessel to make another escape attempt, but Lu Yin immediately threw out an Ultra sh Tearbomb. A piercing light illuminated the entire area, and everyone was blinded by it. Lu Yin immediately took out the Arrow of Valiance and shot towards Autumnfrost Qing.

    Autumnfrost Qing noticed Lu Yin closing in, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t!¡±

    Lu Yin thrust the arrow forward, but then a roar rang out from nearby. ¡°Stop!¡±

    An Enlighter realm powerhouse rushed over and attacked Lu Yin. Lu Yin waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art to divert the iing de even as the Arrow of Valiance plunged into Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s abdomen. Lu Yin had wanted to directly stab the arrow into the young man¡¯s neck, but Autumnfrost Qing had suddenly increased the size of his body, causing the arrow to stab into his abdomen.

    ¡°Young one, you¡¯re looking to die!¡± This Enlighter powerhouse had received an imprint from Elder Autumnfrost, and he shed his de at Lu Yin once again.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t strong enough to fight against an Enlighter, and he quickly donned his universal armor. He was struck by the de and was sted backwards into the ground.

    Autumnfrost Qing returned to his normal size as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He screamed spitefully at the Enlighter, ¡°Kill him! Go and kill him!¡±

    The powerhouse was clearly someone from the Autumnfrost family, and he immediately charged towards Lu Yin upon hearing Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s order. The expert¡¯s de descended, tearing the sky apart as it fell.

    Nobody in the Ironblood Lavazone was able to help Lu Yin at this moment since they were all locked inbat with their own opponents. Yuehua Mavis and Commander Zhang were both battling high in the sky, and Aden was also fighting against an Enlighter. Wendy Yushan was busy fighting other elites from the Sixth Maind, which meant that Lu Yin had to face his opponents on his own.

    Of course, Lu Yin didn¡¯t actually need anyone¡¯s help either. He leaped up from the ground and absorbed the iing attack with the Bacsh Pearl. He then reflected the attack back at the Enlighter.

    The Enlighter was surprised, but he still managed to deflect the reflected attack. ¡°Young one, give me that power vessel.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Old man, I¡¯ll use you to mark the start of this battle.¡±

    He put his bracer on and then suddenly disappeared, only to reappear behind the Enlighter and unleash a punch.

    The Enlighter wasn¡¯t scared by the attack, as he was an Enlighter. This meant that he naturally suppressed Explorers like Lu Yin, not to mention the natural suppression that the Sixth Maind cultivators had on the cultivators from the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Be careful! He¡¯s not affected by the suppression!¡± Autumnfrost Qing shouted.

    The Enlighter didn¡¯t understand what Autumnfrost Qing was saying. With his power level, Lu Yin should have been suffering from two types of suppression: one being the natural suppression that the Sixth Maind cultivators had on Fifth Maind cultivators, and the second being the suppression from the differences in their cultivation realms. Both of these suppressions should have been enough to instantly kill Lu Yin.

    However, the Enlighter had never thought that neither of the two suppressions would work on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist struck the de that the Enlighter had originally thought would slice Lu Yin¡¯s arm off. However, he suddenly realized that he wasn¡¯t able to harm Lu Yin, as this youth was surprisingly strong. The Enlighter¡¯s de bent and then shattered, causing the Enlighter¡¯s eyes to narrow. This was impossible in his mind, but his sword had clearly shattered with a ng. Lu Yin¡¯s palm thennded on the Enlighter¡¯s heart, and Oveying Stacks erupted as powerful shockwaves rippled out behind the Enlighter.

    The Enlighter spat out a mouthful of blood, and he was unable to even let go of the hilt of his shattered de.

    Lu Yin changed his hand from a palm attack and struck out with the Dream Finger.

    The space around the twobatants solidified as Lu Yin¡¯s finger pierced through the Enlighter¡¯s body and flung the man towards the ground.

 Chapter 836: This Is Fate

    <h4>Chapter 836: This Is Fate</h4>

    Countless people were stunned. Just a single exchange had resulted in an Enlighter¡¯s death. How was that possible?

    No matter if they were human cultivators from the Fifth or Sixth Maind or androids from the Technocracy, everyone who saw this scene was astonished. In fact, they even momentarily forgot that they were on a battlefield.

    Lu Yin had indeed killed Enlighters in the past, but it had always been tantly obvious that he had relied on foreign objects to do so, such as his gun. This time, however, he had killed an Enlighter in a direct confrontation.

    From the perspective of outsiders, Lu Yin had directly exchanged blows with an Enlighter and then crushed them. His universal armor and bracer were both seen as defensive items rather than offensive ones.

    Only Lu Yin knew that his bracer allowed him to double his physical strength, and that it was actually his bracer that was the most decisive strike. When he exploded with his full physical might with the bracer, even Sall Phoenix, who was a peak expert with a power level close to 300,000, would be shocked, let alone this cultivator who had just stepped into the Enlighter realm.

    To the other defenders, they were naturally suppressed by the Sixth Maind cultivators. However, that suppression didn¡¯t exist for Lu Yin. In his eyes, this person¡¯s battle strength had not even beenparable to Cai Jianqiang or Aden¡¯s, and he had been one of the weakest Enlighters who Lu Yin had ever met. Even if the Enlighter had an imprint from Elder Autumnfrost, he had still been very weak.

    Fortunately, that Enlighter had not been given the chance to use any other methods. If he had been quicker to respond and managed to use his bloodline or a battle technique, then Lu Yin would not have defeated him so easily.

    This Enlighter¡¯s death gave Lu Yin 30,000 points worth of military contributions. His contribution was recorded by a very ancient-looking recording device that was considered an inanimate object since it could not connect to any sort ofwork. It was the technological equivalent to the mopeds used for travel, and neither was able to be influenced by the Technocracy. Any contributions made on Endless Weave¡¯s battlefield were recorded by these devices, and they would be treated as military contributions when the defender left the battlefield.

    Lu Yin only paused for a moment before turning back to look for Autumnfrost Qing, but the youth had already escaped.

    Not only had Autumnfrost Qing fled, but all of the androids and the cultivators from the Sixth Maind were also steadily retreating from Lu Yin. The cultivators forming the defensive line did not make an effort to chase after the retreating invaders for too far. Instead, they allowed them to leave.

    Lu Yin looked at where Huang San and Yan Xiaojing were retreating, and the two also kept their eyes on Lu Yin, especially Huang San, who had an indescribablyplicated look in his eyes.

    He had always treated Lu Yin as his benefactor; without Lu Yin, Huang San would have never obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline, and he might not have even qualified to join this invasion. However, it turned out that Lu Yin was actually his enemy, a mortal enemy with whom there was no chance at reconciliation.

    Yan Xiaojing looked at Huang San before she dragged him away from the battlefield. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much.¡±

    Huang San sighed, nced at Lu Yin onest time, and then left.

    Lu Yin looked across at their end of the defensive line and saw that this battle had left the Ironblood Lavazone filled with countless corpses. The surviving soldiers piled the ruined androids into a trash heap to prevent the Technocracy from reusing them. As for the corpses of the various cultivators, they were all directly cremated.

    The corpse of the Enlighter who had been killed by Lu Yin was also burned, but his cosmic ring was given to Lu Yin. Nobody dared to fight over it since Lu Yin had single handedly killed him.

    Lu Yin did not stand on ceremony, and he immediately nced at its contents. He found that the ring was very messy, though it had quite a few items in it. He simply kept everything, though he took note of the fact that the ring only held 40,000 star essence; how poor.

    Aden approached. ¡°Your Highness, are you alright?¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then looked over at Wendy Yushan, who was standing in the distance. She had not been injured, which made Lu Yin feel relieved.

    As theynded back on the ckva that made up the maind, Liu Yin, Chao Zhi, and Rann were all in a miserable condition. Liu Yin and Chao Zhi were in an especially poor condition since they had been severely injured and needed to receive treatment.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± Lu Yin smiled at the trio.

    Liu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°You must have found our situationughable.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Hurry up and go treat your wounds.¡±

    Liu Yin nodded, feeling a little depressed.

    When Lu Yin had first joined the Council of Astral Academy, the difference between them had not been too great. But at present, the difference between them was too vast, and it caused Liu Yin to despair slightly.

    As he watched the gloomy group leave, Lu Yin was able to understand the misery in their hearts. It was just like how he felt unresigned at the difference between him and the Ten Arbiters whenever he saw them. But those feelings were of no use. Just being upset about the difference would not reduce the power gap, and it would only widen it instead.

    Lu Yin was still too far behind the Ten Arbiters.

    He looked up towards outer space, above the maind, as this defensive line waspletely different from what he had seen in Ironblood Weave.

    The Ironblood Weave had multiple defensive bases in the form of the various fortresses, and each one was supported by a sourcebox array. It was rumored that this ce also had some sourcebox arrays, but that had only been along the previous defensive line. When the Technocracy had seized half of Endless Weave in the past, the original defensive line had been lost along with the sourcebox arrays. The current defensive line had been established at a muchter date.

    He stepped on the ckva beneath him, and it smelt very pungent.

    ¡°Did you use a new battle technique just now?¡± Wendy Yushan¡¯s voice rang out, carrying a hint of doubt and curiosity.

    Lu Yin nodded as he looked over at her. ¡°The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded, though her expression was still rather indifferent. ¡°It¡¯s a very powerful battle technique. It¡¯s enough to even make Enlighters wary.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. Just wary?

    The more star energy it utilized, the greater the might of this technique, much like how pyrolyte theoretically scaled infinitely. The only shoring to it was that he did not have enough cauldron energy. Only by absorbing all of the cauldron energy from one cauldron would he have sessfully cultivated one sun. At that point, the power of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation would bepletely different, and it would undergo a drastic metamorphosis.

    The arrival of new reinforcements allowed the troops at the border to heave a heavy sigh of relief. The scene of Lu Yin killing an Enlighter by himself had caused many in the Ironblood Lavazone to well up with anticipation.

    ***

    On the other side of the battlefield, within the Technocracy, there was a giant mechanical fortress floating through space. Close to a million cultivators from the Sixth Maind had gathered in this ce, including Ancestor Mojiang. There were also three other simr fortresses.

    Huang San was just about to return to the fortress when he was surrounded by cultivators from the Autumnfrost Family. He was then captured and taken before Autumnfrost Qing with Yan Xiaojing also present.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes were cold as he stared at Huang San. ¡°Fat Bro, you dared to collude with someone from the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Huang San¡¯s eyes went wide, and he shouted, ¡°Autumnfrost Qing, you¡¯re trying to frame me!¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing sneered. ¡°That person was in contact with you two years ago. Do you dare to deny it? And now, we¡¯ve only just arrived in the Technocracy, but we were discovered before we could evenunch an attack on them. You must have leaked our ns!¡±

    ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, could there be some misunderstanding here?¡± Yan Xiaojing tried to intervene.

    Autumnfrost Qing waved a hand. ¡°Xiaojing, this matter is none of your business. I am merely capturing a traitor.¡±

    Huang San was furious. ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense! Even if I had wanted to snitch, I didn¡¯t have the ability! With my strength, how could I possibly cross over the Technocracy to speak with Deafmute Bro?¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°There¡¯s no way to know for sure, as there are too many mysterious methods in the universe. If not for him bribing you, how could you have possibly obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline? That¡¯s one of the invincible bloodlines!¡±

    After the fatty had obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline from the Daosource Sect''s ruins, everybody had learned about it, including Autumnfrost Qing. He had long since found the fatty annoying, and now, an excuse for him to take care of this irritant and vent his resentment had suddenlye up

    Yan Xiaojing knew that Autumnfrost Qing was purposefully targeting Huang San with this excuse, but she also could not help him. No matter what happened here, it was possible for her to be Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s wife in the future. Thus, she could only feel pity for the fatty. However, she also could not bear to watch him die, so after thinking about it, she hurriedly informed one of her elders.

    No matter how much Huang San tried to justify himself, Autumnfrost Qing acted as if he were absolutely certain that he was a traitor. In truth, Autumnfrost Qing had already decided to take care of the fatty. The Huang family was nothing more than a fallen Imprinter family, and the fatty was the only one from their family who had been sent to participate in the battle. Thus, there was no one from his family who could help him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The Yan family¡¯s elder, Yan Cheng, suddenly appeared.

    The crowd had not expected an Imprinter to suddenly appear, and they all hurriedly bowed.

    When Huang San saw Yan Cheng, he quickly repeated his story of everything that had happened.

    Yan Cheng¡¯s eyes sharpened and swept past Autumnfrost Qing, though he did not me the youth either. ¡°This matter is indeed strange, but it¡¯s highly unlikely for him to have leaked any information. After all, the distance is too great.¡±

    "Senior, there¡¯s still the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins,¡± Autumnfrost Qing reminded the Imprinter.

    Huang San bellowed, ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense! Ever since that ce became a battlefield for the Realmlings and Ten Arbiters, I never went back!¡±

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t you, then how could the Fifth Maind have discovered us?¡± Autumnfrost Qing asked coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking me, but who should I ask? It¡¯s just that you couldn¡¯t beat him, so you¡¯re trying to vent your anger on me! You¡¯re nothing but trash!¡± The fatty was furious.

    Autumnfrost Qing flew into a rage. ¡°You dare to insult me? Just die!¡±

    He prepared to make a move.

    Yan Cheng moved between the two youths and restrained Autumnfrost Qing. He then looked at the fatty with a hint ofplicated emotions. ¡°The Huang family and my Yan family have a deep rtionship, and I trust that you did not betray the Sixth Maind. However, it¡¯s also true that you are acquainted with someone from the Fifth Maind, and therefore, there is indeed a possibility of betrayal.¡±

    The fatty¡¯s face went pale.

    ¡°This is my decision: for the moment, you won¡¯t return to the battlefield. Instead, you will stay behind to be investigated. Rest assured. If you have done no wrong, I will proim your innocence,¡± Yan Cheng said slowly.

    The fatty was helpless. ¡°I¡¯ll respect Ancestor¡¯s decision.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing was not satisfied with this oue and still wanted to say something.

    Yan Cheng continued, ¡°Right, regarding your arrangement with Xiaojing, have you had any thoughts?¡±

    The fatty heard this, and his expression changed abruptly. When he looked at Yan Cheng and saw the remorse in the Imprinter¡¯s eyes, the youth¡¯s face paled. He finally realized that this was his true objective: the Yan family had always wanted to break free from their marriage contract with the Huang family, and they were suffering from the fact that this promise had already been made, leaving them without any way of easily removing it. At this moment, they were forcing Huang San to cancel the marriage contract.

    Yan Xiaojing also understood this point, and as she looked at the fatty with a pitiful expression, the remorse in her heart grew even stronger.

    Autumnfrost Qing was pleased; so this was Yan Cheng¡¯s objective. The Imprinter was nning on openly helping the fatty and saving his life. However, that woulde in exchange for annulling the marriage contract.

    Autumnfrost Qing smiled and arrogantly looked down at the fatty. This person from a fallen Imprinter''s family had dared topete with him over a girl. This fatty truly did not know his ce. So what if he had the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline? It did not have a sufficiently high concentration. Even if it wasplete, it would still be useless if it did not mature, and the fatty would suffer an early death sooner rather thanter.

    The fattyughed at himself miserably before looking back at Yan Xiaojing with great reluctance. His eyes were red as he closed them and sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°Very well. I, Huang San, as the heir to the Huang family, cancel my marriage contract with the Yan family. This canction will take effect immediately, and may the heavens punish me if I go back on my word.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s heart trembled. Even though she did not like the fatty, at this moment, she felt that the situation was quite unbearable. Perhaps this moment would be a debt that would need to be repaidter on.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s lips curled upwards, and heughed heartily.

    Yan Cheng sighed, and he looked at the fatty with aplex light in his eyes. He then gently patted Huang San¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Rest assured, I will not allow others to nder you. As long as I¡¯m alive, I promise that you will safely return to the Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    This was Yan Cheng¡¯s way of offering an apology.

    Huang San bent at the waist, turned around, and left with a bleak expression, not even sparing a nce for Yan Xiaojing.

    Yan Xiaojing¡¯s gaze was full of pity. She wanted to say something, but she could not speak up.

    In fact, for this battle, Huang San had not even been listed among the recruited youths. Rather, he had tagged along of his own volition despite knowing that he would be targeted by Autumnfrost Qing. Despite everything, Huang San hade with the invasion forces for Yan Xiaojing, and it would be a lie to say that she had not been moved by his determination. Back when they had entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins, there were many times when the fatty had risked himself for her sake without any regard for his own safety.

    This was his affection, but they could not be together. This was fate.

 Chapter 837: Crossing Lavazones

    <h4>Chapter 837: Crossing Lavazones</h4>

    Yan Cheng watched as the fatty left. He then turned to Autumnfrost Qing and gently said, ¡°You have also heard my words, so I hope that you won¡¯t make things difficult for him any longer.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing smiled. ¡°Thank you for your assistance, Senior. This person no longer holds any importance in my eyes, so I will not do anything else to him.¡±

    He then looked at Yan Xiaojing, ravenously scanning her entire body. This woman would soon be his.

    The various reinforcements from the Outerverse reached Endless Weave¡¯s border one after another, and the six Lavazones reorganized their defenses with their bolstered forces.

    The Ironblood Lavazone convened a strategy meeting, and Lu Yin was invited to participate.

    Whether it was his strength or his status, Lu Yin absolutely qualified to attend this meeting. It had been quite some time since he had been that puny little cultivator in Ironblood Weave.

    The Ironblood Lavazone had two Enlighters at the moment, and they were Commander Commander Zhang and Yuehua Mavis. Aside from the two Enlighters, the area was also defended by more than thirty Hunters.

    Only those with the strength of a Hunter qualified to join the meeting. Naturally, Aden and Wendy Yushan had also been invited, as they had the power to fight against Hunters.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ranking ced him second only to Commander Zhang and Yuehua Mavis, and nobody dared to object to such treatment, especially since he had killed an enemy Enlighter the moment he set foot on the battlefield. His actions had already shocked the entire Ironblood Lavazone.

    Dozens of Hunters sat below and watched on as Lu Yin sat down in a position that ced him second only to Yuehua Mavis, all of them internally astounded. This person was a legend in the universe, and he had probably killed more Enlighters than even theirmander.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across all those gathered, and he involuntarily sighed. If all these people were at his disposal, then the Great Eastern Alliance would be able to sweep through the central region of the Outerverse uncontested.

    This was just one of the sixvazones, and at this moment, the full strength of the entire Outerverse had been brought to bear on defending Endless Weave¡¯s border.

    The strategy meeting was simple, as it was actually just to assign the gathered powerhouses to their respective areas of thevazone. The entire defensive line spanned the full width of Endless Weave, going from east and west. Aside from the six Lavazones, there was also the darkva maind in the middle of the weave that required defenders from all sixvazones to protect it.

    However, there were rules to follow for everything. Thus, everything would be fine as long as the defenders followed the previously made arrangements.

    ¡°At this moment, the most crucial section to cover is the Tri-tform Lavazone that recently fell. The remaining darkva will not be enough to cover the area, so more must be sent over. Everyone, who is able to take on this mission?¡± Commander Zhang asked as he ran his eyes across everyone gathered.

    He and Yuehua Mavis were not able to move, especially not Yuehua Mavis, who held the responsibility to defend thevazone against Imprinters.

    Everyone involuntarily looked at Lu Yin, as he was the only one out of everyone at the meeting who had enough strength to aplish the necessary task.

    It was extremely dangerous to cross between Lavazones, as one could encounter all sorts of attacks. The Technocracy had be intimately familiar with the Humain Domain¡¯s defenses after all this time, and they had implemented all sorts of methods to iste the six Lavazones from each other so that they could not support one another. Hence, anytime someone wanted to travel to another Lavazone, they would have to face the Technocracy¡¯s full efforts to stop them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Aden offered. From the moment he had entered the battlefield, he had held back the assaults of multiple peak Hunters from the Sixth Maind, and his strength was close to the top. He had even held back an Enlighter.

    Commander Zhang shook his head. ¡°Only an Enlighter can cross thevazones. The Technocracy will not target cultivators who are simply guarding one of the darkva mainds, but they will absolutely focus down any cultivator attempting to traverse thevazones. It will be an extremely perilous journey, and one cannot rely solely on defensive measures.¡±

    He then looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, can you assume this responsibility?¡±

    Lu Yin did not refuse themander. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Commander Zhang expressed his gratitude, ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    There were some people whom themander could order about, and there were others he could not. As a mentor at Astral-9, Commander Zhang understood this concept. Also, Lu Yin was someone from Astral-10, and there had always been a bit ofpetition between the two academy branches despite them being from the same academy. He also had a favorable impression of Lu Yin, as Lu Yin had saved Liu Yin and the others.

    If possible, Commander Zhang did not want to send Lu Yin out for this journey, but there truly were no other candidates. The Tri-tform Lavazonecked enough darkva to maintain their defensive line, which meant that it would not be able to stop the Technocracy from spying on them. This would in turn expose the entire Endless Weave to the Technocracy¡¯s probes, which would be very disadvantageous for the defenders.

    ¡°This is a reality of war. The existence of war itself means that there are multiple parties that cannot coexist, and thus, sacrifices must be made, even if they aremanders such as myself. This position has already changed hands dozens of times, and this is actually quite normal. Thus, I wish for all of us to abandon any past grievances that may have existed between us in the past and unite as one. We must protect the Ironblood Lavazone and defend the Human Domain,¡± Commander Zhang loudly spoke as he stood up.

    Everyone stood up likewise. ¡°To die without regrets.¡±

    The phrase ¡°to die without regrets¡± was not merely some words being spoken; over countless years, this border had be the resting ce for innumerable corpses. Participating in the border defense was not something done to obtain honor, but rather to protect humanity.

    This was the most basic understanding that everyone held.

    Lu Yin was no different, and no matter how much danger he might face in this mission, he knew that he had toplete the transport mission that he had been given.

    Commander Zhang passed ten cosmic rings to Lu Yin, each one with a capacity that was no smaller than Lu Yin¡¯s own ring. In other words, each ring was able to store ten mountain ranges. Ten cosmic rings meant that he would be able to transport enough darkva to equal ten mountain ranges.

    ¡°This is just what we are responsible for transporting, as the other Lavazones will also send over some darkva as well. Altogether, there should be enough topletely replenish what the Tri-tform Lavazone has lost,¡± Commander Zhang exined.

    Lu Yin nodded, bade farewell to Aden and Wendy Yushan, and then vanished with a sh. He entered the maind formed from darkva and headed towards the Honor Lavazone, since the Tri-tform Lavazoney to the west of the Honor Lavazone.

    He only needed to deliver the ten cosmic rings to the Honor Lavazone, as the Honor Lavazone would send someone to deliver them the rest of the way to the Tri-tform Lavazone. There was no need for Lu Yin to travel all the way to the Tri-tform Lavazone by himself.

    There was a vast distance between the Ironblood Lavazone and the Honor Lavazone since the sixvazones had been established by dividing the border between Endless Weave and the Technocracy into equal portions. Thus, Lu Yin essentially had to cross a sixth of the width of the weave, which was about the length of a fment.

    If he had to travel by flying with his own power, it would take him a tremendous amount of time. Lu Yin was not able to traverse these long distances as quickly as an Enlighter could, but fortunately, there were wormholes along the defensive line, and he could use them to shave off arge portion of the journey.

    Lu Yin left the Ironblood Lavazone and flew towards the first wormhole.

    His movements were immediately detected by the Technocracy, as they were constantly on high alert for anyone trying to travel between thevazones. One of their chief goals was to put aplete halt to any form of cooperation between thevazones.

    As for the wormholes, the Technocracy frequently destroyed them, causing their locations to change just as frequently.

    His figure shed, and Lu Yin advanced at top speed while keeping close to the surface of the darkva. After traveling for several hours, he was finally drawing close to the wormhole.

    He would asionallye across Technocracy troops patrolling the darkva, and as soon as these troops discovered an enemy, they wouldunch an attack in response.

    All around Lu Yin was darkness, as he was exposed to the vastness of the universe.

    As Lu Yin drew closer to the wormhole, he looked up from time to time. Luckily, he had not encountered any attacks during his journey so far, and when he suddenly saw the wormhole appear in front of him, he leaped through.

    Only space-exploring powerhouses were able to traverse a wormhole with their physical body. Lu Yin could feel space tearing at his body, but it only left a slightly numb feeling with no other side effects.

    His body grew lighter, and the scenery quickly changed before his eyes. He had arrived at the wormhole in the Honor Lavazone.

    Suddenly, light beams swept across the wormhole from high above, each one of them with rune lines approaching those of a peak Hunter. Surprisingly, Lu Yin even noticed some covert rune lines at the level of an Enlighter hidden among them. These rune lines were not from a beam of light, but were instead following the falling light beams.

    If not for the rune lines, Lu Yin would not have noticed the Enlighter level attack at all.

    He easily dodged the light beams, and out of the corner of his eyes, he observed the Enlighter¡¯s rune lines approach him.

    The light beams sted into the darkva, grabbing the attention of the nearby defenders.

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡± The next moment, a strange, palm-sized mechanical android opened its mechanical wings as it rushed towards Lu Yin. There was no trace of its passage through space, and its speed was startlingly fast; it was moving entirely through the void.

    Lu Yin suddenly shivered before quickly donning his universal armor. He then raised the Bacsh Pearl towards the palm-sized android. This small powerhouse had not expected to be discovered by Lu Yin so quickly, and the tiny body was like a meteor as it heavily mmed into the Bacsh Pearl. After that, a simr force surged out from the Bacsh Pearl and sent the android flying away.

    The number of rune linesing from the tiny powerhouse dropped significantly, as it only possessed the strength tounch a single attack.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled, and he quickly reached over. At this moment, the tiny android¡¯s rune lines had dwindled to the point where they were only a match for an Explorer. But even then, they continued to plummet.

    However, just as Lu Yin was about to grab the android, it suddenly exploded into a cloud of metal dust.

    The soldiers rushed over at the first opportunity, and their leader was a middle-aged Hunter. They quickly surrounded Lu Yin.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin exined his identity, and the Hunter adjusted his expression. ¡°So you¡¯re a powerhouse from the Ironblood Lavazone, and you crossed thevazone to get here?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He then crouched down to observe the wreckage of the tiny android that was still flickering with sparks. He picked up a chip that had beenrgely burned and studied it with a strange expression.

    The Hunter didn¡¯t dare disturb Lu Yin any further, and he quickly led the troops away. His eyes showed his respect for Lu Yin.

    Crossing thevazones was something that the Technocracy considered taboo, and they were determined to kill anyone who dared to make such an attempt. This was part of their efforts to prevent the variousvazones from cooperating with each other.

    If the defenders wanted to contact each other, then they generally had to take the long route and travel through the interior region of Endless Weave. Most could not travel along the path of darkva.

    Lu Yin had dared to directly cross between Lavazones, which was an aplishment that deserved respect from those who were stationed at the border warfront all year round.

    Lu Yin tossed the burned chip aside as he could not understand it. He then nodded to the Hunter and quickly sped towards the Honor Lavazone.

    He was only a few hours of travel away from the Honor Lavazone, which was very close.

    At this time, the Honor Lavazone was in the midst of an intense battle.

    Although Mojiang Shan was unable to participate in this battle due to being burned by the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor, the Bloodburn Realm had other powerhouses. Besides Imprinters, they also had numerous terrifying experts with power levels of 200,000, 300,000, and even over 400,000.

    The space in the Honor Lavazone was copsing, and ckholes of various sizes began to devour one another as they swelled in size.

    Commander Da Gu and the supporting Enlighter, Mr. Tradeo, had painted the sky with blood. This battle had been very arduous so far, and another Enlighter from the Hall of Honor had joined the initial two in thevazone to help defend against the assault. The three of them had joined forces, but they were still teetering on the edge of copse.

    On the Honor Lavazone¡¯s maind, there were countless androids crazily firing light beam after light beam that swept across the surface as they tried topletely eradicate the darkva.

    Zi Rong was facing a powerful enemy, Mojiang Xiao, who was a direct descendant of the Mojiang bloodline. Although this Sixth Maind cultivator was just a Cruiser whose power level was only around 80,000, that was only urate under normal circumstances. Mojiang Xiao had received an imprint from Ancestor Mojiang, and he was adept in both the Mojiang bloodline and battle techniques. On top of that, he was also using a power vessel, which allowed him to wage a fierce battle with Zi Rong.

    Zi Rong was a Hunter with a power level of 150,000, and his Battalion sh was powerful enough to even threaten Enlighters. However, he was still being upied by Mojiang Xiao in this battle.

    Mojiang Xiao reminded Zi Rong of Lu Yin, who was simrly a genius with amazing talent.

    In another area of the Honor Lavazone, Zi Xue was fighting against a young girl from the Mojiang bloodline, who giggled as she left multiple injuries all over Zi Xue¡¯s body. Her hook-shaped weapon was coated with poison, and she stared coldly at Zi Xue. ¡°With the next attack, I will tear apart that beautiful face of yours. Let¡¯s see if any man will still like you after that!¡±

    Then, the hook-shaped weapon blossomed with a cold, dark-brown radiance. The girl dripped some of her own blood onto the weapon, and the dark-brown light became even more radiant.

 Chapter 838: Foundational Arrow

    <h4>Chapter 838: Foundational Arrow</h4>

    The hook-shaped weapon was not actually smeared with poison, but rather the girl¡¯s blood. The bloodline that she had merged with made her blood highly toxic while also turning her personality dark and treacherous. In particr, she had a proclivity towards marring all the beautiful and pretty girls she saw.

    Zi Xue had not been the girl¡¯s match to begin with, and the girl had not even used her imprint so far. Just the natural suppression that the Fifth Maind cultivators felt when fighting against those from the Sixth Maind was enough to crush Zi Xue. As the hook-shaped weapon streaked through the air, a bloody wound appeared on Zi Xue¡¯s neck, and her blood dripped down her snow-white neck.

    The attacking girl gave a sinister smile. She was in no rush to kill Zi Xue, and she seemed to be toying with Zi Xue as if she were an animal.

    Zi Xue¡¯s expression turned frosty, not because she was afraid, but rather because she had been searching for this girl¡¯s weakness all along. However, the natural suppression that Zi Xue was under was too troublesome, and it had left her unable to retaliate in this battle.

    At that moment, the attacking girl¡¯s expression changed, and she forcefully flung herself to the side a moment before a gale swept through where she had just been standing. This attack had torn through the void and shed the ground apart.

    The vicious girl¡¯s eyes narrowed as she looked into the distance. However, there was nothing to be seen. Suddenly, she moved and tried to dodge once again, but she was toote this time. A palm struck her from above and smacked her into the ground, killing her instantly.

    Zi Xue panted heavily, and her pale face turned to look at the man who had suddenly appeared; it was Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Xue, and he nced to the side as his domain shot through the sky to form a towering tree. It continued on sweeping through the void, shattering quite a few of the miniature androids.

    ¡°You¡¯re too careless,¡± Lu Yinmented softly.

    Zi Xue withdrew her eyes, and she quickly took out some powerful medicine to treat herself.

    Lu Yin looked up into the sky. He focused on the area where the tangled rune lines were diminishing bit by bit. The battle was drawing to a close.

    Sure enough, before long, Elder Daggs returned to the Lavazone in a miserable condition, as he was missing an arm. As a powerhouse with a power level of around 300,000, only an expert within the same realm could possibly injure him to this degree.

    Mr. Tradeo was a bit better off.

    A portion of the Honor Lavazone had copsed due to this attack.

    Everyone moved to tidy up the battlefield with practiced movements.

    Zi Rong arrived alongside Zi Xue and asked with concern, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Zi Xue shook her head and nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°He saved me.¡±

    Zi Rong looked at Lu Yin and offered his gratitude, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin tossed the ten cosmic rings that he had been transporting over to Zi Rong. ¡°Take these to the Tri-tform Lavazone to replenish their darkva reserves. Find someone to deliver them.¡±

    Lu Yin was able to rank among the top three people in the Ironblood Lavazone. Naturally, Zi Rong¡¯s status would not be too far below that in the Honor Lavazone, and he would definitely be able to meet with the region¡¯smander.

    Zi Rong took the cosmic rings. ¡°I¡¯ll send them on.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but he was not too surprised. With Zi Rong¡¯s strength, he was indeed capable of crossing acrossvazones.

    ¡°Be careful. I was ambushed by the Technocracy when I first arrived, and there was one with the strength of an Enlighter,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Zi Rong nodded and then looked from Zi Xue to Lu Yin. ¡°When are you heading back?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this fellow is burning his bridges after crossing them!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Very soon, but first, I want to talk to her.¡± He looked at Zi Xue.

    Zi Rong frowned. ¡°You already spoke with Zi Xue back in the Great Yu Empire, and you two¡¯s misunderstanding has already been cleared up. What more is there that you want to discuss?¡±

    Zi Xue looked at Zi Rong. ¡°He saved me.¡±

    Zi Rong wanted to say something more, but he nodded after seeing Zi Xue¡¯s resolve. ¡°I have to go. This mission is of the utmost priority.¡± He stared at Lu Yin for a moment before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this again: she¡¯s Zi Xue, not some Bai Xue,¡±

    And with that, he leaped away. Zi Rong was gone.

    Zi Xue looked at Lu Yin. ¡°What is it that you want to say?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Is there really nothing that you want to tell me? I¡¯m absolutely certain that you¡¯re Bai Xue. Your looks are identical, and your innate gift is even the same. I can¡¯t believe that this is all just a coincidence.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing that I can do if you don¡¯t believe it. I am Zi Xue,¡± she stated indifferently.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned deep. ¡°I met Zhang Dingtian in the Innerverse¡¯s Starfall Sea.¡±

    Zi Xue did not respond.

    ¡°I killed Liu Shaoge,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Zi Xue still had no response.

    Lu Yin sighed and turned to leave.

    Back on Earth, Bai Xue had had some sort of history with Liu Shaoge, but Zi Xue had not shown any response even when that name was mentioned. She was either truly not Bai Xue, or she had hidden her past too deeply. At this time, the Outerverse was in danger, yet she still wanted to remain hidden. For her to remain this resolute under such circumstances indicated that she had her own reasons, and Lu Yin had no intention of forcing her.

    However, he did leave one sentence before leaving. ¡°If you need help, just call me.¡±

    As she stared at Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure, Zi Xue clenched both fists, and in the depths of her eyes, helplessness, agony, and grief could all be seen at the same time.

    Lu Yin intended to head back to the Ironblood Lavazone, and so, he retraced his steps along the path that he had used to arrive in the Honor Lavazone. However, he soon discovered that the wormhole he had used had already been destroyed.

    The Human Domain kept the locations of all wormholes hidden, but as soon as a wormhole was discovered by the Technocracy, they would destroy it, and it would take some time to reestablish a new wormhole.

    Left with no other choice, Lu Yin could only fly the entire way back to the Ironblood Lavazone.

    Along the way, he encountered at least five attacks, all of which came from the miniature androids that could explode with the power of an Enlighter. They also appeared in many different forms. Once, Lu Yin even came across one with the appearance of a knife that tried to chop off his head, which left him shocked.

    However, as long as the androids¡¯ power level did not surpass 300,000, they were of no threat to him.

    After attacking Endless Weave¡¯s border for so many years, the Technocracy seldom sent out experts with power levels above 300,000.

    Although the Technocracy and Human Domain were enemies, their conflict had never reached the same degree as the intense enmity that existed between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain. The Technocracy¡¯s attempts to invade the Human Domain were mainly due to the fact that part of the Master Brain¡¯s authority was being controlled by the Sixth Maind. If not for the Sixth Maind, the Technocracy might not have necessarily be enemies with the Human Domain.

    This was also something that Lu Yin considered during his days of traveling along the border.

    After flying for several days, Lu Yin finally returned to the Ironblood Lavazone.

    It had taken ten days, and now it had been exactly thirty five months since the day the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated. The reluctant stalemate on the Outerverse border warfront frustrated the Sixth Maind, and an unknown Imprinter suddenly moved against the Greatwood Lavazone on this day. His star energy descended like meteors, and each one had the shape of a wolf¡¯s head. This was a bizarre battle technique.

    The troops stationed in the Greatwood Lavazone were overwhelmed by the assault, as they could not withstand even a single meteor. Each meteor was equivalent to an attack that had a power level surpassing 400,000. This was the power of an Imprinter.

    From below the Greatwood Lavazone, an unknown amount of star energy formed into arrows that shot up and collided with the falling meteors. The multiple intense impacts tore the sky apart and left a hole in space.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder had made a move, as he was the only one capable of stopping an Imprinter.

    The Greatwood Lavazone had an Envoy-level powerhouse like the Arrow Mountain Elder, and despite the Sixth Maind already being aware of this, they had still insisted on attacking the Greatwood Lavazone. Their goal was topletely destroy the border¡¯s defensive perimeter. It wasn¡¯t just one Imprinter that had moved, as Yan Cheng had also revealed himself at this time. His Triple Palm descended to apany the other Imprinter¡¯s meteor shower attack. Even the Arrow Mountain Elder was not able topletely defend against thisbined attack, and half of the Greatwood Lavazone was destroyed in a short amount of time.

    Lord Egret died.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face paled as she looked up into the skies. Once the Arrow Mountain Elder was unable to continue resisting the two Imprinters, they were all going to die.

    Zhu San felt depressed. If he had known how things would turn out, he would not havee to the border; this ce was too dangerous.

    Even in a one-on-one, the Arrow Mountain Elder might not have been a match for either of the two Imprinters. The boosted strength that gained from their imprintsbined with the innate suppression that the Fifth Maind cultivators felt against them was already enough to tip the scales. With it being a two against one battle, the Arrow Mountain Elder was shedding blood just to continue defending the border.

    Yuan Shi finally could no longer bear just watching and he moved, only to be obstructed by Ancestor Mojiang, who had been constantly keeping an eye on Yuan Shi. When the two top powerhouses shed, they vanished in an instant, as if their battle was urring in a separate space.

    ¡°This Lavazone can disappear now.¡± Yan Cheng smiled as the Bluedome Elder¡¯s imprint appeared behind him. Anyone who became an Imprinter had the right to have the Bluedome Elder as their own imprint, as that powerhouse was an Empyrean Imprinter. It was precisely the Bluedome Elder¡¯s imprint that allowed Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter to suppress the Arrow Mountain Elder.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder spat out a mouthful of blood, and a resolute expression appeared on his weathered face. He slowly took out a simple looking longbow and formed a seal with one hand. He was using his battle technique.

    The Endless Lavazoney to the east of the Greatwood Lavazone, and an intense battle had also erupted there at the same time. However, since the defenders there had the support of Aurora Enterprises¡¯ President Qi, they were able to defend their region as long as no Imprinter appeared.

    Master Bei was struggling against an Enlighter realm android when his body suddenly froze. An arrow was drawn out from within his body and flew to the west.

    Master Bei¡¯s expression changed abruptly, and he wanted to seize the arrow back. But just when he stretched out his hand, he thought of something. Instead, he gritted his teeth and gave up on the arrow.

    That arrow was one of the three arrows that Neo-Vestige Sect had passed down throughout ages, and Master Bei had always carried that arrow on his body. Only one person was able to summon that arrow from him, and that was the Arrow Mountain Elder.

    Master Bei truly did not want to let the Arrow Mountain Elder use that arrow, but there was no way the Enlighter could stop him from doing so.

    In the Greatwood Lavazone, Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter were reinforced with the supreme power of the Bluedome Elder¡¯s imprint, and they looked down upon the Greatwood Lavazone. The androids and Sixth Maind cultivators had all pulled back. They had every intention of uniting topletely destroy this ce.

    Within the Greatwood Lavazone, Qiong Xi''er and the others gritted their teeth as they stared up at the sky. No matter how smart Qiong Xi¡¯er was, she was powerless to affect the situation of this battle.

    ¡°Destroy itpletely!¡± the unknown Imprinter barked, causing space itself to shudder. A power level of 500,000pletely burst forth, which caused many cultivators to think that everything before their eyes was about to shatter, as this region of space could not withstand such a violent force.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Yan Cheng also unleashed his full strength, and the two Imprinters joined forces, plunging all of the defenders deep into despair.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder held his longbow and nced at the tens of thousands of Neo-Vestige Sect disciples who were all beneath him as well as the hundreds of thousands of cultivators protecting the border. His eyes were filled with determination; even if he died, he would not allow the border¡¯s defenses to copse.

    With a whoosh, an arrow flew out that was caught by the Arrow Mountain Elder, and he nocked it upon the longbow. There was no majestic might being released nor was there any sort of overwhelming feeling of suppression. There was only a very ordinary arrowhead, but it was precisely this exceptionally sharp arrowhead that made Yan Cheng and the other Imprinter feel an indescribably fearsome aura. They both felt as though some terrifying beast hadid its sights upon them.

    At the same time, in the void, Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s expression changed, as he had sensed a familiar aura. He tore through the void and stepped out to see the arrow in the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s hands. Could that be¡­?

    With a whoosh, the arrow disappeared. Phantom images of nine plumes appeared around the fletching of the arrow. Next, a vague phantom image appeared. It was very indistinct, but it could vaguely be recognized as having a humanoid shape. At this moment, the void solidified, and it felt as though time itself had halted for this instant. It was also possible that everyone¡¯s perception was being overwhelmed by that invisible strength, including even the Imprinters and Ancestor Mojiang.

    The arrow pierced straight through Yan Cheng¡¯s heart before continuing on and shooting through the void.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder made the seal with his hand once again, causing the arrow to return to his side.

    Only at this time was anyone able to react, and they all turned to look at outer space. Yan Cheng was clutching at his chest as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He was almost unable to remain standing.

    A single arrow had managed to severely injure an Imprinter.

    Yuan Shi was surprised, as that arrow waspletely extraordinary, and even his heart had palpated at that instant. Was that Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s foundation? It was rumored that the Neo-Vestige Sect had been established upon the foundation of three great arrows.

 Chapter 839: Transfer

    <h4>Chapter 839: Transfer</h4>

    Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s gaze turned fervent. That was it¡ªthat was the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s arrow just now! During the ancient era, when the two mainds had fought, the Arrow Progenitor had fallen within the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and they had left their inheritance behind in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. When the Arrow Progenitor had fought against the Fifth Maind in that ancient war, he had loosed many arrows, and the arrow just now had been one of them. As long as Ancestor Mojiang could get his hands on that arrow, he would be able to use it as a guide to search for the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance that was hidden within the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    Ancestor Mojiang acted immediately, and he reached out towards the Arrow Mountain Elder.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s response was even faster, as he had already sensed that Ancestor Mojiang was up to something. He naturally moved to stop the Imprinter.

    ¡°Destroy the Greatwood Lavazone!¡± Ancestor Mojiang ordered.

    Yan Cheng¡¯s face went pale, as he had been severely injured just now. If that arrow had deviated by even the slightest bit, it might have actually pierced through his heart and instantly killed him. In reality, it had nicked his heart, but it had not destroyed the crucial part that sustained him.

    His heart could recover, but if that one part was damaged, then Yan Cheng would be doomed.

    He had wanted to withdraw due to his injury, but Ancestor Mojiang was determined to destroy the Greatwood Lavazone. Thus, Yan Cheng could not retreat.

    When the Arrow Mountain Elder heard Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s words, his expression became determined, and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the arrow. He nocked it to his bow once more, but this time, he did not aim the arrow at Yan Cheng or the other Imprinter. Instead, he aimed it at Ancestor Mojiang.

    When Ancestor Mojiang sensed Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s killing intent, he lightly tapped out. This seemingly gentle movement caused a gale to ripple out that prated the void as it descended. To the Arrow Mountain Elder, this gale was like the might of the heavens, and he could not resist it.

    With no other choice, he released the arrow, and the void froze once again. This arrow broke through the gale and continued streaking towards Ancestor Mojiang, but Yuan Shi¡¯s figure suddenly appeared before the arrow as he tapped out. The arrow was redirected towards the Imprinter who had been standing near Yan Cheng. The powerhouse had not expected the attack to suddenly change course, and due to his carelessness, his head was directly pierced through by that arrow, shattering with a bang.

    A mighty Imprinter had died, just like that.

    No matter how powerful one was, unless they were indestructible, there was no possibility of surviving if their head was shattered. This Imprinter naturally had not attained such a state.

    Yan Cheng¡¯s eyes went wide as he watched the powerhouse right next to him die. This person had been in the same realm as him, and their status had been close as well. He instinctively reached out and grabbed the arrow before disappearing.

    The scene of the Imprinter dying had scared Yan Cheng. Even if Ancestor Mojiang ordered him to stay, he would refuse.

    As for that arrow, since it could kill an Imprinter, it definitely was not an ordinary arrow.

    Ancestor Mojiang also left the battlefield, and nobody tried to stop him.

    Everything had happened too quickly.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder could only stare nkly as the arrow was stolen before him. Although he wanted to form the seal and call the arrow back, it was impossible. The person who had snatched the arrow was Yan Cheng, and he was no ordinary powerhouse.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s body trembled, and he nearly copsed. Fortunately, a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple quickly rushed up to support the elder.

    They were finished. They had possessed three inherited arrows, but one had been lost just now. Even the Arrow Mountain Elder felt an unendurable agony from the loss.

    Yuan Shinded, and solemnly said, ¡°With your arrow techniques, you cannot possibly harm Ancestor Mojiang. If that arrow had truly been shot at Ancestor Mojiang, it would have served no purpose.¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder feebly answered, ¡°Junior knows this. Thank you, Yuan Shi, for your assistance.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. ¡°I will do my best to take back that arrow for you.¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°There is no need. It was my fortune to have gained it, and it was also my destiny to lose it. If Teacher Yuan Shi takes a risk because of that arrow, it would not be worth it.¡±

    Yuan Shi sighed. ¡°In this war, no one will be spared, let alone items.¡±

    After speaking, he vanished.

    After Yuan Shi left, the Arrow Mountain Elder spat out another mouthful of blood.

    At the same time, in the Endless Lavazone, Master Bei had a simrly pale face. He could no longer sense his arrow, and no matter how anxiously he tried to call it back, all of his efforts were useless.

    He had a bad premonition, and his heart fell. He spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly lost consciousness.

    In the Technocracy¡¯s territory, Yan Cheng returned to one of the giant mechanical fortresses and immediately began healing himself. His injuries were very severe, as that arrow had left behind more than just a puncture wound on his body. If not for the fact that the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s cultivation was not enough for him to release the arrow¡¯s full power, then just being grazed by it would have been enough to kill Yan Cheng.

    At this moment, Ancestor Mojiang appeared before the Imprinter.

    Yan Cheng finished applying the medicine around his heart and then hurriedly offered his respects.

    Ancestor Mojiang gently replied, ¡°There is no need to bow. This battle must have been tough on you.¡±

    Yan Cheng respectfully answered, ¡°If not for Ancestor, Junior would have been dead. Thank you, Ancestor.¡±

    Ancestor Mojiang grunted, and then his expression grew rather strange. ¡°That arrow, how is it?¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s eyes shed, and he pulled out the arrow to pass it over to Ancestor Mojiang.

    Ancestor Mojiang stroked the arrow. ¡°Indeed, it really is the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s arrow. Very good, very good, I like it.¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He had known that the arrow was not ordinary, but he had never thought it would actually be the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s arrow.

    His wound was agitated by the realization, and blood seeped out from his chest, though Yan Cheng did not mind. Instead, he spoke up. ¡°If not for Senior, this Junior would not have been able to bring this arrow away. Thank you, Senior, for your assistance.¡±

    Ancestor Mojiang frowned. ¡°This arrow is not bad.¡±

    Yan Cheng lowered his head and remained silent.

    Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s tone turned cold as he passed the arrow back to Yan Cheng. ¡°Keep it safe. With this, one can sense the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance within the Daosource Sect''s ruins. If I am able to obtain the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, this life of mine will not be in vain.¡±

    Yan Cheng retrieved the arrow, but then he suddenly coughed up blood and shakily stood up. A cold light shed through Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Rest well,¡± he said before leaving.

    After Ancestor Mojiang left, Yan Cheng heaved a sigh of relief. Ancestor Mojiang had been very clear in stating his desire for the arrow, but Yan Cheng had no intention of handing this arrow over to the other man. Yan Cheng intended to leave the arrow behind for his juniors in the Yan family. They would be able to bring it into the Daosource Sect''s ruins and use it to search for the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    However, the attitude that Ancestor Mojiang had shown before he had left made Yan Cheng feel a little apprehensive. These old fellows were notorious for their ruthless methods, particrly Ancestor Mojiang. In order to receive the Martial Progenitor¡¯s support, he had willingly led the entire Mojiang bloodline to invade the Fifth Maind. Ancestor Mojiang was someone who would resort to anything to achieve his goals. With their strength, the Yan family¡¯s juniors had no hope ofpeting against those of the Mojiang bloodline.

    As he thought about this, Yan Cheng immediately sent someone back to the Sixth Maind to inform Ancestor Autumnfrost, as Yan Cheng intended to offer the arrow to Ancestor Autumnfrost. With the offering of the arrow and Xiaojing¡¯s uing marriage to Autumnfrost Qing, it would be enough to securely tie the Yan family to this colossal creature that was the Autumnfrost family.

    It should be known that Ancestor Autumnfrost was actually slightly stronger than Ancestor Mojiang.

    ¡­

    Before long, the people who Yan Cheng had sent to return to the Sixth Maind fearfully stared ahead at a point in outer space. ¡°Ancestor Mo- Mojiang?¡±

    Ancestor Mojiang casually waved a hand, and the Hunter instantly turned to dust.

    ¡°Sure enough, he wanted to offer this arrow to the Autumnfrost family. Yan Cheng, I will let you know the oue of crossing me.¡± Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s voice was cold, and he vanished in an instant.

    One arrow was obviously not enough to satisfy Yan Cheng. Over the uing days, the Sixth Maind centered the majority of its focus on conquering the Greatwood Lavazone. Yan Cheng also moved out on multiple asions, as he wanted to force the Arrow Mountain Elder to use another arrow.

    Yan Cheng¡¯s thoughts were quite clear: if the Arrow Mountain Elder used another arrow, then he would immediately escape and would simply let Ancestor Mojiang handle the situation. Whether or not Ancestor Mojiang would be able to snatch another arrow was none of Yan Cheng¡¯s business.

    He hoped that Ancestor Mojiang would be able to obtain another arrow. That way, the Cosmic Imprinter would not keep staring at the one in Yan Cheng¡¯s possession.

    The moment the Sixth Maind moved out at full force, the situation became very terrifying for the defending Fifth Maind. The invading forces contained almost ten powerhouses with power levels over 200,000 as well as multiple experts with power levels exceeding 300,000 and even 400,000. The Greatwood Lavazone simply could not resist such an assault, and just a lone Envoy like the Arrow Mountain Elder could not stop all of the attackers.

    Fortunately, Millions City had arrived in the nick of time. The first appearance of the mobile fortress had eliminated quite a few of the Sixth Maind¡¯s experts with its energy cannons, and it had also destroyed arge number of the Technocracy¡¯s androids, which finally gave the Greatwood Lavazone some breathing room.

    Yan Cheng had not expected a mobile fortress like Millions City to appear at the border. This sort of ancient construct was not technically considered a firearm despite it being built from advanced technology.

    The Technocracy wanted to influence the control of Millions City, but to their surprise, they found that they could not do anything.

    Mobile fortresses like Millions City hailed from the ancient era, and it had its own safeguards in ce. The weapons consumed star essence to power their energy attacks, and the defensive barrier surrounding Millions City had been upgraded to the point of being able to withstand attacks from Envoys. Additionally, it was very difficult for outside technology to influence the fortress.

    Half a month passed, and during this time, there were very few attacks on the Ironblood Lavazone. Lu Yin¡¯s military contributions had risen to 50,000 due to him sessfully crossingvazones to transport the darkva as well as killing multiple enemies. He had gathered quite an outstanding service record, but unfortunately, after he had killed an Enlighter when first arriving at the border warfront, not a single other Enlighter from the Sixth Maind had tried to fight him. Thus, he had only been able to kill cultivators and androids at the Hunter realm.

    On one particr day, Commander Zhang sought out Lu Yin. ¡°The Greatwood Lavazone is facing a bitter fight, and they need more support. Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m sorry, but only you can go.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was angered by this. ¡°Seventh Bro, why? Why are they asking you to do everything? The Sixth Maind people who¡¯ve invaded the Greatwood Lavazone are basically all lunatics! You¡¯ll just be sending yourself to your death by going there.¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to go either, and he hesitated.

    Although his universal armor could resist attacks with power levels of around 300,000 or so, quite a few of the battles in the Greatwood Lavazone had involved Imprinters. Reportedly, even Ancestor Mojiang and Yuan Shi had fought several times there, and going there was essentially the same as looking to die. On such a battlefield, there would be no decisive role for him to y like in Ironblood Weave, and he would be destined to be a spectator. It was more important for him to preserve his own life.

    Commander Zhang sighed. ¡°Millions City¡¯s support has helped reduce the severity of the Greatwood Lavazone¡¯s crisis, but have you noticed how the strength of the forces attacking the Ironblood Lavazone have weakened? The enemy forces were likely transferred over to the Greatwood Lavazone, and although we don¡¯t know why the Sixth Maind is so determined to conquer the Greatwood Lavazone, we cannot allow that region to be breached. As this region¡¯smander, I cannot go, and Yuehua Mavis is the only one here who can stall an Imprinter. Thus, you are the only option.¡±

    ¡°Let me consider this,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Commander Zhang nodded. ¡°In my eyes, you are still a student, and so, I will not force you. For a student like yourself, reaching this level of power is not easy. If you truly aren¡¯t willing to go, then guard this Ironblood Lavazone well for me, and I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was moved. He had nearly forgotten that the person before him was a mentor from the Astral Combat Academy.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t be soft-hearted! Don¡¯t go looking to die!¡± the monkey shouted.

    In a downcast tone, Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±

    The monkey wailed in agony.

    Commander Zhang¡¯s eyes containedplex emotions. ¡°Nobody can escape this war, and since you¡¯vee to this battlefield, you must make sure that you are prepared to make sacrifices.¡±

    Lu Yin did not n to be a sacrifice. If he truly could not save his own life, then he would use his ultimate move: summoning his Master.

    Truthfully, Lu Yin was extremely curious about Mister Mu¡¯s level of strength. With just a wave of his hand, he had casually obliterated ckless God¡¯s strand of spiritual force. Although that did not mean that Mister Mu could defeat ckless God¡¯s true body, it did not seem to be too unreasonable. Also, Lu Yin remembered ckless God¡¯s shock upon seeing Mister Mu.

    The two clearly knew each other, and from what Lu Yin had seen, Mister Mu¡¯s true strength was possibly greater than even Yuan Shi¡¯s.

    Mister Mu was Lu Yin¡¯s true hidden trump card.

 Chapter 840: Escape Trio Team

    <h4>Chapter 840: Escape Trio Team</h4>

    Lu Yin was not the only one who was being transferred over to the Greatwood Lavazone. Nearly thirty Hunters and a hundred Explorers were also being transferred along with him.

    Fortunately, Aden, and Wendy Yushan were not included in the transferred troops. Otherwise, Lu Yin would be worried about them.

    In the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, due to the existence of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor, Yen Phoenix, the Sixth Maind and Technocracy were not too keen on invading this particr Lavazone. The Dark Phoenix Lavazoney rtively close to the Greatwood Lavazone, so quite a few experts from the Dark Phoenix family were also being transferred to Greatwood Lavazone, including Sall Phoenix and Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong was caught off guard when he learned that he was being transferred to the Greatwood Lavazone, and he felt uneasy about this move.

    Why him? He was just some puny Explorer, and his strength definitely would not cause even the slightest wave in the Greatwood Lavazone. So just why was he being transferred to the most dangerous battlefield? Who had done this? There had to be something wrong with their brain!

    Wei Rong seldom lost control of himself, but when he saw the transfer order, he nearly cursed. He was a schr, not a battle freak! This sort of ce was more suitable for someone like Lu Yin, so why had themanders gotten Wei Rong involved?

    He had a feeling that he was being set up.

    Speaking of which, it seemed like that woman Qiong Xi''er was also in the Greatwood Lavazone.

    In Ironblood Weave, at the Ironblood Fort that held the vanguard position, Wang Wen was eating some snacks in a very leisurely manner.

    Ever since the Astral Beast Domain had been invaded by the Sixth Maind, there had been no fighting at this border. Additionally, it had been a long time since he had been able to rx like this.

    Elder Lohar emerged from the void. ¡°Elder Daggs has transferred those two to the Greatwood Lavazone. Lu Yin will be safe since he can take care of himself. However, why did you suggest to transfer Wei Rong over to the Greatwood Lavazone?¡±

    Wang Wen shook his bag of snacks, creating a crackling sound. ¡°Wei Rong is very smart, and he might actually be able to help.¡±

    Elder Lohar clearly didn¡¯t believe the youth. ¡°On that sort of battlefield, intelligence will not be enough to protect him. Even if Lu Yin relies on his foreign objects, it will still be a coin flip whether or not he can actually survive. In fact, he may not survive even with the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem.¡±

    ¡°Who cares? Toss all of them over there! It¡¯d be best if they can help out, and it¡¯ll merely be unfortunate if they can¡¯t.¡± Wang Wenughed.

    Elder Lohar shook his head, as he was not able to see through Wang Wen¡¯s thoughts. Still, the old man did not ask any further as he trusted the youth. Even if Wang Wen merely wanted to mess with Wei Rong, this was still fine. One person had protected the border of the Human Domain for many years and made numerous contributions to humanity in the process while the other had plotted against fellow humans from the same domain with the ambition of achieving instant sess. Elder Lohar could determine which of the two was more important.

    As for Lu Yin, even if Wang Wen had not suggested for the young Explorer to be transferred to the Greatwood Lavazone, Elder Lohar still would have done so. This was precisely because of the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, as it was not simply a random token.

    ¡°You must make your own preparations as well,¡± Elder Lohar suddenly said.

    Wang Wen was startled, and then his expression became serene. ¡°Why? Am even I going to Endless Weave?¡±

    Elder Lohar replied, ¡°It¡¯s possible. The warfront is having a tough time with its defense, and a second round of reinforcements are being prepared.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t go. If I go, then what¡¯ll happen here? Don¡¯t forget¡ªthe Sixth Maind also invaded the Astral Beast Domain. Once the Astral Beast Domain cannot resist anymore, the Sixth Maind may go through the Primal Region and attack us here,¡± Wang Wen warned.

    Elder Lohar felt a headache. He nodded to the youth, but he did not say anything. Instead, he simply left.

    Wang Wen frowned, as the situation was growing more and moreplicated. The Innerverse, Outerverse, and the Astral Beast Domain had all been invaded, and the Sixth Maind was actually waging war on three simultaneous battlefields. Even scarier was the prospect that this might not actually be their full strength. The Fifth Maind had to find a breakthrough and change this situation. Otherwise they would be destined to be annihted.

    In order to reinforce the Greatwood Lavazone, the various troops did not pass through the darkva maind. Instead, they traveled towards the interior of Endless Weave and then used various spacecraft to travel towards the Greatwood Lavazone. This was faster, and it also had the advantage of avoiding any attacks from the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin had been stationed in the Ironblood Lavazone, which was rather far from the Greatwood Lavazone. Wei Rong, on the other hand, was closer as he had been initially stationed right next to the Greatwood Lavazone. Thus, it only took him two days to arrive in the Greatwood Lavazone.

    Wei Rong looked at the rivers of blood floating through space, and he also took in the sight of corpses crashing into the ground like meteors. Attacks frequently streaked across the battlefield, and any random one of them was powerful enough to finish him. Wei Rong trembled with fear.

    He was no coward; if he was, he would have never plotted against the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Still, in the end, he had used his brain to fight. Naturally, during the invasion of Armament Weave, he had never moved to the frontline of the battle either. Rushing out onto the battlefield of the border warfront was enough to make him panic.

    Although he had life-preserving methods, they would not stand up to such frequent attacks.

    However, regardless of whether or not he was willing to participate in the battle, he had to obey military orders.

    As Wei Rong stepped into the Greatwood Lavazone, a few androids moved to wee him, only to be crushed by the nearby guards.

    When Wei Rong had been in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, there had always been people around him protecting him, as the Dark Phoenix family was not willing to allow Wei Rong to die on this battlefield. However, in the Greatwood Lavazone, he had no one to rely on aside from himself.

    Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San were in a simrly miserable state. They were not weak Limiteers, but all of the attacks on this battlefield vastly surpassed their realm. In fact, they could already be considered truly lucky to have survived for so long.

    Over thest few days, Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San had hid everywhere, and they had also killed the asional enemy who was not a space-exploring powerhouse. However, their actions werepletely insignificant in the greater context of the battlefield.

    Coincidentally, they bumped into Wei Rong at this time. Smart people had simr thought patterns, and all of them had been searching for hiding spots.

    Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er exchanged nces. Neither knew what to say, and they both felt a little embarrassed by their actions.

    ¡°Hey, I seem to recall that you¡¯re an Explorer. Protect us!¡± Zhu San shouted.

    Wei Rong was left speechless, as he was powerless to even defend himself in this ce.

    In the heavens, the Enlighter, Akira, spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sted beneath the ground by a tremendous strength. He had been drafted a month ago, as he had originally been stationed to protect Zenyu Star.

    In the single month since he had arrived on the battlefield, Akira had encountered many crises, but the crisis this time was indeed more difficult to hold out.

    At least five Enlighters had died on this battlefield, including Lord Egret, who was a powerhouse from Aegis.

    Akira emerged from underground with great difficulty, and he turned around to see Wei Rong and the others hiding. He spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Hide further away.¡±

    He then dashed upwards into outer space once again.

    Zhu San carefully peeked out, released a strange cry, and then hurriedly sneaked back.

    Unfortunately, he was a little too slow. Wei Rong grabbed Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San as he rushed further away. As they fled, their original location was sted into smithereens by an overwhelming power. The scope of the attack was notrge, but it pierced through the entire darkva maind.

    If they had not left in time, they would have died just then.

    Zhu San¡¯s face turned deathly pale. ¡°I want to go home.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er panted heavily, and she nced over at Wei Rong. ¡°I owe you my life.¡±

    ¡°Then return it to me now. Goodbye!¡± Wei Rong tossed both Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San away and turned to flee. He had exchanged nces with a Sixth Maind cultivator, and that singr moment had been enough to make him tremble. That enemy was an opponent he could not contest, and they had already noticed him.

    Qiong Xi''er was stumped, and she had not even responded to Wei Rong¡¯s words when white bones protruded from the ground to the east before shooting at them. As the bones extended out, they thrust through numerous cultivators and androids, indiscriminately massacring everyone regardless of whether they were friend or foe.

    Zhu San opened his mouth as wide as he could. ¡°RUN!¡±

    Wei Rong felt a chill run down his spine, as this person was definitely a terrifying powerhouse.

    The bones rapidly extended across the ground, and in just a blink of an eye, they were about to reach Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San. To the east, there was a young man with a cold glint in his eyes. He was known as Butcher, and he was a top expert of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s younger generation. Compared to the heirs of powerful families, Butcher was second only to the Realmling, Di Fa.

    Countless arrows rained down from the sky and shot towards Butcher.

    Butcher did not make any attempt to evade the arrows, instead allowing them to strike him as they did. Some were unable to pierce through his physical body, some others were stopped by the bones, and only one actually stabbed into his body.

    Quite a few disciples from Neo-Vestige Sect had shot out a coordinated volley, and one of them was even a Hunter.

    The arrow that had pierced Butcher¡¯s body was from that Hunter expert.

    The bones stopped extending, and fresh blood sprayed from Butcher¡¯s body, leaving ripples on the surface of the darkva.

    Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San heaved heavy sighs of relief, as they had managed to keep their lives.

    Further away, Wei Rong felt that something was strange, as just that person¡¯s gaze had been enough to make him panic. Even though a Hunter realm expert had taken action, this person should not have died that easily! Or were the disciples of Neo-Vestige Sect truly that powerful?

    There were five gaping holes on Butcher¡¯s body that each had blood dripping from them, which lookedpletely horrifying.

    The group of Neo-Vestige Sect disciples did not focus on Butcher any further. Instead, they began shooting their arrows in other directions.

    Butcher twitched a finger, and a pill appeared in one of his hands, which he calmly tossed into his mouth.

    Nobody else besides Wei Rong, who was still watching him, noticed this movement, as everyone had believed that Butcher was dead.

    He nkly stared on as the bloody holes in Butcher¡¯s body sealed themselves. The terrifying recovery speed left Wei Rong in disbelief, and he immediately fled without turning around.

    Zhu San ridiculed the fleeing Explorer. ¡°That fellow¡¯s too much of a coward. What¡¯s he afraid of now that that freak¡¯s already dead?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er suddenly turned back to take a look at Butcher. Coincidentally, at that moment, Butcher looked up, exchanging nces with Qiong Xi''er with his cold, bloodthirsty eyes. He revealed a ruthless smile and then raised a hand to lick the blood running down his arm.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s scalp turned numb. ¡°Run.¡±

    Zhu San turned around and almost fainted at what he saw.

    Butcher flourished an arm as bony spikes extended out from it towards the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples in the distance who had previously injured him. A single white spike pierced through a dozen disciples, killing them in midair.

    It was obvious that these spikes were bony growthsing from his own skeleton. However, they seemed to be endless as they were able to extend to such a distance.

    ¡°Just die!¡± shouted the Hunter realm disciple from the Neo-Vestige Sect. He then pulled out an arrow that glinted with a dark-red radiance. It was obviously a special arrow that possessed arrow aura, and the archer quickly shot it at Butcher.

    Butcher leaped up, allowing the arrow to stab through his abdomen. He then took out another pill and flicked it into his mouth. The bones in his palms extended outwards to form a bony dagger that he then shed out with. Behind him, the imprint of Ancestor Mojiang appeared, and his speed suddenly doubled. He brandished the bone dagger and sliced the Hunter realm disciple¡¯s longbow apart. A giant wound also appeared on the Hunter¡¯s body, as that sh had nearly bisected him.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect disciple was overwhelmed, as he had only recently broken through to the Hunter realm. However, he was still no ordinary cultivator. He was from the Neo-Vestige Sect, and he had just been badly injured by a Cruiser. His figure shed as he dodged aside, and star energy gathered in his palm, forming an that he then shot out.

    Butcher still did not bother dodging, as the injury that he had received from the special arrow earlier had already fully healed.

    The star energy arrow pierced Butcher¡¯s leg, but he simply smiled mercilessly as his dagger sliced out again. The Hunter realm disciple from the Neo-Vestige Sect tried to dodge the de, but he had never considered that the bone dagger could extend. That one knife decapitated the Hunter.

    Multiple Neo-Vestige Sect disciples were overwhelmed, and they quickly formed arrows from their star energy and shot it all towards Butcher.

    Butcherughed like a maniac, allowing all of the arrows to strike him. He then sliced out with his knife in retaliation, killing dozens of the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples with one blow. He looked like an insane demon, which made Qiong Xi''er and the others who were watching from a distance to twitch ufortably; this person was simply a monster.

    A Hunter was already considered a powerhouse on the battlefield. The entire battlefield was too vast, and the Hunters of both sides were already spread too thin. Thus, there was no one in the nearby area who was Butcher¡¯s match.

 Chapter 841: Lu Yin Vs. Butcher

    <h4>Chapter 841: Lu Yin Vs. Butcher</h4>

    Butcher ughtered nearly a hundred Neo-Vestige Sect disciples, leaving a bloody sea of corpses all around him. However, his bloodlust still was not sated, and he continued to chase after Qiong Xi''er and the others who had fled.

    Zhu San wailed, ¡°Why¡¯s this lunatic chasing us?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s heart immediately sank. Butcher¡¯s bones were streaking towards them, even tearing through the void as they did so. She dodged one deadly attack after another, and when she looked back, she saw Butcher gradually getting closer.

    Further ahead of them, Wei Rong stepped onto the ubiquitous darkva in the Greatwood Lavazone. The reinforcements from the Outerverse came from this direction, so his only option was to escape in this direction and hope that he would run into someone who could stop this lunatic.

    Butcher licked his lips and leaped up. He then raised a hand and pointed it at Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San. His palm split open, and white bones fell down like raindrops that enveloped the two people.

    Zhu San was desperate, as they were doomed.

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s pupils shrank, and she tightly clenched her fists.

    Even further ahead, Wei Rong¡¯s heart was racing wildly.

    Suddenly, a gale streaked past the two fleeing youths. The surrounding star energy suddenly took the form of a w that blocked the attack from striking Qiong Xi¡¯er and Zhu San in midair before counterattacking at the sky. The w shattered all of the bones and continued to sh at Butcher.

    Butcher¡¯s brows rose, and his white bones extended back out to form a bone dagger that he then used to sh out. The knife shattered the w, but Butcher was also forced back by the w¡¯s enormous power.

    He was surprised, as an expert had appeared.

    With a whoosh, another person suddenly appeared in front of Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San. ¡°What a coincidence.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er stared at the figure¡¯s profile and was shocked at who she saw. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Zhu San was moved. ¡°Brother Lu, is that you? That¡¯s great! You¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Further ahead, Wei Rong simrly heaved a sigh of relief that he had indeed fled in the correct direction. If he had escaped in any other direction, then even if Lu Yin had arrived on the battlefield, he might not have been in time to save them.

    Lu Yin did not bother with Qiong Xi''er¡¯s trio, and his attention was focused solely on Butcher. ¡°So it¡¯s you.¡±

    Butcher squinted and took out a pill that he tossed into his mouth, causing the injuries on his body to quickly heal. ¡°You know me?¡±

    ¡°Butcher: an expert second only to Di Fa in the Bloodburn Realm,¡± Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Butcher was puzzled. ¡°How do you know me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve crossed paths before, though you may not remember,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Butcher stared at Lu Yin and then smiled. ¡°No matter who you are, you can die.¡±

    He then pressed a hand against the ground, causing bone spikes to erupt out and stab at Lu Yin, who stomped fiercely on the ground in return. The strength that he had exerted caused visible waves to sweep across the ground that shattered all the bone spikes. Lu Yin¡¯s body suddenly vanished before reappearing at Butcher¡¯s side with a hand raised that had been formed into a w. This time, his Skybeast w waspletely different from his first attack, and the howl of an ancient beast roared out as it transcended through time.

    Butcher was surprised, and all of the bones in his body extended out, making him look like a white hedgehog, as he punched out. The Skybeast w mmed heavily against Butcher¡¯s body and forced him underground. However, the Skybeast w also dissipated after colliding with the bones.

    Lu Yin pressed a hand against the ground. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    With a tremendous boom, the darkva of the maind shattered, and an overpowering force seeped into the ground that crushed everything beneath the surface. Butcher had been about to leap out, but his internal organs were shaken by this sudden attack, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt like something was amiss, as this person was terrifyingly powerful. But all he could do was hurriedly pull out another pill, toss it into his mouth, and leap out.

    As Butcher leaped out of the ground, Lu Yin suddenly appeared before the man¡¯s eyes and tapped out with a finger that caused the void to congeal. This was Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger.

    The Dream Finger tapped at Butcher¡¯s forehead. Compared to Autumnfrost Qing, Butcher¡¯s recovery rate was far more potent. After all, he had an innate gift of absorption, which greatly increased the efficacy of any medication he consumed, making them thousands of times more potent. However, as a tradeoff, his offensive and defensive abilities were much lower than Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s.

    In the past, Fatty Bro had told Lu Yin that Butcher was an expert second only to Di Fa and that he was able to stand side by side with Autumnfrost Qing. However, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, this person was inferior even to Autumnfrost Qing, though only by a little.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s finger connected with Butcher¡¯s forehead, the imprint behind Butcher grew even clearer, which caused the man to awaken from his daze. His bones formed arge hand that pushed him to the side just in the nick of time. As a result, Lu Yin¡¯s finger did not strike the young man¡¯s forehead and instead brushed past, which blew apart Butcher¡¯s ear and mutted half of his face.

    From a distance, Qiong Xi''er and the others stared on, dumbfounded. They had already known that Lu Yin was very powerful and that he had killed Enlighters. However, they had thought that hisbat prowess was a result of relying on foreign objects. But at this moment, Lu Yin had proven himself capable of fighting against this madman head on and even crushing the man. This was rather unbelievable, and it caused them to recall what had happened at the Qiong Forest Banquet and the scene of Lu Yin defeating Taylor Phoenix in a single move.

    Butcher continuously stepped back, constantly devouring pills to recover from his injuries. He stared at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    Still, he could not remain unfazed, as the person fighting against him was definitely not a Hunter or even a Cruiser. Although Butcher could tell that this person¡¯s star energy had only been through a few cultivation cycles, this person was already able to crush him. This should be impossible, as in the entire Bloodburn Realm, only Di Fa had reached such a stage. At their level, only Di Fa was capable ofpletely overpowering Butcher, which indicated that this person could actually rival the Realmling.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was apathetic. ¡°You¡¯re almost at Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s level.¡±

    He then raised his right hand as his star energy converged in preparation to unleash the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    A burning sun appeared in his palm and harshly careened towards Butcher.

    Butcher¡¯s eye twitched, as this attack was powerful enough that his scalp went numb. Every bone in his body suddenly exposed itself before merging to form a white casing that enveloped his entire body.

    The sun mmed heavily into Butcher¡¯s bone shell, and the void fluctuated before it cracked open. Butcher¡¯s white bone shell began to shatter, and a golden radiance shone out in all directions. Next, his body was flung underground as the earth trembled. An intense gust whooshed up from the newly created fissure that was actually a berserk rush of star energy that shocked everyone nearby.

    Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San were almost sent flying by that burst of star energy.

    In the distance, many people warily looked at the exchange; they could sense attacks beingunched with a strength that rivaled that of a peak Hunter. Another expert had arrived on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin floated up high and looked at the ground. Butcher¡¯s rune lines had be quite feeble by now. This was quite expected, as even Autumnfrost Qing had been severely injured by this particr attack of his, only escaping after using his power vessel. Butcher had not been able to withstand the attack either.

    Meanwhile, underground, Butcher was iparably miserable, and he felt as though his body had been shattered into several pieces with arge portion of his skin being directly torn off. His blood stained the earth red, and his bones had been scattered in all directions. If it had been someone else, then they would have already died from these grievous injuries. However, he was Butcher; he had integrated with the dismemberment bloodline, and he also had the innate gift of absorption. His mouth opened and closed as he swallowed all of the pills in his possession.

    The next moment, the shattered bits of his body suddenly merged back together, and his injuries recovered at a visible rate. Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s imprint also hazily appeared behind him, and it gradually grew clearer as more time passed.

    High above, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Butcher¡¯s rune lines were actually restoring themselves? Lu Yin aimed a single palm downwards and exerted a great deal of his strength. The palm turned into a w, and another Skybeast w violently mmed into the ground.

    Butcher grinned and took out a wooden carving that looked like a spider; this was a power vessel.

    The wooden spider jumped up, opened its mouth, and actually began absorbing the Skybeast w before finally vanishing. The next instant, the spider reappeared above Lu Yin with a swollen abdomen, looking like it was about to explode. The might of this explosion would not be inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s own Skybeast w.

    Lu Yin had not thought that Butcher would have such a power vessel, but he merely casually waved a hand and caused the wooden spider to vanish. When it reappeared, it fell next to Butcher.

    Butcher was stumped; what was going on? Had that been a secret technique just now?

    There was an explosion, and the ground shattered once again as the darkva maind was pierced through. Butcher spat out a mouthful of blood, and he was left in an even more miserable state than before. This time, even his head had been broken.

    Ever since he had sessfully received an imprint from Ancestor Mojiang and be famous in the Bloodburn Realm, Butcher had never been forced to such a pathetic state before. Although he enjoyed creating massacres and acted rather insane in battle, he was not a fool. He made sure to keep his distance from existences like Di Fa, and he would not approach the direct descendants of Imprinter families like Autumnfrost Qing or Mojiang Xiao. On this day, he considered himself to be unlucky.

    Nobody could have imagined that the Fifth Maind could produce such a monster. This person was actually able to crush Butcher while being nothing more than a mere Explorer. His final sneak attack had not been sessful, and he had even received a counterattack. That could only be a secret technique, which meant that this Explorer even had a secret technique. He had to be one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s top geniuses.

    Butcher weakly opened his eyes, and his vision was covered by ayer of blood as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s indifferent face. Butcher grinned again and then retrieved a sourcebox from his cosmic ring.

    When the sourcebox appeared, the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger suddenly covered a region that extended for thousands of kilometers. However, it somehow did not harm Butcher.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger¡¯s rune lines were coincidentally absent in Butcher¡¯s position, which was why he was able to carry the sourcebox and escape.

    ¡°I admit defeat, so tell me. What¡¯s your name?¡± Butcher looked at Lu Yin with a feeble expression. He was feeling exceptionally down at this moment.

    Autumnfrost Qing, Butcher, and other such pinnacle geniuses would all have a variety of life-preserving methods avable to them, and Lu Yin had long since anticipated such a thing. However, whenpared to Autumnfrost Qing, this Butcher was horrendously unlucky.

    Lu Yin smiled viciously, stepped into the region of the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger, and began to leisurely approach Butcher.

    The injured man was stunned. ¡°You- how are you...?¡±

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.¡±

    Butcher spat out a mouthful of blood, as he really was infuriated this time. This tough opponent was actually gifted in bothbat and Lockbreaking. Even that would be alright, but this freak was actually a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker as well.

    Butcher¡¯s sourcebox had just reached the Perceptive Intermediate level, though it could hold back Hunters for a period of time. Thus, it was intended to give him a window of opportunity to escape into outer space and retreat from a battlefield.

    Who could have expected this fellow to actually be a Lockbreaker capable of unlocking this sourcebox? The sourcebox¡¯s formless danger zone was effectively useless against this person since he was clearly able to easily traverse the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone. Actually, this was something that the average Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker shouldn¡¯t be able to do!

    Lu Yin arrived in front of Butcher and looked him up and down.

    ¡°Release me! You guys can¡¯t possibly stop our invasion, but as long as you let me go, I can guarantee your life. I¡¯ll even rmend you to the Mojiang family, and in the future-¡± But before Butcher could finish speaking, he was stomped to death by Lu Yin.

    Although Butcher had been gifted with a powerful innate gift and was rather famous, he was not able to make decisions for the Mojiang bloodline on his own. Moreover, even if the Outerverse was ultimately defeated, that did not mean that the Sixth Maind would be able to wantonly massacre the residents of the Outerverse without restraint.

    Humans were humans because they had a baseline. The Sixth Maind would, at worst, plunder the Outerverse¡¯s resources and ughter many of the people living there. However, they would not massacre too many.

    Moreover, Lu Yin still had Mister Mu, so there should be no problem with him surviving through this battlefield. At worst, he would escape into the Astral Wilderness. Regardless, a Cruiser was not someone who could determine Lu Yin¡¯s fate.

    Butcher had killed so many people, and he needed to pay for his debt.

    Unfortunately, the dead man¡¯s cosmic ring did not contain much money. Butcher had also used up all of his live-saving items, with the sole exception of the sourcebox.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin stored the sourcebox away.

    Lu Yin and Butcher¡¯s battle had notsted long, but it had stupefied countless spectators.

    Butcher had practically been the strongest powerhouse in this area. He had even killed a Hunter from Neo-Vestige Sect, but this formidable Sixth Maind cultivator had still died to Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong stared at Lu Yin in shock. He suddenly felt as though he had neglected a huge problem. In this part of the universe, powerhouses reigned supreme. Sometimes, a single, absolute powerhouse was enough to change the entire situation.

 Chapter 842: Six Pips: Possession

    <h4>Chapter 842: Six Pips: Possession</h4>

    Wei Rong realized that he had been forced to expend all of his efforts and resources when using his intelligence and strategies to duel with Lu Yin. However, if Lu Yin stepped into the ranks of the strongest in the Outerverse, then that one step would cause everything Wei Rong had to vanish like smoke.

    And the probability of Lu Yin taking that step and joining the ranks of the strongest was very high.

    Perhaps Wei Rong had guessed wrong from the start. Perhaps it was not that the Hall of Honor wanted to support Lu Yin, but rather that they had to support him, as his future was too unpredictable.

    After witnessing Lu Yin¡¯s battle, Wei Rong had suddenlye up with quite a few questions, and a few of his schemes had been instantly destroyed.

    Besides Lu Yin, the other reinforcements from the variousvazones had all arrived as well. Suddenly, the Greatwood Lavazone had gained a dozen additional Hunters, which temporarily stabilized the battlefield.

    The battle had started quickly, and it ended just as quickly. The Sixth Maind and the Technocracy¡¯s invading forces temporarily retreated.

    Countless heaved heavy sighs of relief.

    Lu Yin had spent a brief amount of time at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront as well as some time defending Ironblood Weave. Thus, he was not unfamiliar with border wars. However, the bitter state of the Greatwood Lavazone still left him slightly surprised.

    Across the region, at least twenty Hunters had died, which was a heavy toll. Not even the entire Great Yu Empire had that many Hunters.

    The number of Explorers¡¯ corpses floating through space was even higher.

    At this time, themander of the Greatwood Lavazone was the Arrow Mountain Elder since the previousmander, Commander Cao, had died along with Lord Egret who hade to reinforce the region. Akira had managed to survive through the assault, and he was now the only Enlighter in the Greatwood Lavazone whose power level was over 200,000. However, his injuries were also quite severe.

    Lu Yin met with the Arrow Mountain Elder after the battle.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder had undergone great changes. Back in the Neo-Vestige Sect, he had looked like nothing more than a leisurely old man, but at this moment, there was a heavy stench of blood clinging to his body, and his expression radiated both dignity and suppression.

    Lu Yin had believed that the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s power level would be around 400,000 at best, but after arriving at the border warfront, Lu Yin had discovered that the elder was actually an Envoy and that he had already killed an Imprinter with an arrow.

    ¡°We meet again so soon, little one,¡± the Arrow Mountain Elder said gently as he looked at Lu Yin appreciatively.

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°Is Senior alright?¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder sighed. ¡°A little injured, but it¡¯s nothing much. How is Little Peach?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in Frostwave Weave, living a good life,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder nodded, and his expression becameplicated. ¡°The desperate situation of this battlefield has far surpassed my predictions. It doesn¡¯t seem too optimistic.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What has Senior discovered?¡±

    The elder answered in a low voice, saying, ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Realm has an expert with a power level that surpasses even Ancestor Mojiang.¡±

    ¡°How does Senior know this?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder looked towards the sky. ¡°The imprints of their strongest cultivators are all the same, and even Ancestor Mojiang revealed this imprint when he fought with Yuan Shi before. The imprint is of an old man, and he should be the strongest person among the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces. In order to sway our loyalties, quite a few cultivators from the Sixth Maind have revealed that old man¡¯s name: the Bluedome Elder.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as he had already known of the Bluedome Elder, as well as the fact that the man was an Empyrean Imprinter.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder sighed after a while, and he looked rather drained. ¡°The three arrows that have been passed down since ancient times in my Neo-Vestige Sect may not necessarily be able to be protected this time around. I have already lost one.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Could that have been what Senior used to kill the Imprinter?¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder nodded. ¡°Master Bei¡¯s arrow ended up being seized by the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinter, which is my fault.¡±

    Lu Yin subconsciously looked at his cosmic ring, as there was another one of the three arrows in his possession. What did this old man mean by these words? Did he know that an arrow was in Lu Yin¡¯s possession?

    Lu Yin did not speak up.

    ¡°Arrow techniques are different from other battle techniques. With a divine arrow, the power of an arrow technique can be raised limitlessly. What a pity.¡± The Arrow Mountain Elder sighed for a moment and then focused his deep eyes onto Lu Yin. ¡°If us old folks need to be sacrificed to save you guys, then it will be worth it. However, this time, it is possible that no one will be able to escape. Little one, I know that you are very smart, so do your best to protect yourself. There might be a change in destiny when the Innerverse reconnects to the Outerverse. But of course, it might also bring about greater desperation.¡±

    Lu Yin bade farewell to the Arrow Mountain Elder and ruminated over the old man¡¯s words. The elder either knew that the arrow was with Lu Yin or had simply guessed at something else. For example, it might be rted to the divine arrows that the Lu''s Grand Auction had auctioned.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect paid the most attention to arrows, and Lu Yin¡¯s Lu''s Grand Auction had sold off three powerful arrows, all of which had been purchased by the Neo-Vestige Sect. It would be strange if the Arrow Mountain Elder was not aware of this purchase, and he was likely hoping that Lu Yin could provide the Neo-Vestige Sect with more divine arrows.

    It was no problem for Lu Yin to provide powerful arrows, as he could upgrade them. However, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something even better.

    Within the Technocracy, inside one of the mechanical fortresses, Autumnfrost Qing was surprised by a piece of news. ¡°Butcher¡¯s dead?¡±

    Someone in front of Autumnfrost Qing responded. ¡°Yes. When the battle to invade the Greatwood Lavazone ended, Butcher did not return.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing was puzzled. ¡°With Butcher¡¯s strength, it would have taken at least a peak Hunter to kill him, and if he was intent on escaping, then not even a peak Hunter would be able to chase him down. That guy¡¯s life-preserving methods were not weak, so he should have been fine unless he bumped into an Enlighter. But the Greatwood Lavazone only seems to have one of them. Was he killed by a hidden powerhouse?¡±

    ¡°The actual situation is unclear, though Ancestor Yan has sent word for Young Master to be more careful. Additionally, you should not delve too deeply into the Lavazone, as the Fifth Maind may be hiding some powerhouses.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing nodded. ¡°I understand.¡±

    He was just about to say something, when he suddenly thought of a person: Lu Yin. That person was someone who was capable of killing Butcher, and since he was just an Explorer, most people would not be wary of him. Could Lu Yin have gone to the Greatwood Lavazone?

    Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin had moved to that region, Autumnfrost Qing had no ns to make any moves, as the battlefield had be too dangerous.

    Butcher had been quite famous throughout the Sixth Maind, and his death created quite amotion, causing quite a few powerhouses to feel afraid.

    From the beginning of the invasion to the present moment, the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ sense of superiority towards the Fifth Maind cultivators had steadily decreased. The people of the Outerverse had not been routed as easily as the invaders had expected.

    It was no wonder why the invasion of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse was so difficult.

    In the Greatwood Lavazone, Lu Yin was assigned a specific area to guard.

    Lu Yin ranked within the top three fighters in the Greatwood Lavazone at the moment, and even Akira might not rank higher than the youth.

    Lu Yin sent the others away and found a rather secluded location. He then raised a hand and caused his die to appear. It was time to upgrade some items that could potentially change the situation. Lu Yin had already considered many options, but in the end, he decided to use the poison.

    Something like poison had a great range of uses, and its effects could be rather terrifying.

    Normal poisons would naturally not be enough, even if they were strong enough to threaten Enlighters. The Sixth Maind and the Technocracy did notck methods to counter poisons. However, if he upgraded a poison until it posed a threat to experts with power levels of 300,000 or 400,000, then that would be a different story.

    Even if these poisons could not harm Imprinters, they would still have to spend some time to eliminate such a potent toxin.

    If possible, Lu Yin did not want to use poisons, but in this situation, he had no choice. The battle had already progressed to the present stage, and if they lost their current position, then the Outerverse would face an absolute cmity, and that was something that he could not ept no matter what.

    As he thought about the future, he tapped out, causing the die to slowly spin. Finally, it stopped on¡­ Six pips.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that something was wrong, and he instantly remembered that he had not removed his cosmic ring. The moment he remembered this, the scenery before his eyes changed, and he appeared in a dark space with multiple balls of light floating around him.

    Terrified of wasting his star essence, Lu Yin merged into a random ball of light, and the scenery changed once again. He was now in front of a massive Astral River Tributary Ark.

    At the same time, a flood of memories rushed into his mind, and they left Lu Yin speechless. He had Possessed a Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivator¡¯s body, and the person was a Cruiser. This person was working with others to surround and attack a person, who happened to be Lu Yin¡¯s old acquaintance: Ling Que.

    Lu Yin was in Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Astral River Tributary that separated Chaos Flowzone from a smaller flowzone. Currently, all of them were moving across the tributary via the Flowzone Ark.

    When the Innerverse and Outerverse had first been separated, the energy of the Astral River had surged, and this tributary river had simrly separated the two flowzones. However, an expert with a power level of 400,000 from Chaos Flowzone had forcibly broken the energy barrier, reconnecting the two flowzones once again.

    This was the method that many in therge flowzones of the Innerverse had used, as they did not suffer from ack of super powerhouses. Thus, it had been easy for them to reestablish connections.

    When the Sixth Maind had first invaded the Innerverse, the Innerverse had united to resist the attackers. Of particr note was the Martial Progenitor¡¯s battle with Progenitor Chen¡¯s remnant spiritual force, which had caused the Innerverse¡¯s environment to change drastically. Suddenly, all attacks with power levels exceeding 200,000 had been restricted. This meant that all of the battles in the Innerverse had to be limited to those under the Enlighter realm, and even if Enlighters acted, they would have to limit their strength to remain below a power level of 200,000.

    This was exactly as what Lu Yin had heard in the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    The Innerverse had established a Champion''s Stage, and anyone who aplished military achievements could be granted a title from the following: General, Marquis, Monarch, and Arbiter. This was how the Innerverse was encouraging their younger cultivators to fight against the invaders from the Sixth Maind, and the Sixth Maind had simrly targeted the Champion''s Stage and created their own system of granting rewards. Specifically, anyone who killed a Title Holder would receive a great number of rewards and benefits.

    These generous rewards had attracted countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind to join the invasion, and almost nobody visited the Daosource Sect''s ruins any longer.

    Before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was a scene of a dozen cultivators from the Sixth Maind surrounding a Title Holder. Lu Yin had coincidentally possessed one of the surrounding attackers at random, who actually turned out to be one of the strongest attackers. The one whom Lu Yin had Possessed had led a dozen other cultivators to conduct this siege, and the one whom they had surrounded was Ling Que, who had been granted the title of General Ling.

    Lu Yin looked up to see a Sixth Maind cultivator clutching at his neck as he slowly fell.

    Ling Que was panting heavily, and one of his arms was drooping unnaturally. He was giving a death stare to the person whom Lu Yin had Possessed. Ling Que¡¯s eyes were shing with killing intent, and even his hair was matted with blood. His sword was still stuck in someone¡¯s abdomen, as he had not even returned to a stance yet as his Que¡¯s Mighty sh revolved around him and sliced through the void.

    Lu Yin was excited, as he had not expected to encounter Ling Que under such circumstances.

    Through the Possessed person¡¯s original memories, Lu Yin learned that Ling Que had be slightly more famous on the battlefield, and he had even killed a powerful expert from the War Martial Realm. He had also escaped from a cultivator who was second only to the Realmlings and made great contributions to the Innerverse¡¯s efforts. That cultivator had been on the same level as the likes of Autumnfrost Qing and Butcher. Hence, Ling Que had been granted a title from the Champion''s Stage: General Ling.

    Ling Que had once been known as a peerless Limiteer, and now that he had broken through to the Explorer realm, his strength had leaped to new heights. He relied on the Lingling n¡¯s innate gift and inherited battle technique, so it was not strange for him to have attained such a formidable strength.

    His strength was now equivalent to the top forty of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Back when Butcher had instantly eliminated three cultivators in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, each one of those cultivators had been able to rival experts ranked in the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings. Additionally, anyone who was able to enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins had a futon, which meant that every person in that ce either had an astounding background or had encountered amazingly lucky opportunities. This had actually caused Lu Yin to mistake the average strength of the Sixth Maind as being extraordinarily high.

    In fact, the Sixth Maind cultivators that Lu Yin had seen thus far had all been elites among elites.

 Chapter 843: Strange Encounter

    <h4>Chapter 843: Strange Encounter</h4>

    The cultivator whom Lu Yin had Possessed this time could be considered quite powerful, though he still was not Ling Que¡¯s opponent.

    However, the Sixth Maind cultivators indeed held too great of an advantage against the Fifth Maind cultivators. Without the innate suppression that thetter suffered from and the former¡¯s imprints, the person whom Lu Yin had Possessed would not have been able to withstand even one de from Ling Que.

    But at this moment, these various advantages had piled up and caused Ling Que to be surrounded and forced to the border of life and death.

    If Lu Yin had not Possessed this person¡¯s body, then Ling Que would unquestionably die here; he was already an arrow at the end of its flight. But now, things were different.

    Lu Yin approached Ling Que step by step.

    Ling Que closed both of his eyes, opened them wide once again, and looked at the sky with a fond expression. ¡°My cheerleaders are gone. It¡¯s a pity that they can¡¯t see me onest time.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless; this person was still thinking of his cheerleaders even at the moment of his death. Speaking of those girls, that group had indeed left a deep impression on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Bring it on! Even if it¡¯s death, I can force you to share my fate!¡± Ling Que barked as he stared at the cultivator whom Lu Yin had Possessed. The doomed man¡¯s gaze was unyielding. ¡°You Sixth Maind trash will be overtaken by us sooner orter. It¡¯s just like what that person said: you guys are nothing more than ves to your cultivation system.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as Ling Gong had said this exact phrase when she had fought against Blood Looney.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been moved by you. Come on, kill me,¡± Lu Yin said as he looked at Ling Que with sincerity in his eyes.

    Ling Que was dumbfounded. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Lu Yin righteously replied, ¡°You said it right¡ªwe Sixth Maind cultivators are all trash, and you are the powerful ones! Your words have moved me, soe. Kill me!¡±

    Ling Que blinked. ¡°What did I say?¡±

    ¡°KILL ME!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Ling Que¡¯s face twisted. ¡°You- are you crazy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m letting you kill me, as I¡¯ve been moved by your words,¡± Lu Yin loudly replied.

    Ling Que swallowed his saliva, feeling a little more than dumbfounded. What exactly was it that he had said a moment ago?

    Lu Yin could not wait any longer. The longer he dragged things out, the more his reserves of star essence would be depleted. And of course, he wanted to waste as little as possible; otherwise, he might not have enough to upgrade the poisons to a sufficient degree to influence the border¡¯s defense.

    Lu Yin suddenly attacked Ling Que by having his host pick up his de and he sliced out with it.

    Out of reflex, Ling Que dodged aside and counterattacked with his Que¡¯s Mighty sh that had merged into the void. Soon, the neck of the cultivator whom Lu Yin had Possessed was shed open, and he died shortly thereafter.

    Ling Que¡¯s mouth fell wide open¡ªhis attack had not been that fast since he was exhausted. Logically, this person should have been able to easily evade the attack, and what had happened to the man¡¯s imprint? Or his martial techniques? He had not used either, which was very strange. Could Ling Que¡¯s words have truly moved the man¡¯s emotions to such a degree?

    Ling Que felt as though he had discovered a new path. From now on, he absolutely had to say something before his battles in the future, as he might move them emotionally as well. Right, just what was it that he had said?

    In the Greatwood Lavazone, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, and he instinctively grabbed at his neck and touched it, only to find that it was still intact.

    In that instant, he had experienced the sensation of having his throat sliced open. That feeling was not a good one, especially since his throat had been slit by Ling Que.

    He had tasted death. Additionally, Lu Yin did not know if he had misperceived this sensation, but when he returned to his own body, he felt like it had been moved by something. However, no matter how much he checked himself, he could find no changes. He shook his head and thought no further of it, and instead hurriedly checked his cosmic ring. He heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately only around 20,000 star essence had been depleted.

    This was actually quite reasonable, as he was not too far away from Chaos Flowzone; there was only the Astral River and the Starfall Sea separating them, making the distance as the crow flies between the two locations not much. Also, the time that Lu Yin had spent Possessing the Sixth Maind man had been extremely short. All in all, it was expected that he had only depleted that small amount of star essence.

    Also, if the strength of the person that Lu Yin Possessed was low, then Possession would cost less star essence.

    Lu Yin calmly restored his die and tapped it again, but then, suddenly, within the range of his domain, he sensed Qiong Xi''er, Wei Rong, and Zhu San approaching him. He inwardly grew a bit anxious; why did they have to choose this time to approach him? It would be aplete waste if he rolled three pips: Enhance.

    Fortunately, when the die stopped, what appeared was five pips.

    Five pips: Gift Copy was a seemingly useful, but actually useless roll. It allowed Lu Yin to borrow other people¡¯s innate gifts, but it came with the condition that he had to touch the person whose innate gift he wanted to borrow within ten seconds of getting the roll. He had previously used this number to borrow the lightning from the rabbit that had stomped the Nine-Headed Ape unconscious,ter using that lightning to kill a powerhouse who had ambushed him. He had also borrowed the Ghost Monkey¡¯s innate gift of shadows. This time, he could not waste this roll.

    Ten seconds was enough, and as soon as he thought about it, Lu Yin¡¯s figure vanished.

    Moving across the darkva, Qiong Xi''er¡¯s trio was heading towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°Are you certain that he¡¯s really here?¡± Zhu Sanined.

    Wei Rong nced around, as he hade looking for Lu Yin to discuss if there was any way to counterattack against the invaders. In Wei Rong¡¯s strategy book, there was no such thing as an eternal defense; they would certainly eventually be breached if they continued doing nothing but defending.

    In the past, Armament Weave had faced an invasion from the Great Eastern Alliance, and the Outerverse¡¯s situation this time was simrly desperate. Wei Rong had found the means to stall for time back then, and in the end, he had managed to preserve the Wei family. Against the Sixth Maind, no matter how great the difference in strength between the two mainds may be, there would always be an opportunity for them to strike back as well.

    And this was something that Wei Rong could only discuss with Lu Yin and Qiong Xi''er at this time.

    Qiong Xi''er was flying along when Lu Yin suddenly appeared beside them and pressed a hand on Qiong Xi''er¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance nearly scared Qiong Xi''er out of her mind, and Wei Rong was also frightened. He was very jumpy at this time; he considered himself an intellectual and believed that it would be too tragic if he died on the battlefield.

    Qiong Xi''er stared at Lu Yin, dumbfounded. Then, her gaze shifted to Lu Yin¡¯s hand that was on her shoulder, and a strange expression appeared on her face.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and retracted his hand. ¡°Sorry, I got a little happy at seeing an old friend.¡±

    Behind the two people, Zhu San grew furious, and heshed out at Lu Yin, aiming a kick at Lu his butt, but Lu Yin easily dodged it.

    ¡°You, the one surnamed Lu! Don¡¯t take advantage of a friend¡¯s wife! You scoundrel, you promised me before!¡± Zhu San shouted.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Rx, I¡¯m not interested in her.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er arched a brow. ¡°What does that mean? Speak clearly.¡±

    ¡°Right, what do you mean? Isn¡¯t our Xi¡¯er fascinating?¡± Zhu San red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was left speechless by Zhu San¡¯s sudden change. ¡°Sure, she¡¯s fascinating.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s eyes immediately turned bloodshot. ¡°I knew that you were trying to snatch Xi¡¯er from me! You bastard!¡±

    ¡°Alright, stop bickering you two. Brother Lu, we have some matters that we wish to discuss with you,¡± Wei Rong told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±

    Wei Rong looked around and thennded on the ground.

    Lu Yin also descended from the sky.

    Qiong Xi''er patted her shoulder as she gave Lu Yin a strange look; this fellow¡¯s behavior was quite odd.

    Zhu San red at Lu Yin, as if he was protecting his treasure from thieves.

    ¡°Brother Lu, why do you think the Sixth Maind is specifically targeting the Greatwood Lavazone?¡± Wei Rong asked.

    Lu Yin had naturally considered this question himself, and although he had his own conjectures, he did not bring them up at this time. ¡°I just got here, so I don¡¯t have much of an understanding of this ce. What does Brother Wei think?¡±

    Wei Rong replied, ¡°Does Brother Lu know that the Arrow Mountain Elder used a single arrow to kill an Envoy-level powerhouse from the Sixth Maind? It was one of their so-called Imprinters.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s strength is powerful between their weird imprints and bloodlines. They are definitely not weak when fighting against others within the same realm. From what I know, earlier in the battle, the Arrow Mountain Elder had traded blows with the Imprinter who he killedter, and he was not in the dominant position during those exchanges. Moreover, two Imprinters appeared simultaneously, but one of them ended up dying. And that person was even killed by a single arrow. Doesn¡¯t Brother Lu find this strange?¡± Wei Rong asked.

    Qiong Xi''er grew impatient. ¡°Can¡¯t you just get to the point? You¡¯re so infuriating! My turn.¡± She quickly picked up where Wei Rong had left off, saying, ¡°Our analysis is that the Arrow Mountain Elder was able to kill the Imprinter not through his own strength, but rather with the power of the arrow that he used. This arrow must have somehow been special.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°From what I know, the arrow that the Arrow Mountain Elder shot out was redirected by Yuan Shi, so it may have been reinforced by Yuan Shi¡¯s strength, which allowed it to kill the Imprinter.¡±

    ¡°Yuan Shi redirected the arrow because that arrow had been aimed at Ancestor Mojiang,¡± Wei Rong solemnly exined.

    Qiong Xi''er added on, ¡°The Arrow Mountain Elder is not an idiot, but he still dared to attack Ancestor Mojiang, which proves that he must have had some level of confidence. Ancestor Mojiang is not just an Imprinter, but a World Imprinter who is far stronger than normal Imprinters. If his strength is measured with our power levels, then his power level has surpassed 800,000. For the Arrow Mountain Elder to be confident despite such circumstances is proof of how extraordinary that arrow is. Also, that arrow was stolen by the Imprinter known as Yan Cheng. Thus, we have surmised that the Sixth Maind isunching frequent attacks against the Greatwood Lavazone either to seek revenge for the dead Imprinter or to steal another one of the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s arrows.¡±

    Lu Yin had to admit that their deduction was quite valid, as the three arrows that had been passed down within Neo-Vestige Sect were possibly originally from the Sixth Maind. The Arrow Mountain Elder had once mentioned that Lu Yin hade into contact with an aura of the arrow that was very simr to those three arrows, and that aura of the arrow was from Nightking Zhenwu. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow techniques had been acquired in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he had also told Wu Taibai that his arrow techniques were from the Sixth Maind.

    It was likely that Yan Cheng had recognized the arrow¡¯s origin, and not only had he seized it, he had also realized that there might be more.

    ¡°Brother Lu, what do you think?¡± Wei Rong asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not reveal everything that he knew. ¡°You guys have guessed correctly, but so what? It won¡¯t change the situation on the border.¡±

    ¡°It can,¡± Wei Rong replied confidently.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as he had forgotten that the two youths in front of him were just as famous as Wang Wen for their intelligence, particrly Wei Rong. The difference in strength between the two sides during the invasion of Armament Weave had been overwhelming, but Wei Rong had been able to forcibly drag out the war for a long time. ¡°What ideas do you have?¡±

    Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er exchanged nces. ¡°We can inflict heavy losses to the Sixth Maind, but the downside is that once we do, stronger reinforcements may show up. Thus, we don¡¯t know if this would be a blessing or a disaster.¡±

    ¡°Even if we don¡¯t cause great casualties for them, their reinforcements will still eventually arrive, alright?¡± Zhu San rolled his eyes.

    Qiong Xi''er patted Zhu San¡¯s head. ¡°Well said.¡±

    Zhu San was upset.

    Lu Yin stared at Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes had a deep look. ¡°Does Brother Lu remember¡­ pyrolyte?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as he had nearly forgotten. Right, there was still pyrolyte.

    ¡°During this war, it¡¯s impossible for the Hall of Honor not to use pyrolyte. Thus, the only reason why they haven¡¯t used it yet is because they haven¡¯t thought of a suitable method to take advantage of its power. Since we have managed to guess the Sixth Maind¡¯s goal in attacking the Greatwood Lavazone, then it¡¯s simple. With the Arrow Mountain Elder as bait, we¡¯ll use pyrolyte to st them all dead.¡± Wei Rong was proud of their proposal.

    Zhu San was appalled. ¡°You¡¯re crazy! That¡¯s the Arrow Mountain Elder you¡¯re talking about! Don¡¯t speak like that.¡±

    Lu Yin was also surprised. The Arrow Mountain Elder was an Envoy, yet Wei Rong was gutsy enough to even consider using an Envoy as bait. However, it had to be said that such a strategy would be effective. Those powerhouses from the Sixth Maind were definitely focused on the Arrow Mountain Elder, which meant that he was indeed the best bait avable.

    Wei Rong did not respond to Zhu San¡¯s shouting, and he merely stared at Lu Yin, trying to catch a glimpse of something in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°All of this is just theoretical, but there¡¯s no harm in giving it a try. You guys came to find me, and I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s to have me talk to the Arrow Mountain Elder and the Hall of Honor, right?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°We have no choice. Our statuses are not enough to speak with anyone from the Hall of Honor or the Arrow Mountain Elder. Thus, only Brother Lu can help us.¡±

 Chapter 844: The Start Of The Counterattack

    <h4>Chapter 844: The Start Of The Counterattack</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Pyrolyte¡¯s too destructive.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already considered that as well,¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er answered. ¡°We should gather everyone, attack Technocracy, and then detonate it in their territory.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it, as it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the Human Domain to retaliate.

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s very easy tounch a counterattack.¡± Wei Rong smiled confidently as he continued, saying, ¡°We just have to let the Sixth Maind know that we intend to retaliate against them.¡±

    ¡°Rather, the hardest part will be ensuring that the Arrow Mountain Elder can safely return and that our forces avoid Ancestor Mojiang before we detonate the pyrolyte,¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er exined.

    Lu Yin understood what they meant. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to the Arrow Mountain Elder and the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Wei Rong and the others soon left.

    Zhu San red at Lu Yin angrily before leaving as well.

    Lu Yin considered their n some more, as it wasn''t a great n. It was actually quite a predictable method to use in a normal battle. However, this was a battle that involved countless people from all parts of the Outerverse, and even the Hall of Honor would be wary of incurring any excessive losses. Thus, they might not have even thought of retaliating as they wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the losses if the attack failed.

    The oue of a failed attack would be devastating, and the person who suggested the attack could very well be a huge sinner in all of the defenders¡¯ eyes. Hence, most people wouldn¡¯t even dare to propose such an idea.

    Only people like Wei Rong, who had never spent any time at a border war, would suggest such a move.

    There was no perfect n in the universe, and all ns had a possibility of failure. What mattered was whether or not one was able to withstand the consequences of failure.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, as was time for him to meet with Yuan Shi.

    However, he first had to upgrade the poisons. If they were able to use his upgraded poisons during this possible counterattack, then the n would definitely be more effective.

    Lu Yin returned to the same secluded ce as before and went back to rolling his die. There was a new innate gift on Gift Copy now, and the image was that of a pair of hands. This was Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift: analysis. It was simr to Huan Sha¡¯s innate gift, though not entirely the same.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t pay much attention to the new innate gift. This time, he remembered to set his cosmic ring aside so that he wouldn¡¯t enter that dark space if he rolled Possession again. He would still have enough time to pick up his cosmic ring even if he rolled Timestop.

    He rolled Pilfer on his next attempt, and a sword fell from the sky. Lu Yin exerted a bit of force, snapped the sword in half, and angrily threw it away as it was worthless. He took his die out and activated it once again, hoping that he would be able to seed since this would be his final roll for now.

    Luckily, Lu Yin managed to roll Enhance. He was ecstatic, and he quickly took out the poisons that he had obtained from Elder Wu.

    Now that he had experienced more of the universe, Lu Yin was no longer as intimidated by Elder Wu¡¯s poisons. This was especially true from the perspective of the current battlefield as these poisons couldn¡¯t cause much harm to Imprinters. He had to upgrade these poisons to the point where their rune lines reached a power level of around 400,000 before they would have any effect on Imprinters.

    He ced a poison on the upper light screen and dumped arge amount of star essence out.

    He still had twelve bottles of poison, and he upgraded the first bottle eight times with 600,000 star essence. This upgraded the poison to a horrifying level, and Lu Yin didn¡¯t even want to touch the vial with his bare hands anymore.

    He wasn¡¯t sure about what effect the poison would have, though he guessed that it would be very scary.

    Even Hunters might not be able to amass 600,000 star essence throughout their entire lifetime, but Lu Yin had spent such an amount on just one bottle of poison.

    He almost went on to continue upgrading a few more bottles, but he decided to wait until after he tested this upgraded poison out before upgrading any of the other vials.

    However, he didn¡¯t want to waste this opportunity since he had rolled Enhance, and he took out ten natural treasures.

    These ten natural treasures had been gifted to him by Shamrock Enterprises when he had be the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. They were each ten thousand years old, but they had not reached the point where they instinctively avoided danger yet.

    He only needed to spend a few hundred star essence each to upgrade them to the point where they would instinctively avoid danger.

    He rifled through his cosmic ring and also found five grams of pyrolyte, though pyrolyte couldn¡¯t be upgraded. He then noticed the Arrow of Valiance which already had rune lines equivalent to a power level of 250,000. He wanted to upgrade it and then let the Arrow Mountain Elder use it. However, since he had obtained the Arrow of Valiance from Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Arrow Mountain, he would definitely be exposed if he gave the upgraded arrow to the Arrow Mountain Elder, and he didn¡¯t want to risk exposing his greatest secret.

    There was nothing else in his ring that was worth upgrading.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin noticed the poison from the Neohuman Alliance: Regression No. 91.

    Elder Wu¡¯s poisons were still treatable as the man had just been a normal Enlighter. However, this poison from the Neohuman Alliance had no antidote, and even Mister Mu had been unable to cure it as it directly drained away at a person¡¯s life force. When Ming Yan had been poisoned, Mister Mu had only been able to save her by using a secret technique, and even that had resulted in her having a split personality.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment, but then ultimately decided to upgrade the poison.

    He ced the poison on the light screen and quickly threw out another handful of star essence. The bottle only descended about a tenth of the way after 10,000 star essence were consumed.

    Lu Yin was stunned; how could this be? This meant that aplete upgrade would require spending at least 100,000 star essence, but why did this poison require such a massive sum? This poison didn¡¯t have that many rune lines either.

    Since he had already started upgrading the poison, Lu Yin didn¡¯t want to give up. He took a deep breath and threw 100,000 star essence onto the screen. But after that, the bottle was still a slight bit away from the bottom screen.

    In the end, he managed to fully upgrade the poison after expending 120,000 star essence in total.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as the amount of star essence required to upgrade an item would increase with how rare the item was. However, Lu Yin had never upgraded anything that required such arge amount of star essence. He had only used 15,000 star essence to upgrade his universal armor to the point where it could defend against attacks with a power level of 300,000.

    This poison was on apletely different level.

    However, it made sense that it would require such arge amount of star essence as even Mister Mu had been unable to ovee this poison.

    This was Regression No. 91, and Lu Yin suddenly recalled that Ming Yan had been poisoned by Regression No. 88. The severity of the poisons became stronger as the numbers decreased, and if even Regression No. 91 required such a staggering amount of star essence, then what about Regression No. 1? Lu Yin didn¡¯t even want to think about it. Would even powerhouses with power levels of a million be able to withstand such a poison?

    He then spent 300,000 star essence topletely upgrade the poison a second time.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t n on upgrading it any further, as doing so would leave him broke again.

    Lu Yin contemted whether or not he should pass the poisons over to the Arrow Mountain Elder, as it might be useful to the powerhouse. However, Lu Yin definitely wouldn¡¯t give such a thing away for free.

    ck clouds covered the sky as numerous androids descended upon the Greatwood Lavazone.

    Wei Rong, Qiong Xi¡¯er, and Zhu San immediately started searching for a hiding spot. They had initially wanted to look for Lu Yin, but they quickly realized that all of Lu Yin¡¯s opponents would at least be at the Hunter realm, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand even the shockwaves from such a battle.

    Thus, they had no choice but to look for a safe hiding ce elsewhere.

    Lu Yin was quickly attacked by two Hunter level androids, and it seemed as if he had stumbled into an android nest since he was surrounded by a swarm of these technological beings. However, these androids weren¡¯t able to harm him.

    Initially, he had wanted to quickly eliminate the batch of androids, but he ended up being forced to help out with other battles urring throughout the area. Akira had been heavily injured, but he was still battling against two Enlighters from the Sixth Maind.

    Moreover, there were Enlighter level androids that were sting at the Greatwood Lavazone¡¯s maind. Fortunately, Millions City was also present, and the mobile fortress would fire energy sts across the sky from time to time.

    Lu Yin shoved Akira towards the darkva and held back the two Enlighters.

    He wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat them, but he would definitely be able to stymie their assault. He also wasn¡¯t worried about being captured by Enlighters with his current equipment.

    Yan Cheng looked down upon the Greatwood Lavazone from far above. He had heard reports that the Greatwood Lavazone was nning onunching a counterattack and destroying their forces in the Technocracy to give themselves a period of respite and recovery.

    This was an incredible opportunity for Yan Cheng, as he had been waiting for the Fifth Maind to attempt to retaliate.

    Half a month passed, and the battle continued on without letting up for this entire time, leaving many of the reinforcementspletely exhausted.

    Lu Yin was used to these long, grueling battles as simr ones often had urred in Ironblood Weave. This was a border warfront, which was the cruellest battlefield for humans.

    After resting for a period of time, Yan Cheng had almost fully recovered. He thenunched an attack that shattered the sky.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder used his star energy to form an arrow that he shot into the sky in retaliation. It pierced through the Triple Palm that had enveloped the entire Greatwood region.

    Nobody was able to interfere in a battle between such powerhouses, as their power levels were over 500,000.

    Thus, everyone could do nothing more than watch the battle in awe.

    Even Enlighters couldn¡¯t withstand the shockwaves from such a battle.

    Everyone had believed that the Sixth Maind would hold the advantage in this battle, but a sudden burst of ck mes changed the situation. Yen Phoenix had appeared in the Greatwood Lavazone, and he attacked Yan Cheng together with the Arrow Mountain Elder.

    Yan Cheng was surprised by the appearance of a new opponent, and he promptly retreated. However, he had already been surrounded by a swathe of ck mes and was unable to avoid being burned by the mes. Additionally, he still had to deal with the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s arrow as well as an energy st from Millions City. Everyone could see how desperate Yan Cheng¡¯s situation was.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind quickly pulled back.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder gave themand, ¡°Greatwood Lavazone, attack!¡±

    Tens of thousands of disciples from the Neo-Vestige Sect roared as various powerhouses took control of the Technocracy¡¯s spacecraft and made their way towards the Technocracy¡¯s territory.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder moved the quickest, and he chased Yan Cheng into the Technocracy.

    This region had belonged to Endless Weave in the past, but at the moment, half of what had used to be Endless Weave had been taken over by the Technocracy.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was immediately attacked the moment he entered the Technocracy¡¯s territory, and multiple androids tried to force him back out.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder shouted, ¡°Imprinter, don¡¯t run.¡±

    Yan Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked back and said, ¡°You natives will soon be wiped out by us, and I will definitely eradicate your civilization! I will send everyone in the Fifth Maind back to the stone age!¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was furious. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    He then formed an arrow with his star energy that pierced through the void and tore space apart to reveal a dark void. The arrow disappeared into the void and subsequently reappeared in Yan Cheng¡¯s back.

    Yan Cheng tried to dodge aside, but he was still injured by the arrow, and the attack caused his imprint to weaken a great deal.

    ¡°You natives will die horribly!¡± Yan Cheng bellowed as he hurried to make his escape.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder anxiously chased after the Imprinter.

    In the Greatwood Lavazone, Lu Yin narrowed his eyes as he waited for a certain moment to arrive.

 Chapter 845: Bell And Pyrolyte

    <h4>Chapter 845: Bell And Pyrolyte</h4>

    Deep in the Technocracy¡¯s territory, the Arrow Mountain Elder chased after Yan Cheng. Soon, the two of them drew near the mechanical fortress housing countless spacecraft. This was the base from which the Technocracy attacked Endless Weave¡¯s border, as well as the base for the Sixth Maind cultivators.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was delighted, as he wanted to destroy this mechanical fortress with his arrows.

    However, despite his intentions, a horrible sense of crisis suddenly descended upon the old powerhouse, and the Arrow Mountain Elder turned around in shock. Experts appeared in all directions around him, and there were even two powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 500,000 among them. Not only that, but even further away, there were several other experts with power levels exceeding 400,000.

    The entire region of space started trembling.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s eyes narrowed as Yan Cheng suddenly reappeared before him. The Imprinter¡¯s originally feeble appearance had reverted back to his original state. ¡°Native, did you really think that I had been severely injured by you? That you could actually injure me with your strength?¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was overwhelmed, and he turned around to look behind himself.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to look. Your Yuan Shi and that ck Undying Bird have both been held back. Nobody can save you now,¡± Yan Cheng dered arrogantly.

    From another direction, Mojiang Shan indifferently said, ¡°There are four Imprinters who have invaded the Fifth Maind. One was killed by your arrow, two are here, and thest one has moved to obstruct that ck Undying Bird of yours. There¡¯s no need for us to take any chances.¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was astonished. ¡°You guys still had more Imprinters hidden!¡±

    ¡°How can we win with a surprise move if we don¡¯t do something like this? I can¡¯t believe some failures who were defeated in the ancient war actually want to counterattack against us. What nonsense,¡± Yan Cheng coldly replied.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder looked towards that figure that was standing behind behind. It was evidently an android, and he marvelled in fascination. ¡°It¡¯s one of the Technocracy¡¯s Envoy-level powerhouses. Those are rarely seen.¡±

    ¡°Three Imprinter-level powerhouses have surrounded you. You should be proud. Alright, we¡¯ll give you a chance to surrender. You can join our Sixth Maind, and you will be ced under Ancestor Mojiang. With your strength, you will be given respect wherever you go,¡± Mojiang Shan said.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder was puzzled. ¡°You guys prepared this ambush since long ago? How did you know that I would definitely be the one to counterattack?¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s tone turned cold, ¡°There¡¯s no need for further nonsense. Surrender or die¡ªchoose!¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder stared hard at Yan Cheng. ¡°Ever since that arrow of mine killed that Imprinter, you guys have been focused on the Greatwood Lavazone, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t for revenge. What is it that you people want to gain from me?¡±

    Yan Cheng and Mojiang Shan exchanged nces before looking at the Arrow Mountain Elder. ¡°That arrow, are there more of them?¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know the origins of that arrow?¡± Mojiang Shan¡¯s eyes turned sharp.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°It¡¯s been passed down since ancient times, and nobody knows its true origins. My ancestors obtained it through a lucky fated encounter. Could it be rted to you people?¡±

    Mojiang Shan sneered. ¡°It¡¯s not strange that you guys don¡¯t know its origins. Hand over the remaining arrows, and I can make the decision now to allow you to be an elder in my Mojiang bloodline, which means that you will be vouched for by the Mojiang blood. You will then be able to meet with the Bluedome Elder to receive an Empyrean Imprint, and once you seed, your strength will improve by a significant amount. Of all the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s super powerhouses, you will rank amongst the top ten.¡±

    Yan Cheng¡¯s gaze trembled, as this Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s strength was simr to his own, but that was only after he used his imprint. If this really happened, then once the Arrow Mountain Elder seeded in obtaining an Empyrean Imprint, the man would likely surpass Yan Cheng and join the ranks of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s top ten.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder answered in a low voice, ¡°There are arrows, but you must first tell me their origin.¡±

    Mojiang Shan¡¯s lips curled upwards, and he looked at the surrounded powerhouse with a cold expression on his face. ¡°It would appear that you don¡¯t have any ns of surrendering. Despite that, you actually think that you can weedle some information out of us? Nobody can save you now, and even if your entire Fifth Maind gathered in this ce, you wouldn¡¯t be saved. Do you really want to die?¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder surveyed his surroundings, as each person gathered here was an absolute powerhouse. Even cultivators with a power level of 400,000 were capable of escaping from an Envoy once they used their imprints, and would thus be able to survive. Logically, it was indeed impossible for him to escape.

    He sighed, and in a bleak voice, said, ¡°I never thought that after having lived for so many years, I would finally end up bing a traitor. How tragic.¡±

    Mojiang Shan looked excited. ¡°We are all humans, and it¡¯s merely our standpoints that differ. There¡¯s nothing to betray or anything to be a traitor of. Join my Mojiang bloodline, and not only you, but your descendants will also profit from this disaster. You will all be cultivators of our Sixth Maind. There¡¯s no need to hesitate. Hand over the remaining arrows and follow me.¡±

    The Arrow Mountain Elder showed a pained expression, and from his cosmic ring, he retrieved¡­ the blood-red bell.

    At that moment, the Envoy level android suddenly tore through the void in an attempt to escape. Meanwhile, Mojiang Shan and Yan Cheng both felt their hearts drop, as a bad premonition welled up deep within them.

    The Arrow Mountain Elder shook the blood-red bell, and a crisp ringing sound emanated out from it. Suddenly, everyone in this nearly endless region of space, including the distant Greatwood Lavazone and the deeper regions of the Technocracy, was enveloped by the sound of the bell. Everyone who heard the bell felt an incredible pressure descend, and they were all suppressed by an endless might. They could not budge, and terror filled their hearts.

    A singr hand transcended through the void, suddenly appearing and grabbing the Arrow Mountain Elder before vanishing with the powerhouse. In the ce where the man had been standing, there was now a mound of pyrolyte that suddenly exploded.

    Back in the Greatwood Lavazone, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were filled with terror. He watched the hand pass overhead while frozen in ce. The sound of the bell was still ringing within his ears, and he could not move at all. Although it had onlysted for that instant, he had been absolutely suppressed when the Arrow Mountain Elder had shaken the blood-red bell.

    The next moment, the universe shuddered, and everyone looked in the direction of the Technocracy¡¯s depths, not knowing what had just happened.

    In the depths of the Technocracy¡¯s region, countlesss had been instantly obliterated. Naturally, Yan Cheng, Mojiang Shan, the Envoy-level android, the various powerhouses with power levels above 400,000, and even the distant mechanical fortress were all overwhelmed by the exploding pyrolyte.

    There had been close to over a hundred grams of pyrolyte there, and it had all been detonated simultaneously.

    The explosion of that much pyrolyte was roughly equivalent to an attack with a power level of over one million. Additionally, this mound of pyrolyte was most of what had been mined in the Astral Wilderness after the Outerverse was isted.

    Detonating over one hundred grams of pyrolyte released the same amount of destructive power as an attack with a power level of over a million. Although it was different from an actual powerhouse¡¯s attack with a power level of a million, destructive power was still destructive power.

    The mechanical fortress and the experts with power levels of around 400,000 were instantly turned vaporized. Only Yan Cheng, Mojiang Shan, and that Envoy-level android were barely able to resist the explosion. However, even Yan Cheng was not able topletely withstand such a terrifying power. Coupled with his injuries from earlier battles, he was quickly torn to shreds by the explosion. Mojiang Shan ended up being severely injured with his body nearly being split apart. Finally, the android was left with only half of its body left, and it shakily flew back into the depths of the Technocracy¡¯s territory.

    The aftershock of the explosion even struck the border, and the shockwave nearly caused the darkva maind of the Greatwood Lavazone to fly away.

    Lu Yin was excited, as this meant that their n should have seeded.

    That explosion had a destructive power of over a million, and despite the pyrolyte being detonated so deep in the Technocracy¡¯s territory, the shockwave had still been that powerful when it struck the border, which was truly terrifying.

    The majority of people did not know what had just happened. All they could tell was that it felt like an indescribable explosion had urred in the depths of outer space.

    Above the Greatwood Lavazone, Yuan Shi appeared while holding on to the Arrow Mountain Elder. Yuan Shi then turned to look back at the Technocracy, a hint of apprehension shing across his eyes.

    Something like pyrolyte was normally not much of a threat to powerhouses at Yuan Shi¡¯s level. Actually, it wasn¡¯t actually much of a threat to experts whose power levels were higher than 500,000 because any explosion-based attack took a bit of time to propagate. Even if it took a millisecond for the explosion to trigger, that millisecond was a lot of time to such powerhouses, and they would have plenty of time to escape.

    However, if they were not able to escape during that split second, then pyrolyte could be a cmity for them.

    As he thought about it, Yuan Shi looked at the blood-red bell in the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s hand. If not for that bell, even a few hundred grams of pyrolyte would have been useless.

    When the various great powers of the Innerverse had fought each other to mine pyrolyte in the past, the Hall of Honor had not minded, and this was why.

    Pyrolyte was a powerful support in battles, but it was not very threatening to peak experts.

    However, who would have expected that someone in the Outerverse would have a method that could momentarily stun those absolute experts?

    Lu Yin saw that Yuan Shi and the Arrow Mountain Elder were safe and sound, as well as the blood-red bell. He heaved a sigh of relief, as it seemed that their n had seeded.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time pulling off this kind of n. In the past, he had used thebination of his universal armor and Progenitor Wushang''s hide to stun Enlighters before killing them with his gun. The n with the pyrolyte was basically identical to his n back then, though the implementer of the n this time had been the Arrow Mountain Elder.

    Lu Yin hoped that the Sixth Maind had suffered drastic losses this time, which would give the Fifth Maind some room to breathe.

    The Sixth Maind had indeed suffered horrible casualties during this attack, and the damage that they had suffered exceeded even Lu Yin¡¯s best expectations.

    He had thought that it would be quite decent if they had killed just a single Imprinter with the pyrolyte trap, but in the end, not only had Yan Cheng died, but they had also severely injured Mojiang Shan and the Envoy-level android from the Technocracy. On top of that, the various powerhouses with power levels of around 400,000 had been eliminated along with one of the mechanical fortresses.

    That was essentially eliminating all of the threats that existed to the west of Endless Weave¡¯s border. At this moment, aside from Ancestor Mojiang and the Imprinter who had obstructed Yen Phoenix, there were no other powerhouses at their level, and there were not even that many experts left whose power levels were above 300,000.

    When Ancestor Mojiang saw Mojiang Shan¡¯s miserable state, he was heartbroken. Thepetition within the Sixth Maind was cruel, and there were only three Imprinters among the Mojiang bloodline, including Ancestor Mojiang himself. At this moment, Mojiang Shan had basically been crippled, and it would take him at least a hundred years to fully recover. This was also under the condition that they used the full influence of a World Imprinter family to mobilize the best treatment methods. If an ordinary cultivator suffered such a horrendous injury, then even if they were an Imprinter, such wounds would be devastating and typically be fatal.

    ¡°Fifth Maind natives, I will deal with all of you!¡± Ancestor Mojiang bellowed, and his voice turned into visible ripples that caused space itself to tremble. The ripples spread all the way to the Greatwood Lavazone and entered many ears.

    Many people with lower cultivations were injured by the sound waves, and some even bled from their orifices.

    In outer space, the Arrow Mountain Elder heard Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s anger, and he hurriedly said, ¡°Yuan Shi, counterattack! This is the best time.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded, and his figure suddenly disappeared. The Arrow Mountain Elder knew that Yuan Shi was going to obstruct Ancestor Mojiang, and he immediately shouted, ¡°Everyone, ATTACK!¡±

    The leaked rumors of a counterattack had not been false; it was just that the timing had been dyed a little.

    The Sixth Maind had learned that the Greatwood Lavazone wanted to retaliate, and they had attempted to exploit those ns by abducting the Arrow Mountain Elder. This was the crux of Wei Rong¡¯s n, as he had intentionally leaked this information to the Sixth Maind. Of course, this was all hinging on the presumption that his predictions were urate.

    Wei Rong himself had not been too confident in this n, but Lu Yin had been, because he knew that Wei Rong had guessed correctly.

    This level of scheming,bined with a degree of luck and certain power vessels, had led to the battle bing an unexpected sess.

    The counterattack that was unleashed soon after the n was led by thousands of Neo-Vestige Sect disciples firing arrows at the Sixth Maind cultivators and the androids that had not been affected by the pyrolyte explosion.

    These arrows were not formed from star energy. Rather, they were real, especially the arrowheads that had been smeared with a poison that Lu Yin had sold to the Arrow Mountain Elder before the n was initiated. This poison had been diluted many times before being distributed to the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples.

    As the rain of arrows fell down, every time an enemy was struck, the poison caused that individual to be instantly corroded, regardless of their cultivation. This poison was so potent that even elites with power levels over 300,000 were corroded.

    This terrifying poison instantly became the enemy¡¯s worst nightmare, especially alongside the recent deaths of Yan Cheng and the others. Ancestor Mojiang had no choice but to give up on the invasion, and he ordered a full retreat.

 Chapter 846: Hall of Honorâ€™s Generosity

    <h4>Chapter 846: Hall of Honor¡¯s Generosity</h4>

    The fighting had gone on for several months now, and the intense war had led to countless deaths. This was the first time the border defense had attempted any sort of counterattack, and it had achieved great sess.

    News of the events spread all throughout the Outerverse, where countless people were ted at the defenders¡¯ sess. Although many did not even know who the Outerverse was fighting against, their victory was all that mattered.

    In particr, all six of thevazones heaved massive sighs of relief.

    They had been suppressed too thoroughly in this war; even when the Outerverse¡¯s entire strength had been brought to bear, they had not been able to gain any sort of reprieve. But at this moment, they could finally rx a little.

    The one who had achieved the greatest contribution at this time was naturally the Arrow Mountain Elder. He had been the one to implement the n, and he had also taken the risk of venturing deep into enemy territory with only a narrow chance of escape. Following him was Lu Yin, who had not only provided the n, but also the blood-red bell. Without that bell, there would have been no chance of sess.

    He had also provided the poison, and suddenly, after Lu Yin¡¯s contributions were tallied up, he received the honor of meeting with Yuan Shi.

    Before this battle, Lu Yin had never met Yuan Shi, as the n had been passed on by the Arrow Mountain Elder, and the Arrow Mountain Elder had also personally handed the blood-red bell over to Yuan Shi.

    With the sess of the n, they had managed to cause the Sixth Maind to suffer heavy losses, and Yuan Shi was now finally meeting with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had only ever seen Yuan Shi from afar before, and he had never been able to see the powerhouse clearly. Yuan Shi always seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier that prevented others from seeing him clearly. However, when he met the elder, Lu Yin was able to get a clear view of the man.

    Yuan Shi looked like a benevolent elder who did not seem too intimidating, though that might have partly been due to how gently he treated Lu Yin. Regardless, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Yuan Shi looked more like an averagemoner than an absolute powerhouse.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Yuan Shi.¡± Lu Yin bowed respectfully.

    Yuan Shi smiled slightly. ¡°Little fellow, you are pretty decent. You may stand.¡±

    Lu Yin raised himself up and looked at Yuan Shi curiously. Up till now, Yuan Shi was quite likely the strongest person whom Lu Yin had ever met. Lu Yin was not certain what level Mister Mu had reached, and the Sea King most likely had a power level simr to the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s, which meant that he definitely could notpare to Yuan Shi. This elder¡¯s power level was at least 800,000.

    Lu Yin shuddered just at the thought of a power level of 800,000. Lu Yin blinked. He could at best rival experts whose power levels were a bit higher than 100,000, and with his secret technique, he was likely to survive against a cultivator with a power level of 200,000. With his external items, he was able to stay alive when faced with Enlighters with power levels of 300,000. However, all of that was entirely too far from a power level of 800,000.

    The border warfront in Endless Weave waspletely different from the one in Ironblood Weave that Lu Yin had participated in. This time, he had not exerted too much effort from start to finish, and he had been more of a spectator.

    Yuan Shi sized Lu Yin up and down, and then appreciativelymented, ¡°Little fellow, even if someone told me that you came from the Neoverse, I would believe them. It¡¯s strange for the Outerverse to give birth to a genius like you.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°Junior doesn¡¯t actually know my own origins. It¡¯s possible that I may have been born outside of the Outerverse.¡±

    When facing Yuan Shi, Lu Yin did not dare conceal such a detail, as his secrets had already been exposed by Wei Rong.

    Yuan Shi was puzzled by this response. ¡°You don¡¯t know where youe from?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°There are holes in Junior¡¯s memories.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then if you are willing, I can help you take a look.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to trouble Yuan Shi. My master has already taken a look.¡±

    He did not want others to pry into his memories, regardless of whether it was Yuan Shi or Mister Mu. His die¡¯s existence was his greatest secret, and even if he did not understand how powerful Mister Mu and Yuan Shi were, in the depths of his heart, he still felt that the die was more powerful than either of them. In fact, he would feel the same even if confronted with a Progenitor.

    His die was truly too mysterious, and the best example of that was that the die had stolen the blood-red bell from the Chief Justice, whose strength was no lower than Yuan Shi¡¯s at the very least.

    Yuan Shi was curious. ¡°Who is your Master?¡±

    Lu Yin was ced in a difficult position. ¡°Master has instructed Junior not to tell anyone, so I ask Yuan Shi to please forgive me.¡±

    Yuan Shi smiled. ¡°No matter. There are many people like that, and the universe does notck for hermit experts.¡±

    Yuan Shi then took out the blood-red bell and returned it to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly epted it.

    ¡°If not for this, things would have been very dangerous this time.¡± Yuan Shi sighed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression betrayed his nervousness. He had actually stolen this bell, and he was worried that his lies had been seen through!

    ¡°Keep it. There¡¯s no need to be nervous. Since he gave it to you, I won¡¯t ask anything further. Perhaps he has some sort of expectation for you, and your missing memories may also be rted to him,¡± Yuan Shimented.

    Lu Yin knew that Yuan Shi was talking about the Chief Justice, and he realized that Yuan Shi had misunderstood the reason behind his unease. He hurriedly stored the blood-red bell away and heaved a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Little fellow, during this war, your contributions have been extremely impressive. What do you want?¡± Yuan Shi smiled gently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin righteously responded, ¡°Protecting the human race is Junior¡¯s duty.¡±

    Yuan Shi was amused at such a response. ¡°Contributions will still be justly rewarded.¡±

    Lu Yin was torn, as he truly did not know what he should request from Yuan Shi. From such a powerhouse, it would be too coarse to just ask for money. But what other things were possible? Lu Yin could not think of anything at this moment.

    Yuan Shi looked at Lu Yin for a while and then smiled. ¡°You may take your leave for now and tell me when you think of something. If the war continues in the near future, then you may need to lend me your bell to use.¡±

    This sentence made Lu Yin confident that Yuan Shi could not match up to the Chief Justice, or else he would not need to borrow the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem.

    ¡°Yuan Shi, how about this: Junior will leave this bell with you,¡± Lu Yin carefully offered.

    Yuan Shi thought about it, but then he shook his head. ¡°You can leave now.¡±

    Lu Yin could not understand what Yuan Shi was thinking, but Lu Yin did not dig any further. He simply left after bidding the old man farewell.

    As he watched Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure, Yuan Shi fell deep into thought. Missing memories, emblem, origin, Lu surname¡ªwhat does he want, exactly? To give someone with a primeval surname his emblem does not seem like his style. Or, could it be¡­?

    No matter what Yuan Shi¡¯s guesses were, he could have never suspected that Lu Yin had stolen the bell, as that was simply impossible in his mind. The Chief Justice of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court was shrouded in fog at all times, and nobody was able to fully understand the man. Not even a powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000 could steal something from that man.

    No more than a few dayster, Elder Daggs unexpectedly sought out Lu Yin to enquire about the poison.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Was the poison effective?¡±

    Elder Daggs eximed, ¡°It wasn¡¯t just merely effective! Even powerhouses with power levels of 300,000 were unlucky. That poison has a corrosive effect against humans, machines, and everything it touches. It also affects the arrowheads greatly, so they have to be shot out immediately after the poison is applied. Otherwise, the poison will alsopletely corrode the arrows.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood.

    ¡°Do you still have any other such poisons?¡± Elder Daggs asked anxiously.

    This sort of poison was capable of dealing huge damage to the Technocracy¡¯s androids and all sorts of firearms. It could be used in this war as well as in all future wars.

    Lu Yin awkwardly answered, ¡°Elder, you guys have not paid the debt for the poisons that were givenst time.¡±

    Elder Daggs red fiercely at the youth. ¡°Are you selling the poison?¡±

    Lu Yin choked; why did it sound like he was being scolded?

    ¡°Elder, I have an insignificant background, and nobody provides me with resources. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to even obtain these poisons, and you should know their value. Junior cannot possibly be extending myself so far for free,¡± Lu Yin awkwardly exined.

    Elder Daggs coughed, but he also agreed. After thinking about it, he said, ¡°Your contributions this time were great. They helped bring about the deaths of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters as well as altered the regr battlefield. Thus, it¡¯s difficult to estimate the full value of your contributions. Yuan Shi intended to give you your rewards himself, but of course, as the overallmander of the border, I must also express my gratitude. Your military contributions are not that easily calcted, so let¡¯s settle things with an exchange.¡± He then tossed Lu Yin a cosmic ring. ¡°You can consider your poisons as being purchased by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Since the Hall of Honor was the one purchasing the poisons, then the payment should be quite extravagant. He thought about it before checking the cosmic ring, but once he did, his breath slowed for a moment; there were almost two million star essence within the ring.

    ¡°Elder, this is?¡± Lu Yin grew a little excited.

    Elder Daggs said, ¡°Your bottle of poison was strong enough to threaten powerhouses with a power level of 300,000, and its value should be close to one million star essence. There¡¯s enough star essence in that ring to buy another bottle as well.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed, as he had thought that everything in the ring was just for one bottle, but it turned out that he had gotten all excited for nothing.

    Still, the payment was pretty decent, as one vial of poison had cost him around 600,000 star essence to upgrade, which he had then sold for one million. His revenue nearly doubled his initial investment, which was a great profit.

    He could understand this from the Hall of Honor¡¯s position, as they were generous when they acted.

    ¡°How many more such poisons do you have?¡± Elder Daggs asked.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Three more.¡±

    Elder Daggs was surprised. ¡°Rumors have it that Frostwave Weave¡¯s Lu''s Grand Auction frequently sells goods that are beyond the imagination of normal people. It turns out that the rumors are true. Not bad, little fellow. Your destiny is pretty good.¡±

    He then passed Lu Yin another cosmic ring that held an additional two million star essence. ¡°We¡¯ll take all of them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes became luminous. ¡°This is very impressive, elder.¡±

    Elder Daggs smiled. ¡°Pass them over.¡±

    Lu Yin awkwardly replied, ¡°Could you wait a while? I¡¯ll deliver them to you in a few days.¡±

    Elder Daggs found the request to be rather strange, but he still nodded. ¡°Sure. Ah, right. If you have anything else that can be used on this battlefield, then sell it all to me, and we won¡¯t buy it at a low price.¡±

    With that, the Border Commander vanished.

    Lu Yin felt that he had found a VIP client.

    To a super-grade colossal organization like the Hall of Honor, star essence were just numbers, much the same as the Mavis Bank.

    He suddenly felt that this Elder Daggs was much more pleasing to the eye than Elder Lohar.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s liquid assets amounted to nearly five million star essence. Lu Yin¡¯s breathing quickened; once he had the right materials, he would be able to upgrade his universal armor¡¯s defensive capabilities to the point where it could even protect him from an Envoy! Once that happened, would he be able to step onto the battlefield with Envoys?

    There was an explosion in the distance, as a ruined android had suddenly self-destructed. It did not cause much damage, but the sound still jolted Lu Yin awake.

    He had been too pleased with himself and hadpletely been absorbed in his daydreams. So what if he could defend against attacks with a power level of 500,000? Wouldn¡¯t he still just be a target in that case? Others would be able to casually capture him and take him away. Also, it still remained to be seen whether or not the Yu Secret Art could divert Envoy-grade attacks. Either way, it would be useless even if he could divert such attacks. He recalled the helplessness he had felt back in the Daosource Sect''s ruins when he had faced Nightking Zhenwu. Even Nightking Zhenwu had been able to easily ovee the threat of the Yu Secret Art, let alone Envoy-level powerhouses.

    Lu Yin had lost himself in his daydreams, and that wouldn¡¯t do. He had to be more cautious.

    Five million star essence. How could he best use this newfound wealth? Lu Yin felt as though he were walking on air with the wind apanying every step he took. He was too rich at this moment. He was truly too wealthy.

    Just one counterattack had allowed the border to temporarily regain its peace. The Technocracy¡¯s side had been reinforced by countless androids and firearms, but their intention was not to resume the invasion. They had all been sent there to shore up the Technocracy¡¯s defenses.

    Because of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, a majority of the Outerverse¡¯s powerhouses had gathered at the border, and there were enough of them that the Technocracy might not be able to withstand a focused invasion. This was especially true due to Yuan Shi¡¯s presence, and he had caused the Technocracy to be panicked.

    The forces at the border,bined with Lu Yin¡¯s poisons, had forced the Technocracy off of the position of invaders and into bing the defenders.

 Chapter 847: Why Are You Angry?

    <h4>Chapter 847: Why Are You Angry?</h4>

    The border had stabilized for the moment, but in a distant part of the Astral Wilderness, on the with the giant mechanical arm, Xun Qianye stepped out into outer space as mechanical giants appeared behind him, one after another. All of them flew into outer space and headed towards the Outerverse.

    Xun Qianye had a ruthless look in his eyes. ¡°Lu Yin, this time, it¡¯s over!¡±

    At the border between Frostwave Weave and Northcastle Weave, there was a technologically advanced that was building its second space station. In the distance, a cylindrical warhead spewing a trail of fire flew into space and hurtled towards a deste that was some distance away. A continent on the deste was bombed and sted apart, causing the magma to bubble up from underground as red hurricanes wreaked havoc in the sky.

    Countless people on the cheered. They called this weapon a ¡°Research Bomb,¡± and after careful research and testing, they had managed to unleash an attack with a power level of 8,000. This was just one Research Bomb, and this bomb was actually oneponent of the Super Research Bomb. A true Super Research Bomb was assembled from hundreds ofponents, and its power was high enough to obliterate a with its power level reaching at least 30,000.

    Although this was technologically advanced, its civilization had not discovered cultivation yet, and it had only taken some initial steps towards making contact with the Great Yu Empire, so it was still in the state of being monitored.

    It was already very astounding for such a civilization to create a bomb that could threaten Explorers by purely relying on their technological prowess.

    The cultivators of the Great Yu Empire monitoring this quickly reported the incident to the Lu Office of Defense, as the military might be interested in this bomb.

    At that moment, from within the, a few more Research Bombs flew out, assembled together in space to form a true Super Research Bomb, and then rocketed towards that deste. This strike was enough to destroy that.

    Everyone watched on in anticipation.

    But just when the bomb was about to strike the, an enormous being suddenly appeared and grabbed the Super Research Bomb. It was an iparably massive mechanical giant, and the Super Research Bomb exploded in the titan¡¯s hand.

    The oue was shocking. That mechanical giant had not been harmed at all, and its palm was only slightly ckened.

    Countless people were overwhelmed, but they did not understand where this mechanical giant hade from.

    The cultivators from the Great Yu Empire who had been monitoring the also realized that something was amiss. They tried to contact the Lu Office of Defense only to find that all outgoing signals were being jammed, preventing them from establishing any sort of contact. Then, everything went ck before their eyes, and their consciousness ceased.

    Not long after, the mechanical giant left the region, leaving nothing more than a smashed and countless people thrown to the fringe of death in its wake.

    This scene happened not only in Frostwave Weave, but also in the other weaves.

    These mechanical giants had appeared suddenly, and its power level had nearly reached a Hunter¡¯s. That was still fine, but terrifyingly enough, these mechanical giants were also able to fire a light beam that came close to an Enlighter¡¯s attack. However, they could only unleash that powerful attack once, and after that, the entire mechanical being would explode. However, that one attack was enough.

    The Hunters in Northcastle Weave were instantly killed.

    On Zenyu Star, the Imperial Cab, the Lu Ministry of Staff, and Lu Office of Defense all received the news and saw images of the mechanical giants.

    The images had been transmitted to them by Yan Yan. He had fought against the mechanical giants and had destroyed one. But just when it had been about to be destroyed, the giant had fired a light beam, striking Yan Yan and severely injuring him.

    There was not just one mechanical giant, as a dozen had appeared in Frostwave Weave alone.

    The Imperial Cab hastened to order the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons to attack, and the various captains all set out to exterminate the mechanical colossi.

    More and more giants moved from the Astral Wilderness into the Outerverse, and they all caused a massacre wherever they went.

    The Hall of Honor quickly obtained news of the attacks, and they determined that these giants were from the Technocracy. In fact, these giants must be the trump cards the Technocracy had prepared for the Outerverse. The titans¡¯ objective was naturally to dilute the border¡¯s strength.

    The border had gathered powerhouses from all over the Outerverse¡¯s various weaves, which meant that their families and friends were spread all throughout the Outerverse. The objective of the border defense was to protect the defenders¡¯ families. As soon as they learned that their families were in danger, the morale at the border would be highly unstable.

    Under these helpless circumstances, in order to maintain focus on the bigger picture, the Hall of Honor sealed off all news from the Outerverse. They did not allow any information concerning the mechanical giants to spread to the border. At the same time, the second batch of cultivators who had originally been gathered to reinforce the border were instead sent out to wipe out the mechanical giants.

    These people included Meng Tianlong, Mu Nichang, and the leaders of the various great sects and ns.

    Not just that, but the Hall of Honor even contacted a few people who had hidden themselves in the Outerverse who were actually from the Innerverse, such as the members of the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, the cultivators from Northline Flowzone, and more. The Hall of Honor forced these people to move out and take care of the giants.

    The strength of the giants matched up to about that of an ordinary Hunter, but they were able to fire a single light beam that approached the power of an Enlighter, which led to a great number of cultivators perishing.

    Lu Yin, who was still at the distant border, did not know what was going on within the Outerverse¡¯s weaves.

    The Technocracy showed no intention of announcing this news, which puzzled the Hall of Honor. They had already made preparations for the border troops to learn of this news, but the situation at the border continued to remain very calm.

    In Frostwave Weave, Zenyu Star was facing a terrible enemy. The mechanical giants were able to move exceptionally fast, and it was impossible to know where they would next appear. During the previous two days, one of the titans had attacked Zenyu Star. Fortunately, Zenyu Star did notck for Hunters, and they had managed to destroy the giant.

    Walking along the streets of Zenyu Star, Xun Qianye lifted his gadget and seemed to send out a message of some sort. He looked up with a gloomy expression. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re seeking death yourself, so don¡¯t me me.¡±

    He then looked towards King Zishan''s pce as his lips twisted into a sinister sneer. He turned around and nearly ran into someone in the process.

    In front of him was an massive g standing tall with massive words garishly written upon it: ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    What the heck? Xun Qianye was stunned, and he took a step back. Starsibyl? Grandpa Jiu?

    Behind the g, Xuan Jiu walked out, dressed in a grey gown, and his eyes lit up when he saw Xun Qianye. ¡°Old friend, have you been well?¡±

    Xun Qianye frowned. ¡°You are¡­?¡±

    Xuan Jiu pressed a hand onto Xun Qianye¡¯s shoulder, and in a passionate voice, eximed, ¡°Old friend, it¡¯s me! Don¡¯t you remember? I¡¯m your Grandpa Jiu.¡±

    Xun Qianye was infuriated. ¡°You dare to curse me?¡±

    He was only a moment away from acting.

    Xuan Jiu hurriedly continued, saying, ¡°Old friend, you really don¡¯t remember? I even carried you when you were a child, and you peed on me. That urine was quite vigorous!¡±

    Xun Qianye raised a hand, and his star energy formed strange chains that were about to bind Xuan Jiu. Xun Qianye¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die.¡±

    At that moment, a figure rapidly approached from a distance and descended next to the two men. He stared at Xuan Jiu intensely. ¡°Fortune-teller, help me look again to see if I can go in!¡±

    The new arrival was Ku Wei, as he had constantly been searching for Xuan Jiu.

    When Lu Yin had been chosen as the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, Ku Wei had bumped into Xuan Jiu, who had been wandering around outside the imperial pce at the time. He had seen that Ku Wei hade to the Outerverse in order to enter a tomb in outer space. His prediction was indeed true, and the old man saying that much had astounded Ku Wei. However, Xuan Jiu had gone on to predict that Ku Wei would never be able to enter the tomb in his life, which had caused Ku Wei to be flustered.

    After receiving the Yu bloodline¡¯s qualification to enter the mausoleum, the first thought that had entered Ku Wei¡¯s mind was Xuan Jiu. Ku Wei wanted to have Xuan Jiu check if he could enter the mausoleum now. No matter how those others evaluated Xuan Jiu, this guy had indeed seen Ku Wei¡¯s true objective ining to the Outerverse.

    Xuan Jiu grew impatient. ¡°I just ran into my old friend. I¡¯m not telling you anything right now.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s brows furrowed, and he looked over at Xun Qianye.

    Xun Qianye was still holding the chains of star energy in his hands, and he had just been interrupted by Ku Wei. He nced at the youth and saw that he was just an Explorer, so Xun Qianye did not ce him in his eyes, and he immediately tossed the chains at Xuan Jiu. ¡°Shoot off your mouth, and I will make you wish for death!¡±

    Xuan Jiu shrieked and immediately backed off. ¡°Old friend, why are you so angry?¡±

    Ku Wei stepped forward and seized the chains. He stared at Xun Qianye. ¡°How bold! How dare you attack others on Zenyu Star, let alone in front of Brother Wei! What, was your home a mining?¡±

    ¡°Junior, you are looking to die,¡± Xun Qianye growled angrily. He controlled his star energy to only spread into an area a hundred meters around his body so that he would not draw the attention of Zenyu Star¡¯s Hunters. He then caused the chains to dissipate, only to condense them once again. This time, his target was not only Xuan Jiu, but Ku Wei as well.

    Ku Wei was infuriated. ¡°Alright, Brother Wei has traveled throughout the universe for so many years, but it¡¯s my first time seeing someone be so arrogant! Regardless, Brother Wei is the Tenth Squadron¡¯s captain, and you still dare to be so aggressive?¡±

    He then unleashed his domain and instantly jostled the area that had been filled with Xun Qianye¡¯s chains. Ku Wei¡¯s star energy erupted towards the sky and caused Zenyu Star to tremble.

    Xun Qianye had not expected the person before him to be so powerful, and this youth was clearly not an ordinary Explorer, but rather another amazingly talented genius. The Tenth Squadron Captain? This development was troubling, and as Xun Qianye thought about it, he wanted to quickly leave and flee from Zenyu Star.

    There were quite a few experts on Zenyu Star at this time, and he did not want to create any trouble.

    However, Ku Wei would not let the man escape so easily, as those who had offended him would need to have their hides scraped off, even if it was Lu Yin. Ku Wei didn¡¯t care about whether or not he could defeat this Hunter, as he could use the power of Zenyu Star to suppress him. Who had let this old fart threaten Ku Wei? Disgusting! Brother Wei would follow his own style, and yet this old guy still wanted to run?

    ¡°Finger Tap,¡± Ku Wei growled, causing his domain in the sky to condense into a finger that mmed downwards. This finger created a magnificent sight, but even more terrifying was the peculiar energy that appeared when he used Finger Tap. This energy removed any thought of resistance from Xun Qianye¡¯s mind, as he had been overwhelmed. This Explorer was able to disy a battle technique that could influence a Hunter¡¯s mental state, which meant that his background could not be ordinary.

    Xun Qianye was a Hunter as well as someone from the Innerverse¡¯s Xun Family. Thus, his battle power was not weak by any means. Their family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique was famous throughout the universe, and his star energy quickly formed a strange shape that manifested in multiple oveppingyers that tried to block the Finger Tap. His figure shed as he then tried to flee from Zenyu Star.

    Ku Wei was surprised; this old fart was not bad!

    Suddenly, a fire burned the void and engulfed everything nearby, including Xun Qianye. From beyond the mes, cold air isted this area of the sky and formed ayer of ice that isted the heavens and earth.

    Xun Qianye hurriedly dispelled the ze around him and thenunched an attack in an attempt to shatter theyer of ice. With his strength, he was not afraid of abination attack from Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna. However, a dazzling radiance filled his eyes, and Xun Qianye was nearly blinded. He instinctively ran away from his original location, but he was still struck by a sneak attack from Ku Wei. The youth¡¯s Finger Tap pierced through Xun Qianye¡¯s thigh while also knocking him against theyer of ice, causing fresh blood to stain the barrier.

    Ku Wei sniggered. ¡°Ultra sh Tearbomb! Lu Yin, that fellow is still pretty cunning for him toe up with something like this. It¡¯s strangely effective, haha.¡±

    Xun Qianye was furious, and once he could clearly see his surroundings again, he found that he had been surrounded by Huo Qingshan, Xueshan Auna, and Ku Wei. ¡°Old bastard, start behaving yourself. You don¡¯t look like a good guy.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s Xun Qianye, a criminal who¡¯s wanted by the empire. Capture him!¡± Huo Qingshan barked.

    Xun Qianye was quickly captured, which made him enter a frenzied state. ¡°Release me! There¡¯s a disaster looming over you guys! Frostwave Weave, no, the entire Great Eastern Alliance is about to be destroyed! Release me, and I can spare your lives!¡±

    ¡°This old bastard¡¯s gone nuts.¡± Ku Wei was puzzled, but he suddenly thought of something. He looked down, only to see that Xuan Jiu had vanished without a trace.

    Huo Qingshan and Xueshan Auna exchanged nces, and they saw the worry in each other¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 848: A Thatched Cottage

    <h4>Chapter 848: A Thatched Cottage</h4>

    After a while, someone from the Twelfth Squadron reported, ¡°Zenyu Star¡¯s coordinates have been found in Xun Qianye¡¯s gadget. And¡­¡± The cultivator¡¯s face suddenly paled as he paused for a moment. ¡°An extermination request.¡±

    The Imperial Cab, the Lu Ministry of Staff, the Lu Office of Defense, and any other organization that had any authority on Zenyu Star gathered together, as they felt that a true cmity was about to descend upon them.

    Xun Qianye had not hidden anything, and he had already mentioned something about super powerhouses destroying the Great Eastern Alliance. However, he had not said anything specific about which super powerhouses would be taking action.

    Although the man had not provided any details, everyone was able to guess that the attackers would be those mechanical giants from the Technocracy.

    Ku Wei felt his hair stand on end, and he even wanted to leave the.

    However, he also doubted Xun Qianye¡¯s words. If the man was able to call upon powerhouses from the Technocracy to destroy the Great Yu Empire, then that meant that he was colluding with the Technocracy, which insinuated that the Innerverse¡¯s entire Xun family was also colluding with the Technocracy. This was not logical, as this person should not be such a fool, and all of the gathered leaders recognized this fact.

    ¡°What if he really is certain that we are doomed?¡± Huan Sha asked softly, and everyone fell silent.

    At the same time, a petite, female-looking android tore through the void to appear in Frostwave Weave. Its appearance gave everyone the sensation that the sky was copsing, and her power swept through all of Frostwave Weave.

    Everyone suddenly leaped to their feet as they felt this overpowering might wash over them.

    Ku Wei¡¯s face turned white. ¡°300,000- No! An old monster with a power level of at least 400,000. RUN!¡± Then, he sneaked away.

    The rest were in despair. Run? Could they even flee? What sort of concept was a power level of 400,000? They didn¡¯t know that, but they did know that they would never be able to escape from such a powerhouse.

    All of Frostwave Weave began to tremble.

    At the border warfront, an expert with a power level of 400,000 was not the peak, and even the Outerverse was able to defend against such powerhouses. However, for Frostwave Weave, the appearance of such a powerhouse was inexplicable.

    The female-looking android¡¯s vision transcended space as it looked towards the three maind rings of Zenyu Star. It then raised its foot, causing the void to shudder. This single step allowed it to instantly arrive at Zenyu Star, and the step also allowed it to destroy everything on Zenyu Star.

    However, at this moment, the female android suddenly froze, and it slowly turned its head. Its vision streaked through the endless void until it focused on a very ordinary-looking with almost no technological development, whose inhabitants were still living in an ancient society. The android¡¯s focus swept across the until it finally froze on a very ordinary-looking vige thaty within the middle of a mountain range. It focused on the most ordinary-looking thatched cottage within the vige. The cottage looked as though it would copse to the faintest breath of wind.

    Time seemed to pause at that moment, and the female-looking android¡¯s eyes shed with red light, as if it was considering something.

    After a short while, the android retracted the foot that had been about to step forward, and instead, it turned to leave. The boundless might that had shrouded all of Frostwave Weave vanished in an instant.

    Everything that had just transpired felt like an illusion.

    To those on Zenyu Star, the desperation had not yet left them, and they were still waiting in fear.

    However, even after a long while, no peak powerhouse had arrived, which caused the gathered people to be confused.

    Another day passed, and still, no powerhouses had descended. Various regions that had been attacked by the mechanical giants sent in reports, and the results were shocking: all of the titans had withdrawn.

    The gathered people were all puzzled.

    Xun Qianye, who had been imprisoned on Zenyu Star, grew even more sullen. What was going on? Why hadn¡¯t they arrived yet? They should have arrived long ago, and the hidden lord who was in the Astral Wilderness should have also arrived since Xun Qianye had delivered the coordinates.

    But regardless of the man¡¯s expectations, the Outerverse returned to peace, or at the least, Frostwave Weave remained peaceful.

    When Lu Yin finally learned of what had happened, it was already several days after the crisis had been averted.

    ¡°What? Frostwave Weave was attacked?¡± Lu Yin looked at Yuan Shi in surprise.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s eyes were deep. ¡°Not only Frostwave Weave, but rather the entire Outerverse. However, a powerhouse whose power level was in the several hundreds of thousands suddenly appeared in Frostwave Weave, but they vanished just as suddenly.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as he was not happy to learn that the truth had been hidden from him. However, when speaking with Yuan Shi, Lu Yin could not show such displeasure no matter how frustrated he was internally.

    He could understand the Hall of Honor¡¯s struggle, as they were afraid that the matters in the rest of the Outerverse would influence the border¡¯s defense. However, to Lu Yin, the Great Yu Empire was very important, as that was where his friends lived, as well as the alliance that he had established through his own efforts. Not to mention, Earth was there as well, which was the ce that he viewed as home.

    ¡°The Technocracy tried to sneak attack various regions of the Outerverse to alleviate some of the pressure on the border. To the border defense, such actions are merely a distraction. The border¡¯s strength definitely cannot be dispersed, and the troops¡¯ morale cannot be affected. Do you understand?¡± Yuan Shi asked in a low voice.

    Lu Yin bowed his head. ¡°Junior understands.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. ¡°When something happens here at the border, it is like Frostwave Weave is being attacked. It¡¯s good so long as you understand. I sought you out to ask you: are there any absolute powerhouses in Frostwave Weave?¡±

    Lu Yin first thought of that Yu family elder, as he was someone from the Seven Courts. That old man had even saved his Yu bloodline members from the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s pursuit before hiding his family within the Outerverse. Such a person¡¯s strength could not be estimated, though Lu Yin was a little hesitant when faced with Yuan Shi¡¯s questioning. Should Lu Yin reveal the elder¡¯s existence? After all, the Court of Seven Names was not an ally of the Hall of Honor, and it may not be a good thing for the remnants of the Yu bloodline if Lu Yin revealed anything. After all, Wendy was also a member of that bloodline.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s gaze was deep as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°It looks like you know.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed low. ¡°Replying to Senior¡ªit could be Master.¡±

    Yuan Shi did not feel that this answer was unexpected, as various bits of evidence already pointed to this kid having a very powerful mentor. His resources, the crises he had encountered and survived though, as well as his futon: all of these things had been given to Lu Yin by his Master. Previously, Yuan Shi had been curious about Lu Yin¡¯s Master because of the futon. Yuan Shi was more clear than almost anyone else on the importance of a futon, as the Fifth Maind had only ten futons. However, Lu Yin¡¯s Master had actually been able to obtain one, which was no simple feat.

    ¡°Your Master is very powerful,¡± Yuan Shi said appreciatively.

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°Junior does not know of Master¡¯s true strength.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded and did not ask any further questions. ¡°I looked for you at this time for another important matter.¡± Yuan Shi¡¯s gaze suddenly turned solemn.  Hydrotink was raided.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, then a thought shed through his brain like lightning. ¡°The box has been stolen?¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as the Neohuman Alliance had indeed still acted in the end. That box was apparently very important to them, but they had not been able to seize it back on Sourcepeak. Thus, when the majority of the Outerverse¡¯s strength had been gathered at the border of Endless Weave, they had finally made a move.

    To the Neohuman Alliance, it was possible that all humans were their enemies. They had no concept of borders, and nor did they differentiate by Mainds. It was not surprising for them to act at this time.

    Cai Jianqiang had long since been drafted to the border warfront, and it was impossible for people at Felynn¡¯s level to stop the Neohuman Alliance.

    ¡°Yuan Shi, what does that box contain?¡± Lu Yin could not help but ask.

    Yuan Shi sighed emotionally, and his expression turnedplex. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know that. I¡¯m letting you know about this because you once promised the Hall of Honor that you would protect the box. But now, the box has been stolen, though it was while you were at the border. Thus, it¡¯s none of your concern, and there¡¯s no need for you to feel pressured.¡±

    Lu Yin had not felt any pressure originally, as the box had belonged to the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and it was not his concern if it was taken. A promise was a promise, but he was helpless in this situation as he had not been able to guard or protect it. It was a pity. Originally, Geoffrey¡¯s secret room had held two boxes. One box contained True Insight, which Lu Yin kept for himself this entire time, so the other box¡¯s contents could not be any less valuable than True Insight.

    The Neohuman Alliance should not have too great of an interest towards True Insight; otherwise, they would not have allowed Deng Pu escape from Sourcepeak during their attack. Their objective was solely the other box, which was the one that had been stolen. Unfortunately, Lu Yin did not know what that box contained, only that the second box held something with a greater value than True Insight to the Neohuman Alliance.

    ¡°With that thing stolen, we don¡¯t know if it will be a blessing or a disaster yet. Alright, you may leave now.¡± Yuan Shi became a little lethargic.

    Lu Yin bowed respectfully and then left.

    The gathered strength of the Outerverse¡¯s border defense did not decline despite various weaves being attacked by the Technocracy¡¯s mechanical giants. The sixvazones asionally attacked the Technocracy¡¯s side of the border, and with Lu Yin¡¯s poisons, they were able to inflict huge losses to the Technocracy.

    The three vials of poisons that Lu Yin owed Elder Daggs had been passed to the border''smander the previous day.

    Lu Yin had enjoyed a smooth time with his die on that day, as he had immediately rolled three pips: Enhance. The more time he spent with his die, the easier he felt it was to roll the number he wanted. But one point left him puzzled, which was that the die itself had no rune lines, which seemed very strange.

    Lu Yin upgraded the three vials of poisons, which had cost him 1.8 million star essence, reducing his total liquid assets to 3.2 million star essence, which was still quite considerable.

    He was still floating around in a dream.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity that the items in his possession were not worth upgrading. His bracer, Bacsh Pearl, universal armor, and sh Tearbombs had all been upgraded to the maximum, and their materials did not allow them to be upgraded any further. Also, the other items that he had, like the poison that drained one¡¯s life force or the divine arrows, no longer needed to be upgraded either.

    At this time, Lu Yin required better materials.

    If the materials of his universal armor could be improved so that his armor could be upgraded to the degree where it could withstand an Envoy¡¯s attack, Lu Yin would no longer need to be afraid of experts with power levels of 300,000. That would also greatly improve his ability to keep his life while fighting at the border.

    Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er had simrly received significant contributions during this time, as Lu Yin had not hidden their contributions. He did not feel it worthwhile to try to steal their aplishments.

    Ancestor Mojiang and the other Sixth Maind cultivators all retreated deep into the Technocracy¡¯s territory.

    The situation at the border seemed to have calmed down, but the calmer the situation appeared to be, the deeper the ns that were hidden in the darkness. Whether it was Yuan Shi, the Arrow Mountain Elder, other absolute powerhouses, or even those like Lu Yin and Wei Rong, they all felt like an overwhelming power could appear from the depths of outer space at any moment.

    The Sixth Maind would likely receive reinforcements before long.

    Others may not have a great understanding of the Sixth Maind, but Lu Yin certainly did. It was not only from his experiences in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, but also from all of his previous encounters, such as the time he had explored the inside of the ancient centipede''s body. There, he had found a dead corpse, pinned to the ground, and that person should have participated in an ancient war. That ancient war had likely been the war between the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind.

    Also, there was that ind on the far side of the Ocean of Death, where Lu Yin had heard that strange phrase: ¡°Five turning into six, the skies have changed.¡±

    Ever since the Outerverse had been separated from the Innerverse, great changes had happened to the universe, Lu Yin guessed that theyer covering the ¡°sixth¡± had been torn apart by someone. This allowed the entire Sixth Maind to return, which was what had triggered the current invasion. However, it was important to remember that the Sixth Maind possessed the ability to cover this area of the Fifth Maind. Regardless if one considered the invasion in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, the Sixth Maind still had not used its full strength anywhere, whereas the Fifth Maind was already giving its all.

    Lu Yin was also greatly anticipating what the Yu Elder had mentioned, that the Fifth Maind was not as simple as it appeared to be. Otherwise, as soon as the Sixth Maind¡¯s reinforcements arrived, the Outerverse would fall to the invaders. Lu Yin¡¯s only hopey within the Neoverse.

    At the moment, the entire Outerverse was incapable of stopping a single Bloodburn Realm.

    Within the Technocracy, inside a mechanical fortress, Yan Xiaojing¡¯s face was deathly pale. Despite several days already passing, she still had not recovered from her stunned status. She had remained in this condition ever since she had learned that Yan Cheng had died.

    Thepetition within the Sixth Maind was extremely cruel, and an Imprinter''s family ranked neither high nor low. Yan Cheng had schemed to find a way to marry his n into the Autumnfrost family, and he had even wanted to give that arrow over to Ancestor Autumnfrost in order to raise his status up another level. But at this time, not only would the Yan family not rise up to a new level, but their ancestor had even died! This was too heavy of a blow to the Yan family.

 Chapter 849: The Old Assassins

    <h4>Chapter 849: The Old Assassins</h4>

    If an Imprinter family didn¡¯t have an Imprinter, then they would no longer be recognized as an Imprinter family. Quite simply, the family would quickly lose its status.

    The Huang family was a clear example of what would happen to such a family.

    The Yan family had previously looked down upon the Huang family, but at present, they were in the same situation.

    Yan Xiaojing was very smart, but only after this event actually urred did she gain a clearer understanding of how drastic the consequences could be.

    Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s attitude towards Yan Xiaojing had clearly changed, and he wasn¡¯t as caring towards her anymore. He coldly told her, ¡°Don''t worry. Even if Elder Yan is dead, the Qiu family will still take care of you.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing nodded. ¡°Thank you, brother Autumnfrost.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing caressed Yan Xiaojing¡¯s face with a satisfied expression. He didn¡¯t care about Yan Cheng¡¯s death. Although an extra Imprinter would have been beneficial to the Autumnfrost family, obtaining such a powerhouse wasn¡¯t crucial for them. Thus, Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s goal at the moment was to simply enjoy himself with Yan Xiaojing. He held her closer and tried to kiss her.

    Yan Xiaojing was shocked, and she instinctively pushed Autumnfrost Qing away, warily saying, ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, please behave yourself.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing was annoyed at her refusal. ¡°Xiaojing, you¡¯re nearly mine, so what are you worried about?¡±

    Yan Xiaojing took a few steps back and red at Autumnfrost Qing. ¡°Brother Autumnfrost, I- I want to wait until we get married first.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing stiffly answered, ¡°We don¡¯t know how long this war willst for, so there¡¯s no reason to wait. You¡¯ll be my woman from now on.¡± He then forcefully pulled Yan Xiaojing closer towards him.

    Yan Xiaojing turned pale. If Yan Cheng was still alive, then she would definitely end up marrying Autumnfrost Qing. However, now that her ancestor had died, the Autumnfrost family would no longer be as agreeable to a marriage between Autumnfrost Qing and someone from the Yan family. She would never let Autumnfrost Qing have her lest she ruin her chances for marriage in the future.

    However, Yan Xiaojing was not powerful enough to push back Autumnfrost Qing, and her imprint had also been greatly weakened with Yan Cheng¡¯s death.

    The door of the room was flung open with a bang, and Fatty Bro red at Autumnfrost Qing in fury. ¡°Let Xiaojing go.¡±

    Killing intent shed through Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes. ¡°Stupid fatty, how dare you!¡± He had wanted to kill this fatty before, but he had been stopped by Yan Cheng. However, that meant that there was no longer anyone around to stop Autumnfrost Qing.

    He raised a hand and attacked with a Skyrender w.

    The fatty opened his mouth as his body quickly expanded. The silhouette of a Sky-Eater Pig appeared and swallowed the Skyrender w.

    Autumnfrost Qing smirked. Both Yan Xiaojing and the fatty had lost their imprints due to Yan Cheng¡¯s death, and so, their strength had fallen dramatically. It would be extremely easy for Autumnfrost Qing to defeat them both. He retaliated by kicking at the fatty with his improved strength from his Sky Overlord bloodline.

    The fatty spat out a mouthful of blood when he struck the wall.

    Yan Xiaojing rushed over and helped Huang San up. ¡°Please leave now.¡±

    Huang San red at Autumnfrost Qing. ¡°I won¡¯t leave.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing started despairing. ¡°Just leave! He¡¯s going to kill you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± The fatty bellowed as he stared daggers at Autumnfrost Qing.

    Autumnfrost Qing was about to attack again, but he didn''t want to attract too much attention. Although he was the heir of the Autumnfrost family, the invasion was not going well, and the members of the Mojiang family were all in a bad mood. Thus, he didn¡¯t want to create any trouble. He coldly red at the fatty and Yan Xiaojing. ¡°Stupid Fatty! I¡¯ll make your life hell!¡±

    He then looked at Yan Xiaojing. ¡°You should consider this carefully. Your family won¡¯t be able to survive in the Bloodburn Realm without my family¡¯s protection.¡± He then turned around and left.

    Everyone in the nearby area stared at the fatty and Yan Xiaojing with pity in their eyes before leaving.

    The universe was a cruel ce, and nobody was able to help the Yan family after Yan Cheng¡¯s death.

    Huang San spat out another mouthful of blood as he turned to look at Yan Xiaojing. He then weakly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing stared at Huang San in shock, and she suddenly felt that he was extremely impressive. Although he had been defeated by Autumnfrost Qing, the current fatty still made her feel safe. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The fatty was feeling worried; Autumnfrost Qing had just injured him rather badly, and both he and Yan Xiaojing had lost their imprints.

    Autumnfrost Qing wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them at the moment due to the ongoing war, but as soon as they returned to the Sixth Maind, there would be many people who would dly help Autumnfrost Qing deal with them.

    ¡°Xiaojing, let¡¯s run away from the Bloodburn Region,¡± the fatty whispered.

    Yan Xiaojing was stunned. She had always thought that she was a very smart and calm person, but at this moment, she became extremely flustered. ¡°But what about my Yan family?¡±

    ¡°As long as we manage to escape, the Autumnfrost family won¡¯t dare to do anything to the Yan family as there are other powerhouses in your family. Besides, Elder Yan Cheng made a great contribution to the invasion¡¯s efforts, and the Autumnfrost family won¡¯t be able to go too overboard,¡± the fatty said.

    After Yan Xiaojing thought about it, she firmly answered. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ***

    There was a white dot in the dark vacuum of the Outerverse, and it was a that had been entirely frozen.

    This was extremely cold, and even Hunter realm powerhouses couldn¡¯t survive there.

    Starfox appeared and descended towards the surface from the sky, stepping foot on the cryopreserved. A stone staircase suddenly appeared as the ground copsed, and he descended down the stairs until he reached an underground room that had beenpletely frozen over. This was where the founding members of Aegis rested in cryostasis, and one of them would awaken every thousand years and assume management of Aegis.

    Starfox approached a white, metal coffin and knocked against it. He then took a few steps back.

    The white metal lid opened a few momentster and a pale hand appeared from within. The hand was very small, and it looked to be a child¡¯s hand. Following the hand, a child appeared in front of Starfox. However, the child standing there had a precocious and aloof gaze.

    ¡°Has it been a thousand years already?¡± the child asked in a clear yet icy voice.

    Starfox shook his head, ¡°It hasn''t been a thousand years yet, but you must wake up. The Hall of Honor has drafted all of us to join Endless Weave¡¯s defense.¡±

    The child asked, ¡°Has the Technocracy attacked?¡±

    ¡°Not only the Technocracy. There¡¯s also another unknown force called the Sixth Maind, ording to the Hall of Honor.¡±

    The child was perplexed, but he didn¡¯t ask any further questions. Instead, he turned to look at the other coffin. ¡°What about him?¡±

    ¡°He must go to the battlefield as well,¡± Starfox said reluctantly.

    The child fully emerged from the white coffin. ¡°How is Aegis doing?¡±

    Starfox was uncertain about how he should answer that question. The Outerverse had recently been isted from the Innerverse, the Great Eastern Alliance had formed, and Aegis had also fought against Lu Yin. Altogether, there were too many things for him to share with the others. ¡°I have recorded everything onto this chip so that you can take a look at it for yourself.¡± He then passed a memory chip over to the child.

    ***

    In another region of the Outerverse, Madam Nn looked at a screen and slowly bowed. ¡°Mother, the Hall of Honor has conscripted us to help out with the defense.¡±

    The screen showed an olddy, and although her face was covered in wrinkles, the rest of her skin was clean and smooth.

    The olddy had aplicated expression. ¡°The Sixth Maind? I have heard of it before, but it¡¯s been too long. I can¡¯t remember anything about it.¡±

    ***

    At the edge of Endless Weave, a spacecraft with Endless Borders¡¯ logo was headed towards the border.

    This spacecraft had traveled out of the Astral Wilderness, and on it was one of Endless Borders¡¯ expedition teams. They had been conscripted to join the defense as well.

    ***

    Many forces in the Outerverse had been drafted to the border warfront.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s retreat did not mean that the war was over. On the contrary, it was actually an indication that the battle had intensified.

    This was the natural progression, as the war would have eventually reached this stage with or without the Fifth Maind¡¯s sessful counterattack. Nobody could stop it from reaching this point.

    The only thing that the Hall of Honor could do at this time was find all of the hidden powers throughout the Outerverse and send them all to the border.

    Despite that, no matter how powerful the Hall of Honor was, they couldn¡¯t fully grasp every corner of the Outerverse. Thus, there would always be hidden powerhouses in the Outerverse. However, nearly all of them had been sent to the border by now, and even if there were still other powerhouses hiding, it would only be a small number.

    If the border defense was truly defeated, then those powerhouses would still be forced to appear in the end. Thus, there was no reason for them to continue hiding.

    These powerhouses were essentially the second batch of reinforcements, along with the people who had been sent out to destroy the mechanical giants. The Hall of Honor didn''t want to conscript a third batch, as that would be equivalent to admitting that they were close toplete defeat. This was because there were not enough powerhouses to produce a third batch of reinforcements, and the people who would make up this theoretical third reinforcement would be the final strength of the Outerverse, such as Huo Qingshan and Hill Auna from the Great Yu Empire, or the members of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    These people wouldn¡¯t be of much help at the border warfront. If they were truly drafted, then it would mean that the border had already failed and that such people were just being used as cannon fodder.

    Lu Yin had previously been transferred to the Greatwood Lavazone due to the incessant attacks on that region, and he had assumed that he would be sent back to the Ironblood Lavazone after the Sixth Maind¡¯s retreat. However, he didn¡¯t receive any such notification.

    The arrival of the second batch of reinforcements increased the number of Enlighters within the Greatwood Lavazone by two. One of the Enlighters was the captain of an Endless Borders expedition team, Captain Shi, and his rune lines revealed that his power level had nearly reached 300,000, and his strength far exceeded Akira¡¯s. The other Enlighter was actually even more powerful. Their rune lines numbered more than Captain Shi¡¯s, but the most important detail was that this person was an assassin.

    Lu Yin nced at the assassin in the distance, and they turned around to stare at Lu Yin with cold eyes in turn.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt chills crawl down his back.

    He immediately thought of Aegis; this person was an assassin, and their power level was clearly above 300,000. The only assassins who had achieved such strength in the Outerverse were the founding members of Aegis who had been preserved through cryostasis.

    Lu Yin had previously guessed that the assassins who had survived the past culling of assassins had to be extremely powerful if they had gone on to establish Aegis. At this time, his guess had finally been confirmed.

    Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t insisted on fighting Aegis to the death, as Smoker definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill these kinds of people. Smoker might be able to escape from powerhouses whose power levels were in the hundreds of thousands, but they were definitely not capable of defeating an expert with such strength.

    The assassin nced at Lu Yin and then disappeared, with even their rune lines vanishing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows perked up, as he had confirmed that this person was definitely from Aegis. They were the only people who had a method to conceal their rune lines.

    Two Enlighters had joined the Greatwood Lavazone, and the same also had to be true for the other regions.

    Even the old assassins from Aegis had joined the border¡¯s defense. Thus, it seemed that there really weren¡¯t any more hidden powerhouses remaining in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin was happy about that, as he had no wish to suffer from any hidden threats.

    Lu Yin soon heard that Astral-9 had also arrived.

    He was surprised by this development, as Astral-9 had always remained in Endless Weave, though they were situated quite far from the border. Without the speed of a radiant-grade Aurora, it would take someone at least ten days to travel from Astral-9 to the border. Lu Yin had not expected the Hall of Honor to draft Astral-9 as well.

 Chapter 850: Standard Answer

    <h4>Chapter 850: Standard Answer</h4>

    Lu Yin initially thought that the Astral Academies were fixed academies, but he quickly realized that they were more like ten battleships that roamed about the universe.

    In the past, he had seen an unknown sky in the Skygazing Deck, and at that time, he had seen numerous battleships flying towards an unknown destination.

    The ten Astral Academies had actually been built upon ten battleships.

    Back then, he had not known where the battleships were headed, but now, he had an answer. They had probably been headed towards the Sixth Maind, intent on joining the ancient war between the two mainds.

    That ancient war had been the true fight between the two mainds; Progenitors, and even Envoy-realm powerhouses, were not safe from danger during those battles.

    These ancient battleships were all enormous, and each one wasparable to Millions City. Lu Yin had seen more than ten ships in his visions, but now, there were only ten remaining.

    These battleships were remnants of an older time.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s current war with the Sixth Maind had prompted Astral-9¡¯s appearance, which had been built on the back of the ancient battleship. This truly was a continuation of the ancient war between the two mainds.

    Soon after, Lu Yin asked the Arrow Mountain Elder for permission to temporarily leave the Greatwood Lavazone so that he could visit Astral-9. He wanted to visit Astral-9¡¯s Stargazing Deck, as he wanted to take a closer look at the details of the ancient vision, such as the imprint of the Skybeast w upon the battleship.

    He also wanted to find out who was the owner of that overwhelming finger.

    The students of Astral-9 frequently participated in the border defense, but they had not experienced such an intense war before.

    When news of Liu Yin¡¯s near death experiences reached Astral-9, a lot of the students couldn¡¯t wait to join the battlefield and fight against the cultivators from the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin asked to enter Astral-9 during the lull in the battle.

    Nobody stopped him, as the ten academies were considered a single unit. Their students would asionally assist each other, and especially so during situations like this border defense.

    Moreover, Lu Yin was even more famous than Liu Yin, as other Astral-9 students had told the rest that Lu Yin had saved them during a battle. This had caused many students from Astral-9 to feel grateful towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin checked his surroundings after arriving at Astral-9¡¯s space station. This was his first time visiting another academy. Although he had tried to visit Astral-7 before, he had identally fallen into the hidden space with the golden sea, never making it all the way to Astral-7.

    The students all stared at him in awe. Lu Yin had be famous, and he was instantly surrounded the moment he exited the space station.

    The students all stared at Lu Yin with fervent eyes.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t used to such treatment. Although he was used to being treated as someone powerful, he had never been idolized in such a manner before. This effect waspounded by the fact that they kept calling him senior, which made him feel very proud. This was truly the power of youth!

    ¡°Senior, your battle with Liu Shaoqiu from the Sword Sect was so exciting! Can you teach us how to fight against swordsmen?¡±

    ¡°Senior, you defeated the Celestial Ice Phoenix from the Astral Beast Domain during the Tournament of the Strongest, but I heard that the Celestial Ice Phoenix turned into a beauty. So just how did you manage to defeat her?¡±

    ¡°Senior, thank you for saving Senior Liu Yin in the Ironblood Lavazone.¡±

    ¡°Senior, thank you for saving Chao Zhi¡ªshe¡¯s my goddess.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin blinked and turned to the male student who had mentioned that Chao Zhi was his goddess. Lu Yin replied, ¡°I wish you luck.¡±

    The male student grew very excited. ¡°Thank you for your encouragement, senior. We will definitely invite you to our wedding.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I heard someone say that you defeated a Celestial Ice Phoenix? That¡¯s my future wife! Don¡¯t you dare,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey and continued making his way to the Stargazing Deck even while starstruck students crowded all around him.

    The Stargazing Deck was the most mysterious location within all of the Astral Academies.

    Lu Yin arrived at the Stargazing Deck and saw an enormous amount of rune lines. Then, the Starmaster stood up and looked as though he was about to leave.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as Astral-9¡¯s Starmaster was very powerful. He was actuallyparable to the assassin from Aegis that Lu Yin had seen earlier in the Greatwood Lavazone, which was very befitting of the tutor for the most mysterious ce within the Astral Combat Academies.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure about the strength of the mentors in Astral-10, as he had only seen the surface level of that academy. However, he had seen the Starmaster¡¯s true power when he had been leaving Astral-10.

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. Greetings to the Starmaster of Astral-9.¡± Lu Yin bowed respectfully.

    The Starmaster looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I wish to enter the Stargazing Deck,¡± Lu Yin nervously informed the man, as he wasn¡¯t sure whether or not he would be allowed to do so.

    The Starmaster paused. ¡°Students who have graduated are not allowed to enter the Stargazing Deck.¡¯

    Lu Yin answered in an anxious tone, ¡°I have not graduated yet. I was still a Limiteer when the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse.¡±

    The Starmaster nodded. ¡°Alright, I will make an exception for you. Come in.¡±

    Lu Yin was ted, and he bowed to the Starmaster again. He entered the Stargazing Deck under the eyes of countless students and sat down. He then slowly closed his eyes as he heard the Starmaster¡¯s voice call out, ¡°Feel with your heart. The Stargazing Deck shows you the stars, your gratitude, and your grudges. The world through the ages, the cycle of causality, and a part of the universe that belongs to you.¡±

    After some time, Lu Yin once again saw the unfamiliar sky with countless battleships traveling into the distance. The word ¡°Endless¡± was inscribed on the hull of the first battleship, and as Lu Yin approached the battleship, he could see that the battleship¡¯s surface bore scars, blood, and even corpses. Then, he finally saw the imprint of the Skybeast w.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to take a closer look at the mark left behind by the Skybeast w, a pair of dead eyes suddenly locked onto him, and Lu Yin felt chills run all over his body as everything before his eyes suddenly distorted.

    At that same moment, the sky shattered, and a finger crashed down at him.

    Boundless rage filled Lu Yin¡¯s heart, but this time, he managed to ignore the finger and continue studying the battleship. The pair of dead eyes had already disappeared, but the finger continued to descend towards him. Then, Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw the Starmaster, who was close by.

    His back was soaked with sweat. This time, not only had he seen the battleship and the finger, but he had also seen a pair of dead eyes. Lu Yin had seen those eyes before, as those were the eyes of a corpse king.

    Why would he see the eyes of a corpse king in the same scene as that ancient battleship? He couldn¡¯t understand what was going on in that vision.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the Starmaster and asked the same question that he had asked when he entered the Stargazing Deck the very first time. ¡°Tutor, what do those words mean? ¡®A part of the universe that belongs to me?¡¯ I am clearly looking at an unknown sky in that vision.¡±

    The Starmaster calmly answered, ¡°The Stargazing Deck shows you the world through the ages, and this is a question that only you can answer.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, as this was the exact same answer that Astral-10¡¯s Starmaster had given him. Could this be the standard response?

    He reluctantly stood up and bowed to the Starmaster before leaving the Stargazing Deck.

    From a distance, Astral-9 didn¡¯t have that many rune lines, and it couldn¡¯t evene close to Millions City¡¯s. However, Lu Yin had a feeling that this battleship contained a hidden power that had allowed it to survive the ancient war.

    The ten Astral Combat Academies weren¡¯t as simple as they seemed. All of the academies had a Stargazing Deck that allowed one to see into the past and the future. Such a mystical ce could only be found in the Astral Combat Academies, and neither Taimo Hal nor the Sea King¡¯s Dome possessed such facilities.

    This was also the reason why the Nightking n hadn¡¯t dared to attack Lu Yin in the past. They had been intimidated by both the Lockbreaker Society and the Astral Combat Academy.

    Lu Yin decided that he would not graduate even after the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse was restored. He had decided that he would never graduate and that he would remain stuck to the Astral Combat Academy for the rest of his life. As long as he never graduated, he would still belong to the Astral Combat Academy, and it would remain as his strongest support.

    The Starmaster left to join the border defense, and most of the tutors in Astral-9 left as well.

    Lu Yin simrly left Astral-9 and returned to the Greatwood Lavazone.

    Astral-9 had officially joined the battlefield, and many tutors and students had also joined the battlefield.

    Lu Yin had wanted to take a look at Astral-9¡¯s headmaster, as he was curious about the man¡¯s strength. However, Lu Yin didn''t get the chance to see the headmaster, as the man had already left to carry out a counterattack.

    Lu Yin was stunned when he heard the news; Astral-9¡¯s headmaster had attacked the enemy all on his own.

    Although the Sixth Maind had suffered some losses, their side still held Ancestor Mojiang and another Imprinter, and that didn¡¯t even take the strength of the mysterious Technocracy into ount. Despite all that, Astral-9¡¯s headmaster had still gone forth without any assistance.

    On the second day after his assault, the entire region was talking about the headmaster¡¯s aplishments. He had managed to crush a mechanical fortress, destroying all of the androids and cultivators within the fort.

    Lu Yin was amazed, as this meant that Astral-9¡¯s headmaster was at least an Envoy. The man had been sent to the Endless Lavazone of the border.

    At this time, there was an Envoy-level powerhouse in every region.

    Yen Phoenix was stationed in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, the Arrow Mountain Elder was in the Greatwood Lavazone, Astral-9¡¯s headmaster was in the Endless Lavazone, Millions City was in the Tri-tform Lavazone, Astral-9 itself was stationed in the Honor Lavazone, and Yuehua Mavis was at the Ironblood Lavazone. They represented the most powerful forces of the Outerverse, and there were also various powerhouses with power levels of 300,000 to 400,000 supporting them, such as Elder Daggs and Yu Mu.

    Although this couldn¡¯tpare to the strength of the Innerverse, the Outerverse was only facing one region of the Sixth Maind. Theirbined strength should be able to withstand the invasion.

    A month passed, and now, three years had passed since the Outerverse had first been separated from the Innerverse. The border had enjoyed a month of peace, but the fighting soon resumed with the reappearance of Ancestor Mojiang.

    However, this time, there was another person standing alongside Ancestor Mojiang. They were just as strong as the World Imprinter, which caused many of the defenders to despair.

    Lu Yin was almost blinded by the amount of rune lines filling the sky, and he immediately thought of Ancestor Autumnfrost. Of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s three main ns, the Mojiang n and the Autumnfrost n were equal in power and influence while the Di n was the strongest of them all. This indicated that this second powerhouse was most likely Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    The arrival of the two World Imprinters caused Yuan Shi to sigh. He finally stopped hiding his power and entered outer space.

    Arge hole was torn in space, but this hole did not have any rune lines surrounding it.

 Chapter 851: Shifting The Border

    <h4>Chapter 851: Shifting The Border</h4>

    As soon as he saw this scene, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. No matter how fierce the previous battles had be, even if an Imprinter had torn space itself apart, Lu Yin had always been able to see the rune lines in the attacks that were used. However, this time, space had been torn apart, but there were no rune lines to be seen. Even more importantly, Lu Yin was able to see an even deeperyer of darkness than usual.

    Yuan Shi, Ancestor Mojiang, and Ancestor Autumnfrost had all vanished.

    The border fellpletely silent. This time, the Technocracy did not make any moves either, as absolutely everyone was waiting for the oue of this decisive battle.

    When the Sixth Maind cooperated with the Technocracy, they couldpletely destroy the other Lavazones. But even if they did that, so long as Yuan Shi remained alive, they would continue to be threatened by his existence. This was why Ancestor Mojiang had given them a month of peace; he had headed back to the Sixth Maind to invite Ancestor Autumnfrost to join the invasion¡¯s efforts, as they had to deal with Yuan Shi.

    Space became more and more stifling as everyone stared on in shock. It felt as though the sky was falling down, bit by bit.

    It felt as though the border was on trial; the moment Yuan Shi was defeated, the entire border would be wiped out under Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s hands.

    Not much time passed before a bellow rang out through space. ¡°You¡¯ve been concealing your strength! This is your true strength. You are a Cosmic Imprinter!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as this was Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Today, there is no need for the two of you to return,¡± Yuan Shi¡¯s voice replied, and it caused countless people defending the border to heave a sigh of relief.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s bosom, the blood-red bell that had not been ced in his cosmic ring suddenly floated up before tearing through the void and disappearing.

    As the blood-red bell rang out, a boundless might descended once again.

    Everyone heard a ringing within their ears, and Yuan Shi¡¯s figure shed across space before vanishing once again.

    Nobody knew where Yuan Shi and the others had gone, and only Lu Yin could see the indescribable number of rune lines that were headed towards the Technocracy¡¯s territory.

    From the very beginning of the invasion, Yuan Shi had concealed his strength for this exact moment. It had all been carefully nned to lull the Sixth Maind into a false sense of security. In their carelessness, they had not dispatched any absolute experts or erupted with their full strength of the Sixth Maind¡¯s top experts.

    Although his actions had sacrificed many lives at the border, and although there were people who he could have saved, Yuan Shi had not intervened. The final oue was worth the sacrifices.

    They were in different positions, and so, their thoughts were naturally different. To some, saving people was far more important than concealing a top powerhouse¡¯s strength. Knowing that one could save someone but not doing so was considered heartless. But to the person who could see the overall n, they saw not only the losses of a few people, but also the overall picture. This was something that could only be understood when looking from the perspective of someone at the very top.

    A few hourster, Yuan Shi returned, his entire body radiating a deep bloodlust as he carried Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s head in his hands.

    This scene was carved deeply into many people¡¯s minds, as they would not forget such an image throughout their entire lives.

    Lu Yin felt his blood boil, as this dominating scene was extremely inspiring.

    He had not even dared to look at Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s rune lines when the man had been alive, but despite that, he had still died at Yuan Shi¡¯s hand.

    The Greatwood Lavazone was not the only ce that saw the scene of Yuan Shi¡¯s return; all sixvazones around the border had witnessed this scene. This was due to his supreme might, which caused the same image to appear, superpositioned in the void, all throughout the area.

    ¡°The true war is about to start, and it will even include me, myself. Everyone wille face to face with death. Tell me, are you afraid?¡± Yuan Shi loudly shouted.

    From the sixvazones, countless hollered back, ¡°Not afraid! Not afraid! Not afraid!¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. Then, he vanished.

    Yuan Shi did not return the blood-red bell to Lu Yin. He had killed Ancestor Mojiang, and that death was enough to cause the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s true top powerhouse, who was a fabled Cosmic Imprinter, to appear.

    The Bloodburn Realm did not have any Empyrean Imprinters, though it did have one Cosmic Imprinter, who was the Di family¡¯s ancestor.

    Half a monthter, Ancestor Di arrived, and his appearance came with a mighty pressure that caused the entire border to tremble. The man¡¯s power was so indescribably vast that he seemed to be a deity, and his appearance signalled the start of the most bitter battle the border had encountered so far.

    Yuan Shi and Ancestor Di both vanished, and the location of their battle was unknown to all others. Ancestor Autumnfrost also appeared, and he waved a hand. The strength of a World Imprinter caused the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, the Greatwood Lavazone, the Endless Lavazone, and the Tri-tform Lavazone all to crumble. Yen Phoenix¡¯s ck mes enveloped the void, and the Arrow Mountain Elder shot out arrows from his bow. However, both of their bodies cracked simultaneously as they were reduced to balls of blood that sprinkled down.

    The Aurora Enterprises¡¯ President Qi, Fu Laotai, Master Bei, Commander Baldy, Vi Mistress Lian, and such were allpressed into puddles of blood in an instant.

    Lu Yin felt his vision break, as he had never witnessed such a torrential might before. This powerhouse was someone who should have been fought off by Yuan Shi, but Ancestor Autumnfrost had acted when their most powerful defender was upied. Lu Yin finally understood the meaning of power, as well as what it meant to be immovable.

    Even though Lu Yin had already prepared himself to hand over that tiny arrow to the Arrow Mountain Elder, his intentions had proven to bepletely useless, as the Arrow Mountain Elder had not even had the chance to attack.

    With just one attack, two Envoy-level powerhouses had died.

    Only those who the ancestor had not targeted had survived, such as ck Mask, Akira, Captain Shi, Yu Mu, and a few others. Only one person had been struck by the attack and managed to survive, which was Astral-9¡¯s Headmaster.

    Off in a distant ce that Lu Yin could not see, Millions City also began splitting apart.

    Qiong Shanhai was controlling Millions City, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had not imagined that he would ever end up facing such a powerhouse, and the countless people in Millions City were all wailing.

    Everyone was shuddering beneath the might of Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    Desperation enveloped everyone, as aside from Yuan Shi, nobody could stop Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    The Greatwood Lavazone was split into two, and Lu Yin crushed his jade talisman without any hesitation. He did not know if Mister Mu would be able to stop Ancestor Autumnfrost either.

    Wei Rong, Qiong Xi''er, and the others were all desperate.

    Everyone was despairing.

    Aside from Ancestor Autumnfrost, not a single other expert from the Sixth Maind even needed to act.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost stood tall in outer space as he scanned over the people in the sixvazones as if they were all ants. Distance held no meaning to such an expert, and with a twitch from one of his fingers, he could pulverize an entirevazone, reducing it to dust.

    The first ce he wished to eliminate was the Endless Lavazone, as there was someone there who had actually managed to survive his attack, which was an affront to his power.

    As Ancestor Autumnfrost raised a finger towards the Endless Lavazone, Astral-9''s Headmaster closed his eyes, and a formless ripple spread out to also envelop the Tri-tform Lavazone as it extended towards Astral-9.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost remained arrogant as he pressed down with a finger. Everyone before him had to die.

    In the Endless Lavazone, countless people were trembling as they watched the finger descend. The entirevazone¡¯s darkva transformed into dust. But then, Astral-9 suddenly transcended through the void to appear, its enormous shadow shrouding everything as it stood high above and protected thevazone. The formless protection covered Astral-9 as well as the entire Endless Lavazone.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost had struck out with a finger, but he had not been able to pierce through the defense that had suddenly appeared. However, the finger forced Astral-9 and the entirevazone further back into the interior of Endless Weave. As everything moved back, countlesss shattered, and the entire region of space released shockwaves that spread out.

    Astral-9''s Headmaster spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Within Astral-9, many students and mentors were overwhelmed by that lone finger, and they all fell unconscious.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost was shocked that someone had actually been able to resist his finger. Even though that finger had not represented too much of his strength, it had still been an attack that had surpassed a power level of 700,000. Despite that, that battleship had still been able to block it.

    Hold on. Ancestor Autumnfrost gave a strange look at Astral-9. This vessel seems slightly familiar.

    It had sessfully staved off Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s finger, but the Fifth Maind cultivators could not shake off their desperation, as a second finger soon followed the first. A simr crushing sensation appeared, and this time, the target was not the Endless Lavazone, but rather the Greatwood Lavazone. Ancestor Autumfrost did not believe that such a ship existed in every Region.

    In outer space, above the Greatwood Lavazone, an overwhelming beam of light shot towards Ancestor Autumnfrost from Millions City. At the same time, a towering tree emerged from the Greatwood Lavazone, as Yuehua Mavis had descended in an attempt to block Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack.

    However, in Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s eyes, all such efforts werepletely insignificant.

    ¡°I will grant you all death, Fifth Maind natives.¡± He then pressed down with his finger yet again. First, the beam of light from Millions City that could rival an Envoy¡¯s attack was cut off. Then, Yuehua Mavis¡¯s towering tree broke apart. Nobody was able to stop Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    The Outerverse had gathered its full strength, and it truly seemed powerful. However, against a powerhouse who was able to decide everything, they were all nothing more than ants.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost had attacked, which meant that the Sixth Maind did not intend to waste any more time on the Outerverse. Ancestor Di arriving on the battlefield showed that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Realm had finally moved out at full power.

    They had not expected the Outerverse to be able to force out the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s full strength. Still, it was of no matter, as everything was about to end.

    Yuan Shi could only watch on bleakly as Ancestor Autumnfrost destroyed the border, helpless. Ancestor Di was a Cosmic Imprinter, which meant that he was a powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000. He was not on the same level as Ancestor Mojiang or Ancestor Autumnfrost, and even Yuan Shi could not defeat this opponent.

    Yuan Shi tried ringing the blood-red bell, but its sound was blocked by Ancestor Di.

    If an adult fought against children, then the moment the adult became serious, the child would be unable to resist no matter what. This was an aptparison between the Sixth Maind and the Outerverse.

    It could be imagined that, under this finger, those who were dying were not just those at the border, but also countless souls throughout the Outerverse.

    Suddenly, the space in the entire area turned grey, just like what Lu Yin had seen in King Zishan''s pce. Time, space, and substance itself suddenly stopped. That finger remained hanging above, in the process of pressing down upon the border, but it was motionless as well.

    Mister Mu stepped out from the void.

    Mister Mu did not even bother with Lu Yin. He simply ced his hands behind his back and looked up into the sky. The entire border seemed to have been frozen still at this moment, as even Ancestor Autumnfrost had stopped moving. Everything looked like a grey picture that spread into the far reaches of outer space.

    Lu Yin did not know if the others were able to see what was happening, but he was free to move, and he seemed to be the only one who could move.

    ¡°Master?¡± Lu Yin could not help but call out.

    Mister Mu slowly turned around, his gaze deep. Then, he gradually vanished. Under Lu Yin¡¯s disbelieving eyes, the entire border¡ªshifted.

    The border¡¯s sixvazones all moved towards the north. Meanwhile, those who had been in outer space, on the mainds, or anywhere at all that belonged to the border, were all moved to one of thevazones. As the border was moved to the north, only Ancestor Autumnfrost remained fixed in ce, looking just like an eternal statue.

    Lu Yin already knew that Mister Mu was very powerful, but his master¡¯s strength had far surpassed his imagination. At this moment, Lu Yin truly could not understand what level one had to reach to achieve such power. Ancestor Autumnfrost was a World Imprinter with a power level greater than 800,000, and in the depths of space, there were still Ancestor Di and Yuan Shi. However, there was nobody who could stop Mister Mu from taking action, and nobody was able to prevent the border from being moved.

    Lu Yin did not understand this, and he did not want to understand it either. He only wanted to ask one thing at this moment, ¡°Master, why didn¡¯t you eliminate those from the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Mister Mu did not reply, and he did not even appear. It was as if he had already left.

    When the border resumed to normalcy and all color returned, everyone looked about in amazement. They were no longer in Endless Weave, but were rather in Southside Weave.

 Chapter 852: Unexplainable Shock

    <h4>Chapter 852: Unexinable Shock</h4>

    Southside Weave was located to the north of Endless Weave, and the two weaves bordered each other. Compared to Endless Weave, Southside Weave was much smaller.

    Before, the six Lavazones had all been separated from each other by some distance, but after they were all suddenly teleported to the border between Southside Weave and Endless Weave, the distance between them had drastically shrunk. It was almost as if the space between the different regions had vanished.

    The border had undergone aplete transformation, and everyone waspletely lost as to what had just happened.

    Meanwhile, Ancestor Autumnfrost, who was still in Endless Weave, also returned to normal. His finger pressed down, but it struck nothing, as there was no longer anything beneath his finger.

    His scalp went numb, and his expression changed. Thevazones that had been right in front of him had all suddenly vanished, being reced with empty space. The mechanical fortress was still behind him, as well as all of the androids and the cultivators from the Sixth Maind. However, everyone from the Fifth Maind had disappeared.

    At that moment, Ancestor Autumnfrost felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that he might have just faced some unimaginable powerhouse, so he turned around without any hesitation and left while taking the mechanical fortress with him.

    In another part of space, Ancestor Di and Yuan Shi tore through the void to reappear. Ancestor Di was holding a pole-shaped power vessel while Yuan Shi held the blood-red bell. These two power vessels mutually restricted each other. When the two powerhouses reappeared, they saw the same scenery that Ancestor Autumnfrost had just witnessed.

    Ancestor Di was overwhelmed, as he did not know what had just happened.

    Yuan Shi was simrly shocked; whose handiwork was this? The one who had done this must have an astounding strength if they were able to move the entire border without the two of them noticing. His gaze pierced through space, and he saw that the border had been reestablished at the edge of Southside Weave and that the Fifth Maind cultivators were all in safe condition.

    To think that there was actually such a powerhouse in the Outerverse; could they be a¡ªSemi-Progenitor?

    Ancestor Di¡¯s felt his back go cold, and he suddenly exerted some force through the power vessel in his hands in an attempt to suppress Yuan Shi.

    The blood-red bell in Yuan Shi¡¯s hands was shaken.

    An invisibleyer fluctuated and dispersed the collision, and the region was changed in that moment. If Lu Yin was present, then he would have noticed that any area enveloped by this fluctuation waspletely devoid of all rune lines.

    Without any astounding collisions or shes, the rod-shaped power vessel and the blood-red bell cracked at the same time as invisible aftershocks transcended untold distances and swept out in all directions.

    Ancestor Di and Yuan Shi simultaneously retreated from each other.

    In Yuan Shi¡¯s hands, the blood-red bell had shattered into shards and waspletely useless.

    Ancestor Di¡¯s power vessel had simrly shattered apart.

    The two did not speak, as their thoughts were no longer focused on each other. Rather, they were instead preupied by the mysterious powerhouse who had relocated the entire border. They were trying to go through their recent memories, but neither of them could find a single hint rted to such a mysterious powerhouse.

    Could they have also been affected by the undetected strength?

    As soon as his thoughts reached such a possibility, Ancestor Di¡¯s body trembled, and he left without turning back.

    Yuan Shi heaved a sigh of relief and then looked around. Everyone from the Sixth Maind and the Technocracy had left the area, and although the border had been pulled back to the point where the Outerverse hadpletely given up on Endless Weave, at least they had endured this cmity.

    They did not know if the Sixth Maind would send more powerhouses, or if even the legendary Empyrean Imprinter would eventually arrive. Yuan Shi shook his head. If that happened, then he would not be able to protect himself, let alone put up any sort of resistance.

    For the moment, he could only hope that the mysterious powerhouse would be able to intimidate the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces into inaction.

    The entire border had been shifted to the edge of Southside Weave, and nobody knew what was going on, so they were all discussing what had happened.

    As soon as Yuan Shi returned, the sixvazones calmed down.

    Everything that had just happened was too outrageous, especially the fact that the defenders had survived such a desperate situation when their lives had all been in someone else¡¯s control.

    ¡°There is no need to worry. The defensive line of the border wouldn¡¯t be very effective if it is stretched too thin, so we could only retreat to Southside Weave. As for Endless Weave, we¡¯ll give it up for the moment.¡± Elder Daggs¡¯s exhausted voice was heard by the various troops.

    The sixvazones were no longer too far apart, and his voice could be heard by everyone.

    The crowd grew excited. In their minds, the Hall of Honor must have acted, and it must have been the Hall of Honor that had relocated the border to a different weave.

    Elder Daggs did not specify that the Hall of Honor had taken action, but he used suggestive words, as he had no other choice. After all, he could not say that not even the Hall of Honor had any idea what had just happened!

    Lu Yin looked towards the north. Mister Mu should have already left, but every time Mister Mu acted, Lu Yin felt like his understanding of his master was renewed. Also, another jade talisman had appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    The defensive battle along the border could be considered as the greatest battle he had ever participated in. Even though it could notpare to the ancient war between the two mainds, it had not been too far off from that level. But despite all that, Mister Mu had still been able to decide everything by himself. Just how strong was he, exactly?

    Wei Rong frowned tightly as he looked up into the sky. He had been wrong, as his understanding of the world hadpletely crumbled on this battlefield.

    He had once thought that the Wei family¡¯s methods were correct; establishing diplomatic rtions and using their wits and intelligence to aplish great things was foremost while power was merely secondary. However, these thoughts had already started wavering during the initial stages of Armament Weave¡¯s invasion, and they had beenpletely overturned by this point in time.

    So what if Wei Rong was smarter than many of thebatants? Had he been able to participate on this battlefield? From start to end, he had only been a mere spectator. Even if he had suggested the counterattack, he had only been able to do so through Lu Yin. In the end, it was all because Wei Rong had no personal strength.

    Hecked power, and power was the most important factor in determining whether one seeded or failed in this universe.

    Wei Rong felt powerless; he was able to employ all sorts of tricks to achieve his goals out of the battlefield, but the true powerhouses were the ones who had the final say in things.

    All along, Wei Rong had believed that he was a pioneer and a trailzer, but now, he felt that the situation was not as simple as Lu Yin simply leading the way by a single step. From start to finish, Lu Yin had focused on improving his own power. Whenever Wei Rong hadpeted with Lu Yin, he had believed that the two of them were on the same level. But at this time, Wei Rong finally realized that, as his opponent¡¯s power had increased, the difference between them would only continue to growrger.

    Once this opponent of his matured to the degree where he could influence an entire battlefield, all of Wei Rong¡¯s schemes would be nothing more than decorations.

    Nothing was more overbearing than relocating the entire defensive border. If it was a game of chess, then no matter how carefully oneid down their arrangement within the chessboard, then this was as if the opponent could overturn it and simply attack the person who was ying chess. This was a true powerhouse.

    Qiong Xi''er left the Greatwood Lavazone and headed back to Millions City, as she was wondering what had happened to it.

    Zhu San followed close behind her.

    In the Endless Lavazone, Shao Zisong was in despair, as Master Bei had died. His support in the Neo-Vestige Sect was gone, and if he had survived through this battle, he would not have the same status as before.

    Gong Ling had alsoe to the Endless Lavazone, and he had personally witnessed Master Bei¡¯s death.

    Master Bei had actually been quite unlucky. His strength was not sufficient for him to be targeted by Ancestor Autumnfrost, but who had told him to fire such a massive arrow? It was possible that Master Bei was the only individual in all of the Neo-Vestige Sect whose arrow techniques increased the size of his arrows. Perhaps, from his point of view, the bigger an arrow was , the greater the awe that people would feel for it, just like how a single finger from powerhouses could crush everything. However, the bigger an arrow became, the more likely the archer would be a target, which was the same as one killing themselves.

    In the Tri-tform Lavazone, Yu Mu swallowed a special medication that Shamrock Enterprises had prepared for him and heaved a sigh of relief. He had nearly died just now, but fortunately, he had found an opportunity to evade. Otherwise, that strike from Ancestor Autumnfrost would have taken Yu Mu out as well; just the aftershocks had severely injured him by sweeping over him.

    Even further away, Astral-9¡¯s Starmaster was in a slightly better state than Yu Mu, as he had remained a greater distance away, and so, he had not been as affected by the aftershocks of Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack.

    The most unlucky people in the Tri-tform Lavazone had been Vi Mistress Lian and Commander Baldy, who had been the Tri-tform Lavazone¡¯smander. They had been fighting in front of the troops as the vanguard and had thus suffered the full might of the overwhelming attack, as their position had been too far forward.

    In the Honor Lavazone, Zi Rong heaved a sigh ofplete relief, and he looked over at Zi Xue, who was standing nearby, alive and well.

    Zi Xue¡¯s expression remained unchanging, as if neither life nor death held much meaning to her.

    The Ironblood Lavazone had not been greatly affected by Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack, and it was still mostly intact.

    When the World Imprinter had attacked, neither the Sixth Maind nor the Technocracy had moved. The Ironblood Lavazone had been the most fortunate as only Yuehua Mavis, who had moved to protect the Greatwood Lavazone, had sustained heavy injuries.

    The border defenses started being repaired, as nobody knew if the invasion would continue. The second batch of reinforcements arrived one after another; Meng Tianlong and Mu Nichang both arrived in the Greatwood Lavazone as well as others like the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s leader, Bach Shamus.

    They each had their own assumptions about the bitter state of the border warfront, but the truth of the situation far surpassed their imagination. The sight of the defensive line being relocated to the Southside Weave by some mighty strength shocked them to the core, and they could not even fathom how such a feat had been aplished.

    Meng Tianlong looked for Lu Yin as soon as he arrived in the Greatwood Lavazone, and so did Mu Nichang.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting Mu Nichang, and although the woman seemed steady, her expression had a crafty aspect to it.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, will the invasion resume?¡± Meng Tianlong asked nervously.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s voice was a little hoarse as he spoke. ¡°I heard that the defensive line was moved here¡ªis that correct?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and he emotionally said, ¡°That¡¯s right, if you had arrived a little bit earlier, then you would have personally experienced that boundless power.¡±

    Mu Nichang rolled her eyes, as they would have been finished if they had arrived even a moment earlier. Even Envoys had died on this battlefield, and everyone had relied on luck to survive thest battle. The fact that her power level was at 190,000 did not matter; even if she had a power level of 290,000 or 390,000, the oue would still be the same.

    This sort of battlefield was absolutely terrifying.

    ¡°I heard that even the Arrow Mountain Elder died,¡± Meng Tianlong said with a sigh. He thought back to when he had visited the Neo-Vestige Sect with Lu Yin and the strength that he had witnessed at that time.

    If even such a powerhouse had died, then this border warfront was indeed too scary.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously touched his cosmic ring. With the Arrow Mountain Elder¡¯s death, Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s influence in the Outerverse would instantly drop a few notches, and they would no longer have their divine status as a power that could not be provoked. Of course, the Dark Phoenix family had been simrly cut down.

    Lu Yin wondered how Millions City had fared. It would already be quite fortunate if Ancestor Autumnfrost had not shattered the mobile fortress as well.

    Now, Lu Yin was worried that the Sixth Maind might invite an Empyrean Imprinter, or even a Progenitor in their wrath. If that was the case, then the entire Outerverse would be doomed. No matter how much confidence Lu Yin had in Mister Mu, he did not believe that Mister Mu could stop the Sixth Maind all by himself.

    During the ancient war, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Wushang had also been defeated, let alone Mister Mu.

    Half a month soon passed, and the border remained quiet this entire time.

    Yuan Shi stepped into the void with one foot and made his way into the Technocracy¡¯s territory. He intended to see if those from the Sixth Maind were still around and if they would call for more reinforcements.

    Just one dayter, Yuan Shi returned and called all of the regions¡¯manders, including Elder Daggs together to inform them that the Sixth Maind had withdrawn from the Technocracy, though it would take another two months to see if the war would continue.

    This message allowed Elder Daggs and the others to heave a sigh of relief. It seemed that that mysterious powerhouse had indeed intimidated the powerhouses of the Sixth Maind.

    In opposition to the rxing crowd, Yuan Shi did not rx. As one of the remaining top powerhouses of the Hall of Honor, he was very clear on the details of the ancient war, and he knew that even Progenitors had fallen in that war. If the Sixth Maind was really that easy to scare off, then they would not be the Sixth Maind.

    Still, not even the Sixth Maind had many powerhouses who surpassed Ancestor Di. Rather, it simply remained to be seen if they were willing to pay the necessary price to take down the Outerverse. They could do it, but that depended on where their interestsy.

 Chapter 853: Military Contributions

    <h4>Chapter 853: Military Contributions</h4>

    Yuan Shi could only hope that the Outerverse was not overly desirable to the Sixth Maind and that their stronger powerhouses would not be motivated to make any moves.

    The end of the battle also signified the start of tallying up the defenders¡¯ military contributions.

    Endless Weave¡¯s border had its own system, but it was also connected to Ironblood Weave¡¯s system.

    When the Outerverse had first been separated from the Innerverse, certain regions of the Outerverse had also been isted from the rest of the Outerverse, which hindered data transmission lines. One of the oues was that Ironblood Weave¡¯s military contribution system had been severed from Endless Weave¡¯s system, and the two still had not been reconnected.

    The current system of Endless Weave was entirely independent.

    The one with the most military contributions was naturally Yuan Shi, followed by the Envoy realm powerhouses like the Arrow Mountain Elder. Unfortunately, the Arrow Mountain Elder and the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Yen Phoenix had both died. Thus, their contributions had been shifted to their descendants, which were the Neo-Vestige Sect and the Dark Phoenix family. These descendants had received the contribution points in ce of their fallen elders, and they could use the points to receive rewards from the Hall of Honor.

    Too many experts had died during the defense of this invasion attempt, and aside from the dead, Yuehua Mavis was actually ranked second, only behind Yuan Shi in terms of military contributions. She had withstood the enemy¡¯s Imprinters from the start of the invasion, defended the Ironblood Lavazone, and then even taken the initiative to defend against Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack, which should have led to her certain death. Aside from the Arrow Mountain Elder and Yen Phoenix, nobody else couldpete with Yuehua Mavi¡¯s achievements.

    After Yuehua Mavis came Astral-9''s headmaster. Although he had only joined the fight at the end, he had used Astral-9 to defend against Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s finger and saved the entire Endless Lavazone. His contributions from that lone action already surpassed the great majority of others at the border.

    After Astral-9''s Headmaster was Elder Daggs, who was the overallmander of the border warfront. Although he had not done much during the battles, he hadmanded the defenders well. That,bined with his many years of umted aplishments at the border, was enough to propel him to fourth in the border¡¯s contribution point rankings.

    After Elder Daggs came Commander Zhang, who was the Commander of the Ironblood Lavazone. His personal strength could notpare to that of Yu Mu and the like, but his many years of defending the border allowed him to be ranked fifth.

    In fact, many cultivators who had been protecting the border warfront for a while had umted numerous military contributions due to their efforts. Of course, that was assuming that they had survived through the harrowing battles. Of course, many of those cultivators did not have a high cultivation to begin with, so even if they spent a long time fighting at the border warfront, they would not umte as many contribution points as an Enlighter would in one battle.

    Ranked sixth was Qiong Shanhai, who was the face of Millions City. The mobile fortress had been extremely useful during these past few battles; if Millions City hadn¡¯t held back the Sixth Maind¡¯s experts, then the Greatwood Lavazone would have copsed long before the end of the invasion.

    Seventh was Yu Mu, who was one of the super powerhouses in the first batch of reinforcements that had survived to the end. Thus, it was reasonable that he was ranked this highly.

    Eighth was Zax Phoenix, who was the Dark Phoenix Lavazonemander. He also had many years of umted achievements from defending the Lavazone, and they were enough for him to be ranked highly as well.

    Of the six Lavazones¡¯manders, three had survived. Elder Daggs was the overallmander, and he hadsted till the end, and the only other survivingmanders were Zax Phoenix and Commander Zhang.

    The person ranked ninth, shockingly, was actually Lu Yin.

    From the beginning to the end of Endless Weave¡¯s defense, Lu Yin¡¯s personal power had not had much effect on the battlefield. At best, he had been able to fight against Enlighters or rescue various troops in the middle of the battlefield while dealing with arrogant youths from the Sixth Maind like Butcher. He had also killed Enlighters, but how could just those aplishmentspare to the contributions of those powerhouses with power levels in the several hundred thousands? His main contributions were his suggestion of a counterattack, crossing thevazones to transport the darkva, and also lending his blood-red bell. As for the poisons that he had provided, they had been bought from Lu Yin by Elder Daggs, and so, they were not considered as military contributions.

    Without mentioning anything else, the contribution points that Lu Yin had earned just by lending Yuan Shi the blood-red bell were enough to raise Lu Yin¡¯s ranking even higher. However, Yuan Shi had called for Lu Yin, meaning that his reward for that would be directly granted to him by Yuan Shi. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s contribution points had been reduced a great deal. Even so, he was still ranked ninth.

    Actually, part of this was Elder Daggs showing special care for Lu Yin. Otherwise, with Lu Yin receiving his rewards directly from Yuan Shi, his military contributions from lending the blood-red bell should be fully cancelled out, and Lu Yin¡¯s remaining achievements were not enough to ount for so many points.

    No matter what, when Lu Yin saw that his contribution points were ranked ninth, he was thrilled.

    His ninth ce came with 120,000 points, and Lu Yin decided to exchange all of his points for materials, especially the more umon ones, so that he could manufacture a better universal armor and stronger weapons that could then be upgraded further with his die. His goal was to obtain a set of equipment that could threaten old monsters with power levels in the several hundred thousands. He did not want to remain as a mere spectator in battles of this level in the future.

    The bloodiness of this border defense had been even worse than that of the war in Ironblood Weave, as it had reached apletely different scale. This had also caused the contribution point distribution curve to be steeper, as normal cultivators found it difficult to earn nearly any contribution points in Endless Weave. Even Lu Yin had earned more contribution points back in Ironblood Weave. The reason was because he had not been of much use, and if not for him lending the blood-red bell, there was no way he would have gained 120,000 points.

    Those like Yu Mu had an even more exaggerated number of contribution points, which greatly surpassed that of the defenders of Ironblood Weave. The battlefield had been very prizing; the strong had exaggerated contributions while the weak found it hard to contribute anything at all.

    Ranked tenth was Mr. Tradeo, who was the Enlighter that Amethyst Exchange supported and relied upon. He had arrived to reinforce the border much earlier than most, and he had also survived till the end.

    These people were the top ten in the military contribution point rankings. Those like Astral-9¡¯s Starmaster, the old woman who had been called out by the Nn family, the old assassins from Aegis, as well as the various sect leaders had all arrivedte, had not contributed much to the overall battle.

    Wei Rong¡¯s rank was also worth mentioning, as he was ranked thirtieth. This was despite the fact that, the moment he had arrived on the battlefield, he had essentially spent all of this time hiding. His so-called contributions were all from his suggestion to counterattack, and Qiong Xi¡¯er had also shared in those contributions. Thus, she was ranked thirty first, which was also due to the proposal that they had raised.

    Nobody bothered mentioning Zhu San, and he could not even find what his own ranking was despite searching for a long time. There were simply too many cultivators at the border, and under normal circumstances, a Limiteer would never make it onto the rankings. Even space-exploring powerhouses might only barely squeeze onto the list.

    Even Zi Rong and Wendy Yushan¡¯s contributions were ranked outside of the top fifty. This showed just how much the Hall of Honor valued Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er¡¯s proposal.

    Their proposal was precisely what had elerated the actions taken on the battlefield, and that had also been taken into ount when tallying up their contributions. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how there was an element of encouragement, of course.

    As he observed the rankings, Lu Yin focused on one person, Goldric Phoenix, who was ranked twenty third. This person was a Cruiser.

    The top thirty were almost all Hunters, and almost half of them were almighty experts with power levels above 200,000. For a Cruiser to be ranked this highly was actually very amazing.

    ¡°Goldric Phoenix? You care about him that much?¡± Wei Rong¡¯s voice rang out from behind Lu Yin as he looked at what Lu Yin was reading with interest.

    Lu Yin had already noticed his rival, and he merely replied, ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°He¡¯s an absolute genius who emerged from the Dark Phoenix family in recent years, and he turned thirty two this year. Nobody knew about him when he was thirty, and he was just like any other average disciple from the Dark Phoenix family. However, after reaching thirty years of age, he awakened his innate gift and became the number one expert in the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s younger generation. Previously, I interacted with Zax Phoenix in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, and he told me that this person is a genius of the Dark Phoenix family, the likes of which doesn¡¯t appear every few thousand years. He¡¯s even able to challenge the Undying Bird of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°He can challenge the Ten Arbiters? Him?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°I saw this person off in the distance while I was in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, and I have to say that he¡¯s quite intimidating. His contributions weren¡¯t just umted through his time at the border, as he also killed two Enlighters.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as it was absolutely terrifying for a Cruiser to be able to cross realms and kill Enlighters.

    It was no wonder why this Goldric Phoenix had been appraised as an existence who could challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, as if he had relied on his own abilities as a Realmbreaker to kill Enlighters, then Brother Lu would actually have to be worried.¡± Wei Rong sighed.

    Lu Yin was curious about thisment. ¡°He also relies on external aids?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded. ¡°He¡¯s actually rather simr to you¡ªhe uses defensive items.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still very powerful, as Enlighters are anything but weak. Just being able to survive against an Enlighter doesn¡¯t mean that you can kill an Enlighter,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Is Brother Lu praising yourself?¡± Wei Rong smiled.

    Lu Yin did not deny anything. ¡°You could say that.¡±

    He then looked at Wei Rong. ¡°I¡¯m very curious, what are Brother Wei¡¯s thoughts at this time?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes shed. What does Brother Lu mean?¡±

    Lu Yin looked around. ¡°In the entire Outerverse, everyone who should have appeared has emerged, so did anyone exceed Brother Wei¡¯s expectations? Or is there someone who Brother Wei doesn¡¯t dare to scheme against?¡±

    Wei Rong exchanged nces with Lu Yin, and then burst out inughter. ¡°Brother Lu must be joking! I¡¯m just a tiny Explorer, and one whose n was nearly exterminated. How could I dare to plot against those great characters? Brother Lu, on the other hand, is like an expanse of deep water that has finally be clear. Brother Lu should have some thoughts as well.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not respond. Instead, he sighed and said, ¡°The Sixth Maind is truly a powerful opponent.¡±

    Wei Rong adjusted his expression. ¡°What exactly is the Sixth Maind¡¯s origins? Does Brother Lu know?¡±

    From the moment the Hall of Honor had issued the mandatory draft notice summoning the Outerverse¡¯s various cultivators to fight at the border warfront up till now, aside from sharing the term ¡°the Sixth Maind¡± and describing the battle styles of the Sixth Maind cultivators, such as their imprints, they had given no other exnation regarding the Sixth Maind. Regardless of what questions people asked, there was only ever one standard response given, which was to fight as if the Sixth Maind was their natural enemy.

    In fact, everyone had numerous questions: where exactly was the Sixth Maind? Why did they have so many powerhouses, and why did their average strength surpass the Outerverse¡¯s? What kind of cultivation style were those imprints? And those bloodlines? Also, why did the invaders call the defenders ¡°Fifth Maind natives?¡± There were also some mentions about some ancient war, but why did the Sixth Maind view the defenders with such hostility? All of these questions had been etched into the defenders¡¯ hearts.

    However, the Hall of Honor refused to provide them with any sort of exnations.

    Wei Rong wanted to know all these answers, as he was the one who had ordered someone to instigate a border war between the Outerverse and the Technocracy in an attempt to stop the war in Armament Weave and save his Wei family.

    His objectives had been met, but the results had far surpassed his expectations. He had actually drawn out some Sixth Maind, and at the end, a terrifying powerhouse had taken action and moved their entire line of defense back. These were allpletely unforeseen events.

    Wei Rong desperately wanted to learn the truth, and he felt that Lu Yin was privy to this information. He was confident about this because, the moment the border war had been announced, Lu Yin¡¯s response had been too strange, and he had shown no hesitation in letting go of the Wei family. It should be known that the Wei family had been just one step away from extermination; so long as Lu Yin had exerted even a tiny bit more force, or if he had simply personally taken action, then he could have destroyed the Wei family. But despite only being one step away from victory, Lu Yin had immediately given up on his goals.

    When faced with Wei Rong¡¯s questioning, Lu Yin merely shrugged. ¡°Sorry, but I don''t know either.¡±

    Wei Rong left after hearing those words. He was still certain that Lu Yin knew something, but Wei Rong was left with no other choice since Lu Yin obviously did not want to talk about such things.

    At this moment, all Wei Rong wanted to do was meet with the leaders of the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves¡¯ guiding powers and unite their weaves together in an effort to resist the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s advancement.

 Chapter 854: Honor Chosen

    <h4>Chapter 854: Honor Chosen</h4>

    The war at the border had not ended yet, but regardless of whether it had failed or ended, it seemed that everyone in Wei Rong¡¯s family would die. If the defensive line held and the Outerverse repelled the invaders, then the Great Eastern Alliance would most likely once again attack the Wei family. Wei Rong had to think of a way to save his Wei family.

    Fortunately, even though the border defense had entered a reprieve, the Outerverse powers would not be allowed to conduct any wars in the near future, as the Hall of Honor would not allow them to do so. This would also grant Wei Rong the opportunity to take a breather, and he had to take advantage of this period of peace to unite the Outerverse¡¯s central region to form a cooperative that could resist the threat posed by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin on the other hand, ended up being summoned by Yuan Shi.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Yuan Shi.¡±

    Yuan Shi opened his eyes and looked at Lu Yin. After a moment, he sighed. ¡°During this battle, the bell was destroyed. Will that influence what that person needs you to do?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°At this time, Elder Lohar, Yuan Shi, Senior Akira, and Elder Daggs all know that Junior had that proof of identity, so there¡¯s no harm done.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. ¡°As long as there¡¯s no harm done. However, that bell was both a symbol of status as well as a life-saving object. Since I destroyed it, there will naturally bepensation made to you.¡± He paused before continuing, saying, ¡°Your contributions this time were vast, and I¡¯ll make the decision to award you with three Honor Points as well aspensate you with two power vessels.¡±

    In front of Lu Yin, the void distorted, and Lu Yin watched as something suddenly appeared. Was that a walnut?

    Lu Yin blinked, only to see that it was indeed a walnut.

    ¡°This is a power vessel that I made, and it contains my own strength. If you crush it, the power it contains will be unleashed directly in front of it, and it will not influence whatever stands behind it. If the strength of that attack is evaluated with power levels, then it should be about 700,000,¡± Yuan Shi exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he cried out, ¡°A power level of 700,000?¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic, and he gingerly reached out and epted the walnut. He swallowed his saliva as he thought about what he was holding in his hands. A power level of 700,000¡ªa power level of 700,000! That was just too ridiculous! This little walnut actually contained an attack with a power level of 700,000!

    ¡°This is a single-use power vessel, and I had to exert my personal strength to make this. Remember, it will only release an attack from its direct front,¡± Yuan Shi reminded. The void then distorted again before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and a string of beads suddenly appeared. There were five beads that formed a small bracelet, and it slowly floated towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°This is the second power vessel, and each pearl contains an attack with a power level of 300,000. Crushing them will integrate the power into the next battle technique that you disy, and it will add an additional 300,000 to your attack¡¯s original power level. This is thergest enhancement that you can withstand, as any more would be too much.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted, and he happily epted the beaded bracelet and held it like it was a treasure. In his eyes, this bracelet of pearls was even more valuable than the walnut despite the walnut containing an attack with a power level of 700,000. This was because the walnut could not be used on most asions, and it also only had a single use. The beaded bracelet was different, as an attack with a power level of 300,000 was at the level of the Outerverse¡¯s pinnacle experts. Although such strength could notpare to an opponent like Yu Mu, it could at least cause them to hesitate.

    ¡°Thank you, Yuan Shi, for your gifts.¡± Lu Yin hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey once read in a powerhouse¡¯s journal that those with fifteen Honor Points are able to start a war and that they cannot be restricted by the Hall of Honor,¡± the Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s brain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as he had enjoyed an incredible profit from participating in the border war this time. In the near future, the Outerverse would not allow any internal wars to break out since the threat of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion was still looming over them. As long as the Sixth Maind was able to invade the Outerverse through the Technocracy, the Hall of Honor would stand guard against them.

    It would be too difficult for Lu Yin to restart the war against the Wei family under such circumstances, and even a conservative estimate would ce the forced armistice at a year¡¯s length.

    Also, if the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion continued , he definitely would not wage war. If such a thing urred, then everyone would have to return to the border to defend the Outerverse. However, since their war had entered a reprieve, Lu Yin could not allow Wei Rong to rx a single inch break. Otherwise, with Wei Rong¡¯s abilities, who knew how many backup ns he would be able to prepare.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the Outerverse¡¯s internal wars would not have any influence on the border¡¯s defense. If the Sixth Maind invaded again, then its invasion force would definitely be iparable to when just the Bloodburn Realm had moved against the Outerverse. If there even was a next time, then experts on the level of Ancestor Di would definitely join the invasion from the very start, and perhaps even an Empyrean Imprinter would make a move. At that time, it was possible that not even Mister Mu would be able to protect the Outerverse.

    This meant that, if the Sixth Maind invaded again, the possibility of the Outerverse being wiped out was close to 90%. With such odds, there was not much of a difference whether or not there were any internal conflicts within the Outerverse.

    Since there wasn¡¯t much reason to hold back, Lu Yin was determined to find a way to destroy Wei Rong in the shortest amount of time possible. Otherwise, he would simply be foolishly waiting around for Wei Rong to establish more diplomatic ties. If Lu Yin allowed Wei Rong to plot any more, then it was unknown what sort of price Lu Yin would have to pay in the future.

    Fifteen Honor Points was another qualitative change in his status, and he currently only had fourteen. His mind suddenly shed, and he looked at Yuan Shi. Fourteen and fifteen: his Honor Points had conveniently remained below the threshold. Was this something that Yuan Shi had intended?

    ¡°Little kid, that bell was able to protect you, and I¡¯vepensated you for the loss of that protection. Next, I willpensate you for the loss in status,¡± Yuan Shi said. He then lifted a finger and tapped out. Lu Yin¡¯s left hand rose up in an uncontroble manner, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his palm. Then, everything returned to normal.

    He hurriedly checked his left palm, but he only saw the gradually dissipating image of the word ¡°Chosen.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Yuan Shi in bewilderment.

    ¡°The Hall of Honor¡¯s younger generation cultivators have a grading system. Standing above ordinary cultivators are those with innate gifts, and those with contributions can be bestowed the title of Star Disciple by the hall. Above those still are individuals with outstanding innate gifts, and they are the monsters of their generation. These people are bestowed with another title and are known as the Starborn. However, the highest grade, which is a title that can only be bestowed by those who are at the level of a Judicial Commissioner or higher, is known as an Honor Chosen. You have been bestowed this title and have be my Honor Chosen,¡± Yuan Shi softly exined.

    Lu Yin did not understand the implications of this news, but this title sounded very powerful.

    ¡°Thank you for granting me this title, Yuan Shi,¡± Lu Yin expressed his gratitude.

    Yuan Shi did not exin any further, though he clearly knew that Lu Yin was unsure about what being an Honor Chosen actually meant. Even in the Innerverse, not many knew of this title. Only in the Neoverse were there more people who more deeply understood the status of the Honor Chosen.

    It could be said that the Chosen were the Hall of Honor¡¯s most influential figures within the younger generation. Even the Chief Justice was only able to designate a single Chosen at a time. Only when the designated as Honor Chosen was no longer a part of the younger generation could the title then be bestowed to someone else, as it could not be given to two individuals at the same time. Additionally, the one bestowed with the title of Honor Chosen qualified to inherit the status and position of the one who had bestowed the title upon them in the future.

    This meant that, with Yuan Shi bestowing Lu Yin the status of his Honor Chosen, Lu Yin now qualified to inherit Yuan Shi¡¯s position within the Hall of Honor in the future. Of course, that was nothing more than a qualification.

    Despite the title of Honor Chosen only being given to a cultivator from the younger generation, they still received extraordinary privileges from the Hall of Honor.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation only being in the Explorer realm, he should not have been given this title. At best, he could have qualified to be a Starborn, but Yuan Shi had nheless still bestowed that title upon Lu Yin. Throughout the entire history of the Hall of Honor, practically no Explorers had been given the title of Honor Chosen.

    An Honor Chosen was on the same level as the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters.

    This one title could solidify Lu Yin¡¯s future position in the Neoverse. He had never visited the Neoverse, but he already possessed a status that countless in the Neoverse would not even dare to dream of.

    ¡°The Honor Chosen represent the Hall of Honor, so I hope that you won¡¯t disgrace the title,¡± Yuan Shi spoke with an aged voice, sounding as though something had urred to him.

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°Junior understands.¡±

    Yuan Shi looked into the depths of the universe. ¡°I hope that the contest for this period¡¯s Cosmic Five has not ended yet.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. The Cosmic Five: he had heard the Yu Elder mention this name before. ¡°Yuan Shi, what are these Cosmic Five?¡±

    Yuan Shi answered, ¡°The Cosmic Five are the Fifth Maind¡¯s true heirs to the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. There are Five Astral Towers, which are actually five mountains, and five seas. Only an exceptionally small number of people are able to qualify to contest for those inheritances, and the Honor Chosen are among them.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°So does that mean that, if the contest for the Cosmic Five is not over yet, this Junior will be able to participate as well?¡±

    ¡°Everyone will participate, but how many of them are able to actually directly get into contact with the Astral Tower? Someone must take them there, and the Honor Chosen are escorted by the Hall of Honor, and they will also be protected by the Hall of Honor. From the very beginning, the origin of those given the title of Honor Chosen are intended to be the Cosmic Five, and the former generations of the Cosmic Five have always been the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen,¡± Yuan Shi replied.

    Lu Yin understood; this was power. Everyone couldpete for the positions of the Cosmic Five, but it would only mean anything if they were able to arrive at the Astral Towers. Only a limited few people in the Neoverse knew where those towers were located or how to get there. Thus, only those people qualified to take their candidates to the Astral Towers.

    Unfortunately, this was not something that had much to do with Lu Yin. Who knew how long the Innerverse and Outerverse would remain separated for, as the separation could evenst for several more decades. By then, Lu Yin would have long since ceased to be a part of the younger generation, and the title of Honor Chosen was not something that could be kept forever.

    The greatest benefit of this title at the moment was for Lu Yin to dupe Elder Lohar and the rest of the Hall of Honor!

    Lu Yin was in a dilemma about whether or not he should ask Yuan Shi for an additional Honor Point, as Lu Yin suspected that Yuan Shi had intentionally given him fourteen points. Asking for one more would expose Lu Yin¡¯s objectives, and it would be very difficult to get another Honor Point from Elder Lohar in the future.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin did not speak up.

    ¡°Any other questions?¡± Yuan Shi was exceptionally patient with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was about to bid the old man farewell when he suddenly thought of something. He then asked, ¡°At the border warfront, when the powerhouses with power levels of over 500,000 acted, Junior saw a different part of the universe. What is that?¡¯

    Lu Yin had long since wanted to ask this particr question, as that distinct sight that had been revealed after space was torn apart contained no rune lines, which was exceptionally odd.

    Yuan Shi looked at Lu Yin in a serious manner. ¡°That is the true universe.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost.

    Yuan Shi exined, ¡°At the moment, you do not need to understand this, and you will naturally learn about it when you need to. Star energy originates from the true universe, but what we use is not star energy, but rather stellr energy.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. Stellr energy?

    ¡°Alright, you may leave.¡± Yuan Shi did not seem to want to borate any further, so Lu Yin had no choice but to leave.

    They still had to wait at the border for two more months, and after thinking about it, Lu Yin decided to look for Elder Daggs to trade in his contribution points.

    Back in Ironblood Weave, there was a warehouse in every stronghold that housed goods that could be exchanged for contribution points. The sixvazones should have something simr, but unfortunately, the Greatwood Lavazone¡¯smander, Commander Cao, had died. Lu Yin could not find anyone to guide him to where he could conduct his exchange, so he could only look for Elder Daggs.

    Aside from precious materials, he also wanted to exchange his contribution points for Honor Points. Back in Ironblood Weave, 20,000 Ironblood Points could purchase one Honor Point, and the exchange rate should be the same at this border warfront.

    Lu Yin only needed one more Honor Point to reach fifteen. Then, he would be able to wage war at any time he wished.

    At this time, the sixvazones were not too far away from one another, and it only took Lu YIn half a day to travel from the Greatwood Lavazone to the Endless Lavazone day with his speed. And from there, it would take him two more days at the most to reach the Honor Lavazone. He had plenty of time.

    Not long after he left the Greatwood Lavazone, Lu Yin suddenly stopped and looked at a corner of the darkva maind. There was a cultivator pacing back and forth in that ce.

    ¡°Come out,¡± Lu Yin said.

    A shadow stepped out from that ce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows furrowed, as this person was from Aegis. He was ck Mask, who had been stored in cryostasis and whose power level exceeded 300,000. The reason why Lu Yin had discovered this assassin was because the assassin had not concealed himself, and their rune lines had been way too conspicuous.

 Chapter 855: Fifteen Points

    <h4>Chapter 855: Fifteen Points</h4>

    ¡°So it¡¯s a senior from Aegis. For what matter have youe looking for this junior?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The ck Mask had notpletely emerged from the shadows, but he was less than a hundred meters away from Lu Yin. He replied in a low voice, saying, ¡°I heard from Starfox that you caused great difficulties for my Aegis. Thus, I was curious and came to have a look.¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Does Senior have any malicious thoughts?¡±

    ¡°What thoughts?¡±

    ¡°Such as trying to assassinate me,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The assassin fell silent for a while. ¡°Can¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised by this admission. "Is Senior that uncertain of his own strength?¡±

    The assassin remained calm. ¡°When the cmity that targeted the Outerverse¡¯s assassins struck, I was the one who led Starfox and the others into hiding, and I was the one who founded Aegis. I cannot see any possibility of me sessfully killing you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°It seems as though Senior is truly only here to take a look at Junior. Since that¡¯s the case, I will take my leave.¡±

    The assassin did not stop Lu Yin, and he merely calmly watched on.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart suddenly twitched, and he looked back at the assassin. "Senior should already know that Junior is a member of Aegis¡¯s second level managers. In that case, how can I join the first level?¡±

    The killer from the dark silently stared at Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not say anything either, and the two simply continued to stare at each other for a while.

    After a while, the assassin turned to leave, though before he left, he said, ¡°If you want to join us, it¡¯s fine to do so at any time.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped; was it that easy?

    ¡°In that case, is Junior on the same level as Starfox now?¡± Lu Yin asked loudly.

    The assassin left, though he did not admit nor deny anything.

    Lu Yin felt a little strange. Aegis¡¯s first level managers were the old assassins who had survived the original cmity targeting the Outerverse¡¯s assassins. Could he really join that easily? Was this for real?

    He could not figure out what this old killer was wanting. But one thing was for sure: it was not that the old monster feared Smoker. Smoker was not strong enough to make this hidden assassin nervous.

    Being puzzled was one thing, but Lu Yin did not give the matter too much thought. He would simply go back and chat with Starfox to see if he could truly be one of those who controlled Aegis, since it should not be some trifling matter.

    Lu Yin did not stop when he arrived at the Endless Lavazone, and he quickly crossed through it. He saw Gong Ling as he passed by, but did not greet the sect leader.

    Following that, Lu Yin arrived in the Tri-tform Lavazone. There, he saw Yu Mu¡¯s boundless rune lines. Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold, but he did not stop, not until his second night of traveling, which was when he arrived at the Honor Lavazone.

    The Honor and Ironblood Lavazones had suffered the fewest casualties out of the sixvazones. Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack had not extended as far as the Honor Lavazone, which was why Astral-9¡¯s headmaster had summoned the academy to help defend the Endless Lavazone rather than let it remain unused.

    When he arrived in the Honor Lavazone, Lu Yin saw a few tremendous groups of rune lines, and there were even two groupings that surpassed a power level of 300,000, which was very impressive.

    Lu Yin sought out Elder Daggs ording to the rune lines he observed.

    Elder Daggs was very curious as to how Lu Yin had found him, as he was not found in his normal location. However, Lu Yin could only try to pass it off as a coincidence.

    ¡°Coincidence? Then forget it. Why are you looking for me?¡± Elder Daggs asked.

    Lu Yin said respectfully, ¡°Junior wants to exchange his military contributions.¡±

    Elder Daggs nodded. ¡°Follow me.¡±

    It did not take long for Elder Daggs to lead Lu Yin outside, to the Honor Lavazone¡¯s warehouse, where he then passed the youth a list. There were all sorts of items and materials on it that could be purchased with contribution points, such as battle techniques, cultivation arts, raw materials, power vessels, star essence, and more. The listed items were plentiful, and Lu Yin even saw the poisons that he had sold to the Hall of Honor, though they had already been diluted.

    Lu Yin had 120,000 contribution points, and if he exchanged all of them for star essence, it would simrly amount to 120,000, which was not a small sum. However, he did not want any star essence at this time.

    ¡°Elder, Junior wishes to exchange my contributions for Honor Points,¡± Lu Yin respectfully informed themander.

    Elder Daggs expressed his approval for the request. ¡°At this time, there are very few who are willing to exchange for Honor Points. You are pretty decent. Alright, how many?¡±

    ¡°One point,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Elder Daggs was stumped, and he assumed that he had heard wrong. ¡°How many?¡±

    Lu Yin repeated, ¡°One point.¡±

    Elder Daggs was not happy, as 120,000 contributions was enough to purchase six Honor Points, but this youth was only exchanging for one point. If Lu Yin truly respected the Hall of Honor, then the number of points that he was purchasing was too few. If Lu Yin did not respect the Hall of Honor, then there was no reason for him to throw away 20,000 contribution points for nothing.

    Could this kid be about to reach a certain number of Honor Points?

    As he thought about this possibility, Elder Daggs had Lu Yin open up his status so that he could check how many Honor Points the youth had.

    Lu Yin showed his status, which revealed that he had eleven Honor Points attributed to him. Yuan Shi had promised Lu Yin three points, but that change would only be reflected once Lu Yin returned to a ce where he could connect to thework. The darkva that was ubiquitous along the defensive line blocked all such signals and sealed off all technological transmissions, so Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points had not been updated yet.

    Elder Daggs was gloomy; What was the difference after adding one more to eleven points? He tried to remember, and although there were differences, there were not very many.

    ¡°Elder, Junior wants to exchange for one point,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    Elder Daggs felt that something was off, but he could not think of anything. ¡°Alright, you have sessfully exchanged your contribution points for one Honor Point. Your status will be refreshed when you receive a signal.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. Whether or not Yuan Shi had intentionally stopped Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points at fourteen, he now had one more, which would fulfill the requirement of fifteen points.

    For his remaining contribution points, Lu Yin traded them for all sorts of precious raw materials, which amounted to quite arge number.

    At this moment, he realized that his cosmic ring did not have enough space.

    He realized that, all this time, he had forgotten something. Could a cosmic ring be upgraded by his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance? He had not thought about it before, but perhaps it would be worth a try. It would be perfect if his rings could be upgraded.

    Finally, Lu Yin returned to the Ironblood Lavazone, as that was where he had been stationed for this two month long period.

    He met with Aden and Wendy Yushan and then rxed as he waited. If the Sixth Maind did not invade within the next two months, then the likelihood of an impending invasion would drop significantly.

    With the Sixth Maind¡¯s arrogance, they would not show any sort of weakness to their enemies. If they decided to invade the Outerverse, then they would do so with the intent ofplete destruction.

    Two months was not a long time to cultivators. During this time, Lu Yin asionally met with Liu Yin and the others, and he was also scheduled for patrol duty in outer space. These two months quickly passed by.

    Then, with Elder Daggs¡¯s announcement, the mandatory service at the border was canceled. Anybody who had been drafted were allowed to leave, though they could also stay if they desired.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as he was finally able to leave.

    The border war hadsted for around ten months from start to finish, and the Outerverse had suffered bitter casualties in the process, losing experts such as the Arrow Mountain Elder, the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor, and Lord Egret. Those cultivators who had once roamed through the universe unhindered had fallen during these cruel battles, and in Lu Yin¡¯s experience, this was the longest and most tragic war so far. Fortunately, the Outerverse had ultimately managed to pull through.

    The greatest credit should have been given to Mister Mu. Without him, the border would have long since copsed, but Mister Mu¡¯s contributions were destined to never be revealed. Simrly, the act of Lu Yin summoning Mister Mu was known to no one.

    In just four more months, the separation of the Innerverse and Outerverse would reach its fourth anniversary. During this period of separation, Lu Yin had changed greatly, as he had gone from being a junior whom many youths admired to the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, and his authority had grown by an almost exaggerated degree. Once the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, his new status would astonish the various great powers of the Innerverse.

    With the end of the war, there was one expected matter. Elder Daggs warned everyone that, at least for the next year, no internal wars were allowed to ur within the Outerverse and that everyone could be mobilized at any moment.

    Wei Rong heaved a sigh of pure relief. With the pressure from the border warfront, not even the Hall of Honor would side with Lu Yin. As long as no armed conflicts urred, Wei Rong would have enough time to unify the weaves of the Outerverse¡¯s central region.

    During thest two months, he had already met with quite a few leaders of the central region¡¯s powers, and he had also met with quite a few of the western weaves¡¯ guiding powers in an attempt to unite and resist the expansion of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve received news from Meng Tianlong. During thest two months, Wei Rong has been in frequent contact with the leaders of various power organizations, and it seems as though they havee to some sort of an agreement,¡± Aden reported.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°That¡¯s expected. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be Wei Rong.¡±

    ¡°Just one year should be plenty of time for Wei Rong to win over quite a few powers, and it will be much more difficult for us to take down Armament Weave after that time.¡± Aden was frustrated. The Armament Weave was the first military opponent they had faced since the establishment of the Allied Forces, and everyone had been hoping that they would be able to achieve a beautiful victory, but s.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. They had already boarded a spacecraft and were headed back towards Frostwave Weave, and their gadgets had reconnected to thework. He activated his gadget, and right next to the rest of the information concerning his status, his Honor Points had been updated: fifteen.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Let him y his games. We¡¯ll see who¡¯s faster in the end,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    Aden did not understand Lu Yin¡¯s attitude. Obviously, Wei Rong would be faster. There would be no opportunity for them to wage war during the next year, andpared to Wei Rong, Lu Yin was not as adept in crafting scheming machinations. Thus, Aden did not expect Lu Yin to be able to stop Wei Rong¡¯s efforts in unifying the weaves of the Outerverse¡¯s central region.

    Lu Yin did not exin any further.

    Twenty dayster, Lu Yin was sitting in a spacecraft as it headed towards Zenyu Star.

    When he arrived at Zenyu Star, there was already a pile of matters awaiting him. After being gone for ten months, since it was to defend the Outerverse¡¯s border, there had not been many changes to the rest of Outerverse. However, the Technocracy¡¯s sneak attacks had caused quite a few casualties among the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and sent these matters over for the Lu Ministry of Staff to settle.

    Huan Sha¡¯s innate gift of analysis had proven very useful here. Although it was not of much help to her during battles, she was quite adept at handling administrative affairs.

    Many older officials of the empire had already experienced a change in their attitudes towards the Lu Ministry of Staff, going from initial dissatisfaction towards one of eptance. In fact, Huan Sha¡¯s ability to manage administrative affairs could speak for itself, and the various officials could not point out any shorings.

    Furthermore, Lu Yin had not behaved as they had expected, and he had won them over one by one. The Lu Ministry of Staff operated within its purview, and the Imperial Cab simrly carried out its own duties. Each department of the empire operated in an orderly fashion.

    The Lu Ministry of Staff had not monopolized all authority for itself.

    In fact, at the start, Lu Yin had nned to make the Lu Ministry of Staff the department with the greatest authority. Then, the Ninth Squadron began its purge of the corrupt government officials without any restraint. The Auna family hadpletely established their loyalties by wholeheartedly embracing the role of Lu Yin¡¯s knife. Many of the empire¡¯s officials had also changed their ways, and they were no longer as negligent as before. These people could remain in their current positions, but they were no longer merely relying on their connections or their families¡¯ influence to maintain their status, and they all actually had some degree of personal ability. Once they became serious, each could act professionally, and it had reached the degree where Lu Yin could not even find his next target.

    This made him very satisfied. As soon as these officials began to work seriously, he no longer had to clean up after them, which saved him a great deal of trouble.

    Within the empire, there was a dark prison that was constantly permeated with an unpleasant smell. No matter how far the empire progressed, or how much technology developed, a ce like this prison would never change, as it represented the empire¡¯s darkness and authority.

    Xun Qianye¡¯s four limbs had been bound, and his head hung low. His lips were parched and cracked, and countless scars of varying sizes crisscrossed across his entire body. His spirit had clearly beenpletely broken, and he looked as though he was already dead.

    Ever since he had first been captured, he had been interrogated without end, constantly being tortured. However, despite the endless torment, he had not spoken a single word from beginning to end.

 Chapter 856: Reason

    <h4>Chapter 856: Reason</h4>

    Lu Yin arrived and appeared a few meters away from Xun Qianye. The jailer was quite attentive, and he hurriedly brought over a chair and served some tea as he politely waited on the Royal Regent.

    ¡°He¡¯s still not saying anything?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    A man with a face covered with scars half knelt on the floor as he answered in a low voice. ¡°My apologies, Your Highness, but your subject is useless. We¡¯ve used all sorts of methods, but this person just won¡¯t say anything.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand for everyone to withdraw. Xun Qianye was, after all, a Hunter, and those who could cultivate to such a high realm would not becking in willpower. This, it was nothing unusual for normal torture methods to have no effect on such a person.

    That jailer was actually a member of the Second Squadron. In the past, when Wendy Yushan had acted as the Second Squadron¡¯s captain, this man had already been responsible for handing out punishment within the prison. By now, he had worked the same job for many years. Unfortunately, he could only deal with ordinary Outerverse cultivators, so someone like Xun Qianye was beyond his capabilities.

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re awake, so talk to me,¡± Lu Yin said as he sat on the chair. He looked at Xun Qianye with some bit of interest.

    Xun Qianye¡¯s finger twitched slightly, and his fingerbone could clearly be seen at the tip. He had clearly suffered from extreme torture.

    He slowly raised his head, revealing a mutted face. He looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I could have killed myself, but I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I know. It¡¯s very easy for a Hunter tomit suicide.¡±

    Xun Qianye feebly said, ¡°Sooner orter¡­ there will be¡­ a day¡­ when¡­ the same fate¡­ as mine¡­ befalls you.¡±

    Lu Yin leaned forward, stared into Xun Qianye¡¯s resentful eyes, and then indifferently responded, ¡°You waited for me just to say that?¡±

    Xun Qianye coughed a few times. ¡°What you want to know¡­ will just bring you despair.¡±

    ¡°Such as your Xun family¡¯s cooperation with the Technocracy?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Xun Qianye hoarsely retorted, ¡°Not the Xun family. Just me.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Wen Zhaocheng.¡±

    This name caused Xun Qianye¡¯s expression to change drastically. He had endured endless torture, but at this moment, just the mention of that name seemed to plunge him into an endless abyss.

    ¡°Cang Yi.¡± Lu Yin stated another name that had been written on the paper that he had found in the gun that had started everything between him and the Xun family.

    Then, Lu Yin mentioned a few more names, all of which had been tranted by the Ghost Monkey. Some of the names triggered a great reaction from Xun Qianye while others did not.

    Xun Qianye¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Lu Yin. He tried to struggle, and he actually managed to rattle his chains, which released a tremendous sound. ¡°What exactly do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger tapped against the chair. ¡°Actually, in the beginning, I didn¡¯t know what these names represented. However, you were so confident that the Technocracy would destroy Zenyu Star that you generously exposed your coboration with the Technocracy. That¡¯s when I finally understood.¡±

    His lips suddenly started to bend upwards at this point. ¡°Your Xun family is colluding with the Technocracy, and the names on this paper are the other people who are simrly coborating with the Technocracy. You know of some, but not of others. That paper was ced in the gun that was found in the Astral Wilderness by someone from the Technocracy for your Xun family to pick up. That way, you would know the names of the other people coborating with the Technocracy. Unfortunately, a mishap happened somewhere in the middle, and the gun was taken by someone else.

    ¡°Your Xun family tracked down that gun to the auction at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and although you wanted to bid for it, I grabbed it first. This is the reason why the Xun family first targeted me, and it is also why you used all sorts of methods to try to destroy Zenyu Star. It¡¯s all because you were afraid that the information on this paper would be revealed. So, you waited here for me, all to find out whether or not I knew about this matter. If I didn¡¯t, then you could die peacefully. But if I did¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain suddenly burst out, and a corner of the prison cell cracked. The power of this domain caused Xun Qianye to feelpletely hopeless.

    ¡°The moment you were imprisoned, you installed eavesdropping devices. If I know of the true situation, then the devices will report whatever you discover to a select few, and they will then move against me. Unfortunately, before I came, all signals were blocked off, so those devices are nothing more than mere decorations.¡±

    Xun Qianye¡¯s expression became sinister, and his visage was made even scarier by his mangled face. Lu Yin had not guessed wrong, and this person¡¯s capture had actually been aplete ident. However, as the person coordinating the cooperation between the Xun family and the Technocracy, his methods were deep and unscrupulous. Shockingly, he had actually borrowed the Technocracy¡¯s abilities to probe how much Lu Yin had learned. Only under those circumstances would Lu Yin speak the truth, which was the reason why Xun Qianye had willingly endured the torment of his imprisonment for so long.

    However, he had never dreamed that this person would be so cautious and that Lu Yin would have already seen through all of his ns. The captive Hunter¡¯s hopes all fizzled away.

    Lu Yin stood up and walked closer to Xun Qianye. ¡°You¡¯re quite smart. You nned to pull me under with you even if you end up dying. Once the Technocracy discovers that I understand the importance of that list and that I know the names of the people on it, they will use all sorts of methods to assassinate me. For example, like what they tried back on Sourcepeak.¡±

    Xun Qianye¡¯s scalp went numb. ¡°You even figured out the matter on Sourcepeak?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Not just on Sourcepeak¡ªthere were also androids from the Technocracy that attacked Millions City.¡±

    ¡°Millions City?¡± Xun Qianye was puzzled, as he had been unaware of that attack.

    Lu Yin looked into the man¡¯s eyes, and quickly determined that Xun Qianye truly knew nothing about Millions City. Lu Yin averted his gaze and then slowly stepped out of the prison cell. This person held no further value to him since he did not know anything about Millions City. It seemed as though the Technocracy had kept this Hunter in the dark about their cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance. If not for the Technocracy¡¯s androids, then the Neohuman Alliance would not have been able to unleash such chaos upon Millions City.

    The Technocracy, the Neohuman Alliance, the Xun family, Wen Zhaocheng, Cang Yi, and more. All these people hade together to form an alliance that had betrayed humanity.

    The Neohuman Alliance had colluded with the Technocracy, which Lu Yin did not find strange, as neither of them belonged to the human race. However, why would the Xun family join them as well? There was also Wen Zhaocheng, who was someone from the Wei Family, and why had all those other people joined? This was truly puzzling.

    Lu Yin would never understand the thoughts of some people, as he had his own moral baseline. Just as he had said to ckless God in the past, if all humans became zombies, then would unifying the entire universe even mean anything? These were just his own thoughts, but he could not speak for everyone. People¡¯s baselines differed from person to person, and it was difficult for someone to understand another¡¯s baseline. However, once it was understood, many more aspects about that person would also be clear.

    ¡°Lu Yin, who cares that I never transmitted this information? The Technocracy is already certain that you know everything, so they will definitely find all kinds of ways to kill you. You will certainly die in the end!¡± Xun Qianye screamed and cursed vehemently.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the prison cell and softly said, ¡°It¡¯s settled.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    Interrogating Xun Qianye had allowed Lu Yin to confirm a few things. However, it was all useless since the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, and all the names on that paper had been people from the Innerverse.

    When Lu Yin returned to King Zishan''s pce, Bei Qing requested an audience.

    Lu Yin knew what the young man¡¯s objective was, and he casually gave Bei Qing five natural treasures that had reached the point of evading danger before sending him away. He had also received three grams of pyrolyte from Bei Qing, which meant that he now had eight grams in total. It was very little, but he was in no hurry and could take his time with this task.

    During the border warfront¡¯s counterattack, their victory had hinged upon the detonation of a hundred grams of pyrolyte. The value of pyrolyte was very high, and Lu Yin had Bei Qing warn his people to gather it very slowly. There woulde a day when Lu Yin acquired a hundred grams himself. Even if he did not use it at that time, it would still be a means with which to threaten the others.

    Now was the time for him to return to the Daosource Sect''s ruins. By not visiting for such a long period of time, he had lost quite a few opportunities.

    Lu Yin had tested the might of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation during the war and found that it suited him very well. He might not have much else, but he had a tremendous reserve of star energy. Each one of his cycles required 200 times the amount of star energy that others did. Thus, this battle technique might not demonstrate much power if an average cultivator used it; at best, it would reach a powerparable to their peers in the same realm. However, in Lu Yin¡¯s hands, the technique¡¯s full power could be unleashed, and even Enlighters would be apprehensive of its power.

    He just didn¡¯t know how long it would take him to absorb all of the cauldron energy for oneplete sun. If he couldpletely cultivate one sun, then the technique¡¯s power would undergo a qualitative change.

    When Lu Yin reopened his eyes, he had once again reappeared in the futon za. Compared to hisst visit, there were more people present this time. It seems as though the news concerning the Innerverse¡¯s invasion had spread, and aside from a few youths who were confident in their own power, the rest of the Sixth Maind¡¯s youths did not n on joining the battlefield. On the contrary, since those elites had headed to the Innerverse¡¯s battlefield, there was nobody left to fight over the lucky opportunities in the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    Lu Yin stood up and stepped through the First Divine Gate before quickly heading towards the Budding Terrace. Any cultivator he passed was not able to see him clearly, which caused quite amotion.

    ¡°That speed means that they must at least be the heir of an Imprinter''s family. I can¡¯t believe that someone like that actually didn¡¯t go to the battlefield in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse and instead came here to the Daosource Sect''s ruins. How pathetic.¡±

    ¡°The battlefield in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse is very cruel. I heard that even the descendant of a World Imprinter¡¯s family died.¡±

    ¡°Is that right? Those Title Holders are not simple at all. I heard that one of their Marquises killed two Imprinter family hiers one after another before going head to head against a descendant of a World Imprinter¡¯s family. In the end, they ended up injuring each other.¡±

    ¡°So what? Before that, there was a woman called Qiu Shi who stepped out and dominated the battlefield. She defeated a Realmling and was immediately given the title of Queen. They all call her Queen Qiu, and she supposedlyes from a Cosmic Sect. She¡¯s also known as the All Rounder Fairy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that her bosom is so magnificent that many call her Big Roundies Queen, hehe.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also another guy called Tai Yuanjun, and he battled against the War Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Toolwielder. Their battle spread out in all directions, and although there wasn¡¯t a clear winner, neither of them was defeated. That one battle was enough to give him the title of Monarch, and people call him Monarch Yuan. That fellow is reportedly ranked second in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Top 100 Rankings, and he is quite powerful.¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind is not as weak as we thought. Some have even said that once the Fifth Maind learns about imprints that we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? We still have the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult for the Daosource Three Skies to move out. Don¡¯t forget¡ªwith the power level restricted to under 200,000, the Daosource Three Skies, Realmlings, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters are all at about at the same level.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin did not listen to the various discussions as he quickly dashed past the First Divine Gate to reach the Budding Terrace. He then raced towards the region that held the Nine Cauldrons.

    But right when he was about to leave Budding Terrace, within the range of his domain, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura. Was that Fat Bro?

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he vanished from where he had just been standing.

    From another direction, Fat Bro Huang San and Yan Xiaojing were walking together.

    ¡°Xiaojing, rest assured. As long as we hide out in this ce, when we leaveter, the people from the Autumnfrost family will have already left,¡± Huang San consoled Yan Xiaojing.

    Yan Xiaojing nodded with a bitter expression on her face and then looked at Huang San. ¡°I¡¯m the one who implicated you. Actually, our marriage contract has already been canceled, so there¡¯s no need for you to risk yourself for me.¡±

    The fatty smiled bitterly. ¡°This isn¡¯t just for you. Autumnfrost Qing definitely will not let me off. As soon as I show my face, I¡¯ll also be eliminated by the Autumnfrost Family. Right now, I¡¯m also worried about my own family, and I just hope that the Autumnfrost Family will not cause any major trouble for them.¡±

    ¡°They shouldn¡¯t, as the result of the invasion of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse has caused the entire Bloodburn Realm to lose face. ording to the rumors, the Bluedome Elder does not n to make a move since the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse has a powerhouse whose power can¡¯t be estimated. Our Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect also issued a decree for all of the experts with power levels under 200,000 to invade the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse at full force. First, we¡¯ll clear out all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse¡¯s core strength, and by doing so, sever an era of the Fifth Maind. Autumnfrost Qing should have gone there as well, and his achievements have reportedly been quite impressive. Thus, the Autumnfrost family has no time to create any trouble for my family right now,¡± Yan Xiaojing said.

    ¡°I hope so,¡± the fatty replied.

 Chapter 857: Vanquishing The Wei Family

    <h4>Chapter 857: Vanquishing The Wei Family</h4>

    Lu Yin withdrew his focus. Sure enough, just as the Yu family¡¯s elder had said, underneath the hazy veil of the Fifth Maind, there was still something else hiding there. The Sixth Maind had already discovered that fact, and Mister Mu¡¯s mysterious intervention had made them grow even more wary. Their top-notch experts did not intend on taking too many risks, and so they were patiently waiting for their Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation to go all-out and deal with the Fifth Maind¡¯s. Once the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation was wiped out, the powerhouses from the older generation, or those who were still hiding their strength, would be forced to act.

    The Sixth Maind wanted to force the Fifth Maind to reveal its trump cards first. After all, the Sixth Maind had three Progenitors, and they would be fearless as soon as the Fifth Maind revealed their full hand.

    It seemed that the true war would still take ce in the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin did not reveal himself, as his identity had already been exposed, and there was no need for him to meet with Fatty Bro either.

    Before long, Lu Yin arrived in the region with the Nine Cauldrons.

    There were already some people in this space, but Lu Yin unceremoniously knocked all of them unconscious before piling them up in a corner. He then minded his own business, went inside the first cauldron, and began absorbing the cauldron energy.

    Regardless of if it was the Realmlings or the Ten Arbiters, neither group had any time to visit the Daosource Sect''s ruins, so this ce could currently be considered as Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    More than ten days passed, and during this time, Lu Yin had taken care of more than ten people who had entered this region. They had alle to the Nine Cauldrons to look for destiny. Huang San was also rather unlucky, as he led Yan Xiaojing to this region, only to be knocked unconscious by Lu Yin and simrly thrown into a corner with the others.

    There were already close to twenty cultivators from the Sixth Maind in that corner.

    After another ten days passed, Lu Yin stood up. He had absorbed some more of the cauldron energy, but as for how much more was left, he still did not know.

    His time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins should be almost up!

    In the corner, the fatty woke up and rubbed his head. He had been knocked unconscious by someone, but who was that powerful? Even if Autumnfrost Qing had attacked Huang San, he should have at least noticed something. Could it have been one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters?

    The fatty hurriedly woke Yan Xiaojing up, but there were still another dozen unconscious cultivators lying around. The fatty then told Yan Xiaojing to be quiet, and they hurriedly left the region with the Nine Cauldrons. He decided to never return to this area in the future.

    Lu Yin watched as Huang San and the girl left. Then, the scenery changed before his eyes, as his time was up.

    He returned to the secret room in King Zishan''s pce and quickly stored the futon away before walking out. It should be time!

    That night, Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft as he took Ku Wei and Cool Sis with him towards Armament Weave.

    Although the war in Armament Weave had stopped, the Great Eastern Alliance had not given up on the territory that they were upying, and they had no intentions of returning it either.

    During the time when the border had been attacked by the Sixth Maind and the Technocracy, the Wei family had contacted the Imperial Cab of the Great Yu Empire countless times, hoping to have the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces withdraw from Armament Weave. However, the Imperial Cab did not even bother responding.

    ¡°Big bro, where are you taking us?¡± Ku Wei asked with some interest.

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°Armament Weave.¡±

    Ku Wei was puzzled. ¡°Armament Weave? What are we going there for? It can¡¯t be to restart the war, can it?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not answer. During the first part of Armament Weave¡¯s invasion, Lu Yin had taken Aden and Yan Yan with him to Armament Weave as well as a few people from the Lu Office of Defense. This time, he took Ku Wei and Cool Sis.

    In fact, the oue would be the same regardless of whether or not Lu Yin brought anyone along with him since it was already predetermined. As long as the Hall of Honor did not intervene, nobody in the Outerverse would be able to stop the downfall of the Wei family.

    ¡°Are you really going to restart this war? That¡¯s crazy! The Hall of Honor has already sent out a warning that no one in the Outerverse is allowed to start any sort of internal conflict for the next year. Everybody has to obey that warning for now no matter what,¡± Ku Wei said.

    Cool Sis studied Lu Yin, trying to catch a glimpse of something from his eyes.

    Neither of the two apanying Lu Yin had been drafted to the recent border warfront for either the first or second batch of reinforcements. Truthfully, Cool Sis did not feel very happy about that. Of course, she was well aware that she would not have been of much use at the border warfront. At her current strength, she would have been nothing more than mere cannon fodder and would have been no different from a Limiteer or a Melder. With the strength that a powerhouse could exert with just a finger, it would be no different even if she had already reached the Enlighter realm.

    Wei Rong was in Southside Weave, and he had not returned to Armament Weave yet, as he had a full year to make the necessary arrangements. At this time, what he wanted to do the most was strengthen his rtionship with the Dark Phoenix family.

    When he had first arrived at the border warfront, he had coincidentally been sent to the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, and he had formed decent rtionships with both Sall Phoenix and Zax Phoenix.

    The Dark Phoenix family had relocated themselves to Southside Weave, and Wei Rong was the first distinguished guest to visit them after their move.

    ¡°Now that the defense of the border has ended, your Wei family does not need to worry for a full year,¡± the Dark Phoenix patriarch, Tanno Phoenix, told Wei Rong in a gentle voice.

    Wei Rong respectfully replied, ¡°A year is too short. Junior wants to resolve all future problems, and we would be most grateful for Patriarch¡¯s assistance. The Wei family will not forget such a great kindness.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix did not respond.

    Wei Rong continued on in a humble manner, saying, ¡°In the current Outerverse, the Dark Phoenix family is the strongest power. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Yin has never viewed the Dark Phoenix family well. Even your beloved son-¡± Wei Rong suddenly stopped speaking.

    Tanno Phoenix¡¯s eyes shed. Taylor Phoenix had been the son who he doted on the most, and that boy had also been an expert who had ranked in the Top 100 Rankings. Thus, Tanno Phoenix had held high hopes for his son. Now that Taylor had died because of Lu Yin, it had formed a huge grudge between them. He wanted revenge, but due to Yen Phoenix¡¯s death, the Dark Phoenix family was no longer confident in being able toe out on top, and so, they hoped to maintain a low-profile.

    Lu Yin was no good Samaritan, and Tanno was not a fool either. He could not possibly be moved into joining an alliance against the Great Eastern Alliance with just a few sentences from Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong did not expect his few words to seed either, and he had merely intended to open up negotiations today. He had alreadye up with a good way to convince the Dark Phoenix family to help him, but it was not time to mention such a thing yet, and he could not rush matters.

    Just as Wei Rong was about to take his leave, his gadget rang, and he nced at it. He leaped to his feet, his face suddenly a deathly shade of white. ¡°Impossible.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix frowned and looked at the youth.

    Wei Rong immediately activated his gadget, not caring at all about Tanno Phoenix who was still next to him. He then shouted, ¡°Think of any way to hold back the Great Eastern Alliance. I¡¯m going to go to the Hall of Honor!¡±

    Tanno Phoenix looked at his own screen, and he saw that a great battle had broken out, the location of which was actually the ancestral home of Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family.

    Wei Rong bowed to Tanno Phoenix. ¡°Patriarch, Lu Yin clearly does not care about the Hall of Honor¡¯s decree, and he has even taken the initiative to incite a war despite the threat at this border, which shows that he does not care about the Outerverse¡¯s safety. It¡¯s truly detestable, and I ask that Patriarch stand up for justice.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix was delighted. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance has attacked your Wei family''s ancestral?¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s face turned ugly. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Very well then. I will join you in traveling to the border to seek judgement from Elder Daggs,¡± Tanno Phoenix said excitedly. He was not willing to personally deal with the Great Eastern Alliance, but this time, Lu Yin had brought death upon himself, and Tanno Phoenix would only need to add some embellishments. Even the Hall of Honor would not risk everything just to help Lu Yin.

    His actions this time had been too foolish. By starting a war right now, it was simply courting death.

    Wei Rong was actually quite nervous, and he was not nearly as optimistic as Tanno Phoenix. Lu Yin was not stupid. The fact that he still dared to start a war at this time despite knowing of the Hall of Honor¡¯s warning indicated that Lu Yin was confident in his actions.

    Wei Rong quickly had his Wei family vacate their ancestral even as he rushed towards the border.

    He held no hope of being able to reverse this situation against Lu Yin. Instead, he merely wanted to save his ancestral and put a stop to the invasion.

    In outer space, within Armament Weave, a battleship¡¯s light beams swept across a, directly overwhelming the defenses of the Wei family''s ancestral. Yi Feng had led quite a few Lockbreakers to help bolster the defenses, but they were easily ughtered by the Allied Forces.

    This was war, and the concept of Lockbreakers being protected did not apply to situations of warfare. Anything was fair in war since both sides were fighting for their survival.

    Ku Wei and Cool Sis rushed out and joined the battle.

    Lu Yin calmly stood within his vessel. The Rapid Response Team had withdrawn from the border by now. Although they had suffered heavy losses during the invasion, they had managed to preserve a good portion of their strength, and they were still enough to take care of the Wei family.

    On the other side of the battlefield, within a giant battleship, Liuying Zishan had an excited look on her face. This was her first invasion since she had been appointed as the Commander of the Allied Forces. The invasion had been put on hiatus for ten months, but the time to determine the final victor had finally arrived.

    Behind her, Ian stood in a respectful manner as he watched the bitter battlefield taking ce in the distant point in outer space above the Wei family''s ancestral. The Armament Weave¡¯s cultivators were like moths flocking towards a me as they tried to stop the Allied Forces. Under the overpowering assault, the defenders were not able to inflict any injuries upon the attackers.

    This battle was aplete rout. The Wei family waspletely finished this time.

    He looked out at outer space. This was a battlefield, which was the ce that Ian was most fond of.

    Within the Wei family¡¯s ancestral residence, Wei Baichuan raised his eyes to look at where mes asionally fell down and corpses rained down. There were also beams of light that constantly swept across the surface. The that had once been the most glorious symbol of Armament Weave wasing to its end.

    Everyone else from the Wei family had already evacuated, but Wei Baichuan could not leave, as he was the patriarch.

    He had already faced the same, desperate situation once before, and this time was no different.

    Wei Dan walked over, his face pale and his eyes steeped in despair.

    Wei Baichuan indifferently said, ¡°You and I will be buried with this as brothers.¡±

    Wei Dan was agonized by the prospect. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    Wei Baichuan¡¯s body trembled. It was such a simple request, but he could not fulfill it.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    He opened the screen of his gadget to see Wei Xin''er¡¯s frantic face as she looked at Wei Baichuan. ¡°Father, hurry up and escape! Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    Wei Baichuan sighed, and he immediately closed the screen. Explosions rang out in the distance, and shockwaves swept across the¡¯s surface that caused their breath to freeze.

    Not long after, Wei Rong also contacted his father.

    Wei Baichuan simply crushed his gadget as he looked up. All of the resistance that the Wei family had prepared had beenpletely crushed, and numerous spacecraft littered the sky. The momentum of the Allied Forces was overwhelming, and Commander Liuying Zishan¡¯s assault group towered high above in the sky. It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Yin to appear, and he looked down upon the Wei family¡¯s ancestral home. This war was over.

    Wei Rong, who was in the distant Southside Weave, had not been able to get through to Wei Baichuan, and his spirits fell to their lowest point.

    Tanno Phoenix¡¯s eyes flickered, and his lips curled upwards. It would be good if the entire Wei family was killed. This way, Lu Yin¡¯s crimes would be even more egregious, and Tanno Phoenix would also be able to pull Wei Rong over to his side. Although this person was not very powerful, his brain was rather nimble.

    The Wei family''s ancestral was covered with smoke, and the ground trembled under the suppressive fire of the Allied Forces. The seawater thrashed about as volcanoes spewedva. It was like a scene from hell.

    This day marked the apocalypse for the Wei family.

    The people of the Great Eastern Alliance could be seen in all directions, as they had surrounded the in a tight stranglehold.

    Lu Yin slowly descended from the sky and walked across the ground of the Wei family¡¯s ancestral home as he approached Wei Baichuan.

    Everyone closely followed Lu Yin¡¯s steps, as each one fell like the pressure of a mountain.

    Wei Dan¡¯s face went pale, and he watched on in absolute fear as Lu Yin approached. This was the youth who had overwhelmed their Wei family, and Lu Yin¡¯s face had been burned deeply into the psyche of the entire Wei family. He had be their nightmare.

    Wei Baichuan walked in front of Wei Dan and calmly looked at Lu Yin. There was no fear in his eyes, only destion.

    Lu Yin stood three meters away from Wei Baichuan. Just as Wei Baichuan was not terrified, Lu Yin was not thrilled. This oue was already within his expectations, but it had been dyed by ten months due to all sorts of outside circumstances. Otherwise, they would have arrived at this point much sooner. Instead, the Wei family had managed to survive for an additional ten months.

 Chapter 858: Noteworthy Background

    <h4>Chapter 858: Noteworthy Background</h4>

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡± Wei Baichuan spoke first, and his voice was calm.

    Wei Dan was quivering, as he truly did not want to die.

    Lu Yin stared at Wei Baichuan, and asked in a rather curious tone, ¡°Patriarch Wei, why are you not running?¡±

    Wei Baichuan sneered. ¡°Run? So that I can be chased about like a mouse? To act as your prey?¡±

    ¡°How audacious!¡± shouted countless soldiers, and the intimidating roar caused the to tremble, nearly frightening Wei Dan to death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were calmly sped behind his back, and he felt a headacheing on. From the very start, he had notpletely surrounded the Wei family''s ancestral all so that these people from the Wei family could escape. That way, he could use them as bait to lure out the rest of the family. These people should have be his excuse to start another war. Whoever amodated the refugees would be targeted by Lu Yin. The Wei family was adept at developing rtionships with other powers, and he wanted to take advantage of the Wei family and turn them into a poison for the other powers of the Outerverse.

    Unfortunately, the Wei family was made up of many intellectuals, particrly the Wei Patriarch. He would have been the best bait, but he had chosen to not escape.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, kill me if you wish,¡± Wei Baichuan spoke coldly as he looked up into the sky.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and some people moved forward to capture Wei Baichuan and Wei Dan. The two prisoners were then sent into a spacecraft.

    Lu Yin did not n to kill Wei Baichuan, as a dead person was worthless to him.

    Wei Rong had left a path forward for himself and for the entire Wei family, which was their loyalty. He had given Lu Yin the hope of winning his loyalty, and this tactic had always been Wei Rong¡¯s true final resort.

    Lu Yin was indeed moved. Wei Rong might not have a baseline, and he might not be a righteous person either. However, he was certainly very smart and ruthless. Lu Yin needed such a person to be hisckey and to open new frontiers for him, as such people were very useful.

    If Lu Yin killed Wei Baichuan, then the man would no longer possess any value to Lu Yin, and that action would simultaneously also cause Lu Yin to lose any hope of drawing in Wei Rong as a subordinate, which meant that it was not in his best interest to kill this man.

    With Wei Baichuan captured by Lu Yin¡¯s forces, he would wait and see how Wei Rong intended to rescue his father. The first step to take was to keep himself from using Wei Baichuan as a hostage! Lu Yin smiled, as he had his own bottom lines, and using a father¡¯s life to ckmail his son was not how Lu Yin handled things.

    This ce was the Wei family''s ancestral, and Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings before stepping into the Wei family¡¯s ancestral home. This was a regional war that he had been the one to initiate, and this ce was full ofmemorative value.

    In the Honor Lavazone, with Tanno Phoenix¡¯s guidance, Wei Rong sessfully met with Elder Daggs.

    When he saw Elder Daggs, Wei Rong lowered his head and knelt down as he wailed, ¡°May Elder provide justice.¡±

    Elder Daggs was startled by this greeting, and he looked over at Tanno Phoenix. ¡°This is?¡¯

    Although Elder Daggs had drafted Wei Rong to join the border defense and had even been the one to transfer Wei Rong from the Dark Phoenix Lavazone to the Greatwood Lavazone, he had never seen Wei Rong nor thought about the youth.

    Tanno Phoenix exined, ¡°He is Wei Rong, from Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family, and also the one who proposed the border¡¯s n for the first counterattack.¡±

    Thest bit finally jogged Elder Daggs¡¯s memory. Although that n had been brought up by Lu Yin, Lu Yin had always been open about the fact that the two people who had developed the initial n were Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er.

    ¡°So you are Wei Rong. What''s the matter?¡± Elder Daggs asked curiously as he gestured for Wei Rong to stand.

    Wei Rong did not get up, and hemented to the elder, ¡°By the Hall of Honor¡¯s order, no power in the Outerverse is to conduct any sort of war for a year. However, someone has actually already started an interweave war. I ask that Elder deliver justice.¡±

    Elder Daggs was furious. ¡°Who would dare? Who has started a war?¡±

    ¡°It was Lu Yin¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance,¡± Wei Rong hurriedly offered.

    Elder Daggs¡¯ brows rose. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Tanno Phoenix then said, ¡°Elder, Lu Yin led the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces and ughtered his way to the Wei family''s ancestral. They have vanquished the Wei family and dominated Armament Weave. All wars should have been stopped during this tumultuous time.¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he looked as if he was thinking of something.

    Wei Rong looked over at Tanno Phoenix.

    Tanno Phoenix continued, saying, ¡°Elder, this kid, Lu Yin, is tantly ignoring the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders, and he is also scorning the border¡¯s safety by starting a war himself and burning away our strength from within. Such actions are detestable. May Elder deliver justice and return bnce to the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°May Elder deliver justice! The blood of countless defenders here at the frontier has not even dried yet,¡± Wei Rong mournfully cried out.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Elder Daggs stepped forward and vanished into the void. He intended to look for Yuan Shi himself, as Lu Yin¡¯s status was no small matter. For any matters concerning Lu Yin, Elder Daggs could not casually decide things by himself.

    Yuan Shi was still overseeing the border to deter an invasion from the Sixth Maind.

    Elder Daggs¡¯s visit seemed to be within the old man¡¯s expectations.

    Elder Daggs quickly reported his purpose in visiting.

    Yuan Shi simply responded, ¡°Check Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points.¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s expression changed. It looked as though he had just thought of something, and he immediately checked his gadget. They were not on one of the darkva mainds right now, and so, their gadgets were connected to thework.

    Elder Daggs quickly saw Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points and cried out, ¡°Fifteen?¡±

    Yuan Shi exined, ¡°This kid is quite sharp. I gave him three, which allowed his Honor Points to reach fourteen, which was specifically to prevent him from starting a war. However, this brat actually knew that fifteen points awards one with the privilege of starting a war while ignoring any interference from the Hall of Honor, which is why he intentionally purchased one more point.¡±

    ¡°But the privilege of starting a war interference-free is not suitable during this time of crisis, when we must defend against invasions on the border. The Outerverse is also facing a catastrophe-¡± But before he could even finish speaking, Elder Daggs stopped. If the border was still at war, then this privilege would naturally be ineffective, as everyone would have to fight to defend the Human Domain. However, since the border warfront had entered a temporary period of peace and the troops were merely standing guard, this was no longer a true war. Thus, the privilege was valid once again.

    Yuan Shi softly answered, ¡°Go back. There¡¯s no need to care about this matter.¡±

    Elder Daggs sighed and left. He was disgusted by Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, but he could do nothing about it.

    Once he left Yuan Shi¡¯s area, Elder Daggs immediately contacted Elder Lohar, and he repeated the details of the matter once again.

    Elder Lohar smiled bitterly. ¡°I knew it. He specifically asked me to check if a war can be started with his points. Ignore him, as you can¡¯t handle him anyway. Don¡¯t forget, he has the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, and his status is not simple.¡±

    Elder Daggs nodded and helplessly said, ¡°I know, but this child isn¡¯t showing us any face, and he actually started a war shortly after leaving the warfront. How will the rest of the Outerverse see our Hall of Honor?¡±

    Elder Lohar serenely answered, ¡°Do you know why Yuan Shi went to investigate the Technocracy? Do you know where the report of a possible invasion by the Sixth Maind originated from? Do you know who provided the intelligence regarding the situation in the Innerverse? It¡¯s all from Lu Yin, and his contributions are not onlyposed of his military achievements at the warfronts. Yuan Shi indulges the boy, but not just because of his contributions at the border.¡±

    Elder Daggs was stunned. ¡°The information was all provided by him? How is that possible? Where did he get reports concerning the Sixth Maind?¡±

    ¡°The Daosource Sect,¡± Elder Lohar calmly replied.

    ¡°Impossible!¡± Elder Daggs cried, ¡°A futon is required to enter the Daosource Sect, and the Fifth Maind has only ten.¡±

    ¡°He simply has one. Are there any other items that he possesses that should not belong to him?¡± Elder Lohar pointed out.

    Elder Daggs¡¯s eyes flickered, and he finally nodded. ¡°I know what to do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Elder Lohar replied.

    Elder Daggs smiled bitterly. ¡°It would have been best if he had simply waited for a few months. He truly is not showing us any face by starting a war right now.¡±

    Elder Lohar did not say anything further and ended the call.

    It didn¡¯t take Elder Daggs long to return to the Honor Lavazone, and he delivered despairing news to Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong alone simply could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s status, even with the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s support. At this moment, in Elder Daggs and the others¡¯ eyes, Lu Yin was someone who was a part of the Hall of Honor.

    Wei Rong persistently begged. Even if they did not pursue Lu Yin¡¯s culpability for starting a war, Wei Rong still hoped that the Hall of Honor would at the very least stop the war.

    Instead, he was coldly rejected by Elder Daggs. All of his efforts were fruitless, even if Wei Rong split his head open from kowtowing to the elder.

    Tanno Phoenix saw that the Hall of Honor was fixed on supporting Lu Yin. He really wanted to know how this Lu Yin had obtained the Hall of Honor¡¯s staunch support. Even if Elder Daggs¡¯s own son started a war, the youth would not face a happy ending. So just what was so special about Lu Yin?

    Wei Rong closed his eyes, as he had already expected this oue. The worst part about being smart was having the ability to see further ahead than other people. He had crossed paths with Lu Yin so many times, and he was very clear about his opponent¡¯s personality. Withoutplete confidence, Lu Yin would not have restarted the war given the current situation of the Outerverse.

    All of Wei Rong¡¯s hard work had turned into nothing more than illusory wishes. The Armament Weave had been upied, and the Wei family had been utterly defeated. Everything was over.

    Tanno Phoenix left, and he no longer entertained Wei Rong. He had started to panic, as Lu Yin was too freakish. His actions this time meant that his background definitely was not simple. The entire Hall of Honor was helping the youth, and if Tanno Phoenix continued to oppose such a person, then the Dark Phoenix family would probably face a horrible demise. After all, his family did not have any more hidden trump cards, and the entire family only had three Enlighters, none of which had a power level of even 300,000. Such strength did not give Tanno Phoenix any confidence in confronting Lu Yin.

    The entire Outerverse was shocked by the war in Armament Weave, though they were not shocked at the scale or intensity of the fighting. Rather it was the timing of the war that startled everyone.

    Countless people waited for the Hall of Honor to deliver a judgement against the Great Eastern Alliance. However, all they received was news of the Wei family¡¯s annihtion as well as the news that Armament Weave had formally joined the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Countless powers were horrified, just like Tanno Phoenix, and they developed a deeper understanding of Lu Yin. This person was definitely someone who could not be provoked.

    Originally, after the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence had declined in the Outerverse. However, the border defense against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had revealed the Hall of Honor¡¯s true hidden strength, and the Outerverse¡¯s respect for the Hall of Honor had surged to the maximum. Lu Yin was evidently supported by the Hall of Honor, and so, nobody dared to say anything more than what was necessary.

    A few dayster, the entire Outerverse¡¯s media was full of praise for the Great Eastern Alliance, speaking about how powerful their Allied Forces were, how flourishing their economy was, how respectfully they treated their prisoners and allowed them human rights, and also how kindly the Alliance was in dealing with the Wei family. Furthermore, Lu Yin was praised to the sky, and the sycophantism was so excessive that Lu Yin himself felt a bit embarrassed when he saw the reports.

    Xiao Ya felt uneasy, as it had always been theirpany¡¯s privilege to tter Lu Yin. But now, many others were producing a greater show than herpany. This would not do.

    The media began a war of praise, which caught many people in the Outerverse off guard. They suddenly realized how outstanding and kind this Lu Yin truly was. Apparently, the war had been started to rescue the citizens from the ironfisted regime of the Wei family, and Lu Yin had even spent his own money to foster all sorts of charitable organizations.

    Lu Yin had been transformed into a saint in the eyes of the public media, and the entire Outerverse¡¯s media began to tter him. The overflowing praise was especially rampant in the weaves in the central region of the Outerverse, and they portrayed Lu Yin as the savior of Armament Weave. They were afraid of him invading additional weaves, so they had decided to paint an extreme image of him that Lu Yin would have to fulfill in Armament Weave before proceeding any further.

    The Wei family had been abandoned by the entire Outerverse in the span of a single night, and all of their former ns and rtionships vanished. Things had changed to the point where they suddenly carried the stigma of having been sinister overlords.

    Wei Rong also vanished, and nobody knew where he had disappeared to. Meanwhile, the people who had fled from the Wei family''s ancestral had all gone to Millions City.

 Chapter 859: The Loserâ€™s Lament

    <h4>Chapter 859: The Loser¡¯s Lament</h4>

    On Zenyu Star, in King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin stared at a screen while blushing. Were they seriously talking about him? Aside from the name, everything else that these reporters had said had absolutely nothing to do with him. When had he donated money? He was almost entirely broke himself, but they were trying to coerce him into donating? Lu Yin grew wary.

    ¡°Xiao Ya, don¡¯t publish any reports rted to money. I don¡¯t have any money.¡± Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help himself, and he quickly called up Xiao Ya to give her this order.

    Xiao Ya was stunned. Money? What does that mean? Is the Royal Regent hinting at something?

    The moment Armament Weave joined the Great Eastern Alliance, the first thing that Lu Yin had done was start constructing an express military corridor that ran throughout the alliance.

    This n infuriated the weaves in the central region, and all the major organization heads contacted the Great Yu Empire with requests for the empire to stop construction of the military corridor. Once this military route waspleted, it would drastically reduce the amount of time needed for the eastern region tounch an assault on the central weaves. The Armament Weave would then be theunch pad for the Great Eastern Alliance to invade the rest of the central region, and the central weaves would not allow that to happen easily.

    But despite the numerousints, the Great Yu Empire ignored them allpletely.

    The weaves in the central region of the Outerverse could still form an alliance, but it would proceed too slowly without Wei Rong at the helm.

    To Lu Yin, the weaves of the central region were like a herd of sheep without Wei Rong, and that was exactly what Lu Yin wanted to see.

    Lu Yin had ordered Thousand Eyes to track down Wei Rong, and Lu Yin already knew that Wei Rong was most likely hiding in Millions City. If that was true, then there was nothing that Lu Yin could do at the moment aside from simply hope that Millions City wouldn¡¯t act against him.

    On Hydrotink, Wei Xin¡¯er had been kneeling outside of Felynn¡¯s room for several days. Ever since the Allied Forces had attacked the Wei family¡¯s ancestral, she had been begging Felynn to speak with Lu Yin, but Felynn had rejected the girl every time.

    Furthermore, Felynn¡¯s attitude towards Wei Xin¡¯er had changed as well.

    Wei Xin¡¯er was no longer useful to Felynn, as this girl had simply been the woman¡¯s backup n. Now that the Wei family was destroyed, Wei Xin¡¯er no longer held any value in Felynn¡¯s eyes. Moreover, the girl was Wei Rong¡¯s sister, and Wei Rong had worked with other people to plunder the Hall of Insight. If not for Wei Rong, Felynn would have never had to rely on Lu Yin, and the woman would never forget that.

    Plead with him? That would be useless even if she tried. Felynn understood Lu Yin quite well, and her current status couldn¡¯t pressure Lu Yin at all. Even if nothing had happened to Sourcepeak, and even if she had be the President of the Lockbreaker Society, Lu Yin still wouldn''t be threatened by her.

    Felynn simply hoped that Lu Yin would forget about her and allow her to remain as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Interim President in peace.

    However, there was one problem. The box had been stolen away by the Neohuman Alliance, and someone had to take responsibility for that matter. Felynn looked outside her quarters and shook her head. Wei Xin''er was far too weak, and nobody would believe that the matter was the girl¡¯s fault. What about Cai Jianqiang?

    Felynn¡¯s eyes lit up for a moment, but then she changed her mind. Cai Jianqiang had been conscripted to the border warfront and had been there during the attack on Hydrotink, so there was no way he could have possibly been involved in the incident. Who could she pin the me for this matter on?

    The connection between the Outerverse and the Innerverse would eventually be restored, and Felynn had no desire to take responsibility for this matter.

    Wei Xin''er¡¯s gadget beeped, and she nced down at it. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up and left Felynn¡¯s quarters.

    Felynn¡¯s eyes turned cold. She¡¯s already leaving after kneeling for just a few days.

    Wei Xin''er actually didn¡¯t stop kneeling. Rather, she simply changed ces and went to kneel in another location, which was at the front door of King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    She had received news from a friend that Lu Yin had returned to the Great Yu Empire.

    Before the main entrance of King Zishan¡¯s pce, Kayze stared at Wei Xin''er with cold eyes before simply ignoring her existence.

    Wei Xin''er didn¡¯t ask Kayze to inform Lu Yin that she was there. Instead, she just continued kneeling outside the pce.

    After a while, Kayze¡¯s ear twitched, and he coldly said, ¡°His Highness has asked for you to go in.¡±

    Wei Xin''er pouted and continued to kneel.

    Kayze frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? His Highness has asked for you to go in.¡±

    Wei Xin''er still refused to move.

    Kayze snorted and entered the pce to report the matter to Lu Yin.

    One, two, three whole days passed, but Wei Xin''er continued to kneel before the pce without moving.

    Lu Yin finally left the pce on the fourth day.

    Kayze bowed and retreated a few steps.

    ¡°Do you like to kneel?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Wei Xin''er lifted her head and revealed a pale face. She begged Lu Yin, ¡°Please, let my father go! Let the Wei family go.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You¡¯re too naive. Do you know how many resources and how many lives were sacrificed in that war? If I really released the Wei family, then how could I answer to those who died? How should I answer to the Great Eastern Alliance?

    Wei Xin''er cried and repeatedly kowtowed. She was just a young girl who didn¡¯t know what to do now that her family had been destroyed. ¡°Please, I beg you. Please¡­¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I¡¯m already being incredibly lenient by not killing everyone from the Wei family. You¡¯re not helping your family by doing this, and you¡¯re actually just embarrassing both your family and Wei Rong.¡±

    Wei Xin''er didn¡¯t seem to have heard Lu Yin, she continued kowtowing until her head began to bleed.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and ordered Kayze, ¡°Take her to see Wei Baichuan.¡±

    He then turned around and returned to the pce.

    Wei Xin''er¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and she continued kowtowing.

    Kayze raised the girl up. ¡°Let¡¯s go to see Wei Baichuan.¡±

    However, he instantly realized that Wei Xin''er had already fainted.

    War was cruel, and the victors rejoiced while the losers wept. Wei Xin''er was merely the tip of the iceberg; the border defense had already left behind countless shattered families, and such casualties were inevitable.

    Lu Yin couldn''t give in to the girl, as he himself would have been ced in a terrible situation himself if he had been the defeated one.

    He would never forget his experience of being left to die as white meat. That experience hadpletely shifted his mindset, and he had realized that he would only ever be able to truly control his own destiny if he stood at the very peak.

    And not only did he want to control his own destiny, but he also wanted to control other people¡¯s destinies as well.

    The more miserable Wei Xin''er became, the more firm Lu Yin was in his decision.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t care about what Wei Xin''er discussed with Wei Baichuan, and he didn¡¯t stop her from meeting him. This was the greatest concession that he could offer her.

    Meanwhile, Wei Xin''er hadpletely transformed after her meeting with Wei Baichuan. She stopped begging Felynn and hadpletely calmed down. She focused on improving her lockbreaking, and she even stopped trying to contact Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong hadn¡¯t tried to contact Lu Yin at all throughout this entire period. It was as if he had simply disappeared into thin air. Even the spies from the Great Eastern Alliance who had been stationed in Millions City couldn¡¯t find anything.

    The sudden conclusion to the war had given the Great Eastern Alliance aunching pad from which they could invade the weaves of the central region. At the moment, all theycked was a reason to start a war.

    The first excuse that Lu Yin could think of was Aegis, the assassination organization.

    He had managed to sessfully form the Great Eastern Alliance due to the intelligence that he had received from Mafioso. Everyone had secrets that they wished no one else to know about, and many leaders often hired assassins to carry out tasks that they could not aplish themselves. Thus, the intelligence of an assassin organization could be extremely useful.

    Lu Yin suspected that the cmity that had struck the assassins of the Outerverse in the past was caused by the intelligence that those organizations had possessed. They simply held on to too many secrets that people wished would disappear.

    Mafioso had only possessed intelligence regarding the weaves of the eastern region, and Aegis was the only organization that might have any intelligence concerning the central weaves.

    It was time for Lu Yin to have a chat with Starfox.

    He called Starfox and heard the old assassin¡¯s voice call out, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Brother Starfox, why didn¡¯t I see you at the border warfront?¡±

    ¡°There are six regions at the border, and I¡¯m not as prominent as you. It¡¯s normal for people to not notice me.

    ¡°Is there anything that I can help you with?¡± Starfox was quite wary of Lu Yin as the Great Eastern Alliance had recently destroyed the Wei family. Lu Yin clearly had a firm foundation, so Starfox felt the need to be careful around the youth.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just bumped into an old assassin in the Greatwood Lavazone, and he mentioned that I could join the first level of Aegis¡¯s managers whenever I wish to.¡±

    Starfox hesitated. ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±

    Lu Yin took a sip of tea, but it did not take long for Starfox to call him back. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu wants to join the first level managers of Aegis?¡±

    Lu Yin agreed.

    Starfox sounded rather annoyed, as nobody had joined the first level of Aegis¡¯ management since the establishment of the organization. It had always just been the few of them. Starfox wondered what ck Mask was thinking for him to allow Lu Yin to join them. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Starfox coldly said, ¡°Apart from our approval, you also need to offer some sort of contribution to join Aegis¡¯s first level management. Even if you can¡¯t match our contributions of establishing Aegis, it still can¡¯t be too far behind. Are you able to do that, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that fulfilling that condition wouldn¡¯t be easy for him, as Aegis was thergest assasination organization in the Outerverse as well as thergest mercenarypany. The organization was tied together with multiple other forces, and it was not easy to join thepany¡¯s second level of management, let alone the first level.

    If he could offer a contribution that matched the establishment of Aegis, then he would have simply created another Aegis on his own.

    ¡°Do you still want to join us, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± Starfox asked smugly. This was an extremely difficult condition to fulfill, and not many people in the Outerverse were even capable of doing so. Even though Lu Yin was the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance who couldmand the eastern weaves and could even dere war on anyone with the Hall of Honor¡¯s support, it was still hard for him to produce something that could match up to the feat of founding Aegis.

    Starfox did not want Lu Yin to join Aegis¡¯s first level managers because the youth was a troublemaker and was simply too ambitious. Starfox was worried about Aegis¡¯ future once Lu Yin joined them.

    Lu Yin thought about it and then reluctantly answered, ¡°Let me think about it.¡±

    Starfox was satisfied with this response. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for your reply.¡±

    The old assassin then hung up. Although he had not rejected Lu Yin¡¯s request, the condition that he had put forward was basically a refusal.

    Although Starfox could not understand why ck Mask was willing to let Lu Yin join them, Starfox was determined to not let Lu Yin have an easy time.

    Lu Yin tapped his finger against the tabletop after lowering his gadget.

    He definitely had to join Aegis, as their intelligence was the best weapon to use against the weaves in the central and even the western regions. However, the contribution that Aegis required from him was too much, and he would have to mull over this unexpected obstacle.

    Lu Yin was no longer as uncertain about the Outerverse, as the events at the border defense had revealed the full depths of the Outerverse. It had forced almost all of the hidden powerhouses to reveal themselves. Lu Yin could deal with everyone rather easily, including even major powers like Shamrock Enterprises.

    The first step to doing so was to join Aegis, as the old assassins were extremely powerful. It would be extremely difficult for Lu Yin to deal with such experts, and so, the only way forward was for Lu Yin to join them.

    The sky turned dark before Lu Yin walked into the pce¡¯s courtyard. He looked up and stared at the three maind rings.

    Zhao Ran was busy trimming nts nearby, but she didn¡¯t know how to do it properly since she kept forgetting the procedure immediately after learning it.

    ¡°Your Highness, would you like some tea?¡± Zhao Ran asked hopefully as soon as she saw Lu Yin.

 Chapter 860: Lu Yin And Xuan Jiu

    <h4>Chapter 860: Lu Yin And Xuan Jiu</h4>

    Lu Yin looked over at Zhao Ran and curiously asked her, ¡°Aside from tea, does this ce have any other special drinks?¡± He recalled the beverage that he had enjoyed when visiting Brightstar Corp. and Amethyst Exchange. It had tasted pretty good.

    Zhao Ran thought about it, and then her eyes lit up. ¡°There is! I¡¯ll go look for it.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. You can do that next time.¡± He had suddenly thought of that small tavern.

    When he had first arrived on Zenyu Star, the Second Prince, Duke Yushan, had invited Lu Yin out for a drink, Ever since then, he had asionally enjoyed the small tavern they had visited back then. It was located in a secluded corner of a noisy neighborhood, allowing one to watch the mor of the nearby bars and observe the bustle of the capital. However, it was also not disturbed by it all. It was as if it was located in a separate area, and Lu Yin could always find a temporary sce in that ce.

    Although he had not gone to that pub very many times, Lu Yin always remembered it.

    That pub represented Lu Yin¡¯s ignorance when he first came to Zenyu Star, which was a time in his life that he reminisced about.

    It had been more than eight years since he had first arrived on Zenyu Star.

    ¡°Boss, a pot of wine and a few appetizers.¡± Lu Yin stepped into the tavern and inhaled the fragrance of the cheap alcohol. Although it was inexpensive, it was also quitefortable.

    Under the dusky lighting, the boss could not clearly see Lu Yin¡¯s face even though Lu Yin had not bothered to change his appearance. He sat down in the tavern with his normal appearance and drank some wine while feeling quite refreshed by the appetizers.

    Before long, a group of people came out of a nearby bar and moved into the tavern, seeming like they had not yet drunk to their hearts¡¯ content.

    It waspletely different to drink in the small pubpared to a bar.

    Some felt that the tavern was beneath them, but others quite liked it.

    With a mouthful of alcohol in their belly, they all felt warm.

    Not too far away, there was a g illuminated by the lights, and the g¡¯s shadow even stretched far enough to fall across Lu Yin¡¯s table. He turned around, and his eyes lit up. It was Xuan Jiu; Lu Yin had not expected this old man to still be on Zenyu Star.

    This old man shot his off mouth, but he was actually from Starsibyl Sect, and he was a senior as well. Lu Yin really wanted to see this old man meet Starsibyl face to face; he was curious if Starsibyl would actually call the old man Grandpa or beat him up instead!

    Xuan Jiu ced his wooden pole on a table next to Lu Yin¡¯s and sat down. ¡°Boss, the same old, same old.¡±

    The boss immediately served the old man a pot of wine and two small dishes. ¡°Enjoy, master.¡±

    Xuan Jiuughed and stroked his beard before responding with satisfaction, ¡°Boss¡¯s wine is really good. Come, Master will help by giving you a free divination once again.¡±

    The boss smiled warmly. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I opened this tavern so that I could provide an education for my kids and live a peaceful life. There¡¯s nothing that I need to know in advance.¡±

    Xuan Jiu eximed, ¡°How many can reach the same realm ofprehension as you in their entire lives?¡±

    ¡°Haha, these are just an ordinary person¡¯s thoughts. Master, enjoy a good meal.¡± The boss smiled and then left.

    Who believed in divination in the current age? The few youths who had just arrived from the nearby bar sniggered at the nearby table, clearlyughing in disdain. One even started mocking the old man. ¡°Boss, be careful! Someone wants to get a free meal.¡±

    The boss smiled, but he did not bother with the youths.

    Xuan Jiu started fuming. ¡°You little baby! When this Master was fortune-telling, your ancestors were still sucking from teats!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The few young people were immediately enraged, and they wanted to beat up Xuan Jiu.

    Xuan Jiu frowned. ¡°What? You dare to act up here? Just try me!¡±

    The few youths wanted to beat the old man up, but they apprehensively looked up, as King Zishan''s pce was right above them, and they did not dare act up in such a ce. ¡°Old man, you¡¯d better be careful! Don¡¯t let us catch you somewhere else, or else we¡¯ll tear up your big g.¡±

    Xuan Jiu just rolled his eyes at them. ¡°Bunch of trash.¡¯

    The few of them spat in contempt. They did not drink anymore wine and simply left after settling their bill.

    The boss reminded the old man out of kindness, ¡°Master, it¡¯s best to try to not offend them. Those kids each have a bit of background.¡±

    Xuan Jiu was arrogant. ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Even that kid, Lu Yin, has to call me Grandpa Jiu when he sees this Master!¡±

    The boss was stumped, but then his expression changed to a deathly shade of white, and he hurriedly said in a low voice, ¡°Master had best not spout such nonsense! The Royal Regent¡¯s name cannot be tossed around haphazardly like that, so you must be careful to not be taken away by the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons!¡±

    Xuan Jiu shook his head and took a swig of wine, though he looked a little lonely.

    Amused by the old man, Lu Yin looked at Xuan Jiu and said, ¡°Master is really having a rxed time.¡±

    Xuan Jiu turned around. Although the tavern was rather dusky, he was also a cultivator, and so, he could naturally see quite clearly.

    When he saw Lu Yin¡¯s face, even if Xuan Jiu was extremely thick-skinned, he still coughed in embarrassment. ¡°So it¡¯s you, hahaha! The weather¡¯s good today, hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards, and he poured a cup of wine and set it in front of the chair next to himself before gesturing for the old man to join his table.

    Xuan Jiu picked up his g and walked over beside Lu Yin. He then sat down and casually drank the offered cup before letting out a rxed sigh. He looked at Lu Yin and said, ¡°Young fellow, why do you have the time to drink? And why in this little pub?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I have nothing to do right now, and the wine here¡¯s pretty good.¡±

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You know your stuff! The wine here is indeed quite good.¡±

    The boss looked at the two men,pletely lost. His wine was only average, so why were these twoplimenting it so highly? Could they really be trying to get a free meal? As he thought about it, he became more vignt towards them.

    ¡°Is Master from the Starsibyl Sect?¡± Lu Yin asked as he poured another cup for Xuan Jiu.

    Xuan Jiu picked up a mouthful of vegetables, and munched on them with gusto as he mumbled, ¡°That¡¯s right. The name ¡®Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu¡¯ isn¡¯t just for show.¡±

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re an abandoned disciple,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Xuan Jiu was instantly infuriated. ¡°What abandoned disciple? Young man, don¡¯t be as clueless as the others. It wasn¡¯t the Starsibyl Sect that chased this Master away, but rather that they could not handle my ability! This Master learned Heaven''s Enigma, and you can go and check into that! Don¡¯t even mention Starsibyl¡ªeven the Starsibyl Sect Leader might not be able to learn this skill. Throughout history, nobody from the Starsibyl Sect has ever learned Heaven''s Enigma.¡±

    ¡°Heaven''s Enigma?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "Since ancient times, I''ve been able to see the future by looking at the karmic seeds that you''ve sown in the present." Xuan Jiu gazed at Lu Yin. ¡°A masterful pair of eyes like mine can see through all falsehoods, and nobody can conceal themselves before my eyes.¡±

    Lu Yin exchanged nces with Xuan Jiu. ¡°Then what does Master see when you look at me?¡±

    Xuan Jiu hurriedly shifted his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not looking, as you have looked into the eyes of the dead, and you will be found by them sooner orter. You can¡¯t hide from them.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious about this. ¡°Who¡¯s looking for me?¡±

    In response, Xuan Jiu minded his own business and ate by himself,pletely ignoring Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin casually ced a cosmic ring on the table. ¡°Ten star essence. I hope that Master will kindly ept it.¡±

    Xuan Jiuughed grimly. ¡°Little kid, the things that Heaven''s Enigma can see cannot be bought with money.¡±

    ¡°Then what does Master want?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu moved in front of Lu Yin and beamed at the youth before speaking in a voice that was full of mystery. ¡°Master wants to be the imperial advisor for the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Then never mind.¡±

    Xuan Jiu grew flustered. ¡°Why not? This Master hasprehended Heaven''s Enigma, and is Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu. Anyone from the Starsibyl Sect who sees me has to call me Grandpa Jiu. If you stand next to me, then Starsibyl will have to respectfully refer to you as Grandpa Lu. That¡¯s invigorating, no?¡±

    Lu Yin drank a mouthful of his wine. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die just yet.¡±

    Xuan Jiu rolled his eyes. ¡°What a little baby. You have both destiny and ability as well as extraordinarily strong talent, so why are you so timid? What are you afraid of? With your status and abilities, not even the Starsibyl Sect can do much to you. Moreover, this Master will be standing beside you, which means that even the Starsibyl Sect will be beneath you in terms of seniority.¡±

    Lu Yin ate some vegetables, but he did not reply.

    Xuan Jiu shed a brilliant smile. Then, he moistened his fingers with some of the alcohol and wrote a word on the table.

    Lu Yin looked over. Burial?

    ¡°The people who are searching for youe from this ce, and I can only say that much. It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t believe me at this time, but when you see those people, you¡¯ll naturally believe me. At that time, whether or not I¡¯ll be willing to be the imperial advisor will depend on my mood,¡± Xuan Jiu saidzily.

    Lu Yin drank another mouthful of wine. ¡°Master, do a divination for me once, but one that has nothing to do with this.¡±

    Xuan Jiu was curious about this request. ¡°What do you want me to divine?¡±

    ¡°Family.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was deep. He hade here to drink this night, and he had not been feeling any sort of loneliness. However, even though the wine had warmed his stomach, his heart had grown colder.

    Xuan Jiu wiped away the word that he had written on the table. ¡°This Master really didn¡¯t want to conduct a divination for you, since you¡¯ve already exchanged looks with the dead. It¡¯s possible to see things that shouldn¡¯t be seen. However, since you requested this so sincerely, this Master will reluctantly take this job for you.¡±

    He then coughed twice and took several deep breaths before looking back at Lu Yin. ¡°Come, look into this Master¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and gazed deep into Xuan Jiu¡¯s eyes.

    A scene simr to what he had seen on Savage Ape appeared before him, and Lu Yin saw a different heavens in Xuan Jiu¡¯s eyes as well as a deep darkness. Xuan Jiu, on the other hand, also saw a scene that shocked him. In that split second, he saw a pair of elegant eyes with an all-epassing presence that forced everyone to defer to them. When he saw that scene, Xuan Jiu¡¯s pupils shrank, and he fiercely spat a mouthful of blood onto Lu Yin¡¯s clothes, looking as if his entire body had been injured. His face turned pale as he trembled from head to toe.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he hurriedly moved over to support Xuan Jiu.

    Xuan Jiu hastily backed away and looked at Lu Yin in fright, his eyes carrying a shock and an indescribable sorrow within them. ¡°You- you-¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Master, what did you see?¡¯

    Xuan Jiu stared at Lu Yin in disbelief before slowly standing up. He seemed to still be immersed in his shock.

    ¡°Master, what exactly was it that you saw?¡± Lu Yin was getting anxious.

    Xuan Jiu let out a slow breath, pulled out a pill that he then swallowed, and downed a mouthful of wine. He looked at Lu Yin and shook his head. ¡°You¡­ are very tragic.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    Xuan Jiu sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything, but I simply feel that you are very pitiable.¡±

    Lu Yin had a strange expression on his face; could this old fart be trying to extort him? He had heard that reality would always be the opposite of what this old man predicted and that he had never urately divined anything before. Considering this, it seemed as if this old man was putting on an act given what he had just done. After all, the man had spat out blood, which seemed to be going a bit too far.

    ¡°I have read people¡¯s fortunes for a great deal of my life, but I have never met anyone like you. You had best look out for yourself, as I definitely will never divine your future again, definitely not.¡± After saying that, Xuan Jiu left, and he did not bring up anything else about bing the imperial advisor. But before he left, he looked back at Lu Yin with a gaze that was filled with sympathy and sorrow.

    Lu Yin nkly watched on as Xuan Jiu left; had this old fellow divined anything or not?

    Nearby, the owner of the tavern looked over at the puddle of blood, but he did not dare approach until after Xuan Jiu left, at which point he recalled that that old fellow had not paid.

    The next day, at King Zishan''s pce, Ban Jiu requested an audience.

    When Lu Yin saw Ban Jiu, the Twelfth Squadron captain looked extremely exhausted, particrly with the two ck circles under his eyes.

    ¡°Your Highness, I have tested out the materials that you have given me, but they cannot be fused no matter what,¡± Ban Jiu reported with embarrassment in his voice.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Unable to fuse?¡±

 Chapter 861: Little Seven

    <h4>Chapter 861: Little Seven</h4>

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. With the empire¡¯s current technology, we are unable to refine those materials,¡± Ban Jiu exined helplessly while also clearly a bit embarrassed. He was a scientist, but he was actually unable to process these materials. He had actually studied the problem for several days before deciding to report his failure to Lu Yin.

    ¡°The melting point of those materials is simply too high, and they cannot be melted through conventional processes. In fact, only an Enlighter-realm expert can create temperatures high enough to melt them,¡± Ban Jiu exined.

    Lu Yin nodded, as this was simr to what he had learned about the Scarlet Ancient Copper he had obtained from a sourcebox. Regr methods were not enough to do anything to these precious materials, and they would have to search for an alternate source of extremely high temperature.

    Lu Yin could find an Enlighter without much problem, but it was not so easy to find one who had an innate gift of mes. However, simply having an Enlighter simte a fire with their star energy should also work. It was a pity that Akira had not returned to Zenyu Star yet and that he was still stationed in the Greatwood Lavazone. For the moment, Lu Yin could not find any Enlighters.

    ¡°Pass down instructions for people to take note of any ancient tinders or any sourceboxes that emit high temperatures,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Ban Jiu acknowledged themand and then left.

    This news was unfortunate, as Lu Yin¡¯s goal had been to use those materials to reinforce his universal armor so that he could upgrade it several more times. It seemed that he could only put those ns on hold for the moment.

    If he could not upgrade his universal armor, then he could still upgrade other items, such as his cosmic ring. He had never thought of trying to upgrade his cosmic ring, but he should try this time around.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin entered the pce¡¯s secret room, screened the Ghost Monkey off, raised his hand, and caused his die to appear. After tapping out, it gradually began to spin.

    He did not intentionally put his cosmic ring aside, as it would be fine even if he rolled six pips: Possession at this time. In fact, he was even feeling a little bit of anticipation towards doing so. There had always been an unexpected harvest whenever he had rolled six pips, and whoever he Possessed, he wouldter be able to probe their thoughts and even borrow their line of sight, which was a very practical ability.

    The die slowly stopped on one pip: Pilfer, and from the space channel dropped a ball of paper.

    Lu Yin was aghast, as who would put paper trash in their cosmic ring?

    He picked it up and slowly opened it, but it only contained a few delicate handprints, which had obviouslye from children of varying sizes.

    As soon as he saw the handprints, Lu Yin¡¯s mind jolted, and his eyes went ck. A hazy memory appeared in his mind as a crisp child¡¯s voice rang out in his mind.

    ¡®Second Bro, Second Bro, someone¡¯s bullying me!¡¯

    ¡®Who? Who¡¯s so ballsy that they would dare to bully my Third Bro? Come on, let¡¯s go beat him up.¡¯

    ¡®Big Sis, someone¡¯s bullying Third Bro.¡¯

    ¡®What? How outrageous!¡¯

    ¡®Big Sis, Second Bro, the other group has many brothers and sisters. What if we can¡¯t beat them?¡¯

    ¡®Don¡¯t worry, just call for others.¡¯

    ¡®Beat them, go and beat them. They only have seven, but we have thirteen!¡¯

    ¡®Beat them! Even if we are seven, we¡¯ll still fight all thirteen of them.¡¯

    ¡®How outrageous! How dare you gather a crowd and cause a scuffle? All of you, go and stand still as punishment. You seven,e over here! Look at you! All badly beaten up. Who¡¯s the leader?¡¯

    ¡®Me.¡¯

    ¡®Me.¡¯

    ¡®Me.¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®Alright, since you¡¯re still talking about brotherhood, just stand still for three days. No eating, no sleeping, and no talking.¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®Big Sis, I¡¯m hungry.¡¯

    ¡®Third Bro, don¡¯t be scared, and don¡¯t let Master look down on you. Our Lu family¡¯s Three Elites are unyielding.¡¯

    ¡®What ¡°Lu Family Three Elites?¡± Then what about us four?¡¯

    ¡®Right, what about us? Did we fight for nothing?¡¯

    ¡®Right? Right? Not the Three Elites, but the Seven Elites.¡¯

    ¡®Why don¡¯t we be sworn siblings? From now on, we are the Seven Elites, and we will all share the same fate.¡¯

    ¡®Alright, let¡¯s be sworn siblings, and we¡¯ll all share the same fate. Let¡¯sbine our handprints.¡¯

    ¡®Third Bro, you¡¯re the youngest, so from now on, you¡¯re Seventh Bro. Come, talk to your elders!¡¯

    ¡°Big Sis, Second Bro, Third Bro, Fourth Sis, Fifth Bro, Sixth Sis, hello.¡¯

    ¡®Good, Little Seven. Whoever bullies you from now, we¡¯ll all help you get revenge.¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯ll be called Little Seven from now.¡¯

    ¡®Little Seven, are you happy? You have so many older siblings watching over you, so nobody will dare bully you.¡¯

    ¡®Your elder siblings will take care of you.¡¯

    ¡­

    ¡®Little Seven, hurry and go! Rx, we won¡¯t die. We¡¯ll meet again one day, so hurry up and leave!¡¯ A sharp voice awakened Lu Yin.

    Unbeknownst to himself, as his memories resurfaced, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had grown hazy and filled with tears, but they had also declined like the tide. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s back was suffering from intense pain, and his seal had reappeared. His entire body was sprawled on the floor as he tightly gritted his teeth.

    In his hand, he tightly clenched the ball of paper.

    After some time, the seal on his back faded away, and Lu Yin looked as though he had been pulled out of the water due to the sheer amount of sweat dripping from his body. The ball of paper in his hand had also been soaked through by his sweat.

    Whose memory had that been? Was it from the ball of paper? Or had it been Lu Yin¡¯s own memory? His die¡¯s one pip could pilfer something from anyone¡¯s cosmic ring. There were billions of cosmic rings scattered throughout the universe, and could Lu Yin really have acquired something that was rted to his past? Could this be a coincidence, or¡­?

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Xuan Jiu. If there was something strange, then it had to be rted to Xuan Jiu, as he had conducted a divination. Could that divination have been fulfilled just now?

    Lu Yin was puzzled, and he rubbed his eyes. Had he actually been crying?

    He walked out of the room and entered the courtyard, where he found Zhao Ran humming a tune as she sorted some flowers.

    Lu Yin sat down on the stone bench and looked at the drenched paper in his hand while those various tiny voices reyed themselves in his head. Little Seven, Seven?

    All along, Lu Yin had been very attached to the number seven, and he had encouraged people to call him Seventh Bro while elders were asked to call him Little Seven. He had always been very happy with this nickname. For some reason, whenever someone called him Little Seven, it felt as if they were saying that they would protect him forever.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, what happened to you?¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled.

    Lu Yin refocused his thoughts and stored the ball of paper away. ¡°Nothing much.¡± That clump of memories had caused him to lose all interest in rolling the die any more.

    ¡°You seem rather down, soe on, share your thoughts! Let me be happy, haha.¡± The monkey sniggered.

    Lu Yin looked over at Zhao Ran, who was another person who had lost her memories. Zhao Ran was rather simple-minded, and while Lu Yin still thought about his past at times, Zhao Ran did not even think about it. She was just like what Xuan Jiu had divined for her: she was rotten goods.

    ¡°Ah, Your Highness, you¡¯re here! Would you like to drink some scented tea? It¡¯s made from flowers that were nted in our own home.¡± Zhao Ran happily greeted him.

    Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face for the girl. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Zhao Ran became even happier, and she quickly brewed a cup for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a sip, and nodded at Zhao Ran¡¯s expectant eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not bad. It¡¯s a nice drink.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness!¡± Zhao Ran felt encouraged and became very cheerful, and she suddenly started picking the flowers in a frenzy. After a while, the area waspletely devoid of flowers, and the courtyard seemed to have be rather barren.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips twitched slightly, and he silently left.

    After half a day, Lu Yin had stabilized his emotions, and he decided to continue rolling his die.

    At this time, his gadget beeped softly, and when Lu Yin looked at it, he was surprised to see that Hai Qiqi was calling him. This girl had not contacted Lu Yin in quite some time, as she had constantly been searching the Astral River for a way to get back to the Innerverse.

    ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Lu Yin asked as soon as the call connected.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s answered in an excited voice. ¡°I¡¯ve found a way into the Innerverse!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Hai Qiqi lost her impatience. ¡°You¡¯re deaf! I said, ¡®I¡¯ve found a way back into the Innerverse.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Lu Yin asked urgently. This was not good news, because as soon as the Innerverse and Outerverse were reconnected, he would be in trouble.

    Hai Qiqi sent him a set of coordinates.¡°Are youing? If not, I¡¯m going to go alone.¡±

    ¡°Hold up, just give me a few days, and I¡¯ll meet up with you there,¡± Lu Yin hurriedly told her.

    Hai Qiqi grew anxious. ¡°Then hurry! If I wasn¡¯t concerned that you¡¯d be worried, I would have already left. Let me tell you¡ªI can feel Father¡¯s strength from here! He¡¯s not dead yet!¡±

    ¡°I told you that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for anything to happen to the Sea King. Alright, you just wait there, and I¡¯ll head over soon.¡± Lu Yin then disconnected from the call. Hai Qiqi¡¯s discovery had disrupted his ns. He had wanted to stick to his routine, join Aegis¡¯s first level of management, use Aegis¡¯s information to infiltrate the rest of the Outerverse powers, and then slowly nibble his way into the weaves of the central region step by step. However, this n would have to be shelved for the moment.

    If the Innerverse truly reconnected with the Outerverse, then there would be no point to anything he did. Any great sect or power from the Innerverse would bind his hands, and more importantly, the Sixth Maind might even invade the Outerverse from the path across the Astra River. At this time, they weren¡¯t just facing the Bloodburn Realm, but rather all three realms, and that difference between the two was significant.

    He checked a star chart and found that the coordinates that Hai Qiqi had shared with him were rather far away. In fact, they pointed to a ce called the astral cemetery that was on the border of Endless Weave. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw this location.

    Usually, no one would head to the astral cemetery, and it would be easier to hide oneself there.

    Hai Qiqi was adamant about wanting to return to the Innerverse, and Lu Yin could not stop her from doing so. If a passageway truly existed, then he might really have to send her off. To prevent any idents from happening, Lu Yin immediately summoned Huan Sha, the Imperial Cab, En Ya, and the rest. He gave them some instructions before chatting with Wendy Yushan for a while.

    Finally, he called Starfox.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, have you thought about what you would like to contribute?¡± Starfox asked casually. He did not believe that Lu Yin would be able to produce anythingparable to what the original creators had done by establishing Aegis.

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, ¡°Aegis must be finding it tough to survive.¡±

    Starfox was puzzled. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°On the surface, Aegis is one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations. It possesses an endless amount of resources, has ties with countless powers, and is very stable. In reality, the greater an assassination organization¡¯s size, the more danger it faces as time passes.¡±

    ¡°What is Alliance Leader Lu trying to say?¡± Starfox asked.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, why was there a cmity that targeted the Outerverse¡¯s assassins in the first ce?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Starfox indifferently answered, ¡°I don¡¯t have the idle time to be chatting with Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll be direct. An assassination organization cannot survive for too long, unless it¡¯s like an organization like Mafioso that only deals with a small territory. Aegis cannot possibly do the same, and it will likely cause some powers to grow wary sooner orter and be targeted. I can allow this possibility to be dyed endlessly and perhaps even reduce it to nothing.¡±

    Starfox frowned. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand where Alliance Leader Lu is going with this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying that I can request for Aegis to join the Hall of Honor and be one of its subsidiaries,¡± Lu Yin said solemnly.

    Starfox was stumped, but then heughed. ¡°Is Alliance Leader Lu joking? Let¡¯s not talk about the Hall of Honor notcking for powerhouses. Even if they were truly willing to do such a thing, do you think that our Aegis will ept being supervised by the Hall of Honor? What a joke!¡±

    ¡°What if you can join the Hall of Honor, but not be monitored?¡± Lu Yin asked slowly.

    Starfox¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, can you exin?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I, Lu Yin, with the status as one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chosen, can incorporate Aegis. Thus, from now on, Aegis will be my subsidiary. It will belong to the Hall of Honor, but it will listen to only me, Lu Yin, alone.¡±

    Starfox was confused. ¡°What Chosen?¡±

 Chapter 862: Astral Cemetery

    <h4>Chapter 862: Astral Cemetery</h4>

    ¡°You can ask the other top management members if they¡¯ve heard about it before,¡± Lu Yin casually replied. Initially, he had not bothered too much about his new status as a Chosen, but after spending two days contacting Elder Lohar and chatting with Aden, he had finallye to understand what this status meant within the Hall of Honor.

    The Honor Chosen represented inheritance. There were not many Honor Chosen within the entire Hall of Honor, and each one of them held a high status. They were able to use authority that did not even belong to them, and this was all because the Honor Chosen were the Hall of Honor¡¯s future.

    Everyone in the Hall of Honor¡¯s upper echelons had once been an Honor Chosen, so to such youths, the Hall of Honor bestowed great authority. For example, the Honor Chosen could incorporate subsidiaries under themselves, and those powers would not be subject to the Hall of Honor¡¯s supervision, which was one of the more basic authorities given.

    Just like the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters, each Honor Chosen had their own background, and each one had powers that submitted to them alone. Nobody interfered in their affairs because nobody dared.

    This was the basic authority of an Honor Chosen, and once one became one of the Cosmic Five, their power would no longer be limited to just the Hall of Honor. They would be able to influence the entire universe.

    On the other side of the call, Starfox transmitted Lu Yin¡¯s words to the ck Mask. At first, that old assassin was also puzzled, but then, he suddenly thought of something, and he immediately contacted Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yin had never expected someone within Aegis to have actually heard of the Honor Chosen title before, as he himself had not heard of this term before being given the title.

    ¡°I once saw this title in an ancient letter, and the person who penned it came from the Cosmic Sea. They wrote about the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chosen, and reportedly, the Honor Chosen are the Hall of Honor¡¯s heirs,¡± ck Mask exined in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You know quite a bit. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen. You can obtain authentication from the Hall of Honor itself.¡±

    ¡°Is what Alliance Leader Lu said true? Can my Aegis be a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor, but not actually be subject to their supervision?¡± ck Mask asked. There was a certain fluctuation in his tone, which betrayed the fact that he found this condition rather alluring, especially to this old assassin who had survived the cmity that had nearly destroyed the Outerverse¡¯s assassins. This old man was able to understand the value of such a proposition.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°On paper, you will belong to them as my subsidiary, and only I will have any authority to oversee Aegis. You can rest assured, as we will sign a contract.¡±

    ck Mask considered the matter and then said, ¡°Very well, I agree. So long as the Hall of Honor recognizes Aegis¡¯s status, Alliance Leader Lu will be considered a member of Aegis¡¯s first level managers.¡±

    As someone who had avoided that ancient cmity and then gone on to establish Aegis, ck Mask was clearly not stupid. Lu Yin would have to first get the Hall of Honor to recognize Aegis¡¯s status, and only then would the old assassin be willing to allow Lu Yin to join the organization¡¯s highest managerial level. This was basically a way for Lu Yin to prove his status as an Honor Chosen.

    Lu Yin naturally understood the man¡¯s intentions.

    He ended his call with ck Mask and then immediately contacted Elder Lohar.

    Lu Yin¡¯s status as Chosen had been granted to him by Yuan Shi, which meant that Elder Lohar did not know about it since Yuan Shi had not announced anything. However, there was no need for the old man to announce anything; so long as Lu Yin went to the Neoverse¡¯s Hall of Honor, there would naturally be a way to authenticate his status.

    However, Yuan Shi had never expected Lu Yin to use his authority as an Honor Chosen while still in the Outerverse.

    When Elder Lohar requested for Yuan Shi to verify Lu Yin¡¯s status, the ancient powerhouse felt a little helpless. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that this fellow cannot stand loneliness and that he can easily stir up trouble. It seems that that¡¯s really the truth.¡±

    Elder Lohar smiled wryly. ¡°He wants to pull Aegis in as a subsidiary organization of the Hall of Honor, and it seems as though he is hoping to borrow their strength to act against the various weaves of the Outerverse and thereby unite them.¡±

    Yuan Shi was not at all surprised. He was not aware of Aegis, as he had been gone for far too many ages, and many people and powers had changed. In his memory, the Outerverse did not only have some Neo-Vestige Sect, Dark Phoenix family, and Millions City as its peak powers, as it had also possessed various other strong powers. But now, all of those other powers had vanished, so Yuan Shi did not particrly mind this Aegis.

    ¡°Unite the Outerverse? Interesting¡­ That would be a good thing, as a unified Outerverse will be able to gather an even more powerful strength,¡± Yuan Shimented.

    Elder Lohar was surprised, and he watched as Yuan Shi¡¯s image then vanished. After considering things for a long time, Elder Lohar made the decision to fully support Lu Yin.

    Yuan Shi had not merely tossed the title of Honor Chosen to Lu Yin, as he had also spoken words of support for Lu Yin¡¯s dream of uniting the Outerverse. Elder Lohar could only imagine the shock he would give to those Innerverse forces if Lu Yin returned with the position of master of the Outerverse.

    Or perhaps, whether Elder Lohar himself would be able to return to the Neoverse depended on that youth.

    Elder Lohar¡¯s expression was resolute. He quickly called Lu Yin, and this time, the old man¡¯s tone was even more respectful, and it waspletely unlike how an expert with a power level of more than 300,000 should speak to an Explorer. In fact, Elder Lohar¡¯s behavior made Lu Yin start panicking.

    Elder Lohar personally used his position as an elder of the Hall of Honor to confirm Aegis as a subsidiary power of the Hall of Honor. And at the same time, he appointed Lu Yin as its supervisor.

    The Hall of Honor was highly efficient, and after just half a day, Aegis underwent aplete change in status. From once being an Outerverse¡¯s assassination and mercenary group, they had be a part of the Hall of Honor. Although the organization¡¯s strength did not change, its status waspletely different.

    Even if the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, the Innerverse¡¯s great powers that wished to move against Aegis would now have to obtain the Hall of Honor¡¯s permission to do so.

    When the ck Mask received the notification from the Hall of Honor, a dazed feeling went through his entire being.

    In the past, they had been surrounded by the entire universe because they had grasped too many secrets due to their line of work while having no backing or background. These secrets were so deadly that some had even implicated important characters from the Innerverse. After all, some of their hits had been ordered by those Innerverse powerhouses, which was enough to lead to a purging of the Outerverse¡¯s assassins.

    Now that Aegis had risen up in power again, the old assassin had be worried that a simr event would y out once more. Thus, he had not dared to reveal himself and had remained dormant. This was not only because he wanted to survive for a bit longer, but also because he was afraid of attracting those powers¡¯ attention once again.

    But at this moment, the old assassin no longer needed to entertain such fears, as he had be someone under the Hall of Honor. Even if those great characters were overbearing, they would not dare to move against a subsidiary organization of the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, wee to Aegis.¡± ck Mask appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen. Before, he had not spoken with Lu Yin while showing himself, but at this moment, he had revealed his entire being.

    ck Mask looked like a very ordinary man, though he was slightly paler and thinner than the average. If Lu Yin did not pay attention, he would have thought this old man was a schr. Who could imagine that this man was a terrifying assassin who had survived for tens of thousands of years, or that he had even founded Aegis.

    By formally joining Aegis¡¯s top level, Lu Yin was informed of everyone who was a part of Aegis¡¯s first level management. Aside from Starfox and ck Mask, there was also another assassin with the appearance of a child. In total, there were three old assassins.

    ¡°When we first founded Aegis, there were five of us, but today, only three of us are left,¡± ck Mask calmly exined.

    Starfox had simrly appeared on the screen, and he looked at Lu Yin in a clearly ufortable manner. He felt that the induction of this person into their highest ranks would force Aegis to change its ways.

    That child-like assassin had been kept back at the border by the Hall of Honor to aid in the defenses.

    Once he understood Aegis¡¯s entire strength, Lu Yin was thrilled that he had not decided to fight them to the death. ck Mask¡¯s power level was over 300,000 while the child-like assassin¡¯s power level surpassed 200,000. Even Starfox might break through the 200,000 threshold at any time and be an Enlighter.

    Without mentioning anything else, if ck Mask had wanted to kill Lu Yin back then, then he might not have survived.

    He had been lucky.

    Aside from meeting these three who formed the first level of management, Lu Yin was now also able to ess the registry that listed everyone who was a part of Aegis¡¯s second level managers. In addition to that, he could also ess the assassination and employment records tracking all the operations that Aegis had undertaken throughout the years, and this was what Lu Yin needed the most.

    ¡°What do you need these records for?¡± Starfox was curious.

    Lu Yin nced at the man. ¡°Since I can, I want to, and I enjoy it.¡±

    Starfox felt stifled, and he directly disconnected from the call.

    Lu Yin hastened to look for Hai Qiqi, and he shared his authority over Aegis with En Ya. ¡°Whatever way you used Mafioso¡¯s intelligence in the past, go ahead and do the same with Aegis¡¯swork. I want you to formte a battle n that we can use against the weaves in the central region to conquer them at the greatest speed possible.¡±

    En Ya grew excited, as she finally saw a hope of aplishing the dream to unite the Outerverse under one banner. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Aegis, as Thousand Eyes¡¯s intelligencework had also been handed over to En Ya, and her authority was now exceptional. However, Lu Yin had also left a backup and created checks and bnces to En Ya¡¯s power. Huan Sha, and Wendy Yushan both had ways to counter En Ya¡¯s authority.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not trust En Ya, but rather that she had been rmended by the alluring Madam Nn. Truth be told, Lu Yin did not really have an understanding of the Nn family.

    Of the four great corporations of the Outerverse, Lu Yin had developed an understanding of Endless Borders, Amethyst Exchange, and Aegis. However, he still had not learned much about the Nn family, which caused him to remain wary of them.

    There was also Wei Rong, who still had not revealed himself. Nobody had dared to openly offer him shelter, but it was impossible that Wei Rong had given up on revenge.

    Lu Yin had alreadymunicated with Amethyst Exchange, requesting for them to inform him as soon as they learned of Wei Rong¡¯s whereabouts. Money was not a problem, as he was rich at the moment.

    After settling all of his immediate affairs, he then boarded a spacecraft and headed towards the coordinates that Hai Qiqi had shared with him.

    The Outerverse was peaceful at the moment, and even the pirates had disappeared.

    In the past, Wei Rong had been worried that Lu Yin would use the pirates to reverse-infiltrate the weaves in the central region of the Outerverse, and he had ordered a purge of all pirates from the central weaves. This had caused many pirate crews to be annihted, which was actually a good thing.

    Ten dayster, just as Hai Qiqi¡¯s patience was about to go over the tipping point, Lu Yin arrived at the astral cemetery located on the border of Endless Weave.

    The astral cemeteryy between Southside Weave and Endless Weave¡¯s eastern border, so it was a fair distance away from where Mister Mu had pushed back the Outerverse¡¯s defensive line. The cemetery itself consisted of trash strewn about outer space, going as far as the eye could see. Nobody had ever cleaned this ce up. This ce could also be considered as Endless Weave¡¯s greatest junk yard, and all sorts of strange objects had been thrown here by countless people.

    Many were searching the region along its outer edge. While dumpster diving seemed embarrassing, it was actually a hidden method to make a quick profit, and there were many contractors who woulde to this ce and pick through what they found.

    However, those activities were limited to the outer edge of the astral cemetery. The further in one went, the more dangerous it became. Many broken technological items could explode at any moment, and there were also quite a few strange astral creatures that roamed about the area.

    Lu Yin looked around and noticed that there were groups of rune lines that asionally passed by. There were actually space-exploring creatures in this ce.

    He could not understand why Hai Qiqi hade to such a ce.

    Before long, Lu Yin found Hai Qiqi¡¯s rune lines, and he was surprised to see that the brat¡¯s strength had increased quite significantly.

    It had been quite some time since the two of them hadst seen each other.

    Lu Yin looked at her with amusement in his eyes. ¡°You must be very happy to see me.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°Very. Right, can you lie?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Which of your eyes sees me as happy?¡± Hai Qiqi blinked.

    Lu Yin choked on his words and fell speechless before looking past Hai Qiqi towards the Astral River.

    That energy barrier was still so magnificent, and it was impossible to know its height or depth. However, it had still isted two regions of the universe.

    ¡°Where¡¯s this passageway that you mentioned?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi brought Lu Yin onto her copsible spacecraft and headed closer to the Astral River.

 Chapter 863: Shuttling Through The Astral River

    <h4>Chapter 863: Shuttling Through The Astral River</h4>

    It didn¡¯t take long for the two youths to arrive at the edge of the Astral River, which was where it connected to the cemetery. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze followed Hai Qiqi¡¯s finger, but he saw nothing in the direction where she was pointing.

    ¡°Get closer and see.¡± Hai Qiqi was not in a good mood.

    Lu Yin flew closer. Only when he was so close that he could almost touch the Astral River by reaching out did he finally see it. There was a vague gap in the wall of liquid energy swaying along with the Astral River, and it was impossible to see if one did not get close enough. Finding this opening along the boundless Astral River was even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.

    Lu Yin gave Hai Qiqi a strange look. ¡°How did you find this?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s tone was sad as she replied, ¡°I told you, I felt Father¡¯s strength.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the Sea King¡¯s strength was transmitted to you through this passage?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°I have a unique connection with Father, and the strength that he stored in my body vanished the moment the Astral River isted the Outerverse from the Innerverse. However, more recently, I¡¯ve felt Father¡¯s strength return intermittently. Thus, I simply tracked down the source of that strength to where it was most intense. Which is right here.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood her exnation; the Sea King¡¯s strength had essentially been a homing beacon, and Hai Qiqi had followed its signal back to this ce.

    ¡°When did you first sense the Sea King¡¯s strength?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Without hesitation, Hai Qiqi answered, ¡°About four months ago.¡±

    Lu Yin did some quick calctions, and he quickly realized that that time period coincided with the decisive battle at the border warfront against the invaders from the Sixth Maind. During that battle, Ancestor Di and Mister Mu had both appeared. In addition, This ce was very close to Endless Weave. Could this passageway¡¯s existence actually be rted to that battle at the border?

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin moved closer to better observe that little fissure. There was one set of rune lines that obviously did not belong to the Astral River. Actually, there were two independent sets of intertwined rune lines, and one of them gave Lu Yin a sense of familiarity.

    He slowly reached out and touched the fissure. At that moment, he saw Yuan Shi¡¯s figure towering in space, and Lu Yin immediately pulled his hand back. His guess was right¡ªthis gap had been created during the battle between Yuan Shi and Ancestor Di, and it had been torn open by the aftershocks of the sh between those two powerhouses.

    Only experts at that level could divert the flow of the Astral River.

    ¡°Eh? Have you poked it enough? I¡¯m leaving. I was just waiting to say goodbye to you,¡± Hai Qiqi urgently said to him.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°Do you really want to try returning to the Innerverse with this little hole? If you get stuck in the middle, you¡¯ll die in the Astral River.¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked at the fissure. The end of it could not be seen, and she firmly answered, ¡°I have to go. Otherwise, who knows when the Outerverse will be reconnected with the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know what to tell her, as Hai Qiqi had not wanted to be in the Outerverse from the very beginning. The moment the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, she had started searching for a way back home, and this search had gone on for nearly four years now. Her actions had long since be a stubborn belief that could not be changed.

    ¡°Have you ever thought about what the Sea King would say if he knew that you wanted to take such a huge risk to head back to the Innerverse? About how worried he¡¯d be?¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked straight into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t know how to give advice, then just don¡¯t speak. Your words only make me want to head back to the Innerverse even more.¡±

    Lu Yin had nothing to say to that. He truly did want to send Hai Qiqi back to the Innerverse, but he was also afraid that he would get stuck in the middle of this fissure and just die. Besides, even if they did safely return to the Innerverse, if the hole vanished after they arrived, then he would be trapped in the Innerverse and be simrly finished.

    While Lu Yin was torn over what to do, Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Father¡¯s strength has vanished.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised by this change, and he watched as Hai Qiqi moved to dash into the fissure. He quickly blocked her off and stopped her. ¡°You¡¯re crazy! When the feeling of the Sea King¡¯s strength disappears, that might be the hole being filled and the passageway closing up. If you rush in there right now, you¡¯re just asking to die.¡±

    Hai Qiqi stared intently at the gap, clearly anxious.

    Soon, she rxed again. ¡°Father¡¯s strength has reappeared.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Hai Qiqi flung Lu Yin off and firmly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to stop me. I¡¯ve been observing this hole for more than ten days. Even though it¡¯s slowly closing up, it will be able tost for at least a few more months. There¡¯s nothing wrong with this gap, but Father¡¯s strengthes and goes intermittently, which means that he might be in danger. I have to return to the Innerverse! You can leave first, as this is none of your business.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s head started to hurt. ¡°What about waiting for another ten days?¡±

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth and looked pointedly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°Another ten days. Let me observe the rate at which the hole is closing for another ten days. If it turns out to be like you said, then I¡¯ll let you go. But otherwise, don¡¯t even think of leaving.¡±

    Hai Qiqi sarcastically retorted, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me?¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny the usation.

    Hai Qiqi snorted and nced down at her gadget. ¡°That time starts now. After ten days, don¡¯t even dream of stopping me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll tell Wendy that you¡¯ve been taking advantage of me.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, as he simply could notprehend the way this brat¡¯s brain operated.

    Lu Yin had asked for ten days not just to observe the rate at which the hole was closing, but also to check and see if anyone else had approached this area. If there was any possibility of someone else knowing about this hole, then Lu Yin would destroy it the moment that Hai Qiqi left, as he could not allow the Outerverse to be reconnected to the Innerverse at this moment.

    The ten days quickly passed by, and Lu Yin observed the fissure this entire time. It proved to behave exactly as Hai Qiqi had imed, and although the hole was not very big, the speed at which it diminished was slow. He did not observe it the way Hai Qiqi did; rather, he studied the two intertwining sets of rune lines¡¯ rate of dissipation as they were the force that had torn the Astral River apart. The fissure had been created by the aftershocks of Yuan Shi and Ancestor Di¡¯s battle, and once those two sets of rune lines vanished, the gap would simrly disappear.

    ording to what Lu Yin could observe, it would take the two sets of rune lines at least half a year to disappear. Thus, this hole wouldst for about that amount of time before vanishing.

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± Hai Qiqi said as she suddenly dashed towards the gap, scared that Lu Yin would stop her once again.

    Lu Yin did not move. Instead, he simply watched her leave.

    Although the Astral River was broad, it should not take more than half an hour to travel from the Outerverse to the Innerverse given the speed of Hai Qiqi¡¯s copsible spacecraft.

    Lu Yin was not worried about her making it through the tiny passageway, but rather about her safety in the Innerverse.

    Now that the Innerverse was dealing with its own massive war against the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin had spent thest ten days not only observing the hole, but also sharing the details of the Innerverse¡¯s situation with Hai Qiqi. He had repeatedly exhorted her to be careful, but just being careful would not keep one alive in the current Innerverse.

    If Hai Qiqi ran into any Sixth Maind cultivators, she would be in danger.

    Lu Yin had not been worried about her safety in the past, as she carried a portion of the Sea King¡¯s strength with her back then, which meant that nobody even dared to touch her. She also had the impressive status of being the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s little princess. However, at this time, the enemy was the Sixth Maind, and the Sea King¡¯s strength would not deter anyone from the Sixth Maind. Moreover, the entire Innerverse was enveloped within a turbulent energy, preventing everyone¡¯s attacks from exceeding a power level of 200,000.

    Lu Yin was facing a dilemma of whether he should simply send Hai Qiqi on her way or at least apany her to the Starfall Sea.

    Suddenly, there was an intense sh of light from inside the fissure, and it was extremely dazzling.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately dashed in.

    That light was from an Ultra sh Tearbomb that he had given Hai Qiqi so that she could protect herself. If she had already used it, then that meant that she had already encountered danger.

    The hole was not veryrge, but that was simply when it waspared to the entire Astral River. Its length was quite long since it had to traverse the entire width of the Astral River, and its cross section had a radius of about ten meters, which was enough for a personal spacecraft to pass through.

    Lu Yin did not use a spacecraft. Instead, he simply donned his universal armor and charged straight in.

    In the distance, a noticeable portion of Hai Qiqi¡¯s copsible spacecraft was missing, as it had been destroyed by a tremendous attack. In front of the vessel, there was a sinister and terrifying eye that was tightly shut. Shockingly, there was a lone eyeball blocking the tiny passageway. This was from a strange creature native to the Astral River.

    Everyone knew about the dangers of fishing in the Astral River, and even space-exploring powerhouses who fell in would find it difficult to survive. Thus, not many individuals had ever even seen the creatures that lived within the Astral River.

    However, Hai Qiqi had just met one.

    This strange fish had a massive body and a thick outeryer of scales, rendering all of Hai Qiqi¡¯s attacks useless against the great beast.

    Fortunately, the sh bomb had scared it into tightly closing its eyes. Otherwise, it would have simply swallowed Hai Qiqi in one bite.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Hai Qiqi was fiercely attacking the fish, but to no avail. The fish¡¯s eye was clearly about to open back up.

    ¡°Move aside!¡± Lu Yin barked. He held the Arrow of Valiance in one hand as he dashed past Hai Qiqi and stabbed the arrow in and out of the fish¡¯s eye. The creature trembled violently, and its body swayed for a moment before it quickly swam away. It had been injured by the arrow.

    ¡°What did you use to attack it?¡± Hai Qiqi was puzzled, as she had not been able to see the Arrow of Valiance.

    Lu Yin stored it away in his ring. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll see you through. Otherwise, you won¡¯t even reach the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. You¡¯ve started a grand project in the Outerverse, and things will be troublesome if you end up trapped in the Innerverse.¡± Hai Qiqi nonchntly waved a hand.

    At that moment, the strange fish from before swam back and opened its mouth wide. It swallowed some of the liquified energy and swatted its tail.

    Hai Qiqi was so frightened by its reappearance that she went pale.

    That strange fish was as strong as an Enlighter, and it was not something that Hai Qiqi could deal with unless she triggered the Sea King¡¯s strength within her body.

    Lu Yinughed and looked up at the fish as he watched it swim further away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll escort you.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t even dream of getting me to thank you, and you can simply forget about me giving my heart to you, as that¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Lu Yin could not even be bothered to acknowledge her.

    Although the copsible spacecraft had been damaged, it was still functional. Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi sat in it together as they traveled through the hole in the Astral Sea and headed to the Innerverse.

    As expected, they saw all sorts of strange creatures along their way. This was the Astral River, and there was no reason to be surprised no matter what manner of strange creatures one encountered in this ce. Hai Qiqi was focused on returning to the Innerverse, and thus, she held no interest in these strange beasts.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin saw open space once again; they had made it to the Innerverse. It had taken him four years, but he had returned to the Innerverse once again.

    Hai Qiqi grew excited, as she had finally returned. She had been searching for a way back for four years, and she had finally seeded.

    At this time, close to the hole¡¯s opening on the Innerverse¡¯s side of the Astral River, a spacecraft exploded not too far away from where Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were. There had been about a dozen people inside the vessel, and many of them died instantly since they were not able to survive in the vacuum of outer space. From their group, only four Explorers managed to survive.

    From behind them, a spacecraft sped towards the survivors.

    ¡°Young Master, RUN! Hurry!¡± Among the four survivors, an older man grabbed a youth and threw him into the distance. The old man then dashed towards the approaching spacecraft by himself. ¡°Sixth Maind bastards, let¡¯s fight to the death!¡±

    The other two survivors followed after the elder and hurried towards the approaching vessel.

    That youth who had been flung away had bloodshot eyes, and he looked back, as if to deeply imprint this scene into his memory.

    There was a miserable shriek, and when the youth turned back again, the sight he saw made his pupils shrink. Two of hispanions had already been reduced to puddles of blood that were already turning dark as they floated through space.

    The old man bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m an Enlighter! Who dares to act?¡±

    A youth emerged from the spacecraft. There was a mocking expression on his face as he taunted the old man. ¡°An Enlighter? Do you dare to use your full strength?¡±

    The elder¡¯s face turned deathly white. Up above them, instead of the dark, endless expanse of space that normally existed, there was an unstable, boiling energy that emitted a threatening sense of fatal danger. This was precisely the reason why the old man did not dare unleash his true power. Still, he could not feel resentful towards this oppressive energy, this was the same energy that protected the Innerverse. Without it, the Sixth Maind would have long since ughtered their way through the entire Innerverse.

 Chapter 864: Returning To The Innerverse

    <h4>Chapter 864: Returning To The Innerverse</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re just a bunch of trash waiting to die! So what if you¡¯re an Enlighter? You¡¯re just a crippled old fart who¡¯s waiting to die before me.¡± The youth¡¯s expression was sinister, and the phantom image of a gloomy, grandmother-looking figure appeared behind him, which was his imprint.

    When he saw the imprint, the elder¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he immediately took action.

    The young man snorted as a martial print appeared in the center of his palm in response.

    Martial prints were a unique power that existed within the Progenitor of Combat Territory, and they were able to rival the bloodlines of the Progenitor of Bloodlines. All of the cultivators in the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s territory were able to cultivate these martial prints that integrated all of the battle techniques and arts that they hadprehended into this print or into their bodies to improve their power level. Besides that, they could also materialize these martial prints to suppress everyone around them, and this youth had clearly integrated his martial print into his palm.

    There was a thump as the youth was forced back a dozen steps, and even a small crack had appeared in his martial print. The old Enlighter facing the youth had simrly taken a dozen steps back as a result of the sh.

    By suppressing the strength of his attack and lowering its power level to beneath 200,000, the older Enlighter had ended up being severely injured. Additionally, the Sixth Maind cultivators innately suppressed their Fifth Maind peers, which caused the Enlighter to quickly fall to a disadvantage.

    The elder had been severely injured to begin with, and his multitude of injuries began to surface as the confrontation with the youth dragged on. With apletely careless attitude, the youth approached the elder. ¡°Invisible needles.¡± As the youth approached, the elder¡¯s pupils shrank while countless delicate needles flew out from the youth¡¯s palm and shot through the void. The elder tried his best to evade the attack, but the youth was already too close. The old man could not evade all of the needles, and he was struck several times.

    These fine needles had been shot into the old man¡¯s body in a strange manner, and they were also all smeared with a strong poison. As soon as they entered the old man¡¯s body, extreme pain shot through his nerves.

    The elder howled in pain and red at the youth before unleashing his full strength. Suddenly, the Enlighter¡¯s power level surpassed 200,000, and he revealed the full strength that an Enlighter should possess.

    However, at that same moment, the boiling energy seething above everything was drawn down and covered the old man. In an instant, he was reduced to ash as he disappeared on the spot. It was as if his entire being had been erased by the mysterious energy.

    The youth looked up above in apprehension, as this scene was not unfamiliar to him. If not for this terrifying sight ying out many times before, their Sixth Maind would have long since entirely upied the entire Innerverse. As he thought about it, the youth snorted. ¡°Continue giving chase.¡±

    With a whoosh, a spacecraft dashed out of the small gap in the Astral River. After four long years, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi had finally returned to the Innerverse once again.

    Hai Qiqi was practically bubbling with excitement.

    At the first opportunity, Lu Yin looked up to see the boiling energy suppressing the Innerverse that he had heard so much about.

    What entered his vision was an endless and boundless amount of rune lines that were very unfamiliar and different from the rune lines that he normally saw. This suppressive energy¡¯s rune lines were not like what he saw from cultivators or their attacks. Instead, they looked like genuine runes.

    Lu Yin had seen runes like these once before, at the top of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Dao of Purgatory¡¯s Sky tform. When he had reached the top, he had seen simr runes, and that was also where his eyes had changed.

    The Sky tform was a leftover technological remnant from the Rune Civilization¡¯s ruins, and it represented the most orthodox aspect of Rune Technology. In that case, then what of these runes? Could this energy be derived from Rune Technology? Didn¡¯t that imply that the one who had battled against the Martial Progenitor was a remnant of the Rune Progenitor? Had it not actually been a remnant of Progenitor Chen as people imed in the rumors?

    If this was a remnant of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s strength, then besides limiting attacks to power levels of below 200,000, this energy was also suppressing cultivators¡¯ influence on this region of the universe.

    Power level could be represented by rune lines, but rune lines did not necessarily represent power levels.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin hurriedly stored his universal armor away.

    If he wore that armor, then as soon as someone attacked him, the amount of influence that the universal armor exerted upon the universe would surpass that of an attack with a power level of 200,000, and Lu Yin would be instantly finished.

    On the Sky tform, Lu Yin had already experienced the terror of the Rune Civilization. At that time, he had not faced an attack. Instead, he had faced something even more terrifying than an attack, as he had seen somebody be directly wiped out due to their rune lines being deleted.

    ¡°Qiqi, the Ultra sh Tearbomb that I gave you absolutely can not be used here. Remember, definitely do not use it!¡± Lu Yin solemnly ordered Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi was puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s warning.

    If evaluated purely by power level, then an Ultra sh Tearbomb was definitely not as terrifying as an attack with a power level of 200,000. However, the instant an Ultra sh Tearbomb was used, the influence that it exerted on the universe would definitely surpass that of an attack with a power level of 200,000. In other words, in the instant that the sh bomb was used, its rune lines would surpass those of an attack with a power level of 200,000, which meant that using one was no different than chasing death.

    Of course, all of these conjectures were based off of the premise that the roiling energy above them was created by the Rune Progenitor. It would be fine to use the sh bomb if the Rune Progenitor was not rted to this suppressive energy.

    However, Lu Yin was fairly certain that this energy was rted to Rune Technology, which made it likely that it was also a part of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Lu Yin, look! There¡¯s someone up ahead,¡± Hai Qiqi cried as she pointed in front of them.

    When Lu Yin looked ahead, he saw that there was a space-exploring powerhouse close by, and judging by their rune lines, the person was in the Explorer realm. ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look. Right, for now, don¡¯t call me by my real name when we¡¯re in front of others. We can¡¯t let others know of our true identities, or else the Sixth Maind might pass through that gap and invade the Outerverse.¡±

    Hai Qiqi understood the severity of the situation, and she quietly nodded, obediently epting Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    As the figure approached the two youths, it quickly became apparent that they were the young master who had escaped from the Sixth Maind¡¯s pursuit.

    Outer space was vast beyond description, but this youth had no ce where he could rest. Whenever he looked back, he saw the enemy¡¯s spacecraft drawing closer.

    Up ahead of him was a pair of cultivators: one male and one female.

    The young heir looked desperate, as the only people who would willingly appear in this ce were those from the Sixth Maind.

    This youth had not expected to narrowly fail in his escape, but even if he died, he was determined to not die in vain. At the very least, he would drag down one enemy to death with him. As his thoughts reached this point, he gritted his teeth and charged forwards.

    Lu Yin saw the man in front of them start charging over, and he felt that this man seemed a little familiar. Lu Yin was able to sense that this Explorer¡¯s star energy had gone through two cycles, but the cultivator¡¯s power level had already surpassed 20,000. This person was no ordinary cultivator, and he was actually a Realmbreaker.

    The young man charged at Lu Yin, and he was able to simrly sense that Lu Yin was an Explorer who hadpleted three cycles while Hai Qiqi was an Explorer who hadpleted two cycles. If these two were Innerverse cultivators like him, then he would not be afraid, as he was the heir of Starphant Mountain. He dared to face any peer within the same realm, and he would even dare to fight against Cruisers. However, his boldness had been diminished in the face of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators¡¯ onught.

    The innate suppression that he suffered from facing them and their imprints meant that fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation did not bode well for him, but so what? He carried an unyielding determination as he attacked the two youths.

    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s going to hit us.¡± Hai Qiqi was puzzled.

    Lu Yin moved forward, and the young master approaching them took out a long de. Purple battle force then covered the youth, which was four lined battle force.

    In the universe, there were very few who were able toprehend battle force, let alone cultivate it to four lines, which was no simple feat. In the Astral Combat Academy, such a person would at least be on par with the Area Masters.

    With a fierce bark, the shadow of a de fell in front of them, and it carried a starry silver radiance with it alongside the purple battle force. The attack caused ripples to appear in the void, and this knife was enough to even make an ordinary Cruiser wary.

    This young master had assumed the two people in front of him would definitely use their imprints, but the next thing that he saw caused him to doubt his senses.

    His de was caught. The bare hand of the young man before him had firmly grabbed a hold of the de¡¯s edge, and there wasn¡¯t even a change in the young man¡¯s expression. The young master¡¯s full force de thrust had not been enough to even force the youth back a single step.

    With a loud crack, the de fractured before shattering, its pieces scattering into space.

    ¡°Not a bad de,¡± Lu Yinmented, as there was still a fragment of metal left in his hand.

    The young master was stunned; how was such a thing possible? Could it be?

    ¡°Are you the disciple of an Imprinter?¡± he asked, sounding quite desperate.

    Lu Yin looked past the youth and saw the chasing spacecraft slowlying to a stop nearby. There were quite a number of rune lines aboard the vessel, and one person had even surpassed the Hunter realm. An expert had arrived.

    The young master slowly turned around and closed his eyes. He had wanted to find a victim to drag down to hell with him, but he had even failed in that regard. He clenched the hilt of his shattered de, unwilling to ept his fate.

    Another youth exited from the spacecraft, and it was the person who had just killed the old Enlighter.

    This youth¡¯s gaze was arrogant, and he looked down at the young master before looking over at Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi. ¡°Which realm are you two from? Show your imprint.¡±

    After he spoke, the phantom image of the grandmother appeared behind him, which was his imprint.

    Only Sixth Maind cultivators had imprints, and this was the way Sixth Maind cultivators verified their identities, as imprints could not be faked.

    On the battlefield of the Innerverse, there was an unwritten rule that everyone from the Sixth Maind followed. If they were unable to verify another¡¯s identity, then they had to first reveal their imprints.

    Everyone was waiting for Lu Yin to disy his imprint.

    Lu Yin blinked and replied, ¡°You aren¡¯t worthy.¡±

    The young master was stumped.

    That youth who had been pursuing the young heir was simrly stunned.

    Hai Qiqi was surprised, as this sentence was full of ambition.

    The youth¡¯s expression fell, and his lips twisted into a cruel angle. ¡°So it¡¯s another Fifth Maind native. I never thought that someone like you would actually still have the guts to openly appear in this area. For you to talk to me, Gui Bing, like this, you¡¯ve got guts.¡±

    That young master looked over at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°You aren¡¯t from the Sixth Maind?¡±

    ¡°Everyone, surround them! Don¡¯t let any of them slip away,¡± Gui Bing ordered. He then charged at Lu Yin as his imprint grew clearer behind his back. He raised a hand, causing countless bizarre needles to shoot forward from his palm. They were all extremely delicate and were practically invisible if one did not focus on them. The youth¡¯s rain of needles contained at least a hundred of them, much like when he had attacked that Enlighter elder before.

    The young master was petrified. ¡°Hurry up and dodge!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw that over a hundred fine needles were approaching him. Each one¡¯s rune lines were equivalent to an attack with a power level in the several tens of thousands, but more importantly, each one was coated with a strong poison. This was a very malicious attack, as not even the average Cruiser would be able to withstand such an attack. However, this still was not enough to breach Lu Yin¡¯s defenses.

    Lu Yin allowed the hundreds of delicate needles to strike his body, but right before they made contact, battle force shrouded his body, covering it with red lines and blue veins. This was eight lined battle force.

    As soon as eight lined battle force appeared around Lu Yin, the young master was stunned. He himself had cultivated his battle force to four lines, which made him very clear on the increasing disparity between levels the further one progressed. Eight lined battle force was not something that he could even dream of obtaining. ording to a conjecture made by one of his sect¡¯s ancestors, he would not be able to cultivate his battle force to eight lines even when he reached the Hunter realm, but this person had aplished such a terrifying feat at such a young age.

    Gui Bing was also surprised. Their Sixth Maind did not care about battle force or domains, but that did not mean that they did not understand such techniques. Someone who was able to cultivate eight lined battle force was frighteningly strong.

    Lu Yin did not give his opponent much time to consider this unexpected development. He instantly vanished from where he had been standing with sh Step only to reappear right before Gui Bing the next instant, his hand already stretched out.

    Gui Bing sneered as a peculiar imprint appeared in his palm. This was his martial print, and he simrly reached out with his hand towards Lu Yin.

    With a thump, the youth¡¯s palm that contained his full confidence was suddenly engulfed by an intense pain. His palm was tightly gripped in Lu Yin¡¯s, and the martial print within his palm had beenpletely destroyed. He was being crushed in a head-on contest of strength.

    The Sixth Maind youth was stunned in disbelief. This was impossible! He was an Imprinter¡¯s disciple who had an Imprint, a martial print, and also innately suppressed Fifth Maind cultivators. How had this battle turned out like this?

    ¡°Who- who are you exactly?¡± Gui Bing shouted in fear as heshed out with a foot, attempting to separate himself from his opponent.

    But his body was already not under his control. Lu Yin flipped and twisted him around mercilessly until the youth was forced into a half-kneeling position, whereupon he spat out a mouthful of blood. At this moment, the surrounding Sixth Maind cultivators hastened to act, but they could offer no resistance against Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and they were directly crushed to death.

 Chapter 865: Circumstances

    <h4>Chapter 865: Circumstances</h4>

    Gui Bing was overwhelmed. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. This person was much weaker than Autumnfrost Qing, but he could stillpare to a Fifth Maind cultivator who was in the top twenty of the Top 100 Rankings. If the various suppression were taken into consideration, then this person could enter the top fifteen at least.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s overall strength was much higher than the Fifth Maind¡¯s.

    A crack rang out as Lu Yin exerted some more force. Gui Bing¡¯s wrist snapped, and his body was flung away like a rag doll. He gritted his teeth tightly as beads of sweat dotted his forehead.

    The young master was shocked. This powerhouse who he could not even hope to defeat was being trampled on before his eyes. This was inconceivable.

    The innate suppression that the Sixth Maind cultivators had on the Fifth Maind cultivators had no effect on Lu Yin, and neither the imprint nor the martial print were enough to bridge the huge disparity between the two youths. For Lu Yin, only someone like Autumnfrost Qing, who was a direct descendant of a World Imprinter''s family, could make the battle a little bit more interesting. Others were not enough to even allow him to warm up.

    ¡°Do you know who I am? My master is the Tong family¡¯s Granny Gui! An Imprinter! Your entire Fifth Maind doesn¡¯t have many powerhouses at her level. Do you still dare to kill me?¡± Gui Bing threatened, his voice sharp.

    Lu Yin arrogantly replied, ¡°Sorry, but even if your master was before me, I¡¯d still kill her if it came down to it.¡±

    He then saw that Gui Bing was trying to grab something from his cosmic ring, so Lu Yin exerted some strength through his arm and decisively shattered Gui Bing¡¯s heart.

    Gui Bing had not expected Lu Yin to be so decisive, and his eyes went dull with regret. His vitality hadpletely drained away.

    That young master watched on, dumbfounded. This person was efficient, ruthless, and incredibly powerful. However, he had not met this person before.

    He tried hard to recall all of the Title Holders that he had heard of, but there was no such person among them. Could this person be someone who looked young but was actually from the older generation?

    The Champions'' Stage only granted titles to members of the younger generation. Although those of the older generations also received rewards for their contributions, they were not granted any titles. After all, many powerhouses from the older generation had power levels that surpassed 200,000 and had to fight while suppressing their power level. Thus, they could not correctly be evaluated within the current environment of the Innerverse. Hence, the Champions'' Stage only granted titles to members of the younger generation.

    With practiced movements, Lu Yin used Gui Bing¡¯s blood to unlock his cosmic ring and flip through its contents. His eyes lit up, as he had found quite a lot of good things within it. Lu Yin immediately knew what this person had wanted to take out, which was a specific needle. This needle was different from the others that the youth had used, and this needle¡¯s rune lines had reached the same as an attack with a power level of 200,000, which was the highest amount of strength that could be used in the Innerverse.

    The youth had wanted to use this needle to sneak attack Lu Yin, but unfortunately for him, Lu Yin had been the one toe out on top.

    Aside from the needle, the cosmic ring also contained many other items, and there were even close to 20,000 star essence inside. For a Cruiser, 20,000 star essence was quite a decent sum.

    The young master swallowed his saliva as he watched Lu Yin casually pocket the spoils of his battle. ¡°Junior Alfonso from Starphant Mountain pays his respects to Senior.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly realized why this person looked so familiar. Back during the trial on Shenwu Continent, at the Tower of Resonating Light, Lu Yin had forced a bunch of trial takers to sign contracts promising a favor to him. After he had returned to the Great Yu Empire, he had used the favor from this Alfonso to help pressure the Ross Empire into withdrawing their troops from the Great Yu Empire.

    ¡°Starphant Mountain? From Chaos Flowzone?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Senior has heard of my Starphant Mountain?¡± Alfonso¡¯s eyes lit up, and his voice betrayed his expectations.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Kind of. So why are you in such a miserable situation?¡±

    Alfonso miserably answered, ¡°Junior was too careless and was discovered by people from the Sixth Maind. I even ended up dragging the elders in my sect into the issue. If not for Senior intervening, Junior would have died.¡±

    Lu Yin feigned ignorance and asked in a curious tone, ¡°What Sixth Maind?¡±

    Alfonso was stumped. "Senior doesn¡¯t know about the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Behind, Hai Qiqi pursed her lips and rolled her eyes in contempt.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in seclusion for a hundred years and only just came out,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Alfonso was puzzled. Seclusion for a hundred years?

    The Martial Progenitor had attacked the Innerverse more than a year ago in a universe-shaking battle. However, were there actually people who had managed to remain in seclusion through that monumental event? Although Alfonso did not quite believe Lu Yin, this person had saved his life and killed the disciple of one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters in the process. Thus, he was definitely a part of the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Since Senior doesn¡¯t know about the current circumstances, then Junior will give you a brief introduction.¡± Alfonso then used half an hour to exin the current situation of the Innerverse to the best of his knowledge.

    Lu Yin thus learned that the Innerverse¡¯s situation was even worse than what he had thought.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had rolled over the Starfall Sea without any substantial resistance. Then, they had torn apart the Astral River¡¯s energy isting the neighboring flowzone before ughtering their way into the Chaos Flowzone.

    The experts from the various great powers of the Innerverse had been drafted by the Hall of Honor to defend against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. However, their efforts were useless. The Sixth Maind had steadily advanced and covered the entire Innerverse step by step. Only when the experts from the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse had joined in, along with other hidden powerhouses from various organizations, was the Fifth Maind able to finally stall the invader¡¯s momentum. The war had been troubling, but then, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Martial Progenitor had finally fought against the remnant spiritual force of one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors.

    Even though the Progenitors¡¯ battle had caused the Innerverse¡¯s energy to surge and transform its environment into one that did not allow anyone¡¯s attacks to exceed a power level of 200,000, the Sixth Maind had an unending supply of cultivators with power levels below 200,000. Within the younger generation, the Daosource Three Skies and the Realmlings were all top-tier elites, and right behind them were the heirs to the Cosmic Imprinter families, World Imprinter families, and Imprinter families. Disregarding the younger generation, the Sixth Maind also had numerous Enlighters. Even when these powerhouses suppressed their power level to beneath 200,000, the battle strength that they were capable of unleashing was more terrifying than the younger generation¡¯s capabilities. After all, these suppressed powerhouses were still existences who surpassed the Fifth Maind Enlighters.

    For example, the Enlighter from Starphant Mountain who had been escorting Alfonso had been severely injured by an Enlighter from the Sixth Maind.

    asionally, the Sixth Maind would have an Imprinter or even a World Imprinter attack. Even when they suppressed their power level to below 200,000, the might that they were capable of disying was terrifying, and it was not something that the average person could imagine.

    Even though the war in the Innerverse had devolved intoplete chaos, the Innerverse was still slowly and surely being taken over by the Sixth Maind. The Starfall Sea, Chaos Flowzone, Zhengyang Flowzone, Soulseal Flowzone, and many more territories had allpletely fallen under the control of the Sixth Maind. The majority of the Innerverse had beenpletely upied by the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces, and quite a few Innerverse cultivators could do nothing besides hide. Once they were discovered, they were either killed or captured. In thetter case, they were treated as if they were the worst kind of trash.

    Even more terrifying was the fact that the surging energy had not enveloped the entire universe; its effects were limited only to the Innerverse and half of the Cosmic Sea. The other half of the Cosmic Sea had not been covered by this suppressive energy. As a result, the Sixth Maind had assembled its most elite forces to invade the Cosmic Sea and reach the Neoverse. If that invasion seeded, then their top experts would no longer be suppressed by the boiling energy, and they would be able to unleash their full might. At that time, the entire Fifth Maind would be the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory.

    The Ten Arbiters and many other powerhouses from the Innerverse had all gone to the Cosmic Sea to try to hold back the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin deeply contemted this new information. He had originally thought that the Innerverse¡¯s circumstances would be slightly better, especially after hearing the Yu family elder¡¯s words and witnessing Yuan Shi¡¯s strength. However, it suddenly seemed that he had been too optimistic. ording to what Alfonso had said, the Innerverse had been suppressed from beginning to end.

    ¡°The Title Holders who¡¯ve gained titles from the Champions'' Stage are all very powerful, but there are a lot more powerhouses from the Sixth Maind,¡± Alfonso admitted bleakly. They had never imagined that the Innerverse would one day be sessfully invaded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Unless a Progenitor acted once again, the Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse seemed to all be doomed.

    ¡°How¡¯s the situation in the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin could not help but ask. He was a bit worried about Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Alfonso shook his head. ¡°I don''t know, as all of the information I have is from half a year ago that I¡¯ve updated with scattered bits of updates. Additionally, it¡¯s hard to tell the truth from fake news.¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°But you still said all that like it¡¯s true.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to beat Alfonso up, as he had nearly been driven to extreme desperation.

    Alfonso felt wronged. ¡°Saying that we¡¯re unable to verify the truthfulness of this information is just tofort ourselves. Right now, everything around us is under the control of the Sixth Maind. All of the busiers have statues of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters, and they force everyone there to kneel and worship them. It¡¯s the same situation wherever you go, and the overall status of the Innerverse might be even worse than what I¡¯ve described.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. The Sixth Maind was forcing the Innerverse¡¯s cultivators to kneel down and worship the Imprinter statues to break their dignity and leave a stain that they would be forced to bear for the rest of their lives. With a single kowtow, their cultivation heart would be disrupted, and as time passed, some people may even start wholeheartedly worshipping these Imprinters. Such vicious methods.

    This was how the invaders were trying to enve the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Just now, you mentioned that the Starfall Sea has also fallen into the Sixth Maind¡¯s hands. In that case, what about the Sea King''s Dome?¡± Hai Qiqi suddenly thought of this and asked in a rather desperate tone.

    Alfonso shook his head. ¡°I don''t know the details, but the Starfall Sea was the first ce that the Sixth Maind attacked when they invaded the Innerverse. They refer to the Starfall Sea as the Mara River, and it¡¯s said that the Starfall Sea has fallen into the hands of the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Tong family. That family is a Cosmic Imprinter family, and they have multiple Imprinters among their ranks. Right now, nobody even dares to go to the Starfall Sea, as that would just be courting death. Ah right, that man from before was the disciple of the Tong family¡¯s Imprinter, Granny Gui. He was called Gui Bing.¡±

    ¡°We want to head to the Starfall Sea. Do you know of any way to get there?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Alfonso was ced in a difficult position. ¡°That¡­ Senior, you really can¡¯t go to the Starfall Sea right now. The Tong family¡¯s power is overwhelming. Reportedly, even the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling is in the Starfall Sea. With that said, let¡¯s head somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°To the Starfall Sea!¡± Hai Qiqi barked.

    Alfonso had a bitter expression on his face. ¡°If Senior insists on going to Starfall Sea, then there¡¯s only one way. You must disguise yourself and hide among the captured miners that are headed for the Starfall Sea. From there, it may be possible to evade the Sixth Maind¡¯s investigation and enter the Starfall Sea. However, that¡¯s really too dangerous a n, so I beg Senior to please reconsider.¡±

    After saying this, Alfonso bowed deeply. ¡°If Senior does head into the Starfall Sea, could you do a favor for Junior? Starphant Mountain will forever remember your kindness.¡±

    ¡°Why are you acting like this? We even saved you, so don¡¯t be unsatisfied with what you¡¯ve already gotten.¡± Hai Qiqi was displeased by Alfonso¡¯s attitude, and she was also anxious to head toward the Starfall Sea as soon as she could.

    Alfonso thought about herment and sighed. ¡°True, Junior¡¯s at fault. Junior will not bring it up again, so please do not me me.¡±

    Lu Yin did not ask any further, as he did not like creating additional trouble for himself. ¡°Do you know where these captured miners are? It would be best if you could take us there.¡±

    Alfonso was again caught in a dilemma. ¡°Junior needs to rescue Astral-3¡¯s people, and there¡¯s no more time. However, Junior can draw up a star chart for Senior. It¡¯s not too far from here.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°What did you say? Rescue Astral-3¡¯s people?¡±

    Alfonso nodded. ¡°When the Sixth Maind invaded, Astral-3 was unfortunately right in their path and was destroyed by the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses. More than half of their students died, though the Headmaster took an Imprinter down with him at the end. The remaining students and mentors were all captured, and they are currently serving out their sentences. Junior was headed there to rescue them, but along the way, I was discovered by Gui Bing.¡±

 Chapter 866: Planet Amber

    <h4>Chapter 866: Amber</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned steely. Someone wanted to use Astral-3 to lure out the Innerverse¡¯s cultivators, which was a cruel n.

    He did not believe that Astral-3 had truly been destroyed, as Astral-9 was an ancient battleship that had been able to withstand Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s finger. Still, that had been just one finger. Against the Sixth Maind¡¯s full invasion force, it was already impressive that Astral-3¡¯s Headmaster had died together with an Imprinter.

    Although there was a rivalry among the ten academy branches, they were still all a part of the same school in the end, and Lu Yin could not just ignore this situation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone showed his determination.

    Hai Qiqi did not decline. Although she had not been a student of the Astral Combat Academy, she had certainly heard of its reputation. Now that the people of Astral-3 were being used as bait, she wanted to rescue them as well.

    ¡°Really? Thank you, Senior!¡± Alfonso was delighted, and he bowed deeply to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Senior anymore¡ªjust call me Seventh Bro,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Alfonso nodded. ¡°Seventh Bro.¡±

    He felt like he had heard this name before.

    In the past, Lu Yin had been famous throughout the Innerverse, and many people had recognized his face. Fortunately, he had altered his appearance beforeing. Otherwise, Alfonso definitely would have recognized him.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s trio left the area, it took about half a day for news of Gui Bing¡¯s death to reach Granny Gui¡¯s ears.

    As the Tong family¡¯s Imprinter, Granny Gui was treated very well, but Gui Bing was her only disciple. She had even personally crafted the invisible needles for him, and she had raised him as if he were her own child. When she learned about his death, she became infuriated and left the, nning on personally seeking vengeance.

    The Tong family¡¯s forces had gathered in the Starfall Sea while the area outside of the Starfall Sea belonged to the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Flying Horse Manor.

    Granny Gui immediately requested for Flying Horse Manor to seal off the route leading towards Chaos Flowzone, as she believed that the other party would attempt to escape in that direction before moving towards the Cosmic Sea. No matter how long it might take her, she was determined to find the person who had murdered Gui Bing.

    Not too far away from the exit to the Starfall Sea was a yellow. It was colored yellow due to the ubiquitous dull sand, and fierce sandstorms constantly swept across its surface, connecting the sky and ground. These sandstorms had extremely high wind speeds, and the sand that constantly whirled through the air had enough force to pierce straight through an ordinary person. This was not very hospitable.

    Life here had developed underground, and an entire city had actually been built underground.

    This was known as Amber.

    When the nearby sun illuminated the, its temperature spiked.

    On the deste ins of sand that covered Amber, a hundred iron pirs towering into the sky had been erected. Each one of them had a single person bound to it. They were all students and mentors of Astral-3.

    There were more than a hundred pirs on the, but only around half of them had someone bound to them. The people who had once upied the other pirs had all been executed, and the fresh blood that stained the sandy expanse was not only from these students and mentors of Astral-3, but also from those who had attempted to rescue them.

    These steel pirs had already reaped the lives of hundreds of cultivators.

    To the Sixth Maind, upying the Innerverse was simple, but unifying it was much more difficult. Countless cultivators in the Innerverse had hidden themselves, and they could attack the invaders at any time.

    Even if just one Sixth Maind cultivator died on each every single day, that would add up to a horrifying number of daily casualties.

    This was also why the Sixth Maind had constantly drafted more cultivators to the war effort, since their numbers were dwindling every day.

    Of course, the Innerverse suffered simr casualties, and once anyone was discovered, they would be either maimed or killed outright.

    The two sides had be locked in a war of attrition.

    These metal pirs were constantly baking in the high temperature of the sun and had even be reddened while those who were tied to the pirs had their backs cooked.

    Not only did they suffer from the burning heat of the poles, but they also had to face the devastating sandstorms that could appear at any moment. What¡¯s worse, the weather was worsening.

    Those who qualified to enter Astral-3 were all talented youths, and each one had impressive backing. However, they were all in miserable states at this time.

    On one metal pir, Chilian Daynight¡¯s eyes had gone hazy, and all he saw was yellow. His body was asionally scoured by the rough sand, but he had already be numb to such a sensation.

    In the distance, a giant stone statue towered over the iron pirs. The statue had the likeness of a pretty, middle-aged woman taking an elegant pose. She appeared to be both graceful and pretty; however, this was the same woman who had massacred Astral-3, killed its headmaster, and destroyed the battleship that was the foundation of Astral-3. She was the one who had thrust all of them into this living hell. She was known as Madam Hong, and she was the head of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Flying Horse Manor. She was a World Imprinter with a power level of more than 900,000.

    Before this war, not even the Daynight n¡¯s elders had ever seen such a terrifying powerhouse before. A power level of 900,000 was an unimaginably astronomical figure. Chilean Daynight did not even know if his n¡¯s top powerhouse had such an impressive power level.

    In the entire universe, as far as he was aware, it was possible that Madam Hong was second only to Progenitors.

    As Chilean Daynight slowly turned his head around, he looked at Cang Shi, who was nearby. The young man¡¯s skin was chapped, and his blood had also almostpletely dried up.

    Around them, there were many other students approaching death¡¯s door, if not already dead, and the mentors were the same.

    As a ringing sound rang out in the sky, multiple cultivators rose up from underground and blocked the devastating power of the yellow sandstorms. Soon after, other figures emerged from underground and slowly kowtowed to Madam Hong¡¯s statue.

    This was a daily prayer routine. Its meaning was to pray for Madam Hong¡¯s protection and also to bless the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind had erected these statues to both wear away at the dignity of the Innerverse¡¯s cultivators and spread the belief that those of the Sixth Maind were divine. They were attempting to establish this belief in the Fifth Maind cultivators, and their methods were the most ordinary forms of cultural assimtion and daily brainwashing.

    Right as countless people came out to pray, some other figures emerged from beneath the ground and ughtered the nearby Sixth Maind cultivators. Others flew towards the metal pirs in an attempt to rescue the survivors from Astral-3.

    An Astral-3 mentor bleakly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯te! Run! Hurry up and run!¡±

    ¡°We Innerverse cultivators are not afraid of death!¡± One person hollered back as he bravely charged towards a metal pir and sliced at the ropes binding the student to it. From behind the charging man, a long de shed out, which the man quickly tried to block. However, the de continued on undisturbed, slicing through the defending weapon, cutting three inches deep into the Innerverse man¡¯s body, and causing fresh blood to drip down the pir.

    ¡°You fools! Only you continue to resist us. Those great powers of your Fifth Maind have all already been wiped out. You idiots, cast your lot in with us, and we will give you a way forward.¡±

    ¡°What wishful thinking¡ªwe¡¯d rather die than surrender!¡±

    With a plop, a head was separated andnded on the sand.

    The Sixth Maind cultivator coldly looked down, and the imprint behind him seemed even more like the image of a deity.

    The survivors from Astral-3 cracked their eyes open as they cried out in indignation.

    The group of people that had tried to rescue the Astral-3 survivors werepletely massacred to thest person. Their blood poured out and added anotheryer of red to the sandy ground, but that was all that they managed to aplish.

    From beneath the ground, two bright eyes opened wide. They belonged to another youth, and although she was pretty, a heavy murderous intent could be seen in her eyes. She was sitting cross-legged, and beside her was a long spear that had been embedded in the ground. It gave off a sharp chill.

    ¡°Young Mistress, we killed another group. These cultivators are like locusts, and we just can¡¯t exterminate them all. They¡¯re too stupid.¡±

    The youngdy responded in an icy-cold tone. ¡°They are indeed stupid. The Fifth Maind¡¯s great powers were already preparing to retreat the moment we first invaded, and for some reason, they left these independent cultivators with no background behind to oppose us. No matter whether or not these people emerge victorious or are defeated, they can still whittle away at some of our strength. These people are nothing more than cannon fodder.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why are we baiting these independent cultivators to their deaths?¡±

    ¡°Realmling Bai Ling has stated that popr sentiment has a limit to its endurance. Once we push past that limit, there will be nothing left of these people¡¯s will. Without resistance, there is only subservience. Once these independent cultivators are cowed by the continuous deaths, they will finally acknowledge their allegiance to us. After all, our numbers are not that much, and if we want to truly govern the Fifth Maind and plunder its resources, we need to put forth some effort,¡± the young woman coldly exined.

    Regardless of the time period, the ones with the worst fate were always at the bottom. They had passion and were not afraid of death, but they did not have the necessary ability to back up their passion.

    Amber had no barrier around it, and it would not ever be sealed off. This was the trap the Sixth Maind had set to lure the Innerverse¡¯s cultivators to be ughtered. Not only did they not seal the, but there wasn¡¯t even any sort of border control. Thus, anybody could enter the and attempt to rescue the survivors.

    The Sixth Maind had full confidence in their strength, and they were not afraid of anyone who approached to rescue the captives.

    Lu Yin, Hai Qiqi, and Alfonso had arrived and hidden themselves in a corner of a nearby underground city that was not too far from the execution site.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing an underground city, so it was a very novel experience for him.

    There was no sky above the city, and neither was there the familiar emptiness of outer space. Instead, thick stone hung above his head, and lights had been embedded in the stone to simte the sky,plete with birds and random weather conditions.

    There were no tall buildings in this city. Instead, they were all monotonously short. Each building stretched deep underground, and it was as if a normal city had been turned upside down.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the underground city would be a dark expanse enveloped in an oppressive aura. However, after seeing it for himself, he felt that it was actually pretty decent.

    ¡°10,000 years ago, Amber faced an arduous situation, as the natives reached the limit of technology that they could develop, and the conditions here also prevented people from cultivating. These people were truly like primitive natives. However, as more cultivators came to Amber, it gradually became more and more developed. The technology that you see here was not developed by the original inhabitants of Amber. Rather, they are technologies brought here by foreign investors.¡± Alfonso showed Lu Yin around the underground city and shared a bit of the¡¯s history.

    Hai Qiqi was curious. ¡°You seem to know this ce rather well. Do you n to be buried here?¡¯

    Alfonso opened his mouth, but there were no words he could say, and his voice remained choked in his throat.

    Lu Yin was also left speechless, as Hai Qiqi¡¯s venomous tongue had appeared once again, and she could often stifle others with just her speech. If not for her background of being supported by the Sea King, she would have long since been strung up to be beaten.

    The living conditions of those in the underground city were still decent, and the people were not as desperate as Lu Yin had imagined.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had nothing to do with these people, and as long as they offered their allegiance to the Sixth Maind and provided them with resources, nobody would make life difficult for these ordinary people. They did not even know that the Innerverse was at war.

    In another corner of the city, Alfonso used secret codes to sessfully connect with a group of people.

    Hai Qiqi opened her eyes wide and was very curious about everything. Although she was worried about the Sea King¡¯s safety, she could constantly feel his strength after arriving in the Innerverse, so she knew that he was alright.

    Those who got in contact with Alfonso were mostly Explorers, and there were more than ten such cultivators, as well as a few Cruisers. Unfortunately, not a single person who showed up had rune lines that couldpare to Gui Bing¡¯s from before. Lu Yin would rather hope for the Fifth and Sixth Mainds to shake hands and cooperate than pin his hopes on these people¡¯s chances of rescuing the Astral-3 survivors.

    ¡°Brother Alfonso, didn¡¯t you say that your Starphant Mountain had an Enlighter who was going to support us?¡± someone asked. The crowd then looked at Lu Yin; could this person be the aforementioned person? No, he was too young.

    Alfonso sadly answered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but our sect elder died.¡±

    The crowd was stunned, and their expressions turned ugly. They were not stupid, and they knew that, without an Enlighter to assist them, they would not be able to save the survivors of Astral-3 on their own.

    ¡°What happened? Were you guys discovered?¡± someone asked.

    Alfonso nodded. ¡°It was Gui Bing.¡±

    Another person angrily eximed, ¡°Him again! That bastard¡¯s pretty good at ambushing people and attacking with his poison needles. He¡¯s caused many of ourrades to die miserable deaths.¡±

 Chapter 867: Hong Ying

    <h4>Chapter 867: Hong Ying</h4>

    Alfonso wanted to share with everyone that Lu Yin had actually already killed Gui Bing, but right at that moment, someone else arrived. It was a middle-aged man, and he immediately said, ¡°Everyone, we¡¯ve discovered who the strongest powerhouse guarding the execution grounds is.¡±

    Everyone looked at the neer expectantly.

    He announced in a low voice, ¡°Hong Ying.¡±

    The expression of everyone within the crowd changed, and Alfonso¡¯s face also went pale. ¡°Hong Ying? The direct heir of Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Flying Horse Manor who¡¯s also Madam Hong¡¯s disciple? That Hong Ying?¡±

    The middle-aged man nodded helplessly.

    The crowd grew desperate.

    ¡°Why is it her? She¡¯s the Flying Horse Manor¡¯s direct heir, but despite that, why didn¡¯t she go to the Starfall Sea or the Cosmic Sea? Why did she stay here? And why does she have to be guarding the execution grounds!¡± someone bellowed in despair.

    ¡°Hong Ying is the disciple of a World Imprinter. She¡¯s a Cruiser who¡¯spleted nine cycles, and her crimson spear is invincible. Once, she went to the Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent where she killed two peak Hunters and badly injured Lan Baobao, who¡¯s an expert in the Top 100 Rankings and received the title of Marquis. She has also killed Lan Yu and verbally challenged Arbiter Lan Si. She¡¯s an extremely ruthless character.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not just that¡ªthere are also rumors that this woman¡¯s crimson spear is actually a power vessel itself, and that it¡¯s unusually powerful to boot.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s one of the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s most powerful existences and is second only to their Realmling. We¡¯re doomed! With her around, just who can rescue those people from Astral-3? Our only hope is for an Enlighter to help. Only then will we have some hope.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was surprised¡ªLan Yu had died? If he recalled correctly, Lan Yu was the younger brother of Lan Si, who was the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. This Hong Ying was indeed ruthless, and she had even severely injured Lan Baobao.

    Hai Qiqi cried out and urgently asked, ¡°Lan Baobao was severely injured? Is she alright?¡±

    Alfonso answered, ¡°She¡¯s not dead, but her younger brother, Lan Yu, is.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression turned ugly. Lan Yu and Lan Baobao. Even though she had not liked Lan Yu, he had still died.

    Hai Qiqi tugged at Lu Yin and pursed her lips. ¡°Get revenge for Baobao, alright?¡±

    Lu Yin patted her hand. ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±

    The middle-aged man heard their words and looked at them in astonishment. ¡°This is¡­?¡±

    Alfonso finally had an opportunity to introduce his two guests. ¡°This is a senior who I bumped into on my way here. If not for him, I would have died at Gui Bing¡¯s hands. That¡¯s right, Gui Bing is dead. He was killed by this Senior.¡±

    The gathered cultivators were shocked. ¡°Gui Bing is dead?¡±

    The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yin with a grave expression. ¡°May I know how to address you?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°You can call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    The middle-aged man was momentarily stumped before a hint of dissatisfaction shed through his eyes, though it was quickly concealed and he smiled. ¡°So it¡¯s Seventh Bro.¡±

    He then looked at Hai Qiqi. ¡°And this is?¡±

    ¡°Call me Sister Qi,¡± Hai Qiqi said flippantly. She wasn¡¯t in a good mood at this moment.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a few others were also quite disgruntled by the two people¡¯s attitudes. They felt that Lu Yin¡¯s duo were too impolite and that they should not behave in such a manner even if they had joined the rescue mission.

    ¡°Where does Seventh Bro cultivate? I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve met you before, and it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re very old either. Since you were able to kill Gui Bing, have you been granted a title?¡± someone asked.

    Alfonso hurriedly replied, ¡°Senior¡¯s age may not look like it, but he has just emerged from a hundred years of seclusion.¡±

    The crowd suddenly understood the situation.

    ¡°When will you guys move to rescue the survivors? I have no time to waste,¡± Lu Yin indifferently said. He still needed to escort Hai Qiqi to the Starfall Sea before he could rush back to the Outerverse, as he did not want to end up trapped in the Innerverse.

    The middle-aged man was not happy with Lu Yin¡¯s brusqueness, but since this person had killed Gui Bing, the man did not dare to offend Lu Yin. ¡°We still have to wait for one more person. When he arrives, we¡¯ll have a greater possibility of saving them.¡±

    ¡°Leave Hong Ying to me,¡± Lu Yin said confidently.

    The crowd was stunned.

    Alfonso was a bit shocked as well. Even though he was confident in Lu Yin¡¯s power, Hong Ying¡¯s battle results were simply too overwhelming, and she was not on the same level as Gui Bing.

    The middle-aged manughed. ¡°Seventh Bro is underestimating Hong Ying. Seventh Bro might be able to deal with her, but we¡¯re also afraid of holding Seventh Bro back. Let¡¯s wait for thatst person to arrive. With everyone¡¯s cooperation and Seventh Bro¡¯s strength, the possibility of rescuing them will be much better.¡±

    It could only be said that this missing person was able to make them feel at ease. It was also obvious that this middle-aged man did not believe in Lu Yin¡¯s strength despite him trying to sound like he was praising Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned, though it was perfectly normal that these people would not trust him. Rather, it would be more abnormal if they believed that he could deal with Hong Ying after their first meeting. However, he really did not want to wait any longer.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, rest assured. The person we¡¯re waiting for will arrive noter than tonight. And with nightfall, the conditions of the rescue mission will be even more advantageous,¡± the middle-aged man said.

    Lu Yin nodded helplessly.

    As the radiance of the ceiling stones dimmed, its change indicated that the day was about toe to an end.

    Alfonso¡¯s voice rang out with delight. ¡°They¡¯re here! That person is here!¡±

    The crowd hurriedly stepped forward to wee the person.

    Hai Qiqi felt that the whole affair was quite strange. ¡°Who could be this popr?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked into the distance. A sharp group of rune lines were quickly approaching them, and he was surprised to see that this person¡¯s power was not weak. They were actually quite close to bing a Hunter.

    Could these people have been waiting for this person? Although their power was not weak, they were still far from being a match for Hong Ying. If Lu Yin did not guess wrong, then Hong Ying was likely at the same level as Autumnfrost Qing, whose power could even surprise an Enlighter.

    As the person drew closer, Lu Yin got a clear look and was surprised to see that it was Yan Hua, who was an expert from the Sword Sect.

    This person had also participated in the contest on Pyrolyte. Although Lu Yin had not really crossed paths with this person before, he had seen this person¡¯s fights on thework. Yan Hua¡¯s six lined battle force was especially eye-catching, and his battle style was swift and explosive, which had been very captivating to watch.

    When they saw that Yan Hua had arrived, Alfonso and the others all moved forward to wee him, all of them constantly mumbling something.

    Through their conversation, Lu Yin was able to learn that Yan Hua had actually received a title: General Yan.

    Titles were given from the Champions'' Stage in the following order: General, Marquis, King, and Arbiter. Although General was the mostmon title, obtaining a title from the Champions'' Stage meant that they had aplished no simple task.

    Beforeing over, Lu Yin had Possessed a Sixth Maind cultivator and bumped into Ling Que, who had received the title of General. There was a great disparity between Yan Hua and Ling Que¡¯s strength, but they had both been granted the title of General. This meant that either the disparity between General and Marquis was too great and that Ling Que did not qualify to be a Marquis, or that titles were not just about an individual¡¯s power and also took other aspects into consideration as well. Right, Lu Yin had also heard that titles depended on one¡¯s military contributions.

    The crowd surrounded Yan Hua, and Alfonso moved back beside Lu Yin and apologetically said, ¡°Senior Seventh Bro, I¡¯m truly sorry to have made you wait so long.¡±

    Lu Yin curiously asked, ¡°Is he powerful?¡±

    Alfonso nodded and enviously answered, ¡°His name is Yan Hua, and he¡¯s a disciple from the Sword Sect who wasn¡¯t very famous in the past. He¡¯s from the same generation as the Ten Arbiters, but his strength only slowly improved as time passed, so he was ignored by many people. However, when the Sixth Maindunched their invasion, he relied on his Lightning Sword Technique to step into the Explorer realm and used it to entrap several Sixth Maind Hunters on one battlefield, allowing many of hisrades to safely retreat. He made a huge contribution with that move and was granted the title of General Yan. Some said that he might not be inferior to the Sword Sect¡¯s strongest heir at the moment, Liu Shaoqiu.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised to hear this story; an Explorer using his strength to trap several Hunters was not as simple as it sounded. Of course, trapping and defeating one¡¯s opponents were two different matters. However, since the opponents were Sixth Maind cultivators, being able to trap them was already enough to prove that this Yan Hua¡¯s power could match up to the top few in the Top 100 Rankings.

    It seemed like this person was ate bloomer.

    It was no wonder why this group had been so adamant about waiting for Yan Hua to arrive before they were willing to move out. Since Yan Hua was able to stall Hunters, and more than one at that, then he might be able to stall Hong Ying for just long enough to allow them to rescue Astral-3¡¯s survivors.

    The sky was covered with yellow sand, and the dark night sky seemed to be suffused with the color yellow. The wailing wind screamed as it blew past their ears, and it was even apanied by the pungent stench of old blood.

    In the distance, the sight of the irksome giant statue taunted them. When Lu Yin looked at it, he saw what Madam Hong, a World Imprinter, looked like. She was the one who had destroyed Astral-3, and this woman was someone on the same level as Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    ¡°Time¡¯s up. Kill one person,¡± announced a tremendous voice that reverberated through the sky. Following it, a Sixth Maind cultivator flew up. He was carrying a machete that he aimed at a student tied to a pir. The executioner¡¯s lips curled up into a cruel smirk, and he raised the de that glittered with a cold light.

    ¡°Go!¡± Alfonso and the others charged out from beneath the ground as one unit as a thread of lightning shot through the void. It formed a sharp point that streaked over, and the Sixth Maind cultivator who had been about to execute an Astral-3 student had his head sliced clean off.

    On the ground, the Sixth Maind people did not show any surprise. Instead, a cold arrogance appeared on their faces as they moved to fight against Alfonso¡¯s group. In just a few moments, Alfonso and the rest were about to be utterly defeated.

    The survivors from Astral-3 who were still tied to the pirs grew desperate, and some of them even hoarsely cried out, begging the would-be rescuers to escape.

    More cultivators appeared all around them, and they were actually not all from the Sixth Maind. Some were Fifth Maind cultivators who had pledged their loyalty to the Sixth Maind. These people had cast their dignity aside, and the Innerverse¡¯s defenders hated these traitors even more fiercely than the Sixth Maind cultivators.

    The middle-aged man was not weak, but even though he was a Cruiser, he was still suppressed by a Cruiser expert from the Sixth Maind. Once his opponent¡¯s imprint appeared, the middle-aged man was no longer even able to hold on to the weapon in his hands, and it was flung away.

    Hai Qiqi leaped up, and her domain appeared in the shape of a turbulent sea. As the Sea King''s daughter, she was on the same level as an Imprinter¡¯s descendant. Although she was just an Explorer, her domainplemented her battle techniques from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, which led to extraordinary battle prowess.

    Lu Yin also moved out, and he effortlessly killed two Sixth Maind cultivators. He then raised a hand, and with one wave, an intense gale swept out and caused all one hundred pirs to copse. At the same time, everyone from Astral-3 who had been tied to the pirs were all released.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators were surprised, as these pirs had not been made from average materials, and even an Explorer would find it difficult to destroy them. There was an expert in this group.

    From a hidden location, Yan Hua was also shocked at this development.

    But before he could consider the situation any further, a crimson spear shot up from underground and pierced through a cultivator before fiercely stabbing at Lu Yin.

    As soon as Lu Yin acted, Hong Ying had felt that something was amiss, as this person had caused her heart to palpitate.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he considered leading Hong Ying away from the battle.

    At that moment, lightning flickered through the sky and formed swords of lightning that rained down into the ground, trapping Hong Ying. Then, the lightning swords became dazzling as the lightning connected sky and earth. They had formed a prison isting a small area, and its power was enough to cause the void to quiver and nearly split open.

    Yan Hua had acted. ¡°Everyone, retreat!¡±

    As soon as they saw that Hong Ying was trapped, Alfonso and the others were delighted, and they all retreated immediately.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators hurriedly gave chase, but Yan Hua¡¯s Lightning Sword Technique rapidly flickered through the crowd, trapping and isting many other Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. This Yan Hua truly was not weak, and the sh of his Lightning Sword Technique was astounding.

    Unfortunately, it was a pity.

    The lightning swords that had trapped Hong Ying broke apart one by one until the entire trap exploded and the lightning dissipated in all directions.

    Alfonso and the others¡¯ pupils shrank. Not good!

    Yan Hua was surprised. Could he actually not trap her?

 Chapter 868: Lu Yin Vs. Hong Ying

    <h4>Chapter 868: Lu Yin Vs. Hong Ying</h4>

    Hong Ying held her crimson spear aloft as she emerged. She calmly looked at Lu Yin and then at Yan Hua. ¡°Petty tricks.¡±

    Yan Hua held his sword hilt tightly. His figure shed forward, followed by the sound of booming thunder. His entire being had transformed into a de that sharply stabbed forward. This was his most powerful attack: Thunder Strike.

    Hong Ying snorted, and she did not even bother using her imprint. Her spear tip fiercely jabbed forward and pierced through the void to collide against Yan Hua¡¯s Thunder Strike. There was a tremendous crash reminiscent of lightning crashing into a wall and rebounding back. Yan Hua¡¯s sword body instantly crumbled apart, but in contrast, Hong Ying¡¯s spear prated through the lightning and went on to stab at Yan Hua¡¯s neck without any hesitation.

    Everyone was overwhelmed, as the difference between the two was simply too great.

    Just as the spear tip was about to stab into Yan Hua¡¯s neck, another hand pierced deep into the lightning as one finger tapped out. There was a bang as the spear ran into an overwhelming strength that forcefully redirected its strike into the ground.

    The ground was rent asunder by the spear tip, and the underground city copsed. The power of the spear seemed to burrow over ten thousand kilometers through the earth, and the fissure even extended into space.

    The execution grounds fellpletely silent as everyone stared on, petrified at what they had just witnessed.

    Hong Ying gripped her spear tightly as her lips curled upwards, though she did not seem too surprised. She then slowly turned to face Lu Yin. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Yan Hua panted heavily as he stared at the person who had just blocked the attack that had nearly killed him. He also wanted to know who this person was; although there had been a brief introduction when they had met earlier, he had actually not paid much attention.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was not loud, but it reverberated through the sky above the execution ground. Everyone stared at him in awe, as he had just parried Hong Ying¡¯s spear.

    Alfonso grew excited, as this was indeed his Senior. This person was actually able to block Hong Ying¡¯s spear!

    That middle-aged man was also shocked; this person was actually this powerful?

    Hai Qiqi reminded Alfonso, ¡°Aren¡¯t we leaving?¡±

    Alfonso said, ¡°But what about Senior?¡±

    ¡°Just leave him alone. He¡¯ll be fine,¡± Hai Qiqi nonchntly replied. She was quite familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Even if people did not have to suppress their power levels to under 200,000 due to the cosmic phenomenon, she did not believe that Lu Yin would be in danger. He was just too cunning.

    ¡°You can go first. Leave this to me,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    Yan Hua swallowed his saliva. ¡°Sure?¡±

    ¡°Go,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Yan Hua gave Lu Yin a long look before turning to leave.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind wanted to give chase, only to be stopped by Hong Ying. Her eyes had lit up, though her delicate face still appeared exceptionally indifferent in the dark. ¡°I never thought that we would be able to bait out someone like you. Interesting.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Bait? Are you sure that you¡¯re the fisherman? Be careful of being dragged under.¡±

    Hong Ying sneered. ¡°Just you? You¡¯re not worthy.¡±

    Her spear tip danced about as she stabbed forward again. This time, her spear seemed to contain a strength as powerful as a thunderbolt, and it almost felt like it was pushing the space before it.

    This spear was much more powerful than her previous attack. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the shaft of the spear seemed to have grown wings, and it was clearly moving extremely quickly, but strangely enough, very slowly at the same time. Despite its apparent slowness, it did not give him any opportunity to dodge, and Lu Yin saw vague spear images appear all around him.

    He could not evade this attack and would have to receive it head-on.

    But Lu Yin had not nned on evading anything anyways. His eight lined battle force enveloped his hand as he raised it, his palm turning into a w that then grabbed the spear tip. He did not meet force with force. Rather, his body continuously withdrew as he steadily dissolved the force of the spear attack.

    Hong Ying was shocked, as her flying spear technique had actually been caught by someone. Also, this person had eight lined battle force, which indicated that he definitely was not a nobody. It seemed that she had caught a big fish. As she thought about it, an imprint appeared behind her, and Madam Hong¡¯s image hazily manifested. The power of Hong Ying¡¯s spear increased tremendously, and its strength was mysteriously reinforced.

    Lu Yin frowned. He was using his eight lined battle force to reinforce his Skybeast w, but he was still unable to fully receive this attack. With a bang, the spear shaft was forced back by Lu Yin as he stepped forward. He then appeared right in front of Hong Ying before thrusting a palm forward. However, Hong Ying had expected this. Since Lu Yin was someone who could grab her flying spear technique, his physical strength definitely would not becking in any way, and such a person would naturally be adept at closebat.

    Hong Ying reversed her spear, as she intended to use its shaft to strike Lu Yin. He did not evade the strike, and allowed the spear shaft to connect with his body as he used his Fatesand to block the attack. There was a loud thump, and the two youths were simultaneously shaken.

    Hong Ying was astonished. ¡°Fatesand? You actually have something like that?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°It looks like you have it too.¡±

    He then grabbed the spear shaft again. With his strength, as long as he grabbed a hold of the spear, Hong Ying would not be able to shake him off.

    An enormous strength was transmitted through the spear shaft as it began vibrating before suddenly spinning in ce, causing Hong Ying¡¯s palms to be worn down and start bleeding. Still, she did not release her hold on the spear. Instead, a second, very small spear suddenly appeared in front of her and stabbed at Lu Yin. He responded by once again using his Fatesand to block her attack. However, this was no ordinary spear, as it was actually also formed from Fatesand.

    Lu Yin subconsciously grabbed it with his right hand, and Hong Ying¡¯s expression suddenly changed. She released her hold on the long spear and retreated at top speed. Standing in ce, Lu Yin was puzzled; his left hand was holding the crimson spear while his right hand had seized the small spear formed from Hong Ying¡¯s Fatesand.

    Hong Ying beamed. ¡°You really like my weapon that much? Then I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and in the corner of his eye, he saw the crimson spear suddenly erupt. It had changed from a physical weapon to a group of rune lines. Lu Yin reflexively tried to fling it away, but he btedly discovered that the red tassels on the spear hade to life and entwined themselves around his palm, the knot even extending down his arm. What¡¯s more, they are emitting an iparably burning heat.

    Hong Ying sneered. This man had been seeking death by even daring to grab her power vessel. There had been other powerhouses who had tried to do so in the past with one of them even being an Enlighter. However, without exception, all of them had ultimately been burned to a crisp by Hong Ying, as they had not been able to break free once they were entangled by the tassels.

    Lu Yin tried to shake off the crimson spear, but no matter what he did, it would not separate from him. The tassel¡¯s heat was only increasing as time went on, and it had already reached a temperature that his physical body found difficult to handle.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, use your secret technique! This power vessel is not simple,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin had no choice, and he nced deeply at Hong Ying before waving a hand and causing the crimson spear to vanish. When it reappeared, it was twisted around a random Sixth Maind cultivator. That person did not evenst for a second before his arm was turned to ash, and he wailed mournfully.

    Hong Ying¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°A secret technique! You actually have a secret technique?!¡±

    Lu Yin had a cold expression. ¡°You can go die.¡±

    He then tapped out, and the void congealed as his eyes went ck. This was the Dream Finger, and although it was not the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, this was the most powerful attack that Lu Yin could disy at this moment. Even Enlighters would have to fear this attack from Lu Yin.

    Hong Ying could not escape from the power of this finger, and it was very difficult to avoid it as well. However, the crimson spear actually flew back over and blocked the path between Lu Yin and Hong Ying. Lu Yin¡¯s finger instead tapped against the crimson spear, causing both the spear and Hong Ying to be sted away, as the power of the finger had passed through the spear to also impact Hong Ying.

    Hong Ying spat out a mouthful of blood, and her expression changed once again. This person was terrifyingly powerful; he had an unrivalled physical power, a secret technique, and even this frightening battle technique. Just where had hee from?

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the Skybeast w pressed down upon Hong Ying as he tried to finish off his opponent.

    Hong Ying gritted her teeth, causing fresh blood to flow down her lips. She then hefted the crimson spear and stabbed out with it. Behind her, Madam Hong¡¯s imprint grew even clearer while, at the same time, a brand appeared on her spear, which was her martial print.

    ¡°flying spear technique.¡± Hong Ying shouted as she stabbed at Lu Yin. Her movements were identical to her very first attack against Lu Yin, and countless spear images appeared all around him. No matter which direction he dodged in, he would have to face at least one spear. Even if he used his secret technique to divert the power of one spear, there would still be a second, and then a third.

    In the past, when facing against Arbiter Zhenwu, Lu Yin had experienced the weakness of the Yu Secret Art, which was that it could not divert attacks without limit. Once the opponent noticed this detail, his Yu Secret Art would be useless.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was facing that exact situation.

    However, Lu Yin did not need to dodge, as Hong Ying¡¯s spear was equivalent in power to the palm that Autumnfrost Qing had unleashed through stimting his bloodline. The rune lines were about the same, and after thinking about it, Lu Yin gathered all of his star energy into his right palm. ¡°Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation: First Sun.¡±

    The resultant sun that formed above his palm illuminated the night sky and drew the attention of many.

    Hong Ying¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she was struck by an intense sense of unease. However, she could not retreat after unleashing her flying spear technique. Thus, she cried out as shemitted her all to the attack.

    In the distance, Alfonso and the others looked back to see a dazzling radiance light up Amber. After the light shone out, a berserk aftershock swept across the region and sent them all flying forward.

    If viewed from outer space, one would see that one half of Amber had been surrounded by ripples of energy and that these aftershocks had even extended into outer space and started affecting the surroundings.

    A spatial crack spread outwards and swallowed the ground. Coincidentally, it streaked past Alfonso¡¯s head, scaring him senseless.

    The crowd from Astral-3 was overwhelmed; just who hadunched that terrifying attack?

    The execution grounds had beenpletely destroyed. The nearby Sixth Maind cultivators had been caught up in the attack and had either died or hidden themselves so deep underground that they no longer dared to show themselves.

    Hong Ying thrust her spear into the ground and slowly swayed, as if still dealing with the attack¡¯s aftermath.

    Lu Yin stood in ce and withdrew his hand. He then looked towards the crimson spear. Next to it, half of Hong Ying¡¯s body was horrendously twisted. Her hair was in disarray, and all of her orifices were bleeding. Thisst attack had severely injured her.

    She copsed onto the ground where shey, panting heavily, asionally spitting out a mouthful of blood, and staring at the sandy ground in disbelief.

    She had been thoroughly defeated despite using her imprint, martial print, power vessel, and even her Fatesand. In spite of everything, she had still been defeated.

    She was unwilling to ept her defeat, as there were very few from the Sixth Maind within the same generation who could defeat her, let alone these Fifth Maind natives.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Hong Ying stared intensely at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes that had be scarlet. She looked rather sinister at this moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Dead people don¡¯t need to know.¡±

    Hong Ying sneered. She lookedpletely miserable, but her demeanor was still very arrogant. ¡°Dead people? In this area of the universe, no one would dare to let me die. Where do you think you are? Still in your Fifth Maind? Look at that statue!¡±

    Lu Yin looked over.

    At this moment, Hong Ying suddenly leaped up and fled towards outer space.

    Lu Yin was stumped; was she trying to escape? He raised a hand, and the Skybeast w passed through the void, causing an ancient beast¡¯s howl to ring out as it shot towards Hong Ying.

    However, Hong Ying tossed her spear aside in order to increase her fleeing speed.

    That spear¡¯s red tassels came to life once again, and they twined themselves around the Skybeast w while releasing a scorching heat.

    Lu Yin frowned. He leaped up to chase her down, but she turned around and sneered as she took out a power vessel. After that, her speed increased multiple times over, and she disappeared in the blink of an eye without leaving a trace behind.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, were you just tricked ?¡± the monkey asked, its voice a little taunting.

    Lu Yin had an ugly expression, as this woman had indeed fooled him. His idental nce at that statue had given her enough of an opportunity to escape.

    Ever since he had started cultivating, he had never encountered such a situation before. However, this time, a trifling lie had actually seeded against him, which was quite embarrassing.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, there¡¯s no need to me yourself. This is a disparity in intelligence. That woman is very smart, much smarter than you,¡± the monkey said with augh.

    Lu Yin was irritated, and he instantly screened the monkey off. That stupid monkey¡¯s words were really obnoxious. After all, Lu Yin had defeated Wei Rong, and he had just been careless this time around.

 Chapter 869: Realmling Bai Ling

    <h4>Chapter 869: Realmling Bai Ling</h4>

    The crimson spear fell from the sky, though all the red tassels had already vanished from the shaft.

    This power vessel had been truly mysterious because of its tassels, but now that they were gone, it was just an ordinary weapon, though its materials might be a bit sturdier than normal.

    Lu Yin felt slightly tempted to use his die¡¯s three pips to enhance the spear, but he ultimately decided against it. After all, this weapon was a power vessel made by a super powerhouse from the Sixth Maind, and who knew it could be summoned back during a battle. Also, if Lu Yin kept it, could it be used by the enemy to track down Lu Yin? To Envoy-level powerhouses, he was still insignificant.

    Left without a choice, Lu Yin broke the spear into two pieces and tossed them aside.

    Before long, arge group of Sixth Maind cultivators rushed over to Amber, but they could not find any trace of Lu Yin and the others.

    Hong Ying had been defeated. Among those of the Sixth Maind, especially those in the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s circles, this matter raised quite amotion.

    Hong Yin had said that her opponent had been young and that he should be a part of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation.

    If he was not from the younger generation, then her defeat would not have caused such a greatmotion. After all, for those whose power levels were over 200,000, 300,000, and 400,000, even if they suppressed their power level to under 200,000, they would still be able to disy an inestimable level of strength, and there would be nothing spectacr about such a person defeating Hong Ying. However, it was an entirely different story if she had been defeated by someone from the younger generation.

    These youths had their own battlefield, and the two sides were alsoparing the elites of their generation. If Hong Ying had been defeated by someone from the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, then that meant that a powerhouse who had received the title of Marquis at the minimum had appeared, and the rewards for beheading the Title Holders of the Fifth Maind were exceptional.

    In the Starfall Sea, on the maind where the Tong family had made their base, Tong Zhan¡¯s eyes went wide, and a bizarre look appeared on his face. ¡°Defeated Hong Ying? Very young? Interesting, aside from those few from Grayweed Continent, does this area of the Innerverse still have some interesting people? Hopefully it¡¯s not someone from the older generation, as that would be too boring.¡±

    On the other side of Grayweed Continent, the part thaty in the depths of the Starfall Sea, in a region that was surrounded by mountains, there was a stronghold where quite a few cultivators had gathered. They had banded together to resist the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    All of Grayweed Continent had been covered with the fires of war, and countless experts from the Sixth Maind descended upon the continent, forcing it into a desperate situation.

    Many cultivators voluntarily organized themselves into groups and united to resist these experts.

    At this moment, within the mountain stronghold, multiple cultivators were staring up at the sky. Or more specifically, they were staring at a woman who was standing there with an indifferent expression.

    Not a single cultivator on the ground dared to speak, and desperation was apparent in their eyes. Even the Enlighter elder within their group seemed to despair when he saw the woman in the sky.

    ¡°Let¡¯s act together, and perhaps some of us can escape.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all we can do.¡±

    As the numerous cultivators below were nning their next move in hushed tones, their sounds grew louder and louder. Then, the sound suddenly visibly manifested in the air. The ambient sound waves had taken physical form, with the gathered cultivators¡¯ conversations bing corporeal forms that merged together to form all sorts of creatures. Some looked like birds, others like bees, and others still like ants.

    When they noticed this strange scenery, all of the gathered people backed away as one. They quickly discovered that any sound they made would be a new sound wave creature.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Bai Ling. Once her martial print is used, everyone will be vanquished,¡± a cultivator mumbled as they looked at the sky in fear. Suddenly, that person knelt down. ¡°I surrender.¡±

    After the first person knelt down, several others consecutively followed suit.

    The Enlighter elder was infuriated. ¡°This is Grayweed Continent, our area! Don¡¯t be looked down upon by the enemy. Get up!¡±

    In the sky, the girl looked down at all the cultivators below her without a single hint of emotion in her eyes. As they flickered with a certain chill, all of the strange creatures formed from sound simultaneously exploded, causing another strange sound wave to sweep across everyone on the ground.

    All of these cultivators were stunned, and they felt as though they had lost consciousness and been petrified. None of them could move.

    Even the old Enlighter was no different. So what if he was an Enlighter? So what if his power level had surpassed 200,000? Against this Realmling¡¯s attack, he also had no ability to resist.

    Even if his power level was not suppressed and this Enlighter was able to act with his full strength, he still might not be the Realmling¡¯s match.

    Realmling Bai Ling massacred all of the cultivators who had been in the mountain stronghold in one attack.

    ¡°Wrong again. Where are they hiding?¡± Bai Ling mumbled in a bizarre tone.

    After some time, Bai Ling vanished, and a young man approached the outside of the stronghold. His face was pale, his eyes were cold, and his expression was simrly devoid of all emotions. He almost looked like a corpse, and there were two figures following behind him. Their motions were perfectly identical, and even their breathing was in sync. However, these two had no aura and were basically dead people.

    ¡°Late again, what a pity. With how they died, Bai Ling must havee here. How annoying, nobody said anything about this.¡±

    ¡°To think that I, Corpse Looter from Justice Manor, can¡¯t even find someone who can talk. There are corpses wherever I go, which is puzzling. Could I be destined for corpses? Even though my innate gift allows me to control corpses, why is my fate so tied to corpses?

    ¡°Is there even anyone here? Speak! How annoying. Everyone assumes that I can¡¯t talk, and people even say that I don¡¯t like the living and that only the dead can be my friends. Which idiot said that? How can corpses be my friends? Of course, I wouldn¡¯t mind if the dead could be my friends, but they need to at least be able to talk.

    ¡°How quiet. It¡¯s a little scary, and there¡¯re corpses all around. Will theye back to life?

    ¡°Eh, talking is tiring, but with just these corpses around, if I don¡¯t talk, then there really will be no one else talking. How scary! If I had known that it would be like this earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have evene to this Fifth Maind. Bai Ling is really annoying, and she couldn¡¯t even wait a moment. It would still be alright to leave someone behind for me to talk to. Who¡¯s talking? Oh wait, it¡¯s me¡­

    ¡°Eh, Hong Ying was defeated? That¡¯s not good. That means that there¡¯s someone who can threaten us. That¡¯s troublesome, but they won¡¯te to Grayweed Continent, right? That¡¯s scary. I better sneak away soon.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Bai Ling has been looking for that Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. Now that I think about it, if she can¡¯t find him, and I end up running into him instead, then it¡¯ll be even scarier. Is there anyone here? Speak, say something. There¡¯s really no one.

    ¡°Why¡¯s the sky dark? How scary.¡±

    ¡­

    That young man incessantly muttered to himself, but his face remained expressionless the entire time. Even if his words mentioned his fear, he showed no sign of fear on his face, and everything about him was unnerving.

    In this silent mountain stronghold filled with corpses, only this man¡¯s voice continuously rang out. Even after a long time, he still kept talking, and he did not repeat himself even once.

    The Starfall Sea¡¯s current greatest battlefield was Grayweed Continent, and countless cultivators of the Starfall Sea had fled to Grayweed Continent after being defeated. Currently, their n was to have a decisive battle against the Sixth Maind¡¯s Grand Martial Realm here, and naturally, Grayweed Continent was going to be the battlefield.

    Outside of the Starfall Sea, not too far away from Amber, Alfonso and the others hid themselves on a certain, not nning on heading out in the near future.

    The survivors from Astral-3 who had been rescued still had to nurse their wounds.

    Lu Yin led Hai Qiqi away as they continued traveling to the Starfall Sea.

    Yan Hua inquired after Lu Yin¡¯s name, as he wanted to report Lu Yin¡¯s achievements and contributions to the Champions Stage.

    Lu Yin left behind the name of Seventh Bro.

    A term of address like ¡°Seventh Bro¡± was just toomon in the universe, and even those who met Lu Yin in the past might not necessarily associate the name with him. After all, it had been more than four years since anyone in the Innerverse had interacted with him.

    Lu Yin did not really want to head into the Starfall Sea since that ce was too dangerous. Unfortunately for him, Hai Qiqi¡¯s heart was set on returning home, and he could not allow her to go alone. Thus, he could only follow after her and protect her.

    Still, the two had agreed that if they faced a truly dangerous situation, they would withdraw.

    ¡­

    An endless procession line extended out for thousands of meters. Lined up, miner after miner dressed in prison clothes were inspected before being sent aboard a spacecraft that was headed for the Starfall Sea.

    Almost all of these miners were cultivators that had been captured by the Sixth Maind. They wanted to surrender, but the Sixth Maind did not care for them. Still, it would be too much of a waste to just release these cultivators. Thus, they had been sentenced to the mines. As long as these prisoners mined enough ore, they would be able to win their freedom.

    Although the Sixth Maind had massacred cultivators without any hesitation, they only targeted those who resisted them. They were all still human in the end, and most people would not engage in wanton ughter unless they were mentally disturbed, much like the Outerverse¡¯s assassin, Poisonmaster.

    Lu Yin asionally looked up to check his surroundings. From what he could see, there were not that many people from the Sixth Maind standing guard over the crowd, but there were some experts nearby. They were stationed on the transport ship, and from the rune lines that Lu Yin could see, there was more than one Hunter among them.

    The Sixth Maind had nock of Hunters, and it was not wasteful for them to dispatch such cultivators to supervise a bunch of captive miners.

    Just one day ago, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi had sessfully sneaked into a group of captured miners. The Sixth Maind would have never expected that someone would want to sneak in and join the miners all in order to enter the Starfall Sea, since that region was a death sentence to those from the Fifth Maind.

    Their gadgets had been hidden within a cosmic ring, which had in turn been hidden inside of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth. He now appeared to be a qualified miner, and he looked very down.

    Behind him, Hai Qiqi tugged at his sleeve. ¡°Let¡¯s steal this ship.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Don¡¯te up with crazy ns. Do you even know how many Sixth Maind experts are in the Starfall Sea? If we try to steal this, we¡¯ll be surrounded by countless experts long before we get to the Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t we still have you?¡± Hai Qiqi pursed her lips reluctantly. Pretending to be a miner was very ufortable to her, particrly because she was a girl. The whole situation was almost unbearable to her.

    Lu Yin was afraid that Hai Qiqi would start to act up, so he could only quietly caution her. ¡°No matter how strong I am, there¡¯s a limit. Moreover, the Sixth Maind does notck for Enlighters, and even if those old farts suppress their power level to under 200,000, their power is still iparable to an average cultivator. They will be as strong as Hong Ying at the very least. Do you want us to be surrounded by those kinds of people?¡±

    Hai Qiqi had no choice, so she just scratched at her neck helplessly.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you not to mess around. Otherwise, if an Imprinter appears, we¡¯ll be in big trouble. That¡¯s someone on the same level as your father. Do you think that we can deal with your father, even if his power level is suppressed to below 200,000?¡± Lu Yin was not confident that the girl would behave, so he admonished her once again.

    Hai Qiqi thought about it and then looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you to pretend to be more wretched and not expose us then. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be doomed.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This brat¡¯s confidence in the Sea King was unbridled even to the end, and she was still looking down on Lu Yin.

    But her attitude was also correct. People in different cultivation realms, even if they had simr power levels, would be able to disy vastly different levels of destruction. Forget the Sea King; Lu Yin would be no match even for the most ordinary Envoy realm powerhouses who had suppressed their power level to below 200,000.

    Those people had a different way of fightingpared to people like Lu Yin. Lu Yin even suspected that someone at Yuan Shi¡¯s level might have possibly broken through to some other realm or reached some sort of enlightenment. The reason behind this suspicion was that they no longer cultivated star energy, but rather something simr that was known as stellr energy. The universe that such people saw was different.

    Before long, the spacecraft trembled as it headed towards the entrance to the Starfall Sea.

 Chapter 870: Sea Kingâ€™s Shard

    <h4>Chapter 870: Sea King¡¯s Shard</h4>

    During the battle on Amber, Lu Yin and the others had sessfully rescued the survivors from Astral-3, and this incident had caused a great loss of face for Flying Horse Manor.

    Madam Hong personallymanded all of the surrounding regions to be sealed off, especially the path leading towards Chaos Flowzone, all to prevent these bandits from sessfully escaping.

    However, she would never have imagined that Lu Yin would actually lead Hai Qiqi deeper into the Starfall Sea.

    Hong Ying had been severely injured during the battle, so she was currently recuperating.

    After treating her injuries, she had wanted to search for the group that had rescued those Astral-3 survivors and scrub away the humiliation that she had suffered. However, Madam Hong had ordered her to instead head to the Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent and help the Tong family defeat the remaining Fifth Maind cultivators there.

    Hong Ying could only obey her master, leaving her with no opportunity to seek revenge.

    Atop the seaweed that grew at the entrance to the Starfall Sea, all of the miners remained within the spacecraft and did not move about. They waited until the vessels¡¯ hulls were sessfully coated and then headed into the Starfall Sea.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second timeing here, and he had never dreamed that he would use such methods to return. He was entering in a simr fashion, but under a vastly different context.

    The first time, their group had been chased here by Feng Mo, and they had been forced to participate in the contest to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw after fleeing to the Starfall Sea. This time, the two were sneaking in to evade the Sixth Maind¡¯s pursuit under the guise of captive miners.

    Could this very ce be targeting Lu Yin? After all, each time he came here was under the pursuit of someone else.

    Hai Qiqi was not too far away from Lu Yin. She wanted to go out and reminisce but was unable to do so.

    At this time, a shrill rm red throughout the spacecraft, and the majority of miners were left petrified, as they did not know what was happening.

    Lu Yin, however, did know; the sea¡¯s scouring current had arrived.

    Sure enough, it did not take long for the spacecraft to start swaying, and all of the miners found something to hold on to. For most of them, this was their first time experiencing the Starfall Sea¡¯s current, and they were filled with fear at this unknown situation.

    A short timeter, the current abated, and the spacecraft returned to normal once again.

    There were a fews within the Starfall Sea, and just like the spacecraft¡¯s hulls, they were isted from the water. However, whenever a current appeared, a powerhouse with a power level of more than 300,000 would have to take action to help the withstand the pressure.

    Presently, after the Progenitors¡¯ battle had caused the Innerverse¡¯s cosmic environment to change, everyone was forced to suppress their power level to below 200,000. Thus, Lu Yin was wondering how thes were currently withstanding the currents. Or, was it possible that they had all been destroyed?

    Hai Qiqi had also thought of this detail, and her face paled.

    She had grown up in the Starfall Sea, and she had even frequented some of thes. In her heart, everything here was her home.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. The Sea King¡¯s Dome holds a special status in the Starfall Sea, and nothing should have happened to it,¡± Lu Yinforted her as he walked over.

    Hai Qiqi nodded, though she was still waiting nervously.

    The Sixth Maind did not forbid the miners from speaking to each other, as they simply did not care. In their eyes, these miners were not criminals, but rather just inferior people. They hoped to seduce the Fifth Maind cultivators into betraying the Fifth Maind and surrendering, but at the same time, the Sixth Maind looked down upon those who did so. Hence, they avoided contact with the miners whenever they could, which gave Lu Yin and the rest space to talk.

    He had already questioned quite a few of the miners, as he wanted to find out where they would be stationed within Starfall Sea. However, the miners did not know either.

    Lu Yin had also tried to inquire about the situation of the Innerverse¡¯s various other regions, but he had learned nothing good. At the very least, in these people¡¯s eyes, the entire universe was already under the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ control even though they did not know the details of the Sixth Maind.

    The Hall of Honor and the great powers of the Innerverse had not made any announcements about the Sixth Maind either, only mentioning invaders. Those like Alfonso who knew about the Sixth Maind had discovered the information on their own.

    Although they did not understand the Sixth Maind, the Innerverse cultivators knew that these invaders were apletely different breed of cultivators. In the eyes of the Fifth Maind cultivators, once these invaders used their imprints, it was as if they had be a different species. It was simr to how the Innerverse cultivators were basically natives to the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ eyes.

    Most of the miners hade from the areas around the Starfall Sea. The universe was too vast, and although the area surrounding the Starfall Sea did not seem like arge area, hundreds of millions of cultivators had been captured in that region. These cultivators had then been sent to mine for the Sixth Maind while also being forced to hand over their battle techniques and arts.

    When Lu Yin snuck it, the miners had been handing over their battle techniques, and it had to be said that the pair¡¯s luck was good. Otherwise, Hai Qiqi¡¯s status as a woman might not have passed through the inspection.

    After some basic interaction, Lu Yin did not make any further inquiries, as he did not want to rouse the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ attention. Besides, the miners did not have much information to share with Lu Yin. This group of people were like salted fish; even if Lu Yin hijacked the spacecraft, these people would not help him, and they would be nothing more than mere bystanders.

    Without their gadgets to tell the time, Lu Yin did not know exactly how much time had passed. However, after around ten days, the spacecraft shuddered and finally came to a stop. They were then chased out of the spacecraft, as they had arrived at their destination.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s face went pale.

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. "What''s the matter?¡±

    Hai Qiqi softly answered, ¡°This is the location of the Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Are you certain?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes danced about, and she looked terrified. The two of them continued following the group of miners as they disembarked from the ship.

    Once Lu Yin got off, a familiar scene entered his eyes, and Lu Yin was surprised. They were indeed at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    He was rather familiar with this ce. He could still recall the unforgettable awe that he had felt back when he had firstid eyes on the Sea King¡¯s Dome. The conical mountain, the soft sunlight that illuminated the mountain, the impressive waterfalls cascading down, and the greenery that decorated the mountainsides were just as he remembered.

    In particr, Lu Yin remembered the space behind the tall mountain that had rippled and given off a drumbeat that caused the void to shudder. He had even thought that he had been facing a divine mountain and been filled with awe.

    However, what he recalled the most vividly was the rune lines that he had seen from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, as they had hurt his eyes to the extent where he did not even dare to look.

    However, at this time, the Sea King¡¯s Dome that entered his eyes had changedpletely. The mountain had been split into two sections, and the once impressive waterfalls no longer flowed. The sunlight was gone. The entire region around the Sea King¡¯s Dome had grown dim, and it was no longer awe-inspiring; rather, it looked more like a part of the underworld. mes rose high into the air in all directions, and it was impossible to know what was burning. The green nts that had once dotted the mountainsides had all wilted away, and the buildings, the shopping areas, and auction houses had all disappeared as well.

    It was an utterly bleakndscape.

    When she saw it, Hai Qiqi shuddered. Her eyes went red, and it looked like her body was about to copse.

    Lu Yin hurriedly grabbed her hand. ¡°Your father is fine. Don¡¯t you want to find him?¡±

    Hai Qiqi suddenly returned to her senses, and she hung her head so that others could not see the tears in her eyes.

    This was the first time she had left her home, and it had ended upsting for a period of four years. During these four years, she had searched for a way to return home every day, and nobody could understand her struggles. Now, she had finally returned home, but this was what she was greeted by. This was the first time she had ever received a blow of this scale.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had reminded her of her father. Otherwise, the Sixth Maind cultivators definitely would have noticed something.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and he looked at the Sea King¡¯s Dome curiously.

    This time, the Sea King¡¯s Dome did not radiate the magnificent rune lines that had stung his eyes before. Instead, there were only the rune lines of some Sixth Maind cultivators and the miners. One person even approached the current peak power level of 200,000, and that person was either a peak Hunter, or an Enlighter who was suppressing their power level.

    ¡°Does the Sea King¡¯s Dome have any ore to mine?¡± Lu Yin led Hai Qiqi and walked with the human traffic as they softly spoke to each other.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s body trembled, and she responded in a grievous tone. ¡°Sea King''s Shard. It¡¯s a very rare mineral that Father discovered. Its characteristic is being very solid, and although it cannot bebined with other minerals, it can be used to manufacture weapons and armor that have a very high defensive capability. Many of our Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s experts use weapons that are made from Sea King''s Shard, and it can reportedly withstand attacks with power levels of up to 500,000.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as this was good stuff. Coincidentally, it was also the kind of material that he wascking. Sea King''s Shard, huh? It was no wonder why the Sixth Maind needed these miners to gather it for them.

    As for it not being able to fuse with other minerals, Lu Yin did not care about that bit. The way he manufactured weapons and armor never required him to know how such things were done. All he had to do was get a rough outline of what he wanted and then leave everything to his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance.

    ¡°Can ordinary miners extract this Sea King''s Shard?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Hai Qiqi looked up at the tall mountain. ¡°Sea King''s Shard is hidden within ordinary stone, and it is not an entirely separate substance. Ayer of stone has to first be peeled away, which is something that even ordinary cultivators can do.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and looked up at the tall mountain. It seemed that this Sea King''s Shard was only found within the tall mountain.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome had been thoroughly destroyed, and there was not a single part that resembled its previous majesty. In the distance, another giant statue had been erected, though this one was not of Madam Hong, but rather that of an old man. If Lu Yin guessed correctly, then this elder should be the Tong family¡¯s Elder, who was a Cosmic Imprinter.

    The Starfall Sea waspletely under the Tong family¡¯s control.

    Not long after, Lu Yin and the others moved towards the tall mountain.

    Hai Qiqi was suddenly stunned, and fresh tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, as she could not control her emotions at all.

    Lu Yin hurriedly pulled her into his embrace before looking in the direction she had been staring. Then, his expression changed drastically.

    In the distance, there were quite a few corpses hanging beside the sea, and there were so many that the number of corpses was uncountable. Some of the corpses had already dried to the point of beyond recognition, and when Lu Yin nced over them, he did not recognize any of them. However, one of them felt rather familiar. He fell deep into thought before remembering. Back when he had left the Sea King¡¯s Dome with Hai Qiqi, an old man had appeared, and he had said that he appreciated Lu Yin and that he hoped their future would go against the current.

    ¡°Qiqi, who was that elder?¡± Lu Yin could not help but ask.

    Hai Qiqi lowered her head as her face flushed red. She did not bother answering Lu Yin and merely walked forward in a numb fashion.

    Lu Yin sighed, but he did not speak any further.

    Soon, the group of miners arrived at the mountain. Nobody watched over them, and they were allowed to mine however they wished. However, they were required to mine a certain amount before they would obtain their freedom. Supposedly, every six months, a spacecraft would stop by to take away those cultivators who had won their freedom.

    Hai Qiqi said nothing, and she apathetically began to mine the stones and break them open as she looked for Sea King''s Shard.

    Lu Yin stood guard next to her as he mined, just in case she lost control of her emotions.

    Lu Yin picked up a piece of dark-green Sea King''s Shard and held it in his hand, but it was only a thumb-sized piece. In this area, a piece of Sea King''s Shard of this size was already considered exceptional, and Lu Yin had only spent a full day to dig up such a piece.

    He exerted some force to pinch the material, but he could not leave any sort of mark on it. Lu Yin understood his own strength quite well, and if he had been squeezing an ordinary Hunter instead of this Sea King¡¯s Shard, the Hunter would have been pinched to death. On the other hand, this Sea King''s Shard showed no reaction whatsoever.

    Even though this material could not bebined with other materials, it was no different from the other materials that he had given Ban Jiu, as they all required extremely high temperatures to forge.

    Hai Qiqi did not speak, and she only continued to apathetically mine the rocks. She had already found three pieces of Sea King''s Shard.

    Lu Yin had also found four.

    The miners were required to turn in 1,000 pieces in order to earn their freedom. Given the average rate of finding one piece a day, it would take the average person about three years to aplish this, which was not very long for the captive cultivators.

    The mountain was massive, and even if Sea King''s Shard was a scarce ore, if the entire mountain was mined out, then the amount of Sea King''s Shard would form a small heaping hill. That much material would be enough to manufacture quite a number of weapons and armor, which would be enough to equip an entire army and make it practically invincible.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were fervent, as he did not know if the Sea King¡¯s Dome had ever equipped an entire team with items made from Sea King''s Shard.

 Chapter 871: Kneel

    <h4>Chapter 871: Kneel</h4>

    There was no sunlight in the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and the ce would forever be shrouded in dusk.

    Hai Qiqi sat in a corner and hugged herself as she looked in the direction of the strung-up corpses, clearly thinking of something.

    Lu Yin moved over and sat beside her. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    Hai Qiqi mumbled, ¡°Father had four elders under him, who were Elders Shan, Tong, Ren, and He. That was Elder Ren, and he always treated me the best. When I was little, whenever I talked back to Father, it was always Elder Ren who would secretly feed me whenever Father punished me. And whenever he took me out to y, he would always show me something fun and secretly tell me stories.¡± Tears formed on Hai Qiqi¡¯s face and fell as she spoke.

    ¡°From when I was young up to now, every time Father went into seclusion to cultivate, I¡¯d get Elder Ren to keep mepany. No matter what I asked, he would always go along with it. No matter how rude I was, he never cared¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned dim, and he understood Hai Qiqi¡¯s agony.

    When Hai Qiqi had left the Starfall Sea, this Elder Ren¡¯s eyes had been filled with benevolence and hope, for both Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin.

    ¡°Back during the contest on Pyrolyte, it was also Elder Ren who showed up to intimidate the Daynight n and the Sword Sect. When Wendy revealed her secret technique, it was Elder Ren who sealed off that region of space so that the two of you wouldn¡¯t be captured by those people from the Innerverse as soon as you left,¡± Hai Qiqi wailed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched as he looked at Elder Ren¡¯s corpse that was still hanging there. His eyes were filled with respect and gratitude for this elder. No matter if he had just been following the Sea King¡¯s orders, gratitude was gratitude.

    Hai Qiqi sat in the dark corner and spoke for a long time, as if talking to Lu Yin. However, it also felt as if she were talking to the old man.

    Hai Qiqi reached out, grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s clothes and tearfully begged, ¡°Please, think of a way to bury Elder Ren¡¯s corpse! I can¡¯t watch him be humiliated like this!¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, pressed one hand to her head, and firmly responded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll find a way.¡±

    Hai Qiqi closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her knees, looking very lonely.

    Lu Yin sighed and then reached out to pull her into his embrace.

    He had no ulterior motives in doing this, and his only intention was to soothe and assuage the mourning girl¡¯s grief, as the emotional trauma this young girl was facing was too overpowering for her.

    With the Sea King¡¯s Dome being beaten to such a state, the Sea King¡¯s whereabouts were unknown.

    Reportedly, when the Starfall Sea and Sixth Maind had waged war, those who had been defeated had all escaped to Grayweed Continent. Thus, the Sea King was likely there as well.

    However, the Sea King¡¯s Dome was very far from Grayweed Continent, and nobody could travel that far without a spacecraft that had coated hulls.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi could only peacefully mine away at the Sea King¡¯s Dome while waiting for the right opportunity.

    Soon, a few days had passed, and another batch of miners were delivered.

    At this time, there were hundreds of thousands of miners in the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Still,pared to the enormous size of the conical mountain, these thousands of miners were like ants, and their actions couldn¡¯t affect the mountain. If the Sixth Maind wanted to quickly mine all of the Sea King''s Shard here, they would have to increase the number of miners here by at least a few million.

    There were close to 100,000 Sixth Maind cultivators at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, but the majority of them were Limiteers. There were not many who were space-exploring powerhouses, but the number of their experts rose as two Hunters had arrived as reinforcements along with the new group of miners.

    The longer Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi waited, the greater the number of reinforcing experts that would arrive at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. After another few days passed, there were already more than ten Hunters at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Lu Yin started to grow a little nervous, as it had already been more than a month since they had arrived in the Innerverse. ording to his estimations, the hole to the Outerverse wouldst for five more months at the most. If he did not get a spacecraft that would allow him to head over to Grayweed Continent or return the way they hade within these five months, he would be trapped in the Innerverse.

    Hai Qiqi could see Lu Yin¡¯s anxiety, and she asked him to leave as soon as he found the first opportunity. She even told him that there was no need to apany her to find the Sea King. As for Elder Ren¡¯s corpse, she made no further mention of it.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as he still needed to find an opportunity before he could leave. But he was not too worried; in the worst case scenario, he would just request for Mister Mu¡¯s help. His master definitely was not inferior to Yuan Shi, and he might even be stronger. It should be no problem for Mister Mu to push through the Astral River¡¯s energy and send Lu Yin back to the Outerverse.

    Of course, Lu Yin would do his best not to ask Mister Mu for help if at all possible. Mister Mu was Lu Yin¡¯s master, not his nanny, and their rtionship would fall apart if Lu Yin requested his help too many times. Hold up. Lu Yin suddenly thought about how this region of the universe had been affected by a cosmic phenomenon that suppressed all beings after the Progenitors¡¯ battle. Even if Mister Mu arrived, he would not be able to disy any strength that exceeded a power level of 200,000. Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that his situation was quite serious.

    Eh? That person is? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, as he had seen someone familiar.

    Beside a cliff atop the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s high mountain, Tong Chou was looking into the distance with aplex expression. The sea current was about to pass over this area again. It was magnificent!

    He did not know how much longer he had to stay in this ce for, but it was possible that he would never be able to return.

    Tong Chou had been sent away by Tong Tong, but he did not know what had happened. Strangely enough, he had been noticed by Young Master Tong Zhan and then sent to Grayweed Continent to participate in the battles there. However, after a few battles, the young master had be disappointed in Tong Chou. The youth did not even know why, but he had been tossed back to Tong Tong. When she saw that he was struggling to break through to the Explorer realm, she had cast him back to the ruins of the Sea King¡¯s Dome. He had already been stuck in this ce for a year.

    Tong Chou let out a breath; perhaps this path was better. This ce might just be ruins, but victory had already been secured here.

    Bang, bang, bang!

    The sounds of mining never stopped, and Tong Chou carelessly looked back. Although he found it strange that there were miners mining next to the cliff, he paid no attention to them. These miners were all weaklings with no self-respect, and they could notpare to him. Thus, he was naturally unafraid of them.

    Step by step, Lu Yin approached Tong Chou before finally stopping about five meters away from the youth. The next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s vision changed as he saw another scene. He was seeing the world from Tong Chou¡¯s perspective, and some of Tong Chou¡¯s memories appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    This was his die¡¯s six pips: Possession¡¯s ability. Not only could Lu Yin Possess certain people, but if they came within a five meters radius of Lu Yin after that, he could form a mental connection with them and ess their memories and vision.

    The first time he had discovered this function had been with Da Lei, and that encounter had allowed him to learn of Liuying Zishan¡¯s strange behavior at that time. He had then managed to absorb arge amount of spiritual force. At this time, Lu Yin had once again encountered someone he had Possessed before: Tong Chou.

    Tong Chou was not even aware that a part of his memories were being essed by Lu Yin. In fact, he could not perceive anything at all, just like when he had first been Possessed.

    Tong Chou soon left, and he leaped down to move away from the mountainside cliff.

    As he watched Tong Chou leave, Lu Yin looked back and fell deep into thought.

    The situation on Grayweed Continent was quite intense, and the Tong family had invited Flying Horse Manor to team up with them to face theirmon enemy. In another half month, another spacecraft would stop by the Sea King¡¯s Dome in order to take some people to Grayweed Continent. This information was what Lu Yin had gleaned from Tong Chou¡¯s memories.

    Through Tong Chou¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had seen fragments of some battles, and there was one particr detail that had interested him. At a certain location on Grayweed Continent, in an area with a high temperature, there was a ce known as the Skyze Dojo to the people of Grayweed Continent, and it was one of Grayweed Continent¡¯s seventy two dojos.

    Lu Yin could not understand why, after participating in a battle on Grayweed Continent, Tong Chou would inexplicably be sent to this ce to supervise some miners.

    Half a month? Another spacecraft woulde in half a month, which was his opportunity.

    The most troubling aspect, however, was that through Tong Chou¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had learned that many Sixth Maind experts were headed towards Grayweed Continent. Even more shocking was that even Imprinters might go.

    Lu Yin had no confidence in his ability to survive if he headed to Grayweed Continent right in front of these Imprinters.

    Burdened with this new information, Lu Yin continued to mine.

    Two dayster, another spacecraft arrived, and this one carried dozens of Hunters on it, as well as Hong Ying and Granny Gui.

    Lu Yin was about halfway up the mountain when he noticed Granny Gui, and his pupils shrank.

    Although Granny Gui¡¯s power level was suppressed to below 200,000, her rune lines were rather terrifying. Just a nce at it was enough to induce fear in Lu Yin; his scalp turned numb, and he felt a sense of life-or-death crisis overwhelm him. He had only ever experienced this feeling from terrifying powerhouses who were way stronger than him. However, even when he had suffered from Yu Mu¡¯s suppression in the past, he had not had such a feeling.

    He was familiar with Granny Gui due to Tong Chou¡¯s memories. This woman was one of the few Imprinters who belonged to the Tong family, and she was a super powerhouse who had also been Gui Bing¡¯s master.

    Simrly, Lu Yin had an ugly expression upon seeing Hong Ying.

    Since the fighting on Grayweed Continent was intensifying, not only had the Tong family transferred Granny Gui over, but they had also requested that Flying Horse Manor send over more reinforcements like Hong Ying. Lu Yin believed that more powerhouses would soon follow.

    This was a rather thorny problem.

    ording to Tong Chou¡¯s memories, there were only about ten more days before the spacecraft headed towards Grayweed Continent would arrive. Granny Gui and the others would also have to wait for these ten days.

    ¡°Eh, why¡¯s that woman here?¡± Hai Qiqi recognized Hong Ying, and she cried out softly in surprise.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°They¡¯re heading to Grayweed Continent.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°When?¡±

    Lu Yin quietly responded, ¡°Probably in about ten days or so.¡±

    ¡°And us?¡± Hai Qiqi grew eager.

    Lu Yin was troubled. ¡°We can¡¯t go anymore. See that old woman? She¡¯s an Envoy, and she¡¯s at the same level as your father.¡±

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth and stared intensely at Granny Gui. Her eyes flickered, and she seemed to be thinking about something.

    Lu Yin helplessly said, ¡°Given your father¡¯s strength, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to stay alive. However, if you go and he has to protect you, then something might happen. You don¡¯t want anything to happen to the Sea King, right?¡±

    Hai Qiqi struggled internally as she looked outside. There were too many experts from the Sixth Maind here, and she had personally witnessed their strength as well. Even if she was very confident in the Sea King, many of these invaders were Envoys with simr power levels as her father. She knew that her father was not an ordinary Envoy, but if she actually went there, she might actually be a burden for him.

    ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡± Hai Qiqi asked in agony.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiqi, but we can¡¯t just barge our way through. And once we get to Grayweed Continent, it will be very difficult for us to leave, and we might even die there. I¡¯m fully confident that the Sea King does not want to see you die on Grayweed Continent and that he would much rather you live.¡±

    Hai Qiqi fell silent.

    ¡°After ten days, when they leave, let¡¯s go.¡± Even if Lu Yin did not want to do this, he still had to say it. Even though he was confident in his strength, he was not arrogant. Hong Ying alone had been a thorny problem for him, and with so many other Hunters around, not to mention Granny Gui, it was not realistic for them to fight their way to Grayweed Continent. Also, they were fated to ultimately be surrounded by enemies as soon as they arrived at Grayweed Continent. There was no value in dying in such a manner.

    Due to the changed cosmic environment as a result of the Progenitors¡¯ battle, even if Lu Yin was confident in Mister Mu¡¯s strength, he did not dare to guarantee that Mister Mu would be able to make it to the Starfall Sea and rescue them.

    Hai Qiqi reluctantly looked in the direction of Grayweed Continent. She stared for a long moment before finally nodding. Even if the Sea King was there, she could not go to him just yet. She was not foolish, and she would not force things. All she could do right now was retreat for the moment and preserve a glimmer of hope for the future.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as their target had changed. They would return to the Outerverse, and this goal was much more easily aplished, as there were vessels scheduled to leave the Starfall Sea the following month. With Lu Yin¡¯s strength, there should be no problem for him to bring Hai Qiqi along and sneak aboard a spacecraft. Also, there would not be any powerhouses on a spacecraft headed towards the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance.

    He had originally thought that everything would be fine and that they only had to wait for a chance. However, right when he calmed down, Granny Gui¡¯s voice rang out through the sky of the Sea King¡¯s Dome,pletely disrupting Lu Yin¡¯s ns. Granny Gui wasmanding all of the miners to kneel down to the statue of the Tong family elder.

 Chapter 872: Battling An Enlighter

    <h4>Chapter 872: Battling An Enlighter</h4>

    Hong Ying was confused. ¡°These people are just useless miners. Why do you care about them, Grandmother?¡±

    Granny Gui calmly answered, ¡°The natives of the Fifth Maind must be forced to kneel to the statues of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses everyday. In the long term, this will traumatize them, and the more they kneel, the more obstacles they will face when cultivating. Thus, they will never be powerhouses.¡±

    Hong Ying narrowed her eyes as she nced at the miners below. ¡°You¡¯re right, Grandmother.¡±

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind went around the Sea King¡¯s Dome and gathered up all of the miners in a za before forcing them to kneel to the statue of Elder Tong.

    The miners didn¡¯t care about kneeling, as they had already lost their dignity the moment they had agreed to be captives and work as miners. Some of them even knelt in a very sincere manner, as they actually hoped to join the Sixth Maind.

    Tens of thousands of miners knelt down in that za in the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Granny Gui was satisfied. This was a rule set down by Imprinters; not only did they want to control this Maind by force, but they also wanted to psychologically pressure these people.

    All of the miners had knelt down with the exception of Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi. They would never kneel to this statue of Elder Tong. Thus, they had hidden themselves in a cave to avoid being found. However, Granny Gui had still noticed them since her sensitivity to star energy meant that she could still detect their presence in that cave.

    Cultivators from the Sixth Maind rushed into the cave, and Hong Ying went with them as she was feeling bored after her many days of recuperating.

    Lu Yin hadn¡¯t expected Hong Ying to enter.

    Hong Ying tightly clenched her spear the moment that she saw Lu Yin. She bellowed, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Lu Yin sighed and told Hai Qiqi to properly hide herself in the cave. He then clenched his right fist and faced the dozens of cultivators who hade with Hong Ying. An imprint appeared behind Hong Ying, and as she attacked, she shouted, ¡°flying spear technique!¡±

    The other cultivators also activated their imprints and attacked Lu Yin in unison.

    Although Hong Ying wanted to get revenge on this person, she was aware that she wasn¡¯t a match for Lu Yin on her own. Thus, she immediately took out a power vessel.

    Lu Yin raised his right fist and invisible shockwaves radiated out from his body. ¡°Daynight Punch.¡±

    His attack caused the colors ck and white to reverse as an indescribable amount of spiritual force swept through the area. Hong Ying was stunned by this attack, and the other cultivators all spat out blood as they were forced out of the cave.

    Hong Ying only managed to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s attack for a few moments before she spat out a mouthful of blood. She was also thrown out of the cave with apletely confused look.

    The Daynight Punch wasn¡¯t very special, but it had a unique feature in that it utilized Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, which was very strong. In particr, after absorbing the globe of spiritual force that had been in Liuying Zishan¡¯s body, his spiritual force had been further reinforced. Now, it was probably at the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    He had not dared to use the Daynight Punch in the Outerverse or when he was around any cultivators from the Innerverse. He was worried that the Daynight n would realize that he had learned one of their battle techniques, which was a huge taboo. However, he could use it freely at this time since he was surrounded by people from the Sixth Maind.

    Of Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques, neither the Skybeast w, Finger Tap, nor Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation were able topare to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ attacks. Only his spiritual force was at aparable level.

    Thus, Daynight Punch was both his strongest and secretive attack.

    Even Hong Ying was unable to withstand this attack and was tossed out of the cave,

    Granny Gui was shocked, as she didn¡¯t expect such an expert to be hiding within that cave.

    Lu Yin slowly walked out of the cave, only to be surrounded by cultivators from the Sixth Maind. Their ranks included a dozen Hunters and even a few Enlighters who had suppressed their power level to below 200,000.

    Granny Gui looked at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin nced up at the sky. ¡°Someone seeking revenge.¡±

    Granny Gui fiercely ordered, ¡°Kill him!¡±

    The Hunters activated their martial prints as well as their imprints, causing their attacks to cover the sky and epass the entire mountain that Lu Yin was standing on. The range of their attacks was enough to obliterate the entire area.

    Lu Yin raised his right fist and used the Daynight Punch once again.His spiritual force swept across the entire area, and even the Hunter realm powerhouses were unable to withstand his horrifying amount of spiritual force. They promptly retreated and stood there, panting heavily.

    Suddenly, an old person appeared behind Lu Yin. He swatted down with a strangely glowing palm that was aimed at Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    This person was an Enlighter who had sessfully withstood Lu Yin¡¯s Daynight Punch.

    No matter how strong Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was, the power level of his attack had to remain below 200,000, and he also had to suppress his spiritual force to under 200,000 when he attacked. Normal Hunters definitely couldn¡¯t withstand a spiritual force attack that had a power level of 200,000, but this didn¡¯t apply to Enlighters.

    The greatest difference between Enlighters and Hunters was that Enlighters had much more spiritual force. Even a Hunter with low spiritual force would have their spiritual force undergo a massive boost if they reached the Enlighter realm. Thus, although an Enlighter might not have the ability to attack with their spiritual force, they would still have an improved resistance to spiritual force attackspared to Hunters.

    This was especially true for those from the Sixth Maind since they had imprints. Hence, their spiritual force was much stronger than that of the Fifth Maind cultivators.

    However, no matter how much training they received, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force wasparable to the Ten Arbiters, and nobody would be able to withstand it unless they had reached the Enlighter realm at the minimum.

    The old man¡¯s palm strike was just about tond on Lu Yin¡¯s head when he moved his body slightly to the side and kicked at the old man. The old man didn¡¯t block this attack and just shifted his body to follow Lu Yin¡¯s movements. He then continued his attack with the glowing palm.

    Lu Yin arched a brow as his Fatesand appeared behind him. The attack struck Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand, and it protected Lu Yin from the attack.

    When Lu Yin had been a Limiteer, his Fatesand had already been able to withstand an attack from a Hunter like Feng Mo. As his power increased, his Fatesand had also be much stronger, especially after he absorbed Hong Ying¡¯s Fatesand. After that incident, his Fatesand had increased in size, though it still looked like a clump of dirt.

    Compared to the other Enlighters that Lu Yin had fought against, this old man was the most cautious of them all, and he didn¡¯t even try to directly fight against Lu Yin. Most Enlighter powerhouses were very arrogant when facing an Explorer, and they would immediately attack when they began fighting. However, this old man was an exception.

    The old man was shocked that his attack didn¡¯t injure Lu Yin. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you suppressed?¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly kicked the old man, but this time, the old man wasn¡¯t able to react quickly enough. Lu Yin¡¯s kicknded on the man¡¯s stomach, and he was forced a few steps back.

    Despite being kicked, the old man was still an Enlighter and very physically strong. Thus, he wasn¡¯t injured very badly by Lu Yin¡¯s kick.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± The old man moved forward, and both his hands started moving about in flowing patterns. Suddenly, tens and even hundreds of palms rained down upon Lu Yin. Although his Fatesand had increased in terms of size, it was still unable to block this many attacks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, but the old man¡¯s attack covered the entire area, and Lu Yin was unable to determine which was the real palm. He reluctantly gathered all of his star energy in his right hand.

    ¡°First Sun.¡± A ming sun appeared over his palm that he then pushed it at the old man, causing his dozens of palm images to copse. Finally, one of the palms collided with the sun, causing terrifying shockwaves to sweep over the area, astonishing the many Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Enlighters who had suppressed their power level to below 200,000 were still very scary, and only other Enlighters or powerhouses from the Fifth Maind who had received at least the title of Monarch could be their opponents.

    There were only a handful of people in the younger generation who were capable of fighting against Enlighters who had suppressed their power level to below 200,000.

    Granny Gui¡¯s expression turned cold. Lu Yin had reminded her of a certain someone: the person who had killed Gui Bing outside of the Starfall Sea.

    Gui Bing had been her disciple, and she had given him the invisible needles. With his high power level, he should absolutely have been able to escape if he had encountered a powerhouse from the Fifth Maind. There were not many people who were capable of killing him, but this boy was one of them.

    Hai Qiqi watched the scene from outside from the cave, though her fingers had gone pale.

    The old man was forced to retreat once again as his palm was burned by the sun.

    The Innerverse¡¯s current battlefield seemed to be a battlefield for the members of the younger generation, but in reality, the top elites were still Enlighters. Not many young people were able to fight against them, and this old man had initially believed that he would be able to quickly defeat Lu Yin. However, he had actually been the one to be injured, which angered him. He exerted some force and caused space itself to shatter as he rushed towards Lu Yin yet again.

    Lu Yin frowned; he was surrounded by a dozen Hunters, and there was still an Imprinter to consider as well. He had to defeat this old man quickly. Otherwise, he would not be able to protect himself when the Imprinter attacked.

    This old man had a very urate control over his own star energy, and he was able to precisely suppress his star energy to 200,000. If Lu Yin wanted to face the Enlighter¡¯s attacks head on, then he had to control his star energy just as precisely or else run the risk of exceeding the limit of a power level of 200,000.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t nning on facing this attack directly, and he carelessly waved a hand. He used the Yu Secret Art and caused the old man¡¯s attack to slightly deviate from its path. The old man struck an empty space instead, and a fissure rippled through space.

    The old man¡¯s eyes narrowed. Is that¡­?

    He didn¡¯t have any time to think further as Lu Yin quickly used the Dream Finger and caused space to congeal. The old man could do nothing but watch as the finger descended, the star energy within his own body roiling as he was thrown backwards. Lu Yin¡¯s finger pierced through the old man¡¯s shoulder and left a wound on his neck.

    The old man spat out a mouthful of blood as a ck light appeared over his left palm. He then attacked Lu Yin as eight lined battle force appeared and shrouded Lu Yin¡¯s body. Lu Yin blocked the old man¡¯s attack with his Fatesand while counterattacking at the same time. He expected to sessfully hit the old man, but the Enlighter actually managed to dodge yet again. Lu Yin then formed a w with his hand and used the Skybeast w.

    The ck light above the old man¡¯s palm condensed and formed into a shield in front of him as he quickly retreated.

    The ck light was shredded apart by the Skybeast w, but the old man still managed to evade Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    The battle between them was short but intense.

    Lu Yin looked at the old man warily. This was the first time he had seriously fought against an Enlighter head on. In the past, he had only managed to kill Enlighters with the assistance of his external items or when they were distracted. But this time, he was truly fighting against an Enlighter who was also taking the battle very seriously.

 Chapter 873: Hostage

    <h4>Chapter 873: Hostage</h4>

    Even if an Enlighter suppressed their power level to less than 200,000, when they became serious, the full power that they were capable of unleashing was more than enough to make Lu Yin apprehensive.

    Anyone who could cultivate to the Enlighter realm was not a simple cultivator. This elder was clearly not easy to deal with as Lu Yin had already used the Yu Secret Art, Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, and Daynight Punch. However, despite that, he still had not been able to defeat this man.

    Lu Yin grew wary, and the elder also became more vignt at this time. He could tell that this kid was only an Explorer who hadpleted three cycles of cultivation. However, he was already capable of exchanging blows with an Enlighter. There were not many young people with such strength in the entire Fifth Maind, and every single one of them was outstandingly famous. All of them were also people whom the Sixth Maind had marked down to eliminate. This meant that the kid had the strength of someone who could receive the title of Monarch. Although he hadn¡¯t reached the same level as a Realmling quite yet, he was not too far off, especially since he also had a secret technique.

    A secret technique was a method that could turn something rotten into something mysterious, and rarely did an Enlighter, or even most Imprinters, have one.

    Granny Gui stared fervently at Lu Yin from where she was standing in the sky. This kid actually had a secret technique, and she was determined to get her hands on it.

    Outside of the mine, Hong Ying picked herself up with great difficulty as she shook her head. She had been knocked unconscious by one punch from Lu Yin, and she had only awakened at this moment. She looked at the elder and Lu Yin, who were exchanging nces, and then beckoned with her hand as her spearnded in her palm. She pointed the weapon at Lu Yin. ¡°Just who are you exactly?¡±

    Lu Yin had a headache, as this was getting annoying. The elder in front of him was being extremely cautious, and a cautious Enlighter was troublesome to deal with. Lu Yin would actually rather the cosmic phenomenon restricting people¡¯s power levels not exist. That way, he would be able to use his various external items. With his universal armor, the bracer that doubled his attack¡¯s physical strength, and the Yu Secret Art, he would be able to easily take care of this elder. However, instead of doing so, he discovered that the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s power level restriction was actually disadvantageous to his personal style of battling.

    Hong Ying let out a shout as she stabbed at Lu Yin with her spear. At the same time that she attacked, the elder pped out as his imprint appeared behind him. This time, his palm contained a dark radiance that constantly flickered.

    Lu Yin hurriedly dodged Hong Ying¡¯s spear while grabbing the spear shaft at the same time. Just like before, his palm released violent vibrations that traveled along the spear, forcing Hong Ying to let go of her weapon. Once Lu Yin gained control of the spear, he stabbed it at the elder.

    The elder pressed his palm against the spear tip, and the dark radiance in his palm shot along the spear towards Lu Yin, but Lu Yin gripped the shaft and mmed it back towards Hong Ying.

    Hong Ying was shocked, and she did not know what to do. The tassels on the spear came to life just like those of the crimson spear power vessel from before, blocking the dark radiance. The elder smacked the spear aside and tried to grab Lu Yin. ¡°Brat, give up!¡±

    Lu Yin leaped up and raised his right fist. Then, another Daynight Punch descended upon the area.

    The colors ck and white interchanged as his spiritual force oscited back and forth. Hong Ying once again fainted in a miserable fashion, as she could not resist these spiritual force attacks.

    Multiple Hunters around the threebatants were simrly knocked unconscious.

    The elder clenched his teeth, and fresh blood flowed down from his lips. He leaped up, and this time, the dark radiancepletely covered his hand while both his martial print and imprint reinforced his attack. ¡°Kid, this is your death.¡±

    Star energy converged over Lu Yin¡¯s right palm as almost half of the star energy in his body was consumed to form a sun that he then pushed forward with his hand.

    The elder¡¯s eyes shed as he quickly retreated, but at the same time, a sharpness appeared in front of him. It looked as though it was being propelled forward by the air, and its appearance caused a chill to run down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. He quickly turned around and pushed the sun before him right as an arrow appeared from the void and stabbed into his sun. A dazzling radiance illuminated the entire region, and the sun instantly copsed.

    Someone hadunched a sneak attack against Lu Yin with an arrow technique, but Lu Yin continued to fend off danger after danger. He had used that one sun to push the arrow away, but now, the elder appeared behind Lu Yin, cackling. ¡°Brat, let¡¯s see how you take this.¡±

    ¡°Elder, there¡¯s someone behind you!¡± Lu Yin barked as he pointed.

    The elder was shocked, as the Ghost Monkey had indeed appeared from his shadow, and the shadows had formed a sickle that sliced at the elder¡¯s head.

    The elder shouted, ¡°Scram!¡± as the star energy around him trembled and forced the monkey to withdraw.

    The monkey was not a Realmbreaker like Lu Yin, and he could not even fight against a normal Hunter. It had only been able to distract the old man for a moment.

    Still, that had been enough. Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger had already congealed the void as he tapped at the elder¡¯s head with his finger.

    The elder¡¯s pupils shrank, but he could not escape even if wanted to. The way the Dream Finger solidified the void was extremely terrifying, and the Enlighter¡¯s best opportunity to dodge had been spent dealing with the monkey. Now, the old man could do nothing more than watch as the finger approached him.

    Strangely, Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb at this moment, and he waved his left hand right as another arrow appeared in front of him, sessfully using the Yu Secret Art to divert it into the mountainside, where it pierced through into the sea. The elder took advantage of this opportunity to hurriedly escape, managing to evade the Dream Finger.

    Lu Yin looked up, as the Imprinter had indeed acted in the end.

    The elder raised his head. ¡°Granny Gui, give this subordinate a bit more time. I can do this!¡±

    ¡°Enough. There¡¯s no need for you to try anymore.¡± Granny Gui¡¯s voice was sinister, and she looked at Lu Yin with zing eyes that left him chilled. Her lips curled upwards. ¡°Little brat, you must be the one who killed Gui Bing.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head to lock eyes with Granny Gui. ¡°I¡¯ve killed too many, so I can¡¯t remember.¡±

    Granny Gui¡¯s eyes narrowed as a cold glint shed across them. ¡°That¡¯s okay. You just used a secret technique, so give it to me. If you do, then not only will I not kill you, but I will also ept you as my disciple to fill Gui Bing¡¯s vacant position. Join the Tong family and be one of my Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators! How about it?¡±

    When the elder heard the old woman¡¯s offer, his face turned ugly, as he also wanted to obtain Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique.

    Actually, all of the surrounding Sixth Maind people were staring at Lu Yin with heated expressions, as who among them did not want to learn a secret technique?

    And even further away, hundreds of thousands of miners were staring nkly at everything that had just urred. They had never imagined that there would be such a powerhouse hidden amongst them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards as he looked at Granny Gui. ¡°Are there any benefits to joining the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Granny Guiughed in an eerie manner. ¡°I¡¯m not negotiating with you! Either join my Sixth Maind and be my disciple, or be captured and slowly tortured as you experience the true terror of my invisible needles. This will be thest decision you live to regret!¡±

    Lu Yin slowly descended to the ground. ¡°You seem to have forgotten something.¡±

    Lu Yin pointed towards the outside of the mine, at the ce where Hong Ying¡¯s unconscious body should haveid. However, there was nothing there.

    All of the Sixth Maind cultivators were surprised to see this, as their attention had beenpletely focused on Lu Yin. In fact, they had forgotten about Hong Ying.

    Granny Gui¡¯s expression also changed when she focused on the inside of the mine. ¡°There¡¯s someone else.¡±

    Lu Yin emerged from the pit and nced inside the cave to see that Hong Ying had already been captured by Hai Qiqi.

    He had risen into the sky specifically to divert the crowd¡¯s attention, and that brat Hai Qiqi was still quite sharp.

    Granny Gui waved casually a hand, and although the rune lines that emerged were not overly majestic, the mountain side was still split apart as a portion of it crashed to the base of the mountain with a tremendous rumble. After the mountain split apart, Hai Qiqi and Hong Ying were revealed, standing within the cave.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, and he hurriedly moved to block the path between Granny Gui and the pale-faced Hai Qiqi before grabbing a hold of Hong Ying¡¯s neck. He then red at Granny Gui. ¡°If you move again, this woman will die alongside us.¡±

    He had always tried to overestimate an Imprinter¡¯s strength, but at this moment, he learned that he had still underestimated their power. At that moment, although Granny Gui¡¯s attack probably had not even reached a power level of 100,000, Lu Yin had beenpletely unable to react to it. She was on apletely different levelpared to the elder from before.

    This was an Imprinter, a powerhouse whose power level exceeded 500,000. Even if such a powerhouse suppressed their strength, they still were not someone who Lu Yin could go against.

    He suddenly thought of Yuan Shi¡¯s words: Imprinters did not use star energy, but rather, stellr energy.

    He then wondered if the Ten Arbiters could fight against Imprinters, at least under the premise that these experts¡¯ power levels were suppressed to below 200,000. Regardless, such a thing was currently beyond Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°Junior, do you really think that you can leave this ce alive just by using a hostage? You¡¯re too naive,¡± Granny Gui said coldly as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°She¡¯s Hong Ying, a disciple of Flying Horse Manor¡¯s Madam Hong. Flying Horse Manor was invited by the Tong family to help out with Grayweed Continent¡¯s battles. Tell me, if Madam Hong¡¯s disciple died because you did not rescue her, then what would she think? What would this incident make the other powers of the Grand Martial Realm think? Would the Tong family still be able to invite any other powers in the future? Use your brain.¡±

    Granny Gui¡¯s expression turned fierce.

    The surrounding cultivators¡¯ expressions changed, especially the dozen Hunters who were from Flying Horse Manor. They all shouted at Lu Yin to release Hong Ying.

    Lu Yin did not care about them, and he focused his attention solely on Granny Gui.

    He understood how important this girl was. The crimson spear power vessel had been cleanly destroyed before, but Hong Ying had already obtained another one, and the girl¡¯s name was also quite simr to Madam Hong¡¯s. Only a fool would think that this girl was not important. This girl was definitely someone very important to Flying Horse Manor, and her position was likely not any lower than Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s standing in the Autumnfrost family.

    ¡°She¡¯s awake!¡± Hai Qiqi cried.

    Lu Yin exerted even more force through the hand holding the girl¡¯s neck, and Hong Ying coughed twice. She saw that Lu Yin was behind her, and she also felt that her neck held in a vice grip. Her face went pale. ¡°You dare to grab me?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Just cry for help if you don¡¯t want to die,¡± Lu Yin hissed at her.

    Hong Ying gritted her teeth as she red fiercely at Lu Yin, but she refused to say a word.

    There was one problem, which was that such an arrogant girl would not be afraid of death. As he thought about his situation, he raised his head to look back at Granny Gui. ¡°Old grandma, don¡¯t get any wild ideas. You need to be careful of this girl dying with us.¡±

    Granny Gui¡¯s eyes were sharp, and she stared at him for quite a while before her expression finally turned milder. She then gently said, ¡°Junior, I want to take you as my disciple, and I never intended to make things difficult for you. Don¡¯t be stubborn. This Fifth Maind will sooner orter have its cultivation systems severed, and nobody can stop that from happening. Join my Sixth Maind, join the Tong family, and I can provide you with a bright future. With your talent, it might even be possible for you to marry into the Tong family in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered, and he suddenly waved a hand. A thin needle seemed to suddenly appear right next to him before changing directions to stab into the ground.

    Hai Qiqi was stunned, and she looked sideways. That needle hade from the direction that she was looking in, and it had almost pierced through her.

    Lu Yin had cold eyes, and he suddenly released some of his strength as he pped a hand against Hong Ying¡¯s belly. She violently spat out a mouthful of blood, and Lu Yin red angrily at Granny Gui. ¡°I already told you¡ªdon¡¯t try any tricks. This secret technique is not something that you can understand.¡±

    All around them, the Hunters from Flying Horse Manor shouted furiously, but there was nothing that they could do. Someone tried to contact Flying Horse Manor, while another hurriedly spoke to Granny Gui.

    Granny Gui panted heavily, as she had never been threatened in such a manner before.

    Lu Yin also felt some lingering fear. Fortunately, he was able to observe rune lines, or else he would not have even sensed this stupid grandma¡¯s sneak attack. She was way too wiley.

    Hong Ying spat out another mouthful of blood and red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°You can¡¯t escape! Don¡¯t have any wild dreams. I''d rather die than let you win!¡±

    Lu Yin pinched her chin and moved closer to her before smiling in a sinister manner. ¡°Die? Just try it. If you die, then I¡¯ll remove all of your clothes and show everyone everything that Flying Horse Manor¡¯s direct descendant has.¡±

    Hong Ying¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s mouth gaped open as she stared at Lu Yin, dumbfounded. This person was too horrible.

    Many heard his words, and they bellowed in rage.

    Granny Gui was also taken aback. If Lu Yin actually dared to do such a thing, then such an oue would actually be even worse than Hong Ying dying. Granny Gui was certain that Madam Hong would tear her to shreds if that happened. ¡°Junior, don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to do such a thing either, but he could only threaten them with such behavior if he wanted to save his own life. He ignored Hong Ying and her deathly pale face as he raised his head to look at Granny Gui. ¡°Old grandma, have you thought things through yet? Are you still going to y your tricks?¡±

 Chapter 874: Ten Venerables

    <h4>Chapter 874: Ten Venerables</h4>

    Granny Gui was furious as she red at Lu Yin. ¡°What exactly is it that you want?¡±

    Lu Yin coldly answered, ¡°I don''t know. Let me think about it.¡±

    Granny Gui was stunned; he didn¡¯t know? How could he even give such a reply?

    Hai Qiqi was also bewildered by Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    All of the other people in the area were simrly stumped.

    However, Lu Yin truly did not know what to say. If he tried to use Hong Ying as a hostage and leave the Starfall Sea, then he would be obstructed at every turn by Flying Horse Manor and the Tong family. It was even possible that a World Imprinter like Madam Hong would intervene. Additionally, if he tried to escape to the Outerverse, he might expose that secret passageway. Although that gap in the Astral River could be closed through lockbreaking, that required time, and Lu Yin did not believe that he could sessfullyplete it under the eyes of a World Imprinter.

    And as to whether a way to the Outerverse or Hong Ying was more important, Lu Yin was still uncertain. If the Flying Horse Manor abandoned Hong Ying, or if the Tong family took the risk of breaking off their rtionship with Flying Horse Manor by disregarding Hong Ying¡¯s life or death, then it might actually be possible that he would end up leading these people to the Outerverse.

    The risk of taking the captured Hong Ying back to the Outerverse was naturally too great as well, and who knew who might appear along the way. He did not dare to gamble everything on Mister Mu, as Lu Yin had a suspicion that Mister Mu was not overly concerned about whether the Outerverse survived or not.

    If they could not leave, then their only option was to head over to Grayweed Continent.

    Granny Gui felt that she could notmunicate with this unreasonable person, so she instructed her subordinates to send all of the miners that were currently in the Sea King''s Dome away. She also wanted to send all the males away. That way, she would be able to avoid the worst possible oue.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin discovered her actions, and he immediately warned her, saying, ¡°Nobody is allowed to leave. If anybody dares to try to leave, then I¡¯ll immediately strip her!¡±

    Hong Ying was furious, and she wanted to bite Lu Yin to death. This fellow was too despicable, and she had never met someone so contemptible. This person was basically not even human.

    Granny Gui was so angry that her eyebrows twitched.

    No matter what, the situation was temporarily under Lu Yin¡¯s control.

    Hong Ying was just too important, and Lu Yin had won his gamble. Otherwise, he and Hai Qiqi would have already died.

    ¡°If you are capable, then let¡¯s have a one-on-one!¡± Hong Ying red at Lu Yin as she challenged him.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You¡¯re my hostage, but you still want to challenge me to a duel? You¡¯ve already lost to me twi- no, three times!¡±

    Hong Ying snorted. ¡°You can¡¯t escape, and the Tong family won¡¯t let you off either. By now, they must have already started talks of trading benefits with my Flying Horse Manor. You have a secret technique, and the Tong family is willing to offend Flying Horse Manor for it, so they¡¯ll definitely think of a way to force you to stay behind. The oue will be decided in no more than ten days'' time, and no spacecraft will take you away during these ten days.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her oddly, as this girl was actually not that stupid. She was still trying to hoodwink him at this time! If not for Tong Chou, then he might have actually been fooled by her too. Ten days? There was no need to wait that long, as a vessel from Grayweed Continent would arrive in no more than seven days.

    ¡°Did you hear me clearly? After they determine their exchange in ten days, you¡¯ll be doomed! They won¡¯t care whether I live or not,¡± Hong Ying shouted angrily.

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Hong Ying took a deep breath. ¡°Join my Flying Horse Manor and I can guarantee your survival. Also-¡± her face blushed brightly. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for you to be my Flying Horse Manor¡¯s son-inw.¡±

    Hai Qiqi blinked, as this woman was actually trying to tempt Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was also caught off guard.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, she¡¯s trying to seduce you!¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva and carefully observed Hong Ying. ¡°I prefer bigger chests.¡±

    Hong Ying was infuriated that she spat out a mouthful of blood before ring angrily at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ll regret this.¡±

    Lu Yin no longer looked at her as her re was too fierce.

    Both times Granny Gui had sneak attacked Lu Yin, he had managed to evade the attack with his secret technique. She did not dare to act against him again. Perhaps like Hong Ying imed, they would be able to reach apromise behind his back.

    The value of Hong Ying alone was not higher than that of a secret technique. Even if she was Madam Hong¡¯s own daughter, the Tong family would at most fork over a bit more, as they definitely wanted to obtain Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not count on Granny Gui and the others to release him. He knew that he had to find a way out by himself.

    However, other than summoning Mister Mu, he could not think of any other method to escape.

    Right, he still had those poisons from Elder Wu, and they could be considered an option. However, they could only threaten an Enlighter without being upgraded, as their rune lines did not even match up to a power level of 200,000.

    He flipped through his cosmic ring, only to be left speechless. Everything that he possessed had either been upgraded to the point where their runes lines exceeded the influence limit that was equivalent to a power level of 200,000, or the item was something that had originally been that powerful to begin with, such as the beaded bracelet and walnut-shaped power vessel that Yuan Shi had given him. If he took any of those items out, he would be instantly destroyed by the energy from the cosmic phenomenon.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin helplessly leaned against the mountain wall and looked up. He stared up at the endless rune lines that suppressed everyone in this part of the universe, even World and Cosmic Imprinters. This was a Progenitor¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin suddenly wondered what sort of power level a Progenitor¡¯s strength had reached. Maybe it was something that could not even be estimated!

    ¡°Sorry to drag you into this,¡± Hai Qiqi said as she moved over next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at her in astonishment.¡°You actually know how to apologize?¡±

    Hai Qiqi pursed her lips. ¡°If not for me, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up trapped here.¡±

    She looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°If we really can¡¯t escape, then I¡¯ll die before you. With how things are, even if you join the Tong family, I still won¡¯t me you.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, as her words were rather moving. But for some reason, he felt like Hai Qiqi did not trust him, and at the same time, he felt like he was both being mocked and not.

    Was she mocking him by suggesting that he would go wherever the wind blew? Lu Yin was lost, as he clearly understood every word she said but could not figure out her meaning.

    Lu Yin was not able to form a reply to Hai Qiqi¡¯s words, as he waspletely stifled.

    Hong Ying sneered, and she nced at Lu Yin. ¡°It looks like you aren¡¯t the unyielding type of person.¡±

    Lu Yin was now certain that Hai Qiqi did not trust him and that this brat was doubting his strength of character.

    ¡°Shut up! That¡¯s none of your business, t-chested girl,¡± Hai Qiqi barked.

    Hong Ying grew furious, and she red at Hai Qiqi. ¡°You, you-¡±

    Hai Qiqi sighed and then stared off into the distance, her focus especially lingering on Elder Ren¡¯s corpse for a while as her eyes gradually turned red. ¡°I never thought that I wouldn¡¯t even be able to meet Father before dying.¡±

    Hong Ying stared at Lu Yin. ¡°For real. With your talent, it would be a waste for you to die here. Join our Flying Horse Manor, and I¡¯ll ask for approval for you to have Madam Hong as your Imprinter. Are you really willing to die in this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Even if I agree, would the Tong family let us go?¡±

    Hong Ying¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°As long as you agree, my Flying Horse Manor will naturally find a way. A Fifth Mainder can be killed by the Tong family at any time. However, if you join my Flying Horse Manor, then even if the Tong family dares to act, not only will they be offending Flying Horse Manor, but they¡¯ll also be breaking the rules of the three realms that are invading the Fifth Maind. That oue is not something that they can bear. The Tong family¡¯s ancestor is one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s ten Venerables, which is all the more reason for them to not break the rules.¡±

    Lu Yin exchanged nces with Hai Qiqi, and then looked back at Hong Ying. ¡°Ten Venerables?¡±

    Hong Ying answered proudly, ¡°From the six mainds, each one has Daosource Sect, which was the source of all cultivation. Of those, only my Sixth Maind has perfectly preserved its Daosource Sect! My Sixth Maind has three Progenitors, four Empyreans, and ten Venerables. Each Venerable is naturally a Cosmic Imprinter.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised by this new information. ¡°The Tong family¡¯s ancestor is a Cosmic Imprinter?¡±

    ¡°Of course! What else did you think the Tong family could rely on to dominate such a resource rich location like the Starfall Sea? A Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s power level is over one million, and only a Cosmic Imprinter would have the ability to chase away all the other organizations and dominate a ce like the Starfall Sea,¡± Hong Ying said.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he had forgotten that the Tong family was a Cosmic Imprinter''s family. Although it was a difference of just one word, it made a world of difference. It was like the difference between Ancestor Autumnfrost, Ancestor Mojiang, and Ancestor Di.

    ¡°Thus, I¡¯m not lying to you. Given the Tong family¡¯s tyranny, if you don¡¯t join my Flying Horse Manor, then I¡¯ll be dead even if you kidnap me,¡± Hong Ying threatened.

    Hai Qiqi had originally assumed that Hong Ying had just been trying to scare them, but now, she had no choice but to admit that a Cosmic Imprinter''s family absolutely had the qualifications to take out sufficientpensation for Hong Ying¡¯s life. Thus, as long as what they gained was important enough, they would do it. And a secret technique more than fulfilled those requirements.

    ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s because the Tong family¡¯s ancestor is one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s ten Venerables that he has an even clearer understanding of the importance of rules. Once the rules are broken, he might even be stripped of his position as a Venerable, which would be a great blow to the Tong family. Thus, as long as you join my Flying Horse Manor, you have nothing to worry about,¡± Hong Ying exined in a serious manner to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky, but he still did not react.

    Hong Ying frowned and continued trying to convince Lu Yin. ¡°My Sixth Maind has three Progenitors and nine realms, with each realm having its own Cosmic Imprinter and Realmling. With your talent, you might be able topete for the position of Realmling one day. The Grand Martial Realmling is currently Bai Ling, but she¡¯ll no longer be a part of the younger generation in just a few more years. At that time, the contest for the position will begin, and you¡¯ll have an opportunity. As long as you be the Realmling, you¡¯ll have a chance to meet the Martial Progenitor, and you might even be a disciple of the Martial Progenitor! It would no longer be nothing more than a dream for you to be a Progenitor in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not reply, and he simply continued to stare at the sky.

    Hong Ying coughed and then tried again. ¡°Once you be a disciple of the Martial Progenitor, your verbal authority would be overwhelming, and your position would not be any bit inferior to that of the Four Empyreans. A single order from you would be enough to decide a realm¡¯s resources, and one word could determine the life and death of countless people. You must have friends in the Fifth Maind too, and you could rescue them at that time. Do you have anyone you like? Just one word and she¡¯s yours!¡±

    Hong Ying stared at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin did not stop staring at the sky. He still had not responded at all.

    Hai Qiqi had a strange expression as she looked at Lu Yin.

    Hong Ying¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light. ¡°My Flying Horse Manor will do its best for you to be an Imprinter, and your statues will then litter the Fifth Maind. Everyone, no matter if they recognize you or not, will have to kneel to you.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not respond.

    Hong Ying became furious. ¡°Are you even listening to me?¡±

    Lu Yin remained indifferent, continuing to stare nkly into the sky. He had seen something strange up there.

    Perhaps it was because the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s mountain was too tall, or perhaps it was because of the battle that he had just fought, or perhaps even because he had simply seen too many rune lines. However, regardless of the reason, those rune lines seemed to have suddenly assembled themselves into the Innerverse¡¯s cosmic phenomenon. They then continued to shape themselves into one thing after another, forming various strange-looking, almost word-like shapes. Lu Yin did not recognize those characters, but strangely enough, he was able to read them. ¡°True¡­ Sight¡­?¡±

    Hong Ying and Hai Qiqi stared nkly at Lu Yin, and they both noticed that his eyes had be dull as he continuously mumbled something to himself.

    Hong Ying¡¯s eyes went wide¡ªit seemed that this fellow was in the middle ofprehending something. She wanted to take this opportunity to interrupt him, but Hai Qiqi took the initiative and pounded heavily on her head, knocking the girl unconscious.

    Lu Yin did not know what was going on right next to him, as he hadpletely descended into a world of endless rune lines. What he saw, felt, and even touched, were all rune lines.

 Chapter 875: Truesight

    <h4>Chapter 875: Truesight</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness drifted off, and he felt as though he himself had been transformed into rune lines. Now, he was flying through the sky as his perception covered an entire gxy.

    He saw a towering person. The man waved his hand, and the sky was reced with countless rune lines.

    Lu Yin saw a civilization that used a strange technology formunication, transportation, and battle.

    He saw a battlefield where countless people traveled upstream.

    He¡­

    ¡­

    His eyes had changed. They were now filled with star energy, and his pupils transformed into aplicated looking rune.

    After some time, Lu Yin¡¯s vision returned to normal. The sky was still the same dark and endless sky. It was also filled with those countless rune lines that suppressed everybody.

    Hong Ying was still unconscious, but Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin curiously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes kept changing, and he unconsciously rubbed his eyes. ¡°How long has it been?¡±

    ¡°Five days,¡± Hai Qiqi replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. He then closed his eyes and rested.

    Hai Qiqi couldn¡¯t help herself from asking, ¡°What did you see? You¡¯ve been staring at the sky for five days, so did youprehend anything?¡±

    Lu Yin waved his hand in dismissal. ¡°Let me rest for a bit.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was curious, as her father had once told her that Lu Yin was extremely talented. Thus, it was highly likely that he had suddenlyprehended something since Lu Yin¡¯s actions these past five days closely resembled that of someone reaching a sudden epiphany.

    Fortunately, that old woman from the Sixth Maind hadn¡¯t been keeping watch over them. Otherwise, they would have definitely been discovered.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes, as they felt quite tired. It was the same feeling that had struck him after he climbed the Sky tform. Back then, he hadn¡¯t understood what had happened to him, and he only knew that his eyes had suddenly be able to see rune lines. However, at this moment, he finally understood.

    The Sky tform was a remnant Rune Technology device that had been left behind, and its sole function was to bring one to the first stage: Awakening.

    The Rune Progenitor had created the Rune Civilization, and although their civilization had only existed for a short period, it had still been extremely powerful. This civilization had even helped the Fifth Maindunch a counterattack against the Sixth Maind that resulted in the Sixth Maind suffering terrible losses. Lu Yin was unaware of that battle¡¯s oue, but as a result of that battle, the cosmic phenomenon had appeared in the Innerverse. Also, he had reached the second stage: rity.

    He had also learned a new technique that had been created by the Rune Progenitor: Truesight.

    The Sky tform had helped Lu Yin open his eyes, which allowed him to see runes. rity subsequently allowed him to use runes.

    Fighting with Rune Technology was a scary and mysterious style, and it worked simrly to the Sky tform and the Innerverse¡¯s cosmic phenomena¡¯s suppression. Someone who fought with this method could directly erase another person¡¯s existence, and they did so not by removing the person¡¯s life, but rather by removing their runes instead.

    A person¡¯s influence over the universe corresponded to the number of rune lines that they possessed, but Truesight allowed one to eliminate another person¡¯s runes. As a person¡¯s number of rune lines decreased, their power would weaken ordingly. Thus, in some sense, this technique was a restriction.

    This technique had been created by the Rune Progenitor, and it had shocked both mainds when it was revealed. Truesight was not something that history had dared to record.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how many Progenitors had been birthed from the Fifth Maind; however, he knew that both the Chen Progenitor and the Rune Progenitor had been people that the Sixth Maind refused to acknowledge in their historical records. Despite that, most people in the Sixth Maind had heard of the Chen Progenitor, though nobody had even mentioned the Rune Progenitor. Even in the Fifth Maind, only a few people were aware of the existence of Rune Technology.

    The civilization that had been established by the Rune Progenitor had achieved the most, but it had also ended the quickest. It was almost as if the universe had disallowed their existence.

    Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the monkey¡¯s words: ¡°Rune Technology was a sky that covered another sky.¡± He finally understood that phrase¡¯s meaning. This universe had been covered by the Rune Progenitor. The runes that Lu Yin had seen in the sky had been left behind by the Rune Progenitor, which also meant that the Cosmic Sea was filled with remnants of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power.

    However, these runes would cease to exist once the Rune Progenitor¡¯s powerpletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. What a genius the Rune Progenitor must have been to found such a powerful civilization! He had basically created a runic mesh that had sessfully reced the original universe.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and nced at a corner of the Sea King¡¯s Dome. ording to what Lu Yin had learned from Tong Chou¡¯s memories, the spacecraft woulde from that direction.

    Granny Gui and the others absolutely would not allow Lu Yin to learn about the spacecraft, but unfortunately for them, he already was aware of its impending arrival.

    Lu Yin raised his head as he wanted to continueprehending this technique. However, there was a very low chance of that happening. He had only been able to reach the rity realm by using Truesight, and he would need further opportunities to improve his understanding of this technique.

    The Rune Progenitor had definitely left his inheritance behind in the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin would have to pay closer attention to the remnants of the Rune Civilization if he wanted to find it.

    Since the Sky tform belonged to the Astral Combat Academies, then the Astral Combat Academy might actually know more about this.

    Another day passed, and Hong Ying finally regained consciousness. She quickly turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Hong Ying was confused. ¡°How?¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed both Hong Ying and then led Hai Qiqi to a certain corner of the Sea King¡¯s Dome,

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind were shocked by his actions, and the Enlighter immediately blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±

    The old man lifted his hand as a dark light appeared over his hand.

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t you want her to stay alive?¡±

    The old man reflexively stopped his attack.

    Lu Yin then raised a hand as he opened a bottle of Elder Wu¡¯s poison.

    The old man¡¯s expression drastically changed.

    ¡°Dodge!¡± he shouted as he quickly fled.

    People were always terrified of poisons, as it was nearly impossible to tell how dangerous the substance was just by seeing it. Thus, most people immediately ran away as soon as they saw poison being taken out.

    This old man had made the right choice in this scenario. Elder Wu¡¯s poison¡¯s rune lines were equivalent to an attack with a power level of 200,000, which was more than enough to injure the Enlighter.

    Lu Yin dragged Hai Qiqi to the coast, and along the way, he snatched Elder Ren¡¯s corpse and stored it in his cosmic ring. He then flew towards the ce where the spacecraft was already waiting.

    The spacecraft had only just arrived, and it was supposed to carry Granny Gui and Hong Ying over to Grayweed Continent.

    Lu Yin was less than a hundred meters away from the spacecraft when he was surrounded by cultivators from the Sixth Maind.

    Granny Gui smirked, as it was impossible for this youth to escape.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand, and a tube of needles appeared in his palm that then shot out in all directions.

    Granny Gui was stunned, as those were actually her invisible needles.

    The poisoned needles shot out in all directions, and they managed to kill dozens of Hunters and other Sixth Maind cultivators. In an instant, their faces turned ck as they all died.

    Granny Gui became furious, she suddenly made a move herself, flying towards Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Lu Yin quickly used Hong Ying as a shield. ¡°Old bat, I¡¯ll strip her if youe any closer!¡±

    Granny Gui roared and increased her speed in response. She appeared in front of Lu Yin and attacked. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time fighting against an Imprinter, albeit one who had suppressed her power level to below 200,000. Still, Lu Yin didn¡¯t dare to risk being careless, and he coalesced his star energy over his right hand. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    The sun collided with Granny Gui, but she didn¡¯t dodge the attack. Surprisingly, she grabbed the sun with a hand as an unbelievable scene unfolded: Lu Yin¡¯s sun dissipated in less than a second.

    Before he could react, Granny Gui attacked him.

    Hai Qiqi quickly threw out a small blue shield, and the Fatesand in Lu Yin¡¯s body also shot out to support the shield from behind.

    Granny Gui¡¯s palm easily shattered the shield and struck the Fatesand. Fortunately, her power level was restricted to less than 200,000, and she wasn¡¯t able to shatter Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand. However, her attack¡¯s force still passed through the Fatesand, and it caused Lu Yin to vomit blood.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to use his poison once again, but Granny Gui wasn¡¯t scared by it at all. She continued attacking, and this time, there was a small needle hidden in her palm. ¡°Young one, your ancestors weren¡¯t even born when I first began ying with poison!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he used the Yu Secret Art. The needle disappeared before shooting back towards Granny Gui instead.

    Granny Gui sneered and allowed the needle to stab into her. She attacked again. ¡°Your secret technique is useless.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he met her attack with pure physical strength. ¡°Thirty Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    The ground split apart with a bang, and the resultant force flung Lu Yin onto the spacecraft along with Hai Qiqi and Hong Ying.

    Even if an Imprinter didn¡¯t train their body, Lu Yin was still just an Explorer. He couldn¡¯tpare to an Imprinter since they were on such vastly different levels.

    Nobody expected Lu Yin to be able to defeat Granny Gui.

    However, when they all saw Granny Gui¡¯s state, everyone was shocked.

    Her right palm was bent at an odd angle, and she had even been forced to take a few steps backwards.

    How was that possible?

    Even Hai Qiqi was dazed by this turn around, let alone the people from the Sixth Maind.

    Although Imprinters were forced to suppress their power level to below 200,000 in the Innerverse, no Explorers could deal with such powerhouses due to the sheer difference in cultivation. It had been quite difficult for Lu Yin to fight against that Enlighter from before, so how could he possibly defeat Granny Gui now?

    Granny Gui was flustered, and she felt that something was wrong. When Lu Yin¡¯s palm had shed against hers just now, she had felt her strength suddenly decrease by a great deal.

    Lu Yin immediately grabbed Hong Ying¡¯s shoulder and tore her shirtsleeve off, revealing a bit of her fair shoulder.

    Granny Gui hesitated, and everyone from the Sixth Maind was stunned.

    Hong Ying screamed, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Blood trickled down from Lu Yin¡¯s lips as he panted heavily. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    He had only torn Hong Ying¡¯s clothing at her right shoulder, and this tear had only exposed a bit of her arm. However, to Hong Ying and the other cultivators from the Sixth Maind, this was already something unbelievable. Additionally, Lu Yin could tear the rest of her clothing off just as easily as he had torn her sleeve.

    Everyone immediately stopped attacking him.

    Lu Yin looked extremely disheveled, and he red at everyone with bloodshot eyes. ¡°If anyone dares to attack, I¡¯ll tear all of her clothes off! If I¡¯m going to die, then I¡¯ll drag all of you down with me!¡±

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind didn¡¯t dare move a muscle, and all of the men immediately turned away.

    Granny Gui didn¡¯t dare attack either. Although the Tong family didn¡¯t care about Hong Ying¡¯s life, if the girl was stripped naked, then Flying Horse Manor would be utterly humiliated, and that was something that could not be resolved through simplepensation. Such an event would even affect the three realm¡¯s cooperation as battles often erupted between powers of the Sixth Maind. It was already impressive that they had managed to get all three realms to work together to invade the Fifth Maind. Although Granny Gui was an Imprinter, she didn¡¯t dare to act rashly, as she would definitely be med if anything urred.

    ¡°What is it that you want?¡± Granny Gui shouted.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. ¡°I want to go to Grayweed Continent."

 Chapter 876: Dojo Structure

    <h4>Chapter 876: Dojo Structure</h4>

    When she heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, Granny Gui was stumped. ¡°Grayweed Continent? You want to go to Grayweed Continent?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly had Hai Qiqi board the spacecraft as he red at Granny Gui. ¡°If you don¡¯t let me leave, then don¡¯t me me for acting despicable.¡±

    Granny Gui''s eyes flickered as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Hong Ying flew into a rage. ¡°You shameless bastard!¡±

    Lu Yin held her tightly as he also walked into the vessel. The Sixth Maind people who were already within the ship did not dare put up any resistance, and all of them were quickly tossed out by Hai Qiqi.

    ¡°Hurry up, let¡¯s go!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Hong Ying was furious. ¡°Don¡¯t be delusional!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to be stripped?¡± Lu Yin threatened.

    Hong Ying ground her teeth in fury as she red at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Rx, I promise to release you when we get to Grayweed Continent,¡± Lu Yin said. These words were directed at Hong Ying, but he also intended for those outside to hear them as well.

    The Enlighter elder approached Granny Gui from behind. ¡°Senior, what should we do?¡±

    Granny Gui had a cold expression on her face. ¡°Let them go. Grayweed Continent is mostly under our control, so can they even escape from there? Let them pass.¡±

    The crowd from the Sixth Maind helplessly watched on as the spacecraft departed.

    After some time, when they could no longer see the Sea King¡¯s Dome any longer, Lu Yin finally rxed. At that moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood and hurriedly took some medicine.

    Hong Ying was still restrained, and she turned to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°One day, I will make you regret everything that you¡¯ve done to me.¡±

    Lu Yin winced. ¡°Stop dreaming. I won¡¯t even remember you.¡±

    Hong Ying immediately flew into a rage.

    Hai Qiqi looked at Lu Yin with obvious worry. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head and then stood up with some difficulty. ¡°I¡¯m injured, but I¡¯ll be fine after a few days of rest. Right, how long does it take to get to Grayweed Continent?¡±

    ¡°With how fast this spacecraft is moving, about ten days or so,¡± Hai Qiqi replied.

    Lu Yin nodded and then sat down to tend to his injuries.

    This spacecraft did not hold a single person from the Sixth Maind besides Hong Ying, and due to the cosmic phenomena¡¯s suppression, Granny Gui would not dare to chase after them without a spacecraft. Thus, they were safe for the moment.

    Lu Yin could not help but be thrilled, as he had been lucky enough toprehend Truesight¡¯s rity, allowing him to reduce the strength of Granny Gui¡¯s palm attack. Otherwise, his arm would have been crippled by her strike, and he would have subsequently failed to escape.

    An Imprinter was just too terrifying, and there was still a deep-seated caution lingering in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    His one sun had been resolved so casually, but just how had she done it? Had that been a battle technique? A cultivation art? Her innate gift? Or something else? He could not understand it. When an Imprinter acted against him, regardless of if their power level was suppressed to below 200,000, and even if they were suppressed to a power level of 10,000, Lu Yin felt that he would still be at a disadvantage.

    Also, Granny Gui had never even used her imprint when dealing with him.

    His heart turned colder the more he thought about their fight. The war in the Innerverse was definitely not as optimistic as he had first assumed. Even though all cultivators¡¯ power levels were suppressed to under 200,000, that did not mean that the top powerhouses were the younger generation¡¯s elite experts. There were also these terrifying, suppressed powerhouses.

    ***

    On Grayweed Continent, in a scorchingly hot area, there was a figure whose eyes suddenly opened wide when Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi sessfully escaped from the Sea King¡¯s Dome. He had an excited look on his face. ¡°This is¡­ the Sea King¡¯s Shield? Qiqi is back!¡±

    The figure suddenly stood up and revealed an emotional, yet nervous expression. He was naturally the Sea King.

    The blue shield that Hai Qiqi had used to defend against Granny Gui¡¯s attack had contained his strength, and just as Hai Qiqi could sense that her father was still alive, he could also sense that Hai Qiqi had used his Sea King¡¯s Shield.

    He clenched both of his fists tightly as the impulse to head out surged within his heart, but after arguing with himself for a while, he decided to sit back down. He sighed, as he had been tasked with not leaving this ce. If he left, then there would be no hope left for the Starfall Sea.

    He could only hope that Qiqi would be able to survive.

    ***

    Simrly, in another part of Grayweed Continent, an intense battle had broken out in a giant za. The cultivators from the Sixth Maind had their imprints to support them, and they were easily suppressing the Innerverse cultivators. As far as one could see, there were imprints everywhere, as well as corpses strewn all about.

    The fresh blood had stained the za a deep red.

    In the sky above the za, three figures constantly crisscrossed the area as they collided against each other. One was holding a fan in his hand and had an imprint from the Tong family elder behind them. Another wielded a long de that sparked with glints of radiance. And thest person had a cloud of blue steam all around himself. Two people had joined forces to confront a Sixth Maind cultivator, but they were only barely able to hang on.

    The Sixth Maind Imprinter holding the fan was known as Mr. Da, and he was from the Grand Martial Realm as well as the master of Jinghong Mountain. He was an Imprinter with a power level close to 600,000.

    And the two confronting him were both dojo masters of Grayweed Continent¡¯s seventy two dojos, and both of their power levels had surpassed 300,000.

    All three of thebatants had suppressed their power level to under 200,000, but the aftershocks released by their battle still overwhelmed all the otherbatants on the battlefield.

    de light sliced down and tore through the void, but Mr. Da¡¯s fan streaked out and prevented the attack from advancing any further. With just a light tap of the fan, the de light was instantly shattered. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the dojo master shrouded in blue steam raised both of his hands, causing the blue steam to pervade the entire za, as the man attempted to change the environment. Subsequently, an endless domain appeared before gradually transforming into a raindrop-shaped forcefield that then crashed towards Mr. Da.

    Mr. Da frowned. ¡°You are both geniuses, and I want to recruit the two of you. However, you two are still this stubborn. Since that¡¯s the case, then there is no need for you two to remain alive.¡±

    He then grabbed the raindrop with one hand.

    The raindrop had been formed by a dojo master whose power level exceeded 300,000, and this one drop was enough to drown an entire region and make this whole area sink down. However, in Mr. Da¡¯s hands, this raindrop seemed to be nothing more than a normal drop of water, and the drop gradually melted away into a stream of nothingness.

    That dojo master with blue steam covering his body was overwhelmed. It was rumored that Envoys and above could fundamentally change the universe, and sure enough, all of his attacks that used star energy were proving to be ineffective.

    The other dojo master shouted and tore through the void, his de shed down without the support of any star energy.

    Mr. Da shook his head. ¡°You two don¡¯t stand any chance when you use star energy, but so what even if you don¡¯t? You and I are on two different levels after all.¡±

    He then swirled his fan, its tip tapping against the edge of the de. There was a bang as the de split apart and then shattered. However, the fan continued to pierce through the void and hit the dojo master, sending him flying underground.

    The Imprinter¡¯s figure swivelled about, and he next appeared in front of the dojo master covered in blue steam before stretching out a hand. ¡°Thousand Brush Hand.¡±

    As the Imprinter spoke, the blue steam in the sky instantly vanished, and the dojo master¡¯s full body was exposed before Mr. Da. Then, Mr. Da¡¯s palm struck him, and the dojo master spat out a mouthful of blood. He furiously burst forth with his full strength, and his power level that exceeded 300,000 surged into the sky above the za, where the energy began boiling. The man intended to destroy himself along with Mr. Da.

    However, before he could even act, the dojo master simply vanished, as if he had never even existed.

    This scene caused everyone¡¯s scalps to go numb despite them all being ustomed to this scene. Anyone who allowed their power level to go over 200,000 would have their existence erased from the world, and nobody was an exception to this rule.

    Mr. Da¡¯s face showed his own apprehension as he looked up at the sky. The moment the man had disappeared, Mr. Da had been very close to the dojo master, and he had felt an indescribable sense of dread, which could onlye from the might of a Progenitor.

    In the distance, the surviving dojo master suddenly bellowed and leaped high into the sky. His de descended in multipleyers, and with nothing more than pure physical strength, he unleashed an attack that tore the void. He not only attacked Mr. Da, but also managed to envelop the entire za with this sword strike.

    The ce waspletely destroyed.

    Mr. Da frowned, and he slowly stepped out of the rubble. ¡°Just a pointless struggle. Even without the innate suppression that those from my Sixth Maind have on you natives, and even without relying on our imprints or martial prints, just the difference between our realms is like heaven from earth. You can just die.¡± The man¡¯s fan shuddered, and a hint of a phantom image transcended the void to appear right in front of the dojo master before shooting straight through him.

    Mr. Da¡¯s lips curled upwards, as this attack had beenunched from his feathered-fan, which was a power vessel that contained the strength of the predecessors, and he could use it to power his own attacks.

    The intense battle that had filled the za soon came to an end, and Mr. Da raised his head and mumbled, ¡°So what if my power level is suppressed? How many Fifth Maind existences¡¯ power level exceeds 500,000? Our three realms can massacre everyone.¡±

    Not too far from the za, a figure was lying in an underground location, panting heavily. There was a wound on his chest that had nearly severed his body in two. This man was Zhang Dingtian, and his battle techniques and cultivation had all been gained from that za. The now-destroyed za had once been a deste dojo, but it had risen to power due to him. Eventually, it had attracted experts who possessed powerful de techniques, and they had in turn drawn in an expert with a power level of over 300,000 who had be the dojo master. That was the man whom Mr. Da had just killed.

    The dojo master had attacked the entire za at the end of the battle, but that action had actually been a feint to allow Zhang Dingtian to escape. Zhang Dingtian was the true disciple of this dojo, and although the rest could die, Zhang Dingtian could not.

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s survival was the dojo¡¯s only hope.

    In the middle of the Starfall Sea, Lu Yin leaned against a window as he watched the sea flow past the vessel. asionally, some strange things would also appear deep within the sea.

    ording to the rumors, at the source of the Starfall Sea, strange things would asionally appear. They could be power vessels, battle techniques, cultivation arts, or even sourceboxes and other strange items.

    The Undying Manual was one of the more famous cultivation arts that had appeared within the Starfall Sea, but there had also been many other simr treasures. Due to the appearance of these rare cultivation items, the Starfall Sea had attracted countless people from the Innerverse, and many had decided to train there.

    In the past, Undying Yushan and Undying Zishan had also trained in the Starfall Sea, and they had called themselves the Undying Duo. Others had assumed that the two men had obtained the Undying Manual, which led to Undying Yushan being constantly monitored and all of his grand ns disrupted.

    Anyone who came to the Starfall Sea would hope to obtain a precious treasure and have their strength make a giant leap upward.

    The closer one approached the inner depths of the Starfall Sea, the more likely they were to find such precious treasures.

    Every year, Grayweed Continent would lure in countless cultivators from the Innerverse.

    Such a situation had continued for tens of thousands of years. There were many powers in the universe whose history had been severed, but Grayweed Continent had existed this entire time. Perhaps it was because of this, but Grayweed Continent had gradually developed a system of multiple dojos.

    ¡°In Grayweed Continent, there are seventy two dojos that are scattered across thend. Any powerhouse can start one and then recruit disciples to try to win the support of other experts. No matter who it is, powerhouses are the most important aspect of the dojos, but the number of dojos always remains the same, and there are always seventy two. To be a dojo master, one needs to either challenge and rece a dojo master, or destroy a dojo and then build a new one. Right now, the strongest dojo in Grayweed Continent is the Mt. Stacks Dojo. The dojo master is the father of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si, and the Mt. Stacks Dojo controls half of Grayweed Continent¡¯s resources. In other words, the Lan family can be considered the masters of Grayweed Continent,¡± Hai Qiqi exined the details of Grayweed Continent so that Lu Yin would have some understanding of the ce they were headed to.

    ¡°The Lan family has ruled Grayweed Continent for many years, and they have almost reached the same level as the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Dojo Master Lan is also an Envoy.¡±

    Lu Yin understood, as he had never thought that Grayweed Continent would be such a ce. Zhang Dingtian was on Grayweed Continent, but Lu Yin did not know how the man was doing.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use mentioning how lively that ce is. The Grayweed Continent has seventy two dojos, and more than half of them have fallen into the hands of the Sixth Maind. Thetest news says that you guys have no more than fifteen of them left. Even if we get to Grayweed Continent safely, there¡¯s no way for you to escape from your predicament. That is, not unless you decide to never use star energy again for the rest of your lives and find some little corner to hunker down in,¡± Hong Ying said as she sneered at Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi with disdain.

 Chapter 877: Thundercharge Dojo

    <h4>Chapter 877: Thundercharge Dojo</h4>

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes burned bright as she red at Hong Ying. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. There are too many experts on Grayweed Continent. Even if we don¡¯t mention the seventy two dojo masters, my Sea King¡¯s Dome has left experts on Grayweed Continent. You guys are destined to lose.¡±

    Hong Ying sneered. ¡°More than half of the seventy two dojo masters are already dead. As for the people from your Sea King¡¯s Dome, not even a tenth of them managed to escape to Grayweed Continent. It might be true that the Sea King is a slightly thornier problem, but my Master has already promised the Tong family that she will make a move to take care of him. Even if the Tong ancestor doesn¡¯t act, my Master alone is still enough to sweep across Grayweed Continent.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grew excited. ¡°Did you just say that the Sea King is a thorny problem? Is he very powerful?¡±

    Hong Ying¡¯s face grew much more solemn. ¡°He¡¯s considered an extremely strong expert, but he still can''t stop my Master.¡±

    Hai Qiqi heaved a sigh of relief, as her main goal just now had been to worm out some more information. Specifically, she had just verified that the Sea King was on Grayweed Continent.

    Lu Yin also tried to weedle out some information. ¡°Since your Master is already nning on heading over, then why are you also going? There¡¯s a limit to how much strength the younger generation can wield, and even Realmlings can¡¯t deal with powerhouses whose power levels are in the hundreds of thousands, even if their power levels are suppressed.¡±

    Hong Ying¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You are right. The ordinary powerhouses of the younger generation are indeed not a match for Imprinters, and they¡¯ll be in trouble even when going against Enlighters. However, the Realmlings are an exception, just like your Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters.¡± Hong Ying suddenly seemed to think of something, and she frowned deeply. ¡°That actually makes no sense. Your Fifth Maind has no Imprinters or Progenitors, and even your old Progenitors¡¯ inheritances have been severed. Just how did monsters like those Ten Arbiterse to be?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with the Ten Arbiters?¡± Lu Yin asked hurriedly. He wanted to hear more about them, not just because they were also a part of the younger generation, but also because he had enemies among them. Thus, the more he knew, the better.

    Hong Ying looked at him and sneered. ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯m stupid? That woman is obviously connected to the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and she¡¯s clearly trying to get some information from me, but it doesn¡¯t matter what I tell her since none of that¡¯s secret. But you? Forget it.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked awkwardly.

    ¡°You¡¯re a despicable man, so don¡¯t bother trying to get any information out of me!¡± Hong Ying dered coldly, and as she looked at Lu Yin, she actually grew even angrier. ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes and proceeded to ignore her.

    Hai Qiqi smiled, and her mood suddenly improved. The news concerning the Sea King had allowed her to finally rx.

    The situation on Grayweed Continent was still quite intense. After ten days of travel, while Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were sitting within their spacecraft, they saw a ck line off in the distance that extended out endlessly. That line was Grayweed Continent.

    In the distant sky, star-like objects illuminated Grayweed Continent with a glittering radiance. Each one was scattered a certain distance from the others, and when they fell, it indicated that a day had passed on Grayweed Continent.

    These were man made objects that emitted artificial sunlight. To Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, these objects hanging in the sky wereposed of rune lines that were each roughly equivalent to the rune lines of a Hunter.

    The Grayweed Continent covered a vast area, and although the Sixth Maind¡¯s Tong family had sent over a few million cultivators to conquer it, that was just a drop in the oceanpared to Grayweed Continent¡¯s overall scale. That number of cultivators was not even enough to seal off the coastline.

    Lu Yin easily found an isted, hidden bay, and he led Hai Qiqi along as they dragged Hong Ying onto the beach.

    They hadnded on a vast shore that spread out in both directions, and the sandy beach was extremely soft when they stepped on it.

    There were not many rune lines in Lu Yin¡¯s vision when he looked past the coast.

    ¡°It will take us at least half a day to reach the closest dojo, and that¡¯s with our speeds. For a Limiteer, or an even weaker cultivator, they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach it even after traveling for half a month,¡± Hai Qiqi said. She then red at Hong Ying. ¡°Where¡¯s the Sea King?¡±

    Hong Ying snorted. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll strip you naked.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled by their exchange.

    Hong Ying grew furious, and she red at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re despicable.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with me? I didn¡¯t say anything!¡±

    ¡°Shameless!¡± Hong Ying stared straight at Lu Yin.

    Hai Qiqi was getting ufortable, as she felt like she was being ignored. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m the one threatening you!¡±

    Hong Ying would not look at the other girl, and she only red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt as if he had be someone else¡¯s scapegoat.

    ¡°Forget it, just let her go. She hasn¡¯t even been to Grayweed Continent before, so there¡¯s no way she could possibly know where the Sea King is,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Hai Qiqi agreed before knocking Hong Ying unconscious in a practiced manner. She then proceeded to dig a hole and bury the girl.

    A cultivator of her strength would not suffocate even after being buried alive, and she would wake up after a few days.

    Lu Yin was baffled by her smooth actions. ¡°You¡¯re quite familiar with that process.¡±

    Hai Qiqi clenched a fist. ¡°While you wereprehending that thing at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, I had to knock her unconscious a few times. Rx, the strength that I used will only leave her unconscious for three days.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s confidence in her precision was strong, and Lu Yin¡¯s focus streaked past Hai Qiqi and into the distance. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll go to Mt. Stacks Dojo.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded, as not only was Mt. Stacks Dojo Grayweed Continent¡¯srgest dojo, but it was also the one that held the most experts. It was located at the very center of the continent, and it should not have been taken over by the Sixth Maind yet. Even if the Sea King was not there, he should not be too far away.

    Hai Qiqi spent half an hour determining the best route, after which she then began leading Lu Yin in a specific direction.

    Along their way, the two of them avoided all other dojos, as the ones that they passed by should have all already been seized by the Sixth Maind.

    Not only did they avoid all the dojos, but they also evaded all other cultivators since none of them were from the Innerverse. By now, many cultivators from the Innerverse had already cast their lot in with the Sixth Maind and be mereckeys of the Sixth Maind. Otherwise, with just their own people, the Sixth Maind would not have enough manpower to seize the Innerverse¡¯s resources.

    In this manner, the two concealed themselves with their domains as they quickly approached the center of Grayweed Continent.

    Both of them were Explorers, and they were also able to move extremely quickly. However, they hadnded a considerable distance away from Mt. Stacks Dojo, which showed just how vast Grayweed Continent was.

    ¡°After passing through that forest up ahead, we¡¯ll officially enter the central region of Grayweed Continent,¡± Hai Qiqi delightedly eximed.

    Lu Yin suddenly grabbed her. ¡°Someone¡¯sing.¡± He then dragged Hai Qiqi away to hide.

    Not long after they hid themselves, a group of cultivators passed by, though they kept close to the ground. There were about a dozen people in their group, and all of the people on the edges were using their gadgets to scan around them, and one of them had even unleashed their domain. Their group advanced carefully, looking as if they were afraid of being discovered. One look was enough to determine that they were cultivators of Grayweed Continent.

    Only cultivators of Grayweed Continent would not dare to fly high in the sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s Little Ben! It¡¯s Little Ben!¡± Hai Qiqi suddenly cried out excitedly, and Lu Yin could not stop her from shouting.

    The group of cultivators was rmed to see a person suddenly rush towards them, and they looked warily in Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi¡¯s direction. The man in charge seemed to grab a hold of lightning that formed into a de. ¡°Who is it? Come out!¡±

    Hai Qiqi flew out, and as she looked at the man leading the group, she emotionally said, ¡°Little Ben, it¡¯s me! Sister Qi.¡±

    The leader¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Sister Qi? You- What are you doing here?¡±

    Hai Qiqi hurriedly approached the crowd, and Lu Yin followed close behind her, though he was not too nervous. Everyone in this group of cultivators was a Limiteer aside from the Explorer leading them. Lu Yin could wipe out such a group on a whim.

    ¡°Little Ben, it¡¯s really you!¡± Hai Qiqi was incredibly excited as she approached the leader of the group.

    The man was also happy to see her, which caused the rest of his group to rx, and they all descended to the ground. The man looked at Hai Qiqi. ¡°Sister Qi, didn¡¯t they say that you wouldn¡¯te to Grayweed Continent? Why are you showing up here now?¡±

    Hai Qiqi was extremely happy to see an old friend. She had spent four years searching for a path back to the Innerverse, and discounting Elder Ren¡¯s corpse, this man was the first familiar face she had encountered.

    The two chatted for a while as the other cultivators scattered throughout the surroundings to guard the area.

    Before too long, Hai Qiqi brought the man over to Lu Yin and introduced them to each other. ¡°This person is from the Thundercharge Dojo, and you can call him Little Ben.¡±

    She then looked over at Little Ben. She was about to introduce Lu Yin, but Lu Yin stepped forward himself. ¡°You can call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    Little Ben looked confused. ¡°Seventh Bro?¡± He then looked at Hai Qiqi. ¡°Sister Qi?¡±

    Hai Qiqi did not know how to reply, as she was also very reluctant to ept the self-given title of ¡°Seventh Bro¡± that Lu Yin preferred to use. She wanted to correct him, but she also could not.

    Little Ben looked down and moved closer to Hai Qiqi. He then sniggered. ¡°Should I call him Seventh Bro or Seventh Bro-inw?¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be a jerk. Next time, find a guy for Baobao. Then, you¡¯ll be happily calling him Bao bro-inw.¡±

    Little Ben¡¯s face turned sour. ¡°Sister Qi, your tongue¡¯s as sharp as ever.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was proud of her wit, but she could also see that Lu Yin did not understand what they were talking about. ¡°Little Ben likes Baobao from the bottom of his heart, but it¡¯s a pity that Baobao doesn¡¯t reciprocate his feelings.¡±

    ¡°Sister Qi, don¡¯t say any more! Let¡¯s go, and I¡¯ll lead you guys to the Thundercharge Dojo. Baobao¡¯s there too.¡± Little Ben quickly changed topics.

    Hai Qiqi was delighted. ¡°Right, Little Ben, do you know where Father is?¡±

    Little Ben shook his head. ¡°The Sea King¡¯s whereabouts aren¡¯t something that someone like me would be informed of.¡±

    His answer disappointed Hai Qiqi.

    After that, the group followed Little Ben, heading in a different direction.

    With Little Ben¡¯s exnations, Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi soon grasped a better understanding of the situation on Grayweed Continent.

    It was even worse than what Hong Ying had told them. Of the seventy two dojos on Grayweed Continent, the Fifth Maind only had control of twelve, and the Thundercharge Dojo was one of those twelve. This group¡¯s objective was to find more of Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators.

    ¡°You guys really aren¡¯t afraid to die. What will you do if you run into some Sixth Maind cultivators?¡± Hai Qiqi was looking down on this group.

    Little Ben grudgingly answered, ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice. There are a bunch of small teams like ours, so it¡¯s no loss if they lose us. However, it¡¯s a different story if a group of strong reinforcements are found.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he did not say anything.

    Half a dayter, in the distance, a ring-shaped mountain emerged that was topped with ck clouds. Lightning constantly swam through the thick clouds and asionally struck down, releasing a trembling rumble every time they did so.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Thundercharge Dojo, and it¡¯s considered to be extremely powerful among the seventy two dojos, which can be seen from the fact that it¡¯s even ranked in the top ten. The former dojo masters were all known as the Thundercharge Dojo Master, and they each had a power level of at least 300,000,¡± Hai Qiqi quickly shared with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was astonished by Grayweed Continent¡¯s strength. ¡°Are all of the seventy two dojo masters actually Enlighters? Are you saying that just Grayweed Continent has more than seventy two Enlighter?¡±

    This time, Little Ben was the one to answer. ¡°Of course not. There are seventy two dojos in name, but that¡¯s really just a number. Not even half of these dojos have dojo masters, and the rest havergely been abandoned, though they can also return to glory in just a short amount of time. Just a few years ago, there was one dojo that was a wastnd. However, one of their members actually obtained some sort of inheritance and used it to attract others to their dojo, rebuilding it. In fact, they even managed to pull in an expert who became their dojo master.¡±

    ¡°You must be talking about the cktop Dojo,¡± Hai Qiqi said.

    Little Ben nodded. ¡°I believe that the person who obtained the cktop Dojo¡¯s inheritance went to the Sea King¡¯s Dome to participate in the Sea King¡¯s son-inwpetition a few years ago. He should have went with Lan Yu. Sister Qi, you should have some impression of him.¡±

    Hai Qiqi disdainfully replied, ¡°No impression¡ªhe didn¡¯t make it to the end.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched. ¡°What¡¯s that person¡¯s name?¡±

    Little Ben replied, ¡°Lan Dao.¡±

 Chapter 878: Coercion

    <h4>Chapter 878: Coercion</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled. So this was how Zhang Dingtian had risen to power; he had found an inheritance in a wastnd dojo. It was no wonder why he had been so powerful that he could even exchange blows with Ling Que. With the strength that Zhang Dingtian had disyed during theirst meeting, the Earthling was capable of even fighting against Liu Shaoqiu, and his progression had been a bit exaggerated.

    ¡°How¡¯s the cktop Dojo doing?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Little Ben shook his head. ¡°They were upied just a few days ago.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Then how¡¯s Zhang¡ªno, Lan Dao?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. He might be dead, but there¡¯s been no news of his status,¡± Little Ben replied.

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    As the thunderous rumbling grew ever more intense, the group of cultivators finally arrived at the base of the ring-shaped mountain range. At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly stopped, pulled Hai Qiqi over, and then looked at Little Ben. ¡°So you¡¯ve sided with the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Little Ben¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression changed, and she turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense! Little Ben is my friend, and he¡¯s Baobao¡¯s friend as well. Why would he side with the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered and surveyed the area. ¡°These people have all sided with the Sixth Maind, and their objective is to draw in Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators.¡±

    Hai Qiqi frowned and looked over at Little Ben, not quite believing Lu Yin¡¯s ims.

    Little Ben stared at Lu Yin, but then he suddenly smiled and revealed a rxed expression. ¡°How did you figure it out?¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s pupils shrunk, and her face paled in her disbelief. ¡°You- Little Ben, did you really join the Sixth Maind? Why? You¡¯re from the Thundercharge Dojo, and you¡¯re also friends with Baobao and me. Why did you join the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Little Ben¡¯s smile faded, and he coldly answered, ¡°Why? If I didn¡¯t side with the Sixth Maind, then how would I ever get Lan Baobao? She looks down upon me! She¡¯s ranked in the top thirty in the Top 100 Rankings and is so powerful, but me? I¡¯m just amon heir to the Thundercharge Dojo. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she¡¯s known me since childhood, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to talk to her! If I don¡¯t join the Sixth Maind, then I¡¯ll never be able to get her in my entire life.¡±

    ¡°If you side with the Sixth Maind, then that¡¯s just one more reason why you¡¯ll never get together with Baobao!¡± Hai Qiqi bellowed angrily.

    Little Ben sneered. ¡°As long as all the rebels on Grayweed Continent surrender, those like me who surrendered earlier will receive even greater rewards. I¡¯ve already taken the Tong family¡¯s Elder Song as my master, and he¡¯s one of the few people in the Tong family with a power level of more that 300,000! He¡¯s promised to help me get Baobao, regardless of whether she¡¯s willing or not! She¡¯ll be mine when the timees!¡±

    Hai Qiqi was so angry that she started trembling from head to toe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned frigid. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve tricked quite a few of Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators to try to breach the Thundercharge Dojo, right?¡±

    Little Ben was puzzled. ¡°How do you know that? You seem to know quite a bit.¡±

    Lu Yin squinted. He could see that all of the regions around the ring-shaped mountain range were filled with rune lines, and there were also many rune lines within the mountain range itself. These two sides were clearly separated by the mountain range, which made the situation extremely apparent; the two sides were at odds with one another, and the rune lines of the people surrounding the ring-shaped mountain range¡¯s outside naturally belonged to the Sixth Maind¡¯s people.

    ¡°Still, it¡¯s useless even if you know. I¡¯ve already sent your images to the mountain range. Do you know who¡¯s guarding the Thundercharge Dojo? It¡¯s the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s Elder Tong. Think about it¡ªas soon as Elder Tong sees that the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s little princess hase, what kind of response will he have? Hahaha!¡± Little Benughed maniacally. When he saw Hai Qiqi, he had already known that he had managed to aplish something great.

    There was lightning that continued to iste the Thundercharge Dojo, and between the defense of the dojo¡¯s cultivators and the support of the lightning, the experts from the Sixth Maind were finding it difficult to break through. Even if they did manage to ovee the dojo¡¯s defenses, they would suffer horrible casualties in the process. This was the main reason why the Thundercharge Dojo had been able to hold out for so long. But on this day, Little Ben was certain that Elder Tong would leave the dojo to try to save Hai Qiqi, and with that, their progress towards conquering the Thundercharge Dojo would rapidly advance.

    ¡°Despicable.¡± Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot. This friend whom she had known for most of her life had betrayed her, his own Thundercharge Dojo, and the entire Grayweed Continent.

    Lu Yin frowned, as this person had clearly gone insane from infatuation.

    Off in the distance, inside the mountain range, a streak of lightning suddenly shot through the sky as two groups of rune lines¡ªone from inside the mountain range and the other from outside¡ªbegan to crisscross. An intense battle had started in the sky.

    Little Ben suddenly rushed towards the mountains.

    The surrounding cultivators all acted in unison, attempting to capture Hai Qiqi.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold, and he casually waved his hand. This simple gesture released an intense force that manifested as a terrifying shockwave of air that instantly blew all of the attacking cultivators to the ground. Lu Yin did not hold back with his attack, and these people were undoubtedly done for since they were just Limiteers.

    When Little Ben looked back, he felt his scalp go numb. He already knew that he was not Hai Qiqi¡¯s opponent, which was why he had tried to hurriedly escape. His mission could have been consideredplete the moment he led Hai Qiqi to this ce. What happened next was none of his business.

    However, Lu Yin would not allow the traitor to escape so easily, and his figure shed as he appeared right in front of Little Ben.

    Little Ben¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You- How did you-?¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the youth¡¯s neck and easily lifted him.

    No matter how much Little Ben struggled, the flickering of his lightning waspletely useless. The disparity between him and Lu Yin was simply too vast.

    Up till now, of those within the same realm, only Ku Wei had been able to make Lu Yin be slightly more serious. Even against Cruisers, only those who wereparable to Wendy Yushan or Hong Ying were able to make Lu Yin be a little more serious. His typical opponents were either Hunters or Enlighters, and someone like Little Ben was just too weak.

    Little Ben looked at Hai Qiqi in a pleading manner, and his face flushed red. ¡°Sis- Sister Qi, save me! I wasn¡¯t intentionally- Sister Qi, it¡¯s Little Ben! Sister Qi!¡±

    Hai Qiqi closed her eyes, her heart already overflowing with grief. She had been betrayed by a childhood friend, and he was even the first friend she had encountered after returning to the Innerverse. The blow his betrayal had given her heart was too great, and this affected her no less than when she had first seen Elder Ren¡¯s corpse at the Sea King''s Dome.

    Little Ben formed a de from lightning in his right hand and shed it at Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, but it was futile.

    An elder shot towards the trio at a shocking speed from a distant part of the sky.

    Little Ben was delighted, and he raised a hand to call for help. ¡°Ma- Master! Save me!¡±

    Lu Yin casually squeezed his hand, snapping Little Ben¡¯s neck before tossing him aside like a piece of garbage. He then slowly turned around to face the approaching elder with a solemn expression.

    The elder was unconcerned about Little Ben¡¯s life and death, but he looked at Hai Qiqi with a heated expression. ¡°You¡¯re the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s little princess! The Sea King''s daughter, Hai Qiqi, right? Interesting. Who knew that a random disciple I took in would actually be able to lure you here, hahaha.¡±

    Hai Qiqi red at the elder with rampant hatred in her eyes. ¡°You must be Little Ben¡¯s master, Elder Song.¡±

    The old man nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I am. Alright, there¡¯s no need for you to force me to act, so just follow me. With you here, the Thundercharge Dojo can already be considered as conquered.¡±

    ¡°Old man, it seems that you¡¯ve forgotten about me.¡± Lu Yin moved in front of Hai Qiqi and loosened his wrists.

    Elder Song¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°That piece of trash was still my disciple, but you killed him right in front of me, so I naturally have not forgotten about you. Rest assured, I will not let you die peacefully. I will make an example of you and warn all of Grayweed Continent¡¯s people of what oue awaits them if they kill my disciples. I will show them how wise it is to side with me instead.¡±

    He then raised a hand and flicked a finger. A ttened orb shot forth from his fingertip and flew towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and at that moment, he felt his scalp turn numb. It felt as though a guillotine was hanging over his head. He reflexively activated the Yu Secret Art, causing the ttened orb to vanish before shooting back towards Elder Song.

    Elder Song was astonished. ¡°A secret technique?¡±

    At the same time, Lu Yin fiercely charged forward andshed out with a punch. The person before him was a powerhouse whose power level was in excess of 300,000. This was different from the Enlighter elder who had been stationed in the Sea King¡¯s Dome, as this old man was actually an entire level higher. Although it would be troublesome even with the old man¡¯s power level suppressed to under 200,000, Lu Yin was confident that he could contest this powerhouse.

    Elder Song revealed a feverish expression. ¡°I actually managed to bump into a secret technique! Kid, I¡¯ll give you the chance to worship me as your master, and I¡¯ll allow you to join the Tong family. In the future, you¡¯ll receive a high position and will be able to follow Young Master Tong Zhan.¡±

    Lu Yin punched out without hesitation, and his violent fist struck Elder Song head on.

    Elder Song angrily barked, ¡°You don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you!¡±

    His figure then shed before he flicked his finger again. This time, it was not just one ttened orb that appeared, but rather three.

    Lu Yin could use the Yu Secret Art to divert one orb and then do his best to avoid the other two. However, one of the t orbs briefly paused in the void before swerving to hit Lu Yin. When it made contact with Lu Yin, the orb exploded intoyers of branches that wrapped around him, suddenly trapping Lu Yin before he could even react.

    ¡°Junior, hand over that secret technique, and I can still spare your life!¡± Elder Song ordered.

    At this moment, Hai Qiqi dashed towards Elder Song, the phantom image of the Sea King''s Trident already in her hands.

    Back when the Innerverse and Outerverse had still been connected, Huo Houye had once tried to intimidate Zenyu Star, and at that time, Hai Qiqi had relied on the image of the Sea King''s Trident to borrow the Sea King¡¯s power and scare the Enlighter away. Then, after the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, the Sea King¡¯s strength had gradually dissipated.

    However, right now, Hai Qiqi had returned to the Innerverse and was able to once again sense the Sea King¡¯s strength. That small shield from before, and also the Sea King''s Trident, had all been restored.

    When the phantom image of the Sea King''s Trident appeared in Hai Qiqi¡¯s hands, within that scorching hot region of Grayweed Continent, the Sea King opened his eyes and happily eximed, ¡°The Sea King''s Trident!¡±

    In the sky above the mountain range and the Thundercharge Dojo, Hai Qiqi stabbed the trident at Elder Song.

    The Sea King''s Trident was very powerful. However, with the suppression caused by the cosmic phenomenon, Hai Qiqi only dared to use a power level less than 200,000. She was not the Sea King, and even if the trident could borrow the Sea King¡¯s strength, there was still a considerable disparity between her and Elder Song. Elder Song was thus able to easily dodge this attack, and the indistinct image of the Sea King''s Trident was even dispersed.

    When Hai Qiqi made her move, Lu Yin took the opportunity to break free of the branches trapping him and converge his star energy over his right palm. ¡°One sun.¡±

    Elder Song snorted and flicked a finger at Lu Yin.

    This time, Lu Yin did not dodge the attack, and instead, the sun crashed towards the ttened orb. When they collided, the intense explosion sent Lu Yin flying back a thousand meters. These old farts who had power levels in the several hundred thousands had their own ways of suppressing their power levels while still disying terrifyingbat power. This was the difference due to experience and a higher cultivation realm.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy was not suppressed by such experts. Otherwise, he would have found it impossible to even move against powerhouses of that strength.

    The t orbs all exploded, and each one turned into branches that tried to twine themselves around Lu Yin. However, this time, the branches were instantly incinerated by the sun.

    The strength of this sun had reached the cusp of a power level of 200,000, and it was powerful enough to ovee Elder Song¡¯s attack.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many in the younger generation who can exchange blows with me. Junior, you should be proud.¡± Elder Song then raised a hand. This time, there were five t orbs on his palm, and seeing them made Lu Yin¡¯s scalp go numb.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Elder Song casually waved his hand, causing the five orbs to shoot at Lu Yin while also sealing off all escape routes as they tore through the void from their sheer speed.

    Lu Yin became serious, and he used the Yu Secret Art to divert one orb such that it struck another before shouting, ¡°Now, Qiqi!¡±

    Hai Qiqi had been blown back by Elder Song earlier, but she had once again condensed the Sea King''s Trident, and she stabbed forward with it.

    Elder Song smirked in contempt of her attack, and he confidently reached out towards the Sea King''s Trident. ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned your lesson.¡±

 Chapter 879: Terrifying Civilization

    <h4>Chapter 879: Terrifying Civilization</h4>

    When Lu Yin saw that Elder Song was about to move against Hai Qiqi, his eyes lit up as everything in his vision turned into nothing but rune lines. Elder Song''s power level that had been skillfully suppressed to just below 200,000 drastically decreased in strength as he was immediately weakened. Specifically, the runes from his abdomen and hands had been removed by Lu Yin''s Truesight. But before Elder Song could even react to this change, the Sea King''s Trident had already stabbed through his palm and into his abdomen. The three sharp points exited from his back as fresh blood dripped the trident¡¯s shaft.

    Lu Yin was still entwined by the branches that had erupted from the three ttened orbs.

    The sky fell silent at that moment.

    The most intense part of the battlefield was above the top of the Thundercharge Dojo, which was also located above the mountain range. However, there were also many people battling in the areas surrounding the mountains.

    The image of Hai Qiqi stabbing through Elder Song¡¯s body shocked many.

    Even if their power levels had been suppressed to under 200,000, those old freaks whose levels were in the hundreds of thousands could not be contested by normal cultivators. There was only one person in Grayweed Continent¡¯s entire younger generation who could match up to such people, and that was the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. Other members of the younger generation could only be crushed if they fought against any of the old monsters.

    Only old freaks could fight against other old freaks, and this wasmon knowledge in the Innerverse. The Ten Arbiters were the only ones able to defy that rule, but now, there was one more.

    Elder Song stared at Hai Qiqi in disbelief, and then seized hold of the trident.,¡°You¡­ have a secret technique too?¡±

    Hai Qiqi wanted to pull out the phantom image of the Sea King''s Trident, but it was being held in a death-grip by Elder Song. His expression turned sinister. ¡°You two shouldn¡¯t even dream of escaping. I must obtain that secret technique!¡±

    He then lunged towards Hai Qiqi,pletely ignoring the Sea King''s Trident that was impaled in his abdomen.

    Hai Qiqi hurriedly retreated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was currently shrouded in his eight lined battle force, and runes flickered within his eyes as he directly erased the rune lines of the branches that were trapping him, which greatly diminished their strength. He then easily broke free, and as he did so, he tapped at Elder Song.

    The void congealed, and in this space, only Lu Yin¡¯s finger continued to move forward.

    An imprint appeared behind Elder Song, and he managed to evade Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger. As he dodged aside, three ttened orbs appeared in his palm, and more importantly, his martial print also appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose; although this old man was using both his imprint and martial print, he was still able to suppress his power level to under the 200,000 limit. The level of control Elder Song had over his own strength was exceptional, and it was no wonder why he was an old monster whose power level was greater than 300,000. This attack waspletely different from his previous ones, and Lu Yin felt a sense of extreme crisis approaching him. He instinctively punched out with the Daynight Punch once again, and as it was released, his spiritual force created visible waves that rippled across the sky.

    Lu Yin only saw multipleyers of the sky ripple and fluctuate as Elder Song was embraced by them.

    Even the Enlighter elder back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome had been able to receive Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force attack, so it went without saying that Elder Song was also able to resist it. However, Lu Yin had not expected his punch to do anything to Elder Song, as he simply needed to buy a moment of time.

    Even though Elder Song would not be harmed by the attack, the Daynight Punch was still enough to make him pause for an instant.

    And this one moment was enough.

    Lu Yin converged his star energy over his right palm, causing it to blossom into a sun. A dazzling radiance illuminated the area, drawing the attention of countless people, and at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered with so much star energy that his eyes began to bleed. He used his full power to reduce Elder Song¡¯s rune lines as much as possible while simultaneously unleashing one sun.

    All of this urred within a single moment, and when Elder Song recovered from the shock caused by the Daynight Punch, the one sun had already descended upon him while his strength had been mysteriously weakened at that moment.

    There was a loud bang in the sky as the zing sun sent Elder Song flying. After soaring through the air for a short while, he crashed in the depths of the mountain range before falling to the ground like a meteor. When hended, there was an intense explosion that ttened everything near his point of impact.

    Within the mountain range, the Sixth Maind expert who had been fighting against Elder Tong was overwhelmed when he saw the sight of Elder Song crashing down into the ground. At this moment, Elder Song was in an exceptionally miserable condition. He was covered in blood, his skin had broken open, and blood was pouring out of the wound in his abdomen. His condition waspletely pathetic.

    Elder Tong¡¯s gaze drifted past the mountain range, where he saw Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi standing high in the sky, and the old man¡¯s expression quickly became delighted.

    At the same moment, on the other side of the mountain range, there was a middle-aged man who was enveloped with lightning and surrounded by multiple Sixth Maind powerhouses. When he saw Elder Song¡¯s pathetic state, the manughed maniacally. ¡°Sixth Maind, you guys reeled in the wrong people! Hahaha!¡±

    The person fighting against Elder Tong was a member of the Tong family, Elder Yuan. When he looked past the mountains to see Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi in the sky, his eyes narrowed. Despite their young ages, they were actually able to fight against such a powerhouse. Could these two be monsters on the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level?

    Elder Song had assumed that, out of all of the youths in the Fifth Maind, only the Ten Arbiters were able to fight against experts at his level. Only a select few were aware that the Innerverse battlefield was not looking very optimistic. The Starfall Sea, including Chaos Flowzone, was just one portion of the Innerverse, and the truly intense battles were taking ce in the Cosmic Sea. Over there, the Ten Arbiters were not the only members of the younger generation who were able to contend against those at their level.

    The Sixth Maind had used generous rewards to attract their youths and encourage them to join the Innerverse¡¯s battlefield. This was not only for the youths to gain experience, as many had initially assumed, but also because the war was truly too intense. Of course, that was also because only three realms were participating in this invasion. If all nine realms had moved out, then the Innerverse would not be able to withstand such an onught.

    However, the piece of meat that was the Innerverse was only so fat. If at all possible, the three realms would not let anyone else intervene. This was a one time distribution of resources, and thus, it was also a contest that would decide all sorts of other future possibilities.

    All of these thoughts shed through Elder Yuan¡¯s mind, and he looked over with a solemn expression. The Starfall Sea should not have had such monstrous youths, and it was already ridiculous that the Divine Fist of the Ten Arbiters had shown up. Could this person be from the Cosmic Sea? Had that battlefront¡¯s situation changed?

    After pondering for a moment, Elder Yuan decided to back off and further consider the situation.

    Someone with more knowledge would also think about more possibilities. Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had made Elder Yuan consider many possibilities, and the man had also be much more hesitant. When he saw how severely injured Elder Song was, Elder Yuan had no choice but to lead the remaining Sixth Maind troops in a slow retreat. But before he left, he nced over at Lu Yin oncest time, as if to engrave Lu Yin¡¯s image into his memory.

    This entire time, Elder Song¡¯s resentful eyes never moved away from Lu Yin. In the depths of the old man¡¯s eyes, there was an unseen greed and passion lurking. Elder Song was certain that this youth possessed two secret techniques and that he had only been defeated by theirbination. Otherwise, how could some measly Explorer defeat him?

    A secret technique was able to turn something rotten into something mysterious, and this was something that only a secret technique was capable of doing.

    Lu Yin panted heavily, and he seemed excited. Truesight¡¯s rity realm was truly fearsome. Although this technique was not a secret technique, it had almost reached that level.

    He could not imagine how outstanding and splendid the Rune Progenitor had been. The level of genius that the powerhouse must have been to found the Rune Civilization and to create such an iprehensible battle style was unfathomable.

    Also, this was just the rity realm. Once Lu Yin found more opportunities to strengthen his Truesight, he would be able to remove more runes and weaken his opponents even further. It would even eventually be possible for him to reach the same degree of control that the Rune Civilization had once boasted and directly erase someone¡¯s existence. That would be truly terrifying.

    Lu Yin had a strange feeling that the Rune Civilization¡¯s disappearance was not just caused by the Sixth Maind. Rather, this sort of civilization should never have even appeared in the first ce.

    Right, since he hadprehended the rity realm, then did that mean Lu Yin had obtained a part of the Rune Progenitor''s inheritance? Lu Yin became excited at that prospect.

    ¡°Grandpa Tong!¡± Hai Qiqi excitedly flew towards the mountains.

    Within the mountain range, Elder Tong rose into the sky and looked at Hai Qiqi with open affection. He emotionally hugged her while Hai Qiqi softly and continuously sobbed into his embrace.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re back, everything is okay.¡± Elder Tong patted Hai Qiqi¡¯s shoulders and consoled the girl.

    Quite a few people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome surrounded the two people. They also looked at Hai Qiqi in excitement, and some of them also called out to their little princess.

    Hai Qiqi was a little princess to the people of the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and although those who knew her were often aggravated by her venomous tongue, they also truly liked her. Additionally, it had been several years since they hadst met, so they were all relieved to see each other safe and sound once again.

    The middle-aged man who was shrouded with lightning approached the group from far away and rose up to appear in front of Elder Tong and Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi wiped her eyes and bowed to the man. ¡°Qiqi greets the Thundercharge Dojo Master.¡±

    The Thundercharge Dojo Master nodded and then excitedly said, ¡°We¡¯ve only received bad news during this period, and your appearance, Qiqi, is the only piece of good news.¡±

    Hai Qiqi smiled and then wiped her eyes once more as she looked at Elder Tong. ¡°Grandpa Tong, how¡¯s my father?¡±

    Elder Tong softly answered, ¡°It¡¯s not too convenient to speak about that here, so let¡¯s head down and talk.¡±

    ¡°Did something happen to Father?¡± Hai Qiqi became nervous.

    Elder Tong smiled. ¡°Rx, the Sea King is fine. Come, let¡¯s head down to talk.¡±

    His gaze then slid past Hai Qiqi to look at Lu Yin, and he nodded at the youth.

    Lu Yin bowed. Then, everyone returned to the ground.

    A great many cultivators had gathered at the Thundercharge Dojo, and one could see tens of thousands in just a nce. Furthermore, these people were all elites who had survived the previous battle. At its peak, the Thundercharge Dojo had likely boasted at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions of disciples.

    Among all these people, there were many space-exploring powerhouses, at least thirty Hunters, and multiple powerhouses with power levels in the several hundred thousands like the Thundercharge Dojo Master. Lu Yin fully believed that there had been other powerhouses with power levels that exceeded 200,000 on the previous battlefield. But unfortunately, he could not tell since nobody dared to allow their power level to surpass 200,000.

    Just by looking at the gathered experts, there were clearly enough to wipe out the entire Great Eastern Alliance. This was the strength of the Innerverse; any random power here was scary.

    However, this powerful strength had been fully suppressed by the Sixth Maind, and these people no longer dared to head out.

    As they moved into the circr mountain range that surrounded the Thundercharge Dojo, asional bolts of lightning streaked through the clouds beneath them, looking like swimming dragons.

    Within this dojo, all of their disciples cultivated battle techniques that were rted to lightning.

    Lu Yin had severely injured Elder Song, and countless people from the Thundercharge Dojo had witnessed this scene. Nobody dared to ignore this youth, and they had specially selected a very beautiful female disciple to apany him, which was something that Lu Yin was quite unustomed to.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, just how did you defeat that old fart? Why can¡¯t this monkey figure it out?¡± The Ghost Monkey was puzzled. He had always been with Lu Yin, but sometimes, the spikes in Lu Yin¡¯s strength was more than a little abnormal. In the Outerverse, the youth had used his own power to stun Hunters, but now that they were in the Innerverse, Lu Yin was even able to shock those old freaks who had suppressed their power level to below 200,000.

    This was too strange, and it caused the monkey to be slightly afraid of Lu Yin. He suddenly thought of how Lu Yin would asionally screen him off when they were alone, and the monkey felt like Lu Yin must have some secret.

    Lu Yin quietly answered, ¡°I had a sudden sh ofprehension. Some of the battle techniques that I couldn¡¯tprehend before became clear to me. This is very normal.¡±

    Normal my ass! The Ghost Monkey wanted to cuss. In the current Innerverse, which member of the younger generation aside from the monsters that were the Ten Arbiters could fight off old farts whose power level was limited to a Hunter¡¯s? Even those Cruisers who were in the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings were likely not capable of such a thing.

    After making thisparison, the monkey suddenly realized that Lu Yin had climbed to this level without him even realizing it. Out of the entire younger generation, Lu Yin was probably second only to the Ten Arbiters at this time!

    Half a dayter, Elder Tong went to find Lu Yin. ¡°Qiqi has shared her experiences with me. Little Brother Lu, thank you.¡±

    The old man then bowed deeply.

 Chapter 880: Intercept

    <h4>Chapter 880: Intercept</h4>

    Lu Yin immediately stepped back. ¡°Elder Tong, Qiqi is my friend. I just did what I was supposed to do.¡±

    Elder Tong stood up and answered in a strict tone, ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you helped Qiqi, but you have also gotten her into trouble.¡±

    Lu Yin remained quiet.

    ¡°Due to the great changes in the Innerverse, it¡¯s now filled with danger, especially the Starfall Sea. The Tong family is too powerful, and not even the entire Starfall Sea can oppose them. Little Brother Lu, you shouldn¡¯t have brought Qiqi here,¡± Elder Tong said.

    Lu Yin helplessly answered, ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t bring her here, she still would have found a way to get here on her own.¡±

    ¡°Then you should have tied her up! No matter what excuse you may give, this dangerous ce is simply somewhere where Qiqi should not be,¡± Elder Tong retorted with agitation.

    Lu Yin could understand Elder Tong¡¯s feelings, but that didn¡¯t mean that he would ept such a scolding. ¡°I ept your gratitude, but not your scolding.¡±

    Elder Tong nced at Lu Yin and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was too worked up.¡±

    Lu Yin remained quiet.

    Elder Tong then spoke up again. ¡°Is Elder Ren¡¯s body with you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and waved a hand, causing Elder Ren¡¯s body to appear.

    Elder Tong felt grief well up the moment he saw Elder Ren¡¯s body. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that this old fellow couldn¡¯t even die in peace.¡±

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how to respond to the old man.

    Elder Tong bowed once again. ¡°Little Brother Lu, thank you. Again, thank you!¡±

    Lu Yin did not refuse the old man¡¯s gratitude, as if he did not ept the elder¡¯s feelings, Elder Tong would feel uneasy.

    They quickly buried Elder Ren within the Thundercharge Dojo in hopes that they would be able to move his body to the Sea King¡¯s Dome after defeating the Sixth Maind in the future.

    During the burial, Hai Qiqi¡¯s eyes were red and swollen, and she silently cried.

    Many cultivators from the Sea King¡¯s Dome had lowered heads with faces that disyed both sadness and anger; their hatred towards the Sixth Maind was immeasurable.

    ¡°We have to give up on the dojo and leave.¡± Elder Tong sighed as he stood in front of Elder Ren¡¯s grave.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Leave? Where should we go?¡±

    ¡°Mt. Stacks Dojo,¡± Elder Tong answered. ¡°We have only managed to preserve thirteen dojos, and this Thundercharge Dojo is at the outermost perimeter. Since we managed to defeat the Sixth Maind this time around, they will definitelyunch an even stronger attack next time, and they might even bring Imprinters. We definitely won¡¯t be able to defeat them then, so we can only retreat to Mt. Stacks Dojo now. Actually, apart from this dojo, we will also have to give up on six or more dojos of the remaining thirteen dojos.¡±

    Lu Yin quietly asked, ¡°Mt. Stacks Dojo is at the center of Grayweed Continent, so won¡¯t we be trapping ourselves if we retreat to that ce?¡±

    Elder Tong bitterly answered, ¡°There¡¯s nowhere else for us to go aside from Mt. Stacks Dojo.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he finally realized that the entire Grayweed Continent had been trapped. He wasn¡¯t sure about the situation in the other ces, but within the Starfall Sea, there was nobody who couldpete against the Tong family. These people had only been able to survive for this long because the Tong family had not used their full power yet, though they may have been held back for some reason or another.

    Thetter was more likely to be true since the Tong family had asked the Flying Horse Manor to reinforce them. Despite that, even without the Flying Horse Manor, the cultivators of Grayweed Continent still wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.

    Although these people were clearly aware that this retreat would ultimately lead to their downfall, they had no choice but to go along with the Tong family¡¯s designs. The Starfall Sea had never faced such a frustrating situation before.

    What were the Sea King and Dojo Master Lan of Mt. Stacks Dojo doing at this time?

    ¡°Oh right, Elder Tong, do you know how my two seniors are doing? They¡¯re called Big Pao and Little Pao,¡± Lu Yin asked. He had asked them to stay in the Starfall Sea in the past since he had been worried that Feng Mo would continue pursuing them.

    Elder Tong did not know of either Big Pao or Little Pao, as such people were negligible to him.

    Lu Yin asked a few other people the same question, but nobody had paid any attention to the two brothers since the continent¡¯s situation had simply been too desperate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as they should be fine. When the Sixth Maind first invaded the Sea King¡¯s Dome, some people escaped to Grayweed Continent while others were transferred to thes near Sea King¡¯s Dome by the Sixth Maind. There were too many people at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and not even the Sixth Maind would dare to kill so many,¡± Elder Tong consoled Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. This might be true for ordinary people, but Big Pao and Little Pao were both quite powerful cultivators.

    Lu Yin hoped that they were still as resourceful as they had been in Astral-10 and that they had avoided this disaster.

    As the glowing objects descended in the sky, Grayweed Continent¡¯s day came to an end. Under the cover of darkness, Elder Tong and the Thundercharge Dojo Master led the others towards Mt. Stacks Dojo, abandoning the Thundercharge Dojo.

    This many cultivators traveling at once was a significant event, and it would definitely attract the attention of the Sixth Maind. Fortunately, the area behind Mt. Stacks Dojo had not been taken over by the Sixth Maind yet, which meant that all of the Sixth Maind cultivators in that area were not very powerful and were easily taken care of.

    ***

    On the second day, Elder Yuan and Elder Song led an army to the Thundercharge Dojo, where theyid camp outside the perimeter. A gentle, middle-aged man stood in front of the army, and although he didn¡¯t look very impressive, both Elder Yuan and Elder Song stood behind him in a respectful manner.

    This middle-aged man was an elder from the Tong family, and his name was Mr. Yi. He was an Imprinter whose power level was greater than 600,000, and he was one of the top three cultivators in the Tong family.

    ¡°Mr. Yi, there¡¯s no one here. They¡¯ve abandoned the Thundercharge Dojo,¡± Elder Song reported after conducting a thorough search of the grounds.

    Mr. Yi frowned. ¡°How decisive. It must have been that Elder Tong from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    He examined the area and eventually turned in the direction of Mt. Stacks Dojo. ¡°Elder Yuan, Elder Song, take twenty people with you and head after them. Even if you can¡¯t keep everyone alive, you must at least bring their leader back.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ***

    The Thundercharge Dojo Master led their group towards their destination, and they traveled for two straight days without stopping for any breaks. All of the cultivators quietly followed behind him.

    Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi were in the center of the crowd, and Elder Tong brought up the rear.

    Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin were both indignant that they were being chased by other people. Lu Yin had originally intended to simply escort Hai Qiqi to the Sea King¡¯s Dome and then leave. However, they were now trapped on Grayweed Continent, and he didn''t even know when he would be able to return to the Outerverse.

    He wasn¡¯t even sure how long the hole in the Astral River would remain there for, and he became increasingly concerned whenever he thought about it.

    Hai Qiqi grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hand. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin patted her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nodded, and her gaze grew firm. She had be much strongerpared to when she had first left the Starfall Sea, and she could now control her emotions very well.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t ask her about the Sea King, and Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t mention her father either, which meant that any and all information regarding the Sea King was highly restricted. It was possible that they would have to depend on the Sea King if they wanted to escape from Grayweed Continent alive.

    Lu Yin was more excited about meeting the Divine Fist, as this Arbiter was currently on the same continent as Lu Yin, and they weren¡¯t even that far apart. Lu Yin would soon get to meet the Arbiter.

    Just when Lu Yin thought that they would be able to sessfully arrive at the Mt. Stacks Dojo, the sky cracked open in the distance as a foot emerged. A gentle-looking, middle-aged man, Mr. Yi, followed the foot out along with Elder Yuan, Elder Song, and twenty other experts from the Sixth Maind.

    The Thundercharge Dojo Master sighed. The Sixth Maind had still managed to catch up to them.

    The battle started immediately.

    The Thundercharge Dojo Master moved to block Mr. Yi, and he used lightning to attack the Imprinter. Lightning filled the sky and condensed into a bolt of lightning that shot towards Mr. Yi.

    Mr. Yi smiled and waved a hand, which caused the lightning to dissipate.

    Everyone was stunned.

    Elder Tong¡¯s face darkened. This man was an Imprinter whose power level had exceeded 500,000. This was why the middle-aged man was able to ignore star energy attacks: his realm was much higher than theirs.

    Although there were tens of thousands of cultivators from Grayweed Continent in the retreating group, they were stillpletely overwhelmed by the twenty two cultivators led by Mr. Yi. These twenty two cultivators clearly weren¡¯t normal.

    Elder Song saw Lu Yin and sneered. ¡°Young one, you can¡¯t escape!¡±

    His imprint immediately appeared as he flicked his fingers and shot out five ttened orbs. The orbs pierced through dozens of cultivators as they rushed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pushed Hai Qiqi away and immediately dodged the attack.

    The five ttened orbs erupted into branches that extended out and tied up thousands of cultivators, including Lu Yin.

    Elder Song then rushed over. ¡°Young one, you¡¯re going to die!¡±

    Lu Yin watched as Elder Song approached him, and at thest possible moment, his Fatesand suddenly appeared in front of him. Elder Song¡¯s attack struck the Fatesand continuously until the Fatesand was automatically forced to return to Lu Yin¡¯s body. The old man then lifted a hand and moved to press down on Lu Yin¡¯s head. He wasn¡¯t nning on killing Lu Yin and merely wanted to render the youth unconscious so that he could take the young man away and interrogate him about the secret technique.

    Elder Song had clearly already nned everything out. He was going to carry Lu Yin away from the main troops and only return to the Tong family after interrogating the youth about his secret technique.

    Elder Song had also managed to skirt by the cosmic phenomenon to unleash his maximum allowable strength. With his precise control of star energy, he had isted the two of them from the cultivators around them. His control of his star energy was vastly different from how Lockbreakers understood star energy.

    Elder Song was an Enlighter who could control his star energy, but that did not mean that he understood star energy. On the other hand, Lockbreakers understood star energy and treated star energy as its own world.

    Although this was a huge difference in terms ofprehension, they were still practically simr enough that Lu Yin couldn¡¯t ovee Elder Song¡¯s control of star energy.

    However, Lu Yin didn¡¯t need to defeat the old man, as he had not been trapped at all.

    Elder Song¡¯s attack was just about tond when Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed and disappeared. He had used his forcefield to simte the branches that had been wrapping around him.

    Elder Song had not expected Lu Yin to just be feigning capture. He quickly reacted to Lu Yin¡¯s movements, but it was already toote.

    Lu Yin appeared behind the old man, and his eyes shed. Elder Song¡¯s runes were instantly reduced, and although the old man could feel that something had happened, there was nothing the Enlighter could do about it. Lu Yin gathered his star energy over his right hand and infused it with cauldron energy. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    A ming sphere then crashed towards Elder Song¡¯s head.

    Elder Song felt an impending sense of doom overwhelm him as his strength waned. He roared defiantly as he watched the sun descend towards him as he released his maximum power, which was a reflexive response to his life being threatened.

    A terrifying shockwave from a power level of 300,000 swept across the area. It created a visible gale that overturned everything and shattered the void.

 Chapter 881: Lu Yinâ€™s Ultimate Move

    <h4>Chapter 881: Lu Yin¡¯s Ultimate Move</h4>

    When he saw Elder Song erupt with his full strength, Mr. Yi was startled in the distance. What an idiot.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Elder Yuan was astonished even while he was battling with Elder Tong.

    Lu Yin hurriedly rushed away.

    Elder Song¡¯s face went pale as he raised his head with an expression of despair. ¡°No, no!¡±

    He let out a roar even as his entire being vanished. His very existence had been erased by the cosmic phenomenon.

    Countless watched on, dumbfounded. It was still shocking every time they saw someone be erased from existence by the cosmic phenomenon. Even if these people had seen this same scene multiple times, they were still taken aback every time.

    That was a Progenitor¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from looking up either. In the moment before the old man vanished, Lu Yin saw countless rune lines, and the runes that his pupils had transformed into also be a little moreplex. After reaching the rity realm of Truesight, this was his first time personally witnessing the Rune Progenitor¡¯s strength erasing someone¡¯s rune lines. This gave him a deeper understanding of the rity realm, and he now felt like he could erase more runes than before.

    Although it was just a slight improvement, those few could be more, and eventually, it would be absolutely terrifying.

    This was one way to win battles in the Innerverse, to force one¡¯s opponents to be erased by the cosmic phenomenon. And when Lu Yin did so, he would be able to clearly see the Rune Progenitor¡¯s strength at work. This would be of great help to him, but aplishing this was difficult, as it meant forcing others to unleash a power level of more than 200,000.

    ¡°Careful!¡± a voice cried out.

    Lu Yin casually waved his hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. From behind, a Sixth Maind cultivator holding a strange weapon stabbed at him, but the attack was diverted by the Yu Secret Art. The man¡¯s stab instead hit the ground, tearing it apart. Lu Yin then fiercely counterattacked with one sun. This move had not managed to hit Elder Song during their battle, but it proved to be effective against this new attacker.

    The star energy that formed the sun had been purposefully condensed by Lu Yin to closely approach a power level of 200,000. That one attack, along with Lu Yin¡¯s instinctual weakening of his opponent¡¯s rune lines, sted the peak Hunter who hadunched a sneak attack against Lu Yin dead.

    Not even a corpse remained, as he had been reduced to fragments.

    There was no counter against Lu Yin¡¯s rity realm Truesight which reduced the target¡¯s runes, especially under the current circumstances where everyone was forced to suppress their power level to under 200,000. These circumstances actually made this technique an even greater killing tool.

    Removing some of his opponents¡¯ rune lines was not that useful of an ability in the Outerverse since each Enlighter would have a power level of more than 200,000. Even if Lu Yin removed some of their rune lines, it would not greatly influence his opponent. However, in this ce, this ability could be considered as an absolute trump card.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something; could the Rune Progenitor have created this sort of cosmic phenomenon with the intention that this battlefield would be a killing ground for those who had inherited his Truesight?

    The more Lu Yin considered it, the more possible this theory seemed. With this cosmic phenomenon, as long as one had Awakened their eyes, it was very likely they would be able to reach the rity realm. Additionally, the ability granted by reaching that realm was practically unrivaled within the scope of the cosmic phenomenon.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a sense of danger, and he looked up to see someone looking right at him, who was Mr. Yi.

    The Thundercharge Dojo Master who had been battling with Mr. Yi was already lying on the ground, his life and death uncertain. Meanwhile, all the nearby cultivators rushed at Mr. Yi like moths towards a me, but not a single one was able to get close to him.

    Mr. Yi suddenly tore through the void and vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, and he hurriedly fled towards Elder Tong. He was certain that this Mr. Yi was aiming for him.

    However, before Lu Yin could take more than a couple steps, Mr. Yi had already appeared in front of Lu Yin, directly stepping out before Lu Yin. Although Mr. Yi was just one person, Lu Yin felt as though the entire heavens were blocking his path, and the man¡¯s presence filled Lu Yin¡¯s entire vision. The Imprinter then raised his hand and slowly grabbed out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically, and his scalp went numb. This person was an Imprinter, and Lu Yin hastily tried to retreat.

    But Mr. Yi¡¯s hand seemed to cover the entire sky. No matter where Lu Yin fled toward, he still felt like he was about to be captured.

    In the distance, Elder Tong¡¯s expression changed greatly as well. A power level of 500,000 was a major threshold, and one¡¯s power wouldprehensively change once they reached that stage. If Lu Yin tried to use the same methods that he had used to deal with Elder Song against this Imprinter, then he would be doomed.

    Elder Tong wanted to help Lu Yin, but Elder Yuan was keeping the old man busy, and he simply could not assist Lu Yin at all.

    All the cultivators who were close to Lu Yin on the battlefield were forced back by an inexplicable power. This force was clearly not overwhelmingly powerful, but nobody was able to resist it. This even included Hai Qiqi and an Enlighter who had always remained hidden within the Thundercharge Dojo¡¯s forces.

    As the palm drew closer to Lu Yin, he could even make out the palm lines. ¡°Little kid,e with me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils instantly constricted, and he opened his right hand that was covered in eight lined battle force and pped out with it.

    Mr. Yi was amused, as a mere Explorer actually dared to fight against him.

    ¡°Thirty Stacks, Two Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± Lu Yin roared as the surface of his skin actually started cracking apart. Two hundredfold was the highest power he could possibly withstand at this time. That force,bined with Thirty Stacks of the Oveying Stacks, meant that his attack had already reached a level where even an ordinary Enlighter would find it difficult to withstand. The physical power of this attack had not surpassed a power level of 200,000 yet, as it was very difficult for Lu Yin to force out a physical strength that exceeded a power level of 200,000.

    In the moment that the two palms collided, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he wiped out a portion of the rune lines in Mr. Yi¡¯s palm.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s expression abruptly changed, and there was a loud bang as the two palms met. A terrifying aftershock swept out in all directions as a st of wind blew everything away.

    Hai Qiqi could only tell that she was being flung away by an overpowering strength.

    This collision of pure physical strength released aftershocks that rippled out for over 10,000 kilometers around the point of impact.

    Mr. Yi and Lu Yin were both pushed underground at the same time.

    Mr. Yi was perfectly fine, as he had only taken half a step back. However, Lu Yin¡¯s right arm was bent awkwardly, his battle force had also crumbled apart, and a mouthful of blood was trickling down his chin while his body had been knocked back a hundred meters. He gritted his teeth and looked ahead; an Imprinter¡¯s physical strength was truly too terrifying. This person did not seem like someone who specialized in training his physical body, but his physical strength had still reached such a frightening level. Lu Yin had used everything that he had in thatst attack, but he still had not been able to harm the Imprinter in the slightest.

    As Lu Yin thought about all this, he leaped up and flew high into the sky, where he panted heavily. A bone in his right arm had even broken through his skin, and the wound was causing him excruciating pain.

    Underground, Mr. Yi was astonished. He was an Imprinter with a power level of more than 600,000, and although he had never focused on cultivating his physical strength, due to his realm, his physical strength was still terrifying. Even a cultivator with a power level of around 300,000 or 400,000 who specialized in raising their physical strength would not have a good time if theypared their strength to this Imprinter, let alone a mere Explorer. And yet, Mr. Yi had still been forced back half a step by this puny Explorer.

    The key was that this kid actually had a secret technique that could weaken the Imprinter¡¯s physical strength.

    Mr. Yi stepped out, emerged from the ground, and looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°Kid, aside from that little Divine Fist imp, you are the first youth from this Maind who has been able to exchange blows with me. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Countless looked over at Lu Yin with shocked expressions, stunned at his strength.

    Even the Thundercharge Dojo Master had died at Mr. Yi¡¯s hand, but this youth was actually able to take a strike from this old monster.

    Blood flowed down from Lu Yin¡¯s lips. ¡°Look at your own palm.¡±

    Mr. Yi raised his hand, and he saw his palm had turned ck. He was shocked. ¡°You used poison?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Hahaha, very good, very smart. However, your understanding of my strength is still too shallow. Poison is useless against me.¡± Mr. Yi casually waved his hand, and it returned to a normal appearance.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, even though he had just been testing things. He had tossed out one of Elder Wu''s poison when his palm had collided with the Imprinter¡¯s. Although the poison had struck the person, it had ultimately been ineffective.

    Even after suppressing their power level to under 200,000, this person still made Lu Yin feel helpless.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough nonsense. Come with me,¡± Mr. Yi barked before vanishing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he hurriedly fled from where he had just been standing. Mr. Yi stepped out and grabbed at Lu Yin¡¯s right arm, but his movements suddenly hesitated. From the side, a phantom image of the Sea King''s Trident shot by, but Mr. Yi just snorted and carelessly waved his hand, causing the image to crumble. Hai Qiqi had used her full strength, but she could not stall Mr. Yi for the slightest bit.

    He grabbed a hold of Lu Yin¡¯s right arm. ¡°Little kid, do you no longer want your arm?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and his eyes shed once again as the strength in Mr. Yi¡¯s hand that was holding onto Lu Yin¡¯s arm was suddenly reduced by a significant amount. Lu Yin managed to escape during that tiny opportunity, and Mr. Yi¡¯s eyes lit up once again. ¡°Good secret technique! Hand it over.¡±

    He then continued to try grabbing Lu Yin.

    To this Imprinter, Lu Yin was nothing more than a mouse that could be grabbed at any moment. As for those thousands of cultivators all around them, what use were they? They could not even get close to the powerhouse.

    Lu Yin continued to evade the Imprinter, and although Mr. Yi nearly managed to grab a hold of Lu Yin multiple times, each time he got close, the youth managed to somehow slip away.

    However, Lu Yin was aware that he would be caught sooner orter, as the disparity in their strength was just too great. Star energy attacks were useless against Imprinters, and there was toorge of a difference in their physical strength. Thus, there was no way for Lu Yin to resist this expert.

    With a thump, Lu Yin mmed into the ground, and Mr. Yi¡¯s hand extended out towards him. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    Lu Yin grew flustered, and he picked up some mud from the ground and flung it at Mr. Yi.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s expression changed, and the mud automatically dispersed. Still, Lu Yin seized this opportunity to escape once again.

    ¡°Little fellow, you can¡¯t escape,¡± Mr. Yi barked, though his tone was clearly more agitated this time.

    Lu Yin felt that something was strange. The mud that he had just thrown was perfectly ordinary, but it had managed to slow the Imprinter for a moment. Lu Yin carefully observed Mr. Yi, and he quickly realized that the man had not allowed even a speck of dust tond on him from the very start of the battle even though the Imprinter was just wearing a simple white shirt and white pair of pants. His outfit seemed exceptionally clean even though the man had just been thrown into the ground and was participating in a chaotic battle. On the contrary, Lu Yin looked like a beggar. Could this powerhouse have some sort of obsession with cleanliness?

    Lu Yin quickly dodged, and as he did so, he grabbed another fistful of mud to throw at Mr. Yi.

    The Imprinter grew even more furious. ¡°Little kid, you want to die!¡±

    Lu Yin grinned back at the man. ¡°Are you a clean freak?¡±

    Mr. Yi snorted. ¡°So what? All of your attacks are ineffective against me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then catch this!¡± Lu Yin then pulled out an item that he threw at Mr. Yi.

    The moment the object appeared, an indescribably foul stench filled the air, and it rapidly spread out. The abnormal odor actually covered the entire battlefield, and as everyone sensed the stink, they turned to look at the source as one. What could possibly be so smelly?

    Lu Yin pinched his nose shut as he hurriedly retreated. He had naturally taken out the stinky fruit-like item that he had received from a lockbreaking session. That thing¡¯s smell had nearly knocked Lu Yin unconscious when it first appeared, and the stench¡¯s smell was incredibly intense.

    To a clean freak, this reeking smell was actually something impermissible.

    Mr. Yi backed away while looking as if he had seen a ghost.

    Lu Yinughed, and he waved a hand as he used his Yu Secret Art. The smelly fruit vanished, only to immediately reappear in Mr. Yi¡¯s bosom.

    Mr. Yi shrieked and leaped up like a rabbit whose tail had been trampled upon. He flung away the questionable item, and his eyes shed red as he red at Lu Yin. ¡°You want to die!¡±

    Lu Yin pointed behind Mr. Yi.

    The Imprinter turned back around, only to see that the stinky object had already returned.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s pupils shrank, and his face went pale as he hurriedly evaded the iing item.

    This scene rendered the entire battlefield speechless. Lu Yin was using a stinky item to chase after Mr. Yi, and this invincible powerhouse was actually being chased about like a mouse. More importantly, the stinky object was strangely robust, and Mr. Yi actually could not break it. Each time the man tossed the fruit further away, it was summoned back by Lu Yin, and it chased after the man like a cursed item.

 Chapter 882: Mt. Stacks Dojo

    <h4>Chapter 882: Mt. Stacks Dojo</h4>

    This was obviously a solemn battlefield filled with fighting, but the atmosphere had suddenly changed. In particr, the smell of the battlefield had been terribly altered.

    Anywhere Mr. Yi appeared, everyone else would flee the area while pinching their noses.

    Lu Yin chased after Mr. Yi. ¡°Come on! Come here! I¡¯ll take you down.¡±

    Mr. Yi¡¯s face had turned a deathly shade of white, as some things could not be changed even after cultivating to the Imprinter realm. These tendencies were often innate instincts, and even if Mr. Yi¡¯s physical body had undergone changes to conform to the universe, some of his base instincts could not be changed, such as his obsession with cleanliness and his obsessivepulsive disorder.

    Mr. Yi was an abnormally severe clean freak, and he would rather die than be contaminated by such a filthy item.

    In the distance, Elder Tong and Elder Yuan were both struck dumb, and they even forgot about their own battle.

    Hai Qiqi pinched her nose and fled far away, as that fruit-like item was truly too smelly.

    Lu Yin himself could not handle the stench either. This smell could not be blocked by one¡¯s star energy, and it was actually transmitted directly to the brain. Just one whiff was enough to be unforgettable for an entire lifetime.

    As he brandished the reeking object, Lu Yin seemed to reach the peak of his life, as he was actually chasing after an Imprinter.

    Mr. Yi had just about given up all hope.

    At the same time, countless cultivators suddenly arrived from another direction, and it seemed as though they were a group who had abandoned another dojo. In particr, Hai Dashao was among their group.

    Once he saw that the enemy¡¯s reinforcements had arrived, Mr. Yi did not feel frustrated, as he was actually strangely joyful. He led his entire party away, and he did not even turn to look back.

    As for the people who had just arrived on the battlefield, once they smelled the horrifying stench, their expressions became very interesting.

    Elder Tong heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Mr. Yi lead Elder Yuan away, and he gazed at Lu Yin with appreciation in his eyes.

    Lu Yin hurriedly stored the stinky, fruit-like item away as he also heaved a sigh of relief. He touched his cosmic ring lovingly, as this fruit was his treasure. If he encountered that clean freak again, he would have a weapon. No, that fellow probably would not want to face Lu Yin ever again in his entire life.

    As Lu Yin put the smelly object away, the other cultivators created gusts of wind to quickly disperse the smell.

    When Hai Qiqi saw Hai Dashao, her eyes flushed red as she cried out, ¡°Second Bro!¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s body trembled, and his expression changed to one of ecstasy as he looked over to see Hai Qiqi. ¡°Qiqi!¡±

    Nearby, Lu Yin pulled out an ointment to apply to his right arm, and he endured the intense pain as he looked further away. Hai Dashao and Hai Qiqi had found each other, and Lu Yin sighed.

    This battle had been fought in a very strange manner, but no matter what, a powerful enemy had ultimately been repelled.

    Elder Tong came over to Lu Yin, but the old man did not know what to say. He felt that this battle had been won in a very odd manner, and he could still vaguely recall that horrible stench. He did not know what that object had been, but it was truly extremely revolting.

    Lu Yin saw Elder Tong¡¯s expression of puzzlement, and he coughed to dispel the awkward feeling. ¡°That thing was obtained from a sourcebox.¡±

    Elder Tong nodded. ¡°Thank you. If not for you, we would have been finished here.¡±

    Lu Yin touched his nose, but he did not respond.

    After a long while, once the battlefield was cleaned up, Lu Yin came to find out that the new arrivals who hade with Hai Dashao were from the Bluearch Dojo.

    The Bluearch Dojo was located slightly closer to the center of Grayweed Continent than the Thundercharge Dojo, so it had not been attacked by the Sixth Maind as frequently. The dojo itself was ranked amongst the top five dojos, and the Bluearch Dojo Master was stronger than the Thundercharge Dojo Master, as he would break through to the Envoy realm with just one more push. His power level was even higher than Elder Tong¡¯s. This man was clearly quite capable, as he had managed to keep the Bluearch Dojo¡¯s cultivators safe even though they had still eventually been forced to withdraw, unfortunately.

    While they were cleaning up the messy battlefield, the newly arrived cultivators also came to learn about what had happened during the recent battle. As they did so, they all looked at Lu Yin strangely, which made Lu Yin feel very ufortable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s recovery rate was very fast, and he had already regained feeling in his right arm.

    At this time, someone arrived behind Lu Yin, and he turned around to see them. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Hai Dashao.¡±

    The person who hade to visit Lu Yin was Hai Dashao, and he also gave Lu Yin a strange look. ¡°It¡¯s been four years, and you¡¯ve changed a great deal.¡±

    Lu Yin moved his right arm. ¡°Changed my looks?¡±

    ¡°Strength.¡± Hai Dashao sized Lu Yin up and down. ¡°You were actually able to survive an attack from an Imprinter, and you even killed an Enlighter. How did you do it?¡±

    ¡°Do you need an exnation?¡± Lu Yin replied casually. He felt that Hai Dashao¡¯s tone was as arrogant as it had been four years ago.

    Lu Yin still had not forgotten how, back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Hai Dashao had arrogantly seized Lu Yin. That irresistible strength was still fresh within Lu Yin¡¯s memory, though at this moment, he was already certain that he had surpassed Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao frowned slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t like your attitude, but I¡¯m very grateful that you protected Qiqi. Still, you should not have brought her to the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°I don¡¯t like your attitude either.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You must be very confident for you to dare to talk to me like this.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Are you brainless, or are you just unwilling to ept things? I can beat you with just one hand right now. No, it would be aplete thrashing.¡±

    Hai Dashao became furious, and he was about to say something, but Elder Tong rushed over in the nick of time and held Hai Dashao back. ¡°Little Brother Lu is our savior. Without him, we wouldn¡¯t havested until you arrived. Don¡¯t be rash.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s find some time to spar. Don¡¯t assume that you are powerful just because you used some weird method to stall an Imprinter. A difference in strength cannot be made up with just wits.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re brainless or that I¡¯m too smart?¡± Lu Yin ridiculed.

    Hai Dashao flew into a rage, but he was restrained again by Elder Tong.

    Lu Yin snorted. He did not like Hai Dashao¡¯s attitude. Although Lu Yin was aware that the Sea King¡¯s son did not have any bad intentions, his pride and arrogance made Lu Yin very unhappy. The Sea King¡¯s Dome was gone, so there was no basis for his confidence any more.

    Hai Qiqi walked over in a helpless manner. ¡°Can¡¯t you talk a bit less? My Second Bro has always been like that. Don¡¯t you know that?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face another direction. ¡°I¡¯m not his father, so there¡¯s no reason for me to indulge him.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Hai Qiqi became angry, and she red at Lu Yin before leaving.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that was a good attack! A few years ago, I felt like that fellow was not very pleasing to the eye when he wanted to take Sister Wendy. He¡¯s got no manners! Find a chance to beat him up!¡± The Ghost Monkey tried to rile Lu Yin up.

    After listening to the monkey, Lu Yin¡¯s mood grew even worse. That person had indeed even wanted to snatch Wendy, and he truly deserved to be beaten.

    In another ce, Hai Dashao¡¯s anger had not been dispelled yet, and he really wanted to fight with Lu Yin immediately.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stir up any problems. You really are not his match at the moment.¡± Elder Tong held Hai Dashao back as he helplessly tried to exin.

    Hai Dashao was unconvinced. ¡°Him? That ant from a few years ago? I can crush him with one hand!¡±

    Elder Tong shook his head. ¡°He used his own strength to kill an Enlighter whose power level was greater than 300,000, and he also managed to avoid being captured by an Imprinter numerous times in a row. Can you exchange blows with an Imprinter? Even the top three in the Top 100 Rankings might not be able to do so, but he can.¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°Really?¡±

    Elder Tong nodded.

    Hai Dashao was astonished. Although he was arrogant, he was not stupid. He had originally assumed that Lu Yin had relied purely on his secret technique and power vessels to kill that Enlighter, and also to preserve his own life against that Imprinter. This was especially so after Hai Dashao had seen that stinky item; his impression of Lu Yin was that the youth was someone full of tricks that relied on their good luck. Now that Hai Dashao had heard Elder Tong¡¯s full exnation, if these words were true, then he might really not be that person¡¯s match.

    How had that fellow cultivated in these four years?

    ¡°Even that Imprinter had no way to counter Lu Yin¡¯s methods, so it would be best for you not to provoke him. Otherwise, you¡¯ll lose face. He¡¯s also Qiqi¡¯s savior, and he also brought back Elder Ren¡¯s corpse.¡± Elder Tong¡¯s voice became gloomier.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s body trembled, and he looked at Elder Tong with open grief. ¡°Elder Ren¡¯s corpse was taken by him? Where is it?¡±

    Elder Tong sighed. ¡°He was buried at the Thundercharge Dojo.¡±

    Hai Dashao clenched both fists and gritted his teeth tightly. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t die this time, the day wille when I go against the flow and ughter my way into the Sixth Maind. This blood debt can only be paid by their own!¡±

    Elder Tong patted the youth¡¯s shoulders, but he did not reply.

    Lu Yin followed behind a group of cultivators as they headed towards Mt. Stacks Dojo. They passed over several mountain peaks and moved past trees whose branches covered the sky. The journey took them several days, but since they had already gotten close to Mt. Stacks Dojo, there were almost no Sixth Maind cultivators along their path. The Bluearch Dojo Master was able to tear through the void as he wished, and he directly brought Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, Lu Yin, and a few others through the void to arrive outside of Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    Compared to the Thundercharge Dojo, Mt. Stacks Dojo looked far more magnificent.

    From a distance, Mt. Stacks Dojo looked like it was formed entirely fromndmasses that had been stacked on each other. There were a total of twenty levels, and the center of eachndmass was connected to a giant stone pir. Eachndmass was separated by a stone staircase that circled around the stack and wrapped around the stone pir.

    ¡°Each piece ofnd has a different level of gravity. Mt. Stacks Dojo is a cultivation dojo that focuses purely on physical strength, and every cultivator who joins the dojo ends up developing an extremely powerful physical strength.¡± Hai Qiqi introduced the dojo to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as the Divine Fist Arbiter¡¯s name was Lan Si, and he was also from Mt. Stacks Dojo. Back when he had been in the Astral Combat Academy, Lan Si had been capable of using more than Thirty Stacks. Lu Yin was fully aware of how difficult it was to unleash Thirty Stacks as a Limiteer, but Lan Si had managed to do it. Also, the publicly known record may not have necessarily been the Arbiter¡¯s actual limit. There was a rumor that the Divine Fist had once shattered a with One Hundred Stacks. Concerning that rumor, Lu Yin knew that someone supporting Lan Si had helped the Arbiter deduce the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Now that Lu Yin had arrived at Mt. Stacks Dojo, he was certain that there was a method in this ce for cultivating the Oveying Stacks Path since this was also the most suitable location to cultivate it.

    As they approached Mt. Stacks Dojo, a powerful wind approached them. Within that wind, they could hear the sound of a collision as well as quite a few people clenching their teeth and struggling fiercely. When Lu Yin looked up, he saw multiple people sitting cross-legged on the stone steps that were connecting the multiple stackedndmasses. There were also some people who were walking up those stone steps, though it was clearly very difficult as their bodies trembled with every step. It seemed that they could not endure the forces.

    Lu Yin looked on with a grave expression. The rune lines that he could see around Mt. Stacks Dojo were overwhelming, and there were a dozen people who were approaching the power level limit of 200,000. Some of them might be peak Hunters, though the others should be Enlighters who were suppressing their power level, and there were quite a few of these powerhouses at that.

    The most powerful expert in the entire Mt. Stacks Dojo was the dojo master, who was an Envoy-level super powerhouse. This person also happened to be second only to the Sea King in the entire Starfall Sea. This was the father of the Divine Fist Arbiter, Lan Si: Dojo Master Lan.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master was very familiar with Mt. Stacks Dojo, and the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo were not at all surprised to see the arrival of a crowd of cultivators. However, worry could be seen peeking out from the depths of their eyes.

    Dojo Master Lan did not appear. Instead, a robust, middle-aged man weed the group in. The valiant aura that poured out of the man made Lu Yin wary, and he could tell that this person was definitely an Enlighter.

    ¡°You¡¯re alone? Where¡¯s the Thundercharge Dojo Master?¡± the middle-aged man asked.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master shook his head. ¡°Dead.¡±

 Chapter 883: Overlaying Stacks Path

    <h4>Chapter 883: Oveying Stacks Path</h4>

    The middle aged man¡¯s re faded, he finally forced out a smile and said, ¡°Head on in.¡±

    But after speaking, his eyes swept over the crowd, and Hai Qiqi caught attention. rmed, he cried out, ¡°Qiqi? Why are you here?¡±

    Hai Qiqi stepped forward. ¡°Uncle Tie, it¡¯s been a long time since Ist saw you.¡±

    ¡°Qiqi?¡±

    A cry of surprise rose in the distance, and Hai Qiqi¡¯s body trembled as she spun around. With great glee, she cried out, ¡°Baobao!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. Baobao? This name, strangely enough, reminded Lu Yin of the pink sofa that he had seen on the top floor of Amethyst Exchange. The two felt like they belonged together.

    Lan Baobao was the individual ranked twenty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings. She was an absolute talent within the younger generation, and this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing her in person.

    Truth be told, this woman did not fit in with the rest of the Mt. Stacks Dojo members. This ce was a haven for muscled men, and all of them were drenched in sweat with sculpted bodies. Lan Baobao, on the other hand, was a petite and cute girl who looked a great deal like Hai Qiqi. Lan Baobao also had a cute, round little face that had a childish look to it despite her being older than Lu Yin.

    It was no wonder why she had been named Lan Baobao.

    Lu Yin was not interested in the two women¡¯s conversation, and instead, his eyes focused on thendmasses that filled the sky.

    ¡°Eachndmass is separated by one hundred steps, and eachndmasses with an increase in gravity. To sum it up, the gravitational force of eachndmass is an additional hundred times stronger than the previous,¡± Hai Dashao said.

    Lu Yin was shocked to hear that the gravity between each level was a hundred times than thest. That meant that, on the top level, the gravitational force would be two thousand times stronger than the normal gravitational force.

    Up till now, the strongest gravitational force that Lu Yin had ever experienced was 300 times that of normal gravity. It was not that he was unable to withstand a stronger force, but rather that he had simply never had the opportunity to experience such an environment. Given his current physical strength, he could withstand a gravitational force at least a thousand times greater than normal.

    A thousandfold increase in gravitational force would be the limit for most ordinary Hunters. Lu Yin was certain that his body was not any weaker than even the strongest average Hunter. In fact, he felt that he was likely even stronger than them.

    ¡°What do you think? Do you want to try it?¡± Hai Dashao looked at Lu Yin with a hint of provocation. He was really curious about what level Lu Yin was capable of reaching.

    Lu Yin nced over at Hai Dashao before asking, ¡°What¡¯s the highest level that you can reach?¡±

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The seventh level.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a sigh and shook his head. ¡°How weak.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Hai Dashao grew angry.

    Lu Yin turned around and left,pletely ignoring the angry young man.

    Hai Dashao gritted his teeth. He did not understand why he had not found this youth so aggravating in the past. However, Hai Dashao suddenly remembered the scene where Starsibyl had asked Lu Yin how one became stronger and how Lu Yin had actually replied that money was the way to get stronger. Ever since then, Hai Dashao had already developed an innate dislike for Lu Yin, as he saw this man as someone with base ambitions. Hai Dashan suddenly found his dislike for Lu Yin growing even stronger.

    It required a certain level of pressure to deal with people like Hai Dashao, and Lu Yin suddenly resonated with the haughty arrogance that Hai Qiqi often demonstrated through her vicious tongue; it felt quite good.

    Currently, most of the cultivators in the Mountain Stacks Dojo were not originally dojo disciples. They had predominantlye from other dojos or even other regions of the Starfall Sea. As a result, quite a number of highly talented people had gathered at this ce.

    The easiest way topare these people¡¯s levels was by looking at thendmasses that towered high into the sky. There was a good number of people who had unexpectedly already reached the ninth and even tenth levels. A few had managed to go even higher, and it was likely that those people were Enlighters. Among these peak experts, it was certain that there were some dojo masters!

    No one greeted anyone, and no one was in the mood to speak even a single word.

    Lu Yin continued to look around the Mountain Stacks Dojo alone, as this ce had once been the cultivation grounds of an Arbiter.

    In another part of the dojo, Hai Qiqi and Lan Baobao were happily chatting away. They shared aplicated rtionship, as they were the best of friends, but there was also an asional spat of animosity between them.

    ¡°What? That Hong Ying woman was beaten by Lu Yin?¡± Lao Baobao asked in shock.

    Hai Qiqi nodded. ¡°I heard that Hong Ying hurt you. Are you alright?¡±

    Lan Baobao¡¯s face twisted into a pained expression. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I recovered after just a bit of rest, but Lan Yu can¡¯te back anymore.¡±

    Hai Qiqi grew sad. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t help avenge Lan Yu. Lu Yin promised to let her go when we reached Grayweed Continent, and he didn¡¯t want to go back on his word.¡±

    Lan Baobao forced out a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. There¡¯s no guarantee that everyone can walk to the end of the path of cultivation. From the moment we first started cultivating, my father gave us two choices. The first was to live as an ordinary person, receive his protection, and live without any fear of pain or suffering until we naturally reached our end. The second choice was to proceed down the path of cultivation without any protection. Death is not anything strange.¡±

    Even though Lan Baobao said this, Lan Yu had still been her younger brother, and it was impossible for her to feel nothing over his death. She harbored a deep-seated hatred towards Hong Ying, but she was simply choosing to not disy her hatred. Furthermore, even if Lan Baobao found an opportunity to face Hong Ying, she would not be the spear-wielding girl¡¯s match.

    When Lan Baobao thought about all this, she suddenly grew very interested in Lu Yin. This youth had only been a Limiteer a few years ago, and even though he had been hailed as an unrivalled Limiteer, he had not been as powerful as her own peers. However, in a span of just a few years, he had already caught up to them and even surpassed them. It was not just Lan Baobao whom Lu Yin had surpassed, as he had already surpassed the peak members of the Top 100 Rankings. If what Hai Qiqi had said was true, then this young man could quite possibly be touching upon the level of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Qiqi, where is Lu Yin? I want to thank him,¡± Lan Baobao enquired.

    Hai Qiqi turned around to look for him, but she did not see him. ¡°Where did he go?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s split up and look for him,¡± Lan Baobao suggested.

    Hai Qiqi nodded.

    Even though Lu Yin¡¯s strength had been recognized by everyone, the matters regarding Grayweed Continent¡¯s survival did not require his attention. Dojo Master Lan and the Bluearch Dojo Master did not involve Lu Yin in any of their meetings. After all, Lu Yin was an outsider.

    Lu Yin was currently wondering where the Mt. Stacks Dojo had learned the Oveying Stacks Path. He had been using Thirty Stacks for a long time, and he had long since intended to reach the next level.

    The overall aura of the Mt. Stacks Dojo was quite oppressive, and Lu Yin did not know whom he could ask about this.

    The Oveying Stacks Path was a technique which utilized energy, and it was likely something that was very precious to Mt. Stacks Dojo. If Lu Yin asked in a straightforward manner, then people might suspect him of coveting their battle technique, which wouldplicate matters unnecessarily.

    Perhaps it would be better to ask Hai Qiqi to act as an intermediary for him. If worse came to worst, she would simply have to pay a small price for the technique.

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± called out a crisp voice from behind him.

    Lu Yin turned his head around. ¡°Are you Lan Baobao?¡±

    Lan Bao smiled as she walked over to Lu Yin and stretched out a hand. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Lan Baobao.¡±

    Lu Yin felt slightly awkward, as he rarely shook hands with others. This was a form of etiquette that typically only ordinary folk followed, but it was not entirely unknown. Lu Yin politely epted and shook hands with Lan Baobao. This woman had very soft, delicate hands.

    Just as he was about to release her hand, Lan Baobao suddenly started to squeeze. Her soft, delicate hand suddenly seemed to transform into metal as multipleyers of energy erupted. In an instant, she had released a force of Thirty Stacks. Lu Yin intentionally exerted some of his strength as well, though without using the Oveying Stacks Path. However, his natural physical strength was so overpowering that not only was he able to withstand the Thirty Stacks from Lan Baobao¡¯s grip, but he also managed to squeeze Lan Baobao¡¯s hand to the point where she cried out in pain.

    Lan Baobao took a cold breath of air and eximed, ¡°Ouch! You¡¯re hurting me! Let go at once!¡±

    Lu Yin released her hand and chuckled as he looked at Lan Baobao. ¡°Is this how you people from the Mountain Stacks Dojo greet others?¡±

    Lan Baobao shook her right hand, where five finger marks could clearly be seen. Her bones had almost been crushed to powder. ¡°You¡¯re strong.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Is there anything that you needed from me?¡±

    Lan Baobao massaged her right hand. ¡°I¡¯m here to thank you for bringing Qiqi here safe and sound.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Is your next sentence going to me me for bringing her here? I¡¯ve already heard that from many others already.¡±

    Lan Baobao shook her head. ¡°I understand Qiqi¡¯s personality quite well. Even if you didn¡¯t bring her, she still would have done whatever she could to get here.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. All of a sudden, a sharp cry pierced through the air. Lu Yin raised his head and saw that on the firstndmass, there was a man making his way up the stairs, though he was clearly in pain. Sweat was dripping down his body as he panted furiously with a pale face; he was obviouslypletely exhausted. However, the man still had a happy smile on his face.

    ¡°They are the Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s disciples. After undergoing decades of cultivation, they are finally able to step onto the firstndmass. That ce¡¯s gravity is a hundred times that of normal, so it¡¯s very difficult. However, if one manages to reach the first level, then they can thenprehend ten stacks of the Oveying Stacking Path, and their ability will also improve by leaps and bounds. At a time like this, increasing one''s own strength is of paramount importance to staying alive,¡± Lan Baobao exined.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°Ten stacks?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ten stacks. That¡¯s something that you can withstand as well. I was testing out how many stacks you can withstand earlier, but¡­¡± Lan Baobao paused as she became speechless. She had actually gone all out to test Lu Yin, but she had been suppressed by him even though he had not used a single stack. She felt helpless.

    ¡°Reaching the firstndmass means that you¡¯re capable of using ten stacks?¡± Lu Yin asked with a certain glint in his eyes.

    Lan Baobao smiled. ¡°It¡¯s interesting, isn¡¯t it? Once you reach the first level, there¡¯s a handprint up there that contains Ten Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path, and you can cultivate up there.¡± When she finished exining, she stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and she saw that they were clearly full of desire.

    Lan Baobao continued, saying, ¡°When you reach the tenth level, there¡¯s a handprint up there that contains one hundred stacks.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing became more hurried. ¡°A hundred stacks? Can I try it?¡±

    Lan Baobao nodded her head, and she seriously answered, ¡°I also came here to tell you this. Since you helped me teach that Hong Ying a lesson and also brought Qiqi back, then the Mt. Stacks Dojo is willing to give you the chance to try. However, whether or not you can reach the tenth level ispletely dependent on your own ability. Don¡¯t overexert yourself, as it¡¯s very easy to get injured or even die if you enter an area where you can¡¯t handle the gravity. Even Hai Dashao was only able to reach the seventh level.¡±

    Lu Yin was seriously riled up now. ¡°Thank you for the warning. I¡¯m off now!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped up and rushed straight toward the stone steps that led to the firstndmass. The only way to reach each level was by walking up the stone staircase, step by step.

    Lu Yin was not the only one climbing the stairs, as there were several others who were climbing it at the same time. When one young man saw that Lu Yin was about to reach the first level, he moved to join in as well. This man was Tie San, and he fancied Lan Baobao. When he had seen Lan Baobao and Lu Yin shaking hands earlier, he had immediately panicked, especially since they had shared a very long handshake, which made Tie San even more upset. As soon as he saw that Lu Yin was trying to reach the firstndmass, he immediately had the idea to scare Lu Yin away and warn him to stay away from Lan Baobao.

    ¡°You better watch out.¡± Tie San let out a cold warning as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was baffled. ¡°What do I need to be careful about?¡±

    ¡°Stay away from Baobao, or else I¡¯ll make things difficult for you,¡± Tie San said threateningly.

    Lu Yin frowned, but before he could say a single word, another person appeared next to him.

    It was Hai Dashao, and he was clearly trying to challenge Lu Yin as he walked up the stairs.

    Lu Yin did not know what to say, but did this man really want to challenge him?

    Tie San was shocked to see Hai Dashao on the stairs. What was this person doing here? Tie San could still remember how, when Hai Dashao had been a guest of the Mt. Stacks Dojo in the past, he had managed to climb all the way to the seventh level. Countless people had been shocked at his aplishment and praised his talent back then. After all, Hai Dashao was not a cultivator who focused on physical strength. Thus, managing to reach the seventhndmass was no mean feat. Even the young master had been taken aback by his aplishments. However, Hai Dashao was back to try once again. Could he be confident in reaching the tenth level this time?

    No one paid any attention to Lu Yin as he attempted to climb the stackedndmasses, but this was merely because no one knew who he was. However, Hai Dashao was apletely different story, and his appearance drew the attention of many cultivators in the Mt. Stacks Dojo. Even the other dojo disciples as well as the cultivators from the other parts of the Starfall Sea were curious to see how Hai Dashao would perform.

    The characters for Baobao mean baby, so her name matches her appearance.

 Chapter 884: Forging Onwards With Large Strides

    <h4>Chapter 884: Forging Onwards With Large Strides</h4>

    Hai Qiqi saw Lu Yin and was about to call out to him, but she was stopped by Lan Baobao. ¡°Let¡¯s see what level he can reach.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who tricked him into going up there,¡± Hai Qiqi said with certainty.

    Lan Baobao calmly responded, ¡°I only told him that the method for One Hundred Stacks is on the tenth level.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°And what if he can¡¯t get that high?¡±

    Lan Baobao seriously answered, ¡°In order to thank him, I¡¯ll ask Father to help him deduce Fifty Stacks and maybe even Seventy Stacks.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes and stepped closer. ¡°Baobao, let¡¯s make a bet. I bet that he¡¯ll be able to get to the tenth level.¡±

    Lan Baobao¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°I¡¯m not gambling.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was stumped. ¡°Why? Do you also think that he can make it to the tenth level?¡±

    Lan Baobao replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Nobody can beat my brother¡¯s record.¡±

    ¡°Then that won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll bet that he climbs all the way to the tenth level, so let¡¯s bet.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not gambling. It¡¯s bad for your health.¡±

    ¡°Baobao, you¡¯ve changed.¡±

    Lan Baobao fundamentally did not believe that Lu Yin could climb all the way to the tenthndmass, even if their handshake had revealed that the youth was basically a dinosaur in human skin. A thousandfold increase in gravity was simply too exaggerated for an Explorer to bear. In fact, the only person who had ever been able to ascend to the tenth level as an Explorer was her elder brother: the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, Lan Si.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the stone steps and moved up them at a quick pace. He did not walk up step by step, but rather took long strides that covered ten stone steps with each movement.

    Tie San followed close behind Lu Yin. He wanted Baobao to see how he would suppress this neer, as he was sure that Baobao would be watching this stranger.

    Hai Dashao also remained alongside Lu Yin, matching his stride.

    Although Elder Tong¡¯s words had informed Hai Dashao that Lu Yin was unrivalled within his realm, the Sea King¡¯s son still felt that this youth had relied on his secret technique to obtain his position. In Hai Dashao¡¯s mind, if he also had a secret technique, then he would definitely be stronger than Lu Yin. At this time, they were both advancing up the stairs and towards thendmasses with increased gravity. In this situation, Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique was useless, and Hai Dashao wanted to see what level this person would reach with his own strength.

    Countless people looked up at Hai Dashao, and they were astounded by his confident stride.

    Everyone believed that Lu Yin and Tie San were being spurred on by Hai Dashao¡¯s pace, as all of them were covering massive distances with each step that they were clearly not concerned about spraining their muscles.

    The first level was easily passed by them, and Lu Yin continued straight on towards the second level with the same huge steps.

    Tie San and Hai Dashao continue to match Lu Yin¡¯s pace with rxed expressions. One of the two was ranked within the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings while the other had cultivated in the Mt. Stacks Dojo since a young age. Tie San¡¯s physical strength naturally greatly surpassed those of the same realm. The second level was also passed by all three of them in a very rxed manner.

    Next, they approached the third level, and Lu Yin maintained hisrge steps.

    The trio soon passed by a few cultivators, and they easily arrived on the third level. Their current speed was unprecedentedly fast.

    The spectators were all a bit surprised. ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°The one between Hai Dashao and Tie San. He¡¯s moving incredibly quickly, and he¡¯s notgging behind the other two by even the slightest bit.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize him, but he should havee from one of the other dojos or from the Starfall Sea. But none of that matters, as he won¡¯t be able to endure for much longer. How could it be easy to be famous by trying to match up to Hai Dashao?¡±

    ¡°Just wait a bit. That fellow wants to be in the limelight, but he¡¯ll soon fall to his death.¡±

    Among the onlookers, there were some who tore through the void to follow behind the trio, and the Bluearch Dojo Master was one of them. When he heard the crowd¡¯s thoughts and predictions, his face remained expressionless. That youth had driven back an Imprinter, his strength was unfathomable, and he might even surpass Hai Dashao. Just wait. All of your jaws will soon fall off from shock.

    ¡­

    The third level¡¯s gravity was 300 times stronger than normal, and it was the extreme limit of what the average Cruiser could endure.

    Tie San was a Cruiser, and he had cultivated his physical body from a young age. Even though he was not a peak Cruiser, he could still endure the 300 times gravity and even challenge the fourthndmass. However, at this moment, he was leftpletely speechless, and the reason was obvious. He watched on in shock as Hai Dashao and Lu Yin continued moving onwards with the samerge strides as before. But just how was that possible? Also, why could that bugger still even walk?

    ¡°Tie San has fallen behind, but that other fellow is still able to match Hai Dashao¡¯s pace. Just who is he?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s perfectly normal for you guys to not recognize him. He¡¯s very powerful, and on the way here, he took care of an Enlighter and even repelled an Imprinter.¡±

    ¡°What? He¡¯s that powerful? What¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he calls himself Seventh Bro.¡±

    ¡°I seem to remember that the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s little princess often asks others to call her Sister Qi. Could he be the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s son-inw?¡±

    ¡°I remember that the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s recruited a son-inw a few years ago, and he was an unequalled Limiteer called Lu Yin. Could this be him?¡±

    ¡°That person disappeared into obscurity a long time ago. I haven¡¯t heard anything at all about him in years. He¡¯s probably already dead.¡±

    ¡­

    As she listened to the conversations take ce around her, Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression became quite strange. If Lu Yin revealed his true face, then it would truly cause most people¡¯s jaws to drop.

    Tie San had fallen behind. Or to be more urate, after the three youths arrived at the third level, Lu Yin and Hai Dashao had continued forward with their huge strides while Tie San had faltered. He had barely made it to the middle of the stairs connecting the third and fourth levels, but at that point, he was unable to continue any further. All he could do was stare at Lu Yin¡¯s back like he was looking at a monster.

    In Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes, Tie San had never been a part of anything. Hai Dashao had only ever been focused on Lu Yin, and he could acutely sense Lu Yin¡¯s breathing, heartbeat, and stride. Hai Dashao was already slightly shocked, as Lu Yin had not shown any signs of fatigue even at this moment; it was as if he was only on a light jog.

    Lu Yin truly had not exerted much effort thus far. Even in the past, as a Limiteer, he would have been able to reach the fourthndmass. Now that he was an Explorer that hadpleted three cultivation cycles, his strength had increased several times over. To be honest, he himself did not even know what level he would reach in the end.

    His physical strength constantly increased as he cultivated, and honestly, it was a little strange. His domain was the same, and both aspects of him had been continuously improving themselves. Lu Yin had not shared this information with anyone.

    He merely felt that his physical body possessed a limitless potential that he could not grasp. This potential was constantly burgeoning, which was both very strange and invigorating.

    There were only a few cultivators on the fourth level, and their numbers were much fewer than the third level¡¯s. This was because, normally, only Hunters could reach the fourth level.

    There was a soft thumping sound as Lu Yin¡¯s footnded on the fourth level¡¯s ground. His body instantly felt much heavier, as this ce¡¯s gravity was 400 times that of normal. The average Explorer simply could not reach this ce, but Lu Yin had done so easily.

    On the other side of the stairs, Hai Dashao also stepped onto the fourth level, though he did not pause as he immediately continued on towards the fifth level, still moving with the same rapid pace andrge strides.

    Lu Yin smiled and followed along.

    The few people on the fourth level all looked up in surprise. One of these two was an Explorer and the other was a Cruiser, but despite their low cultivation realms, these two youths were vastly superior to the people on this level. They were moving across the ground too quickly for anyone else to follow.

    Tie San could not even see their backs any longer.

    Beneath them, countless others watched their progress. More and more people came to learn of Lu Yin¡¯s battles, and they also learned that he was not necessarily inferior to Hai Dashao in any way.

    Some distance further away from the stackedndmasses, at the mountain that stood behind the Mt. Stacks Dojo, was the ce where Dojo Master Lan and the others were making their ns. There were a dozen experts gathered here, and they had alle from variousrge dojos or a region of the Starfall Sea. When Hai Dashao and Lu Yin stepped onto the fourth level, the group of powerhouses involuntarily nced over, though, of course, they did not pay much attention to the youths.

    The pair continued advancing with huge strides, and Hai Dashao even deliberately tried to shake off Lu Yin, lengthening his stride until he reached the point where he was practically leaping across the stone steps. However, Lu Yin did notg behind in the slightest, and his breathing remained perfectly even.

    There were even fewer people on the fifth level, with only two or three cultivators present. One of them had stopped right at the entrance to the fifth level. It seemed that he had used his full power to reach this area and that he had prepared to rest upon arrival.

    When Hai Dashao stepped onto this level, his foot caused dust to swirl up before it was swept away in all directions by the wind.

    The person at the entrance to the level frowned, and he waved a hand to disperse the dust as he snorted. Right when he was about to speak up, Lu Yin¡¯s footnded, stirring up another cloud of dust. The person had just opened his mouth, and the second cloud of the dust blew into his face. He instantly started coughing, and his expression turned ugly.

    Lu Yin apologized, but he continued striding onwards withrge steps.

    The person was furious and wanted to chase after the two young men, but he could not move a single leg. The 500 times increased gravity was already strenuous when he was just sitting, so he could forget about chasing after them.

    At this point, he returned to his senses; were those two actually takingrge steps? Did the increased gravity not have any effect on them?

    Lu Yin did not feel any great suppression from the 500 times gravity. However, it was different for Hai Dashao; he was still able to ovee this level of gravity, but it took him a great deal of effort to continue striding forward with suchrge steps. He was already finding it difficult to endure, but he had to continue, step by step. When he had ascended to the seventh levelst time, he had not rushed up the steps like he was attempting to do now.

    Hai Dashao nced over at Lu Yin, unwilling to admit defeat. He then gritted his teeth and persevered, continuing on with his huge steps.

    Only one person was on the sixth level, and they were a woman. Lu Yin nced at her from the side, as there were very few women who cultivated their physical strength. This woman was very powerful, and she might even be a peak Hunter.

    They were already on the sixth level, and for most Hunters, this 600 times gravity was very difficult for them to endure, and this caused more and more people to pay attention to Hai Dashao and Lu Yin.

    However, what attracted the most attention was that the two were still continuing upwards at great speed.

    ¡°Brother Hai is almost at his limit,¡± Lan Baobaomented.

    Hai Qiqi could see this as well.

    Many others had noticed the same thing.

    Lu Yin continued on withrge steps as they climbed the stairs that led from the sixth level to the seventh level, covering a great deal of ground with each step. Hai Dashao had already begun to graduallyg behind. He wanted to push on, but he truly could not keep up with his earlier pace.

    Lu Yin suddenly stopped, and he turned around to look at Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s eyes lit up; was this kid finally unable to endure?

    ¡°Do you want me to wait for you?¡± Lu Yin asked in a kindhearted tone.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s expression twisted as he gnashed his teeth before bellowing, ¡°Go!¡±

    He then took a step forward.

    Lu Yin smiled and simrly continued on his way.

    Hai Dashao had managed to catch up.

    With a thump, Lu Yin stepped onto the seventh level. The moment he did so, a mountain seemed to press down upon his entire body, and the impact of this heavy pressure made a muffled sound. Lu Yin took a deep breath. This 700 times gravity was truly heavy and its pressure intense.

    On the other side of the steps, Hai Dashao had also stepped onto the seventh level. This was his second time reaching this height, and his strength had clearly improved a great deal since hest visited this ce. However, he was even more exhausted this time around since he had climbed the stairs at high speed. When he nced over at Lu Yin, he was surprised to see that this kid could actually still endure it.

    A normal Hunter¡¯s endurance limit was a thousandfold increase in gravity, but typically, any Hunter who could withstand such pressure was a peak Hunter.

    The fact that Hai Dashao could reach this level while still only an Explorer indicated that he had the strength to contend with Hunters, even the average peak Hunter. This was the strength that someone ranked seventh on the Top 100 Rankings possessed.

    The spectators were all aware of Hai Dashao¡¯s strength, but Lu Yin had truly shocked them. Even those who had heard of his battles were stunned in disbelief.

    At the mountain behind Mt. Stacks Dojo, the Bluearch Dojo Master observed the stackedndmasses with an expression of appreciation. ¡°If this kid doesn¡¯t die early, then this part of the universe will have a ce for him in the future.¡±

    The crowd all stared at the two of them together, and all of them were shocked. An Explorer had actually managed to step food onto the seventh level. When they had been Explorers themselves, they may not have necessarily even made it to the fifth level.

    Even further away, Dojo Master Lan had a prating gaze that was focused on Lu Yin. He almost felt as if he was looking at another Lan Si.

 Chapter 885: Arbiterâ€™s Record

    <h4>Chapter 885: Arbiter''s Record</h4>

    After arriving at the seventh level, Hai Dashao assumed that Lu Yin would take a rest, or at least slow down his pace.

    Unfortunately, the Sea King¡¯s son was quickly shocked, as Lu Yin simply smiled before continuing onwards with giant steps. He proceeded with the exact same speed that he had used to pass through the previous sixndmasses. The youth did not rest at all.

    Hai Dashao instinctively tried to follow, but his body was currently under the pressure of 700 times gravity. It was as if there was a huge mountain on his back, and Hai Dashao was unable to keep up with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand. ¡°See youter.¡±

    Hai Dashao was furious, and he growled as he took a step forward. His physical strength had greatly improved since hisst visit to Mt. Stacks Dojo. Last time, he had only been able to reach the seventh level, and upon doing so, he had been frozen in ce, only able to wait at the entrance. This time, he was able to move, and this was even after using up a great deal of his strength to race through the various levels with Lu Yin. Still, what did it matter if Hai Dashao could still move while on the seventh level? Lu Yin had already run off.

    Hai Dashao did not want to admit defeat, but he had no other choice. All he could do was nkly watch on as Lu Yin¡¯s figure began ascending the steps that led to the next level, gradually vanishing into the distance.

    Below, countless people were stunned by this development.

    ¡°Hai Dashao was just cast aside, but that fellow is still racing up the stairs so quickly. Is he even human?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an Explorer, not an Enlighter. Just how is he moving so fast? Even a peak Hunter from our Mt. Stacks Dojo who can endure a 1000 times increase in gravity will slowly walk across the seventh level so that they can perfectly adjust their physical strength. This person must be nuts!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too terrifying. It¡¯s no wonder why he was able to survive a fight against an Imprinter.¡±

    ¡­

    Hai Qiqi had already been mentally prepared for this. In the Outerverse, even though she had not followed Lu Yin the entire time, she had still heard all of the news about his achievements. Most of it had been about how Lu Yin had defeated a certain Enlighter or killed some other Enlighter. Even if he had relied on external items to do so, Hai Qiqi could still tell that Lu Yin¡¯s power was absolutely terrifying.

    And her impression of Lu Yin¡¯s strength became especially clear after seeing him go up against Hong Ying. She had personally witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s strength for the first time then, and it had beenpletely overwhelming. What made her certain that Lu Yin had surpassed Hai Dashao was the battle at Sea King¡¯s Dome, as Lu Yin had forced even Granny Gui back. During that battle, Hai Qiqi had been able to see Granny Gui¡¯s true strength, and the battle hadpletely rewritten the girl¡¯s understanding of Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    In contrast, Lan Baobao¡¯s gaze kept flickering, and absolute shock could be seen in the depths of her eyes. Even though she had already formed some conjectures before, when the facts wereid out in front of her, she waspletely stunned. Lu Yin had truly surpassed Hai Dashao.

    Although climbing up stackedndmasses was not actually rted to one¡¯s fighting strength, Lan Baobao was certain that Lu Yin hadpletely surpassed Hai Dashao. Lu Yin could likely ce within the top five or perhaps even the top three of the Top 100 Rankings. However, she was not certain about this judgement, as she had never seen the top three powerhouses¡¯ true strength. Still, Lu Yin had fought against an Imprinter and survived, so he should at least ce within the top three.

    ¡°Qiqi, Lu Yin abruptly rose to power only in recent years, right?¡± Lan Baobao asked in an uncertain tone.

    Hai Qiqi did not want to give her friend too terrible a blow. From what Hai Qiqi knew, Lu Yin had not even cultivated for ten years so far. He was truly a monstrous genius.

    ¡°Perhaps, when Brother Lan Si leaves the younger generation, this person will be a contender to join the Ten Arbiters,¡± Lan Baobao said.

    Hai Qiqi looked up at Lu Yin. When Lan Si abdicates his position? She did not know why, but she felt that Lu Yin¡¯s personality did not allow him to sit back and wait for others to move on. It was far more likely that he would try to force someone out.

    After leaving Hai Dashao behind, Lu Yin¡¯s pace grew more steady. He was also able to feel the heavy pressure, and although it was not overwhelming for him, it was a sign that the current gravitational force was starting to approach what he was capable of enduring.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin, including Dojo Master Lan and the other powerhouses.

    Unwittingly, Lu Yin had be the most notable person in Mt. Stacks Dojo at this time.

    When Lu Yin reached the eighth level, his face grew more serious. An 800 times gravity truly was not something simple, and after thinking about it, Lu Yin unsealed his three grains of Fatesand and allowed his physical strength to reach its maximum.

    His Fatesand sealed his physical strength, but it was also able to gradually improve his physique. Unfortunately, in recent times, he had often used his Fatesand in battle, and so, his Fatesand had not improved his physical body much.

    Although the Fatesand had helped improve his physical body, it could notpare to how Lu Yin¡¯s body strengthened itself all on its own. This iprehensible, natural gradual improvement was only impressive after slowly umting over a long period of time. Otherwise, there was no way Lu Yin would have such terrifying physical strength while still in the Explorer realm.

    His cultivation was only one aspect of his strength, and his physique¡¯s unique development was another.

    When Lu Yin had first be an Explorer, his body had been physically strong, but he had not been able to withstand blows from Hunters without the aid of his universal armor. But after just a few years, he could already rely on nothing more than his physical strength to contend against Enlighters whose power levels were suppressed to under 200,000, and he could even fight against Imprinters. If others knew about this rapid improvement, Lu Yin would have been captured and carved up to be researched.

    Lu Yin even somewhat wanted to research his body himself.

    Under the pressure of the 800 times gravity, Lu Yin did not move forward with the same long strides that he had used before, and his progress slowed a great deal. However, to the spectators, his speed was still very fast.

    He had practically been running through the stairs before, but at this moment, he was only walking.

    Ever since Mt. Stacks Dojo was first established, Lu Yin was the first to climb up thendmasses in this manner. Even an Enlighter ascending these gravitational training grounds for the first time would not be as overbearing as Lu Yin.

    Tie San had already moved down to the ground, as he wanted to see which level the bastard would copse upon after running up so quickly.

    However, when he looked up, the sight that greeted his eyes was something that he would never forget for the rest of his entire life. He searched through the fourth, fifth, sixth and even the seventh levels. As Tie San searched, he saw Hai Dashao sitting down, but he still could not find that other person. Finally, on the eighth level, Tie San finally saw Lu Yin. The young man had just stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the ninth level.

    Tie San¡¯s mind was thrown into chaos, and he felt as though he was dreaming. He even pinched himself to see if he was sleeping. Someone had actually reached the ninth level with such an impressive speed. Not even an Enlighter would move that fast.

    At this time, Lu Yin had truly gathered the attention of everyone onto himself, regardless of if they were disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo or from somewhere else. Even Dojo Master Lan and the Bluearch Dojo Master were looking at him.

    Under all of their gazes, Lu Yin maintained his steady pace and stepped onto the ninth level.

    Under the suppression of 900 times gravity, Lu Yin¡¯s breathing finally became irregr. He quickly adjusted his breath and stepped forward. Ahead of him was a middle-aged man with a robust body who looked at the Explorer with an odd expression. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m from the Starfall Sea.¡±

    The middle-aged man was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re just an Explorer, but you¡¯ve reached this ninth level, and-¡± He paused as he seriously studied Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Your body has gone through refining, and it has even shone with light on one asion.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, isn¡¯t he scolding you? Shone? Only the dead are able to give off light,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as his body had indeed shone with light once before. Back in the space with the golden ocean, Mister Mu had upgraded Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength to a Limiteer¡¯s true limits of a Limiteer. After doing so, Lu Yin¡¯s body had to be suppressed by Fatesand, and he had actually needed three grains at that. During that process, his body had shone with light, which was a symbol that one¡¯s physical body had been refined. This improved physical strength was what had allowed him to survive in the vacuum of outer space while still a Limiteer, as he had adapted to the universe while still in a premature realm.

    Shining with light¡ªwas that some kind of symbol or status? If, as an Explorer, his physical body was improved until it shone with light again, then would that indicate that Lu Yin had once again reached the extremes of strength for an Explorer?

    Lu Yin walked forward step by step, though his pace was much slower than what it had been on the eighth level. Still, in everyone else¡¯s eyes, being able to walk across the ninth level was already somethingpletely abnormal.

    The middle-aged man stared nkly as Lu Yin moved past him, and the man sucked in a breath of cold air. Suddenly, the image of an arrogant young person appeared in his mind, and he felt that this person might even overtake the Ten Arbiters in the future.

    On the mountain behind Mt. Stacks Dojo, the Bluearch Dojo Master looked at Lu Yin before suddenly saying, ¡°Dojo Master Lan, I recall that your son, Lan Si, ascended all the way to the tenth level while still in the Explorer realm.¡±

    The rest were stunned, and they all looked at Dojo Master Lan. They were aware that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist Lan Si had outstanding talent, but they did not know any details since Mt. Stacks Dojo had always kept this information under wraps.

    Dojo Master Lan looked at the Bluearch Dojo Master with a deep gaze. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    The Bluearch Dojo Master was shocked by the confirmation. ¡°These youths nowadays are outstanding, as formcast models can save a great deal of time. They have alreadypletely surpassed the older generation. Before there were formcast models, many youths with high potential received instructions from their elders, and they were able to save time in that manner. However, the youths that had ess to such education were simply too few, and too many geniuses were overlooked in that era. Now, any youth with a little talent can simply rely on a formcast model to make a name for themselves. In just a few decades, this part of the universe has changed greatly.¡±

    Across from him, an old man sighed. ¡°The times have changed. First, the Universe Youth Council was changed into the Ten Arbiters Council, and they represent the power of the current generation¡¯s youths. Ten youths have unrivalled influence. And when I look at this fellow now, I can imagine that, if we are still alive in ten years, he will definitely rece them to be a part of the next generation¡¯s Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin spent much more time making his way across the ninth level to reach the stone steps leading to the tenthndmass. In fact, it took him more time to do this than to climb from the ground to the ninth level itself. Still, this caused a great deal of shock among the spectators; people were more impressed than ever before, and everyone was staring at Lu Yin.

    The tenth level was a major threshold, but most outsiders did not know this. Only those from Mt. Stacks Dojo or those who were familiar with it knew that there was a handprint on the tenth level, which contained the One Hundred Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Before too long, Lu Yin stepped onto the stone stairs that led up to the tenth level, and at that moment, he paused.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes widened; was he unable to endure any more?

    Lan Baobao¡¯s eyes also went wide, and she had unconsciously clenched her fists. She actually cared about whether or not Lu Yin could step foot onto the tenthyer more than anyone else, as it was her brother, Lan Si, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, who had stepped onto the tenth level while still in the Explorer realm. If Lu Yin could do the same, then that would imply that he had reached the same level as her big brother. No, her brother had already reached the peak Explorer realm when he had stepped foot onto the tenth level, and he had only been one step away from bing a Cruiser. This Lu Yin had merelypleted three cultivation cycles, and there were still two left before he reached that level. If Lu Yin was able to step onto the tenth level, then it actually meant that Lu Yin would have surpassed her brother.

    Divine Fist Lan Si was special throughout the entire Grayweed Continent. He had the authority to judge and supervise the entire Starfall Sea¡¯s younger generation, and at a whim, he could summon any dojo¡¯s disciple to follow him. This was not limited to Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s disciples; for everyone on Grayweed Continent, Lan Si was their pride and joy.

    This was even more pronounced in those from Mt. Stacks Dojo, as they revered Lan Si like a deity, as in their eyes, only a deity could have aplished what Lan Si had. Lan Baobao also believed this to be the case.

    But at this moment, one of Lan Si¡¯s records was about to be broken. She did not wish for her eldest brother¡¯s achievement to be surpassed like this.

    The other disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo all fell silent as they closely watched Lu Yin. Quite a few of them were aware of Lan Si¡¯s records, and so, they were all aware that Lan Si had only stepped onto the tenthndmass when he had been a peak Explorer. They all hoped that nobody would be able to break his record.

    Thump.

    Thump.

    Thump.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin paused to adjust his breathing once again. Then, step by step, he made his way up the stairs toward the tenth level. His pace was slow, and he only took one step for each of the stone steps. His movements were slow and steady.

    Countless disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo were hoping that Lu Yin would not be able to persevere, as he could not break Lan Si¡¯s record!

 Chapter 886: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 886: Shock</h4>

    At this time, Lan Baobao regretted her previous actions, as she felt like she should not have told Lu Yin that he could climb the gravitational training grounds. She had wanted to thank Lu Yin, and so, she had used the allure of the Hundred Stacks to entice him to try climbing thendmasses. However, her intention had only been to see what Lu Yin was capable of. She had actually nned to ask her father to help Lu Yin deduce the maximum number of stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path that the youth could withstand since she had never believed that he would be able to climb all the way up to the tenth level. In her mind, that was impossible, and it shouldn¡¯t happen.

    He drew closer and closer to thend that made up the tenth level, and Lu Yin could already see the final level.

    By now, Hai Dashao had also left the seventh level and returned to the ground, where he was panting heavily. The seventh level was not his limit, and he was actually capable of reaching the eighth. However, he also wanted to see what level Lu Yin would ultimately reach.

    Hai Dashao looked up, and his pupils shrank. The moment his eyesnded on Lu Yin, Lu Yin¡¯s footnded on the tenth level. The dust swirled up from the ground like a tornado, and it moved despite there being no wind, ruffling Lu Yin¡¯s medium length hair.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards, as he was indeed able to withstand a gravity 1000 times greater than normal.

    Mt. Stacks Dojo fell silent at this time, and everyone stared at the youth, dumbfounded. In particr, the disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo were in utter disbelief.

    Lan Baobao closed both of her eyes: this person had actually broken her eldest brother¡¯s record.

    This was the second time that he had done this. First, Lu Yin had broken her brother¡¯s record back in the Astral Combat Academy, and now, Lu Yin had broken her brother¡¯s record within Mt. Stacks Dojo. This person was too scary.

    Hai Qiqi was also shocked, though she was also very inspired.

    Hai Dashao, on the other hand, was in agony. The best that he could do was reach the eighth level, and he could not reach the ninth. As for the tenth level, he would have to reach the peak Cruiser realm at the very least, or maybe even the Hunter realm, before he could consider it. On the other hand, this kid was an Explorer! Just an Explorer.

    Dojo Master Lan withdrew his gaze. ¡°Continue the discussion.¡±

    The Bluearch Dojo Master¡¯s eyes were bright as he looked at Lu Yin. If they were not at war, then he would definitely find a way to make this child his disciple, as this Lu Yin was going to be the next Lan Si.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master was not the only one with such thoughts, as the other dojo masters¡¯ were exactly the same. It was possible that even Dojo Master Lan¡¯s mind had gone down this same line of thought.

    However, Dojo Master Lan was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, and he knew that this person was a part of the Sea King¡¯s Dome since he was already the Sea King¡¯s own son-inw. Thus, this youth was destined to not belong to Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    The next person to join the Ten Arbiters would be from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The tenthndmasses¡¯ 1000 times gravity was enough to make Lu Yin have a difficult time moving about. In the distance, there was a hand imprint on a wall, and there were also several people around it.

    These people were wearing the training uniform of Mt. Stacks Dojo, and they should all be Hunters from the dojo.

    When they noticed Lu Yin, the handful of powerhouses were very surprised, but they did not speak.

    Lu Yin walked towards the base of the wall, and when he reached it, he positioned himself no more than ten meters away from the handprint. There, he sat down, cross-legged, and began to recover his strength.

    Below the stackedndmasses, the crowd no longer paid any more attention to Lu Yin. He was not able to continue any further after reaching the tenth level.

    The greater the gravity, the harsher the physical requirements to withstand it were. 1000 times gravity was a watershed threshold that separated ordinary peak Hunters from Enlighters. Only after reaching the Enlighter realm would these ordinary cultivators¡¯ physical bodies transform and be able to endure these stronger gravities. Of course, cultivators who specially focused on training their physique and those with strange innate gifts were an exception to this rule.

    Lan Baobao shifted her gaze, her eyes looking lost. She felt as though she was the reason why her brother¡¯s record had been broken.

    Many of Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s disciples were distracted. They had firmly believed in Lan Si, but his record had just been broken. This was a massive mental blow to them that could not be understood by others.

    Hai Qiqi did not understand her friend¡¯s mood, and she continued to talk to Lan Baobao, who did not even hear a single word.

    On the tenth level, after resting for a long time, Lu Yin rose to his feet and walked over to the palm imprint. He then lifted his right hand and pressed it against the imprint. At that moment, a bizarre force rebounded towards him like a feedback to his hand pressure. The same sensation had appeared when the mentor from Astral-10 had helped him to deduce the Oveying Stacks Path¡¯s Ten Stacks and Thirty Stacks. This time, it continued on to Fifty Stacks before finally stopping at One Hundred Stacks. Lu Yin¡¯s right arm lightly quivered, and he involuntarily retreated several steps.

    This was One Hundred Stacks! He was very excited, and he immediately clenched his right fist and began to practice what he had just experienced. From Thirty Stacks, he had skipped all the way to One Hundred Stacks, which was truly a mountainous leap. He believed that once hepletely grasped these One Hundred Stacks, he would no longer be forced into such a miserable position if he faced that Imprinter, Mr. Yi, again.

    To the northwest of Mt. Stacks Dojo, in an open marsh, there were tens of thousands of cultivators embroiled in a fierce battle.

    In the sky above them, an elder with a wretched expression released a sharp shout. Across from him, there was a Sixth Maind powerhouse who was looking at his opponent proudly. His imprint was active, and it had also been further reinforced by his martial print. With thebination of the two, he drove the old man down into the marsh with a thump.

    ¡°Gan Dojo Master, I¡¯ll give you this chance to surrender,¡± the Sixth Maind powerhouse said from high in the sky.

    Down in the marsh, the elder spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°I have wandered across Grayweed Continent for my entire life, and I don¡¯t even know how to write the word ¡®surrender.¡¯¡±

    As he uttered those words, a red dot appeared on the old man¡¯s forehead, fresh blood trickling down from that red dot. The man copsed into the marsh, already dead.

    In another part of the battlefield, Granny Gui emerged. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any nonsense. Just kill them.¡±

    Next to her was Hong Ying, who had a cruel look on her face. She leaped up and brandished her spear, killing multiple enemy cultivators in one swing. Compared to back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, her eyes were even more emotionless, and there was also a permanent chill deep within them. It was evident she carried a deep grudge, as Lu Yin had buried her in the ground, where she had remained for several days. She was still in a rotten mood.

    To the southwest of Mt. Stacks Dojo, in the sky above a forest, there was a floating piece ofnd with countless cultivators from the Tong family upon it. Beneath them, there were tens of thousands of Grayweed Continent cultivators who had fallen into despair.

    These people had abandoned their dojo and had been in the process of retreating to Mt. Stacks Dojo, but their enemies had still caught up to them.

    Tong Zhan shouted loudly, prompting countless Tong family cultivators to leap downwards.

    Tong Tong was also on this floatingnd. She was an Explorer, but when she used her imprint and martial print in tandem, she was powerful enough to fight against Cruisers, and she could even achieve victory sometimes.

    To the southeast of Mt. Stacks Dojo, a group of cultivators from Grayweed Continent had rmed expressions as they fled towards Mt. Stacks Dojo. Behind them, figures that looked like shadows flickered after them.

    These Grayweed Continent cultivators werepletely terrified, as these shadows were actually all corpses.

    Soon, the entire group of cultivators was wiped out.

    A detached-looking youth rushed over. His face was pale, and he stared coldly at the fresh corpses as he uttered words thatpletely contradicted his expression. ¡°Why are they all dead? This can¡¯t be. Their deaths must have been miserable! I didn¡¯t n on killing you all, so you guys must have been scared to death. Wait a second, scared to death? Could something like a ghost exist? How scary.

    "Actually, I just wanted to ask you guys a question. Right, do you know where Mt. Stacks Dojo is? No, you guys are all dead. How frightening, you¡¯re all dead. Is there anyone still alive? Answer me.

    ¡°I¡¯m a kind person, though some say that I speak too much. But what else can I do if I don¡¯t talk to the dead? If I don¡¯t talk to them, then there¡¯s no one else who will talk, and that would just be awkward.¡±

    ¡­

    In all directions around Mt. Stacks Dojo, the dojos that had once stood strong were now being toppled one by one. Flying Horse Manor¡¯s experts had joined the Sixth Maind¡¯s efforts on Grayweed Continent, and their experts had joined with the Tong family¡¯s to execute an all-out push. They were determined topletely take control of Grayweed Continent.

    Ten dayster, within Mt. Stacks Dojo, atop the tenth level of the stackedndmasses, Lu Yin raised his right fist and released a vibration in the direction of an empty area. Countless sonic booms rang out, and they formed visible ripples that warped the void. This surprised the few nearby experts, as this youth had just unleashed Fifty Stacks. How had heprehended it so quickly?

    Lu Yin lowered his arm. Fifty Stacks was much more powerful than Thirty Stacks, but it still was not enough for him. He needed to continue.

    Lu Yin sat down again and continuedprehending the Oveying Stacks Path atop the tenth level, not looking down towards the ground. Beneath him, a familiar figure had arrived in Mt. Stacks Dojo: Zhang Dingtian, who was currently known as Lan Dao.

    The cktop Dojo had been destroyed, but Zhang Dingtian had managed to escape with his life, and he had spent more than ten days traveling to Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    He was not the only one to do so, as quite a few other cultivators from all over Grayweed Continent were still converging at Mt. Stacks Dojo, both inrge groups and scattered numbers.

    At this time, Mt. Stacks Dojo had be Grayweed Continent¡¯s final hope.

    Zhang Dingtian was the only survivor of the cktop Dojo, and he was also the person who had revived the cktop Dojo.

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s arrival at Mt. Stacks Dojo drew the attention of Dojo Master Lan and the others.

    After he reported the fallen cktop Dojo¡¯s fate to Dojo Master Lan and the others in detail, Zhang Dingtian met with Lan Baobao, who was staring up at the gravitationalndmasses.

    ¡°Lan Dao? You¡¯re still alive?¡± Lan Baobao was surprised to see him. He had been regarded highly by her brother, Lan Si, when Lan Dao had first arrived on Grayweed Continent despite how weak his cultivation base had been at that time. Lan Baobao did not understand why her brother had regarded this person so highly to the point where he had even given him the name Lan Dao before throwing him to the abandoned cktop Dojo.

    However, the following events had proven that her brother had excellent foresight. Lan Dao had managed to obtain the cktop Dojo¡¯s inheritance, improving by leaps and bounds before surpassing even Lan Yu. Out of Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s entire younger generation, this person stood second only to Lan Baobao¡¯s eldest brother, Lan Si, and her.

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. ¡°I¡¯m the only survivor from the cktop Dojo.¡±

    Lan Baobao fell silent. Then, she looked back up towards the stackedndmasses.

    Zhang Dingtian did not speak any more words, and he instead started walking towards the gravitational training grounds. Every time he visited Mt. Stacks Dojo, he would climb these levels and cultivate on one of them. He was extremely diligent.

    Lan Baobao suddenly thought of something. ¡°Lan Dao, do you remember how, back during the Sea King¡¯s son-inwpetition, you met a person called Lu Yin?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s eyes went wide, and he turned to look at Lan Baobao. ¡°Why are you bringing him up?¡±

    Lan Baobao did not notice Zhang Dingtian¡¯s abnormal reaction, and she simply asked, ¡°Back then, was he really just a Limiteer?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What do you think of his talent?¡± Lan Baobao asked.

    Zhang Dingtian frowned. ¡°Why are you asking about him?¡±

    Lan Baobao¡¯s expression becameplex, and she pointed up at the tenth level. ¡°He¡¯s up there.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian was surprised, and delight shed through his eyes as he looked up at the tenth level ground. Then, the shock struck him.

    Zhang Dingtian had already broken through to the Explorer realm, and during thest few years of war, his power had improved rapidly. However, ever since the Starfall Sea had been isted by the Tong family, his achievements had not left the immediate area. Otherwise, he definitely would have been granted the title of General.

    Zhang Dingtain felt that he had improved very quickly, but even then, he was only able to ascend to the fifthndmass, and he was still a bit weaker than Lan Baobao. Based on Zhang Dingtian¡¯s power, he could match up to someone who was ranked around fortieth on the Top 100 Rankings, which was an incredible improvement from where he had started.

    However, Lu Yin had not even cultivated for ten years, but he had already set foot on the tenth level.

    That was the tenth level! Zhang Dingtian was also aware of Lan Si¡¯s record. Mt. Stacks Dojo had an inheritance that included records that had been passed down since ancient times. However, throughout their entire history, only Lan Si had ever reached the tenth level while in the Explorer realm, and he was practically worshipped as a deity by countless disciples. Zhang Dingtian had also been shocked at Lan Si¡¯s record, and he admitted that he could not match it. However, Lu Yin had aplished it.

    ¡°What¡¯s his strength now?¡± Zhang Dingtian asked, his voice still a little hoarse.

    Lan Baobao dejectedly replied, ¡°An Explorer with three cycles.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian took a deep breath, and then he suddenly smiled.

    Lan Baobao was puzzled. ¡°What are you smiling for?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian proudly answered, ¡°After being separated from him for so long, I¡¯d almost forgotten that this person is a genius who surpasses both of us. You can¡¯t view him in a normal light.¡±

    He looked back at Lan Baobao as he said, ¡°In the future, use the Ten Arbiters as a benchmark to measure him.¡±

 Chapter 887: Reunion With An Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 887: Reunion With An Old Friend</h4>

    When Lan Baobao heard Zhang Dingtian¡¯s words, she arched a brow. ¡°Do you know him well?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded, as there was no need to hide their connection. Zhang Dingtian had already shared his history with Lan Si, after which he had subsequently changed his name to Lan Dao of his own volition. This name that Zhang Dingtian had chosen represented the expectations of countless Earthlings, and it was a synonym for being invincible. He hoped that, one day, he would be able to represent the same ideal to the universe as he had back on Earth. He wanted to protect the people he wished, and after he obtained that power, he would change his name back to Zhang Dingtian.

    ¡°You-¡± Lan Baobao was about to say something, but a loud rm suddenly rang out and interrupted her.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed, and they all looked toward the west. The enemy was approaching.

    Mt. Stacks Dojo was located at the center of Grayweed Continent, so it had not been faced with the Sixth Maind¡¯s frequent attacks. However, invaders would still asionally make an appearance. This same rm would go off whenever the enemy attacked.

    Zhang Dingtian and Lan Baobao both rushed out of the dojo without any hesitation.

    At this same time, Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, and the other various experts at the level of a dojo master all tore through the void and moved outside of Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    An intense gale constantly scoured the ground, bringing with it an iparable pressure that swept Zhang Dingtian and the others back inside Mt. Stacks Dojo before they could even reach the edge of its territory.

    In the sky, Mr. Yi had a gloomy expression as he scanned the countless faces within Mt. Stacks Dojo. He was trying to find that detestable person. A puny Explorer had actually forced him back, which was unforgivable.

    Granny Gui was standing beside Mr. Yi, and they were apanied by a group of Enlighters, including Elder Yuan.

    ¡°Today, we will vanquish Mt. Stacks Dojo!¡± Mr. Yi barked before his figure suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he had already torn through the void, forcing Dojo Master Lan and the others out.

    Dojo Master Lan raised his hands before pressing downwards with both palms. The sky crumbled, and multipleyers of force descended. This was a terrifying power, but it was still precisely controlled to be under a power level of 200,000.

    Even an Enlighter with a power level approaching 300,000 would find this palm attack nerve wracking. However, Dojo Master Lan had managed to unleash it with a power level of less than 200,000.

    Mr. Yi snorted, and he simrly raised his hand.

    There was a thump, and a giant spatial crack that spanned the sky above Mt. Stacks Dojo appeared. It was as if a hole had been torn in the sky.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master bellowed as nine lined battle force shrouded his body before he transformed into an ape 100 meters tall that pped out at Granny Gui.

    Granny Gui¡¯s pupils shrank as she retreated several steps. In her ce, Elder Yuan moved forward to attempt to defend against the Bluearch Dojo Master¡¯s attack. However, the old man was instantly swatted away, and he crashed heavily into the mountain range.

    With that time, Granny Gui casually pulled out her invisible needles. These needles were filled with poison, and they shot straight into the Bluearch Dojo Master¡¯s body, but they did not affect him whatsoever.

    Granny Gui frowned, as this type of thick-skinned opponent was what she hated fighting against the most. This person did not even use star energy, and he relied purely on physical strength, which was very frustrating to her.

    ¡°Granny Gui, leave this person to me.¡± Mr. Da was the one who had wiped out the cktop Dojo, and he stepped out from behind the old woman as he lightly waved his fan. It looked like a gentle movement, but it forced the Bluearch Dojo Master a dozen steps back.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master had not reached the Envoy realm yet, and he was still one level below Imprinters. Fortunately, with his innate gift and nine lined battle force, he was still able to fight against one.

    Elder Tong and a dozen other dojo masters held back the Sixth Maind cultivators in the sky.

    Three Imprinters from the Sixth Maind hade on this attack, and they presented a formidable force to be reckoned with. If not for the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression forcing them all to restrict their power levels to under 200,000, Mt. Stacks Dojo would have already been lost.

    Even so, the result of the battle was miserable.

    Half of the ten-plus dojo masters were killed, Dojo Master Lan was severely injured, the Bluearch Dojo Master broke one of his arms, and Elder Tong was left in a pathetic state. As for the various disciples, they did not suffer too many casualties. Mt. Stacks Dojo had been attacked by a party of powerhouses, and even Hong Ying had not participated. Rather than a battle, this was more like a scouting attempt.

    The Sixth Maind was testing Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s hidden trump cards. It seemed that the next battle would be aplete massacre.

    Lu Yin was still immersed inprehending the Oveying Stacks Path, and he was not influenced by the battle, especially since nobody bothered him either.

    Half a month after the battle, Lu Yin opened his eyes. At this moment, hisprehension of the Oveying Stacks Path had reached Seventy Stacks.

    It was not that he did not want to continue studying the technique, but rather that he had been interrupted by someone. Everyone had just been ordered to withdraw from Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    They were going to abandon their current base.

    When Lu Yin learned of the oue of the battle that had taken ce half a month ago, he felt a bit of fear and a hint of pity. If he had known that Mr. Yi would appear, he would have lent that smelly item to Dojo Master Lan. Even if Mr. had Yi made preparations, he would still be disgusted by the item. Then, it would just be a matter of whether or not Dojo Master Lan was able to withstand the odor.

    At this moment, more than 200,000 cultivators had retreated to Mt. Stacks Dojo, and the dojo was full of people.

    Lu Yin flew down from gravitationalndmasses, nning to look for Hai Qiqi. However, he suddenly noticed someone familiar within his domain: Zhang Dingtian.

    He was delighted to discover that Zhang Dingtian was still alive.

    When Zhang Dingtian noticed Lu Yin, he also looked happy.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive.¡± Lu Yin smiled at Zhang Dingtian.

    Zhang Dingtian was quite excited to bump into an old friend, especially during this chaotic time. When he saw Lu Yin, Zhang Dingtian¡¯s gloomy mood instantly became much more cheerful. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Zhang Dingtian. ¡°You¡¯re quite strong now.¡±

    ¡°I still can¡¯tpare to you. You were able to step foot on the tenth level while still in the Explorer realm. Throughout this ce¡¯s entire history, only Lan Si has ever managed to do that,¡± Zhang Dingtian marveled.

    Lu Yin was astonished at this bit of information. ¡°Lan Si the Arbiter?¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded.

    ¡°Last time, at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, I wanted to ask you this, but there wasn¡¯t any time. How did you get to Grayweed Continent?¡± Lu Yin asked. He wanted to corroborate Huo Qingshan¡¯s story, as Huo Qingshan had told Lu Yin that the Hidden Earth Society had taken Zhang Dingtian and the others away.

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. ¡°I don''t know. When I came to, I was already on Grayweed Continent.¡±

    ¡°Not a single memory?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then forget about it. It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen are?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    After a while, Hai Qiqi found Lu Yin, and she had brought Hai Dashao and Lan Baobao along with her. Hai Qiqi informed Lu Yin that they had been ordered to immediately leave Mt. Stacks Dojo, but not even Hai Qiqi knew where they were headed.

    Over 200,000 cultivators moved as one group, which created a massivemotion. Fortunately, these cultivators were all elites who had broken through the Sixth Maind¡¯s encirclement, so they were able to move rather quickly.

    Lu Yin and the others were located at the center of the crowd of cultivators. As they traveled, Zhang Dingtian told Lu Yin quite a few things about his time on Grayweed Continent, and Lu Yin also informed his old friend about the situation in the Outerverse, as well as what had happened on Earth.

    Earth could offer Zhang Dingtian nothing at this time, but it was still what most of his questions were about. It was his home after all, and it was where his family was from.

    ¡°If I have the bad luck of dying while you survive, do your best to take my corpse back to Earth and bury it there,¡± Zhang Dingtian said to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin silently nodded his assent.

    ¡°Eh, if you croak and die, I¡¯ll also do my best to drag you back to the Outerverse,¡± Hai Qiqi said as she appeared behind Lu Yin and looked at him with a serious expression.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    Lan Baobao rolled her eyes.

    Zhang Dingtian nced over at Hai Qiqi. This brat really knew how to use her razor tongue.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, if I die-¡± The Ghost Monkey was quickly screened off by Lu Yin before he could finish spouting his nonsense.

    The crowd quickly maneuvered through a forest, like a powerful current racing into the distance.

    The person in the front was Dojo Master Lan. He had a solemn expression, and he asionally nced up at the sky.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master remained at the very back while Elder Tong guarded the middle along with a few Enlighters who were scattered throughout the crowd of cultivators.

    After two days of traveling, while everyone was rushing forward like normal, Dojo Master Lan suddenly froze and looked up.

    A crack had appeared in the sky, and Mr. Yi, Granny Gui, Mr. Da, and a few other Sixth Maind powerhouses emerged from it. There were at least a hundred people in the sky, and even the weakest of them were still Hunters.

    Even more rmingly, there were at least twenty or so people who seemed to be Enlighters.

    ¡°Kill.¡± Mr. Yi waved his hand, as he had no time to waste on nonsense. The Sixth Maind cultivators rushed towards the ground with Elder Yuan leading the charge and more than twenty Enlighters closely following behind. They formed an arrowhead formation that shot into the crowd of cultivators and immediately drew blood.

    Zhang Dingtian clenched the hilt of his de as he shed out, and at the same time, a storm of de qi flew into the sky from the side of the Fifth Maind cultivators.

    Unfortunately, these attacks were casually shattered by Mr. Da, who stepped forward and then reappeared on the ground. A scattered rain of blood followed behind his flickering movement.

    Granny Gui lifted a hand, and her invisible needles fell down like raindrops. Dojo Master Lan¡¯s expression changed, as there were just too many needles. If this old woman was not stopped, then she would only need to unleash a few more attacks to wipe out their entire group.

    The Bluearch Dojo Master once again transformed into a giant ape and pped at Granny Gui.

    Hai Dashao and Lan Baobao had already charged forward, and they joined forces to hold back an Enlighter. This Enlighter was an expert swordsman, and with one slice of his de, he easily injured Lan Baobao. Hai Dashao stabbed forward with the Sea King''s Trident, but his attack was simrly repelled by that sword.

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s de chopped down.

    ¡°Know your own strength,¡± the Enlighter swordsman spat out in disdain, and he lightly tapped out with the tip of his sword. Each move of his put pressure on the section where Zhang Dingtian grasped his sword. This precise maneuver left Zhang Dingtian unable to retaliate in any way, as he could not even hold his de steady.

    No one nearby was even able to approach them.

    The Enlighter swordsman was arrogant, as he was an expert whose power level surpassed 300,000. Even if his power level was suppressed to below 200,000, this group of people could not do anything to him. Then, his sword suddenly slowed, and the image of the sword lingered in the void. This attack caused many people¡¯s scalps to go numb, as they could not do anything to stop this sword.

    There was a whooshing sound as Lu Yin caught up to the crowd and pped out with a palm. At the same time, his eyes flickered as his pupils transformed into mysterious runes. The Enlighter swordsman suddenly hesitated, as he felt his strength strangely falter. Before he could investigate any further, Lu Yin¡¯s palm was already upon him.

    ¡°Seeking death!¡± With a shout, countless sword shadows shot through the void and sliced at Lu Yin.

    The images were so fast that they were practically invisible, which made any evasive maneuvers unrealistic. However, Lu Yin did not even pay any attention to the sword shadows, as he was focused entirely on the rune lines before him. He dodged all of the rune lines sweeping towards him before mming his palm into the Enlighter. However, Lu Yin¡¯s palm was met by the cold, hard tip of a sword. The Enlighter had quick reflexes, and although his strength had been mysteriously weakened by Lu Yin without any warning, the swordsman had still managed to pull his sword back and block the impending attack.

    ¡°Seventy Stacks, One Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡± Lu Yin released a fierce shout, and with a bang, the Enlighter swordsman felt a pure wave of immense strength from the Oveying Stacks Path flood over him, and he was almost unable to hold his de steady. He reflexively used both his imprint and martial print to reinforce his de, but his body was still sent flying backwards while his internal organs were jostled.

    Hai Dashao was astonished, as this was the first time he had seen Lu Yin fight. When his small group had joined forces, they had not even been able to stand up to a powerhouse. However, that same, insurmountable expert had just been sent flying by one palm from Lu Yin. This was even more shocking than when Lu Yin had ascended to the top of the gravitational training grounds.

    Lan Baobao and Zhang Dingtian also saw Lu Yin fight for the first time. His ruthlessness and decisiveness was indicative of his extensive battle experience.

 Chapter 888: Unrivaled Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 888: Unrivaled Lu Yin</h4>

    Zhang Dingtian had been active in the recent past years in the war against the Sixth Maind, and he had acquired a rich battle experience. However, he could tell that Lu Yin¡¯s battle experience was no less than his in any manner. Lu Yin had once experienced a desperate battle that even those like Dojo Master Lan could not fathom, and as a result, Lu Yin¡¯s vision had reached apletely different level.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing had be slightly ragged, as this swordsman was even harder to deal with than Elder Song had been. Additionally, this opponent also had quicker reflexes. Otherwise, if Lu Yin¡¯s palm had connected, then his opponent would have been severely injured if not killed outright.

    200,000 cultivators faced off against a hundred Sixth Maind cultivators, but they did not hold any sort of advantage. There was a qualitative gap in their cultivation realms that could not be made up for with quantity.

    In the distance, the Enlighter swordsman was sted underground, his impact leaving a tunnel thousands of meters long behind him while he was left in an absolutely miserable state. More importantly, the man¡¯s hand was trembling, though not from fear. It was trembling because the massive amount of force in the previous attack had been too much for him to handle.

    The swordsman looked up at Lu Yin with an indignant expression, as he, an Enlighter, had just been sent flying by an Explorer. If word of this ever made it back to the Sixth Maind, then he would no longer have the face to show himself among his peers.

    The man bellowed in rage, and he leaped up to attack Lu Yin. However, he was stopped midway by a burly, middle-aged man. This man was clearly an Enlighter from Mt. Stacks Dojo, and his sudden appearance caught the swordsman off guard when the burly man grabbed the sword hilt.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you for a long time.¡± With a holler, the muscr man exerted a fierce strength, causing the swordsman to wail. His wrist snapped as the sword fell from his grasp.

    Due to this angry outburst, the swordsman¡¯s imprint of Venerable Tong turned even clearer behind his back. He then lifted his hand, revealing a small sword rotating around the center of his palm. The tiny de then streaked out with a whoosh, piercing through the burly man¡¯s body and causing blood to drip down his back. Still, the burly man did not release his grip on the swordsman as he unleashed a powerful punch at that sword expert¡¯s abdomen and continuously pounded the swordsman until the man spat out a mouthful of blood.

    The burly man was using a tactic of mutual destruction, and the only thing left to be seen was who would die first.

    Multiple simr scenes yed out all over the battlefield. In terms of strength, the cultivators from Grayweed Continent were indeed much weaker than the cultivators from the Sixth Maind. The Fifth Maind cultivators suffered from an innate suppression, and the Sixth Maind cultivators also had their imprints and martial prints, which had an overwhelming effect on the battlefield. Even if there were two cultivators of the same realm, only the cream of the crop from the Fifth Maind would be able to resist those of the Sixth Maind, and there were simply too few people who met that criterion.

    Lu Yin was right about to join the battle in front of him when Mr. Yi finally made a move in the sky. He suddenly attacked Dojo Master Lan.

    Dojo Master Lan had been on guard against Mr. Yi this entire time. However, being vignt against an ambush was one thing while being able to defend against it was something else entirely. Mr. Yi¡¯s strength greatly surpassed the dojo master, and when the dojo master¡¯s severe injuries from before were factored in, Dojo Master Lan was unable to block the Imprinter at all.

    ¡°Uncle Lan can¡¯t handle it anymore! Lu Yin, go!¡± Hai Qiqi shouted.

    Zhang Dingtian and Lan Baobao felt that this was extremely strange. ¡°Lu Yin, go?¡± Does that battle even concern him?

    Lu Yin leaped up and waved his hand. The smelly, fruit-like object immediately appeared, and he then used the Yu Secret Art to move it through the battlefield.

    Dojo Master Lan spat out a mouthful of blood as he raised both hands. An attack with the Oveying Stacks Path wasunched with an expertise that greatly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s, and it shattered the void as it enveloped an entire region of space.

    Mr. Yi was like a drifting leaf as he avoided all of Dojo Master Lan¡¯s palm attacks, and he raised a hand in retaliation. From the sky, a giant martial print that covered the sky appeared before smashing down towards Dojo Master Lan.

    This was the Imprinter¡¯s martial print¡¯s manifestation, and only those with exceptional talent could use their martial print like this. At best, normal cultivators from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s territory could borrow the strength of their martial print to slightly increase their power level. Only those who had thoroughlyprehended their martial print could manifest and use it to suppress all others.

    Dojo Master Lan had previously been injured precisely by this martial print, and he now faced it once again. Thest half month of preparations that he had made felt like they had been for nothing, as he still could not block this attack.

    Just as Mr. Yi was about to crush Dojo Master Lan, an object fell onto his bosom. In an instant, an indescribable stench permeated the entire region, causing Mr. Yi¡¯s expression to change as his face instantly paled and his martial print vanished.

    ¡°Bastard! It¡¯s you again!¡± Mr. Yi roared as he scanned the surrounding area for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was slightly embarrassed about taking out that thing while on such a deadly and serious battlefield, as it felt like he was going a bit overboard. Still, when he saw Mr. Yi¡¯s furious and twisted expression, Lu Yin felt rather happy; he truly was this Imprinter¡¯s nemesis.

    Dojo Master Lan was puzzled by this development, though he still backed up a thousand meters and pinched his nose since he also could not handle the stench. What was that smell?

    The entire battlefield was quickly enveloped by the stench, and many people could not help themselves from turning around to look at the ursed item.

    Mr. Yi tried his best to shake it off, and in the process, he raised his hand and manifested his martial print above Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin smiled, and he casually waved his hand as he used the Yu Secret Art to send that smelly fruit straight towards the martial print. ¡°Just try and smash it. Then, for the rest of your life, you will always remember that your martial print was stained by this thing.¡±

    Mr. Yi instinctively dissipated his martial print, and he resentfully red at Lu Yin. The Imprinter screamed, ¡°It¡¯s your turn! Capture him! I want him to beg for death!¡±

    Lu Yin grew cautious, as this person had indeed made preparations to deal with Lu Yin if he appeared on the battlefield at this time.

    A figure leaped out from the ground and took a tremendous, deep breath of the stinky fruit¡¯s aroma. It was as if a whale was swallowing the ocean, and the figure absorbed everything in the air, including that horrible stench.

    And not only that, but this person¡¯s mouth suddenly grewrger, and they looked like they were about to bite at the stinky item. The person¡¯s entire face had transformed, and he looked like a monster.

    This was a bloodline, and Lu Yin was shocked to realize that this person was not an expert from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s territory. Rather, he was from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory. Three realms had invaded the Innerverse, and the ckblood Realm was one of them.

    This person had clearly absorbed some monstrous bloodline since he dared to swallow even this horrible object.

    Lu Yin grew flustered. If this person was able to swallow the stinky fruit, then Lu Yin would have nothing left he could use to deal with Mr. Yi. At that time, who would be able to stop Mr. Yi? This clean freak would definitely kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew more and more nervous, and he subconsciously converged his star energy before throwing out a sun, which naturally flew towards the ckblood Realm expert¡¯s mouth, guided by his tremendous suction force.

    But Lu Yin¡¯s attack was stopped. That ckblood Realm expert was an Enlighter, and he would not be defeated that easily.

    Dojo Master Lan and the others had also realized the current situation of the battle, and they knew that they could not allow this person to swallow the smelly fruit. Thus, they all attacked at once.

    Lu Yin also used the Yu Secret Art to redirect the smelly fruit towards Mr. Yi.

    However, Mr. Yi ran behind the ckblood Realm expert and sneered at Lu Yin. As soon as the smelly fruit approached Mr. Yi, it would be automatically swallowed into the bloodline expert¡¯s stomach. Lu Yin¡¯s Yu Secret Art could not be used repeatedly, and he needed to recharge between each use.

    This was troublesome, as Mr. Yi had actually found a way to deal with his smelly nemesis.

    Even the stench in the air was being sucked away.

    ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll make you beg for death,¡± Mr. Yi swore as he looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    But right after the man spoke, the ckblood Realm Enlighter suddenly¡ªvomited.

    The crowd stared at this scene, dumbfounded at this development. Many of them had strange expressions while others had looks of admiration.

    That stench was unendurable even with just a whiff, and that powerhouse had sucked in a tremendous amount of its scent. It would be strange if he did not vomit.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he immediately fled. When the ckblood Realm expert vomited, an even more vile and intense odor spread out, and many of thebatants were unable to withstand the intense smell.

    This was especially true because this stench went straight into their brains, and they could not avoid the smell even if they wanted to.

    The atmosphere of the battlefield changed dramatically, and the ckblood Realm Enlighter was rooted in ce with a dazed expression. Many people felt fear towards the stinky fruit, as it was indeed too smelly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He was also unable to stand the stench, but he also didn¡¯t mind, because Mr. Yi was in a much worse position than him.

    At this moment, Mr. Yi had a pale expression. It was as if he had been severely injured, and his entire body was trembling.

    ¡°Mr. Yi,e! Let¡¯s have a death match!¡± Lu Yin shouted, and he brandished the stinky fruit as he charged towards the Imprinter.

    Dojo Master Lan and the others hurriedly moved away from Lu Yin.

    Half a month ago, Dojo Master Lan had heard about how Lu Yin had repelled Mr. Yi, but the dojo master had not taken the story seriously. Anyone who had managed to cultivate to Mr. Yi¡¯s level would not be taken advantage of with simr methods. However, at this moment, the dojo master¡¯s thoughts changed. Lu Yin truly lived up to his legends, and he even had this strange item. Forget a clean freak like Mr. Yi; even Dojo Master Lan would not be able to handle himself if he was continuously assaulted by this stench.

    This horrid stench was able to influence Envoy-level powerhouses and daze Enlighters, and it really was not an average stench.

    Mr. Yi retreated 10,000 meters, but that still was not enough. Without any other option, he continued backing further away.

    Every time the Imprinter moved backwards, Lu Yin would move forwards, and he chased after the Imprinter relentlessly.

    Countless onlookers were stupefied¡ªwas that Explorer actually chasing an Imprinter? That Imprinter was someone who surpassed even Dojo Master Lan. This was absolutely awesome.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was practically radiant.

    Without the pressure from Mr. Yi, Dojo Master Lan was able to attack the other experts from the Sixth Maind, and the bnce of the battlefield changed instantly. Although the Fifth Maind cultivators could not defeat that many enemy experts, their crisis had momentarily abated.

    Granny Gui and Mr. Da wanted to stop Lu Yin and destroy that vile fruit, but Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, and all the other powerhouses from the Fifth Maind went all out to stall them.

    Over 200,000 cultivators watched this bizarre scene of Lu Yin chasing Mr. Yi around in the sky. As they breathed in that weird stench, it felt like they were watching an impossible scene.

    Finally, Mr. Yi escaped.

    He truly could not stand that awful smell, and Lu Yin even used the Yu Secret Art to asionally throw the stinky fruit toward the Imprinter¡¯s body. To Mr. Yi, that was a fate worse than death.

    The other Sixth Maind experts glumly watched on as Mr. Yi left, and they did not intend to stay behind and struggle. As soon as Granny Gui and Mr. Da broke away, all of the other powerhouses simrly withdrew, leaving behind dozens of corpses. As for Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators, their casualties had been quite higher.

    The 200,000 people had not been of much use either, as group tactics were not effective against these high level experts.

    Lu Yin returned, and he put the stinky fruit back into his cosmic ring, treating it as though it was a treasure. His face was calm as he stared into the distance. Mr. Yi, I await your next visit.

    It was entirely possible that Mr. Yi had been truly frightened by Lu Yin during this battle because, for several days afterwards, no one from the Sixth Maind appeared to stop the retreating cultivators. Thus, they managed to sessfully arrive at the Skyze Dojo.

    The ground before the dojo was red, but it was possible that it had not always been that color. Rather, the ground had been baked at a high temperature for so long that it had naturally turned red due to the heat over an unknown period of time.

    Many of the cultivators who were below the Melder realm burned their feet the moment they stepped onto this soil.

    Everything was an expanse of red that stretched as far as the eye could see.

    ¡°This is the Skyze Dojo, which is second only to the Mt. Stacks Dojo in the entire Grayweed Continent. When the Sixth Maind first invaded Grayweed Continent and all seventy two dojos faced a crisis, only a minority managed to defend themselves. The Skyze Dojo was one of them, and Tian Yanzi, the dojo master, even borrowed the power of a subterranean fire to incinerate a Grand Martial Realm Imprinter to a crisp. Tian Yanzi is an Envoy-level super powerhouse from Grayweed Continent who is just as famous as Dojo Master Lan,¡± Zhang Dingtian told Lu Yin, who was beside him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Subterranean fire? He had been looking for a powerful me for a long time, and the entire Great Eastern Alliance had also been searching. However, they had never found anything satisfactory. He had never thought that Grayweed Continent would have a dojo like this.

    Although the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression was able to eliminate anything whose power level surpassed 200,000, this sort of environmental existence was somehow exempt, which was very mysterious. This was simr to a secret technique, since Progenitors possessed an almighty force that was capable of changing everything. However, even if someone borrowed this environmental power to enhance their attacks, if their attack ever exceeded a power level of 200,000, they would still be erased by the cosmic phenomenon. This rule could not be circumvented.

    Tian Yanzi had borrowed the power of that subterranean fire to incinerate the Imprinter, though his power level definitely had not surpassed 200,000 while doing so. Otherwise, he would have been eliminated as well.

    The temperature of that subterranean fire was definitely terrifying.

 Chapter 889: Arbiter Lan Si

    <h4>Chapter 889: Arbiter Lan Si</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes burned with a fervent light as he stared below the ground. There, he saw a terrifying number of rune lines lying just beneath the surface. Eh? What¡¯s that?

    Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened and focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took several steps back as his scalp went numb. He had just been noticed, and that gaze was definitely from a super powerhouse lying underground. Could that have been Tian Yanzi just now?

    With a whoosh, the ground in the distance started to boil before a fiery dragon ascended into the sky and roared. It unleashed a wave of raging mes that caused the void to tremble.

    The 200,000 cultivators who had migrated to this ce all stared up at the fiery dragon that had risen into the sky in astonishment. Was that a real dragon or a fake one?

    As the fiery dragon roared, it released a heat wave that took the form of visible red waves that swept across the cultivators. As they passed through them, many people had their clothes burned away, and of those people, most of them were women.

    Cries of shock were heard all around before a litany of curses were shouted out.

    Hai Qiqi had been protected by Hai Dashao, and the young man stared at the fiery dragon with wary eyes.

    Lan Baobao was no exception.

    Lu Yin was puzzled; what was this all about?

    The fire dragon raised its head and then spat out another wave of fire that caused the temperature of the air to rise steeply.

    ¡°Evil creature, back off!¡± A cry cut through the clouds and dispersed the high temperature in the air.

    The crowd of cultivators all stared at the monstrous fiery dragon.

    It snarled, trying to demonstrate its power, but it also appeared to be rather sullen.

    ¡°Get back!¡± someone shouted out again.

    The fiery dragon flew a circle in the sky, clearly reluctant to leave, but in the end, it dashed back towards the ground.

    A middle-aged man dressed in a fiery-red gown appeared in the sky, and even his hair was a fiery-red color that made it look like it was burning. This was Tian Yanzi.

    ¡°That evil creature is very mischievous. I¡¯m sorry it scared you people,¡± Tian Yanzi apologized.

    The women whose clothes had been burned away were indignant, but they did not dare say anything. This was the Skyze Dojo, and they were currently facing the Skyze Dojo Master, who was second only to Dojo Master Lan in the entire Grayweed Continent. They had to suppress their irritation.

    Dojo Master Lan and the Bluearch Dojo Master also flew into the sky to talk to Tian Yanzi.

    The other cultivators were all ushered into the Skyze Dojo.

    Lu Yin frowned as he looked at the sky. He could tell that the eyes that had looked at him earlier had not been the Skyze Dojo Master¡¯s, as they did not feel the same. There was another terrifying powerhouse at this dojo.

    ¡°Qiqi, where are you guys going?¡± Lan Baobao called out.

    Some distance away, Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, and Elder Tong all headed in another direction.

    When Lu Yin looked over, a bulb seemed to light up in his head. He suddenly realized the identity of the person who had looked at him: the Sea King. That was it¡ªHai Dashao and the others were all headed in the direction of those eyes. Additionally, that terrifying gaze had to havee from someone who was more powerful than even the Skyze Dojo Master and Dojo Master Lan. Thus, it could only be the top expert of the Starfall Sea, the Sea King.

    But Lu Yin could not understand why the Sea King was hiding in the Skyze Dojo.

    ¡°Brother Zhang, do you know where the Sea King is?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Dingtian shook his head. ¡°Everyone has been searching for him, but no one has found him. I don''t know where he is either.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; it turned out that even people like Zhang Dingtian were not privy to this information. Perhaps only Hai Dashao, Elder Tong, the Skyze Dojo master, and Dojo Master Lan were aware of this information. The Sea King had his own schemes, and they were surely designed to target the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hopes suddenly rose, as it was possible that they might not be facingplete and utter despair after all.

    ¡°That perverted dragon is so detestable. I remember when I apanied my master here more than ten years ago. The exact same thing happened,¡± a girl cursed under her breath next to Lu Yin.

    On the other side, a cultivator smiled bitterly. ¡°That dragon is a specialty of the Skyze Dojo, and it was born in the subterranean fire. The Skyze Dojo Master borrowed its strength to protect the Skyze Dojo.¡±

    ¡°Still, it shouldn¡¯t humiliate us like that.¡±

    ¡°It really shouldn¡¯t. Who knows where that thing learned such perverted behavior, but it still likes to burn away clothes, especially women¡¯s clothes. Everyone, please don¡¯t take offense. After all, it¡¯s just the spirit of the subterranean fire, and not a real human. It¡¯s not really that perverted,¡± a Skyze Dojo disciple awkwardly exined.

    Augh broke the atmosphere, and it came from an older cultivator. ¡°There¡¯s no need to exin. The true instigator isn¡¯t that fiery dragon, but rather a different pervert. Just forget it, since you guys won¡¯t get it even if I exin things.¡±

    Many gathered around the man to ask more.

    That aged cultivator remained aloof for a while, but he eventually continued his exnation. ¡°Decades ago, the Skyze Dojo Master was roaming about the Starfall Sea, and he coincidentally saved a sylvan dragon and brought it back here. He allowed that sylvan dragon to remain here, and from that moment on, the fiery dragon changed. Before that, it had always been very pure, but its personality became like this due to the influence of that failure of a sylvan dragon.¡±

    Many Skyze Dojo disciples looked embarrassed, but they had no way to defend themselves.

    More and more cultivators learned of this story, and they sessively asked for the whereabouts of that sylvan dragon, as they wished to teach it a lesson.

    However, when they learned that the sylvan dragon had the strength to rival an Enlighter, they all changed their minds.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he had never expected a sylvan dragon to be in this ce. He had crossed paths with other members of that species before, and although they were not his enemies, he had beaten up quite a few sylvan dragons when he had participated in Astral-10¡¯s entrance examination. Thus, it was actually possible that the entire tribe had heard of Lu Yin¡¯s name.

    Just as Lu Yin was thinking about looking around for the sylvan dragon¡¯s rune lines, a familiar voice entered his ears. ¡°Lu Yin,e here.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he could instantly tell that this voice belonged to the Sea King. It had truly been the Sea King who had exchanged nces with Lu Yin earlier.

    The Sea King was located at the entrance to the subterranean fire, which was the foundation of the Skyze Dojo. When Lu Yin arrived, he was able to vaguely make out a fiery dragon roaming through the magma with a carefree expression.

    And not too far away from the magma, there were quite a few clusters of rune lines within the reddened cave. They belonged to Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, Elder Tong, Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, the Skyze Dojo Master, and the Sea King.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as he entered the entrance to the underground space, charging through the tunnel that was under the fiery dragon¡¯s feigned ferocious vigil. The high temperature constantly distorted the void, and not even the average Hunter would be able to survive in such an environment. Hai Qiqi was likely only able to enter due to the Sea King¡¯s protection.

    Lu Yin followed the flowing magma into the cave, and he soon entered a spacious hall. This hall was vast, but despite its size, only the Sea King and the others were within the hall, silently waiting for Lu Yin to arrive.

    When he saw the Sea King once again, Lu Yin realized that he could now see the Sea King¡¯s rune lines. This was his first time seeing them clearly, as he had been nearly blinded by the powerhouse¡¯s rune lines back when he had first arrived at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. During the rest of that trip, he had not dared to look at his rune lines again.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Senior Sea King,¡± Lu Yin said respectfully.

    The Sea King looked at Lu Yin in a stern manner. ¡°You should not have allowed Qiqi to return to the Starfall Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin was irritated to hear this greeting yet again, as everyone had told him the exact same thing: Elder Tong, Hai Dashao, Lan Baobao, and now, even the Sea King.

    But feeling frustrated was all Lu Yin could do. He did not dare reveal any sort of temper, as he was currently facing the Sea King, not Hai Dashao.

    He had originally thought that the Sea King was an Envoy-level powerhouse like the Arrow Mountain elder at best. However, their earlier exchange of looks had made the youth feel that the Sea King¡¯s power might even surpass Mr. Yi¡¯s.

    This was the strength of the Starfall Sea¡¯s undisputed top expert, and the man was indeed an Envoy. However, there could be an absolutely enormous difference in the power levels of Envoys. A power level of 500,000 was an Envoy, and so was a power level of 790,000, which was an incredible disparity.

    ¡°Father, how can you say that? I¡¯ve already told you about everything that happened, and you can¡¯t me him!¡± Hai Qiqi was also upset and irritated with the Sea King.

    They had been separated for a long time, and the Sea King doted heavily on his daughter. His face quickly grew much more gentle. ¡°Alright, Father won''t me him.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was pleased with herself, and she nced over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he decided to not act like the good guy if such a situation ever happened again in the future.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your father-inw¡¯s family''s bullying you, and this monkey can''t bear to watch them do so anymore. Rest assured, this monkey will take your side and scold them to death,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a snicker.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he had to fight the impulse to take out that vile-smelling fruit and m it into the Sea King¡¯s face.

    He surveyed the hall, and suddenly, Lu Yin quickly focused on a young person who was also present.

    In the entire cave, aside from Hai Dashao and Hai Qiqi, there was actually another youth. He was standing in a corner with his back leaning against the scorching hot wall, looking at Lu Yin with interest.

    The handsome young man had a light smile on his face and was wearing the uniform of Mt. Stacks Dojo. There was nothing special about his appearance other than his slightly above average looks, but Lu Yin was instinctively drawn to the youth¡¯s eyes, which were filled with a confident authority that looked down upon everything from high above. There was also a limitless self confidence within them, as well as something else that seemed unclear. Was that expectation? Or could it also be a provocation?

    For some reason, Lu Yin instantly recognized this person: the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, Lan Si.

    In the entire Grayweed Continent, there was only one person who was a member of the younger generation who was capable of fighting against an Imprinter and leaving unharmed.

    The Innerverse¡¯s Champions'' Stage had been established to grant titles during this war, and the highest title that one could receive was Arbiter. This hinted that there were likely some people who intended to use the Champions¡¯ Stage to encourage more youths topete. After all, the reputation of the Ten Arbiters preceded themselves.

    However, even if the current Ten Arbiters did not abdicate, and even if only military contributions were evaluated, the Ten Arbiters would still be the Ten Arbiters. They were the only ones capable of aplishing what they had, as no one else could match up to them.

    Lan Si was one of those youths that stood at the pinnacle, but Lu Yin was the first one to approach the level of the Ten Arbiters.

    Of all the Ten Arbiters, Lan Si had been the first to contact Lu Yin, and his impression of Lan Si was still the deepest, as their cultivation paths were very simr.

    Lu Yin ignored everything else around him when he exchanged nces with Lan Si. The influence that the Ten Arbiters had on the younger generation was simply too overbearing. If Progenitors were deities to all cultivators, then the Ten Arbiters were deities to the youths of the Innerverse and the Outerverse. They were legends who could not be surpassed.

    In the past, Lu Yin had created a great deal ofmotion in the Innerverse when he had matched Lan Si¡¯s Astral Combat Academy record. Themotion that he had stirred up in Mt. Stacks Dojo had also been because Lu Yin had broken Lan Si¡¯s record.

    The Ten Arbiters were treated as the benchmark to measure one¡¯s talent against, and they also demonstrated the difference between the present and the past. This was because, before the Ten Arbiters came into being, nobody had ever reached such a high level at such a young age. Or, at least, no one in recorded history had done so.

    Lan Si was very interested in Lu Yin, as this person seemed to specialize in challenging his own records. Lu Yin had done so back in the Astral Combat Academy, and then once again in Mt. Stacks Dojo. This was very interesting.

    From above, a ball of magma dripped down, and Lan Si caught it. He casually waved his hand and flung the molten rock at Lu Yin.

    The crowd watched this take ce, but not a single one of them moved to stop him. Lan Si not only held great influence over the younger generation, but even a powerhouse like the Sea King would show respect to the youth.

    That drop of magma seemed normal, but as it approached Lu Yin, it gave off a sense of deep oppression that seemed to originate from the void. This astonished several of the dojo masters who were present.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s pupils shrank, and he closely watched that drop of magma approach.

    Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy, allowing him to see the rune lines contained within that drop. There were very few rune lines, but they possessed a vtile power that could erupt at any moment. This was the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Lu Yin did not know how many stacks had been imbued in that drop of magma, but he could only stretch out his hand to grab it.

 Chapter 890: Lu Yin And The Divine Fist

    <h4>Chapter 890: Lu Yin And The Divine Fist</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand did not cause the magma to stop, as the drop also contained at least Ten Stacks within it, which canceled out Lu Yin¡¯s attack. The drop continued traveling towards Lu Yin at a normal speed.

    Lu Yin arched his brow. Twenty Stacks, Thirty Stacks, and even Forty Stacks proved useless against this drop of magma.

    The people around them were shocked, as that small drop of magma contained a tremendous amount of power.

    When the magma was just one meter away from Lu Yin, he used Fifty Stacks to try to resist it, but it was still useless. It was just a small drop of magma, but it seemed to contain limitless force.

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes started to gleam. He had not expected Lu Yin to be able to use Fifty Stacks. After all, Lu Yin had only trained at Mt. Stacks Dojo for a short amount of time, but he had still been able toprehend up to Fifty Stacks.

    When Lu Yin used Sixty Stacks, Lan Si, Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, Tian Yanzi, and the Sea King were all shocked, as Lu Yin was still just an Explorer.

    In the end, Lu Yin used Seventy Stacks, which was his current limit.

    The fire dragon roared in the underground hall as it had felt something. At the same time, a pair of enormous eyes opened in a nearby cave, and they shifted to look at Lu Yin.

    The magma drop trembled before finally stopping and falling to the ground right before it would have struck Lu Yin.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in shock. He had deduced Seventy Stacks, which was scarily powerful. If anyone had told them before this that an Explorer would be able to use seventy stacks, none of them would have believed it. Additionally, even if that was possible, they would have only expected a single person to be capable of that feat: Lan Si. However, there was now another person who had achieved that feat in front of their eyes.

    Even the most elite Hunters in Mt. Stacks Dojo might not be able to use Seventy Stacks, as this was something that waspletely different from merely enduring increased gravity.

    Lan Si had been leisurely leaning against the wall, but after this took ce, he stood up straight. A flicker of fear shed through his eyes as he started pping.

    Loud apuse could be heard from around the hall.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Lan Si once more. Lan Si¡¯s expression had changed, and the way he looked at Lu Yin had also changed. Now, the gaze in Lan Si¡¯s eyes indicated that he was looking at an equal, which meant that Lu Yin had managed to gain Lan Si¡¯s respect.

    Lu Yin was very emotional. He had trained for almost ten years, and it had also been about ten years since he had first heard of the Ten Arbiters. Back then, the Ten Arbiters had stood far above him, and their mere words were enough to decide the fate of countless peoples. Normal people weren¡¯t even allowed to say these people¡¯s true names, and they had long since been shrouded in mystery.

    When Lu Yin had first broken Lan Si¡¯s record in the Astral Combat Academy, Lan Si had contacted Lu Yin and attempted to recruit the youth.

    However, now, the Arbiter respected Lu Yin. This youth was no longer an ant, and he had earned the right to look the Ten Arbiters in the eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯ve truly surprised me, Lu Yin. This is not our first time speaking.¡± Lan Si smiled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became solemn. ¡°I¡¯m honored to hear that the Divine Fist still remembers me.¡±

    Lan Si looked at Lu Yin with a glint in his eyes.

    At this moment, the Sea King spoke up. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to chat.¡±

    He then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Come here and show me the back of your hand.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, but he still obeyed the Sea King¡¯s instructions.

    Tian Yanzi ced his finger on the back of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and Lu Yin felt as if he had just been burnt. He reflexively jerked his hand back, and when he did, he saw that there was the symbol of a me on the back of his hand now.

    ¡°Alright, you can go now. Qiqi, you should leave too,¡± the Sea King said.

    Hai Qiqi didn¡¯t want to go, and she stubbornly tugged at the Sea King¡¯s shirt.

    The Sea King patted her head. ¡°We have lots of time now, and I still want to hear about your time in the Outerverse. Alright, you should go now.¡±

    Hai Qiqi reluctantly agreed.

    Lu Yin nced over at Lan Si and then left the cave with Hai Qiqi and Hai Dashao.

    ¡°Qiqi, what¡¯s this all about?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Qiqi shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to Hai Dashao.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I already knew that you wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Hai Dashao raised his brows. ¡°I don¡¯t see you for a few years, and you¡¯ve be very sarcastic.¡±

    ¡°I learned it from your sister,¡± Lu Yin quipped back.

    Hai Dashao opened his mouth, but then realized he had no words. He instinctively nced over at Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth and red at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re ugly, evil, and even sarcastic now! You¡¯re bing more and more like a piece of scum, and soon, you¡¯ll never be able to recover.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still your fault,¡± Lu Yin replied casually.

    Hai Qiqi was furious. She had always felt like her tongue was the most vicious, but at this current moment, she felt like Lu Yin was trying to challenge her position.

    Suddenly, arge eye appeared in the cave and blinked as it looked down at the three youths.

    HaI Dashao instinctively pulled Hai Qiqi behind him.

    Therge eye slowly retreated as a sylvan dragon appeared in front of them.

    This dragon was muchrger than the other sylvan dragons that Lu Yin had seen in the past.

    He had heard that Tian Yanzi had saved a perverted sylvan dragon, and this must be the aforementioned creature.

    ¡°It¡¯s just three small humans.¡± The sylvan dragon flew out, causing magma to stter everywhere.

    Hai Dashao immediately deflected the iing magma, and when they looked back, the sylvan dragon had already left. Meanwhile, a strange ck lump was falling towards them from above.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately moved back.

    Hai Dashao and Hai Qiqi was curious about what was falling toward them, but as the ck lump approached them, they both hastily fled.

    The ck lumpnded in the magma with a ssh and was immediately incinerated, releasing a foul odor.

    It had been a pile of excrement.

    The expressions on their faces were all very interesting.

    This was especially true for Hai Dashao, as he was a young master of the Sea King¡¯s Dome as well as someone who ranked among the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings. Thus, he had never encountered anything like this before. He was enraged, and he immediately flew into the sky to fight the sylvan dragon.

    ¡°Second brother!¡± Hai Qiqi tried to stop him, but she was toote.

    Lu Yin was also angry, as it was truly too much for the dragon to shit on them.

    He had heard that the fire dragon had started burning away women¡¯s clothes because of that sylvan dragon. It seemed that it was truly despicable.

    Soon, a battle between a human and a dragon broke out high above the Skyze Dojo, and it was apanied by the sounds of continuous chastising. This was something that the disciples of the Skyze Dojo were very familiar with.

    Two dayster, the people in the Skyze Dojo received news that Mt. Stacks Dojo had beenpletely taken over by the Sixth Maind. Many of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind had tried to climb up the gravity training grounds as they were very curious about it.

    Most of the Fifth Maind cultivators were depressed by this news, as it meant that the Skyze Dojo was the final ce on Grayweed Continent that was still under the Fifth Maind¡¯s control. The other dojos had probably all been taken over by the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin spent these two days training in the entrance to a cave. Although the temperature here was not able to reach the temperature of the furnace in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins or Millions City¡¯s energy cannon, it was still quite hot, and it greatly assisted in his training.

    Tens of thousands of cultivators settled down in the Skyze Dojo, as this would likely be their final resting ce.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and released a mouthful of hot air. The pile of star crystalsid before him were slowly disappearing.

    His cultivation speed in this ce still felt too slow since he had already experienced the rush of crazily absorbing star essence in Millions City¡¯s energy cannon. His speed in the Skyze Dojo wasn¡¯t fast enough for him, even with the Cosmic Art.

    Then, Lu Yin looked at the fire dragon outside the cave and realized that it might be able to help him.

    Lu Yin was still thinking about how he could get the fire dragon to help him when the ground trembled. When he looked up, Lu Yin saw countless rune lines descending upon the dojo. The Sixth Maind had arrived, and they were starting their attack.

    He had known that the Sixth Maind would not allow them too much free time, but he had not expected them to arrive so quickly.

    Red hot magma erupted outside the Skyze Dojo and formed a shield outside the dojo¡¯s boundaries. This magma had been reinforced with extra power, but it had been added artificially. Thus, the power level was still technically below the limit of 200,000.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind had relied on their powerhouses to arrive at the Skyze Dojo, and they looked at the dojo excitedly. This ce was Grayweed Continent¡¯sst hope, and once they sessfully conquered this dojo, the entire Starfall Sea would be theirs.

    Mr. Yi, Mr. Da, and Granny Gui stood in front of tens of thousands of cultivators, and there were also some Enlighters among the attackers. However, they all seemed to be waiting for somebody.

    The Sea King emerged from the Skyze Dojo, followed by Tian Yanzi, Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, and Elder Tong.

    The tens of thousands of cultivators who were inside the Skyze Dojo all held their breath, and the fire dragon red at Mr. Yi, who was standing high in the sky. Mr. Yi was the person who had almost killed the fire dragon during the Sixth Maind¡¯s first attack on the Skyze Dojo.

    The sylvan dragon also kept his eyes fixated on what was beneath him. However, he was not looking at the people from the Sixth Maind. Instead, he was looking behind the dojo. It looked like the dragon was nning on escaping the moment anything serious happened.

    Lu Yin walked out of the cave and looked at the people who were approaching the Skyze Dojo. Apart from Mr. Yi and the other powerhouses at the front, he also noticed some other people whom he was familiar with, like Hong Ying, Tong Zhan, Tong Tong, and other elites from the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation. However, he was not able to recognize most of the gathered attackers.

    One person in particr drew Lu Yin¡¯s attention; he was a young man with a pale face. He was very simr to a person from the Neohuman Alliance, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. It couldn¡¯t be the Neohuman Alliance, right? The Neohuman Alliance had not helped the Outerverse despite the invasion from the Sixth Maind. Instead, the Neohuman Alliance had actually created even more trouble for the Human Domain. Although the Neohuman Alliance was based in the Fifth Maind, it did not belong there, and so, Lu Yin would not be surprised if they had started cooperating with the Sixth Maind.

    ¡°Young one, I¡¯ll leave Mr. Yi to you. Can you handle him?¡± Lu Yin heard the Sea King¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin looked at Mr. Yi. Since this Imprinter had dared to show himself at this ce, he must havee up with another way to deal with the smelly fruit-like object. Thus, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t sure if he could hold the Imprinter back this time around.

    At the same time, Mr. Yi¡¯s gaze swept over the crowd before finally locking onto Lu Yin. The Imprinter¡¯s eyes were filled with a deep hatred, and a disgusting feeling instinctively washed over him. Mr. Yi¡¯s expression changed in an instant.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he mimed the action of throwing something.

    Mr. Yi reflexively took a step back.

    Granny Gui and the others next to the super powerhouse all frowned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s confidence surged. Could it be that the old man really had not found a way to deal with the smelly fruit?

    After a few hours of ring at each other through the magma shield, a figure suddenly arrived and moved in front of Mr. Yi and the other experts.

    This person was a middle-aged woman who had a voluptuous body and gorgeous face. Although she wasn''t young, she had a deadly charm about her, and even from afar, one could sense an alluring fragrance from her. This was Madam Hong.

    At that moment, anyone among the defenders who could recognize Madam Hong fell into despair. Madam Hong was a World Imprinter from the Grand Martial Realm, and her power was just below Elder Tong¡¯s. She had a power level of more than 800,000, and she was extremely powerful.

 Chapter 891: The Ten Arbiters And The Realmlings

    <h4>Chapter 891: The Ten Arbiters And The Realmlings</h4>

    Ever since the Sixth Maind started their invasion of the Innerverse, whenever a World Imprinter powerhouse had taken to the battlefield, they had proven to be practically invincible. There were very few even in the Innerverse who could fight against such experts, and Madam Hong¡¯s reputation was very impressive.

    When the Sea King and the others saw Madam Hong appear, all of their expressions changed. They were aware that Venerable Tong had gone into seclusion, but they had never imagined that the Tong family would actually ask Madam Hong to assist them. Even if she suppressed her power level to under 200,000, the power that Madam Hong was capable of unleashing was something unimaginable to the defenders.

    It was like, between two children fighting, if one had an adult¡¯s consciousness. The two would not be on the same level.

    When Madam Hong arrived, Mr. Yi and the others all bowed to her.

    Her charming eyes moved over all the people gathered at the Skyze Dojo, and her lips curled upwards to reveal an enchanting smile. She focused on the Sea King. ¡°I find you admirable. Surrender to me, and I can allow all of you to join the Flying Horse Manor.¡±

    The Sea Kingughed in response. ¡°Beat us first.¡±

    A lovelyughter emerged from Madam Hong¡¯s throat. ¡°Very manly! Very well, I will make you yield.¡±

    After speaking, she stretched her delicate hands forward. The magma that had been shielding the Skyze Dojo suddenly stopped flowing, and as soon as Madam Hong made contact with it, everything changed. The ground, the air, the underground regions, the magma, and even the thoughts of everyone present changed. Every single cultivator felt their blood run cold.

    The magma gradually disappeared, and the defenses that had protected the Skyze Dojo for so long crumbled in just a moment.

    Many cultivators from the Skyze Dojo fell into absolute despair, as this was the strength of a World Imprinter. Such a person could not be faced or understood.

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes went wide, and his trident pierced through the void to stab at Madam Hong.

    Mr. Yi suddenly moved to obstruct the trident, and a massive martial print pressed down from the sky. However, when the martial print met the Sea King''s Trident, it instantly crumbled away. The Sea King''s Trident pierced through the martial print, throwing Mr. Yi back as it continued on towards Madam Hong.

    Mr. Yi was stunned, as he had not expected the Sea King to be this powerful. Mr. Yi¡¯s power level was over 600,000, and it was actually very close to 700,000. And from this single exchange, he thus estimated the Sea King¡¯s power level to be very close to 800,000, as he was one level inferior to the Sea King.

    After thinking about it, Venerable Tong appeared behind Mr. Yi as an imprint while his martial print materialized once again and pressed downwards.

    Madam Hong frowned, and she casually waved a hand, causing the martial print to turn to dust. ¡°Back off. He¡¯s mine.¡±

    At the same time, the fiery dragon snarled, and it wrapped itself around Tian Yanzi¡¯s body as the two of them charged towards the Sixth Maind invaders. The Bluearch Dojo Master and Dojo Master Lan also took action while the Sixth Maind¡¯s Granny Gui, Mr. Da, and Elder Yuan all made their moves.

    A devastating explosion urred when the top-notch experts collided, and thousands of cultivators on both sides were overwhelmed by the aftershocks.

    In the area furthest ahead, there was one figure who was exceptionally eye-catching. Lan Si pressed down with one hand, and that alone was enough to overwhelm both Hong Ying and Tong Zhan. Mr. Da had to personally move over to stop the Arbiter, but the Enlighter was also forced to take a step back.

    Hai Dashao and the others had solemn expressions, and at this moment, Hai Qiqi also revealed her unyielding spirit.

    If they were defeated in this battle, then everyone here would either die or be a ve to the Sixth Maind, which was uneptable to everyone who had gathered at the Skyze Dojo.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands made some quiet sounds as he stared at Mr. Yi before proceeding to pull out the smelly, fruit-like object.

    Everyone knew when Lu Yin took action, as a vile scent pierced straight through their senses, directly targeting their brains.

    Madam Hong grabbed the Sea King''s Trident, and her bright eyes locked onto the Sea King. She was just about to say something when the awful smell wafted over. Her expression changed, and she looked down at the Skyze Dojo and the smelly object that had just appeared. ¡°What is that?¡±

    The Sea King frowned, as he had smelled the same thing, and it was indeed very nasty. ¡°A new weapon that we¡¯ve developed.¡±

    Madam Hong sneered. ¡°It¡¯s just a smell.¡±

    After saying that, she tried to block off the stench, but her expression quickly changed. She actually could not block it or iste herself from it; that smell directly influenced even her brain.

    This shocked Madam Hong. She was a World Imprinter, an existence that could destroy the sky and one that had even wrecked the Starfall Sea. However, she could not block that vile smell.

    Mr. Yi also smelled the vile stench, and he waved a hand, prompting that ckblood Realm expert who had previously sucked in the smell to appear. The man looked a bit frightened, but that did not stop him from taking in a deep breath. At the same time, another person appeared. This person only had the strength of an Explorer, but he was a strange organism. He also opened his mouth and began to vacuum up the smell from the air.

    Last time, one person had not been able to handle the smell on their own. Thus, Mr. Yi had dragged two people along with him this time.

    And in addition, the Imprinter¡¯s entire body was also covered with special equipment that tightly encased him from head to toe. It was soplete that Mr. Yi¡¯s face could not even be seen. He was doing his utmost to avoid the stench.

    Lu Yin was left helpless, as the smelly, fruit-like item had indeed been rendered ineffective. It seemed that it would not be possible for him to use the same method three times in a row against an expert of such caliber.

    Tian Yanzi waved a hand, and the fire dragon flew towards Mr. Yi. The dojo master did not expect Lu Yin to deal with this powerhouse.

    Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were locked in an intense battle in front of the Skyze Dojo, and Zhang Dingtian had already been injured. He held his sword tightly with a fierce look on his face.

    Hai Dashao and the others were also shouting as they killed the enemy.

    Lu Yin was targeted by two people: Hong Ying and¡ªTong Tong.

    Once Lu Yin took out his smelly fruit, he had drawn the attention of multiple people across the entire battlefield. Tong Tong had noticed him, and although several years had passed since their altercation, she still remembered the person who had beaten her in the futon za of Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    She had never expected that person to be from the Fifth Maind.

    Tong Tong made her move as she released a battle cry, and she reinforced herself with her martial print as she attacked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin casually grabbed the girl¡¯s foot and exerted a bit of force.

    Tong Tong stabilized herself in midair, and she stared at Lu Yin as bloodlust filled her eyes. ¡°So you¡¯re a native of the Fifth Maind!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°You have the guts to approach me all alone? How bold.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also me!¡± someone else cried out in the distance, and Hong Ying charged over towards Lu Yin as she stabbed at him with her spear. This time around, she had also brought along a helper, and she was apanied by the cold-faced man Lu Yin had noticed earlier who looked simr to those of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°You still haven¡¯t learned your lesson even after being beaten twice.¡±

    He grabbed her crimson spear, and Hong Ying instantly let go. The spear snapped, and the entire shaft of the spear seemed toe alive and firmly adhere itself to Lu Yin¡¯s arm.

    Hong Ying sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can escape this.¡±

    Lu Yin released a breath, and his right arm trembled as he immediately unleashed Seventy Stacks. The crimson spear was reduced to shards that fell to the ground.

    Hong Ying¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Impossible, you-¡± But before she could finish speaking, Lu Yin had tapped at her with a finger. He used his Dream Finger, and the void congealed around Hong Ying, preventing her from evading in any way.

    As the finger approached her, another figure suddenly appeared in front of Hong Ying and attempted to defend her from Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    The finger crushed the figure¡¯s brain, but Lu Yin frowned, as his fingertip had grown cold. That figure did not belong to a living being.

    ¡°Impressive, you can shatter my baby. Let¡¯s continue.¡±

    The young man with the cold face attacked Lu Yin, and he immediately pulled out quite a few figures from his cosmic ring that charged towards Lu Yin.

    All of these figures were corpses, which surprised Lu Yin. However, he did not hesitate to enshroud himself with eight lined battle force and counterattack with one palm strike after another, each one shattering a corpse.

    These corpses were iparably tough, and each one possessed a strength that could nearly match up to a Hunter¡¯s. However, none of them could take more than a single palm strike from Lu Yin.

    Hong Ying took out another spear and stabbed at Lu Yin while Tong Tong used her martial print to boost her strength to the peak. Then, the three youths attacked Lu Yin together.

    Lu Yin raised both of his hands, converging his star energy and causing two suns to rise from his palms which were then mmed towards Hong Ying and Tong Tong.

    Two loud booms filled the air, and the shockwaves swept into the distance.

    Tong Tong spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown into the distance.

    Hong Ying did not have it much easier, and she was thrown back 100 meters.

    Lu Yin had acted too suddenly, and although the power contained within one sun was not that great, Tong Tong was still unable to withstand it. At the most critical moment, she had used her power vessel to withstand the blow, but she had still been severely injured from the attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyesnded on the young man with the cold appearance. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Corpse Looter. Actually, I don¡¯t want to fight you, and I only want to take a few corpses back with me. Justice Manor is too cheerless, and besides corpses, there are only more corpses there. So, there¡¯s not a single one that can talk. I¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. This person looked cold, but he was actually a chatterbox.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators charged at Lu Yin from all directions, but they were all easily dispatched by him.

    Nobody noticed that, within the mor of the battlefield, some of the sounds had solidified and turned into flying birds. As the battle progressed, more and more sounds turned substantial and hovered at a low altitude.

    In front of the Skyze Dojo, Lan Si suddenly shouted as he punched his fists against each other. The resulting terrifying shockwave rippled outwards as it expanded, and the very air seemed to turn to water as the ripples spread out. These ripples did nothing to the humanbatants, regardless of if they were from Grayweed Continent or the Sixth Maind. However, any of the sound wave figures exploded as soon as the ripples swept over them.

    ¡°Bai Ling, since you¡¯re already here,e out!¡± Lan Si shouted as he looked up into the distance.

    Lu Yin raised his head. Bai Ling? That was the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling as well as someone on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    Countless people paid attention to this name. After four years of brutal warfare, the people of the Fifth Maind had alsoe to understand the strength of the Realmlings, and it wasmon knowledge that the Realmlings were the strongest powerhouses of their generation. Strength was synonymous with the title of Realmling, and they held an equal status to the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters in the hearts of the Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Bai Ling had been a nightmare to the Starfall Sea cultivators. Even though she was not an absolute expert like Madam Hong was, the Realmling¡¯s battle technique had too much destructive potential, and when it was used in tandem with her innate gift, she basically became a killing machine. It had even reached the point where she was considered more intimidating that a powerhouse like Mr. Yi.

    Although Lan Si and Bai Ling were both at the same level, Lan Si¡¯s attacks could be dodged while Bai Ling¡¯s attacks had no specific form.

    On the distant horizon, an ordinary-looking girl with cold eyes moved towards the battlefield, stepping onto strange lines as she slowly approached.

    Many cultivators from the Skyze Dojo were shocked at her appearance, but she was indeed Bai Ling.

    The faces of Elder Tong, the Bluearch Dojo Master, and the other powerhouses turned ugly. At this moment, on Grayweed Continent, there were only two youths who could battle against Enlighters: Lan Si and Bai Ling. Bai Ling was an especially difficult opponent.

    After being thrown back by Lu Yin, when Hong Ying saw Bai Ling arrive, the spear wielder grew incredibly excited, as she basically worshipped Bai Ling.

    That cold-looking man also saw Bai Ling appear, and he started to babble endlessly about some new nonsense.

    On another side of the battlefield, Tong Zhan had been fighting against Hai Dashao when he saw Bai Ling, and he grew extremely wary. This woman was very scary.

    Even powerhouses like Madam Hong and the Sea King nced to the side.

    All of this attention was because Bai Ling was too famous, and she had achieved her fame through ughter. In fact, her reputation had even overshadowed Lan Si¡¯s.

    Lu Yin stared at the sky. Was that girl Bai Ling, the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling? There was a rumor about her that went, ¡°Once her martial print is used, all others will be vanquished.¡±

    When Bai Ling appeared, Lan Si ignored everything else on the battlefield and flew into the sky. ¡°You still came.¡±

    Bai Ling calmly responded. ¡°Should I not havee? Don¡¯t try to force me to leave by deceit. Your methods are very low-ss.¡±

    ¡°What a pity.¡± Lan Si sighed.

    One momentter, the two youths vanished at the same time, and an intense rumbling soon rang out from the sky. The void twisted and ruptured as spatial cracks shot out in all directions, all of which were apanied by strange lines. These lines easily prated through anyone who dared to touch them, and not even Hunters could resist their power. These lines were a manifestation of sound.

 Chapter 892: Lu Yin And Bai Ling

    <h4>Chapter 892: Lu Yin And Bai Ling</h4>

    Lan Si suddenly appeared, pping out with a hand as he did so. This attack caused the sky itself to turn dark as an immense, boundless pressure descended from the sky even though there was clearly no one in front of the Arbiter.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, as Lan Si had actually attacked the correct position. Bai Ling truly was in that empty space.

    The palm print was suddenly encircled by countless lines, weakening the palm strike by multiple steps. Bai Ling then stepped out from the void and looked down, though her eyes had widened slightly. On the battlefield, strange shapes formed from sound appeared everywhere, which were the manifestations of sound itself. Explosions urred shortly after they appeared, and not only did they cause mass destruction, but they also made people feel as if their bodies were being torn apart.

    Lu Yin was also affected by the explosions, as the force tearing people¡¯s physical bodies apart was spiritual force. Bai Ling was adept at spiritual force attacks, and her spiritual force battle techniques were hidden within the sound waves that had been given form. It was impossible to effectively defend against her attacks, and they instantly affected the entire battlefield.

    In an instant, countless cultivators revealed stunned looks on their faces as they copsed to the ground.

    This attack had targeted not only Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators, but the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators as well.

    Lu Yin was petrified, as this attack was the martial print that could vanquish all others.

    Lan Si was furious, as that momentary gap had allowed Bai Ling to unleash an unimaginable amount of destruction that he could not stop.

    Still, Bai Ling¡¯s attacks were ineffective against Lan Si, and she could not defeat him.

    Since Lu Yin had been influenced by Bai Ling¡¯s attack, he was temporarily frozen in ce, and Corpse Looter took advantage of this opening to attack him. A stooped figure appeared behind the cold-faced young man, which was his imprint. He then raised a hand and pped out, and surprisingly, it was reinforced with eight lined battle force.

    Most cultivators of the Sixth Maind felt that battle force and domains were beneath them. Instead, they focused wholeheartedly on cultivating their imprints. Lu Yin had not expected Corpse Looter to actually possess eight lined battle force, and Lu Yin was not able to react in time to protect himself from the attack, and he was struck in the arm. The force sted Lu Yin¡¯s entire body underground, but Corpse Looter did not let Lu Yin off there. The youth¡¯s fingers curled as a trace of what looked like ck gas floated out from his palm, emanating the stench of death. This was another manifested martial print, which was something that only those who were unbelievably talented could achieve.

    The manifested martial print twisted like a ck gas as it followed Corpse Looter¡¯s body, encircling his arm, and eventually, his entire body. The next moment, Corpse Looter growled, leaped up, and lifted his right leg high into the air before mming it back down on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already been knocked underground when he saw Corpse Looter¡¯s kick descending towards him. His Fatesand moved to block the approaching attack, but Lu Yin was sent even further underground with a loud thump.

    Corpse Looter flew up to the surface and stared hard at the ground. He then inspected his own right leg, as the impact of thest attack felt like it had not had any effect.

    There was a whoosh as Lu Yin flew out of the hole, rubbing his chest before looking at Corpse Looter in astonishment. This fellow¡¯s strength was even greater than Autumnfrost Qing and Hong Ying¡¯s. Thatst attack in particr had almost reached the level of nine lined battle force. Lu Yin had not noticed this person¡¯s physical strength earlier, and he had assumed that this person merely relied on his corpses to fight. However, it turned out that Corpse Looter was actually quite a brutal person.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not fighting anymore.¡± Corpse Looter was very blunt, and he turned to flee.

    Lu Yin was about to attack, but he was stumped by this sudden change. He was fleeing?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how could that fellow just thrash you once before running?! Chase him down! Don¡¯t let him take advantage of you!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in indignation, as if someone beating Lu Yin was the same as beating him.

    Lu Yin was also frustrated, as this person wanted to run after kicking him down. He thought about it, and then his figure shed as he chased after Corpse Looter.

    Corpse Looter constantly tossed out corpses to stall Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, we can¡¯t make friends if we don¡¯t fight, so there¡¯s no need to fight to the death. There are so many other people on this battlefield that you can pick on, such as that Tong Zhan. He needs a beating more than anyone else. Also, there¡¯s that Hong Ying woman or that Bai Ling. Go look for them.¡±

    Lu Yin snorted and smacked out with a full powered Seventy Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm. This attack shattered all of the corpses blocking Lu Yin¡¯s path, and it even crossed the distance between Lu Yin and Corpse Looter tond on the cold-faced youth¡¯s back.

    Corpse Looter helplessly whirled around while the ck gas twined about his entire body as his martial print manifested again. ¡°Dead Man¡¯s Palm.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he activated the Yu Secret Art to redirect the ck gas that was circling around Corpse Looter¡¯s hand. The cold-faced youth was surprised by the sudden redirection, but it was already toote for him to pull his attack back, and his hand firmly collided against Lu Yin¡¯s. There was a soft thump as a shockwave swept out in all directions while the ground beneath the two youths copsed. The endless suppression from Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path forced Corpse Looter to continuously retreat, and sounds of bone cracking could be heard from his right palm. He could no longer endure theyered attack, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    The ck gas returned to circling around Corpse Looter¡¯s arm, and the imprint behind him became even more defined. It had reached the point where it was possible to recognize that the imprint was an old person who seemed to have emerged from a grave, and just the image of his stooped figure was enough to send chills running down one¡¯s spine. Corpse Looter¡¯s strength was greatly boosted by it, and he barely managed to endure Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand transformed into a w, and a Skybeast w crashed down next, reinforced with his eight lined battle force. Corpse Looter continued to throw out more corpses to stall the w, but then, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled as he pulled his hand back. He then tapped out with a single finger, and the void congealed as that solitary finger pierced through Corpse Looter¡¯s palm and caused his entire arm to shatter.

    Corpse Looter¡¯s body was flung far into the distance like a stone, and he lookedpletely miserable.

    At this point, a chilly feeling came over Lu Yin from behind, as Hong Ying was stabbing at him with her spear, murderous intent all over her face. Lu Yin lightly tapped at her with a finger and diverted her spear to the side before tapping out again. The second tap caused wind to shoot towards Hong Ying and m into her abdomen. He then casually waved his hand and sent her flying away, but he was stopped by an unknown object, which prevented him from killing her with that final attack.

    Lu Yin had faced two people on his own, and he had managed to defeat both Hong Ying and Corpse Looter. These two were both youths from forces that possessed World Imprinters, as one was from Flying Horse Manor while the other was from Justice Manor. Out of the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s entire younger generation, these two were only inferior to Bai Ling, but they had both been defeated soundly.

    The moment Lu Yin hade into contact with the Sixth Maind, he had encountered many elite youths on this level, such as Butcher, Autumnfrost Qing, Mojiang Xiao, and even Tong Zhan.

    And with Lu Yin¡¯s great strength, he was able to crush opponents at their level, but there was still a considerable disparity between Lu Yin and the Realmlings.

    ¡°Hong Ying, watch yourself!¡± Lan Baobao appeared from nowhere, and she swatted at Hong Ying with a palm that contained the power of the Oveying Stacks Path. Blood stained Hong Ying¡¯s lips red, and she tightly clenched her spear as she swept out with it, forcing Lan Baobao to retreat several steps. The girl then red at Lu Yin with a frustrated expression. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Lu Yin had no time to bother with this willful girl. The Bluearch Dojo Master was in imminent peril. He had originally been fighting against Granny Gui since he coincidentally countered her fighting style. But then, his opponent had suddenly changed to Mr. Da, whose power level not only surpassed Granny Gui, but whose battle style alsopletely countered the Bluearch Dojo Master¡¯s. Therger the giant ape¡¯s body became, the more disadvantageous his situation was. It looked as if therge man was about to meet his end.

    Lu Yin pulled the smelly, fruit-like item back out and threw it over. Although it was not able to influence Mr. Da to the same degree that it could with Mr. Yi, it would at least be able to disgust the man a bit.

    The oue was that, not only was Mr. Da grossed out, but everyone on the entire battlefield also immediately became sickened.

    The two cultivators whom Mr. Yi had brought along quickly started sucking in all the stench in the air.

    But fortunately, because Mr. Da had been temporarily thrown off by the smell, the Bluearch Dojo Master gained a precious moment of reprieve. Lu Yin then flew up and dashed over to the two powerhouses, as he nned on joining forces with the Bluearch Dojo Master to fight against Mr. Da. However, the void in front of Lu Yin suddenly warped, and strange lines that looked like moving ripples appeared before him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, as this was Bai Ling¡¯s battle technique. He turned to flee without any hesitation, and the sound wave exploded right where he had just been standing as a spiritual force attack swept through the sky. Lu Yin was still the closest person to the st, and he ended up receiving an attack that was equivalent to one of Bai Ling¡¯s strikes.

    Tong Tong had been looking for an opportunity to take her revenge, and when she saw that Lu Yin had been affected by Bai Ling¡¯s attack, she flew over and stabbed at him with her sword, attempting to kill him.

    However, Lu Yin suddenly whipped around, grabbed the tip of the sword, and shattered it with a bang before tossing it aside. The shattered sword fragments swept past Tong Tong¡¯s neck as they shot towards the distant mountains.

    Blood sprayed from Tong Tong¡¯s neck, and she slowly sank to the ground, already dead.

    ¡°Young Lady!¡± Quite a few cultivators rushed over from a distance, and all of them stared at Tong Tong¡¯s corpse in disbelief.

    This woman had been struck by one of Lu Yin¡¯s suns earlier and had thus been forced to use her protective power vessel to survive. This time, she had been mercilessly killed by Lu Yin in an instant.

    There were a few experts from the Tong family here, and in particr, Tong Tong¡¯s bodyguards were present. All of them were at least at the Hunter realm, and one was even an Enlighter. They red up at Lu Yin with hatred in their eyes. ¡°Bastard, we¡¯ll make you pay!¡±

    These few people all acted as one.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned cold. On the battlefield, there was no guarantee as to who would live or die. Lan Yu had been the son of Dojo Master Lan, but he had still died.

    Lu Yin grew serious when he saw that he was surrounded by experts with even an Enlighter among their group. At this moment, numerous Grayweed Continent cultivators were doing their best to hold those powerhouses back, and they also had some Enlighters among their ranks.

    At this time, all of the elites and powerhouses of Grayweed Continent had gathered at the Skyze Dojo. They were all people who had escaped from the Sixth Maind¡¯s endless ughter, meaning that they were all top-notch experts, and there were quite a few Enlighters among their numbers. There were enough of them to challenge the Sixth Maind experts of the same realm, and these powerhouses were very difficult to deal with.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as he had no desire to be surrounded. Despite being unafraid, he still looked up toward a distant part of the sky. That previous attack had definitely been intentional, which meant that Bai Ling was targeting him.

    In the distance, Lan Si had realized the same thing; Bai Ling was not focused on Lan Si, but rather on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Is that person also from your Mt. Stacks Dojo?¡± Bai Ling calmly asked as she looked back at Lan Si.

    Lan Si frowned. ¡°Are you that concerned about him?¡±

    Bai Ling replied, ¡°He defeated both Hong Ying and Corpse Looter at the same time. Thus, the only person in the younger generation of my Grand Martial Realm who stands above him is me. More importantly, he¡¯s still just an Explorer. If he bes a Hunter, then it¡¯s possible that neither of us will be his opponent. He¡¯s a threat, and so I¡¯ll either subdue him or take him out.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°As long as I¡¯m around, you won¡¯t be able to.¡±

    Bai Ling¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Just try me.¡±

    With her palm facing upwards, she lifted her hand until her arm was level with the ground. After that, the mor of the entire battlefield suddenly vanished, stunning countlessbatants. All sound had disappeared, transforming into what looked like birds as they all flew towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he saw the cold killing intent in Bai Ling¡¯s eyes. He cursed and then charged underground, heading toward the magma.

    Countless sound wave birds chirped as they flew at him from all directions, which stunned everyone witnessing the scene. Even Lan Si was unable to do anything to stop Bai Ling. He was confident of being able to defeat Bai Ling in a head-on fight, but blocking her from attacking someone else was very difficult for him.

    Lan Si was not the only one who would struggle to do so. In fact, aside from Madam Hong, there was likely no one on the entire battlefield who could block so many sound wave birds. After all, Bai Ling¡¯s battle technique was merged with her spiritual force.

    It was as if a whole flock of birds was migrating as they chased after Lu Yin, flying towards the magma pool underground.

    As long as there was sound, Bai Ling was capable of doing anything. This was the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling.

    Lu Yin quickly fled into a cave. He had fled not out of fear, but rather because he did not want to expose the fact that he was capable of withstanding the Realmling¡¯s spiritual force. If the strength of his spiritual force became widely known, then he would be viewed as even more of a threat. Thus, he wanted to conceal this aspect of him for as long as possible.

    He was actually quite confident in his ability to withstand the attacks from the bird¡¯s explosions.

    Once Lu Yin arrived underground, he did not see an empty cavern. Instead, he was greeted by a giant sylvan dragon who looked at him in astonishment.

    The two stared at each other until the sylvan dragon finally spoke first. ¡°There¡¯s already someone here, so go find another cave.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, and a strange expression formed on his face. He then slowly turned around, only to see countless birds charging at him.

    The sylvan dragon was stunned at the sight. ¡°What the hell!¡±

    The moment it uttered those words, the first bird exploded, followed by countless others exploding the next moment.

    Lu Yin instinctively hid behind the sylvan dragon. While he was capable of withstanding the birds¡¯ spiritual force attack, the physical force of their explosion was not something that he could simply ignore. Luckily for him, there just happened to be something present that was able to block the explosions for him.

 Chapter 893: An Era

    <h4>Chapter 893: An Era</h4>

    The sylvan dragon was at a loss as to how it should react. It had clearly hidden itself quite well while being ready to flee at a moment¡¯s notice. This area was secret, but it had suddenly been bombarded by a group of birdsunching a suicide attack.

    The next instance, the ground copsed as theva burst forth. The sylvan dragon roared and dashed underground, its body battered and its giant eyes still dazed. However, it was quickly ovee by rage as it roared at the sky.

    Coincidentally, when it dashed into the sky, it emerged right where the Sixth Maind¡¯s Elder Yuan was fighting against some other cultivators from Grayweed Continent.

    The sylvan dragon snarled, which frightened quite a few people who saw it.

    Bai Ling was puzzled. She had clearly attacked Lu Yin, so why had this strange creature emerged from the explosion?

    ¡°Where did this creaturee from? Get away!¡± Elder Yuan barked as he casually swatted at the sylvan dragon.

    The dragon was caught off guard by this attack, and its bloodshot eyes searched the area for its assant. When Elder Yuan attacked, he coincidentally stood out and became the ideal target for the dragon to vent its rage. Countless phantom sylvan dragon images suddenly flew out of the sky, showing that the dragon had reached a shocking speed. Elder Yuan was unable to distinguish between the phantom images, so he was struck by the sylvan dragon and sent flying.

    Underground, Lu Yin was stunned. The sylvan dragon tribe had an innate gift of speed that allowed them to form three phantom images at the Sentinel realm, five as a Melder, nine as a Limiteer, and dozens once they reached the Explorer realm. Lu Yin had seen what felt like thousands of dragons just then, which indicated that this sylvan dragon should be an Enlighter realm expert.

    The dragon had been so timid that it had hid in a cave when battle broke out, but its cowardly nature belied its true power.

    The sylvan dragon shed with Elder Yuan, and after venting its rage, it subsequently calmed down a bit and red downwards. It was able to guess that the stupid human from before had lured in those strange birds and then even hid behind its back. ¡°Human, you¡¯re too despicable!¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother quibbling with the dragon, as he had suddenly noticed arge amount of rune lines surging toward him from the corner of his eye. As long as there was sound, Bai Ling would be able to endlessly create those sound wave birds.

    He could only watch on as countless birds rose into the sky and rushed at him.

    Lu Yin grew flustered. ¡°Lan Si, you can¡¯t even stop a woman?¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes turned cold, as he truly wanted to tie Bai Ling down. However, he could not do anything about the girl¡¯s attacks, as they were simply too numerous.

    Countless birds flew at Lu Yin, and he could tell that Bai Ling was determined to deal with him. Even so, he firmed his determination before leaping up and running towards Lan Si.

    Bai Ling frowned, as she had never expected Lu Yin to actually get closer to her.

    Lan Si shouted, ¡°Get away! There¡¯s no need for you to get involved over here.¡±

    ¡°If you were able to deal with this, then I wouldn¡¯t need toe.¡± Lu Yin took a slight detour to evade the path of the birds, but he continued charging towards Bai Ling. As he did so, he raised a hand reinforced with eight lined battle force and swung out with Seventy Stacks.

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze trembled, but he simrly attacked, though he targeted the flock of birds chasing after Lu Yin.

    Bai Ling¡¯s lips curled upwards, as this kid was definitely overestimating himself. She could tell that Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path was powerful, and it was even being reinforced with his battle force. However, so what? Not even Lan Si¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path was enough to defeat her quickly, let alone some mere Explorer¡¯s, regardless of how strong this Explorer might be.

    Even under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, most of the younger generation could freely use their full power. Only those who had reached the level of the Ten Arbiters would be able to unleash full strength attacks that exceeded a power level of 200,000. This was just like back in the Daosource Sect''s ruins when Nightking Zhenwu hadpletely crushed Lu Yin. The disparity between them had been so vast that Lu Yin had been unable to resist in the slightest.

    Right now, under the power level suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, Lu Yin was unafraid of fighting against powerhouses whose power levels were above 500,000. Thus, he was quite confident in his ability to fight against this Realmling.

    There was a thump, and an explosion shook the sky. However, a strange sound wave apanied the shockwave that swept out in all directions. Lu Yin and Bai Ling both were forced to retreat, but Lu Yin was only blown back a hundred meters whereas Bai Ling was forced back several hundred meters as fresh blood trickled down from her lips. She had been injured.

    Lan Si¡¯s expression changed; how was this possible?

    Bai Ling stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. She was able to block Lan Si¡¯s attacks, which were even stronger than Lu Yin¡¯s maximum power. Thus, she should have no problem defending herself against this person. However, at the moment that they had shed, her strength had been mysteriously sapped away. Could that be a secret technique?

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm had forced Bai Ling back, and he immediately moved forward to continue the fight. Since he was capable of defeating a powerhouse like Elder Song whose power level was at 300,000, then he could also defeat this Bai Ling.

    When Bai Ling saw Lu Yin approaching her, she let out a long breath. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    Then, the battlefield¡¯s noises condensed into the manifested form of her martial print. At that moment, everything fell silent in Lu Yin¡¯s ears. It was as if all sound had been absorbed by that martial print, including the flock of birds. The world became deathly silent.

    In the distance, Lan Si seemed to be shouting something, but Lu Yin could not hear anything. He could only see that the martial print was radiating visible sound waves that formed a single line shooting towards him.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The line was diverted, but it still nced past his shoulder, and the void was slicedpletely open along its path. Then, Lu Yin could hear once more, but his brain had been jostled. An incredible spiritual force had entered his body through the wound on his shoulder and then invaded his brain, causing it to ring like a morning bell.

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood and fell down, quivering.

    He had vastly underestimated the strength of a Realmling. Each Realmling was the strongest powerhouse of their realm¡¯s younger generation, but there were multiple Enlighters in each realm. Only top-notch powerhouses could break through the limit of the Enlighter realm and step into the ranks of Imprinters, but the Realmlings were destined to be the strongest Imprinters in the future, and each one would dominate an era.

    As the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Bai Ling¡¯s methods, abilities, and innate gifts were iparable to those of a typical Enlighter. Even without the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, Bai Ling would not be any weaker than Elder Song. She was someone who stood on the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters were not opponents who Lu Yin could deal with yet, as he was still inferior to them by a level¡ªnay, an era.

    Bai Ling pressed down, and her martial print moved towards the ground as she attempted to crush Lu Yin.

    Lan Si appeared to block the martial print, and he nced down at Lu Yin. This person was indeed quite strong; if Lu Yin had attacked Lan Si, even he would have had to exert some effort to defeat this person. Lu Yin¡¯s exchange with Bai Ling had been enough to win Lan Si¡¯s respect, but Lu Yin was stillcking one step if he wanted to go toe to toe against them. However, this single step was actually a vast chasm.

    With a thump, Lu Yin crashed to the ground, where the fire-red dirt roasted him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hearing returned to normal, and he tried to shake his head and clear his senses. That had been a very powerful spiritual force attack, and not even he had been able to withstand it. This was the true strength of someone who had reached the level of the Ten Arbiters. He had still underestimated them.

    Lu Yin raised his head just as Lan Si appeared to block Bai Ling. However, Lu Yin was certain that, the moment an opportunity arose, Bai Ling would target him again.

    There were people fighting all around them, and Lu Yin stood up with some difficulty. He checked his right arm, but fortunately, he had only suffered a slight abrasion.

    A trace of astonishment flickered in the depths of Bai Ling¡¯s eyes when she saw Lu Yin get up. She had not been that surprised during her first confrontation with Lan Si, but Lu Yin had truly shocked her. She was very clear on just how powerful the spiritual force contained within thatst attack had been, but this person seemed to be fine.

    While Lu Yin was contemting what he could do to deal with Bai Ling, another figure suddenly shot towards the ground at high speed and was smashed underground just a few meters away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wanted to evade the figure, but the meteoric form came with an oppressive pressure that locked him down. When the person who crashed into the ground finally stopped, Lu Yin noticed a streak of cold light. He instinctively nced over at it and saw a very familiar weapon. Was that the Sea King''s Trident?

    Lu Yin turned to look at the ce where the person hadnded underground. The man held his head up high as he stood up, and then he looked at Lu Yin as the two of them exchanged nces.

    The atmosphere was a little awkward, as he was indeed the Sea King. This man, who had always maintained a dignified and assertive appearance, now looked as miserable and beaten up as Lu Yin.

    ¡°Get away,¡± the Sea King ordered in a low voice. He then looked up at Madam Hong, who was looking at them with some interest from her position high in the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he hurriedly tried to leave, but it was already toote. If Bai Ling had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s power on the battlefield, then so would Madam Hong. She had intentionally smacked the Sea King in this direction, as she intended to take care of both him and Lu Yin at the same time.

    A red mist rose up all around them, and Lu Yin tried to take a few steps away, but his ankles were entangled by the mist. No matter how much strength he exerted, he could not break free from its grasp. Even more terrifyingly, the red mist actually started to enter his body through his skin. He could feel his muscles being rapidly dissolved, and an intense pain seared his nerves.

    The Sea King grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and waved a hand, causing the Sea King''s Trident to shoot out and dissipate the red mist with a gust of wind. ¡°Kid, get away from here. Don¡¯t make my daughter a widow.¡±

    He then threw Lu Yin away. However, the Sea King had underestimated how determined Madam Hong was to kill Lu Yin, as the red mist rapidly took on the shape of a formless that covered the entire area. The Sea King had just thrown Lu Yin out, but the youth was immediately pulled back, and the Sea King¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡°Madam Hong, why are you dragging a junior into our battle?¡±

    Madam Hong cackled. ¡°Our battle? Do you qualify to battle against me?¡±

    The Sea King looked very depressed.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough ying around. I rather admire you, soe with me to the Sixth Maind. There will be better opportunities for you to develop there.¡± Madam Hong stared at Sea King and did not conceal her interest in him.

    Lu Yin nkly watched on; what aspect of the Sea King had attracted this woman? If it were looks, then even though Lu Yin was nothing exceptional, he still outssed the Sea King by several leagues. And in terms of power, the woman herself far surpassed the Sea King.

    The Sea King tightly gripped his trident and looked up at Madam Hong. ¡°I hate the color red.¡±

    Madam Hong¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°Senseless.¡±

    Her figure then vanished before suddenly reappearing directly in front of the Sea King and Lu Yin. The stunning woman stretched out a hand that was covered with red mist, and it suddenly erged several times until itpletely embraced both the Sea King and Lu Yin.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t bode well. Kid, if you survive, then take care of Qiqi.¡± The Sea King had a serene expression as he raised his trident and stabbed out with it.

    Just as the Sea King''s Trident was about to stab into the red fog, blood flowed from Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and the Sea King¡¯s attack was actually able to sessfully pierce through the red mist and stab Madam Hong¡¯s hand. Fresh blood flowed down onto the tip of the des.

    The Sea King was astonished; had he actually wounded her?

    Madam Hong felt an intense pain radiate from her hand, and she looked down in disbelief. She was an almighty World Imprinter, and her power level was more than 900,000. Even if she had been forced to suppress her power level to less than 200,000 due to the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, those below her realm were still unable to contend with her. She had already attained perfect control of her own innate gifts, and she should have been able to block the Sea King¡¯s attack easily. However, she had actually been stabbed.

    Something was wrong, and at that instance, Madam Hong stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, was this your contribution?¡±

    Lu Yin squinted as blood flowed from his eyes and he became muddle-headed. This was the bacsh he was suffering for his actions. He had actually wanted to use the Yu Secret Art to divert the red mist, but those efforts had been useless as Madam Hong¡¯s control and strength were too far above Lu Yin¡¯s. Hence, he had been forced to rely on Truesight to wipe away a portion of the red mist¡¯s runes. Luckily, he had managed to seed, but his efforts had left him injured.

    The Sea King did not waste this opportunity, and he attacked with his trident once again, this time with the goal of stabbing Madam Hong¡¯s arm.

    Madam Hong snorted, causing the red mist swirling around the two men to transform into a world that suddenly crashed down onto them, crushing the Sea King and Lu Yin underground. The Sea King''s Trident was even yanked from his grasp and left stabbed into the ground on the surface.

 Chapter 894: One Drop Of Blood

    <h4>Chapter 894: One Drop Of Blood</h4>

    The Sea King tightly grabbed a hold of Lu Yin and forcefully withstood Madam Hong¡¯s power that had sent the two men deep underground. Suddenly, they entered an enormous open space after they descended an unknown depth beneath the Skyze Dojo. This underground space had a giant, altar-like structure, and next to it was a youth who looked 90% identical to the Sea King.

    The Sea King threw Lu Yin onto the altar and looked at the youth. ¡°How is it?¡±

    The youth hurriedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s a sess. We can leave immediately.¡±

    The Sea King was delighted, and he pressed a hand down on the center of the altar. Soon, the entire structure began to tremble. Actually, it was not only the altar that was trembling, but the entire Skyze Dojo had also started quivering at the same time. After that, the hot magma seemed to be rapidly sucked away by something, and the immense heat of the Skyze Dojo also began to vanish.

    Countlessbatants on the battlefield were surprised by these changes, and they also all noticed that the originally red soil had started to revert to a normal brown color.

    Madam Hong frowned, and she looked toward the ground as she felt that something was amiss. After that, she disappeared in a sh as she charged underground.

    Suddenly, an overpowering red light shattered the ground and shot into the sky. The light from the underground altar lit up the entire area, and it also isted the altar itself. When Madam Hong saw what was happening, her expression changed, and she immediately moved to stop the altar. However, she could not break through the radiance surrounding the altar.

    Lu Yin, the Sea King, and the youth all slowly rose up within the red radiance, their bodies out of their own control. At this moment in time, the back of Lu Yin¡¯s hand began to burn. This was the mark that Tian Yanzi had left on Lu Yin¡¯s hand when he first arrived at the Skyze Dojo. Right now, that mark was growing hotter, and it was even burning Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not the only one dealing with this situation, as nearly 10,000 people around the Skyze Dojo felt the backs of their hands begin to burn, after which their bodies were enveloped by the red radiance and then forcibly brought into the altar. After that, they transformed a streak of light that followed along the red radiance before vanishing.

    The entire processsted for no more than five seconds, which was not enough time for Mr. Yi or the others to even react. Grayweed Continent¡¯s cultivators fighting against them had all suddenly vanished; that red radiance had acted like a bridge between the dojo and another ce while also isting the people who had been branded by that burning mark.

    Madam Hong¡¯s eyes went wide, and she quickly used a hand to suppress the void and even cause space in this area to copse. She then stepped forward and covered an endless distance with each step as she moved to seize back those escaping cultivators. Shockingly, her hand extended an endless distance until it finally made contact with the red light.

    The Sea King, Dojo Master Lan, and the others were all overwhelmed by this sight. Madam Hong was simply too terrifying. Their n had seemed wless, as they had borrowed the might of the Skyze Dojo¡¯s ancient altar that had been inherited from ancient times to escape, as it was able to transfer them to other ces with simr altars. The altar¡¯s movement was basically at the same level as instantaneous teleportation, but despite that, they were being chased after by Madam Hong.

    Lan Si, Hai Qiqi, Hai Dashao, Zhang Dingtian, and the others were all enveloped within the red light, and they all closely watched the approaching hand.

    At this moment, the fiery dragon wrapped around Tian Yanzi¡¯s body snarled at the sky, and its body quickly dissipated. It then transformed into a me that merged into the red radiance, causing the color to deepen as the radiance slightly burned Madam Hong¡¯s hand. She would be able to easily stop the fleeing cultivators if she used a bit more of her strength, but that would also cause her to be erased by the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. Thus, Madam Hong could only reluctantly pull her hand back and allow the red light to carry the crowd away in the blink of an eye.

    Within the fleeing group, Lu Yin remained focused on where he hadst seen Madam Hong, as a red stone had mysteriously appeared in that ce, but it was not carried away by the red radiance. He could clearly see that red stone, and he had noticed that it had appeared in the same ce where the fiery dragon had vanished.

    Lu Yin subconsciously activated the Yu Secret Art and moved the red stone into his hand.

    Back on Grayweed Continent, the Skyze Dojo waspletely in ruins. The massive area was still filled with numerous Grayweed Continent cultivators who had just been defending the dojo against the Sixth Maind cultivators, and they all had a dazed expression. They had been abandoned.

    The altar was only able to carry away 10,000 people at the most, and those people had been preselected, as only those who had been branded on the backs of their hands merited being transported away. The rest of them had been ignored by the red radiance.

    This was very cruel, but if the Fifth Maind¡¯s leaders had not made this decision, then everyone would have died. The Sea King and many others had gone to Grayweed Continent in order to preserve a spark of hope for the Starfall Sea.

    Without the Sea King and the other powerhouses¡¯ support, the abandoned cultivators werepletely unable to resist the invading forces, and all of their efforts werepletely useless despite them numbering hundreds of thousands more than the Sixth Maind cultivators. Everyone immediately gave up all thoughts of resistance.

    Madam Hong¡¯s face remained as still as a pool of water, and she coldly ordered, ¡°You will all stay here, and I¡¯ll pursue them.¡±

    After that, she stepped out. With her strength as a World Imprinter, she was able to easily tear through space, let alone do something as simple as travel across the entirety of Grayweed Continent. Even if traveling such a distance only took her a fraction of a moment, the most troublesome thing was that she did not know which direction the Sea King and the others had fled in. That red radiance had not left any trace or remnant of its path within the void, so she needed to spend time searching for the survivors.

    However, she would definitely find them, and it would not even take her too long, as it only took her a few breaths to sweep across every part of Grayweed Continent.

    On the coast of Grayweed Continent, in a very windy ce, there was arge, peculiar-looking spacecraft parked.

    As the red radiance disappeared, nearly 10,000 cultivators appeared near this spacecraft.

    The Sea King shouted out, ¡°Everyone, board the spacecraft within three breaths¡¯ time!¡±

    As the hatch on the vessel opened, the figures of countless people shed as they quickly entered the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin moved extremely quickly, as he had already realized that this was the Sea King¡¯s backup n. Thus, he was one of the first to charge aboard the spacecraft. Inside, he saw an old man, and Hai Qiqi cried out in surprise, ¡°Grandpa Shan?¡±

    After all the refugees entered the vessel, the hatch closed shut. As soon as everything was ready, the spacecraft tore through the void and left the coast.

    Just as the spacecraft took off, Madam Hong arrived, and her sharp gaze swept across the area. She then stepped forward once again to give chase.

    If the ship was merely a radiant-grade Aurora, then it definitely would not be able to escape from Madam Hong. However, this spacecraft was not a radiant-grade nor even a ckhole-grade Aurora. Rather, it was the most elite spacecraft that could be currently purchased in either the Innerverse or the Outerverse. This was an eonlight-grade Aurora, and it was a thousand times faster than a normal spacecraft and a hundred times faster than a radiant-grade Aurora.

    It only took it a moment to travel so far that Grayweed Continent fell out of sight.

    The Sea King, Dojo Master Lan, and Tian Yanzi all moved forward and tore open the void as they traveled, all to disrupt Madam Hong¡¯s pursuit.

    After all, Madam Hong was still restricted by the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s power level suppression, and she was chasing after them all on her own. No matter how powerful the World Imprinter might be, she could not easily pass through the obstructions ced in the void by three Envoy-level powerhouses. Thus, the spacecraft gradually moved further and further away from Madam Hong.

    Madam Hong immediately contacted the people at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    With the speed of an eonlight-grade Aurora, it took it less than ten minutes to arrive at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Its speed was simply inconceivable.

    Within the vessel, the gathered cultivators were unable to ignore the pressure caused by the exceptional speed, and most of them found it difficult to talk. Only a few were still able to converse.

    Elder Shan supported Hai Qiqi as he nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in four years, but you¡¯ve grown a little.¡±

    Hai Qiqi was breathing heavily as she emotionally looked at the old man. ¡°I missed you guys a lot, Grandpa Shan.¡±

    He smiled happily at the girl. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you, too.¡±

    In another part of the ship, Zhang Dingtian ced his de on the floor. His forehead was dripping with sweat as he stared at the back of his hand with the brand that had dragged him into the red light. If not for this brand, he would have died or be a prisoner of war for the Sixth Maind. There were only 10,000 people aboard this ship, and the other hundreds of thousands of cultivators were all doomed.

    The atmosphere within the spacecraft was very solemn as the three Envoy-level powerhouses¡ªthe Sea King, Dojo Master Lan, and Tian Yanzi¡ªcontinuously broke the void apart as they worked to dy Madam Hong¡¯s progress. However, the rest of the gathered people remained silent.

    They had abandoned hundreds of thousands ofrades.

    Elder Tong sighed, and he looked back in the direction of Grayweed Continent. After leaving this time, who knew when they would be able to return to the Starfall Sea, or if they would ever be able to return in this lifetime.

    From the corner of his eye, Lu Yin could see the red stone in his hand, and he was able to feel the intense heat contained within the stone. The heat was not visible, but he could clearly see its rune lines, as they had extended up Lu Yin¡¯s arm and covered his entire body, making him feel much hotter. He absentmindedly stored the stone away and then looked towards Tian Yanzi. This stone had been left behind when that fiery dragon had vanished, so could this stone be the source of that dragon¡¯s strength?

    Soon, they arrived at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, but the spacecraft did not stop there. Instead, it directly shot towards the entrance of the Starfall Sea.

    At this moment, an alien force swept out from within the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Although it only contained the strength of an Enlighter, it was still enough to slow the spacecraft¡¯s speed. Even though it was slowed for just an instant, it was still enough to allow Madam Hong to catch up slightly.

    The three Envoys remain aloof, and from deep within the Sea King¡¯s Dome, among the corpses that had been hung up, one of them suddenly raised his head and swept past the Sixth Maind cultivators attempting to obstruct the spacecraft before dashing into the spacecraft. Those Sixth Maind cultivators instantly died, even that Enlighter who had once fought against Lu Yin.

    It was another Envoy-level powerhouse, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes nearly jumped out of his head. It turned out that the Starfall Sea actually had four Envoy-level experts.

    ¡°Elder He?¡± Hai Qiqi called out emotionally.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as the Sea King¡¯s Dome had four elders: Shan, Tong, Ren, and He. Elder Ren had died, and Lu Yin had grabbed that elder¡¯s corpse while escaping from the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Meanwhile, Elder Tong and Elder Shan had been on Grayweed Continent. The most powerful one, Elder He, had remained hidden at the Sea King¡¯s Dome among the crucified corpses.

    Who had nned all of this? Everything had been revealed to be just one n ovepping another. Elder He had remained in hiding at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, which must have been nned before the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s defeat. Otherwise, they would not have been able to fool the Sixth Maind. This meant that someone in the Starfall Sea had arranged for Elder He to back up the other Envoys from the Sea King¡¯s Dome at a much earlier date, and this also indicated that everything that had happened on Grayweed Continent might have actually fallen within someone¡¯s calctions. Throngs of cultivators from all areas had retreated to the Skyze Dojo, where they had then used the Skyze Dojo to teleport to the coast and board the spacecraft that had been prepared by Elder Shan.

    This n had been executed wlessly, and even Madam Hong, a World Imprinter, was only able to watch on helplessly.

    Such a strategy was definitely not inferior to one created by Wei Rong, who was adept at plots and had no bottom line. The person behind this should be someone who was in the same category as Wang Wen; someone who could view the entire situation.

    In the end, the spacecraft managed to sessfully pass through the Sea King¡¯s Dome without being held back.

    Elder He and Hai Qiqi spoke a little before the old man moved to stand beside the Sea King, where he also worked to shatter the void and slow down Madam Hong¡¯s progress.

    Many cultivators in the spacecraft were inspired, as it looked like they might actually be sessful in their escape attempt.

    Behind them, Madam Hong passed through the void with each step, and the space before her tore apart inyers. Her gaze swept across the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and she snorted before continuing on her way. She tore through the void and continued chasing after the ship.

    Not long after, the entrance to the Starfall Sea came into sight, but there were countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind blocking it. Even though all of them had suppressed their power levels, Lu Yin was certain that there were Imprinters among the people gathered here.

    Right when the spacecraft drew close to the entrance, the Sixth Maind cultivators blocking it all activated their imprints simultaneously; all the imprints appearing behind them looked like countless deities had descended upon the ground, and it overwhelmed those watching from within the spacecraft.

    The Sea King slowly turned around, and he grimaced as he pulled out a transparent vial from his cosmic ring. It contained a single drop of blood.

    It looked like a very normal drop of blood that did not possess any rune lines, but when it appeared, the cosmic phenomenon manifested in the skies. Everyone inside the spacecraft looked up in unison, not knowing what was happening, but they all felt as though the sky was falling.

    Lu Yin focused his gaze, and he saw that the cosmic phenomenon was warping violently. Shockingly, all the rune lines spread across the entire Innerverse had suddenly started disintegrating, all because of this drop of blood.

    The Sea King did not speak a single word as he removed the cap and lightly tapped on the vial. That droplet of blood then flew towards the entrance of the Starfall Sea, where it hovered in the air. Suddenly, with the drop as the focus point, the horrifying cosmic phenomenon permeating the space around them was sucked into this droplet of blood.

 Chapter 895: Hope And Despair

    <h4>Chapter 895: Hope And Despair</h4>

    At the entrance to the Starfall Sea, an old man stepped forward. Behind him was an imprint of Madam Hong, and he was carrying a strange-looking weapon that he stabbed towards the drop of blood. However, his actions did not hinder the droplet in the least. It shot straight through the old man and passed through the Starfall Sea''s entrance without any resistance before slowly dissipating.

    The spacecraft holding the Fifth Maind cultivators did not hesitate, and it simrly shot straight past the elder before vanishing on the other side of the entrance.

    The old man turned to dust right where he stood, and all of the other Sixth Maind cultivators who had been standing between the old man and the Starfall Sea''s entrance also turned to dust. Everyone else stood rooted in ce, not even daring to move.

    The group within the spacecraft did not understand what had just happened, and it was even possible that the Sea King himself might not fully understand everything. Only Lu Yin was aware that, when that drop of blood had appeared, it had absorbed the effects of the cosmic phenomenon in the sky. That had not been a drop of ordinary blood, and it should havee from the Rune Progenitor. The runes of the cosmic phenomenon itself had changed, and only the Rune Progenitor¡¯s blood could have this effect on the cosmic phenomenon that was capable of suppressing everything.

    What made Lu Yin certain that the drop of blood hade from the Rune Progenitor was that he had felt an extremely strong attraction to it. He had truly wanted to absorb that drop of blood for himself, and he had a premonition that if he had managed to do so, hisprehension towards Truesight would have increased by leaps and bounds.

    Unfortunately, that drop of blood had already been used up.

    Lu Yin stared fervently at the Sea King, wondering if the powerhouse had any more of that blood.

    Regardless of if it was about passing through the Sea King¡¯s Dome or the entrance to the Starfall Sea, the Sea King and his group had madeplete preparations, and they had been absolutely confident in their chances of escaping.

    As the spacecraft left the Starfall Sea, they intended to leave and go straight through Chaos Flowzone before entering the Cosmic Sea. However, things did not go as nned. When the vessel exited the Starfall Sea, they were immediately confronted by a giant hammer that descended from the sky like a massive mountain range and pounded at the spacecraft.

    The Sea King¡¯s expression immediately changed, and he wielded the Sea King''s Trident in the void as he met the hammer head on. There was a bang as the Sea King''s Trident and the hammer collided against one another, the impact causing the void to split asunder. The powerful collision also swept the spacecraft to the north, as the hammer was also forced back.

    Dojo Master Lan¡¯s expression grew ugly. ¡°It¡¯s an expert from the War Martial Realm¡¯s Toolcasting family. There are moreing.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s face went pale, as there was not just one hammer, but rather three descending upon them. The one that he had just blocked had been the biggest, and its wielder should have been an Imprinter, and the other two should belong to Enlighters.

    The strength of those in the spacecraft was enough to defeat these three, but Madam Hong would catch up to them while they were upied by these hammers.

    However, if they did not defeat these three powerhouses, then they would not be able to continue on to Chaos Flowzone. This was a difficult dilemma, and they were suddenly plunged into a desperate choice.

    The Sea King made a snap decision without any hesitation and steered the spacecraft to the north. That was the direction of the fissure that led to the Outerverse. This was the only way out of their predicament.

    Lu Yin knew that Hai Qiqi must have told her father about the hole in the Astral River.

    As the spacecraft changed trajectories and left, Madam Hong arrived and nced over at the hammers. Bloodlust visibly radiated from her eyes as she continued the chase to the north. ¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡±

    The eonlight-grade Aurora was extremely fast, and it did not take long for the spaceship to arrive at the fissure. Ordinary people would find it difficult to even see the narrow gap in the Astral River, but with Hai Qiqi guiding their way, the spacecraft managed to reach it safely.

    The gap had be much more narrow than when Lu Yin had first passed through it. ording to his initial estimates, the hole would have vanished around half a year after he came through it, and it had already been about that long since he had arrived at the Innerverse. The fissure was now only wide enough for two people to pass through, so it was impossible for the spacecraft to continue on.

    Many cultivators in the spacecraft stared at the fissure with strange expressions. However, some of them seemed to have thought of something, and they looked quite excited.

    The Sea King looked at Tian Yanzi, who pushed a single palm forward. Of the 10,000 cultivators aboard the spacecraft, a number of them felt their branded hands burn hot once again, and they were then tossed out of the vessel towards the direction of the hole. There were not many people in this group, but it did include Lu Yin, Hai Qiqi, Zhang Dingtian, Hai Dashao, Lan Baobao, Lan Si, Elder Tong, and Elder Shan.

    At the same time, they heard the Sea King¡¯s voice call out, ¡°We have abandoned the entire Starfall Sea just to preserve a spark of hope. Live well, and one day, return to stir up the Starfall Sea once again. Don¡¯t embarrass our Fifth Maind, as there wille a day when the tides will reverse, and at that time, kill your way into the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Father, what are you doing? Let¡¯s flee together!¡±

    The Sea King shook his head, and he looked at Hai Qiqi with clear reluctance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Father cannot go. I brought this disaster into being when I shattered the Upper Three Gates and changed the sky. This caused the Sixth Maind to start a full offensive against us. Qiqi, live well, and perhaps we will meet again one day.¡±

    The Sea King then looked at Lu Yin with a stern expression. ¡°Kid, take good care of Qiqi, and remember¡ªif you gain the ability one day, then shatter the Upper Three Gates once again. I cannot tell you what lies behind them, but it could be either a blessing or a disaster. However, that ce is the only chance for us to defeat the Sixth Maind. Remember, no matter what others do to stop you, shatter the Upper Three Gates!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. The Upper Three Gates?

    ¡°Senior Sea King, in the Outerverse, there¡¯s Yuan-¡± Lu Yin was about to say something in reply, but he was not able to get it out before being forced into the depths of the fissure by the Sea King.

    The tossed out cultivators fled through the hole in the direction of the Outerverse while the cultivators who had not been thrown towards the hole raced there desperately. They also wanted to escape.

    Meanwhile, Hai Qiqi was knocked unconscious by Elder Shan and carried away.

    Madam Hong rushed over from the distance and was immediately rmed by what she saw. She had never expected there to be a passageway that led towards the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, but she was delighted at this discovery. The war in the Innerverse was extremely intense, and this passageway could allow them to easily invade the Outerverse since the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse would be powerless to stop their forces.

    When the Sea King saw Madam Hong arrive, he lifted the Sea King''s Trident in his hands. Meanwhile, Dojo Master Lan, and Tian Yanzi also grew solemn, though there was a certain feeling of tragedy in the air.

    Despite being the Starfall Sea¡¯s ultimate powerhouses, they had abandoned it just to preserve the final spark of the younger generation. Now, those sparks absolutely had to flee to safety; otherwise, all of their sacrifices so far would be meaningless.

    Madam Hong made her move, one against three. She was extremely powerful, but due to the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, she could not defeat them quickly. She could only watch on as the weaker cultivators fled through the hole.

    The Sea King was also feeling very anxious, as he was carefully calcting the time. The moment he was certain that Hai Qiqi had safely arrived in the Outerverse, he would destroy that fissure, regardless of whether or not there were other cultivators still within it. They could only perish as he could not allow Madam Hong to pass through the hole and enter the Outerverse.

    Within the small gap, everyone raced ahead at their top speed, anxious to reach the Outerverse. Everyone looked very nervous as they were desperately fleeing for their survival.

    Even Lan Si did not utter a single word, as he simply grabbed a hold of Lan Baobao and fled at top speed. Their father, Dojo Master Lan, was doing the same as the Sea King and had sacrificed himself to protect his children.

    Outside the fissure, Tian Yanzi coughed up a mouthful of blood. His arm had been shattered.

    After that, the skin all over Dojo Master Lan¡¯s body turned red, making him look like he had been baked by a fire.

    The Sea King¡¯s hair was stained with blood, but it was impossible to know if the blood belonged to Dojo Master Lan, Tian Yanzi, or the Sea King himself.

    Madam Hong had no time to show mercy like when she had fought back at the Skyze Dojo. She attacked mercilessly, her rest mist twisting around the trio. With a wave of her hand, Tian Yanzi was directly torn to shreds, and his blood stained the vacuum of outer space.

    Shortly after, the red mist simrly entered Dojo Master Lan¡¯s body, and he also exploded without leaving a corpse behind.

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes had long since gone bloodshot, and he suddenly turned around to face the hole in the Astral River and pped out with a hand. He was a Lockbreaker, and in an instant, he dissolved the residual energy of Yuan Shi and Venerable Di that was shing within the hole, which caused the fissure to start visibly healing.

    Madam Hong grew furious. ¡°You must have a death wish!¡± She seized a hold of the Sea King¡¯s neck, and fresh blood dripped down onto her hand.

    However, the Sea King was blocking her way to the entrance to the fissure, and he smiled bitterly at the woman. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    Madam Hong¡¯s eyes went wide, and she hesitated over whether or not she should head to the Outerverse. At this moment, Mr. Yi and Mr. Da coincidentally arrived. When Madam Hong saw them, her eyes lit up. The red mist gathered around the two men before tossing them both straight into the closing gap. ¡°Use your strength to attack the Astral River from the Outerverse! I will act in tandem with you from here and tear open a new path.¡±

    The Sea King¡¯s expression changed, and he wanted to yank Mr. Yi and Mr. Da out from the hole. However, he did not even have the ability to resist Madam Hong. He could only helplessly watch on as Mr. Yi and Mr. Da chased after the fleeing crowd. The gap soon vanished.

    The Sea King was despairing, as there was no cosmic phenomenon suppressing the Outerverse. While Elder He could still hold Mr. Da back, nobody was capable of stopping Mr. Yi.

    Madam Hong heaved a sigh of relief, and she watched on expectantly. Why hadn¡¯t anyone considered the possibility of tearing open a path between the Innerverse and Outerverse before? Still, it wasn¡¯t toote to act now. The Outerverse¡¯s resources may not beparable to the Innerverse¡¯s, but they were still quite significant. At the very least, it was still enough for Flying Horse Manor and the Tong family to profit from.

    On the other side of the Astral River, the cultivators shot out of the gap and were ejected into the middle of space. Lu Yin also rushed out, and he immediately turned around to look back. There were still quite a few people within the fissure, but he also made the decision to do his best to dissolve the remnant power of Yuan Shi and Ancestor Di.

    At this moment, the hole was still shrinking, so there did not seem to be any need for Lu Yin to act. Someone on the other side had already started dissolving the energies, which should be the Sea King. It would be difficult for anyone else to pass over anymore.

    Outside the hole, Hai Dashao and the others watched the events unfold in despair, but they remained silent. That man who had been hiding underground at the Skyze Dojo and who looked 90% simr to the Sea King was Hai Feng, the Sea King¡¯s eldest son. That man also seemed to be in mourning.

    Hai Qiqi was still unconscious on Elder Shan¡¯s back.

    Lan Si, Lan Baobao, and the others also stared at the fissure with grieving expressions; Dojo Master Lan would not being with them.

    There was also that sylvan dragon from the Skyze Dojo, though he was currently in a humanoid form, and he also appeared to be disheartened. He had been saved by Tian Yanzi and lived at the Skyze Dojo for many years. The dragon felt affection for the dojo master, but the man was now gone.

    Out of everyone from the entire Starfall Sea, these people were the final spark, and they were the ones whom the Sea King¡¯s team had fought to save.

    Many people were still in the fissure, unable to rush out in time as it rapidly shrunk. Many of them wailed in despair.

    Suddenly, two figures tyrannically shoved aside all the cultivators at the forefront who would have made it through in time. In their stead, these two figures leaped out. Then, a majestic strength that caused space to shudder emanated out. As they unleashed their unimaginably terrifying might, the astral cemetery visibly crumbled.

    Elder He¡¯s expression changed, and he moved in front of everyone to block the attack. He stared at Mr. Yi and Mr. Da in stunned amazement. ¡°How did you guys get here?¡±

    By now, the gap hadpletely closed up. The rest of the cultivators had not made it through.

    Elder He and the others did not have any time to grieve for the lost cultivators, and they stared at Mr. Yi and Mr. Da in despair. These two were Imprinters, and Mr. Yi in particr was a powerhouse whose power level far surpassed 500,000. When they had been fighting while under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, they were able to have a fight. But now, Mr. Yi alone was enough to sweep through them all.

    Hai Feng, Hai Dashao, Lan Si, and the others all had ugly expressions, as this development was very troubling.

    This entire region of space was under the control of these two Imprinters. Even Elder He would be suppressed despite being an Envoy. He was not even capable of beating Mr. Da, let alone Mr. Yi.

    Without any hesitation, the two Imprinters unleashed their full strength in a carefree manner, causing the entire astral cemetery and even parts of Endless Weave, Southside Weave, and other weaves to feel their fearsome power.

    This was their true strength.

    The two had been suppressed for far too long, but now, they were finally able to release their power level without hiding anything, and it petrified the crowd.

    Mr. Yi was very satisfied by this turn of events. As he watched despair fill the eyes of those in front of him, he released a long sigh of satisfaction. This was correct. This was the attitude that these natives should have towards him.

 Chapter 896: This Is My Friend

    <h4>Chapter 896: This Is My Friend</h4>

    Mr. Yi¡¯s gaze swept past Elder He, and he also saw Elder Tong, Lan Si, and the other people who had previously fought against him. At this moment, one finger from him would be enough to crush them into nothing more than puddles of blood.

    He was in no hurry, as he did not hate these people. However, Mr. Yi¡¯s gaze quickly fixated on Lu Yin, at which point he smiled.

    Mr. Yi regarded himself as an elegant person. In the Sixth Maind, he had climbed up step by step to sessfully reach his current position, and nobody had ever treated him as disrespectfully as Lu Yin. He was a guest of the Tong family, someone who was second only to Ancestor Tong himself. In the future, Mr. Yi might even be able to join the ranks of the Daosource Sect¡¯s elders. His potential was exalted and bright, so not a single stain was allowed to appear on him.

    Recently, he had suffered from a harrowing experience. That bastard, that despicable native, had actually made Mr. Yi feel despair. When the Imprinter remembered that vile smell, he still shuddered even now, and he had even had nightmares after being assaulted by it. That incident was a stain upon his glorious record and the greatest disgrace of his life to date.

    Mr. Yi would not hesitate to pay any price to chase after these people, all because he wanted to personally capture that little bastard and make him suffer from despair for the remainder of his life.

    Mr. Yi red fiercely, and his originally elegant appearance seemed to havepletely vanished. At this moment, he only wanted to savor the intense, wretched emotions that were sure to be in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, such as despair, terror, and desperation. The Imprinter wanted to see the most base human emotions possible.

    Eh? Why is that bastard smiling?

    It was not only Mr. Yi, but Mr. Da was also staring at Lu Yin in confusion. Out of everyone present, this youth was the only one who was smiling.

    Elder He slowly turned around to look at Lu Yin.

    Lan Si also looked at the youth. He¡¯s smiling?

    Quite a few cultivators from Grayweed Continent were feeling despair at this moment. Was Lu Yin so lost in his grief that he had gone crazy?

    Actually, it was not only Lu Yin who was smiling; the Ghost Monkey was smiling as well, and in a very wretched manner at that.

    Lu Yin coughed and looked back at Mr. Yi. ¡°About that, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, but let me ask you something. Do you have anyst words? If I ughter my way into the Sixth Maind one day, I may be able to help you deliver them home.¡±

    Everyone stared at the youth, dumbfounded. This person was crazy! He was actually insane!

    Mr. Yiughed contentedly. ¡°You¡¯ve actually gone crazy. What a pity. At least you deserve it. Little bastard, you¡¯ve gotten off lightly.¡±

    Mr. Da shook his head helplessly, as this kid¡¯s mental endurance was too pathetic. He had actually gone mad from the current situation.

    Lu Yin blinked and then stared at Mr. Yi with a serious expression. ¡°Do you have money?¡±

    The crowd was bbergasted, and they simply stopped looking at this lunatic.

    Only Zhang Dingtian, Hai Dashao, and a few others continued to stare at Lu Yin with strange expressions on their faces. These people were the only ones who understood Lu Yin, and he would not be frightened silly even if he was facing certain death. This was especially true for Zhang Dingtian, as Lu Yin had actually shared some details about the matters in the Outerverse with him. Was Lu Yin that confident in dealing with these two?

    ¡°If you have money, then I can consider not burying you with that stinky item,¡± Lu Yin continued to say.

    Mr. Yi flew into a rage as he raised his hand to grab that youth, his face quickly reverting to its arrogant expression. He was going to crush this kid like an ant andpletely vent all of his frustrations. In Mr. Yi¡¯s eyes, not only this kid, but everyone else in this ce was an ant as well.

    Elder He gritted his teeth, and he was just about to give his all in a final showdown. Even if he died, he had to ensure that Hai Dashao and the others survived.

    Suddenly, Mr. Yi stopped moving, as his expression suddenly changed as his face gradually went extremely pale. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he slowly turned around to stare at the border between the Endless and Southside Weaves. In that ce, there was a pair of eyes watching him. Although they were clearly a great distance away, those eyes gave off a sense of immense pressure that had immobilized the Imprinter.

    Mr. Yi was not alone, as Mr. Da was in the same condition as well.

    A moment ago, Elder He and the others had fallen into despair, but now, it was the Imprinters¡¯ turn.

    Those were Yuan Shi¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin empathized with these two powerhouses. They had been livingfortably in the Innerverse, but these two old monsters just had to make their way to the Outerverse.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s palm had covered the sky above everyone present, but he simply could not lower it any more.

    Elder He and the others were confused, as they did not know what was going on.

    Space tore open in the distance, and Yuan Shi slowly emerged with a calm expression. ¡°Sixth Maind cultivators from the Innerverse? Come with me. I need you to tell me more about what¡¯s the Innerverse¡¯s situation.¡±

    Mr. Yi and Mr. Da exchanged nces and then moved to flee in two different directions at the exact same moment.

    Yuan Shi shook his head and then vanished.

    Still frozen in ce, the crowd exchanged nces before finally looking at Lu Yin.

    Hai Dashao hurriedly asked, ¡°Who was that elder?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°My friend.¡±

    Hai Dashao was left speechless.

    Hai Feng looked at Lu Yin as though he was looking at a monster.

    Lan Si¡¯s brows rose.

    Elder Tong felt helpless. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Was that elder a senior from the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yuan Shi.¡±

    ¡°Yuan Shi?¡± Quite a few cried out at the mention of this name, particrly Elder He, who looked quite emotional. ¡°Is he really Yuan Shi?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°Yuan Shi? He¡¯s that elder from the Hall of Honor, right?¡±

    ¡°I heard that he¡¯s lived for countless years and has mentored many elders along their cultivation path.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a true elder, and he¡¯s mentored multiple Envoys.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I never imagined that Yuan Shi would be keeping watch over the Outerverse. If we had known, then there would have been no need for them to have sacrificed themselves,¡± Elder Hemented.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as he had tried to tell the Sea King this, but he had been pushed away before he could. As for Hai Qiqi, she had not participated in Endless Weave¡¯s border defense. Thus, she had no way of knowing about Yuan Shi¡¯s existence. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Sea King to sacrifice himself.

    It could only be said that this was ordained by destiny.

    The Sea King had shattered the Upper Three Gates and ushered in this disaster. And finally, he had been forced to pay the price for his own actions.

    Was smashing the Upper Three Gates the wrong decision? ording to the Sea King, and ording to what Lu Yin had heard at the far side of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Ocean of Death, the Sixth Maind had changed the Fifth Maind¡¯s skies. Additionally, the moment that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated had apparently been the moment that the Sea King had reverted the skies, and this had been a great contribution to the Fifth Maind.

    The Sea King had made his contributions, but he had also sinned. Thus, it was unclear as to whether the man had been right or wrong.

    However, if Lu Yin had been in the same position, then he would have made the same choice. Rather than living a low life, he would rather give his all in a fierce fight. No matter what was behind the Upper Three Gates, it was still an opportunity.

    Not long after, Yuan Shi returned, though Mr. Yi and Mr. Da were nowhere in sight. No one asked any questions.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and bowed respectfully. ¡°Greetings, Yuan Shi.¡±

    Elder He and the others also bowed in unison. ¡°Greetings, Yuan Shi.¡±

    Yuan Shi grunted in acknowledgement and then waved a hand to take Lu Yin away as he vanished.

    The crowd fell into contemtion. They had never imagined that Lu Yin would enjoy such a good rtionship with Yuan Shi. Evidently, the two had left to have a private conversation.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin shared everything that had happened in the Innerverse with Yuan Shi. Lu Yin¡¯s experiences had not been tooplex, as after leaving the Outerverse, he had only gone to the Starfall Sea and reached Grayweed Continent before finally escaping back to the Outerverse. Everything had taken a long time, but most of that time had been spent traveling.

    Yuan Shi listened to the youth¡¯s story and then looked back at the Astral River. The situation in the Innerverse was about what he had expected. The true battlefield was in the Cosmic Sea whereas the Starfall Sea had only been attacked by the Tong Family and Flying Horse Manor, which did not even make up a fifth of the three realms¡¯ forces.

    Nobody knew when this war would end.

    About 3,000 or so cultivators had escaped to the Outerverse. Although their numbers were few, they were all the cream of the crop, and every one of them either had exceptional innate gifts or would be the spark of a future revolution in the Starfall Sea.

    Yuan Shi gave everyone a choice. Those from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and Mt. Stacks Dojo were allowed to leave if they so wished, as those two forces already had connections in the Outerverse. Meanwhile, the rest were to follow Yuan Shi to the Technocracy border, where they would guard Southside Weave.

    It did not take long for the cultivators to make their choice. Over a thousand followed the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s group, and among them were two Enlighters and around forty Hunters with the rest being Cruisers and Explorers. This was a rather terrifying strength, as Elder He was also included in their numbers, and he was an Envoy. Additionally, there was also Elder Tong, Elder Shan, and Hai Feng, who were all experts with power levels that surpassed 300,000.

    Just these thousand-odd cultivators were enough to eliminate any power in the Outerverse.

    There were fewer people who followed Mt. Stacks Dojo group, and they only had a few hundred people. The strongest among them was Elder Tie, who was the burly, middle-aged man who had weed Lu Yin¡¯s group when they first arrived at Mt. Stacks Dojo. Their numbers also included Lan Si, Lan Baobao, Tie San, and more. There were no Enlighters in Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s group, but there were still a dozen Hunters, and the rest of the few hundred people were all Cruisers and Explorers. Thus, they also formed an intimidating force.

    At this time in the Outerverse, neither the Neo-Vestige Sect nor the Dark Phoenix family had any more hidden powerhouses. Thus, only Millions City could rival the strength of these two groups.

    Finally, the remaining 1,500 or so people, which included three Enlighters and over seventy Hunters, were ordered to follow after Yuan Shi and protect the border. There, they would be able to earn back their freedom after a certain amount of time.

    If so many powerhouses were simultaneously let loose, it would not be a good thing for the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin looked at the crowd from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and then at the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo. He wondered what the appearance of these two powers would mean for the Outerverse, and he only hoped they would not create problems for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Zhang Dingtian wanted to head back to Earth for a visit, as it had been almost a decade since he hadst been home.

    Before he left, Lu Yin reminded Zhang Dingtian about the situation with Jupiter, as Lu Yin wanted Zhang Dingtian to check the out. He was a genuine Earthling, and he had even been left on Grayweed Continent by the Hidden Earth Society. Thus, it was possible that Zhang Dingtian might be able to investigate more and perhaps even find something out.

    Hai Qiqi remained unconscious and was carried away by Elder Shan.

    The area that the Sea King¡¯s Dome controlled in the Outerverse was close to the astral cemetery, in the western region of the Outerverse. So, they left quickly.

    The people from Mt. Stacks Dojo also made their leave quickly.

    Although these people had escaped with their lives, they were not very thrilled about it. The entire Starfall Sea had fallen into the hands of the Sixth Maind, leaving them homeless dogs.

    The ce was alreadypletely empty, as everyone had left. Lu Yin then opened his gadget and contacted Huan Sha to check in about the situation of the Great Yu Empire over thest half year. To Lu Yin¡¯s relief, everything had continued on normally.

    The border defense had taken away many of the Outerverse¡¯s experts, and at present, nobody could pose any sort of threat to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    As for Wei Rong, without the support of the Wei family, he was useless no matter how intelligent he was. Unfortunately, it was still unknown where he had hidden himself.

    The next person whom Lu Yin called was En Ya, and he asked her how things had developed after using Aegis¡¯s intelligence system to gain control of the other powers. Likewise, everything had been proceeding smoothly.

    The intelligence that they had gained from Aegis had proven to be very useful, as the weaves from the central region were no longer unfamiliar with the Great Eastern Alliance. En Ya had also nted some moles among their forces who could be activated at a moment''s notice.

    Lu Yin would not move against the weaves in the central region anytime soon, especially with the current political climate. The people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and Mt. Stacks Dojo had just entered the Outerverse, and the situation was about to change greatly.

    On Grayweed Continent, everyone had been united as one to deal with the Sixth Maind. But right now, they had entered the Outerverse, so the situation was different. It was possible that they were potential enemies.

    Lu Yin had rushed to join Aegis¡¯s first level management in the past, but he had never gone to visit Aegis¡¯s real headquarters. After thinking about it, Lu Yin called Starfox.

    After half a year of silence, Starfox was very surprised to hear from Lu Yin, especially since the Great Yu Empire had announced to the rest of the universe that Lu Yin had gone into seclusion, though Starfox had not believed that.

    Lu Yin did not tell Starfox everything, and he said that he merely wanted to visit Aegis¡¯s headquarters for a tour.

    Starfox sent over a set of coordinates.

    Lu Yin checked them, and after seeing that the location was in the central weaves, he set out immediately.

 Chapter 897: Qualification And Authority

    <h4>Chapter 897: Qualification And Authority</h4>

    On the other side of the disconnected call, beneath the surface of an icy, Starfox lowered his gadget and looked at some nearby people. ck Mask and the child-like killer were both present beside him.

    ¡°Over thest half a year, a great deal of our Aegis¡¯s intelligence has been taken by the Great Yu Empire. There¡¯s no need to mention their motives, as they obviously want to use that information to nt hidden agents in other organizations so that they can easily conquer the entire Outerverse in the future. Are we really going to allow them to infiltrate everything just like that?¡± Starfox could not help himself from asking this, as he was still unwilling to ept these changes since he felt that Lu Yin always tended to instigate problems.

    ck Mask answered in a gloomy tone. ¡°No matter what he does, our objective is still to protect Aegis. Before we canpletely protect ourselves, we need to rely on him.¡±

    ¡°With the Hall of Honor as our protective talisman, we are indeed able to act a bit more boldly. However, I also feel that this Lu Yin is not so simple. We are relying on his status within the Hall of Honor, but is he merely using our intelligence? This person¡¯s ambitions are greater than the heavens,¡± the child-like killermented.

    Starfox strongly approved of thisment. Even a child in the Outerverse was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s ambition, as he definitely wanted to unify the entire Outerverse.

    ck Mask had a frigid expression, but in the depths of his eyes, one could seeplicated emotions that included a bit of helplessness.

    Aegis was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates, and it was an existence that had gathered both offensive and defensive fame by gathering countless mercenaries and assassins under their banner. They had ruthlessly spread throughout the entire Outerverse, which was something that outsiders were able to see. However, how many were able to see their helplessness?

    Lu Yin had witnessed it, and he had taken advantage of it. All they could at this time was cooperate with him, as he had imed the true top seat.

    So what if he was just an Explorer? Clouds and rain would form when he moved his hand. This could be seen in how he had unified the eastern region of the Outerverse, and how he was now moving to unify the entire Outerverse.

    Bing a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor had been very attractive to the assassin, but there was one other detail that while he might not want to admit, had no choice but to do so. In the future, they would have to rely on Lu Yin, as this person¡¯s future would be iparably glorious.

    For an unknown amount of time, the circumstances of the universe had begun to change. The various independent weaves of the past had gradually started toe together, much like a fleet ofrge ships, and Lu Yin was the gship. The moment they had agreed to let this person join Aegis¡¯s first level of management, they had already joined thisrge fleet that was being led by Lu Yin, and they could not leave after joining.

    ¡°Sometimes, one¡¯s circumstances are much like an arrow that has already left the bow. Once it has been loosed, there¡¯s no turning back. Let¡¯s just await his arrival!¡± ck Mask said.

    Starfox and the child-like killer did not reply.

    Assassins were often cold-blooded. Aegis¡¯sary headquarters was usually frozen to maintain cryostasis, and its astral location was quite remote. In particr, there were many dangerous cosmic phenomena around this area of outer space, so very few could reach this.

    Lu Yin followed Starfox¡¯s coordinates and eventually arrived at a very ordinary-looking, frozen white.

    There were not many rune lines to be seen on this, and there were possibly none at all. The moment Lu Yin had joined Aegis¡¯s first level management, he had used his new clearance to learn about the methods that Aegis employed to hide their runes, which turned out to be a strange mineral known as cloakstone. It was able topletely restrain one¡¯s star energy, and it looked like a rock.

    This stone was very rare, and not even Aegis had much of it. Thus, the only ones qualified to use the stones were all individuals who were ranked within the top ten.

    Lu Yin intended to use this visit to ask for a piece as well.

    There was nothing but a world of white outside the spacecraft as it slowlynded on the surface of the. A current of white air softly blew on the sides of the vessel, making it look like a passageway that had frozen over.

    A rumbling sound came out as the spacecraft touched down on the ground, and Lu Yin let out a long breath when the hatch opened. The air flowing out of the cabin actually froze, showing just how cold this ce was. Fortunately, such temperatures could not do much harm to cultivators like him.

    The white color extended into the infinite distance, and only a single blemish of ck entered his eyes. This was the location of the underground facilities¡¯ entrance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure vanished before reappearing at the entrance to the undergroundplex, and he calmly descended down the stone steps carved deep into the earth. Before long, he arrived at the room where ck Mask and the few others would preserve themselves in cryostasis.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. An icy cold killing intent had locked onto him in the dark as a smear of frost streaked past behind him. Lu Yin casually waved a hand, shifting the frost attack away, but even more cold reflections flickered out and stabbed at him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with star energy, and he weakened the rune lines of the cold lights before tapping out. The void congealed, and the multiple shards of cold light shattered. He then tapped out again, sending another finger strike into an empty region of space that was in front of him.

    Although these attacks had seeminglye out of nowhere, they had not ended yet. All of these points of light converged together, releasing the indescribable killing intent of an attack that surpassed a power level of 200,000. This attack caused the void to begin quivering and warping. This was the strength of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin smiled grimly, pulled out what looked like a walnut from his cosmic ring, and then casually tossed it up and down.

    ¡°Stop,¡± a voice barked out as ck Mask stepped out and moved over next to Lu Yin while staring at a nearby corner. The underground lights turned on, and the child-like killer stared at Lu Yin with amazement and iprehension in his eyes.

    ¡°Xiao Zheng,e over and apologize to Alliance Leader Lu,¡± ck Mask ordered, his expression looking umonly severe while his entire face had turned pale.

    The cold light at the fingertips of the child-like assassin dissipated, and Lu Yin was able to see that they were actually pieces of crystal before the assassin quickly stored them away. He then approached Lu Yin while slowly bowing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards as he looked at the child-like assassin. ¡°Is this how Aegis greets its guests?¡±

    ck Mask did not respond. Instead, Starfox stepped out. ¡°You are no guest of ours¡ªyou are a member, and so, we must know exactly how powerful you are.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and put the walnut away. ¡°Got it. So, do you know now?¡±

    ck Mask watched Lu Yin put the walnut away and heaved a heavy sigh of relief. When that little thing had first appeared, his entire body had gone cold. An instinctual panic that came from his very cells had nearly caused him to flee. That thing was definitely a terrifying weapon, and he was certain that he would not be able to flee from it if it was used.

    ¡°Sorry, Alliance Leader Lu,¡± the man apologized personally.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the apology as he surveyed his surroundings curiously. Around him was five coffin-like cryostasis pods. Five people had founded Aegis, but only these three remained, which seemed a little miserable. Still, only the Neo-Vestige Sect, the Dark Phoenix family, Millions City, and a few other powers in the entire Outerverse were able to rival Aegis, and ck Mask was the true hidden trump card of Aegis.

    ¡°This is the ce where Aegis became powerful. It seems that, during that cmity of the assassins in the past, you guys hid here,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    ck Mask replied, ¡°Yes, when that cmity swept through the entire Outerverse, every assassination organization with some degree of influence was included, including the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Mafioso. However, Mafioso was able to withstand it and survive whereas the majority of the other assassination organizations were all wiped out.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin recalled that the bespectacled Mistchild had once mentioned that Mafioso¡¯s inherited power vessel had been used in the past. It seemed that it had been used during the cmity that had rocked the Outerverse¡¯s assassins.

    Mafioso had been able to survive not only because of its power vessel, but also because its influence had always been limited to just the weaves in the eastern region of the Outerverse. Even at its peak, its influence had never spread across more than seven weaves. Also, they had never gathered intelligence on those who were truly in power. Otherwise, they would not have been able to withstand the cmity either.

    ¡°Right, shouldn¡¯t he be protecting the border? How was he able to leave after just half a year?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled. He was referring to the child-like assassin, who was apparently called Xiao Zheng.

    ¡°We are assassins, not mercenaries. Thus, there¡¯s not much meaning to having us participate in a unified defense. Instead, we will head out so long as we receive a request. Moreover-¡± The child-like assassin paused for a moment as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°We also belong to the Hall of Honor now, though we only answer to Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s orders. Before a war starts at the border, we can choose to not participate in the defense.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I came here in part to confirm that, as a member of the first level management, I qualify to mobilize all of Aegis¡¯s manpower, physical resources, and even¡­ financial resources?¡±

    The three old assassins exchanged nces, and Starfox in particr looked extremely wary. However, he had no choice in this matter either.

    ck Mask nodded. ¡°Of course. You now have the authority to make decisions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I want to mobilize Aegis¡¯s forces to search for Wei Rong¡¯s whereabouts, and I also want to know the backgrounds of all the members who are a part of the second level management, as well as the reason why they first joined Aegis. All of this information can be sent over to En Ya after you¡¯ve sorted it out,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I hope that you understand that we are an independent organization.¡± Starfox could not help himself from speaking up.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°You have the right to refuse.¡±

    Starfox was about to respond, but he was stopped by ck Mask. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s request is not overboard. We will do as requested.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    He and Aegis each took what they needed from the other. They would have been fine if they had not joined the Hall of Honor, but the moment they had, it had be almost impossible for Aegis to leave Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin did not spend much time with the three old men before leaving. He headed to Shenwu Continent next, as he had not seen Ming Yan in a long time.

    Before he left, Lu Yin requested a piece of cloakstone.

    In the underground room, Starfox could not help but blurt out, ¡°We had an agreement before that we would only be under his authority in name only! In fact, Aegis does not need to listen to his orders, and he is not qualified to mobilize Aegis¡¯s forces. His motives have already been revealed in just half a year.¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to y at all, then let¡¯s go big. At worst, we¡¯ll start over from scratch,¡± Xiao Zheng rarely said much, but he usually went straight to the point.

    ck Mask replied, ¡°That¡¯s true. Since we¡¯ve boarded this vessel, then there¡¯s no logic in having the captain row his own boat. We must help. We¡¯ll supply all the manpower or money that he requires, and we¡¯ll see just how far he can go.¡±

    Starfox released a grudging sigh. Aegis had indeed changed the moment Lu Yin had joined it. They had be Lu Yin¡¯s knife in the dark.

    At this moment, Starfox was worried about just one thing: money. He understood Lu Yin quite well, and he was well aware that this person was deeply concerned about money, especially since he had specifically mentioned Aegis¡¯s financial resources. This fellow was definitely plotting after their money.

    Starfox had not guessed wrong, as Lu Yin was indeed plotting to obtain Aegis¡¯s resources, but he was simply too embarrassed to demand it. However, he was in no hurry, and he would do things one step at a time. Aegis was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates, and it had be a wallet that he could ess at any time. Joining the Hall of Honor under Lu Yin¡¯s name was not something that had no strings attached.

    ***

    During the previous defense of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion at the border, before Millions City had headed over to Endless Weave, they had sent most of the mobile fortress¡¯ inhabitants to stay on variouss. During the intense battles, Millions City had been badly damaged, but fortunately, its foundation had not been ruined.

    Many cultivators had used the past half year to somewhat restore Millions City to its previous condition.

    Many of the city¡¯s original skylines were now gone.

    However, due to the border defense, Millions City had be far more famous than before, mostly because it had bemon knowledge that the mobile fortress was capable of unleashing attacks with power levels of more than 500,000. This had delighted many forces in the Outerverse, and more people surged towards Millions City than ever before.

    The number of people who hoped to stay in Millions City had clearly risen.

    Millions City was massive, but every street was packed to the brim.

    On the northern side of the city, there was an absolutely massive residence in a certain corner of the city that had almost no one staying there. Half a year ago, when Millions City had first begun repairing itself, there had been some people who had stayed at this ce for a period of time, and their numbers had not been few. The people who had lived inside here had all been from the Wei family.

    The Wei family had suffered a total defeat in Armament Weave, and their n had been scattered. Wei Baichuan and Wei Dan had both been captured while Wei Xin''er was still on Hydrotink. Wei Rong had gone missing, and the other, less important members of the Wei family had all headed to this residence.

 Chapter 898: Returning Again

    <h4>Chapter 898: Returning Again</h4>

    This residence was one of the Wei family¡¯s safehouses.

    There was no person or organization in the current universe that would dare im that they were capable of existing forever. Even in ancient times, many enormous powers had simply vanished into the river of history, and since the members of the Wei family were very smart, they had prepared more than one backup n.

    This fallback was only able to guarantee their safety, but it would be simply too difficult for them to stage aeback.

    The atmosphere within the residence was very depressed. After the members of the Wei family arrived here, they rarely stepped outside. This was mostly because there were many people from the Great Eastern Alliance who were keeping a watch on them.

    The Wei family was being used as bait; whoever offered them shelter would be Lu Yin¡¯s next target. It was precisely because of this bait that Wei Baichuan had not escaped when the Wei family¡¯s home had been conquered, as he intended to render Lu Yin¡¯s n useless.

    The Wei family in Millions City was still being used as bait, and the Great Eastern Alliance would not allow them to roam free.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore! We¡¯re just hiding like mice all day. I¡¯m going to go up against them!¡± a Wei family youth shouted and moved to run out the front door. However, he was stopped by the other family members.

    ¡°The young master¡¯s status is still unknown, and the Great Eastern Alliance hasn¡¯t used the patriarch¡¯s life to threaten the young master yet, which is a silver lining. We can¡¯t give the Great Eastern Alliance any opportunity to exploit an opening,¡± a Wei family elder scolded.

    The other people in the area all lowered their heads, looking very distraught.

    The glorious Wei family had fallen to such a pathetic state.

    Nobody knew where Wei Rong was aside from one person: Qiong Xi''er. Actually, she had been the one to hide Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong was not facing a difficult situation like what others believed, and he was actually perfectly fine. Even though the Wei family had been defeated, Wei Baichuan, Wei Xin''er, and the others had not been killed, and quite a few other members of the Wei family had also hidden themselves in Millions City. Thus, they would be able to rise to power once again as soon as Wei Rong was capable of such.

    ¡°Are you really not afraid of Lu Yin dealing with your family? Your father is still his prisoner and can lose his life at any moment.¡± Qiong Xi''er nced over at Wei Rong, whose calm face made her feel a little disgruntled.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Lu Yin won¡¯t do that. The greatest difference between him and me is that he has a bottom line. He can ruthlessly ughter his enemies, but he cannot emotionlessly kill those who don¡¯t have the ability to fight back, particrly when those people can still be useful to him.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er sneered. ¡°He¡¯s still dreaming of winning you over to his side?¡±

    Wei Rong grew serious when he looked at Qiong Xi''er. ¡°It may seem impossible from your perspective, but not necessarily from his. This is the difference in terms of ambition. His dream is to unify the entire Outerverse, and thus, he won¡¯t be able to ept a tiny failure like me. He is confident of achieving anything, which is a good thing as it allows him to grow without limit.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips then curled upwards. ¡°However, it¡¯s also a bad thing, since he can easily crash and burn.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er propped her chin on her hand and looked at Wei Rong. ¡°When the Wei family was still around, you still weren¡¯t able to deal with Lu Yin. But now that your family has been scattered to the wind, you¡¯re confident?¡±

    Wei Rong shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not confidence¡ªjust luck. I¡¯m waiting for the day when his luck fails. So, I¡¯m sorry to impose on you, but I may have to hide here for a long time.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. I¡¯m only keeping you hidden here because I hope that you won¡¯t die too soon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried that Millions City will be targeted by Lu Yin, and so you¡¯re looking for someone to work with and create a n,¡± Wei Rong replied.

    Qiong Xi''er snorted. ¡°Even if that were the case, I¡¯d go looking for Wang Wen.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes shed, and he grew serious once again as he looked at Qiong Xi''er. ¡°It would be best if you didn¡¯t. Wang Wen is determined to follow Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Qiong Xi''er was confused by this. She was very gifted inmercial affairs, and she was also extremely intelligent and on the same level as Wei Rong and Wang Wen. However, when it came to spirit and boldness, she was slightly inferior to the other two.

    Wei Rong frowned. ¡°I don''t actually know, but I have a feeling that the moment Wang Wen knows I¡¯m hiding in Millions City, Lu Yin will also know. I also have a premonition that Wang Wen will sooner orter be the brains behind Lu Yin¡¯s forces.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er grabbed her forehead. ¡°How annoying. Why did such a person appear in the Outerverse? He even came up with something like unifying the Outerverse.¡±

    Wei Rong looked up into the sky. Even if Lu Yin had not appeared, Wei Rong himself would have acted. As soon as the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, an unprecedented golden opportunity had appeared, and Wei Rong had felt like he wouldn¡¯t be a man if he had not tried to take advantage of the situation.

    Qiong Xi''er was about to leave, but then her gadget suddenly beeped with an alert. She nced at it, and her expression drastically changed. ¡°The Ten Arbiters have reappeared.¡±

    Wei Rong was shocked. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er looked at Wei Rong with a solemn expression. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist has appeared. He¡¯s in the Outerverse.¡±

    This sentence threw Wei Rong¡¯s thoughts into a jumble. ¡°The Innerverse has reconnected to the Outerverse?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er shook her head. ¡°I don''t know. I don''t actually know any details about this. All I do know is that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist is leading a bunch of experts and that he has suddenly appeared in the Outerverse. It¡¯s not just that¡ªa bunch of experts have appeared in the western region of the Outerverse, and the rumors im that they are all from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes danced about as he deep fell into thought.

    Qiong Xi''er did not leave either, as her thoughts had been thrown into confusion.

    To the average person, this news did not matter much, but things werepletely different for the younger generation as the Ten Arbiters were the masters of their generation. Those ten individuals had the authority to judge, supervise, and even punish all other youths. Their authority was publicly recognized by the entire universe, and to the younger generation, the concept of the Ten Arbiters was like the heavens towering high above them. Even if the circumstances of the Outerverse had changed a great deal in recent years, the Ten Arbiters were still existences that could not be ignored. More importantly, the Divine Fist had brought a bunch of experts with him, which was testament to his power.

    The two youths fell silent for a long time.

    Wei Rong finally took a long breath. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s in trouble.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er looked up at him. ¡°The Ten Arbiters Council?¡±

    Wei Rong nodded, though he still appeared to be mulling something over. ¡°After the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, the Outerverse Youth Council becamepletely crippled. As a result, Lu Yin was able to sweep across the Outerverse and even be the number one member of the younger generation in the entire Outerverse. Now that an Arbiter has appeared, the Youth Council¡¯s authority will definitely be restored, and the two will definitely have some conflicts.¡±

    Wei Rong looked over at Qiong Xi''er and then said, ¡°Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. You are worried that Lu Yin¡¯s ambition will grow and that he will eventually swallow Millions City. I also hope that someone will be able to hold him back. Thus, for this confrontation between the Arbiter and Lu Yin, we have to y some small tricks.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. Even if Lu Yin is able to sessfully unite the Outerverse, that is still unrted to Millions City, as he can''t touch us.¡± Qiong Xi''er refused.

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes grew intense. ¡°Back during the battle in Millions City, do you remember what happened underground?¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s expression twisted. ¡°Everyone lost those memories.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, so you don¡¯t know what happened. Thus, can you be absolutely certain that Lu Yin has no method to deal with Millions City?¡± Wei Rong asked sternly.

    Wei Xin''er stared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to scare me. He can¡¯t remember anything about that period either.¡±

    Wei Rong was bemused by her response. ¡°But if there¡¯s even the most remote possibility, I would absolutely destroy it, especially when against Lu Yin.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er considered his words for a long time. ¡°What are you thinking?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to do anything for now. The two will naturallye into contact. You can simply spread some information regarding the devastation of East San Dios. The Divine Fist will not remain indifferent, and what happens after that is none of our business,¡± Wei Rong said.

    Qiong Xi''er stared up at the sky. The Outerverse had changed once again.

    News of Divine Fist Arbiter appearing in the Outerverse quickly spread, and while most people did not even know which Arbiter hade, just the name of Divine Fist was enough to shock everyone.

    Ten days passed, after which Lu Yin arrived at Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station, where he discovered that the Daynight n members had already moved out.

    During the initial phase of the war with Armament Weave, the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, and a few other Innerverse powers had tried to intervene. Now that Lu Yin¡¯s influence had be even more overbearing, these different powers had also be afraid of being forced to repay their past debts.

    These people had been able to see things clearly; Lu Yin was fearless in the Outerverse now, especially since the border defense in Endless Weave had ended. At that time, he had finished off Armament Weave¡¯s Wei family. Lu Yin¡¯s backing was terrifying, and the Hall of Honor clearly supported this youth. Thus, not even the Daynight n dared to stay behind.

    At this time, the one overseeing Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station was an unfamiliar Hunter known as Arrel. He was from Darkmist Weave, and he had taken the initiative to apply to the Great Yu Empire for the task of overseeing the space station, and he had received permission from the Imperial Cab.

    Although Shenwu Continent was located in Darkmist Weave, the authority to make decisions regarding the continent remained with the Great Yu Empire. This was the might of the Great Yu Empire.

    When Arrel saw Lu Yin arrive, he jumped in fright and hurriedly made his way over to pay his respects.

    Lu Yin shook hands with the Hunter. ¡°Without my express order, nobody is to enter Shenwu Continent.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Arrel respectfully acknowledged his orders.

    Soon after that, Lu Yin entered Shenwu Continent andnded near Mingdu. He gathered his bearings and then headed straight toward Mingdu.

    In Mingdu¡¯s imperial pce, within an office, Ming Yan was looking over reports and memos, reading various papers from time to time.

    Bei Hong respectfully stood behind the empress.

    After some time, Ming Yan finally finished going through the pile of memos, and she then looked up at Bei Hong.

    ¡°Act ording to your instructions,¡± Ming Yan gently told the man, though there was also an imposing undertone in her voice.

    Bei Hong epted a paper. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.¡±

    He then respectfully withdrew from the study.

    Ming Yan then dismissed everyone from the office. Once she was alone, she held her head and revealed an exhausted manner as she massaged her head.

    The warm sunlight streamed into the room.

    Unknowingly, she had already held this position for more than two years. Two years had passed since Lu Yin had left, and he had not returned this entire time. ¡°Have you forgotten about me?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± a voice rang out from behind Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan was startled, and she whirled around to see Lu Yin, delighted. ¡°Brother Lu!¡±

    Lu Yin looked down at Ming Yan and held her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been too busy toe see you recently.¡±

    Ming Yan blushed. She had a split personality, and the current one that was dominant was the simpler one. Still, she had led the life of an empress for two years already, and it had forced her to be more decisive and dignified. However, she returned to being just a little girl once more when she was alone with Lu Yin.

    If not for Lu Yin, she would have crumbled in the past.

    When Lu Yin hugged Ming Yan, he felt as though he wasplete. Although he was not able to see this woman frequently, she upied a very important position in his heart.

    Ming Yan leaned over,pletely at peace in Lu Yin¡¯s embrace. She even closed her eyes. Only in this person¡¯s embrace was she able to feel at ease and let go of everything.

    There was no need for words between them. One hug was enough to demonstrate the other¡¯s feelings.

    Lu Yin lowered his head and kissed Ming Yan. Suddenly, icy-cold eyes stared back at him, and Ming Yan¡¯s long hair turned white. ¡°How bold! Do you believe that I will not bury you?¡±

    Lu Yin reflexively released the girl and coughed awkwardly.

    The white-haired Ming Yan snorted and stared at him. ¡°If you dare act so disrespectfully again, I will truly bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t beat me.¡±

    She arched a brow at him. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Lu Yinughed dryly. ¡°Nothing much. Uh, shouldn¡¯t you onlye out at night?¡±

    She answered coldly, ¡°She¡¯s too weak, and she can¡¯t resist when she¡¯s in front of you. Who knows what you might do to her with your ulterior motives.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    Ming Yan frowned, sniffed vigorously, and then looked at Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring. ¡°Do you have that sort of poison in there?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What poison?¡±

    ¡°The poison that made me like this,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan asked expectantly.

 Chapter 899: Gu Yueâ€™s Name

    <h4>Chapter 899: Gu Yue¡¯s Name</h4>

    After hearing the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s question, Lu Yin was taken aback, but he still took out the upgraded vitality poison. ¡°This?¡±

    She grew excited. ¡°Give it to me!¡±

    ¡°For what?¡± Lu Yin was wary. He had not forgotten about how Ming Yan had swallowed the poison in the past. If not for Mister Mu¡¯s secret technique that had resulted in her split personality, she would have died.

    ¡°I can absorb these kinds of poisons to increase my strength,¡± she answered.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Absorb poisons like this?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Give it to me.¡±

    Lu Yin held it tightly. ¡°Are you sure about this? You won¡¯t die from it right?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan started to be impatient. ¡°No! Give it to me.¡±

    Lu Yin really did not want to pass the vial of poison over to her, as he did not want to take such a huge risk.

    The white-haired Ming Yan reluctantly closed her eyes as her hair gradually returned to a dark color. She became the ck-haired Ming Yan once again.

    Lu Yin felt morefortable when he saw this version of Ming Yan, and he could not hold himself back from hugging her again, which caused Ming Yan¡¯s face to flush. ¡°Brother Lu, that poison, you can give it to me.¡±

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva. ¡°What she said is actually real? Can you really safely absorb this?¡±

    Ming Yan nodded. ¡°Rx. Are you afraid that I¡¯ll try to kill myself? If I wanted to die, I would have died long ago. There would have been no need for me to wait until you returned.¡±

    Lu Yin found her answer reasonable, and only then did he pass the poison over to Ming Yan.

    The vial contained the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s vitality poison, and it had taken Lu Yin 120,000 star essence to upgrade it just once. He had actually upgraded it twice, which had cost him a total of 420,000 star essence. This made the poison incredibly valuable, and he could not bear to use it.

    However, if this poison could truly increase the white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s strength, then that would be a pretty decent use. Also, if she was able to absorb such poisons, then she was basically the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s nemesis.

    ¡°Thank you, Brother Lu!¡± Ming Yan was very happy, and she even took the initiative to kiss Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was delighted, and he lowered his head, only to be weed by a pair of cold eyes. The hair of the girl in front of him had turned white once again.

    ¡°You still dare to be disrespectful to me,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan scolded him.

    Lu Yin was furious and decided to just ignore her and proceed to kiss her.

    Her eyes went wide, surprised that Lu Yin had continued to kiss her. She was so shocked that she momentarily could not react.

    After a few seconds, she returned to her senses and shoved Lu Yin back to berate him. When her hair turned ck once again, Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu. That¡­ this¡­ her¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. He felt that he would be depressed at the rate that things were going.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin and Ming Yan were sitting in the garden behind the study, and Lu Yin was holding Ming Yan¡¯s hand. The atmosphere was veryfortable.

    ¡°Brother Lu, there¡¯s something that I want to tell you,¡± Ming Yan mentioned, but then she hesitated.

    Lu Yin was amused by her behavior. "What''s the matter?¡±

    Ming Yan pursed her lips, resolved herself, faced Lu Yin, and seriously said, ¡°I¡¯ve visited the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light?¡±

    Ming Yan nodded.

    ¡°That ce was sealed, and there wasn¡¯t even anything there,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ming Yan shook her head and gently exined, ¡°I went past that seal.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he had not been able to bypass that seal no matter what he tried. ¡°You made it past the seal? Was it removed?¡±

    ¡°No. Others can¡¯t enter it, but I can. Also¡­¡± Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin and softly said, ¡°I received a senior¡¯s inheritance. Someone called Gu Yue. He passed a battle technique onto me, and it¡¯s called Moonstar.¡±

    ¡°Moonstar?¡± The Ghost Monkey was shocked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sharpened, and he gripped Ming Yan¡¯s hand. ¡°Were you in any danger when you went past that seal?¡±

    Ming Yan smiled. ¡°There was no danger towards me. I¡¯ve already taken Gu Yue as my master.¡±

    ¡°How did you get in?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ming Yan looked to be a bit puzzled herself. ¡°I don''t know either. About a year after you left, I felt curious, and I headed to the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light, where I simply entered just like that. The seal did not stop me in the least.¡±

    Lu Yin released his domain, letting it sweep through the entire capital. It shot out across the entire city before descending into the Tower of Resonating Light. Soon, it spread all the way to the Tower of Resonating Light¡¯s bottom. He struck out with his domain, but the seal did not even quiver. He still could not enter, which was strange.

    ¡°Brother Lu, our Shenwu Continent¡¯s five sealings were brought here by Master Gu Yue. It seems that he was a Lockbreaker,¡± Ming Yan continued to exin.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this. In truth, after seeing the sourcebox arrays in Ironblood Weave and on Sourcepeak, he had guessed that Shenwu Continent¡¯s five sealings were actually massive sourceboxes. Sourceboxes of that size were rarely seen, but if a peerless powerhouse had acted, then it would still be possible to use them in an array.

    ¡°Right, give me a moment.¡± Ming Yan moved out of Lu Yin¡¯s embrace and quickly walked out of the study. It seemed that she was going to fetch something.

    ¡°Monkey, have you heard of Moonstar before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice betrayed his disbelief. ¡°I saw it mentioned in some old powerhouses¡¯ personal writings. ¡®In the heavens filled with moons, the stars fell, and only dust was left behind.¡¯ Moonstar is a battle technique that can intimidate an entire generation. Gu Yue was the ultimate powerhouse of his era, and there are rumors that he was framed and died under suspicious circumstances. Who would have thought that he was actually buried here on Shenwu Continent!? It¡¯s no wonder why this continent has those five sealings that not even a powerhouse with a power level of greater than 300,000 can do anything about. So that¡¯s why there¡¯s such a powerful seal under that Tower of Resonating Light.¡±

    ¡°A battle technique that was able to intimidate an entire generation? How does itpare to Night¡¯s End, Daybreak?¡± Lu Yin was curious about this.

    The monkey thought about it before replying, ¡°I don''t know. However, they should be on about the same level. They weren¡¯t from the same era, so they never crossed paths. However, they are definitely both fearsome battle techniques that shocked an era, and ording to some personal documents that I saw, Gu Yue was a genius who was gifted in bothbat and Lockbreaking. It¡¯s a pity that he died too early, or else he might have be a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin had never thought that the small Shenwu Continent would actually hide such a huge inheritance from such an impressive character. It was no wonder how this tiny Shenwu Continent had been able to produce so many talented experts or why its martial power was even a little stronger than star energy. This was all rted to Gu Yue.

    Lu Yin thought about it and then looked up towards the five sealings. In the past, everyone had assumed that Ming Taizhong was the one who had moved thes there, but in reality, it had been Gu Yue¡¯s strength that had aplished such a thing. Ming Taizhong had most likely had borrowed Gu Yue¡¯s power in order to aplish that feat.

    A dead person was able to protect an entire continent from a foreign invasion. This was an absolute powerhouse.

    Ming Yan had received an incredible destiny. The white-haired Ming Yan was able to increase her strength with the vitality poison while the ck-haired Ming Yan had obtained Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance. This girl seemed to have been blessed by Shenwu Continent.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, ask your girl if she can teach you Moonstar. If you learn that, then you will be much more powerful. That¡¯s an incredible battle technique!¡± The monkey was iparably excited.

    Lu Yin was not as excited as the monkey. Setting aside whether or not Lu Yin could even learn this technique, he was not too motivated to even try. Although he did not know where his Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation battle technique hade from, it was much more ancient than Gu Yue¡¯s techniques since it had appeared in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. It was known to be invincible once the nine battle techniques werebined. Such a battle technique was definitely the best one avable to Lu Yin even whenpared to the countless other inheritances of history.

    He already had his Nine Suns technique, and it would take an extremely long time for him to cultivate it topletion. He also had his Dream Finger, the Cosmic Art, the Oveying Stacks Path, and many more techniques. He did not have the same desire for a powerful technique that he had once had in the past.

    What Lu Yin was most attracted to about Gu Yue was the man¡¯s lockbreaking skills. Although Lu Yin was only slightly talented in that field, when he used his Cosmic Art and Truesight eyes, he could sense star energy much more clearly than many others. However, despite all that, his lockbreaking progress was moving rather slowly. Of course, he had not spent much time on lockbreaking, though he still hoped to improve quickly. If he could obtain some guidance from Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance, then it would save him a great deal of time and effort.

    Ironblood Weave, Shenwu Continent, Sourcepeak, and many other ces had all shown Lu Yin the importance and power of lockbreaking, especially if a Lockbreaker could use sourcebox arrays. Another, more frightening thought was that Lu Yin would definitely meet people capable of such things in the future. He would never forget the scene of when he had first seen a sourcebox array activate, and that feeling had made his blood run cold.

    Ming Yan soon returned, and she carried a yellowed book with her. ¡°Brother Lu, this is for you.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious as he received the book, and was soon delighted to discover what it held. What was it? Lockbreaking experience! He was excited, as the exact thing he had been hoping to find had been smoothly delivered into his hands. What he had desired most at this moment was Gu Yue¡¯s lockbreaking experience, and it had really appeared in front of him.

    He could not determine what this book was used for, as it only had a dozen pages. The first page described the man¡¯s experience as a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, but the end of the book actually described the sourcebox array sealing Shenwu Continent. Meanwhile, the middle sections were about the degree of control of one¡¯s star energy, cultivation methods, and more.

    Delighted, Lu Yin gave Ming Yan a fierce kiss. "Yan''er, you¡¯ve really given me a great gift!¡±

    Ming Yan became shy, and she blushed brilliantly, despite looking extremely happy. ¡°As long as you like it, Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and hugged her, feeling as though he was hugging his entire world.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu, but Master instructed me not to pass Moonstar over to anyone else, unless it¡¯s his own disciple. So¡­¡±

    Ming Yan apologized very quietly, but Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°Silly girl, there¡¯s no need to apologize. Brother Lu does not need to learn Moonstar. Just you learning it is good enough for me.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lu Yin, and an iparable sweetness entered her heart as she grunted in acknowledgement. She was ecstatic that Lu Yin had not tried to force her to share the technique with him.

    She was very clear about how tempting an overpowering battle technique was to most cultivators. Lu Yin seemed to be demonstrating his sincere feelings for her by not pressing her to share the technique, and she was reaffirmed that this man was the one she would share her life with.

    After some further disys of affection, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes rolled about as he coughed. He then gulped loudly and looked as though he was about to make an important decision.

    Ming Yan blinked at him, looking quite confused.

    Lu Yin did not dare look Ming Yan in the eyes. He took a deep breath and then said in a low voice, "Yan''er, tonight-¡±

    But before he could get any more words out, he reluctantly noticed that Ming Yan¡¯s hair had gone white. Then, a familiar voice rang out, ¡°Release me, or else I shall bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin held his forehead tightly, as this split personality was just too fearsome. He had firmed his resolve just now to pursue some night time activities, but how could he now proceed with this? He would easily develop a mental breakdown if things continued in this manner.

    ¡°I like the cute Yan''er,¡± Lu Yin couldn¡¯t help himself from saying.

    A pair of cold eyes greeted him.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stayed on Shenwu Continent for seven days, but he did not reveal himself to anyone else. He always followed Ming Yan around, no matter if she was the ck or white-haired version. Although he would wrap himself around the ck-haired Ming Yan, the white-haired Ming Yan only ever mocked him.

    After seven days, Lu Yin left Shenwu Continent. He had finally learned about the greatest secret that this continent held, and if there were any additional secrets, then they would definitely be rted to the five sealings. Since thoses were five sourceboxes, he would definitely get something good if he managed to sessfully unlock them.

    These huge,-like sourceboxes could not be found even in Ironblood Weave. Lu Yin wondered what he would obtain from unlocking them, but he also knew that he would have to be at least a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker at the minimum if he wanted to seed.

    He stared enviously at the five sealings before leaving Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station. Lu Yin was finally preparing to return to the Great Yu Empire.

    On this same day, the Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist appeared, and he intended to appoint new Outerverse Youth Councilors.

    There had originally been five councilors in East San Dios, but now, only Liu Shaoge and Wendy Yushan remained.

 Chapter 900: Command Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 900: Command Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Atop the high tower that stood in East San Dios, Lan Si stood with his hands sped behind his back as he stared outwards. He knew what the people were waiting for, but they simply did not know what he was actually going to do.

    As for Lu Yin, Lan Si had appreciated the youth from the very beginning, and he had evene to view Lu Yin as someone on the same level as him. This person had simply shocked Lan Si too many times, and he knew that it would not be wise to be enemies with such a person. Lan Si had also managed to escape from the Starfall Sea¡¯s cmity in part due to Lu Yin¡¯s assistance, but some matters could not be avoided.

    There were three people standing behind Lan Si; one was Tie San, who had challenged Lu Yin when climbing Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s gravitationalndmasses while the other two were also from the same dojo. They were all Lan Si¡¯s juniors, and all three of them were Cruisers.

    Although Tie San had lost to Lu Yin, he was in no way weak, since he was a disciple of Mt. Stacks Dojo, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how he was not even forty years old yet. Even if he would cease to be a part of the younger generation in just a few more years, he was not too far from the Top 100 Rankings despite not being ranked.

    Neither of the other two had weak auras either.

    Three new Councilors had been appointed in just a short amount of time, and they quickly filled the empty seats in East San Dios. Their appointment also demonstrated that Lan Si wielded absolute control within East San Dios as well as his resolution towards the city and the entire Outerverse Youth Council.

    Before the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, Lan Si had enjoyed some degree of influence in West San Dios, but not much influence in East San Dios. However, at this moment, he was able to determine everything concerning the entire Outerverse Youth Council.

    Wendy Yushan and Liu Shaoge stepped onto the tall tower and exchanged nces before slowly approaching the top level.

    ¡°Arbiter Lan.¡±

    ¡°Arbiter Lan.¡±

    Lan Si turned around and smiled at the two new arrivals, his eyes lingering on Wendy Yushan slightly in particr. ¡°Please, sit, both of you.¡±

    Neither Wendy Yushan nor Liu Shaoge stood on ceremony, and they both sat down.

    Lan Si simrly sat down, though Tie San¡¯s trio remained standing behind Lan Si.

    ¡°I¡¯vee to understand the current situation of the Outerverse Youth Council. As Councilors, do the two of you have anything to say?¡± Lan Si asked.

    Wendy Yushan was typically cold to other people, and she did not really talk much.

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°From the time the Outerverse was first separated from the Innerverse, the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s influence has dropped precipitously, though that¡¯s because of ourcking ability. Arbiter Lan should punish us as you see fit.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°Without the support of the Ten Arbiters Council, you guys are very limited in what you can do. I know this, so I came here this time to restore the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s authority over the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation. Do the two of you have any questions?¡±

    ¡°With Arbiter Lan¡¯s guidance, there will naturally be no problems,¡± Liu Shaoge answered happily.

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lan Si with cold eyes. ¡°Does Arbiter Lan have any thoughts concerning the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Why is Councilor Wendy asking about this?¡±

    Wendy Yushan coolly replied, ¡°The Outerverse¡¯s situation has changed a great deal during this time. I hope for Arbiter Lan to please understand it a bit more.¡±

    Lan Si smiled. ¡°I already understand things quite well, so there¡¯s no need for Councilor Wendy to worry.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s eyes remained sharp, but at this moment, Liu Shaoge spoke up. ¡°I wonder, when is Arbiter Lan nning to formally announce this? Right, these three must be the newly appointed Outerverse Youth Councilors of East San Dios, correct?¡±

    Lan Si answered, ¡°I will make a public announcement that the time ising, but it won¡¯t be muchter. These three are my juniors, and they are all newly appointed Councilors.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked over and was about to say something, but Liu Shaoge interrupted her once again. ¡°In that case, we will once again thank Arbiter Lan for leading us to restore San Dios¡¯s glory. Thank you, Arbiter Lan.¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned, but she made no further efforts to speak up.

    Lan Si was not concerned with Wendy Yushan¡¯s attitude, though he did look at Liu Shaoge a bit more. He was aware that this person had been rmended by Nightking Zhenwu and that he had most likely been sent to East San Dios with the intention of countering Lu Yin.

    He had not expected these two people to be very cooperative, let alone as amodating as Liu Shaoge was acting. This attitude was a little outside of Lan Si¡¯s expectations.

    Before much more time passed, Lan Si led Tie San and the others away, leaving Wendy Yushan and Liu Shaoge alone at the top of the high tower.

    Wendy Yushan stared coldly at Liu Shaoge. ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be able to attach yourself to Lan Si. Although he¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters, he isn¡¯t that much more influential than Lu Yin in the current universe. You¡¯re too desperate.¡±

    Liu Shaoge smiled. ¡°Desperate? About what?¡±

    Wendy Yushan could not be bothered to speak any further with the man.

    Liu Shaoge revealed another strange smile. ¡°You are the one who is too anxious. Some things are fated to happen, so why bother being so rushed? Take your time, and also-¡± He paused as his face grew much more serious at this moment. ¡°I understand the Ten Arbiters much better than you. They have their positions for more reasons than just their personal power and backgrounds. Do not underestimate them.¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned, as she could not see through Liu Shaoge. However, neither could she even be bothered to try.

    She had already tried to contact Lu Yin several times, but she had not been able to reach him. After thinking about it, she continued to try calling him.

    At this time, Lu Yin had just left Shenwu Continent¡¯s space station when Wendy Yushan¡¯s call came through.

    ¡°Wendy, what''s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan heaved a sigh of relief, as she had finally connected with him. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist has appeared in the Outerverse. Did you know that?¡±

    Lu Yin murmured an assent. ¡°I was the one who led him to the Outerverse, or rather, it would be more urate to say that we fled here together.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s currently at East San Dios, and he¡¯s announced that he will reestablish the Outerverse Youth Council and that it will resume its position to supervise, test, and judge the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation. He also appointed several new Councilors. You should hurry back to East San Dios,¡± Wendy urged.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as he had forgotten that the Ten Arbiters were the overseers of the Outerverse Youth Council. Lan Si¡¯s arrival was actually the greatest support that the Outerverse Youth Council could possibly receive. The moment the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, the Outerverse Youth Council had gradually fallen from glory without the support of the Ten Arbiters, and not even a peep hade from the council for several years. Now that one of the Ten Arbiters had appeared in the Outerverse, the council¡¯s power and influence would naturally return to normal.

    To others, this incident may be just a bit ofmotion, as reopening the Outerverse Youth Council was meaningless to most. However, things were different for Lu Yin. East San Dios¡¯s presence was equivalent to someone else monitoring the entire Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s younger generation, and as long as those overseers wanted to, they could intervene in any bit of warfare by using a myriad of excuses. It was just like what Lu Yin had done when he had been a proxy Outerverse Youth Councilor in the past; he had prevented Firesmelt¡¯s troops from moving, thus allowing a to be destroyed.

    This was the unexpected entrance of an unstable variable; it was one that could escape from Lu Yin¡¯s control at any moment and also one that could exert some control over him as well.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he immediately turned towards East San Dios. No matter what, he would not allow something that he could not control to appear within his territory, and even the Ten Arbiters were no exception to this.

    The Outerverse had entered a frenzied state at this time, and the eyes of countless media outlets were focused on East San Dios as numerous reporters converged upon the Prairie me Continent.

    The once glorious Outerverse Youth Council of the past had been waning for several years. But now that one of the Ten Arbiters had appeared, the Outerverse Youth Council would once again rise to the peak, and it might even surpass its former glory. This waspletely because none of the Ten Arbiters had ever directly overseen the Outerverse Youth Council in the past, but now, one of them was at East San Dios.

    Countless people went crazy with this news, as they all wanted to catch a glimpse of an Arbiter in action.

    The most brilliant star in the Outerverse had been Lu Yin, and when he had defeated the Wei family, it had shocked the entire Outerverse. No one else from the younger generation had dared to fight him for the spotlight, and even some members of the older generations were cautious of Lu Yin. However, once an Arbiter appeared, everything changed. Those ten youths symbolized the true peak of the younger generation, and they were also authorized to supervise the entire universe¡¯s younger generation, which included Lu Yin.

    Countless reporters caught the whiff of some sensational news: an Arbiter and Lu Yin. There was bound to be some conflict between the two that could not be easily reconciled. Lu Yin might submit to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ supervision and acknowledge East San Dios¡¯s authority, in which case the youths of the Great Eastern Alliance would be supervised and overseen by the Outerverse Youth Council. On the other hand, one of the Ten Arbiters might be reced, at which time Lu Yin would genuinely stand at the peak of his generation.

    As far as anyone in the universe knew, bing one of the Ten Arbiters was not just receiving a title, but rather bing a symbol of status. If Lu Yin reced the Divine Fist as a new Arbiter, then his status in their hearts would undergo aplete transformation. Even if the Innerverse was reconnected to the Outerverse, countless people would still dare to follow him.

    Human lives were filled with idents, which was why many people bought insurance to relieve themselves of future worries.

    Lu Yin was quite stylish, and he had be a celebrity in the Outerverse after his influence spread everywhere. However, when all was said and done, it was still just the Outerverse. Many were worried that Lu Yin¡¯s glorious performance would prove to be short-lived. Although he would still be able to leave his name in history, that would be the end of it. Hence, many still had some misgivings regarding the youth. However, if Lu Yin reced one of the Ten Arbiters, then this apprehension would basically all disappear.

    To those from the Great Eastern Alliance like Meng Tianlong and Mu Nichang, they were focused on the recent developments, and even people like Gong Ling of the Neo-Vestige Sect were paying attention. They did not contact Lu Yin at this time, as they all wanted to see what he would do, and what he was capable of.

    This was an unavoidable conflict.

    Above the Prairie me Continent, quite a few spacecraft floated around East San Dios, and countless lights illuminated the area as everyone waited for the critical moment to erupt.

    To most people, the Ten Arbiters were very mysterious. As such, the media was not waiting to report the news about the Arbiter restoring the Outerverse Youth Council, but rather to simply publicly show the appearance of the Arbiter to the public as soon as possible.

    It did not take too long for Lu Yin to arrive at the Prairie me Continent from Shenwu Continent. When he arrived, he saw countless vessels floating in the area. In the past, East San Dios had almost been like a wastnd that no one visited, but now, so many people hade.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival waspletely sensational, and all of the reporters and scouts from the various powers focused on him.

    Lu Yin docked his spacecraft and stepped into East San Dios.

    The guard at East San Dios¡¯s gate raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but by themand of the Ten Arbiters, from now until the new Councilors are officially appointed, nobody is to step foot inside.¡±

    Outside East San Dios, countless lights were focused on Lu Yin, as everyone wanted to see what he would do next.

    At the same time, many people everywhere throughout the Outerverse watched a live broadcast with rapt attention when they saw Lu Yin being stopped.

    Ever since Lu Yin had established the Great Eastern Alliance, he had not encountered such a situation before, as he had basically be an emperor in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm, and he looked at the gatekeeper with an indifferent expression. However, this indifference actually caused the gatekeeper to shudder with fear.

    He had witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s ironfisted cruelty before, and he had also seen how Lu Yin had dealt with Puyu. The guard was aware of just how ruthless this person was, and he also knew that Lu Yin was currently at the peak of his power and that he was capable of suppressing the entire Outerverse. Although the guard was a Hunter, Lu Yin had already killed multiple Enlighters. The longer Lu Yin stared at him, the more panicked the guard became. As he continued to assess his situation, his face paled, and he slowly lowered his hand. Finally, he took several steps back and bowed his head deferentially.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze flitted past the guard, and he calmly stepped inside East San Dios.

    Before he took much more steps, someone else stopped him. But this time, it was someone from Mt. Stacks Dojo. He was one of the elites who had followed the crowd fleeing to the Outerverse, and he was also a peak Hunter. He was an expert from Mt. Stacks Dojo who was second to Elder Tie.

    This person did not recognize Lu Yin, as he had altered his appearance during his time in the Innerverse. Very few people had recognized Lu Yin during his time there, and this person was not one of them.

    ¡°Back off! By order of the Ten Arbiters, from now until the new Councilors are appointed, nobody is allowed to step foot inside.¡±

    Countless nervously watched on as the events unfolded.

    Within East San Dios, Wendy Yushan and Liu Shaoge were also watching everything.

    Lan Si and the three Mt. Stacks Dojo juniors standing behind him were naturally watching everything as well.

    An expert from Mt. Stacks Dojo expert had stopped Lu Yin, and what the youth did next would clearly demonstrate his attitude.

 Chapter 901: Lu Yinâ€™s Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 901: Lu Yin¡¯s Attitude</h4>

    Lu Yin paused when the expert blocked his path. But just when the peak Hunter from Mt. Stacks Dojo thought that the youth would actually back away, Lu Yin lifted his foot once again and continued moving forward.

    The expert became furious, as he did not put some puny Explorer in his eyes regardless of how impressive their status might be in the Outerverse. In the Hunter¡¯s eyes, this Explorer was still just an ant. Thus, when he decided to act, the Hunter held back. Since there were many people watching this outside, the Hunter would not allow anything to adversely impact his young master¡¯s image.

    While thinking of this, the peak Hunter from Mt. Stacks Dojo moved one step to the right and bumped into Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. He wanted to force this person back in the most unassuming manner possible; he had to both avoid giving others the impression that he was bullying a junior and also show this person that he had to be obedient.

    As their shoulders met, a shockwave swept out in all directions. The peak Hunter had automatically assumed that the youth would evade, and he had not even considered the possibility that this Explorer might unhesitatingly collide with a Hunter¡¯s shoulder without even looking. It was as if Lu Yin did not even ce this Hunter within his eyes. More importantly, this youth was actually trying to force his way past the Hunter, which irritated the expert. So, he increased the force in his shoulder.

    There was another bang as a second shockwave swept out. The peak Hunter was stunned, as this person was not being forced back. The powerhouse then immediately used the Oveying Stacks Path. As someone who had trained at Mt. Stacks Dojo, he naturally had learned the Oveying Stacks Path.

    He instantly used Ten Stacks, as he wanted to make this puny Explorer take at least ten steps in punishment.

    However, in the next moment, the Hunter¡¯s expression changed, as this youth had responded with Ten Stacks as well. The Hunter snorted, as this person clearly did not know what was good for him. The powerhouse then jumped directly to Fifty Stacks without considering anything else. However, to his shock, he was matched yet again as Fifty Stacks pushed back against him.

    This peak Hunter was astonished; how could a puny Explorer actually use Fifty Stacks? That was impossible! So how was this person doing it? How could this youth¡¯s physical body endure such a monumental force?

    Lu Yin looked up, and his pupils transformed into runes as the peak Hunter¡¯s strength mysteriously weakened. Without giving the older man any more time to think, an overflowing pressure surged from Lu Yin as he quickly used Seventy Stacks to push the peak Hunter back a dozen steps. The man left a deep footprint in the ground with each step he took.

    Although it took many words to describe their exchange, it actually took ce instantly. In fact, it looked as if their shoulders had only touched before that Hunter expert was forced back.

    Countless people were astonished. Although the crowd knew that Lu Yin¡¯s strength was extraordinary, he was still just an Explorer. But despite his low realm, they had just witnessed him overwhelm a peak Hunter with his own power. Didn¡¯t people say that Lu Yin had to rely on external items and tools to kill Hunters and Enlighters?

    Countless people throughout the Outerverse felt their scalps go numb, as they had just watched an Explorer forcefully push past a peak Hunter, which was unbelievable. This show of force truly demonstrated the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s talent as well as his immeasurable future.

    At this moment, no one was more stunned than the peak Hunter himself. He had actually been pushed back! His pupils shrank, as he could not understand how an Explorer had repelled him. Also, he had realized that this person had actually used Seventy Stacks to push him back despite merely being an Explorer. It was only then that the Hunter suddenly remembered that, right before they fled from the dojo, an Explorer had visited Mt. Stacks Dojo, climbed to the tenth level of the gravitational training grounds, and beaten the young master¡¯s records. This Hunter had been on the ninthndmass himself during that, but could this youth have been this person?

    Lu Yin looked towards the inner regions of East San Dios where Wendy Yushan was also looking out at him.

    Lu Yin began walking towards her.

    That peak Hunter still wanted to stop Lu Yin, but Lan Si appeared and waved his hand, causing the expert to back down. The Arbiter then exchanged nces with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simrly looked at the older youth.

    ¡°This show of strength was not wise,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Lan Si sped his hands behind his back. ¡°This isn''t about a show of strength; I¡¯m simply exercising my authority. This is the authority of the Ten Arbiters, and this ce is under the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s territory. You are trespassing.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°Dojo Master Lan¡¯s body hasn¡¯t even turned cold yet, but instead of grieving, you¡¯ve actuallye here instead to make a fool of yourself.¡±

    Behind Lan Si, Tie San roared, ¡°Outrageous! How dare you talk to an Arbiter like that!¡±

    Lan Si did not mind Lu Yin¡¯s words, as he had alreadye to see Lu Yin as someone who was on the same level as the Arbiters. ¡°After my birth, my father told us that if we chose to live asmoners, then he would be able to guarantee that we would lead a life without worries that was full of happiness. However, if we chose to cultivate, we might die at any moment. This choice also applied to him. The universe is cruel and the onlyw is the survival of the fittest. Do you think that you can survive?¡±

    Lu Yin was amused by Lan Si¡¯s response. ¡°At least I¡¯m sure that you can¡¯t determine my survival.¡±

    Liu Shaoge walked out and stood about ten meters behind Wendy Yushan as he watched the situation unfold with great interest.

    Barley and the others also came out, and they warily watched the confrontation. Ever since this Arbiter had arrived in the Outerverse, they had already known that this moment would arrive. However, they had not expected it to arrive so quickly, much less that it would take form in such a direct confrontation.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite confident,¡± Lan Simented.

    Lu Yin stared at the other youth. ¡°I heard that you want to reorganize the councilors and reestablish the council''s authority to supervise and judge the Outerverse¡¯s younger generation. And will that include the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Not only the Great Eastern Alliance, but also you.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s expression changed, as this sentence was essentially a deration of war. Lan Si wanted Lu Yin to submit.

    Outside East San Dios, countless people were so nervous that they could hardly breathe as they watched on in trepidation.

    Lu Yin alone represented the entire Great Eastern Alliance that had risen to influence the entire Outerverse. In addition, he was also supported directly by the Hall of Honor.

    On the other side, there was one of the Ten Arbiters, who simrly represented the powers behind him. He was someone who stood at the peak of the younger generation, and he was simrly backed by the Hall of Honor.

    The conflict between these two not only involved the Outerverse Youth Council, but it also extended much further to cover the entire Outerverse¡¯s situation.

    When Lan Si had arrived in the Outerverse after fleeing from the Innerverse, Yuan Shi had not paid any attention to the youth. This was because Yuan Shi had the power to do so. The Sea King¡¯s Dome had Elder He who could simrly ignore the Arbiter, but it would be different if Elder Da or the others were present. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ influence had not yet reached the level where they could rival an Envoy¡¯s, but they certainly surpassed the importance of an average Enlighter.

    In Millions City, Qiong Xi''er and Wei Rong were both watching the livestream. Even Wei Rong was feeling a bit nervous at this moment, as nobody knew which direction the situation would develop in.

    The Great Yu Empire, the Vastdearth Sect, the Neo-Vestige Sect, and even Ironblood Weave and distant Southside Weave had people who were watching this take ce.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You really don¡¯t understand the current situation, and you certainly don¡¯t understand me.¡±

    ¡°Try exining it then.¡± Lan Si remained calm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he raised his head and sharply said, ¡°In the current Outerverse, if I, Lu Yin, want San Dios to have influence, then it will have influence. And if I don¡¯t wish it, then it will not. This is unrted to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Countless people felt their hearts race, as this was basically another deration of war.

    Tie San and the others became furious, but not one of them dared to intervene. They could tell that their young master held this person in very high esteem despite him only being an Explorer.

    Eh? Hold on. An Explorer? Tie San suddenly recognized this person¡¯s identity, as there was only one person who could possibly earn the young master¡¯s respect as an Explorer. Not many freaks of that caliber could be found throughout the entire universe, and it was already shocking that one had appeared. Thus, this Lu Yin absolutely had to be the same person.

    ¡°Hahaha.¡± Lan Siughed to his heart¡¯s content. ¡°This is a rather unfamiliar feeling. Ever since the ten of us were appointed as the Ten Arbiters, no one else in the same generation has ever been able to challenge us. Lu Yin, you are the first! Hahaha, how refreshing.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°You guys were able to eliminate the others, so I can naturally eliminate you as well.¡±

    ¡°Well spoken. You want to rece me as one of the Ten Arbiters?¡± Lan Si barked.

    Lu Yin tightly clenched both of his fists. ¡°Not rece¡ªbanish.¡±

    He said this in a very provocative tone. Lan Si had wanted to subdue Lu Yin in front of everyone and then supervise and judge Lu Yin along with the rest of the Outerverse¡¯s youths. If the Outerverse was not still isted from the Innerverse, then Lu Yin would have had no choice but to tuck his tail between his legs and survive. However, not only were the Innerverse and Outerverse still separated, but Lu Yin had also established the Great Eastern Alliance and even be an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor. Lan Si still dared speak to Lu Yin in such a condescending manner, which was the same as insulting him.

    Lan Si was getting excited. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you can beat me, then you will be one of the Ten Arbiters. However-¡± Lan Si suddenly grew deadly serious. ¡°If you lose, then not only will you have to answer to the council¡¯s supervision, but you must also forfeit a certain status.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Status?¡±

    ¡°Honor Chosen,¡± Lan Si slowly answered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he solemnly stared at Lan Si. Lu Yin finally understood. This person had never ced the Outerverse Youth Council as his goal. This organization wielded great authority over the younger generation and was able to influence the conflicts of the Outerverse¡¯s various organizations to some level. However, this authority would not be of much value to Lan Si unless he wanted to unify the Outerverse, though as someone from the Innerverse, it was impossible for Lan Si to even desire to unify the Outerverse.

    The reason why Lan Si had reorganized the council and had chosen new councilors was all in anticipation of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival. Lan Si wanted to take advantage of this situation to force Lu Yin to surrender his position as an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor. In fact, this position was Lan Si¡¯s true objective from the very beginning.

    Every person in the upper echelons of the Hall of Honor could only designate a single Honor Chosen. Not even the Ten Arbiters were guaranteed to be one. After all, they were not from the Neoverse. This was why Lan Si had plotted against Lu Yin.

    An Honor Chosen was not just a position of status and power, but also an opportunity topete in the Astral Tower for the chance to obtain an inheritance from the Sierrasea. It was a chance topete for a Progenitor''s inheritance.

    It was no wonder why Lan Si had been focused on East San Dios. His actions had beenpletely illogical, but at this moment, everything became crystal clear.

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes were fervent, as his objective was indeed the Honor Chosen position. Before the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, he had tried all sorts of methods and contacted many people in the upper levels of the Hall of Honor in order to be one of the Honor Chosen, as his final goal was topete for an inheritance in the Sierrasea. The Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen were not the only ones who were qualified topete, as the Cosmic Sect, Mavis family, and other apex powers were also qualified to send contestants topete for the Sierrasea¡¯s inheritance. Lan Si had put in a lot of effort, but all of his attempts had failed.

    Lan Si had never imagined that there would actually be a powerhouse like Yuan Shi in the Outerverse. After fleeing from the Innerverse, he had discovered this opportunity the moment heid eyes on Yuan Shi. Yuan Shi normally stayed in the Outerverse all year round, usually in cryostasis. Not only was this elder qualified to select a Chosen, but he had also likely not done so either. Lan Si had thus immediately requested to meet with some high ranking members of the Hall of Honor.

    Unfortunately, he had soon discovered that Yuan Shi had already designated his Honor Chosen and that he had given the position to Lu Yin. Lan Si had been one step toote.

    Lan Si had considered his options for quite a long time, and he had even specifically looked into everything concerning Lu Yin and what he had done over thest four years. After that, Lan Si had decided to reestablish the Outerverse Youth Council in order to use this organization as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Lu Yin. Otherwise, there would be no meaning for Lan Si to be enemies with Lu Yin just because of the Outerverse Youth Council.

    However, the Innerverse was currently cut off from the Outerverse, so even if Lan Si sessfully managed to obtain the position of Honor Chosen, he still might not necessarily be able to visit the Neoverse andpete for the Sierrasea¡¯s inheritance. Still, as long as there was even a trace of hope, he would not give up.

    Only by bing the Sierrasea¡¯s heir and bing one of the Cosmic Five would he then have a chance of bing one of the pinnacle experts in this universe. Then, he might even have a chance to be¡ªa Progenitor.

    This was the dream of countless cultivators, and even Lan Si was no exception.

    Others were not clear on what being an Honor Chosen actually meant, and the members of the media had not even heard of the term before. There were only a select few in the universe who understood what Lan Si had even said.

    When these people learned that Lan Si¡¯s objective was to be an Honor Chosen, quite a few quickly understood the point of all his actions up to this moment.

    ¡°So this is your objective,¡± Lu Yin said slowly. Sure enough, the Ten Arbiters did not only rely on their backgrounds and brute strength to move forwards. Their schemes had a certain unique quality to them as well.

 Chapter 902: Bet

    <h4>Chapter 902: Bet</h4>

    Lan Si looked at Lu Yin intently. ¡°So? Do you dare? If you beat me, you¡¯ll be an Arbiter.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Do you think that I would agree to your challenge so rashly? However, if you agree to let me use my items, then I can agree.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head andughed. ¡°Just forget about it if you want to use your items. Between the Ten Arbiters, foreign objects have never been used in any of our contests, as this is actually a rule: you¡¯ll have topete with your own abilities. Of course, I know that this battle is unfair to you, and so, you can choose the time. I can wait for you to choose when you want to challenge me, and the bargaining chips will remain as a position as one of the Ten Arbiters and the Honor Chosen. Do you dare, or do you not?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes locked onto Lan Si. ¡°I¡¯m already an Honor Chosen whereas your position as one of the Ten Arbiters is not very valuable to me. That¡¯s because, as soon as I am able to, I can challenge any one of you Arbiters at any time and win the position of an Arbiter. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m already a member of the Council of Astral Academy, so I am already one of the higher members of the Ten Arbiters Council. Actually, my position is second only to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lan Si nodded. ¡°So what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously replied, ¡°I¡¯ll choose a time, and we can have a fair battle then. If I win, you have to support me unconditionally from that point onwards, and that will include your Lan family.¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes grew sharp, as this condition was too presumptuous.

    ¡°An Honor Chosen¡ªyou should be very clear about what that position represents: the possibility of stepping onto the level of a legend. Without that status, even if you make it to the Neoverse, you still won¡¯t be able to reach the Astral Tower. Consider this carefully," Lu Yin tempted the Arbiter.

    Lan Si was amused at Lu Yin¡¯s behavior. ¡°Alright, I agree. Choose a date.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes opened wide. ¡°Let¡¯s have our battle before the Innerverse and Outerverse are reconnected.¡±

    Lan Si raised his hand and stuck out his palm.

    Lu Yin simrly raised a hand and grasped his palm.

    The wind generated by the two sping hands sent shockwaves through the void, which warped as the shockwave gradually dissipated. This handshake signified their agreement.

    Countless people from various media outlets recorded and took pictures of this scene. Ever since the initial rise of the Ten Arbiters, this was the first time a challenge had ever been issued. Before this, there had never been anything even close to a challenge, and most people had not even known what any of the Arbiters looked like.

    Lan Si had gambled quite a bit for this chance to win the position of an Honor Chosen.

    After obtaining Lu Yin¡¯s agreement, Lan Si left East San Dios, as he actually did not care about the Outerverse Youth Council.

    Lu Yin stared at Lan Si¡¯s back as the Arbiter left and considered things. The Arbiter seemed to be very confident that the Innerverse would be able to defend against the Sixth Maind.

    After Lan Si left, the various reporters also left. Lan Si had achieved his objective, and there would be no more breaking news to be had at this ce. As for Lu Yin, none of the media members were willing to push him for too much information.

    ¡°Are you confident?¡± Wendy Yushan asked as she moved next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was Lan Si, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. He was a genius with a powerful innate gift and was an expert on the same level as White Knight. Although Wendy had never exchanged blows with Lan Si before, she knew that she would be easily defeated even if she used her secret technique. Simrly, despite Lu Yin being extremely powerful and improving at a blinding speed, he was still quite far from being able to challenge one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Rx. There¡¯s a great deal of time left before the fight. I¡¯ve already reached this level after less than ten years of cultivation. With just a few more years, my strength will definitely increase much further.¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ fame has been earned through many battles, and nobody knows the depths of their true strength. Be careful¡ªyou might have a secret technique, but he may have one as well.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. In the Starfall Sea, there were only two youths who had been able to exchange blows with Imprinters. One had been the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Bai Ling, and the other had been the Divine Fist, Lan Si. Lu Yin had been the final exception, and so there were a total of three youths with such aplishments including Lu Yin.

    It was precisely because he had challenged Imprinters that Lu Yin better understood their terror, as star energy was essentially useless against such powerhouses. Whether it was their battle experience, reactions, understanding of star energy, or even their control of time and space, an Imprinter was simply too terrifying in all aspects. Lu Yin had been forced to rely on his Truesight to barely hold on, which was a true Progenitor''s inheritance. It could only be imagined what level of strength was required to battle against an Imprinter on equal footing.

    Lan Si was capable of doing so, and it was definitely not only due to the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had not been able to observe the Arbiter during the intense battle on Grayweed Continent. Otherwise, he would be better informed of the Arbiter¡¯s strength.

    Of course, Lu Yin was not afraid of Lan Si either. With the Yu Secret Art, Truesight, Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, and his spiritual force that could rival what the Ten Arbiters themselves possessed, Lu Yin was absolutely confident in facing Lan Si with just a few more years¡¯ time.

    Lu Yin could not avoid this fight. If he tried to dodge it, then he would lose all credibility, and that would disrupt his future ns. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how he would also lose the various benefits that he had built up over the years while also gaining a new enemy in the form of Mt. Stacks Dojo, which would be troubling.

    He then turned around to see Liu Shaoge¡¯s beaming smile. This person was a wily fox, and it felt as though he was bing more and more like Silver. Nobody knew what this person was thinking, and Lu Yin was very wary of him.

    Next, Lu Yin strongly reminded Barley once again to not let Liu Shaoge leave East San Dios by himself before leading Wendy Yushan back to the Great Yu Empire.

    Liu Shaoge did not talk to Lu Yin throughout this entire process, and he appeared to just be watching the show.

    Lu Yin had been away from Zenyu Star for more than half a year, and he had rather missed the capital. Perhaps it was because the fighting in the Innerverse had been too bitter, or perhaps it was due to the narrow escape. However, something had made him miss those peaceful days on Zenyu Star.

    He immediately returned to King Zishan''s pce, where Bei Qing had been waiting for Lu Yin for quite some time.

    Lu''s Grand Auction had not conducted any auctions with premium goods for more than half a year now, and many people were getting impatient.

    As such, Lu Yin passed the cosmic ring that he had gotten from Gui Bing to Bei Qing, as there were quite a few good items within it. This person had been an Imprinter¡¯s disciple, and he had possessed some quite valuable items. Still, Lu Yin had not fancied any of them, and they just so happened to be suitable for being auctioned. Of course, Lu Yin also passed over three pills that he had upgraded earlier to Bei Qing. The rune lines on these pills nearly matched those of an Enlighter, and they possessed an extremely efficacious healing effect. He had spent 20,000 star essence to upgrade each pill, and now that he was auctioning them, he naturally set the starting bid at 30,000. He did not actually care if anyone bought these pills.

    Bei Qing left in high spirits, and he also delivered the profits from thest auction to Lu Yin.

    Lu''s Grand Auction had be widely regarded as the top auction house in the entire Outerverse, especially since it only epted payments in the form of star essence, which greatly set it apart from any other auction house. Every time an auction was held there, there was a full house, which delighted Bei Qing every time while also lining Lu Yin¡¯s pockets.

    The Mavis Bank had the toughest time because of the auction, and the Mavis Bank branch on Zenyu Star was forced to frequently transfer star essence over from other branches, which left the manager very unhappy. They had already spoken with Bei Qing several times, hoping to convince Lu''s Grand Auction to ept star energy crystals. However, all of their requests had been rejected by Bei Qing, as he did not dare to make such a decision on his own.

    Lu Yin checked his own finances and saw that he had 3,289,000 star essence, which was simply too wealthy. If he used it all on the die¡¯s six pips: Possession, he had no idea who he would end up Possessing. It might even take him outside of the Upper Three Gates, and he was rather looking forward to seeing what would happen.

    After Bei Qing left, Zhao Ran happily entered the room and poured a vored tea for Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, this is the vored tea that you drank before, but I¡¯ve improved it. Would you like to try it?¡± She then looked at Lu Yin with clear expectations.

    Lu Yin looked with curiosity at Zhao Ran who was holding onto a red invitation card. He could not help but ask, ¡°Whose invitation letter is that? Is your friend getting married?¡±

    Zhao Ran looked down at the letter. ¡°Oh! I nearly forgot. There was a girl that wanted this delivered to Your Highness.¡± She then hurriedly took the invitation card and passed it over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin epted the card and opened it. His expression slightly changed as soon as he saw the contents. This invitation letter was from Amethyst Exchange, as Zi Rong and Zi Xue were about to be married.

    His eye twitched, as Zi Xue was actually going to get married to Zi Rong. He did not know what emotions he was feeling, but Zi Xue was definitely Bai Xue. Lu Yin and Bai Xue did not have any sort of intimate rtionship, but Bai Xue was clearly not alright. Thus, this marriage made him feel ufortable, and he also felt a bit nervous.

    Eh? Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as he saw that there was a secondyer to the letter, and he quickly tore it open. There was another piece of paper, and written on it were the words, ¡°Save Bai Xue.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he looked at Zhao Ran. ¡°Who delivered this invitation?¡±

    Zhao Ran scratched her head and thought about it, but she could not remember.

    Lu Yin immediately called Kayze inside.

    Kayze respectfully answered, ¡°It was the Goddess, Luo Shen.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised by this answer, as he had never expected her to be the one to deliver the letter. This meant that the secret letter had been ced by Luo Shen, and that she was also aware that Zi Xue was Bai Xue. Did that mean that Luo Shen was asking Lu Yin to save Bai Xue? He guessed that there might also be another possibility, which was that perhaps Bai Xue was using Luo Shen to ask Lu Yin for help.

    Lu Yin remained silent, but he left King Zishan''s pce and headed towards Amethyst Exchange to speak with Zi Xianxian.

    She was still in the same office, sitting leisurely on a pink sofa and browsing thework with her door open when Lu Yin arrived.

    Zi Xianxian nced over at him. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You knew that I left?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t underestimate Amethyst Exchange¡¯s intelligence.¡± Zi Xianxian was pleased with herself.

    Lu Yin was amused, but he did not contest herment. ¡°Your second brother is about to marry Zi Xue, correct?¡±

    Zi Xianxian grunted. ¡°If not for you, I would have already left. It works well that you¡¯re here now, so let¡¯s call Cai Jianqiang and get moving.¡±

    ¡°I recall that their rtionship seemed very casual at the border defense. Why are they getting married so quickly?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes and stared at Lu Yin. She just stood there, staring at him without speaking.

    Lu Yin started to get ufortable. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    Zi Xianxian snorted. ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you hoping that my Second Brother won¡¯t marry Zi Xue? I¡¯ve already told you this: Zi Xue is not that whatever-Bai Xue you knew.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I know. I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    However, Zi Xianxian clearly did not believe him. ¡°I¡¯m debating over whether or not I should talk with my family about uninviting you.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°That¡¯s not really up to you.¡±

    Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes, as she truly could not make such a decision about this wedding. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status in the Outerverse, if Amethyst Exchange did not invite him, then it would be no different than looking down upon the entire Great Eastern Alliance, and the repercussions of doing so would be too severe. Such an insult would lead to a conflict at least as severe as what Aegis had had with the Great Eastern Alliance in the past. Aegis had shed with the alliance over conflicting interests whereas uninviting Lu Yin to this wedding would simply be pping the entire Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s face.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t make a scene when you get there. My brother and Sister Zi Xue are really in love, so don¡¯t even dream of trying to break them up,¡± Zi Xianxian warned sternly.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I have no interest in Zi Xue. Rest assured, there is someone else who I like.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s now dictating that you can only marry one person,¡± Zi Xianxian mumbled. She then seemed to think of something before suddenly looking at Lu Yin with a bit of interest. ¡°I heard that you confronted the Divine Fist and even made a bet with him?¡±

    Lu Yin casually sat down near the girl. ¡°Sell me all the information that you have regarding Lan Si. I can pay you well for it.¡±

    Zi Xianxian shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t make that kind of decision.¡±

    ¡°Who can?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Nobody, because that information will forever remain rotting in our belly. Releasing such information would only bring disaster upon us. But I can remind you of one thing, and of course, in exchange, you have to promise not to make a scene at my brother¡¯s wedding ceremony,¡± Zi Xianxian said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I promise.¡±

 Chapter 903: Skylush Planet

    <h4>Chapter 903: Skylush</h4>

    Zi Xianxian frowned, as Lu Yin¡¯s quick agreement made his words seem fake. Still, she could only trust him. ¡°ording to popr spection, the Divine Fist, Lan Si, seems to have always been testing out some sort of battle technique or art. However, nobody knows any real details.¡±

    ¡°You might as well not have told me anything at all,¡± Lu Yin replied in an unhappy tone.

    Zi Xianxian red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t look down upon this information. This means that Lan Si hasn¡¯t sessfully cultivated that battle technique, which means there¡¯s still room for you to grow stronger. However, that also means that, with enough time, he may be stronger even faster than you. A single piece of information can be used to analyze many things.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered, as her response was well said.

    ¡°Let me ask you this: did Lan Si go into seclusions thatsted for about a month on a rather frequent basis?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t mention anything else. Anyways, not a single one of the Ten Arbiters is simple by any means. You scheduled a battle with him, but I¡¯m not very optimistic of your chances. If you were allowed to use items, then I¡¯d bet on you. The Divine Fist has the Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent as his backing, but even he can¡¯tpare to you when ites to external items.¡±

    Lu Yin did not stay at Amethyst Exchange for long, and he quickly returned to King Zishan''s pce for a day before meeting up with Zi Xianxian and Cai Jianqiang and heading out towards Amethyst Exchange¡¯s headquarters: Skylush.

    Skylush was amercial, but it was also amercial fortress. It was actually a mobile, and it was essentially just an iparably huge shopping mall. The various Amethyst Exchanges in the Outerverse were all created in the form of Skylush, though shrunk countless times over.

    Any brand items from anywhere in the entire Outerverse that could be named could be found on Skylush. At this ce, there were only goods that one could not afford, but there was nothing that could not be found.

    At this time, Skylush was located in the central region of the Outerverse, and with the speed of a radiant-grade Aurora, the three people were able to arrive after two days of travel. With ess to some of the military expressways between Frostwave Weave and Armament Weave, they managed to arrive at Skylush on the noon of the third day.

    Even from a distance, Skylush was brightly lit, and it looked like a city that never slept. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s group was still some distance away, themercial vor of the was still apparent to them at first nce.

    Lu Yin sat in the spacecraft while staring off into the distance. He could see that Skylush was filled with runes and that there were also Enlighters on this. They were likely experts who had been hired by Amethyst Exchange, simr to Mr. Tradeo, who had fought at the Technocracy border defense.

    Lu Yin believed that Amethyst Exchange was supported by more than just Mr. Tradeo, but he could not discover any other experts through the currently visible rune lines.

    However, there was quite a considerable number of Hunters roaming around.

    There were still a few days left before the grand ceremony started. The Amethyst Exchange had sent out invitations half a year ago, which was right after the war at the border had concluded. Most of the guests had arrived by now, including some members of the Dark Phoenix family, Millions City, Shamrock Enterprises, the Nn family, Endless Borders, and Aegis.

    The resplendent shopping center towered high in the sky as it illuminated this entire region of the universe. Battleships constantly patrolled the area to prevent any mishaps from urring.

    In the Outerverse, an entire weave might not necessarily have even a single Enlighter, but Amethyst Exchange was a colossal entity.

    Zi Xianxian had already informed the of Lu Yin¡¯s imminent arrival, and the Chairman of Amethyst Exchange personally weed him in. This man¡¯s name was Zi Tianchuan, and he was also Zi Rong and Zi Xianxian¡¯s father.

    Lu Yin had long since heard of Zi Tianchuan, as this person had demonstrated an iparable gift for business from a young age. After the man became a merchant, he had gained great power and still heldplete authority over every aspect of Amethyst Exchange. This man was a powerful person.

    It was just a pity that his cultivation was rather weak and that he was still nothing more than a Cruiser.

    With Zi Tianchuan¡¯s status, even if he was just a regr person, no one would dare to look down upon him.

    ¡°Wee, Alliance Leader Lu. We are honored by your presence. I am Zi Tianchuan, and I am here to specially wee you.¡± Zi Tianchuan stepped forward to wee Lu Yin the moment the youth stepped out of the space station in a very cordial manner.

    Lu Yin hurried to courteously reply, ¡°Chairman Zi is too polite. I¡¯m friends with Zhao Rann, so I should call you Uncle Zi.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan smiled. ¡°That won¡¯t do. My son is getting married, and we troubled Alliance Leader Lu toe here personally.¡± He then looked over at Cai Jianqiang. ¡°If I¡¯m correct, this should be the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Cai Jianqiang. Wee to Skylush.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang smiled. He always liked it when he was referred to as a Lockbreaker by others. ¡°Chairman Zi is too polite.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Having you two guests arrive has brought light to my humble abode. Please.¡± Zi Tianchuan looked very happy.

    Lu Yin and Cai Jianqiang followed the chairman away from the space station, where there were already some floating vehicles waiting for them. Although they were able to easily tear through the void and go anywhere they wished, such behavior was considered exceptionally rude when in someone else¡¯s territory.

    ¡°Father, did you not see me?¡± Zi Xianxian was very upset, and sheined loudly.

    Zi Tianchuan red at his daughter. ¡°You still have no manners. We¡¯ll speak again once we return. For now, receive our distinguished guests.¡±

    ¡°What distinguished guests? We¡¯re already so familiar with each other,¡± Zi Xianxian grumbled.

    Zi Tianchuan nced at her, but then he smiled and led Lu Yin and Cai Jianqiang over to a vehicle.

    The Zi family naturally had its own procedures, and they weed their guests in a very specific manner. Lu Yin and Cai Jianqiang were personally escorted by Zi Tianchuan on a tour of Skylush. As an important leader of Amethyst Exchange, the chairman showed the two men a great deal of face by personally escorting them on a tour.

    However, such treatment was not too strange for someone of Lu Yin¡¯s status. The Great Eastern Alliance took up a fifth of the weaves in the entire Outerverse. Furthermore, he was also an Honor Chosen from the Hall of Honor. Although this position had not been officially announced to the universe, the Zi family was naturally able to verify such things on their own, and so, their deferential attitude towards Lu Yin was very reasonable.

    Even if Qiong Shanhai or Gong Ling visited Skylush, they might not actually be received more respectfully than Lu Yin.

    The following day, Zi Tianchuan had Zi Xianxian entertain Lu Yin while the chairman himself went to greet the other guests.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your Second Brother? Why haven¡¯t we seen him yet?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian replied, ¡°He¡¯s supposed to be busy, but he¡¯s probably just annoying Sister Zi Xue. That¡¯s just how he is¡ªhe can¡¯t leave Sister Zi Xue alone for a single moment of his entire life.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°Right, why did Luo Shen send me the invitation?¡±

    ¡°Luo Shen was coincidentally looking for me on Zenyu Star. Maybe it was to thank you personally for saving her, but she went to your home. Unfortunately for her, you weren¡¯t around,¡± Zi Xianxian casually replied.

    ¡°Is she here on Skylush?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian nodded, and she was right about to answer when she suddenly frowned and looked at Lu Yin suspiciously. ¡°Do you still have a thing for Luo Shen?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t go around making wild guesses.¡±

    Zi Xianxian was very pleased with herself. ¡°There¡¯s nothing too strange about it. Luo Shen is very beautiful, she is practically a goddess to countless people, and she even has a kind heart. It¡¯s perfectly normal for you to like her. Why? When do you n to propose a marriage to her to our family?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and did not bother responding to the girl.

    Over the next few days, many people arrived on Skylush one after another and offered their congrattions. Some of them required Zi Tianchuan to personally wee them while Zi Xianxian or her elder brother, Zi Fang, sufficed for others.

    Zi Xianxian kept Lu Yinpany for two whole days before leaving to settle her own affairs.

    Cai Jianqiang also went his own way.

    Lu Yin roamed about Skylush by himself when he saw someone familiar: Starfox. However, the two did not exchange greetings.

    He also saw Qiong Xi''er. This time, the woman was dressed in a rather neutral manner, but she was still teasing her family¡¯s maids as though no one else was around. She simply ignored the curious stares that she attracted from the bystanders even as Zhu San stared at the maid in envy.

    Lu Yin also saw the heirs of quite a few great powers from the various weaves, and they simrly recognized Lu Yin. Upon seeing him, some were apprehensive, some were envious, and others looked at him with adoration. Of course, there were a few who had hostile reactions.

    Regardless of their attitude, these people did not dare to overstep the boundaries when facing Lu Yin. Even those who were from the weaves in the western region could no longer look down upon the Great Eastern Alliance, and they were particrly wary of Lu Yin. His background was too powerful, and he could even disregard the Hall of Honor¡¯s ban on warfare, which made many people afraid of him.

    Boom boom boom!

    In the sky, countless fireworks blossomed and lit up the night sky as they formed all sorts of pictures and messages of congrattions.

    Rays of light shot out as well, casting several shadows behind everyone that stretched far out into the distance.

    Beneath Lu Yin, there was a shadow that seemed exceptionally long, and it had also been following him for a while.

    Lu Yin casually walked along the street, but then he stopped and slowly turned around to see an indifferent-looking youth.

    Lu Yin had noticed this person long ago, and he had actually unintentionally bumped into the youth while roaming the streets. However, this person had started following Lu Yin while staring at him.

    This person was very powerful. Although his rune lines indicated that he was just a Cruiser, Lu Yin felt a different level of strength from him, and he even felt a sense of danger. When considering people who were close to Lu Yin¡¯s age, aside from those who were at the same level as the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings, only those in the top five or top three of the Top 100 Rankings could give Lu Yin such a feeling.

    ¡°What do you want? You¡¯ve been following me for a while,¡± Lu Yin asked softly. Although this person was likely very strong, Lu Yin was unafraid of everyone in the Outerverse aside from Yuan Shi.

    The youth coldly answered, ¡°I¡¯m Goldric Phoenix.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as he was not unfamiliar with this name. This person had been ranked twenty third in terms of military contributions while fighting in Endless Weave, and he had achieved such a high ranking despite only being a Cruiser. This was because he had killed an Enlighter. Although this youth had also relied on items to achieve this feat, it was still very impressive for him to have killed an Enlighter. Wei Rong had specially mentioned this person before, and he had said that he was the most extraordinary genius in the history of the Dark Phoenix family. It was to the extent where they had pinned all their hopes upon him being able to challenge the Ten Arbiters in the future.

    Lu Yin instantly remembered all this after hearing his name, but he had not expected to meet Goldric Phoenix here and now.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you, Mr. Goldric Phoenix,¡± Lu Yin cautiously replied.

    Goldric Phoenix looked at Lu Yin in a serene manner. ¡°Many have said that you were able to climb to your current level because of your items, and I used to believe it. But not now. You''re more powerful than me, and by a lot.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned sharper. ¡°You¡¯re not weak either. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re hailed as the top-rated genius in the entire history of the Dark Phoenix family.¡±

    Goldric Phoenix showed his curiosity. ¡°You made a wager with the Divine Fist. Are you confident?¡±

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Goldric Phoenix frankly answered, ¡°Through you, I want to measure the strength of the Ten Arbiters in order to challenge them myself in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin gave the young man a strange look, as he was very different from the other members of the Dark Phoenix family that Lu Yin had met before. How could he put it? This person was more sincere.

    Perhaps it was due to their innate gift, but the Dark Phoenix family members all had a natural tendency towards the radical side whereas this person was extremely calm.

    Wei Rong had mentioned that nobody had even known about this person before he had turned thirty. At that point in time, he had awakened his innate gift and then quickly risen to fame. It seemed that his personality was connected to his life experiences.

    ¡°Are you possibly asking to spar with me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Goldric Phoenix seriously observed Lu Yin for a moment as he thought it over, but in the end, he shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I will naturally be able to see the difference during your battle with the Divine Fist. There¡¯s no benefit to fighting you myself.¡±

    And with that, he turned to leave.

    After taking just a few steps, he stopped and turned to look back at Lu Yin. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t like the Dark Phoenix family either.¡±

    After that, he truly left.

    Lu Yin had a thoughtful expression; what had thatst sentence meant? Could it be that this person wanted to cooperate with him!?

 Chapter 904: What Is Beauty?

    <h4>Chapter 904: What Is Beauty?</h4>

    After roaming about Skylush for a while, Lu Yin eventually followed along the bank of a wide river that led to the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home.

    The Zi family¡¯s ancestral home was not actually veryrge, though there were many cultivators patrolling the grounds that had barriers erected everywhere.

    Zi Rong and Zi Xue were also residing in this ce, along with some other rtives of the Zi family. Outsiders were not allowed in at this time, as the residence was actually quite small and was unable to fit that many people.

    Lu Yin was blocked when he arrived. He had wanted to see Zi Xue, but he was refused entry.

    But due to Lu Yin¡¯s special status, he was received politely, and the guard notified the upper brass of his arrival.

    It did not take long for Zi Xianxian to arrive at the entrance. She stood there and looked at Lu Yin warily. ¡°I knew that you were going to create a scene. Lu Yin, what do you want? Let me tell you that our Zi family is not easy to push around. Don¡¯t kidnap the bride!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°I have nothing to do with Zi Xue. What kidnapping the bride? I just want to meet with her and talk.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Sister Zi Xue can¡¯t meet with you right now. She¡¯s about to be married to my second brother, so do you really think that it¡¯s appropriate for her to meet you at this time?¡± Zi Xianxian was blunt in her refusal. She was certain that Lu Yin would cause trouble.

    Lu Yin nced past her towards the residence, silent.

    Zi Xianxian became even more apprehensive. ¡°Mr. Tradeo is here, so don¡¯t even think of kidnapping anyone.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless by Zi Xianxian¡¯s stubbornness. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    He then immediately turned to leave.

    Zi Xianxian stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back doubtfully; had he really left that easily? Although she felt puzzled, Zi Xianxian could only hope that Lu Yin would not stir up any trouble. There was no one who dared to capture or detain Lu Yin, as not even Zi Tianchuan would attempt such a thing.

    Zi Xianxian somewhat wanted to order someone to keep an eye on Lu Yin, but she then thought better of it. This person¡¯s strength had reached the level where not just anyone could monitor him, and not even Mr. Tradeo could guarantee doing so without being discovered.

    Lu Yin had not actually given up, as he had simply not found a way to proceed. He really could not just barge in. He did not know exactly what Bai Xue¡¯s situation was, but Luo Shen was currently in the Zi family¡¯s home, and he could not meet her for the moment.

    It seemed that Lu Yin would only be able to wait until the wedding day itself. The truth was that Lu Yin had never had much of a connection with Bai Xue. He was mostly taking action due to a sense of familiarity since they had bothe from Earth. He would naturally help if Bai Xue was in danger, but right now, he did not even know what danger there was. And additionally, it was not wise to be enemies with the Zi family just because of a few words from Luo Shen.

    In the Outerverse, Lu Yin¡¯s reputation was quite decent from themoners¡¯ point of view, as they all consumed the media¡¯s propaganda to form their opinions. However, he was viewed extremely poorly by the various powerful organizations. Countless leaders saw him as an invader, and if he casually created more enemies, then not only would he suffer some public bacsh, but the more important detail was that the Zi family also had ess to too much intelligence, and they would be a rather troublesome opponent.

    Another two days passed peacefully.

    On this day, the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home was opened to a select few people, and Lu Yin was naturally one of them. However, he still was not able to meet Zi Xue or even Luo Shen. Those two women were staying in the inner courtyard that only females were allowed to enter.

    Lu Yin did not even consider trying to enter the inner courtyard, as Zi Xianxian watched him like a hawk the moment he entered the residence. It was as if she was on guard against a legendary thief.

    Zi Tianchuan¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin also seemed to have undergone some changes. It was possible that he might have heard something that made him more vignt towards the youth.

    Lu Yin also noticed Zi Fang, who was currently first in line to take over the Zi family. He seemed to be a normal person who had enjoyed a decent upbringing, but he also gave off a treacherous vibe.

    This person did not have a good impression of Lu Yin. When the Great Eastern Alliance had first been targeted by Aegis, Zi Xianxian had given Lu Yin a few key pieces of intelligence, and in return, she had been berated by her brother. Later, Zi Fang had sent out some people to capture Deng Pu, but Lu Yin simrly had dispatched his subordinates to do the same, which had eventually ruined Zi Fang¡¯s ns. Although indirectly, they could still be considered as enemies.

    However, Lu Yin did not care about the other man. If this person truly dared to be enemies with him, then Lu Yin could simply have the Zi family change their sessor. Zi Xianxian was actually a pretty decent choice even though that brat was always on guard against him.

    While everyone was calmly drinking tea within the courtyard, they heard amotion from nearby.

    ¡°Scram! I don¡¯t want to see you! Get further away from me! How annoying.¡± Qiong Xi''er appeared, looking extremely short-tempered. But what emerged next made Lu Yin blink,pletely taken aback. Right behind her was Zhu San, but he was dressed in female clothing. The juxtaposition initially seemed quite extreme, but the youth¡¯s gestures and movement indeed contained its own feminine charm.

    Lu Yin quickly covered his face, afraid of being recognized by the two new arrivals.

    Originally, Lu Yin had been the one who had convinced Zhu San to try crossdressing in order to get closer to Qiong Xi''er. As a result, that advice had started a rather strange practice in Millions City: wherever Qiong Xi''er went, crossdressers would follow. Naturally, they were all men who wanted to marry Qiong Xi''er and be the son-inw of Millions City¡¯s reigning family.

    Qiong Xi''er had initially been intrigued, but now, she only wanted to vomit at the sight. Zhu San had remained persistent, and he would be resilient until his death.

    ¡°Xi¡¯er, don¡¯t resist. I know that you like me. Come, let¡¯s live happy lives. Right, Xi''er, what do you think of this foundation¡¯s color?¡± Zhu San¡¯s tone sounded quite strange as he tried to imitate a girl¡¯s voice while shouting. He hadpletely lost all restraint.

    Many were stumped and looked at the two youths with strange expressions.

    Some people from the Zi family wanted to stop the two, but then they realized that the two had not actually done anything wrong, and in addition, the two also held significant statuses. Thus, it would be difficult and shameful for the Zi family¡¯s personnel to interfere in such personal matters.

    Qiong Xi''er had just about reached the point of copse when, who knew if it was a coincidence or not, her eyesnded on Lu Yin and lit up. She hurriedly ran over to pat Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Brother Lu, so you were here as well! I¡¯ve been looking for you for several days.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled drily, and then quickly nced around the area. ¡°That- I still have something I need to take care of. You guys have a good time.¡±

    He just wanted to escape from this awkward situation.

    Qiong Xi''er hurriedly stopped Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, what''s the matter? You can tell me, and then we can solve it together. I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    At this moment, Zhu San had arrived as well and he stood behind Lu Yin, ring at him with zing eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t bully a friend¡¯s wife, bro. You have to understand that unchanging rule.¡±

    Lu Yin was rather speechless at this point. He looked at Zhu San, who was covered in heavy makeup and garbed in female clothing. Would people really do anything for love?

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll head out first.¡± Lu Yin did not want to ponder on this any longer.

    However, Qiong Xi''er firmly grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s clothing. She intended to handle the current situation together with Lu Yin. She whispered to him, ¡°You¡¯re the one who got this bastard to start dressing like a woman, so we¡¯ll have to be disgusted together.¡±

    ¡°Who gave you such a strange personality?¡± Lu Yin blurted out.

    Qiong Xi''er snorted. ¡°That¡¯s got nothing to do with why you disgust me.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you enjoy it back then?¡±

    ¡°That was just for show.¡±

    ¡°More like indulging.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be nauseated together forever.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t stop me.¡± Lu Yin stretched his hand out and flicked his middle finger against the back of Qiong Xi''er¡¯s hand. The sudden pain caused Qiong Xi''er to reflexively let go, and Lu Yin quickly slipped away.

    Qiong Xi''er grew angry and snorted. She was a stunning woman, but she only had eyes for other girls.

    Zhu San watched as Lu Yin ran away and nodded in satisfaction. He quickly turned to continue flirting with Qiong Xi Er once again.

    Before long, Lu Yin returned and sat down across from Qiong Xi''er with a calm expression.

    Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San were both puzzled.

    ¡°Why did youe back?¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er asked.

    Zhu San kept a wary eye on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. I just heard something, so I wanted to share it.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er and Zhu San both looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued, asking, ¡°Do you know what the epitome of feminine beauty looks like?¡±

    The two both shook their heads, though Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes gleamed, and she looked very interested.

    Lu Yin pointed at the sky. ¡°They''re like clouds, visible yet fleeting. Free from adornments and pure like a hibiscus growing from the clear waters of River Luo.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s breath quickened. ¡°Who did you see? Is she as pretty as Starsibyl?¡±

    To many, no one was more beautiful than Starsibyl. Her beauty was just too famous.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I saw the girl who¡¯s about to wed Zi Rong. Her name is Zi Xue, and she¡¯s simply too beautiful. In my opinion, she looks even better than Starsibyl.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er did not believe him. ¡°Impossible. How could a girl be that pretty?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, such a beauty is about to be wedded off to that crude Zi Rong. Then, there will be no one to show her tenderness.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s eyes flitted about, and she quickly stood up and left.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°To get a look at that cutie!¡± Qiong Xi''er said excitedly. She sounded quite eager, as she liked beautiful women.

    Zhu San was stumped, and he turned to look at Lu Yin with a nk expression.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to chase after her?¡±

    ¡°No, that courtyard doesn¡¯t allow any males to enter,¡± Zhu San said.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Careful, as your dear Xi''er might be stolen away. I¡¯ve heard that Zi Xue is fine with either gender.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s eyes flushed red when he heard that. Qiong Xi''er was the same, and she was also very pretty. If she met another person who was just as beautiful as she was, then how could Zhu Sanpete? He would have a love rival, but they would be a girl.

    Zhu San could not sit still, and he hurriedly chased after Qiong Xi¡¯er.

    Lu Yin watched the two people and his eyes flickered mischievously. Make a scene. The noisier, the better.

    Sure enough, before much time passed, amotion indeed broke out at the entrance to the inner courtyard. Zhu San had tried to sneak in, but his male sex had been quickly discovered, upon which he had begun screaming loudly. It sounded like he was making a confession, and he was even shouting about how Zi Xue was happy with either gender, which caused many people to look at the youth strangely.

    The Zi family could not do much to Zhu San, as the Zhu family was not to be trifled with.

    When Zi Tianchuan learned of this matter, he became so angry that his face turned green.

    At the gate of the courtyard, Zi Rong, Zi Xianxian, and Zi Fang all showed up. Zi Rong looked rather sullen, and he grabbed Zhu San to toss him out.

    Meanwhile, Zhu San hollered, "Xi''er, don¡¯t go with that girl! You won¡¯t be happy!¡±

    Inside the courtyard, Qiong Xi''er covered her face while looking rather helpless. She had not managed to see Zi Xue. Instead, Luo Shen was standing in front of Qiong Xi¡¯er with a rather nervous expression. Luo Shen had heard about what had happened earlier, and this girl in front of her did not seem to be quite right in the head.

    Qiong Xi''er sighed and looked at Luo Shen. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. So there was another beautiful girl here, the Goddess, Luo Shen. She had heard of this name before. ¡°Little one, I¡¯ve heard that you dance quite well. I can also dance a bit, so shall we dance together?¡±

    Luo Shen retreated several steps and hurriedly shook her head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need.¡±

    At the courtyard¡¯s gate, Zi Rong had his men surround Zhu San. ¡°Throw him off of Skylush.¡±

    ¡°Second Bro, don¡¯t be rash. He¡¯s the Zhu family¡¯s heir. We can¡¯t be disrespectful,¡± Zi Fang said.

    Zi Xianxian frowned. ¡°I think that this person must have drunk too much wine. Take him somewhere to sober up.¡±

    Zhu San was captured and prevented from speaking any longer. His face was also flushed bright red.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Zi Rong suddenly seemed to think of something. He leaned closer to Zhu San and softly asked, ¡°Who told you that Zi Xue is that kind of a person?¡±

    Zhu San was released, and he instantly blurted out, ¡°Brother Lu told me.¡±

    ¡°Which Brother Lu?¡± Zi Fang was puzzled.

    Zi Xianxian and Zi Rong exchanged nces, as they already knew who it was. Zi Rong¡¯s expression changed, and he rushed into the inner courtyard.

    At that moment, in a certain room within the inner court, Lu Yin was meeting with Zi Xue.

    ¡°Do you really have nothing to say to me? If you say the word, I can save you.¡± Lu Yin stared at Zi Xue.

    She remained indifferent. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, my wedding is almost here. You¡¯re not behaving very appropriately.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened. ¡°I¡¯ve already tried my best to treat you as I should, and I only went this far because we¡¯re both from Earth. However, since you have nothing more to say, I¡¯ll give up.¡±

    Zi Xue looked away and remained silent.

 Chapter 905: Accomplishment And Transcending

    <h4>Chapter 905: Aplishment And Transcending</h4>

    At this moment, Zi Rong fiercely mmed the door open and stared angrily at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve overstepped boundaries.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at Zi Rong. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re from the same hometown, so I truly only came here to visit.¡±

    A long de appeared in Zi Rong¡¯s hands and he pointed it straight at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re insulting my reputation and also my Zi family¡¯s.¡±

    Behind him, Zi Xianxian and Zi Fang also arrived, and the void warped a bit as Mr. Tradeo also showed himself. Every single one of them was ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s behavior was no different than cuckolding Zi Rong, and this matter had enraged the entire Zi family.

    Zi Tianchuan also appeared, and he looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, although you control the Great Eastern Alliance and have the support of the Hall of Honor, you still cannot humiliate my Zi family like this! Our Zi family has not done anything to offend you.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°This is my fault. Brother Zi Rong can release his full rage upon me, and I won¡¯t retaliate.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes went wide as he tightly clenched the hilt of his sword.

    Zi Tianchuan set a hand on Zi Rong¡¯s shoulder and stared at Lu Yin. He then said in an unkind tone, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please leave our ancestral home. You are not wee here. On the day of the wedding, you may attend¡ªAlliance Leader Lu may be present, but you¡¯ll have to forgive my Zi family for no longer treating you well.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded before his figure shed as he vanished by tearing through the void.

    Zi Rong hurriedly ran from where he was standing over to Zi Xue and asked how she was doing with concern.

    Zi Tianchuan softly warned everyone, ¡°No one is to speak of this matter.¡±

    He pointedly stared at Zi Fang. ¡°Especially you.¡±

    Zi Fang hurriedly acknowledged the orders.

    Zi Xianxian had an unbearably bitter expression. ¡°I¡¯m going to go find him and ask him about this.¡±

    ¡°Stay where you are. What¡¯s your status and what¡¯s his status? How are you qualified to question him?¡± Zi Tianchuan barked. He was in a rotten mood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cause any trouble,¡± he ordered as he left.

    Mr. Tradeo remained standing in ce, muttering to himself. It seemed as though he had thought of something or perhaps not. Everything about him seemed rather empty.

    He was an Enlighter, and although he was not very powerful within his realm, he was the most respected person in the Zi family because he had once studied at the Starsibyl Sect.

    Although this man could not divine matters like Starsibyl, he had still learned some basic knowledge that allowed him to observe the situation and get a feeling for how things would turn out. He was only able to sense things within a limited scope; for example, he had a bad premonition at this moment.

    ¡°Mr. Tradeo, what''s the matter?¡± Zi Rong had been busy consoling Zi Xue, but he now turned to look at Mr. Tradeo with a strange expression, as the Enlighter was the only one who had stayed behind in the room.

    Mr. Tradeo was taken aback. ¡°Oh, nothing¡¯s the matter.¡±

    He then left.

    Mr. Tradeo had a feeling that this wedding would not proceed smoothly, but he did not mention this matter to anyone. When he had first seen Lu Yin, Mr. Tradeo had received a very strange feeling. All he knew was that he could not offend this person, absolutely not.

    Who wrote history? Time had not been created by man, and nobody could know whether time was a part of the environment or some strange cosmic phenomenon. However, some people were able to use certain methods to transcend the river of time and glimpse or feel certain things in the future. These methods were called¡ªdivination. It was mysterious and iprehensible, but it indeed existed.

    The passage of history was made up by time. The path of this timeline was fixed, and it would proceed along this path for 100, 1,000, 10,000, or even 100,000 years. If the timeline was viewed as a solid line, then certain individuals were able to walk along this solid line and look into the future.

    Perhaps, deep in the universe, there was an existence that could touch time. And those who knew of such existences were those who could perform divination.

    However, seeing more was not necessarily always a good thing. Mr. Tradeo was frightened by his premonitions, and he was now unwilling to offend Lu Yin no matter what.

    At the same time, Lu Yin was feeling quite depressed. He had repeatedly risked offending the Zi family in order to speak with Bai Xue, as he had hoped to be able to save her. Unfortunately, despite everything, the woman refused to speak. Not only had Lu Yin aplished nothing, but he had also offended the Zi family in the process.

    If not for the fact that they were both from Earth, Lu Yin really felt no desire to ever try helping this woman again.

    Now that the wedding was imminent, Lu Yin could barely bring himself to even care anymore. Everyone had their own path, and just as he had said, he had already done what he could.

    At that moment, his gadget beeped with a notification, and Lu Yin looked down. The message caused his expression to change slightly, and he checked his surroundings before suddenly vanishing.

    Soon after, Lu Yin appeared atop a wooden bridge spanning a thin river. Joining him on the bridge was Luo Shen, whose white clothes were fluttering in the breeze. Her golden hair hung to her waist, showing off her supple and beautiful body. Even though she had a noble aura that seemed to seep from her bones, she also had a peaceful and epting expression. She looked like the girl next door, but her golden hair also seemed to belong to a lofty empress. The conflicting auras made those who saw her have a very strange feeling.

    ¡°Were you looking for me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Shen turned to look at Lu Yin, and obvious delight shed through the depths of her eyes. ¡°Ah, Brother Lu, please save Sister Bai Xue.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already done my best. If she doesn¡¯t say anything, then how am I supposed to save her?¡±

    Luo Shen¡¯s restless fingers fiddled with her hair, and she looked as though she was hesitating about whether to say something.

    Lu Yin walked over next to the young woman and looked down at the flowing river water. It was so clear that he could see the riverbed as well as the fish swimming through the water. The entire scene was very peaceful.

    There was also an older person off in the distance, fishing.

    This was Skylush, and those who could stay here had either been born to privilege or had moved hereter on in life after gaining privilege.

    Although Skylush was not as safe as Millions City, it was still one of the safest ces in the Outerverse. The people who lived here were all very content and did notck wealth.

    Anything on this could be sold at extravagant prices.

    Compared to any other ce in the universe, everything on the Skylush could be considered a local specialty, even if it was just a fish.

    Coincidentally, a fish leaped up into the air and spat a stream of water at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled, reached out to grab it, and gave it to the fisherman.

    The old man expressed his thanks.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I don¡¯t know why Sister Bai Xue isn¡¯t telling you anything. I know that she¡¯s facing a problem, but perhaps it¡¯s because she doesn¡¯t even really know what the problem is,¡± Luo Shen said in a soft tone but firm gaze. It looked as though she had finally decided to speak up.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°Exin.¡±

    "Zi Rong likes Sister Bai Xue, and that much is true. However, there¡¯s one more detail: he wants to absorb Sister Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift.¡±

    Lu Yin furrowed his brow. ¡°Absorb her innate gift? What do you mean?¡±

    An innate gift was something that belonged to an individual. Aside from the Lingling n, Lu Yin had never heard of anyone else being able to absorb someone else¡¯s innate gift. Even his die¡¯s Gift Copy could only borrow someone else¡¯s innate gift.

    Luo Shen¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Actually he doesn¡¯t really want to absorb her innate gift. Sister Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift is the gift of blue cier even though it looks like the gift of frost. Her blue cier has a mythical characteristic: it can contain other people¡¯s person¡¯s spiritual force. Through an unknown method, Brother Zi Rong has managed to ce quite a few people¡¯s spiritual force into Sister Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift. Although this seems to be helping her, the truth is that he actually wants to use her innate gift to aplish his own goals.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°How do you know all this?¡±

    Luo Shen softly answered, ¡°Brother Zi Rong sometimes seems to act strangely out of character, and I identally overheard it.¡±

    ¡°Does Bai Xue know about this herself?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know. Perhaps, but perhaps not. Brother Zi Rong hasn¡¯t told her this, and so far, he¡¯s only helped her improve her power and use her innate gift of blue cier to absorb spiritual force.¡±

    Lu Yin watched the river flow by. He seemed to be thinking about something.

    ¡°Brother Lu, Sister Bai Xue has treated me very well. Actually, the name ¡®Luo Shen¡¯ that I use was given to me by her. She has also protected me many different times, and I don¡¯t want her to be tormented by Brother Zi Rong,¡± Luo Shen pleaded.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Even if Zi Rong absorbs her innate gift, that does not mean torture. Didn¡¯t you say that Zi Rong likes her?¡±

    She hurriedly shook her head. ¡°Once her innate gift is absorbed, Sister Bai Xue will no longer be able to cultivate for the rest of her life. That¡¯s what Brother Zi Rong mutters to himself when he¡¯s out of sorts. He¡¯s also in agony over this, but he keeps saying that he has to do this to transcend. I don¡¯t want Sister Bai Xue to be amoner for the rest of her life. I don¡¯t want her to experience the fate of growing old as amoner and dying. She is very pretty right now, so of course Brother Zi Rong likes her. However, once she bes amoner, she¡¯ll rapidly age in just a few decades, and why would he continue to treat her nicely at that time? To a woman, looks are everything. Brother Lu, please save her.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Bai Xue told me anything herself?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know! I really don¡¯t,¡± Luo Shen answered in anguish.

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath. This was very troublesome, as he did not know if Luo Shen was speaking the truth. Lu Yin had interacted with Zi Rong on several asions, and they had even gotten quite close when Cai Jianqiang, Zi Rong, and Lu Yin had all drunk together in the Great Yu Empire. Zi Rong¡¯s forting personality had left a deep impression on Lu Yin, and the powerful Hunter did not seem like someone who suffered from mental instability nor like someone who would sacrifice a loved one to improve his own strength.

    If Zi Rong was truly that kind of person, then Cai Jianqiang would have long since realized it, as the two had known each other for many years.

    In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Zi Rong was pretty decent. Humans could deceive others, change their appearances, and hide their inner thoughts. However, the strength that they disyed could not be faked. Lu Yin had only experienced a single attack in the form of Zi Rong¡¯s Battalion sh, but it had carried an impressive perseverance within it. It had been precisely this perseverance that had slightly changed Lu Yin¡¯s attitude. He actually respected Zi Rong, and Lu Yin hoped that the man was not the type of person Luo Shen was iming him to be.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Luo Shen asked nervously. She pursed her lips.

    Lu Yin did not hide his doubts. ¡°What you¡¯re telling me is simply too incredible, that he can absorb her innate gift? Only the Innerverse¡¯s Lingling n can do such a thing. Zi Rong shouldn¡¯t be able to.¡±

    Luo Shen gritted her teeth and seemed to struggle with something. She then passed Lu Yin a very small piece of surveince equipment. ¡°I¡¯ll prove it.¡±

    And with that, she headed back towards the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home.

    Lu Yin remained standing in the same ce as he silently watched her go.

    Not long after, the elderly fisherman left, though he thanked Lu Yin once more before leaving.

    Everything felt tranquil at the riverside. There were times where fishing seemed to be a very good hobby.

    Lu Yin recalled the Astral River as well as fishing in the Astral River. That was also a pretty decent hobby, but one could easily be dragged in.

    Zi Xianxian streaked past him in the sky, her face twisted in anger. It seemed as though she was searching for something.

    Lu Yinughed, as this brat was definitely looking for him.

    Not long after, Qiong Xi''er also streaked by with the shameless Zhu San still following close behind her.

    A few powerhouses flew across the sky, and some of them were headed towards the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home, which had be very busy.

    Lu Yin was the only rxed person around. He sat beside the river, and nobody found him.

    He activated his gadget and contacted one person: Zhang Dingtian.

    Bai Xue¡¯s big wedding was about to ur, and all Earthlings could be considered as from Bai Xue¡¯s hometown. Thus, naturally, Lu Yin had to share this news with Zhang Dingtian.

    ***

    In the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home, Zi Rong¡¯s anger still had not dissipated, but he was worried that Lu Yin would return. Thus, he simply stood guard outside his fianc¨¦e¡¯s room, waiting for the wedding to ur.

    Luo Shen went to find Zi Rong. ¡°Brother Zi Rong, I want to talk to you.¡±

    Zi Rong was taken aback. ¡°Talk to me? About what?¡±

    Luo Shen hesitated and then looked at the room. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡±

    Zi Rong was amused at this suggestion. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to hide, as there is nothing shameful between us. Speak.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Sister Zi Xue¡¯s innate gift of blue cier,¡± Luo Shen said softly.

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes went wide, and his expression turned ferocious like never before. He stared at her. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Luo Shen replied, ¡°Does Brother Zi Rong still think that this is a suitable ce to talk?¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes shed before he grabbed Luo Shen and moved to another location.

 Chapter 906: Eliminating The Threat

    <h4>Chapter 906: Eliminating The Threat</h4>

    In another ce, Lu Yin looked in the direction of the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home and started slowly walking there.

    Zi Rong and Luo Shen suddenly appeared outside the residence.

    Luo Shen was almost unable to catch her bnce.

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression was downcast as he stared at her. ¡°So, what exactly do you know?¡±

    Luo Shen¡¯s face was pale, and she was clearly frightened. ¡°You- you want to absorb Sister Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Her name is Zi Xue!¡± Zi Rong barked. His expression had be rather malevolent, and it waspletely different from his normal demeanor.

    Luo Shen was frightened by this change, and she took several steps back until she bumped into a wall. With nowhere to go, she looked at Zi Rong in terror.

    Zi Rong exhaled deeply. His eyes were filled with killing intent. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Luo Shen trembled, and she lowered her head, not daring to say a thing.

    ¡°Tell me!¡± Zi Rong ordered.

    Luo Shen¡¯s eyes flushed red. ¡°It- it was one of the times when you were out of sorts. You said it yourself.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s pupils shrank, and he seemed to be unable to ept his own mental instability. He moved forward several steps and stared closely at Luo Shen. ¡°Who did you tell?¡±

    Luo Shen shook her head. ¡°Nobody.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression grew sharp as he stared at her. ¡°Really? You didn¡¯t say anything to anyone?¡±

    Luo Shen hurriedly shook her head.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this now?¡± Zi Rong was puzzled.

    She looked at him with a pleading expression. ¡°Please, release Sister Bai- no, Zi Xue! She has always treated me well, and she even saved my life. I don¡¯t want her to die because of you.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s voice sounded sad. ¡°I like Zi Xue. I won¡¯t hurt her.¡±

    ¡°To a woman, losing her looks is something that¡¯s even more terrifying than death. When you absorb Sister Zi Xue¡¯s innate gift, she won¡¯t be able to cultivate anymore and will be nothing more than amoner. Then, she¡¯ll grow old in just a couple of years. Will you still be able to love her the same then?¡± Luo Shen shouted.

    ¡°I can!¡± Zi Rong shouted back. He pressed a hand against the wall, and a deep killing intent emerged from the depths of his eyes. Luo Shen had discovered his greatest secret, which meant that this woman could not be allowed to live any longer. As for the Amethyst Goddess, the Zi family would be able to nurture many more.

    Luo Shen also sensed the danger to her life, and she looked at Zi Rong in despair. ¡°Please, treat her better.¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes had gone berserk, and his expression showed he was struggling with an internal dilemma that had actually frozen his entire being. Luo Shen had exposed his greatest secret, and this made him turn into someone else entirely.

    Finally, his rationality won out, and Zi Rong slowly moved again. ¡°Rest assured, I won¡¯t harm Zi Xue. However, you can no longer live.¡±

    Luo Shen closed her eyes, and at that moment, she only thought of Lu Yin.

    As Zi Rong swatted at her forehead, the void in the entire area solidified, and a domain swept across before transforming into a towering tree with spread out branches that shot forward to wrap themselves around Zi Rong.

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he pulled out his longsword to attack. A sword light sliced through the domain and separated the sky, drawing a great deal of attention.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to appear next to Luo Shen. He pulled her into his embrace and retreated a thousand meters.

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Lu Yin, it¡¯s you again!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face showed that he was upset. ¡°Bai Xue is my friend. I don¡¯t know what methods you¡¯ve used to control her, but I¡¯m taking her away with me today, and you can¡¯t stop me!¡±

    Zi Rong roared and shed out with his sword. Just this one attack was enough to make Enlighters wary. It was his Battalion sh. In the past, Lu Yin had once received this attack head on, though it had been very difficult for him to do so without using his secret technique. At this moment, as the attack descended upon Lu Yin, his right arm remained wrapped around Luo Shen while he raised his left to unleash Seventy Stacks, which burst forth to meet the sword light. The Oveying Stacks Path collided against the heavy sh, and Lu Yin¡¯s counter attack shattered the attack with a bang.

    The overwhelming force of the explosion rippled through the sky and into the void, which slowly cracked open.

    Countless people on Skylush were terrified by the tremors.

    As the aftershocks spread out, it soon swept over the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home.

    Many of the Zi family¡¯s cultivators charged out and surrounded the two men. Among them were Mr. Tradeo, who appeared instantly, Cai Jianqiang, and Starfox. They were all guests who had been staying inside, and they had noticed the exchange take ce almost as soon as the battle broke out.

    Zi Rong¡¯s pupils shrank, as he had not expected his Battalion sh to be dealt with so easily. How long had it been since that time when he had exchanged blows with Lu Yin in the Great Yu Empire? It had only been two years! Lu Yin¡¯s rate of improvement was far too fast, and Zin Rong was no longer even close to a match for the youth.

    Lu Yin flicked his hand. He had even experienced the terror of going against an Imprinter whose power level had been suppressed to under 200,000, and there was no need to mention Zi Rong. At this point in time, Lu Yin¡¯s personal strength had reached a level where he could go up against an average Enlighter, especially since Truesight allowed him to weaken anyone¡¯s strength.

    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Cai Jianqiang shouted.

    Zi Rong lifted his head. ¡°Lu Yin wants to snatch away Zi Xue, who¡¯s a member of the Zi family. He must be killed! There¡¯s no other choice!¡±

    The people around were shocked, as the Zi family was about to dere war against the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Starfox was rendered speechless, as Lu Yin really was able to stir up trouble wherever he went.

    Cai Jianqiang frowned and looked over at Lu Yin.

    No matter what was going through anyone else¡¯s mind, Zi Rong gave out some orders, and many cultivators from the Zi family attacked Lu Yin as one, even including three Hunters.

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings as his gaze trembled. He then stomped on the ground with his right foot as his eight lined battle force erupted. He then punched the air with an attack imbued with the Oveying Stacks Path, causing visible ripples to appear in the sky. Even the three Hunters were forced back let alone the weaker cultivators.

    The ground was shredded apart in multipleyers, and the endless ripples spread out, caused by powerful fluctuations that extended through the void as the space in the nearby area split open. Lu Yin looked like a god of war at this moment. He simply waved a hand, and although Zi Rong tried to use his sword to block it, he was still blown back.

    Cai Jianqiang felt helpless, and he blocked the attack in front of Zi Rong as he turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, no matter what you believe, Zi Rong¡¯s marriage is not being forced. Doing this is too much.¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother exining, and he simply grabbed a hold of Luo Shen as he vanished with a sh.

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Not good. Go! Rescue Zi Xue!¡±

    Mr. Tradeo hesitated, but then he chased after Lu Yin.

    Cai Jianqiang frowned. He could not understand what sort of madness had possessed Lu Yin. When the three of them had drunk together in the past, the atmosphere between them had been pretty good. Why had the situation devolved to this point?

    ***

    There was a beautiful azure thaty in Frostwave Weave. It was known as Earth.

    There was a mountain on Earth known as Changbai Mountain.

    During the time of Earth¡¯s apocalypse, countless zombies had roamed thend, kickstarting the¡¯s era of cultivation. The Seven Sages had emerged from China, and Bai Xue had been known as the Sage of Aqua, one of the Three Highsages. She had overseen Changbai Mountain, and the Blue Camp had been made up of her subordinates.

    After Bai Xue left, Changbai Mountain had not abolished their former system, and the Blue Camp continued to exist. Aside from Zhao Yu, who had been selected to cultivate at Zenyu Star¡¯s Yu Academy, the other woman remained waiting on the mountain for Bai Xue, as she had saved them in the past.

    Zhang Dingtian stood high in the sky and looked down at the familiar scene. He had not visited Changbai Mountain in a long time.

    He surveyed the surroundings, and his expression grew sharp when he looked at a cave on the side of Changbai Mountain. It was very close to the Blue Camp, but it was usually empty. Nobody would have expected a Cruiser-level expert to be staying there.

    Based on Earth¡¯s standards, a Cruiser was an absolute powerhouse. In the past, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadron Captains had mostly beenposed of Cruisers.

    This person was from the Zi family, and they had been ordered by Zi Rong to keep an eye on the Blue Camp. The moment Bai Xue exposed anything about Zi Rong, this Cruiser would move to eliminate the Blue Camp.

    The Great Yu Empire had some experts stationed on Earth, but none of them were worthy of this Cruiser¡¯s attention. It would take him less than a moment to turn the Blue Camp to dust, and this was precisely why Bai Xue did not dare to say anything. She was constantly being monitored. There were countless people in the Blue Camp who worshipped her, and those who had been closest to her were also being constantly monitored. Even her rtives were in the Blue Camp.

    Zi Rong¡¯s conditions had not been overboard, as he solely wanted to absorb the spiritual force carried within Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift of blue cier, which would cause her to be amoner once again. Bai Xue was willing to give up her cultivation in exchange for these people to be left in peace.

    She had not been able to say a single word to Lu Yin, as annihting the Blue Camp would truly take the Zi family but a moment.

    But since Bai Xue was unable to speak, Lu Yin did so in her stead. The moment Zhang Dingtian appeared above Changbai Mountain, the Zi family cultivator felt that something was off, but at that same moment, Zhang Dingtian¡¯s de sliced down, and the Zi family cultivator realized that he had been exposed.

    ***

    On Skylush, Lu Yin quickly appeared inside of Bai Xue¡¯s room, and he grabbed a hold of her despite her astonished expression. The next moment, the ceiling copsed, and Zi Rong appeared, looking like a furious lion. He pointed his sword at Lu Yin in a menacing manner. ¡°Release my fianc¨¦e.¡±

    The crowd surrounding them all watched themotion take ce.

    Cai Jianqiang also shouted out, ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t go too far!¡±

    Zi Tianchuan suddenly appeared. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t think that you can act as you wish in the Outerverse! My Zi family will not be pushed around.¡±

    Zi Xianxian, Zi Fang, and the others quickly appeared as well.

    The Zi family had invited many guests from all across the entire Outerverse to this wedding, and each one of them had an impressive background. Thus, the events of this day would quickly spread across the Outerverse. As a result, Zi Tianchuan¡¯s irritation towards Lu Yin had already turned into hatred, and Zi Rong¡¯s emotions were even more unrestrained.

    Zi Xianxian facepalmed. What should have happened had still happened. She knew that things would not turn out well this time.

    ¡°Lu Yin, release me,¡± Bai Xue said softly, but also urgently.

    Lu Yin set Luo Shen down in a distant ce, and nobody caused her any trouble.

    ¡°I already know the whole deal. I don¡¯t believe that you don¡¯t know the repercussions of what will happen if Zi Rong absorbs the spiritual force from your innate gift of blue cier. Why did you agree?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°I¡¯m someone who protects my own. You¡¯re from Earth, and so am I. Even if this rtionship is set aside, you¡¯re someone from the Great Yu Empire, and therefore, you are under me. There¡¯s nobody who can bully you.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯m not this Bai Xue you mention. I¡¯m called Zi Xue,¡± Bai Xue rebuffed quietly.

    There were Zi family cultivators all around them, and there were even more peopleing. Lu Yin could not escape, but he also did not even consider such a thing. In the entire Outerverse, only Yuan Shi could present any sort of threat to Lu Yin. No, there was actually still Mister Mu. Perhaps even Yuan Shi might actually not be able to do anything at all to Lu Yin, which meant that he could do as he pleased.

    ¡°Lu Yin, release Zi Xue!¡± Zi Tianchuan was enraged.

    Veins were now bulging from Zi Rong¡¯s hands due to how tightly he was gripping the hilt of his sword.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is the second time you¡¯ve kidnapped a bride!¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Rong. ¡°What did you use to control her so that she won¡¯t even dare to speak the truth?¡±

    Zi Rong¡¯s eyes looked sinister. ¡°I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about. Zi Xue and I truly love each other, and our wedding is in just two days! Release my fianc¨¦e, or else I¡¯ll report this matter to the Hall of Honor. My Zi family will not let you off, and don¡¯t think that you can just brush away the truth of this matter!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, my Zi family has held power in the Outerverse for many years, and we will not be pushed around. Release Xue¡¯er!¡± Zi Tianchuan barked.

    At this same time, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he looked at it. He then smiled. He showed the screen, and it showed Changbai Mountain on Earth.

    Everyone saw the mountain.

    Zi Rong¡¯s expression changed tremendously.

    There was a person lying atop Changbai Mountain, and his entire body was covered with blood due to the deep chest wound that had nearly severed him in two.

    ¡°The threat is gone,¡± Lu Yin spoke quietly as he looked at Bai Xue.

    Bai Xue nkly stared at the screen, as next to the bloodstained figure was another, familiar person: Zhang Dingtian.

 Chapter 907: Zi Rongâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 907: Zi Rong¡¯s Death</h4>

    ¡°He¡¯s also from Earth, and he volunteered to help you,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes turned red, and tears trickled down her cheeks.

    Zi Rong¡¯s heart sank, and he instantly moved to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold. He waved his left hand, and a terrifying shockwave forced Zi Rong to retreat.

    ¡°Everyone, she will now tell you who she actually is,¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Zi Rong grew desperate. ¡°Xue¡¯er,e here! Don¡¯t listen to him.¡±

    Everyone looked at Bai Xue. By now, it was easy to tell that something was wrong. Lu Yin was not some idiot, and he would not do such things without a valid reason.

    Bai Xue opened her eyes, and her expression changed. She looked furious. ¡°Zi Rong, you saved my life, but you also used the lives of the people from my hometown to force me to change my name, cultivate as you wished, and to marry you! Today, I, Bai Xue, want to tell you that I have already paid off my debt to you and that I will have nothing to do with you from now on!¡±

    Zi Rong was stunned.

    Everyone was shocked, and they all looked at Zi Rong in disgust. They had never expected him to do something so despicable.

    Zi Tianchuan was astonished as well, as he truly had not known about what had been going on beneath the surface.

    Zi Xianxian also turned to look at her brother in disbelief, as she couldn¡¯t believe that her elder brother would be someone who would do such things.

    The Zi family had always maintained a good reputation, as they were thergest retailer in the Outerverse who also dealt in intelligence. However, they were also known to be very principled and upstanding, as they did not reveal secret intelligence to the public. Thus, most major forces in the Outerverse remained on good terms with them.

    Moreover, Zi Rong was the most respected of the chairman¡¯s three children. He was friendly, talented, and had also been a representative of West San Dios. He was a Hunter, but he was capable of threatening Enlighters, and although he didn¡¯t participate in Amethyst Exchange¡¯s business, many people still considered him as an emerging talent from the Zi family.

    However, nobody expected that he would actually do something so despicable.

    ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! My elder brother would never do such a thing!¡± Zi Xianxian was enraged, and she red fiercely at Lu Yin. ¡°Did you force Sister Zi Xue to say such a thing? Lu Yin, you¡¯re trying to ruin our Zi family, right?¡±

    Zi Tianchuan red at Lu Yin,pletely furious.

    A lot of other people were also suspicious of Lu Yin, as he had never hidden his ambitions, and it would not be strange for him to covet the Zi family.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°How could I possibly take control of the Zi family by bing enemies with them? I¡¯m not that stupid.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan looked at Bai Xue. ¡°Xue¡¯er, you know how well I¡¯ve treated you. Don¡¯t be tricked by Lu Yin! The Zi family has always treated you well.¡±

    Bai Xue responded to Zi Tianchuan in an apologetic tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, godfather, and I don¡¯t want to hurt the Zi family. You saved my life, and although I have paid off my debt to Zi Rong, I am still in debt to the Zi family.¡±

    ¡°How are you going to repay them? You will still belong to the Zi family even if you¡¯re dead!¡± Zi Rong bellowed. ¡°Cultivators from my Zi family, attack them.¡±

    Lu Yin put on his universal armor and gathered his star energy over his right palm while turning to face the cultivators from the Zi family. ¡°One sun.¡±

    The sun exploded, but Mr. Tradeo shielded Zi Tianchuan and the others from its force.

    Meanwhile, Zi Rong swung his sword at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin casually waved his hand and used the Yu Secret Art to redirect the attack. Zi Rong wasn¡¯t able to overpower the Yu Secret Art, and as such, Lu Yin kicked the Hunter down to the ground.

    Nobody could tell who had been telling the truth as Zi Rong and Lu Yin battled. Thus, they all chose to watch the battle while remaining on the fence; it was possible that Lu Yin had tricked Bai Xue in order to take control of the Zi family, but it was also possible that Zi Rong had truly done everything that he had been used of.

    Cai Jianqiang didn¡¯t interfere in the battle either. He could not believe that Zi Rong would be such a despicable person, but he also believed that Lu Yin would not casually create this sort of trouble for the Zi family out of nowhere. Even if Lu Yin wanted to deal with the Zi family, he definitely would have chosen a better time, such as the actual day of the wedding. If he had done so, then his actions would have absolutely infuriated the Zi family. Overall, this did not match Lu Yin¡¯s modus operandi.

    Moreover, Cai Jianqiang had a feeling in his heart that he did not want to be enemies with Lu Yin as he continuously felt like he owed Lu Yin for something.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother protecting me. Go deal with Lu Yin!¡± Zi Tianchuan ordered Mr. Tradeo.

    Mr. Tradeo gritted his teeth and leaped towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin put on his wrist guard and punched at Mr. Tradeo. A strength that was twice his physical power burst forth, and a terrifying force swept through the area.

    Even Zax Phoenix had been defeated by this punch from Lu Yin in the past, which meant that there was no way Mr. Tradeo could hope to withstand such a massive attack in any way. As a result, he was blown away by the attack.

    The shockwave travelled through the sky and even destroyed several spacecraft.

    Skylush itself trembled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch stunned everyone, and nobody dared to attack him again.

    Zi Tianchuan clenched his fists and fell deep into thought.

    Zi Rong walked forward, but he seemed weird. It was as though he was repressing something.

    His eyes locked onto Lu Yin¡¯s, and the moment he looked at Bai Xue in Lu Yin¡¯s arms, an indescribable rage overcame the Hunter. He roared savagely, and his eyes suddenly turned dead. His irises had gone grey, and he underwent a corpse king Transformation.

    An intense chill swept over Skylush, and everyone felt their scalp go cold. Something terrifying had suddenly appeared.

    Zi Tianchuan and all the other people from the Zi family stared at Zi Rong in disbelief. He had just undergone a corpse king Transformation! Although most people in the Outerverse didn¡¯t know what a corpse king Transformation even was, there were quite a few high ranking people among the Zi family¡¯s guests who instantly realized what was happening.

    ¡°That¡¯s a battle technique from the Neohuman Alliance¡ªit¡¯s a corpse king Transformation! The second young master of the Zi family is a part of the Neohuman Alliance!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a corpse king! He¡¯s an enemy of the human race.¡±

    ¡°The Zi family is done for.¡±

    ¡­

    Countless screams rang out, and most of the crowd was stunned.

    Lu Yin was simrly shocked, as he hadn¡¯t expected Zi Rong to actually undergo a corpse king Transformation. This was a battle technique that was exclusive to corpse kings, but Zi Rong was a human being, so just how was he able to use this battle technique?

    ¡°Elder brother,¡± Zi Xianxian covered her mouth as her face turned pale.

    Zi Fang, who had initially been happily watching the show, nearly copsed upon seeing this. Anyone who was rted to the Neohuman Alliance would implicate their entire family, as the Neohuman Alliance was humanity¡¯s public enemy. The Zi family had suddenly been plunged deep into trouble, and the Hall of Honor would not let a single one of them off.

    Cai Jianqiang was shocked; how had Zi Rong be like this?

    Zi Rong had gonepletely crazy; at this moment, the only thing that he cared about was Bai Xue. Right now, nobody could stop him from getting to her. He had patiently waited for this day for many years, ever since he had realized that spiritual force could be incorporated into Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift. He had then done his best to find as many sources of spiritual force for Bai Xue to absorb and forced her to cultivate. His goal this entire time had been to absorb the spiritual force so that he could ovee the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s control. That was why he absolutely had to take Bai Xue back.

    Zi Rong shot towards Bai Xue with a bang. His entire body had been changed, as the corpse king Transformation was able to increase his physical strength tenfold, which meant that, at this moment, he was even stronger than Mr. Tradeo.

    Lu Yin fled while carrying Bai Xue as Cai Jianqiang moved in front to attack Zi Rong.

    Ripples from their sh soared into the sky as both men stepped back.

    ¡°Zi Rong, wake up!¡± Cai Jianqiang roared. He didn¡¯t have many friends, but Zi Rong was one of them. He couldn¡¯t bear to fight against Zi Rong, and intense sorrow surged through his heart.

    Zi Rong screamed, ¡°Go¡­ away! Bai Xue¡­ is¡­ mine!¡±

    He could no longer even speak clearly after undergoing the corpse king Transformation. He shot forward once again and attacked in a crazed manner.

    Cai Jianqiang sighed and blocked Zi Rong¡¯s path. He remained in ce no matter how fiercely Zi Rong attacked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. Cai Jianqiang had improved tremendously in just a short period of time.

    The Zi family stood rooted in ce out of confusion, and none of them knew what to do.

    Zi Tianchuan stared at the battle in the sky and gritted his teeth. ¡°Zi Rong has joined the Neohuman Alliance and betrayed the Zi family as well as all of humanity. He has sinned, and I order everyone from the Zi family to capture him! Kill him if he resists!¡±

    Zi Xianxian was shocked, and she grabbed at Zi Tianchuan¡¯s arm. ¡°Father, no! There has to be some kind of misunderstanding!¡±

    Zi Tianchuan was also reluctant to give such an order, but this was the only way to protect his family. He pushed Zi Xianxian away. ¡°Capture him.¡±

    The cultivators from the Zi family all moved to attack Zi Rong.

    Zi Rong bellowed and ughtered arge number of cultivators from the Zi family. Mr. Tradeo reluctantly moved to cooperate with Cai Jianqiang, and they finally managed to overpower Zi Rong. However, the corpse king just stood up again.

    His physical strength had increased tenfold, and with the perseverance that he had honed from training his Battalion sh, he would not admit defeat unless he was dead.

    Right when Cai Jianqiang and Mr. Tradeo were about to attack again, Zi Rong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood as his whole body started convulsing. His face twisted, and his heart suddenly shattered as he let out a wail. His eyes then returned to normal, and his body slowly fell to the ground.

    The entire region fell silent.

    Lu Yin stared at Zi Rong in understanding. The man was truly dead, as his rune lines had disappeared. He had been very strong, but his heart had not been able to withstand the transformation. It truly wasn¡¯t possible for human beings to undergo a corpse king Transformation.

    Bai Xue felt aggrieved, as Zi Rong had truly cared for her, and he had even saved her in the past. Such a connection between the two of them could not be easily forgotten.

    Zi Xianxian mourned. ¡°Brother.¡±

    Zi Fang closed his eyes. Despite the brothers¡¯ icy rtionship, Zi Rong had still been Zi Fang¡¯s brother, and he was sad to see his brother die.

    Zi Tianchuan trembled with his clenched fists. He looked up in the sky at Lu Yin, and his expression turned frigid.

    Lu Yin met Zi Tianchuan¡¯s gaze and frowned. He had be enemies with the Zi family on this day. Although he had been able to anticipate that Aegis would be his enemy, he had actually be the master of Aegis. In the end, he had be enemies with the Zi family instead. Life was truly full of surprises, and he didn¡¯t know what to expect from the future.

    The wedding ns ended with Zi Rong¡¯s death, and the Hall of Honorunched a full investigation. The entire Zi family faced the penalty of death if this matter was not handled properly, and they risked being exterminatedpletely, just like Darkstar Gorge.

    Lu Yin was chased away by Zi Tianchuan, and Zi Xianxian looked at him as though he was her mortal enemy.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t regret any of his actions. He had to save Bai Xue, and all this was in line with his principles.

    Everyone else was politely seen off by the members of the Zi family, and Skylush was locked down.

 Chapter 908: Lu Yinâ€™s Threat

    <h4>Chapter 908: Lu Yin¡¯s Threat</h4>

    Luo Shen was also chased away by the Zi family. Since she had risen to fame because of the Zi family, this meant that many powerful people would want to take control of her. In other words, she would no longer be able to be a celebrity.

    Lu Yin thought that her fate was quite pitiful, so he brought her back to the Great Yu Empire and offered to let her be a celebrity who was supported by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Although the Great Eastern Alliance was¡¯t as influential as the Zi family, nobody would dare to mess with the Great Eastern Alliance. In fact, they were actually even more powerful than the Zi family.

    And thus, both Bai Xue and Luo Shen followed Lu Yin back to the Great Yu Empire.

    Cai Jianqiang left Skylush as well. He had realized that Lu Yin had been telling the truth the moment Zi Rong had undergone the corpse king Transformation. Thus, he felt apologetic since he had initially been suspicious of Lu Yin.

    Cai Jianqiang was an honest man, so he went to apologize to Lu Yin, which left Lu Yin feeling quite embarrassed.

    As for the Zi family, their future looked bleak. Even if they were able to escape being wiped out due to their connection with Zi Rong, tough times were ahead.

    Lu Yin also considered whether or not he should take this opportunity to deal with the Zi family. They had be his enemies, and as such, they might cause trouble for him in the future.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sorry for causing trouble for you,¡± Bai Xue thanked Lu Yin aboard the spacecraft.

    Lu Yin smiled at her. ¡°No worries. I¡¯ve already stirred up so much trouble that this isn¡¯t even worth mentioning. You should thank Zhang Dingtian instead, as the Zi family would still be ckmailing you if not for him.¡±

    Bai Xue nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious about what Bai Xue had experienced ever since they had parted ways. ¡°Who took you away from the Great Yu Empire?¡¯

    Bai Xue shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Her answer was the exact same as Zhang Dingtian¡¯s, and it seemed as though nobody from the Hidden Earth Society had told either of them anything at all. This was strange; this mysterious society had helped the two people increase their power and taken them away from the Great Yu Empire, but they had not told the two cultivators anything about Earth itself. Wasn¡¯t the Hidden Earth Society worried that the two people would have no gratitude towards the Hidden Earth Society in the future?

    ¡°You mentioned earlier that you killed Liu Shaoge?¡± Bai Xue asked quietly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Do you still care about him?¡±

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes turned ice cold. ¡°He betrayed the Earth and us. I¡¯ll kill him myself if you haven¡¯t already!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with him?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xue fell silent.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t press her any further. He intended to head back to the Great Yu Empire, but Bai Xue nned to return to Earth.

    Luo Shen entered the room with some drinks. ¡°Sister Bai Xue, Brother Lu.¡±

    When they turned around, Lu Yin was stunned. Luo Shen was wearing a thin, pale pink dress, and her long blonde hair was freely falling around her face. Her appearance was like a picturesque portrait, and just the sight of her took Lu Yin¡¯s breath away.

    Luo Shen suppressed her nervousness when she saw how enraptured Lu Yin was, and she became slightly smug. ¡°Brother Lu, here¡¯s your drink.¡±

    Bai Xue looked between Lu Yin and Luo Shen before simply leaving with her drink.

    An intoxicating scent had drifted into Lu Yin¡¯s nose, and the girl in front of him seemed to be even more enchanting.

    Luo Shen had always been a beauty, and since she was no longer able to work as a celebrity in the Outerverse, there were many people who greedily wanted to get their hands on her. Despite that, she had ced her entire heart in Lu Yin¡¯s grasp.

    The women who surrounded Lu Yin were all gorgeous, but not one of them had ever attempted to seduce him as tantly as Luo Shen was currently doing.

    Luo Shen was giving her all to this attempt. She genuinely liked Lu Yin, and ever since he had saved her during the attack on Zenyu Star, she had decided that she wanted to be with him.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone to protect you as soon as we arrive at Zenyu Star. You¡¯ll be an ambassador of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Luo Shen agreed. She felt very happy standing next to Lu Yin while he stared at the sky. In her contentment, she did not want to leave as she wanted to relish every moment she had with him.

    The spacecraft soon docked at one of Zenyu Star¡¯s space stations. Lu Yin had already asked Huan Sha to arrange for some people to wee Luo Shen while Bai Xue continued on towards Earth in another spacecraft.

    Lu Yin himself returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce and used his gadget to call Zhu San.

    Lu Yin would havepletely forgotten about this person if he hadn¡¯t run into Zhu San on his trip to Skylush. Although Zhu San might seem rather useless, it was nothing more than an act.

    Zhu San was shocked to see that Lu Yin was calling him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother? Do you have any good news to share? I¡¯ll definitely give you a big red envelope at my wedding to Xi¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°The Neoverse. The Court of Seven Names¡¯ Ce family,¡± Lu Yin said without any hesitation.

    Zhu San¡¯s face nched, and his eyes narrowed. ¡°What- what are you talking about?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide anything anymore. I already know that the Zhu family is a part of the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family.¡±

    ¡°Brother, are you ok? What is this Ce family? I¡¯ve never even heard of them before. Whatever, I don¡¯t have time for this.¡± Zhu San was about to end the call in his panic.

    But then, Lu Yin said, ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll just go and have a chat with Qiong Shanhai since you don¡¯t want to talk to me.¡±

    After a moment of hesitation, Zhu San¡¯s tone changed, and he seriously said, ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Are you actually interested in Qiong Xi¡¯er, or are you just trying to gain control of Millions City?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhu San answered without any hesitation, ¡°I genuinely like her.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°I have no reason to lie. You¡¯re right, my family has always hoped to gain control of Millions City, but this matter has nothing to do with the Ce family. Millions City is useless to them, and my family wasn¡¯t ced in Millions City by the Ce family either. We identally discovered our Ce family bloodline, and we are nothing more than remnants of the Ce family who were left behind,¡± Zhu San exined.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Got it. Then let¡¯s see whether or not Qiong Shanhai will believe you.¡±

    ¡°What do you want? If you want to gain control of Millions City with our help, then I can tell you that that¡¯s impossible since our ancestor is dead. Although we have a good understanding of Millions City, you should have ess to around the same level of information as us. I can tell you whatever you want, and we can also help you with money. However, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to use us to achieve your goals,¡± Zhu San said firmly.

    ¡°You¡¯ll tell me everything?¡± Lu Yin arched his brow.

    Zhu San sighed. ¡°As long as I know the answer.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I want to know if Wei Rong is in Millions City,¡± Lu Yin directly stated. Zhu San could be an important chess piece to Lu Yin, and he hoped to gain leverage on this person in the future and perhaps even gain control of Millions City. However, currently, to Lu Yin, Wei Rong was even more important than the Zhu family, as the Zhu family would not be very useful until the Innerverse reconnected with the Outerverse.

    Actually, they could still be of value to him as their bloodline could allow him to look at that chessboard again, which might allow him toprehend the Ce Secret Art. However, that would also require Mister Mu¡¯s help.

    ¡°Wei Rong? I don¡¯t know where he is.¡±

    ¡°Then go and find out.¡±

    Zhu San became angry. ¡°Lu Yin, the Zhu family does not work for you!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask Qiong Shanhai to help out,¡± Lu Yin responded immediately.

    Zhu San was speechless. ¡°You won¡¯t gain any benefits from exposing my Zhu family.¡±

    ¡°But I won¡¯t lose anything either. No, you¡¯re wrong¡ªthere is a benefit. I¡¯ll be able to get into Qiong Shanhai¡¯s good books,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zhu San felt a great deal of pressure. He was aware that Lu Yin was not an easy person to deal with, as Lu Yin was both intelligent and shameless. Thus, Zhu San had always pretended to bezy and dumb in front of Lu Yin in order to deceive him.

    To that end, Zhu San had even told Zi Rong that Lu Yin was the one who had mentioned that Zi Xue was interested in both men and women. He had wanted Lu Yin to be an enemy of the Zi family while hefortably watched the drama unfold from the background.

    However, at this moment, Zhu San finally realized how shrewd Lu Yin could be. Lu Yin had long since known that Zhu San was someone from the Ce family, and he hadpletely scammed him.

    It was even possible that Lu Yin might have been nning this for a long time.

    Zhu San was frustrated, but he was also scared. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll find this out for you. However, you have to stop threatening my Zhu family after that!¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that in the future, but don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t stop you from moving.¡±

    Zhu San rolled his eyes and hung up. Move? That was impossible. Zhu San was certain that he would not be able to escape from Lu Yin no matter where he fled. Additionally, he swore that he would never invite Lu Yin to his wedding with Qiong Xi¡¯er.

    Although the Qiong family was the family that controlled Millions City, the Zhu family also enjoyed a significant influence within Millions City. They had even learned about the underground control room, let alone having eyes in the city master¡¯s own home.

    Zhu San soon called Lu Yin back and told him that Wei Rong was hiding in the city master¡¯s estate.

    Lu Yin had already guessed as much, as the remnants of the Wei family had been hiding in Millions City for a long time. They had not made contact with anyone else, all in order to trick people into believing that Wei Rong had already left Millions City whereas, in reality, he was actually hiding close by.

    ¡°Brother Zhu, help me with one more thing,¡± Lu Yin said in an apologetic voice.

    Zhu San retorted, ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯ve already told you that you can¡¯t boss us around!¡±

    ¡°Are your ears ok? I¡¯m asking for your help,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Is there even a difference?¡± Zhu San roared angrily.

    After a pause, Zhu San gritted his teeth. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Recently someone leaked out some information concerning East San Dios, and I want you to let slip that Wei Rong was the one who did that. He did it in order to manipte the Arbiter into dealing with me. In other words, he tried to use Arbiter Lan Si,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Zhu San frowned. ¡°How would this even be useful to you? Lan Si isn¡¯t stupid, he¡¯ll definitely know that you¡¯re just trying to stir up trouble between him and Wei Rong.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to tell Lan Si. There¡¯s a person by the name of Tie San who is very impulsive and whopletely idolizes Lan Si. What do you think he¡¯ll do if he finds out that someone in the Outerverse dared to use Lan Si?¡± Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Zhu San took a deep breath. Although Lan Si wouldn¡¯t be deceived, this Tie San might actually believe such rumors. Nobody could nder the Ten Arbiters, and most people in the Outerverse didn¡¯t even know what the Divine Fist¡¯s true name was. Since the people from the Innerverse instinctively looked down upon the people from the Outerverse, as soon as Lan Si¡¯s supporters heard that someone from the Outerverse had the guts to try to trick them, they would definitely move out to deal with Wei Rong as such a thing was a grave insult to them.

    ¡°I want you to exaggerate Wei Rong¡¯s intelligence and make him sound like an absolute genius. I also want you to broadcast the results of the battle at East San Dios. You can even say that Wei Rong sessfully took advantage of the Divine Fist to get revenge on me,¡± Lu Yin continued exining. Although Lan Si¡¯s true goal was to be an Honor Chosen, the main point of this rumor was to say that an Arbiter had been used as a tool by someone from the Outerverse. This would be a matter of pride.

 Chapter 909: Enormous Power

    <h4>Chapter 909: Enormous Power</h4>

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s response, Zhu San sighed. ¡°I know. Lu Yin, this is thest thing that I will ever help you with, so don¡¯t contact me again.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. You¡¯re still my brother, and you also still owe me a red envelope.¡±

    Zhu San hung up in frustration.

    When Zhu Jie heard of the news, he frowned. ¡°Lu Yin definitely won¡¯t let us off. He will continue to use us to deal with the Qiong family in the future.¡±

    ¡°Father, are you sure that Lu Yin wants to deal with the Qiong family?¡± Zhu San asked.

    Zhu Jie firmly answered, ¡°Definitely. He¡¯s too ambitious, and he won¡¯t stop until he controls the entire Outerverse. It won¡¯t be easy to deal with him, and unless the Hall of Honor stops him, nobody will ever be able to truly rein him in.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Zhu San asked worriedly.

    Zhu Jie massaged his temples. ¡°Nobody like him has ever appeared in the Outerverse before. He¡¯s talented, covets power, and above all, is very meticulous. How did someone like him even appear in the Outerverse?¡±

    ¡°Father, should we follow his requests?¡± Zhu San asked.

    Zhu Jie nodded. ¡°Yes, go ahead with what he asked you to do. Although he¡¯s ambitious and ruthless, he also treats his followers very well. He became enemies with the Zi family just to save Bai Xue, and he even fought against the elders of the Neo-Vestige Sect for Peach. He has principles, and he protects his followers. He will aplish great things in the future.¡±

    Zhu San¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Are you saying that we should follow him?¡±

    Zhu Jie looked at Zhu San with a serious expression. ¡°Our family¡¯s status in Millions City is rapidly waning because our power decreased substantially after our ancestor died while the Outerverse remains cut off from the Innerverse. At this rate, we face only two possible oues: we will either be forced to leave Millions City or be destroyed by the Qiong family. I don¡¯t want either of those oues to happen, especially since we need to contact the Ce family as soon as the Outerverse reconnects with the Innerverse. Thus, we cannot leave Millions City before then.

    ¡°Lu Yin is extremely protective of his followers, and once we are under his wing, the Qiong family won¡¯t dare to do anything to us.¡±

    Zhu San felt torn. ¡°But he wants to deal with the Qiong family and take control of Millions City, which is also our goal.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to achieve that goal anymore, so we can only give up on that objective. At least we¡¯ll be able to use him to intimidate the Qiong family and allow us to stay here until we can contact the Ce family,¡± Zhu Jie exined firmly.

    Zhu San nodded. They would have to follow Lu Yin if they wanted to survive. However, he did not know that Felynn, Starfox, and many other people had also been forced to follow Lu Yin, though none of them had realized that this was bing a trend.

    Ten dayster, some people from Mt. Stacks Dojo arrived in Millions City. They blockaded the entrance to the city master¡¯s estate and demanded that Wei Ronge out.

    Qiong Shanhai walked out of the property and activated Millions City¡¯s shield. The ground trembled as if a beast was about to awaken.

    Elder Tie¡¯s expression instantly changed. He had heard that Millions City was a mobile fortress that had even been able to intimidate Envoys during Endless Weave¡¯s border defense. It was a major power in the Outerverse, and he had been very impressed by the stories of Millions City¡¯s power.

    ¡°I¡¯m City Master Qiong Shanhai of Millions City. Is there anything that I can help you with?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked. He looked over at Elder Tie, who was far stronger than him.

    The arrival of Lan Si and the others in the Outerverse had been a huge surprise to many, but most people were actually unaware of who these neers were. This was in line with the Hall of Honor¡¯s ns as these people had alle from the Innerverse.

    Their arrival had raised many questions among the general public, and many people from all parts of the Outerverse had started roaming about the Astral River, trying to find a way back to the Innerverse.

    Nobody from Mt. Stacks Dojo or the Sea King¡¯s Dome had mentioned anything regarding the war in the Innerverse since they didn¡¯t want anyone in the Outerverse to learn that the Innerverse had been invaded. This was also the reason why Yuan Shi had sent the cultivators from Grayweed Continent away, as he wanted to prevent the Outerverse from descending into chaos. Although some people were already aware of the war in the Innerverse due to the previous border invasion, most were still in the dark.

    ¡°I¡¯m an elder from Grayweed Continent¡¯s Mt. Stacks Dojo. You may call me Elder Tie.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai politely asked, ¡°Is there anything that Millions City can do for you, Elder Tie?¡±

    Elder Tie coldly responded, ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a young fellow from the Outerverse by the name of Wei Rong. It seems that he is known for being highly intelligent, but he made a mistake when he took advantage of the incident at East Dios to instigate a fight between my young master and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Yin. Please hand him over to us, city master.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°Could there be some kind of misunderstanding here?¡±

    Tie San walked out from behind and rudely interrupted, saying, ¡°There¡¯s no misunderstanding. That Wei Rong guy is iming to be the smartest person in the Outerverse. He¡¯s too arrogant! Please hand him over to us, city master.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai frowned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Wei Rong isn¡¯t in Millions City.¡¯

    Elder Tie shook his head. ¡°City Master Qiong, I respect you as the master of Millions City, but you should show me some respect as well. You shouldn¡¯t create enemies to support that young man.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s determination began wavering.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er walked out and looked at Elder Tie. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Wei Rong truly isn¡¯t in Millions City.¡±

    Tie San roared, ¡°Someone confirmed that he¡¯s in the city master¡¯s estate.¡±

    ¡°Truly? I live in the city master¡¯s residence, but even I am not aware of Wei Rong being here, so who could possibly know such a thing? May we ask that person ourselves?¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er retorted sharply.

    Elder Tie red at Qiong Xi¡¯er in anger.

    Qiong Shanhai snorted, and the ground shook even more intensely. ¡°This is Millions City. Please keep that in mind.¡±

    Elder Tie clenched his fists and smirked. ¡°Fine, since City Master Qiong is unwilling to hand this person over, then we will simply wait here. Pass down my orders¡ªsurround Millions City! Nobody is allowed to leave the city without my permission.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai was infuriated. ¡°Elder Tie, don¡¯t think that you can bully us so easily. If not for that Envoy from your Mt. Stacks Dojo, you wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Millions City.¡±

    Elder Tie left with a smug expression on his face.

    There were hundreds of Mt. Stacks Dojo disciples who had apanied Elder Tie here, and their numbers included a dozen Hunters with the rest of them being either Explorers or Cruisers. On top of that, Elder Tie was a powerhouse whose power level was greater than 300,000. Thus, Millions City was unable to do anything to them unless they wanted to wage war with Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    Qiong Shanhai did not dare to dere war against such a group, as he was unaware of how many experts Mt. Stacks Dojo possessed. Divine Fist Lan Si was one of the Ten Arbiters, and he was extremely influential, which was another reason why Qiong Shanhai did not know how to handle this problem.

    ¡°Xi¡¯er, we should hand Wei Rong over if there¡¯s no other option,¡± Qiong Shanhai reluctantly messaged.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er firmly responded, ¡°No. If we actually hand him over, then nobody will believe us in the future. Also, you have to remember that Lu Yin is constantly keeping an eye on us as well.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s eyes glinted. Lu Yin was the actual problem at this time. No matter how arrogant the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo behaved, they would not be able to do anything to Millions City even with the help of their Envoy. However, Lu Yin was different, as he had the support of the Hall of Honor and was capable of executing many strange ns. The moment he discovered that Wei Rong was hiding in Millions City and being protected by the Qiong family, he would instantly gain a real reason to deal with them.

    The person whom Qiong Shanhai was most wary of in the entire Outerverse was Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already expected that Mt. Stacks Dojo would be enemies with Millions City. That had been his intention when he ordered Zhu San to spread the rumors concerning Wei Rong hiding in the city. Lu Yin wanted to pressure Wei Rong and let him know that there was nowhere for him to go.

    As for the feud between Mt. Stacks Dojo and Millions City, Lu Yin was certain that the Qiong family would not hand over Wei Rong. What¡¯s more, the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo were from the Innerverse and naturally looked down upon the Outerverse cultivators. Thus, it would be very normal for the two sides to be enemies.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current issue was that he had to find a way to bring Wei Rong to his side while also leaving a way for him to deal with Millions City in the future. Lu Yin was not concerned about Mt. Stacks Dojo, as Lan Si would not allow his forces to be enemies with the Great Eastern Alliance. Lan Si only wanted the position of Honor Chosen, so he would not create any trouble for Lu Yin before achieving that goal.

    The feud between Mt. Stacks Dojo and Millions City would notst for very long, and the Hall of Honor might even interfere if it continued for too long.

    Lu Yin looked up at the three maind rings. Was this the right thing to do? His initial motivation to unite the Outerverse was so that it would be more powerful when the Sixth Maind invaded.

    The Sixth Maind was ultimately their greatest enemy.

    Their battle had already raged on for four years now, but there was still no end in sight. Lu Yin did not know what would happen to the Innerverse and the Outerverse in the future.

    On the other side, Wei Rong felt very ufortable at this moment, as he was aware that he had been duped. He could already tell that everything had been orchestrated by Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong didn¡¯t care about the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo, but Lu Yin hadpletely crushed any hope Wei Rong had held about joining Lan Si¡¯s side.

    In fact, this miscalction stemmed from how Wei Rong had forgotten that while he had always been the one ying dirty during his skirmishes with Lu Yin, Lu Yin was also capable of employing such schemes.

    Wei Rong had truly been outwitted this time around.

    Even if Wei Rong tried to tell the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo that Lu Yin was just using them, they still would not change their behavior as Wei Rong actually had instigated the conflict between Lan Si and Lu Yin.

    In reality, he had only asked Qiong Xi¡¯er to spread some rumors and then relied on the media to make the whole thing blow up. However, he now had to bear the consequences of those actions.

    The only thing that he could do at this time was wait.

    Wei Rong was aware that Lu Yin would not let him off that easily and that there had to be something elseing.

    Without any other moves, Wei Rong could only try to think of a solution, as he did not want to lose in this manner.

    A few dayster, another piece of news was released that shocked the entire Outerverse and drew everyone¡¯s attention to the Great Yu Empire.

    The five weaves bordering Armament Weave had formally announced that they were joining the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This announcement stunned the Outerverse, and soon, everyone heard of it.

    Before this moment, the Great Eastern Alliance had only consisted of ten weaves, including Armament Weave, which had made it a major power in the east. With the addition of five more weaves, the alliance¡¯s power had almost doubled, which terrified many people.

    After Armament Weave¡¯s fall, the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves had immediately realized that they were in trouble, as the Great Eastern Alliance had gained a stepping stone that would allow them to invade the central region. Despite that, no one had expected the Great Eastern Alliance to have secretly gained control of five other weaves.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s express military route now spread through the five new weaves, and this caused a significant public reactionparable to when the Great Eastern Alliance had first been established.

    However, a second piece of news was announced a few dayster that rendered everyone speechless yet again.

 Chapter 910: Four Cycles

    <h4>Chapter 910: Four Cycles</h4>

    In the Outerverse¡¯s eastern region, Morrow Weave and Eastly Weave also announced that they would join the Great Eastern Alliance, and right behind them were two other weaves. At this time, out of all of the eastern weaves, only Mordo Weave and Ironblood Weaves had not joined the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ironblood Weave was no problem, and Lu Yin quickly called Wang Wen.

    Shortly after that call, Ironblood Weave also announced that it had also joined the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had now formally incorporated twenty weaves into its organization, and its strength had quickly risen by a considerable amount. At this time, it had spread across both the eastern and central regions of the Outerverse, forming a mammoth organization that seemed to be eying the west.

    Twenty weaves meant that the Great Eastern Alliance had actually unified a full third of the Outerverse, which demonstrated the sheer level of Lu Yin¡¯s influence; he had surpassed everyone else in the Outerverse. A single sentence from him could determine the fates of countless people, and his hand was now reaching to the west.

    Since there was an alliance, there was naturally an allied military as well.

    En Ya followed the already created system of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces for recruiting the troops, which actually doubled the Allied Forces¡¯ strength. In particr, the Rapid Response Team had improved greatly, and they now had six Hunters and more than 200 Cruisers and Explorers. The elite troops merelycked an absolute expert inparison to the group from Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    The weaves in the central region were growing fearful, and they set aside all sorts of previous conflicts between them as they began to unite in order to withstand the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s pressure.

    Under these circumstances, Lu Yin suddenly announced that he would go into seclusion.

    There was nothing suitable for him to do given the present situation, so it would not be bad for him to pause for a bit.

    Five of the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves had already joined the alliance, and En Ya¡¯s contributions in this sudden expansion had been quite significant. Of course, Aegis and Thousand Eyes¡¯ intelligence had also yed a pivotal role. To have such progress take ce within half a year, their aplishments nearly rivaled the speed at which the Great Eastern Alliance had originally expanded in the beginning.

    En Ya was growing more seasoned in her methods, but there were still many problems to handle since the alliance¡¯s power had increased dramatically within a very small amount of time. It would take time to sort everything out.

    The secret room in King Zishan''s pce had been changed once again. In the past, before Lu Yin had visited the Innerverse with Hai Qiqi, he had instructed Elder Yuan to recruit some architects and remodel the secret room with the best materials avable. That way, any aftershocks from his cultivation would not be felt outside of the room.

    At this time, the secret room was constructed from some of the best materials avable in the Great Eastern Alliance. Although it could notpare to the secret cultivation rooms of the Innerverse¡¯s strong powers, it was still much better than what Lu Yin had had been before.

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged and retrieved the high-temperature stone that he had gotten during their escape from Grayweed Continent. It had been left behind when that fiery dragon dissipated, and Lu Yin had managed to grab it with his Yu Secret Art.

    On his way back to the Outerverse from the Starfall Sea, Lu Yin had discovered just how extraordinary this stone¡¯s temperature was. Since it hade from the Skyze Dojo, he would simply call it the Skyze Stone!

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s best guesses, this stone had been the main source of strength for that fiery dragon. As he held it in his hands, the stone¡¯s extreme temperature formed a line that extended towards his arm. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s absurd physique, he still could not quite endure the intense heat. In addition, this temperature was just the natural heat released by the stone before it was stimted with star energy.

    Lu Yin tested the temperature, and his hand trembled. The line of heat extending towards his arm burned whatever it touched.

    He endured the intense pain and he applied some strong ointment to his skin while he stared at the Skyze stone with untold excitement in his eyes. This thing was pretty good.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, causing a pile of star essence to appear within the secret room. He then tried to hold the Skyze Stone in his hand while also grabbing the star essence. The next moment, the extreme temperature caused the star essence to melt even quicker than the furnace in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. Simultaneously, a torrid line formed by the high temperature wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s body, forcing him to endure the heat and pain as the star essence evaporated. Then, a red halo appeared above the surface of his body as the evaporated star essence visibly merged into this halo before being pulled into his body.

    This environment was almost identical to what Lu Yin had experienced within the Daosource Sect''s ruins¡¯ furnace and the inside of Millions City¡¯s cannon. After finally achieving the same circumstances, Lu Yin became ecstatic, as the rate at which he absorbed star energy had risen exponentially. This stone allowed him to create a unique cultivation environment that was identical to what the furnace and cannon had formed. In this environment, Lu Yin was no longer absorbing star energy, but rather devouring it.

    However, this was still not enough, and Lu Yin quickly activated the Cosmic Art, causing ny nine stars to revolve around him. He then took out another batch of star essence, and as more star essence evaporated, the red halo continued to growrger. At the same time, as Lu Yin used the Cosmic Art, the pile of star essence on the ground quickly diminished.

    Lu Yin took out another batch without aby hesitation, followed by another batch, and another¡­

    There were countless cultivation methods throughout the universe, and someone else had definitelye up with a simr method to the one that Lu Yin was currently employing to absorb star energy. Lu Yin knew that his own rate of cultivation was very fast, but he still did not ignore the sesses of others.

    A dozen days passed in this manner, during which he had consumed quite a considerable amount of star essence. Additionally, the temperature of the Skyze Stone had also dropped by a bit, which subsequently lowered the rate at which the star essence evaporated.

    Lu Yin continued to cultivate.

    Soon, another month passed. During this time, Lu Yin had absorbed the star energy of 160,000 star essence, which was the amount of star energy that he needed toplete his fourth cultivation cycle. In other words, he had taken advantage of the Skyze Stone to elerate his cultivation, allowing him toplete his fourth cycle as an Explorer in just one month. Once he sessfullypleted another cycle, he would officially be a Cruiser.

    The most mediocre and average cultivators took around 800 star essence toplete their fourth cycle, but Lu Yin had needed to consume 160,000, which was an iparably exaggerated number. Even if he used the ny nine stars of the Cosmic Art to increase his rate of cultivation normally, it still would have taken him 200 years toplete this cycle. However, with this extreme method, he had shortened this process to just one month.

    This was the effect of the Skyze Stone. It had baked his body at a high temperature while also vaporizing star essence.

    Lu Yin did not know what other cultivators¡¯ maximum star energy absorption rate was, but he felt that they most likely could not match his exaggerated speed!

    Additionally, Lu Yin felt that his physical body was a little different from others, as it was constantly strengthening itself while his spiritual force was also continuously improving. It was very puzzling.

    It was possible that this was somehow rted to his lost memories.

    Lu Yin shook his head and stopped thinking about this puzzle as he put the Skyze Stone away. The stone¡¯s temperature was no longer very hot, and now, the average Hunter would likely be able to endure it, which was not enough for Lu Yin to cultivate with. He had constantly drained the heat from this stone over the period of a month, and now, he was wondering if the heat could be restored.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of a question. If this stone was the source of strength for that fiery dragon, then wasn¡¯t this equivalent to consuming a fiery dragon after cultivating for one month? That was too extravagant!

    After tidying up, Lu Yin stepped out of the secret room, feeling invigorated. He moved to a nearby courtyard, where he heard Zhao Ran humming a random tune. She sounded very rxed.

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re out! You should try a freshly brewed aromatic tea.¡± Zhao Ran looked at Lu Yin with eyes filled with expectations as she blinked at him.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, hand me a ss.¡±

    Zhao Ran was very happy, and she served him a thick, green, aromatic tea.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at his ss. ¡°This is tea?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Try it, Your Highness!¡± Zhao Ran looked at him happily.

    Lu Yin did not want to disappoint her, and although this tea looked somewhat horrifying, he still took a sip. His eyes instantly lit up. It was actually very delicious, and he could not resist draining the ss in one go. He then stared at Zhao Ran, bbergasted. ¡°That was actually pretty good. I¡¯ll have another.¡±

    Zhao Ran cheered, ¡°Great! As long as Your Highness likes it.¡±

    She delightedly ran off to pour another ss.

    Lu Yin had not drunk such a good cup of tea before. In fact, this could not even be considered tea, and Zhao Ran might have misunderstood what the word ¡°tea¡± meant. This was probably best ssified as another type of beverage, but it was even better than what Lu Yin had sampled at Brightstar Corp. or Amethyst Exchange.

    ¡°Zhao Ran, make more of this kind of aromatic tea in the future,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Zhao Ran immediately murmured her assent, feeling very proud of herself.

    After Lu Yin rested for half a day, En Ya learned that he had emerged from seclusion, and she immediately requested an audience with him.

    ¡°Your Highness, now that our Great Eastern Alliance spans twenty weaves, the Allied Expressway is also being built. Our Allied Forces were already insufficient before, and I feel that we need to expand our military forces. Aside from the original Allied Forces and the Rapid Response Team, we should also found several divisions in preparation for battle¡­¡± En Ya said a great deal.

    Lu Yin silently listened to her. In truth, he did not understand these matters very well, as most of these administrative tasks were designated to En Ya, Huan Sha, the Lu Ministry of Staff, the Lu Ministry of Defense, the Imperial Cab, and other bureaucratic entities. Throughout the recent years, across all levels, all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s officials had shown their abilities, and all the ipetent ones had been reced. Ruling the empire was bing ever more effortless for Lu Yin.

    Unfortunately, despite En Ya having the military capabilities, her vision and courage was too small to attempt many of the things that she wished to aplish. Thus, she could only ask Lu Yin for his instructions despite him not fully understanding these matters.

    In this situation, Lu Yin thought of Wang Wen, as he was a genius who was a true military strategist. Based on a single battle, he had been able to predict the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s reinforcement¡¯s strength and speed; the young man¡¯s intelligence was absolutely terrifying.

    ¡°Your Highness, at this time, out of all the eastern weaves, only Mordo and Canopy Weaves have not joined our alliance yet. The rest have all joined us,¡± En Ya reported.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then called Gong Ling right in front of En Ya.

    The call quickly connected, but it was the sect leader¡¯s son, Gong Chou, who answered the call. ¡°Hello, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Sect Leader Gong?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gong Chou replied, ¡°He is currently in seclusion, but Alliance Leader Lu can pass anything that he needs to me, and I will naturally pass the message on as soon as he emerges.¡±

    Lu Yin''s lips curled upwards. ¡°So he¡¯s in seclusion again. When will he emerge?¡±

    Gong Chou apologized, ¡°I¡¯m really not sure. Alliance Leader Lu can leave a message, and I will definitely pass it on the moment he emerges.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll personally head over to the Neo-Vestige Sect to meet with Sect Leader Gong.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s tone changed, bing slightly cold.

    Gong Chou was shocked at this sudden change. ¡°What urgent matter hase up for Alliance Leader Lu to visit?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, but I must talk to Sect Leader Gong,¡± Lu Yin replied. His tone left no room for argument, and his attitude waspletely different from when he had first met Gong Chou. Back then, the Neo-Vestige Sect had still had the Arrow Mountain Elder, three Enlighters, and other powerful hidden trump cards. It had been one of the Outerverse¡¯s three great powers that could not be provoked.

    But now, even if Arrow Mountain Elder was still alive, Lu Yin would not care, and there was even less to mention now that the old man was dead.

    Lu Yin had no intentions of doing anything to the Neo-Vestige Sect, but Gong Ling himself had promised Lu Yin that as long as the Great Eastern Alliance was able to expand to include twenty weaves, the Neo-Vestige Sect would join as well. The sect was now trying to dy that matter, which was not very upright.

    Gong Chou heard the trace of fury in Lu Yin¡¯s voice, and he helplessly said, ¡°Since Alliance Leader Lu has urgent business, then I can only request for Sect Leader to emerge early. Please wait a moment.¡±

    Not long after, Gong Ling¡¯s voice was heard from the gadget. ¡°I heard that Alliance Leader Lu is looking for me. Is there an urgent matter?¡±

    Lu Yin was amused, as the old man was still putting on an act. ¡°Sect Leader Gong, do you remember what you promised me in the past?¡±

    Gong Ling was confused. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask Alliance Leader Lu to please rify.¡±

    ¡°Once my Great Eastern Alliance gathered twenty weaves, your Neo-Vestige Sect will join us. Sect Leader Gong couldn¡¯t have forgotten about that, could you?¡± Lu Yin bluntly asked.

    Gong Ling fell silent and then answered, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu is making things difficult for me. The Neo-Vestige Sect has been passed on from one generation to the next since ancient times, and our ancestors taught us not to participate in disputes between other powers. Alliance Leader Lu, this-¡±

    ¡°Sect Leader Gong, when you agreed at that time, you were quite straightforward about things.¡± Lu Yin was unhappy with this response.

    Gong Ling did not reply.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°It seems that Sect Leader Gong does not wish to keep his promise.¡±

    Gong Ling reluctantly responded, ¡°It¡¯s not that. In the past, I did indeed make such an agreement with Alliance Leader Lu. Alright, my Neo-Vestige Sect will bring Mordo and Canopy Weaves along with it. From today on, we¡¯ll be a part of the Great Eastern Alliance, and I¡¯ll announce this news immediately.¡±

 Chapter 911: Wang Wenâ€™s Gift

    <h4>Chapter 911: Wang Wen¡¯s Gift</h4>

    Gong Ling¡¯s words left Lu Yin excited. ¡°Very well. Sect Leader Gong is indeed trustworthy. I will send some people over to the Neo-Vestige Sect to discuss certain details, and I hope that the Neo-Vestige Sect will not make things difficult. I trust that we will be able to live together harmoniously and protect the territory of the Great Eastern Alliance together.¡±

    After that, Lu Yin immediately ended the call, and he turned to look at En Ya. ¡°I want you to personally go to the Neo-Vestige Sect. Sect Leader Gong has agreed to join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    En Ya was delighted. ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Be more unyielding in your behavior¡ªwe are no longer what we once were.¡± Lu Yin suddenly seemed to think of something, and he solemnly told En Ya, ¡°We will also denounce the humiliation that Yu Mu gave you.¡±

    En Ya grew emotional, and she felt extremely grateful as she bowed deeply. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    On the other side of the terminated call, at the Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling lowered his gadget and sighed. In the end, they still could not escape, but this was also good.

    ¡°Father, sect leader, are we truly going to join the Great Eastern Alliance?¡± Gong Chou hesitantly asked.

    Gong Ling nodded. ¡°We cannot go back on a promise.¡±

    ¡°I have a way.¡± Gong Chou¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If Father truly does not wish to join the Great Eastern Alliance, then step down. Besides, you¡¯ve always held thoughts of stepping down, so just pass your position over to someone else. Then, Father¡¯s words naturally will not hold any weight.¡±

    Gong Ling turned around and looked at his son with a serious expression. ¡°Remember, although these methods may work on the Hall of Honor or others, they are useless against Lu Yin. Do you really think that he will allow himself to be pushed around so easily? Back when the Great Eastern Alliance was only first established, he already dared to personally visit our Neo-Vestige Sect and be enemies with your Uncle-Master Bei. Even if he didn¡¯t have the Hall of Honor¡¯s backing, this person cannot be casually provoked. If he bes offended, then he may be capable of doing anything.¡±

    Gong Chou could not help himself from speaking up. ¡°During the defense of Endless Weave¡¯s border, our Neo-Vestige Sect aplished the most, and the Arrow Mountain Elder even sacrificed himself. I don¡¯t believe that Lu Yin would dare to go against us with such achievements. Even if his background was more impressive, even if he was Yuan Shi¡¯s son, the Hall of Honor still would not let him run amok.¡±

    ¡°And after that?¡± Gong Ling barked.

    Gong Chou opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    ¡°Lu Yin is ruthless, and nobody knows what he may do. Although he has his own bottom line, this time, we would indeed be going back on our word. If he focuses on us, then things would be very troublesome in the future. Do you think that the weaves in the central region are enjoying pleasant days? The Wei family¡¯s oue has be an example for the entire Outerverse. Since we¡¯ve already agreed to join, then we will do so, and we can thus be seen as being trustworthy. Furthermore, it¡¯s not a big deal to join this alliance. The advice of the ancestors can change,¡± Gong Ling said.

    Gong Chou nodded. He did not hate Lu Yin; he just did not want to defy the teachings of their ancestors. If anything happened in the future, then they would be sinners in the history of the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    And the probability of them encountering problems was quite high. Gong Chou may not quite understand Lu Yin, but he knew that this person managed to stir up trouble quite often, such as during the wedding of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s chairman¡¯s second son, when Lu Yin hadpletely ruined things. The Amethyst Exchange was still being investigated by the Hall of Honor, and even if they managed to survive, their strength would sharply decline, and they would no longer be one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse like before.

    There were too many simr examples. Wherever Lu Yin went, problems seemed to inevitably appear before him.

    After calling the Neo-Vestige Sect, Lu Yin next called Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen had long since expected for Lu Yin to contact him, and there was a sly smile on his face. ¡°Chesspiece Bro, you¡¯re even more capable than I gave you credit for.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he looked at the image of Wang Wen on his screen. ¡°Join me. Let¡¯s y together.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to y to our hearts¡¯ content, as we¡¯ll simply be enjoying ourselves. I want to know what you¡¯re nning on focusing next¡ªjust the Outerverse?¡± Wang Wen stared intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as hezily stretched his arms. ¡°Whatever. We¡¯ll just y however we want. Humans should have targets, but it¡¯s also fine to not have any objectives every once in a while. Wherever I look will be my territory.¡±

    Wang Wenughed. ¡°Chesspiece Bro is very ambitious. Do you want to leave your name in history?¡±

    Lu Yin rearranged his expression and stared at Wang Wen. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave my name in the history books. Rather, I want history to not even dare to record my name.¡±

    Wang Wen¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s cooperate well. From now on, the overall advisor of both the Great Eastern Alliance and the Great Yu Empire will be me, Wang Wen. I will contact En Ya, and I¡¯ll also send you a gift that will make you very happy.¡±

    They ended their call, and Lu Yin gave En Ya a few more orders.

    En Ya was not very willing to ept Wang Wen¡¯s advice, but she could not go against Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    Wang Wen¡¯s efficiency was truly exceptional. That same day, En Ya passed the young man all sorts of information concerning the Great Yu Empire, and he immediately found three moles who had hidden themselves very deeply while also obtaining quite high positions. One of them was in the Lu Office of Defense and had almost been nominated to join the Lu Ministry of Defense. If he had joined the Lu Ministry of Defense, then it would be the same as him stepping into the Great Yu Empire¡¯s upper brass. Wang Wen had only needed to look through the gathered information to find these moles.

    ording to Wang Wen, rather than just three moles among their forces, there were actually as many as thirty. There was no need to dig them all out, as it would actually be more useful to keep them around for the time being. He had only dug out the moles who could cause the Great Yu Empire to suffer real losses.

    Wang Wen¡¯s ability was not limited to just that much. Over the course of several days, he amended the alliance¡¯s constitution and adjusted their troop deployment before setting out to establish the new legions. His actions left En Ya watching on dumbfounded. She simply could not imagine how one person who had not even visited the Great Yu Empire could do so much.

    Although Lu Yin was very confident in Wang Wen, he had not expected the young man to be so capable. Wang Wen was able to aplish so much because he fully understood the matters involved since he had been constantly observing the Great Yu Empire this entire time.

    Even if Lu Yin had not sought out Wang Wen of his own ord, Wang Wen would still have found a way to move over.

    Some people were simply not suited to remain nested in just one ce for their entire lives. Ironblood Weave had merely been a ce for Wang Wen to cultivate, though he had not cultivated his power level, but rather his brain.

    Wang Wen also gave Lu Yin another suggestion: contact Endless Borders. Although thepany did not seem very prominent, they had simply grasped too many secret routes. Any one of these routes was invaluable, and more importantly, this group understood the Astral Wilderness very well.

    Humans were often embroiled in internal conflict, but the truth was that the universe was endlessly vast. Nobody knew exactly what was in the Astral Wilderness, and an unknown civilization that was capable of vanquishing the entire human race might appear at any time.

    Wang Wen cared about this detail the most, as the unknown was often the most frightening thing.

    In the darkness of outer space, there was a spacecraft speeding towards the west. It was Lu Yin¡¯s vessel and behind him sat Wang Wen¡¯s gift, which was actually a person named n. He had been stationed on Endless Weave¡¯s border in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone.

    n was a Melder, and he was just like Lu Yin. He had been taken off of a trial by cultivators before stepping foot onto the path of cultivation.

    Unfortunately, his luck was a bit worse than Lu Yin¡¯s, as the people who had taken him from his home had immediately thrown him to the border warfront. If not for his good luck, he would have died a long time ago. Of course, he also had his own abilities, which was an innate gift that allowed him to hear the strength of those around him. Although it was not of much use at his current power level, it still allowed him to avoid disasters.

    He had been sent to Zenyu Star by the Hall of Honor a few months ago because he had discovered a secret.

    ¡°You can listen to the heartbeats of those around you and determine who¡¯s strong or weak?¡± Lu Yin asked quietly.

    n carefully replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him curiously. ¡°How does my heartbeat sound?¡±

    n was scared stiff, and he bowed deeply. ¡°Your heartbeat is very rare among those that I¡¯ve heard, and only those almighty powerhouses canpare to you.¡±

    ¡°Andpared to the person who brought you away?¡± Lu Yin was asking about Goldric Phoenix, as he had been the one to bring n away from the border.

    n quickly replied, ¡°You¡¯re much stronger than him.¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his gaze. He did not actually care about whether or not n was stating the truth because the man¡¯s secret was his most valuable aspect.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second trip to Millions City.

    The first difference from his first visit was that, this time, Lu Yin entered without any obstructions. This was the treatment that was reserved only for almighty powerhouses such as Enlighters.

    When he entered Millions City this time, Lu Yin suddenly realized something. Millions City usually required people to have a tattoo on their wrists that differentiated between people¡¯s status based on their wealth.

    This was a very ordinary authentication method, and Lu Yin had assumed that it was done just to facilitate business transactions for those in Millions City. However, after the battle in Millions City, he had realized that those tattoos might not be as simple as he had initially assumed. It was possible that they were like the Skyze Dojo¡¯s altar¡¯s mark, where only those who had received a burning seal on the backs of their hands would be brought away when the altar was activated while the rest would bepletely ignored.

    The tattoo that the people arriving at Millions City received was likely the same thing. The city likely had a function that allowed it to take away those who had received the tattoo while also allowing the city to track certain people through their tattoos and then carry out a precision attack.

    Millions City itself was a mobile fortress, and everyone who entered received a tattoo, which was the equivalent of having a target above their heads. Whoever moved would die.

    Unless the person was like that corpse king from the Neohuman Alliance who had slipped in, no one would be able to avoid their tracking.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin raised his wrist and entered Millions City, watching as the tattoo automatically appeared. There was no need for him to receive it a second time. If he ever waged war against Millions City, then even if he was on the distant Zenyu Star, he might be able to be targeted through this tattoo.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and a burning sensation suddenly appeared around his wrist as the skin in that area was quickly cauterized, causing the seal to soon vanish.

    He did not want to be targeted by Millions City.

    When Lu Yin arrived in Millions City this time, he attracted a great deal of attention. His status was very differentpared to when he hadst visited, as this time, his influence had already spread to the weaves in the central area of the Outerverse, and not even the western weaves dared to look down upon him any longer.

    City Master Qiong Shanhai even personally weed Lu Yin.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, our Millions City is honored by your presence.¡± Qiong Shanhai was very cordial.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°City Master Qiong is too courteous. I¡¯m just here to see a friend, but I¡¯ve troubled the city master toe out and wee me. Please forgive me.¡±

    ¡°Haha, Alliance Leader Lu is no ordinary person, and this is something I should do.¡± Qiong Shanhai smiled as he led Lu Yin along.

    ¡°I wonder, which friend Alliance Leader Lu is visiting? I may be able to lead you there,¡± Qiong Shanhai asked as he looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s lips curled upwards. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Last time, I left the city master¡¯s home in a rush, so I never was able to enjoy a tour. I wonder, could City Master Qiong wee me into your home again?¡±

    Qiong Shanhai¡¯s expression changed, but only for an instance. He quickly smiled once again. ¡°Of course. Xi''er has missed Alliance Leader Lu very much. Please.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡± Lu Yin gave a faint smile as he followed Qiong Shanhai.

    ¡­

    In a corner of Millions City, within the Wei family¡¯s estate, the atmosphere had be very tense, and everyone looked desperate.

    Lu Yin had clearly arrived to take care of their Wei family¡¯s leader, and although they hated it, they were also very afraid.

    At this moment, they merely hoped that Lu Yin would not remember them while also hoping that Millions City would protect them.

    ¡­

    In the Zhu family¡¯s estate, Zhu Jie stared at the sky, while wondering why Lu Yin woulde at this time. Zhu Jie was aware that Wei Rong was hiding in the city master¡¯s home. However, would Lu Yin be brazen enough to demand that Wei Rong be turned over to him? If he did, then Qiong Shanhai definitely would not agree for the sake of Millions City¡¯s reputation, and it was even possible that a war might break out.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯ll head over for a look,¡± Zhu San said.

    Zhu Jiehe thought about it and then nodded. ¡°Act the same as you did before.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 912: A Choice Without A Solution

    <h4>Chapter 912: A Choice Without A Solution</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival caused countless people¡¯s imaginations to wander, especially since news of Mordo and Canopy Weaves joining the Great Eastern Alliance had only recently begun to spread. Everyone was guessing as to whether or not Lu Yin was trying to lure in Millions City as well.

    Countless powers from the central region of the Outerverse tried to contact Millions City, and western region¡¯s powers were even more frantic, as they were afraid that Millions City would agree to join the Great Eastern Alliance. That would give Lu Yin the ability to directly bypass the central region and use Millions City as a springboard to interfere with the weaves in the western region. If heunched a war simr to the one that he had conducted against Armament Weave, then Millions City would allow him to ess territories that were a great distance away from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. The thought of Lu Yin being able to attack so freely was absolutely frightening.

    Many recalled the two invasion ns that had been exposed before; could they have been real?

    The city master¡¯s residence¡¯s imposing appearance had been restored, and every single part of it revealed its inhabitants¡¯ wealth.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time visiting the city master¡¯s home. Last time, he had been shown Phantom Sting¡¯s corpse here, and he had had no time to take a tour. This time, he wanted to receive the full tour.

    Qiong Xi''er was a girl, and many people had spread news that she hoped to marry Lu Yin, which made it improper for her to wee him. However, she was still waiting within the city master¡¯s residence, and she had even personally made some refreshments.

    In the underground region, beneath the city master¡¯s residence, Wei Rong silently read through some scrolls. He was even more nervous at the prospects of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, as this meant that Lu Yin knew that Wei Rong was hiding in this ce. However, Wei Rong still wanted to see if Lu Yin had the ability to take him, the refugee, away!

    Qiong Xi''er followed Qiong Shanhai into the family estate, where a maid served them the refreshments as she waited on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Brother Lu, why didn¡¯t you send a message that you wereing? Then I could have prepared some better snacks.¡± Qiong Xi''er pretended to me Lu Yin even as she personally offered a snack to him.

    She was dressed exceptionally well this time, and her typical male clothing had been traded away for a more feminine dress. Her originally beautiful face had been meticulously made up, and she looked very alluring.

    For some reason, when he saw Qiong Xi''er offer him snacks, Lu Yin suddenly felt that if he married this woman, Yan''er would be taken advantage of. After thinking about that, he quickly forced out a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry, so I don¡¯t want to eat too much. There¡¯s no need to be so courteous, Miss Xi¡¯er.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er rolled her beautiful eyes and then looked over at Qiong Shanhai. ¡°Father, you can go and take care of your own business. Brother Lu is my friend, so I¡¯ll take him around on a tour.¡±

    She then looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu doesn¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That would actually be for the best. City master, please don¡¯t inconvenience yourself.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai then said, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then forgive my manners. Xi''er, please take Alliance Leader Lu on a good tour.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er murmured her assent.

    After her father left, Qiong Xi''er adjusted her expression and waved a hand to dismiss the other people in the room. She then looked at Lu Yin with a serene expression. ¡°Brother Lu must have some reason toe here, so speak. What¡¯s your objective?¡±

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. ¡°Everyone knows your personality, so why were you acting like that just now? And you¡¯re even wearing a woman¡¯s clothes at that.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er smiled craftily. ¡°If I don¡¯t do at least this much, then how will outsiders be certain that I like Brother Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin was curious about this. ¡°Do those rumors give you any benefits?¡±

    ¡°Of course, much fewer flies,¡± Qiong Xi''er replied.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Millions City¡¯s son-inw. This title is quite attractive. It seems that you¡¯re trying to make some new enemies for me.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er smiled. ¡°Brother Lu won¡¯t mind. Right now, in the entire Outerverse, the only person at your age who you could care about is the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Wrong, there¡¯s someone else besides him. I am also concerned about you, Wang Wen, and the one who¡¯s hiding here in your home.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The one in my home? Is Brother Lu certain about that?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. ¡°Call him out. I want to talk with him. Rx, I won¡¯t do anything¡ªI just want to chat.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er frowned. ¡°Is Brother Lu going to threaten him with his family?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not that despicable, and this has nothing to do with his family. Alright, bring him out.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er sent some orders through her gadget. Since Lu Yin hade, it showed that he was confident. Thus, there was indeed no need to keep hiding Wei Rong. Besides, she also wanted to see what Lu Yin would use to take Wei Rong away.

    Lu Yin had initially wanted to use the rumors that Zhu San had spread, the ones about Wei Rong taking advantage of Lan Si, in order to coerce Wei Rong into revealing himself. Then, Lu Yin could find some excuse to capture Wei Rong. However, the gift that Wang Wen had sent to Lu Yin no longer required him to take such round-about methods, though Lu Yin still had to deal with certainplications. That was because he still needed to deal with Mt. Stacks Dojo, though that was a small matter in the grand scheme of things. Mt. Stacks Dojo was willing to cause trouble for Millions City, but they would not dare to cause trouble for Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong calmly walked towards Lu Yin, his emotions seeminglypletely calm and without any fluctuations.

    After the battle in Armament Weave that had led to the ultimate defeat of the Wei family, this was the first time the two had met each other, and this would also be their first time talking to each other since then.

    ¡°I believe that you are confident in taking me away, so let¡¯s hear it.¡± Wei Rong calmly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at Qiong Xi''er.

    She frowned, as she did not want to leave.

    ¡°There¡¯s no benefit to you if she hears this,¡± Lu Yin told Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong looked at Qiong Xi''er. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Qiong Xi''er snorted, but she still turned to leave.

    After she left, Lu Yin exchanged nces with Wei Rong. ¡°Wang Wen has joined the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°That¡¯s not unexpected. It would appear that I¡¯m the gift he sent you. What did he do?¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and n, who had been standing at a distance, walked over with a wary expression on his face. As he approached, his nervous breathing quickened.

    n was just an ordinary cultivator who had been tossed to the border warfront, and he had never been anywhere like Millions City, let alone the city master¡¯s residence.

    Wei Rong did not know n, and he lookedpletely lost.

    ¡°n, introduce yourself,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    n swallowed his saliva, and under Wei Rong¡¯s doubtful eyes, said, ¡°I¡¯m n. I was taken away from my home during a trial conducted by the Dark Phoenix family, and after that, I stepped onto the path of cultivation. I¡¯m currently a Melder, and we¡¯ve also met before.¡±

    Wei Rong was stillpletely confused. ¡°We¡¯ve met?¡±

    n nodded and quietly answered, ¡°In the Dark Phoenix Lavazone. I was always there guarding the Dark Phoenix Lavazone.¡±

    Wei Rong frowned, as he simply could not remember this person. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and he stared at n. Wei Rong¡¯s face went horribly pale in just an instant.

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve suddenly remembered.¡±

    He looked appreciatively at Wei Rong. ¡°Legends have it that the Wei family has spread a web throughout the Outerverse while producing geniuses for generations, and that part seems to be true enough. Others remain in their own weaves, but you guys have already set your focus on the wars between domains. To prevent me from eliminating your Wei family, you actually intentionally sent an attack against the Technocracy and triggered an invasion. The response of the Human Domain was very fierce.¡±

    Wei Rong continued to stare at n. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    n did not reply, so Lu Yin cut in. ¡°He knows quite a bit, and he also saw quite a bit. Do you know what his innate gift is? He can differentiate between the strong from the weak through hearing, and his innate gift also allows him to learn things that most can¡¯t.¡±

    Wei Rong looked at Lu Yin and then softly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that it would bring over the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion wasn¡¯t triggered by you, as they had already wanted to invade the Outerverse. However, who will believe that?¡±

    Wei Rong was unable to defend himself. True¡ªwho would believe him? The Human Domain and Technocracy had been fighting a war, and Wei Rong had been the fuse. If the Wei family had not attacked the Technocracy of their own ord, then the Technocracy would not have invaded. Of course, Wei Rong had merely hoped to use the battle at the border warfront to buy some time for the Wei family¡¯s survival, but in retrospect, others would not think the same. They would only take the border war, as well as the countless deaths that had urred, into ount. They would also remember those powerhouses like the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor and the Arrow Mountain Elder, whose deaths had seemingly been caused by Wei Rong¡¯s actions. He had be a sinner against the entire Outerverse.

    In fact, this single action would make Wei Rong a sinner known throughout history. Because of him, countless people from the Outerverse had died with the number of casualties being inestimable. As soon as this matter was exposed, countless people in the Outerverse would want to eat Wei Rong alive. The suffering that the war had brought to the Ourverse needed a scapegoat as an outlet, and he was the best candidate.

    This had been Wang Wen¡¯s gift to Lu Yin, a gift that was able to easily push Wei Rong into the abyss.

    Nobody would even listen to Wei Rong¡¯s exnation. Even if he was able to avoid being judged by the Hall of Honor, he would never have a ce in the Outerverse ever again. Everything that he had ever aplished would be erased, and even Millions City would not be able to shelter him.

    Wei Rong closed his eyes. He had failed, and he had beenpletely defeated. He had not lost to Lu Yin, but rather to Wang Wen.

    Wei Rong, Wang Wen, and Qiong Xi''er were all equally famous in the Outerverse, and they also had a mutual understanding of each other¡¯s abilities. Wei Rong had thought that he was on the same level as Wang Wen and that he might even be better than Wang Wen when it came to their connections. However, at this moment, Wei Rong realized that Wang Wen had simply never taken any action. The moment that Wang Wen had moved, it had been checkmate.

    Lu Yin was also astounded at Wang Wen¡¯s methods. This bastard had been keeping an eye on Wei Rong since who knows when. Then, in one fell swoop, he had be the final victor. No matter how smart Wei Rong was, no matter how many backup ns he had, it was all useless if he was rejected by the entire Fifth Domain. This move of Wang Wen could actually make Wei Rong the enemy of the entire Fifth Domain.

    The battles in the Outerverse had been very lively, and Wang Wen had always seemed to be an outsider. However, at this moment, he had simply ended the game.

    Wei Rong sighed. ¡°I will join you and the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. ¡°Wee. From today on, you are officially a member of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Lu Ministry of Defense, and you will also have the authority tomand a portion of the Great Yu Empire and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military.¡±

    Wei Rong looked up into the sky. Two years should have passed since the Great Eastern Alliance had first dered war against Armament Weave. He hade up with all kinds of methods to protect the Wei family and save himself, but in the end, he had not been able to go against the tides.

    Wei Rong was reluctant, as he had his own aspirations and dreams; he had wanted to be the pioneer of a new era. But in the end, he had been defeated and thrown to Lu Yin¡¯s feet. Now, Wei Rong would need to open new frontiers for Lu Yin.

    Although he was unwilling, Wei Rong still heaved a sigh of relief, as the mountain that had been constantly pressing down on him from above had disappeared.

    He averted his eyes and looked at Lu Yin. He then bowed deeply. ¡°Your subject pays his respects to the Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin reached out a hand to lift Wei Rong back up. ¡°We¡¯ll erase all the grievances between the two of us. Your Wei family can also return to Armament Weave now.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Royal Regent,¡± Wei Rong acknowledged.

    When Qiong Xi''er learned that Wei Rong had joined the Great Yu Empire, the expression on her face as she looked at Lu Yin was filled with apprehension and wariness. She understood Wei Rong quite well, and she could not understand how Lu Yin had aplished such a thing. At this moment, her apprehension towards Lu Yin had be very strong.

    Qiong Xi''er was quickly followed behind by Zhu San, as he had just arrived at the city master¡¯s estate, where upon arrival, he had learned that Wei Rong had already joined the Great Yu Empire. His pupils constricted, as he could notprehend this development.

    Lu Yin did not linger in Millions City for now. Now that he had roped in Wei Rong, it meant that many matters in the future would no longer require Lu Yin¡¯s direct attention. Wang Wen and Wei Rong would be Lu Yin¡¯s tools while En Ya, Huan Sha, and the Imperial Cab would be responsible for supervision. Lu Yin¡¯s existence would be nothing more than their spiritual leader.

    Soon, the Outerverse erupted in a mor, as the Wei family had announced that they would join the Great Yu Empire. News of Wei Rong formally joining the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Lu Ministry of Defense also spread everywhere, shocking countless people.

    In the past few years, the biggest event in the Outerverse had certainly been the border defenses in the east and west, but right below them was the war between Wei Rong and Lu Yin. And at this moment, it had finally ended with Wei Rong¡¯s surrender.

 Chapter 913: Shattered Cauldron

    <h4>Chapter 913: Shattered Cauldron</h4>

    Currently, the forces most terrified of the news that Wei Rong had joined the Great Eastern Alliance were, of course, the various great powers that ruled the weaves in the Outerverse¡¯s central area. Wei Rong had always been in touch with these people, and now that Wei Rong had surrendered to Lu Yin, the blow to their morale was rather impressive.

    Under these circumstances, someone proposed a suggestion that they imitate the Great Eastern Alliance and form their own allied military force that had an express military route.

    At first, there were people who opposed this, as they imed that doing so would be the same as establishing an alliance. However, in the end, this proposal was approved. The Great Eastern Alliance was like a slumbering beast that could devour them at any moment.

    Joining the alliance was just a euphemism; put more unpleasantly, joining the alliance was equivalent to epting Lu Yin¡¯s leadership. One word from Lu Yin could shift the resources of the various powers, and that was something that nobody was willing to ept.

    When Lu Yin saw the strong reactions that people had to this development, he actually did nothing in response. This was to avoid pushing them any further than necessary.

    He quickly arranged a position for Wei Rong and then headed straight back to the secret room in King Zishan¡¯s pce. Lu Yin then took out his futon and returned to the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    A considerable amount of time had passed since Lu Yin hadst visited the ruins, and he could not allow this bountiful source of wealth lie fallow any longer.

    The war in the Innerverse had drawn quite a few of the Sixth Maind¡¯s experts away from the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, even the youths that were not of the three invading realms. Experts from all over the Sixth Maind had joined the invasion forces, which led to far fewer youths visiting the ruins.

    Lu Yin sped along the path that led from the First Divine Gate to the Budding Terrace, not stopping until he finally arrived in the space that held the Nine Cauldrons.

    Just as before, any Sixth Maind cultivators within the space with the Nine Cauldrons were knocked unconscious by Lu Yin before being tossed aside.

    Such an incident had already urred thrice before, and people had started spreading rumors that experts asionally appeared in this ce. However, the timings of Lu Yin¡¯s visits to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins were patternless, and it had been quite some time since hisst trip. Thus, many people had forgotten about it.

    This was the fourth time that Lu Yin hade to absorb the cauldron energy, and Lu Yin had thought that this visit would be the same as the previous three visits where he left after absorbing as much cauldron energy as he could. However, something new happened this time. As he absorbed the cauldron energy, a crack appeared in the cauldron he was sitting in.

    Each of the Nine Cauldrons was exceptionally durable, and even when White Knight had fought against Blood Looney, they hadn¡¯t been able to cause even a trace of damage to appear on them. But while Lu Yin was absorbing the cauldron energy, cracks suddenly appeared on the cauldron, and they quickly began spreading out. He did not notice the cracks at first, but when they reached the area beneath him, he finally noticed them.

    The crisp sound of the cracks grew louder as they continued to spread, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn. The invisible cauldron energy was still flowing into his palm and body, and he had a feeling that the cauldron energy within this particr cauldron was about to bepletely absorbed.

    Four times. It had taken him four sessions topletely absorb the cauldron energy from this cauldron. Since there were nine cauldrons, that meant that he would have to spend a total of thirty six sessions absorbing the cauldron energy with thirty two remaining sessions, which was equivalent to thirty two months. That amount of time wasn¡¯t even factoring the amount of time that Lu Yin had to wait between each visit to the ruins. In other words, it would take him far too long for him topletely absorb all of the cauldron energy from all nine cauldrons. The only way to shorten this time was for him to learn how to use his spiritual force to extend the time he could spend within the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    Lu Yin naturally thought of the Daynight n, as they were the most adept at using spiritual force.

    At the entrance to the Nine Cauldrons space, where the pir of light allowed people to transport between the regions of the Daosource Sect, a procession of five people entered the space, cheerfully joking around with each other. However, when they entered the space, they heard a loud bang, and to their horror, they discovered that one of the cauldrons had shattered.

    The five were all stunned. The Nine Cauldrons had existed in this ce for countless years, and they had even survived the war between the two mainds without ever suffering any damage. It was rumored that the Nine Cauldrons each contained a battle technique that could then bebined into one invincible technique. This was a ce where countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind had searched for destined opportunities, as countless people dreamed of obtaining the battle technique thaty within the Nine Cauldrons.

    However, at this moment, a cauldron had shattered.

    The five hurriedly charged over, as it was possible that there might be a battle technique within the shattered fragments of the cauldron.

    Lu Yin stepped over the shattered fragments beneath him and turned around as the five people charged over at their top speeds.

    He did not reveal himself to them. Instead, Lu Yin vanished in a sh. He did not have that many days remaining in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he did not want the people from the Sixth Maind to discover him. If they did, it would no longer be as easy for him to peacefully absorb the cauldron energy the next time he visited.

    As Lu Yin moved to leave, the five cultivators did not notice anything at all. Their eyes were solely focused on the cauldron¡¯s shattered fragments, and they were frantically searching for something.

    Lu Yin quickly left the space with the Nine Cauldrons, as that region would definitely attract countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind, and even the Realmlings might visit it. The space with the Nine Cauldrons was just too famous, and Lu Yin would not find it unexpected if even the Daosource Three Skies made a visit. It seemed that he would need to temporarily pause his sessions of absorbing the cauldron energy.

    With just a single step, he had left the region. Lu Yin had assumed that he would appear rather close to Budding Terrace, but he actually ended up in an unknown location.

    This entire area was foggy, and after Lu Yin took just two steps, the white fog suddenly transformed into chains that entangled his four limbs. Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly used his strength to break free. The chains stretched, snapped, and then reformed into white fog again before dissipating away.

    This ce was very strange, and Lu Yin instantly became vignt. Suddenly, the white fog transformed once again, but this time, it took the form of a longsword that stabbed at him. Lu Yin casually waved a hand and shattered the longsword, which once again reverted back into white fog that then dissipated.

    He did not know what sort of ce this was, but the surrounding fog was very strange. It seemed to be incorporeal, and yet it could form itself into weapons that could kill. Fortunately, these weapons were not very powerful; otherwise, he would have been quite worried.

    Every few steps, the fog shifted into new forms, either weapons or other strange objects. There were even some humanoid forms that appeared and attacked Lu Yin. The most dangerous moment was when the fog took on the shape of a human, as this figure was not weak at all. In fact, it possessed a strength that nearly rivaled Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, but it was useless against the white fog. Additionally, rune lines could not be seen within the Daosource Sect''s ruins, so he could only slowly move forward step by step. In any case, after another two days passed, he would be able to leave the ruins. Actually, remaining in ce might also be a good way to deal with this ce.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin sat down cross-legged. He had decided that this ce was just too strange, so he would rather remain still and wait for his time to be up.

    Half a day passed, after which Lu Yin opened his eyes and exhaled.

    As long as he did not move, the surrounding fog would be nothing more than just fog, and it would not automatically transform into objects that attacked him.

    He still had about a whole day left in the ruins, and Lu Yin mentally submerged himself as he began to silently recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Reciting the Stonewall Scriptures allowed him to strengthen his spiritual force, but he did not know how to use that strength effectively. In fact, his only technique that employed spiritual force was the Daynight Punch. The strength of that punch was enough to even render someone at Hong Ying¡¯s level unable to fight. However, such an attack would not work against the Ten Arbiters.

    He had to find some other way to take advantage of his spiritual force.

    It did not take long for another half day to pass.

    Lu Yin was currently silently sitting down cross-legged, but he suddenly opened his eyes and looked to the right¡ªsome activity had just urred in that direction.

    He merely stared, but then he suddenly saw the fog to his right begin to transform, and a tender palm streaked through the fog to swat at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, but he responded in kind by raising his own hand. There was a bang as two opposing waves of energy collided and the void warped. A formless shockwave also swept away the nearby fog.

    When the two palms collided, there was no sense of any physical contact. Lu Yin received a very strange feeling from that palm¡ªit was as if he had struck cotton. That palm had contained a ferocious strength that had quickly dissolved away as well as a formless strength that had burst forth and forced him to retreat several steps. The soft hand then continued to press forward and suppress him.

    Lu Yin frowned and raised his hand once again. This time, he was using Fifty Stacks in his attack.

    There was another bang, but Lu Yin felt the same strange sensation again. His attack had been violent, but the response from the soft hand was even more unendurable. Just as his opponent¡¯s palm released a bit of force, Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path erupted, and a surprised wail was heard. A girl stepped out of the fog and pulled back her hand as she stared at Lu Yin in amazement.

    Lu Yin simrly pulled back his hand as the force of the shockwave spread out in various directions.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t something formed by the fog?¡± Lu Yin blurted out.

    The girl in front of him looked at him calmly before shifting her gaze to his hand. ¡°You aren¡¯t weak.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her, and his pupils shrank. This woman had seen him before, as she had been present when the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings had fought for that jade stone in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. He had unintentionally joined that battlefield, and he had been like an ant thrown into a tornado, only barely surviving that cmity. This girl had arrived at thest moment, and her strength had been astounding. She was definitely someone on the same level as a Realmling.

    Lu Yin had never expected to bump into her again in this ce. He had not exchanged blows with her before, but he had a feeling for how powerful she was. Additionally, he recalled that someone had called her Xin N¨¹ at that time.

    The woman stared at Lu Yin suspiciously. She also remembered Lu Yin, though not because of his strength. She remembered him because of a feeling. When they first met, she had felt a strange sense of intimacy towards him, almost as if there was a resonance between their bloodlines. Now that they were meeting again, that same feeling hade again. This person was definitely rted to her in some manner.

    ¡°When you saw me, did you feel any sort of sensation?¡± the girl asked as she stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°What feeling?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, is she about to dere her love for you?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked in an odd tone.

    The girl stared straight into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, as if she was trying to see something within them. ¡°Do you know me?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    The girl was disappointed, as she could tell from his eyes that this person truly did not know her.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Where are you from?¡± she continued.

    Lu Yin was puzzled, but because he was nervous, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m Huang San, from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°You aren¡¯t from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory, as no other bloodlines have merged into your body.¡±

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed, as his lie had been instantly seen through. ¡°It¡¯s not none¡ªit¡¯s just that I recently changed, and I haven¡¯t found a new one yet.¡±

    She seriously answered, ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t want to answer. I have no intention of interrogating you.¡±

    She then surveyed their surroundings. ¡°This is the fog barrier that surrounds the tform of Inception, and few are able to cross it. However, if they can make it through, then they can ascend the tform of Inception. That ce contains some ancient Lockbreakers¡¯ personal experiences if you¡¯re lucky, which is of great help to a Lockbreaker. Since you¡¯re here, you must be a Lockbreaker as well.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he had never expected the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins to contain such a ce. ¡°Somewhat. Are you headed to the tform of Inception?¡±

    The girl nodded. ¡°I¡¯m at a threshold, so I want to use the tform of Inception to break through to the next lockbreaking level.¡±

    ¡°What level are you?¡± Lu Yin asked reflexively, only to immediately regret it. This sort of question pried into others¡¯ privacy, and such a question could easily trigger hostility.

    However, the girl did not seem to care one bit. ¡°Five star Perceptive Intermediate.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker?¡±

    The girl nodded. ¡°Is that a problem?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face contorted. Of course that was a problem! She was so young and was already a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker! That was something that even a regr genius could not hope to achieve.

    Generally speaking, Melders and Limiteers were only able to reach the Discerning Elementary level while Explorers and Cruisers could reach the Perceptive Intermediate level. Only Hunters and above were able to break through and reach the Boundless Advanced level.

    It seemed quite abnormal for this woman to have attained the level of a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, but who could use strength to determine one¡¯s Lockbreaker level? Strength merely provided the foundation. In reality, there were many members of the Lockbreaker Society who were Hunters, but very few of them had reached the Boundless Advanced level. Even a peak Hunter like Fiend Li was only a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker whereas, of Mr. Jun, Felynn, and Yi Feng, who were also all Hunters, not a single one of them had reached the level of a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    In the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, Vice President Saul was the only one who had reached the Boundless Advanced level while still in the Hunter realm.

 Chapter 914: Xin Nu And The Platform of Inception

    <h4>Chapter 914: Xin Nu And The tform of Inception</h4>

    The Innerverse Lockbreaker Society did not have that many Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers either. Additionally, strength was wholly unrted to one¡¯s Lockbreaker level, but this woman also had the strength of a Realmling, which indicated that she should also be in the Hunter realm. It was rather terrifying that she was also a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and her previous words even insinuated that she was on the verge of breaking through to the Boundless Advanced level. Despite all that, just how young was this girl?

    The most innately talented Lockbreaker that Lu Yin had ever heard of was Tutor Wusheng, who had be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker while still in the Explorer realm. However, Tutor Wusheng was over a hundred years old, and he had attained the five star Perceptive Intermediate level as an Explorer not because his lockbreaking talent was too extraordinary, but rather because his cultivation talent was toocking.

    This woman was truly talented at cultivating while also being extraordinarily talented at Lockbreaking.

    Once she reached the Boundless Advanced level, she would step into another world, where she would be able topete with the likes of Saul. At that moment, her strength would greatly surpass Lu Yin¡¯s.

    ¡°What about you? Are you also a Lockbreaker?¡± the girl asked curiously. Those who knew her would definitely be confused by her behavior at this time. To start, she rarely spoke, and when she did, she never took the initiative to inquire about anything, and she certainly did not ever give anyone any respect. But on this day, she had asked Lu Yin several questions in a row and even revealed a strong curiosity.

    Lu Yin coughed awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    The girl murmured an acknowledgement and then stopped asking questions.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, embarrassed. He did not dare to reveal anything about himself.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, actually you¡¯re quite impressive,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He obviously knew that he was impressive. Even though this girl was just an Explorer, her lockbreaking level might not be any lower than his own. However, he merely did not want to say that since it would embarrass him. More importantly, he did not dare to ask how old she was, as it would be even more embarrassing if she turned out to be the same age as him.

    ¡°Do you want me to take you to the tform of Inception? If your luck is good enough, you might be able to improve your lockbreaking skills.¡± The girl looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°But I¡¯m not a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Then?¡±

    ¡°Just treat it as a trip.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, as this woman had definitely assumed that he was a Lockbreaker, and she also knew that he was unwilling to say anything out of embarrassment, which was because of her attempt to help him. But just why was she helping him? Lu Yin was rather confused. ¡°Are you helping me?¡±

    The girl shook her head. ¡°Nope. I just want to take you on a trip to the tform of Inception.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin asked nkly.

    She thought about it. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite kind.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Right, what¡¯s your name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Xin N¨¹, and you?¡± She asked, evidently not believing the name ¡°Huang San¡± that he had given before.

    Lu Yin was too embarrassed to lie to her now. ¡°Could you not ask?¡±

    Xin N¨¹ nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Why was she so straightforward about everything? Lu Yin felt that this girl was quite entric, but for some reason, he had a good feeling about her. He felt that she was a good person!

    With Xin N¨¹ paving the way forward, the surrounding fog was not able to stop the two of them no matter how it transformed.

    ¡°Can very few people reach the tform of Inception? Is that ce very dangerous?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xin N¨¹ replied, ¡°Mm.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident that you can reach that ce?¡± Lu Yin asked. He was suspicious that this woman had the same motivations that White Knight once had in the past; perhaps she was asking Lu Yin for his help in a matter that was impossible toplete alone.

    Xin N¨¹ replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been there once, and it¡¯s not difficult, though it would be extremely difficult for you to get there.¡±

    Lu Yin stopped speaking.

    Xin N¨¹ was right, as it would indeed not be easy for Lu Yin to proceed through the fog on his own. Although he had been able to make it through the initial part, the further they proceeded, the stronger the white fog¡¯s attacks became. Eventually, the attacks reached the level of a Realmling-level powerhouse. If not for Xin N¨¹, then Lu Yin might not have been able to break through.

    After taking onest step, they emerged from the fog, and the two people ascended onto a square tform.

    It wasrge and very spacious, but there was nothing actually there.

    ¡°Is this the tform of Inception?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Xin N¨¹ exined, ¡°In the ancient Daosource Sect, Master Lockbreakers would perform their lockbreaking attempts here, and their experiences would be pulled into the fog, which then preserved those lockbreaking scenes. These scenes have not dissipated despite the countless years, and those who are lucky enough can experience those fog traces, which is the same as experiencing those lockbreaking sessions for yourself, which will upgrade your understanding of lockbreaking by a great deal.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly understood the point of this tform, as it was simr to how he watched videos of lockbreaking sessions. It was just that this form of observation was on an even higher level, and it was the same as personally experiencing those sessions.

    ¡°Is there a lot of that fog?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xin N¨¹ shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, as very few people can reach the tform of Inception in any given year. Only those with the strength of a Realmling can get here, and there are very few Lockbreakers among the Realmlings.¡±

    ¡°Few is few, but even after so many years, the total number of visitors will still be quite high.¡± Lu Yin sighed.

    Xin N¨¹ did not respond, as that was a simple fact. Even if only one person arrived at this ce every hundred years, there would still be an uncountable number of cultivators who had visited this ce over the countless years. It all depended on how many lockbreaking experts had existed within the original Daosource Sect, as well as how many ages this ce had endured through.

    ¡°When I was here before, I was able to absorb a strand of grey fog, which increased my lockbreaking experience significantly.¡± Just as Xin N¨¹ uttered those words, a strand of grey fog appeared in the white fog surrounding the tform. It swam through the air like a small snake, and Xin N¨¹¡¯s eyes lit up. She waved a hand, pulled that grey fog over, and then pushed it over towards Lu Yin. ¡°For you.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, and he looked at Xin N¨¹. ¡°Is this a strand of ancient lockbreaking experience?¡±

    She nodded.

    Lu Yin was puzzled, as this shouldn¡¯t be happening. This experience was extremely precious, especially to this girl, who was on the verge of breaking through and bing a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. For her, this experience was valuable beyond measure, so could she be willing to just give it to him like that? He was rather incredulous; this strand might be poisoned!

    Xin N¨¹ likely noticed Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation, so she waved her hand again and absorbed the grey fog with her body. After that, she sat down and looked like she wasprehending something.

    Lu Yin observed her as she sat there.

    As time passed, Xin N¨¹ lifted her hands and involuntarily moved them around, as if she was lockbreaking. However, she merely went through the motions without using any star energy.

    After some time, Xin N¨¹ opened her eyes, her expression bright. She turned to face Lu Yin¡¯s curious expression and said, ¡°There¡¯s still a bit more I have to do before I can break through and be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but thank you for letting me have it.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. She had found that grey fog in the first ce, and he had not absorbed it because he had been worried about being poisoned. But now, he was unexpectedly being offered gratitude for some reason. This woman was too much, and she made even him feel a little embarrassed.

    There was now less than a day remaining before Lu Yin¡¯s time in the Daosource Sect''s ruins expired.

    ording to Xin N¨¹, the odds of more grey fog appearing was not very high. She had once stayed on this tform for more than a month, but she had only found and absorbed two strands of the grey fog during that time. This time, their luck proved to be much better, as a strand had appeared almost as soon as they had arrived.

    Lu Yin did not hold any hopes of seeing more grey fog since he had so little time remaining.

    However, his luck was quite good, and a couple of hourster, another strand of grey fog swam out. Xin N¨¹¡¯s eyes grew bright, and she waved a hand to pull the grey fog towards Lu Yin. ¡°This time it¡¯s yours.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and forcefully sucked the grey fog into his body. It entered from his nostrils, flooding his brain and jostling his consciousness. He quickly sat down, as everything he was perceiving had changed. He became another person, or more urately, his perspective had changed to that of another person who was currently in front of a triangr sourcebox that was dozens of meters tall.

    There were strange designs covering the surface of the sourcebox, but they had not been carved or branded on. Rather, they were formed by the sourcebox¡¯s overly dense energy that had been gathered in specific patterns. All around the sourcebox, there were dozens of ethereal figures standing in a formation. They released an indescribable killing aura that shot into the sky, and not even space itself was able to fully endure it.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, as these empty figures were actually the danger zone that the sourcebox naturally emanated, and the space around the sourcebox could not quite endure its danger zone. He did not know what sort of power level these ethereal figures possessed, but based on what he could see, their power levels should exceed 200,000 at the minimum. This sourcebox was definitely at the Boundless Advanced level.

    At this moment, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the person who he had merged with moved. He lifted a hand, swatted at one of the ethereal figures, and grabbed it. The figure then exploded, and at the same moment, one of theyers of energy covering the triangr sourcebox cracked.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as he simply could not understand how or what this person had done, or even how he had determined what needed to be done. Lu Yin could not make sense of anything at all.

    As time passed, the triangr sourcebox was quickly unlocked, and the sealing energies that formed the sourcebox¡¯s surface were constantly stripped away. Lu Yin gradually saw something, and it seemed as though the experience he was gaining from this merged perspective allowed him toprehend this lockbreaking experience.

    After Lu Yin observed for some time, although the triangr sourcebox had not been sessfully unlocked yet, the scenery changed before his eyes. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the face of a curious Xin N¨¹.

    Lu Yin did not speak. Instead, he directly raised a hand. Above his outstretched hand, his star energy converged before dissipating; it converged, and then dissipated once again. He was able to observe some changes in his star energy, but those changes were ineffably profound. In the past, he had been able to observe the various changes in the surface energy of sourceboxes. His eyes had then been transformed due to an inheritance from the Rune Civilization, allowing him to see rune lines. Those rune lines were like the inneryer whereas the energy that he had been able to observe earlier had been the surfaceyer. Now, Lu Yin felt that he was able to see an even deeper level.

    His degree of control over his star energy had reached the Skywise realm.

    Lockbreakers were mostly concerned about improving their star energy control, and from lowest to highest, they had been categorized into distinct realms: Intricacy, Cloudwalk, Skywise, Divine Gaze, Worldliness, and Creation. He did not know what level that Master Lockbreaker who had unlocked the triangr sourcebox had attained, and he could not even guess. However, after experiencing that lockbreaking session, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy control had already reached the Skywise realm.

    That meant that, if Lu Yin returned to the Innerverse at this moment, then with the cosmic phenomenon suppressing everyone¡¯s power level to under 200,000, Enlighters would hold no advantage over Lu Yin with their experience of wielding and using star energy. He would no longer have to use his secret technique or Truesight to reduce their rune lines, and he could actually challenge them head on in a one-on-one battle. In fact, Lu Yin might even be able to go against Enlighters whose power levels were at 300,000 or even 400,000.

    If he had another duel with Elder Song, Lu Yin would not struggle nearly as much. This was one of the many benefits to improving one¡¯s star energy control.

    Unfortunately, he had not been able to see what was inside that triangr sourcebox. Lu Yin was still very curious about the results, as that killing aura had felt like a battlefield.

    ¡°How long?¡± Lu Yin asked Xin N¨¹.

    Xin N¨¹ answered, ¡°Seven hours.¡±

    Lu Yin calcted the time and was overwhelmed. It had been just seven hours, but the person whose perspective he had shared had already unlocked that triangr sourcebox more than halfway. That person¡¯s lockbreaking level was probably absolutely terrifying.

    During thest bit of time that Lu Yin had left in the Daosource Sect¡¯s Ruins, the two youths merely waited quietly, hoping to find some more of the grey fog once again.

    ¡°Sorry, but my time is about up,¡± Lu Yin told Xin N¨¹.

    She nodded and calmly responded, ¡°Come again when you have time. I¡¯ll likely stay at the tform of Inception during this period, at least until I break through to the Boundless Advanced level.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement before turning around and looking around the area as the scenery changed before his eyes. He had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins and returned to King Zishan''s pce.

    The first thing Lu Yin did after standing up was to lift his hand. This time, he was not sensing how fine his star energy control was, but rather observing¡ªFirst Sun.

    He hadpletely absorbed all of the cauldron energy from one of the cauldrons, and the First Sun of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation had beenpleted.

 Chapter 915: Central Coalition

    <h4>Chapter 915: Central Coalition</h4>

    Star energy converged over Lu Yin¡¯s right palm as the First Sun appeared once again, as resplendent as ever with its radiating, overwhelming might. However, the sun had changed in one aspect¡ªit had be solid, and it felt as if there was an actual sun in his hand. It was roiling, magnificent, and indomitable.

    Lu Yin could feel the valiant power of this First Sun, and its strength had increased substantiallypared to before. It also had a golden silhouette now, which was very beautiful.

    He gradually let the sun dissipate and let out a deep breath before walking out of the secret room.

    Although Lu Yin had been in seclusion for a whole month, he expected the heated discussions among the outsiders about the Great Eastern Alliance to not have died off yet.

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrong. The Great Eastern Alliance had doubled its territory in a very short period of time, drawn in the Neo-Vestige Sect, and even recruited Lu Yin¡¯s old enemy, Wei Rong. All of these events had given the Outerverse an unimaginable shock.

    The weaves in the central region had established their own allied force with extraordinary efficiency, and nobody dragged their feet in doing so. These weaves¡¯ only goal was to quickly establish their own Central Coalition so that they could resist the spread of the Great Eastern Alliance from the east.

    The weaves in the central region were not the only ones making such moves, as even the weaves in the west had be afraid. This had led to them quietly sending the central weaves quite a few experts to reinforce them as well as a significant amount of resources and materials to assist them in constructing an express military route in the central region.

    Because of the Great Eastern Alliance, the entire Outerverse had be less fractured than before. If these military expressways were open routes for ordinary citizens, universal travel times would be cut by a third, which was equivalent to reducing the size of the Outerverse¡¯s territory by a third.

    The central weaves¡¯ military force greatly surpassed the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s in numbers, and their unified military was also established with an unprecedented speed. Many members of the media were very frightened of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    When Lu Yin stepped out of the secret room, he was met with this situation.

    To the west of the Great Eastern Alliance, the weaves in the central region had formed aplete defensive line, and it was being protected by the central weaves¡¯ recently established Central Coalition. If war truly broke out, it would be thergest war to ur in the Outerverse yet. Even if Lu Yin was given various privileges due to his special status, the Hall of Honor would not allow such an all-out conflict to ur.

    In fact, while Lu Yin had been in seclusion, the Hall of Honor had sent him quite a few messages ordering him to not start any wars. This brewing conflict would not erupt into a small-scale skirmish like when Lu Yin had invaded Armament Weave. The moment this war broke out, it would implicate the entire Outerverse.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw these messages. These people were too nervous. Of course he would not casually start a war, as such things required a valid excuse, even if it was merely fabricated.

    At this time, the Great Eastern Alliance had just significantly expanded its territory, and the various allies had not fully meshed together. Thus, it would not benefit Lu Yin to start a war either.

    He had to at least wait for a period of time before he could trigger another war.

    However, his expression soon grew colder; he had to merge the eastern weaves together into a solid alliance, but he could not allow the central weaves to have the same opportunity. Otherwise, when he was ready to start a war, it would be difficult to do so.

    After thinking about it, he activated his gadget to contact someone.

    Suna Weave was located to the west of Armament Weave, and the two weaves shared amon border. This weave was very far from Frostwave Weave, and the two weaves generally had no interactions. However, after Armament Weave became a part of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, Suna Weave essentially became the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s neighbor, as the weave was right in front of the alliance¡¯s sharp de.

    When the central region established their Central Coalition, Suna Weave naturally became one of their most important nodes of defense due to its strategic location. Ah Mu was also in Suna Weave.

    Even though his strength was not very impressive, not even reaching the Cruiser realm, he was the confidante of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress, Angie. This status allowed him to wield quite a bit of authority at the Weave¡¯s border defenses.

    In outer space, battleships cruised along as they patrolled back and forth across the entire length of the defensive line.

    As far as one¡¯s eyes could see, there were firearms and weapons, and each contained awork of weapons that was powerful enough to sweep through the nearby region of space. This was Suna Weave¡¯s defensive perimeter. It was very long, and its troops numbered in the billions.

    The Great Eastern Alliance consisted of twenty two weaves, which seem iparably powerful. However, the moment all of the central weaves united, their strength would instantly surpass that of the Great Eastern Alliance. This was also without even considering the secret support that had been sent over by the western weaves.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance intended to advance further westwards through military conquest, the campaign would be extremely difficult.

    Ah Mu stared to the east, towards Armament Weave with aplicated expression on his face. Wei Rong had ultimately been defeated, which fell within his expectations. That man had an almost demonic level of intelligence that frightened Ah Mu greatly, as any tiny slip-ups would be instantly discovered. Ever since Wei Rong had almost discovered Ah Mu¡¯s cooperation with Lu Yin, the young man from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe had felt a sense of apprehension and terror towards Wei Rong that stemmed from his very core, and as a result, he had not dared to try contacting Lu Yin again.

    But now, Wei Rong had be Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate, and it was possible that the portion of the defensive line where Ah Mu was stationed was directly across from Wei Rong.

    Ah Mu had no confidence in winning a military confrontation against Wei Rong, and Ah Mu also did not know what Angie was thinking for her to actually be enemies with Wei Rong. In fact, he was wondering if she would even be able to persevere with this decision.

    Upon thinking about Angie, Ah Mu also thought about the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and his expression grew cold. He had yed that chesspiece correctly back then; Seventh Bro was Seventh Bro, and he was invincible. Since that was the case, it would not be too long before Ah Mu could reap his harvest.

    While Ah Mu was thinking about Lu Yin, his gadget beeped, and Ah Mu looked down at it. His pupils shrank. Seventh Bro was calling him, and despite Ah Mu deleting the contact information, he was still able to recognize this number.

    He quickly found a vacant corner and respectfully answered the call. ¡°Seventh Bro.¡±

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin had indeed called Ah Mu. Lu Yin wanted to know some details about the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition. ¡°You haven¡¯t called me for quite a while, and I even thought that you might¡¯ve forgotten about me.¡±

    Ah Mu hurriedly tried to exin himself.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°It¡¯s fine; I¡¯m joking. Tell me about what¡¯s happening with the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition.¡±

    Ah Mu took a deep breath before sharing everything that he was aware of concerning the military¡¯s circumstances. This even included the secret support that they had received from the western weaves. He also shared all sorts of conjectures.

    Lu Yin listened gravely, as the situation was even worse than what he had imagined. Rather than an allied military of the central weaves, this military was essentially the Central Coalition of all of the powers that were not a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. The main forces naturally consisted of soldiers from the central weaves, but various powers from the west had also sent over quite a few experts. The allied military forces already boasted more than twenty Hunters, and the number of Cruisers and Explorers didn¡¯t need to be mentioned. Even their number of battleships had surpassed 10,000.

    That was 10,000 battleships, which was ten times more than the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet.

    These numbers were not something that the central weaves could possibly mobilize on their own, and it was possible that not even support from the west would be able to provide them with such impressive numbers. Some other powers had to have also secretly provided their own assistance.

    Lu Yin first considered Millions City and the Dark Phoenix family, as one was incredibly wealthy while the other was quite resourceful. Aside from those two forces, there could also be other, unknown organizations supporting this gigantic force.

    Many powers did not dare to openly oppose Lu Yin. Thus, they would instead secretly support the central weaves.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became cial, as he had expected that after growing to a sufficient size, the Great Eastern Alliance would intimidate many organizations. However, he had not expected people to be so fearful of further expansion, and it seemed as though he had acted too tantly.

    No one wished for a ruler to appear above them. The Outerverse¡¯s previous power structure had allowed each group to freely govern themselves, but at this time, they no longer dared to leave the Great Eastern Alliance alone and allow them to expand endlessly, as that would inevitably lead to the Outerverse actually being unified.

    After Ah Mu finished speaking, he nervously waited for Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    Lu Yin remained silent for a long time before asking, ¡°Did you find any hints of support from powers like Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, or Aurora Enterprises?¡±

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Ah Mu replied.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he had been hoping for a more definitive response. With the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s current power, if these powers were still ignoring them, then it simply showed that they did not care what the Great Eastern Alliance could possibly achieve. In other words, it meant that those financial powerhouse were still confident in being able to deal with the alliance, which caused Lu Yin to be apprehensive. This was the most troubling news.

    The exposed enemy was not scary, but hidden aces were frightening.

    The border war against the Sixth Maind had pulled out all of the Outerverse¡¯s hidden old freaks, and as a result, Lu Yin had been able to act quite willfully. However, this was still just the Outerverse, and powers like Shamrock Enterprises were based out of the Innerverse. In their eyes, even if the Outerverse united, it still would not pose much of a threat to them.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt quite eager; if he truly managed to unite the Outerverse one day and then used that momentum to move into the Innerverse, then would those powers still be able to remain indifferent? He wanted to see the Daynight n, the Sword Sect, the Wen family, and other colossal groups look at him then. That would be quite entertaining. However, that was all based on the premise that the Innerverse would survive the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    ¡°Seventh Bro?¡± Ah Mu cautiously spoke up.

    Lu Yin then said, ¡°Gather everything you know about the locations of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition¡¯s high-ranking officers and send it to me. The more, the better.¡±

    Ah Mu was puzzled. ¡°Seventh Bro, what are you thinking?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Just get me the information,¡± Lu Yin answered sternly.

    Ah Mu did not dare to talk back. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go and sort this out as quickly as possible.¡±

    The central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition had only just finished gathering together, and the powers behind them had disregarded all costs to expedite their troops¡¯ movements so that they could defend any sudden movements from the Great Eastern Alliance. Even so, Lu Yin would not allow his opponents to remainfortable. Since they wanted to y, he would y.

    After half a day, Ah Mu passed all the positions of the high-ranking officials to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin passed a great deal of this information over to Aegis, and then as a member of the first level management, he issued an order: kill without mercy.

    At the same time, he also passed a few of these contracts over to Mafioso¡¯s bespectacled Mistchild and Thousand Eyes. These were the daggers in the dark that he controlled at this time.

    He wanted to tear away the arrogance of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition in one fell swoop.

    Nobody would have imagined that Lu Yin would make such an overwhelming move right off the bat.

    The bespectacled Mistchild wanted to refuse the contracts, but shecked the courage to do so. She no longer stood in a position where she could bargain with Lu Yin. Thus, she could only dispatch all of Mafioso¡¯s assassins.

    Thousand Eyes controlled pirates, which were unrted to assassins. However, Lu Yin did not believe pirates had no ability when it came to assassinations.

    Thousand Eyes was also helpless, and he could only send down the appropriate orders.

    The most unwilling participant was Aegis, as there were quite a few officers among the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition who belonged to organizations that were a part of Aegis¡¯s second level management. It would not be easy to give an answer as to why they had attacked these people.

    Starfox contacted Lu Yin, intending to refuse the contract.

    However, Lu Yin remained very firm, and he even hinted at some vague threats. Starfox was frustrated, and he informed ck Mask of the matter, who also never imagined that Lu Yin would issue such aggressive assassination missions so soon after obtaining his first level management status. This was ying with big stakes. However, ck Mask paid no further attention to the matter. Compared to those second level management members, Lu Yin was definitely more important. Aegis had already gotten on the boat, and there was no logic in jumping ship so quickly.

    Actually, Starfox was mostly worried about possibly receiving retaliation from half of the Outerverse. If Aegis followed through with Lu Yin¡¯s wishes to assassinate these people, they would definitely draw a great deal of anger.

    ¡°We are clear about who are in the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition, but these people include nearly half of the Outerverse¡¯s powers! The moment we act, our losses will be catastrophic, and we are likely to be annihted ourselves,¡± Starfoxmented in concern.

    ck Mask¡¯s face remained calm. ¡°This is different from that time tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, we truly had no foundation and were easily surrounded. Others had no hesitation when they dealt with us. However, this time, the moment that those forces hope to surround us, the Hall of Honor will not simply watch on and do nothing.¡±

    ¡°Will the Hall of Honor really help us?¡± Starfox was still uncertain of this detail, as he knew too little about the Hall of Honor. In all of Aegis, only ck Mask had some understanding of the Hall of Honor, and that was because he had interacted with them before.

 Chapter 916: Lu Yinâ€™s Hidden Influence

    <h4>Chapter 916: Lu Yin¡¯s Hidden Influence</h4>

    ck Mask revealed a cold sneer. ¡°The so-called ¡®Hall of Honor¡¯ is nothing more than a more powerful organization. Do not take them as the saviors of mankind. These guardians of the Human Domain are no different than how the Wei family protects Armament Weave. They are not honorable at all. Lu Yin is a member of the Hall of Honor, so they will naturally help him while neglecting the insignificant people.¡±

    Starfox nodded his head. ¡°I understand. So, what should we do now? Are we going to move?¡±

    ck Mask looked at the hit list and saw that there were some powerful Hunters on the list who could prove to be slightly troublesome. ¡°Attack.¡±

    ***

    The sky had grown dark, and Lu Yin was standing in a courtyard within King Zishan¡¯s pce with his hands behind his back as he looked down at the brightly lit city. Zenyu Star had be the busiest in the entire Outerverse. Countless people arrived here each day, and it had be more or less the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s center of power. This fact, coupled with the Lu''s Grand Auction and the presence of the Mavis Bank and other merchants, meant that this was the economic hub of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This was the most crucial aspect for the eastern region. Only the Zenyu Star¡¯s Mavis Bank branch had deep reserves of star essence that could be withdrawn, and this was all to facilitate more convenient bidding for items in Lu''s Grand Auction.

    Lu Yin spread out his domain, observing everything that was happening in the dark of night. At the same time, he was also able to overhear many secrets. Despite all of that, these secrets were worthless to Lu Yin as they were nothing more than the gossip of themon people.

    Just below King Zishan''s pce, a certain pub had been renovated.

    Ever since King Zishan''s pce had reopened, the property value of that tavern¡¯s location had spiked. Many people wanted to buy it out, but the owner was smart enough to refuse to sell it. Owning and running a pub that was right below King Zishan''s pce was enough to show that the man had a certain level of influence. His refusal to sell even after all this time had led to the tavern¡¯s value increasing by more than a thousandfold. When the day came that the owner finally decided to sell, he would be able to live off those profits for multiple lifetimes.

    Despite that, the owner still had not sold the pub. Rather, he was instead renovating it.

    Groups of people entered the bar in high hopes, but they always left disappointed.

    For some reason, the windows and the door of the pub were always left wide open, and at this time, lively music could be heard outside. The lively music drew in crowds of people who had gathered outside the pub and were partying hard out on the street.

    Imperial guards were about to chase those people away, but they were stopped by Lu Yin. He felt that the music currently being yed was well suited to his current mood. That lively music paired well with a night of death and a good ss of red wine.

    ***

    In Suna Weave, Ah Mu sat in a spacecraft, staring up at the sky.

    On another spacecraft, a high-ranking officer at the Cruiser realm had just finished inspecting his troops and was about to return to rest. But in the shadows of a corner, a cold killing intent burst out that made the officer¡¯s eyes grow round. A bloody line was drawn on his neck as blood spurted across half the room. He then slowly crumpled to the ground, twitching.

    ***

    Inside a stylish hotel, there were a few hundred people celebrating the promotion of a man who had just be a general in the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition. This promotion marked the beginning of the man¡¯s meteoric rise.

    The man had an aloof, arrogant smile on his face as he walked up to the stage. He raised his arms to calm the raucous cheers and show off his new status. ¡°I am honored to represent the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition¡¯s Fifth-¡±

    But before he could finish speaking, the man¡¯s skull exploded, and blood sprayed across the stage. It even sshed onto many audience members who were sitting in the front row, causing them to scream in rm. Everyone present was stunned by this turn of events, and they did not know what to think.

    ***

    In a hidden room, a woman opened her eyes, revealing a cold re. She raised her head, as it was time for her to give a report. The Great Eastern Alliance? Lu Yin? She was confident that she could take care of everything in one sweep. As soon as the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition finished gathering, it would be time to utterly destroy the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The woman stood up and took a single step forward. But then, she discovered that the bottom of her feet was covered with blood, and blood had also covered the room¡¯s entire floor. She nkly stared down and turned around, but half her body was sliced off. In the darkness, her pair of ruthless eyes closed forever.

    ***

    An elderly man was seated on a strange wooden nk that was flying through space. There were a dozen young people on the wooden nk, and they were all disciples of the elderly man. At this time, the old man was leading the youths to the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition to participate as a form of training. The elderly man himself was a peak Hunter who had been invited by the central weaves. He was well known in the central region of the Outerverse, and he was only a few steps from bing an Enlighter, marking him as a truly powerful expert.

    The disciples behind the elderly man were all very excited. The fact that they had been chosen to join their master showed that they were all favored by him and that they would soon be joining the allied troops. Although they were all a bit nervous, they were mostly eager, as they expected their master to break through to the Enlighter realm during the war with the Great Eastern Alliance. The moment that happened, they would also experience instant glory.

    Naturally, there were some disciples among them who were worried. The forces that they were about to face were no ordinary foes, as they were led by the powerful Lu Yin. He was a legend who possessed peerless abilities, and there were countless rumors floating around about his strength. If even half of them were true, it was enough to send cold shivers down people¡¯s spines.

    ¡°What are you worried about? It¡¯s just Lu Yin. They say that he only managed to unite the weaves in the eastern region due to the Hall of Honor¡¯s support. Besides, he only managed to kill an Enlighter by using powerful external items. He¡¯s nothing to be scared of.¡±

    ¡°Now that half of the Outerverse has allied together, even the Hall of Honor would have to bow to ourbined might! A mere Lu Yin can only cower in fear at our strength! Hahaha.¡±

    ¡°When you be an Enlighter, master, we can definitely force Lu Yin to kneel down when we see him.¡±

    ¡­

    In front of his disciples, the old man had a calm expression on his face. He was quite content with what he had overheard from his disciples behind him. Lu Yin had an impressive reputation and was known as Enlighters¡¯ Bane whereas the old man was not even an Enlighter yet. Did that not imply that he did not even qualify to be targeted by Lu Yin? The old man had long since felt that Lu Yin was a thorn in his side. One of the reasons why the man had agreed to join the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition was because he wanted to tell the younger generation to not have any delusions or act rashly. He was going to teach Lu Yin a lesson in respect.

    All of a sudden, an indescribable sense of danger swept over the old man and caused his expression to change. His blood went cold, as this sensation of danger was more terrifying than anything he had ever experienced before. It was as though the sky had copsed and the earth had broken apart. The old man tried to escape, but it was already toote. ck Mask emerged from the void and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, the old man had already been eliminated.

    The disciples on the back of the wooden nk were stunned by what had just happened. They could not even understand what had just transpired.

    ***

    This same scene repeated itself at various ces throughout the central region. That night, there was a death every minute amongst the Central Coalition¡¯s higher ups. Desperation became widespread, and fear intensified every minute as chills crawled down the spines of every member of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition.

    Beneath King Zishan''s pce, the lively music continued on well past midnight. Lu Yin rhythmically snapped his fingers to the beat, feeling as though he was conducting an overture of death.

    The following day, the number of assassinations that had urred among the Central Coalition¡¯s ranks sent shockwaves throughout the Outerverse. In just one night, more than three hundred high-ranking officers had been killed. They had all died without the assassin drawing any attention to themselves, and this led to a wave of panic in the central regions.

    Many people pinned usations onto the Great Eastern Alliance, and they looked at Zenyu Star. At this time, Lu Yin was the leading suspect among those capable of orchestrating such a thing.

    The members of the central region¡¯s Central Coalition all grew frightened. While there were certainly far more than just three hundred high-ranking officers in the Central Coalitions, the other officers immediately went into hiding and did not dare show their faces. Even the lower ranking officers were panicking.

    They had wrongly assumed that gathering so many experts and forming arge military force would strike fear into the hearts of the Great Eastern Alliance. They had thought that their sheer numbers would be enough to withstand or even ovee the Great Eastern Alliance, but after these numerous assassinations, their thinking changed as they realized the sheer influence their opponent wielded.

    Ah Mu released a sigh as he checked the news. Countless news outlets from the central regions expressed their resentment towards the assassinations and condemned some people as mass murderers. While they did not dare to go into any sort of specifics, everyone knew that they were referring to Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin was called a murderer, then that would make Ah Mu the executioner. He had been the one who had shared the locations of those high-ranking officers with Lu Yin; if not for Ah Mu¡¯s actions, these deaths would not have urred.

    Just like everyone else, Ah Mu was quite fearful of Lu Yin.

    If a war broke out, then the number of casualties would far surpass a mere three hundred deaths. Even a death toll of 300,000 or 3,000,000 would not be surprising during a war of that scale. The main reason for the uproar this time was that only high-ranking officers had died, and these people had not been just anyone.

    The fact that Lu Yin had killed so many high-ranking officers at once was also a demonstration of just how powerful he was.

    Even though most of the assassins hade from Aegis, that was terrifying in and of itself. Why was Lu Yin able to mobilize such arge number of Aegis¡¯ assassins?

    War always brought desperation and pain with it whereas assassinations delivered fear and panic. Since the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition was still in their infancy, thest thing that the people in charge wanted was for the troops to panic. However, that was exactly what Lu Yin had inflicted upon the heart of the military.

    Starfox was put into a difficult position, as many powers who were members of Aegis¡¯ second level management were trying to contact him and ask if he had been the one who had ordered the hits. Starfox did not know how to respond, so he simply pretended not to notice the calls at all.

    On Zenyu Star, at King Zishan''s pce, Wei Rong requested an audience.

    After Wei Rong joined the Great Yu Empire and came to Zenyu Star, the first thing that he had done was free Wei Baichuan and some other family members and lead the remaining members of the Wei family back to their ancestral. Even though he had been very busy during this time, he had naturally not neglected to keep up with the Outerverse¡¯s news.

    After hearing about Lu Yin¡¯s recent action of assassinating more than three hundred high-ranking officers, Wei Rong felt that he needed to look for Lu Yin and have a chat with him. Wei Rong wanted to find out just how much power Lu Yin actually held.

    After waiting for a while in front of King Zishan''s pce, Zhao Ran brought out some floral tea to serve Wei Rong. The tea was thick and had a green color that gave it a strange appearance. It was the same tea that Lu Yin had sampled before.

    Wei Rong was not bothered about the color, but the thickness of the teabined with the vibrant green color was just too jarring. He could not help but look at his ss before looking back at Zhao Ran. He started overanalyzing the situation; could Lu Yin possibly be trying to poison him with this tea, or was it a show of strength? However, there was no need for any such tests, as Wei Rong had already pledged hisplete loyalty. However, the question still lingered¡ªjust what was with this thick green color in his ss?

    Also, what was this servant¡¯s longing expression all about?

    Wei Rong was confused, and despite his intelligence, he really could not understand what Lu Yin was trying to do with this.

    Then, Lu Yin arrived, and Zhao Ran immediately served him a cup of the aromatic tea.

    Wei Rong stared nkly, and he assumed that Lu Yin was either ying a joke or showing his strength. However, the servant had just served Lu Yin the exact same tea, so could it really be just a simple drink? Could this thing actually be ingested? Or could it be that Lu Yin was immune to this poison?

    When Lu Yin noticed Wei Rong¡¯s confused expression, he knew what Wei Rong was thinking about. Lu Yin immediately picked up his ss of tea and took a sip. ¡°Just try it. This was specially brewed by Zhao Ran, and it tastes great.¡±

    Wei Rong swallowed a bit of saliva before taking another look over at Zhao Ran. When he saw her eyes which were full of anticipation, he was left with no choice but to brace himself and drink the tea. Once he sipped a bit, his eyes lit up. The tea was amazing!

    Zhao Ran was smiling as she left, full of happiness.

    Lu Yin set his own ss of tea down. ¡°Have the arrangements for your family already been made?¡±

    Wei Rong hurriedly set his ss down as well. Since he had pledged his loyalty to Lu Yin, he felt that he should show some degree of deference. He was very smart and would not do anything that would make him look foolish. ¡°I have already made those arrangements. Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°I hope that your father does not me me for my actions,¡± Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    Wei Rong hurriedly replied, ¡°Your Highness, you were not the one who destroyed the Wei family, and you have also never mistreated my rtives. You also did not forbid Xin¡¯er from visiting my father either. With such kindness, why would the Wei family have anything toin about? We are truly grateful to you!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, as he was quite pleased with Wei Rong¡¯s attitude. It was always a pleasure to talk to smart people, as there was no need for any prompting; they always knew how to behave.

 Chapter 917: Wei Rongâ€™s Gift

    <h4>Chapter 917: Wei Rong¡¯s Gift</h4>

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve finished making arrangements for your family, you can start brainstorming strategic ns for the Great Eastern Alliance and then prepare a proposal for meter,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wei Rong respectfully answered, ¡°Your Highness, can I be given information regarding the military¡¯s current strength in order to properly prepare the proposal?¡±

    Lu Yin considered his request. ¡°I¡¯m a part of Aegis¡¯ first level management and am also an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor. I can also request help from the experts of the Sea King¡¯s Dome if needed, and there are actually a few Envoys from the Sea King¡¯s Dome that might take action.¡±

    Wei Rong was stunned by all this information, and he suddenly realized that he had been left far behind by Lu Yin. Although the Wei family had a legacy that stretched back many years, they had always been restricted to the Outerverse. Thus, their development had stagnated. Lu Yin was like a different breed; he had surpassed the Wei family¡¯s aplishments after just ten years, and his connections were far superior to what the Wei family had gathered. This was truly Lu Yin¡¯s unique gift.

    Everyone had their own unique destiny and future, andpared to Lu Yin, Wei Rongcked both opportunities as well as talent.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll go and draft a proposal with Wang Wen¡­¡±

    Wei Rong left soon afterward, and Lu Yin was feeling excited as he watched Wei Rong leave. He had told Lu Yin that he had left some spies within the Umbral Butterfly Tribe.

    Wei Rong had been very close to the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s young mistress, Angie, and she had even fallen for him at one point. However, Wei Rong wasn¡¯t someone who would be swayed by emotions, and he had still nted some spies within the Umbral Butterfly Tribe. By revealing these spies now, he was demonstrating his loyalty to Lu Yin, much like how Wang Wen had given Wei Rong to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not told Wei Rong anything about Ah Mu yet, as Lu Yin was still not confident where Wei Rong¡¯s true loyaltiesy.

    The central weaves had started panicking after many of their top officers were assassinated within the span of a single day. Although the main figures of the Central Coalition did their best to calm the rest of the officers down, many of them were so scared that they did not even dare to leave their houses, which were being guarded by numerous elite soldiers.

    ¡°Although the locations of our higher-ranking officers isn''t a very well-kept secret, it still isn¡¯t realistic for someone to kill three hundred of them at the same time. This would only be possible if there was someone helping them from the inside,¡± Gui Wuzong stated coldly after turning on a screen in a dark room .

    Nearly a dozen leaders from the various weaves in the Outerverse¡¯s central region were on the screen, though some of them were keeping their faces.

    ¡°Leader Gui, are you saying that there¡¯s a spy among us?¡± someone asked in a gruff voice.

    Gui Wuzong answered, ¡°Absolutely, though this spy has to be in a high position since they knew the locations of three hundred officers. I¡¯m sure that they would have revealed all the locations of our higher-ranking officers and have had them assassinated if not for the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance didn¡¯t have the strength to carry out such a task. In fact , this person might even be one of us.¡±

    ¡°Leader Gui, don¡¯t be swayed by others. It¡¯s not difficult for someone in the organization to learn about the locations of our higher-ranking officers, and most of the other officers in the military would have been able to gain ess to that information. We shouldn¡¯t grow suspicious of each other and allow this incident to affect our cooperation,¡± Angie calmly interposed. She was the one attending the meeting as the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s representative.

    Gui Wuzong looked over at Angie. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be direct. Angie, I suspect you to be the spy.¡±

    Everyone else also turned to look at Angie.

    Angie grew furious. ¡°What do you mean by that, Leader Gui?¡±

    ¡°Everyone here knows that you were very close to Wei Rong and that the two of you were more than just friends. Now that Wei Rong has joined Lu Yin¡¯s side, what of you? Will you be persuaded over to Lu Yin¡¯s side as well?¡± Gui Wuzong asked coldly.

    Everyone carefully watched Angie.

    Angie was outraged. ¡°Wei Rong is a useless person who was beaten by Lu Yin, and I would never stay with such a man. I¡¯m the young mistress of the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, and I will lead the Umbral Butterfly Weave in the future! How could he possibly persuade me? Leader Gui, please be more respectful.¡±

    Leader Gui did not respond.

    Someone else spoke up at this moment. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t start fighting between ourselves before the actual war begins. We all have the same goal right now, which is to deal with Lu Yin, who brought chaos to our formerly peaceful Outerverse weaves. Leader Gui, in the future, we shouldn¡¯t voice usations like this that don¡¯t have any evidence behind them.¡±

    Gui Wuzong calmly answered, ¡°It¡¯s still just a guess, but I will find evidence.¡±

    Angie red at Gui Wuzong with clenched fists.

    Ever since Angie had heard the news that Wei Rong had joined the Great Yu Empire, she had been in a horrible mood. She had initially fallen for Wei Rong due to his grand ambition and assured confidence in being able to control his own future. She had thus given herself to him, but he had ultimately been defeated and even joined the enemy¡¯s side, which left her feeling humiliated.

    Gui Wuzong¡¯s usations intensified these frustrations even further, and she would have immediately left if not for the meeting.

    At this moment, she really wanted to find Wei Rong and ask him why he had decided to follow Lu Yin. In fact, she actually wanted to kill Wei Rong herself.

    The meeting between the leaders of the central weaves ended after an hour, but they were unable toe to any agreement about their next move as they were all unsure of what Lu Yin would do next. Was it possible that they themselves would be Lu Yin¡¯s next target?

    But for some of the leaders, their chances of being targeted were even less than the high-ranking officers¡¯, as some of those officers had been Hunter realm powerhouses.

    These assassinations had reminded the Outerverse of how powerful Lu Yin had be, and many people were even more intimidated of him than ever.

    After the meeting ended, Angie walked out to her balcony that had a clear view of a forest and took a deep breath, which made her feel a bit better. Then, her gadget suddenly beeped, and her expression darkened the moment she saw that Wei Rong was calling her.

    ¡°How dare you still contact me?¡± Angie¡¯s voice was filled with her anger and disappointment.

    Wei Rong¡¯s image on the screen looked shocked. ¡°Who made my dear Angie so angry?¡±

    Angie angrily demanded, ¡°You, you coward! What happened to the courage that you had when you orchestrated the events on Sourcepeak? What happened to your ambition? It¡¯s already humiliating enough that you were defeated, but it¡¯s even worse that you surrendered. Not only did you lose to Lu Yin, but you also lost your dignity.¡±

    Wei Rong rubbed his temples. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re very disappointed in me.¡±

    Angie red at him. ¡°You really have disappointed me, Wei Rong. I wanted to let you rule over the Umbral Butterfly Tribe and help you as you ushered in a new era. However, what did you do? You let me down, and you¡¯ve let down everyone who ever trusted you! Does it matter if you were defeated? Who hasn¡¯t been defeated before? You can always start over. But instead, you actually surrendered! Don¡¯t tell me that this is a part of your n! I¡¯m not stupid, and neither is Lu Yin.¡±

    Wei Rong sighed. ¡°It looks like your love for me has transformed into hate, so there¡¯s no reason for me to try consoling you.¡±

    Angie sneered. ¡°Consoling me? How could you possibly console me? I hate you, and I also despise you!¡±

    Wei Rong¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Are the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition preparing to go to war against the Great Eastern Alliance?¡¯

    Angieughed. ¡°Did you call me just to try to figure out our strategy? Wei Rong, not only have you lost your dignity after joining Lu Yin, but even your intelligence has decreased. Why would I ever tell you anything?¡±

    ¡°I can always just guess the answer even if you don¡¯t say anything. The weaves in the Outerverse¡¯s central region must have implemented a few strategies to handle Lu Yin¡¯s actions. For example, past mistakes can be forgiven, and years of rivalries can be temporarily reconciled. In addition, the most important factor would be to lure over powerhouses from the west. That means that you¡¯re no longer merely a coalition that represents the weaves of the central region, but are rather an organization representing half of the Outerverse,¡± Wei Rong slowly exined.

    Angie red at him. ¡°Does it matter even if your guess is correct? You can¡¯t stop us.¡±

    Wei Rong hesitated.

    The next moment, Angie suddenly changed the topic. ¡°Wei Rong, I know that you¡¯re unwilling to work under Lu Yin, but your family is under his control. He must be holding your family hostage as a threat, right?¡±

    Wei Rong didn¡¯t answer and merely calmly looked at Angie.

    Angie gently urged, ¡°Just give up. You have such grand ambitions, so don¡¯t let your family be a burden. Can you really give up on your dreams just for your family? Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the first person to outsmart the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society! You also helped countless people in the Outerverse realize that it¡¯s possible to overthrow those powerful organizations! Wei Rong, your future should not be limited by anyone. Join us, and help us defeat the Great Eastern Alliance. We¡¯re not Armament Weave, and neither are we the Wei family¡ªwe have tens of thousands of battleships and experts, and we also have countless resources for you to use.¡±

    Most people were under the assumption that Wei Rong had surrendered because Lu Yin had threatened Wei Rong with the lives of his family, especially since both Wei Baichuan and Wei Xing¡¯er had been in the Great Yu Empire. However, Wei Rong was not a normal person, and he would never be held back by his family. There was no need for Angie to tell him that he should not give up on his dreams to save his family.

    Angie understood Wei Rong quite well, but Lu Yin also understood the young man just as well. This was why Lu Yin had never threatened Wei Rong with the lives of his family, as Lu Yin had no desire to do so, and he also did not want Wei Rong to look down upon him.

    Since she understood Wei Rong so well, Angie was even more confused by his actions, especially whenever she thought about why Wei Rong had simply surrendered. This confusion made her feel like she had been both deceived and humiliated.

    Wei Rong listened to Angie¡¯s advice and sighed. ¡°There aren¡¯t that many people in this universe who can understand me, but Angie, you¡¯re one of them. Since you understand me, then you should know that I will never change my mind once I have decided to do something.¡±

    Angie frowned.

    ¡°Also, you know very well that I always like to have a backup n,¡± Wei Rong leisurely continued.

    Angie didn¡¯t initially understand what he was implying, but then, she suddenly had a bad feeling. She had almost forgotten that she was now enemies with this man, and the same tactics that he had once used to impress her suddenly seemed quite frightening when she was on the receiving end.

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust many people, no matter if they might be my friends, siblings, family, or allies.¡± Wei Rong looked at Angie. ¡°Thus, I always ensure that I have a backup n to deal with the people I don¡¯t trust. Do you remember that you once invited me to visit the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s home?¡¯

    Angie¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°What- what have you done?¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Nothing much. I just added some stuff to your body by taking advantage of your ability to absorb energy from nts. I didn¡¯t use a great deal of it, and it¡¯s also something that can¡¯t be discovered easily. However, you might face some difficulties once it umtes in your body over a long period of time.¡±

    Angie¡¯s face went pale, and she screamed, ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡±

    Many powerhouses from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe who were near that particr tree looked up in shock to see Angie crazily screaming at someone from the treetops.

    Wei Rong shrugged. ¡°You can¡¯t me me, as that¡¯s just how I am. Perhaps everyone from the Wei family has this trait. Still, you should go and get yourself checked out. Maybe you¡¯ll be able to find a way to cure yourself? Of course, it¡¯s also fine if you can¡¯t find a cure, as I can help you.¡±

    Angie hung up, immediately called over all of the tribe¡¯s elders who were on the, and had them all check their bodies.

 Chapter 918: New Captain

    <h4>Chapter 918: New Captain</h4>

    It took a bit of time to examine everyone, which included Angie herself. In the end, to everyone¡¯s horror, they found that their bodies indeed contained some strange poison¡ªit was like maggots had tightly bound themselves to each cultivators¡¯ blood vessels. If there was only a small amount of the poison in each person, then they would be able to simply remove the affected portion of the blood vessels, effectively eliminating all of the poison, in a simple procedure. However, the longer this poison incubated, the further it would spread until it eventually bound itself to every blood vessel in a person¡¯s body. At that point, their entire circtory system would have to be reced if they wanted to remove the poison.

    This discovery caused the Umbral Butterfly Tribe to panic, and Angie immediately ordered the information to be sealed. After that, she called Wei Rong back. ¡°You¡¯re despicable! I trusted you so much back then, and I even entrusted myself to you. However, you still schemed against my Umbral Butterfly Tribe!¡±

    Wei Rong put on an innocent expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I simply wanted to do an experiment back then. As our rtionship grew deeper, I would have removed the poison, but who could have seen that things would turn out the way that they did? I simply informed you out of goodwill earlier, as I can¡¯t go there to remove the poison myself. If I had told you earlier, then do you think perhaps you guys could have cured yourselves?¡±

    Angie became so angry that her body started trembling. She was deeply fearful of Wei Rong¡¯s methods, as this man was truly able to live up to his reputation of being Armament Weave¡¯s genius who had forcibly held back the Great Eastern Alliance. He was someone who always had multiple backup ns, and what he had done to their Umbral Butterfly Tribe definitely was not a one time thing; he had definitely employed simr methods against the various other organizations and groups that he had contacted throughout the universe.

    At this moment, Angie understood why Lu Yin had openly destroyed the Wei family''s ancestral but never harmed the Wei family itself. Lu Yin, more than anyone else, understood Wei Rong. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Wei Rong had been able to stall a much more powerful army on his own.

    At the same time, Angie also understood why Wei Rong had intentionally told Lu Yin that he could be brought over to Lu Yin¡¯s side. Wei Rong had obviously been aware of his own value in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Every sentence that was spoken between the two men, and every action that they took was able to influence the future, which was something that Angie could not understand.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Angie gritted her teeth.

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°I need information concerning all of the high-ranking officials of the central region¡¯s Central Coalition as well as the rtionshipwork between the various powers. I need the most detailed intelligence.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! I won¡¯t betray the central region!¡± Angie bellowed.

    Wei Rong casually responded, ¡°If the weaves of the central region join the Great Eastern Alliance in the future, then at that time, you won¡¯t be considered a traitor, but rather someone who made outstanding contributions. You will be the one who brought them on board before they were swallowed by the waves. Angie, you¡¯re very smart, so think about it.¡±

    And with that, Wei Rong ended the call.

    Lu Yin had not expected Wei Rong to have already dealt with the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, as Wei Rong¡¯s methods were simply hidden too deeply. Fortunately, Lu Yin had been able to suppress Wei Rong. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have preferred to kill this kind of person if they couldn¡¯t be used.

    ording to Wei Rong¡¯s words, as long as he was able to obtain information regarding the rtionships between the various members of the central alliance along with information regarding the military officers, he would be able to cause the Central Coalition to disintegrate within two months and their forces to crumble.

    A war was sometimes a contest of strength, but there were also times where a war could be waged off of the battlefield. Wei Rong was adept at strategizing off of the battlefield, Wang Wen was adept at achieving victory on the battlefield, and Qiong Xi''er focused on contesting resources. Each of the three had something different about them, and Lu Yin asionally fantasized about gathering all three of them under him. If that happened, he would truly be invincible in the Outerverse unless someone was able to crush him with overwhelming strength.

    Actually, that was also impossible, as there was nobody in the Outerverse who could crush Lu Yin with pure power. Not even the Hall of Honor was able to do so, as Lu Yin had Mister Mu behind him.

    Angie did not take long to consider her options before agreeing to Wei Rong¡¯s demands. The Umbral Butterfly Tribe had no desire to join the Great Eastern Alliance since they did not want to be controlled by someone else. However, joining the alliance was not a cmity that would exterminate the tribe. It was just an alliance, not a deration of their allegiance towards Lu Yin, so it was not too severe. However, if they did not agree to Wei Rong¡¯s demands, then their situation would be much more troublesome.

    Even if they were able to cure the poison, the price that they would have to pay would not be light. Compared to the price of joining the Great Eastern Alliance, they were not willing to pay what was needed to cure the poison. This was inrge part due to the fact that they were on their ancestral, and everyone who had been poisoned had a high standing within the tribe, and losing any one of them would cause a hugemotion.

    More importantly, Angie truly was frightened, as she was afraid of Wei Rong¡¯s methods.

    Just as Angie had realized earlier, all of her past worship towards Wei Rong had be fear at this time. As soon as Lu Yin was also added into the equation, she truly had no courage to be enemies with the two young men.

    It had only taken a breath to join the central region¡¯s alliance, but that breath had been snatched away by Wei Rong. Angie was just a small woman, and she could notpare to even Ah Mu in terms of courage.

    During this time, quite a few people had tried to contact Lu Yin, especially the leaders of the central weaves¡¯ guiding powers. They wanted to probe his intentions, but all of these calls were all rejected by Lu Yin, as he did not have the time to care about such people.

    He would be better off using this time to cultivate.

    His gadget beeped yet again, and when Lu Yin looked at it, he was surprised to see that Smoker was actually calling him.

    Ever since the war in Armament Weave had ended, Lu Yin had not contacted Smoker, and the assassin had not contacted Lu Yin, either. Generally, assassins would not contact their employers on their own. However, Smoker had actually taken the initiative to contact Lu Yin this time.

    He opened the screen, and the familiar smoke floated about the screen to form words. ¡®Is there anyone not pleasing to your eye? Inexpensive fees.¡¯

    Lu Yin felt taken aback by this. ¡°Are you running out of natural treasures?¡±

    The smoke floated about, as if hesitating, but then they formed, ¡®Yes.¡¯

    ¡°What do you need so many natural treasures for? Cultivation?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡®Something like that. Do you have more?¡¯

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. ¡°I do, but there¡¯s nobody that I need assassinated right now. Don¡¯t you forget that I¡¯ve already be a VIP client of yours, and I paid you with twenty natural treasures for that. Those things belong to me, so you can¡¯t just handle them as you wish.¡±

    The smoke floated about the screen for a bit without forming any words. It was as if the person on the other side of the call was at a loss.

    Lu Yin frowned and then unhappily said, ¡°What? Did you already use those?¡±

    ¡®The membership fee belongs to me. You can¡¯t take it back.¡¯

    Lu Yin grew amused. ¡°Twenty natural treasures that have reached the point of evading danger should be enough to hire you to kill at least ten people, and if they aren¡¯t too strong, then killing twenty shouldn¡¯t be a problem either. There are not many in the entire Outerverse who qualify to have me hire you to deal with them.¡±

    ¡®There are the upper ranks of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition.¡¯

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that¡ªI have Aegis,¡± Lu Yin answered immediately.

    Smoker did not reply, and the white smoke drifted about the screen endlessly, constantly forming words that quickly dissipated.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re reallycking natural treasures. How about this: I¡¯ll give you an opportunity, and then however many natural treasures you want, I¡¯ll provide them for you,¡± Lu Yin offered in a tempting voice.

    ¡®Conditions?¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Join the Great Yu Empire and be the Second Squadron¡¯s captain. Each year, I¡¯ll pay you 100 natural treasures that have reached the point of evading danger.¡±

    Smoker did not reply.

    Lu Yin continued trying to lure the assassin over. ¡°Only I am able to offer these conditions, and you can consider whether or not you want to ept them. Or, you can instead try to assassinate me. However, let me warn you: the moment you even attempt to do so, the Hall of Honor will dere you as a must-kill target, and nobody will ever hire you again. You will never be able to obtain any additional natural treasures.¡±

    Smoker still did not respond, but the assassin did not end the call either.

    Lu Yin did not speak any further, and the two just waited in silence.

    After a long while, the white smoke finally formed words. ¡®I can join the empire and follow your orders, but I cannot allow you to see me. However, I can still train your Second Squadron, and I can fully aplish all of the responsibilities.¡¯

    ¡°Deal!¡± Lu Yin was thrilled, as he had long since wanted to recruit Smoker. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not they met face to face, as that would happen some day in the future.

    Out of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, only the Thirteenth Squadron was still missing a captain. The rest of the positions had finally been filled.

    However, Peach, Shalosh, and Rocky Auna no longer had the strength to hold their positions, which made Lu Yin want to rece them. However, he was not able to. Peach had the Neo-Vestige Sect behind her and was able to get the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s experts to join the Sixth Squadron and assist her. Rocky Auna represented the Auna family, and that family had be Lu Yin¡¯s knife that had cleaned out the Great Yu Empire¡¯s government. He had also promised the Auna patriarch that that captain¡¯s seat would forever remain with the Auna family, so Lu Yin could not touch it. Shalosh was the only person that Lu Yin could remove from his position as captain, but no suitable recement had been found yet.

    Now that Smoker had be the Second Squadron¡¯s captain, the Great Yu Empire¡¯s strength had been boosted significantly, and its deterrence against other organizations had risen as well, which was what Lu Yin was hoping for.

    Who knew what was special about this particr day, but good news came in one after another. First, Smoker had joined the Great Yu Empire and be the Second Squadron¡¯s captain. Then, Thousand Eyes¡¯ pirates had discovered someone from Northline Flowzone who had been hiding.

    Northline Flowzone had originally maintained a good rtionship with Lu Yin, but Granny Chan hadter deliberately revealed the method Lu Yin had been using to kill Enlighters, which had nearly resulted in his death. Then, she had even tried to instigate Topmist into helping her assassinate Lu Yin. Finally, during the war against Armament Weave, she had stood alongside the Wei family. Thus, Northline Flowzone¡¯s people were now Lu Yin¡¯s mortal enemies.

    Lu Yin had ordered Thousand Eyes to have his people keep an eye out for people from Northline Flowzone. Lu Yin was hoping to use them as bait so that he could lure out Granny Chan and finally take care of that witch.

    That day, there were actually three pieces of good news, which made Lu Yin want to check the date. To the north of the weaves, in the central region, something emitting a high temperature had appeared in the space between two weaves. It was reported that the temperature was high enough to even scorch the void, and not even Hunters dared to approach it, though some had tested its heat. The temperature was high enough that it might even pose a threat to Enlighters.

    Lu Yin had long since ordered the Great Eastern Alliance to search for mes with an astoundingly high temperature. In the past, he had wanted to use a high temperature me to help him absorb star energy faster, but his current desire for a high temperature me was even greater than before because he wanted to see if the Skyze Stone could absorb heat from an outside source. That would mean that he could restore it multiple times.

    The Skyze Stone had improved Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed by way too much, and he had be addicted to it.

    When he learned of the high temperature¡¯s location, Lu Yin immediately took a spacecraft and headed out, as he did not want to waste even a single minute.

    This was a benefit to controlling the alliance; if there was anything that he needed, if it existed almost anywhere at all, then he would quickly learn of it.

    Some dayster, Lu Yin looked at the distorted space ahead of him, and his brows furrowed tightly.

    The temperature was indeed high, but it did not possess the boundless amount of rune lines that he had expected it to. This temperature could not make him feel any sort of pressure, and it definitely could notpare to the heat that the Skyze Stone had initially released.

    Lu Yin felt a little disappointed, but since he had alreadye, he did not bother immediately heading back.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin flew towards the source of the heat.

    This region of space had not originally been this high in temperature, but this sudden change was most likely a result of something suddenly appearing. It was even possible that a sourcebox was the source of this heat.

    The hot area was not veryrge, but as Lu Yin proceeded deeper, the temperature did not increase at all. Lu Yin spun around, disappointed, and decided to return to Frostwave Weave.

    But then, a ck shadow suddenly emerged from within the mes and charged at Lu Yin, moving so quickly that it tore through the void. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and runes appeared in his pupils as he reduced the amount of rune lines before him. This was the only action he could react with given the time that he had, and the next moment, a sharp pain was felt from his chest, and a pair of deathly cold eyes appeared not even ten centimeters away from him. Looking into these eyes sent chills across Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. This was a corpse king.

    Plop!

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood as his entire body was sted into the inferno by the corpse king¡¯s punch. The corpse king did not stay still, and it ferociously charged towards Lu Yin once again. This time, both of its arms were raised high as it ruthlessly pounded down at him.

 Chapter 919: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 919: Ambush</h4>

    Lu Yin immediately put on his universal armor, and a thump rang out as his body was struck once again. He crashed into a burning like a meteor and plunged deep into a pool of magma as his body pierced through the other side of the and shot back into outer space. Behind him, the fell apart before finally exploding in a violent shower of mes.

    An intense pain erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and he looked up to see that the corpse king had suddenly appeared right beside him as it smashed down at him with ck lightning. Lu Yin casually waved a hand to activate the Yu Secret Art and sessfully diverted a portion of the lightning. However, the remaining portion still struck him, and it sent his body tumbling once again.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had put on his universal armor earlier. Otherwise, this attack would have severely injured him if not killed him outright.

    He had not thought that a corpse king of the Neohuman Alliance would appear in this ce, and more surprisingly, he even recognized this corpse king, as it was the one that had appeared at Millions City. Back then, even that Specter n expert had died, but this corpse king had survived and fled from Millions City.

    This was a trap, and Lu Yin immediately realized that he had fallen for it.

    The corpse king did not speak to Lu Yin, as it had apparently been specifically sent here to deal with the youth. However, Lu Yin had already put on his universal armor, and although the corpse king¡¯s first attack had severely injured him, its subsequent attacks had not done much to him.

    With a loud bang , Lu Yin was sent flying yet again. He was not really able to retaliate against this Enlighter-level corpse king, but he still put on his bracer and threw out an Ultra sh Tearbomb. A dazzling radiance illuminated this region of outer space, and it was even more dazzling than the nearby burning mes.

    The corpse king had long since anticipated this move from Lu Yin, and even as the overwhelming light washed over it, its pupils became grey: Grey Eyes Transformation. Its strength increased by tenfold as it unleashed another punch.

    Lu Yin simrlyshed out with a punch. With the support of his bracer, a single punch from Lu Yin was enough to repel even Sall Phoenix, and his physical strength had reached a level that could rival an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. In addition, his attacks were reinforced with both the Oveying Stacks Path and eight lined battle force. However, Lu Yin¡¯s physical power could onlypare to that of an ordinary Enlighter whereas he was currently fighting against a corpse king whose strength had been increased tenfold by a Grey Eyes Transformation.

    A bang shook all of the nearbys as space itself warped while shockwaves were unleashed in all directions. The fiery ze that had been raging in space was instantly extinguished, and the nearbys were all affected by the tremendous force as they shattered one by one. A few ckholes even appeared that devoured one another.

    An unimaginable amount of physical strain crashed into Lu Yin¡¯s right arm before the bracer cracked apart and broke. The corpse king¡¯s strength continued and coursed through the universal armor, shaking everything up. Not only did this vibration disperse Lu Yin¡¯s eight lined battle force, but it also twisted his arm.

    The universal armor was able to defend against attacks with power levels of almost 400,000, but this punch from the corpse king, with its vibrating strength, was able to deform Lu Yin¡¯s arm while also sting him through a that had exploded.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and he forcefully diverted his body in another direction. When he finally came to a stop, his breath was stillbored as he stood in outer space. He then looked into the distance at where the corpse king had been.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he checked everywhere around him only to see arge number of rune lines rapidly approaching him from behind. He quickly dodged to the side while his Fatesand defended his front, but it was dispersed by the corpse king¡¯s kick. The endless ck lightning formed a spear that stabbed at him, and Lu Yin waved his hand to activate the Yu Secret Art and redirect the ck lightning spear again. Despite that, another full strength punch from the corpse king came for him without any pause.

    In the Outerverse, with his various items to assist him, Lu Yin had not been beaten this one-sidedly in a long time. This corpse king had endured and survived the attacks of several Enlighters, including Yuehua Mavis, and it had even managed to kill Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Western Chairman Hoffman before ultimately fleeing. Normally, it would only possess a power level of about 200,000 at most, but its power level could surpass 300,000 when it disyed its full power. It was iparably tough.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time trading blows with an expert with a power level of 300,000, and he was overpowered right from the beginning.

    Another punch that contained a ferocious destructive power and was apanied by a terrifying physical force flew towards him. Lu Yin raised his hand as his star energy converged. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    There was a rumble as the corpse king¡¯s physical body collided with the star energy attack. Lu Yin had brought out almost all of the star energy in his body to disy the most fearsome First Sun possible. It was as glorious as a true star, and it collided against the corpse king¡¯s first. Space fractured repeatedly, and countless spatial cracks radiated out from the point of impact.

    Lu Yin shouted ferociously, and his pupils transformed into runes as he erased some of the corpse king¡¯s rune lines. The corpse king¡¯s punch exploded when it met the sun, and green smoke poured out as a thunderous explosion reverberated through space and almost caused the First Sun to crumble. Blood dripped out of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, ears, and even his nose. His eyes had started spinning about frantically ever since his pupils had transformed into runes as he was constantly erasing the corpse king¡¯s rune lines.

    With a boom, the sunpletely copsed, sending an explosion sweeping throughout the surrounding area and causing space to undte like ocean waves.

    This was the first time the corpse king had ever been beaten back in such a manner, and its fist had even been scorched ck by the sun. However, this sort of injury was nothing to its terrifying physical strength.

    Lu Yin panted heavily. His right arm was twisted unnaturally, and his left arm was still trembling slightly due to him unleashing First Sun at full force, which had be something that he could not fully control. The initial injury on his chest had also be more serious, and Lu Yin could not stop the blood from flowing down the corners of his lips, which left him looking horribly battered.

    ¡°Is this the destion that you guys will bring me?¡± Lu Yin shouted while keeping a close eye on the corpse king.

    Across from him, the corpse king did not say a single word, and it merely looked at Lu Yin with its dead eyes. It then slowly raised its right fist before its body suddenly vanished once again as itunched another attack. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, Lu Yin caught a glimpse of a shadow¡¯s smudge, but its rune lines were not actually any less than the corpse king¡¯s. Another powerful enemy had arrived, and the Neohuman Alliance was cutting off any of Lu Yin¡¯s paths of survival. They had sent out two Enlighter-level corpse kings for this trap.

    This corpse king should have been the one that had stolen True Insight from Millions City.

    Two corpse kings. Even if Elder Lohar was the one up against these opponents, he would definitely die. But their opponent was Lu Yin and not Elder Lohar. He had his own methods, and he also had his various items.

    Another thump rang out as Lu Yin¡¯s abdomen was struck, and right after that, his back was simrly attacked. He was consecutively struck by dozens of attacks as the two corpse kings assailed him relentlessly, attempting to force their way through his universal armor.

    Even though Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor was able to withstand attacks of power levels of almost 400,000, under the repeated attacks of these two corpse kings, the shaking force his body was being forced to endure was almost too much for him to bear.

    Lu Yin carefully chose the perfect moment; right when the two corpse kings attacked him from the same direction, the beaded bracelet appeared in his hand, and one of the pearls disappeared. Each one of these pearls was formed by Yuan Shi¡¯s strength, and the power of one pearl merged into Lu Yin¡¯s body. He then raised a finger and pushed forward with Yuan Shi¡¯s strength, and his attack was iprehensibly raised by a power level of 300,000 as it stretched out towards the two corpse kings: Dream Finger.

    The Dream Finger caused the void to congeal, and what emerged was not the normal piercing finger, but rather a snow-white finger that had been erged countless times that looked as if it was descending from beyond the sky. The finger fell down, and the two corpse kings were not able to resist in any manner whatsoever as their skulls were instantly crushed. Space split in two, and this iparably terrifying strength extinguished mes and severed stars as it extended an unknown distance away.

    At that same time, in a foreign space, a pair of elegant eyes opened and looked towards the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse.

    Plop!

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood andpletely passed out. His injuries were too severe, and the first punch that had struck his abdomen was particrly bad, as that injury had be more painful as time had passed. Before he lost consciousness, Lu Yin swallowed the ancient pill that he had upgraded to the point where its rune lines matched that of an Enlighter. This sort of pill should be able to treat even an Enlighter¡¯s injuries, so it should be even more effective on him.

    In a distant part of outer space, a massive spacecraft sped along that only had a dozen people on board. It was not arge number of people, but the strength of these people was not low, as even the weakest member was still an Explorer. The spacecraft also had the emblem of Endless Borders etched onto its hull.

    The moment Lu Yin had shattered the heads of the two corpse kings with his Dream Finger, the tremendous shockwave had swept through outer space, transforming into a horrifying cosmic phenomenon that nearly split the universe in half as it endlessly extended out. Thisrge spacecraft was coincidentally within the affected range, and if not for one of their powerhouses noticing the shockwave in time to alter the ship¡¯s course, the entire ship would have been shattered.

    ¡°Wind Crew, the power level from that shockwave moments ago has been calcted: 390,000,¡± a calm-looking youth announced with some amazement in his voice. Behind him stood two experienced-looking old men, and one of them had a namete on his chest that read, ¡°Wind Crew,¡± while the other elder¡¯s namete read, ¡°Flower Crew.¡±

    The Windflower Crew was one of Endless Borders¡¯ expedition crews that explored the Astral Wilderness.

    Endless Borders had previously gone by the name of the Adventurers'' Guild, and countless cultivators had gathered there, all of them with a passion for risk-taking. By nature, the endless universe was something to be explored, and some people even believed that the true essence of cultivation was to explore the universe. The birth of the Adventurers'' Guild had drawn in countless such cultivators.

    At its peak, the Adventurers'' Guild had actually been powerful enough to draw the Hall of Honor¡¯s notice, and the Hall of Honor had actually wanted to forcibly incorporate the Adventurers¡¯ Guild into its organization. Due to that incident, the guild had changed its name to Endless Borders, which was the name that Lu Yin knew it by.

    Endless Borders took on the guise of a financial corporation, but in reality, it was still focused on exploring the unknown and taking risks.

    Nobody knew exactly how many expedition crews there were within Endless Borders, but even among these crews, the Windflower Crew was absolutely a strange group. This was because this crew had two captains: one was named Wind and the other Flower. The twopeted with each other, but neither would leave the other behind, which had led to the birth of the Windflower Crew.

    Upon hearing that the energy reading had reached a power level of 390,000, the two captains looked over at each other in shock. Ever since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, Enlighters with power levels higher than 200,000 had been considered top-tier powerhouses, and only the border war in Endless Weave had managed to force out an old freak with a power level in the several hundred thousands. Almost all of those old monsters had gathered at the border, but now, one of them had appeared in this ce.

    ¡°Captains, will we take a detour?¡± the calm-looking youth asked.

    The older men exchanged nces. ¡°No need, continue forward.¡±

    The youth hesitated. ¡°But an attack with a power level of 390,000 was just unleashed, and what we felt was just the aftershock.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not very normal for such a power level to appear in the Outerverse, and this area is quite close to the Astral Wilderness. If any freak event urs, then the people in this region will be left in a pitiful state. Since we found it first, we can¡¯t just run away,¡± Captain Wind said firmly.

    Aboard the spacecraft, the other cultivators all had solemn expressions. Although they were frozen with fear, nobody opposed the captain.

    Joining one of the Astral Wilderness expedition crews meant that one had to be prepared to make certain sacrifices. Rather than escaping, these people tended to be more curious about what was up ahead.

    The youth was also curious, and since the two captains had confirmed their course, he no longer hesitated and entered in themands for the ship to continue moving forward.

    The universe in front of them had been split in two under the force of a finger, and the crew aboard the spacecraft was overwhelmed by the sight. Even if they were people who often skirted the edge of life and death, they seldom ever encountered a scene of such terrifying destruction.

    Eventually, the spacecraft entered the region of space where the fire had previously been burning. All of thes in the area had long since copsed, and they had turned into ckholes that were currently engulfing each other.

    The crew looked around, and the spacecraft also scanned the surroundings. The entire time, the device that measured and detected power levels was ringing with an rm. Clearly, there were still some aftershocks that had not dissipated yet.

    ¡°Captains, we have a situation!¡± someone cried out.

    Everyone looked over, and one of the vessel¡¯s screens rose up and showed the image of a figure floating through space, slowly drawing closer to the spacecraft.

    ¡°There¡¯s still signs of life! It¡¯s an Explorer. He¡¯s not dead yet,¡± someone reported.

    That calm-faced youth ordered for the person to be brought inside the spacecraft, as it was possible that this person might know about what had happened in this ce.

 Chapter 920: The Windflower Crew

    <h4>Chapter 920: The Windflower Crew</h4>

    Naturally, the floating figure that the Windflower Crew had discovered was Lu Yin. Although his Dream Finger had destroyed the two corpse kings, Lu Yin had also been severely injured by the fight. The Neohuman Alliance was ruthless in their actions, and he had fallen unconscious afterwards.

    Lu Yin was not in too serious of a state as he had swallowed that upgraded ancient pill. Thus, he would heal from his injuries after some time passed. However, he had been rescued by the Windflower Crew.

    Lu Yin was currently having a dream that his body had been cut open for research. In fact, he himself had long since had a small urge to research his own body due to the way his physical strength, spiritual force, and domain were all constantly improving on their own, which was simply too strange. However, Lu Yin wanting to research himself was one thing while others conducting research on his body was another matter entirely.

    Lu Yin suddenly shouted, and his eyes opened as he found himself in a nutrient fluid bath. Due to his shout, the nutrient container exploded, frightening all of the people outside, and they quickly pulled back while keeping a wary eye on Lu Yin.

    These people did not dare to get close to Lu Yin, as he was wearing a set of universal armor that had an extraordinary defense. They did want to research his body a bit, but not even their two captains had been able to remove Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor. Thus, they had only been able to conduct some rather crude analysis.

    The data that they had obtained had shocked them, and they simply felt that Lu Yin was not human.

    When this person¡¯s data made it into the hands of the two captains, it triggered a massive battle, as each of the two captains wanted to take this person as their disciple.

    Since this being was able to use a cosmic ring, had a gadget on his wrist, and was even wearing a set of universal armor, it was clear that he was no monster, but rather a human.

    The rudimentary data that they had gathered on this Explorer indicated that he was able to rival an Enlighter, which had blinded those two captains of the Windflower Crew. It was actually very normal for such an abnormal person to be highly desirable as a disciple.

    Lu Yin walked out of the nutrient tank while still wearing his universal armor. He checked his surroundings, and quite arge number of rune lines entered his vision. There were actually two people on this vessel with rune lines capable of rivaling an Enlighter¡¯s. This spacecraft was actually carrying two Enlighters.

    Lu Yin instantly grew wary, as Enlighters were notmon in the Outerverse, but two such powerhouses had appeared in this ce, which was rather strange.

    At this moment, quite a few people arrived outside the door and warily observed Lu Yin.

    ¡°Excuse me, where am I?¡± Lu Yin asked calmly and politely.

    The crewmembers'' expressions all rxed a little.

    At this time, a calm-looking youth walked forward and sized Lu Yin up and down before stretching out his hand. ¡°I¡¯m the Windflower Crew¡¯s Vice Captain Mo.¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the hand and shook it. ¡°You can call me Seven.¡±

    Vice Captain Mo¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Is it not convenient for you to give out your real name?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know me even if I told you. Everyone just calls me Seven.¡±

    Vice Captain Mo did not care. ¡°Let¡¯s bring you somewhere to get a bite to eat.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and thanked the youth before following behind the young man.

    At the top level of the vessel, the two captains were looking at a screen. ¡°This kid is truly exceptional. Just his universal armor is something that not just anyone can own.¡±

    ¡°Obviously.¡± Captain Flower rolled his eyes.

    Captain Wind became irritated. ¡°Old Flower, you should be more courteous.¡±

    ¡°Will you leave him to me if I¡¯m courteous?¡±

    ¡°Impossible! He¡¯s my disciple.¡±

    ¡°Just forget it. You can¡¯t even take off his armor.¡±

    ¡°And can you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin looked at the pile of food that had been set down in front of him. He was just about to start eating when the void distorted before him. Then, two elders appeared, both of them looking at him with fervent eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll strip him for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to strip him, you¡¯ll see!¡±

    The conversation of the two elders shocked Lu Yin. Strip? What strip?

    He looked down at himself, and his expression changed drastically. These two old perverts!

    The two captains both reached out towards Lu Yin at the same time. Although Lu Yin was unafraid of these men, they were still Enlighters while their objective was actually something so despicable. Lu Yin became slightly panicked, and he instantly pulled out an Ultra sh Tearbomb and set it off. The dazzling radiance illuminated the entire spacecraft, and even the two Enlighters were unable to resist the sh and were forced to stop.

    Lu Yin stepped into the void, emerging outside the spacecraft with the intention of leaving. In any case, his injuries had somewhat recovered as the ancient pill¡¯s efficacy had been much better than normal. It was now time for him to leave.

    Still, there being two Enlighters on this vessel felt a bit off to him. He turned around and looked seriously at the spacecraft, curious to know where they were from.

    A familiar symbol entered his vision. Was that the symbol of Endless Borders?

    Within the spacecraft, the dazzling radiance quickly dissipated. The two captains had only felt a little sting, but it was nothing much to them. The rest of the crew members, however, were unluckier, as all of their eyes were burning if not leaking tears nonstop.

    Even the spacecraft had been influenced by the sh bomb and had stopped in space.

    A long whileter, Captain Wind and Captain Flower both recovered, and they opened their eyes as they faced Lu Yin.

    ¡°The two of you seem to be overly excited about me,¡± Lu Yinmented as he looked at the two elders with a wary expression.

    They were both embarrassed. ¡°Little one, we were only betting on who could strip off your universal armor.¡±

    Lu Yin arched his brow. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Whoever can do it will be able to take you as his disciple,¡± Captain Flower blurted out.

    Lu Yin was amused at this reveal. ¡°Sorry, but I already have a master.¡±

    Neither of the two was surprised. For someone to have a physique that could rival an Enlighter¡¯s while only in the Explorer realm would be too strange if one did not have a master, not to mention a truly extraordinary one at that.

    ¡°Let me introduce myself. My surname is Wind, and I am one of the Windflower Crew¡¯s captains.¡±

    ¡°Mine is Flower, and I am also one of the Windflower Crew¡¯s captains.¡±

    Lu Yin politely replied, ¡°Seven. Both elders can call me Little Seven.¡±

    ¡°Little Seven? Are you from the Outerverse?¡± Captain Wind asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Junior is from Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Captain Wind was surprised. ¡°Ironblood Weave? Which fortress are you from?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not answer.

    Some timeter, the two elders left, and Lu Yin resumed eating and thinking.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be rescued by a group like the Windflower Crew. He had initially intended to return to Frostwave Weave, but there wasn''t any urgent business there.

    These people were from Endless Borders, whom Lu Yin had always wanted to build up a rtionship with. Wang Wen had also reminded Lu Yin numerous times that he needed to interact with thispany more, and there just so happened to be an opportunity to do so at this moment.

    In fact, when considering all of the organizations in the entire Outerverse, even including Shamrock Enterprises and the Mavis Bank, the groups that Lu Yin had the least understanding of were the Nn family and Endless Borders.

    He had tried searching for more information concerning the Nn family members who were cursed from birth. This family contained a deep mystery, and he could not find out anything more about them no matter what he tried.

    As for Endless Borders, they were a power that even the Hall of Honor was unable to interfere with, which naturally indicated that they were not simple. These people¡¯s philosophy seemed to align with that of the majority of cultivators, and there were definitely many people who were willing to join Endless Borders, especially if it was to explore the Astral Wilderness. Perhaps they would discover another civilization, find some strange natural treasure, or a new type of battle style. Whether it was purely for the thrill of exploring the unknown or for some other objective, the concept behind Endless Borders would always attract countless people to them.

    Lu Yin was very curious about how many Endless Borders expedition crews were still in the Astral Wilderness, and he had actually coincidentally encountered one of them here.

    As such, he decided to follow along the Windflower Crew, and it also helped that the two elderly captains wanted to take him on as their disciple. There was no problem for the two of them if Lu Yin already had a master, and this was still an opportunity for him.

    However, Lu Yin felt that these two old men were a bit familiar, almost as if he had met them somewhere before.

    The Windflower Crew had returned to the Outerverse this time to head to Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters, though Lu Yin did not ask for what reason.

    Although he did not ask, the crew was not able to hide anything from him, especially the two old men who were constantly arguing in front of him and revealing everything regardless of if they should or shouldn¡¯t. This even included one of the Outerverse¡¯s greatest secrets at this time: a path to the Innerverse.

    When Lu Yin learned of this secret, he was truly shocked. This was such an incredible secret, or at least, it was an astounding secret to him. However, they had let such a thing slip so easily! He had not been the slightest bit prepared for such a bombshell.

    However, the rest of the crew did not seem to care at all.

    Actually, that was quite urate. Since the Windflower Crew was one of the expedition crews that explored the Astral Wilderness, they did not care much for the Innerverse. Even if they found a path that led back to the Innerverse, they would not use it, and such information waspletely worthless to them. On the other hand, such a thing was invaluable to Lu Yin, and it would be worth more than anything else.

    That calm-looking youth believed that Lu Yin had been frightened by the argument between the two elders, and he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder tofort him.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was considering how he could weedle out more information concerning this secret route.

    Wang Wen had been right¡ªLu Yin could ignore anyone else in the Outerverse, but he could not disregard the Endless Borders. This organization had discovered too many unknown routes, and they had even found a secret passage to the Innerverse.

    Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters was located in a ce called the Silentflock System. The star system had once been in Endless Weave, but during the border war, when the defensive line had been moved to Southside Weave, the Silentflock System had also pushed into Southside Weave.

    The system consisted of the main headquarters, which was known as Silentflock, and twenty two subs that revolved around that central. Each sub represented one of twenty two expedition crews.

    Whenever a new expedition crew was born, another sub would be added.

    This was actually a secret to outsiders, but Lu Yin had already learned of it.

    These subs that represented expedition crews did not only include the ones that explored the Astral Wilderness, as there were also crews that explored the Outerverse.

    One such crew had been led by Yang Hai, whom Lu Yin had met in the past. Yang Hai was an expedition crew captain that had their own sub. They were the same as Bach, who Lu Yin had hired Smoker to take out. Bach¡¯s crew also had a sub.

    The Windflower Crew also had a sub, but they had not visited it in many years.

    The Windflower Crew¡¯s spacecraft was not a radiant-grade Aurora, but rather, it was a ckhole-grade Aurora that was capable of traveling ten times as fast as a radiant-grade vessel. Such a high-grade ship would cost at least 10,000 star essence to purchase, though that was just for a personal spacecraft.

    Lu Yin had once owned such a spacecraft, but unfortunately, it had been destroyed.

    They had already covered nearly half of the distance between Southside Weave and the Silentflock System, and with the ckhole-grade Aurora, they would only need a few more days to arrive.

    Lu Yin was rather bored during the journey, but suddenly, a middle-aged Windflower Crew member suddenly proposed a duel with Lu Yin.

    Quite a few of the others started to gather around and worked up a smallmotion.

    After spending two days aboard the ship, Lu Yin could be considered as having partially joined the Windflower Crew, and as soon as they arrived at Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters and confirmed his status, he would officially be allowed to join them. As far as the members of the Windflower Crew were concerned, Lu Yin was already one of them. They were an expedition crew, and there were no stringent background checks. These people had only gathered together due to simr interests, but not much else.

    The crewmembers were absolutely amazed by Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, though there were some people who had naturally powerful physiques as well. For the crew, it was perfectly normal for people to start dueling after having one drink too many.

    However, things were not as usual this time around, as the two captains, Wind and Flower, were both present as well.

    Lu Yin did not refuse. ¡°Please.¡±

    The middle-aged man smashed his fists together, which released a dull thudding sound, and his skin took on a visible golden luster. This was the man¡¯s innate gift, and one could feel tough his skin was just by looking at him.

 Chapter 921: Brought Together By Fate

    <h4>Chapter 921: Brought Together By Fate</h4>

    Innate gifts were quite rare in the Outerverse, and anyone who possessed an innate gift would instantly have the qualifications to join the Outerverse Youth Council under the Ten Arbiters.

    As one¡¯s cultivation realm increased, their innate gift would grow with it and be immensely useful during battles.

    Lu Yin stood in ce and silently observed the middle-aged man.

    The man looked solemn, and his fists had a golden luster to them that was suddenly covered with six lined battle force right before he fiercely charged at Lu Yin. The man mmed a fist down, and a fist silhouette multiplied in size multiple times until it looked like a mountain crashing down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as this person had actually cultivated his battle force to six lines while in the Cruiser realm. Thus, he could be considered to be quite gifted.

    There was a loud bang, and the surrounding crowd all stared at the scene, stunned.

    At the center of the impact, Lu Yin was grasping the middle-aged man¡¯s fist with a single hand, not backing down even a single step. Not only that, but the middle-aged man¡¯s battle force also cracked apart before it finally vanished.

    Captain Wind and Captain Flower were both astonished. They had already known that Lu Yin was extremely powerful from their initial observations, and they had determined Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength to nearly rival an Enlighter¡¯s. However, it was one thing to be physically strong, and another matter entirely to use it effectively in a fight. Not only was this kid extremely physically strong, but he was also notcking in battle experience at all.

    The middle-aged man pulled back his fist and bluntly stated, ¡°I lost.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    The middle-aged man was both disappointed and frustrated by his own performance.

    As the man left, another took his ce. This second man had a very frail appearance and drooping eyelids. His hair was somewhat fluffy, and he looked rather young.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew more serious when he saw this person step forward because this man was a Hunter. Furthermore, he was not just any ordinary Hunter. The man¡¯s rune lines were roughly equivalent to the rune lines of the calm-looking youth, Vice Captain Mo. This person could be ranked among the top five most powerful people in the entire crew.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your opponent when ites to physical strength, but-¡± The slender man paused for a moment as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m very fast.¡±

    Right after the man finished speaking, Lu Yin leaned to the side. A cold knife streaked through the void right where Lu Yin had been standing, and afterimages of the de tore through the void.

    The surrounding crowd felt their hair stand on end, and even Vice Captain Mo¡¯s expression changed. Even he had not seen when the attack had beenunched, so he was dumbfounded to see Lu Yin sessfully dodge the knife strike.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp when he saw the cold knife slice out at him. He then suddenly raised his hand and firmly grabbed his opponent¡¯s pale hand that was clenching the knife¡¯s hilt before exerting a bit of force. The Oveying Stacks Path burst forth, causing the void to tremble and release a dull, drum-like echo. The thin man was dragged out of the void, and he backed up repeatedly as he tried to endure the attack infused with the Oveying Stacks Path. In the end, the man had to back up a dozen meters before he was caught by Captain Wind and came to a stop.

    Captain Wind was astonished. ¡°Fifty Stacks, how impressive.¡±

    The surrounding people stared at Lu Yin like he was a monster. It was unprecedented for an Explorer to use Fifty Stacks. Where had he learned such a thing?

    Lu Yin showed a faint smile. ¡°Please excuse me.¡±

    He did not conceal much about his abilities, as it would not be too difficult for these people to search him up on thework since he had not altered his appearance at all. Besides, did it matter if they found out his identity? Although he had only spent a few days with this crew, Lu Yin understood them quite well. These people were not schemers, and they were unconcerned by status.

    Vice Captain Mo slowly stepped forward and removed his outer coat. ¡°It¡¯s my turn for a lesson.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. This person was a peak Hunter, and he was the crewmember who was second only to the two Enlighters, Wind and Flower.

    A peak Hunter was a true expert, but in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, such a powerhouse was quite ordinary. During his trip to the Innerverse, Imprinters had been forced to suppress their power level to below 200,000, which was around the same power level as a peak Hunter. However, Lu Yin had managed to fight against these powerhouses, so there was no need to mention this Vice Captain Mo.

    The crowd had thought that they would be entertained by a fierce battle, as from their perspectives, it would already be absolutely amazing for Lu Yin to contest Vice Captain Mo in battle. An Explorer who could cross realms and challenge Cruisers was already considered an exceptionally talented individual, much less an Explorer who could challenge Hunters. That would be an absolute genius. Now, Lu Yin was facing off against a peak Hunter, which was far beyond anything that they had expected. Thus, they were simply waiting to see how long Lu Yin couldst.

    Vice Captain Mo also revealed the attitude of a mentor.

    However, he was quickly stumped, and then he even began to doubt himself. He was facing defeat beyond a shadow of a doubt. A single palm from Lu Yin had delivered Eighty Stacks that exploded squarely on the vice captain¡¯s chest, resulting in the man being defeated. The overpowering force of that attack had stifled him and had forced him to retreat a dozen steps.

    Everyone was dumbfounded.

    Vice Captain Mo himself was in disbelief, as he had not held anything back and had even erupted with his full power as a peak Hunter. At this moment, Captain Flower spoke up. ¡°Alright, no more.¡±

    Vice Captain Mo stopped and turned to look at Captain Flower, stunned.

    Captain Flower looked at Lu Yin. ¡°In the current universe, there is no one else I can think of who has such power at your age aside from one person. Could you be Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    The crew was dazed for a moment, but then they suddenly seemed to remember something, and they all started to flip through their gadgets.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance could be found on thework, and this was precisely why he had not gone through any effort to hide his identity. It was nothing more than a habit for him to revert to the name of ¡°Seven.¡± Whether or not this group managed to discover his identity did not matter at all.

    When they realized that they were facing the legend himself, nearly everyone in the Windflower Crew was strongly affected, as this person was indeed Lu Yin.

    Although they typically spent most of their time exploring the Astral Wilderness, they would still asionally receive a bit of news from the Outerverse, and by now, they had already been back in the Outerverse for a few days. Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters had long since sent out a list of names for the expedition crews to be cautious of while in the Outerverse, and Lu Yin¡¯s name had been on the top of that list.

    Regarding Lu Yin, all of the crewmembers had only one thought: this person could not be provoked.

    The Windflower Crew had two Enlighters, and they were definitely a top power in any part of the Outerverse that could talk to any organization that they wished. But Lu Yin was not someone who they could stand up to, not even if they gathered all of the expedition crews that belonged to Endless Borders. This was due to not only the youth¡¯s defying strength, but also his background that was even more impressive.

    It would still be fine if that was all that there was to this youth, as they would simply view him as someone simr to the Ten Arbiters. However, Lu Yin had a terrible ambition, employed ruthless methods, and was also highly intelligent. This was the true reason why the various great powers of the Outerverse were all nervous about him.

    After confirming that this youth was indeed Lu Yin, the expressions of the entire Windflower Crew changed.

    Lu Yin slowly bowed. ¡°I am Lu Yin, but I did not intentionally deceive you. Rather, I was afraid of being killed. Seniors, please forgive me.¡±

    The two captains looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s been several years since we left the Outerverse, and we never thought that someone like you would appear.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled at the two old men. ¡°Actually, this wasn¡¯t Junior¡¯s first time meeting you two seniors.¡±

    The two captains exchanged nces, puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s statement. ¡°We¡¯ve met before?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Some time ago, the two captains were having an astral battle that affected the stars. Do you happen to remember a personal spacecraft that was caught up within themotion?¡±

    They thought about it, and then Captain Flower cried out. ¡°I remember now! You¡¯re that little fellow who was from the Astral Combat Academy.¡±

    Captain Wind also recalled the scene. ¡°Our battle at that time unintentionally dragged in a vessel from the Astral Combat Academy, but it managed to escape by itself. So that was you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That was me.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, so we were brought together by fate.¡± Captain Wind smiled.

    Captain Flower also spoke up, ¡°Back then, we mentioned that the person was an elite from the Astral Combat Academy. We had actually wanted to watch the Astral Combat Tournament, but we had to quickly head back to the Astral Wilderness. I never thought that, after these few years, we would meet again so soon.¡±

    ¡°Junior also only recently put it together.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    ¡­

    The Windflower Crew¡¯s spacecraft was headed towards Southside Weave, and along the way, Lu Yin sent a report to Wang Wen, Wei Rong, En Ya, and the others. He also specifically made it a point to ask Wang Wen about certain details concerning Endless Borders.

    Wang Wen replied that he did not know many details about the organization and that he was only concerned about Endless Borders because this organization¡¯s philosophy was in line with the desires of many cultivators. In his eyes, having such a philosophy should not be a bad thing. Also, Endless Borders explored interster routes, and that knowledge was very valuable.

    Lu Yin was looking forward to this trip to Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters, and during his discussions with the two captains, he discovered why the crew members had asked to spar with him. They were all preparing for an uing tournament that was being internally organized by Endless Borders.

    Organizations could not remain still or else they would stagnate like water. Endless Borders already had an innate spirit of exploration and bold ventures with its former status as the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Thus, at regr intervals, they would conduct an internal tournament, and the victor would be given extremely generous rewards. This was a means to stir up and motivate the various expedition crews.

    Quite a few individuals that had been victorious in the tournament had subsequently founded their own crews.

    To the members of Endless Borders, this tournament was very important.

    Although the Windflower Crew was not particrly interested in the prizes, they did not wish to fall behind the other crews, which was what had caused their previous situation. Each crew could only send out one person to participate in the tournament. This meant that the majority of participants were not actually from the expedition crews, but were rather cultivators from thepany itself.

    This tournament was indeed an opportunity for people to establish their own crews, but only a few cultivators would seize such a chance to do so, as the victors were frequently cultivators who were already in an expedition crew.

    For this tournament, the crew had intended to have Vice Captain Mo be their representative, but Lu Yin¡¯s unexpected appearance had changed things. Although Vice Captain Mo did not think that he would ultimately lose to Lu Yin, he was not fully confident in his chances. This was because Lu Yin¡¯s reputation was too intimidating.

    ¡°Seniors, Vice Captain Mo, I wonder, can the opportunity to participate in this tournament be handed over to me? There is something that I desperately wish to obtain,¡± Lu Yin politely requested.

    The two captains looked over at Vice Captain Mo.

    He smiled. ¡°Of course. We¡¯re not too concerned about the tournament, and with our status, there¡¯s no need for us to go through this tournament to get what we want. Alliance Leader Lu can participate if you would like.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly expressed his thanks.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I must warn you of something. Any cultivator participating in this tournament is not an average person, especially if they are from one of the crews that explore the Astral Wilderness. Every one of those people are capable of protecting themselves. Please don¡¯t be careless,¡± Vice Captain Mo cautioned Lu Yin. The vice captain had participated in the tournament several times in the past, and he had also won several victories.

    ¡°Also, items are not allowed to be used in this internal tournament,¡± Captain Flower mentioned.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°Thank you for the reminders. I understand.¡±

    After he left, the two elders exchanged nces. ¡°How far do you think this kid can make it without using any items?¡± Captain Wind asked.

    Captain Flower shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Even with external objects, it¡¯s difficult to kill an Enlighter, but this kid was doing that in just the Limiteer realm. This is something that is almost never seen, and it¡¯s impossible to estimate his powers. Also, he has a secret technique as well as an unrivaled physical strength. There should be very few Hunters who can fight against him.¡±

    As they spoke, they nced at Vice Captain Mo. ¡°What do you think after exchanging blows with him just now?¡±

    Vice Captain Mo hesitated. ¡°I have a feeling that he didn¡¯t give it his all.¡±

    The two captains were not surprised.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reputation had been forged through his fights, and a peak Hunter could no longer qualify as a threat against him.

    This encountered happened all the way back at .

 Chapter 922: Silentflock System

    <h4>Chapter 922: Silentflock System</h4>

    Southside Weave was not very well known, and it had originally been nothing more than a prop for Endless Weave. However, after the border with the Technocracy had been shifted, Southside Weave had quickly be rather famous in the Outerverse.

    The Dark Phoenix family, Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters, and other various powers that had once dominated Endless Weave had all been relocated to Southside Weave. That, coupled with the existence of the border defense, meant that Southside Weave had instantly be one of the most important weaves in the Outerverse at the moment.

    Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters was located within Silentflock System, and Silentflock had twenty two subs revolving around it, each one representing one of the twenty two expedition crews that operated under Endless Borders¡¯ banner.

    A vessel appeared outside of Silentflock System with Endless Borders¡¯ emblem on the hull. Within the spacecraft was Yang Hai¡¯s crew, which Lu Yin had met in the past.

    Most small crews would appear for the internal tournament whenever they had the opportunity to do so.

    Yang Hai looked at Silentflock System, feeling rather emotional. He thought back to the time when he had first joined Endless Borders, as well as each arduous step of progress that he had taken to reach his current position. He had also participated in the internal tournament in the past, and he had performed brilliantly there. He had then been scouted by an expedition crew and had climbed higher step by step after that. Unfortunately, that crew had gonepletely missing while they had been exploring a new route, and going missing meant death.

    ¡°Captain, who shall we send as our representative for the tournament this time?¡± a cultivator behind Yang Hai asked.

    Yang Hai thought about it and replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, as the border defense pulled quite a few of the expedition crews out of the Astral Wilderness. If they send people over to participate, then even I won¡¯t stand a chance. Just choose anyone.¡±

    ¡°Yes, captain.¡±

    ¡­

    A simr scene yed out within many other expedition crews, as the crews that wandered the Astral Wilderness were on an entirely different levelpared to the expedition crews that explored the Outerverse. The Windflower Crew¡¯s Vice Captain Mo was a peak Hunter, and he alone already surpassed Yang Hai¡¯s strength. This was the level of an expedition crew that explored the Astral Wilderness.

    Some people were unwilling to be left out, and they felt as if they had to participate in the tournament. One such person was Captain Shi, who had reinforced the border during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. As his representative, he had chosen a genius who was heralded as someone who would shoulder the mission of an era. People called him Little Stoneman. He was a stoneman who had an innate gift of unlimited rbination. He was not human, though he could also be considered human. He was a very bizarre lifeform.

    There were also some other expedition crews who sent out their super experts who had cultivated eight lined battle force, and some of the participants¡¯ strengths had nearly reached the peak of the Hunter realm. These people were exceptional, and they even surpassed the power of the Outerverse expedition crews¡¯ captains.

    Those who did not visit Silentflock System could not fully appreciate the terror of Endless Borders. Although they were the one of the most peaceful organizations since they did not let themselves be caught up in various conflicts and simply earned money through transportation, their hidden strength would shock countless people the moment it was revealed. Not even Aegis at its peak couldpare to Endless Borders¡¯ power.

    Just the Windflower Crew itself had two Enlighters. Captain Shi was also an Enlighter with a power level of 290,000, and that still was not Endless Borders¡¯ full strength.

    If these people did not desire to risk their lives exploring the unknown, then Endless Borders¡¯ strength would be enough to cause even the Outerverse¡¯s Hall of Honor to feel nervous.

    The Windflower Crew arrived in Silentflock System, and they immediatelynded on the sub that belonged to them.

    It was just an ordinary sub with typicalndscapes, culture, and geography. There was nothing there that was worth Lu Yin¡¯s notice, and he simply followed Vice Captain Mo to Silentflock, as that ce was the true headquarters of Endless Borders.

    Silentflock was a massive and robust. In a mere nce, Lu Yin could see quite a few clusters of countless rune lines, and while they did not quite reach the level of an Enlighter¡¯s rune lines, there had to be quite a few Hunters on this.

    Lu Yin could not help but be rendered speechless, as Endless Borders had a terrifying amount of hidden strength. Any random expedition crew that they sent out would have surpassed the full power of the Great Yu Empire back when Lu Yin had first left Earth.

    However, the expedition crews could not be considered as Endless Borders¡¯ true strength. If Endless Borders ever revealed an intent to fight for power, then it would be difficult to tell how many of their expedition crews would simply leave the organization. These people had gathered under Endless Borders¡¯ banner due to their mutual passion for adventure and exploration, and that was why they lent their support to an organization like Endless Borders. Otherwise, they would simply leave whenever they wished.

    Vice Captain Mo had an innocent face, but in reality, he liked to bar hop and visit other simr venues, which was something that Lu Yin was unustomed to, as he was not interested in such ces.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, since we¡¯re here, you should just rx a bit. The tournament won¡¯t be held for a few days.¡± Vice Captain Mo brought two drinks over as he smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Calling me Seven is just fine.¡±

    Vice Captain Moughed. ¡°There are probably very few people in the entire Outerverse who can call you that, so it would be my honor.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. The bar¡¯s atmosphere was very lively, and there were many people around them debating about who would emerge as the tournament¡¯s victor. However, in the end, most of them were confident that Little Stoneman would win. His image even appeared on the bar¡¯s screens.

    Lu Yin nced at the pictures and was rather surprised. This person could not even be considered human, as he was entirely made of stone!

    The Outerverse had all sorts of strange and extreme environments, and with the passage of time, many civilizations that lived in near inhospitable environments would evolve a bit and adapt to their surroundings. Still, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such a thorough transformation.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you that there¡¯s not much point to the tournament this time around. The champion has to be Little Stoneman, as no one can break him down. Even if he¡¯s beaten and broken apart, he can just reform himself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I think that Brother Qiang has a good chance. He¡¯s an impressive expert with eight lined battle force, and he¡¯s a peak Hunter as well.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I think that an Enlighter may join in this time. I heard that the two captains of the Windflower Crew came back, and is there anything that those two shameless old farts won¡¯t do?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. If they join the fight along with Captain Shi, then the rest of the fighters won¡¯t even have a chance. We¡¯ll just have to watch those three go at it.¡±

    ¡­

    As he listened to the various conversations, Lu Yin nced over at Vice Captain Mo, but surprisingly, the man did not seem to be even the slightest bit upset. In fact, he even seemed to be used to hearing this talk. Perhaps those two old men, Wind and Flower, had actually done something simr in the past.

    ¡°If Enlighters don¡¯t join the tournament, then is there anyone else who you think can really sweep thepetition without question?¡± someone shouted out loudly. ¡°If anyone can answer correctly, I¡¯ll buy them a round of drinks.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! Everyone uses their own judgement to determine who¡¯s the best. How can anyone be convinced by someone else? You bastard, you always go on about such pointless stuff,¡± someone shouted, and the crowd immediately jeered at the man.

    The man waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about just Endless Borders, but rather the entire Outerverse. I¡¯ll name one person that none of you will be able to deny. If anyone can, then I¡¯ll really buy the next round of drinks.¡±

    Everyone was drawn in by the man¡¯s words, and some people loudly asked for him to give out the name while others mentioned the Ten Arbiters.

    That person revealed a gleeful smile. ¡°Aside from the Ten Arbiters¡­¡± He paused for effect before dramatically announcing, ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    With that name, the bar fell silent and nobody spoke.

    Vice Captain Mo sipped his drink and nced around, rather speechless as the aforementioned man was actually sitting with them in the bar.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? Can¡¯t argue with that, can you? As long as no Enlighters move, Lu Yin would win without any question if he participated in this tournament.¡± The man continued to talk, quite pleased with himself.

    Some people were unconvinced. ¡°Lu Yin doesn¡¯t count, as he¡¯s a freak. Honestly, even if Enlighters did join the tournament, I feel that Lu Yin would still stand a good chance of winning.¡±

    ¡°I reckon so as well. In the current Outerverse, there are two people beneath the Enlighter realm who cannot be provoked. One is that Divine Fist Arbiter and the other is Lu Yin. If either of those people make a move, then there wouldn¡¯t be any suspense at all,¡± someone elsemented.

    The crowd¡¯s discussions picked back up, and some people even mentioned Lu Yin¡¯s imminent battle with the Arbiter.

    Vice Captain Mo became even more surprised. Although he knew that Lu Yin¡¯s reputation was impressive, he had never expected that just mentioning his name would be enough to leave an entire bar in awe with no one able to argue against the person.

    ¡°Seven, how does it feel? Are you proud?¡± Vice Captain Mo asked as he leaned closer to Lu Yin¡¯s ear.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡±

    Vice Captain Mo was taken aback; was this humility or arrogance? He could not tell, but this youth seemed drunk!

    At this time, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he revealed a small smile after ncing at it. He had done it. He had formally joined Endless Borders under the name of ¡°Seven.¡±

    The two old captains, Wind and Flower, treated Lu Yin quite well. They were well aware that he was Lu Yin, but they had still allowed him to join their crew. Of course, Lu Yin had not ruled out the possibility that these two wanted to foster a better rtionship between Endless Borders and the Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lu Yin set his cup down.

    Vice Captain Mo was puzzled. ¡°So soon? You¡¯ve only had one ss. Are you afraid of being recognized?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then slowly walked out of the bar.

    Vice Captain Mo did not leave, as he wanted to continue drinking.

    Lu Yin had seen too much of the universe. Silentflock System was famous due to it being Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters, but by itself, the system was nothing impressive.

    With nothing to do, Lu Yin did not roam about. Instead, he directly returned to the Windflower Crew¡¯s sub and waited for the tournament that would begin in a few days.

    Endless Borders did not invite any outsiders to witness their internal tournament. Not even the Hall of Honor¡¯s Elder Daggs, who was close by at the border, had been invited. Rather, Silentflock System was actually sealed off, and the tournament quietly began just like that.

    The tournament venue was Silentflock¡¯s Adventure za. The za itself was massive, and it even included a dozen mountain ranges within its area. In terms of size, it might have surpassed Earth in its entirety, and it had also been reinforced to the point of being able to withstand battles between Enlighters.

    Countless cultivators from Endless Borders arrived and gathered all around the za, and the ce became exceptionally noisy.

    Each expedition crew had their own hovering tform that was shaped like a spacecraft. These tforms floated all over the za, slightly higher than where the rest of the spectators stood. This was just one of the benefits to being an expedition crewmember.

    There was such a distinctive difference in treatment that it caused countless cultivators from Endless Borders to start considering the various ways they could establish their own expedition crews.

    Lu Yin stood beside Captain Wind and Captain Flower, and behind the three men were the rest of the Windflower Crew¡¯s members. As they all stood together, they looked around Adventure za.

    The za was simply too vast, and it was difficult to see the entire ce clearly even with their eyesight. This was why screens had been set up everywhere, and there were enough cameras to capture every corner of the za.

    ¡°Chairman Yan will arrive soon,¡± Vice Captain Mo said softly.

    Lu Yin followed the vice captain¡¯s gaze towards the central screen, which was the one disying the image of another floating tform that already had a crowd of people on it. None of the people on that tform were weak, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression became even more serious. The weakest person there had rune lines equivalent to a Hunter¡¯s, and there was even an Enlighter on the tform. He was an older man and was sitting in the very center of the tform. In fact, he was Endless Borders¡¯ Chairman, Yan Chen.

    Many people in the Outerverse did not even know his name. Everyone was aware that Endless Borders was one of the four great conglomerates, but few were aware of Chairman Yan Chen¡¯s existence. This was consistent with his low-profile manner of handling things, though it was also possible that the various media outlets had been warned to not publicize anything rted to him.

    Yan Chen lowered a hand, and the za fell silent as everyone stared at the chairman through the central screen .

    Yan Chen¡¯s face had a strict appearance, and his expression looked dignified. ¡°Does everyone remember what the essence of my Endless Borders is?¡±

    Nobody responded.

    ¡°It¡¯s risk-taking. It¡¯s exploration. It¡¯s about discovering new objects that have never been seen before and the spirit of zing a trail unknown. Recently, due to certain things that were discovered in the Outerverse, many have forgotten about our core values. Does anyone truly believe that we are actually a corporation whose goal is to make money? Wrong! We are the Adventurers'' Guild! We are not apany striving for profit.¡±

 Chapter 923: Challenging Everyone

    <h4>Chapter 923: Challenging Everyone</h4>

    Yan Chen slowly stood up, and he spoke in a deep voice, ¡°During this period of time, I have heard far too many rumors: an invasion at the border, an invasion from the Great Eastern Alliance, or even the events at Amethyst Exchange¡¯s headquarters. These rumors have caused many of you to grow restless, and some seem to think that our Endless Borders should reach out to others and establish rtionships with them while others think that it would be best for us to join one camp or another. Today, I, the chairman, will tell you all that all of those ideas are wrong!

    ¡°Wrong, wrong, wrong. We are the Adventurers'' Guild! Our true essence is about adventure and excitement, not war. No matter what happens out there, we have our own position. We have promised to help protect humanity when the borders are invaded, but the internal struggles between the various organizations of the Human Domain have nothing to do with us.

    Let me solemnly tell all of you this: our Endless Borders will not participate in any of the current disputes, but simrly, we are not afraid of any threat! This is because nobody can threaten or harm us.¡±

    Yan Chen¡¯s speech evoked the burning passions of countless cultivators who belonged to Endless Borders. His words were right¡ªthey would not participate in any of the conflicts between the Outerverse¡¯s various powers. It was none of their business no matter what the outside world was doing. They were simply just adventurers, and they were very pure in the fact that, while they took risks in their exploration, they were not weak.

    They gazed at the suspended tforms that were floating all about the za. Each of these tforms carried an expedition crew on them, and there were Hunters and even some Enlighters among each crew. It was true that Endless Borders feared no one.

    Those in the Windflower Crew felt rather awkward, as they could tell that this speech had been targeted against the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant that it was targeted against Lu Yin. How had Lu Yin be so influential?

    The two old captains exchanged nces, and they were already regretting their actions. They had assumed that Lu Yin¡¯s influence extended to the central weaves of the Outerverse at most, and they had wanted Lu Yin to join their crew so that they could improve the rtionship between the two organizations. After all, having one more friend was better than having another enemy. Also, in the future, they might need some external help if they were ever caught in a dangerous situation. However, what was the current situation they were witnessing? Endless Borders¡¯ internal tournament¡¯s inspirational opening speech had been specifically targeted against Lu Yin, which left the two old men feeling rather helpless.

    Vice Captain Mo looked over at Lu Yin. Just how terrifying was this person? It seemed as if everyone in the Outerverse was talking about him.

    Lu Yin himself was left speechless. He readily admitted that his influence had be quite extensive; he had even reached the weaves in the central region after unifying a third of the Outerverse. However, did this man really need to go so far? Just his opening remarks would cause Lu Yin a great deal of trouble.

    Yan Chen was very pleased with his own speech. ¡°Alright, I now formally announce that Endless Borders¡¯ internal tournament will immediately begin. Prepare to draw lots.¡±

    As the chairman spoke, images of more than 10,000 cultivators appeared on the central-most screen. These pictures were of everyone who had registered for the tournament, and naturally, Lu Yin¡¯s image was among them.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s name had spread throughout the universe, most people had merely heard of his name and had never seen his picture before. This was simr to how people at the bottom of society often could not even recognize the ruler of their own country. However, those at the same level could naturally recognize each other, such as Chairman Yan.

    The chairman had only just sat down when he looked at the profile pictures of the variouspetitors, intending to see who among the contestants had the most potential. He had previously decided that he would approve of the formation of two new crews after this tournament in order to boost morale.

    However, when he nced over the screen, he was suddenly stumped, and he stared nkly at one of the pictures. He even rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

    As an Enlighter, his vision was excellent, and he would normally never do something as crude as rubbing his own eyes. However, he had just done so, as he felt like he was dreaming. Why was that person participating?

    ¡°Chair- Chairman, why does that guy look like-?¡±

    Someone next to Yan Chen spoke up in a panic, but they were interrupted by Yan Chen before they could finish their sentence. ¡°Go and pull up that person¡¯s profile.¡±

    The person quickly nodded, as there was no shortage of look-alikes in the universe. Logically, Lu Yin should not appear here, so the person nervously hurried to investigate.

    Before long, the person spoke up in a soft voice. ¡°That person is known as Seven, and he received a rmendation from the Windflower Crew to join Endless Borders, which was submitted just three days ago.¡±

    Yan Chen¡¯s eyes shed. The Windflower Crew? Then everything should be fine. The Windflower Crew was always exploring the Astral Wilderness, so this person might just coincidentally look like Lu Yin. After thinking about it, the chairman looked at the screen showing the Windflower Crew, and he saw that Lu Yin was standing next to the two captains. With one nce, the chairman became certain that that person was indeed Lu Yin.

    A person¡¯s looks could be copied, but one¡¯s bearing was something that could not be faked. The young man was standing in a position that indicated that his status surpassed even the two captains of the expedition crew, and he also seemed rather aloof. In the current universe, aside from Lu Yin and a few others, who else could disregard Enlighters?

    Yan Chen felt as if he had just swallowed a fly. Why was this person here?

    ¡°Eh, Chairman, that person-?¡± Someone else let out a cry, but they were also cut off by Yan Chen. However, more and more people were starting to recognize Lu Yin.

    Yan Chen could only warn them one by one not to spread any news, as otherwise, their tournament would be doomed.

    The chairman had referred to Lu Yin in his opening remarks, and thus, the chairman could not afford to lose to this young man.

    Everyone who recognized Lu Yin was rendered speechless, as his appearance at this time was simply too coincidental. Also, why had this person evene to the Silentflock System? And why had he joined Endless Borders? Speaking of which, shouldn¡¯t he have at least altered his appearance slightly? He was simply disregarding Endless Borders too much!

    Yan Chen immediately contacted Captain Wind and Captain Flower, and the chairman was quickly informed about how Lu Yin had joined their crew. He really wanted to scold those two elders, but when he remembered that they were both Enlighters, and extraordinary ones at that, he forcibly suppressed his urge.

    The two old men nced at each other, as this moment had finally caused them to realize the severity of the current situation. They thus obstinately refused to recognize Lu Yin¡¯s identity, and instead, they both sang the same tune and insisted that they only knew the youth as Seven and that he was a cultivator with exceptional talent. He was a true genius, but that was all that they knew.

    The two captains also ordered everyone in their Windflower Crew to stick to the same story, and the crew was very cooperative.

    Lu Yin did not mind their behavior. His eyes swept across the otherpetitors, and he further increased his estimate of Endless Borders¡¯ strength. If Endless Borders mobilized all of these people, their strength would be terrifying. This was a formidable force to be reckoned with.

    Military power was something that could intimidate other powers for a period of time, but an ideology was something that could influence an entire generation and evenst for countless years.

    Endless Borders used the lure of adventure to draw in countless experts, and even the Hall of Honor was drawn to the strength that had gathered there, which was the most terrifying detail of this organization.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression wasplicated as he looked at Yan Chen on the screen. Up until now, Endless Borders had never shown any indication of wanting to fight for benefits. However, the moment a chairman expressed that desire, there would be a great deal of trouble.

    Lu Yin felt that, if possible, it would be better to have some control over Endless Borders, and ideally, not as the chairman. It would be better for the top levels of such an organization to be managers that mutually restricted each other.

    Yan Chen and the others were not aware of it, but this tournament had caused Lu Yin to develop some interest in them.

    The lots were quickly drawn, and the determined battles broke out all across the za.

    Most of thepetitors were just Limiteers as the Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters were primarily from the expedition crews. Many of thepetitors simply wanted to stand out, catch the eye of the better expedition crews, or make things easier for themselves in the future.

    The za¡¯s battle arenas were split across many districts, and a hundred battles were conducted simultaneously. Some of them ended quickly, but there were some thatsted for a long time.

    It did not take long before it was Lu Yin¡¯s turn to participate in a battle, but his opponent was just a Limiteer. The man was able to sense that Lu Yin was a space-exploring powerhouse, and his expression immediately revealed his agony. ¡°Bro, could you show some mercy? Just let me show a bit of what I¡¯m capable of.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then nced at his surroundings in a very casual manner.

    The Limiteer hollered out, but he did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, the man demonstrated his battle techniques while standing in ce. His actions were very strange, but this was also a very smart decision. With his strength, the man knew that none of his attacks would have any effect on Lu Yin. Thus, he might as well demonstrate his skills by himself. At least his participation in the tournament would not be a total waste this way.

    Yan Chen and those who had recognized Lu Yin were all watching his battle intently, and when they saw this strange scene, they felt rather lost for words.

    The Limiteer left the stage after giving a grateful look to Lu Yin, much to his amusement.

    For the second round, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was an Explorer who hadpleted four cultivation cycles, the same as Lu Yin himself.

    This person was rather confident, and he was carrying a massive hammer that he swung about casually.

    However, Lu Yin raised a single hand and grabbed the hammer head with five fingers. He then gave it a firm squeeze, shattering the weapon.

    His opponent was stunned. ¡°That was made with an extremely rare metal, and even Cruisers can¡¯t break it! You-¡±

    But before the man could finish speaking, Lu Yin had put his hand on the Explorer¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    That Explorer was frustrated, but he still turned to leave.

    Endless Borders¡¯ internal tournament started quickly, and it also proceeded very fast. After all, it was just an internal duel that was used to boost the members¡¯ morale.

    After just one day, only a few hundred fighters remained from the more than 10,000 contestants who had registered. Although the current matches were still elimination matches, the battles no longer continued a hundred at a time; instead, they were conducted one by one. This was quite simr to how the Astral Combat Tournament had been held.

    Lu Yin only intended to go through the motions of this tournament. When he looked up at the central screen, he saw that Yan Chen and a few others were constantly looking at him, and he knew that they had recognized him. He gave them a slight smile.

    Yan Chen felt his heart drop.

    Another few days passed, and now, there were fewer than twenty people left.

    The further thepetition proceeded, the more impressive the battles became. Simrly, everyone stillpeting was investigated thoroughly, especially the representatives of the expedition crews. People were contemting all sorts of ways to lure in the remaining independent cultivators.

    In a small corner outside the za, thepetitor who Yang Hai had sent to participate in the tournament was lounging about. This person had been eliminated long ago, but he was not overly concerned about this tournament. Only the most outstanding people would be allowed to establish their own crews or join the expedition crews that explored the Astral Wilderness, but that was none of his crew¡¯s business. However, of the final twenty people, there was one person who caught Yang Hai¡¯s eye, and he was momentarily stunned. ¡°Why is he here?¡±

    Yang Hai was not the only one who noticed this person, as more and more people were starting to recognize Lu Yin.

    With only twenty contestants remaining, Lu Yin became more and more conspicuous, and cries could be asionally heard from outside the za as more and more people used their gadgets to investigate his identity.

    Yan Chen was left with no other choice as he could no longer hide anything. This person¡¯s reputation was too widespread, and there would always be other people who recognized him. As soon as one person did, others would naturally do so as well.

    On a tform that was floating outside the za, Captain Shi looked at the Windflower Crew¡¯s tform in surprise, focusing on the figure of a certain youth. ¡°Why is he here?¡±

    Beside Captain Shi stood the tournament¡¯s favorite to win, Little Stoneman. When he heard Captain Shi¡¯sment, he also looked over at the Windflower Crew¡¯s tform. ¡°Captain, do you know that person?¡±

    Captain Shi¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt as to the oue of this tournament anymore.¡±

    A simr scene urred on several of the floating tforms. Although not every expedition crew recognized Lu Yin, the majority certainly did, and the majority of the remaining contestants also happened to be from these crews.

    At this moment, everyone realized that there was no more point in continuing with the tournament.

    Within the crowd surrounding the za, there was one person holding an empty ss as they stared at the central screen in stupefaction. He was the man from the bar who had brought up Lu Yin¡¯s name as an example of someone who was capable of removing all suspense from the tournament. He had merely said it as a joke, but his words had somehowe true.

    Outside the za, all sorts of discussions broke out, as many people were puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s participation. Many of them looked up at Yan Chen and remembered the chairman¡¯s speech. They rather admired their leader, as the chairman had clearly known that Lu Yin was present but had still given that speech for Lu Yin to hear, which was a tant provocation.

    ¡°Cough cough, Alliance Leader Lu, it looks like you¡¯ve been exposed,¡± Captain Wind said.

    Lu Yin looked at Yan Chen through the screen and saw that Yan Chen was coincidentally also staring at him. The youth then leaped out,nded in the za, raised a hand, and pointed at the pictures of the remaining contestants before gesturing with his finger.

    Lu Yin¡¯s meaning was clear: he wanted to challenge everyone.

 Chpater 924: Lu Yinâ€™s Ability

    <h4>Chpater 924: Lu Yin¡¯s Ability</h4>

    The spectators were all shocked, as nothing like this had ever happened in any of Endless Borders¡¯ previous tournaments. Some people felt that Lu Yin was insulting them, but many others grew excited. All of these people were adventurers who enjoyed the thrill of the unknown, and they were not interested in the conflicts between the various powers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrogance excited these people, and cheers rang out from around the za.

    Yan Chen sighed and asked, ¡°Are you challenging everyone at once?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. ¡°Chairman, I hope that you¡¯ll give me the opportunity to do so.¡±

    Yan Chen¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he nced at the remaining contestants. ¡°You guys can decide this for yourselves. This is now a defensivepetition, as whoever is able to defeat him will be the champion. You can either fight him individually or as a team.¡±

    Many people cheered.

    Little Stoneman grew angry. ¡°He¡¯s too arrogant. Captain, I¡¯ll deal with him.¡±

    Captain Shi calmly ordered, ¡°Team up with someone.¡±

    ¡°Captain!¡± Little Stonemanined.

    Captain Shi coldly looked at the stone man. ¡°I told you to team up with someone.¡±

    Little Stoneman lowered his head and reluctantly agreed. He then leaped into the za, causing the ground to tremble.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Little Stoneman. This person had been the most popr candidate to win thispetition.

    Little Stoneman was very obedient, and he did not move forward. Instead, he patiently waited right where he hadnded.

    The remaining contestants also descended into the za one after another.

    Lu Yin was simply too famous, and most of the contestants intended to fight him in a team. However, there were also some people like Brother Qiang. This person was a Hunter realm powerhouse with eight lined battle force, and he had no intention of teaming up with anyone as he wanted to preserve Endless Borders¡¯ dignity.

    ¡°Attack!¡± someone shouted, prompting everyone to rush at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. He had decided to challenge everyone together because he understood the nature of Endless Borders. They worshipped winners and chased after thrill and excitement. He was going to give them a performance that no one in Endless Borders had ever seen before.

    Lu Yin dodged the iing attacks as multiple innate gifts shed across the za, followed by an eruption of terrifying power.

    Most of the remaining contestants were Hunter realm powerhouses, and one of them was even a peak Hunter.

    These people were all elites of Endless Borders, but even when they worked together, they weren¡¯t able to touch Lu Yin at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s top speed was simply too fast for these people while his altered eyes allowed him to see their attacks¡¯ rune lines. Even Enlighters who had suppressed their power level to under 200,000 might not be able to defeat Lu Yin in solobat, let alone these people. Lu Yin was someone who had fought against Imprinters in the Innerverse.

    The contestants continuously attacked Lu Yin, in teams as cheers erupted from the sidelines.

    However, a few momentster, the cheering came to a halt as everyone stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Not a single person had managed to touch Lu Yin even after all of those attacks.

    Yan Chen¡¯s heart sank. Although many people imed that Lu Yin relied on items to establish his powerful reputation, they often forgot that he only used those items when battling against Enlighters. Moreover, even one of the Ten Arbiters wanted to fight against him, which indicated that Lu Yin had nearly reached the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    Thus, the remaining contestants weren¡¯t simply fighting an Explorer¡ªthey were actually fighting against someone who wasparable to an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin kept evading their attacks, which left all of the contestants frustrated as they were unable to even touch him.

    Then, Lu Yin smirked at them. He leaped up and raised his right hand as he gathered his star energy there to form the First Sun. He then sent it crashing towards the ground, as if a real sun were colliding with the earth.

    The za cracked apart with a loud bang as shockwaves pulsed out in all directions.

    The people outside the za felt a strong gust of wind blow through them as they were pushed back by the st. They were frightened by the terrible pressure that had descended upon them.

    Lu Yin floated into the sky and looked down at everyone. He had used half of his star energy to form the First Sun that he had just unleashed, and that attack had a power level of nearly 200,000. It had used the equivalent of an Enlighter¡¯s total star energy. This attack should have been enough to render most of the remaining contestants incapable of fighting.

    Once the dust settled, the spectators were able to see that there were only three people still standing, and two of them could not even stand straight. Little Stoneman did not appear shaken at all, though the shock in his eyes could not be concealed.

    A single attack from Lu Yin had defeated most of them.

    ¡°You can¡¯t defeat me,¡± Little Stoneman rumbled in a deafening voice.

    Lu Yin nced at the stone man. ¡°Unlimited rbination means that there¡¯s no upper limit to the attacks that you can withstand, right? Are you sure that you want me to attack? I remember that there¡¯s a rule in thispetition that life or death don¡¯t need to be discussed.¡±

    Little Stoneman snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to try to intimidate me. You won¡¯t be able to defeat me.¡±

    At that moment, Brother Qiang walked over next to Little Stoneman. He finally realized that he truly was not Lu Yin¡¯s opponent in any manner in a one-on-one battle. Lu Yin did not even seem tired despite just using an attack that wasparable to an Enlighter¡¯s. Thus, Brother Qiang could only join forces with Little Stoneman.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll attack now.¡±

    He suddenly disappeared only to instantly reappear right in front of Brother Qiang and Little Stoneman. Eight lined battle force appeared over his body as he attacked.

    Brother Qiang¡¯s eyes flickered, and eight lined battle force shrouded his body as he attacked in unison with Little Stoneman.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist met the other two¡¯s attacks, and the ground copsed.

    Brother Qiang had the highest cultivation base out of the three remaining contestants, and Little Stoneman could only stand side by side with Brother Qiang due to his innate gift and powerful physical characteristics.

    As for Lu Yin, he was definitely the strongest of the three, and he immediately punched out with Eighty Stacks. Brother Qiang was only able to withstand Sixty Stacks before his battle force was shattered, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood as he flew back.

    The stones thatprised Little Stoneman¡¯s body shattered and fell to the ground.

    This attack had been unleashed in an instant, but the effects were shown even quicker.

    Lu Yin stood in the za as his eyes swept past Brother Qiang before pausing on Little Stoneman. Lu Yin was perplexed as Little Stoneman¡¯s rune lines actually had not disappeared.

    Everyone looked on nervously. They had heard rumors about Little Stoneman¡¯s unlimited rbination, so he couldn¡¯t actually be dead, right?

    Captain Shi¡¯s expression grew serious. He held high hopes for Little Stoneman, though he had never expected the stone man to defeat Lu Yin. Although Captain Shi¡¯s subordinate was not able to defeat Lu Yin at this time, it did not mean that it would still be impossible in the future. Little Stoneman¡¯s innate gift had the potential to define an era.

    The pieces of stone that were scattered across the ground started vibrating. They then moved together to reform Little Stoneman. ¡°I told you, you can¡¯t defeat me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze showed his curiosity. ¡°What are you?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, he seems more like a monster from the Astral Beast Domain than a human,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    ¡°You can¡¯t beat me, so just admit defeat,¡± Little Stoneman said while ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°It seems like you want to die.¡±

    Little Stoneman continued to repeat the same thing. ¡°You can¡¯t beat me, so stop trying to intimidate me.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Let me take a guess: the number of times that you can perform that rbination is thirteen times.¡±

    Little Stoneman¡¯s eyes flickered as he stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°How- how did you know?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. He was able to see Little Stoneman¡¯s rune lines, and they had decreased slightly after the rbination. After about thirteen rbinations, those runes wouldpletely disappear.

    ¡°So what now? Do you want me to attack you thirteen times?¡± Lu Yin arched his brow.

    Little Stoneman was about to say something in response, but in the end, he simply dejectedly said, ¡°I admit defeat.¡±

    Brother Qiang wanted to get back up, but his arm was broken. Furthermore, his body had been battered by the Oveying Stacks Paths attack, and he simply could not pick himself up.

    Lu Yin had only attacked twice, but that had been enough to defeat all of the remaining contestants, which shocked the Silentflock System.

    After the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse, Lu Yin had gone from an unrivalled Limiteer to a powerhouse who was renowned throughout the Outerverse. Information about him was still mixed, and most rumors imed that he mostly relied on external items and a strong background.

    The truth was that some people still looked down on him as they thought that he would not have aplished all of his achievements without the Hall of Honor¡¯s support and his numerous external items.

    Despite that, Lu Yin had just defeated the final contestants of this tournament while being nothing more than an Explorer. This even included Little Stoneman, who was hailed as an invincible existence and Brother Qiang, who was a peak Hunter. Lu Yin¡¯s true power hadpletely overwhelmed everyone present.

    The people here would never forget what they had just witnessed.

    The man from the bar became very excited. He had known that Lu Yin was invincible the moment he attacked. Although some people would agree with that statement, they had still secretly looked down on Lu Yin, but those people werepletely delusional.

    Chairman Yan Chen started apuding, followed by the two captains of the Windflower Crew, Captain Shi, and Yang Dui. Everyone from Endless Borders eventually started pping to show their respect.

    Lu Yin looked around and smiled. This was just the start. He would even be able to easily defeat Enlighters in the future, and he would eventually earn the respect of the entire universe.

    ording to the rules, the tournament champion could request something from the chairman, and as long as the request was not over the top, Endless Borders would have to fulfill the request.

    Lu Yin had waited a long time for this moment.

    In the past, the chairman would have allowed the victor to make their request publicly in order to encourage the other members of Endless Borders. However, that did not happen this time, as the chairman feared that Lu Yin would make a difficult request.

    The chairman asked the others to leave, and thus, Endless Borders¡¯ internalpetition came to an end.

    Only the expedition crews remained behind to bear witness to Lu Yin¡¯s conversation with the chairman.

    Chairman Yan descended down to the za, apanied by some of Endless Borders¡¯ upper management members, which included the captains of the Windflower Crew, Captain Shi, and the other captains.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Chairman Yan.¡±

    Chairman Yan smiled bitterly. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what made you interested in joining Endless Borders?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°I was in trouble when the Windflower Crew saved me. I am eternally grateful to them, and so, I joined Endless Borders when the captains of the Windflower Crew invited me to do so.¡±

    President Yanughed in disbelief.

    Wind and Flower didn¡¯t say anything, and they pretended to be confused.

    ¡°Ahem. Alliance Leader Lu, you are the champion, and thus, you can make a request. Tell me, what do you want?¡± Chairman Lu quickly and nervously added on, ¡°There are some requests that Endless Borders will not agree to.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not a difficult request: I would like the travel routes leading to the Innerverse.¡±

    Chairman Yan was astonished. ¡°How did you find out about that?¡±

    The others were also shocked, and they all turned to look at the two captains of the Windflower Crew.

    Wind and Flower remained calm.

    Chairman Yan red at the two old men, but not even he dared to reprimand them. He then turned back around to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll be honest. These secret routes are very important to Endless Borders, and as such, it wouldn¡¯t be very appropriate for us to give them to you.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Chairman Yan, it¡¯s just a star chart. Even if I have it, it doesn¡¯t mean that Endless Borders won¡¯t. We can simply share it.¡±

 Chapter 925: Star Chart

    <h4>Chapter 925: Star Chart</h4>

    Chairman Yan wanted to refuse, but when he saw the determined look in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the chairman knew that this person would not let go of this request.

    His opening remarks for the tournament had used this person as an example, and the chairman¡¯s words had thus inspired everyone in Endless Borders. In reality, Endless Borders was not afraid of Lu Yin or the Great Eastern Alliance, but they were unwilling to create enemies without reason. The young person standing in front of the chairman was a ruthless man who had killed hundreds of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition¡¯s high-ranking officers in a single night, and the powers that this youth controlled in the dark and the open were immeasurable. Such people were very difficult to go against.

    ¡°Chairman, since these are the rules, then please act ording to them and give it to him.¡± Captain Shi was the first to speak, though in a cold voice.

    Yang Hai agreed.

    The two old men, Wind and Flower, also murmured their agreement. Soon after, the rest of the people present followed suit as well.

    Endless Borders searched for and discovered interster routes not to earn money, but rather to simply enjoy the risk and excitement that came with such endeavors. When a route was simply left alone, it would do nothing but collect dust. Besides, nobody from Endless Borders wanted to go to the Innerverse while Lu Yin actually wanted it. They would suffer no loss by giving him such a thing, especially since the Innerverse and Outerverse would eventually reconnect anyways.

    When Chairman Yan saw that everyone present had agreed, he also nodded. ¡°Alright, since Alliance Leader Lu is the one asking for it, we¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Chairman Yan.¡±

    His request for the route back to the Innerverse had two motivations behind it. First, he wanted to prepare for all eventualities, and he could only do that if he had the ability to enter the Innerverse if that ever became necessary. The second reason was so that he could have someone keep an eye on the route. That way, he could prevent the Sixth Maind from sneakily invading the Outerverse through that route.

    For the moment, even with the star chart, Lu Yin would not return to the Innerverse, as that ce was currently a miserable battlefield. With his strength, he could not guarantee his survival.

    The others all left as Chairman Yan personally led Lu Yin towards Silentflock¡¯s Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters. Specifically, they were heading to the area where they stored the various secret routes.

    Endless Borders had too many spacecraft in its fleet, but Silentflock did not have many at all.

    Chairman Yan led Lu Yin to a ce outside of their headquarters, and when Lu Yin looked over, he saw multiple rune lines filling the sky. These rune lines did not originate from any single person, but had rather been arranged. Judging from these rune lines, the power of the formation outside was enough to instantly kill Enlighters with power levels of around 300,000 or 400,000.

    Lu Yin was rather interested in this, as he hoped to arrange a simr defensive mechanism for Zenyu Star. Otherwise, any random Enlighter would be able to rain chaos upon Zenyu Star.

    Suddenly, a thump rang out as a corner of Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters suddenly exploded, causing numerous rms to ring out. Countless people instantly rushed towards the area of the explosion.

    Chairman Yan¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Not good!¡±

    He then tore through the void and left.

    Lu Yin frowned, but he remained standing in ce as he stared at the location of the explosion. He could only see that there were multiple rune lines extending outwards along the wall, but the others did not discover anything at all, not even Chairman Yan. The number of rune lines was not high, and they amounted to about an Explorer¡¯s. However, they were incredibly well hidden.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he instantly appeared at the corner of the wall. He stopped right in front of the creeping rune lines, and there, he saw a pair of deathly cold eyes that peered at him from within the shadow.

    It was a corpse king from the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this organization truly had its fingers everywhere. He reached out, distorting the void as he suppressed the shadow. In response, the corpse king leaped out of the shadow, raised its hand, and swiped a w at Lu Yin.

    He snorted and took advantage of the opportunity to grab a hold of the corpse king¡¯s hand and squeeze it tightly. A cracking sound split the air as the corpse king¡¯s arm was snapped in half, followed by its entire body being heavily mmed into the ground by Lu Yin.

    Thismotion he raised drew a bit of attention, and Chairman Yan tore through the void to quickly arrive, whereupon he immediately saw the corpse king.

    The corpse king decisively snapped off its own right arm and merged into the shadows once again, intent on escaping. Unfortunately, that was not possible. Lu Yin did not even need to make another move, as Chairman Yan casually reached out and caught the corpse king.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance.¡± Chairman Yan was stunned.

    The corpse king snarled and growled.

    Chairman Yan firmlyshed out, and the corpse king was crushed into a bloody pulp by an unstoppable force. Such a thing did not need to be saved, as nobody could extract any information from a corpse king.

    The rest of the crowd quickly arrived, but Chairman Yan waved a hand to dismiss them. He looked very solemn.

    ¡°Chairman, what did the corpse king do?¡± Lu Yin frowned.

    Chairman Yan solemnly answered, ¡°It destroyed the star chart that had the route to the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°The star chart is gone?¡±

    Yan Chen sighed, and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I never thought that there would be a Neohuman Alliance corpse king in Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters. Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s fortunate that you discovered it. Otherwise, it would have escaped with its innate gift.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°The corpse king wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape Silentflock. Chairman Yan does not need to thank me.¡±

    Yan Chen did not refute, as Lu Yin¡¯s words were correct. Endless Borders¡¯ headquarters had its own defensive means, and they could detect the presence of the corpse king.

    ¡°Chairman, is the star chart with the route back to the Innerverse really gone?¡± Lu Yin asked. He did not understand why the Neohuman Alliance could possibly want to destroy that star chart.

    Yan Chen calmly answered, ¡°The star chart is indeed gone.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned.

    ¡°However, someone still knows the way, and they should be able to draft another star chart,¡± Yan Chen mentioned.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The captain of the Mistdrop Crew,¡± Yan Chen replied.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°Chairman, you don¡¯t know the route?¡±

    Yan Chen smiled bitterly. ¡°Does Alliance Leader Lu know everything concerning the various powers of the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    Lu Yin came to a realization that Yan Chen was simply thepany¡¯s chairman, and he only had authority over it. The man did notpletely control Endless Borders. The organization was an integrated system, and the captains of the expedition crews were also members of the board of directors. Thus, unless the star chart that they created was sold to Endless Borders, not even the chairman himself qualified to see the star charts.

    ¡°The Mistdrop Crew was the one to discover the path to the Innerverse?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Chairman Yan shook his head. ¡°That route was discovered many years ago, but the captain of the Mistdrop Crew inherited it since it was not discovered by him. With his strength, he¡¯s still unable to do such a thing.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Mistdrop Crew?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Chairman Yan pointed out a sub that orbited Silentflock. That sub was where the Mistdrop Crew was based out of. Lu Yin¡¯s luck was pretty good, as they had also sent someone to participate in the most recent internal tournament, and a portion of the crew was still cultivating on their sub.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you are the champion of the tournament, but the star chart that you¡¯ve requested is gone. You can change your request,¡± Chairman Yan said.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°Let me think about this.¡±

    Yan Chen was helpless, as he had been hoping that Lu Yin would immediately state his wishes, as that would be better than being left in suspense. This person was not just anyone. ¡°In fact, as one of the four great conglomerates, my Endless Borders has vast financial reserves. You can ask for that as well, if need be.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Chairman, please give me some time to consider.¡±

    Yan Chen could only helplessly answer, ¡°Very well.¡±

    Yan Chen had been hoping to use money to distract Lu Yin, but Lu Yin would not be swayed so easily. Money could be earned, but there were certain things that could not be bought for any amount of money, such as secret interster routes. He was currently considering how to use the lowest price to obtain the highest number of routes possible.

    In the universe, interster routes were an extremely precious resource.

    Lu Yin bade Yan Chen farewell and then made some inquiries to the two old captains, Wind and Flower, about the Mistdrop Crew¡¯s captain. Unfortunately, the two men did not know much of anything about the man.

    Lu Yin then searched for Yang Hai to ask him some questions.

    Yang Hai looked at Lu Yin curiously. This person had suddenly asked him about the Mistdrop Crew¡¯s captain. ¡°Captain Mistdrop has a rather entric personality, and he is quite stubborn. He¡¯s fundamentally quite extreme, so it¡¯s not very easy to interact with him¡­¡±

    Lu Yin listened to Yang Hai¡¯s exnation, building up a basic understanding of Captain Mistdrop. He then leaped up, left Silentflock, and headed towards the Mistdrop Crew¡¯s sub.

    He was very puzzled about why the Neohuman Alliance would destroy the star chart to the Innerverse. Did they not want people from the Outerverse to travel to the Innerverse? Lu Yin knew that the Neohuman Alliance had always been hatching certain schemes concerning the Outerverse, and this development left him feeling very uneasy.

    Even an existence like ckless God had appeared in the Outerverse, which indicated that the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s scheme must not be something minor.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to arrive at the Mistdrop Crew¡¯s sub. While he was descending, his expression changed drastically. Rune lines were constantly disappearing in the ce where the Mistdrop Crew was located.

    Lu Yin instantly tore through the void and disappeared.

    The area had be filled with a fog of blood, and the rune lines within the entire base were quickly vanishing.

    Captain Mistdrop¡¯s brow was beaded with sweat, and his face showed his fear. A shadow danced in front of him, and one instanceter, another three people died.

    The captain did not know what sort of thing this ck shadow was, but it had suddenly appeared and started mercilessly killing everyone. It was useless to even attempt to call for help, as not a single person had been able to escape so far. They were basically trapped within a cage, waiting for their deaths.

    ¡°Captain, save-¡± A wailing cry was cut short as a human head was chopped off before bouncing over to the captain¡¯s feet.

    Captain Mistdrop felt a chill run down his spine, and he gritted his teeth as he looked ahead of himself. The shadow flickered a few times before an icy-cold de streaked out at him. Even as a Hunter, the captain could not evade this de. This edge of the de epassed a huge area despite having a narrow scope, and it contained an endless destructive power.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin appeared in front of Captain Mistdrop, and he tapped out with a finger. The void congealed, and the de was struck by a solitary finger. At the same time, the tip of the finger struck the shadow and pierced through it, resulting in a shower of blood sttering out.

    Captain Mistdrop was finally able to clearly see what that shadow¡¯s true appearance: it was a corpse king. The pair of deathly cold eyes instantly gave the creature¡¯s identity away.

    The Neohuman Alliance had acted very cautiously this time. Since they had been capable of destroying the star chart, they were naturally also able to discover that Captain Mistdrop had inherited the star chart. Thus, their goal had been to destroy both of them at the same time.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had arrived in time. Otherwise, he would not have been able to obtain anything.

    The corpse king snarled and went all out as it attacked Lu Yin.

    In the end, it was killed by Lu Yin.

    A Hunter realm corpse king that could not transform was not able to cause any troubles to Lu Yin.

    Captain Mistdrop panted heavily and leaned against a wall. In just a dozen seconds, the Mistdrop Crew had been reduced to only him. He had teetered on the brink of death, and it was only due to good luck that he had survived.

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°Are you Captain Mistdrop?¡±

    Captain Mistdrop looked at Lu Yin, astonished. ¡°Why is Alliance Leader Lu here?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I would like to ask you to draw a copy of the star chart that has the route to the Innerverse.¡±

    The captain¡¯s eyes trembled. He looked down at the fallen corpse king and then back over at Lu Yin once more. ¡°So we were exterminated because of that¡­¡±

    Lu Yin did not hide anything, and he shared the information of the star chart being destroyed with the captain. Captain Mistdrop was no fool, and such an event could not be hidden from the man anyways. ¡°Draft a copy for me. Then, you won¡¯t be targeted by the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    ¡°If Alliance Leader Lu hadn¡¯t asked for that star chart, our Mistdrop Crew would have never been struck by this cmity,¡± Captain Mistdrop said sternly and rather resentfully.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°News of Endless Borders having a star chart with a route to the Innerverse leaked out long before I asked for it. Even if I didn''t want it, the Neohuman Alliance would still have moved to silence you, and in that scenario, you guys would not have been able to escape.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily, as others don¡¯t care about the star chart,¡± Captain Mistdrop said.

    Lu Yin was helpless. This man was just as Yang Hai had said: extremely stubborn. He had an attitude even though Lu Yin had just saved the man¡¯s life.

    ¡°Then state your conditions, Captain Mistdrop. What would convince you to draft that star chart for me?¡± Lu Yin asked straightforwardly. This person was a captain in Endless Borders; otherwise, Lu Yin would not have been this courteous.

    Captain Mistdrop thought about it and then revealed a firm expression as he clenched his fists. He softly said, ¡°I want to return to the Moke Sword Sect.¡±

 Chapter 926: Purchasing Astral Routes

    <h4>Chapter 926: Purchasing Astral Routes</h4>

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Moke Sword Sect?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Captain Mistdrop¡¯s expression grew nostalgic. ¡°I was in the past, but I was chased out due to some certain matters. As long as Alliance Leader Lu can help me return to the Moke Sword Sect, I will draw up another star chart for you.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and quickly activated his gadget to contact Wei Rong. ¡°I want to talk to the Moke Sword Sect.¡±

    On the other end of the call, Wei Rong fell deep into thought before replying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±

    Lu Yin then ended the call and looked over at Captain Mistdrop. ¡°I¡¯ll keep Captain Mistdroppany for the next few days so that no further mishaps will happen. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be able to return to the Moke Sword Sect.¡±

    Captain Mistdrop looked calm on the outside, but he was absolutely amazed internally. His understanding of Lu Yin¡¯s influence waspletely rewritten by this interaction. With just one sentence, Lu Yin had delegated this task to someone else. If Captain Mistdrop was truly able to return to the Moke Sword Sect, then he had no intention of staying with Endless Borders any longer. Perhaps it would not be a bad choice to work for this person.

    Living a life of risk while exploring the unknown for so many years had left Captain Mistdrop exhausted. In truth, he was not actually drawn to such risks. However, since he had been banished from the Moke Sword Sect, he held some resentment towards them in his heart. He did not want to be looked down upon by the Moke Sword Sect, so he could only join Endless Borders and earn the right to establish his own expedition crew.

    The facts had proven that he had made the correct choice, as Endless Borders was one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse, and it was a truly colossal organization. After he became a captain, nobody had dared to look down on him. However, with his stubborn personality, returning to the Moke Sword Sect had be a particrly sore spot for him.

    Captain Mistdrop became much more subdued after realizing the extent of Lu Yin¡¯s influence. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, such an assassination attempt most likely will not stop after just the first attempt.¡±

    Lu Yin looked outside the room and said, ¡°I¡¯ve long since heard of the Silentflock System¡¯s reputation. I wonder, is Captain Mistdrop willing to take me on a tour?¡±

    Captain Mistdrop nodded, indicating his willingness.

    Over the next few days, Captain Mistdrop led Lu Yin on a tour of the Silentflock System. With Captain Mistdrop¡¯s position, the two of them were free to visit any of the subs.

    Lu Yin treated these few days as leisure time, as the Neohuman Alliance did not make any moves during them.

    Although they acted firmly and decisively, their numbers were simply too few. It was already quite impressive for them to have infiltrated Endless Borders, and sending out two corpse kings could even be considered excessive. The Mistdrop Crew¡¯s tragic case had caused the Silentflock System topletely seal itself off. Even if more of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings wanted to enter to kill Lu Yin and Captain Mistdrop, they could not.

    One day, Lu Yin was standing in front of Captain Mistdrop while watching a distant spacecraft descend when his gadget beeped. It was Bei Qing.

    Bei Qing was the one who managed the Lu''s Grand Auction, and he normally would not take the initiative to contact Lu Yin unless there had been some kind of special development.

    Lu Yin calcted the time, but it hadn¡¯t even been four months since he hadst delivered some goods to Bei Qing. Thus, the six month deadline couldn¡¯t have arrived yet.

    "What''s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bei Qing gravely answered, ¡°Your Highness, the disciple who secretly sold the pyrolyte to us has been revealed, and his own power handed him over to the Daynight n. He is now in the hands of Shanghuan Daynight, who has brought forth several conditions to us. In addition, he is threatening that, if we don¡¯t agree to his conditions, he will expose the Lu''s Grand Auction.¡±

    Lu Yin faintly replied, ¡°Got it. Get him to wait on Zenyu Star.¡±

    Bei Qing was puzzled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t Your Highness wish to know his conditions?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Lu Yin brusquely answered before putting his gadget down. Conditions? In the current Outerverse, how many people were qualified to negotiate conditions with Lu Yin? The few Daynight n members who had been left behind in the Outerverse simply could not qualify. Not even their Enlighter, Nightqueen Qiuyu, was qualified to do so anymore.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s current position, did it even matter if was exposed? His status as an Honor Chosen was enough to settle everything. It would not be a problem if this person proved to be tactful. However, if not, Lu Yin would show this Shanghuan Daynight true desperation.

    Off in the distance, the spacecraft soared to life and headed up into space. It was carrying Yang Hai¡¯s expedition crew.

    Since the internal tournament had finished, all of the expedition crews quickly left one after another.

    The Windflower Crew had already left the previous day. The two old captains had treated Lu Yin quite well, so he had seen them off.

    Several more days passed.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, how much longer are we going to wait?¡± Captain Mistdrop asked.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Is Captain Mistdrop in a hurry to leave?¡±

    Captain Mistdrop replied, ¡°I agreed to meet my crew members in three more days.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Captain Mistdrop afraid of being killed ?¡± Lu Yin was amused.

    Captain Mistdrop¡¯s face twisted. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly hide here in the Silentflock System for the rest of my life. We¡¯ve already discussed this, and we¡¯ll be heading into the Astral Wilderness this time. Nobody will be able to find us there.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You still have crew members?¡±

    Captain Mistdrop exined, ¡°Only a small number of my crew members came to the Silentflock System with me this time. Most of them remained outside to look into some news, which should have been settled about now. Alliance Leader Lu, if there are still no results, I can only leave.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. He did not mind this attitude.

    ¡°Leave? Seventh Bro, this person simply doesn¡¯t understand you. How can you let go of something that¡¯s already caught your attention?¡± the Ghost Monkeymented with a snigger.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. If not for his need to give Endless Borders some face, this captain would not have been able to bear Lu Yin¡¯s methods.

    One more day passed, and there seemed to be a weight on Captain Mistdrop¡¯s mind, as he was constantly checking his gadget and looking at Lu Yin. He clearly wanted to say something, but he hesitated every time.

    Suddenly, his gadget beeped, and he looked at it. Once he did, Captain Mistdrop¡¯s expression changed to one of ecstasy. ¡°The Moke Sword Sect¡¯s Ke Yun has agreed to allow Lan Zhong to return to the sect, and he can once again be listed in the register.¡±

    Captain Mistdrop looked up at Lu Yin and spoke in an emotional voice. ¡°A- Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m going to return to the Moke Sword Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    Captain Mistdropughed, and he suddenly seemed a bit insane. Sometimes, the longer one suppressed their emotions and held back, the crazier they would be once they aplished their goals. Captain Mistdrop was precisely this type of person.

    Despite his excitement, Captain Mistdrop did not forget his promise to Lu Yin, and he pulled out a star chart from his cosmic ring and handed it to Lu Yin. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s more than just one star chart with the route to the Innerverse. Alliance Leader Lu, this is what you wanted.¡±

    Lu Yin took it and opened it to take a look only to be rather astonished. He had assumed that the route to the Innerverse began in the Outerverse, so he had never expected that the path would require one to pass through the Technocracy.

    ¡°There¡¯s a copsible channel in an empty region of the Technocracy, and you can pass through that to arrive in the Innerverse. However, freak cosmic phenomenona often appear in that passage, and even Hunters can¡¯t guarantee their safety when passing through. If Alliance Leader Lu wants to pass through, then you¡¯ll have to make the necessary preparations,¡± Captain Mistdrop cautioned. Just as he had thought, Lu Yin had indeed been able to help him rejoin the Moke Sword Sect. Thus, Lan Zhong felt that he should change his attitude and try to get closer to this person.

    Lu Yin put the star chart away and looked at Captain Mistdrop. ¡°Since you are returning to the Moke Sword Sect, then are you still nning to return to the Astral Wilderness?¡±

    Captain Mistdrop shook his head. ¡°Forget that, I¡¯m too tired. Alliance Leader Lu has already gotten his star chart, so it¡¯s not too likely that the Neohuman Alliance will continue chasing me down. I want to return to the Moke Sword Sect and take back everything that belongs to me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll congratte Captain Mistdrop in advance on your sess. If you ever need help, then just call out, and the Great Eastern Alliance will not hesitate to move out.¡±

    Captain Mistdrop¡¯s heart skipped a beat, as Lu Yin was talking about the entire Great Eastern Alliance and not just Lu Yin himself. This meant that if Lan Zhong took the initiative to reach out to Lu Yin, then not only would he be getting closer to Lu Yin, but also the entire Great Eastern Alliance. This statement was a test, and Lu Yin was probing to see if this man wanted to get closer to the Great Eastern Alliance or if he was wholeheartedly determined to help the Moke Sword Sect.

    It should be known that the Moke Sword Sect was one of the factions that had helped establish the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition.

    Although Captain Mistdrop was extremely stubborn, he was not foolish, and he was able to quickly make decisions once he identified his attitude. ¡°In that case, I may have to trouble the Great Eastern Alliance, and I¡¯ll have to beg for Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s forgiveness.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, raised a hand, and patted Captain Mistdrop¡¯s shoulder.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gesture to Captain Mistdrop was rather disrespectful given their ages, but the older man did not have the slightestint, which was his way of clearly demonstrating his attitude.

    Conversations between people did not always require words to be said clearly, as everything would work out just fine as long as the meaning was fully conveyed.

    Lu Yin stared at Captain Mistdrop¡¯s retreating figure for a moment before contacting Wei Rong. ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Wei Rong spoke in a rxed manner. ¡°The Suna Weave has tworge sword sects thatpete against each other, and they also have a strong dislike for each other. Those two sects are the Moke Sword Sect and the Shadowsword Sect. I simply told Ke Yun that if he disagrees, we would wholeheartedly support the Shadowsword Sect in taking control of the Suna Weave, and we also promised that we wouldn¡¯t mobilize any military forces against the Shadowsword Sect. As long as Ke Yun isn¡¯t an idiot, he should know how to respond.¡±

    Lu Yin''s lips curled upwards. ¡°You can use this person, Lan Zhong. Although he¡¯s not very capable, he might be the breakthrough needed to pry the Moke Sword Sect open.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Wei Rong replied.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and let out a deep breath. With Wei Rong and Wang Wen both working for Lu Yin, many tasks that had been difficult in the past had be effortless, and they no longer required his time or energy to settle.

    Wang Wen was adept at strategizing and nning the overall scenario and had a long-term vision while Wei Rong was adept at scheming and had a strong method of execution. With these two helping him take care of matters, Lu Yin was able to rx much more, and he was able to rest his mind and cultivate or focus on other matters.

    Since he had already obtained the star chart, then there was no longer any need for Lu Yin to remain in the Silentflock System.

    He traveled back to Silentflock and looked for Chairman Yan. ¡°Chairman, I¡¯ve thought about what reward I would like, and I hope for an opportunity to conduct a transaction with Endless Borders.¡±

    Across from the youth, Chairman Yan¡¯s expression changed before he revealed a helpless look once again. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, your requests are always so unexpected.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Endless Borders has discovered too many routes, and you must frequently give them out for others to use. Otherwise, it would let down those who discovered the routes, right?¡±

    Yan Chen smiled bitterly. ¡°That¡¯s quite logical. So, does Alliance Leader Lu wish to purchase some routes?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I wish to purchase all of the unknown routes within the territory of the Great Eastern Alliance, and Chairman Yan can state your price!¡±

    Yan Chen¡¯s eyes went wide when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°All of the routes? Alliance Leader Lu, you must be joking¡ªeach route is extremely valuable.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Windflower Crew as well as a member of Endless Borders,¡± Lu Yin emphasized.

    Yan Chen¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Even if you¡¯re one of us, the price of those routes is still very expensive, and the prices also change depending on the specific astral locations.¡± The chairman opened his screen and showed that there were multiple route symbols densely packed on it. There were at least twenty routes located within the Great Eastern Alliance. In the entire Outerverse, there seemed to be nearly 100 routes, and there were even some that were connected to parts of the Astral Wilderness and the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew fervent, as this was a disy of Endless Borders¡¯ true wealth.

    ¡°I want to purchase all the routes within the Great Eastern Alliance,¡± Lu Yin said dramatically.

    Yan Chen looked over the routes on the screen and muttered to himself. ¡°There¡¯s a total of twenty six undiscovered routes throughout the Great Eastern Alliance, and some of them have important astral locations while others are more remote. How about this: sixty natural treasures which have reached the point of evading danger, or 300,000 star essence. Choose, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin agreed to the price.

    Yan Chen agreed. This was actually quite a cheap price for so many routes.

    ¡°Chairman Yan, I ask for your promise that, since I¡¯ve bought these routes, they can¡¯t be sold to anyone else,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yan Chen replied, ¡°Of course. At the very least, nobody will be able to purchase these routes from Endless Borders. However, if someone else coincidentally discovers any of them, then that is out of our hands. Also, Endless Borders cannot possibly escort convoys for Alliance Leader Lu for such an amount.¡±

 Chapter 927: A Trace Of Possibility

    <h4>Chapter 927: A Trace Of Possibility</h4>

    ¡°I know,¡± Lu Yin replied. He then looked towards the other routes disyed on the chairman¡¯s screen. ¡°Chairman Yan, sell me some of the routes in the other weaves as well.¡±

    Yan Chen immediately refused with a serene expression. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you were allowed to purchase the routes just now because you won the tournament and also because you are a member of Endless Borders. Thus, I even gave you an insider¡¯s price. However, concerning the other routes, pardon me if I don¡¯t sell them to you at this time.¡±

    Yan Chen was not foolish. The moment that the affected weaves learned that he had sold the other routes to Lu Yin, it would instigate a war.

    Lu Yin did not force the matter, as it would not be worthwhile to spend too much buying outside routes. Although he had also been plotted against by the Neohuman Alliance during this trip, there was still a bit of good that hade from that disaster.

    The next day, under the expectant gazes of Yan Chen and the other executives, Lu Yin boarded his spacecraft and left the Silentflock System, returning to Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin had initially nned on heading straight back to Frostwave Weave, but along the way, he changed directions and headed towards somewhere else. He was going to where the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome had settled down.

    Although the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome were just thest remnants of the group that had escaped from the Starfall Sea, they were extremely powerful within the scope of the Outerverse, especially since they had an Envoy among them in the form of Elder He. If the elder could be mobilized at Lu Yin¡¯s order, then it would be effortless for him to unify the Outerverse.

    Some dayster, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraftnded in the middle of the ocean. He stored the copsible spacecraft away and then surveyed his surroundings. Soon after, his figure shed as he tore through the void and vanished.

    This was known as Enron, and it was one of the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s most important bases in the Outerverse, and this was also where Hai Qiqi was currently staying.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Elder He was the first to notice him. The old man did not reveal himself, but he did inform Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi¡¯s expression had grown much dimmerpared to when Lu Yin hadst seen her. The Outerverse had once again been separated from the Innerverse, and she could not feel the Sea King¡¯s strength anymore. Thus, she did not know if he was dead or alive.

    Lu Yin emerged from the void and saw Hai Qiqi¡¯s thin silhouette. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Sea King should still be alive.¡±

    Hai Qiqi calmly answered, ¡°How do you even have the time toe here?¡¯

    Lu Yin walked over to Hai Qiqi. ¡°I was passing through, so I stopped by to see you.¡±

    ¡°I know that you want to unify the Outerverse. However, have you ever thought about how once you do, you¡¯ll have to bear the brunt of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion?¡± Hai Qiqi asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°A unified Outerverse will still be stronger than a fractured Outerverse, right?¡±

    Hai Qiqi did not reply.

    After a brief pause, Lu Yin asked, ¡°Where¡¯re Hai Feng and Hai Dashao?¡±

    ¡°I don''t know,¡± Hai Qiqi replied.

    ¡°I remember that the Sea King¡¯s Dome had four elders: Shan, Tong, Ren, and He. Elder He is the strongest, but Elder Tong should be the most cunning.¡±

    Hai Qiqi nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of trying to rope us into being your assistants. That¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Lu Yin became embarrassed at being caught. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ªI was just asking.¡±

    Hai Qiqi stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°If you ever find a way back to the Innerverse again, you have to take me, alright?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Why do you say that?¡±

    Hai Qiqi looked away. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone in the Outerverse who has a hope of returning to the Innerverse, it¡¯s you, Lu Yin. Although I haven¡¯t spent much time with you, I have a very clear idea of howpetent you are. As long as nothing unexpected urs, the Outerverse will eventually be unified, and you are the only one who is able to clearly see the big picture.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished; this brat was rather astute.

    Lu Yin left Enron shortly after, as he had already gotten what he was looking for. Although these people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome would not help him, they were also hoping that he would take them back to the Innerverse in the future. Thus, he could ask them for help if he faced difficulties.

    Elder He was indeed an Envoy realm powerhouse, but strength was only one aspect. Another important detail was whether or not a person could clearly see the Outerverse¡¯s future. These people could only rely on Lu Yin to find a path back to the Innerverse.

    However, Hai Qiqi would have never even imagined that Lu Yin had already obtained a star chart with a route to the Innerverse.

    As the spacecraft rose into space, a figure silently stood in front of it and blocked its path. It was Elder He.

    Lu Yin exited the spacecraft and slowly bowed. ¡°Junior pays his respects to Elder He.¡±

    Elder He sized Lu Yin up and down with a serious expression. ¡°The legends were right. Little one, you¡¯re very outstanding. Not a single bit inferior to the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin replied humbly never, ¡°Thank you for yourpliments.¡±

    Elder He shook his head. ¡°A pity. It¡¯s truly a pity that you won¡¯t be able to head to the Neoverse to contest for your destiny. With your talent, it¡¯s truly a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Is senior referring to the Astral Tower?¡±

    Elder He nodded. ¡°It seems like you already know. That¡¯s correct, I was referring to the Astral Tower.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent, and he wracked his brain to remember what he knew about the Astral Tower.

    ¡°The Astral Tower contains the inheritance of the Progenitors, and it is the unrivaled, pinnacle inheritance of our Fifth Maind. Only by obtaining the recognition of the Astral Tower can onee into contact with a Progenitor¡¯s strength. If one does so, then they will have a sliver of a chance to be a Progenitor. Over the countless years, the Astral Tower has recognized quite a few brilliant youths, and every generation will have a group of youths who are conferred the title of the Cosmic Five. However, this generation is different.¡± At this moment, Elder He stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Those geniuses of the Neoverse should thank the Sea King, as he broke through the Upper Three Gates, shattered the false sky of the Sixth Maind, and restored the true heavens of the Fifth Maind. The Sea King said that only by shattering the Sixth Maind¡¯s false sky can the Fifth Maind¡¯s true inheritance appear. That means that this generation¡¯s Cosmic Five are the ones who can truly obtain the Progenitors'' inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Has the contest for this generation¡¯s Cosmic Five not begun yet?¡±

    Elder He shook his head. ¡°Not yet, but it will very soon. In the past, thepetition for the positions of the Cosmic Five belonged to the Neoverse, but this time, with the invasion of the Sixth Maind and the cosmic phenomenon caused by the remnant will of a Progenitor, the Innerverse has been given a chance. The Champions'' Stage grants titles, and those who receive a title of King or Queen will be able to participate. This is also one of the reasons why the Champions'' Stage only grants titles to members of the younger generation. Of course, the premise is that we can survive the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.¡±

    ¡°Is elder saying that, if the Innerverse withstands the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, then those who receive a title of King or Queen from the Champions'' Stage will be allowed topete with the geniuses of the Neoverse for the position of the Cosmic Five?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder He nodded.

    Lu Yin was disappointed. If this was how things were, then the advantage that he had gained by bing an Honor Chosen was not that impressive. Wait, he suddenly remembered that he was still stuck in the Outerverse. Even if his name was on the list of eligible participants, he might not be able to make it.

    As Lu Yin thought about it, he nced towards his cosmic ring. He suddenly felt a vague sense that he had obtained the will of the heavens. Did the appearance of this star chart indicate that he should head to the Innerverse andpete for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritances?

    Elder He looked at Lu Yin. ¡°If possible, it would be good topete. The true skies have already been restored, and the Fifth Maind can once again produce Progenitors. This generation¡¯s Cosmic Five will all have a trace of a chance of bing a Progenitor in the future, and it will be countless times more difficult for others to be Progenitors.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed again. ¡°Thank you, Elder He, for telling junior this. I cannot thank you enough.¡±

    Elder He gave Lu Yin a deep look and then vanished.

    Lu Yin looked over at Enron. This old man was actually also hoping to return to the Innerverse, and he had intentionally motivated Lu Yin to look for a path there. This man¡¯s methods werepletely different from Hai Qiqi, but his objective was the same.

    However, this old man¡¯s words had truly moved Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    He possessed a star chart that led back to the Innerverse, so should he head there topete? Since Endless Borders had expedition crews that were able to back and forth safely, that was already proof that the path was valid. Was struggling topete worth it if it was just a trace of a possibility to be a Progenitor?

    Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft and watched as the stars streaked by. His expression grew firm. It was worth it, but everything depended on the oue of the war in the Innerverse.

    He decided to observe the state of the Innerverse¡¯s battle through the Daosource Sect''s ruins. If the Innerverse managed to survive, then he woulde up with a way to return andpete for a seat among the Cosmic Five.

    The Cosmic Five: they were five people who would obtain inheritances, and the peoplepeting for these five positions included the Ten Arbiters, the most elite disciples of various great Innerverse powers, the Cosmic Sea¡¯s geniuses, and also the pride of the Neoverse.

    There were a thousand checkpoints that needed to be passed, but only five people would be able toplete them all.

    Lu Yin was rather excited, as he was unafraid of morepetition. He merely hoped that the Innerverse would be able to pull through and survive the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    He silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures, and he soon returned to Zenyu Star.

    Bei Qing was already waiting for Lu Yin in King Zishan''s pce, and when he saw Lu Yin, he hurriedly moved forward and softly said, ¡°The person called Shanghuan Daynight is in the auction house.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, and he put a hand on Bei Qing¡¯s shoulder before suddenly vanishing. He then reappeared at Lu''s Grand Auction.

    Bei Qing then moved forward while Lu Yin sat in the seat of honor in a sitting room, tapping a single finger against the table.

    Before long, Bei Qing returned, followed by a man wearing a hat.

    The Daynight n¡¯s distinctive traits were very conspicuous, and this person had hidden his identity, clearly not wanting to be recognized.

    ¡°Shanghuan Daynight greets Alliance Leader Lu.¡± The Daynight man in front of Lu Yin disyed a casual attitude as he smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°You¡¯ve been mining pyrolyte all this time in the Astral Wilderness.¡±

    Shanghuan Daynight was puzzled. ¡°How does Alliance Leader Lu know this?¡±

    Lu Yin''s lips curled upwards. ¡°Because even Nightqueen Qiuyu has to be polite to me. However, how dare you try to threaten me?¡±

    Shanghuan Daynight grew angry. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you had best watch what you say! Elder Qiuyu is not someone who you can casually mention! Or does Alliance Leader Lu think that, just because I came alone, that nobody else knows about this secret? Let me tell you the truth¡ªI¡¯ve already secretly imprisoned the people who stole the pyrolyte, and the moment anything happens to me, a video of those few people admitting their guilt will be immediately sent to Elder Lohar.¡±

    Bei Qing watched calmly from the side.

    Lu Yin stared indifferently at Shanghuan Daynight. ¡°Continue.¡±

    Shanghuan Daynight grew uneasy, as Lu Yin was entirely too calm in this situation. The Daynight n member knew about this person¡¯s reputation, and thus he was aware that Lu Yin¡¯s authority within the Outerverse was at a pinnacle. However, this man was from the Daynight n, and their innate sense of superiority coupled with his greed gave him the courage to directly confront and threaten this youth. Shanghuan Daynight did not believe that Lu Yin was afraid of nothing. Even if he was not afraid of the Daynight n, Lu Yin should still be afraid of the Hall of Honor. Even if Lu Yin had the support of the Hall of Honor, buying pyrolyte inrge amounts was still a grave crime.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I only came here to ask for some wealth, and I don¡¯t wish to be enemies with you. As long as Alliance Leader Lu agrees to my request, then not only will I release those people, but I will also allow them to keep mining and will close an eye to what happens. How about that?¡± Shanghuan Daynight anxiously proposed.

    Bei Qing poured Lu Yin a cup of tea. Lu Yin epted it and casually swirled the tea around. ¡°I heard the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques use spiritual force. I wonder, what battle technique does Mister Shanghuan Daynight use? Also, what is the power of the spiritual force that you can disy?¡±

    Shanghuan Daynight¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°What does Alliance Leader Lu mean? You can¡¯t be wanting my Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques, right?¡±

    Lu Yin directly looked at the man. ¡°So what if I am?¡±

 Chapter 928: For Lack Of A Better Choice

    <h4>Chapter 928: For Lack Of A Better Choice</h4>

    Shanghuan Daynight sternly responded, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you should consider your actions carefully. Nobody even dares to think about coveting my Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. Even when my Daynight n lost our stone of inheritance here in the Outerverse, nobody dared to keep it for themselves, and they ultimately sent it back obediently. This shows the confidence of my Daynight n. We will not let them go of anyone who dares to touch it, even if it is the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°Back then? Hmm, it¡¯s been about ten years since Qingyu Daynight stole the stone of inheritance and fled to the Outerverse. That should be what you¡¯re referring to,¡± Lu Yin calmly said.

    Shanghuan Daynight stared at Lu Yin for a moment before suddenly remembering. ¡°Back then, Qingyu Daynight fled to Frostwave Weave, and since Alliance Leader Lu is from Frostwave Weave, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for you to know of that incident. Since you do, then you should understand the attitude of my Daynight n. I¡¯ll warn Alliance Leader Lu¡ªdo not have any thoughts regarding my Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to swirl his cup leisurely, causing a drop of tea to ssh out. He then lightly blew on it, shooting it forward and causing it to strike Shanghuan Daynight¡¯s chest before the man could even react. An intense pain exploded in his chest, but right when Shenghuan Daynight was about to retaliate, Lu Yin stepped forward and shoved the man onto the floor. He looked down at the man from the Daynight n and coldly said, ¡°Let alone someone like you, even if Nightqueen Qiuyu was in front of me today, I would still ask her about the secrets of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. I¡¯ll give you onest chance to tell me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll let you see just what the oue will be.¡±

    Shanghuan Daynight was terrified, and he instantly regretted seeking out this person. Lu Yin was a maniac, and he was clearly unafraid of anyone.

    Before long, Lu Yin stepped away. ¡°Lock him up.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Bei Qing answered.

    Lu Yin left Lu''s Grand Auction with a contemtive look on his face. He had not found anything out about the secrets of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. This was not because Shanghuan Daynight had not said anything, but rather because he did not know himself. The man only knew that all of the battle techniques recorded within the stone of inheritance contained a spiritual forceponent in its attack, but he did not know any of the principles or cultivation methods for spiritual force.

    The stone of inheritance originated from the Daynight n¡¯s ancestors, and reportedly, only Daynight n members could receive an inheritance from it. However, back during the trial on Earth, Lulu Mavis, Xia Luo, and even Lu Yin had each received an inheritance. Thus, the stone of inheritance¡¯s rule was not absolute.

    If Lu Yin could obtain the stone of inheritance again, then that would be wonderful. In the past, Lu Yin had only arrived at the entrance of a long corridor, and if he were given another opportunity today, he would be able to walk a great distance into that corridor.

    Shanghuan Daynight hade to threaten Lu Yin, but the man had only wanted to obtain cultivation resources.

    The people of the Daynight n all had lofty statuses in the Innerverse, and they had never had to worry about their cultivation resources before. This meant that their cultivation speed had usually been very fast. Now that they were stranded in the Outerverse, they were unable to obtain that many star energy crystals, let alone star essence. All in all, there was very little for them to collect once everything was distributed. Shanghuan Daynight had schemed against the Lu''s Grand Auction, wanting to obtain a sudden windfall, but unfortunately for him, Lu Yin was fearless.

    Lu Yin had also managed to find out where those imprisoned disciples were being kept, and Bei Qing would take care of things from here.

    ¡°Your Highness, this person will not appear again,¡± Bei Qing whispered from behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°There are two months left before the next premium auction. Are there many top powers of the Great Eastern Alliance that usually participate in the auctions?¡±

    Bei Qing replied, ¡°There aren¡¯t many, but at each auction, some people from the various guiding powers will make an appearance.¡±

    ¡°This time, I¡¯ll provide you with some new items, and you can target the advertising towards those top powers of the Great Eastern Alliance. They will be the primary targets for this next auction.¡± After that, Lu Yin passed a few of the secret routes that he had bought from Endless Borders to Bei Qing. Lu Yin had already looked through all of the ones in his possession, and these particr routes were all rted to industries such welfare or transport; they had nothing to do with military affairs.

    The appearance of these new routes could save a great deal of time for these organizations, and time was money, which meant lower costs. Lu Yin trusted that these routes would raise quite amotion among the members of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    He had not guessed wrong. When the Lu''s Grand Auction announced that it would auction off secret routes in two months¡¯ time, the Outerverse was embroiled in an uproar. Countless people kept an eye on the auction, curious to see which new routes would be avable.

    The powers in the central weaves grew increasingly nervous, as they were afraid that the Great Eastern Alliance would obtain routes that led into their region. If that proved to be true, then not only would the Great Eastern Alliance be able to dispatch troops even faster than before, but they would also be able to hide their armies within enemy territory, which was truly terrifying.

    The organizations from the central region put forth their best efforts to learn as much information as they could, but they were unable to discover exactly which routes were avable.

    In another ce, the Hall of Honor hadpleted its investigation into Amethyst Exchange, and the Zi family was found to not have any rtionships with the Neohuman Alliance. Zi Rong had been the only one who had coborated with the Neohuman Alliance, and his actions had nothing to do with the Zi family.

    Once this news was released, countless people from Amethyst Exchange heaved huge sighs of relief.

    Ever since Lu Yin had unleashed havoc at Zi Rong¡¯s wedding and revealed Zi Rong¡¯s true nature, Amethyst Exchange had been subject to the Hall of Honor¡¯s investigations. During this time, nearly half of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s subdivisions had closed their doors. Additionally, rumors spread everywhere, iming that Amethyst Exchange was about to copse.

    Amethyst Exchange¡¯s stock price went into a freefall, affecting countless people and wiping out countless fortunes in a single night.

    The stocks of Zenyu Star¡¯s Amethyst Exchange that Lu Yin owned had also be worthless.

    Although the Hall of Honor did not continue investigating Amethyst Exchange any further, this incident was not something that could be easily moved past; beyond any doubt, Zi Rong had coborated with the Neohuman Alliance.

    During this time, the Zi family went almostpletely silent. All of thepetitors that the exchange had once suppressed rose to the surface and ceaselessly attacked the corporate giant while it was down. Amethyst Exchange¡¯s intelligencework was continuously poached by others while their supply and production lines met with misfortunes.

    The Zi family¡¯s reputation declined to a devastating degree. It had once been one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates and had possessed the greatest intelligencework in the Outerverse. However, it had now fallen from its pedestal.

    Thepany¡¯s situation would have still been fine if they had merely lost their status. However, the universe acted ording to thews of the jungle. When the Zi family had been at their peak, they had offended many others and be the mortal enemy of numerous people. Now, all of these old enemies had emerged from the woodwork, and there were quite a few experts among their numbers.

    Skylush began to face repeated attacks, and even an Enlighter like Mr. Tradeo could not stop the trend. Everyone was aware that they could only take advantage of this moment to strike at the Zi family, as they would recover once more time passed. As one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse, Amethyst Exchange had deeply concealed powers, and it would not be eliminated so easily.

    On Skylush, Mr. Tradeo rose into the sky with an ugly expression on his face.

    In the Zi family¡¯s ancestral home, Zi Tianchuan¡¯s brows were deeply furrowed. He had just received news that another one of their intelligence bases had been destroyed.

    ¡°Father, we can¡¯t wait anymore. Wake up Ancestor Li. As long as the ancestor steps forward, even the Hall of Honor will be wary, let alone these petty powers.¡± Zi Fang was flustered.

    Across from him, Zi Xianxian immediately countered, ¡°No! During the border defense, the Hall of Honor forcibly conscripted all of the experts in the Outerverse and ordered them to appear. We intentionally hid Ancestor Li at that time, so if we call him out now, then even if we resolve this current crisis, the Hall of Honor will remember our deceit. Thus, doing so would only cause terrible problems in the future.¡±

    ¡°But if we can¡¯t even get out of this crisis, then there¡¯ll be nothing left in the future,¡± Zi Fang retorted.

    ¡°With Mr. Tradeo around, can anyone in the Outerverse truly wipe out our Zi family? The experts are all still stationed at the border, and these insignificant powers can only mobilize Hunters at best. Our Zi family is still able to protect itself.¡± Zi Xianxian refused to back down.

    ¡°Self-preservation¡ªthat¡¯s all you know! Our Zi family is one of the four great conglomerates, and we have the greatest intelligencework in the entire Outerverse. If we lose all this, then it means losing everything.¡±

    ¡°We can still regain everything back. If the Hall of Honor bears a grudge against us, then let alone us in our current state, but even all four great conglomeratesbined might not have an easy time.¡±

    ¡°The Hall of Honor will not take the initiative to cause trouble for us.¡±

    ¡°They have their own spokesperson, and isn¡¯t it Lu Yin?¡± Zi Xianxian shouted.

    Zi Tianchuan¡¯s body trembled, and Zi Fang¡¯s fist involuntarily clenched up before rxing once more. Hatred was burning in his eyes.

    The Zi family had devolved to this pathetic state all because of Lu Yin. If not for his meddling, then the Zi family would not have been struck down.

    At this moment, Mr. Tradeo descended and said in an exhausted voice, ¡°Everything is alright for now. With me around, they don¡¯t dare to act casually, but I can only protect Skylush. I am powerless with the defense of the other areas.¡±

    Zi Fang gritted his teeth. ¡°Our Amethyst Exchange¡¯s intelligence bases that are scattered throughout the Outerverse will soon be picked apart. We can only me that bastard, Lu Yin.¡±

    The group fell silent.

    Mr. Tradeo started to speak, but he hesitated.

    Zi Tianchuan noticed the Enlighter¡¯s hesitation, and his heart moved. ¡°Does Mr. Tradeo have something to say?¡±

    Mr. Tradeo sat down. ¡°Actually, the Zi family should not me Lu Yin. Rather, they should thank him instead.¡±

    Zi Fang flew into a rage. ¡°You want us to thank him? If not for him, our Zi family would still be one of the four great conglomerates, and those people outside our doors wouldn¡¯t dare to even approach us! No, in the past, before they could even approach us, we would already have discovered them and known their every move before they even made it. But now, we have nothing!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Let Mr. Tradeo finish speaking!¡± Zi Tianchuan barked.

    Zi Fang unwillingly snorted.

    Zi Tianchuan apologized. ¡°Please, forgive him.¡±

    Mr. Tradeo shook his head to show he was not bothered. ¡°Have you all actually not realized that Lu Yin merely exposed Zi Rong¡¯s identity? Lu Yin was not the one who forced Zi Rong to coborate with the Neohuman Alliance. If he had not exposed the connection at this time, then when Zi Rong became an Enlighter, I would like to ask you who in the Zi family would be able to stop him? Even if we could, would the Hall of Honor let the Zi family off as easily as they did this time?¡±

    The Enlighter nced around before continuing. ¡°We are the greatest intelligencework in the entire Outerverse, but right under our own noses, someone from the family actually became a corpse king unnoticed. Would the Hall of Honor ever believe that? Not only would they assume that the Zi family was covering things up, but they would even think that we worked to help hide things. At that point, it would not end at just an investigation. Perhaps the only oue would have been the Zi family facing Yuan Shi¡¯s palm. I don¡¯t know what price you paid this time to convince the Hall of Honor of our innocence, but if Zi Rong had be an Enlighter, then no price would be enough. Don¡¯t forget about how Lu Yin took care of Darkstar Gorge in the past.¡±

    The faces of Zi Tianchuan and the others went pale. What Mr. Tradeo had just said was correct. When it came to the Neohuman Alliance, the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude was that they would rather kill an innocent person than let a member of the Neohuman Alliance go free. At this moment, Yuan Shi was the most terrifying person in the Outerverse, as he was the hidden power that the Hall of Honor had ced in the Outerverse. Nobody doubted the man¡¯s strength, and it wouldn''t even take one palm from him to destroy them; if he sneezed, the Zi family would be finished.

    ¡°Fortunately, Lu Yin exposed Zi Rong¡¯s true nature, and in truth, this oue is actually advantageous for the Zi family. We are not Darkstar Gorge, and the Hall of Honor was still willing to listen to our exnation. However, the longer that secret festered for, the less likely the Hall of Honor would have been to listen to any of our exnations. And if left for too long, we would have likely suffered the same fate as Darkstar Gorge: extermination,¡± Mr. Tradeo exined.

    Zi Tianchuan looked at Mr. Tradeo. ¡°So what are you suggesting? There¡¯s no harm in speaking up.¡±

    Mr. Tradeo thought about it and then seriously answered, ¡°The Zi family is not hopeless, and our chance of survival lies in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.¡±

    ¡°Please borate,¡± Zi Tianchuan said.

    Mr. Tradeo replied, ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s ambition is overwhelming, as he wants to unite the Outerverse. Although his ambitions have been exposed, he has also demonstrated that he will ept old enemies under his banner as well as a far-reaching vision. He needs intelligence. Thus, as long as he¡¯s willing to help Amethyst Exchange, with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s influence that extends across a third of the Outerverse as well as Lu Yin¡¯s background with the Hall of Honor, the Zi family will be fine.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan fell silent.

    Zi Fang retorted, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we might as well directly request assistance from the Hall of Honor.¡±

 Chapter 929: Lu Yinâ€™s Influence

    <h4>Chapter 929: Lu Yin¡¯s Influence</h4>

    Mr. Tradeoughed when he heard Zi Fang¡¯sment. ¡°That would require the Zi family to join the Hall of Honor. Then, we would have to work for them in the future.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it also be bad for us to work with Lu Yin?¡± Zi Xianxian asked. She knew Lu Yin quite well, and she understood that he would never help Amethyst Exchange unless it could benefit him somehow.

    Mr. Tradeo shook his head. ¡°That was just a suggestion, as no one in the Outerverse can help us aside from the Hall of Honor, Shamrock Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, and Lu Yin.

    Zi Tianchuan felt a headache appear the moment he thought of Lu Yin. Ever since Lu Yin had first established the Great Eastern Alliance, the Outerverse had never had a moment of peace. Lu Yin¡¯s climb had been very smooth thus far, and he was even the person who had caused the Zi family to fall into their current crisis. However, Mr. Tradeo was also correct; Lu Yin had indeed saved the Zi family. Zi Tianchuan¡¯s emotions vacited between anger and gratitude when it came to the youth.

    Only the absolute top forces in the Outerverse were capable of saving the Zi family at this time, but Zi Tianchuan had no desire to be controlled by the Hall of Honor, and neither did he wish for their family¡¯spany tobine with another force like the Mavis Bank. Thus, his best choice at this time was to ask Lu Yin for assistance.

    Although the Zi family wouldn¡¯t be affected if they asked Ancestor Li to help, calling out their old powerhouse would cause the Hall of Honor to cklist the family. Would that be better or worse than coborating with Lu Yin? Zi Tianchuan was uncertain.

    The family patriarch then looked at Mr. Tradeo. ¡°Mr. Tradeo, could you perform a divination for us?¡±

    Zi Xianxian simply called Lu Yin.

    She thought that asking Ancestor Li to help the family was absolutely the wrong choice. Thus, their only option was to ask Lu Yin for help. Although he was a very ambitious person, he still had his own principles, which meant that it would be better for them to work with Lu Yinpared to the Mavis Bank or Shamrock Enterprises.

    Zi Tianchuan didn¡¯t stop Zi Xianxian from reaching out to Lu Yin. Instead, he turned to look at the Astral River. If not for the Outerverse being cut off from the Innerverse, the Zi family would have never ended up in this predicament.

    Zi Fang asked, ¡°Are we really going to work with him? Aren¡¯t you worried that he¡¯ll want to take control of the Zi family?¡¯

    Zi Xianxian sneered. ¡°If we choose to work with a major force like the Mavis Bank, then you can see if we¡¯ll ever be able to break away from them.¡±

    Zi Fang stayed quiet after that. Lu Yin was clearly a much better choicepared to those financial titans.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin answered Zi Xianxian¡¯s unexpected call.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, how¡¯s Luo Shen doing?¡± Zi Xianxian asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°She¡¯s doing fine. She¡¯s helping promote the Great Eastern Alliance now.¡±

    ¡°Luo Shen is the Jade Goddess of Amethyst Exchange, and she¡¯s still under contract with us. I don¡¯t think it was good for you to just take her away,¡± Zi Xianxian said.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Just be direct and tell me what you want.¡±

    Zi Xianxian hesitated. ¡°We need your help.¡±

    ¡°Give me some more details,¡± Lu Yin replied while flipping through a dossier on Amethyst Exchange that had been jointlypiled by Aegis, Thousand Eyes, and the Second Imperial Squadron.

    The Zi family was not doing very well at the moment. Since they were one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse, they were still a major force even after their fall, and they also still had an Enlighter supporting them. Despite all of that, there were still some people who dared to attack the Zi family, which showed how extensive their nning must have been. The Zi family was also exhausted by all of the simultaneous attacks, and their first and foremost priority was to protect Skylush, which had led to most of their intelligencework being destroyed.

    What Zi Xianxian told Lu Yin closely matched the information that he had read. However, the girl was far more optimistic than public spection.

    If the situation continued to develop in this direction, then everything that the Zi family possessed would disappear, including Amethyst Exchange. However, Lu Yin was actually surprised that the Zi family had not been destroyed outright by the Hall of Honor. Darkstar Gorge had not even been given a chance to exin themselves in the past while Shenwu Continent had only been saved due to Lu Yin himself. This showed the might of the Zi family.

    ¡°Well, Alliance Leader Lu, are you willing to help us?¡± Zi Xianxian asked.

    Zi Tianchuan, Zi Fang, and Mr. Tradeo all turned to look at the screen as they waited for Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It¡¯s my fault that the Zi family was forced into this situation, and I¡¯m definitely willing to help. However¡­¡± He paused for a moment, causing the hearts of the Zi family members to sink; Lu Yin¡¯s help definitely came with a caveat. Zi Xianxian was already aware of what was about toe, as she knew Lu Yin quite well.

    ¡°However, I want to join Amethyst Exchange and have the right to ess all of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s intelligence,¡± Lu Yin said seriously.

    Zi Xianxian rejected his demand reflexively. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We can allow you to join, and we can even provide you with free information. However, even I can¡¯t ess our ssified information.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly responded, ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to find someone else. I won¡¯t be able to help the Zi family in that case.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, you were the one who forced us into this mess!¡± Zi Xianxian started to get anxious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned cold. ¡°Zi Rong colluded with the Neohuman Alliance and could even use the corpse king Transformation. He threatened my friend and even went to my home to threaten people there. You should already be thankful that I didn¡¯t make things worse when the Hall of Honor investigated the Zi family. Otherwise, you would have suffered the same fate as Darkstar Gorge.¡±

    Lu Yin hung up after making his stance clear.

    He was not worried that the Zi family would refuse his demands, as they were in desperate straits. Unless they had a hidden power that was capable of shocking the entire Outerverse, there was no way they would be able to survive what was facing them. However, if the Zi family did have such a hidden powerhouse, then that would actually cause them even more trouble in the future, as the Hall of Honor would be upset.

    The Zi family wouldn¡¯t be able to say no to Lu Yin.

    Zi Xianxian stared at her gadget in a daze.

    In a low voice, Zi Tianchuan said, ¡°Agree to his condition.¡±

    Zi Fang was surprised. ¡°Father, some of the information that we have is rted to our ancestral training, and even we haven¡¯t essed those records before. How can we allow Lu Yin to ess that information?¡±

    Mr. Tradeo smiled. ¡°Only you know what information the Zi family has gathered, and you can simply control what Lu Yin has ess to.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan nodded and turned to look at Zi Xianxian. ¡°Take Lu Yin to browse through our information. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll ce some of the ssified information in a separate, safe ce. Lu Yin will never know about it.¡±

    Zi Xianxian responded, ¡°We should remove the information that we have on the Ten Arbiters, as that¡¯s most likely what Lu Yin wants.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan replied. ¡°Although the information concerning the Ten Arbiters is restricted, it doesn¡¯t matter right now since we¡¯re cut off from the Innerverse. Just let him look at that if he wishes.¡±

    The Zi family then agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s condition. As long as he was able to help the Zi family ovee their crisis, he would be a major shareholder of Amethyst Exchange, and his position would stand just below the Zi family. This would not cost him a single cent, and his power would even surpass Zi Xianxian and Zi Fang¡¯s.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, as he had been waiting for this day for a long time. The Ten Arbiters had always been a mystery to him, and not even Wendy Yushan knew much about them. Amethyst Exchange definitely had some information regarding the Ten Arbiters, as Lu Yin had once asked Zi Xianxian about them. Even if their information was iplete, he would still be satisfied with just a general understanding of the Ten Arbiters. Mostly, he wanted to see who had a connection with the Cosmic Sea.

    However, before that, he would first have to help the Zi family deal with their struggles.

    The people attacking the Zi family were all from intelligence organizations that were second only to Amethyst Exchange in the Outerverse, and they includedpetitors who had already been defeated by the Zi family. As a result, these people were based all over the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin would be able to settle things immediately if these people were located within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s borders. However, some of them were in the central and western regions, and Lu Yin¡¯s influence in those areas was not very strong.

    Thus, he reached out to Aegis.

    The following day, the Zi family was still waiting for the Great Eastern Alliance to do something when they saw an announcement from Aegis.

    Aegis had publicly announced that they were supporting Amethyst Exchange, and they also warned the people of the Outerverse that anyone moving against Amethyst Exchange would also be moving against Aegis.

    This announcement shocked the Outerverse. Although Aegis and Amethyst Exchange were both members of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse, they did not have much of a rtionship and rarely coborated if ever. However, Aegis was actually supporting Amethyst Exchange during their crisis.

    Aegis was an overwhelming deterrent to Amethyst Exchange¡¯s enemies, as this organization boasted arge number of mercenaries and assassins.

    Once the announcement was released, many of the powers that had been attacking Amethyst Exchange immediately halted all of their ns and decided to wait and see how things developed.

    The Zi family was confused; why was Aegis helping them?

    But before they could even understand what had just happened, the Nn family also announced that they would be coborating with Amethyst Exchange and helping them build up trade routes between the various weaves of the Outerverse.

    The Nn family¡¯s announcement showed that they were also supporting Amethyst Exchange.

    Momentster, Endless Borders also announced their support for Amethyst Exchange. Although the impact from Endless Borders¡¯ support was not as impressive as Aegis or the Nn family¡¯s, most people had no desire to offend such a financial giant.

    Three of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse had publicly announced their support for Amethyst Exchange. Thus, the forces that had been attacking Amethyst Exchange immediately cancelled their ns. Not one of them dared to proceed as they had been.

    Before Amethyst Exchange had been subjected to the Hall of Honor¡¯s investigation, they had sessfully suppressed all of these various organizations. And now, with the support of the other three great corporations of the Outerverse, Amethyst Exchange¡¯s various enemies retreated into hiding once again.

    The Zi family was stunned, as the threat against them had suddenly disappeared.

    Zi Tianchuan looked at the positive news coverage regarding Amethyst Exchange on the universalwork. This amply showed the influence of the four tycoons.

    He was not dumb, and he knew that the reason why Aegis, the Nn family, and Endless Borders had supported the Zi family was because of a certain person: Lu Yin.

    Zi Tianchuan had thought that Lu Yin would voice his support for the Zi family and then use his position as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance that influenced a third of the Outerverse to assist Amethyst Exchange. The Zi patriarch had never expected that Lu Yin would be able to solve this problem without even relying on the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin¡¯s influence in the Outerverse had scared Zi Tianchuan.

    Even at Amethyst Exchange¡¯s peak, their influence had never been even close to Lu Yin¡¯s current influence. Lu Yin was truly a scary person.

    Zi Tianchuan suddenly remembered the incident where hundreds of officers in the central weaves¡¯ united military had been killed in the span of a single night. He felt a chill run down his spine; he still didn¡¯t know how much of Lu Yin¡¯s power remained hidden or how much influence the youth was keeping concealed.

    This was the scariest aspect of Lu Yin.

    After contacting Aegis, the Nn family, and Endless Borders, Lu Yin immediately headed towards Skylush. He was not worried about not being able to clear up the Zi family¡¯s crisis. If the three great corporations were not able to solve the matter after working together, then there was no way the Great Eastern Alliance would be able to do anything about it.

    Right now, all he wanted to do was read the information concerning the Ten Arbiters on Skylush.

    Lu Yin arrived after a few days of traveling. Its current location was a bit further to the west than before, so the trip this time took slightly longer.

    He was once again personally weed by Zi Tianchuan. Although the patriarch was smiling like before, his smile looked forced, and his eyes were filled with fear when he saw Lu Yin.

 Chapter 930: The Current Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 930: The Current Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Lu Yin did not act friendly with Zi Tianchuan, as Lu Yin had directly caused this man¡¯s son to die, and Lu Yin held no hopes of Zi Tianchuan actually feeling any gratitude to him. Lu Yin only wanted Amethyst Exchange¡¯s information. ¡°Chairman Zi, please lead the way. I wish to check the intelligence database as quickly as possible.¡±

    Zi Tianchuan nodded, as he did not wish to remain with Lu Yin any longer either. He quickly gave out some instructions. Then, Zi Xianxian was ultimately the one who led Lu Yin towards Skylush¡¯s most heavily guarded area, a valley within the mountains.

    Lu Yin had noticed this area during hisst visit to the Zi family¡¯s, as this location had contained a boundless amount of rune lines. Additionally, this was also where Mr. Tradeo spent the majority of his time.

    Zi Xianxian led the way, and the two of them moved underground.

    Only when he saw the Zi family¡¯s intelligence library did Lu Yin realize how vast it actually was.

    At just a nce, therge underground area was filled with information that had been separated into different regions by color. This way, the grades of information could be easily differentiated.

    ¡°My Zi family¡¯s intelligence library is the mostprehensive in the entire Outerverse. At any given moment, new intelligence will enter, and at the same time, useless or outdated information will be constantly removed. However, even if we take something out, we have people making backups of that information. You could even say that my Zi family has been around for too long and that we have umted too much information. We have records that are more ancient than most other ces¡¯ recorded history,¡± Zi Xianxian proudly exined. This ce was the pride of her Zi family.

    Not just anybody was able to preserve records for such a long time. The forces that had been attacking the Zi family earlier all had their own intelligenceworks that had been built up through the ages. However, thepetitors that had failed to survive the passage of time had been destroyed.

    ¡°If this area was breached, then it would take a very long time to move all of these records,¡± Lu Yin marvelled.

    Zi Xianxian was rendered speechless. This person really could not say anything nice.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the information about the Ten Arbiters?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Xianxian was not surprised by this question, as she had already anticipated that Lu Yin would be the most interested in this information. Thus, she quickly led him down a path and to a section that protruded out from the floor. The floor radiated a soft light, and this raised floor sped off and carried them away, only stopping after traveling for five minutes.

    It had moved a vast distance, and this showed just how enormous the Zi family¡¯s database was.

    Lu Yin looked at the dark-colored scrolls that were some distance away, and he slowly walked towards them.

    Zi Xianxian remained where she was, as she did not have the authority to peruse the information concerning the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ intel was kept separate from the rest, though the Ten Arbiters was simply a title for the ten current councilors of the Universe Youth Council. In the past, the councilors had not always be Arbiters, and this was a change that had urred in the current generation.

    This meant that the Ten Arbiters were the first generation of Arbiters, and they were also possibly thest generation. Nobody could guarantee that there would be someone suitable to take over their positions.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and selected a scroll that he slowly opened. A name appeared: Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin was puzzled, as this was a familiar name.

    ¡®Liu Tianmu, female. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as Arbiter Liu. From the Sword Sect. She possesses an unparalleled sword technique and inherited the Thirteen Swords¡­¡¯

    It was a very simple introduction with no images, and there was not a single word describing the Arbiter¡¯s appearance or personality. These records only listed the person¡¯s origin and known skills.

    As Lu Yin looked at Liu Tianmu¡¯s name, he suddenly remembered a conversation that he had had with Madam Nn. She had told him that her name was Liu Fuxue, and he had interpreted that name in the following manner: clouds in the sky, drifting by like the snow of the four seasons; the world¡¯s bitterness condensed in a freshly brewed cup of tea. After that, she had shared another name with him: Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin racked his brain and did his best to recall how he had answered. Oh, right. The stars in the sky fall like leaves from an autumn tree, cleansing one of impurities. That had been his interpretation of the name ¡°Liu Tianmu.¡±

    It was no wonder why Madam Nn had smiled so happily back then, as if her evil scheme had been sessfully aplished. Apparently, she had been anticipating this exact moment.

    It was because he had been interpreting the forbidden name of the Sword Sect¡¯s Arbiter.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Madam Nn had definitely passed Lu Yin¡¯s words on to Liu Tianmu, and she had actually shared them with the Arbiter before Lu Yin had even met the girl. Could interpreting her name like this be considered as taking liberties with her?

    He nervously set down the scroll and picked up the next. There, he saw the name Wen Sansi.

    ¡®Wen Sansi, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as the Schr and Arbiter Wen. He is the second son of the Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Wen family. He suppressed the elder son and inherited the Wen family¡¯s battle technique: Literary Prison. Favorite phrase: Think before acting¡­¡¯

    Wen Sansi¡¯s introduction contained slightly more information than Liu Tianmu¡¯s, as Wen Sansi was indeed more renowned.

    Lu Yin picked up the third scroll, and he saw the name Xing Kai written down.

    ¡®Xing Kai, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as the War King and Arbiter Xing. His physical body is extremely powerful, and he should not be engaged in closebat. He is three meters tall, has drooping earlobes that reach his shoulders, and hands that are bigger than his head. Unknown origin. Unknown battle techniques¡­¡¯

    Xing Kai¡¯s introduction only contained a description of the Arbiter¡¯s appearance, and there was absolutely nothing about his background or battle techniques.

    Amethyst Exchange was the Outerverse¡¯s greatest intelligence organization. Could it be that even they could not discover anything about the War King¡¯s origins? Lu Yin did not believe this. They were either afraid and had kept no records, or the War King had purposefully hidden things.

    No matter which was true, Lu Yin would not find any answers in this ce.

    The next scroll he opened was Lan Si¡¯s.

    ¡®Lan Si, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as the Divine Fist and Arbiter Lan. From Grayweed Continent¡¯s Mt. Stacks Dojo in the Starfall Sea. He is adept at the Oveying Stacks Path and has previously shattereds with One Hundred Stacks. ording to conservative estimates, the Oveying Stacks Path may be a stepping stone for him to cultivate another battle technique¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew solemn, as he was quite concerned about this bit of information about the Oveying Stacks Path being a stepping stone. Amethyst Exchange would not possibly write down such a conjecture without rhyme or reason, and it was likely real since it had been included in the Arbiter¡¯s information.

    Did Lan Si have another hidden method that he had never revealed? That was right¡ªZi Xianxian seemed to have mentioned something about this before. She had said that Lan Si might also have other, hidden battle techniques.

    Lu Yin lowered the scroll, his heart feeling a little heavy. He had agreed to a duel with Lan Si, and they would definitely have a match in the future. On Grayweed Continent, Lu Yin had assumed that Lan Si had revealed his full strength since he had fought against the Realmling, Bai Ling, as well as other fearsome powerhouses such as Madam Hong. However, it turned out that the Arbiter had managed to keep some things hidden.

    What exactly was this person thinking? Did he covet the position of an Honor Chosen that badly? Then did he honestly believe that the Innerverse and Neoverse would survive the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion? If that was the case, then his methods were understandable.

    However, what was the source of his confidence? Lu Yin really wanted to know.

    Lu Yin¡¯s foundation was in the Outerverse, and he knew too little about the Innerverse and the Neoverse. It was a pity that he couldn¡¯t reach out to the Cosmic Sea, as Highsage Leon was definitely well informed.

    Lu Yin shook his head. He was overthinking things.

    He picked up the next scroll: Ling Gong.

    ¡®Ling Gong, gender unknown. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as White Knight and Arbiter Ling. From the Lingling n. Possesses an absolute innate gift. Favorite phrase: This is an order. She is believed to have an obsession with cleanliness¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin was amused by the words ¡°gender unknown¡± as they showed that Amethyst Exchange was quite prudent. Many believed that Ling Gong was a male, and even the voice that most people heard was masculine. However, all of that was a false pretense. She was indeed a girl, though the intelligence operatives would not write that down without personally verifying it. It was no wonder why Amethyst Exchange was hailed as the Outerverse¡¯s greatest intelligencework.

    Since they were so prudent, Lu Yin nced at the scroll that he had just set down. That bit in the scroll about Lan Si should also be true!

    Amethyst Exchange did not have as much information about Ling Gong as Lu Yin himself. After all, they were just one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse, and they were not qualified to contact the Ten Arbiters. It was actually quite impressive for them to have learned so much already.

    He picked up the next scroll and saw the name, ¡°Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expressin remained serene as he slowly opened the scroll.

    ¡®Nightking Zhenwu, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as Arbiter Zhenwu. From the Daynight n. He ces himself above all living things. Battle techniques: unknown. Innate gifts: unknown. Adept at controlling techniques. Extremely dangerous. Not to be provoked or approached¡­¡¯

    There was not much in the introduction, but the text conveyed an extreme amount of danger from Nightking Zhenwu. The tone was even more cautious than with the previous few Arbiters. With those two unknowns, as well as the warning regarding provoking Nightking Zhenwu, it was clear how apprehensive the person who had drafted this intelligence report felt towards Nightking Zhenwu.

    The Daynight n itself was a powerful n that was famous throughout the universe, and the Nightking n was a king amongst powerful ns. It was the kind of n that allowed its stone of inheritance to go missing without even moving to reim it. They possessed an infinite confidence and arrogance.

    This was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s background.

    Lu Yin put the scroll down. He was already enemies with Nightking Zhenwu, and he slightly exerted some force through his palm, causing the scroll that he had grabbed to deform slightly.

    With Lan Si, he had an appointed duel while with Nightking Zhenwu, it might be a battle to the death.

    Be it his previous grievances with the Daynight n, the unfair treatment that he had faced in the Innerverse, or the teary-eyed requests of Hai Qiqi after she read the diary, he was sure that his grudge with the Daynight n or Nightking Zhenwu could not be resolved by anything except for blood.

    He picked up the next scroll, opened it, and saw the name. ¡°Serati Phoenix.¡±

    ¡®Serati Phoenix, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as the Undying Bird, is from the Phoenix family. His innate gift is the Undying Bird, and it has evolved to the Undying Phoenix, which has the nirvanic strength of rebirth¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin knew that the Phoenix family had raised one of the Ten Arbiters, and he had also heard of this person before. However, Lu Yin never expected that he would actually have an ability called the nirvanic strength of rebirth. Just what did that mean? Could he not be killed?

    He thought no further, and picked up the next scroll, eh? Liquor Hero? Was this also a name?

    ¡®Liquor Hero, female. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as Liquor Hero. Unknown name. Unknown background. She is addicted to alcohol and has an innate gift of water¡­¡¯

    This was considered the most unknown person, as they did not even know her true name.

    Lu Yin casually put down the scroll, picked up another one, and was left speechless again. Unseen Light; was this even a name?

    ¡®Unseen Light, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as Arbiter of Light. Unknown background. His eyes are always closed tightly. Legend has it that when his eyes open, the sun and moon will lose their light¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin suddenly closed the scroll. Closed eyes, opened eyes¡­

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the war spirit that he had fought against in the space with the golden ocean. When that spirit had opened its eyes, it had caused day and night to lose their light. Could that war spirit be him?

    That person had cultivated his domain to the extreme, and he had been forced to close his eyes to suppress it. It was much like how Mister Mu had helped Lu Yin cultivate his physical strength to the extreme when he had been in the Limiteer realm. Lu Yin had needed to use three grains of Fatesand to suppress his physical strength.

    Mister Mu had mentioned the person with the closed eyes and impressive domain to Lu Yin before, and that person should be this Arbiter, Unseen Light. It seemed that he had also visited the space with the golden ocean.

    Lu Yin recalled the helplessness that he had felt when he had been suppressed by Unseen Light¡¯s domain. It had been so powerful that it could even predict the future, which was too frightening.

    Unseen Light had turned out to be one of the Ten Arbiters, which did not surprise Lu Yin in the least. It would have actually been more surprising if Unseen Light was not an Arbiter.

    Lu Yin set that scroll down and picked up the final one. Even after gaining a basic knowledge of all of these Arbiters, he had still not found the clue that he was seeking. These records were just too simple, and there were many things that were still unknown.

    He slowly opened the scroll and saw the name, ¡°Jin He.¡±

    ¡®Jin He, male. One of the Ten Arbiters. Known as Arbiter Jin. From the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Ignition Crew. He has azy attitude and casual personality, but still acts ruthlessly. Cannot be attacked. Not to be provoked or to be his enemy¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp, as he had finally found a connection between an Arbiter and the Cosmic Sea: the Ignition Crew! They were one of the Four Pirate Crews. This was the person, Jin He.

    Only people from the Cosmic Sea would have any motives to act against people from Leon¡¯s Armada, and this also matched with what Old Gu De had said: someone within the Ten Arbiters had a connection with the Cosmic Sea.

    This conversation happened in .

    This is a pun on Wen Sansi''s name. Can also be tranted as "Reconsider your actions."

 Chapter 931: Disappearance

    <h4>Chapter 931: Disappearance</h4>

    Lu Yin did not rule out the possibility of other Arbiters also having some connection with the Cosmic Sea. However, right now, Jin He was the most likely candidate.

    In the past, Zi Xianxian had once said that one of the Ten Arbiters could not be attacked and that they also detested those with primeval surnames. That person should also be Jin He.

    Since this person both hated primeval surnames and came from the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, he was very likely to be the culprit.

    Lu Yin set down the scroll and let out a heavy breath. He had finally found the one he had been searching for after all these years.

    He now knew about all of the Ten Arbiters, at least on a superficial level. And he would learn more information once he reached a certain height. Even if Lu Yin had not obtained ess to Amethyst Exchange¡¯s information, he would still eventually learn this. When Yuan Shi had appeared before the group of people from the Starfall Sea who had escaped to the Outerverse, the old man had not spoken a single word to Lan Si. In fact, he had not even bothered with the Arbiter. This showed just how lofty Yuan Shi¡¯s status was. The Ten Arbiters held great sway over the younger generation and perhaps even over Enlighters, but they were seen as nothing more than juniors to those at the higher levels.

    Lu Yin himself was no different. Even if he unified the entire Outerverse, he would still only be a junior. If the Sixth Maind had not tried to invade their border, he would have never caught Yuan Shi¡¯s eye.

    Jin He¡ªLu Yin would remember this name.

    From a distance, Zi Xianxian watched as Lu Yin¡¯s expressions went through various changes, especially when he looked at thest scroll. Her heart sank; even family members like her could not ess some of the information in this ce, as Amethyst Exchange was afraid of creating trouble for themselves. She guessed that Lu Yin had likely found the answer that he had been searching for.

    This answer may lead to something in the future, and this moment would be remembered as the trigger.

    Information was a type of weapon, and whoever controlled it seized the advantage. However, in a simr sense, information could also bring about disaster.

    She did not know how the answer that Lu Yin had found would affect Amethyst Exchange in the future, but she could only hope that it would not be some great cmity. However, she had no confidence in that wishful belief, as this was rted to the Ten Arbiters, and behind them stood too many enormous forces.

    Lu Yin looked around the library again, casually flipping through a few more reports. It had to be acknowledged that Amethyst Exchange¡¯s information was veryprehensive, and they had some information that could be of great help to Lu Yin. However, there was simply too much tob through in such a short period of time.

    ¡°You can head back first. I¡¯ll take a look around by myself,¡± Lu Yin told Zi Xianxian.

    Zi Xianxian nodded. ¡°You may look through the records, but nothing can leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± Lu Yin replied casually.

    Zi Xianxian gave him a serious look before turning to leave.

    Lu Yin looked up and watched her leave with a crafty glint in his eyes. He did not believe that the Zi family would actually hand over all of its information. There were definitely more secrets that they were keeping from him, but he had no choice to ignore it as he could not keep pressing them too hard.

    Fortunately, he had found what he wanted regarding the Ten Arbiters. Otherwise, he might have been forced to employ more extreme methods.

    ***

    In Frostwave Weave, on Earth, snow drifted through the sky. The temperature on Changbai Mountain was very low, but it was not ufortable to cultivators.

    This was the location of Blue Camp, and even though Earth¡¯s average cultivation level had soared with the help of the Great Yu Empire, Blue Camp had always remained there. Nobody dared to touch it.

    Earth was special, and although it had not raised that many powerful cultivators, it was Lu Yin¡¯s home. Thus, the tourists and anyone visiting the would not be too brazen, and they would all take the initiative to first approach Zhou Shan.

    Zhou Shan was also special, as he was Lu Yin¡¯srade as well as one of Lu Yin¡¯s few friends.

    One day, Zhou Shan led his daughter, Xixi, to visit Changbai Mountain. As they walked, snowkes fell on her head, though Xixi just revolved star energy through her body to melt the snowkes.

    Although she was quite young, she had already begun cultivating. Most children on Earth were the same, and they had all stepped onto the path of cultivation at a young age.

    ¡°Papa, there¡¯s someone there! It¡¯s Uncle Zhang!¡± Zhou Xixi cried out as she pointed at the peak of the mountain

    Zhou Shan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see him.¡±

    The snow covered the ground in thickyers, and two sets of footprints broke the vast whiteness, onerge and one small. However, they were quickly covered over by the endless falling snow.

    Some time had passed since Zhang Dingtian had returned to Earth, and he had already met with Zhou Shan, visited the capital to look for Wu Shang, and met with many old acquaintances.

    It had been difficult for Zhou Shan to find the time to visit Changbai Mountain to meet with Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue.

    Bai Xue was very grateful to Zhang Dingtian. If not for him, she would have still been suffering from being ckmailed.

    ¡°During Earth¡¯s apocalypse, there were the Seven Sages of China. Although we faced a different crisis at every turn, it was still quite amazing. Now that things have changed, there¡¯s only a few of us left from the seven.¡± Wu Shang had alsoe, and he sighed as he took a swig of wine.

    Zhang Dingtian had aplex expression. ¡°Earth¡¯s apocalypse was the start of our connection with the wider universe, and Earth is still too small.¡±

    ¡°If not for Lu Yin, who knows what Earth would even look like right now. It¡¯s possible that we would have all been sent to the border warfront to be cannon fodder,¡± Zhou Shan said.

    ¡°Papa, why hasn¡¯t Uncle Lue back?¡± Zhou Xixi tugged at Zhou Shan¡¯s clothes.

    Zhou Shan rubbed her head. ¡°Uncle Lu doesn¡¯t have time, but I¡¯ll invite him next time.¡±

    Bai Xue waved Zhou Xixi over and lovingly hugged the adorable little girl.

    Zhou Xixi quite liked this beautiful aunt.

    ¡°Zhou Shan, does Xixi have a formcast model?¡± Bai Xue asked.

    Zhou Shan nodded.

    Bai Xue rubbed Zhou Xixi¡¯s head and then took her on a tour of Changbai Mountain.

    The next day, the group dispersed, as Zhou Shan had many things that he needed to attend to, as did Wu Shang. Meanwhile, Zhang Dingtian decided to visit Jupiter.

    In fact, Lu Yin had specifically told Zhang Dingtian to investigate Jupiter.

    ¡°Jupiter? What¡¯s to see there?¡± Bai Xue asked when she heard of Zhang Dingtian¡¯s ns. Earth¡¯s technology had drastically improved, and they had explored many of the nearbys, including Jupiter. But from their investigations, there had been nothing special on that aside from it¡¯s terrible weather.

    Zhang Dingtian replied, ¡°I don''t know, but Lu Yin can¡¯t enter it.¡±

    Bai Xue was surprised by this reply. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Zhang Dingtian nodded, and he stepped into outer space.

    Bai Xue followed close behind him.

    Jupiter looked very pretty from a distance, but the¡¯s atmosphere was deadly. Each of its seemingly beautiful lines were made up of a gas that could instantly killmoners.

    When he had visited Jupiter, Lu Yin had not been able to enter no matter what he attempted. Thus, this time, it was Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue¡¯s turn to make an attempt. However, the two were pulled into the without any effort from themselves.

    Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had not expected to be pulled into Jupiter like this. In fact, they were so unprepared that they did not even have the ability to resist. Both of them vanished just like that.

    If Lu Yin learned of this, he would be very frustrated. He had tried all sorts of methods to ess the, but these two had entered it so simply.

    ***

    Lu Yin received news of this incident a few dayster, and he watched a video of the scene on his gadget. He pursed his lips; what was with this difference in treatment?

    This video had been taken by one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s spacecraft that had been monitoring Jupiter, and it showed the precise moment when Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had been pulled into Jupiter.

    No matter what, the two of them had managed to enter the. However, Lu Yin had heard that once someone entered, they would never be allowed to leave.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered another five vessels to monitor Jupiter so that all angles of the would be constantly watched. They were also all ordered to immediately report to him if anyone emerged from the.

    When he checked the date, Lu Yin saw that it had been a month since he had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins, which meant that it was time to return once again.

    The Zi family¡¯s intelligence database was as vast as an ocean, and he could not possibly peruse their entire bank.

    Lu Yin left the library, and he did not even inform his hosts of his departure.

    Although he had saved the Zi family, he was well aware that they did not wee him. But he did not mind either, as he simply wanted to use them.

    Speaking of which, the Zi family was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates. Just how much money were his shares worth? Lu Yin held rather high expectations.

    Right, there was also Aegis.

    Lu Yin left Skylush and looked through the star chart of the surrounding area. He was nning to find a remote ce and then enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins there. His spacecraft flew through space for a period of time as Lu Yin scanned the horizon. Suddenly, his gaze trembled as a boundless amount of rune lines appeared in the distance.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he stared closely at the deste that had appeared in the distance.

    There was something strange with the rune lines that he was seeing, as there should not be anyone on that deste. However, there were countless rune lines on it at the moment. They revealed the presence of not just one, but three people, and all of them were at the level of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he exited his spacecraft before donning his universal armor. After that, his figure vanished.

    There was a massive maelstrom blocking the way, but Lu Yin easily passed through it tond on the surface of the. He was greeted by a dusky glow that extended in all directions, but the ground was white. The only sound that greeted him was the lonely wind breeze.

    The three massive clusters of rune lines were gathered together, but Lu Yin used his cloakstone to conceal his aura as he approached them. Before long, he saw three humans sitting at the base of a dusky mountain. There was one older person and two middle-aged people.

    The trio did not speak, and they seemed to be resting.

    Lu Yin waited for half a day, but the three people did not even open their eyes.

    Once a cultivator entered a state of cultivation, it would be normal for them to not move for a few days, months, years, or even centuries and millennia. However, Lu Yin did not want to waste that much time here.

    Still, the presence of these three Enlighters was just too odd. Aside from the border¡¯s defensive line, where else could three Enlighters be seen together? Even the Neo-Vestige Sect only had three Enlighters.

    Also, the location of this was coincidentally right along Lu Yin¡¯s return route to Frostwave Weave. Most likely, when he hade to Skylush, these three people had not been here since he would have noticed them then.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin came up with a theory. He then decided to test it out by using his gadget to send a message to Zi Xianxian, letting her know that he had left the Zi family¡¯s homeworld.

    Less than two minutester, the gadgets of the three people beeped, and they all opened their eyes in unison. ¡°He¡¯s out. Get ready.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s killed Enlighters before, so the three of us need to attack him at once. Otherwise, there will be no end to our trouble.¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that he has too many external items, so the three of us cannot act too brazenly. We must control him from the dark. Brother Ye, it¡¯ll be up to you.¡±

    Of the trio, the elder spoke in an awe-inspiring tone. ¡°Rest assured, he will have no opportunity to use his items. As soon as I see him, he won¡¯t be able to move.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a breath. Sure enough, these three people had been lying in wait for him. Someone from the Zi family had betrayed him, and he did not even know if it had been Zi Xianxian. Even if it wasn¡¯t her, the traitor had to be someone within the upper echelons of the Zi family who had immediately learned of Lu Yin¡¯s situation through Zi Xianxian.

    He picked up a stone and fiercely threw it down.

    The trio below him were startled by the noise, and they whirled around to see a stone turn to dust just a meter away from them. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Lu Yin stepped forward. ¡°Are you three seniors waiting for me?¡±

    The trio was stunned. ¡°H- how did you get here?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over them. ¡°Three Enlighters were sent out to ambush an Explorer. I¡¯m quite ttered.¡±

    The trio exchanged nces, and the old person suddenly stared at Lu Yin. A formless chain appeared from the void and moved to bind Lu Yin¡¯s limbs, even locking the air in ce as it firmly bound Lu Yin. ¡°Go!¡±

    Fierce attacks rained down upon the youth, and the deste instantly began to crack before exploding from the pressure.

    Even Explorers were capable of destroyings, so it went without saying that Enlighters were able to do the same.

    Even the space surrounding the shattered began to tremble.

    Lu Yin was being struck like a dummy target that had no ability to retaliate. The old man¡¯s innate gift was very strange, and such an innate gift could force a normal cultivator into desperate straits. However, Lu Yin was no average person. He had already put on his universal armor and was simply toozy to evade these attacks. In truth, when the elder had used his innate gift, Lu Yin had been observing the rune lines in the surroundings, and it would have been trivial for him to avoid the attack.

 Chapter 932: Godsâ€™ Origin

    <h4>Chapter 932: Gods'' Origin</h4>

    It was widely known that Lu Yin¡¯s defenses were extremely powerful. Thus, the three Enlighters bombarded him with attacks from three different directions. They continued their attacks for ten whole minutes as they tried to break through his universal armor.

    However, they were quickly stumped, as the universal armor did not show any sign of damage whatsoever. Although Lu Yin was being struck like a punching bag, he waspletely unharmed.

    In the distance, many of the surroundings were badly affected by the aftershocks of their relentless barrage, and they gradually began to crack apart.

    Once the attacks finally died off, Lu Yin stood tall in the sky above the three Enlighters and looked down on them. ¡°Are you done trying? Then it¡¯s my turn now.¡±

    With that, he threw out an Ultra sh Tearbomb, and its blinding light filled the sky, stunning all three Enlighters simultaneously.

    Lu Yin activated his bracer as he charged at an Enlighter. This bracer had been badly damaged when he had been attacked by a corpse king, so it could only be used a few more times before itpletely fell apart.

    The Enlighter that Lu Yin rushed at had a great deal ofbat experience, and he was not an easy target to attack even though he had been blinded by the Ultra sh Tearbomb. However, Lu Yin had also umted muchbat experience against Enlighters, and his attacknded on the male Enlighter. The man raised both arms to block the attack, but he quickly discovered that his strength had strangely disappeared for an instant. Before the man could even think of anything else, Lu Yin¡¯s attack struck. Itpletely shattered the Enlighter¡¯s arms and even pierced the man¡¯s chest, sting the Enlighter away.

    When the man¡¯s chest was pierced, a tremendous force entered his body as waves of energy crushed his internal organs. The Enlighter spat out a mouthful of blood as he died.

    Before the war in Endless Weave, Lu Yin had used this bracer¡¯s ability of doubling his physical power to fight against Sall Phoenix. These three Enlighters¡¯ power levels had reached 200,000 at best, and they fell far short of Sall Phoenix. Their low power levelsbined with the fact that Lu Yin could erase some of their rune lines meant that it was impossible for any of them to withstand such a punch.

    When the other two saw theirrade¡¯s death, chills ran down their spines as they immediately turned around to make their escape.

    They knew full well how powerful that Enlighter assassin had been.

    Lu Yin had no intention of letting the two of them off scot-free, but unfortunately, his speed only allowed him to chase after one of them. With that in mind, he set his sight on the older man who had a powerful innate gift. Letting this man go might cause trouble for Lu Yin in the future.

    Since the elderly man was an Enlighter, he was far faster than Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin quickly struck out with the Daynight Punch, unleashing a spiritual force attack. Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force wasparable to that of the Ten Arbiters, and even though this attack was not enough to knock the old Enlighter unconscious, it still was enough to stop him in his tracks for a moment. That moment was enough for Lu Yin to catch up and punch the Enlighter.

    The elderly man red at Lu Yin, and the Enlighter¡¯s innate gift forcefully froze Lu Yin¡¯s surroundings. Lu Yin felt like he had been tied to a wall, and he waspletely unable to move.

    The elderly man ran away once again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed intoplex runes, and the elderly man suddenly felt his legs go weak as his speed fell. His mind and his body were out of sync, and he almost copsed as he was slightly dyed once again. Lu Yin broke free of the Enlighter¡¯s innate gift, and the youth raised his right fist to strike out again.

    The old man turned around again, attempting to use his innate gift once more. However, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he saw a number of rune lines clearly start spreading out. At a critical moment, he shot through a crack and managed to dodge the elderly man¡¯s innate gift.

    The elderly man was dumbfounded. ¡°Impossible!¡±

    ¡°Nothing is impossible!¡± Lu Yin cried out as he casually swung a fist whose force had been amplified to twice that of Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength. Lu Yin was not worried, as any opponents whose power levels were beneath 300,000 only needed to be punched once to be eliminated.

    However, Lu Yin did not go all out with this punch. The old man¡¯s shoulders were crushed, and he violently spat out a glob of blood as his body was sent flying towards a distant.

    Lu Yin took one step and chased after the man.

    The other Enlighter had long since fled in terror.

    Once Lu Yin put on his universal armor, he was invincible, at least in the eyes of these Enlighters.

    The old man¡¯s body struck the surface of the, and he smashed straight through the ground until he reached the core, where he was surrounded by magma. However, the force of Lu Yin¡¯s punch still had not dispersed, and the Enlighter shot through the¡¯s core and emerged from the other side. He once again opened his mouth to spit out some more blood as his vision grew blurry.

    The path to bing an Enlighter was littered with countless life and death battles. This time around, the old man was relying purely on his instincts to flee far away. All he wanted to do at this moment was get as far away from Lu Yin as possible. Although Lu Yin was just an Explorer, his imprable defence and strange methods made him an invincible opponent.

    Lu Yin tore through the void and appeared directly behind the old Enlighter. He raised a hand that turned into a w as an ancient beast howl descended, as if it was crossing the river of time. The hand turned into a huge Skybeast w. ¡°Get down!¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression turned sinister, and the Skybeast w froze in ce. Visible waves of star energy instantly reduced the Skybeast w to dust as they spread out in all directions.

    In most situations, an Enlighter¡¯s star energy would be able to suppress an Explorer¡¯s. However, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves were simply beyond the imagination of an ordinary cultivator. The old man¡¯s star energy did not suppress Lu Yin in the slightest, and simply he threw his fists forward once again and unleashed the Daynight Punch. Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force swept out. This force was not something that Enlighters could treat lightly, and the attack would slow the old man down for at least a second.

    This was the exact same situation as before, and this second time would determine the victor of this chase.

    Following Lu Yin¡¯s mighty punch, the old man¡¯s pupils contracted as he felt his scalp go numb. Just this punch alone was enough to destroy him. ¡°No¡­¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly halted the punch, but just the strong gust released by the punch was enough to distort the old Enlighter¡¯s face. The void cracked open just one centimeter away from the old man. Lu Yin could clearly see the despair and fear in his opponent¡¯s eyes.

    Time seemed to stand still at this moment for Lu Yin and the old man.

    Lu Yin slowly lowered his fists and calmly asked the old man, ¡°What is your name?¡±

    The old man was panting as he looked at Lu Yin in terror. ¡°Ye- Ye Gui.¡±

    ¡°Ye Gui? Is that your name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ye Gui nodded his head and coughed. Blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth as he wiped it away and stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How could an Explorer possess such frightening strength? Even though the three Enlighters had only broken through rtively recently, it was still unthinkable that an Explorer could defeat them so easily. They were, after all, Enlighters.

    ¡°Where are you from? You¡¯re a smart man, so you should know that it would be best to tell me what I want to know,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    Ye Gui hesitated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°I¡¯m losing my patience.¡±

    Ye Gui trembled at these words. He had lived a long life, but he became more scared of death the older he became. He did not want to die. ¡°I am from Barr Weave. I was hired by the Central Coalition to assassinate you. The other two Enlighters were given the same mission.¡±

    Lu Yin had already guessed as much. In the entire Outerverse, the people who wanted him dead the most were those powers from the central region. They stood at the absolute pinnacle of the central weaves¡¯ military, and they also had the ability to hire three Enlighter realm assassins to kill Lu Yin.

    While there were not that many Enlighters in the Outerverse, averaging less than one per weave, there were still seventy two weaves, which meant that the Outerverse had around thirty four Enlighters in total. Most of these Enlighters were currently stationed at Southside Weave¡¯s border, but some had returned to the Outerverse. Thus, it was not very hard to find three Enlighters who were willing to kill Lu Yin.

    ¡°Who told you when I would be out?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ye Gui showed a look of agony. ¡°The eldest young master of the Zi family, Zi Fang.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Would he be so stupid as to contact you himself?¡±

    ¡°We would onlymunicate with him, as we did not trust anyone else,¡± Ye Gui answered.

    Lu Yin took Ye Gui¡¯s personal gadget. He quickly found Zi Fang¡¯s contact information and called him.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to contact me?¡± Zi Fang¡¯s voice rang out in an angry tone.

    Lu Yin looked at the man with cold eyes. ¡°Give me a reason not to kill you.¡±

    On the other end of the call, after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s voice, Zi Fang went utterly still. ¡°Lu¡­ Alliance Leader Lu, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°You have one chance. If you do not treasure this chance, then you will never get another,¡± Lu Yin responded coldly.

    Zi Fang was trembling in fear. In just an instant, he imagined all of the possible horrible endings he would face. With Lu Yin¡¯s current power and influence, killing Zi Fang would not even require Lu Yin to act himself. Even the Zi family''s extensive intelligencework might not be able to find a clue about his eventual killer, or even do anything about Zi Fang¡¯s death. He was fully aware that Lu Yin had the ability to casually eliminate a person like him.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please let me exin.¡±

    ¡°Remember, you only have one chance. Think before you speak.¡±

    Cold sweat dripped down from Zi Fang¡¯s forehead as his face went pale. All he could think about at this moment was how he could convince Lu Yin to spare his life. What could he offer Lu Yin in exchange for his life? All of a sudden, Zi Fang had an idea. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I will tell you a secret concerning my Zi family. Please spare me after that.¡±

    ¡°Speak,¡± Lu Yin said, growing curious.

    Zi Fang swallowed some saliva before continuing. ¡°The Zi family actually has more than just one Enlighter, and Mr. Tradeo is not our only one. When the Zi family stood at the pinnacle of the Outerverse in the past, we defeated all those other powerhouses and became thergest intelligencework in the Outerverse due to the efforts of one man. His surname is Li. I do not know the specifics, but there is one thing that I am absolutely certain of: this Li person is far stronger than Mr. Tradeo. If he is not an Envoy, then he is very close to it. He is the true hidden power of the Zi family.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s nothing surprising. As one of the great four conglomerates, I would be quite suspicious if your organization was supported by Mr. Tradeo alone. This secret is not enough to buy your life.¡±

    Zi Fang¡¯s face drained of all color. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I can offer you all of the information that we have gathered over the years. All that I ask is that you forget what happened today.¡±

    Lu Yin was not moved. ¡°How much can you actually have? Besides, even if I kill you, all that you have will be mine anyways.¡±

    Zi Fang was growing desperate, and his mind was racing toe up with some way out.

    ¡°It seems that you have no way to save yourself. In that case, your days are numbered,¡± Lu Yin said in a threatening voice.

    Zi Fang was terrified. Countless thoughts flitted through his mind. He thought of how the high-ranking military officers of the central weave had been ughtered, and of Aegis¡¯ top ten assassins. He also thought about all the Enlighters that Lu Yin had killed, Lu Yin¡¯s extensive influence throughout the Outerverse, and his background.

    Zi Fang gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I can take you to a secret ce that belongs to the Zi family. Even my father does not think that I am aware of this ce, but the truth is that I visited it a long time ago. The greatest secret of our Zi family is hidden there, and that secret is rted to the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin grew interested. ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    Zi Fang hesitated, as he really did not want to tell Lu Yin this.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°No worries then, you can just take this secret to your grave.¡±

    ¡°Gods¡¯ Origin.¡± Zi Fang reluctantly spouted out these words.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°What is ¡®Gods¡¯ Origin?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Gods'' Origin?¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in disbelief.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled as he covered his gadget and asked the monkey, ¡°Do you know about that ce?¡±

    The monkey responded, ¡°I may havee across it before, but I don¡¯t remember any concrete details about it.¡±

    Just at that moment, Zi Fang, who was still on the call with Lu Yin, spoke up. ¡°Gods'' Origin is the most powerful corporation in the Neoverse. Its status alone makes itparable to the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, and the Cosmic Sect. It is a true powerhouse. Even the Hall of Honor does not dare to cross Gods'' Origin. Throughout the passage of time, Gods'' Origin has been hailed as one of the absolute top powers.¡±

 Chapter 933: Barging Through the White Mist

    <h4>Chapter 933: Barging Through the White Mist</h4>

    Zi Fang paused a moment before continuing his exnation. ¡°My Zi family is actually from Gods'' Origin, and Elder Li was sent by Gods'' Origin as a protector for my Zi family. Only the patriarch of the Zi family knows about this secret. Xianxian, Zi Rong, and I were all kept in the dark about this. We would only be told this once we took over the family.

    ¡°Although the Outerverse doesn¡¯t have very many experts, it¡¯s still a difficult task to establish a top family and have it be thergest intelligencework there. My Zi family has prospered and developed too smoothly to have done it on their own, and many people have their own suspicions regarding us. Some have even spected that we are from the Innerverse. They believe that, like the Nn family, we are backed by a power from the Innerverse. But in truth, the one supporting our Zi family is actually Gods'' Origin.¡±

    ¡°So what exactly are the various powers of the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin asked. He was extremely curious about the answer to this question. At the moment, he was aware of the Hall of Honor, the Mavis family, Aurora Enterprises, the Cosmic Sect, and the Three Dark Hands. Now, Lu Yin had also learned of Gods'' Origin. None of these powers were easy to deal with, and any one of them could topple both the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Zi Fang replied in a bitter tone, saying, ¡°I don''t know much about the Neoverse either. Although my father knows about the history of our Zi family, that¡¯s all he knows. There¡¯s not much more.¡±

    ¡°How do I know if what you¡¯re telling me is true or false?¡± Lu Yin was still suspicious.

    Zi Fang replied, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu cane to Skylush, and I can take you to see the ce that I was talking about. With Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s ability, my father will not discover anything.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Even if what you say is true, why does this Gods¡¯ Origin support your Zi family?¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know exactly why. However, I¡¯m certain that Father has been searching for something all these years, though he has not told us anything about it. There¡¯s a portion of the Zi family¡¯s intelligencework that¡¯s handled by him alone, which should be rted to investigating what Gods'' Origin wants,¡± Zi Fang exined. As time passed, he shared more and more information with Lu Yin, basically telling him everything. Regardless, the moment Zi Fang mentioned Gods'' Origin to Lu Yin, he had basically betrayed his Zi family. Thus, he might as well say everything.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn. The Outerverse already had the Hall of Honor, the Neohuman Alliance, the Seven Courts, the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, and other such colossal organizations lurking within it. Now, it seemed that Gods'' Origin also had their fingers in the Outerverse.

    These colossal organizations deserved to be powers that had stood at the top of the greater universe for countless years, and they would not ignore the Outerverse just because it was weak. If one did not know about these powers, then it merely meant that they were not qualified to know.

    If Lu Yin had not managed to gain some useful information from Zi Fang, he might not have learned about this secret for another few years or even a few decades. Once the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, the Zi family had a chance ofpletely transforming with Gods'' Origin¡¯s support. This possibility was not something that was reserved solely for the Zi family, as the Nn family, the Mavis Bank, and other organizations with hidden backing might soar as well.

    Currently, these colossal organizations were like kites whose strings had been cut. But once the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, that string would be fully restored. At that time, these forces¡¯ attitude towards Lu Yin wouldpletely change.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as he had luckily stumbled upon the Zi family¡¯s secret. Otherwise, if he ended up offending Gods'' Origin, his situation would not be much better than if he had crossed the Daynight n, and it might even be worse. Making such powerful enemies without a good reason was not Lu Yin¡¯s style.

    Zi Fang was so terrified of death that he had revealed such a secret. Thus, there was no need for Lu Yin to continue questioning him. ¡°I can pretend that today¡¯s events never urred. You¡¯re on your own now.¡±

    Lu Yin was just about to disconnect when he suddenly hesitated and continued speaking. ¡°If you find out what your Zi family is looking for on Gods'' Origin¡¯s behalf and tell me, then I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be the Zi patriarch.¡±

    After that, Lu Yin hung up.

    Zi Fang continued to stare at his gadget, dumbfounded. The terror that had previously filled his eyes started to turn into excitement after processing Lu Yin¡¯s final words. However, that excitement quickly disappeared. Zi Rong was already dead, and Zi Xianxian was of no threat to Zi Fang¡¯s position. He would be the Zi family patriarch sooner orter, and he did not need Lu Yin to guarantee him anything.

    It was good that he had sessfully resolved the situation, as he had been truly terrified that Lu Yin would kill him. With the Outerverse isted from the Innerverse, a single word from Lu Yin would be enough to determine the fates of many people.

    Lu Yin stored his gadget away. He was bing privy to more and more of the Outerverse¡¯s secrets, and he was even starting to learn some secrets the Neoverse. The universe was all interconnected, and the Outerverse was notpletely cut off from the rest of the universe.

    Lu Yin had nned to slip his own people into the Zi family, though in that n, no one would have been able to rece the Zi family members themselves. However, Lu Yin had suddenly gained a grasp over Zi Fang.

    Did Zi Fang really believe that the matters of this day had beenpletely resolved? If Lu Yin was any less capable, then he would have been doomed. Thus, how could Lu Yin allow things to end so easily?

    Lu Yin informed En Ya of the matter with Zi Fang, as they could use this information in the future.

    After settling things about Zi Fang, Lu Yin looked over at Ye Gui. ¡°How do you think I should deal with you?¡±

    Ye Gui was terrified. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please give me a way out.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure. My Zenyu Star is missing an Enlighter to oversee it. Are you willing to help out?¡±

    Ye Gui was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    He would agree to anything as long as he was not killed. Protecting Zenyu Star was a cushy job, and taking on the job also meant that Ye Gui would have someone supporting him. Of course, he was fully aware that, with Lu Yin¡¯s circumstances, if anyone tried to attack Zenyu Star, it would be someone who Ye Gui would not be able to stop. However, he had no choice in this matter.

    Lu Yin was very satisfied, as Zenyu Star would have a certain degree of protection now that a powerhouse would be standing guard over it. As long as this Enlighter was given some life-saving items, he would even be able to stall experts whose power levels had reached 300,000.

    Lu Yin then took Ye Gui along, and the two headed back to Frostwave Weave.

    Some dayster, in the secret room within King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin pulled out his futon. He held a Ultra sh Tearbomb in one hand and on the other, wore his bracer that was about to shatter at any moment. After that, he sat down on the futon.

    Last time, Lu Yin hadpletely absorbed all of the cauldron energy from the first cauldron, causing it to shatter. Lu Yin knew that this would definitely attract the attention of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators. When he returned to that space once again, he saw that quite a few cultivators from the Sixth Maind were present. They all seemed anxious as they looked around for something. Upon seeing their behavior, Lu Yin knew that a true expert had shown up.

    Lu Yin nced around and eventually found someone familiar: Shi Zhongjian. This person had joined the fight for the jade talisman, and he had used his stone sword to attack Lu Yin multiple times during that fight. Even now, Lu Yin still remembered the power of those sword shes.

    A Realmling had arrived, so Lu Yin would not be able to peacefully absorb the cauldron energy during this visit. Without any other choice, he reluctantly left the region with the Nine Cauldrons. After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin decided to head to the tform of Inception, as that ce could help him improve his Lockbreaking abilities.

    Lu Yin was not very familiar with the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and along the way, he knocked around a dozen cultivators unconscious after asking them in order to ask for the location of the tform of Inception. Only thest person that he had asked knew anything, and he spent half a day leading Lu Yin through the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins before they arrived at the tform of Inception.

    Lu Yin courteously thanked the man, knocked him unconscious, and then tossed him to the side.

    As he stared at the white fog billowing about, he saw that there were a few people outside the fog trying to enter, but they all came back out very quickly.

    Lu Yin lifted his foot and stepped into the white mist. He was met with the same sight that he had encountered before. The mist constantly shifted and transformed as itunched bizarre attacks that grew stronger the further he proceeded. Along the way, he met some people who were frozen in ce and clearly unable to proceed any further. Without fail, they all looked at Lu Yin with pleading eyes.

    Lu Yin did not bother with them, and he simply slowly made his way onwards.

    As he walked forward, Lu Yin relied on the difference in strength between himself and the fog¡¯s attacks to roughly determine his position. Eventually, he reached the same approximate point that he had arrived after the teleportation incident. This was still some distance to the tform of Inception.

    He had met Xin N¨¹ when he hade herest time, and with her assistance, he had managed to reach the center. This time, he was relying on the bracer to force his way through, already havinge to terms with the fact that it was about to be scrapped.

    Lu Yin raised a foot, and the white mist twined about beneath his foot and formed a python that then released more snakes. Lu Yin punched out, causing the python to dissipate back into white fog once again. He then continued walking forwards.

    Before long, the fog transformed into another figure that attacked Lu Yin. This figure was quite detailed, and it actually circted star energy to use battle techniques. Surprisingly, it could rival Autumnfrost Qing or Hong Ying, but it was still dispersed back into fog after a single punch from Lu Yin.

    After that, the white fog formed a trident that stabbed out, aiming at Lu Yin¡¯s chin. The trident was small, and it was only about asrge as one¡¯s palm. However, its strength was quite formidable. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s speed, his head would have been pierced through.

    Lu Yin broke out in a cold sweat as he shattered the trident. He then unleashed punches in all directions like a madman. He was determined to not allow the white fog to approach him that closely again.

    Nearby Lu Yin, there were two figures who were also cautiously making their way towards the tform of Inception, and they looked very strange. One was very fat, and he seemed to be about 300 kilograms while the other one was very skinny, about 50 kilograms. Thetter was so skinny that his waist was about the same thickness as the fat man¡¯s arm.

    This strange duo supported each other, and their expressions were quite serious as they steadily continued moving forwards.

    ¡°Be careful around here. Don¡¯t disturb the fog.¡±

    ¡°Got it. We have to be careful. Since we made it this far, if something attacked us, it would be on the level of a Realmling.¡±

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s on the level of a Realmling? The Greenmen Duo isn¡¯t afraid of anything!¡±

    ¡°Unafraid is one thing, but it would still be very annoying to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Right, did you get fatter recently? I can¡¯t even support you anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who got skinnier.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thanks for thepliment!¡±

    ¡°No worries! Thanks for noticing that I got fatter.¡±

    ¡°That should be the way! Who asked you to be my Fat Bro?¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro, we¡¯re brothers forever.¡±

    ¡°Brothers.¡±

    ¡­

    The fat and skinny pair talked back and forth as they cautiously moved forward. They were quite slow, as they were afraid of stirring up the fog.

    Suddenly, the fog surged frenziedly, and the two young men were startled. What was going on? At that moment, a fist smashed out from the fog. It struck the fatty¡¯s stomach and sent him flying away even as he held onto Skinny. The two young men were flung far away.

    Lu Yin stepped out from the fog and looked at his fist with a strange face; had he just struck something? It had felt rather soft. Eh, forget it. I have to keep going.

    Lu Yin relied on his fists and continued smashing his way through the fog. This method proved to be rather effective; as long as he did not allow the fog to approach him, a great number of attacks were eliminated. Also, since he was flinging his fists in every direction, he eliminated some hidden attacks as well.

    He drew closer and closer to the tform of Inception, and Lu Yin became excited as he continued moving forward.

    Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, and Lu Yin whipped around. The white fog behind him had converged into a giant that was dozens of meters tall, and it stomped down at Lu Yin with a foot.

    Lu Yin cursed, and he hurriedly tried to dodge the foot. Although the giant¡¯s descending foot did not seem to influence the surrounding environment much, Lu Yin knew that he would be doomed the moment he was stepped on. This attack was no joke; in the fog, all of the fog giant¡¯s attacks had surpassed Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s level, and it would not be any worse than a Realmling¡¯s attack.

    The attack covered a massive area, nearly the entire region in front of the tform of Inception. Lu Yin felt that he had to ovee this giant if he wanted to enter the tform of Inception.

    Unfortunately, the giant was extraordinarily quick, and the everpresent fog was also affecting Lu Yin¡¯sbat capabilities, as it could transform into shapes that could attack him at any moment. This frustrated Lu Yin, and he clenched a fist tightly. Since he was stuck in this situation, he would end it with one punch.

    Even a powerhouse whose power level approached 300,000 like Sall Phoenix had been beaten back by one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches, let alone this fog giant. At most, its power level should approach 300,000, and it definitely would not surpass 300,000. Otherwise, even the Realmlings would have a tough time passing through this fog.

    Right when Lu Yin decided to strike out with a full powered punch, a figure appeared behind the fog giant and stretched out a palm, instantly dispersing the giant. It was Xin N¨¹.

    Lu Yin was astonished, and then delighted. ¡°Xin N¨¹?¡±

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s sudden appearance was beyond his expectations.

    This name is actually 4 characters that have meanings that depend on context: Green OR Youth (young) | Transformed | twin/duo | male.

 Chapter 934: Hidden Person

    <h4>Chapter 934: Hidden Person</h4>

    Xin N¨¹nded, grabbed Lu Yin, and then directly charged out of the white fog region to arrive at the tform of Inception.

    ¡°So you came here again?¡± Xin N¨¹ asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°This ce is greatly beneficial for me. Right, what about you? Have you broken through and be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker yet?¡± However, he regretted asking his question the moment he finished. If she had experienced a breakthrough, then she would not havee back to this ce.

    Xin N¨¹ did not answer, and instead, she looked around. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be luckier this time. You won¡¯t be able to stay here for long.¡±

    Lu Yin also hoped that that would be the case. ¡°Right, how long are you able to stay here for?¡±

    Xin N¨¹ thought about it. ¡°About ten days.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then did not ask any further questions.

    After that, the two youths waited for the grey fog to appear.

    They did not say much to each other, and most of their conversations consisted of Lu Yin asking questions and Xin N¨¹ answering. No one else arrived during this time.

    Xin Nu was in a pretty good mood, or at least, that was Lu Yin¡¯s impression.

    She was perfectly willing to wait with Lu Yin, and she seemed to be very gentle.

    Some dayster, a strand of grey fog finally appeared. When it did, Xin N¨¹ casually waved a hand and sent it towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurriedly spoke up, ¡°It would be best for you to have it. That way, you can quickly break through and be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.¡±

    Xin N¨¹ shook her head. ¡°No need.¡±

    She then pushed the grey fog into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes, and his senses were transported to another ce.

    Two days passed before Lu Yin opened his eyes again, and when he did, his eyes were brighter. Hisprehension towards Lockbreaking techniques had slightly improved again. The grey fog allowed him to vicariously experience the Lockbreaking sessions of experts from ancient times, which was the same as taking leaps forward on the path of Lockbreaking. This allowed Lu Yin¡¯s Lockbreaking ability to continuously increase.

    When he turned around, Lu Yin saw that Xin N¨¹¡¯s eyes were closed. She had absorbed some of the grey fog as well.

    Before long, she opened her eyes and exchanged nces with Lu Yin. ¡°Before reaching the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker level, Lockbreaking isn¡¯t of much help in practicalbat. Although Lockbreakers can dissolve the star energy of battle techniques and battle arts as well as use their fine star energy control to form exquisite attacks, which can raise one¡¯s battle prowess to a Realmbreaker¡¯s, those advantages are not very obvious at the Realmling level.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s a big difference once one steps into the Boundless realm. This is mainly because past that threshold is the stage where one can arrange arrays, which can turn the rotten into the mysterious. Although arrays can¡¯tpare to secret techniques, they are more varied, and they can even take advantage of cosmic phenomenon to destroy everything. This is the real reason why Lockbreakers are so respected and feared¡ªa Boundless Lockbreaker is a true Lockbreaker. Not even the Sixth Maind has that many Lockbreakers who are capable of creating arrays. If you ever have the good fortune to experience an ancient Lockbreaker arranging one, then remember it well.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Array? I seem to have heard of those. Right, have you heard of True Insight?¡±

    Xin N¨¹ was bbergasted. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of that? It¡¯s supposed to be the ultimate treasure for all Lockbreakers, and it seems to have been hidden in the Daosource Sect where only a few are able to see it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was moved. It seemed that the Sixth Maind also had a version of True Insight, though he wondered if it was the same as the one that the Fifth Maind possessed.

    The two did not speak much, and they continued to carefully observe the fog, determined to strengthen their understanding of Lockbreaking.

    A few dayster, Xin N¨¹ vanished. Her time had expired.

    After she left, Lu Yin took a deep breath, and his eyes opened wide. He then began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    No matter what, he felt that he should recite the Stonewall Scriptures whenever he visited a ce in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, as there was always a chance of triggering a mysterious effect.

    As he recited the scriptures, the white fog surrounding the tform of Inception started to surge intensely, and the people still within it were struck by a cmity. The previously mild attacks that they had been facing suddenly became ferocious.

    Some were even more unlucky. They had already stopped moving, but they still ended up being attacked by the white fog.

    Next, a strand of grey fog flew into Lu Yin¡¯s body. Then two, three, four, and many more strands of grey fog appeared before merging into Lu Yin¡¯s body. After reciting the Stonewall Scriptures just once, Lu Yin managed to absorb seven strands of grey fog, and he was instantly immersed in a scene with multiple ancient Lockbreaking experts.

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened. He saw that he was no longer atop the tform of Inception, but was rather back in the secret room in King Zishan''s pce. He had left the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    His body trembled, and he nearly copsed onto the floor. He had merged into several scenes at once, and he had witnessed several ancient Lockbreaker Lords unlocking sourceboxes. His understanding of lockbreaking had drastically improved, but it had also been very taxing on his mental stamina.

    Still, it waspletely worth it, as he now had a clearer view of the path of Lockbreaking.

    He took out the writings from Gu Yue, where the ancient powerhouse had recorded his Lockbreaking experience. Lu Yin had looked at it before, but he had not been able to understand much back then. This time, however, he expected to understand much more. To his surprise, he discovered that Gu Yue¡¯s Lockbreaking techniques even surpassed some of the methods of the Daosource Sect¡¯s ancient Lockbreaking Lords.

    It was no wonder why the man had been hailed as an unrivalled genius.

    Lu Yin had spent about a month in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he subsequently spent another half month studying Gu Yue¡¯s Lockbreaking memoirs.

    He remained in seclusion for a month and a half before he emerged from King Zishan''s pce.

    At this time, Zenyu Star was in amotion, as the new secret routes in different parts of the Great Eastern Alliance were about to be auctioned off. Naturally, this auction had drawn in many powers.

    The new routes connecting the interior of the Great Eastern Alliance were not only desired by the internal powers of the alliance itself, but there were also many outside forces that coveted these routes. Naturally, the powers from the central and western regions of the Outerverse were among them.

    Lu Yin did not stop anyone from participating, as the auction was fair. Additionally, the various parties could onlypete with their wealth, all to the benefit of Lu Yin.

    What he really wanted to do at this time was verify his Lockbreaking improvements. After thinking about it, Lu Yin stepped out of Zenyu Star, intending to head over to Hydrotink. He needed a sourcebox.

    He currently had a sourcebox in his possession, which was a three star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that he had received from Butcher. That man had taken this sourcebox out in an attempt to save his life at the border, but Lu Yin did not want to unlock this one.

    The Lockbreakers on Hydrotink had been in Frostwave Weave for quite some time by this point. During their stay, they had received many resources and were able to live their lives without any worries. Aside from helping to instruct cultivators on their star energy control, the Lockbreakers did not have many responsibilities. Thus, it was time for them to pay rent now.

    The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had shifted their headquarters over to Hydrotink, which had drawn over quite a few people from the various regions of the Outerverse. Although the number of people registering to take the Lockbreaking evaluation were certainly fewer than back on Sourcepeak, the numbers were not much lower. These people had greatly contributed to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s finances, on top of the sourceboxes that were asionally unlocked.

    The Lockbreakers on Hydrotink contributed greatly to the Great Yu Empire, but in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, their various contributions still were not enough. Felynn had never taken the initiative to offer Lu Yin any sourceboxes, which left him a little unsatisfied.

    The Lockbreaker Society was quite wealthy despite everything that it had gone through. Even after being robbed, it had managed to preserve many of its resources, which included the society¡¯s sourceboxes.

    Lu Yin did not notify anyone when he headed over to Hydrotink, as he wanted to check on its recent developments.

    In the past, Hydrotink had a small native poption, and out of fear that the natives would not get along with the Lockbreakers, the Great Yu Empire had separated the natives from the Lockbreakers.

    However, over time, the natives hade to ept the Lockbreakers. Although the Lockbreakers were quite arrogant, their greatest attribute was their generosity. Lockbreakers did notck for money, and their arrival meant that Hydrotink had be one of the most flourishings in Frostwave Weave that was right behind Zenyu Star. This was mostly due to the Lockbreaker Society evaluating people¡¯s lockbreaking talent, allowing the natives to amass a fortune.

    The scene of Lockbreakers bullying the native poption that Lu Yin had been afraid of had never materialized.

    It was not that the Lockbreakers did not want to push people around, but rather that there was no need to do such things. In the eyes of the Lockbreakers,moners were simply no different than ants, and nobody cared enough to make life difficult for ants.

    Roaming about Hydrotink felt like taking a tour to Lu Yin. Before much time passed, he headed towards the society¡¯s headquarters.

    As he neared the headquarters, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. He saw an enormous number of rune lines gathered nearby, and it was an amount that belonged to an Enlighter realm powerhouse. Did Hydrotink have an Enlighter? These rune lines couldn¡¯t belong to Cai Jianqiang, as his rune lines converged in a fierce fashion while the rune lines that Lu Yin was currently looking at seemed more like dispersing clouds. They were somewhat familiar to Lu Yin, and his face twitched when he suddenly remembered Saul, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Vice President.

    Within the Lockbreaker Society headquarters, at Felynn¡¯s residence, Saul was lounging in a garden and sipping tea while Felynn stood behind him in a respectful manner.

    ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s been in seclusion for a month and a half? It would seem that he has obtained some great harvest once again. He really is an incredibly talented genius.¡± Saul sighed.

    Felynn respectfully answered, ¡°Even if he has improved, he still cannotpare to you, as you have already broken through to the Enlighter realm.¡±

    There was a bang as the teacup shattered in Saul¡¯s hand. He turned to look at Felynn with a cold expression. ¡°If not for you, I could have used True Insight to be an Enlighter. Once I learned the method to arrange a sourcebox array, then forget this little Lu Yin¡ªI wouldn¡¯t have even been afraid of an old powerhouse with a power level greater than 300,000! My ability would have even caught the attention of the Hall of Honor, and I would have received their protection. But now, I¡¯m left with nothing.¡±

    Felynn hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy with a trembling voice. ¡°Vice President, please forgive me! Everything was orchestrated by Wei Rong, and he was the one who coerced me to take such actions, as well as Lu Yin. If not for those two, how would I have dared to oppose you?¡±

    Saul sneered at her. He was no fool; Felynn had been one of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s executives, so how could Wei Rong have been enough to threaten her? Of course, Saul did not say anything, as there was no need to do so.

    ¡°In truth, Geoffrey¡¯s secret room possessed two boxes. Lu Yin delivered one of them to you, so he should have kept the other,¡± Saul mumbled.

    Felynn did not dare speak up, and she continued kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Alright, get up. Humans are all self-centered. You wanted to seize control of the President¡¯s seat, which is no different than me conspiring to get a hold of True Insight. It¡¯s just that we both employed different means. However, you must help me with one thing.¡± Saul¡¯s voice turned cold as he slowly stated, ¡°Find that traitor, Deng Pu. I¡¯m going to hack him to pieces!¡±

    Felynn immediately agreed.

    Felynn and Saul had indeed both used different methods during their contest. Saul had never trusted the woman, but he also was not truly offended by her actions.

    However, Deng Pu was different, as Deng Pu was Saul¡¯s own disciple, and Deng Pu had always been very obedient in the past. Saul had given his all to nurture Deng Pu, and he had believed that his disciple was capable of being groomed to the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker level in the future. If possible, Saul would have shared that page of True Insight with him, but he had never dreamed that he would actually suffer such a betrayal at the hands of his own disciple.

    If Deng Pu had not turned his back on Saul, then Saul would have already obtained True Insight. Thus, his hatred for Deng Pu burned deeper than what he felt for anyone else.

    Felynn carefully spoke up, saying, ¡°Vice President, Lu Yin now wields authority over a third of the Outerverse. If I send out people to look for Deng Pu, won¡¯t that catch Lu Yin¡¯s attention?¡±

    Saul¡¯s eyes narrowed. Just the mention of Lu Yin gave him a headache. This youth was an extremely ruthless character, and even though Saul had be an Enlighter, he was still extremely wary of Lu Yin. ¡°Send out scouts in secret. Also, spend some money to hire various intelligence organizations. Don¡¯t let Lu Yin notice anything.¡±

    Felynn acknowledged her orders, and her eyes flickered. Saul¡¯s words meant that he was cautious of Lu Yin. Thus, she was hesitating about whether or not to report Saul¡¯s presence to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Cai Jianqiange near here. Although he doesn¡¯t have the ability to notice my presence, let''s just avoid any risk,¡± Saul said.

    Felynn murmured her acknowledgement once more.

 Chapter 935: Lockbreaking Ability

    <h4>Chapter 935: Lockbreaking Ability</h4>

    Before much more time passed, Felynn left the garden while looking rather upset. She could ignore things if it was just Lu Yin. However, now, even a stray dog like Saul hade, and she could not overrule anyone. Thus, she was feeling quite sullen.

    What was the point of all her earlier scheming? Recently, even Wei Rong had joined Lu Yin¡¯s side, which left Felynn feelingpletely lost. She no longer had any sort of back up n.

    Coincidentally, Wei Xin''er walked past her at this moment. She nced at Felynn, but she did not pay any attention to the older woman.

    Felynn was already upset, and when she saw that not even Wei Xin''er bothered with her anymore, Felynn grew even more enraged. "Xin''er,e here!¡±

    Wei Xin''er remained where she was standing and looked over at Felynn. "What''s the matter?¡±

    Felynn was so angry that she evenughed. ¡°Your master called you over. Don¡¯t you understand the humannguage?¡±

    Wei Xin''er¡¯s voice dropped low. ¡°Master, please consider your words. You¡¯re the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Interim President, not some vixen.¡±

    ¡°How bold. How dare you insult your master!¡± Felynn flew into a rage.

    Wei Xin''er merely sneered as she walked away.

    Ever since Felynn had refused Wei Xin¡¯er even after she had begged Felynn to help the Wei family, the girl had seen through her master. Now, she would no longer give the older woman even the barest minimum of respect. Moreover, Wei Xin¡¯er¡¯s older brother, Wei Rong, had received a position in the Great Yu Empire, and he was so high up that he was second only to Lu Yin. Thus, she waspletely unafraid of Felynn.

    Felynn was so angry that her entire body started to tremble, but she could only helplessly watch on as Wei Xin''er walked away.

    Felynn hated Wei Rong, but she was also very wary of him. She still felt afraid when she thought about Wei Rong¡¯s methods; not everyone was qualified for Lu Yin to attempt to recruit them and treat them as a distinguished guest. In the past, Wei Rong had nned out the destruction of Sourcepeak and even intended to dismantle the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. This was someone who Felynn did not dare to offend.

    She suddenly felt a wave of powerlessness ovee her as she watched Wei Xin''er disappear. Felynn was the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Interim President, but was there any meaning to her title? What exactly was it that she had won?

    Felynn felt lost, as even her own disciples did not show her any respect.

    A beep sounded from her gadget, startling her. She looked down, and her expression changed instantly. She quickly answered the call. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is Felynn.¡±

    Lu Yin was already at the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters, and he had seen everything that had just urred. However, he had not revealed himself yet. ¡°President Felynn, could you send a few sourceboxes to a protected lockbreaking room? I¡¯ll arrive on Hydrotink soon.¡±

    Felynn was surprised to hear that Lu Yin was about to arrive; could Saul have been discovered? She immediately acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s request. ¡°Yes, Alliance Leader Lu. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    She then quickly ended the call and went to look for Saul.

    Saul had never expected that Lu Yin woulde to Hydrotink, and he immediately withdrew his aura as he hid inside Felynn¡¯s personal hidden room.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin showed up on Hydrotink¡¯s space station and acted as though he had no knowledge of what had happened on the. Felynn personally greeted him respectfully. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, wee to Hydrotink.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°President Felynn, have you been living here well?¡±

    Felynn did not know what Lu Yin meant by those words, but she had to answer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Alliance Leader Lu has been troubled enough to worry about me.¡±

    ¡°Please share any troubles you are facing,¡± Lu Yin said casually.

    Felynn¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she quietly replied, ¡°The secure lockbreaking room has been prepared. Since there are three sourceboxes with danger zones, they have been separated into three connected rooms. Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me this way.¡±

    Lu Yin followed Felynn, and they headed towards the headquarters¡¯ secured lockbreaking rooms.

    Every Lockbreaker had their own customized, secure lockbreaking room. Even though Hydrotink had not been the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters for long, these core facilities had been the first to be built, and all of the rooms¡¯ construction materials included spiritual thread.

    It had to be said that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had a deep foundation. Even with the amount of influence that Lu Yin currently wielded, it would not be easy for him to gather enough spiritual thread to build so many lockbreaking rooms. The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society definitely had its own reserves.

    ¡°I won¡¯t disturb Alliance Leader Lu any further. Please pass on any additional instructions should you need anything,¡± Felynn said respectfully. Her prestige as the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Interim President waspletely absent when she was with Lu Yin, not only because of Lu Yin¡¯s power, but also because Saul was on Hydrotink. She truly had no qualifications to maintain any sort of presence.

    The grand interim president of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society could not even control her own disciples. Felynn¡¯s status had descended into total confusion.

    Lu Yin clearly understood what was going through Felynn¡¯s mind. This woman was terribly ambitious, but her ambition did not match her sufficient ability or her mindset. This woman was no longer suitable to be the interim president.

    He slowly stepped into the first room and found that there was a sharp edge in the air. At times, phantom images streaked across the room that were shaped like swords, tearing through the void. This was the manifestation of the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger zone, and the strength of these attacks matched up to a Cruiser¡¯s.

    The sourcebox itself looked like a sword hilt, and it was not veryrge. It was embedded directly within the spiritual thread case, and it randomly released showers of sparks that shot out into the surrounding void. Additionally, every once in a while, one seemed to hear the faint cry of the soul of a sword.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. This sourcebox clearly contained something, and it was also a three star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. However, Felynn had brought it out for Lu Yin to unlock, which surprised him.

    Did the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society not have that many sourceboxes in storage?

    He approached the sourcebox as the sword-shaped images flickered around him. They asionally tore at Lu Yin¡¯s clothes, but he easily blocked everything with his star energy.

    Each sourcebox was unique. Unlocking a Discerning Elementary sourcebox was primarily reliant on one¡¯sprehension of star energy, and a lockbreaking tool could dramatically increase one¡¯s unlocking speed several times over, or even dozens of times over. Once one became a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, many people continued on in the same fashion, such as Lu Yin. He relied on his Cosmic Art, altered eyes, and sometimes his Lockbreaking tool. However, the truth was that, in ancient times, the Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker examination had not been as simple as the modern test.

    To be recognized as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, one had to correctly identify the rules of the sourcebox before them, which was also rted to the direction in which the surface energy had developed.

    Lu Yin had only learned about this after studying Gu Yue¡¯s personal memoirs. Typically, the Lockbreakers who were capable of making such observations were all Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers, and very few Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers were able to aplish this feat.

    At least, Lu Yin had never heard of such a thing in either the Outerverse or the Innerverse.

    He carefully observed the sword hilt-shaped sourcebox, and he relied on the experiences that he had experienced by way of the grey fog in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. Those experiences were of ancient Lockbreaker Lords, and with the theories that Lu Yin had read in Gu Yue¡¯s personal writings, Lu Yin was gradually able to see awork of veins surrounding the sourcebox. This sourcebox¡¯s sealingyer had started from the bottom and then continued upwards, its energy gradually solidifying in the process. The energy of the object sealed inside had gradually permeated through the sealing energy, which created the formless danger zone.

    Right now, Lu Yin was even capable of distinguishing between the harmony between the danger zone and the solidified energy, and he could determine the greatest degree of destruction that this sourcebox was capable of.

    Lu Yin reached out with a hand and pressed it against the hilt-shaped sourcebox as he attempted to unlock it.

    Since he was able to see the veins of energy formed by the sourcebox, unlocking it naturally became easier. As he thought about it, the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye appeared in his hand. Although this process was not very stressful, it was still a good thing for him to speed up his progress.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to finish unlocking the sourcebox, Zenyu Star sealed itself off from its surroundings; the Lu''s Grand Auction had formally begun another round of auctioning off premium goods.

    This time, the most coveted goods in the auction were the secret routes that ran throughout the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Any of these routes would speed up delivery times within the Great Eastern Alliance, and that would directly affect general transportation efficiency as well as the military¡¯s movements and supply routes. Any new route would allow the affected regions to greatly improve their development.

    The universe was too expansive, and it was not words that formed the greatest barrier between civilizations, but rather distance. If the distance could be reduced, the exchange between civilizations would elerate.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s current military was rated at a score of five, then with these new routes, its score would increase to at least seven. This reflected the usefulness of such routes.

    Endless Borders was the one to explore new routes, which everyone was aware of. If not for the fact that they had numerous expedition crews, Endless Borders might not have been able to keep the various routes that they had gathered.

    Even so, they still had to release a new route every now and then in order to cate the powers of the Outerverse.

    At present, there were many routes that connected the Outerverse, but only a portion of them had been released by Endless Borders.

    But at this time, Lu Yin had announced that he was auctioning several previously unknown routes. Although these routes were all unrted to military travel, they would still be very beneficial to the transportation industry, even if they just increased the interactions between civilizations. However, nobody else was aware of these routes¡¯ limitations.

    The news of these new routes being auctioned off had stirred up quite amotion for nearly two months now, and they had lured countless people to Zenyu Star. At this moment, these routes were finally about to be auctioned off.

    The Lu''s Grand Auction had originally been a ce that was difficult to get into, and that difficulty had only increased.

    Outside Zenyu Star, a spacecraft from the Mavis Bank flew to and fro as it transported star essence to its branch.

    Countless luxurious vessels were docked at Zenyu Star¡¯s space station, and if Zenyu Star exploded at this moment, the deaths of those present would affect half of the top powers of the entire Outerverse.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons maintained strict security, and even Ye Gui moved out to oversee the space station and prevent anything unexpected from happening.

    The truth was that they were all being overly worried. The Outerverse had recently be nearly transparent, and there were no threats present anymore. Lu Yin had realized this long ago, as he had asked Aegis to monitor things. When they werebined with the intelligenceworks of Thousand Eyes and Amethyst Exchange, there was nobody who could possibly infiltrate the Great Yu Empire. Assassins would no longer be able to sneak onto Zenyu Star again.

    On Hydrotink, Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained rxed, and he calmly looked at his work. Beneath his hands, visible cracks had appeared within the hilt-shaped sourcebox¡¯s energy barrier, and the entire sourcebox was gradually dissipating.

    He was currently lockbreaking at more than twice his previous speed. After he had found the veins of the sourcebox, his lockbreaking speed had more than doubled. This was the ability that a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker should possess.

    Lu Yin was even able to use the lockbreaking process to influence the scope of the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger zone. This was a concept that he would not have even been able to understand in the past.

    With a thump, he finished unlocking the sourcebox, and the solidified energy that formed the sourceboxpletely vanished. In front of him was a broken sword that fell into the spiritual thread case.

    Lu Yin slowly picked up the broken weapon and used a bit of his strength to test it. The de of the sword had not been damaged in any way, and only the hilt had broken apart.

    He did not know what material this sword de had been forged from. It was very tough, but there was no sharpness to the sword edge at all. It was nothing more than an incredibly tough piece of metal, but it was not dangerous at all.

    Lu Yin stored the sword de away, nning on using it when he rolled his die¡¯s two pips: ckhole Disassembly in the future. At that time, he would simply disassemble this sword, which should allow him to obtain some good materials.

    Once the first sourcebox was unlocked, Lu Yin opened the door that led to the next secure room, which was where the second sourcebox had been stored for him. He was intending to unlock all three sourceboxes on this day, which would improve his Lockbreaking level.

    At present, Lu Yin was still a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, but ording to the society¡¯s standards, his true Lockbreaking level should be at the five star Perceptive Intermediate level. Gu Yue¡¯s personal memoirs and the experience that Lu Yin had gained in the Daosource Sect''s ruins had allowed his Lockbreaking ability to far surpass his previous state, and even his insights had transformed.

    However, if Lu Yin was transported back to ancient times, then his Lockbreaking ability would likely only be evaluated at the two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level; at best, he would be given three stars.

    As time marched onwards, the generations had actually stepped backwards.

    The second sourcebox also had a danger zone, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew slightly serious. The air in front of him sporadically transformed into bs of stone, as if the air itself had been petrified. This was the strength of the predecessors.

    This sourcebox¡¯s danger zone and strength of the predecessors looked to be simr to thest one, but the two¡¯s difference in strength waspletely different.

    One¡¯s danger zone was formed through the process of the solidifying energy that was the sourcebox. The object sealed inside would mix with the surface energy and create a unique effect as the energy solidified.

    In contrast, the strength of the predecessors was something that had been intentionally left behind by a powerhouse.

 Chapter 936: Pace

    <h4>Chapter 936: Pace</h4>

    Lu Yin could see through the strength of the predecessors, and he was able to easily avoid it. However, he did not do so. He deliberately continued walking towards the sourcebox, step by step.

    Suddenly, the surface of his finger turned to stone, followed by his entire body. Eventually, he became aplete stoneman and remained there, frozen in ce.

    In the distance, within Felynn¡¯s secure room that was beneath her garden, Saul suddenly stood up. He looked ecstatic; Lu Yin had just been petrified.

    That sourcebox had long since been in the possession of the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreaker Society, and Saul himself had once considered unlocking it. However, he had not since he was apprehensive of the strength of the predecessors that the sourcebox contained. That strength approached the level of an Enlighter, and even if Saul had personally made an attempt, he might have been petrified.

    This time, when Lu Yin had asked Felynn to prepare some sourceboxes for him to unlock, Saul had instructed Felynn to use three sourceboxes that all had danger zones in an attempt to test the youth. Now, Lu Yin was fully petrified.

    Saul looked on, excited. Lu Yin had been a thorn in Saul¡¯s heart that he had wanted to pull out for a long time. However, he quickly calmed down, and his eyes flickered. It was impossible to determine what was going through Saul¡¯s mind at this moment.

    In another ce, Felynn had also sensed that Lu Yin had been petrified, but she was at a loss as to how to handle the matter.

    One day quickly passed by, and Lu Yin was still petrified,pletely motionless.

    Saul did not take this opportunity to act, and after a bit of thought, the secure room fell silent, and Saul was no longer as excited as before. It seemed as if he had thought of something.

    Another two days passed, but things still remained the same.

    By now, Lu''s Grand Auction on Zenyu Star had ended. Bei Qing was so excited that he felt like he was about to fly. This auction broke the highest sales record, as it hadted 450,000 star essence in total. The various powers had brought out all of their hidden star essence reserves, which had elevated Lu''s Grand Auction to an entirely new stage, as it had brushed against the highest auction records in the history of the Outerverse. From this day onwards, Lu''s Grand Auction would be able to enter the history books of the Outerverse.

    And his name, Bei Qing, would also be recorded down in history alongside it.

    From the start, the Outerverse did not use star essence, but his auction had sold all of their items off at exorbitant prices. It was enough to bring honor to his ancestors.

    Bei Qing had now found an activity that could upy the rest of his life. His most looked forward to times were when Lu Yin delivered the next batch of premium goods to be auctioned to him, as there were surprises every time.

    On Hydrotink, Lu Yin had beenpletely petrified for five whole days, but there still was no movement from either Saul or Felynn.

    Finally, on the sixth day, the stone covering Lu Yin began to crack, and he stepped out with a strange expression.

    What was Saul thinking? Even in this situation, the man had not taken the opportunity to do something to Lu Yin. Why?

    In front of Lu Yin, the sourcebox was still releasing the strength of the predecessors that petrified everything that approached the sourcebox. Although the strength of these attacks could even cause Enlighters to be nervous, Lu Yin was able to easily avoid them. As he worked on unlocking the sourcebox, the attacks gradually dissipated until they finally vanished. All that remained was a bloodied handprint that had been left on a stone.

    He picked up the stone and carefully studied the bloodied handprint, but the stone shattered with a bang just moments after.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity, as the sourcebox had been unlocked toote. If it had been opened some tens of thousands of years earlier, then the stone might not have shattered. In fact, the bloody handprint might have even been extractable and preserved for other uses.

    He pped his hands, and the crumbs of stone scattered from his palm. Lu Yin then stepped forward towards the third secret room.

    The danger zone of the third sourcebox was not too severe, and there weren¡¯t any bizarre phenomena that apanied it either. Lu Yin spent half a day topletely unlock it, but the sourcebox waspletely empty. Lu Yin did not feel any disappointment, as the vast majority of sourceboxes had be unstable due to the passage of time, and it was very normal for them to be empty.

    Lu Yin had sessfully unlocked three Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes, and one had actually even been at the four star level. This was enough to upgrade Lu Yin¡¯s Lockbreaking level to three star Perceptive Intermediate. This was enough to satisfy Lu Yin at the moment. If Lu Yin wanted to reach the five star level, then he would need to unlock five star Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes, but that would have to be left for his next visit. It did not seem very prudent to clean out the Lockbreaker Society in one go, and he would simply treat his visit this time as practice.

    When he stepped out of the secure room, Felynn was already waiting for him outside.

    ¡°Take me to meet Saul,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Felynn was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s order, and her face turned pale. She had never imagined that Lu Yin was already aware of Saul¡¯s presence.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin urged.

    Felynn quickly agreed, and she led the way. Soon, the two arrived in her garden.

    Lu Yin looked in the direction of the underground area and then slowly sat on a stone bench.

    In front of him, Saul tore through the void as he emerged. He calmly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve disturbed you.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for the older man to sit.

    Saul did not stand on ceremony, and he sat down.

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no grudge between us. On Sourcepeak, I was not the one who targeted you. I was simply in the right ce at the right time,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Saul nodded. ¡°I know. Felynn was the one who wanted to rece me, and Deng Pu was the one who betrayed me. Finally, it was Wei Rong and the Shadowsword Sect who plotted to destroy Sourcepeak. Alliance Leader Lu just behaved as a guest ought to.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, as he had taken away quite a few items that belonged to the Lockbreaker Society, and he had even stolen the pages of True Insight that had been President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room. However, Lu Yin had also saved the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. ¡°I did what a guest should have done, but Mr. Saul, you¡¯re different. Mr. Jun attempted to kill me, and he was sent by you, correct?¡±

    Saul nodded, not bothering to deny anything. ¡°President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room held another box, which should be in your possession.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Saul was also the one who targeted me halfway through thepetition,¡± Lu Yin softly added on.

    ¡°Making use of the society¡¯s great changes and threatening the Lockbreaker Society into migrating to Frostwave Weave was also Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s doing.¡± Saul did not back down one bit.

    The two exchanged nces and then both chuckled.

    Both of them had done various things, but they also both believed that the actions they had taken were necessary.

    Saul sighed. ¡°From start to end, I was led by the nose. I assumed that everything was under my control, but I had already lost control of the deciding moment long ago. I was behind every step of the way, and that led to my downfall and my current outcast position.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°From my view, Mr. Saul did not do anything wrong. You simply wanted to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society President and obtain True Insight to improve your own strength. There is nothing wrong with these desires, and if you need to bear any me, then it should only be because you failed.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I failed.¡± The light in Saul¡¯s eyes dimmed. Even though he had broken through and be an Enlighter, it could not make up for his previous defeat. He had already lost the hearts of many Lockbreakers, and he no longer qualified to be the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society President, as he was even less qualified than Felynn.

    In the past, Saul had said that as long as his status was not stripped from him by the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, that he would remain as the vice president. However, that had just been him consoling himself. Since he had lost the support of so many Lockbreakers, how could he remain as the vice president?

    ¡°The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society faced internal strife while also encountering external pressure. Thus, Vice President Saul was the one who was unlucky. In my view, life has always been unfair to Mr. Saul. When everything happened on Sourcepeak, Mr. Saul was the one whomanded people to protect the Hall of Insight, and there were simply too many variables that influenced the final oue of that battle. Not everything should be med on Mr. Saul,¡± Lu Yin consoled.

    Saul¡¯s eyes shed, and he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°What is Alliance Leader Lu saying?¡±

    Felynn was listening to the conversation from nearby, and she also turned to look at Lu Yin. Her expression was rather panicked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I want to invite Mr. Saul to return and resume leading the society.¡±

    Saul grew excited, but he quickly calmed down. ¡°Can Alliance Leader Lu do that?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Felynn. ¡°President Felynn, we will have to trouble you.¡±

    Felynn¡¯s expression wasplex, and she was momentarily left at a loss, as she simply did not know how to react. She had plotted for so long, all in order to gain her current position as the interim president. However, a single sentence from Lu Yin had removed her from her seat on this day. She should have been enraged beyond all reasoning, but for some reason, she heaved a sigh of relief. This was the reason behind herplex emotions, and it was also why she did not know how to reply.

    Saul looked at Felynn in an imposing manner. ¡°Felynn, can this be done?¡±

    Felynn was stumped. She looked at Saul and then at Lu Yin. She slowly lowered her head. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin beamed at Saul. ¡°See? It¡¯s that simple!¡±

    Even in his dreams, Saul wanted to return to the Society. In the past, he had been banished, and this person had been a part of the group that had banished him. But now, it was this same person allowing Saul to return.

    This was what was known as having the wind and rain at one¡¯s beck and call. This youth waspletely differentpared to when he had been on Sourcepeak.

    At that time. Saul had been able topletely disregard Lu Yin, and he had even sent assassins after the youth. But now, Saul had to calmly listen to this person.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I want to know why,¡± Saul stated.

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society¡¯s greatest value lies in its Lockbreakers, but the society¡¯s highest echelons are the people who can keep those Lockbreakers safe. In the past, I offended too many people, but I was not killed because I¡¯m also a Lockbreaker. I hope that the other Lockbreakers can also rely on this protection. Felynn clearly cannot achieve such a thing, and only Mr. Saul is capable of doing so.¡±

    Saul frowned, as he did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s motivations were that pure.

    ¡°Of course, Hydrotink is a part of my Great Yu Empire, and so, I hope to have someone who can rise to the asion and not allow others toe and go as they please,¡± Lu Yin said very pointedly.

    Felynn immediately remembered the time when, during the border invasion, that box had been stolen. This was the punishment for that. Not only had the box been stolen, but she had also shirked her responsibility, which brought about Lu Yin¡¯s displeasure.

    If Lu Yin had not been at the border warfront, then he would have been held responsible for that matter.

    This had revealed Felynn¡¯s ipetence to Lu Yin.

    In the past, Lu Yin needed an ipetent person to oversee the Lockbreaker Society for him, but now that his power and influence had soared, Felynn was unable to keep pace with his requirements. Coincidentally, Saul could. Thus, Felynn had been let go.

    The universe was cruel. Those who could not keep up with the times could only be abandoned, and nobody could escape this trend, not even Lu Yin himself.

    Of course, Felynn was only being stripped of her position as the interim president, and her status within the society would not change. She would still be an executive, second only to Saul.

    Saul¡¯s return to the Society proceeded smoothly, as most of the Lockbreakers could be persuaded by Felynn. However, there was one person who Lu Yin had to personally speak to: Cai Jianqiang.

    Although Cai Jianqiang did not hold a high position within the Society, he was a special existence since he was Hydrotink¡¯s guardian, and he was also the only person who could threaten Saul. Additionally, Cai Jianqiang was on Hydrotink at this time.

    Ever since the wedding celebration at the Zi family, Lu Yin had not spoken to Cai Jianqiang.

    Zi Rong had been one of Cai Jianqiang¡¯s few friends, along with Lu Yin himself. The trio had fought and drank together, and they had all gotten along with each other quite well. But in the end, tragedy had still struck.

    Cai Jianqiang did not me Lu Yin, as Zi Rong had brought everything upon himself. Cai Jianqiang was merely depressed about the situation; who would have thought that one of his few friends would prove to be such a despicable person. Not only had Zi Rong coborated with the Neohuman Alliance, but he had also used despicable means to threaten a girl into marrying him. It was embarrassing to even mention him as a friend.

    ¡°Are you still thinking about the matter with Zi Rong?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Across from him, Cai Jianqiang shook his head. ¡°I still have a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t do such a thing.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°The first time we met, I received that de of his, which allowed me to see his determination towards cultivation. I also don¡¯t believe that he¡¯s such a person, but the facts have shown otherwise. Thus, we must try to move on.¡±

 Chapter 937: The New Captain

    <h4>Chapter 937: The New Captain</h4>

    Cai Jianqiang raised his head and looked up to the sky. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance is a very dark organization, and they are humanity¡¯s mortal enemy. Why would he work with such an organization and even cultivate the Corpse King¡¯s Transformation? And also-¡± He paused for a moment and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I am very sorry about the matter with Zi and Bai Xue.¡±

    Lu Yinughed in spite of himself. ¡°You weren¡¯t the one who created that whole mess, so what are you apologizing for?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe you back then,¡± Cai Jianqiang answered regretfully.

    He was being quite candid; between Lu Yin and Zi Rong, Cai Jianqiang had chosen to believe Zi Rong. In the end, when Lu Yin was proven to be correct, Cai Jianqiang had felt bad about the matter and had felt apologetic towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin liked being friends with this type of person.

    ¡°Do you have any alcohol? Let¡¯s have a drink,¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    Cai Jianqiang waved a hand, and a dozen unopened earthen pots of alcohol appeared on the table. This was the same alcohol that the three of them had drunk before. ¡°After this drink, we can go back to being the forthright brothers we once were!¡± Cai Jianqiang loudly proimed.

    Lu Yin raised a pot. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The two men finished off their pots in one go, and they started to feel good about themselves.

    Even though there wasn¡¯t much alcohol, the two men still spent the entire night drinking. In the morning, both of them felt slightly woozy since they had not dispelled the alcohol from their bodies yet. The slight high that the alcohol gave them was a very good feeling.

    Cai Jianqiang leaned against the table for support as he struggled to bnce himself. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about the past. I know why you came to find me. He cane back if that¡¯s what you want. The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society is not as prestigious as it was before, and you can¡¯t be expected to always lean towards supporting the Lockbreakers.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    While his visit to Hydrotink had been hidden from the ordinary people, he could not hide his presence from Cai Jianqiang.

    Lu Yin had no intention of keeping his meeting with Saul a secret, and as such, it was not surprising that Cai Jianqiang had already learned of it.

    It was only with Cai Jianqiang¡¯s agreement that Saul would be able to return to the Society.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goals had changed, and he no longer wanted topletely control the Society. It was just a matter of time before the Outerverse returned to normal, and when that happened, all of Lu Yin¡¯s deeds woulde to light. Given the far-reaching influence of the Lockbreaker Society, the situation would turn ugly for Lu Yin if he went too far.

    He did not need more enemies; he needed more friends.

    With Saul¡¯s return to the Society, the vice president would be forced to take responsibility for what had happened in the past. However, this would not affect Lu Yin¡¯s control of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    Saul knew this as well, but there was no other option avable to him. If he did not agree to this n, then he would be hunted down by the Lockbreaker Society once the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse. Once targeted by the Society, even an Envoy would find it difficult to survive, much less an Enlighter.

    ¡°Since Saul is back, there is no reason for me to remain on Hydrotink any longer,¡± Cai Jianqiang said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Brother Cai, since you have nowhere else to go in the Outerverse, then why don''t you help me out?¡±

    Cai Jianqiang was puzzled. ¡°Help you out? In what way?¡±

    Lu Yinughed and sincerely exined, ¡°As you know, I was the target of an assassination attempt a few days ago. Zenyu Star constantly is met with crises, and with the Great Yu Empire¡¯s ever-expanding influence while the Great Eastern Alliance fights off more and more enemies, I¡¯m having a tough time.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang still did not understand. ¡°So how would you like me to help?¡±

    Lu Yin responded in a hopeful tone. ¡°I want you to join the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons and be the Captain of the Thirteenth Squadron. I want you to help me protect the Great Yu Empire.¡±

    Before Cai Jianqiang could even respond, Lu Yin patted the man on the shoulder. ¡°Brother Cai, please help me. Up to now, I still haven¡¯t managed to find a captain for all thirteen squadrons, so I have to personally attend to many of the matters involved. I just need you to help me out as a friend. There¡¯s not even a reason for you to take any orders.¡±

    Cai Jianqiang opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Yin grabbed up an earthen pot and passed it over. ¡°Then that settles it! Thank you, Brother Cai. Cheers for being such a good friend.¡±

    Before Cai Jianqiang could even say a single word, Lu Yin had forcefully dragged him away.

    The truth was that Cai Jianqiang had never had any intention of refusing Lu Yin¡¯s invitation. It was true that Cai Jianqiang had nowhere else to go, and Hydrotink was no longer a suitable ce for him to stay. He did not see eye to eye with Saul, and he even despised gloomy people like Saul.

    Lu Yin became very excited, as he had never expected the situation to develop like this after he allowed Saul to return to the Society. This possibility had only urred to Lu Yin when Cai Jianqiang had mentioned that he wanted to leave Hydrotink.

    This was an unexpected, yet pleasant, oue. Cai Jianqiang was a peak Hunter, and he was not far from breaking through and bing an Enlighter. It was not that the man did not want to break through, but rather that he was steadily building his foundations. Once he finished preparing, after he broke through to the Enlighter realm,, he would not be any ordinary Enlighter.

    The addition of such a person meant that the Great Yu Empire had effectively gained an Enlighter.

    The Great Yu Empire already had powerhouses like Aden and Smoker who were Realmbreakers capable of fighting against Enlighters. In addition to them, there was also Cool Sis and Yanyan, who were not far behind.

    The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were slowly growing stronger. Right now, even if Enlighters appeared to gang up on the squadrons in an ambush, the Enlighters¡¯ victory would not be assured.

    As time went on, the strength of the Great Yu Empire had increased considerably. A decade ago, no one would have thought that one day, the most powerful member of the Thirteen Squadrons of that time, Hua Qingshan, would not even be included within the squadrons¡¯ top five experts.

    Cai Jianqiang leaving Hydrotink was also a good thing for Saul.

    The person who was the most affected by this development was Felynn, but no one cared about her thoughts. Lu Yin had given her a chance, but she had not cherished it. Thus, the fault was hers alone.

    Seemingly afraid that Cai Jianqiang would change his mind, Lu Yin hastily led the Hunter back to Zenyu Star and then began impatiently making arrangements for Cai Jianqiang to ept his role as the Thirteenth Squadron Captain.

    The dark expanse of the universe was always mysterious, and no one could know what would happen.

    At a ce thaty between Zenyu Star and Hydrotink, arge and very ordinary looking spacecraft stopped. mes burst out from it, and explosions could asionally be heard within it.

    Inside the vessel, there were many people in ordinary clothes who were screaming.

    In one corner of the spacecraft, a dozen Sentinel realm cultivators pushed their way through the crowd. A big, burly man wearing universal armor followed behind them, he leaped into outer space with one leap. Following him, all of the Sentinels put on sets of universal armor and also jumped off of the vessel, headed for a distant.

    There was only a finite number of universal armors aboard the vessel. If the spacecraft encountered an ident, then only those who had universal armors would be able to survive while the rest of the upants would simply die with the ship.

    ¡°Boss, will those people tell anyone else about what happened here?¡± someone asked through their personal gadget as they flew through outer space.

    Their leader, who was the burly man, replied, ¡°No. The rescue team won¡¯t get here fast enough. By the time anyone shows up, those people will already be nothing but ashes.¡±

    Right as the man spoke those words, another explosion erupted at the rear of the vessel. If the fleeing cultivators turned to look around, then they would only see the desperation in the eyes of the people still on the ship.

    However, the leader was not bothered by any of this. The people dying there were nothing but worthless independent cultivators. He had hired the independent cultivators to take part in a local skirmish, but the loss of their lives was not a big loss to the man, as they were just an inconsequential amount of money in his eyes. ¡°Ah, what a pity. I ended up wasting my time on these people. Now, we¡¯ll have to hire more people when we get back.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boss.¡±

    The universe was limitless, and the size of an empire would often be so vast that its overall territory was simply inconceivable to its ordinary citizens. Most people would never be able to travel through the entire empire even over the span of their entire lives, not to mention an empire like the Great Yu Empire that spanned an entire weave.

    The entirety of Frostwave Weave was under the control of the Great Yu Empire, and there were so many people within their territory that their numbers could not even be counted. The independent cultivators within the empire¡¯s territory alone were innumerable, and there were many people who took advantage of this oversight.

    Businessmen would often hire independent cultivators without registering those people with the empire, which made it impossible to even know about such people¡¯s deaths. A spacecraft could transport tens of thousands of independent cultivators, but even those numbers were insignificant from the perspective of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s entire poption, and no one would even notice when such people disappeared.

    Such situations were quitemon throughout the universe, not just within the Great Yu Empire. Nearly every ce had simr urrences.

    The universe was far crueler than what regr people saw.

    There were no wars within the Great Yu Empire, but many small-scale skirmishes took ce unnoticed. The battles between nationsposed of variouss did not be widespread news unless an entire fment was affected.

    Many businessmen were exploiting this neglected corner by using independent cultivators to fight their wars for them, allowing them to get rich in the process.

    There were tens of thousands of independent cultivators on that spacecraft who were able to do nothing except wait for death. Every year, millions of independent cultivators would die in such a fashion. These people were seen as nobodies, and their deaths did not even draw the slightest bit of attention. The empire could not be bothered to deal with details as minor as independent cultivators who had been hired for local wars.

    To some people, independent cultivators like these were even seen as murderers.

    Explosions continued to ring out through the spacecraft, and the independent cultivators had already lost all hope.

    Just when they thought that they were doomed to be specks of ash floating through the universe, the mes from the explosions were suddenly all extinguished. It looked as though a massive hand had grabbed the entire vessel, and all of the vehicle¡¯s functions halted at that moment. It was as though the spacecraft had entered a state of suspended animation.

    Aboard the spacecraft, many of the desperate souls were left bewildered, as they could not understand what had just happened. When they were certain that the vessel would not explode, everyone wept tears of joy due to the ecstasy of still being alive.

    Behind the spacecraft, Lu Yin and Cai Jianqiang sat within Lu Yin¡¯s copsible spacecraft as they watched the events unfold on therger ship.

    ¡°It¡¯s very odd that arge vessel like this one would not prepare enough universal armors,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Cai Jianqiang shot a nce at the youth. ¡°They were abandoned.¡±

    ¡°Abandoned? What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin asked, astonished.

    Cai Jianqiang was over a hundred years old, and he was far more experienced than Lu Yin. ¡°These people are independent cultivators who were most likely hired to take part in some local war. Something happened to the spacecraft transporting them, so their employers and the bodyguards jumped ship while these independent cultivators were left to die.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he was clearly confused. ¡°They were left to die? Doesn¡¯t anyone care about them?¡±

    Cai Jianqiangughed in spite of himself. ¡°Who would care? These aren¡¯t respectable people themselves, and their livelihood isn¡¯t allowed in the empire. If they¡¯re lucky, then a rescue team might pass by and rescue them, and if they¡¯re unlucky, then they¡¯ll just die here.¡±

    Lu Yin furrowed his brows as he stared at the spacecraft in front of him. He had thought that this had just been another vessel suffering from some unforeseen technical issue. He had never expected the situation to actually be hiding something like this. Since these people had chosen to join a war, then they should have been prepared to die!

    However, this also allowed Lu Yin to realize that local skirmishes were a cruel part of reality.

    Numerous considerations ran through his mind in a split second. He unconsciously unleashed his domain, and it enveloped the spacecraft, allowing him to hear many of the conversations taking ce.

    ¡°Father, the spacecraft didn¡¯t blow up! We¡¯re still alive, and we¡¯ll be able to see mother!¡±

    ¡°The heavens were kind enough to let us live. I hope that a rescue team gets here soon, though we¡¯ll still most likely undergo a round of questioning even if we are rescued.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Elder brother, when will the rescue team get here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hoping that they don¡¯t turn up at all. I¡¯d rather leave our lives to fate, as a rescue team would just capture us and then send us to prison if they show up.¡±

    ¡°I just want to make a living. I don¡¯t want to get locked up.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Bro, just hang in there. The rescue team will treat you as soon as they get here.¡±

    ¡°Cough. Don¡¯t try to cheer me up. Even if the rescue team shows up, I don¡¯t have any money for treatment. Our boss took off, and no one else will foot our medical bills.¡±

    ¡°The empire will treat us, but then they¡¯ll also start questioning us, and that won¡¯t be easy to escape from.¡±

    ¡°Just forget it.¡±

    ¡°If we manage to make it out alive this time, we have to expose those ck-hearted businessmen! We¡¯ll go to the Royal Regent and tell him exactly what those businessmen really do.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll just backfire on us. We¡¯ve fought in more than just one regional war, and there¡¯s no way we would be able to avoid being questioned. Besides, most of those businessmen have good rtionships with the media. There¡¯s no one who can help us.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take this all the way to the top if we have to! We know where King Zishan¡¯s pce is, and I don¡¯t believe that those businessmen would dare to do anything to us at the Royal Regent¡¯s door.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 938: Court Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 938: Court Meeting</h4>

    Lu Yin quietly listened to the multiple conversations taking ce on therger spacecraft from within his copsible spacecraft. He overheard many conversations, and some of them were even rted to him. Most of the people aboard the vessel were angry at the businessmen while others hoped that Lu Yin would thoroughly investigate this matter.

    He then looked up. Lu Yin realized that he knew almost nothing about the internal wars that were constantly taking ce within the Great Yu Empire. No matter howrge his empire grew, there would always be chaos within it.

    He only knew what the top administrators of the empire told him, and they did not truly care about these small skirmishes. In fact, some of the officials might even be personally involved in some of these conflicts.

    Cai Jianqiang didn¡¯t disturb Lu Yin. Instead, the older man simply closed his eyes and silently started training.

    Two days passed. Finally, a rescue team arrived at the ruined spacecraft.

    Although the independent cultivators had eventually been rescued, they still were forced to go on trial as it was illegal to participate in regional conflicts. When they were inevitably found guilty, they would definitely be stuck with heavy punishments.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t show himself and simply left in his copsible spacecraft. There was a dark expression on his face.

    At the same time, he used his gadget to announce to the top officials on Zenyu Star that a morning meeting would take ce the next day and that everyone who had been contacted was required to attend the meeting.

    This announcement shocked the Great Yu Empire.

    Ever since Lu Yin had be the Royal Regent, there had been almost no morning meetings. Lu Yin behaved very differently from Undying Yushan; Undying Yushan had held morning meetings almost every day whereas Lu Yin rarely ever held one.

    The various officials of the Great Yu Empire had be ustomed to not participating in the morning meetings. Thus, the sudden announcement caught many of thempletely off guard.

    Those who were doing anything illegal immediately halted all of their activities.

    Some suddenly felt that the money they were holding had be extremely heavy.

    Others, who had been contemting various schemes, suddenly felt very excited.

    All in all, Lu Yin¡¯s decision to hold a meeting affected many people, which subsequently affected the entire Great Eastern Alliance.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was still en route to Zenyu Star.

    During this time, countless people on Zenyu Star were busily trying to discover why Lu Yin had suddenly decided to call a morning meeting.

    Quite a number of people had gathered outside of King Zishan''s pce and even the princess¡¯s home. In addition, many people tried to meet with Wendy Yushan to obtain more information, and even Wei Rong, En Ya, and Huan Sha were trying to find out more information.

    The leaders of the other weaves even held meetings of their own to discuss Lu Yin¡¯s unexpected announcement.

    Lu Yin had never expected that this decision of his to hold a meeting would end up having such wide-spread effects.

    Soon after, Lu Yin appeared outside the imperial pce on Zenyu Star. It had been quite some time since he hadst visited this ce.

    This pce was not as simple as it appeared to be. There was a sourcebox array within the pce that had been hidden there by an elder from the Yu family.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how powerful that sourcebox array was, but he was absolutely certain that it could deal with powerhouses whose power levels were in the several hundred thousands at least, and possibly even Envoys.

    All thirteen captains of the Imperial Squadrons who were still on Zenyu Star were present inside the main hall of the pce with the exception of Smoker. Cai Jianqiang also joined the meeting as the newly appointed captain of the Thirteenth Squadron.

    In the great hall, there were ministers from the Imperial Cab, the Lu Ministry of Staff, and the Lu Ministry of Defense. Wei Rong was also present, and everyone silently stood there, waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin soon arrived within the main hall.

    ¡°Greetings, Royal Regent,¡± everyone respectfully greeted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over all of them. ¡°You may rise.

    ¡°I know that all of you want to know why I suddenly called this meeting. It¡¯s very simple: I came across a burning spacecraft two days ago¡­¡± Lu Yin slowly shared the incident that he hade across with everyone.

    The expressions of some of the ministers in the hall grew thoughtful while others looked panicked.

    ¡°Your Highness, there are countlesss within the empire, and there are too many independent cultivators for us to keep all of them under control,¡± a minister respectfully tried to exin.

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°The Great Yu Empire has recently united Frostwave Weave, and I understand that it¡¯s impossible for everything to be perfect. However, there are certain things that we must prioritize. The independent cultivators within the Great Yu Empire must be controlled. If any of the independent cultivators were to deliberately take destructive actions, we would suffer incredible losses. With that in mind, how long would it take for us to get all the independent cultivators under control?¡±

    The minister hesitantly replied, ¡°At least twenty years.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Twenty years is way too long. Many governments in other parts of the universe have their own methods to deal with this problem. Although the empire has expanded rapidly in recent times, there are many other ces that have been in a simr situation. How has this not been noticed until now?¡±

    The minister was shocked, and he immediately knelt down. ¡°Please forgive me, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°You can stand up, and I don¡¯t me you. It¡¯s been a very short time since the empire united Frostwave Weave, so it¡¯s normal that there would be some things that aren¡¯t perfect. Still, we have to solve this quickly. Tell me how many resources you¡¯ll need, and I¡¯ll get them to you. However, you must solve this problem as quickly as possible."

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± The minister let out a breath of relief and wiped away the sweat from his brow.

    ¡°Also,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly turned cold as he continued, saying, ¡°Find out who abandoned those independent cultivators. What boss would be so cruel as to leave ten thousand independent cultivators to die? I¡¯m sure that there have been many simr events that have urred throughout the empire, so look into it. Everyone who¡¯s done something like this will be put on trial for murder.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± the ministers all answered.

    Lu Yin was satisfied with their responses. ¡°This is the first item on the agenda for today. The second thing is that we need to stop the regional wars. I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re just some local wars over a single or inteary wars. As long as it takes ce anywhere within the Great Yu Empire, it needs to be monitored by the empire. Whenever a war breaks out, the people who suffer are the citizens of the empire.

    ¡°I remember that one of the empire¡¯s funds was set up to prevent inteary wars. Aren¡¯t we using that?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes became icy. ¡°Or did somebody use it for something else?¡±

    This question shocked Gavin. ¡°Your Highness, the empire has expanded too quickly while the budget for that particr fund is still being determined by old calctions. It is difficult to find the money to make up for what is needed. I hope that Your Highness can allow me some more time.¡±

    ¡°How long do you need?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Gavin considered the question. ¡°I can guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to raise the necessary funds within a year.¡±

    ¡°Fine. You have a year,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Gavin was relieved.

    ¡°Alright, moving on to the third item: I want to ensure fairness regarding the allocation of resources within the empire,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Lu Yin ended up being the person who spoke the most during this meeting. He said a lot, and most of it was rted to cultivation. Although the strategies that he proposed were notplicated political ns, they would still be very effective as cultivation was the foundation of the universe.

    Had Lu Yin gained all this power just for himself? He had deeply considered much over the previous two days. What did the regr citizens of the Great Yu Empire want? Many people just wanted to stay alive. Thus, if the independent cultivators were not controlled, then who would protect the regr citizens? Most regional wars broke out due to conflicts concerning profit, but only a small minority stood to gain anything from those wars. Meanwhile, themoners were always the ones to suffer.

    The empire¡¯s control over its territory was not sufficient, and Lu Yin had to set up proper paths for people to progress so that the independent cultivators could focus their efforts on cultivation.

    In the beginning, Lu Yin had no choice but to rely on the leaders of powerful political factions in order to run the empire smoothly. This was why he had given such people many government positions. But now, he now needed to recruit more independent cultivators in order to avoid certain factions monopolizing power.

    People wished for fairness in their lives, but that was something that was almost impossible to achieve. Therefore, Lu Yin hoped to at least be able to create a rtively fair environment.

    Once they had a goal, cultivators would have no need to participate in small-scale skirmishes that were against the empire¡¯sws.

    He had only realized the problems that a ruler faced after bing a ruler himself.

    However, he could not implement everything simultaneously. Thus, he decided to take things slowly.

    Lu Yin rubbed his temples within King Zishan''s pce.

    Zhao Ran served him a cup of the thick tea. It still had a scary appearance of that thick, green liquid.

    Lu Yin took a sip; the taste of the tea was not bad despite itsck of visual appeal.

    Zhao Ran was very happy that her tea was a sess. There were times when Lu Yin even envied her, as she had no worries. Even if she did, she would very quickly forget them.

    ¡°Your Highness, someone is asking to meet with you,¡± Kayze said.

    Lu Yin gave a tired answer, ¡°Let her in.¡±

    Ah Ya entered. ¡°Greetings, Royal Regent.¡±

    Lu Yin motioned for the girl to sit.

    Ah Ya had an uneasy expression as she sat down. She had heard about the government meeting, and she had a feeling that the Great Yu Empire was about to experience some massive changes. Some people were about to bepletely out of luck.

    ¡°I have a question for you.¡± Lu Yin looked at Ah Ya and calmly asked, ¡°Is the news affected by money?¡±

    Ah Ya was stunned. She shot up to her feet. ¡°Your Highness, this-¡±

    Lu Yin waved again. ¡°Sit down. I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    Ah Ya became nervous, and she slowly replied, ¡°No, no. It¡¯s not affected by money.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Really? Then why haven¡¯t you guys ever reported any of the regional wars? Don¡¯t tell me that the empire is so peaceful that there are never any internal wars. In fact, your hometown should be at war at this very moment, and an inteary war at that.¡±

    Ah Ya did not answer.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°I understand that the media has to earn money too. Money is very powerful.¡±

    Ah Ya gritted her teeth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. Not only are you controlled by money, but also by power. What if I provided you with both money and power? Would you dare to ept it?¡± Lu Yin focused on Ah Ya as he said these words.

    Ah Ya was shocked, but she had no idea what Lu Yin wanted.

    Actually, Lu Yin was not entirely sure what he was doing either. The existence of those constant, small skirmishes had angered him, as he felt like he had been lied to. However, he was also unable to me anyone for this. It was impossible for every minor matter to be reported to him.

    Even the intelligence organizations had not seen the need to report these minor incidents to Lu Yin. Thus, he could only rely on the media.

    Once exposed by the media, certain matters could be easily controlled.

    Ah Ya epted Lu Yin¡¯s proposal. And with her eptance, the mediapany that she worked for would be financially supported by the Great Yu Empire, and Lu Yin even made her a member of the Second Imperial Squadron, which gave her a direct line to Smoker. ¡°With this position, even the ministers of the Imperial Cab won¡¯t dare to make any trouble for you. The Second Imperial Squadron will also send someone to protect you, so you can freely do whatever you want.¡±

    Ah Ya answered respectfully, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Your Highness. I understand.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. However, you also need to know that you can¡¯t abuse this authority to make things difficult for other people. Then, I would have to have other people make things very difficult for you,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Ah Ya instantly agreed.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought as he watched Ah Ya leave. He did not know if he had made the right choice, as there was a possibility that his decisions would lead to more chaos. However, this was also the only way he could fix this problem.

    It felt like there was a thin membrane separating the Great Yu Empire¡¯s top and bottomyers, and it was blocking Lu Yin from essing the bottomyer. This barrier was the source of the chaos, and Lu Yin had to pierce through this membrane if he wanted to truly unite the entire Great Yu Empire.

 Chapter 939: Strange Rumors And Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 939: Strange Rumors And Ruins</h4>

    Gaining control of all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s independent cultivators was a difficult task, and such widespread management was not Lu Yin¡¯s forte. He sent a message to Wang Wen, intending to just leave these matters to him in the future. Lu Yin¡¯s decisions over the past few days had felt more like venting.

    Wang Wen smiled when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s message. Although Lu Yin¡¯s methods were crude, Wang Wen could still see Lu Yin¡¯s determination to treat themon folk kindly, and the only way to do so was to gain control of the independent cultivators. It was good enough that the Royal Regent had such determination.

    The public had always believed that Lu Yin was a ruthless person who enjoyed warfare. Despite their prejudice, Lu Yin still treated them kindly and carefully protected the borders. He was a magnanimous person, which was why Wang Wen admired him and was willing to rely on him.

    Even Lu Yin did not know why he had be so angry over this incident, but Wang Wen was aware of the motivation behind the anger. The actions of these corrupt businessmen and independent cultivators had led to even more casualties than the interweave wars. In short, these people had vited Lu Yin¡¯s principles.

    Wang Wen looked up at the sky. He had stopped caring about predicting the future once he started following Lu Yin. Now, it would be up to fate to decide how history would record their achievements.

    Nobody had ever managed to unite the Outerverse before, but Wang Wen saw a glimmer of hope in Lu Yin. Wang Wen was feeling hopeful towards what the future would hold.

    Oh right, I almost forgot. Wang Wen immediately sent a message to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he read Wang Wen¡¯s message. How is this even possible?

    He immediately called Elder Lohar.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first call failed to connect to the elder, but he remained persistent.

    After half an hour, Elder Lohar picked up. He greeted Lu Yin with a weary voice. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what can I help you with?¡±

    Lu Yin stifled hisughter and cleared his throat. ¡°Elder, I heard that something strange showed up in Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Elder Lohar sounded annoyed when he answered. ¡°Wang Wen must have been the one who told you about this.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°So is there really something strange? I heard that even you suffered from it¡ªis this true?¡±

    Elder Lohar sighed. ¡°It¡¯s true; I was stepped on.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°What stepped on you?¡±

    Elder Lohar hesitated. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I can tell you, but you can¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Elder Lohar coughed and hesitated before answering, ¡°A rabbit.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I was stepped on by a rabbit covered in lightning. I couldn¡¯t even touch it,¡± Elder Lohar spoke angrily. He thought that Lu Yin wouldugh after hearing about this matter, but instead, the youth¡¯s expression grew serious. A rabbit, a rabbit¡­ It must be that rabbit!

    After Lu Yin sessfullypleted a lockbreaking session on the Savage Ape, a nine headed savage ape had emerged and nearly killed everyone present. But then, a rabbit suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stomped on the ape. That rabbit stomp had stunned the nine headed savage ape, which had been on par with an Enlighter, and Lu Yin had also managed to use his die to copy the rabbit¡¯s innate gift. Heter used that lightning to kill a Hunter realm powerhouse who had ambushed him.

    That rabbit had left a strong impression on Lu Yin.

    That rabbit was definitely extremely powerful since it had stunned that nine headed savage ape with a single kick. Lu Yin did not expect the rabbit to reappear after so many years, and it had even stomped on Elder Lohar. That rabbit would truly step on anything.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you don¡¯t seem very surprised by this,¡± Elder Lohar said.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I¡¯ve seen that rabbit before.¡±

    He then told the elder about the incident on Savage Ape.

    Elder Lohar said, ¡°I didn¡¯t even have any time to react after being stepped on by that rabbit, so it¡¯s very normal for it to have stunned a nine headed savage ape. I¡¯m telling you this to remind you to be careful¡ªa third of the Outerverse is under your control, and that rabbit might reappear.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Elder, do you think that this rabbit is from the Astral Beast Domain?¡±

    Elder Lohar replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It seems to have appeared from thin air.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed with Elder Lohar. If the rabbit was from the Astral Beast Domain, then it wouldn¡¯t have done something so random.

    ¡°Actually, the rabbit¡¯s most powerful skill is its lightning, which has transformed and contains an indescribable strength. Let¡¯s move on from this topic and not talk about that rabbit anymore¡ªis there anything else that I can help you with, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± Elder Lohar asked.

    Lu Yin chatted with Elder Lohar for a while and then hung up.

    Lu Yin wanted to see that rabbit again, and it would be even better if he could copy its innate gift again with his die. Since even Elder Lohar was shocked by the strength of that rabbit¡¯s lightning, it had to be very powerful. In fact, it should be enough to deal with powerhouses whose power levels were higher than 300,000.

    Lu Yin no longer gave the incident with the rabbit any further thought. It had just been a surprising bit of news.

    At the same time, Wei Rong was busy getting in contact with Zi Xianxian.

    Wei Rong, En Ya, and Wang Wen had be Lu Yin¡¯s advisors for his expansion ns. Thus, he told the three of them whenever there was someone who could be made use of. That way, his advisors would have the same resources as him.

    At this time, Wei Rong¡¯s goal was to gain Zi Fang¡¯s help.

    Lu Yin had promised to help Zi Fang be the Zi family patriarch. However, since Zi Fang was the only heir at the moment, there was no question about him eventually inheriting the position of patriarch. Thus, he had not cared about Lu Yin¡¯s promise.

    Nevertheless, Lu Yin still needed to ess the ssified information that was in Amethyst Exchange¡¯s possession. Thus, he had given this task to Wei Rong, as he was the best at plotting and scheming.

    Wei Rong did not disappoint Lu Yin, and the first thing that he did was contact Zi Xianxian.

    Wei Rong had never spoken with Zi Xianxian before, so Zi Xianxian did not know who was calling her.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Zi Xianxian had been sunbathing in her courtyard as she answered the call.

    ¡°I¡¯m Wei Rong.¡±

    Zi Xianxian frowned. ¡°Wei Rong? Why did you call me?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to ask, what does Miss Xianxian think about bing the head of the Zi family?¡± Wei Rong asked.

    Zi Xianxian¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. It¡¯s just that the Alliance Leader feels that he¡¯s quite close to Miss Xianxian. Thus, if Miss Xianxian took control of the Zi family in the future, it would be much better for him. As such, he sent me to check in with you,¡± Wei Rong exined.

    Zi Xianxian answered, ¡°Tell Alliance Leader Lu that he doesn¡¯t need to worry about the Zi family¡¯s affairs. He¡¯s already a shareholder of Amethyst Exchange, and he can ess all of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s records. There¡¯s no need for him to do these underhanded things.¡± She then immediately hung up.

    Although Lu Yin had helped resolve the Zi family¡¯s crisis, Zi Xianxian was still very unhappy with Lu Yin as the Zi family had been forced to pay a price to resolve the issue. She did not want to interact with Lu Yin anymore than she had to at this time.

    Wei Rong also hung up, perfectly satisfied. He had expected as much from Zi Xianxian, and this was fine since he had no real ns to groom Zi Xianxian.

    In a residence on Skylush, Zi Fang nced at his gadget and received a huge surprise. He had always been wary of Zi Xianxian, and someone had just sent him a report, informing him that Lu Yin of the Great Eastern Alliance had revealed the intention to help Zi Xianxian inherit the position of the Zi family matriarch. This information stunned Zi Fang.

    The Zi family was not what it had been in the past. Since their crisis had been resolved by Lu Yin, the contest to be the head of the Zi family would definitely involve Lu Yin as well.

    It would still be alright if Lu Yin did not interfere, but if he did, then Zi Fang¡¯s chances of sess would definitely drop precipitously. Zi Xianxian had given Lu Yin a small number of shares of Amethyst Exchange¡¯s Zenyu Star branch, and she had even given him some information before. Thus, Zi Fang was not surprised that Lu Yin would support Zi Xianxian.

    Zi Fang started to panic. He could not lose his position as the first heir of the Zi family.

    Suddenly, he remembered what Lu Yin had said. As long as Zi Fang found out what Amethyst Exchange was looking for in the Outerverse, Lu Yin would guarantee that Zi Fang the position of the Zi family¡¯s patriarch.

    Zi Fang had not cared about that promise before, but now, he would have to find a way to aplish the task that Lu Yin had given him. If Lu Yin truly supported Zi Xianxian instead of Zi Fang, then the elder brother would be in trouble. Even though the sessorship was an internal matter of the Zi family, Zi Fang knew that Lu Yin would still be able to interfere.

    Zi Fang was a very stubborn person. He could fight with Zi Xianxian over the position of the Zi family head, and he had even casually cut his ties with Zi Rong. These actions proved that Zi Fang was a stubborn man, and a stubborn person could do anything.

    To win over Lu Yin¡¯s support, Zi Fang decided that he would sneak into Zi Tianchuan¡¯s secret room once more. That was where the Zi family¡¯s most sensitive information was kept, and only the Zi family patriarch had the right to ess that room.

    Zi Tianchuan protected that hidden room very well, and Mr. Tradeo would never be far from it either.

    Fortunately, the Zi family had been afflicted by too many incidents recently, and the protection surrounding the secret room had be morex as well. If not for that, Zi Fang would have no chances of sneaking in.

    When he entered, Zi Fang excitedly read the secret information on the scrolls in the secret room. He did not dare take any pictures, and he left as soon as possible.

    Once he arrived in his own quarters, Zi Fang anxiously contacted Lu Yin.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, will you still honor your former promise?¡± Zi Fang asked nervously.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°What promise?¡±

    Zi Fang quickly reminded Lu Yin. ¡°You said that, as long as I provided you with information about the Zi family¡¯s secret mission, you would support me in bing the patriarch.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Of course. Did you find it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The Zi family is supported by Gods'' Origin, which is from the Neoverse, to search for certain information here in the Outerverse. However, the mission of searching for that information is actually just a cover, as Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s true goal is for the Zi family to find the locations of the Rune Technology¡¯s ruins,¡± Zi Fang said.

    Lu Yin leaped to his feet. ¡°Rune Technology?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was an ancient civilization, though I¡¯m not sure about the details since it was not recorded in any history books. However, the civilization existed for a very short period of time, making it very rare to find any ruins of Rune Technology in the universe. Gods'' Origin tasked the Zi family to search for these ruins many years ago, but we¡¯ve only found four ruins so far,¡± Zi Fang continued.

    ¡°Where are those four ruins?¡± Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    Zi Fang replied, ¡°Are you interested, Alliance Leader Lu? In that case, it¡¯s unfortunate as all four of those ruins were all directly moved to the Neoverse directly by Gods'' Origin. They are no longer in the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed, as he was quite dedicated to his pursuit of Rune Technology as well.

    The Rune Civilization had been a short-lived civilization developed by the Rune Progenitor. Although they onlysted for a brief period of time, they had been extremely powerful, to the point where no one had dared to record them in history.

    Progenitor Chen had been extremely powerful, and his strength had even scared the Sixth Maind. One of the cornerstones of his strength was his personally developed Nine Clones Technique, which had made him invincible throughout the universe. That technique allowed him to create nine clones of himself, which was equivalent to nine Progenitor powerhouses. Thus, he had been someone who the Sixth Maind did not dare to record in their history.

    As for the Rune Progenitor, most people in the Sixth Maind had never even heard of that Progenitor, and the powerhouse had be an existence that was essentially a legend.

    The Rune Progenitor had developed a civilization that was hard to understand, but if one could understand the slightest bit about them, they would essentially gain a secret technique. This was the scariest detail of the Rune Civilization.

    Lu Yin had managed to reach the rity realm of Truesight while in the Innerverse, and he hoped toprehend even more of the technique.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to be the only person who had ever obtained an inheritance rted to Rune Technology. Since Gods¡¯ Origin was also looking for Rune Technology ruins, it meant that they had likely obtained an inheritance of the Rune Civilization as well, and some of their members might have also learned Truesight.

 Chapter 940: Removal And Creation

    <h4>Chapter 940: Removal And Creation</h4>

    There was one other important detail: Lu Yin had reached the Opened Eyes stage of Truesight from the Sky tform in the Astral Combat Academy. He had also heard rumors saying that some of the Ten Arbiters had also climbed to the peak of the Sky tform in the past. Given all of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ high talent, whoever had climbed the Sky tform had also likely reached the rity realm, or perhaps an even higher one.

    There had to be others who were also looking for Rune Technology ruins.

    If there were Rune Technology ruins in the Innerverse, then Lu Yin might not be able to defeat the other people searching for them. However, if anything was in the Outerverse, then it would definitely belong to him.

    ¡°The Zi family has only found four ruins after all these years?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Fang fell silent.

    Lu Yin grew excited. ¡°Tell me the truth. Not only can I help you be the Zi family patriarch, but I can also help the Zi family return to being one of the four great conglomerates of the Outerverse once more. In fact, The Zi family will be the only intelligencework in the entire Outerverse.¡±

    Zi Fang¡¯s eyes lit up. He hesitated for a moment, but then he gritted his teeth. ¡°Actually, the Zi family found a fifth ruin about a hundred years ago. However, we didn¡¯t share this information with Gods'' Origin as my father wanted to use the location of these ruins as a bargaining chip to have Gods'' Origin take us into the Innerverse. The Zi family is fed up with staying in the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. Zi Tianchuan was too ambitious. All Rune Technology ruins were extremely important, and there had to be someone else helping Gods'' Origin search for ruins in the Innerverse. Moreover, they might have found even more ruins in the Innerverse. Thus, it was impossible for Gods'' Origin to agree to Zi Tianchuan¡¯s demands.

    ¡°Your father must not have negotiated with Gods'' Origin yet, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Fang was curious. ¡°How did you know that, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    ¡°If you had negotiated with them, the Zi family would have disappeared a hundred years ago,¡± Lu Yin spoke confidently.

    Zi Fang sighed. ¡°The location of the fifth ruin is my Zi family¡¯s greatest secret. Alliance Leader Lu, I can tell you the precise location, but I hope that you can promise to not do anything detrimental to me provided that I don¡¯t betray you. Also, you must ensure that I will be my family¡¯s patriarch. These are my conditions for helping you.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly agreed. To him, the Zi family¡¯s greatest value was in providing information for him. He did not care if Zi Fang or Zi Xianxian was in charge of the family, as long as they continued to provide him with information.

    Although it appeared that Lu Yin was closer to Zi Xianxian, that had been before Zi Rong¡¯s death. Now, Zi Xianxian had no more good feelings towards him.

    The location of the ruins ended up being very close to Armament Weave, and it actuallyy between two weaves. That region had an unstable cosmological phenomenon surrounding it at all times. Thus, most spacecraft typically avoided the area, making it a deste location.

    Lu Yin immediately headed out the moment he received the exact coordinates. There weren¡¯t any pressing issues for him to deal with in the Great Yu Empire or the Great Eastern Alliance. Additionally, everything that Lu Yin wanted to do was impossible for him at the moment, such as the situation regarding Undying Yushan.

    He had also received the profits from thest Lu''s Grand Auction, whichted him almost 450,000 star essence. Before Endless Weave¡¯s invasion, such an amount would have been an astronomical sum to Lu Yin since he had been rtively poor during that time. Even though he had more than two million star essence now, it was still arge sum.

    This was just what he had received after everything was tallied up. The auction house itself had also earned arge sum, and they also belonged to Lu Yin.

    The auction house¡¯s profits had initially been earmarked for the auction house¡¯s operational costs, but Lu Yin ordered Bei Qing to use that money to start a charity foundation under his name: the Lu Charity. Lu Yin also personally donated tens of thousands of star essence to the foundation.

    Suddenly, the Lu Charity became an enormous charity even on the scale of the entire Outerverse.

    How much was tens of thousands of star essence? It could be converted to an almost infinite amount of universal currency that could then be used to improve an astronomical number of people¡¯s lives.

    Ny nine percent of the money in the universe was held in the hands of a select few people while the hoi polloi shared the remaining one percent. Thus, an insignificant percentage of Lu Yin¡¯s wealth could change countless people¡¯s lives.

    It was just a small gesture, and cultivation was still Lu Yin¡¯s ultimate goal.

    Lu Yin had learned from his ambushst time, when he had headed out alone to investigate that mysterious source of heat. Thus, he preemptively put on his universal armor and even made sure that he could take out his walnut at any time. With his current equipment, he felt certain that, even if Zi Fang was working together with the Neohuman Alliance, he would still be able to escape unscathed.

    Lu Yin was quite paranoid about this trip even though the incident with Zi Rong had caused the Hall of Honor to conduct a thorough investigation into the Zi family. They would have definitely found out if Zi Fang was working with the Neohuman Alliance or not.

    Lu Yin only became certain that the ruins were real when he saw the unstable cosmic phenomenon, as it was actually a swirling mass of runes. Additionally, it was very simr to the cosmic phenomenon currently covering the Innerverse. However, in this case, it simply covered a small region of space.

    Lu Yin did not know what effect this cosmic phenomenon had, so to be prudent, he removed his universal armor and suppressed his power level to under 10,000 before slowly entering the region with the cosmic phenomenon.

    He entered fine, so he slowly raised his power level while nervously keeping an eye on the cosmic phenomenon. The phenomenon remained the same and continued swirling above him in an unstable manner.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. This was his first time interacting with a Rune Technology ruin, and he didn¡¯t know what function those runes served. However, he would be happy as long as they did not erase his existence.

    Rune Technology was truly amazing. Even though Lu Yin had the walnut, he was not confident in his ability to sessfully escape from a remnant power of the Rune Civilization. When facing this unknown power, he was extremely nervous.

    The Rune Technology ruins was actually a destroyed city floating through space. There was nond under it and nothing supporting it. It was just a small, abandoned city floating through the universe.

    Lu Yin slowly walked into the city. His sight was greeted by rows of abandoned buildings. As he walked, he made sure to not step on anything. Every time he took a step, a group of runes would appear under his feet and hold him up. The entire city was supported by runes.

    Meanwhile, ck mes asionally flitted through the sky, making it look like the city had been burned by ck mes.

    Theyout of the city was very simple. The houses were built out of an unknown material, but it was likely very sturdy since it was able to survive in space without any assistance. However, due to the great deal of time that had passed, the houses crumbled the moment Lu Yin touched any of them.

    Lu Yin obviously wasn¡¯t the only person to have visited this ce, as he could clearly see that a few houses had been recently destroyed by other people.

    It wasn¡¯t hard to enter the city, but it was difficult to find. One could reach this ce as long as they passed through the cosmic phenomenon, though most people would not dare to do such a thing. The cosmic phenomenon looked quite scary from the outside, and the rune lines that Lu Yin had seen were nearlyparable to a peak Hunter¡¯s.

    Any spacecraft that approached the cosmic phenomenon would detect a power level ranging between 190,000 to 200,000, which was a very high power level for the Outerverse. Thus, it made sense why nobody dared to approach such a thing.

    Although the city was not veryrgepared to the cities that Lu Yin had seen before, it was about the size of a normal country on Earth.

    Lu Yin saw a knife in the corner of the abandoned city that hadin there for countless years. Its surface was pockmarked, but there was not a single hint of rust to be found.

    When he picked it up, his eyes shed. This was not a normal knife, as it had been formed from rune lines, which was why it had not rusted despite the passage of countless ages. However, the runes that formed the knife had slowly disappeared over the years, which had led to its pockmarked appearance. Perhaps after tens of thousands more years, the knife would simply cease to exist, not even leaving a trace behind.

    Lu Yin furrowed his brows. He was able to reduce his enemy¡¯s rune lines, but this knife indicated that it was also possible to gather runes and form any object that he desired. This was no longer something that belonged to the realm of battle. This was¡ªcreation.

    Could runes truly create? Was it possible to create an entire person? A living creature? Or even a civilization?

    Lu Yin could notprehend such concepts, as it far exceeded his understanding.

    Theoretically, ording to the civilization created by the Rune Progenitor, everything in the universe was formed by runes. Therefore, it was possible to remove certain runes or even cause certain things to cease existing. Simrly, it was also possible to use runes to create certain items. This was the power of Rune Technology.

    This idea still made sense for Rune Technology. However, everyone knew that something could not be created from nothing. Otherwise, the universe would have descended into chaos long ago. No human was able to create on their own, not even Progenitor realm powerhouses. Thus, Lu Yin also did not think that anyone had the power to create something from nothing.

    However, what he was currently looking at was definitely real. The knife had truly been formed from rune lines, and he could clearly see that the knife consisted of runes. This meant that the other artifacts in the Rune Technology ruins might also be made of runes.

    How did Rune Technology actually work?

    rity was only the foundation of Rune Technology.

    Lu Yin wanted to know how Rune Technology experts had fought against each other in the past; could they have truly created items out of nothing?

    ¡°Monkey, what do you know about Rune Technology?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The monkey replied, ¡°Not much. However, ording to the memoirs of a powerhouse, Rune Technology belonged to a civilization that should have never existed. This civilization was too astounding. Normally civilizations either focus on cultivation, technology, or remain primitive. But despite that limitation, the Rune Civilization was able to achieve everything, and it was slightly simr to human civilizations where cultivation coexisted alongside technology. However, they had one major difference, which was that the Rune Civilization focused more on creation than on research, but I don¡¯t really know the details.

    ¡°The mostmon saying that people know about Rune Technology is ¡®a sky covered by another sky.¡¯¡±

    A sky covered by another sky; Lu Yin didn¡¯t understand what this saying meant. The sky of the Innerverse had been covered by the Rune Progenitor. Was that what that phrase was referring to? However, how could that be rted to creation?

    Lu Yin held the knife as he continued to wander deeper into the city. His domain spread out as he ventured inwards, but he was not able to find anything else that resembled the knife.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin leapt up and flew towards a corner of the city. He had discovered a strange building with his domain, and the building¡¯s style was quite different from the others.

    Eventually, Lu Yinnded in front of a strange looking building. There were many construction styles throughout the universe, and Lu Yin was unsure of what style this building fit into. However, the most prominent feature of this building was the pair of eyes carved onto the door of the building; the pupils were made of runes.

    This was a very familiar sight. When one achieved the rity realm of Truesight, their pupils would transform into runes.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and pressed it against the door. He then exerted some strength and pushed the door, but it still did not budge. He continued pushing harder and harder, but it refused to move. Lu Yin¡¯s domain had been blocked from entering the building, so he could not investigate further unless he opened this door.

 Chapter 941: Obsession And Half A Statue

    <h4>Chapter 941: Obsession And Half A Statue</h4>

    Lu Yin pressed both of his hands against the door and pushed with a great deal of strength. However, he still wasn¡¯t able to open it. Refusing to believe it, Lu Yin suddenly erupted with Seventy Stacks as he pressed both of his hands against the door. However, despite using his full power, there still wasn¡¯t any indication of the door budging.

    This door was able to withstand a level of strength that was still beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities.

    Since he could not open the door, Lu Yin tried to make his way in through the surrounding walls. After so many years had passed, perhaps the walls had weakened.

    However, reality proved him wrong, as the surrounding walls simrly could not be breached.

    Just as Lu Yin was pondering how he could enter the building, he suddenly turned around and looked into the distance; two clusters of rune lines were approaching him. They were both Hunters.

    Lu Yin immediately hid himself.

    Soon, the two figuresnded and searched through the area. ¡°Strange, we clearly felt some energy over here,¡± one of the two spoke.

    The other gloomily answered, ¡°Someone was definitely here, as that de was taken.¡±

    ¡°The energy vanished, which means that this person is trying to hide themselves. Thus, he must have discovered us. Immediately contact the patriarch! This ce cannot be exposed.¡±

    Just as he finished uttering those words, a ck shadow shed before him. After that, the light left his eyes, and he copsed onto the ground.

    The other Hunter was overwhelmed by what had just happened, and he whirled around. However, before he could even process anything, his neck was tightly grabbed by a hand.

    ¡°Who are you guys?¡± Lu Yin said. He had already masked his appearance.

    The Hunter¡¯s face flushed red, and he grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hand as he attempted to break free, causing Lu Yin to frown. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you once more¡ªwho are you guys?¡±

    ¡°We- we are from the Great Eastern Alliance, under Alliance Leader Lu. If you dare move against us, then you¡¯ll die miserably!¡± The Hunter struggled as he red at Lu Yin.

    The youth was amused. It seemed that people in the Outerverse now threatened others by saying that they were from the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin did not know if he should feel honored or angry, but he fiercely mmed the Hunter into the ground. The powerhouse¡¯s mouth fell open, and fresh blood sprayed out as he wailed in agony.

    Lu Yin kicked the man as he ordered, ¡°Last chance. Tell me where you¡¯re from, or I¡¯ll kill you. I can still just ask him.¡± As he spoke, he nced at the Hunter who had fallen unconscious.

    The Hunter was terrified. ¡°We- we really are under Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand and prepared to p down.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk!¡± the Hunter quickly spoke up. ¡°We¡¯re from Amethyst Exchange! We were given orders to protect this ce and kill anyone who entered.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm stopped just a centimeter away from the man¡¯s forehead, and his eyes shed as he withdrew his hand.

    The situation turned out to be exactly what he had guessed. Since Zi Tianchuan had discovered these ruins, then how could he not have sent some guards? Although not many people could find this ce, there was no shortage of risk-takers in the universe, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning people who were trying to hide from their enemies. Those kinds of people had a rtively decent chance of stumbling upon this ce.

    ¡°Is it just you two here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    That person fearfully replied, ¡°There¡¯s five of us, all Hunters.¡±

    This was a sizable protective detail. It had to be acknowledged that, back when Undying Yushan had ruled the Great Yu Empire, the empire had not held more than five Hunters at once even when the emperor himself was factored in. Additionally, the empire had been the strongest force in Frostwave Weave at that time. The guiding powers of the other weaves did not have many Hunters either, but Zi Tianchuan had actually sent five of them to protect this ce. This showed just how greatly he valued these ruins.

    Also, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something; Skylush was located fairly close to this ce, and it was in an ideal position to dispatch reinforcements at any moment.

    In the Outerverse, this amount of strength could be considered absolute.

    Lu Yin knocked the Hunter unconscious and thenbed through the small city in search of the three remaining Hunters. He knocked them all unconscious and then tied them up. He was not cold-blooded. There was no need to kill them, but he had to restrain them at the very least.

    Having taken care of the Zi family¡¯s guards, Lu Yin returned to the strange building and felt a headache develop since he still had not thought of a way for him to enter. The secrets of this city were likely contained inside this ce.

    Lu Yin tried several more times, but he really could not enter the building. He began considering all his options, and he even wondered if he should borrow Yuan Shi¡¯s strength.

    Strangely, as he continued to stare at therge door and at the pair of eyes carved atop it, a bulb seemed to light up in his brain. His pupils transformed into runes as he stared into the door¡¯s eyes. At that moment, time seemed to start flowing in reverse. The door remained the same, but the surroundings started changing. The other buildings were steadily restored, and at one point, two figures could be seen having an intense battle in the sky.

    Lu Yin was not able to see the fight clearly, but he could tell that one of the figures had a deranged smile. That person opened their hands, causing a knife to gradually form, manifesting from nothing. Then, the opposing figure fiercely charged out. The intensity of their battle was something rarely seen, and everything in sight was sliced apart.

    As the scene of their battle grew blurry, Lu Yin saw one of them create a knife several times. Then, the sky regained its light, and the city hadpletely changed by now. The scenery became vibrant, and there were many people leading normal lives. However, time continued to flow backwards.

    The scenery changed once again, and Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled as everything that he had seen so far vanished. At that moment, therge door slowly opened.

    At this point, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes began to ache with pain, and he rubbed at them vigorously. However, the pain persisted. He decided to just ignore it as he slowly entered the building.

    The contents of the building left Lu Yin disappointed. He had assumed that there would be something rted to Rune Technology inside, such as a secret rted to their battle style or the cultivation technique for Truesight. Instead, this building was simply the location where the masses had prayed. There was a statue at the very front, but the upper half had disappeared; only the lower half remained, towering high.

    Lu Yin slowly walked through the room, passing by rows ofrge seats. After a bit, he turned around and squinted.

    The seats were filled with skeletons that were still in a position of prayer.

    He hastened his steps forward and quickly rose into the air before looking back again. Within the building, there were skeletons in all of the seats. Some were adults, some children, and there were even some infants. All of these skeletons were in a posture of prayer, and they had clearly maintained this posture for an unknown amount of time before eventually all dying here.

    Lu Yin could not imagine how firm one¡¯s willpower had to be to do such a thing. Could these people have known that they were going to die, chosen to not escape, and purposefully continued praying in such a fashion?

    He then looked at the statue. Did just one statue possess so much strength that it had caused all these people to continue praying even when they were about to die?

    Lu Yin descended back to the ground and slowly approached the statue. Whose statue was this? Had it been a statue of the city¡¯s ruler? Or could it have been¡ªthe Rune Progenitor?

    To the Rune Civilization, their universal god had been the Rune Progenitor. This statue had most likely been of the Rune Progenitor, as only the Rune Progenitor would have been viewed in such a godly image that these people would pray to that person¡¯s image until the moment of their deaths.

    Lu Yin stood in front of the statue and looked at it silently. The glory of a person¡¯s life determined howplicated their historical records would be. However, history had not even dared to leave a record of the Rune Progenitor; that person¡¯s mere existence had been rejected by time.

    If Lu Yin had not cultivated Truesight, then he would not have been able to fathom the existence of such a person. This person had been capable of creating objects from nothing, their mere existence had caused an entire era to be erased. This person had even been the reason why so many people had prayed until the moment of their deaths. Such a person should have never existed.

    Lu Yin stood there silently for a long time, his thoughts a mess. He did not even know what he was thinking about.

    In the end, he shook his head and let out a breath. There was no need to think too much; after all, the Rune Progenitor was a figure of ancient history. Their remnant spiritual force had also been dispersed by the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat, and Lu Yin was fated to never meet this person. Still, the Truesight ability that had been left behind by the Progenitor had greatly aided Lu Yin, and the ancient powerhouse could be considered as half a mentor to Lu Yin. It did not matter if this statue had or had not been of the Rune Progenitor; Lu Yin would simply treat it as such.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin took several steps back and slowly bowed. ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects and offers his gratitude to senior.¡±

    As Lu Yin uttered those words, therge door to the building suddenly mmed shut, and his expressionpletely changed. When he looked up, the void distorted as the skeletons in the building were swept away by an invisible gale and pulverized into a pile of dust that flew about the room before twisting within the void to form different scenes. Some of the scenes portrayed a leisurely life in the city, but others showed shocking disys of conquests. These scenes were possible what these dead people had seen during their lives.

    Suddenly, a crazedugh was heard. ¡°Sixth Maind, Sixth Maind! Hahaha, you bunch of fools! You¡¯ve all been fooled, fooled! Those monsters have fooled you, you bunch of fools. Hahaha¡­¡±

    Soon after, the dust vanished, and Lu Yin¡¯s vision returned to normal.

    The door across the room slowly opened once again. Lu Yin did not know if this was an illusion, but the inside of the building seemed a bit brighter than before, no longer quite as dim.

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at the statue once again, only to discover that it had also vanished into dust andpletely disappeared.

    Was this a lingering obsession that had been left behind by these ancient people? Lu Yin was not sure.

    When he swept his domain across the area, he saw that there was nothing else inside the building. Perhaps the only thing that this building had preserved was that one phrase.

    The Sixth Maind had been fooled, and¡­ by monsters?

    When Lu Yin stepped out of the building and closed the door, he noticed that the ache in his eyes had suddenly disappeared and that they felt normal once again.

    After looking around again, he suddenly thought of something and scanned his surroundings. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he pressed a hand against therge door and pushed with his full strength. However, it was of no use, as the door could not be pushed open.

    Then, his pupils turned into runes, and he stared at that pair of eyes again. Unfortunately, the scene from before did not resurface, though the massive door still opened.

    When he entered the building, he found that he could open the door from the inside. After testing this repeatedly, Lu Yin became ecstatic. It seemed that even the heavens were on his side.

    In the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Bard Weave, within Evenground Pce and beneath a pavilion at the base of a waterfall, Evenground Pce¡¯s leader, Mu Nichang, was sitting with her chin propped in a hand. She was staring at the distant waterfall with a very bored expression on her face. For a long time now, she had been stuck at the peak Hunter realm, and she did not know when she would be able to break through and be an Enlighter.

    There were too few Enlighters within the Great Eastern Alliance, and if she broke through, she would gain a bit more authority and have a louder voice.

    Currently, Lu Yin singlehandedly controlled the Great Eastern Alliance, and the words of those below the Enlighter realm did not carry much weight.

    At that moment, Doro arrived. ¡°Master, what are you thinking about?¡± She had broken through to the Explorer realm a year ago, and her strength had soared.

    Mu Nichang nced at her disciple. ¡°Nothing much.¡±

    The two women often sat in this pavilion together as they let their minds wander about. One thought of all the ways she could give up the position of Pce Master while the other racked her brain to not be forced into the position. If others knew what was going through thesedies¡¯ minds, they would have thought that something was wrong with both of them.

    Suddenly, Elder Meiya arrived, moving in a rush, which caused the two women to quickly sit up straight.

    ¡°Master, we¡¯ve obtained some information! Gu Yue¡¯s ruins have been discovered!,¡± Elder Meiya shouted anxiously.

    Mu Nichang and Doro were both puzzled. ¡°What Gu Yue?¡±

    Elder Meiya immediately activated her gadget and shared a bit of information on Gu Yue¡¯s history. The introduction was not very detailed, as most people did not even know Gu Yue¡¯s name. However, the information highlighted that he had been the person most likely to be a Progenitor, and his battle technique, Moonstar, was also specifically mentioned.

    ¡°In the heavens filled with moons, the stars fell, and only dust was left behind.¡± Moonstar was a battle technique that had cowed an entire generation.

    Battle techniques were as numerous as the stars, but those that were able to suppress an entire era were extremely rare. Most such battle techniques had been lost in the river of time. For example, Zhuo Daynight had been the only person in the Daynight n who had sessfully cultivated Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and that technique was also being hidden. The Daynight n¡¯s Nightking Zhenwu was an absolute genius, but even he had not been able to cultivate Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. A battle technique that could intimidate an era was clearly something that was extremely hard to cultivate. However, the more difficult it was to cultivate something, the greater its power would be once it was sessfully cultivated.

 Chapter 942: Attraction

    <h4>Chapter 942: Attraction</h4>

    The description of the Moonstar battle technique was very detailed, and Mu Nichang was intrigued.

    Doro¡¯s eyes were fervent as well. ¡°Elder, is this real?¡±

    Elder Meiya replied, ¡°There are multiple records about Gu Yue, and Moonstar was truly a battle technique that intimidated an era. However, I¡¯m not sure if these ruins are actually rted to Gu Yue.¡±

    Mu Nichang¡¯s expression grew grim. ¡°Who released the information about Gu Yue¡¯s ruins?¡±

    Elder Meiya shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Master, do you think that this is fake?¡± Doro asked.

    Mu Nichang¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°We still have to go even if it is fake. This news must have already spread throughout the entire Outerverse, and countless experts will head over there. Even if it¡¯s fake, we¡¯ll just have been tricked. Nobody has the ability to defeat all of the Outerverse¡¯s experts.¡±

    Elder Meiya agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right, you have to go. If you can obtain Moonstar, then Evenground Pce¡¯s position would drastically improve.¡±

    Mu Nichang nced at Elder Meiya. The Pce Master was not as optimistic as the elder. Even if the Moonstar battle technique was actually in those ruins, she might not be the one to ultimately obtain the technique. After all, there was still Lu Yin. Mu Nichang simply wanted to go and take a look to see if there were any other battle techniques within the ruins.

    Gu Yue was a legendary figure whose power level had exceeded a million. Obtaining any of his belongings would greatly improve Mu Nichang¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Other people are most likely already on their way.¡± Mu Nichang stood up.

    ¡­

    The head of the Suna Weave¡¯s Moke Sword Sect, Ke Yun, stood up and tore through the void to enter his spacecraft. He was also heading towards Gu Yue¡¯s ruins. People at his level were not stupid, and most of them were aware that this information was most likely false. However, they would make this trip even if everything was fake¡ªthey would bring forth their full effort for a chance to obtain anything rted to Gu Yue, even if those chances were miniscule.

    ¡­

    Gui Wuzong from the Shadowsword Sect, an elder from the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, Qiong Shanhai and Zhu Jie of Millions City: anyone who was confident in their strength made their way towards the ruins.

    On Skylush, Zi Tianchuan stared at his screen in confusion. How was the supposed location of Gu Yue¡¯s ruins the same ce as the Rune Technology ruins that the Zi family had discovered? That ce was clearly a Rune Technology ruin. How had it be Gu Yue¡¯s ruins? And who discovered that ce?

    He didn¡¯t believe that someone could find that ce through sheer coincidence. Moreover, he had even dispatched five Hunters to stand guard over the ruins, and one of them should have been able to inform Zi Tianchuan even if an Enlighter had stumbled across that ce. However, he had not received any news, which meant that the intruder had been well prepared.

    Zi Tianchuan suddenly thought of something. He immediately went to his secret room and stared at the ground in front of the room. Although no one else would be able to detect anything different, he could see that someone had recently entered the hidden room.

    Zi Tianchuan clenched his fists, and many people shed through his mind. Then, he finally switched on his gadget. ¡°Zi Fang,e to the ancestral home.¡±

    Zi Fang soon arrived, and he forced himself to be calm when he saw the fury in Zi Tianchuan¡¯s eyes. He bowed. ¡°Father, you called?¡±

    Zi Tianchuan red at Zi Fang with rage in his eyes. ¡°Why did you go into the secret room?¡±

    Zi Fang asked, ¡°What secret room?¡±

    Zi Tianchuan was furious, and he shattered a table. ¡±How dare you lie to me! Why did you go into the secret room? Who asked you to go in there, and who did you tell? Answer me!¡±

    Zi Fang intended to deny everything to the very end, but Zi Tianchuan¡¯s next words left the younger man terrified. ¡°If you refuse to admit it, then I¡¯ll strike your name from the family records. Don¡¯t think that you will definitely be the Zi family patriarch just because you are my only son.¡±

    Zi Fang¡¯s body turned cold. ¡°Father, why are you using me?¡±

    Zi Tianchuan shook his head. ¡°I have my own ways. I just want to know why you entered the secret room and who you told about the information in there. Don¡¯t tell me that you haven¡¯t seen the information about Gu Yue¡¯s ruins on thework.¡±

    Zi Fang lowered his head and considered many things.

    Zi Tianchuan sighed. ¡°That secret room contains the greatest secret of our Zi family. If anyone else knows about it, it could create terrible trouble for our family.¡±

    ¡°Gods'' Origin isn¡¯t the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Zi Fang refuted softly.

    Zi Tianchuan furiously retorted, ¡°¡®But they are still a major force that canpete with the Hall of Honor! The Hall of Honor controls both the Innerverse and Outerverse. Thus, telling the Hall of Honor would be the same as making the Zi family their enemy.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell the Hall of Honor. I only told Lu Yin,¡± Zi Fang immediately defended himself, but his heart fell the moment he finished speaking.

    Zi Tianchuan closed his eyes. ¡°So it really was Lu Yin.¡±

    Zi Fang¡¯s face went pale. He had not wanted to say anything, but Zi Tianchuan had threatened him with preventing him from bing the next patriarch. Zi Fang¡¯s only hope now was Lu Yin. However, the Zi family heir no longer knew how he would be able to face Lu Yin.

    Zi Tianchuan felt exhausted. ¡°Aside from Lu Yin, who else could force you to listen to them? What did he promise you?¡±

    Zi Fang stayed quiet.

    Zi Tianchuan sneered. ¡°He promised to make you the next patriarch, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    Zi Fang did not respond.

    Zi Tianchuan looked out the window. He was able to guess what Lu Yin had promised Zi Fang, and although Zi Tianchuan wanted to sneer and say that Lu Yin had no right to decide who led the Zi family, he was unable to say that out loud. Was there anything that Lu Yin was incapable of achieving in the Outerverse? So what if he asked Elder Li toe out? Lu Yin had the Hall of Honor¡¯s support. He could expose the Zi family¡¯s secrets, and even if the Hall of Honor did not move against the Zi family and deal with them like they did with the Neohuman Alliance, the family still would not have a good time.

    Zi Tianchuan had to admit that Zi Fang had found an excellent supporter. Lu Yin indeed had the right to interfere in the selection of the Zi family patriarch.

    ¡°Leave.¡± Zi Tianchuan was very tired, and he wearily waved a hand.

    Zi Fang slowly left. He was thinking about how he could convince Lu Yin to wholeheartedly support him. Thus, Zi Fang waspletely unconcerned with what was currently going through Zi Tianchuan¡¯s mind.

    The Zi family was one of the Outerverse¡¯s four great conglomerates. Even if they had declined, they were still extremely powerful, and the family¡¯s internal power struggle was even crueler than what urred in royal families. This generation was much better off, as Zi Fang and Zi Xianxian were the family¡¯s only heirs. Zi Tianchuan¡¯s generation had had more than ten siblings fighting for control, and Zi Tianchuan¡¯s journey to the position of the Zi family patriarch had not been smooth.

    The more powerful the family was, the more intense their power struggle. Zi Fang was used to such behavior, but Zi Tianchuan understood it even better.

    Zi Tianchuan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he read the description of Gu Yue¡¯s ruins. Why would Lu Yin spread a rumor that this ce was Gu Yue¡¯s ruins? What was that person trying to do? This news would lure out most of the Outerverse¡¯s experts; could Lu Yin be attempting something surprising at this time?

    Zi Tianchuan pondered over the matter and quickly called Zi Fang back. Zi Tianchuan ordered his son to remain quiet about this incident and forbade him from leaving the ancestral home. For this, the older man even confiscated his son¡¯s gadget.

    No matter what Lu Yin was nning, Zi Tianchuan intended to not interfere in any way. If he did anything, then there was arge chance that he would end up in trouble. Thus, the Zi family would simply pretend that nothing was happening.

    The Outerverse became more and more frantic as countless people gossiped about Gu Yue¡¯s ruins. Gu Yue suddenly became the most popr topic in the entire Outerverse.

    However, this onlysted for half a day, as the news concerning Gu Yue¡¯s ruins was quickly removed.

    Although the information had been taken down, countless spacecraft were already headed towards the ruins. People from the Great Eastern Alliance, central regions, western weaves, and members of the border defense who had requested permission to head to the ruins.

    Yuan Shi had also received this news. His expression wasplex, as Gu Yue had lived in a simr era as Yuan Shi, and he could even be considered the ancient powerhouse¡¯s senior. Yuan Shi had respected Gu Yue¡¯s talent and morals. Nobody knew how the man had ultimately died, and his death had be one of the universe¡¯s mysteries. However, his ruins had apparently appeared now.

    ¡°Yuan Shi, a number of people are requesting to leave the border¡¯s defenses to go to Gu Yue¡¯s ruins,¡± Elder Daggs respectfully informed Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi answered, ¡°Let them go.¡±

    Elder Daggs hesitated.

    Yuan Shi nced at the man. ¡°You want to go too?¡±

    Elder Daggs bowed low. ¡°I would be able to serve the Hall of Honor better if I could obtain Moonstar.¡±

    Yuan Shi answered, ¡°Go, if that is what you wish to do.¡±

    Elder Daggs was ted. ¡°Thank you, Yuan Shi.¡±

    It was possible that not even Lu Yin had expected so many people to be attracted to Gu Yue¡¯s ruins. However, this effect was precisely what he wanted. The more people that made the journey, the greater his odds of sess.

    He did not dare to reveal the truth concerning these ruins. If the truth that this was a Rune Technology ruin was exposed, then it was possible that even powerhouses like Yuan Shi would be interested. At that point, even Lu Yin would be unable to do anything.

    Lan Si also received the news. He simrly headed towards the ruins, as he was also interested in Moonstar. People like him would also never allow others to learn such a technique if they were unable to obtain it themselves. Lan Si was particrly mindful of Lu Yin.

    With the vast influence that Lu Yin wielded from controlling a third of the Outerverse, there was a high chance that he would obtain the battle technique, which Lan Si definitely could not allow to happen.

    Most people believed that Lu Yin would be their greatest obstacle in obtaining the legendary battle technique. Thus, when the information was released, most people specifically made it a point to find out more about Gu Yue before checking the recent news about Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, the Great Yu Empire had stated that Lu Yin was busy with training and that he would remain in seclusion for another month. Nobody dared to disturb him, which caused everyone to feel relieved.

    The ruins quickly became a bustling area when the first batch of people started arriving, which were the experts of the nearby Armament Weave as well as some people from the Wei family.

    Numerous spacecraft stopped in outer space near the cosmic phenomenon as countless silhouettes appeared within the city.

    Sounds of battle soon followed.

    With such arge number of people arriving all at once, conflicts soon broke out. The city had not seen this much activity in a very long time, and a rowdy atmosphere soon reced the previously creepy one.

    Hundreds of people arrived within a single day, and more yet were on their way.

    At this time, Lu Yin was hiding inside the building, and the building¡¯s door had grown slightlyrger. There were clear burn signs in certain parts, but the mes had not been able to cause the slightest bit of damage to the door. These were actually intentionally left behind by Lu Yin, and he had left his Skyze Stone just inside the door afterwards.

    There was only one reason why he had lured all these people here. He wanted to use the strength of the Outerverse to restore his Skyze Stone so that he could use it to cultivate again.

    It was very difficult to find high temperature mes even with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s influence. Even if someone within the Great Eastern Alliance had such mes, they might not be willing to hand them over. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s desperation had birthed this scheme.

    Lu Yin knew himself very well. The only thing greater than influence was personal power. This was the way of the universe. If Lu Yin did not have his impressive strength as his foundation, then he would have been nothing more than a second Wei Rong, someone destined to eventually be eliminated.

 Chapter 943: Firewood Gathered By A Crowd Makes a Bigger Fire

    <h4>Chapter 943: Firewood Gathered By A Crowd Makes a Bigger Fire</h4>

    Lu Yin slowly closed both of his eyes, as themotion in the city ruins was just getting started. He needed to wait a bit longer for more people to arrive.

    ¡­

    Ten dayster, the city could no longer be considered a ruin anymore. It had be a normal city, as tens of thousands of people had settled down within it. These people were mostly experts from various great powers, and the number of powers that had gathered here was not much less than what had been forcefully gathered to defend the border from the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    Xuan Jiu had also arrived, and when he did, he unfurled hisrge g in an ostentatious manner. Whenever he met anyone, he would proim that they were Gu Yue¡¯s heir, which caused many people to chase him around. He felt wronged by their reaction, as in his mind, he was obviously sharing kind words. Xuan Jiu did not know who had ruined his reputation, but it was nowmon knowledge that everything he said was wrong.

    Xi Qi had also arrived. She had been roaming the Outerverse during this period, searching for more sourceboxes to unlock, which was a rather decent way to live.

    Any location with a ruin was a potential source of sourceboxes, and she was greatly anticipating finding some at this ce.

    Atop her head, the fish looked about in a contemptuous manner as it raised its fins, mocking every person it encountered.

    ¡­

    Another ten days passed like this in the city ruins. During this time, the experts from the Great Eastern Alliance had fought against the experts from the central region¡¯s various forces for several rounds already. Mu Nichang, Meng Tianlong, and the others had all taken action, and if Yuehua Mavis and some other neutral experts had not stopped them, then the battles might have gotten out of control and affected the entire city.

    Even though the two sides temporarily stopped, there were still two clearly distinct sides.

    Surprisingly, nobody from the Great Yu Empire arrived, which left many people quite puzzled. However, nobody thought much of it, as they all simply assumed that this was because Lu Yin was in seclusion and that none of his subordinates dared to make a move without his express permission.

    Lan Si indifferently watched the situation develop from the sidelines. Although some people from the central weaves wanted to enlist his help to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance, he did not agree.

    He waspeting with Lu Yin for the position of an Honor Chosen, but Lan Si did not actually have any grudges with Lu Yin himself. Moreover, Lu Yin was a major factor in why so many people had been able to escape from the Innerverse, and Lan Si still felt slightly guilty towards Lu Yin for it.

    However, the path of cultivation was an emotionless one, and this was simply the way of the universe. Lu Yin could not keep the position of an Honor Chosen from him.

    Qiong Shanhai did not intervene either. The ruins had be a maelstrom of tension, and it would be difficult to emerge once one entered.

    Elder Daggs also made the trip to the ruins, along with a number of other experts from the border, which intimidated many others. The revtion of Yuan Shi¡¯s existence had reinforced the power of the Hall of Honor, and it was even more intimidating than before the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse. Nobody dared to underestimate the Hall of Honor any longer.

    Expert after expert arrived at the ce that was reportedly Gu Yue¡¯s ruins, and they all searched through the city alone. Five Enlighters had already been spotted, and some people had even seen Elder Lohar moving about.

    These people were merely the almighty experts who could be seen. Considering the fact that this ce was supposed to be Gu Yue¡¯s historic ruins, it would not be a surprise if even Envoy-level powerhouses appeared.

    The five Hunters whom Lu Yin had knocked unconscious also finally awakened at this time. They had all been thrown onto nearbys, and they immediately reported back to Zi Tianchuan as soon as they woke up. However, he ordered them to not reveal themselves, and they were absolutely forbidden from contacting anyone else. If the others learned that the Zi family had sent five Hunters to guard over these ruins, then the Zi family would be in serious trouble. Zi Tianchuan did not know what Lu Yin¡¯s goal was, and the Zi family patriarch was simply scared that he would be forced to pay back this debt to Lu Yin in the future.

    The city had already been thoroughly searched, and at this time, only the building that had been constructed in a different style remained untouched. Everyone had gathered at that ce, each person trying their own methods to break through the door.

    Qiong Shanhai made an attempt, and he could not open it.

    Lan Si tried, and he also could not open it.

    Elder Daggs acted, but he simrly failed.

    Even Yuehua Mavis tried, but the door remained closed.

    Therge door was very sturdy, abnormally so.

    Finally, Yu Mu secretly tried to open the door, but even he could not open it. Even when the gathered powerhouses united and acted together, they still could not open the door. It was only then that the crowd finally realized that this door could not be opened unless an Envoy-level powerhouse acted. However, once such a powerhouse appeared, they themselves would have nothing to do with whatever was inside the building.

    Countless people stared at therge door with fervent eyes; Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance was definitely inside.

    ¡°Move aside! Let Lord Fish try.¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head was very arrogant. ¡°A toy like this requires a Lockbreaker. If there is something disobedient, it needs to be unlocked.¡±

    Under the eyes of countless experts, Xi Qi forced herself to move forward. She softly mumbled, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a sourcebox like this before. Is this really a sourcebox?¡±

    The fish raised its fin and said with absolute confidence, ¡°Listen to Lord Fish! Nothing will go wrong.¡±

    Xi Qi acted, only to be stumped as the door was actually just a door. There were absolutely no solidified energies to lockbreak, so how could she unlock this thing? What was this? She could not even find a pce to begin.

    The fish incessantly pped Xi Qi with a fin. ¡°Stupid! You¡¯re stupid! You¡¯re actually trying to unlock it! Lord Fish merely came up with a way for you toe to the very front so that whenever some fool opens this door, you¡¯d be in the best position to charge in. Really stupid!¡±

    The crowd was furious, as this damned fish¡¯s words were just too demeaning.

    ¡°Steam, steam steam¡­¡±

    Someone else in the crowd shouted, ¡°Add some chilli powder!¡±

    The fish looked back and red at the person. ¡°It¡¯s that bastard! The one surnamed Ku¡ªyou still dare appear before Lord Fish?¡±

    Xi Qi felt sullen, and her face was also flushed a deep red. She turned around, looked at the crowd in a pitiful manner, and shouted, ¡°Just stop talking!¡± After that, she quickly slipped away.

    Ku Wei had alsoe to the city ruins, as he would absolutely visit a ce that was rumored to be Gu Yue¡¯s ruins. Additionally, he could not hold himself back from speaking up when he saw that damned fish.

    After Xi Qi left, Xuan Jiu walked up. ¡°Cough, cough. That- I have a way to open the door, but it¡¯s too precious, and a disaster will spread once this building is opened. If-¡±

    Before he could even finish speaking, the furious crowd shouted at him, ¡°Scram, stupid liar!¡±

    ¡°Stupid liar, go away¡­¡±

    Xuan Jiu was infuriated. ¡°A bunch of rotten goods! Idiots! I am the heir of Heaven''s Enigma! What do you guys know?!¡±

    ¡°Scram!¡±

    ¡°Scram, liar!¡±

    ¡°Stupid blind old man.¡±

    ¡­

    Xuan Jiu cursed, ¡°When did I be blind? Stop starting rumors!¡±

    ¡­

    Off in the distance, Yuehua Mavis felt a headache developing. She did not know where this bunch of idiots had emerged from.

    At this point, Yu Mu walked over to her. ¡°Do you really think that this ce is Gu Yue¡¯s ruins?¡±

    Yuehua Mavis shook her head. ¡°The style doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also what I was thinking. The style of these structures is even more ancient than Gu Yue¡¯s era,¡± Yu Mu replied.

    Yuehua Mavis stared at therge door of the building, focusing her attention on the pair of eyes with rune-shaped pupils. After some time, her eyes flickered. As someone from the Mavis family, she was privy to many secrets that the other people present did not have ess to, which included Rune Technology. She was certain this city was a ruin of the Rune Civilization, but she was uncertain why someone had falsely called this ce Gu Yue¡¯s ruins.

    The civilization that had sprung out of Rune Technology was considered taboo even within the Mavis family¡¯s historical records. It was the most resplendent, but it was also the most short-lived and mysterious civilization; countless people were curious about it. Yuehua Mavis was naturally no exception, and she also wanted to know what this building contained.

    Too many powerhouses had gathered in the city, both openly and secretly. This group could represent almost the entire Outerverse. Even people such as ck Mask and the Nn family¡¯s old woman had arrived. Everyone was present, and they were all waiting for the moment the door opened. However, only a portion of the experts had shown their faces thus far.

    Lan Si stood at the back of the crowd, apanied by Elder Tie.

    ¡°Shall we make them leave?¡± Elder Tie asked.

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    Currently, Lan Si was the most concerned about Lu Yin. He was in seclusion? With the appearance of Gu Yue¡¯s ruins, would that person really remain in peaceful seclusion? Lan Si did not believe that story for a single moment.

    After half a day ofmotion, someone suddenly cried out, ¡°Look! Hasn¡¯t this door been burned before?¡±

    The others started to seriously observe the marks on the door.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t burnt. These are just the marks from the other experts¡¯ attacks just now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. None of them were able to leave any sort of mark. These are clearly old burn marks.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll know if we try.¡±

    Behind the door, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide when he heard these words. Someone had finally noticed the clues that he had painstakingly ced down. He had started wondering if anybody would notice anything, and he had even considered setting a fire himself, but fortunately, someone had seen the burn marks in the end.

    Before long, multiple people took action, and their star energy formed mes that engulfed therge door.

    But therge door did not react.

    More experts appeared, and their numbers soon reached the hundreds, some of them even had innate gifts rted to fire.

    Finally, the door opened slightly. It only moved a hair, and ordinary people would not have noticed anything. However, the gathered crowd mostly consisted of powerful cultivators, and they were all able to sense it.

    Meng Tianlong, Mu Nichang, Gui Wuzong, Ke Yun, and the other experts all tore through the void and appeared at the front of the crowd, looking at therge door with fervent eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s the fire! Only a powerful fire can open this door. Burn it!¡± Ke Yun barked, and he was the first to act. At this moment, all grievances were set aside; everything could be settled after the door was opened. However, many people made secret preparations so that they couldunch a fatal attack at their opponents at any moment.

    Behind the door, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. They had finally started following his n. Soon, the fire started.

    A human-created ze was insufficient to restore the Skyze Stone, even if an Enlighter like Ke Yun was the one producing it. Next, Yu Mu, Elder Daggs, Yuehua Mavis, and the other experts all joined in, and the temperature of the entire city instantly soared to a sweltering ze. The crowd continuously retreated from the door since they could not endure the intense heat.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as the Skyze Stone was showing signs of being restored by the ze. However, the fire was not hot enough, and it was actually horribly insufficient.

    The ze continued on for several days, and during that time, the door opened slightly, giving everyone there hope. Each of them continued to valiantly feed the mes, but the door did not ever open by more than just a crack.

    ¡°The temperature of this fire isn¡¯t enough. We have to find something with an even higher temperature,¡± someonemented.

    Quite a few people threw out some items that caused the inferno to grow even more intense. All sorts of things were tossed out, and one person even threw out a pile of firewood.

    ¡°Throw that fish out there, I¡¯m hungry,¡± Ku Wei slyly suggested.

    Quite a few people actually felt that this was a good idea.

    Xi Qi was frightened by their thoughts, and she quickly slipped away.

    ¡°And that broken g.¡± Someone pointed over at Xuan Jiu.

    Xuan Jiu red furiously at that person, but then he also fled from the scene.

    Everyone was thinking of ways to increase the fire¡¯s temperature, but the door only opened slightly more. Currently, not even a worm could pass through the opening, let alone a human.

    Elder Daggs raised a hand, looking quite thoughtful as he contemted something. ¡°Everyone, when I was younger, I obtained a tinder with an extremely high temperature, and I can use it. However, I will only do so under the premise that once the door opens, I¡¯m allowed to enter first. Whoever dares to fight me for that position will be enemies with my Hall of Honor.¡±

    Yu Mu frowned. ¡°Elder Daggs, you dare to use the Hall of Honor to suppress us?¡¯

    Elder Daggs seriously answered, ¡°If I am the one who pays the price, then I must naturally be the one to reap the harvest.¡±

    Yu Mu replied, ¡°I can also provide a source of extreme heat.¡±

    At this moment, more people spoke up in turn, each one sharing that they could provide a source of extreme heat.

    In the end, although most of the cultivators did not know what was agreed upon, a wave of high temperature suddenly washed over the city. The sky over the city changed, and many of the experts gathered in front of the building felt an unbearable heat wave sweep out towards them, forcing them to step back. Those who took a little longer to retreat were nearly cooked alive.

    Nobody reminded anyone of anything, as a price had to be paid if one wished topete for an inheritance, and these people deserved it if they died. This was a natural part of cultivation.

    Behind the door, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew brighter. This was the right way; this was what he wanted to see. As he thought about it, he opened the door slightly more, and then another sliver. He wanted to suck these people dry, as there were definitely some people who were still holding back.

 Chapter 944: Explorer And Cruiser

    <h4>Chapter 944: Explorer And Cruiser</h4>

    The heat of the Skyze Stone was steadily being replenished. As Elder Daggs and the other powerhouses continued to take out all sorts of priceless treasures to stoke the ze even more, the entire city¡¯s temperature climbed higher and higher. The various cultivators who had not be space-exploring powerhouses yet were unable to endure and were forced to retreat.

    The walls of the buildings in the city were touched by the mes, and it had already caused quite a few of them to vanish.

    A few of the people present realized that the buildings that vanished had not crumbled into ashes; they had actually vanished.

    The Skyze Stone had been the Skyze Dojo¡¯s fiery dragon¡¯s source of strength. That dragon had been able to dy Madam Hong¡¯s attack, and it had also been able toplement the Skyze Dojo Master¡¯s power, allowing him to contest powerful Imprinters. The heat that the stone carried within it was something that could not even be imagined by ordinary people. As such, the heat energy that the powerhouses in the ruins had provided so far was not enough to replenish the heat of the stone, not by a long shot.

    Lu Yin could only tempt the gathered experts by opening the door little by little. If he had note up with this sort of method, he would have never been able to find such heat anywhere.

    Within the crowd, Meng Tianlong, Mu Nichang, and the other experts from the Great Eastern Alliance all pulled out items that could increase the me¡¯s temperature. The Great Eastern Alliance had constantly been searching for sources of extreme mes, which everyone was aware of. However, these people had not revealed that they had found anything.

    Lu Yin did not me these people, as they were not his subordinates, but merely allies that hade together to take what each of them needed. They also had not joined the alliancepletely voluntarily, so it was perfectly normal for them to not fully cooperate with him.

    Ten dayster, the door had still only opened by a tiny crack. Although the gap was very small, it gave the crowd a glimmer of hope.

    ¡°This is the door to an ancient inheritance, and it must be Ancestor Gu Yue¡¯s test. The high temperature that we have been using thus far is not enough, so if anyone still has anything else, then now¡¯s not the time to remain selfish,¡± Elder Daggs shouted.

    As Elder Daggs spoke, Elder Lohar suddenly appeared. In fact, he had arrived long ago, but he had simply not shown himself.

    Elder Daggs was not surprised to see Elder Lohar here, as they were both elders from the Hall of Honor. Even if their power levels were higher than 300,000, their rankings within the Hall of Honor were quite low. Otherwise, they would not have been stationed in the Outerverse. They both had to increase their strength if they wanted to return to the Neoverse.

    Elder Lohar raised a hand, and he was holding something that looked like white powder. He then casually scattered it, causing an intense, white heat to bubble forth. This white heat suppressed all the other sources of extreme heat, and it even caused the nearby void to quiver slightly.

    Even powerhouses with a power level of 400,000 had to be cautious of this heat.

    Nearby, Yuehua Mavis stepped up, and pulled out a sealed sourcebox from her cosmic ring, and threw it towards therge door. While the sourcebox was still in midair, a gale swept out and shattered its surface, causing an overwhelming heat wave to surge up like a waterfall flowing in reverse. Its intense heat even scorched the sky, and those watching in the distance started to panic. In fact, even the stronger experts like Elder Daggs were forced to move backwards.

    ¡°A high temperature that can even threaten Envoy-level powerhouses. The Mavis family is certainly wealthy,¡± Yu Mu remarked with an envious sigh.

    Yuehua Mavis looked over at the man. ¡°Shamrock Enterprises is not weak either.¡±

    Yu Mu smiled as he pulled out a fiery-red fruit. It looked quite normal except for the imprint of mes on its surface. This was an extraordinary fruit that Shamrock Enterprises had discovered on a certain. Specifically, the fruit contained an extremely high temperature that not even Yu Mu dared to consume it. He had originally nned on researching this fruit¡¯s medicinal value, but nothing was more important than Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance that was currently right in front of them.

    Qiong Shanhai also acted, and he threw out a dozen treasures that unleashed high temperature zes, and there were even a few power vessels among the items that he threw out. This caught many people off guard, and his act let them finally understand just how wealthy Millions City truly was.

    Behind the door, Lu Yin became ecstatic, as the temperature outside of the building had suddenly spiked. In just a short amount of time, therge door was roasted, and the Skyze Stone started to emit some light.

    Lu Yin knew that this light was caused by the replenishment of the stone¡¯s high temperature, but the people outside thought that this light was a sign that the door was about to open.

    ¡°Soon, just a little more.¡± Elder Daggs was getting anxious.

    Lan Si walked out forward, pulled out two round stones, and then banged them together. When they struck one another, they unleashed a bolt of lightning, and a ze that even burned the void appeared. The temperature of this me even surpassed the powder that Elder Lohar had brought out, and it had nearly reached the level of Yu Mu¡¯s fruit.

    Xuan Jiu also ambled over towards the door. Anyone who did not know him would assume that he was not even a space-exploring powerhouse, and thus, they would wonder how he was able to approach the extraordinary ze. It had to be said his dressing style was a bit intimidating, and he gave off the feeling of some alien highlord from a game world.

    Even Elder Daggs was also caught off guard. Currently, the entire crowd was looking at Xuan Jiu.

    Xuan Jiu stared at the door for a while, but then he shook his head. He seemed to mumble something to himself as he simply turned to leave.

    Right after Xuan Jiu left, a ck Undying Bird dove down from the sky, aimed straight at therge door. The Dark Phoenix family had arrived, and they were all experts with fire, so their entrance bolstered the confidence of many people who were present.

    Someone sighed. ¡°If the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ancestor hadn¡¯t died, then this door would have already opened by now.¡±

    This sentence caused the faces of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s experts to turn dark.

    As one of the three unprovokable powers in the Outerverse, the Dark Phoenix family had forcibly killed their way out of the Innerverse by relying on their ancestor¡¯s reputation. They had been unafraid of everything, but during the border defense, their ancestor had ultimately perished. Since then, the family had be much more subdued, and their general behavior had greatly changed. This was something that had caused all of them to mourn.

    They, more than anyone else, wished that their ancestor was still alive.

    As more time passed, one group of experts arrived after the next, and all sorts of powerful mes and tinders were tossed towards the door. It was as if the people here were offering sacrifices.

    Twenty dayster, Lu Yin stretched his arms. It was time to cultivate.

    The door had opened a little more during this time, but this opening was so miniscule that it could barely be seen by the naked eye. What happened next was none of his business, but it would be even better for him if these people had more sources of high temperature. If they did not, then he would wait until after he finished cultivating to decide what to do.

    After thinking about it, he waved a hand and threw a pile of star essence onto the floor. Lu Yin then touched the Skyze Stone with one hand, and an intense pain burned his hand as a line of ferocious heat was transmitted from the Skyze Stone into Lu Yin¡¯s body. His expression became resolute, and he began to absorb the star energy.

    Not many people throughout the entire universe had a cheat-like method like Lu Yin¡¯s for absorbing star energy, but once anyone used such a method even once, they would never be able to give it up. Who would willingly absorb star energy slowly like normal?

    In the past, Lu YIn had used the Skyze Stone toplete his fourth cultivation cycle. This time, he intended topletely break through to the Cruiser realm, and as long as those outside did their part, Lu Yin might even be able to reach a higher realm.

    Nobody could have imagined that the majority of the Outerverse¡¯s experts were racking their brains and throwing out all their hidden fire treasures just to provide for Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation. It was likely that everyone would remain ignorant of this for their entire lives.

    For space-exploring powerhouses, when an Explorerpleted four cultivation cycles of star energy, they would stand at the peak of the Explorer realm. Five sessful cycles meant that they would be a Cruiser.

    There didn¡¯t seem to be much of a difference between four and five cycles besides the amount of star energy. However, the truth was that the human body had an intrinsic limit. Each cultivation cycle expanded the limits of the human body, and in some ancient writings, some powerhouses hadpared the human body to a balloon. It was easy for it to explode if it was filled with too much energy at once. Instead, the balloon had to be filled to the limit, have its toughness reinforced, and only then could it be filled even further.

    This analogy represented one cultivation cycle of star energy. It allowed a cultivator¡¯s body to adapt to the universe, resist the exhaustion phase, and also increase their strength. The cycling of star energy was the second most precious cultivation method that stood right behind an ancient inheritance, and it was a cultivation method that belonged solely to humans.

    Astral beasts were different. Their potential meant that they were fated to reach a certain level, and they did not need to slowly proceed by cycling their star energy.

    The human body was very miraculous, and four cultivation cycles would gradually reinforce the body¡¯s endurance. Once five cycles werepleted, there would be a subtle change, and whether it was one¡¯s physical strength, reaction time, senses, or even theirprehension, all of these aspects would be improved. This was the reason why there was a dividing line between the Explorer and Cruiser realms.

    A Cruiser refined star energy in a slightly different manner than an Explorer afterpleting their fifth cycle.

    Otherwise, one would simply continue cycling star energy, and there would be no need to specially designate the Cruiser realm.

    Given the differences between each individual cultivator, the upgrade forpleting the fifth cycle of star energy was also different for each person. Some cultivators did not improve by much, and there would generally be a limit to how much stronger they became. Some would improve greatly, and their strength might even double in extreme cases. This naturally included the improvement in theirprehension, which was rted to their understanding of battle techniques, arts, and even innate gifts.

    Lu Yin was now speeding towards thepletion of his fifth cycle.

    Each cycle that his bodypleted required 200 times the amount of star energy that others needed. However, this also indicated that the limits of his endurance were 200 times that of normal cultivators. This was the reason why Lu Yin was a Realmbreaker who could fight against powerhouses; his physical body was fundamentally different from others¡¯.

    He could even be seen as another lifeform. The Ten Arbiters were the same, as they had also surpassed the limits of ordinary people by a great deal.

    A monthter, Lu Yin was still cultivating, and he had no spare attention to pay to the door. Thus, the thin opening remained the exact same throughout this entire month; it had not changed by even the slightest amount.

    This made those outside feel frustrated. They had already wasted so many treasures that they would suffer severe losses if they could not open this door.

    ¡°Eh? Can you guys sense that, the closer we get to that door, the more star energy there is?¡± An Enlighter felt puzzled.

    The others all noticed the difference once it was mentioned. This entire time, their full attention had been focused on the massive door. Thus, nobody had bothered paying any attention to the ambient star energy.

    With the Enlighter¡¯s words, the crowd suddenly noticed the star energy difference.

    ¡°Quickly, turn up the heat! There has to be something good behind that door,¡± someone eximed excitedly.

    The rest of the crowd also grew excited; a star energy gradient implied that there was some great treasure behind the door.

    Even Lan Si felt a bit of anticipation, as the mystery of what might be lying behind the door was just too tantalizing.

    Lu Yin used the Skyze Stone to continuously vaporize star essence, and this caused concentrated star energy to leak out between the gap in the door and spread outside. This had then led to the misunderstanding among the people outside. Even though the door had not moved any further, was this enough to motivate these people?

    Suddenly, quite a few people coughed up more treasures that unleashed high temperatures in another attempt to open the door.

    Elder He also arrived. As an Envoy-level expert who was second only to Yuan Shi in the Outerverse, his appearance was unnoticed. He observed the scene for a while and quickly determined that this ce was not Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance. The style of these buildings was far too different from that of Gu Yue¡¯s era. Although the universe was vast with a nearly endless amount of unique architectural styles, Elder He was able to recognize this style. He knew that it belonged to the Rune Civilization.

    The rune-shaped pupils engraved upon the door had been instantly recognized by the Envoy.

    After he realized that this city was a ruin of the Rune Civilization, Elder He did not give the ce another thought and simply left. His understanding of the Rune Civilization was the reason why he had left without a word; they had been a brilliant but absolutely terrifying civilization. If one made contact with that civilization, they wouldn¡¯t even know when they might suddenly vanish.

    Even he himself, an Envoy, was unwilling to interact with a civilization like that.

    It was impossible to know how many people had left after arriving or returned after leaving, as people were moving around both openly and secretly.

    Soon enough, another month had passed by.

    The crowd had maintained the intense ze for two entire months, but the door had not budged in the slightest during this time. Many felt their hearts fall. They had indeed put forth their full efforts to open this door, and various sources of incredible heat had been used up, some of which could even attract the attention of Envoy-level powerhouses. However, they still had not been able to open the door.

    Although they were discouraged, people¡¯s expectations of whaty behind therge door became even greater. The harder something was to open, the more that was proof that there was something amazing behind it. This wasmon sense.

    Two months ago, it could have been said that 90% of the crowd had been suspicious of whether or not this ce was Gu Yue¡¯s ancient ruins. But now, those doubts had dropped to 40%. Only a powerhouse like Gu Yue could construct such a sturdy door. If it was this hard to open the door, then it could only be imagined how precious the inheritance inside must be.

 Chapter 945: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 945: Breakthrough</h4>

    People always had the mentality that, the more difficult something was to obtain, the more precious it was.

    Lan Si was no different. He had waited outside thisrge door for two months, even dying his own cultivation in the process. This was a surprising boon for Lu Yin!

    Elder Tie walked over to Lan Si, and the old man shook his head. ¡°He still doesn¡¯t want to meet you.¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s expression turned grim. He had asked Elder Tie to look for Elder Daggs, as he had hoped to meet with Yuan Shi and make a request of him. However, Yuan Shi had no interest in meeting with the Arbiter.

    The Ten Arbiters enjoyed a high position among the younger generation, but their influence could, at best, affect Enlighters whose power levels were around 200,000. Yuan Shi, inparison, was a powerhouse whose power level was close to a million. If not for Lan Si¡¯s status as an Arbiter under the Hall of Honor, the youth would not have even qualified to ask to meet with Yuan Shi.

    ¡°Did you tell him that the meeting won¡¯t be about the earlier incident?¡± Lan Si asked in a low voice. This news had put him in a bad mood.

    In the past, he had requested to meet Yuan Shi over the Honor Chosen position, but Yuan Shi had already given that seat to Lu Yin. This was also why Lan Si had challenged Lu Yin to a duel. However, the Arbiter wanted to meet with Yuan Shi regarding another problem at this time.

    Elder Tie answered, ¡°I made sure to pass that message along, but Yuan Shi refuses to meet with anyone.¡±

    Lan Si felt helpless. He wanted to meet Yuan Shi to ask about a futon. The Ten Arbiters had each been given a futon for them to enter the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. This was one of the main benefits that the Ten Arbiters enjoyed, as it gave them the chance to search for ancient inheritances, and the ruins were simr to the Neoverse¡¯s Astral Tower.

    There was always an intensepetition for the opportunity to visit the Astral Tower while they simrly had topete with the youths of the Sixth Maind in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, which made things rtively fair.

    However, Lan Si had¡­ lost his futon.

    Chills ran down Lan Si¡¯s spine whenever he thought of this. The futon had been his most precious possession, and it was an inheritance that had to be left for his sessor. However, he had somehow lost it. He had thoroughly searched through his cosmic ring, but he still had not been able to find it.

    He did not even know when it had disappeared, as it had randomly disappeared. He had not yet dared to tell anyone about this, even after several years.

    Lan Si actually suspected that some powerhouse must have knocked him unconscious and then used his blood to steal the futon. Otherwise, how else could the futon have simply disappeared from inside his cosmic ring?

    Who could steal something from within a cosmic ring? That was impossible.

    Lan Si did not believe that the Human Domain only had ten futons, and he wanted to ask Yuan Shi if he had an extra futon. Even if Lan Si could only borrow it for a period of time, he still wanted to return to the ruins of the Daosource Sect and look for inheritances while the war was raging in the Innerverse.

    However, Lan Si was not even allowed to meet Yuan Shi at this time.

    The Arbiter was still clueless as to how he had lost his futon. It was truly a mystery.

    Meanwhile, behind the door, the pile of star essence had been nearly exhausted. Lu Yin had wanted toplete five cultivation cycles, which would take up around 300,000 star essence. As such, he had dumped nearly 400,000 star essence on the floor, and some of it had been vaporized by the intense heat while the rest had been absorbed by Lu Yin, going towards his fifth cycle.

    As the pile of star essence fully disappeared, Lu Yin¡¯s body released a cracking sound. His eyes slowly opened as he let out a breath of air so hot that the space in front of him distorted.

    He hadpleted his fifth cultivation cycle; he was now a Cruiser.

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand. His physical body had improved, and although the improvement was not as drastic as the one he had received within the space with the golden sea, it was still an upgrade. In fact, even his five senses had be more sensitive.

    Before he reached the Cruiser realm, he had been able to fight against peak Hunters, and with his secret technique and Truesight, Enlighters with power levels of around 200,000. Thus, at this moment, Lu Yin was confident that he could battle with Enlighters with a power level of more than 200,000.

    At this time, Lu Yin felt that his strength had likely surpassed both Aden and Cai Jianqiang¡¯s.

    Aden had an imprable defence, and thebination of his Thunder Mountain Breach and his nine lined battle force allowed him to fight against Enlighters.

    On the other hand, Cai Jianqiang possessed a peerlessly aggressive attack and was invincible within his generation. However, there hadn¡¯t been any Arbiters in his generation, and he had basically been the strongest youth in the Innerverse during his time. His status had beenparable to the Ten Arbiters of the current era, but the times had changed.

    Zi Rong had also been peerless during his youth, but he had still lost to the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters were extremely powerful, but Lu Yin had already broken some of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ records. His talent was definitelyparable to the Ten Arbiters, but they were already able to easily defeat Enlighters, which showed just how strong they were.

    The Ten Arbiters symbolized the zeitgeist of the current era. Lu Yin was slowly approaching their level, and he had gotten very close to them now. However, Lu Yin was aware that while he was closing the gap between him and Lan Si, it still was not time for their confrontation. Also, Lu Yin still was not fully confident in being able to defeat Lan Si, as Lan Si was also improving during this time. The other Ten Arbiters were also constantly making great improvements, so he had to constantly strive to strengthen himself even more.

    He suddenly realized that he had been cultivating for ten years, which meant that some of the Ten Arbiters must be nearly forty years old! Once they exceeded forty years of age, they would no longer be considered a part of the younger generation. At that point, they would have to give up their positions and leave empty seats among the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin wondered how old Lan Si was.

    Despite that, Lu Yin did not want to wait for the Arbiters to abdicate their positions. He preferred to chase after them, particrly the mastermind behind the loss of those seventy two lives. Lu Yin would definitely eliminate that person himself.

    The lines of heat on his body soon felt like nothing. No matter how high the temperature became, the heat would eventually dissipate as time passed.

    After such a long period of cultivation, most of the high temperature sources in the Outerverse had to have been exhausted!

    Lu Yin thought that it was time to leave; the Outerverse had a limited amount of resources.

    If he was in the Innerverse, then there would likely be numerous Envoy realm powerhouses, and their mes might allow him to train for an entire year. That amount of time might even be enough for him to cultivate to the Hunter realm.

    However, cultivating too fast was not a good thing, as one¡¯s body needed to steadily adjust to the increase in star energy, and that required time.

    Bing a Cruiser was just a small milestone, and the upgrade was negligible. Only by breaking into the Hunter realm would Lu Yin experience a true upgrade in realm.

    He would have to use his formcast model at that time. Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim when that thought came up; when he attempted to reach the Hunter realm, he would have to deal with the seal restricting his cultivation that had appeared in the past.

    After finishing his thoughts, Lu Yin stood up and stretched his body.

    He then looked at the door. There were still many people waiting outside, and if he did not open the door, they would never leave.

    He did not want anyone to see him opening the door, as if that happened, he would never be able to use this method again in the future.

    Thus, Lu Yin raised his hand and prepared to use his die. He was going to upgrade some items so that he could reward these people for their efforts.

    He carefully ced his cosmic ring aside and then tapped the die. It slowly spun around before finallynding on Gift Copy. Lu Yin was annoyed at this oue, as there were many people near him, including even Arbiter Lan Si, but he was unable to go out.

    Hang on. He suddenly thought of an important detail: did Lan Si even have an innate gift?

    People were born with innate gifts, but a person would only realize whether or not they possessed an innate gift after they began cultivating. He had always seen Lan Si fight with the Oveying Stacks Path, but had never seen the Arbiter use an innate gift. Was it possible that Lan Si did not have an innate gift?

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know for sure, but he had assumed that all of the Ten Arbiters had an innate gift. It was possible for one to be giftless, but the odds were miniscule.

    So if Lan Si did have an innate gift, then what was it?

    Lu Yin then recalled what he had read about Lan Si in the information that he had received from Zi Xianxian and the Zi family; Lan Si was working on a battle technique. Lu Yin had been intrigued by that mention of an unknown battle technique, and he suddenly realized that he had forgotten about the Arbiter¡¯s innate gift.

    The importance of an innate gift was monumental, as Lu Yin would not have been able to achieve everything that he had without his die. Many experts in the universe simrly relied on their innate gifts, and it was typically their true trump card.

    Lu Yin sighed, as he had almost forgotten about this excruciatingly important detail, which would have been a fatal mistake. Lan Si was very secretive and had never exposed his innate gift, but that did not mean that the Arbiter did not have one.

    Lu Yin could not afford to be too arrogant since he did not know what the Arbiter¡¯s trump card was. Had White Knight truly used her full power during her battle against Blood Looney? Lu Yin did not know. Perhaps she had, but perhaps she had not.

    Lu Yin felt that he should further dy his battle with Lan Si just to y it safe.

    If Lan Si was willing to let Lu Yin use his various external items, then Lu Yin felt that he was practically guaranteed to defeat the Arbiter right away. Lu Yin did not believe that anyone could defeat him if it was a contest ofparing external items. Just the walnut that he had received from Yuan Shi was able to instantly kill an Envoy.

    Lu Yin continued rolling his die.

    His second roll was Timestop.

    Lu Yin quickly grabbed his cosmic ring and entered the Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin added six months to the timer, but that only cost him about 400 star essence.

    He wanted to get ustomed to his increased strength during these six months, practice his old battle techniques, and also recite the Stonewall Scriptures. There were so many things that he wanted to do.

    ¡­

    In a sh, Lu Yin returned to the building. Only a second had passed in the outside world, but he had stayed in the Timestop Space for half a year.

    Staying in that ce any longer would not allow him to improve much further, so he had chosen to return.

    He then continued rolling his die.

    This time, itnded on Enhance.

    He was not overly concerned about whether he could roll Enhance this time around, as he could simply leave some random items behind if he didn¡¯t. However, the people outside were quite lucky that he had.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of his cosmic ring.

    He had wanted to upgrade his cosmic ring back on Zenyu Star, but he had ended up Pilfering a piece of paper which had led to him recovering a strange memory that made nostalgic. That had ended up dying his attempt to upgrade his cosmic ring until this moment.

    Lu Yin ced his cosmic ring on the light screen, but nothing happened.

    Lu Yin took out all of the items that he had stored in the cosmic ring, but still, nothing happened.

    After thinking about it, he realized that it was probably rted to space.

    One could not create space from nothing, and the space within a cosmic ring would have to be erged when the ring was upgraded. However, where would that extra spacee from? It could not appear from nothing.

    It was a shame that he could not upgrade a cosmic ring, as that would have been a truly lucrative business.

    Since he was unable to upgrade his ring, Lu Yin browsed through the random items that he had returned to his cosmic ring, and he finally decided to upgrade some ancient pills.

    He had obtained twelve pills previously, and he had upgraded three of them already. Each pill had cost him 20,000 star essence to upgrade, and he still had two of the upgraded pills.

    His decision made, Lu Yin upgraded the remaining nine, using 180,000 star essence in total. He also upgraded three of the pills to the point where the rune lines matched a power level of about 300,000, which meant that they would be able to heal the injuries of an Enlighter with a power level of around 300,000. After he finished, he ced one of the pills in front of the statue, as that would be these people¡¯s reward.

    He did not want to give them any more of the pills.

    That pill had cost him 50,000 star essence to upgrade, which was a fairlyrge amount.

    Lu Yin paused and then realized that a single pill would be too boring. Next, he took out a drop of gemspring water and ced it next to the pill. He was about to leave, but then realized that he really could not be stingy in this situation. Otherwise, no one would be excited to discover ruins in the future. He had no desire to extinguish these people¡¯s passion.

    Finally, Lu Yin gritted his teeth and scattered 10,000 star essence on the floor of the building.

    How many people could throw away 10,000 star essence like he had just done? Even if the Mavis Bank scattered money about, they only ever scattered universal currency. 10,000 star essence was the equivalent of one billion star crystals. Just how much universal currency was that? He couldn¡¯t even calcte the number, and Lu Yin felt that he was being extremely generous.

 Chapter 946: Surprise Reinforcements

    <h4>Chapter 946: Surprise Reinforcements</h4>

    Lu Yin turned to look at Enhance¡¯s two light screens that were still visible and thought that it would be wasteful to not take advantage of them while he could. He nced through what was stored in his ring and then took out his formcast model.

    He had been using formcast models from the first moment he had started cultivating, and this was the method that most cultivators used if they could. Cultivators who did not use formcast models were considered independent cultivators.

    Most formcast models could only be used thrice, which wouldst one until the Melder stage. Some of the better models could be used until the Limiteer realm, but only a small handful of heirs from major forces had the opportunity to use five-stage formcast models, which allowed them to far surpass their peers. Meanwhile, six-stage formcast models were legendary, and not even the major organizations were guaranteed to have any.

    Only Envoy powerhouses were able to create six-stage formcast models, and there were not many such powerhouses in the universe.

    Currently, Lu Yin was using a six-stage formcast model that he had upgraded back in Ironblood Weave. He had spent around 8,000 star essence to upgrade it, which was a very small sum inparison to his current assets. He wanted to try upgrading it to a seven-stage formcast model now.

    He had never even heard of a seven-stage formcast model before.

    Lu Yin carefully ced the formcast model on the upper light screen and threw out tens of thousands of star essence at once. Lu Yin looked at the screen in excitement as the formcast model dropped down slightly.

    He was thrilled. Since the formcast model had dropped down, it meant that it could still be upgraded. His formcast model could actually be upgraded to a seven-stage formcast model!

    Lu Yin had never even heard of a seven-stage formcast model before, but apparently, they existed.

    There was a huge difference between using a formcast model and not using one. Before the existence of formcast models, the heirs of major forces had used a simr method to upgrade their power called torrential overflow. However, only the heirs of major forces were able to use this method whereas formcast models, the equivalent to torrential overflow, were widely used.

    If a six-stage formcast model was equivalent an Envoy¡¯s torrential overflow, then what would a seven-stage formcast model represent?

    Hai Qiqi had once said that she had never even heard of a seven-stage formcast model before and that not even the Sea King possessed the ability to create a seven-stage formcast model. Could it be that only World Imprinters or possibly even Cosmic Imprinters were able to create such a thing?

    However, Lu Yin did not care about any of that at this moment. He had glimpsed a glimmer of hope of obtaining his own seven-stage formcast model.

    A six-stage formcast model could be used until the Hunter realm while a seven-stage formcast model could theoretically be used until the Enlighter realm.

    However, Lu Yin quickly became concerned. He had thrown out more than 10,000 star essence, but the formcast model had only dipped down a tiny bit. He would probably need more than a million star essence to fully upgrade it. He had enough money, but there was no need to upgrade his formcast model at this moment since he was still quite a ways away from bing a Hunter. He decided to finish upgrading it when he was about to breakthrough to the Hunter realm.

    After storing his formcast model away, Lu Yin was in a good mood. If nobody had a seven-stage formcast model while he did, then he would be able to surpass all other people. Despite that, he could not allow himself to be too arrogant, as the existence of a seven-stage formcast model meant that there was someone out there who was also capable of making one. Thus, it was even possible that some of the Ten Arbiters might have also obtained one. However, he was certain that Lan Si did not have one, as the Divine Fist¡¯s father was not even able to defeat the Sea King.

    There was nothing else for him to upgrade for the moment, and Lu Yin was left with 2.73 million star essence. He decided to further upgrade his universal armor when he found the proper materials. For his future nned expenditures, this amount of star essence would most likely not be enough. Thus, he needed to continue earning money.

    When Lu Yin looked at theyer of star essence on the ground, he felt his heart bleed. However, he still needed to spend this money.

    It was time to let those people in.

    The mes were still burning bright outside the door, but the temperature had fallen a great deal since most of the high-quality fuels had been exhausted. The people outside were disappointed, as the high temperature was not enough to damage the door, and it would only be harder and harder to seed as the temperature continued to drop.

    Yuehua Mavis and the others were all disappointed, as they had paid a significant price in their attempt. It seemed that they would have to wait for the Outerverse to reconnect with the Innerverse before they could open this door.

    Suddenly, just when everyone was about to give up, the door opened.

    Everyone stared on in confusion as the mes rushed in through the doorway the moment the door opened.

    Yu Mu and the rest immediately extinguished the mes to prevent them from destroying anything within the building.

    ck Mask and the other powerhouses rushed towards the door, but before they could enter, an enormous tree sprouted from the ground that blocked their path. Yuehua Mavis then said, ¡°Everyone, please follow the previous agreement. Otherwise I won¡¯t mind causing the rule breakers to disappear.¡±

    ck Mask hesitated. Yuehua Mavis had battled against an Imprinter from the Sixth Maind on even ground, which was a powerhouse on the same level as an Envoy. This was not someone who he could afford to offend, as she was almost the same as an Envoy herself.

    Yu Mu, Elder Lohar, Elder Daggs, and Lan Si were among the first people to enter the building.

    Lu Yin tightly held the cloakstone in his fist as he hid inside the building. The first person to pass through the door was Yuehua Mavis, and she was followed by Yu Mu, Sall Phoenix from the Dark Phoenix family, Qiong Shanhai, and many others. However, nobody discovered Lu Yin.

    He waspletely unconcerned about what would happen next, and he left the building while various people slowly passed through the open door.

    Lu Yin was just about to leave when he overheard a conversation. His eyes shed, and he quickly hid himself again.

    Apart from the items that Lu Yin had left behind, there was nothing else inside the building. Many people had entered the building with high hopes only to leave in disappointment. In their search, the building was almost torn down.

    This was especially true for Yu Mu and the other powerhouses, as they had used many different precious treasures to open the door, but there was basically nothing inside the building. The pills and star essence that they found were worthless to them, and they were outraged as they left with dark expressions.

    Some of the smarter people among the crowd discovered traces of Lu Yin¡¯s presence, and they shared that someone had already been in the building before, which caused Elder Daggs to feel helpless.

    Yuehua Mavis left. There was nothing that she wanted in this ce. She had hoped to learn more about the Rune Civilization, but there were no such records in this ce.

    Everyone else left as well.

    Ku Wei was annoyed. He had heard of Gu Yue before, as the man had been renowned even in the Neoverse. Naturally, he had been looking forward to seeing Moonstar, but there had been nothing in this ce.

    In the end, he left as well.

    Xuan Jiu walked around the building before leaving with a strange expression.

    Xi Qi also nced around. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The fish on her head mused aloud, ¡°What a familiar smell. I¡¯ve smelled this before, but where? Let me think.¡±

    Lan Si wasn¡¯t disappointed. He had never nned on learning Moonstar to begin with, so he was simply happy that nobody else had obtained it.

    Mu Nichang, Meng Tianlong, and the others all left helplessly as well. They headed in the same direction, as they were all returning to the east.

    Moments after the group left the ruins, they were ambushed by a group of experts that included people from the Shadowsword Sect, the Ayker n, and other forces from the central weaves. For this ambush, even Ke Yun from the Moke Sword Sect joined in on attacking the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts after hiding his identity.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was the greatest enemy of the central weaves¡¯ Central Coalition, particrly after Lu Yin had given the orders to assassinate 300 of their top-ranking officers in a single night. This bloody campaign had both shocked the Outerverse and angered the members of the Central Coalition. In response, they had decided to kill Meng Tianlong and the others while Lu Yin was in seclusion in a bid to weaken the Great Eastern Alliance.

    They were not afraid of Lu Yin learning about their actions as they were already enemies.

    The experts from the Great Eastern Alliance included the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Gong Chou, L¨¹ Ran from Greenpeak Gorge, and many more. They were not able to withstand this coordinated attack from the central weaves¡¯ coalition, especially because there were two Enlighters among the attackers. Meng Tianlong was heavily injured the moment he retaliated, and Mu Nichang was soon injured as well.

    They were attacked on the eastern side of the ruins, but most of the experts who hade to the ruins had headed west. Even if there were a few experts who saw the ambush, they simply ignored it.

    This ambush would end in just a few minutes.

    Mu Nichang and the rest had already given up hope. L¨¹ Ran had surrendered, but Ke Yun had still sliced the man¡¯s head off. Ke Yun had once been threatened by the Great Eastern Alliance because of Lan Zhong, and he had even been forced to invite the banished man back to the sect. Ke Yun felt that this was a terrible humiliation, and he had thus joined this ambush attempt to get revenge.

    Meng Tianlong unleashed the Deste Palm, but Gui Wuzong¡¯s sword pierced through the palm before slicing into Meng Tianlong¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your death was fated the moment you joined the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    An arrow shot towards Gui Wuzong, but he simply sneered and flicked the arrow away. His cold eyesnded on Gong Chou. ¡°Young man, this is the day of your death.¡±

    Nearby, Mu Nichang was doing her best to endure Ke Yun¡¯s attacks. Although the Moke Sword Sect¡¯s skills weren¡¯t as mysterious as the Shadowsword Sect¡¯s, they were straightforward and true; they could not be blocked.

    Ke Yun¡¯s sword trembled as he dispelled Mu Nichang¡¯s star energy. He swung his de, and Mu Nichang gritted her teeth. Multiple wooden figures suddenly appeared around Ke Yun, trapping him. These wooden figures were a treasure of Evenground Pce, and there were a total of ny nine of them. ording to the rumors, when all ny nine figures were activated at once, they could even trap an Enlighter.

    Ke Yun was trapped, but this trap would not be able tost for long.

    Mu Nichang was unlucky, as the appearance of her wooden figures drew the attention of another Enlighter from the central weaves. It was an olddy, and she stretched out her dry hands towards Mu Nichang. ¡°Little girl, you¡¯re quite pretty. Give me your face.¡±

    Mu Nichang¡¯s eyes narrowed. She knew that was dead.

    Doro became desperate.

    Suddenly, a figure shed past Doro and appeared in front of Mu Nichang. This person suddenly attacked, and a palm shed with the old woman¡¯s palm, causing an indescribable force to erupt as powerful shockwaves burst forth that tore space apart. Mu Nichang was flung away, and the olddy¡¯s palm was shattered into pieces.

    The olddy screamed as her body was sted away by an invisible force. Her skin tore apart, and she even vomited blood.

    The sudden appearance of someone who could injure the olddy immediately drew everyone¡¯s attention.

    Ke Yun, who was still trapped by the wooden figures, was stunned. Was that Arbiter Lan Si?

    Nobody had expected Lan Si to suddenly take action, especially since he had not been traveling in this direction.

    On top of that, Lan Si had even publicly challenged Lu Yin to a duel, so the two parties clearly were not on good terms. Nobody had expected the Arbiter to suddenly appear.

    Mu Nichang stared at Lan Si¡¯s silhouette in awe. This young man was so tall and dashing, and he had just saved her life.

    Lan Si looked down at everyone present. He had erected an invincible forcefield, and he casually waved a hand, forcing everyone back with an invisible force. They all finally experienced the power of one of the Ten Arbiters.

 Chapter 947: Returning A Favor

    <h4>Chapter 947: Returning A Favor</h4>

    Everyone in the Outerverse had heard of the Ten Arbiters, but nobody knew just how strong these youths actually were.

    Ke Yun and the others initially believed that the Ten Arbiters were only able to intimidate the younger generation, but they soon realized that the Ten Arbiters¡¯ power level was absolutely terrifying. Lan Si was a Hunter who could overpower Enlighters.

    The olddy was a good example. She had been severely injured by a single attack from Lan Si. She did not dare to attack the Arbiter again, as she could tell that his strength was invincible.

    ¡°Arbiter Lan Si, why are you helping these people from the Great Eastern Alliance?¡± Gui Wuzong asked.

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze swept across the various Enlighters. ¡°I owe Lu Yin a favor, so I¡¯m repaying it now.¡±

    Gui Wuzong bellowed, ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin¡¯s enemy! If we defeat the Great Eastern Alliance, then Lu Yin will have no backing. You can easily defeat him at that point!¡±

    Lan Si sneered as he replied, ¡°What a narrow point of view.¡±

    Gui Wuzong was infuriated, but he did not dare continue speaking with Lan Si.

    Ke Yun warily nced over at Lan Si. Lan Si was very strong, and although Ke Yun was also capable of defeating that olddy, he was not able to do so as quickly as Lan Si had even though he was an Enlighter. Ke Yun¡¯s power level was a few thousand units lower than the olddy¡¯s, but despite that, Lan Si had heavily injured her in just one move. This was proof of just how powerful the youth was.

    Lan Si turned around to look back at Mu Nichang. ¡°Tell Lu Yin that I have returned the favor from before.¡±

    Mu Nichang and the rest looked at the youth in a daze, but suddenly, a voice rang out, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to return the favor.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expression changed when they heard that voice. Mu Nichang, Meng Tianlong, and the rest of the powerhouses from the Great Eastern Alliance were ted whereas Gui Wuzong¡¯s group was left in disbelief; it was Lu Yin¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin had arrived quite some time earlier, but he had realized that Lan Si was also present. Thus, he had remained hidden.

    Lan Si had been able to escape to the Outerverse with Lu Yin¡¯s help, but Lu Yin had been under the impression that Lan Si was not concerned with that favor. Lu Yin had not expected the Arbiter to still remember it.

    Additionally, this timing meant that Lan Si must have rushed over after hearing about the Central Coalition¡¯s ns with the intention of repaying the favor he owed Lu Yin.

    The battle between Lu Yin and Lan Si would be a fight over the position of an Honor Chosen as well as one of the Ten Arbiters. The two young men had no bad feelings towards each other, and they had clearly separated their favors and rivalry.

    However, Lu Yin could not allow Lan Si to return such arge favor so easily.

    Lan Si turned around to look at Lu Yin in shock. He had not noticed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, and not many people could hide their auras to the degree where they could hide from Lan Si¡¯s senses.

    Lu Yin ignored the others and calmly looked at Lan Si. ¡°You want to return my favor so easily?¡±

    Lan Si calmly answered, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked and nced over at Gui Wuzong¡¯s group. ¡°You want topete for numbers?¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Whoever I get is mine. There were 403 people from Mt. Stacks Dojo, so I¡¯ll give you 403 people.¡±

    ¡°There are more than 400 people here, so you can certainly try,¡± Lu Yin calmly replied.

    There were nearly a thousand people present from both the Great Eastern Alliance and the Central Coalition. All of these people quickly understood that Lan Si intended to capture 403 people from the Central Coalition in order to return Lu Yin¡¯s favor. It was also clear that Lu Yin would participate in this fight as well.

    They were the numbers that Lu Yin and Lan Si were talking about.

    Gui Wuzong¡¯s group felt humiliated, but they were also terrified. ¡°Run!¡±

    The troops from the Central Coalition scattered in all directions, and around thirty Explorers, who were in a spacecraft, prepared to leave the area immediately.

    Lan Si¡¯s figure shed, and his body rammed through a spacecraft, causing it to malfunction and stop in ce. He then reached out and grabbed a hold of the Explorer who had been inside the spacecraft.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin focused his attention on the injured old woman. Although she had been injured, she could still quickly escape given the opportunity since she was an Enlighter.

    However, Lu Yin was even faster due to his extraordinary physique. He instantly caught up to the old woman and attacked her.

    The olddy was furious, but she did not believe that she would lose to Lu Yin in a one-on-one exchange. Thus, she raised a hand and pped at Lu Yin. ¡°Die!¡±

    Lan Si turned to look at their exchange while still holding the Explorer that he had just captured.

    Everyone turned to watch Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met the Enlighter¡¯s palm with his own that had the Oveying Stacks Path. After reaching the Cruiser realm, he had managed toprehend one hundred stacks. Like her sh with Lan Si, the olddy¡¯s palm was shattered as the power from the Oveying Stacks attack caused her skin¡¯s crack to worsen. She spat out a mouthful of blood as she was sted away.

    She had been seriously injured by this second palm attack and no longer had any energy to even attempt an escape.

    Everyone was stunned. That old woman was an Enlighter, which was a rare powerhouse in the Outerverse¡¯s seventy-two weaves. How could such an expert be injured by just one attack?

    The Ten Arbiters had an impressive reputation, and Lan Si was also a Hunter. Thus, him injuring the old woman was still eptable to most people.

    But what about Lu Yin? Didn¡¯t people say that this youth had to rely on various external items to defeat Enlighters? Where were his items?

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes narrowed. Lu Yin¡¯s attack wasparable to the Arbiter¡¯s own, which was proof of how strong Lu Yin was at this time.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was feeling iparably excited, as he had finally managed to defeat an Enlighter with his own strength. He bellowed fiercely at the sky, and his strength erupted as he moved out topete with Lan Si over who could capture the most people.

    Lan Si had lost his advantage the moment Lu Yin had be a Cruiser. Previously, Lu Yin had predicted that he would only be able to fight against the Ten Arbiters once he became a Cruiser, and that prediction now turned out to be correct. However, Lu Yin was only able to fight against them. The more he looked into Lan Si, the more wary he became, especially when Lu Yin considered the Arbiter¡¯s unknown battle technique and possible innate gift.

    Lu Yin was able topete with Lan Si over who could capture the most people here, but there was no way he could defeat the Arbiter at this time.

    Lan Si definitely would not reveal his full strength in this sort of situation.

    Lu Yin was able to realize this, but the others were not. To them, Lu Yin looked like he was someone who was just as strong as the Divine Fist of the Ten Arbiters. They looked like they were on the same level.

    Meng Tianlong became rather emotional; how long had Lu Yin been cultivating for? It had only been about ten years, but the youth had already reached the level of the Ten Arbiters. His own son, Meng Yue, had entered the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as Lu Yin, but Meng Yue had only recently managed to be an Explorer while Lu Yin could alreadypare to one of the Ten Arbiters. Lu Yin¡¯s talent was remarkable, and nobody had ever achieved such results before!

    Gui Wuzong fled for his life, but the Enlighter was quickly sandwiched on either side by Lan Si and Lu Yin.

    Gui Wuzong was the only person remaining aside from Ke Yun, and both Lan Si and Lu Yin were fighting to capture the Enlighter.

    Gui Wuzong despaired. He used the Shadowghost Sword, but he couldn¡¯t hide anything from the two youths; they were able to see through all of the Enlighter¡¯s moves.

    Lu Yin and Lan Si caught up to Gui Wuzong at the same time. They did not bother dodging any of the man¡¯s attacks, and instead, they attacked the older man at the same time, shattering his sword in the process. Each of the two youths then grabbed one of Gui Wuzong¡¯s arms and used a Hundred Stacks on him.

    Gui Wuzong screamed as the veins in both of his arms shattered while powerful shockwaves reverberated through his body. The two Oveying Stacks Path attacks allowed Lu Yin and Lan Si to feel the other¡¯s strength with the Enlighter¡¯s body as a medium.

    Lu Yin suddenly took a step back as Gui Wuzong would certainly die if they both attacked again. Lan Si didn¡¯t care, but Lu Yin still intended to keep Gui Wuzong alive.

    Lan Si grabbed Gui Wuzong. ¡°I¡¯ll give you 300 people,¡± he said as he threw Gui Wuzong at Lu Yin. The Arbiter had captured exactly 300 people.

    Lu Yin had only captured 200 people due to the spacecraft. The two youths¡¯ speed had beenparable, but one of the spacecraft that Lu Yin destroyed only had a few people within it, which led to him having a lower score than Lan Si.

    In the end, they both turned to look at Ke Yun, who was still trapped by the wooden figures.

    Ke Yun turned pale; he was dead. Although he was an Enlighter, he knew that he would not be able to withstand these two freaks.

    Seeing Gui Wuzong¡¯s battle had sent chills running down Ke Yun¡¯s spine, and he had no ns of fighting back. He changed back to his original appearance. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin had already known that this person was Ke Yun. The Enlighter clearly wanted to get revenge against the Great Eastern Alliance in secret. Lu Yin could understand why the leader of a major sect would want to get revenge after being threatened, but that also meant that this sect leader would have to deal with the consequences of attempting to get revenge.

    Lan Si was no longer interested in what was happening, and he turned to leave. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t forget our battle. I hope that we¡¯ll have it soon.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed¡ªsoon? It seemed that Lan Si was growing anxious. Perhaps Lu Yin was improving too quickly since even an Arbiter was feeling threatened.

    ¡°Oh right, how old are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Si paused, but he did not even turn around. ¡°That¡¯s a pointless question. Do you really think that we¡¯ll just stand down once we turn forty?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t expect anyone to retire. It¡¯s just a casual question.¡±

    Lan Si then left. His battle prowess had impressed everyone here, and Mu Nichang¡¯s eyes contained a strange heat as she watched the young man leave.

    Some of the people from the Central Coalition had died during this ambush attempt, but most of them had been captured. The two people who were the worst off were Gui Wuzong and the old Enlighter woman.

    At this time, Ke Yun was the only one left.

    Lu Yin stood outside the cage of wooden figures and looked at Ke Yun with a calm expression. ¡°Master Ke, is there anything that you want to say?¡±

    Ke Yun bitterly replied, ¡°I¡¯m the loser, so there¡¯s nothing to say. It¡¯s up to you to decide what to do with me.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Actually, everyone already knows what I want. The Outerverse isrger than the Innerverse, and it actually has a tremendous amount of resources. However, we remain weaker due to how the seventy two weaves are split up. If we could pool all our resources together, we could definitely groom expertsparable to the Innerverse¡¯s. Plus, the Sixth Maind might invade us again at any moment. In this situation, don''t you think that a united Outerverse would be better than a divided one?

    Ke Yun shook his head. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you started uniting the Outerverse even before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. I¡¯m already your prisoner, and you don¡¯t have to say anything else. Once I die, Lan Zhong will return to the Moke Sword Sect, and he will be the next leader, as there is nobody else who canpete against him. The Moke Sword Sect is already yours, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°In that case, why would you want to sacrifice yourself so unnecessarily?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Ke Yun was shocked. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re willing to spare my life?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I want to gather the Outerverse¡¯s resources together. Powerhouses are a form of resources, and I want to preserve as many of them as possible since you experts will be our strength to deal with the Sixth Maind. As for the Moke Sword Sect, if you are willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance, then there¡¯s no need for me to stir up any extra trouble. I¡¯m not that petty.¡±

    Ke Yun was grateful, and he nodded. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. The Moke Sword Sect is willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Ke Yun was a smart person, as otherwise, Wei Rong would not have been able to threaten the sect leader. Since he had disguised himself in this attempt to get revenge on the Great Eastern Alliance, it also meant that Ke Yun was not some righteous person and that he had a hypocritical side to him.

 Chapter 948: Half-King Lu

    <h4>Chapter 948: Half-King Lu</h4>

    Lu Yin liked hypocritical people, as they were more likely to know how to behave.

    Lu Yin had his own methods for dealing with men of honor, but it was much simpler to deal with hypocrites, as such people were usually afraid of death.

    After he settled the situation with the Moke Sword Sect, the Shadowsword Sect was simple. If they were unwilling, then Lu Yin could simply cause the Shadowsword Sect to vanish from the universe. Gui Wuzong¡¯s greatest desire right now was to be healed, to the point where he had no other thoughts. Thus, he agreed without even thinking any further.

    All of the people who had been captured quickly agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s conditions. Most of these powerhouses were the masters of various guiding powers of the central weaves. After all, these people were all capable ofpeting for Gu Yue¡¯s inheritance, so everyone who hade to the ruins were all outstanding characters. Their surrenders also came with the surrender of the allegiance of the powers that they led.

    After all, humans only had one life, and not many people would rather die than surrender. Moreover, they were only joining an alliance, not offering theirplete and total allegiance to Lu Yin. These people had originally refused the idea of an alliance because they did not want there to be anyone above them who could order them about. However, when their lives were on the line, who would care about such things?

    The wooden figures were stored away, and Ke Yun was very self conscious as he bowed to Lu Yin.

    That old Enlighter woman had also surrendered. In truth, she was an independent cultivator, and the fact that she had been able to reach the Enlighter realm as one showed that her talent was extraordinary. This time, she had been employed by the Central Coalition, which was the same situation as the three Enlighters who had attempted to assassinate Lu Yin in the past. The old woman did not personally care about the Great Eastern Alliance or the Central Coalition; and she simply had no opinion on the matter.

    As the curtains of the ambush slowly drew to a close, under the supervision of Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and En Ya, the news of this incident sent shockwaves throughout the entire Outerverse.

    Half a monthter, nine of the weaves in the Outerverse¡¯s central area announced that they were joining the Great Eastern Alliance and that they would cooperate with the alliance to create a peaceful environment for the universe.

    When this news was released, it astounded many, their scalps going numb. Nobody could understand how the Great Eastern Alliance had suddenly coerced nine weaves to join them. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how they were all weaves that had previously been some of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s most ardent opposition members, such as the Suna Weave and the Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    No matter what the others thought, after the Great Eastern Alliance epted those nine weaves from the central region into the fold, the number of weaves in the alliance had reached thirty one. The Outerverse had seventy two weaves in total, and thirty one was nearly half of the entire Outerverse.

    It was also at this time that Lu Yin received a new nickname: Half-King Lu. This title had been given in recognition that he was essentially king of half of the Outerverse.

    The Outerverse seemed vast and boundless, with each and every weave containing countlessrge and small powers as well as the more powerful guiding powers. While it might be difficult to subdue all of these powers, it was notpletely impossible.

    It was basically the same as running a business. Some people only looked at the products, but the most sessful businessmen looked at the humans. Since business was conducted by humans, as long as one addressed that aspect, everything else could be negotiated.

    Wang Wen and Wei Rong were both experts at toying with the human hearts. Their abilitiesbined with the support of Aegis, Amethyst Exchange, and Thousand Eyes¡¯ intelligencework, not to mention Lu Yin and the Hall of Honor¡¯s influence as their foundation, meant that it was not at all surprising that the alliance had reached such a step.

    In the past, when Lu Yin had first unified a third of the Outerverse, the alliance had caused some powers to be rather apprehensive, and that nervousness had led to the Central Coalition¡¯s establishment. During this time, even the forces from the western weaves had lent the Central Coalition a hand by sending them money, resources, and manpower. At this time, Lu Yin had unified nearly half of the Outerverse, and the remaining half started to panic even more.

    Lu Yin had never concealed his ambition of uniting the Outerverse, and it could even be said that everyone was aware of his goal. The day that nine weaves announced that they had joined the Great Eastern Alliance was the day that Lu Yin¡¯s goal had nearly reached the halfway mark. However, this did not indicate that Lu Yin was only 50% of the way towardspleting his goal. Even though he only controlled about half of the Outerverse¡¯s territory, his odds of sess had soared to as high as 90%.

    ***

    Southside Weave had be a bit unstable due to Lu Yin¡¯s actions, as quite a few experts at the border who were from the western weaves wanted to leave.

    Elder Daggs had a headache, as he was currently experiencing the full scope of Lu Yin¡¯s influence. Even if the youth was not waging any wars, he still had the ability to leave everyone helpless.

    Quite a few experts from the western region sought out Elder Daggs, requesting for the Hall of Honor to restrict Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    The patriarch of the Dark Phoenix family, Tanno Phoenix, also went to find Elder Daggs. He requested the Hall of Honor to step forward, as they could not allow Lu Yin to unite the Outerverse.

    The Dark Phoenix family had ughtered their way out of the Innerverse, and although the family had lived in the Outerverse for many years now, they still had an arrogant bearing towards the people of the Outerverse, especially since they were one of the three unprovoked powers. When the Dark Phoenix family members faced anyone from the Outerverse, they demonstrated a certain arrogance, and they could not ept being ruled by Lu Yin.

    Southside Weave did not only have people who were opposed to Lu Yin¡¯s actions; there were also many people still stationed at the border who supported Lu Yin. Their weaves had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, and so, these experts naturally sided with Lu Yin.

    A battle broke out within Southside Weave, but it was quickly suppressed by the Hall of Honor.

    Helpless, Elder Daggs went to look for Yuan Shi to seek his guidance on the current situation.

    Yuan Shi opened his eyes. Although he was very old, and his eyes were a bit murky, they remained quite bright. At this moment, they were filled with admiration. ¡°The Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves cover an extensive territory, but the powers and resources within it arepletely scattered. These are old issues that aremon knowledge. In the past, there were some who hoped to incorporate the Adventurers'' Guild, as they were eyeing the various undiscovered routes that the guild had discovered. Those people¡¯s goal was to use those routes to connect the Outerverse and shorten the traveling time. However, all of their efforts were rejected by the Adventurers'' Guild.

    ¡°But now, Lu Yin is working to unite the Outerverse, and he has already established an express military transitwork, which is the same as condensing the Outerverse and reducing the travel distance between humans. This is very good¡ªa unified Outerverse can erupt with a power that cannot be estimated. Da Gu, you must help him a bit more, and put some pressure on the Adventurers'' Guild, as those secret routes will be very useful to the Outerverse.¡±

    Elder Daggs was left speechless. He knew that Yuan Shi would side with Lu Yin, but this attitude was simply too tant. Elder Daggs had approached Yuan Shi with the intention of asking if the Hall of Honor should restrict Lu Yin, but Yuan Shi had instead ordered the elder to help Lu Yin. This was simply too unreasonable. If anyone in the outside world learned of this conversation, then they would probably lose all hope.

    ¡°Yes, Yuan Shi.¡± Elder Daggs bowed deeply, as he had no choice in this matter. His status was too far below Yuan Shi¡¯s, and just a single sentence from Yuan Shi was enough to cause the elder tomit suicide, let alone assist Lu Yin. Besides, if helping Lu Yin was Yuan Shi¡¯s will, then Elder Daggs could only do as he was told.

    The Adventurers'' Guild? They had long since changed names and be Endless Borders.

    Elder Daggs did not deliver any good news to the remaining fractured half of the Outerverse. Not only would the Hall of Honor not intervene, but between the lines, he also suggested that the protesting people should support Lu Yin.

    These people were not fools, and they had long since suspected that Lu Yin¡¯s foundation was the Hall of Honor. With Elder Daggs¡¯ attitude, everyone felt their hearts grow cold, and they all silently decided to not ask the Hall of Honor for help anymore.

    At this time, the organizations in the western region no longer acted from the dark, but rather openly. On one hand, they contacted En Ya to determine Lu Yin¡¯s base line, and on the other, they actively gathered together, simr to the Central Coalition of the past. They also pulled in different assassination organizations, intelligenceworks, and other groups. In fact, any power that could help them resist the Great Eastern Alliance was happily epted.

    The remainder of the Outerverse was determined to resist Lu Yin to the very end.

    Nobody held any desire for there to be someone above them, giving them orders. Although the Great Eastern Alliance was just an alliance and joining it was not true submission, none of the various forces of the western region could ept such a thing.

    Lu Yin knew that he likely would not be able to move against the remaining half of the Outerverse any time in the near future. The people leading these powers were all quite intelligent, and they were aware of the methods that Lu Yin had used against the powers of the central region and how he had subdued ces like Suna Weave. The western weaves were determined to not make the same mistakes. Even if Lu Yin ended up being severely injured, these people would most likely not attempt to seize any initiative.

    The various forces were determined to not provoke the Great Eastern Alliance. In the past, they had held lofty aspirations of destroying the Great Eastern Alliance, but now, those goals hadpletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin did not n on moving against any other powers at this time. Since he had united half of the Outerverse, the alliance needed some time to adjust themselves. They needed to establish the military expressway, reorganize their resources, arrange the Allied Forces, and much more. All of these details required time to handle, but Lu Yin did not need to do anything himself. Wang Wen, En Ya, Wei Rong, and Huan Sha would take care of all this for him, and all Lu Yin needed to do was cultivate.

    No matter what, cultivation was still Lu Yin¡¯s highest priority. He could not allow himself to forget the essence of the universe, which was that the strong preyed on the weak.

    A few months passed, and it was soon time for him to return to the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    The outside world had entered a frenzy, and the entire Outerverse was excited. Lu Yin calmly returned to the secret room in King Zishan''s pce, took out his futon, and sat down on it. As the scenery changed before his eyes, he arrived in the Daosource Sect''s ruins¡¯ futon za once again.

    There seemed to be a bit more people this timepared to when he hadst visited the ruins, but it was still quite desertedpared to when he had first visited the Daosource Sect''s ruins.

    Lu Yin quickly walked past the First Divine Gate and entered the Budding Terrace before heading straight for the space with the Nine Cauldrons.

    As soon as he entered the region, Lu Yin was surprised to discover that there were two groups of people confronting each other, and his sudden appearance drew a bit of attention.

    ¡°Which realm are you from?¡± someone loudly questioned him.

    Lu Yin reflexively replied, ¡°The Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    ¡°Over here,¡± someone else called out gleefully.

    Lu Yin blinked, headed over to the person who had called to him, and stood in the middle of a group of people.

    ¡°You guys can¡¯t possibly think that Mojiang Xiao will really be able to do anything. He might be an heir of a World Imprinter¡¯s family, but their ancestor is dead. He can¡¯t go against two heirs of Cosmic Imprinters families. Even a fool knows what the oue will be,¡± someone in the opposing crowd said in a taunting tone.

    Someone in Lu Yin¡¯s crowd spoke up. ¡°Di Luo will arrive soon. Not only is he the heir of a Cosmic Imprinter''s family, but he¡¯s also the younger brother of Realmling Di Fa.¡±

    ¡°So what? Can he alone go against our Tong Zhan and White Silkworm?¡±

    ¡°Mojiang Xiao is not weak either.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have an imprint anymore!¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin nudged a person next to him. ¡°Bro, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    That person impatiently answered, ¡°Tong Zhan and White Silkworm have sealed the space with the Nine Cauldrons, and they are not allowing anyone else to enter. Thus, we are currently trying to negotiate with them.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s White Silkworm?¡± Lu Yin automatically asked. He also felt a bit puzzled; wasn¡¯t Tong Zhan in the Starfall Sea? Where had he found the time to enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins?

    That person was astonished, and he looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression. ¡°You don¡¯t know about White Silkworm?¡±

    Lu Yin forced a smile. ¡°I just came out from seclusion, whichsted for a long time.¡±

    That person put on a look of understanding. ¡°It looks like you were in cryostasis. You must not have been unsealed too long ago. White Silkworm is the heir of the Sightless n from the ckblood Realm. You should at least know of the Sightless n¡ªthey¡¯re a Cosmic Imprinter''s family.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°So he¡¯s from the Sightless n.¡±

    That person stopped paying any attention to Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin nced into the inner region of the space with the Nine Cauldrons, he could see that the first cauldron had shattered. Thus, Tong Zhan, White Silkworm, and Mojiang Xiao should all be in the second cauldron. That was troublesome, as it looked like he would have to wait even longer before he coulde back and absorb more cauldron energy.

    He wanted to leave this area, but he was also curious about why Tong Zhan had entered the Daosource Sect''s ruins at this time. After thinking about it, Lu Yin finally decided to stay behind.

    The two sides did not stand there for long, and an intense battle quickly broke out within the second cauldron, causing the crowd to look over. In that ce, they could see that Mojiang Xiao had been beaten out of the cauldron.

    ¡°Scram! If youe back and disturb us again, you¡¯ll die without any question,¡± a stern voice called out.

    Mojiang Xiao¡¯s entire body was flung out of the cauldron, and he crashed to the ground as he was forced to retreat a dozen steps. Blood dripped down from his lips, and his expression was fierce. ¡°Tong Zhan, don¡¯t assume that my ckblood Realm can be bullied that easily!¡±

 Chapter 949: Alarming News

    <h4>Chapter 949: rming News</h4>

    Upon hearing Mojiang Xiao¡¯s words, Tong Zhanughed maniacally. ¡°Such arrogance from someone who failed to conquer even the Outerverse! Many of your Bloodburn Realm¡¯s masters perished, and even Ancestor Mo Jiang died. What a pity, if Di Luo had died as well, then it would have been the perfect ending, hahaha.¡±

    After hearing Tong Zhan¡¯s words, many people¡¯s faces turned solemn.

    Just at that moment, someone entered the area and leaped into the sky. ¡°Tong Zhan,e out and meet your end!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Di Luo! He¡¯s finally here!¡± the man beside Lu Yin eximed excitedly.

    Di Luo? Lu Yin looked over as he arched a brow. When the Bloodburn Realm had attacked the Outerverse, Lu Yin had never seen this person. Di Luo had either not participated in that invasion or he had been fighting in one of the othervazones. Regardless, Lu Yin had never seen Di Luo before.

    Unsurprisingly, this man was someone on the same level as Autumnfrost Qing. However, this man¡¯s imprint was from a Cosmic Imprinter whereas Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s imprint was from a World Imprinter. This clearly showed the difference between the two.

    Di Luo¡¯s appearance had lured out both Tong Zhan and White Silkworm. The two men stood atop the cauldron; one had an arrogant look in his eyes while the other had no eyes at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide when he saw the man standing next to Tong Zhan; he truly had no eyes! This was not the same as being blind, as the person actually did not have any eyes. Also, the sides of the man¡¯s nose werepletely t. What sort of being was this?

    The man next to Lu Yin had said that this person was from the Sightless n, and as the name suggested, he really was sightless. Could this be because of the n¡¯s bloodline?

    ¡°Tong Zhan, you dare mock me, Di Luo? Prepare to die!¡± And with those words, Di Luo suddenly sprouted wings and charged at Tong Zhan. When Di Luo¡¯s imprint appeared behind the youth, a boundless might descended that epassed everyone and caused them to feel a terrible sense of impending doom.

    Tong Zhan stood there, looking icily arrogant as the imprint of Elder Tong appeared behind him. He then simrly leaped up and fearlessly charged towards Di Luo.

    Instantly, the two men had started a terrible fight.

    With both men being heirs of Imprinter families, they had enjoyed simr levels of resources and had imprints of simr strength. However, one was an expert from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory, while the other was from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s territory. The two territories had very different battle styles, butparable power.

    The cultivators from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory specialized in raising their strength with bloodlines while the cultivators from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s territory used martial prints.

    The battle between the two youths left everyone watchingpletely dumbfounded. Apart from other Realmlings, no one else would be able to match up to these two young men.

    White Silkworm remained above the cauldron, and although he did not have any eyes, he seemed to always be facing the battle between Tong Zhan and Di Luo. It was as if he could see what was happening.

    In another ce, Mojiang Xiao wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth before suddenly charging back towards the second cauldron.

    White Silkworm¡¯s eyebrows quirked up slightly, and he twisted his body horizontally to block Mojiang Xiao. ¡°Retreat.¡±

    Mojiang Xiao let out an angry yell, and the imprint of an elder appeared behind him. Following Ancestor Mojiang¡¯s death, Mojiang Xiao had managed to receive an imprint from another powerful figure. However, this figure was only a regr Imprinter, not a World Imprinter like before.

    Thrusting his spear forward, Mojiang Xiao swept his weapon towards his opponent. ¡°Get lost.¡±

    White Silkworm raised an arm and easily grabbed hold of Mojiang Xiao¡¯s spear. He then released some force through his palm, causing the spear to start visibly cracking under the pressure before shattering apart. White Silkworm then used his hand to grab a fragment of the spear that he stabbed towards Mojiang Xiao¡¯s abdomen, sending Mojiang Xiao flying once more.

    In the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s expression became rather apprehensive. This eyeless man was very powerful; he was far stronger than Autumnfrost Qing. The two were onpletely different levels. ording to Lu Yin¡¯s estimate, the attack that had destroyed the spear had been even more powerful than what Tong Zhan and Di Luo were unleashing; it had approached the level of a Realmling.

    Was White Silkworm a tremendously talented person from the Sightless n? Lu Yin felt that he needed to learn more about this Sightless n.

    Tong Zhan and Di Luo continued to fight for hours without a victor being determined. Even though both of the two men were exhausted, they continued to fiercely re at each other.

    At that moment, White Silkworm jumped down andnded next to Tong Zhan.

    Di Luo¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Two against one, eh? Then bring it on! Let me see how powerful the Sightless n¡¯s legendary White Silkworm really is, since you dare to challenge a Realmling.¡±

    White Silkworm turned to face Di Luo. ¡°I heard that there is a highly skilled individual in the Fifth Maind''s Outerverse who goes by the name of Yuan Shi. I heard that he is as skilled in battle as Venerable Di. Was there truly such a person?¡±

    Di Luo knitted his brows. ¡°Why does that matter to you?¡±

    White Silkworm nonchntly answered, ¡°My Sightless n is about to join forces with the Tong family. We will tear through the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral River to attack the Outerverse, so I want to find out more.¡±

    In the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s state of mind was sent into chaos when he heard these words. His pupils shrank; how was this possible? The Innerverse was currently under the influence of a cosmic phenomenon that prevented even Cosmic Imprinters from disying power levels above 200,000. Crossing the Astral River would require a power level of at least that much.

    Di Luo was shocked. ¡°There are indeed rumors floating about iming such a thing. So the two ns are really going to gang up to attack the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse?¡±

    Tong Zhan sneered. ¡°We will achieve what the Bloodburn Realm was unable to aplish.¡±

    Di Luo clenched his fists tightly. ¡°You¡¯ve already attacked the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, but now, you also want to get a piece of the Outerverse? You¡¯re really too greedy! The Blood Homage Realm and Rock Realm have attacked the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Beast Domain, and the War Martial Realm, Grand Martial Realm, and ckblood Realm are attacking the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse. Our Bloodburn Realm attacked the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse. And don¡¯t forget¡ªthe East Realm, Brahman Realm, and Sage Martial Realm have yet to make any moves. Your ambition may lead to you being eliminated by them.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about any of that. You still haven¡¯t answered my question yet,¡± White Silkworm responded in a cold voice.

    Di Luo arrogantly retorted, ¡°Why should I answer you?¡±

    White Silkworm frowned. Tong Zhan was standing next to White Silkworm, and he readied himself to attack Di Luo, but White Silkworm ced a hand on Tong Zhan¡¯s shoulder before he took a step forward by himself. He suddenly vanished, only to reappear right in front of Di Luo.

    Di Luo ferociously shouted, ¡°It¡¯s good that you came!¡±

    After shouting, feathers slowly spread across the youth¡¯s body, as his bloodline was that of a migratory bird. With the imprint of Ancestor Di at his back, Di Luo stretched a hand forward, trying to grab White Silkworm.

    Against an opponent like Di Luo, White Silkworm would not be able to easily defeat him as he had been done with Mojiang Xiao, not unless White Silkworm was an actual Realmling. Having said that, defeating Di Luo would not take too much of White Silkworm¡¯s effort either. After all, Di Luo and Tong Zhan had fought for some time already, so Di Luo was not at his peak condition. Against White Silkworm¡¯s attacks, Di Luo could only do his best to defend.

    Mojiang Xiao was sprawled across the ground in the distance, unwilling to ept his situation.

    Further away, the two people fighting struck each other. The region with the Nine Cauldrons had be a battlezone.

    Lu Yin avoided the attacks as his figure flickered through the crowd, and he headed straight for Tong Zhan.

    At this moment, Tong Zhan was resting as he watched White Silkworm suppress Di Luo. Given Tong Zhan¡¯s strength, he had assumed that no one would dare to attack him. However, when he looked over and saw Lu Yin approaching him, shock appeared in the man¡¯s eyes. Tong Zhan felt that Lu Yin was quite bold to dare to challenge him.

    Tong Zhan raised his hands, and his martial print increased in size several times over as he attempted to suppress Lu Yin. Given Tong Zhan¡¯s abilities, even Mojiang Xiao would have to avoid a direct attack from Tong Zhan¡¯s martial print. However, Lu Yin disappeared so quickly that Tong Zhan did not even have a chance to react. Tong Zhan was taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s speed, and he realized that he was facing a highly skilled individual.

    Before he could eact, he felt a searing pain spread out from his abdomen. Lu Yin had appeared right in front of Tong Zhan and punched the man¡¯s stomach, nearly forcing his organs out of his body. Tong Zhan tried to retaliate, but to Lu Yin, whose physical body was so hardy that he could fight against someone like Lan Si, this blow was practically the struggles of a baby.

    Tong Zhan was a bit more powerful than Autumnfrost Qing. Back when the Bloodburn Realm attacked the Outerverse, Lu Yin had already possessed enough strength to defeat Autumnfrost Qing. Currently, his strength had undergone a massive increase after he broke through to the Cruiser realm, and he had also developed a greater degree of mastery over the Oveying Stacks Path, Truesight, and more. Even if Lu Yin could not quite match up with the Ten Arbiters yet, it was no problem for him to deal with someone like Tong Zhan.

    Tong Zhan was currently experiencing something that had never ever happened to him in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins before. The only people who were able to defeat him were either Realmlings or the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters. Tong Zhan simply did not believe that there was someone else who was also able to defeat him. If he had seen one of those few people who could defeat him, then he would have fled long ago, not even making an attempt to fight. Just who the hell was this man? Was he one of the Ten Arbiters? Even though Tong Zhan was aware that the Ten Arbiters were from Fifth Maind, he had not seen all of them.

    Lu Yin grabbed a hold of Tong Zhan and threw him far away from the Nine Cauldrons.

    While White Silkworm was fighting against Di Luo, the other people in the region were also locked in fierce life and death battles. Thus, Mojiang Xiao was the only person who saw Lu Yin toss Tong Zhan away. Mojiang Xiao even questioned whether or not his eyes were ying tricks on him, as Tong Zhan was not someone who could be thrown about that casually.

    After grabbing Tong Zhan, Lu Yin dragged him out of the space with the Nine Cauldrons and headed to some unknown region. Tong Zhan was powerless to resist as he was dragged along. The pair ran into a few cultivators along the way who saw what Lu Yin was doing to Tong Zhan. However, they were all easily knocked out by Lu Yin, and he had also changed his appearance before attacking Tong Zhan. Thus, no one would recognize him anyways. Lu Yin had killed Tong Tong in the past, so if he had not changed his appearance, Tong Zhan would have instantly recognized his attacker.

    After travelling for a short while, they arrived at an unfamiliar hill. Lu Yin violently threw Tong Zhan onto the ground, and Tong Zhan spat out some blood. He then red at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°I only want you to tell me one thing after dragging you out here: how are the Tong family¡¯s ancestor and the Sightless n¡¯s ancestor nning on passing through the Astral River despite the cosmic suppression? When and where are they going to pass through the Astral River?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Zhan stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Lu Yin stomped hard on Tong Zhan¡¯s arm, shattering it. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions, not you.¡±

    Tong Zhan grimaced in pain, and he gritted his teeth. He continued to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re really quite stubborn.¡±

    Tong Zhan sneered. ¡°I reached my current position not only because of my family¡¯s resources, but also because of my willpower. Those weaklings who have no willpower are not worthy of inheriting the family¡¯s patriarch position. You can torture me all you want, but you won¡¯t get any information out of me, so just give up on interrogating me.¡±

    Lu Yin was annoyed by Tong Zhan¡¯s response, as such people were the hardest to deal with. If one had only managed to reach a high level because of their family¡¯s resources, then it was indeed true that such a person would not amount to much. For a massive n like the Tong family, there were bound to be countless descendants. The fact that Tong Zhan had been able to rise above the rest and be the family¡¯s heir was definitely not only because of his identity. For their reputation and status, heirs of families often had to fight even harder than outsiders who climbed up the ranks of an organization. This man had both willpower and resolve, and he was not afraid to die.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gone through so much to be the Tong family¡¯s heir, and you might even inherit the position of the Tong family¡¯s ancestor and be one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Ten Venerables. Do you really not value your life?¡± Lu Yin asked his captive, urging the man to change his mind.

    Tong Zhan proudly replied, ¡°If I yield even this once, then I will never be able to reach the heights of my ancestor! Kill me if you must!¡±

    ¡°Just because you won¡¯t tell me anything doesn¡¯t mean that no one else from your family will tell me,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Tong Zhan sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t even know the answer to your question, so no one else will either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal: if you tell me what I want to know, then I¡¯ll let you go, alright?¡± Lu Yin offered.

    Tong Zhan looked at Lu Yin with a mocking expression. ¡°Even if I do tell you, would you believe me?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, as what Tong Zhan had just said was true. Lu Yin would have no way of confirming if any of the information was true or false.

    Tong Zhan¡¯s attitude was of beingpletely undaunted by his predicament. Lu Yin was frustrated by the man¡¯s attitude, and he instantlyshed out at him in frustration. The attack was not enough to kill the man, but it left him crippled to the point where he would no longer be able to cultivate. Lu Yin did not like killing people who were unable to defend themselves.

    Tong Zhan was indeed strong-willed, and he did not even utter a single plea for mercy.

    Lu Yin actually found himself starting to admire the man¡¯s resolution. ¡°I hope that you can escape before your enemies discover you here, so don¡¯t me me if you get killed.¡± He left the moment he was done speaking.

    ¡°Hold up! Just who the hell are you?¡± Tong Zhan yelled, his eyes ring with hatred.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, ¡°Take a guess.¡±

    And with that, he immediately left. He was no fool; even though Tong Zhan had lost his ability to fight, it was impossible to predict the future. Lu Yin did not want to face any disastrous repercussions in the future for his current actions, and giving Tong Zhan a fake name would also be easy to trace. Furthermore, Lu Yin had killed Tong Tong in the past, so if the Tong family discovered that he had also crippled Tong Zhan, Lu Yin would be the Tong family¡¯s hated enemy. He did not want to deal with any more trouble that he had to.

    Tong Zhan gritted his teeth so hard that his gums started bleeding. ¡°I swear that I¡¯ll find you and kill you!¡±

 Chapter 950: Reimbursement

    <h4>Chapter 950: Reimbursement</h4>

    The battle in the space with the Nine Cauldrons quickly came to an end with White Silkworm beating Di Luo up quitte badly. Then, when they realized that Tong Zhan had disappeared, White Silkworm left to look for Tong Zhan.

    When he found Tong Zhan and saw his miserable condition, White Silkworm coldly asked, ¡°Who did this?¡±

    In the distance, the cultivators from the Tong family were seething with anger.

    ¡°I don''t know his name, but he should have been one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters. He wanted to know the location where the two Venerables would tear through the Astral River, but I didn¡¯t tell him,¡± Tong Zhan said.

    White Silkworm coldly replied, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have mattered even if you had told him¡ªthe Outerverse cannot withstand our invasion forces. They only have one Yuan Shi, and resistance is meaningless.¡±

    Tong Zhan coldly dered, ¡°I must find him and get revenge.¡±

    White Silkworm stretched out a hand, pressed it against Tong Zhan¡¯s body, and then muttered, ¡°There¡¯s signs of the Oveying Stacks Path being used. Although the person who attacked you didn¡¯t actually use that technique, he wasn¡¯t able topletely hide that he uses it, which means that he must be quite skilled at the Oveying Stacks Path.¡±

    Tong Zhan¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°The Oveying Stacks Path¡­ Ten Arbiters¡­ I know who that person was! Lan Si.¡±

    ¡°You were in the Starfall Sea, but you didn¡¯t recognize Lan Si here?¡±

    ¡°He altered his appearance, probably because he was afraid of the Daosource Three Skies. It has to be him¡ªaside from Arbiter Lan Si, no one else would have been able to defeat me so easily,¡± Tong Zhan said with hatred.

    White Silkworm did not say anything else. Regardless of whether or not Tong Zhan¡¯s attacker was actually Lan Si, they were still enemies. Thus, there was no meaning in making any sort of distinction.

    In another ce, Lu Yin found someone to lead him along, and he soon arrived outside of the tform of Inception once again. This was the ce that he found most attractive in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, aside from the space that held the Nine Cauldrons.

    He felt rather expectant; maybe he would bump into Xin N¨¹ again!

    Lu Yin rather enjoyed spending time with her. Although the girl did not speak much, Lu Yin felt veryfortable around her, though it was a different kind offort than what he felt around Ming Yan. Xin N¨¹¡¯s sense offort came from the fact that she was genuinely concerned about him and was investing her time into him. It was quite strange, but that was essentially what he felt from her.

    However, Xin N¨¹ did not appear during this visit, and Lu Yin simply relied on his greatly improved strength to force his way through the white fog. Without any trouble, he arrived at the tform of Inception.

    Whenever he emerged from the white fog and reached the tform, he would feel worried that there would be other people on the tform of Inception.

    Those who could break through the white fog and use the tform of Inception were all experts with the strength of a Realmling, and he would be in trouble if he bumped into anyone on that level.

    Fortunately, his luck was pretty good this time.

    Lu Yin took several deep breaths and cleared his mind of all distractions. He then began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. He still had more than twenty days left in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and there was no reason to waste time thinking about other things.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin opened his eyes when he reappeared in the secure room within King Zishan''s pce.

    During this trip to the tform of Inception, he had managed to absorb two more strands of grey fog, and he believed that his lockbreaking abilities had increased by quite a bit. However, he was still quite far from reaching the Boundless Advanced level.

    Afterwards, he stepped out of the room, called Elder Daggs, and requested an audience with Yuan Shi.

    Elder Daggs made a point of speaking with Lu Yin for a bit, sharing his hopes that Lu Yin would not start a war if possible, but the elder did not mention anything about suggesting that Lu Yin restrain himself. This gave Lu Yin even more confidence, and he knew that the Hall of Honor did not have any problem with him unifying the Outerverse, and that they might even support him in doing so.

    ¡°Elder, my request to speak with Yuan Shi has nothing to do with the unification of the Outerverse,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yuan Shi had a gadget, but he did not use it at all. What¡¯s more, he was sometimes in locations where there were no signals at all. This was why Lu Yin could not directly contact the old man and had to go through Elder Daggs.

    Elder Daggs nodded, and he immediately headed for Yuan Shi¡¯s location. The elder was one of the few individuals who was aware that Lu Yin could enter the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and he had realized that Lu Yin might have some vitally important information to share.

    Soon, Yuan Shi¡¯s image appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen.

    Lu Yin adjusted his expression and then informed Yuan Shi of what had happened in the space with the Nine Cauldrons.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°If two Cosmic Imprinters act with their full strength, then they may indeed be able to tear through the Astral River. As for the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, the Astral River is not within its scope.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that they can go straight into the Astral River?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Yuan Shi did not respond, as this was the only possibility.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin also realized that what the old powerhouse had said was urate. The Astral River¡¯s energy might have surged, but that did not mean that it could not be withstood. The tributaries that wove throughout the Innerverse had also experienced surges in their star energy, isting the various flowzones. However, those tributaries had been torn apart, so there was no reason why the Astral River would be any different. With how powerful Cosmic Imprinters were, they would definitely be able to forge deep into the Astral River and then tear it apart.

    ¡°Do you know the exact location?¡± Yuan Shi asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I could not find that out, but I did not kill Tong Zhan. I intend for him to tell the Tong family¡¯s ancestor that our Outerverse knows about their invasion. The Sixth Maind would rather wipe out all of the Outerverse¡¯s resistance in one fell swoop than deal with a situation like the Innerverse¡¯s, where they have to deal with small pockets of resistance from all sides. Such a situation is of no benefit to them.

    ¡°Their objective is to gather resources and destroy our civilization whereas our existence is simply a hindrance to those two goals. Since both sides now know about this invasion, Junior believes that they will choose a location that is known by both sides as the site of their invasion, such as the astral cemetery.¡±

    Yuan Shi looked up as he muttered to himself, ¡°There is no border at the Technocracy¡¯s border, but war is about to break out along the Astral River. Just how long will this war continue for?¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply; there was only one answer to that question, but it was just too cruel. To the Sixth Maind, this war would only end once all the Fifth Maind¡¯s resisting forces werepletely eradicated. They did not make any moves againstmoners, and it initially seemed as if the standpoints of the two sides were merely different. However, this was not the case. Once the Fifth Maind¡¯s rebellious forces were dealt with, they would be forced to forever endure the suppression of the Sixth Maind. What¡¯s more, the Fifth Maind¡¯s skies might even be changed again, which would revert the universe to how it had been before the Sea King had broken through the Upper Three Gates.

    It was impossible to drive the Sixth Maind out given the current situation, and the only hopey with the Neoverse, which was a ce that Lu Yin did not understand. The Yu Elder had once mentioned that the Fifth Maind was not as simple as it appeared, and his statement should have been referring to the Neoverse.

    ¡°Send out orders to gather all the remaining forces of the Outerverse and station them in the astral cemetery. Prepare for an imminent war,¡± Yuan Shi spoke gravely.

    Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin¡¯s news was real or fake, Yuan Shi still had to take the appropriate measures. Furthermore, he trusted that Lu Yin would not be audacious enough to lie about such monumental news. At this moment, Yuan Shi merely hoped that the two Cosmic Imprinters from the invading families would not join forces against the Outerverse and that they would somehow be dyed elsewhere. Yuan Shi was not confident that he could fend off two Cosmic Imprinters.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s orders were the same as the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders. Thus, the entire Outerverse was issued anotherpulsory conscription calling for both powerful cultivators and battleships. Any military constructs with enough power were also gathered in the astral cemetery.

    Four of the captains from the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons were drafted, and the leaders of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s guiding powers, such as Meng Tianlong and Mu Nichang, were also called out. No Enlighter could escape, and everyone who had revealed themselves was drafted, such as Endless Borders¡¯ Windflower Crew, Captain Shi, and even Aegis¡¯ assassins, ck Mask and the child-like killer.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s Elder He was simrly drafted as well as the Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s Elder Tie and Lan Si. There were no exceptions, and everyone was ordered to gather in the astral cemetery.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Rapid Response Team was also conscripted.

    Ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had grown to cover half of the Outerverse, the Rapid Response Team¡¯s numbers had also increased. The number of Hunters had grown to twelve, and there were also forty Cruisers and 800 Explorers among them. The strength of this force, whenbined with Lu Yin and the Enlighter named Ye Gui, was able to rival the group from the Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    This was just the strength of the Rapid Response Team. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces also had another six Hunters as well as more than 500,000 Sentinels, nine million Seekers, and 1,500 battleships. It was a truly terrifying force.

    Fortunately, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had not been conscripted, but there was one other group that had absolutely no luck at all: the Central Coalition''s military.

    In order to defend against the Great Eastern Alliance, the Central Coalition had formed a joint military. These forces included more than 10,000 battleships, and even though the Suna Weave, Umbral Butterfly Tribe, Sourcepeak Weave, and others had all joined the Great Eastern Alliance, causing the Central Coalition¡¯s numbers to fall precipitously, the support of the western weaves had allowed the military to maintain its strength. In fact, it had even grown stronger than its past state. At this time, the Central Coalition had 12,000 battleships and more than twenty five Hunters, which shocked the Outerverse.

    This strength had originally been intended to be used to intimidate Lu Yin and make him wary enough to not act aggressively. But instead, it had drawn the Hall of Honor¡¯s attention and been drafted as a single unit.

    The Central Coalition''s military included people from the western region, and quite a few people went to Elder Daggs to ask for the joint military force to be exempted from the draft, but they were summarily rejected. ording to Elder Daggs¡¯s words, if the Outerverse was destroyed, then there was no point in preserving such a force.

    However, in order to cate the western region, Elder Daggs also sent out a conscription notice to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces, and they were also sent to the astral cemetery.

    The people from the Great Eastern Alliance were dejected.

    However, Lu Yin did not mind, as he had initially wanted to unite the Outerverse specifically to fight off amon external enemy, no matter if that enemy was the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, or the Technocracy. They were all foreign threats. At this moment, everyone was on the same side, resisting the outsiders, which was perfectly in line with his original intentions.

    When it was necessary to defend against amon enemy, internal strife became less important, and this was an important point to Lu Yin.

    He did not know when the Sixth Maind¡¯s two Cosmic Imprinters would act, but the Hall of Honor had drafted everyone immediately and sent them all to the astral cemetery as fast as possible.

    Their battleships were not radiant-grade Auroras, and they did not move nearly as quickly as high-level cultivators. The Outerverse¡¯s united military could not afford to all use Auroras, and even at top speed, it still took about a month for the various forces¡¯ battleships to arrive at the astral cemetery, and this was even when they used military expressways.

    This was also thanks to Lu Yin. The weaves in the western and central regions had begun to secretly construct their own military expressways, or else it would have taken them twice as long to gather in the astral cemetery.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had the furthest to travel to arrive in the astral cemetery, but they arrived at about the same time as the others since the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s expressways were moreplete. After exiting the Great Eastern Alliance, they had then borrowed the express routes of the Central Coalition and the western region at the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders, which sickened both organizations.

    This had basically exposed their military routes to the enemy.

    However, they could not refuse the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders. Instead, they could only make mental notes to tear down the exposed routes after the external threat passed and rebuild themter on. This meant that exorbitant sums of money had been wasted.

    Someone suggested that they seek Lu Yin out for reimbursement, but this suggestion wasughable and was immediately vetoed by others.

    The full strength of the Outerverse had been brought to bear, and it was truly powerful. Lu Yin was also able to see this for himself.

    He stared at the endless armada of battleships, countless space-exploring powerhouses, and all sorts of war weapons. This force covered such arge region of space that they existed as far as the eye could see, and they had enough power to shatter the space in the entire region.

    Although the offensive might of this group was not exceptionally powerful, it was still enough to make some bit of deterrence.

 Chapter 951: Influence

    <h4>Chapter 951: Influence</h4>

    The forces that had gathered in the astral cemetery were also capable ofunching special attacks. The Neo-Vestige Sect, the Dark Phoenix family, Millions City, and the Hall of Honor all had their own methods, not to mention the Sea King¡¯s Dome and powerhouses like Elder He. The Outerverse¡¯s strength did not appear to be weak at all.

    Lu Yin had arrived at the astral cemetery half a month ago, and he was feeling a great deal of pressure. Everyone else who had gathered here was simply wondering if war would actually break out, and even Yuan Shi was no different. Lu Yin was the only person who was absolutely certain that war was about to start. The Tong family had invaded the Starfall Sea, and now that the Starfall Sea hadpletely fallen under their control, they had aplished the objective of their invasion. In this situation, it would be perfectly normal for them to redirect their attention towards the Outerverse, as there were no other ces within the Innerverse that they could step in.

    But Lu Yin was not as certain about the Sightless n¡¯s situation. They might be in the same situation as the Tong family, or they might have just been invited by Ancestor Tong.

    No matter what, it was guaranteed that the Tong family would eventually invade the Outerverse. Otherwise, Madam Hong would have never allowed Mr. Yi and Mr. Da to cross the Astral River.

    That order that had been given out on the spur of the moment was enough to show that the family had already been considering invading the Outerverse.

    Speaking of those two, Lu Yin wondered how they were, and he thought of Mr. Yi.

    There was a saying that thinking of someone would cause them to appear; right as Lu Yin was thinking about Mr. Yi, the Imprinter¡¯s rune lines appeared.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at where the man was standing proudly in space. Lu Yin blinked in surprise, lifted a hand, and then contacted Elder Daggs.

    ¡°Elder, has Mr. Yi surrendered?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Daggs replied, ¡°Not quite. He is willing to lend his strength to resist, but he will not take the initiative to attack anyone from the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. He then ended the call and flew over towards Mr. Yi. Lu Yin wanted to get a handle on Mr. Yi¡¯s emotions, as this person held a unique ce in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. When he had stood at the highest point in his entire life, he had been led there by Mr. Yi.

    This man was an Imprinter whose power level was even greater than 600,000, and there was no one in the entire Outerverse who could match up to such an expert aside from Yuan Shi. However, the Imprinter had been repeatedly driven back by Lu Yin, which was something that no one would believe without seeing. Lu Yin missed that invincible feeling, and as he thought about that time, his hand felt itchy, and he even felt an impulse to bring out that stinky fruit.

    Mr. Yi had long since noticed Lu Yin, and a nauseous feeling had reflexively welled up, but he had forced himself to pretend to not see Lu Yin.

    ¡°Mr. Yi?¡± Lu Yin probed.

    Mr. Yi looked over with a cold expression and snorted. He then looked elsewhere.

    Lu Yin moved closer. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. How has Mr. Yi been doing?¡±

    Mr. Yi frowned and turned to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°Go away.¡±

    Lu Yin mocked the Imprinter, saying, ¡°About that, Mr. Yi, let me ask you some questions. When you charged into the Astral River back then, how was the Sea King?¡±

    Mr. Yi sneered. ¡°Dead.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°Dead? How could he have died so quickly?¡±

    Mr. Yi looked away and did not answer. However, he released a terrifying might from his body that caused Lu Yin to be pushed away.

    When facing a top powerhouse whose power level had almost reached 700,000, Lu Yin was not even able to react before he was sent flying far away. Fortunately for Lu Yin, Mr. Yi was still scared of Yuan Shi, so he did not harm Lu Yin. Otherwise, even if Lu Yin had been wearing his universal armor, he would have been instantly killed.

    Lu Yin was furious, and he really wanted to take out the stinky object now. However, after thinking it through, he decided not to.

    In the Innerverse, Lu Yin had been able to use the stinky fruit to deal with Mr. Yi purely because both sides¡¯ power level had been suppressed to under 200,000. Under those circumstances, Lu Yin had been able to rely on his secret technique to endlessly harass the Imprinter. But now, in the Outerverse, Mr. Yi had no such restrictions, so that odious fruit simply would not even be able to approach the powerhouse.

    Lu Yin felt depressed, and he decided to forget about it and to stop trying to speak with the old man. Next on his to-do list, Lu Yin was to take a trip to Central Coalition and evaluate them since they were now allied troops. But at that moment, his gadget suddenly beeped; it was a call from Elder Daggs.

    Lu Yin epted the call, and Elder Daggs¡¯s voice called out, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, may I ask if you still have any of the poison from before?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew bright. ¡°Yes! How much would Elder like?¡±

    ¡°How much do you have?¡± Elder Daggs asked.

    This sentence was too generous, and Lu Yin quickly did some brief calctions. He still had some portions of Elder Wu''s poison left, and each one cost him 600,000 star essence to upgrade. With his current star essence stores, Lu Yin had enough to upgrade no more than four bottles at this time.

    ¡°Junior still has four vials,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Elder Daggs replied, ¡°We¡¯ll buy all of them.¡±

    There were not many poisons that could pose any sort of threat to experts with power levels of more than 300,000. At the very least, such poisons were rarely ever found in the Outerverse. As such, these powerful poisons could be used to incite panic in their enemies in the uing battle.

    Elder Daggs was willing to purchase anything that could bolster their strength regardless of its price tag.

    Lu Yin grew emotional, and he quickly agreed to a time for them to carry out the transaction. He then spent some time calcting the numbers only to realize that this deal would allow his worth to surpass four million star essence, which was almost too wealthy.

    Not long after Elder Daggs contacted Lu Yin, the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Gong Ling also contacted the youth, asking about purchasing more of those high-quality arrows.

    In the past, the Lu''s Grand Auction had sold off some arrows that had been upgraded by Lu Yin, and they had been too perfect a fit for the Neo-Vestige Sect. Now that a bloody war was about to start once again, Gong Ling also hoped to improve his sect¡¯s strength.

    Reportedly, the arrows at the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Arrow Mountain were nearly gone, as the cruelty of the border invasion had shocked the Neo-Vestige Sect. All of their qualified disciples had visited Arrow Mountain to search for arrows in hopes of increasing their chances of survival on the battlefield, even if it was only a small bit.

    Lu Yin really wanted to do business with the Neo-Vestige Sect, but this was not a suitable time. It would be very easy for others to realize what he was doing, so he could only reluctantly decline Gong Ling¡¯s proposal.

    With the Outerverse¡¯s full strength gathered in one ce, battle naturally broke out on a daily basis. There were internal conflicts within every weave, and the interweave conflicts were even moremon. The Hall of Honor was forced to send out many people on a daily basis to deal with the constant conflicts, and they were barely able to maintain the peace.

    It had taken a tremendous amount of resources to mobilize all of these troops, and this was acutely felt by each organization since the resources were shouldered by each individual power. Each day, someone would ask Elder Daggs when the battle would start, as well as who had provided information concerning this uing war.

    Elder Daggs did not dare answer, as he himself was hoping that the war would never happen. As for who had provided the information, if he shared that Lu Yin had been the one to supply the news, then it would definitely incite great dissatisfaction if an invasion did not ur.

    Lu Yin was not afraid of other people being unhappy with him, and he actually looked forward to finding an excuse to fight his way further westwards. However, Elder Daggs did not want to be the fuse for an internal war within the Outerverse.

    Eventually, the elder closed his doors and refused all visitors. He used Yuan Shi as an excuse for many things, and so nobody dared to say too much.

    However, gathering countless troops from all over the Outerverse to the astral cemetery became increasingly troublesome as more time psed.

    Disagreements constantly arose, and there would also be fights, not to mention the appearance of some weirdos as well.

    One such example was Zhu San. He seemed bent onpletely letting himself go, and hepletely disregarded what others thought of him. Now, he no longer wore anything other than feminine clothing as he incessantly chased after Qiong Xi''er. His actions actually led many people to assume that they were allowed to bring their partners on this military campaign, which led to even more incidents.

    Qiong Xi''er herself was no better, and she spent all of her days teasing various maids.

    In the end, Elder Daggs had to order Qiong Xi''er to not leave Millions City until the war started. This was the only way to deal with the strange pair.

    Wei Rong had also been conscripted, as his suggestion had been adopted during the defense at Endless Weave¡¯s border warfront with great sess, and his military contributions had ranked quite highly, which attracted Elder Daggs¡¯s attention. This,bined with his efforts against Lu Yin in the war for Armament Weave, allowed Elder Daggs to understand Wei Rong a little better. This time, Elder Daggs had recruited Wei Rong to the astral cemetery and even given the young man certain special privileges that allowed him to directly meet with Elder Daggs, as the elder hoped to receive some good suggestions.

    However, Wei Rong made his attitude very obvious; he would only report to Lu Yin about any matter.

    During this time, Angie also met with Wei Rong once, and although nobody knew what the two had talked about, Angie¡¯s expression had been very dark when she left.

    More and more spacecraft gathered in the astral cemetery.

    Lu Yin observed the Astral River every day, and it was impossible to tell if he was hoping that the other side would force their way over or that they would not.

    At one point, he even made it a special point to tour through the Central Coalition, and his presence there attracted everyone¡¯s eyes.

    Central Coalition had been specifically established to curb his ambitious activities, and he was the enemy of all these troops. And yet, nobody dared to stop him.

    In another ce, Wei Rong was stopped by Elder Tie.

    At one point in the past, Lu Yin had arranged for the people from the Mt. Stacks Dojo to create some trouble for Wei Rong so that Lu Yin would be able to subdue his former rival. However, because of Wang Wen, although that plot had never been carried out, the conflict between Wei Rong and the Mt. Stacks Dojo had not been resolved yet. At this time, after much difficulty, they had finally found Wei Rong, and Elder Tie¡¯s group was not going to let the youth off so easily.

    Ever since he dered his allegiance to the Great Yu Empire, Wei Rong had remained on Zenyu Star, and Elder Tie did not dare to go to that ce and make trouble. However, at this moment, they could finally settle things.

    Wei Rong looked at Elder Tie¡¯s group in a calm manner. ¡°You guys really don¡¯t know how to give up.¡±

    Elder Tie¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°I¡¯ll give Lu Yin a bit of face, so follow me back to the Young Master and kowtow to him in apology. Then, we can let go of this matter.¡±

    Wei Rong did not reply. Instead, Aden and Cai Jianqiang suddenly appeared from the side and faced Elder Tie. Along with Huo Qingshan and the Blind Monk, they were the four Thirteen Imperial Squadron Captains who had been drafted.

    More Hunters simrly appeared behind Elder Tie.

    In terms of Hunters, unless the Great Eastern Alliance or the Rapid Response Team was dragged into this confrontation, then the people behind Wei Rong could notpare to the Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s numbers.

    Furthermore, the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo were all from the Innerverse, and they possessed a certain unspoken arrogance towards the denizens of the Outerverse.

    Elder Tie coldly looked at Aden and Cai Jianqiang. ¡°Do you guys intend to be enemies with my Mt. Stacks Dojo?¡±

    ¡°So arrogant! This is the Outerverse, not the Starfall Sea,¡± Cai Jianqiang replied.

    Elder Tie¡¯s gaze turned sharp. ¡°Since that¡¯s how it is, then don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t show Lu Yin any face. Capture them all and bring them along.¡±

    At this moment, the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Gong Chou and his people passed by, and they hurriedly caught up as soon as they caught wind of what was happening. They moved to stand beside Aden and the others to confront Elder Tie¡¯s group.

    It was not that Gong Chou was actually close with the people from the Great Yu Empire, but rather, they were all a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. If they remained indifferent while their own allies were bullied, then they would be the ones who would end up being embarrassed.

    Next, quite a few other experts from the Great Eastern Alliance arrived and also confronted Elder Tie¡¯s group.

    Elder Tie was about to act, but at that moment, a cold killing intent locked onto him. It was from ck Mask, who had also arrived. At the same time, from another direction, the olddy who was supported by the Nn family, Mr. Tradeo from Amethyst Exchange, and the Windflower Crew from Endless Borders also arrived.

    The astral cemetery was not veryrge. Thus, Enlighters could easily see what was happening in various ces.

    Elder Tie¡¯s scalp went numb. Although he could easily disregard one or two Enlighters, there was no way he could ignore this many. Moreover, there were even powerhouses among them whose power levels were greater than 300,000, and all of these people seemed to be siding with Wei Rong.

    Elder Daggs also rushed over. Since this incident had attracted this many experts, he could not continue to remain in hiding.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Elder Daggs had an ugly expression.

    Wei Rong bowed and respectfully answered, ¡°A small misunderstanding has dragged Elder out. I am truly sorry.¡±

    Elder Daggs turned to look at Elder Tie. ¡°Is there any issue here?¡±

    Elder Tie did not even have a chance to reply when Lu Yin arrived. He nced over the gathering, nodded towards those like ck Mask and Mr. Tradeo, and then looked at Elder Tie. ¡°You¡¯re still holding on to matters from back then?¡±

    Elder Tie frowned. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this matter concerns the reputation of our young master, who¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters. Some Explorer from the Outerverse dared to try to use one of the Ten Arbiters, and if it was you, you would not let such a thing go easily either.¡±

    ¡°And what if I said that those usations were false?¡± Lu Yin responded coldly.

 Chapter 952: The Changing Astral River

    <h4>Chapter 952: The Changing Astral River</h4>

    Elder Tie was confused. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®fake?¡¯¡±

    Lu Yin was just about to exin when Wei Rong stepped forward. ¡°This was all my fault, and I hope that Elder Tie can convey my apologies to the Arbiter.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look at Wei Rong, but the young man just shook his head at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned his head away. He did not actually care if he offended Lan Si, as from his few interactions with him, Lu Yin was aware that Lan Si was not a petty person. Moreover, a petty person would not have been able to be an Arbiter.

    A person¡¯s attitude determined the heights that they could reach, and although Lan Si¡¯s personal strength had helped him to achieve his current status, the man also had an impressive spirit.

    However, Wei Rong had his own opinion, and so, Lu Yin remained silent out of respect for Wei Rong.

    Elder Tie¡¯s expression softened when he saw that Wei Rong was behaving apologetically even with Lu Yin and many other powerhouses present. He then nodded. ¡°Very well, I will convey your apologies. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ck Mask and the others also left when they saw that the conflict was settled.

    Elder Daggs nced over at Lu Yin. This youth truly possessed an impressive level of influence in the Outerverse, and so many experts had moved out just to help one of his subordinates. Elder Daggs suddenly realized that he had still been underestimating Lu Yin.

    ¡°Your Highness, we should not make any more enemies if we can help it. Even if you don¡¯t care about what Lan Si thinks, you still should consider the other Arbiters¡¯ reactions to this,¡± Wei Rong said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You did the right thing. We don¡¯t know when the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse will be restored, and once it does, there will be tremendous chaos within the Ten Arbiters. Lan Si is a nice person, and he¡¯s also not petty and knows how to be grateful. Thus, we shouldn¡¯t make him an enemy.¡±

    ¡­

    Soon, another month passed by. By now, it had been about five years since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse. There had been huge changes in both ces during these five years.

    A person who had been famous just within the younger generation was now a major figure who was able to decide the fate of the entire Outerverse.

    500 years was not enough for someone to gainplete control of all of the weaves in the Outerverse, let alone just five years. However, Lu Yin had done the right thing by establishing an alliance, as he only needed the status and the resources provided by the Outerverse. He had no need to gain total control of it.

    Meanwhile, in Ironblood Weave, Wang Wen initiated his next scheme. If this n seeded, then it would just be a matter of time before Lu Yin achieved his goal of uniting the Outerverse.

    The conflicts among the forces stationed in the astral cemetery kept worsening, and many people were on the verge of leaving.

    The amount of resources that were spent every day just to maintain this number of troops in one ce was astronomical.

    Everyone who had gathered in this ce was a cultivator, and thus, apart from regr military expenses, cultivation resources were also needed. The end sum of all these expenses was enough to bankrupt even major powers.

    The Astral River suddenly experienced a change during this situation.

    The Astral River, which ran along the edge of the astral cemetery, suddenly started surging, and the energy barrier that separated the Outerverse from the Innerverse was shredded apart as an enormous fish barreled into the Outerverse.

    Mr. Yi calmly stepped forward to push the fish aside, but the moment he touched the fish, the clothes on his arms were torn apart. Two separate streams of force entered his body and tore him to pieces.

    Yuan Shi stepped forward and casually waved a hand, causing the fish to fly off into the distance.

    Everyone was stunned; a powerhouse with a power level exceeding 600,000 had died just like that!

    Lu Yin hesitated. The fish had been covered with a terrifying number of rune lines that were equivalent to a Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s power. Mr. Yi, who only had a power level that was a bit higher than 600,000, would obviously be torn apart when pitted against the power of a Cosmic Imprinter.

    Mr. Yi¡¯s death had simply been a waste.

    However, Mr. Yi¡¯s death was just the start. Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to the Astral River as two streams of energy shot out, creating a visible shockwave that swept through the crowd.

    Yuan Shi bellowed and tore the shockwave apart. Two figures emerged from the Astral River, and their aura intimidated everyone. They somehow both resembled Ancestor Di; they were Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless, and both of them were Cosmic Imprinters.

    There were also countless experts from the Tong family and the Sightless n behind the two men, and there were even three Imprinters among their forces. All of these people rushed towards the Outerverse¡¯s forces.

    This was an unbeatable strength, and their power was enough to cause the entire sky to tremble.

    Yuan Shi immediately charged towards Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless while the rest of the experts from the Outerverse recovered from their shock. They soon released shouts of their own as they confidently rushed towards the Astral River.

    This fight would likely be even more intense than the war that had urred at the border.

    Right when the cultivators from the Sixth Maind believed that the battle had begun, Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan used the Yu Secret Art from a hidden position within the crowd. They diverted arge amount of pyrolyte right next to the Astral River.

    Yuan Shi was the only powerhouse in the Outerverse who couldpare to a Cosmic Imprinter, and his actions were being closely monitored by Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless, which made it impossible for him tounch any sort of ambush attempt. However, Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan were only Cruisers, and nobody was paying attention to anyone at their level. Moreover, they had used their secret technique, which did not have many signs.

    They had transferred about a hundred grams of recently mined pyrolyte, and this was their entire stockpile. Lu Yin had even added in his own personal stash of eight grams, and the two youths detonated the entire pile right next to the Astral River.

    Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless had never expected to encounter such a rare mineral like pyrolyte here, and they were about to stop the explosion when Yuan Shi attacked both of them at the same time. He managed to upy them for a single second, which was enough to allow the pyrolyte to erupt. The resulting explosion had a power level of one million that affected both sides of the Astral River.

    Although the center of the explosion was quite far from the Outerverse¡¯s troops, they were still within the radius of effect as this explosion had a power level of one million. Fortunately, the Hall of Honor had made adequate preparations and created many defenses. Yuan Shi also threw a power vessel towards the weaker cultivators to help them block the shockwave of the explosion.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators responded the same way, and the three Imprinters worked together to block half of the explosion¡¯s force. The rest of the explosion was blocked by the various Enlighters among the troops.

    Although the explosion had a power level of one million, it would not be able to cause much damage if the opponent was sufficiently prepared. If they had still possessed the blood red bell, then the explosion would have been enough to kill the three Imprinters.

    However, the goal of this explosion had never been to cause damage; it was just a distraction for the Neo-Vestige Sect to take action.

    Right as the shockwaves of the explosion faded, the members of the Neo-Vestige Sect loosed countless arrows towards the Astral River, aiming at the invaders from the Sixth Maind.

    At the same time, Elder He, the headmaster of Astral-9, and Millions City, all of which possessed the strength of an Envoy, attacked the three Imprinters, not giving the three of them any time to block the arrows.

    Regardless, these arrows were not even powerful enough to threaten Imprinters.

    A dozen Enlighters within the Sixth Maind¡¯s crowd moved forward to block the arrows from striking the rest of their Maind¡¯s forces. However, they had underestimated the power of these arrows. The pyrolyte explosion had served as a distraction for these arrows, as they were coated with poison.

    Not only had Elder Daggs purchased poisons from Lu Yin, but the Hall of Honor had also bought the strongest poisons avable in the Outerverse. At this moment, all of those poisons had been shot at the Sixth Maind through the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s arrows.

    The people from the Sixth Maind were shocked. ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind is despicable!¡±

    ¡°Despicable natives!¡±

    ¡­

    White Silkworm instantly swallowed a pill and fell down as the poisons had included a poisonous gas that could even harm Enlighters.

    Elder Yuan, who was from the Tong family, bellowed as he tried to force the poisonous gas away. However, he suddenly felt a strong killing intent behind him as ck Mask suddenly attacked the elder. At the same time, the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses that had not been affected by the poison were all simultaneously attacked by the various powerhouses of the Outerverse.

    Yu Mu, the Starmaster of Astral-9, the olddy from the Nn family, Yuehua Mavis, and other experts allunched their attacks in unison.

    An intense battle broke out along the border between the Astral River and the astral cemetery. Yuan Shi fought against the two Cosmic Imprinters, the Envoys battled against the Imprinters, and the united forces of the Fifth Maind battled with the two major ns from the Sixth Maind. The entire gxy was shattered by the unending violence.

    The attack prepared by the Outerverse had damaged the forces of the tworge ns from the Sixth Maind, as many of their cultivators, including some Enlighters, had died to the poisonous gas. However, the sudden attack had not affected Ancestor Tong or Ancestor Sightless in the slightest.

    When they learned that Tong Zhan had inadvertently revealed that they would be attacking through the Astral River to someone from the Fifth Maind, they had already expected to run into an ambush. However, they had still chosen this particr location and continued on with their n as they wanted to eliminate all of the experts in the Outerverse in one go. They would not be able to takeplete control of the Outerverse without defeating these powerhouses anyways.

    The war in the Innerverse had reached a standstill since the Sixth Maind¡¯s three realms had not been able topletely suppress the opposing powerhouses. Thus, the two Venerables did not want to repeat that mistake with the Outerverse.

    The two Cosmic Imprinters had been willing to run into the ambush and sacrifice some of their people as long as it allowed them to defeat all of the Outerverse¡¯s experts at once.

    This was especially true for the sole expert in the Outerverse who could rival a Cosmic Imprinter; they were determined to kill that person.

    With the power that Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless possessed, either one of them would have been enough to deal with Yuan Shi, which would allow the other to annihte everyone else from the Outerverse. Nevertheless, they did not do that, as they were worried that Yuan Shi would escape if just one of them was fighting him, and that would be a disaster for their ns.

    An expert with the power of a Cosmic Imprinter was enough to ruin both of their families, and such a person could easily kill countless people in an instant. Hence, they had decided to cooperate against Yuan Shi and eliminate all future problems this way. As for the remaining Fifth Maind natives, they were just ants that could be dealt with after Yuan Shi died.

    The battle between Yuan Shi and the two Cosmic Imprinters urred in a ce that nobody else could even see. It might have even been in the true universe that Yuan Shi had mentioned to Lu Yin before.

    Lu Yin had no time to think about such things at the moment. He put on his universal armor and focused on fighting against an Enlighter from the Sightless n whose power level was more than 300,000. The Enlighter paid absolutely no attention to Lu Yin since the youth was just a Cruiser.

    However, when Lu Yin managed to deflect the Enlighter¡¯s attack, the expert instantly realized that Lu Yin was not a normal cultivator. If a Cruiser possessed an item that could deflect an Enlighter¡¯s attack, then this person must hold a high status in the Outerverse.

    The Enlighter quickly decided to capture Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had attacked the Enlighter because he had noticed that the Enlighter was heading towards the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Rapid Response Team. Lu Yin was worried that the Rapid Response Team would be annihted by the Enlighter, and thus, he had decided to pester the expert and tie him down. Although he was not able to defeat an Enlighter with this level of strength, this Enlighter would simrly be unable to injure Lu Yin. And so, their battle was dragged out.

 Chapter 953: Lu Yinâ€™s Evolution

    <h4>Chapter 953: Lu Yin¡¯s Evolution</h4>

    In the distance, Lan Si had been targeted by White Silkworm ever since the Sixth Maind youth had recognized the Arbiter. Surprisingly, everyone else was avoiding the region where the two youths were fighting.

    White Silkworm¡¯s position within the Sixth Maind was very special, and even Imprinters did not want to hinder him.

    However, White Silkworm was still one step behind the Ten Arbiters in terms ofbat prowess, and so, he was quickly injured by Lan Si. However, no one made any moves to help or protect White Silkworm. Although he was greatly respected within his n, it seemed as though no one particrly cared about his life and death.

    Lan Si did not understand why they would have such indifference, but he started attacking even more ruthlessly.

    There was a row of over 10,000 battleships floating at the back of the battlefield. When they fired off their first volley of attacks, light beams covered the entire region of outer space as they crossed over half of the battlefield, aimed at the back of the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces. This was where the members of the tworge ns were the most concentrated. Right now, there were not very many powerhouses present among the two ns, and while a handful of experts had moved forward to the front of the battlefield, the people at the back were mostly riding atop strange flying creatures that were simr to spacecraft. However, these people had not acted yet. Most of these people were not even Explorers yet, and they were simply following behind the fighting forces in order to aplish the next stage of work for the invasion.

    Even though these people could not survive in outer space by themselves, they were not all cannon fodder. Some of them even had exceptional innate gifts, and the hopes of the two great families were pinned on these youths. Hence, the moment those countless beams of light shot towards the weaker family members like a crashing mountain, two Enlighters with power levels of more than 400,000 moved out. They easily tore through the light beams, protecting the weaker cultivators.

    The people who had been targeted showed no fear when the attacks were eliminated. They simply calmly waited atop their flying creatures and stared excitedly in the direction of the Outerverse, as this ce would soon belong to them.

    In normal circumstances, the Outerverse would never be able to achieve victory here. The Sixth Maind had two Cosmic Imprinters and three Imprinters, not to mention a dozen Enlighters; this force was something that the Outerverse fundamentally could not withstand. The average strength of the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ also surpassed the Outerverse cultivators¡¯, and the invaders were even further strengthened by their imprints, bloodlines, and martial prints. All in all, they were able to effortlessly crush their Outerverse counterparts who were within the same cultivation realm.

    However, all of this was mere theory. The Outerverse had Lu Yin, which gave them ess to many more possibilities, such as the Ultra sh Tearbombs. These baubles were not very effective against powerhouses, but on this gigantic battlefield, they could be used to extraordinary effectiveness. As the fight raged on, every once in a while, a powerful light would explode in space, and it was even possible for just one Ultra sh Tearbomb to change the entire fight¡¯s momentum at times.

    Half a year ago, when Lu Yin had used his die to upgrade four vials of Elder Wu''s poisons that he had then handed over to Elder Daggs, Lu Yin had also taken that opportunity to upgrade quite a few of his Ultra sh Tearbomb as well as countless pills. Later, he hade up with the excuse that he had found a powerful sect in a hidden parallel space, thus obtaining countless natural treasures and pills.

    This story could only be reluctantly epted, as it was the only exnation for where these potent ancient pills hade from. Additionally, it also served as the apparent source of the natural treasures that were regrly sold off at the Lu''s Grand Auction as well as Lu Yin¡¯s poisons.

    Everywhere on the battlefield, it was possible to see Outerverse cultivators who were unable to beat their opponents start vigorously swallowing pills.

    Even if the Outerverse¡¯s cultivators were unable to beat their peers from the Sixth Maind, they still kept consuming pills nonstop. These pills had all been upgraded to the point where their rune lines nearly matched an Enlighter¡¯s, making them amazingly effective. These powerful consumables shrank the gap in strength between the two sides, and this sight made the Sixth Maind cultivators want to vomit blood.

    All of these items had actually originally been ordinary pills, but they had all been upgraded by Lu Yin until their rune lines nearly matched an Enlighter¡¯s, with each one costing him 10,000 star essence. The money that Lu Yin had received in exchange for the poisons that he had previously sold, along with the 4.3 million star essence that he had owned before that, had been nearly all used up in preparation for this decisive battle.

    Upgrading 400 pills and over 200 Ultra sh Tearbombs was a clear demonstration of Lu Yin¡¯s attitude towards this decisive battle.

    Elder Daggs had actually been very emotionally moved when he had received these items from Lu Yin. At that moment, the elder had promised Lu Yin that if the battle never took ce, then the items would be returned to Lu Yin along with an additional million star essence reward from the Hall of Honor. If the battle was fought, and if they survived once it was over, then not only would the Hall of Honor provide Lu Yin with arge amount of star essence, but it would also award him with excessive military contributions.

    Lu Yin had done more than demonstrate his stance when he promised to protect the Outerverse with his life; his actions had also made Elder Daggs even more conscientious that a great battle was about toe. Thus, he had quickly distributed these upgraded pills and Ultra sh Tearbomb without hesitation. This was the Outerverse¡¯s most crucial preparation that had given them a chance of survival in this invasion.

    It could be said that, without Lu Yin¡¯s initiative, the Outerverse would not have nearly been so well prepared.

    Although just 400 pills had been given out, the experts who were qualified to receive such pills among the Outerverse¡¯s powerhouses did not even amount to 100. Each person was a Hunter at the very least, and the supply was more than sufficient for each such person to be given several pills.

    For example, Aden was able to use his massive lightning shield to tank attacks from multiple Enlighters. When the Hunter was beaten to the point of vomiting blood, he swallowed a pill which allowed him to quickly recover. Then, he continued to face his opponents head on, which frustrated the Sixth Maind cultivators endlessly.

    There was also Cai Jianqiang, who ferociously attacked the enemy seemingly without any consideration for his own life, and his opponent was another Enlighter.

    Further along the battlefield, Gong Ling directly faced off against an Enlighter whose power level was at 300,000.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu swallowed a pill and killed her way towards a crowd of Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Topmist hid himself and attacked from the dark.

    The Enlighters from Ironblood Weave had also been drafted to this battlefield.

    This battlefield had been prepared to the Outerverse¡¯s best abilities, and although the Sixth Maind had assumed that they would easily andpletely roll over the Outervese without any real resistance, reality had left them stumped.

    The truth was that the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion preparations had been quite sufficient. After all, when the Bloodburn Realm had failed to invade the Outerverse, it was because the Sixth Maind had assumed that a single Cosmic Imprinter would be enough to eliminate most of the Outerverse¡¯s strength. Who would have expected that the initial attack from two Cosmic Imprinters would only be able to take out one Mr. Yi!? The only person who had died to that first attack was actually someone from the Tong family!

    Even if the Outerverse had managed to withstand the onught for the moment, the ones fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters were in a dangerous situation.

    Millions City was still just a mobile fortress, and it was not truly an Envoy-level powerhouse. Its cannon fire was easily dodged by the opposing powerhouses, and the fortress was unable to hold up even a single Imprinter despite Yuehua Mavis¡¯s cooperation with it.

    Elder He was an Envoy with a power level of only 510,000, and as the weakest Envoy on the battlefield, he simply could not block the Tong family¡¯s Granny Gui.

    Astral-9''s Headmaster was the only person who could exchange blows with the Sightless n¡¯s Imprinter. However, it was impossible for him to quickly defeat the Imprinter.

    As another Imprinter from the Sightless n knocked Yuehua Mavis back, the scales of the battlefield began to tip in favor of the Sixth Maind. No one else in the entire Outerverse could resist an Imprinter.

    These Imprinters were not under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon that pervaded the Innerverse, but rather true Imprinters whose might could affect an entire region. The Imprinter stretched out a hand, and Millions City began to crack. Additionally, the unlucky Sall Phoenix and disciple of Elder Lohar, Akira, were both instantly killed without any chance of dodging the attack.

    With the Imprinter¡¯s second strike, Astral-9''s Headmaster Zhang vomited blood and copsed.

    Then, he moved to make his third attack.

    Yuehua Mavis¡¯s face turned deathly pale, and she swallowed a pill. However, it was one whose rune lines merely approached the level of an Enlighter¡¯s, and it was not very helpful to her.

    Within Millions City, Qiong Shanhai¡¯s body trembled while Qiong Xi''er¡¯s face went pale as she watched the Imprinterunch his attack.

    At that moment, a solitary arrow streaked through the void and shot towards the Imprinter.

    The Imprinter was startled and tapped out with a finger, freezing the arrow within the void. However, a trace of blood appeared at his fingertip: he had been injured.

    In the distance, Gong Ling was breathing heavily, and there was despair in his eyes. He had just shot one of their inherited arrows, but he was just an Enlighter. Even though he had used an inherited arrow, his attack still was not powerful enough to harm an Imprinter.

    The Sightless n¡¯s Imprinter tried to grab the arrow, but it suddenly vanished before he could do so. He then turned his head in another direction and noticed Lu Yin holding the arrow while repeatedly retreating from an Enlighter¡¯s continuous palm strikes.

    The Imprinter smiled. ¡°Just a puny Cruiser who has a secret technique. Little one, follow me.¡± The Imprinter then stepped forward. Space could not endure the man¡¯s strength, and he instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he turned to look at the Imprinter behind him. He also noticed that, even further back, Elder He was in a disheveled state. The Envoy was falling down while vomiting blood, and Granny Gui was smiling cruelly. She then looked at Lu Yin and also rushed over towards him. ¡°Little bastard, so this is where you¡¯ve been.¡±

    Although Lu Yin had altered his appearance in the Innerverse, it was not difficult for powerhouses such as Granny Gui to recognize him.

    Lu Yin threw the arrow towards Granny Gui. ¡°Old witch, this is for you.¡±

    The Imprinter from the Sightless n frowned, and he raised his hand to grab at the arrow.

    Further away, Granny Gui¡¯s eyes turned cold, and she was just about to reply when Lu Yin suddenly smiled. ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    He then pulled out the walnut and unleashed its energy at Granny Gui and the Sightless n¡¯s Imprinter.

    The walnut was a power vessel that had been personally made by Yuan Shi, and it contained an attack with a power level of 700,000. It would affect everything in a straight line, so it would not affect the user as long as that person stood behind the walnut.

    This walnut had been given to Lu Yin after the previous invasion by the Sixth Maind, and Yuan Shi had provided it aspensation for the blood-red bell that had been destroyed. Even if Yuan Shi had made it, it was not easy to manufacture such a power vessel.

    At this moment, the power vessel¡¯s attack exploded forth. Although an eruption with a power level of 700,000 was not on the same level as the initial explosion of pyrolyte, this was a power vessel that had been personally made by Yuan Shi, and itspressed power could not bepared to the dispersed explosion of the pyrolyte.

    The universe was split into two, or at least, the visible portion of the universe was split asunder.

    The energy within the power vessel sted forwards, and nothing was left behind except for a spatial crack that only held nothingness.

    Both of the two Imprinters hadpletely vanished to the point where even their rune lines had beenpletely obliterated.

    The two of them had possessed power levels of 600,000 at best, and against one of Yuan Shi¡¯s attacks that had a power level of 700,000, it would have been a miracle for them to survive.

    With Yuan Shi¡¯s strength, Imprinters likely would not be able to survive an attack from him even if its power level was only at 500,000, not to mention one with a power level of more than 700,000. This was the strength of someone who could rival a Cosmic Imprinter.

    The battlefield fell deathly silent as everyone stared at Lu Yin in horror. He had taken out two Imprinters in one strike.

    Countless people felt their hearts drop. It wasn¡¯t just the Sixth Maind cultivators, but also people from the Outerverse. They all shared the same thought: Lu Yin had evolved.

    In the past, when Lu Yin had been a Limiteer, he had used various external items to kill Enlighters and acquired the title of Enlighters¡¯ Bane as a result. With this one move, he had evolved and with his items, he had killed Imprinters while just at the Cruiser realm. That meant that he was capable of killing Envoys! He had evolved to apletely new level.

    However, nobody could understand Lu Yin¡¯s agony, as he had just used up the power vessel that he had received aspensation for the blood-red bell. It had been a power vessel that contained an attack with a power level of 700,000! That power vessel had allowed Lu Yin to confidently roam about wherever he wished, and it had even been able to cause the most cautious powerhouses to feel fear, such as ck Mask.

    And now, it was gone.

    Lu Yin could not help himself, and he looked back. The Hall of Honor absolutely had to make a note of this military contribution. If possible, he definitely wanted to obtain another, simr power vessel.

    The inherited arrow was also gone. It might have vanished into one of the multiple spatial cracks left behind by the fearsome attack, though it was also possible that it had been reduced to dust.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect had held three inherited arrows for ages. One had been taken away by Yan Cheng during the previous invasion, and it was impossible to know where it had ended up. Now, another one had disappeared. Thus, there was now only one remaining, which was with Lu Yin.

    In the distance, Gong Ling sighed. The moment he shot out that inherited arrow, he had already known that there was no way to reim it. However, he had done what he had to.

    Nobody had imagined that Lu Yin would take out two Imprinters with one attack, and his actionspletely changed the battlefield¡¯s situation.

    Astral-9''s Headmaster was fighting against another one of the Sightless n¡¯s Imprinters, but the headmaster was not losing and was actually holding the upper hand. That was a fight that could be already noted as won.

 Chapter 954: Progenitor Items

    <h4>Chapter 954: Progenitor Items</h4>

    The people of the Outerverse were revitalized after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s awe-inspiring attack. The Central Coalition¡¯s and the various experts from the western region who all viewed Lu Yin as an enemy were excited. Everyone started fighting against the Sixth Maind cultivators with renewed vigor.

    At that same moment, the confidence carried by the Sixth Maind cultivators crumbled.

    White Silkworm stared at Lu Yin in shock. This person must enjoy a truly special position within the Fifth Maind for him to possess such a powerful item while just at the Cruiser realm.

    However, at this time, the most frustrated person on the battlefield was the Enlighter from the Sightless n who had been battling with Lu Yin for several days. He also felt relieved that he had never forced Lu Yin to attack with full power. Otherwise, the Enlighter absolutely would have died to such an attack.

    The man no longer wanted to fight against Lu Yin, as he did not know what other items Lu Yin might still have in his possession.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Enlighter with a meaningful gaze.

    The expert from the Sightless n was frightened, and he immediately turned to leave.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you scared him away!¡± the Ghost Monkeymented with augh.

    Lu Yin sighed in response as he looked up. The most important battlefield was the one with Yuan Shi and the two Cosmic Imprinters. Once a side lost, the remaining people on their side would no longer be able to survive. Lu Yin hoped that the item that he had given Yuan Shi was of help to the old man. Otherwise, he would have to ask Mister Mu to help.

    Mister Mu was definitely more powerful than the two Cosmic Imprinters.

    Actually, Ancestor Di had experienced Mister Mu¡¯s power in the past. During their confrontation, Ancestor Di had not even been able to react when Mister Mu shifted the entire defensive line back. Thus, Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless had to be aware of Mister Mu¡¯s existence. However, they still had the courage to invade the Outerverse. Could they actually be confident in defeating Mister Mu?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim, and he hoped that he was simply being paranoid.

    In another ce, Wendy Yushan was in a dangerous situation. A dozen cultivators from the Outerverse, including Wendy Yushan, had been attacked by the Tong family¡¯s Elder Yuan. Wendy had managed to survive by using the Yu Secret Art, but everyone else around her had been killed, even the two Hunter realm powerhouses.

    Elder Yuan stared at Wendy Yushan in shock. He felt that this secret technique was very familiar. ¡°Young girl, what secret technique is that?¡±

    Wendy Yushan immediately swallowed a pill while keeping a wary eye on Elder Yuan.

    Elder Yuanughed. ¡°All of your defenses are useless against my attacks.¡± He then grabbed for Wendy Yushan.

    It was just a normal attack, but its power level was over 400,000. In the face of such overwhelming power, Wendy Yushan waspletely helpless.

    She was not able to divert such an attack with the Yu Secret Art as the space around her had been frozen, preventing her from moving even the slightest bit.

    At that moment, a blue spear shot towards Elder Yuan.

    Elder Yuan altered the direction of the spear with a flick of a finger. He then turned around and saw a young man who bore a strong resemnce to the Sea King ring at him.

    He was the Sea King¡¯s eldest son, Hai Feng, and he was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 300,000.

    Hai Dashao moved over and checked on Wendy Yushan with clear concern. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Wendy Yushan frowned as she looked at Hai Feng.

    ¡°That¡¯s my older brother. He¡¯s very powerful, so he won¡¯t be defeated by that old man.¡± Hai Dashao hadplete, blind trust in Hai Feng.

    Wendy Yushan coldly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    She did not want to distract Hai Feng.

    Elder Yuan sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t even think of running away!¡± His figure shed as he moved towards Wendy Yushan. Simultaneously, Hai Feng appeared next to Elder Yuan with his spear reaching out towards the Enlighter.

    Elder Yuan fiercely bellowed, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    He then grabbed Hai Feng¡¯s spear as he formed a ring with his star energy that trapped Hai Feng. After dealing with Hai Feng, Elder Yuan tried to grab Wendy Yushan again with the same ring.

    Hai Dashao used his spear to block the attack out of reflex. He knew that he would suffer greatly by confronting an Enlighter, but his spear still managed to pierce Elder Yuan¡¯s palm and stab into the man¡¯s shoulder. Blood trickled down the spear shaft.

    Hai Feng¡¯s eyes narrowed, but then his gaze suddenly turned ecstatic. The Sea King was still alive!

    Hai Dashao suddenly felt the same thing as well. At this time, he was using the Sea King¡¯s Trident that contained the Sea King¡¯s power. He had also felt the Sea King¡¯s power surge at this moment, and as a result, he had managed to injure Elder Yuan.

    The Sea King still lived.

    Elder Yuan¡¯s right arm had been pierced through by the Sea King¡¯s Trident, but he endured the pain shooting through his arm and snatched the Sea King¡¯s Trident away from Hai Dashao. The Enlighter then used his star energy to form another ring that shot towards Hai Dashao.

    Wendy Yushan reflexively used the Yu Secret Art but she couldn¡¯t divert this attack either.

    The Sea King¡¯s shield suddenly appeared in front of Hai Dashao and blocked the ring of star energy. However, the amount of power left within the shield from the Sea King was insufficient, and it shattered from the attack.

    However, the shield had stalled for enough time, giving Hai Feng the opportunity to escape from the ring and to thrust his spear at Elder Yuan once more.

    Elder Yuan stored the Sea King¡¯s Trident away, and his star energy burst forth to form an enormous ring that trapped Hai Feng yet again.

    Hai Feng¡¯s strength wasparable to Elder Yuan¡¯s, and he would not be easily defeated. However, Elder Yuan possessed much more star energy than Hai Feng, which allowed the Enlighter to easily trap Hai Feng.

    ¡°You brat, I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Elder Yuan¡¯¡¯s right arm was still bleeding, so he lifted his left hand and threw out another ring at Hai Dashao.

    Hai Dashao¡¯s expression changed, as he had nothing left that he could use to defend himself.

    Fortunately, Elder Tong appeared at that moment and blocked Elder Yuan¡¯s attack.

    Wendy Yushan turned around and started looking for Lu Yin.

    At that moment, the space above their heads cracked open, and a person suddenly fell out. His weight alone tore space apart as he fell, and it was as if the universe was unable to withstand the man¡¯s very presence.

    Everyone stared up in a daze before finally realizing that the figure was Ancestor Tong.

    Lu Yin nced up in excitement; they had seeded!

    However, another person fell out right behind Ancestor Tong: Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s face was pale, and he was panting heavily. Blood could be seen trickling down the corner of his lips.

    The results of the most important battle had be clear.

    Lu Yin focused on Yuan Shi¡¯s right hand, and it was gripping the piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that Lu Yin had lent to the powerhouse.

    Lu Yin had relied on Progenitor Wushang''s hide to kill Enlighters with a gun. But Progenitor Wushang''s hide was not merely useful against Enlighters; as long as a cultivator was not a Progenitor themselves, the hide would be able to stun them for a moment since Progenitor Wushang had been a Progenitor realm powerhouse.

    Since they had known beforehand that two Cosmic Imprinters from the Sixth Maind would be participating in this invasion, Lu Yin felt that Yuan Shi needed something to help turn the tides of battle. Progenitor Wushang''s hide was Lu Yin¡¯s ultimate trick, and aside from that one item, Lu Yin did not own anything else that could affect Cosmic Imprinters.

    The clothes covering Yuan Shi¡¯s chest were stained with blood, but no one knew if the blood was from Ancestor Tong, Ancestor Sightless, or even Yuan Shi himself.

    The sky was torn apart again, and this time, Ancestor Sightless emerged. The cultivators from the Sixth Maind had thought that Ancestor Sightless had defeated Yuan Shi and won the battle, but it turned out that Ancestor Sightless had also been injured.

    At this moment, Ancestor Tong finally managed to stop himself from falling, and he red over at Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. ¡°How do you have so many Progenitor items?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. He suddenly noticed that there was a broken bone in Ancestor Sightless¡¯s hand and that Yuan Shi was also holding an oddly shaped stone. Were both of those items also from Progenitors?

    The stone that Yuan Shi was holding suddenly shattered into dust.

    Simrly, the bone that Ancestor Sightless had been holding crumbled away.

    This was simr to the current situation of the border warfront. power vessels were the first to be used up during an intense battle.

    However, in this case, it seemed that the variousbatants were all using Progenitor items.

    Despite that, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had turned out to be the most powerful of these items.

    ¡°Even the Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t have that many Progenitor items, and most of them are stored in the Daosource Sect. However, the Fifth Maind should have many more such objects since this is the graveyard of five mainds and countless Progenitors once lived here. Aside from that unspeakable Progenitor Chen, the unrecognized Rune Progenitor, there was also Progenitor Hui who created technology, Progenitor Wushang who is the ancestor of all beasts, and finally, Progenitor Ce and Progenitor Youming who were both from an ancient era. If I¡¯m not wrong, then that should be a bit of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide,¡± Ancestor Sightless spoke softly.

    Most of the people who heard his words were confused and unable to understand anything. Typically, most people did not know anything about the Progenitors, and they would not even be aware of the Progenitor realm¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as this was his first time hearing of Progenitor Hui, Progenitor Ce, and Progenitor Youming. The Technocracy had most likely been created by Progenitor Hui while the Astral Beast Domain was definitely Progenitor Wushang¡¯s legacy. As for Progenitor Ce, could he be rted to the Ce family? Could the Court of Seven Names have been created by Progenitor Ce? Regardless, only Progenitors were able to create secret techniques, and since the Ce family possessed the Ce Secret Art, then it would not be surprising if that family had once produced a Progenitor.

    But in that case, since each of the families in the Court of Seven Names possessed secret techniques, then did that mean that each family had once had a Progenitor?

    Had Progenitor Youming been from the Y¨­u family?

    Lu Yin still had a strong impression of the Y¨­u family¡¯s secret technique.

    Yuan Shi tightly clenched Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. ¡°So long as I am here, none of you will be able to enter the Outerverse!¡±

    Ancestor Sightless remained silent.

    Ancestor Tong moved forward and coldly said, ¡°You¡¯re alone, and you won¡¯t be able to defeat the both of us even if you do possess Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.¡±

    Yuan Shi red at Ancestor Tong. ¡°But I can absolutely kill one of you before I die, so which one of you would like to die with me?¡±

    Ancestor Tong arched a brow as he warily looked at Yuan Shi. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was very powerful since it could stun someone for a moment without exception. And for a battle at their level, even a shorter moment could be fatal, and Ancestor Tong had been forced out by Yuan Shi while he had been stunned by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    Ancestor Sightless might not possess any eyes, but he was still affected by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Yuan Shi was not Lu Yin, and the ancient powerhouse was able to use Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to stun his opponents without them even looking at the hide.

    Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless were both very wary, though Yuan Shi was even more concerned than either of them. He truly could not deal with both of these opponents with only Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, and actually, he was not even that confident in being able to kill one of them. Thus, he was hoping that his threat had been sessful.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something and secretly sent a message to Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi was ted at what he heard. ¡°That¡¯s certainly useful! Give it to me!¡±

    Lu Yin took out the small arrow that Peach had given him before waving a hand and using the Yu Secret Art to send the arrow into Yuan Shi¡¯s left hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll have to ask both of you to stay here, as I have another Progenitor item,¡± Yuan Shi slowly said in a satisfied tone.

 Chapter 955: An Emotional Scene

    <h4>Chapter 955: An Emotional Scene</h4>

    Across from Yuan Shi, Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless were rendered speechless. Were Progenitor items really that easy to obtain? Where had this old man gotten another one from?

    The Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s inherited arrows originated from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor, but they could not be considered true Progenitor arrows. Still, this arrow had once been used by the Arrow Progenitor in the past. The Arrow Mountain Elder had used one inherited arrow during the Sixth Maind¡¯s first invasion of the Outerverse, and it had been taken away by a World Imprinter since Yuan Shi had not dared to reveal his true power at that time.

    To hide his true strength at that time, Yuan Shi had been able to do nothing but merely watch on as the Sixth Maind had taken the arrow away. It had all been for the greater good.

    But now that the ancient powerhouse had received another inherited arrow, it was time for him to reveal his true strength.

    Lu Yin felt that this was a true pity. If he had remembered this matter a bit earlier, then he would have made sure that the inherited arrow that Gong Ling had used would have been given to Yuan Shi beforehand. That would have been less of a waste than letting Gong Ling use it as he had.

    Such a person simply did not have the strength to harness the true power of a Progenitor item.

    Gong Ling was an Enlighter with a power level that was greater than 200,000, and yet, he had been able to injure an Imprinter with that arrow. Someone like Yuan Shi would have been capable of doing far more with that arrow, and the strength of his attack would have been iparable.

    In an instant, the top three powerhouses all disappeared.

    ¡°Kill!¡± someone¡¯s voice boomed out, startling many people. After that, the battle resumed.

    Countless light beams from the numerous battleships in the back shot through outer space, all aimed in the direction of the Astral River.

    Explorers, Cruisers, Hunters, and Enlighters all fought against each other.

    People died every second.

    Lu Yin saw an Enlighter be killed by a sneak attack from the Arrow of Valiance.

    The child-like assassin from Aegis almost managed to kill an Enlighter from the Sixth Maind, but he was ambushed by yet another Enlighter, who destroyed the assassin¡¯s heart.

    Moore died. Lu Yin saw a young man from the Sixth Maind stab the councilor with a knife.

    He had been a councilor on West San Dios, and he had also been ranked twelfth on the Top 100 Rankings, but none of that had been enough to save him from dying a terrible death at the hands of a young elite from the Sightless n.

    ¡°Stop, stop!¡± A sharp voice echoed in the distance. Granny Chan had been killed by an expert from the Tong family.

    It seemed like a talented expert was dying every second.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain as he witnessed Granny Chan¡¯s death. Killing a person was like extinguishing a candle; their enmity had ended then and there.

    Not many people had willingly stepped onto this battlefield. Instead, most of them had been forcefully conscripted.

    For instance, it was extremely unlikely for the assassins from Aegis to be willing to sacrifice themselves for the Outerverse, and the same was even more true for someone like Granny Chan. The experts from the Innerverse all looked down upon the Outerverse, and thus, it was preposterous for them to willingly sacrifice themselves for it.

    Nevertheless, regardless of whether their participation was forced or voluntary, all of the sacrifices for the Outerverse would make these people war heroes.

    In the distance, wooden figures trapped an expert from the Sightless n. However, after a short while, all of the wooden figures shattered. Mu Nichang watched as an expert descended before her, but at the same time, a fierce attack with the Oveying Stacks Path swept by and sent the Sightless n expert flying. It was Lan Si, and he had once again saved Mu Nichang, which caused her to start tearing up.

    No matter how bitter the fighting became, the final oue still depended on the three individuals at the Cosmic Imprinter level.

    With a thud, one of Lu Yin¡¯s items waspletely destroyed. It was a power vessel that had been upgraded in the same session as Elder Wu¡¯s poisons. Lu Yin was not surprised that the item had been destroyed, as all power vessels had limits, and exceeding those limits would cause the power vessel to bepletely destroyed.

    Lu Yin released a sigh.

    Suddenly, a bit of residual light shone out, and the sky was filled with rune lines moving away from the center of the battlefield. They belonged to an Enlighter from the Sightless n who had a power level greater than 400,000. This attack was not aimed at any of the Outerverse Enlighters, as it was actually intended to destroy the battleships at the back of the battlefield.

    Aside from the battleships at the back of the battlefield, there were also many cultivators who had not be Explorers there. Wei Rong and many others were all at the back, and they were all inside the battleships.

    To begin with, the Outerverse had far fewer Enlighters than the Sixth Maind, and despite such a powerful enemyunching an attack, none of the Outerverse¡¯s Enlighters were able to block it.

    Lu Yin panicked, and he rushed over.

    The battleships were all evenly lined up across the entire region. When an expert from the Sightless n drew close, all of the battleships¡¯ systems started failing one by one. This Sightless n expert was someone who had received Ancestor Sightless¡¯s imprint, and with the wave of a hand, star energy coalesced into a massive attack that swept through a vast area. Just one attack was enough to eliminate all of the Outerverse¡¯s battleships and supply ships that had been positioned at the back of the battlefield.

    Even space itself was unable to withstand this attack.

    Ye Gui, Topmist, and Liu Qiuyu were responsible for protecting the battleships, and when they saw the massive attack heading towards them, Ye Gui and Topmist were both at a loss for what to do. They were both Enlighters, but their power levels were only slightly above 200,000. On top of that, they were more skilled at gueri warfare and were rather inept at dealing with direct attacks. Liu Qiuyu was the only one who stepped up, and a solemn expression appeared on his face.

    He had been the former patriarch of the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family, but he had voluntarily abdicated his position when he had reached a power level of 290,000. He was considered the weakest patriarch that the Liu family had ever had. In reality, he had never even wanted to be the patriarch. If given a choice, he would have preferred to oversee the Autumnspring Fort in Ironblood Weave and help humankind protect the border.

    When faced with an attack that had a power level of over 300,000, Liu Qiuyu simply took a deep breath as he slowly drew his sword and thrust it forward to defend.

    He had not inherited the Thirteen Swords, but this move was not a bit inferior to the top three moves of the Thirteen Swords. Liu Qiuyu had been just like Liu Xiaoyun; although neither of them had inherited the Thirteen Swords, they still wanted to obtain sword skillsparable to the Thirteen Swords. This move was one that Liu Qiuyu had developed after spending countless years in Ironblood Weave. Most of the moves that he had developed carried the spirit of Ironblood Weave, and they werepletely different from the Sword Sect¡¯s techniques.

    These techniques had all been refined by the fire of battle.

    This move managed to stop the attack from the Sightless n expert.

    The expert from Sightless n was shocked, and he could sense that his opponent was much weaker than him. However, the technique that had just been used had emotionally stirred the man.

    Lu Yin had been rushing over like his life depended on it, but he was still quite a distance aways. He heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he had almost been toote. However, he was alsopletely stunned by Liu Qiuyu¡¯s disy of power. The attack that had beenunched towards the back lines had clearly surpassed a power level of 300,000, but Liu Qiuyu¡¯s counterattack had given Lu Yin the same feeling as the Thirteen Swords, though it was also distinctly different from the mysterious, indistinct techniques of the Thirteen Swords. This attack seemed to be even more deadly.

    Nevertheless, despite the shock that Liu Qiuyu¡¯s sword technique had given everyone, Liu Qiuyu definitely would not be able to withstand another attack from the Sightless n expert. The expert had keen senses and was well aware of Liu Qiuyu¡¯s limits. That counterattack had been extraordinary, but it had also pushed the Enlighter to his limits.

    Liu Qiuyu tightly clenched the hilt of his sword. Regardless of whether or not he would be able to withstand the next attack, he was willing to try even if it meant sacrificing his own life. He had long been prepared for this day, and protecting the border was a duty that came with a high mortality rate.

    He slowly raised his sword and made a sharp motion as he forcefully chopped his sword down, his movement¡¯s force charging into the sky. However, he was facing another attack from the Sightless n expert, and a powerful attack crushed Liu¡¯s attack and shattered space before continuing on towards Liu Qiuyu and the battleships.

    Inside the vessels, everyone despaired.

    At this moment, Lu Yin charged forward with both of his arms raised. His eight lined battle force burst out, and an attack with Hundred Stacks erupted in an instant. He was not wearing his new universal armor at this time. Instead, he was wearing the damaged universal armor. Even though this universal armor was cracked, it was still able to withstand attacks with power levels higher than 400,000. The only problem with the armor was that attacks from an opponent could easily pass through the cracks and strike Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    With a loud crunch, the cracks in the universal armor became evenrger. At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s secondary defense, the Bacsh Pearl, split open where it had been ced within the cracks of the universal armor.

    The remainder of the attack¡¯s power seeped through the cracks in the armor¡¯s protection, slicing into Lu Yin¡¯s abdomen. Blood dripped out of the armor, dying his torso red.

    Liu Qiuyu¡¯s eyes went wide, and he rushed forward as he wielded his sword once again in an attempt to block the attack.

    At the same time, Ye Gui and Topmist charged out while using defensive maneuvers from a distance in order to try helping them nullify the power of the attack.

    Many watched on as Lu Yin risked his own life to stop the attack, and they were all moved by his actions.

    Everyone in the Outerverse knew about Lu Yin¡¯s ambition of unifying the entire Outerverse. His methods were harsh and firm, which led many people to fear him. The reason why so many weaves in the central and western regions saw him as an enemy was inrge part due to his ambition. This, coupled with the numerous smear campaigns that the major powers hadunched against him, meant that Lu Yin had a terrible reputation in both regions of the Outerverse.

    However, at this moment, as all of them watched Lu Yin protect them with his life on the line, their impressions of him transformed. Even during life and death battles, not everyone would be willing to sacrifice their lives the same way that Lu Yin was currently doing.

    Lu Yin was not thinking very far ahead, as all that he wanted to do at this moment was protect the people aboard the battleships. Many of the people in these vessels were from the Great Eastern Alliance and the Great Yu Empire. Among them were people who were important to him; some idolized him, and some were his subordinates. Since he had led these people here, he intended to bring them back home as well.

    Besides, this attack was not even close enough to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had been confident that this strike would not be able to kill him since his universal armor had blocked a massive portion of the damage. Despite that, he was still suffering from considerable pain as the cracks in the universal armor had allowed a portion of the attack to seep through, badly injuring almost half of his waist.

    He swallowed the pill that he had preemptively ced in his mouth and unleashed his strength once again. From beside Lu Yin, Liu Qiuyuunched various sword attacks in quick session while two more Enlighters, Topmist, and Ye Gui, joined the duo from behind.

    Finally, the strike was resolved. If it hadsted for just a bit longer, then the battleships would have been affected.

    With a tremendous crushing sound, the universal armorpletely shattered, exposing Lu Yin and the remaining fragments of the Bacsh Pearl. These items had both been destroyed after receiving an attack that went beyond their limits.

    Not too far away, the expert from the Sightless n was stunned to see that his attack had been blocked again. He was shocked that these natives were able to block his attack not just once, but twice. He scowled with a dark look on his face. ¡°You may have blocked two of my attacks, but let¡¯s see if you can do it a third time.¡±

    And with that, he lifted his hands to unleash another strike. This was his third attack, and it was a huge one that split the void in twain. It was clearly stronger and sharper than the previous two attacks.

    The people in the battleships all despaired at this moment. Who could possibly receive this third strike?

    Even Lu Yin, who had repeatedly performed miracles, was clearly unable to defend against this attack.

    Lu Yin felt that he had no other option but to absorb one of the pearls from Yuan Shi¡¯s bracelet into his body to temporarily upgrade his power level to 300,000. However, just before he did just so, a beam of light shot over from a distant ce. It enveloped the Sightless n expert, as well as his attack. The powerhouse scrambled to evade the attack, but despite his fast reflexes, he was still a split-second slower than the light beam. Half of his body burst into pieces the moment he was touched by the beam, and his entire attack crumbled.

    Millions City had struck.

    With one attack, Lu Yin had destroyed two Imprinters, which had freed Millions City and Elder He to do other things.

    The expert from the Sightless n tried to slink away with the remaining half of his body, but Lu Yin rushed forward after donning a new set of universal armor. He had simply lost too much during this battle, and he needed to make up for those losses. At this moment, there was a cash cow right in front of him.

    An Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000 was bound to have a cosmic ring that contained extremely valuable treasures, and Lu Yin urgently needed those resources.

    Lu Yin caught up with the fleeing powerhouse very quickly. Although the Sightless n expert had lost half of his body, he was still an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000, which was someone that an ordinary Enlighter would never dare to chase after. Lu Yin was perhaps the only person who would dare to do so.

    There was a fierce look in the Enlighter¡¯s eyes. His injuries were not fatal due to his innate abilities from being from the Sightless n. He loathed Lu Yin at this moment, as if not for Lu Yin¡¯s interference, the Enlighter¡¯s second attack would have seeded. The powerhouse¡¯s attention would not have been divided by him, and he would not have been so severely injured.

    ¡°You must have a death wish!¡± The expert from Sightless n raised a hand and pointed at Lu Yin with a single finger. Just this single attack had a power level of more than 200,000, and the man refused to believe that Lu Yin had that many items that could contest him, an Enlighter. After all, the youth was just a measly Cruiser.

 Chapter 956: Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 956: Eyes</h4>

    Nobody really knew just how many items Lu Yin had, and although the Sightless n expert¡¯s finger struck Lu Yin, it could not break through his universal armor¡¯s defenses. This armor had not been upgraded to the point where it could withstand attacks with power levels of 400,000 like thest one, but it was still able to withstand attacks with power levels of about 300,000.

    The attack from the man from the Sightless n was fruitless, and Lu Yin grinned savagely at the man. ¡°My turn.¡±

    He then pressed a single palm against the Enlighter¡¯s abdomen, which was instantly stained red with the blood of the Sightless n expert. ¡°Hundred Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    With a solid thump, the Sightless n expert spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying. Lu Yin was just about to continue giving chase when the expert suddenly whirled around as white lines wrapped around his body. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he watched the powerhouse¡¯s number of rune lines suddenly spike.

    Before, the attack from Millions City¡¯s cannon had reduced the Enlighter¡¯s rune lines to the point where they were about equal to Ye Gui and Topmist¡¯s. However, at this moment, the number of his rune lines had rapidly increased. What was going on?

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s ckblood Realm, Sightless n. The entire n possessed a bloodline that left them without sight, and they also all shared another characteristic: cocoonify. This ability allowed exceptionally talented n members to boost their own cultivation realms. Additionally, when they were on the brink of death, they could experience a rebirth through the cocoon while also upgrading their power level. This was the Sightless n, and they were the only Cosmic Imprinter family in the ckblood Realm.

    Lu Yin watched as the Sightless n¡¯s expert¡¯s rune lines increased explosively and seemingly endlessly. From behind Lu Yin, a sh of sword qi streaked by and sliced through the Enlighter¡¯s body, cutting through the white lines that had wrapped around the expert. Liu Qiuyu hadunched another attack after sensing that something was amiss.

    An endless amount of sword qi tore through the void and fell down upon the cocoon.

    Although the Sightless n¡¯s expert¡¯s recovery ability and cocoonify were very mysterious, the n members were not invincible. Liu Qiuyu seemed topletely disregard his own survival as he shed down with a boundless sword qi. Over a thousand swords were unleashed all at once, which was finally enough to stop the momentum of cocoonify. When the white lines were about topletely break down, the Sightless n expert still only had half of his body, but his power level had partially recovered, to around 300,000 at best.

    The expert red at Liu Qiuyu with venomous eyes before turning to leave.

    At this time, all he wanted to do was retreat to the rear and recuperate from his injuries; he had no ns to continue fighting against these people. Also, given how much strength he had managed to recover, none of these people would dare to stop him either.

    However, the Enlighter had forgotten about Lu Yin. Although the youth was shocked by the Sightless n¡¯s bloodline ability, he still had not given up. He was willing to gamble against an opponent with a power level of 300,000. After thinking about it, Lu Yin pulled out the beaded bracelet that he had received from Yuan Shi and tapped out: Dream Finger. One of the five pearls on the bracelet melted into his body, and the power level of his Dream Finger absurdly increased by 300,000.

    This finger caused the void to congeal and space itself to tremble.

    It also caused a pair of clear eyes to open once again in that foreign sky that revealed their displeasure. This caused an event to take ce in the depths of the Starfall Sea, as the third door, which had been opened and then resealed, opened slightly once more.

    At this same time, Yuan Shi blocked Ancestor Sightless¡¯ attack and threw the inherited arrow at him.

    Logically, this arrow was something that was within Ancestor Tong¡¯s expectations. Even if it could hurt him, it should not be able to severely injure him.

    This was also what Yuan Shi believed to be the case. However, he had no other choice but to do this and could only proceed. At this moment, the only thing that remained to be seen was whether or not Progenitor Wushang''s hide would be able to allow Yuan Shi to achieve a miraculous effect.

    But right at that moment, Lu Yin coincidentally tapped out with his Dream Finger which had a power level that had been increased by 300,000. This action had garnered the notice of that pair of clear eyes that belonged to an unhappy owner. This had then resulted in therge door in the depths of the Starfall Sea to open slightly, which caused an endless might to sweep through therge door and into the Starfall Sea. It broke through the endless void and shot through the Innerverse and Astral River until it finally arrived at the battlefield. In that instant, Ancestor Tong, Ancestor Sightless, and Yuan Shi were all immobilized. The three top experts on the battlefield felt as though the sky was copsing, and the pressure of an unimaginable strength left them without the courage to even twitch.

    The infinite might descended upon them and formed a verdant jade finger that tapped against Lu Yin. In response, Lu Yin raised his head, and his pupils abruptly shrank. This was his first time seeing that jade finger while in a conscious state. At this moment, an endless rage erupted within him, and he defiantly barked, ¡°Audacious!¡±

    The jade finger suddenly pressed down, with the intent of reducing Lu Yin to a puddle of blood. But at the same instance, the jade talisman that Mister Mu had given to Lu Yin suddenly flew out and blocked that finger while still in midair. The talisman shattered, but the jade finger also dissipated.

    Everything that had just happened felt like an illusion; therge door in the depths of Starfall Sea had closed itself tightly, and the clear pair of eyes had also closed themselves. At the present moment, there was only Ancestor Tong clutching at his neck, as fresh blood was running down from it without end.

    Right when the jade finger with a boundless might had descended, they had all been left unable to move, but Yuan Shi had already thrown out the inherited arrow, and as a result, the lone arrow had pierced straight through Ancestor Tong¡¯s neck. The arrow contained the strength of the Arrow Progenitor, and it had decimated Ancestor Tong¡¯s vitality. He was currently immobilized and had unbelievably been injured.

    The more powerful one was, the more clearly they would be able to feel the power that had just descended upon the battlefield. Out of everyone present, only the three Cosmic Imprinters had been able to feel that strength; even the Enlighter from the Sightless n had felt nothing despite being extremely close to the finger.

    If he had not personally seen the jade finger, then Lu Yin would never have been able to sense that strength either even though that power had been about to obliterate him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was left trembling¡ªnot from fear, but rather from suppressing his rage. He did not know why such wrath had welled up within him, but he simply could not control it. Whose jade finger had that belonged to? And why had it suddenly appeared? If not for the jade talisman that Lu Yin had received from Mister Mu, would he have died there?

    At this moment, thunder echoed through space, and Ancestor Sightless appeared. He quickly grabbed Ancestor Tong and charged back towards the Astral River. ¡°Retreat!¡±

    That one word had determined the final oue of this battle: the Sixth Maind had been defeated.

    Across the battlefield, everyone was still stunned when Yuan Shi appeared, holding Progenitor Wushang''s hide as he chased after the Cosmic Imprinters fleeing towards the Astral River. In his other hand, he still held that arrow, though fresh blood had stained the arrowhead.

    Lu Yin looked over; had Yuan Shi emerged victorious?

    ¡°Pursue them! Eliminate everyone from the Sixth Maind!¡± Yuan Shi ordered.

    Countless people from the Outerverse became excited. ¡°Kill, kill, kill¡­¡±

    The experts from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Tong family and Sightless n felt a chill crawl down their spines, as their two Venerables had just been defeated. Who else could stand up to the Outerverse¡¯s Cosmic Imprinter? Not a single person dared to stay behind, and they all fled towards the edge of the Astral River.

    The battleships continuously fired their attacks, and light beams filled the heavens and indiscriminately rained down upon the fleeingbatants from the Sixth Maind as they fled towards the Astral River.

    Right before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the Enlighter from the Sightless n who had only recovered half of his body had actually died as the Dream Finger that Lu Yin had unleashed and boosted by a power level of 300,000 had killed the man. His corpse was floating through space and drifting into the distance.

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath. He did not have much time to think, so he quickly snagged the dead Enlighter¡¯s cosmic ring, used the man¡¯s fresh blood to open it, and then poured everything within the ring into his own. Lu Yin¡¯s actions were practiced and smooth, and after he finished, he chased after Yuan Shi and ughtered as many fleeing enemies as he could while making his way towards the Astral River.

    Liu Qiuyu and the others had also moved out to chase the retreating army.

    Lan Si, Wendy Yushan, and even ck Mask killed the fleeing cultivators as they fled towards the Astral River.

    All of the defenders had believed that the battle did not bode well for them, and they had never imagined that they would actually emerge victorious. Yuan Shi¡¯s power raised the crowd¡¯s morale to new heights. They no longer feared the Sixth Maind, as they all felt that, as long as Yuan Shi was present, they would have nothing to fear even if two more of the Sixth Maind¡¯s ultimate powerhouses showed up.

    In fact, even Yuan Shi himself was in a daze. After he had shot out that arrow, where had that boundless might suddenlye from? He could only think of that absolute expert who had shifted the border in Endless Weave, as only that person seemed capable of doing such a thing.

    That person was the most powerful entity in the Outerverse, and he had perhaps reached the level of a Semi-Progenitor.

    In an instant, Yuan Shi overtook the Sixth Maind¡¯s normal cultivators and vanished from the crowd¡¯s sight as he chased after Ancestor Sightless.

    At this time, the battle between Astral-9''s Headmaster and the Sightless n¡¯s final Imprinter had alsoe to a conclusion. Astral-9''s Headmaster had won, but the defeated Imprinter had not been injured that badly, and he was even able to block the Outerverse¡¯s pursuit and protect the fleeing Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Millions City shot out powerful light beams that shot over the Outerverse¡¯s forces and continued on to fly at the Sixth Maind cultivators.

    The Sightless n Imprinter tried to block this attack as well, but he was repelled by thebination of Astral-9''s Headmaster and Elder He. Thus, Million City¡¯s light beam was unobstructed as it detonated within the passageway that had been torn through the Astral River, obliterating countless people from the Sixth Maind.

    Once Lu Yin took out two Imprinters, the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces had only relied solely on Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless to win this battle. No matter how many Enlighters there were, or how powerful they might be, cultivators at their level could not change the overall situation, and in the end, the invaders had ultimately been defeated. Yuan Shi¡¯s victory had also added some good luck into the mix.

    The final result was that the tworge families from the Sixth Maind were chased down like stray dogs.

    Beneath the surface of Millions City, Qiong Shanhai¡¯s face had gone pale. Each time Millions City¡¯s cannons fired, they consumed a tremendous amount of resources. This battle had devoured an unfathomable amount of the city¡¯s reserves, and they were nearly exhausted by now. He decided not to fire the cannon again, as he could not cripple Millions City over just a single battle. In any case, the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had already failed.

    Millions City did not need to attack any longer, as Astral-9''s Headmaster and Elder He worked together to send the Sixth Maind cultivators to their graves.

    Right behind the two Envoys were Yu Mu, Yuehua Mavis, and the other Enlighters, closely followed by the next batch of experts that consisted of people like Lan Si and Lu Yin.

    The Astral River was torn apart, leaving arge gap. While the Sixth Maind cultivators retreated, the remaining Imprinter from the Sightless n pulled out all sorts of various strange creatures from the Astral River to block the aggressive defenders. Although the beasts were all massive, they were only as strong as Cruiser realm cultivators at best, and they were able to do nothing more than block the defenders¡¯ vision or stall them for a moment.

    Against the Fifth Maind cultivators¡¯ onught, the Imprinter continued to drag out more creatures from the Astral River.

    Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art to throw over an Ultra sh Tearbomb. He did not know if it would be of any use, but there was no harm in trying.

    The oue proved that it was indeed useless. Such a weapon might be useful against Enlighters, as they could temporarily blind powerhouses at that level, but they were useless against Imprinters, and they were particrly useless against the Imprinter from the Sightless n.

    Quite a few gave Lu Yin strange looks. These invaders were from Sightless n and had no eyes at all, so why had he still tossed out a sh bomb? Was he simply not thinking?

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed, as he was simply too used to throwing such toys about.

    Before long, the remaining invaders from the Sixth Maind had escaped to a ce that was close to the Innerverse. The Sightless n¡¯s Imprinter protected their rear without any consideration for his life, forcing himself to endure the attacks of Astral-9''s Headmaster and Elder He. Behind the Imprinter, the few surviving Enlighters were unable to endure thebined might of two Envoys, and they all died. This even included the Tong family¡¯s Elder Yuan as well as a few experts from the Sightless n.

    If another intense battle broke out between the two sides at this moment, then the strength of the two families from the Sixth Maind would no longer beparable to the Outerverse¡¯s. Even in terms of Enlighters, the Outerverse woulde out on top.

    The Outerverse¡¯s group became even more excited when they saw the heavy casualties that the Sixth Maind had suffered, and their bloodthirsty cries shook the sky.

    Lu Yin was the same. Against the invaders from the Sixth Maind, this was their first time gaining such a distinct advantage. If they did not eliminate these two great families, then they would fail to live up to the momentum generated by Yuan Shi¡¯s arrow.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin froze, as he looked beneath himself in shock.

 Chapter 957: Transport Continent

    <h4>Chapter 957: Transport Continent</h4>

    The Astral River was wide, and it also stretched up and down as far as one could see, dividing the universe in two.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had seen an indescribably terrifying amount of rune lines sh past within the Astral River. Those rune lines had caused his entire body to tremble with fear, and his scalp had gone numb. Although he had not seen anything clearly, he was certain of how terrifying the owner of those rune lines was, as they were in no way inferior to what he had seen from Ancestor Tong or Ancestor Sightless. In other words, a strange creature within the Astral River had just swam by them that was powerful enough to rival a Cosmic Imprinter.

    Nobody knew how the Astral River had been formed, but it split the entire universe, or rather the entire Fifth Maind, to form the Innerverse and the Outerverse. There were also its tributaries that flowed throughout the Innerverse, sectioning it into countless flowzones, but all of these tributaries were connected to the Astral River.

    Every year, countless people explored the Astral River, and every year, countless people also ended up dying within it.

    The simplest example was fishing from an Astral River Ark. One had to be a Cruiser at the bare minimum to even qualify to participate, and that was just the most basic qualification.

    If even fishing in the Astral River was so dangerous, then one could just imagine how terrifying the Astral River itself was.

    Nobody knew what lived within the Astral River, and it was possible that only Progenitors were able to clearly explore its depths.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had just seen the terrifying side of the Astral River.

    Fortunately, that creature that had a power level of about a million did not stop, and it vanished instantly. Its speed was incredibly fast. Perhaps, in the creature¡¯s eyes, they were nothing more than some misceneous fish in the river, and it merely might not have had the interest to spare them even a nce.

    The crowd continued to cheer as they chased down and killed the fleeing Sixth Maind cultivators.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators were just about to return to the Innerverse.

    The width of the Astral River at the area where it separated the Innerverse and the Outerverse was actually not very far.

    On the other side of the river, where the Astral River bordered the Innerverse, the situation should have been very peaceful. However, at this time, one spacecraft after another was approaching from the distance, and they all lined up near the edge of the Astral River upon arriving. Even further away was an extremelyrge continent whose end was impossible to see. It was floating through space at a surprising speed, and it was covered with all types of resources: ores, star essence, strange creatures, various weapons, and even a few buildings and people.

    These were the resources that the Sixth Maind had plundered from the Innerverse. At regr intervals, the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces would transport arge amount of resources back before dividing them among the three participating realms. The amount of plundered resources was staggering, and they were also all-inclusive, though ores and star essence were the mostmon items. The buildings on this continent were the library collections of the Innerverse¡¯s powers, and they contained battle techniques, arts, and secrets that had been gathered by these powers over the course of countless years.

    Aside from those resources, there were also a countless number of captured Innerverse cultivators who would also be sent back to the Sixth Maind. These people were valuable for the Sixth Maind as some of them had rare innate gifts while others had impressive power levels and could be used as sparring partners. There were even some that simply looked exotic, and of course, there were also iparably beautiful girls who were being sent back to be servants.

    The Sixth Maind had put forth strenuous efforts in their invasion of the Innerverse because the Sea King had restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky. This meant that the Fifth Maind once again had the possibility to birth a Progenitor. The Sixth Maind had to eliminate any such possibilities, and they wanted to eradicate the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation civilization while also plundering them.

    War was fought for profits, as only profits could drive a war machine.

    These resources were the profits that the people of the Sixth Maind were able to see with their own eyes.

    This continent loaded with resources was just a drop in the ocean, but even still, the amount that it held was very exaggerated. The war in the Innerverse hadsted for more than five years now, and the Sixth Maind had transported simr floating treasure continents back home numerous times. Each time they did so, they had to deal with Innerverse powerhouses that ambushed them and attempted to destroy things, and they were rarely able to peacefully return to the Sixth Maind.

    This time, the ones escorting the resources were from the War Martial Realm¡¯s Toolcasting family. In contrast to the Tong family and the Sightless n, the Toolcasting family held a higher status as their family contained an Empyrean Imprinter.

    They were the War Martial Realm¡¯s most powerful family. They were not ¡°one of¡± the most powerful families simply because there were no other families in the realm. The entire War Martial Realm only had the singr Toolcasting family, and the entire War Martial Realm viewed toolcasting as their sole privilege. As such, the War Martial Realm also had its own grading system that was distinct from all the other realms: they had Augmenters.

    The War Martial Realm¡¯s Empyrean Imprinter was known as the Ancestor Toolwielder, and their Realmling was simply known as Toolwielder. Aside from these two, the rest of the cultivators from the Toolcasting family were known as Augmenters, and they were differentiated by stages that went from first to ninth with first being the lowest and ninth the highest. The family¡¯s Ninth Stage Augmenter was actually a Cosmic Imprinter.

    This time, the most powerful individual among the treasure continent¡¯s escorts was a Ninth Stage Augmenter. There were also Seventh Stage and Fourth Stage Augmenters present, and even their Realmling, Toolwielder, was there.

    Although the treasure continent was not very wide, it was very long, and it traveled parallel to the Astral River as it steadily headed towards the Sixth Maind¡¯s Mara River.

    The side of the treasure continent that was next to the Astral River did not have that many powerhouses standing guard because the entire reason why they were traveling so close to the Astral River was to use it as a shield. It would be hard for the Innerverse¡¯s experts to attack that side of the treasure continent, and thus, more guards could be stationed on the other side.

    On the side of the continent that faced away from the Astral River, countless hammers floated in the air, showing the presence of the Toolcasting family.

    With the Ninth Stage Augmenter escorting this continent, plus the multiple experts from the Toolcasting family, this transport was considered absolutely safe, especially the side that was facing the Astral River. Logically, it would not have to deal with any sneak attacks by Innerverse cultivators.

    However, things don¡¯t always go ording to n. The ce where the Tong family and Sightless n tore through the Astral River to invade the Outerverse was ultimately also where they fled back to the Innerverse in defeat. And the retreating Sixth Maind cultivators were not the only people to appear in the Innerverse, as Astral-9''s Headmaster and Elder He were also chasing after them along with a group of experts.

    The two opposing sides streamed out of the Astral River as a massacre unfolded in the Innerverse. Coincidentally, this was also when the treasure continent and its transport crew appeared in the distance.

    Lu Yin looked to the east and saw the floating continent, which made him blink. What is that?

    The people from the Tong family grew excited, and they rushed off to ask the escorts for help.

    Atop on the continent carrying the plundered resources, the Toolwielder Realmling stared off into the distance. ¡°It¡¯s the people from the Tong family and the Sightless n! That- did they tear through the Astral River?¡±

    Since the Innerverse was under the suppression of the everpresent cosmic phenomenon, the Tong family and the Sightless n¡¯s worries went away as soon as they entered the Innerverse. Although they might not have had as many experts as the Outerverse¡¯s forces, since everyone¡¯s power level was suppressed, the two families felt that they should be able to pull through.

    Even Ancestor Sightless and Yuan Shi were forced to suppress their power level the moment they entered the Innerverse.

    The fight had suddenly be a contest of numbers.

    The scales of the battle tipped once again, this time in favor of the Sixth Maind.

    This was especially true when an expert from the Toolcasting family flew out from the treasure continent. Elder He was left helpless, and he looked over at Astral-9''s Headmaster. ¡°Retreat. That¡¯s the Toolcasting family, and they¡¯re even stronger than the Tong family and the Sightless n. We¡¯ll just have to guard the other side of the Astral River as Yuan Shi restores the Astral River to its previous state.¡±

    Astral-9''s Headmaster was frustrated, but they really did not have any other choice. ¡°Withdraw!¡±

    Upon seeing the people from the Outerverse start trying to withdraw, the Sixth Maind cultivators were unwilling to let them leave so simply. They wanted to chase after the Fifth Maind cultivators and capture them.

    The Sightless n¡¯s Imprinter suppressed his injuries and attempted to block the path back to the Astral River, determined to prevent the Outerverse cultivators from escaping.

    As long as they took out this group of cultivators from the Outerverse, then even if that Outerverse powerhouse who was able to rival a Cosmic Imprinter won his battle, there would be no one for him to give orders to. In that situation, the Outerverse resources could still be plundered.

    In the distance, a group of experts from the Toolcasting family charged out from the floating treasure continent. Their orders were not to actually battle against the group from the Outerverse, but rather to scare them and to prevent any of the transported resources from being lost. Even the Toolcasting family did not want any mishaps to happen at this time, as this task was rted to the division of profits between the three realms that had invaded the Innerverse.

    They only wanted to ferry these resources back to the Sixth Maind and then return to the Innerverse to assess the situation.

    However, the Toolwielder Realmling wanted to detain one person in particr: Wendy Yushan.

    Back in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, he had been attracted to the young woman the moment he hadid eyes on her. He had never imagined that she would be someone from the Fifth Maind, but this was even better. Now, he could capture her and take her back.

    Ancestor Sightless appeared from the void, still carrying Ancestor Tong with a hand. By now, Ancestor Tong had slightly recovered from his injuries, but it would be impossible for him to fight anytime in the near future. He had been injured by an item from the Arrow Progenitor, not some random run-of-the-mill weapon.

    Yuan Shi appeared across from Ancestor Sightless with a serious expression.

    Within the Innerverse, due to the suppression by the cosmic phenomenon, he was unable to disy his full strength despite his monstrous power. His advantage had suddenly be seemingly nonexistent whereas his opponents had been reinforced by a group of experts.

    Yuan Shi did not know that the people from the Toolcasting family merely wanted to scare the Outerverse cultivators away, but he also wanted to withdraw.

    Across from him, Ancestor Sightless was able to see through Yuan Shi¡¯s thoughts, and the Cosmic Imprinter tossed Ancestor Tong towards the continent before pping his hands together. A formless halo gradually spread out, and in an instant, it enveloped all of the people who were next to the edge of the Astral River. This whole time, Ancestor Sightless had not used his innate gift. This was not because he did not have one, but rather because it had not been the right time yet.

    Now was the right time.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he immediately moved towards Ancestor Sightless.

    But he was already toote. As the halo spread out, everyone was teleported onto the treasure continent, and they left the Astral River behind them.

    Ancestor Sightless¡¯s innate gift could instantaneously transport any people or items within the halo to another ce within view. In truth, such an innate gift was not very useful to someone at Ancestor Sightless¡¯s strength level, as he could cross the universe with just one step while the range of his sight was too small. However, at this moment, his innate gift had been used to great effect.

    If the Outerverse crowd still wanted to escape, then they now needed to escape from the treasure continent first. The continent was covered with Sixth Maind cultivators who were protecting the resources as well as experts from the Toolcasting family, and they had just been joined by the Tong family and Sightless n¡¯s experts. Escaping was practically an impossible mission, and it seemed certain that the Outerverse cultivators would be taken to the Sixth Maind along with this shipment of resources as prisoners.

    The continent was smallpared to the Astral River, but was still veryrge since it had specifically been built to ferry all these resources that had been plundered from the Innerverse back to the Sixth Maind. When Lu Yin opened his eyes, he saw all sorts of minerals that stretched endlessly into the distance, and nearby, there was a very wretched-looking person hiding within some ore.

    That person could never have imagined that Lu Yin would suddenly appear next to him, and he turned around to exchange nces with Lu Yin. At this moment, Lu Yin feltpletely incredulous; wasn¡¯t this Ling Que?

    Ling Que blinked, also in disbelief of what he was seeing. He then rubbed his eyes vigorously, focused his gaze, swallowed his saliva, and raised a hand to awkwardly wave at Lu Yin. ¡°How are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded out of reflex. ¡°Still good.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Ling Que grunted in acknowledgement. He then stopped speaking, as the atmosphere had be awkward.

    However, the next moment , the two charged forward and stared at each other. ¡°Did you betray the Innerverse?¡± they asked each other at the same time.

    ¡°Nonsense, of course not!¡± they said, in unison again.

    ¡°Stop copying me!¡± They were still speaking the same words, and then they both backed up several meters and stared at each other.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. This fellow was actually on the Sixth Maind¡¯s treasure continent¡ªwhat could he be doing if not betraying the Innerverse? Lu Yin did not believe that, with Ling Que¡¯s strength, he could hide right under the noses of the experts of the Toolcasting family.

    Across from Lu Yin, Ling Que had the same thought, as he did not believe that Lu Yin was capable of hiding right underneath the eyes of the Toolcasting family.

    At that moment, the sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. The two looked over at the same time, and they saw the cultivators from the Outerverse fighting against the transport crew as well as the other cultivators from the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin instantly attacked Ling Que, and Ling Que did the same.

    Ling Que had already prepared his Mighty sh, and he was ready to ambush Lu Yin at a moment¡¯s notice. The two had not met each other in five years, and Ling Que clearly had not noticed the disparity between himself and Lu Yin.

 Chapter 958: Chaotic Battle

    <h4>Chapter 958: Chaotic Battle</h4>

    Lu Yin casually flicked Que¡¯s Mighty sh aside, and at the same time, he seized Ling Que¡¯s entire body. ¡°Talk. Why are you here?¡±

    Ling Que bellowed back, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to ask you!¡±

    At this moment, Yuan Shi and Ancestor Sightless appeared in the sky, fighting.

    Ling Que nkly stared at the two powerhouses, and even if he was any slower in the head, he still would have realized that something was off. A group of people had suddenly appeared in this ce and started fighting. He suddenly thought of something and looked over at Lu Yin strangely. ¡°Weren¡¯t you in the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed Ling Que tightly. ¡°The Astral River was torn apart, and we fought our way through.¡±

    ¡°You guys must be crazy! Just the Outerverse alone dared to fight their way into the Innerverse?¡± Ling Que cried out in surprise.

    At that moment, a giant hammer soared through the sky and far into the distance while an endless sword qi rose into the sky and sliced at the hammer.

    Ling Que¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The elder was discovered, so the n is going to be pushed forward. We were going to rob this transport.¡±

    Lu Yin released Ling Que and stared off into the distance. That streak of sword qi just now did not belong to anyone from the Outerverse. Even if the wielder¡¯s power level had been suppressed to below 200,000, Lu Yin was certain that the sword wielder was extremely powerful. Just their sword qi had instilled a sense of fear within him, and it even surpassed what he had felt from Liu Qiuyu. There was someone with Ling Que, and they had been hiding for a long time. This person was an expert.

    ¡°Robbing? Who else is here aside from you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Que proudly answered, ¡°Many people! These resources belong to my Innerverse, so it¡¯s impossible for us to let the Sixth Maind take them away.¡±

    At this point in time, multiple battles had broken out all across the treasure continent. When Ancestor Sightless¡¯s teleported all of the Outerverse cultivators onto this continent with his innate gift, they had also been separated. The people from the Outerverse, the Tong family, and the Sightless n had all been scattered across the continent at random.

    Separation was not a good thing for the Outerverse cultivators, as there were simply too many enemies from the Sixth Maind, especially when the escort crew was taken into consideration. The number of experts escorting the treasure continent were no fewer than thebined power of the Tong family and the Sightless n that had invaded the Outerverse. If nothing unexpected happened, then once a bit of time passed, perhaps everyone from the Outerverse would be either killed or captured.

    However, if there were other Innerverse cultivators like Ling Que who had been lying in ambush on the treasure continent, then things were different. Since these people dared to attack this continent that was transporting so many resources, they must have had a certain degree of confidence.

    However, Ancestor Sightless¡¯s innate gift had separated everyone from the Outerverse, and some of them had appeared in very unlucky ces. For example, one fellow had appeared right in front of the Toolcasting family¡¯s Ninth Stage Augmenter, and he had been instantly crushed into a puddle of blood. Others had appeared in the area where the Innerverse cultivators were being imprisoned.

    On the entire continent, the ce that had the strictest security was where the imprisoned Innerverse cultivators were being held. There were three Fourth Stage Augmenters guarding the prisons, and these existences had power levels of roughly 400,000¡ªEnlighters. One of the guards was even a Seventh Stage Augmenter, and their power level surpassed 720,000.

    Even if Yuan Shi wanted to break these people out at this time, it would take him some time to do so.

    However, there were others who were extremely lucky. They appeared right behind where the prisoners were being kept, and they managed to sessfully release the Innerverse cultivators.

    Chaotic battles broke out all over the continent. There were the Outerverse cultivators, the Innerverse cultivators lying in ambush like Ling Que, as well as the released Innerverse prisoners. All of these people caused the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces to swell until they almost matched the Sixth Maind¡¯s. Simply too many Innerverse cultivators had been released.

    Throughout the Sixth Maind¡¯s entire campaign against the Innerverse, this was the most unlucky resource transportation continent.

    The entire continent descended into chaos.

    Also, the person who had organized the ambushing Innerverse cultivators, like Ling Que, was Starsibyl. It was not the Starsibyl who had been at the Astral Combat Academy, but rather the one who had appeared at the Sea King¡¯s Dome and chatted with Lu Yin.

    Even with Starsibyl¡¯s calm and calcting personality, at this moment, she felt a bit lost and was not certain exactly about what was happening. However, since they had been exposed, their only option now was to fight their way out.

    The most frustrated person at this moment was the Ninth Stage Augmenter from the Toolcasting family. Everything had been going smoothly, and just as nned. Previously, their worst issue had been some mice that had sneaked aboard, but those pests could be easily taken care of. However, they had ended up running into a battle involving Ancestor Sightless, and that man just had to bring all those Outerverse experts over, which even allowed the Innerverse prisoners to escape. If the guilty party was not Ancestor Sightless, then the Augmenter would have actually suspected them of being a spy of the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin and Ling Que were both quickly discovered, and a group of Sixth Maind cultivators surrounded the two youths. Lu Yin instantly attacked. Since he had returned to the Innerverse, he had already removed his universal armor. However, since there was the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, there was not much reason for him to even bother wearing the armor.

    However, Ling Que had a serene expression. ¡°You ves of this rigid cultivation system, you guys have no future. You guys¡­¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the other man with a strange look. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Ling Que answered in full seriousness, ¡°I¡¯m trying to see if I can scare them to death.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless; this fellow had gone crazy!

    Lu Yin himself did not remember how, back when he had possessed a Sixth Maind cultivator, he had walked up to Ling Que¡¯s face and then killed himself. This event had shocked Ling Que quite badly, and he had subsequently developed a habit of always trying to talk his enemies to death, as he felt that talking people to death was much more impressive than straightforwardly killing them. Although he had not seeded yet, he had never tired of it.

    Lu Yin ignored him, as the man was nuts.

    The Ghost Monkey was simrly astonished. ¡°Seventh Bro, has the Innerverse been suppressed this badly? Can someone actually go this crazy?¡±

    There was ake not too far away from Lu Yin and Ling Que, and some bizarre ores had been stored at theke¡¯s bottom. These ores were special ones that could only be preserved in water.

    Among the ores, there was a stunningdy who slowly opened her eyes as she retrieved a simple lyre from her cosmic ring. She then began to slowly y it.

    The song was melodious, but it was also filled with a boundless killing intent.

    As the music yed, it gradually spread across the treasure continent and formed a domain that seemed to be able to differentiate between friend and foe.

    The melody passed by Lu Yin, though it made him pause. This was a very powerful domain.

    When the melody came in contact with the Sixth Maind cultivators, many of them felt their thoughts freeze, and they fainted in droves.

    Ling Que stopped saying nonsense, and he suddenly looked excited. ¡°It¡¯s Elder Redmoon!¡±

    Lu Yin felt lost. ¡°Who?¡±

    Ling Que exined, ¡°She¡¯s one of the elders from the Souldream Tribe, and her power level is higher than 400,000. Shockingly, her strength even approaches that of an Envoy. She was the only Souldream Tribe member who was able to escape when the tribe was captured by the Sixth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Even the Souldream Tribe was captured?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. He remembered that someone had once said that the stronger powers from the Innerverse had mostly escaped.

    Ling Que sighed. ¡°The Souldream Tribe can be considered unlucky, but who decided to make them so beautiful? They caught the attention of the Toolcasting family, and those despicable people decided to distribute the tribe members as spoils of war. During these years, quite a few of the Souldream Tribe¡¯s girls have been given out as prizes, and some have already been sent back to the Sixth Maind as trophies.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sank, and he involuntarily clenched his hands into fists.

    He had certain connections with the Souldream Tribe, and Xi Yue could even be considered somewhat of a friend. On Pyrolyte, he had struck a deal with the Souldream Tribe, and he had even rescued some of their members while there. He had not expected the tribe to suddenly face such an unexpected cmity, and their fate was even worse than the Starfall Sea¡¯s.

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes grew dim. Actually, he had a choice to opt out of participating in this ambush on the transportation treasure continent, but when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Soulseal Flowzone, the Lingling n had abandoned the Souldream Tribe to escape. This had be a guilty weight on Ling Que, so he had decided to join this attack because of it. He had joined not just because these resources belonged to the Innerverse, but more so because he wanted to rescue the members of the Souldream Tribe.

    Although he acted quite pompous and seemed unreliable on the surface, at least he had a persistent heart.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go find Elder Redmoon. She has a power vessel known as Moonlyre, and it is simply too powerful inrge battlefields. Someone will definitely try to deal with her,¡± Ling Que said.

    Lu Yin nodded, and the two made their way towards theke.

    They were not the only ones moving over. Every Innerverse cultivator who heard the melody and was a part of the raid team charged towards that particrke. Long ago, they had all agreed upon this strategy. Elder Redmoon¡¯s domain was able to envelop the entire treasure continent, and her melody domain was able to cause too much damage to the Sixth Maind, so she had to be protected.

    If one looked down at the continent from high above, they would see that countless people were converging upon theke from all directions. Cultivators from the Innerverse as well as ones from the Sixth Maind moved as though a life and death battle was about to unfold at theke.

    A giant hammer crashed down towards theke from high in the sky. A true expert from the Toolcasting family had arrived, and they were a Fourth Stage Augmenter at the very least. Although their power level had been suppressed, the power that they were able to unleash was still enough to leave many of the Outerverse cultivators in awe.

    One figure dashed up from the bottom of theke and charged towards the hammer.

    There was a thump as shockwaves spread out in all directions. In the end, the figure spat out a mouthful of blood as they were pounded back into theke.

    The void split open, and an old man appeared above the surface of theke with a hammer gripped in one hand. There was a symbol that consisted of four segments embossed into the hammer, which was the symbol of a Fourth Stage Augmenter.

    ¡°Little one, for you to be able to receive my hammer, you clearly have great potential. Follow me back to the Sixth Maind, and I can let you join my Toolcasting family.¡± The elder held his hammer as he looked down with cold eyes.

    On the surface of theke, a figure looked up. This person was a young male, but he was just a Cruiser. This young man was Cang Mu, and he was a follower of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King, and he was also ranked ninth on the Top 100 Rankings, which surpassed even Cool Sis. He was one of the top members of his generation in the Innerverse.

    ¡°Old man, your hammer isn¡¯t much.¡± Cang Mu spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered at the Augmenter.

    The elder snorted. ¡°You must be tired of living!¡±

    The hammer then crashed down towards theke once again. At that moment, the melody floating out from beneath theke surged, and visible ripples swept up towards the old man.

    As a great elder of the Souldream Tribe, Elder Redmoon¡¯s true power level surpassed 450,000, and she was very close to the Envoy level. She was the Souldream Tribe¡¯s top expert, and she was also using the Souldream Tribe¡¯s strongest power vessel, Moonlyre. With the power vessel¡¯s reinforcement, she was unafraid of any powerhouse at her level, but she was facing one of the Toolcasting family¡¯s Fourth Stage Augmenters.

    The Toolcasting family was different from all the other families and powers from the Sixth Maind simply because they had a Empyrean Imprinter. Each and every weapon that any expert from the Toolcasting family used was something that had been personally forged by them alone. Thus, their weapons suited them the best and allowed them to use their peak strength.

    This Fourth Stage Augmenter had a power level that exceeded 400,000 as well, but on top of that, he also had his martial print and an imprint. He used his hammer to smash away the ripples of the musical notes.

    Although both powerhouses were fighting while suppressing their power levels to below 200,000, Elder Redmoon ended up being just one notch inferior to the Fourth Stage Augmenter in both offense and defense. This slight but vital difference between the cultivators of the Innerverse and the Sixth Maind wasmonly seen during the war.

    With his hammer, the old man smashed away the musical notes and then valiantly charged towards the bottom of theke with his hammer raised, ready to smash it down onto Fei Yue.

    Cang Mu roared and dashed over in a desperate attempt to use his body as a shield.

    The old man sneered; just an ant.

    At that moment, the old man caught a glimpse of a cold light in the corner of his eye as it streaked over. He frowned and shifted his hammer to sweep out in the direction of the approaching sh. The Que¡¯s Mighty sh was shattered within the void, and in the distance, Ling Que spat out a mouthful of blood. The figure originally charging towards theke suddenly froze, as if it had been smashed by something.

    The Que¡¯s Mighty sh had caused the hammer to change directions. Thus, it did not strike Cang Mu, who then took advantage of this opportunity to attack the Augmenter. However, his attacks did not harm the old man in the slightest. The elder¡¯s star energy was easily able to suppress the youth, and even the void was solidified by his powerful star energy. He then raised a hand and reached out towards Cang Mu¡¯s neck.

    Elder Redmoon suddenly leaped up from the bottom of theke, her lyre¡¯s strings vibrating and unleashing sonic booms that sted towards the Augmenter.

    The old man grabbed at Cang Mu with one hand while his other lifted his hammer up high and smashed it back down as hepletely ignored Elder Redmoon.

    To this expert from the Toolcasting family, such a gentle attack was not enough to dy him by even the slightest bit.

 Chapter 959: Young Master Changbai

    <h4>Chapter 959: Young Master Changbai</h4>

    Just as the Fourth Stage Augmenter¡¯s hand was about to grab a hold of Cang Mu¡¯s neck, the void split open, and another hand simrly stretched forward to protect Cang Mu. This second hand shed with the Augmenter¡¯s palm, and the elder¡¯s eyes went wide. His five fingers instantly closed together into a fist that tried to break through the obstructing palm. However, the next moment, the old man found that a bit of his strength had vanished without any reason. An explosion rang out, and the two hands both pulled back as a figure appeared behind the second hand. It was Lu Yin.

    Cang Mu was also forced by the collision between the two palms, and he looked at Lu Yin with a stunned expression.

    Lu Yin looked at the old man in a serious manner. In terms of pure physical strength, Lu Yin was able to rival an Enlighter, but only an Enlighter with a power level of about 200,000. This old man had a power level of at least 400,000, and his physical body was incredibly formidable. If he hadn¡¯t used Truesight to shave away some of the strength in the old man¡¯s palm, Lu Yin¡¯s hand would have been crippled by this impact.

    Lu Yin had been too careless by using force to reply to force. He had momentarily forgotten that he had removed his universal armor when they had entered the Innerverse. If they were still in the Outerverse, then not even his upgraded universal armor¡¯s defense would have been enough to stop this old fogey¡¯s strike, since his strength likely surpassed that of the Sightless n expert who had tried to attack the battleships.

    The Fourth Stage Augmenter elder looked at his hand in astonishment before turning to look back at Lu Yin. The man seemed to be at a loss. In the instant before their hands had touched, his strength had decreased rather significantly. Could this be a secret technique?

    ¡°Kid, you have a secret technique?¡± The old man looked at Lu Yin with fervent eyes.

    Lu Yin waved his arms, and they released cracking sounds. He stared back at the old man. ¡°Nope.¡±

    The Augmenter sneered at the youth. ¡°If that wasn¡¯t a secret technique, then how could you have weakened my power?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking things¡ªnobody was weakening your strength,¡± Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    The old man grinned. ¡°Interesting. The only members of your Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation who can receive one or two of my attacks are those who have received the title of King from the Champions'' Stage. Those who can actually fight me are even fewer. Little fellow, you¡¯re from the Outerverse? So the Outerverse actually has someone like you. You can follow me.¡± And with that, the man leaped towards Lu Yin and pounded at the youth with a hammer.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. Although he was much more powerful than when he had been journeying in the Starfall Sea, it was still a bit much for him to fight against such an old powerhouse. Against an Enlighter whose power level was above 400,000, or even an Imprinter, Lu Yin was able to use all sorts of methods to survive, but it was too difficult for him to win. Even now, the only Enlighter with a power level greater than 300,000 whom Lu Yin had actually killed himself was the Tong family¡¯s Elder Song.

    At that time, Elder Song had been the strongest person who Lu Yin could actually fight against. However, since then, he had be a Cruiser and alsopleted the First Sun. Thus, perhaps there was a chance that he could even fight against Enlighters whose power levels were higher than 400,000, but it was still unknown whether or not he could actually win, especially against a member of the Toolcasting family.

    When he saw the hammer smash towards him, Lu Yin immediately moved to dodge, as he could not take this attack head on.

    The hammer smashed the void apart, releasing a powerful ripple that swept out in all directions. Everything above and below the hammer was flooded by this strength, and Cang Mu was flung even further away while Elder Redmoon also hesitated for a moment. Vast waves could be seen on the surface of theke.

    In the distance, Ling Que could only feel his breathing be stifled, and he nearly choked.

    Lu Yin felt a stifling feeling rise within his chest as well, and he looked up to see the elder swatting down at him with a single hand. Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he released his eight lined battle force and Fatesand while his pupils transformed into runes. He then used Truesight to directly weaken the elder¡¯s attack while raising a hand to unleash One Hundred Stacks.

    The elder¡¯s gaze trembled; at that moment, he sensed his strength being weakened once again, which meant that he had not been wrong before.

    With the rumbling of an explosion, the void tore open, and a fissure spread out in all directions.

    The elder was thrown back a hundred meters by Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Under the suppression from the cosmic phenomenon, the elder¡¯s power level could infinitely approach 200,000, and Lu Yin was no different. However, Lu Yin was able to use Truesight to reduce the elder¡¯s runes by a bit, and correspondingly, his strength. This meant that the expert¡¯s power level had dropped slightly, which determined the victor in an instant.

    That was particrly true at this time, as Lu Yin was capable of removing far more rune lines than when he hadst been in the Innerverse. He did not have much time to consider the implications of this improvement, but the situation was just as he had suspected: the Rune Progenitor had caused this cosmic phenomenon, which meant that the current Innerverse had be a testing ground for the inheritors of the Rune Technology civilization. Anyone who had managed to cultivate Truesight to the rity realm would gain an advantage over all others, even if they were facing off against an Imprinter.

    However, the old man was still a terrifying existence with a power level that was higher than 400,000. Even if his attack had been weakened, it was not possible for Lu Yin to defeat the Augmenter.

    An adult with an empty fist would still be able to suppress a knife-wielding child. The current fight between Lu Yin and the Augmenter contained the same principle, even if that adult was crippled with a dismembered arm.

    ¡°Sure enough, child, you¡¯ve definitelyprehended a secret technique.¡± The old man waspletely unharmed by Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and he lifted the hammer up to once again pound down. This time, the Augmenter did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, he struck at the void.

    The void distorted as waves of force rippled outwards and suppressed Lu Yin. It also affected Elder Redmoon who was trying to use her Moonlyre toplement her domain and influence all of the Sixth Maind cultivators on the entire continent.

    Lu Yin punched out, and the Daynight Punch appeared, causing the colors ck and white to interchange as a spiritual force attack enveloped the area.

    However, the attack was only able to stall the old man for a moment; the difference between the two was too much.

    ¡°Out of everyone from the younger generation whom I¡¯ve seen, child, you¡¯re second only to those few,¡± he expressed his admiration as he raised his hammer up high once again. The Augmenter¡¯s star energy expanded nearly endlessly as it formed into the shape of a hammer high in the sky. Then, the hammer fell.

    This attack was the most powerful one that the old man could disy while being suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon. It covered the sky, theke, and even the surrounding mountain range.

    Numerous people rushed over from all over, including people from the Sixth Maind as well as cultivators from the Innerverse and the Outerverse. At this moment, they all watched in astonishment as the giant sledgehammer covered the sky. This hammer would smash all of them to death!

    Even Ling Que began to pray.

    Suddenly, Elder Redmoon¡¯s lyre music burst forth from the surface of theke, and everyone heard an unprecedentedly explosive melody echo through the void. The sound caused the Augmenter¡¯s body to waver, as his internal organs had borne the brunt of the attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and his lips moved slightly as he quickly eliminated the runes that he could see around the old man¡¯s heart. The Augmenter¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and in the next moment, an even more intense melody rang out, and the sound formed explosive notes that sted at the Augmenter¡¯s heart.

    The old man spat out a mouthful of blood. Elder Redmoon was a powerhouse who was at his level, and as soon as she coordinated her attack with Lu Yin¡¯s rune removal, the old man had been severely injured. He was even forced to abandon the hammer that he had wanted to use to smash everything.

    Lu Yin stormed towards the elder and pped out a palm. ¡°Go die, you old fart!¡±

    He was hoping to force the elder to use a power level of more than 200,000, as Lu Yin wanted to witness the extermination power of the cosmic phenomenon once again.

    Elder Redmoon suddenly warned, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The elder¡¯s lips curled up even as blood flowed from his mouth, which made him seem exceptionally malevolent. ¡°You people want to die.¡±

    He then bent his right index finger as his knuckle smacked at Lu Yin¡¯s palm. Even if he had been injured, he had not used any battle techniques this entire time, and his strength had also been reduced multiple times. This had allowed the old man to gain some understanding of Lu Yin¡¯s ability to weaken his opponents. This attack of his was powerful enough to severely injure the youth, and it was based off of the premise that the old man¡¯s strength would be weakened.

    Someone who could cultivate to such a level would not be an idiot, and they would not repeatedly suffer from the short end of the stick against the same techniques.

    But Lu Yin was no fool either; he still had¡ªthe Yu Secret Art.

    He casually waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The old man¡¯s attack was diverted and did notnd on Lu Yin, but the youth¡¯s palmnded on the older man¡¯s chest, adding even more pressure atop the foundation that had beenid when Lu Yin had used Truesight to eliminate the rune lines around the elder¡¯s heart. The Augmenter¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he was unable to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood as his body was flung into the ground like a meteor. The strength of the Hundred Stacks, Hundredfold Shockwave Palm had erupted within the man¡¯s body.

    Originally, the old man had been unafraid of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks due to his physique as an Enlighter, but the man had first been severely injured by Elder Redmoon¡¯s sonic attack before being forced to endure an attack of the Oveying Stacks Path. This second strike had severely injured him even further, precisely because of the circumstances that had led to some of his rune lines being erased.

    Lu Yin wanted to seize victory, and he continued to give chase, but at that moment, snow suddenly began to fall from the sky. The snow was white and very beautiful, but it was also quite deadly.

    The surface of theke was frozen in an instant.

    The snowfall became even heavier, to the point where people were almost unable to see their hands in front of them.

    Lu Yin turned to his right, where there was a man silently standing there while looking at Lu Yin with interest. ¡°Are you one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters? Or are you from the Neoverse?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°And you are?¡±

    The man¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°I am from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bright Rainbow Realm¡ªSkke¡¯s Young Master Changbai.¡±

    Lu Yin grew solemn, as this person¡¯s rune lines were right at the power level limit of 200,000. This indicated that this person¡¯s true power level should be at the Enlighter level at the very least despite the man only being a Cruiser. For someone to be so young and yet have so much strength, the only possibility that Lu Yin could think of was the Realmlings.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Realmling?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Young Master Changbai shook his head. ¡°I am still unable to reach that level.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood. Although this person had not quite reached the level of the Realmlings, he was definitely one of the few youths from the Sixth Maind who approached the power of a Realmling. He clearly surpassed Autumnfrost Qing and Hong Ying in strength. This person should be about as strong as White Silkworm.

    ¡°You are able to fight against one of the Toolcasting family¡¯s Fourth Stage Augmenters. That¡¯s truly impressive. However, you still haven¡¯t answered my question. Are you one of the Ten Arbiters? Or are you from the Neoverse?¡± Young Master Changbai asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m from the Outerverse,¡± Lu Yin indifferently replied.

    Young Master Changbai was blown away. ¡°The Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse? There are actually experts like you in that ce?¡±

    At this time, Elder Redmoon¡¯s music rang out once again, and the music formed rippling lines that sted towards where the Fourth Stage Augmenter had fallen.

    The old man coughed up more blood. He was not able to resist the attack as easily as before.

    Elder Redmoon had been hiding her strength all along, just to take advantage of this crucial moment.

    Young Master Changbai¡¯s gaze trembled, as he was also responsible for protecting the resources being transported on the continent. There were countless geniuses from the Sixth Maind¡¯s nine realms fighting in the war against the Innerverse, and each one had their own tasks. Young Master Changbai¡¯s responsibility at this time was to escort these resources to safety, and he could not allow anyone to disrupt the operation.

    As he thought about his task, the snow in the area began to dance, and the temperature dropped once more. By now, even the void had begun freezing.

    Lu Yin leaped down and raised a hand that was shrouded with eight lined battle force, causing a distant howl from an ancient beast to ring out. With his Skybeast w, Lu Yin did his best to put some pressure on Young Master Changbai.

    Young Master Changbai was not confident in being able to deal with Lu Yin, as the Sixth Maind youth knew that he would not have been a match for the Fourth Stage Augmenter himself. Lu Yin had been able to severely injure such a powerhouse, and although he had only seeded by coordinating with Elder Redmoon, that aplishment was not so simple. Young Master Changbai wanted to fight against Lu Yin, but had no ns of facing Lu Yin headon.

    As he watched Lu Yin charge towards him, Young Master Changbai immediately dodged aside.

    However, he had underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s speed. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength could notpare to the Fourth Stage Augmenter¡¯s, but Lu Yin¡¯s physique was more than just a bit stronger than Young Master Changbai¡¯s. Lu Yin was extremely fast, and he easily caught up to Young Master Changbai in an instant. Lu Yin¡¯s star energy converged over his right palm. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    Young Master Changbai was shocked, and a flurry of snowkes converged in front of him while the imprint of a beautiful figure appeared behind him.

    The First Sun collided with the snowkes. Although the snowkes contained a deep chill that had been reinforced by an imprint and was cold enough to freeze normal Enlighters, it quickly melted against Lu Yin¡¯s First Sun.

    Lu Yin had absorbed the cauldron energy of one whole cauldron toplete the First Sun, and thatpletion had multiplied the technique¡¯s strength many times over. For this attack, Lu Yin had gathered enough star energy to bolster the attack¡¯s power level to approach 200,000. As a result, this attack was not something that Young Master Changbai could not endure, and he was forced to retreat back multiple steps. As thest of the snowkes melted, Young Master Changbai¡¯s palms moved together. ¡°Skke Snowpunch.¡±

 Chapter 960: Secret Technique: Power Transfer

    <h4>Chapter 960: Secret Technique: Power Transfer</h4>

    Any icy-blue palm imprint struck Lu Yin¡¯s First Sun, and the colors blue and gold intermingled as they tore across the void. After that, the two colors spread out in all directions. The surface of theke froze over only to quickly thaw once again as the water became quite vtile.

    Lu Yin exerted some strength through his hand, and his First Sun exploded, unleashing an unstoppable shockwave that sted Young Master Changbai away.

    The snowkes that had gathered behind Young Master Changbai¡¯s back continuously melted away, and he was forced 10,000 meters back before he was finally able topletely dissipate the force of Lu Yin¡¯s First Sun. The young man¡¯s face was pale, and he was breathing heavily.

    Lu Yin frowned, as the power that this person had demonstrated so far was not as impressive as his rune lines. In fact, Young Master Changbai was quitecking whenpared to White Silkworm. Even though his Skke Snowpunch was stronger than what Autumnfrost Qing was capable of unleashing, and even though he had been able to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s First Sun, that was only because Lu Yin had not poured all of his star energy into the First Sun. If he had, then Young Master Changbai¡¯s Skke Snowpunch would not have been able to even dy it for even a second.

    Young Master Changbai smiled bitterly. ¡°Sure enough, under normal circumstances, I¡¯m not your match. Although you have not reached the standard of a Realmling yet, you¡¯re not far away. For a Cruiser of the Fifth Maind to have such strength is shocking¡ªnot even the Ten Arbiters could havepared to you when in your realm. I¡¯ve really struck it big this time, being able to meet a genius like you.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Under normal circumstances?¡±

    Young Master Changbai straightened his body and let out a deep breath. ¡°The Bright Rainbow Realm is in the territory of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Brahman Realm. Do you know who the Progenitor of Secret Arts is? They are the Progenitor¡­ of secret techniques.¡±

    After that, the star energy on Young Master Changbai¡¯s body twisted almost as if it was burning, and his face suddenly flushed red as he spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Secret technique: Power Transfer.¡±

    With a roar, veins bulged out on Young Master Changbai¡¯s eyes as a terrifying aura surged and spread outwards.

    Beneath the twobatants, Cang Mu hurriedly shouted at Lu Yin, ¡°Don¡¯t let him finish using it! That¡¯s the Sixth Maind¡¯s secret technique, Power Transfer. It burns the user¡¯s blood essence, and in exchange, increases their strength several times over!¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he instinctivelyunched an attack at Young Master Changbai. However, as a secret technique, it naturally was not easy to disrupt.

    Young Master Changbaiughed. ¡°Power Transfer was developed by the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and it can connect one to the strength of the Progenitor of Secret Arts! Some can even summon the Progenitor of Secret Arts to possess them! Although I can¡¯t do that quite yet, I can still raise my strength a bit, like this-¡± He then raised a hand. ¡°Skke Snowpunch.¡±

    A giant, icy-blue palm imprint swirled in the sky before mming down at Lu Yin.

    Before the palm had even finished descending, the freezing temperature had already chilled Lu Yin¡¯s limbs to the bone, and its power had more than doubledpared to before.

    Lu Yin himself had alsoprehended a secret technique, but he seldom bumped into others who also had secret techniques. This was not because there were too few secret techniques, but rather because they were almost non-existent. Secret techniques were able to turn the rotten into the mysterious, and the Power Transfer secret technique did exactly that. This secret technique had forcefully raised Young Master Changbai¡¯s power substantially, and Lu Yin was even forced to rely on Truesight to weaken the power of his attacks.

    Young Master Changbai experienced the same sensation as the Fourth Stage Augmenter, and the ice-blue palm was prated as Lu Yin¡¯s hand swatted down.

    Young Master Changbai was sent flying once again, being pushed 10,000 meters away just likest time. He stared at Lu Yin, bbergasted. ¡°Was that a secret technique?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you watching from the side?¡± Lu Yin barked. He then chased after his opponent as his pupils transformed into runes, weakening Young Master Changbai¡¯s strength once again. Young Master Changbai almost spat out a mouthful of blood; he had been relying on his increase in strength from Power Transfer, but Lu Yin was using Truesight to cripple the youth. Although the increase in strength provided was greater than the amount that Lu Yin removed, Lu Yin had not weakened the overall strength of the attack. Rather, he had concentrated his efforts on just a certain portion of it.

    This nauseated Young Master Changbai. Every aspect of his strength had been improved, but a specific portion had been weakened. And coincidentally, it was right where Lu Yin was targeting its attacks. It was useless even if Young Master Changbai¡¯s strength had been improved several times over.

    At this time he understood how the Fourth Stage Augmenter had been beaten to the point of spitting out blood.

    Even if Power Transfer was able to improve a person¡¯s strength, it was not very useful against this person.

    Young Master Changbai was very decisive, and he immediately turned to escape. Since he was unable to beat Lu Yin, he would only be waiting to die if he stuck around.

    Lu Yin chased after Young Master Changbai, and they quickly moved further and further away from theke. At this time, a new battle broke out over theke.

    Two figures simultaneously appeared from the distance. One was determined to kill Elder Redmoon while the other had arrived to help her, and they both arrived at practically the same time.

    Fortunately, Elder Redmoon was no weakling. Otherwise, the aftershocks from the battle taking ce above theke would have already imed her life.

    One of the two was another Fourth Stage Augmenter from the Toolcasting family while the other was Yan, a super powerhouse with a power level of 470,000. Yan was not from one of the various great powers of the Innerverse, but rather, was from Shamrock Enterprises. In fact, he was actually the secretary of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Innerverse Chairman. His appearance was not a coincidence.

    Yan¡¯s innate giftplemented Elder Redmoon¡¯s. ording to the original ns, the two would have carried out a massacre of the Sixth Maind¡¯s transport crew. This was because Yan¡¯s innate gift was fantasy gas.

    Unfortunately, this n had been ruined before it could even begin.

    Although the Tong family and Sightless n had caused a bunch of cultivators from the Outerverse to suddenly appear and join this great raid to seize back the Innerverse¡¯s resources, the appearance of these people had also disrupted the ns of Starsibyl¡¯s team.

    In the distance, the Toolwielder Realmling had been constantly searching for Wendy Yushan, intent on capturing her.

    He did not end up finding her, but he did somehow bump into Lan Si.

    The Realmlings and Ten Arbiters were natural enemies.

    The battle of these two youths shocked all who saw them.

    Even further away, countless Innerverse prisoners escaped while being pursued by Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Xi Yue¡¯s face was pale and her clothes were in tatters, making her look quite pathetic. She had been one of the prisoners, but fortunately, she had escaped.

    Behind her group, a Sixth Maind Imprinter who had been standing guard over the prisoners this entire time took action. Nobody could stop the powerhouse, and even Cang Song, who was an elder from Chaosgod Mountain, was severely injured by the Imprinters attacks, his status unknown.

    Xi Yue¡¯s gaze revealed her terror, as she did not know if she would be able to escape. If she could not, then she wouldmit suicide, as that would be better than being sold as a ve. Lan Yue had already done so.

    Many others held the same thoughts as Xi Yue. When they had been prisoners, they had not even been able tomit suicide, but then, they had managed to break their chains and flee. Even if they did not escape, they at least had the power to end their own lives now.

    The escaped prisoners¡¯ luck was not bad. Even though Starsibyl¡¯s raid team did not have any Envoy-level powerhouses who could stop Imprinters, there were several such powerhouses among the Outerverse cultivators. Elder He appeared, and he blocked the Imprinter.

    Lu Yin wanted to eliminate Young Master Changbai, as the youth was an elite genius from the Sixth Maind, and taking care of one such person meant that there would be one less expert in the future. However, despite Lu Yin¡¯s relentless pursuit, Young Master Changbai was able to use his secret technique, Power Transfer, to raise his speed to extraordinary levels. In the end, Lu Yin was unable to catch up, and he could only turn back helplessly.

    Before long, he was drawn to another battle taking ce rather close to him.

    It was actually a fight between Starsibyl and an Imprinter.

    The escort crew transporting the resources back to the Sixth Maind did not have just one Imprinter among their forces. Starsibyl¡¯s mission was to dy one of the Imprinters. Although her strength was not high enough to allow her to win, with the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s mysterious divination methods, the Imprinter waspletely stalled against the young woman.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as he had seen one of the Starsibyls fight in the past, during the Tournament of the Strongest when he had still been in the Astral Combat Academy. With the power of divination, that girl had avoided attacks before they were evenunched, and she had preemptively attacked empty areas where her opponent would then move to. Back then, Tian Hou had to attack the entire arena to force Starsibyl to admit defeat. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to determine a victor between the two of them, and Tian Hou had admitted it himself.

    That was Starsibyl¡¯s strength.

    However, that had been the Starsybil attending the Astral Combat Academy, and there was not just one Starsibyl. At this moment, Lu Yin had run into the Starsibyl who was in the same generation as the Ten Arbiters, and she was against an Imprinter. Her divination abilities were effective even against an Imprinter.

    Based on the rankings used by the Toolcasting family, the powerhouse who Starsibyl was fighting against was not an Imprinter, but rather a Seventh Stage Augmenter.

    At this time, the Seventh Stage Augmenter was feeling rather depressed and sullen. The woman in front of him was like a mouse, and she dodged his attacks time and time again. It would have been fine if that was all that she did, as he could target an entire region with his attacks, which would definitely have resulted in the woman¡¯s death. However, the Augmenter was frustrated because he could not unleash such an attack in this area, as there was a mountain of star essence beneath them.

    Star essence was made of star energy, so if he attacked, the gathered star essence would release star energy and explode with a power level that easily surpassed 200,000. In addition, this was not some natural phenomenon. The moment the Augmenter attacked, the star essence would release a power level that surpassed 200,000, and he did not know if he would be erased by the Innerverse¡¯s cosmic phenomenon. Thus, he did not dare to take such a gamble.

    Starsibyl had made sure to choose this battlefield before having the confidence to hold back this Imprinter, as not even the Ten Arbiters were guaranteed to be able to stall an Imprinter.

    The Ten Arbiters could fight against Imprinters, but that was merely exchanging blows, not true life and death confrontations. Achieving victory was even more impossible.

    ¡°Woman, can you only hide?¡± The Seventh Stage Augmenter was furious.

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression remained calm, and she looked at the old man as his hammer fell once again. She had already dodged it in advance, and the hammer merely sted at where she had been previously standing. A wave rippled out from the hammer, but strangely, the young woman even dodged the ripple. It was not even able to affect her clothes.

    ¡°My apologies, Senior, but you can only remain here,¡± Starsibyl calmly replied.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter wanted to leave, but there were far too many star essence stored here, and it was too valuable. Nobody knew if this woman had brought a super-capacity cosmic ring with her that was able to take away all these star essence.

    During all these years of war, this Augmenter hade to understand the Fifth Maind cultivators quite well. Among them, there were many scheming individuals, and it would actually be fine if they lost the star essence, but he did not want to be fooled andughed at by others.

    Left with little choice, the Seventh Stage Augmenter could only apany Starsibyl and waste his time in this ce.

    He had thought that he would waste a great deal of time during their battle, but he suddenly noticed Lu Yin out of the corner of his eyes and grew excited. He gave up on Starsibyl and dashed over towards Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, you dare toe here? Time to die!¡±

    Starsibyl frowned, as someoneing here would just be a hindrance to her. During the nning phase, she had clearly told everyone to keep their distance from this area, but it seemed that this person was from that Outerverse group. As she thought about it, she looked over, only to be rather astonished. It was actually him, that unequaled Limiteer.

    This Starsibyl had a deep impression of Lu Yin, all because of Lu Yin¡¯s answer to her question: with money, he could be stronger. This answer had left too deep of an impression on her. On top of that, she had tried to divine this person¡¯s future, but she had not been able toe to any meaningful conclusions.

    Out of all of the unequaled Limiteers at that time, Lu Yin had been the one whom she had paid the most attention to.

    She had never dreamed that they would bump into each other here.

    Starsibyl felt a pang of regret, as this youth would certainly die after drawing the Seventh Stage Augmenter¡¯s attention. Even she could not save Lu Yin, as she was only able to save her own life.

    Such a pity. This genius, if allowed to mature, might have been able to overtake the Ten Arbiters in the future.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter was an Imprinter, and once one was targeted by a powerhouse of that level, aside from the Ten Arbiters, only those like Starsibyl, who had divination abilities, would be able to stay alive. Lu Yin was just a mere Cruiser, and even Starsibyl did not believe that he would be able to survive.

    Divination was not omnipotent, and its foundationy in making countless analytical decisions, taking the current circumstances into ount, and then choosing the one that had the greatest likelihood of urring. These circumstances were not simply what normal people could see. Rather, they were more so what normal people could not see, and it involved the domain of mysteries.

    However, what was even more mysterious was that, although divination was not omniscient or omnipotent, it could not calcte something that had never been seen before. That unequaled Limiteer from before had already matured to a level that was quickly approaching the Ten Arbiters.

    Even Starsibyl could not have expected such a development, let alone the Seventh Stage Augmenter.

 Chapter 961: So Much Money

    <h4>Chapter 961: So Much Money</h4>

    Starsibyl did not even feel any desire to warn Lu Yin when she saw him standing there, rooted in ce, clearly dumbfounded by what he was confronted with.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter revealed a cruel smile as he smashed down with his hammer, clearly intending on killing Lu Yin in one hit. This attack was simply to let the old man vent his frustrations, and he had no ns of trying to use this youth as a hostage. In the current period of war, such a thing waspletely useless.

    Lu Yin watched as the hammer smashed down at him. It followed a profound trajectory that sealed off the void, and this attack far surpassed what that Fourth Stage Augmenter had been capable of unleashing. This was the power of an Imprinter¡¯s strength, and star energy was useless against it, as such powerhouses were above using star energy.

    There was a st, but Lu Yin managed to avoid the attack as the hammer smashed through the void. It released a powerful shockwave that unleashed multiple ripples of force that epassed everything within 10,000 kilometers of the site of impact.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and his eyes flickered. The energy ripples spread out, but their rune lines were continuously erased. In the end, when the energy made contact with Lu Yin, it was not much stronger than the Fourth Stage Augmenter¡¯s attacks before Lu Yin had weakened them. This was still within the range of Lu Yin¡¯s endurance.

    The two other people looked at Lu Yin standing tall in the sky as he endured the ripples of force.

    Both the Seventh Stage Augmenter and Starsibyl werepletely astonished.

    Although the Seventh Stage Augmenter¡¯s power level had been suppressed to below 200,000, an Imprinter was still an Imprinter, and their understanding of their own strength was different from any others below their realm. Any random strike from such a powerhouse was capable of surpassing its power level and crushing their enemies, and they were able to use a limited amount of power to unleash widespread destruction. Otherwise, with the condition that they were forced to suppress their power level to under 200,000, they would not be invincible.

    Also, star energy was ineffective against such powerhouses.

    However, Lu Yin had actually managed to endure the man¡¯s attack.

    Starsibyl was stupefied; it was impossible even for her to receive such an attack head on, forcing her to dodge them. However, had this youth just done so?

    Lu Yin had weakened the rune lines of the spreading energy ripples rather than the Seventh Stage Augmenter¡¯s. Thus, the old man waspletely unaware that the power of his attack had been reduced, and he truly thought that Lu Yin had blocked the attack.

    ¡°Kid, who are you?¡± he barked as he stared intently at Lu Yin.

    Some cultivators appeared to be young but had actually lived for a very long time, and there were quite a few people like that. However, normally, such people could be easily differentiated, as their mannerisms and eyes gave it away. But to the Seventh Stage Augmenter¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin was truly a youth, and it was quite odd for such a youth to be able to block attack from him, an Imprinter.

    Lu Yin did not answer. Instead, he stared at the ground with a bizarre expression on his face. What had once been an ordinary mountain range had developed many cracks in it, most likely due to the battle between Starsibyl and the Seventh Stage Augmenter. Through these broken areas, piles of glittering star essence could be seen.

    If someone asked Lu Yin what he wanted to do the most at this time, then his reply would definitely not be to defeat the Seventh Stage Augmenter, but rather to plunder. With his domain, he was able to sense that there was an endless amount of star essence lying within the mountain range that was right beneath him.

    How much was there? A single mountain range would contain at least hundreds of millions of star essence, and there were easily dozens of such mountain ranges spread out below, and that wasn¡¯t even all of them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing quickened. This was way, way too much money, and he could not even calcte it all.

    Why was there so much money in this ce?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flushed red.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s bewildering expressions, the Seventh Stage Augmenter grew wary. This kid definitely was not simple, and it was strange for such a person to show up at a time like this.

    In the distance, Starsibyl did not move. Her original mission had been to stall the Seventh Stage Augmenter and give the rest of them time. Now, her situation had be much more rxed since they were not moving at all.

    At this point in time, in another corner of the maind, Yuan Shi slowly gained the upper hand in his battle against Ancestor Sightless, mostly because of Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    In Yuan Shi¡¯s hand, the Progenitor¡¯s hide was of tremendous use, and Progenitor Wushang''s hide was not restricted by the cosmic phenomenon since it did not possess any rune lines.

    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that their power levels had been suppressed to below 200,000, which was something that Yuan Shi was still unustomed to, the victor would have been decided long ago.

    Venerable Sightless was no match for Yuan Shi, so the Ninth Stage Augmenter from the Toolcasting family who was protecting the transport crew took action. At the same time, Ancestor Tong hid in a corner and did his best to recover from his injuries.

    The entire treasure continent had descended into chaos.

    The various experts who had been tasked with stalling the Ninth Stage Augmenter had only been able to briefly dy the Imprinter.

    Even though everything waspletely chaotic, it seemed as though the cultivators from the Innerverse and Outerverse had gained the upper hand. However, they were currently traveling through the Innerverse, and the vast majority of the Innerverse was controlled by the Sixth Maind. Yuan Shi believed that the transport crew must have contacted the nearby Sixth Maind experts long ago, and reinforcements would likely arrive soon.

    He did not want to be dyed in this ce. Otherwise, even if he managed to achieve victory here, the rest of the Fifth Maind cultivators would surely die.

    As he thought about it, Yuan Shi used Progenitor Wushang''s hide to repel Venerable Sightless and the Ninth Stage Augmenter. The ancient powerhouse then transmitted his voice across the entire transport continent and ordered everyone to evacuate.

    The people from the Outerverse naturally listened to Yuan Shi.

    The people from the Innerverse were intent on destroying the stolen resources, and not only had they destroyed quite a bit, but the imprisoned cultivators had also been released. They had gone above and beyond their mission goals, so naturally, they had no ns to linger.

    However, even if everyone wanted to leave, it would not be that easy. Ancestor Sightless had also heard Yuan Shi¡¯s message, and the Imprinter ordered the Sixth Maind cultivators to block the fleeing cultivators even if it cost them their lives. After all, reinforcements would arrive soon.

    Starsibyl looked up towards the ce where Yuan Shi was battling. Evacuation?

    Once she thought about it, it was indeed time to retreat, and she retrieved an item that looked like an altar. She stood in the center of the altar, clearly intending to do something.

    A little ways away, Lu Yin and the Seventh Stage Augmenter were still keeping a wary eye on each other. When Lu Yin saw what Starsibyl was doing, his expression changed drastically, and he leaped over to her.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter thought that Lu Yin had been about to attack, and the old man took out his hammer to m it at him.

    The valiant ripples of energy spread out once again, epassing tens of kilometers.

    Starsibyl frowned and then helplessly stored the altar away so that she could dodge the ripples of energy. She then turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Block him! I¡¯ll buy us some time so that we can escape together.¡±

    Lu Yin weakened the rune lines of the ripples before blocking another attack. He then stared at Starsibyl. ¡°Escape together? More like you guys are going to run away.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Lu Yin barked back at her, ¡°Since you guys dared toe here, then you have to have some kind of escape n. That thing just now should be able to drag all of the Innerverse cultivators out, and if I¡¯ve guessed correctly, then everyone that raided this ce must have some kind of mark ced on them by you.¡±

    Starsibyl was surprised, as this person knew quite a bit. These were the private techniques of the Starsibyl Sect.

    ¡°Since you know, then help me stop him. I can bring you with us,¡± Starsibyl offered indifferently.

    By now, the Seventh Stage Augmenter had heard the two talking and realized that the woman actually wanted to escape. The powerhouse ignored Lu Yin and mmed his hammer towards Starsibyl. ¡°You must be dreaming, wanting to escape.¡±

    Starsibyl evaded the attack and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Block him, and you¡¯ll gain great contributions. I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be given a King title from the Champions'' Stage.¡±

    ¡°Do I need you to promise me that?¡± Lu Yin ridiculed. With his strength, he could absolutely receive such a title, as only those strong enough to fight against Imprinters would be given the title of King.

    Starsibyl softly asked, ¡°Lu Yin, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to betray the Innerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin sullenly answered, ¡°If you guys escape, then my people from the Outerverse will be doomed. Wait for us to leave first. Then, I can guarantee that I¡¯ll help you all escape.¡±

    Starsibyl retorted, ¡°You guys coincidentally barged in here, and it¡¯s impossible for you all to escape! Do you want us to apany you to the grave? Innerverse cultivators can¡¯tpare to those from the Outerverse. Do you know how important this raid team is? Theye from powers all over the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°Your lives are important, but does that mean that lives from the Outerverse are worthless?¡± Lu Yin was furious.

    Starsibyl frowned. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t be mistaken. I can sweep your reputation away and make it so that you cannot exist anywhere in the universe.¡±

    A chill shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Just try.¡±

    Starsibyl felt helpless, as she had made both threats and promises. However, this person was not intimidated in the slightest. She had investigated this youth before, and she was aware that he had dared to challenge the Daynight n while just at the Melder realm. He was truly fearless.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter was infuriated, as he felt that this pair waspletely disregarding him. He really wanted to unleash a powerful strike and eliminate these damned kids, but the situation did not allow for it. If he did, then he might not even live to see their fate before dying himself.

    He grew more sullen the more he thought about it, and the Seventh Stage Augmenter beganunching more and more ruthless attacks.

    What was disgusting was that Starsibyl could dodge every attack of his.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you need to have a broader view of things! Even if we abandon the entire Outerverse, we absolutely cannot give up on the Innerverse, which is the root of the Fifth Maind.¡± Starsibyl continued to try persuading him, but without Lu Yin holding back the Seventh Stage Augmenter, she was unable to use the altar.

    Lu Yin simply ignored the girl. Currently, the cultivators from the Innerverse and Outerverse were evenly matched against the Sixth Maind cultivators on the transportation continent. The moment the people from the Innerverse escaped, the remaining Outerverse cultivators would be doomed. Wendy Yushan, Aden, Cai Jianqiang, and even the powerhouses like ck Mask, Yu Mu, Astral-9''s Headmaster, and Elder He would be finished. Lu Yin would rather gamble on his n, as he was wagering that they could all escape before the Sixth Maind reinforcements arrived, and he did not want to give up on the Outerverse cultivators.

    Screw the nonsense about having a broader perspective¡ªit was not more important than his family and friends.

    ¡°If our people die, then in the future, there won¡¯t be anyone left to deal with the Innerverse¡¯s matters. No one will be able to hold back the Sixth Maind in that scenario. They¡¯ve already reached the Cosmic Sea, and they will be able to truly rule over our Fifth Maind if they seed! At that time, you guys will be the Fifth Maind¡¯s worst sinners,¡± Starsibyl harshly berated as she looked at Lu Yin.

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter burst out intoughter. ¡°Little girl, stop straining yourself! You¡¯re just spouting bullshit. That kid naturally has his own judgement, and he won¡¯t be convinced by your moral arguments.¡±

    Starsibyl became absolutely furious, and she red at Lu Yin, only to see that he had actually rushed towards the mountain range. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared. What was he trying to do?

    The Seventh Stage Augmenter also realized that Lu Yin had made a move, and the old man felt his hair stand on end. He thought that Lu Yin wanted to destroy all the star essence. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t be a fool! It¡¯s easy to trigger the cosmic phenomenon!¡±

    The Augmenter then ignored Starsibyl and charged underground after Lu Yin.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes lit up, and she immediately took out the altar and leaped into action.

    Lu Yin had nned on stealing as much star essence as he could, as it was too wasteful to leave all this money lying around. However, he did not expect the Seventh Stage Augmenter to chase after him.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and countless star essence fell into his cosmic ring. When he saw that the Seventh Stage Augmenter had arrived, Lu Yin grew flustered. ¡°What did youe down here for? That woman¡¯s about to escape!¡±

    ¡°Kid, what are you trying to do? Don¡¯t make any quick moves! if you¡¯re not careful, you might cause that cosmic phenomenon to appear.¡±

    ¡°I know! Go on out, I¡¯ll just leave after taking some.¡±

    ¡°You head up first.¡±

    ¡°You first.¡±

    ¡°You.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had a stare off with the Seventh Stage Augmenter, who was ring at the youth as if he was a thief. At that moment, Lu Yin realized the old man was getting ready to strike. Lu Yin felt helpless, and he merely collected one more batch of star essence before leaping out to the surface.

    At that moment, the altar that Starsibyl had been preparing began to shoot out rays of light. All across the transport continent, the bodies of the cultivators from the Innerverse felt their bodies start to light up. They felt as if a burden had been lifted from them, as they could finally leave.

    Lu Yin dashed out to the surface, and he saw that Starsibyl was about to escape. The altar was already surrounded by a barrier of light, and he was quite familiar with this scene. In the past, the people who had managed to flee from Grayweed Continent had relied on a simr altar from the Skyze Dojo.

 Chapter 962: The Cosmic Sea

    <h4>Chapter 962: The Cosmic Sea</h4>

    When Starsibyl saw Lu Yin, the corner of her mouth twitched triumphantly. ¡°I¡¯ll remember all of you. We really have to leave now, so please try to buy us some more time. The longer you stall for, the more meritorious your achievements will be. Don¡¯t worry¡ªI promise that your achievements will be delivered to your heirs. Remember, stall for as much time as you possibly can.¡±

    This woman was not merely abandoning the Outerverse cultivators to die. At this time, she was actually taking advantage of the Outerverse cultivators to buy her more time to escape.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This altar seemed to be quite simr to the one that the Skyze Dojo had used. It had to be said not even Madam Hong had been able to react to the Skyze Dojo¡¯s altar, and it had also been near impossible to damage it whatsoever. Madam Hong was a Cosmic Imprinter, which was the equivalent of a Ninth Stage Augmenter.

    This was Starsibyl¡¯sst ploy. They had never had any intention of dying when they nned this sneak attack on the transport crew. Starsibyl had made many backup ns.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brain ramped up into overdrive; he could not allow anyone from the Innerverse to leave. Otherwise, even if Yuan Shi remained behind, the rest of them would all be destined to die without any hope of escape. Keeping the people from the Innerverse behind on the transport continent was their only hope of survival.

    As his mind raced for a solution, inspiration suddenly struck him. Lu Yin pulled out an item from his cosmic ring: Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letter.

    Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letter was a very strange item, and it was unknown how Starsibyl Sect manufactured these invitations, but they were able to tear open the void and travel straight to Starsibyl.

    When Bai Xue had spoken to Lu Yin in the past, she had told him that her sister, Bai Qian, had run into Qingyu Daynight on Neptune. After that discovery, they had used a letter to open a portal in the sky. At that time, Lu Yin had not understood what letter she had been referring to, but now, he understood exactly what Bai Xue had been talking about. It was likely one of Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letters.

    Later on, Lu Yin had asked a few others about the matter, and he had received the same answer from all of them: Starsibyl¡¯s invitation letter could take the owner right to Starsibyl¡¯s side. It was very mystical, and it was one of the many mysterious methods of the Starsibyl Sect.

    In the distance, Starsibyl watched as Lu Yin took out her invitation letter, and her face went pale. She had given Lu Yin that invitation letter back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Back then, she had had a vastly different goal, and she became very worried as soon as she saw Lu Yin take it out.

    ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t try anything funny!¡± Starsibyl yelled frantically.

    Lu Yin smiled before disappearing, only to reappear right next to Starsibyl. The altar, which had been glowing, started to warp, almost as though it had encountered a foreign object. After that, random light beams shot out in all directions, and everything that the light touched instantly disappeared.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯ve gone mad! We will be blown to pieces by spacetime itself!¡± This was the first time that Starsibyl had ever lost her poise. Everyone who had met her knew that the woman never lost control of herself; she was always calm and in control of everything around her. However, her current facial expression betrayed her rarely seen panic.

    Shivers ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine, and he immediately tried to flee. All he had wanted to do was damage the altar, and he had not expected the consequences to be so severe. In retrospect, had he damaged the altar, or had it been the invitation?

    Right when Lu Yin was about to speak, beams of light shed, and the two youths disappeared. Far away, Ling Que, who had been chasing after Lu Yin all the way to the altar, was also struck by a random beam of light, and he disappeared as well. The only thing left behind was the Seventh Stage Augmenter.

    ¡­

    Their surroundings were pitch ck, broken only by an asional lightning strike. Perhaps they were caught in a crack in the void.

    Lu Yin felt like his body was about to be ripped apart as an immense pain raged through his entire body. Despite that, he thought back to Starsibyl¡¯sst words. Were they really about to be torn apart?!

    With a thud, an icy sensation slowly spread through his body, and Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew sluggish. He opened his mouth, but his mouth somehow ended up filled with a massive amount of water. He had fallen into a body of water, so was he alive? But before he could celebrate, a loud crack of thunder shook the sky as a barrage of lightning strikes struck him in a merciless manner. It left his entire body numb, and his skin even started to smoke.

    Fortunately, the lightning was not strong enough to injure him at all.

    With great difficulty, Lu Yin finally managed to get a good look at where he was. He¡­ seemed to be in the middle of an ocean? As far as Lu Yin could see, in all directions, there were only dark blue skies and drifting clouds.

    He raised his head when he saw more streaks of lightning split the sky. Although the sky was clear, it was still filled with lightning, oddly enough, they seemed toe from nowhere. More bolts of lighting struck down rather close to Lu Yin, and the water conducted the electricity, electrocuting him and leaving him numb once more.

    ¡°Fuck!¡± He heard a miserable shout, and it was a familiar voice.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw that Ling Que had been simrly shocked by the lightning bolts. The young man leaped out of the water like a rabbit and then stood on the surface while rubbing his bottom. The lightning had struck Ling Que¡¯s butt, leaving that area a bit charred.

    Lu Yin leaped out of the water and then looked at Ling Que with a puzzled expression. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Ling Que grimaced from the pain. ¡°I should be the one asking you that! By destroying the altar, you brought me here!¡±

    Lu Yin nced around the area. If Ling Que had alsoe here, then Starsibyl should be nearby as well.

    Just as Lu Yin thought about Starsibyl, the void above him tore open as a person tumbled out.

    Lu Yin reflexively caught the falling body and held it close. Sure enough, it was Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl¡¯s appearance was truly stunning, and the sky seemed to dim from her beauty. Holding her felt pretty good.

    However, Starsibyl was in very bad shape at this moment. She had lost a tremendous amount of blood, and her snow white skin had been torn open in multiple ces, just like Lu Yin and Ling Que. However, she looked to be in far worse shape than either of them two, and she had also just emerged from the void, unlike them.

    Starsibyl knitted her brows, and her entire face twisted into an expression of pain. As soon as she realized that Lu Yin was carrying her, her eyes turned cold. ¡°How much longer do you intend to hold me?¡±

    Lu Yin released her, and with a plopping sound, Starsibyl fell into the ocean. Right after that, lightning fell from the sky once more, but Lu Yin did not move an inch. Instead, he allowed the lightning to strike the water in front of him and shock Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl was instantly electrocuted.

    In the distance, Ling Que watched the scene,pletely stunned. He then gave Lu Yin a thumbs up. ¡°Bro, you¡¯ve got balls!¡±

    Lu Yin lowered his gaze as Starsibyl slowly rose out of the ocean, breathing heavily. She then took out a pill from her cosmic ring and swallowed it without saying a word.

    Due to the issue with the altar, she had suddenly be enemies with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was absolutely furious that Starsibyl had wanted to use the Outerverse cultivators as cannon fodder to buy the Innerverse cultivators a bit of time. She hadpletely disregarded those people¡¯s lives.

    In turn, Starsibyl was terribly upset that Lu Yin had ruined her ns, and he had almost killed her in the process. However, what made her even angrier was the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s actions had been outside of her divinations. She had even been able to predict that Seventh Stage Augmenter¡¯s actions, but she had not been able to predict Lu Yin¡¯s actions. That invitation letter had been given to Lu Yin by Starsibyl herself, and logically speaking, such an oue had been easily foretold through her efforts. However, she had not been able to predict Lu Yin¡¯s move.

    This was what left Starsibyl the most upset.

    If there was no suppression from the cosmic phenomenon in the Innerverse, then her inability to divine information about beings who were in the Envoy realm and above would be of no surprise. However, Lu Yin was nothing more than a mere Cruiser, so why couldn¡¯t she make any predictions regarding him? She could not understand this.

    Ling Que stared at both people with open admiration. One had just thrown a beautiful girl into the water to be struck by lightning while the other was not upset even after being shocked. These people were crazy!

    ¡°Where is this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked calmly.

    Starsibyl looked around and became shocked at what she saw. ¡°This is probably the Thunder Zone in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    ¡°We made it to the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin asked, bbergasted. He was shocked by just how far they had traveled.

    Starsibyl calmly answered, ¡°Our initial escape destination was a ce in the Cosmic Sea. What you used was a treasured item of mine, but you¡¯ve destroyed it.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you use my friends and loved ones as sacrifices to buy you time,¡± Lu Yin steadfastly replied.

    With a nasty tone, Starsibyl shot back, ¡°I already told you, it was for the greater good.¡±

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Lu Yin dismissively answered.

    Starsibyl was frustrated, ¡°It is pointless to talk about any of this now.¡±

    The exchange between the two of them had taken ce very calmly, and it sounded as if nothing had just transpired between them. This confused Ling Que, who approached and spoke up. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but do either of you know where to go? I¡¯m pretty sure that we¡¯ll be struck by lightning again if we don¡¯t do something.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Starsibyl.

    Her feet left the water, and she rose into the air as she scanned the surroundings while moving forward.

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Do you know the way?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Starsibyl replied apathetically.

    Ling Que was bbergasted. ¡°Then why do you look so confident?¡±

    Starsibyl shot Ling Que a dirty look. ¡°I can figure it out.¡±

    Well then, those words were very reassuring. People from the Starsibyl Sect were known to be trustworthy, and they would keep their words. At least, that was Ling Que¡¯s point of view.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, as divination was useless in his eyes. Things would end up the same no matter which direction they chose to go in. With the war having spread to the Cosmic Sea, there were bound to be people all over the ce. Lu Yin was simply hoping that they would not end up walking into one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s bases.

    It seemed that the fiercest fighting between the two mainds had been taking ce in the Cosmic Sea.

    Starsibyl led the way as she moved to the front, and Lu Yin and Ling Que simply followed behind.

    Ling Que moved over to Lu Yin¡¯s side and asked in a hushed voice, ¡°Bro, what did Starsibyl¡¯s hands feel like?¡±

    ¡°Soft,¡± Lu Yin replied curtly.

    Ling Que grew excited, and he hurriedly caught up to Starsibyl. ¡°Starsibyl, you must be tired and injured. Should I carry you?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression turned icy. ¡°You must want to die.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Ling Que earnestly apologized as he moved back next to Lu Yin with a reluctant look on his face.

    Lu Yin did not bother with the other man as he checked his cosmic ring. As he did so, his face revealed his conflicted feelings. He was happy that he had managed to grab about nine million star essence in such a short amount of time, and it was thergest sum of money he had ever managed to gather so far. However, he was unsatisfied that he had only managed to grab nine million, as it was nothingpared to all of the star essence in the mountain range on the transport continent.

    He med that old Seventh Stage Augmenter. If not for that old fart, then Lu Yin would have been able to grab much more. It was a pity, as such chances to gainrge amounts of wealth would be hard to encounter in the future.

    Lu YIn felt it was a pity that he had not been able to take all of that star essence for himself. If he had managed to do such a thing, then he would be a wealthy man at this time. What cost him the most resources to do was rolling six pips: Possession. He believed that it could even send him past the Upper Three Gates for a short amount of time.

    It was such a pity.

    The three youths flew along for more than twenty minutes, but they still did not encounter anyone.

    Ling Que traveled close to Lu Yin and bombarded him with countless questions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s excitement from seeing the vast piles of star essence in his cosmic ring faded and was quickly reced by worry for the people back on the transport continent moving the resources to the Sixth Maind. He hoped that the Outerverse cultivators had managed to escape.

    He felt a little guilty towards the people from the Innerverse, but he had had no choice at that time. Them staying behind meant that the people of the Outerverse would at least have some hope of escaping. If the Innerverse cultivators all fled at once, then the people from the Outerverse would have absolutely all died. Lu Yin had done the only thing that he could have done.

    ¡°How did you cultivate in the Outerverse? It¡¯s amazing that you were able to fight against a Seventh Stage Augmenter! Even Starsibyl had no choice but to escape,¡± Ling Que eximed excitedly. He had wanted to ask Lu Yin about his cultivation for a long time.

    In front of the two young men, Starsibyl was paying close attention to their conversation, as she was also curious to hear Lu Yin¡¯s answer.

    To most people, the Outerverse was seen as a destitute region that had no cultivation resources. There were very few star essence in the Outerverse, and there were not many lucky encounters there either. However, Lu Yin¡¯s current strength was just too shocking. To put it bluntly, no other Cruiser at five cultivation cycles could defeat Lu Yin, not even the Ten Arbiters when they were at that realm.

    Starsibyl was also curious as to how Lu Yin had escaped from her divination.

    However, Lu Yin did not respond.

    Ling Que continued his barrage of questions, and it seemed as though he would not be satisfied until he heard an answer.

    Not knowing how to respond, Lu Yin simply changed the topic. ¡°Actually, I visited the Innerverse once during this time, and I also went to the Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°When was that?¡± Ling Que asked, astonished.

    Lu Yin thought about the time that had passed and then said, ¡°Around two years ago.¡±

    Starsibyl turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°You visited the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°The Starfall Sea has beenpletely taken over by the Tong family. The Sea King¡¯s Dome has also been reduced to nothing more than a mine, and the seventy-two dojos of Grayweed Continent have also been destroyed. How did you escape?¡± Starsibyl asked.

 Chapter 963: Starlight Island

    <h4>Chapter 963: Starlight Ind</h4>

    After hearing Starsibyl¡¯s question, Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The Skyze Dojo had a teleportation altar that was very simr to yours. The Sea King also used an item from a Progenitor, and all that together allowed us to escape to the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°No wonder it seemed like I saw people from the Starfall Sea.¡± Ling Que quickly understood some things.

    Starsibyl did not speak and continued to lead the way. She finally understood how Lu Yin had learned about how her altar worked.

    ¡°Is the Sea King still alive?¡± Lu Yin asked as he looked at Starsibyl¡¯s back.

    Her response was calm. ¡°I don''t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew dim. There were truly no positive signs regarding the Sea King.

    The Sea King had broken through the so-called Upper Three Gates, which had then caused the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Human Domain. The man could be considered as the primary instigator of this entire war, and he might have even sent the Innerverse and Outerverse to their graves. However, he had also restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, which gave the Cosmic Five the opportunity to reach the Progenitor realm. Thus, his actions had also given the Fifth Maind a glimmer of hope.

    If he hadn¡¯t restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, then it was possible that their maind would have never been able to give rise to another Progenitor and that they would have been forever suppressed by the Sixth Maind.

    This had been a heroic gamble. If the Fifth Maind won, then they would not have to fear the Sixth Maind anymore. But if they lost, they would lose everything.

    Only someone like the Sea King would be bold enough to make such a gamble, as even the Hall of Honor might not be so daring.

    The Hall of Honor seemed to protect humanity, but in reality, they actually wanted to protect themselves even more.

    The pills that the three youths took while traveling were quite effective. Starsibyl had suffered the worst injuries, but even hers had faded away, though she would need some more time before she fully recovered.

    Lu Yin was the same. Even with his tyrannical physique, only his surface wounds had healed. It had not at all been exaggerated for Starsibyl to im that they would be ripped apart .

    Before long, Starsibyl suddenly stopped. She stared at a beautiful piece of scenery off in the distance that looked like a curtain of stars as she mumbled, ¡°That¡¯s Starlight Ind.¡±

    Ling Que was surprised. ¡°What did you say? Starlight Ind?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s Starlight Ind?¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s face had already turned ashen. ¡°It¡¯s over! Over! Starlight Ind is one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s bases, and there are nothing but Sixth Maind experts over there. There are Enlighters, Imprinters, and even World and Cosmic Imprinters around this area. The Sixth Maind spent several years exploring the Cosmic Sea, and Starlight Ind is located at the very center of the regions that they¡¯ve be familiar with. We¡¯re doomed if that¡¯s actually where we are.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look at Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl softly replied, ¡°The weather in the Cosmic Sea is difficult to predict, and only the Four Pirate Crews can truly understand it. Even the Neoverse cultivators who wish to cross the Cosmic Sea will need to have someone from the Four Pirate Crews lead the way. Because of this, when the various great powers of the Innerverse were defeated by the invasion, they retreated to the Cosmic Sea. The Sixth Maind chased after them and tried to understand the weather conditions here over thest few years, and they made countless sacrifices while doing so, but they were only able to find a few stable regions. Starlight Ind is one of those regions, so there are numerous Sixth Maind experts gathered there. They use Starlight Ind as a base to explore the Cosmic Sea as they prepare to invade the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this was simply too coincidental. They were still thinking of how to not get too close to the enemy¡¯s camps, but Starlight Ind was essentially one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s main headquarters that they were using to invade the Neoverse!

    ¡°Let¡¯s run. We¡¯ll be doomed if those Imprinters catch sight of us. The Sixth Maind has numerous Imprinters, and even freaks like those World Imprinters might show up. We¡¯re also finished if we run into any of the Realmlings, and the ones who rank just behind the Realmlings aren¡¯t bad either. Let¡¯s not wait around and get out of here right now,¡± Ling Que urgently suggested.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°We can¡¯t run. The region that we just passed through was a part of Starlight Ind¡¯s inner territory, so there weren¡¯t too many people there. However, if we want to leave, we¡¯ll definitely have to cross through the outer region, and that ce will be filled with the Sixth Maind¡¯s experts.¡±

    ¡°That still has to be better than what¡¯s up ahead of us! That¡¯s Starlight Ind!¡± Ling Que wailed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°There are people surrounding us, and they¡¯ve already encircled us.¡±

    He saw numerous rune lines approaching them from all directions.

    ¡°Could they have already found us?¡± Ling Que cried out in fear.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. These rune lines were not very powerful, and at most, these people were initial stage Hunters. If the trio had been discovered, then more powerful people would have been sent over. Of course, this was assuming that nobody within that group was hiding their strength. Some people could use techniques that concealed their power level, and those methods were also able to reduce the number of rune lines that Lu Yin could see.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked in a certain direction. ¡°Let¡¯s drop down to the seabed. People areing.¡±

    Starsibyl and Ling Que did not oppose Lu Yin, as they had already seen his strength. Even if Starsibyl was confident that Lu Yin could not defeat her, it would absolutely be impossible for her to beat him as well. Lu Yin could be considered as one of the absolute top powerhouses beneath the Ten Arbiters. Among the Innerverse and Outerverse¡¯s younger generation, only the top few experts of the Top 100 Rankings might be able to challenge him. Actually, it was possible that even Tai Yuanjun, who was ranked second, might not be able to match up to Lu Yin¡¯s strength. It might be that only the person who stood at the top of the rankings, the one who was publicly acknowledged as the person who would take over one of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ seats when they retired, could stand next to Lu Yin on equal footing.

    The trio hid on the bottom of the seafloor, and in the sky above them, thunder continued to rumble as lightning asionally struck the ocean, causing everything to tremble.

    In the distance, a giant ship slowly sailed along the ocean surface, not hiding in the slightest. At the ship¡¯s bow, there was a young lord who was hugging a beautiful girl while talking in high spirits. Behind them were a dozen servants waiting on the youth. There was also a group of tied up cultivators scattered all over the ship. The ship was propelled along by neither oar nor machine. Rather, it was those captive cultivators who were dragging the ship along. They were indeed cultivators, but since they were forced to tow the ship with a rope, they were more like ves. They were all cultivators from the Innerverse.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators gathered from all directions to surround the ship. One particr Cruiser boarded the ship and respectfully said, ¡°Your Highness, please show your ID and your imprint to be allowed to enter Starlight Ind.¡±

    That young lord¡¯s expression fell, and he walked over to the Cruiser. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time visiting Starlight Ind. You must be blind! The ves that you see below were bought by me from Starlight Ind.¡±

    That Cruiser was ced in a difficult position. ¡°Your Highness, anyone who wishes to enter Starlight Ind must disy their imprint. You-¡±

    Before the man could even finish speaking, the young lord pped him with an open palm and sent the Cruiser flying from the ship.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators surrounding the ship were angered, and they all moved forward as one.

    On the ship, among the dozen ves, there was an older person who looked up and snorted. Star energy pressed downwards as thunder rumbled in the sky. The expressions of all the approaching Sixth Maind cultivators changed; there was an expert aboard the ship.

    The Cruiser who had been pped immediately dered his mistake. ¡°Your subordinate was the one who is blind! Your Highness, please don¡¯t be mistaken and please proceed.¡±

    The young lord snorted. ¡°Someone from a mere Imprinter''s family dares to block me! You must be tired of living. p yourself.¡±

    The mark of the young lord¡¯s five fingers was still very clear on the Cruiser¡¯s face. Upon hearing the young lord¡¯s words, the Cruiser helplessly raised a hand and pped himself.

    ¡°Hehehe.¡± The beautiful woman at the ship¡¯s bow was delighted.

    The young lordughed and waved a hand. The ship then continued on towards Starlight Ind.

    After the ship had sailed a long ways away, the Cruiser finally stopped striking himself, and a cultivator approached him from behind and immediately offered some medication.

    ¡°So hateful! These young lords aren¡¯t strong themselves, but they still abuse the rest of us and even dare to treat us military officials like this!¡± The subordinate was seething.

    That Cruiser shook his head in a helpless manner. ¡°Forget it. The elder among those ves was an Enlighter at the very least, and we can¡¯t offend such a powerhouse.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re too arrogant, to do that just because they have a powerhouse openly protecting them,¡± the cultivator replied.

    Some distance away, the entire scene was seen by Lu Yin¡¯s small group.

    Ling Que watched the ship sail away with envy in his eyes.

    Lu Yin had his own thoughts, and he looked over at Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°We can try it.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Ling Que was lost. ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡±

    Lu Yin patted hispanion¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Have you ever enjoyed the experience of pping someone?¡±

    Ling Que was very honest, and he shook his head.

    Lu Yin was satisfied. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to try it.¡±

    As they began to approach Starlight Ind, the Sixth Maind would have even more means of detecting intruders, and even the seabed would be dangerous. The trio dashed up, and then Lu Yin took out his copsible spacecraft and moved inside it. Ling Que had an ugly expression on his face.

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be shy.¡± Lu Yin smiled at Ling Que.

    Ling Que¡¯s mouth twisted, but heplied, picking up the vessel and holding it on his shoulder. Starsibyl also boarded the ship.

    Before long, the three youths were discovered, and they were even discovered by the same group that they had seen before, though the handprint had already disappeared from the Cruiser¡¯s face.

    ¡°Everyone, please show your IDs and disy your imprints,¡± the Cruiser requested while keeping an eye on Ling Que, who was carrying the spacecraft on his shoulder. The Cruiser carefully observed the vessel, but it was indeed a spacecraft, and it was very impressive for this person to carry such a thing on his shoulder.

    Who had ever seen a person carrying a spacecraft to transport it?

    It was not only the Cruiser who was shocked, but all of the other Sixth Maind cultivators were also staring at Ling Que and the spacecraft in amazement. This was pure genius! These people really knew how to entertain themselves.

    The hatch swung open, and Lu Yin emerged with one arm wrapped around Starsibyl and an arrogant expression on his face as he stared down at the Cruiser with tant contempt in his eyes. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time visiting Starlight Ind. You must be blind! I bought that ve down below from Starlight Ind myself.¡±

    This scene was too familiar. The Cruiser waspletely taken aback while the other Sixth Maind cultivators surrounding the trio were simrly stunned.

    ¡°That-¡± At this moment, the Cruiser felt a bit hesitant, as the sense of deja vu was too strong. He simply did not know how to reply.

    The Cruiser did not even get a chance to say another word as Ling Que raised a hand and directly pped the man. St! A crisp sound rang out in all directions. ¡°Scram!¡±

    The Cruiser instinctively backed off to the side and did not dare to stop these people.

    None of the other cultivators in the area dared to react either. They simply all stared on in astonishment as Ling Que carried the spacecraft away while walking.

    High above the ocean, the storm raged and startled the Cruiser. His face was stinging, and there was still a nk expression on his face. What was going on today? It was just his bad luck to run into such ruthless people all on the same day.

    Within the spacecraft, Lu Yin let out a deep breath. These people had been easy to deal with, but if they had made a single move, then all of Starlight Ind¡¯s experts would have appeared, and Realmlings would have likely shown up as well. They would not have been able to escape from that situation, so this had been their only option. Fortunately, that young lord had provided them with a good example to follow.

    The spacecraft trembled a bit as Ling Que threw it down. ¡°Alright, get out. Why are we still putting on this act?¡±

    Lu Yin casually answered, ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Just wait till we get to Starlight Ind. Do you really think that nobody¡¯s watching us? Don¡¯t forget¡ªthere are Imprinters on Starlight Ind, as well as World Imprinters and even Cosmic Imprinters.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s face twisted, and without any other choice, he picked the ship back up and continued to carry it onwards.

    Starsibyl calmly said, ¡°The Sixth Maind conducts stringent checks on all cultivators. Even if we manage to sessfully get onto Starlight Ind, we still won¡¯t be able to openly walk around, as we¡¯ll easily be discovered.¡±

    ¡°Then just find somewhere to hide,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Ling Que sullenly carried the spacecraft forward as he continued walking towards Starlight Ind step by step, leaving many astonished people in their wake.

 Chapter 964: Battle Borne Of Mutual Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 964: Battle Borne Of Mutual Understanding</h4>

    It was very normal for people to have Fifth Maind cultivators as ves, and many of the heirs of influential families had entric tastes. However, this was still everyone¡¯s first time seeing someone walking while carrying a spacecraft around.

    Ling Que was also showing his true face at this time. Fortunately, he had spent most of his time in the Innerverse and rarely ever fought in the Cosmic Sea. Otherwise, he would have been instantly recognized.

    It was extremely risky to alter one¡¯s appearance in such a ce, as the war had already dragged on for many years, and all sorts of things had urred during this time. It was not umon for people to try to alter their own appearance, and both sides had long sincee up with ways to deal with such people. Once they were discovered, it would not even be necessary to interrogate the person, as a bunch of experts would instantly surround and capture them.

    Lu Yin was finally able to get a clear view of Starlight Ind, and he saw countless rune lines covering the ind and soaring into the sky. Although everyone¡¯s power level had been suppressed to below 200,000, there were simply too many sources of rune lines.

    Despite them being headed to an ind, it was not small at all. Starlight Ind was actually roughly the size of an entire continent.

    Suddenly, the sky went dark as countless bolts of lightning fell down like raindrops, continuously sting the ocean around Starlight Ind. The seawater started to boil, and the sky constantly flickered back and forth between brightness and darkness. It was as if there were evil spirits at work.

    This ind was located in the Cosmic Sea, where the weather constantly changed without notice. This time, the lightning storm was very powerful, and even the average Limiteer might not be able to endure one of these strikes. Some of the bolts even twined together in the sky, causing their power to spike to the level where they could threaten Explorers or even Cruisers.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless by this sight, and he finally realized why so few people were willing to charge into the Cosmic Sea. If he had visited the Cosmic Sea at the Limiteer realm, he would have been in deep trouble.

    He suddenly thought of someone: Ye Xingchen. That person had been hailed as an unparalleled Limiteer, and he had been just as famous as Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Lu Yin himself. Ye Xingchen had established a crew and roamed the Cosmic Sea, which was not a simple aplishment at all. It was not easy to survive in this ce.

    Of course, Lu Yin did not presume that Ye Xingchen had survived by purely relying on his own abilities. A Limiteer with exceptional talent was not capable of such a thing, so he must have used some other method.

    The bombardment of falling lightningsted for quite a long time, during which Ling Que sessfully carried the spacecraft all the way over to Starlight Ind.

    Nobody blocked their path, but this caused Lu Yin to be even more vignt, as it showed there was some secret surveince method protecting the ind.

    At that moment, a streak of lightning struck down off in the distance, and it illuminated a dark corner where a little girl was shivering.

    The lightning mmed onto the ind before being scattered everywhere, and coincidentally, one spark shot towards the little girl.

    Her face went pale. In front of the lightning shard, her thin body looked incredibly fragile while the pulsing lightning seemed like some giant beast¡¯s maw about to swallow her.

    Lu Yin was just about to make a move, but Starsibyl suddenly made a move, embracing the girl. A wave of the woman¡¯s hand caused the lightning to disappear.

    Lu Yin was surprised when he realized that Starsibyl had moved out the moment the lightning bolt had appeared in the sky; she had actually anticipated that the lightning would scatter and that a shard would fly out towards the little girl. This was divination, and this was her ability to take action in advance based off of the predictions that she made.

    The child was frightened, and her face was pale. But after being saved, her expression turned grateful as she said something to Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl¡¯s image was just too perfect. She was exceptionally attractive, had impable manners, and a stainless reputation to the point where nobody would believe a im of her behaving badly. The little girl was quickly won over by Starsibyl, and she quickly started calling the young woman ¡°sister.¡±

    ¡°Yaya, where do you live? I¡¯ll take you back,¡± Starsibyl gently offered as she tousled the girl¡¯s hair.

    The girl blinked with bright eyes and quietly answered, ¡°Thank you, Sister.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled, which left Ling Que stunned for a moment.

    Lu Yin surveyed the surroundings, and another batch of lightning exploded. The vast majority of people had hidden themselves, and it was evident that the houses on the ind had been built with the frequent lightning showers in mind. Nobody was showing, but he did see some rune lines sh by from the corner of his eye, evidently from the Sixth Maind cultivators who were observing them.

    However, since Lu Yin¡¯s group had passed through the outer blockade to reach Starlight Ind, the cultivators on the ind would not be too extreme towards the three youths.

    Due to how long the lightning storm bombarded Starlight Ind for, the houses all had simple designs, and there were not that many people out on the streets. Even when there were clear skies, the atmosphere was no different. The truth was that, most of the time, the sky was clear.

    Above the houses, the stars looked like there was a curtain shrouding them. It was a beautiful scene, but if one carefully observed the sky, then eventually, they would notice that the lights were not stars, though Lu Yin did not know exactly those were either. Still, he did not ask, and he would only question this matter after his small group managed to stabilize their situation.

    Although Starlight Ind was a base that the Sixth Maind was using to invade the Cosmic Sea, the majority of the ind¡¯s poption were actually natives. The Sixth Maind had taken control of Starlight Ind, but they simply ruled the top levels. Nobody was concerned about a person like Yaya, who was from an ordinary family.

    As the group of four moved along, they would asionally see a Sixth Maind cultivator who shed by, but nobody paid the group any attention.

    However, Lu Yin saw that there was a group of rune lines following behind them. They were not from a human, but rather from some kind of machine-like object that was continuously monitoring them.

    They were not alone, as such monitoring objects were everywhere. At a rough nce, it actually looked like every part of Starlight Ind was under surveince.

    It seemed that every cultivator who visited Starlight Ind would be monitored, even if they were confirmed to be from the Sixth Maind.

    Yaya¡¯s family lived rather close to the ind¡¯s edge, inside a boxy, five-story building. This structure even had lightning facilities installed on the roof, which an electric current would asionally sh through.

    ¡°Sister, we¡¯re here.¡± Yaya shot a cautious look at Starsibyl, and the little girl could not hide the envy and embarrassment in her eyes.

    Starsibyl touched the child¡¯s head and asked her with some concern, ¡°Where are the adults of your family?¡±

    Yaya replied, ¡°They went out to get some things, so it¡¯ll take a few days before they get back.¡±

    Ling Que suddenly piped up. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Big Brother here stay behind here and protect you?¡±

    Yaya jumped in fright and immediately took a step back.

    Starsibyl grabbed hold of Ling Que¡¯s shoulder and flung him away before smiling at Yaya. ¡°Yaya, there¡¯s no need to be afraid. That brother isn¡¯t a bad person.¡±

    Yaya blinked. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s with Sister isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Can this sister go in and have a seat?¡±

    Yaya grunted in agreement and led Starsibyl into the house.

    Lu Yin felt a blush of shame, and he felt like they were deceiving the child. He nced over at Starsibyl, as there were truly many sides to this woman. She treated Lu Yin and Ling Que one way and this little girl apletely different way, but she still managed to join the two miens seamlessly.

    Over the next two days, the three youths stayed in Yaya¡¯s house. Meanwhile, outside, the machine with the weak rune lines continued to monitor them.

    Lu Yin was constantly worried that someone woulde out to check on them, but fortunately, no one did.

    During these two days, he had discovered something strange. Yaya¡¯s home was located close to the sea, and many Sixth Maind cultivators would pass by the ce as they headed out. He saw that all of the cultivators were youths, and almost no one from the older generation went by.

    The cosmic phenomenon only suppressed one¡¯s power level¡ªthere was no restriction concerning age.

    To prove his theory, Lu Yin continued to observe the passersby for another two days, but he saw that it was always the same.

    He shared his observations with the others.

    Ling Que rolled his eyes. ¡°You must be mistaken.¡±

    Starsibyl calmly replied, ¡°He isn¡¯t. Right now, the Cosmic Sea is indeed being contested by the younger generation.¡±

    Lu Yin and Ling Que were both astonished. ¡°Why?¡±

    Starsibyl exined, ¡°The weather in the Cosmic Sea is simply too bizarre. The Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews have paved the way forward by taking advantage of the weather to ughter many people from the Sixth Maind. At the same time, many of the older experts from the Sixth Maind have killed too many of our people. Because of this, both sides are mutually restraining each other, and the situation has developed into a war of attrition. This stalemate has continued for years now, and both sides are finding it difficult to continue any longer, so both were forced to give way. We will not take advantage of this ce¡¯s weather, and the Sixth Maind will not send out any powerhouses from the older generation. In short, both sides are sending out their youths to fight, and they will determine the direction of the war in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly understood the situation, and he also realized why, back in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, he had heard people mention that various conditions were being used to lure the younger generation into joining the Innerverses invasion. It was not that the Sixth Maind wanted to rely on numbers to gain victory, but rather, it was to push more people into the fight in the Cosmic Sea. The Cosmic Sea was one of the most crucial battlefields in the Fifth Maind, and if the Sixth Maind secured victory there, they would be able to make their way into the Neoverse, where there was no suppression from the cosmic phenomenon. At that point, absolute experts would appear and demonstrate their true strength.

    Before the suppression from the cosmic phenomenon appeared, the Sixth Maind had been able to overpower the entire Innerverse, and if not for the sudden appearance of the cosmic phenomenon, they would have long since fought their way into the Neoverse.

    ¡°Hold on, so only the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation is here on Starlight Ind?¡± Ling Que asked.

    Starsibyl did not deny anything.

    Ling Que gritted his teeth. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say something earlier? And here I¡¯ve been living in terror.¡±

    Starsibyl nced to the side at him. ¡°There¡¯s a Realmling on Starlight Ind.¡±

    This sentence made Ling Que shut up, as there was not much of a difference between Realmlings and Imprinters to him, as they were both unstoppable existences.

    Yaya walked in and served drinks to the three older people.

    Starsibyl hurriedly put a smile on her face.

    Ling Que smiled even more brilliantly, but Yaya was still afraid of him. She kept thinking that he was a bad person. Although Lu Yin did not really speak or smile, Yaya felt like he was the more reliable of the two men; at the least, Lu Yin did not seem like a bad person.

    A child¡¯s perspective tended to be quite innocent, and just like that, Ling Que had been deemed a bad person.

    Starsibyl sighed as she watched Yaya leave the room. ¡°Her parents are gone.¡±

    Lu Yin and Ling Que were not surprised. Neither of them was foolish, and they had been able to tell the situation with one look.

    Yaya had lied to them, but this was her own way of protecting herself. The child had even set out sets of adult clothing in the house, and she always acted as if there were adults in this house, all for her own self-preservation.

    Although the child had never said anything, the three youths were able to tell that their presence made Yaya very happy as she hurried to and fro in the house.

    ¡°If this war ends, I¡¯ll take her to the Starsibyl Sect,¡± Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re quite kind.¡±

    Starsibyl did not reply.

    ¡°I¡¯m also willing to take her to the Lingling n,¡± Ling Que said with a tinge of sadness in his voice.

    Lu Yin instantly shot down that idea. ¡°She won¡¯t go with you. You seem like a bad person.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the bad person! I have my cheerleaders. Just go and ask any of them about Ling Que¡¯s reputation¡ªwhich cheerleader won¡¯t support me?¡± Ling Que was furious.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°They still prefer money and Mu Rong.¡±

    Ling Que opened his mouth, but he found that he could not retort to Lu Yin. Thement also reminded Ling Que of an incident in the past that he did not want to think about.

    Lu Yin also remembered that incident. Those cheerleaders were truly scary. He then thought of Big, Little Pao, Lulu Mavis, and his other friends. He wondered how all of them were doing. Lu Yin had too many friends from the Innerverse, and it was certain that some of them had died during this war. He just hoped that those few people had not died.

    Lu Yin reminisced about the past and looked out the window. Eh?

    He felt like he had just seen a familiar person.

    Lu Yin looked over and carefully observed the familiar person¡¯s face. His mouth then fell open, and he rubbed his eyes with an expression of disbelief on his face.

    At this moment, a procession of Sixth Maind cultivators were moving down the street as they cleared a path for eight cultivators who were carrying arge sedan chair. There was a youth lounging atop the sedan with his legs casually propped up. The young man was wearing a veryfortable expression as he munched on some fruit.

    The youth was quite shifty-eyed, and with one look, one could tell that this person was a bad apple. He was just a Limiteer, but all of the surrounding cultivators treated him with a great deal of respect.

    There was a young lord walking along beside the sedan, and he was the person who Lu Yin andpany had seen p the Cruiser while traveling to Starlight Ind. At this moment, that young lord did not show any of his previous arrogance; rather, he was acting more like a sycophant. He licked his lips and smiled obsequiously while asionally nodding his head and parroting what was said by the youth in the sedan. The young lord looked as though he was listening to the shift-eyed youth¡¯s instructions.

    The more humble and respectful this young lord behaved, the happier the shifty-eyed youth became. He did his best to act reserved when he smiled, but he just could not hide his inner delight. He looked like a rat who had be an immortal; the happier he smiled, the more wretched he appeared.

 Chapter 965: Meeting With An Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 965: Meeting With An Old Friend</h4>

    ¡°I have to say Sixteen, you¡¯re already so old, so why are you still acting so recklessly? I heard that you pped someone again,¡± the shifty-eyed youthmented leisurely while snacking on some fruit.

    The young man, Sixteen, answered in a respectful tone, saying, ¡°Brother San, you truly know everything. You¡¯re aware of 90% of what happens in the Sixth Maind and everything that happens here in the Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, you¡¯re exaggerating. I just know what enters my eyes, hahahaha,¡± the shifty-eyed youth replied with a merryugh. At that moment, a sh of lightning startled him, and he identally dropped the piece of fruit that he had been holding. The fruitnded next to Sixteen¡¯s mouth, and the young lord quickly swallowed it. ¡°Thank you for the gift, Brother San.¡±

    The shifty-eyed youth paused and then turned to look at Sixteen in a satisfied matter. ¡°You¡¯ll definitely have a bright future. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll remember you. When I meet with the elder, I¡¯ll definitelypliment you.¡±

    Sixteen was ted. ¡°Thank you, Brother San. Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open as he watched the two in shock. Was that Xu San?

    Starsibyl and Ling Que noticed Lu Yin¡¯s disbelief and followed his gaze.

    ¡°They¡¯re from the Swifteyes n,¡± Starsibyl said.

    ¡°The Swifteyes n?¡± Ling Que¡¯s brows rose. His surname also started with Ling, and he did not like this coincidence.

    Starsibyl continued. ¡°The Swifteyes n is from a World Imprinter n in the ckblood Realm. Ancestor Swifteyes is second only to Ancestor Sightless in the ckblood Realm, and he has almost reached the Cosmic Imprinter realm. He has an extremely high status and is even one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Venerables. The n absorbed an ancient bloodline which gave them the gift of double sight. ording to the rumors, Ancestor Swifteyes has taken in a disciple with an innate gift of double sight, which is probably that guy. If not, there¡¯s no way he would be treated so well since he¡¯s just a Limiteer. There¡¯s even an Enlighter protecting him.¡±

    ¡°An Enlighter? I thought that everyone from the older generation had left!¡± Ling Que was shocked.

    Starsibyl remained calm. ¡°There are loopholes in every rule, and those powerhouses can still remain here as long as they remain undetected. The Sixth Maind wouldn¡¯tpletely pull their forces out. The Four Pirate Crews also won¡¯t simply ignore the situation, and the two sides are just restricting each other.¡±

    Ling Que felt envious. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that he has an Enlighter as a bodyguard! If I hadn¡¯t been separated from my n, I''d also have an Enlighter protecting me, but this guy just looks so despicable!¡±

    Starsbyl turned towards Lu Yin and her eyes gleamed. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Ling Que looked at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Lu Yin paused and then slowly answered, ¡°He was my follower.¡±

    Their eyes went wide, especially Starsibyl, as she had a good understanding of just how powerful the Swifteyes n truly was. She knew that Ancestor Swifteyes was someone who wasparable to Ancestor Sightless, but he was actually much younger than Ancestor Sightless, which showed just how talented Ancestor Swifteyes was. Basically, Ancestor Swifteyes was already halfway to the level of a Cosmic Imprinter.

    The shifty-eyed youth was Ancestor Swifteyes¡¯ most important disciple, which gave him a high status. Yet that man had actually been Lu Yin¡¯s follower?

    ¡°Your follower? Then doesn¡¯t that mean that he¡¯s from our universe? How did he be Ancestor Swifteyes¡¯ disciple? Lu Yin, don¡¯t talk shit.¡± Ling Que did not believe Lu Yin.

    Starsibyl frowned. She stared into the distance as her eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Maybe they just look alike, but I don¡¯t think things could be that coincidental, because my follower¡¯s innate gift was also double sight.¡±

    Ling Que was left speechless. ¡°Then that person should be your follower. Is he close to you?¡±

    Lu Yin thought back and suddenly realized that he had not seen Xu San for around ten years. They had not seen each other ever since Lu Yin had left the Great Yu Empire to participate in the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s entrance examination. He had never expected to run into Xu San like this, and Lu Yin could barely believe that his former follower was in the Cosmic Sea and that he had even be the disciple of a World Imprinter from the Sixth Maind. What a unique destiny.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for a reunion,¡± Starsibyl muttered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s time.¡±

    The people from the Swifteyes n carried Xu San down to the beach, and everyone who passed the procession looked at it with respect.

    Xu San felt very rxed. He had never had such a good time before. Back during Earth¡¯s apocalypse, he had been a mere bug. Then, he had finally found a boss and thought that he would be able to enjoy his life, but then that boss disappeared. After leaving Earth, Xu San had suddenly arrived in the Cosmic Sea and had made a living by sneaking around for a few years.

    He had assumed that his life would continue on like that forever, but the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion caused all of the Innerverse¡¯s major powers to flee to the Cosmic Sea. In addition, the ce where he had been living ended up being conquered by the Sixth Maind within less than two years. Fortunately, Xu San was not a powerful person, and he had been spared with the condition that he would pray to the statues of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses.

    However, his circumstances had changed drastically on one sunny day that had been highlighted by the asional lightning strike that always left him feeling nervous.

    A new statue had appeared on the ind that day. It was of an old man who looked powerful, but the most important thing was that the old man possessed the innate gift of double sight, just like Xu San.

    When he saw that statue, Xu San had been stunned. He had be iparably excited and had revealed his innate gift¡ªperhaps he had done that because he hadn¡¯t been able to stand the continuous strain of suppressing his innate gift for all those years, going crazy in the end. Either way, after showing his innate gift, he had been discovered. This had be his new life.

    Ancestor Swifteyes was actually Xu San¡¯s master! His most respected master! Although the people from the Innerverse wanted to defeat the Sixth Maind, Xu San did not care since this conflict was none of his business. He had lived like a bug in the past, and he would be nice to whoever was nice to him.

    After thinking of all this, Xu San bowed towards Ancestor Swifteyes¡¯ statue, looking very devout in his actions.

    The cultivators from the Swifteyes n looked at Xu San with respect, and they carried his sedan with greater vigour after seeing Xu San¡¯s demonstration of loyalty. Even though Xu San was from the Fifth Maind, he had been epted as a disciple of their ancestor, and he would thus have to change his blood and cultivate under an Imprinter in the future. At that time, he would truly belong to the Sixth Maind. Also, he was the ancestor¡¯s only disciple, so he would be their master in the future.

    Sixteen passed some more fruit up to Xu San with a smile.

    Xu Sanid back down. What a great life!

    At that moment, the sedan shook as the leg of one of the cultivators carrying the sedan bent awkwardly, and the jostling almost caused Xu San to fall. Meanwhile, the Enlighter who was protecting Xu San suddenly opened his eyes wide. He took a step forward, but space congealed around him as a finger struck his forehead. It was Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger.

    This Enlighter was a very powerful expert, and he was still able to react despite his circumstances, and he tried to dodge. However, even though he wanted to dodge, he was unable to do so¡ªhis rune lines had been erased at that exact moment, causing his movements to be incredibly slow. Right after, his forehead was struck by the finger, and he instantly fainted.

    At the same time, Que''s Mighty sh appeared, causing the rest of the cultivators surrounding Xu San to fall unconscious.

    This all took ce in less than a second, ending unbelievably quickly. It left Xu San alone in a daze as his sedan crashed to the ground.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back with a stunned look. This was the skill of those from the Starsibyl Sect. He had followed Starsibyl¡¯s instructions and attacked the precise location that she had shared with him. Before Lu Yin had attacked, nobody had been there, but the Enlighter had moved as Lu Yin had attacked, appearing in the exact spot that Lu Yin had targeted.

    This was an attack aimed with divination, and it was absolutely terrifying.

    Ling Que¡¯s attack had also been nned by Starsibyl, and the path of his Que¡¯s Mighty sh had been provided by Starsibyl, which was how Ling Que had managed to stun all of the cultivators surrounding Xu San.

    Meanwhile, Starsibyl had been busy taking care of the machines that had been monitoring them the whole time.

    Three people walked over from three different directions and approached Xu San. They had created a hole in Starlight Ind¡¯s surveince, which meant that Xu San hadpletely disappeared for a moment.

    Xu San was frightened, and he was just about to scream when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s voice. ¡°Long time no see, Xu San.¡±

    Xu San whirled around in shock and looked at Lu Yin in a daze. ¡°Boss?¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°So you still remember me?¡±

    Xu San suddenly leaped up and rushed towards Lu Yin while screaming, ¡°Boss! You finally came back for me, Boss!¡±

    Lu Yin took a step to the side, grabbed a hold of Xu San¡¯s back cor, and picked him up.

    Xu San looked miserable. ¡°Boss, you¡¯re finally here! I¡¯d be dead if you hadn¡¯te for me.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you living a great life?¡±

    ¡°Nothing canpare to Earth. Boss, it¡¯s great to see you! Take me with you, Boss,¡± Xu San wailed miserably.

    Starsibyl coldly said, ¡°Shut up and stop with the act.¡±

    Xu San blinked. He nced from Lu Yin to Starsibyl as a wretched smile spread across his face. ¡°Boss, this must be the Boss Lady. She¡¯s so beautiful and has a great body!¡±

    Ling Que reflexively nced over at Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression grew sharp, and an icy light flickered within her eyes.

    Lu Yin then grabbed Xu San and quickly fled. Lu Yin was terrified that Starsibyl would kill Xu San out of rage, as nobody had ever been so rude to her before. A great figure? Probably!

    ¡°Is it fine for you to have destroyed those surveince drones? They¡¯ll definitely notice that,¡± Ling Que whispered to Starsibyl as he nced at the ground.

    Starsibyl answered calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t destroy them, so nobody will notice.¡±

    She then looked around the area and at the regr people who were nearby. These people did not actually matter since they were unable to do anything.

    Ling Que stepped forward, but he tripped over something. He almost fell and only managed to catch himself after taking a few steps. Starsibyl snorted in response and then left.

    Ling Que pouted, as this woman was too petty! He had just stolen a nce¡ªdid she really need to do that?

    However, the methods of the Starsibyl Sect were truly powerful, as they could actually predict their opponents¡¯ attacks. But just how did they do it? This woman had been on the Top Hundred Rankings before, but she had only had an average ranking. Soon after joining, she left the Top 100 Rankings, which had led many to assume that Starsibyl was rtively weak at fighting. Those people were all idiots, as the woman was unbelievably powerful.

    She had been able to stall an Imprinter, which was something that not even the Ten Arbiters could do haphazardly. However, Starsibyl had aplished it, which showed just how powerful she was.

    Lu Yin did not choose to take Xu San to Yaya¡¯s house, as he had no desire to involve the little girl in their troubles.

    1 In this situation, the pronunciation of the name is Lingtong, but the meaning was more important than the sound. Ling Que is pissed that the surnames sound simr.

 Chapter 966: Daosource Three Skies

    <h4>Chapter 966: Daosource Three Skies</h4>

    Lu Yin carried Xu San over to a quiet location. Thunder rumbled above them as Xu San whined, ¡°Boss, I missed you so much!¡±

    Lu Yin snapped back when he saw Xu San¡¯s expression, ¡°Stop acting! You¡¯re living such a great life. It¡¯s definitely much better than when you were living on Earth.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s my home! Who can forget their home?¡± Xu San said in an exaggerated fashion.

    Lu Yin hesitated. ¡°You want to go back rich, don¡¯t you?!¡±

    Xu San smiled in a bashful manner. ¡°Boss, you know me the best. You¡¯re the smartest!¡±

    ¡°Stop your nonsense. We want to know about the current situation in the Cosmic Sea,¡± Starsibyl stated coldly.

    Xu San gave her a sly smile. ¡°What do you want to know, Boss Lady?¡±

    In a cial tone, Starsibyl replied, ¡°I¡¯ll cut your tongue out if you ever speak to me like that again.¡±

    Xu San quickly shut his mouth.

    Ling Que walked over while rubbing his calf. ¡°Talk quickly, as they¡¯re going to wake up soon.¡±

    Lu Yin turned back to Xu San. ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to follow the people from the Sixth Maind, I won¡¯t force you toe back, but you still have to help me.¡±

    Xu San grew serious. ¡°Boss, you brought me away from Earth, so even if I betray the entire universe, I still wouldn''t betray you. I¡¯ll tell you everything I know.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the current situation like in the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San was instantly distressed. ¡°Boss, I only know about Starlight Ind¡¯s circumstances. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with the other ces.¡±

    ¡°Then just tell me about this ce.¡±

    Xu San thought for a moment and then said, ¡°Starlight Ind is one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s main bases that they¡¯re using to invade the Cosmic Sea. Ever since the Sixth Maind and the Fifth Maind agreed to let the younger generation fight it out, many young experts from the Sixth Maind havee to Starlight Ind. Right now, there are about ten million Sixth Maind cultivators on Starlight Ind, and the strongest among them are probably the Realmlings, Nan Yanfei and Shang Rong.¡±

    The three people listening were moved when they heard about the Realmlings. Realmlings were experts who wereparable to the Ten Arbiters, and there were actually two of them on the ind.

    Lu Yin thought back to his different encounters, but he had never met Nan Yanfei, so Nan Yanfei would not be able to recognize Lu Yin. As for Shang Rong, Lu Yin had battled against that Realmling before, but the man might not recognize Lu Yin¡¯s face either.

    ¡°With the two Realmlings as their leaders, the younger generation powerhouses from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ territory have all gathered on Starlight Ind. Of course, there are also powerhouses from the other territories, such as the Greenmen Duo from the Brahman Realm and some young experts from the Toolcasting family who are right behind Toolwielder. Oh right! Boss, I need to introduce you to someone: my fianc¨¦, Little Xiang.¡±

    Xu San¡¯s expression grew even more lecherous when he mentioned this topic, which left Ling Que feeling quite annoyed. ¡°Keep talking!¡±

    ¡°Oh, Little Xiang¡¯s name is actually He Xiang, but-¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m asking if any of the Daosource Three Skies have appeared!¡± Ling Que interrupted.

    Xu San red at Ling Que. ¡°Who the hell are you? Even my boss didn¡¯t interrupt me, so how is it your turn?¡±

    Ling Que arched a brow as his Que¡¯s Mighty sh appeared, revolving around him. ¡°It seems like you want to test the power of my Que¡¯s Mighty sh.¡±

    Xu San was shocked. ¡°Que¡¯s Mighty sh? You¡¯re Ling Que? Tch, you¡¯re just a nobody. Don¡¯t even talk to me until you get the title of King! My master is Venerable Swifteyes, and my fianc¨¦ is the heir of the Swifteyes n.¡±

    Ling Que grew furious. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Lu Yin helplessly interjected, ¡°Alright, stop fighting.¡± He then looked at Xu San. ¡°Have any of the Daosource Three Skies appeared?¡±

    Xu San shook his head. ¡°Not yet, but they¡¯ll definitelye here.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San proceeded to exin, ¡°The war in the Innerverse has gone on for a few years, and although people keep saying that the Daosource Three Skies will join, the older powerhouses are still more powerful than the Daosource Three Skies. That¡¯s why they haven¡¯t joined the war yet, as their participation would have been meaningless. However, since the older powerhouses have left the Cosmic Sea to let the younger generation duke things out, the three of them will definitely show up since they¡¯re the Sixth Maind¡¯s strongest young experts. In fact, they¡¯ll probably get here pretty soon.¡±

    ¡°Who are the Daosource Three Skies?¡± Ling Que asked out of curiosity.

    Lu Yin was curious as well since the Daosource Three Skies were like the Ten Arbiters¡ªeveryone had heard of them, but nobody knew exactly who they were.

    To the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation, the Daosource Three Skies were truly the sky. They were the heirs of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and they were also the ones who were the most likely to be Progenitors of the maind in the future: they were the sky, and they were the true heirs of the Progenitors.

    Even Xu San grew serious when speaking of the Daosource Three Skies. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know much about them. Although everyone in the Sixth Maind is curious about them, nobody really knows much about them since they don¡¯t interact with outsiders. Even Little Xiang doesn¡¯t know much about them.¡±

    After pausing for a moment, Xu San continued, saying, ¡°The heir of the Progenitor of Bloodlines is Zhi Yi, and although she¡¯s known to have a secret technique, I don¡¯t know anything specific about her. I¡¯ve only heard people talk about it since someone once challenged her before, attempting to take her position within the Daosource Three Skies. That person waspletely crazy, but he was still easily defeated.

    ¡°The heir of the Progenitor of Combat is Wu Taibai, and he has both an innate gift and a secret technique. I¡¯ve also heard that he likes to roam around the Sixth Maind in disguise. A lot of people have met him, but most never even realize that he¡¯s one of the Daosource Three Skies. Apparently, he¡¯s also very easygoing.

    ¡°The heir of the Progenitor of Secret Art is the most mysterious because there¡¯s no information about him, and nobody has mentioned him before either. The Greenmen Duo don¡¯t know anything about him either.¡±

    Lu Yin paused. The heir of the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡ªZhi Yi, the heir of the Progenitor of Combat¡ªWu Taibai, and the heir of the Progenitor of Secret Arts; these were the three heirs of the three Progenitors.

    Lu Yin was the most familiar with Wu Taibai. Just like Xu San had mentioned, that person liked to disguise himself as a normal cultivator and wander around. Lu Yin had even explored the ruins of the Daosource Sect with Wu Taibai, and that person was very good at acting. If he hadn¡¯t bumped into Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin would have never realized that hispanion was actually Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai had forced Nightking Zhenwu to use the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, which was also an indication of how powerful Wu Taibai was.

    The Daosource Three Skies were probably even more powerful than the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°What other information do you have, aside from the Daosource Three Skies?¡± Ling Que asked.

    Xu San became annoyed, and he nced at Lu Yin and Starsibyl. Seeing that they both looked ready to hit him, Xu San continued. ¡°Actually, there are a lot of experts from the Sixth Maind, and even the heirs of the Imprinter ns areparable to the top people on the Top 100 Rankings. As for the heirs of Cosmic or World Imprinters, those people are even more powerful. If not for the experts from the Neoverse, the Cosmic Sea would have been conquered long ago.

    ¡°Now that the war has reached this stage, both sides havee to a consensus about the maic poles. The thunder zone has a unique aspect in that there are positive and negative poles scattered throughout the zone. Positive poles attract lightning while the negative poles repel it. ording to the rumors, during ancient times, there was an expert who split the poles into five pieces and then ced them in various parts of the thunder zone. This allowed the attractive and repulsive force of the poles to control the lightning and keep it in the sky. Otherwise, if the lightning falls down, even Enlighters will die.

    ¡°Cultivators from both the Sixth Maind and the Innerverse are fighting over control of these poles so that they can draw the lighting into the opposing zones and destroy the other side. This is the simplest way to end the battle, but the price is that the thunder zone will descend into chaos once again. However, this is also what the Innerverse wants. As for the Sixth Maind, they are confident in their ability to defeat the Innerverse, so they don¡¯t care about the aftermath. Anyways, no matter what happens, once the poles start moving, the thunder zone will be constantly sted by lightning, though it will take some time for the lightning to return to its previous power.¡±

    Starsibyl coldly asked, ¡°So are you saying that the Sixth Maind is confident in taking control of all the poles and eliminating the cultivators of the Fifth Maind?¡¯

    Xu San nodded. ¡°The Fifth Maind¡¯s the same. Both sides want to destroy the other, but it¡¯s actually not that easy. Some people have guessed that once the poles are moved, there will still be some time before the lightning strikes destroy the losing side. They are doing this more to determine who will control the thunder zone by who is able to seize control of more poles. Simr things will happen in the other areas of the Cosmic Sea, and they¡¯ll each have their own way of determining the winning side.¡±

    ¡°When are they going to start fighting for these poles?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San replied, ¡°It should be sometime soon. I don¡¯t know who coordinated the agreement with the Fifth Maind, but they probably want to determine the winner of this war by fighting for the poles. One of the Daosource Three Skies will probably appear before the fighting starts.¡±

    ¡°This sounds interesting¡ªfighting for poles?¡± Ling Que was excited.

    Xu San rolled his eyes. ¡°With your ability, you won¡¯t even be able to get near any of the poles. Stop dreaming. At best, you¡¯ll just be cannon fodder.¡±

    ¡°What did you say? You¡¯re not even cannon fodder!¡± Ling Que roared.

    Xu San arrogantly raised his head. ¡°I don¡¯t need to fight since there will be people protecting me.¡±

    Ling Que gritted his teeth in anger.

    Starsibyl kept staring at Xu San and then suddenly asked, ¡°Where are you headed?¡±

    Xu San¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I was headed out to take a stroll since I¡¯m bored.¡±

    ¡°Really? I can foresee that there will be danger during your trip, but we can protect you,¡± Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow and then red at Xu San. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Xu San put on a pitiful expression and looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Boss, I¡¯ve already told you everything, so please let me go! I have never harmed anyone from the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed and looked at Xu San in a serious manner. ¡°No matter what, you¡¯re still from Earth, and wee from the same. Thus, you should try to help us.¡±

    Xu San hesitated.

    Ling Que bent a finger as his de rotated around the fingertip. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother trying to talk to him. He looks like a spy, so we should just cut off his arms.¡±

    Xu San red at Ling Que. ¡°You look like a spy! Your whole family are spies!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to die?¡± Ling Que bellowed.

    Lu Yin casually shoved Ling Que away and turned to look back at Xu San. ¡°Help me this one time, and we can pretend to not know each other in the future: you¡¯ll live your life, and I¡¯ll live mine. If we meet on the battlefield, then I¡¯ll try not to hurt you. How does that sound?¡±

    Xu San answered helplessly, ¡°Do I have a choice?¡±

    He then bitterly said, ¡°I finally found someone to support me, so I hope that I don¡¯t die.¡±

    Lu Yin patted Xu San on the shoulder. ¡°The Sixth Maind might not win, as the Fifth Maind isn¡¯t as simple as you believe it to be. By helping us, you¡¯re also making a backup n for yourself, as you might be able to return in the future.¡±

    Xu San nodded. ¡°Actually, I was already invited by Shang Rong to join the pre-war meeting.¡±

    All three people were interested in this: Shang Rong was a Realmling.

    ¡°A pre-war meeting?¡± Ling Que asked.

    Xu San exined, ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll be honest. Both sides have agreed to decide the winner of this area by fighting for the poles, so this pre-war meeting is to determine the roles for how we¡¯ll be fighting for the poles. The most important thing is that one of the Daosource Three Skies, Zhi Yi, might show up for the meeting.¡±

 Chapter 967: Greenmen Duo

    <h4>Chapter 967: Greenmen Duo</h4>

    After hearing Xu San¡¯s words, Lu Yin and Starsibyl exchanged nces of surprise.

    Ling Que was furious. ¡°You bastard, you just said that you didn¡¯t know when the Daosource Three Skies would show up!¡±

    Xu San rolled his eyes. ¡°Might, might! Don¡¯t you understand?¡±

    Lu Yin quietly asked, ¡°Is this pre-war meeting being convened by Shang Rong or Zhi Yi?¡±

    Xu San shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but most likely, it¡¯s Zhi Yi. That woman is one of the Daosource Three Skies, and ording to the rumors, it¡¯s notbat that she¡¯s the most skilled at, but rather strategy. Little Xiang also mentioned that Zhi Yi has been obsessed with war strategies since a young age. She enjoys schemes, is proficient at defeating arge force with a smaller one, and is extremely gifted at just about anything involving strategy. This time, the fight for the poles will be very important, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange at all for her to show up.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°You just told us that you didn¡¯t know anything at all about the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    Lu Yin red at her. ¡°Let him finish.¡±

    Starsibyl averted her gaze.

    Xu San swallowed his saliva. ¡°There are certain things that can¡¯t be said, and you have to understand them intuitively.¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit! What you¡¯re really saying is that one of the Daosource Three Skies, Zhi Yi, wille here, that she¡¯ll be overseeing this fight for the poles herself, and that she will also be participating in the battle herself, correct?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San¡¯s eyes flitted about, and he carefully scanned the area. ¡°That¡¯s just your guesses. I didn¡¯t tell you anything.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself. This was very disturbing news¡ªnobody knew just how strong the Daosource Three Skies truly were. Even worse, the woman who was likely to show up was gifted at strategy, and Lu Yin had already learned how difficult it was to go against such people. For example, the Great Eastern Alliance had had an overwhelming advantage over Armament Weave, and logically, Armament Weave should have been easily bulldozed over. However, Wei Rong had actually managed to stall the attackers for two years. In another case, Wang Wen had overseen Ironblood Weave, and his deep strategies had propelled him to the top of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s must-kill list. This was the influence that strategic geniuses had.

    Such people were many times more frightening than powerful cultivators, and they were also more difficult to deal with due to their intelligence.

    Why did it seem that he bumped into such people wherever he went? Lu Yin felt helpless.

    ¡°Take us to the strategy meeting,¡± Starsibyl ordered.

    Xu San blinked awkwardly. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything I should.¡±

    Starsibyl stared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to repeat myself.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t be discovered, right?¡± Ling Que felt uneasy with this n.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°No. There are quite a few people who will be attending this event, so we won¡¯t be discovered as long as we don¡¯t attract too much attention. The oue that I¡¯ve divined is actually pretty good.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at her from the corner of his eye. Divined oue?

    Xu San looked at Lu Yin in a pleading manner. ¡°Boss¡­¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at Starsibyl, who calmly said, ¡°Starlight Ind is surrounded on all sides, and it will be extremely difficult for us to force our way out. But if we join this war meeting, then we might be able to escape by joining the fight for these poles.¡±

    That sounded quite reasonable, and Lu Yin let out a breath as he looked at Xu San. ¡°Onest thing: help us finish this since you¡¯ve already started helping us.¡±

    Xu San was about to cry. It had not been easy for him to obtain his current status, and he had suffered quite miserably in the process. The moment these three people were discovered and taken in for questioning, even Xu San¡¯s master, Ancestor Swifteyes, would y him alive. Xu San did not dare to do such a thing.

    Ling Que leaned over and quietly threatened Xu San, saying, ¡°If you don¡¯t take us, then we can just go ourselves, but only after we rip off your face and use it as a mask, hehehe.¡±

    Xu San was both furious and terrified.

    Lu Yin also had no choice in this matter. The Sixth Maind had sent their younger generation to Starlight Ind, though members of the older generation would still be around as well. Thus, it was impossible for these three youths to escape from this ind without confronting the ind¡¯s full strength. They could only join the teams that would be fighting for the poles if they wanted to leave. Also, Lu Yin wanted to see for himself just how terrifying these Daosource Three Skies were.

    In fact, regardless of whether he had to face the Daosource Three Skies or the Realmlings, Lu Yin was not too concerned. He had even exchanged blows with an Imprinter before, so no matter how powerful the Daosource Three Skies were, in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, they could not possibly surpass the strength of an Imprinter.

    After confronting the various threats leveled against him, Xu San was left with no other choice. He could only agree to take the three with him into the strategy meeting.

    Truthfully, calling it a strategy meeting was just a social nicety. It was actually a gathering of the young elites who were on Starlight Ind. Youths were oftenpetitive, and they liked to fight to gain an advantage against each other. Also, many of them wanted to look good in front of one of the Daosource Three Skies, especially since there was a chance that the only female of the Daosource Three Skies might attend, and she was obviously someone whom countless men longed for.

    To prevent Xu San from betraying them partway through, Starsibyl used some of her techniques on him to guard them against any possible betrayal.

    Xu San had already resigned himself to his fate. Once the other Sixth Maind cultivators who had been knocked unconscious came to, he easily cated them before escorting Lu Yin¡¯s trio to another ind that was close to Starlight Ind.

    Of the three youths, Lu Yin and Ling Que did not draw too much attention, but Starsibyl was just too attractive, and her face easily caught a great deal of attention.

    However, Starsibyl had her own mysterious techniques. Although they did not know what she did, and despite her face looking the same, she had somehow lost her bewitching beauty. At first nce, people would feel that she was not very attractive, and her countenance would actually seem more average the longer one looked at her.

    Lu Yin was really taken aback by the woman¡¯s methods, and he suddenly thought of the Starsibyl Sect. He decided to take another look at it when he had the time.

    Divination was already very mystical to begin with, and when the various strange methods that they used were added on, the Starsibyl Sect only became more and more interesting to Lu Yin.

    The only thing that left the three feeling ufortable was Yaya. Although the little girl had acted strong and told innocent lies about how she was waiting for her parents to return, that innocence only made them care for the girl even more.

    Lu Yin, Ling Que, and Starsibyl¡ªall of them had decided that, if there was even a small possibility, they would return to take the little girl away. A person would be lonely if they lived on Starlight Ind by themselves, even if they had inherited great wealth from their parents. Yaya was living in such a difficult situation that normal people could not even imagine what she had to deal with.

    The sea was calm as they traveled along, and the passing Sixth Maind cultivators would asionally respectfully bow to Xu San once they saw him.

    All of the Sixth Maind cultivators that Lu Yin had met thus far had either been visiting the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins or been a part of the Outerverse invasion force. Thus, those who had fought against Lu Yin thus far were about as strong as Autumnfrost Qing, which meant that most of the Sixth Maind cultivators who Lu Yin had seen so far were elites despite the fact that the average cultivator from the maind was much weaker.

    They walked across the surface of the sea, but every cultivator who they encountered bowed to Xu San without exception. These people were all bottom-rung cultivators, and the procession met more than a thousand such people, none of whom could evenpare to Sixteen¡¯s noble status.

    The higher one stood, the further they could see. In other words, what one saw wasrgely determined by the heights from which they viewed things. It was a matter of level and perspective.

    Lu Yin followed along behind the sedan with Ling Que and Starsibyl beside him. The old Enlighter who was protecting Xu San would asionally nce at the three, but he did not say much since Xu San had already settled things with the powerhouse.

    Sixteen continued to tter Xu San, but Xu San was not as stimted as before, which left Sixteen feeling quite lost.

    Sixteen was ranked sixteenth within the Swifteyes n, and he definitely was not someone who could be considered weak. He actually held a position that was not much lower than the Swifteyes n¡¯s primary heir, and Sixteen could even be considered a genius among the elites of the Sixth Maind. Regarding his personal strength, Sixteen couldpare to the top few rankers of the Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings, and the youth naturally had his own arrogance, such as when he had pped that Cruiser while traveling to Starlight Ind. However, Sixteen wanted to climb even higher, which was the motivation behind his ingratiating attitude towards Xu San, as he was absolutely ready to give and take.

    Another burst of lightning exploded in the sky, much to Xu San¡¯s annoyance. The presence of Lu Yin¡¯s trio traveling behind Xu San also left him feeling quite agitated, so he simply decided to close himself off.

    Sixteen felt that something was strange, as he did not know what was going on with the person whom he was nning on following.

    Rather close to where Xu San¡¯s procession was making its way, two strange-looking silhouettes slowly walked across the surface of the sea. No matter what angle the two were viewed from, it was clear that they were very odd. One was exceptionally fat while the other was skinny to the point where he could have been the rotund figure¡¯s arm.

    Quite a few nearby people saw the two young men, and everyone either felt afraid or amused when they saw the contrasting pair. However, not a single person spoke to the duo, and some even tantly showed their revulsion.

    ¡°The lighting up above is too jarring, and it¡¯s even a bit frightening. Fat Bro, are you scared?¡±

    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t even afraid of Realmlings, so why would we be scared of some mere lighting? Skinny Bro, are you afraid?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m also a bit scared.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro, you must protect me.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, Skinny Bro. We are brothers forever, and Fat Bro will be your shield.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Fat Bro. Right, Fat Bro, it looks like you got even fatter recently.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Hahaha, thanks, Skinny Bro! Actually, you seem to have gotten skinnier as well.¡±

    ¡°Really? Thanks, Fat Bro! We really are brothers.¡±

    ¡°Brothers forever.¡±

    ¡­

    As the fat and skinny duo approached, Xu San¡¯s group also overheard their conversation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew rather strange; was this some kind of joke?

    Xu San looked over, but he rolled his eyes when he saw the two youths. ¡°Stupid Greenmen Duo.¡±

    Ling Que moved over next to Lu Yin. ¡°No matter how I look at them, those two seem like idiots. Still, that skinny one kind of looks like Mu Rong to me.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Ling Que. ¡°You seem to have quite the grudge with Mu Rong.¡±

    Ling Que sneered, but he did not answer. The truth was that he still could not let go of what had happened with his cheerleaders.

    ¡°Eh? Fat Bro, look. Isn¡¯t that Wretched Xu?¡± The voice in the distance grew louder, as if the speaker was afraid that Xu San¡¯s group would not hear him.

    ¡°Sure is. Wretched Xu¡¯s here.¡±

    Xu San grew furious. ¡°Studid Greenmen Duo, I didn¡¯t do anything to you!¡±

    ¡°Haha! Fat Bro, Wretched Xu has spoken, but he seems to only be more wretched by the minute.¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro, we can¡¯t insult others when they¡¯re already so wretched, so don¡¯t add any more scars to such a person¡¯s soul. Come on, apologize.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. Sorry, Wretched Xu, we shouldn¡¯t tell the truth.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Wretched Xu, speaking honestly is our shoring, so we¡¯ll work on that. Actually, you don¡¯t really look that wretched, just a bit embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro, your words are too subtle. Can he understand?¡±

    ¡°Maybe not. Given his looks, he can¡¯t be very smart.¡±

    ¡­

    The group of people furiously red as the fat and skinny youths continued to saunter off into the distance. The two spoke non-stop from beginning to end, and they never gave anyone else the slightest opportunity to interrupt them.

    Even though Xu San wanted to retort, he had not been able to.

    Ling Que stared at the two men with admiration. He suddenly recalled the time when he had convinced that Sixth Maind cultivator tomit suicide. That had been the most glorious moment of his life, and he only felt that it was a pity that he had not been able to repeat that feat.

    Xu San had be so angry that his entire body started trembling, but there was nothing he could do against those two youths. Although the fat and skinny pair seemed stupid, anyone who assumed that they were weak would end up encountering terrible misfortune. On their own, the two idiots were not very impressive, but when they worked together, even a Realmling would have a difficult time.

    ¡°rgh, what bad luck.¡± Xu San red fiercely at the departing duo.

    Starlight Ind was not just a single ind, as the thunder region endlessly spread out around Starlight Ind, and there were another dozen inds within the region. The strategy meeting had been arranged to take ce on one of the other inds, and the closer the group drew to the meeting location, the more people they met, and every single person they saw was a youth.

    Quite a few of the people called out to Xu San, and it was clear that his position was quite high.

    Although most people could not determine others¡¯ strength by observing their rune lines, there was still a very clear distinction in status between people. The stronger the person was, the higher their position would be. Actually, it would be more urate to say that, the higher the position, the stronger one would be. This was because arge portion of the Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯ strength came from their imprints, and the stronger their Imprinter was, the stronger their imprint would be. Thus, the strength of one¡¯s Imprinter was indicative of their importance.

    With Xu San leading the way, nobody dared to investigate the identities of the people in his group. This allowed Lu Yin¡¯s trio to sessfully infiltrate the strategy meeting despite Xu San¡¯s guards being left outside of the ind.

 Chapter 968: Battle News

    <h4>Chapter 968: Battle News</h4>

    Naturally, Sixteen was also qualified to attend the strategy meeting. He gave Lu Yin¡¯s trio a strange look, and he seemed to want to ask something, but after seeing Xu San¡¯s expression, he ultimately decided not to speak.

    The ind where the meeting was taking ce was extremely busy, as the gathering had been called in Shang Rong¡¯s name on top of it being the strategy meeting for the battle for the poles. Thus, all of the elites in the nearby region had flocked to this ind. However, there were bound to be conflicts when so many people gathered in one ce.

    For example, there was that fat and skinny duo. On their way to the ind, they had instigated a great deal of resentment, as the two idiots continuously shot their mouths off, saying anything that they wanted. They had even caused Xu San to be disgusted, let alone others.

    In some sense, they could be seen as quite awesome due to the fact that they had not been beaten to death yet.

    Xu San led Lu Yin¡¯s trio and Sixteen to the center of the ind, where there was a tall obelisk towering high into the sky.

    ¡°The top of that obelisk is where the true elites will gather, and basically, only the heirs of Imprinter families can participate. These people who we¡¯ve passed by so far can all just be ignored,¡± Xu San loudly exined as he led the way.

    Quite a few people in the area had just been aggravated by the Greenmen Duo, and when Xu San passed by, stirring up more trouble, many of their faces turned purple once again.

    Sixteen immediately moved over to tter Xu San while also conveniently remembering to mock the nearby people a little.

    Lu Yin quite admired the fact that Sixteen had also managed to not be beaten to death yet, not to mention the fat and skinny pair.

    ¡°Little Xiang!¡± After their group had walked quite a ways across the ind, Xu San suddenly hollered out, startling Lu Yin and the others quite badly.

    Quite a few others around them also jumped in surprise.

    A bit away, a group of people had appeared around the corner, led by a petite girl who had a beautiful smile. There were quite a few youths in the group, and the girl was obviously from a powerful family.

    All of the people in the group had been walking along and minding their own business, but when Xu San shouted, the face of the girl in the lead darkened. When the rest of the group members looked over, all of their expressions changed as well.

    Xu San jogged over to the group with a pandering smile stered on his face as he moved next to the girl in the least. ¡°Little Xiang, where¡¯ve you been all this time? Brother Xu has been looking for you.¡±

    The girl¡¯s face became extremely ugly, but she replied in a gentle voice, saying, ¡°I went out for a stroll.¡±

    ¡°Stroll?¡± Xu San maintained the same cajoling tone. ¡°Do you know how dangerous this ce is? There are enemies everywhere as well as a bunch of guys who are happy to take advantage of their family¡¯s influence. It¡¯s very dangerous for you to wander around like this! Little Xiang, please promise Brother Xu that you won¡¯t walk around by yourself next time. You should know¡­¡±

    Xu San¡¯s saliva sprayed everywhere as he talked, which caused many of the nearby people to nce over. The girl¡¯s expression grew uglier by the second, but she refused to allow herself to blow up.

    The people around her felt equally helpless, though they also seemed ustomed to this situation.

    Lu Yin and the others walked over closer, where they stood silently at the side, watching Xu San speak and looking like nothing more than his henchmen.

    After speaking for a while, Xu San finally wound down. ¡°Little Xiang, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go to the strategy meeting together.¡±

    The girl did not answer him, and she instead silently started walking ahead. Xu San licked his lips and continued to talk as he walked by her side. All of the handsome young men in the area thought that Xu San was thoroughly irritating to see, but they all held their tempers back, and no one spoke up.

    As Ancestor Swifteyes¡¯ disciple, Xu San enjoyed an extremely high status, and there were very few who dared to speak out against him.

    Ling Que quietlymented, ¡°Just one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.¡±

    ¡­

    The obelisk could be seen from a fair distance due to how high up it shot into the sky. It did not seem veryrge, but as one approached it, they would quickly realize that the obelisk was actually quite thick and that there was an entire courtyard at the very top.

    This courtyard had once belonged to the ind¡¯s master, but during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the former master had died. The courtyard, however, had been perfectly preserved, and it was currently upied by Shang Rong.

    Lu Yin and the others followed Xu San as he ascended the obelisk, but then, Xu San chased after Little Xiang and ignored the three people following him.

    The courtyard was massive, and there was exquisite food and liquor scattered all about as well as quite a few servers shuttling about to and fro.

    Cultivators sought out one another to chat, and the atmosphere waspletely identical to that of a wine reception.

    Sixteen followed behind Xu San, as he was determined to stay close to him.

    Starsibyl also went her own way.

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes lit up, and he went off on his own as well.

    Lu Yin had no particr goal in mind, and so he decided to simply enjoy the food.

    Actually, he had always had a bit of an interest in gourmet food. He still remembered how Silver¡¯s ambition had been to be a gourmet, and that thought suddenly made Lu Yin wonder where Silver was at the moment, or if he was even still alive.

    Lu Yin still felt ufortable whenever he recalled Silver¡¯s detestable, sly smile.

    When Lu Yin thought of Silver, he also recalled Xia Luo. Opposed to Silver, Lu Yin really did not know much about what Xia Luo might be doing.

    Lu Yin had been separated from his old friends for several years, and he did not even know when he might meet them again.

    ¡°Did you hear? The Fifth Maind¡¯s Champions'' Stage granted Hua Xiao the title of King Xiao, and he is currently fighting against our Starlight Ind,¡± someone discussed, as people were exchanging rumors all around.

    Lu Yin calmly listened to the surrounding conversations as he ate.

    ¡°The Fifth Maind doesn¡¯t amount to much, but those who were given the title of King or Queen are all very powerful. Hua Xiao is reportedly a true disciple of the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect, and he¡¯s extremely powerful. He¡¯s even able to fight on par with the Realmlings.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit strange to talk about this. The Fifth Maind has been suppressed by us all this time, but they¡¯re never been short of experts, especially their Neoverse. That ce has way too many people who¡¯ve been given a title of King or Queen. Each of them are strong enough to go up against a Realmling, and their strength is not inferior to a heir from an Imprinter family.¡±

    ¡°We have more powerhouses than them, so we can deal with however many of them show up. Besides, only around half of our younger generation has joined the invasion so far with the other half not having even shown up yet. Rumor has it that Wu Taibai of the Daosource Three Skies still doesn¡¯t intend toe over.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just Wu Taibai¡ªmany disciples from our Daosource Sect don¡¯t intend toe out, and the main force of the invasion is still the nine realms.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze flickered, and he suddenly remembered that the Sixth Maind had its own Daosource Sect, which naturally had its own disciples. At this moment, the Innerverse was fighting against experts from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nine Realms, as the experts from their Daosource Sect actually had not even appeared yet. However, even if the Daosource Sect¡¯s disciples did show up, they would not be able to surpass the strength of the Realmlings, and at best, they would only be on the same level.

    Still, it was terrifying to realize that the Sixth Maind was still holding back. The number of heirs of Imprinter families in the Nine Realmsbined with the Daosource Sect¡¯s disciples definitely surpassed the number of elites that the Innerverse could send out, and any more reinforcements from the Sixth Maind would crush the Innerverse.

    The strength of the Sixth Maind surpassed the Fifth Maind¡¯s by far too much.

    There were various discussions taking ce all around, most of it was regarding the thunder region, and listening to them allowed Lu Yin to gather a great deal of information. The main forces opposing the Sixth Maind in the contest for the thunder region was a former crew from the Cosmic Sea, a few other crews that hade together, and the reinforcements from the Soulseal Flowzone who had withdrawn to the Cosmic Sea, such as members of the Lingling n.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Ling Gong was actually going to be fighting against Shang Rong.

    When Lu Yin heard the news about Ling Gong, his expression became rather strange. These two people really seemed to share some sort of fate; even in the Daosource Sect''s ruins, Ling Gong and Shang Rong had fought against each other several times. Now, they were going against each other in the Cosmic Sea once again. Would they fight until they fell in love?

    ¡°Speaking of which, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters are really ruthless. They don¡¯t have any imprints or bloodlines, but they can match up to the Realmlings.¡±

    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t talk about that! Realmling Shang Rong always gets upset when people say things like that. In fact, he¡¯s always been the one to hold the disadvantage.¡±

    ¡°No way?! The Realmlings can actually be overpowered?¡±

    ¡°It seems like it. Someone personally confirmed that Realmling Shang Rong was beaten by the Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight. What¡¯s more, it did not seem like they were evenly matched, as one of them was just stalling, and apparently, it was Realmling Shang Rong who was trying to dy White Knight.¡±

    ¡°Wha- that¡¯s just too fierce! Where did these freakse from in the Fifth Maind?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? The Fifth Maind¡¯s Champions'' Stage¡¯s highest title that it can grant is Arbiter, but even until now, nobody has received that title. Whoever gets that title will be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters. Not even those crazy experts from the Neoverse can openly challenge the Ten Arbiters. Those ten are just freaks.¡±

    ¡°It seems like only the Daosource Three Skies can keep them under control.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily, as the Ten Arbiters also has stronger and weaker members, just like the Realmlings. Realmling Shang Rong might not be able topare to them, but that doesn¡¯t mean that the other Realmlings are the same. Let¡¯s just wait and see.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Bro, I heard that you were trashed by some guy called Avery from the Fifth Maind? Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! I¡¯m the one who beat him up!¡±

    ¡°Stop ying, a bunch of people saw it all. If not for your power vessel letting you escape, your body probably would have already turned cold.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Next time I meet him, I¡¯ll definitely take care of him.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°It seems like someone issued a bounty for people from the Mavis family. Have you guys bumped into any of them?¡±

    ¡°Once. That woman¡¯s strength is just scary. Honestly, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad if it was just her, but when we fought, she actually brought out a tamed sea turtle from the Cosmic Sea, and it nearly swallowed me whole!¡±

    ¡°The Mavis family is really strange. Supposedly, no one has killed anyone from the Mavis family so far.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Actually, this thunder region isparatively peaceful. I¡¯ve heard that quite a lot of strange powerhouses have appeared in the other regions. Some call themselves deities, others drive around spacecraft, knocking people around, and there are even some bastards who keep releasing smoke. There have even been rumors of a brothel flying through space.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about that too. Apparently, there are also some ces that even have dead people riding skeletal horses.¡±

    ¡°Right? There are also some who know secret techniques, and it¡¯s not just one or two people at that. The Fifth Maind is getting stranger and stranger.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. Those people are basically all from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse, which is where their strongest cultivators have gathered. When the Progenitor of Combat acted, it was to deal with the Neoverse with one strike,¡± someone exined.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the Progenitor failed, and that fight even caused the cosmic phenomenon to show up.¡±

    "No matter how powerful the Neoverse is, if our Nine Realms act together, then we¡¯d be able to easily take care of them. Even if we don¡¯t consider the other powerhouses, if each realm just sends out one Cosmic Imprinter each, then that would be nine powerhouses who each have a power level of more than 1,000,000. Beyond them, we also have Empyrean Imprinters and our Progenitors. All evil monsters would be in before them. What a pity.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°I believe that the first one that should be dealt with from the Fifth Maind is the Starsibyl Sect. There are reports that those people can even divine the future, and apparently, they have a bunch of blind people.¡±

    ¡°Just because they can divine things doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re blind.¡±

    ¡°If they aren¡¯t blind, then how can they do any divinations?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leisurely sipped a drink. Listening to all the various conversations taking ce around him allowed him to gain a better understanding of what was happening in the Cosmic Sea. He also felt that everything he was hearing waspletely bizarre, even without listening to the opinions of these Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Spacecraft that bumped into people, others who referred to themselves as deities, people who released smoke, flying brothels, and blind people who could perform divinations. It all sounded like something from a chaotic dream.

    However, the overall situation did not sound too terrible for the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin also did not have a clear understanding of whaty within the Neoverse. Ah, that was right¡ªhe could try asking Starsibyl.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin looked around for Starsibyl, but he could not find her. If that woman did not want others to find her, then very few would be able to.

    Lu Yin did not find Starsibyl, but he did see Ling Que scolding some people.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a headache develop.

    Xu San immediately moved over and did his best to persuade Ling Que to back down.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to set me up!¡± Xu San barked.

    Ling Que rolled his eyes. ¡°Whoever¡¯s got the moves can win the women. Who is that guy? He actually dared to snatch my woman!¡±

    ¡°His father¡¯s an Imprinter,¡± Xu San fiercely retorted.

    Ling Que pursed his lips; an Imprinter was an Envoy. He grudgingly responded, ¡°It will take a very long time for me to realize my dreams of reforming my cheerleader squad.¡±

    As Lu Yin casually picked up a te of delicious food to munch on, he nced at the door. Then, he immediately whirled back around and ducked his head as low as he could.

 Chapter 969: Crimson Servant And The Lifesource Tokens

    <h4>Chapter 969: Crimson Servant And The Lifesource Tokens</h4>

    When Xu San saw Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, his heart skipped a beat. ¡°Boss, did you recognize someone?¡±

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me.¡±

    Xu San¡¯s face went pale, and he nced around the room.

    A group of people had just entered the room. At the front was Di Luo, and he was followed by a group of young cultivators from the Bloodburn Realm. Noticeably, among them was Autumnfrost Qing.

    Lu Yin had not expected people from the Bloodburn Realm to appear.

    The Sixth Maind was not internally united, and the Bloodburn and ckblood Realms often waged war against each other. Thus, the grievances between the two sides were quite deep.

    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t these the stray dogs from the Bloodburn Realm? Why have they run to a territory that belongs to our ckblood Realm?¡± someone mocked savagely.

    ¡°They wanted to use the strength of just their single realm to take control of the entire Outerverse. But after failing at that, they¡¯vee to the Innerverse and want to steal some contributions from us.¡±

    ¡°Actually, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse doesn¡¯t even have the strength to resist a single realm. However, they still managed to fail. It¡¯s truly a feat worthy of the Bloodburn Realm.¡±

    ¡­

    Di Luo and the others with him all maintained their calm expressions. They hade to the Innerverse from the Sixth Maind, and along the way, they had suffered so much ridicule that they had stopped caring long ago.

    At this time, the void distorted a bit, and Realmling Shang Rong suddenly appeared.

    A Realmling was the strongest member of the younger generation within an entire realm, and Shang Rong¡¯s appearance caused everyone to go silent.

    ¡°The war between the mainds means that we should be united against a single enemy. There shall be no more such ridicule, and any who break this rule will immediately leave this ce,¡± Shang Rongmanded as his gaze swept across the entire gathering.

    Everyone who he nced at felt their scalps go numb, and no one dared to talk back to him.

    Di Luo had an appreciative look on his face, and he slowly bowed. ¡°Thank you, Realmling Shang Rong.¡±

    Shang Rong nodded. He was the Realmling of the ckblood Realm, and he had fought against the Bloodburn Realm for many years. Thus, he also held a deep loathing for the people of that realm. However, he could not openly show such feelings, as he needed to demonstrate the open mind that a Realmling should possess. ¡°We wee everyone who hase to support Starlight Ind.¡±

    Di Luo and the others immediately expressed their gratitude.

    The arrival of Di Luo and the others caused the entire gathering¡¯s atmosphere to change. Although the mockery had been stopped by Shang Rong with no one else daring to mock the neers, the way people looked at the youths from the Bloodburn Realm still was not quite right.

    Lu Yin tried his best to hide, as he did not want to be noticed by Autumnfrost Qing.

    He randomly snatched up a te of delicacies, but another hand also reached for it. It was a very fat hand, and it belonged to the fatty of the Greenmen Duo.

    The fatty looked at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin also looked at the fat youth before reflexively letting go of the tter.

    The fatty took the tter of food and looked at Lu Yin with appreciation. ¡°You¡¯re very polite. Fat Bro approves.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a wave of disgust rise within him.

    Behind the fatty, the skinny young man appeared. ¡°Fat Bro, since this bro is so polite, we should give him the food. Look at how skinny he is.¡±

    The fatty sized Lu Yin up and down and then offered the tter to Lu Yin. ¡°Eat, you must have been hungry for a very long time.¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to mess with these two, as they easily drew attention to themselves and everyone around them. He wordlessly epted the tter and turned to leave.

    But the fatty was not happy at his silence. ¡°Skinny Bro, look at the quality of people these days! They can¡¯t even offer a word of thanks.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Fat Bro. Who knows where that ancient legend of virtue has gone? We must learn from this person¡¯s mistakes, so as not to be as uncultured as him.¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro, well spoken. Oh, you look even skinnier now.¡±

    ¡°Is that so, Fat Bro? Truth is, you¡¯ve be fatter.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, thanks for thepliment!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just the truth! Thanks, Fat Bro, for yourpliments as well!¡±

    ¡­

    Their unrestrainedughter drew a great deal of attention, and the words ¡°Stupid Green Duo¡± could be vaguely heard from murmurs.

    Lu Yin quickly put some distance between himself and the two idiots.

    Autumnfrost Qing looked over from the distance, and he nced at Lu Yin. He then looked at the Greenmen Duo before staring back at Lu Yin again. Coincidentally, Lu Yin¡¯s back was facing Autumnfrost Qing, so the youth could not get a clear look at Lu Yin, though Autumnfrost Qing did feel that this person seemed somewhat familiar. Still, he did not pay much mind to this.

    Lu Yin quickly distanced himself from the Greenmen Duo and heaved a sigh of relief. It would have been too ridiculous if he had been exposed by those two weirdos.

    Countless people moved to surround Shang Rong after he appeared, each of them with the intention of looking like an elite of their generation. Xu San also moved over, and Lu Yin watched the man approach, as he did indeed look incredibly wretched.

    Lu Yin was not the only one with such thoughts, as Shang Rong and the others around him all revealed ugly expressions when they noticed Xu San approaching them. It was impressive for one person to lower the appeal of an entire group by such a degree.

    However, even though he was disgusted by Xu San, Shang Rong still forced himself to be polite. Not only was Xu San the sole disciple of Ancestor Swifteyes, but he was also the poster child for talented Fifth Maind cultivators that had been recruited by the Sixth Maind after they surrendered.

    From the Sixth Maind¡¯s perspective, if they could even ept someone like Xu San, then who would they not ept? This was what they wanted to demonstrate to the people of the Fifth Maind.

    The more luxurious a life Xu San led, the more willing the people of the Fifth Maind would be to surrender to the Sixth Maind.

    Shang Rong reluctantly forced out a smile. ¡°Xu San,e over here and get to know everyone.¡±

    Xu San hurriedly stered on a pandering smile, and he began to crazily tter everyone in the group. Those who could stand near Shang Rong were notmon cultivators, and even the worst of them were direct heirs of Imprinter families. In fact, some of them were even heirs to Cosmic Imprinter families. It was not embarrassing to kiss up to such people.

    Everyone had their own method of surviving.

    As Lu Yin watched Xu San do his best to ingratiate himself into Shang Rong''s little circle of elites, Lu Yin sighed. However, he could not hate Xu San for showing such behavior, as the man only wanted to have a better life, which was something that the Fifth Maind could not offer him. That was why Xu San had joined the Sixth Maind. Some people might see Xu San as a traitor, but which person was not selfish? As long as Xu San did not purposefully massacre the people of the Fifth Maind, nobody had the right to me him, as he was merely seeking out a better life.

    Lu Yin avoided people from the Bloodburn Realm like Autumnfrost Qing, and he made his way around the gathering. He saw quite a few people, and he also learned of quite a few matters.

    After a while, Shang Rong signaled everyone to quiet down, and it seemed as if he was waiting for something.

    Soon, a solemn-looking man appeared at the entrance of the room, and he gave off a valiant aura from head to toe.

    His appearance caused many people to cry out in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s Crimson Servant! The servant of Daosource Three Skies Zhi Yi,¡± someone eximed in astonishment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up; had one of the Daosource Three Skies arrived?

    Shang Rong immediately weed Crimson Servant into the room. As a Realmling, he should not have been the one to wee a servant, but Crimson Servant was different. Although he was referred to as a servant, he was actually a disciple of the Daosource Sect, and he only followed Zhi Yi due to his admiration of her. If one did not include the Daosource Three Skies or the Realmlings, then this person would be a pinnacle expert among the Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and he was one of the few members who had already reached the Hunter realm.

    Although Shang Rong was a Realmling, if onepared their status within the Daosource Sect, Crimson Servant was on the same level as the Realmling.

    ¡°Brother Qiu, I thought that you woulde, haha.¡± Shang Rong weed the young man with a big smile.

    The name of this person called Crimson Servant was Qiu He, and he smiled slightly when he saw Shang Rong approach. ¡°By the orders of the Daosource Three Skies, I am here to deliver a mission to everyone. Brother Shang, can you cooperate?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Under Elder Sister Zhi Yi¡¯smand, the thunder region will definitely achieve victory.¡± Shang Rong smiled.

    Qiu He was satisfied with this response, and he made a gesture as a show of his appreciation.

    Shang Rong responded in kind with the same gesture.

    Everyone was currently focused on the two young men.

    Lu Yin also grew solemn. This Crimson Servant was not inferior to the Realmling at all, and it allowed Lu Yin to see how terrifying the Daosource Three Skies were; they could actually convince one of the few Hunters in the younger generation to act as their servant. No matter what the reasons behind such a decision were, it was still shocking.

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire younger generation, only the Ten Arbiters had reached the Hunter realm, and even the person at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings, Xia Tian, had not be a Hunter yet. This was the disparity between the two mainds.

    Shang Rong and Qiu He exchanged a few pleasantries and then turned to face everyone else in the room. ¡°By the order of Sky Zhi of the Daosource Three Skies, allbatants in the thunder region who wish to fight against the Fifth Maind will obey Sky Zhi¡¯smands. Does anyone have any objections?¡±

    ¡°We pledge our lives to work for Sky Zhi,¡± everyone shouted back.

    There was a strange look on Ling Que¡¯s face, and he meandered over towards Lu Yin. ¡°Did all these people practice this? That was so coordinated! Sky Zhi seems to be better at putting on an act than even the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Qiu He was very pleased with everyone¡¯s attitude. For him, the more respect these people showed to Zhi Yi, the better he felt. ¡°Everyone is clear on the situation in this thunder region: the contest for the poles will soon begin. If everyone is allowed to fight however they wish, then the situation will quickly devolve into a mess. Thus, Sky Zhi has turned some of the Daosource Sect¡¯s source materials into tokens. The team leaders for this contest will be given tokens made from semi-source material while only Sky Zhi will have a token made from true source material. She will use this token to send outmands, and hermands will be shown on all of the semi-Lifesource tokens. Anyone who receives an order must fulfill them¡ªotherwise, they will be treated as traitors to the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Shang Rong continued his exnation, ¡°Everyone should have already heard of Sky Zhi¡¯s abilities, and whenever she demonstrates her military prowess through strategic games, very few are able to match her abilities. With hermanding us, even if we all die, we must still execute her orders and show the unity and loyalty of our Sixth Maind. I hope that no one will embarrass¡­¡±

    As he listened to Shang Rong¡¯s words, Lu Yin started to frown a bit. Battles between cultivators rarely employed any sort of military strategy. If both sides were of roughly the same strength, then the side that used a militaristic deployment style would enjoy too much of an advantage. The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces already surpassed those of the Fifth Maind, and if they were led by one of the Daosource Three Skies in a formal military order, then it would be too difficult for the Fifth Maind to win the battle in the thunder region.

    The only good news that Lu Yin heard during this meeting was that not all three of the Daosource Three Skies would participate in this contest. At the moment, Zhi Yi was the only one who had not yet arrived, and Wu Taibai would likely note. It was also not very likely that the final member of the Daosource Three Skies, the mysterious heir to the Progenitor of Secret Arts, would appear. This was quite different from what Xu San had told the three of them, as he had previously mentioned that it was possible for all of the Daosource Three Skies to appear.

    However, Xu San had merely been postting, and it was impossible to know if his conjectures had been urate or not at that time.

    The next part of the meeting was to distribute the tokens. At this moment, all of the people present at the meeting were true experts of the younger generation currently present in the thunder region. Qiu He had brought dozens of semi-Lifesource tokens with him, and he allowed Shang Rong to distribute the tokens to the gathered youths.

    The Realmling had to have one, and those such as He Xiang, Di Luo, and Autumnfrost Qing were also given tokens. Even the Greenmen Duo received one, and Sixteen was given two. Almost all of the heirs of Imprinter families received tokens, as they were the top experts of the younger generation in the thunder region.

    There were five areas that contained poles, but there were more than just five teamspeting for them. Some of the teams would be open while others would be hidden. Under Xu San¡¯s arrangements, Lu Yin joined Sixteen¡¯s team, which was an open team. This meant that they would be openly fighting for a pole in a certain region. In truth, there was also another secret team with the same mission, and there were also hidden experts who would be participating in the contest.

    Xu San would not participate in the fighting, and nobody even asked him to. With his level of strength, he would be of no help and would simply be running to his death. Many people assumed that the Fifth Maind cultivators would be quite malicious during the battle.

    Sixteen was given two tokens, and one of them was intended for his second inmand so that the two would receive Zhi Yi¡¯smands at the same time. This was also to safeguard against losing a token.

    Xu San asked for the second token, which he then passed on to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the token and was rather surprised by it. Semi-source material was supposed to be unique to the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. No, that wasn''t right. The material was actually called source, and the immature bits were known as semi-source.

    Wait a moment. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened. If this material was called semi-source because it had not fully matured yet, then could he upgrade it with his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance to genuine source material? Would that mean that he would have the same level of authority as Zhi Yi and that he would be able to give out orders to everyone carrying tokens made from semi-source material?

    This thought excited Lu Yin.

 Chapter 970: Hello

    <h4>Chapter 970: Hello</h4>

    Lu Yin spent the rest of his time during the meeting avoiding the people from the Bloodburn Realm while others mingled with their friends.

    Xu San was not able to fit in with Shang Rong¡¯s group, so instead, he clung to He Xiang.

    As for Sixteen, he remained determined to stay at Xu San¡¯s side.

    Although Ancestor Swifteyes was only a World Imprinter at the moment, it was quite likely that he would be a Cosmic Imprinter some time within the next few years. Since Xu San was Ancestor Swifteyes¡¯ sole disciple, his status would rise even higher despite hiscking personal strength, and at that time, his status would beparable to a Realmling¡¯s. Thus, Sixteen was determined to suck up to Xu San.

    The gatheringsted for half a day before finally ending.

    Lu Yin quickly left while Xu San was still pestering He Xiang. His persistence caused her to be anxious to leave.

    ¡°There will be tens of millions of cultivators from the Sixth Maind who will be joining the contest for the poles. The team that we¡¯ll be joining might have even a hundred thousand or even a million people in it. Although this is nothingpared to the scale of the entire Cosmic Sea, it¡¯s still quite arge number of people, and there is the possibility of death no matter how powerful we are,¡± Ling Que seriously said after they returned to Xu San¡¯s residence.

    Starsibyl nced out the window. She had barely spoken ever since they had first arrived at the meeting.

    ¡°Just stay at the back and escape when you get a chance. Nobody will be paying attention to you when there¡¯s that many people around,¡± Xu San replied.

    Ling Que had no desire to answer Xu San. This person had barely fought in any battles during the invasion, and he had never witnessed arge-scale battle before.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was in his room. He lifted his head and caused his die to appear. Then, he tapped it, and the die slowly spun before finallynding on Timestop.

    Since he was now in the Timestop Space, he would definitely be able to roll Enhance eventually. Additionally, Lu Yin was not anxious in the least since he was quite wealthy at the moment. If not for the fact that he was concerned about bing overwhelmed with loneliness, he would have remained within the Timestop Space forever.

    He had technically cultivated for ten years in total, but that time would be much longer if he included all of the time that he had spent in the Timestop space. That would push his cultivation time to around thirteen or fourteen years.

    Within the Timestop Space, he was able to roll his die every ten days, and after spending thirty days in the space, Lu Yin finally rolled Enhance.

    He ced the semi-Lifesource token on the upper light screen and started with tossing out ten thousand star essence. The semi-Lifesource token immediately fell through to the nextyer. The token¡¯s color had deepened, and its texture had somewhat changed as well. It had only cost Lu Yin about a thousand star essence to upgrade it once.

    The material had be higher quality, and it was now about the same quality level as the flesh of an Astral Beast.

    It was time for Lu Yin to test out the upgraded token, but he didn¡¯t want to waste this Enhance. Unfortunately, he did not have anything else that was worth upgrading. Oh, right, there was the Skyze Stone.

    Lu Yin threw the stone onto the top light screen, but then he wondered if he could even upgrade this stone. After all, it was originally the source of strength of the Skyze Dojo¡¯s fire dragon.

    The pile of star essence on the topyer disappeared, which indicated that the Skyze Stone could indeed be upgraded. However, the stone did not move very much.

    Lu Yin thought about it, and then threw out more and more star essence onto the light screen. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand¡­

    As Lu Yin threw out more and more star essence, the stone gradually dropped through the two light screens. In the end, it was fully upgraded once, and the entire stone seemed to have been qualitatively changed. Lu Yin could even hear vague roarsing from the stone.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly as it had cost him 1.2 million star essence to upgrade the stone.

    However, this price was understandable, as that fire dragon had been extremely powerful. Its strength had beenparable to that of an Enlighter with a power level between 300,000 and 400,000. Thus, it was quite reasonable for an upgrade to cost more than one million star essence. Inparison, Lu Yin had spent 900,000 star essence to upgrade his former universal armor to the point where it could protect him from attacks of power levels of 400,000.

    However, it was still an exorbitant amount of money, and Lu Yin would not try upgrading the stone again unless he had several million star essence on him.

    Next, he took out the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and tried to upgrade it, but nothing happened.

    After that was the gemspring water. Lu Yin tested it and found that he could indeed upgrade it. Gemspring water was a lockbreaking tool that helped a Lockbreaker to see more clearly, so he continued to toss more star essence out to upgrade it.

    After fourteen full upgrades, the gemspring water hadpletely changed. Now, it looked more like an energy mixture than water. He had spent 560,000 star essence on it to bring it to such a level.

    Could he still use it? Lu Yin was not entirely certain, so he decided to try it on someone else sometime in the future.

    He still had 714,000 star essence remaining, which was a huge sumpared to what he had previously possessed. However, his heart bled whenever he recalled the mountains of star essence that he had left behind on the floating continent. If he had only had a few more seconds, he would have been able to double his wealth.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin reappeared in his room. Only a second had passed in the real world during his couple of weeks in the Timestop Space.

    To Starsibyl and the others, Lu Yin simply came out from his room after staying there for a while, and they did not suspect anything at all.

    ¡°Xu San, show me your token,¡± Lu Yin ordered. He had asked Xu San to bring Sixteen¡¯s token over earlier.

    Xu San took out the token.

    Lu Yin tried out his newly upgraded token, and some words suddenly appeared on the token in Xu San¡¯s hand. It was a single word: ¡°Hello.¡±

    Starsibyl and the others were stunned when they saw the writing.

    Xu San was shocked. ¡°Zhi- Sky Zhi has sent me an order.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked, but he stayed quiet. He had seeded.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes snapped towards Lu Yin.

    Ling Que also looked at Lu Yin. These two were not dumb.

    Only Xu San was still staring at his token in a daze. He felt like the token in his hand had started to heat up; Sky Zhi, Sky Zhi had said hello to him!

    She was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and even with Xu San¡¯s new status, it would be impossible for Xu San to meet with any of the Daosource Three Skies. He had never even imagined that one of them would greet him.

    Actually, he should have also noticed that something was off, as Lu Yin had randomly asked Xu San to take out the token beforehand. However, Xu San was far too excited with the thought that Sky Zhi might have greeted him, so he was unable to even consider any other possibility.

    Starsibyl stared at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I had some source material on hand, and I was able to incorporate it into the token. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re that lucky?¡± Ling Que did not believe Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took out the broken sword that he had received from a sourcebox on Hydrotink. ¡°Source material is actually softer than semi-source material, so it¡¯s really easy tobine with other materials.¡±

    Source material was something unique to the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, so nobody here could recognize it. Lu Yin could basically say anything that he wanted to about the substance.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered. She felt that she was more and more unable to understand Lu Yin, and it had even reached the point where she could no longer determine if he was telling the truth or not. This was a very strange feeling for her as she had always been able to easily determine whether or not people were lying just through her experience. However, she was unable to determine anything rted to Lu Yin, and she felt like he was obscured by a heavy mist.

    However, she was not able to prove that Lu Yin was lying, as it was impossible for him to tamper with an item that hade from the Daosource Three Skies. Still, it was too coincidental for his story to be true.

    Ling Que praised Lu Yin, ¡°Bro, you¡¯re great! Come on, say hi to Zhi Yi. Tell her that Brother Que is still missing one person for his cheerleading squad, and ask her if she¡¯s interested! We can negotiate thepensation.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll tell her before we leave.¡±

    Ling Que was stunned. ¡°I was just joking!¡±

    He did not want to be targeted by any of the Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡­

    Lightning asionally crashed down from the sky.

    Countless cultivators headed out in a specific direction as they moved across the sea. They were all a part of the team that was led by Sixteen. He was a Cruiser as well as a member of the Swifteyes n, which meant that his status was quite high. Thus, nobody dared to object to him leading a team.

    There were nearly 800,000 people in this team, but most of them were not even Explorers. However, there was also arge number of cultivators above the Explorer realm.

    The weather in the Cosmic Sea was very unpredictable, and aside from the asional lightning storms, spatial cracks would also sporadically open within the thunder region, which always startled the cultivators.

    Lu Yin stayed in the middle of the team as they headed to the southeast. This was the location where they would be fighting over a pole.

    The lightning in the sky rumbled and grew more intense the closer they drew to the pole, and massive lightning bolts shed across in the sky every once in a while, though at other times, it would be eerily quiet.

    Sixteen¡¯s expression was grim as he led his team.

    The cultivators immediately behind him were mostly from the Swifteyes n, and most of them were either Explorers or Cruisers.

    ¡°There¡¯s a reef up ahead that¡¯s peeking above the water. There might be some natives from the Fifth Maind hiding there, so be careful,¡± someone called out.

    The aforementioned reef suddenly exploded, followed by the other reefs along the beach. Each explosion had a power level that exceeded 100,000, and Fifth Maind cultivators suddenly appeared from the sea and the sky.

    However, they only attacked the outside members of the Sixth Maind¡¯s team, and nobody dared to target the inside of the crowd. It seemed that the ambushers¡¯ goal was to stall the Sixth Maind¡¯s assault team.

    Since the two sides were going to fight for the poles, some would be tasked with fighting for the pole while others would have to stall the enemy. This was actually the same strategy that the Sixth Maind had been nning on using.

    Zhi Yi had ounted for many different scenarios, and she had naturally assigned some people to act as a shield to block the Fifth Maind cultivators so that they would not waste any time.

    Furthermore, tens of thousands of cultivators had broken away from the team to check nearby areas, ensuring that the tens of thousands of cultivators who remained in the center of the assault team were left undisturbed.

    The whole conflict seemed to proceed in a very orderly fashion.

    Lu Yin was also impressed. The status of the Daosource Three Skies was truly high for them to control so many cultivators even from a distance.

    Ling Que eximed, ¡°If only there were so many people who would fight for me.¡± He then turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin ignored Ling Que and continued to observe the surrounding area.

    Ling Que then turned towards Starsibyl, but she also ignored him as she remained focused on what was happening around them.

    Feeling awkward, Ling Que raised a hand and patted the shoulder of a random cultivator who was in front of him. ¡°Brother, what do you think?¡±

    The cultivator gave Ling Que a strange look, but he nodded. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s eyes lit up. This person¡¯s attitude reminded him of the cultivator from the Sixth Maind who had died while talking to him. Could that event possibly happen once again? Ling Que¡¯s interest was piqued, and he immediately moved closer to the cultivator and started spouting nonsense about his aspirations, goals, dreams, and more. His continuous chatter left the cultivator in a daze.

    Meanwhile, the amount of lightning in the sky gradually increased, and it left the youths of both sides feeling increasingly anxious.

 Chapter 971: Cosmic Sect vs. Realmling

    <h4>Chapter 971: Cosmic Sect vs. Realmling</h4>

    Even more worrying, the lightning would asionally spread out, and it almost felt like it was toying with the cultivators. The lightning¡¯s strange behavior caused chills to crawl down many of the cultivators¡¯ spines as they were terrified that they might be suddenly smashed by the powerful lightning.

    Out of the nearly 800,000 cultivators in the assault team, hundreds of thousands of them had been assigned with the task of blocking off the Fifth Maind cultivators while the rest were to continue speeding towards the location of the pole.

    During the battle in this area of the Cosmic Sea, the Sixth Maind did not have any advantage when it came to numbers, and there were hundreds of thousands of people from the Fifth Maind working to hold back the Sixth Maind¡¯s teams. In fact, there were at least 200,000 cultivators directly fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces.

    The cultivators of the Fifth Maind were not a match for those of the Sixth Maind when it came to one-on-one battles, but a numerical advantage was still an advantage.

    When Lu Yin saw the scene of countless cultivators filling the sky, he was shocked. This was different from the astral battlefields that he was ustomed to, as it was an even crueler battlefield that reeked of blood.

    An astral battlefield also had millions or even tens of millions of participants, but most of those participants would be hidden within spacecraft. Once a spacecraft was destroyed, it was normal for tens of thousands of troops to die, though those people would be instantly vaporized, and their death would be hardly seen or noticed. However, the current battlefield in the Cosmic Sea was a true grindstone of blood and flesh, and it could be likened to the border wars.

    In some sense, this battlefield was not much different from the border warfront, as the two sides in this battle both held an irreconcble hatred for each other.

    The pole that they were fighting over were located at the center of three inds, and desperate battles had broken out on all three inds, involving millions of cultivators from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    ¡°Bro, we seem to agree on a lot of things. Leave me your name.¡± Ling Que kicked aside a cultivator from the Innerverse as he spoke to the Sixth Maind cultivator who he had chatted with earlier.

    That cultivator¡¯s face was currently twisted into an ugly expression, as this random encounter with Ling Que had made the man very sullen. The bastard had not stopped talking the entire journey, and he always seemed to talk about the same thing. Every conversation topic seemed to lead towards a certain direction, and it was always for the frustrated man tomit suicide. Where had Ling Que found the self-confidence that he could talk someone intomitting suicide?

    ¡°Bro, just say it, don¡¯t be embarrassed! Brother Ling knows that you need enlightenment. Actually¡­¡± Ling Que continued to spout off more rubbish.

    Lu Yin also felt awkward when he looked at the cultivator who Ling Que had targeted. The man¡¯s face was growing uglier by the minute, so Lu Yin went over and pulled Ling Que aside. ¡°Stop talking. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Ling Que was unhappy at being interrupted. ¡°Don¡¯t disturb us! Brother Ling is guiding him towards the pinnacle of human life.¡±

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°You aren¡¯t his match.¡±

    Ling Que was astonished, and he was just about to say something, but at that moment, the three inds suddenly trembled as a streak of lightning connected the sky and the earth. The pole had finally appeared.

    The inds were stained with blood, and countless people wailed while countless more were reduced to dust by the lightning.

    The death of millions was overwhelming, and at this time, all of the Sixth Maind cultivators released their imprints. At this moment, anyone who did not release an imprint would be considered an enemy, as this was a foolproof way for the Sixth Maind cultivators to differentiate themselves from their enemies.

    Lu Yin, Starsibyl, and Ling Que did not have any imprints, and despite having been constantly mingling with the Sixth Maind cultivators, they were instantly treated as enemies.

    That cultivator who Ling Que had been constantly annoying simrly did not release an imprint.

    The three youths were puzzled; could this person also be from the Fifth Maind?

    That person stared at Lu Yin¡¯s trio, and the determination to kill them appeared in his eyes.

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine; something was off. This person was actually able to make him feel threatened.

    At that moment, lightning erupted from the centers of all three inds, and more lightning flickered in the sky before sting down in response, causing the sky to turn dark.

    After that, countless bolts of lightning showered down at the centers of the inds, towards the pole that had appeared.

    The millions of youths who had been sent to fight over the pole revealed themselves, and a wave of unstoppable bloodlust flooded over the battlefield. The people who were closest to the pole at this moment were Sixteen¡¯s group and the Fifth Maind cultivators who were fighting against them.

    Sixteen had received an imprint from Ancestor Swifteyes, and with his strength as a Cruiser and the boost in power that he received from his bloodline, he was able to face off against two Fifth Maind Cruisers on his own without being pushed back. It should be known that there were quite a few experts on the Top 100 Rankings who were still Explorers, and aside from the elites from the Neoverse, almost all of the young Cruisers were at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings.

    One of the Cruisers who was fighting against Sixteen was Ke Nan, and his weapon was a long spear. The other Cruiser seemed to be someone from the Neoverse, and the two Cruisers had joined forces to hold Sixteen back.

    Sixteen was surrounded by Imprinter family disciples, and ordinary cultivators could notpare to these elites who had powerful bloodlines, battle techniques, arts, and imprints. Thus, those who were participating in this fight were mostly the disciples from the Innerverse¡¯s great powers, such as the Lingling n, the Dire Barbarian n, and a few people from Chaos Flowzone. Even so, even the most powerful of them were still suppressed by the youths from the Sixth Maind.

    If not for some experts from the Neoverse appearing, the youths of the Innerverse would not have been able to stop the Sixth Maind cultivators at all. Even if all the members of the Top 100 Rankings came out together, they still might not have been able to stop all the young experts from a single realm of the Sixth Maind. And at this time, more than one realm had sent their younger generation to take part in the battle.

    The Sixth Maind had too many Imprinters.

    At this time, a figure was tearing through the void, and palm prints filled the sky before striking their targets. All of the Sixth Maind cultivators within a hundred kilometers of him spat out blood and died. Even Sixteen was affected by this attack and was overwhelmed. He was forced to retreat as he did not dare to confront this attack head-on.

    ¡°Hua Xiao?¡± someone cried out.

    Hua Xiao was an expert who had been fighting in the Cosmic Sea¡¯s thunder region, and he had gathered enough contributions to earn the title of King. He was from the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect, and even Realmlings were cautious of his strength.

    In the distance, Lu Yin stared at the center of an ind and focused on the unrivaled Hua Xiao. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were fervent, as he could recognize that this person had just used the Cosmic Art. Hundreds of stars were revolving around Hua Xiao¡¯s body, though normal people could not see them. As a Cosmic Art user simted more stars, they would be able to see their opponents¡¯ attacks more clearly, and at a certain point, they might even be able to copy them.

    In the past, Lu Yin had copied quite a few battle techniques, and he had even used the Cosmic Art to steal the Skybeast w technique. If not for the Cosmic Art not being able to keep up with his absurd cultivation progress, it definitely would have be his primary method ofbat.

    Mister Mu had given Lu Yin the technique to cultivate the Cosmic Art to ny nine stars, but even Lu Yin¡¯s master did not have the more advanced parts of the cultivation art.

    At this moment, when Lu Yin saw Hua Xiao, he was finally able to see just how terrifying the technique could be when one simted hundreds of stars.

    The appearance of just Hua Xiao was enough to suppress all of the Sixth Maind cultivators here, and not even Sixteen dared to press forward. After Hua Xiao cleared the area in a dominating fashion, he then moved to take the pole.

    Suddenly, an angry shout shook the area, and a massive, angry mouth rose up. It grew without limit as it filled the sky before chomping down on Hua Xiao.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Taotie Nan Yanfei.¡±

    He then raised both of his arms as his two palms gently danced about before finally forming a phantom image that swatted at the sinister mouth that was closing in on Hua Xiao. ¡°Gentle Starpalm.¡±

    The fierce mouth looked like a terrifying creature had covered the sky of the entire ind, and everyone felt their scalps go numb as they were terrified of being swallowed by the enormous mouth. However, it was actually not a mouth, but rather a vortex.

    In the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s trio watched on in shock as the cultivator that Ling Que had been annoying was actually the person who had released the giant mouth. It had only taken him an instant to reveal his overwhelming strength.

    Starsibyl recognized the man at that moment. ¡°It¡¯s Nan Yanfei. Go!¡±

    Ling Que blinked, as he had clearly heard of Nan Yanfei. He was the Realmling of the Blood Homage Realm, which meant that he was one of the nine most powerful youths who were publicly recognized as being second only to the Daosource Three Skies within the entire Sixth Maind. And Ling Que had actually tried to convince Nan Yanfei intomitting suicide? If Ling Que had seeded, then he would have truly reached the peak of human life. What a pity.

    Lu Yin had not expected Nan Yanfei to be a part of their team. It had initially seemed like Lu Yin¡¯s assault team had been the bait to draw out the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces to allow the second team to act as the main force. However, the true roles had actually been reversed.

    At the center of the ind, Hua Xiao waved both of his hands through the air, causing the terrifying mouth to continuously shrink. The young man was not using a battle technique, as he was actually dissolving Nan Yanfei¡¯s star energy through a lockbreaking technique.

    Everyone in the Cosmic Sect was a Lockbreaker, and Hua Xiao was one of Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples, which meant that he was extremely gifted at lockbreaking. He had long since be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and it was only due to some unknown factor why he had not broken through to the Advanced realm, and it was not because he was holding himself back.

    He had the ability to dissolve even a Realmling¡¯s battle technique.

    Every Lockbreaker would develop their ownbat style, allowing them to dissolve their opponents¡¯ star energy and fight across realms. This was what made Lockbreakers formidable opponents, and the Cosmic Sect was the master of this fighting style.

    Even Nan Yanfei had never imagined that his battle techniques would be undone by a Lockbreaker. As his star energy was dissolved step by step, he was unable to disy his strength, no matter how powerful he was.

    The scene of Hua Xiao dissolving Nan Yanfei¡¯s battle technique boosted the Fifth Maind cultivators¡¯ morale in an indescribable manner. Even though a Realmling had appeared, it did not mean that the Fifth Maind had no ways of resisting.

    Regardless, the hearts of those from the Sixth Maind trembled. Realmlings were experts who were second only to the Daosource Three Skies. If not even a Realmling could withstand the opposing expert, who was not even one of the Ten Arbiters, then this battlefield was extremely dangerous.

    As one of the two people directly involved, Hua Xiao¡¯s mood was not rxed at this moment.

    Bolts of lightning streaked past him and illuminated his face.

    The lighting revealed an extremely solemn expression as Hua Xiao stared into the distance. He was looking across the battlefield and at Nan Yanfei¡¯s peaceful face. The Realmling did not look helpless even though his battle technique was being dissolved; instead, his eyes were filled with excitement and curiosity, as well as the desire to have a good fight with a worthy opponent.

    Realmlings would not be Realmling if they could be defeated that easily. They were existences who could rival the Ten Arbiters, and even though Hua Xiao was from the Neoverse, he was still wary of the Ten Arbiters. The strength of those ten freaks could not be estimated by their cultivation realms.

    The pole was at the center of the three inds, and Hua Xiao was extremely close to one of them. With him present, none of the Sixth Maind cultivators dared to make a move for the pole. However, Nan Yanfei was also an obstacle that Hua Xiao had to ovee before he could take the pole.

    Nan Yanfei¡¯s lips curled upwards, and he pulled out the leg of some massive, unknown creature from his cosmic ring. He then bit down on it and ate it as though it was delicious.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s brows rose, and he dashed towards a pole at that moment.

    Nan Yanfei casually waved a hand and tore through the void, reappearing not too far away from Hua Xiao. He chomped down again, biting off another mouthful of meat as he raised his right fist and punched out. One of Hua Xiao¡¯s hands flitted through the appear, and phantom images appeared that tried to iste the path of Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack. However, the phantom images were shattered by the force of the punch, and Hua Xiao was struck head on.

    ¡°I heard about the Cosmic Sect a long time ago.¡± Nan Yanfei had be excited, and he was licking his lips. Then, the skin on his fist hardened as robust barbs appeared on it. Hua Xiao felt a sting on his palm, and he immediately let go of the fist, but Nan Yanfei took advantage of that opportunity tosh out with another punch. This second attack was even fiercer than the first.

    Stars revolved around Hua Xiao¡¯s body, and he raised a palm that had stars revolving around it: Cosmic Palm.

    An intense rumbling caused the ind to shatter as the stars exploded. Then, Nan Yanfei was thrown back a hundred meters by the Cosmic Palm, and the ind itself was torn in two. The shockwaves from the colliding attacks swept out and pushed all of the nearby cultivators back until they were at least 10,000 meters away from the two youths. Some people were even injured by the explosion of the stars.

    Lu Yin watched fervently from a distance. A Cosmic Palm with hundreds of exploding stars was truly ferocious.

    After repelling Nan Yanfei, Hua Xiao did not hesitate to lift his right hand and prepare to use the Cosmic Palm again. Stars swiftly descended and exploded once more.

    Nan Yanfei snorted, and his body flickered before he vanished, attempting to evade the Cosmic Palm through speed.

    Lu Yin knew that the Realmling was about to suffer as soon as he dodged, as the Cosmic Art was the nemesis of speed.

 Chapter 972: Coordinating With Divination

    <h4>Chapter 972: Coordinating With Divination</h4>

    Nan Yanfei had clearly never fought against someone from the Cosmic Sect before. He moved incredibly fast, but in Hua Xiao¡¯s eyes, the Realmling was moving no differently than some ordinary cultivator, as Hua Xiao could even see the expression on Nan Yanfei¡¯s face.

    Bang bang bang!

    Hundreds of stars exploded as they formed a powerful palm thatnded squarely on Nan Yanfei¡¯s body, sending him flying once more. He groaned, and a trickle of fresh blood dripped out from the corner of his mouth.

    Millions of cultivators were involved in this chaotic battle on the ind, but they were all stunned by this turn of events. A powerful Realmling was actually being suppressed.

    Nan Yanfei was also stunned. He had previously heard that the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples were difficult to deal with, and his opponent was even one of the sect¡¯s true disciples as well as an expert who had received the title of King. Hua Xiao was truly powerful, and he was also a Hunter on top of all that. When he used the Cosmic Sect¡¯s battle techniques, even the Realmling was momentarily suppressed.

    However, Hua Xiao did not have afortable expression, as Nan Yanfei had not exposed his true strength yet. Hua Xiao refused to believe that his palm attack had caused any real damage to the Realmling.

    ¡°So is this how the Cosmic Sect fights? It seems like speed ispletely ineffective, which means that only absolute strength is left,¡± Nan Yanfeimented. After he spoke, his entire body began transforming, and barbs appeared all over him as his body grew in size. It looked as if he was actually bing a . Then, he charged towards Hua Xiao.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s heart trembled, and he ced his hands together to unleash another Cosmic Palm.

    Another bang filled the air as more stars exploded, but this time, the attack was not able to cause even the slightest bit of harm to Nan Yanfei. The barbs covering his body dampened the power of the Cosmic Palm, and with his unimpeded momentum, the Realmling then attacked Hua Xiao with a hand. This was the first time during this battle that Nan Yanfei had managed tond an attack on Hua Xiao, and the Cosmic Sect disciple was nearly crushed by it.

    A Taotie was a terrifying beast to begin with, and they were known for their ability to endlessly devour. The more such a creature ate, the more powerful it would be. It could be said that just one of Nan Yanfei¡¯s punches was enough to overpower Hua Xiao¡¯s Cosmic Palm.

    Hua Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was smashed under the ind. At the ce where his body struck the ind, the ground began to fracture in all directions.

    Nan Yanfei sneered. He then leaped over and charged down at Hua Xiao with a power that not even the void could endure. Beneath the ind, Hua Xiao¡¯s eyes went wide, and hundreds of stars emerged from his body before exploding.

    This time, the power of the exploding stars was several times greater than before, but the most terrifying detail of Hua Xiao¡¯s attack was that he had still managed to deftly control the power level and have it remain under 200,000. This showed that Hua Xiao had not been beaten to the point of losing his cool.

    The entire ind was shattered by this attack, and countless cultivators rose into the sky from the ind. Ling Que¡¯s breathing had grown sluggish, and he nearly choked on his own tongue. Spatial cracks had been scattered in all directions as far as the eye could see, and the constant rumble of thunder filled the sky.

    Ling Que stared at the battle taking ce in the distance and slowly returned to his senses. He was struck speechless by them, as he would not be able to withstand even a simple strike from either of the two youths fighting.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Hua Xiao was truly powerful, and ording to Lu Yin¡¯s estimates, the Cosmic Sect disciple had most likely simted more than 300 stars, which could be considered the pinnacle in a certain sense. When Hua Xiao¡¯s strength wasbined with his lockbreaking skills, he was able to rival the strength of a Realmling. However, his strength had not reached the extreme level where he could defeat Nan Yanfei. The simplest proof of this was that, from the very beginning of their fight, the Realming¡¯s eyes had revealed nothing but traces of excitement and surprise.

    Hua Xiao was not enough to make the Realmling even the slightest bit nervous.

    More than 300 stars exploded and forced Nan Yanfei back, but this attack also left Hua Xiao panting heavily, and even his fingers were trembling slightly.

    He had only recently managed to simte more than 300 stars, and he had not quite adapted to this improvement yet. Thus, hisst attack had been quite taxing on him as well.

    Hua Xiao had assumed that he would be able to injure Nan Yanfei, but it seemed as though Nan Yanfei had donned ayer of invincible armor¡ªhe was merely knocked back. He dashed forward once again, this time with his mouth wide open as he let out a ferocious roar. Space warped and lightning was swallowed as the Taotie¡¯s open mouth passed over millions of fighting cultivators. The beast was iparably fierce and looked absolutely terrifying.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s pupils shrank once again. He raised both arms, only for two more arms to appear this time, which was his innate gift. ¡°Gentle Starpalm.¡±

    He then fully used all four arms in a lockbreaking attempt to dissolve the Taotie image that Nan Yanfei had manifested. Hua Xiao¡¯s efforts had some effect, but nothing too obvious. Nan Yanfei was still moving about, and he threw a punch at Hua Xiao from a distance. Just the wind from this attack warped the void as it sted into Hua Xiao.

    Hua Xiao spat out another mouthful of blood as his Gentle Starpalm was interrupted. The Taotie image moved closer to him while devouring everything, and it was clear that it intended to swallow Hua Xiao as well.

    Quite a few Fifth Maind cultivators charged over, and some of them attacked the Taotie image while the others rushed to try to treat Hua Xiao¡¯s injuries.

    However, the people who had moved out were far toockingpared to Nan Yanfei, and they simply crumbled after a casual wave of the Realmling¡¯s hand. Even Ke Nan, who was ranked twentieth on the Top 100 Rankings, could not stop Nan Yanfei, and he was smacked so hard that even his spear broke from the one p.

    ¡°All of you, move aside,¡± Hua Xiao ordered. People who had not yet reached a certain level of strength would just be rushing to their deaths if they attempted to participate in a battle of this level. Nan Yanfei was not someone who could be stopped by mere numbers, and the Sixth Maind cultivators did not even try to stop anyone from joining the Realmling¡¯s fight, amply demonstrating their faith in the young powerhouse.

    The phantom image of the Taotie fell down, and Hua Xiao roared while directly facing the attack.

    The remnants of the ind quivered while the nearby sea boiled as waves rose to form a tsunami that raced off into the distance.

    Countless people looked at Hua Xiao, who had just forcefully withstood Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack. The young man¡¯s body was covered in blood, and he looked severely injured, as though his entire body had been beaten.

    Nan Yanfei approached the wounded youth with slow steps, his giant body carrying a terrible pressure with it. ¡°An expert with the title of King is indeed qualified to fight with me, but it¡¯s such a pity that you¡¯re not one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    He then raised his hand and clenched his fingers to form a fist, causing spatial cracks to radiate out from his hand. It was as if he had grabbed a hold of space itself, and was using it to crush Hua Xiao.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s pupils shrank as he carefully watched Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack. More than 300 stars revolved around the wounded youth¡¯s body as he attempted to fight back against the impending attack.

    At this moment, a cold light suddenly flickered in front of Nan Yanfei¡¯s eyes. A Que¡¯s Mighty sh had appeared in front of him. There was a bang, and sparks scattered everywhere. At the same time, far away from the Realmling, Ling Que felt his scalp go numb. His Que¡¯s Mighty sh had not been able to injure Nan Yanfei in the slightest.

    Nan Yanfei nced around and found Ling Que, and a cold, killing intent shed across the Realmling¡¯s eyes. He had put up with this person for a long time. ¡°You must want to die!¡±

    Ling Que opened his mouth. ¡°My bad, wrong person. I¡¯m actually in the same group as you.¡±

    Nan Yanfei suddenly turned around as if he had sensed something. Behind him, he saw Lu Yin appear with star energy already gathered above his palm. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    Nan Yanfei sneered and swatted out with the attack that he had initially wanted to use to eliminate Hua Xiao. He did not understand why these Cruiser realm ants dared to trade blows with him. The only ones who were qualified to fight against him were those who had received a title of King or Queen and the Ten Arbiters themselves. Maggots like these people did not even qualify to be looked at by him.

    However, when the First Sun shed with Nan Yanfei¡¯s palm, the Realmling¡¯s expression changed drastically. The attack that he had initially prepared to finish off Hua Xiao suddenly weakened, and right after that, the First Sun¡¯s intense heat exploded with an incredible strength as a powerful shockwave swept out. At that moment, Nan Yanfei could tell that even the void had been suppressed, and his organs were forced to endure the overwhelming power. From everyone else¡¯s perspective, something exploded before shockwaves radiated out in all directions from the point of impact as the void began to crack. Nan Yanfei had been sted away by the power of Lu Yin¡¯s First Sun.

    Nan Yanfei flew through the air with a look of disbelief on his face. Even during his intense battle against Hua Xiao, he had never revealed such an expression. However, the impact that he had received from Lu Yin¡¯s attack was just too impressive, even more so because Lu Yin was just a Cruiser.

    The Realmling had never imagined that a Cruiser would be able to fight against him, but Lu Yin had actually crushed Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin appeared in front of Nan Yanfei with extreme speed, and another palm descended. Nan Yanfei¡¯s eyes turned cold, and he forcibly restrained the person attacking him as he swept out with a leg. There was another enormous explosion since he had received an attack with One Hundred Stacks. When the stacks were added on to Lu Yin¡¯s already overwhelming physical might, the attack actually plowed through Nan Yanfei as if he were a punching bag, and he tumbled into the ocean.

    Countless onlookers were dumbfounded; where had such a fierce persone from? He was actually beating up Nan Yanfei!

    Hua Xiao was also stupefied. Since the members of the older generation had withdrawn from this particr battlefield, the Realmlings were essentially the pinnacle of strength here, and Nan Yanfei was one such Realmling. Even a true disciple of the Cosmic Sect like Hua Xiao himself was not a match for the Realmling, but this random person had suddenly appeared, and he was even able to suppress and beat up Nan Yanfei. Just who was this person? Had he altered his appearance?

    In truth, Lu Yin was not actually beating Nan Yanfei up; rather, Nan Yanfei had not even traded blows with Lu Yin. His attack had been blown apart by Lu Yin¡¯s Truesight, and then, he had been hit by an attack with the Oveying Stacks Path. The situation was actually quite simr to when the Realmling had been initially injured by Hua Xiao¡¯s Cosmic Palm at the beginning of the battle.

    More importantly, Nan Yanfei¡¯s Taotie bloodline had allowed his physical strength to rise an astronomical amount. The more he ate, the more his strength grew. He was very confident in his own strength, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength was so overwhelming that it was indescribable.

    Between his Truesight, the Oveying Stacks Path, and his physical strength, Lu Yin¡¯sbination of abilities had left Nan Yanfei unable to react in time. The Realmling¡¯s right leg had even been broken, and his body had fallen into the sea.

    When the icy water hit Nan Yanfei, it instantly cleared his head. After that, a boundless rage consumed him. He had actually been beaten silly by a Cruiser.

    With a whoosh, Nan Yanfei leaped out of the sea water, but Lu Yin appeared in front of the Realmling once again. This, he had raised a hand that had already been formed into a w. The Skybeast w mmed down onto Nan Yanfei as an ancient beast howl resounded from the void.

    Nan Yanfei easily tore through the Skybeast w, but he did not utter a single word as he did so. At this moment, his heart was filled with nothing but indignation and resentment. Hua Xiao was a Hunter who had received the title of King, which qualified him to fight with a Realmling. However, this neer was just a Cruiser, and if Nan Yanfei could not crush such a person, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to show his face anywhere in the Sixth Maind again!

    Nan Yanfei punched at Lu Yin with a fist that carried all of his wrath as he tried to vent his anger. This attack was even more ferocious than the punch that had injured Hua Xiao, and the power level of this attack had brushed against the limit of 200,000. This attack was not much weaker than the attacksunched by Enlighters whose power levels were between 300,000 and 400,000. This was because a Realmling¡¯s strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary Enlighter.

    Lu Yin stared nkly as Nan Yanfei¡¯s punch drew closer, but then, he suddenly tapped out with a finger at an empty region. Right after that, Hua Xiao suddenly appeared. Despite his battered appearance, he had swallowed a pill from the Cosmic Sect that had helped himrgely recover already. He used a Cosmic Palm to attack Nan Yanfei, and the Realmling was forced to evade. Coincidentally, he dodged towards where Lu Yin had tapped out with a finger.

    It was as if the trio had coordinated this maneuver countless times before, and the final result was Nan Yanfei being struck dead on by Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger. The finger pierced through Nan Yanfei¡¯s skin, and the attack knocked him out of the sky and into the sea for a second time.

    Untold numbers of people watching were stunned; Realmling Nan Yanfei was being overpowered.

    In the sky, Lu Yin and Hua Xiao exchanged nces before they both looked into the distance, where Starsibyl¡¯s eyes could be seen flickering about. Their coordinated attack had actually been guided along by her, as she had predicted Nan Yanfei¡¯s movements and calcted the ideal locations of various attacks for them.

    It had looked like Lu Yin had coordinated his attacks with Hua Xiao, but in reality, Starsibyl had also been a part of the equation, and the three youths had worked together to deal with Nan Yanfei.

    Under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, Lu Yin was even able to deal with Enlighters who normally had power levels of 300,000 to 400,000, and Nan Yanfei definitely had not reached that level of strength yet. However, a Realmling represented the peak of strength, and with everyone¡¯s power levels being limited to under 200,000, those Enlighters whose power levels were between 300,000 and 400,000 were not the most powerful opponents one could face.

    When their strengths were suppressed to simr levels, Enlighters were not necessarily able to match up against Realmlings. In this region of the universe, the strongest were the Realmlings, the Ten Arbiters, and the Daosource Three Skies.

    Lu Yin had to be even more cautious of a Realmling than powerful Enlighters with power levels of 300,000 to 400,000. All the Realmlings had obtained extremely powerful inheritances, making them very difficult to deal with as they all had numerous methods avable to them.

    Even after a long while, Nan Yanfei did not reappear.

    Lightning shed across the sky and illuminated the ind, and the light also highlighted the panicked faces of countless Sixth Maind cultivators.

 Chapter 973: You Guess

    <h4>Chapter 973: You Guess</h4>

    In the end, Hua Xiao could not hold himself back, and he looked at Lu Yin curiously. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡± He did not hide his identity, as there was no need to hide it. This time, he hade to the Innerverse as a result of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless.

    Lu Yin? Hua Xiao was puzzled, as he had not heard of this name before.

    To Hua Xiao, the only powers outside of the Neoverse that deserved his notice were powers such as the Daynight n, the Four Pirate Crews, and the strongest heirs to those powers. Even if Lu Yin had not been stuck in the Outerverse, his reputation as an unequalled Limiteer was not enough to reach Hua Xiao¡¯s ears.

    ¡°That girl should be Starsibyl,¡± Hua Xiaomented.

    Lu Yin nodded. He then directed his attention towards the bottom of the sea. Down there, he could see that Nan Yanfei¡¯s rune lines had not diminished in the slightest. The Realmling had endured two rounds of battle, but he had not actually been injured.

    ¡°How many Starsibyls does the Starsibyl Sect have?¡± Hua Xiao asked, but Lu Yin suddenly barked out, ¡°Iing!¡±

    Hua Xiao stared at the surface of the sea.

    Nan Yanfei appeared from the water and slowly rose into the sky, the fierce barbs covering his face giving him a chilling appearance. He gave Lu Yin a cold re. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Take a guess,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    Nan Yanfei squinted as he looked back and forth between Lu Yin and Hua Xiao. The Realmling shook out his arms and stretched his neck. ¡°Two Kings, nice.¡±

    He then pulled out a massive beast leg and began to gnaw on it.

    In the distance, Starsibyl¡¯s lips began to twitch.

    Lu Yin and Hua Xiao acted as one; one moved forward while the other fell back. Hua Xiao activated his Cosmic Art once again while Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes. Across from him, Nan Yanfei consumed the rest of the beast¡¯s leg in one bite. He then clenched a fist and punched at Hua Xiao, who instantly dodged the attack. In response, Lu Yin raised a palm, and a fiery First Sun zed into existence that suddenly appeared behind Hua Xiao and shed against Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack. The resulting shockwaves distorted the void before shattering it. The two sides were evenly matched.

    Nan Yanfei was stunned, as he had just experienced the same sensation as before; his attack had been weakened. At the same moment, Hua Xiao¡¯s palm shot out towards Nan Yanfei¡¯s back, and the Realmling retaliated with his own punch. Lu Yin seized this opportunity to advance while Hua Xiao once again evaded Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack. Then, Lu Yin¡¯s palm fell onto the Realmling¡¯s back. Even though an attack with One Hundred Stacks was unable to break apart Nan Yanfei¡¯s defense, it still rattled his internal organs and made him feel truly miserable. He screamed as he turned around to attack Lu Yin, only to be ambushed by Hua Xiao once again.

    Whoever Nan Yanfei targeted would withdraw, while the other would step forward to attack. With Hua Xiao¡¯s participation in the battle, trying to use speed against him was pointless, and Lu Yin was also fast enough to contest Nan Yanfei in terms of speed.

    The three youths fought for over twenty minutes, but even after all that time, Nan Yanfei still had not managed to harm either of his opponents in the slightest. Starsibyl was able to see through every single one of the Realmling¡¯s moves, and she calmly directed the two young men¡¯s actions without fail.

    Lu Yin fully experienced the thrill of coordinating with Starsibyl in battle at this moment, and it was entirely too enjoyable¡ªeven a Realmling could be toyed with.

    Starsibyl was even able to stall an Imprinter; clearly, it was not too difficult for her to see through a Realmling¡¯s moves.

    Nan Yanfei grew more and more sullen as the fight progressed. Although his Taotie bloodline empowered his defense and strength, he could do nothing but endure Lu Yin and Hua Xiao¡¯s attacks. The Realmling had not actually been injured, but suffering in such a stifling manner only caused his resentment to grow deeper, especially since he was being watched by millions of cultivators. Finally, he could no longer endure the humiliation, and his imprint appeared behind him. His imprint was an image of a kind old man who seemed to have tremendous vitality. The moment the image of the old person appeared, Nan Yanfei calmed down.

    Countless stared at Nan Yanfei¡¯s imprint, and the image of this old man caused all of the Sixth Maind cultivators to be excited. That old man was Bluedome Elder, an Empyrean Imprinter.

    Nan Yanfei¡¯s imprint appeared, but it also vanished very quickly.

    To the many people of the Sixth Maind, there was not much meaning in whether or not an imprint remained visible, as their mere existence was enough to bolster their strength. However, due to the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, many did not use their imprints since they were already suppressing their strength. Nan Yanfei was one of those people, as he was already lowering his strength, and nothing would really change even if he did manifest his imprint.

    Still, the appearance of his imprint helped him calm down a little, and he took several deep breaths as he readjusted himself. Nan Yanfei¡¯s gaze suddenly shifted to Starsibyl, and he fiercely charged towards her.

    The Realmling was no fool, and Starsibyl had been constantly helping his two opponents coordinate even though she hadn¡¯t said anything. Still, he could tell what was going on due to the remnant traces of star energy; it was just that he had not paid any attention to the star energy until this moment, as he had wanted to crush his opponents with absolute power. However, his thoughts had changed; as a Realmling of the Sixth Maind, if he could not be victorious in battle, then it would have a terrible impact on the current campaign.

    Starsibyl was not surprised to see Nan Yanfei moving against her, and she remained calm.

    Lu Yin and Hua Xiao hurriedly chased after Nan Yanfei.

    Nan Yanfei sneered at his pursuers. He then opened his mouth and released an angry roar. The phantom image of the Taotie reappeared, and it chomped down at Starsibyl.

    However, only an afterimage of Starsibyl could be found, as she had long since left.

    Nan Yanfei searched all around by tracking the trace of star energy he had sensed, and his eyes suddenly turned to look at the seabed, as that was where Starsibyl had hidden herself.

    Lu Yin and Hua Xiao arrived at this time, and they attacked Nan Yanfei together.

    The intense fight between these three youths was the deciding point of this battle.

    Starsibyl looked up from the seabed, but her attention was not wholly focused on Nan Yanfei. Instead, she was looking at Lu Yin. She still could not divine anything about this person; just what was it about him?

    There were millions of cultivators fighting and massacring each other in the ind¡¯s intense battle, but not a single person from the Sixth Maind dared to interfere with Nan Yanfei¡¯s battle. It would be useless even if they tried, as the aftershocks from the battle between the three youths were enough to prevent anyone else from drawing close.

    A short distance away from the fierce conflict, at the center of the ind, blood flowed across the ground, forming rivers that swam around the pole. Since neither Hua Xiao nor Nan Yanfei were around, Sixteen and some other elite Sixth Maind cultivators had be the main assault team trying to seize the pole, and they had be embroiled in a battle of their own. A shockwave swept at them from a distance, and it threw Sixteen and the others away.

    Lu Yin suddenly dashed through the area and grabbed at the pole that was about as tall as a person. In the distance, Sixteen¡¯s eyes went wide; was this fellow actually someone from the Fifth Maind? At that moment, many thoughts flitted through Sixteen¡¯s head, most of them about Xu San. Could he actually be a spy who had been nted within the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces by the Fifth Maind?

    However, right after that thought, Sixteen remembered that he was the one who had led these three youths to this battlefield. Even though he had acted under Xu San¡¯s orders, Sixteen would not be able to shirk from his responsibilities. The truth was that Sixteen had practically weed any and all positive feedback from Xu San after ttering him. With how Sixteen had supported Xu San, once Xu San married He Xiang, even though Sixteen would not inherit the position of patriarch, with the support of Xu San and He Xiang, Sixteen would likely be one of the n¡¯s leaders.

    Numerous thoughts spun through Sixteen¡¯s head at that moment, but he ultimately decided not to say anything. As long as he could be one of the leaders of the n, he did not care if Xu San was a spy from the Fifth Maind or not.

    Millions of cultivators from the Sixth Maind attacked Lu Yin, and he detonated a First Sun, causing terrifying shockwaves to sweep out and tear through the bodies of quite a few enemy cultivators. Nobody was able to get anywhere near him.

    As soon as Lu Yin seized the pole, the lightning began to target him, bolts raining down from the sky. Luckily, there were not that many lightning bolts, and what did strike him was unable to cause him much harm.

    Nan Yanfei shot over from the distance and attacked Lu Yin. ¡°Hand it over!¡±

    Lu Yin seemed to be frightened by the Realmling¡¯s rush, and he tossed the pole over to Nan Yanfei, who was astonished at Lu Yin¡¯s response. When Nan Yanfei grabbed a hold of the pole, Hua Xiao pped out with both palms, unleashing a Cosmic Palm, and at the same time, Lu Yin also attacked with a strike containing both One Hundred Stacks and his eight lined battle force.

    A sinister look appeared on Nan Yanfei¡¯s face, and he turned around to defend against the two attacks. There was a thump as the Realmling was sent flying, and he even spat out a mouthful of blood as he soared through the sky. However, he intended to borrow the force of these two attacks to make his escape, as the Sixth Maind would be victorious here as long as they held the pole.

    After fighting for so long, Nan Yanfei had finally seen the light¡ªit would be too difficult for him to beat these three people. Additionally, more and more Fifth Maind cultivators would start showing up the longer the battle dragged out, and it would be very troublesome if any of the Ten Arbiters arrived.

    Nan Yanfei forcibly endured an attack from the two of them, and cracks appeared on his skin once more as fresh blood flowed out. However, he used the momentum of this attack to cover a great distance.

    He believed that he had gained control of the pole, but Lu Yin waved his hand, causing the pole to vanish and reappear in Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    In the distance, Nan Yanfei quickly stopped himself and turned around. He looked at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. ¡°Secret¡­ technique¡­¡±

    Lu Yin held the pole aloft and arrogantly stood tall within the void. ¡°You can¡¯t take the pole away, and you can¡¯t leave either.¡±

    He then threw the pole towards the bottom of the sea, passing it over to Starsibyl. Then, he and Hua Xiao charged forward in unison.

    Lu Yin had deliberately given Nan Yanfei the pole earlier as he had been betting that Nan Yanfei would allow their attacks tond on him for a chance to escape with the pole. This had been all a part of Lu Yin¡¯s n, and if not for the Yu Secret Art, the pole would have truly been stolen away by Nan Yanfei. However, with the Yu Secret Art, Lu Yin waspletely unruffled.

    Nan Yanfei had endured their attacks and been injured for nothing; the pole had been lost in the end.

    Nan Yanfei¡¯s expression turned fierce, and he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Lu Yin tapped out with a single finger, and beside him, Hua Xiao raised a palm that had 999 stars revolving around it to form a Cosmic Palm. The two were joining forces once more.

    Blood dripped down from Nan Yanfei¡¯s lips, as he had endured a simultaneous attack from the two of them. Even if his defense was tougher, at this moment, he could no longer withstand another beating since his disadvantage had grownrger andrger as the fight went on. His presence in the assault team had been a secret, so there were no other experts present to support him.

    He had been confident in grabbing the pole on this battlefield, but who could have expected that Lu Yin and Starsibyl would appear out of nowhere.

    Without any support, Nan Yanfei knew that he would not be able to beat these two youths who were working together. How revolting! Nan Yanfei turned to look up at the sky; without the suppression of this cosmic phenomenon, how could those two possibly match up against him?

    He turned to make his escape despite his unwillingness to ept this oue. He had failed to grab this pole, which meant that he needed to find Zhi Yi ande up with another means. The thunder region could not be lost.

    As they watched Nan Yanfei leave, Lu Yin and Hua Xiao simultaneously heaved sighs of relief.

    The two had coordinated with each other through Starsibyl¡¯s guidance and defeated Nan Yanfei, but this was also due to the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon restricting Nan Yanfei from disying his full strength. Otherwise, if the Realmling had been able to unleash his full power, the three youths might not have been able to do anything, not even with the full support of Starsibyl.

    Hua Xiao¡¯s face turned pale, as he felt that he had been too arrogant just now. At the moment, he really could not contest a Realmling, and Ten Arbiters were no different. He was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples, but he was merely the third ranked disciple. Perhaps the second disciple would be capable of fighting against a Realmling.

    Beside him, Lu Yin averted his gaze and looked over at Hua Xiao with passionate eyes. Lu Yin had desired the Cosmic Art for so long, and the person right next to him was someone from the Cosmic Sect.

    Hua Xiao sensed Lu Yin¡¯s emotions and felt a little awkward. ¡°May I ask where Brother Lu is from?¡±

    He was very curious about Lu Yin. The Sixth Maind had invaded and waged war against them for more than five years, and if this person was someone from the Innerverse, then there was no way he would be unknown. If Lu Yin was someone from the Neoverse like Hua Xiao, then he would also be aware of him. This person was so young and was merely a Cruiser who hadpleted five cultivation cycles. However, he was strong enough to rival Hua Xiao himself, so it was impossible for him to be some nobody.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m rather embarrassed, but I¡¯m from the Outerverse.¡±

    Hua Xiao was surprised. ¡°The Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Hua Xiao felt a bit strange. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Outerverse blocked off? How did Brother Lu get here?¡±

    Lu Yin then shared the story of how Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless had torn through the Astral River, which shocked Hua Xiao. He could imagine how bitter the battle in the Outerverse had been, as two Cosmic Imprinters would have been able to unleash their full strength. Despite that, however, the Outerverse had managed to drive the invaders back.

    In Hua Xiao¡¯s heart, the Outerverse was a savage wastnd, and there were not many experts in that ce. He had never imagined that there would be a powerhouse who could resist Cosmic Imprinters there, not to mention a freakish genius like Lu Yin. This new informationpletely transformed Hua Xiao¡¯s impression of the Outerverse.

 Chapter 974: Invincible Sky Zhi

    <h4>Chapter 974: Invincible Sky Zhi</h4>

    Meanwhile, Starsibyl quickly grabbed the pole and flew up to the surface of the sea. As soon as she did so, the lightning in the sky converged and began raining down upon her.

    Starsibyl¡¯s figure shed as the lightning sted into the sea, the electricity traveling through the seawater and towards the ind where millions of people were fighting. People on both sides were affected by the lightning, and they wailed incessantly.

    Nan Yanfei had left after being defeated, and Sixteen and the others simrly had no desire to continue fighting. Thus, the Sixth Maind retreated.

    However, it was not that easy to retreat, as the Fifth Maind cultivators persistently chased after the fleeingbatants. Hua Xiao also moved out, and a Cosmic Palm with 999 stars exploded, clearing out all of the Sixth Maind cultivators within a hundred kilometer radius.

    Lu Yin¡¯s trio did not chase after the Sixth Maind cultivators. Instead, Lu Yin took out the Lifesource token that he had upgraded from the semi-Lifesource token. With this, he was able to issue orders to the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces.

    It was finally time to put it to use.

    The thunder region was very extensive, and its poles were scattered throughout five different locations¡ªnamely, south, southeast, west, north, and northwest. The five poles had two orientations: attractive or repulsive, and they had been ced in a careful arrangement that caused the lightning in the thunder region to remain trapped in the sky, preventing it from falling down. With the poles, this region had be habitable.

    The pole in Starsibyl¡¯s hands was the one that had been in the northeast region.

    The pole in the south simrly had countless cultivators fighting for it, and cultivators from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds frequently ran into each other near the pole. However, none of the Ten Arbiters appeared in this southern battlefield.

    Rather, Zhi Yi hade to this location, and her eyes swept across the entire battlefield. She saw a person wielding a ck de wreaking havoc across the battlefield. The de was unstoppable no matter how many Sixth Maind cultivators it faced, as they were all easily torn apart by the de.

    She also saw a man looking down upon the battlefield from high above who sent out multiple palm imprints. He was so powerful that even the heirs of World Imprinter families found it hard to contend with him.

    Finally, she saw a man ying a flute, the sound of which caused countless Sixth Maind cultivators to wail in agony. It was as if they were listening to the music of the underworld.

    Even though none of the Ten Arbiters had appeared on the southern battlefield, each of these three people were capable of battling against a Realmling, and all of them had the strength of a King titleholder.

    This was the situation at the southern battlefield.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s situation was very odd. When the Neoverse¡¯s experts joined the rest of the forces fighting against the invaders, the number of top experts on the defenders¡¯ side were no less than what the Sixth Maind could mobilize. The power of some of the Fifth Maind¡¯s youths even came infinitely close to the Realmlings¡¯, which was another reason why one of the Daosource Three Skies had appeared on the battlefield.

    Zhi Yi observed the three people with the strength of King titleholders as they massacred Sixth Maind cultivators. She then snorted and stepped forward, instantly appearing in front of the man ying the long flute. She then raised her hand and grabbed at the instrument.

    The young man squinted, and the music he was ying suddenly changed. It no longer covered the battlefield, and the melody instead converged within an area of only a few meters in radius. As a result, the power of the music rose multiple times. However, a formless barrier appeared around Zhi Yi¡¯s body; she waspletely unaffected by the sound, and the hand that she had stretched out did not slow down in the slightest.

    The man was stunned, and he quickly tried to move back and escape. However, he was only able to take a single step back when Zhi Yi¡¯s hand grabbed a hold of his flute, and it snapped apart with a cracking sound.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The man was shocked.

    Zhi Yi looked at him with cold eyes. ¡°You¡¯re Tai Yuanjun, second in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Top 100 Rankings. You are quite powerful.¡±

    She then exerted some more strength through her right hand, causing the flute topletely shatter apart. Tai Yuanjun¡¯s figure flickered as he tried to escape, but Zhi Yi followed him like a shadow, and she was able to move even faster than Tai Yuanjun. She then raised a tender, white hand and pressed it downwards.

    Tai Yuanjun gritted his teeth as a storm of emotions raged in his heart. Ever since he had first risen to fame, this was his first time ever fighting such a depressing battle. He was second on the Top 100 Rankings and yet he was being trashed like a child right now. At that moment, the ck de shot through the void and sliced at Zhi Yi.

    Zhi Yi paid it no mind, and continued to press her hand down at Tai Yuanjun, allowing the ck de to firmlynd on her barrier of light. The collision split the void apart, creating a spatial fissure that extended towards the horizon. Then, shockwaves spread out from the fissure and split the entire sea in two. Millions of cultivators on the battlefield were dumbfounded by the sight, and countless had been sliced apart by this attack.

    However, this terrifying de attack had not harmed a single hair on Zhi Yi¡¯s head since it could not even affect the barrier protecting her.

    Tai Yuanjun stepped to the side, and there was a thumping sound as he mmed his shoulder into Zhi Yi¡¯s palm, but his right arm was instantly shattered by the sh, and he was sent plummeting down into the sea.

    Zhi Yi looked over and casually waved a hand, causing a formless gust of air to sweep out and force the ck de back. After the de flew for a kilometer, it transformed into a humanoid shape. The de had be a man with dead eyes. He was five meters tall, and he seemed to bepletely devoid of all emotions as he stood there high in the sky. Shockingly, he had no signs of life¡ªhe had no expression, was not breathing, and did not even have a heartbeat.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The Fifth Maind¡¯s Burial Garden.¡±

    Behind her, the man who had been raining down palm attacks from the sky suddenly appeared and swatted at her. ¡°Cosmic Palm.¡±

    This man was Mu Ziying, and he was another true disciple of the Cosmic Sect, and he had been titled as Marquis Ying by the Champions'' Stage. The reason why he had not been given the title of King was not because his strength was inferior to Hua Xiao; rather, it was because he had never had the opportunity to participate in a battle where he could aplish something worthy of such a title. He was the second true disciple, and his strength indeed surpassed Hua Xiao¡¯s.

    This one battlefield had Tai Yuanjun, who ranked second on the Top 100 Rankings, an expert from Burial Garden, and the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple. This was enough power to even oppose a Realmling, and this was the force that the Fifth Maind had sent out to fight against the Sixth Maind on the southern battlefield. However, the Fifth Maind had been unable to predict that this battlefield would also have one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    The Daosource Three Skies were even above the Realmlings; they were the future skies of the Sixth Maind, and the sky was unrivaled.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s Cosmic Palm struck true, but Zhi Yi did not even budge. Regardless of if she was facing Tai Yuanjun or the de from the Burial Garden expert, she had never dodged anything. Even at this moment, against a Cosmic Palm, she still did not evade the attack. Although these three youths had the strength to fight against a Realmling, they were not strong enough for her to evade their attacks.

    The Cosmic Palm pped against the formless barrier surrounding Zhi Yi¡¯s body, and this attack was simrly ineffective, though Mu Ziying was flung 100 meters away.

    Tai Yuanjun rose up from the sea floor, panting heavily. He, the five meter tall man from Burial Garden, and Mu Ziying all moved to surround Zhi Yi. It looked as if the three young men held the advantage, but they were all fully aware that this woman was like an impassable mountain. They could not ovee her.

    There was a bitter look on Tai Yuanjun¡¯s face; who could have predicted that one of the Daosource Three Skies would appear here? The southern battlefield was actually the most important, which meant that the Ten Arbiters were most likely to appear here. And since the Ten Arbiters were absent, there was no reason for one of the Daosource Three Skies to reveal themselves. In their minds, Zhi Yi should have continued on to another battlefield. However, it seemed that this woman was not afraid of the Ten Arbiters at all, and Tai Yuanjun was rendered speechless by this confidence; this member of the Daosource Three Skies was too arrogant, but unfortunately, they were the ones with the bad luck to face off against such overwhelming confidence.

    On the western battlefield, millions of cultivators ughtered each other. Even though the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces greatly outnumbered what the Sixth Maind had sent out, the defenders were still being suppressed. When considering cultivators within the same realm, even two Fifth Maind cultivators might not be able topare to one of their peers from the Sixth Maind.

    On this battlefield, the most eye-grabbing battle was naturally the one between the Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight and the Realmling, Shang Rong.

    Ling Gong and Shang Rong were sworn enemies, as they had already fought against each other multiple times in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. And now, the two of them had met again in the Cosmic Sea.

    Shang Rong was in agony, as every time he fought against White Knight, he was forced to ept that he was not their match. White Knight fought more vigorously each time, and it had reached the point where people had begun spreading rumors that Shang Rong was not White Knight¡¯s match.

    However, those rumors were actually true, and Shang Rong could not deny them; he could not beat White Knight. The Fifth Maind had actually given birth to the freaks that were the Ten Arbiters, and even the innate suppression that the Fifth Maind cultivators suffered against they of the Sixth Maind was not enough to suppress these freaks¡¯ strength. Even with the suppressed power level effect of the cosmic phenomenon, Shang Rong still could not match up to White Knight. They simply were not on the same level.

    Zhi Yi was aware of this discrepancy. Thus, for the battle between White Knight and Shang Rong, she had sent another person: Crimson Servant. She intended for Shang Rong to challenge White Knight. Then, at a crucial point, Shang Rong would cooperate with Crimson Servant to defeat White Knight, allowing them to seize the pole that the Fifth Maind had believed to be the most secure.

    Millions of cultivators were dying all across the battlefield, and at this time, Crimson Servant was looking at a white sun that was shing with a flying castle. He believed that now was the right time, so he prepared to take action and help Shang Rong take away the pole that was in this area.

    There were no Arbiters or Realmlings on the northern battlefield, and it seemed rtively peacefulpared to the other ones. However, Di Luo, Autumnfrost Qing, and other heirs of Cosmic Imprinter families were present, as well as disciples and heirs from World Imprinter families. In fact, almost all of the elites from the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s younger generation hade to this battlefield. This location held the mostbatants out of all five battlefields, but the Fifth Maind was being slowly routed here, and no one could change the momentum of the battle.

    Inplete contrast to the northern battlefield, the northeastern battlefield saw all of the powerful cultivators from the Sixth Maind being killed, as one of the Ten Arbiters was present. This person had done so with his eyes closed, as if he could not open them. However, he had essentially be the master of this battlefield.

    ording to Zhi Yi¡¯s ns, she was guaranteed to seize the pole from the southern battlefield. In the southeastern battlefield, Nan Yanfei had hidden himself among the Sixth Maind¡¯s primary force, so they were practically guaranteed to win that pole as well. With Shang Rong and Crimson Servant working together, they were certain to defeat White Knight and take away that pole as well. Thus, even if the Fifth Maind managed to win the final two poles, it would still be useless; the Sixth Maind would have already won.

    Even if Nan Yanfei bumped into one of the Ten Arbiters, at least one of the other two battlefields would achieve victory. Thus, they would still obtain three poles.

    ording to Zhi Yi¡¯s predictions, only two of the Ten Arbiters would appear on these battlefields, and White Knight, who everyone was already aware of, would not be the only Arbiter.

    This was Zhi Yi¡¯s dependable strategy.

    If things went ording to her ns, then the Sixth Maind would be victorious no matter the circumstance and take control of the thunder region. However, mishaps had already urred.

    On the western battlefield, the fight between White Knight and Shang Rong had reached a frenzy. The two had already fought against each other many times before, and they were very familiar with each other to the point where they could even guess what the other was plotting through the intensity of their movements.

    After White Knight and Shang Rong fought for a while, White Knight¡¯s heart sank. Something was different with Shang Rong today, as he was much too rxed. It was as if his victory had already been secured. He was not her match, so this meant that other experts would definitely intervene at some point.

    In the distance, Crimson Servant was ready to leap out at any moment, but at that moment, his semi-Lifesource token quivered, and a line of text appeared: ¡°Reinforce the northwestern battlefield.¡±

    Crimson Servant was stumped. He stared at the semi-Lifesource token; the northwestern battlefield? Had one of the Ten Arbiters appeared there? Then what about the current battlefield? Crimson Servant was confused, but after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to obey Zhi Yi¡¯s orders without question. He decisively abandoned the western battlefield and moved towards the northwestern battlefield at his top speed.

    Although the Cosmic Sea¡¯s thunder region was massive, with Crimson Servant¡¯s speed, it did not take him long to arrive at the northwestern battlefield.

    Even though Crimson Servant had left the western battlefield, Shang Rong did not know about his movements. Thus, he was still waiting for Crimson Servant to appear. However, there was no movement no matter how long Shang Rong waited. He eventually became anxious, and White Knight began to attack more ruthlessly, which indicated that the knight might have guessed what had happened. Shang Rong was left with no choice, and he started maneuvering their fight over towards where Crimson Servant had been hiding.

    Shang Rong intended to change the battlefield, but this forced change simply confirmed White Knight¡¯s feeling that something was amiss, and she responded byunching even fiercer attacks. The more ferocious she became, the more frustrated Shang Rong felt. Eventually, he reached the point where he split his attention between fighting against White Knight and searching for Crimson Servant. As a result, Shang Rong was struck by one of White Knight¡¯s attacks, and the Realmling plummeted into the sea.

    On the southern battlefield, Tai Yuanjun, the five meter tall man from Burial Garden, and Mu Ziying were both defeated. Their cooperation was not enough to breach Zhi Yi¡¯s defense, and she ultimately decided to simply eliminate the three. At that moment, her Lifesource token trembled, and she looked at it in amazement as a row of text appeared: ¡°Reinforce the northern battlefield.¡±

    Zhi Yi was dumbfounded; just what was going on?

 Chapter 975: War Of Words

    <h4>Chapter 975: War Of Words</h4>

    Each of the Daosource Three Skies had a token made from source material, and these tokens were how Zhi Yi was directing this battle. She was able to use her Lifesource token to send orders to the rest of the semi-Lifesource tokens that were in the thunder region¡¯s battlefield.

    These tokens were merely something that she had put in ce as a backup n since she had already issued all the relevant orders for their entire battle strategy. If nothing went wrong, there should have been no need to issue any further orders, so what was happening? Also, she had not issued any orders, so where had this ordere from? Semi-Lifesource tokens could not send any orders to Zhi Yi¡¯s token.

    Only Lifesource tokens could be used to send orders to her, so could there be someone else from the Daosource Sect nearby? But who would send her orders? She was one of the Daosource Three Skies, which meant that her status wasparable to a sect elder.

    At the same time, on the northern battlefield, Di Luo, Autumnfrost Qing, and the others were very excited since they had managed to defeat their opponents. They had gained control of the pole, and they were hoping that their contributions would allow them to meet Zhi Yi.

    However, they all received an order through their semi-Lifesource tokens at that moment: Reinforce the southern battlefield.

    Di Luo and Autumnfrost Qing were both stunned¡ªthe southern battlefield? They were to reinforce the southern battlefield? What did this mean?

    ¡°The northern battlefield is the vanguard of the battle, so did more than one of the Ten Arbiters show up?¡± Di Luo guessed.

    Autumnfrost Qing coldly replied, ¡°They still shouldn¡¯t ask us to act as reinforcements. We¡¯ve already acquired a pole.¡±

    Di Luo was torn. ¡°These are Sky Zhi¡¯s orders.¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing frowned.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already spent so much effort trying to meet with Sky Zhi. If we don¡¯t follow her orders, then fighting for these poles will have been meaningless,¡± Di Luo said.

    Autumnfrost Qing replied, ¡°What should we do with the pole if we¡¯re to head to the southern battlefield? Take it with us?¡±

    Di Luo shook his head. ¡°No. If we¡¯re being asked to send reinforcements, then that means that the situation on the southern battlefield must be pretty bad. We might lose the pole if we take it with us, so just leave it here. We already hold a great advantage here, and these people from the Fifth Maind won¡¯t be able to take it back.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Autumnfrost Qing said helplessly.

    A whileter, Di Luo and Autumnfrost Qing led a number of Bloodburn Realm experts towards the south.

    ¡­

    To the northeast, Sixteen stared at the order that had just been delivered to his semi-Lifesource token in confusion. He had received orders to reinforce the western battlefield. However, that battlefield was quite far away, and he himself had already been defeated and was awaiting reinforcements.

    Meanwhile, Nan Yanfei had just escaped from a battlefield, but he also received an order, telling him to reinforce the southeastern battlefield. When he read it, he almost wanted to vomit blood as he had just finished escaping from the northeastern battlefield. There was no way he would go back there.

    Lu Yin continued to issue orders through his Lifesource token without any concern of who was receiving those orders. His only goal was to disrupt Zhi Yi¡¯s strategy.

    All of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind who had been given a semi-Lifesource token received some order from Lu Yin.

    On the southern battlefield, Zhi Yi paused to issue an order of her own: ¡°Everyone, hold your positions.¡±

    Crimson Servant was currently making his way to the northwest battlefield, but he stopped when he saw the new order. ¡°Hold your positions? What does that mean?¡±

    Di Luo, Nan Yanfei, Sixteen, and everyone else who had a semi-Lifesource token was simrly confused.

    Lu Yin saw Zhi Yi¡¯s order and smirked. He immediately sent out another order: ¡°Immediately continue moving to the locations you were given in yourst order.¡±

    When Zhi Yi saw this order, her expression grew cold. She then sent out another order: ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I¡¯m Sky Zhi. Who are you? How dare you randomly issue orders?¡±

    Zhi Yi was furious, as there was actually a person impersonating her! ¡°I¡¯m the real Sky Zhi! Who are you? How do you have a Lifesource token?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Sky Zhi! How dare you impersonate me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to die¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Everyone who had a semi-Lifesource token was left in a daze as they read the exchange taking ce through their tokens; just what was going on? Two Sky Zhis? Was this some kind of joke?

    Crimson Servant was simrly stunned. Just what was he supposed to do?

    Everyone from the Sixth Maind was taken aback, and even Shang Rong felt confused when he took a peek at his token. During that momentary distraction, he was injured by White Knight.

    ¡°Who are you? I, Zhi Yi, swear that I will punish you for impersonating me.¡±

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you ruin my orders! I, Zhi Yi, will kill you.¡±

    ¡­

    The text war continued on through the tokens. Itpletely took up all of Zhi Yi¡¯s focus, and Tai Yuanjun and the others snuck away while she was distracted.

    Nobody could understand Zhi Yi¡¯s feelings at this moment. She was talented and had been an excellent strategist from a young age. Eventually, her talent as a true child prodigy had been recognized by the Progenitor of Bloodlines, and she had eventually be one of the Daosource Three Skies. She was highly celebrated everywhere within the Sixth Maind, and nobody dared go against her orders. Even the other two Daosource Three Skies would typically give in to her due to her gender.

    She had never felt so wronged before! Her ns were being disrupted left and right by someone impersonating her. This was the first time she had ever experienced such a humiliation.

    ¡°I swear that I¡¯ll find you and kill you!¡± Zhi Yi was outraged.

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°You impostor! I swear that, aside from me, my boyfriend, Wu Taibai will also track you down and end you!¡±

    This message shocked the entire thunder region, and everyone stared at their tokens in shock at that moment. Her boyfriend, her boyfriend¡­ Wu Taibai was Zhi Yi¡¯s boyfriend?!

    Crimson Servant¡¯s face paled. How is that possible? How is that possible!

    At that moment, countless hearts were shattered.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed as her anger soared. This bastard¡­ she absolutely had to kill this bastard! ¡°Who are you?! I swear that I will find you even if I have to expend all of the Daosource Sect¡¯s resources!¡±

    Lu Yinughed and put his token away. When he looked up, he saw Starsibyl¡¯s inquisitive gaze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Starsibyl calmly turned around. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Zhi Yi was sopletely distracted by what was happening that she did not even chase down Tai Yuanjun and the others. Instead, she left the battlefield with the pole that she had secured. She did not actually care where her impersonator was hiding, and she simply moved on to a random battlefield¡ªshe was determined to find that bastard no matter what it took.

    Everyone else was still in shock over the messages that had appeared on their tokens. In particr, Crimson Servant was screaming like a maniac.

    Lu Yin had sent outpletely random orders just to be disruptive, as he waspletely unaware of what would happen after he sent out those orders. To him, anything was better than allowing the battle to go ording to Zhi Yi¡¯s n.

    The people from the Sixth Maind were still unable to determine which orders were authentic. Some, like Di Luo and Autumnfrost Qing, decided to remain where they were since they had already seized a pole, and they did not want to risk it by moving.

    In contrast, there were others like Crimson Servant who followed their new orders to reinforce the other battlefields. Actually, Crimson Servant was not so much as following his orders as he was trying to find the impostor so that he could prove Zhi Yi¡¯s innocence to everyone, including himself. Crimson Servant knew that there was no possibility of Wu Taibai having any sort of rtionship with Zhi Yi. However, when Crimson Servant thought of Wu Taibai and all the interactions he had ever had with Zhi Yi, the distraught man could not control his jealousy.

    Was there really nothing going on between the two? No, there could not be anything, and even if there was, Zhi Yi would never send out such a message admitting to it. However, what if she had been confessing? No, that was also impossible; Zhi Yi was not that sort of person. Crimson Servant had to find the impersonator and kill them. Only then would he be able to rify the rtionship between Zhi Yi and Wu Taibai and prove Zhi Yi¡¯s innocence.

    The battlefields and the poles had been entirely forgotten by Crimson Servant.

    Crimson Servant quickly arrived at the northern battlefield only to realize that Di Luo had already seized the pole, which meant that the impersonator was not on this battlefield. Crimson Servant then moved on towards the southeastern battlefield.

    On the western battlefield, Shang Rong was defeated, and White Knight took the pole away.

    Under normal circumstances, Shang Rong would not have been defeated so quickly, but he had been distracted by Crimson Servant¡¯s absence and the messages that he had seen on his token. And in an intense fight, that distraction had led to his loss.

    In another ce, Zhi Yi was making her way toward the northeast. She did not know where the impersonator was, but she also did not care. She would travel to all of the battlefields one by one and search for that person as she dragged the southern pole along with her. She had initially wanted to achieve victory through strategy, but after this incident, she could no longer wait. She had decided to personally fight for all of the poles. After all, she was strong enough to do so.

    The weather in the thunder region changed as soon as the poles were moved, as some of them attracted the lightning while others repelled it.

    The pole that Starsibyl had attracted lightning while Zhi Yi¡¯s pole repelled it.

    Moving these two types of polespletely changed the weather in the thunder region.

    The weather in the northern area also changed once Arbiter Unseen Light grabbed the pole there and started moving west. He had the same goal as Zhi Yi¡ªhe intended to seize all of the poles.

    His original destination had been the northern battlefield, but due to the changing weather in the north, the entire thunder region was changed. Without a better choice, Unseen Light nced towards the northeast and started heading towards that battlefield instead.

    The Ten Arbiters were ten invincible youths who were unafraid of anyone. They would not even avoid the Daosource Three Skies, not even if those three were right in front of an Arbiter.

    The thunder region covered arge area. Even if one disregarded the strange weather, it would still take a normal cultivator quite a long time to travel through the entire zone. However, to those on the level of the Daosource Three Skies, the Ten Arbiters, or the Realmlings, the region was not overlyrge. This was especially true for the infuriated Zhi Yi.

    The only thing she wanted to do at this moment was find the bastard who had impersonated her and skin them alive.

    A woman¡¯s intuition could be a scary thing. Instead of heading to the west or the north, she actually made her way to the northeastern region, which was precisely where Lu Yin was.

    Nan Yanfei had already escaped, and the ten thousand remaining cultivators from the Sixth Maind had also begun to retreat. On that battlefield, Hua Xiao was invincible, and nobody could stand against him.

    Lu Yin and the others all sighed in relief. Ling Que even suggested heading out to another area to acquire another pole to raise their contributions, as he hoped to obtain a title. His goal was to be titled a Marquis at the very least.

    Suddenly, Starsibyl¡¯s expression turned strange. ¡°Oh no, run!¡±

    Ling Que hesitated. ¡°Why?¡±

    Starsibyl turned to look to the west.

    Lu Yin also looked over, and he saw a cluster of rune lines speeding towards them. It was not an overlyrge number, and it looked equivalent to a power level of about 200,000. However, the speed at which that group was moving was insane. If a spatial tear became toorge, then it would easily exceed the power level limit of 200,000 unless one had exceptional control. That was precisely why those Imprinters had been able to catch up with Lu Yin¡¯s group when they had been fleeing from Grayweed Continent; Lu Yin¡¯s group had not dared to tear through space.

    However, at that moment, Lu Yin could see that not only were the approaching rune lines tearing through space, but the speed at which they were approaching also gave him goosebumps. A blink of an eyeter, the rune lines arrived as the distorted space rippled out as it was pushed away by the extreme speed.

 Chapter 976: Vitality Qi

    <h4>Chapter 976: Vitality Qi</h4>

    A woman appeared right in front of Lu Yin and the others. Her looks were rather ordinary, and they certainly were not breathtaking. Rather, her appearance was one that people would not tire of looking at. This was the woman who had caused Starsibyl¡¯s expression to change, and she was also who had made Lu Yin involuntarily grow wary.

    This woman was Zhi Yi, and she had rushed over to this battlefield at her fastest speed to seize the pole. When she arrived, she saw that hundreds of thousands of Sixth Maind cultivators had been reduced to a pathetic state. She simply nced over them before her gaze settled on Lu Yin¡¯s trio, or to be more urate, on Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl had used some strange methods to hide her original appearance, and the results were astounding. Most people would forget her after just one look. This was a very strange phenomena, but the more special it was, the more Zhi Yi focused on Starsibyl. In Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes, Starsibyl was the brightest light on the entire battlefield, and she was the person who needed to be focused on the most.

    The two girls were separated by an entire battlefield, but they still managed to exchange nces.

    Starsibyl had never revealed such an expression of panic before, as she had even been confident in being able to dy an Imprinter, and even the Realmling, Nan Yanfei had been within her expectations. However, at this moment, Starsibyl had a solemn expression on her face, and her eyes kept darting about as though she was trying to divine something.

    ¡°I¡¯m Zhi Yi,¡± the newly arrived woman calmly stated.

    Lu Yin and Ling Que¡¯s expressions changed; she was one of the Daosource Three Skies, Zhi Yi.

    Starsibyl involuntarily clenched a fist. Sure enough, only the Daosource Three Skies were able to give her such a sensation.

    Thick twines of lightning had gathered in the sky, and they suddenly struck towards the bottom of the sea.

    Zhi Yi looked over at the three youths. ¡°You people have already taken the pole. Where¡¯s Nan Yanfei?¡±

    Across from her, Ling Que softly asked, ¡°Do you guys think we¡¯ll be able to escape if we all run in different directions?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned as he looked at Zhi Yi, as he did not believe that this woman could beat him. With the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cosmic phenomenon suppressing everyone within this part of the universe, those who cultivated Truesight could be considered trial takers while all others were just props. Even the Daosource Three Skies should not be an exception to this.

    ¡°Why would one of the Daosource Three Skies take action personally?¡± Starsibyl spoke.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions here. Where did Nan Yanfei go?¡±

    As they spoke, Hua Xiao appeared behind the trio, and he instantly struck out. Stars appeared in his hand, and all of the hundreds of stars exploded in an attack that enveloped Zhi Yi.

    Zhi Yi frowned as a formless barrier surrounded her body andpletely blocked the Cosmic Palm. Hua Xiao waspletely overwhelmed, and his palm could not move the slightest bit forward.

    ¡°The Cosmic Sect. They are a very powerful sect, but unfortunately, their heirs are only at this level,¡± Zhi Yimented softly as she casually waved a hand. A visible barrier of air swept out, dispelled Hua Xiao¡¯s star energy, and then threw him a thousand meters away. His hand was flushed red and trembling incessantly. Although it had all taken ce in an instant, he had not even been able to block a casual wave from his opponent. The gust of air had not been formed by physical strength or star energy. Rather, it was something ineffable that could not be described or disobeyed.

    ¡°Attack,¡± Lu Yin growled before he leaped at Zhi Yi. Since one of the Daosource Three Skies had appeared, there was no reason for them to flee. With Zhi Yi¡¯s speed, they might not even be able to escape.

    Lu Yin did not actually want to confront one of the Daosource Three Skies head on. However, since the situation had already arrived, he could not avoid it.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s gaze swept over to Lu Yin, astonished. A five-cycle Cruiser?

    With a thump, Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck the strange barrier surrounding Zhi Yi¡¯s body as he unleashed a full One Hundred Stacks. However, that attack was also useless; just like Hua Xiao, Lu Yin¡¯s hand could not advance any further.

    Zhi Yi was surprised. ¡°The Oveying Stacks Path, the path that the Divine Fist Arbiter is adept at. It''s a pity that you are only capable of unleashing One Hundred Stacks. If you could use Two Hundred Stacks, then you would be enough for me to take another look.¡±

    She then waved her hand in the same manner as before, causing a gust of air to sweep out and st at Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin felt that his star energy was being suppressed, and his personal strength was also being suppressed for some indiscernible reason. But somehow, the gust of air did not have much of an effect on him. Lu Yin moved forward once again, this time with his star energy converging over his right hand. ¡°First Sun.¡±

    Zhi Yi was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re actually fine?¡±

    The First Sun exploded resplendently, its force mming into the strange barrier and causing an intense rumbling to shake the void and tear open spatial cracks. This was the strongest attack that Lu Yin was capable of unleashing with the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, but it still could not breach the barrier.

    The barrier seemed to be absolutely invincible.

    Hua Xiao revealed four arms as he attempted to use abination of his Gentle Starpalm and lockbreaking techniques on the barrier, but his efforts proved to be fruitless.

    In the distance, Starsibyl continued to watch the two youths¡¯ attempts, but she did not utter a single word. She had been able to direct them through divination during their battle against Nan Yanfei, and her instructions had allowed Lu Yin and Hua Xiao to maintain the upper hand from beginning to end, ultimately allowing them to beat Nan Yanfei in a sad manner. However, against Zhi Yi, Starsibyl could not speak up. No matter how she calcted or strategized, she could not find any way for the two youths to break through Zhi Yi¡¯s defense. That defensive barrier was truly invincible to their current forces.

    Zhi Yi no longer paid any attention to Starsibyl. Instead, she directed her entire focus towards Lu Yin. She calmly clenched her five fingers, causing another visible gust of air to form itself from the surrounding void that moved to entrap Lu Yin. As Zhi Yi clenched her fist, the formless air currents converged and trapped Lu Yin in their center.

    Lu Yin was astonished. He had been struck by this strange wind before, but it had barely caused any difficulties for him whatsoever. He then looked over at Zhi Yi in confusion; what was she trying to do? This air stream did not have any power whatsoever!

    Zhi Yi¡¯s expression changed, and the air that hade from the void simrly transformed. Still, no matter how it changed, it was not able to harm Lu Yin, who eventually became toozy to defend himself. Instead, he wanted to go all out in an attempt to break through Zhi Yi¡¯s strange barrier. He had not used Truesight yet. Since he was facing off against one of the Daosource Three Skies, he wanted to keep Truesight as a hidden trump to be used at the most crucial moment.

    ¡°What kind of person are you?¡± Zhi Yi asked as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin tapped out with a finger, and the Dream Finger struck the formless barrier, but this was also useless since his fingertip could not pass through it.

    Hua Xiao panted heavily, and he looked at Zhi Yi like she was a monster. What exactly had this woman cultivated that they couldn¡¯t even hit her? How could they fight such an opponent?

    ¡°Can you only defend?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you influenced by Vitality Qi? You aren¡¯t even suppressed. Just where are you from? You aren¡¯t from this Fifth Maind.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? I¡¯m from the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. No cultivator from the Fifth Maind can avoid being suppressed, but you arepletely unrestrained as you move around. You clearly are not suppressed at all, so just where are you from? Tell me!¡± Zhi Yi ordered.

    Lu Yin clenched his fist andshed out with a Daynight Punch, his spiritual force forming a devastating maelstrom that swept towards Zhi Yi.

    Ever since he had absorbed that light ball of spiritual force that had emerged from Liuying Zishan, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had continuously grown to the point where it was now approaching the level of the Ten Arbiters¡¯. In fact, his spiritual force was still increasing, and it had never stopped growing. The explosive spiritual force of this punch actually momentarily stumped Zhi Yi. Lu Yin quickly took advantage of this opportunity to weaken Zhi Yi¡¯s rune lines with Truesight as he simultaneously converged his star energy above his right hand. He was just about to unleash his First Sun when Starsibyl shouted from the distance, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    Lu Yin reflexively fell back, and Hua Xiao did the same.

    However, nothing happened, and Zhi Yi peacefully stood high in the sky.

    Lu Yin threw a doubtful nce over at Starsibyl. If she hadn¡¯t called out for them to retreat, his First Sun definitely would have sted this member of the Daosource Three Skies. Although his attack was not guaranteed to break that strange barrier, he would have dly given it a try.

    Zhi Yi looked at Starsibyl oddly with eyes that were alight with curiosity. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Starsibyl looked at the other woman. ¡°Your barrier is not pure defense. Rather, it has some kind of counterattacking ability. When your opponent is unable to break through it, they¡¯ll be struck by some form of retaliation, right?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he looked at Zhi Yi¡¯s formless barrier with new eyes; so this was also possible? How could they even fight such a thing? He was not confident in being able to break through that barrier in one strike.

    Zhi Yi stared at Starsibyl in amazement as she repeated her question. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Starsibyl did not reply.

    Zhi Yi looked at her and then at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ve grown curious about both of you, but especially you.¡± She focused her attention on Lu Yin. ¡°Did you just do something? Like perhaps, a secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°No, you saw wrongly.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m not actually certain myself, so try it again. Besides, if you can¡¯t break through my Sky Dipper, then you can¡¯t injure me,¡± Zhi Yi exined.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. As he looked at the strange barrier surrounding Zhi Yi, he felt like he had no way to attack this woman.

    Starsibyl¡¯s voice quietly whispered from right beside their ears, ¡°Flee in different directions¡ªwe aren¡¯t a match for her.¡±

    Off in the distance, Ling Que had already made his escape. From the very beginning, he had always kept the trio¡¯s original intention in mind, which was to take advantage of this massive battlefield to return to the Fifth Maind¡¯s side, not to risk their lives fighting against the enemy. From his point of view, he was following their original strategy out of loyalty, not running away from danger.

    Beneath them, the hundreds of thousands of Sixth Maind cultivators who had been pathetically routed saw Zhi Yi arrive. The appearance of one of the Daosource Three Skies invigorated them to new heights, and they retaliated against the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces with renewed vigor.

    Zhi Yi seemed to respond to the motivated cultivators, and she raised a hand. That formless gust of air, which had been ineffective against Lu Yin, swept through the mass of Sixth Maind cultivators before descending upon the bulk of the Fifth Maind cultivators. Anyone who was struck by the wind immediately began to age. Some people¡¯s bodies even deteriorated before falling apart into dust.

    Hundreds of thousands of people transformed into dust as they died, shocking everyone who survived.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he looked at Zhi Yi in disbelief.

    Zhi Yi smirked. ¡°You see, this is Vitality Qi. It can absorb life force and transform humans into dust. This is why I¡¯m very curious about how you blocked it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he was suddenly struck by a dyed sense of fear. He had actually allowed that same wind to strike him, and he felt as if he had walked along the edge of death.

    How had he stopped it? Lu Yin first considered the Stonewall Scriptures, but he quickly rejected that idea. The Stonewall Scriptures were mysterious, but they were not omnipotent. He then thought of another possibility¡ªthe Arcane Art of Fatal Revival. He had used that technique twice, and both times had been during moments when he had hovered at the border of death, and both times had greatly boosted his strength. Back then, he had thought that this art would not be of much use in the future, but during his battle against Zhanlong Daynight, Lu Yin had relied on this art to suppress the Daynight Restoration Technique. Later, it had also allowed him to suppress someone from the Specter n. His current ability to survive might also be due to this strange art.

    The Arcane Art of Fatal Revival. Life and death. In the past, he had not understood the true mystery of this bizarre technique, but at this moment, he finally realized just how insane it could be. An art that could restore a dead person back to life was something that not even a secret technique could aplish.

    Unfortunately, this art was not something that could be cultivated. In fact, whether or not one could use it all depended on one¡¯s luck.

    ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve thought of something. Vitality Qi is a mysterious energy of my Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Since you aren¡¯t affected by it, I¡¯m very curious about your origins. So,e with me.¡± Zhi Yi transcended the void and appeared right in front of Lu Yin. She did not move, and instead, the Vitality Qi gathered around her and formed a sword that she grabbed with both hands. ¡°Actually, when I¡¯m bored, I also practice sword techniques.¡±

    The Vitality Qi sword stabbed forward, glinting with a cold light. At this moment, there was only this solitary sword in the sky above and the ground below.

    This was Zhi Yi¡¯s solitary sword. The Daosource Three Skies were the future skies of the Sixth Maind, and their wondrous talent was something that could not be understood. Although Zhi Yi had truly only ever practiced the sword when she was bored, the terror of her sword would leave anyone terrified.

 Chapter 977: Daosource Three Skies and Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 977: Daosource Three Skies and Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could clearly see the sword¡¯s path, but he was unable to evade it. This sword was moving at a speed that far surpassed what his body could achieve; it was way, way too fast. It was also possible that Lu Yin had been slowed, but regardless of what had happened, he would not be able to evade this sword under normal circumstances.

    He waved his right hand as Zhi Yi¡¯s sword approached him, activating the Yu Secret Art. The Vitality Qi sword was slightly diverted to the side, and it missed. The void was shed open as the earth and sky were split in twain.

    Lu Yin had managed to dodge the sword and the many dangers that it presented, and in response, he raised a hand. He grabbed a hold of the sword hilt formed from Vitality Qi and activated the Yu Secret Art. One Hundred Stacks traveled along the sword and towards Zhi Yi, who suddenly released the sword. However, she was still a step too slow, as the towering force had injured her finger. Although she did not bleed, her index and middle fingers were clearly crooked and broken.

    Lu Yin quickly retreated, but there was an excited look on his face. He had finally found a hope of defeating Zhi Yi. This woman¡¯s abilities were inexplicable with her unrivaled defense and crafty attacks, not to mention her bizarre sword technique. She was truly superior to Nan Yanfei in every way. No matter what methods Lu Yin tried to use to resist this woman, he had not been able to figure out anyway to injure her.

    However, everybody had their own weaknesses. He had taken a risk to test the waters just now, but sure enough, this woman¡¯s physical body was not very strong. As long as that formless barrier was breached, he could theoretically use the Oveying Stacks Path to defeat her.

    In the distance, Zhi Yi looked at her right hand before looking up at Lu Yin. ¡°You have some nerve! You actually dared to approach me without even breaking through the Sky Dipper. Ever since I became one of the Daosource Three Skies, aside from the other two, you are the first person to have injured me.

    ¡°Also, you dodged my sword with a secret technique. You don¡¯t just have one secret technique. Just what kind of person are you?¡±

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. ¡°You aren¡¯t invincible.¡±

    Zhi Yi raised her head. ¡°Of course not. I can tell you quite openly that I¡¯m not adept at physical defense. As long as you can break through this Sky Dipper, you can use that secret technique to fight with me. Unfortunately, you¡¯ll never be able to break through the Sky Dipper.¡±

    In the distance, Hua Xiao kept staring at Zhi Yi, trying toe up with a way to break through her defensive barrier. However, he could note up with anything.

    Starsibyl was also staring at Zhi Yi and trying to think of a way to break through the Sky Dipper, but she was equally clueless.

    She could use her methods of divination to even dy Imprinters, but Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper made herpletely unrivaled here.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough ying around. You have two secret techniques as well as the ability to resist Vitality Qi¡ªyou¡¯re extremely interesting. I won¡¯t kill you, but I¡¯ll take you back to the Daosource Sect. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to find a method to advance Vitality Qi even further with you.¡± After speaking, the formless barrier around Zhi Yi¡¯s body expanded, and the next instant, it enveloped Lu Yin. It formed a massive barrier, though a part of it continued to protect Zhi Yi¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he raised a leg in an attempt to tear through the void and escape from the barrier¡¯s area, only to discover that he could not escape. The barrier hadpletely cut him off from the outside space. Unless he could break through the barrier, he would not be able to leave.

    The next moment, the formless barrier suddenly started to shrink. Lu Yin pressed both of his hands against it and unleashed a full-powered One Hundred Stacks in an attempt to break through it only to fail again.

    ¡°You can¡¯t breach the Sky Dipper. Come with me,¡± Zhi Yi coldly ordered as the barrier continued to shrink.

    Lu Yin felt like he was beingpressed as the formless barrier continued to close in on him, forcefully moving him closer to Zhi Yi. As he drew near, if there wasn¡¯t a portion of the Sky Dipper protecting her body, then Lu Yin would have been excited to engage her in meleebat. Unfortunately, the Sky Dipper around her body was imprable, and he felt an increasingly strong sense of danger as he approached her.

    Zhi Yi was now no more than ten meters away from Lu Yin. This was a very dangerous range for Lu Yin as she could severely injure him near instantly with her strength.

    In the distance, Starsibyl¡¯s eyes continuously flitted about.

    Lu Yin mmed palm after palm against the barrier, but he was still inexorably dragged over toward Zhi Yi.

    It looked like Lu Yin had been caught in her palm without any way to escape or resist.

    ¡°Tell me everything I want to know, and I can avoid killing you. In fact, I can even allow you to join our Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect where you will be a servant under me,¡± Zhi Yi spoke coldly as she watched Lu Yin approach her. The Vitality Qi formed itself into a sword once again, and it flickered with strange lights even as the void shattered around the de.

    She had only formed a single sword before, but at this moment, she formed countless swords.

    Lu Yin could use the Yu Secret Art to divert one sword, but he could not divert countless swords. It was just like how Nightking Zhenwu had overpowered the secret technique when Lu Yin had tried to use it against him. At this moment, Lu Yin could only think to use Truesight to weaken Zhi Yi¡¯s sword technique, but suddenly, off in the distance, the sky that had been filled with lightning changed as an indescribable pressure descended upon the battlefield. The sky had copsed.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s countless swords suddenly changed directions and stabbed behind her. At the same time, a formless strength gathered in the void and gradually formed the image of a man with closed eyes. His hands slowly opened, and in doing so, they formed phantom images that froze within the void. Finally, the man pressed his palms together, which just so happened to catch Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi sword right between his palms. The terrifying sword technique had been ovee so casually.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Was this¡­ a domain?

    In the distance, a figure tore out of the void and emerged. His eyes were closed, but he still moved to perfectly face Zhi Yi. With the man¡¯s appearance, the image of the man with his palms pressed together vanished, along with Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi sword.

    Starsibyl stared at the new arrival in amazement. He was one of the Ten Arbiters: Unseen Light.

    Among the Ten Arbiters, there was only one person who always kept their eyes closed. ording to some rumors, he did not need his eyes, and ording to others, his battle technique had caused him to lose his sight. However, there were also other ones iming that when he opened his eyes, both heaven and earth as well as the sun and moon would lose their light. Regardless, there were many legends and rumors concerning Unseen Light, and many people were curious about his name, Unseen Light. It did not sound like a name. However, he indeed did go by Unseen Light. It was just like how his eyes were always tightly closed and how he could never see the light.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Unseen Light had arrived.

    None of the Ten Arbiters were people to be underestimated. The Realmlings and the Ten Arbiters had equal statuses and were considered to have simr strengths. Zhi Yi was someone who stood above the Realmlings, but that did not necessarily mean that she also stood above the Ten Arbiters.

    Unseen Light was a mysterious person, even by the standards of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°I¡¯ve long since heard of the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ reputation, and now, I finally have the honor of meeting one.¡± Unseen Light slowly stepped out from the void as he moved to face Zhi Yi. Although he could not see, when one¡¯s domain reached this level, seeing or not seeing with one¡¯s eyes did not make that much of a difference.

    Zhi Yi had a bizarre expression on her face. ¡°Arbiter Unseen Light, I¡¯ve heard many things about you. Just now, was that your domain?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Unseen Light calmly replied.

    Zhi Yi marvelled at it. ¡°To be able to cultivate a domain to such a level, you deserve my admiration.¡±

    Unseen Light¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Just admiration? How about having one of the Daosource Three Skies give me some advice?¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Zhi Yi replied quite directly. At this moment, she was almost entirely certain that Unseen Light was the one who had impersonated her; aside from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, who else would dare to do such a thing? However, how had this man obtained a Lifesource token? Additionally, that behavior did not really seem to match his personality, but in her mind, there was no one else who could have done that aside from Unseen Light.

    ¡°Dodge!¡± Starsibyl suddenly shouted.

    A cold radiance exploded in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as Zhi Yi formed another sword from Vitality Qi. She immediately shed out with it in a backhanded strike, as if she was trying to behead Lu Yin, and it was clear that she was trying to severely injure him. Lu Yin hastened to use the Yu Secret Art to divert the sword, and its cold light shifted. However, a second sword closely followed behind the first. This time, an overwhelming domain suddenly swept out, and regardless of whether it was Zhi Yi or Lu Yin, they both felt as though they had been mired in a deep swamp.

    Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield erged his phantom image a hundredfold. As he raised his hand, the 100-meter tall image mirrored his movements. Then, it pped down at Zhi Yi, including even Lu Yin within the range of the attack.

    Lu Yin cursed, and he wanted to escape. However, he was still trapped within the barrier.

    Zhi Yi raised a hand, and the Vitality Qi formed a visible, giant palm print that shed with Unseen Light¡¯s domain.

    The void shattered with a sound reminiscent of a sudden thunderp. As a giant bolt of lightning streaked by, the sky was filled with spatial cracks. As for Lu Yin, he was struck by both people¡¯s attacks, and he fell into the sea as a result. When Unseen Light¡¯s palm and domain descended, Zhi Yi had removed the formless barrier trapping Lu Yin, resulting in him being struck before he could prepare himself.

    At this moment, he experienced what Nan Yanfei had gone through before: the chill of the sea. Fortunately, Lu Yin had broken through to the Cruiser realm, and with his powerful physique, he had not been severely injured by the two attacks. Without it, he would have been in a miserable state if he had been caught up in even the aftershock of the attacks.

    When he looked up, Lu Yin could see two immeasurable powers colliding with each other above the sea. Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield took the form of a 100-meter tall phantom image while Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi could take any form that she desired. Watching the two fight was like watching two giants battling against each other. Whether it was Unseen Light¡¯s domain or Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, ordinary cultivators could not withstand either of them.

    Even if it was only the aftershocks that swept through the battlefield, it still caused agony for millions of people. Unseen Light¡¯s domain suppressed the cultivators while Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi transformed them into dust. Each was more terrifying than the other.

    Starsibyl and Hua Xiao had both retreated, as this was not a battle that they could participate in.

    The Ten Arbiters were extremely powerful, but everyone had considered the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings as equals while the Daosource Three Skies had always been held above all others.

    However, Lu Yin had long since been suspicious of this. The Ten Arbiters were known to have more victories than defeats against the Realmlings. Thus, did that imply that those victorious Ten Arbiters were powerful enough to challenge the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies? Could some of them be standing on an even higher level?

    In the past, Earth had possessed seven Sky rank powerhouses, and they had been known as the Seven Sages. Of those people, they had been ssified into two groups: the Three Highsages and the Four Sages. Although both groups had been a part of the Seven Sages, there had been an immense difference in the two¡¯s strength. In that case, then what about the Ten Arbiters? Was there a simr differentiation between those ten people? Could it simply be that outsiders were not aware of this distinction? Or, perhaps, could the Ten Arbiters actually not have sparred among themselves before?

    Lu Yin hid on the seabed as he watched the battle between the two peerless experts of the younger generation take ce.

    Unfortunately, if not for the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, the battle between the two would have been even more impressive.

    The sea raged, and Unseen Light¡¯s domain shed with Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi for more than ten minutes without showing any signs of falling behind.

    When observing the whole battlefield, the entire sea seemed to have be the two¡¯s personal fighting arena.

    The fight between these two was nothing fancy; one relied on his domain and the other her Vitality Qi. As the coteral damage mounted, millions of cultivators were forced to leave the battlefield and wait at the sides for the result of this battle.

    It was extremely rare to see a domain that had been cultivated to the level of Unseen Light¡¯s. At least, in the many decades that Zhi Yi had spent cultivating, she had never encountered such a person.

    The Vitality Qi that she cultivated was considered a top-tier power even within the Sixth Maind, and not many were able to cultivate it even within the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Everyone who had managed to sessfully cultivate Vitality Qi was a peerless genius, and this was what she had relied on to obtain her position as one of the Daosource Three Skies. But on this day, her Vitality Qi was actually blocked by someone¡¯s domain.

    Nobody would believe such a thing if word of this battle spread, and Zhi Yi had simrly never imagined that there woulde a day when her Vitality Qi would be blocked by a domain.

    Although, Unseen Light was not the only person who had blocked her Vitality Qi today. Zhi Yi looked down at the sea, as the man down there had managed to essentially ignore her Vitality Qi, which meant that there was something strange about his constitution.

    No matter what, it remained a fact that her Vitality Qi could not break through Unseen Light¡¯s domain. At the very least, when under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon that prevented anyone from exhibiting a power level greater than 200,000, Zhi Yi could not do so. When her thoughts reached that point, she suddenly stopped using her Vitality Qi, and instead, she charged straight for Unseen Light. She intended to rely on her Sky Dipper and sword technique to cut Unseen Light apart.

 Chapter 978: Open Eyes

    <h4>Chapter 978: Open Eyes</h4>

    Down on the seabed, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper was simply too difficult to deal with, and Lu Yin did not think that Unseen Light could break through it. If the Sky Dipper could not be broken through, then Zhi Yi would remain untouchable.

    Specifically, her Sky Dipper was formed from Vitality Qi, and it was the purest manifestation of Vitality Qi possible. The title of Daosource Three Skies was only given to the future skies of the Sixth Maind, and such a title was not just for show. The Daosource Three Skies were the heirs of three Progenitors, and countless cultivators coveted their statuses. Even the Realmlings were envious of the Daosource Three Skies, and all three of these youths had been challenged multiple times by Realmlings, but there had never been any news of anyone seeding.

    This was the power of the Daosource Three Skies, and this was what had earned them the reputation of being unrivaled.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain was truly powerful, but it could not break through Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper. No matter how or where he attacked, he could not make Zhi Yi even pause in her steps. As she inexorably approached the Arbiter, her Vitality Qi sword shed out with an even more impressive sword technique than the one she had used against Lu Yin. In response, Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield formed a phantom figure that pressed its hands together, once again attempting to stop the sword. However, the figure was cut apart by the ethereal sword as sword qi shot towards Unseen Light.

    Millions of Fifth Maind cultivators felt their hearts skip a beat.

    Even Starsibyl was unable to divine anything about the exchanges in the battle between the Arbiter and Zhi Yi.

    Only one person on the battlefield was not worried, which was Lu Yin. He had once fought against Unseen Light¡¯s war spirit back in the space with the golden ocean, so he was aware of just how abnormal a domain that had been cultivated to the extreme was. Once one¡¯s domain reached the pinnacle of their realm, that domain could even predict their opponents¡¯ attacks.

    A sword sliced down, but itnded on nothing. A giant spatial tear opened up above the Cosmic Sea, splitting the void open and causing seawater to gush out.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s strike that had beenunched with absolute confidence had missed.

    Unseen Light had merely moved half an inch to the side, but that half an inch had been just enough to dodge her sword.

    When the light from Zhi Yi¡¯s sword attack swept out, it had instantly enveloped the entire area before her, and normally, no one would be able to evade such an all epassing attack. However, Unseen Light had moved like duckweed in the water; he drifted along with the radiance¡¯s ebb and flow, not being struck even once.

    Lu Yin was shocked; were the Ten Arbiters truly inferior to the Daosource Three Skies? There were stronger and weaker Realmlings, so the Ten Arbiters must have simr disparities between them. However, it was simply that no one was aware of such a matter. Unseen Light was probably the type of person who preferred to hide his true strength, as even Mister Mu had been so astounded by the youth¡¯s true power that he was amazed by how the current generation could give rise to such a genius.

    Zhi Yi was no less surprised than Lu Yin, as she had noticed that her opponent was actually able to actually predict her attacks. She did not know about the other Arbiters, but this was definitely someone who nobody wanted to fight against.

    Left without a choice, Zhi Yi¡¯s sword technique changed, covering the entire visible battlefield. No matter if they were cultivators from the Fifth or Sixth Mainds, everyone was within the range of her sword. Besides, there were far more people from the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces than the Sixth Maind¡¯s. Thus even if everyone present died to her sword, she still would not suffer from a disadvantage.

    She wanted to force Unseen Light to receive her sword head on.

    Everyone watched on in trepidation as the massive Vitality Qi covered the entire sky and formed an iparably gigantic sword.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed; this woman was crazy!

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression also changed! ¡°Everyone, RUN!¡±

    On the battlefield, Sixteen and the others stared at the giant sword covering the sky with a stupefied expression as the Vitality Qi that formed the weapon caused them to panic. They were all aware that they would all die the moment the sword fell down, as nobody could stop an attack from one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    This sword covered a massive area, but Zhi Yi was still able to urately control it and keep her attack¡¯s power level to below 200,000. Clearly, her ability to control her power level was in no way inferior to an Imprinter¡¯s.

    If this sword truly fell down, then not many people on the entire battlefield would survive.

    Unseen Light towered high in the sky and raised his head. The endless Vitality Qi seemed to have reced the sky itself. With just the domain that Unseen Light had unleashed so far, he would not be able to stop this sword. Thus, at this moment, he decided to open his eyes.

    Countless people had spread legends that there was one person among the Ten Arbiters who always kept their eyes firmly closed. However, once those eyes opened, the sun and moon would lose their light.

    Lu Yin did not know if Unseen Light had ever opened his eyes during a fight, but when Lu Yin had fought against his war spirit in that space with the golden ocean, the moment the war spirit had opened its eyes, Lu Yin had bled from all of his orifices and nearly died. All he had been able to feel back then was an indescribable suppression.

    At this moment, Lu Yin finally saw the real Unseen Light open his eyes.

    Normally, the Arbiter kept his eyes closed to suppress his domain that had reached the pinnacle. When a cultivator within a given realm pushed a certain aspect of their power to the extreme, they would be forced to pay a price to suppress it. Lu Yin had once used three grains of Fatesand to suppress his physical strength that had reached the limit, and Unseen Light simrly had to pay the price by keeping his eyes closed as a means of suppressing his domain.

    When Unseen Light opened his eyes, his domain instantly exploded. Everyone simply felt their hearts being stifled, and many of them were so affected that they coughed up blood. Across from the Arbiter, Zhi Yi¡¯s pupils shrank when she sensed the storm brewing around Unseen Light as its origin. That storm was the man¡¯s domain, and it oppressively dissipated all of the Vitality Qi in the sky. Zhi Yi¡¯s sword could notnd.

    Zhi Yi had underestimated Unseen Light, and the phantom figure that was his forcefield once again appeared in the sky. This time, he had both of his eyes open, and he was currently staring at Zhi Yi, which gave her a very bizarre feeling. Everyone looked at those two eyes, as they felt as though those eyes had reced the sky.

    At this moment, everyone was under the gaze of those two eyes, and they all felt a terrifying pressure press down upon them.

    No matter if they were from the Fifth or Sixth Maind, when Unseen Light opened his eyes, everyone seemed to fall under his hypnosis; they all subconsciously felt that this person before them was unequaled and unstoppable. Even Zhi Yi, who was one of the Daosource Three Skies, was ignored by everyone as they could only see Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light was very powerful, indescribably so. When he opened his eyes, the sun and moon indeed lost their light, and even the ever present thunder in the sky stopped rumbling. However, he still did not be careless. That was because, up to this moment, Zhi Yi had only used her Vitality Qi so far. Her innate gift, bloodline, imprint, and even her secret techniques had never been used. As one of the Daosource Three Skies and the heir of the Progenitor of Bloodlines, it was impossible for her not to have a bloodline. Also, how could it be possible for her to not have a secret technique?

    Starsibyl and Lu Yin had both realized this crucial point, that this member of the Daosource Three Skies had only revealed a portion of her strength. It was impossible to know if she had even used half of her full power yet.

    As the phantom image formed from Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield swatted out with a hand, the all-epassing domain suddenly dissipated as the sky and earth were overturned. Shockingly, the entire sea seemed to sink down slightly. At that moment, Zhi Yi let out a breath and looked up. ¡°To be one of the Daosource Three Skies, there are a total of nine challengers from three realms, as well as others from the Daosource Sect. There are the Realmlings and seniors from within the same sect. Each challenger must be someone of the same realm as you who are known to be unrivaled. However, of those nine, only one person was able to force me this far. Now you, Unseen Light of the Ten Arbiters, are the second.¡± Her voice echoed out and was heard by everyone.

    Upon hearing Zhi Yi¡¯s words, the people from the Sixth Maind who had been intimidated by Unseen Light suddenly thought about it. This woman was Zhi Yi, one of the Daosource Three Skies. She was a truly unrivaled powerhouse whom nobody had ever questioned before. How could she possibly be defeated? Was such a thing even possible?

    ¡°You deserve to be arrogant, Arbiter Unseen Light.¡± Zhi Yi¡¯s voice fell as her expression changed. Her normally ck eyes turned red before they suddenly seemed to catch fire as the mes grew more distinct. At the same time, the image of Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield was burned by the mes.

    These seemingly ordinary red mes were actually burning Unseen Light¡¯s domain away, and not only was his domain lit aze, but even the void could avoid being scorched. However, there was no overwhelming heat at all.

    This was Zhi Yi¡¯s innate gift: Scarlet Pupils, and they could burn everything to dust.

    The massive image created by the forcefield was burned to a crisp, but all the while, Unseen Light stared calmly at Zhi Yi. ¡°That¡¯s a very powerful innate gift.¡±

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes returned to normal, and she returned Unseen Light¡¯s stare. ¡°Of the Ten Arbiters, you should be the strongest.¡±

    Unseen Light shook his head. ¡°Not necessarily.¡±

    Zhi Yi¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°It seems that everyone has underestimated the Ten Arbiters and that Shang Rong¡¯s defeat was not without reason.¡±

    She looked up at the sky with sorrow in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, but with the suppression from this phenomena, we can¡¯t have an all-out battle. Otherwise, you definitely would not be my match. I can tell you this: the Daosource Three Skies are already all Enlighters.¡±

    Unseen Light was stunned for a moment, but then he nodded. ¡°It is indeed a pity, as you have been suppressed too fiercely.¡±

    The Ten Arbiters were all Hunters, and their cultivation realms weremon knowledge. Everyone had previously believed that the Daosource Three Skies were at the same realm as the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings¡ªHunters. Nobody had imagined that the Daosource Three Skies would actually all be Enlighters.

    When Lu Yin heard this, he unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief. If not for the suppression in this region of the universe, then just how much strength would the Daosource Three Skies Enlighters be able to wield? Lu Yin would have absolutely no confidence in confronting them under such circumstances.

    However, that was not necessarily the case. Lu Yin had many powerful items, and even if the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ power levels reached 300,000 or even 400,000, he did not need to be afraid.

    On the other hand, if Lu Yin had such powerful items, then was there any reason why the Daosource Three Skies would not have simr possessions? In the end, it was still better to rely on the suppression from the cosmic phenomenon.

    With Unseen Light on this battlefield, it would not be too realistic to expect Zhi Yi to seize the pole from this ce. She had actually not forgotten about her goal, but from beginning to end, Unseen Light had only ever used his domain¡ªhe had never used his innate gift, a single battle technique, or even a secret technique. She was actually the most afraid of the possibility where Unseen Light coordinated with the person from before to fight against her.

    That person¡¯s secret technique could be used to divert her attacks, and he was also able to inexplicably weaken her strength. Furthermore, Vitality Qi did nothing to him. If that person teamed up with this Arbiter, then Zhi Yi might not actually be able to emerge from the fight unscathed.

    Of the Daosource Three Skies, she was the first to appear during this invasion, and this was even her first battle. If she was injured this quickly, then it would deal a huge blow to the Sixth Maind¡¯s morale.

    She muttered to herself for a moment before her eyes shed as she looked back at Unseen Light. ¡°Our fight will not determine a victor anytime soon. As long as you agree to not impersonate me again, I can leave.¡±

    Unseen Light was confused. ¡°Impersonate?¡±

    In the distance, Starsibyl looked down at the seabed. Impersonate? That made her think of Lu Yin.

    At the bottom of the sea, Lu Yin felt embarrassed. Impersonate? She couldn¡¯t havee here just because of that, could she?!

    ¡°What? You dare to do the deed but not admit to it? Aside from White Knight and you, who else in this thunder region could have done such a thing?¡± Zhi Yi demanded in a cold, indifferent tone.

    Unseen Light fell silent and did not admit or deny anything at all.

    ¡°If you dare to impersonate me again, then no matter what price I may have to pay, I will show you true hell!¡± Zhi Yi shouted out a cold threat before tearing through the void to leave.

    She was certain that Unseen Light had been the one to impersonate her, but her original rage had vanished during the battle with Unseen Light. She had acknowledged him as someone on the same level as her, and that acknowledgement had altered her perception of the earlier incident from a prank to a valid strategy, and there was no reason for her to be upset about a strategic failure.

    When Zhi Yi left, the hundreds of thousands of Sixth Maind cultivators also retreated.

    The two sides had already separated from each other long ago during Zhi Yi¡¯s fight with Unseen Light. This time, the Fifth Maind cultivators did not chase after their enemies as they retreated.

    Pursuing the retreating cultivators came with its own price, and it was possible for anyone to die on this battlefield. These people were cultivators, not soldiers, and they would not recklessly chase after their own death, and they were also afraid of luring Zhi Yi back.

    Whether it was her Vitality Qi or the mes from her Scarlet Pupils, all of her techniques werepletely unfathomable.

    Unseen Light closed his eyes once again, and the domain that had been suppressing everyone to the point of breathlessness instantly dissipated.

    Countless people heaved sighs of relief.

    Millions of cultivators from the Fifth Maind grew excited, as they had personally witnessed how powerful the Ten Arbiters truly were. The Ten Arbiters stood at the peak of the universe and possessed the authority to judge and supervise everyone within the younger generation, and now, people saw that they were indeed unequaled.

 Chapter 979: All Acquaintances

    <h4>Chapter 979: All Acquaintances</h4>

    Hua Xiao looked at Unseen Light with aplicated expression. The reputation of the Ten Arbiters was something that had even spread to the Neoverse, but many had never given any real consideration to the ten youths. They did not believe that the Innerverse could produce experts who could rival the Neoverse¡¯s elites, which was the same as how the Innerverse looked down upon the Outerverse. As the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion progressed, the Neoverse¡¯s youths had eventually entered the battlefield, and they were graduallying to understand just how powerful the Ten Arbiters truly were.

    Those ten were true freaks, and no one couldprehend how the Innerverse had given birth to such monsters. In terms of resources, inheritances, and cultivation environments, everything that the Neoverse had surpassed the Innerverse. The Neoverse also had unrivaled powerhouses, but those who Hua Xiao was aware of might not actually be able to defeat the Ten Arbiters. This was just too strange and waspletely illogical.

    Starsibyl moved over next to Unseen Light. ¡°I never thought that we would bump into you in this thunder region.¡±

    Unseen Light replied, ¡°The thunder region is one of the most important regions in the Cosmic Sea that we are fighting over, so of course I had toe. I also didn¡¯t suffer any losses even though the Daosource Three Skies came.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just one of the Daosource Three Skies¡ªthe Realmlings Shang Rong and Nan Yanfei are also here in the thunder region,¡± Starsibyl said.

    Unseen Light nodded. ¡°It¡¯s too bad that I didn¡¯t meet them.¡±

    Hua Xiao moved closer. ¡°The thunder region has five poles, and we currently have one. You should have also taken one. Thus, we just need to grab one more to win this battle.¡±

    Unseen Light calmly answered, ¡°White Knight will take care of that.¡±

    ¡°But he bumped into a Realmling,¡± Hua Xiao could not help himself from saying.

    Unseen Light chuckled. ¡°So what?¡±

    Hua Xiao¡¯s gaze trembled. Such confidence! Were all of the Ten Arbiters like this, confident in each other¡¯s strength?

    ¡°Even if White Knight can seize one, Zhi Yi went to the west, so won¡¯t she move against White Knight?¡± Starsibyl asked.

    Unseen Light frowned. ¡°Go, let¡¯s move to the west as well then.¡±

    ¡°I thought that you were just going to say ¡®so what¡¯ again.¡¯¡± Hua Xiao could not hold himself back.

    Unseen Light looked at Hua Xiao. ¡°So you people still haven¡¯t lost your arrogance?¡±

    Starsibyl also turned to look at Hua Xiao.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had routed the Innerverse, and its various forces were retreating to the Cosmic Sea. As a result, cultivators from the Neoverse had joined the war efforts, though they had been extremely arrogant in the beginning, even more so than the Sixth Maind.

    Although Hua Xiao had a decent personality, that arrogance was ingrained deep into his bones, and it had just been bluntly called out by Unseen Light. Hua Xiao snorted and stopped talking.

    Lu Yin dashed up from the sea bed with a bang.

    Unseen Light looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re very powerful to have injured Zhi Yi. Even I didn¡¯t manage to do that.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It was just luck.¡±

    Unseen Light was puzzled. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    Unseen Light was astonished. ¡°So it¡¯s you, the unequaled Limiteer from back then. I never thought that you would be able to rise to this level after just a couple of years.¡±

    Lu Yin made some humblements in response. He was rather wary of Unseen Light. It was not like Lu Yin had never met any of the Ten Arbiters before, as he had met White Knight Ling Gong, Schr Wen Sansi, and Divine Fist Lan Si, and Lu Yin had even seen all of them fight. However, not a single one of them had ever given Lu Yin the same unfathomable feeling as Unseen Light. This person made Lu Yin truly nervous, and he felt that the further he probed into Unseen Light, the less he would be able to discern any details.

    It was unknown if it was because Unseen Light had cultivated his domain to the extreme or if it was because he always had his eyes closed, but he gave off a mysterious vibe. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how his domain had the strange ability to predict his opponents¡¯ attacks. If Lu Yin had to choose one of the Ten Arbiters to fight against, he would absolutely prefer to go against someone like Lan Si rather than Unseen Light.

    Thinking back, the trial on Earth had been the first time Lu Yin had heard of the Ten Arbiters, and nearly a decade had passed since that moment. Ten yearster, and the Ten Arbiters were still far stronger than Lu Yin. They were basically gods in the hearts of the younger generation of cultivators. Lu Yin did not know when he would be able to directly challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    Their small group was worried that Zhi Yi would create trouble for White Knight, and although Hua Xiao did not travel with them, Starsibyl and Lu Yin followed Unseen Light to the west.

    Starsibyl was capable of divination whereas Unseen Light had seen Lu Yin¡¯s power first-hand. These two were qualified to follow him.

    Unseen Light carried one pole while Starsibyl carried the other. The two poles attracted the lightning of the thunder region while the three youths raced to the west.

    When Crimson Servant arrived at the northeastern battlefield, he discovered that the pole had already been taken away by Unseen Light¡ªthe Sixth Maind had been defeated on this battlefield. Crimson Servant was enraged by the results, and he dashed south, only to bump into Nan Yanfei.

    When Nan Yanfei met Crimson Servant, he turned around with pleasant surprise. He believed that if the two of them worked together, they would be able to defeat Lu Yin¡¯s trio.

    On the western battlefield, White Knight had grabbed the pole, and Shang Rong had retreated after being badly injured. However, White Knight was unwilling to forgive the Realmling, and she intended to eliminate him.

    Still, even if she was capable of defeating Shang Rong, killing him would not be that easy.

    After all, he was a Realmling, and he had also fought against White Knight many times. They both knew that there was not much of a difference in strength between them.

    The entire thunder region had fallen into chaos by now. Even though the poles had been taken, many battlefields continued to be sites of massacre.

    Starsibyl had been correct; Zhi Yi had left the northeastern battlefield, but she had not given up on winning the overall battle. She was currently rushing to the western battlefield.

    She had seen the chaotic orders that Lu Yin had sent out, and she was worried that something bad might have happened on the western battlefield where Shang Rong was supposed to have cooperated with Crimson Servant.

    There were five maic poles in the thunder region, and Zhi Yi had already obtained one, which meant that the Sixth Maind had to seize two more poles to achieve victory.

    She had beenpletely confident in the beginning, but her n had beenpletely derailed by those random orders.

    As she made her way to the western battlefield, Zhi Yi passed by the southern battlefield, which gave Tai Yuanjun and the others quite a scare. However, since Zhi Yi was rushing towards the western battlefield, shepletely ignored them.

    Soon after, Unseen Light¡¯s trio streaked through the southern battlefield, also heading west.

    Lu Yin saw some strange people as he passed over the southern battlefield. There was a ck de that was shaped like a humanoid shuttling across the battlefield. Was such a being also a human?

    He remembered that, back on Starlight Ind, the Sixth Maind cultivators had spoken about certain topics, one of which was the many strange cultivators from the Neoverse.

    Unseen Light¡¯s trio soon arrived at the western battlefield, and the first thing they saw was the Skycastle copsing. White Knight was currently fighting against Zhi Yi, but White Knight had been beaten to the point of spitting out a mouthful of blood.

    She had fought against Shang Rong for a long time earlier, so it was very difficult for her to fight against Zhi Yi right now, especially when she used her Scarlet Pupils.

    Not only had White Knight¡¯s Skycastle copsed, but it was also burning. As the sound of a clock rang out, a powerful dignified sensation descended upon the castle and extinguished the fires. White Knight would not be defeated that quickly.

    Zhi Yi did not believe that all of the Ten Arbiters were on the same level as Unseen Light. Her Vitality Qi formed itself into a massive sword that shed down, and at the same time, Shang Rong shot out a white sun that careened towards White Knight.

    White Knight was faced with two simultaneous attacks, and as a result, she coughed up blood while falling back.

    It was at this moment that Unseen Light¡¯s domain swept across the battlefield. At the same time, Lu Yin activated the Yu Secret Art to divert the white sun away from White Knight. With the entrance of the two men onto the battlefield, White Knight was not struck by Zhi Yi and Shang Rong¡¯sbined attack.

    Zhi Yi was frustrated. She had expected these people to chase after her, which was why she hadunched an all-out attack right from the start, even joining forces with Shang Rong to do so. Everything had been to snatch away the pole as fast as possible. However, Zhi Yi had never expected the Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight to surprise her yet again. That person had actually withstood their assault despite her already miserable condition. The fact that White Knight had been able to withstand their joint attack caused Zhi Yi to arch a brow.

    At this moment, the presence of Unseen Light¡¯s trio meant that Zhi Yi¡¯s efforts were useless regardless of how badly she hated the situation.

    Under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, it would be exceptionally difficult for her to defeat Unseen Light, and that was not even considering that Lu Yin and White Knight were with the powerful Arbiter. It was not very realistic for Zhi Yi to steal this pole.

    Blood leaked out of the corner of Shang Rong¡¯s lips as he stood beside Zhi Yi. When he saw that both Unseen Light and Starsibyl were carrying poles, his expression turned very ugly. Since White Knight had seized the pole of this western battlefield, that meant that the Fifth Maind was currently in control of three of the five poles.

    ¡°Sky Zhi, they have three poles.¡± Shang Rong was in agony.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes swept across her opponents. ¡°I know.¡±

    Across from her two attackers, White Knight stared at Lu Yin in amazement. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Took a wrong turn,¡± Lu Yin casually replied.

    White Knight choked.

    The two were clearly old acquaintances.

    Unseen Light nced over at White Knight. ¡°Can you still fight?¡±

    She quietly replied, ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. That woman has to be one of the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s impossible to break through her Sky Dipper, and her Vitality Qi is also very powerful. On top of that, she hasn¡¯t used her imprint or a secret technique yet,¡± Unseen Lightmented calmly.

    White Knight¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°This will be a difficult fight.¡±

    Unseen Light smiled. ¡°Not really. I can hold her back. That Shang Rong isn¡¯t very difficult to deal with either since he¡¯s injured.¡±

    ¡°Leave Shang Rong to me,¡± Lu Yin offered. He was eager to have a one-on-one battle with a Realmling. On top of that, this was a severely injured one, which was an even rarer opportunity.

    White Knight frowned and nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you really think that you can deal with a Realmling? Have you already forgotten about how miserable you were back then?¡±

    ¡°A day of separation can feel like three years. Do you believe me when I say that I can thrash even you now?¡± Lu Yin retorted. His confidence had grown tremendously. He had been nervous whenever he faced White Knight in the past, but such subservience was no longer necessary. It was no longer possible for this woman to beat Lu Yin within the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, even if he could not beat her, he would definitely be able to escape.

    White Knight¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You¡¯re challenging me.¡±

    ¡°Do you guys know each other?¡± Unseen Light was puzzled.

    Lu Yin was about to answer, but White Knight sent a threatening re his way, and he pictured the cute little face hidden underneath the white armor¡­ Forget it, a real man won¡¯t fight about such things.

    ¡°Not really, we just met each other a few times before.¡±

    Starsibyl was surprised to hear this. It seemed that Lu Yin had bumped into quite a few influential people. White Knight rarely showed herself, but Lu Yin had managed to meet her several times.

    Across from the small group, Shang Rong stared curiously at Lu Yin. This person felt familiar, but Shang Rong could not remember where they might have met each other before.

    ¡°Leave,¡± Zhi Yi calmly ordered.

    Shang Rong was stunned. ¡°Leave? But what about the pole?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore,¡± Zhi Yi replied.

    Shang Rong could notprehend this sudden change in attitude. ¡°The opponents have three poles, which is one more than us. ording to the unspoken rules, they¡¯ll win the contest for the thunder region. Are we just going to abandon this ce?¡±

    ¡°That will all depend on if they can take away thest two poles,¡± Zhi Yi coldly answered. She then turned and left without looking back.

    Shang Rong could not ept this. ording to his understanding, the Daosource Three Skies were unrivaled, and no matter how many people they were up against, they should be able to emerge victorious since they were one of the Daosource Three Skies. Shang Rong could not understand why Zhi Yi would choose to give up on this battlefield.

    In the past, Shang Rong had been one of the nine people who had challenged Zhi Yi, and he had a clear understanding of Zhi Yi¡¯s strength: that inexplicable Sky Dipper, her terrifying Vitality Qi, and her Scarlet Pupils which could even burn the void. All of these abilities,plemented with her strength as an Enlighter, had made him feelpletely helpless.

    Even though the cosmic phenomenon was suppressing her power level, there should still be no reason for them to retreat.

    White Knight heaved a sigh of relief as she watched Zhi Yi and Shang Rong leave the battlefield. However, she also felt that it was a pity, as she really wanted to trade blows with one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°We have three poles, so logically we should have already won. Still, the Sixth Maind isn¡¯t guaranteed to withdraw from the thunder region unless we gather all five and make this entire ce¡¯s climate uninhabitable. At that time, we can iste this region, cutting off the Sixth Maind¡¯s path through the thunder region, which will kill their ambition of invading the Neoverse,¡± Starsibyl exined.

    ¡°One of the final two poles is in Zhi Yi¡¯s hands while the other one was most likely seized by the Sixth Maind as well. Most likely, those two poles will be stored on Starlight Ind. After a few days, we¡¯ll attack Starlight Ind,¡± Unseen Light said.

    White Knight had no objection to this proposal. They had to seize all of the poles, as only when all five poles were gathered together could they truly change the climate of the thunder region. And only that could put an end to the Sixth Maind¡¯s n of passing through the thunder region.

    Lu Yin could not hold himself back. ¡°If the thunder region¡¯s climate changes, then what will happen to the people living on the inds in this region?¡±

    White Knight indifferently replied, ¡°It will take us a long time topletely change the climate, and during that period, those people can be evacuated.¡±

    ¡°If they can¡¯t be evacuated, then their fates will be determined by the will of heaven,¡± Unseen Light added on.

 Chapter 980: His Name Is Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 980: His Name Is Lu Yin</h4>

    Lu Yin and Starsibyl exchanged nces, as they were both thinking of Yaya. If the climate of this region changed, then they would have to take Yaya away.

    Since these two were a part of the Ten Arbiters, although they were not ruthless, cold-blooded monsters, they deeply understood the need to look at the bigger picture. In short, they understood that certain sacrifices were necessary.

    At this time, the situation in the thunder region was very strange. In the past, the Sixth Maind had held absolute superiority over this region, as their forces included two Realmlings and quite a number of heirs from the families of Imprinters, World Imprinters, and even Cosmic Imprinters. When they had first invaded this region, these people had disyed a strength that was terrifyingly superior to their Fifth Maind peers. Even with the suppression from the cosmic phenomenon, they had still achieved more victories than losses. After that, their forces had been further bolstered by one of the Daosource Three Skies, which meant that the Sixth Maind should have been practically guaranteed to win this battle.

    However, Unseen Light of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters had arrived, along with a few other powerhouses who had not really shown themselves. For example, there was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple, Mu Ziying, whose strength surpassed Hua Xiao¡¯s despite only having the title of Marquis. There was also that man who had been able to transform into a ck de. However, the ones who had truly changed the bnce of the battlefield had been Lu Yin and Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin had cooperated with Hua Xiao and Starsibyl to defeat the Realmling, Nan Yanfei, and he had also caused one of the Daosource Three Skies, Zhi Yi, to grow cautious. It could even be said that, without Lu Yin, just Unseen Light¡¯s appearance on the battlefield would not have been enough to defeat the Sixth Maind.

    Although the Sixth Maind had not sent that much of its strength to the thunder region, they had still been quite ahead even with the arrival of an additional Arbiter.

    Zhi Yi had spent a long time thinking about theparative strength between the two sides contesting over the thunder region, and then about the Fifth Maind¡¯s overall situation. The moment she had joined this battlefield, she had felt that something was off. She had assumed that the Sixth Maind''s number of top experts would vastly surpass the Fifth Maind¡¯s. However, the Fifth Maind was not actually weak at all, especially the people from the Neoverse. Quite a few powerhouses had appeared from there, and many of them could rival the heirs of the various Imprinter families.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse was home to the powers that possessed the strongest inheritances. The Innerverse had the Ten Arbiters, but the Neoverse definitely had their own elites who could rival the Ten Arbiters. If that was the case, then the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies and nine Realmlings might not actually outnumber the Fifth Maind¡¯s top youths.

    But that wasn¡¯t quite right either. The Fifth Maind¡¯s sky had obviously been covered in the past because the Sea King had restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s original sky, which was the triggering incident for this invasion. Logically speaking, their invasion forces should have pummeled the Fifth Maind, but then they had run into that Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force that had unleashed a cosmic phenomenon. And after that, they had moved into the Cosmic Sea, which had led to them confronting one Neoverse powerhouse after another. Zhi Yi had a nagging feeling that the Fifth Maind would not be as easily defeated as they had assumed.

    High in the sky, Zhi Yi stopped in ce. Her eyes flickered as she lowered her head, seemingly overlooking the battlefield of the entire Fifth Maind at this moment.

    The conflict between the members of the younger generation would often reveal many hidden details. If the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation was not any inferior to the Sixth Maind¡¯s, then the older generation should not be much different. If Zhi Yi¡¯s guess that the Fifth Maind was not inferior was correct, then why had they not broken open the Sixth Maind¡¯s sky earlier? As long as their sky was covered, the Fifth Maind would not be able to birth Progenitors. Thus, why had they not mounted any resistance before?

    The Progenitor realm was the ultimate goal of all cultivators. If Progenitors could not be born, then everything else was meaningless. Additionally, it was impossible for the Fifth Maind to not have known such a thing. Could Zhi Yi¡¯s conjectures have been wrong? Had the Fifth Maind already reached its limit?

    After a long time, Zhi Yi¡¯s expression grew determined. Since she did not know the answer, then there would be no harm in trying to find out.

    She returned to Starlight Ind and ordered all the Sixth Maind cultivators to gather in an effort to protect the poles in their possession.

    These new orders were delivered through the semi-Lifesource tokens, and of the Sixth Maind cultivators with tokens received this message.

    Crimson Servant and Nan Yanfei also saw these orders, but they did not know if this message was genuine or not.

    Everyone else noticed the orders as well.

    Di Luo and Autumnfrost Qing did not hesitate; they immediately took their pole and sped towards Starlight Ind at their full speed. If they had been ordered to go anywhere else, then they would have hesitated. However, Starlight Ind was one of the primary bases for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. If Starlight Ind was a trap, then there would be no need to fight for control over the thunder region.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators all flocked back to Starlight Ind from all five of the battlefields scattered across the thunder region.

    On the western battlefield, Lu Yin saw the new order on his Lifesource token, and he turned to Unseen Light. ¡°Zhi Yi wants to protect their poles by entrenching themselves on Starlight Ind.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected. That¡¯s the only way they can guarantee that this thunder region won¡¯t be lost. However, that¡¯s still not a very realistic victory strategy,¡± Unseen Light said.

    ¡°Let¡¯s gather everyone and organize a group to attack Starlight Ind,¡± White Knight said calmly. After a moment¡¯s pause, she said, ¡°Leave Zhi Yi for me.¡±

    The others all looked at her.

    Lu Yin could not help himself from saying, ¡°I feel like it¡¯d be more reasonable to leave her to Unseen Light.¡±

    White Knight shot a fierce re at him. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Unseen Light softly urged, ¡°Leave Zhi Yi to me, as it would be better for you to deal with Shang Rong. He¡¯s still a Realmling after all, and aside from you, no one else can deal with him on their own. The destructive potential of his bloodline is absolutely catastrophic.¡±

    White Knight was unwilling. ¡°You can also deal with Shang Rong. I want to experience the power of one of the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    ¡°Skip the trouble and don¡¯t waste the advantage that we managed to gain after much difficulty,¡± Lu Yin said.

    White Knight grew furious. ¡°I told you to shut up! That¡¯s an order!¡±

    Lu Yin was amused, but he did not continue to bicker with her as the woman was far too stubborn.

    Unseen Light felt helpless. ¡°Zhi Yi can trap you, and her Scarlet Pupils are also coincidentally able to burn your innate gift.¡±

    ¡°Trap? Hmph! Have you guys ever seen my Skycastle in its perfect state?¡± White Knight retorted.

    Unseen Light was stumped, Starsibyl¡¯s gaze shed, and Lu Yin was taken aback.

    ¡°Alright, since you are so insistent, then I¡¯ll leave Zhi Yi for you,¡± Unseen Light said, relenting.

    White Knight¡¯s expression was cold. She had struggled to defeat Shang Rong, and Zhi Yi¡¯s sudden ambush had left White Knight injured. If not for Unseen Light and the others¡¯ timely arrival, she might not have been able to escape. As a result, she had formed a grudge that she would not forget. She was White Knight, one of the Ten Arbiters, and what did she care if her opponent was one of the Daosource Three Skies? If Unseen Light could deal with that woman, then so too could she.

    ¡°Leave Shang Rong to me. As for Nan Yanfei, Brother Lu, we¡¯ll leave him to you and Starsibyl, alright?¡± Unseen Light said.

    Lu Yin had no objections.

    Starsibyl also agreed. ¡°The two of us can deal with Nan Yanfei, but topletely restrict him, we will still need Hua Xiao¡¯s help.¡±

    White Knight said, ¡°Aside from Hua Xiao, there are many other experts here in the thunder region. The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces don¡¯t really outnumber ours.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for a few days while we wait for everyone to gather and for White Knight¡¯s injuries to heal. Then, we¡¯ll attack Starlight Ind,¡± Unseen Light said, confirming the n.

    Half a dayter, numerous experts from the Sixth Maind began to return to Starlight Ind.

    Di Luo arrived with the second pole, which improved Zhi Yi¡¯s mood a great deal. However, her good mood disappeared when Nan Yanfei appeared.

    She coldly looked at Nan Yanfei. ¡°Why did you leave the battlefield behind?¡±

    In her strategy, each Realmling was very important. After all, they were the strongest experts under Zhi Yi¡¯smand. If Nan Yanfei had stayed at the northeastern battlefield, they would have been able to join forces. If they had acquired one more pole, then the bnce of the thunder region would have beenpletely reversed.

    Nan Yanfei knew that he had made a mistake, but he had his own dignity as a Realmling. Although they respected the Daosource Three Skies, the Realmlings were not their subordinates. ¡°My opponents included someone who was capable of divination, and it would have been dangerous for me to stay behind. Also, I had no way of knowing that Sky Zhi would arrive.¡±

    Zhi Yi frowned. ¡°With your strength, if you had stayed behind, even if you couldn¡¯t win, you shouldn¡¯t have lost.¡±

    Nan Yanfei was getting frustrated. ¡°Is Sky Zhi intending to use my life in a gamble with unknown odds?¡±

    Zhi Yi coldly stared at the Realmling, but Nan Yanfei showed no signs of fear.

    Shang Rong quickly came up to smooth things over, as the Daosource Three Skies and Realmlings were both top experts of the Sixth Maind. The Realmlings were overshadowed by the Daosource Three Skies, but that also depended on the Realmling. Someone like Nan Yanfei did not really care about his status as a Realmling, so in the worst case scenario, he would simply renounce his position. However, if he chose not to give up his position, then there was no one in the Blood Homage Realm who could take his position away, as the position of Realmling was determined by one¡¯s strength, not their background.

    Zhi Yi could find a way to remove Nan Yanfei¡¯s status as Realmling, but it would be extremely troublesome to find someone to rece him.

    Hence, even though the Daosource Three Skies were historically able to restrict the Realmlings, they still had a mutual respect for each other, as both had gained their positions through their personal strength.

    The Daosource Three Skies mostly wanted to avoid dealing with troublemakers like Nan Yanfei, as threatening him was pointless, it was impossible to kill him, and trying to give him orders was beyond useless.

    Zhi Yi let out a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll settle things with you after this battle.¡±

    Nan Yanfei did not care about her threat, as he had never really cared about his position as a Realmling, and he would not care even if someone took it away from him, as long as they could defeat him. He was an odd individual, and although he had his pride, he was also unashamed of fleeing and had an impulsive nature. On top of that, he had a cavalier nature, and whether he did things in a proper or devious fashion depended on his mood.

    Zhi Yi was frustrated by Nan Yanfei, but the impending battle was very important. The Fifth Maind was supported by two of the Ten Arbiters as well as experts from ces like the Cosmic Sect and Burial Garden. Thus, Starlight Ind¡¯s safety was not guaranteed.

    She proceeded to ignore Nan Yanfei and used her star energy to create an image in the sky, sketching out Lu Yin¡¯s image. ¡°Do any of you know this person?¡±

    The Ten Arbiters were famous throughout the universe, so there was no need to investigate too heavily into the two who they were up against. Thus, Lu Yin was the only person who had piqued Zhi Yi¡¯s interest. Not only was he able to ignore Vitality Qi, but he was also someone who hadprehended two secret techniques even though he was only a Cruiser at five cycles. This was a person who Zhi Yi deeply wanted to understand, and she also wanted to capture him quite badly.

    Nan Yanfei stared at the image of Lu Yin and immediately said, ¡°That¡¯s him! That man tricked me, and he has a secret technique.¡±

    Countless were shocked the moment the words ¡°secret technique¡± were uttered, and they all stared at Lu Yin¡¯s image in envy. Not even Realmlings were guaranteed to have a secret technique. At the very least, Nan Yanfei and Shang Rong did not, as anyone who had obtained such a treasure was blessed.

    A secret technique was something that could turn the rotten into the mysterious. Once such a technique wasprehended, challenging higher realms would be child¡¯s y.

    In the middle of the crowd, Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°It¡¯s him?¡±

    Zhi Yi turned to look at Autumnfrost Qing. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing stepped forward and in a respectful tone, replied, ¡°To answer Sky Zhi, this person¡¯s name is Lu Yin, and he is from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse. When my Bloodburn Realm attacked the Outerverse, I traded blows with him. He has been to the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and I suspect that the reason why my Bloodburn Realm failed to invade the Outerverse is because they made preparations in advance and because this person cooperated with the Huang family.¡±

    Zhi Yi did not care about thetter part of Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s exnation, as the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s defeat was simply a defeat¡ªthere had been no conspiracy there. However, she did care about Lu Yin¡¯s experiences. ¡°You said that he¡¯s been to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins?¡±

    Autumnfrost Qing replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen him there more than once.¡±

    Shang Rong suddenly cried out, ¡°Yes! I remember now! Back in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins, this person was there when we were fighting for the Sierrasea¡¯s inheritance. In fact, he was the one who destroyed it!¡±

    Zhi Yi muttered to herself, deep in thought. Only the Ten Arbiters could enter the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins from the Fifth Maind, but this Lu Yin person had also been able to do so. He was definitely not one of the Arbiters, so did this mean that ess to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins was not actually limited to the Ten Arbiters?

    After the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins were brought up, Zhi Yi was suddenly reminded of Wu Taibai. He liked to disguise himself and wander thend, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s ruins was one ce that he frequented.

 Chapter 981: Infamous Throughout The Cosmic Sea

    <h4>Chapter 981: Infamous Throughout The Cosmic Sea</h4>

    ¡°His name¡¯s Lu Yin?¡± Zhi Yi asked.

    Autumnfrost Qing responded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Use my name and notify everyone from the Sixth Maind that I want to capture Lu Yin. Anyone who captures him will receive my personal rmendation to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple,¡± Zhi Yi proimed.

    Everyone was shocked by her words. Bing the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple was something that countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind dreamed of. Even Shang Rong and Nan Yanfei were shocked to hear this order, as everyone wanted a chance to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple. No matter how low the probability of sess might be, everyone would happily fight for such an opportunity.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was one of the three Progenitors who stood at the apex of the Sixth Maind. Anyone who obtained even a chance to approach the Progenitor of Bloodlines would be famous throughout the entire Sixth Maind.

    Everyone felt their blood rush to their brains as they engraved Lu Yin¡¯s image into their minds: this man was a shortcut to a glorious future.

    There was aplex look in Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes; as far as she was concerned, Lu Yin was far more valuable than the Ten Arbiters. In fact, capturing him was even more important than achieving victory in the thunder region. His secret techniques were not overly important, as some secret techniques were solely hereditary and could not always be learned. Such techniques were not Zhi Yi¡¯s first priority, especially since she had her own secret technique. Rather, she was much more concerned about Lu Yin¡¯s physique¡ªshe waspletely baffled as to how he was able topletely disregard Vitality Qi.

    Vitality Qi was a mysterious technique that was unique to the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and not many cultivators could control it. However, those who had ess to this secret ability were essentially all peerless, and Lu Yin¡¯s disregard of their unique ability had given Zhi Yi new hope for improvement.

    Unfortunately, the Ten Arbiters had not revealed themselves anywhere else, as if they had, she would have been practically guaranteed to capture Lu Yin. Instead, she would need to rely on a fair amount of luck.

    However, since she had announced a reward that involved an almighty Progenitor, the news would spread out at the fastest speed possible.

    In a very short amount of time, every single Sixth Maind cultivator within the thunder region had received the news that capturing Lu Yin would reward them with an opportunity to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    What¡¯s more, this news had evolved wildly as it spread through the entire thunder region. By the end, the original announcement had transformed into a story where the person who sessfully captured Lu Yin might be the next member of the Daosource Three Skies as well as the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple.

    It only took a few days for this matter to send shockwaves throughout every part of the Cosmic Sea, and even the Fifth Maind cultivators had learned of this announcement. Lu Yin¡¯s name had spread across thergest area in the shortest amount of time possible.

    In one specific region of the Cosmic Sea, there was a certain ce with very strange weather. As far as the eye could see, in that area, everything was red. There, the seawater was unimaginably hot, and boiling magma flowed beneath the sea.

    Currently, an endless amount of sword qi was surging out across the region, sweeping through everything. This ce was filled with experts from the Sword Sect.

    At the opposite end, the cultivators from the Sixth Maind were no slouches either.

    Liu Shaoqiu tightly clenched the hilt of his sword as blood dripped down from his wrist. In front of him was an Imprinter n disciple who hailed from the ckblood Realm. His innate gift, bloodline, and imprint were all very impressive, and he was also an Explorer just like Liu Shaoqiu. The two had been fighting for quite some time.

    ¡°Your Thirteen Swords are indeed impressive. However, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to beat me.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu gripped his sword hilt even tighter as his eyes unwaveringly stared at his opponent. ¡°Just try me.¡±

    After the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse, the Sword Sect had fully retreated to the Cosmic Sea. Over the past few years, Liu Shaoqiu had fought against many invaders, eventually receiving the title of General Qiu. He had survived numerous scrapes with death, and he had long sincee to view death as inevitable.

    Ever since the Sword Sect had retreated to the Cosmic Sea, Liu Shaoqiu had never once thought of returning to the Innerverse alive.

    At that moment, a strange fish swam past the sole of the young swordsman¡¯s feet. This fish¡¯s body was long and narrow, much like an arrow, and it was also carrying something in its mouth. This was a mailfish, a species unique to the Cosmic Sea.

    Within the Cosmic Sea, personal gadgets had a shoddy connection signal to the universalwork, making them unreliable as a means ofmunication. Rather, the best method ofmunication here was through mailfish. Messenger fish had no natural predators within the Cosmic Sea, as no living creatures would want to eat the fish. They were perfect for sending messages quickly, as their speed wasparable to even Enlighters¡¯.

    Liu Shaoqiu and the disciple from the Imprinter n both moved at the same time, both of them trying to catch the mailfish. However, since the mailfish was further away from Liu Shaoqiu, the Imprinter n disciple managed to grab the fish first. He immediately retrieved the message from the mailfish¡¯s mouth, and a look of unconceble delight could be seen in his eyes.

    Liu Shaoqiu was puzzled.

    Across from him, the disciple from the Imprinter n shared the message with Liu Shaoqiu. ¡°Do you know this man?¡±

    Shockingly, the message was Zhi Yi¡¯s announcement that had been sent out to all the Sixth Maind cultivators, and Lu Yin¡¯s picture was included with it.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s image, Liu Shaoqiu waspletely stunned. More than five years had passed since Liu Shaoqiu hadst seen Lu Yin, and the Sword Sect disciple had been so preupied by the events of the battlefield that he had nearly forgotten about Lu Yin. Due to the unending life and death pressure of numerous battles, five short years had felt like a century, and his life before the war was like another lifetime. As a result, Liu Shaoqiu had gradually forgotten about the various events of the past. However, with Lu Yin¡¯s photo right in front of his face, Liu Shaoqiu was shocked as all of those memories came flooding back.

    ¡°It seems like you do know him. One of the Daosource Three Skies has dered that anyone who captures this man alive will be given a chance to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple. If you help me capture him, then I can guarantee you that you will be able to be a part of the Sixth Maind, and I can personally ensure that you will enjoy a meteoric rise in the future,¡± the disciple from the Imprinter n proimed.

    Simr words were being spoken to Liu Xiaoyun by a different cultivator from the Sixth Maind in another area.

    Liu Xiaoyun stared at Lu Yin¡¯s picture in a daze. This man was like a ghost, as he had somehow managed to return to the Innerverse despite the Outerverse being isted. What¡¯s more, he had even managed to gain the attention of one of the Daosource Three Skies, to the point where a huge bounty had been ced on his head. For Liu Xiaoyun, the only reason for this bounty was that Lu Yin must have done something particrly atrocious. Damn it!

    The weather in the Cosmic Sea constantly shifted, and it was a very strange ce. There was even a ce where meteorites rained down from the sky, and although no one knew where they came from, they incessantly fell down. These meteorites were not small, and even Hunters would have to dodge them.

    As he watched the meteorites rain down from the sky, Wen Sansi stared off into the distance as he held a mailfish in his hands.

    Behind the Arbiter, Mira looked as seductive as ever. Her white long hair hung all the way down to her glistening bare feet.

    Next to Mira was Wen Qian¡¯er and Han Chong. One of the two was a genius from the Wen family who had been stationed at West Dios andter participated in the battle on Pyrolyte. The other had been a student leader of the Astral Combat Academy and a Realm Master who had conquered a vast territory.

    Whether it was Wen Qian¡¯er or Han Chong, both youths had survived countless battles and escaped death numerous times. They had climbed up to the level where they were able to stand right behind Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi handed the message from the fish over to Mira. ¡°Take a look.¡±

    Mira hesitated, but she still epted the mailfish and retrieved the document. Her pupils instantly shrank. ¡°How can this be?¡±

    Wen Qian¡¯er and Han Chong both became very curious.

    Mira showed the announcement to the other two youths, and both of them were shocked.

    It was a picture of Lu Yin. They both knew this youth. In fact, everyone in this small group had differing opinions of him.

    When Lu Yin had been an unequaled Limiteer in the past, Wen Qian¡¯er had wanted to challenge him, though that dream had been quickly squashed by Ling Que. The Wen family had invited Ling Que to Pyrolyte to assist their family¡¯s youths during the contest, and back then, Ling Que¡¯s strength had rendered Wen Qian¡¯erpletely powerless. After Ling Que¡¯s arrival, Mu Rong hade, and his power had left her even more terrified. However, in the end, both of those elite youths had ultimately been defeated by Lu Yin. When Lu Yin appeared on Pyrolyte, everything had been settled. That man had been undefeatable, and at the very least, he had truly been an unequaled Limiteer.

    Still, several years had gone by since then, and many desperate battles had been fought. Thus, Wen Qian¡¯er had gradually forgotten all about Lu Yin. Ling Que, Mu Rong, Liu Shaoqiu, Han Fei, and Nightqueen Yanqing had all risen to the asion and stood out like bright stars while attaining impressive titles. Lu Yin, who had easily suppressed everyone in the past, had been forgotten long ago by everyone. He had been enjoying his life in the Outerverse, and logically speaking, he should have been left far behind his peers.

    However, when Wen Qian¡¯er finally received news of Lu Yin, it was in the form of a bounty that had been set by one of the Daosource Three Skies. The Daosource Three Skies were synonymous with unrivaled geniuses, no matter if one was referring to the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind. Everyone had heard various rumors iming that the Daosource Three Skies would appear for the invasion, but those rumors had all turned out to be nothing more than false rms. However, the situation had changed, and one of the Daosource Three Skies had appeared here. Even more remarkable was the fact that she had revealed herself in order to search for Lu Yin, which clearly showed how important he was.

    Wen Qian¡¯er knew what this news meant: Lu Yin had not fallen off the radar. Instead, he had be someone so important that the Daosource Three Skies had personally sent out orders to capture him.

    Han Chong did not know how to feel about this bounty notice, but one thing was certain; he knew it was impossible for Lu Yin to lead a simple life of seclusion. Someone who dared to challenge the Daynight n despite having only cultivated for a few years was not someone whose actions could be predicted.

    Mira was the one who felt the most conflicted, as she had been the person who had led Lu Yin away from Earth. If not for Mira, Lu Yin would have long since been killed by people hoping to curry favor with the powerhouses of the Great Yu Empire. It could even be said that Mira was the one who had allowed this demon to rise up and cause all sorts of problems throughout the universe. She had only held high expectations for Lu Yin in the past because he had managed to join the Astral Combat Academy, and she had merely hoped that he would be able to stand out within the academy.

    At that time, her attitude towards Lu YIn had been nothing more than some rather simple expectations that she had not ced much hope in, simply because such an aplishment was too difficult. However, as Mira followed Lu Yin¡¯s step by step progress to the top, she hade to believe that there was no way to stop his explosive rise.

    During these past few years of war, she had also forgotten about Lu Yin. She would never have imagined that someone who had been enjoying life out in the Outerverse would be able to catch up with their battle-hardened peers from the Innerverse. However, at this moment, Mira was confused as to how this man had remained unstoppable.

    Wen Sansi looked up with a smile on his face. This news meant that Lu Yin was in the thunder region. Wen Sansi himself had nearly forgotten about the youth, and the Arbiter had a feeling that the people who had beenpeting with Lu Yin for the top had also likely forgotten about him. It was truly shocking how Lu Yin had managed to appear once again; this man was truly something. Perhaps, if fate allowed it, Lu Yin would even be able to join in on that battle!

    As the sea roared, tens of thousands of cultivators kneeled down on one knee towards a singr man who towered in the sky above them. The man¡¯s long, ck and white hair flowed freely in the wind, and in the center of his head, one could see a streak of grey hair. The young man was handsome, but there was also a certain sense of awe that radiated out from him. Although the man was just standing there, it was as if the void could not withstand his mere presence and did not dare to oppose him.

    This man was Nightking Zhenwu, one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Big brother, this Lu Yin has given everyone quite a shock by appearing once again. How did he get back to the Innerverse? On top of that, he even managed to attract the attention of one of the Daosource Three Skies.¡± Nightqueen Yanqing stood beside Nightking Zhenwu as she asked her questions; she simply could notprehend how such a development had urred.

    Nightking Zhenwu sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Since he¡¯s returned, it would be good to settle that past score with him.¡±

    In a certain region of the Cosmic Sea, Grandini Mavis and Lulu Mavis were hiding. ¡°Why do these people want to capture us?¡± Lulu Mavis asked, clearly troubled.

    Grandini Mavis rolled her eyes. ¡°How should I know? You must have been the one who caused this trouble.¡±

    Lulu immediately flew into a fit. ¡°Bullshit! I¡¯m a beautiful youngdy who is loved by all.¡±

    Grandini Mavis sneered at her reply.

    Cultivators from the Sixth Maind asionally passed by above the two girls.

    During this time, a mailfish passed by, and Grandini Mavis hurriedly tried to capture it, but the fish managed to escape her efforts.

    Lulu¡¯s eyes shed, and although the mailfish had already swam away, it surprisingly turned back around to them. There was an arrogant look on Lulu¡¯s face as she grabbed the document from the mailfish¡¯s mouth and started to read it. She was immediately shocked by what she read. ¡°This is something really surprising.¡±

    Grandini Mavis looked over, and shock also appeared on her face. ¡°Lu Yin? Wasn¡¯t he stuck in the Outerverse? How is he back? More importantly, one of the Daosource Three Skies actually ced a huge bounty for his capture. Lulu, he¡¯s even more of a trouble maker than you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the troublemaker! Your whole family are troublemakers.¡±

    ¡°My whole family is your whole family¡ªwe¡¯re both Mavises.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t spout such crap, someone could hear you.¡±

    ¡°Hush...¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 982: Burial Garden

    <h4>Chapter 982: Burial Garden</h4>

    In yet another area of the Cosmic Sea, one known as the Whitecliff Region, everything in this region was white, no matter if it was the sky, the seawater, the seabed, or even the rocks. The strangest detail about this ce was that the water could not be touched, or else one would melt away.

    There were battles taking ce all across the Whitecliff Region. To the southernmost area was a tall tform, which was the Champions'' Stage. Surprisingly, this ce was thergest battlefield in the entire Cosmic Sea.

    The Fifth and Sixth Mainds¡¯ top experts had all gathered in this region. At times, someone would plummet to the sea and melt into nothingness.

    Atop the sea, there was a sheet of mysterious blue ice that had frozen over, and a veiled woman was standing atop the blue ice while holding onto a longsword. With the casual flick of her wrist, the sword flickered and radiated beams of light that cut multiple Sixth Maind cultivators in half, causing them to fall into the sea. In the woman¡¯s left hand, she held a mailfish. ¡°Returned¡­ So has the Innerverse reconnected with the Outerverse? After this battle, it might be time to return home to take a look. Earth...¡±

    Not too far away from the woman was a snarling group of sylvan dragons with a Fifth Maind cultivator standing on top of each beast¡¯s head. There was also a pretty woman attacking with a Cosmic Palm, though the number of stars far surpassed 999. In contrast, there was a burly, three-meter tall masculine figure. This was the Ten Arbiters'' War King. In another area, there was an elegant man whose attacks shot through the void in a linear fashion. And finally, there was a phoenix that unleashed mes that created burning seas. This phoenix belonged to the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Undying Bird.

    Each of these people was exceptionally powerful, but all of their opponents possessed a simr level of strength.

    This was the greatest battlefield in the Cosmic Sea, and anyone who stepped onto the battlefield in the sky had earned a title of King or Queen at the very least.

    Even still, the news rted to the Daosource Three Skies was even able to spread to this ce, precisely because they were the Daosource Three Skies.

    The icy woman let the mailfish go as she looked in a different direction, at where the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Undying Bird was fighting against a swordsman from the Sixth Maind. Nobody knew the swordsman¡¯s true name, only that he was the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling. As a result, everyone called this young man Sword Schr. A single longsword shed about in all directions, and the sword emerged from books only to enter other books. This was Sword Schr¡¯s technique, and even the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Undying Bird was somewhat suppressed by it, unable to contend with the Realmling.

    The Sage Martial Realm was special among the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nine Realms simply because too many powerhouses hade from that realm. Even the Progenitor of Combat had risen from the Sage Martial Realm, and if any of the other Realmlings moved to the Sage Martial Realm, there was no guarantee that they would be able to be the Realmling. The Sixth Maind had nine Realmlings, and even if the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling was not ranked first, he was absolutely within the top three.

    At this moment, there were cultivators from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds fighting against each other directly underneath where Sword Schr and the Undying Bird were battling. If Lu Yin had been present, he would have definitely recognized one of the girls on the battlefield: Miss Qing.

    The two of them had met on several asions within the Fifth Maind''s Daosource Sect''s ruins, but they had not bumped into each other since Lu Yin¡¯s first few visits.

    Miss Qing¡¯s opponent was a Cruiser who was one of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ seeds from the same generation as the Ten Arbiters. This person was one of the numerous top geniuses who had been suppressed by the Ten Arbiters, and within the Innerverse, he had only needed to make a few appearances to enter the Top 100 Rankings, even reaching the position of eighth. Among the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, he could already be considered a peak expert, and he had also received the title of General. However, even a powerhouse of this level was unable to defeat Miss Qing, and the girl seemed to be ying around, never taking the fight seriously.

    A mailfish shot out of the sea. The seawater in the Whitecliff Region was supposed to be able to dissolve everything, but it could not melt this breed of fish, which was a strange mystery.

    Miss Qing¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the picture of Lu Yin in the message. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Across from her, the Cruiser with a General title from Shamrock Enterprises grew sullen. He could feel Miss Qing¡¯s disregard for him, but he was helpless to do anything about it.

    Various top experts constantly appeared all around this area, and even further away, there were several peak experts trading blows. There was also a cloud of white smoke wafting about and obscuring the void while the errant sound of horses neighing rang out as a ck fire spread everywhere. There was even a massive construction flickering in the distance that was reminiscent of a brothel.

    This ce was the greatest battlefield in the entire Cosmic Sea.

    Further to the south, at the edge of the Cosmic Sea, the suppressive cosmic phenomenon gradually dissipated until it vanished entirely. In this ce, there was arge group of older generation experts from the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse. The old experts of the Wen family, the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, the Divine Grade Hall, the ze Realm, and other organizations had all gathered here. Even the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect, the Hall of Honor, and Gods¡¯ Origin were here. The various powers gathered in this ce were as numerous as the stars.

    It was their presence that restricted the numerous Imprinters, World Imprinters, Cosmic Imprinters, and even Empyrean Imprinters from the Sixth Maind¡¯s three territories.

    These people were the force that could actually determine the oue of this war. The younger generation were nothing but kids. Despite that, the ultimate oue of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s battleground would be determined by the younger generation, and the Daosource Three Skies were the top talents of the young generation.

    News regarding the Daosource Three Skies quickly reached these older powerhouses just like the rest of the people in the Cosmic Sea.

    No one would have imagined that some junior from the Outerverse would actually manage to return to the Innerverse, let alone draw the attention of one of the Daosource Three Skies. More importantly, the bounty for this youth even involved the Progenitor of Bloodlines, which waspletely exaggerated.

    The ze Realm, the Daynight n, and other such top powers had already forgotten about Lu Yin during thest few years, but he actually appeared out of nowhere at such a time.

    Nightking Yuanjing nkly stared at the picture of Lu Yin that was included in the message, and a strange expression appeared on his face as ineffable andplex emotions bubbled within his heart. In the beginning, he had still been able to manipte that little fellow, but as time passed, Nightking Yuanjing had gradually lost control. In fact, when he thought back, while Nightking Yuanjing had been trying to control Lu Yin, the youth had actually been the one manipting the old powerhouse. Although they had found some traces of the Third Nightking, the information had been of no use at all.

    The old man had an extremely deep impression of Lu Yin, though the Nightking had also forgotten about the youth after several years of the war against the Sixth Maind. In fact, Nightking Yuanjing had even assumed that the youth had died since he was fully aware of the attitude that the Daynight n in the Outerverse held towards Lu Yin. The elder had never expected that, not only would Lu Yin return to the Innerverse alive, but that the kid would also attract the attention of one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°So he¡¯s returned. That¡¯s going to cause problems.¡± Nightking Yuanjing frowned as Zhuo Daynight¡¯s figure appeared in his mind.

    The bounty for Lu Yin¡¯s capture had incited such argemotion precisely because he was being pursued by one of the Daosource Three Skies. Additionally, the reward for his live capture waspletely over the top as it even involved a Progenitor. The truth was that it was impossible for Lu Yin to warrant such attention through his own efforts, not even if he had made enough achievements to receive the title of King. There were just too many experts from the Neoverse who had joined the war and managed to earn the title of King or Queen. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the Ten Arbiters; thus, there was absolutely no reason for Lu Yin to deserve such attention.

    The existence of Lu Yin¡¯s bounty caused the various great powers to start guessing about the Daosource Three Skies and the Progenitor of Bloodlines. However, there were some who were truly happy at the news.

    A battleship swayed atop arge sea, and even the sky trembled as a loudughter echoed into the distance. This battleship was a part of Leon¡¯s Armada, and Highsage Leon was the personughing. He was a terrifying powerhouse who had once charged into the Technocracy alone, and he had also fought against the Sea King once.

    The overwhelmingughter persisted for some time, and the reverberations even caused the sea to grow turbulent, eventually affecting even the water in the nearby regions. Quite a few people emerged and frowned while looking in the direction of Leon¡¯s Armada. The Ross Empire was stationed near them, and they were badly affected, as many of their technological devices began emitting sparks.

    Some wanted to protest, but they were all stopped.

    ¡°Are you crazy? That¡¯s Highsage Leon¡ªwe can¡¯t offend him.¡±

    ¡°What are we afraid of? We¡¯ve united against those outsiders, so would he even dare to attack us?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell, as he¡¯s nuts. He controls all of the pirates in the Cosmic Sea, so is there anything that he doesn¡¯t dare to do? Are you really going to pin your hopes on a pirate being reasonable? Besides, there¡¯s also a bunch of hoodlums following him, and offending him is no different than provoking all of them. Even those monstrous organizations from the Neoverse don¡¯t want to deal with them.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, lunatic.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°He¡¯s indeed one of us! He¡¯s got guts, and he even created such a huge mess as soon as he appeared, hahaha!¡± Highsage Leon held a knife as he pressed down on his vessel with a firm hand, causing formless ripples to spread out and cover arger andrger area. Soon, the ripples not only covered the waters where Leon¡¯s Armada was located, but also the region where the Ross Empire and ze Realm were stationed, which was some distance away.

    The external mes of the ze Realm were all extinguished, which led to an outburst of curses.

    Highsage Leon did not care, as he had disliked those people for a long time. If not for the fact that these people had sworn to attack the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces, there was no way they would have ever been able to leave the Cosmic Sea alive. After all, they had dared to use underhanded means to go against Little Seven, which meant that they were clearly tired of living.

    Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s subordinates had bitter smiles, but when they looked at the picture of Lu Yin that had been pasted onto Highsage Leon¡¯s ship, everyone feltforted; the little kid from back then had grown up.

    They had been worried about this kid who had been left behind in the Outerverse ever since they had been cut off from the Innerverse. All of them were afraid that Lu Yin might be killed by the enormous powers of the Outerverse while the Cosmic Sea was unable to send any help. Fortunately, everything had worked out fine.

    There were seven great regiments under Leon¡¯s Armada, and Big Sis¡¯s regiment was ranked right below those seven. Thus, in some sense, it could almost be considered as the eighth regiment.

    As Big Sis looked at the picture of Lu Yin in the message, the emotional knot that she had silently carried within her heart for many years instantly vanished. ¡°It¡¯s great, as long as he¡¯s still alive.¡±

    Behind her, Reuben, the Sleazy Bros, Kuma the Third, and all the others all heaved sighs of relief. To them, it did not matter what Lu Yin did¡ªit was sufficient that he was still alive.

    ¡°Big Sis, Little Seven has drawn the attention of the entire Sixth Maind now. The reward offered by this member of the Daosource Three Skies is too good. He¡¯s in danger,¡± Reuben mentioned.

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed and shed with a cold light. ¡°I know.¡±

    No matter whatmotion erupted in the outside world, the thunder region enjoyed a few days of peace. After those days passed, Unseen Light, White Knight, Lu Yin, Starsibyl, Mu Ziying, Tai Yuanjun, and all the others gathered together in preparation to attack the Starlight Ind.

    Unseen Light led all of them, and an entire group of top elites from the younger generation united, along with millions of cultivators from the Fifth Maind. They crossed over the thunder region and ughtered their way towards Starlight Ind.

    Within the crowd, Lu Yin saw Avery, who was the strongest member of the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s younger generation. He was known as the Second War King, and he was a subordinate of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight. When Lu Yin had participated in the teleportation battles all those years ago, he had once faced Avery, though Lu Yin had been utterly crushed.

    He also saw Tai Yuanjun, who was ranked second on the Top 100 Rankings, surpassing Avery by two ranks. This person was someone who was infatuated with Starsibyl, and he had almost run over and embraced her the moment he saw her.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple, Mu Ziying, was also with them, along with a strange man from Burial Garden.

    Burial Garden was a group that Lu Yin had not heard of before, but he had recentlye to learn that they were one of the Three Dark Hands, and they were one of the universe¡¯s most mysterious forces.

    The Three Dark Hands consisted of the Neohuman Alliance, the Court of Seven Names, and Burial Garden. Of the three, the Neohuman Alliance was publicly recognized as the enemy of all of humanity. Lu Yin had formerly assumed that the Court of Seven Names and Burial Garden were simrly enemies of the Human Domain, but once he learned a bit more, he found that the truth was different.

    The Neohuman Alliance hadpletely betrayed humanity and did not care about any sort of factions. Even with the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, it was possible that the Neohuman Alliance would wreak havoc behind lines or even join forces with the Sixth Maind. They were an organization that absolutely had to be thoroughly exterminated.

    The Seven Courts were also known as one of the Three Dark Hands because they had fought for control of Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum against powers like the Hall of Honor, which was something that Ku Wei had mentioned to Lu Yin in the past. Furthermore, the Seven Courts had even emerged victorious. As a result, they had been deliberately ndered, but they had never been dered to be enemies of the Human Domain. Instead, the two sides could even be considered as reluctantly hostile against each other. The Hall of Honor represented the greater good of humanity and was the strongest power within the Human Domain. Thus, the Seven Courts had clearly been forced to take on the role of the dark side.

    In the end, the Hall of Honor had lost the contest for control of Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, which led to them also losing face, which they had had to somehow regain.

    As for Burial Garden, it was the most mysterious of the Three Dark Hands, and nobody seemed to know anything about that power, much less understand it. Essentially, nobody knew anything about Burial Garden, but just the name alone was able to cause the hair on the back of Lu Yin¡¯s neck stand up. In the past, Xuan Jiu had said that Lu Yin had looked into the eyes of the dead, and he had even written down the word ¡°burial,¡± which Lu Yin now realized represented Burial Garden.

    Xuan Jiu had basically told Lu Yin that Burial Garden woulde looking for him one day.

 Chapter 983: Provocation

    <h4>Chapter 983: Provocation</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at the nearby Starlight Ind as bloodthirsty cries filled the air. At that moment, during this savage atmosphere, Lu Yin finally found an opportunity to sneak a nce at the person from Burial Garden. What exactly did this power stand for and represent?

    The assault against Starlight Ind went exceptionally smoothly, as only some tens of thousands of Sixth Maind cultivators had been left behind to form a meager attempt of resistance. Although it sounded like there were still a lot of people on the ind, the vast majority of the cultivators had already left.

    Even a fool would be able to realize that something was not right. Even stranger, the poles had been left behind on Starlight Ind.

    If the other poles had not been left on the ind, then White Knight and the others would have actually heaved sighs of relief, as that would be proof that the Sixth Maind had not given up on the thunder region yet. However, the presence of the other poles on Starlight Ind indicated that the Sixth Maind hadpletely abandoned the thunder region¡ªthis couldn¡¯t have been stated any more clearly. Since the Sixth Maind had abandoned this region, that could only mean that there was something else that was even more important to them.

    The moment Starsibyl stepped foot onto Starlight Ind, she started calcting her divinations while Unseen Light and the others retrieved the two final poles. When they returned, her face was pale. ¡°We¡¯ve stepped into a trap.

    ¡°Zhi Yi has abandoned the thunder region, and she went that way.¡± Starsibyl pointed to the southeast.

    When everyone looked at where she had pointed, many of them exchanged nces. Everyone was stunned.

    ¡°Whitecliff Region,¡± White Knight blurted out.

    Starsibyl¡¯s expression turned ugly. ¡°It¡¯s possible that Zhi Yi might have onlye to the thunder region as a distraction from the very start and that her true target was the Whitecliff Region the entire time. There¡¯s no way that only one of the Daosource Three Skies will show up there¡ªthe Whitecliff Region is in danger.¡±

    ¡°As far as the Sixth Maind is concerned, there¡¯s no need to conquer the entire Cosmic Sea. As long as they manage to gain control of a single passageway that¡¯s connected to a ce that¡¯s free of the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, that¡¯s enough for them. At that point, the members of their older generation will be able to take action,¡± Unseen Light observed gloomily.

    White Knight continued, adding on, ¡°They¡¯re willing to pay an extremely steep price for this n. If they fail, then not only will they lose the Whitecliff Region, but they will also lose their grip over nearly the entire Cosmic Sea. This means that they almost definitely intend to charge out of the Cosmic Sea in one go, so there must be many powerful Imprinters supporting them, and even an Empyrean Imprinter is likely.¡±

    ¡°And not just one,¡± Starsibyl concluded.

    After listening to this conversation, the entire crowd¡¯s morale dropped.

    Lu Yin frowned tightly. He did not know if Zhi Yi had nned everything from the start or if this ns had only been put into motion after they lost control of three poles in the thunder region. No matter what, she should have left the region long ago. Just a single one of the Daosource Three Skies was enough to flip the battlefield¡¯s bnce, and not every member of the Ten Arbiters was strong enough to stand against one of those three. If Zhi Yi really did not care about her reputation and used her Sky Dipper to force her way through, then there really wasn¡¯t anyone who could stop her.

    Even more terrifying was the possibility that she might not be the only member of the Daosource Three Skies who would appear, and there was even a chance that all three might show up. Unseen Light and White Knight had been dyed in the thunder region, so there were certainly other Ten Arbiters who had been dyed in other areas. The Whitecliff Region was in danger.

    At this time, a short man moved over next to Lu Yin and quietly said, ¡°Seventh Bro, there¡¯s a mailfish.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the man in a doubtful manner. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The man smiled back at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m from Leon¡¯s Armada.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. ¡°Really?¡±

    Uncle Reuben had told Lu Yin that he was a member of Leon¡¯s Armada, and Lu Yin still felt quite grateful to the pirate crew, though he was also curious and apprehensive towards them. He did not know what kind of people were in this group, as they were pirates after all. Still, no matter what, they had taken Lu Yin in and made him a part of their family¡ªeven Big Sis and the others were from Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Also, Lu Yin had supposedly been rescued by Highsage Leon himself. It seemed that Lu Yin had not originally appeared in the Innerverse, but rather in the Cosmic Sea and then simply awakened within the Innerverse. Thus, Highsage Leon was Lu Yin¡¯s benefactor.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, check it out! These mailfish are a unique species in the Cosmic Sea, and they can ry information throughout the entire Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and read the message, but his expression immediately changed afterwards. ¡°The Whitecliff Region is in trouble.¡±

    The others all looked over as well.

    White Knight looked at the mailfish in Lu Yin¡¯s hand and immediately grabbed the message. ¡°The Whitecliff Region has been defeated, and the people there have retreated to the border. They¡¯re now asking for support through these mailfish that have been sent out to nearby waters. In short, they¡¯re asking us to reinforce the Whitecliff Region. Two of the Daosource Three Skies have appeared¡ªthe Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ heir, Bu Kong, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ heir, Zhi Yi, have both appeared in the Whitecliff Region.¡±

    Before anyone could recover from the shock of this information, White Knight continued, reading out, ¡°The War King of the Ten Arbiters has been defeated, and Honor Chosen Shu Jing was also defeated. The Champions'' Stage has been taken by Bu Kong. With the title of the Daosource Three Skies, the two have challenged all experts from the same generation in the Fifth Maind.¡±

    The crowd was overwhelmed to learn that another member of the Daosource Three Skies had appeared, and this new person had even stolen the Champions'' Stage.

    Shouldn¡¯t the Champions'' Stage be something that was held by the Hall of Honor? The Champions'' Stage was used to motivate all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s youths, but it had just been stolen by the Sixth Maind, which would have a terrible impact on the Fifth Maind cultivators¡¯ morale.

    Unseen Light raised his head and turned to face the Whitecliff Region. He felt a strong pressure from that direction.

    Only those who had traded blows with one of the Daosource Three Skies before would feel such pressure. Although Unseen Light had been able to force Zhi Yi into a helpless situation, he had been unable to defeat her, and this was all when the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon was taken into ount. If that suppression suddenly disappeared for some reason, Zhi Yi would be able to disy even greater strength than an Enlighter, which was a power level that Unseen Light could not easily contend with.

    And if Zhi Yi was already that powerful, then what about the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ heir? That Progenitor was even reputed to possess the greatest number of secret techniques!

    Secret techniques were always difficult obstacles to ovee, as average cultivators could not even deal with a single one of them. Since the Progenitor of Secret Arts possessed thergest number of secret techniques, that automatically made their heir the most mysterious of the three heirs.

    At this moment, they received information that the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ heir had stolen the Champions'' Stage, and not even Unseen Light knew how they could reim it. It might be possible, but only if all Ten Arbiters united. However, they could not leave the thunder region. The Sixth Maind was still invading them, and there were many paths that they could take to victory. However, for the Fifth Maind, there was but one: they had to protect their home to the death, not abandoning even a single region. Anything else would simply lead to the Fifth Maind¡¯s crushing defeat.

    Everyone fell silent.

    Lu Yin nced around the area and saw everyone¡¯s ugly expressions. If the Sixth Maind established a path through the Cosmic Sea by way of the Whitecliff Region, then those older experts would be able to pass through unchallenged, and the situation would degrade to nothing more than a contest of absolute might. At that time, even if the Fifth Maind did notpletely copse, both the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse would both be crushed. Nobody could even imagine how fearsome those Empyrean Imprinters were, and nobody dared to gamble with a battle involving such powerhouses.

    Although just the remnant spiritual force of a Progenitor had acted, the Innerverse and half of the Cosmic Sea had been affected by its phenomenon. Even though an Empyrean Imprinter was greatly inferior to such overwhelming might, just one of those powerhouses could destroy a vast amount of territory.

    ¡°Whitecliff Region is requesting aid, but Unseen Light and I cannot leave, as the thunder region will be in danger if we do,¡± White Knight exined. She then looked over at Lu Yin and Starsibyl. ¡°You guys go ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin did not refuse.

    Starsibyl quietly replied, ¡°Hopefully, with the two of you around, you¡¯ll be able to hold back the two Realmlings in this region.¡±

    White Knight frowned, as that was truly just a hope since they had no other option. Once they left the thunder region, Shang Rong and Nan Yanfei might reappear and snatch away all five poles of the thunder region. Of course, it was also possible that the two Realmlings might have moved to the Whitecliff Region, in which case there was no reason for the Arbiters to stay behind. However, they could not gamble on such a possibility.

    ¡°Try and divine the situation.¡± Lu Yin could not stop himself from speaking up, and he looked over at Starsibyl.

    She calmly replied, ¡°Divination is not omniscient, and the diviner merely selects one of myriad possibilities that approaches the closest to reality. These two must stay behind. Otherwise, those two Realmlings will likely create chaos in the thunder region.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you try Heaven''s Enigma?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes went wide as she stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Where did you hear about that?¡±

    ¡°Your Grandpa Jiu,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Unseen Light, White Knight, Hua Xiao, and the others all gave Lu Yin very strange looks¡ªwhy was Lu Yin suddenly scolding others?

    Starsibyl¡¯s face twisted into an ugly expression. ¡°I already told you to never mention him again.¡±

    ¡°But he knows Heaven''s Enigma, so why don¡¯t you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl was irritated. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as Heaven''s Enigma. He simply made the whole thing up!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lu Yin did not know who to believe. Xuan Jiu had tried to divine something about Lu Yin¡¯s family, and he had immediately spat out blood afterwards. If his technique was truly fraudulent, then the old man¡¯s dedication to his craft was certainly worthy of respect. For one, Xuan Jiu had not asked for any money or any sort of repayment, making him seem less like a scammer.

    Tai Yuanjun walked over, stood next to Starsibyl, and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t ever mention Xuan Jiu, that liar. That damn old stick just goes around taking advantage of people.¡±

    Hearing of Xuan Jiu had apparently thrown Starsibyl out of sorts, and White Knight red at Lu Yin. ¡°You guys should leave.¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to dy unduly, as Zhi Yi had clearly gained the upper hand in this situation. If the Fifth Maind allowed the Sixth Maind to establish a path through the Whitecliff Region, then they would be nothing more than aughingstock.

    Lu Yin and Starsibyl were not alone, as Tai Yuanjun also wanted to go with them, regardless of if he lived or died. He also kept a constant watchful eye on Lu Yin as though the youth was a thief. There was one other person who wanted to go along, which was that short man from Leon¡¯s Armada. The short man was actually the one leading the way.

    The way Tai Yuanjun stared at Lu Yin was eerily simr to how Zhu San had stared at Lu Yin in the past. Lu Yin even wondered if he should tell Tai Yuanjun about Zhu San as a reminder that the more tightly one pursued something, the faster they would lose it.

    There were many cultivators in the thunder region, but there were only a few true powerhouses who had at least earned a title of General.

    The rest of the people remained in the thunder region, and only Lu Yin¡¯s small group moved out towards the Whitecliff Region.

    No one knew where Ling Que had disappeared to, as he had slipped away as soon as Zhi Yi had appeared, and he had left exceptionally quickly as well.

    The Cosmic Sea was veryrge, but the thunder region was not too away from the Whitecliff Region. Still, it was impossible toplete the journey in a short amount of time, and that wasn¡¯t even factoring in their chances of running into bad weather along the way.

    The Four Pirate Crews had spent many years traveling about the Cosmic Sea before they had discovered the safe routes within this area. With the short man¡¯s guidance, Lu Yin¡¯s group was able to travel to the Whitecliff Region at the quickest speed possible, but it still took them several days to arrive.

    At this same time, the battle in the Whitecliff Region grew even more intense. Therge Champions'' Stage should have originally contained the carved names of the Fifth Maind¡¯s elite young experts, which was a supreme honor. However, at this moment, the Champions'' Stage had been stepped on by Bu Kong and Zhi Yi, causing the eyes of countless cultivators from the Fifth Maind to go bloodshot from anger.

    Bu Kong was a man with a jade-like face, and at first nce, he seemed rather good looking, but when one observed him a bit closer, his mien was actually rather immature, as if he had juste of age. His eyes radiated an insufferable arrogance and a terrible ambition for the future.

    In truth, Bu Kong was only twenty years old, which was even younger than Lu Yin. However, Bu Kong possessed an incredible innate gift, and he had alsoprehended all of the secret techniques given to him by the Progenitor of Secret Arts, which had created quite amotion in the Sixth Maind.

    Throughout the countless years, Bu Kong was the only person who had been able toprehend all of these secret techniques at such a young age. In the past, very few of the Daosource Three Skies had been able topletely master all of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ secret techniques.

    The unending ttery that followed had eventually led Bu Kong to grow arrogant and live up to the meaning of his name.

    Still, he deserved to be this arrogant¡ªaside from Wu Taibai and Zhi Yi, who were also a part of the Daosource Three Skies, there was no one else within the same generation who was Bu Kong¡¯s peer.

    He had actually seized the Champions'' Stage byplete ident, as he had never dreamed that the stage would be protected by such flimsy security measures. Zhi Yi¡¯s sudden appearance had allowed Bu Kong to achieve an incredible military achievement.

    The Champions'' Stage was a powerful motivator for the youths of the Fifth Maind, and Bu Kong¡¯s aplishment was correspondingly just asrge. He intended to engrave his own name into the history of the Fifth Maind by bing a stain that blemished the entire maind.

    [1] In this case, [Bu = not] and [Kong = empty]. The author is making a pun about how Bu Kong is puffed up with arrogance/full of hot air.

 Chapter 984: Bu Kong

    <h4>Chapter 984: Bu Kong</h4>

    Zhi Yi stared down at the Champions'' Stage below her while wondering what sort of material it was made from. It could not be destroyed, which suggested that it was made out of some sort of remnant material from an ancient era. Unfortunately, not much of this material had been avable, and only the outeryer had been constructed from it.

    ¡°The two of us joining forces is enough to topple the Whitecliff Region,¡± Bu Kong proimed loudly with a haughty expression.

    Zhi Yi calmly retorted, ¡°Just wait a bit longer to ensure that everything is in order.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just the Fifth Maind. What could they possibly throw at us that we would need to prepare for?¡± Bu Kong absolutely disdained this ce.

    Zhi Yi could not be bothered to exin the situation to this youth. He constantly grew more and more arrogant, and it was even possible that he no longer viewed her as anyone important anymore.

    ¡°Did youe here so quickly because the thunder region was defeated?¡± Bu Kong suddenly asked.

    Zhi Yi frowned. ¡°So what if that happened? The Ten Arbiters are not easy to deal with, and there are many other experts who are in no way inferior to the Ten Arbiters on this battlefield. Don¡¯t be careless.¡±

    Bu Kong sneered. ¡°The Ten Arbiters? They¡¯re nothing much.¡±

    ¡°Thieves, give up the Champions'' Stage!¡± A loud cry sounded out from below the two Daosource Three Skies, originating from a group of ten cultivators who charged at Bu Kong as one. They used a coordination battle technique and shook off numerous Sixth Maind cultivators as they charged straight at the Champions'' Stage and Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he took a single step forward. ¡°Know your ce.¡±

    He then vanished from sight as he shot past the approaching cultivators. After Bu Kong moved past them, the ten youths suddenly stopped in ce. Their bodies then began to rapidly dpose until they utterly disappeared.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s expression changed slightly. Whenever she saw Bu Kong fight, she would feel overwhelmed. The youth¡¯s talents and battle techniques were almost unbelievable, and even her Sky Dipper might not be able topletely withstand his attacks. Although he was young, he truly was able to look down upon all others.

    Right when Zhi Yi was being overwhelmed by Bu Kong¡¯s abilities, the void in the distance was sliced open, and a formless attack descended. She did not even bother moving and calmly allowed the attack to fall down upon her Sky Dipper that was surrounding her body. She had assumed that her Sky Dipper would be able to easily withstand the attack, but she was actually pushed back several steps by the attack. When she recovered, she looked up in shock to see a serene-looking young man standing before her.

    ¡°On this entire battlefield, there are no more than three people who would dare to allow me to attack them freely. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re one of the Daosource Three Skies,¡± the serene manmented in a deep voice.

    Bu Kong looked over and mentioned to Zhi Yi, ¡°This guy¡¯s an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor. He¡¯s called Shu Jing, and he¡¯s not bad. He can almost match up to me.¡±

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed, as that evaluation from Bu Kong meant that this person was more than merely ¡°not bad.¡± There were almost no youths who were capable of pushing her back, and the only ones who could were on the level of the Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings. This Honor Chosen might be just as strong as Unseen Light.

    ¡°One should behave honestly,¡± Shu Jing calmly stated. He then tapped out with a finger, splitting the void open once again. This attack caused Zhi Yi¡¯s expression to change, and she responded by raising her hand, causing her Vitality Qi to form a long sword that shed out in response. The two attacks collided within the void, and the resulting aftershocks swept out towards the white sea, dividing it in two.

    Countless were overwhelmed by the fearsome shockwaves, and everyone did their best to evade them.

    At that moment, a massive figure shot towards the Champions'' Stage from above, and Bu Kong turned around with arched brows. ¡°So it¡¯s you again.¡±

    This person was at least three meters tall, and he had enormous earlobes along with a square face. This was the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King.

    ¡°Fighting with you is very interesting, so let¡¯s go again!¡± The War King grinned as he pped out with a massive palm.

    Bu Kong snorted. ¡°You¡¯ve already been defeated once, so you must simply be tired of living.¡±

    An Undying Bird soared over from the distance while Sword Schr wandered about the void, his movements harmonizing with the movements of his sword as he flew about the battlefield.

    Even further away, a great deal of smoke invaded the area as a rain of arrows fell down, only to be quickly enveloped by the thick smoke cloud once again. This thick smoke was something caused by the Neoverse¡¯s Smoke Eater Peaks¡¯ Young Master Gu Xiao''er, and his opponent was the Realmling of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ East Realm, Little Arrow Saint.

    The battle in the Whitecliff Region had never ceased, and the Arbiters, Realmlings, and even Daosource Three Skies had been constantly fighting each other. The Champions'' Stage was the focus of both sides, but no one had been able to reim it from beneath the feet of Bu Kong and Zhi Yi so far.

    In another part of the Cosmic Sea, in the thunder region, a group of four shot towards the Whitecliff Region. Lightning asionally rained down from the sky and illuminated their faces, but in the next moment, the sky would clear up once again. This demonstrated just how capricious the weather in the Cosmic Sea was and how freak phenomena could ur anywhere in the sea.

    It did not take long for the small group to draw near the border of the thunder region. Once they did, a radiant, white sun rose up from the bottom of the sea along with Shang Rong. There was a sinister look on his face as he stared at the four youths. ¡°I knew that you guys would want to reinforce the Whitecliff Region. You can just die here.¡±

    The white sun then tumbled down and illuminated their terrified faces.

    The four were destroyed without any form of resistance.

    Nan Yanfei rose up from the seabed with a strange look on his face as he surveyed the area where the four people had disappeared from. ¡°Something¡¯s not right. They aren¡¯t that weak.¡±

    Shang Rong¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°We¡¯ve been tricked! These four were a decoy, and the real reinforcements have already left.¡±

    ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no way we can deal with them at this point. We¡¯ll be fine as long as we stay here and keep those two Arbiters upied,¡± Nan Yanfei replied.

    Somewhere not too far from the two Realmlings, Lu Yin¡¯s group of four were headed towards the Whitecliff Region. Starsibyl had foreseen the earlier incident, and as a result, she had captured four cultivators from the Sixth Maind and then used some strange method to cause the four to silently fly towards the Whitecliff Region.

    Lu Yin did not know what had happened to those four people, but regardless, his group had sessfully exited the thunder region.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, the route to the Whitecliff Region will get a bit more dangerous from here on out. I rmend that we regrly have Starsibyl perform divinations,¡± the short man from Leon¡¯s Armada suggested.

    Lu Yin did not say much, but Tai Yuanjun, who was standing next to him, became upset. ¡°Do you think that you can order Starsibyl about? Stop your nonsense!¡±

    The short man just looked at Tai Yuanjun.

    Tai Yuanjun¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What? Are you not happy?¡±

    He was aware that the short man was someone from Leon¡¯s Armada, but those people were just a bunch of pirates in his eyes. Tai Yuanjun clearly looked down upon such people.

    ¡°Kid, this is the Cosmic Sea, so reign in your arrogance from being number two on the Top 100 Rankings,¡± the short man said in an eerie voice as his eyes grew cold.

    Tai Yuanjun sneered. ¡°You really know how to talk despite just being an Explorer.¡±

    Lu Yin arched his brow. ¡°Please speak more politely. Otherwise, I don¡¯t have a problem with teaching you how to behave properly.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Teach me to behave? Just by yourself?¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand. ¡°Just tell me when it hurts, and I¡¯ll lighten up.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun was about to step forward and attack Lu Yin, but Starsibyl growled, ¡°Alright, is this really the time for us to be infighting?¡±

    Tai Yuanjun¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he shot a big smile towards Starsibyl. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. At a time like this, we really need to unite against external threats. I won¡¯t bicker with this trash.¡±

    The short man reflexively pulled out a knife, wanting to attack, but Lu Yin pressed a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just ignore it and forgive him. Such one-sided love can be quite scary.¡±

    They did not know if Tai Yuanjun had heard Lu Yin¡¯sment, as he continued to smile at Starsibyl in a rather creepy manner.

    Starsibyl had no choice. Tai Yuanjun had been annoying her for a long time, but she could only ignore everything and continue on her way.

    One dayter, the four of them encountered a giant storm sweeping across the sea, and even with the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s small group, the four were still nearly blown away. This was still not considered a very serious event, as next, they ran into a hailstorm. Each piece of icy hail raining down from the sky was asrge as a mountain. Lu Yin had never seen anything like this before, and the falling hailstones covered the entire sky. It was a mystery as to where these hailstones had evene from.

    Ice constantly fell down from the sky, but not even the sea was stable. Waterspouts that shot up into the sky randomly appeared, carrying a few strange creatures whenever they did so. Some of these creatures were not that weak, with some even surpassing an Enlighters¡¯ strength. For some reason, these beasts were not erased by the cosmic phenomenon, as it seemed that the Rune Progenitor¡¯s phenomena only targeted humans. As a result, people from the Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone held the advantage in this environment, though the group had not run into anyone from the Beast Tamers Flowzone anywhere at all.

    Regardless of whether it was the Rune Progenitor¡¯s phenomena or the weather in the Cosmic Sea, everything that the four people encountered was quite strange.

    Along the way, Tai Yuanjun only focused on fawning over Starsibyl, and hepletely ignored Lu Yin. Though Lu Yin himself could not be bothered with such nonsense.

    At very regr intervals, Starsibyl would make a divination, though they did not know if her efforts were useful. Still, they took frequent detours, and many dayster, they finally saw a boundless white shape off in the distance. They had arrived at the Whitecliff Region.

    The four people grew excited, as they were finally about to arrive.

    They had somewhat forgotten that they were not touring around the Whitecliff Region, but had rathere to reinforce the defenders there. However, they were immediately reminded of their true purpose when the sky was slightly torn by a bit of sword qi.

    The face of that short man from Leon¡¯s Armada turned pale in an instant. ¡°Sev- Seventh Bro, you guys go ahead. I won¡¯t go with you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was quite solemn, as the rune lines that he had seen from that sword qi were very close to the power level limit of 200,000. On top of that, it had carried a battle force that, although suppressed, had still been extremely powerful as well as an invisible strength, meaning that the attack¡¯s level had reached that of a Realmling.

    Even further ahead of the small group, more rune lines pervaded the skies with countless runes covering the sea and everything that Lu Yin could see.

    There was the battlefield in the Whitecliff Region, the most intense battlefield in the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t ever fall into the water here. This water¡¯s extremely corrosive, and not even a corpse will remain if you fall in,¡± the short man cautioned as he left. He did not even dare to get remotely close to the Whitecliff Region¡¯s battlefield.

    Tai Yuanjun no longer had the capacity to fawn over Starsibyl, as the battlefield was looming ahead of them in the distance.

    Soon after, Lu Yin¡¯s trio drew close to the battlefield.

    Lu Yin had nned on acting as an ordinary reinforcement while waiting to see if he could find a convenient opportunity to seize back the Champions'' Stage back with the Yu Secret Art.

    However, he had underestimated his own fame. Since Zhi Yi had announced the bounty on Lu Yin all across the entire Cosmic Sea, no matter if they were from the Fifth Maind or Sixth Maind, everyone recognized him.

    The moment Lu Yin appeared, an entire group of Sixth Maind cultivators became so excited that they immediately ambushed Lu Yin¡¯s group at first chance.

    Lu Yin had to deal with one batch of attackers after another. He had known beforehand that he would have to deal with a lot of trouble since he had also seen Zhi Yi¡¯s bounty for his capture. However, he did not want to alter his appearance. Since he was in the Innerverse, he did not want to lose the chance to chase after the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritance, especially since his position as an Honor Chosen had qualified him to participate in that fight. Still, he needed some other opportunities to increase his reputation, and he also needed more military achievements.

    When he had been weaker, he had only been able to ward off powers like the ze Realm by socializing with the likes of Nightking Yuanjing. He had also joined the Lockbreaker Society and be a student at Astral-10 for simr reasons. From the very beginning, Lu Yin had realized the importance of having a sufficiently strong background. Thus, he had always strived to find more powerful backers while simultaneously building up his personal power.

    At this time, military contributions were equivalent to fame, and fame meant background. Nobody dared to act recklessly towards those who had impressive contributions.

    Lu Yin needed to receive a title from the Champions'' Stage¡ªKing at the very least, but hopefully Arbiter.

    However, that was too dangerous at the moment. Although Lu Yin could still handle the various attacks for the moment, as soon as a Realmling targeted him, he would have no choice but to avoid them by altering his appearance.

    Currently, Lu Yin was like a vortex, continuously devouring the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators as they approached him. As a seemingly endless horde moved to attack Lu Yin, quite a few people from the Fifth Maind naturally followed behind him, and wherever Lu Yin moved to, the battle would be more intense.

    Above him, sword qi fell straight down towards him, and Lu Yin hurriedly evaded it as he looked up. He then exchanged nces with a schrly looking man.

    ¡°That¡¯s Sword Schr, the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling,¡± said a female voice from next to Lu Yin. He looked over, and his expression instantly changed. ¡°Miss Qing?¡±

    Miss Qing smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Deafmute Bro.¡±

    Another acquaintance had appeared, and Lu Yinughed. ¡°I never thought that you¡¯d be on this battlefield as well.¡±

 Chapter 985: Clinging On

    <h4>Chapter 985: Clinging On</h4>

    Miss Qing suddenly attacked Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re quite the hotmodity right now. Still, although I don¡¯t want you to make it easy for others, you should make it easy for me. After all, we do know each other.¡±

    Lu Yin evaded Miss Qing¡¯s attacks as he replied, ¡°Do you know who Mr. Bai really is?¡±

    Miss Qing shook her head as her palm shot past Lu Yin. He felt the light breeze caused by its passing movement and realized that although the attack seemed quite powerful, there had been almost no strength behind it.

    ¡°He¡¯s Wu Taibai,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Miss Qing was surprised. ¡°Wu Taibai? One of the Daosource Three Skies? No wonder why he was so impressive.¡±

    ¡°What about you? What¡¯s your real identity?¡± Lu Yin asked with a searching gaze.

    Miss Qing flew back about a hundred meters. ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary Sixth Maind cultivator.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused by her response. ¡°You aren¡¯t one bit weaker than a Realmling.¡±

    Miss Qing was stunned at hispliment. ¡°Don¡¯t spout such nonsense! Someone might hear you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, as he was not spouting nonsense. He had fought against many Sixth Maind cultivators during his time in the Innerverse, and his opponents had mostly consisted of Realmlings, Enlighters, and sometimes even Imprinters and World Imprinters. After trading blows with all of these people, the moment he had exchanged blows with Miss Qing, he had been able to tell that the woman¡¯s strength was quite decent; she was in no way any weaker than Nan Yanfei. This woman had hidden herself quite deeply.

    ¡°Forget this. There¡¯s no point in fighting with you since I can¡¯t win. I¡¯m leaving.¡± Miss Qing turned to leave.

    After she left, quite a few other cultivators from the Sixth Maind who had been nearby moved over to encircle Lu Yin once again.

    High in the sky, Sword Schr shed his sword down yet again, but Lu Yin could not tell if the attack was aimed at himself or at the sea below him. Regardless, each time Sword Schr attacked, Lu Yin was within the range of his attacks.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked up at the sky again. An Undying Bird was currently fighting against Sword Schr, and for this member of the Phoenix family to be able to fight against Sword Schr, he had to be the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Serati Phoenix. As the Undying Bird spread its wings, mes filled the entire sky.

    Lu Yin casually swung his hand out and unleashed an attack that contained One Hundred Stacks, which sent dozens of Sixth Maind cultivators flying. In fact, quite a few of them instantly died.

    Lu Yin continued to suffer from constant harassment from the Sixth Maind cultivators. Then, in the distance, he saw a cloud of fog spreading out, and he charged towards it with a single leap.

    After he dashed into the cloud, he realized that it was not fog, but rather smoke. Also, the smoke was rather suffocating.

    When he entered the cloud of smoke, he also lured in a group of Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Countless arrows flew in all directions within the smoke cloud, and all of the Sixth Maind cultivators quickly fled back out. ¡°Hurry, RUN! It¡¯s Little Arrow Saint.¡±

    ¡°This is Little Arrow Saint¡¯s battlefield.¡±

    ¡­

    One of the arrows shot at Lu Yin, and he simply grabbed it out of the air. The power behind the arrow was quite impressive, but even more terrifying was the fact that it was reinforced with nine lined battle force.

    There were very few people in the younger generation who could cultivate battle force to nine lines. Even when age was disregarded, Lu Yin had encountered very few experts who had managed to aplish such a feat. He had never expected to run into such a person on this battlefield.

    The white smoke split apart, and a young man carrying a bow and arrow stepped out. He stared at Lu Yin in surprise as he eximed, ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Lu Yin did not recognize this young man, but anyone who had been in the Cosmic Sea and possessed some strength would recognize his face since he had cultivated his battle force to nine lines, which meant that he was on the level of a Realmling.

    The Realmling did not bother saying any more words, and he directly raised his bow and shot an arrow at Lu Yin that was reinforced with nine lined battle force. This arrow tore through the void and directly appeared in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. It was extraordinarily powerful, and the arrow¡¯s force was in no way inferior to that sh of sword qi that Lu Yin¡¯s group had encountered the moment they arrived at the Whitecliff Region. However, this arrow could not do much to Lu Yin, and he was confident that he could deal with the arrow. However, the man quickly loosed a second, third, and fourth arrow until an endless barrage was falling upon Lu Yin.

    Each arrow was faster than the previous one, so they all arrived in front of Lu Yin almost simultaneously. The power of each arrow approached the power level limit of 200,000 imposed by the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon. Thus, blocking all of these arrows at once would force a person to use a strength that went far beyond what was normally possible within the limit of the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. This attack had almost reached the level of a suppressed Imprinter.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb, as he had to face an extremely powerful attack right from the start without even a chance to prepare himself. Fortunately, although these arrows contained an impressive strength and destructive power, they were not able to seal off Lu Yin¡¯s movements. Thus, he simply dodged them. The moment he moved, the void where he had been standing exploded as a massive spatial tear reached out in all directions. The white smoke filling the area was quickly swallowed by the spatial crack.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the white smoke would be swallowed by the tear, but strangely enough, the smoke sealed off the spatial crack instead.

    A strong wind blew past Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and he whirled around to see a youth standing in the air behind him. The young man looked like he was about to pat Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, but then he stopped and stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. ¡°Bro, your reflexes are pretty good.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the youth. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The man grinned at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s get to know each other! I¡¯m Gu Xiao¡¯er of Smoke Eater Peaks.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost. ¡°Smoke Eater Peaks?¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er exined, ¡°It¡¯s a power in the Neoverse. This bro should be Lu Yin. I¡¯ve heard about your aplishments. The Daosource Three Skies ce so much importance on you that even the Ten Arbiters and people like us can¡¯tpare to you. And you were even a peerless Limiteer, hehe.¡±

    At this moment, another round of arrows descended upon them, aimed at both Lu Yin and Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er immediately became irritated. ¡°You damn fox! Can¡¯t you see that we¡¯re bing new friends over here? We¡¯ll fightter!¡±

    The white smoke then moved to block the arrows before they couldnd, and shockingly, the wispy-looking smoke was actually able to block the arrows.

    Lu Yin looked at Gu Xiao¡¯er more seriously. This person had to be an heir to one of the strongest powers in the Neoverse, and he was someone who could rival the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This sly fox has been trapped in my smoke for quite some time, and he can¡¯t even gather his bearings. If not for the fact that you coincidentally stepped in, he wouldn¡¯t have even found a target to attack.¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er was quite pleased with himself.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°He can¡¯t leave?¡±

    ¡°Well, he can, but he¡¯s very tough, and he¡¯s also determined to beat me. Still, he doesn¡¯t even use his brain! He can¡¯t even find my shadow, but he still wants to defeat me somehow. In a direct confrontation I may not be his match, but if it¡¯s just evading him, then I haven¡¯t been afraid of anyone in many years. Even those true disciples of the Cosmic Sect haven¡¯t been able to find me for a few years, hehe.¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er seemed very proud of himself.

    Lu Yin surveyed the surroundings, and he saw the rune lines from the archer constantly move about. ¡°He¡¯s about to get close.¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°How do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I just saw it.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. The Smoke Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke can block sight, domain, and all sorts of other methods. Aside from those divinities from Gods'' Origin, no one else can see through this smoke. Hold on, are you somehow connected to those ¡®divinities¡¯ from Gods'' Origin?¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er sized Lu Yin up and down while muttering to himself.

    Lu Yin really wanted to tell the man that that was indeed the case, as Gods'' Origin had been constantly searching for remnants of the Rune Technology Civilization, and these so-called ¡°divinities¡± must have cultivated Truesight if they were able to see rune lines. Lu Yin had also cultivated Truesight, so they could be considered as having amon origin, but he ultimately decided not to divulge anything. ¡°My eyes are very good, and I¡¯m able to see what others can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er was very suspicious.

    No matter how many people entered Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s white smoke, they would lose all sense of direction unless it was arge-scale attack. The white smoke was very peculiar, and therger the scope of an attack, the faster its power would deteriorate. In theory, Gu Xiao¡¯er could even control the direction of his enemies¡¯ attacks with the white smoke, and even Realmlings could not do much to him.

    In the distance, Zhi Yi observed the white smoke from where she stood atop the Champions¡¯ Stage. The moment Lu Yin had appeared on the battlefield, Zhi Yi had been informed of his arrival. She had also been told that Lu Yin had entered the white smoke, and her eyes shed with a cold light.

    She absolutely had to capture that person, but that white smoke was a bit of a problem. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse was filled with many strange things, and this white smoke alone had been able to stall a powerful Realmling.

    But no matter how mysterious that white smoke might be, Zhi Yi refused to believe that it could ovee her Vitality Qi.

    After thinking about it, Zhi Yi stepped off of the Champions'' Stage and tore through the void, her movement causing countless gazes to lock onto her. She appeared just outside of the white smoke cloud before raising both hands and unleashing her endless Vitality Qi to infiltrate the smoke.

    At this time, Gu Xiao¡¯er was currently merrily chatting away with Lu Yin, but his white smoke suddenly surged, and his expression changed. Lu Yin and Gu Xiao¡¯er both looked in the same direction, which was where Zhi Yi was using her Vitality Qi to disperse the white smoke to reveal them.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er was stunned. ¡°Heydy, don¡¯t mess around! It¡¯s hard for me to get this much white smoke!¡±

    Zhi Yi¡¯s expression was solemn, as she had underestimated the white smoke. She had assumed that she would be able to tear through it by using an equal amount of Vitality Qi. However, it turned out that she had to use multiple times more Vitality Qi to disperse the smoke. This white smoke was very peculiar, as it was even able to obstruct Vitality Qi.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to run this time.¡± Zhi Yi stared at Lu Yin seriously as she instantly raced over toward him. Her Vitality Qi congealed into a longsword that shed down, and at the same time, Little Arrow Saint appeared from another direction and fired multiple arrows at Lu Yin.

    The two-pronged attack from the Daosource Three Skies and the Realmling caused both Lu Yin and Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s expressions to change, and they hurriedly moved to flee. They were able to evade Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows, but Zhi Yi¡¯s attacks were more difficult to escape from. Her attack was extremely fast, and the sword passed through the void as it sliced down. The sword of Vitality Qi seemed to cause the sky and earth to copse, and it was apanied by a mysterious fire that burned the void itself.

    This desperate situation onlysted for an instant¡ªwhen Zhi Yi acted, she had unleashed her attack as if she was facing White Knight. Conveniently, Zhi Yi¡¯s attack also targeted Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er cried out, ¡°I am innocent!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and waved a hand to activate the Yu Secret Art. One of the arrows that Little Arrow Saint had fired was diverted towards Zhi Yi, and Gu Xiao¡¯er did not remain idle either. The white smoke continued to wrap itself around him as he attempted to hold the mes back.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows were not able to break through the Sky Dipper, but Zhi Yi was toozy to even block such a thing. Her sword continued to slice down mercilessly, and sword qi streaked across the sky to sh open the sea¡¯s surface. Perhaps she had been too arrogant, or perhaps she was too focused on capturing Lu Yin, but Zhi Yi did not notice that her sword attack did not only have Lu Yin and Gu Xiao¡¯er within its range, but there was also another woman. She was someone from the Sixth Maind, though she had always treated Lu Yin very well: Xin N¨¹.

    Xin N¨¹ had arrived on the battlefield rather recently, only a day before Lu Yin. The moment Lu Yin had arrived at the Whitecliff Region¡¯s battlefield, Xin N¨¹ had felt his presence. She had no interest in the war between the two mainds, but she was very concerned about Lu Yin¡¯s safety, and she was prepared to help him at a moment¡¯s notice. However, Lu Yin had never been in any danger until Zhi Yi took action. At that moment, Xin N¨¹ had been unable to hold herself back, though she did not know why. She was obviously someone from the Sixth Maind, but she instinctively moved to help Lu Yin.

    As Zhi Yi¡¯s sword fell down, it was stopped by a pure white hand. Then, star energy adhered to the sword formed from Vitality Qi as its form began to dissolve away until only Vitality Qi remained. Xin N¨¹ had used a lockbreaking method to dissolve Zhi Yi¡¯s star energy.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s gaze trembled, and she turned to look at Xin N¨¹. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    Xin N¨¹ replied in an icy tone, ¡°Are you trying to kill me?¡±

    Zhi Yi frowned. ¡°This is none of your business, so move aside.¡±

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s expression turned cold. ¡°I won¡¯t let off anyone who tries to kill me.¡±

    Zhi Yi red at the other girl. ¡°How bold.¡±

    She had recognized Xin N¨¹ as someone from the Rock Realm, and she knew that this girl was strong enough to rival a Realmling. However, Zhi Yi did not view the Realmlings with any sort of importance, let alone a woman who was not even a Realmling. Zhi Yi raised a hand, and her Vitality Qi sword swept over, this time aimed at Xin N¨¹.

    Xin N¨¹ calmly asked the other woman, ¡°Why are you trying to kill me?¡±

    She then raised her hand again and continuously dissolved Zhi Yi¡¯s star energy. However, Xin N¨¹ could not cope with the Vitality Qi, and she ended up being overpowered.

 Chapter 986: Time Reversal Technique

    <h4>Chapter 986: Time Reversal Technique</h4>

    Although Xin N¨¹ ultimately could not resist Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi and was even less able to injure her, she still managed to hold back this member of the Daosource Three Skies for a period of time.

    The Daosource Three Skies were all incredibly arrogant, which was why Zhi Yi did not feel a need to exin anything to Xin N¨¹. On the other side, Xin N¨¹ felt a natural urge to help Lu Yin, so she required no exnation either. Thus, regardless of what they said to each other, her objective had already been achieved.

    High above, in the sky of the Whitecliff Region, Zhi Yi was continuously dyed by Xin N¨¹, which left countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind stunned. There was just no understanding some people, as there were individuals who would even attack their own allies.

    Lu Yin was astonished to see that Xin N¨¹ had arrived and was brazenly helping him. Would she be alright? He really was not that close to her!

    ¡°That chick is awesome! She even dares to stand up to one of the Daosource Three Skies, and she¡¯s even from the Sixth Maind! Bro, she¡¯s mine!¡± Gu Xiao''er told Lu Yin in a serious voice.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless; why did he keep running into such strange men?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, could it be that this woman has taken a liking to you?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked. He had not spoken to Lu Yin in quite some time, and Lu Yin had almost forgotten about the monkey. The moment the monkey spoke, Lu Yin suddenly realized that the monkey seemed to have been speaking less and less recently, which was rather unusual.

    ¡°Monkey, are you okay?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey instantly became suspicious. "What''s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Lu Yin casually replied. This stupid monkey definitely had some issues.

    Zhi Yi was dyed by Xin N¨¹, but Little Arrow Saint was not. The man had a driven and serious nature, and he did not speak any nonsense as he continued to attack. He was dead set on dealing with Gu Xiao''er and capturing Lu Yin alive all at the same time. As such, he immediately attacked, causing arrows to fill the sky and rain down upon Lu Yin and Gu Xiao''er.

    Gu Xiao''er quickly maneuvered his white smoke to wrap around himself, which acted like a shield that blocked off the arrow barrage. However, his smoke had been diminished by Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, and Gu Xiao¡¯er was unable to gather it as quickly this time since the amount that he could control had diminished. Thus, he was sted down towards the sea by the arrows.

    Star energy converged above Lu Yin¡¯s right hand, and the First Sun shot out soon thereafter. A fiery ball of me rumbled as it crashed into the arrows, but the sun was only able to stop one arrow while Little Arrow Saint had fired off dozens at the same time. Lu Yin could do nothing but dodge the remaining attacks.

    This was how Little Arrow Saint usually attacked; he staggered his attacks topensate for the cosmic phenomenon suppressing his attacks¡¯ power level. Although this was a rather crude method, it was still very effective.

    Lu Yin did not want to passively take a beating, so as he dodged the arrows, he also moved closer to Little Arrow Saint.

    Little Arrow Saint was not stupid, and he easily saw through Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. However, the Realmling did not stop his opponent from approaching. When Lu Yin got close enough to p out with a palm, Little Arrow Saint grabbed his bow, reinforced it with nine lined battle force, and then savagely smashed it at Lu Yin. Little Arrow Saint was using his bow itself as a weapon.

    The power boost from his nine lined battle force was quite impressive, as its power greatly surpassed that of eight lined battle force. When the two youths¡¯ attacks came into contact, Lu Yin¡¯s eight lined battle force crumbled almost instantly, but Lu Yin¡¯s One Hundred Stacks in addition to his ridiculous physique allowed him to make up for the deficiency of his inferior battle force, and both youths were forced to retreat. Little Arrow Saint was astonished by Lu Yin¡¯s monstrous physical strength, and the Realmling grabbed a firmer hold of his long bow to fire off more arrows.

    Little Arrow Saint was the epitome of a ruthless and reticent person. He fired off another volley of arrows. Even if Lu Yin managed to dodge this attack, it wouldnd on the sea below, affecting everyone underneath them. This attack did not distinguish between targets, and the Fifth Maind cultivators were not the only ones who would be struck¡ªSixth Maind cultivators would as well.

    Little Arrow Saint continued to indifferently loose more arrows.

    Below them, two figures simultaneously dashed over the surface of the sea as they directed death-stares at Little Arrow Saint. Meanwhile, Lu Yin pushed out with a palm, forcefully pushing these arrows aside as two figures streaked past him. One of the figures was easily eliminated by Little Arrow Saint and his arrows, but the other was frighteningly powerful. This person was able to force the arrows aside like Lu Yin, and the star energy in this man¡¯s hand formed a strange weapon that thenshed out.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s bow collided with this strange weapon, and its bowstring distorted. A formless arrow shot out, but it was also pushed aside by the arrival of this new weapon.

    The neer then retreated a hundred meters to Lu Yin¡¯s side, where he panted slightly. ¡°As expected of a Realmling.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at this new person. Strangely enough, he gave Lu Yin a slightly familiar feeling, but Lu Yin was alsopletely certain that he had never seen this person before.

    This person nced over at Lu Yin, and surprise shed through his eyes. He then looked back at Little Arrow Saint once again.

    Suddenly, Little Arrow Saint looked up. Giant meteorites crashed down from the sky one after the other, and they seemed to follow a pattern simr to Little Arrow Saint¡¯s staggered arrow barrage. Unfortunately, from what Lu Yin could see, the meteorites¡¯ rune lines could notpare with Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks, as these meteorites were not even close to approaching the current power level limit of 200,000. This showed that the person who hadunched these meteorites was not someone whose strength had reached the level of a Realmling¡¯s.

    Still, this meteor shower was enough to distract Little Arrow Saint.

    Lu Yin looked into the sky, above the sea, where the meteorites¡¯ rune lines originated. They came from a man, and this was his method of attacking. Somewhere, Lu Yin felt like he had heard of something like this before.

    As the meteorites fell down, he suddenly remembered. That¡¯s right¡ªStarfall. This was Ye Xingchen, one of the four unequalled Limiteers.

    Lu Yin had already met Mu Rong and Ling Que, but he never met with Ye Xingchen until now. Despite that, he was fairly certain that this person was Ye Xingchen.

    For someone to unleash the strength of a Hunter while still only in the Explorer realm showed that they were qualified to receive the title of ¡°General.¡± Thus, this youth was almost definitely Ye Xingchen.

    But in that case, then who was the young man standing next to Lu Yin? He was also almost able to match up to a Realmling, though he was still a littlecking. Despite that, his strength was enough to have received the title of ¡°King.¡±

    The falling meteorites were shattered by Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows. Ye Xingchen¡¯s attack had only been able to slightly distract the Realmling, not threatening the Realmling in the slightest.

    While Lu Yin and the others joined forces to deal with Little Arrow Saint, Zhi Yi was still tangling with Xin N¨¹. At this time, a man tore through the void from the distance and stepped onto the Whitecliff Region battlefield. He then took another step, which brought him directing to the Champions'' Stage, where he faced Bu Kong.

    Two of the Ten Arbiters were participating in this battle for the Whitecliff Region, and also with them were an Honor Chosen, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true first disciple, and many other experts. However, all of these experts were busy dealing with the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings and other such experts in their own battles. This was because nobody had the confidence to try to seize the Champions'' Stage from Bu Kong¡¯s hands. The Daosource Three Skies stood above even the Realmlings while the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings were considered to be on the same level of strength. It would be extremely difficult to take anything away from Bu Kong, not to mention when Zhi Yi was there as well.

    Still, there were moments when someone would be unable to endure the provocation and would move to the Champions'' Stage to challenge Bu Kong. All such challengers had died.

    Even War King Xing Kai had challenged Bu Kong, but he had simrly failed.

    At this moment, the man had stepped foot onto the Champions'' Stage, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention.

    Bu Kong turned around to look at the man, and his expression grew solemn. ¡°Interesting. Give me your name.¡±

    The man sped his hands behind his back. He looked even more arrogant than Bu Kong, and he acted as if he was someone who naturally stood above all others. ¡°God Taiyi.¡±

    Bu Kong frowned. ¡°What arrogance.¡±

    Everyone in the distance who saw the man, such as Honor Chosen Shu Jing, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s first true disciple Qiu Shi, as well as War King Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix, had strange expressions. The truth was that this man¡¯s name was indeed God Taiyi, and this was not a self-given name either. That was his true, birth name as this man was from the Neoverse¡¯s Gods'' Origin.

    To the people of Gods'' Origin, it did not matter if it was the Neoverse, the Cosmic Sea, or the Innerverse¡ªthey did not have much interaction with anyone. This group seemed quite insane, as they proimed themselves to be gods while viewing all others as inferior creatures. But beyond a shadow of a doubt, they were all terrifyingly strong, and their methods were tricky and bizarre, which made them very difficult to deal with.

    Even the Hall of Honor did not want to mess with this group.

    Although this group was obscenely arrogant, their strength was the real deal, and God Taiyi¡¯s strength was enough to rival the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings¡¯.

    Besides this battlefield, once the Neoverse began topete for ces in the Astral Tower, God Taiyi would definitely be a participant.

    ¡°Leave the Champions'' Stage and get out of the Cosmic Sea. Then, I can spare your life,¡± God Taiyi did not speak loudly, but his tone was so arrogant that even Bu Kong could not endure it.

    Bu Kong was normally very condescending when he spoke to anyone, so encountering someone like God Taiyi, who was even more arrogant than him, made the Daosource Three Skies member grow disgruntled. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with your brain.¡±

    Quite a few people from the Neoverse heard Bu Kong¡¯s response, and although they were bitter enemies, they felt that the man¡¯s words were urate. That bunch from Gods'' Origin all had a few screws loose. Otherwise, they would never have proimed themselves as gods.

    God Taiyi¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Typical mortals.¡±

    His right hand then slowly closed as a small crystal bottle appeared in it. He aimed the bottle¡¯s opening at Bu Kong, and a formless attack erupted from the bottle that tore through the void and shot towards Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong was surprised, as were the countless others who witnessed this attack. What the heck was that?

    Off in the distance, Qiu Shi¡¯s eyes trembled, as this was the battle style of those from Gods'' Origin. That vial had not been retrieved from some cosmic ring. Rather, it had actually been created. Her sect had studied Gods'' Origin for many years, but they only knew that the madmen were connected to a strange, ancient civilization with the exact details still unknown.

    If someone like Qiu Shi was amazed despite her origins in the Neoverse, then there was no need to mention Bu Kong.

    Even though God Taiyi¡¯s attack was not overly powerful, this sort of fighting style was just too strange, and Bu Kong had trouble believing what he had just seen. Was creation from nothing really a domain that could be encroached upon?

    Lu Yin watched everything from even further away. Sure enough, those who cultivated the techniques derived from Rune Technology could create something from nothing. Still, just how exactly had that person done it?

    God Taiyi¡¯s attack drew a great deal of attention from everyone on the battlefield, and countless people stared at him in awe. Creation was a mighty power; could this man really be a god?

    ¡°That should be some sort of a secret technique,¡± Bu Kong barked before raising a hand. The attack that God Taiyi had released from the vial was instantly dissolved, and Bu Kong¡¯s figure shed as he moved closer to God Taiyi to attack. ¡°Time Reversal Technique.¡±

    God Taiyi¡¯s pupils shrank, and he felt an extreme crisis approach him. Although he had a massive ego, he was not an idiot, and he did not dare to act carelessly when fighting against one of the Daosource Three Skies. He would not let Bu Kong¡¯s strike easilynd, and God Taiyi hurried evaded as the void where he had just been standing trembled, though there was no further reaction.

    God Taiyi was puzzled, but Bu Kong chased after him once again with his palm still pressed forward.

    ¡°Crazy Tai, don¡¯t let that guy touch you! He can beat you back to your mother¡¯s womb,¡± War King Xing Kai hollered from a distance, and his voice spread through the entire Whitecliff Region.

    God Taiyi was furious, and he turned to face Xing Kai. ¡°You¡¯re scolding me!¡±

    Xing Kai grinned. ¡°Nope, that¡¯s really a fact. That¡¯s his secret technique."

    God Taiyi gave Bu Kong a strange look. Beat me back to my mother¡¯s womb? What kind of secret technique is that?

    Bu Kong sneered in response. ¡°Try it out.¡±

    With that, he increased his attacking speed.

    God Taiyi grew nervous. He was arrogant, even when against someone like Qiu Shi or an Honor Chosen, but he still knew that such people were actually his peers, as were the Ten Arbiters. Even one of the Ten Arbiters had given him words of caution, and since God Taiyi did not know what was happening, he could only blindly dodge the iing attacks in a slightly confused manner.

    Cultivators were flooding into the Whitecliff Region from all directions, not only the Fifth Maind¡¯s reinforcements, but also more Sixth Maind cultivators.

    Most were the heirs of Imprinter families who had not quite reached the level of the Realmlings, but they were not weak either. Of particr note were the heirs from the Cosmic Imprinter families. Many people joined forces to fight against the two Ten Arbiters in the same fashion as how Lu Yin and others were facing off against Little Arrow Saint.

    The battlefield in the Whitecliff Region was filled with millions of cultivators battling each other to the death.

    And naturally, the most glorious ce on this battlefield was the Champions'' Stage.

    God Taiyi¡¯s attack methods were strange, but Bu Kong¡¯s secret technique was even stranger. In the end, God Taiyi could not evade every attack, and Bu Kong struck him with his secret technique as he pped God Taiyi in the abdomen. God Taiyi was not injured by the attack, but his body inexplicably grew smaller until his appearance had reverted to that of a child of about ten years. He then stared nkly at Bu Kong who was suddenly a head taller than him.

    Bu Kong sneered and then smacked down with his hand again. ¡°Go die.¡±

    God Taiyi was taken aback, as he had been literally smacked back to his childhood by a palm. He raised his hand to block Bu Kong¡¯s attack, but a sword suddenly sliced out, interrupting them. Still, the de was easily shattered by Bu Kong, and his palm continued moving downwards. Then, an arrow shot through the void, aimed at Bu Kong.

    [1] The original name basically means "Highest God," so it is an extremely arrogant name.

 Chapter 987: Number One Of The Top 100 Rankings

    <h4>Chapter 987: Number One Of The Top 100 Rankings</h4>

    Bu Kong frowned as he lightly tapped out and broke the arrow. God Taiyi took advantage of that opportunity to quickly retreat. He panted heavily once he got to safety, as he had nearly died.

    Bu Kong looked at where the arrow had flown from, as it had clearlye from Little Arrow Saint; only a Realmling-level attack could catch Bu Kong¡¯s attention. However, Little Arrow Saint clearly was not the one who had shot this arrow at Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong¡¯s mind reyed what had just happened across the entire battlefield, and his gaze settled onto Lu Yin and the man beside him. What had these two people done? How had they redirected Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrow towards him?

    A secret technique? Little Arrow Saint directed feverish eyes towards Lu Yin, as this person¡¯s value was incredible. Not only would Little Arrow Saint be able to im Zhi Yi¡¯s promised reward by capturing Lu Yin alive, which meant that he would be able to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but this person also had a secret technique on him.

    Did Zhi Yi also want to capture Lu Yin because of this secret technique?

    Lu Yin had been left with no other choice, as he could not simply watch on as God Taiyi died. Also, Lu Yin wanted to get into contact with Gods'' Origin, and it would even be best if he could visit them and learn from them, as that might let him advance his Truesight another step.

    A secret technique could turn the rotten into the mysterious, but they were not necessarily invincible. Bu Kong¡¯s Time Reversal Technique had managed to p God Taiyi back to his childhood, which was enough for Bu Kong to almost im God Taiyi¡¯s life. However, he had been rescued by Lu Yin. Within these few seconds, God Taiyi had already recovered to his normal state, and he nced over at Lu Yin with a grateful expression before refocusing on Bu Kong. ¡°So that¡¯s your secret technique? Such a move will not work on a god like me again.¡±

    Bu Kong averted his gaze from Lu Yin. However, this time, he simply ignored God Taiyi and looked over at Zhi Yi instead.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s expression changed, and she paused. Across from her, Xin N¨¹¡¯s face had gone pale, as she was struggling to defend herself against one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    ¡°After this battle, I¡¯ll find you and settle things,¡± Zhi Yi told Xin N¨¹. The Daosource Three Skies member then retreated back to the Champions'' Stage.

    With Zhi Yi¡¯s return, God Taiyi immediately retreated. He was daring enough to challenge one member of the Daosource Three Skies, but he did not dare to attempt fighting against two at once. He was not stupid.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to put a full stop to the situation in the Cosmic Sea,¡± Zhi Yi said.

    Bu Kong grew excited. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. After ying with this trash all this time, it¡¯s time to end things.¡±

    Zhi Yi took a deep breath as her Vitality Qi descended upon a vast area, looking like a fog cloud as it spread out and gradually enveloped the entire battlefield.

    An attack containing a boundless amount of Vitality Qi suddenly targeted all of the Fifth Maind cultivators. As if they had received a signal, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Sword Schr, Little Arrow Saint, Shi Zhongjian, who had been entangled with Qiu Shi, and Di Fa, who was stalling War King Xing Kai, all leaped up and moved onto the Champions'' Stage.

    Millions watched on as Bu Kong shouted, ¡°Step onto the Champions'' Stage and break through the Whitecliff Region! Up!¡±

    The Champions'' Stage trembled as two of the Daosource Three Skies and four Realmlings raced towards the south with the stage. They wanted to break through the Whitecliff Region¡¯s battlefield to reach a region where there was no cosmic phenomenon suppressing their power levels.

    The expressions of Xing Kai and all the other Fifth Maind cultivators changed drastically, and they all charged towards the Champions'' Stage in unison.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression also changed when he realized Zhi Yi and Bu Kong¡¯s n; this group of people had acted suddenly and had clearly made adequate preparations. The Fifth Maind¡¯s older generation was not made up of fools, and if they allowed the Sixth Maind to truly break through the Whitecliff Region, then the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters would be allowed to use their full strength. If that happened, then the Fifth Maind¡¯s older generation would have to make a move as well.

    Despite knowing what would happen, Bu Kong¡¯s group still wanted to break through the Whitecliff Region. Thus, would those old powerhouses from the Sixth Maind remain hidden?

    Lu Yin was not the only one with such thoughts, as simr ones were running through everyone¡¯s minds at this moment. Currently, their only goal was to stop Bu Kong and the others from leaving the Whitecliff Region. Even their original goal of taking back the Champions'' Stage could be postponed.

    Xing Kai, Serati Phoenix, Shu Jing, Qiu Shi, and all the other young elites from the Fifth Maind raced after the Champions'' Stage.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s body suddenly surged as she used Sky Dipper. Lu Yin hurriedly called out, ¡°Careful about being caught up by that barrier!¡±

    Xing Kai let out a yell as his body suddenly grewrger, reaching ten meters, then a hundred, and finally a thousand. He had be a giant that towered high into the sky, and he quickly mmed a hand down.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper was not able topletely cover the newly emerged giant, so she could only reluctantly retract her attack. Shi Zhongjian attacked next, his Heaven Splitter slicing through the void towards Xing Kai.

    Shu Jing tapped out, unleashing an attack that soared out in a straight line. Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi blocked from the front, and Sword Schr and Di Faunched simultaneous attacked while Serati Phoenix and Qiu Shi continued to press forward.

    The sky shattered as the top-tier young experts from the two mainds fought high in the sky in a glorious battle royale. This was the highest level battlefield of the younger generation.

    Bu Kong snorted, stepped away from the Champions'' Stage, and suddenly charged straight at Xing Kai, who was the closest Fifth Maind cultivator to the stage. Xing Kai¡¯s body was too massive, making it impossible for him to dodge aside, which resulted in Bu Kong¡¯s attack easilynding. However, Xing Kai and Bu Kong had fought multiple times before, and by now, the Arbiter had a good understanding of this member of the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ techniques.

    When Bu Kong stepped back onto the Champions'' Stage, the Arbiter¡¯s body had already returned to normal. His mouth opened wide as he let out an unearthly scream, waves visibly sweeping across the area as the sound echoed in all directions.

    Bu Kong¡¯s gaze grew solemn. ¡°I already told you that it¡¯s useless.¡±

    With that, the sound waves that had nearly materialized instantly dissolved away as more arrows rained down on Xing Kai from above.

    God Taiyi suddenly appeared, and his pupils transformed into runes as he stared at the arrows. The volley of arrows subsequently had their strength wiped away until they were ultimately shattered by Xing Kai¡¯s punch.

    It was a chaotic battle, and those who did not have a sufficient level of strength could not even participate. Aside from the two Daosource Three Skies members who were both Enlighters, all of the other participants were Hunters.

    The battle did notst for very long, but it made the millions of cultivators below them feel imperiled, as any aftershock from the battle in the sky could kill countless people.

    Lu Yin stared at the battle in shock, and Gu Xiao''er also rose up from where he had been standing near the surface of the sea, simrly stunned. ¡°Although I¡¯m confident of holding back one Realmling, I¡¯m not confident enough to join a battle that¡¯s on this level.¡±

    ¡°You can release that white smoke to protect yourself,¡± said the man who had been standing next to Lu Yin for a while.

    Gu Xiao''er looked over at the man. ¡°So it¡¯s Xia Tian. You¡¯re pretty smart. Alright, I¡¯ll provide some cover for us.¡±

    He then pulled out a loose item from his cosmic ring and drummed it with some strange method, which caused more white smoke to be released that then slowly wafted over towards the Champions'' Stage.

    Xia Tian? Lu Yin was astonished, as he recognized this name: this person was number one on the Top 100 Rankings. It was no wonder why he had been able to go up against a Realmling all on his own.

    In the Innerverse and the Outerverse, Xia Tian was the person ranked highest with the exception of the Ten Arbiters, and he was well qualified to have the title of King. With this battle, Xia Tian might even qualify to participate in the contest at the Astral Tower.

    Xia Tian and Xia Luo both had the same primeval surname; could there be some sort of rtionship between these two? Hold on. Lu Yin suddenly understood why Xia Tian had given him a familiar feeling¡ªthe outline of his face was a bit simr to Xia Luo¡¯s.

    Xia Tian looked at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°I heard Xia Luo mention you, Brother Lu. Now we¡¯ve finally met.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly realized something. ¡°You and Xia Luo are¡­?¡±

    ¡°Rtives,¡± Xia Tian replied.

    Upon hearing this, Lu Yin thought of another person. ¡°Then you and Xia Ye are also¡­?¡±

    ¡°Rtives,¡± Xia Tian repeated.

    Lu Yin still had a deep impression of Xia Ye. That person had only been an Area Master, but he had ultimately revealed an astounding level of strength during the Astral Combat Tournament when he had defeated Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s Cang Shi with four lined battle force. Even Kuang Wang might not have been his match.

    Xia Luo, Xia Ye, Xia Tian¡ªthese three people all had the same primeval surname.

    ¡°Brother Lu and Xia Luo passed Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam together, and it¡¯s very impressive for you to have reached your current heights,¡± Xia Tian marveled.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief and soon became lost in thought. Although the person in front of him was not one of the Ten Arbiters, he still was the person ranked at the top of the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that, out of the countless members of the entire younger generation in the Innerverse and Outerverse, he was ranked eleventh. That was truly terrifying, as once the Ten Arbiters abdicated, this person was practically guaranteed to inherit one of their positions. In some sense, he could be considered as a future Arbiter.

    More importantly, this person was not much older than Lu Yin, and he was even younger than Tai Yuanjun. This meant that he was one step younger than the Ten Arbiters, which was proof of his terrifying talent.

    ¡°Brother Xia is too kind. I wonder, how has Xia Luo been?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Tian sighed and shook his head, causing Lu Yin¡¯s heart to sink. Could it be?

    ¡°I don''t know,¡± Xia Tian replied.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Why would this person sigh in such a manner if he simply did not even know? That reaction had caused Lu Yin to momentarily assume that Xia Luo had died.

    The white smoke wafted across the sky before forming strands that started to encircle the area around Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix. This white smoke had even been able to block Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks, and it was very strange. In short, it served as anotheryer of protection for the two Arbiters.

    The white smoke released by Gu Xiao''er attracted the attention of Bu Kong and others as it moved through the sky. One person actually dashed up from the sea to attack Gu Xiao''er, quickly revealing himself to be Crimson Servant, or Qiu He. As a powerhouse from the Daosource Sect who had once challenged the Daosource Three Skies, this person was no weaker than a Realmling, and his arrival put a great deal of pressure on Gu Xiao''er. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡±

    Qiu He merely snorted in response, as he had been holding his frustrations back for a long time. Ever since the battle in the thunder region, Qiu He had stewed over the conversation that had publicly taken ce over the semi-Lifesource tokens. Currently, all he wanted to do was kill Gu Xiao''er to vent his emotions.

    Qiu He was a rather stubborn person. Although Lu Yin and Xia Tian were both nearby, Qiu He chose not to attack either one of them and instead focused his efforts on Gu Xiao''er.

    Lu Yin and Xia Tian exchanged nces as they watched Gu Xiao''er be chased around by Qiu He. This matter was none of their business.

    Rather, Lu Yin was still trying toe up with a method to restrict the Sixth Maind, and during this entire time, the Champions'' Stage continued to fly south while under the control of Bu Kong and the others. Lu Yin had no doubt that the moment Bu Kong and the others escaped from the area under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, the old monsters from the Sixth Maind would suddenly appear.

    Those monsters were definitely hiding somewhere close by, ready to strike at any moment, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s old experts had to be doing the same thing as well. The Hall of Honor and other various great powers all had old monsters who were ready to act any moment, and the location where the members of both sides¡¯ older generation were waiting was definitely right where the suppressing cosmic phenomenon ended. In other words, the defending Fifth Maind had to prevent Bu Kong and the others from entering the unsuppressed region, as otherwise, those old monsters would be able to act at any time.

    Although Xing Kai and the others were doing everything that they could to stop or slow down Bu Kong¡¯s group, they were up against two of the Daosource Three Skies. No matter if it was Xing Kai or Serati Phoenix, they both found it hard to contend against their opponents. Just Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi alone was enough to make the two Arbiters cautious, and her Sky Dipper was even more confusing.

    At this moment, the side of the Fifth Maind wascking a watershed opportunity. The Champions'' Stage was shrouded with Vitality Qi, and Xing Kai and the others just could not break through it, forcing them to just passively defend themselves. If anyone could manage to break through the Vitality Qi, then it would allow Xing Kai¡¯s group to enter and start a decisive battle with Bu Kong and hisckeys.

    Lu Yin was currenting facing a dilemma concerning whether or not he should act. He had traded blows with Zhi Yi before, and her Vitality Qi had beenpletely ineffective on Lu Yin.

    The truth was that, during this time, Zhi Yi was constantly ncing over at Lu Yin from where she was standing on the Champions'' Stage. She was certain that Lu Yin was the only one capable of breaking through her Vitality Qi, so in some sense, this was an opportunity that she had left solely to Lu Yin. It looked like an opportunity that would result in some disadvantages for the Sixth Maind, but everything was actually within Zhi Yi¡¯s ns.

    She needed someone to drag the Fifth Maind experts onto the Champions'' Stage, but that person could not be someone from the Sixth Maind¡ªit had to be someone from the Fifth Maind. The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces were not afraid of a decisive battle, as that was actually what they wanted¡ªthey wanted the opportunity topletely destroy the Fifth Maind¡¯s young elites once and for all.

    Everything depended on whether or not Lu Yin dared to act. Zhi Yi had to set up these circumstances that seemingly favored the Fifth Maind, as only by baiting them in would the Sixth Maind be able to vanquish these elites in one fell swoop.

    Lu Yin was still undecided, as that battlefield in the sky was too terrifying. Just one mistake would lead to his absolute death. He had all sorts of methods avable to him, and he was even able to flee from an Imprinter. However, forcing himself onto the battlefield of the Ten Arbiters was still extremely dangerous.

    While Lu Yin continued to contemte his options, the Champions'' Stage suddenly changed due to the cloud of white smoke.

 Chapter 988: Lu Yinâ€™s Ultimate Move

    <h4>Chapter 988: Lu Yin¡¯s Ultimate Move</h4>

    Smoke Eater Peaks was a very strange power, and their headquarters surprisingly looked like a giant cigarette butt floating in outer space. Additionally, every cultivator from that power had abilities rted to smoke regardless of whether it was their battle techniques, life-preserving abilities, or even their cultivation methods. Everything that came from Smoke Eater Peaks was rted to smoke, and the smoke that they used was unique throughout the universe and something that could only be found at Smoke Eater Peaks.

    The foundation of Smoke Eater Peaks was that white smoke itself, and it was so mysterious that nobody had been able to determine the true extent of the smoke¡¯s strange properties so far. Even if Smoke Eater Peaks was not able topete against colossal organizations such as Gods'' Origin or the Cosmic Sect, it was still a power that was not to be trifled with, and it was all because their white smoke was truly very strange.

    Before, Zhi Yi had attempted to use her Vitality Qi to tear through the white smoke, but she had been forced to exponentially more Vitality Qi than expected before she could sessfully disperse the white smoke. She had not paid much attention to the smoke at that time, and she had simply assumed that the white smoke possessed impressive defenses. However, at this moment, Zhi Yi was at a loss for what to do as she watched the white smoke dispel her Vitality Qi.

    She was not the only one shocked by this scene, as Bu Kong and even a few Realmlings who understood Vitality Qi were left in a daze. They were stunned as they watched the Vitality Qi actually be dispelled by this strange white smoke.

    That was Vitality Qi, the greatest innovation of their Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, so how was it being dispelled so casually?

    Now that the Vitality Qi had been dispersed, Xing Kai and the others were able to step foot onto the Champions'' Stage. At this moment, the tform became the location of the most intense battle between the younger generation to date. Those who could participate in this battle were all at the level of the Ten Arbiters and yet there were more than ten such people fighting.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s n had been foiled, though this slight disruption did not really change her goal. It did not matter whether or not Lu Yin was the one to break through the Vitality Qi¡ªthe Fifth Maind cultivators had still charged onto the Champions¡¯ Stage in the end. She raised her hands as her Sky Dipper rose up on all four sides of the Champions'' Stage to envelop the entire crowd.

    Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix both attacked the rising Sky Dipper barrier as they could not afford to be trapped within it.

    However, the two Arbiters were unable to break through the barrier. Zhi Yi¡¯s unrivaled defense was not that easy to deal with.

    Even if Xing Kai wanted to transform into his giant form, his attempts were useless since he was already be trapped within the Sky Dipper.

    The battle atop the Champions'' Stage could be considered sealed off now. In theory, whoever won this battle would determine the oue of the war in the entire Cosmic Sea.

    At this point in time, even if Lu Yin wanted to join the battle, there was no way for him to do so. Thus, he could only participate in the battle below. Gu Xiao''er was also looking towards Lu Yin for help.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your smoke?¡± Lu Yin asked. Gu Xiao''er had even been able to stall a Realmling like Little Arrow Saint, so he shouldn¡¯t be scared of Crimson Servant. Still, Gu Xiao¡¯er was desperately running around.

    Gu Xiao''er looked sullen. ¡°It¡¯s gone, all gone! That was all that I brought. Do you think that that smoke can be gathered by just creating a bit of fire?¡±

    Crimson Servant Qiu He raced over, and Lu Yin and Xia Tian attacked him in response, eliciting a cry of surprise from Qiu He. He could easily defeat Gu Xiao''er, but three King-level experts joining forces was enough to leave him slightly panicked, and he quickly fled.

    One dayter, Xing Kai¡¯s physical body started to break apart atop the Champions¡¯ Stage; he had been severely injured. He fell as far south as he could while Shu Jing, Qiu Shi, and the others all moved forward to fight against Bu Kong¡¯s group.

    Before much more time passed, the Sword Schr¡¯s de shattered, and he retreated to the north side of the stage.

    Two dayster, God Taiyi used Truesight to reduce Shi Zhongjian¡¯s defenses, allowing Shu Jing¡¯s straight line attack to pierce Shi Zhongjian¡¯s heart and nearly kill him. However, Shi Zhongjian used a secret technique in response, allowing him to escape with his life intact.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory possessed many secret techniques, and aside from Power Transfer, many cultivators from that territory also knew the Reversal Cycle, which was able to help them recover from their injuries very quickly.

    On the third day, Serati Phoenix was struck by Bu Kong¡¯s Time Reversal Technique, which left the Arbiter in a child form. While still in that state, he was ambushed by Di Fa and ultimately sumbed to his injuries. However, the Undying Bird family¡¯s nirvana rebirth allowed Serati to survive, though he lost almost all of his fighting strength.

    The Champions'' Stage continued to slowly make its way toward the south, and the battle atop it became exceptionally cruel. Even Bu Kong ended up being injured after Qiu Shi and God Taiyi worked together.

    Zhi Yi focused her attacks on Qiu Shi, as she felt that this woman was hiding her strength rather deeply.

    Just above the sea in the Whitecliff Region, Starsibyl stared at the Champions'' Stage while her eyes flickered rapidly. She then looked around and found that Lu Yin had teamed up with Gu Xiao''er to chase after Qiu He. Her lips moved a little.

    During the chase, Lu Yin paused for a moment before leaping up and charging towards the Champions'' Stage.

    Starsibyl¡¯s gaze grew deep. They had to win this battle, and the oue now depended on this person¡¯s actions. However, Starsibyl suddenly turned to look in another direction, towards Miss Qing, who was fighting with someone. This woman was another variable.

    On the battlefield, those who could participate in the battle atop the Champions'' Stage were more than just the few already there. At the very least, Xin N¨¹, Miss Qing, Starsibyl, Xia Tian, and Lu Yin were all also strong enough to join, but each of them had their own misgivings.

    Nobody knew what Starsibyl had just told Lu Yin, but he quickly arrived outside the Sky Dipper barrier that was isting the Champions'' Stage. There, he looked inside and waved a hand.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Little Arrow Saint loosed a volley of arrows, intending to severely injure Serati Phoenix. The Realmling did not believe that the Arbiter¡¯s nirvana rebirth could be used endlessly. Even the Sightless n¡¯s cocoon rebirth could not be used so easily. The Sightless n was a Cosmic Imprinter family, but did the Undying Bird family also have a monster whose power level was greater than 1,000,000?

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks were incredibly powerful, and although he could not seal the void, if the Arbiter was struck by this attack, then he would definitely die given his current state.

    Straight lines passed through the void and cut through the arrows, but one of the arrows suddenly made a strange, sharp turn before being cut and shot towards Bu Kong, who was in the middle of fighting God Taiyi.

    Bu Kong tapped out and broke the arrow. This was a familiar scene to him, and Bu Kong turned around to nce over at Little Arrow Saint. Then, both the Realmling and the Daosource Three Skies member turned to look at Lu Yin, who was standing outside the Champions'' Stage. ¡°So it¡¯s you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and the rune lines of Bu Kong¡¯s body suddenly weakened. At the same time, God Taiyi also used Truesight to erase more of Bu Kong¡¯s rune lines; when these two used the same technique, the effects superimposed, leaving Bu Kong even more weakened than usual. He felt the reduction in his strength very acutely, and God Taiyi took advantage of this opportunity to create a de in his hand and sh out.

    At this level, cultivators were not restricted to specific weapons, as in their hands, any random weapon would disy an incredible might that ordinary cultivators could only dream about.

    de light shot through the void and appeared right in front of Bu Kong¡¯s eyes, though he simply snorted and raised a hand. Five fingers clenched and grabbed a hold of the de light, which dissipated visibly afterwards. This was Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift and also his lockbreaking method. Not only was Bu Kong a cultivator, but he was also a Lockbreaker. Shockingly, he was one of the rare few geniuses who had be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker at a young age.

    God Taiyi¡¯s expression changed, and he gritted his teeth while cursing how freakish his opponent was. If the cosmic phenomenon did not exist and restrict Bu Kong, then there would be no way for anyone of the younger generation to resist one of the Daosource Three Skies. It was no wonder how Bu Kong had achieved such an indomitable position.

    The power that Bu Kong was disying was inexplicable, and the same was true of Zhi Yi. Her Sky Dipper could not be breached no matter what, which meant that nobody could harm her, not even Qiu Shi.

    Outside of the Champions'' Stage, Lu Yin used his Yu Secret Art and Truesight to cooperate with his allies within the barrier as they fought against the invaders from the Sixth Maind, leaving them infuriated. It was not that none of the Sixth Maind cultivators could attack Lu Yin, but rather that all such people were stopped by Starsibyl, Xia Tian, and the others outside the barrier.

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s cooperation, the bnce of the battle on the Champions'' Stage continued to tip in favor towards the Sixth Maind. Bu Kong, Shi Zhongjian, and Little Arrow Saint all possessed secret techniques, and in particr, they could all use the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Reversal Cycle. Thus, no matter how badly they were beaten, it was all for nothing. On the contrary, on the Fifth Maind¡¯s side, Xing Kai had been severely injured, Serati Phoenix was still recovering, and God Taiyi had also received a bloody abdomen wound from Bu Kong. The longer this battle dragged on for, the more likely the Fifth Maind would lose.

    This was the reason why Zhi Yi had wanted to lure over this group of elites from the Fifth Maind. The two of them were members of the Daosource Three Skies, and they were impossible existences to resist.

    The Champions'' Stage continued to fly southwards while millions of cultivators continued to battle in the Whitecliff Region. At this time, even the white sea had been stained slightly red.

    Lu Yin was growing very anxious, as he could not think of any way to turn the tables. Even if his secret technique was more powerful and his grasp of Truesight greater, he still would not be able to reverse the situation of the overall battle.

    Suddenly, a bulb turned on in his head, as he suddenly thought of that mysterious object. He was not certain if it would be of any use, but ording tomon sense, most people preferred to be clean. Even if they were not fanatical about it, most people would have some sort of visceral reaction against a smelly item.

    With the attitude of conducting an experiment, Lu Yin retrieved the vile-smelling item that looked like a fruit. As soon as he did so, the atmosphere of the entire battlefield in the Whitecliff Region abruptly changed. Countless people scrunched up their noses and vomited¡ªjust what was that rancid smell?

    The smell of Lu Yin¡¯s vile object was something that not even Mr. Yi, an Imprinter with a power level of almost 700,000, had been able to stop. There was no need to even mention the youths on the current battlefield. In a split second, the entire battlefield was flooded with the terror of an unspeakable stink.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Bu Kong and the others suddenly stopped fighting, and they all turned to look at Lu Yin. What was that stinky thing?

    The girls, such as Zhi Yi and Qiu Shi, all went pale. This smell seemed to be their personal living hell. They quickly tried to seal off their sense of smell only to discover that it was impossible; the stench continued to overwhelm them.

    Countless eyes stared at Lu Yin with faces full of strange expressions.

    Lu Yin nearly vomited himself; why did the smell from this thing seem to be growing stronger? Could this thing be maturing? He could not take the torture any longer, and he waved a hand. The vile fruit disappeared only to reappear in Zhi Yi¡¯s embrace.

    Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique could not be blocked by Vitality Qi, which was why he could use his secret technique to support the battle taking ce on the Champions'' Stage. Naturally, the secret technique could also send the vile object inside the barrier. If Lu Yin¡¯s other attacks were more effective, he would have long sinceunched attacks from outside the Champions'' Stage.

    Zhi Yi stared at the vile object that was clinging tight to her skin, dumbfounded. Her pupils shrank, and she instantly flung it away. She then turned to re at Lu Yin. ¡°You must have a deathwish!¡±

    Lu Yin merely grinned and pointed behind the woman in response. Zhi Yi turned around right as the vile object descended upon her once again, and this time, it smashed straight into her face.

    Zhi Yi was infuriated, and a sword of Vitality Qi appeared in her hands as she shed out. However, it was no use. The horrible object was simply sent flying away, nearly sting into Bu Kong as it passed him. He barely managed to jump to the side in fright. He did not dare to touch that thing; who knew if that smell could be washed off?

    ¡°Excuse me, but the longer you stay in contact with that thing, the longer the smell will remain,¡± Lu Yin shouted from outside the Champions'' Stage as he waved his hand again. The stinky fruit vanished before reappearing in Zhi Yi¡¯s embrace once again.

    Zhi Yi lost all self-control. From the moment she had been born, she had survived countless life and death battles until she had sessfully be one of the Daosource Three Skies. Then, she had sessfully cultivated Vitality Qi and be the Daosource Sect¡¯s favored child, resulting in everyone looking at her with respect. All anyone ever gave her were precious treasures. She had never imagined that there woulde a day when such a horrible object would be thrown at her. Even worse, she could not get rid of it either.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you must want to die!¡± Zhi Yi cursed Lu Yin. The Vitality Qi sword continued to slice at the wretched fruit, which sent it flying once more. However, she could not destroy it, and it kept returning to her no matter what she did.

    The originally bitter battle in the Whitecliff Region had changed the moment the nauseous smell filled the area. The original bloody stench had vanished, only to be reced by an even worse stink.

    Even normal people who were not obsessed with cleanliness would not be able to tolerate this stink, as it overwhelmed one¡¯s sensory organs and could not be blocked.

    This singr smelly object had caused the ughter taking ce across the entire battlefield to stop, which aptly showed its power.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, everyone moved away from Zhi Yi while keeping a wary eye on the vile object as though it were a demon.

 Chapter 989: Sword Radiance

    <h4>Chapter 989: Sword Radiance</h4>

    Bu Kong, Sword Schr, and the others all looked at Lu Yin with apprehensive faces. This fellow had actually rendered Zhi Yi helpless, and his secret technique was very annoying.

    Even the Fifth Maind¡¯s Xing Kai, Serati Phoenix, and other elites looked at Lu Yin like he was an absolute monster.

    Down on the surface of the sea, Starsibyl¡¯s face had be a bit pale, as that smell was truly unbearable.

    Miss Qing continued to move away, though she looked twice at Lu Yin; what an interesting person.

    Xin N¨¹ moved away from the Champions'' Stage, and she did not dare to approach it, as the stench was absolutely unforgivable.

    Gu Xiao''er stared at Lu Yin with a worshipful gaze. This was a high god, a supreme deity! He even had such an awesome toy, though it really was too smelly.

    The battlefield that had originally been leaning in favor of the Sixth Maind changed the moment Lu Yin took out that vile object. Zhi Yi had been able to forcefully stall Qiu Shi and some others by herself as one person was not able to fight against one of the Daosource Three Skies; it took two people cooperating at the very least. Now that Zhi Yi was preupied with this vile, smelly fruit, the battle situation had changed greatly since one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies had effectively been removed.

    Qiu Shi was now free to deal with Di Fa. This Realmling did not directly confront his opponents; rather, he preferred to ambush his targets, and his bloodline happened to allow his attacks to pierce through everything. Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix¡¯s injuries were both rted to this Realmling in some way.

    Di Fa was immediately targeted by Qiu Shi, and although he was unafraid, he still had to fight her directly. He looked at Zhi Yi. ¡°Ignore that thing. It¡¯s harmless, so hurry up and deal with this woman.¡±

    Zhi Yi ignored the Realmling and continued focusing all her efforts on shaking off the vile object. Her Vitality Qi was ineffective, her Sky Dipper was useless, and even her Scarlet Pupils couldn¡¯t burn it. Just what exactly was this thing?

    Lu Yin was quite satisfied with the results. This toy had forced Mr. Yi to flee multiple times in the past, which had been the peak of Lu Yin¡¯s life thus far. Also, this object was quite strange, as not even Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper could not stop it.

    How had he not thought of this sooner? Lu Yin swore to remember this stinky fruit in the future, as it was a potent weapon. It was clearly more useful than things like power vessels.

    Mr. Yi had not been able to destroy this strange fruit, so these people definitely would not be able to do anything to it.

    Zhi Yi was revolted, and she desperately wracked her brain toe up with some way to deal with this horrid item. However, she could not destroy it, and she could not store it in her cosmic ring either. She wanted to simply ignore it, but Lu Yin was acting atrociously and continuously using the Yu Secret Art tounch the stinky fruit into her face or into her embrace, which made it very difficult to ignore. The stench was unbearable, and just that by itself was enough to induce nightmares.

    Bu Kong streaked past the crowd to appear beside Zhi Yi. He then swatted at the vile object while activating the Time Reversal Technique.

    The Time Reversal Technique could send a person back to their childhood, which was the same as reversing time for a person or an object. Bu Kong was hoping to knock the vile fruit back to the moment when it was birthed or perhaps evenpletely eliminate it, but strangely enough, his secret technique had no effect on it whatsoever.

    Lu Yin sneered; this vile thing had been obtained from unlocking a sourcebox, and nobody knew how many ages this thing had endured through. Even if Bu Kong¡¯s secret technique was more incredible, it would still be useless.

    Since his secret technique was useless, Bu Kong simply attacked again, this time using his innate gift of dposition as he swatted at the vile object. However, this attempt simrly proved ineffective.

    Helpless, Bu Kong tried to grab the vile object and forcefully drag it away, but Lu Yin simply used his secret technique to divert it back into Zhi Yi¡¯s embrace yet again.

    Zhi Yi trembled with rage from head to toe. The stench had nearly knocked her unconscious by now. When she looked over at Lu Yin, she found his smiling face infuriatingly detestable. The truth was that Zhi Yi was a very rational person. She had been angered back in the thunder region, but she had remained rational enough to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by giving up the thunder region in order to put more pressure on the Whitecliff Region. Her many years of experience with military strategy had allowed her to develop a great deal of tolerance.

    However, all of her tolerance and strategies had been thrown out of the window at this moment. Her instinctive rage erupted from deep within, and she raised a hand, causing the Vitality Qi that had previously enveloped the Champions'' Stage to shoot towards Lu Yin while she leaped off of the Champions¡¯ Stage at the same time.

    Di Fa screamed out, ¡°Don¡¯t fall into their trap!¡±

    Bu Kong also became flustered, but he was unconcerned of any such traps. After all, the two of them were members of the Daosource Three Skies, and there was nobody in the younger generation who could defeat them. Simply put, they were impossible existences. However, Bu Kong wanted to achieve a great victory, as simply breaking through the Whitecliff Region would not be big enough for him; he also wanted to eliminate these people from the Fifth Maind.

    After Zhi Yi left, the barrier formed by her Sky Dipper technique no longer shrouded the stage, which meant that the Fifth Maind cultivators were now able to escape. This was not something that Bu Kong wanted to see happen.

    Zhi Yi hadpletely given in to her rage, and she was currently holding a sword formed from Vitality Qi and relentlessly attacking Lu Yin. At the same time, the Vitality Qi that stretched all the way to the horizon pressed downwards, seemingly trying to drown the entire Whitecliff Region.

    Zhi Yi demonstrated the terrifying power of one of the Daosource Three Skies. Above her Vitality Qi, the mes of her Scarlet Pupils could be seen. Besides Lu Yin, even those like Xing Kai were stunned by this disy of power.

    This attack seemed to cover the entire Whitecliff Region, but suddenly, all of the Vitality Qi converged into an attack that targeted Lu Yin alone. Although the power level of this attack was expertedly controlled to remain under 200,000, it still gave Lu Yin an intense sense of danger. He could clearly see through the attack¡¯s rune lines and how various runes hadpletely separated themselves from others, though each group of rune lines contained a power level of nearly 200,000. These groups of rune lines then converged together in a method that was very simr to how Little Arrow Saint fired his arrow attacks.

    Not everyone could do what Zhi Yi was doing, separating their attacks to bypass the influence of the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, let alone merge everything back together. This attack was multiple times more sophisticated than what Little Arrow Saint was capable of pulling off.

    Looking at this attack, it seemed as though Lu Yin had anticipated it, as he had already fled towards the east, though he was still within Zhi Yi¡¯s attack range. She hated Lu Yin to the very core, as she had never suffered such a terrible humiliation before this very moment, as that vile object was still clinging to her. That stink was the motivation behind this attack, and she did not care about anything else at this moment¡ªshe only wanted to eliminate Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around, and his expression changed drastically. He tried to use his Truesight to weaken Zhi Yi¡¯s sword slice, and at the same time, from atop the Champions'' Stage, God Taiyi also used his own Truesight to weaken Zhi Yi¡¯s battle technique. He had already realized that Lu Yin was someone who was also familiar with Truesight. Aside from Gods'' Origin, some other people would asionally obtain remnants of the Rune Technology inheritance and learn Truesight, so he was not surprised. The most important detail was that Lu Yin had saved God Taiyi in the past.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s strike was weakened by thebined efforts of Lu Yin and God Taiyi, but after facing off against Lu Yin several times before, how could Zhi Yi have not been prepared for this? The two youths were able to weaken her impressive attack, but Zhi Yi could simrly increase the power behind her attack. Her actual power level greatly surpassed 200,000, so it was not very difficult for her to boost her attack within the twinkling of an eye.

    Lu Yin still had to face that earth-shattering strike.

    Just when everyone assumed that Lu Yin had absolutely no option aside from enduring the attack, a smear of sword qi shed over from the distance. Heaven and earth transformed into a world of swords¡ªeven the air, the water, and everything in sight turned into swords.

    The first to respond to this change was Sword Schr, as the sword in his hand trembled beyond his control.

    After that, Shi Zhongjian, God Taiyi, and the others all felt a terrifyingly sharp aura descend.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s slice suddenly changed direction to sh at that sword radiance.

    This attack had originated from the void, and as it collided with Zhi Yi¡¯s attack, its sharp, formless aura swept out in all directions and engulfed the entire Whitecliff Region. The sea surged as its waves were torn apart by the sword qi, causing scattered spatial cracks to fall down like raindrops.

    Countless people were caught within the shockwaves of the collision between the sword qi and the Vitality Qi sh, and quite a few of them were instantly torn in half without even being able to resist.

    Starsibyl continuously moved about with a serious look on her face.

    Crimson Servant Qiu He raised a hand and unleashed a battle technique, but it was simrly torn apart by the sword qi¡¯s aftershock, and blood dripped down from his entire arm.

    Xia Tian fled at his top speed, and a gale streaked by him, tearing open the void. If he had been just one step slower, he would have been struck by the gale.

    Gu Xiao''er cried out as he continuously dodged the dangerous aftershock, unable to stop moving.

    Above the sea, a giant meteorite that had originally been drawn over by Ye Xingchen was diced into pieces, and it was reduced to dust that blew away.

    Lu Yin felt the wind gale st forward, and it was apanied by an iparably sharp aura. He hastened to use his Fatesand to block it, and fortunately, his physical body was quite tough as well. Otherwise, even though he was far away from the collision, he still would have been badly injured if not killed outright.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, everyone froze and stared into the distance in disbelief. Who? Who could be so terrifying?

    Bu Kong¡¯s expression turned solemn. Before this battle, someone had told him that the Fifth Maind could not be underestimated because this ce did not only contain the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces, but also the shattered, remnant ns of the other four mainds. Such powers possessed unbelievably ancient inheritances, and they could not be ignored.

    Initially, Bu Kong had not paid much attention to this warning, but then, he had bumped into Xing Kai on the battlefield in the Whitecliff Region, which was the first time he had felt threatened. Although he had ended up defeating Xing Kai, Bu Kong had not been able to kill the Arbiter. The Arbiter¡¯s strength was only at the level of a Realmling, but he had already surpassed the average Realmling. There was also Serati Phoenix, Qiu Shi, and other experts that had allowed Bu Kong to experience the hidden strength of the Fifth Maind.

    At this moment, the arrival of that sword qi had shocked him yet again. Bu Kong suddenly realized that he still had not clearly seen the true power of the Fifth Maind.

    Zhi Yi stood high in the sky with a solemn expression as well. She stared to the east, where a woman slowly walked across the battlefield as her ck hair blew in the wind. She was wearingrge sses and had a white longsword in her hand. Surprisingly, she looked both gentle and silly, but this was the same woman who had blocked Zhi Yi¡¯s attack.

    That had not been any ordinary attack, as Zhi Yi hadunched it at full force due to her rage, and it had been the strongest strike that she could possibly unleash while under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. She had believed that there was nobody capable of stopping her here, and even that Arbiter Unseen Light who she had encountered in the thunder region might not be able to fully block it. Although the attack had indeed been weakened slightly, the fact that someone could block it had far exceeded Zhi Yi¡¯s expectations.

    Countless eyes turned to look to the east and at the woman who was slowly approaching.

    ¡°It¡¯s her?¡±

    ¡°One of the Ten Arbiters, the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Tianmu.¡±

    ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Arbiter who inherited the Thirteen Swords. She¡¯s widely regarded as the Sword Sect¡¯s most talented disciple in all of history.¡±

    ¡°Legend has it that everyone from the Sword Sect believes that she will be able to create the Fourteenth Sword, and thus raise the Sword Sect to reign over the entire universe.¡±

    ¡°It seems that not only is she the Sword Sect¡¯s Arbiter, but she also has some other identity as well.¡±

    ¡­

    As he listened to the various discussions taking ce all around him, Lu Yin stared at the woman slowly walking over. This was the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Tianmu, Arbiter Liu of the Ten Arbiters, Heir of the Thirteen Swords. Her arrival caused many to feel despair. Even among the Ten Arbiters, she was the one who stood at the very peak; neither Xing Kai nor Serati Phoenix were as influential as this woman.

    The Sword Sect itself was one of the most powerful sects in the Innerverse. Rather, it was not one of, but rather the most powerful sect. Even the Daynight n did not dare to sh with the Sword Sect head on. The flowzone where the Sword Sect was located was known as First Flowzone simply because of the sect¡¯s presence. This was the Sword Sect.

    Liu Tianmu was the most elite disciple in the entire history of the Sword Sect, and if the Ten Arbiters were ranked, then she would undoubtedly stand at the top.

    Lu Yin himself had interacted with quite a few of the Ten Arbiters, but whether it was Lan Si, White Knight, or Unseen Light, none of them had given him the same shock that Liu Tianmu did. She was simply standing there, but she gave others the sense that she waspletely unrivalled.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this woman is freaking tyrannical!¡± the Ghost Monkey gasped.

    Lu Yin was able to sense the same even though Liu Tianmu had yet to speak even a single word. Just the sword qi from before had given him a feel for this woman¡¯s determination.

 Chapter 990: Offensive And Defensive Sword Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 990: Offensive And Defensive Sword Techniques</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you¡ªyou¡¯re the Arbiter from the Sword Sect, Liu Tianmu. Was that the Thirteenth Sword that you used just now?¡± Zhi Yi asked as she looked at Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s gentle face looked up as she directed her gaze towards Zhi Yi. ¡°That was the Eleventh Sword.¡±

    Zhi Yi was shocked. ¡°So that was merely the Eleventh Sword, and yet you could block me? Let me see how powerful the Thirteenth Sword is.¡±

    Liu Tianmu raised the white longsword in her right hand and replied, ¡°I do not know it.¡±

    Zhi Yi squinted.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Xing Kai stared at Liu Tianmu, who was off in the distance, before looking back at Zhi Yi. He felt that the Daosource Three Skies did not believe Liu Tianmu when she said that she did not know the Thirteenth Sword. In reality, Liu Tianmu truly did not know how to use the Thirteenth Sword, as she had only mastered up to the Eleventh Sword, though she likely knew how to partially use the Twelfth Sword.

    Before participating in this battle, Zhi Yi had never imagined that a member of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation would be able to stop her. The appearance of Arbiter Unseen Light had already been a surprise, as that man was full of mystery. He possessed a very powerful domain and was able to predict attacks before they even urred. That being said, Zhi Yi was confident that the man could not break through her defenses, as the presence of her Sky Dipper ensured her invulnerability. However, Liu Tianmu was different. Her sword¡¯s killing aura,bined with the Thirteen Swords, made this woman a danger whose power was impossible to determine.

    A cold glint appeared in Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes. No matter how powerful Liu Tianmu was, Zhi Yi did not believe that anyone in the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation could actually defeat her; that was impossible in her mind. She was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and they were invincible. Right when she finished thinking and was about to speak, the vile object from before appeared right in front of her face.

    Lu Yin had struck, and his sole intention at this moment was to disgust Zhi Yi.

    Zhi Yi had been focused on Liu Tianmu just now, but the return of the foul item brought her right back to her former nightmare. Her entire focustched onto that horrid item, and she red at Lu Yin. ¡°Qiu He, kill him.¡±

    Above the sea, Qiu He immediately took to the sky to attack Lu Yin after hearing these orders, abandoning Gu Xiao¡¯er whom he had been chasing around.

    Xia Tian instantly shot up to intercept Qiu He with Gu Xiao¡¯er, the two of them teaming up to deal with Crimson Servant.

    Zhi Yi danced through the sky as she tried to evade the teleporting vile item, but all her efforts were in vain. Her voice echoed through the sky, ¡°Whoever can capture Lu Yin alive, I, Zhi Yi, swear upon the name of the Daosource Three Skies that I will guarantee you an audience with the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Thereafter, you will receive the chance to inherit the bloodline of the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Even if you fail, you will still gain the chance to train under an Empyrean Imprinter.¡±

    Above the sea water, millions of cultivators from the Sixth Maind were roused by these tempting words. Countless people became motivated, and their eyes started to burn with a fervent light as they all looked at Lu Yin.

    Zhi Yi had just made a huge promise; even if they were unable to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple, they would still have a chance to be an Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s disciple. Realmlings were disciples to Empyrean Imprinters, so this promise was the equivalent to offering everyone the chance to walk down the same path as the Realmlings.

    In an instant, numerous people took to the sky and charged at Lu Yin. At the minimum, there were tens of thousands of cultivators approaching him from every direction, and many of them were from various Imprinter ns. There were even some descendants of Cosmic Imprinters and World Imprinters that joined in.

    Eachrge n had at least a hundred thousand members, and those were just the direct family members. Once distant rtives were included in the count, a n might have upwards of a hundred million members. Those who had managed to be the heirs of such ns were all the cream of the crop, having been sifted out from a hundred thousand disciples. They were blessed with a wealth of cultivation resources, and they were not weak by any measure of the word. In one on one battles, they were capable of easily crushing their Fifth Maind peers.

    At this moment, hundreds of thousands of such people simultaneously attacked Lu Yin, which sent chills running down his spine.

    Countless attacks filled the sky, blocking everyone¡¯s sight as the void shattered.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to dodge aside, though he was forced to directly block any attack that he could not evade.

    It was a good thing that Lu Yin himself was rather powerful, as the most powerful of these attackers were no stronger than Autumnfrost Qing, which was a few levels below the Realmlings¡¯. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have been in a very precarious situation. That being said, their relentless onught still left him frightened.

    As the Sixth Maind cultivators besieged Lu Yin, the Fifth Maind cultivators could no longer restrain themselves. Lu Yin was so powerful that he had dared to offend one of the Daosource Three Skies and force her to react in this over-the-top manner. They quickly formed a cohesive defensive stance, and among this group, there were some cultivators who simply wanted to gain favor with Lu Yin. In an instant, the entire Whitecliff Region was plunged back into battle, and this time, it was centered around Lu Yin.

    Zhi Yi heaved a sigh of relief, finally free from the teleporting stinky fruit. Liu Tianmu watched the scene below her where Lu Yin frantically tried to escape, her eyes full of astonishment. She had heard of this man before as Liu Xiaoyun, Long Yun, and Liu Shaoqiu had all spoken of Lu Yin before. Liu Fuxue, who had married into the Nn family, had also mentioned him.

    Liu Tianmu had also seen this man¡¯s image during the Tournament of the Strongest, and his talent had shocked her. This man hade from the Outerverse and entered the Astral Combat Academy. He clearlycked sufficient cultivation resources, had inherited no powerful battle techniques, but despite all that, he hadprehended battle force and withstood Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s Thirteen Swords. She had long since known that this man would eventually be a shockingly influential figure in the universe, but she had never expected him to be an unparalleled Limiteer so soon after that, let alone y a key role in such arge-scale battle now.

    This person was a true genius, and even though Liu Tianmu had never met Lu Yin before this, she had always kept her ears open for news about him.

    During these past few years with the Outerverse being isted, the Innerverse had be a gigantic, chaotic battlefield. Conflicts broke out all the time, and everyone was constantly improving themselves. Due to this, most people had simply assumed that Lu Yin had fallen silent after the separation. They could have never imagined that he had always been active and that he had actually be even more lively than before. At this moment, he stood far above Liu Shaoqiu and the others.

    Lu Yin suddenly seemed to have be a ray of hope for the Fifth Maind, and it shone down on all of the cultivators in the Whitecliff region. All of the Sixth Maind cultivators wanted to capture him while the Fifth Maind cultivators could not just stand around and let that happen. The two sides¡¯ reactions had caused the entire battlefield to be even more chaotic than before.

    Zhi Yi did not expect the pursuing crowd to sessfully capture Lu Yin, as they were simply too far below him, and the difference in power between them was not something that could be made up for with sheer numbers. All she wanted to do was distract Lu Yin and prevent him from teleporting that vile thing around with his secret technique, which would give her an opportunity to concentrate on her battle with Liu Tianmu.

    There weren¡¯t many people from the Fifth Maind who could go against one of the Daosource Three Skies head on, and any such people had to be destroyed immediately.

    Zhi Yi raised a hand as her Vitality Qi formed a sword in her hand. Then, she took a step forward and thrust it towards Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu looked at her opponent with a bizarre expression. It wasmon knowledge even in the Outerverse to never casually draw a sword when fighting against someone from the Sword Sect. But apparently, such knowledge had not made its way to the Daosource Three Skies. Even though Zhi Yi had not particrly focused on her swordsmanship, that simple training was enough to polish her sword skills to be on par, or even better than, the elites of the Sword Sect.

    Her power stemmed from Vitality Qi and her unbreachable Sky Dipper. Aside from Lu Yin, there was nobody else here who could ignore her Vitality Qi. Even Unseen Light had been forced to use his domain to iste the Vitality Qi. Needless to say, Liu Tianmu could not disregard this powerful weapon that originated from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    The Arbiter was not bothered about Zhi Yi¡¯s skills with the sword, but what did concern her was the Vitality Qi.

    As Zhi Yi brought her sword down, Liu Tianmu raised her own to block the attack, using the Sixth Sword.

    Vitality Qi encircled Liu Tianmu¡¯s Sixth Sword, but it waspletely isted. Zhi Yi was shocked to see that her attack had been blocked.

    The Thirteen Swords had both offensive and defensive moves. The Sixth Sword was a powerful defensive sword technique.

    Shortly after using the Sixth Sword, Liu Tianmu unleashed a close range attack. She became one with her sword, which had also be one with her domain. All of theseponents had merged together into one. This was the Fifth Sword.

    When Liu Shaoqiu was at Pyrolyte Mountain during the contest for pyrolyte ore, he had been suddenly enlightened about the Fifth Sword. This technique did not only hurt one¡¯s opponent, but it also injured the user themselves. However, Liu Tianmu had long since mastered this sword.

    Off in the distance, even though Lu Yin had been surrounded by countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind, he still made sure to pay attention to the battle between Zhi Yi and Liu Tianmu. He saw Liu Tianmu¡¯s defensive move, her deployment of the Fifth Sword, as well as the other myriad sword techniques that she used. Her usage of sword techniques waspletely different from Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s style, and it was almost as though the two had learned twopletely different techniques.

    Although the two had learned the same battle techniques, the results of their efforts werepletely different. Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteen Swords were the real deal, and even though Zhi Yi was carefully reacting to the swordswoman¡¯s attacks and fully confident in her Sky Dipper, she did not dare to take the attacks head on. Sword techniques were far too deadly to casually ignore.

    Even though it was just a battle between just two people, this fight between Liu Tianmu and Zhi Yi was even more important than the one taking ce atop the Champions'' Stage.

    On top of the Champions'' Stage, Bu Kong¡¯s eyes burned as he looked down at Liu Tianmu. Her sword techniques were unrivaled in this Fifth Maind, and the Sword Sect truly lived up to its reputation. He also wanted to experience the Thirteen Swords.

    Zhi Yi became more and more shocked as time passed; even though she could still maintain her untouchable Sky Dipper, if Liu Tianmu was an Enlighter like Zhi Yi and possessed the same power level, then it was possible that her Sky Dipper might not have be able to handle the power of the Thirteen Swords.

    At this thought, Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes filled with killing intent. She had to eliminate this troublesome woman or else she would be a terrible enemy for the Sixth Maind in the future.

    Zhi Yi was not just a master of Vitality Qi, as her status of being one of the Daosource Three Skies had not been given to her just because she had be an Enlighter at a young age. Even among Enlighters, the Daosource Three Skies were unequaled. Right when Zhi Yi was about to make another move, the vile fruit suddenly appeared in front of her, causing her to stumble. At that moment, Liu Tianmu attacked with her sword. Although it was only the First Sword, any sword technique would be extremely powerful when used by Liu Tianmu.

    Her First Sword alone was enough to crush Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s most powerful sword technique even if the two were in the same cultivation realm.

    This sword struck the Sky Dipper, and although it was not powerful enough topletely break through it, the force still caused Zhi Yi to fall back.

    Zhi Yi angrily surveyed the area, and she just so happened to lock eyes with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin managed to give her a provocative look despite the countless attacks raining down on his head. He was then forced to flee.

    Unseen Light and Liu Tianmu were both able to fight evenly against Zhi Yi, and it seemed that the two Arbiters really were capable of duking it out with the Daosource Three Skies. However, if one carefully thought about it, then even if the both of the Arbiters teamed up against Zhi Yi, there was nothing that they could do to her as her Sky Dipper was still unbreachable.

    Lu Yin was concerned that Zhi Yi would use some hidden method to win, and even though he was confident in Liu Tianmu¡¯s abilities, this battle was far too important to becent.

    Zhi Yi had wanted to fight one on one with Liu Tianmu, but she had been disrupted by Lu Yin¡¯s vile object yet again. Not only did this anger Zhi Yi, but even Liu Tianmu became unhappy, prompting her to shoot a re at Lu Yin and say, ¡°Don¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but he decided not to interfere any further since his assistance had been rejected. With that in mind, he waved a hand, causing the horrible item to disappear, only to reappear in front of Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong was able to tolerate the stench of the vile fruit no matter how bad it smelled, but Lu Yin did not merely redirect it into Bu Kong¡¯s embrace¡ªthe stinky fruit smashed straight into Bu Kong¡¯s face.

    Bu Kong was naturally repulsed by the fruit. Although very few things could withstand his secret technique, this vile object was one of them. It waspletely unaffected by his secret technique, and it constantly released a pungent, foul smell that could affect even the most stoic person.

    Across the battlefield, God Taiyi felt rather strange. He had never fought against an opponent in such a manner, and it felt rather despicable. However, given the situation that they were facing, there was no other choice. God Taiyi was simply no match for Bu Kong.

    If, at this moment, all the Sixth Maind cultivators were asked who their most hated enemy was, they would undoubtedly answer ¡°Lu Yin.¡± He had disgusted two of the Daosource Three Skies as well as the entire battlefield with his stinky fruit.

    Lu Yin also had to endure the stench himself, but he had still contributed greatly to the battle and was being chased around.

    This absurd battle continued on for a bit more than a day, and in the distance, the color of the sea started to be a shade lighter; the Champions¡¯ Stage was about to leave the Whitecliff Region.

    As Lu Yin looked into the distance, he could see where the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force¡¯s cosmic phenomenon ended. Lu Yin grew solemn. If the Sixth Maind was allowed to break away from the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, then they would suffer a cmitous defeat. However, it was a good thing that, just past the border of the phenomena, Lu Yin could see countless rune lines; the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses were there as well.

 Chapter 991: Eternal Scene

    <h4>Chapter 991: Eternal Scene</h4>

    Not only were the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect Elder and other such powerhouses gathered just beyond the cosmic phenomenon, but there were also rulers and elders from some of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers. They were the final barrier that the Sixth Maind needed to break through.

    Both sides had silently agreed to have the older generation leave the Cosmic Sea so that it would be a battlefield for the younger generation. However, if the situation truly reached a critical juncture, then how could they continue to silently abide by such an agreement?

    Lu Yin turned away after seeing all this. He did not know where the Sixth Maind¡¯s older generation powerhouses had hidden themselves, but it seemed that they were actually able to entirely conceal their rune lines. He was reminded of Aegis¡¯s Cloakstone, and although it was possible that there were other simr items, it was unlikely for there to be that much.

    As the Champions'' Stage drew closer to the border of the Whitecliff Region, the expressions of Bu Kong and the other Sixth Maind cultivators all suddenly changed as they backed away as one. Bu Kong then tapped out with a finger, which gave God Taiyi a sense of extreme crisis. Qiu Shi and the others were also allpletely astonished¡ªat this moment, Bu Kong had changed.

    Bu Kong threw out one sourcebox after another, and as he moved as though he was lockbreaking, but his actions actually caused the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger zones to spread out.

    Lu Yin was rmed. ¡°Watch out for the sourcebox array!¡±

    Amidst the millions of cultivators currently embroiled in battle, Xin N¨¹ looked up, her face solemn. Only a Advanced Lockbreaker was qualified to even tryprehending a sourcebox array. As one of the Daosource Three Skies, Bu Kong was clearly already someone who was very powerful, but it was still shocking that he hadprehended a sourcebox array method.

    When Bu Kong started arranging the sourcebox array, the apprehension that Lu Yin felt towards the young man reached an entirely new level. Not only had this person achieved such tremendousbat strength at such a young age, but he had alsoprehended a sourcebox array arrangement method¡ªBu Kong¡¯s future could not be estimated.

    Zhi Yi was simrly overwhelmed, as even she had not known that Bu Kong hadprehended a sourcebox array arrangement method. Even if she was more confident in herself, she would doubt her chances at defeating a powerhouse within the same realm as her if they were able to use a sourcebox array. Even if sourcebox arrays could not quitepare to secret techniques, as long as one was given enough time to set one up, the resulting destruction would be endless.

    Bu Kong was attempting to use a sourcebox array to trap Qiu Shi, Xing Kai, and the others. However, at this moment, someone else took simr action: Qiu Shi.

    Every person in the Cosmic Sect was a Lockbreaker, as the Cosmic Art was widely regarded as all Lockbreakers¡¯ dream technique as it was extremely helpful to lockbreaking. Originally, Lu Yin had relied on the Cosmic Art to calm the chaotic energy in a starburst orb, which had allowed him to catch Master Wusheng¡¯s attention and thus given Lu Yin the opportunity to join the Lockbreaker Society. Qiu Shi was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciple, and she was also known as the All Rounder Fairy. She was talented in every aspect, and one of them was lockbreaking; she was also a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Bu Kong¡¯s movements were fast, but Qiu Shi was by no means slow. Bu Kong relied on his innate gift of dposition, while Qiu Shi relied on her Cosmic Art; each one had their own advantages.

    Bu Kong had not expected that a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker would be hiding on the other side. It was no wonder why Zhi Yi had always felt that Qiu Shi was hiding something quite deeply, as her suspicions had turned out to be true.

    Still, Qiu Shi¡¯s efforts would be useless even if she had hidden herself even deeper. Bu Kong¡¯s sourcebox array did not require much time to arrange, and it possessed dozens of variations. He used one variation to cover another¡¯s and then yet another variation to hide the first.

    Qiu Shi continued unlocking the sourceboxes, altering their danger zones while also attempting to break through and halt the array¡¯s activation. But in the end, her efforts were still a bitcking, and her actions could not keep up with her intentions. Bu Kong had been a step ahead from the very start, and a sourcebox array soon enveloped the Champions'' Stage. It then slowly took the form of a boulder that trapped the crowd within it.

    After that, Bu Kong¡¯s figure shed, and he unleashed a palm strike at Qiu Shi. At the same instant, the sourcebox array restricted Qiu Shi¡¯s movements, leaving her with no choice but to let itnd on her. With a soft thump, she was struck in the body, and fresh blood flowed from her lips as her body fell down to the Champions'' Stage.

    However, Bu Kong did not stop there. The sourcebox array was also suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon, and it was only able to trap the crowd for a brief moment.

    He struck out with five total palm strikes in quick session, hitting five people and causing Xing Kai, Serati Phoenix, Shu Jing, God Taiyi, and Qiu Shi to all fall from the Champions'' Stage. Shockwaves reverberated through the void, entuating his godly image, as he had just defeated five peak experts in an instant.

    Millions of cultivators watched this development take ce with shock and disbelief written on their faces.

    What came next were cheers, as everyone was shouting Bu Kong¡¯s name. This was the power of one of the Daosource Three Skies, the image of unrivaled and unstoppable youths.

    Bu Kong looked like a deity as Xing Kai¡¯s group fell down from the Champions'' Stage. Everyone here would remember this scene for the rest of their lives. This scene was the symbol of strength that the Daosource Three Skies deserved to have.

    Di Fa, the Sword Schr, Shi Zhongjian, and Little Arrow Saint all took action as well, and they attacked the five who had fallen from the Champions'' Stage.

    Bu Kong had used the Time Reversal Technique in his palm strikes, and whoever was struck by that technique would be temporarily returned to their childhood. This was the moment when they were at their weakest, as there was no way that children could withstand an attack from a Realmling.

    This was Bu Kong¡¯s ultimate n, and he had seeded. Each of the falling powerhouses had been struck, but shockingly, none of them had reverted back to children.

    Di Fa and the others¡¯ attacks were all stopped, and they were only able to knock the five people down to the surface of the sea, unable to wound the five fallen youths. Actually, the only injury that they had suffered was from Bu Kong¡¯s palm strike, but that had only shocked them and caused them to vomit out a bit of blood. They were not actually severely injured.

    Bu Kong was astonished; how was this possible?

    Qiu Shi scanned the battlefield and saw that Gu Xiao''er¡¯s face had gone pale.

    When the battle atop the Champions'' Stage had first started, Gu Xiao''er¡¯s white smoke had emerged and twisted around the stage. As the battle raged on, especially after a full day of intensebat, everyone had gotten ustomed to the ubiquitous smoke. However, while Bu Kong had been throwing out his sourceboxes, Gu Xiao''er had gathered and condensed the white smoke onto the bodies of some people in the crowd. To be more specific, he had used it to protect a small ce on everyone¡¯s bodies, the exact ce where Bu Kong¡¯s palms had struck.

    Qiu Shi had been struck in the abdomen, and the white smoke had coincidentally condensed on her abdomen.

    Xing Kai had been struck in the head, and the white smoke had coincidentally been there as well.

    Serati Phoenix, Shu Jing, and God Taiyi were all the same. Because the white smoke had acted as a barrier, they had been able to endure Bu Kong¡¯s palm strikes, and the smoke had also protected them from the Time Reversal Technique.

    This white smoke was very mysterious, and it was even able to tear through Vitality Qi. It was no wonder why the white smoke was the foundation of the great power Smoke Eater Peak, as it had just blocked a secret technique and rescued five of the Fifth Maind¡¯s strongest youths.

    If not for this white smoke, Bu Kong¡¯s palms would have reverted the five to their childhood, and they would have been in grave danger.

    Bu Kong had been nning this attack for a long time, and he had been biding his time while fighting with God Taiyi and the others, all for this precise moment when he would be able eliminate five absolute experts at once. However, his goal had been foiled by Gu Xiao''er.

    Naturally, Gu Xiao''er had not been able to predict where Bu Kong would attack on his own; he had actually relied on Starsibyl, who was some distance away from him. That woman had told Gu Xiao¡¯er where to condense his smoke, as she had seen through all of Bu Kong¡¯s attacks.

    Bu Kong had been scheming for this moment for a good while, but his n had been instantly destroyed by Starsibyl. This was the capability of the Starsibyl Sect¡ªthis was divination.

    At this moment, Bu Kong was standing atop the Champions'' Stage, staring down in disbelief. How was this possible? They had actually stopped his secret technique! He could not process what had just happened in this short amount of time.

    Zhi Yi seemed to think of something, and she retreated a thousand meters back as she searched through the entire battlefield. She had nearly forgotten about Starsibyl. Who on their side could have known that, at the most crucial juncture of the battle, that woman would prove to be the most useful. Divination: formless yet fatal.

    The Fifth Maind simply had too many mysterious inheritances. After all, it was essentially five mainds that had merged together.

    Bu Kong once again remembered the advice he had been given before the beginning of this battle.

    Below, Xing Kai and the others had survived Bu Kong¡¯s attack, but they all looked up at the Champions'' Stage with ugly expressions. Even though they had not been incapacitated or severely injured, Bu Kong had revealed the terror of his full might. When they also considered the inexplicable Zhi Yi and the four Realmlings who were also present, they had no chance of winning.

    Lu Yin stored his terrible item away, as there was no longer any need for it since the older generation was about to arrive. Countless groups of rune lines were approaching them, and the two furthest in the lead were especially terrifying. They simply nced at Lu Yin, but just that was enough for his scalp to go numb. These two were definitely terrifying old monsters with power levels over 1,000,000.

    Since the Fifth Maind¡¯s older generation was joining the battle, the hidden monsters from the Sixth Maind would definitely make an appearance as well. They were sure to be hiding somewhere within the chaotic battlefield that had millions of cultivators.

    One cultivator from the Fifth Maind had been fighting against someone from the Sixth Maind for several days with no indications of a victor. At this moment, the Sixth Maind cultivator suddenly revealed an unimaginable level of strength as he raised a hand to casually wipe away his opponent. He then looked off into the distance. ¡°It¡¯s time to determine the victor.¡±

    Simr scenes took ce all across the battlefield above the sea as one old powerhouse from the Sixth Maind revealed themselves after another, each one disying a terrifying level of strength.

    They all charged forward together as they raced towards the Whitecliff Region¡¯s border. They were nning to break out of this region that was suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon and then use their unrestricted power to determine the victor of this invasion.

    Bu Kong was helpless in this situation, as that had been his final attack. However, he had not killed a single one of the five whom he had attacked. Now that the experts from the older generation were joining the battle, he would have no further opportunities to gain any merits. Although the Fifth Maind was much weaker than the Sixth Maind, there were still many people in the older generation whose power levels were above 500,000, and the attacks from those powerhouses would be more than enough to scare even Bu Kong.

    This was no longer a battlefield for the younger generation.

    At the border of the cosmic phenomenon, a group of powerhouses from the Fifth Maind charged forward. Leading them was an elder from the Cosmic Sect and an elder from the Hall of Honor, each of whom had a power level of more than 1,000,000. Multiple Envoy-level powerhouses followed behind them, some from the Innerverse and others from the Neoverse.

    In the Fifth Maind, only the Neoverse had monsters with power levels above 1,000,000. In the Innerverse, the Sword Sect and the Daynight n were the only groups that might have such powerhouses, though it was also possible that they did not. A power level of 1,000,000 represented a qualitatively different level of strength.

    On the other side, the Sixth Maind¡¯s older cultivators were simrly led by two old people, and they were both Cosmic Imprinters. They were followed by another group of old monsters.

    This was the highest level battlefield.

    Just as the two sides were about to collide, the cosmic phenomenon high above them started to roil. Lu Yin, God Taiyi, and everyone else who practiced Truesight were the first to discover the change, and they all looked up. As they did so, all of their expressions instantly changed.

    The Rune Progenitor¡¯s phenomena had begun moving as though it had gained sapience, and it suddenly suppressed everything.

    Everyone froze and looked up in terror as the sky¡­ copsed!

    The Progenitor realm was an indescribable realm; they were the source of everything. The universe had existed for an unknown number of years, and nobody knew how long humans had been around for. Since ancient times, the number of Progenitors that had emerged could actually be counted. It was not a matter of one being born from some amount of people, but rather one being born from some amount of eons.

    Progenitors were in apletely different realm of existence, and the Rune Progenitor had even created a mysterious civilization of unique cultivators, and it would not even be too much to say that he had been a god. In fact, just his remnant spiritual force had been able to injure even the Progenitor of Combat. After that, the leftover power had covered the Innerverse and nearly half of the Cosmic Sea. Although the Progenitor had died long ago, he was still able to have such a massive influence on this inter-maind war after countless years. This was the strength of a Progenitor.

    No matter who they were, if they had not be a Progenitor yet, they could not touch or fathom the strength of one.

    Even Empyrean Imprinters were no exception to this rule.

    Under the influence of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cosmic phenomenon, runes covered everyone, and they all felt terrified and desperate; even Lu Yin felt the same. He did not know what the Rune Progenitor¡¯s phenomena was about to do, but the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces¡¯ action of trying to break away from the suppression seemed to have unlocked another hidden aspect of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cosmic phenomenon. The moment this power was activated, it instantly shone down upon one of the unassuming elders from the Sixth Maind.

 Chapter 992: Forceful Eradication

    <h4>Chapter 992: Forceful Eradication</h4>

    Everything in the surrounding area was covered by the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cosmic phenomenon as this entire region sank into darkness. Then, a solitary beam of radiance illuminated one of the Sixth Maind elders. The old man looked up as his gaze turned sinister and a giant hammer appeared in his hand. ¡°Are you trying to kill me? So what if it¡¯s a Progenitor! One day, I¡¯ll be able to step into that realm, and then I will lead the Toolwielder bloodline to kill our way into the Fifth Maind, which will forever-¡±

    At that point, his body began to shatter.

    The elder screamed as indescribably boundless rune lines swept across his body. His death shocked everyone within the Whitecliff Region as he dissipated before their eyes. The entire Cosmic Sea trembled as the wave flowed out, spreading over the rest of the Innerverse. It was as if it was trying to topple the universe itself.

    The strength of this wave of rune lines was something rarely ever seen. Even though Lu Yin had seen Yuan Shi and the other peak powerhouses go all out in the Outerverse, their full power could not match the terrifying power of this elder who had just spoken up. He had not been a Cosmic Imprinter, but rather one level higher¡ªone of the Sixth Maind¡¯s few Empyrean Imprinters, who were second only to the three Progenitors.

    Additionally, he had been carrying the hammer, which indicated that he should have been Ancestor Toolwielder from the Toolcasting family, one of the Four Empyreans of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    Ancestor Toolwielder had been an Empyrean Imprinter with a peerless strength. The Sixth Maind was divided into nine realms, and Empyrean Imprinters were simr to the Progenitors in that they were not limited by the realms; they were existences that existed above the masses.

    Lu Yin had participated in two of the Innerverse¡¯s battles and three of the Outerverse¡¯s border warfronts thus far. However, this was his first time seeing the terror of an Empyrean Imprinter, and this was not a strength that he could even fathom. Just one nce from someone of that level was enough to send his mind spiralling into chaos.

    This powerhouse had been strong enough to be an entire universe¡¯s hidden trump, but his runes had been gradually erased along with himself.

    The others could not see what was truly happening; they could only see that Ancestor Toolwielder¡¯s body was cracking apart. Only those who had cultivated Truesight like Lu Yin and God Taiyi were able to see Ancestor Toolwielder¡¯s runes dissipate away. He was being forcefully erased.

    Ancestor Toolwielder¡¯s participation in this invasion had been no ident. Even if the Fifth Maind were even weaker, they would still absolutely have terrifying powerhouses at the same level as an Empyrean Imprinter. Ancestor Toolwielder hade specifically to deal with such powerhouses.

    While Ancestor Toolwielder was still being erased, another light ray illuminated a middle-aged man within the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces. He was quickly overwhelmed, and he quickly charged toward the south in an attempt to escape from the area of the cosmic phenomenon. This man was actually another Empyrean Imprinter.

    Everyone from the Fifth Maind was horrified at this discovery, as they had never expected the Sixth Maind to actually be hiding an Empyrean Imprinter among their ground forces. This person should be the Sixth Maind¡¯s true trump card that they had been relying on to break through the region suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon¡ªAncestor Toolwielder had been nothing more than bait. This second person was the assistant who would have been the one to truly forge a path out of the phenomena for the Sixth Maind.

    Two Empyrean Imprinters had joined this battle, which had given the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion a great chance of sess. On top of that, the Sixth Maind had even hid other powerhouses like Cosmic Imprinters with power levels of over 1,000,000 among their forces. Just how many experts of that level could Fifth Maind defend against?

    Only colossal forces like the Hall of Honor or the Cosmic Sect would have old monsters on the same level as Cosmic Imprinters. As for Empyrean Imprinters, perhaps not even the Cosmic Sect had such a powerhouse.

    This battle had seemed like a guaranteed victory for the Sixth Maind, but no one had expected the cosmic phenomenon to transform for a second time.

    Ancestor Toolwielder wanted to resist its influence, but as long as he was not a true Progenitor himself, there was absolutely no way for him to withstand the power of a Progenitor.

    Under everyone¡¯s horrified stares, Ancestor Toolwielder was simply erased. Only a hammer remained of him, which summarily fell down from the sky and crashed into the sea.

    The other Empyrean Imprinter who had been next to the border of the cosmic phenomenon was simrly erased, and he only left a petrified face behind for a moment as he disappeared. In the end, there was not even a trace of his aura remaining.

    Everyone watched this scene take ce in stunned stupefaction, and at this moment, no matter if they were from the Fifth Maind or Sixth Maind, everyone felt that they had just witnessed an impossible event. Two invincible powerhouses had disappeared just like that, and the strength that had erased them was nothing more than a cosmic phenomenon; a Progenitor hadn¡¯t even appeared! No, even more shocking was that this Progenitor was already dead! This had all been caused by a piece of remnant strength left behind by a dead person, but it had easily erased two Empyrean Imprinters.

    Everyone was shocked at the terror of a Progenitor, but at the same time, their desire to be one themselves grew stronger than ever.

    Lu Yin also had fervent eyes, as he now understood why the Sea King had been willing to risk the entire Fifth Maind in a gamble. Even if the chances of them losing were greater than 90%, they still had to make this gamble. That was because the Sea King had restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s skies in hopes of birthing a new Progenitor. Numbers could not make up for a single Progenitor¡¯s might, and the Sea King hoped that the Fifth Maind could give birth to a new Progenitor so that it could resist the Sixth Maind.

    Three of the Sixth Maind¡¯s nine realms had joined forces to invade the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain while another three realms were invading the Astral Beast Domain. In other words, the majority of the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces were participating in this invasion of the Fifth Maind. Seizing resources was just one of this invasion¡¯s goals. More importantly, they had to eradicate the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation civilization to eliminate any possibility of the Fifth Maind ever giving birth to a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had previously assumed that seizing resources and eradicating the cultivation civilization were both equally important motives for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, but at this moment, his thoughts changed. It might actually be possible that the Sixth Maind had always wanted to eliminate the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation civilization but that the Progenitor realm was too intimidating for them. The fearsome strength of such powerhouses could not even be imagined.

    Millions of cultivators on both sides of the battlefield had been determined to give their all to massacre the enemy, but that conviction suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Everyone was in absolute awe of the strength of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he raised his head to see that the phenomena previously filling this region had suddenly vanished. He did not know if the phenomena throughout the entire Innerverse and Cosmic Sea had disappeared or if it was just this area. Actually, it had not vanished entirely, as there were still some remaining remnants.

    The sky was still dark, and the crowd was simrly still lost in shock that two Empyrean Imprinters had been erased by the cosmic phenomenon. Countless rays of light suddenly appeared, and everyone¡¯s hearts trembled. These rays of light were like the death god¡¯s hands¡ªwhoever was illuminated by them would perish beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    At this time, four people had been illuminated; two were from the Sixth Maind, but the other two were from the Fifth Maind. They were the two powerhouses with power levels higher than 1,000,000 who had been leading the way.

    A familiar scene urred, and these four experts whose power levels were higher than 1,000,000 were all eradicated by the phenomena without any ability to resist. Although the Empyrean Imprinters had still been able to make a bit of sound before disappearing, these four powerhouses were not able to even speak before instantly vanishing.

    The next moment, the older cultivators from the Fifth Maind who were present all raced out of the region affected by the cosmic phenomenon. They did not dare to remain behind, as the phenomena clearly did not differentiate between friend or foe, only caring about one¡¯s power level. First, it had been the Empyrean Imprinters. Then, it had been the experts with power levels exceeding 1,000,000. Could it be that the experts with power levels of 800,000 would be eliminated next?

    The Cosmic Imprinters from the Sixth Maind also felt their hairs stand on end, and they simrly raced to escape from the suppressed region. The people from the Fifth Maind wanted to stop their enemy, but they did not. Whoever tried to stop these old monsters at this moment would receive their desperate retaliation, as no one wanted to die.

    The top experts were not the only ones terrified, as everyone wanted to leave this region. Who knew how many people would end up being erased by the new cosmic phenomenon? In fact, even some Explorers felt petrified.

    Only those like Lu Yin who could see runes were not nervous, and that was because the rune lines that had been previously covering the entire sky had vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as the disappearance of these rune lines meant that the suppression from the cosmic phenomenon no longer existed. In other words, the Sixth Maind would be able to unleash their full power now.

    A desperate and panicked atmosphere continued to fill the Cosmic Sea. No matter if they were from the Fifth or Sixth Maind, everybody rushed out of the suppressed region, as they were unable to see the runes and thus uncertain of if the phenomena had disappeared or not.

    A chaotic battle inevitably broke out, but everyone did their best to hold back. Most were so anxious that they suppressed their power level all the way to amoner¡¯s to minimize their chances of aggravating the phenomena.

    Lu Yin wanted to let the Fifth Maind¡¯s older generation know about the phenomenon''s situation so that they could make some preparations and go all out with their attacks, but at that moment, an endless amount of rune lines reappeared off in the distance, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. This was the same cosmic phenomenon that had just vanished. What had disappeared was merely a portion of the phenomena, and now, it was descending upon this area from other regions.

    So even this was possible?

    Were the Empyrean Imprinters the fuse that had led to the phenomena suddenly activating? Or was it when the Empyrean Imprinters had approached the edge of the suppressed region that the phenomena had erupted?

    Lu Yin did not know what had been the exact trigger, but he could see that the sky was once again covered by an overwhelming number of rune lines.

    Nearly everyone charged out of the suppressed region, which meant that Lu Yin and the few others who were still motionless would quickly draw attention. He also raised his foot and moved to the south.

    God Taiyin did the same along with a few others who were from Gods¡¯ Origin, though not a single one of them spoke as they all headed to the south.

    The phenomena hadpletely destroyed the two mainds¡¯ desire to battle. The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces were no longer focused on how they could invade the Neoverse. Rather, they were only thinking about how they could survive this situation and what they would do if the phenomena activated again.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Bu Kong and the others were quaking in fear. They were the most powerful elite experts of the younger generation, but they were still just a part of the younger generation. Even if some of them had seen Progenitors before, the power of this cosmic phenomenon was still enough to strike fear into the depths of their hearts.

    Little Arrow Saint, the Sword Schr, and most of the others had never even seen a Progenitor before, but the scene that they had just witnessed had a very deep impression inside of them. They had personally experienced what it felt like to be nothing more than a mere ant. The Fifth Maind that they had all believed to be easy prey was actually home to such an unimaginable power. Even after a powerhouse of this level died, they still were capable of unleashing an unfathomable power.

    Zhi Yi was breathing heavily, and she had long since retracted everyst bit of her Vitality Qi. She was like a quail whose foot had been stepped on and hadpletely withdrawn everything in response, not even willing to show its head. What Sky Dipper? That barrier was as frail as paper in front of this cosmic phenomenon.

    As for the few World Imprinters who had not been erased by the phenomena, they all felt their scalps go numb as they stared at the sky. They did not know if they would be able to survive entering the area suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon, so they simply did not know where to go. However, they did not think for too long, as the Neoversey to the south, and currently, there was an astounding number of runes approaching from that direction. Everyone could feel a powerful strength approaching them, and they all looked over.

    Lu Yin also gazed southwards, and his eyes shrank. Is that¡­ a blood-red bell?

    Lu Yin had a very deep impression of a blood-red bell that looked just like this one, as he had once Pilfered a power vessel that looked just like this little bell. It had been a power vessel that was inferior only to a Progenitor¡¯s item, and that bell hade from the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice. That bell was actually the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, and it carried the Chief Justice¡¯s strength with it.

    That one blood-red bell had allowed Yuan Shi to contest Ancestor Di, which had changed Endless Weave¡¯s border warfront¡¯s situation and allowed the Outerverse to survive the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s invasion attempt.

    At this moment, everyone was still worried about whether or not the phenomena would continue erasing people. Not many noticed that, when the blood-red bell appeared, there was a hand holding it that looked like an insubstantial ck shadow without any sign of a humanoid figure. There was just a smear of a ck shadow that had torn through the distant void, and as this vague figure descended, it was apanied by the gentle ringing of the bell.

    The sound of the bell stunned everyone, and they felt as though they could see a massive hand descending upon them from the distance. Regardless of their cultivation realm, this vision was the same for all, even Imprinter and World Imprinters. The shadow streaked across the sky as the color of blood rolled over with it, staining the sky red. It was just one attack, but a World Imprinter and two Imprinters from the Sixth Maind died at that moment. When the crowd was able to finally react, all they could see was a sky darkening once more.

    The vague shadow had covered everyone.

    ¡°It¡¯s one of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Judicial Commissioners: the Shadow of Death, Lord Shadow!¡± someone cried out.

 Chapter 993: Righteousness And Reward

    <h4>Chapter 993: Righteousness And Reward</h4>

    The remaining World Imprinters of the Sixth Maind were all enraged, but since they were still worried about the cosmic phenomenon, none of them dared to use their full strength.

    The Judicial Commissioner known as the Shadow of Death had a power level of more than 800,000, and although his power level did not reach 1,000,000, with the blood-red bell, he was invincible and unafraid of death. The cosmic phenomenon had just erased two Empyrean Imprinters and four other powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 1,000,000, but this Judicial Commissioner still dared to attack.

    There was a clear look of admiration on Lu Yin¡¯s face, though he quickly thought of something¡ªwas this Judicial Commissioner aware of some special information that allowed him to act without any restraint? For example, had he heard from the people of Gods¡¯ Origin that the cosmic phenomenon had already vanished? But that did not seem quite right, as the phenomena had already covered this area again, and nobody could be certain if it would start erasing people again. This Judicial Commissioner was actually unafraid of death!

    This time, the Sixth Maind had prepared adequately for its assault. Two Empyrean Imprinters, two Cosmic Imprinters, three World Imprinters, and five Imprinters had been sent out. This power should have been enough to sweep through the Innerverse and break into the Neoverse. Even the Hall of Honor¡¯s full strength might not beparable to that of this army. However, the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s sudden surge had instantly made the Sixth Maind pay a heavy price.

    To add insult to injury, the arrival of the vague shadow that was the Judicial Commissioner caused their situation to worsen even further. The final two World Imprinters immediately attacked the Shadow of Death, and their attacks shook the entire region. However, they had restricted the range of their attacks. The Fifth Maind had more than just one expert whose power level exceeded 800,000 like this Shadow of Death. They were already quite close to the Neoverse, and nobody knew if more powerful experts would arrive.

    The presence of the cosmic phenomenon meant that the Sixth Maind had not dared to send any additional experts to reinforce their invasion forces. The other Empyrean Imprinters absolutely did not dare to appear, and neither did the Cosmic Imprinters. In other words, the Sixth Maind had already lost this battle.

    Well, that was assuming that the cosmic phenomenon would not vanish entirely. Otherwise, the recent events would be an eternal nightmare for the Sixth Maind whenever.

    At this time, the Cosmic Sea was like a boat that could capsize at any moment. The sky shattered while Lu Yin and the others were all heavily pressured by the fight between the members of the older generation. All of the youths had to retreat to the region that was still under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. Otherwise, any random aftershock would instantly eliminate them.

    Lu Yin still had his universal armor, but at this time, there were almost ten powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 500,000 who were participating on this battlefield, and to such monsters, his universal armor would not be much different from paper.

    Lu Yin was not the only one who did so; Starsibyl, Xing Kai, Liu Tianmu, and the other experts from the Fifth Maind, as well as Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Little Arrow Saint from the Sixth Maind, fled into the region suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon.

    The Cosmic Sea was thus divided into two battlefields: one outside the phenomena, which was the site for the extreme battles whose participants included the likes of the Shadow of Death, and the other was within the suppressed region, and that was the battlefield for those whose power levels were under 200,000.

    Lu Yin had hoped to use this opportunity to steal back the Champions'' Stage with his Yu Secret Art, but the stage was simply toorge. His Yu Secret Art was only able to make it twitch, which simply caused Bu Kong and the others tounch some attacks at Lu YIn.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword qi streaked by and shed at Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°How perfect, you¡¯vee.¡±

    He then raised a hand and actually dissolved the sword qi. At the same time, he took out multiple sourceboxes and started arranging a sourcebox array that would trap anyone who approached the Champions'' Stage.

    The youths had assumed that a vicious battle would unfold between the older generation of the two mainds, but instead, the final two World Imprinters from the Sixth Maind had turned to flee. The two of them were no match for the Fifth Maind powerhouses who could receive reinforcements from the Neoverse at any moment. The World Imprinters did not want to die.

    Staying behind would mean certain death, so if they wanted to survive, they had to travel back through the region covered by the cosmic phenomenon. That was their only hope of survival.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces began to withdraw in one massive wave, and the various experts from the Fifth Maind¡¯s older generation did not give chase. The older powerhouses from the Sixth Maind had to risk quite a lot to travel through the regions suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon, and the people from the Fifth Maind did not want to risk their necks either. After all, the phenomena did not differentiate between friend and foe¡ªit only cared about power level, and nobody wanted to die meaninglessly.

    Lu Yin and the others hurriedly retreated, as the World Imprinters were not a force that they could contend against even with the suppression.

    The Sixth Maind withdrew, but they also brought away the Champions'' Stage with them.

    Without the older generation¡¯s reinforcement, even those who were terribly ambitious like Liu Tianmu did not dare to give chase.

    Lu Yin stood high in the sky and stared to the north. Before long, the Sixth Maind cultivators had disappeared from sight. To the south, the older people from the Innerverse and Neoverse were also staring to the north, but not even the Shadow of Death pursued the fleeing enemy. Not one of them was willing to enter the region suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon.

    Xia Tian was somewhat close to Lu Yin, and the man sighed as he watched the Sixth Maind withdraw. ¡°The Champions'' Stage was the symbol that motivated the younger generation. Now that it¡¯s been taken away, even though we were able to force them back, it means that we still lost this fight.¡±

    Lu Yin was rather moved; the stage represented honor, and it held a special meaning. It was very simr to a military g of the ancient battlefields. Once the g was taken away by the enemy, how could anybody consider the result a victory? Also, how would they ount for such a loss to others?

    From a standpoint of pure logic, losing the stage might not seem like much of a loss, but this loss had struck a heavy blow to the Fifth Maind¡¯s confidence. If another battle between the two mainds broke outter, the Sixth Maind could bring out the Champions¡¯ Stage, and that would deal an iparable blow to the Fifth Maind¡¯s confidence.

    Beheading enemy generals and seizing their war gs was the most effective method of destroying the enemy¡¯s morale. And now, the Fifth Maind¡¯s g had been stolen by the Sixth Maind.

    The Fifth Maind had tried to use the Champions'' Stage to bolster the younger generation¡¯s morale and confidence, but now that it had been stolen, that just made the negative effect even stronger.

    Lu Yin had unified half of the Outerverse, and he had a deep understanding that such a power blow to a group¡¯s morale could be fatal. He wanted to seize the stage back, but it was impossible for him to do so, even if he teamed up with Xia Tian, Liu Tianmu, and the others.

    ¡°The Champions'' Stage was still taken away. We did our best.¡± Gu Xiao''er came over, also crestfallen.

    ¡°The Champions'' Stage should not be taken away,¡± Lu Yin stated firmly. He looked to the north as he clenched his fists.

    Some distance away, Xing Kai also clenched his fists. ¡°Who has the courage to follow me and take back the Champions'' Stage?¡±

    ¡°Me!¡± Serati Phoenix dered.

    Shu Jing confidently said, ¡°We have to conduct ourselves properly, and we must stand and fight even if it¡¯s to the death. I want to die on the Champions'' Stage.¡±

    His tone was cold, but that was because the elder from the Hall of Honor who had been erased by the cosmic phenomenon had been his master.

    Qiu Shi did not speak, but she also took one step forward. ¡°I can break Bu Kong¡¯s sourcebox array.¡±

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°Leave Zhi Yi to me.¡±

    ¡°The cosmic phenomenon has stabilized, so rest assured about acting!¡± God Taiyi shouted. He was always arrogant, and he looked around as if he had been the one to create the cosmic phenomenon.

    More and more youths stepped forward, each of them wanting to snatch back the Champions'' Stage.

    Their voices joined together into a loud chant, and their determination even spread to the region outside the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. Out there, the older experts simply shook their heads and sighed. ¡°Youths do not know their limits. Merely three of the Sixth Maind¡¯s nine realms appeared, but the Innerverse was already overrun. There are still so many experts on their side, so how can these children take back the Champions'' Stage?¡±

    ¡°Keke, it¡¯s good for young people to be ambitious. Let them go¡ªthey will naturally return after suffering through some hardships. This invasion shoulde to an end soon, as the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors do not dare toe out. Under this cosmic phenomenon, nobody will dare to act recklessly, so let those youths go kick up a fuss.¡±

    ¡°The Champions'' Stage is not a power vessel, so there¡¯s no need for them to risk their lives bringing it back.¡±

    Of course, there were also some experts from the older generation who approved of the youths¡¯ hot-bloodedness. ¡°Since this part of the invasion started with us granting titles from the Champions'' Stage, then it should also end with the Champions'' Stage. If even the Champions'' Stage is taken away by the enemy, then won¡¯t that be a terrible joke?¡±

    ¡°Youths should be hot-blooded. Dying on your feet is better than living on one¡¯s knees.¡±

    ¡­

    While the older generation experts discussed the situation, quite a few of the elite youths wanted to charge towards the north. They could not ept this humiliation. Bu Kong had used the Champions'' Stage to challenge every expert within the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and no one was willing to bebeled a coward. If the Champions'' Stage was really taken away, then they would forever be the joke of their generation.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes were steady. Their generation had given birth to the elites known as the Ten Arbiters who were supposed to be invincible throughout the universe and whose names would be recorded down in history. If the Champions'' Stage was stolen, that would be a blemish upon the record of their deeds. Not only would they lose their fame, but they would also beplete jokes.

    Whether it was for honor or for something else, the Champions'' Stage had to be taken back.

    At that moment, a voice spoke out from right beside everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Even if my Fifth Maind loses this war, we cannot lose our righteousness. As an order from the Hall of Honor, everyone, chase down the Champions'' Stage! The person from the younger generation who seizes it back will receive an exclusive qualification to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower.¡±

    Lu Yin had intended to fly north along with everyone else, but they all suddenly turned back and nkly stared at the south when they heard this. There, they saw a fuzzy figure in the sky staring at them, and the voice hade from that person.

    ¡°Chief- Chief Justice?¡± Shu Jing was astonished.

    Lu Yin and the others were instantly overwhelmed; was this person actually the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice? That man was an existence who surpassed even Yuan Shi, and he was the origin of the blood-red bells that had turned the tides of two different battles. Yuan Shi was an expert with a power level of 1,000,000 while the Chief Justice might even be at the same level as an Empyrean Imprinter.

    In fact, it should not be a surprise that the Chief Justice had appeared. The Fifth Maind did not have as many powerhouses as the Sixth Maind, but it was impossible for there to be none at all. This battle had been a crucial one where they had to defend against the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters, so it was natural for someone of that level to appear on the Fifth Maind¡¯s side.

    With a roar, Xing Kai charged to the north, eager for blood.

    Serati Phoenix, Shu Jing, and others followed soon after.

    They had heard the Chief Justice¡¯s promise that they would receive an exclusive qualification to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower if they seeded. This meant that whoever seized the Champions¡¯ Stage would essentially be one of the Cosmic Five.

    This was a promise for a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, an inheritance from the Sierrasea. If the conditions allowed it, there was even a possibility of bing a Progenitor in the future.

    The mighty force of a Progenitor was absolutely limitless, and bing one meant that their name would be forever recorded down in history, as they would stand at the very peak of the human race. No, at the peak of the entire universe.

    The final goal of cultivation was the Progenitor realm, and everyone dreamed of bing a Progenitor. At this moment, an opportunity of doing so had been set right before them.

    The Chief Justice¡¯s promise was countless times more valuable than the promise that Zhi Yi had made to the Sixth Maind cultivators, and his words temporarily roused everyone¡¯s confidence. Even the previously hesitant cultivators had started racing to the north.

    Naturally, Lu Yin was no exception to this trend. Regardless of all else, he was very excited as he also wanted such things like the Astral Tower and a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    As for the members of the older generation, they were hesitant to step forward and move north into the region under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, but nobody dared to disobey the Chief Justice¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Bro, let¡¯s team up! I still have some of that white smoke, so I can protect you,¡± Gu Xiao''er quietly suggested as he moved over beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not respond.

    Xia Tian appeared on his other side, and it seemed as though he was able to find Lu Yin quite easily, but that might be rted to Xia Luo. ¡°The three of us moving together will be safer.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    The Sixth Maind¡¯sbatants in the Cosmic Sea had numbered in the hundreds of millions, but for the Sixth Maind, this was not arge number. However, the cultivators who could truly contribute to the battle had to be Explorers at the very least. There were not too many cultivators at this level, and the rest were just there to tidy up the battlefield and manage some random task, such as going on patrol or acting as scouts.

    Many cultivators from the Sixth Maind were traveling, but they naturally did not travel aboard spacecraft. Instead, they flew atop a power vessel that had been made by the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect: a small continent. As the name suggested, it was actually a flying maind.

 Chapter 994: Lu Yin Vs. Shi Zhongjian

    <h4>Chapter 994: Lu Yin Vs. Shi Zhongjian</h4>

    Back at the edge of the Astral River, the transport continent that had been transporting resources back to the Sixth Maind was actually a specific type of a miniature maind. Additionally, the Sixth Maind invaders had been carried to the Cosmic Sea by a miniature maind. The Whitecliff Region also had its own miniature maind that specifically transported Sixth Maind cultivators to and from the Whitecliff Region.

    The Sixth Maind was now withdrawing all their forces, and they directly fled to the miniature maind, activated it, and then took off towards the Innerverse.

    With the abnormal change in the cosmic phenomenon, everyone knew that unless a Progenitor took action, the Sixth Maind would no longer be able to conquer the Fifth Maind. The Empyrean Imprinters and Cosmic Imprinters did not even dare toe to this ce anymore, so how could they achieve victory?

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s World Imprinters openly and directly led everyone to retreat. The best oue would be if they sessfully invited the Progenitors to act, but there was absolutely nothing that could be done if the Progenitors refused.

    Even Empyrean Imprinters had died there, though no me could be put on those powerhouses.

    The Champions'' Stage fell to the surface of the miniature maind with a rumble, and the ground began to split apart.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Bu Kong stared to the south with a reluctant expression on his face. They had fought all the way to the border of the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, and they had been just one step away from allowing their Empyrean Imprinters to unleash their full strength without any limitations. They could have had a decisive battle with the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces at that time, but in the end, the situation had yed out very differently from what they had expected.

    He was unwilling to ept this oue, and all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators were the same. However, they had no choice but to do so.

    Zhi Yi looked up at the sky. Who knew which Progenitor¡¯s remnant spiritual force had taken action? Not only had they injured the Progenitor of Combat, but they had also protected the entire Fifth Maind.

    Off in the distance, one World Imprinter stared at the sky without blinking, terrified that the phenomena would descend and end his life.

    The miniature maind trembled as it started to fly towards the Innerverse. If no more mishaps took ce, this invasion would soone to an end, not only in the Cosmic Sea, but also throughout the entire Fifth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind would not risk sacrificing their Empyrean Imprinters to continue this war. Although Empyrean Imprinters were not on the same level as Progenitors, even Progenitors had to give such powerhouses a certain degree of respect. If such experts were unwilling to participate in the war, then nobody could force them. However, if they did not participate, then the war could not be won, as the Sixth Maind would simply incur more and more casualties.

    Qiu He moved over next to Zhi Yi and in a sullen tone, said, ¡°If we don¡¯t eliminate this Fifth Maind, then they will only be harder to deal with in the future. Just what are the three Progenitors thinking? What are they waiting for?¡±

    Zhi Yi turned around and raised a hand. Vitality Qi burst out and mmed against Qiu He¡¯s body,unching him nearly a hundred meters away. His entire face flushed red, and his organs trembled. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°How dare you criticize the three Progenitors! If you are so impudent in future, then I will y you on behalf of the three Progenitors.¡±

    Qiu He hastened to apologize.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s mood was terrible. They had only just joined the war efforts, and everyone had confidently assumed that they were guaranteed victory. However, just what was their current situation? They had been forced to flee with their tails between their legs!

    The crux of the matter was that Wu Taibai had not arrived, and Zhi Yi felt annoyed whenever she thought of that man¡¯s smiling face. That was right¡ªthere was also that Lu Yin. When Zhi Yi thought about Lu Yin, everything about her grew more serious. He had been able to ignore her Vitality Qi, which was even more intriguing than his secret technique. Even though their invasion was over, she still wanted to find a way to capture him and take him away if an opportunity presented itself.

    Perhaps reporting the details to the higher ups of the Daosource Sect would be a good method, as there was no way that this cosmic phenomenon wouldst indefinitely. Once the cosmic phenomenon disappeared, a Daosource Sect expert could simply make a move and directly capture Lu Yin.

    The sound of enraged voices having a heated discussion could be heard some distance away; everyone was in a bad mood. Although the invading forces had not been truly defeated, they had not been victorious either as they had sacrificed two Empyrean Imprinters for this oue. If one looked solely at the results, the Sixth Maind could be considered as having been defeated.

    Zhi Yi turned to look at the Champions'' Stage. Fortunately, at least they had stolen this thing. The name of the Champions'' Stage had spread across the Sixth Maind, and there would be some merit for bringing it back. As long as the Champions'' Stage was taken back, the Fifth Maind would eternally suffer from the shame of its loss.

    Even further away, Miss Qing stared towards the south. ¡°A deste battlefield, but things have finally ended. Your true enemy isn¡¯t even us.¡±

    The weather in the Cosmic Sea constantly changed, but the miniature maind continued to soar through the sky as the sea roiled below them. Then, the entire sea suddenly surged into the sky like a reverse waterfall.

    It was absolutely horrifying to see the sea flow upwards, but in reality, there was not much power behind the surge, and it merely smacked the bottom of the miniature maind, resulting in a light shower of rainnding on the miniature maind.

    Fortunately, this strange event had not urred in the Whitecliff Region. Otherwise, if that white water had surged upwards, it would have been enough to corrode the entire miniature maind.

    As the seawater fell down, quite a few cultivators who were already in bad moods became even more upset when they were drenched by the water, and they cursed aloud. However, they stopped their exmations midway when they looked to the south. There, a bunch of ck dots had suddenly appeared. Then, the rms started ring.

    Zhi Yi also looked to the south and realized that the ck dots were actually Fifth Maind cultivators chasing after the miniature maind. Her pupils shrank, as there was actually a group of people who dared to pursue them.

    Although they might not have any Empyrean Imprinters or Cosmic Imprinters with them due to the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s effect, none of the Fifth Maind¡¯s old monsters whose power levels were greater than 1,000,000 dared to appear either. In other words, the strongest experts on both sides were roughly the same. As they continued to fly further north, more experts from the Sixth Maind would join the brawl as they had already taken over the Innerverse. Were the people in this group all unafraid of death?

    A battle broke out once again, and this time, the older generation of the Fifth Maind confronted the powerful experts from the Sixth Maind. The Ten Arbiters went up against the Realmlings while Liu Tianmu sought out Zhi Yi, just as she had said. Zhi Yi had been left to the powerful Arbiter.

    Lu Yin did not really care about the others, as his current opponent was Shi Zhongjian.

    As the Rock Realm¡¯s Realmling, Shi Zhongjian had also been present for the battle in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins where everyone had been fighting for the jade talisman. Back then, he hadunched multiple sword qi attacks at Lu Yin. If not for Wen Sansi and the White Knight, Lu Yin might have died to this Realmling.

    Shi Zhongjian rarely spoke, and he always carried a stone sword that he would use to sweep through the void. The sword qi covered everything in sight, and even with Lu Yin¡¯s speed, he was still not fast enough to dodge the sword qi. Fortunately, he was able to weaken the power level of Shi Zhongjian¡¯s attacks, which allowed him to barely dodge them. Still, Lu Yin was pushed around by the sword qi without any way to retaliate.

    The people chasing after the Sixth Maind had preemptively discussed amongst themselves how they would team up to fight against their enemies. However, the massive surge of seawater had scattered the crowd. Lu Yin had bumped into Shi Zhongjian by himself, and the Realmling had also sought out Lu Yin while ignoring the others.

    Those who were adept with swords were all quite powerful, such as Liu Tianmu. Although she was one of the Ten Arbiters, she was still capable of going against one of the Daosource Three Skies on her own, and she was even strong enough to make Zhi Yi nervous. Although Shi Zhongjian did not have any exquisite sword techniques that couldpare to the Thirteen Swords, his sword qi was incredibly destructive, and it also contained a tearing property.

    If Lu Yin had ess to that white smoke, then that would be the best defensive option. But when Lu Yin looked around, Gu Xiao¡¯er was nowhere in sight.

    ¡°I remember you,¡± Shi Zhongjian suddenlymented as the tip of his stone sword sliced through the void and crashed down towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin reinforced his palm with his eight lined battle force as he tapped out with a finger, causing the Dream Finger to appear and the void to congeal. Shi Zhongjian paused upon seeing this attack before the tip of his sword struck the finger, but the solitary finger could not overpower the stone sword. Shi Zhongjian took advantage of this to turn around, his sword spinning out and slicing at Lu Yin¡¯s head. Lu Yin gathered his star energy over his palm, and the First Sun emitted a pulsating light as it collided with the tip of the sword.

    There was a crack as the ground of the miniature maind split open, prompting the two youth to retreat at the same time. The destruction released by the First Sun had warped the void, which caused spatial cracks to radiate outwards in all directions, though they were all sessfully repelled by Shi Zhongjian. However, Shi Zhongjian had sliced open Lu Yin¡¯s palm with the tip of his sword, and a drop of fresh blood fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin kept a wary eye on Shi Zhongjian, as Lu Yin was still a bit weaker than the Realmling at this moment. The Realmlings were just as famous as the Ten Arbiters, and this stone sword was difficult to defend against.

    ¡°You had the courage and resolve to crush an inheritance item that came from the Sierrasea, and I admit that I admire you. To cause one of the Daosource Three Skies to ce a bounty on your head actually amazed me even more,¡± Shi Zhongjian growled as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I thought that you didn¡¯t really speak.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk to worthless people,¡± Shi Zhongjian said as he slowly raised his stone sword with the tip pointed down. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need for a sword to be sharp¡ªit can also be heavy.¡±

    He then moved the sword as if he were pping with it. It clearly was not a slice, as he had swatted out with the t of his sword. The Realmling¡¯s body then passed through the void to directly appear before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed. The stone sword was not veryrge, but this swatting motion left Lu Yin¡¯s entire body petrified. It felt as if the sword was unendurably weighty, and Lu Yin hurriedly used the Yu Secret Art to divert the path of the stone sword. It passed dangerously close to his body before smacking into the ground. The void distorted slightly before the entire ground was crushed into tiny fragments as an indescribable weight emerged from the void.

    Now that an entire area of the miniature maind had simply disappeared, fierce gale winds blew in every direction, even affecting the cultivators who were fighting far away from Lu Yin and the Realmling. One such group was sent flying, and the bodies of the weaker cultivators were practically crushed to death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, as that p carried more than just physical strength; it was actually a sword technique that he could not understand, a very heavy sword technique.

    Shi Zhongjian was simrly astounded. ¡°A secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the stone sword before striking out with a palm, unleashing One Hundred Stacks. Shi Zhongjian raised his stone sword to block the palm, but a thump rang out as the Realmling was sent flying 10,000 meters back. A shockwave rippled out, each ring containing the power of the Oveying Stacks Path. Additionally, the further the ripples traveled, the greater the strength they contained, until space was finally torn apart.

    In the distance, many cultivators hurriedly moved to different areas. In their eyes, this was a battle between Realmlings.

    Shi Zhongjian stared at Lu Yin with astonishment as bloodlust appeared in the Realmling¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why the Daosource Three Skies are so concerned with you¡ªyou have a secret technique, and you also use the Oveying Stacks Path. You really are qualified.¡±

    He then held his stone sword in a reverse grip and swatted out again. The invisible heavy sword technique swept forth once more, targeting an enormous area. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he weakened the rune lines in Shi Zhongjian¡¯s arms as the Realmling swung out with his sword. This actually affected the heavy sword technique so much that Lu Yin did not even need to dodge it.

    Shi Zhongjian looked at both of his hands with a strange expression before looking back at Lu Yin. ¡°Another secret technique.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. Against a Realmling, aside from his secret technique and One Hundred Stacks, he did not have any other attacks that were strong enough. Even his One Hundred Stacks would not be able to injure Shi Zhongjian unless itnded on his body head on, but the presence of the stone sword made it impossible for Lu Yin tond such a hit.

    However, it was not easy for Shi Zhongjian to defeat Lu Yin either.

    Right at this moment, a middle-aged man tore out of the nearby void, looking quite dishevelled as he emerged. When he turned around, horror was etched across his face.

    He coincidentally appeared around 100 meters away from Shi Zhongjian, and the Realmling lifted his stone sword as he pped out with it once again. The middle-aged man was stunned; he was already injured, and there was simply no way for him to defend against this heavy sword technique, which caused him toment his unluckiness. He was an Enlighter with a power level of several hundred thousand, but he was being casually overpowered by a child.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes once more as they flickered, weakening Shi Zhongjian¡¯s arms and influencing the heavy sword technique. This time, Shi Zhongjian seemed to have been prepared. Even though he was still affected, he was able toplete his attack, and he forced the middle-aged man to the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he attacked with a palm from the side. A seemingly gentle strength with One Hundred Stacks struck out, pushing the middle-aged man away from the sword attack, which smashed straight into the ground and shattered it.

    Suddenly, Shi Zhongjian appeared before Lu Yin. He had attacked that older man purely to force Lu Yin to save the man and reveal an opening for Shi Zhongjian to take advantage of.

    However, Lu Yin had not deliberately rescued the man. Rather, he had purposely revealed an opening.

 Chapter 995: Outlandish Reason

    <h4>Chapter 995: Oundish Reason</h4>

    Shi Zhongjian pped out with the t of his sword yet again, only to be weed by the interchange of day and night. This was the Daynight Punch, Lu Yin¡¯s only battle technique that could make use of his spiritual force.

    Lu Yin believed that his spiritual force was able to rival even the Ten Arbiters¡¯. Although he might not have caught up to them quite yet, he definitely was not that far behind. However, he had never been willing to use spiritual force attacks against the Sixth Maind cultivators who were at the level of a Realmling. This was because the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivation focused heavily on imprints, and Lu Yin knew that imprints could refine spiritual force. Thus, he had been worried that his spiritual force would be insufficient to pose any threat to such powerhouses.

    However, at this time, Lu Yin wanted to take the risk. Even if his spiritual force could not threaten this Realmling, Lu Yin wanted to see if it could at least create an opportunity.

    The Daynight Punch shot out, and Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force erupted as Shi Zhongjian swatted down with his sword. The Realmling was stunned by the punch, which caused his stone sword to fall from his hands, out of his control. Lu Yin then activated the Yu Secret Art to teleport the sword away while also pping at Shi Zhongjian with his left hand with a One Hundred Stacks, One Hundred Fiftyfold Shockwave Palm.

    There was a soft thump when Lu Yin¡¯s palm connected with Shi Zhongjian¡¯s abdomen, and the swordsman spat out a mouthful of blood, though he did not take even one step back. Instead, he raised his hand up high and swung it down at Lu Yin. "Heaven Splitter.¡±

    Even without his stone sword, Shi Zhongjian was still able to use his most powerful Swordstar technique. However, Lu Yin had already been prepared for this, and his Fatesand as well as his eight lined battle force both emerged to defend him from this attack. However, the Fatesand was only able to partially cover Lu Yin¡¯s body. As a result, the Heaven Splitter was able to bypass the uncovered sections and strike down, tearing right through Lu Yin¡¯s eight lined battle force to leave a massive wound on Lu Yin¡¯s back.

    The two both retreated after trading blows and injuries.

    Lu Yin had tried to plot against Shi Zhongjian, but Shi Zhongjian had also been trying to scheme against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had forgotten about one particr detail: Shi Zhongjian came from the Rock Realm, which was part of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ territory. Thus, Shi Zhongjian had alsoprehended the Reversal Cycle.

    Lu Yin stared on, stunned, as Shi Zhongjian¡¯s injuries visibly recovered at an astonishing speed. Then, the stone sword suddenly tore through the void and returned to the Realmling¡¯s hand. ¡°You are one of few who have ever injured me. Even if you can¡¯t match up to the Ten Arbiters, as long as we are suppressed by this cosmic phenomenon, the difference between us is not too much. Still, this fight is over.¡±

    After he finished speaking, Shi Zongjian¡¯s figure shed.

    A ripping pain spread out from Lu Yin¡¯s back, as the Heaven Splitter was not an attack that merely cut once. Rather, each stroke from the Swordstar would continue wreaking havoc within a person¡¯s body, exactly like how the White Knight had suffered from Shang Rong¡¯s remnant energy in the past. In fact, back then, Lu Yin was actually the reason why the White Knight had been able to recuperate so quickly. However, at this moment, the remnant destructive energy of the Heaven Splitter was still rampaging through his back.

    Shi Zongjian¡¯s words were true. Lu Yin was indeed quite a bit weaker than the Realmlings and the Ten Arbiters; even with the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression minimizing the difference between realms, there was still a disparity between them.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he quickly fled as he took out one of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯s special medications to treat himself. A smear of shadow also appeared on his back, which was the Ghost Monkey. Lu Yin had ordered the monkey to help him take care of the Swordstar¡¯s remaining energy in the wound on his back.

    The Ghost Monkey wailed, ¡°Seventh Bro, how am I supposed to have the ability to remove a Realmling¡¯s remnant energy?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Lockbreaker?¡± Lu Yin endured the pain, but Shi Zhongjian appeared behind him and smashed down with his stone sword.

    The Ghost Monkey was so frightened that he instantly vanished.

    Lu Yin simultaneously activated both the Yu Secret Art and his Truesight to divert the stone sword¡¯s path while also weakening its power. In the end, the sword p still smashed into Lu Yin¡¯s right side, sting him to the ground.

    The Time Reversal Technique was too absurd, or at the very least, that was what was racing through Lu Yin¡¯s mind at this moment. Just how could it heal someone¡¯s injuries so quickly?

    Shi Zhongjian¡¯s gaze focused as he looked below him. Then, he picked up his stone sword once more. This time, he sliced out with a massive Heaven Splitter, and at the same time, from another direction, countless arrows shot through the sky, piercing the void as they streaked towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Little Arrow Saint, not good!

    The attacks from the two Realmlings arrived at the same moment, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he tried to dodge. Why were there two Realmlings here? Had everyone else died already?

    Lu Yin managed to dodge the arrows and the sword, but he could not escape from Shi Zhongjian, who was still chasing after Lu Yin. The tip of the Realmling¡¯s sword hung low in the sky, as he was in the stance tounch the heavy sword technique again. At that exact moment, the void broke open, and Xin N¨¹ appeared, who swatted a hand at Shi Zhongjian. Shi Zhongjian was startled, and he hurriedly shifted his stone sword to block this new attack, but his body was still sent flying with a bang.

    He looked in front of himself, amazed when he saw the calm Xin N¨¹. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Xin N¨¹ arched her brow. ¡°I want to challenge you for the position of Realmling.¡±

    Shi Zhongjian was caught off guard.

    Lu Yin was also stunned.

    Even Little Arrow Saint, who was approaching them as fast as he could, was also stunned. Was she really challenging Shi Zhongjian for his position of Realmling right now?

    Shi Zhongjian squinted at the girl. ¡°You want to save this person?¡±

    Lu Yin also looked over at Xin N¨¹. She had already rescued him once back when he had been attacked by both Zhi Yi and Little Arrow Saint. Now, she had saved him yet again, and it was even during a public battle. The repercussions that she would face from this move would be severe, as this was no different from betraying the Sixth Maind.

    Just what was she trying to do?

    Xin N¨¹ replied, ¡°Any Realmling can capture him alive, but I want to give him to Sky Zhi to obtain the opportunity to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines.¡±

    Shi Zhongjian¡¯s eyes shed. Although this reason was rather far-fetched, it was at least somewhat usible.

    Nearby, Little Arrow Saint said, ¡°In thatst battle, you also blocked Zhi Yi to save this person. There must be some rtion between you two.¡±

    Xin N¨¹ ignored Little Arrow Saint and continued to stare at Shi Zhongjian. ¡°We are both from the Rock Realm, so decide: either give up your Realmling position or fight me!¡±

    Shi Zhongjian replied in a gloomy tone, ¡°What exactly is your rtionship with this person? Why do you need to help him so much?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you the reason. I just want to meet with the Progenitor of Bloodlines,¡± Xin N¨¹ answered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up, and he looked over at Xin N¨¹. ¡°Woman, as long as you defeat him, I won¡¯t resist, and I¡¯ll follow you.¡±

    Shi Zhongjian nced over at Lu Yin and then swatted out with his stone sword again. Xin N¨¹ jumped up to block the attack before it could reach Lu Yin. ¡°He¡¯s mine.¡±

    She threw out a palm strike, and although it lookedpletely ordinary, it made Shi Zhongjian nervous.

    Although he was the Realmling of the Rock Realm, he was not invincible within the realm¡¯s younger generation. Xin N¨¹ was not any bit weaker than him, but she had simply never desired the position of Realmling. This was why, when facing off against Xin N¨¹, Shi Zhongjian did not dare to be careless. Although he did not believe Xin N¨¹¡¯s words, he did not have any proof that this woman was tantly siding with Lu Yin. Anyone would want to seize an opportunity to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines, and it was thus normal to do something unreasonable to win such an opportunity.

    Meanwhile, Little Arrow Saint raised his bow and fired at Lu Yin. He was familiar with this scene, as Xin N¨¹ had blocked Zhi Yi during the previous battle. This time, her target had simply changed to Shi Zhongjian.

    Lu Yin was still suffering from some remnant injuries as a result of his battle with Shi Zhongjian. He knew that all of the Realmlings were extremely strong, and he did not dare to underestimate any of them. Of them all, he was especially cautious of Little Arrow Saint. The young man¡¯s arrows¡¯ ruthlessness and destruction were different from a sword¡¯s. On a battlefield, an arrow was even more deadly than a sword.

    Lu Yin did not want to directly fight against these people, as none of these people were fools who were easily deceived. On top of that, Little Arrow Saint was also from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s East Realm. Lu Yin hated fighting against people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, as the Reversal Cycle was simply too oundish.

    Lu Yin wanted to dodge these arrows and run off, but Little Arrow Saint refused to let Lu Yin go. This Realmling was also determined to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines, as he hoped to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple.

    The center of the miniature maind was the battlefield upied by the older generation, and there were World Imprinters, Imprinters, and Enlighters fighting there. However, the Champions'' Stage was located in the southeastern region of the miniature maind.

    On top of the Champions'' Stage, Bu Kong was facing off against two people on his own: Shu Jing and Qiu Shi.

    Outside of the Champions'' Stage, Liu Tianmu was fighting alone against Zhi Yi. Although the Arbiter could not break through the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ member¡¯s Sky Dipper, it was not easy for Zhi Yi to defeat the swordswoman either, especially since she was afraid of the Thirteen Swords. The Eleventh Sword was able to counter her most powerful attack that she could use while under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression. If Liu Tianmu used the Twelfth Sword, then it might even be possible for her to break through the Sky Dipper. However, if she used that technique, then it was also possible that her attack might surpass the power level limit of the cosmic phenomenon.

    However, Zhi Yi did not want to gamble on such a thing, as her personal defenses were not very impressive for her level. If her Sky Dipper was breached, then there was a good chance of her being severely injured if not defeated outright.

    The invasion of the Fifth Maind had alreadye to an end, and she did not want to be defeated or even injured after just stepping onto the battlefield. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the shame such an oue would bring to the reputation of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Not everyone could qualify to make someone from the Daosource Three Skies apprehensive.

    Every inch of the miniature maind was covered with battling cultivators, and during this entire time, the maind continued to speed towards the Innerverse.

    News of the changes in the Cosmic Sea¡¯s cosmic phenomenon had already spread across the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea, as two Empyrean Imprinters and two Cosmic Imprinters had been directly erased. This had dealt a huge blow to the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces, but the cosmic phenomenon was still present.

    None of the Sixth Maind cultivators felt safe anymore, and all of their ambitions crumbled away when they received this news.

    The World Imprinters were especially nervous, as if the cosmic phenomenon intensified anymore, then they would be the next group to be erased.

    At this moment, they all felt as if the cosmic phenomenon could descend upon them at any moment.

    As a result of this fear, all of the World Imprinters moved to leave, not one of them daring to remain behind. Right behind the World Imprinters were the Imprinters, and finally, not even the Enlighters felt safe.

    Normally, if the sky copsed, there would be a stronger powerhouse who would prop it back up. However, everyone had turned tail and was running away, as none of them wanted to be the one to carry such a heavy burden.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators had devolved into a chaotic mess, and everyone only felt the fear in their heart grow when they looked up at the cosmic phenomenon.

    Subsequently, within just ten days, all the cultivators who had joined the three Realms to invade the Innerverse had fully retreated to the Mara River. They had already abandoned any and all thoughts of invasion, unless the cosmic phenomenon vanished.

    Of the cultivators from the three realms, every single expert at the Imprinter level or above withdrew, and the Enlighters left one by one soon after.

    After the older generation left, the remaining Sixth Maind cultivators could not possibly fend off the various experts of the Fifth Maind. Thus, they also left, and without any other choice, the invasion was postponed. Every cultivator from the Sixth Maind started heading towards the Mara River to return to the Sixth Maind.

    From their perspective, even if their invasion had failed this time, they could always make another attemptter. They did not believe that another cosmic phenomenon would appear after the present one vanished.

    They also did not believe that the cosmic phenomenon would buy the Fifth Maind enough strength to qualitatively improve its strength to the point where it could resist the Sixth Maind. It had to be stated that only three realms had invaded the Human Domain during this attempt, and the Sixth Maind still had its own Progenitors.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s experts constantly withdrew, and the Fifth Maind powerhouses popped back up like weeds tounch a counterattack that covered the entire Innerverse.

    The battle on the miniature maind hadsted for more than ten days now, and it still had not ended. Constant reinforcements from the Sixth Maind arrived and joined the battle, but the same was true for the Fifth Maind¡¯s side. The most noticeable example was the numerous Daynight n cultivators who arrived.

    Lu Yin was still being chased about by Little Arrow Saint. He had decided not to fight back against the Realmlings and was instead focusing on evading them. Little Arrow Saint could not really do much to Lu Yin as long as he could use his secret technique and Truesight. In fact, not even an Imprinter could do much to Lu Yin as long as the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression existed.

    In the meantime, Lu Yin tried to gradually move a bit closer to the Champions'' Stage. As he approached it, he discovered that it was Bu Kong¡¯s battlefield. There were a few of the Ten Arbiters and several Realmlings engaged in battle all around this area. Finally, he saw Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword qi and Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi shing, and he no longer wanted to get any closer.

    He also saw Gu Xiao''er, though by this time, the young man¡¯s white smoke had been severely depleted, and he could only envelop himself within the smoke. Still, he found the asional opportunity to ambush some Sixth Maind cultivators, though he did not fight against anyone head-on. For some reason, Gu Xiao¡¯er reminded Lu Yin of Ling Que, though Lu Yin had not heard any news about Ling Que ever since he had fled the thunder region.

    One dayter, the miniature maind passed over the Cosmic Sea¡¯s border and entered the Innerverse.

 Chapter 996: A Pitiful Old Friend

    <h4>Chapter 996: A Pitiful Old Friend</h4>

    Above the small continent, the sky endlessly stretched out in all directions, but it continued to speed along, now toward the west. Along the way, it did not stop even whens appeared in its path, simply ramming straight into them. The mass of the maind was much greater than thes¡¯, and it had also been reinforced to be more robust. Thus, the impact of thes were unable to even cause the maind to tremble.

    Atop the miniature maind, Lu Yin dodged another arrow, and Little Arrow Saint¡¯s face grew ugly in the distance. He had chased after Lu Yin for more than ten days now, but he had not been able to catch up at all. All of his arrow techniques had been dodged by Lu Yin.

    ¡°You dare to go against Shi Zhongjian but not me?¡± Little Arrow Saint shouted. He rarely spoke when he fought, but Lu Yin had forced him to do so.

    Lu Yin turned around. He had no choice in this matter, as the best that he could do with his strength was to upy one Realmling. However, it would be far too difficult for him to actually win¡ªjust stalling was enough.

    Little Arrow Saint had a resilient character, or to be more precise, he had too strong of a desire to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Even though he was aware that Lu Yin was deliberately buying time, the Realmling still did not give up.

    The two youths passed through one area after another, and their battle took them across almost the entire miniature maind. In the process, they were seen by countless people, and the intense aftershocks of their battle affected many people, but nobody ever tried to intervene. Even those who could, like Xia Tian, did not show up. Lu Yin was stalling a Realmling, and that alone was a great contribution to the battle.

    As for Shi Zhongjian, he was still battling against Xin N¨¹.

    In one corner of the maind, the ground was shattered and broken. There, Nightqueen Yanqing was panting heavily. Her innate gift of purple eyes were staring straight at a cultivator from the Sixth Maind. This person was from an Imprinter family, and although he was not the family heir, he was still an elite disciple, and his strength rivaled that of the top few on the Top 100 Rankings. During thest few years, Nightqueen Yanqing had improved at a rapid pace, and she had also broken through to the Explorer realm. Still, at best, she could rival the people ranked at around eightieth or so on the Top 100 Rankings, which was somewhat weaker than the elite disciple she was currently facing.

    ¡°Woman, you must be from the Nightking n. How interesting. Follow me, and I can let you join my Sixth Maind and receive an imprint. It¡¯s definitely better than slowly cultivating here in the Fifth Maind.¡± The man battling Nightqueen Yanqing stared at her with eyes filled with lust.

    It had to be admitted that Nightqueen Yanqing was quite impressive and beautiful, and she also typically dressed rather scantily. That,bined with her detached expression and exquisite purple eyes, meant that she was extremely attractive to most men. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how she was also from the Nightking n; such a woman was the dream of all men.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s eyes shed, and the man across from her began to be petrified. This was Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s innate gift, as her purple eyes could petrify any living thing.

    However, the manughed as an imprint appeared behind him. Strange, blood-colored lines appeared on the man¡¯s body, and they pushed back against the petrification.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use¡ªyour innate gift has no effect on my bloodline. Your Fifth Maind is too weak, and if not for that stroke of fortune that allowed a Progenitor to create this cosmic phenomenon, then the entire Fifth Maind would have already been turned into my Sixth Maind¡¯s breeding ground with all of you as our ves. This cosmic phenomenon can¡¯tst forever, and it will eventually dissipate one day. At that time, all of you will still inevitably be our ves,¡± the man proudly proimed.

    Nightqueen Yanqing barked, ¡°So much nonsense!¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes went cold. ¡°I¡¯ve already been very courteous to you, but since you can¡¯t appreciate my kindness, then just be a ve.¡±

    He then charged straight at Nightqueen Yanqing.

    The pressure on Nightqueen Yanqing sharply rose, but at that moment, a figure streaked between the two of them, creating a powerful gale that swept out and forced Nightqueen Yanqing to retreat.

    Nightqueen Yanqing merely backed away, but the cultivator whom she had been fighting against had already died. There was a palm imprint in his caved-in chest which had exploded; it was the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Nightqueen Yanqing turned around to look at her savior, and she was overwhelmed since Lu Yin had coincidentally also turned around to look at her. The two exchanged nces.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression changed¡ªit was actually him.

    Lu Yin was also astonished. He had simply been too focused on dodging Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks. During a moment of respite, he had spotted some conveniently closeby Sixth Maind cultivators that he dealt with in one move, but he had never imagined that he would actually end up saving Nightqueen Yanqing.

    The hatred that he felt for this woman was as deep as an ocean, but he had just made things easy for her by rescuing her.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had never thought that Lu Yin would rescue her, as this person would already be considered exceptionally kind if he did not simply kill her.

    But before she could think any further on the matter, an arrow streaked across the sky, tearing through the void as it traveled. The power of this arrow made her scalp turn numb, and Nightqueen Yanqing turned around in horror. She was shocked to see Little Arrow Saint standing high above her, traveling through the void as he chased after Lu Yin.

    Nightqueen Yanqing stared at Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure withplex emotions. After not seeing each other for several years, this person had actually reached the point where he could fight against Realmlings! Before this moment, she had not quite believed the rewards that Zhi Yi had promised for Lu Yin¡¯s capture, and Nightqueen Yanqing had simply thought that Lu Yin had acquired something that the Daosource Three Skies¡¯ member really wanted. Yanqing had never imagined that he would have actually grown so powerful.

    Although she did not want to believe what she had just seen, she had no choice but to ept it. It was possible that even her brother would find it difficult to defeat this person now.

    Little Arrow Saint continued to chase after Lu Yin. To the Realmling, Nightqueen Yanqing was just some random passerby.

    As the two continued their game of tag, there were many others who experienced a simr encounter as Nightqueen Yanqing. However, nobody else had as deep a rtionship with Lu Yin as she did.

    Two days passed in this manner, after which Lu Yin saw the Champions'' Stage again. At this time, it was no longer the same few people fighting atop the stage, as one other person had appeared. This person had arrived the moment those Daynight cultivators had appeared: Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin nced at the stage, but he did not approach it. Instead, he took the long way around before leaving.

    Since the Fifth and Sixth Mainds were still fighting against each other, Lu Yin believed that most people would set aside their internal disputes and unite against the external enemies, but he did not trust Nightking Zhenwu. Back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, when everyone had been fighting for that jade talisman, Nightking Zhenwu had simply disregarded Lu Yin¡¯s life and death when he had acted, and this battle would be no different.

    Lu Yin had not noticed it, but there was another familiar person fighting on the other side of the Champions'' Stage. Although her participation might seem negligible, this was someone Lu Yin cared about: Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight had also broken through to the Explorer realm, and she was currently fighting against two Sixth Maind Limiteers. Limiteers who could battle against an Explorer were Realmbreakers, and they were not average Realmbreakers at that. If such a battle had urred before the invasion, then it would have attracted a lot of attention. However, after the war began, such realm-crossing battles had bemonce.

    Usually, the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators would be the ones crossing realms when they challenged Fifth Maind cultivators, as they were capable of doing so.

    Zhuo Daynight was currently in a deadlock with the two Sixth Maind Limiteers.

    Lu Yin led Little Arrow Saint around on another loop of the miniature maind, and he gradually ran into more and more Daynight n members, and among them were some old acquaintances. He passed by Zhanlong Daynight as well as Chilian Daynight, who had attended the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as Lu Yin. Lu Yin also passed by Tiankong Daynight and other old acquaintances.

    These people had once been considered all-powerful with a bit of a reputation among the younger generation, but now, they were only capable of fighting against the most ordinary cultivators of the Sixth Maind. With their strength, they could casually be eliminated in this chaotic battle that millions of cultivators were participating in.

    Even the Daynight n only had a few individuals who could stand out on this battlefield. Zhanlong Daynight was only able to deal with the heirs of Imprinter families, and even then, his victory was not guaranteed.

    Although not many dared intervene in a Realmling¡¯s battles, that did not mean that nobody would dare to do so. Lu Yin had a feeling that the person in the distance could affect such a battle and that they could even block several attacks if necessary.

    A nearby Sixth Maind cultivator was smashed dead by a bone-thin man. This person was another member of the Daynight n, and he had an abnormally tough body despite being as skinny as a skeleton with almost no flesh at all. He was Nightking Gu.

    Back on Pyrolyte, during the contest for the pyrolyte ore, Nightking Gu had fought against both Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan on his own. If not for Lu Yin piercing the Nightking¡¯s heart with one shot of his gun, the man would not have left.

    At this moment, Lu Yin saw the man once again, and he was still so tough despite his frightening physique.

    When Lu Yin passed by Nightking Gu, the Nightking was caught off guard, as he had recognized Lu Yin. But before the man could even speak, an arrow streaked through the sky. Its mere presence caused Nightking Gu¡¯s hair to stand on end, and he instantly used his Nightking¡¯s Body. He reached out with his powerful innate gift as a shower of sparks lit up the area. The arrow pierced the Nightking¡¯s hand and sent him flying into the ground.

    ¡°Sorry to drag you in,¡± Lu Yin called out unapologetically as his figure vanished.

    Little Arrow Saint did not even nce at Nightking Gu, and he simply continued his pursuit of Lu Yin.

    Nightking Gu trembled in agony, as not only had Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrow injured his hand, but its remnant destructive energy had also settled into the wound. He raged at Lu Yin¡¯s retreating figure, but he did not even know if he should curse the youth. After all, this was a battlefield.

    When Lu Yin saw a powerful enemy whom he had once been nearly helpless against be taken down by just one of Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows, Lu Yin did not know whether he shouldugh or cry.

    Nightking Gu was not weak, and he had previously been ranked fifteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. In fact, Wendy Yushan and Lu Yinbined had been unable to even retaliate against the Nightking in the past. In just a few more years, the Nightking would no longer be considered a part of the younger generation. He had steadily improved his strength, but he had still been severely injured by just one arrow.

    Lu Yin had dealt with countless arrows that had been fired at him over the course of thest ten or so days.

    Lu Yin had truly be too strong, but as he watched the other Fifth Maind cultivators be destroyed by Little Arrow Saint, Lu Yin still could not feelforted by his increased strength.

    ¡®Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve taken care of it,¡± the Ghost Monkey reported with exhaustion. Its shadow then moved off of Lu Yin¡¯s back and merged back into his right arm.

    Lu Yin stretched his arms and heaved a sigh of relief. The remnant energy from Shi Zhongjian¡¯s attack had finally been removed by the Ghost Monkey¡¯s lockbreaking techniques, and Lu Yin felt much more rxed upon hearing this.

    Another arrow flew toward him.

    Lu Yin was rather impressed by Little Arrow Saint, who had stubbornly chased after Lu Yin for more than ten days without ever giving up. By now, the miniature maind was actually about to reach the Astral River¡¯s tributaries. After passing over that, they would be in Chaos Flowzone, and with the miniature maind¡¯s speed, it would not take them long to reach the Mara River.

    Although the Innerverse¡¯s Astral River tributaries were not as wide as the true Astral River, most people were wary of the creatures living within the liquid energy. Thus, each tributary had its own ark that crossed the tributaries at fixed positions, ferrying people between the two flowzones.

    With the great changes in the Innerverse and the Outerverse, the Astral River Arks had been forced out of the tributaries. Thus, at this point in time, the Innerverse¡¯s Astral River tributaries did not have any Astral River Arks that could transport people.

    The energy in the tributaries had also surged, just like the Astral River itself. However, currently, massive fissures had been torn through the tributaries, allowing for safe passage. This was the Innerverse, and there was nock of experts here.

    The miniature maind directly flew into the gap in the tributary waters and charged towards Chaos Flowzone.

    The Astral River tributary was not very wide, and as the miniature maind passed through it, Lu Yin looked around to see the limitless liquid energy of the tributary pass over him, as well as the strange giant fish that asionally swam by.

    Soon, the miniature maind passed through the tributary and arrived in Chaos Flowzone.

    The main force from the Sixth Maind upying Chaos Flowzone was the Toolcasting family, but with Ancestor Toolwielder¡¯s death, the entire Toolcasting family had already pulled back to the Sixth Maind. The cultivators from the Fifth Maind were still in hiding at this time, and they had been operating in small gueri units. Thus, there was not much of a reaction when the miniature maind passed through this flowzone.

    They were getting closer and closer to the Mara River. Once the miniature maind reached the Mara River and moved just a bit past that, they would be in the Sixth Maind, which would mean that they would be out of the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression¡¯s range. At that point in time, nobody would be able to steal back the Champions'' Stage.

    The battle at the Champions'' Stage became even more intense.

    Lu Yin wanted to shake off Little Arrow Saint so that he could participate in the battle for the Champions'' Stage. He knew that he likely would not be able to seize it, but he still wanted to at least try. Doing so would give him the unique qualification to enter the Astral Tower, which would mean that there would be no need for him topete with others for the opportunity. Thus, his odds of bing one the Cosmic Five would be that much higher.

 Chapter 997: People Of Affection

    <h4>Chapter 997: People Of Affection</h4>

    The Cosmic Five did not seem to be all from just one power, as they represented the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s human race. Thus, reaching such a position would instantly elevate one to universal sess.

    However, it would not be easy for Lu Yin to shake off Little Arrow Saint, as the Realmling was hellbent on killing Lu Yin. Little Arrow Saint did not believe that his allies would lose the battle for the Champions'' Stage, as neither of the two Daosource Three Skies present could be defeated by anyone from the Fifth Maind¡ªtheir presence alone was the greatest safeguard.

    Unknowingly, while Lu Yin was leading Little Arrow Saint in a circle around the central part of the miniature maind, many members of the older generation¡¯s experts were battling in that ce. As he approached, Lu Yin saw a familiar face: Nightking Yuanjing.

    Honestly, Lu Yin had interacted far too much with the Daynight n. When the miniature maind was crossing the Cosmic Sea, it had coincidentally passed through a battlefield where the Daynight n was fighting against some Sixth Maind cultivators. Nightking Yuanjing was coincidentally one of the numerous Daynight n experts there.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the old man was an Enlighter with a power level of somewhere around or a bit higher than 200,000. After all, when the Outerverse was first isted from the Innerverse, Lu Yin had only been a Limiteer, and every Enlighter had been an incredible existence to him. Only at this moment was he able to see that the old man¡¯s strength far surpassed his previous assumptions.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s visit to Northline Flowzone, an ancient centipede¡¯s body had suddenly appeared, and in there, he had obtained three ancient pikes. To avoid the disaster of having too much treasure, he had used Nightking Yuanjing. At that time, Northgate Taisui had also been present, and Nightking Yuanjing had treated the Northgate elder very politely, as if he were a junior speaking to a senior. Even if there had been a bit of pride in Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s tone, it had felt like the pride of the Daynight n, not his own personal pride.

    At that time, Lu Yin had interpreted the situation as Nightking Yuanjing not possessing the same strength as Northgate Taisui. However, at this moment, Lu Yin realized that he had underestimated the old man. If Nightking Yuanjing could participate on this battlefield in the central region of the miniature maind, then his original power level, before the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon, had to be around 400,000.

    Strangely, Lu Yin felt some affection towards the old man. Though, of course, this was not any sort of true affection.

    Before the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, Lu Yin had sought out Nightking Yuanjing for many matters to avert various disasters. Although Lu Yin had also paid the corresponding price, he had still used his wits to battle against the old man multiple times, and Lu Yin had finally seeded in the end. He simply hoped this time would not be an exception. As he thought about it, Lu Yin called out, ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing!¡±

    Off in the distance, Nightking Yuanjing was busy fighting with a Sixth Maind expert. Ever since the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse and the Sixth Maind had invaded them, everyone had been sent to the battlefield, and the old Nightking was no exception. Even more powerful powerhouses from the Daynight n had died on these battlefields, but his luck had been a bit better. He had managed to survive until the cosmic phenomenon appeared, and he had continued to survive since then as well.

    Recently, the cosmic phenomenon had changed, and the Sixth Maind had begun to slowly withdraw from the Innerverse. Nightking Yuanjing was aware that the war was going to enter a lull in the near future, but he had never expected this miniature maind to suddenly appear. He had not originally intended to make a move, and neither had the rest of the Daynight n. However, they had received orders from the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chief Justice to do exactly that, so they had no choice but to try to take back the Champions'' Stage.

    Nightking Yuanjing did not want to die right when the war was about to end, so he had randomly found a Sixth Maind cultivator to fight as soon as he had arrived on the miniature maind. Of course, the Nightking¡¯s opponent could not be someone too weak, as these orders had been personally given by the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chief Justice. If it was discovered that Nightking Yuanjing was cking, then the consequences would be severe.

    In fact, the Sixth Maind cultivator fighting against the Nightking was very powerful in his own right with a power level that was originally near 300,000. This meant that he was quite outstanding even though his power level had been suppressed to under 200,000. However, the battle was quite unforgiving, and this man was at the limits of his endurance.

    Nightking Yuanjing had been nning on extending the fight with this opponent so that he could muddle through this final part of the invasion. Then, he would retreat once the miniature maind drew to the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s border. For the old man, this was a surefire way to survive this catastrophe.

    However, things often did not go ording to n. When Lu Yin called out the words ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing,¡± the old man¡¯s entire body trembled, and he was nearly struck by his opponent. He quickly blocked one attack after another as he turned around to see a familiar figure dashing towards him. Since they had been separated for several years now, the Nightking was a bit lost, and he blinked in shock as he stared at the approaching youth.

    With a final leap, Lu Yin arrived close to Nightking Yuanjing, and he very happily greeted the old man. ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, it¡¯s been a long time! Do you still remember Little Yin?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing was taken aback, but before he could even react, an arrow shot out of the void and across the sky. He had already been on guard, and he raised a hand to forcefully divert the arrow¡¯s path. After all, he was an Enlighter with a high power level, and the Realmling¡¯s attacks were still within the Nightking¡¯s ability to endure.

    ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, there¡¯s an enemy pursuing Little Yin! You have to help me!¡± Lu Yin wailed as he pointed behind at Little Arrow Saint.

    Nightking Yuanjing then noticed Little Arrow Saint, who was exceptionally young, but the might of the arrow just now was proof that this youth was almost definitely a Realmling-level expert from the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin was using the Nightking to avoid a disaster, but this was not the first time Lu Yin had done such a thing. The Nightking had not particrly cared before, as the prestige of the Daynight n had been enough to shake the entire universe, and everyone had to show them proper respect. However, they were currently on a battlefield between two mainds, and this was even a crucial battle. Despite that, this stupid kid still wanted to use the Nightking to save his butt.

    Recently, Nightking Yuanjing had seen the bounty that Zhi Yi had posted on Lu Yin, and the old man had realized that the kid had greatly improved during the recent years. But even then, the old man could never have guessed that Lu Yin had already climbed to the stage where he could fight against a Realmling-level expert. Also, wasn¡¯t this kid supposed to be stuck in the Outerverse? The Nightking had many questions about Lu Yin himself as well as some rted to the Third Nightking, but Little Arrow Saint did not give the old man any time to think as more arrows flew over.

    The Sixth Maind expert who had been fighting against Nightking Yuanjing this entire time also took this moment tounch a fierce attack.

    Lu Yin shrieked, ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing, be careful!¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing red at Lu Yin, this bastard. He would have to settle scores after this battle was over. This kid actually wanted to use him, a Nightking, as a shield during such a dangerous battle.

    Little Arrow Saint did not care about what sort of rtionship Nightking Yuanjing might have with Lu Yin. To the Realmling, since this old man was standing in the way, he would have to die.

    Before long, all four people were embroiled in a messy battle. Lu Yin was quite adept at evading Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks. Thus, when Little Arrow Saint and the other expert from the Sixth Maind focused their attacks on both Nightking Yuanjing and Lu Yin, the youth simply dodged everything while Nightking Yuanjing was struck several times. In his mounting rage, he quickly raised his power level to the highest possible level, and a giant face formed in the sky that opened its mouth with an angry expression: Nightking Howl.

    The Daynight n¡¯s attacks all contained spiritual force elements, as it was the most adept Innerverse n at using spiritual force. This one Nightking Howl sent out a pulse of spiritual force that swept through the entire area, and even Little Arrow Saint was forced to retreat 10,000 meters.

    Lu Yin also ended up trembling because of the Nightking Howl, but fortunately, it had not been aimed at him. Also, his spiritual force was not weak. Otherwise, he would have been forced back just like Little Arrow Saint.

    Nightking Yuanjing angrily red over at Lu Yin. ¡°What is a rascal like you doing in the Innerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin quickly put on a smiling face. ¡°The Sixth Maind tore through the Astral River in an attempt to invade the Outerverse. The Hall of Honor¡¯s Senior Yuan Shi forced the enemy to retreat, and he then sent me to the battlefield in the Cosmic Sea to gather information.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing was stumped. ¡°Yuan Shi? You¡¯re talking about the Hall of Honor¡¯s Yuan Shi? That incredibly ancient senior?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and replied in a respectful tone, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right. Senior Yuan Shi is very kind and he treats this junior too well. Not only did he give me many life-preserving objects, he even personally sent me to the Cosmic Sea¡¯s battlefield to gain military achievements. He¡¯s truly a respectable elder.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing had originally been used as a shield, and his belly had been full of fire that was about to erupt, but he no longer could do so. Yuan Shi¡¯s reputation was well known across the entire universe, and the Nightking did not know if what Lu Yin was saying was true or false. This kid could do too many unexpected things, and he also ended up encountering far too many lucky opportunities. Everything about Lu Yin made people feel that he was unfathomable.

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Yuan Shi?¡± Nightking Yuanjing asked doubtfully.

    Lu Yin suddenly pointed behind the old man and shouted, ¡°The enemy ising! Grandpa Yuanjing, you have to stop him! Senior Yuan Shi has entrusted an important mission to this junior, but the battle is about to end. As long as I finish this mission, I will definitely put in a good word for Grandpa Yuanjing with Senior Yuan Shi.¡±

    And with that, Lu Yin raced away.

    Nightking Yuanjing opened his mouth, but he could not say a thing. He truly did not know if what Lu Yin had said was true or false. however, if it was a lie, then just how had the kid made it into the Innerverse from the Outerverse? Also, how had he gotten to the Cosmic Sea? The distance was simply too vast without a powerhouse like Yuan Shi helping him traverse it. But why would Yuan Shi entrust this kid with any sort of mission?

    The Nightking was well aware that Lu Yin¡¯s story was not very logical. However, the old man simply could not stop himself from believing some of it. During Lu Yin¡¯s time cultivating, the youth had encountered too many lucky chances, and he was even able to fight against a Realmling despite his tender age. It actually would not be unreasonable for this youth to have received some kind of mission.

    Little Arrow Saint fiercely charged out again, chasing after Lu Yin and not giving the old man any time to think.

    Lu Yin shouted from the distance, ¡°Grandpa Yuanjing!¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing reflexively attacked Little Arrow Saint, striking out with a punch that was imbued with an eruption of spiritual force.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s face grew solemn as he evaded the attack. He then stared at Nightking Yuanjing. ¡°Old man, my battle with that kid has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing gritted his teeth as he looked over at Lu Yin, who was just about to vanish from sight. The Nightking truly did not know if Lu Yin¡¯s words were true or not, as he could not verify anything at this time. However, it would not take him much effort at all to block Little Arrow Saint. If Lu Yin¡¯s words were lies, then Nightking Yuanjing would have at most ended up serving as a shield that helped Lu Yin avoid a disaster. In that case, the Nightking could simply find that kid and give him some trouble in the future. However, if everything that Lu Yin had said was true, then the Nightking might strike it rich, especially if he was able to meet Yuan Shi. No matter what price he paid, that would be worth the cost.

    Nightking Yuanjing could not be med for taking the bait. If Lu Yin had used someone else¡¯s name, then he definitely would not have made any sort of move to help the youth. However, Yuan Shi was different.

    Of all of the Hall of Honor¡¯s powerhouses, Yuan Shi¡¯s reputation was unmatched. He had taught countless disciples throughout his life, and the outside world¡¯s opinion of the ancient powerhouse was very high. It was well known that Yuan Shi enjoyed guiding juniors, as otherwise, he would not have been called Yuan Shi.

    Nightking Yuanjing knew of Yuan Shi, and after thinking through Lu Yin¡¯s story, the old man believed that it was possible that Lu Yin might have told the truth. As long as Yuan Shi was willing to guide the Nightking, then his position in the Daynight n would change drastically.

    For even the trace of such a possibility, there was no need to consider the effort of simply raising one hand.

    Little Arrow Saint was left with no choice, as he had actually been stopped by someone.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He was lucky to have run into Nightking Yuanjing.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that old man helped you escape a disaster. What an idiot!¡± The Ghost Monkey started sniggering.

    Lu Yin turned back around. Foolish? No, not at all. If he hadn¡¯t used Yuan Shi¡¯s name, then the old man would have never helped him. Fortunately, Yuan Shi was too famous, and Lu Yin understood Nightking Yuanjing too well. Without the possibility of any benefits to be had, the old man would toss Lu Yin aside like a bit of trash. However, if there were good benefits dangling above his head, the Nightking would leap forward like a hungry wolf.

    No matter what, Lu Yin had finally shaken off Little Arrow Saint, who had chased him around for more than ten days.

    Lu Yin first looked around for a ce to rest. The miniature maind was incrediblyrge, and although there were battlefields all over it, there were also many regions still unaffected by the fighting.

    Lu Yin hid in a corner and concentrated on recovering. asionally, he would look at the stars and try to determine his position.

    At this time, he suddenly remembered something, and he took out his gadget from his cosmic ring to see if there was any signal in this ce.

    In the end, he was left disappointed, as there was no signal. The war between the two mainds had been too intense. Once the Sixth Maind had upied the majority of the Innerverse, they had cut off any and all signals in order to leave the Fifth Maind blind. Besides, the Sixth Maind had their own means ofmunication.

    Without any signal, Lu Yin did not know how he could determine his location, but a rough estimation of how long they had been traveling, with the information that they were headed west, meant that they were moving in the direction of the Starfall Sea. That was also where the Astral River bank could be found as well as the fissure in the Astral River that connected the Innerverse and Outerverse. The Mara River alsoy in that direction, which was the Sixth Maind¡¯s destination. To retreat, they needed to reach the Mara River and then travel upwards. Thus, they could not be too far away from the Mara River at the moment.

    As a reminder from , Yuan Shi means Teacher/Leader of many since ancient times.

 Chapter 998: The Greatest Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 998: The Greatest Battlefield</h4>

    Lu Yin heaved a heavy sigh of relief. Whether or not the Fifth Maind would be able to take back the Champions'' Stage would all depend on their final push. He had no confidence in seeding by himself since two of the Daosource Three Skies were present, but even if it cost some people their lives, they had to fight and take it back.

    The miniature maind continued to fly towards the west, and soon, several more days passed.

    Lu Yin spent all of his time during these days recuperating, though the asional aftershocks from the surrounding battles did wash over him. However, he did not go back to the central battlefield, and the ripples from the other battles were not strong enough to significantly affect him.

    Little Arrow Saint did not reappear, as Lu Yin had long since escaped from Little Arrow Saint¡¯s sight. Unless Lu Yin directly appeared in front of the Realmling, it would be very difficult for Little Arrow Saint to track down Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin looked towards the sky once more. Yesterday, the miniature maind had passed through Chaos Flowzone and arrived in a familiar area of the Innerverse. This was where Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin had appeared when they had passed through the Astral River to reach the Innerverse. It was also where the chaotic battle on the transportation continent had urred.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s methods to be so extraordinary that they could actually allow one to travel across half of the Innerverse. That was on the level as what Mister Mu was capable of.

    Since they had arrived in this ce, then it meant that they were not very far away from the Starfall Sea, which was where this miniature maind would connect to the Mara River.

    Lu Yin stretched out his arms. With the speed at which the miniature maind was traveling, it would not take long for it to arrive at the Mara River. Once it did so, the final battle wouldmence. Otherwise, if they entered the upward current of the Mara River, then they would be leaving the area under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, which would spell deep trouble for them.

    Lu Yin was not the only one who had recognized where the miniature maind was in the Innerverse. Others had as well, and they all knew that this would be the final battlefield.

    Atop the Champions'' Stage, Nightking Zhenwu had joined forces with God Taiyi to fight against Bu Kong. Qiu Shi¡¯s status was unknown.

    Bu Kong was indeed frighteningly powerful. While they fought with him, Nightking Zhenwu had a solemn expression, and God Taiyi was breathing heavily. They had fought for more than ten days now; these members of the Daosource Three Skies were simply too fearsome.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes swept past God Taiyi, looked over at Nightking Zhenwu, and then moved past the Arbiter towards the distant battlefield. He did not actually care about Nightking Zhenwu, as this Arbiter¡¯s reputation was undeserved¡ªhe had already been struck by Bu Kong multiple times, and Nightking Zhenwu had likely sustained some rather serious injuries during this battle. This member of the Daosource Three Skies was more concerned about Qiu Shi; while he did not know what that woman was scheming, she was definitely plotting to seize back the Champions'' Stage.

    The Champions'' Stage could not be lost. Bu Kong¡¯s gaze turned sharp, and he attacked again. His use of the Time Reversal Technique forced both God Taiyi and Nightking Zhenwu to be wary.

    Even further away, Zhi Yi was battling against Liu Tianmu, and nobody could interfere in the battlefield of these two women. One had an unfathomable defense and the other a prating attack. Thus, very few could approach their battlefield.

    Liu Tianmu could clearly see that Zhi Yi wanted to keep multiple Fifth Maind experts upied on her own, as her impregnable defense allowed her to do so. However, in response, Liu Tianmu had cleaned up the battlefield on her own, rendering Zhi Yi unable to stall anyone else. The Sword Sect¡¯s Arbiter was helping the Fifth Maind by keeping one of the Daosource Three Skies busy.

    Zhi Yi was feeling quite helpless. Although Liu Tianmu was unable to defeat Zhi Yi or even injure her, this woman¡¯s sword techniques were simply too sharp. One time, Zhi Yi had once tried to shift their battlefield, but the swordswoman had used her Eleventh Sword, which was something that not even Zhi Yi could becent about. More importantly, Zhi Yi was constantly on guard against Liu Tianmu using the Twelfth Sword, as Zhi Yi had a feeling that the swordswoman was saving that technique for an opportune moment.

    Di Fa, the Sword Schr, Qiu He, and the others were fighting in an intense battle against the Fifth Maind¡¯s Xing Kai, Xia Tian, Shu Jing, and Serati Phoenix. On top of these peak elites, even Ye Xingchen, Gu Xiao''er, and Zi Jun¡ªwho had participated in the Tournament of the Strongest¡ªwere all staying close to the Champions'' Stage during their battles.

    Even if they were unable to step onto the battlefield where the Realmlings and Ten Arbiters were fighting, everyone wanted a chance to snag the Champions¡¯ Stage. If they somehow managed to seed, then they would rise above everyone else in a single step.

    Even Gu Xiao''er, who seemed like a simple-minded person, had these thoughts. Thus, there was no need to mention any of the others.

    However, with their current situation, it did not seem very likely that they would be able to steal back the Champions'' Stage back, as there was nobody who was capable of defeating Bu Kong.

    When Lu Yin arrived, he was quickly spotted by Gu Xiao''er. The young man struggled to extricate himself from the battle as he moved over next to Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, take out that toy to disgust them again.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What toy?¡±

    Gu Xiao''er looked very excited. ¡°That thing with the nasty smell.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°It¡¯s no use. Zhi Yi is being held up by Liu Tianmu, and Liu Tianmu won¡¯t be able to break through that barrier, not even if that girl is grossed out. On the other hand, people like Bu Kong are already busy with their own battles.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no other option! I¡¯ve already used up thest of my white smoke, and I can¡¯t help anymore. Also, there¡¯s no way you want to go to the Champions'' Stage to fight with Bu Kong, right?¡± Gu Xiao''er asked with clear frustration in his voice. ¡°If we really can¡¯t do this, then we can only retreat. This maind is about to fly up the Mara River, and when it leaves the suppressed region, we¡¯ll all be done for.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as this battle was indeed drawing to a close. He looked over at the Champions'' Stage, which was a ce that he had avoided early due to his caution of Nightking Zhenwu. At this time, Lu Yin could only remain on guard towards Nightking Zhenwu while thinking of some way to knock Bu Kong off the Champions'' Stage and take it away.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin dashed over to the Champions'' Stage. He did not n on directly joining the battle directly, but with his strength, he could still mess with Bu Kong a bit, even if it did mean helping out Nightking Zhenwu.

    There were so many people engaged in intense battles all around Lu Yin that there was no way that Nightking Zhenwu would brazenly attack Lu Yin. Besides, Lu Yin was no pushover himself. Within this ce where power levels were suppressed, not even an Imprinter would be able to defeat Lu Yin in a short period of time. He had exchanged blows with Shi Zhongjian and Little Arrow Saint, so he was also unafraid of Nightking Zhenwu.

    The battles above the Champions'' Stage were the most intense. God Taiyi worked with Nightking Zhenwu to fight against Bu Kong, but neither side had managed to gain an upper hand. Bu Kong had his secret techniques while God Taiyi had his Truesight and Nightking Zhenwu his spiritual force attacks. All of the techniques being used in this battle were things that ordinary people could not have.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival caught all three of them by surprise.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes shed, as he had never expected that Lu Yin would appear in this ce. This person was improving far too quickly, as shown by the fact that Lu Yin was willing to step onto Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battlefield. The Nighking thought about it for a moment, and star energy gathered at his fingertip as he tapped out: Nightking Finger.

    The Nightking Finger shot out, and the void exploded while being apanied by a terrifying spiritual force wave that swept out in all directions.

    Bu Kong remained as immovable as a mountain. Something was wrong with this Arbiter¡¯s brain; why would he unleash a spiritual force attack against someone from the Sixth Maind? The Sixth Maind cultivators valued imprints the most, and those who wanted to use imprints had to strengthen their spiritual force. Even if they were not proficient with using their spiritual force, their resistance to such attacks was still very robust. Moreover, Bu Kong was one of the Daosource Three Skies. How could he not know how to use spiritual force?

    The Nightking Finger was ineffective against Bu Kong, which was something that Nightking Zhenwu should be aware of. However, this finger had not been directed at Bu Kong, but rather towards Lu Yin, as he needed to demonstrate his qualifications to step onto this battlefield.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled slightly, but he still stepped onto the Champions'' Stage with one foot before ncing over at Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he looked over at Bu Kong, directly erasing some of the youth¡¯s rune lines.

    Bu Kong frowned, as God Taiyi¡¯s Truesight alone already made the Daosource Three Skies very ufortable, and now, another person who was capable of simrly weakening him had arrived. Bu Kong redirected his attack and pped a palm at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no thoughts of being struck by this palm, as both Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift and secret techniques scared Lu Yin. He definitely would not allow any attacks to touch him.

    ¡°Be careful of his Time Reversal Technique,¡± God Taiyi warned.

    Lu Yin retreated, but Bu Kong would not let Lu Yin move about as he pleased, and limitless palm prints struck out at him. These palm prints contained a strange power that not even the Ten Arbiters knew about, which might be Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift of dposition. Regardless, just being touched by these palm imprints was certain death. It was also possible that some of these palm imprints were used to unleash his secret technique, which meant that just a touch would send someone back to their childhood. This was why it was so terrifying to fight against Bu Kong.

    He had power, physical strength, reflexes, star energy, and a deftmand of his spiritual force that wasparable to the Ten Arbiters¡¯. On top of all of that, he also had his innate gift and secret techniques, which were actually the thorniest problems.

    Nightking Zhenwu had originally been nning to attack Bu Kong, but he suddenly stopped and allowed Bu Kong¡¯s attack tond on Lu Yin. The Nightking absolutely hated Lu Yin. Even when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy, he had already formed a grudge with Nightqueen Yanqing, and all of the various events afterward had contributed to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s loathing for Lu Yin. In particr, when he had been fighting for the jade talisman back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin had actually dared to not hand it over to Nightking Zhenwu. Furthermore, Lu Yin had even destroyed the piece of jade. Thus, Nightking Zhenwu wanted nothing more than to see Lu Yin dead.

    Others could not see Bu Kong¡¯s attacks, but Lu Yin and God Taiyi could since they were both looking at the attack¡¯s rune lines rather than the attack itself.

    Lu Yin was not able to dodge all of the palm prints, so he picked the one with the fewest number of rune lines to be struck by. He raised both of his arms, and there was a thump as his entire body was thrown back a hundred meters. Afternding, he looked up to stare at Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong frowned, as this person had actually evaded most of his attacks, which was exactly what God Taiyi did. From this, Bu Kong knew that his enemies were able to see through his attacks.

    At this moment, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attack arrived, and God Taiyi took this opportunity to erase a portion of Bu Kong¡¯s rune lines while Lu Yin did the same.

    Bu Kong had already mentally prepared himself for the double weakening. Thus, even though his rune lines were weakened twice as much as before, he was still able to instantlypensate for the change.

    Erasing twice as many of Bu Kong¡¯s rune lines did not equate to a multiplicative reduction in his power. Otherwise, Gods¡¯ Origin would have long since be invincible. Lu Yin and God Taiyi had joined forces with their Truesight, but that simply allowed them to erase a few more rune lines¡ªtheir techniques did not reinforce each other.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attacks were not too effective against Bu Kong, and Bu Kong did not really care about the Nightking. Still, it would not be easy for him to defeat this Arbiter, as he was simply too cunning.

    With Lu Yin added to the mix, the trio stood firm against Bu Kong, though the result was no different from before. Lu Yin¡¯s arrival did not provide too much help to the two experts, but fortunately, he did not hinder them either. At the very least, God Taiyi and Nightking Zhenwu did not need to distract themselves to assist Lu Yin, and he could also alleviate some of the pressure from their enemy.

    Gu Xiao''er stared at the battle atop the Champions'' Stage from a distance, and he felt rather envious. In the end, if someone was able to seize the Champions'' Stage, then there would be no piece of the pie left for anyone who was not on the Champions'' Stage. Lu Yin was capable of joining that battle, and Gu Xiao¡¯er felt that he could do so as well. Although he would not fight, he could still watch from the side!

    Gu Xiao''erforted himself and then charged over.

    There were quite a few other people who felt the same as Gu Xiao¡¯er. They were all elite disciples from the Fifth Maind¡¯s various powers, and there were also some top ranked experts on the Top 100 Rankings as well as a few experts from the Neoverse like God Taiyi.

    A total of five cultivators charged towards the Champions'' Stage, and Gu Xiao''er was among them.

    However, one of them was struck by Bu Kong¡¯s Time Reversal Technique, and he was knocked back to his childhood before being pulverized by a stray aftershock from the fight between the four people atop the stage.

    Another one was caught by the Sword Schr¡¯s sword qi and cut in two.

    Another two were swept away by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force. They fell down like idiots, and it was impossible to know if they were dead or alive.

    In the end, Gu Xiao''er was the only one who managed to sessfully charge onto the Champions'' Stage. There, he was faced with the aftershocks of Bu Kong¡¯s battle with the other four. A terrifying destructive force apanied by a powerful spiritual force swept out, frightening him and forcing him to quickly retreat. Fortunately, Gu Xiao¡¯er still had some white smoke left to block the shockwave. Otherwise, he would have suffered the same fate as the other four.

    Bu Kong and the others did not care about these five people, as they were just some random trash in their eyes.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as that little group had approached the battle only to end up as a joke! Those who did not have the strength to receive the title of King or Queen were not qualified to step foot onto this battlefield. If Gu Xiao''er had managed to replenish his white smoke, then he would have the ability. However, only a small bit of his smoke remained, and it was not enough to even fill the gap between his teeth.

    Gu Xiao''er was scared out of his wits, and he turned to look back at the Champions'' Stage after escaping. ¡°So scary! I was almost done for! I should stay away from this ce. Actually, something like the Champions'' Stage can just be copied, and as long as nobody says anything, who would even know that it was taken away?¡±

 Chapter 999: Separation

    <h4>Chapter 999: Separation</h4>

    It had just been a random thought, but the more Gu Xiao¡¯er thought about it, the more usible it seemed. He became iparably excited, and he felt as if he had just discovered a new line of thought¡ªif the Champions'' Stage was taken away, then he just needed to forge a recement. Could those hypocrites from the Hall of Honor expose such a thing even if they knew about it? That was impossible, as they also had to give face. If they did not expose the fraud, then everyone¡¯s prestige would be maintained. Even if, in the end, the secret was revealed, they could simply push the me onto him and im that they had not known about it. In any case, those old folk would not take the initiative to expose such a thing.

    After thinking about it, Gu Xiao''er left the battlefield. He had no intention of fighting any longer, as this battle was essentially done. Instead, he needed to go forge something.

    The fate of the five people who had attempted to join the fight on the Champions¡¯ Stage made sure that no one else had the courage to even get close. Lu Yin¡¯s example could not be followed by just anyone; if they did not have the strength of someone who could receive the title of King or Queen, then it was impossible for them to step onto the stage. It should also be known that the battlefield between the Realmlings and the Ten Arbiters took up more than just the Champions'' Stage; it also included all of the surrounding area.

    After one day passed, the bnce of the battlefield still hadn¡¯t changed. At this time, the miniature maind had already passed through the entrance to the Starfall Sea, and it was currently headed towards the Mara River. Their destination was not only where the Mara River was located, but it was also where the Astral River separated the Innerverse from the Technocracy. It was a point of convergence for three different ces.

    The people from the Fifth Maind began to grow anxious, and many of them made ns to leave as more and more Sixth Maind cultivators who wanted to leave the Fifth Maind began to show up in this area.

    On top of the Champions'' Stage, while Bu Kong was busy fighting with Nightking Zhenwu and the others, the Daosource Three Skies member had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten about something. His eyes swept through the area, and he saw a bit of sword qi fly off into the distance from where Liu Tianmu and Zhi Yi were fighting. He also saw Xing Kai suddenly grow big and small as well as the Undying Bird releasing a cry. He saw straight lines of attacks that tore through the void that came from Shu Jing. His expression suddenly changed. That¡¯s right, where is that woman?

    Back on the battlefield in the Whitecliff Region, Bu Kong had used a sourcebox array to instantly shift the bnce of the battle. However, he had not had a smooth time setting up the sourcebox array, as there had been a woman present who was also a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. When the battle on the miniature maind had started, that same woman had stopped Bu Kong from using a sourcebox array with all sorts of lockbreaking attempts. However, at this moment, she was missing.

    Bu Kong forced Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s trio back and then approached the edge of the Champions'' Stage. As soon as he arrived, he saw Qiu Shi. Coincidentally, Qiu Shi looked up at that very moment, and the two exchanged nces. Bu Kong¡¯s eyes grew iparably sharp, as seven sourceboxes had been arranged around the Champions'' Stage, and it was impossible to tell how long they had been there for.

    Bu Kong¡¯s expression changed, as the situation was looking bad. This was a sourcebox array, and he charged towards Qiu Shi as fast as he could.

    The next moment, a danger zone spread out,ing from the various sourceboxes as their danger zones ovepped. It created a strange scene, but it caused the Champions'' Stage to quiver. Actually, it was not the Champions'' Stage that was quivering, but rather the miniature maind that was carrying the Champions'' Stage. Then, due to the multiple danger zonesyering upon each other, the Champions¡¯ Stage slowly floated up. At the same time, the formless danger of the sourceboxes tore through the void, spreading out to affect everything within a hundred kilometers.

    No matter if it was Bu Kong, God Taiyi, Lu Yin, or those who were a bit further away like Xing Kai, everyone was enveloped within the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone.

    Xing Kai and the others immediately retreated, as a sourcebox array was absolutely terrifying.

    The might of the sourceboxes erupted, and Bu Kong¡¯s figure shed as he raised a hand while working to dissolve the formless danger zones.

    Lu Yin was simrly surrounded by the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones, but he was able to clearly see their rune lines. The might of the danger zones were right at the cusp of a power level of 200,000 without surpassing it. Still, they were not any weaker than a power level of 200,000, so the danger zones were a hazard to everyone here.

    God Taiyi cursed, ¡°Stupid woman, here we go again!¡±

    He then looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Hurry up and leave¡ªthat lunatic will do anything!¡±

    At that moment, a small section of the miniature maind broke off and began to float up as it separated from the rest of the maind. The sourcebox array was pushing the segment up and off into outer space.

    Countless people witnessed this development take ce, and many of them even leaped up to try to take control of the Champions'' Stage. However, they were all torn to shreds the moment they entered the sourcebox array¡¯s range.

    Bu Kong flung out a sourcebox in an attempt to challenge the existing sourcebox array.

    Qiu Shi¡¯s face went pale. She had no idea what would happen if a second sourcebox array was superimposed upon the first.

    Nightking Zhenwu pressed a hand upon the Champions'' Stage and flew through space. He was determined to be the one to take the Champions'' Stage away.

    The power of the sourcebox array¡¯s formless danger zone was not something that ordinary people could resist, and any cultivators whose strength was not at the level of a King or Queen would be instantly torn to shreds the moment they entered the range of the sourcebox arrays. The power of two ovepping sourcebox arrays was simply too terrifying.

    A small piece ofnd flew into space, as Qiu Shi¡¯s intention had been to separate the Champions'' Stage from the miniature maind so that she could keep it in the Innerverse, or at the very least, stop the Sixth Maind from taking it away.

    A frosty glint appeared in Bu Kong¡¯s eyes, and he wanted to attack Qiu Shi. However, he had to first deal with the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger.

    The small continent was quickly embraced by the vastness of outer space. Aside from God Taiyi, who had fled due to his fear of the sourcebox array, Xing Kai and the others, including Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin, Bu Kong, and Qiu Shi, were all still in the area. Further away, there was also another group of people who had tried to hide from the sourceboxes¡¯ formless danger, but they had simply died one after the other.

    Those who did not have the strength to receive a title of King or Queen simply could not survive or flee from the sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin observed the rune lines and evaded them whereas Nightking Zhenwu relied entirely on his own strength. He hadn¡¯t expected that even God Taiyi would flee without the courage to stay behind.

    Lu Yin did not want to stay behind either, as the rune lines permeating the small continent were still growing in number, and they were all from the sourcebox arrays. Besides, the Champions'' Stage had already been taken away from the miniature maind, and with Qiu Shi and Nightking Zhenwu around, Bu Kong would not be able to take it back. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s current top priority was to retreat to safety.

    Lu Yin was afraid of the power of the sourcebox array, but he was also wary of Nightking Zhenwu. The Nightking would not hesitate to take advantage of any opportunity to conveniently deal with Lu Yin, and Lu Yin was not confident in being able to stay alive within the sourcebox array¡¯s danger zone even without the Nightking¡¯s interference.

    Lu Yin wanted to leave, but Nightking Zhenwu would not allow him to do so that easily. Off in the distance, a group of people were ughtered by the sourcebox array, so Nightking Zhenwu was not afraid of there being any witnesses. He looked at Lu Yin with icy cold eyes.

    The Arbiterpletely hated Lu Yin, as this person had dared to stand up to the Daynight n in the Astral Combat Academy, and he had even used Nightking Yuanjing to save his own life. Lu Yin had shamed Nightqueen Yanqing, which had challenged Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s own dignity. He had been forced to send out Liu Shaoge to restrict Lu Yin. Also, in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin had ignored the Nightking¡¯s order and crushed the jade talisman. These were all contributing factors to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s endless loathing for Lu Yin.

    In fact, before the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, when the Nightking had learned that Lu Yin had gone to Pyrolyte, Nightking Zhenwu had wanted to go himself to get rid of Lu Yin. But ever since the Outerverse had been isted, the matter had been shelved away. However, this person had reappeared once more, and he had even be more powerful. This had caused the Nightking¡¯s bloodlust to surge, and he wanted to kill Lu Yin more than ever at this moment.

    Despite the ongoing war between the two mainds, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s first priority was still to eliminate Lu Yin.

    A chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine, and he locked eyes with Nightking Zhenwu. When he saw the Nighking¡¯s raging murderous intent, Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he quickly moved to flee from the range of the sourcebox array. Although Lu Yin was able to escape, it would take him some time.

    Nightking Zhenwu immediately moved towards Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was able to see rune lines, and he was also a Lockbreaker. Thus, he managed to escape from the sourcebox array one step ahead of Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu realized that Lu Yin was about to get away, so he immediately attacked. The Arbiter¡¯s spiritual force swept across the Champions'' Stage and shot out past it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brain was jostled, but he was alright since his own spiritual force was rather formidable.

    At that moment, Qiu Shi and Bu Kong¡¯s sourcebox arrays began to grow frenzied for unknown reasons. The two had originally been ovepping, but at this moment, it was as if the strength of the two arrays had multiplied.

    Lu Yin could see an endless amount of rune lines filling the entire small continent, and the rate at which they appeared had sped even further. He felt that something was amiss.

    Unfortunately, he was still one step toote. The sourcebox arrays¡¯ formless danger fully erupted and swept out without rhyme or reason. Qiu Shi had been outside the sourcebox array, so she was able to leave by just taking a single step back. Bu Kong had been rather close to Qiu Shi, and when he saw that the sourcebox arrays had gone out of control, he simrly did not dare to dally behind, also escaping.

    Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu both had the exact same intentions. A sourcebox array was already quite mysterious, and nobody wanted to try to deal with a berserk sourcebox array.

    The ground of the continent began to break apart, and the sourcebox array¡¯s formless danger zone tore through the void without any sort of pattern. Everything that it touched was destroyed.

    Nightking Zhenwu was in no mood to chase after Lu Yin at this moment, as even Bu Kong and Qiu Shi had fled. Lu Yin intended to make his escape as well.

    However, just as he was about to escape from the continent, a familiar figure appeared nearby, desperately struggling to stay alive. She had long, ck-and-white hair that flew about with blood dripping from the long strands. Her body was hunched over, her hand was clutching a red sword, and her entire body looked extremely feeble. This was none other than Zhuo Daynight.

    Lu Yin had not expected to bump into Zhuo Daynight here. Scenes from the past flooded through his mind, but all he could currently see with his eyes were the rune lines filling the sky that were about to press down upon her. He immediately moved to help her, using his Skybeast w to pull Zhuo Daynight over. She was astonished by the attack, and she instinctively resisted, but she did not have the ability to resist Lu Yin. In this desperate situation, she was right about to give up on everything and use Night¡¯s End, Daybreak when she suddenly saw that Lu Yin was the one who had pulled her over.

    Lu Yin grabbed Zhuo Daynight and leaped away from the continent.

    The next moment, the formless danger zone that had gone berserk unleashed lines of force that destroyed the entire continent without any discernible pattern. The Champions'' Stage was thrown far away by an unseen power, and it coincidentally flew towards where Lu Yin was fleeing with Zhuo Daynight.

    Lu Yin saw the Champions'' Stage rocketing towards him, and he was left speechless. Everyone had been fighting over this thing, but at the veryst moment, it had chosen to fly towards him.

    He quickly dodged the stage before grabbing onto it with one hand. It dragged him off into the distance while he kept his other arm wrapped around Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight really was too weak at this moment, as this battlefield had been too cruel to her. Even if someone had reached the Explorer realm, a cultivator at that level of strength did not belong on this battlefield. They would only be able to rely on their luck to survive here.

    Zhuo Daynight could be considered one of the Daynight n¡¯s elites, but the Daynight n was onlyparable to one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinter families, and at best, a Cosmic Imprinter family. On this battlefield, there were too many youths who were heirs of such families.

    Lu Yin kept a firm grip on the Champions'' Stage, and he evaded the odd sourcebox array fluctuation while clutching Zhuo Daynight tightly with his other arm.

    She coughed, and looked up to see Lu Yin. There was a trace of red to her pale face, and she looked down at where Lu Yin¡¯s hand waspletely holding her chest. She pursed her lips and said nothing.

    More than half an hourter, the Champions'' Stage finally slowed down, as the formless danger zone from the sourcebox arrays that had been propelling the stage had finally started dissipating.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, and he hugged Zhuo Daynight as he moved on top of the Champions'' Stage. When he looked down at her, he saw that she had fallen unconscious.

    His right hand twitched, and Lu Yin blinked. He silently removed his hand, as he had been touching something that he should not have.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Monkey finds that there are some problems with your character,¡± the Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin angrily shot back, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Each and every time, without fail, you are able to grab that particr area of a girl¡¯s. Can you teach me how to do that? You must have had some special practice,¡± the Ghost Monkey sniggered.

    Lu Yin ignored the beast. His mood was actually pretty good at the moment, as he was basically in control of the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    He slowly set Zhuo Daynight down t and muttered, ¡°There seems to be some sort of fate between us. I get to save you every time.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes and calmly looked up at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1000: Lu Yin Vs. Arbiter Zhenwu

    <h4>Chapter 1000: Lu Yin Vs. Arbiter Zhenwu</h4>

    When he heard the sound of her voice, Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he looked down. ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight stood up and cleaned the blood on the corner of her lips. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Zhuo Daynight surveyed their surroundings and then lowered her head. ¡°Is this the Champions'' Stage?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, I was lucky enough to get control of it.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight stared at him. ¡°Be careful of Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Lu Yin was about to answer, but then, a dozen cultivators suddenly flew towards them from the distance. They were all Explorers and Limiteers, and the Limiteers were carrying some strange-looking tools.

    As soon as he saw them, Lu Yin took action. There was no way to determine if someone was from the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind by sight, and only an imprint could reveal the truth. Even at this time, nobody from the Fifth Maind had ever cultivated an imprint, so this was the best way to determine a person¡¯s origins.

    Lu Yin attacked with a Skybeast w that fell upon the crowd as a beast howl echoed through space and time. The neers all felt a terrible crisis befall them, and they immediately revealed their imprints as they attacked Lu Yin, though a few of them instead turned to flee.

    This group of Sixth Maind cultivators only had about a dozen people among them, and their strongest person was merely an Explorer. Lu Yin easily dealt with the situation, and he even captured a cultivator who had tried to escape. ¡°Do you recognize me?¡±

    That Sixth Maind cultivator was terrified, and he shook his head. ¡°N- no.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know who I am, why are you fleeing?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a Cruiser while we are only Explorers,¡± the Sixth Maind cultivator quickly answered.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°You people from the Sixth Maindmonly fight against people in higher realms, and there were even so many of you in your group. It doesn¡¯t make sense for you to flee the moment you saw me. You only have one more chance to answer.¡±

    The Sixth Maind cultivator was terrified by Lu Yin¡¯s tant bloodlust. He quickly replied, ¡°I- I recognized the Champions'' Stage.¡±

    Lu Yin was bbergasted, but he quickly came to an understanding. The Champions'' Stage was where titles were given to members of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, and it was also their symbol of honor. It was always in the Cosmic Sea, but then it had suddenly appeared here. Anyone who was able to fight over control of the Champions'' Stage had to at least be a titled powerhouse, and that group was incapable of dealing with experts of that level.

    This young man was rather intelligent.

    Lu Yin directly knocked the man unconscious. He had no desire to kill someone who could not resist, so instead, he threw the man to the side, treating him as a prisoner of war.

    The Champions'' Stage continued to fly towards the northwest, but Lu Yin had no idea where it was headed. Thus, he started to control the Champions¡¯ Stage to make it fly towards where the fissure that led to the Outerverse. Once they arrived in the Outerverse, they would be in his territory, and there, he would not be afraid even if a Cosmic Imprinter arrived.

    Suddenly, Zhuo Daynight looked up and stared into the distance.

    Lu Yin turned to look in the same direction, and off in the distance, he saw a figure streaking through the void at a startling speed, headed straight for the Champion¡¯s Stage. The figure had ck-and-white hair, and they cut a striking visual as they soared through outer space. It was actually Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin had never expected Nightking Zhenwu to catch up to them so soon.

    Zhuo Daynight quickly told Lu Yin, ¡°Hurry and flee! He¡¯ll definitely kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists¡ªflee? He refused to consider such an option since he was not willing to run away. If he fled, then the Champions'' Stage would belong to Nightking Zhenwu, and the sole qualification to go to the Astral Tower, along with the greater chance to be one of the Cosmic Five, would also go to the Nightking. If Lu Yin fled, then he would also be relinquishing that opportunity, and he would actually be contributing to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s sess.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s strength was something that really could not be fathomed at this time. If he also received a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, then Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine what heights Nightking Zhenqu would reach. Even if Lu Yin was confident in eventually overtaking the Nightking, it was not something that could be done within a short period of time.

    ¡°Hurry and escape! You aren¡¯t his match,¡± Zhuo Daynight growled at Lu Yin, her face pale.

    Lu Yin was truly unable to abandon the Champions'' Stage, and during his hesitation, Nightking Zhenwu tore through the void and stepped onto the Champions'' Stage. His hands were sped behind his back as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re quite brave to stay here.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He had encountered Realmlings while in the Innerverse, and he had even faced the Daosource Three Skies before, and more than one of them at that. Logically, Lu Yin should be strong enough to fight with Nightking Zhenwu, at least with the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon.

    However, for some reason, Nightking Zhenwu gave off a sense of pressure that Lu Yin had never felt before, which made him dejected. This person was one of the Ten Arbiters, but Lu Yin had traded blows with Realmlings who were able to rival the Ten Arbiters. So why did Nightking Zhenwu give off such an exceptional amount of pressure?

    Lu Yin could not be sure, but the young man currently in front of him made him feel an excessive amount of pressure.

    ¡°Do you want to kill your own ally?¡± Lu Yin asked in an icy tone as he kept a wary eye on Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu arrogantly replied, ¡°So what? Nobody knows, and besides, the war is already over. Even if anything is revealed, I, Nightking Zhenwu, can ept the burden of this crime.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide.

    ¡°Do you really believe that the Lockbreaker Society is enough to protect you? If not for Nightking Yuanjing needing you to find the Third Nightking, you would have died a long time ago. Now, I¡¯ll fulfill your destiny.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu attacked by tapping out with a finger. The colors ck and white were suddenly the only colors in the world. This was the Nightking Finger, and back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Nightking Zhenwu had used this technique to severely injure Lu Yin, as not even his Yu Secret Art had been able to divert it.

    At that time, Lu Yin had failed to divert the attack with the Yu Secret Art, and the situation had not changed this time either. This Nightking¡¯s attacks were very crafty, and although his finger strike appeared to consist of just one attack, in the next instant, dozens of phantom images appeared, and Lu Yin could not divert all of them. Also, this finger was extremely powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he stared at the descending Nightking Finger. Just when it was about tond on him, he also moved a finger: Dream Finger.

    Force shed against force, but Lu Yin was not afraid. His physical body had transformed several times, and his physique could notpare to what it had been back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. At that time, his Dream Finger had been unable to block the Nightking Finger, but his strength had advanced considerably since then, and furthermore, they were still under the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression.

    There was a bang as the void rippled. After that, a powerful shockwaveshed out in all directions. A terrifying gale filled with spiritual force swept over the edges of the Champions¡¯ Stage. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s breathing grew sluggish, and she was thrown away, almost falling off of the stage. The Sixth Maind cultivators who had been knocked unconscious by Lu Yin all died, as they were not able to survive this aftershock.

    Dong dong dong!

    Nightking Zhenwu retreated several steps, and he stared at Lu Yin as if he was looking at a monster. ¡°You-¡±

    Lu Yin retracted his finger, the tip trembling slightly. He had over-exerted himself, but he was both excited and emotional at this moment, as he had actually forced back Nightking Zhenwu!

    Ever since Earth had suffered its apocalypse and Lu Yin had first started cultivating, the Ten Arbiters had always been like a sun traveling through the heavens. To him, each and every one of them had been an unreachable existence, especially Arbiter Zhenwu. The first time Lu Yin had seen this person¡¯s name was in the corridor of the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance. At the very top of a list of names was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name. At that time, Lu Yin had already sensed that this person was a zing sun.

    Arbiter Zhenwu was the king of the Daynight n¡¯s youths, and he was also the king of the youths in the entire Daynight Flowzone. With one sentence, he had been able to strip Lu Yin of his qualifications to join the Council of Astral Academy. One word from that person had forced Lu Yin toe up with all sorts of means to stay alive. Eleven years had passed, as Lu Yin had cultivated for almost eleven years now. At this moment, he could finally stand up to this person with his own strength.

    On the other side, the bloodlust in Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s heart had eruptedpletely. Lu Yin had been able to join the battlefield atop the Champions'' Stage, which had proven his strength. However, from Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s perspective at that time, Lu Yin had simply relied on his secret technique to do so, and he did not have the true strength to stand on that level. On top of that, Nightking Zhenwu had always been concealing some of his strength, as he did not want to be targeted by Bu Kong.

    However, he had not held back with that Nightking¡¯s Finger just now, yet his attack had actually been stopped by Lu Yin. The confrontation between the two was very simr to what had happened in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, but the oue was vastly different.

    At that time, Nightking Zhenwu had been able to easily crush this person without any effort. Even when Lu Yin had used his secret technique, he hadn¡¯t been able to evade the Nightking¡¯s finger attack. But at this moment, Lu Yin was actually able to directly challenge the Nightking¡¯s attack; just how much time had passed since theirst confrontation?

    Nightking Zhenwu did not say anything, but in the depths of his eyes, his overwhelming bloodlust was palpable. His body shed as he appeared right in front of Lu Yin. The Nightking tapped out with the same finger again, still using the Nightking Finger, but this time, the finger was wrapped with red lines. This was¡ªnine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly tried to dodge away, but how could the Nightking Finger be avoided that easily? Spiritual force spread out and covered the entire Champions'' Stage as if an entire mountain was pressing down upon it. No matter where Lu Yin tried to hide, he would be struck by this finger, as this finger was not targeting Lu Yin¡¯s physical body, but rather his spiritual force.

    Helpless, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he weakened the strength of the finger strike. He then raised his right hand and converged his star energy to unleash the First Sun.

    There was a collision, and the sun exploded, unleashing visible shockwaves that swept out in all directions. Zhuo Daynight had already been tossed to the edge of the Champions'' Stage before this, and her enfeebled body was barely able to even stand. All she could currently see was a fuzzy, distorted void in front of her. She was unable to see what was happening in this fight, and Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu had already exchanged a dozen blows.

    Nightking Zhenwu wanted to use his nine lined battle force to reinforce his Daynight battle techniques in order to crush Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin was able to rely on his robust physique and Truesight to endure these blows.

    The two of them were on the Champions'' Stage, and their battle had erupted almost instantly.

    Zhuo Daynight frowned as she observed the exchange with worry. She knew that Lu Yin¡¯s battle prowess had improved drastically, but nheless, she still did not believe he had caught up to Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters. She simply hoped that the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon would be able to reduce the disparity between the two.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s berserk storm of attacks did not give Lu Yin the slightest chance to catch his breath, but fortunately, Lu Yin was not weak. He was actually treating Nightking Zhenwu like an Imprinter, and he cautiously took each step, which allowed him to manage to hold on. He hoped that someone else woulde, and it would be best if they were one of the Ten Arbiters or some expert from the Neoverse. Lu Yin knew that he would not be able to protect the Champions'' Stage himself, so he was merely hoping that it would notnd in Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands.

    Nightking Zhenwu had not expected Lu Yin to be able tost for so long. ¡°In the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even in the Neoverse, there are no more than twenty people who can fight me like you. You should be proud of yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin did not answer, as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force was putting a great deal of pressure on him. The Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques that used spiritual force were definitely not limited to what Lu Yin had seen so far.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you this chance to join my Daynight n and follow me. I can allow you to stand at the peak of the universe, and when I be a Progenitor in future, you may even have the chance to be a powerhouse with a power level of over 1,000,000, and you will be radiant for ages toe,¡± Nightking Zhenwu offered.

    Lu Yin mockingly replied, ¡°Is this what you promised Liu Shaoge?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°I didn¡¯t offer him any promises, as he followed me of his own ord.¡±

    After seeing that Lu Yin would not respond, Nightking Zhenwu frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again¡ªare you willing to follow me?¡±

    Lu Yin swatted out with a palm, replying with his actions.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t understand the true disparity between us. Very well, let me give you a taste.¡±

    He then suddenly backed away and raised his right hand. The next moment, the entire sky seemed to be a scroll with Nightking Zhenwu in the very center.

    ¡°Lu Yin, hurry and escape! That¡¯s Skybreaker!¡± Zhuo Daynight suddenly screamed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he heard the Ghost Monkey¡¯s horrified shriek within his mind. ¡°Skybreaker? Someone actually learned that thing? Hurry up, Seventh Bro. RUN! That¡¯s one of the two unrivaled battle techniques that belong to the Daynight n, and it¡¯s just as famous as Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. It can beat an entire generation into submission¡ªyou definitely won¡¯t be able to block it.¡±

 Chapter 1001: Skybreaker

    <h4>Chapter 1001: Skybreaker</h4>

    Lu Yin stared intently at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s right hand, as it was already impossible for him to escape. If he could escape from an unrivaled battle technique that easily, then it would never have been known as unrivaled.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face was calm, and he was currently looking at Lu Yin as if he were staring at a dead person. No one could survive his Skybreaker. Nightking Zhenwu was confident that this technique could even defeat the other nine Arbiters let alone Lu Yin.

    Some people preferred to avoid tasks or situations that were not their forte, and this was definitely true of Nightking Zhenwu. Against Bu Kong, the Nightking had focused on keeping himself alive, not using his Skybreaker or his nine lined battle force even once. Of course, there was no guarantee that he would have been able to defeat Bu Kong with his battle force and unrivaled battle technique, but the Daosource Three Skies absolutely would have treated the Arbiter more seriously if he had.

    Nightking Zhenwu had actually greatly desired to test out Skybreaker on the Daosource Three Skies.

    However, he had never imagined that the first time he would use this technique in battle would be against Lu Yin, though the Nightking simply decided to treat this as an experiment. In fact, he had only recently mastered the technique.

    He slowly lowered his right hand, but there was not a single fluctuation within the void. This palm attack seemed like an ordinary movement, but in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s rune lines that had originally pervaded the entire area suddenly gathered into a single point that shot out. At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was paralyzed, and a sense of extreme danger washed over him. He watched as the rune lines tore through the void towards him. At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and he decided to take a gamble.

    ¡°To be good atmunicating, the Dao of Heaven refuses. To jump and lie in the heavens, the Dao of Heaven epts. To jump and lie in the horizon, to condense gas, to swallow rivers¡­¡± He began to silently recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The Daynight n was famous throughout the entire universe, and every battle technique that they possessed was rted to spiritual force. Lu Yin was gambling that this unrivaled battle technique from the n would be no different. Night¡¯s End, Daybreak used spiritual force to forcefully pull people into an illusion that they would be immersed in for eternity. While Lu Yin did not know Skybreaker¡¯s effects, since it was a Daynight n battle technique, it seemed likely that it would use spiritual force in an extreme manner.

    And if this was a spiritual force attack, then Lu Yin¡¯s greatest protection against it was the Stonewall Scriptures.

    A single palm from Nightking Zhenwu cleaved down, and Skybreaker flitted past Lu Yin. For a single moment, there seemed to be no change, but in the next second, the space some distance away from the Champions'' Stage began to shatter. The power level of this attack had obviously been restrained to remain under 200,000, but the power that it exhibited was unimaginably terrifying.

    Nightking Zhenwu had a cold expression. Nobody could possibly block his Skybreaker. Although a person¡¯s body might not appear to be injured, their spiritual force would be eliminated beyond a shadow of a doubt.

    In the distance, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face had gone deathly pale. She understood just how fearsome Skybreaker was; it was just as frightening as Night¡¯s End, Daybreak since they were both equally famous. She did not believe that Lu Yin would be able to block this attack.

    Nightking Zhenwu had already disregarded Lu Yin as dead, and he turned to look at Zhuo Daynight with icy eyes. ¡°Who gave you the courage to participate in my battle? Kneel!¡±

    Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, Zhuo Daynight had been abandoned by Nightking Yuanjing, and she had be Zhenwu¡¯s caged bird.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body trembled. She turned to look at Nightking Zhenwu, and her eyes were filled with terror, hatred, helplessness, and multiple other emotions. In the end, only one remained: despair.

    Ever since she hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, her Dayking bloodline had gained some hope of resisting the Nightking bloodline. However, Nightking Zhenwu had simrlyprehended Skybreaker, which nobody had done in countless years. Before this moment, Zhuo Daynight had been ignorant of this development, but she was left in absolute despair upon learning of the truth.

    ¡°I said¡­ kneel!¡± Nightking Zhenwu barked at Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body trembled, and her red sword ttered to the ground as her legs slowly bent while she closed her eyes.

    ¡°Who are you forcing to kneel? Are you talking to me?¡± A mocking voice rang out.

    Zhuo Daynight looked over in ecstasy; Lu Yin was not dead!

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expressionpletely reversed, and he slowly turned around to see Lu Yin¡¯s beaming smile. The Nightking asked in disbelief, ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    Lu Yin secretly heaved a sigh of relief, as he had won his gamble; Skybreaker indeed focused on manifesting spiritual force before striking at a single point to raise the power of the attack multiple times over. Even if it were someone from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies taking the attack, they might not be able to emerge unscathed. Also, the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators cultivated imprints, so they would never stop improving their spiritual force, and the Daosource Three Skies were an extreme case of this.

    If even the Daosource Three Skies were in danger of sumbing to Skybreaker, the might of this technique could be imagined. In the entire Innerverse and Outerverse, there were extremely few individuals who could receive this attack without a scratch.

    It was even unknown how many of the Ten Arbiters would be able to block such a technique.

    Unfortunately, this attack was not very effective against Lu Yin. The Stonewall Scriptures allowed him to block spiritual force attacks up to a certain strength without exception, and Truesight allowed him to eliminate the rune lines of his opponents¡¯ attacks no matter what kind of attack it was.

    Against spiritual force attacks, Truesightplemented the Stonewall Scriptures perfectly, and thisbination was what Lu Yin had relied upon to block Skybreaker.

    At this moment, nobody could understand what emotions Nightking Zhenwu was experiencing. The technique that he had assumed to be invincible had just been blocked, and his opponent had not even been injured. This waspletely contrary to the Nightking¡¯s expectations.

    Zhuo Daynight heaved a sigh of relief. As long as you¡¯re not dead.

    ¡°How did you do it?¡± Nightking Zhenwu asked sharply. He had alreadypletely forgotten about Zhuo Daynight. Currently, Lu Yin was the only thing on the Nightking¡¯s mind.

    Skybreaker was a technique that should be invincible, and it should not have been possible for Lu Yin to block it.

    Lu Yin mocked the Arbiter, replying, ¡°What do you mean, ¡®how did I block it?¡¯ That attack wasn¡¯t very impressive.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu stared intently at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Tell me, how did you block Skybreaker?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°How arrogant.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu tightly clenched his fists. ¡°You really must want to die.¡±

    His figure then vanished before reappearing at Lu Yin¡¯s side. The Nightkingshed out with his leg, and there was a bang as a shockwave shook the Champions'' Stage once again.

    Zhuo Daynight looked at the two men battling intensely, and she slowly crouched down. She could no longer even stand up.

    Although Lu Yin appeared to have escaped from Skybreakerpletely unscathed, in reality, he had truly been heavily injured by the technique, and his mind was still trembling. After receiving that attack, the best that he was capable of was dying Nightking Zhenwu and surviving his frenzied attacks until someone else arrived.

    One minute passed, then two. Soon, five minutes had passed.

    Lu Yin used all sorts of methods to protect himself.

    Nightking Zhenwu once again shouted, ¡°Do you really want to die? The day the Outerverse reconnects to the Innerverse is quickly approaching. You¡¯re from the Outerverse, and I can make you the number one person in the Outerverse Youth Council, and you will be able tomand the entire Outerverse¡¯s youths! It won¡¯t be hard to help you unify a weave or even several. I, Nightking Zhenwu, can speak for the Daynight n and offer you the greatest protection.¡±

    Lu Yin had a bizarre look on his face upon hearing this¡ªunify several weaves in the Outerverse? He was already essentially the king of half the Outerverse! Command the Outerverse¡¯s youth? Wrong! He could alreadymand the powerhouses of the older generation.

    ¡°Are you going to speak or not?¡± To no surprise, Nightking Zhenwu was extremely concerned about how Lu Yin had blocked Skybreaker. The Nightking had paid a steep price to sessfully cultivate the technique, but the first opponent he had used it against had simply shrugged it off. This had dealt him a heavy mental blow.

    In fact, Nightking Zhenwu waspletely unaware that Zhi Yi had experienced something simr during her battle against Lu Yin. Lu Yin had essentially ignored her Vitality Qi, which had dealt a huge blow to Zhi Yi.

    ¡°Do all the people from your Daynight n like to give their techniques names that cause others to vomit? Nightking Punch, Nightking Finger, Nightking¡¯s Body, Daynight Restoration Technique, and now there¡¯s some Skybreaker. I feel embarrassed for all of you,¡± Lu Yin ridiculed.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew exceptionally cold. ¡°Are you really not going to tell me?¡±

    ¡°You can try asking me a few more times. Maybe then I¡¯ll spit it out,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Nightking Zhenwu felt insulted. ¡°If that¡¯s how it is, then you can just die!¡±

    Suddenly, his actions stopped. ¡°If the heart is willing, then anything can be an arrow. Have you heard of the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his scalp tingled, feeling like it was about to explode. He hurriedly retreated 100 meters back, as he realized that he had forgotten about Nightking Zhenwu receiving the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle techniques. There was even a possibility that the Nightking had received the Arrow Progenitor¡¯splete inheritance. Since Progenitors were able to develop secret techniques, then it would make sense that Nightking Zhenwu had also received the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s secret technique.

    A secret technique was an exceptionally mysterious technique. What¡¯s more, there were some secret techniques that, even once used, were impossible to understand. The Yu Secret Art was no exception; even though Lu Yin had learned it himself, he did not understand the logic behind it. He seldom encountered enemies who had cultivated secret techniques, and typically, those who did were from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ territory who used the Reversal Cycle, Time Reversal, and Power Transfer. These three techniques were all secret techniques, and each one was exceptionally mysterious.

    However, all of those secret techniques had telltale signs when they were activated, whereas when Nightking Zhenwu used his secret technique, there had been no trace of anything.

    Lu Yin kept a wary eye on Nightking Zhenwu, as Lu Yin would havepletely forgotten about this secret technique if the Nightking had not said anything. He was one of the Ten Arbiters as well as the future patriarch of the Daynight n; how could he possibly not have a secret technique?

    A single secret technique could change everything.

    Nightking Zhenwu stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re on guard against my secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny the allegation. ¡°Did you receive the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s secret technique?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu slowly answered, ¡°Actually, I truly admire you. If we were able to cast aside our different viewpoints, then your future would be no weaker than ours. Among the Ten Arbiters, there are two who are already over forty, and they no longer belong to the younger generation anymore. With your strength, in just a few more years, you¡¯d be able to fill their seats.¡±

    ¡°I can take their seats now,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Nightking Zhenwu shook his head. ¡°Under the suppression of this cosmic phenomenon, we all have to restrict our attacks. Without this phenomenon, we would be that much stronger. Don¡¯t think that it¡¯s easy to rece the Ten Arbiters just because we abdicate. We are the Ten Arbiters! Our name is a synonym for invincibility, and we are not limited to any terms.

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters are the Councilors of the Universe Youth Council, but not all Universe Youth Councilors have be members of the Ten Arbiters. The Ten Arbiters only appeared during this generation, and I don¡¯t know if there¡¯ll be any Arbiters in the future. At the least, at this moment, neither you, Xia Tian, or Tai Yuanjun are qualified to fill the seats of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin listened on in silence.

    ¡°To be an Arbiter, first, one of the current Arbiters has to abdicate. Then, there¡¯s another condition: you must receive the approval of the other Ten Arbiters. Otherwise, we can challenge a nominee with a life or death battle,¡± Nightking Zhenwu exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You want to use the position of one of the Ten Arbiters to tempt me?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. As long as you tell me how you blocked my Skybreaker, then not only can I guarantee that you will be an Arbiter, but I can also help you obtain anything you want in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no longer the requirement for me to follow you?¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Nightking Zhenwu frowned. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll propose my condition. As long as you canplete it, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Speak.¡±

    Lu Yin answered firmly, ¡°Help me unite the Outerverse and be the Outerverse¡¯s king.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you joking?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t do it?¡±

    ¡°Nobody can. The Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves have existed for countless years, and no one has ever united them. The Hall of Honor won¡¯t allow such a thing to happen, and even if they weren¡¯t in the picture, the various great powers of the Innerverse wouldn¡¯t allow such a thing to happen. Whoever attempts to do such a thing will be everyone¡¯s enemy.¡±

 Chapter 1002: Bid Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 1002: Bid Farewell</h4>

    After hearing Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s response, Lu Yin simply shrugged. ¡°If you can¡¯t do that much, then just forget it. That¡¯s my only condition.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu sighed. ¡°I thought that there was still a chance that we could resolve our grudges and that I would be able to agin another friend within the Ten Arbiters. Since you aren¡¯t tactful enough, then just die.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he carefully observed Nightking Zhenwu. Just the thought of the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s secret technique made Lu Yin nervous.

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m going to use the Arrow Progenitor''s secret technique now? You¡¯re wrong¡ªI¡¯ve already used it. From the very first moment we exchanged blows at the beginning, your death was already determined,¡± Nightking Zhenwu said gloomily.

    After his words finished, Lu Yin¡¯s back went cold, and he hurriedly looked down at his body. He instantly saw rune lines around his heart that did not belong to him. What was that?

    There was a whooshing sound, and blood blossomed as it burst out of his heart. It erupted from his body and dripped onto the Champions'' Stage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils instantly constricted as intense pain wracked his entire body while his strength failed him. His heart had been pierced through.

    At this moment, everything went silent, and Lu Yin could only hear the beating of his own heart as well as the sound of his fresh blood falling, drop by drop, onto the Champions'' Stage.

    When? Was this the Arrow Progenitor''s secret technique?

    ¡°Ever since we first exchanged blows, you were already destined to die. However, I truly wanted to know what heights your strength had reached. I had never imagined that you would actually be able to block my Skybreaker, but unfortunately, you were too foolish, and you did not seize your one chance at survival.¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s voice reverberated across the Champions'' Stage and within Lu Yin¡¯s ears.

    Lu Yin clutched his chest as he quickly took out several medications.

    Nightking Zhenwu softly said, ¡°It¡¯s all useless. That was the Arrow Progenitor''s secret technique, Heart Seeker. One arrow can pierce the heart, and no pills can treat the wound.¡±

    Lu Yin crouched down halfway and looked up at Nightking Zhenwu. Everything started to be fuzzy. Lu Yin could no longer clearly see Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face, but he could still feel the Nightking¡¯s arrogance and disdain.

    ¡°Just some Outerverse vagrant cultivator wanted to go against my Daynight n. The moment you offended Yanqing, today¡¯s oue was already preordained. Not only am I going to kill you, but I will also make you into the Innerverse¡¯s greatest sinner. It will be public knowledge that, because of Daosource Three Skies Zhi Yi¡¯s temptation, you tried to steal the Champions'' Stage and gift it to the Sixth Maind. You wanted to show your worth for a chance to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines and receive the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance. That is why Zhi Yi ordered your capture¡ªeverything was a facade constructed to help you seed. You are just a Cruiser, so why else would the Daosource Three Skies care so much about you? This is also why I will kill you. Is this sufficient?¡± Nightking Zhenwu enunciated every word.

    Each word reverberated within Lu Yin¡¯s heart and mind, causing him even greater pain. There was a soft beating sound, each beat forcing out more blood from his body.

    Plop

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. His face had be deathly white, and every cell of his body was trembling.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, RUN! Hurry up and run!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin also wanted to escape, and he was even more eager to call Mister Mu. However, the jade talisman that his master had given him had already shattered during thest battle in the Outerverse to protect Lu Yin. He no longer had any means to call Mister Mu, though he still wanted to roll his die. However, Nightking Zhenwu was keeping a close eye on Lu Yin, and he knew that any hint of movement would cause the Nightking to attack and finish him off for good.

    ¡°I know that you have various items and even Fatesand, but nothing in your possession can possibly save you from the Heart Seeker. You¡¯ve underestimated me. A person that I, Nightking Zhenwu, want to kill, will neither be able to escape nor survive,¡± Nightking Zhenwu proimed arrogantly as he released star energy from his body in a manner that shook the void. There seemed to be no sound, but Lu Yin felt like he had heard an rm, as though Nightking Zhenwu was sounding Lu Yin¡¯s death knell.

    Step by step, Nightking Zhenwu walked to Lu Yin. The man¡¯s pace was neither fast nor slow, as nobody could possibly escape under such circumstances after being injured so badly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was cold, and he was truly chilled to the bone¡ªeven his blood seemed to have congealed. His mind had already gone fuzzy. The only thing that he could still hear was the Ghost Monkey¡¯s incessant screaming, but even that voice was growing softer and softer. Finally, Lu Yin fell to the ground, and fresh blood flowed out of his chest, staining the area around him.

    Nightking Zhenwu walked over to Lu Yin and looked down. He then reached down to grab a hold of Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no means of resisting, as he could not even stay conscious.

    Just as Nightking Zhenwu was about to touch Lu Yin, the scenery changed before his eyes¡ªhe had suddenly returned to the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral. When he looked up, he saw the towering stone pir, he felt the ancient aura that was filled with experience, and he listened to the chanting of an ancient sacrificial ritual. Above everything, even the stone pir, was a towering figure who stood at the peak of the entire universe.

    When Nightking Zhenwu saw this person, his expression changed, and an iparable adoration and passion could be seen within the Nightking¡¯s eyes. This was the original Nightking, the ancestor of the Nightking bloodline. This man was like a deity. From the first moment Nightking Zhenwu had started cultivating, this person¡¯s name had always rung within his ears. Zhenwu had even ced the first Nightking as his target when he had first stepped onto the path of cultivation.

    The Nightking looked down and exchanged nces with Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°You aren¡¯t bad.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu had a fervent light in his eyes as he half-knelt. ¡°Descendant-disciple Nightking Zhenwu pays his respects to Ancestor Nightking.¡±

    Ancestor Nightking nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Are you willing to inherit my legacy?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu became ecstatic. ¡°Thank you, Ancestor Nightking! Junior will definitely offer my life for the Daynight n.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°My-¡±

    With that word, Nightking Zhenwu suddenly attacked, and Skybreaker swept across the ancestral grounds. Ancestor Nightking was enraged where he stood above the ancestral pir. ¡°How dare you unleash your anger in the ancestral grounds!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu had a malevolent expression, and there was an unprecedented cruelty in his eyes. This waspletely different from how he had acted earlier. He was aware that he had fallen into an illusion, but there was clearly no one around him, so why had he mysteriously fallen into a trap? And what¡¯s more, he was actually unable to tell that this was an illusion. If it were not for the fact that he cultivated Skybreaker and possessed a powerful spiritual force, then he would not have been able to maintain a clear head and might have been trapped within the illusion for a long time.

    Immersion, immersed, illusion. Nightking Zhenwu seemed to have thought of something, and he unleashed a punch. The ancestral grounds shattered, and although Ancestor Nightking was still yelling from above the stone pir, everything was useless.

    The scenery before his eyes changed once again, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body trembled. He reflexively scanned his surroundings in a defensive manner, but he did not see anyone attacking him. Lu Yin had disappeared from where he had been lying in front of the Nightking, and when Zhenwu turned around, he saw that Zhuo Daynight had simrly disappeared.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes swept across the surrounding space. ¡°You two won¡¯t be able to escape!¡±

    He then leaped up, pushing the Champions'' Stage along with him as he chased after some traces of star energy.

    Off in the distance, Zhuo Daynight was carrying Lu Yin on her back despite her pale face. She had just used Night¡¯s End, Daybreak on Nightking Zhenwu, which was something that she had never exposed before. She was hoping to trap Nightking Zhenwu in a fantasy for some time even though she knew that she would not be able to stop Nightking Zhenwu for long as the disparity between them was too overwhelming. If her strength wasparable to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s, then she would have no problem trapping him for decades, centuries, or even longer.

    Fresh blood continued to flow from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and it quickly stained half of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body.

    Zhuo Daynight tightly gritted her teeth. She had been severely injured during the battle within the sourcebox array. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s help, she would have already died. This was also why she had decided to rescue Lu Yin. Even if she was forced to expose Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, she did not feel that it would be a pity even if the two of them ended up dying together.

    She owed Lu Yin far too much, no matter if it was from saving her at the pirate port, the incident on Pyrolyte, or even during the most recent battle. She would never be able to repay him for all the times he had saved her life. All she could do was try to save him at this moment.

    Drops of blood left a trail behind them as the two fled into empty space. There was no need for Nightking Zhenwu to track down their star energy, as he only needed to follow the blood to find the two.

    Lu Yin had already fallen unconscious due to his injuries, and not even his subconscious was active. Zhuo Daynight was not in any better of a state, and she was merely forcibly enduring her injuries.

    The Ghost Monkey had be unbearably anxious.

    Nightking Zhenwu approached the two from the distance, and his eyes looked excited when theynded upon the pathetic figures in front of him. ¡°Night¡¯s End, Daybreak! Night¡¯s End, Daybreak! It¡¯s definitely Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. That slut actuallyprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak! Even the heavens are helping me!¡±

    When Zhuo Daynight turned around and saw Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s sinister face, she sighed in despair. She looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°If there is still any part of your consciousness left, then flee by yourself. I can buy you a bit of time, but whether or not you can escape will all depend on you.¡±

    After saying these words, she threw Lu Yin to the west and stood still. She calmly watched as Nightking Zhenwu approached her. Her red sword hung at her waist, and her entire appearance was rather pitiful.

    Lu Yin was not even the slightest bit conscious, but his body instinctively listened to Zhuo Daynight¡¯s words. He waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art in an attempt to pull Zhuo Daynight over. If he were conscious, he would have known that she could not be brought over, but this was an instinctive reaction¡ªhe did not even know what he was doing.

    An object appeared in his hand, as he had grabbed something with the Yu Secret Art. However, Zhuo Daynight remained standing in the same ce in a distant region of outer space.

    The Ghost Monkey appeared, and he turned into a ck shadow. He supported Lu Yin as they began to flee to the west. ¡°Fortunately, this monkey wasn¡¯t exposed, or else we would have beenpletely doomed. Seventh Bro, you owe that woman too much. Even if she doesn¡¯t die, she¡¯s finished for the rest of her life. She¡¯s revealed that she knows Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and it was even in front of someone from the Nightking n. She¡¯s finished, ah-¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight, and he looked past her to see Lu Yin drifting to the west, looking like a corpse. He was about to give chase, but then she spoke up in a cold voice. ¡°You don¡¯t want Night¡¯s End, Daybreak anymore?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was stunned, and he looked at Zhuo Daynight in confusion before greed and ecstasy blossomed in the depths of his eyes. ¡°So that really was Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. You actuallyprehended the Dayking¡¯s ultimate technique.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight calmly answered, ¡°Yes, Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. Do you want it?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu stared at Zhuo Daynight, but he did not speak.

    Her lips curled up. ¡°There¡¯s no use trying. The Sealed Cage Technique is gone.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was not surprised. Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was an ultimate battle technique, so how could this girl possibly be controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique? ¡°You want me to let him go? What¡¯s your rtionship with him? Is this worth it?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight calmly answered, ¡°Either I die, or you release him and I¡¯ll follow you. Choose.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Is it really worth it? You should know that the Daynight n does not allow for marriages with outsiders. It¡¯s an ancient rule.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight remained calm. ¡°This has nothing to do with my emotions. I owe him far too much.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu frowned, as he truly did not want to let go of Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin had been struck by his Heart Seeker and the probability of his death was as high as 99%, if there was even the slightest possibility of survival, then the Nightking did not want to let him off. Things like destiny could not be clearly exined, and he did not want to give Lu Yin the slightest opportunity to recover. A person who could disregard Skybreaker was the nemesis of the Nightking bloodline itself.

    There was also another key point: the secret technique, Heart Seeker, was the Nightking¡¯s greatest secret. Currently, nobody aside from him knew that he possessed such a thing. If Lu Yin survived, then Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s greatest secret might be leaked.

    However, if he did not let Lu Yin go, then this woman would be very difficult to deal with. Nightking Zhenwu understood Zhuo Daynight, and he was aware that she was not joking when she had said that she wouldmit suicide.

    ¡°If you die, then I¡¯ll make it so that your parents and rtives live through a torment a thousand times worse.¡± Nightking Zhenwu coldly threatened.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face grew even paler, and her eyes betrayed her agony. ¡°Let him go, release my rtives, and I¡¯ll allow you to use the Sealed Cage Technique on me.¡±

 Chapter 1003: Obsession

    <h4>Chapter 1003: Obsession</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes went wide. If he ced the Sealed Cage Technique on her again, then although it could be removed by her Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, it wouldst as long as he cast it at regr intervals. With the Sealed Cage Technique he would be able topletely control this woman, and it would be extremely beneficial for him if he obtained Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. However, this was all entirely contingent on whether or not this woman was willing.

    Although he had only paused for a moment, Lu Yin was already gone. Nightking Zhenwu let out a long breath. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t chase after him, and I¡¯ll also release your parents and rtives.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight heaved a sigh of relief. At that moment, all of her strength left her body, and she slowly copsed. She had only been supported by two things during her negotiation with Nightking Zhenwu, and the moment she rxed, her entire body crumpled. Her consciousness quickly drifted away, but her eyes did not close. Instead, they remained staring at Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu stood in front of Zhuo Daynight while staring into the distance with clear reluctance in his eyes. ¡°I know that you don¡¯t trust me, but since I promised you that I wouldn¡¯t pursue him, I won¡¯t. Since he was struck by the Heart Seeker secret technique, there¡¯s no question that he¡¯ll die. There¡¯s no need to break my promise over some dead person.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes remained fixed on the Nightking, and they started to fill with blood, giving her a tragic and pitiful appearance. She had endured a great deal of agony from a young age and had suffered through many torments. She had also been ensnared by the Sealed Cage Technique, and Lu Yin was the only person who had ever offered her any warmth. He had even intervened during her moments of crisis time and time again. Even if she died, even if she had to sacrifice everything that she had, she had to ensure that Lu Yin survived, as there would be hope as long as he lived.

    Live on! You must live on.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his finger suddenly quivered as even his feet moved slightly. He truly wanted to give chase. Although he had promised not to chase down Lu Yin and kill him, the Nightking could still enve Lu Yin. Zhenwu truly did not want to let Lu Yin go.

    However, after his moment of restlessness, Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes went wide. Scarlet blood masked half of her face, and she looked like a demon as she stared at Nightking Zhenwu. She spoke in a hoarse voice, saying, ¡°You- you said- that you wo- won¡¯t chase him.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu and Zhuo Daynight locked eyes, but after a while, he realized that could not even tell whether the girl was awake or unconscious. It seemed as though there was some obsession strengthening her to the point where even if she was dead, she would still stop Nightking Zhenwu.

    This obsession moved Nightking Zhenwu, and he let out a long breath. Fine, he would let Lu Yin go.

    Some timeter, two figures approached the area. One of them was Qiu Shi while the other was God Taiyi. They had found Nightking Zhenwu and the Champions'' Stage with him.

    When they saw Nightking Zhenwu standing atop the Champions'' Stage, the two neers exchanged nces.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked over at the two. ¡°Lu Yin colluded with the Sixth Maind¡¯s Sky Zhi Yi. The two of them tried to deceive all of us to steal the Champions'' Stage, but he was killed by me. The Champions'' Stage has been taken by me, Nightking Zhenwu. Are there any objections?¡±

    God Taiyi¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What did you say? Lu Yin colluded with Zhi Yi? You must be dreaming! Zhi Yi posted a bounty that was announced throughout the entire Cosmic Sea. Whoever captured Lu Yin alive would be able to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines and even get the chance to receive an inheritance. But now you¡¯re iming that he colluded with Zhi Yi?!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu arrogantly answered, ¡°If not for that, then how else can you exin his ability to get close to the Champions'' Stage? He was just a puny Cruiser, so how could he possibly fight against one of the Daosource Three Skies? Don¡¯t you find that to be a little too absurd?¡±

    God Taiyi frowned. He had a favorable impression of Lu Yin. Although God Taiyi himself was arrogant and referred to himself as a deity, Lu Yin had saved him once, and they had even joined forces to fight against Bu Kong. God Taiyi quite approved of Lu Yin. ¡°Where¡¯s your evidence? Can your words alone verify Lu Yin¡¯s crimes?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°There¡¯s no need to judge him, as he¡¯s already dead. I killed him myself.¡±

    God Taiyi stared at Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu was unafraid of anyone.

    Qiu Shi did not say a single word, but she looked at Zhuo Daynight, who was lying at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s feet. She knew that things were not as simple as they appeared to be, but she also did not know what had transpired.

    Gradually, more and more people arrived. Serati Phoenix, Xing Kai, Liu Tianmu, Shu Jing, and the others all showed up. The Champions'' Stage had been tossed into outer space, but none of them had had any intention of having a deathmatch with the Sixth Maind cultivators. Simrly, the Sixth Maind¡¯s older generation were impatient to return home, and Bu Kong and the others could not possibly remain behind to fight. Thus, they could only retreat.

    At this moment, the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind had officiallye to an end.

    All sorts of feelings welled up within the hearts of Xing Kai and the others when they saw Nightking Zhenwu standing on top of the Champions'' Stage, but there was no way for them to fight for it right now.

    Liu Tianmu tightly clenched the hilt of her sword as she stared at Nightking Zhenwu.

    Xia Tian could not help himself from speaking up. ¡°Lu Yin colluded with Zhi Yi? That¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu coldly responded, ¡°I will report this matter to the Hall of Honor. No matter if it¡¯s true or false, they will conduct their own investigation.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered, and it looked as if she was divining something. Her face went pale, but she did not say a word. All that could be seen on her face was a trace of pity and bewilderment. Had she divined something incorrectly?

    Just as Nightking Zhenwu had said, not only had he killed Lu Yin, but the Nightking also intended to frame Lu Yin as the worst sinner of the entire Fifth Maind. This was his fate for offending the Daynight n, and even if he was already dead, he would not be allowed to rest peacefully. The Daynight n did not have as long a history of power as other organizations, so there were people who still dared to challenge the n at this time. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s goal with this move was to cow the entire universe.

    Furthermore, he had recently seeded in cultivating Skybreaker and just now, he had stumbled across Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. When those two techniques were paired up with his secret technique, Heart Seeker, he believed that he was invincible within the younger generation. It was time to make some moves.

    With his hands sped behind his back, Nightking Zhenwu started muttering, as he felt that something was amiss. He touched his waist, and his expression instantly changed; where was the stone of inheritance?

    That ancient stone had been passed down within the Daynight n, and it contained the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. Through that stone, one could enter the corridor andmunicate with the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds. Thus, that stone was one of the Daynight n¡¯s most important relics, and it was definitely something that could not be casually carried about. However, when the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth Maind, the n had been afraid of something going wrong. On top of that, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s special status allowed him to do just about anything. Thus, the stone of inheritance had been on his person.

    The stone of inheritance had been lost before, when it had been stolen by Qingyu Daynight. However, the Daynight n had not been worried back then because there was nobody in the universe who dared to covet an object that belonged to the Daynight n. However, the war had just ended, and Nightking Zhenwu was more afraid that the stone of inheritance had been taken by the Sixth Maind, as that would be extremely troublesome.

    He frantically looked around, but he could not find it anywhere. The stone of inheritance was truly gone.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was basically a floating corpse as his body was dragged along by the Ghost Monkey. The monkey saw a random in front of them, and he quickly maneuvered towards it with Lu Yin in tow. Suddenly, a universal spacecraft flew up from that and headed towards them.

    The Ghost Monkey was astonished, and he hurriedly dragged Lu Yin away, trying to escape. It was obvious that the spacecraft was from the Sixth Maind with just a nce.

    The entire Sixth Maind was one giantndmass, so the people there seldomly manufactured spacecraft. After they invaded the Fifth Maind, they had begun manufacturing a few, but those spacecraft had a unique style that waspletely different from the Fifth Maind¡¯s vessels.

    This ship must have been carrying cultivators who were attempting to retreat back to the Sixth Maind, but they had coincidentally bumped into Lu Yin.

    The spacecraft instantly fired its weapons, sweeping through space.

    The monkey silently cursed, and he tightly held Lu Yin as he tried to hurry away.

    Unfortunately, it seemed that the people aboard the vessel had no intentions of giving up, and they chased after Lu Yin.

    Actually, it was not that these people from the Sixth Maind were determined to kill Lu Yin, but rather that the Ghost Monkey was coincidentally dragging Lu Yin in the same direction that the ship was headed. Thus, they had simply decided to deal with Lu Yin along the way. After all, everyone from the Fifth Maind was their enemy.

    Within the spacecraft, one Sixth Maind cultivator sullenlymented, ¡°Be careful about going too far this way, as the border with the Technocracy is just up ahead. We don¡¯t want to cross that, as if we do, we¡¯ll have to deal with the Technocracy¡¯s machinery.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    A light beam shot out, and the Ghost Monkey struggled to dodge it. Next, a middle-aged man stepped out of the spacecraft and revealed a cold smile at Lu Yin. The man then raised a long knife and fiercely shed out.

    This middle-aged man was a Cruiser, and he was not someone whom the Ghost Monkey could withstand.

    The monkey was astonished, and he did not think twice before charging forward. Suddenly, the space around him changed, and it was as if some line had just been crossed. Lu Yin and the monkey had entered a strange region of space.

    The middle-aged mannded, and a terrifying aura swept out.

    The Ghost Monkey had no time to think, and he quickly dragged Lu Yin along behind him as he fled.

    The middle-aged man sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t even dream of surviving after entering the Technocracy.¡±

    He then returned to the ship, which subsequently changed directions and flew somewhere else.

    To them, they had merely chased Lu Yin for some amusement. Regardless, they were already en route to return to the Sixth Maind, and the spacecraft could not be taken along. Thus, they might as well have a bit of fun.

    Their little fun had ended up forcing the Ghost Monkey and Lu Yin into the Technocracy.

    The monkey did not recognize where they were, but he could instinctively feel that something was off, especially when he saw a distant metal framework that connected dozens ofs together. That sight suddenly jolted the monkey¡¯s memory, and he remembered that they had been next to the border between the Innerverse and Technocracy. They had crossed the border between two domains.

    The monkey quickly tried to return to where they hade from, but the giant metal framework twitched before sweeping out, causing the void to warp as it moved.

    The Ghost Monkey tightly held onto Lu Yin and dodged the metal beams again and again, but countless pieces of metal continued to shoot out and pierce through the void.

    The monkey cursed, as they were clearly at the border between the two domains, but there was not even a single soldier to be seen defending the border. Wasn¡¯t this the same as them leaving their doors open in invitation for others to rob them?

    No matter how the Ghost Monkey cursed their fate, he had already dragged Lu Yin into the Technocracy. After realizing they were a foreign domain, the monkey had a nk look on his face. He knew that they would be attacked if they tried to return, and he also did not know if that spacecraft was waiting for them on the other side. In particr, the monkey was afraid that Nightking Zhenwu had chased after them.

    However, trying to continue moving forward was also a dead end, so they might as well try to return.

    At that moment, a sharp metal thorn shot through the void and into Lu Yin¡¯s abdomen, leaving behind a massive, bloody wound.

    The Ghost Monkey was also stabbed by the metal thorn, which forced him to transform back into a brand on Lu Yin¡¯s right arm. The attack from this metal thorn had been too powerful, and its power level was in the several hundred thousands at the least. This was the Technocracy¡¯s border defense, and not seeing anyone standing guard did not mean that the border was defenseless. Nobody knew just how manyyers of protection the Technocracy had hidden within the void.

    Any powerhouse who tried to force their way into the Technocracy had to charge across straight in. No matter if they tried to travel through space, the void, or even the ce known as the true universe, everything was protected. The only way to enter the Technocracy was to break through their defenses.

    However, there was one other way to easily enter the Technocracy¡ªjust be dead.

    The Technocracy blocked living people from crossing the border, but they would not stop the dead, as there was no reason to stop something that was dead. A dead person was nothing more than a piece of floating trash, and trash could be ignored.

    Lu Yin was currently viewed as a piece of space trash at this moment, as the Heart Seeker had pierced his heart while the metal w had pierced his abdomen. He had no chance of surviving, and no matter how exceptional the Technocracy¡¯s detection methods might be, they could only detect a corpse floating through outer space.

    In truth, Lu Yin was indeed dead, but he was also not dead. He was currently using the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival.

    Fatal Revival was a technique that only dead people could cultivate, and the conditions to cultivate it were exceptionally demanding. It was a technique that was known extensively throughout the universe, but very few had ever managed to sessfully cultivate it. This was because anyone who wished to cultivate Fatal Revival had to truly die.

    Lu Yin was the only known person who had sessfully cultivated this art. On Driftcharge, he had used Fatal Revival to survive, and when his spacecraft had exploded some timeter, he had used Fatal Revival for the second time. At this moment, he used it for the third time.

 Chapter 1004: End Of The Cosmic Phenomenon

    <h4>Chapter 1004: End Of The Cosmic Phenomenon</h4>

    It would seem that Arcane Art, Fatal Revival only needed to be sessfully cultivated once and that afterwards, it would not be too difficult to do so again. Of course, that was assuming that one was not instantly blown to smithereens, at which point not even a Progenitor would be able to save that person.

    All humans had some ability to heal and recover, but not only did Fatal Revival not activate that innate regenerative ability, but it actually also suppressed the body¡¯s natural self-healing abilities, causing the person¡¯s injuries to worsen. At the same time, this strange technique would transform the person¡¯s potential into strength. If the person died, then everything would be gone. However, if they managed to survive, then this strength would return to their body. Additionally, when a fatally injured person entered a state where their recovery ability waspletely suppressed, they would appear to be dead. Even if the Technocracy¡¯s technological methods were more advanced, they still would not be able to detect if someone was using the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival.

    Lu Yin was treated as another bit of space trash floating through the universe. The Technocracy did indeed detect him, but he was allowed to float along like a corpse.

    The universe was the same in that every ce was filled with unknown variables and strange phenomena.

    Due to the Human Domain¡¯s high poption density, their powerhouses had used all sorts of methods to eradicate a great deal of strange phenomena. Thus, the Human Domain¡¯s territory was generally more stable.

    However, the Technocracy was different. Various phenomena often wreaked havoc within the domain at a moment¡¯s notice, and at times, a phenomenon might even envelop the entire Domain.

    Lu Yin floated through the Technocracy for more than ten days before he was finally caught by a draft of sr wind and thrown to the northern region of the Technocracy.

    The Technocracy was not veryrge, and it was much smaller than the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse. Thus, a single phenomenon was able to easily cover the entire Domain.

    Lu Yin drifted through space, propelled by one such phenomena, and nobody knew what the future would hold for him.

    ¡­

    Back in the Innerverse, as the Sixth Maind invaders withdrew, the various powers of the Fifth Maind began to return to their old haunts.

    Gu Xiao''er was very excited at this time. Ever since he had fled after being scared out of his mind by the battle atop the Champions'' Stage, he had found a quiet ce to forge a second Champions'' Stage. In his mind, the Champions'' Stage would definitely be taken back by the Sixth Maind, as nobody could take anything from the Daosource Three Skies. Thus, why not make a counterfeit stage? At the very least, this would give the Hall of Honor a way out from an embarrassing situation, and it was unlikely that they would expose him.

    He puffed out his chest, stepped onto the new Champions'' Stage, and began moving towards the Cosmic Sea. At the same time, he also activated his gadget, hoping to brag. However, he found that the signal was still not steady.

    ¡°Forget it, I won¡¯t mention anything beforehand. Those people must all be crying right now! When they see me standing on this Champions'' Stage, who knows what their faces will look like! Hahaha, I, Gu Xiao''er, made my way into the Sixth Maind alone to steal this back. Right, how did I do it? I need toe up with a story.¡± Gu Xiao''er suddenly had a headache.

    At that moment, a giant spacecraft appeared in the distance. Gu Xiao''er¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately stopped in ce.

    Coincidentally, this ship was a transport vessel, and although the Champions'' Stage wasrge, it could still be towed. As for the items that the transport vessel had originally been carrying, everything was unceremoniously tossed out by Gu Xiao''er. He was the young master of Smoke Eater Peaks, and he simply disregarded the people on the vessel who were from the Innerverse. He would act indifferently even if he had run into people from the Daynight n or the Sword Sect.

    The Champions'' Stage was famous, but only a few had actually seen it since it had always been in the Cosmic Sea.

    Gu Xiao''er was exhausted after forging his replica Champions'' Stage, and he immediately went to the spacecraft¡¯s restaurant to enjoy a good meal. There were quite a few cultivators on the ship who looked at him curiously. They had been hiding for a long time and had only dared to reveal themselves after they learned that the invasion was over. Now, they were preparing to transport resources.

    Gu Xiao''er did not bother talking to anyone, as there wasn¡¯t even a Cruiser onboard. To him, these people were all just passersby.

    ¡°Have you heard? Leon¡¯s Armada of the Cosmic Sea has dered war on the Daynight n! The crew says that they want to extinguish the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve obviously heard that. As soon as Arbiter Zhenwu exposed Lu Yin¡¯s crimes, Leon¡¯s Armada started making a scene.¡±

    ¡°Who exactly is Lu Yin? He¡¯s able to cause one of the Four Pirate Crews to go against the Daynight n!¡±

    ¡°A youth who¡¯s incredibly talented. It¡¯s said that, in the past, he was a peerless Limiteer.¡±

    ¡°Peerless Limiteer? That¡¯s impressive. Too bad that he¡¯s actually a traitor.¡±

    ¡­

    Gu Xiao''er had been munching on his food, but he suddenly blinked when he overheard the nearby conversation. Traitor? Lu Yin?

    Gu Xiao¡¯er thought back to his experiences, but Lu Yin did not seem to be a traitor! Besides, how had that guy even managed to create a rtionship with Leon¡¯s Armada? Was Lu Yin a pirate? How crazy!

    ¡°Actually who knows if he¡¯s really a traitor? Some say that he is, but some say that he isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Of course he is. How else could a Cruiser manage to get one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies to notice him? They were deliberately putting on an act to steal the Champions'' Stage.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that he is. I made some special inquiries thest two days. Supposedly, that Lu Yin offended the Daynight n, and Arbiter Zhenwu is just asserting his dominance with this deration.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what a lot of people think. Actually, quite a few of the Ten Arbiters disagree with the im that Lu Yin is a traitor, and the same goes for the Astral Combat Academy, the Lockbreaker Society, and even the Sword Sect! All of them disagree with the Daynight n¡¯s usations.¡±

    ¡°Who knew that such a puny Cruiser would create such a huge amount of drama.¡±

    ¡°Actually, this has nothing to do with Lu Yin anymore. He might even already be dead. The real debate right now is that some say that Arbiter Zhenwu wants to make a move to stand above the Ten Arbiters. He¡¯s iming that Lu Yin is a traitor and that whoever objects to his usations is an enemy of the Fifth Maind. After all, the Nightking managed to seize the Champions'' Stage, and apparently, that achievementes with an amazing reward.¡±

    ¡°I heard about that too, but who knows what kind of reward they¡¯re talking about. It seems to be rted to some inheritance from some realm.¡±

    ¡­

    Gu Xiao''er blinked, and the meat that was in his mouth almost fell out. Arbiter Zhenwu actually managed to grab the Champions'' Stage?

    Gu Xiao¡¯er slowly turned around and looked behind the spacecraft. Just what was he supposed to do with this replica Champions¡¯ Stage? He feltpletely embarrassed; had he just wasted his efforts for nothing?

    There was a loud thump as Gu Xiao''er angrily shattered his table. He fiercely red at the nearby cultivators who were chatting. ¡°That Nightking Zhenwu fellow grabbed a fake Champions'' Stage!¡±

    He then stormed out. As for his counterfeit Champions'' Stage, he simply left it behind for this group of bewildered cultivators.

    Nightking Zhenwu had managed to recapture the Champions'' Stage, and as such, he had been given the greatest reward from the Hall of Honor; he had received the unique qualification to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower. At the same time, the Nightking n had been given the title of an Honored Family. Thus, if anyone wanted to do anything to the Nightking n, the n would be able to borrow strength from the Hall of Honor.

    Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s name spread throughout the entire universe.

    Although the Ten Arbiters were already famous, this moment was especially brilliant, as even the elites from the Neoverse had been overshadowed.

    As for whether or not Lu Yin was actually a traitor, the truth was unable to be determined at the moment. Nightking Zhenwu had no concrete proof, and if anyone wanted to pass judgement on Lu Yin¡¯s guilt, then not only Leon¡¯s Armada, but the Astral Combat Academy would also be unwilling to let such a thing slide.

    The Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, and during the war, the Astral Combat Academy had revealed its terrifying strength to the rest of the universe. Each of the various headmasters was an Envoy, but the most terrifying of them all was Astral-10¡¯s crazy headmaster, as he had swatted an Imprinter with a power level of 700,000 dead during a fit. That particr incident had urred before the cosmic phenomenon¡¯s suppression, but nobody dared to provoke Astral-10 any longer.

    Lu Yin was someone who hade from Astral-10, and although its headmaster was often mad, he also had periods of lucidity. Nobody dared to offend a powerhouse who could swat an expert with a power level of 700,000 dead in just one p! That was too terrifying.

    There was also the Lockbreaker Society, which also enjoyed immense influence. After all, Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, and before any concrete proof of his crimes were produced, the society naturally needed to protect their Lockbreakers¡¯ reputations.

    Although Lu Yin had not been convicted by the Hall of Honor, the Daynight n, Xun Family, ze Realm, Ross Empire, and various other great powers continued to spread propaganda that ruined his reputation. Just as Nightking Zhenwu had said, Lu Yin would not be able to rest in peace even in death.

    The Sixth Maind left, but there were many things that still needed to be settled in the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse.

    There were no longer any external enemies, so now was prime time for internal strife to erupt.

    The matter concerning Lu Yin would remain newsworthy for a short while before he was simply forgotten. After all, he was just a Cruiser youth.

    Only Leon¡¯s Armada and the Daynight n remained focused on this matter, and they became mortal enemies from that point forward.

    ¡­

    Time quickly passed, and soon, it had been a month since the Sixth Maind had fully withdrawn. On this day, the cosmic phenomenon that had shrouded the entire Innerverse and half of the Cosmic Sea suddenly vanished.

    It seemed that, as long as the Sixth Maind withdrew, the cosmic phenomenon would also vanish.

    Many people were worried that, since the phenomenon had vanished, the Sixth Maind would instantly return in a swirl of dust. However, these worries proved to be overdone, as the deaths of two Empyrean Imprinters was a loss that the Sixth Maind could not ept. They would not make such a high stakes gamble again unless they sessfully invited one of their Progenitors themselves to participate. Short of that, they would not casually invade the Fifth Maind again.

    Progenitors would only be wary of another Progenitor. The more one understood that , the more misgivings they would hold. This was why Progenitors would not easily take action.

    This time, it had been the Rune Progenitor. Next? It might be Progenitor Chen.

    All of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators who had invaded the Human Domain had withdrawn, though nobody knew about the situation in the Astral Beast Domain. After all, the Astral River had not receded, so the two domains were still isted from each other.

    The Astral Beast Domain had been able to stand against the Human Domain for countless years, and it had deeply hidden its strength as well.

    Once the cosmic phenomenon disappeared, some people quickly discovered that the Astral River¡¯s surging energy had also begun to wane, and it seemed to be receding at a much faster rate, which excited many people.

    The Innerverse had greatly suffered from the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and a great deal of resources had been piged. They urgently wanted to reconnect to the Outerverse, and as soon as that happened, the Innerverse¡¯s various great powers would swarm the Outerverse like locusts.

    ¡­

    The Technocracy remained very quiet. The asional giant piece of machinery passed through, and they would sweep up the floating space debris.

    There were many research crews within the Technocracy, and each crew was the equivalent to a great power from the Human Domain. However, different from humanity¡¯s great powers, these research crews of the Technocracy rarely waged war.

    The Technocracy was the Human Domain¡¯s enemy, but that did not mean that there were no humans within the domain. The Technocracy actually had both humans and astral beasts among its members.

    Formoners, staying within the Technocracy was perfectly fine, and life there was much the same as living within the Human Domain. There was no real influence on themoners, as the domains themselves did not bother themselves with thes wheremoners lived.

    Lu Yin had been tossed to the northern region of the Technocracy, and he slowly floated through outer space, eventually drifting near a with multiple satellites orbiting it.

    The was known as Duolun Star, and it was inhabited by humans. The¡¯s civilization had only recently developed the technology to enter the greater universe, and it only had a dozen satellites around it. The was ruled by an empire, though its size was rather small.

    Lu Yin¡¯s path coincided with one of the orbiting satellite¡¯s. Since the civilization would not allow floating space trash to damage their satellites, before long, a guided missile shot up from the at Lu Yin.

    There was a st as the missile exploded right on Lu Yin¡¯s body. The people on the assumed that Lu Yin would be disintegrated by the explosion, but when the smoke cleared, they were all amazed. There was not even the slightest trace of injury on Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he continued to peacefully drift through space.

    The scientists on the were astonished at this scene. ¡°Immediately get someone up there and test for any signs of life!¡±

    ¡°Report: no signs of life. The object is a corpse.¡±

    All of the scientists felt their scalps go numb. How could a human body not be harmed in the slightest after being sted by a guided missile?

    Before long, the¡¯s leaders with the greatest authority gathered, and they all stared at the image of Lu Yin. ¡°Could he be wearing some sort of defensive equipment?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just ordinary clothing, and it¡¯s even tattered at that.¡±

    ¡°It looks as though he was beaten dead. There¡¯s a lot of blood around his heart and abdomen. That missile wasn¡¯t able to do anything to the corpse, so just what could do that to someone¡¯s body?¡±

    ¡°Immediately bring that corpse down to study it. We may have discovered an alternate direction of evolution for humanity! This person was able to make his body extremely durable, and there may even be other people like this in the universe.¡±

    ¡°Bring him down immediately.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 1005: Mandate of Heaven

    <h4>Chapter 1005: Mandate of Heaven</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s mere existence was enough to excite an entire, but only the leaders at the highest level knew about him, and themoners werepletely clueless.

    Lu Yin was still using Arcane Art, Fatal Revival. Thus, to any outside observer, his body was no different from a corpse.

    He was taken to the surface of the, and over the course of a few days, the brightest scientists on the came up with all sorts of ways to research him. However, they were unable to cause even the slightest bit of damage to his body, not even pluck a strand of his hair. Their weapons did nothing, and although they wanted to remove the cosmic ring from his finger, they found that they could not do that either.

    In the end, the only thing that they were able to do was take off his bloodstained clothes and run experiments on that. However, before they could even begin, Lu Yin¡¯s body vanished. The entire¡¯s military was mobilized in an uproar, and the leading research team was infuriated. Lu Yin¡¯s body was deemed more important than any weapon that the possessed, as it was possible that they might discover an entirely new direction for the human race¡¯s development. Nothing could be allowed to interfere.

    Every soldier was mobilized, and the government rooted through every organization, desperately searching for Lu Yin.

    At this time, Lu Yin was silently lying within a manor on the outskirts of a city. This ce was very quiet, and asionally, the sounds of chirping birds or insects drifted in through a nearby window. Outside, one could see fruit trees in the manor¡¯s garden, and a man and a woman were standing beneath one of the trees as they softly discussed something.

    One day.

    Two days.

    Three days.

    ¡­

    A month passed, but Lu Yin continued to lie on the bed, devoid of any sign of life.

    The man and woman were quietly talking. ¡°Could he really be dead?¡±

    ¡°Probably not. There¡¯s still star energy circting through his body. Although it¡¯s impossible to detect it through technology, any cultivator who gets close to him can sense it.¡±

    ¡°I never thought that he would appear here of all ces, let alone in this state.¡±

    ¡°I never thought that we would bump into him again.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yiny on the bed like a corpse. Two months had passed since the events in the Innerverse, and the various great powers had gradually returned to their territories. Conflicts between the various powers would not simply disappear, and one day, many years after the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, the Ten Arbiters Council convened. This meeting had been called by Nightking Zhenwu, and his objective was to nominate a leader for the Ten Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters represented ten independent powers, and each one of them had the authority to supervise and judge the entire universe¡¯s younger generation. In addition, they could oversee and even punish the various academies. The Arbiters¡¯ authority extended to overseeing the education of the universe¡¯s youths, examining prisons and secret regions, and even directly enforcing their authority. To that end, they even had the ability to establish their own troops that were under their directmand.

    Although they appeared to be mere members of the younger generation, the benefits that they enjoyed were exceptional. This was especially so after the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, as the Ten Arbiters had been given the duty of ensuring the Fifth Maind¡¯s survival. If not for the Ten Arbiters, then even the Neoverse¡¯s top young experts would not have been able to stop thebined might of the Realmlings and the Daosource Three Skies. After the war, the status of the Ten Arbiters had risen to yet another level.

    At this crucial time, Nightking Zhenwu proposed that they nominate a leader for the Ten Arbiters, and this shocked the Innerverse so much that the news even spread into the Neoverse.

    In the past, no matter how powerful the Ten Arbiters were, the Neoverse did not care. The heirs of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers had paid no mind to such developments. However, after the invasion, not even the Neoverse dared to underestimate the Ten Arbiters any longer, as the ten youths were simply monsters.

    As long as the Ten Arbiters acted independently, the Neoverse¡¯s youth could still deal with them. However, if the ten united, then even the heirs of the Neoverse¡¯s colossal organization would have to deal with a headache.

    On the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral, Nightking Zhenwu had his hands sped behind his back as he looked at eight screens before him. They showed the other eight Arbiters, aside from Lan Si. In a deep voice, the Nightking said, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t forget that although the situation seemed like a matter of life and death, did the Neoverse really give its all? We threw out everything that we had and exposed all of our hidden strengths, but the Neoverse? Has anyone seen Aurora Enterprises¡¯ young master? Or the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant? Or the Semi-Progenitor descendant of the Hall of Honor?

    ¡°Even though everyone saw the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Qiu Shi, who is known as the All Rounder Fairy, she did nothing besides reveal her cultivation realm and her lockbreaking ability. Don¡¯t forget¡ªthe Neoverse doesn¡¯t just have the people that I mentioned earlier. The primary heirs of the Three Dark Hands never even showed their faces. Finally, there¡¯s also thest one, the one that seems to be the most visible, but actually can¡¯t be seen at all: the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Within one screen, Serati Phoenix responded, ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion concerned the very survival of our Fifth Maind, but those people never even came out. I really cannot understand what they were thinking.¡±

    Unseen Lightmented, ¡°Were they just confident that we would be enough to stop the Sixth Maind? Or were they making other preparations?¡±

    ¡°The Neoverse has always remained separate from the Innerverse and Outerverse. Even if we aren¡¯t sure what the organizations of the Neoverse were thinking, there¡¯s a certain feeling that they are ying a great game of chess. In fact, even the Sixth Maind is just another yer at this moment,¡± Wen Sansi added.

    Ling Gong¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°We were treated as meat shields! If we hadn¡¯t acted, would they have moved?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± a crisp, female voice rang out from behind Nightking Zhenwu. The other eight Arbiters looked over and saw Starsibyl.

    A few of the Arbiters were surprised to see her, as Starsibyl had also joined their meeting, and apparently, she was even following Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu smiled faintly at her words and moved aside.

    Starsibyl stepped forward and looked at the other eight Arbiters. ¡°Everyone, your guesses are urate, as the organizations of the Neoverse are indeed ying a truly great game of chess, and the participants include those from the ancient times as well as those from this age. This game concerns the true survival of our Fifth Maind, and even the entire human race¡¯s survival. The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion was not enough to force them to reveal their hand.¡±

    ¡°What hand? Is the Starsibyl Sect a yer or a part of the game?¡± Wen Sansi asked.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t exin this. All I can say is that not everyone knows about the truth of this matter, and that includes the people of the Sixth Maind as well. There are extremely few who know about this, and you could almost say none at all. Regardless, I can use my status as Starsibyl, someone who can see the future, to tell you all this very clearly: join forces andpete for the positions of the Cosmic Five. Fight for the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. Only then will we have a chance to live through the true disaster when it arrives in the future.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s words caused everyone to fall silent, and not a single one of them said anything further. Although they were the Ten Arbiters who controlled the younger generation, none of them were overly conceited. They were still just members of the younger generation, and they did not qualify to know certain things. Starsibyl had just told them to fight for the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances, as that was all that they could do.

    What they needed to do at this time was fight for a chance in the future.

    However, they were still the Ten Arbiters, and they all had tenacious personalities. They were not easily controlled by others, so there was no way that they would simply agree to Starsibyl¡¯s request after just a few simple words.

    Electing a leader for the Ten Arbiters would bring about a great deal of resistance, as each of the Arbiters had many powerful organizations supporting them. Whoever became the leader of these ten would not only represent the ten youths, but they would also represent the entire Innerverse to some degree.

    The rest of the Arbiters all looked over at Nightking Zhenwu. Was the Daynight n hoping to take advantage of this situation to suppress the various great powers of the Innerverse? That was simply too arrogant! What could they possibly be relying upon?

    Nightking Zhenwu had a peaceful expression, and there was a faint smile on his face as he exited from the meeting.

    The Ten Arbiters had not approved of anything yet, but they had not opposed the proposal either. He had merely presented the idea during this meeting, and the final oue would require the help of the woman standing beside him. She had personally guaranteed that she would make him the leader of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°The first step isplete. Now, you will need to seek them out one by one.¡± Starsibyl looked at Nightking Zhenwu as she spoke in a calm voice.

    Nightking Zhenwu gave her a strange look. ¡°Your Starsibyl Sect has always supported Wen Sansi, so why are you supporting me now? Is it because I was the one to take the Champions'' Stage and am about to be one of the Cosmic Five?¡±

    Starsibyl nodded. ¡°That is indeed one aspect to consider, but another is that we deduced that a certain person will likely appear. Their appearance may cause a fundamental change in the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Nightking Zhenwu was curious.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes trembled. ¡°The Third Nightking.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was astonished. ¡°The Third Nightking? What do you know?¡±

    Starsibyl shook her head. ¡°Only a trace of anything was divined, and I have no concrete details. The Sixth Maind invaded the Human Domain, but they also invaded the Astral Beast Domain, turning everything on its head. Their invasion might be the impetus to allow the Third Nightking to safely escape.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s breathing quickened, and he became iparably excited. It was no wonder why the Starsibyl Sect had suddenly switched around to support the Daynight n. Once the Third Nightking broke free, the Daynight n would absolutely experience great changes.

    Nobody could understand just how badly the Daynight n desired the Third Nightking¡¯s return. In the past, no matter how much Lu Yin had offended the Daynight n, as soon as he had mentioned anything about the Third Nightking¡¯s whereabouts, the Daynight n had immediately shown smiling faces to him. Even a powerhouse like Nightking Yuanjing had been forced to personally chat with Lu Yin. This was enough to show just how important the Third Nightking was to the Daynight n.

    The information that Lu Yin had provided to the n had indeed been helpful, but they had still been helpless in terms of actually breaking the Third Nightking free. Who could have known that the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion would be a turning point for them?

    ¡°As long as the Third Nightking returns, nobody will be able to stop my Daynight n. For I, Nightking Zhenwu, to be one of the Cosmic Five is simply the mandate of heaven.¡± Nightking Zhenwu trembled in excitement at the thought of his uing prospects. Everything was going almost too smoothly for him. He had sessfully cultivated Skybreaker, gotten his hands on Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and was even receiving help from Starsibyl Sect. On top of all that, the Third Nightking might even return! Zhenwu had a feeling that the Daynight n was about to soar to new heights.

    Starsibyl looked at the emotional Nightking Zhenwu and then over at the giant stone pir that stood in the distance. The Daynight n might be about to soar, but that was all dependent on whether or not that divination had been urate. Strangely enough, Lu Yin appeared in her mind at this time, as her calctions still could not factor in this person.

    Nightking Zhenwu seemed like someone who had received the mandate of the heavens. With Starsibyl¡¯s assistance, he sought out the other Arbiters one by one, slowly drawing closer to bing the leader of the Ten Arbiters.

    In a far off region of the universe, within the Technocracy, on Duolun Star, and still within the same mansion, a man and woman were still talking. ¡°It seems like he¡¯s really dead. Just look¡ªthere¡¯s not even the slightest trace of any movement.¡±

    ¡°But there are still traces of star energy circting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the purpose of this technique: the human¡¯s dead, but the technique keeps working. It will stop after some time.¡±

    ¡°At that time, we¡¯ll bury him. It¡¯s such a pity.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The man then reached out and touched Lu Yin. At that moment, a powerful strength sent the man flying back, creating a huge hole in the house as the man was thrown hundreds of meters away.

    The girl was shocked, and she quickly ran after the man.

    After a while, with the woman¡¯s support, the man hobbled back to the house, but there was a look of pain on his face. ¡°He¡¯s not dead. Definitely not dead! It was just one touch, but I still felt such a powerful force. That force easily surpassed the Cruiser realm! It¡¯s too terrifying, and I won¡¯t touch him again no matter what you say. Just let him rest here.¡±

    ¡°How strange. A month ago, when we stole him and brought him here, there wasn¡¯t such a violent reaction, so what changed now?¡± The girl was puzzled.

    The man thought about it. ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s about to wake up.¡±

    ¡°Maybe. In that case, let¡¯s wait a little bit longer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. Even if we didn¡¯t want to wait, the two of us wouldn¡¯t be able to move him. Since it¡¯s impossible, then let¡¯s just move. We¡¯ll leave this ce to be his grave.¡±

    ¡­

    Time passed quickly by, and it was now another monthter. Nightking Zhenwu appeared on the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral, and Zhuo Daynight followed behind him.

    She had been imprisoned for two months, and this was her first time seeing the outside sky in a while. Her face was pale and void of any color.

 Chapter 1006: Hopelessness And Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 1006: Hopelessness And Awakening</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu looked at Zhuo Daynight and said, ¡°I¡¯ve released your rtives.¡±

    A flicker of emotion darted across Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes, but she remained silent.

    ¡°Look in front of you,¡± Nightking Zhenwu said softly.

    Zhuo Daynight lifted her head to see a massive hole in front of her. Within the hole were hundreds of people from the Daynight n. Or more urately, there were hundreds of people who possessed the Dayking bloodline. They had all been subjected to the Sealed Cage Technique, and the mark could be seen on their foreheads. Within the crowd were elderly people, women, and even children. Meanwhile, standing next to the huge pit was no fewer than a hundred thousand people, and they all looked down into the hole with eyes full of pain and longing. Each one of them had loved ones who were inside the hole.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s pupils constricted, and she uncontrobly took a few steps forward.

    ¡°Do you see them? Each one of them has the Dayking bloodline. There is no purpose in having you see this other than the fact that I am upset and want to vent my emotions.¡± After saying that, Nightking Zhenwu raised his hand and moved his fingers.

    The people from the Daynight n who were gathered around the hole shuddered and then started to fill in the hole. They were clearly burying all the people who were inside it alive.

    The people inside the pit were their loved ones, but they had to bury them alive despite the various protests and wails. Even if someone¡¯s parents or spouse was in the pit, they were still forced toplete the horrible task of burying everyone alive. This was all because of the Sealed Cage Technique.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Stop! Stop this right now!¡±

    She seized Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s cor. Her eyes had already gonepletely bloodshot as she screamed, ¡°Stop this now! What do you want? What do you want from me? Tell me!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu did not move, and he simply allowed Zhuo Daynight to grab him.

    Next to the two youths, the live burial continued. Those who were being buried cried out in agony, but those who were filling in the pit were suffering even more, though their pain was purely emotional. Still, they had no choice, as they had been imprisoned by the Sealed Cage Technique and had lost all control of their own movements. Even those who wished to die were unable to do so, as they werepletely under Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s control.

    In the distance, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s fingers moved as well. No one had asked her toe, and she had merely coincidentally stumbled upon this terrifying scene.

    She would readily admit that she was cruel and ruthless, but she knew she could never be as heartless as Nightking Zhenwu. At this moment, she felt like she did not even know who her elder brother was anymore. Seeing this side of him left her terrified.

    When she looked over at Zhuo Daynight, for the first time in her life, a fleeting moment of pity darted across Yanqing¡¯s eyes.

    Tears streamed down Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes. She was a verypassionate person who would do anything for her family, and as she watched the revolting scene in front of her, a searing pain burned in her heart. She knew that she was the reason why these people were dying. She could not bear it any longer, and she begged Nightking Zhenwu to let these people go.

    Nightking Zhenwu had an arrogant demeanor, and a sly smile spread across his face. ¡°The Daynight n forbids its members from marrying outside the n. I want a wife who is worthy of me, someone who is the cream of the crop. You, my dear, fit that criteria. A descendant who has cultivated Night¡¯s End, Daybreak is worthy to be my wife. However, you must fight for that right. You must work hard to climb to the highest ce on the ancestral pir, and you must be second only to me. You must ovee Yanqing, Zhanlong Daynight, and everyone else in the n¡¯s younger generation aside from me. Then, and only then, will you have earned the right to be my wife.

    ¡°If you be my wife, I can release all of the Dayking descendants from the Sealed Cage Technique. Are you willing?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight slowly released Nightking Zhenwu. She was stunned that Nightking Zhenwu would even offer such a suggestion to her and tell her to climb through the ranks with her own strength for the sole purpose of bing his wife. He was humiliating her by telling her to be someone who was so lowly yet also above everyone else.

    How could anyone live like that? How?

    Zhuo Daynight could not understand Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s purpose, but this man was the personification of evil. His thoughts were all dark and maniptive.

    Nightking Zhenwu revealed another smirk. ¡°Look at all these people wailing and screaming in their desperation. You alone can save them. You know that, right?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s arms lifelessly copsed to her sides. She would never be able to wake from this living nightmare for the rest of her life. ¡°I promise. I will be better than everyone else, and I will stand above all of them. I will be subservient to you alone.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu burst outughing, and he raised a hand to caress Zhuo Daynight¡¯s chin. ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to hear. Remember your promise: you must surpass everyone else, and I will wait for you to make your way to my side. Then, you will obey me without question. I hope that the day when you can dominate all others without my helpes. Only then will you be worthy to be known as the wife of Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    And with that, he turned around and left.

    If the Third Nightking did return, then it would no longer matter whether or not the Dayking¡¯s descendants could be controlled, as they would have no opportunity to retaliate.

    In the distance, the cruel scene came to a halt. The people inside the hole crawled up to meet those who were still outside the hole, and they all hugged each other tightly as they wept.

    Zhuo Daynight slowly copsed onto the ground, her body still trembling. She dug her fingers tightly into the soil, before slowly opening them. As blood flowed from her hands, she realized that there was indeed only one path for her to move forward: she would have to go through hell and high water, fighting her way through the ranks, and it would all be for the chance to be the wife of someone she absolutely loathed. How could she find the strength and motivation to go so far? She really did not know, and she did not even know if she wanted to keep living. She was starting to think that it might have been better if she had died back on Pyrolyte.

    However, not everything was over. At the least, she had been able to save Lu Yin and pay back the favor that she had owed him. All she could hope was that Lu Yin would live his life to the fullest!

    ¡­

    On Duolun Star, in the Technocracy, what had previously been a peaceful day suddenly turned chaotic as electric shocks erupted within the. Many items exploded, and the entire seemed to be ring up. Unseen ripples of energy spread out, and even the satellites orbiting the exploded.

    No one knew what was happening, and they could not find the cause.

    Inside a certain manor, a man and a woman were both shocked. They had both felt the terrifying force of the unseen ripples, and they had hurriedly escaped.

    Inside a room, where Lu Yin hadin unconscious on a bed for three months, he finally awoke.

    As he looked around at the strange room, Lu Yin felt confused before suddenly jumping up to check his surroundings.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re finally awake!¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin looked around in a daze. ¡°Where are we?¡±

    ¡°You were saved! Zhuo Daynight stalled Nightking Zhenwu while I dragged you away and escaped. It was just our luck that we ran into some random people from the Sixth Maind. Without any other choice, we headed into the Technocracy, which was where I fainted. We were then caught up in a cosmic storm, and this is where we both woke up. Oh yeah, you already know the people who saved you, but you¡¯ll never be able to guess who,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, and his expression instantly changed. He had not expected to run into these two here.

    He sat down on the bed, raised his hand, and clenched his right fist. Lu Yin was shocked, as his strength had increased substantially again, but why? He looked down at his chest, and he saw that the wound from the Heart Seeker secret technique had already healed, so why was there so much blood further down on his abdomen? He stared at it, and his face changed. ¡°Monkey, who injured my abdomen?¡±

    The monkey helplessly replied, ¡°There were some strange metal thorns that attacked you when we entered the Technocracy. You¡¯re lucky that they just missed your head.¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced in pain, but he was still thankful that his injuries were under control. He quickly swallowed a medicinal pill.

    What? Lu Yin¡¯s left hand twitched as he looked at his other hand. It was holding something that looked quite familiar, and it had sixteen sides. After observing it for a second, his expression changed. What was this? Wasn¡¯t this the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stone?

    ¡°Monkey, where did this thinge from?¡± He asked, puzzled.

    The Ghost Monkey replied, ¡°You used the Yu Secret Art to snatch it, Seventh Bro. You really are something else! You were practically dead, but you still managed to steal something! Nightking Zhenwu was keeping this thing at his side at all times, so it must be very important. Even if you died, losing this would cause him a lot of problems.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. He had stolen it with the Yu Secret Art? Why had Nightking Zhenwu not been keeping it in his cosmic ring? This was just Lu Yin¡¯s luck. ¡°Where is Zhuo Daynight?¡±

    The monkey remained silent.

    Lu Yin repeated his question a second time.

    The monkey helplessly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know. She stayed behind to stop Nightking Zhenwu while I carried you to safety. That being said, you don¡¯t have to worry¡ªshe¡¯s definitely still alive. She knows Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, so Nightking Zhenwu definitely won¡¯t kill her. Well, at least for the time being. It¡¯s hard to say whether or not things will change in the future.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey suddenly stopped speaking, but Lu Yin could guess what was next.

    He looked out the window, his mind in a jumble. This was too big of a favor to repay.

    Zhuo Daynight had sacrificed the rest of her life to give him a chance at survival.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, if it¡¯s possible, you should save her! Nightking Zhenwu is not a good man,¡± the monkey said gravely.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°That goes without saying.¡±

    From outside the room, a man and a woman carefully approached him.

    Lu Yin got off of the bed and walked towards the window. ¡°Come in.¡±

    The man and woman entered, and when they saw that Lu Yin was awake, the man spoke up. ¡°Deafmute bro?¡±

    Lu Yin turned his head around and smiled. ¡°It has been a long time, Huang San, Yan Xiaojing.¡±

    The ones who had saved Lu Yin this time were Huang San and Yan Xiaojing. Back when the Bloodburn Realm had attacked the Outerverse and lost, Ancestor Yan Cheng had been killed, and these two had offended Autumnfrost Qing. They had been terrified that Autumnfrost Qing would try to get revenge on them, which was why the two of them had not returned to Sixth Maind. Instead, they had decided to stay in the Technocracy.

    It was byplete coincidence that they had saved Lu Yin.

    Strictly speaking, they had not actually saved him. Given how advanced this was, there was no way anyone on it could hurt Lu Yin. The two had merely snuck him out.

    ¡°I never would have imagined that we would be fated to meet in the Technocracy!¡± Huang Sanughed.

    Yan Xiaojing stared at Lu Yin, but she did not say a word.

    Lu Yin nodded his head. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±

    Huang San quickly replied, ¡°Please don¡¯t treat us as your saviors, as we weren¡¯t able to do that much. You came here on your own, and we simply just picked you up.¡± After a slight pause, Fatty Bro continued, asking, ¡°How did you get hurt so badly, Deafmute Bro? You were like a zombie just now, and anyone who saw you would have absolutely thought that you were dead.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the past anymore. Can you let me rest here for a few more days?¡±

    ¡°You can stay here for the next thousand years if you like. We had already nned to leave this house as your grave.¡± Huang San let a bit of information slip out.

    Yan Xiaojing quickly pinched him, and the fatty sucked in a sharp breath as he smiled awkwardly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled back. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Over the course of a few days, Lu Yin examined his body and realized that he had once again used the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival. He could feel that his battle force had increased to nine lines, that his physical strength had increased substantially, and that he was overall much stronger than before. His domain had even expanded to the point where it was nearly twice asrge as before.

    This was a qualitative increase in strength, and his rune lines had increased by nearly half their previous number. Unfortunately, he could not see the Technocracy¡¯s rune lines.

    This was an awesome feat, and a sinct way to summarize these changes to his body was that Lu Yin was now certain that he was strong enough to face off against the Ten Arbiters.

    The threat of death had resulted in a massive spike in his abilities, and it was the same as what had happened on Driftcharge in the past. The previous two times that Fatal Revival had activated had allowed Lu Yin to surpass Liu Shaoqiu and Nightqueen Yanqing respectively, and this time, it had elevated him to the level of the Ten Arbiters.

    In the past, he had once assumed that when he became a Cruiser, he would possess a strengthparable to the Ten Arbiters. It turned out that he had been right, though he had beenpletely wrong about the process, which was nearly dying.

    As he stared at the sky, Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned into a re that grew increasingly intense. His thoughts drifted back to the astral battle, and he vaguely remembered Zhuo Daynight¡¯s lonely figure. Lu Yin would get his revenge on Nightking Zhenwu very soon.

 Chapter 1007: Machinery Ant Nest

    <h4>Chapter 1007: Machinery Ant Nest</h4>

    Under the open sky, Huang San walked over with two bottles of wine in his hands, and he passed one over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the bottle and drank a mouthful. ¡°So you¡¯re not nning to return to the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Huang San shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say. Even before we discuss whether or not I can even go back, if I do, I¡¯ll have to deal with the Autumnfrost family. Things might be fine if I don¡¯t return to my Huang family.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°The war¡¯s over and the Sixth Maind haspletely retreated.¡±

    Huang San was surprised at this news. ¡°Your Fifth Maind actually managed to defend itself. How miraculous.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. Miraculous? Nobody had any idea what the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse was hiding, and although the Sixth Maind had been absolutely confident in being able to crush the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had felt that the Fifth Maind was not as simple as people assumed it to be. There were things that were hidden quite deeply. Even if the other powers were ignored, it was a fact that the primary heirs of the Three Dark Hands had never even shown their faces during the battle in the Cosmic Sea. There must have been other ns in the works.

    Nobody seemed to know just what those ns might be, and even the Outerverse¡¯s top powers were clueless. People¡¯s thoughts were often too naive.

    ¡°Deafmute Bro, I¡¯m really curious. Who beat you up so badly?¡± Huang San asked once again.

    Lu Yin remained silent for a moment. ¡°An old enemy.¡±

    ¡°From the Fifth Maind?¡± Huang San was surprised.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know even if I told you. Are you nning on living in the Technocracy from now on?¡±

    Huang San shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We¡¯ll see.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at the mansion. ¡°She¡¯s willing to follow you?¡±

    Huang San suddenly looked depressed, and he shook his head. ¡°She just relies on me to survive and forfort.¡±

    ¡°Since you guys are relying on each other, then at least you have a different status in her heart now. Congrats,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Huang San forced out a smile. While he hoped that Yan Xiaojing truly liked him and was not merely relying on him due to their desperate circumstances, he was still satisfied with things as they were. It was fine just being together with his beloved, even if they did end up having to remain in the Technocracy in the future.

    Lu Yin took out his gadget and tried to use it, but there was no signal of any sort. Nothing from the Human Domain could reach this ce, so he could not contact anyone. However, there was still one function of the gadget that he could use, which was the scan function that generated a basic star chart.

    The gadget itself was a signal transmitter, so it could connect to various interster signals. Even if there were no signals, the gadget could still use its transmitter to scan the surrounding area and create a local star chart, and the range of this ability was about the size of a gxy.

    A gxy was simply too minuscule in the scope of the entire universe, and Lu Yin had never used this function before. He also did not dare to use it at this moment, as the Technocracy¡¯s research teams might detect the scanning signal and then track it down to find him. There was no way he could survive against the Technocracy¡¯s powerhouses.

    ¡°Do you have any way of leaving this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Huang San smiled bitterly, ¡°We identally got here when we were running away from Autumnfrost Qing. We actually don¡¯t even know where this ce is, let alone how to leave.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered and touched his gadget. If he did not leave, then he would be trapped in the Technocracy forever, which was not at all what he wanted. Was such a fate any different from simply dying?

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin familiarized himself with the changes to his body, and he also explored the. However, he was dismayed to discover that the¡¯s technology was only barely able to explore the surrounding bit of outer space and that they had barelyunched any satellites. This could not even explore their own gxy let alone help Lu Yin escape. If he simply got in a copsible spacecraft and traveled in a random direction, he would have a better chance at sess than trying to get help from this.

    Helpless, Lu Yin could only take a risk and scan the gxy with his gadget.

    Once the gadget was activated, a screen appeared before his eyes as the gadget continuously scanned in all directions. Duolun Star appeared first before the known area expanded out in all directions with the at the center. Soon, the star chart of an entire gxy could be seen.

    As he studied the star chart, there was a nk look on Lu Yin¡¯s face. He could not recognize anything on this chart. Just a single gxy was not enough, as he could not find anything that would give him a sense of direction of how to return to the Human Domain.

    Huang San was astonished when he saw what Lu Yin was doing to learn about the gxy that they were in, and he hurriedly had Lu Yin deactivate his gadget. ¡°Deafmute Bro, this is the Technocracy! Even someone like me, who¡¯s from the Sixth Maind, knows that this entire ce is constantly being monitored by the Master Brain. ying around like this will just end up getting us all killed.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing had a serene expression as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin apologetically responded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I want to go back.¡±

    Huang San had no other options avable, so he simply stayed quiet.

    Lu Yin spoke up, ¡°How about this¡ªI¡¯ll leave this and only then will I continue to explore this gxy.¡±

    Huang San wanted to say something, but Yan Xiaojing spoke up first. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as he understood these two¡¯s intentions. They had wanted to live ordinary lives, and he would not allow himself to disturb their peace.

    Before he left the, Lu Yin seriously asked Huang San, ¡°Are you really willing to stay here?¡±

    Huang San did not seem fully satisfied with this situation. He was still young, so how could he be willing to give up on everything? However, returning to the Sixth Maind would spell his death, as the Autumnfrost family was incredibly powerful, and it was not something that he could go against. In order for the Huang and Yan families to remain safe, the two youths could only remain where they were.

    Lu Yin patted Huang San¡¯s shoulder and then flew up into space.

    His current n was very dangerous, as he had heard in the past that nobody could learn the truth about the Technocracy. If anyone wanted to learn about the Technocracy, then their only option was to charge in. The entire Technocracy was constantly being monitored, and it was practically impossible for someone to sneak in.

    Fortunately, when Lu Yin had entered, he had done so as a corpse. Since he was already within their domain, perhaps their internal surveince was not as extreme as the border¡¯s.

    Huang San¡¯s expression grewplex as he watched Lu Yin leave.

    Yan Xiaojing moved over to the fatty¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to burden you.¡±

    Huang San looked at Yan Xiaojing,pletely confused. ¡°Aren¡¯t I the one burdening you? Xiaojing, you tossed Autumnfrost Qing aside because of me, and I ended up implicating you with my problems. Still, there¡¯s no other way about it, as handsome people have more struggles.¡±

    Yan Xiaojing chuckled. Huang San liked to joke around, and he did his best to make her happy, which caused her heart to sweeten. ¡°Actually, we can leave this ce. Even if we can¡¯t go back to the Sixth Maind, we can still head to the Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s going to be difficult, as we can¡¯t cross through the boundary. We¡¯ll have to see. We¡¯re not living inplete seclusion, and we still have our futons too. If the dayes when Fatty Bro obtains a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, the universe will be fawning over me,¡± Huang San said with an absurd level of confidence.

    Yan Xiaojing softly grunted in acknowledgement. She then looked towards the Sixth Maind. Who would be willing to live in seclusion in this ce?

    After leaving Star Duolun, Lu Yin found a random andnded on it. This ce was covered with countless poisonous air currents, tornadoes, and powerful storms. Each cyclone was strong enough to tear a Limiteer¡¯s body apart, but this was fine as a temporary basecamp for Lu Yin.

    He had to find a path out of the Technocracy, but such a task was impossible with the current range of his gadget¡¯s scan. At this time, Lu Yin could only do one thing. He raised a hand and caused his die to appear. He was going to roll six pips: Possession. Then, he would Possess someone from the Technocracy. Given his current strength, whoever he merged with would not be weak, and there was a strong possibility of finding a star chart.

    Everything depended on whether or not he could roll six pips: Possession at this time. It would be pointless to roll a six in the Timestop Space, so everything depended on his luck.

    Fortunately, he had not rolled his die in a long time, so Lu Yin was feeling lucky enough that he might seed on the first try.

    Lu Yin thought about his n and evaluated his situation. Then, he set his cosmic ring aside and held on to less than one star essence. This tiny bit of star essence should be enough for him to Possess someone within the Technocracy, though he was hoping that there would still be people for him to Possess in this ce. He did not expect to be able to Possess androids.

    He took a deep breath and then tapped out. His die slowly spun around before finally stopping on six pips: Possession. Lu Yin felt ecstatic as he was suddenly brought to a familiar, expansive darkness. This ce was filled with scattered light balls in all directions.

    He quickly looked around for the brightest, most appealing sphere and then charged straight at it, hoping that it belonged to someone from the Technocracy.

    As the scenery once again changed before his eyes, Lu Yin took a clear look at his surroundings, but surprisingly, a pair of mechanical antennas were hanging in front of him. He jumped in fright and hurriedly retreated, only to discover that his body was very strange. When he looked down, he was instantly overwhelmed; he had actually Possessed an ant¡¯s body.

    An ant? How is this even possible? So he was even able to Possess an ant? Lu Yin was bewildered.

    When he moved about, he quickly realized that this was actually a mechanical body. At no point in his life had Lu Yin ever encountered something so mysterious. Somehow, he had be a mechanical ant!

    He was very unustomed to moving these antennas about, as it was a very strange sensation. When he looked up, he saw that there was another ant in front of him, and when he turned around, he realized that there were more mechanical ants in every direction. Just what was going on?

    Lu Yin rudely jumped onto the mechanical ant in front of him so that he could get a better look at his surroundings. To his amazement, the ce where he was located was filled with nothing but mechanical ants. He must have fallen into a mechanical ant nest!

    It would be fine if these were ordinary ants, but they were all mechanical creatures. Since he could still Possess them, then it meant that these mechanical ants were extremely intelligent, and that they must be quite strong as well.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, those who he Possessed should at least be as strong as a Hunter. However, there were countless mechanical ants packed into this ce¡ªthey couldn¡¯t all be Hunters, could they?

    The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more afraid he became. There was no way that that was the case, as there were no fewer than tens of millions of ants here, and that was just the ones that he could see. It was possible that there were countless more somewhere else. If all of these mechanical ants had the strength of a Hunter, then their sheer number would be enough to sweep through the entire Outerverse, and they could bring a cmity to even the entire Human Domain.

    Lu Yin restlessly shook his body as he leaped from one ant to the next, trying to determine just how many ants there were here. The strange thing was that these mechanical ants were all silent and perfectly still, though there was no sign of any outside maniption. These ants simply did not move.

    The entire ce was rather dusky, and Lu Yin continued to jump from one ant to another. Even after half a day of moving around, he still could not see an end to these creatures. There were simply too many mechanical ants, and they were all packed extremely close together.

    He felt appalled, could this be something that the Technocracy had specifically created to deal with the Human Domain? If that was the case, then this was too terrifying. There were far too many of them. However, Lu Yin could not determine the strength of the body that he had Possessed, as these creatures were mechanical. They did not use star energy, domains, battle force, or anything else that he was familiar with. For that matter, this body could not even speak.

    This entire situation was strange. Did this really count as a Possession?

    Someone must have created these mechanical ants, and at this moment, all Lu Yin wanted to do was find the manufacturer. Even if he ended up in front of an Envoy-level powerhouse, he would not mind, as the only thing that he was concerned with was finding out where exactly this ce was.

    Suddenly, the scenery in front of his eyes changed again. His time was up, and he had been thrown back into his body.

    Lu Yin clearly saw that he had returned to the that he was using as his temporary base. As far as he could see, there were gales and cyclones.

    The astonishment in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes did not fade. The scene from earlier felt like it had been a dream, but he was absolutely certain that it had been real. Were there really nests of innumerable and powerful mechanical ants? Just what could the objective of the creator be? Lu Yin did not dare to think about this for too long, as there had simply been far too many of those ants.

    He stored this matter deep in his heart and decided that he would absolutely report this matter to Yuan Shi once he returned to the Outerverse.

    For the moment, Lu Yin restored his die and rolled it again, hoping to once again roll six pips: Possession.

 Chapter 1008: Surging Storm

    <h4>Chapter 1008: Surging Storm</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s luck on his second roll was not as good, as he rolled five pips: Gift Copy. This was the most useless roll possible in his opinion, as he would not use the die when he was with anyone else, and the time limit to touch someone and borrow their innate gift was too strict¡ªonly ten seconds. On top of that, people with valuable innate gifts were too few and far between.

    He had wasted one chance, but he still had two more rolls. Lu Yin let out a deep breath and continued to roll.

    ***

    While Lu Yin was trapped within the Technocracy, back in the Innerverse, Nightking Zhenwu emerged from the Sword Sect. There was a faint smile on his face as Starsibyl walked beside him.

    ¡°Congrattions. Liu Tianmu has agreed.¡± Starsibyl also had a slight smile.

    Nightking Zhenwu had a carefree mind at this moment. Out of all of the Ten Arbiters, Liu Tianmu was the one who had been the most difficult to deal with, and she was also extremely strong. If she had not agreed to Zhenwu¡¯s proposal, then there would have been no possibility of him bing the leader of the Ten Arbiters. Fortunately, Starsibyl had helped, and she had used her special techniques to gain Liu Tianmu¡¯s agreement.

    He looked over at Starsibyl. ¡°There¡¯s still Xing Kai, Lan Si, Liquor Hero, and Jin He left.¡±

    Starsibyl confidently responded, ¡°There¡¯s no need to look for Xing Kai. He¡¯s already not a member of the younger generation, so whoever bes the leader of the Ten Arbiters is none of his business.¡±

    ¡°But he won¡¯t give up that easily,¡± Nightking Zhenwu countered.

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°That¡¯s assuming that the other Arbiters don¡¯t care. If everyone else shows one attitude, then he will have to abdicate.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no possibility of them revealing such a stance, as all of them are close to the age limit, even me. Nobody wants to be pushed out of the Ten Arbiters Council due to their age, and Xing Kai is simply the first Arbiter to exceed the age limit. It still remains to be seen how this will be managed, and if done badly, it could provoke a bad reaction from the other Ten Arbiters,¡± Nightking Zhenwu said.

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Just make sure that Xing Kai doesn¡¯t oppose you this time,¡± Starsibyl said.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Lan Si¡¯s in the Outerverse, so we can ignore him. The only remaining ones are Liquor Hero and Jin He. Liquor Hero can be ignored, as that woman¡¯s usually intoxicated to the point where she doesn¡¯t even know what she¡¯s talking about. She won¡¯t oppose anything. Only Jin He will be a little more difficult.¡±

    Upon the mention of Jin He, even Starsibyl grew more cautious. ¡°That person is very scary, and he has hidden himself too deeply, much like Unseen Light. There¡¯s no way to know what he¡¯s thinking, but I have my own methods. I can ensure that he will agree to you bing the leader of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu nced over at Starsibyl. He was actually rather wary of this woman.

    The few Arbiters who had agreed to him bing the leader of the Ten Arbiters had mostly been won over thanks to this woman. She knew far too much, and since she had knowledge of others, then could she also have such knowledge about him as well? With that thought, the Nightking subconsciously touched his heart. Still, after that, he paid no attention to his trepidation as he proceeded forward.

    Starsibyl¡¯s face never stopped smiling, and she followed behind the Arbiter, looking as if she was genuinely following Nightking Zhenwu.

    Not long after the two left the Sword Sect, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s gadget received a bit of news, and his expression grew delighted. ¡°The contest for the Astral Tower is about to begin! There¡¯s only about a year left before it starts.¡±

    Starsibyl looked up at him. ¡°Congrattions. Everything is proceeding in a manner that benefits you. If you are sessful, then you will be one of the Cosmic Five, and you will also stand over the other Arbiters. At that time, when you wee back the Third Nightking, the Daynight n may very well be the most powerful force in the entire Innerverse, and it will even be able to cast its eyes towards the Neoverse.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu grew excited at these thoughts, and not just because of Starsibyls words. He was about to learn Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and when he did so, his strength would basically double. That power,plemented with the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, meant that no one within the younger generation would be his match. Once he stepped into the Enlighter realm, he felt confident in sweeping even the Daosource Three Skies.

    Everything under the Enlighter realm, which was Hunters and those below, had a different kind of cultivation. The deeper a Hunter¡¯s umted foundations, the stronger the Enlighter they would be. Nightking Zhenwu was confident that, if everything went smoothly, the moment he became an Enlighter, he would even be able to fight against powerhouses whose power levels were at 400,000. Let alone the younger generation, even those in the older generation would be overwhelmed by his power. That would be the moment when he, Nightking Zhenwu, truly reigned over the universe.

    Since Nightking Zhenwu had obtained this bit of news, then others naturally did as well.

    The Ten Arbiters, Xia Tian, Tai Yuanjun, and everyone who had received a title of King or Queen, such as the Neoverse¡¯s Qiu Shi, Gu Xiao''er, and the other elites, also heard about this announcement.

    The Astral Tower contest allowed youths topete for inheritances, and it was considered to be the most important event in the Neoverse. This event would determine the five strongest youths in the entire Human Domain, and those five would be allowed to obtain Progenitor inheritances. Once they obtained that, they would leave all of their peers far behind.

    In the Sword Sect, Liu Tianmu looked calm, but there was a certain glint of enthusiasm hiding deep within her eyes. The Astral Tower was a contest for inheritances, and she wondered who would be able to meet her Twelfth Sword. She looked forward to finding out.

    ***

    Ling Que arrived at the Lingling n¡¯s home, only to be berated by Ling Gong. He looked quite sullen.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t wrong! I¡¯m not allowed to run even when against one of the Daosource Three Skies?¡± Ling Que was frustrated.

    Ling Gong moved forward. ¡°Lu Yin didn¡¯t run, so why did you? How embarrassing!¡±

    Ling Gong gritted his teeth. ¡°How can Ipare to him? That fellow¡¯s a total freak! During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, he was the only one who managed to injure Zhi Yi, and not even you were able to do that! Unfortunately, that guy was yed to death by Nightking Zhenwu, and even his reputation has been ruined now.¡±

    Ling Gong had aplicated expression. She refused to believe that Lu Yin had colluded with Zhi Yi, even under threat of death. But the universe was too cruel, and even without evidence, Nightking Zhenwu was able to use the Daynight n¡¯s influence to ruin Lu Yin¡¯s reputation. If not for Leon¡¯s Armada, the Astral Combat Academy, the Lockbreaker Society, and other such powers resisting the Daynight n, then Lu Yin¡¯s reputation would have been ruined to the point of infamy. However, the situation was barely better than that at the moment. At the very least, the entire Daynight and zing Mist Flowzones were cursing his name.

    However, that was something to do with Nightking Zhenwu, and Ling Gong decided to ignore it. At most, she would make sure that the Lingling n did not participate in this affair.

    Whenever she thought of Lu Yin, she felt pity. He had truly been too talented, to a frightening degree. If he had been allowed to mature, then he definitely would have be one of the Ten Arbiters, and he might have even surpassed them in the future and be a leader of the Human Domain¡¯s entire younger generation. Such a shame.

    There was a beep, and Ling Gong looked at her gadget. She suddenly grew excited, as the contest for the Astral Tower was about to begin.

    Ling Gong put away all other thoughts and went into seclusion. She had to seize an inheritance from the Astral Tower and be one of the Cosmic Five.

    As for Ling Que, he was simply ignored.

    ***

    A certain pirate port in the Innerverse grew increasingly busier after the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces retreated. However, its activity was still greatlyckingpared to its bustling nature before the invasion. Even the pirates were feeling the loss in numbers due to the various people who had died, and they cursed even louder after drinking.

    Even if they did not know what the Sixth or Fifth Mainds were, everything would still be fine as long as they could bully others.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be a day when I¡¯ll invade the Sixth Maind and ughter that bunch of those bastards!¡± someone shouted, and the others all cheered.

    Within the crowd there was a woman who cheered the loudest and raised her ss.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be one day when I¡¯ll drink all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s alcohol!¡± That led to another loud round of cheers.

    The girl had hazy eyes showing that she was drunk, but also very excited.

    After a round ofmotion, a few pirates approached her in a suspicious manner, and one of them set a hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Little sis, do you want a drink? You can follow us back to our ship. We¡¯ve got some good liquor there, and it was all stolen from the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Her eyes lit up, and she let out a drunken belch. The air that she expelled actually condensed into a drop of alcohol that she then sucked in. ¡°You¡¯ve really got drinks from the Sixth Maind?¡±

    The pirate was thrilled. ¡°Of course! As long as you follow me, you can drink as much as you want.¡±

    She smiled, stood up, tottered around a bit, and then burped in a drunken manner. Her face was flushed bright red. ¡°That¡¯s what you told me. If there aren¡¯t any drinks, I¡¯ll squeeze all of you dry.¡±

    The small group of pirates allughed. ¡°We like being squeezed dry! Come on, let¡¯s go for a drink!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the other pirates echoed.

    Quite a few other pirates felt pity for the girl, but they were one step toote.

    Before long, the girl was led to a beat up spacecraft by a few pirates, and the entire scene looked like pure chaos.

    ¡°Where are the drinks?¡± the girl slurred as she wobbled around, having to keep herself steady by leaning against the walls while she looked at the pirates through hazy eyes.

    They could not wait to get rid of their clothes. ¡°What drinks? Come and join us, and when we¡¯re done, we¡¯ll buy some for you.¡±

    The girl looked confused, but then her face flushed deeper red. ¡°No- no drinks?¡±

    ¡°Quit messing around ande y with us.¡± One pirate grabbed the girl and was about to force her down when her lips pursed together.

    ¡°I thought that you people were lucky enough toe across some good alcohol, but it was a lie. In that case, I¡¯m going to squeeze you all dry.¡±

    ¡°Haha! Bro, this wretch wants to squeeze you dry! Let¡¯s go!¡± the pirates chortled.

    She belched like a drunkard, but then her eyes turned iparably cold as an indescribably disturbing aura fell upon the group of pirates. They all froze in ce, and then, their leader¡¯s body suddenly started to shrivel. First it was his hand, and next was his leg. The process was very slow yet inexorable. He was slowly turning into dust.

    That pirate¡¯s face went pale, and he stared at his hand in terror as it turned to dust. Suddenly, his entire body mmed onto the floor; his leg was already gone. ¡°Save- sa- save me!¡±

    The other pirates were so frightened that they fell to the floor, utterly paralyzed with fear. They turned to stare at the girl in dread.

    She burped again. ¡°I warned you guys. I told you that I¡¯ll squeeze you dry, keke.¡±

    ¡°Hurry and run,¡± one of the pirates screamed as he fled towards the door. However, before he made it very far, his legs suddenly turned to dust, and the remaining half of his body mmed onto the floor. The other pirates did not even dare to move, and they simply watched on as their own bodies shriveled up and ultimately vanished.

    Before much time passed, the girl walked out of the spacecraft, swaying. Her face was stillpletely flushed, and her appearance caused many other pirates to look at her with lustful eyes. Nobody knew what had happened within the spacecraft that she had just left, as if they did, all of the pirates here would have already fled.

    ¡°What a bunch of trash! Leon¡¯s Armada isn¡¯t any good either. Pirates are all terrible,¡± the woman slurred in a drunken speech, but no one could understand what she said. She continued on her way, swaying as she walked. Suddenly, her gadget beeped, and she nced down at it. After a moment of time, she revealed a surprised expression. ¡°So the contest for the Astral Tower is going to start soon? There¡¯s still about a year left. Keke, one more year of drinking, one more year.¡± The woman paused and then cheered up. ¡°Time to go drink in the Neoverse.¡±

    Then, her figure vanished.

    This sight shocked those in the pirate port, as all of them realized that this woman had not been as simple as they had assumed. As for the few pirates who had led her away earlier, nobody knew where they had gone.

    ***

    As the start date for the Astral Tower contest drew closer, quite amotion was stirred up within the Innerverse, and the Neoverse was the same.

    In a foreign part of the universe, a towering peak slowly floated along. There were dozens of stars revolving around it, and a raging inferno zed at its highest point. From a distance, it looked like it was smoking, but every few seconds, the ze would go out only to start burning again momentster. The soaring smoke spread across the nearby region of outer space¡ªthis was Smoke Eater Peaks, one of the Neoverse powers.

    Inside Smoke Eater Peaks, Gu Xiao''er looked bitter. ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you? I tried my best, but not even that woman, Qiu Shi, was able to seize the Champions'' Stage! Dad, you¡¯re not making much sense.¡±

    ¡°Smelly brat, you still dare to squabble? It¡¯s all because you have no prospects. My Smoke Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke is unrivaled, and from today forward, you will go and absorb the smoke until you can form it yourself.¡±

    ¡°Smoking is detrimental to one¡¯s health.¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I still haven¡¯t settled the score with you for losing the Cosmic Art from before.¡±

    ¡®I¡¯ve told you, that thing was stolen!¡±

    ¡°Nobody can steal anything from my Smoke Eater Peaks! A little brat like you needs a spanking! I¡¯ll beat you!¡±

    ¡°Save me!¡±

    ¡°Eh, the contest for the Astral Tower is about to begin? Xiao¡¯er,e here. I¡¯ll give you some special treatment.¡±

    ¡°Save me!¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 1009: The Bald Elder

    <h4>Chapter 1009: The Bald Elder</h4>

    Within the Cosmic Sect, Hua Xiao and Mu Ziying were facing each other with dejected faces. Their arrogance had entirely disappeared after they had joined to help fight against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. However, this was not because of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind, but rather because of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters.

    They had long seen the Innerverse as a wastnd, but those ten geniuses had been born in that ce.

    ¡°Even Senior didn¡¯t manage to surpass them! The rise of the Ten Arbiters is a rare opportunity that has never urred before and will probably never happen again. We were just unlucky to be born in the same generation as those freaks,¡± Hua Xiao said helplessly.

    Mu Ziying looked at his fellow disciple. ¡°You¡¯ve really underestimate Senior. She¡¯s the All Rounder Fairy, and she hasn¡¯t even fought anyone with her full strength yet.¡±

    Hua Xiao frowned. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m curious, who gave Senior the nickname of ¡®All Rounder Fairy?¡¯ Even we¡¯ve never seen her actual skills.¡±

    Mu Ziying shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    At that moment, their gadgets rang with a beep, and they looked down. When they looked back up, both of them had shocked expressions. ¡°Thepetition for the Astral Tower is going to start soon, and this time, they¡¯re allowing the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters as well as anyone who received a title of King or Queen to take part. On top of that, Nightking Zhenwu will receive one inheritance by himself. Thus, we can only fight for the other four.¡±

    Hua Xiaoughed bitterly. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that this day has finally arrived. Nightking Zhenwu hid his power too well. It¡¯s such a shame about what happened to Lu Yin. He was a genius, and he even injured one of the Daosource Three Skies while being a mere Cruiser. He was the only one who was able to do that during the entire war.¡±

    ¡°Who cares about him? He¡¯s dead. We¡¯re going to have to work together this time.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Oh, do you want to talk to Senior about it?¡±

    ¡°Forget it. Senior will never join up with us.¡±

    ***

    In one region of the Innerverse, an ancient battleship floated in space,pletely stationary. It was Astral-10.

    During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, each branch of the Astral Combat Academy had disyed their impressive war strength. Although Astral-10 had the fewest students, their crazy headmaster had shocked everyone.

    On one particr day, a girl arrived at Astral-10, looking for Xia Luo.

    In Astral-10¡¯s space station, Xia Luo looked at the girl in front of him. ¡°I thought that you woulde looking for me.¡±

    The one standing in front of Xia Luo was Starsibyl, though she was not the Starsibyl from the Ten Arbiter''s generation. Rather, she was the top student from Astral-1. This was the Starsibyl who had participated in the Astral Combat Tournament.

    ¡°Thepetition for the Astral Tower is about to begin. You should head back,¡± she said gently.

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll return. I¡¯ve waited for so long, but it¡¯s finally about to start.¡±

    ¡°Your friend, Lu Yin, became famous after the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion,¡± Starsibylmented.

    Xia Luo sighed. ¡°He¡¯s too high profile. Arbiter Zhenwu is a meticulous and vicious person, and he would never allow Lu Yin to live. However, I didn¡¯t expect that Nightking Zhenwu would go so far as to even ruin his reputation. I think that he wants to use Lu Yin as an example and to demonstrate that he should lead the Ten Arbiters. Is that what you hoped for?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°It¡¯s not what I had hoped for, as I¡¯m just allowing things to proceed. We¡¯ll still need someone to lead the Innerverse in the end.¡±

    Xia Luo smirked. ¡°If you say so.¡±

    Starsibyl nced over at Xia Luo, her eyes bright. ¡°I can sense your ambition. The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion brought a lot of talents to light. Lu Yin made his name known throughout the universe by fighting against the Daosource Three Skies, and now it seems that you want to follow his example.¡±

    Xia Luozily stretched out. ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s time for me to make a move. You, me, the Three Dark Hands, the Hall of Honor, the Mavis family¡­ It¡¯s time for all of us to move. Although this war was just a fluke, the Sea King did do the right thing by returning our sky to us. Otherwise, we would have just continued to wait for the right time.¡±

    Starsibyl gave him a strange look. ¡°You¡¯ve already waited so long, so a little longer wouldn¡¯t matter. Still, this is the right time.¡±

    She suddenly asked a question before leaving, ¡°If possible, will you try to get revenge for Lu Yin?¡±

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered, and she left Astral-10 soon after.

    Xia Luo fell deep into thought. The birth of the Ten Arbiters had given the Innerverse the ability topete with the Neoverse. Even though he was not able to ovee the Ten Arbiters himself, both the Innerverse and the Neoverse had their own ns for the future. If not, then the Ten Arbiters would have never appeared.

    He gazed at the sky, feeling like his future had changed. Although Xia Luo was not very clear on the details of what had happened, he felt that the Innerverse had stepped out of the Neoverse¡¯s control. The appearance of the Ten Arbiters was the clearest example of that, and it was definitely rted to the Starsibyl Sect.

    Xia Luo sighed and nced back at Astral-10. He left with the understanding that he would probably never return to this ce again.

    Meanwhile, back in the Technocracy, Lu Yin reluctantly put his die away. He had used all of his attempts up, but he had not been able to roll Possession a second time, and thus, he had not found a way back to the Outerverse.

    The Technocracy¡¯s border was under strict surveince, and nobody was able to secretly cross it. Although the that Lu Yin had settled down on was close enough to Star Duolun that he could return to that whenever he wanted, there was still a chance that he might be detected by the Technocracy¡¯s powerhouses.

    It seemed like his only option was to wait until he could roll his die again. Or, he could try to force his way out.

    However, he still needed to know which direction to travel in for thetter method. Otherwise, he might just get even more lost.

    The Technocracy had its own Envoys, and if a powerhouse of that level attacked him, then he would die without any doubt.

    Lu Yin put on his universal armor, just to be safe.

    His injuries had mostly healed after the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival had activated. Lu Yin decided to wait a month. If he didn¡¯t manage to find a star chart by rolling Possession after that month, then he would travel north, as he felt that the Human Domain was most likely in that correct direction.

    A few dayster, while Lu Yin was resting and reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, a huge wave of star energy swept past him, nearly tearing through space. The that Lu Yin was on trembled a few times, and the clouds of poisonous gas were dispersed from the surface, which allowed him to clearly see the sky for the first time. There was a silhouette in the sky rushing to the east.

    There were no rune lines within the Technocracy, so Lu Yin was unable to determine just how strong this person was. However, he was confident that this person was much stronger than him, as the pressure of this figure¡¯s speed was something that not even Lu Yin could withstand.

    Lu Yin did not dare to reveal himself. Instead, he remained hiding on the surface of the. The person passing by was most likely a powerhouse from the Technocracy, and they were at the Envoy realm at the very least.

    The¡¯s atmosphere soon recovered, and everything returned to its original state.

    Lu Yin sat back on the ground with his legs crossed and was about to continue reciting the Stonewall Scriptures when chills suddenly ran down his spine. He turned around and saw that someone was staring at him, their eyes filled with happiness and surprise.

    It was a bald old man dressed in rags that had clearly been worn for years, and there was a foul stench about him.

    Lu Yin went pale. He took a few steps back while keeping a wary eye trained on the old man. He was suddenly reminded of the cannibalistic ves that he had seen on Driftcharge.

    The elder grinned, revealing yellow teeth. ¡°Hey kid, don¡¯t be scared. Come on over to Grandpa Hui.¡±

    Lu Yin was on high alert as he held the beaded bracelet in his hand. This power vessel from Yuan Shi allowed him to unequivocally boost one of his attacks¡¯ power level by 300,000. However, he felt that this still would not be enough, so he immediately took out the Arrow of Valiance, the Battle Arrow, and his futon, so that he would be able to escape at any time.

    Since the people from the Sixth Maind were able to enter the ruins of the Daosource Sect with their futons, then it meant that one could enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins from anywhere. Besides, after the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s failed invasion of the Outerverse, Huang San and Yan Xiaojing had returned to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and they had already been in the Technocracy at that time.

    That means that one could enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins from the Technocracy.

    The bald elder grinned when he saw Lu Yin taking out so many different items. ¡°What are you scared of, little boy? I¡¯m not going to eat you.¡±

    This reaction made Lu Yin even more terrified, and he retreated a few more steps back.

    ¡°Hahahaha, kid, you¡¯re really interesting! Come here! Come to Grandpa Hui. Grandpa Hui won¡¯t hurt you. I just haven¡¯t been able to talk to anyone for all these years. I''m always surrounded by machines or crazy people who are obsessed with technology. Grandpa Hui won¡¯t be lonely anymore now that you¡¯re here.¡± The bald old man happily waved a hand.

    Goosebumps appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s skin, and he heard the monkey say, ¡°Seventh Bro, we¡¯re dead! He¡¯s nuts!¡±

    ¡°Senior, I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you, but I¡¯ll leave now, and I won¡¯t disturb you anymore!¡± Lu Yin leaped up and tried to leave by tearing through space.

    However, he found that he was unable to do so even though his strength wasparable to an Enlighter¡¯s. The bald old man had reinforced the surrounding space with his star energy or whatever power he possessed. In other words, Lu Yin was trapped.

    Lu Yin went pale, and sweat dripped from his forehead as he warily turned around to stare at the old man.

    The bald elder touched his head and spoke in a reluctant tone. ¡°Little boy, you¡¯re too timid. What are you scared of? I¡¯m not going to hurt you, soe over here, and we¡¯ll have a chat.¡± He waved for Lu Yin to move closer to him, and Lu Yin was dragged towards the old man without any resistance.

    The bald old man was shocked. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re pretty strong. It¡¯s pretty rare for a fifth cycle Cruiser to be this strong. Tskk, and you have a great deal of star energy too. Who¡¯s your mentor?¡±

    Lu Yin was dragged over to the bald man, but he did not dare to move away. He instantly responded to the man¡¯s question. ¡°Yuan Shi. He¡¯s a powerhouse from the Hall of Honor with a power level of 1,000,000.¡±

    Lu Yin did not want to mention Mister Mu, as he was not certain if the elder would recognize the name or not. However, Yuan Shi was different, as most elders had heard of that ancient powerhouse before. Furthermore, Yuan Shi had an excellent reputation, and he might have even taught this old fellow in the past.

    The bald elder was stunned. ¡°Yuan Shi? Your mentor is Yuan Shi from the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the elder and saw that there was no hatred in his eyes, just surprise. ¡°Yes, Yuan Shi is my mentor.¡±

    The bald elder nodded. ¡°Well, he¡¯s my friend. Don¡¯t worry, kid, I don¡¯t have any intention of hurting you. If I really wanted to hurt you, then not even your mentor would be able to help you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped, as this meant that this old man was another powerhouse whose power level was more than 1,000,000.

    How had he managed to run into someone like this?

    ¡°Hey kid, are you from the Hall of Honor?¡± the bald man asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I¡¯m one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen.¡±

    The bald man said, ¡°Although the Hall of Honor¡¯s a hypocritical organization, they still rule over the Human Domain, and their Honor Chosen have always been the strongest within their generation. Kid, you¡¯re quite impressive to have won such a position while in the Cruiser realm. I have topliment you for that.¡±

 Chapter 1010: Elder And Younger Brothers

    <h4>Chapter 1010: Elder And Younger Brothers</h4>

    ¡°Senior, are you from the Technocracy?¡± Lu Yin probed.

    The bald old man shook his head. ¡°No way. Does this grandpa look like one of those technological monsters?¡± He then shot a curious look at Lu Yin. ¡°Hey kid, how did you get in here? This grandpa¡¯s stayed in the Technocracy for countless years, but you¡¯re the first human that¡¯s ever entered this deep, and you¡¯re still well and alive. When all those other fellows barged in, they had to force their way out again.¡±

    ¡°Junior was framed by a viin, and I suffered terrible injuries that nearly killed me. As a result, I was practically a floating corpse, which allowed me to evade the Technocracy¡¯s detection,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The bald man had an incredulous look. ¡°I understand the Technocracy¡¯s methods quite well, but anything that has even the slightest trace of life won¡¯t be able to escape from their detection. Kid, you¡¯re being very dishonest, wanting to pull one over Grandpa. Hahaha, but it¡¯s fine. The path of cultivation is too cruel, and everyone has a few secrets. Thus, it¡¯s best to always be vignt, hahaha.¡±

    The bald man was very rxed. He obviously did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s exnation, but he was very confident that Lu Yin was not from the Technocracy. The old man chatted with Lu Yin for quite a while, and he mostly spoke about his many years¡¯ of experiences in the Technocracy.

    The man told Lu Yin that there was an advanced city within the Technocracy and that the technology in that ce was unimaginable. There were even many things that could not be imagined. Unfortunately, that city had been smashed apart by the old man.

    He also shared that there had been a research team in the Technocracy looking into immortality, and they had actually made some headway into that subject area. Unfortunately, the old man had destroyed the results of their research, and he had also conveniently taken out the research team itself.

    Also, within the Technocracy, the people living there often held a certain tournament. During one of his bored phases, he had forcibly be one of the judges, and then he had eliminated all of thepetitors. After that, he had been chased around by the Technocracy for a thousand years.

    The bald old man talked about many things, as he had not spoken to anyone in many years. Or rather, he had not talked to someone from his home. Since he was within the Technocracy, anyone from the Human Domain was considered as someone from the man¡¯s hometown.

    ¡°After talking for so long, I still don¡¯t know Senior¡¯s name. This junior is Lu Yin, and I¡¯m from Frostwave Weave in the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse,¡± Lu Yin respectfully greeted. He had thought the matter through and had ended up deciding that there was no need to be wary towards this old man. Given the old man¡¯s strength, Lu Yin would not be able to stop him even if he remained on guard.

    The elder was stumped, and he unconsciously rubbed his bald head. ¡°Name? Name?¡±

    The man looked to be confused. ¡°Nobody¡¯s asked for this grandpa¡¯s name for so many years. What was I called again? What was I called?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Your surname is Hui?¡±

    When they had first met, the man had referred to himself as Grandpa Hui.

    The elder pped his forehead. ¡°Right, Hui! My surname is Hui! I nearly forgot, hahaha! Hui Kong! This grandpa is called Hui Kong."

    Lu Yin nodded as he thought to himself, Hui, what a strange surname.

    The old, bald Hui Kong was very happy with Lu Yin¡¯s arrival. Even if Lu Yin was just a junior and the two had almost nothing inmon due to their different levels, the old man was still delighted. He continued to talk about his own business, smiling the entire time he spoke and looking as though he had met up with an old friend.

    As time passed, Lu Yin gradually rxed. He was no longer concerned about the elder¡¯s cultivation realm since he had realized that the older man was genuinely emotional about finally having someone to speak to after so long. Since that was the case, Lu Yin felt that he might as well let himself go and chat with the old man. Thus, they discussed cultivation, battles, and various interesting facts. Even if they only spoke about trivial matters, the two of them chatted away very happily.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and he took out some alcohol and snacks from his cosmic ring. These were items that he had prepared for a bad situation, such as being trapped for a long time somewhere. However, he could use them at this time. ¡°Senior Hui, try some of these drinks from home.¡±

    Hui Kong looked excited, and he reached out with a trembling hand. He swallowed his saliva, very carefully raised a bottle, and took arge gulp before finally letting out a long sigh. ¡°This is right, this is right. Hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Cheers.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, cheers!¡± Hui Kongughed.

    Two men, one old and one young, drank and chatted on a strange. It was almost exactly like when Lu Yin had spent his time with Cai Jianqiang and Zi Rong, though this current situation had another level of strangeness.

    Lu Yin brought out a great deal of food and drink from his cosmic ring, but Hui Kong could not bear devouring the feast. Instead, he said that he wanted to go slowly.

    Lu Yin let the old man be, as he was willing to casually chat with the man.

    Hui Kong truly had far too much to say, and he was also very sharp. As they spoke, the way that he looked at Lu Yin became more and more appreciative. Generally, the longer someone lived for, the clearer they were able to see things. Although the two had not known each other for very long, Hui Kong already had a good grasp of Lu Yin¡¯s character. This youth might be ambitious and even ruthless, but he still had a bottom line, which was a good thing. A bottom line was like a chain that restricted a person, and it tied them to their humanity.

    Hui Kong had seen too many powerful cultivators that could no longer even be considered human, as they were willing to horrifically abuse other humans and acted no differently than beasts. He himself could not be considered kind, but he also had his own bottom line.

    Over the course of several days, the conversation between the two never ran dry. Hui Kong had an endless amount to say, and it was as if he was trying to narrate everything that had happened to him throughout his many years. Even if Lu Yin had prepared himself beforehand, he still would have ended up dizzy from the conversation.

    ¡°Little Lu, be a good boy and tell Grandpa Hui, how exactly did you get here?¡± Hui Kong asked curiously, his question trulying from pure curiosity. After all, the old powerhouse had charged through the border when he himself had entered the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°What I told you is true. I can be considered a person who¡¯s died once.¡±

    Hui Kong was astonished, and he stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for a moment before averting his gaze and muttering to himself, ¡°Died yet still survived? Is there really such a thing? Even this grandpa can¡¯t do something like that.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s probably just my good luck.¡±

    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he looked over at Hui Kong. ¡°Has Senior ever heard of the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival?¡±

    Hui Kong went bug eyed. ¡°You can¡¯t possibly have seeded in cultivating that.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all because of that Fatal Revival that Junior survived.¡±

    Hui Kong eximed, ¡°That technique has an evil origin, and it spread extensively. Countless people tried to cultivate it, but none of them ever seeded. Yet you actually used that to survive. Things make sense now.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Does Senior know if Fatal Revival has any systemic issues?¡±

    This was why he had mentioned the technique. He still trusted the old man from Driftcharge who had given him a secret mission. That man had forced Lu Yin to ept a mission to go to the Neoverse to fulfill a promise. However, he hadter removed that condition and had even created the opportunity for Lu Yin to escape from Driftcharge. Lu Yin remained grateful to that old man from the bottom of his heart, but Fatal Revival was something that had been created a long time ago, and it had not been created by the old man himself. If that was the case, then who knew if there were any systemic issues to the technique? There was no harm in asking a few more people. Besides, the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival had spread extensively throughout the universe, and its existence could not be considered a secret.

    Hui Kong shook his head. ¡°This technique actually appeared in a rather strange manner, and everyone knew about it after just one night. However, nobody has ever been able to sessfully cultivate it. I don''t know if this technique has any systemic issues or not.

    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t bother overthinking it, kid. Reviving after death is a wondrous thing. On top of that, you managed to enter the Technocracy while you were dead, which let you see this grandpa. This means that we have some fate between us! So with how things are, don¡¯t call me Senior anymore¡ªjust call me Brother Hui, and I¡¯ll call you Brother Lu. How about it?¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled. ¡°Since Senior has suggested it, then it¡¯ll be this junior¡¯s honor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still calling me Senior¡­¡±

    ¡°Brother Hui.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, Brother Lu,e! Cheers!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡±

    ¡°Here, slow down, and drink slowly. We still have many long days ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll drink slowly.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin eventually became drunk, and he had even lost count of how long he had been drunk for. If they so desired it, a cultivator would not get intoxicated even if they drank nonstop for an entire year. However, there was no meaning to drinking in such a fashion.

    Rumble!

    The ground shook as Lu Yin drunkenly opened his bleary eyes. Everything was fuzzy, but another rumbling sound interrupted his thoughts, prompting Lu Yin to get up and look around, at which point his eyes suddenly shrank. He could only see an iparably massive mechanical arm mming down at him from above the.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp tingled, and he raced to escape.

    ¡°Hahaha, Brother Lu, did you wake up? Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here!¡± Hui Kongughed from up above, clenched a fist, and mmed it out. The mechanical arm was about asrge as a, but it instantly shattered from Hui Kong¡¯s fist strike, and the fragments were even swept away by a gale that rushed off into the distance.

    Everything had taken ce in no more than a moment.

    It all went by too fast, and Lu Yin even thought that it was a dream until Hui Kongnded back on the ground and patted his shoulder. Upon being touched, Lu Yin returned to his senses.

    ¡°Br- bro, what was that?¡± Lu Yin asked nkly.

    Hui Kong grinned. ¡°Just a toy. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Don¡¯t worry? How? Although Lu Yin could not see rune lines in this ce, he was certain that the sheer power of that mechanical arm would have been enough to reduce him to dust, and even his upgraded universal armor would have beenpletely useless. That thing was a toy? Fine, to someone like Hui Kong, that arm had indeed just been a trivial toy.

    ¡°Bro, have we been discovered?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kong sat down cross-legged and brushed some dust off of his body. ¡°I¡¯m the one who dragged you into this. I¡¯m as bright as the sun in the darkness, and the entire Technocracy is constantly watching me. Hahaha, every once in a while, they¡¯ll send a toy like that to cause me some trouble, but it¡¯s just a bit of fun for me.¡±

    ¡°With your strength, you should be able to return to the Human Domain.¡± Lu Yin was puzzled about this matter.

    Hui Kong looked up, his expressionplex. ¡°I can¡¯t return, definitely not. Not if I can¡¯t find the answer that I¡¯m looking for.¡±

    Lu Yin did not ask anything further.

    Hui Kong raised a hand to pat Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I know that you want to go back. You¡¯re young, and there are many things that you care about. If you want to return, then I¡¯ll find a way to send you back.¡±

    Lu Yin was delighted. ¡°Thank you, Brother.¡±

    Hui Kongughed. ¡°However, you¡¯ll have to keep mepany for a few more days¡ªyou can¡¯t just leave after you¡¯ve barely arrived.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a given. I¡¯ll wait for Brother Hui¡¯s instructions,¡± Lu Yin answered emotionally, as he had finally seen some hope of returning home.

    Hui Kong smiled. ¡°Although we¡¯ve only known each other for a few days, I truly admire you. If not for some special reasons, I¡¯d even be willing to be sworn brothers with you. We might not be able to do that for now, I still see you as my little brother, hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin alsoughed, all of the pent-up frustrations from his recent experiences clearing themselves away. With such a powerful big brother, he would probably be able to remain within the Technocracy forever if he wanted, which felt pretty good.

    Ten dayster, Hui Kong was still talking nonstop about various things. Lu Yin knew that if the old man could not get his money¡¯s worth of talking with Lu Yin, then there was no chance of him leaving.

    At this time, an iparably huge universal spacecraft appeared on a nearby. When Lu Yin saw it, his expression changed slightly. He had seen a simr spacecraft before, as this one was identical to the ones used by the people from the Bloodburn Realm when they had invaded the Outerverse.

    ¡°Troublemakers are here.¡± Hui Kong set down the roasted leg of a giant beast. He then leaped up into outer space.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was not concerned for his brother¡¯s safety at all, especially when he nced over to the side, where the carcass of a giant astral beast was turning cold while one of its legs was currently being roasted. This astral beast had actually possessed the strength of an Enlighter when it was alive. Lu Yin did not even know where Hui Kong had gotten it, but it actually tasted pretty good.

    In outer space, the vessel¡¯s hatch opened as countless nanomachines flew out of the ship. They all had different designs and shapes as they flew towards Hui Kong in a dense cloud.

    Hui Kong simply raised a hand and pped out a palm. Not only did he shatter all of the nanomachines that each had the strength of a Hunter, but he also almost swatted the spacecraft away.

 Chapter 1011: Meaning

    <h4>Chapter 1011: Meaning</h4>

    A group of people that looked like cyborgs within the spacecraft clutched at the walls, only steadying themselves after a bit of difficulty.

    A woman flew out of the ship. She had the appearance of a rather pretty human, but her eyes were mechanical, and even her hair was inorganic. She red at Hui Kong with clear fury on her face. ¡°Stupid baldy! Pay us back for our family¡¯s items!¡±

    Hui Kong disdainfully replied, ¡°Beat it, doll.¡±

    ¡°Stupid baldy! Smelly baldy! If you have the ability, then suppress your realm and fight us! I¡¯ll use your bald head as a ball to kick around!¡±

    ¡°Dollface, go back and drink your milk.¡±

    ¡°Stupid baldy, you¡¯re infuriating me to death!¡±

    Hui Kongughed.

    Down on the, Lu Yin¡¯s face grew strange. Hui Kong was actually not killing this group, and they also did not seem to be afraid of him, which was very confusing.

    A long whileter, the spacecraft shakily left, and it could not even be seen after it shot off into the distance.

    Hui Kong descended onto the and let out several loudughs.

    Lu Yin was curious about the matter. ¡°Bro, who were those people?¡±

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re from the Technocracy. They¡¯re a part of the Semi-Android family, and they are a power that belongs to a certain research team.¡±

    Lu Yin had his doubts. ¡°They actually dare to try to make trouble for you?¡±

    Hui Kong chuckled. ¡°Actually, the Technocracy and Human Domain aren¡¯t mortal enemies, but that¡¯s something that you¡¯lle to understandter.¡±

    Lu Yin did not really understand at this moment, but he still nodded. ¡°Right, bro, they asked you to repay them. What for?¡±

    Hui Kong smiled drily. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Actually, when I¡¯m hungry, I tend to go and steal some of their treasures. Sometimes, I identally make some trouble by ruining their stuff. That group is just a bit stingy.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    Some dayster, another iparably huge monstrosity attacked Hui Kong, but it was also easily reduced to scrap material by Hui Kong. He tossed the pile of junk over to Lu Yin. ¡°Do you want this?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t fit that in my ring.¡±

    Hui Kong thought about it and then left. The next day, he threw a cosmic ring to Lu Yin, and Lu Yin¡¯s mouth gaped open when he looked inside it. This cosmic ring was about a hundred timesrger than his current one, which was too ridiculous. He gasped in amazement. ¡°Bro, this is?¡±

    ¡°Borrowed,¡± Hui Kong replied indifferently.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Does it need to be returned?¡±

    Hui Kong gave the question some serious thought. ¡°Sometime in my lifetime.¡±

    At this moment, Lu Yin came to an understanding, and he suddenly realized why that group of people had been so enraged that they would risk their lives to demand repayment from this old man. Hui Kong definitely hadn¡¯t simply destroyed their items, and the value of just this cosmic ring alone was absolutely priceless. Lu Yin guessed that not even an Envoy-level powerhouse might own such a cosmic ring, which was too scary of a thought. This man was an old pirate, but Lu Yin liked his style.

    With his new absurdly huge cosmic ring, Lu Yin unceremoniously stored the ruined remains of the mechanical monstrosity.

    For something to be sent out to deal with Hui Kong, even if its power level had not reached a million, the machine¡¯s strength had to have at least reached the strength of an Envoy. And to produce a machine of such a level, itsponent materials would naturally be rare and extraordinary, and Lu Yin did not have a problem with gathering more such materials.

    At regr intervals, giant machines would attack Hui Kong. After one of these attacks, he told Lu Yin that he used to shatter them into dust, but he was showing mercy now in order to try to leave some materials for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was very grateful, and he was even happier as he collected the scrap metal.

    More than a month passed in this manner.

    Hui Kong looked up at the sky with eyes full of reminiscence.

    ¡°Bro, are you thinking of home?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kong smiled. ¡°No. My immediate family are probably all dead by now, and who knows which generation is still alive now.¡±

    ¡°Where are you from, Bro?¡± Lu Yin asked. This was the first time he asked the old man such a question, as he had been concerned about being rude before. Now that they had spent almost two months together, they were quite familiar with each other.

    Hui Kong did not hide anything. ¡°The Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°Bro¡¯s from Neoverse? Could you tell me a bit more about the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin was very interested.

    Hui Kong was astonished. ¡°You haven¡¯t been to the Neoverse?¡¯

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll tell you about the Neoverse, though this knowledge is from a very long time ago, and I don¡¯t know much at all about the current situation. Still, things shouldn¡¯t have changed too much.¡±

    Hui Kong paused and looked at Lu Yin. Upon seeing that the youth was listening attentively, he continued, saying, ¡°The part of the universe where we live is the Fifth Maind, and it¡¯s divided into three domains: the Human Domain, the Technocracy, and the Astral Beast Domain. The Human Domain itself is also divided into different sections: the Outerverse, the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Outerverse, so there¡¯s no need to say much about it. Most of the various powers are in the Innerverse, and that ce is filled withplex rtions. I don¡¯t understand that ce too much, and there¡¯s no need to know too much as the true core of the entire Human Domain lies within the Neoverse.

    ¡°The Neoverse is the core zone of the Human Domain, and it¡¯s also where you¡¯ll find the top elites of the entire Human Domain. The one that stands at the very top is the Hall of Honor. They govern the entire Human Domain since they have a Semi-Progenitor overseeing things. In addition, they also have several powerhouses whose power levels are above 1,000,000. Nobody knows if there are any other stronger powerhouses, but that¡¯s because no one has ever learned of the Hall of Honor¡¯s true strength.

    ¡°The Hall of Honor stands alone, but right beneath it are the Mavis family, the Cosmic Sect, Gods¡¯ Origin, and Aurora Enterprises, all of which have influence that stretches throughout the entire Human Domain. However, those guys are just the legitimate forces. Opposite them are the Three Dark Hands¡ªnamely, the Neohuman Alliance, the Seven Courts, and Burial Garden. Based on your current level of strength, you should have heard of pretty much all of them. Still, there are other forces outside of these powers, but they keep themselves hidden and never expose themselves at all. One of them is Eversky Ind.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback; there were still more powers?

    Hui Kong¡¯s expression grew even more solemn. ¡°If you ever have the opportunity to go to the Neoverse one day, don¡¯t ever underestimate anyone there, even if you are already considered unrivaled within your generation. That¡¯s because this Fifth Maind contains more than the strength of just one maind. Rather, it is actually five that havebined together. The simplest example is one of the Three Dark Hands, the Seven Courts. They are actually seven families from the five shattered mainds, and each one of them has their own secret technique.¡±

    Lu Yin had never looked down upon those people. Even when the Fifth Maind had seemed to be in danger due to the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, there were still some powers that had never made any moves at all.

    ¡°Bro, what¡¯s the meaning behind the existence of the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kong stared deep into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do you know something?¡±

    Lu Yin gave the old man a brief rundown of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    Hui Kong was stunned. ¡°So something like that actually happened? And the sky was restored? That Sea King bastard has guts, hahaha! I admire him.¡±

    ¡°Bro, even when the Sixth Maind invaded and the Fifth Maind was about to be extinguished, the Three Dark Hands never took action, and neither did that Eversky Ind you mentioned or the Mavis family. It seemed like none of them helped at all.¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Hui Kong shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ll learn all this in the future. The Sixth Maind is not the true enemy, and this whole invasion was just a farce. That Sea King fellow disrupted the Neoverse¡¯s movements, but he¡¯s also very courageous. There¡¯s no use in exining these things to you right now.¡±

    The two talked for a very long time, and Hui Kong was also very curious about the battle style of the Sixth Maind cultivators. ording to his own words, he had been born long after the war between the two mainds, and since he had been stuck in the Technocracy all this time, he had not been able to witness their fighting techniques with his own eyes.

    When he heard that the Sixth Maind cultivators used imprints as their primary method of cultivation, Hui Kong revealed a disdainful look. ¡°Fools! Those idiots were not deceived casually.¡±

    ¡°Deceived?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Hui Kong exined, ¡°The older generation said that the Sixth Maind was deceived by something. It seems that it was not just in terms of battle, as even their entire cultivation system is off.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of a sentence that he had heard in the Rune Technology Civilization¡¯s ruins. Those words had also indicated that the Sixth Maind had been deceived somehow, though it sounded more like some monster had cheated them. Just what kind of monster could that have been exactly?

    Lu Yin really wanted to learn more secrets from Hui Kong, as he felt that Hui Kong knew something, but Hui Kong remained very tight-lipped. The old man would not speak any further on that topic no matter what.

    He patted Lu Yin on the shoulder and sighed. ¡°Alright, stop trying to get more information out of me, Bro. Once you reach a certain level, you¡¯ll naturally be able to find out more. It actually might not be a good thing for you to learn about this too early, as your entire being might just copse, hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin proudly responded, ¡°Bro, my willpower is very strong.¡±

    ¡°I can tell. I admire you alot, hahaha.¡± Hui Kongughed, as he was truly quite happy.

    Lu Yin looked at Hui Kong. This old man seemed to have a great deal to say, but he waspletely tight-lipped when it came to certain secrets. ¡°Bro, I¡¯ve wanted to know the answer to one certain question for a long time.¡±

    Hui Kong grinned. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. Wait a moment while I go and hunt. We¡¯ll talk while we eat.¡±

    He then flew up and disappeared.

    Not long after, a giant shadow crashed down that caused the ground to split open. A terrifying astral beast had been thrown onto the, and it was already dead.

    Lu Yin probed it with his Oveying Stacks Path, but he could not break through the corpse¡¯s defense.

    Hui Kong smiled. ¡°Your physical strength isn¡¯t bad, and you also use the Oveying Stacks Path. Interesting. Still, why just One Hundred Stacks? With your strength, you should be able to use at least One Hundred Fifty Stacks.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know any further.¡±

    Hui Kong nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t know the Oveying Stacks Path, though I can still teach you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Bro, you know how to deduce it? With your strength, deducing over One Hundred Stacks shouldn¡¯t be hard at all.¡±

    Hui Kong chuckled. ¡°Why get others to deduce it for you? Can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡±

    This question left Lu Yin stumped, and an intense rumbling struck his brain that parted the fog. Right, was there any reason why he could not deduce it himself? In the past, when he had been in the Sentinel and Melder realms, he had asked the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Rainmaster to deduce the Oveying Stacks Path for him, but it had just been a few stacks. With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, he no longer needed the deductions for those few stacks, as he could use his own power to demonstrate the technique and even guide others.

    Since he could deduce several stacks by himself, then was there any reason why he could not deduce more of the Oveying Stacks Path?

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged and immediately started peacefully meditating.

    Hui Kong smiled and shook his head. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    A few days quickly passed, and nearly half of the massive astral beast had been devoured by Hui Kong. At that moment, Lu Yin opened his eyes. His expression looked a bit lost and troubled, though there was also a glint of anticipation for the future.

    ¡°How was it? Did you deduce it?¡± Hui Kong asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. At most, I can deduce Twenty Stacks.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not experienced enough. Read more books and search for natural treasures that can help you to calm down and focus. Maybe then you¡¯ll be able to deduce more,¡± Hui Kong suggested.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you for the tips, Bro.¡±

    Hui Kongughed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t any sort of tip¡ªI¡¯m justzy! Otherwise I would have helped you deduce it, but you can¡¯t always rely on others in the future. The day you deduce One Hundred Stacks by yourself, you¡¯ll be able to unleash much more power than what you are capable of right now. The Oveying Stacks Path will always be stronger if it is self-deduced rather than inherited from someone else.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

 Chapter 1012: Route And The Hui Family

    <h4>Chapter 1012: Route And The Hui Family</h4>

    ¡°Come on, have something to eat.¡± Hui Kong tossed Lu Yin a giant beast¡¯s thigh.

    Lu Yin caught it, and began to devour it without any hesitation.

    Soon, there was just a pile of bones left on the ground. Lu Yin patted his stomach and wondered to himself if he had grown fatter.

    ¡°Oops, I forgot something.¡± Hui Kong suddenly smacked himself in the head, which startled Lu Yin and made him jump.

    Lu Yin gave the old man a nk look.

    Hui Kong looked down, thinking to himself for a moment. Suddenly, he grew annoyed. ¡°How could I have forgotten about him?!¡±

    ¡°Bro, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kong looked to be in agony, and he apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, bro, but I might not be able to send you to the Outerverse anymore. Can you wait another hundred years or so?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Bro, stop kidding.¡±

    Hui Kong sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not joking. With how long it¡¯s been since I first barged into this broken ce and started wreaking so much havoc, do you really think that the Technocracy relies on just those mechanical monsters to try to deal with me? That¡¯s too naive. In order to restrict me, the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain sends an absolute powerhouse to deal with me every once in a while, and each fight willst for a hundred years.

    ¡°I wanted to send you off, but s, it might already be toote.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as he did not want to be stuck in the Technocracy for a hundred years. After that much time, everything he was working towards would have already gone cold. ¡°Bro, is there no other way? With your strength, it should just take you an instant to pass through the Technocracy.¡±

    Hui Kong smiled bitterly. ¡°In the Human Domain, it really is that easy to travel around the universe, but the situation here in the Technocracy is different. This ce is littered with technological defenses, and wherever I go, those defenses will start to endlessly increase. Also, there are traps hidden everywhere, even where the void has solidified. Let¡¯s put it this way¡ªwithin the next hundred years, even if I wanted to leave, I can¡¯t.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face went pale. What should he do if he could not leave? After a hundred years, let alone the Innerverse; even the situation in the Outerverse wouldpletely change. Those powers that had been forcibly incorporated into the Great Eastern Alliance would likely leave, and they might even turn around to deal with the Great Yu Empire. Also, there were still other unstable factors within the Great Eastern Alliance, such as Undying Yushan¡ªnobody even knew if the previous emperor was dead or alive. There was also the Hidden Earth Society and other such organizations. Of course, most importantly, what about Ming Yan? Was she supposed to just wait for him for a hundred years?

    If it took him a hundred years to return, then he would be toote for everything.

    ¡°Bro, when will that powerhouse arrive to deal with you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kong thought about it. ¡°Anytime now.¡±

    Lu Yin silently muttered to himself.

    Hui Kong had a pained look. ¡°I¡¯ve let you down. I was only thinking about keeping you around a bit longer to chat, and I never expected to identally leave you stranded here. It really wasn¡¯t intentional.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°I know that bro didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±

    Hui Kong sighed helplessly. ¡°Just stay if you have to. It will also be good for you to watch me fight for a hundred years. With your aptitude, you¡¯ll end up reaching at least the Enlighter realm after that long. Rx and don¡¯t worry about resources or things like that. I¡¯ll just steal them for you.¡±

    Steal? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Bro, you understand the Technocracy well, right?¡±

    Hui Kong patted his chest. ¡°You must be joking. I¡¯ve been fighting here for many years.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly took out the star chart that showed the path that connected the Innerverse to the Outerverse that he had received from Endless Borders. He then passed the map over to Hui Kong. ¡°Bro, do you recognize this ce?¡±

    Hui Kong looked at it, puzzled. ¡°This ce is pretty close by. What¡¯s up with this? Why do you have a star chart of part of the Technocracy?¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled. ¡°Bro, this star chart is one that was mapped out by Endless Borders, and it shows a path between the Innerverse and the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s even something like this? But there shouldn¡¯t be any holes in the Technocracy¡¯s surveince.¡± Hui Kong found this matter quite strange.

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°One of Endless Borders¡¯ exploration teams really did manage to sessfully map out this route. Although there are strange phenomena on this route that make it dangerous, they really did get to the Innerverse.¡±

    Hui Kong looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You want me to send you through this route so that you can return to the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Hui Kong thought about it. ¡°If this route is real, then there¡¯s no problem. However, if there¡¯s any sort of problem, then you might really die. Think about this carefully.¡±

    Lu Yin felt like he had no other choice. ¡°I really can¡¯t wait for a hundred years. Honestly, I was framed, and I lost in the Innerverse. I still need to get revenge. If I can¡¯t return soon, then everything to do with that matter will be over soon.¡±

    Hui Kong frowned. ¡°There¡¯s no bit of business more important than your own life. I¡¯ll promise you that I¡¯ll get the unknown generation of my Hui family¡¯s descendents to help you. You¡¯re from the Outerverse, and my descendants also might not have lived up to my expectations, but they should still be able to help you gain control of a few weaves.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I¡¯ve already unified half of the Outerverse.¡±

    Hui Kong nkly stared at the youth. ¡°How? The Innerverse, Neoverse, and the Hall of Honor all just watched on as you did that?¡±

    ¡°When the sky changed, the Astral River¡¯s energy surged, and the Outerverse ended up being isted from the Innerverse,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Hui Kong finally understood what had happened. This was a matter of Lu Yin taking advantage of the extraordinarily rare opportunity where the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, and he had managed to achieve something unprecedented. Under normal circumstances, it would not be possible for anyone to unite half of the Outerverse. Even if the Hall of Honor had agreed to such a thing, those top powers from the Innerverse would not readily agree.

    ¡°I¡¯ve really underestimated you. Alright, I¡¯ll send you on your way, and your life and death will depend on the will of heaven. Tell me, who is your enemy? If you die during this, I¡¯ll get revenge for you when I head out,¡± Hui Kong said.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to carve Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name into the ground. His greatest enemy at this moment was Nightking Zhenwu.

    Hui Kong was astonished. ¡°A Nightking? So you offended the Daynight n, and one of the Nightking¡¯s descendants at that.¡± He was about to make anotherment, but his expression suddenly changed. ¡°Not good! The enemy¡¯s here.¡±

    He quickly grabbed a hold of Lu Yin and stepped forward, vanishing from the surface of the.

    Hui Kong had only just left when a semi-mechanical man appeared on the, his gaze sweeping across the surface of the. After a moment, he also tore through the void to leave the.

    All Lu Yin could feel was a sensation of his body being cut open, and the next instant, there was a cyclone that engulfed the region of space in front of him. Hui Kong stood tall in outer space as he grabbed Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, this is as far as I can take you. This is the route that you showed me, so I¡¯ll see you off here.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body tensed up, and he immediately put on his universal armor. ¡°Bro, will we be able to meet again?¡±

    Hui Kongughed. ¡°Of course! Nobody can kill me!¡±

    The man then forcefully tossed Lu Yin straight into the cyclone, and the youth was swallowed as he spun towards the north.

    Lu Yin had only just been thrown out when the semi-mechanical man appeared next to Hui Kong, staring at the old man.

    Hui Kong turned around to face the neer. ¡°Hahahaha, now we can have a good match!¡±

    The very next moment, the heavens themselves ruptured.

    Lu Yin had been thrown by Hui Kong¡¯s incredible strength, and the youth¡¯s breathing slowed as his entire body was forced to endure a tremendous pressure that almost exceeded the limit of what his body could withstand. When the cyclone swept him up, it looked like the sky was spinning above him. When he was finally able to open his eyes, the cyclone had disappeared, and he was in a strange part of the universe.

    This was where the route started.

    Lu Yin did not know how to determine where the route started exactly, but he could use his gadget to find out.

    Before long, he gained his bearings and shot off in a certain direction.

    This route was one of the few loopholes in the Technocracy¡¯s border surveince, and as long as one could evade the terrifying phenomena, they would be able to reach the Outerverse.

    Thisst journey to the Innerverse had felt like a dream. He had not realized that he had already reached a very high level. After just a few years had gone by, he had be more famous than ever and shocked the Innerverse.

    However, the event that had left the deepest impression on Lu Yin was naturally his battle against Nightking Zhenwu, as it seemed impossible to stop the Heart Seeker secret technique. Anyone who fought against Nightking Zhenwu could be struck by that technique at any time, and with Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s personality, he would never expose such a sneaky attack in advance. The Nightking hadprehended Skybreaker, and now that he had captured Zhuo Daynight, he even had a chance of obtaining Night¡¯s End, Daybreak from her.

    That man had already gained control of the Nightking bloodline¡¯s greatest inheritance, and he had also received the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance. On top of that, after seizing the Champions'' Stage, it was highly likely that Nightking Zhenwu would also be one of the Cosmic Five, thus obtaining one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. If everything went ording to his n, then he would be unrivaled within his generation, and even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies might not be able to stand up to him.

    Nightking Zhenwu was like the child of heaven, as bright as the moon in the night sky above. He carried the mandate of heaven, but the only thing that he had failed to do so far was kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, his eyes cold.

    Nightking Zhenwu might seem to have everything going as nned for him for the time being, but Lu Yin strongly believed that he still had an opportunity to thwart the Nightking¡¯s ns and stop him.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡ªit would not be too long before they met again.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something. He had forgotten to ask about something, as he had been interrupted by Hui Kong¡¯s hunting.

    He had wanted to ask the old man about the primeval surnames, as Hui Kong would likely know about them due to his advanced age, but Lu Yin had forgotten.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are we heading back to the Outerverse now?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement.

    The Ghost Monkey fell silent for a moment and then asked, ¡°Seventh Bro, have you heard of the surname Hui before?¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand the question. ¡°No, have you?¡±

    ¡°Within the Seven Courts, there¡¯s a family with the Hui surname,¡± the Ghost Monkey exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised, but then he casually replied, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why his family¡¯s so powerful. So they¡¯re a part of the Seven Courts.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s another thing that Seventh Bro might not know, or perhaps you didn¡¯t really pay too much attention to it.¡± The monkey paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°The Technocracy was birthed from Progenitor Hui.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as he suddenly remembered hearing something about that before.

    ¡°Do you remember when the Tong family and the Sightless n attacked the Outerverse? Yuan Shi used a Progenitor¡¯s item to stand up to Ancestor Sightless, and he said something at that time.¡± the Ghost Monkey slowly said.

    Lu Yin finally recalled that moment. At that time, Yuan Shi had used Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to fight against Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless, and Ancestor Sightless had mentioned a ¡°Progenitor Hui who had created technology.¡±

    ¡°The Technocracy was born from Progenitor Hui?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    The Ghost Monkey answered in a dull voice, ¡°Probably. Otherwise, who else could have created such a massive civilization from nothing? The Technocracy was originally known as the Lost Technocracy, which shows that it was abandoned at some point in time, and that it possibly has Progenitor Hui¡¯s inheritance.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Hui¡­ The Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family. Could it be the same bloodline?¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    ¡°Hui Kong might not be staying in the Technocracy for reasons as simple as you were assuming. He might actually be searching for Progenitor Hui¡¯s inheritance,¡± the monkey said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s possible. Hopefully, he finds it.¡±

    The monkey was puzzled. ¡°Hopefully? Seventh Bro, he¡¯s someone from the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family, and he might even be one of the family¡¯s ancestors. They¡¯re one of the Three Dark Hands!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°So what? He¡¯s my brother. He sent me here, and he also reminded me to deduce the Oveying Stacks Path myself. He told me about a lot of things.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey fell silent.

    Humans were humans, and they would not always remain rational. Hui Kong had indeed been pretty good to Lu Yin; he had not done much to the youth, and the old man hadn¡¯t even tried to coax any information out of the youngster, never taking the initiative to ask any questions. All of their interactions had been very natural, and Lu Yin would not be enemies with such a person regardless of whether they were from the Three Dark Hands or the Hall of Honor.

 Chapter 1013: Return

    <h4>Chapter 1013: Return</h4>

    Lu Yin had been able to feel Hui Kong¡¯s sincerity through his interactions with him, and he naturally intended to repay the old man in kind. This waspletely different from his rtionship with Nightking Yuanjing. Even if Lu Yin called Nightking Yuanjing ¡°Grandpa,¡± the old Nightking was merely a target for Lu Yin to manipte, just like how he himself was a target to be manipted by Nightking Yuanjing.

    In contrast, Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Hui Kong was genuine.

    But Lu Yin did not have that much time to think about such things. Up ahead of him, the void had split open, and there was a pulling force constantly sweeping through the region.

    Lu Yin used his physical strength to rush forward at a high speed, evading the pull and shaking it off with some difficulty. Next, another attractive force swept through the area. Anyone weaker than an Enlighter would not be able to escape from it, as the strength of this force had almost reached a power level of 300,000.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless at this sight. Just who had said that as long as a person had the strength of an Enlighter, they would not need to be afraid of the various phenomena on this route? Even normal Enlighters might not be able to resist this force; had this phenomenon matured?

    He had only made a casual guess that this route had changed, but Lu Yin suddenly saw a massive spatial crack appear up ahead of him, seemingly splitting the universe in two. The appearance of this crack confirmed his theory that the route had changed from what was on the star chart.

    The phenomena along this route were extremely varied after the change. But even before stepping foot here, when Lu Yin had first learned that this path could be used to travel to the Innerverse from the Outerverse by way of the Technocracy, he had held some doubts.

    The Technocracy would not leave any loopholes in their border surveince, and even if there were any, they should have been discovered long ago.

    After rethinking things, Lu Yin realized that this route might not actually be an oversight of the Technocracy, but rather a path that could not be traveled. There was a chance that the exploration team that had sessfully mapped out this route to the Innerverse had simply been lucky enough to encounter this route during a certain phase where the various phenomena had not been as powerful. However, now that Lu Yin was personally walking this path, he was able to clearly see the power of the phenomena along this route.

    Just crossing the massive spatial crack in front of Lu Yin required him to have a power level of close to 400,000. What¡¯s worse, this was most likely not even the most dangerous part of the route.

    The power of the cosmic phenomenon along this route was like an inting balloon. At this moment, it might take someone with a power level of close to 400,000 to travel this route, butter on, even an Envoy or a monster with a power level of 1,000,000 might have difficulty traveling through this path.

    Under normal circumstances, Lu Yin would have no way to travel this route, but fortunately, he had some powerful items in his possession.

    He took out the beaded bracelet. He had already used two of the five beads, but there were still three left.

    Lu Yin used up another pearl, but this time, he did not merge the overwhelming power into a battle technique. Rather, he fused it straight into his body to upgrade his physical strength.

    With his body¡¯s power level boosted by 300,000, Lu Yin let out a soft growl as he shot forwards. He easily tore through the spatial crack in the void and passed over it. After that, he continued to charge towards the Outerverse at the fastest speed that he was capable of, following the path that had been mapped out.

    Since his physical strength¡¯s power level had been boosted to almost 400,000, his speed exploded, and he quickly neared the Outerverse.

    Along the way, he forcibly swept aside all the cosmic phenomenon that obstructed his progress, but before he got out, the boost to his physical strength dissipated.

    He was still some distance away from arriving in the Outerverse, but the cosmic phenomenon around him was constantly shifting.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he merged with another bead from the bracelet. An overpowering physical strength erupted from him once more as he continued to tear apart the cosmic phenomenon around him.

    After the strength from the bead was depleted for a second time, he had gotten very close to the Outerverse, but there was still a boundless phenomena right in front of him.

    Without any other choice, Lu Yin could only use thest bead in his bracelet to get past this obstacle, exploding with an unprecedented speed for the third time.

    Once he slowed down for thest time, Lu Yin did not even know how far he had traveled. The only thing before him was an astral cemetery that extended far out into the distance and was filled with all sorts of space debris. This meant that he had made it back to the Outerverse, as this was the astral cemetery that the Tong family and the Sightless n had attacked when they had attempted to invade the Outerverse. He was not too far from Southside Weave¡ªhe had actually made it back.

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath as he spread out his star energy and unleashed his domain. Suddenly, he started tough maniacally. He had indeed made it back alive.

    At that moment, multiple figures streaked towards him at high speeds.

    Lu Yin focused on them and saw that their group contained a few Explorers and even a Cruiser.

    ¡°Who goes there?¡± the Cruiser barked as he kept a wary eye on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was quickly surrounded, but he just smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t recognize me?¡±

    The Explorers all gaped at Lu Yin, and the Cruiser was a bit surprised at first, but he quickly became shocked. ¡°You- you¡¯re the Alliance Leader?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    It had been seven months since the Tong family had joined forces with the Sightless n to attack the Outerverse, which meant that it had been seven months since Lu Yin had left the Outerverse.

    Seven months was not a very long period of time, and the Great Eastern Alliance had not changed much during these few months, even if the invasion had caused the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer some losses. The Central Coalition¡¯s military had simrly sustained heavy losses, but more importantly, Lu Yin¡¯s contributions during the invasion were simply too tremendous. In fact, they had reached the point where the Hall of Honor had even publicly announced its support for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s establishment, and it had also dered its support for the Great Yu Empire. The rewards that they had given Lu Yin were simply iparable.

    Everyone knew that the greatest contributor to their sessful defense had been Lu Yin. Without him, nobody would have even known about the attack before it was toote. The Tong family and the Sightless n¡¯s invasion would have caught the Outerverse byplete surprise since nobody would have been at the Astral River to stop them. Even Yuan Shi could only stop a single powerhouse at best, and there was no need to even consider the rest of the invasion force. If the Sixth Maind focus had not been ambushed, then it would have simply been a matter of time before the Sixth Maind eventually destroyed the entire Outerverse.

    In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s information was just what the Hall of Honor had publicly announced as his contributions. His true efforts were actually even greater than that, as he had also given Yuan Shi Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Then, during the battle, Lu Yin had given Yuan Shi Peach¡¯s inherited arrow from the Neo-Vestige Sect. That arrow had allowed Yuan Shi to contend against the two Sixth Maind powerhouses who were in the same realm as him.

    And even all that wasn¡¯t his greatest contribution. The severe injuries of Venerable Tong was directly rted to him, but this contribution was fated to remain unknown to everyone else.

    Yuan Shi was the Fifth Maind¡¯s greatest contributor in that battle, as he had blocked two Cosmic Imprinters on his own. The person second only to that ancient powerhouse was Lu Yin.

    The honor of a puny Cruiser obtaining such great contributions could only be imagined.

    If the war had ended at that moment, then Lu Yin would have been rewarded handsomely by the Hall of Honor, and he would have smoothly entered the most resplendent time of his life. However, he had gone missing after the battle had moved into the Innerverse, which meant that he had died. Death gave him even greater glory, as nobody minded piling achievements and prestige onto a dead person¡¯s name. In fact, even those who had opposed Lu Yin felt no different about the matter.

    Thebination of everyone assuming that Lu Yin had died, Yuan Shi¡¯s sincere appreciation for the youth, and Wang Wen and the others¡¯ scheming behind the scenes meant that Lu Yin¡¯s prestige had expanded endlessly throughout the Outerverse. He had been posthumously named as the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander who had resisted the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. This was a special privilege granted by the Hall of Honor, and it gave him the authority tomand the entire Outerverse during wartime.

    Such a privilege had never been given to anyone since the dawn of time. Lu Yin had received it only because he had died, as a dead person was incapable of using such absurd authority. Thus, no one had objected to such a thing.

    However, everything became awkward the moment Lu Yin had not died.

    A spacecraft flew towards Southside Weave, and within it, the Cruiser asionally threw weird looks at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes could not hide his astonishment¡ªThis person was actually not dead, which meant that, if there was a border war, Lu Yin would be themander of the Allied Forces, as that position had been given to him by the Hall of Honor itself! That was just too much, as this youth would be able to order about the entire Outerverse¡¯s troops during wartime. Just what kind of authority was that?

    Not even the Hall of Honor¡¯s own people had such extreme power. The closest person to such a position was Elder Daggs, who guarded Endless Weave¡¯s border. The other was Elder Lohar, who was standing guard at Ironblood Weave¡¯s border.

    The authority that Lu Yin wielded during wartime was actually the sum of these two Hall of Honor elders.

    Actually, his authority even went beyond that, as his authority was effective during wartime. Thus, if just the Astral Wilderness invaded the Human Domain, that would be considered a war, and Lu Yin would immediately be themander of the entire Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces. He would have the unique authority tomand all of their troops and distribute its resources. One person now stood at the peak of the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse, the first person to ever do so since the beginning of history.

    Lu Yin himself waspletely unaware that he had been given such authority, and he was simply curious about how Yuan Shi and the others had returned to the Outerverse after the battle.

    He asked the Cruiser some questions, but the man was not very clear on the details. All that he knew was that the majority had managed to escape.

    Lu Yin called Wendy Yushan, and she calmly answered, ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t dead.¡±

    ¡°You were that confident in me?¡± Lu Yin teased.

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s lips curled. She rarely smiled, but when she did, it was very pretty. ¡°Bad people live longer.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°How did you guys escape back then?¡±

    ¡°There were many imprisoned Innerverse cultivators on the transport continent, and they joined forces to escape. Of course, the losses were not small, and reportedly, even Yuan Shi was injured. When we escaped to the Outerverse, the top powerhouses resealed the Astral River behind us, and we¡¯ve all been recuperating ever since,¡± Wendy Yushan exined.

    Lu Yin was d that he had stopped Starsibyl from taking her group away. Despite Yuan Shi¡¯s impressive strength, he would not have been able to bring that many people back to the Outerverse.

    After his call with Wendy Yushan ended, Lu Yin reached out to people like Wang Wen and Wei Rong in order to find out what the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s current situation was, and he quickly discovered that everything had remained calm. Wang Wen and Wei Rong had both been very confident in Lu Yin, and their former arrangement had continued despite Lu Yin¡¯s reported death. During their call, Wang Wen informed Lu Yin of his new authority.

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°Commander of the Outerverse Allied Forces?¡±

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, congrattions. You¡¯ve formally ascended to the highest peak of authority in the entire history of the Outerverse. Aside from the Hall of Honor that rules over the entire Human Domain, you¡¯ve truly reached the peak of the universe now.¡±

    Lu Yin had never even dreamed that he would suddenly obtain such authority.

    ¡°How did this happen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple: you were the one who mobilized everyone to fend off the invasion, and you also had the greatest performance during the battle. That led the Hall of Honor to have a wonderful impression of you, especially Yuan Shi. Just what did you do to cause the elder to be so active in your affairs? After that, we did a few things in the background, and suddenly, it was possible.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brain shed. ¡°You must have been the one who spread the news that I was dead.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me, but rather Wei Rong. I was responsible for all of our dealings with the Hall of Honor while Wei Rong was in charge of public opinion. When someone is dead, nobody will say anything about rewarding them, not even if we had given you even greater authority. And with Yuan Shi supporting our idea, everything went ording to n,¡± Wang Wen exined.

    Lu Yin rejoiced that he had taken the two geniuses under his wing. Otherwise, he would not have been greeted with such overwhelming authority at his return, and at best, he would have received some insignificant des.

    ¡°Although your position as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander was only granted by the Hall of Honor after your supposed death, now that you¡¯ve appeared alive, the title still won¡¯t be revoked. So, use it well,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, deep in thought. Although the premise of this position as the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander relied upon times of war, even if it was regarding pre-war preparations, he still had the Commander¡¯s authority. However, it was not up to him whether or not war was dered. After thinking about his new situation, Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. He then looked to the west, as the weaves in that direction seemed to have quite a significant amount of resources.

    Lu Yin returned, and then he went to report the situation to Yuan Shi at the first opportunity.

    News of his return spread out extremely quickly.

    The first to obtain news of Lu Yin¡¯s survival was, naturally, the western weaves.

 Chapter 1014: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 1014: Shock</h4>

    There was a ng as a teacup shattered. Tanno Phoenix¡¯s expression instantly changed as he shouted, ¡°What did you say? Lu Yin¡¯s back? He isn¡¯t dead?!¡±

    Across from him, a cultivator from the Dark Phoenix family went pale in the face as sweat beaded on his forehead. ¡°That''s correct; Lu Yin is not dead. He¡¯s returned.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix sank into his chair and exhaled deeply, feeling rather exhausted. He had actually survived.

    The current Lu Yin waspletely different from the Lu Yin from seven months earlier. Back then, the Central Coalition had established their own military force to resist the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s expansion. But now, when Tanno Phoenix thought about how the Hall of Honor had announced their support of Lu Yin, how influential the youth¡¯s current status in the Outerverse was, and how the kid had killed two Imprinters during the battle against the Sixth Maind, the Dark Phoenix patriarch felt utterly helpless.

    ¡°Send out these orders: the Dark Phoenix family will close its doors and refuse any visitors for a hundred years,¡± Tanno Phoenix spoke in a feeble voice.

    ¡°Yes, patriarch.¡±

    In the Silentflock System, Yan Chen was surprised by the news. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s back?¡±

    Across from the chairman, Captain Shi nodded. There was a serious look on the captain¡¯s face. ¡°I never thought that he woulde back alive. The Outerverse has been peaceful for several months, but it seems that it will be thrown into chaos soon again.¡±

    Yan Chen looked into the sky. ¡°This means trouble. He¡¯s now the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, and given his bold personality, who knows what sort of ruckus he¡¯ll stir up next.¡±

    ¡°More importantly, the Hall of Honor is too supportive of him, and Yuan Shi has even personally ordered them to protect the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Yan Chen heaved a deep sigh. ¡°Forget about it. It¡¯s none of our business since we never were enemies with him.¡±

    On Enron, Elder Tong stared at his gadget inplete amazement. Lu Yin had actually returned alive. The man immediately informed Elder He, as it might be possible for them to learn about the Sea King¡¯s circumstances from Lu Yin.

    In Millions City, Qiong Xi¡¯er was absolutely speechless; that brat had actually made back it alive, and more importantly, the Outerverse still had not reconnected to the Innerverse yet. So just where had hee from? This was quite the mystery.

    However, since this person had returned, the Outerverse was definitely going to experience some truly massive changes. The position of the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander held tremendous authority, and these developments were enough to be recorded down in history.

    ¡°Xi¡¯er, what stand should we take?¡± Qiong Shanhai could not help but ask.

    Lu Yin had vanished for seven whole months, and during this time, the Hall of Honor, or perhaps it was mostly Yuan Shi, had tantly told the entire Outerverse that Lu Yin would be defended, even if he was in the wrong. No one could take action against Lu Yin¡¯s friends or rtives. This was discrimination, pure and simple, but nobody could do anything about it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s contributions had simply been too extreme, and Yuan Shi favored the youth too much. Thus, some even suspected Lu Yin of being Yuan Shi¡¯s illegitimate child.

    Now that Lu Yin hade back alive, his rewards could not be taken away, and they actually might even be increased further. The Hall of Honor¡¯s discrimination,bined with the power of the Great Eastern Alliance and Lu Yin¡¯s personal strength that was enough to take out two Imprinters in one fell swoop, raised a question in everyone¡¯s mind¡ªjust who in the Outerverse could stop him?

    ¡°Stand? What stand?¡± Qiong Xi¡¯er was puzzled.

    Qiong Shanhai replied, ¡°To be his friend or foe?¡±

    Qiong Xi¡¯er grudgingly answered, ¡°Dad, isn¡¯t that just nonsense? Since he¡¯s being protected by the Hall of Honor, who would move against him? He¡¯s the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Just one word from him is enough to move an entire weave. Who would actually dare to not listen to him? Right now, he can only end up on top, and no one should even think about fighting him. Bing enemies with him is just asking to die.¡±

    ¡°Then what if he really wants to unify the Outerverse?¡± Qiong Shanhai asked.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that he¡¯s always been a cultivator. Even if he ends up with even greater authority, cultivators always require resources. Just how many times can he use his authority? Besides, the alliance isn¡¯t truly united, so just leave him be. We¡¯ll just go along with the flow and watch if he ends up leaving his mark in history or dies.¡±

    Qiong Shanhai stared at Qiong Xi¡¯er. Although she had spoken those words without any effort, her thoughts were clearlypletely different from what they had been seven months ago. Back then, she had been the one who had advocated for the Central Coalition the most, but now, she did not even have the slightest thought of resistance.

    Qiong Shanhai was well aware of just how intelligent his daughter was. If even she did not have any thoughts of resistance, then it just proved how absolutely helpless their situation was. It seemed that Lu Yin¡¯s dream of unifying the Outerverse was an inevitability that could not be stopped.

    Who would have thought that the recent changes in the Outerverse would end up creating an absolute monster by ushering in Lu Yin¡¯s sesses?

    Those who were still in the Innerverse would never even be able to imagine what the Outerverse had gone through during these few years of istion. When the Outerverse eventually reconnected to the Innerverse, just what would those people¡¯s expressions be?

    Speaking of which, the diminishing energy in the Astral River had reduced tremendously. Thus, it would not be much longer before the Innerverse and the Outerverse were connected again.

    When news of Lu Yin¡¯s return spread to the weaves in the central region of the Outerverse, the previously calm members of the Central Coalition instantly grew agitated. Everyone was stunned as they all looked to the east. What now?

    In contrast, everyone within the Great Eastern Alliance was cheering, and every in Frostwave Weave that had joined the Great Yu Empire was celebrating. Countless people exuberantly shouted Lu Yin¡¯s name, as Lu Yin was the one who had carried them to the peak of the Outerverse. Frostwave Weave had previously been a ce that nobody cared about, and even Endless Borders¡¯ had not explored the weave much. But in just a few years, it had be one of the most bustling weaves in the entire Outerverse.

    All of these changes had been caused by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, as he had gradually transformed Frostwave Weave into the core of the Outerverse.

    He had spread the name of the Great Yu Empire throughout the entire Outerverse.

    At this time, who did not want to join the Great Yu Empire? However, few would be able to seed, as it was too difficult to join the Great Yu Empire now. This was also a part of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments.

    Countlesss had erected statues of him, and countless people praised him as they paid their respects.

    On Earth, every city had a statue of him.

    On Shenwu Continent, Ming Yan looked rather withered, as Lu Yin had gone missing for seven months, and she had long since heard of this news. Shenwu Continent was no longer isted, and they were aware of many matters of the universe. In fact, some of the cultivators from this continent had even joined the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces.

    Over the course of the past seven months, her life had not been good, and she had be significantly skinnier.

    Suddenly, a maid barged into Ming Yan¡¯s room and excitedly eximed, ¡°Your Majesty, the Alliance Leader hase back safely!¡±

    Ming Yan excitedly leaped to her feet. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    The maid emotionally repeated her words. ¡°Alliance Leader hase back alive.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes closed and two streams of fresh tears flowed down her face as she sank back into her chair. Everything would be fine as long as he was back.

    The pressure that had been hanging over her head during the recent months instantly dissipated.

    As she rxed for the first time in seven months, Ming Yan fell into a deep sleep.

    Not long after Ming Yan fell asleep, her hair turned white, and the white-haired Ming Yan opened her eyes. Her expression was cold, but there was also a hint of excitement in them. ¡°Hmph, consider yourself lucky! If you ever dare to die, I¡¯ll bury you myself!¡±

    Her eyes then closed once more as she too fell into a deep sleep.

    Few people were able to influence the entire Outerverse by simply returning, but Lu Yin was one of them, as his influence on the Outerverse was truly too pervasive.

    His name resounded within countless ears in the Outerverse, and innumerous people heard his name even in their dreams.

    ¡­

    A spacecraft came to a stop in outer space, and Lu Yin emerged to take a look. He then took a deep breath as his figure vanished.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Yuan Shi.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice reverberated throughout space.

    Ahead of him, Yuan Shi emerged, his expression showing a rare bit of emotion. Due to his long life, he had long since moved beyond simple emotions, but Lu Yin¡¯s return still moved the old man. ¡°Everything¡¯s good so long as you¡¯re back.¡±

    Lu Yin could clearly sense Yuan Shi¡¯s genuine concern for him, and he bowed deeply toward the ancient powerhouse. ¡°Junior Lu Yin would like to seek justice from Yuan Shi.¡±

    Yuan Shi was puzzled at this request. ¡°What for?¡±

    Lu Yin recounted the events that had urred in the Innerverse, focusing most of his time on Nightking Zhenwu. He had not forgotten how Nightking Zhenwu had said that he would ruin Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, and with the Nightking¡¯s abilities, it truly would not be too difficult for him to do so. Only Leon¡¯s Armada would help Lu Yin in the Innerverse, along with a few other powers like Astral-10. However, their influence could notpete with the Daynight n¡¯s, and on top of that, the Daynight n controlled all of Daynight Flowzone, and there were also other powers that were antagonistic towards Lu Yin, such as the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reputation had very possibly already been ruined beyond redemption.

    More importantly, the Ten Arbiters did not have low statuses within the Hall of Honor. Although Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Yuan Shi was quite good, and although he was also quite well received by the Outerverse¡¯s Hall of Honor, that did not mean that Lu Yin¡¯s status with the Innerverse¡¯s Hall of Honor would be anywhere close to the same level.

    The moment that Nightking Zhenwu borrowed others¡¯ influence to sway the Innerverse¡¯s Hall of Honor, Lu Yin might very well be dered a traitor to the Human Domain.

    This was why he needed Yuan Shi to support him. At the very least, this would ensure that the Hall of Honor would not make a move against Lu Yin.

    The Hall of Honor dominated the entire Human Domain, and it was a colossal force in the truest meaning, and Lu Yin had never dared to underestimate them.

    Yuan Shi eximed, ¡°Who knew that you would experience so much while in the Innerverse!? The Daynight n, huh? I understand. You are my Honor Chosen, and once your identity is announced, the Hall of Honor definitely will not make things difficult for you.¡±

    ¡°This junior was the one who seized the Champions¡¯ Stage, but it was taken away by Nightking Zhenwu. Such actions are truly despicable, and Junior hopes that Yuan Shi can uphold justice. I also hope that the Hall of Honor will not intervene in my impending battle with Arbiter Zhenwu,¡± Lu Yin stated respectfully. This was what he truly wanted. He was quite worried that, after receiving an inheritance from the Astral Tower and bing one of the Cosmic Five, Nightking Zhenwu would be protected by the Hall of Honor. At that time, whether or not Lu Yin could get his revenge would depend entirely on the Hall of Honor¡¯s mood.

    Yuan Shi was ced in a difficult position. ¡°The Cosmic Five are the hope of the entire Human Domain. If the situation were the same as in the past, then we could still resolve things. There have been quite a few Cosmic Five throughout history, and while some matured, others died early. However, this generation is different, as the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky has finally been restored. Thus, there¡¯s a possibility that one of them might be a Progenitor. This generation¡¯s Cosmic Five might very well be protected by the entire Human Domain.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as this news was troubling. If he wanted to deal with Nightking Zhenwu, then would he need to challenge the entire Human Domain?

    ¡°Yuan Shi, Nightking Zhenwu has a venomous heart, and his character is absolutely despicable. If someone like that became one of the Cosmic Five, it might not actually be a blessing for our Fifth Maind.¡± Lu Yin could not help himself from speaking up.

    Yuan Shi exined, ¡°In the path of cultivation, only the final results ever matter. As long as there¡¯s even a possibility of him bing a Progenitor, he will be supported. From your description, this person even managed to obtain an inheritance from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor, grasping that Progenitor¡¯s secret technique. His methods are absolutely brilliant, and someone like that might actually have an easier time of bing a Progenitor, so even I might not be able to interfere in this matter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank; so even Yuan Shi would not be able to interfere?

    ¡°A Progenitor is the root of an entire maind. Anyone with even a hope of bing a Progenitor will likely receive that maind¡¯s protection. This is a fact that has not changed since ancient times, and you should understand this,¡± Yuan Shi said.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°Then what if this junior is even more talented than him?¡±

    Yuan Shi smiled slightly. ¡°Then naturally, you¡¯ll receive greater protection.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. He was only worried that he did not have enough time. As soon as Nightking Zhenwu became one of the Cosmic Five, even if one ignored the inevitable dramatic rise in his personal strength, the Daynight n¡¯s influence would also be affected. With them gaining more people in their circle of influence, it would truly be too difficult for Lu Yin to deal with them at that time.

    Yuan Shi stared off into the distance. ¡°The Innerverse may soon reconnect with the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°They¡¯re going to reconnect? When?¡±

 Chapter 1015: Planetary Warehouse

    <h4>Chapter 1015:ary Warehouse</h4>

    Yuan Shi thought about Lu Yin¡¯s question before responding, ¡°Not long from now, though it depends on the rate at which the energy wanes. At the current rate, it could still take several years, but the energy level continues to drop faster and faster. Thus, we may very well be reconnected within a year.¡±

    ¡°When does the contest for the Cosmic Five begin?¡± Lu Yin asked urgently.

    Yuan Shi shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he stared off into the distance. If the contest for the Cosmic Five urred before the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, then he would be toote.

    Furthermore, it would not be easy to deal with Nightking Zhenwu. This was something that would not be settled by just a duel between two youths, as far too much was on the line. Even the simplest resolution depended on more than if Lu Yin even had the ability to defeat Nightking Zhenwu; would the Daynight n allow Lu Yin to casually do as he wished? Would those who supported Nightking Zhenwu allow him to be defeated? And this was not even taking into ount the powers that would join Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s side just because he was about to be one of the Cosmic Five.

    Their conflict might end up dragging in almost half of the Innerverse as well as some powers from the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse. Lu Yin needed more time to plot against Nightking Zhenwu, but did he have enough time to do so?

    If Lu Yin had sufficient time, then he would naturally be able to deal with Nightking Zhenwu. Otherwise, Lu Yin could onlyy some minor scheme that stopped Nightking Zhenwu from dealing with Lu Yin, such as by relying on Yuan Shi to rebuild his reputation.

    Lu Yin believed that Nightking Zhenwu would do as he had said, and at this time, it was quite possible that half of the Innerverse believed Lu Yin to be a traitor to the Human Domain.

    Yuan Shi took out an item that he then passed over to Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked over, and his mind was stunned as his body twitched. He only returned to his senses after Yuan Shi pulled the youth out of his shock.

    The old man had returned the piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide back to Lu Yin, which the youth had originally lent to Yuan Shi so that the old expert could fight against Ancestor Tong and Ancestor Sightless. Yuan Shi was returning the borrowed item.

    Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was the first Progenitor item that Lu Yin had ever obtained. The hide was quiterge, and it was also extremely useful.

    ¡°Without Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, it is impossible to say what the oue of the battle in the astral cemetery would have been. It¡¯s a pity that the arrow was damaged.¡± Yuan Shi sighed.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°At least it was useful. Thanks to Senior Yuan Shi, the Outerverse was able to survive.¡±

    Yuan Shi stated, ¡°A Progenitor¡¯s item is something that is capable of changing the situation of an entire battlefield. You are fated with Progenitors, so cherish this item.¡± The old man paused for a moment before continuing on, saying, ¡°You gained many achievements during the battle in the astral cemetery, and the Hall of Honor will not be stingy with the reward for your personal contributions to the defense of the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was moved; was he about to receive another walnut or beaded bracelet again? Those two incredibly useful power vessels were both already gone.

    Yuan Shi seemed to have guessed Lu Yin¡¯s train of thought, and he shook his head with a bitter smile. ¡°I originally wanted topensate you for the power vessels that you used up, but I was severely injured during the battle in the astral cemetery, and I still have not recovered. It¡¯s not easy to make such power vessels, so you will have to wait a while longer. I heard that you need resources, so I¡¯ve already instructed Da Gu to allocate some for your cultivation, and I will also increase your Honor Points to twenty in total.

    ¡°You used the correct methods to assist in that battle, and the Hall of Honor has formally given you the position of the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. I hope that you¡¯ll cherish it well.¡±

    Lu Yin was grateful. Although he felt that it was a pity that he could not get any more life-preserving items, he felt that once Yuan Shi recovered, the old man would stay true to his word. Besides, the other rewards were still quite decent. Other than the position of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, Lu Yin¡¯s Honor Points being increased to twenty was a very good thing in and of itself. If he remembered correctly, even if he betrayed the entire Human Domain, he still would not be killed. Instead, at worst, he would be imprisoned like Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao.

    As for the allocation of resources, the way that Yuan Shi had used the word ¡°allocation¡± was rather interesting, and Lu Yin looked forward to seeing what he would receive.

    Yuan Shi himself had been severely injured, so Lu Yin did not chat with the old man for much longer. Right after leaving, he ran into Elder Daggs.

    Elder Daggs looked at Lu Yin with an appreciative look. ¡°Exactly how did you get back? The Allied Forces have been patrolling the Astral River this entire time, but there wasn¡¯t any indication that something tore through it.¡±

    Lu Yin was quite satisfied. ¡°Before the battle, I received a star chart that mapped out a route between the Outerverse to the Innerverse that traveled through the Technocracy.¡±

    Elder Daggs was surprised. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a path?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I got it from Endless Borders.¡±

    ¡°Ah, no wonder,¡± Elder Daggs said.

    Lu Yin exined a bit further. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the route has changed, and it¡¯s almost impossible for anyone whose power level is under 400,000 to pass through. In fact, it bes more challenging the further along the route you travel.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you pass through?¡± Elder Daggs did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he felt that Lu Yin was exaggerating.

    Lu Yin proudly replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already killed two Imprinters.¡±

    Elder Daggs was stunned, but then he remembered that during the battle in the astral cemetery, this youth had indeed killed two Imprinters with one attack, instantly changing the bnce of the battlefield. When Elder Daggs recalled this event, he looked at Lu Yin with an even stranger expression. Throughout all of history, no Cruiser had ever performed such exaggerated achievements, and this kid was simply a monster.

    Lu Yin enjoyed seeing this look on Elder Daggs¡¯ face, and it seemed that Lu Yin¡¯s status had already surpassed this elder.

    ¡°Hehe, Elder Daggs, how¡¯s the defensive border in Southside Weave? Should I go on patrol?¡± Lu Yin asked, as he felt that he had such a responsibility.

    Elder Daggs was taken aback, and he suddenly recalled that this kid was actually the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Although Lu Yin had been given special privileges during wartime, the border would essentially always be in such a situation. This kid¡¯s privileges were simply disgusting.

    ¡°If you want,¡± Elder Daggs replied nomittally.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t for the moment. Right, Yuan Shi mentioned that some resources would be allocated to me as a reward. I wonder how much there is?¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s lips stretched tight. ¡°How much do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned radiant.

    Elder Daggs felt his heart turn cold, as he knew that this person loved money more than his own life. He was the type of person who would conduct business even on a battlefield. Whenever possible, Elder Daggs preferred to do business with this youth, as that allowed the elder to see what he was paying for. This kid had selflessly provided numerous pills, and his contributions for thest battle had been beyond excessive, which had led to Lu Yin receiving Yuan Shi¡¯s deep appreciation. Thus, Elder Daggs had no way to reject this youth, but he also did not want to give away too much. All he could do was allow this youth to request what he wanted as a reward and then pray that the requests would not be too exaggerated.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked excited. ¡°Could Elder take Junior to take a look at the Hall of Honor¡¯s treasury?¡±

    Elder Daggs felt a chill run down his spine. ¡°Don¡¯t you just want some resources? You can just tell me what you would like. Why is there a need to take a look at the treasury?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Those are Yuan Shi¡¯s instructions.¡±

    Elder Daggs swallowed nervously. ¡°Actually, after these recent battles, the Hall of Honor isn¡¯t as well-off anymore.¡±

    ¡°I never said that I wanted money, though, of course, the money that belongs to me needs to be paid back. I remember that, back then, Elder mentioned that, after the battle, not only would great quantities of star essence be given to me, butrge amounts of military contributions would be given as well,¡± Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Elder Daggs pursed his lips. ¡°Your service is more than enough, and your current status has even surpassed mine.¡±

    Lu Yin pped his hands together. ¡°Even better! As the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, do I not qualify to visit my own treasury?¡±

    My own treasury? These words made Elder Daggs¡¯s hair stand on end, but he waspletely helpless at this moment. ¡°Please.¡±

    Lu Yin truly wanted to follow Elder Daggs to take a tour of the Outerverse Hall of Honor¡¯s treasury, but no matter what Elder Daggs said out loud, he did not want to take Lu Yin anywhere near that ce. In the end, the two of them arrived at Southside Weave¡¯s battlefield treasury.

    It was not that Lu Yin had never visited one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s treasuries before, but rather that this was his first time visiting a main one and not a simple branch treasury.

    The main treasury for the border defense was not too far from where Yuan Shi stayed, as the Hall of Honor was worried about their stores being piged. When they had been preparing for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion , the Fifth Maind had not beenpletely united, and forces such as the Neohuman Alliance were very likely to take advantage of such a situation to wreak havoc. Thus, the Hall of Honor had specifically ced the treasury close to Yuan Shi. With him protecting it, nobody would dare to attack it.

    Elder Daggs stood in outer space as the two of them looked down at a very ordinary-looking.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°The warehouse is on that?¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°That is the warehouse.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely lost. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Elder Daggs repeated, ¡°That is the warehouse.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped, but after he came to his senses, he was stunned. ¡°Are you saying that the, the entire, is the warehouse?¡±

    Elder Daggs nodded.

    Lu Yin was left in a daze, and he stared at the,pletely dumbfounded. Was he serious? Although the was not that big, only about asrge as Earth¡¯s moon, which was much smaller than Earth itself, that was still too ridiculous. How many resources could an entire hold?

    ¡°The cultivators normally stationed at the border warfront number in the billions, and that doesn¡¯t even include the mandatory conscription that was sent out to the whole Outerverse. This is the border¡¯s main warehouse, and there are also branch warehouses. Still, we don¡¯t have enough resources. Back during the defense of the astral cemetery, many powers had to pay for their troops¡¯ expenses out of their own pockets, and they did not even gain any resources from the border,¡± Elder Daggs exined.

    Lu Yin marveled, ¡°Only the Hall of Honor could have an entire as a warehouse. Right, Elder, how much star essence is here?¡±

    Elder Daggs muttered to himself, obviously not wanting to say anything, but after he nced over at Lu Yin and saw the youth¡¯s determined expression, the elder helplessly revealed, ¡°It¡¯s not very polite to speak of a concrete amount, and it¡¯s also a little muddled. However, there should be several hundreds of millions on this.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth actually fell open, and he suddenly felt that he was in poverty and was truly too poor. In the past, he had actually been excited by the meager amount of wealth that he had carried on himself, believing that he had escaped from poverty. However, at this moment, he understood the true meaning of wealth.

    The Hall of Honor was wealthy, as they easily had several hundreds of millions of star essence. What a joke!

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the endless amounts of star essence that he had seen beneath the transportation continent¡¯s mountain ranges. There had easily been several billions of star essence.

    Only byparing would one even understand the difference, and Lu Yin was suddenly a bit embarrassed by the meager amount that he carried in his cosmic ring. It was no wonder why, when Elder Daggs had bought items from Lu Yin, there had never been any haggling; there was simply no need for it.

    Elder Daggs coughed, and his eyes flickered. ¡°Let¡¯s head on down.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy isn¡¯t telling you the truth! Look at how bad his acting is and how his beady little eyes are darting all over the ce. There¡¯s definitely got to be more than several hundred million star essence!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin looked over at the elder.

    Elder Daggs had a rather guilty look as he stepped forward and disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips pursed; if it was not just a few hundred million, then could it be a few billion star essence?

    A single mountain range could hold around 100 million star essence, and just this alone could have multiple mountain ranges. However, not everything on this would be star essence, and the majority of the resources on this should be cultivation resources, food, ores, and other simr items, not to mention star crystals. After all, the Outerverse typically used star crystals rather than star essence as its primary currency.

    Even cultivators in the Cruiser realm might not qualify to cultivate with star essence, and most of them probably still used star crystals. This suddenly made things more reasonable. If even just 100 million star essence were exchanged for star crystals, then the amount would be staggering. One star essence was worth 100,000 star crystals, which meant that such an exchange would require 100,000 mountain ranges of star crystals. To use an entire as a warehouse suddenly did not seem too exaggerated when one thought on this scale.

    Lu Yin stepped out and entered the¡¯s atmosphere.

    The environment on the was pretty good, and it seemed to be untouched and absent of anyrge creatures. It was as if this had only just started to give rise to primordial organisms.

    Just a nce was enough to see the piles of resources, unique spacecraft, and star crystalsying around in unending mountain ranges. The star essence were the seas.

    Lu Yin quickly caught up to Elder Daggs. ¡°Elder, please give me an introduction.¡±

 Chapter 1016: Understood

    <h4>Chapter 1016: Understood</h4>

    Elder Daggs felt sick to his heart when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s expression. It was almost as if his own home was being scoped out by a master thief. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any introductions, so just take a look around by yourself. There are piles of star essence and star energy crystals everywhere, and in the seas, there are mostly metallic resources. Of course, there are also some battle techniques, arts, and power vessels that were gathered by the Hall of Honor to reward those with sufficient contributions.¡±

    ¡°How much can I take?¡± Lu Yin looked towards the sea with fervent eyes.

    Elder Daggs thought about this question. ¡°Actually, if you had returned after the battle in the astral cemetery ended and had not received any other rewards, then you would have been able to choose from any of the resources in this ce. In fact, you would have been able to take as many star essence as you could carry, so long as your cosmic ring isrge enough.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he silently thanked Bro Hui Kong for his help with supplying him with the super-sized cosmic ring.

    ¡°However,¡± Elder Daggs continued speaking, and his tone suddenly turned delighted, ¡°You were posthumously given the position of the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, and your Honor Points were even increased to an exceptional number of twenty. On top of all of that, my Hall of Honor has even openly spoken in support of the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, much of your reward was already given to you. Hence, the amount of star essence that you can take from here is the amount that I promised you back then.¡± He then raised one finger. ¡°One million.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and his tone instantly grew harsh. ¡°Elder, before we came here, you yourself said that you would let me choose however much I wanted, and Yuan Shi also previously mentioned that I would be allocated a portion of resources. One million star essence is just too little.¡±

    Elder Daggs had no choice. ¡°Alliance Leader, even if we disregard your status as the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, you yourself are not just the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, but you are also an Honor Chosen of my Hall of Honor. Shouldn¡¯t you be a little more considerate for the Hall of Honor? Although the resources on this seem to be more than adequate, the reality is that there simply isn¡¯t enough to go around. The more you take from this ce, the more unfair we will have to be towards others. Many others also contributed to the defense of the Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand. ¡°But still, one million is just too little.¡±

    ¡°How much do you want?¡± Elder Daggs asked.

    Lu Yin smiled and changed the subject. ¡°It can¡¯t be thatfortable staying in the Outerverse all the time.¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    Lu Yin leaned closer and proudly exined, ¡°I, Lu Yin, have only cultivated for eleven years, but I have already reached my current position. Doesn¡¯t Elder know what that suggests?¡±

    Elder Daggs was puzzled.

    Lu Yin indifferently continued, saying, ¡°It means that my future will at least be on the same level as the Ten Arbiters¡¯, and my status as an Honor Chosen means that I¡¯m already an internal member of the Hall of Honor, which qualifies me to climb to even higher positions in the future. I have Yuan Shi¡¯s appreciation, which means that I will have a bit of influence in the Hall of Honor in the future. Does Elder still not understand?¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Once Lu Yin put it in that way, the Elder suddenly remembered just how freakish this person was; Lu Yin had achieved so much despite his young age. It was impossible to even guess what the youth would aplish in the future. Once the Innerverse reconnected to the Outerverse, Yuan Shi would only have to make some casual remarks to the Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters before Lu Yin¡¯s status would immediately undergo great changes.

    ¡°Elder, don¡¯t forget what I lent to Yuan Shi back at the border,¡± Lu Yin leisurelymented.

    Elder Daggs¡¯s pupils shrank¡ªthe blood-red bell! That was the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Elder Lohar is much more clear on the situation than Elder Daggs. He never stopped me from doing what I wanted while in Ironblood Weave. In fact, he even sent his disciple, Akira, to protect Zenyu Star so that I would not have to be concerned about its safety. Comparing actions, Elder Lohar definitely has a brighter future.

    ¡°When I return to the Neoverse and see the Chief Justice, I will definitelypliment Elder Lohar and try to get him transferred to the Neoverse at the earliest opportunity.¡±

    Return to the Neoverse? Return? Elder Daggs¡¯s mind trembled, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. This person was definitely from the Neoverse, and he was not someone who was from the Outerverse.

    During the couple of months that had passed since the battle at the border, Elder Daggs had already forgotten about the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, and he had actually started to think that Lu Yin was someone who had been born in the Outerverse. The elder felt that he was truly foolish, as how could anyone from the Outerverse possibly climb to such heights in only eleven years? And why else would this youth have so many powerful items? There had to be someone supporting this person from the shadows, and that person might very well be the Chief Justice.

    The Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice was an existence that stood at the very top of the Hall of Honor. There could be no mistake about it, and Elder Daggs became certain that the Chief Justice was the one behind this youth.

    Every single bit of Elder Daggs¡¯ being grew excited at this thought, and he felt that he had suddenlye to an understanding. Would he not take a shortcut when one became avable? Would he continue to rely on just earning military contributions to return to the Neoverse? Wasn¡¯t such thinking just being foolish?

    As he thought about things, Elder Daggs¡¯s expression changed quite severely. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu need not say anything more. Your military contributions are able to speak for themselves. Right, how many star essence were you considering just now?¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve bluffed him.¡± The Ghost Monkey started snickering.

    Lu Yin smiled in an indifferent manner. ¡°I can¡¯t remember. With the military contributions that I have, how many can I take?¡¯

    Elder Daggs casually waved a hand. ¡°Twenty million.¡±

    Lu Yin sucked in a cold breath and suddenly sized Elder Daggs up and down in a serious manner. He then said in an appreciative tone, ¡°There will definitely be a ce for Elder in the upper echelons of the Neoverse¡¯s Hall of Honor in the future.¡±

    Elder Daggs smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll still need a great deal of guidance from Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°Elder is being too polite.¡±

    ¡°I wonder, can Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s cosmic ring store twenty million star essence? If not, there¡¯s a cosmic ring right here.¡±

    ¡°No need, I can store it, it was given to me by a senior.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. Alliance Leader Lu, please.¡±

    Please.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this old fart is simply too shameless,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin adjusted his expression. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Everyone has their own ambitions, and there¡¯s nothing wrong with his desire to return to the Neoverse. He¡¯s contributed to the Outerverse¡¯s military and border defense for so many years. Also, I didn¡¯t ask for anything more, which means that twenty million star essence is the limit of what he¡¯s capable of giving with his authority. Do you really think that he¡¯d just give me as many as I ask for? For someone to be given the position ofmander of the border warfront, he must have a great deal of self discipline.¡±

    ¡°Going from one million to twenty million is still too much of a jump,¡± the monkeymented.

    Lu Yin looked at Elder Daggs; was twenty million star essence an exaggerated amount to this elder? Not at all¡ªit was simply what was within his authority.

    The¡¯s sea of star essence receded as an unimaginable amount was swept into Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring, but the movement quickly ended.

    At this time, when Lu Yin put his cosmic ring back on, he felt that it was much heavier than before.

    He was truly no longer poor, and in the current Outerverse, there should be nobody wealthier than him. Perhaps he should go to Millions City¡¯s Qiong family and conduct aparison of their assets.

    Hehe, low profile, I should keep a low profile. He had to maintain a low profile, so he could forget aboutparing his wealth to the Qiong family¡¯s. Millions City had umted its funds over countless years, and the amount that they possessed had to be an absolutely astronomical amount. Without even considering anything else, each shot of the mobile fortress¡¯s cannon consumed countless star essence, or in other words, Millions City practically fought by burning money. Even Lu Yin felt that such an expenditure level was a bit much.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s no longer early. Shall we head out?¡± Elder Daggs asked courteously.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Does Elder have something that you need to do? If that¡¯s the case, then please go on ahead. There¡¯s no need to entertain me, as I simply wish to roam around a bit.¡±

    Elder Daggs was stumped for a moment, but then he hurriedly countered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be concerned. Since Alliance Leader Lu wants to explore, then allow me to lead the way. This way, please.¡±

    The elder did not dare to leave, not even if he was beaten to death. He had thought things through and was now willing to express his goodwill towards Lu Yin since he might be able to return to the Neoverse with this youth¡¯s influence. However, he was still the border warfront¡¯s topmander, and he would not allow Lu Yin to run amok. It was still his duty to watch over this youth.

    Lu Yin revealed a faint smile and then flew towards the coastline with Elder Daggs behind him.

    Along the way, Lu Yin saw many resources on the warehouse. Not only did he see ores and herbal medications, but he also saw many strange items.

    When it came to different cultivation systems in the universe, star energy was the most prevalent system by far, but there were also other cultivation systems that focused on other forms of energy. For example, on Shenwu Continent, cultivating required martial crystals. The Sixth Maind also had its own method, such as cultivating a bloodline. There were simply too many different ways to cultivate, and those myriad methods had led to many of these strange items being ced there.

    The overwhelming amount of resources that Lu Yin had originally believed to be on this simply did not exist, as he could not even use many of the items he saw.

    Elder Daggs stayed beside Lu Yin, and the elder would asionally exin which resources came from which civilization, and what effects they might have. This allowed Lu Yin to broaden his horizons despite the fact that these various cultivation methods could notpare to what he had personally achieved.

    The was quite small, and circling it once would not take much time. Elder Daggs did not try to hurry Lu Yin, as he was afraid that this youth might be the type of person who would go slower the more they were hurried.

    Fortunately, there were too many items in this ce, which meant that Lu Yin could not easily pick out the best ones.

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly descended into a green forest as Elder Daggs watched on. The older man secretly had a bad feeling about Lu Yin¡¯s movement, and he eximed, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s nothing in this ce. It¡¯s just a pile of some metals.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and then stomped down with a foot, causing the ground to split open. Countless ores were revealed beneath the surface, and they were of all sorts of metals. There were also many other materials that Lu Yin could not even recognize. However, there was no need for him to recognize anything, as his target was a specific item hidden beneath all of the ore.

    There was a thumping sound, and Elder Daggs¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He moved forward and hurriedly tried to stop Lu Yin¡¯s actions. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what are you trying to do?¡±

    But Lu Yin had already pulled out something from underground. It was a tattered-looking metallic right arm. It was quite massive, and it was around two meters long in total. It also looked very ancient with marks of corrosion from the passage of time on it.

    ¡°Elder, what is this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Daggs smiled bitterly. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, how did you notice this item?¡±

    Lu Yin answered with interest in his voice. ¡°I have my own ways. Elder, this item should be able to injure an Enlighter.¡±

    Elder Daggs eximed, ¡°I truly admire Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s methods, as you are quite right. This arm came from an ancient race that has long since disappeared. They were adept at manufacturing methods and were very technologically advanced. This metal arm was something that they made, but unfortunately, it¡¯s just oneponent. It was left here with the intention of it being a reward for those with the proper contributions.¡±

    Lu Yin waved the arm about, noticing that it was a bit heavier than it looked. He had discovered this thing due to the fact that its rune lines surpassed a power level of 200,000, which was quite interesting.

    He exerted a slight bit of force but found that he could not crush the arm. Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Elder, I can use this item.¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s expression changed, and his voice grew hoarse. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please stop joking around. This arm is sorge, so how could you conveniently use it?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°It is convenient, look!¡±

    He then put his own right arm into the end of the metal arm and used star energy to create a connecting joint that allowed him to smoothly manipte the arm. Now, when he clenched his fist or waved his hand, the arm copied his motions.

    Elder Daggs¡¯ smile was bitter. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve already given you twenty million star essence, which is the furthest I can press my authority. Due to this, other items truly cannot be given to you.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I can take less star essence.¡±

    He then decisively tossed away a hundred thousand star essence. ¡°That should be enough.¡±

    Elder Daggs sighed, as he knew that Lu Yin was determined to have this arm.

    Lu Yin nced over at Elder Daggs. ¡°Items are dead while humans are alive.¡±

    Elder Daggs sighed to himself again. ¡°Alright, since Alliance Leader Lu likes it so much, I¡¯ll make the decision to give it to you, and you can also take back your star essence.¡±

    Lu Yin gave the man a slight smile. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Let¡¯s keep browsing.¡±

 Chapter 1017: Merits And Mistakes

    <h4>Chapter 1017: Merits And Mistakes</h4>

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, Elder Daggs quickly stopped in his tracks. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re cing me in a very difficult position.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It¡¯s just taking a look. If Elder Daggs is unwilling to give anything, then I will definitely not force things. How does that sound?¡±

    Elder Daggs grudgingly replied, ¡°Alright, since Alliance Leader Lu insists, then please proceed.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    He then stored the metal arm within his cosmic ring and continued to tour around the warehouse.

    Before much longer, he discovered an ordinary looking one-way mirror. It seemed to be something a non-cultivator would use, but this mirror actually possessed enough rune lines to match a power level of 50,000; it was a power vessel.

    Elder Daggs did not pay much attention to the mirror, as it did not have many uses. It could forcibly absorb star energy within a certain range, and if used well, it could allow one to break through their enemy¡¯s battle techniques. However, at best, this mirror could affect Explorers. Thus, it was not very useful at the border.

    Lu Yin stored the mirror away, and Elder Daggs did not mind.

    Next, another set of strange weapons caught Lu Yin¡¯s eye. They were paper thin, fingernail-sized bombs. The strength of these items also matched up to a power level of about 50,000 based off of its rune lines. Lu Yin found it rather close to the mirror.

    Elder Daggs cared a little bit more about this item. ¡°These items are Sealed Cannons, and they are slightly more useful on the battlefield. They¡¯re quite sneaky, as they can explode and destroy everything within a certain radius. Unfortunately, there are only about twenty of them left now, so giving them to you is no issue.¡±

    ¡°Who made this thing?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously, as the creator had managed to condense the explosive power of a Cruiser into something the size of a piece of paper no bigger than a fingernail. This was quite ingenious.

    Elder Daggs shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re a piece of ancient technology, and when they were first discovered, there were hundreds of thousands of them. They helped us destroy many of the Technocracy¡¯s tiny machines, but there¡¯s only twenty or so of them left now, so they aren¡¯t very useful.¡±

    ¡°You guys never tried to reproduce them?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    ¡°We¡¯ve constantly been trying, but we¡¯ve never had any results. If Alliance Leader Lu likes them, then just take them,¡± Elder Daggs generously offered. In any case, this item was no longer very useful, as something that only had the power of a Cruiser could not draw the elder¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin took the tiny bombs without any hesitation, and the moment after he put it away, his vision focused in another direction, and there was a profound look in his eyes.

    Elder Daggs was growing afraid, as Lu Yin had picked up several items in quick session. Although nothing had been particrly important, it still would not be too good if Lu Yin¡¯s final amount was too great. Thus, the elder hurriedly urged Lu Yin onward, hoping to take the youth away.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, there¡¯s something here that this monkey can use,¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Blood. A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood.¡± The monkey hesitated for a moment before answering.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, stopping in ce as he turned to look at Elder Daggs. ¡°Elder, is there any Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood here?¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood is something that can only be provided by Yuan Shi, and it cannot be given to anyone.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Is there really a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood?¡±

    Elder Daggs paused, but then he solemnly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself.

    The Ghost Monkey grew anxious. ¡°Seventh Bro, as long as I can obtain a drop of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood, then I can jump to the strength of a Hunter! That would be just too useful for you. We astral beasts don¡¯t improve our strength by slowly absorbing star energy, but rather byprehending our own innate gifts. As long as my Ghost Monkey bloodline absorbs a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood, my strength will instantly improve by leaps and bounds!¡±

    With the Ghost Monkey¡¯s status as one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Masters, rising to the strength of a Hunter would allow the monkey to threaten even the Ten Arbiters, which would be of immense help.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe the monkey¡¯s ims. Just what sort of level was a Semi-Progenitor? Although they were not a Progenitor yet, they had absolutely surpassed Empyrean Imprinters, or perhaps they were around that level; he was uncertain. However, there was one detail that Lu Yin was clear on: no matter how powerful the Ghost Monkey¡¯s bloodline might be, it could not possibly rely on a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood for cultivation. Just where would there be enough blood for an entire n to cultivate with?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, trust me! As long as I can reach the Hunter Realm, I will definitely take you to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb, and you will be able to obtain Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance!¡± the Ghost Monkey anxiously cried out.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey, as he had never been toofortable with the Ghost Monkey¡¯s existence. From the very beginning, the beast had not been as strong as Lu Yin, yet he was privy to even more secrets than Lu Yin, such as information concerning the Seven Courts. The stupid monkey was definitely still hiding many things.

    The Ghost Monkey reluctantly continued speaking. ¡°Seventh Bro, you and I are of one body; can I even harm you? Besides, even if I gain the strength of a Hunter, I still won¡¯t be able to threaten you.¡±

    Lu Yin paused and then looked at Elder Daggs. ¡°Elder, can I really not be given the drop of Semi-Progenitor¡¯s?¡±

    Elder Daggs smiled bitterly. ¡°This is something that you must ask Yuan Shi.¡±

    ¡°A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood isn¡¯t a Progenitor¡¯s item, so is it really so important?¡± Lu Yin had trouble believing the value that was being ced on this blood.

    Elder Daggs exined, ¡°Neither of us qualify toe into contact with such an item given our levels, but there¡¯s one thing to remember: anything that includes the word ¡®Progenitor¡¯ in it will have undergone some intrinsic changes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze suddenly trembled, and he said to the Ghost Monkey, ¡°I¡¯ll find you some Envoy blood.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t work. It has to be blood from a Semi-Progenitor.¡± The monkey was determined.

    ¡°How about this¡ªthe blood of a 1,000,000 power level powerhouse or even a powerhouse at the level of an Empyrean Imprinter,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it has to be blood from a Semi-Progenitor.¡± The Ghost Monkey was insistent.

    Lu Yin frowned. The term Semi-Progenitor involved the word ¡°Progenitor,¡± so could this stupid monkey¡¯s cultivation actually be rted to the word ¡°Progenitor?¡± A Progenitor represented a qualitative change, but the monkey was just an Explorer. Just what sort of rtion could it have with a Progenitor? Lu Yin could not connect the dots.

    Lu Yin felt certain that he could not obtain the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood, so he and Elder Daggs left the.

    The Ghost Monkey could only sigh in disappointment.

    After they left the, Elder Daggs¡¯ entire body rxed greatly, though he recognized that Lu Yin¡¯s harvest had still been rather plentiful. Aside from the twenty million star essence, he had also taken away that metal arm, the one-way mirror, and the Sealed Cannons. If Lu Yin had spent any more time on the warehouse, then he would have likely found even more good items to take away.

    Lu Yin felt rather appreciative towards Elder Daggs, and he hinted that he would like to take a tour of a branch warehouse sometime in the future, but that insinuation frightened Elder Daggs so badly that he hurriedly bade the youth farewell.

    Lu Yin had wanted to continue, but he also realized that it would not be very realistic to continue pulling out items from Elder Daggs.

    Lu Yin was also quite satisfied with what he considered a plentiful harvest.

    ¡°Monkey, with your strength, can you even absorb the blood of a Semi-Progenitor?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Perhaps it was because they had already left the and there was no longer the temptation regarding the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood, but the Ghost Monkey¡¯s tone had returned to normal. He was no longer so agitated that he would reveal anything. ¡°Actually, the more powerful the blood that my Ghost Monkey bloodline absorbs, the better. I said that I had to absorb a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood as I was hoping that Seventh Bro would be able to get it for me, but since you can¡¯t, it¡¯s fine. There¡¯ll be more opportunities in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, as the monkey had just changed its tone yet again.

    Interesting, the Ghost Monkey bloodline. Lu Yin would have to do some investigating in the future.

    He reported his departure to Yuan Shi, and then left Southside Weave.

    Aboard his spacecraft, Lu Yin fiddled with the one-way mirror, as it could forcibly absorb the nearby star energy. This meant that it could disrupt an enemy¡¯s battle techniques and arts, which was too useful.

    Of course, this mirror might not be very useful to others, but Lu Yin was able to upgrade it. If it could reach the level where it could interfere with an Enlighter¡¯s strength, then any attacks from Hunters would simply bepletely nullified.

    Lu Yin hoped that the mirror¡¯s base materials would be good enough for him to upgrade continuously, as it would be ideal if it could even threaten Envoys.

    Wait, no. Envoy-level powerhouses did not seem to use star energy.

    After he had just left Southside Weave, a person stopped Lu Yin. It was the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s Elder He.

    Lu Yin stepped out of his spacecraft. ¡°Elder He, did you stop this junior to ask about the Sea King?¡±

    Elder He looked at Lu Yin with clear expectations. ¡°Does Alliance Leader Lu know?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Elder He was disappointed.

    ¡°However, ording to my best guess, the Sea King might not be dead,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Elder He was not surprised by this. ¡°During the battle In the astral cemetery, we already knew that the Sea King had not died. We simply didn¡¯t know where he was.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Junior doesn¡¯t know either,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Crestfallen, Elder He left.

    The closer Lu Yin came to the truth regarding the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the more he was unable to judge the Sea King.

    Without question, the Sea King was a bold character. The Fifth Maind¡¯s sky had been covered by the Sixth Maind, which meant that the Fifth Maind had beenpletely unable to give birth to any Progenitors, which the Sea King had clearly known. Hence, he had risked his life to break through the Upper Three Gates and shatter the Sixth Maind¡¯s sky. However, his actions had also triggered the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, which had led to terrible atrocities and countless deaths.

    From the very beginning, the Sea King had held good intentions and plenty of courage, which had even surpassed the Hall of Honor¡¯s. However, after the battle in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin felt that the Fifth Maind was not as simple as he had once believed. In support of that feeling, both the Yu Family Elder and Bro Hui Kong had mentioned that the Fifth Maind had very deeply hidden powers. Neither the Hall of Honor nor the Three Dark Hands had appeared in full force during the invasion, and with Lu Yin¡¯s current status and line of thought, he could only think of one thing: the Neoverse was still hiding its true self.

    He had no idea what exactly the Neoverse might be nning, but one thing was for certain; they did not seem to be afraid of the Sixth Maind¡¯s all-out invasion. In other words, the Sixth Maind had covered the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, but the false sky might not have been unbreakable.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s guesses were correct, then the Sea King¡¯s actions had been impulsive, and he might have disrupted some other arrangements.

    Of course, this was all just Lu Yin¡¯s conjectures. It was also possible that the Three Dark Hands had the same attitude as the Neohuman Alliance where they did not care about the war between the two mainds at all. It was also possible that the Hall of Honor had actually given its all. Lu Yin was just a Cruiser, and he had no way of discovering the truth at this time.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, even if his conjectures were correct, it was possible that many people had cursed the Sea King, but Lu Yin himself still felt a bit of respect for the Sea King. Through his own strength, the Sea King had freed the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, and no matter what the ultimate result might be, the man¡¯s courage was unmatched, and he had a boldness that surpassed countless others.

    Whether his actions would turn out to be an achievement or a mistake was left up to history. At the moment, the oue had been positive, as the Sixth Maind had retreated with heavy casualties. However, if they invaded once more, then they would likely try again or a second and a third time. The Sixth Maind definitely had not given up yet, and the time before the next attack might not be very long.

    Lu Yin had originally been nning on directly returning to Zenyu Star, but he suddenly thought of the Dark Phoenix family, as their home was not too far from where Lu Yin currently was.

    The Phoenix family and the Dark Phoenix family, huh? Lu Yin thought to himself as he then changed direction for a visit.

    The Dark Phoenix family lived on Darkme Continent, which had originally been located in Endless Weave. During the border war, Mister Mu had shifted the entire border, causing Darkme Continent to be moved into Southside Weave.

    Darkme Continent was not very far from the border of Southside Weave, and with his copsible spacecraft, it only took Lu Yin around ten minutes to get there.

    He looked at the ck mes that were burning space itself rage in front of him, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes burned with excitement. Had this been specially prepared for him?

    ¡°Darkme Continent¡± was just a name, as not everything was truly burning. However, in front of Lu Yin, there truly were ck mes covering the entirety of Darkme Continent.

    The void distorted in front of him, and a figure emerged. He saw a middle-aged man emerge. ¡°Guest, the Dark Phoenix family will be in seclusion for the next hundred years, so we will have to send you off with our apologies.¡±

    Lu Yin stepped out of his vessel and into outer space before storing his copsible spacecraft away. He then stared at the middle-aged man and replied, ¡°Please announce that Great Eastern Alliance Leader Lu Yin has arrived for a visit.¡±

    The middle-aged man was astonished. ¡°You- you are Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

 Chapter 1018: Sixteen Layers Of Darkflames

    <h4>Chapter 1018: Sixteen Layers Of Darkmes</h4>

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression instantly changed. He was a Cruiser, and he also had a bit of status within the Dark Phoenix family, so he naturally knew that the family had suddenly gone into seclusion precisely because of this person. The person who the patriarch wanted to see the least was this youth in front of him.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m sorry, but the entire family is currently in seclusion, and we are not receiving any visitors. Please return then, as we¡¯ll only lift this restriction in a hundred years. At that time, we will definitely reach out to Alliance Leader Lu,¡± the middle-aged man spoke courteously, but his gaze remained wary.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept past the middle-aged man as he scanned Darkme Continent. ¡°The entire family is in seclusion. Is that the reason behind all of this fire?¡±

    The middle-aged man solemnly answered, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please forgive the Dark Phoenix family for not politely receiving visitors. We¡¯ll be sure to make amends after a hundred years¡¯ worth of time.¡±

    ¡°Actually, the main thing that I came here for was to visit the Dark Phoenix family, but I also came to tour your Darkme Continent. I wonder if that might still be possible? Please rest assured¡ªI won¡¯t disturb the Dark Phoenix family,¡± Lu Yin courteously replied.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, but after the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes have been released, there¡¯s no way to shut them down. The mes will automatically extinguish themselves, but only after a hundred years. At that time, we will be able to freely enter and leave. Hence, even if our patriarch wished to invite Alliance Leader Lu on a tour of our Darkme Continent, there¡¯s no way to do such a thing.¡±

    ¡°So if I enter by myself, you won¡¯t stop me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    A trace of disdain shed through the Cruiser¡¯s eyes. ¡°If Alliance Leader Lu is willing to make such an attempt, then I would not dare to stop you. Alliance Leader Lu, please feel free.¡± The man then turned to leave.

    Lu Yin focused on the ck mes that were burning space itself before taking a step forward. This was truly a perfect ce for cultivation, though he hoped that the temperature of these mes would not turn out to be too low.

    Across from Lu Yin, the middle-aged man returned to a nearby. This was essentially the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s gatehouse, as ording to the family¡¯s rules, anyone who wished to visit the family had to first visit this to be announced and verified.

    However, after the Dark Phoenix family announced that they had sealed themselves off for a hundred years, there were no longer any outsiders on this.

    The middle-aged man returned to the as a few other members of the family walked out. ¡°Who showed up this time? We clearly sent out an announcement, so are these people just blind?¡±

    ¡°Ignore them. They¡¯re all just trying to establish some kind of rtionship with our Dark Phoenix family.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! After being sealed off for a hundred years, our profits will have all disappeared. We can only me that Lu Yin, as he actually managed to return alive.¡±

    The middle-aged man growled, ¡°Alright, stop talking. The person who showed up this time is actually the one you all hate the most.¡±

    The others were all puzzled.

    The middle-aged man continued. ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°What? Lu Yin¡¯s here? What for?¡± They were all astonished.

    The middle-aged man answered , ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he wants to try to force his way through the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes.¡±

    The other people were all caught off guard, but then they began to howl inughter. ¡°The Sixteen Layers of Darkmes were set up by our ancestor, and not even almighty Enlighters can force their way through it. Just what can he do?¡±

    ¡°Even those stupid Phoenix family bunch can¡¯t barge through, not even when they sent an Enlighter with a power level of 400,000. Lu Yin¡¯s way too confident.¡±

    The middle-aged man thought so as well. The Dark Phoenix family was wary of Lu Yin, which was why they had been forced to seal themselves off for a hundred years. This was partly because their ancestor had died, but mostly because Lu Yin¡¯s identity and background made them nervous. They were actually quite afraid of him. However, if they ignored all of that, what did the youth himself actually possess? He simply did not know his own strength if he hoped to force his way through the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes.

    ¡°Watch the Darkmes, and we¡¯ll see how manyyers he can make it through. Then we¡¯ll report back to the family,¡± the middle-aged man ordered.

    The few others immediately grew more serious as they looked out at Darkme Continent.

    The Sixteen Layers of Darkmes had been set up by the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Yen Phoenix, and he had been an Envoy realm powerhouse, though he had unfortunately perished during the border defense against the Sixth Maind. However, he had left behind quite a few things for his Dark Phoenix family, and the Darkmes barrier was one of them.

    With this barrier protecting them, the Dark Phoenix family was indeed able to enter istion. Aside from a select few in the Outerverse, there was almost nobody who could force their way through the Darkmes barrier.

    Lu Yin stepped into the Darkmes. The barrier was made up of sixteenyers, and the temperature grew higher the further one progressed.

    Even the outermostyer was hot enough to cause Hunters to be cautious, and they would barely be able to enter. Lu Yin quickly passed through the first fiveyers, but once he reached the sixthyer, he became a bit hesitant. It was strong enough to cause even Enlighters to be nervous.

    Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was very impressive, and it could match that of a physically focused Enlighter whose power level was at around 200,000. In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s body could even contend against that of a regr Enlighter whose power level was around 300,000. Even with such a tough body, Lu Yin was only able to endure up to the heat of the eighthyer.

    On the that was just outside of Darkme Continent, the middle-aged man and the others were all stunned. They had all made their own guesses at how manyyers Lu Yin would be able to pass through, but none of them had ever imagined that he would be able to reach the eighthyer. Not even an Enlighter might be able to reach that far!

    The middle-aged man was in the same cultivation realm as Lu Yin, and he actually surpassed Lu Yin slightly, as this Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Cruiser hadpleted seven cultivation cycles. Even though he was from the Dark Phoenix family, he could only cross the firstyer at best. The difference between the two was too great.

    His only source of constion was that Lu Yin had most likely used all of his powerful items to make it that far. Thus, the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Cruiser could still ept that Lu Yin had reached the eighthyer given all the powerful items Lu Yin was so famous for having.

    Within the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes, at the eighthyer, it was so hot that Lu Yin¡¯s very star energy was burning off of his body. He sat down cross-legged in the sky, panting heavily. He had relied on his personal strength to force his way up to now, but it would not be very realistic for him to proceed any further. The Dark Phoenix family had relied on these Darkmes mes to seal off their n. This meant that, no matter if they were facing powers from the Outerverse or the Innerverse, they had a certain degree of confidence in their safety.

    Perhaps the innermostyer of the Darkmes could cause peak Enlighters to be cautious, and even Envoys might take notice of such a barrier.

    It was no wonder why the Dark Phoenix family was known as one of the three Outerverse powers that could not be provoked.

    Lu Yin let out a mouthful of steam and looked up before focusing on the inside of the me barrier. Others might not be able to pass through such mes if they attempted to barge through, but unfortunately for the Dark Phoenix family, Lu Yin was the one making the attempt.

    After thinking about his circumstances, Lu Yin pulled out an item: the Skyze Stone.

    The Skyze Stone was able to absorb mes, and it was actually the origin of the fiery dragon from the Skyze Dojo. Although Lu Yin was unsure of just how powerful that fiery dragon had been, it had most likely possessed the strength of an Envoy at the least. Otherwise, it would not have been able to help Tian Yanzi fight against the Sixth Maind powerhouses.

    Thus, this stone should be able to absorb the mes in this ce!

    As soon as the Skyze Stone was taken out, the surrounding Darkmes suddenly distorted. The mes then shot towards the Skyze Stone like a storm before being directly absorbed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as this was indeed the right way forward.

    At the same time, within Darkme Continent, the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Tanno Phoenix was gazing into outer space. The border of the continent was blocked off by the mes of the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes, but the continent itself possessed no warmth.

    ¡°In istion for a hundred years. Hopefully, after this, the Outerverse will reconnect with the Innerverse, and that kid will have been suppressed by the various powers from the Innerverse,¡± Tanno Phoenixmented.

    Behind Tanno Phoenix stood Goldric Phoenix. This youth had once beenpletely unknown, but he had be the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s number one genius after awakening his innate gift. He had also taken n to the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, and he was estimated to have the strength to challenge the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Goldric Phoenix¡¯s calm face belied hisplex emotions. They were the powerful Dark Phoenix family that had ughtered their way out of the Innerverse, and they were known as one of the three unprovokable powers of the Outerverse. However, just because they were cautious of a single youth, the family had sealed themselves off for a hundred years. What a joke.

    Still, this was the truth of the matter, and Goldric Phoenix could not change it. That youth was simply too freakish whether one considered his personal strength, tricks, background, or even his opportunities. Goldric Phoenix could sympathize with the patriarch¡¯s decision.

    ¡°If the Outerverse manages to rejoin the Innerverse within the next five years, then I hope that you will challenge the top three on the Top 100 Rankings, Goldric,¡± Tanno Phoenix said with some expectation in his voice as he looked back. When the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, there would no longer be any reason for them to be wary of Lu Yin. At that time, the family would be able to release the seal isting the entire family before the allotted one hundred years since Lu Yin would not have the attention to create trouble for them at that time.

    Goldric Phoenix had a determined look. ¡°I want to challenge the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°If you can be a Hunter by then, you can give it a try.¡±

    Goldric Phoenix nodded. Bing a Hunter was nothing difficult for him. To many people, breaking through to the Hunter realm was a key checkpoint in their path of cultivation. However, for a genius like Goldric, who had the resources of the entire Dark Phoenix family, such a thing was very simple. The difficult aspect was actually umting enough of a foundation while in the Cruiser realm, as the deeper that foundation was, the more powerful he would be once he broke through to the Hunter realm.

    The three youths who currently held the top ces in the Top 100 Rankings were all able to break through to the Hunter realm, but none of them had done so. This was because they would not be able to reach the same level as the Ten Arbiters even if they did break through.

    The Ten Arbiters were a standard, but that standard had nothing to do with cultivation realms. They represented a supreme boundary of ability, and the current strength of the top three on the Top 100 Rankings did not qualify to be a part of the Ten Arbiters even if they did be Hunters.

    Five years, was it?

    ¡°Patriarch, if the Innerverse reconnects with the Outerverse, will we exit this seclusion early?¡± Goldric Phoenix asked, as he was also considering this.

    Tanno Phoenix was just about to respond, but his expression suddenly changed as he moved to leave.

    At the same moment, quite a few of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s experts simrly noticed a fluctuation in the Darkmes, and they all rushed to the continent¡¯s barrier.

    The Sixteen Layers of Darkmes was shrinking, which was what Tanno Phoenix and the others saw as soon as they arrived at the continent¡¯s border.

    ¡°Patriarch, what¡¯s happening?¡± Zax Phoenix asked. He had been the Dark Phoenix Lavazone¡¯s Commander, but he had also been summoned back when the Dark Phoenix family announced their hundred years of istion.

    Tanno Phoenix also could not understand what was happening, and he stared into the distance in bewilderment.

    Nobody could exin what was happening, so Tanno Phoenix ordered the entire n to search through their ancient texts, and at the same time, he transferred his authority to Goldric Phoenix. This allowed the youth to read through Yen Phoenix¡¯s journal as they all searched for a reason behind this anomaly in the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes.

    While the Dark Phoenix family was investigating the reason behind the strange behavior of the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes, Lu Yin was very excited inside of it. This was because the Skyze Stone was constantly being replenished, and he would soon be able to use the Skyze Stone for another elerated cultivation session. The Dark Phoenix family¡¯s decision to go into seclusion had just been too timely, as if they had not done so, Lu Yin would have never discovered such a boundless source of ck mes.

    As time passed, the range of the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes grew smaller, and Lu Yin gradually saw the true terror of the Darkmes¡¯s inneryers. In those areas, the rune lines could almost rival an Envoy¡¯s. Sure enough, this defensive barrier was sturdy enough to cause even Envoys to be cautious.

    Outside Darkme Continent, on the gateway, the middle-aged Cruiser and the others had been stunned for a long time, and they simply stared on in stupefaction as the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes changed. They did not know what they should do at this time.

    In front of Lu Yin, the Skyze Stone grew hotter and hotter, and it even started to give off indistinct snarls.

    Lu Yin frowned¡ªcould this thing actually allow that fiery dragon to be reborn? If it truly revived, he would not be able to control it. He hoped that that was not the case, as he wanted to use this Skyze Stone to cultivate.

    As the snarls grew louder and louder, Lu Yin became more and more anxious. Eventually, he decided to stow it away and not let it absorb any more me in case the fiery dragon truly reemerged.

    As for the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes, there was not much of it left¡ªjust the innermostyer that possessed the highest temperatures. Leaving thisst bit could be considered as him leaving a bit of face for the Dark Phoenix family.

    Of the sixteenyers of the Darkmes, fifteen had been absorbed by the Skyze Stone.

    With only oneyer of Darkmes separating them, Tanno Phoenix and the others were all able to see Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could simrly see them. He waved at them before turning to leave.

    Tanno Phoenix and the others were stunned. Lu Yin? Why was he here?

    The situation instantly became clear. Lu Yin was here, so the changes in the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes absolutely had something to do with him.

 Chapter 1019: Beating The Battle Drums

    <h4>Chapter 1019: Beating The Battle Drums</h4>

    Tanno Phoenix watched on as Lu Yin left,pletely dumbfounded at what he was seeing and clueless as to what he should do. Should he forcibly detain this youth? Whether or not they could even do so was merely one detail, as Yuan Shi was not very far away, and such a powerhouse could arrive within the blink of an eye. However, if this person was allowed to leave, then who would they go to forpensation for the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s losses?

    Tanno Phoenix pondered his options for just a moment, but Lu Yin had already left.

    Someone could not help but speak up. ¡°Patriarch, he¡¯s about to escape.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Tanno Phoenix barked, frightening the man.

    Zax Phoenix had a bitter smile, as it was better for Lu Yin to leave than for him to stay behind given the current circumstances. As for the family¡¯s losses, Zax Phoenix could only try to bear the cost himself.

    None of them knew that, if not for Lu Yin being worried about the fire dragon reemerging from the Skyze Stone, he might have only stopped after absorbing all of the Sixteen Layers of Darkmes. At that point, they would have been forced to meet him regardless if they wanted to or not.

    Although Lu Yin had not absorbed the entire me barrier this time, he felt that it was still fine. There was no way for these Darkmes to escape. Once he depleted the Skyze Stone¡¯s heat, he could simply take another trip here.

    These darkmes of the Dark Phoenix family reminded Lu Yin of the Phoenix family. If this Dark Phoenix family had such terrifying mes, then the Phoenix family and the ze Realm could only be stronger. Those ces were simply treasuries in his eyes.

    Absorbing the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s darkmes had been an unexpected boon, and Lu Yin left the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s territory with a sense of excitement as if he had just robbed them blind. He looked back and saw that there was no one pursuing him, but he still hastened to take his leave.

    His journey had been exceptionally sessful this time, and Lu Yin started to use his special privileges to return to Frostwave Weave via the express military routes. This meant that the return journey only took him ten days.

    When he saw Zenyu Star, a sense of returning home sprang up within him,pletely unbidden.

    Although he had only been gone for a bit more than half a year, the suffering that he had experienced during this time had made it feel much longer.

    News of Lu Yin¡¯s return to Zenyu Star spread quickly, and all of Frostwave Weave grew jubnt.

    The masters of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s various leading powers all made a trip to offer their congrattions, and many people hoped to learn of the Innerverse¡¯s circumstances. However, everyone was turned away with the excuse that Lu Yin needed to recuperate from some injuries.

    When he returned to Zenyu Star, the first thing that Lu Yin did was give the Twelfth Squadron the wreckage of the giant mechanical monster that had attacked Bro Hui Kong back in the Technocracy. He wanted them to study its materials.

    The Twelfth Squadron also gave Lu Yin a surprise of their own: 3,000 androids.

    These androids had been manufactured ording to the blueprints that Lu Yin had Pilfered from his die. Each of these androids had the power level of an Explorer, and they had proven their tremendous value in the previous battle at the astral cemetery.

    There had only been several hundred androids at that time, and each had only had the strength of an Explorer. This time, Lu Yin was greeted by 3,000 androids. Although the strength of these androids were still onlyparable to an Explorer¡¯s, their power level approached the level of a Cruiser¡¯s, and their defenses could definitely match a Cruiser¡¯s.

    3,000 androids with Cruiser-level defenses were more than enough to shock the entire Outerverse.

    In the past, the majority of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadron Captains had only been Cruisers. Thus, it was quite clear how badly these 3,000 androids would shock the outside world when they were revealed.

    In addition, Ban Jiu had also discovered quite a few rare materials within the Great Eastern Alliance, and he was testing theirbinations. Once he was sessful, the androids would be upgraded yet again.

    They were already reaping the benefits of uniting the Outerverse, as one such benefit was easy ess to all sorts of materials. Lu Yin¡¯s King Zishan¡¯s pce had also been renovated, and all of the secret rooms had been reinforced with the sturdiest materials avable, and they were almost sturdy enough to resist Hunter-level attacks. On top of that, a secure lockbreaking room had been specially installed inside the pce, and it waspletely constructed from Spiritual Thread.

    As the preeminent power of the entire Great Eastern Alliance, the Great Yu Empire had taken the leading position in all aspects whether it was economy or military power. In the past, the empire had actually needed the Nn family and other simr organizations to financially support them. However, at present time, Zenyu Star alone was able to support the Great Yu Empire¡¯s economy.

    The street that held Lu¡¯s Grand Auction was still there, though it had been changed owners thousands of times now despite the exorbitant property value of that street that had exploded by almost ten thousand times. In the past, quite a few financial organizations had been pushed out of this street, and it was currently almost entirely upied by giantpanies that spanned dozens of weaves.

    Even organizations that covered an entire weave were not able to maintain a shop on this street.

    Lu¡¯s Grand Auction had not received any premium goods from Lu Yin in the past half a year, but due to its reputation, it had received enough rare items that they had still been able to hold an auction every three months. This was quite a valuable source of ie for Lu Yin, but Lu Yin could simply disregard that amount with his current assets, so all of the profits were thrown to the recently established Lu Charity.

    ¡°Word has spread throughout the outside world that I died, but despite that, there really was no chaos within the empire?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously. Across from him were Wei Rong, En Ya, Huan Sha, Gavin, Hill Auna, and other top officials of the empire.

    As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hill Auna was also a member of the Imperial Cab, and he was the one who spoke up first. ¡°The Hall of Honor itself promised that regardless of what happened to Your Highness, they would protect the Great Yu Empire and ensure a thousand years of peace.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood: a thousand years of peace. This guarantee was enough to make many financial organizations envious. This meant that the empire had essentially be another Millions City, and it was even a strengthened version at that.

    ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s one matter that your subject feels has to be brought to your attention,¡± Gavin spoke solemnly. ¡°The Great Yu Empire cannot have only a Royal Regent.¡±

    The moment this matter was brought up, the expressions of the entire crowd changed, but not one of them showed any hint of surprise.

    In truth, Lu Yin¡¯s status had been discussed by countless people within the empire since long ago. The Royal Regent was a title that could substitute for the ruling authority of the empire, and there would naturally be no issues if this was still the same Great Yu Empire as before. However, Lu Yin was also the Great Eastern Alliance Leader as well as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Both of these positions far surpassed the prestige of the Great Yu Emperor, but Lu Yin still had not taken the throne. This had led to even further discussions among the popce, especially those in the Great Eastern Alliance, who all spoke of how the Great Yu Empire had internal conflicts.

    Wendy Yushan had alsoe under great pressure, as she had no desire for any authority. Despite that, many people criticized her directly because she was the person who was the most qualified to inherit the throne, even more so than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, as he had actually forgotten about this matter.

    Ever since he had be the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, the throne of the Great Yu Empire no longer held much attraction to him. However, he had never considered how his current status might bring about such trouble.

    ¡°This matter can be postponed for the moment,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Gavin wanted to say something further, but he was stopped by Hill Auna.

    Wei Rong then said, ¡°Your Highness, during the seven months that you were gone, the empire¡¯s infiltration of the weaves in the western region has advanced greatly. With your return, quite a few more weaves in the central area are now willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You, Wang Wen, and En Ya can discuss this matter amongst yourselves, as you know best what to do to those who are unwilling to join the alliance. The title of the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander cannot be wasted.¡±

    Wei Rong smiled. ¡°Got it.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, the Nn family delivered a message to us yesterday¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Within the sprawling Great Yu Empire, the evenrger Great Eastern Alliance, as well as the even more expansive Outerverse, there were many matters that had been waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s approval, as he was the only one who could make a decision for many issues. He had no choice but to delegate the tasks bit by bit.

    It was dusk when Gavin and the others finally left.

    After they departed, Wendy Yushan arrived.

    As Lu Yin looked at her, he felt like thest time he had seen her was a lifetime ago. ¡°I nearly died, and I even thought that I would never be able to see you again.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin would not say much about his experiences to the others, but he shared a great deal with Wendy Yushan, as there were certain things that he simply had to vent.

    Her expression turned cold. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu, that guy isn¡¯t easy to deal with.¡±

    ¡°I know, and I won¡¯t be rash. After fighting him once, I won¡¯t lose to him the next time,¡± Lu Yin said confidently.

    Wendy Yushan muttered, ¡°There¡¯ve been more people in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal as the Sixth Maind has retreated. It would probably be best for you to not go back for now. After the battle in the astral cemetery, you might be recognized over there,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Before too long, Wendy Yushan also left.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a bit before switching on his gadget. A person soon appeared on the screen: Wang Wen.

    ¡°Royal Chesspiece, it¡¯s been a long time!¡± Wang Wen smiled, looking very happy.

    Lu Yin grew very serious. ¡°I want to deal with the Daynight n.¡±

    Wang Wen rearranged his expression. ¡°What did you say? Beg your pardon?¡±

    Lu Yin repeated, ¡°I want to deal with the Daynight n, so help me find a way.¡±

    Wang Wen¡¯s eyes lit up, and his lips involuntarily curved upwards, revealing a deep excitement that his heart could not suppress. Rather than fear, he felt a willingness for battle. ¡°How interesting. I had guessed that after uniting the Outerverse, you would refocus on the great ns of the Innerverse, but I had assumed that it would be the ze Realm or the Ross Empire. I never even considered that it could be the Daynight n. Chesspiece Bro, your appetite has increased.¡±

    ¡°Can we do it?¡± Lu Yin asked seriously.

    Wang Wen answered with a rejoinder. ¡°Do you have the means to go against a super powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Do you have the method to resist thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of cultivators who make up the Daynight n troops?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Are you able to remove the Daynight n¡¯s internal influence on the Hall of Honor?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How about stalling the Daynight n¡¯s allies¡¯ troops?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then onest question.¡± Wang Wen¡¯s face showed an unprecedented degree of seriousness. ¡°Do you have the determination to defeat Nightking Zhenwu?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and his mouth cracked open as he smiled. ¡°That¡¯s naturally the case.¡±

    Wang Wenughed. ¡°Alright! Then let¡¯s y a game with the Daynight n as our opponent!¡±

    At that moment, a chess piece mysteriously appeared in his hand that he mmed into the table, shattering the piece.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as the void distorted. It sounded as if battle drums were echoing out. At this moment, he wanted to make the Daynight n his mortal enemy and to find a way to use the entire Outerverse¡¯s strength to extinguish the Daynight n. Also, he wanted to take out Nightking Zhenwu.

    In a secure room within King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin surveyed the area. This ce had clearly been extensively renovated, and the walls were now much sturdier. Reportedly, they were able to resist Hunter-level attacks. Although this might be a bit exaggerated, it should at least be able to prevent the aftershocks of Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation sessions from spreading out.

    He did not see many other changes aside from the walls¡¯ reinforcement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out. He then sat down, raised a hand, and caused his die to appear.

    It was time to upgrade his items, and he felt that there were many things to do, as upgrading his new items was just one task. The Skyze Stone had already beenpletely restored, so he could use it for another cultivation session, which would improve his realm toplement his current strength. That was of the utmost importance. Also, he hoped to return to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins to absorb the second cauldron¡¯s cauldron energy. Also, there was the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance.

    His spiritual force was already very powerful, but Lu Yin had never learned how to properly use it. The Daynight Punch was his only spiritual force attack, but it was too crude. Lu Yin hoped to take advantage of the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stone and obtain an attack that was simr to the Skybreaker, as that would drastically improve his battle ability.

    All of these tasks had to bepleted step by step, and Lu Yin¡¯s first step was to upgrade his items.

    He tapped out, and his die spun. Finally, it stopped on one pip, which was amon urrence. One pip was the mostmon roll.

    As Lu Yin watched one, a small piece of herbal medicine fell out that emitted a flickering light. Lu Yin seriously appraised the herb, but he quickly found that it was perfectly ordinary, which left him slightly disappointed.

    He restored the die and tapped out again. This time, his luck was better, and he rolled three pips: Enhance.

 Chapter 1020: Upgraded Items

    <h4>Chapter 1020: Upgraded Items</h4>

    When he saw the two light screens, Lu Yin immediately threw the giant, mechanical right arm onto it.

    This item¡¯s rune lines were alreadyparable to an Enlighter, and in some ways, it was simr to the bracer that he had worn on his right arm before.

    That bracer had been limited by itsposite materials, and even though Lu Yin had upgraded it to the absolute limit, it had only been able to increase his physical strength to the point where he could match up to an Enlighter with a power level of about 300,000. However, this massive mechanical arm was different.

    Lu Yin continuously threw out piles of star essence, and the giant arm was upgraded once, twice, thrice, and until it passed through the screens six times before no longer being able to be upgraded. This was the limit of the arm¡¯s materials, and six was the maximum number of times that it could be upgraded.

    As Lu Yin observed the giant arm that had been upgraded six times, he sucked in a breath of cold air. At this moment, the giant arm¡¯s number of rune lines were tremendous, and they surpassed every Enlighter that Lu Yin had ever seen, including even Yu Mu from Shamrock Enterprises and other such absolute experts. This arm should be infinitely close to the level of an Envoy!

    Lu Yin took in another breath of cold air as he touched the giant right arm. The Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse for more than six years. Back then, he had been able to upgrade items to the level where they could threaten Enlighters, but now, his items were nearly reaching the level of an Envoy. Lu Yin himself was also improving.

    No, it was due to his wealth.

    Actually, that was not really true either. With his previous abilities, even if he had possessed more money, he would have been restricted by the intrinsic materials of the item that he wanted to upgrade. At best, they would have been able to threaten Enlighters.

    There was still a difference in levels.

    Lu Yin reflected on his situation for a while, but then he stored the massive right arm away and took out the Sealed Cannon. This little toy was incredibly effective in ambushes, as it was extremely minuscule. It would not attract any attention, but it was impressively powerful despite its small size.

    The power of the Sealed Cannon already approached that of an attack from a Cruiser with only a power level of 50,000, but that was not bad for the Outerverse. After all, this thing had been stored in one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s primary border warfront warehouses. Still, that level of power was really not of much help to Lu Yin.

    He ced all of the Sealed Cannons on the top light screen and then began to frantically upgrade them all at once.

    After upgrading them nine times, they had reached the maximum level once again, restricted by their base materials.

    After nine upgrades, the Sealed Cannons¡¯ number of rune lines neared those of an Enlighter with a power level of just over 200,000.

    This was not bad. Although the power level was nothing impressive, there were quite a few of these tiny bombs. Besides, Lu Yin was only a Cruiser himself while these Sealed Cannons were able to threaten an Enlighter. They were about as powerful as the gun that he had first upgraded, so this was actually pretty decent.

    Upgrading the giant right arm had consumed 1.3 million star essence, and upgrading the more than twenty Sealed Cannons nine times had depleted 1.4 million. Thus, all in all, the two upgrades had already cost Lu Yin 2.7 million star essence.

    If not for him having gained a fortune recently, there was no way he would have had enough resources to upgrade everything that he wanted.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin took out the mirror, as this was the next on his list of items to upgrade.

    This little thing was able to forcibly absorb all of the star energy within a certain range, and if used well, it would disrupt an opponent¡¯s battle techniques, arts, or even their innate gift.

    The mirror¡¯s rune lines were already at a simr level as the Sealed Cannons, and they could barely match up to those of a Cruiser with a power level of 50,000. However, this mirror was made of much higher quality materials than the Sealed Cannons; after all, this was a power vessel.

    Lu Yin repeatedly upgraded it until he reached the limit of thirteen upgrades.

    Thirteen upgrades had cost him 1.18 million star essence, but as a result, the mirror¡¯s runes were so impressive that they had surpassed the rune lines of someone at Yu Mu¡¯s level.

    These rune lines might even surpass those of an expert whose power level was greater than 400,000!

    Upgrading just three items had already depleted nearly four million star essence. This level of expenditure was too extravagant, and the further Lu Yin progressed and the higher he climbed, the more valuable the items he woulde into contact with. This meant that he would constantly require more and more money to fully upgrade his items.

    It turned out that he was still poor.

    Lu Yin nced down at his cosmic ring. He still had more than twenty million star essence in his ring, so he still had enough for the moment.

    Actually, to Lu Yin, the most important item was still a set of universal armor, or rather, a holistic set of defensive equipment. The giant arm could barely count as a defensive item, as itsrge size meant that it could protect his entire body if used well. Still, he needed another piece of equipment that was simr to a set of universal armor.

    His current armor could, at best, defend against attacks from Enlighters whose power levels were at about 200,000. This was enough for him to roam about the Outerverse unimpeded, but in the Innerverse, especially if Lu Yin was going to face off against the Daynight n, this armor was clearlycking.

    He hoped Ban Jiu would be able to find some powerful new materials soon.

    Lu Yin suddenly pped himself hard. He had already given the scraps of that strange mechanical monster that had attacked Bro Hui Kong to Ban Jiu. Even if the captain of the Twelfth Squadron was able to determine what materials the machine monster was made out of, he did not have the ability to refine anything. Despite how weak the mechanical creature had appeared to be after being instantly torn apart by Bro Hui Kong, that was because it was Bro Hui Kong, who was an ancient monster with a power level of at least 1,000,000.

    This kind of mechanical monster must have been on the level of an Envoy at the very least.

    After his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin left the secure room and headed straight towards the research facility.

    At this time, Ban Jiu was feeling quite stressed in the underground researchb thaty beneath the Twelfth Squadron. Vice Captain Shalosh stood next to the captain, and they were both staring at the scraps of the mechanical monster that currently upied the entire underground space.

    ¡°Captain, His Highness gave this to you?¡± Shalosh asked.

    Ban Jiu nodded.

    Shalosh reluctantly said, ¡°With our current technology, we have no way of removing any of these pieces from the rest, and even a randomly selectedponent can¡¯t be refined. Just where did His Highness find such a thing?¡±

    Ban Jiu stared at the fragments of the mechanical creature and touched some of theponents. ¡°This thing is from the Technocracy.¡±

    The other nearby researchers were overwhelmed. The Technocracy! That civilization was not something humanity was able toe into contact with. Although they were constantly at war with them, when the Technocracy was seriously discussed, no one had any real understanding of the Technocracy, as nobody had ever managed to force their way very far past the border.

    ¡°His Highness was actually able to bring back such a huge thing from the Technocracy. How astounding,¡± a senior researcher marveled.

    ¡°What can His Highness not do? We¡¯re the ones who are too weak, and there¡¯s no way for us to catch up to him.¡±

    ¡°With the ability of our Technology Department, there¡¯s nothing that we can do with this thing at all. It¡¯s possible that even Morrow Weave, the most technologically advanced weave in the Outerverse, wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything either.¡±

    ¡­

    Ban Jiu grew jittery as he listened to the ongoing discussions. ¡°Alright, you guys can head out first. I¡¯ll think of something.¡±

    Before long, most of the people left until only Ban Jiu and Shalosh remained behind.

    ¡°Captain,¡± Shalosh spoke. Next to him, the void suddenly split open as Lu Yin stepped out.

    Seeing Lu Yin suddenly appear, Shalosh¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Back during the trial on Earth, Shalosh had tried to help Sicar¡¯s son, Raas, take care of Lu Yin. Although this matter had urred several years ago, every time Shalosh saw Lu Yin, he could not help but feel fearful, as he was terrified that Lu Yin would get revenge.

    But Lu Yin simply did not care about Shalosh at all.

    When Ban Jiu saw Lu Yin appear, he bowed. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over towards the fragments of the mechanical monster. ¡°How is it? Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Ban Jiu sent Shalosh out, and then answered with a serene expression, ¡°Your Highness, we are unable to break down such a mechanical organism, and we can¡¯t even analyze these materials¡¯ properties.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised. ¡°If I can break this machine down, then will you be able to make use of the resulting materials?¡±

    Ban Jiu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°We could make use of some of them, but most of the materials would have to be fused to something else. We simply don¡¯t have a strong enough heat source.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I have the heat source you need. I need a brand new set of armor made from the best possible materials, and I¡¯ll support youpletely in this endeavor. Send me any metals that you need melted.¡±

    Ban Jiu nodded. ¡°Understood. Your subject will certainly construct the best armor.¡±

    Lu Yin gathered up the fragments of the mechanical creature and left. He went straight to an uninhabited, caused his die to appear, and then tapped it. Once again, he rolled one pip: Pilfer.

    No rush. Again.

    The die spun before slowlying to a stop. This time, it finallynded on four pips: Timestop. It was time to enter the Timestop Space.

    After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin was in even less of a hurry. This space rendered three of the rolls useless: Pilfer, Gift Copy, and Possession. However, ckhole Disassembly and Enhance were both still useful.

    Perhaps all of his luck had vanished after rolling three pips: Enhance, but Lu Yin ended up spending almost half a month in the Timestop Space before he finally rolled two pips: ckhole Disassembly.

    ckhole Disassembly could be used to break items down into theirponent materials, but the deconstructing ckhole would onlyst for five minutes. However, that time could be extended by spending star crystals.

    Lu Yin quickly dragged the scraps of the mechanical monster over to the ckhole, and all sorts of strange metals fell out. He picked them up and continued to disassemble them. He knew that these metals were alloys, and since Ban Jiu¡¯s techniques would likely be unable to refine any of them, Lu Yin decided to just break everything down all the way!

    As the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he returned to the uninhabited. Without wasting any time, he stepped out to return to the underground Technology Department back on Zenyu Star.

    He passed the countless different strange materials that had been obtained from the ckhole Disassembly over to Ban Jiu. As Ban Jiu stared at them in astonishment, Lu Yin left the undergroundb.

    Ban Jiu nned on manufacturing the new equipment that had been requested, but he first needed to study all of the various materials, which would require time. Lu Yin intended to use this time to cultivate and explore the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance.

    In the secure room within King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin had aplicated expression on his face as he took out the Daynight n stone of inheritance which had sixteen faces.

    Back during the trial on Earth, Lu Yin, Xia Luo, and Lulu Mavis had all managed to obtain battle techniques from this stone of inheritance. Logically, only the people from the Daynight n should have been able to do so, but Lu Yin had not thought much about the strangeness of the situation back then. Now that he had be much more experienced, Lulu was from the Mavis family, so it was not surprising for her to have mysterious methods. But what status did Xia Luo have?

    None of the primeval surname holders were simple, and those who dared to openly travel across the universe with a primeval surname were an even more extreme case.

    Also, Lulu was from the Mavis family, so why had she gone to Earth? In the past, Lu Yin had assumed that she had been there for the Undying Manual, but he now realized that that assumption might not have been correct.

    Earth hid many unknown secrets. In fact, her presence might have even been rted to the Hidden Earth Society. He needed to visit Jupiter again in the future, but he would wait until he broke through to the Hunter realm.

    Lu Yin held up the stone of inheritance and sensed the vast changes of time that it had gone through. He then raised his hand, causing the ancient stone to float up before cutting open a small wound on his finger and dripping fresh blood onto the stone. In an instant, Lu Yin¡¯s vision shifted, All he could see was a dark space, and the colors ck and white suddenly interchanged to form a giant fist that fell towards him. This was the exact same scene that he had seen when he had entered the stone of inheritancest time.

    This had caused Zhou Shan, Wu Sheng, Jenny Auna, and the others to all fail when they attempted to ess the stone of inheritance. None of them had even been able to enter the corridor of inheritance.

    In the past, Lu Yin had relied on the Cosmic Art to enter the corridor. This time, his body slightly trembled before the Daynight Punch simply vanished and his body fell outside the corridor.

    At the same time, in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, beneath a towering stone que, countless Daynight members were looking up. Some of them were excited, some of them looked expectant, and others showed tant disdain on their faces.

    This stone que revealed the degree ofprehension that all of the Daynight members had attained within the stone of inheritance. The higher theirprehension, the higher their image would climb up the stone que.

    Nightking Zhenwu unquestionably held the top position on the que, and the one second to him was Zhanlong Daynight.

    The images on this stone que did not take one¡¯s cultivation realm into consideration. Rather, it only factored in the level of their battle techniqueprehension and what sort of inheritances they had received.

    At this moment, there were quite a few Daynight members who werepeting in climbing up the stone que. Among them were Tiankong Daynight, who had studied in the Astral Combat Academy, Chilian Daynight, Rou Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Gu, and more.

 Chapter 1021: Images On The Stone Plaque

    <h4>Chapter 1021: Images On The Stone que</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu had announced that whoever could surpass Zhanlong Daynight and reach second ce on the que would be able to follow him into the Neoverse when he inevitably became one of the Cosmic Five.

    The Cosmic Five was a title given to the Neoverse¡¯s younger generation¡¯s top talents. Since ancient times, no one from the Innerverse or Outerverse had ever been able to obtain this title. Nightking Zhenwu obtaining such a title was a historic moment, and apanying him during such a momentous asion meant that that person would also leave their name down in the Daynight n¡¯s historical records. There were countless people fighting to obtain this glory.

    The Daynight n had three inheritance stones, and although one had been taken and lost by Nightking Zhenwu, the other two were still revolving around the stone que.

    Zhuo Daynight and others were working their hardest to receive inheritances from the stones, and they gathered around the stone que as they all fought to win the position of honor of being second only to Nightking Zhenwu.

    Directly below the stone que were quite a few figures that seemed to bepletely petrified. They were actually Daynight n elders, and they were the guardians of the n¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    ¡°Is Nightking Zhenwu still unwilling to return the stone of inheritance?¡± one of the figures asked, his voice causing the air to tremble as dust fell off of his body. It was impossible to say how long these people had been sitting still here.

    Even when the Sixth Maind had swept through the Innerverse and fought their way into the Daynight Flowzone, these ancient figures had not moved, as they would not leave these ancestral grounds even if they died. Fortunately, the Sixth Maind had not discovered the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    ¡°After the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the three inheritance stones were separated and taken away. Two of them have been returned, and Nightking Zhenwu is the only one who is still unwilling to return the stone in his possession. Do we need to urge him?¡± Another figure spoke up.

    One of the figures among the elders had both of their eyes closed. ¡°There¡¯s no need. That kid represents the future and fortune of our Daynight n. If he wants to keep one of the inheritance stones, then leave him be.¡±

    ¡°The Cosmic Five are the most exalted of their generation, and there¡¯s even a possibility that they will be able to be Progenitors now that the sky has changed. Hopefully, he¡¯ll be our Daynight n¡¯s first Progenitor.¡±

    ¡­

    Close to the elders, Zhuo Daynight was sitting beneath the stone que, her brows furrowed tightly in concentration. She had been sitting in this ce for a long time.

    Seated rather close to her, Nightqueen Yanqing was in a simr position, as were many other members of the Daynight n.

    Just one sentence from Nightking Zhenwu had motivated everyone to try their best, and they were allpeting for the same spot.

    Nightking Zhenwu was sitting off in the distance with a smile on his face. His eyes lit up as he gazed upon the stone que. He liked it when otherspeted for his favor, as how else could they properly demonstrate how much they revered him? Reaching the position of second only to him was something that was unattainable for these people because that position was destined to belong to that woman. She was the only one who qualified to be second to him.

    They were all members of the great Daynight n, the elites of countless n members spread throughout the Innerverse as well as the Outerverse. They were unafraid of anyone, but at this moment, they were all being manipted by Nightking Zhenwu. He was the king of the Daynight n and also the king of the Nightking n.

    ***

    This time, the corridor was still deathly silent, and just one step back would plunge one into endless darkness. There was clearly no light whatsoever, but the entire corridor could be seen quite clearly.

    Lu Yin looked over to the side, and he saw that many names had been carved upon the stone b, of which Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name could be seen at the very top.

    Eleven years ago, Lu Yin had seen this very name in the same position. Back then, when he had first seen that name, it had been as if he had personally witnessed a scene of Nightking Zhenwu towering high in the heavens. He had possessed an outstanding appearance with a seemingly invincible and extremely arrogant bearing. At the current moment, the Nightking had be even more powerful than ever, but he could no longer awe Lu Yin like before.

    The name currently second, behind Nightking Zhenwu, was actually Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s, as the Daynight Restoration Technique was truly one of the miracles of the Daynight n. Although it had not reached the level where it could intimidate an entire generation, it was still close to that level. Throughout history, only a miniscule number of people within the entire Daynight n¡¯s history had managed to cultivate this technique. Thus, Zhanlong Daynight was capable of easily crushing countless people, and that was how he had be ranked second, standing below only Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin did not continue looking at the stone b. Instead, he stepped forward and entered the corridor.

    When Lu Yin had stepped into this corridor for the first time all those years ago, he had been beaten out after just one step. Back then, he had experienced and been forced to withstand an indescribably oppressive pressure. At that time, he had not known that that sense of pressure was actually his spiritual force being suppressed, but that made sense, as all of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques contained an element of spiritual force. Lu Yin¡¯s previous spiritual force had been insufficient to even enter the corridor. Thus, he had only been able to take one step.

    But now, the spiritual force suppression that weed Lu Yin into the corridor felt like nothing more than a spring breeze, and it could not pressure him in the slightest. Lu Yin quickly stepped into the corridor, taking rapid steps into its depths.

    In the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, at the very bottom of the stone que, Lu Yin¡¯s image made a quiet appearance. Nobody noticed it, as everyone was staring at the top of the stone que.

    At the top, the names of Nightqueen Yanqing, Zhuo Daynight, and several other Nightking n powerhouses were having an intensepetition. They were all charging towards the top of the que.

    In terms of talent, Zhuo Daynight could notpete with Nightqueen Yanqing. When Zhuo Daynight had first met Lu Yin, she had to rely on her phantom sword technique to unleash a domain. Back then, Nightqueen Yanqing had already been the student leader of Astral-3, and she had alsoprehended the Nightking¡¯s Body as well as battle force. In short, she could have easily crushed Zhuo Daynight.

    In some sense, Zhuo Daynight only had value because she hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    Nightking Zhenwu wanted this girl to surpass everyone else during thispetition which was determined by inheritances, but this was truly too difficult a task.

    However, after Zhuo Daynightprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, it seemed as though the technique had unleashed her full potential talent, and this change allowed her to make rapid progress here. Otherwise, she would have beenpletely unqualified topete against someone like Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Plop.

    A Daynight n member suddenly copsed and spat out a mouthful of blood. After this happened, the nearby n members calmly stepped up and took the person away.

    An inheritance could not be obtained by just sitting in ce and meditating. Rather, it required one to fight for it themselves, or in other words, passing a test of strength. Many people would attempt to seize inheritances that they could not pass, so it was normal for people to be severely injured or even killed during this process.

    This was how thepetitions within the Daynight n were carried out, and it was simr to how many otherrge families in the universe conducted theirs as well. Nobody would ce an inheritance out for anyone to take, as there had to be somepetition to earn them.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s image had already almost reached the top of the stone que by now. After many years of war, everyone had improved vastly, and at the moment, this was reflected in their rate ofprehension. Everyone was constantly improving, and the higher their talent was, the more obvious their advancement.

    Nightqueen Yanqing opened her eyes and looked at the top of the stone que, just to confirm that no one else had surpassed Zhanlong Daynight. Her eyes grew cold as she looked around at Zhuo Daynight and the others. The Nightqueen then gave a cold snort before she continued to seek enlightenment on the inheritances.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face was pale. She had just entered the top twenty, and although she was also at the top of the stone que, she was still a considerable distance below Zhanlong Daynight. She would not be able to rece him within a short period of time. As she thought about this, a trickle of fresh blood dripped down from the corner of her mouth. She had long since reached her breaking point, but she was forcing herself to persist. She did it for her family, for that person who had shown her mercy, and worst of all¡ªto qualify to be that person¡¯s wife.

    Quite a few people within the Daynight n were getting anxious, and they urged Zhanlong Daynight to return so that he could prevent his status from being seized by another person.

    There was actually a member of the Daynight n who was able to shame the Nightking n by relying on his status on the stone que. Such a status showed Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s raw potential, and quite a few of the experts in the Daynight n¡¯s older generation highly valued Zhanlong Daynight. If he was reced, then he would be in deep trouble, as there were many people in the Nightking n who wanted him to be put to death.

    Off in the distance, Nightking Zhenwu silently stood up as Starsibyl appeared beside him. She looked over at the towering stone que. ¡°The Daynight n is truly worthy of having such an ancient inheritance, as there is nobody in the Innerverse who canpete with such a background.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu showed a faint smile. ¡°The Sword Sect is still the true number one power in the Innerverse.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°When you be one of the Cosmic Five, they won¡¯t be any longer.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips curled up. That was true¡ªas long as he became one of the Cosmic Five and obtained a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, there would be no worries about the Daynight n¡¯s future, as they would instantly be the strongest. No, he would go on to lead the Daynight n into the Neoverse until they rivaled those colossal powers like the Cosmic Sect and the Mavis family.

    ***

    There were vivid, lifelike murals on both sides of the corridor, and there were even howls that echoed from ancient ages that could be asionally heard.

    Lu Yin gave the pictures a serious look, but he did not understand what they were depicting. These images might be battle techniques, ancient battles, or even something directly rted to the Daynight n.

    There were many changes along the corridor, but Lu Yin continued to slowly walk into the depths. Suddenly, a long spear shot through the void and stabbed at him, making a whooshing sound as it thrust at his forehead.

    Lu Yin tipped his head to the side as the spear whistled past him and vanished. At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s mind received some information regarding the spear; it was the Daynight Spear, and it was clearly a spear technique of the Daynight n.

    He shook his head, as he was not interested in the Daynight Spear. Thus, he continued to walk forward.

    Before long, a figure shed through the void in front of him, moving at an extraordinary speed. His eyes trembled, as this was the White sh Technique, a movement technique of the Daynight n that Lulu Mavis had received in the past.

    Lu Yin had learned a simr technique, sh, which meant that his speed was limited only by his physical strength. For Lu Yin, this surpassed all other speed techniques, as there was no upper limit to his physical strength.

    He continued to walk forward.

    As he continued along, Lu Yin also saw the Daynight Rod, Daynight Palm, and Night sh techniques. These were all battle techniques that Qingyu had used in the past. Lu Yin also saw the Moonrise Finger, which he had seen Hui Daynight use before. He also saw the White Phantom Sword, which was the battle technique that Zhuo Daynight had used when he first met her. The further he proceeded, the more powerful the battle techniques that he encountered.

    At this same time, within the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, Lu Yin¡¯s image continuously rose up from the bottom of the stone que. By now, he was approaching the middle of the que.

    If not because everyone was currently focused on the ongoingpetition between those at the very top of the stone que, Lu Yin¡¯s image would have been discovered long ago. However, even now, nobody had noticed the appearance of Lu Yin¡¯s image.

    Eventually, Lu Yin passed through about half of the corridor. At that point, the spiritual force suppressing him was almost dense enough to take on tangible form, and it whistled by him with enough strength to suppress the average Hunter. Still, such force was useless against him.

    At this time, a tremendous bellow roared out in front of him, and it sounded as if the heavens had be enraged and was unleashing its wrath, causing the void to tremble. This st of sound startled Lu Yin and nearly caused him to jump.

    This was the Nightking Howl, which was the battle technique that Nightking Yuanjing had once used.

    But Lu Yin was not interested in this Nightking Howl either, and he continued moving forward.

    The deeper he walked, the greater the pressure that he had to endure. However, this pressure was not able to do much to Lu Yin.

    He drew closer and closer to the end of the corridor, and when he saw the true end, Lu Yin became certain that only a few people were able to walk this far.

    Suddenly, the surface of his entire body felt tight and felt strangely oppressed. Was this the Nightking''s Body?

    There were very few people in the Daynight n who could use the Nightking''s Body, and Nightqueen Yanqing was one of them. Another had been the now-dead Nightking Changfeng. Nightking Gu had alsoprehended the Nightking''s Body.

    It might seem like there were many who knew this technique, but there were countless people within the Daynight n, and only these few within the younger generation had learned it. Anyone who had managed toprehend the Nightking''s Body would immediately step into the top tier of elites.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had once used the Nightking''s Body topensate for the difference in battle force between her and Lu Yin, and the technique had allowed her to have an impressive fight with Lu Yin.

    The Nightking''s Body was very useful, but Lu Yin was not very interested in this either. His physical body was already so tough that it could even suppress the Nightking''s Body.

    ***

    Right when Lu Yin was given the opportunity to receive the Nightking''s Body, in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, someone under the stone que had finally noticed his image on the que.

    The first to discover him were actually the ancient guardians.

    ¡°This kid is climbing quite fast. He was only at the very bottom before, but he seems to be climbing straight to the top. He¡¯s surpassed many others already.¡±

    ¡°Strange, why doesn¡¯t this kid have ck and white hair?¡±

    With that question, the figure seated between the two who were speaking opened his eyes and nced at the top of the stone que. Suddenly, his expression changed. ¡°Some outsider is epting our inheritance! Immediately summon Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    By now, it was not only the ancient guardians who had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s appearance, but quite a few Daynight n members around the stone que had also seen Lu Yin¡¯s image. He had attracted a sizable amount of attention because he was truly climbing up too fast.

    ¡°Guys, look! That guy doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s from our Daynight n,¡± someone cried out.

    Quite a few looked at where the person was pointing.

    ¡°Strange, that kid looks really familiar. Where¡¯ve we seen him before?¡±

    ¡°You think so too? I seem to remember seeing him somewhere else as well.¡±

    ¡°Me too. I¡¯ve definitely seen him somewhere before.¡±

    ¡­

 Chapter 1022: Night Advent

    <h4>Chapter 1022: Night Advent</h4>

    Not too far from the discussion, Hui Daynight opened his eyes and rubbed his forehead in an attempt to ease his headache. It was very tiring seizing an inheritance, and he was long due for a break.

    At that moment, the nearby conversations entered his ears, and Hui Daynight looked up out of curiosity, but then his pupils immediately shrank as he involuntarily called out, ¡°Lu Yin?!¡±

    This was the first time the name ¡°Lu Yin¡± had been mentioned within the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds, and the entire area was quickly awed. In fact, the entire Daynight n was shocked.

    Who could have ever imagined that some outsider would be able to seize one of the Daynight n¡¯s inheritances let alone race to the top of the stone que so quickly? Lu Yin was about to reach the highest section, which meant that he would soon bepeting with Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s group.

    Ever since the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance had first appeared, something like this had never urred.

    Tiankong Daynight, Rou Daynight, and others were all staring nkly at the top of the stone que. They could still remember the confrontation that had urred back in the Astral Combat Academy, as Lu Yin had gone against the entire Daynight n by himself, which was still rather exaggerated. Several years had passed since that incident, and none of them had expected that their next time seeing Lu Yin would be on the n¡¯s ancestral grounds¡¯ stone que. On top of that, Lu Yin had already surpassed them.

    A bit further away, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s pupils shrank as he focused intently on Lu Yin¡¯s image on the stone que. ¡°Impossible! He didn¡¯t die after I struck him with the Heart Seeker secret technique? Impossible!¡±

    Next to the Nightking, Starsibyl¡¯s eyes grew bright, and her finger involuntarily moved as she made a divination. The future was now headed in an unknown direction, all calctions about this person consistently fell apart.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he tore through the void to appear directly below the stone que, right in front of the ancient guardians. ¡°Junior Nightking Zhenwu pays his respects to the seniors who protect the ancestral grounds.¡±

    Within the group, there was one figure with murky eyes, but this person¡¯s gaze contained a supreme dignity as they calmly observed Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°Return the stone of inheritance.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression changed yet again, and he bowed deeply. ¡°Zhenwu is guilty of losing the stone of inheritance. May the seniors punish me.¡±

    The few elders stared at Nightking Zhenwu, and one of them solemnly said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem to lose the stone of inheritance, as there is nobody in the universe who would dare to covet that which belongs to our Daynight n. However, that was in the past.¡± The old powerhouse then turned to look towards the stone que. ¡°This kid has appeared on the stone que, and he is receiving our Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques despite being an outsider. This is a terrible crime, and the fault falls upon you as much as it does on him.¡±

    Hatred overflowed from Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Junior understands. Please rest assured, Senior, that Junior will kill that person with my own hands. I will use his head to wash away the humiliation suffered by the Daynight stone of inheritance.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something to be dealt withter,¡± the elder barked, causing the sky to tremble, and even the ancestral grounds themselves trembled slightly.

    Nightking Zhenwu felt his body go taut, and he bowed low. ¡°Could Senior please exin?¡±

    ¡°No matter what happens in the future, the stone que in our ancestral grounds cannot allow an outsider to appear upon it. Do you understand?¡± the elder sternly scolded the young man as they stared at Nightking Zhenwu while giving off a powerful pressure.

    Nightking Zhenwu was indeed very important to the Daynight n, and in the entire history of the Daynight n, he was the person most likely to be able to be a Progenitor. Still, at this moment, he was merely a part of the younger generation, and he would need a long time before he could reach the level where these ancient figures would fear him. At this moment, he still had to endure being suppressed by his seniors.

    ¡°Junior understands, and I definitely will not allow anything like this to happen again. Please rest assured, protectors of the ancestral grounds,¡± Nightking Zhenwu spoke as he deeply bowed as he spoke.

    ***

    In Frostwave Weave, on Zenyu Star, within a secure room inside King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin waspletely clueless as to the trouble that he had just created for Nightking Zhenwu, let alone how he had shocked the entire Daynight n. He was unaware that, the moment he entered the inheritance corridor, his image would appear on the stone que within the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had managed to throw off the suppression of the Nightking''s Body, as he had no need for this technique. He raised a foot and continued walking forward.

    The corridor¡¯s murals were vivid and lifelike, but it was a pity that Lu Yin could not understand them.

    After Lu Yin had entered this inheritance, the Ghost Monkey had not made a single bit of sound. After thinking about this, it urred to Lu Yin that it was possible that only a person¡¯s spiritual force could enter the corridor of the inheritance stone. After all, Lu Yin¡¯s physical body was still in the room inside King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Lu Yin picked up his finger and looked at it. It was a pity that his cosmic ring was not with him. If it was, he would definitely find some way to get a rubbing of these murals.

    At this moment, a peculiar and extreme strength descended upon Lu Yin¡¯s finger, and this force attempted to break it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled, as this was yet another battle technique. The Daynight n had many battle techniques and arts, and their foundation was truly terrifying.

    This battle technique was known as the Darkwind Finger, and it was an even more advanced technique than the Nightking''s Body. Although the name might not sound impressive, this was an extraordinarily powerful attack. Its premise was to transform the user¡¯s star energy into a darkwind that would corrode their enemy¡¯s body, and it could actually even destroy them from within.

    However, Lu Yin did not like this sort of battle technique. If he needed to rely on this sort of battle technique despite his overwhelming physical strength, then his odds of achieving victory in a fight would be miniscule.

    So far, Lu Yin had never encountered any Daynight expert who had used this Darkwind Finger.

    By now, he was not very far from the end of the corridor. The further in he walked, the more terrifying the battle techniques in this inheritance corridor would be.

    With just a few more steps, the spiritual force within the corridor fluctuated, and it caused Lu Yin to instinctively pause. The spiritual force here had a certain level of oppression that was able to exert a bit of pressure on him, and it was not easy for him to ovee it. Still, he was able to continue on after resting for just a short while.

    Before his eyes, ck and white interchanged as the Daynight Punch appeared once again and attempted to st Lu Yin out of the corridor. He did not care for the Daynight Punch, but at that moment, every battle technique that he had encountered so far appeared and attacked him as they all tried to push him out of the corridor of inheritance.

    Lu Yin roared, subconsciously using the Nightking¡¯s Roar. He managed to dispel all of the battle techniques, and then he continued his way forward.

    A gale swept through the area, and Lu Yin saw a figure cultivating. This was actually the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    The inheritance of the Daynight Restoration Techniquey close to the inner depths of the corridor, and at this moment, out of all of the members of the Daynight n, only Zhanlong Daynight hadprehended this technique. It was not that nobody else had obtained this inheritance, but rather that Zhanlong Daynight was the only one who had managed to sessfully cultivate it.

    With her talent, Nightqueen Yanqing had also received the Daynight Restoration Technique inheritance, but unfortunately, she had not managed toprehend it.

    Nightking Zhenwu had also received the inheritance for the Daynight Restoration Technique long ago, but nobody knew if he had learned it or not.

    Lu Yin was one of the few people to receive the Daynight Restoration Technique inheritance throughout the entire history of the Daynight n. He was actually confident that he could learn it as his Arcane Art, Fatal Revival coincidentally suppressed the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    The Daynight Restoration Technique elerated a person¡¯s recovery, and after sessfully being cultivated, the user would gain a recovery rate that far surpassed an ordinary cultivator¡¯s. Coincidentally, Fatal Revival did theplete opposite, as it suppressed the body¡¯s natural recovery ability, exchanging that to increase one¡¯s strength. If the arcane art was sessfully cultivated, the user¡¯s potential would explode, and their strength would rise dramatically.

    Fatal Revival was the Daynight Restoration Technique¡¯s natural nemesis.

    Lu Yin raised a foot and continued trudging forward. He could not cultivate the Daynight Restoration Technique, as it would be like a poison to him.

    Within the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds, on the stone que, Lu Yin¡¯s image suddenly surpassed Zhuo Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing, and a few others. He managed to rise to just below Zhanlong Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes and looked at the image climbing up the stone que, and her eyes grew emotional. You¡¯re not dead, that¡¯s great.

    Nightqueen Yanqing bit down on her lips hard. Why? Why is he everywhere?

    She had been defeated by him in the Astral Combat Academy, had lost to him on Pyrolyte, and had been nothing more than a random passerby on the miniature maind during the final battle in the Cosmic Sea. This person was as resplendent as the heavens, and even her elder brother had to specially hunt this person down. And now, this person¡¯s image had even appeared on the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds during the stone que contest. Why?

    A trace of fresh blood dripped down from Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s lips, but she did not notice anything at all.

    There were countless proud descendants of the Daynight npeting for the highest position on the stone que within the ancestral grounds, but at this moment, everyone could only stare at the stone que, dumbfounded as Lu Yin¡¯s image continued to rise. There were only two images above him now: one was Zhanlong Daynight and the other was Nightking Zhenwu.

    Everyone knew it was just a matter of time before Zhanlong Daynight was passed.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked extremely upset. He was certain that Lu Yin would not surpass him, but it was still humiliating that Lu Yin had managed to surpass all of the other Daynight n members.

    At this moment, Zhanlong Daynight returned to the ancestral grounds, and he nced over at the stone que. He threw a drop of blood onto one of the stones of inheritance in the air, as he intended to begin receiving an inheritance.

    Receiving an inheritance was different from fighting. Zhanlong Daynight would readily admit that he was no match for Lu Yin when it came to battle and that he was far behind him in those terms. However, this was the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds, and the price that an outsider had to pay to receive an inheritance was far steeper than a n member. That meant that he would have a much easier time receiving inheritances than Lu Yin, so Zhanlong did not believe that he would lose to Lu Yin in thispetition.

    At this time, the answer in Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s mind was a question in Lu Yin¡¯s. Lu Yin was a bit confused; currently, he could barely endure the spiritual force suppression in the Daynight Restoration Technique¡¯s area, but Zhanlong Daynight hadprehended this technique long ago, possibly in the Limiteer or even Melder realm. Could he really have reached this far down the corridor with that level of strength? Lu Yin did not believe it.

    There was only one other exnation, which was that the Daynight n members had a different experience than Lu Yin in this corridor. Lu Yin was forced to walk forward step by step whereas the Daynight n members might face an entirely different situation.

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrong. The end of the corridor was where one could find top quality techniques, which was why it drew the Daynight n members in there. In fact, if not for that, the Daynight n members would never actually need to travel too far along the corridor. The corridor contained a nearly endless amount of battle techniques, and as long as a Daynight n member stepped within the corridor, they would appear somewhere that contained apatible battle technique.

    This was how Zhanlong Daynight hadprehended the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    If a n member did not wish to receive the inheritance located at the location where they appeared, then they could also walk further in, and they could naturally receive an inheritance once they reached the appropriate depth within the corridor.

    Lu Yin did not touch the Daynight Restoration Technique inheritance. Instead, he continued to walk onward, as he wanted to see what other techniques could be found in this ce.

    One step, two steps, three steps. He walked a total of seven steps, but Lu Yin still had not received another technique. The spiritual force that he had to endure at this moment was iparably oppressive, and even he was finding it difficult to resist.

    After passing through another life and death experience in the Technocracy, Lu Yin¡¯s Arcane Art, Fatal Revival had sparked his potential once again, causing his spiritual force to mature even further. He was now confident that his spiritual force was no weaker than any of the Ten Arbiters¡¯. In fact, when Nightking Zhenwu had just be an Arbiter, even he had probably only been able to reach this location!

    Within the Daynight n''s ancestral grounds, Zhanlong Daynight hadprehended another inheritance, which boosted the confidence of many Daynight n members. Even if the members of the Nightking n loathed Zhanlong Daynight, they were forced to pin their hopes on him being able to defeat Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s image suddenly shot past Zhanlong Daynight, and beneath Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s image, Lu Yin was the top ranked image on the stone que.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s brows rose; was this a coincidence? That should not be the case. Lu Yin had only cultivated for around ten years, but each time they fought or even saw each other, Lu Yin¡¯s strength would have advanced by leaps and bounds. When they had fought over the Champions¡¯ Stage, Nightking Zhenwu had used Skybreaker and even his secret technique, Heart Seeker. Let alone Zhanlong Daynight, but even the Daynight experts from the same generation as Nightking Zhenwu who were second only to him were unable to force him to such an extreme.

    Even Xia Tian, who was at the top of the Top 100 Rankings, could not possibly force Nightking Zhenwu to such an extent. Lu Yin had not died on that day, and he had even made aeback. His strength was guaranteed to have risen once again. The next time they fought, it would not be as easy for Nightking Zhenwu to use the Heart Seeker secret technique to sneak attack Lu Yin.

    It was perfectly normal for Zhanlong Daynight to have been surpassed, but unfortunately, Lu Yin would never be able to surpass Nightking Zhenwu himself. Even the Nightking himself did not know how far he had walked within that corridor, as throughout the entire history of the Daynight n, not many had set foot in the ce that he had reached.

    When Lu Yin surpassed Zhanlong Daynight, Zhanlong Daynight lost all hope of chasing after Lu Yin.

    Countless Daynight n members sighed, as they had actually just been suppressed by an outsider.

    ***

    Within the corridor, Lu Yin finally reached his limit, unable to proceed any further. Everything was dark before him, and all he could see was a fuzzy ckness. When he took another step, the spiritual force suppression suddenly underwent a fundamental change, and it seemed to be tangible. This was a battle technique, and Lu Yin already knew its name: Night Advent.

 Chapter 1023: Huge Sinner

    <h4>Chapter 1023: Huge Sinner</h4>

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current position, he either had to receive the inheritance presented to him and learn Night Advent or exit the corridor.

    Lu Yin did not want to leave, but there was also no need for him to advance any further. Given the level of his current spiritual force, he would not be able to advance any farther; in other words, he had to learn Night Advent, which would allow him to perfectly disy the strength of his spiritual force as this technique greatly surpassed the Daynight Punch.

    A day passed, and back in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, Zhanlong Daynight opened his eyes. When he looked up at the stone que, he found that Lu Yin¡¯s image had already surpassed his own.

    There was nothing that Zhanlong Daynight could do, but he was also still unwilling to admit defeat. For the moment, he nned to keep persisting andprehending inheritances until he overtook Lu Yin.

    Nightking Zhenwu was summoned once again by the guardians beneath the stone que. This emmissary immediately ordered Nightking Zhenwu to find people to surpass Lu Yin. However, if that was possible, then Zhanlong Daynight would have long since done so under the pressure of the Nightking n. Since even Zhanlong Daynight could not beat Lu Yin, Nightking Zhenwu had been left without a choice in this matter.

    He was reprimanded, and he also was given a punishment by the n. After being chastised due to Lu Yin¡¯s actions, Nightking Zhenwu felt so frustrated that he vented his frustrations. To that end, he ughtered more than a hundred people from the Dayking bloodline in front of Zhuo Daynight.

    ¡°If you want to hate someone, then hate him, as you were the one who let him go. If not for him, you wouldn¡¯t have been forced to expose Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and you would have still had a glimmer of hope to win back the freedom of the Dayking bloodline. Instead, everything was destroyed by him. If not for him, these people wouldn¡¯t have had to die. Hate him, as this is all because of him.¡± Nightking Zhenwu spoke simple words to her before turning to leave.

    Only Zhuo Daynight was left behind, grieving for the hundred dead members of her n.

    On Zenyu Star, in the secure room within King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes. His face was deathly pale, and he instantly fell asleep. The Daynight stone of inheritance fell to the floor with a crisp sound.

    ¡°How audacious!¡± a voice cried out, prompting Lu Yin to suddenly open his eyes and stand up. He had experienced that same dream once again, where a finger descended and tried to crush him to pieces while an unsuppressable feeling of indignation had been roused within him, waking him.

    Lu Yin had slept for ten days this time since he had essentially exhausted all of his spiritual force in order toprehend Night Advent. More urately, he had only barely managed to wake up after ten days of sleep.

    After he awoke, Lu Yin was immediately osted by a splitting headache, as if he had exhausted himself by rolling the die too many times. In fact, that had also caused him to dream of that finger.

    Even at Lu Yin¡¯s current level, he was still unable to understand that finger¡¯s origins. During the battle in the astral cemetery, if not for the jade talisman that he had received from Mister Mu, Lu Yin would have died.

    That finger definitely belonged to an actual person, and their strength could not even be estimated, but at the very least, their strength surpassed that of Yuan Shi and the other top powerhouses who had been present at that battle. Why would such a powerful character want to kill Lu Yin? And why was he unable to stop himself from shouting out ¡°audacious¡± in response?

    Sweat dripped off of him as he recalled the scene from back then. After calming himself, Lu Yin stored the stone of inheritance away, closed his eyes, and then let out a deep breath. He had sessfullyprehended Night Advent.

    His shoring felt from his spiritual force attack had been taken care of, and he no longer only had just the Daynight Punch to use with his spiritual force, as that attack was too obvious whenever he tried to use it. Those who had even a little experience would instantly know that it was a Daynight n battle technique. On the other hand, Night Advent was different.

    Lu Yin wondered who he should test this battle technique out on first. Perhaps it would be Lan Si, as they had an impending duel that had already been agreed upon.

    Initially, Lu Yin had wanted to cultivate with the Skyze Stone after exploring the inheritance stone, but with this crippling headache, he decided to rest for a while instead.

    He stepped out of the room and was weed by Zhao Ran.

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re out? How about a cup of tea?¡± Zhao Ran asked him happily.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Within the garden, Lu Yin enjoyed a rare moment of peace, but the weaves in the western region of the Outerverse were currently in turmoil.

    A few days ago, Lu Yin had prompted Wang Wen and the others to use his authority as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander to make some problems for the weaves and guiding powers that had been antagonistic towards the Great Eastern Alliance in the past. The Outerverse was no longer at war, and in the foreseeable future, there would not be any war that involved the entire Outerverse, but it was always good to n for the future.

    Wang Wen, Wei Rong, En Ya, and the others had thus used his authority asmander to shift around the resources of many organizations within the western weaves. They had also begun construction of a military route for the Allied Forces, established an Allied Institute, and carried out a dozen other orders, all of which had badly scared those various guiding powers.

    These actions were obviously targeting the western weaves¡¯ guiding powers, but it could not be said that these actions had been done entirely to their detriment. If the entire Outerverse was once again swept into a desperate war, these actions would allow an allied Outerverse to demonstrate a much greater level of strength.

    This made the western weaves¡¯ situation awkward, as it would be pointless even if theyined to the Hall of Honor. The Allied Forces¡¯ Commander truly did have the authority to carry out such actions, and they were not even being forced to work for free, as the Great Eastern Alliance was willing to pay for all of their expenses.

    If it had only been these few matters, then everything would have still been fine, but the order to transport resources to a designated location was something that these powers were unable to ept. Thismand had clearly been given so that the Great Eastern Alliance would know where various resources were stored. In addition, the western weaves¡¯ guiding powers would not be able to move their resources away from these designated locations.

    This move waspletely tyrannical, and all of the powers in the western weaves felt the same way. It was as if all of their intelligence and nning had been overpowered by brute strength, in such a way where they could not even offer up the slightest resistance.

    Fortunately, once everything started, Wang Wen and the others made sure to restrain their efforts so that they did not go overboard. Their next step was to transfer various troops around and train the Allied Forces in various battle formations. At that time, all pretenses of cordiality would be shed. In addition, they could also influence various matters rted to the weaves¡¯ economy and military. All of these actions were overbearing enough that no one could endure them for long.

    All of these actions were allowed under the special authority granted by the position of the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, but every action was obviously targeting these powers. They also did not have any sort of moral high ground, as these changes were indeed truly beneficial to the integration of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces.

    The various powers in the western region were only able to reluctantly ept the orders delivered by Wang Wen, but Shamrock Enterprises could not ept such things.

    When the war in the Outerverse had called for all forces to mobilize, everyone had to obey the summons. The Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander¡¯s authority could even give orders to colossal organizations like Shamrock Enterprises and the Mavis Bank.

    From the very beginning, En Ya had never forgotten about the humiliation that she had suffered in the past. Thus, she had given Shamrock Enterprises several direct orders to prepare somemon medications and ce them at a designated location for emergency usage.

    These orders had been rejected by Shamrock Enterprises the moment they were given.

    Lu Yin only learned of this matter several dayster.

    During these days, Lu Yin had been taking his time resting. He had taken a small break to head to the small tavern and have a drink.

    ¡°Your Highness, please forgive me.¡± En Ya bowed respectfully as she stood before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin drank a cup of scented tea and simply replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. We have the authority to send orders to Shamrock Enterprises.¡±

    En Ya said, ¡°Your subject used that authority for her own personal means.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he looked at En Ya. ¡°I told you that, one day, we would get revenge for you, and that time has been dyed for quite a while. It¡¯s now time.¡±

    En Ya was moved. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±

    She did not actually care about the humiliation that she had suffered herself. Rather, she wanted to get revenge on Shamrock Enterprises because Yu Mu had mocked Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao. En Ya held the greatest respect for that man, and she would not allow others to mock him.

    Lu Yin looked at En Ya. ¡°Do you remember the first time we met?¡±

    En Ya nodded. ¡°Your Highness was a student from the Astral Combat Academy, and you were participating in a training session at the border warfront. You also made huge contributions there, which the Grand Marshal rewarded you for.¡±

    ¡°At that time, you took me to Cangyuan over on Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border. Each of thoses had an Explorer overseeing it, and the battles there were not overly intense,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    En Ya replied. ¡°The border war in Erudite Flowzone truly was not overly intense, which was why the Astral Combat Academy sent students over to participate there for training. Otherwise, the students would have never been allowed to participate. It¡¯s simr to how, after the Outerverse was isted, its students were unable to make any meaningful contributions to the battles in Ironblood Weave, Endless Weave, and also the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.¡±

    Lu Yin understood, as Ironblood Weave and Endless Weave were both terrifying battlefields where even Hunters had to rely on luck to survive.

    No, on those battlefields, even the survival of Enlighters depended upon luck.

    Of course, there was also that battle in the Cosmic Sea that Lu Yin had recently experienced which had been simrly cruel.

    ¡°I remember you telling before that Grand Marshal Shui intentionally lost so that the universalwork would span the entire Human Domain. That¡¯s why he allowed half of Endless Weave to fall into the enemy¡¯s hands, and that is also why he was sentenced to be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp for 10,000 years.¡±

    When Lu Yin brought up these details, En Ya¡¯s expression dimmed. ¡°For every day that the Human Domain¡¯s universalwork was notplete, many things were left unaplished, and it was even impossible for the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders to be quickly passed down. Your Highness should have experienced the truth of this, as if not for thepletedwork, we might not have received reinforcements in time to defend the attack on Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin had indeed experienced the effectiveness of thepleted universalwork, as it was how he himself had been forcibly conscripted. The same situation had yed out when Endless Weave had been attacked. If the universalwork had not spanned the entire Outerverse, it would have been impossible for the Hall of Honor to send out mandatory conscription notices.

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s courage was in no way inferior to the Sea King¡¯s. The Sea King had used the entire Fifth Maind as his gambling stakes whereas Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had staked himself.

    The fates of these two shocking gamblers were unknown.

    En Ya suddenly dropped down on one knee. ¡°Your Highness, please obtain justice for Grand Marshal Shui.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly picked her back up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for any of this.¡±

    En Ya refused to rise, and her eyes had turned red as tears dripped down from them. ¡°Your Highness, the Grand Marshal has always shown me great kindness, and if at all possible, En Ya is willing to serve his sentence in his ce. Right now, in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, there is no one aside from Your Highness who can help the Grand Marshal.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. Although Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had made huge contributions that had allowed the universalwork to span the entire Human Domain, it was also a fact that he had caused the Human Domain to suffer a bitter defeat. His actions had even sent half of Endless Weave¡¯s poption to their deaths. He was still a huge sinner.

    The Hall of Honor had not acted incorrectly in this matter, as the man had not been framed.

    En Ya sobbed. ¡°Your Highness, the Grand Marshal has made incredible contributions to the Human Domain, and he has also made his share of mistakes. However, having him serving his sentence does not negate any of his mistakes. Grand Marshal Shui is the most brilliant battle strategist in our domain¡¯s history¡ªshouldn¡¯t he be allowed to use the ability that he possesses? Even if he¡¯s only a lowly pawn on the battlefield, that¡¯s still better than having him quietly serve out his sentence to old age.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, as En Ya¡¯s words had reminded him that Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s brilliance was too valuable to be simply wasted. The Hall of Honor had long since made its position clear, but Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s mind was still the most strategic in all of human history.

    This person had sent half of Endless Weave to its death, but he still had not been executed. This showed just how reluctant the Hall of Honor was to eliminate this person, or rather, how impressive his contributions to humanity were.

    Leaving such a person to serve out a life sentence in Gaia¡¯s Swamp was simply too wasteful.

    At the moment, Lu Yin had Wang Wen and Wei Rong as tacticians, but hecked a military strategist, and Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was naturally the best candidate for such a position.

    En Ya hade to understand Lu Yin quite well after interacting with him for several years. She knew that her few words were enough to move Lu Yin. Otherwise, why would Lu Yin be willing to pay a steep price to rescue Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao?

    The Grand Marshal¡¯s sins were too great, and En Ya was not entirely confident that Lu Yin would be able to rescue the man, but Lu Yin was also her only hope. Once Lu Yin united the Outerverse, he would essentially be the ruler of the Outerverse, and at that time, his status would transform into somethingpletely different. If he truly aplished such a feat, it would no longer be a mere dream to rescue Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    ¡°Your Highness, do you agree?¡± En Ya looked expectantly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a moment before replying, ¡°We can give it a tentative attempt.¡±

    En Ya was ecstatic. ¡°Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you!¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly had En Ya stand back up.

    ¡°Your Highness, your subject will definitely help you unite the Outerverse as soon as possible,¡± En Ya spoke with a fervent determination. As she stood there, her golden hair fell down in a cascade that gave her a feeling of a gentle beauty.

    Once Lu Yin made his attitude clear, he was the type of person who would definitely see his goals be realized.

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s value was enough for Lu Yin to put in his full effort.

 Chapter 1024: Lu Yinâ€™s Authority

    <h4>Chapter 1024: Lu Yin¡¯s Authority</h4>

    Despite his terrible crimes, even if Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was not put to death, he still would not be employed by the Hall of Honor anymore. Thus, as long as he was rescued, it was quite likely that he would join the Great Yu Empire.

    If that was the case, then Lu Yin had to make some preparations in advance.

    ¡°Continue issuing the requisition orders to Shamrock Enterprises,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    En Ya immediately acknowledged his words and sent out more orders.

    Lu Yin sipped his tea as he stared off into a distant point in space. No matter if it was for Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao or for himself, there were some things that Lu Yin had to do. He still had the cosmic ring that Yu Mu had once thrown to Lu Yin, and it was time to return the ring to its owner.

    Before long, En Ya gave an update. ¡°Your Highness, Shamrock Enterprises is refusing the orders.¡±

    ¡°Again,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    En Ya¡¯s eyes grew bright. ¡°Yes.¡±

    At the same time, on a green, Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Eastern Chairman Shen Fu was no longer as calm as before. He had always been unhurried, and even when Western Chairman Hoffman had died, Shen Fu had been perfectly calm, still lying on his wooden chair as he idly chatted away. Only once the Sixth Maind invaded the Outerverse and the Hall of Honor had forcibly drafted all the powerhouses had this man moved out.

    After the invasion concluded, he had returned here and continued toze about on his chair in a veryfortable fashion.

    However, at this moment he was slightly flustered. ¡°Chief Yu really doesn¡¯t care about Lu Yin. He¡¯s already rejected the orders twice.¡±

    Behind the chairman, his secretary, Xiao Qin, was frowning deeply. ¡°Chief Shen, if the Great Eastern Alliance issues a third requisition order, what should we do?¡±

    Shen Fu was quite upset. ¡°Keep forwarding them on to Chief Yu.¡±

    ¡°And if Chief Yu rejects it yet again?¡± Xiao Qin asked.

    Shen Fu had developed a headache, and he was staring closely at his gadget, clearly rather nervous.

    The Eastern Chairman¡¯s initial impression of Lu Yin had been that of disinterest, and it had gradually changed to that of slight apprehension. But now, Lu Yin made him worried. Just how many years had it taken this person to make all of these changes? This youth was too much of a freak; although he was just a Cruiser, he had killed far more Enlighters than anyone else. This person simply did not care about Enlighters, and reportedly, he had even killed two Envoy-level powerhouses! This kid was simply a freak.

    Shen Fu knew about Lu Yin¡¯s conflict with Chief Yu, but Shen Fu did not know if the Great Eastern Alliance had been the one who had intentionally lowered the prices of medication to hurt Shamrock Enterprises. Still, Chief Yu had oppressed the Great Eastern Alliance at one time in time, and that was the root of their current troubles.

    Shen Fu had a feeling that the reason why the Great Eastern Alliance was issuing orders to them at this time was not simple. It might even be possible that they were simply waiting for Shamrock Enterprises to send another rejection.

    There was a beep, and Shen Fu and Xiao Qin both looked over. Their expressions instantly changed; the third requisition had arrived.

    Xiao Qin could not help herself from speaking up. ¡°That¡¯s the third requisition orders. If we decline this one, there might be trouble.¡±

    Shen Fu sighed. ¡°We have no choice. Send it to Chief Yu.¡±

    As soon as they forwarded the order to Yu Mu, the man replied, ¡°Ignore it.¡±

    Shen Fu let out a deep breath. ¡°Reject it.¡±

    Xiao Qin¡¯s heart lurched. ¡°Chief Shen, we can fulfill the requisition order with the stock that we have here.¡±

    Shen Fu shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t understand Chief Yu. If we could think of such a solution, then so can he. He might show some goodwill when faced with Lu Yin¡¯s outstanding nature, but that man can alsopletely disregard Lu Yin if pushes to shove. If we ept this requisition request ourselves, then no matter how things turn out between the chief and Lu Yin, we¡¯ll be the ones to suffer.¡±

    Xiao Qin was left with no other option, so she could only send a response rejecting the requisition orders.

    Shen Fu was correct, as Yu Mu truly did disregard Lu Yin. Shamrock Enterprises was not a power that was based in any weave, as they originated from in the Innerverse. Also, although thepany¡¯s origins were in the Innerverse, they had managed to forcibly expand their business into the Cosmic Sea and even the Neoverse, all of which was proof of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ powerful strength.

    What did it matter to them even if Lu Yin did unite the entire Outerverse? Yu Mu did not believe this kid dared to make open enemies with Shamrock Enterprises, as such an idea was simply inconceivable to the man.

    Even the Hall of Honor would not casually offend Shamrock Enterprises, and although the Hall of Honor stood behind Lu Yin, Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ foundation was not something that could be sneered at. Besides, they delivered countless medications to the Hall of Honor every year, and they had also made massive contributions. It was impossible for the Hall of Honor to make things difficult for Yu Mu.

    As long as the Hall of Honor did not support Lu Yin in his moves against Shamrock Enterprises, Yu Mu did not believe that Lu Yin would be able to do much to him.

    As for the matter of Lu Yin killing Envoy-level powerhouses during the battle in the astral cemetery, that had been aplished purely by relying on items. As long as Yu Mu did not betray the human race, Lu Yin would not have the audacity to deal with Yu Mu by using such power vessels. After all, using such an item meant losing it, and Yu Mu did not believe that Lu Yin would be willing to pay such an exorbitant price just because of a minor grudge.

    What made Yu Mu truly fearless was that the Astral River was receding at an ever increasing rate, which meant that the Outerverse¡¯s connection to the Innerverse might be restored soon. At that moment, it would already be kind of Shamrock Enterprises if they decided not to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance at all.

    On Zenyu Star, within King Zishan¡¯s pce, En Ya sullenly spoke up. ¡°Your Highness, Shamrock Enterprises has rejected the requisition orders for the third time.¡±

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s head out to meet this Chief Yu of ours.¡±

    The requisition orders that En Ya had sent to Shamrock Enterprises had been sent on the publicwork, which meant many people could see the orders. At this moment, the matter of Shamrock Enterprises consecutively rejecting requisition orders from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Yin had drawn quite a bit of attention.

    Manymented on how Yu Mu had suppressed the Great Eastern Alliance in the past. Those who knew the details of the matter understood why the Great Eastern Alliance had sent these orders solely to Shamrock Enterprises alone, and they also understood why Shamrock Enterprises had instantly rejected the orders. There was no room for negotiation in this matter.

    In Southside Weave, Elder Daggs had developed another headache, as Lu Yin was causing trouble yet again, and this time, he was even involving Shamrock Enterprises.

    Lu Yin had always been very intelligent, so why had he suddenly provoked Shamrock Enterprises? This was going to stir up some serious trouble this time.

    Yu Mu¡¯s location was not public knowledge, but there was nothing that could remain a secret to people at Lu Yin¡¯s level.

    It took just eight days for Lu Yin to travel from Zenyu star to Yu Mu¡¯s due to the speed of his copsible spacecraft.

    When Lu Yin left Zenyu Star, people were already starting to spread news of the matter.

    Lu Yin did not seal any of this information off. If he did so, nobody would know that he had left.

    He wanted others to know that he had left Zenyu Star, and his destination did not even need to be mentioned.

    When Yu Mu had captured En Ya and visited Zenyu Star in the past, his actions had simrly been witnessed by many people. That had been a humiliating experience for both En Ya and Lu Yin, as Yu Mu¡¯s performance had been insufferably arrogant. Thus, Lu Yin wanted to return the favor.

    When Wei Rong was informed that Lu Yin had left, he looked up. If Lu Yin was about to return that cosmic ring to Yu Mu, then what about the one that Wei Rong had received? He did not want to rely on Lu Yin¡¯s strength for such a matter even if he had be Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate.

    More and more of the Outerverse learned that Lu Yin had left Zenyu Star.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin was no longer very far from Yu Mu¡¯s.

    Elder Lohar contacted Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader, you¡¯ve already united half of the Outerverse, and nobody canpare to your status. There¡¯s no need to offend Shamrock Enterprises just because of a small misunderstanding in the past. Shamrock Enterprises is not simple.¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a serious manner, ¡°Elder, there¡¯s no need to say anything more. I know how massive Shamrock Enterprises is, and even the Hall of Honor won¡¯t readily offend them. Still, there are some things that cannot be washed away by a few simple words. Elder, rest assured, I won¡¯t go overboard.¡±

    Elder Lohar understood Lu Yin, and the youth¡¯s fiery gaze told the elder that he would not be able to stop Lu Yin. Also, Lu Yin was unlikely to be intimidated even if Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ full strength was revealed. Lu Yin was not even afraid of powers like the Daynight n or the Sword Sect, so he would be even less afraid of Shamrock Enterprises.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had offended far too many people, and his natural talent could almost be considered a sin alone. But so what? This was cultivation, and this was moving forward.

    To proceed along the path of cultivation, Lu Yin had to pass through multiple obstacles, and he had eventually emerged dominant after all of his hard work. This included finding a backer to protect him, as Lu Yin had done so through his own efforts; it had not been gifted or given to him by the grace of others.

    If Lu Yin did not dare to offend even an Outerverse Chairman of Shamrock Enterprises, then how could he talk about going up against the Daynight n or those proud children of the Neoverse? In front of those people, someone like Yu Mu was just another random passerby, even if the man did have an impressive power level.

    Some dayster, as arge green appeared in front of Lu Yin, the copsible spacecraft broke through the atmosphere and firmly mmed into the ground.

    There was a deafening rumble that caused the¡¯s defending troops to fly into a rage. This was Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse headquarters. Normally, nobody would dare to show such disrespect, as evidenced by the fact that thepany could not even be bothered to seal the off from the surrounding space.

    Anyone who dared to visit this would be well-behaved, and they would announce their visit in advance. Just now, someone had recklessly charged in, and they were simply asking for it.

    Lu Yin stored his copsible spacecraft away and rose into the air with En Ya by his side. As he walked forth, he unleashed his domain without any restraint. The¡¯s security troops were also from Shamrock Enterprises, and some of them were even Hunters. The moment they sensed Lu Yin¡¯s domain, they knew that this person was not simple despite the detectors only showing the power level of a Cruiser.

    ¡°Intruder, state your identity,¡± a Hunter from the defensive troops ordered.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his voice spread across the entire. ¡°Chief Yu, is this how Shamrock Enterprises treats its guests when old friends arrive?¡±

    Theary defensive troops were all left speechless. This person hade looking for Chief Yu? This Cruiser was definitely not someone simple. Wait, why did he look so familiar?¡°

    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡± the Hunter cried out.

    Lu Yin simply ignored the person and continued to look towards the west.

    A boundless amount of rune lines drew near, and Yu Mu descended soon after. He waved a hand, dismissing the troops.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu. What brings you here, allowing my Shamrock Enterprises to enjoy your presence?¡± Yu Mu looked perfectly calm as he spoke.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. However, the Outerverse often suffers from outsiders trying to invade, and as the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, I would like to make some advanced preparations. Shamrock Enterprises had refused to obey thepulsory requisition orders, and I was wondering if Chief Yu had an exnation for this matter.¡±

    Yu Mu remained unperturbed. ¡°Every year, Shamrock Enterprises sends countless medications to the various border warfronts, and we do not need to answer your requisition orders.¡±

    ¡°Chief Yu does not seem to understand me. I said that these werepulsory orders.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice took on a rather sullen tone and sounded rather unfriendly.

    Yu Mu¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I respect that you have attained such impressive aplishments at your young age, so I¡¯ll pretend that I didn¡¯t hear your words just now. My Shamrock Enterprises is not some power from an Outerverse weave, and you should consider your next words very carefully.¡±

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°It seems like Chief Yu is threatening me and trying to intimidate the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Are you betraying the Allied Forces?¡±

    Yu Mu bellowed, ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re going overboard! Not even the Hall of Honor¡¯s Elder Daggs or the others dare to speak to me in such a tone!¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°Threatening the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander means betraying the Allied Forces. Chief Yu, I respect the fact that you are my senior, so I¡¯ll give you an opportunity to take your words back, and I won¡¯t bicker about things.¡±

    Quite a few people in the Outerverse had actually arrived at this in advance, and they were all watching from a distance. They had assumed that these two would exchange some hypocritical words or at least probe each other a little bit. No one had ever expected that, after a few sentences, a conflict would already start breaking out. It seemed that this disagreement would not be resolved easily.

    Quite a few people looked quite excited. These were media members, and they always hoped to catch sensational news, the bigger the better. It would be best if the Great Eastern Alliance dered an all-out war against Shamrock Enterprises.

    But there were some people even more excited than the media members¡ªthe members of the western weaves¡¯ various great powers. The prospect of a fight between the Great Eastern Alliance and Shamrock Enterprises excited them even more, as they considered Shamrock Enterprises to be their ally.

 Chapter 1025: Dispute

    <h4>Chapter 1025: Dispute</h4>

    Fury radiated from Yu Mu¡¯s eyes. He had lived for many years, but he had never been challenged by a junior in such a fashion. What Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander? If not for some rumors that this kid had died, Lu Yin would have never received such a prestigious title, so Yu Mu simply disregarded it entirely.

    ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t understand the true strength of my Shamrock Enterprises,¡± Yu Mu said, carefully enunciating every word.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and a cosmic ring appeared in his hand. ¡°Chief Yu, do you happen to recognize this?¡±

    Yu Mu looked over and hesitated for a moment. ¡°Is that the one from back then?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the one that you gave me that time aspensation. And you threw it on the ground.¡±

    He then dropped the cosmic ring, allowing it to slowly fall until it ttered onto the ground. Countless eyes watched this scene.

    Yu Mu¡¯s expression grew cold.

    ¡°Chief Yu, could I trouble you to pick it up for me?¡± Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    This sentence caused Yu Mu topletely lose hisposure, and even En Ya was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s domineering move. After all, Yu Mu was still a super powerhouse, and it was not easy to force such an expert to apologize. However, Lu Yin was actually trying to force this man to pick up the cosmic ring. This was not just seeking fairness, but rather humiliation.

    Yu Mu was so furious that he actuallyughed. ¡°Lu Yin, do you really think that you can cover the skies with your hands and threaten the entire Outerverse? Based on just what!? With just the backing from the Hall of Honor? Or is it because of your items that can kill Envoys?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the man. ¡°It¡¯s not just because of my backing, and it¡¯s also not because of my items. Since Chief Yu is so confident in your own strength, then I¡¯ll allow you to suppress your power level to 200,000 and fight me. If you beat me, then all of our past grievances can be waived aside. However, if you lose, you must pick up that cosmic ring and apologize to us.¡±

    Yu Mu was surprised, and he looked at Lu Yin with a puzzled expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°How about that? Does Chief Yu not dare to participate in such a battle? I¡¯m just a Cruiser.¡±

    Yu Mu carefully observed Lu Yin, and the older man thought about all of Lu Yin¡¯s known battles. Suddenly, he remembered how Lu Yin had suddenly vanished after the battle in the astral cemetery. At that time, Lu Yin had most likely been thrown to somewhere in the Innerverse, and everyone¡¯s power level in that ce was suppressed to under 200,000 due to the cosmic phenomenon that covered the entire Innerverse. If this kid dared to issue such a challenge, then he must have his own methods. Was Lu Yin really that confident in being able to defeat him as long as he, Yu Mu, restricted his power level to 200,000?

    Yu Mu could not be entirely certain.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It looks like Chief Yu isn¡¯t so bold. In that case, I¡¯ll give Chief Yu an alternative: I won¡¯t use any items that are able to kill Envoys, and Chief Yu can disy his strength however he wishes. If either of us are defeated, then the conditions remain the same.¡±

    Yu Mu frowned sharply, as Lu Yin¡¯s challenge had just been heard by many people, and there was no way he could refuse such an offer.

    ¡°Chief Yu still doesn¡¯t dare?¡± Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Could it be that Chief Yu feels that I shouldn¡¯t rely on items when challenging him? If I am allowed to use various items, then naturally, so too can Chief Yu.¡±

    Yu Mu took a deep breath, as Lu Yin had closed off his escape routes at every step. The man was left with no other choice. If he did not ept this battle, then when the Outerverse reconnected with the Innerverse, Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ headquarters might very well rece him. ¡°Very well. Lu Yin, you may use items. If you beat me, I¡¯ll apologize to you.¡±

    Lu Yin pointed at the ground. ¡°And the ring?¡±

    Yu Mu barked, ¡°Talk after you beat me!¡±

    His figure then vanished as he intended to immediately take the initiative. He had a power level of 370,000, and he could stir space itself, causing the wind and clouds on the to change when he acted. Instantly, En Ya was overwhelmed.

    Lu Yin pushed En Ya aside and quickly donned his universal armor. At the same time, he took out his mirror. At that instant, the void warped as Yu Mu was dragged out without his control. His expression changed drastically as his star energy was being uncontrobly drawn towards that small mirror.

    Lu Yin had upgraded this small mirror thirteen times until it was capable of absorbing star energy from experts with power levels of around 400,000. Yu Mu had yet to reach a power level of 400,000. Thus, as soon as the mirror was brought out, the man¡¯s star energy was basically sealed off, which led to his movements being hindered. Lu Yin then took out the giant mechanical arm, put it on, and attacked Yu Mu.

    Yu Mu felt his scalp go numb, as this giant arm gave him an unprecedented sense of terror. He felt as though the heavens themselves were copsing when it struck at him. He instinctively evaded this attack, and although he had not deliberately trained his body, as someone with a power level of 300,000, his physical body was by no means weak. Even with just his physique powering him, he could move quickly and tear through the void to escape.

    In the ce where he had been standing, the void was shredded apart by the giant mechanical arm, causing a violent gale to sweep over the. A shockwave appeared that sted through the atmosphere and into space.

    Anyone who was watching the battle from outer space quickly realized that the tremendous shockwave was sweeping towards them.

    Just one attack from Lu Yin had caused Yu Mu¡¯s face to go pale, and he stared at the mechanical arm in disbelief before shifting his attention over to the small mirror. What the hell?

    One of these items was able to absorb Yu Mu¡¯s star energy while the other was so terrifyingly powerful that he could not even think about standing up to it.

    Lu Yin was wearing his universal armor on his body as his left hand held the mirror and his right wielded the mechanical arm. At this point in time, even if Lu Yin had to face an expert with a power level of 400,000, he would be able to put up a good fight, let alone someone on Yu Mu¡¯s level.

    Yu Mu¡¯s expression had turned ugly. Just where had Lu Yin obtained so many powerful items? Even if the Hall of Honor supported this kid, it was not possible for him to receive this many powerful items unless he was directly supported by the Neoverse¡¯s Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters, as the Outerverse Hall of Honor alone could not provide Lu Yin with so many items.

    Just what sort of status did this kid have within the Hall of Honor?

    Enough rumors would eventually obscure the truth. When only one person had said that Lu Yin was supported by the Hall of Honor, nobody had really believed it. However, when the entire Outerverse talked about how the Hall of Honor was behind Lu Yin¡¯s power and that Yuan Shi was personally supporting him, it meant that the rumors had reached the point where not even Lu Yin himself could deny anything.

    In the distance, countless people stared at the battlefield, stunned. Everyone was sharing the same thought at this moment, which was to neverpete with Lu Yin in terms of external items.

    Lu Yin looked at Yu Mu off in the distance. ¡°How is it now, Chief Yu? Should we continue fighting?¡±

    Yu Mu took a deep breath. ¡°I truly cannot beat you in terms of items, but don¡¯t forget¡ªyou can¡¯t beat me either.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°Then be careful, Chief Yu.¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, he waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. Suddenly, a Sealed Cannon appeared behind Yu Mu and instantly exploded. A terrifying burst of power tore through the void and sted Yu Mu towards the ground.

    Each Sealed Cannon had a strengthparable to the full-powered attack of an Enlighter with a power level of about 220,000. Although Yu Mu was far stronger than such an Enlighter, Lu Yin had more than one Sealed Cannon. In addition, upgraded Ultra sh Tearbombs had appeared and detonated alongside the Sealed Cannon. Yu Mu had never expected that he would fight a battle almost solely against someone¡¯s items.

    He could not help himself from pulling out his own power vessel in retaliation. As the Outerverse Chairman of Shamrock Enterprises, Yu Mu naturally had his own power vessels. However, the moment that he retrieved an item, it was diverted away by the Yu Secret Art. Lu Yin detonated another three Sealed Cannons and continued to ruthlessly bombard Yu Mu.

    Then, Lu Yin¡¯s body itself appeared above Yu Mu before swatting down with the mechanical arm.

    Yu Mu gritted his teeth, wanting to dodge the attack with a quick sidestep, but Lu Yin¡¯s mirror slowed the Enlighter¡¯s movements. His star energy control became much less nimble, resulting in him being struck by another Ultra sh Tearbomb as he slowed down even more. He was then hit in the left shoulder by Lu Yin¡¯s mechanical arm, and Yu Mu¡¯s left arm waspletely shattered as it bent at an unnatural angle.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to ce his left hand against Yu Mu¡¯s chest. This was the first time he had revealed his nine lined battle force. ¡°One Hundred Stacks, One Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    With a soft thump, Yu Mu was viciously mmed into the ground, where he left behind a huge crater. The man continued traveling through the¡¯s crust until he reached the magma all the way at the¡¯s center.

    Countless people were stunned by this scene. Had Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse Chairman been defeated just like that?

    En Ya was also stunned even though she knew that Lu Yin would win. After all, he had managed to take out an Envoy in one hit. Thus, there was no way he would be defeated by Yu Mu. However, she had never expected that he would achieve victory in such a straightforward manner. In addition, Lu Yin truly had not used any of the items that he had used to kill Envoys.

    Lu Yin clenched his right fist tightly; the giant mechanical arm was not very agile, but fortunately, it matched up well with the mirror. The mirror made it difficult for anyone whose power level was under 400,000 to use their star energy to activate their battle techniques, and furthermore, any attacks that used star energy would also be influenced. Lu Yin was naturally more skilled with attacks that focused on his physical strength, and not even Yu Mu¡¯s physique couldpare to Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin¡¯s greatest shoring at this moment was his defense, as his armor could only protect him from attacksunched by Enlighters with power levels of up to 260,000. If Yu Mu was able tond even one hit on Lu Yin, then he would be in trouble. Fortunately, the Yu Secret Art was strong enough to prevent such a possibility from urring.

    If Lu Yin encountered someone who had improved their physical strength like he had and who could engage in closebat without being influenced by the mirror, then his odds of victory would not be very high.

    But for this battle, there was no way for Yu Mu to beat Lu Yin.

    Within the magma, Yu Mu opened his eyes. They revealed his overflowing rage, and he leaped up, his left arm recovering at a visible rate.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank, as he had forgotten that this fellow was Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse Chairman¡ªof course he would have ess to many different medications. Unless Lu Yin could seriously injure the man in a single attack, it would be very difficult to defeat Yu Mu.

    How could Lu Yin have forgotten such a detail?

    Yu Mu panted heavily as he kept a wary eye trained on Lu Yin. He was trying toe up with a way to attack Lu Yin, as the Enlighter did not believe the youth¡¯s defense would be as exaggerated as his attacks.

    The two men stood across from each other in outer space and stared at each other.

    Lu Yin was considering how he could severely injure this Enlighter in a single attack or how he could prevent the man from essing his medications.

    Meanwhile, Yu Mu was thinking about how he could get close to Lu Yin while avoiding the disturbance of star energy.

    Right at that moment, Lu Yin looked up and saw a figure tear through the void and emerge. It was actually Elder Daggs.

    When Yu Mu saw Elder Daggs appear, his eyes shed, and his originally sharp expression turned cold.

    Lu Yin frowned.

    Elder Daggs surveyed the scene and smiled bitterly. He then raised a hand, and in it was the cosmic ring that Lu Yin had thrown on the ground. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, could you let this matter slide for the reputation of the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he did not answer.

    Elder Daggs then looked over at Yu Mu. ¡°Chief Yu, as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, Alliance Leader Lu is indeed qualified to issue reasonablemands. You rejected his orders, and you even did so in a rather unexinable manner. Your past contributions are not necessarily enough to dismiss such a request.¡±

    ¡°Just what are you saying?¡± Yu Mu¡¯s tone was icy.

    Elder Daggs exined, saying, ¡°Shamrock Enterprises is a business, and I assume that Chief Yu would not want to lose a huge market here in the Outerverse. When the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnects, if Chief Ye asks about this matter, then how will Chief Yu answer him? Is it worth it to lose the market of the entire Outerverse just because of a small, one-time misunderstanding?¡±

    After seeing that Yu Mu had fallen deep into thought, Elder Daggs turned back to look at Lu Yin and gestured to the youth. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, a private word with you, if you please.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that the elder was trying to mediate this matter. He muttered to himself, but he could not disrespect the Hall of Honor¡¯s elders. Although Elder Daggs wanted to use Lu Yin¡¯s status to return to the Hall of Honor¡¯s Neoverse headquarters, this was not a situation where Lu Yin could use that to his advantage. Someone who had cultivated to Elder Daggs¡¯s realm would invariably have a strong will, just like how the man had been unwilling to give Lu Yin any additional rewards on the warehouse.

    Everything that Elder Daggs had given to Lu Yin had been within his authority to distribute, and going beyond his means was impossible.

    Lu Yin was also clear on the matters that pertained to himself. For example, he did not actually have the Hall of Honor as his foundation, but instead, it was Yuan Shi who appreciated the youth. The Hall of Honor was not a backer that Lu Yin could rely upon, so he could not push too far.

    Once they moved away from Yu Mu, Elder Daggs¡¯s tone grew solemn. ¡°Alliance Leader, the rate at which the Astral River¡¯s energy is receding is increasing. The Innerverse will reconnect to the Outerverse very soon, and it¡¯s not wise to be enemies with Shamrock Enterprises at this point in time.¡±

 Chapter 1026: Leaf King

    <h4>Chapter 1026: Leaf King</h4>

    Lu Yin grew curious ¡°Is this rted to that Chief Ye you mentioned before?¡±

    Elder Daggs corrected, ¡°Leaf King is the founder of Shamrock Enterprises.¡±

    ¡°Is he someone from the Daynight n?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold.

    Elder Daggs shook his head. ¡°No, ¡®Ye,¡¯ as in ¡®leaf.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Yin understood. If the founder of Shamrock Enterprises was from the Daynight n, then Lu Yin would have to erase the organization from the entire Outerverse.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, the Leaf King is not a simple person. He founded Shamrock Enterprises, and he spread his business from the Innerverse to the Outerverse and also the Cosmic Sea. In the end, he even managed to reach the Neoverse. Throughout the entire history of the universe, very few people have ever been able to aplish such a feat. He has survived for countless ages and frequentlyys dormant for long periods of time, but nobody dares to disturb him. Every once in a while, he will wake up again.¡±

    ¡°This person is someone who even our Hall of Honor does not want to offend. So, it is not prudent to be enemies with Shamrock Enterprises,¡± Elder Daggs warned.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be enemies with Shamrock Enterprises. I just want Yu Mu to apologize.¡±

    Elder Daggs replied, ¡°I can help you achieve that, but I hope that this matter will end here. This is also for your own good. You¡¯ve offended quite a few powers in the Innerverse, and you¡¯re one of our Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen, so we don¡¯t want you to be at a disadvantage either.¡±

    In the earlier battle, Lu Yin could be considered to have severely injured Yu Mu, and Lu Yin¡¯s anger had greatly subsided as a result; he was not a petty person. ¡°How about this¡ªget him to apologize to En Ya, and we¡¯ll consider this matter over.¡±

    Elder Daggs nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with him.¡±

    The one most upset by Elder Daggs¡¯s appearance was En Ya. This was not only because Elder Daggs had mediated the disagreement between Lu Yin and Yu Mu, but also because she would no longer be able to get an apology from Yu Mu for humiliating Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao.

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had deliberately lost the war, leading to half of Endless Weave falling under the control of the Technocracy; this was a fact. As such, he was serving a sentence that had been given by the Hall of Honor. If Yu Mu was forced to apologize for humiliating Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao, and in front of Elder Daggs at that, such an action would bepletely disregarding the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin moved over next to En Ya, who quickly said, ¡°Your Highness, you cannot bring up the matter concerning Grand Marshal Shui.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll talk about that again in the future.¡±

    Yu Mu would not possibly be willing after being humiliated, so while it was possible for him to apologize after being pressured by Elder Daggs, the man would absolutely harbor a grudge in his heart. Lu Yin could already predict that he would run into issues with Yu Mu again in the future, so he was in no hurry. They could simply deal with the matter concerning Shui Chuanxiao then. Besides, they could not do anything about it at this moment no matter what they wished.

    Lu Yin could ept giving up some benefits now for the sake of the bigger picture, but he would not give up his dignity for the bigger picture. Yu Mu had humiliated Lu Yin, so Lu Yin had to return such treatment in kind, even if it meant having one more enemy in the future.

    It was unknown what Elder Daggs said, but before long, Yu Mu shot an intense look over at the pair of Lu Yin and En Ya and gritted his teeth. ¡°Regarding the previous matter, I¡­ apologize.¡±

    En Ya clenched her fists, but then they slowly rxed.

    Lu Yin snorted. ¡°Chief Yu, we¡¯ll meet again if fate allows.¡±

    He then nodded to Elder Daggs, escorted En Ya onto the copsible spacecraft, and left.

    Yu Mu took several deep breaths as he watched the spacecraft vanish into the depths of outer space, his eyes betraying his reluctance.

    Elder Daggs moved over next to Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse Chairman. ¡°If the Leaf King learns of today¡¯s matter, he¡¯ll develop an entirely new impression of you. Not everybody has the courage to apologize.¡±

    Yu Mu answered in a low voice, ¡°That kid showed off his abilities, and he was asking for death.¡±

    Elder Daggs looked at the other man. ¡°Even if he was asking for death, it shouldn¡¯t be you who delivers it, and even less Shamrock Enterprises. The Leaf King and my Hall of Honor have lived harmoniously for many years, and Lu Yin is an Honor Chosen. You should be clear on the meaning of that status. Also, his background is rted to the Chief Justice.¡±

    Yu Mu closed his eyes, as Elder Daggs¡¯sst sentence was the foundation for his apology. Lu Yin was somehow connected to the Chief Justice, and that person was a peak existence in the entire Human Domain, and Yu Mu did not dare to provoke such a person.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now, and I hope that this matter will end here and that neither side will pursue things any further,¡± Elder Daggs said wearily.

    Yu Mu turned to leave, and he did not even bother seeing the elder off.

    Elder Daggs frowned. If not for his respect and apprehension of the Leaf King, Yu Mu would not even be qualified for Elder Daggs to step in and mediate matters, as Lu Yin absolutely had the ability to deal with this person. When he thought about Lu Yin, the elder¡¯s head began to hurt once again, and he suspected that he would have to mediate on many more matters in the future.

    This time, it had been a conflict with Shamrock Enterprises, but hopefully, next time, it would not be with an existence like the Mavis Bank, as that was a colossal organization from the Neoverse. Not even Elder Daggs would be able to try to establish some sort of reconciliation.

    After leaving Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ headquarters, Lu Yin and En Ya traveled away on the copsible spacecraft and moved towards Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin felt extremely guilty whenever he thought of Ming Yan, as they only ever infrequently saw each other, but this was a normal situation for cultivators. Even if one disregarded the separation of life and death, a single period of secluded cultivation couldst for several years or even decades. In that sense, Lu Yin had actually managed to treat her rather well.

    In terms of the entire younger generation, no matter if one looked at the Ten Arbiters, the Realmlings, or even the experts on the Top 100 Rankings, very few of them had dated, let alone married. This was because the further one progressed and the stronger their cultivation became, the stronger the innate gift from their bloodline would grow. Because of this, cultivators were different frommoners and would frequently wait as long as possible to form rtionships and families. Even though they enjoyed a high position iprehensible tomoners, cultivators also had to endure an iprehensible solitude.

    It was dark on Shenwu Continent when Lu Yin arrived, and he immediately tore through the void to enter the pce in Mingdu, only to be weed by a pair of jade-white hands. ¡°Yan¡¯er, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s hands stopped as she stared at Lu Yin in amazement. Then, her brows rose up. ¡°How bold! How dare you directly appear within my bedroom! You must have a deathwish. Beware, lest I bury you.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as the white-haired Ming Yan had appeared before him. Right, since the sky was dark, it was normal for the white-haired Ming Yan to be present.

    It was difficult tomunicate with this side of Ming Yan.

    ¡°Yan¡¯er, why don¡¯t you sleep for now? Brother Lu will drop by tomorrow,¡± Lu Yin carefully suggested, as he wanted to leave right away.

    The white-haired Ming Yan snorted. ¡°Stay right there!¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated and gave a dry smile. ¡°Yan¡¯er, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes. ¡°I heard that you died.¡±

    ¡°Those were just rumors,¡± Lu Yin immediately said.

    ¡°Right, what a pity,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan replied.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    ¡°What happened? Tell me about it,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan coldly ordered. There was a deep chill to her voice.

    This cold was not directed towards Lu Yin, but rather towards those who had tried to kill him. The cold edge he heard in her voice was unprecedented.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart warmed. No matter if it was the white or ck-haired Ming Yan, they were both Ming Yan, who was his beloved. Although the white-haired Ming Yan might have a cold exterior, she still carried all of Ming Yan¡¯s suffering, grief, and loneliness within her. Her emotions were no different. It was just that she was not adept at expressing her feelings and tended to hide her emotions.

    The night soon passed, and over the course of the night, Lu Yin told the white-haired Ming Yan all about the battle in the Innerverse and the fight for the Champions¡¯ Stage. However, he did not mention anything about Nightking Zhenwu. He did not want Ming Yan to carry his burden, and he did not want her to worry.

    Afterwards, the white-haired Ming Yan wanted to know why news of Lu Yin¡¯s death had risen, and Lu Yin could only tell her that Wang Wen had fabricated the rumors.

    The white-haired Ming Yan¡¯s eyes grew cold, and she muttered Wang Wen¡¯s name under her breath in remembrance.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and secretly apologized to Wang Wen, as he might have to suffer some difficulties in the future because of this matter.

    Over the course of the idle conversation that filled the night, Lu Yin tried all sorts of ways to take advantage of the situation, and surprisingly, the white-haired Ming Yan did not reject him. She continuously said that she would bury him, but she did not make any overt movements. This excited Lu Yin, and he felt his future was filled with light¡­ and passion.

    The white-haired Ming Yan or the ck-haired Ming Yan¡ªthis suddenly seemed quite interesting.

    The night quickly passed by, and Lu Yin watched as Ming Yan¡¯s white hair turned ck. Then, without any restraint, Lu Yin went forward to hug her, which startled her and caused her to jump up. Her hair turned back to white as she fiercely red over at Lu Yin.

    He could only smile dryly and take a few steps back.

    ¡°How impudent! I really will bury you,¡± the white-haired Ming Yan growled.

    Lu Yin did not move.

    The white-haired Ming Yan snorted, and her gradually turned ck again.

    Once the other personalitypletely emerged, Lu Yin could no longer help himself, and he moved to hug her again. This time, Ming Yan also clung to Lu Yin, her eyes turning red. ¡°Brother Lu, Yan¡¯er really thought that you were really dead.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly apologized.

    This Ming Yan was more prone to emotional fluctuations, and she repeatedly shared her struggles with loneliness.

    Lu Yin quickly began consoling her.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯ll marry Yan¡¯er, won¡¯t you?¡± Ming Yan asked bashfully. She then buried her head in Lu Yin¡¯s embrace.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fluttered as he gazed down at Ming Yan¡¯s dazzling face. Then, he leaned down for a kiss.

    After a long while, Ming Yan looked up and exchanged nces with Lu Yin. Her expression turned bitter, and she went silent. ¡°Brother Lu, you aren¡¯t willing?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Yan¡¯er, actually, Brother Lu really did almost die this time.¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as her face went pale.

    Lu Yin then shared with her what had happened with the Champions¡¯ Stage, and he emphasized the part with Nightking Zhenwu.

    He did not want Ming Yan to suffer from worry, but more than that, he did not feelfortable marrying her at this time. Even if he married her in the near future, it would have to be after he dealt with the problem that was the Daynight n and hadpletely stabilized his position in the universe. He loved Ming Yan, but he did not want her to suffer from another, simr shock.

    Ming Zhaoshu¡¯s death had dulled Ming Yan¡¯s heart, and Lu Yin was afraid that if the same scene repeated with him, there would not be a third Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan¡¯s clenched fist grew white as she listened to Lu Yin¡¯s narrative, and soon, her entire body was trembling.

    Almost. She had almost lost her most important person. It had been so close.

    As she thought about this, she became enraged instead of sad, and her hair gradually turned white.

    Lu Yin quickly hugged her. ¡°Yan¡¯er, don¡¯t think about it too much. Brother Lu is fine. I have people who can protect me, and nothing will happen to me. I promise, after I take care of the Daynight n, I¡¯ll definitely marry you. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Ming Yan¡¯s trembling gradually calmed down, and she curled into Lu Yin¡¯s arms. After a long time, she finally calmed down. However, her expression had changed, and it seemed a bit more resolute, as if she had made some sort of decision.

    Lu Yin did not notice the change in Ming Yan at this time, and he merely thought that Ming Yan was still worrying and being indignant for his sake.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m fine,¡± Ming Yan said in a gentle voice as her lily-white hand caressed Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief and gave her another tight hug. ¡°Yan¡¯er, Brother Lu promises that nothing will happen in the future, alright?¡±

    Ming Yan grunted in acknowledgement, but then she gave him a sweet smile. ¡°Brother Lu,e with Yan¡¯er to stroll around the garden.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡­

    Shenwu Continent was isted by the five sealings, and Lu Yin had previously guessed that they formed a sourcebox array. As for what such huge sourceboxes might contain, who knew?

    Ming Yan was the only person aside from Lu Yin who knew about this secret. Lu Yin had also told her to never mention anything about Gu Yue to anyone else. If word leaked out, then not even he would be able to stop Shenwu Continent from tumbling down the path towards extinction.

    Just the Lockbreakers alone would break Shenwu Continent down to research it.

    Originally, Lu Yin had only nned on staying at Shenwu Continent for a few days while apanying Ming Yan, but due to her strong insistence, he ended up staying for ten days, only leaving after the full time had passed.

    After Lu Yin left, Ming Yan raised her eyes after looking around the empty garden. ¡°Brother Lu, Yan¡¯er will not let you risk life and death by yourself out there. The Shenwu Continent is too small and can¡¯t help you yet.¡±

    Her expression then firmed and grew even more determined.

 Chapter 1027: Sealed Off

    <h4>Chapter 1027: Sealed Off</h4>

    After leaving Shenwu Continent, Lu Yin had En Ya contact the Great Eastern Alliance andmand them to send a radiant-grade Aurora to Ironblood Weave¡¯s Brokende Fort, as Lu Yin intended to take a trip there.

    Before the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, Lu Yin needed to unite the entire Outerverse. This was no longer simply a mere desire of his, but rather the general trend of the Outerverse¡¯s situation. Once the two regions were reconnected, the various great powers of the Innerverse would never allow the Outerverse to be united in this capacity, and a conflict would inevitably break out.

    Lu Yin had not thought of a way to resolve this impending conflict yet, but he could not dy any of his dealings with the Daynight n as the contest for the Astral Tower would start soon. If possible, Lu Yin needed to deal with Nightking Zhenwu before the Nightking became one of the Cosmic Five, as attempting to take any sort of revenge after that would be extremely difficult.

    There were still arge number of Daynight n members in the Outerverse, and he intended to chase all of those people away. Many of them had earned military contributions from fighting in Ironblood Weave, so he could not do anything to them. Still, he could not allow them to simply remain in the Outerverse.

    Since he had be enemies with a colossal organization like the Daynight n, any loophole that he left open could lead to his death.

    Some dayster, when Lu Yin saw the humongous Brokende Fort off in the distance, he felt rather moved. Who would have thought that when he returned to this ce just a few yearster, he would no longer be some casually drafted nobody. Even Ironblood Weave¡¯s Elder Lohar had to treat Lu Yin with respect now.

    Traces of that great battle that had taken ce during Lu Yin¡¯sst visit here could still be seen, as it had only been several years since then.

    Themander of Brokende Fort was Han Fei, an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival stunned Brokende Fort, but only a portion of the people present were shocked as the majority did not care much. After all, the fort was in Ironblood Weave, and even if the weave had joined the Great Eastern Alliance in name, it was merely that.

    Both Ironblood Weave and Southside Weave held special statuses in the current Outerverse, and nobody dared to act recklessly in either ce.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was in Ironblood Fort, and Lu Yin headed straight there.

    Elder Lohar had never expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear here, and he quickly contacted the youth. When he discovered that Lu Yin¡¯s objective was to take away Nightqueen Qiuyu and the rest of the Daynight n, the elder¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, regardless of whatever grudge you hold with the Daynight n, Nightqueen Qiuyu has made enormous contributions to Ironblood Weave, and she cannot be taken away by you at a whim.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Elder, rest assured, I don¡¯t n to do anything to these people, as I only want to limit their freedom.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Impossible,¡± Elder Lohar replied sternly. From the moment he had seen the blood-red bell, he had always maintained a respectful attitude towards Lu Yin, but Lu Yin¡¯s actions this time had crossed the elder¡¯s bottom line.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had already known that it would be difficult to take Nightqueen Qiuyu and the other members of the Daynight n away from Ironblood Weave, but he had never expected Elder Lohar¡¯s attitude to be so firm.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you should fully understand Ironblood Weave¡¯s rules: no external grievance can be brought within its borders. Anyone who acts against their allies here will be treated as betraying the human race, and that is a crime that you cannot possibly wish to bear,¡± Elder Lohar said gravely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, as he had forgotten about this rule that was still valid in Ironblood Weave. This was quite troublesome. He could not take anyone away, but if a war broke out between him and the Daynight n, these people might create a great deal of trouble for him.

    On average, the cultivators from the Innerverse were much stronger than their Outerverse peers, and these people were even from the Daynight n. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how there was a powerhouse like Nightqueen Qiuyu among their numbers.

    Lu Yin thought about his situation and then looked over at Elder Lohar. ¡°Can Elder promise Junior one thing? This is something that is within Elder¡¯s authority, and I will not ask for anything that would require you to overstep any boundaries.¡±

    Elder Lohar saw that Lu Yin had stopped going through with his initial ns, and the elder secretly heaved a sigh of relief, as he truly did not want to offend Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please tell me.¡±

    Lu Yin went on to say, ¡°Since the invasion of the Innerverse ended with the Sixth Maind¡¯s failure, they might very well shift their focus over to the Astral Beast Domain. Moreover, since the Outerverse is isted from the Innerverse, the Sixth Maind can still invade the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain and upy the entire Outerverse.¡±

    Obviously, Elder Lohar thought. But if the Sixth Maind wanted to invade the Outerverse again, why would they need to go through the Astral Beast Domain? They can just attack straight from the Technocracy, which would save them both time and effort.

    ¡°The people from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds are not too different, so in order to prevent the Sixth Maind from sending spies to gather intelligence from the border, I, Lu Yin, as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, will seal off Ironblood Weave. People can henceforth enter, but none are allowed to leave. Additionally, no information can be sent out beyond the vital messages used to ry the situation of the battle.

    ¡°Elder, this request is not too much, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Lohar nodded. ¡°Correct. After all, the safety of the border is critically important.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡± Lu Yin smiled. His goal had always been to tie down Nightqueen Qiuyu and the other Daynight n members and prevent them from moving about freely. Naturally, one way to do this was to seal off the entire weave.

    Elder Lohar knew about Lu Yin¡¯s objective, but that was fine as sealing off the weave would not affect the elder. Besides, with Lu Yin¡¯s authority as the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, he was perfectly qualified to issue such an order, and the elder did not even need to carry the burden of any repercussions.

    Still, why does Lu Yin feel the need to limit Nightqueen Qiuyu and the others¡¯ movements? Could it be¡­? Elder Lohar¡¯s expression changed at this thought; such a possibility was simply too bold. Did this youth even have the qualifications to do so? Did Lu Yin actually have a clear grasp of the Daynight n?

    Not long after Lu Yin left Ironblood Fort, Elder Lohar sent out the orders to seal off every part of Ironblood Weave.

    This order raised a greatmotion within Ironblood Weave, especially from Nightqueen Qiuyu and the others who had realized that the Innerverse was about to reconnect with the Outerverse. Didn¡¯t sealing off Ironblood Weave at this point in time equate to removing their path home?

    Nightqueen Qiuyu immediately contacted Elder Lohar, but his response was firm.

    ¡°An invasion attempt from the Sixth Maind concerns the very survival of the Human Domain itself. Once the Outerverse reconnects to the Innerverse, the Innerverse will need to reinforce Ironblood Weave, so you can all just remain in Ironblood Weave for the moment,¡± Elder Lohar calmly replied.

    But Nightqueen Qiuyu was not satisfied. ¡°We¡¯ve already protected Ironblood Weave for several years; it¡¯s time for recements toe.¡±

    However, no matter what Nightqueen Qiuyu said, Elder Lohar would not agree.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was left helpless. ¡°Elder can seal off Ironblood Weave, but why must allmunications be sealed off as well?¡±

    Elder Lohar grew disgruntled. ¡°The Sixth Maind left people in the Outerverse, and if they steal information, how can I ount to the Hall of Honor for such an oversight? That¡¯s enough, I have no need to exin things to you. If you¡¯re truly not satisfied, then you can send an application to the Hall of Honor directly through your n.¡±

    And with that, he ended the call.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu was enraged, but there was nothing that she could do.

    A simr scene urred in all of the great forts in Ironblood Weave. The Ross Empire¡¯s Duke ckhawk, the ze Realm¡¯s Poison me, the Xun family¡¯s Xun Chong, Graceful Feiyu of the Graceful Mercenaries, and more allined. All of these people were forcibly detained within the weave, and they would have to wait for Ironblood Weave to rescind the seal before they could leave.

    Even in their dreams, these people could have never imagined that this lockdown was due to Lu Yin¡¯smand. That nobody whom they had once disregarded and had been able to casually crush at a whim could now change their fates with just a single sentence.

    Aside from the important people who were stuck in Ironblood Weave, there were also many others who were trapped, such as Long Yun, Charon, and some others who had simply intended to gather some more contribution points while Ironblood Weave was not being attacked. Instead, they were forcibly detained, and they could not even shed tears as they cried.

    Lu Yin could not touch those who were in Ironblood Weave, so he had no other option but toe up with a way to seal them within the weave. Meanwhile, the Allied Forces were ordered to capture the Innerverse cultivators who were mining pyrolyte in the Astral Wilderness, and all the pyrolyte ore was confiscated by the Great Yu Empire.

    When Lu Yin left Ironblood Weave, he did so within a radiant-grade Aurora where En Ya had been waiting for him.

    Shortly after leaving Ironblood Weave, someone called Lu Yin: Ah Mu.

    Ever since the Umbral Butterfly Weave had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had not interacted with Ah Mu much.

    ¡°Greetings, Alliance Leader Lu,¡± Ah Mu respectfully greeted Lu Yin with a reserved expression.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so courteous. Ah Mu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Ah Mu hesitated and then slowly said, ¡°Seventh Bro- No, Alliance Leader Lu, do you remember what you promised me in the past?¡±

    Lu Yin recalled. ¡°You mean about Angie?¡±

    Ah Mu¡¯s eyes grew bright. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew strange. ¡°You really like her?¡±

    Ah Mu answered without hesitation, ¡°Yes, I really like her.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Ah Mu, how many times have you been around Wei Rong?¡¯

    Ah Mu was stumped, as he could not understand why Lu Yin had suddenly brought up Wei Rong. ¡°I was usually together with Mistress Angie whenever she interacted with Wei Rong.¡±

    ¡°Then, if you really liked Angie, don¡¯t you think he would have been able to tell?¡± Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Ah Mu¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Seventh Bro, I hid my feelings well. If Wei Rong knew that I liked Angie, he would have definitely killed me.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Ah Mu with a bit of interest. Who would believe Ah Mu¡¯s story? He imed to have allowed Angie to be taken by Wei Rong. If this youth truly had feelings for Angie, then like any other person, his emotions would have fluctuated, and Wei Rong would have definitely noticed any such emotional ripples. If Wei Rong had not been able to see through Ah Mu, then that could only mean one thing: Ah Mu had never held any feelings for Angie in the first ce.

    However, Lu Yin did not n to expose Ah Mu. ¡°The Umbral Butterfly Weave is an unstable factor. Ah Mu, I need you to keep hiding and not reveal yourself. I promise that Angie will not belong to anyone else.¡±

    Ah Mu became ecstatic. ¡°Thank you, Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro, during this time, the Umbral Butterfly Tribe-¡±

    ¡°Alright, I got to go.¡± Before Ah Mu could even finish his sentence, Lu Yin had already disconnected from the call, and he looked at his gadget with a gloomy expression. He had received a message from Luo Shen, but there were only a set of coordinates and two words: Save me.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to call Luo Shen, only to find that he could not reach her. Then, he called Smoker. The bodyguards assigned to protect Luo Shen were the responsibility of the Second Squadron.

    ¡°Get in touch with those who are protecting Luo Shen,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    After a minute, Smoker replied, ¡°Cannot reach them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell. He set the spacecraft that he was using to continue traveling to Zenyu Star before exiting and using his copsible spacecraft to make his way towards the coordinates that Luo Shen had shared with him. That location was not very far from where he had been just now, so he would be able to arrive within a couple of hours.

    There was a thaty to the east of Ironblood Weave, close to where the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain bordered each other. From space, this seemed to have been split down the center into two pieces. Additionally, there was an unknown white object melting everything around it, and its influence was spreading across both halves of the.

    On this, Luo Shen panted heavily as she tried to flee. asionally, a sharp de light would streak past her. Her white legs were stained with blood, and the star energy surrounding her was unstable.

    On both sides of her were abandoned zas, and asionally, the wails of people in despair could be heard.

    Just one day ago, this had been fine, but then the apocalypse had suddenly descended. Everything had changed too suddenly, and most of the hundreds of millions of people living on this had turned into zombies and massacred the remaining humans while the few remaining survivors fled for their lives.

    Luo Shen was a Melder, so she could easily dispatch these zombies. However, for whatever reason, more than a hundred corpse kings had suddenly descended from the sky.

    Each one of them was a corpse king, which were bizarre existences that had the ability to evolve. They could swallow energy crystals, and by doing so, obtain innate gifts and even gain sapiance.

 Chapter 1028: Unexpected Fortune

    <h4>Chapter 1028: Unexpected Fortune</h4>

    Usually, a experiencing an apocalypse would only have two or three corpse kings appear, but this one had actually produced so many all at once. On top of that, the weakest one was at the Sentinel realm while a few were even Limiteers.

    The member of the Second Imperial Squadron who had been tasked with protecting Luo Shen had been killed by a corpse king in the Limiteer realm.

    She had been fleeing for a day thus far, and she could not fly in the air due to the unstable star energy.

    Behind her were several Melder realm corpse kings chasing after her. Each one had an innate gift, and they were also intelligent enough to know how to surround her.

    There was a bang as a building shattered and a corpse king shot out of the rubble while carrying a girl in its hands. The creature began to fiercely tear the girl apart, causing fresh blood to spill out and stain the sky.

    Luo Shen¡¯s face turned a deathly shade of white as an intense fear burgeoned within her. She had seen simr scenes far too many times over the past ten hours, and each time she witnessed such carnage, she grew even more desperate. Eventually, she would be torn apart just like that girl.

    A fishy smell filled her senses, stunning Luo Shen. She instinctively dodged to the side, and a corpse king flitted through where she had just been standing. This corpse king¡¯s innate gift was that of speed, and it was the only one that could catch up to Luo Shen.

    She had sessfully dodged the attack, but as a result, she had run into a wall. She crashed through it and entered a room.

    A few corpse kings dashed in after her, raised their rotten ws, and swatted down.

    Luo Shen shut her eyes; she was doomed.

    Suddenly, the earth split apart as a powerful wave of white hot energy surged up and swallowed the corpse kings. Luo Shen nearly copsed, but fortunately, she was lucky enough to step on a rock and leap away.

    The¡¯s surface was shattering, and everything was broke from the center outwards.

    Luo Shen emerged from the wreckage of the building and looked off into the distance. She saw that the entire city had been split in half by a giant fissure in the ground that was already more than a hundred meters wide. White hotva constantly spewed up from underground. Thisva was even hotter than redva, and the temperature was so high that not even Explorers could endure it.

    Luo Shen closed her eyes as Lu Yin¡¯s image appeared from her memories. It was over¡ªeven if she did not die at the hands of a corpse king, she would still be swallowed by this and end up as cosmic dust.

    But that was fine; ending up as ashes was still better than being devoured by a corpse king.

    As she thought about her inevitable end, Luo Shen threw her gadget away. She had sent a desperate message to Lu Yin several hours earlier, but he clearly had not been able to make it in time. The entire city was sinking into the ground, and soon, she would apany the city as they both burned to nothingness. She regretted sending that message to Lu Yin, as dying quietly was better than causing someone to worry. Or, he might not even remember her.

    The city continued to copse, and quite a few survivors were wailing at the peaks of the buildings. Their desperate sounds were apanied by the zombies¡¯ snarls and the munching sounds of the corpse kings. It was a scene that came straight from hell.

    A Limiteer realm corpse king flew over from the distance, and it nced around before spotting Luo Shen. A bloodthirsty glint shed through its eyes as it rushed over to decapitate Luo Shen with a swipe of its ws.

    Luo Shen¡¯s body nted to dodge the attack as she leaped off of the building, choosing to die rather than be so much as touched by the corpse king.

    As her body fell, she was embraced by a powerful arm, and she suddenly flew up while listening to a voice in her thoughts. ¡°Just one step further and you would have been ashes. I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re pretty stubborn.¡±

    Luo Shen opened her eyes and was excited to see Lu Yin holding her. She muttered, ¡°So I¡¯m dead?¡±

    Lu Yin was amused by her reaction. ¡°How could you still see me if you¡¯re dead?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m dead that I can see you. If I were still alive, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so,¡± Luo Shen softly exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. At this moment, Luo Shen reminded him of Ming Yan when she had eaten the poison. Luo Shen was demonstrating the same type of feebleness and desperation.

    Roar!

    The Limiteer realm corpse king leaped up and shed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold as he lightly tapped out. The strength that he released quickly became a gale that tore through the void. Not only was the Limiteer realm corpse king crushed, but the attack also pierced the entire city, and destroyed a huge number of zombies as it swept through everything.

    Luo Shen turned to look down at where the entire city was falling into the white magma. ¡°Your Highness, please save the city. There are still many other survivors.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and pressed down with a hand. His star energy formed a giant palm that picked up the entire city.

    Even Limiteers were capable of lifting an entire city, let alone someone with Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength. Saving these people took very little effort on his part.

    His domain swept out and spread across the city, exterminating every single zombie and corpse king.

    Lu Yin sighed. This had been such arge city, but there were only some tens of thousands of survivors left. This scene was too familiar to Lu Yin, as it was simr to what he had seen during Earth¡¯s own apocalypse. However, the situation on Earth had been much better than this¡¯s and nowhere near as cruel.

    During Earth¡¯s apocalypse, only regr zombies and corpse kings had been present, while Limiteer realm corpse kings had shown up on this. In fact, they could even be found in every direction. As Lu Yin considered this difference, he looked to the east, where he could see a boundless amount of rune lines in the sky that clearly belonged to an Enlighter. That ce held an Enlighter realm corpse king.

    Lu Yin set Luo Shen back down as his expression grew serious. ¡°Take care of yourself for a moment. I need to do something.¡±

    Luo Shen became worried. ¡°Is there trouble?¡±

    Lu Yin put on his universal armor. ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter.¡±

    He then tore through the void and disappeared. The next instant, Lu Yin reappeared on the summit of a burning mountain tens of thousands of kilometers away and was greeted by a snarling Enlighter realm corpse king. ¡°You¡¯re looking to die.¡±

    Lu Yin had a frosty expression as he put on the giant mechanical arm and struck out in response to the corpse king¡¯s attack. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you guys for a long time, Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    There was a huge bang as a shockwave exploded out and severed the mountain range. The aftershocks tore through the atmosphere and shot out into space.

    The Enlighter corpse king was flung away, and the right half of its body was shattered apart. The creature stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°Im- impossible.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the corpse king with an arrogant expression, as not even Yu Mu could resist the power of this upgraded mechanical arm. After all, it had reached a level where it could even threaten experts with a power level of 400,000, so how could a mere Enlighter realm corpse king with a power level of barely 200,000 stand up to Lu Yin¡¯s attack? Even if corpse kings¡¯ physical bodies were extremely tough, its body could not possibly reach the same level as that of a powerhouse with a power level of 400,000.

    Lu Yin fiercely pressed his advantage, and he stretched out his right arm, intending to capture this corpse king.

    The corpse king¡¯s scarlet eyes stared at Lu Yin with a ruthless and sinister sheen. The creature then leaped up into outer space and tried to escape.

    Lu Yin snorted. When it came to speed, Lu Yin definitely would not be any slower than a corpse king.

    The corpse king folded its arms, causing strange lines to appear within the void that attempted to push Lu Yin away. This was the corpse king¡¯s innate gift, but Lu Yin simply waved his right arm, and with his overbearing physical strength, dispersed the lines and reached out to grab at the creature once again.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to capture the corpse king, the creature howled. ¡°Lu¡­ Yin, there will¡­e¡­ the day¡­ where you will¡­ pay the price¡­ for offending¡­ the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    After it finished speaking, its abdomen swelled before suddenly exploding.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he decisively swept out his right arm to tear through the void with his tremendous strength. A giant spatial tear was opened up, and it swallowed all of the force from the corpse king¡¯s self-destruction, preventing the explosion from harming the.

    This was already on the verge of shattering, but there were still people on it. Thus, Lu Yin would not allow it to be destroyed too soon.

    At that moment, a golden radiance entered his sight, and Lu Yin looked over; was that True Insight?

    During the Outerverse¡¯s Lockbreakerpetition, the grand prize was some pages of True Insight, and they had been taken away by Deng Pu while the battle had raged on Sourcepeak. Later on, they had been sold to the Zhu family. Then, the Neohuman Alliance had attacked Millions City, and the battle ultimately concluded with a corpse king stealing the pages and fleeing into the Outerverse. That battle had also exposed the fact that Millions City was a mobile fortress.

    Countless people had fought intensely for those pages of True Insight, but in the end, they had gone missing. Later on, Lu Yin had been ambushed by the Neohuman Alliance, and the corpse king that had stolen True Insight had seemed to be among the group that had ambushed him. However, after the creature was destroyed, the pages of True Insight had not been found.

    Lu Yin would have never dreamed that it would appear in this ce; was this corpse king the one that had stolen True Insight from Millions City¡¯s Zhu family?

    Still, that was not important at this moment. Lu Yin already had five pages of True Insight, and this would just be one more.

    Now, all of the pages of True Insight in the entire Outerverse were in Lu Yin¡¯s possession, which put him in high spirits. As long as he could break through and be an Advanced Lockbreaker, he would be able to study these pages of True Insight.

    He rather looked forward to learning about sourcebox arrays. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, if not for the sourcebox array, how else would Bu Kong have been able to strike down five powerful experts, of which one was God Taiyi? In the Innerverse, Qiu Shi had also used a sourcebox array to throw the Champions¡¯ Stage off of the miniature maind. Her array had also repelled Bu Kong.

    Sourcebox arrays were terrifyingly powerful, and they were not inferior to secret techniques at all.

    Lu Yin scanned the space around him before returning to the.

    Not long after Lu Yin left, strange lines appeared where the corpse king had seemingly self-destructed, spiraling as they coalesced together.

    Since Lu Yin was using the massive mechanical arm to tear through space, the excessive strength of his movements gave off a tremendous amount of star energy, preventing him from noticing the strange lines gathering together.

    On the, Luo Shen was busy working to rescue the trapped survivors. With her strength as a Melder, she was able to push aside entire buildings, so she was quite efficient in her efforts.

    When Lu Yin returned, he swept his domain across the entire. His forcefield took the form of the towering tree, and its branches enveloped the entire city as he rescued all of the survivors.

    All of them knelt down and prayed. In their eyes, Lu Yin was a god.

    This, like many others in the universe, had not developed a cultivation system, so Lu Yin¡¯s actions were no different from those of a god to these people.

    Lu Yin did not give any exnations, as he nned to simply take Luo Shen away. It would still take a bit of time for this to be destroyed, and it was not too far from where the closest Great Eastern Alliance troops were stationed. Thus, he could easily delegate the remaining tasks over to them.

    Luo Shen could not help herself. ¡°Your Highness, let¡¯s save them.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the soldiers will be here shortly.¡±

    Luo Shen pursed her lips.

    Lu Yin then asked, ¡°Why did youe here?¡±

    Luo Shen exined, ¡°This is the Outerverse¡¯s border, so I came here to promote the alliance, but I was captured by the Neohuman Alliance and thrown to this.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand Luo Shen¡¯s job, so he did not ask any further questions.

    He retrieved his copsible spacecraft, and he was just about to head out with Luo Shen when the strange lines that had gathered in the void formed themselves into a dark-red radiance that shot towards Lu Yin at a shocking speed. Fortunately, Lu Yin had seen this radiance before it drew too close to him, so he had ample time to put on his universal armor. The remnant strength from the corpse king¡¯s innate gift was not enough to harm Lu Yin.

    However, no matter how many calctions Lu Yin made, Luo Shen was still next to him. She coincidentally saw the radiance, and without any hesitation, she moved to help Lu Yin block the attack.

    Luo Shen suddenly moved in front of Lu Yin, and she met the dark-red radiance head on before it could touch Lu Yin. By the time Lu Yin was able to react, she had already been struck.

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he quickly pressed a hand against Luo Shen¡¯s body as his star energy permeated her body to counteract the dark-red beam¡¯s corrosion.

    That dark-red beam had been the remnant strength of the corpse king¡¯s innate gift after it died, but it could still be considered a part of the creature¡¯s innate gift. It was just a remnant force, and it was so weak that Lu Yin would have been able to withstand the strike even without his armor, but for Luo Shen, it was far too much.

 Chapter 1029: Strange Matters

    <h4>Chapter 1029: Strange Matters</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s reaction had been quite fast, but he had not been quick enough to stop the dark-red radiance from prating Luo Shen¡¯s body. Although he was still able to block a part of the attack¡¯s force, Luo Shen was also just a Melder. Against this attack, her defenses were no better than a wet piece of paper.

    Lu Yin grabbed Luo Shen with both of his arms as the dark-red radiance dissipated.

    Luo Shen¡¯s face had gone pale and was devoid of all color asrge amounts of blood bled out from her abdomen.

    Lu Yin was shocked. During his entire cultivation journey, no one had ever willingly sacrificed themselves for him like what Luo Shen had just done. No one had ever died for him.

    At this moment, Ming Yan, Zhuo Daynight, and Luo Shen¡¯s image all ovepped in front of him.

    Ming Yan had willingly consumed a fatal poison rather than allow Lu Yin to be ckmailed by the Neohuman Alliance.

    Zhuo Daynight had deliberately revealed the fact that she had cultivated Night¡¯s End, Daybreak in order to dy Nightking Zhenwu from pursuing Lu Yin and give him a chance to live.

    And now, Luo Shen had blocked an attack before it could strike Lu Yin, and she had done so without hesitation, choosing to die for him.

    Lu Yin had never expected to encounter such a situation here, and he clung to Luo Shen while feeling an indescribable burden weighed on his heart.

    He hurriedly made Luo Shen swallow some pills, and at the same time, he used his lockbreaking skills to try to dissolve the energy currently corroding her body from the inside.

    She had been struck in the abdomen, and the attack had nearly pierced straight through her body. The foreign energy¡¯s corrosion effect was spreading through her body, but fortunately, Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker. Otherwise, the energy might have been difficult to control.

    Fresh blood continued to seep from her body, and as Lu Yin held onto Luo Shen, her face grew increasingly pale.

    She had long since fallen unconscious.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t panic. Her injuries aren¡¯t that bad since that attack wasn¡¯t too strong to begin with. On top of that, you also managed to weaken it a great deal,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted, snapping Lu Yin out of his daze.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Weakened? Right!

    His pupils transformed into runes, and he easily spotted the rune lines of the corrosive energy that was still rampaging within Luo Shen¡¯s abdomen, which he immediately tried to erase. The energy still in her body was weakened by nearly half, and Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Luo Shen could deal with this level of corrosion.

    He carried Luo Shen into the copsible spacecraft, quickly found the nearest base of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯, and then sped away.

    Within the spacecraft, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were a mess as he stared at the incredibly feeble Luo Shen and her drooping hair. Why? Why had she blocked that attack for him? Had it been worth it?

    He had long since known that Luo Shen held feelings for him, as it was clear in both her expressions and words. Despite Lu Yin knowing about her feelings, he could not ept them. Ming Yan was his true love, and there was also Wendy Yushan beside him. During thepetition on Pyrolyte, Wendy had supported Lu Yin without hesitation. In addition to them, there was Zhuo Daynight as well; the life and death debt that Lu Yin owed her was not something that could be repaid.

    Emotions could override any power, and Lu Yin did not dare to ept Luo Shen¡¯s feelings.

    However, how could he repay her for taking this attack for him? This was also a life debt, and her feelings were clearly too strong.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    Luo Shen was in agony, and she unconsciously groaned in pain. Her lips were parched as she mumbled to herself.

    Lu Yin moved closer.

    ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness, don¡¯te! Your Highness! Bro- Brother Lu¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grewplex, and he stared at the helpless Luo Shen. He could not help himself from stretching out a hand and tightly grasping her white hand. It felt soft, gentle, and veryfortable.

    For some reason, once Lu Yin held Luo Shen¡¯s hand, she fell silent. Although she was clearly still in agony, she no longer made any sounds. Clearly the pain had been relieved. No matter how much physical pain she might be in, at this moment, her heart was blissful.

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    All of the medications that Lu Yin had fed Luo Shen were upgraded ones, and they were strong enough to even treat an Enlighter¡¯s injuries.

    Still, Luo Shen was only a Melder, and Lu Yin was worried that the corpse king¡¯s energy might have some residual effects. Thus, he was determined to take her to one of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ bases to be treated.

    Although Shamrock Enterprises mainly sold medications and pills, they were also quite well versed in treatments, and many medical geniuses worked for them.

    It was a pity that Lu Yin did not know where Windrift Hall was located, as that ce would have been an even better option.

    He had just offended Shamrock Enterprises, but now he was taking Luo Shen to them. Even Lu Yin felt a bit embarrassed by his behavior, though he did not have the luxury to consider his other options.

    Yu Mu would not possibly refuse Lu Yin¡¯s request for such a thing, as this small matter was not worth triggering a falling out with Lu Yin.

    Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ closest branch was still several hours away from Lu Yin¡¯s current location, and it was actually not too far away from Frostwave Weave.

    Lu Yin tyrannically forced the branch¡¯s top medical experts to stop all their work on developing new drugs to treat Luo Shen. Soon after, he was told that her injuries werepletely under control and that all she needed to do was recuperate and slowly nurse herself back to health. With that, Lu Yin finally let the people go.

    After all, Luo Shen was just a Melder. Although Lu Yin¡¯s pills had stabilized her injuries, they were also incredibly potent. In other words, just consuming the pills had injured Luo Shen¡¯s body. The experts from Shamrock Enterprises had merely helped Luo Shen recuperate.

    Her recovery would take at least half a year.

    Multiple days passed before Luo Shen finally awakened. During the entire time she had been unconscious, she had not let go of Lu Yin¡¯s hand even once. She hadtched onto him, and he had not let go either.

    When she opened her eyes, Luo Shen instantly noticed that she was holding Lu Yin¡¯s hand. Her face flushed bright red, but she did not immediately let go. Instead, she pretended not to notice anything.

    Lu Yin grew concerned, and he quickly asked, ¡°Are you thirsty?¡±

    She was indeed parched, but she still shook her head. She was afraid that Lu Yin would let go of her hand to pour some water, and she preferred to keep his hand.

    Lu Yin felt that her response was rather strange. ¡°You¡¯re really not thirsty? Your lips arepletely chapped.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Luo Shen insisted, though even her voice was a bit hoarse.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. He then looked down, saw that they were still holding hands, and reflexively let go. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You were unconscious this whole time, so I didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡±

    Luo Shen was disappointed, and she quietly said, ¡°I¡¯m thirsty.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, at a loss for her sudden change. What did this mean?

    He poured her a ss of water, and Luo Shen drained the entire ss before passing the empty cup back to Lu Yin with a clearly expectant expression.

    Lu Yin poured her another ss, and she drained the second one as well. Lu Yin poured a third cup, and after drinking most of that as well, herplexion visibly improved.

    ¡°So why did you initially say that you weren¡¯t thirsty?¡± Lu Yin felt confused.

    Luo Shen rolled her eyes at him. Her face was still slightly flushed.

    ¡°Right, thank you,¡± Lu Yin said, his tone suddenly rather heavy.

    Luo Shen shook her head. ¡°Without Your Highness, I definitely would have been punished by Amethyst Exchange. Just treat this as me paying Your Highness back.¡±

    Pay back? Although Lu Yin was normally not very empathetic, he still understood Luo Shen¡¯s intentions at this moment.

    ¡°Your Highness, where are we?¡± Luo Shen asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°One of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ branches.¡±

    ¡°And my injuries?¡± Luo Shen was puzzled.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°There¡¯s no problem at all. You¡¯ll just need to rest for half a year. Also, don¡¯t do such ridiculous things in the future.¡±

    Luo Shen gave a soft grunt of acknowledgement and then murmured to herself, ¡°As long as you¡¯re safe.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hear her clearly. ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± Luo Shen instantly replied.

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to go around and ask a few questions about that.¡±

    Luo Shen grunted and watched as Lu Yin left before looking down at her abdomen. She was still in a great deal of pain, but her heart felt very warm.

    ***

    ¡°Your Highness, the energy in the Astral River is quickly receding, and the nearby star energy has surged. As a result, many people have moved closer to the river to cultivate,¡± Huo Qingshan informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked to the south. ¡°Got it. Take the students from the Yu Academy over there to cultivate as well.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± Huo Qingshan answered.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. It seemed that it would not be very long before the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse. Before that happened, he absolutely had to unite the rest of the Outerverse and be its master; none of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers would be willing to see a united Outerverse, so a conflict would definitely break out.

    Lu Yin still had note up with any way to move forward with this, but it was an inevitability of the future. He would not be able to avoid this conflict.

    Perhaps it would be a good idea to go take a look at the edge of the Astral River.

    He kept Luo Shenpany for three days before deciding that it was time to leave.

    The ground trembled strangely, and a momentter, a billowing gale swept out that nearly overturned the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he stepped out of the ward as he raised a hand. His star energy formed a shield that dispersed the gale as he looked off into the distance. There, he saw a vast amount of rune lines that even exceeded the Enlighter realm corpse king¡¯s. Another Enlighter realm expert had arrived.

    Why was it that Lu Yin seemed to bump into Enlighters wherever he went?

    Some distance away, the buildings belonging to the Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ branch shook as a mountain range broke apart. Quite a few cultivators fled in fear as they stared at a giant figure on the horizon. A massive shape blotting out the sky could be seen near the mountain range¡ªit was a sylvan dragon.

    Nobody could have expected that a sylvan dragon wouldunch a surprise attack on this branch of Shamrock Enterprises.

    The crux of the confusion was that the sylvan dragon had wrapped a piece of ck cloth around its face, and everyone who saw the scene had puzzled expressions.

    Was there anyone who would not be able to tell that this was a sylvan dragon? Was there even a reason to cover its face? Even if the dragon had not done so, nobody aside from sylvan dragons themselves could really tell them apart. At best, people would be able to differentiate between their sexes. If this beast wanted to hide its identity, then why not simply alter its skeletal structure and take on a humanoid form?

    Too many strange incidents had urred in the history of the Outerverse, and now, there was one more. The sylvan dragon with a covered face attacked one of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ branches. It even believed that no one could determine what it was.

    ¡°This is a robbery, so behave yourselves! Hand over all of your star essence and most powerful medications!¡± the sylvan dragon snarled, its spittle spraying everywhere.

    The terrifying threat that the beast represented scared the cultivators of Shamrock Enterprises, and quite a few had the color drain from their faces. Some even cried out in fright.

    The sylvan dragon¡¯s eyes swept across everyone gathered on the, but its gaze lingered on the pretty girls, and the glimmer of human-like emotion in its eyes revealed the beast¡¯s infatuation. ¡°This is a robbery, so take off your clothes for a body search.¡±

    The crowd was stumped.

    At that moment, a screen appeared in the sky above the branch, and Eastern Chairman Shen Fu appeared on it. ¡°Lord Sylvan Dragon, I wonder, how might my Shamrock Enterprises have offended you?¡±

    The sylvan dragon blinked. ¡°What sylvan dragon? You¡¯re clearly mistaken¡ªI¡¯m an Undying Bird!¡±

    Everyone was rendered speechless.

    Even Shen Fu choked slightly, and his tone became indignant. ¡°Lord Sylvan Dragon, I¡¯m Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ Eastern Chairman, Shen Fu. Could Lord Dragon please exin how Shamrock Enterprises has offended you?¡±

    The sylvan dragon became angry. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m an Undying Bird. Don¡¯t you understand the birdnguage?¡±

    Shen Fu became enraged. ¡°Sylvan dragon, don¡¯t go overboard! This is a part of Shamrock Enterprises, and not even your n elder would cause trouble for us without reason!¡±

    ¡°Scram.¡± The sylvan dragon suddenly waved its forefoot and destroyed the screen. Its massive eyes then swept over the most attractive women here as it practically drooled. ¡°Hurry up! I need to search your bodies! You girls must have some good things hidden on you.¡±

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin waspletely dumbfounded as he watched the sylvan dragon conduct a robbery, his face fully revealing his incredulousness. Isn¡¯t that Long Erhuo?

    When Lu Yin and the others had fled from the Starfall Sea, the sylvan dragon had gone missing, but Lu Yin had assumed that Yuan Shi had captured the sylvan dragon at the border. Why was he here? And why was he robbing this ce?

    At that moment, another screen rose up into the sky, and this time, Yu Mu appeared on the screen. Before he could even speak, the entire mountain range trembled as the machinery projecting the image was destroyed, causing Yu Mu¡¯s image to vanish.

    The sylvan dragon grew arrogant. ¡°They still dare to disturb me! They¡¯re asking for it!

    ¡°Pfft, how bold! You¡¯re still not listening to me? This is a robbery! Give me all of your star essence and the best medications. Males go to the left, and females to the right. Pah, I need to correct myself. Males and ugly females to the left, pretty females to the right.¡±

    The crowd was petrified, and they could only follow the sylvan dragon¡¯s orders as everyone began to shuffle about.

    The attractive women grew even more terrified, and they all stared at the sylvan dragon in horror.

    The sylvan dragon grinned, revealing his sinister fangs. ¡°Now we¡¯ll do a body search! Hahaha!¡±

 Chapter 1030: Quaking Cauldron

    <h4>Chapter 1030: Quaking Cauldron</h4>

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget suddenly rang. Shen Fu was calling him.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please help Shamrock Enterprises. Shen Fu will be extremely grateful to you,¡± Shen Fu respectfully begged for Lu Yin¡¯s assistance.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. He had coincidentallye to this branch, and both Shen Fu and Yu Mu were aware of his presence. Despite him recently offending Shamrock Enterprises, he had still forced them to treat Luo Shen. Thus, he clearly owed them a favor, which meant that he had to act.

    ¡°I got it,¡± Lu Yin replied, acknowledging Shen Fu¡¯s request as he stepped out. Lu Yin¡¯s figure then shed as he suddenly appeared in the sky, quickly donned his universal armor, and moved to face the sylvan dragon.

    ¡°Long Erhuo, do you remember me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice suddenly echoed in the sylvan dragon¡¯s ears.

    The sylvan dragon was taken aback, and he looked up to exchange nces with Lu Yin. At first, the beast was bewildered, but then he became bbergasted before finally revealing an indignant look. ¡°So it¡¯s you again! Are you trying to ruin all of my efforts? You already dragged me down once back at the Skyze Dojo, and I will not let you off no matter what you say! Get over here and die!¡±

    Lu Yin leisurely put on the huge mechanical arm and clenched a fist. ¡°During the battle in the astral cemetery, I killed two Imprinters.¡±

    Long Erhuo had just been about to attack, but he paused upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words. He suddenly remembered that he had indeed heard about this fellow ughtering two Imprinters. Imprinters were existences whose power levels were above 500,000, and they were even from the Sixth Maind.

    The situation suddenly turned awkward, as Long Erhuo no longer dared to take action against Lu Yin. After arriving in the Outerverse, he had roamed about unimpeded for some time. During his travels, he had heard quite a bit about Lu Yin, especially how this youth possessed the most powerful external items to the point where no one knew the full extent of Lu Yin¡¯s armory. In addition, Lu Yin was also a part of the Hall of Honor with Yuan Shi standing behind Lu Yin and supporting the youth.

    Long Erhuo swallowed his saliva. He knew that this kid would be a tough bone to chew, and there was no need for him to look for such trouble. ¡°Scram, kid. My business here has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his right fist. ¡°This ce is temporarily under my protection.¡±

    Long Erhuo bared his fangs. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t create trouble when there isn¡¯t any.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he directly sent his voice to Long Erhuo. ¡°You covered your face since you don¡¯t want to openly offend Shamrock Enterprises, so aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll give Yu Mu your name? The Outerverse is about to reconnect to the Innerverse, so do you really want to be chased after by the full power of Shamrock Enterprises?¡±

    Long Erhuo was infuriated, and he unhappily nced at the base of the mountain range and at all the pretty girls. He then mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m someone who researches the human body, and from just once nce, it¡¯s clear that these females are ill. I simply wish to provide them with some treatment.¡±

    ¡°Long!¡± Lu Yin barked, which frightened Long Erhuo. The sylvan dragon thought that Lu Yin was about to reveal his name, and Long Erhuo immediately started to run away with his tail between his legs. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll remember you!¡±

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. This sylvan dragon waspletely immoral. Back at the Skyze Dojo, the fiery dragon that had burnt away various cultivators¡¯ clothes had supposedly been taught by this sylvan dragon. He was a failure of a dragon, but he was also very powerful as his power level had reached nearly 300,000. This dragon was difficult to deal with, and his presence in the Outerverse would be a constant frustration.

    Lu Yin had managed to chase Long Erhuo away, and the people from this branch of Shamrock Enterprises were all very grateful to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pressed them to take good care of Luo Shen before leaving.

    A month had passed since Lu Yin had left the Great Yu Empire to visit Ironblood Weave. Currently, the biggest news in the Outerverse was about how all of the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves had officially joined the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This news was stunning, but it was also nothing unexpected.

    The Great Eastern Alliance uniting the entire Outerverse seemed to be an unstoppable trend, though the Outerverse could not be considered as truly unified. Currently, they were merely an alliance since none of the numerous weaves¡¯ various great powers had copsed or lost their power.

    A true unification would eradicate the authority of these powers, which would be an arduous process that could not be aplished overnight.

    Even if Lu Yin was capable of living for eons, he would not ever have the inclination to attempt such an endeavor.

    Maintaining an alliance was the best option for Lu Yin, as he merely needed the organization¡¯s status, authority, and resources.

    By now, of the seventy-two weaves that made up the Outerverse, fifty of them had joined the Great Eastern Alliance. In other words, there were only twenty-two weaves that were still independent, and they were all in the western region.

    Everyone suddenly directed their focus to the western reaches of the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin had only just entered Frostwave Weave when he received a message from En Ya informing him of the current circumstances. Along with the summary was a confirmation that the remaining weaves would join the alliance within half a year.

    However, Lu Yin felt that this was still too slow, and he gave En Ya, Wang Wen, and the others a strict timeline: three months. Within this period of time, the remaining weaves all had to join the alliance. This deadline had been set because, based on the speed that the Astral River¡¯s energy was receding at, the Outerverse would reconnect with the Innerverse within half a year.

    They had to unify the Outerverse before it reconnected with the Innerverse, as only the united strength of the entire Outerverse could cause the Innerverse¡¯s various great powers to hesitate. This was also the only way an allied Outerverse would be able to obtain the Hall of Honor¡¯s recognition.

    To resist the Innerverse¡¯s pressure, the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude towards a united Outerverse was of the utmost importance.

    Next, Lu Yin decided to return to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, as he had not been there in a long time, and it was time for him to begin cultivating the Second Sun.

    During these recent past months, it was not that Lu Yin did not want to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, but rather that he had no time. He had been flung all the way to the Cosmic Sea after fighting in the astral cemetery¡¯s battles, and after that, he had fought in great battles one after another. Lu Yin had beenpletely upied with absolutely no time to visit the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    After making his decision, Lu Yin took out his futon and sat down on it. The scenery changed before his eyes as Lu Yin appeared within Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, just outside the First Divine Gate¡¯s futon za.

    There were many more people in the futon za than before. Since the Sixth Maind had given up on invading the Innerverse, their younger generation members had all returned to the ruins. Thus, there were naturally more people present.

    Below the First Divine Gate, quite a few Sixth Maind cultivators had grouped up into teams.

    Lu Yin surveyed the surroundings, but he quickly found that not many looked familiar to him. He took some quick steps, streaked through the First Divine Gate, and made his way to the Budding Terrace.

    The cultivators who were standing beneath the First Divine Gate were all stunned. ¡°That was an expert! By his attitude, he must be the heir of some Imprinter family.¡±

    ¡°The three realms that tried to invade the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain all failed, and all of their young experts who participated in that invasion have returned. The peaceful times that we previously enjoyed and used to search for opportunities will probably disappear in the future.¡±

    ¡°What a pity.¡±

    ¡­

    The First Divine Gate Guardians that were along the path to the Budding Terrace had clearly been destroyed in the past, but they appeared once again as Lu Yin ran along the path. There was no telling where these guardians hade from.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, instantly shattering all of the guardians. They were not able to dy him for even a second.

    After passing through the First Divine Gate, he stepped onto the Budding Terrace. The number of people here was a bit lower than before, and Lu Yin moved straight towards the region with the Nine Cauldrons.

    Lu Yin had already made several trips to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins before, so he had be rather familiar with this area. At this moment, he was mostly concerned that he would run into someone familiar with his appearance, so he had altered his appearance as soon as he had appeared in the futon za.

    During the skirmishes in the Cosmic Sea, Zhi Yi had put up a bounty on Lu Yin, so his face had be widely recognized by the countless people of the Sixth Maind. Thus, he no longer dared to carelessly use his original appearance.

    There were more people within the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ space this time. During hisst visit, the region had actually been sealed off with a battle between two factions taking ce. However, no one was restricting this region any longer.

    With a single leap, Lu Yin jumped inside the second cauldron. There, he found multiple Sixth Maind cultivators, each one trying toprehend something. Lu Yin recognized one person, a young man who had chased after Lu Yin back in the Cosmic Sea along with many other Sixth Maind cultivators. This youth had been one of the people at the front of the crowd, and he was the heir of an Imprinter family.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival roused a bit of attention, but Lu Yin acted timid as he paced back and forth before making his way to a corner. He looked rather diffident.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators did not pay much attention to him after an initial nce, only giving him a look of contempt before returning to their attempts toprehend something from the cauldron.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief that he hadn¡¯t been recognized. He then sat down in a corner and put his hand on the cauldron. As soon as he made contact with it, the cauldron released a slight tremble before cauldron energy began flowing into his body through his palm.

    The others also sensed that the cauldron had trembled, and at first, they thought that it was just an illusion, but everything changed once they realized that they had all felt the same thing at the same time.

    The cultivators grew excited, and they all continued trying toprehend something from the cauldron. They had alreadye to a tacit agreement that nobody here would speak of what had just happened.

    The Imprinter family heir even spoke up in warning. ¡°Those of you who are here, please stay silent, as there¡¯ll be nothing left for you if anything spreads out. The Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique is said to be invincible whenbined, so don¡¯t make a mistake.¡±

    Although the people here did not answer, they also did not refuse his request.

    If possible, this heir actually wanted to kill off everyone else within the cauldron, but he was not confident in seeding. If anyone escaped, then this matter would be revealed, and he would have lost the opportunity to continue trying toprehend the cauldrons¡¯ technique as this region would definitely be sealed off if news leaked.

    He nced over the several people inside his cauldron, and his focus eventually swept over Lu Yin as well, though it clearly contained contempt and a trace of displeasure. This person was just too lucky, and he had encountered the cauldron¡¯s tremor almost the moment he arrived. This event was something that had only ever happened a few times throughout the countless years. Although nobody had everprehended the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique before, this tremor still represented a glimmer of hope.

    The fact that some piece of trash had encountered the cauldron¡¯s tremor could almost be considered an destined opportunity.

    If the heir killed this person, then the others in the cauldron would also be scared. At this thought, the heir snorted. Consider yourself lucky.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin sat in the corner and continued to silently absorb the cauldron energy.

    The rest asionally nced over at Lu Yin, but he seemed rather honest, not even moving.

    The others asionally adjusted their positions as they attempted toprehend the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique, but not a single one of them was met with any sess.

    A few more days passed, and someone else entered the second cauldron only to sigh in disappointment. ¡°Just who spread the rumor that these Nine Cauldrons have a battle technique? Aren¡¯t they just messing with people?¡±

    ¡°Who said that that isn¡¯t the case? These things have been here for countless years, and the historical records about them have all rotted away so even the older generation has given up.¡±

    ¡°Still, themotion raised by the first cauldron shattering was pretty impressive, and quite a few experts from the older generation stille over to take a look.¡±

    ¡°These things definitely just corroded over time. Those elders wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything no matter how hard they searched.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡­

    After another two days, some people left while a few others arrived.

    Neither Lu Yin nor any of the others who had initially been in the cauldron left, and there was no way any of them would leave unless their time expired. Even after their time ran out, they would definitelye back to this ce on their next visit since they had felt the cauldron tremble.

    ¡°Who could have imagined that the invasion of the Fifth Maind would fail? Two Empyrean Imprinters even died! What a waste.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Fifth Maind cultivators are simply too sneaky. During the battle between the two mainds, the cultivators from the Fifth Maind used all sorts of lies to deceive our Sixth Maind¡¯s top experts. If not for their vignce, the oue of the battle definitely would have been different.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Brother Lin, you¡¯re here too? Didn¡¯t you fight in the invasion of the Astral Beast Domain?¡± another person called out as he entered the second cauldron and looked around.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked over. The battle in the Astral Beast Domain?

    That man who had been called Brother Lin grew vexed. ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up! If I had known about it earlier, I would have never gone. What Astral Beast Domain? It¡¯s just some backwater ce that ignores all of the strange phenomena in space. They have all sorts of resources but do nothing with them. There was nothing more than a bunch of wild beasts in that ce.¡±

    ¡°Was the invasion sessful?¡±

    ¡°Not really. Their resistance was incredibly tenacious, and those beasts have all kinds of strange innate gifts and weird abilities. They were also able to organize themselves into a powerful army called the Celestial Beast Empire. In addition, a lot of the biggest battles ended up being rtively passive as it seems that some Skymender predicted everything. We were basically screwed from the very beginning! When did things get so messed up? We weren¡¯t even able to obtain that many resources since that ce was basicallypletely undeveloped. If we had known about this before, we probably wouldn¡¯t have even gone there. Right, what about the invasion of the Human Domain? I heard that things got pretty intense there.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually pretty lucky. The fighting in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain was harsh, and two Empyrean Imprinters from the older generation actually died, let alone the Cosmic Imprinters, World Imprinters, and regr Imprinters. Even the Daosource Three Skies of the younger generation showed up, but we still had to retreat.¡±

    ¡°Who knew that things would be so bad.¡±

 Chapter 1031: Cloning Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1031: Cloning Technique</h4>

    As he listened to the few people around him chatting, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. It seemed that the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Astral Beast Domain had not gone as smoothly as they had expected. The Astral Beast Domain and Human Domain had fought against each other for countless years, and the Celestial Beast Empire was an unfathomable power. Their domain contained all sorts of powerful astral beasts, and they even had their own academy and beast alliances; how could such a ce be easily conquered?

    It could even be said that conquering the Astral Beast Domain was even more difficult than defeating the Human Domain, as just the cosmic phenomenon and resources present within the Astral Beast Domain would be enough to cause a giant headache for the Sixth Maind.

    The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s hidden strength was quite terrifying. After all, they had produced their own Progenitor once: Progenitor Wushang.

    The Imprinter family heir disappeared, as his time had run out. Before leaving, he red at everyone onest time as a warning.

    In the blink of an eye, Lu Yin had already spent half a month within the second cauldron, and he had absorbed quite a bit of cauldron energy during this time. ording to his prior experience, he could probably converge the second sun now, but this ce was not suitable to test it out.

    He still had half of a month¡¯s worth of time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. If he could absorb cauldron energy for an entire month, he was certain that he would be able to converge the second sun. When he could bring out two suns, the power of his attacks would rise dramatically.

    Lu Yin felt a bit excited, and he involuntarily smiled.

    However, his smile quickly vanished.

    An heir from a World Imprinter family arrived in the cauldron and chased everyone else away. He wanted this cepletely to himself, and no one dared to show their displeasure.

    A World Imprinter family was very powerful with many disciples. Thus, it might have even been possible that the people who had arrived earlier were simply waiting for the heir.

    The heir of any World Imprinter family was not someone who should be provoked, and each one of them could be considered top level figures within their realm¡¯s younger generation. This was not someone whom the crowd in the cauldron could go up against.

    These people could only move out of the way and go to the third cauldron. After all, there were still eight cauldrons left.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated. He wanted to just get rid of these bugs, but he knew that he should not attract any unwanted attention. In the end, he could only sullenly leave the space with the Nine Cauldrons.

    He could not absorb cauldron energy from the third cauldron before he finished absorbing the second cauldron¡¯s energy, as it was unknown if doing so would lead to anyplications. Thus, Lu Yin decided to y it safe.

    Lu Yin sighed as he looked back at the space with the Nine Cauldrons. He wondered if he should hire a few younger cultivators to make a show of clearing out all unwanted cultivators from a cauldron. Otherwise, he would suffer simr difficulties every time he visited the cauldrons, which was simply infuriating.

    There was no need for him to stay in the region with the Nine Cauldrons anymore during this visit, so after considering his options, Lu Yin headed towards the tform of Inception.

    It was time to increase his lockbreaking knowledge. The sooner he became an Advanced Lockbreaker, the better. Only after reaching that level would he be able toprehend those few pages of True Insight, which would then allow him to understand sourcebox arrays.

    A Lockbreaker who hadprehended a sourcebox array was very terrifying.

    Lu Yin headed towards the tform of Inception, and he also wanted to see if he could coincidentally run into Xin N¨¹.

    If not for that woman, there was no telling how the battle in the Cosmic Sea might have turned out. Xin N¨¹ had blocked both Zhi Yi and Shi Zhongjian for Lu Yin, and she had shown him a great deal of kindness in doing so.

    When he arrived outside of the tform of Inception and just before he was about to enter, Lu Yin saw a figure appear from a different direction and enter the fog with a calm expression.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he immediately turned around to leave. What rotten luck; he had actually bumped into Bu Kong.

    That fellow was already a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, so it was not surprising for him to visit the tform of Inception.

    Lu Yin had been willing to fight Bu Kong on the Innerverse¡¯s battlefield, but in this ce, Lu Yin would rather avoid such a confrontation.

    Bu Kong was an Enlighter, and he was also one of the Daosource Three Skies. Furthermore, he had alsoprehended a sourcebox array. In a fair duel, Lu Yin waspletely cognizant of the fact that he was not Bu Kong¡¯s match.

    Fortunately, Bu Kong had not noticed Lu Yin, as otherwise, Lu Yin would not have been able to escape so easily.

    Lu Yin left the fog surrounding the tform of Inception and felt a bit lost; where should he go next? Wander around the Sierrasea? However, he felt that he would likely run into a Realmling if he visited that ce.

    When he thought of the Realmlings, Lu Yin¡¯s desire for battle started overflowing. Perhaps finding a Realmling to fight against was not a bad choice.

    The Realmlings rivaled the Ten Arbiters, and if Lu Yin fought against a Realmling, then he would be able to experience the discrepancy between himself and the Ten Arbiters.

    The Arcane Art, Fatal Revival had sharply raised Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and he had assumed that he was able to match up to the Ten Arbiters now. However, testing it to be certain was a good idea.

    After considering the rest of his options, Lu Yin went ahead and decided to head out to wander around the Sierrasea.

    Unfortunately, he did not know the way. He wandered around for a while, but he never found the Sierrasea. Instead, he ended up outside of Heaven¡¯s Pit.

    There was a palm imprint within Heaven¡¯s Pit that was rumored to have been left behind by Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had already tried toprehend something from the palm print once but to no avail.

    Lu Yin had no interest in the palm imprint inside of Heaven¡¯s Pit, so he turned to leave. Just as he did so, a gust of wind came from behind, and Lu Yin dodged it. He looked around and was surprised. ¡°Miss Qing?¡±

    The person who had appeared behind Lu Yin was someone whom he had explored the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins with during his first visits, and he had also bumped into her in the Cosmic Sea. It was Miss Qing.

    Miss Qing nced at Lu Yin and smiled candidly. ¡°You¡¯ve got guts to stille here.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°You know who I am?¡±

    Miss Qing chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Don¡¯t you know that Zhi Yi posted a bounty for you that the entire Sixth Maind¡¯s younger generation knows about? Even if we capture you in Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, the rewards are still valid.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! I didn¡¯t even do that much to her.¡±

    ¡°That might be how you see it, but she¡¯s quite concerned about you, and she¡¯s well aware that you can visit and leave Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. You¡¯ve got quite a few enemies, hehe.¡± Miss Qing smiled.

    Lu Yin did not even need to guess to know that Autumnfrost Qing had been the one who had told Zhi Yi that Lu Yin was able to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    If that was the case, then the incident where he had crippled Tong Zhan was likely known by the Tong family as well.

    After thinking things through, Lu Yin realized that even if he disregarded the enmity between the two mainds, his personal enemies were still spread throughout the entirety of the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. When had he offended so many people?

    ¡°Does Miss Qing hope to capture me and receive Zhi Yi¡¯s rewards?¡± Lu Yin asked, keeping a wary eye on the girl.

    Miss Qing shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This woman was not as simple as she looked. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin had been able to sense her strength. Although she had not fully revealed her rune lines, Lu Yin was certain that Miss Qing would be just as difficult to deal with as a Realmling.

    On the surface, the Sixth Maind had the Daosource Three Skies and the nine Realmlings, but there were still many more hidden experts, such as Xin N¨¹ or Miss Qing. The truth was that every ce was the same, and the Fifth Maind was no different. Was it really the case that nobody from the younger generation could rival the Ten Arbiters? The heirs of the Three Dark Hands had never even shown themselves during the invasion.

    Lu Yin looked at Miss Qing. ¡°Since Miss Qing has no interest in me, I¡¯ll head out first.¡±

    ¡°Wait a second. Don¡¯t you want to explore the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins together?¡± Miss Qing asked in a half-mocking tone.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±

    Miss Qing smiled happily. ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯ll trick you?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it, but he ultimately shook his head. ¡°No. I¡¯m actually afraid of running into Mr. Bai.¡±

    Miss Qing rolled her eyes. ¡°What are you afraid of? That guy probably won¡¯t do anything to you. Haven¡¯t you heard? One of the Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai, isn¡¯t interested in fighting. He prefers to explore and travel anonymously, especially throughout the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯d rather not take the chance,¡± Lu Yin said, as he did not like to trust his fate to others.

    Miss Qing pursed her lips. ¡°Coward.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to walk away.

    Miss Qing suddenly thought of something. ¡°Right, your Fifth Maind is not simple, so don¡¯t think that you¡¯re super powerful.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s footsteps paused, and he looked back at her in surprise. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Miss Qing thought about it. ¡°I¡¯m not certain if what I felt was real, but while I was participating in the invasion of your Fifth Maind, I ran into two people, and their aura felt like it was from the same origin. Can you guess what that reminded me of?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique,¡± Miss Qing stated solemnly.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°That can¡¯t be. Are you saying there¡¯s people on the Fifth Maind with the Nine Clones Secret Technique?¡±

    Miss Qing hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but their auras felt the same. I¡¯ve always been very sensitive towards people¡¯s auras. For example, although your altered appearance isn¡¯t bad and can probably even deceive the Realmlings, it can¡¯t trick me. The aura of those two seemed to be from the same person, and only aftering back here did I remember the Nine Clones Secret Technique.¡±

    ¡°Who was it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Miss Qing turned away. ¡°Go and find out for yourself.¡±

    She then entered Heaven¡¯s Pit.

    Lu Yin blinked. Find them? How? Could they be one of the Ten Arbiters!?

    After shaking his head, Lu Yin set his confusion aside and continued to search for the Sierrasea.

    It did not actually matter if what Miss Qing had said was true or false, as it was none of Lu Yin¡¯s business. Regardless, strengthening himself was still the most logical choice.

    Even when he had less than half a month remaining in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin still had not found the entrance to the Sierrasea. Instead, he had stumbled upon the Scripture Pavilion.

    The ancient characters in that ce still held a strong attraction for him. Arbiter Wen Sansi was adept at the Literary Prison technique, which used characters that had to be rted to the ancient ones found in the Scripture Pavilion.

    After considering that, Lu Yin entered the Scripture Pavilion.

    The ancient characters floated through the air, one by one, and there were quite a few cultivators sitting on top of them while trying toprehend something. While maintaining a low profile, Lu Yin passed by one ancient character after another until he finally arrived in a corner where he chose to sit down and simrly try toprehend something.

    Beneath the ancient characters were mountain ranges and waterfalls, and the scenery was not bad, but most of it had been destroyed long ago.

    People seldom fought in this ce, as they were afraid of being trapped by the ancient characters. Once that happened, they would only be able to escape once their time ran out. Also, these ancient characters might possess some remnant strength of the predecessors, so people might even die without knowing how.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, we¡¯re in the Scripture Pavilion again. It would be great if you could learn some of these ancient characters.¡± The Ghost Monkey was hopeful, as he had made a simrment when Lu Yin had first visited this ce.

    Of course, Lu Yin also hoped to be able to learn some ancient characters. The Wen Family had the nine by nine Literary Prison, and there were more than just eighty one characters here.

    However, Wen Sansi was also able to enter Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and it was impossible that he had never visited the Scripture Pavilion before. If Lu Yinpared himself to Wen Sansi, then they were on entirely different levels when it came toprehending these ancient characters.

    Lu Yin hoped that nobody was capable of trulyprehending these ancient characters, as otherwise, Wen Sansi would be too terrifying.

    Each ancient character emitted a faint, golden radiance, and there was not much to be sensed. Each character was about one square meter in size.

    Lu Yin did not want to learn any battle techniques, and he simply wanted to get a feeling for these ancient characters.

    Of the Ten Arbiters, aside from Nightking Zhenwu, there was also one other who might be Lu Yin¡¯s mortal enemy: Jin He. However, that other enemy might also be Nightking Zhenwu or even Wen Sansi. Comprehending these ancient characters would only help Lu Yin if he ended up having to deal with Wen Sansi.

    Still, Wen Sansi was not a likely candidate.

    Wen Sansi was the Arbiter whom Lu Yin had interacted with the most, and Wen Sansi must have looked into Lu Yin as well. If Wen Sansi had been the one who had ordered the judgement of the seventy two people with the Lu surname on that piece of paper, then Lu Yin should have been taken care of long ago.

    People were constantly entering and leaving the Scripture Pavilion, and some of them even visited this ce in order to hide from their enemies, as very few battles took ce in this location.

    Lu Yin remained in the region for a dozen peaceful days, and he started wondering how the ancient characters trapped others, though he kept these thoughts hidden in his heart.

    When Lu Yin noticed that his time was almost up, he decided to give it a try.

    All of the ancient characters contained an ancient strength, and it was possible that each ancient character might be concealing something special, much like how the cauldron energy was hidden within the cauldrons. Lu Yin did not know if he could use lockbreaking techniques to reveal something hidden here.

    Lu Yin grabbed the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye and stared intently at the ancient character. He tried to find something that he could lockbreak, but unfortunately, even after two days, he still hadn¡¯t aplished anything. He had found absolutely nothing.

 Chapter 1032: Intense Battle Of Realmlings

    <h4>Chapter 1032: Intense Battle Of Realmlings</h4>

    Lu Yin was not surprised by his results. If it were that easy to lockbreak these ancient characters, then they would have disappeared long ago. He had only been testing things out.

    After trying for a while, he stood up and left the Scripture Pavilion. There was nothing else that he could gain from this ce.

    He had less than one day remaining, so Lu Yin decided to ask someone how to get to the Sierrasea. If he couldn¡¯t absorb cauldron energy during his next visit to the Daosource Sect, he intended to head to either the tform of Inception or the Sierrasea.

    Lu Yin returned to the Budding Terrace, where he captured a random Sixth Maind cultivator. ¡°Take me to the Sierrasea.¡±

    The captured cultivator was startled, and he looked at Lu Yin before flying into a rage. ¡°How bold! Who dares to capture me? Do you know who I am? My senior is the East Realm¡¯s Realmling, Little Arrow Saint! You¡¯re asking for it! Scram.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Little Arrow Saint?¡±

    ¡°Now you know. Beat it!¡± the captive bellowed.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Who cares about your senior? Take me to the Sierrasea.¡±

    Right after he spoke those words, a chill ran down his spine. The void distorted as an arrow pierced through and shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and raised a hand covered with nine lined battle force as he swatted out with a Skybeast w. There was a loud bang as the arrow was blocked and reduced to dust. Meanwhile, a shockwave spread out under Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and the captive cultivator was knocked unconscious and sent flying into the distance.

    Lu Yin solemnly looked in the direction where the arrow hade from. The strength of the arrow indicated that it hade from Little Arrow Saint.

    Little Arrow Saint slowly walked over from the distance, nced over at the unconscious cultivator, and then turned back to look at Lu Yin. ¡°You seem very familiar. Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin had never expected that his luck would be so terrible; the person he had chosen at random had actually caused him to bump into Little Arrow Saint! Still, this was also fine. On the miniature maind, this Realmling had chased Lu Yin around for more than ten days, so it was time for them to have a rematch and for him to truly experience the full strength of a Realmling.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrow techniques are unparalleled. So, I came here to see them for myself,¡± Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s eyes focused on Lu Yin¡¯s hand. ¡°Nine lined battle force. Which realm are you from?¡±

    ¡°The Sage Martial Realm,¡± Lu Yin responded.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s brows rose as battle intent shed through his eyes. ¡°If the nine Realmlings were ranked, then the Sage Martial Realmling would be within the top three at the very least, as the Sage Martial Realm and Rock Realm are the same in that they both have many experts. I did not believe it before, but I do now.¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap¡ªlet¡¯s fight!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s figure suddenly shed as he appeared in front of Little Arrow Saint with a raised right hand that was already shrouded with nine lined battle force. He immediately unleashed a vicious punch. This attack was much more powerful than what Lu Yin had been capable of during the battle in the Cosmic Sea, as his battle force had been upgraded to nine lines and his strength had also risen dramatically after surviving death again.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s eyes went wide, and a simr nine lined battle force shot into the sky as it reinforced his longbow, which then swept out to stop Lu Yin¡¯s punch. There was a powerful collision as the ground split open while a countless number of crushed rocks flew out in all directions. Each pebble contained the strength of nine lined battle force, and they all tore through the void.

    There had originally been some cultivators above the Budding Terrace, but an aftershock of the collision between Lu Yin and Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attacks swept through the area, bringing with it the broken rocks. The cultivators were all taken aback, and they instantly fled.

    Little Arrow Saint stared at Lu Yin in surprise, as the power of Lu Yin¡¯s punch had been a bit too much for the Realmling to receive. He was a Hunter as well as a Realmling, which was testament to how incredible this person¡¯s strength was. As he thought about it, he pulled his bowstring taut, and his star energy formed an arrow aimed at Lu Yin. The Realmling fired this arrow, which was even stronger than the first arrow.

    Lu Yin dodged as he used a single hand to push the longbow aside. His body then spun through in the air as his Dream Finger solidified the void. Little Arrow Saint was not quick enough, and he was struck by Lu Yin¡¯s finger. The fingertip pierced through the Realmling¡¯s shoulder, and the aftershock spread out in a fan shape that shattered the earth.

    Little Arrow Saint endured the agony and grabbed a hold of Lu Yin¡¯s arm, causing the two nine lined battle forces to sh with one another. The bow was pulled taut once more, but this time, it was not just one arrow that formed, but rather dozens, each more powerful than the previous. Their power was something that neither the ground nor the void were able to endure. Upon seeing this, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, but he was not able to withdraw his right hand in time. However, his eyes suddenly changed, and his pupils took on a deep, dark color: Daynight battle technique, Night Advent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force took on the color of night as it descended and shrouded Little Arrow Saint¡¯s vision. The cultivators from the Sixth Maind typically had robust spiritual forces, but Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was just as impressive, which perfectlyplemented the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. Night Advent momentarily stunned Little Arrow Saint, and the arrows that he had released flew in all directions without any control with only a couple striking Lu Yin and leaving behind slight injuries.

    Lu Yin retreated dozens of meters back. His chest felt stifled, and a trickle of blood dripped down from the corner of his lips.

    Each of Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows could be interposed on top of the previous one, causing their power to multiply. In addition, each one was strengthened by the Realmling¡¯s nine lined battle force as well. Even if Lu Yin¡¯s physical body was tougher, his organs still would have been jostled, and he still would have been slightly injured.

    Little Arrow Saint had not emerged unscathed either, as Lu Yin¡¯s finger had pierced through the Realmling¡¯s shoulder while Night Advent had dazed him momentarily. Even now, he hadn¡¯t had a chance to stabilize himself.

    The two youths stood a hundred meters apart from each other and exchanged nces. They each saw the grave and solemn light in the other¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Little Arrow Saint asked seriously. He had never thought that a Cruiser from the Sage Martial Realm would be capable of pushing him so far. Shockingly, this person¡¯s strength was not far behind the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Sword Schr.

    Lu Yin wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you beat me.¡±

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Do you know that I¡¯m from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory?¡±

    Suddenly, the injury on his right shoulder that had been caused by Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger visibly recovered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; the Secret Technique Reversal Cycle was as disgusting as always. Shi Zhongjian and Little Arrow Saint were both from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, and they had bothprehended Reversal Cycle. Unless Lu Yin could achieve victory in a single strike, it would be very difficult to defeat this Realmling, and that was just with his Secret Technique, Reversal Cycle. There was also still Power Transfer. Lu Yin still had a very deep impression of Mr. Bai¡¯s Power Transfer.

    During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, regardless of whether it was Shi Zhongjian or Little Arrow Saint, neither had needed to use Power Transfer or their imprints, as the power level of their attacks had already surpassed 200,000. However, there was no such restriction in this ce, and Little Arrow Saint was free to unleash his full strength as a Realmling.

    The feeling that Little Arrow Saint gave Lu Yin was simr to Lan Si, as neither one had any particrly dazzling battle techniques or arts. In fact, Little Arrow Saint¡¯s main technique was one that allowed him to stack his arrows and increase their power, and it had even worked under the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon in the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea.

    Lan Si simrly relied on the Oveying Stacks Path.

    However,pared to Lan Si, Little Arrow Saint was much more difficult to deal with, as he also had many secret techniques.

    The existence of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors gave their maind¡¯s bottom-rung cultivators too many opportunities to rise up. In the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory, obtaining an unrivaled bloodline by chance would allow one to immediately reach the level of an elite powerhouse. In that ce, bloodlines surpassed battle techniques and even innate gifts.

    In the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory, as long as one was able toprehend their martial imprint, they would simrly be able to increase their power level multiple times over.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory was the most obvious, as the Progenitor of Secret Arts had passed down secret techniques. The more secret techniques oneprehended, the more powerful one would be. Little Arrow Saint¡¯s strength was quite powerful, but it was not necessarily enough to reach the level of a Realmling. However, he hadprehended two secret techniques as well as cultivated nine lined battle force. All of these factors together had allowed him to crush all of the other cultivators in his generation within the East Realm to be its Realmling.

    Little Arrow Saint might initially appear to be someone who was easy to deal with, but the more simple a cultivator was, the harder they were to deal with.

    A dozen arrows streaked through the sky at Lu Yin as they underwent various changes. When they arrived, they carried an indescribably frightening strength, and this attack was enough to tten the entire area.

    Little Arrow Saint was not able to move that fast himself, but his arrows were amazingly quick. Against such an attack, very few cultivators below the level of a Realmling were able to dodge them, but that did not include Lu Yin. Against him, speed was entirely ineffective.

    Lu Yin shuttled through the spaces between the arrows and quickly approached Little Arrow Saint. As he closed in, Lu Yin held out his left hand while his right hand tapped against the back of the left, creating a sharp wind that whistled out towards Little Arrow Saint.

    Little Arrow Saint easily dodged the attack, his mind whirling with questions; how had such an amazing powerhouse not appeared in the Sage Martial Realm before, and how was this kid able to challenge a Realmling while still a Cruiser? Suddenly, the Realmling remembered the rumors that he had heard before¡ªcould they actually be true?

    ¡°Are you Xiao Qing?¡± Little Arrow Saint barked as he stared intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. Xiao Qing?

    ¡°ording to some rumors, years ago, the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling, Sword Schr, was defeated by someone called Xiao Qing. Still, those were just rumors and nothing was ever verified. Thus, the Realmling title did not transfer. Also, the one who challenged that Realmling had only been a Cruiser. Those rumors must not be wrong¡ªyou must be Xiao Qing!¡± Little Arrow Saint said with certainty, his expression confident.

    Lu Yin did not respond, and he decided to just ept this identity as Xiao Qing.

    ¡°So the rumors actually were true. They mentioned that Xiao Qing was a girl, but who would have guessed that you¡¯re actually a guy,¡± Little Arrow Saint barked. Suddenly, an imprint appeared behind his back. It was of a three inch tall elder, and Lu Yin had seen this imprint on Shi Zhongjian¡¯s back before. This person should be an Empyrean Imprinter from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory.

    The moment the imprint appeared, Little Arrow Saint¡¯s power level, which had already been at the cusp of an Enlighter¡¯s, suddenly rose dramatically, and even his body seemed to grow a bit bigger. Each of his arrows also became more powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, but he was not surprised. Each Realmling had an imprint that could increase their power level drastically. This was why the Ten Arbiters had to use their full strength to contend against the Realmlings. When Lu Yin had started battling against Little Arrow Saint, he had already been ready for the Realmling to use his imprint.

    As an arrow streaked through the sky, Lu Yin reached out with a hand. When the arrow struck him, his entire body was pushed backwards. This arrow was also supported by nine lined battle force, but Lu Yin¡¯s battle force nearly copsed upon impact.

    Little Arrow Saint snorted and loosed another arrow. The Realmlings could not be provoked, and although he did not know how the Sword Schr had been defeated, he would not lose so easily.

    Lu Yin growled, and he crushed the arrow in his hand as he squeezed tightly. However, numerous arrows appeared in front of him, as Little Arrow Saint did not intend to give Lu Yin a chance to catch his breath.

    Lu Yin felt a bit sullen, but he was also afraid of revealing his identity. He did not use his secret technique, the Oveying Stacks Path, or the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation despite going up against a Realmling.

    After calcting how much time had passed, Lu Yin realized that it was about time for him to leave the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. Thus, it would not be problematic even if he revealed his true identity at this moment.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin suddenly looked up as his star energy converged over his right hand, causing a zing sun to blossom with a brilliant radiance as it rumbled out to sh with the oing arrows.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s eyes shrank, This is?

    There was an explosion, and the Budding Terrace trembled once again. All of the cultivators who had wanted to move closer to get a better view of the battle were blown away. Only one or two heirs from Imprinter families managed to endure the pressure, but no one dared to approach any closer.

    Lu Yin had depleted a third of his star energy to unleash the First Sun, and the strength of that attack had been enough to counter an Enlighter with a power level of 200,000. Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrows were at about that level, so the attacks coincidentally canceled each other out.

    Lu Yin tore through the void to charge at Little Arrow Saint, who shouted, ¡°You aren¡¯t Xiao Qing¡ªyou¡¯re Lu Yin!¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply. Instead, he unleashed Night Advent, and the spiritual force attack caused Little Arrow Saint¡¯s vision go dark once more. His body was strengthened by his nine lined battle force, and he wildly swung his longbow out in all directions. Suddenly, he froze. Lu Yin had caught the longbow with both hands as the Oveying Stacks Path erupted with full power. One Hundred Stacks traveled through the longbow and exploded towards Little Arrow Saint.

 Chapter 1033: Consecutive Breakthroughs

    <h4>Chapter 1033: Consecutive Breakthroughs</h4>

    Although Little Arrow Saint¡¯s defenses were reinforced with his nine lined battle force, he still nearly let go of his bow due to the shock from Lu Yin¡¯s One Hundred Stacks. At a critical moment, he pulled his bowstring and fired an arrow at Lu Yin¡¯s heart. Lu Yin hastily activated the Yu Secret Art to divert the arrow in response, and Little Arrow Saint took advantage of that opportunity to throw a palm strike at Lu Yin, aiming at his wrist. There was a soft thump, and the two pulled back from each other at the same time.

    Little Arrow Saint looked sharply at Lu Yin, the Realmling¡¯s eyes betraying his disbelief. ¡°Impossible! How can you have the strength to match up against me?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched both of his fists and let out a rxed breath. He was going all-out to fight against Little Arrow Saint, and the Realmling was also using hisplete strength, including his imprint. This meant that Lu Yin could now directly go up against the Ten Arbiters.

    Little Arrow Saint could not fathom how Lu Yin could have made such tremendous improvements in such a short amount of time. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin had only had eight lined battle force, and his strength had not been anywhere close to rivaling the Realmling with his nine lined battle force. But now, Lu Yin had almost managed to steal Little Arrow Saint¡¯s bow. Furthermore, Lu Yin had not had such a powerful spiritual force battle technique before, and it had even influenced the Realmling. How had this person advanced so much so rapidly?

    This change was more frightening the more the Realmling thought about it, and Little Arrow Saint¡¯s gaze trembled. He could not possibly allow this person to live. He picked up his longbow and unleashed another barrage of arrows. Each one was reinforced with nine lined battle force and further strengthened by his imprint. In addition, he used his stacking technique to cover every single location that Lu Yin could flee to.

    Little Arrow Saint was going all out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thirst for battle grew even clearer as more star energy converged over his right hand. This time, it was not just the first sun; a second sun also slowly formed behind the first, and the twin orbs suddenly rushed out.

    Nearly half of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy was depleted to fuel this attack, and it shattered all of the iing arrows. Lu Yin wanted to take advantage of how his star energy reserves greatly surpassed others¡¯ to make up for the difference in realms, but Little Arrow Saint was still a Realmling, and he also possessed impressive star energy reserves. The arrows seemed to be endless, and the First Sun was quickly depleted while the Second Sun could not block that many arrows.

    Little Arrow Saint was determined to kill Lu Yin this time, and he was not afraid of using up all of his star energy. He endlessly increased the range that his attack epassed in order to prevent Lu Yin from escaping with his impressive speed.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. An arrow was diverted, suddenly speeding towards Little Arrow Saint instead.

    Little Arrow Saint hurriedly fired an arrow to cancel the iing attack.

    That slight dy was enough for Lu Yin, and Night Advent descended once again. While he unleashed the full force of his spiritual force, Lu Yin also tapped out with a finger: Dream Finger.

    Three attacks converged as one, and although Little Arrow Saint was able to slowly recover, he needed at least a second to do so, and a single second made all the difference here.

    Lu Yin appeared behind Little Arrow Saint and swatted out. ¡°One Hundred Stacks, Three Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Bang

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s back exploded in pain as the One Hundred Stacks, Three Hundredfold Shockwave Palm coursed through his body. Even his nine lined battle force was shattered by this attack as Lu Yin also had nine lined battle force, which perfectlyplemented his physical strength that could even intimidate an Enlighter. This attack sent Little Arrow Saint flying, and he spat out a mouthful of blood while still in mid air.

    Lu Yin hurried to chase after the Realmling, unleashing another palm strike.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s expression sharpened. ¡°Power Transfer.¡±

    As he spoke, the imprint behind his back suddenly grew clearer than ever, and he swung his longbow out, mming it right on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb as rm bells went off in his head. He had struck out with his right hand, but he abruptly waved it, spreading out both of his arms in front of his body. As a result, there was a loud bang as his body was sent flying while the bones in both of his arms were shattered as an intense pain swept through his nerves. His body was swatted away from the Budding Terrace and into a distant forest.

    Little Arrow Saint did not have a good time either, as Lu Yin¡¯s palm had injured the Realmling quite badly. He slumped down on the ground and spat out yet another mouthful of blood. Off in the distance, a few cultivators stared at the Realmling in disbelief, unable to understand how a Realmling could end up in such a pathetic state.

    Little Arrow Saint gritted his teeth and stood back up, causing an intense pain to once more erupt from his back. A palm print was embedded deep within his body, and if not for his nine lined battle force, that palm definitely would have left him severely injured. This person¡¯s strength was simply too overbearing, and it was enough to leave the Realmling critically injured whenbined with One Hundred Stacks and the Shockwave Palm. This had seemed like a very ordinary attack, but it had carried the power of an exceptional battle technique.

    Little Arrow Saint quickly used the Reversal Cycle secret technique and then dashed into the distance. Lu Yin had been severely injured, and Little Arrow Saint wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate Lu Yin.

    When Little Arrow Saint arrived in the distant forest, he discovered that Lu Yin was missing, and all that could be seen were some traces of blood on the ground.

    However, Little Arrow Saint was unwilling to give up. He looked at his longbow, and there were traces of blood on it as well. He had used the Power Transfer secret technique to enhance his strength, and he had definitely badly injured Lu Yin. However, the Realmling was not sure exactly how badly his opponent had been wounded.

    But he could not simply let Lu Yin go. After thinking about it, Little Arrow Saint immediately ordered all of the nearby cultivators to search for any traces of Lu Yin. Additionally, all of the injured cultivators were captured and rounded up for questioning.

    Not long after Little Arrow Saint left the forest, Lu Yin emerged from underground and heaved a sigh of relief.

    He looked at his arms that were throbbing with intense pain before swallowing some pills. After recovering somewhat, Lu Yin frowned as he looked out the forest.

    It was no wonder why Little Arrow Saint was a Realmling. When he used both his imprint and the Power Transfer secret art, his strength jumped by more than a few levels. Fortunately, Lu Yin had also injured the Realmling, which was proof that his current power could contest Little Arrow Saint. At the very least, he would be difficult to defeat as long as the Realmling did not receive any help.

    However, it would also be incredibly difficult for Lu Yin to defeat Little Arrow Saint. Thus, it seemed like Lu Yin would have to improve his cultivation realm next.

    Little Arrow Saint was not the strongest Realmling, and he might not even be ranked within the top three. On the other hand, Nightking Zhenwu was definitely one of the strongest members of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin was still a bitcking if he wanted to defeat Nightking Zhenwu. Aside from increasing his cultivation, Lu Yin also needed to obtain more powerful techniques.

    However, Lu Yin would also be able to use Truesight against Nightking Zhenwu whereas he was restricted from doing so in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins since Truesight could only be used in the Fifth Maind. If Lu Yin had fought against Little Arrow Saint in the Fifth Maind, then Lu Yin¡¯s chances of winning would actually be quite high.

    Truesight was powerful enough to eliminate the increase in strength that Little Arrow Saint had gained from his imprint.

    Budding Terrace, Heaven¡¯s Pit, Scripture Pavilion, and many other ces: Little Arrow Saint scoured the Daosource sect¡¯s ruins with his status as a Realmling, searching for Lu Yin. His ordersbined with Zhi Yi¡¯s bounty meant that nearby all the Sixth Maind cultivators in the area had moved out, searching for Lu Yin.

    However, they were fated to fail. Soon after the battle, the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he left the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and reappeared in the secure room inside of King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Lu Yin moved his arms around to confirm that they were both alright. Luckily, his injuries were not as severe as he had thought. Not only had the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival, increased his battle force and physical strength when it had activated in the Technocracy, but it had improved his domain and physical resilience as well. If his body had still been as strong as when he had been in the Cosmic Sea, then thatst attack from Little Arrow Saint would have left Lu Yin severely injured.

    Lu Yin nced down at his gadget and discovered that many weaves from the western region of the Outerverse had joined the Great Eastern Alliance while he had been gone. This was primarily due to Millions City¡¯s tremendous influence, as they had convinced quite a few of the powers in the western weaves.

    Lu Yin mostly attributed this development to Wang Wen¡¯s actions, as there was no other reason why Qiong Xi¡¯er would be so energetic in answering the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s requests.

    Lu Yin had stayed in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins for a month, and during this time, nothing much had happened in the Outerverse aside from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s continued expansion. Also, Wang Wen had requisitioned a great deal of resources so that the Imperial Twelfth Squadron could manufacture more androids.

    Lu Yin did not oppose this requisition order, as he was quite concerned with how Ban Jiu¡¯s research for his new universal armor was proceeding.

    Lu Yin thought about it, and quickly sent Ban Jiu a message.

    Ban Jiu did not reply.

    Thus, Lu Yin left King Zishan¡¯s pce and went straight to the undergroundb that belonged to the Twelfth Squadron.

    The members quickly saluted Lu Yin when they saw him arrive.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the people around him and then moved over to the door to Ban Jiu¡¯s research room by himself. There, Lu Yin discovered that Ban Jiu was busy studying some rare materials, and there was a screen floating in mid air that seemed to be a set of blueprints for full body armor.

    Lu Yin watched for a while and then left.

    Ban Jiu was busy researching, and Lu Yin did not want to disturb the older man

    It seemed that it was time to cultivate with the Skyze Stone.

    There were countless cultivation methods throughout the universe, and even the simple process of absorbing star energy had countless methods that sped up the process. However, Lu Yin was confident that no one could rival him in terms of absorbing star energy.

    Not everyone had a physical body that was able to resist extremely high temperatures, and not everyone had a treasure like his Skyze Stone.

    In the past, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation rate had been restricted by hisck of a source of high temperature mes and enough star energy. However, his recent actions had taken care of these two factors. Beyond that, he had been worried that a sharp increase in his cultivation level would destabilize his cultivation. However, after his battle with Little Arrow Saint, Lu Yin had realized that he no longer needed to worry about such a thing. After thinking about it, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die.

    If he wanted to cultivate, then the actual time that he had avable was definitely insufficient. Thus, his only option was Time Stop.

    He tapped the die, and it spun before ultimately stopping on four pips: Timestop. His luck was pretty good this time. The scenery then changed before his eyes as he appeared in the Timestop Space.

    He immediately increased his time within the space to half a year, which only took around 400 or so star essence.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, causing a countless amount of star essence to appear, at least one million. Then, he took out the Skyze Stone and sucked in a deep breath. After that, ny nine stars began to revolve around his body as he began cultivating.

    Time flew by as he cultivated, and soon, one month had passed. Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw that he had already consumed hundreds of thousands of star essence while the space around him was extremely hot. The high temperature had formed lines that wrapped around his body, causing a burning pain that was unbearable for most people.

    Indistinct snarls could still be heard from within the Skyze Stone.

    In the past, because he had been worried that the Skyze Stone would let the fiery dragon be reborn, Lu Yin had not continued replenishing its mes.

    He waved his hand again, causing another million star essence to appear on the ground. Then, Lu Yin closed his eyes and continued cultivating.

    Soon, another month passed, and Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation had reached the point where he was on the verge ofpleting his sixth cycle. He let out a slow breath, and finally, ten dayster, his body trembled as a shockwave swept out in all directions. When Lu Yin opened his eyes and clenched his fists, a slight rumbling could be heard from within his body; he hadpleted his sixth cycle of cultivation. He had be a six cycle Cruiser.

    He had absorbed about 600,000 star essence thus far.

    If Lu Yin did not have this cultivation method, then even with the Cosmic Art, he would still need around 800 years to normallyplete six cycles. The amount of star energy that his body required was simply too absurd, and not even the Ten Arbiters could likely match up to him.

    The more star energy his body contained, the easier it would be for him to disregard the suppression that urred between realms.

    At this moment, Lu Yin would not be suppressed by a higher cultivation realm even if he was facing off against an Enlighter with a power level of around 200,000.

    When he looked at his hands, he saw that the injuries on his arms from the battle with Little Arrow Saint had already recovered.

    It had been around six years since the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse. At first, Lu Yin had no choice but torgely rely on external items to resist Enlighters, and the first Enlighter he had killed had been Karthika. But now, even if Lu Yin did not use any external items, he would still be able to kill Karthika by himself. This was how far he had progressed in only around six years.

    Even Lu Yin himself felt that his cultivation had risen too quickly , but he actually needed to be even faster.

    The Skyze Stone still had a lot of me energy left, as it had absorbed a vast quantity of the mes that had sealed off the Dark Phoenix family. Lu Yin estimated that these mes would be enough for him to cultivate to seven cycles.

    After considering things for a moment, he decided to close his eyes and continued cultivating.

    ¡­

    The scenery changed, and Lu Yin opened his eyes once more. He had returned to the secure room in King Zishan¡¯s pce. For the outside universe, only a second had passed, but he had spent almost an entire year within the Timestop Space.

    With the shocking temperature of the Skyze Stone, he had cultivated at rapid speed for the first half of that year, which had raised his cultivation to a seven cycle Cruiser. This cultivation speed was something that only a select few in the entire universe could attain.

    For the second half of a year, Lu Yin had focused on consolidating his strength at his new cultivation.

 Chapter 1034: Flirtatious Lilyrose

    <h4>Chapter 1034: Flirtatious Lilyrose</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s physical body, strength, defense, domain, and even spiritual force had all improved a bit with his improved cultivation. His expression twisted slightly as he started thinking to himself; if he fought against Little Arrow Saint right at this moment, the oue might be quite different from before. Lu Yin had not been able to use Truesight during his fight with Little Arrow Saint in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and his odds of victory had been around fifty-fifty or slightly in the Realmling¡¯s favor. But currently, the odds should favor Lu Yin sixty-forty if they fought.

    No, it was possible that the odds might even be seventy-thirty. If he used all of his star energy to converge the First Sun, the power level of that attack should be enough to make an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000 feel nervous.

    Each time a Cruiserpleted a cultivation cycle, their increase in strength would not be overly drastic. However, if Lu Yin broke through to the Hunter realm, then his strength would undergo a qualitative change. At that time, not just Little Arrow Saint, but even the Daosource Three Skies might not be able to contend with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a rather urate understanding of how his own strengthpared to others. In the past, he had once guessed that at the Cruiser realm, he should be strong enough to have an intense battle with one of the Ten Arbiters, which had proven to be urate. At this moment, he felt certain that once he broke through to the Hunter realm, he would be able to fight against those three Enlighters who were the Daosource Three Skies.

    Although only a second had passed in the outside universe, Lu Yin had cultivated for a full year within the Timestop Space, leaving him exhausted.

    He stepped out of King Zishan¡¯s pce and saw that the sun was setting. High up in the sky, the three maind rings released their own radiance, and a strand of twilight fell onto King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    King Zishan¡¯s pce was second only to the imperial pce in terms of height, and Lu Yin stared at the afterglow of the setting sun, deep in contemtion. Suddenly, he realized that he had never watched the sunset from King Zishan¡¯s pce, and he found himself enjoying the scene quite a bit.

    Although his status as King Zishan¡¯s descendant had been falsified, after so many years, Lu Yin had developed genuine feelings for this ce, and it had be his home.

    He stood at the border of the pce and watched as thest bit of light faded intoplete darkness. Finished, Lu Yin looked away and stepped into the void before appearing outside the small pub.

    Aside from cultivating, Lu Yin also enjoyed rxing, and this pub was his go-to spot.

    The tavern was exceptionally busy this night, and all of the tables were upied.

    Lu Yin altered his appearance and stepped in. He silently stood to the side and waited for some other guests to finish eating and leave.

    ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t youe indoors? There¡¯s an empty table there,¡± the owner offered kindheartedly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I like to drink wine outside.¡±

    The owner nodded, and did not press him any further. He grabbed a chair for Lu Yin to wait in.

    Before long, an outside table became avable, and Lu Yin went with the same orders as always: wine and snacks.

    Lu Yin sipped his wine as he breathed freely. He had just cultivated for a year straight, and taking an asional break was very rxing.

    At that moment, a cry was heard from a neighbouring table. ¡°Red- red female ghost?¡±

    ¡°What? Where¡¯s the ghost?¡±

    ¡°There! There¡¯s a red color over there.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin heard thismotion and turned to look into the distance, where he saw a smear of red and an alluring face approaching.

    The guests in the tavern were all terrified by the sight, and they all fled. Meanwhile, the owner was so frightened that his calves trembled in fear as he stared at the slowly approaching woman who was dressed in red.

    If someone this beautiful appeared in the dark night while wearing red clothing, then anyone would feel afraid.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Why is this woman here?

    This person was Lilyrose, one of the younger generation¡¯s top experts who was from the ze Realm. She had been ranked thirty first on the Top 100 Rankings before the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse. During the long, chaotic war within the Innerverse, it was possible that many people had risen up and that even more had died. Her ranking could have either risen or fallen because of that.

    Lu Yin had met this woman a few times before, but they had only spoken once, which had been back in Ironblood Weave when she had tried to seduce him only to be rejected.

    She looked at the terrified expression of the pub¡¯s owner and chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m not a ghost.¡±

    The owner swallowed his saliva. ¡°Really?¡±

    Lilyroseughed as she smiled in a very enchanting and flirtatious manner. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    The owner blinked, but then he plucked up his courage. ¡°May I know what you would like to drink?¡±

    Lilyrose sat down next to Lu Yin¡¯s table. ¡°A pot of wine.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± The owner quickly ran inside.

    Lilyrose casually cleared the table and looked over at Lu Yin. Everyone else had been frightened away with only this person remaining behind. As a result, he had piqued her curiosity since he had to be a cultivator.

    After the battle in the astral cemetery concluded, Lilyrose had spent her time recuperating from the injuries she had suffered at that time. She had stayed on Zenyu Star, and she had not been in contact with any men for quite a while. As she thought about this, she started to seriously size Lu Yin up. Although this person was not very good-looking, he was still alright and could barely be considered pleasing to her eye. She licked her lips, stood up, leisurely sauntered over beside Lu Yin, and sat down on the stool beside him. ¡°May I sit here?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lu Yin instantly refused. He was also a bit speechless; it seemed that whenever he came to the tavern, he would run into an acquaintance. Did all of these people linger around King Zishan¡¯s pce? Perhaps he needed to start checking the area with his domain.

    Lilyrose was stumped; rejected? This person had actually rejected her?

    Ever since her youth, no man had ever rejected her aside from that one person. And yet, she had just been rejected again just now.

    Her eyes were dazzling, and she propped her chin up with a hand as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Why not? Am I not pretty enough?¡±

    Lu Yin had had enough, and he looked over at Lilyrose. ¡°You¡¯re a little annoying.¡±

    Lilyrose blinked. She pointed to herself in sheer disbelief. ¡°Annoying? Me?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded seriously.

    Lilyrose was stumped. At this time, the owner arrived with her wine, and he was slightly puzzled that Lilyrose had moved to a different table, but he simply served the wine. ¡°Guest, here¡¯s your wine.¡±

    Lilyrose took it and shoved it towards Lu Yin. ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m annoying?¡±

    Lu Yin pressed a hand against the pot of wine and slowly pushed it back to Lilyrose. ¡°Sit somewhere else.¡±

    Lilyrose frowned and exerted a bit of force, pushing the pot of wine over to Lu Yin. However, she found that it was impossible to do so. Her eyes shed, and the air suddenly became scorching hot as red lilies bloomed within the void. Even the appliances in the building exploded, scaring the owner as he hurriedly put out the fires.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he returned Lilyrose¡¯s stare. ¡°Move back.¡±

    Upon hearing his words, Lilyrose was attacked by something indescribable. Her body trembled, and she almost copsed. Her eyes betrayed her disbelief, as she knew that she had met a terrifying powerhouse. She immediately turned to leave without speaking another word.

    Before she had taken more than a few steps, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. ¡°Wait a moment,e back.¡±

    Lilyrose turned around and slowly bowed to Lu Yin. ¡°The ze Realm¡¯s Lilyrose has offended Senior, and I seek your forgiveness.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°I know that you¡¯re from ze Realm. I recognized the aura of the Karmic me Sword.¡±

    Lilyrose was taken aback. If this person had recognized the Karmic me Sword, then he had to be from the Innerverse. She seriously observed Lu Yin¡¯s face. After a moment, she felt that it was a bit familiar, and after realizing something, her entire expression changed. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and returned to his original appearance. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Lilyrose.¡±

    Lilyrose nkly stared at Lu Yin. She then heaved a sigh of relief and patted her chest. ¡°You really scared me just now! I was wondering which senior I had run into. Brother Lu, you have to pay me back for that¡ªI was nearly scared to death!¡± She then nonchntly sat down and batted her eyes at Lu Yin in a naturally seductive manner.

    Lu Yin indifferently asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Lilyrose exined, ¡°I followed the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces into battle. So, when I was injured, I came back to Zenyu Star to recuperate.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? You¡¯re not monitoring me on the ze Realm¡¯s behalf?¡± Lu Yin drily asked.

    Lilyrose revealed a slight smile. ¡°Brother Lu is thinking too deeply. How could I, with my feeble strength, be qualified to monitor Brother Lu? Even Huo Houye died, and the ze Realm has no experts left in the Outerverse. Brother Lu doesn¡¯t need to pay any mind to us.¡±

    Lu Yin poured a cup of wine. ¡°The Outerverse will soon reconnect to the Innerverse. Do you have any ns?¡±

    ¡°What is Brother Lu saying?¡± Lilyrose was puzzled.

    ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just a little curious about the ze Realm,¡± Lu Yin casually replied. He then downed a mouthful of wine.

    Lilyrose looked at Lu Yin in a charming manner. ¡°I know that the ze Realm and Brother Lu have had their misunderstandings, but that has nothing to do with the two of us. Brother Lu can¡¯t be thinking about singling me out, right?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It¡¯s just a little misunderstanding, so it won¡¯te to that.¡±

    Lilyrose chuckled. Then, she moved to pour a cup of wine for Lu Yin. Her pure white wrist lightly moved across the back of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and it felt very soft andfortable.

    In Ironblood Weave, this woman had tried to seduce Lu Yin, and she had still not given up.

    She liked to flirt, especially with powerful people.

    ¡°Do you remember what happened back in Ironblood Weave? I invited Brother Lu out for a drink, but I was rejected. Who could have guessed that, after several years, we would actually have the opportunity to drink wine together.¡± Lilyrose gently licked her lips and exhaled lightly. Her scent wafted over, alluring to the extreme.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. Several years have passed in the blink of an eye.¡±

    Lilyrose drank some wine as a blush of rosiness appeared on her face. She looked slightly tipsy as she gazed at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, my tolerance for liquor isn¡¯t very good, so I won¡¯t be able to get home tonight. Can I rest in King Zishan¡¯s pce?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards, and he used his hand to raise Lilyrose¡¯s chin up towards his face. She obliged and let her head be raised as her body leaned in towards Lu Yin. His body also leaned forward, and right before the two touched, Lu Yin asked, ¡°Do you know who made the Astral River Ark?¡±

    Lilyrose instantly sobered up, yet she still acted drunk as she responded, ¡°What about the Astral River Ark? Brother Lu, the view here is very beautiful.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and his spiritual force was unleashed through Night Advent. Everything before Lilyrose¡¯s eyes turned dark as she was engulfed in his spiritual force. It gave her a crushing sense of terror, and at that moment, she felt like she was back at the border warfront in Ironblood Weave. She saw enormous beasts chaotically rush about, and there was a terrifying sensation that she was approaching the end of her life.

    Night Adventsted for two seconds, after which Lu Yin withdrew his spiritual force and looked at her.

    Lilyrose panted heavily, her pupils osciting between dting and contracting. She was thoroughly drenched with the sweat of fear, as her mind had been stunned.

    With her level of spiritual force, Lilyrose was not able to endure Lu Yin¡¯s Night Advent at all, and the only reason why she had not fainted was because Lu Yin had shown her mercy.

    Lu Yin was a Cruiser, the same realm as her, but there was a stark difference in their strength.

    ¡°Have you remembered yet? I want to know who made the Astral River Ark as well as who can fix it,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated as he released Lilyrose.

    Her arms braced her body against the table as beads of sweat rolled off of her face. Her breathing gradually steadied itself, and her vision slowly cleared up. She could not believe how terrifying Lu Yin¡¯s strength had be. The difference between them had not been this drastic during theirst meeting. In fact, during the fights on Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had not even been able to defeat Zhanlong Daynight, who had been ranked fifty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings. However, at present, he could easily crush Lilyrose.

    No, to say that he had crushed her was still an understatement; she hadn¡¯t even been able to resist in the face of Lu Yin¡¯s strength. She did not know where to even begin.

    Lilyrose looked up at Lu Yin, and fiercely replied, ¡°Brother Lu, you said that you wouldn¡¯t single me out.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°I¡¯m asking you the questions.¡±

    Lilyrose bitterly answered, ¡°Is this the behavior of the Great Eastern Alliance Leader? You won¡¯t even let off a weak girl like me?¡±

 Chapter 1035: Reserve Ark

    <h4>Chapter 1035: Reserve Ark</h4>

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and brought up the screen. When Lilyrose looked at it, her expression drastically changed.

    The screen was a report of all the men that she had tormented during her time on Zenyu Star¡ªa total of thirteen handsome men. Although they were not dead, all of them were practically crippled.

    Lu Yin took a sip of his wine. ¡°Nobody cares about your personal life, but those whom you¡¯ve tortured are the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s regr citizens. In other words, you¡¯vemitted a crime.¡±

    Lilyrose immediately denied the allegations. ¡°That wasn¡¯t me! Don¡¯t frame me!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°Don¡¯t you know I¡¯m a major shareholder of Amethyst Exchange? I¡¯m also a member of Aegis¡¯s highest level managers, and I have ess to information that you can¡¯t even grasp. If I wanted to know something, then you wouldn¡¯t be able to hide anything from me.¡±

    Lilyrose gritted her teeth. At this moment, she realized why this youth was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and why he could wield basically all of the Outerverse¡¯s power as its king. Throughout all seventy two weaves of the Outerverse, whenever anything happened at all, Lu Yin would be able to find out within the shortest amount of time possible.

    Lu Yin looked at Lilyrose. ¡°I know the reason behind your actions. It¡¯s because of your mother.¡±

    Lilyrose¡¯s face paled and turned a deathly shade of white while her eyes grew hateful. ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°I have no wish to talk about your personal issues. Are you loyal to the ze Realm? Are you really happy with your position? Or is it that you can¡¯t fight your fate?¡±

    Lilyrose nkly stared down into her cup and at her reflection in the wine. This face was identical to that woman¡¯s, and whenever Lilyrose saw it, a nauseous feeling would well up along with the urge to cut and tear that face apart.

    Lu Yin had exposed her deepest secret, which was something that she could not face right now. It was even more humiliating that someone had pointed it out.

    In fact, Lu Yin had only just learned about this information. When he wanted to learn more about Lilyrose¡¯s situation, all of the intelligence organizations under him had quickly summarized everything for him, and the entire process merely took a minute.

    Lilyrose¡¯s personal information was something that was not known to either Aegis or Thousand Eyes; rather, the report that he had received hade from Amethyst Exchange.

    He had not expected Lilyrose to have such a background, and truthfully, she was rather pitiful. He understood why the woman did what she had. However, understanding was merely that¡ªit could not excuse her crimes much less pardon them.

    ¡°I can help you,¡± Lu Yin stated calmly.

    Lilyrose¡¯s body trembled. Her eyes betrayed a trace of insanity as she spoke in a voice thick with the hatred that she had revealed before. ¡°Help me? You just want to use me.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°In either case, are you willing to let me use you to deal with the ze Realm?¡±

    Lilyroseughed. ¡°Deal with the ze Realm? Why do you think that I¡¯d help you with that?¡±

    Lu Yin poured a cup of wine. ¡°Whether or not you help me is your own choice. For the moment, all I want to know is the situation concerning the Astral River Ark.¡±

    Lilyrose stared intently into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°And if I don¡¯t tell you?¡±

    Lu Yin closed the screen and swirled the wine in his cup. ¡°You¡¯ll be captured and punished until your crimes have been paid back in full.¡±

    Lilyrose clenched her fists. She then steadily drained the entire pot of wine, stood up, and coldly said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure who built the Astral River Ark, and I don¡¯t know who maintains it either. However, I do know one thing¡ªthere¡¯s more than just the two Astral River Arks. There¡¯s another backup kept in zing Mist Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up. It was true that the Astral River was unpredictable, so how could there only be two arks that connected the Innerverse to the Outerverse? Having a backup was perfectly normal, as it would guard against the possibility of a monster destroying an ark within the Astral River.

    ¡°Do you know where it is?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lilyrose¡¯s voice turned sour. ¡°No. That Astral River Ark doesn¡¯t belong to the ze Realm, but rather to the Hall of Honor. It was simply stored in zing Mist Flowzone. Many people in the ze Realm know about this, but only a few know it¡¯s exact location.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak.

    Lilyrose left; this had not been a good night for her, as her greatest and most shameful secret had been exposed. Although there were many people in the ze Realm who knew about her secret, this was the first time she had been humiliated by it.

    There was nothing that she could do to Lu Yin, and her eyes gazed into the distance. She looked at the various bars, wanting to find a man to vent her emotions. However, after thinking about it, she simply left.

    She did not want to remain in this ce where Lu Yin could reach her whenever he wished.

    But before she could make it very far, Lu Yin¡¯s voice echoed in her ears. ¡°Wherever you stayed before, keep staying there for now, and don¡¯t wander around.¡±

    Lilyrose started seething. She had intended to leave Zenyu Star, but logic told her that fleeing would be useless. The entire Outerverse was under Lu Yin¡¯s control, and he could order about innumerable powerhouses and had too vast an intelligencework. Unless she fled to the Innerverse or the Astral Wilderness, she would forever remain under his control.

    ¡°What rotten luck,¡± Lilyrose cursed as she left.

    Within the tavern, Lu Yin swirled the wine within his ss. He had expected that, with Lilyrose¡¯s history, he would have been able to convince her to work against the ze Realm, but he had been too naive. Although the woman held a deep hatred towards the ze Realm, the situation was not simple enough for her to immediately cast her lot in with Lu Yin. Besides, he was not that charming.

    Take it easy!

    Still, at least he had learned that zing Mist Flowzone contained a backup Astral River Ark, which was both good and bad news; it all depended on how it was used.

    After finishing his wine, Lu Yin paid the bill, left the pub, and returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    ***

    In another ce, in the Innerverse, news about the official start of the contest for the Astral Tower began to spread. Everything would begin in eight months, and anyone in the Innerverse or Neoverse who had earned the title of King or above would be allowed topete for a seat among the Cosmic Five by fighting for the inheritance of the five mountains and seas.

    Everyone would gather at the appointed location within half a year.

    Nightking Zhenwu stared at the giant stone que that stood in the distance. Zhuo Daynight had already surpassed Nightqueen Yanqing, and she was only behind Zhanlong Daynight, Lu Yin, and Nightking Zhenwu himself.

    As long as she surpassed Zhanlong Daynight, she would achieve what he had requested of her.

    As for Lu Yin, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes burned with bloodlust. He would not feel at ease until that kid was dead beyond a doubt.

    Lu Yin had actually managed to survive after being struck by his Heart Seeker secret technique, and he had evenprehended the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques afterwards. That person had to be hiding a great secret, and he absolutely had to be eliminated.

    ¡°The Astral River is receding faster and faster, and it¡¯s possible that the Innerverse will reconnect to the Outerverse within four months,¡± Starsibyl said as she moved over next to Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°Four months? That¡¯s a bit too quick, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Starsibyl did not understand his meaning. ¡°You¡¯re almost officially the leader of the Ten Arbiters. Is there some other matter?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu stared at the image on top of the stone que that was below only him. ¡°I need one month to travel to the assembly location, which leaves me with just one month to kill him.¡±

    Starsibyl looked over at Lu Yin¡¯s image; she still could not make any predictions about this person, and she had never even considered the possibility of him surviving back then. This was a true variable.

    ¡°Right, will you alsopete for the inheritance in the Astral Tower?¡± Nightking Zhenwu asked as he looked over at Starsibyl.

    She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Are you confident?¡±

    Starsibyl shook her head. ¡°If I were, I wouldn¡¯t be following you. The inheritance of the Astral Tower represents more than just the powers of the Human Domain¡ªit actually represents the entire Human Domain itself. Among thepetitors will be heirs of the Three Dark Hands, and my strength is not enough to defeat them.

    ¡°I favored you because you are very likely to be one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Upon hearing Starsibyl¡¯s words, Nightking Zhenwu involuntarily felt his spirits rise, as this was the aplishment that he was the most proud of. In just eight months, he would be one of the Cosmic Five, and after that, he would be famous throughout the entire universe. What would apany his name would not just be the title of Arbiter, but rather leader of the Ten Arbiters, one of the Cosmic Five.

    ***

    In another area of the Innerverse, Tai Yuanjun had a bitter expression on his face. He had never thought that the Starsibyl whom he was so infatuated with would actually side with Nightking Zhenwu. When Tai Yuanjun had first learned about this, his spirits had copsed.

    He looked at the notification on his gadget and then suddenly stood up, snarling. ¡°Are you just following him because he¡¯s the one most likely to be one of the Cosmic Five? Is that why you followed him? Alright, then I¡¯ll definitely find a way to be one of the Cosmic Five and surpass Nightking Zhenwu! At that time, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll follow me. You are mine, and you can only ever be mine.¡±

    ***

    In yet another part of the Innerverse, there was a ce where thorns grew rampant, covering the ground and filling the sky. There were all sorts of poisonous bugs crawling over the thorns, and the thorns even had strange liquids from them that were potent enough to corrode even the void.

    Among the thorns, a woman opened her eyes. ¡°Assemble in half a year? There¡¯s still enough time.¡± She thought about it and looked beyond the thorns. ¡°I haven¡¯t left Venom Flowzone in a long time, but it seems that those enemies have retreated.¡±

    News of the start of thepetition for the Astral Tower began to spread out. This was a grand event that had previously belonged exclusively to the Neoverse, but this time, some people from the Innerverse would be participating as well. This excited countless organizations from the Innerverse, and they felt as if, from this moment on, the Innerverse would also be able to participate in the contest for the Astral Tower. Thus, their passion for nurturing their youths was lit ame.

    Although many powers did not know what the Astral Tower actually represented, they were clear on the status of the Cosmic Five.

    Even if the Ten Arbiters were able to judge the younger generation, they were still only able to preside over the youth of the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    The Cosmic Five were even able to suppress the Ten Arbiters, as they ruled over the youths of the entire Human Domain, and the support that they enjoyed far surpassed even what the Ten Arbiters were given. These five had a special status.

    More importantly, since the skies had changed in this generation, the Cosmic Five finally had a chance to be Progenitors, which was the most critical detail.

    A Progenitor could change everything.

    Countless people¡¯s belief in this statement became even more firm after the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    While the Innerverse was working itself up over the news of the Astral Tower¡¯spetition, in the Outerverse, the weaves in the eastern and central regions were quite peaceful. However, the weaves in the west had descended intoplete chaos. The guiding powers of many weaves had changed, and assassinations weremonce there.

    Lu Yin had En Ya increase the pressure on the weaves and pressed the issue. They were now constantly thinking of ways to push the western weaves into the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The rate of assassinations was unprecedented, but fortunately, they did not stir up an absurd amount of chaos.

    Quite a few powers in the western weaves had reached out to the Hall of Honor, asking them to intervene. After all, the invasion had only ended recently, and they could be considered to still be in a state of war.

    However, at this moment, the Hall of Honor did not care, and Elder Daggs had thought things through very carefully. Rather than allow the Outerverse to remain in a chaotic state, he would rather have the situation y itself out once and for all. Thus, he would not interfere with the Great Eastern Alliance unifying the Outerverse. This would provide Lu Yin with both the title and status that befitted the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander.

    Sometimes, Elder Daggs even considered whether or not Lu Yin was on a mission to unite the Outerverse! The more the elder thought about this, the more likely it seemed.

    Elder Daggs ignored all of the requests from the western weaves, and soon, there was nobody in the western region that was able to make any noise. Eventually, more and more weaves continuously announced that they would join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    One monthter, which was the eightieth month since the Innerverse and Outerverse had separated, the Great Eastern Alliance officially united sixty five weaves. The vast majority of the Outerverse now belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Aside from Endless Weave, there were six weaves that still maintained an extraordinarily intense resistance to the Great Eastern Alliance; it was as if they had vowed to die rather than submit. Still, those who were discerning enough knew that their resistance would notst for long.

    Even Millions City had announced that they were willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

 Chapter 1036: Connected

    <h4>Chapter 1036: Connected</h4>

    On one particr day, the cultivators observing the Astral River discovered that, to their astonishment, the liquid energy of the river was receding faster than ever. Suddenly, the ambient energy near the Astral River surged. At that moment, a signal could pass through the Astral River, which meant that a connection could be reestablished between the Outerverse and the Innerverse.

    This news stunned the entire Outerverse, and Lu Yin learned of it first. ¡°What wasing has finally arrived.¡±

    The Innerverse also quickly discovered that signals could be transmitted, and people immediately reached out to the Outerverse¡¯swork.

    It did not take long for the Innerverse to be absolutely shocked. Their surprise was neither due to a signal being reestablished, nor because the Astral River was about to return to its regr state, but rather because Lu Yin was about to be the Outerverse¡¯s king!

    Throughout the countless ages of the Human Domain, throughout all the changes of the universe, the Outerverse¡¯s seventy-two weaves had never once been unified. At its peak unity, not even half of the weaves hade together. This was not because nobody had ever possessed the ability to do so, but more so because the various great powers of the Innerverse would never allow such a thing to happen.

    From the Innerverse¡¯s perspective, the Outerverse was a massive pile of resources, and a scattered Outerverse was unable to mount any real pressure on the Innerverse, allowing the entire region to be extorted at will. However, a unified Outerverse was different, as a behemoth that could contest them had suddenly appeared.

    On average, each weave of the Outerverse did not have even a single Enlighter, but even if the Outerverse was short on Enlighters, there were still at least forty to fifty powerhouses at that level.

    Which power in the Innerverse possessed forty to fifty Enlighters? It was impossible.

    Although the strength of the Outerverse¡¯s top experts could notpare to the Innerverse¡¯s powerhouses in any way, when it came to sheer numbers, the Outerverse was the absolute winner. Furthermore, asionally, the Outerverse would give birth to super powerhouses, and there were even some high ranking members of the Hall of Honor who hade from the Outerverse.

    A united Outerverse would in no way benefit the various powers of the Innerverse, and besides, it was Lu Yin who had unified the Outerverse.

    As for Lu Yin, the Innerverse powers still only saw him as a youth, possibly one who could just perhaps barelypete with the Ten Arbiters. Still, he was just part of the younger generation. Who among them could have guessed that this youth would unite the Outerverse? This news waspletely inconceivable.

    Countless people believed that the news was nothing more than rumors, but the information was quickly verified. Lu Yin had founded the Great Eastern Alliance and almostpletely united the Outerverse. He even had the support of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Yuan Shi and had be the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander.

    The ze Realm immediately flew into a frenzy. They were the closest to the Outerverse, and thus, they were the first to obtain the news.

    Craynor waspletely dumbfounded as he stared at the report on his gadget. Lu Yin¡¯s almost unified the Outerverse? What the heck? Who¡¯s messing with me!

    After verifying the information multiple times, Craynor finally became sure that Lu Yin had indeed nearly united the Outerverse.

    Craynor felt like he was lost in a dream. He had a rather deep impression of Lu Yin; due to the events involving Xi Yue, Craynor had deliberately created trouble for Lu Yin only to be defeated in Astral-10¡¯s Sand Ocean. That incident had eventually led to Jared bing enemies with Lu Yin.

    During thepetition on Pyrolyte, Jared had been killed, and he had been killed by none other than Lu Yin.

    Who could have thought that, despite them all being a part of the same generation, Lu Yin would have already climbed to such a high position? How had he done it? Had those Enlighters of the Outerverse eaten crap while growing up?

    The people of the ze Realm were disgusted, and the Ross Empire was not feeling veryfortable either. They were mortal enemies with the Great Yu Empire, and in the past, if they hadn¡¯t been dissuaded by many other Innerverse powers, they would have sent troops to erase the Great Yu Empire.

    Duke ckhawk had remained in the Outerverse, and although the Ross Empire tried their best to contact him, they could not reach him. He was either in some ce that had been sealed, or he was dead.

    ***

    In Soulseal Flowzone, Ling Gong was amazed at the news. Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse? That was like a fantasy! Nobody could believe such a thing.

    However, these were the facts, and Ling Gong could only believe it.

    She suddenly remembered a time back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins when Lu Yin had nearly been killed. At that time, if she hadn¡¯t protected him while the others fought over the jade talisman, Lu Yin would have died without question.

    Such a person had actually managed to unify the entire Outerverse. Just how had he done it? Even she would not have been able to aplish such a feat.

    If even Ling Gong could not believe the news, then Ling Que was in total denial. He stared at his gadget like an idiot, feeling as though the heavens were crashing down around him.

    ***

    In Astral-10, when the Rainmaster learned that Lu Yin had united the entire Outerverse, he nearly fell over. He nkly stared at the Sandmaster. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    The Sandmaster had also been rendered speechless. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Who would get this information wrong?¡±

    ¡°How did he do it?¡± The Rainmaster felt lost. Despite their many years of experience, neither of them could understand how Lu Yin had aplished such an impossible feat. Even if the Outerverse was weaker, there were still dozens of Enlighters among its powers, and there was even the Hall of Honor. Additionally, quite a few experts from the Innerverse had been stuck in the Outerverse. The guiding powers of the seventy two weaves were not weak either, and there were even the three powers that could not be provoked. Just thinking about all of theplications caused the Rainmaster¡¯s head to ache; and yet, Lu Yin had somehow unified those weaves.

    The Sandmaster was simrly unable to understand this development.

    In fact, nobody could.

    In the treasury, Old Cai swallowed his saliva, and he tried his best to recall his dealings with Lu Yin. ¡°We¡¯re still friendly, still friendly. Now that the kid has made a fortune, he should not refuse a request to support his old academy¡¯s rebuilding. Definitely not! Hehehe.¡±

    ***

    In the Cosmic Sea, in a ce where the sea boiled, great warships swayed across the surface of the water as strange objects asionally crashed down from the sky.

    A deafeningughter echoed across the sea, causing the water to be even more violent.

    ¡°It¡¯s no surprise that he¡¯s from my armada, hahaha.¡±

    The voice formed a visible ripple that pushed at the void, causing the surrounding space to grow unstable.

    Aboard the warship, many pirates covered their ears. Although they had long since be ustomed to the sound, it was still painful.

    On the deck, there was a woman with arge beard who was smoking. She was staring off into the distance as she let out a sigh. This woman was Big Sis, and she took on all sorts of appearances; sometimes, she was pretty, and at other times, ugly.

    ¡°Now we can rest assured. Little Seven is more powerful than we expected. Not only does he no longer require our protection, but he can also actually help us now.¡± Uncle Reuben moved next to Big Sis as he spoke.

    Big Sis¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°It¡¯s still not enough. Unifying the Outerverse might seem like a feat that will leave his name down in history, but there are no almighty powerhouses in the Outerverse to protect him. Any random Envoy sent by the Daynight n can corner him in an instant.¡±

    Reuben smiled bitterly. ¡°Where would so many Envoyse from ? Not even the World Imprinter families of the Sixth Maind have that many people to spare.¡±

    Big Sis snorted. ¡°Even if they don¡¯t send their Envoys, the power of their Enlighters is still enough to obliterate Little Seven. Send out orders for all the pirates to start moving towards Daynight Flowzone. We won¡¯t allow the Daynight n to rx.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ***

    Since the Innerverse was able to exchange signals with the Outerverse, the various great powers gradually gained a clearer understanding of the current Outerverse. They had originally nned to reach out to the Outerverse to replenish their resources, but instead, they had been confronted with a direct obstacle.

    Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse, which made it so that the Innerverse powers would not be able to harvest resources to their hearts¡¯ content.

    This even included Shamrock Enterprises, Aurora Enterprises, and other such colossal organizations; they were simrly astonished at the recent developments. They were not overly concerned, but the Lockbreaker Society was the first to grow furious. The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society on Sourcepeak had actually been destroyed while their headquarters had even been relocated. This was somethingpletely uneptable to the Lockbreaker Society.

    Originally, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s President Geoffrey had been in the Neoverse, and as soon as he returned, he would not let this matter stand.

    Still, Lu Yin was not too concerned, as he had helped the Lockbreaker Society from beginning to end. He had even reinstated Saul to the benefit of Lockbreaker Society and also as an answer to Geoffrey.

    Of course, if the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s investigation determined that the final responsibilityy with Wei Rong, then Lu Yin would have to think of something.

    At the moment, his greatest obstacle was the Daynight n.

    Not long aftermunications were restored between the Innerverse and the Outerverse, Nightking Yuanjing called Lu Yin.

    He looked at Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s solemn face on the screen and gave the old man a small smile. ¡°So it¡¯s Grandpa Yuanjing. It¡¯s been a couple of months since west met, and it¡¯s wonderful to see that Grandpa Yuanjing survived.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing looked serious as he stared closely at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, I have no time to joke with you¡ªreturn my Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance. For now, that¡¯s your most important task. Otherwise, once the Innerverse reconnects to the Outerverse, you will not be able to stop the wrath of my Daynight from descending. Even uniting the entire Outerverse is useless, as you simply don¡¯t understand how powerful my Daynight n truly is.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Even more powerful than a Cosmic Imprinter family from the Sixth Maind?¡±

    This sentence left Nightking Yuanjing unable to respond. At the moment, the Daynight n did not have an expert whose power level exceeded 1,000,000. The only other possibility was if the Cosmic Imprinter family¡¯s top experts had been unable to act during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. A Cosmic Imprinter was an expert with a power level of at least 1,000,000, but Lu Yin could still disregard the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cosmic Imprinter families. Thus, why would he be intimidated by the Daynight n?

    Nightking Yuanjing spoke in a gloomy voice. ¡°Little Yin, I know that there is a deep misunderstanding between you and my Daynight n. All along, I¡¯ve tried my best to protect you. Don¡¯t be mistaken¡ªif you truly force the Daynight n to send out its experts, you will not be able to withstand them. The stone of inheritance must be returned, as this is the Daynight n¡¯s bottom line.¡±

    Lu Yin helplessly answered, ¡°Why is Grandpa Yuanjing so certain that the stone of inheritance is with me? Do you have some kind of evidence?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing grew so angry that he actually smiled. ¡°Anybody who enters the corridor of the inheritance will leave their image on my Daynight n¡¯s ancestral. The deeper oneprehends the battle techniques, the clearer and higher the image will be. Little Yin, how ring do you think your image is?¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and although he wanted to remain humble, he recalled seeing and passing by the Daynight Restoration Technique, Nightking''s Body, Nightking Finger, and Night Advent. His image must not be ranked very low.

    ¡°There¡¯s even a function like that?¡± Lu Yin was in disbelief.

    Nightking Yuanjing shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide it. We are certain that the stone of inheritance is in your possession. Return it. Otherwise, you wille to understand what it means to be on the receiving end of the Daynight n¡¯s wrath.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath, and his expression suddenly changed. Since he had been discovered, then there was no need for him to hide it any longer. To the Daynight n, someone from outside of the n learning one of their battle techniques was a capital offense. Furthermore, Lu Yin¡¯s hatred for Nightking Zhenwu was as deep as an ocean, and only one of them coulde out alive. There was no need to keep up the act.

    ¡°Since the Daynight n has discovered that the stone of inheritance is in my hands, then send some people to pick it up,¡± Lu Yin said calmly.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Little Yin, Grandpa Yuanjing does not wish for you to step onto this path. Throughout the entire history of the universe, those who have offended my Daynight n have never had a good ending. You can look into that for yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand and clenched his fist. ¡°In the history of the universe, has anybody ever united the Outerverse?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing stared at Lu Yin. After a long while, he sighed. ¡°Do you really want to go down this path?¡±

    Lu Yin did not reply.

    ¡°Actually, you can still be friends with my Daynight n,¡± Nightking Yuanjingmented with a sigh. He truly felt the situation was a pity. Someone who had obtained Yuan Shi¡¯s support and had unified the Outerverse could absolutely be friends with the Daynight n, as such an ally would be extremely beneficial to the Daynight n. If Lu Yin was willing to serve them, then they would even pay him an immeasurable price.

    Nightking Zhenwu was destined to be one of the Cosmic Five, and Lu Yin had united the Outerverse. If the two joined forces, then the Daynight n would gain massive influence over the majority of the Human Domain, and their status would be no weaker than those colossal organizations in the Neoverse. What a pity.

    ¡°Since you are so persistent, then Grandpa Yuanjing has nothing more to say to you. All the best to so,¡± Nightking Yuanjing sorrowfully said as he bade farewell to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1037: Network

    <h4>Chapter 1037: Network</h4>

    Lu Yin ended the call, not even bothering to ask about Zhuo Daynight¡¯s situation. She was supposed to be Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s disciple, but she was following Nightking Zhenwu now. It went without saying that Nightking Yuanjing had abandoned her. Or, it was also possible that Nightking Yuanjing might not know that Zhuo Daynight hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. Still, none of that was important at the moment. With Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s current status within the Daynight n, someone like Nightking Yuanjing could not touch Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin had not expected that news of him obtaining the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance would be discovered so quickly; these ancient ns had too many deeply hidden aspects. Even their inheritance items possessed unimaginable properties.

    The Daynight n was threatening him, and Lu Yin activated his gadget to call Wang Wen.

    He spoke with Wang Wen for an hour, and after that, Lu Yin called Elder Daggs.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, rest assured. Yuan Shi has been inmunication with the Hall of Honor, and they are clear on your contributions to the Outerverse. As for Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s usation that you are a traitor of the Fifth Maind, that matter has already been overruled, and your status as an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor has been acknowledged,¡± Elder Daggs said.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Thanks to you both, Elder and Yuan Shi.¡±

    Elder Daggs¡¯ expression grew strange. ¡°Who would have guessed that Alliance Leader Lu would have experienced something like that while in the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°This is all from offending the Daynight n, and Nightking Zhenwu has already said that anyone who offends the Daynight n will meet a terrible ending.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, such arrogance!¡± Elder Daggs was dissatisfied. No matter what his impression of Lu Yin was, Lu Yin had still made great contributions to the Outerverse, and now, the elder had suddenly discovered that the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander had actually been used of being a spy for the Sixth Maind. If that usation was acted upon, then Elder Daggs and everyone in the Outerverse, including even Yuan Shi, would be nothing more than a joke.

    Lu Yin thought of something when he saw Elder Daggs¡¯s unhappy expression. ¡°Elder, may I ask what Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s status is like within the Hall of Honor?¡¯

    Each of the Ten Arbiters had been blessed by the Hall of Honor, and their power came from both the powers that supported them as well as the Hall of Honor¡¯s conferment. Otherwise, how else could they have gained so much authority over the youths of both the Innerverse and Outerverse?

    Elder Daggs shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ve been in Endless Weave for a long time, so I don¡¯t have a clear understanding of many of the Innerverse¡¯s matters. But there is one thing¡ªwithin the upper echelons of the Hall of Honor, there is someone from the Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°And how does that person¡¯s statuspare to Yuan Shi?¡±

    Elder Daggsughed. ¡°Naturally, they aren¡¯t even close.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. With Yuan Shi supporting him, as long as the people behind Nightking Zhenwu could not match up to Yuan Shi, then Lu Yin was unafraid of what might happen within the Hall of Honor.

    After Lu Yin ended his conversation with Elder Daggs, he talked with Yue Xianzi and An Shaohua for a rather long time before calling Xi Yue. Finally, after a long while, he spoke with Madam Nn.

    He had not spoken to her in a while.

    When he saw her on the screen, she was still as tempting as ever. Out of all of the women Lu Yin had ever met, this woman¡¯s natural charm was the strongest, and he was also the most tempted by her.

    ¡°What a rare visitor. I wonder, what instructions does the Great Eastern Alliance Leader have for him to grace me with your presence?¡± She showed him a brilliant smile as she looked at him.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. Graced with my presence? That doesn¡¯t sound very nice!

    ¡°Haha, Madam, it¡¯s been a long time,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    She chuckled. ¡°Yes it has. Ever since Alliance Leader Lu experienced his meteoric rise and seized authority over the entire Outerverse, we old acquaintances no longer dared to contact Alliance Leader Lu out of fear that others would misunderstand our actions as us fawning over the Alliance Leader.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t tease me. What authority over the Outerverse? That¡¯s all been given by others. You must know that, without the Hall of Honor, I would never have been able to reach this stage even if I was far more capable.¡±

    Madam Nn was sitting on a sofa with one leg propped up, revealing her snow white skin. The tititing sight caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to flutter. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, those words are not quite right. Before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the Great Eastern Alliance had already started spreading into the central region of the Outerverse, and now, not only has Alliance Leader Lu unified the Outerverse, but two of the four great corporations are also under your control. No one dares to offend the Alliance Leader. However, there¡¯s still one remaining person¡ªme. It would seem that Alliance Leader Lu is now plotting against my Nn Family.¡±

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, ¡°Can Madam speak to me nicely? We¡¯re friends, and you are my savior. No matter what, I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    She showed him a faint smile and raised her wine ss. ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank the Alliance Leader first. Cheers.¡±

    After the toast, she finished off the drink in her ss.

    Madam Nn licked her red lips and set the empty ss down. ¡°Does Alliance Leader Lu have any business that caused you toe to me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained serene. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I just wanted to ask you some questions. I was wondering, how is the Sword Sect¡¯s rtionship with the Daynight n?¡±

    Madam Nn was puzzled by this question. ¡°Why would Alliance Leader Lu ask this?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I obtained a bit of news that someone wants to do something to the Daynight n.¡±

    Her eyes shed. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The news isn¡¯t reliable, so I can¡¯t say,¡± Lu Yin said.

    She blinked. ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s First Flowzone and the Daynight n¡¯s Daynight Flowzone neighbor each other. Even though there¡¯s an Astral River Tributary Ark connecting the two flowzones, the two organizations rarelye into contact with each other. Along the border between the two flowzones, there are also some other smaller flowzones, and thepetition for resources in those ces is more intense.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. So, if the Daynight n ends up in trouble, what sort of stance would the Sword Sect take?¡±

    She smiled and moved closer to the screen. She locked eyes with Lu Yin. ¡°What attitude would Alliance Leader Lu hope for the Sword Sect to adopt?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°The Daynight n and I are enemies, so naturally, I hope that the Sword Sect would hit them while they¡¯re down.¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Then Alliance Leader Lu might end up being disappointed.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°First of all, I don¡¯t have any ability to influence the Sword Sect, and secondly, both sides are top level powers that are able to influence the entire Innerverse. Thus, they will not easily openly fight against each other. Even if a conflict that¡¯s within the scope of what the Sword Sect can handle breaks out, they might not act if the Daynight n encounters difficulties. The older generation of the Sword Sect is worried that if the Sword Sect ever faces trouble, the Daynight n will kick us when we are down. There is something of an unspoken mutual agreement,¡± she exined.

    Lu Yin understood. Once powers reached a level like the Sword Sect or the Daynight n, there were certain actions that could not be done haphazardly, and the ones in control also had to consider the influence of their decisions. Such matters would not only affect the two parties directly involved, but also all of the surrounding flowzones, such as Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone that was not too far from the Sword Sect. If something happened to the Daynight n and the Sword Sect took action, then what would the Beast Tamers¡¯ Flowzone think? And what of the smaller flowzones thaty close to the Sword Sect? How would they feel?

    It went without saying that both sides would still try to suppress the other within the upper levels of the Hall of Honor. This was a massive game, and even the slightest change could lead to an escting effect.

    A colossal organization like the Daynight n would not disappear in just an instant, and if the Sword Sect took action, then they might actually be devoured instead or suffer catastrophic casualties. This was why nobody would dare to make such a decision.

    Lu Yin smiled at Madam Nn. ¡°I understand. I suddenly received this news, so I wanted to share it with you first.¡±

    She smiled back at him, but her expression became far more serious. ¡°The person that Alliance Leader Lu mentioned earlier¡ªhow confident are they in dealing with the Daynight n?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Perhaps not at all.¡±

    He truly was not confident in his chances of sess; a colossal organization like the Daynight n was not something that he could destroy on a whim.

    Her expression grew far more solemn. ¡°Then I hope that Alliance Leader Lu will tell that person to not rashly take action, as the Daynight n is not simple.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, I will.¡±

    ¡°Also-¡± She paused for a moment as she stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I wonder if Alliance Leader Lu has heard of this saying from the time of ancient forts: breaching the enemy from within is much easier than breaching from outside.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and it was as though a bolt of electricity had shed through his brain. ¡°Got it. Thank you, madam, for the reminder.¡±

    He then quickly disconnected from the call. After pondering his options for a moment, Lu Yin called someone whose contact information he possessed but rarely ever reached out to.

    At this same time, in the Innerverse¡¯s Daynight Flowzone, the Frostmoon Sect received a call from Yue Xianzi, and after a brief chat, Elder Lin was surprised. ¡°Lu Yin asked us to do our best to seal off our sect? What do you mean?¡±

    Yue Xianzi did not understand this request either. ¡°He said that, in the future, someone might do something to the Daynight n. Thus, if we don¡¯t want to be dragged into the mess, it would be best to seal off the sect as soon as possible and ignore everything going on outside.¡±

    Elder Lin felt puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t he afraid that we¡¯ll report such things to the Daynight n?¡¯

    Yue Xianzi fell silent.

    Elder Lin twitched; he had almost forgotten that Lu Yin was using Yue Xianzi as a hostage, as she was the Frostmoon Sect¡¯s young mistress. She had been given a great portion of the Frostmoon Sect¡¯s resources, and she had even received ancient battle techniques from the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zone. She was a rare genius even throughout the history of the Frostmoon Sect, and abandoning Yue Xianzi for a reward for snitching would not be worth it.

    ¡°Understood. I will speak with the Sect Master,¡± Elder Lin said.

    Yue Xianzi ended the call, and her expression grewplex. Ever since Lu Yin had called her to talk, she had known that she had be a hostage, which was something that she had never expected.

    Lu Yin was being too rash if he intended to act against the Daynight n now. That was the Daynight n! They were an unimaginably massive and ancient n, and who knew what sort of powerhouses were hiding within their depths? Where had he find the courage to do such a thing?

    Yue Xianzi shook her head and did not think any further on this matter. She did not believe that Lu Yin would actually do anything to the Daynight n. It really could be someone else making these ns.

    In another ce, Watermoon Vi¡¯s An Shaohua had simrly been taken hostage, and he was feeling rather depressed. This entire time, he had truly intended to side with Lu Yin. Even if Lu Yin was not of much use to An Shaohua, he still attached a great deal of importance to Lu Yin¡¯s future aplishments, as this person would definitely be one of the future Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin¡¯s conversation with An Shaohua was quite different from the one with Yue Xianzi. Lu Yin had asked the Frostmoon Sect to seal itself off since they were situated within the Daynight Flowzone and thus relied on them. This meant that it was not realistic for them to act against the Daynight n. However, Watermoon Vi was different.

    Lu Yin hoped that Watermoon Vi would be able to hold back the Xun family and stop them from reinforcing the Daynight n. Of course, that was merely Lu Yin¡¯s hope, and it might turn out that the Daynight n would not even need any reinforcements.

    Lu Yin was not worried that Watermoon Vi would say anything to the Daynight n either, as the oue would be the same regardless of their decision. The Daynight n would remain where it was, and their defenses would remain the same.

    Other than Watermoon Vi, Lu Yin also contacted the Myriad Swords Peak and the Souldream Tribe. Wendy Yushan was his intermediary for the Myriad Swords Peak, and Lu Yin had shown great kindness to the Souldream Tribe in the past. If not for him, they might have be ves and shipped off to the Sixth Maind long ago.

    From the very beginning, Lu Yin had not held much hope in using his current strength to vanquish the Daynight n. Rather, he only wanted to do one thing, which was to create an opportunity where he could have a fair and decisive battle against Nightking Zhenwu, one where they would not be disrupted by any of the Daynight n¡¯s experts.

    However, Madam Nn¡¯s words had reminded Lu Yin of his influence even among the Innerverse, and he wanted to give this a try regardless of sess or failure.

    Within the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, among the small group that stood guard underneath the stone que, one person opened his eyes and looked in a certain direction, which was where Hui Daynight was bowing deeply.

    Hui Daynight was surprised, and immediately he stood up and left.

    The emissary did not mind, and his eyes once more tightly closed themselves.

 Chapter 1038: Planet Fleabaneâ€™s Battle Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 1038: Fleabane¡¯s Battle Invitation</h4>

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin set down his gadget. He had done all that he could, and the future was unpredictable.

    Two dayster, Ban Jiu requested an audience. He gave Lu Yin a list of items and requested that Lu Yin melt some metals for him.

    Some of the metals on the list could not actually be melted even with the remaining heat in the Skyze Stone. Thus, after several days of melting the metals that he could, Lu Yin delivered the results back to Ban Jiu, who was forced toe up with a new method to rece the unsmeltable metals. He promised Lu Yin that the new universal armor would be ready in a month¡¯s time.

    The star energy in the Astral River began receding even faster.

    One day, Lan Si came out of seclusion.

    Lan Si had been injured on the transport continent after the battle in the astral cemetery battle, and he had been in seclusion, recovering.

    He had only just emerged when he received news that Lu Yin had returned to the Outerverse as well as the news that the Outerverse was about to reconnect to the Innerverse.

    ¡°Young Master, ording to the rumors, Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu fought in the Innerverse, and Lu Yin nearly died as a result. He was also used of betraying the Fifth Maind by Nightking Zhenwu, but aftermunications were reestablished with the Innerverse, Yuan Shi stepped forward, and the Hall of Honor rescinded Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s usation and restored Lu Yin¡¯s status. At present, he has almostpletely united the Outerverse,¡± Elder Tie updated Lan Si on the current status of the universe.

    Lan Si was surprised. ¡°Lu Yin traded blows with Nightking Zhenwu?¡±

    Elder Tie nodded. ¡°That¡¯s what the rumors say. Apparently, he was beaten quite badly by Nightking Zhenwu. ording to hearsay, Nightking Zhenwu was absolutely certain that Lu Yin would die, and he does not know how Lu Yin managed to survive.¡±

    Lan Si looked up into space. ¡°How much longer before the Outerverse reconnects to the Innerverse?¡±

    Elder Tie replied, ¡°At most, just a few more months.¡±

    ¡°Send a message to Lu Yi. I¡¯ll be waiting for him at the edge of the Astral River on Fleabane,¡± Lan Si said. He then boarded his spacecraft and left in the direction of the Astral River.

    Elder Tie¡¯s eyes grew heated, and he immediately used the Human Domain¡¯swork to send a message to the Great Eastern Alliance. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si would wait for Lu Yin on Fleabane in anticipation for their scheduled battle.

    Back at the Outerverse Youth Council¡¯s headquarters at East San Dios, the two had agreed to have a fight, and the only stiption was that it would take ce before the Astral River returned to normal. The stakes that they had ced on the fight were extremely high, and now that the Astral River was nearly back to normal, it was time for their fight.

    Elder Tie¡¯s message was delivered, and it stunned the entire Outerverse before continuing on to spread through the Innerverse.

    The Ten Arbiters were unrivaled within the younger generation, and there had never been any Arbiters in the past, and it was possible that there would not be any again in the future either. They were unique to this era, and they were a result of tremendous changes.

    Nobody knew how monsters like the Ten Arbiters had been born, but there was one detail that everyone was aware of: within the same generation, the Ten Arbiters were undefeatable. No matter who it was, no one was capable of shaking the Ten Arbiters¡¯ positions. Even if the Neoverse was where the most elite existences and strongest sects of the Fifth Maind gathered, they would still find it very difficult to touch the status of the Ten Arbiters.

    The agreed upon battle between Lan Si of the Ten Arbiters and Lu Yin had shocked the Outerverse when it was first announced, but after more than two years, the fated day was finally about to arrive.

    When the Great Eastern Alliance received this news, countless people feltplex emotions. If he could beat one of the Ten Arbiters, then Lu Yin¡¯s reputation would soar to an entirely new extreme, but on the other hand, his legend would be broken if he was defeated.

    From the very beginning, everyone was aware that Lu Yin relied on external items when he fought. Still, knowing it was one thing, and nobody stressed that matter. After all, he was just a youth, and most of his enemies had been Enlighters with some even being Envoy-level experts. Against such powerful opponents, not many would say anything even if Lu Yin did use items to fight.

    However, Arbiter Lan Si was from the same generation as Lu Yin, and if Lu Yin was defeated by someone from the same generation, then it would badly damage Lu Yin¡¯s reputation.

    Elder Tie was not intentionally targeting Lu Yin by making a public announcement. Rather, from the elder¡¯s perspective, everyone should know about a battle concerning one of the Ten Arbiters. It did not matter if the opponent was Lu Yin or someone else; Elder Tie wanted everyone to know that Young Master Lan Si was someone unrivaled within the same generation and that he could not be defeated.

    Even if the challenger had unified the Outerverse, no matter how high Lu Yin¡¯s status had be, he would still have to look up to the Ten Arbiters.

    The authority of the Ten Arbiters could not be touched.

    Within King Zishan¡¯s pce, Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm.

    Huan Sha, En Ya, Wei Rong, and others had all requested audiences one after the other, but every request was refused. At this moment, Lu Yin did not want to see anyone. He already knew what they wished to say, so there was no need to hear them out.

    His gadget rang, and Wang Wen appeared on the screen.

    ¡°I¡¯d actuallypletely forgotten about this matter,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°However, Lan Si remembered, and you guys agreed upon some stakes back then. If you win, the Lan family will unconditionally support you, but if you lose, you give up your position as an Honor Chosen,¡± Wang Wen reminded.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Wang Wen looked perfectly serene. ¡°You should know what it would mean to lose the position of Honor Chosen at this time. All of the ns that we made before might be useless if you lose this status. The Hall of Honor is the greatest power within the Human Domain, and even if we can defeat the Daynight n, if the Hall of Honor decides it, we would still be forced to withdraw. Being an Honor Chosen ensures that the Hall of Honor will not be biased in favor of Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Lu Yin stood up. ¡°I know.¡±

    Wang Wen continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gave the man a slight smile. ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t lose.¡±

    Wang Wen¡¯s eyes narrowed. He was highly intelligent, and his tactics were iparable; he could see through many things, but even he could not see through the depth of the Ten Arbiters. Even Wang Wen could not understand how the Innerverse had given rise to these ten freaks; the whole affair waspletely illogical. It was exactly like how he could not understand how the Outerverse had given birth to a monster like Lu Yin.

    Wang Wen¡¯s analysis was very logical, and he was able to deduce conclusions far beyond what ordinary people could understand, but even he could not analyze these monsters.

    ¡°All the best, Chesspiece Bro.¡± Wang Wen smiled and ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and left Zenyu Star. He then sat down in a spacecraft and started making his way towards Fleabane. He was headed towards his appointed battle.

    Along his way, a beautiful figure silently stood in space, her ck hair draping down while her white coat had golden threads casually floating about. She was Wendy Yushan, and a zing star illuminated the dark space, contrasting with her beautiful and heroic face.

    Lu Yin exited the spacecraft. ¡°I was curious as to why you hadn¡¯t tried to contact me. So it was because you were waiting here.¡±

    Wendy Yushan looked calm. ¡°Are you confident?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°We have to fight, but as for my confidence, I can¡¯t say that I can beat one of the Ten Arbiters for sure.¡±

    Wendy Yushan¡¯s brows rose. ¡°I once heard the White Knight mention that Lan Si has never cultivated any battle techniques and that he is only adept at the Oveying Stacks Path. ording to her guesses, it should serve as the foundation for some other battle technique.¡±

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°Ling Gong said that the Oveying Stacks Path is some kind of condition to cultivate another battle technique?¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s possible. Ever since Lan Si became one of the Ten Arbiters, many people have challenged him, but no one has ever managed to force him to reveal any strength beyond his Oveying Stacks Path¡ªnot even Xia Tian was able to do so.¡±

    ¡°Xia Tian has challenged Lan Si before?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s interest was piqued.

    ¡°Xia Tian has challenged all of the Ten Arbiters,¡± Wendy Yushan replied.

    Lu Yin was speechless, as that was true dedication.

    ¡°Aside from possibly using the Oveying Stacks Path as the foundation for something else, he also might have cultivated some mysterious technique, and Lan Si also has an innate gift,¡± Wendy Yushan said.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. ¡°What¡¯s his innate gift?¡±

    Wendy Yushan shook her head.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. ¡°This is quite some pressure you¡¯re putting on me. I don¡¯t know anything at all. You can¡¯t be trying to frighten me, can you?¡±

    Wendy Yushan seriously said, ¡°If possible, I hope that you won¡¯t fight Lan Si. From the moment the Ten Arbiters were established, they have never been defeated. Nobody knows if they fight amongst themselves, but nobody from outside those ten has ever defeated a single one of them. Not one.¡±

    Lu Yin stretched his body. ¡°Then let me be the first.¡±

    Wendy Yushan did not say anything more, and she watched as Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft left. After thinking about it, she also made her way towards the Astral River.

    The moment Lu Yin left Zenyu Star, countless people received the news, and it quickly spread through all parts of the Outerverse.

    There was no doubt that Lu Yin was the most influential character in the Outerverse at this time, and every move he made would be watched by countless eyes.

    When people learned that Lu Yin was moving towards Fleabane, the entire Outerverse grew excited, as they knew that Lu Yin was moving out for the appointed match. This could possibly be the most intense battle in the history of the younger generation, and it would determine whether the Ten Arbiters would maintain their legend or if Lu Yin could create a new one. Everything depended on the results of the battle that would take ce at Fleabane.

    Countless people made their way toward Fleabane as well, and the guiding powers of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s various weaves, the four great corporations of the Outerverse, Shamrock Enterprises, Aurora Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, and even people from the border defenses in Ironblood Weave and the Southside Weave started making their way towards Fleabane. Countless people were headed there.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Lan Si would be a grand asion for the entire Outerverse.

    On Zenyu Star, Wei Rong looked up. If he were in Lu Yin¡¯s shoes, there was no way he would keep such an appointment. Since Lu Yin had already unified the Outerverse, his name could inspire countless people. Fighting Lan Si at this moment would prove to be immensely beneficial if Lu Yin won, but everything he possessed would be challenged if he was defeated. On top of that, the two had even ced stakes on this fight. It was simply not worth the risks involved.

    ¡°Perhaps this is where I can¡¯t measure up to you,¡± Wei Rong mumbled as he looked in the direction of the Astral River.

    From Amethyst Exchange¡¯s headquarters on Skylush, a spacecraft flew towards the Astral River with Zi Xianxian and Zi Fang on it. They wanted to personally witness this fight, not only because it involved Lu Yin, but also because they intended to record every detail of the duel and make a summary for their report.

    There were too few battles that involved the Ten Arbiters. Ever since their names had be synonymous with unrivaled, extremely few people had dared to challenge them, and now, nobody actually knew just how powerful the Ten Arbiters truly were. At this moment, they would be able to witness the truth. Even if Lu Yin¡¯s true power level could notpare to Lan Si¡¯s, Lu Yin should still be able to force out most of Lan Si¡¯s strength.

    Many people did not have high expectations for Lu Yin¡¯s performance; how long had he been cultivating for? If the time was rounded up, it would be just twelve years. In other words, someone who had cultivated for just twelve years hoped to defeat one of the Ten Arbiters. This was an impossible task.

    Many wanted to witness for themselves just how Lu Yin would be defeated, as well as how it would affect his sprawling Great Eastern Alliance and how the rest of the Outerverse would react.

    The burdens that Lu Yin carried were far greater than what Lan Si bore for this battle at Fleabane.

    Inside a vessel floating through outer space, Lan Si¡¯s expression was calm, though there was a rare battle intent that glinted in the depths of his eyes.

    He remembered when he had first spoken with Lu Yin, as well as when he had first heard of Lu Yin, which was when Lu Yin had broken Lan Si¡¯s record while still in the Astral Combat Academy. When Lan Si had next heard of Lu Yin, he had already be a peerless Limiteer. Each time Lan Si heard about Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments, the youth seemed to have tremendously improved his strength.

    During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Innerverse , they had finally met in person on Grayweed Continent. Lu Yin had already felt like a thorny opponent to Lan Si, but that had also been under the influence of the suppressive cosmic phenomenon. Then, during their next meeting, Lu Yin had actuallypeted against Lan Si in the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Each time they met, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had improved at an exceptionally fast rate, so how strong would he be this time? If he dared to show up for this fight, then was he actually confident of victory?

    Although Lan Si did not necessarily believe that the Ten Arbiters were invincible, he also did not believe that Lu Yin was capable of victory. In that case, what was behind Lu Yin¡¯s confidence that allowed him to show up for this fight?

    In the Innerverse, Lu Yin had almost been killed by Nightking Zhenwu, so had his strength leap upwards once again? That would simply be too ridiculous.

    Just as Lan Si was muttering to himself, his gadget beeped with a notification. This call hade through the Ten Arbiters Council¡¯s intr, and the one calling was actually Nightking Zhenwu.

 Chapter 1039: Lu Yin Vs. Lan Si

    <h4>Chapter 1039: Lu Yin Vs. Lan Si</h4>

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Lan Si,¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s voice came through the gadget, sounding tranquil.

    Lan Si calmly replied, ¡°I never thought that, out of all of the Ten Arbiters, you would be the first to call me. Is this about Lu Yin?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu revealed a faint smile. ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªthis is indeed about him. Don¡¯t underestimate him. Not only does he have a secret technique that can divert attacks, but he¡¯s also quite skilled at using Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods as well.¡±

    Lan Si was surprised by this news. ¡°Gods¡¯ Origin?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You should have heard of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods before. There was once a civilization that left behind an ancient inheritance, and their techniques can both create and destroy; truly bizarre and mysterious methods. You should be careful,¡± Nightking Zhenwu warned.

    Lan Si¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You called me just to reveal some information about Lu Yin¡¯s fighting style?¡±

    ¡°I know that you¡¯re confident in achieving victory, but there¡¯s no harm in understanding your opponent a bit more,¡± Nightking Zhenwu replied with a smile.

    Lan Si arrogantly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need¡ªI¡¯ll find out for myself. You should take care of yourself.¡± And with that, he hung up.

    Lan Si loathed Nightking Zhenwu, as he felt that the Nightking was too treacherous and his methods too sinister. The Daynight n itself was already ruthless to begin with, and they were not weed in the Starfall Sea at all. Between the rest of the Ten Arbiters, although Lan Si¡¯s rtionship with Nightking Zhenwu was not exactly bad, it was not very good either.

    On the other end, Nightking Zhenwu lowered his gadget. Lan Si¡¯s attitude was within his expectations, and everything was still fine. He had aplished what he had set out to do.

    The Nightking hoped that Lan Si would be able to take out Lu Yin, as that would mean one less troublesome task to do.

    Fleabane was not considered to belong to any particr weave, and it was located between the Darkmist and Bard Weaves. Its most discerning features were that it was the closest habitable to the Astral River, and its scenery was extremely beautiful. Although it was only a, its intrinsic value caused the guiding powers of both weaves to covet it. Several billion individuals had once resided on the, and quite a few had represented various powers.

    Unfortunately, due to a natural disaster that caused an apocalypse, thend had beenpletely submerged underva and water while the air had been filled with poisonous underground gases. In the end, the was inhabited only by terrifying organisms that could survive under these extreme conditions.

    As for why Lan Si had chosen Fleabane, it was because, from his perspective, the represented his glorious past as well as his future; this was the gift that he would give to Lu Yin. Although Lan Si did not intend to destroy everything that Lu Yin had built up, once Lu Yin was defeated, it would be a huge setback to him, which was something that Lan Si could clearly see.

    He also hoped to use this to make Lu Yin be more aware of his situation.

    Also, more importantly, they could see the Astral River from Fleabane.

    Two dayster, Lan Si arrived above Fleabane and moved into the¡¯s atmosphere. He looked down at the surging waves of the sea and the boiling magma along the seabed which caused the entire¡¯s waters to boil. asionally, strange creatures would dash up to the surface only to be swallowed by evenrger creatures.

    To ordinary people, this waspletely uninhabitable.

    Lan Si¡¯s arrival broke the fragile equilibrium that hadsted for countless years on this. An ugly, five-colored flower covered with thorns shot up from the seabed towards Lan Si, attempting to swallow him whole.

    His gaze trembled, and his fingers moved as his star energy shot out with a st that caused the void itself to tremble. The flower was utterly shattered, and the entire sea trembled before falling silent. No other creature dared to provoke Lan Si.

    Lan Si stood atop the sea and stared at the star energy that could just be barely seen off in the distance as he silently waited for Lu Yin.

    At this time, countless people had already arrived above Fleabane, and they were all armed with all sorts of apparatuses. As more and more people came, they gathered in multipleyers as countless members of the media focused their attention on Fleabane and prepared to broadcast this groundbreaking battle.

    Although neither of the twobatants were Enlighters, they still represented the peak of the younger generation.

    Three more days passed as the number of people above Fleabane continued to increase. Quite a few Hunters arrived along with many leaders of various Outerverse powers. There were even Enlighters, who were considered practically legends in the eyes of these people.

    The bespectacled Mistchild had also arrived, hiding within the crowd. She stared at Fleabane. Now that Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse, she was no longer as useful to Lu Yin, and she met him far less frequently than before.

    Mu Nichang had also arrived, though not to see Lu Yin. She was there for Lan Si. Although she was a part of the Great Eastern Alliance, she hoped to see Lan Si emerge victorious without suffering any major injuries.

    Doro was able to see through her master¡¯s thoughts, and she helplessly said, ¡°Master, you¡¯re too infatuated with Arbiter Lan Si. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re a great deal older than him.¡±

    Mu Nichang rolled her eyes. ¡°My heart is still young.¡±

    Doro¡¯s mouth fell open¡ªhow unreasonable!

    A bit further away from them was the old woman from the Nn family who had once appeared to protect the border in Endless Weave. She calmly observed Fleabane.

    Her power level was greater than 300,000, and logically, she should not care about this battle between juniors, but she was well aware of the fact that either of these youths could easily overtake her within just a few years. They were absolute monsters.

    Aside from the people from the Outerverse, there were also countless people in the Innerverse paying attention to this battle.

    The Ten Arbiters did not belong to the Outerverse, but rather to the Innerverse, and their reputation for being unrivaled had also been established there.

    Everyone, from the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, the Divine Grade Hall, the Wen family, and the Astral Combat Academy to other powers such as the isted Venom Flowzone, Chaos Flowzone that was still at war, and the rebuilding Starfall Sea, everyone was focused on this.

    Especially the Starfall Sea, since the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si represented Starfall Sea.

    To those like Mu Rong and Ling Que, this battle was not merely a decisive one at the level of the Ten Arbiters, but rather more of a demonstration of how Lu Yin had flown past them. Not long ago, the three of them had all beenpeting equally, but at this moment, they could not even see Lu Yin¡¯s shadow.

    ¡­

    One day, above Fleabane, the busy region of space suddenly fell quiet as a spacecraft approached. It suddenly copsed into itself as it was stored away in a cosmic ring; Lu Yin had arrived.

    In all directions surrounding Fleabane, there were countless people, spacecraft, and broadcasting equipment that filled the region.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up ¡°Back away.¡±

    He had merely uttered two simple words, but they instantly sent everyone scrambling, as no one dared to talk back.

    This was the influence of being the Great Eastern Alliance Leader. In theory, everyone here at this ce was under Lu Yin¡¯s authority.

    ¡°Invincible Alliance Leader!¡± someone shouted from within the crowd.

    Closely following that shout came countless more in a chant. ¡°Invincible Alliance Leader! Invincible Alliance Leader¡­¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. It was quite likely that nobody here believed that he could defeat Lan Si, but before the oue was finalized, they would do their best to tter him.

    As for the media, they might havee here for a story, but there were only two possibile oues. One was his victory, in which case they would all tter him to the extreme. On the other hand, if he lost, they would still tter him, but with an extra tone of constion.

    It did not matter what price Lu Yin would end up paying if he lost; he would still be the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, so nobody dared to talk badly about him.

    This was his authority, and it was the authority that he had sought after for so long. Even if he lost, the entire universe would try to console him. No matter what people actually thought, they would only be able to say words of constion.

    Lu Yin looked over towards Fleabane, stepped through the void, and then exchanged nces with Lan Si. Each of the two youths saw the fierce battle intent in the other¡¯s eyes.

    They had waited more than two years for this battle.

    When Lu Yin emerged from the void, he descended onto Fleabane,nding only a thousand meters away from Lan Si.

    Lan Si stared at Lu Yin, unperturbed. ¡°You can admit defeat, and I¡¯ll publicly announce that we decided to cancel the match. You can still save your face.¡± This was the final way out that Lan Si was willing to give Lu Yin, as he hoped to repay Lu Yin¡¯s kindness for helping them to survive. After all, Lan Si and the others from Mt. Stacks Dojo and the Sea King¡¯s Dome would have died at the Sixth Maind¡¯s hands were it not for Lu Yin¡¯s efforts.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, should we admit defeat? Are you really confident?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked. He had seen Lu Yin¡¯s new strength, especially during his recent battle against Little Arrow Saint, where the two of them had been equally matched. For some reason, the monkey felt like a Realmling with Little Arrow Saint¡¯s strength would not have as many hidden trumpspared to one of the Ten Arbiters. Perhaps it was because the Fifth Maind¡¯s people were too adept at concealing things, but the longer the monkey looked at Lan Si, the more he felt that this person was unfathomable.

    Lu Yin also looked calm. ¡°Since we¡¯ve already scheduled this fight, there¡¯s no reason for me to retreat.¡±

    Appreciation could be seen in Lan Si¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ever since the status of the Ten Arbiters was first established, the number of challengers has constantly fallen until almost no one was left. You should understand what it means for someone to be unrivaled. Even though we are a part of the same generation, we are all older than you, and in reality, you are truly unrivaled when considering those who are the same age as you. Thus, there¡¯s no need for you topete with us.

    ¡°You might have the strength topete against us, but the difference between us and you is much like the difference between you and Mu Rong when the two of you fought. Although he wascking only a tiny bit, you were still victorious. This is a difference that cannot be ovee.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled faintly, stretched out his hand, and looked at the lines on his palm. ¡°Not necessarily.¡±

    ¡°Nightking Zhenwu wasn¡¯t able to show you the difference?¡± Lan Si spoke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he looked up at Lan Si. ¡°I should thank him. If it weren¡¯t for him, I would not have been able to understand the disparity between us as clearly.¡±

    Lan Si nodded and calmly said, ¡°I¡¯ve said what I should. Since you still want to fight, then I¡¯ll oblige you. The kindness that you showed my Mt. Stacks Dojo will be repaid in the future.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I feel-¡±

    Before the Ghost Monkey could finish speaking, Lu Yin growled, ¡°Here Ie!¡±

    Right when Lu Yin said that, Lan Si appeared right in front of Lu Yin. ¡°This is what you asked for!¡±

    The Arbiter pped out with a simple palm that contained no fancy tricks of any kind. Oveying Stacks Path: One Hundred Stacks, Three Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.

    Lu Yin frowned, as Lan Si had actually attacked him with a Shockwave Palm. Lu Yin also raised a hand: One Hundred Stacks, Three Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.

    Bang!

    A terrible explosion detonated in the void as an immense spatial crack spread from where the two palms had collided. One end of the fissure shot towards the ocean and swallowed both water and magma as all sorts of bizarre creatures were shredded apart. Meanwhile, the other end of the spatial crack shot into outer space and tore the sky open.

    If Lu Yin hadn¡¯t ordered these people to back away, then some of them definitely would have been swallowed by the spatial crack.

    Just this first exchange had left many spectators shocked, and many of the spectators felt their scalps go numb.

    Above the sea of Fleabane, not only did the collision between the two palms create a spatial crack, but the remnant shockwaves of the Oveying Stacks Path¡¯s One Hundred Stacks also spread out like ripples. The sea surged with massive waves, and the void was simrly pushed apart in multiple waves. A tremendous force shuddered across the entire sea¡¯s surface, and the sheer power caused the water to begin evaporating, which caused a ck fog to form in the air due to the poisonous gas leaking out from underground. The sky grew dark.

    The two youths withdrew at the same time, and Lan Si barked, ¡°Again!¡±

    The same scene repeated, but this time, the Arbiter did not use One Hundred Stacks. Instead, he used One Hundred Twenty Stacks.

    Lu Yin already knew that Lan Si had definitely surpassed One Hundred Stacks. In fact, with Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, he was also able to exceed One Hundred Stacks, but unfortunately, no one had been able to help him deduce anymore stacks, and he had not been able to do so himself either.

    Against Lan Si¡¯s more powerful palm strike, Lu Yin unsealed his fatesand, and his enormous strength burst forth. He used the same One Hundred Stacks palm as before in response, but this time, his attack contained a far more terrifying power, and it was enough to make up for the difference of Twenty Stacks.

 Chapter 1040: The Might Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 1040: The Might Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    The further one progressed along the Oveying Stacks Path, the greater the difference between each stack would be; this was the same underlying progression as battle force. Although the attacks only had a difference of what seemed like twenty stacks, only someone like Lu Yin, whose monstrous strength had greatly surpassed his peers¡¯, could make up for such a difference.

    The sky splitting collision repeated itself, and the second spatial crack even surpassed the size of the previous one. This second one shot out in all directions as the entire trembled while deep cracks appeared underground. Shockingly, the was unable to endure the aftershocks of the intense battle between the two youths.

    Above the, the spatial crack split off in four different directions like a lightning bolt. The spectators above the retreated even further back, as they were afraid of being caught up in the fight.

    Quite a few people were overwhelmed by what they were witnessing, as the power level of the explosion released by the attacks¡¯ collision had surpassed 200,000. In other words, what seemed to be a fight between two youths had just resulted in an Enlighter-level explosion, and they were only getting started.

    One palm after another struck out. Lan Si had not expected Lu Yin to be able to endure through pure strength, but Lu Yin managed to do so. He blocked each of the Arbiter¡¯s palms, which astonished Lan Si, but he also was not overly surprised. If Lu Yin was not even able to block Lan Si¡¯s opening attacks, then the Arbiter would have grossly overestimated Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    The two¡¯s palms struck and then retreated at the same time. Lan Si¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°One Hundred Forty Stacks.¡±

    He then raced forward and mmed down a suppressive palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up, as Lan Si was relying on his higher cultivation realm as well as his greater achievements in the Oveying Stacks Path to suppress Lu Yin right from the start. Lu Yin did not hurry to retaliate, as he wanted to see the Arbiter¡¯s bottom line. He had just attacked with One Hundred Forty Stacks, which should be quite close.

    Lu Yin thought about his circumstances, and a purplish-red color covered his entire body that was streaked through with red lines. This was his nine lined battle force. ¡°One Hundred Stacks.¡±

    Thump!

    Fleabane shuddered from its core. Even if the two had only exchanged about a dozen palms so far, these attacks had all been at the same intensity, which the surrounding region was unable to take. The power level of the aftershocks had already surpassed 200,000.

    Lan Si knew that Lu Yin hadprehended battle force, but the Arbiter had never expected that it would have already reached nine lines, and he was carelessly forced back a step. ¡°You¡¯ve actuallyprehended nine lined battle force?¡±

    Lu Yin flung his hand out, and the strength of his swing tore the surface of the sea open and caused the seabed¡¯s magma to erupt asva rained down from the sky. The temperature above the sea suddenly spiked.

    ¡°This is getting interesting.¡± Lan Si grew excited. ¡°One Hundred Fifty Stacks, Five Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°One Hundred Stacks, Five Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    He reinforced his attack with his nine lined battle force, causing his palm to unleash an incredible strength.

    The two vanished from the surface of the sea, and when they reappeared, their palms had already connected. At that moment, Fleabane broke apart, and an iparably massive spatial crack swept through space. It cut a single straight line, shing through the vessels floating over the as countless machines exploded. They could not endure the might of this collision.

    At that moment, the power level of the battle¡¯s aftershocks was nearing 250,000.

    The shockwave swept through the nearby area, and countless faces went pale as people hurriedly moved even further away.

    Within the Outerverse, anyone who witnessed this scene would be overwhelmed. These attacks contained no fancy tricks and each one seemed to be the same. However, the most rming aspect was that these two youths werepeting in a primitive contest of strength.

    Everyone knew that Lu Yin was adept at the Oveying Stacks Path, but against Lan Si, Lu Yin had no choice but to use his battle force toplement his attacks. This was the power of the Ten Arbiters.

    Within the Innerverse, the sight of their attacks¡¯ collisions also left many people stunned, as nobody within the Top 100 Rankings was able to unleash the mightparable to these two¡¯s.

    Ling Gong was amazed. ¡°With just that palm alone, Lu Yin has proven his qualifications to be seated among the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    In the Sword Sect, Liu Shaoqiu closed his eyes. Such strength was out of reach for him.

    Countless Sword Sect disciples were stunned at what they saw. In the past, this person had fought against Liu Shaoqiu and Liu Xiaoyun, but now, he had already reached the level where he could fight the Ten Arbiters. In other words, he could even battle against their grand senior. How frightening!

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he was not in the least bit surprised. Lu Yin still had not revealed his true strength yet but neither had Lan Si. As a member of the Ten Arbiters, the Nightking was absolutely certain that Lan Si possessed far more moves than what he had shown so far.

    Still, Lu Yin had actually already improved his battle force to nine lines even though it had only been eight lines when they had fought in the Innerverse. This person improved far too quickly, and Nightking Zhenwu could not wait any longer. If Lan Si did not kill Lu Yin in this battle, then the Nightking would have to personally take action. This kid¡¯s progress was too insanely fast.

    Starsibyl stared at the screen as her eyes constantly flickered. She was still unable to calcte Lu Yin¡¯s fate, but she seemed to see something vague. The premonition reminded her of the Tournament of the Strongest that had taken ce when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy.

    The seas on Fleabane churned, and the seawater and theva intermixed and formed red raindrops that fell down, covering the surface of the sea and falling down upon the twobatants.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands trembled, as the power of Lan Si¡¯s One Hundred Fifty Stacks was simply too incredible. Lan Si was able to use One Hundred Fifty Stacks, which meant that his physical strength was also obscene, and Lu Yin¡¯s hands could not quite endure the impact despite his nine lined battle force.

    However, Lan Si was not having a good time either.

    Lan Si was genuinely surprised. ¡°Very few people in our generation can receive my One Hundred Fifty Stacks, and I thought that, at best, you¡¯d be able to receive One Hundred Forty Stacks. On top of that, your Shockwave Palm has actually reached the Five Hundredfold threshold as well.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand. ¡°Five Hundredfold? No.¡±

    He then charged towards Lan Si. This was the first time that Lu Yin had taken the initiative to attack, and he pped both of his hands together as his nine lined battle force red. ¡°One Hundred Stacks, Six Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s expression changed, and he raised his hand in defense. There was a loud explosion as an intense sonic boom struck both of them before dozens of more explosions detonated in the sky. The collision of their attacks was so powerful that the impact had distorted the void and ruined many of the recording equipment outside the. Their speed was so fast that they turned and left the, fighting in outer space for some time before falling back down onto Fleabane.

    The screens were simply unable to capture the two¡¯s images, and the viewers could only see the fights once they stopped trading blows.

    Whether one looked at Lan Si or Lu Yin, both of them had hands that were flushed a deep red, and a trace of fresh blood could be seen seeping out through their skin. It was impossible to tell whose blood it was, but there was blood on both youths¡¯ hands.

    This was an extreme stalemate of the Oveying Stacks Path, and it was also an extreme stalemate between two of the best physiques in the younger generation. Lan Si and Lu Yin werepeting through the Oveying Stacks Path, and Lu Yin¡¯s multiplicative Shockwave Palm had actually surpassed Lan Si¡¯s.

    Dozens of volcanoes erupted across Fleabane all at once, and a rain ofva started to fall on them. The various bizarre nts and creatures werepletely confused. It looked like a scene from doomsday.

    Nobody had imagined that Lu Yin would be able to fight Lan Si to this degree, and the explosions from the impacts between the two had already surpassed a power level of 250,000. Even when the Ten Arbiters had first been established, those ten youths had not possessed this level of strength.

    In other words, if Lu Yin and the Ten Arbiters were of the same age, then one of the ten would not have made it while Lu Yin would have easily be one of the Ten Arbiters.

    However, Lu Yin was not the same age as the Ten Arbiters. He was still constantly improving, as were the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Someone once told me that you even have a secret technique and can use Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods, neither of which you¡¯ve used so far,¡± Lan Simented in a low voice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Lan Si was unflustered. ¡°You can use those now. Otherwise, you won¡¯t even have the chance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What gives you such self-confidence? The battle technique that you¡¯ve been constantly practicing?¡±

    Lan Si nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. The battle technique is called Vacuum Palm, and it¡¯s an invisible palm imprint. I¡¯ll give you an opportunity to attack me first, since you won¡¯t have any more chances after I make my move.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp.

    The Ghost Monkey became enraged. ¡°Arrogant! Seventh Bro, this fellow is too arrogant. Let¡¯s not fight him anymore. There¡¯s no need to bicker with arrogant people!¡± The monkey was actuallypletely terrified at this moment.

    Lu Yin raised his hand. ¡°Then I won¡¯t hold back anymore.¡±

    His star energy began to converge over his right palm, and two burning suns appeared that illuminated Fleabane. It was as if twin stars had descended. ¡°Twin Suns.¡±

    Lu Yin pushed the two suns towards Lan Si, who threw his hands apart, sending the blood that covered his hands flying. The Arbiter also threw out a palm in response. The scattered blood did not belong to the Arbiter, but rather to Lu Yin. Lan Si was nning on blocking the two suns with One Hundred Fifty Stacks.

    The star energy thatposed Lu Yin¡¯s first sun was equivalent to almost the entire reserves of an Enlighter with a power level of 250,000. When it crashed into Lan Si¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path, the first sun broke apart. Its impact caused all of the star energy within it to explode and shoot into the sky, scattering the clouds and shattering the sky. An explosion erupted even in outer space as a golden radiance swept out, affecting all of the surrounding spacecraft and rendering them uncontroble.

    The first sun¡¯s explosion directly struck Lan Si¡¯s palm, and the second sun followed close behind it, directly sting at Lan Si¡¯s chest. The Arbiter was pushed down into the seabed by the two suns, where they exploded again at the bottom of the sea. Fleabane quivered, and the sea evaporated at a rapid pace as the void itself warped.

    Lan Si opened his eyes at the bottom of the sea. All that he could was darkness while all he could sense was an overwhelmingly oppressive force: a spiritual force attack.

    Lu Yin even had a spiritual force attack? Lan Si felt shock in his heart, and his brain was battered by the bombardment as his entire being was suppressed by the spiritual force attack. His body trembled. Then, a trace of golden light descended into the darkness; the two suns were falling upon him again.

    Lan Si¡¯s expression changed, as the sheer intensity of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks had surpassed Lan Si¡¯s expectations. No matter if he considered Lu Yin¡¯s star energy attacks, physical strength, or even his spiritual force, every attack gave Lan Si a sense of danger. He could not afford to wait any longer.

    Lu Yin shot towards the bottom of the sea, sweeping the two suns aside as he dashed through the water. He refused to believe that Lan Si¡¯s body was capable of fully withstanding his Two Suns multiple times in a row, as this attack used not only converged star energy, but also infused cauldron energy. This was the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique, and it was powerful enough to suppress the battle techniques of an entire generation. Lu Yin believed that the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation would prove to be unrivaled when it waspleted. Even if he was only able to converge two suns at the moment, it was still powerful enough to let him fight against anyone.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. A terrifying amount of rune lines exploded forth in front of him. He instinctively dodged aside, but he was still too slow. Fortunately, the two suns had been in front of him, forcing the rune lines to strike them first. As a result, both the suns and Lu Yin himself were sted out of the sea and into outer space as they left the.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed and disappeared. Off in the distance, space distorted as a spatial crack swept everything away.

    He stared at Fleabane in shock as Lan Si slowly floated up from the seabed. The Arbiter exchanged nces with Lu Yin and then raised a hand. ¡°Vacuum Palm.¡±

    As Lan Si spoke, Lu Yin saw rune lines converge around Lan Si¡¯s palm that surpassed a power level of 250,000. They then passed through the void and approached him. Lu Yin couldn¡¯t even see a hint of a battle technique, and if not for the rune lines, he would have been struck without even knowing what had happened.

    For the moment, the best that Lu Yin could do was attempt to use the rune lines to extrapte the Vacuum Palm¡¯s path. However, it was still exceptionally difficult to dodge them as they were moving too quickly.

    His three grains of fatesand formed a clod of soil that moved to defend his body while Lu Yin raised both of his arms, reinforced himself with nine lined battle force, and also erupted with One Hundred Stacks.

    When the Vacuum Palm arrived, Lu Yin was sent flying once again. The force was so tremendous that the three grains of fatesand were instantly forced back into his body while his nine lined battle force was warped. The One Hundred Stacks that he had channeled in both of his arms were forced back, and they instead damaged his own internal organs.

    Plop!

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood as his body flew 10,000 meters into space. He had just withstood a single palm.

    Countless people were stunned; what was this? Had Lan Si attacked?

    Nobody knew what had happened, no matter if they were from the Outerverse or the Innerverse. Everyone who was watching was unable to understand what they had just seen. Had Lan Si attacked?

    Nightking Zhenwu stared at his screen gravely. Lu Yin definitely was not weak, and he had even held his own against Lan Si before. During their exchanges, he had even managed to gain the upper hand and smack Lan Si into the sea. So what exactly had Lan Si done to leave Lu Yin in such a miserable condition? His nine lined battle force, Oveying Stacks Path, and even his fatesand had been unable to stop this attack.

    Nobody could understand what they had witnessed.

    Even the people from Gods¡¯ Origin were unable to see rune lines through the screen, so they were also unable to understand what Lan Si had just done. Was this the Arbiter¡¯s innate gift? Or was it a battle technique?

    At this moment, the strength of the Ten Arbiters had been fully revealed.

    Lan Si¡¯s invisible palm had beaten Lu Yin and sent him flying.

 Chapter 1041: Miserable Duel

    <h4>Chapter 1041: Miserable Duel</h4>

    Lan Si stood above the surface of Fleabane¡¯s sea as he looked up at Lu Yin with an arrogant expression. Truthfully, the Arbiter had not believed that Lu Yin would be able to force him to use his Vacuum Palm.

    Fatesand disappeared from in front of Lan Si¡¯s chest; he also possessed fatesand. Initially, he had believed that thebination of that and his One Hundred Fifty Stacks would be enough to defeat Lu Yin. Lan Si had not expected Lu Yin to be so hard to deal with.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength allowed the Arbiter to understand why Lu Yin had been willing to appear and participate in their appointed battle. Still, Lu Yin would inevitably taste defeat.

    Above the, countless eyes stared at Lu Yin, but they were unable to determine anything from his expression. Lu Yin did not appear to be discouraged or terrified, but neither was there any sign of excitement or overflowing battle intent that usually appeared when one faced a powerful foe. All anyone saw was his calm mien.

    Lu Yin stood high up in space as he gingerly moved his arms, which hurt quite badly. His bones had probably been broken. This was Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and the technique was much moreplicated than merely being invisible. Each palm print contained over One Hundred Fifty Stacks; this was a battle technique that allowed a person to use the Oveying Stacks Path to the extreme, and this was the strength that Lan Si had been hiding.

    It was no wonder why Lan Si had cultivated the Oveying Stacks Path from beginning to end, as there was no need for him to cultivate anything else. His Vacuum Palm alone was enough for him to dominate the universe. An invisible palm imprint that could not be evaded even if one was capable of seeing rune lines. This attack could not be easily withstood by facing it head on, as one would need a monstrous defense to survive unscathed. This was an unexinable battle technique.

    Lu Yin raised a foot and tore through the void to return to Fleabane, where he appeared a thousand meters away from Lan Si.

    ¡°That¡¯s a rather powerful battle technique. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯ve always been cultivating the Oveying Stacks Path,¡± Lu Yin marveled.

    Lan Si nced down at his right hand. ¡°I coincidentally obtained this technique through a twist of fate. After obtaining it, I¡¯ve never even thought of cultivating anything else, as this battle technique is innately suited for me.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly stated, ¡°It¡¯s a simple and pure attack that is also unexinable. It¡¯s absolutely terrifying.¡±

    Lan Si stared at Lu Yin, incredulous. ¡°You aren¡¯t going to admit defeat?¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed his arm. ¡°I can still take it.¡±

    Lan Siughed. ¡°My Vacuum Palm ces no burden on my body, so don¡¯t expect me to wear out first. How long can your nine lined battle force endure for?¡±

    Lu Yin looked serious.

    Lan Si stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, the Arbiter¡¯s figure vanished, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he checked his surroundings. Rune lines were rapidly descending at him from above.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb, and his fatesand appeared once again as nine lined battle force shrouded his entire body. There was a loud bang as, this time, his body was smashed beneath the ground. He pierced all the way through Fleabane and was sted back out into outer space on the other side as the began to shatter apart due to its core breaking apart.

    Blood could be seen at the corner of Lu Yin¡¯s lips when he stood up in space. The fractures in his arm had be even more severe. Then, Lan Si suddenly reappeared directly behind Lu Yin as he unleashed yet another Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin was able to see the rune lines, but he could not evade this attack. If Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm appeared, then all he could do was try to endure the attack.

    The Vacuum Palm was the best representation of Lan Si¡¯s overwhelming mastery of the Oveying Stacks Path, and it was also Lan Si¡¯s most powerful attack. It was extremely difficult to defend against this attack, even for Lu Yin who had his fatesand alongside his nine lined battle force. Lu Yin was sent flying for a third time, and an intense pain erupted from his arms. Each time he was struck, his fatesand would be forced back into his body, and he believed that his nine lined battle force would not be able tost for much longer either.

    Lan Si did not speak at all, as he had already been extremely considerate towards Lu Yin. As Lu Yin flew away, another Vacuum Palm was shot out without any hesitation.

    A forcefield sprang up around Lu Yin¡¯s body and formed the Towering Tree. This forcefield was able to protect the area around it, but the tree was still pierced through by Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin was beaten back down onto Fleabane yet again, and hended with a crash.

    Above Fleabane, everyone in both the Innerverse and Outerverse who were watching felt a chill run down their spines. This was too horrifying an ability, and Lu Yin simply had no means of retaliating. Lu Yin had revealed a strength that could be considered unrivaled, but he was fighting against Lan Si, who was an unexinable existence.

    The Yu Secret Art was simply unable to divert Vacuum Palm, and Lu Yin was not even able to dodge the attack, much less try to divert it. Whenever he saw Vacuum Palm appear, it meant that he would have to passively endure it.

    In the Great Yu Empire, countless people clenched their fists and felt so nervous that they could hardly breathe.

    Wendy Yushan was also in the crowd above Fleabane. Her fingers were pale; just what was Lan Si doing? None of them could tell what was going on; all they could see was that Lu Yin was being beaten like a punching bag without any way to retaliate.

    At this time, even the other Arbiters in the Innerverse were watching seriously. Lan Si¡¯s hidden battle technique was simply too terrifying, and it could even perfectly showcase the strength of his Oveying Stacks Path. His speed was also impable¡ªeven Lu Yin, who possessed a defensive secret technique, was unable to dodge Lan Si¡¯s attack. The other Arbiters would be no different.

    On the shattered remnants of Fleabane, Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. His left arm was already crippled from trying to block the Vacuum Palm, so he moved it in front of himself. At this time, he could not feel anything from his left arm at all. This was the price that he had to pay just for¡­ observation.

    There was another explosion as another Vacuum Palmnded on him. At this moment, Lan Si looked like a celestial being.

    Lu Yin raised his left arm once more. His physical body was being torn apart, and scarlet blood flowed down the exposed bone before dripping onto his clothes.

    Lan Si looked down. ¡°Still not admitting defeat? How many more attacks can you take? I do have to say that you¡¯ve shocked me. There aren¡¯t that many even among the Ten Arbiters who can take this many of my attacks.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly grinned, and blood flowed from his mouth. ¡°The surprise is behind you.¡±

    His forcefield reformed into the Towering Tree, and it shrank down until it was small enough to stand in front of Lu Yin and block the path before him. Lu Yin also closed his eyes at this moment.

    Lan Si was bewildered. ¡°Since you¡¯re not admitting defeat, then don¡¯t me me.¡±

    His hand fell once more, using the Vacuum Palm once more.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained tightly closed as the Vacuum Palm pierced through his domain, and at that instant, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide as his left arm moved to protect the rest of his body. His nine lined battle force emerged to strengthen his defenses along with his fatesand. At the same time, he struck out with his right hand: One Hundred Stacks, Spacerender Palm.

    Boom!

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was sent flying underground, and he once again pierced through Fleabane and shot out into space. However, this time, Lan Si was simrly struck by Lu Yin¡¯s Spacerender Palm, which caught the Arbiter off guard and simrly threw him into space.

    An intense explosion erupted on Fleabane, and mes filled the sky as both Lu Yin and Lan Si tumbled into outer space on the opposite sides of the.

    Lan Si was overwhelmed; had Lu Yin noticed it?

    The Vacuum Palm put no strain on Lan Si¡¯s body, which meant that, in theory, as long as his physical strength was sufficient, he could use the technique without limit. However, each time he used the Vacuum Palm, there would be a single moment where his body stiffened. This was because of the momentum transfer that urred whenever such a tremendous force was unleashed, and it was unavoidable unless Lan Si¡¯s physical strength increased by about fivefold. Otherwise, this momentum transfer would always cause him to pause for a moment.

    Also, even if the Arbiter¡¯s physical strength increased by fivefold, the strength of his Vacuum Palm would increase at a simr rate, which meant that the momentum transfer¡¯s pause would still exist unless he decreased the strength of the attack by fivefold. Only then would he be able to avoid the momentary freezing effect. However, if he did that, the Vacuum Palm would be too weak, and there would be no reason to even use it.

    The pause caused by the momentum transfer was the Vacuum Palm¡¯s greatest weakness, but it also was not really a weakness. From what Lan Si knew, practically no one within the same generation could endure that many Vacuum Palms, so just who would be able to discover this tiny detail of the technique?

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was too formidable, and he had forcibly endured Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm multiple times. As a result, he had been able to use his domain to discover the technique¡¯s weakness despite how badly he had been injured by the attacks.

    Lu Yin panted heavily as he stared through Fleabane. He had been struck by the Vacuum Palm multiple times, but he had finally discovered it. There was no such thing as a perfect battle technique, and the stronger the battle technique was, the greater the likelihood of it containing a fatal w was. This momentary freezing was Lan Si¡¯s fatal w.

    Each time he used his Vacuum Palm, he would be unable to mount any sort of defense for a moment, such as using his fatesand. The Arbiter¡¯s body wouldpletely freeze during that moment, and this freezing would ultimately spell his doom.

    Now, everything depended on their resilience and who could endure the most punishment.

    The Great Yu Empire was suddenly thrust into high spirits as the countless people in the Outerverse who were supporting Lu Yin began to cheer. Lan Si had been struck, which meant that the one-sided beating was over. Lu Yin could retaliate now.

    Lu Yin spread out his domain, and his gaze trembled. Then, he shot back towards Fleabane.

    Lan Si simrly charged towards the.

    The two collided at the¡¯s core, where Lan Si used his Vacuum Palm while Lu Yin shouted and used Night Advent. Darkness covered Lan Si¡¯s vision, and he paused for a moment before continuing to unleash his Vacuum Palm. However, this attack was dyed by a single moment due to Lu Yin¡¯s Night Advent. During this time, Lu Yin was still able to see, and his pupils transformed into runes as he quickly weakened Lan Si¡¯s palm attack. The approaching Vacuum Palm¡¯s rune lines shot out, but this time, Lu Yin waved a hand and activated the Yu Secret Art. The Vacuum Palm was diverted.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had managed to sessfully divert a Vacuum Palm, and he also took advantage of Lan Si¡¯s body freezing up due to the momentum transfer to appear right in front of the Arbiter, where Lu Yin pressed his hand against his opponent. ¡°One Hundred Stacks, Six Hundredfold Shockwave Palm.¡±

    There was another thump as more shockwaves sted Fleabane apart. Lan Si spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body was thrown back into outer space.

    Countless people were recording this battle, as they had thought that Lu Yin would be the one flying away, or perhaps that both sides would suffer injuries. However, nobody had imagined that the only one sent flying by this exchange would be Lan Si.

    Lan Si¡¯s body had forcibly endured Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but there was still an indent on the Arbiter¡¯s chest, and it looked like a palm imprint.

    Lu Yin hurriedly gave chase, as Lan Si could not retaliate at this moment. Although Lan Si¡¯s body was tough enough to use One Hundred Fifty Stacks, if he received an attack during an unprepared moment, he would still be injured. Even if the Arbiter¡¯s body was more robust, his organs would not be able to withstand such a blow, and he would end up losing.

    Night Advent, Yu Secret Art, Truesight, his nine lined battle force, domain, and Oveying Stacks Path¡ªLu Yin had used everything that he was capable of, all for just this moment.

    All for a moment to decide the victor.

    In outer space, Lu Yin suddenly appeared behind Lan Si, and star energy converged over Lu Yin¡¯s right hand. ¡°Twin Suns.¡±

    The burning suns illuminated the entire region, and countless grew afraid.

    At this moment, even the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo who held absolute confidence in Lan Si were stunned. How was this possible? Had their young master actually been injured?

    Lu Yin¡¯s Twin Suns consumed all of the remaining star energy in Lu Yin¡¯s body before shooting towards Lan Si. Lu Yin did not believe that Lan Si was capable of blocking such an attack at this moment.

    Lan Si truly did not block the attack. Instead, he unleashed his own attacks.

    Despite being bombarded by Lu Yin¡¯s Twin Suns, Lan Si did not actually seem to be injured, and he used his Vacuum Palm once again.

    This time, Lu Yin was unable to anticipate Lan Si¡¯s attack, but fortunately, he had already unleashed Twin Suns, and they shed with the Vacuum Palm that had been released just like the first time.

    Space rippled, and the fluctuations spread out in all directions, tearing through the void.

    The spectators above Fleabane retreated yet again, and even some hidden Enlighters among the crowd were overwhelmed.

    They had all watched as Lan Si had been severely injured by Lu Yin, and logically, the Arbiter¡¯s body should have reached the limit, preventing him from retaliating this quickly. Even if his thoughts were still clear, his body should not be able to respond. Despite that, he had still retaliated with a Vacuum Palm.

    No matter whether it was offense or defense, Lan Si left everyone feeling perplexed.

    Lu Yin was simrly unable to understand how Lan Si had recovered so quickly; his rune lines had clearly weakened by a great deal, which was proof that Lu Yin¡¯s attack had left the Arbiter severely injured. Just how had he been able to retaliate so quickly?

    Fleabane shattered. It was not too far from beingpletely destroyed now.

    Lan Si panted heavily and looked down at the palm imprint that had sunk deep into his body. This was the mark that Lu Yin had left on Lan Si¡¯s body, and it was the Arbiter¡¯s most severe injury to date.

    Lu Yin¡¯s left arm seemed to only be connected to his body by bone, his body had been torn apart, and his blood was drying. He looked the more miserable of the two.

 Chapter 1042: A Ruthless Person

    <h4>Chapter 1042: A Ruthless Person</h4>

    At this moment, nobody could deny Lu Yin¡¯s strength, as he was indeed qualified to fight against the Ten Arbiters head on.

    Lan Si had not relied on the Vacuum Palm to be an Arbiter, only the Oveying Stacks Path. Lu Yin had already shown that he had the strength to hold the seat of one of the Ten Arbiters, but what he needed to do now was defeat Lan Si.

    However, Lan Si himself was still a mystery, as Lu Yin could not figure out how the Arbiter had managed to retaliate so quickly after being seriously injured. At this rate, Lu Yin would lose.

    He had been able to endure Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm in order to observe the technique, find its weakness, and retaliate. This had allowed Lu Yin to set himself up for what seemed to be a guaranteed victory. However, if he could not urately gauge Lan Si¡¯s full strength, then Lu Yin would not be able to win no matter how hard he fought, as all of his efforts could be overturned by Lan Si.

    Lu Yin looked over at Lan Si, and something suddenly urred to him. ¡°That was your innate gift.¡±

    Lan Si panted heavily, and each time he took a breath, the palm imprint on his chest recovered a little. ¡°My innate gift allows me to block out all pain.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and his face went pale.

    Blocking all perception of pain might seem like a useless innate gift, as it did not help a person in attacking or defending. However, to someone who was adept at physical battles, this innate gift was incredibly powerful.

    Pain was the human body¡¯s instinctive way of protecting itself. Only through the feedback of pain would one learn the limits of their physical body. Once pain was felt, no matter how firm a person¡¯s resolve might be, their actions would still be hindered. This was one of the body¡¯s instinctive reactions, and it could not be avoided.

    During a battle, any hint of carelessness could be the basis for the opponent¡¯s victory.

    Being able to block off all perception of pain meant that there would be no restrictions. Even if a person was severely injured, unless their body waspletely destroyed, they would still be able to remain clear headed, and their body would move without any dys, just like what Lan Si had just done. Under normal circumstances, even if Lan Si wanted to retaliate, his body¡¯s limits would not have allowed him to do so. At best, he would have been able to defend himself. But because of his innate gift, Lan Si had blocked off the pain and retaliated.

    Doing something like this might lead to more severe injuries, but it was still much better than directly suffering another attack from the Twin Suns.

    Since the physical body was not sapient itself, it was unable to differentiate between good pain and bad pain; there was only the pain of injuries. Only the brain had any intelligence.

    Lan Si had screened off his body¡¯s pain, which allowed him to use his unclouded intelligence to perfectly control his body. This allowed him to do things that were impossible for normal people.

    Lu Yin instantly understood all of this. It was no wonder how Lan Si had cultivated the Oveying Stacks Path and the Vacuum Palm. Everything had been established upon his foundation of having an innate gift that blocked off pain.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this person is clearly ruthless if he can block out all perception of pain. That¡¯s simply disregarding his body¡ªeven if he falls apart, he¡¯ll still be able to retaliate. Seventh Bro, stop fighting! This guy¡¯s a freak!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, as this was a very tricky situation. He could defeat someone who was even stronger than Lan Si or who had a more powerful innate gift. However, it would be incredibly difficult for him to defeat a person who longed for death.

    Lan Si had removed all perception of pain, and to a certain extent, he was essentially a person seeking death. Without any sense of pain, Lan Si would not be defeated unless he was killed.

    ¡°Now do you understand why I want you to admit defeat? I admit that your strength is impressive, and you¡¯re almost on par with me. However, you¡¯ll never be able to defeat me,¡± Lan Si calmly said.

    He also looked calm despite the deep palm imprint on his chest. It should have left him in agony and even possibly ruptured his organs, but he could not feel the pain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened, as he also had an innate gift. He was fully confident in defeating Lan Si if he could use his die. No matter how much Lan Si blocked off his pain perception, as long as Lu Yin was able to hide in the Timestop Space, he would be able to take medicines and naturally recover from all of his injuries.

    However, Lu Yin could not use his innate gift. At this moment, the entire universe was watching him, and he did not know if anyone would be able to recognize his innate gift that was a die.

    The universe had developed for countless years. Who knew what bizarre events had taken ce in the past?

    Still, there was no need to ponder all this right now. Clearly, it would be far too difficult for Lu Yin to defeat Lan Si.

    This was quite a dilemma; using his innate gift would reveal the die, and Lu Yin was hoping to only reveal it if it was absolutely necessary during his battle with Nightking Zhenwu. If not for Nightking Zhenwu ambushing Lu Yin with his Heart Seeker secret technique, Lu Yin would not have been defeated so easily, especially with his die.

    The next time Lu Yin encountered Nightking Zhenwu, as long as he was not ambushed by the Heart Seeker secret technique, he would not lose as easily. After all, Lu Yin had the Stonewall Scriptures, and he could use it to resist the Daynight n¡¯s spiritual force attacks.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you going to fight or not? If you¡¯re not, then hurry up and leave. Stalling is just helping this guy,¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He had been distracted and had actually started thinking about Nightking Zhenwu even though he still had not found a way to deal with Lan Si, who he was currently fighting.

    The monkey was right. The longer Lu Yin stalled for, the more Lan Si would benefit.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin tore through the void and threw a palm attack at Lan Si.

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze trembled, and he vanished. Lu Yin spread out his domain, and Lan Si appeared as he emerged from the void. At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly unleashed his spiritual force: Night Advent.

    This was the only way for Lu Yin to defeat Lan Si. He had to use his domain to keep track of Lan Si¡¯s whereabouts while using Night Advent at opportune moments to slow down how quickly the Vacuum Palm could be unleashed.

    When Lu Yin released Night Advent, the members of the Daynight n in the Innerverse were stunned. Night Advent was a powerful battle technique that only a few in the entire Daynight n hadprehended, and it was no weaker than the Daynight Restoration Technique; Night Advent was merely not as famous. The moment Lu Yin used their technique, the Daynight n grew furious.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face looked as gloomy as water; Lu Yin had actuallyprehended Night Advent.

    Earlier, Lu Yin had used Night Advent while hidden in the core of Fleabane, but this time, he was using it in the middle of outer space.

    When Night Advent was unleashed, it manifested as an expanse of darkness in front of Lan Si. However, he did not use Vacuum Palm. Since he had already been ambushed once by Lu Yin, Lan Si would not allow himself to be ambushed a second time. Instead, he tore through the void to move to a new location.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain to continue searching for Lan Si.

    Lan Si appeared behind Lu Yin with a hand raised high and ready to attack.

    Lu Yin could not use Night Advent repeatedly, but when Lan Si appeared, Lu Yin tapped out and used his Dream Finger.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s Dream Finger did not suppress an opponent¡¯s spiritual force, it had the special property of solidifying the void, and it was a battle technique from beyond the Upper Three Gates. Unless the disparity of strength was too great, there was no way that Lu Yin¡¯s opponent would be able to stop the void from being frozen, and Lan Si was no exception.

    The Arbiter had never expected Lu Yin to still possess such a battle technique, but even though Vacuum Palm had been dyed for a moment, it was still released. However, the moment Lan Si released the Vacuum Palm, Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art to divert the attack. Still, this time, Lu Yin had not used Truesight to erase some of the rune lines, and he only shifted the attack. Hence, he did not manage topletely divert the attack, and his body was still forced to endure half of the attack.

    The half was something that Lu Yin was willing to endure, and at this moment, his pupils transformed into runes as he weakened the rune lines on Lan Si¡¯s right hand. He did this right as his Dream Finger pierced through the void. The finger instantly prated through Lan Si¡¯s right hand, and the power behind this finger attack continued on after that, ripping open Lan Si¡¯s right arm.

    The two were both thrown back, and half of Lu Yin¡¯s body had gone numb. His nine lined battle force had reached its limits and was about to copse, and he could no longer release his fatesand.

    Lan Si¡¯s right arm had been shattered, and fresh blood pumped out, flowing into space. He was almost unable to stand at this moment.

    This was a pyrrhic battle, and they werepeting in terms of endurance.

    There had never been such a miserable battle involving the younger generation of the Outerverse.

    Beyond the battle, countless people had already guessed at the oue of this battle. The majority had favored Lan Si, expecting him to easily defeat Lu Yin. There had also been some who favored Lu Yin, but they had only expected him to lose graciously.

    Instead, the two were having a bitter fight.

    Countless people silently watched the battle on their screens from within the Innerverse.

    Liu Shaoqiu, Mu Rong, Ling Que, Wen Qian¡¯er, and the others who sat at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings like Xia Tian, Tai Yuanjun, as well as many others, all watched on in silence.

    At this point in the fight, the two had finally revealed all of their trump cards, and many people no longer cared about who won this fight. All that mattered was that these two were among the most powerful people of their generation.

    Even the other Ten Arbiters had to admit that Lu Yin had reached the same level as them.

    Off in the distance, the energy that made up the Astral River continued to recede.

    Fleabane was still breaking apart, and explosions from its core continued to spread outwards. This moment was coincidentally the¡¯s most glorious moment, as it was ending its existence with a literal bang.

    The two youths charged at each other once again without any hesitation.

    Neither was willing to admit defeat, as the battle would have ended long ago if either had been willing.

    Thump

    Thump

    Thump

    Thump

    ¡­

    There was another explosion, and the two were both thrown down onto thest remnants of Fleabane. It had almostpletely shattered by now, but they had managed tond on a continent that had been sent flying into space. Rivers of boilingva snaked across thend, and there were some strange creatures twisting about desperately.

    Lan Si raised his hand: Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain had been fixated on Lan Si this entire time, and when the Arbiter moved, Lu Yin used Night Advent again. However, after multiple uses, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had been greatly depleted. Not only was he unable to injure Lan Si this time, but Lu Yin also suffered repercussions since his body was no longer able to endure Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    At this moment, his nine lined battle force finally copsed. It had endured being struck by at least ten Vacuum Palms from Lan Si. Even the other Ten Arbiters might not be able to endure such abuse, as Lu Yin¡¯s battle force had already reached nine lines, which was the limit.

    Lu Yin was knocked into theva, and when he spat out fresh blood, it was instantly vaporized by theva¡¯s intense heat.

    Lan Si¡¯s left palm was trembling, and he dropped to the ground. When his hand met the earth, it sank down deeply as his sweat and own blood dripped down. Lan Si¡¯s blood was also being burned away.

    He stared intently at the bottom of theva; had Lu Yin been defeated? Was he still able to stand?

    Countless eyes focused on the fragment of a continent from the destroyed Fleabane, specifically at theva on thendmass.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide within theva. His left arm waspletely powerless by now, and his nine lined battle force had been shattered. His fatesand could no longer be released, and his spiritual force was almostpletely exhausted. Even his right hand was no longer able to unleash his more powerful attacks while one finger had been crippled from the use of the Dream Finger and the Oveying Stacks Path. Lu Yin had seldom ever been beaten into such a miserable state, and throughout his nearly twelve years of cultivation, he had experienced very few battles as bitter as this one!

    The redva obstructed his vision, but it also blocked the vision of the people observing Fleabane.

    Lu Yin slowly opened his right palm. Since he was facing one of the Ten Arbiters, it would not be very respectful if he still held back with any of his abilities. After considering this, he screened off the Ghost Monkey, brought out his die, and tapped it with a finger. This was not cheating, as the die was Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift, just like how Lan Si had an innate gift that allowed him to block off all sense of pain.

    If Lan Si had not used his innate gift to block his pain, then this battle might have already ended.

    The die slowly stopped spinning, and Lu Yin stared at it with high expectations, hoping to roll Timestop. As long as he could enter that isted space, everything would be within his grasp.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Through his domain, he could sense that Lan Si had appeared directly above him, and the Arbiter¡¯s star energy was surging as he pushed theva aside.

    Lu Yin hurriedly gathered his forcefield around him, forming arge tree to stop this attack, but he failed. Lan Si¡¯s gaze trembled, and he raised his left hand to p out with an attack. This time it was not the Vacuum Palm but rather One Hundred Stacks.

    At that instance, Lu Yin¡¯s die slowly stopped spinning. Five pips: Gift Copy.

    There was a thump as the attack struck Lu Yin head on, sending his body flying away from thendmass and back into outer space. Lu Yin tumbled through space as he spat out another mouthful of blood.

    Lan Si stood on thendmass and stared at the distant Lu Yin. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you, but it¡¯s time to admit defeat! Your body has already reached its limit.¡±

 Chapter 1043: Lu Yinâ€™s Smile

    <h4>Chapter 1043: Lu Yin¡¯s Smile</h4>

    With great difficulty, Lu Yin managed to stabilize himself. He coughed twice as he continued to pant heavily. His die had already vanished, but his lips were curling upwards. Was this the innate gift of blocking off pain? How interesting.

    Five pips: Gift Copy allowed Lu Yin to borrow another person¡¯s innate gift, and whenever he rolled it, if he touched someone with an innate gift within ten seconds, he would be able to borrow their innate gift.

    Ever since he had discovered this aspect of his die, Lu Yin had not found it to be very useful. He had never expected that it woulde in handy at this moment.

    The moment the die hadnded on five pips: Gift Copy was coincidentally the same moment when Lan Si¡¯s attack had fallen upon Lu Yin. Lan Si had been the one to take the initiative to touch Lu Yin, and although the attack had harmed Lu Yin, it had also granted him Lan Si¡¯s innate gift.

    Lan Si thought that there was something strange about Lu Yin at this moment; was he smiling?

    Lu Yin was indeed smiling, and countless people saw this scene. Everyone felt confused. Smiling? Why? How could he smile at a time like this?

    Someone with a crippled left arm who could not even stabilize his battle force was still able to smile?

    Lan Si suddenly felt uneasy, and he subconsciously raised his left hand to unleash another Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and his left arm that should have been crippled rose up. He tapped out at the exact same moment that Lan Si was about to use Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin used Dream Finger, and through the perception of his domain, he solidified the void one step ahead of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, dying it. Meanwhile, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes and weakened Lan Si¡¯s left hand, just like what he had done to Lan Si¡¯s right hand earlier.

    Lan Si still managed to release his Vacuum Palm, as even he was not able to stop it. Once again, Lu Yin diverted the attack with the Yu Secret Art, and just like when he had crippled Lan Si¡¯s right hand, the Dream Finger pierced through Lan Si¡¯s left hand and smashed Lan Si¡¯s entire left arm to pieces.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the Yu Secret Art would not be able topletely divert Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm and that he would have to endure half of the attack. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the Yu Secret Art hadpletely diverted the Vacuum Palm this time.

    Lan Si had also reached his limit, or rather, he had reached his limit long ago. It was just that he had managed to continue fighting on by blocking off his pain receptors. It looked like he was still able to fight, but in reality, Lan Si¡¯s body was already unable to move.

    With both of his arms crippled, Lan Si had a stupefied expression on his face. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief as he slowly fell down.

    Lu Yin¡¯s left arm was trembling intensely, as he had only been able to use Lan Si¡¯s innate gift once. After that, the pain had flooded back like a tsunami, nearly knocking Lu Yin unconscious.

    He was barely able to stand in ce right now, and he watched as thendmass drifted further and further away into space.

    Everyone¡¯s focus had shifted from Lu Yin over to thendmass where Lan Si had fallen. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si had been the first to fall.

    Standing above the Top 100 Rankings, the Ten Arbiters had dominated their entire generation from high above.

    They were the Ten Arbiters, and they heldplete authority over the younger generation with their unrivaled legend. Since ancient times, these ten freaks from this generation were the only ones who had earned the name of the Ten Arbiters, and they werepletely unprecedented.

    Everyone had epted that it wasmon sense that nobody could defeat the Ten Arbiters.

    However, at this moment, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si had, truly andpletely, fallen.

    This scene left the entire universe utterly speechless.

    If Lan Si had won, then the oue would have been epted as proper. However, his defeat created a hugemotion, and this battle seemed to raise the curtains on a new era, one in which a new Arbiter would be born: Lu Yin.

    In the Outerverse, the entire Frostwave Weave began celebrating; the entire Great Yu Empire was excited, and countless people were cheering.

    The Vastdearth Sect, Neo-Vestige Sect, Six-Fingered Tribe, Tri-Banner Federation, Evenground Pce, and other powers that were a part of the Great Eastern Alliance suddenly felt a strange mixture of pride and bitterness surge within them as countlessplex and ineffable emotions raged through their hearts.

    Some people felt relieved of their burdens, as they saw a hope for the future in Lu Yin, as this giant ship would continue to sail onwards.

    Some felt that they no longer had any hope of ever getting off of this ship.

    The battle on Fleabane had been more than a battle between two members of the younger generation, as the measured power levels of the attacks unleashed in this battle had actually gotten close to 300,000. In the entire Outerverse, the attacks of these two youths could ce them within the top twenty most powerful experts, and this was without using any items. If items were allowed, then nobody knew exactly how powerful these two youths would be.

    On Zenyu Star, Wei Rong heaved a sigh of relief. Lu Yin seemed unstoppable at this moment.

    In Millions City, Qiong Xi¡¯er covered her head; what a monster.

    Madam Nn smiled faintly, as her decision in the past had proven to be correct. This person was even fearless of the Ten Arbiters now, and he had emerged victorious in a fair fight against one of them.

    On Skylush, Zi Tianchuan felt helpless, and he immediately banished his former delusions. From this point forward, they would forever live under this person¡¯s shadow.

    In Aegis, ck Mask closed his eyes. They would remain on this ship and carry on. It did not matter what the oue might turn out to be.

    Acquaintances and strangers all sighed as they stared at Lu Yin standing high above the shattered. No one knew what to think at this moment.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was dazzling beyond belief.

    Even the other Ten Arbiters in the Innerverse werepletely focused on Lu Yin at this moment, as this person had already been putting some pressure on them before this fight.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression was icy, and he did not say a single word. He simply turned to look at the ancestral grounds and the stone que standing there. This person had to die, as he would bring about a disaster if he was left alone.

    Above Fleabane, Wendy Yushan heaved a sigh of relief. She thought back to when she had been able to simply disregard Lu Yin; how many years had passed since then? To them cultivators, it was just a sh, but Lu Yin now stood at a height far above Wendy, and he had climbed up to that position step by step. It had been difficult and bitter, but he had steadily continued.

    The bespectacled Mistchild fearfully looked at Lu Yin, as he had transformed yet againpared to when they had first met. He had be terrifying and immeasurable beyondparison.

    Alone in space, Lu Yin was aware that the entire universe was focusing on him at this moment, and he slowly flew to thendmass. Lan Si opened his eyes, but he did not even know what he was seeing.

    He had regained consciousness, but his body was unable to move as he had surpassed his limits. Although blocking off his perception of pain had allowed him to draw out much more power, it had also left him unable to sense his body¡¯s limits. Lu Yin¡¯s final blow had just been a normal palm, but just that had been enough to bring about Lan Si¡¯s downfall.

    Covered by a shadow, Lu Yin walked over next to Lan Si and looked down at the Arbiter. ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Lan Si looked calm. He was not unwilling to ept this oue, as he had truly done his best, and a defeat was a defeat. He had nothing left to say. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve won.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged next to Lan Si, took out a pot of wine from his cosmic ring, and passed it over to Lan Si.

    Lan Si merely stared at Lu Yin in a calm manner.

    Lu Yin was stumped. He had actually forgotten that Lan Si was unable to move. So, Lu Yin opened the wine and set it down next to Lan Si.

    Lan Si used his remaining star energy to take control of the pot, and he moved the wine to flow into his mouth.

    Lu Yin was in so much pain that his entire body trembled, but he was still in much better shape than Lan Si, as Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had already surpassed Lan Si¡¯s.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt even more grateful to Nightking Zhenwu. If the Nightking hadn¡¯t severely injured Lu Yin and left him in a near-death state, then how could he have used the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival to improve his physical body even further?

    If not for that encounter, Lu Yin definitely would have lost to Lan Si in this battle, as Lu Yin would not have possessed as much physical strength.

    He had seeded because of Zhenwu, but he had also failed because of Zhenwu.

    ¡°How does it feel to beat me?¡± Lan Si asked while calmly surveying the sky.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I never thought that you would be so powerful.¡±

    Lan Si was astonished. ¡°Those should be my words! I never thought that I would lose.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°One Hundred Fifty Stacks. There aren¡¯t many in the younger generation who can receive that attack, and on top of that, you also have your Vacuum Palm and an innate gift that blocks off your perception of pain. You certainly live up to the reputation of being one of the unrivaled Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lan Simented, ¡°Are you just ttering yourself?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head and took a mouthful of wine. ¡°I¡¯ve fought many battles, and there have been many times where my life was left dangling by a thread, and there were even some times where I could be considered dead. However, the most refreshing battle I¡¯ve ever had was with you, as we are the same kind of person.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I looked for you after you matched my record from the Astral Combat Academy. You and I are the same kind of person,¡± Lan Si replied.

    ¡­

    Off in the distance, there were countless people watching, but none of them dared to approach.

    A spacecraft arrived, and on it was Elder Tie as well as the experts from Mt. Stacks Dojo, though they were stopped by a group of people. Lan Baobao herself made a move, but the person blocking their way was not weak. It was the old woman from the Nn family.

    Lan Baobao¡¯s attacks werepletely ineffective.

    ¡°Move!¡± Lan Baobao screamed. She was anxiously looking into the distance, as she was afraid that Lu Yin would do something to Lan Si.

    Next to her, Elder Tie was far calmer, as he was not worried that Lu Yin would do anything to his young master with so many eyes watching. Lan Si had already been defeated, so if Lu Yin did anything further, the universe would see it as uneptable. All Elder Tie wanted to do was simply hurry over and treat his young master.

    The old woman shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been given orders to ensure that the two have a fair fight. Before they speak up, you cannot approach.¡±

    Elder Tie anxiously asked, ¡°Young Master has already been defeated, so what more do you want?¡±

    The old woman¡¯s face showed her determination.

    At this moment, quite a few other experts appeared, and there were more than five Enlighters who stepped up, including the Moke Sword Sect Leader Ke Yun, Mafioso¡¯s Topmist, and many other experts who had been hiding.

    These experts all belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance, and now that Lu Yin had achieved victory, it had cemented their determination to protect the Great Eastern Alliance.

    If the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo were allowed to approach Lu Yin, then these experts would be seen as having no worth, and their so-called ¡°Great Eastern Alliance¡± would be treated as a joke.

    Elder Tie grew sullen. Before the battle in the astral cemetery, when he had wanted to cause trouble for Wei Rong, he had also faced a simr situation. Lu Yin¡¯s influence was too impressive, and he had bodyguards wherever he went.

    On thendmass that floated through space, Lu Yin took out a pill and offered it to Lan Si. ¡°Do you dare to take it?¡±

    Lan Si opened his mouth, and Lu Yin tossed the pill in.

    Many saw this from a distance, and Elder Tie was stunned. ¡°Young Master, be careful of tricks!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, what did you feed my brother?¡± Lan Baobao screamed.

    Lu Yinughed and looked off into the distance. ¡°I, Lu Yin, have already emerged victorious, so what else would I do? What are you guys afraid of? Hahaha.¡±

    When Lu Yin startedughing, the countless people from the Great Eastern Alliance who were above the shattered Fleabane also began tough, not even knowing why. They merely wanted tough with Lu Yin.

    Watching from their screens, countless people throughout the Outerverse alsoughed in delight.

    In the Innerverse, anyone who saw this scene had an unspeakable feeling; they felt oppressed and sullen. It was as if the Outerverse already belonged to Lu Yin. If heughed, then others wouldugh. If he cried, then countless people would face a cmity.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s authority at this moment. He represented countless other people, and he was currently in control of thergest ship in all of history.

    Elder Tie and the others from Mt. Stacks Dojo were like a lone vessel in the middle of the sea, and they looked around nkly. A formless pressure had enveloped them, and they could not even move.

    At this moment, Lan Si¡¯s shattered arm gradually started recovering, and he painfully moved his finger. It was almost unbearable, but he could still move it.

    He raised his hand and waved. ¡°Step aside and let us have a chat.¡±

    Elder Tie and the others stopped speaking.

    Lan Baobao stared at Lu Yin with aplex expression, and it was impossible to know what she was thinking at this moment.

    Lu Yin smiled in a very carefree manner, as he had finally ovee an immense pressure. He had freely used his strength however he wished while fighting against Lan Si, and it had been too liberating of a feeling. At this moment, he could only release his emotions byughing.

    Lan Si looked up at Lu Yin. He slowly moved into a sitting position, drained the wine pot, and then coughed a few times.

 Chapter 1044: The Restored Astral River

    <h4>Chapter 1044: The Restored Astral River</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Lan Si, who was coughing. ¡°Don¡¯t drink too fast. The pill is effective, but it still needs some time to work.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lan Si said. ¡°Defeating me means that you can rece me as one of the Ten Arbiters. You¡¯re certainly qualified in terms of strength.¡±

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. ¡°I don¡¯t want to rece you¡ªI want to rece someone else.¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze shifted, but he did not reply.

    Lu Yin wiped his lips, which had had some leftover dried bloodstains on them. He had also swallowed a pill already, one that had been upgraded until its rune lines almost matched those of an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. Naturally, it was amazingly effective.

    Lan Si looked down at his own arm and smiled bitterly. ¡°I never imagined that I could lose.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already said that several times,¡± Lu Yin observed.

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°But I truly never even considered it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Each of us is confident in our own strength, and we almost came out even. If you had been just a little luckier, I would have lost, and if I had been a little less luckier, then you would have won. This is quite normal.¡±

    Lan Si seriously answered, ¡°This was not just a matter of luck. You were able to withstand more than ten Vacuum Palms, which is something that I never expected. When wepeted outside of the ruins, I was able to sense your physical strength, and I am confident that, at that time, you could not have even received three Vacuum Palms. Who could have guessed that, in such a short amount of time, you would improve by so much. You were even able to upgrade your eight lined battle force to nine lines, and your physical strength is strong enough topensate for a difference in realms, even surpassing mine. Along with your secret technique and Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods, your improvement was just too much.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. If I hadn¡¯t been able to improve my eight lined battle force to nine lines, then there¡¯s no way I would have been able to receive so many of your Vacuum Palms, and I would have definitely lost in that case.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, the difference between us will only grow more in the future,¡± Lan Si said seriously.

    Lu Yin did not understand. ¡°What do you mean? That I¡¯ll pull ahead, or you will?¡±

    Lan Siughed. ¡°Of course you¡¯ll be the one to pull ahead! You¡¯ve only cultivated for twelve years, but me? I¡¯m close to forty years old, and I¡¯ve been cultivating ever since I was young. I was given the Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s best resources, and I even obtained the Vacuum Palm by chance. But you walked out of the Outerverse, step by step, and although many say that the Hall of Honor is your true background, I have the feeling that you¡¯ve never received any guidance from them, as your battle style is very feral.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up, as this was the first time anyone had called his style feral.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re not convinced?¡± Lan Si retorted. He then continued, exining, ¡°You have many methods, and they are all quiteplex. The higher you climb, the more these things will burden you. You have a domain and battle force, and you¡¯ve cultivated them decently. However, you also use battle techniques, your physical body, and spiritual force. Such diversity is taboo among cultivators, or at least, it is ording to the education that I¡¯ve received.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, deep in thought. He had considered this before, and it was true that his strength wasplex with many different techniques. However, there was nothing that he could do about it. He had not put much effort into improving his domain, and he had never specifically trained his physical strength either, but they had both been miraculously upgraded as he naturally cultivated. Lu Yin was quite helpless about the process, but of course, he enjoyed the results.

    If he hadn¡¯t been able to use his domain to sense Lan Si¡¯s location during this battle, then Lu Yin would not have had enough time to react to the Arbiter¡¯s sudden movements and seize the advantage. Having more varied fighting methods in battle was not necessarily bad, as they provided him with more flexible attack patterns.

    Still, Lu Yin did not say any of this to Lan Si, as the Arbiter would not possibly believe Lu Yin. His abilities had been miraculously upgraded? Only a fool would believe that such things were possible.

    ¡°You said that you¡¯re almost forty, but I¡¯ve heard that two of the Ten Arbiters are already older than forty. Do you know which ones they are?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Si replied, ¡°Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised to hear that Xing Kai had already surpassed forty years of age, as his appearance looked like a fifty year old¡¯s. On the other hand, judging by his appearance, Serati Phoenix did not look older than forty at all.

    Still, it was quite normal for a cultivator¡¯s age to be drastically different from what age they physically appeared to be.

    ¡°What¡¯ll happen when the Ten Arbiters surpass the age limit?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Si set the wine pot down. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Lan Si thought about it and then replied, ¡°We¡¯ll see if anyone can rece them.¡± After saying that, he looked at Lu Yin andmented, ¡°Your position right now is pretty awkward.¡±

    Lu Yin also had thought about this, as his strength was strong enough to rece either Xing Kai or Serati Phoenix. If anyone wanted to use age as an excuse to remove them from their positions, then Lu Yin would definitely be used in the negotiations.

    Lu Yin did not have much of an impression of Xing Kai, but it was different for Serati Phoenix. Even though Lu Yin had never really encountered the Arbiter, just the Undying Bird¡¯s reputation was enough to make people wary. The family¡¯s ability to survive within Daynight Flowzone without caring much about what the Daynight n thought was indicative of the Phoenix family¡¯s strength.

    Lan Si stared at the distant Astral River. He seemed to be speaking to both himself and Lu Yin as he said, ¡°The Ten Arbiters are ten extraordinary people, and not a single one of us can be underestimated.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart twitched. ¡°Have you traded blows with any of the other Arbiters?¡±

    Lan Si thought about it and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Who? And what was the oue?¡±

    Lan Si thought back, and his brows involuntarily rose up. ¡°Wen Sansi, oue-¡± He paused as he took a long drink of wine from the pot. ¡°Lost.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. ¡°How?¡±

    Lan Si looked at him. ¡°If you fight against him one day, you¡¯ll understand what it truly means to be exasperated. Even if he just stands there and doesn¡¯t attack you, you still won¡¯t be able to think of winning.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand. ¡°Unable to be attacked?¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°The one who can¡¯t be attacked is Jin He. Wen Sansi is even more disgusting, and you¡¯ll understand when you eventually face him. Actually, I didn¡¯t exactly lose, but regardless, I can¡¯t beat him.¡±

    ¡°Do you know about Jin He?¡± Lu Yin asked, his expression growing a bit colder.

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°Not really. He usually seems prettyid back, but he enjoys killing too much.¡±

    The two chatted for a long time. By the end, Lan Si¡¯s injuries had recovered a bit, and he was barely able to stand up.

    ¡°For our battle, I lost. ording to our wager, from this day forward, the Mt. Stacks Dojo¡¯s Lan family will unconditionally support you,¡± Lan Si solemnly said to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew emotional, as the Lan family¡¯s strength was rather significant. Also, Lan Si was one of the Ten Arbiters. This meant that, before Lu Yin had even be an Arbiter himself, he was already able to influence one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin also stood up. The feeling in his left arm was slowly returning, and he was recovering from his other injuries as well.

    Off in the distance, away from the ruins of Fleabane, the crowd gradually dispersed. At the same time, the Great Eastern Alliance established a perimeter and prevented anyone from recording Lu Yin at this moment.

    Lu Yin extended his hand towards Lan Si.

    Lan Si smiled bitterly, but then he grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hand to stand up.

    Upon seeing this, Elder Tie and the others approached the two, and Lan Baobao red fiercely at Lu Yin, but she quickly looked at Lan Si with concern.

    ¡°Young Master, how are your injuries? Let¡¯s go and get you treated first,¡± Elder Tie said.

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    Elder Tie was not reassured with Lan Si¡¯s answer, and he quickly found a cultivator with an innate gift of healing to treat Lan Si.

    Lan Si said, ¡°Starting today, our Mt. Stacks Dojo will join the Great Yu Empire and unconditionally support Lu Yin.¡±

    Elder Tie and the others fell silent, as they had all been aware of the wager.

    Actually, they had never considered the possibility of their young master losing, and like Lan Si, they had only believed in his victory. Their mindset had matched the thoughts of most people in the universe, but ultimately, Lan Si had lost. Thus, it was difficult for them to ept the oue since everything had happened so suddenly.

    Lan Baobao red at Lu Yin. ¡°Did you use any dirty tricks?¡±

    ¡°Baobao, shut up!¡± Lan Si growled.

    Lan Baobao was unsatisfied. ¡°How could he win if he didn¡¯t use any dirty tricks? You¡¯re one of the Ten Arbiters!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and did not bicker with the girl. ¡°Everyone, pack up for now. Actually, it¡¯s not too bad to stay on Zenyu Star. I¡¯ll make arrangements for everyone.¡±

    Elder Tie and the others looked to Lan Si.

    He nodded.

    Lu Yin grew excited. With this group of experts from the Mt. Stacks Dojo staying on the, Zenyu Star¡¯s safety was essentially guaranteed, especially since Elder Tie already had a power level of more than 300,000. The would be well protected now.

    In the distance, various experts bowed to Lu Yin before leaving.

    Lu Yin simrly expressed his thanks to the old woman and several other experts.

    He was quite clear on his position. Even though he was the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander and the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, he still needed the support of the people. They had shown him enough face, and they were all experts as well. Even if these people left the Great Eastern Alliance, he would still have to show them an appropriate amount of respect.

    After the battle, Lu Yin activated his gadget, and countless messages continued to pour in, each one congratting him for defeating Lan Si.

    Fleabane hadpletely disappeared from the universe due to this battle, but its name would be forever recorded down in history.

    Wendy Yushan moved over, and she looked at Lu Yin with concern.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept past her, and he saw that the Astral River¡¯s energy was dissipating at an unprecedented speed. A gaseous energy was constantly being released that flooded space in a rarely seen cloud that billowed towards them.

    Everyone stared at the Astral River, as if they were all forming a guess at something.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide when he felt the spreading star energy sweep through the area. He activated the Cosmic Art and quickly began absorbing the energy as a vortex formed around him.

    All of the cultivators in the area instinctively began to absorb the surging star energy.

    Gradually, the star energy cloud swept by them, and the Astral River¡¯s surging energy that had once connected heaven and earth and obstructed passage between the Outerverse and Innerverse vanished.

    Lu Yin had known that this day would eventuallye, but he had never expected that it would be so soon.

    The Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse for eighty months. Eighty entire months had passed, which was six and a half years. Finally, the connection had been reestablished.

    As the energy dissipated, the various strange fish that had once roamed the Astral River¡¯s energy fell out, making for a magnificent sight. Some of the strange creatures¡¯ rune lines even caused Lu Yin to shudder.

    Fortunately, these creatures did not leave the Astral River, as that would be too terrifying.

    Countless cultivators dashed toward the border of the Astral River.

    Elder Tie and the others hadplex expressions. Now that the Astral River had returned to its normal state, they would be able to return to the Starfall Sea. However, nobody knew what had happened to Grayweed Continent, not to mention Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    ¡°I might simply abdicate from the Ten Arbiters,¡± Lan Si suddenly mentioned, which caused a great number of gasps of surprise.

    Lan Baobao felt aggrieved, as the Ten Arbiters were synonymous with unrivaled. A defeated Divine Fist would indeed find it hard to continue being an Arbiter, though he was still fully strong enough to remain an Arbiter.

    ¡°Young Master, the position of the Ten Arbiters was given by the Hall of Honor. Even if Lu-¡± Elder Tie caught himself before continuing, ¡°Even if Alliance Leader Lu beat you, he cannot immediately be an Arbiter himself.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°This is unrted to this fight. Rather, it¡¯s because the influence behind me has disappeared.¡±

    Elder Tie and the others looked aggrieved, but they fell silent.

    Lu Yin instantly understood. The Ten Arbiters represented more than ten inconceivably powerful youths¡ªmore importantly, the title represented the powers behind them.

    Lan Si had represented Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent.

    Grayweed Continent had been home to seventy two dojos and a dozen Enlighters. Besides Dojo Master Lan, there had also been Tian Yanzi, another Envoy, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning its unique geographic location. With this power supporting him, Lan Si had been able to be one of the Ten Arbiters, wielding matchless authority. Otherwise, just based on his power level, how could he be qualified tomand the younger generation?

    No matter how powerful Lan Si might be, he was still just a youth, and any random powerful member of the older generation from an Innerverse power would be able to erase him.

    Bing one of the Ten Arbiters who had the authority to make decisions required one to also have a powerful strength supporting them from behind.

 Chapter 1045: Achieved It

    <h4>Chapter 1045: Achieved It</h4>

    Now that Mt. Stacks Dojo had been destroyed along with almost all of the seventy two dojos from Grayweed Continent, there was nobody left to support Lan Si. Even if he was able to retain his position as one of the Ten Arbiters, he would have no authority. Rather than staying behind and being humiliated, he felt that he might as well voluntarily abdicate.

    Elder Tie and the others were still unwilling to ept their young master¡¯s defeat to Lu Yin, and they could not ept Lan Si abdicating his position of Arbiter. If this truly took ce, then along with the cmity that had befallen Grayweed Continent, their lives would be in a very dark ce.

    ¡°I might actually have a way to help you,¡± Lu Yin offered.

    Lan Si was astonished. ¡°You want me to keep my position as an Arbiter so that I can support you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as this was one of the primary reasons why he did not want to take Lan Si¡¯s seat. Lan Si was an upright person, and he would definitely follow through on his agreement to unconditionally support Lu Yin. Since that was the case, then it would be a waste of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts if Lan Si was no longer one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°How so?¡± Lan Si asked..

    Lu Yin exined, saying, ¡°If the Sea King¡¯s Dome supports you, then your status shouldn¡¯t be much lower than when you had Grayweed Continent behind you.¡±

    Lan Si thought about this proposal. ¡°Although no one knows where the Sea King is at the moment, the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s influence within the Starfall Sea is immense. They still have an Envoy in Elder He, and they even have a bit of influence within the Hall of Honor. So yes, that would indeed be enough.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Now, he needed to check and see what response the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s would have to such a proposal.

    The moment theworks in the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected, they should have been able to sense if the Sea King was dead or alive.

    If the Sea King was not dead, then that would be great, as the Sea King¡¯s Dome would be able to maintain its influence. Otherwise, even if they retained their influence at this moment, they would still be bullied by the other various great powers of the Innerverse sooner orter.

    Within the Innerverse¡¯s Daynight n, Nightking Zhenwu stood at the border and activated his gadget to call someone.

    After some time, a gloomy voice was heard from the gadget. ¡°The Hall of Honor is unable to judge Lu Yin at the moment.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu frowned. ¡°Why? He is a traitor to our Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°He is an Honor Chosen, and he has Yuan Shi vouching for him. Lu Yin is not a traitor to our Fifth Maind. Nightking Zhenwu, please be careful with what you say.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was surprised. ¡°What? He¡¯s an Honor Chosen? Impossible!¡±

    ¡°As an Honor Chosen, Lu Yin also qualifies topete for an inheritance at the Astral Tower. Nightking Zhenwu, if you do not have concrete proof of your usations, then do not use the Daynight n¡¯s influence to condemn Lu Yin as a traitor. Otherwise, your actions will affect the Hall of Honor¡¯s prestige.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu became so furious that he immediately hung up.

    He had never even dreamed that Lu Yin would obtain such a status. When Nightking Zhenwu believed that he had killed Lu Yin, he had not been overly concerned about any possible repercussions from denouncing Lu Yin as a traitor. His only intentions in doing so were to demonstrate the Daynight n¡¯s power.

    But now that Lu Yin had been revealed to still be alive, and especially after he had managed to defeat Lan Si, this matter had be far too important. Even if the people from Leon¡¯s Armada or the Astral Combat Academy continued to pressure Nightking Zhenwu, he was still determined to deal with Lu Yin. Otherwise, the Nightking would never be able to rx.

    Lu Yin defeating the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si had shocked the entire universe, and within the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, countless people stared at Lu Yin¡¯s image, which was at the top of their stone que in a daze. They simply did not know what to think.

    Hui Daynight had a calm look, but in the depths of his eyes, there was a glimmer of expectation and hope.

    Nightqueen Yanqing opened her eyes, and she instinctively nced at the top of the stone que. She could not progress any higher. She was not the only person who had made incredible improvements during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, as Zhanlong Daynight had also improved drastically. It was not very realistic for her to surpass him.

    Besides that, there were also two others above Zhanlong Daynight: Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu.

    Out of everyone in the entire Daynight n, there was nobody who could surpass these three.

    Nobody knew if Lu Yin was capable of surpassing Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s elder brother.

    Upon thinking of this, Nightqueen Yanqing shook her head. She was thinking too much. Even though Lu Yin had managed to defeat Lan Si, it did not mean that he could beat her brother. The Mt. Stacks Dojo and the Daynight n were on different levels; if not for Grayweed Continent having seventy two dojos, then even with its special location, Lan Si would not have been qualified to even be mentioned as being on an equal level as her brother.

    There were different levels of power and influence between the Ten Arbiters, and her brother had the full support of the Daynight n. How could he be someone whom Lan Si couldpare to?

    The fact that an outsider like Lu Yin had advanced to such a level was already very impressive, but there was no way for him to surpass her brother on the stone que.

    Nightqueen Yanqing decided to take a break, asprehending inheritances was not an easy process, and she was beginning to feel a bit light-headed.

    Suddenly, shouts were heard, and Nightqueen Yanqing even heard her own name mentioned.

    ¡°Surpassed! Zhuo Daynight has surpassed boss Nightking Xiong. Now, she¡¯s just below Nightqueen Yanqing.¡±

    ¡°She actually surpassed boss Nightking Xiong? She¡¯s gonna be in trouble! Boss Xiong is not one to be messed with.¡±

    ¡°Shh- Boss Xiong is right there!¡±

    ¡­

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked up at the stone que in the ancestral grounds again, and she saw that Nightking Xiong, who had previously been just below her, had suddenly fallen to sixth ce. Surprisingly, Zhuo Daynight had surpassed him.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was slightly shocked, as she had a very clear understanding of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s talent. The girl had already surpassed Yanqing¡¯s expectations when Zhuo Daynight had managed to reach the top ten of the ancestral grounds¡¯ stone que, and at this moment, she had actually surpassed Nightking Xiong.

    Nightking Xiong and Nightking Zhenwu were from the same generation, which was one generation above Nightqueen Yanqing. Thus, the two were almost old enough to no longer be considered a part of the younger generation. In terms of strength, Nightking Xiong should be at about the same level as Nightking Gu. This person had not chased after fame, and he had never even left the n¡¯s ancestral grounds. Still, he was ranked thirty seventh on the Top 100 Rankings, which was quite impressive.

    Zhuo Daynight had barely managed to surpass Nightking Xiong with the experience that she had gained during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. This was how she had managed to step past him.

    There was a shout, and Nightqueen Yanqing frowned as she looked off into the distance, where she saw a robust-looking man looking in all directions. Finally, he stared directly at Zhuo Daynight and walked towards her step by step. ¡°Woman, fight me!¡±

    Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes, and they started to sh.

    Beneath the stone que, where the ancient figures were gathered, a person spoke up. ¡°Do not act impudently within the ancient inheritance grounds.¡±

    Nightking Xiong bowed low. ¡°Senior, this junior just wants to help those in our nprehend and consolidate the battle techniques that they have justprehended. I wouldn¡¯t dare be impudent.¡±

    Before the figure could speak up again, another voice called out from the distance, ¡°Back off.¡±

    Nightking Xiong¡¯s expression changed tremendously. He did not dare to utter even a single word more, and he immediately retreated.

    Of the members of the Daynight n, Nightking Xiong was unafraid of the older generation since they were all members of the same n, and those old folks would not argue with him. However, Nightking Zhenwu was the one who had given that order, and his status was different. Offending Arbiter Zhenwu would lead to a life even worse than death.

    Zhuo Daynight looked calm as she nced at the peak of the stone que, at Lu Yin. Congrattions on defeating Lan Si and formally joining the top of the universe.

    But please, don¡¯t underestimate Nightking Zhenwu.

    Even though Zhuo Daynight had not spoken with Lu Yin very often, she understood him quite well. She knew that he would definitely try to take revenge for the grudge that had formed when the two had fought atop the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Do your best to endure!

    However, if Zhuo Daynight ever met Lu Yin again, they would likely be enemies, as by that time, she would likely already have been married to Nightking Zhenwu and be his glorious puppet.

    Zhuo Daynight closed her eyes and returned to reenter the corridor of inheritance.

    Off in the distance, Nightking Zhenwu had been staring at Zhuo Daynight from start to finish. After he learned that Lu Yin was an Honor Chosen, the Nightking¡¯s unpleasant emotions had grown even darker after ncing at Zhuo Daynight. However, his lips mysteriously curled up in a manner that inspired fear in anyone else.

    To Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Xiong was just a clown. Although he was indeed powerful, he had reached the limits of his potential and did not have much room to grow.

    However, Yanqing also disregarded Zhuo Daynight. Even though she was unsure as to why her brother valued this girl so much, Yanqing believed that it was impossible for Zhuo Daynight to surpass her.

    Right as this thought passed through her mind, shouts entered Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s ears once again, and these criespletely overwhelmed the ones from before.

    Nightqueen Yanqing looked back up at the ancestral grounds¡¯ stone que, and her pupils shrank. Zhuo Daynight¡¯s image had actually surpassed the Nightqueen¡¯s, bing the image that stood right below Zhanlong Daynight.

    How was such a thing possible? Nightqueen Yanqing suddenly stood up to take a closer look at Zhuo Daynight off in the distance.

    She was not the only one, as many people were looking over.

    Within the inheritance corridor, Zhuo Daynight had continued to press forward after surpassing Nightking Xiong. Shockingly, the battle technique that had appeared before her was actually Night¡¯s End, Daybreak!

    Within the Daynight n, there were numerous battle techniques, but very few people could obtain them, and even fewer were able to cultivate the techniques.

    Since Zhuo Daynight had alreadyprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak due to the Dayking bloodline¡¯s crisis and had spent an exorbitant amount of time within the corridor of inheritance, it was quite normal for Night¡¯s End, Daybreak to appear before her.

    Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was one of the most powerful battle techniques of the entire Daynight n, and it belonged to the same tier of battle techniques as Skybreaker as it had beaten an entire era into submission. The moment the battle technique appeared in front of her, Zhuo Daynight had surpassed Nightqueen Yanqing on the stone que.

    Besides everything else, Zhuo Daynight had cultivated Night¡¯s End, Daybreak for more than six years, and she had already achieved a bit ofprehension regarding this battle technique. She had even firstprehended it at the edge of life and death, so her understanding of it was not shallow at all.

    After just a few minutes, she suddenly passed Zhanlong Daynight and reached a height that ced her only below Nightking Zhenwu and Lu Yin.

    She had sessively surpassed three people, which would ordinarily not be that shocking. However, she was now at the peak of the stone que.

    All of the members of the Daynight n stared at Zhuo Daynight with fervent eyes, each of them wanting to know exactly what battle technique she had obtained.

    Even the most ancient figures who remained beneath the stone que had opened their eyes.

    One of them had aplex expression while also having an expectant gaze simr to Hui Daynight¡¯s.

    Lu Yin had been able to reach his height on the stone que because he had prated deeply into the corridor, almost reaching the end. His image¡¯s height was not because of any deep understanding towards the battle technique that he had received.

    The only battle technique within the corridor that was suitable for him was Night Advent, which rivaled the Daynight Restoration Technique. However, it could notpare to Night¡¯s End, Daybreak or Skybreaker.

    One dayter, Zhuo Daynight demonstrated the results of her past six years¡¯ effort ofprehending Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. She suddenly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s image and became the second ranked image on the que. She was now second only to Nightking Zhenwu.

    Everyone was stunned, as Zhuo Daynight had just made history by consecutively surpassing four people at the top of the que within a single day.

    Quite a few eyes were staring intently at Zhuo Daynight, and the expressions among the descendants of the Dayking bloodline were even more heated. Although they knew that such a thing was not possible, they still hoped that Zhuo Daynight would somehow surpass Nightking Zhenwu and truly create history.

    Ever since the Dayking had died, another Dayking descendant had never reached first ce on the stone que, and they hoped that Zhuo Daynight would be able to do so.

    However, reality left them disappointed, as Zhuo Daynight opened her eyes at that moment. There was no need for her to continueprehending the inheritance.

    Someone could not stop themselves from speaking up, ¡°Zhuo Daynight, keep it up¡ªyou can create history!¡±

    The words of that one person caused the entire Nightking n to grow unhappy, but they represented countless years of the Dayking n¡¯s dreams.

    Zhuo Daynight calmly stood up and left.

    Create history? How was that possible? They did not understand the true terror of Nightking Zhenwu, and Skybreaker was in no way inferior to Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. Zhuo Daynight did not believe that she could surpass Nightking Zhenwu when it came toprehending a peerless battle technique.

    The more one understood Nightking Zhenwu, the more desperate they would feel, at least that was the case for Zhuo Daynight.

    If she had not witnessed that battle, then she would have been able to dedicate her utmost toprehension ande up with all sorts of ways to surpass Nightking Zhenwu. At least in her heart, she would have been able to believe that there was some bit of hope.

    However, it was also a good thing that she had seen that battle. Now, she knew that the more effort she put forth, the moreughable Nightking Zhenwu would find it.

    Step by step, she walked towards Nightking Zhenwu.

    It did not take her long to reach him, and she spoke to him in an indifferent tone. ¡°I did it.¡±

 Chapter 1046: Lu Yin And Nightking Zhenwu

    <h4>Chapter 1046: Lu Yin And Nightking Zhenwu</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu revealed a slight smile when he looked at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    There was absolutely no emotion in Zhuo Daynight as she grunted in affirmation while exchanging nces with Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu told her, ¡°Rx, I¡¯ll remove the Sealed Cage Technique from the Dayking bloodline in just two more months.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight heaved a sigh of relief. She had been clenching her hands so hard that they had gone pale, but they finally started to rx after hearing those words.

    Nightking Zhenwu watched as Zhuo Daynight left before activating his gadget and making a call.

    ***

    Somewhere else in the universe, Lu Yin had not headed back to Zenyu Star yet. The Innerverse had reconnected to the Outerverse, but there was still no way to travel between the two regions.

    When the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse by the overflowing energy of the Astral River, the Astral River Ark had been torn apart and split in two. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s foremost priority was to take a look at the ark and see if there was any chance of restoring it.

    Obtaining control of the Astral River Ark held a significant meaning for Lu Yin. ording to Lilyrose, the backup ark in the Innerverse had been hidden in the zing Mist Flowzone. Regardless, Lu Yin wanted to take a look at the edge of the Astral River.

    Lan Si had already gone to Zenyu Star, and he had been apanied by Elder Tie and the others.

    Lu Yin was staring at the depths of the Astral River when his gadget suddenly rang. He nced at it, and his gaze trembled; it was Nightking Zhenwu.

    The gadget¡¯s screen rose into the sky, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s image appeared with a smile on his face. ¡°Congrattions on defeating Lan Si. You can now be considered to be on par with the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lu Yin had expected Nightking Zhenwu to contact him. After all, the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance was still in Lu Yin¡¯s possession.

    ¡°Are you trying to show off your own superiority by saying such a thing?¡± Lu Yin replied coldly.

    Nightking Zhenwu chuckled. ¡°You can treat it in that way, but even if you be one of the Ten Arbiters, there will still be a disparity between you and me. I forgot to tell you this, but I¡¯m the leader of the Ten Arbiters now.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what it sounds like. The contest for the Astral Tower is not simple, and nobody knows exactly how many experts will appear to take part. When the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth Maind, those experts from the Neoverse who appeared might have just been sent out to probe the Innerverse¡¯s strength. Thus, the Ten Arbiters must unite for the Astral Tower¡¯s contest, and I¡¯m currently leader of the Ten Arbiters,¡± Nightking Zhenwu proudly exined. His eyes showed his contempt for Lu Yin.

    Whether it was in terms of strength or attitude, Nightking Zhenwu always desired to look down upon others, as only by doing so could he directly attack their convictions.

    When expertspeted, the resulting battle would not just be physical, and it would involve their attitudes as well. Zhenwu wanted his image in Lu Yin¡¯s heart to be that of an unrivaled opponent.

    If Lu Yin had lost to Lan Si, then Nightking Zhenwu could have said anything, not having to be too worried. However, since Lu Yin had won, Zhenwu intended to use the battle with Lan Si to demonstrate the terrifying abilities level of the Ten Arbiters. This was so that the unrivaled image of being the leader of the Ten Arbiters would be even more resplendent.

    Humans could notpare to gods. No matter how powerful a human became, even if their power surpassed that of a god, against true divinity, a human would always have to lower their attitude one notch.

    Lu Yin had never expected that Nightking Zhenwu would actually be the leader of the Ten Arbiters, as not a single one of the Ten Arbiters were simple. Unseen Light had been able to fight on par with Zhi Yi, Wen Sansi was unfathomable, Ling Gong was amazing, and Liu Tianmu felt like a truly unrivaled person. Lu Yin truly did not believe that any one of these people would be willing to pledge their allegiance to Nightking Zhenwu.

    However, this was clearly something that Nightking Zhenwu would never lie about, as such a lie would be instantly discovered.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t believe me?¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips curled up as he looked at Lu Yin with evident disdain.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself and then looked up. ¡°Since you¡¯re the leader of the Ten Arbiters, then doesn¡¯t that mean that, once I defeat you, I¡¯ll be the leader of the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression sank, as he had not expected Lu Yin to react like this. He had wanted to use his rising momentum to break Lu Yin¡¯s mental state, but Lu Yin was not an easy person to deal with.

    Nightking Zhenwu responded in an icy tone, ¡°Defeat me? Do you think that I¡¯m trash like Lan Si?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows lifted up¡ªtrash? Lu Yin truly did not think that that was the case. Lan Si had been able to receive multiple Night Advents and had not copsed, which showed that his spiritual force was not weak. Even if Lan Si might not be able to match up to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s strength, Lan Si would be able to survive the match at the very least, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s physical strength might not actually be enough to take Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Still, the most difficult thing about fighting against Nightking Zhenwu was his secret technique, Heart Seeker. That technique could not be guarded against, and once a person was struck, their defeat was already ordained.

    There were too many factors that could influence a battle. Nightking Zhenwu had shown his disregard for Lan Si, and Lu Yin did not have much more to say. The Nightking could continue on with his arrogance!

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that you called me just to say that,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked sullen. He then shared the image of the stone que in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds through the screen. ¡°Do you see that stone que? Your image is ranked third.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the image, and sure enough, his image was right below Nightking Zhenwu and Zhuo Daynight¡¯s images. This proved what Nightking Yuanjing had told Lu Yin. Only by entering the Daynight n¡¯s corridor of inheritance andprehending battle techniques could a person have their image appear on the stone que within the Daynight n ancestral grounds. Lu Yin had obviously been exposed the moment he stepped foot within the corridor of inheritance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange that Zhuo Daynight surpassed you? Clearly, you¡¯re already aware that she¡¯sprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak,¡± Nightking Zhenwu continued to say.

    Lu Yin silently stared at the Nightking, a sense of unease rising within his heart.

    Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was the absolute battle technique of the Dayking bloodline. Thus, Zhuo Daynightprehending Night¡¯s End, Daybreak represented the emergence of the Dayking bloodline¡¯s hopes whereas Nightking Zhenwu represented the Nightking bloodline¡¯s hopes. In other words, the two were mortal enemies.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked over towards the stone que in the ancestral grounds. ¡°I¡¯ve promised Zhuo Daynight that, as long as she puts in the effort to climb up and be ranked second only to me on the stone que, I would give her a chance to represent the Dayking bloodline and win them their freedom. She managed to seize this opportunity. Do you know what it means now that she¡¯s managed to climb her way up?¡± Nightking Zhenwu stared at Lu Yin, and his tone suddenly grew incredibly haughty. ¡°She will be my, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s, wife.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression transformed, and his face gradually turned green as he clenched his fists. His rage soared.

    He was aware of just how much Zhuo Daynight hated Nightking Zhenwu, but now, she had been forced to work so hard just to climb up beneath him. Worst of all, her goal was actually to be this man¡¯s wife. To Zhuo Daynight, this was the worst tragedy, and she likely no longer saw any hope for her life.

    For her, this was a fate even worse than death.

    ¡°Are you angry? Furious? Hahaha!¡± Nightking Zhenwuughed in a carefree manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew frosty. ¡°So is this what you wanted to say?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu grinned, a cruel smile on his lips. ¡°What I wanted? Wrong! She¡¯s just a ve, some trash from the Dayking bloodline. Do you really think that such a creature is suitable to be my, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s, wife? My goal is to obtain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. To that end, the mind of the cultivator whoprehended the technique must copse after encountering a huge setback. I¡¯ve given Zhuo Daynight hope, and soon, I will personally destroy it. This is what I want to do in two months¡¯ time.

    ¡°In two months¡¯ time, on the day of my promise to remove the Sealed Cage Technique from the Dayking bloodline to her, I will throw her to the depths of the abyss. In fact, it won¡¯t just be her. Everyone she knows, her nspeople, parents, and everyone else, will all be forced into the abyss.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb, and he stared at Nightking Zhenwu in disbelief. How could a human be so ck-hearted?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, kill him! You have to kill him!¡± Ghost Monkey shouted. He had be so furious that he could not hold himself back anymore. ¡°Ever since this monkey was born, I¡¯ve never run into anyone like this. He¡¯s too evil and shameless, and he¡¯s actually willing to use such methods to deal with a person! How hateful!¡±

    Lu Yin lowered his head and did not speak.

    Nightking Zhenwu was still maniacallyughing. ¡°Lu Yin, I gave you an opportunity to follow me and wait for the day when I eventually be one of the Cosmic Five. You would have been able to shine brilliantly in the universe, but you rejected my offer! Do you really believe that unifying the Outerverse will allow you to stand against my Daynight n? Or that you have the necessary clout to contest me? Let me tell you right now¡ªyou can¡¯t do it! I want you to know that you can¡¯t even save a single girl! You will never save this girl, who revealed her cultivation of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak for you, thereby forcing her entire n into the abyss. She did all this for you, and I want you to watch as she sinks into despair while you swim in hatred for the rest of your entire life.¡±

    Each one of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s words reverberated through Lu Yin¡¯s head. He could picture Zhuo Daynight¡¯s desperate and agonized expressions, eyes filled with bewilderment and suffering for the future. She had done everything for him, and if not for him, then Zhuo Daynight would have never exposed the fact that she hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, be Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s ything, or inadvertently sent her nspeople to their graves.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t be fooled! All this has nothing to do with you. You¡¯ve saved Zhuo Daynight¡¯s life several times, and she was the reason why you even went to Pyrolyte. She¡¯s the one who decided to stall Nightking Zhenwu for you. You don¡¯t owe her anything!¡± Ghost Monkey shouted, as he was afraid that Lu Yin would be addled by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s words.

    A cultivator¡¯s state of mind was extremely important. If their thoughts were thrown into chaos, then their entire being would also be chaotic.

    This was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s true objective, as he wanted to disturb Lu Yin¡¯s frame of mind while also imnting an image of him being an unrivaled being within Lu Yin¡¯s heart. Furthermore, Zhenwu hoped to tempt Lu Yin into going to the Daynight Flowzone, which would give him an opportunity topletely eradicate the hidden danger that Lu Yin represented.

    Lu Yin truly gave Nightking Zhenwu a feeling of danger, as Lu Yin was someone who had not even cultivated for twelve years yet, but he was already able to defeat one of the Ten Arbiters in a fair fight. This was a terrifying person. Lu Yin was the reason why Nightking Zhenwu had chosen to deal with Zhuo Daynight two months in the future, as he wanted to take care of Lu Yin before heading towards the Neoverse.

    Nightking Zhenwu had never put in so much effort to deal with just one person before, and he had even shared the most important details of his n with Lu Yin. Still, that was fine. Over the next two months, Zhuo Daynight would not be allowed to see anyone, and nobody would be allowed to contact her either.

    Nobody could stop the Nightking¡¯s n from progressing.

    At the edge of the Astral River, Lu Yin¡¯s head was still hung low, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

    Ghost Monkey was still shouting in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. ¡°Seventh Bro, you don¡¯t owe Zhuo Daynight anything! Don¡¯t be tricked! When you be stronger, you can deal with Nightking Zhenwu then! This bastard has to die!¡±

    Lu Yin loosened his clenched fists. His gadget had disconnected from the call for quite some time already. When he looked up, he stared across the Astral River and at the opposite side. His vision seemed to transcend an endless distance, and he felt like he could see Nightking Zhenwu as they exchanged nces.

    ¡°Don¡¯t owe her? That¡¯s not right. I owe her a promise, and I¡¯ve agreed that, no matter when it may be, I will help herplete one lockbreaking job. I have to fulfill this promise,¡± Lu Yin stated gravely.

    Ghost Monkey was confused. ¡°When did that happen?¡±

    Lu Yin calmly moved away. It was useless to feel upset. Nightking Zhenwu was someone whom Lu Yin already had to kill, as the Nightking¡¯s methods were so twisted that they could petrify others.

    Zhuo Daynight had already stepped into a beautiful dream that Nightking Zhenwu had weaved for her, and the more real it became, the more beautiful it would feel. But at the same time, the despair she would feel at its inevitable copse also increased.

    Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine what Zhuo Daynight would do when Nightking Zhenwu revealed his true n. Not even an extraordinary person would be able to deal with such a huge mental shock.

    Two months? Lu Yin was tight on time.

    As soon as Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star, Huan Sha and the others hastily approached him. ¡°Your Highness, the ze Realm, Ross Empire, Sylvan Dragon n, Xun family, Dire Barbarian n, Daynight n, and other powers from the Innerverse have all announced to the Outerverse that Your Highness is a traitor to the Fifth Maind. Additionally, anyone who has even the slightest bit of connection to you will be enemies with the various great powers of the Innerverse. As a result, many weaves in the Outerverse are feeling anxious, and many of the powers that were originally going to join the Great Eastern Alliance have backed out. Also, many of the powers from the western region want to withdraw.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°Make some announcements: the Innerverse has suffered greatly due to the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. During the invasion, their resources were raided and are at disastrously low levels. Thus, they intend to raid the Outerverse to replenish their reserves. The Great Eastern Alliance will use the Allied Forces to defend against thismon enemy.¡±

    Huan Sha and the others were all shocked. ¡°Your Highness, is this true?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t even matter. Rather, what matters is that the others will believe it. Now run along and take care of this.¡±

 Chapter 1047: The Gasfire Alliance

    <h4>Chapter 1047: The Gasfire Alliance</h4>

    The Daynight n was trying to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, but Lu Yin had expected such a move a long time ago. As long as the Hall of Honor had not released any announcements to the entire universe, anything that targeted Lu Yin was nothing but nder, and he held control of the Outerverse¡¯s media. Also, he was the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, so he waspletely unafraid of these usations.

    The various powers had wanted to withdraw from the Great Eastern Alliance primarily because they were afraid of offending the Innerverse¡¯s great powers.

    With his reply, Lu Yin had suddenly ressified the powers from the Innerverse as plunderers, which meant that they were the Outerverse¡¯s enemies. This caused all of the methods that the various great powers of the Innerverse had employed against him to fall apart, and Lu Yin was even able to expand the Allied Forces.

    The main goal of growing of the Allied Forces was to further increase their influence.

    Any random great power from the Innerverse could sweep across the Outerverse, as the Outerverse trulycked for top experts, as most of them were in the Innerverse.

    The Outerverse alone was not capable of stopping great powers like the Daynight n, but if the Outerverse united as a single entity, then such a fight would no longer be as simple as a conflict between certain powers from the Innerverse and Outerverse. Rather, it would drag in the Hall of Honor itself into the fray. Once they intervened, Lu Yin refused to believe that the Innerverse would continue to dare to act against the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin had never expected the Outerverse to have the strength to resist the Innerverse. However, a united Outerverse allowed him to move about as he wished, and his influence within the Hall of Honor had thus risen as a direct result of his efforts. This was the most important detail.

    Right, there were also all sorts of resources avable to him now.

    If Lu Yin had not managed to unite the Outerverse, then there would not be three thousand androids at his disposal. The benefits of unifying the entire Outerverse were only just beginning to appear.

    However, the troublesome aspect was that the Outerverse had declined for far too many years. Once they encountered any strong forces from the Innerverse, some of the Outerverse powers might instantly switch sides, and they might even trigger a catastrophic chain reaction.

    At this time, he really wanted to know just where the backup Astral River Ark hidden within zing Mist Flowzone would appear.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept across the, looking for Lilyrose.

    When Lilyrose felt Lu Yin¡¯s domain, she reluctantly made her way to King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    In the past, she had had many thoughts concerning Lu Yin. She liked powerful men like him, but she no longer dared to make any moves on him. There were some men whom she could approach and others whom she could not.

    Lu Yin belonged to thetter group, as he stood in a position that was far too elevated above her. In fact, he could already be ranked among the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°I wonder, what has Alliance Leader Lu sought out this little girl for?¡± Lilyrose tried to maintain a calm expression in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I want you to find a way to discreetly dig up the location of the backup Astral River Ark.¡±

    Lilyrose grudgingly answered, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m willing to help you if it¡¯s possible, but I truly don¡¯t have what you seek. The Astral River Ark doesn¡¯t belong to the ze Realm, but rather to the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°Still, the ze Realm has the authority to move the ark around, especially since the previous Astral River Ark was destroyed,¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Lilyrose grew upset.

    Lu Yin calmly said, ¡°If you help me, then I can also help you. It¡¯s not impossible for me to make you the master of the ze Realm. You should understand that I have the ability to do so.¡±

    Lilyrose was stunned. ¡°The ze Realm¡¯s master?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t your mother do what she did because that person is the master of the ze Realm?¡±

    The moment Lu Yin mentioned this, Lilyrose¡¯s expression fell, and she fell into silent thought.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t trust me, but I, Lu Yin, was able to unite the Outerverse in just a bit over six years. It wouldn¡¯t be that hard for me to deal with just a ze Realm, and my understanding of the ze Realm is not inferior to your own.¡± Lu Yin pped his hands, and suddenly, fog swirled into the office and formed words: Smoker greets you.

    Lilyrose was shocked. ¡°Smoker?¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the smoke dissipated.

    Lilyrose stared at Lu Yin,pletely bewildered. ¡°Is that the same Smoker who tried to assassinate the master of the ze Realm and escaped unscathed?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s now the captain of my Great Yu Empire¡¯s Second Squadron,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Lilyrose was astonished. Everyone from the ze Realm knew about Smoker, as that assassination attempt had shocked the entire universe.

    The eight great flowzones represented the Innerverse¡¯s greatest strength. Although zing Mist Flowzone was the weakest of those eight and bordered the Outerverse, and although the ze Realm only took up a third of zing Mist Flowzone, it was still a power that belonged to one of the eight great flowzones.

    Over the course of countless years, nobody had ever gotten as close to assassinating a master of a great power that ruled over one of the eight great flowzones as Smoker, let alone escape unharmed.

    That assassination attempt had propelled Smoker to be the Outerverse¡¯s greatest assassin. Nobody could take his ce.

    Nobody knew how Smoker had aplished such a thing, but he had been able to safely retreat from the ze Realm, which was enough to prove that he had an incredibly deep understanding of the ze Realm. Thus, this im of Lu Yin¡¯s was not illogical at all.

    Lilyrose was moved¡ªif she could be seated in that position, then she would not mind paying any price.

    Lu Yin sat in silence as he sipped his tea. Although he could coerce Lilyrose into helping him, he would not receive her sincere assistance by doing so, which would render any such help useless.

    After a long period of silence, Lilyrose said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I truly can¡¯t find out where the Astral River Ark is hidden, and you should be well aware of my position within the ze Realm. On the surface, I¡¯m the first ranked heir, but I have also been utterly denied by the ze Realm. Most of those in power are not pleased with me.¡±

    Lu Yin did not speak. Instead, he silently listened.

    Lilyrose nced over at him and continued. ¡°However, I do know a few people, and they might be able to help you.¡±

    She then gave Lu Yin some contact information.

    Lu Yin watched Lilyrose leave, after which he nced at the contact information and called the person.

    Before long, a man appeared on a screen before Lu Yin.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The man looked young, but his bearings belonged to someone much more experienced. His mannerisms indicated that he had gone through the vicissitudes of life, and his eyes stared directly at Lu Yin, as if he was trying to see something from the youth¡¯s expression.

    Lu Yin frowned, as this person looked very familiar. ¡°Who are you again?¡±

    The man stared closely at Lu Yin, and although he seemed fierce, there was a trace of apprehension and unease in the man¡¯s expression. ¡°If you don¡¯t recognize me, then how did you call me?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Lilyrose gave me your info.¡±

    The man¡¯s expression changed slightly, and at that moment, a middle-aged man walked out from behind the young looking man. When the middle-aged man saw Lu Yin through the screen, his expression changed immensely the moment he saw Lu Yin. The call instantly ended afterwards.

    Lu Yin set his gadget down and had Zhao Ran serve him one of her special drinks while he patiently waited.

    On the other side of the call, the youth felt that the situation was a bit strange. ¡°Uncle Meng, what just happened?¡±

    The middle-aged man who was known as Uncle Meng had a solemn expression as he looked at the youth. ¡°How did you get into contact with that person?¡±

    The youth¡¯s face went pale, and he nervously answered, ¡°He called me. Lilyrose passed my information to him.¡±

    Uncle Meng¡¯s expression was perfectly serene, and nobody could tell what he was thinking.

    The youth looked uneasy; he had lived like a street rat for many years, and he was worried about surviving through each day. Now that he had received such a call, did it mean that Lilyrose had betrayed them? The longer he thought about it, the more afraid the youth became.

    After a long while, Uncle Meng solemnly said, ¡°Paige, do you know who just contacted you?¡±

    Paige shook his head. ¡°He looked a little familiar.¡±

    Uncle Meng sighed. ¡°For all these years, we haven¡¯t allowed you toe into contact with the outside world. Even when the Sixth Maind invaded, you were kept hidden. As a result, it turns out that you can¡¯t even recognize that person.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°Remember this¡ªhe¡¯s called Lu Yin, and he is one of the most powerful members of the younger generation in the current universe. He just defeated one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Paige was shocked. ¡°He defeated an Arbiter?¡±

    Uncle Meng nodded. ¡°Do you know what it means to defeat an Arbiter?¡±

    Paige¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°I do.¡±

    Although Paige had note into contact with the outside universe himself, his few experiences meant that he had learned somemon knowledge that had been repeatedly drilled into him. For example, the Ten Arbiters were invincible and could not be defied.

    Even the Lilyrose, who Paige worshiped, was nothing more than an ant before the Ten Arbiters.

    The most important detail to them was that their greatest enemy, the ze Realm, did not have even a single one of the Ten Arbiters. They knew that the ze Realm was a terrifying power, but even they did not have an Arbiter, which showed just how powerful those ten youths truly were.

    However, the person who had just called Paige had apparently defeated one of the Ten Arbiters. Paige could not even imagine such a thing.

    ¡°Uncle Meng, what should we do?¡± Paige was puzzled, and although he managed to maintain a facade ofposure, uncertainty could be clearly seen within his eyes along with confusion and doubt.

    Uncle Meng saw Paige¡¯s emotions and sighed. They had sacrificed many people to protect this child, and had kept himpletely hidden. They had not even allowed him to connect to thework. Thus, he had basically been brought up crippled without any opinions of his own.

    ¡°Call him back. Lilyrose won¡¯t betray us. Since he contacted you, then there must be a reason.¡±

    Paige swallowed his saliva, slowly lifted his gadget, and then solemnly dialed thest contact that had called him. He felt extremely nervous, especially since he now knew that he was about to speak to one of the top people in the current universe, and Paige did not know how he should present himself.

    Lu Yin did not have to wait for very long before his gadget rang, and he answered the call. Paige¡¯s image appeared on the screen. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Paige.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the youth. ¡°Have we met somewhere before?¡±

    Paige felt confused and did not know how to respond.

    Uncle Meng moved next to Paige and responded to Lu Yin. ¡°Mr. Lu, it¡¯s an honor to meet you. I¡¯m known as Meng, and I am from the Gasfire Alliance.¡±

    The Gasfire Alliance? Lu Yin felt that he had never heard of this group before.

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Lilyrose?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Uncle Meng said, ¡°Cooperation. We have amon enemy: the ze Realm. The name of the Gasfire Alliance represents the ze that is passed down from one generation to the next.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°What a coincidence, the ze Realm is also my enemy.¡±

    Uncle Meng heaved a sigh of relief, as he had heard of the problems between Lu Yin and the ze Realm before. Otherwise, he would not have even dared to allow Paige to call Lu Yin. ¡°I wonder, what requests might Mr. Lu have for you to contact us?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to make a request, but I asked Lilyrose a question. Since she doesn¡¯t know the answer, I approached you guys,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Uncle Meng was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s the question?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the backup Astral River Ark?¡±

    Uncle Meng was surprised, but he quickly thought things through. Although the ze Realm had gone to great lengths to chase down their Gasfire Alliance, they had been able to persist for so long because they had their own methods of survival, and their intelligencework was not shabby either. They were very clear on the fact that Lu Yin had already unified the Outerverse.

    Since he had united the Outerverse, he would definitely face pressure and opposition from the Innerverse, and the various great powers would attempt to cross the Astral River to pressure him. The best way for them to do so was naturally to use the Astral River Ark.

    This meant that whoever gained control of the ark would hold the advantage.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hide this from Mr. Lu; we can indeed discover the location of the Astral River Ark, and we have even already received news that it will appear in a certain location, as it will ferry a group of people to the Outerverse,¡± Uncle Meng said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You can propose your conditions now.¡±

    Paige swallowed his saliva again and kept staring at Lu Yin, not understanding how this person had managed to reach his current position.

    Uncle Meng initially wanted to exaggerate their conditions. After all, Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse, which meant that he had control of tremendous resources as well as the Outerverse Allied Forces.

    However, he suddenly looked into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and Meng felt a mysterious chill go through his body. He suddenly considered Lu Yin¡¯s experiences.

 Chapter 1048: Invitation

    <h4>Chapter 1048: Invitation</h4>

    The ze Realm was not Lu Yin¡¯s only enemy, as the Daynight n¡¯s grudge against him was even greater. In fact, in the past, Lu Yin had even built up his reputation by taking action against the Daynight n. At present, the ze Realm had gathered several other powers to try to nder Lu Yin by iming that he was a traitor of the Fifth Maind, and they had taken these actions precisely because they were afraid of his abilities.

    Even the ze Realm and Daynight n had to be wary of Lu Yin. After all, was there anything that they could be certain that he would not dare to do?

    Uncle Meng hesitated again and again, but eventually, he came to a decision. ¡°To be able to help Mr. Lu would be an honor for our Gasfire Alliance. There are no conditions. Mr. Lu, you can rest assured that our Gasfire Alliance will find a way to ascertain the location of the Astral River Ark and provide some humble contributions to Mr. Lu¡¯s cause.¡±

    Paige was surprised; when had his Uncle Meng been such a generous person?

    Lu Yin was also astonished, but then heughed and nodded. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll just say thank you very much. Gasfire Alliance, I, Lu Yin, will remember this, and you will be given just rewards in the future.¡±

    Uncle Meng smiled. ¡°Mr. Lu is too courteous. If you have any further requests, then you can just contact Paige directly, and our Gasfire Alliance will do its best to help.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. He then spoke a few more pleasantries before ending the call.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that fellow¡¯s quite smart. If he dared to attempt negotiating conditions with you, then it would have just ended as just a one-off, shortsighted deal where nobody owed anyone anything. But now, you owe him a favor,¡± Ghost Monkeymented.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t owe them anything.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? They¡¯re helping you unconditionally, so how can you say that you don¡¯t owe them a favor? Seventh Bro, I find that you¡¯ve changed¡ªyour skin has be even thicker,¡± Ghost Monkey said, mocking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Monkey, do you remember the first time we saw a corpse king transform?¡±

    The monkey tried to recall the scene. ¡°Yeah. At that time, we were being pursued by that Hunter, and we ended up falling into deep space. Afterwards, we crashed into a spacecraft that a corpse king was raiding. Why?¡±

    ¡°At that time, there was a corpse king on the spacecraft that had severely injured a woman. There was also a youth on that vessel, and the youth from back then was Paige,¡± Lu Yin exined. He had only remembered this person after looking at Paige for a bit. Lu Yin would not baselessly have a sense of familiarity, so he knew that there was a reason behind it.

    Ghost Monkey cried out, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    Lu Yin was certain. ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    ¡°How interesting. So the kid from just now was rescued by you.¡± The monkey sniggered.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°I seem to remember that the woman from back then didn¡¯t die. Thus, as long as she¡¯s still alive, when she hears about me, they will discover just who owes who a favor.¡±

    ¡°Since they have a previous connection with you, Seventh Bro, then this group is destined to be the vanguard that deals with the ze Realm for you,¡± Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, if they could sessfully deal with the Daynight n, then the next on his list was the ze Realm. However, he could not rely on just the Gasfire Alliance for this endeavor. One other person came to mind: Yan Yan, who was currently one of the appointed captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. He was from Royal Frost Continent, which was located in zing Mist Flowzone.

    Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke up again. ¡°How strange. Seventh Bro, since this Gasfire Alliance is the enemy of the ze Realm, then why were they being pursued by the Neohuman Alliance? And they even send a corpse king capable of transforming. Those beings are rare even within the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin had also considered this, as the corpse king Transformation was not an ordinary battle technique. Not every corpse king could use it, and those that could would only be mobilized for especially important missions. So, what was the reason behind sending such an elite corpse king to kill Paige?

    Perhaps the Gasfire Alliance was hiding something.

    There were too many secrets in the universe, and there was no need for Lu Yin to learn all of them. For him, it would be fine as long as this group helped him deal with the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s foremost priority at the moment was to uncover the location of the Astral River Ark.

    The Innerverse would not send the ark across the Astral River in the normal ce, as they would definitely want to catch him off guard. Right now, it all came down to who would catch who unprepared.

    Before much more time passed, the universal armor that Lu Yin had been waiting for was finally fully assembled.

    The model that was presented to him looked quite simple, but it had been made from many different rare materials, and Lu Yin was quite satisfied with it. This was his best universal armor to date.

    Ban Jiu himself was very proud of the armor and of the effort that he had poured into it. ¡°Your Highness, this universal armor was created from an alloy containing over a hundred different materials, and only through precise calctions were they able to be perfectly integrated together. Their various natures do not conflict at all, and also quite a few of them actually came from that strange machine that you provided.

    ¡°It can defend against a Hunter¡¯s attacks, and moreover¡­¡±

    Ban Jiu rattled off many details of the armor, and he wanted to continue boasting, but Lu Yin eventually chased the researcher away.

    If not for his die¡¯s three pips: Enhance, there was no way Lu Yin would use this universal armor, as its defense could not evenpare to just his physical body. It would only be useful after he upgraded it with his die¡¯s Enhance.

    After chasing Ban Jiu away, Lu Yin entered the secure room, screened Ghost Monkey off, and then began rolling his die.

    His first roll was one pip: Pilfer, which yielded a useless weapon. The second roll was two pips: ckhole Disassembly, which was also useless at the moment. His third roll, surprisingly, was three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin sighed emotionally. If he could control what he rolled on his die, then things would be much easier. But as they were, Lu Yin had no confidence in rolling what he wanted on his die.

    At the least, he had still rolled three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin quickly ced the universal armor on top of the light screens and then began to throw out star essence in a frenzied manner. It was as if he waspletely unafraid of spending money.

    At this moment, he truly was unafraid of spending too much money, as he had more than twenty million star essence, making him quite wealthy.

    If the armor¡¯s base materials were of a high enough quality, then Lu Yin might be worried about not having enough money to fully upgrade it. However, while the materials used in constructing this universal armor were quite decent, they were still within Ban Jiu¡¯s ability to work with. Additionally, the materials salvaged from disassembling the mechanical creature¡¯s corpse had not been thoroughly studied yet.

    Still, Lu Yin was satisfied.

    Once.

    Twice.

    Thrice.

    After upgrading his armor seven times, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the universal armor could not be upgraded any further. It had managed to undergo seven upgrades, and Lu Yin smiled upon seeing its rune lines he saw, as they were aboutparable to the massive mechanical right arm¡¯s. This meant that this universal armor was almost able to defend against an Envoy¡¯s attacks.

    So far, Lu Yin had upgraded three different sets of universal armor. The first had been infused with the precious metals that he had obtained after joining the Lockbreaker Society. That had allowed his universal armor to be upgraded to the point where it could defend against attacks with power levels of around 400,000, which had allowed Lu Yin to forcefully receive Millions City¡¯s cannon strike. His second set of armor had been able to defend against attacks with power levels of about 260,000, but this third armor was the best so far.

    Since this universal armor could withstand an attack from an Envoy level powerhouse, it meant that there were only one or two individuals in the entire Outerverse who could breach Lu Yin¡¯s defense now.

    However, those one or two people were already on his side.

    In other words, Lu Yin could wander anywhere he wished in the Outerverse without fear.

    However, this round of upgrades had also cost him a ridiculous sum of star essence: around three million. If he hadn¡¯t recently acquired almost twenty million star essence, he might not have been able to afford fully upgrading the armor.

    When he put on the universal armor, Lu Yin suddenly felt like the entire universe belonged to him.

    Eh? His gaze suddenly trembled as he looked beyond the three rings of maind, where he saw an iparable amount of rune lines appear. They numbered no less than what he had seen on Yu Mu.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. There should not be a powerhouse of such strength this close to Zenyu Star, and this person was most likely an enemy since they had arrived unannounced.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin decided to keep his universal armor on as he headed out to take a look.

    However, right when he decided to leave, a person arrived outside of King Zishan¡¯s pce: Ku Wei.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten about this person who was from the Ku family of the Seven Courts.

    What had hee here for?

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to leave, as the powerhouse above Zenyu Star had hidden themselves, and their rune lines had reduced to number those of an ordinary cultivator. Lu Yin would no longer be able to find the person even if he moved out.

    Since that person had not immediately barged into Zenyu Star, it showed that they had a few misgivings. Thus there was no hurry.

    Within the pce¡¯s garden, Lu Yin ordered some of Zhao Ran¡¯s special drinks. Ku Wei entered, and he revealed a full smile the moment he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, congrattions on defeating one of the Ten Arbiters! Your name will be known throughout the universe from now on. Even the Neoverse will learn of your great name. It¡¯s quite impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled faintly at Ku Wei. ¡°What did youe here for? Aren¡¯t you staying with the Tenth Squadron to drill the new recruits?¡±

    Ku Wei moved closer and rolled his eyes. ¡°About that, Your Highness, have you ever considered going to the Neoverse to y around?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°As an Honor Chosen, I¡¯m qualified to join the Astral Tower¡¯spetition.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together! We canpete for the Astral Tower and then take a tour of the Neoverse. We two can also go look for graves while on our tour¡ªjust think of how satisfying that would be, right?¡± Ku Wei¡¯s voice betrayed his expectations despite his best efforts to put on a harmless expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew bizarre. ¡°Graves? Are you talking about Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, which your Seven Courts are guarding?¡±

    Ku Wei nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go together! You can treat it as a tour while representing the Yu family. Nobody will make things difficult for you.¡±

    Lu Yin had learned that it wasn¡¯t the Court of Seven Names that had pursued the Yu family, but rather the Neohuman Alliance. The so-called ¡°Seven Courts¡± were actually separate families that had united to resist the Hall of Honor and maintain control of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. If Lu Yin could represent the Yu family and visit that ce, then nobody should make trouble for him.

    Also, Lu Yin knew Brother Hui Kong. Although the old man had not explicitly stated that he was from the Hui family, they should be one and the same.

    ¡°Why would I need to go to that ce? Didn¡¯t the Yu family already give you their quota to enter the tomb?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei felt embarrassed. ¡°That- Well, actually, the quota was given to me, but I¡¯ll do my best to win the Ku family¡¯s space for you. If the two of us go in there together, then we wouldn¡¯t need to be afraid of anyone.¡±

    Lu Yin grew amused. ¡°You want me to help you fight for the Ku family¡¯s spot and then give me the Yu family¡¯s so that I can take care of the others for you while we¡¯re in the tomb?¡±

    Ku Wei nodded and helplessly said, ¡°Each of the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs has a secret technique, and their power levels are unbelievable. They are not people that an average cultivator can deal with. So even if I have the Yu family¡¯s spot, I¡¯ll be out of luck the moment I enter the tomb, which is why I need to find a helper.¡±

    ¡°The Ku family¡¯s heir for this generation can¡¯t help you?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ku Wei grinned. ¡°As long as they don¡¯t try to seize my spot, you can help me take his instead. Then, the two of us can head in together. After all, we¡¯re on the same side, hehe.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this in future.¡±

    Ku Wei replied, ¡°No, Your Highness, you don¡¯t understand what Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum represents! There are arts, battle techniques, secret techniques, and even Progenitor level power vessels inside! Anything that you could find in there would be unmatched in the current universe.¡±

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t your Seven Courts ever defeated the Hall of Honor?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Ku Wei was left speechless. ¡°We have! Do you think that those people in the Neoverse are all as limited in experience as you people from the Innerverse and the Outerverse? Many people in the Neoverse have secret techniques, just like those invaders from the Sixth Maind. And once they use a secret technique, nobody can survive. Your Highness, your secret technique must have also saved you countless times.¡±

    Lu Yin understood this quite well, as the people from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory were all disgusting. With their Secret Technique Reversal Cycle, it was basically impossible to kill any of them. On top of that, they also had their secret technique, Power Transfer, which caused their strength to increase drastically. There were definitely other even more shocking secret techniques.

 Chapter 1049: Daynight Strikes

    <h4>Chapter 1049: Daynight Strikes </h4>

    ¡°Does the Neoverse have a lot of powerful experts? Why didn¡¯t I see any of them during the battles in the Cosmic Sea?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. ¡°Those bastards like to be all mysterious, so they won¡¯t show up until the veryst moment. It would actually be strange if you had seen them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about your suggestion in the future. For now, I¡¯m going to take a trip and take some stuff.¡± Lu Yin clenched his fist and grinned.

    Ku Wei blinked. ¡°Take some stuff? What?¡±

    Lu Yin revealed a strange smile. ¡°The Dark Phoenix family has decided to seal itself for a hundred years, and they¡¯ve sealed their maind with the Sixteen-Layered Dark mes. I¡¯ve already taken fifteenyers of it, so I¡¯m going to grab thestyer now.¡±

    Ku Wei was shocked. ¡°Are you really that morally bankrupt?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, and his expression became decidedly unfriendly.

    Ku Wei hurried to correct himself and he smiled drily. ¡°I misspoke. I mean, that sounds so fun! Too much fun, haha.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and put it on Ku Wei¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Since it sounds like so much fun, then let¡¯s go together.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes flitted about. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll apany Your Highness, but let¡¯se to an agreement first. Please apany me to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that some other time,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Your Highness curious about Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? I¡¯ve heard that Progenitor Chen once wrote a love poem to a girl there, but who knows if that''s true.¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s fake. I knew that it was a false rumor as soon as you mentioned it.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. There¡¯s an order to how people say it, and they also don¡¯t even understand the words.¡±

    ¡°And yet they know that it¡¯s a love poem when they don¡¯t even understand the writing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s implied, and you can tell with just one look.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still not certain. Maybe it¡¯s some kind of peerless battle technique.¡±

    Ku Wei fell silent for a while and then seriously said, ¡°Your Highness, you must apany me. We¡¯ll copy down all of the words that we don¡¯t understand, and eventually, we¡¯ll find someone who recognizes them. Your Highness, I¡¯m begging you.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, let¡¯s go! It¡¯s a tomb, so there has to be some value to exploring it. Besides, it¡¯s Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum on top of everything! Let¡¯s just treat it as an experience before we head to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s Tomb,¡± Ghost Monkey urged Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt that the monkey was talking too much.

    It would be perfectly fine for the two of them to travel with the copsible spacecraft. However, Ku Wei insisted on traveling in a luxurious spacecraft, iming that Lu Yin should have an extravagant entrance. However, Lu Yin summarily rejected the idea.

    He looked behind at Zenyu Star, and he vaguely saw the enormous amount of rune lines sh.

    Lu Yin became absolutely certain that this powerhouse was targeting him.

    The speed of the copsible spacecraft was very fast, and after just an hour, a meteorite whistled past the vessel as it cruised along through space. The spacecraft easily evaded it, but it was actually unnecessary as the copsible spacecraft was more than sturdy enough to ignore such obstacles.

    However, one of the meteorites had to be avoided, as it was not just a meteorite. There was a long spear within it that shot towards the spacecraft.

    Within the vessel, Ku Wei was still talking nonstop about the glorious deeds of Progenitor Chen when Lu Yin kicked the man out of the vessel. He then stored the copsible spacecraft away while simultaneously putting on his universal armor. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡±

    Ku Wei was caught a bit off guard when Lu Yin kicked him out, and Ku Wei was even more confused after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Suddenly, the entire region of space changed, and an enormous pressure descended upon the two youths with enough power to cause their brains to shudder. It was a spiritual force attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Sure enough, this person was an expert from the Daynight n, and his power level was no less than 400,000. Lu Yin quickly nced over at Ku Wei, afraid that the youth would have been killed outright.

    However, when Lu Yin looked over, he saw that Ku Wei¡¯s entire body was hidden within what looked like a piece of rotten wood. Lu Yin did not even know when Ku Wei had hidden himself, but he seemed quite practiced at it. More importantly, the rotten wood¡¯s rune lines were essentially on par with that of the powerhouse who had ambushed them. What the heck? When did Ku Wei obtain such a strong power vessel?

    In the distance, the Daynight elder nced over at Lu Yin and then at the piece of rotten wood hiding Ku Wei. The elder was clearly amazed. ¡°That¡¯s the Ku family¡¯s power vessel, the Withered Bark. Is that kid, Lu Yin, connected to the Ku family? If so, it¡¯s no wonder why he could reach his realm after just twelve short years of cultivation. This kid must be from the Seven Courts.¡±

    Two Enlighters attacked Lu Yin from both sides,pletely ignoring Ku Wei.

    Lu Yin had duped Ku Wei into traveling along with him, as Lu Yin had wanted to uncover Ku Wei¡¯s hidden trump card. At this moment, he had seeded.

    Lu Yin did not avoid either of the two attacks from the Enlighters. Instead, he focused solely on the rune lines of the terrifyingly powerful Daynight expert in front of him. The distance separating them was not enough to escape Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and he could see an old man who had ck-and-white hair with a touch of grey in the middle. This was someone from the Nightking n.

    Thump! Thump!

    There were two loud bangs as the two Enlighters of the Daynight n directly struck Lu Yin with their attacks. However, his body did not budge at all, and in response, Lu Yin raised his hands, grabbing the two Enlighters. He then unleashed the Oveying Stacks Path that was reinforced with his nine lined battle force, causing the two Enlighters to wail in agony. They immediately unleashed their spiritual force attacks.

    However, their spiritual force attacks were ineffective against Lu Yin, and he exerted more force through both of his hands, tearing off their arms. Now free, they both withdrew as fresh blood drifted away into the emptiness of space.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold, and his body shed as he appeared in front of one of the Enlighters. The experty fiercely howled, which was actually the Nightking¡¯s Roar. However, Lu Yin pped down with his hands, unleashing an enormous pressure that was joined with his nine lined battle force. Lu Yin forcibly dissipated the Nightking¡¯s Roar before his palmnded on the Enlighter¡¯s chest, cracking the expert¡¯s chest open as they were sent flying into the distance.

    Behind Lu Yin, the other Enlighter whose arm had been torn off fiercely charged towards Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes had taken on an extremely sinister and terrifying look, and an attack with a power level close to 250,000 swept out, enveloping the area.

    Although Lu Yin could not see a defined attack, its rune lines were still clear as day; he did not need to even consider any other possibilities¡ªthis was definitely a spiritual force attack. The man¡¯s eyes had taken on a sinister look, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he erased a portion of the runes in the man¡¯s eyes.

    The Enlighter wailed and screamed in agony.

    Lu Yin panted slightly. These two Enlighters could notpare to him, but it had still taken him quite a bit of effort to deal with them.

    If these attackers were not from the Daynight n, but were rather experts from the Sword Sect or the ze Realm, then Lu Yin might have struggled even more. But in this case, his resistance towards spiritual force attacks made him the Daynight n¡¯s natural nemesis.

    He looked over at the old Nightking expert who had not moved the moment the attackers had appeared. Even against him, Lu Yin was not flustered. With his universal armor and the Stonewall Scriptures, this person was truly unable to harm Lu Yin.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re pretty good, but unfortunately, you¡¯ve offended my Daynight n,¡± the Nightking elder said as he moved closer.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°You all act the same¡ªNightking Zhenwu, Nightking Changfeng, and Nightqueen Yanqing. You guys are all so detestable.¡±

    The elder¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°A loose tongue causes trouble. Child, don¡¯t make a mistake.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t youe to kill me? Or could it be that you¡¯re here to provide me with an opportunity?¡± Lu Yin ridiculed.

    The elder¡¯s face twisted into a bizarre expression. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The elder raised three fingers. ¡°First, return the stone of inheritance to my n. Second, publicly apologize to my n. Third, tell us everything you know about the Third Nightking. As long as you agree to these three things, I will promise not to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and looked at the elder in a mocking manner. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to demand that I pledge my allegiance to the Daynight n?¡±

    The elder frowned. ¡°Kid, are you mocking me?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Before you came here, did you discuss those conditions with Nightking Zhenwu? The conditions that he offered me were much better than yours. He promised me that, in future when he bes a Progenitor, he will provide me with eternal honor. You are too insincere.¡±

    The elder¡¯s voice grew frosty. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re chasing after death. Since that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll oblige you.¡±

    The already dark region of space suddenly darkened even further, and frost actually started appearing in the void before extending towards Lu Yin.

    Was this ice? No, it was spiritual force. Actually, that was also wrong. This ice was formed from star energy, and it assisted this powerhouse¡¯s spiritual force whenever he unleashed an attack. In other words, the elder wanted to use this ice to freeze Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force.

    Lu Yin did not dare to directly fight against an old fogey with a power level of 400,000 with his own spiritual force, and thus, he quickly began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. At the same time, he raced towards the elder at top speed, and the massive mechanical right arm appeared right as Lu Yin unleashed a punch.

    The elder had not expected Lu Yin to be foolish enough to seize the initiative to attack. However, Lu Yin had actually managed to break through the old man¡¯s battle technique. How was that even possible? Even Nightking Zhenwu would not be able to do such a thing!

    Lu Yin¡¯s actions had far surpassed the elder¡¯s expectations, but he was an old expert whose power level was approaching 400,000, and his battle experience was extremely rich. Lu Yin wanted to approach and engage in closebat. However, even if the old man was unafraid of Lu Yin, he still instinctively dodged the youth¡¯s attack. Then, a longsword appeared in the older man¡¯s hands at the exact moment that he stabbed out. The attack tore open the void. Not only did it have an extremely sharp sword qi, but it also unleashed an even more terrifying spiritual force.

    Against the old man, Lu Yin was only capable of enduring the attacks,pletely unable to dodge or retaliate.

    The sword qi pierced through the void to stab into Lu Yin, and the impact sent Lu Yin flying. The frost even caused him to freeze over as the overwhelming spiritual force swept out in an attempt to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide: Night Advent.

    Off in the distance, the elder was stunned. ¡°You actuallyprehended Night Advent? Child, I must admit that your talent is quite impressive, but you¡¯ve offended some people who you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±

    Lu Yin had struggled to reduce the strength of the attack, and he eventually managed to stabilize himself in space. However, intense pain was erupting from his abdomen.

    The universal armor had managed to block the elder¡¯s sword qi, but the pure sharpness of the attack had managed to pierce through the armor and wound his abdomen, though the injury was not serious.

    The old man had not expected Lu Yin to endure the sword thrust, but there was not even a single drop of blood on the youth¡¯s body, and his spiritual force was also stable. Just what was going on?

    Without the Daynight n¡¯s incredible arrogance, they would have long since learned about everything rted to Lu Yin. In the Outerverse, there was somemon knowledge about Lu Yin: he had an endless supply of powerful external items, and fighting against Lu Yin was simply seeking trouble for oneself.

    Nearby, Ku Wei was still hiding within the Withered Bark. He had assumed that Lu Yin would definitely die after receiving the sword attack, and Ku Wei had never considered that the youth would be able to withstand such an attack. Could Lu Yin truly have been nurtured by the Hall of Honor? But that could not be the case, as the information regarding Lu Yin had been quite straightforward.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to boldly charge at the elder again. Lu Yin knew that, against such a powerhouse, he would fall to more and more of a disadvantage the longer the fight dragged out.

    The elder grew very cautious, and he refused to fight Lu Yin at close quarters. Even if Lu Yin was nothing but a Cruiser, the old man intended to evade all of attacks, which left Lu Yin feeling rather sullen. ¡°You old bastard! You hid here and even ambushed a junior, but for what? You must have learned all of your battle techniques from a wuss!¡±

    The elder sneered. ¡°Before I was sent out, someone informed me that you are extremely cunning and are quite adept at traps. Forget about you being a Cruiser¡ªeven if you were just a Limiteer or Melder, I still wouldn¡¯t give you any opportunities!¡±

    Lu Yin believed the man. There was no way for Lu Yin to win against such an opponent, as no matter how Lu Yin fought, he had nothing in his possession that would allow him to fatally wound this old man.

    Lu Yin could do nothing other than continue enduring the elder¡¯s attacks, and Lu Yin soon lost count of how many times he had been beaten away.

    The Daynight elder was even more sullen than Lu Yin. He was an expert with an impressive power level of 400,000, an expert from a powerful n of the Innerverse, and yet despite all his des, he could barely do anything to a puny Cruiser. Nobody would believe the man if news of this leaked out.

    The old man suddenly understood what Nightking Yuanjing had said: this person was truly difficult to deal with. He suddenly felt that it had been a tremendous waste of effort to bring two Daynight experts across the Astral River.

 Chapter 1050: Henchman

    <h4>Chapter 1050: Henchman</h4>

    Themotion from the cosmic battle between Lu Yin and the Daynight elder was too great, and it quickly attracted the attention of the troops stationed in the nearby weaves.

    The Daynight elder had spent twenty minutes trying to deal with Lu Yin, but he could not breach the youth¡¯s defenses. In the end, the elder could only helplessly leave. ¡°Child, you won¡¯t have a good ending after bing enemies with my Daynight n. You¡¯d best consider your next moves carefully.¡±

    Lu Yin silently watched as the Daynight n members left, and even the corpses of the dead Enlighters were taken away.

    The Daynight n did not want anyone to know about this matter, and Lu Yin shared that opinion. His status had not been stabilized yet, so if it was revealed that the Daynight n was his mortal enemy, then the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s cohesiveness would fall even more.

    Everyone knew that Lu Yin had a conflict with the Daynight n, but outsiders were under the impression that this was not a terrible grudge.

    After the Daynight n elder left, Ku Wei put away his Withered Bark and rushed over to Lu Yin, seething. ¡°You knew that we were going to be ambushed! You deliberately tricked me intoing out here!¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a brusque tone. ¡°Where¡¯s your evidence?¡±

    Ku Wei was enraged. ¡°Bullshit, what evidence? You kicked me to the side a moment before their attacks arrived, which proves that you knew about them beforehand. So why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not able to discover such experts. You saw for yourself how incredibly strong that old fart was,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ku Wei gritted his teeth and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Only an idiot would believe you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you.¡± Lu Yin paid him no mind.

    Ku Wei was so furious that he ground his teeth. However, there was nothing that he could do to Lu Yin. In truth, Ku Wei was still reeling in shock from the attack, as he had almost died. The attacker had been an old freak with a power level of more than 400,000, but fortunately, Ku Wei had brought his Withered Bark along. Otherwise, a single spiritual force attack would have left him braindead if not outright killed him. In that scenario, regardless of if it was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum or the great ns of the Ku family, everything would be finished for Ku Wei. What a bastard.

    Of course Lu Yin had deliberately taken action. Since there was someone from the Seven Courts beside him, it was necessary to test this person from time to time. Lu Yin had thought that when Ku Wei encountered grave danger, some older experts from the Seven Courts would appear. He had never even considered that Ku Wei would be able to save himself.

    These ancient powers truly did have unfathomable foundations.

    ¡°What¡¯s that piece of dead wood you were hiding in just now?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Ku Wei replied in a nasty voice, ¡°Something that I picked up. I don¡¯t know what it is.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°Is that so? Why don¡¯t you think about your answer again.¡±

    Ku Wei was about to open his mouth and vent some of his anger. However, after he saw how cold Lu Yin¡¯s expression had be, he paused. Lu Yin looked as though he wanted to beat someone, and Ku Wei panicked, scared that he had lost his reasoning. He had actually nearly forgotten that this person had defeated one of the Ten Arbiters and that he did not pale even whenpared to the top heirs of the Seven Courts. Ku Wei could not beat Lu Yin, and he was even hoping that Lu Yin would help him.

    In but a moment, Ku Wei suppressed all of his anger and barely managed to force out a smile. ¡°Forgive me, Your Highness. I¡¯ve thought it through again, and I¡¯ve remembered that it¡¯s a power vessel unique to my Ku family. Throughout the ages, it¡¯s been called Withered Bark, and although I don¡¯t know the principles behind its manufacturing process, this toy has an extremely robust defense, and the elders gave me one for when I¡¯m out on missions.¡±

    ¡°How many of these Withered Barks does your family have?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Very few.¡±

    He saw that Lu Yin did not really believe this im, and Ku Wei became flustered. ¡°Your Highness, there truly are only very few remaining. How many power vessels could we have that can withstand attacks with power levels of 400,000? I trust that even Your Highness does not have more than two.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t want to take it from you. What are you so nervous about?¡±

    Ku Wei pursed his lips, as he did not trust Lu Yin¡¯s character. This fellow had a special fondness for wealth, which was something that many people were aware of.

    ¡°Since your Ku family has this Withered Bark, what about the other families from the Seven Courts?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei thought about it. ¡°All of them basically have something like it. For example, the Ce family has their Immovable Chessboard and the Y¨­u family has the Netherworld River. Since we¡¯re able to contest the Hall of Honor, it¡¯s impossible for us to not have something like this hidden.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he became even more certain of certain elements behind the scenes. The Neoverse definitely had not put forth its full efforts during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    If the Sixth Maind was able to fully dominate the Fifth Maind, then it would have relied upon that strange suppression they had on the Fifth Maind cultivators, their imprints, and the specialties of their three Progenitors: bloodlines, martial imprints, and secret techniques.

    The Seven Courts¡¯ background was rted to a Progenitor, and each family should have a simr level of strength. Since the Hall of Honor was able to suppress the Seven Courts, then they must have an even stronger foundation. And yet, he had not seen them during the battle in the Cosmic Sea.

    Just what exactly was the Neoverse nning?

    While Lu Yin was ruminating over these thoughts, Ku Wei grew more nervous the longer he watched, as he was afraid that Lu Yin would force him to hand over the Withered Bark. He hurriedly spoke up. ¡°Your Highness, will that old fart from the Daynight ne back? Should we report this to the Hall of Honor?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Even if we report it, there¡¯s no point. The Hall of Honor oversees the entire human race, but they would require evidence to act on something like this. Besides, I wasn¡¯t killed, so the Hall of Honor has no reason to act.¡±

    ¡°These fellows are outrageous! They actually dared to attack you. If they had killed you, then the Daynight n would be out of luck,¡± Ku Wei said hatefully.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It depends on the circumstances. The possibility of Nightking Zhenwu bing one of the Cosmic Five is quite high because of what happened with the Champions'' Stage, which means that the Daynight n will likely be a privileged family. They¡¯ve reached the point where even the Hall of Honor needs to show the Daynight n some face.¡±

    After the discussion reached this point, Lu Yin suddenly reacted. What was the point of discussing such things with Ku Wei?

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going towards the Dark Phoenix family,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ku Wei was surprised. ¡°We¡¯re actually heading to the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s territory?¡±

    ¡°Obviously.¡±

    ¡­

    The Dark Phoenix family had previously announced that they had sealed themselves away for the next hundred years, and every power had received this notification.

    The Sixteen-Layered Dark mes was enough to intimidate the entire Outerverse, and nobody could break through it. It was powerful enough to even make the Phoenix family wary.

    However, after Lu Yin¡¯s visit, everything had changed.

    Only the finalyer of the Sixteen-Layered Dark mes remained now, and even though thisyer was the most powerful one and could even deter Envoy-level powerhouses, a singleyer of Dark mes was just too thin. People could even peer through it and see the Darkme Continent.

    The Dark Phoenix family felt as though they were wearing invisible clothing. They wanted to cover themselves up, but it was impossible to do so properly. This was an extremely embarrassing situation for arge n like the Dark Phoenix family.

    The entire Dark Phoenix family had been cursing Lu Yin recently.

    At this moment, the Dark Phoenix family was confronted with an awkward situation. They had announced that they would seal themselves away for a hundred years, but thestyer of Dark mes was not able to fully conceal them, which was rather humiliating. However, if they did not continue to seal themselves away, then they would be going back on their previous announcement.

    This was a matter that the Dark Phoenix family had discussed for a long time.

    On one particr day, just as Tanno Phoenix was about to continue the n¡¯s discussion once again, the finalyer of Dark mes began to distort.

    They could never forget this scene, as this exact phenomenon had urred on the day when the other fifteenyers of Dark mes had vanished.

    Tanno Phoenix and the others rushed to the edge of Darkme Continent, and there they saw Lu Yin once again. This time, they were separated only by a singleyer of Dark mes.

    An ineffable mixture of frustration, hatred, helplessness, and remorse whirled about in Tanno Phoenix¡¯s heart. Finally, he snarled, ¡°Lu Yin, what the hell are you trying to do?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips even as the Skyze Stone continued to absorb the finalyer of the Dark mes. Ku Wei stood beside him, and behind Ku Wei were the few Dark Phoenix family members who had been standing guard outside of the continent.

    Since they were only separated by a singleyer of Dark mes, Lu Yin was able to see the hatred in their eyes, and he was actually a little embarrassed.

    His current actions were no different from directly stealing from these people. No, he was not stealing, but piging.

    Ku Wei moved forward. ¡°His Highness saw that this continent was being burned by this Dark mes, and he could not allow the citizens here to be in such agony. Thus, he came to rescue them. There¡¯s no need to thank us.¡±

    Upon hearing Ku Wei¡¯s words, Lu Yin was amazed. This person was quite well spoken; he had indeede here to rescue the ordinary people living on the Darkme Continent who were suffering from the high temperature. He was doing a good deed.

    Tanno Phoenix became so furious that his body trembled, and the other Dark Phoenix family experts who were present were simrly enraged. Quite a few of them even cursed Lu Yin under their breath. ¡°Shameless, despicable, nasty.¡±

    ¡°This thief, how can he even say such words?¡±

    ¡°Only a fool would believe him.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin proudly raised his head and revealed a serene expression. ¡°Patriarch Tanno, I heard that the Darkme Continent is being roasted by these mes and that you guys have been suffering from a horribly high temperature. As the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander and the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, I, Lu Yin, cannot just let this go.¡±

    Ku Wei loudly continued, saying, ¡°Why are you all still not rushing to thank Alliance Leader Lu? Hurry up and prepare a banquet to wee the Alliance Leader!¡±

    Another round of curses emerged from the Dark Phoenix family, and they all charged towards Ku Wei. This person was the very definition of a henchman.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that this fellow had tremendous potential.

    The wrath of all the Dark Phoenix family members had been diverted from Lu Yin to Ku Wei, as he was simply too infuriating.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please show mercy,¡± Tanno Phoenix hurriedly said, as he did not want thest Dark mesyer to be absorbed by Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin continued on as though he had not heard anything.

    Ku Wei shouted, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be courteous. For your safety, Alliance Leader Lu will not rest until he¡¯spleted his duties. Rest assured, all of this Dark mes will be absorbed, and we will find a way to track down the person who released these mes and force the culprit to apologize to the entire Darkme Continent.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix was growing frantic now. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is my Dark Phoenix family¡¯s Dark mes! Please show mercy.¡±

    Ku Wei shouted, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Patriarch Tanno. You¡¯re being far too polite.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader¡­¡±

    ¡°Patriarch Tanno¡­¡±

    Countless members of the Dark Phoenix family ground their teeth upon hearing Ku Wei¡¯s words, and the hatred that they felt for him had already surpassed everything else.

    Ku Weipletely ignored them, as they were just an Outerverse n. They had even been chased out of the Innerverse, and just his title was enough to scare these people.

    No matter how much Tanno Phoenix shouted, all of his efforts were disturbed by Ku Wei. Then, finally, thestyer of Dark mes was absorbed into the Skyze Stone.

    Thisyer of Dark mes had been powerful, and Lu Yin felt a scorching sensation as he held the Skyze Stone.

    He felt that, if he had not upgraded the Skyze Stone with his die, it was possible the fiery dragon might have already emerged.

    When the Dark mespletely vanished, Tanno Phoenix and the others all felt their hearts fall. The protection that their ancestor had arranged for them in the form of the Sixteen-Layered Dark mes waspletely gone now. Along with it disappeared their Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ability to seal themselves away and the ability to defend themselves against any Envoy-level powerhouse.

    In just a few short years, all three of the Outerverse¡¯s powers that should not be provoked had been pulled down from their exalted position by Lu Yin. The Neo-Vestige Sect even belonged to him, as they had lost the protection of the Arrow Mountain Elder, rendering them no longer able to stand up to Lu Yin.

    Millions City did not dare to offend Lu Yin either. No matter how wealthy the city was, since it was a mobile fortress, it fell under themand of the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. As long as Lu Yin was willing, he could order Millions City to appear at any location in the Outerverse at any time. The only reason he would need to give was that a powerful foe might possibly invade from there.

    Finally, the Dark Phoenix family had had its Sixteen-Layered Dark mespletely absorbed by Lu Yin. That, coupled with the death of their ancestor, Yen Phoenix, meant that they had lost any and all ability to intimidate anyone in the Outerverse.

    The three formerly glorious powers had fallen one by one, and the Great Eastern Alliance had stepped up to rece them.

    The screen of protection had disappeared, and the Dark Phoenix family no longer was willing to provoke Lu Yin. They were not even able to act logically at this moment, and they could only helplessly follow Ku Wei¡¯s suggestion and host a banquet to wee Lu Yin.

    Ku Wei was thrilled, as he loved to watch others who clearly wanted to take advantage of him and his people be forced to put on smiling faces and wee them. This was a very refreshing feeling.

 Chapter 1051: Branch Familyâ€™s Fall

    <h4>Chapter 1051: Branch Family¡¯s Fall</h4>

    Lu Yin continued to act humble. ¡°Patriarch Tanno, there¡¯s no need to be so courteous. I¡¯m honored to have the privilege to rescue Darkme Continent.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix was about to speak, but Ku Wei interrupted him, saying, ¡°Since you are a member of the Great Eastern Alliance, the safety of the Dark Phoenix family is always on Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s mind. Isn¡¯t that right, Patriarch Tanno?¡±

    Tanno Phoenix¡¯s face twisted. If possible, he wanted to kill this wretched bastard right now.

    Behind the three men, an entire group of people from the Dark Phoenix family ground their teeth as they stared at Ku Wei¡¯s back. They were plotting to surreptitiously get rid of him.

    Lu Yin nced over at Ku Wei in appreciation. How had he never noticed that this fellow was such an amazing henchman? One sentence from Ku Wei had forced the Dark Phoenix family into a corner. If they did not agree, then it meant that they were refusing to join the Great Eastern Alliance. And given the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s current situation, they really could not afford to make such a refusal.

    Lu Yin had actually been wondering how he could bring up this issue, but Ku Wei had effortlessly seeded in a few sentences.

    Tanno Phoenix inwardly sighed. ¡°Right. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for rescuing us. The Dark Phoenix family cannot express our gratitude towards you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Patriarch Tanno¡¯s words make me blush in shame. Honestly, I didn¡¯t do much.¡±

    Tanno Phoenix was renderedpletely speechless.

    Darkme Continent was vast, and Tanno Phoenix personally led Lu Yin on a tour. During this time, Lu Yin sent En Ya a message, ordering her to quickly reach out to the Dark Phoenix family and confirm their entry into the alliance.

    En Ya replied, ¡°Your Highness, the Dark Phoenix family joining the Great Eastern Alliance might lead to the Phoenix family¡¯s displeasure.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, as he had forgotten about this detail. The Dark Phoenix family had defected from the Phoenix family, so having them join the Great Eastern Alliance might truly offend the Phoenix family.

    Lu Yin was a little irritated; how could he have forgotten about such a thing? Although he was not afraid of the Phoenix family, he did not want to create enemies just because of the Dark Phoenix family.

    Lu Yin originally did not have a very friendly rtionship with the Dark Phoenix family, and having them join the Great Eastern Alliance was just to achieve aplete, geographical unification. Their presence would not actually provide that many benefits to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    While Lu Yin was thinking, Tanno Phoenix continued to share the history of Darkme Continent with him as Ku Wei rambled on.

    Tanno Phoenix¡¯s temper was growing short, and he wanted to incinerate Ku Wei, but the patriarch was forced to apany this youth with a smile on his face.

    ¡°Patriarch Tanno, I heard that your n is mortal enemies with the Phoenix family, correct? What happened?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tanno Phoenix responded, ¡°The entire universe has heard this story. The Phoenix family has the name of the golden Undying Bird while we have the ck Undying Bird¡¯s. Because of this, the Phoenix family views us as traitors and members who have fallen from grace, which is why they want to exterminate our entire n. They wish to purify their Phoenix family.

    ¡°Hmph. In truth, there is no such thing as members who had fallen from grace during the time of our ancient forebears¡ªregardless of if they were gold or ck, both colors were considered a part of the Undying Bird¡¯s bloodline. The division only urred because our bloodline fell behind and was no longer able to contest the other part of the family. As a result, we were chased out of the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood. The situation was much like how the Daynight n had both Dayking and Nightking descendants where the Dayking descendants had fallen behind and been condemned to the Sealed Cage Technique by the Nightking descendants, reducing them to nothing more than ves. The Dark Phoenix family had been a bit more fortunate, as they had managed to flee the Innerverse.

    Upon thinking back, Lu Yin had encountered many simr situations before, including the Gasfire Alliance, which was likely facing a simr ordeal.

    There were too manyrge ns and families, and divisions and strife were unavoidable. Some branches of a group might be too powerful and would take the lead rather than follow along, and this was something perfectly normal.

    ¡°Since you guys arrived here in the Outerverse, has the Phoenix family caused any trouble for you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Tanno Phoenix answered in a gleeful tone, ¡°They¡¯ve tried, but my Dark Phoenix family is not so easily provoked. Also, we have an excellent rtionship with Astral-9, which has left the Phoenix family slightly apprehensive.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. While the Astral Combat Academy might seem like a mere educational institution, it contained all sorts of hidden powerhouses, and Astral-9¡¯s Headmaster was quite terrifying.

    That night, Tanno Phoenix led the Dark Phoenix family to hold a grand reception for Lu Yin. The change in their attitude was rather rapid, as quite recently, they had openly loathed Lu Yin and maintained haughty attitudes. They had even sent troops to help fight against the Great Eastern Alliance. However, after they joined the Great Eastern Alliance, all of their former arrogance instantly vanished.

    During this visit, Lu Yin also spoke with Tanno Phoenix about Taylor Phoenix¡¯s death. Taylor Phoenix had not been killed by Lu Yin, but rather, he had been ndered by Sall Phoenix.

    Tanno Phoenix solemnly apologized to Lu Yin for this matter.

    Lu Yin epted the apology. Although he had not personally killed Taylor Phoenix, the youth¡¯s death was still rted to Lu Yin, and he had not felt the slightest bit of remorse for it. In the past, Taylor Phoenix had taken the initiative to challenge Lu Yin, and he had also cooperated with Sall Phoenix to attack Lu Yin. The heir to the Dark Phoenix family had died soon after, as otherwise, Lu Yin definitely would have made moves to eliminate him.

    For his nsmen, Tanno Phoenix managed to endure his loss.

    The family was able to tolerate Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, but they could not tolerate Ku Wei¡¯s words.

    When the banquet started, the young experts of the Dark Phoenix family challenged Ku Wei one after another. This thrilled him, as he quite enjoyed bullying these people. In his own words, these frogscked experience and were easily trampled by him.

    There was a thump as another Dark Phoenix family expert was mmed against a wall, defeated.

    Ku Weiughed. He had already defeated twelve people from the Dark Phoenix family so far, and this winning streak felt very invigorating.

    The people from the Dark Phoenix family all had ugly expressions. They had intended to teach Ku Wei a lesson, but instead, they had all been taught a lesson by him.

    Lu Yin sipped his wine and maintained a calm expression.

    Tanno Phoenix could not help himself from speaking up, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, where is yourpanion from? His strength is astounding.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Patriarch, it¡¯s best not topliment him. He¡¯s already at his limit.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Tanno Phoenix¡¯s eyes shed as he nced down at Goldric Phoenix.

    Goldric Phoenix stood up and confronted Ku Wei. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s have a duel.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s brows rose as he seriously evaluated Goldric Phoenix. He knew that if someone still dared to challenge him at this time, then they had to have some hidden cards. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Goldric Phoenix.¡±

    Ku Wei frowned. This name sounded familiar.

    Lu Yin stared at Goldric Phoenix. Wei Rong had once mentioned this person, describing him as the strongest expert of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s younger generation and as someone who had far surpassed Taylor Phoenix. He was even considered powerful enough to eventually be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    Ever since he heard that, Lu Yin had been very curious about this person¡¯s innate gift, and it seemed that he would find out at this time.

    The Dark Phoenix family roused themselves when they saw that Goldric Phoenix was about to act. They all felt that his victory was already guaranteed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Ku Wei continued acting casually, but his expression had hardened and be a bit more serious.

    Goldric Phoenix had a solemn expression as he stepped forward. At the same time, streams of dark mes shot into the sky, their high temperature causing Ku Wei¡¯s expression to change. This person was definitely on apletely different levelpared to all of the earlier challengers.

    The dark mes formed an enormous hand that crashed down towards Ku Wei. Along its path, the void distorted, and spatial cracks spread out. This first attack had already surpassed the power level of a Hunter.

    Ku Wei raised a hand as he stared closely at the hand formed from dark mes as it descended. Then, his lips curled up as he moved both of his hands and changed his posture. Each time he moved, the dark mes would shrink a little.

    Soon, Goldric Phoenix¡¯s dark mes had entirely vanished.

    The entire Dark Phoenix family was stunned. ¡°He¡¯s actually using a lockbreaking technique. This kid¡¯s lockbreaking ability is quite impressive.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an Intermediate Lockbreaker at the very least,¡± someone realized.

    ¡°So he¡¯s actually a Lockbreaker.¡±

    ¡­

    Goldric Phoenix was shocked, and his gaze grew sharp. An even more terrifying amount of dark mes rose out from beneath the ground to fill the sky, and theypletely enveloped Ku Wei. Goldric Phoenix had fought against Lockbreakers before, and their techniques always needed time whereas his dark mes did not.

    Step by step, Ku Wei retreated. The dark mes were extremely invasive in nature, and its high temperature filled the sky as the surroundings became so hot that even Lu Yin was impressed by the level of heat.

    It was no wonder why Goldric Phoenix was hailed as a talent who would be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters one day. Lu Yin could see an impressive amount of rune lines on the youth, and his strength was clearly enough to be ranked among the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings.

    If Ku Wei continued to only use lockbreaking methods and his own battle experience, he would definitely end up losing this fight.

    ¡°Interesting. Who knew that the Dark Phoenix family still had an expert like you.¡± Ku Wei grew interested. However, as he spoke, his domain surged forth and enveloped the whole area. And when his domain appeared, a giant finger fell down from above. This was his forcefield, and the finger moved towards Goldric Phoenix.

    The Dark Phoenix family people felt scornful. A forcefield was a powerful means of attack, and very few in the entire universe were able toprehend a forcefield. However, such methods were useless against the Dark Phoenix family because they could use their dark mes to burn away forcefields.

    The crowd had assumed that Goldric Phoenix would be able to easily burn away Ku Wei¡¯s forcefield, but Goldric Phoenix foolishly stood rooted in ce and allowed the finger to simply strike him. His entire body was smacked underground.

    Every member of the Dark Phoenix family was left dumbstruck. What had just happened? Why hadn¡¯t Goldric Phoenix moved out of the way?

    If Goldric Phoenix had not been someone from the Dark Phoenix family, then these people would have even suspected that the entire match was nothing but a farce.

    Tanno Phoenix and the other members of the older generation had solemn faces, and they all stared at Ku Wei. That finger¡­

    Underground, Goldric Phoenix had not been too badly injured, as the finger had not released too much strength after falling upon him, which was how Ku Wei was showing mercy. Goldric Phoenix knew that he had been defeated, but what the hell had just happened?

    When that finger had descended, he had only been able to see the color grey, and it had felt as if everything around him had been wilting. There had been a strange sense of peace within his heart, and he had held absolutely no desire to resist the attack, which was why he had allowed the finger tond. Just what sort of power was this?

    When he saw Finger Tap again, Lu Yin was just as overwhelmed as before. This truly was the Ku family¡¯s top battle technique.

    Lu Yin had only learned the utmost basics of Finger Tap, enough for him to train his finger so that it could use his Dream Finger multiple times. However, he had not been allowed to learn the true essence of Finger Tap.

    Tanno Phoenix stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°Your Highness, is that...?¡±

    Even if the man was less intelligent, he still would have realized that Ku Wei was not an ordinary person. Goldric Phoenix had the strength to enter the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings at the very least, but he had still been easily defeated. In fact, the win was so extreme that he had not even been able to use his innate gift.

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, ¡°His surname is Ku. Have you heard of that name before?¡±

    Tanno Phoenix replied, ¡°I know that name, hold on.¡± Then, Tanno Phoenix revealed a look of disbelief. ¡°Ku? Could it be?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded.

    Tanno Phoenix was overwhelmed. He looked at Ku Wei once again, this time with apletely different expression. The Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family from the Neoverse¡­ It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s so powerful.

    Goldric Phoenix emerged from the ground, and he looked over at Ku Wei, clearly shaken. ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Ku Wei arrogantly responded, ¡°There is honor even in defeat. Not everyone is qualified for me to disy my battle technique.¡±

    Goldric Phoenix frowned. Although he had admitted defeat, he was a bit unwilling as he had not even been able to use his innate gift.

    The banquet thus concluded with Ku Wei¡¯s impressive battle results. He was very happy on this day, as he hadpletely dominated the Dark Phoenix family. Although he did not care much about a mere Outerverse n, achieving aplete victory was still quite refreshing.

    Lu Yin inhaled the night wind of Darkme Continent as he stood atop a mountain peak. He could not feel the high temperature at all.

    ¡°Your Highness, in the end, the Dark Phoenix family is quite cordial, haha.¡± Ku Weiughed.

    Lu Yin nced over. ¡°You¡¯re quite happy with yourself? Then why don¡¯t the two of us have a spar? I''m still very curious about your Finger Tap.¡±

    Ku Wei immediately refused. ¡°How could I fight against Your Highness? That would be disrespectful. I, Ku Wei, was raised properly.¡±

 Chapter 1052: Stripped

    <h4>Chapter 1052: Stripped</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at the base of the mountain that they were standing on and saw that Goldric Phoenix had appeared.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s he here for?¡± Ku Wei was puzzled.

    Soon, Goldric Phoenix arrived at the top of the mountain, and he looked at Ku Wei. ¡°So you¡¯re from the Neoverse¡¯s Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family. I was disrespectful earlier.¡±

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such courtesy. What are you here for? Do you want another match?¡±

    Goldric Phoenix nodded. ¡°Yes, but not with you.¡±

    He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, could I experience the disparity between myself and the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Ku Wei was surprised. ¡°Do you need a spanking? Why would you challenge him?¡±

    Goldric Phoenix shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not a challenge. I honestly want to see how far my strength is from the Ten Arbiters¡¯. In future, I will definitely challenge them.¡±

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. Challenging the Ten Arbiters was something that was easy to say, but not even he dared to attempt standing up to those ten. Even the top heirs from the Neoverse would not underestimate the Arbiters, as those ten were all monsters.

    Lu Yin understood Goldric Phoenix¡¯s thoughts; in the past, he had also asked Wendy Yushan to allow him to experience the strength of an expert on the Top 100 Rankings. To someone who had set the Ten Arbiters as their goal, wanting to know the difference in their strength was quite normal.

    ¡°Have you thought this through? Learning the difference might further motivate your desire to cultivate, but it might also cause you to feel despair,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Goldric Phoenix had a peaceful expression. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    Goldric Phoenix clenched his fists. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, forgive me.¡±

    With that, his dark mes enveloped the sky as it wildly surged towards Lu Yin.

    Ku Wei did not move from next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled: Night Advent.

    Goldric Phoenix¡¯s expression trembled. All he saw was an expanse of darkness. Not only did the boundless spiritual force dispel his dark mes, but it also suppressed him, and he felt as if the heavens themselves were copsing upon him.

    He had never experienced such a terrifying spiritual force before, not even from his family¡¯s elders. This spiritual force was on the level of the Ten Arbiters¡¯.

    Ku Wei gazed at Goldric Phoenix with a pitying look. He had been asking to be thrashed by requesting to fight against someone at Lu Yin¡¯s level.

    Ku Wei had already known that Goldric Phoenix would lose. After all, not just anyone could stand their ground against a spiritual force attack that was at the level of the Ten Arbiters¡¯. Moreover, Lu Yin had used a battle technique, Night Advent, which perfectly utilized his spiritual force.

    The next moment, blood trickled down the corner of Goldric Phoenix¡¯s mouth as he suddenly looked up. The darkness brought about by Lu Yin¡¯s Night Advent suddenly changed¡ªa small, green radiance had appeared within it, and the green light gradually grew brighter until it finally illuminated the entire darkness.

    The green radiance was actually a fire, and it lit up the darkness as the mes formed wind, sea, and eventually, a green sea that illuminated the darkness. This was Goldric Phoenix¡¯s innate gift: Greensky ze. These mes¡¯ temperature was so extreme that they could even burn spiritual force.

    This innate gift could incinerate both the enemy and their spiritual force due to its high temperature.

    This was Goldric Phoenix¡¯s innate gift that had shocked the Dark Phoenix family: Greensky ze.

    Lu Yin was surprised that his spiritual force had dissipated, and he looked at Goldric Phoenix with renewed interest. This person¡¯s mes had actually stopped his Night Advent from filling the entire area. What a mysterious innate gift.

    Goldric Phoenix was panting heavily as he stared intently at Lu Yin. Logically, his innate gift allowed him to counter his opponent¡¯s spiritual force, but Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was just too ridiculous, and he had also used a powerful battle technique: Night Advent. To Goldric Phoenix¡¯s shock, his innate gift had not been able to fully restrict it. Fortunately, he had still managed to break free of Night Advent¡¯s suppression.

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why Patriarch Tanno and the others are so certain that you¡¯ll be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters in the future. Your innate gift is truly powerful.¡±

    Goldric Phoenix felt like he had just been pped. Powerful? He had indeed believed that to be the case, but that ¡°powerful¡± innate gift only allowed him to remain standing after being attacked by Lu Yin. That was all that he was capable of.

    Ku Wei was surprised. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad innate gift, and it really is quite decent. However, if the Daynight n discovers it, you¡¯ll be their mortal enemy.¡±

    The Daynight n was adept at spiritual force attacks, but Goldric Phoenix¡¯s Greensky ze could burn spiritual force away. Since he countered their strongest ability, he would naturally be treated as an enemy. Even Lu Yin¡¯s Night Advent had been burned away, which amply demonstrated that, out of the Daynight n¡¯s entire younger generation, only Nightking Zhenwu and Zhuo Daynight¡¯s unrivaled battle techniques could deal with this Greensky ze.

    ¡°Spiritual force is just one method of attack, and although it can be powerful, it¡¯s not the only means of attack. Otherwise, the Daynight n would have be unrivaled long ago. Here, try this.¡± Lu Yin then raised a finger, reinforced it with his nine lined battle force, and then lightly tapped out. There was a bang, and a sharp gale tore through the void before striking Goldric Phoenix¡¯s body.

    His Greensky ze waspletely overpowered, and the gale sent him flying as he spat out a mouthful of blood while still in midair. He was eventually caught by an elder from the Dark Phoenix family. This elder was an Enlighter, and the moment he grabbed a hold of Goldric Phoenix, he was also sent flying by the enormous momentum. The powerhouse only managed to regain control of himself after great difficulty, and he stared into the distance at Lu Yin in shock.

    Just a casual attack possessed such terrifying power, and that attack was in no way inferior to an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    Goldric Phoenix had already passed out, as his body was simply unable to withstand this attack.

    This was the strength of someone on the same level as the Ten Arbiters, and Goldric Phoenix was far toocking inparison.

    Ku Wei swallowed his saliva. ¡°Your Highness is indeed formidable.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°Do you want to give it a try?¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s face went pale. ¡°There¡¯s no need, Your Highness. I¡¯m on your side.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look into the distance. It was possible that, one day, Goldric Phoenix would use his Greensky ze to challenge the top three of the Top 100 Rankings. However, he definitely would not be able to challenge the Ten Arbiters at this rate, as the difference in levels was just far too drastic.

    Lu Yin had not fully understood their strength before. Only after participating in the battle for control of the Champions¡¯ Stage in the Innerverse had hee to understand their power. He had only survived due to his Arcane Art, Fatal Revival, and the Arbiters¡¯ undeniable strength was precisely the reason why they were known as the Ten Arbiters.

    Since Lu Yin had defeated Lan Si and stepped onto the same level, those like Goldric Phoenix saw him as an unstoppable force.

    Just one finger was enough to crush an opponent whom Lu Yin would have previously been forced to treat seriously.

    Had Lu Yin been serious just now? He did not believe so, as he had neither unsealed the Fatesand in his body nor used his full physical strength. Otherwise, that single strike would have killed Goldric Phoenix, and the Enlighter from the Dark Phoenix family would not have been able to catch him either.

    Lu Yin did not remain on Darkme Continent for long, and he left with Ku Wei soon after. His next stop was Enron, as he wanted to ask the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s people to support Lan Si so that he could retain his seat as one of the Ten Arbiters. That way, even if Lu Yin did not be an Arbiter himself right now, he would still be able to influence them.

    ***

    In another ce, on a thaty not too far from Shenwu Continent, the void distorted as a figure stumbled out, and their eyes darted all about. ¡°Is this the space where Brother Lu is? I¡¯m not an Explorer yet, but I can still travel through outer space. Is this the direction that Master was pointing?¡±

    Before long, the figure flew off in a certain direction.

    ***

    Within a copsible spacecraft, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget let out a notification beep. It was a message from the Hall of Honor: Lu Yin¡¯s status as an Honor Chosen is temporarily withdrawn until suspicions of his betrayal are ayed.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he immediately tried to call Yuan Shi. However, he was unable to reach him.

    This was normal, as Yuan Shi was usually in ces that did not receive any signals.

    Helpless, Lu Yin could only change his course to Southside Weave, intending to look for Yuan Shi.

    Ku Wei was puzzled. ¡°Your Highness, weren¡¯t we headed to Enron?¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent, but his face was incredibly glum.

    Ku Wei was tactful enough to stop speaking.

    With his status as an Honor Chosen stripped away, it meant that Lu Yin was no longer qualified to go to the Neoverse and participate in the Astral Tower¡¯spetition. This was a harsh blow.

    To take part in the Astral Tower¡¯s contest, Lu Yin either had to be an Honor Chosen, a member of one of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers, or have been titled a King or Queen during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. The only criterion that Lu Yin had fulfilled was being an Honor Chosen. Now that that had been taken away, he had lost his qualifications to participate in the Astral Tower¡¯s contest.

    Lu Yin could not ept this oue.

    Before long, Lu Yin arrived at Yuan Shi¡¯s location, and he had Ku Wei wait for him nearby as he continued forward, looking for Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi was puzzled. ¡°Your Honor Chosen status was stripped away?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°For the moment. At least until all suspicions of my betrayal are removed.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded. ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll try to contact some people.¡±

    Lu Yin could only wait, and he felt uneasy.

    His status as an Honor Chosen had been given to him by Yuan Shi, but at this moment, not even Yuan Shi was not clear on what had happened. Lu Yin¡¯s status had been revoked, which meant that someone with an even higher position had intervened. Could it be?

    Lu Yin went pale. Could they have been discovered that he had stolen the blood-red bell?

    However, he felt that this was not very likely. If he had actually been exposed, then the Hall of Honor would have sent down an order to eliminate him as soon as possible.

    That blood-red bell represented the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, who was one of the absolute top figures in the entire Human Domain. Nobody dared to ask much about such a person¡¯s matters, and not even Yuan Shi would ask the Chief Justice why Lu Yin had possessed his blood-red bell.

    For the moment, as long as the Chief Justice himself did not get directly involved, there was no chance of Lu Yin being exposed.

    In that case, it meant that Nightking Zhenwu was the one behind this. However, how could his influence possibly surpass Yuan Shi¡¯s? Lu Yin did not believe that such a thing was possible.

    After a long time, Yuan Shi opened his eyes and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu paid a price of twenty Honor Points to back up his usation that you are a traitor to the Fifth Maind and that you colluded with the Sixth Maind to steal the Champions'' Stage. He paid a great number of Honor Points to make this usation, and not even I can change this.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. Twenty Honor Points. Nightking Zhenwu was truly willing to stake everything for this. Lu Yin had worked so hard to reach this level, and he had helped the Outerverse survive multiple crises and fought at the borders several times. He had even participated in the Tournament of the Strongest, but even with all of that, Lu Yin only had twenty Honor Points to his name.

    Where had Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s twenty Honor Pointse from?

    Lu Yin asked this question next.

    Yuan Shi said, ¡°When he exposed someone called Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao for betraying the Human Domain, he was given ten Honor Points all at once.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood, realizing that Nightking Zhenwu had been the one to expose Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao. It was no wonder how he had umted twenty Honor Points.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this Nightking Zhenwu kid is too slimy. Think about it¡ªhe was given the unique qualification to directly receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower, and once he seeds, he¡¯ll be one of the Cosmic Five. At that time, Honor Points won¡¯t be of much more use to him. That¡¯s why he¡¯s willing to pay so many Honor Points to prove his ims. Even if he can¡¯t confirm that you¡¯re a traitor, he can still make you lose your qualifications topete for the Cosmic Five¡¯s positions. That¡¯s just too despicable,¡± the Ghost Monkey howled.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Yuan Shi, with his testimony, could the Hall of Honor-¡±

    Before he could even finish, Yuan Shi interrupted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t. Everything requires proof, and besides, you¡¯re my Honor Chosen. Even if the Hall of Honor is biased, they would be biased towards you. However, this time, there are quite a few people within the Hall of Honor who are helping Nightking Zhenwu, and even I cannot immediately restore your status as my Honor Chosen.¡±

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t this mean that Junior won¡¯t be able topete for the Cosmic Five?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Yuan Shi sighed. ¡°Not unless you can immediately prove your innocence, or if Nightking Zhenwu withdraws his allegations.¡±

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°I understand.¡±

    Yuan Shi nodded, and then seriously said, ¡°As long as you never did it, no one can frame you for it. Also, not even the Cosmic Five are invincible.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully responded. ¡°Yes. Thank you, Yuan Shi.¡±

 Chapter 1053: Daynight Feast

    <h4>Chapter 1053: Daynight Feast</h4>

    To be one of the Ten Arbiters, Nightking Zhenwu had to have sufficient boldness, deceit, temperament, and strength. He could not be simple in any one of those aspects, and this was amply demonstrated in how he had used his Honor Points, which were no longer of much use to him, to directly cut off Lu Yin¡¯s future. The Nightking had gone from being passive to active.

    No, that was not urate. From the very start, Nightking Zhenwu had made active moves against Lu Yin, as Zhuo Daynight was in his hands.

    Everything that the man did was shrouded in sinisterness.

    Lu Yin could not help but think of when his die¡¯s one pip: Pilfer had grabbed Ellen Gale¡¯s diary. That book had recorded her experiences of agony, hatred, despair, and indescribable stillness. It had documented her transition from hope to despair, and the diary perfectly captured who the Nightking was.

    Currently, Zhuo Daynight was forced to experience the same emotions, and in just another two months, her despair would reach an even deeper level, and her emotions would sublimate into an ineffable and absolute nadir.

    What did one person have to experience to do such cruelty to others?

    If the Neohuman Alliance represented the universe¡¯s extreme darkness, then Nightking Zhenwu represented humanity¡¯s extreme darkness.

    Nightking Zhenwu had made a move, and Lu Yin had to reply.

    He called Nightking Yuanjing directly.

    The Nightking bloodline had sent some people to assassinate Lu Yin, and apparently, they had not been sent by Nightking Zhenwu. This was because, despite his abilities and position, he was not able tomand a powerhouse whose power level was at 400,000.

    This indicated that even though the decision makers within the Nightking bloodline valued Nightking Zhenwu, they did not necessarily follow his wishes to the letter. In their eyes, the importance of the stone of inheritance did not even need to be mentioned.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s image appeared on the screen, and he beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Yin, is there some issue that has you looking for Grandpa Yuanjing?¡±

    Lu Yin felt nauseated the moment he saw Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s smile. Both sides had already shed all pretenses of politeness, so there was no need for Lu Yin to continue putting on an act. He calmly asked, ¡°Is the Nightking bloodline aware of what Nightking Zhenwu did?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing said, ¡°Are you talking about how he used you of being a traitor to the Fifth Maind and used his Honor Points to support his testimony?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Nightking Yuanjing reluctantly answered, ¡°That¡¯s something between you two children, and we cannot intervene. Youths are often too impulsive.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and then retrieved the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance from his cosmic ring. ¡°Does the Nightking bloodline need this?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes grew heated when he saw the stone of inheritance, and he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Since it¡¯s in your possession, will you return it?¡±

    Lu Yin casually tossed it up and down. ¡°As long as Nightking Zhenwu withdraws his allegations, I can return the stone of inheritance.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face showed his contempt. ¡°Zhenwu has his own thoughts, and we cannot force things. Still, I can try and help you ask.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for him to proceed.

    Nightking Yuanjing disconnected.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that old fogey is still ying hard to get. Who does he think he¡¯s bluffing?¡± The Ghost Monkey was enraged.

    Lu Yin remained calm and quietly waited.

    After a while, Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s image reappeared on the screen, and he looked at Lu Yin, clearly upset. ¡°Little Yin, isn¡¯t your disagreement with Zhenwu too great?¡±

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°Whatever his conditions are, just give them to me.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing sighed. ¡°Zhenwu wants you to apologize to my Daynight n in front of the entire universe and then destroy all of the battle techniques that you obtained in the stone of inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Destroy? How?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing exined, ¡°Completely overdraw your spiritual force so that you¡¯ll never be able to recover.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

    Nightking Yuanjing smiled back. ¡°I know that these conditions are too extreme, but my Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques have never been released to any outsiders. So naturally, you must remove everything that you¡¯ve learned.¡±

    Lu Yin stared into Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes, and then calmly stated, ¡°I, Lu Yin, unified the Outerverse, and even if I can¡¯t be one of the Cosmic Five, my status within the Hall of Honor won¡¯t be any lower than theirs. Tell Nightking Zhenwu that I have ways to make sure that this stone of inheritance will never reach the Daynight n.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s expression changed, and his voice grew sharp. ¡°Little Yin, you are threatening my Daynight n!¡±

    Lu Yin grew arrogant. ¡°That¡¯s right. And I¡¯m not just threatening it. As long as I, Lu Yin, hold the position of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, the Daynight n will not be able to enter the Outerverse, and none of the Outerverse¡¯s resources will be sent to the Daynight Flowzone. To the Daynight n, the Outerverse will essentially cease to exist.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing trembled from his surging bloodlust, and he stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for a while before speaking with a softer tone. ¡°How about this¡ªyou can personally visit the Daynight n to return the stone of inheritance, and I¡¯ll find a way for Zhenwu to withdraw his usations. Alright?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression softened, but he did not agree.

    Nightking Yuanjing frowned. ¡°You may keep the battle techniques that you¡¯ve learned, but you definitely cannot teach them to any others. This you must swear before my Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin muttered to himself for a moment. ¡°I have to personally go to the Daynight n to return the stone of inheritance?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing nodded. ¡°This is our bottom line. We must let the entire universe know that whoever takes our items must return it in person. Of course, we know that Little Yin¡¯s current status is quite different, so you don¡¯t need to publicly apologize, and we can even host the Daynight Feast to receive you.¡±

    Lu Yin gave Nightking Yuanjing a serious look before slowly nodding. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing smiled. ¡°This is the right way. My Daynight n stands aloof from most affairs, and we do not have great animosity with Little Yin. Thus, there¡¯s no need to make things too strict. I¡¯ll find a way to handle things with Zhenwu, and I will have him withdraw his usations. However, that will have to be after the Daynight Feast.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll have to trouble Senior Yuanjing,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Nightking Yuanjing smiled and nodded before abruptly ending the call.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you really believe that old fogey¡¯s words?¡± the monkey asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Of course not. He wants to lure me over to the Daynight n so that Nightking Zhenwu can kill me properly.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re still going?¡± The monkey¡¯s voice rose, as he was scared of dying.

    Lu Yin had no choice, as he could not refuse to go. It wasn¡¯t just because Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s usations had caused Lu Yin to lose his qualifications to join the events at the Astral Tower, but more importantly, because of Zhuo Daynight.

    Recently, in all of his dreams, he would see Zhuo Daynight trapped all alone while facing Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin would never be able to forget that deste figure and her despair.

    How could Lu Yin allow that woman to endure everything by herself? Also, he had been wanting to visit the Daynight n for some time. Otherwise, how would he be able to have his battle with Nightking Zhenwu and kill the man?

    Both youths had simr thoughts, and they only had to finalize their arrangements.

    Lu Yin took Ku Wei with him as they headed for Enron.

    Ku Wei was truly curious about what had happened, and what could have made Lu Yin reveal such a scary look.

    Ku Wei grew a bit exasperated after discovering that he could not pull out any answers.

    ¡°Ku Wei, what do you think of the Daynight n?¡± Lu Yin asked suddenly.

    Ku Wei thought about it. ¡°What else can I think? It¡¯s a rampantly arrogant and powerful n from the Innerverse that doesn¡¯t have any real ability. The Daynight n is constantly trying to enter the Neoverse, but they can¡¯t force their way in.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled, as he did not believe that all of the Neoverse¡¯s powers surpassed the Daynight n in strength.

    ¡°The Daynight n acts tyrannically and unreasonably, so how could such people be allowed into the Neoverse?¡± Ku Wei asked scornfully.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°What about the Daynight n¡¯s strength?¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Attitude is one thing, and it has to be acknowledged that they do indeed have the necessary strength. It wouldn¡¯t be easy for even one of the families from my Seven Courts to eliminate the Daynight n, and it would actually be very difficult to do so. Although the n has never birthed a Progenitor and they have no secret techniques to pass down, they simply have too many battle techniques. Additionally, they always have n members being born with absurd innate gifts.¡±

    He then paused for a moment. ¡°ording to rumors, the Daynight n¡¯s ancient origins are not simple, but that¡¯s nothing more than rumors, and I don¡¯t have any details.¡±

    ¡°The n¡¯s ancient origins?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ku Wei nodded. ¡°When I was younger, I heard some elders mention that the Daynight n is supposedly the branch of some super powerful n. No, the branch of some ancient super powerful sect. No, hold on, let me think. Why can¡¯t I remember now?¡±

    Lu Yin responded, ¡°Forget the ancient times¡ªdoes the current Daynight n have any powerhouses with a power level of more than 1,000,000?¡±

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. You should ask Yuan Shi about that, as he should know.¡±

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Have you heard of the Third Nightking before?¡±

    Ku Wei grew horrified. ¡°The Third Nightking? He was a ruthless person beyond measure! He ughtered his way into the Astral Beast Domain all by himself, and he was the one who established the n¡¯s tyrannical temperament. He was an absolutely ferocious person. Why is Your Highness suddenly bringing him up?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. The Third Nightking was still alive, and in the past, Lu Yin had used this information to whet the Daynight n¡¯s appetite, allowing him to gain quite a bit from those interactions. In fact, it had even allowed him to avoid the schemes of Nightqueen Yanqing and Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin had assumed that this was a good thing, but now that he had be mortal enemies with the Daynight n, the Third Nightking was nothing more than an obstacle.

    Even though the Third Nightking was unable to escape the Profound Void Realm, who could possibly predict the future? The Sixth Maind had invaded the Astral Beast Domain, which might have had some huge effects on the Profound Void Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts ran wild, and before long, the two arrived at Enron.

    When the two youths arrived, everyone from Sea King¡¯s Dome noticed their presence.

    Elder Tong weed the two young men.

    As one of the four elders from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s military advisor, for Elder Tong to personally wee Lu Yin was a huge honor.

    After a few pleasantries, Lu Yin got straight to the point. ¡°Elder Tong, Junior came to you this time for nothing other than to ask the Sea King¡¯s Dome to support Lan Si and thereby allow him to retain his authority among the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lan Si had lost to Lu Yin, and although that was not enough for him to lose his position as one of the Ten Arbiters, due to the cmity that had struck Grayweed Continent, Lan Si had lost his backing as well. Even as one of the Ten Arbiters, Lan Si would not enjoy the same influence and power as before unless another powerful organization decided to support him.

    For Lan Si, the Sea King¡¯s Dome was the most suitable candidate. Even if no one knew where the Sea King was at the moment, with an Envoy realm powerhouse like Elder He around and the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s influence within the Starfall Sea, they still wereparable to the former Grayweed Continent.

    Elder Tong felt that this request was rather strange. ¡°Why is Alliance Leader Lu making moves on behalf of Lan Si? Could there have been other conditions ced on your battle?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°We agreed that if he won, my status as an Honor Chosen would be given to him. However, if I won, the Lan family would provide me with its unconditional support.¡±

    Elder Tong instantly understood. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s no wonder why the Lan family has moved to Frostwave Weave. Speaking of which, I have to congratte Alliance Leader Lu for defeating Lan Si. From now on, you will be considered as someone at the peak of the universe¡¯s younger generation.¡±

    Lu Yin responded humbly, ¡°I don¡¯t dare to consider myself at the peak. Elder Tong is exaggerating the situation. Regarding the matter Junior brought up, might Elder Tong agree to it?¡±

    Elder Tong answered helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Alliance Leader Lu, but we have no ability to worry about other affairs at this moment, as we are trying to find a way to track down the Sea King.¡±

    After arriving at Enron and seeing Elder Tong, Lu Yin had be certain that the Sea King was not dead. Otherwise, the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome would be showing far different expressions.

    Lu Yin did not see Hai Dashao, Hai Feng, Hai Qiqi, or Elder He¡¯s rune lines on Enron. Thus, they must have all moved out to try to find a way to track down the Sea King.

 Chapter 1054: General Antagonism

    <h4>Chapter 1054: General Antagonism</h4>

    ¡°Is Elder Tong certain that Senior Sea King isn¡¯t dead?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Tong nodded and grew far more animated. ¡°We¡¯ve been able to sense his presence after the battle in the astral cemetery, but we are unclear on his actual location.¡±

    ¡°Can people still borrow the Sea King¡¯s strength?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Tong shook his head.

    Lu Yin thought about it and then asked, ¡°Has Elder considered that Senior Sea King might no longer be on the Fifth Maind?¡±

    Elder Tong¡¯s hand trembled, but his expression did not change very much. They had definitely already considered this possibility, and it seemed to be quite likely.

    When they had been attempting to escape from the Innerverse, the Sea King and Dojo Master Lan and Tian Yanzi had remained behind to fight against Madam Hong. Even if they had not been killed in that battle, it was possible for them to have been captured and taken back to the Sixth Maind when the invaders retreated.

    If they had been taken to the Sixth Maind, then it was likely that they would never be able to return.

    Elder Tong fell silent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Elder, don¡¯t despair. Even if Senior Sea King was taken to the Sixth Maind, it doesn¡¯t mean that all hope of him returning is lost. The Sixth Maind was able to invade our Fifth Maind, so naturally, we can also invade the Sixth Maind.

    ¡°Back when I took Qiqi away from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Elder Ren said that, hopefully, the current situation will reverse one day, and that day might not be too far off.¡±

    Elder Tong¡¯s eyes brightened until they were exceptionally fervent. ¡°That¡¯s true. That day will eventuallye. We simply need to wait for the flow to reverse, not just to search for the Sea King, but even more so for our Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Before that time, Junior will continue doing his best to search for the Sea King¡¯s traces,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Elder Tong gave Lu Yin a serious look. ¡°Search? How will you search?¡±

    If he did not answer this question properly, then everything that Lu Yin had just said would be treated as him trying to dupe the elder and deceive the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s people into supporting Lan Si. This would leave a very poor impression on everyone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Currently, Lu Yin was able to meet with these people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome at any time due to his status as the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, which had not been taken away yet. In short, many from the Sea King¡¯s Dome still regarded Lu Yin as one of their own.

    If Lu Yin attempted to trick the Sea King¡¯s Dome into supporting Lan Si, then his rtionship with the Sea King¡¯s Dome would rapidly deteriorate.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was not attempting any sort of deceit.

    ¡°Has Elder heard of the Daosource Sect?¡± Lu Yin answered confidently.

    Elder Tong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°The ancient Daosource Sect? What is Alliance Leader Lu saying by bringing that up?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Since Elder has heard of the Daosource Sect, then you must have heard of the futons. Junior has a futon, and I can meet with people from the Sixth Maind at any time.¡±

    Elder Tong was surprised. ¡°You have a futon? From where? Out of our entire Fifth Maind, only the Ten Arbiters have those.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and pulled out his futon.

    Elder Tong was overwhelmed, as he knew that the futon was genuine the moment it appeared. The bizarre aura surrounding it could not be faked.

    ¡°Junior can enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins to look for people from Flying Horse Manor, and I can ask them about the Sea King¡¯s whereabouts. After all, Senior Sea King was most likely taken away by the people from the Flying Horse Manor,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Elder Tong grew emotional, and he bowed low to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurriedly propped the old man back up. ¡°Elder, please don¡¯t act this this. Junior really cannot ept it.¡±

    Elder Tong ignored Lu Yin¡¯s attempt to lift him up, and the old man continued to bow fully while saying, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you don¡¯t understand how important the Sea King is to me. Although he¡¯s our master and we his servants, our rtionship is even closer than the bond between blood brothers. For the Sea King, we are willing to do anything, and we will never be able to repay Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s kindness for the rest of our lives.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart moved, as this was true brotherhood. For some reason, at that moment, a gentle child¡¯s voice rang out within his brain. ¡°Why don¡¯t we be sworn siblings? From now on, we are the Seven Elites, and we will all share the same fate.¡±

    ¡°Third Bro, you¡¯re the smallest, so from now on, you¡¯re Seventh Bro. Come, talk to your elders!¡¯ ¡°

    ¡°Big Sis, Second Bro, Third Bro, Fourth Sis, Fifth Bro, Sixth Sis, hello.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Good, Little Seven. Whoever bullies you from now, we¡¯ll all help you get revenge.¡¯¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be called Little Seven from now.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Little Seven, hurry and go! Rx, we won¡¯t die. We¡¯ll meet again one day, so hurry up and leave!¡¯¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly clutched at his heart as he took several steps back. His face became deathly white, his eyes filled with tears, and his entire body trembled uncontrobly. An agony beyond words dug into his heart. The pain he felt was not from an injury, but heartbreak. It was a prating ache that left him having difficulties breathing.

    Elder Tong promptly stepped forward and pressed hand to Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. The old man was puzzled. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what happened?¡±

    Lu Yin panted heavily as tears dripped from his eyes. Why? Why was he experiencing such emotional pain? Why was he crying?

    Elder Tong stared at Lu Yin, bewildered. The elder then activated his star energy to check and make sure that Lu Yin had not sustained any injuries.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Maybe I¡¯m just too tired.¡±

    Elder Tong did not understand what had happened, but he did not probe any further.

    Lu Yin hesitated for a moment as he cleared the thoughts from his head. He then looked at Elder Tong. ¡°Elder, Junior will find a way to dig out Senior Sea King¡¯s whereabouts from the disciples of Flying Horse Manor.¡±

    Elder Tong nodded. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. Also, regarding the matter with Lan Si, our Sea King¡¯s Dome will do its best to support him, as he also represents the Starfall Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    After resolving the matter regarding Lan Si, Lu Yin decided to leave Enron. During this entire time, Ku Wei had been waiting in the copsible spacecraft.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s people did not have a favorable impression of those from the Neoverse, and Ku Wei was even from the Court of Seven Names, which was even less in his favor. It was better for him to not even show himself.

    Lu Yin was just about to board the spacecraft and leave when Elder Tong called out to him. The man asked with a serene expression, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, was your Honor Chosen status temporarily revoked by the Hall of Honor?¡±

    ¡°How does Elder know about this?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Elder Tong exined, ¡°My Sea King¡¯s Dome has a rtionship with one of the Judicial Commissioner¡¯s: the Virtue of Righteousness. He knows that you are my Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s appointed son-inw, and he made it a special point to tell me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Nightking Zhenwu paid twenty of his Honor Points as assurance that his words are true. Now, the Hall of Honor has to investigate me, so for the time being, they revoked my status as an Honor Chosen.¡±

    ¡°So you can¡¯t participate in the contest for the Astral Tower anymore?¡± Elder Tong¡¯s expression grew ugly.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Elder Tong snorted. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu! That brat sure is ruthless and decisive.¡±

    The old man then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°With Yuan Shi¡¯s support, Alliance Leader Lu will not hold a disadvantage in the Hall of Honor, but I¡¯ll also request the Judicial Commissioner, Virtue of Righteousness, to help out. After all, there¡¯s another Judicial Commissioner who supports the Daynight n: Calm of Despair.¡±

    Calm of Despair¡ªLu Yin engraved this name into his memory.

    With the current struggle between Nightking Zhenwu and Lu Yin, a few signs of chaos began to emerge within the universe.

    Nightking Zhenwu represented the Daynight n, which held a tremendous amount of influence in the Innerverse.

    Although Lu Yin had no foundation in the Innerverse, he was from the Astral Combat Academy. Despite its different branches alwayspeting against each other, regarding Lu Yin, all of them were unanimous in their decision to protect him.

    Many of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s graduates were from great ns and families, but a considerable portion of them were also people without any background, like Lu Yin. These people sympathized with Lu Yin¡¯s position, and they provided him with all sorts of help without any prior arrangements.

    It could even be said that the Daynight n had been too ruthless in their actions against Lu Yin, which had disgusted many people. And on top of that, there were still the n¡¯s various enemies that opposed them.

    There were many scenes that arose of conflicts between people supporting both parties, and these conflicts would possibly grow over time.

    These conflicts were only between ordinary cultivators, and moves were also being made on higher levels.

    Within the Hall of Honor, there had been many rounds of discussions over who was right and who was wrong between the two youths.

    Within the Interster Supreme Court, a debate between the Calm of Despair and Virtue of Righteousness had begun. One of them said that Lu Yin was definitely a traitor who had to be captured and put on trial. His argument was that it would be better to make a mistake and kill him without cause than let him go. The other said that Lu Yin had made great contributions to the Fifth Maind and was also an Honor Chosen. Thus, they could not lightly believe the usations levied against him.

    The two Judicial Commissioners continued to argue, and their disagreement naturally spurred on those below them.

    This was merely what was happening within the Interster Supreme Court, and the whole Hall of Honor had a total of nine overseers. All nine had a decisive say in a great number of the Hall of Honor¡¯s issues and activities. Even if their status could notpare to that of someone like the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Chairman, and others, these people actually had an even greater authority in specific areas and matters.

    Whether Lu Yin was a traitor to the Fifth Maind or not had also triggered a massive debate amongst these nine overseers.

    One of the nine overseers was from the Daynight n, and they had the same attitude towards Lu Yin as the Calm of Despair; they would rather have Lu Yin executed wrongly than allow him to live. However, some of the nine overseers had received Yuan Shi¡¯s favor in the past, and every one of them fully supported Lu Yin.

    Although Yuan Shi was far away from the Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters, his influence was still great. Despite him not being able to wipe away the usations that Nightking Zhenwu had made by sacrificing so many Honor Points, Yuan Shi was still able to ensure that Lu Yin would not be treated as a traitor without valid proof.

    Back in the Outerverse, Lu Yin and Ku Wei had returned to Zenyu Star. Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and when he nced at it, his expression slightly changed. Someone within the Lockbreaker Society had proposed expelling him from the society. They had supported their proposal not with ims that Lu Yin was a traitor to the Fifth Maind, but rather by questioning the legality of his primeval surname.

    Primeval surnames were a topic that Lu Yin could not really avoid.

    In the past, Wei Rong had used Lu Yin¡¯s primeval surname as a weapon against him off of the battlefield. If Lu Yin had not possessed the blood-red bell that had convinced the Hall of Honor to make a move, then the war between Lu Yin and Wei Rong might still be ongoing.

    The entire universe was hostile against those with illegal primeval surnames.

    When Wei Rong revealed Lu Yin¡¯s illegal status, it had been suppressed by the Outerverse¡¯s Hall of Honor. However, this time, the person who had voiced their suspicions was someone from the upper levels of the Lockbreaker Society, and Lu Yin could not influence the Lockbreaker Society.

    Tutor Wusheng had been the one to inform Lu Yin of this development, intending for Lu Yin to find a way to prove the legality of his primeval surname. Earth was not Lu Yin¡¯s ce of birth, and it could no longer protect him from this matter.

    Someone had also mentioned that Lu Yin was the true mastermind behind what had befallen the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society and that the fall of Sourcepeak was rted to him. Some had even suggested that Lu Yin might be a member of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin felt a headache when he saw the messages from Tutor Wusheng. He had not expected his greatest obstacle right now to suddenly be the Lockbreaker Society.

    There was no way that Lu Yin could withdraw from the organization, and even if he did, he could not let the reason be because his surname was illegal. If he did, then the Lockbreaker Society would not be the only one to start making trouble for him, as the Hall of Honor would be even more adamant. There were many other organizations throughout the universe who viewed anyone with a primeval surname with a considerable amount of hatred.

    Lu Yin called Wang Wen, who said, ¡°I had assumed this long ago, but dealing with the Daynight n will not be as simple as dealing with Wei Rong or the great powers of the Outerverse. These people will utilize all sorts of resources to strike at you, and ruining your reputation is merely their first step.¡±

    ¡°Is there any way to resolve this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t have the means, but based on what you¡¯ve told me, the people behind you should have their own methods to deal with this.¡±

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°Who?¡±

    Wang Wen¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Who else is behind you? Leon¡¯s Armada.¡±

 Chapter 1055: Efficiency

    <h4>Chapter 1055: Efficiency</h4>

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°They don¡¯t have the ability to influence the Hall of Honor or the Lockbreaker Society.¡±

    ¡°The current problem is not about whether or not you can influence either of those two organizations, but rather to find a way to prove the legality of your primeval surname. You¡¯re from Leon¡¯s Armada, so have them find a way to take care of this.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s going to be very difficult. In the past, we went to Earth precisely because we needed a ce with legal primeval surnames.¡±

    ¡°Back then, a bunch of you left Leon¡¯s Armada. Otherwise, there would have been no need to go to Earth. Chesspiece Bro, don¡¯t underestimate those pirates. Their methods are different from regr people¡¯s.¡±

    After Lu Yin ended his call with Wang Wen, he immediately reached out to Uncle Reuben¡¯s group. They had spoken with each other once before, and they were no longer overly concerned with people eavesdropping on their calls. Since Leon¡¯s Armada had already revealed its support for Lu Yin whenever he encountered trouble in the past, anybody who was sensible enough would have noticed that there was a close rtionship between Lu Yin and Leon¡¯s Armada. Thus, there was no longer any reason to hide anything.

    Lu Yin repeated the issue to Uncle Reuben, who instantly hung up after saying just two words to Lu Yin. ¡°Hold on.¡±

    About two hourster, Lu Yin received a message from Tutor Wusheng stating that the issue with Lu Yin¡¯s primeval surname had been resolved.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide; how were they this efficient?

    Lu Yin asked Tutor Wusheng how the matter had been resolved, and the man simply responded that he did not know either. He had merely received a notification from the Hall of Honor concerning the legality of Lu Yin¡¯s primeval surname.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this was simply too fast, especially since this had gone all the way to the Hall of Honor.

    Was Leon¡¯s Armada that influential?

    ¡°Uncle Reuben, you guys can even move the Hall of Honor?¡± Lu Yin asked in disbelief.

    Uncle Reuben¡¯s hoarse voice sounded from the other end of the call, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you prove the legality of my surname?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Uncle Reuben replied, ¡°If it¡¯s real, then it¡¯s real, and nobody needs to falsify anything. Your surname was legal to begin with, so nobody can frame you.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Other people had never framed him, as he truly did have an illegal surname. Thus, why did it sound so wrong for such words toe from a pirate¡¯s mouth?

    However, Lu Yin had to admit that it was quite refreshing.

    ¡°Uncle, Nightking Zhenwu has used me of being a traitor to the Fifth Maind, and he¡¯s gotten the Hall of Honor to revoke my status as an Honor Chosen to prevent me from participating in the contest at the Astral Tower. Do you have any methods to take care of this?¡± Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    Uncle Reuben answered extremely straightforwardly, ¡°We would have done that a long time ago if we could.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have some connection with the upper echelon of the Hall of Honor?¡± Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Uncle Reuben helplessly responded, ¡°Our path is not as broad as yours. You can beg Yuan Shi to act, but we can¡¯t reach that high.¡±

    ¡°Then just how did you resolve the legal status of my surname?¡± Lu Yin could not understand this bit.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you¡ªreal means real.¡± Uncle Reuben then hung up.

    Lu Yin fell silent as he stared at his gadget. Everything had been resolved just like that?

    Ku Wei watched from the side, and Lu Yin did not scold him.

    Ku Wei had grasped the general gist of the situation, and when he realized that Lu Yin was being attacked by public opinion, he grew eager. ¡°Your Highness, should I contact my family to help you?¡±

    Lu Yin jumped in fright. ¡°Don¡¯t joke around!¡±

    If the Ku family helped Lu Yin, then they would actually be more of a hindrance than a help. It was likely that a considerable portion of people in the Hall of Honor would instantly throw their support behind Nightking Zhenwu in that case.

    Ku Wei had hit a snag right away, so he pursed his lips and stopped talking.

    Now that the issue with Lu Yin¡¯s primeval surname had been resolved, the most important thing for him to deal with was the matter concerning the copse of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society.

    Wei Rong had been the one to orchestrate everything, as he had dreamed of pioneering a new era where he dealt with the colossal organizations of the Innerverse and even the Neoverse.

    In truth, Lu Yin somewhat respected Wei Rong¡¯s boldness and ability, but he also disapproved of the methods that Wei Rong had employed.

    Although Wei Rong was intelligent and very cunning, he was also greatly restricted by his vision.

    He had believed that causing the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to copse would allow the other organizations in the Outerverse to develop in a manner where they dealt with the other colossal organizations like the Mavis Bank or Aurora Enterprises. However, he simply did not understand how monstrous these powers were. On top of that, Wei Rong had disregarded the Hall of Honor.

    However, Lu Yin had simrly overlooked the Hall of Honor before the Innerverse and Outerverse¡¯s separation.

    No matter if one considered the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, Shamrock Enterprises, or other such organizations, all of them had old monsters with power levels in the several hundred thousands. The Outerverse Lockbreaker Society was no different as they had President Geoffrey. However, he had coincidentally been in the Innerverse during the separation. Otherwise, no matter how much Wei Rong schemed, he would have only faced his own downfall if he had plotted against the society.

    The copse of Sourcepeak had been an unexpected event, and not only had Wei Rong contributed to the event, but the Neohuman Alliance had also intervened. And, of course, so too had Lu Yin.

    With the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters pursuing this matter and ming things on Lu Yin, it would be rather difficult for him toe away clean.

    Actually, if he simply handed Wei Rong over, the entire matter concerning Sourcepeak would be evaded. However, if he did that, who would be willing to follow Lu Yin in the future?

    He had originally wanted to have Saul deal with this matter and bear the majority of the burden. However, now that the Daynight n members were making moves in the upper levels of the Lockbreaker Society, the situation had be much moreplicated.

    Thes streaked by as the spacecraft continued on towards Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin quietly muttered to himself, deep in thought. Tutor Wusheng was in the Lockbreaker Society, protecting him, and Lu Yin¡¯s role in the events had been rather small. He had also specifically led the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society to Frostwave Weave, which should logically be considered a contribution to the society. However, that depended on how the society¡¯s upper levels interpreted things.

    However, how could Lu Yin handle the part concerning Wei Rong? The Lockbreaker Society would definitely be able to dig out the details of the matter.

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrongly. Ever sincemunications had been restored between the Innerverse and Outerverse, the Lockbreaker Society had started investigating the matter of Sourcepeak. But surprisingly, they had not been as serious about the matter as Lu Yin expected them to be.

    Only Felynn, Saul, and Lu Yin were aware of the truth behind the events of Sourcepeak, as well as the leaders of the powers that had ambushed the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. None of these people were fools, and no one would speak to outsiders about anything. Felynn was even less of an idiot, and her preference had been to go into hiding from start to finish. In the end, the only person who might possibly reveal the truth was Saul.

    However, Saul had not reported things to the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters, as he was also not entirely clean. Thus, he was also trying to find ways to shed responsibility.

    If the details of the events at Sourcepeak were leaked, then although Lu Yin, Wei Rong, and Felynn might all suffer, Saul would be the first to be punished.

    Saul was an old fox who had muddled along for many years, and he was considered to be quite sharp within the Lockbreaker Society. The momentmunications had been restored, Saul had taken the initiative to make a report. In his retelling of the events, he had pushed all of the responsibility onto the Neohuman Alliance. Whether it was the copse of Sourcepeak, President Geoffrey¡¯s room being destroyed, or even True Insight being stolen, everything was med on the Neohuman Alliance.

    It had to be said that Saul was quite cunning because the Neohuman Alliance had indeed revealed its experts during the events on Sourcepeak. President Geoffrey¡¯s secret room had also been broken into by a corpse king, which was something that many people had witnessed.

    As for the cultivators who had attacked Sourcepeak, Saul hadbeled them asckeys who had been employed by the Neohuman Alliance. After the Great Eastern Alliance was established, all of those people had been picked up by the Allied Forces, and some had even died, which gave Saul a few more scapegoats.

    Lies mixed in with half-truths tended to be easily believed, especially since Saul had also pulled the Hall of Honor into his report by saying that the Hall of Honor had forcibly conscripted people, which allowed the box to be stolen by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse king.

    Currently, the Lockbreaker Society was not only focused on the destruction of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s original headquarters, but also on the stolen box.

    When Lu Yin returned to Frostwave Weave, he received a message from Saul.

    He had to marvel at the man after reading it, as Saul was a true genius. Even if the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters did not believe Saul¡¯s report, there was still nothing that they could use as a threat against Lu Yin at the moment. It was no wonder why Saul had been able to live for so long under Geoffrey. Despite his obvious ambition, he had still been used by Geoffrey, as Saul¡¯s capabilities were simply too convenient.

    ¡°Your Highness, aren¡¯t we returning to Zenyu Star?¡± Ku Wei asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°You can head back first. I want to take a trip to Hydrotink.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°The Lockbreaker Society? Your Highness wants to take an evaluation?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. It was time for him to discover just how far his lockbreaking ability had progressed.

    With Gu Yue¡¯s journal, the Daosource Sect¡¯s tform of Inception, and the most recent activation of Fatal Revival, Lu Yin hoped that he would be able to push himself to even greater heights and improve his standing within the Lockbreaker Society.

    Something like status would only improve after being umted, and with a powerful enough status, Lu Yin could even intimidate the Daynight n.

    ¡°Allow me to apany Your Highness,¡± Ku Wei requested, as he also wanted to see how much Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking ability had improved. There was a glint of some indescribable expectation hidden within the depths of his eyes.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s expression is quite strange. Could he have taken a liking to you?¡± the Ghost Monkey considered.

    Lu Yin also noticed Ku Wei¡¯s expression and looked at the man strangely. ¡°I¡¯m just going to unlock some sourceboxes. What are you getting so excited for?¡±

    Ku Wei pursed his lips. ¡°Within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, there are some ces that require a Lockbreaker to enter, as any other methods would simply be too difficult. The greater Your Highness¡¯ lockbreaking abilities are, the greater our chances of getting something good from the Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum are.¡±

    Lu Yin was moved, and he pulled out a drop of gemspring water. ¡°Drip this into your eyes.¡±

    Ku Wei blinked,pletely confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no other meaning. Drip this into your eyes,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ku Wei¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Your Highness, what is this?¡±

    ¡°Gemspring water.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a lockbreaking tool that Lockbreakers use? Why would you give this to me?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll take the evaluation together. You¡¯re also a Lockbreaker, and you¡¯re also a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.¡±

    Ku Wei felt that something was off, and he put on a dry smile. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯d be better off not taking the evaluation. Your Highness, you should go ahead by yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin grew serious as he looked at Ku Wei. ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum is no joke, and I won¡¯t take a burden along with me. If you don¡¯t be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker at the very least, then you can forget about going together.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s expression soured. ¡°Your Highness, actually, just being an Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker is good enough. There¡¯s no need to achieve five stars. In any case, I can¡¯t do that for now, and it¡¯s not good to force such things.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly responded, ¡°Then let¡¯s not go. I don¡¯t want to force you.¡±

    Ku Wei could only helplessly reply, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the evaluation.¡±

    ¡°Drip the gemspring water into your eyes,¡± Lu Yin indifferently ordered.

    ¡°Why now? Shouldn¡¯t I do that during the evaluation?¡± Ku Wei started to grow uneasy.

    ¡°We¡¯re about to arrive,¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Ku Wei felt that something was wrong, and he very carefully studied the gemspring water, but it was indeed just gemspring water.

    ¡°Just do as I ask. Why are you so resistant?¡± Lu Yin was getting unhappy.

    Ku Wei swallowed his saliva. He could feel that something was off, but he could not pinpoint anything.

    After considering it, Ku Wei nervously dripped the gemspring water into his eyes. At that moment, his vision changed as his pupils shrank. He was suddenly looking at the heavens of the universe. What appeared before his eyes was not the universe that he had seen before, but rather a deeperyer: the essence of the universe itself.

 Chapter 1056: Grade-Skipping Evaluation

    <h4>Chapter 1056: Grade-Skipping Evaluation</h4>

    Ku Wei could not describe what he was currently experiencing. When he waved a hand, he could see the star energy sweeping through his vision. It was very familiar star energy, but it felt as if he were viewing it through hundreds of millions of microscopes.

    Ku Wei raised a hand and started casually fiddling with his star energy, and he instantly discovered that his flow of star energy was smoother than before. Then, he looked off into the depths of outer space and saw that everything was littered with star energy. It existed everywhere that he could see.

    Lu Yin stared at Ku Wei the entire time, quite curious. The drop of gemspring water that he had given to Ku Wei had been upgraded fourteen times, and the truth was that Lu Yin was using Ku Wei as an experiment since he did not dare to use the drops himself. It seemed that the effects were pretty good.

    ¡°How does it feel?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei was overwhelmed. ¡°Your Highness, is this really gemspring water? This is way too mysterious.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew brighter. ¡°How does thispare to other lockbreaking tools?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t on the same level at all! Let me put it this way¡ªI can see this area magnified countless times over, and I can clearly see the ambient star energy.¡± Each word Ku Wei spoke was emotional.

    Lu Yin was satisfied.

    ¡°Even if amoner used this water, they would still be able to clearly see star energy and begin cultivating. Any ordinary cultivator would be able to lockbreak with this, which is just too bizarre. It¡¯s possible that not even the Cosmic Sect might have such a mysterious lockbreaking tool, and I feel like my control of star energy has entered the Divine Gaze realm,¡± Ku Wei excitedly shared as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness, where did you get this gemspring water from?¡±

    All Lockbreakers valued the level of their star energy control, and it was measured by the following realms: Intricacy, Cloudwalk, Skywise, Divine Gaze, Worldliness, and Creation. At best, Ku Wei had reached the Skywise realm so far, and possibly not even that. However, with just one drop of upgraded gemspring water, he had instantly entered the Divine Gaze realm.

    ¡°It was given to me by others,¡± Lu Yin said, feeling a slight bit of heartache. Such a good thing had been used up by Ku Wei. This gemspring water had been upgraded fourteen times, and it was a treasure that had taken 560,000 star essence to make.

    Although he had used it for an experiment, this was still a good result. He had found that the water was a precious treasure that could increase his control of star energy to the Divine Gaze realm.

    Lu Yin felt like he wanted to backpedal and take back this gift, and he even considered seeking reimbursement from Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei was still immersed in his excitement from experiencing the gemspring water, and he did not notice Lu Yin¡¯s regretful reaction.

    When Lu Yin arrived on Hydrotink, those like Saul and Felynn were naturally the ones to wee him.

    Yi Feng was also present. He had been Wei Rong¡¯s hidden trump in fracturing the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, as Yi Feng had once been a part of the Wei family. When Wei Rong joined Lu Yin, the Lockbreakers that he had taken away had also joined Lu Yin, all of them moving to Hydrotink.

    Nobody wanted to bring up the matter from the past.

    The reason behind Lu Yin¡¯s visit this time was to take an examination to raise his Lockbreaker grade.

    He had never advanced past the one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level, so Saul and the others assumed that Lu Yin intended to take the two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker evaluation. However, to all of their surprise, Lu Yin actually wanted to take the five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker exam. Also, if they had correctly read his intentions, he also hoped to challenge the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker level.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ambition scared Saul and the others.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, since ancient times, almost nobody has ever managed to jump straight from the one star to the five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. This difference is not merely that of numbers. That¡¯s going straight to the cusp of the Boundless Advanced level.¡± Saul felt like he had been ced in a difficult position.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Just because it¡¯s never happened doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s not possible. I want to try.¡±

    Saul, Felynn, Yi Feng, and the others all exchanged nces. In the end, they had no choice but to acquiesce.

    Additionally, all lockbreaking evaluations were video recorded so that the results could not be falsified. Even if Saul and the others wanted to help Lu Yin, it would be useless, so there was nobody who was worried that he would cheat.

    ¡°Your Highness, what about me? Shall I start first?¡± Ku Wei was eager to begin lockbreaking with his dazzling vision.

    Lu Yin felt sickened. ¡°Go first.¡±

    He had initially wanted to upgrade some more gemspring water, as he had only upgraded one drop, which had been used by Ku Wei.

    ¡°Young man, please show us your lockbreaking grade,¡± Saul courteously requested.

    Ku Wei showed proof of being a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker.

    It was quite decent to be a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker at his age, and Saul¡¯s opinion of Ku Wei immediately rose.

    ¡°Felynn, arrange the one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker examination for this young man,¡± Saul instructed.

    Felynn acknowledged the instructions, but Ku Wei spoke up. ¡°One star? That¡¯s no good. I want to take the three star exam.¡±

    Saul and the others were stunned, but then their expressions grew ugly as they stared at Ku Wei. ¡°Little brother, don¡¯t speak without thinking. A lockbreaking examination is not a simple task.¡±

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Bring it on.¡±

    Saul was irritated. First, Lu Yin wanted to immediately take the five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker examination. This was already enough to make Saul disgruntled, but he did not dare to reveal his dissatisfaction to Lu Yin. But now this other kid also wanted to skip grades. What did these two treat the lockbreaking evaluations as?

    Saul was not the only one with these emotions, as all the other nearby Lockbreakers were irritated as well. To them, taking a lockbreaking evaluation was a solemn and sacred affair. Many people went into seclusion to cultivate, burn incense, or even pray before taking an evaluation. They would do all sorts of things to improve their chances of sess, but these two actually wanted to skip ahead in the evaluations.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Let him do it,¡± Lu Yinmented. He then had Yi Feng show him to a secure private room, where he started to roll his die in order to upgrade more of the gemspring water.

    Felynn had a poor opinion of Ku Wei, and she deliberately chose a sourcebox that possessed a lethal danger zone for his test.

    Ku Wei was very excited, as his current sight waspletely different from anything he had seen before.

    In the other room, Lu Yin had sessfully managed to roll three pips: Enhance and fully upgraded five drops of gemspring water, which had cost him two million star essence. It was a lot of money, but it waspletely worth it.

    Lu Yin immediately dropped some of the gemspring water into his eyes, and when he opened them, he was shocked, as what he saw was indeedpletely different. This was clearly the Divine Gaze realm.

    He remembered the first time he had ever used the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye to view the universe. That experience had majorly shocked him. However, as time passed and as his cultivation improved, the effects of the Giant Emperor¡¯s third eye had gradually diminished. Unfortunately, it could not be upgraded either.

    However, he had once again encountered a situation where he could rely on items to help his lockbreaking abilities.

    Lockbreaking evaluations forbade the usage of items, but there were some things that could not be stopped even if the evaluators wished to, such as gemspring water. Nobody could tell if it was being used.

    Of course, relying on something temporary like gemspring water to improve one¡¯s lockbreaking ability was not simple. The higher one¡¯s Lockbreaker level, the more dangerous the sourceboxes that they would need to unlock, and few people would treat their lives so casually.

    Lu Yin concluded that, as long as he could regrly use gemspring water, there would be no issues in relying on it for this lockbreaking evaluation.

    Under Saul¡¯s personal guidance, Lu Yin was escorted to a secure lockbreaking room, which was actually thergest lockbreaking room on Hydrotink. It had been transported from Sourcepeakpletely intact, and they had even brought the ground beneath it to the new.

    This room was specifically used to evaluate five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers.

    Technically, the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society did not have the qualifications to test five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers. However, as long as they sent a request, under special circumstances, such examinations could still be arranged. For example, at this moment, since Lu Yin could not cross over the Astral River and travel to the Innerverse for his evaluation, he could only do it in this ce.

    Even though this was called a secure lockbreaking room, it was actually an underground space that had been sealed off. All of its surrounding walls had been covered with spiritual threads to prevent the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger zone from leaking out.

    Lu Yin stepped into the secure room and saw¡­ a bit of dirt?

    Although Lu Yin had mentally prepared himself before entering, and although Saul had also dropped some hints beforehand, when Lu Yin saw the sourcebox that he needed to unlock, he was still stunned. It was actually a piece of soil.

    This was actually a five star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, and it was something that was only inferior to a Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    Lu Yinposed himself. Even though this sourcebox looked like a piece of dirt, he could see countless rune lines from it, and Lu Yin grew serious. This piece of dirt was actually pressuring him, and the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone was strong enough to even threaten Enlighters.

    This was just the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone, and theplexity of its condensed energies surpassed those of any sourcebox Lu Yin had ever unlocked.

    If he had encountered this sourcebox before he read Gu Yue¡¯s journal and visited the tform of Inception, then even if Lu Yin was able to navigate past the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone, it still would have been incredibly difficult for him to sessfully unlock it. However, at this moment, he was able to discern the pattern of the sourcebox¡¯s energies in a single nce. Lu Yin already knew where to begin lockbreaking, and it was as if he had precisely nned things out in advance

    ***

    At this same time, in the Innerverse, a girl with dark-green hair stepped out of a secure room, weed by echoing cheers and countless eyes filled with adoration. She was Mo Yu, a two star. Actually, that was no longer correct. She was now a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and she was one of the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five, someone who held the same status as Casanova.

    News of Mo Yu sessfully passing the evaluation to be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker shocked the Lockbreaker Society. For someone of her age, it was incredibly difficult for anyone to be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and she was a rare genius throughout history.

    The older Lockbreakers were reeling in shock.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why she¡¯s one of my society¡¯s Distinguished Five. It¡¯s no easy feat to pass the evaluation that smoothly.¡±

    ¡°Right, we have many talents in the society, haha.¡¯

    ¡°True. When will Casanova take the evaluation?¡±

    ¡°Not sure.¡±

    ¡­

    Mo Yu looked out at the cheers that weed her, but she did not feel any sort of tion, as she would never be able to forget what she had witnessed in the Cosmic Sea.

    She had also been at the battle of the Whitecliff Region, and she had personally watched from above the Cosmic Sea as one of the Daosource Three Skies, Bu Kong, had used a sourcebox array to instantly defeat some of the Ten Arbiters and Neoverse¡¯s experts. She was unable to contend with any one of those experts, but they had all been beaten off of the Champions'' Stage by one attack.

    At that moment, the power of a sourcebox array had left her iparably shocked. Being able toprehend a sourcebox array was the hallmark of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Despite also being a member of the younger generation, Bu Kong had already be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker while Mo Yu was still taking the evaluation to be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. The difference between them was just too extreme.

    It was not just Bu Kong either; the All Rounder Fairy, Qiu Shi, was simrly capable of using a sourcebox array, and her sourcebox array had thrown the Champions'' Stage into space, where it could not be taken away by the Sixth Maind. In the end, it had ultimately been seized by Nightking Zhenwu.

    Those two people were both Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers, so what was there for her to be proud of?

    Mo Yu closed her eyes and fell silent. Eventually, she opened her eyes. ¡°Tutor, please begin the four star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker exam.¡±

    As she uttered those words, the people of the Lockbreaker Society were all astonished.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, on Hydrotink, Lu Yin took one step after another as he steadily approached the sourcebox that looked like a clump of dirt. The closer he got to it, the more pressure he felt. This sourcebox that looked like a pile of dirt was actually emanating a gravity field. At the same time, tiny particles of soil permeated the air, each one of them possessing an indescribable level of gravity. It was as if each particle was a miniscule, smashing at Lu Yin.

    The closer he approached the sourcebox, the stronger the gravity that he was forced to endure. Nobody could clearly see what was happening, and only people like Saul were aware of the amount of pressure that Lu Yin was currently enduring.

    Even a normal Enlighter might not be able to approach this sourcebox. Although it looked unassuming, and its danger zone was nothing too grand, the gravity field around it was not something that could be imagined.

    It was just gravity, but Lu Yin felt as though he was struggling against entire continents,s, and even the universe itself.

    The piece of dirt had seemed to take root in the floor.

 Chapter 1057: Root of Intelligence

    <h4>Chapter 1057: Root of Intelligence</h4>

    Lu Yin stared intently at the minute dust floating in the air, and he asionally avoided a particle. He did not want to withstand the increased gravity any longer than he had to even if his body could endure it. To that end, he put on his universal armor. The sourcebox¡¯s danger zone was still bearable, but he was here to test his lockbreaking ability, and he needed to show the people in the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters his worth.

    The dust in the air was infinitesimally small, and the sourcebox¡¯s formless danger zone was quite dense. Still, Lu Yin evaded everything as he continued moving closer to the sourcebox with his clear vision.

    To outsiders, it looked as though he was drunk since he was stumbling about as he approached the sourcebox.

    However, Saul and the others were overwhelmed. Lu Yin had actually managed toe into contact with the sourcebox very quickly and begun lockbreaking. With his current speed, it was no wonder why he had wanted to take the evaluation to be an advanced Lockbreaker.

    Avoiding a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone was merely the first hurdle, and the greatest challenge was still lockbreaking the actual sourcebox. If the sourcebox¡¯s solidified energies that were its surface were not resolved, one would never be able to unlock it.

    The moment Lu Yin touched the sourcebox that looked like a clod of dirt, he was immersed within an ocean of its condensed energies. However, he was lucky in that he could clearly see the veins running through the sourcebox¡¯s energies.

    One day, two days, and finally, three days passed. The sourcebox that looked like dirt suddenly quivered, and a hint of a crack appeared on its surface.

    Saul and the others felt their hearts tremble, as this suggested that Lu Yin truly had the ability to unlock this sourcebox and that it was merely a matter of time.

    While Lu Yin was unlocking the dirt-looking sourcebox, Ku Wei was also working hard. He had a strong talent for lockbreaking, as there was no other way he could have be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker at his age. His achievements were second to only the Distinguished Five of the Lockbreaker Society, and he was currently challenging a three star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, though he had never attempted such an energizing session before.

    The gemspring water allowed Ku Wei¡¯s star energy control to jump straight to the Divine Gaze realm, and he vowed to work hard and eventually achieve the same level himself in the future, as this was simply too refreshing.

    ***

    After some days passed, back in the Innerverse, Mo Yu emerged, moving with difficulty while her face was a shocking shade of white. She had failed. The four star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker exam was truly difficult, and she had not been able to seed with her current abilities.

    Perhaps in another two years and when she was in her optimum state, she might be able to seed. However, for the moment, it was beyond her.

    Although Mo Yu had failed, her appearance was still weed by endless cheers. As one of the Distinguished Five of the Society, she would remain an idol that countless people worshipped. She held an extremely high status in the universe, and she was also an expert on the Top 100 Rankings.

    When she saw the crowd cheering, although Mo Yu still felt stifled by the shadows of Qiu Shi and Bu Kong, her mood improved slightly. At the very least, she still held some hopes of catching up to those two even if that hope was flickering.

    At that moment, someone cried out in shock as they stared at their gadget, and soon, more and more people let out simr shouts.

    Mo Yu felt that this was strange, and when she checked the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s channel on her gadget, her pupils instantly shrank.

    There was only one notification posted at the moment: Congrattions to Lockbreaker Brother Wei for sessfully passing the three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker examination and officially bing a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.¡¯

    Mo Yu was stunned, as this notification had been broadcast to every member of the Lockbreaker Society throughout the entire universe.

    Such notifications would only be released for individuals who had exceptional aplishments or unbelievable talent.

    Before, a simr announcement had been posted when Mo Yu had passed the three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker exam. If this Brother Wei was being given simr treatment, then he must be someone from the same generation who was also extremely talented.

    Mo Yu was absolutely stunned. Just where had this persone from?

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s no wonder it¡¯s a universal announcement! Before this, he was just a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. In just one shot, he jumped up to the three star Perceptive Intermediate level! That¡¯s too insane.¡±

    ¡°Brother Wei? Why does this name sound so despicable?¡±

    ¡°For sure. He sounds like he needs a spanking.¡±

    ¡°A three star Perceptive Intermediate? Isn¡¯t that on the same level as the Distinguished Five?¡±

    ¡°No, the Distinguished Five climbed up step by step while this person directly skipped multiple ranks. He might actually be even better than them.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s he from? Check his location. Eh? The Outerverse? Frostwave Weave?¡±

    ¡­

    Mo Yu looked at Brother Wei¡¯s location on the Lockbreakerwork and thought to herself, The Outerverse¡¯s Frostwave Weave? Isn¡¯t that where Lu Yin¡¯s based out of?

    Mo Yu had a strong impression of Lu Yin. Even though they had never spoken before, he had been incredibly active in various parts of the universe, and he had evenpeted against Casanova in lockbreaking before. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, although Lu Yin had not joined the battle involving the most powerful members of the younger generation atop the Champions¡¯ Stage, he had still managed to influence that battle. In fact, he had ultimately attracted the attention of Zhi Yi, which had drawn out Liu Tianmu of the Ten Arbiters.

    Afterwards, the Sixth Maind had retreated, and Nightking Zhenwu had announced that he had personally killed Lu Yin while also dering that Lu Yin was a traitor to the Fifth Maind. The veracity of that usation was unknown to Mo Yu. However, she did know that Lu Yin had managed to survive an attack from Nightking Zhenwu and also somehow unified the Outerverse.

    The younger generation was yet to be convinced about whether or not Lu Yin was a traitor or not, but they were all already certain that he was an absolute monster.

    Brother Wei. Could that be Lu Yin?

    No, Lu Yin¡¯s alias on the Lockbreakerwork was Seventh Bro.

    Brother Wei, Seventh Bro. Mo Yu was left speechless. If both of these people were in Frostwave Weave, she refused to believe that they did not know each other, even if they imed so themselves.

    The Outerverse had already given birth to Lu Yin, and now there was this Brother Wei. Were there really so many geniuses in the Outerverse?

    Before the crowd could calm down from the shock of the announcement concerning Brother Wei, another notification appeared that astounded everyone. Congrattions to Seventh Bro for sessfully passing the five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker examination and officially bing a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

    Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

    Seventh Bro. Although this name did not appear that frequently, everyone knew that this was Lu Yin¡¯s alias, as he was simply too well known. Within a certain region of the universe, Lu Yin was seen as a rising star ever since he had first stepped onto the path of cultivation, and everyone could see his astounding progress. Furthermore, his momentum had never slowed down, not even when the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse. Once the two ces reconnected, Lu Yin had still stood out, even in the Innerverse.

    Jumping from the one star level to the five star level as a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was simply too exaggerated.

    Everyone fellpletely silent.

    Mo Yu was also astonished. Regardless of if she was one of the society¡¯s Distinguished Five, of how impressive her talent may be, or of the fact that she was targeting Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers like Qiu Shi or Bu Kong, at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s achievement had shocked her the most.

    This person was just too much of a freak. One step¡ªhe was a single step away from bing a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker! Could he actually take that step?

    At this point in time, it was not just Mo Yu who was stunned. Casanova was also staring at the announcement, bbergasted.

    Casanova thought back to when he had first met Lu Yin. Since then, just how many years had passed? This person had actually surpassed him already, and he had done so in a very exaggerated fashion.

    Bing a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level at such a young age meant that Lu Yin might possibly be an advanced Lockbreaker while still being a member of the younger generation. Casanova¡¯s status within the society was rather high, so he had a rough idea of what such an aplishment would mean.

    Such a feat would record Lu Yin¡¯s name down in history, and it also hinted that another glorious page would be added to the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s list of deeds, increasing the glory of the Lockbreaker Society.

    Once Lu Yin sessfully passed the five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker exam, his status in the Lockbreaker Society underwent a groundbreaking change. The upper echelon of Lockbreakers who had originally simply been observing had not particrly cared about Lu Yin before, but now, they were all talking about him.

    Everyone of them hoped that a talented Lockbreaker would emerge from either the Innerverse or the Outerverse who would be able to challenge the genius Lockbreakers from the Neoverse. Although the Distinguished Five¡¯s talent was extraordinary, with them all bing Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers at young ages, they were still a bitcking whenpared to the genius Lockbreakers of the Neoverse. However, Lu Yin might be able to match up to them and possibly even surpass them.

    After all, it had to be acknowledged that Lu Yin had not been a Lockbreaker for more than a few years.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, on Frostwave Weave¡¯s Hydrotink, Ku Wei had originally been gleefully checking out the Lockbreaker¡¯swork. However, when Lu Yin¡¯s announcement appeared, Ku Wei felt like he had been utterly beaten.

    His expression grew bitter, and he looked over at Lu Yin with a depressed expression as Lu Yin emerged from the secure lockbreaking room. ¡°Your Highness, couldn¡¯t you just have waited a little bit longer? Even just a minute longer?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was pale, and he was both exhausted and very excited, as he had sessfullypleted his exam. From this moment on, he was officially a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and he was only a single step away from breaking through to the Boundless Advanced level.

    Although it appeared to be just a single step, Lu Yin was aware that it would be extremely difficult for him to be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker anytime soon. It definitely was not impossible, but it would take him time. Lockbreaking was not just a matter of a few days, and it could sometimes even take a few months or years.

    The further one progressed in cultivation, the longer they would need to continue progressing, and lockbreaking was the same in that sense. It was verymon for some Lockbreakers to spend several years lockbreaking, and some might even spend several decades.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time was limited, and for the moment, bing a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was sufficient since he had even greater aspirations.

    ¡°Your Highness, what did you get from your lockbreaking session?¡± Ku Wei moved closer as he asked curiously.

    Ku Wei was not the only one, as everyone present was curious. It was just that Saul, Felynn, and the others did not make a single sound.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, revealing a grey, lumpy object in his hand that looked like a tree root.

    Ku Wei blinked. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Lu Yin himself was very curious, and he had already asked the Ghost Monkey, but the monkey was not sure either. Lu Yin looked at Saul. ¡°Does the president know what this is?¡±

    Saul studied it carefully, but then he shook his head and answered in bewilderment, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Felynn, Yi Feng, and the others did not recognize it either.

    Ku Wei pursed his lips. ¡°Your Highness, you shouldn¡¯t take out some random, moldy tree root to try and deceive us. Is this supposed to havee from a five star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox? Don¡¯t mess with us.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°This is it.¡±

    ¡°I know!¡± the Ghost Monkey suddenly cried out, startling Lu Yin. He reflexively put the thing away in his cosmic ring. Based on the monkey¡¯s reaction, there seemed to be something wrong, and this object definitely was not simple.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is a Root of Intelligence!¡± the Ghost Monkey dered in a serious manner, though the monkey also sounded almost absurdly surprised by his tone.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Root of Intelligence? What¡¯s that?¡±

    The monkey exined, ¡°Exactly what it sounds like: Root of Intelligence, a tree root that was left behind by Progenitor Hui.¡±

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. How could he wrap his mind around such a thing? It sounded so logical, but not at the same time.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lu Yin felt that the monkey was ying with him.

    The Ghost Monkey sighed. ¡°I saw this object be mentioned in a powerhouse¡¯s journal. A long time ago, Progenitor Hui nted a tree. After many ages of being raised by Progenitor Hui¡¯s secret technique, it gained a mysterious strength, much like the strength of the predecessors. This tree preserved the might of Progenitor Hui¡¯s secret technique, and anyone who touches it can receive enlightenment, and they might find themselves instantlyprehending something that was previously impossible. If you use this tree root to brew a pot of tea, then you can use it as an antidote, a cultivation supplement, or many other options. In any case, it¡¯s very mysterious.

    ¡°That powerhouse once personally saw a Root of Intelligencee out from a lockbreaking session, and it triggered a contest that involved countless experts of that era. Nobody knows what happened to it in the end, but the powerhouse only learned of the root¡¯s miraculous uses after listening to others. This has to be a Root of Intelligence, as it fits the description in that powerhouse¡¯s journal perfectly.¡±

    Lu Yin was incredulous. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a moldy old tree root? You can find something like this wherever you look, so just how are you supposed to tell the difference?¡±

    ¡°This moldy tree root came from a five star Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. What could it be if not a Root of Intelligence? It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s moldy. If it was a perfect root, then you would have made a fortune, Seventh Bro. After brewing it into tea, you could haveprehended any battle techniques you wished,¡± Ghost Monkey said longingly.

    For this name, "Hui" actually means "intelligence." So, this is the intelligent/smart Progenitor.

 Chapter 1058: Return

    <h4>Chapter 1058: Return</h4>

    Lu Yin only half-believed the Ghost Monkey¡¯s words as he had no time to carefully study the root at the moment.

    After putting the root away, Lu Yin looked at Saul. ¡°President Saul, do you remember how, during the Outerverse Lockbreaker Competition, the page of True Insight was stolen by the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    Saul¡¯s expression changed slightly, as he did not understand why Lu Yin would bring up such a matter. Did he intend to settle those old scores at an opportune moment? Saul had also been a victim at that time. ¡°Of course. Why is Alliance Leader Lu bringing it up?¡±

    Lu Yin lifted a hand, and a box appeared in it. When he slowly opened the box, a golden glow illuminated the area, lighting up everyone¡¯s faces.

    Everyone was shocked, and Saul grew emotional. ¡°This- is this that page of True Insight?¡±

    Felynn and the others were all blown away.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Some time ago, I coincidentally ran into one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings. After I killed it, I obtained this. Thus, I want to return it to its rightful owner.¡±

    Saul¡¯s hand trembled from his excitement; not only did this page of True Insight represent his hope ofprehending a sourcebox array, but it was also a means of reducing his punishment.

    Felynn and the others could not understand this development. Given Lu Yin¡¯s personality, how could Lu Yin simply return True Insight? He had just be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, which was just one step away from bing an Advanced Lockbreaker. If Lu Yin managed toprehend True Insight, understand how to arrange a sourcebox array, and step into the advanced level, then his status would bepletely different from an ordinary Advanced Lockbreaker¡¯s. Additionally, his battle prowess would also qualitatively increase.

    How could he possibly be willing to hand this page over to the society?

    In truth, Lu Yin was conducting a transaction. He was using this page of True Insight in exchange for the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters not further investigating the events that had befallen the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Or, if they did pursue it, Lu Yin hoped for them to be more lenient towards him.

    They would discover Wei Rong¡¯s involvement in the attack sooner orter, and Lu Yin wanted to protect Wei Rong as much as possible. After all, Wei Rong¡¯s assistance made life much more convenient for Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong was very intelligent, but unfortunately, he had run into Lu Yin. Otherwise, Wei Rong¡¯s n on Sourcepeak would have gone perfectly, and he would have remained independent. This was why Lu Yin wanted to find a way to protect Wei Rong. Besides, Lu Yin still had five pages of True Insight, andprehending even a single page of True Insight was already very good. Thus, it was absolutely worth it for him to trade one page for the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s goodwill.

    Nightking Zhenwu had sacrificed twenty Honor Points that had lost their value to him in order to force Lu Yin into dire straits. On the other side, Lu Yin was willing to give up a rather useless page of True Insight to purchase the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s goodwill. The two were actually quite simr in this regard.

    Nobody had expected Lu Yin to return any part of True Insight.

    When the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters learned about this matter, everyone reacted in the same manner as Saul:plete confusion.

    Regardless of the motivation behind Lu Yin returning True Insight, he had undeniably made a tremendous contribution to the Lockbreaker Society.

    The Lockbreakers who had initially supported the Daynight n suddenly fell silent, and only the Daynight n¡¯s Lockbreakers still felt unsatisfied. However, even they knew that it would no longer be possible to target Lu Yin through the Lockbreaker Society.

    The kid was too smart, and he knew how to handle matters well.

    The Daynight n had passed down their inheritance since ancient times, and it had too strong of an influence in the universe.

    Any random sentence from Nightking Zhenwu could force Lu Yin to put forth his full efforts in response, but fortunately, Lu Yin had not wasted hisst few years by muddling along. After chancing upon extraordinary opportunities and surviving desperate straights, he could now endure Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attacks.

    This incident with the Lockbreaker Society had helped Lu Yin realize that he had to get rid of Nightking Zhenwu and remove all of the Nightking bloodline¡¯s influence. Otherwise, he would definitely run into more trouble in the future.

    ***

    News of Lu Yin bing a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker quickly spread out, and it was no less astounding than when he had defeated Lan Si.

    Lockbreakers were already regarded as superior to begin with, and a five star Perceptive Intermediate was an unattainable goal to the vast majority of Lockbreakers. At such a young age, Lu Yin had already aplished such a thing, and everyone was quite clear that before long, he would be an Advanced Lockbreaker, at which time his status would rise even further.

    Many people had essentially be numb to Lu Yin¡¯s absurd achievements, which had started at the Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest, and hadter continued on when he became a Ten Arbiters candidate and an unrivaled Limiteer. More recently, he had gained fame for his aplishments in the Cosmic Sea and his eventual victory over the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. Step by step, one by one, his achievements had left people numb in shock, so when many of them heard that Lu Yin had be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, they were still able to remain rather calm.

    Ling Que was one such person.

    When he heard that Lu Yin had be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Ling Que clutched at his ears. ¡°Freak.¡±

    Ling Gong¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°In the past, the difference between you and him was not too great, but now, he¡¯s outpaced you by an entire weave.¡±

    Ling Que licked his lips. ¡°It looks like he might soon leave you behind too.¡±

    Ling Gong¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Despicable! You¡¯re asking for a beating!¡±

    She charged over.

    Ling Que was shocked. ¡°No! I¡¯m not fighting you.¡±

    ¡°Retaliate! This is an order.¡±

    Soon after, Ling Gong left Ling Que behind with some bruises on his face. He cried, but no tears came out. ¡°Why do I end up aggravating everyone I talk to? This won¡¯t do. I need to put my cheerleading squad back together. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be any excitement when I fight.¡±

    Then, a wretched smile appeared on his face.

    After leaving Ling Que, Ling Gong looked down at her gadget, and her expression chilled. The Daynight n had announced that they would be holding a Daynight Feast, and they had used Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name to invite all of the Innerverse and Outerverse¡¯s younger generation¡¯s elites. The guest list included the Ten Arbiters, everyone from the Top 100 Rankings, well known Lockbreakers, and even Lu Yin.

    Ling Gong¡¯s eyes narrowed. Since they were convening the Daynight Feast at this time, did it indicate that Nightking Zhenwu wanted to cement his position as leader of the Ten Arbiters? If he wanted that position so badly, then she would let him have it. Hopefully, he would be able to handle the pressureing from the Neoverse.

    ***

    Wen Sansi simrly received an invitation to the Daynight Feast, as Nightking Zhenwu had specially invited him.

    ¡°Arbiter Wen, are we headed to Nightking?¡± Mira asked. She was standing beside the Arbiter, her figure as alluring as always.

    Wen Sansi responded, ¡°Nightking Zhenwu can¡¯t wait any longer, and he wants to verify his status as the leader of the Ten Arbiters as quickly as possible. This is interesting. We¡¯ll go and take a look, but there¡¯s no need to hurry. We¡¯ll show upst.¡±

    ¡°Last?¡± Mira was puzzled.

    Wen Sansi looked at a name on the disy of his gadget: Lu Yin. This person might possibly turn out to be the true protagonist of this Daynight Feast.

    Many other people had simr thoughts as Wen Sansi.

    Everyone was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with the Daynight n, and yet he had been invited to the Daynight Feast. Furthermore, he had even been sent a personal invitation from Nightking Zhenwu, which held an entirely different meaning. Nobody knew what Lu Yin¡¯s appearance would bring to this Daynight Feast.

    ***

    Xia Tian calmly looked at his gadget; things were getting interesting.

    ***

    Tai Yuanjun gritted his teeth and stared at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name. That scoundrel had to be quite happy at this moment since Starsibyl was following him. He had to be at the peak of his life.

    Once more, he resolved himself to work hard for the contest at the Astral Tower and be one of the Cosmic Five. Only then could he win Starsibyl back.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, Lan Si looked at his gadget with a calm expression.

    As one of the Ten Arbiters, he was also on the guest list for this Daynight Feast. The Grayweed Continent had been destroyed, but the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s experts were still present, and the Sea King¡¯s Dome represented the Starfall Sea.

    With the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s support, Lan Si¡¯s status would not change.

    ¡°Since you were invited, are you going to go?¡± Lan Si asked, talking to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice came through from the other end of the call. ¡°Yes, of course. This Daynight Feast is going to be amazing.¡±

    Lan Si muttered, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Nightking Zhenwu. He has hidden his strength far too deeply, and nobody knows his full power. The Daynight n is not any different, and they have some deeply hidden strength they can pull out.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Lan Siughed in response. ¡°I¡¯d nearly forgotten¡ªyou¡¯ve already traded blows with him.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I nearly died, but that incident also allowed me to be better prepared, and I won¡¯t be defeated the next time we meet.¡±

    ¡°I hope that¡¯s true,¡± Lan Si said. He then ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. The Daynight Feast was fast approaching.

    What would happen at this event? He did not believe what Nightking Yuanjing had said about how this Daynight Feast was being held to preserve Lu Yin¡¯s dignity.

    This Daynight Feast was definitely being hosted by Nightking Zhenwu, and he had specifically invited Lu Yin along with many other proud talents from the Innerverse and Outerverse who were all qualified to enter the Astral Tower. On that day, there would be many celebrities gathered there, so just what was the Nightking trying to do?

    Even Wen Sansi, who was known for his intelligence, could not see through Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s true motives.

    No matter what Nightking Zhenwu was trying to achieve, Lu Yin continued advancing his own ns, step by step.

    On the same day, Lu Yin received some news from the Gasfire Alliance¡¯s Paige. The backup Astral River Ark had appeared, and it was located across the Astral River, directly opposite the Bard Weave.

    Before, the Astral River Ark had been connected to Darkmist Weave. Since the ferry location had changed, it was clear that it had been done with the intention to catch the Outerverse off guard.

    Paige¡¯s message was simple, and he also mentioned that the people traveling aboard the Astral River Ark for this trip were almost all cultivators from zing Mist Flowzone. In fact, arge number of them were from the ze Realm and the Ross Empire, both of which held a grudge against Lu Yin.

    They were trying to enter the Outerverse from a hidden location, so their goal did not even need to be mentioned.

    Unfortunately, Paige was unsure as to how strong the experts aboard the Astral River Ark were.

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin contacted Elder Tie, ck Mask, and some other experts, requesting them to help him greet the cultivators who would soon arrive on the Astral River Ark. In addition to them, Lu Yin also intended to find a few other powerhouses to rope in.

    Although zing Mist Flowzone was one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones with many experts, it was impossible to send all of them to the Astral River Ark. Clearly, only a small portion of experts had been sent out for this mission, but since they were making a move, it showed that the flowzone must be confident in being able to suppress the Outerverse.

    At this moment, although Lu Yin¡¯s biggest enemy was the Daynight n, zing Mist Flowzone was still an age-old enemy. The conflict between them and Lu Yin had started far in the past, and it had long since be an unresolvable grudge.

    To the various great powers of zing Mist Flowzone, their desire to eliminate Lu Yin had grown even stronger than before. Regardless of if it was because of their conflicts in the past or the fact that Lu Yin had united the entire Outerverse, Lu Yin¡¯s existence had infringed upon zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s interests.

    One of the most important details was that no one seemed to know who was in charge and making decisions aboard the Astral River Ark.

    Although the ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and even the sylvan dragon n were all peak powers of zing Mist Flowzone, which was the closest flowzone to the Outerverse, it was still the weakest flowzone of the eight great flowzones. But there were many other parties that had a vested interest in this situation. In the past, the Outerverse had provided a considerable amount of resources to the Innerverse, but after the unification, those resources definitely would note any longer.

    The Astral River Ark was about to start moving once again, and it represented zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s determination to gain control of the Outerverse. Even if such a thing was impossible, they still were determined to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s control at the very least. If the person controlling the Outerverse was hostile towards them, then that situation would be one of the absolute worst ones for zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s interests.

    As the energy of the Astral River roiled, strange, unknown creatures moved about within the river. Inside the ark, devices that detected power levels asionally released rms before falling silent soon after.

    The backup ark was smaller than the original one, and at this moment, there were countless cultivators aboard the ark, all of them with solemn attitudes. These people were mostly from zing Mist Flowzone; besides the ones from the ze Realm and the Ross Empire, there were also a dozen sylvan dragons. The rest of the gathered cultivators were independent ones who had been hired by zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s powers.

    zing Mist Flowzone had not reported this operation to the Hall of Honor. Logically, the backup Astral River Ark should belong to the Hall of Honor, and any usage of it had to be reported. However, this time, the upants¡¯ objective was to suppress Lu Yin. Ideally, they would pressure the Great Eastern Alliance into disbanding, which would definitely be in zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s best interests.

 Chapter 1059: Looking Forward For A Long Time

    <h4>Chapter 1059: Looking Forward For A Long Time</h4>

    Within the ark, multiple Enlighters stood on a deck as they stared out at the Astral River. ¡°Although the Innerverse and Outerverse were only separated for a few short years, it feels as though a much longer time has passed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. After the Innerverse and Outerverse were isted from each other, the Sixth Maind invaded us while the Outerverse was unified. It all feels like a dream.¡±

    ¡°Who would have thought that some puny Cruiser would be able to unite the Outerverse? What a joke! The Outerverse has been too weak for too many years. Even it¡¯s full strength brought to bear won¡¯t be on par with one of the Innerverse¡¯s small flowzones.¡±

    ¡°Do not underestimate Lu Yin! He was even able to defeat the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, and he has the strength of an Enlighter. Many of you, or even me, might not be his match.¡±

    The surrounding people all fell silent; a mere youth had surpassed their strength, which left many of them feeling truly dejected.

    One of the gathered powerhouses sneered. ¡°Who cares if he¡¯s surpassed you or me? Among the experts headed towards the Outerverse, a few of them have power levels that¡¯ve surpassed 300,000, and there¡¯s even a long-lived senior joining us. ording to the rumors, they¡¯ve even received Yuan Shi¡¯s guidance before.¡±

    ¡°Yuan Shi? That senior from the Hall of Honor?¡± someone cried out.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that Senior Yuan Shi especially favors Lu Yin, and his support is the whole reason why Lu Yin was able to be the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander.¡±

    Everyone fell silent upon hearing these words.

    At that moment, a stern warning came out from the depths of the ark. ¡°No loose tongues. How can you people speak of Senior Yuan Shi?¡±

    The few Enlighters were startled, and they quickly bowed and withdrew.

    After the various Enlighters left, an elder appeared on the deck. His face was weathered, proof that he had lived through many great changes. His skin was a deep-red color, which gave him a rather odd look. He was a powerhouse from the ze Realm, and he possessed a power level of more than 400,000. He was one of the ze Realm¡¯s hidden powers.

    ¡°Originally, I had thought that after the Sixth Maind withdrew, we would be able to cultivate in peace for a while. However, who would have thought that we would be sent on a trip to the Outerverse?¡± The elder sighed and looked towards the Outerverse. ¡°It¡¯s just some child, but they¡¯ve sent me. I suppose that it¡¯ll be your honor that I¡¯m moving against you. Since we can¡¯t kill you, I¡¯ll just cripple you.¡±

    They drew closer to the Outerverse as the ark neared the edge of the Astral River.

    The elder¡¯s gaze trembled, as there was a person standing in a distant point in space.

    The Astral River Ark was enormous, and it slowly entered the Outerverse.

    Millions of cultivators aboard the ark grew excited, as they were carrying the pride of the Innerverse with them.

    The people of the Innerverse held an intrinsic arrogance towards the denizens of the Outerverse. In their mind, it wasmon knowledge that anyone from the Innerverse could utterly demolish the Outerverse.

    The ark rumbled as millions of cultivators boarded numerous spacecraft to head into space. There was also a considerable number of cultivators who flew out with only their physical bodies. These people were Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters. Additionally, there were around ten people in the lead who were Enlighters.

    This amazing amount of strength was enough to sweep through the entire Outerverse, or at least it was ording to zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s understanding.

    Lu Yin stood alone in space and watched as the Astral River Ark emerged from the Astral River and released countless vessels that streamed out into outer space along with the space-exploring powerhouses. And of particr note, there were those Enlighters. He took a deep breath, and shouted, ¡°Wee to the Outerverse! I¡¯m the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader, Lu Yin. I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time.¡±

    The entire region fell deathly silent as Lu Yin¡¯s voice entered the ears of all the millions of cultivators in front of him.

    All of them stared at Lu Yin, dumbfounded. They knew that their primary objectiveing to the Outerverse was to deal with this person, and they had even traveled here in secret. However, he had been waiting for them and had even warmly greeted them when they arrived.

    The ten or so Enlighters all exchanged nces with each other, feeling a bit lost.

    One of them, who had a power level of more than 300,000, tore through the void, appeared near Lu Yin, and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, are you Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin sized the man up and down before his eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you from the Sylvan Dragon Tribe?¡±

    The elder barked, ¡°I asked you a question! Answer!¡±

    The man¡¯s voice reverberated through space as he attempted to suppress Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not move, and Elder Tie stepped out next to the youth with clenched fists. ¡°Old man, who are you trying to intimidate? You¡¯re just some lowly sprite dragon.¡±

    The elder bellowed, ¡°Ridiculous! How dare you mock my Sylvan Dragon Tribe?¡±

    He then prepared to attack.

    Elder Tie was not even the slightest bit afraid, as his power level also exceeded 300,000 and his background the Starfall Sea. There was no way that he was weaker than a sylvan dragon.

    Also, in the depths of their hearts, the Innerverse cultivators did not highly regard the Sylvan Dragon Tribe, as they had betrayed the Astral Beast Domain and escaped to the Human Domain; they were traitors. In the minds of many, sylvan dragons were to be used as steeds.

    Elder Tie was an elder from Mt. Stacks Dojo, so how could he allow a sylvan dragon to act so arrogantly before him?

    ¡°Wait,¡± a voicemanded. Both the sylvan dragon elder and Elder Tie hesitated as another elder appeared in space next to them. This man had a serene expression, and he wore an armored shirt that disyed the Ross Empire¡¯s emblem. He focused a serious stare upon Lu Yin as he asked, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to be enemies with us?¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for Elder Tie to stop and then replied, ¡°Guests visit when they are weed, and when people arrive unannounced, theye as enemies. Senior, you people clearly belong to thetter group.¡±

    The elder frowned. ¡°We have gathered millions of powerful cultivators from zing Mist Flowzone, and on top of that, we have more than ten Enlighters in our group. Alliance Leader Lu, can you even stop us?¡±

    Lu Yin pped his hands, and suddenly, one figure after another appeared from the void behind him: Gong Ling, Ke Yun, and more than ten of the Outerverse¡¯s Enlighters were present along with an Enlighter from Mt. Stacks Dojo. The more than a dozen powerhouses formed a line behind Lu Yin, and in addition to them, both Topmist and ck Mask were still hiding in the void, though they released their own threatening aura.

    The elder in front of Lu Yin was shocked. zing Mist Flowzone had known beforehand that Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, but due to their haste, they had never considered that he would be capable ofmanding such a force. There were more than ten Enlighters gathered here in a show of force.

    An Enlighter might asionally be referred to as an almighty, and all such powerhouses were treated with the same status as lords in the Innerverse. Bing an Enlighter was a qualitative transformation along the path of cultivation.

    There were many Enlighters in the Innerverse, but only the experts from zing Mist Flowzone were participating in this campaign, and it was somewhat inadequate to expect the Enlighters of a single flowzone to sweep through the entire Outerverse. Furthermore, they had not been able to track down all of the Enlighter realm experts from zing Mist Flowzone.

    Lu Yin pped again. This time, countless vessels appeared off in the distance.

    These battleships all belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance. When Lu Yin had united half of the Outerverse, he had also formed the Allied Forces. Back then, he had already started stationing troops along the Astral River to eventually prevent the Innerverse from acting against the Outerverse, and that action hade to fruition on this day.

    The number of spacecraft were significantly greater than those sent by the Innerverse, and if one calcted the number of troops, then they would find that the Outerverse outnumbered the Innerverse¡¯s forces by tens of millions.

    This massive scale of the fleet showed Lu Yin¡¯s power, and it also represented the Outerverse¡¯s stance.

    Lu Yin had specifically released news that the Innerverse had been invaded by the Sixth Maind, and he had fanned the various Outerverse weaves¡¯ fears of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers plundering the Outerverse¡¯s resources to the point of terror. Due to how the Outerverse had essentially been the Innerverse¡¯s subordinate for so many eons, such an event did not seem unrealistic.

    Lu Yin had used his position as the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander to mobilize the troops, forcing the Outerverse¡¯s weaves to follow his orders and obey them to the letter. If Lu Yin was ultimately defeated, then they could simply push the me over to the Hall of Honor, and it would bepletely unrted to them.

    It could be said that the countless years of the Innerverse¡¯s tyranny was partly to me for why Lu Yin had been able to sessfully gather the Outerverse¡¯s strength to contest the threat that was zing Mist Flowzone.

    The region fell silent once again.

    Even the ill-tempered sylvan dragon did not make a single sound. It was clear that Lu Yin could not be intimidated and that he had started making preparations long ago. The people from zing Mist Flowzone also recognized that they were not guaranteed victory in a head-on battle. After all, they were currently in the Outerverse, and if they started a war here, then they would have to answer to the Hall of Honor for their actions.

    They had originally nned to sneak into the Outerverse.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what do you want?¡± the Ross Empire elder asked.

    Lu Yin looked back towards the Astral River Ark. ¡°You may withdraw. Go and get the person who has the authority to speak with me.¡±

    The elder frowned. ¡°I can decide everything.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Is that so? But I want to speak with the senior whose power level is over 400,000.¡±

    The elder¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Naturally, there was no way that Lu Yin would tell the man; it was all because of the rune lines.

    There was a rather enormous cluster of rune lines that was still aboard the Astral River Ark. With Lu Yin¡¯s ample experience of observing his opponents¡¯ rune lines for so many years, he was able to tell that the person who had remained behind had a power level that surpassed 400,000 at a nce. However, if hepared this person to Northgate Taisui, then this person seemed to be someone who had only just be an expert with a power level of 400,000.

    That Ross Empire elder looked back towards the Astral River Ark, seemingly waiting for something.

    In the next moment, space distorted as a scorching heat swept out and extended past Lu Yin, turning the originally dark sky a visible red.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he grew furious; this powerhouse whose power level was over 400,000 actually dared to attack the troops arranged behind Lu Yin. Not only could that intense heat destroy the various spacecraft, but it was also capable of melting space-exploring powerhouses.

    Lu Yin immediately donned his universal armor, equipped the giant mechanical right arm, and unleashed a punch.

    The massive arm released a tremendous amount of power, and space itself caved in as though it had copsed. The terrifying power astonished the elder from the Ross Empire as well as the sylvan dragon. The next moment, they felt an overpowering sense of danger; this strike could not be blocked, and it definitely exceeded a power level of 400,000.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had ever used his full strength in tandem with the giant arm. Even during his battle with Yu Mu, Lu Yin had not revealed his full strength.

    When the punch was unleashed, the power level of the attack approached 500,000, which was the strongest attack that Lu Yin had ever produced.

    Space was rent apart, and the red-skinned elder emerged out with an ugly expression on his face as he raised a hand. ¡°Fire Spirit.¡±

    As he spoke, an infinite inferno spread out through space, and even the heat from the nearby stars was pulled out. These endless mes gathered together to form a giant ming figure that towered in outer space, and it unleashed a punch that shed with Lu Yin¡¯s mechanical arm attack.

    The voidpletely copsed as countless spatial cracks radiated out in all directions. Intense star energy fluctuations also rippled out, apanied by an extreme heat.

    Both sides¡¯ troops continuously fell back, and even the various Enlighters were forced to retreat, not a single one of them daring to approach.

    After some time, the area returned to its original state.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression had not changed, and he calmly observed the person across from him.

    On the other side, the red-skinned elder had a gloomy face and eyes filled with bloodlust. ¡°Junior, are you Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Obviously.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite brave, seeing as how you dare to make zing Mist Flowzone your enemy,¡± the elder coldly remarked.

    Lu Yin stared at that man. ¡°Old man, you¡¯re even braver. You dared to attack the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Do you realize that by doing this, you¡¯re betraying the Fifth Maind?¡±

    The elder¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Junior, what crap is this?¡±

    Betraying the Fifth Maind was something that nobody wanted to be used of, as it was considered to be one of the worst possible crimes. Even if the used was a cultivator with a power level of more than 400,000, an Envoy, or even a powerhouse with a power level exceeding 800,000, no one could survive after being convicted of such a crime.

 Chapter 1060: Daynight Flowzone

    <h4>Chapter 1060: Daynight Flowzone</h4>

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°I, Lu Yin, am the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, and behind me stands the Outerverse Allied Forces. If you attack them, then you¡¯d be betraying the Fifth Maind. Old man, have you considered how best to exin yourself to the Hall of Honor?¡±

    The elder grew furious. ¡°Junior, how dare you try to frame me! You¡¯re asking for it!¡±

    The fiery giant suddenly swatted down.

    Lu Yin fiercely charged out to block the fire giant, but the elder merely sneered. This kid¡¯s defensive armor was indeed capable of blocking his Fire Spirit¡¯s attack, but its attacks did not rely solely on its mes. Rather, it focused more on its raw force. Even if the kid could block the mes, he would not be able to endure the strength of the attack.

    The Outerverse Allied Forces were nervous as they watched Lu Yin dash into the inferno.

    The Innerverse cultivators were also nervous, and only the people from the ze Realm grew excited at this sight. That giant was the ze Realm¡¯s hidden trump card: Monster Chi¡¯s Fire Spirit. Nobody had ever survived this attack in the past; in their minds, Lu Yin was already doomed.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was actually very excited. He was not fighting against the Fire Spirit, but rather traveling through the gaps of the spirit¡¯s rune lines. After that, he took out¡ªthe Skyze Stone.

    That was right. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, not only was this Fire Spirit not an enemy, but it was also a precious fire source.

    Although the Fire Spirit¡¯s heat fell short of the finalyer of dark mes that had protected the Dark Phoenix family, it was notcking inparison to the first fourteenyers¡¯. In fact, the fire spirit actually possessed an even higher temperature than the darkmes, which coincidentally meant that it was perfectly suited to be absorbed by the Skyze Stone.

    Monster Chi frowned and raised a hand, causing the mes within the Fire Spirit¡¯s form to surge and converge as lines of me shot at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin relied on his ability to observe rune lines to continuously evade the jets of mes despite being able to endure the attacks even if they did asionallynd. The strength contained within the Skyze Stone exploded as it rapidly devoured the nearby mes.

    Monster Chi was not able to sense the changes at first, but before long, his expression changed. His Fire Spirit was growing unstable. How was that possible? He quickly tried to dissipate the mes so that he could reform the Fire Spirit.

    Lu Yin immediately took out the small mirror, disrupting the surrounding star energy. Monster Chi was a powerhouse whose power level was greater than 400,000, and in normal circumstances, he could not be disturbed. However, the small mirror had been upgraded thirteen times, and it could disrupt the star energy of someone whose power level exceeded 400,000. Monster Chi could only consider himself unlucky, and he was not able to stop his star energy from being absorbed by the one-way mirror, and since his star energy was being absorbed and disrupted, he could no longer affect the Fire Spirit.

    Monster Chi could only nkly watch on as his Fire Spirit grew smaller and smaller before ultimately vanishing as it was absorbed into the Skyze Stone.

    Lu Yin stored the Skyze Stone away, and he happily told Monster Chi, ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Monster Chi felt lost. He had cultivated for ages, but he had never encountered such a scene before. What had just happened? How had his mes been devoured?

    ¡°Junior, what did you just do?¡± Monster Chi sharply questioned.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Nothing much. Hey old man, you¡¯re from the ze Realm, and that ce is known to have a pinnacle battle technique called the Karmic me Sword. Do you know it?¡±

    Lu Yin held high expectations as he asked his question, as he hoped to also absorb the Karmic mes, which he was certain would greatly replenish the Skyze Stone¡¯s heat. The might of the Karmic me Sword was almost entirely due to the Karmic mes, and people like Arikar only possessed a slight trace of the mes. If this old fart had ess to those mes, then he would have much more than a trace of the mes, and their power would be on an entirely different level. They might even approach a power level of 500,000.

    Monster Chi warily observed Lu Yin, and the old man felt as though he was unable to continue fighting. Through this one demonstration, his fire-based battle techniques had been renderedpletely ineffective against Lu Yin. It was actually worse than that, as Monster Chi¡¯s mes were being swallowed. His other attacks would be just as ineffective as the me Spirit; was this kid destined to be the ze Realm¡¯s nemesis?

    ¡°Old man, do you or do you not know the Karmic me Sword?¡± Lu Yin asked impatiently.

    Monster Chi gritted his teeth. ¡°Junior, what have you done?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Do you dare to use the Karmic me Sword or not?¡±

    Monster Chi grew furious. ¡°First, tell me what you just did!¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    The countless cultivators on both sides were at a loss for words, and they could not understand what was happening in front of them.

    ¡°They say that the older one gets, the wilier they be. Old man, you¡¯re the definition of deceit,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Monster Chi sneered. He had cast aside his own reputation in doing so, yet he still was not able to make any sense of what Lu Yin had just done. Thus, the old man simply stopped fighting. He felt like continuing the battle would only benefit his opponent, and Monster Chi felt very sullen about this development.

    ¡°Junior, it seems that you have some sort of innate restraint towards fire-based battle techniques. If that¡¯s the case, then I will admit defeat this time. However, the next time, it won¡¯t be just my ze Realm¡¯s people looking for you,¡± Monster Chi said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°Old man, you want to run?¡±

    Monster Chi seethed, replying through clenched teeth. ¡°There¡¯s no need to push things, I¡¯m long past the age of getting worked up by an opponent¡¯s words. You are a junior, and I recognize your strength. However, since you have united the Outerverse, you have offended the entire Innerverse. Even if my zing Mist Flowzone doesn¡¯t move against you, someone will appear to take care of you sooner orter.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked, and a trace of respect for this Monster Chi burgeoned within him. Despite being a powerhouse from the older generation, he had readily admitted defeat, which was not easy at all. This old man was not concerned about losing face.

    Monster Chi indeed did not care about saving face, and he quickly turned to leave. This entire trip had been a waste of his time.

    The millions of cultivators from zing Mist Flowzone all fell silent, as just retreating like this was absolutely humiliating. However, they really had no other choice, as their opponent¡¯s strength was no weaker than their own.

    The dozen Innerverse Enlighters were even more reluctant, but what choice did they have? If Monster Chi had not blocked that punch, then they would have all been finished. It was clear that Monster Chi did not want to continue fighting, so they would only be asking for a beating if they stayed behind.

    ¡°We¡¯ll allow you guys to escape this time, but it won¡¯t be long before we return!¡± The sylvan dragon elder raged.

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to wait too long, as you guys can¡¯t leave right now.¡±

    He then raised his head. ¡°Please, Senior.¡±

    The universe suddenly became incredibly oppressive as an indescribable pressure descended that left everyone petrified.

    Monster Chi¡¯s eyes narrowed. This feeling...?

    The next moment, a figure appeared in space right in front of Monster Chi and the others. The newly arrived man looked down at all of them. He was the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s Elder He.

    Lu Yin had asked Elder He to be the powerhouse keeping things under control during this encounter, as Lu Yin had not been confident in what sort of powerhouse zing Mist Flowzone would send on this mission. The only way for Lu Yin to feel reassured was if there was an Envoy keeping watch.

    Elder He was an Envoy, and his arrival meant the end of everything.

    Monster Chi¡¯s face went from red to white as he stared at Elder He, overwhelmed. ¡°Senior, why are you making things difficult for those of us from zing Mist Flowzone?¡±

    The sylvan dragons, the people from the Ross Empire, the other Enlighters, and all the millions of cultivators from zing Mist Flowzone were stupefied at this moment. Who among them could have known that Lu Yin would even be able to make an Envoy move? If they had known, then they definitely would have brought an Envoy of their own.

    Elder He did not say a single word.

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°Everyone here is a cultivator from the Fifth Maind, so as long as you promise not to resist or cause any problems, this Senior will not do anything to you.¡±

    Monster Chi stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Junior, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°I¡¯ll ask everyone to move to Darkmist Weave, and as for this Astral River Ark, Junior will kindly ept it.¡±

    ¡­

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin and Lan Si appeared in the Innerverse, at Daynight Flowzone¡¯s border.

    Lu Yin was rather moved as he looked at Daynight Flowzone.

    Ever since he had first started cultivating, his fate seemed inextricably tied with the Daynight n, and it had all started with Nightking Qingyu during Earth¡¯s apocalypse. At this moment, Lu Yin had finally arrived at Daynight Flowzone.

    Coincidentally, today marked almost twelve years since he had first started cultivating.

    ¡°Have you been to Daynight Flowzone before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Next to him, Lan Si nodded. ¡°Yes. This one and First Flowzone. That ce has the Innerverse¡¯s strongest power, the Sword Sect, but this flowzone has more than just the Daynight n as the Phoenix family is also located here. This flowzone has given birth to two of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    If Lan Si had not mentioned anything, then Lu Yin would have nearly forgotten about the Phoenix family. This family had always remained quite low-profile, and aside from the universally shocking incident where they had chased the Dark Phoenix family away, they had not done much else. However, they had also given rise to one of the Ten Arbiters, which meant that they certainly were not a simple power.

    ¡°Daynight Flowzone, as you can tell from the name, is headed by the Daynight n, the Phoenix family¡¯s territory is considered independent of the Daynight n. In short, it¡¯s basically a small flowzone within Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°What about the Phoenix family allows them to do that?¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. ording to the rumors, the people of the Phoenix family don¡¯t die very easily, or maybe they still have some ancient powerhouse. After all, they are the family of the Undying Bird.¡±

    ¡°For their family name to be the title of an entire flowzone, the Daynight n is indeed terrifying.¡± Lu Yin sighed.

    Lan Si mentioned, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that, in ancient times, this ce was not called Daynight Flowzone, but instead something like the Immortal Frost Flowzone. The name was changedter on.¡±

    Lu Yin did not really care about the details from ancient times, as he was busy making his way to Daynight Flowzone¡¯s main: Nightking.

    The Daynight Feast was about to begin.

    Last time, he had also been invited to the Daynight Feast, but that had been a long time ago. Back then, he had just encountered an expert with a power level of more than 400,000: Northgate Taisui. That was also when he had first seen an enormous creature from the ancient era, the giant centipede.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had never arrived at the Daynight Feast. But this time, it was being held primarily for him.

    The Daynight Feast was taking ce less than four months before the Ten Arbiters and others would enter the Neoverse for the contest at the Astral Tower.

    Nightking Zhenwu wanted to deal with Lu Yin before he headed out for the Neoverse, which was something that Lu Yin was well aware of. He simrly wanted to eliminate Nightking Zhenwu before the start of thepetition and then do his best to qualify to head into the Neoverse for the contest at the Astral Tower.

    That was the inheritance of the Mountains and Seas, and it represented the opportunity to obtain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin and Lan Si separated from each other upon arriving in Daynight Flowzone.

    The location of Nightking was kept well hidden, but when Lu Yin arrived in Daynight Flowzone, he had informed Nightking Yuanjing, and Nightking Yuanjing had already shared the¡¯s coordinates with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin checked his location and then directly made his way towards Nightking.

    He was not afraid that Nightking Yuanjing would scheme against him, as the ancient stone of inheritance was still in Lu Yin¡¯s possession, and that was something that the Daynight n could not discard. Additionally, he was still the Outerverse Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. Even if Nightking Zhenwu had used him of being a traitor to the Fifth Maind and was under investigation by the Hall of Honor, that status had not been revoked. This was also why Monster Chi had been repeatedly reminded to not kill Lu Yin before the old man had gone to the Outerverse. The Daynight n simrly did not dare kill Lu Yin.

    Daynight Flowzone was vast, and Lu Yin curiously nced around. This region had been settled for countless years, and long before the Daynight n had been born, this ce had already existed. Too many events had urred in this ce¡¯s history.

    There were times when Lu Yin pondered over just how vast the universe really was. Could there be something beyond the six mainds? Could there be an even more powerful civilization out there? A stronger human race that would lead to their utter destruction?

    In front of Lu Yin, there was a dpidated-looking spacecraft shakily flying along. It was not veryrge, and sparks asionally burst out from it. It was obvious that it would notst for much longer.

    Behind the spacecraft, there was another vessel quickly approaching it, and this second one had the Daynight n¡¯s emblem prominently disyed at the front.

 Chapter 1061: Obstinate Woman

    <h4>Chapter 1061: Obstinate Woman</h4>

    Before long, the ramshackled spacecraft exploded, and a woman holding a girl wearing a set of universal armor appeared. The woman flew into the distance, and Lu Yin could tell that she was just an Explorer.

    The Daynight n¡¯s spacecraft increased its speed and flew past Lu Yin. Then, a middle-aged Daynight n member appeared on the roof of the vessel while holding a de. He looked at the fleeing woman, raised the de, and ruthlessly shed down.

    The de light sliced through the void and left a huge gash on the woman¡¯s back.

    She spat out a mouthful of blood as her body was thrown into the distance.

    Although she had been severely injured, the woman was still tightly gripping the little girl she was carrying.

    Tears welled up in the girl¡¯s eyes, and they flushed red. However, she did not make a single sound as she simply continued to clutch at the fleeing woman.

    The man from the Daynight n snorted, and he lifted his de once again. However, a ship suddenly appeared from the distance, and it flew straight towards him.

    The middle-aged man frowned and sliced down with his sword. This time, his attack was not directed at the woman, but rather at the approaching spacecraft.

    The woman went pale, and she looked at the iing spacecraft. ¡°Hurry up and flee!¡±

    Inside the vessel, Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold. This person was actually attacking instantly and without any warning. This was indeed the attitude of the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin stepped out into space, stored away his spacecraft, and then confronted the iing de light. He lifted a hand and easily grabbed the light before using a bit of his strength to squeeze it, shattering the attack.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he picked up his feet and flew into space. He drew close to Lu Yin, though the woman and the little girl were still between the two men.

    ¡°Scram!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The woman was dumbfounded. They were in Daynight Flowzone, but this person actually dared to order this person from the Daynight n to scram! This was simply too audacious.

    The Daynight man was simrly stunned, as he had never encountered such a situation ever since he had been born. On top of that, they were actually in Daynight Flowzone.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The middle-aged man was not stupid. The fact that this person dared to behave so foolishly showed that he was confident. Thus, it was possible that he might have a good rtionship with some senior from the n.

    Lu Yin arrogantly told the man, ¡°Beat it, and tell Nightking Zhenwu, that I, Lu Yin, am here.¡±

    The middle-aged man was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his hand, directed it at the middle-aged man, and then lightly flicked a finger, sending the man flying. The man was unable to mount any sort of resistance, and his weak spiritual force resistance was blown away like it had been nothing more than a gentle breeze.

    The middle-aged man was flung back several tens of thousands of meters, and the blood within his chest roiled as he suppressed the need to spit out blood. He then went back inside his spacecraft and prepared to leave.

    ¡°Wait a moment, did I say that you could get in the spacecraft? Whoever¡¯s inside, all of you get out and leave that ship behind,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    The middle-aged man red at Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re being too arrogant! This is Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Lu Yin did not care, his behavior iparably tyrannical. The Daynight n behaved in an overbearing manner, so he wanted to be even more excessive than them.

    The middle-aged man was furious, but since this was Lu Yin, he did not dare to say anything else. Lu Yin was someone who had dared be enemies with the entire Daynight n when he had still been in the Astral Academy. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s image was at the top of the n¡¯s stone que in the ancestral grounds. He was the first person who had ever dared to openly learn one of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques, and yet despite that, he had also been invited by the seniors of the n to attend the Daynight Feast. This was not someone who the middle-aged man could afford to offend.

    Helpless, the middle-aged man exited along with the other members of the Daynight n who had been controlling the vessel, leaving the spacecraft behind.

    To the side, the woman watched this scene take ce with a dumbfounded expression on her face. She had never thought that she would run into someone even more arrogant than the Daynight n, and he was even behaving like this within Daynight Flowzone.

    The girl was still being held by the woman, and she stared at Lu Yin in adoration. Stars could almost be seen shooting out of her eyes.

    After the people from the Daynight n left, Lu Yin looked over at the woman. ¡°That spacecraft is for you guys, so fly away in that. It¡¯s the Daynight n¡¯s spacecraft, so nobody will dare to stop you.¡±

    He had helped this woman because, when the man from the Daynight n had attacked Lu Yin, this woman had shouted for him to escape. From this, her kindness could be readily seen.

    The woman¡¯s back was covered in fresh blood, and sweat beaded her forehead. She panted heavily, but nodded and emotionally said, ¡°My name is Bai Shui, and I sincerely thank our benefactor.¡±

    Lu Yin was about to leave, but when he heard the woman¡¯s name, he looked back in astonishment. Bai Shui? Bai? A primeval surname?

    ¡°Your surname is Bai?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui¡¯s expression changed, and she gritted her teeth. ¡°Yes, my surname is Bai.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°Why were you being pursued by the Daynight n?¡±

    There seemed to be some sort of struggle seen within Bai Shui¡¯s eyes, but finally she spoke. ¡°Because my surname isn¡¯t legal.¡±

    ¡°You have an illegal primeval surname?¡± Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Since it¡¯s illegal, then why would you share your name with me? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯d do something to you?¡±

    The Human Domain held a special hatred for those with illegal primeval surnames, though the Outerverse was a little better. The further into the Human Domain¡¯s core one went, the stronger the hate.

    The woman replied, ¡°Even if it¡¯s illegal, it¡¯s still my surname. Why wouldn¡¯t I give it out?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her in surprise, and only now did he start to seriously observe the woman. She could not be considered beautiful, but she did have a certain intrinsic elegance and determined mien that made it clear that she was not the type to give up.

    ¡°What¡¯s your connection to this girl?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui stroked the girl¡¯s head. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, Bai Xiaodie.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He then lifted a hand and tossed some of Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ medications to the woman. ¡°You can put it on yourself.¡±

    Bai Shui was grateful. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Bai Shui¡¯s injuries were severe, but since she was an Explorer, Lu Yin¡¯s medication was able to quickly bring her injuries under control.

    A person with an illegal primeval surname had actually appeared in Daynight Flowzone. This seemed illogical from Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, but there were too many strange incidents in the universe, and he had no ability to worry about one more thing.

    Lu Yin gave the spacecraft to Bai Shui so that she could take her daughter away from Daynight Flowzone. However, Bai Shui instead carried Bai Xiaodie over and knelt down in front of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Savior, please help us,¡± Bai Shui begged, her eyes bloodshot.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°So you dared to reveal your surname to me because you heard that man from before speak my name. You know that I also have a primeval surname, so you assumed that I wouldn¡¯t do anything to you. You¡¯re quite smart, but why do you think that I¡¯ll help you?¡±

    Bai Shui replied, ¡°Savior, not only will you be helping us, but you¡¯ll also be helping yourself. The Daynight n is chasing after us because we have an ancient inheritance¡¯s precious resources. Savior, if you can help me protect those resources, I¡¯m willing to split half of it with you.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°What kind of resources?¡±

    Bai Shui hesitated, but then she seemed to firm her determination. ¡°It¡¯s a type of frostwater that¡¯s exceptionally cold. When this frostwater is absorbed, the next battle technique that one unleashes will have an extremely strong frost attribute that¡¯s very difficult to remove. Powerhouses within the same realm will be almost entirely unable to resist. To break free, one needs to either be a Lockbreaker or someone capable of unleashing a power far beyond their realm.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, but he also did not put too much stock into the woman¡¯s words. There were many simr substances that could be found within the universe, and the Daynight n had only sent out a few people to chase this woman down. Thus, she clearly did not possess some unbelievable resource. The woman was quite smart, and she hoped to use this frost water to motivate Lu Yin, but she was out of luck.

    ¡°You can go on ahead. I¡¯m not interested in those kinds of resources,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Bai Shui grew anxious. ¡°Benefactor, such frostwater is truly valuable, and it¡¯s even from an ancient inheritance! There¡¯s definitely no other ce in the universe that has this!¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Not interested.¡±

    He then looked back at Bai Shui. ¡°Actually, I am interested in your family. Where are they?¡±

    Bai Shui¡¯s eyes dimmed. ¡°They all died many years ago. Each generation only has one heir.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that this was quite pitiful. ¡°Why not find a and take residence? Or get a legal status?¡±

    Bai Shui shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no way for us to get legal surnames here in Daynight Flowzone.¡±

    ¡°Then go to another flowzone,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Bai Shui did not seem willing to speak any further on this topic.

    Lu Yin sighed. He still wanted to ask more questions about her primeval surname, but it seemed that due to the situation concerning this woman¡¯s family, she would not know anything.

    But despite everything, she still lived in Daynight Flowzone. How stubborn.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, saving Bai Shui was just a brief intermission. Even if the Daynight n discovered that he had saved Bai Shui, they would not make any additional trouble for him.

    At this moment, all Lu Yin wanted to do was hitchhike his way over.

    The entire Daynight n knew that Lu Yin was on his way, and everyone was focused on him. Although he had no ns of hiding himself, he also did not want to arrive in too high-profile a manner. Thus, he felt that hitchhiking was a good idea. He would just treat this as a new experience.

    He looked to his left, as he had noticed that quite a number of rune lines had appeared there. Another spacecraft was approaching them.

    He stared at the runes, feeling that this was quite amazing. Was this really a coincidence? The approaching vessel was from the Lingling n, and Lu Yin could see Ling Que¡¯s rune lines within the spacecraft.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Familiar voices entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears as he stood atop the spacecraft, and he was rendered speechless; Ling Que had actually reformed his cheerleading squad.

    Ling Que was currently rxing inside the spacecraft and sipping on some alcohol as he looked outside. This felt more like the days of the past, when he listened to the adoring worship of his cheerleaders as countless eyes looked upon him with surprise, envy, and even jealousy. This was what he liked to see, as there was nothing better than this.

    This was the second time he would be going to a Daynight Feast, and the first time had been back when he had still been an unrivaled Limiteers. At that time, Nightqueen Yanqing had personally weed Ling Que. So many years had passed in the blink of an eye.

    Eh? The voices stopped? Ling Que got upset. ¡°Keep up the cheering. Otherwise, I¡¯ll reduce your pocket money.¡±

    ¡°Your shameless self-confidence is still the same, Ling Que,¡± a voice rang out inside the ship.

    Ling Que was startled, and he turned around. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin was sitting on a sofa and he waved a hand. The cheerleaders were all nkly staring at Ling Que.

    Ling Que waved a hand to dismiss them, and he looked at Lu Yin with surprise. ¡°Why did youe to see me?¡±

    ¡°I ran into you while I was on my way over,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Ling Que pursed his lips. ¡°That¡¯s quite the coincidence. You¡¯d best keep moving since I¡¯m afraid of being dragged down by you. Don¡¯t you know that you have enemies all over?¡±

    ¡°Including your Lingling n?¡± Lu Yin looked at Ling Que with amusement.

    Ling Que was left speechless. ¡°You¡¯ve damaged the entire Innerverse¡¯s profits, so do you really think that anyone from the Innerverse would be on your side? Besides, this is Daynight Flowzone, and I don¡¯t want to be associated with you and end up suffering a mysterious death.¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I won¡¯t drag you down. The Daynight n won¡¯t move against me, at least, not for now.¡±

    Ling Que was helpless. He had some understanding of Lu Yin and was well aware that it was impossible to chase him away.

    ¡°Have you gone to the Cosmic Sea to look for Yaya?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Que shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve been in my n. If not for this Daynight Feast, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to leave.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Ling Gong?¡±

    ¡°How would I know? She doesn¡¯t travel with me.¡±

    ¡°You were invited to the Daynight Feast yourself?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Que¡¯s brows rose, and his expression grew decidedly unweing as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°What is that supposed to mean? Can only you be personally invited? Right, it¡¯s because you¡¯re so powerful now. You even defeated the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist which means that you¡¯re on the same level as Nightking Zhenwu. Don¡¯t underestimate others! My Lingling n¡¯s innate gift is very powerful, and once it¡¯spletely integrated, our strength will double. At that time, I¡¯ll definitely be able to catch up to you!¡±

 Chapter 1062: Nightking Planet

    <h4>Chapter 1062: Nightking</h4>

    Lu Yin was moved as he listened to Ling Que¡¯s words. ¡°Just like Ling Gong?¡±

    ¡°She still hasn¡¯tpletely integrated her innate gift,¡± Ling Quemented. He then paused for a moment as he red at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re trying to get information from me.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t even hear that. What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ling Que was suspicious.

    At that moment, the door opened as a man stepped in the room. ¡°Young Master, your drink.¡±

    Ling Que casually ordered, ¡°Set it here.¡±

    The man walked across the room and set the wine on the table. He was just about to leave when Lu Yin set his hand on the man¡¯s arm and stared at the man in amazement. ¡°It¡¯s actually you?¡±

    Ling Que was puzzled.

    The man¡¯s expression changed when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°The universe is so huge, but you just had to show up in front of me. How interesting.¡±

    The man¡¯s face turned a deathly shade of white. He used his strength, trying to pull his arm back, but Lu Yin was much stronger, and the man simply could not move.

    Ling Que felt that the situation was rather strange. ¡°Do you two know each other?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Ling Que. ¡°Is this person someone from your Lingling n?¡±

    Ling Que shook his head. ¡°I picked him up along the way. He was severely injured when the Sixth Maind invaded, and when our Lingling n moved out, we happened to rescue him. Why? Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°Do you know who he is?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Que turned to look at the man.

    The man gritted his teeth and his expression turned ugly. ¡°Lu Yin, I chased after you back then because I was hired to do so. There¡¯s no grudge between us, so please let me go.¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°You chased us from Chaos Flowzone all the way to Starfall Sea and you''re the reason two of my seniors are missing. Despite that, you¡¯re telling me that it was all just a misunderstanding? Hmm? Feng Mo?¡±

    The man who had brought the wine in was none other than Feng Mo. In the past, he had been hired by Deep Crimson Hall to kill Lu Yin¡¯s group, and he had forced Lu Yin and the others to take part in the Sea King¡¯s son-inw selection. If not for this person, Big Pao and Little Pao would have never needed to go into hiding. As it was, Lu Yin still did not know where the two brothers had disappeared to.

    Lu Yin had not nned on trying to find this person¡ªafter all, the universe was incredibly vast. However, he had never dreamed that the man would actually walk out in front of him.

    Ling Que was astonished and he stared at Feng Mo. ¡°You actually chased after this fellow? How stupid! Why didn¡¯t you just kill him?¡±

    Feng Mo¡¯s arm hurt badly, and sweat beaded up on his forehead. He was a Hunter, and he had been ambushed by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Specter n after leaving the Sea King¡¯s Dome, resulting in him barely escaping with his life to hide in the Starfall Sea. He had believed that he would be fine after that, but he had never expected that the Innerverse and Outerverse would suddenly undergo such incredible changes and that the Sixth Maind would invade. During the invasion, he had narrowly escaped death once again before finally being rescued by the Lingling n.

    Feng Mo had stayed with the Lingling n and served Ling Que not out of a personal decision to repay the n¡¯s kindness, but rather because he had been ordered to do so by the Relentless yers. They were greedy and wanted the Lingling n¡¯s innate gift, so they had ordered Feng Mo to see if he could find out anything. No one had considered that he might run into Lu Yin.

    ¡°Young Master, no matter what I did in the past, I am now dedicated to the Lingling n. Please, save me,¡± Feng Mo pleaded.

    Ling Que looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°He¡¯s from Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Relentless yers. Did you think that he stayed with the Lingling n simply because he wanted to repay his gratitude?¡±

    Ling Que¡¯s expression changed, and he stared at Feng Mo, bloodlust filling the youth¡¯s eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were from the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Feng Mo started begging, ¡°Young Master, I-¡±

    After saying just a few words, Feng Mo suddenly pped out at Ling Que, who was only an Explorer. Although Ling Que was incredibly talented, it was difficult to respond to a Hunter¡¯s sudden ambush.

    Lu Yin exerted some strength through his right hand, causing Feng Mo to flip over, m into the floor, and miss his attack. Not only that, but half of the man¡¯s body was also left numb after being thrown to the floor and forced to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    Lu Yin looked down at the older man. ¡°Trying to sneak attack someone in front of me? It¡¯s only been a few years since west saw each other, but it seems that you¡¯ve be even stupider.¡±

    Ling Que coldly stared at Feng Mo, as the Hunter¡¯s sneak attack had nearly seeded. Feng Mo had attempted to ambush him so that he could distract Lu Yin and escape. How detestable.

    ¡°Brother Lu, leave this person to me. I want to see what he¡¯s trying to do with my Lingling n since he¡¯s been sticking around us,¡± Ling Que said coldly.

    Lu Yin nodded, and he released a bit of force. He used the Oveying Stacks Path to send a subtle attack through Feng Mo¡¯s arm and into the man¡¯s body, severing the channels inside him and crippling the man. Lu Yin¡¯s hand then rxed. ¡°I¡¯ll leave him with you. Force out everything about what happened since the start of the Starfall Sea¡¯s events as well as everything concerning my two missing seniors. I want to know if he¡¯s connected to that.¡±

    Ling Que nodded.

    Feng Mo¡¯s interrogation proceeded rather smoothly, and before long, Lu Yin was informed of what Feng Mo had experienced after the two parted ways.

    ¡°This fellow was actually pursued by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Specter n, but he didn¡¯t die. How lucky,¡± Ling Que remarked with a sigh.

    Lu Yin looked through the report of what Feng Mo had gone through, reliving those experiences from the past. He knew why Feng Mo had been pursued, as it was all connected to Lu Yin. He had given some orders to Faceless, which was why the people from the Specter n had chased after Feng Mo.

    It seemed that Lu Yin could indeed impersonate someone from the upper levels of the Specter n and give out orders.

    As for Big Pao and Little Pao, Feng Mo had never run into them again.

    Hold on. Lu Yin seriously checked through the report. ¡°Did he exin how he escaped from the Specter n?¡±

    Ling Que hurriedly nced through that section of the report, and his expression changed slightly.

    It definitely was not easy to escape from the Specter n, and since Feng Mo had been able to escape, then he should also be able to escape from the Lingling n. Furthermore, Feng Mo had actually managed to evade the Sixth Maind while staying in the Starfall Sea.

    Just as the two thought of this, they heard a voice call out from the doorway, ¡°Young Master, Feng Mo is gone.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and he looked up to scan in all directions, but he could not see Feng Mo¡¯s rune lines anywhere. He even scanned the spacecraft, but Feng Mo¡¯s rune lines were nowhere to be seen.

    Ling Que¡¯s expression grew ugly. ¡°Search! There¡¯s no way he escaped!¡±

    Everyone in the spacecraft began to search crazily, but Feng Mo seemed to havepletely vanished.

    Feng Mo was from the Relentless yers, and they definitely had their own methods to conceal their auras. However, his cultivation had already been shattered, so had he managed to escape? The Lingling n expert who had been guarding Feng Mo was also a Hunter, so there was no exnation for how Feng Mo had escaped so easily.

    No matter how they investigated, nobody could understand how Feng Mo had fled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sank. Feng Mo must have possessed some extraordinary treasure, as there was no other way for him to have escaped given that situation. And since he had already escaped, it would be extremely difficult to find him again. He was an assassin, and Lu Yin believed the man would remember Lu Yin¡¯s aura.

    The incident with Feng Mo put Ling Que in a bad mood for the next two days, and not even his cheerleaders¡¯ cries could pique his interest.

    After two days of travel, a massive ck appeared in the distance. Ling Que sighed. ¡°It¡¯s Nightking. We¡¯re here.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at it in amazement. That¡¯s a? It¡¯s too big!

    Nightking was indeed a, but it wasrger than any Lu Yin had ever seen before. Its humongous size made it look like a monsterying in space, blocking the way in front of them.

    ¡°Nightking is one of thergests in the Innerverse, and it¡¯s rumored that the Daynight n¡¯s first Nightking came from this. The Nightking bloodline¡¯s most elite experts have gathered on this, and nobody knows how many hidden trump cards this ce is hiding,¡± Ling Que shared. Even if he was from the Lingling n, Nightking was still fearsome enough to leave him nervous.

    Lu Yin stared intently at Nightking. That ce contained a terrifying number of rune lines, and there was definitely more than one powerhouse in the Envoy realm on this. Those people were clearly Nightking¡¯s hidden trump cards.

    The Daynight Feast had been arranged to take ce on Nightking this time.

    ¡°Is the current leader of the Daynight n Nightking Dijiang?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Que nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Nightking Dijiang. He isn¡¯t the strongest patriarch in the n¡¯s history, but he¡¯s still pretty decent. At the least, he doesn¡¯t have any records of losing, and ording to the older generation, Nightking Dijiang wasparable to us during his generation, as he was considered unrivaled among his peers.¡±

    ¡°Since he hasn¡¯t shown himself for some time, could he have already died?¡± Lu Yin asked, slightly hopeful.

    Ling Que¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Speak softer! This is Nightking, and there are Nightking n experts all around you. Don¡¯t talk bad about their leader, as I don¡¯t want to die even if you do.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he stared at Nightking. Aside from the clusters of rune lines that he could see, there were definitely hidden ones as well.

    He had some desire to see the hidden powers of a pinnacle power from the Innerverse like the Daynight n.

    Many spacecraft flew towards Nightking.

    asionally, some vessels would stop by and offer greetings to Ling Que.

    Ling Que smiled in response, and during this entire time, the cries of his cheerleaders never ceased, which caused many people to arrive with strange expressions. Still, they were amazed despite their best intentions.

    ¡°Brother Lu, you should also put a group of cheerleaders together. It¡¯s very grand¡ªjust look at the admiration in everyone¡¯s eyes.¡± Ling Que sighed.

    Lu Yin did not know where this person was seeing admiration. ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Brother Lu, we¡¯ve arrived at Nightking. I¡¯m going to meet with some other friends now, so I¡¯ll take my leave here.¡± Ling Que had already nned to chase Lu Yin away after sessfully passing through the inspection and escorting Lu Yin onto Nightking. Ling Que did not want to be mistaken for Lu Yin¡¯sckey, as any fool knew that Lu Yin had a terrible rtionship with the Daynight n. Ling Que had no desire to create trouble for himself!

    Lu Yin also understood Ling Que¡¯s thoughts, and he did not remain behind. It would not do totch onto Ling Que to enter Nightking.

    Nightking was absolutely enormous, and the buildings on it were startlingly high to an exaggerated degree. Any random building was hundreds of meters tall at the least, and some even shot through the sky, seemingly swaying with the¡¯s rotation.

    The¡¯s soil was grey, and the skies were also a dark grey. The drab colors gave the entire a dignified and solemn atmosphere. It felt like there was no ce for cheers or jokes on this, as only the things on disy were the Nightking n¡¯s nobility, power, and unrivaled arrogance.

    This amply demonstrated the behavior of the Nightking¡¯s bloodline.

    Anybody who visited Nightking would be forced to feel the pressure of this ancient n.

    Lu Yin also felt it, and so he released the Ghost Monkey. ¡°Come on, take a piss.¡±

    The monkey froze,pletely bewildered. ¡°Seventh Bro, what did you just say?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Take a piss.¡±

    The monkey became furious. ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re trying to humiliate me!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡±

    He then recalled the Ghost Monkey, and started observing his surrounding rune lines. After a short amount of time, he randomly picked a direction and began moving.

    The area where the Daynight Feast would be held was in Nightking¡¯s capital city: Evernight City. Given Lu Yin¡¯s speed, it would not take him very long to arrive.

    As long as one was able to arrive on Nightking, there would be no need for them to pass through any additional inspections to enter Evernight City.

    When he arrived at Evernight City, Lu Yin was struck by an eye-opening experience. Every building in the entire city was extravagant, all of them looking like magnificent structures worthy of royalty. However, the city¡¯s atmosphere was deathly still, andbined with the monotonous architectural style, the city gave off an unconventional form of suppression, though it was also filled with a dark grandeur.

    Lu Yin did not like this city, as the entire ce seemed to be looking down on everything within it. Anyone who visited this ce would be forced to feel insignificant. ¡°One day , this city will be torn apart.¡±

    Evernight City was vast, but there were not many people there. There were only a few members of the Nightking n to begin with, and most of the Daynight n members were not qualified to visit Nightking, which left the massive city devoid of sound and with the atmosphere of an abandoned metropolis.

    ¡°In this city, any store that opened up would definitely immediately fall into a deficit and go bankrupt,¡± the Ghost Monkey joked.

 Chapter 1063: A Familiar Taste

    <h4>Chapter 1063: A Familiar Taste</h4>

    Lu Yin headed in the direction where he saw the most rune lines.

    At the same time, Li Zimo arrived in the First Flowzone.

    Lu Yin had brought a few people from the Outerverse along with him into the Innerverse, and one of them was Li Zimo. His goal was to join the Sword Sect, and the mission that Lu Yin had given him had be Li Zimo¡¯s lifelong dream.

    The Sword Sect was the ultimate goal for any cultivator who trained with a sword, and it was possible that not even the organizations in the Neoverse could rival the Sword Sect in terms of sword arts. Even Zhi Yi, who was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, had been surprised by the Sword Sect¡¯s battle techniques.

    For a sword genius like Li Zimo, his ultimate dream was to join the Sword Sect.

    Nobody could imagine how devoted people could be to swordsmanship unless they visited the First Flowzone.

    The simplest example was that, for every ten cultivators in the First Flowzone, five of them would train with swords.

    Li Zimo stared at the stars with excitement in his eyes. This was the ce that he had always dreamed of. Fortunately, he had managed to leave Shenwu Continent.

    ***

    Within Evernight City, there was a mini city called Everbright City, and it had been built specifically to host the Daynight Feasts. In that area, there was an auction house, a library, a club, and even a casino. Almost all of the entertainment venues that were avable in Evernight City were also avable in Everbright City, and this ce was extremely luxurious.

    Everbright City lived up to its name, and lights illuminated every corner of the city for the entirety of the Daynight Feast.

    Lu Yin had just arrived in Everbright City.

    However, he felt skeptical that he was still within Evernight City, as there were pink petals floating through the air while the streets in front of him were bustling with people. The scenery and atmosphere of this ce waspletely different from what he had seen outside.

    Many people had converged into this area; some were Daynight n members, while others were outside cultivators.

    The universe was vast, and geniuses could be found everywhere. Thus, even if only a few people from each flowzone attended the Daynight Feast, there would still be arge crowd.

    The invitations for the Daynight Feast had mostly been sent to the members of the younger generation with great potential, such as people on the Top 100 Rankings or people like Lily Anne from Northline Flowzone. There were many cultivators at Lily Anne¡¯s level in the Innerverse. Thus, even if only a small portion of them attended, their numbers were still enough to make Everbright City a bustling hubbub.

    The people surrounding Lu Yin were mostly other youths.

    And almost all of them were geniuses of their own flowzones.

    Lu Yin easily spotted Ling Que¡¯s rune lines within the crowd, and aside from him, Lu Yin saw countless more geniuses in the city. In fact, there were even two people who possessed more rune lines than Ling Que. If these people were also a part of the younger generation, then it meant that they were among the top of the Top 100 Rankings.

    The moment Lu Yin entered Everbright City, a gorgeous woman walked up to him and beckoned at him entrancingly.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, it¡¯s time for you to be a man!¡± the monkey eximed excitedly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and politely refused the women. He then checked his surroundings, upon which his attention was immediately drawn to a tall, ancient building. Naturally, he started making his way towards it.

    But then, a unique scent suddenly filled his nostrils that caused him to salivate. Something nearby smelled delicious.

    Lu Yin followed the scent and eventually found a cultivator cooking a creature that looked like a fish.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a Fruitfish from the Astral River? I heard that it¡¯s a delicacy and that it¡¯s very expensive since it¡¯s so hard to catch.¡±

    ¡°That fish lives in the depths of the Astral River, so there¡¯s no way to obtain one unless you¡¯re an Enlighter at the very least. And even then, you¡¯d have to be quite lucky to catch a Fruitfish while not getting eaten by any of the other monsters in the Astral River.¡±

    ¡°I once saw one of my n elders eat a Fruitfish, and I heard that its meat tastes like hundreds of different fruitsbined together. More importantly, the vor of the meat will change ordingly based on your favorite fruits! It¡¯s truly amazing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if you have the money, you still can¡¯t buy a Fruitfish. Still, the Daynight n managed to get one. Just this made it worthwhile to attend this Daynight Feast.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin approached the crowd of numerous youths, all of whom were staring fervently at the Fruitfish, wondering who would get to eat the fish.

    ¡°Uncle, how much is the Fruitfish?¡± a cute girl hopefully asked.

    The cultivator cooking the Fruitfish was a middle-aged man, and he didn¡¯t even raise his head at her question. ¡°You don¡¯t have to spend any money while in Everbright City, as the Daynight n has paid for everything. Come and get it for yourself if you want a bite.¡±

    The crowd grew excited.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s free! The Daynight n is too generous.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t buy something like this with money. It might not be too expensive, but the biggest problem is that it¡¯s almost impossible to find. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯ll have the chance to try it today.¡±

    Lu Yin was looking forward to the food as well, as this Fruitfish sounded quite delicious. Would it really taste like his favorite fruits?

    The crowd grew bigger, and soon, there were close to a hundred people around Lu Yin.

    About ten thousand people were attending the Daynight Feast, and hundreds of them had gathered around the fish.

    Everyone pushed forward as they waited for the Fruitfish to finish cooking.

    The middle-aged cultivator opened the pot, and the Fruitfish¡¯s meat looked like blooming petals. The scents of various fruits filled the air, causing everyone in the crowd to practically drool.

    The people at the front tried their best to grab a piece of the fish, but there was an invisible wall that separated everyone from the food.

    The middle-aged cultivator smirked. He had merely promised the Daynight n that he would provide Fruitfish, but he had never promised to actually give anyone the opportunity to eat it. These juniors did not have the right to enjoy his cooking, and this Fruitfish would be his once the Daynight Feast ended. On top of that, the Daynight n had already paid him for the Fruitfish, so in his mind, it was a perfect n.

    These people were just a bunch of kids.

    The people at the front were unable to force their way past the invisible barrier even after they used their battle techniques. After a bit of time, everyone¡¯s expressions dimmed. It turned out that it would not be a simple task to obtain a piece of Fruitfish. There truly was nothing free in the world.

    Lu Yin stared at the middle-aged cultivator curiously. Although the man did not possess a tremendous amount of rune lines, Lu Yin could tell by the man¡¯s aura that his power level was over 300,000. He was clearly an Enlighter realm powerhouse.

    Lu Yin felt that everyone here was simply being toyed with by a cultivator whose power level was above 300,000.

    The people standing at the front of the crowd moved aside after failing, and they were reced by the people who had been standing behind them.

    The Fruitfish had attracted a massive crowd, but not a single person managed to taste the fish.

    The middle-aged man smiled, as he found the entire situation extremely funny.

    Eventually, Lu Yin made his way to the front of the crowd. He had changed his appearance so that nobody would recognize him. Otherwise, he would have already been targeted and harassed by Daynight n members.

    Lu Yin smiled as he looked at the Fruitfish before him.

    The middle-aged cultivator returned the smile, though he was secretly cursing Lu Yin.

    ¡°Come on, you won¡¯t be able to eat it anyway, so don¡¯t waste our time,¡± someoneined.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and used his star energy to form a pair of chopsticks. He then slowly approached the Fruitfish and closely observed it. With his vision, he saw an enormous number of rune lines surrounding the fish, and most youths would never be able to ovee this barrier.

    However, such a thing was useless to him. As Lu Yin¡¯s chopsticks touched the invisible barrier, his wrist gently trembled as his strength broke through the invisible barrier. He had used the chopsticks to send the Oveying Stacks Path into the barrier, and as a result, he easily picked up a piece of Fruitfish and sent it to his mouth within two seconds.

    The middle-aged cultivator was shocked; what had just happened?

    The people behind Lu Yin stared at him with envy, as he had managed to get a taste of the Fruitfish.

    The delicate flesh melted inside his mouth, and it had a slightly sweet taste and an indescribably alluring scent that lingered within his mouth. When he swallowed, his body shook as the scenery before his eyes changed. The familiar yet unknown taste of the Fruitfish had taken him back to his childhood.

    ¡°Little Seven, eat up! These fruits are really good.¡±

    ¡°Second brother, is it safe? I- I¡¯m scared.¡±

    ¡°Just eat it. It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°Second brother, you shoulde up first. The pond is really cold.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead and eat first. We¡¯ll leave after you¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin held his chopstick in a daze as his vision blurred. He did not know when the events that he had just seen had taken ce, and who was this Second Brother, and what had that taste been? That strange scent was so foreign yet so familiar.

    That memory had instinctively appeared. He must have tasted this before.

    ¡°Hey, hurry up!¡± someone behind him impatiently shouted, jostling Lu Yin out of his memories.

    Annoyed, Lu Yin frowned as his star energy swept through the area. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The ground trembled as the remnants of his star energy forced the crowd back, surprising everyone.

    Even the middle-aged cultivator was shocked, and he looked at Lu Yin with admiration.

    Lu Yin stared at the Fruitfish and continued to slowly eat it.

    Nobody dared to step forward or protest, as the pressure of his star energy had left all of them scared.

    Some people in the crowd hesitantly looked at each other, and they felt that Lu Yin seemed slightly familiar. However, they were not able to recall where they might have seen him before.

    Lu Yin finished the entire Fruitfish soon enough, and the now familiar sweet taste and mesmerizing scent lingered in his mouth. However, he had not been able to ess the memory again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s chopsticks dissipated as he looked at the middle-aged cultivator. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The middle-aged cultivator was sullen and he turned to leave.

    The crowd started dissipating, leaving Lu Yin deep in thought. That memory was most likely his, so did that mean that he had a second brother?

    Someone approached Lu Yin from behind and respectfully said, ¡°Hello brother, I¡¯m Wen Ran. It''s nice to meet you.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look at the young man. ¡°The one ranked sixty fifth on the Top 100 Rankings: Wen Ran from the Wen family?¡±

    Wen Ran smiled. ¡°You¡¯re too kind. Might I know your name?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated, but then he reverted to his original appearance. ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    The incident with the Fruitfish had stirred up quite a hugemotion, and the Daynight n must have already noticed him. Additionally, even an Outerverse organization like Amethyst Exchange had been able to see through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise bying up with spective images of what Lu Yin would look like after disguising himself. Naturally, the Daynight n should be able to do the same, which meant that there was no longer any reason for him to continue hiding his identity.

    Wen Ran blinked and smiled. ¡°So it¡¯s Brother Lu. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Brother Wen, I¡¯ve heard of you as well.¡±

    Wen Ran felt awkward. Lu Yin had conquered the Outerverse and be the entire Innerverse¡¯s enemy. In their mind, the Outerverse was supposed to benefit the Innerverse, and that included the Wen family. Thus, the heirs of all the Innerverse powers would feel awkward whenever they met Lu Yin, as they would not know how to appropriately interact with him.

 Chapter 1064: Legend Of The Night Watch Pagoda

    <h4>Chapter 1064: Legend Of The Night Watch Pagoda</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled, ignored Wen Ran¡¯s reaction, and turned to leave. Ever since he first stepped onto his current path, he had been destined to be the enemy for countless people. Thus, this minor interaction did not really matter in his mind.

    Wen Ran watched as Lu Yin left; even if they became enemies in the future, he still had to admire Lu Yin. After all, not everyone had the courage to even dare to attempt what Lu Yin had managed to aplish, and even fewer had the ability to seed.

    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°It really is! He defeated Arbiter Divine Fist, and I heard that he¡¯s only cultivated for slightly more than ten years.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an absolute genius, and he even managed to unify the Outerverse! Who knows how he cultivates?¡±

    ¡°Someone like that is just asking for it bying here. He¡¯s stopped the entire Innerverse from essing the Outerverse¡¯s resources, and he¡¯s even be the Daynight n¡¯s enemy. He¡¯s sure got balls toe here.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll live for much longer. The Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones simply won¡¯t let him survive because only a scattered Outerverse will benefit the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°In the end, he¡¯s still the person who unified the Outerverse and defeated one of the Ten Arbiters. Just those feats alone are enough for him to be recorded down in history. It¡¯s a pity, as if he fully matured, then he would definitely bring about even more shocking changes in the future.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had gone back to his normal appearance, so anyone who saw him instantly recognized him.

    Step by step, he made his way towards the unadorned building that stood at the center of Everbright City. As he made his way there, he heard all sorts of discussions, ridicule, amazement, and fear directed towards him.

    The building at the center of Everbright City was known as the Night Watch Pagoda, and it had ny nine levels. As its name suggested, it was a pavilion that stood guard over the Nightking n, and it was said to be the ce from where the first Nightking had overseen everything.

    ording to the legends, back then, the first Nightking had hosted a Daynight Feast and invited all of the absolute geniuses in the entire universe. He had then stood on top of this pavilion, and nobody had dared to contend with him. From there, he had looked down upon everything below him, and that ce had be the hundredth level of the Night Watch Pagoda. With that perfect number, the Night Watch Pagoda had been born.

    This tower had stood through the eons, and it had be a popr tourist location for those attending the Daynight Feast.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the Night Watch Pagoda, he saw a lofty tower that shot through the clouds.

    He was amazed.

    Countless rune lines pervaded the entire building, and there were hundreds, or even thousands of elite young guests who had gathered at this ce. As long as they were able to enter Nightking, they would be allowed to enter Everbright City and ascend the Night Watch Pagoda. However, no one could climb up the Night Watch Pagoda unobstructed.

    The Night Watch Pagoda had ny nine levels, and there was a barrier at each level that required a certain level of strength to pass and ascend to the next level. LIke this, only the most powerful could ascend to the top.

    Over the course of the various generations, aside from the first Nightking, nobody had ever surpassed the ny ninth level. Even the Third Nightking and his extraordinary talent had only been able to make it to the ny-ninth level, though this was also only avable to those of the younger generation.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s past record was also the ny ninth level, which matched the Third Nightking¡¯s. This time, whether or not Nightking Zhenwu would be able to surpass that level was the nned highlight of this Daynight Feast.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival at the tower drew a great deal of attention.

    On the thirty eighth level, Wen Qian¡¯er was chatting away with a few handsome young men when someone called out Lu Yin¡¯s name in surprise. She immediately looked down to see a solitary figure silently standing outside the Night Watch Pagoda. Lu Yin had really arrived.

    Wen Qian¡¯er¡¯s eyes were filled with stars, as she was a woman who adored heroes, and Lu Yin was undoubtedly one. He had united the Outerverse and even defeated the Divine Fist Arbiter. Even if the Daynight n had tried to nder him as a traitor to the Fifth Maind, those rumors had not diminished his prestige in the slightest. They were only able to deceive ordinary cultivators, but everyone present at this Daynight Feast were disciples of great powers who were aware of the Daynight n¡¯s methods.

    ¡°It really is Lu Yin. He actually came. Back when we saw his name on the invitation list for the Daynight Feast, we didn¡¯t believe that he would actuallye,¡± one man eximed.

    Some people spoke in a darker tone. ¡°It¡¯s good that he¡¯s here. He¡¯ll definitely die after revealing his abilities.¡±¡¯

    ¡°Everyone knows about his grudge with Arbiter Zhenwu, but his courage still deserves to bemended. Unfortunately, that was not a smart move.¡±

    Han Chong was nearby, and he looked at Lu Yin withplex emotions. A few years ago, they had both been students at the Astral Combat Academy, and their strength had been very close. However, at present, Lu Yin had defeated one of the Ten Arbiters, which was simply inconceivable. Arbiter Wen might still be able to easily defeat Lu Yin, but that was just for the moment. In a few more years, Arbiter Wen and the others would exceed the age limit and no longer be considered a member of the younger generation. At that time, just who would be able to stop Lu Yin? Those at the same age as Lu Yin had all been left far behind. At one point in time, he had been one of the four unrivaled Limiteers, but the other three were most likely no longer capable of taking even a single punch from Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    Xun Jiong had also been invited to Nightking, and he was on the Night Watch Pagoda¡¯s fortieth level, from where he was looking down at Lu Yin.

    Although he was standing at a formidable height, when Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept over the building, Xun Jiong reflexively backed up. He did not dare exchange nces with him, as the difference in their strength was far, far too vast.

    Xun Jiong had believed that after the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, Lu Yin would definitely die. However, Lu Yin had actually managed to climb to such great heights, and his level was so high now that Xun Jiong did not qualify topete with him any longer. In fact, Xun Jiong could not even bring himself to look at Lu Yin.

    Hart Phoenix was also attending the Daynight Feast, and although he was still only a Limiteer, he was from the Phoenix family with an impressive talent. Thatbination had been enough to qualify him to receive an invitation.

    In the past, Hart Phoenix had actually dared to challenge Lu Yin, but at this moment, when Hart Phoenix looked at Lu Yin, he felt absolutely no desire to challenge this person.

    Only his elder brother couldpete with Lu Yin at this time.

    Ling Que had entered the Night Watch Pagoda one step ahead of Lu Yin, but he was a bit envious when he saw Lu Yin drawing all the attention over. However, Ling Que also felt a bit of joy. Luckily, he had not entered at the same time as Lu Yin, as that would have beenpletely embarrassing. After all, his cheerleaders had not been allowed in, which was a pity.

    ¡­

    On the seventieth level of the Night Watch Pagoda, Casanova and Mo Yu were both staring down at the ground. Mo Yu asked, ¡°That¡¯s Lu Yin?¡±

    Casanova nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen him before?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Mo Yu said.

    Casanova was surprised. ¡°His battle with the Divine Fist shocked the universe. Didn¡¯t you watch it?¡±

    Mo Yu replied, ¡°Not interested.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re interested now?¡±

    Mo Yu had a solemn look. She was not interested in power level orbat ability; she was only interested in Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking ability, as he had leaped from being a one star to a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker in one go. That rate of progress was far too rapid.

    ¡°Don¡¯tpare yourself to him. That person is a freak. Back then, he actually dared topete with me at lockbreaking, but he¡¯s alreadypletely overtaken both of us by now,¡± Casanova said helplessly.

    Although it had been many years since Lu Yin had roamed the Innerverse, he had met many people during his days of wandering. The Night Watch Pagoda alone contained quite a few people who had encountered Lu Yin in the past, and even just the Daynight n had a handful of members who had interacted with Lu Yin before, such as Zhanlong Daynight, Tiankong Daynight, Rou Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Gu, and more. There was no need to mention the cultivators from the other powers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mere appearance at the base of the Night Watch Pagoda caused the entire structure to fall silent. This was Lu Yin¡¯s current level of fame.

    ¡­

    He stared at the Night Watch Pagoda, faintly smiled, and then raised a foot to enter.

    The Night Watch Pagoda needed to be climbed level by level, but the barriers might as well have not existed for Lu Yin. He climbed straight to the sixteenth level, where there was a youth named Han Kui with an excited look. He felt as though he was rubbing shoulders with a legend. He was Han Chong¡¯s younger brother, and people referred to him as the Little Art Saint.

    Lu Yin continued on to the twenty second level, where Lily Anne gave him a slight bow. She had alsoe.

    When Lu Yin made his way to the thirty eighth level, Wen Qian¡¯er smiled at him sweetly.

    On the fortieth level, Lu Yin stared at Xun Jiong, who jumped in fright and backed up several steps. He nearly fell out of the Night Watch Pagoda.

    Mira and Michelle were on the sixty fifth level, each of them as dazzling as a pearl. They greeted Lu Yin when he arrived, and he nodded to them, also noticing Zhanlong Daynight standing alone in the corner. Lu Yin then continued making his way upwards.

    When Lu Yin reached the 70th level, he saw Casanova and Mo Yu, whose eyes were sparkling.

    On the seventy fifth level, Lu Yin saw a youth named Cang Mu, who stepped forward to bump shoulders with Lu Yin, only to be sent flying. Unwilling to ept the oue, he said, ¡°I¡¯m Cang Mu, a follower of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King! Even if you were able to defeat the Divine Fist, it doesn¡¯t mean that you can beat the War King!¡±

    Lu Yin arrived at the nieth level, though there were almost no people on this level, just a singr burly figure. This man was extremely ugly, and he stared coldly at Lu Yin. His name was Avery, and people referred to him as the Second War King.

    ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time,¡± Avery said.

    Lu Yin looked at the other man. ¡°You¡¯re Avery. We¡¯ve already traded blows.¡±

    Avery was puzzled. ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°In a ported battle,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Avery was surprised. ¡°You met me there?¡±

    Suddenly, he grinned. ¡°You must have been stomped, right?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, and then approached Avery, step by step. ¡°Go ahead, attack me.¡±

    Avery¡¯s expression changed, and he stopped being polite. He opened his mouth and howled in a strange manner. This was his battle technique, and itplemented his innate gift that was rted to his voice. As a result, the sound was enough to shatter strong foes. During the teleportation battle, Lu Yin had been sted to death by this roar.

    Against the crazy howl that was Avery¡¯s all-out strength, Lu Yin did not even move. Instead, he simply stared at Avery as Night Advent descended. Darkness was all that Avery could see, and he had been plunged into pure darkness as his brain was jolted. His nose, ears, mouth, and eyes all began bleeding as he slowly copsed onto the ground. Avery couldn¡¯t see clearly anymore as his vision had gone fuzzy.

    Lu Yin walked before Avery and looked down at the youth. ¡°What gave you the confidence to stand in front of me?¡±

    He then kicked Avery into the corner like a piece of garbage before looking up and continuing upwards.

    There was nothing in the Night Watch Pagoda that blocked people from seeing what happened, and almost everything could be seen from top to bottom. Thus, many people witnessed Avery¡¯s result. Although many of them detested Avery¡¯s arrogance, he was still ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings. Despite that, he had suffered a miserable defeat at Lu Yin¡¯s hands. He had not even been able to retaliate.

    The crowd stared at Lu Yin with envy, jealousy, fear, worship, and a myriad of emotions all mixed together. A flood of attention was focused on Lu Yin as he continued to climb to further heights.

    Avery had been on the nieth level, and on the next level, Lu Yin met a girl called Qing Longlong. She was ranked third on the Top 100 Rankings, second only to Xia Tian and Tai Yuanjun. She was from Venom Flowzone.

    Venom Flowzone was the only one of the eight great flowzones that had almost no interactions with the rest of the universe, and outsiders found it difficult to enter the flowzone as well.

    Even when the Sixth Maind had invaded, the Venom Flowzone had been one of the ces that they had not wanted to attack, as it was filled with venomous creatures. Even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces had been stronger, there was no way that they could guarantee not being poisoned, especially not after the cosmic phenomenon had descended and restricted everyone¡¯s power level to under 200,000. At that time, entering Venom Flowzone would have been akin to asking for death.

    Qing Longlong had massacred her way through Venom Flowzone and received the title of Queen, much like how Xia Tian and Tai Yuanjun had both received the title of King. She was another person who was qualified to go to the Neoverse andpete for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritances.

    Avery was ranked fourth, but he had not been able to receive the title of King.

    This difference showed that there was a fundamental difference in ability between them.

    Lu Yin exchanged nces with Qing Longlong. Her expression remained calm, and she merely nced at Lu Yin before ignoring him.

    Lu Yin did not say anything to the girl either.

    There were even fewer people on the Night Watch Pagoda¡¯s upper levels, and he did not n to continue climbing any further. As he looked from where he stood, Lu Yin felt as though everything in the universe was within his grasp.

 Chapter 1065: Lu Yinâ€™s Provocation

    <h4>Chapter 1065: Lu Yin¡¯s Provocation</h4>

    The people currently in the Night Watch Pagoda made up about half of the Innerverse and the Outerverse¡¯s younger elites, and they represented the future. A considerable number of those gathered in this ce would grow up to be the masters of various organizations.

    Treading on these people was the same as trampling over the universe.

    This was how the Daynight n behaved; regardless of if it was their architectural style, theirs, or their cities, everything that they built seemed to ce themselves as overlords of the universe.

    It was truly despicable.

    Even more hateful, at this moment, Nightking Zhenwu still had not shown himself. He was making everyone wait for him.

    None of the other Arbiters had appeared either.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, your ss haspletely disappeared. You should have revealed yourselfter. Actually, theter you appear, the better.¡± The Ghost Monkey was not happy.

    Lu Yin caressed his cosmic ring. When would the Daynight n move to take back their stone of inheritance? Or would they only do so during the Daynight Feast? Lu Yin was in no hurry to reach out to Nightking Zhenwu.

    After Lu Yin had climbed to one of the higher levels, everyone below him broke out into conversations. The majority of the Innerverse did not view Lu Yin favorably, as a united Outerverse would hurt too many different powers from the Innerverse.

    Even Feng Shang and Kuang Wang, who were on somewhat better terms with Lu Yin, did not take the initiative to seek him out due to the pressure they were currently facing from their families and ns.

    Everyone was waiting for Nightking Zhenwu, and quite a few people had even begunining. However, no one dared to voice theirints too loudly.

    Lu Yin looked out at Everbright City, and he focused his sight on a certain ce. That was where he had seen Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s rune lines, but the man was not moving in the slightest; he simply remained where he was.

    As for the other Ten Arbiters, Lu Yin did not see them.

    Had they gathered in some other location?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, have you heard the Night Watch Pagoda¡¯s legend?¡± the monkey suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin felt lost. ¡°What legend?¡±

    The monkey grew happier. ¡°The Night Watch Pagoda has ny nine levels, but ording to the rumors, the first Nightking climbed to the roof and made himself the hundredth level that overlooked everything under the sky. From that moment on, the Daynight n grew into one of the most powerful ns in the Innerverse, and the Night Watch Pagoda¡¯s name became famous that night.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. What an interesting legend.

    He then looked over at Qing Longlong. ¡°Miss, do you know if Nightking Zhenwu has ever made it to the top of the Night Watch Pagoda?¡±

    Qing Longlong softly replied, ¡°No, he¡¯s only made it to the ny ninth level. He wasn¡¯t able to step foot on the roof.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He then began making his way to the next level.

    Since Nightking Zhenwu did not want toe out, Lu Yin would force him out.

    He could not remain passive when handling matters, so he intended to take the initiative.

    When Lu Yin returned to climbing the pavilion, many people saw it, and the crowd became curious as to why he was continuing upwards.

    ¡°Could he be trying to get to the top of the Night Watch Pagoda?¡± someone guessed.

    Others sneered. ¡°How could that be possible? The Night Watch Pagoda is an area that represents the glory of the Nightking n, and no outsider has ever tried to climb to the top. Wouldn¡¯t that just be provoking the Daynight n?¡±

    After those words were said, the crowd fell silent.

    They were currently discussing Lu Yin; was there anything that he would not dare to do?

    Off in the distance, Nightking Zhenwu continued to stare at Lu Yin. When the Nightking noticed that Lu Yin was about to continue climbing upwards, his expression grew unprecedentedly cold. Did Lu Yin actually want to climb to the top of the Night Watch Pagoda? If an outsider was allowed to reach the top, even if it was only the ny ninth level, it would be a humiliation to the Daynight n, and such a thing could not be epted.

    However, Lu Yin did not care about what the Daynight n thought, as they were already mortal enemies. It took him almost no effort to reach ny seventh level, and he continued on towards the ny eighth level.

    Inside the Night Watch Pagoda, Wen Qian¡¯er and the others gasped in surprise. Lu Yin certainly lived up to his reputation of creating trouble from nothing, and it seemed that he truly wanted to challenge the Daynight n¡¯s bottom line.

    Quite a few members of the Daynight n snarled in rage, and they threatened Lu Yin, warning him not to ascend any further.

    Since countless geniuses had been invited to the Daynight Feast, there was nock of people with enmity towards the Daynight n. However, not a single one of those guests dared to behave so atrociously, not even if they were any bolder. This was Nightking, the center of the Daynight n. Stepping out of line here was asking for death, no matter who the person was.

    However, Lu Yin was different from everyone else, and he had already arrived on the ny eighth level. Even then, he showed no hesitation as he immediately headed towards the ny ninth level. He had no thoughts of stopping.

    Nightking Zhenwu stood up, and his figure shed as he raced towards the Night Watch Pagoda, leaving behind a streak of light as he headed straight for the top.

    When Nightking Zhenwu appeared on the ny eighth level, Lu Yin had already arrived at the stairs leading to the ny ninth level. He felt a rather terrifying isting strength here, and if this force was measured by its power level, then it would not be any less than 250,000.

    Who in the younger generation could surpass a power level of 250,000? Only the Ten Arbiters.

    In all of history, the rise of the Ten Arbiters had been extraordinary in many ways. There had never been an era where so many top geniuses had appeared at once, and yet, only the Ten Arbiters were capable of climbing up to the ny ninth level of this tower.

    Nightking Zhenwu and Lu Yin were both on the ny eighth level, and the entire Night Watch Pagoda fell silent as everyone watched on.

    Lu Yin stood there, feeling the isting power, but he did not turn back. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Arbiter Zhenwu.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression was frosty. ¡°Brother Lu, I never thought that we would meet again so soon after we bade each other farewell in the Innerverse.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s already been a year. One whole year¡¯s worth of time. One year ago, at around this time, I was still with you atop the Champions'' Stage,¡± Lu Yinmented, unable to tell if he felt happiness, anger, joy, or sorrow.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°If Brother Lu remembers that moment so clearly, then you should also remember what I told you at that time. What I said then still holds true now.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother Zhenwu should also remember how I answered. Whatever you can¡¯t do, I have.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s gaze was so piercingly cold that it seemed to cut straight to the bone. On the Champions¡¯ Stage, he had hoped to win over Lu Yin, and to do so, he had promised Lu Yin that the Daynight n would help Lu Yin gain control of a few weaves. Lu Yin had responded with only one condition: he wanted to unite the entire Outerverse.

    From Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s perspective, such a goal was an impossible dream. However, he had never expected that, at the time of their confrontation, Lu Yin would have already unified half of the Outerverse. Such a thing was absolutely humiliating to Nightking Zhenwu, and he had never been embarrassed by anyone in such a manner before. Even at this moment, he could remember Lu Yin¡¯s expression when he had replied to him, and the ridicule in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had soaked an overwhelming hatred within Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s heart.

    ¡°You truly haven¡¯t learned your lesson, have you? Here you are, provoking me again and again,¡± Nightking Zhenwu coldly said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up, and his smile became even more rxed. ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to provoke anyone at all, as I just came here to return something. However, since it¡¯s on the way, I wanted to appreciate the view of Everbright City.¡±

    He then picked up a foot and stepped forward, making his way towards the ny ninth level.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes went wide, and he instantly appeared next to Lu Yin.

    Everyone held their breaths; were the two of them about to start fighting right now?

    The Daynight Feast had been held numerous times in the past, but nobody had ever attempted to climb the Night Watch Pagoda right in front of the Nightking n¡¯s heir. Just an action was tantamount to directly pping the n in its face.

    The crowd grew excited. Lu Yin had recently fought against the Divine Fist Arbiter, and now, he was confronting Arbiter Zhenwu.

    They were all a part of the younger generation, but the level of this battle was beyond all but the very best of them.

    Unfortunately, the crowd was left disappointed, as Nightking Zhenwu did not attack Lu Yin. At least, not yet.

    The Nightking also took a step forward, making his way to the ny ninth level.

    Lu Yin had not expected that Nightking Zhenwu would be able to restrain himself. The Nightking had seemed to be about to attack, but he had actually suppressed his anger, which made Lu Yin¡¯s heart drop. This was not right. Lu Yin could not understand what Nightking Zhenwu was waiting for. Did he really want to simply host this Daynight Feast? Or was he doing this in order to not lose face for the Nightking n?

    No matter what, Lu Yin endured the terrible pressure as he also stepped onto the ny ninth level at the same time as Nightking Zhenwu.

    The ny ninth level, in theory, was the top floor of the Night Watch Pagoda.

    From this level, one had a perfect panoramic view of Evernight City. When Lu Yin raised a hand, it felt as if he were holding Nightking in his hand. This was the highest point of the, and he was standing on top of all of the young elites of the entire universe.

    ¡°Brother Lu, over the course of countless years, you¡¯re one of the rare few who have been able to step foot onto the ny ninth level.¡± Nightking Zhenwu smiled at Lu Yin without a single sign of anger. It was as if the previous response had beenpletely fake.

    Lu Yin remained calm. ¡°I still have to thank Brother Zhenwu for showing me mercy and not attacking me back then.¡±

    ¡°The Daynight Feast is not held here at the Night Watch Pagoda. Brother Lu, please,¡± Nightking Zhenwu spoke courteously.

    Lu Yin looked at the other man, staring deeply into Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes. He then spoke, ¡°I wonder, can I continue on to another level?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and he stared closely at Lu Yin. Even so, the Nightking maintained a serene expression. ¡°Is Brother Lu joking?¡±

    Lu Yin marveled, ¡°Thendscape of Evernight City is amazing, but this ce isn¡¯t high enough. I want to witness the same scene that the First Nightking saw and experience the feeling of of looking down on everything below.¡±

    No one from the Daynight n would be able to tolerate Lu Yin¡¯s current behavior, as he actually wanted to step atop the Night Watch Pagoda, which was an honor that only the First Nightking had ever enjoyed.

    In his own era, the First Nightking had surpassed all of his peers and had been truly unrivaled. He had rendered his entire era speechless, amply demonstrating the Daynight n¡¯s tyranical boldness, spreading it to every corner of the universe.

    During that era, the First Nightking had hosted the Daynight Feast, and the entire universe¡¯s young elites could only remain beneath his feet. That was what it meant to look down on everything.

    Ever since then, the Daynight n had never had anyone else as glorious. That is, not until the current generation with Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu believed that he was on the same level as the First Nightking in his youth, and Nightking Zhenwu was also considered to be the Daynight n member with the highest likelihood of reaching the very top of the Night Watch Pagoda. During this Daynight Feast, he had already intended to aplish this feat and thereby ce everyone else beneath his feet. However, he had never imagined that Lu Yin would hold simr ambitions.

    Nightking Zhenwu remembered that Lu Yin was an enemy of the entire Daynight n, and he thought about how Lu Yin had dared to do certain things in the past that had greatly angered the Daynight n. Still, he had never thought that Lu Yin would actually scheme to dominate the Night Watch Pagoda.

    Nightking Zhenwu was not able to tolerate this matter any longer, and his expression instantly changed. ¡°Brother Lu, it seems that you¡¯ve forgotten about your objective ofing to visit my Daynight n.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I haven¡¯t returned the stone of inheritance yet, and Nightking Yuanjing promised that, as long as I return it, you will rescind your usations, right?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That is under the premise that you don¡¯t do anything that offends my Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°Does Brother Zhenwu not want to let me ascend the Night Watch Pagoda? So, in other words, does Brother Zhenwu believe that I can reach the top of the Night Watch Pagoda?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice was loud as he asked these questions, allowing everyone in the Night Watch Pagoda and even the people in Everbright City to hear him. He and Nightking Zhenwu were mortal enemies, so Lu Yin saw no reason to show his enemy any face. Also, Lu Yin had been waiting for this day for a long time.

    All of the people from the Daynight n were furious, and some of them even cursed out loud.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression changed drastically, as Lu Yin waspletely stepping on the dignity of the Daynight n by doing this.

    Zhanlong Daynight clenched his fists. Although he hated the Nightking bloodline, if an outsider was allowed to step on top of the Night Watch Pagoda, then the entire Daynight n¡¯s dignity would be damaged.

    Not only was the Daynight n furious, but all of the disciples from the powers with friendly rtions with the Daynight n, such as Xun Jiong and Avery, were also enraged.

    Starsibyl had long since arrived at the Night Watch Pagoda, but she merely silently stood in a corner while observing Everbright City. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

    Nightking Zhenwu and Lu Yin exchanged nces, hatred radiating from both of their eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up before he raised a foot and slowly stepped past Nightking Zhenwu, moving towards the roof of the Night Watch Pagoda. He was tantly provoking Nightking Zhenwu, as he wanted to test the man¡¯s limits. After all, this would determine how much hostility he could show to Nightking Zhenwu on this day.

 Chapter 1066: New Legend

    <h4>Chapter 1066: New Legend</h4>

    The pavilion¡¯s ny-ninth level and roof were only separated by a thin screen. Although this screen seemed fragile, no one else aside from the First Nightking had ever managed to move past the screen in all of history. This screen had stopped any and all attempts to reach the summit.

    Nightking Zhenwu made no move to stop Lu Yin as he approached the screen.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he raised a hand to touch the screen.

    RIght when he made contact with the screen, Nightking Zhenwu arrived next to him, and the Nightking also tried to pass through the screen.

    Thus, the two youths touched the screen at the same moment.

    This singleyer of screen felt like an endless amount of spiritual force had beenpressed into a storm of sharp knives that whirled about, attempting to slice Lu Yin¡¯s body apart. The sheer power of this spiritual force could fry his brain like lightning.

    Lu Yin groaned, and blood leaked from his ears as his eyes went ck. He was unable to endure this spiritual force. This was the power that had stopped countless geniuses from the Daynight n, and it had also stopped Nightking Zhenwu during hisst attempt to pass through the screen.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was incredible, he was only able to rival the Ten Arbiters¡¯ spiritual force, and he was significantlycking whenpared to Nightking Zhenwu in this area, as the Nightking¡¯s spiritual force was exceptionally gifted. There was no need to even mention the past First Nightking, as that man had beaten an entire generation into submission.

    Under normal circumstances, there was no way Lu Yin would be able to pass through this screen and climb atop the Night Watch Pagoda.

    However, he had his ultimate move for anything rted to spiritual force. The first thing that Lu Yin would consider in these situations was the Stonewall Scriptures. No matter what, reciting them would usually resolve the issue.

    Half of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body had already passed through the screen, though he was simrly bleeding from his ears. However, he remained very steady as he slowly advanced forward.

    He knew that the First Nightking had been extremely powerful and that he had raised the entire Daynight n up to be a powerful organization. Still, Nightking Zhenwu was not weak himself either. Each and every one of the Ten Arbiters was a monster, and young powerhouses like them had not appeared in any other era. Thus, Nightking Zhenwu did not believe that the young First Nightking had surpassed him in the present time.

    If the current generation did not have the other nine Arbiters, then he, Nightking Zhenwu, would havepletely recreated the First Nightking¡¯s glory and single handedly suppressed this generation.

    If the First Nightking had been able to ascend to the top, then he, Nightking Zhenwu, could do so as well. As for Lu Yin, when Zhenwu nced at him, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart. There was an outsider who actually wanted to ascend to the top of the Night Watch Pagoda. What a joke.

    Nightking Zhenwu acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but within the Daynight n, everything was centered around spiritual force. Even when the Ten Arbiters were mentioned, not one person couldpare to Nightking Zhenwu in terms of spiritual force¡ªnot a single one.

    The people who had originally been inside the Night Watch Pagoda had already all moved out, and a group had formed around a hundred meters away to look up at the top of the tower. They all wanted to see the two youths¡¯ attempt to reach the summit.

    When they saw that Nightking Zhenwu was steadily climbing to the roof while Lu Yin had paused with blood streaming out of his ears, quite a few began to mock him. ¡°Does he really think that he¡¯s unrivaled just because he defeated the Divine Fist? The Ten Arbiters all have their own specialties, and the Daynight n is particrly adept at spiritual force. Additionally, ascending the Night Watch Pagoda clearly is rted to spiritual force. This Lu Yin actually thinks himself invincible. Today, his failure will teach him a good lesson.¡±

    ¡°He really thinks he can ascend the Night Watch Pagoda, huh? He¡¯s simply asking for death.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s unlucky this time around. Not only will he fail to ascend the Night Watch Pagoda and be aughingstock, but he¡¯s evenpletely offended the Daynight n by trying. In the future, He¡¯ll only be able to stay in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Even the Outerverse isn¡¯t safe. He seems to think that, by unifying the Outerverse, he¡¯s gained some high and mighty status. However, from the Innerverse¡¯s perspective, the Outerverse is just a pile of resources.¡±

    ¡­

    At this moment, not only were those near the Night Watch Pagoda watching the twopeting youths, but everyone in Everbright City was also looking. Even the people who the Daynight n had hired to work at the event, such as the middle-aged cultivator chef or the crowd of women at the city¡¯s entrance.

    The Daynight n had brought the best actress in the Daynight Flowzone over to Everbright City, and she looked towards the Night Watch Pagoda from a flowery field. There was an enchanting smile on her face. ¡°Is that Lu Yin? So that¡¯s what he¡¯s like.¡±

    If Lu Yin was truly unable to proceed any further, then he would be the biggest joke at this Daynight Feast.

    However, Lu Yin had made a move, which naturally indicated that he was confident. With the Stonewall Scriptures, he was the Daynight n¡¯s greatest nemesis.

    Nightking Zhenwu continued to move up, and although his actions were slow, his progress was very steady. He was already almost half a body¡¯s height above Lu Yin, and when he looked down, his eyes radiated an arrogance, a calmness, confidence, and also contempt.

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly looked up at the Nightking. A gentle smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face as he stepped forward and rose to the Nightking¡¯s level.

    Nightking Zhenwu was not even able to react, and he simply stared nkly at Lu Yin. Only a moment had passed, but in that short amount of time, Zhenwu had gone from looking down at Lu Yin to looking him in the eye.

    No one else had any chance to react either, as Lu Yin had caught up to Nightking Zhenwu in a single instant.

    Before anyone could even process what had just happened, Lu Yin took another step, rising half a body height higher than the Nightking. At that moment, everyone was stunned, and they all stared on in stupefaction.

    Nightking Zhenwu was simrly stunned. Throughout all of the decades that he had cultivated for, he had never encountered a situation like the current one.

    At his level, it should be impossible for a powerhouse at the same realm as him to easily surpass him in one move, but that was precisely what had just happened. This turn of events had caught him unprepared, and the Nightking did not even know how to react.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips carried a faint smile, and he looked down at Nightking Zhenwu with evident disdain, arrogance, and contempt.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s pupils shrank, and an indescribable rage red within his heart.

    On the ground below, quite a few people from the Daynight n snarled, ¡°Lu Yin, get down!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, how bold! Beat it!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, my Daynight n will definitely kill everyone rted to you!¡±

    ¡°You cannot ascend! Lu Yin, get down now!¡±

    ¡­

    No matter how people raged and shouted at him, no matter what threats he heard, Lu Yin had already surpassed Nightking Zhenwu. Right now, he was only a single step away from reaching the top of the Night Watch Pagoda.

    At another ce on Nightking, someone opened their eyes, and a dignified gaze transcended the as they focused on the top of the Night Watch Pagoda and upon Lu Yin.

    A formless oppression passed through the void to fall upon the tower, causing the void to destabilize.

    Lu Yin looked up to the east. ¡°The Daynight Feast is about to start. Does Senior want to y with us?¡±

    Below the tower, the crowd turned to face east. Senior?

    The crowd was not made up of fools, and Lu Yin¡¯s words contained a very clear meaning: some senior from the Nightking n had interfered and was trying to stop Lu Yin from ascending the Night Watch Pagoda.

    In the eastern part of Nightking, a certain elder¡¯s expression grew cold, but he obediently removed his oppressive force.

    The Daynight Feast had been organized purely for the younger generation, and it was for the Daynight n members to build up rtionships with other experts. If the elder intervened and word of it spread, then the Daynight Feast¡¯s reputation would be ruined to the equivalent level of Lu Yin ascending the Night Watch Pagoda.

    At this moment, the old man could only hope for Nightking Zhenwu to muster up some unknown strength and surpass Lu Yin to ascend the Night Watch Pagoda first. That way, even if Lu Yin ultimately stepped on top of the Night Watch Pagoda, the Daynight n would still be able to retain some face.

    As for Lu Yin, he could not be allowed to leave the alive.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face flushed red, and he surged forward to the same height as Lu Yin. The gaze that he shot at Lu Yin belied his malevolence and bloodlust.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then leaped up. Under everyone¡¯s shocked stares, he had suddenly reached the top of the Night Watch Pagoda. One person towered above everyone at the peak of the Night Watch Pagoda. As Lu Yin looked down, he was overlooking Everbright City, Evernight City, and even overlooking Nightking itself. He was looking down upon Nightking Zhenwu and every other member of the Nightking bloodline who was on Nightking.

    At that moment, everyone felt their minds go fuzzy; they had just witnessed history.

    In the past, the First Nightking had simrly stood atop the Night Watch Pagoda, superior to every other young elite of his generation, looking down upon everything as though it was all beneath him. That story was humiliating for the various great powers of the Innerverse, as their elders who had been in the same generation as the First Nightking had merely been stepping stones. Now that Lu Yin had ascended the Night Watch Pagoda, all of the youths currently present had simrly be his stepping stones, and this would be recorded down in history.

    The most shameful detail of this feat was actually Nightking Zhenwu. He had been surpassed by Lu Yin, who was an outsider, when it came to climbing the Night Watch Pagoda. He was being looked down upon, and Lu Yin had ced himself above the entire Nightking bloodline.

    Nightking rumbled, as if the itself felt ashamed.

    A powerhouse from the older generation who was hidden on Nightking grew furious.

    The members of the Daynight n who had been standing beneath the Night Watch Pagoda trembled with rage, and some of them even spat out blood.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips were bleeding, as he had bitten them open. His fresh blood dripped down onto the Night Watch Pagoda¡¯s ny ninth level, leaving behind a record of his humiliation.

    ¡°So this is what that First Nightking once saw,¡± Lu Yin mumbled to himself. He had actuallypletely forgotten about Nightking Zhenwu, and he had pushed everything else to the back of mind so that he could fully focus on the view. The only thing currently on his mind was Nightking¡¯sndscape. Lu Yin could truly be described as standing on top of Nightking at this moment; Evernight City looked no bigger than his palm whereas Everbright City was merely a fingernail.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart grew lighter, and he experienced an unprecedented sense of freedom. This feeling of standing above everything else had lightened his heart, and subconsciously, his battle force appeared around him. His nine lined battle force had originally looked like purple-red lines streaked through with red veins, however, this current rush of emotions had actually caused the red lines to take on a golden hue.

    It was a rather unremarkable gold, and not even Lu Yin had sensed these changes.

    This slight gold color started to gradually spread out, and it seemed as though it would soon overtake the red lines. However, at that exact moment, Nightking Zhenwu leaped up and also stepped atop the Night Watch Pagoda.

    Lu Yin¡¯s originally soaring emotions and thoughts were disrupted, and the bit of gold suddenly disappeared as if it had never even existed.

    Nightking Zhenwu silently stood next to Lu Yin. The Nightking¡¯s expression was alreadypletely calm in contrast to his former rage, and he behaved as if Lu Yin did not even exist.

    Lu Yin was astonished by Nightking Zhenwu''s aplishment. ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve be the second person from the Daynight n to reach the top of the Night Watch Pagoda.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu looked over at Lu Yin, his expression still calm. Suddenly, he revealed a slight smile, though it was piercingly cold. ¡°I must congratte you as well. You¡¯ve be the first outsider to ever reach the peak of the Night Watch Pagoda.¡±

    Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu exchanged nces.

    Down below, quite a few people from the Daynight n started shouting, begging Nightking Zhenwu to kill Lu Yin.

    The Daynight n had always been tyrannical. They had not scrambled to look for their missing stone of inheritance, as they were fully confident that no one in the universe would dare to covet their possessions. Such an overbearing n had been humiliated by Lu Yin on this day; how could they possibly ept such an oue?

    Nightking Zhenwu calmly looked down. ¡°Everyone, the goal of this Daynight Feast is to allow the universe¡¯s youths to interact with each other and make friends. My Daynight n has organized the Daynight Feast, and whoever has the ability can show it off. Brother Lu has be the first person outside of our Daynight n to ascend the Night Watch Pagoda, so I must congratte him.¡±

    The people of the Daynight n all red at Lu Yin with naked bloodlust in their eyes.

    No matter how everyone else saw Lu Yin, at this moment, there was only respect to be seen when the other cultivators looked at him.

    Qing Longlong and the others also looked at Lu Yin with renewed respect. The closer they had gotten to the top, the better they could understand how difficult it was to take thatst step. Lu Yin had actually reached the top of the Night Watch Pagoda one step ahead of Nightking Zhenwu. Not only had this humiliated the Daynight n, but Lu Yin had also amply demonstrated his own power.

    Ling Queughed. Although he did not like seeing Lu Yin hog the limelight, it felt very good to see Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression at this moment. He clearly could have ascended to the top of the tower earlier, but he had actually decided to wait for the Daynight Feast so that he could step over everyone. Despite the Nightking¡¯s ns, Lu Yin had been one step faster. How tragic.

    Ling Que suddenly remembered that Ling Gong had note; could she have stayed behind because of this? After all, appearing here meant being stepped on by Nightking Zhenwu. Instead, by not appearing, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s ascension of the Night Watch Pagoda would have nothing to do with her.

    Sure enough, each of the Ten Arbiters was a true prodigy.

 Chapter 1067: Song Of The Fireplume Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 1067: Song Of The Fireplume Tribe</h4>

    Unfortunately, the other Ten Arbiters had not expected Lu Yin to ascend the Night Watch Pagoda one step ahead of Nightking Zhenwu.

    Ling Que sighed. ¡°Not everyone is as thoughtless as Lu Yin, and most people wouldn¡¯t want to offend the Daynight n and die as a result. Brother Lu, good luck!¡±

    Ever since people had started stepping foot in Evernight City, the Daynight Feast had actually begun.

    Everbright City and Night Watch Pagoda were both a part of the Daynight Feast.

    After the events of the Night Watch Pagoda, it was time for people to change locations.

    The next stop was the Night Library, which contained countless battle techniques and arts. They had all been ced there by the Daynight n, and there were also books containing fantastic stories. Everything in the library was avable for the guests to peruse, and delicacies and fine liquor had also been provided toplete the atmosphere. The event most worthy of mentioning at each Daynight Feast was where the host advised the guests within the Night Library. During this time, the invited cultivators could ask the host any questions concerning any battle techniques that they did not understand. This also served to draw attention to the Daynight n¡¯s youths and give them the impression of being leaders of their generation.

    Each time the event was held, many people would gather underneath the radiance of the leading members of the Daynight n, and this had always been the case.

    This was the essence of the Daynight Feast, as the Daynight n hoped to recruit quite a few elite youths through these efforts during the Daynight Feast.

    Lu Yin had shown his strength at the Night Watch Pagoda, but even so, not many bothered with him in the library. He had offended the Daynight n too severely, and before circumstances became clearer, nobody would be willing to show him any friendliness.

    Quite a few had assumed that he would not leave Daynight Flowzone alive.

    Lu Yin was somewhat interested in the Night Library, as the Daynight n¡¯s countless years of history was no exaggeration. Even if their territory had been invaded by the Sixth Maind, Nightking had not been reached by the invaders.

    The Night Library contained more than ten million manuscripts, which also meant that there were over ten million battle techniques, arts, and records of fantastic events. Although this might not be the best avable material, the sheer number was still enough to terrify many people.

    The Night Library was massive, and even with everyone shuttling about, there was no sensation of it being crowded.

    There, Lu Yin ran into Feng Shang, who had once been the student leader of Astral-8.

    Feng Shang looked at Lu Yin as though they were strangers despite the two having had a pretty decent rtionship in the past.

    ¡°Who would have guessed that you would change so much over thesest few years,¡± Feng Shang marveled.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I was forced to, so it¡¯s perfectly normal.¡±

    Feng Shang sighed. ¡°Even after so many years, the Outerverse has never been unified before. You should already be aware of the reason behind that, so be careful.¡±

    ¡°What might the Feng family¡¯s thoughts on the matter be?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Feng Shang shook his head. ¡°Tempest Flowzone is just a small flowzone, and we don¡¯t concern ourselves much with such monumental matters. You should keep an eye out for the eight great flowzones.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Feng Shang left, and next, Lu Yin ran into Wen Qian¡¯er.

    He was not very familiar with Wen Qian¡¯er, as he had not really interacted with her. However, Wen Qian¡¯er had a decent rtionship with Xi Yue, as they had survived through a disaster on Pyrolyte.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I support you!¡± Wen Qian¡¯er encouraged.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Wen Sansi isn¡¯t here?¡±

    Wen Qian¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Do you know Wen Zhaocheng?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wen Qian¡¯er felt that this question was rather strange. ¡°How does Brother Lu know about our Elder?¡±

    ¡°Just a coincidence.¡± Lu Yin did not borate any further. In the past, the Xun family had demanded a gun from Lu Yin, and when that gun had shattered from overuse, a piece of hide had fallen out. Written on that hide was a list of names, which were the people whom the Xun family could cooperate with. In other words, the family was colluding with the Technocracy, and the Technocracy had sent them this information. All of the people on this list were traitors to the Human Domain, and Wen Zhaocheng¡¯s name had been on that list.

    ¡°Elder has been in seclusion from the family, and he hasn¡¯t emerged for centuries. Does Brother Lu know him?¡± Wen Qian¡¯er asked, as she was feeling quite puzzled. Lu Yin should not have heard of Wen Zhaocheng before, as not even she had met this elder. In fact, she had only ever heard of him once, and even her family did not have many members who knew the elder.

    Lu Yin did not exin himself, and his eyes swept past Wen Qian¡¯er and over to Starsibyl.

    ¡°Brother Lu, we meet again.¡± Starsibyl smiled.

    Wen Qian¡¯er pursed her lips and moved on.

    Lu Yin stared at Starsibyl, his expression clouded. ¡°Who would have guessed that you would actually support Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°He seized control of the Champions'' Stage, and he will receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower, which means that he will be one of the Cosmic Five. At that time, he willmand the Daynight n, and even the entire Daynight Flowzone. Why would I not help him?¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Everyone has their own ambitions.¡±

    He then traded nces with Starsibyl. ¡°The Starsibyl Sect ims to be able to divine the past and the future. If that¡¯s the case, then have you calcted Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s future?¡±

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s why I¡¯m helping him,¡± Starsibyl replied confidently.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this cheap woman is just trying to intimidate you! Don¡¯t get scared! In this part of the universe, no one aside from Teacher Skymender can actually predict the future,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin turned to leave, as he did not have much to say to this woman. The Starsibyl Sect felt like a supernatural existence, but if that was actually true, then there would be no such thing as the Top 100 Rankings. Their objective seemed to be to incitepetition among the younger generation, and Starsibyl might appear to be helping Nightking Zhenwu. However, nobody knew her true thoughts.

    Anyway, Lu Yin did not believe that this woman would really help just one person.

    People like Starsibyl were the most adept at putting on pretenses.

    Some distance away, Nightking Zhenwu was helping a youth by exining a battle technique. The youth looked utterly amazed, and he repeatedly bowed to Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°Thank you, Arbiter Zhenwu. Thank you!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu nodded calmly.

    Before long, another person approached him to receive his assistance.

    The Ten Arbiters stood at the pinnacle of their generation, and only during the Daynight Feast, especially since he was the host, would Arbiter Zhenwu appear.

    Such an opportunity was more of a dream than a possibility to many people.

    Although Nightking Zhenwu was helping guide people by clearing away their doubts, his attention never left Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued to browse through the various battle techniques when Ling Que walked over. ¡°What did Starsibyl say to you just now?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°Nothing much.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You didn¡¯t ask her if she¡¯s been taken by Nightking Zhenwu?¡± Ling Que winked.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips.

    Casanova also approached them. ¡°Brother Lu, I heard that you returned a page of True Insight.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Ling Que became upset, and he looked at Casanova. ¡°Bro, firste first served! Don¡¯t you know this? I¡¯m still talking with Brother Lu, so just wait for your turn.¡±

    Casanova stared at Ling Que. ¡°Are there any pretty sisters in your family?¡±

    Ling Que blinked. ¡°Yes, why?¡±

    ¡°If you introduce them to me, then I won¡¯t beat you,¡± Casanova offered. Such a response was logical to him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, as his first thought had been of Ling Gong.

    Casanova¡¯s words were rather provocative, and anyone who heard them would get angry.

    However, Ling Que¡¯s expression was very strange, as he had also thought of Ling Gong. He then warmly pulled Casanova over. ¡°Bro,e here,e here! I¡¯ll introduce you. Let me tell you¡ªthere¡¯s one who¡¯s absolutely stunning, and she¡¯s also the type that would be a good wife. You won¡¯t refuse¡­¡±

    Casanova left with Ling Que, as he liked beautiful women.

    Lu Yin sympathetically watched Casanova leave. If that man knew that Ling Que was referring to the White Knight of the Ten Arbiters, Lu Yin wondered if Casanova would simply pass out from shock.

    Casanova left. Next, Qing Longlong approached Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Casanova?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re siblings,¡± Qing Longlong said indifferently.

    Lu Yin understood. It seemed to be true, as they both had the Qing surname.

    Qing Longlong offered, ¡°You¡¯d be wee to take a trip to Venom Flowzone. I can give you some fun pets.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and then watched Qing Longlong walk away while what he knew of Venom Flowzone swirled through his mind. He could not help but feel disgusted.

    Venom Flowzone was one of the eight great flowzones, but it did not interact with the outside universe at all as it was not easy for outsiders to enter it. The entire region was filled with poisonous bugs and gas omnipresent throughout the region. Even space-exploring powerhouses could die if they were not careful.

    The pets that Qing Longlong were referring to were almost definitely poisonous bugs!

    Lu Yin raised his hand to take out a book, and it was a record of some ancient history. Right as he was submerged in his reading, a melodious song rang out.

    He hesitated and then looked into the distance where the song had originated from. Its sound was filling up the entire Night Library.

    The song was beautiful, and Lu Yin felt as though he had never heard a song as beautiful as this before. It was utterly intoxicating, and more importantly, this song actually calmed his mental state, giving him the feeling that he stood above all worldly matters.

    The vengeance that had been swirling through his mind and his dark thoughts of massacre were actually dissipating.

    Lu Yin was shocked; what was this song?

    ¡°What a beautiful song. Where is iting from?¡±

    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s not just one person singing. Could it be the members of the Souldream Tribe?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not right. Maybe it''s the Fireplume Tribe?¡±

    ¡°The Fireplume Tribe?¡± someone cried out, clearly having heard the name before.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the Fireplume Tribe was exterminated, but it actually still exists. Could they have been gathered up by the Daynight n?¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the Fireplume Tribe. This sort of song truly might be something that only the Fireplume Tribe could produce as the melody cleansed both the soul and heart. That tribe had true goodness within them, and it was also the tribe that Ellen Gale was a part of. She had been willing to blind both of her eyes and use her remaining life to pay the price to rescue Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s soul.

    Ellen Gale¡¯s diary had terribly shocked Lu Yin when he had read it, and suddenly he found himself very sympathetic to the members of the Fireplume Tribe. He wondered if Ellen Gale was still alive.

    Initially, he had held his doubts about whether or not such a kind and pure tribe could actually exist in the universe. However, at this moment, he truly believed it as he listened to this beautiful song. It was pure, wless, and also intoxicatingly beautiful.

    There was a smile on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips as the Fireplume Tribe was his pride. In the past, he had rescued them as he had wanted to listen to their music every single day. Even if their voices became hoarse and crippled, he wanted to listen.

    The members of the Fireplume Tribe were his toys, and he used them to brag to others.

    The Fireplume Tribe¡¯s songs were very pleasant to the ear, and they also helped remove all distracting thoughts from the listener¡¯s mind. The various guests naturally felt respect for Nightking Zhenwu, as he was the one who controlled the Fireplume Tribe.

    A figure entered the Night Library, and Lu Yin sensed them. He turned around to look, but he suddenly froze: Zhuo Daynight had finally arrived.

    When Zhuo Daynight entered the Night Library, she coincidentally looked up and locked eyes with Lu Yin. However, her gaze did not falter in the slightest, and she reacted as though she did not even recognize Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he wanted to move over to talk to her, but Nightqueen Yanqing was a step quicker. She blocked his path and looked over towards Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu waved to Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight calmly walked to him.

    An ordinary member of the Daynight n would not attract anyone¡¯s attention.

    Nightking Zhenwu and Zhuo Daynight spoke a few words to each other before another person asked the Nightking for assistance, during which Zhuo Daynight quietly stood behind him.

    Lu Yin raised a foot and walked forward. He thought back to when he had defeated Lan Si as well as the words that Nightking Zhenwu had spoken to him after that battle: he had said that he would create a situation where Zhuo Daynight would fall into the most agonizing despair, and Lu Yin would not allow that to happen.

    Nightqueen Yanqing blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path. ¡°Brother Lu, let¡¯s talk.¡±

    Lu Yin furrowed his brow. ¡°I don¡¯t have time.¡±

    He moved around Nightqueen Yanqing and made a beeline for Zhuo Daynight.

    ¡°Brother Lu, be careful of what you say, as the oue that you¡¯ve been told about might immediatelye to pass,¡± Nightqueen Yanqing softly cautioned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew incredibly cold, but he only paused for a moment before continuing forwards.

    Soon, Lu Yin appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight. ¡°You-¡±

    He only got one word out before Zhuo Daynight shot a frosty re at him. ¡°Please keep your distance.¡±

    She then walked behind Nightking Zhenwu and moved to the other side.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp.

 Chapter 1068: Liberation And Aspiration

    <h4>Chapter 1068: Liberation And Aspiration</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu turned around and looked at Lu Yin with an expression of astonishment. ¡°Brother Lu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Lu Yin did not bother responding to Nightking Zhenwu, only continuing to look at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°I want to talk with you for a minute.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight indifferently replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched slightly, and he tried to use star energy to transmit sound to Zhuo Daynight, but his efforts were disrupted by Nightking Zhenwu, who smiled faintly. ¡°Brother Lu, you should speak your mind if there¡¯s something bothering you.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Zhuo Daynight. He wanted to say something, but after thinking of Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s warning, all he could say was, ¡°Don¡¯t believe him.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s expression did not change.

    Nightking Zhenwu was amused. ¡°Brother Lu, what do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, Arbiter Zhenwu is talking to you! You¡¯re being too rude!¡± one person from the Daynight n barked at Lu Yin.

    Quite a few others agreed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression frosted over. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    His shout swept out and caused the Night Library to tremble.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew more serious. ¡°Brother Lu, I acknowledge that you are an elite powerhouse, so I won¡¯t fuss over your disrespect. However, there¡¯s no reason for you to be so insolent in the Night Library.¡±

    ¡°Senior, Lu Yin has repeatedly been causing trouble during this Daynight Feast, so I ask for Senior to please suppress him and make him follow the rules!¡± a Daynight member shouted.

    ¡°Senior, please act and teach Lu Yin a lesson!¡± another Daynight member added on.

    ¡­

    Nightking Zhenwu raised his hands to quell the voices. He then looked at Lu Yin before shifting his gaze back to Zhuo Daynight. ¡°I recall that, during the events on Pyrolyte, Brother Lu saved the life of this Daynight junior of mine.¡± He suddenly directed a sharp look to Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Brother Lu saved you before, so how can you not recognize him? Isn¡¯t that telling the universe that my Daynight n is a joke and filled with people who do not know how to repay kindness? Go and offer a toast to Brother Lu.¡±

    He then passed a cup of wine over to Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight took the cup and calmly walked towards Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m sorry, but this girl will not be able to forget the kindness you have shown me for the rest of my life.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight repeated, ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m sorry, but this girl will not be able to forget your kindness in her life.¡±

    Lu Yin nkly stared at Zhuo Daynight, not understanding what had happened to her.

    Nightking Zhenwu walked up behind Zhuo Daynight and smiled at Lu Yin. At the same time, heid a hand on Zhuo Daynight¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Brother Lu, this junior of mine doesn¡¯t have a great memory, so please forgive her.¡±

    Lu Yin stared into Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes and then looked at Nightking Zhenwu. He could not tell if Zhuo Daynight had lost her memories, if she had fallen under Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s control, or if something else had happened to her. In any case, Lu Yin could tell that it would be useless even if he told her everything, as it would only prompt Nightking Zhenwu to act even sooner.

    Lu Yin hesitated, but then took the cup and drained it.

    Nightking Zhenwu smiled. ¡°How magnanimous, Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as Zhuo Daynight followed Nightking Zhenwu out of the library as his mind continued to churn.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is the Daynight n¡¯s territory, and something is obviously off with Zhuo Daynight. Thus, whatever you say would be useless. Just bear with it a little longer.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing walked over to Lu Yin¡¯s side. ¡°You¡¯re still a littlecking if you want to wreak havoc here in my Daynight n. That woman will forever be my brother¡¯s puppet, something for him to boast of to others.¡±

    ¡°Are you speaking for the entire Daynight n or just your Nightking bloodline?¡± Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s expression wavered, and she did not reply. Instead, she moved away.

    At this moment, Nightking Zhenwu stood at the highest point in the library, and there was a slight smile on his face as he said, ¡°Everyone, this day is not just for me to host this Daynight Feast and provide you all with an opportunity to forge rtionships with the elites from all of the various powers gathered here. We also have an enormous announcement to make today, which involves the Daynight n, Daynight Flowzone, and even the Innerverse and the Outerverse.¡±

    Everyone stared at Nightking Zhenwu, listening in silence.

    ¡°Everyone, please follow me to Evernight Square,¡± Nightking Zhenwu requested. He then led the members of the Daynight n out first.

    The others quickly followed.

    Evernight Square was located in the west of Evernight City, and it was thergest arena within the city. The square¡¯s grounds were sturdy, and even the surrounding void had been reinforced to the point where not even Hunters could tear through it. This was no ordinary ce, as it contained mountains, rivers, and an enormous statue towering high above everything. Naturally, this statue was of the First Nightking.

    In the Daynight Feasts of the past, most people would first visit Evernight Square to look at the First Nightking, and some would even kneel down while others would simply use the scene to motivate themselves.

    At this moment, there were tens of thousands of people waiting on the broad ins thaty beside a river that ran through Evernight Square. These people seemed to be both dazed and frozen stiff from fear.

    When Zhuo Daynight saw this crowd, her eyes filled with emotions. These people were the Dayking bloodline members, and her parents should be among them.

    Lu Yin looked at the statue of the First Nightking towering high in the nearby mountain range. This person had raised the Daynight n¡¯s Nightking bloodline to its modern heights, and he had suppressed the universe during his time. This had created the foundation for the tyrannical and illustrious n that currently existed, and the Fist Nightking had greatly contributed to the Daynight n. However, he had not necessarily contributed to the universe.

    If this person was still alive, then the present era Daynight n would be even more tyrannical as well as more exceptional.

    Not too far away from Lu Yin, Starsibyl was also looking at the statue of the First Nightking, but her thoughts were unreadable.

    The First Nightking was someone too far removed from them, as he had been an ancient figure. Compared to them, his power level had been explosive and unfathomable.

    At this moment, Nightking Zhenwu was standing in front of the First Nightking¡¯s statue, facing the crowd. Thus, to look at the statue, the crowd was also forced to look at him at the same time.

    ¡°I believe that everyone is aware that, since ancient times, my Daynight n has had two King bloodlines. One is the Nightking n and the other is the Dayking n. Since the Dayking bloodline was too extreme, they unfortunately provoked the various great powers of the Innerverse into practically annihting them, resulting in them being suppressed into obscurity. After so many years have passed, today, I, Nightking Zhenwu, have made the decision to liberate the Dayking bloodline,¡± Nightking Zhenwu announced.

    Everyone was shocked to hear these words, as they were all aware of the existence of the Dayking bloodline as well as of the Daynight n¡¯s Sealed Cage Technique that restricted the members of the Dayking bloodline. ording to their understanding, the day of the Dayking bloodline obtaining freedom should nevere, as the Nightking bloodline would never allow such an opportunity to ur. But despite all of that, Nightking Zhenwu had dered that he would liberate the Dayking bloodline.

    Even the members of the Daynight n were taken aback, let alone the outsiders.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was also stupefied, as even she had not known about this.

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank, and he stared at Nightking Zhenwu in disbelief.

    The other members of the Daynight and Nightking ns were all at a loss.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes went bloodshot as she looked at Nightking Zhenwu. Her emotions had gone rampant as she trembled uncontrobly. This day had finally arrived.

    Lu Yin was shocked; release the members of the Dayking bloodline? And to even announce it in front of everyone? And what¡¯s more, as Lu Yin looked around, he saw various technological devices broadcasting this announcement. At this moment, everyone in the eight great flowzones, the various smaller flowzones, and even the Outerverse was able to watch this announcement.

    Just what was Nightking Zhenwu trying to do? This waspletely different from what he had told Lu Yin would happen.

    The Nightking would not be able to go back on his word after announcing that he was going to liberate the Dayking bloodline to the entire universe.

    Ling Que was rendered speechless. ¡°How defiant! Isn¡¯t this fellow afraid that his Nightking ancestors will jump out of their graves?¡±

    Hart Phoenix was nkly staring at Nightking Zhenwu, as were his other family members in the Daynight Flowzone. They in particr understood the Nightking and Dayking bloodlines¡¯ situation all too well. A decision like this was not one that could be made by the Nightking bloodline. What was going on? Had the Daykinge back to life?

    Wen Qian¡¯er tried her best to recall the details of the enmity between the two major Daynight n branches, but the more she recalled, the less she understood Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s motivation. Just what was he thinking?

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes shed, as not even she had known that Nightking Zhenwu would make such a decision. The Third Nightking was not even free yet, so was it really appropriate to release the Dayking bloodline at this time?

    At this point, in the heavens of the universe, countless people were stunned by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s words.

    Those who did not have any knowledge about the Dayking bloodline thought that this announcement was normal, but those with that knowledge felt their hearts drop.

    The Daynight n had been split into two king branches long ago, and just the Nightking bloodline alone was tyrannical enough. If the Dayking bloodline was liberated, then the Daynight n¡¯s strength would immediately balloon, and they might even surpass the Sword Sect to be the Innerverse¡¯s indisputable rulers.

    Nightking Zhenwu was certainly bold enough.

    ***

    In Erudite Flowzone, at the front gate of an academy, an elder in simple clothing was peacefully sweeping the grounds.

    Not far away from the old man, a figure tore through the void to appear 100 meters away from the elder. The neer slowly bowed. ¡°Patriarch, during the Daynight Feast, Nightking Zhenwu has announced that he will liberate the Dayking bloodline.¡±

    The elder paused before looking up, clearly moved. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu, how bold of him. There¡¯s no predicting the Daynight n¡¯s future.¡±

    ¡°Head, what about our Wen family?¡±

    The elder mumbled for a moment. ¡°Watch and wait. We¡¯ll go with the situation¡¯s flow.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ***

    In Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall, there was arge mountain that towered into the sky and covered the entire surrounding region of space.

    This mountain had eyes, and it also had a name: Million. It was the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s leader¡¯s beast.

    An Oolong Horse stepped into space, and the one sitting atop of it was the same person who Lu Yin had defeated on Pyrolyte: Ze Lin, who was ranked sixty-seventh on the Top 100 Rankings.

    ¡°What? That junior, Nightking Zhenwu, is willing to liberate the Dayking bloodline? Is this for real?¡± therge mountain asked, its voice shaking the universe.

    Ze Lin respectfully answered, ¡°It¡¯s definitely true. The entire universe knows about this now, and everyone is now waiting for him to release the Dayking bloodline.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, this child certainly has enough courage. If the Dayking bloodline is released and the two king branches unite, then no power in the Innerverse will be able to stop the Daynight n. How troublesome.¡±

    ¡°Hall Master, what should we do?¡± Ze Lin asked.

    ¡°Do you even need to ask? Find a way to ughter him and kill all the members of the Dayking bloodline whenever we run into them in the future. Just don¡¯t reveal that my Divine Grade Hall is behind anything.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ***

    In the First Flowzone, at the Sword Sect, the current sect leader was Liu Qianjue. In truth, he was not the current generation¡¯s leader, but rather the leader of the previous generation.

    The leader of the current generation, Liu Qiuyu, neither had an impressive talent nor a high enough power level, which had embarrassed the Sword Sect as he was a member of the Liu family. He had thus been forced down from the position of sect leader while Liu Qianjue had been reinstated.

    When Liu Qianjue woke up, it had been time for Liu Qiuyu to abdicate.

    As for Liu Qiuyu, the Sword Sect did not care about where he went. As far as the Sword Sect was concerned, Liu Qianjue was not merely the previous sect leader, but also the current leader. A single sword from him was able to slice space itself apart, and he was a matchless powerhouse.

    Liu Qianjue was the main reason why the Sword Sect was undoubtedly considered the most powerful organization in the Innerverse at the moment, and they had managed to steadily suppress the Daynight n.

    Liu Qianjue opened both eyes when he heard that Nightking Zhenwu intended to liberate the Dayking bloodline. The first thing that he considered was not the two bloodlines cooperating, but rather what abilities the Nightking bloodline might have to continue to suppress the Dayking bloodline. If there was even the slightest possibility of failure, then those old fogeys of the Nightking bloodline would not give the Dayking bloodline any reprieve. So, why would they suddenly announce that they would release the Dayking bloodline? This could only mean one thing: the Nightking was fully confident.

    Could it be? Liu Qianjue suddenly thought of something. ¡°Send down these orders: monitor the Daynight n.¡±

 Chapter 1069: Freak Changes And Schemes

    <h4>Chapter 1069: Freak Changes And Schemes</h4>

    In zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s ze Realm, burning seas of fire raged ceaselessly. At the center of a sweltering sea, there was a man sweating out bullets as he waited. Before much time passed, the sea parted, and a girl tottered out. Her face was coquettish, and her appearance was somewhat simr to Lilyrose¡¯s. Even though her entire body was covered with injuries, there was a clear look of satisfaction written on her face.

    The man emerged from the fiery sea, his red hair drooping down. He then looked at the Astral River.

    ¡°Leader, Nightking Zhenwu is about to release the Dayking bloodline,¡± someone reported.

    This man was the master of the ze Realm, and people called him Leader Hong.

    His expression changed when he heard this report, falling deep into thought. ¡°Send out these orders: assemble the ze Realm¡¯s troops and await further orders.¡±

    ¡°Yes, leader.¡±

    Leader Hong stared at the Astral River. If Nightking Zhenwu truly liberated the Dayking bloodline, then the Daynight n¡¯s strength would rise once again. To Leader Hong, he absolutely had to get on this ship. Then, he would just need to wait for Nightking Zhenwu to be one of the Cosmic Five, after which he would definitely help the Daynight n ughter their way into the Neoverse. As a show of camaraderie, he wanted to remove some of the Daynight n¡¯s current obstructions, such as the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance.

    Although this was equivalent to giving money to someone who was already well-off, Leader Hong was willing to do that to win the Daynight n¡¯s favor, even if he was currying favor with a junior like Nightking Zhenwu.

    ***

    In another ce, where the sylvan dragon family was based, Long Yi snarled at the sky. He had grown excited after seeing Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s announcement on a screen, and the dragon could not wait to fly over.

    It had once challenged a member of the Ten Arbiters and lost. ording to the previously made agreement, Long Yi had to be the winner¡¯s steed, and that person had naturally been Nightking Zhenwu. Back then, Nightking Zhenwu had merely been a Sentinel, but now, he was about to be one of the Cosmic Five.

    ¡°Long Yi, go on. Seek out your master,¡± a giant voice echoed through the region. It was the sylvan dragon¡¯s leader, Long Zhu.

    Long Yi grunted. ¡°Yes, leader.¡±

    Long Zhu watched Long Yi leave, and the older dragon was quite satisfied. He hoped that Long Yi would sessfully be Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s steed, as that could tie the entire sylvan dragon family to the Daynight n.

    The sylvan dragon family had betrayed the Astral Beast Domain, and they were not well liked by any of the Innerverse¡¯s various powers. Thus, they had always dreamed of finding a strong backer, and the Daynight n was an ideal candidate.

    If Nightking Zhenwu was liberating the Dayking bloodline, then the Daynight n would soar higher than ever. Additionally, he was also set to be one of the Cosmic Five. Thus, the Daynight n would soon gather their full strength to force their way into the Neoverse.

    The sylvan dragon n needed to seize this opportunity, and the family head had decided to cast their lot in with the soon-to-be Neoverse power.

    Who could have imagined that what had started as a mere challenge between two juniors would escte into the sylvan dragon family¡¯s most promising hope? Unfortunately, Long Yi had been in cryostasis for a long time; otherwise the sylvan dragons would have long since be associated with the Daynight n. However, even though this development had been dyed, it still was not toote. The Daynight n was indeed powerful, but the sylvan dragon family was not weak either; they were well qualified to take on a supporting role.

    ***

    Venom Flowzone was one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. Naturally, it was extensive, but very few people could survive in this region of space, as there were too many deadly things that were hostile to life.

    There was only one power in the entire Venom Flowzone: the Divine Venom Dynasty. As such, this meant that every single living person in Venom Flowzone fell under the rule of the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s current emperor was Qing Shaohuang, who was the father of Qing Longlong, the person ranked third on the Top 100 Rankings. In other words, Qing Longlong was the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s royal daughter.

    Originally, no matter what ured in the outside universe, the Divine Venom Dynasty would not respond at all. Even when the Sixth Maind had invaded, the Divine Venom Dynasty had remained as steady as a boulder, simply because their territory was not actually worth invading.

    However, when news of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s announcement that the Dayking bloodline would be liberated spread to the dynasty, Qing Shaohuang was no longer able to sit still. He had even remained fearless in the face of the Sixth Maind simply because, no matter how many experts the Sixth Maind sent, there was simply no benefit in invading Venom Flowzone. Such a campaign would have incurred too many losses. Qing Shaohuang had believed that the Sixth Maind would understand this detail, so he had not had any reason to worry.

    However, the Daynight n was different. This n had survived for countless years, and their history was even longer than the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s. In the past, the founding of the Divine Venom Dynasty had apparently been rted to a certain powerhouse from the Daynight n. Thus, the emperor could not ignore any great changes within the Daynight n.

    ¡°Send out my orders: Venom Flowzone¡¯s defenses are to be increased to the highest level, and have Longlong focus on Nightking Zhenwu,¡± Qing Shaohuangmanded. A momentter, all of the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s countless poisonous bugs filled the surrounding space as they shot out in all directions.

    ***

    In Soulseal Flowzone, the Lingling n¡¯s current leader, Ling Qiu, was wearing a suit of armor and a face mask, looking exactly like Ling Gong¡¯s typical appearance. However, it was clear that Ling Qiu was a woman.

    ¡°This Nightking Zhenwu is quite bold. It seems we underestimated him back then. Have Ling Gong watch over him. He has already secretly be the leader of the Ten Arbiters, and now, he has announced that he will liberate the Dayking bloodline and unite the Daynight n. Later on, he will be one of the Cosmic Five, and his future is unpredictable. This person might very well be one of the most likely Progenitor candidates,¡± Ling Qiumented.

    ***

    In Chaos Flowzone, Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s master, Cang Zhou, was also staring at a screen showing Nightking Zhenwu. This person was very reminiscent of the First Nightking.

    Cang Zhou was not very concerned about the Ten Arbiters. Even though they were the top powerhouses of the younger generation and had dominated their era, they still needed time to mature. If he wished to do so, then he could personally end the Ten Arbiters. However, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s decision to liberate the Dayking bloodline had forced Cang Zhou to develop a new level of respect for the youth.

    Apletely integrated Daynight n would bepletely different from the Daynight n of the past.

    ¡°In the future, this kid will definitely shine bright in the Fifth Maind, and he might even shock the Sixth Maind,¡± Cang Zhou muttered to himself. He then ordered all of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples to watch as Nightking Zhenwu liberated the Dayking bloodline. He wanted to have his juniors see what it meant to truly stand at the peak. In the entire younger generation of the Innerverse and Outerverse, there was nobody else who couldpete with Nightking Zhenwu. The youth had plenty of ambition.

    ***

    All the organizations in the eight great flowzones, including the Hall of Honor, were shocked by the news that Nightking Zhenwu was going to liberate the Dayking bloodline, and their impression of Nightking Zhenwu rose by several levels. Only with the ambition that allowed one to endure everything would they eventually reach a supreme realm. While many understood this logic, too few could actually achieve it.

    When the Dayking bloodline was liberated, the impact on the Nightking bloodline would be tremendous. However, since Nightking Zhenwu was willing to liberate the Dayking bloodline, it showed his great ambition as well as his charismatic influence that had won over the older members of the Nightking bloodline.

    This kid had all of the qualifications needed to reach the top, and sess would naturally follow him in the future.

    At this moment, everyone was astonished by Nightking Zhenwu. No matter if they were friend or foe, everyone was overwhelmed by his decision.

    At this time, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s image seemed to be superimposed over the First Nightking¡¯s, and the resurging momentum was enough topletely counteract his crushing defeat when Lu Yin had surpassed the Nightking to ascend the Night Watch Pagoda.

    In Evernight Square, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips revealed a smile, and he reached out a hand toward Zhuo Daynight with an encouraging expression. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll help you remove the Sealed Cage Technique.¡±

    The Fireplume Tribe¡¯s song rang out, as if cheering for the Dayking bloodline.

    Down below, tens of thousands of people from the Dayking bloodline grew emotional. They had all been waiting for this day for far too long, and they had all been treated as ves without any human rights. Even if they were told to die, they could only obey and die. They had never imagined that they would one day taste freedom. They could not wait to rid themselves of the burdensome Sealed Cage Technique as soon as possible.

    Zhuo Daynight stared at Nightking Zhenwu. Her originally apprehensive heart had calmed down. Although Nightking Zhenwu was untrustworthy, he would not break this promise that had been made in front of the entire universe. She finally rxed, and this was precisely the moment at which the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s song rang out.

    Nightking Zhenwu grabbed Zhuo Daynight¡¯s hand, and in the furthest depths of his eyes, there was an imprable, incisive coldness as well as an extremely well hidden bit of ridicule. This iota of ridicule was something that nobody could see aside from Lu Yin. He was already aware of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s n, and Lu Yin had never believed that Nightking Zhenwu would willingly release the Dayking bloodline from the start.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression drastically changed when he saw Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression. This was not good.

    Zhuo Daynight had just ced her right hand against Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body when, suddenly, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expressionpletely changed. At that moment, his hand that was touching Zhuo Daynight suddenly turned jet-ck, and a drop of blood fell down, corroding the ground. He kicked Zhuo Daynight aside and bellowed, ¡°You¡¯re trying to poison me?!¡±

    Zhuo Daynight flew back dozens of meters from the kick, and her face became deathly white as blood dripped down from her lips. She looked at Nightking Zhenwu,pletely bewildered.

    Everyone was confused; what was happening?

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s indignant and disappointed voice snarled out. ¡°Zhuo Daynight, why are you scheming against me? I¡¯ve already promised to liberate the Dayking bloodline¡ªdo you really just not want to see me be one of the Cosmic Five? Is your hatred for the Nightking bloodline that deep?¡±

    ¡°Brother!¡± Nightqueen Yanqing cried out, and she raced over to hold up Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hand. It had be jet-ck, and he had clearly been poisoned quite badly.

    Within the crowd, the Nightking n¡¯s elites all charged forward, bloodlust filling their eyes, as they prepared to kill Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight waspletely confused, and she could not understand what was happening.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Nightking Zhenwumanded. He kept all of the Nightking members from attacking as he stared at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Why are you working against me?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s expression waspletely white, and she simply kept shaking her head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t do anything to you!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s icy eyes were fixated on her.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was furious, and she red at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°You Dayking bloodline members are all despicable! Kill her!¡±

    One Nightking member could not wait any longer, and they charged at Zhuo Daynight.

    At that moment, Zhanlong Daynight appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight. He looked at Nightking Zhenwu and quickly said, ¡°Senior, before this is looked into, please do not make any assumptions.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there to misunderstand? The members of the Dayking bloodline want to kill off my Nightking bloodline¡¯s best opportunity of gaining a Progenitor! Not only are they betraying the Daynight n, but they are also betraying the Fifth Maind itself. Exterminate the Dayking bloodline!¡±

    ¡°Exterminate the Dayking bloodline!¡±

    ¡°Exterminate the Dayking bloodline!¡±

    ¡­

    Nobody had expected that the situation would suddenly take a turn for the worst. Everything had been perfectly fine just a moment ago, but it had reversed in an instant.

    Even the guiding powers of the various great flowzones who had experienced untold events were all stunned. For a moment, they could not process what had just happened.

    ¡°Zhanlong Daynight, you¡¯re from the Dayking bloodline as well. You also have to die!¡± the Nightking bloodline members shrieked.

    The nearby members of the Nightking n surrounded the two, their eyes filled with bloodlust as they stared at Zhanlong and Zhuo Daynight.

    Zhuo Daynight bit down hard on her lips. Others might not know it, but she was absolutely certain that she had not done anything to Nightking Zhenwu, which meant that there was only one possible exnation: Nightking Zhenwu was scheming against her.

    But why? Just why? The Dayking bloodline was alreadypletely enved to the Nightking bloodline, and they had been manipted for countless years. Even their lives and deaths were under the Nightking bloodline¡¯s control. Why would Zhenwu go to such lengths to do all this?

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes went ck, and her mind stopped processing the situation. Why did Nightking Zhenwu have to do such a thing to her?

    Nightking Zhenwu carefully observed Zhuo Daynight and approached her, step by step.

    Zhuo Daynight stared back at him, dumbfounded. ¡°Why? Why do all this?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu lowered his head and softly exined, ¡°You can only me yourself forprehending Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. If you want to me someone, then me yourself for revealing Night¡¯s End, Daybreak for a useless person¡¯s sake. Right, he¡¯s already been poisoned, and you were the one who gave it to him. Have you already forgotten?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank; that wine had been poisoned?!

 Chapter 1070: Zhenwuâ€™s Arrow Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1070: Zhenwu¡¯s Arrow Technique</h4>

    Zhuo Daynight whirled around to look at the approaching group, but just as she was about to shout something, Nightking Zhenwu raised a hand and pped her back down. ¡°You ought to die for betraying the Fifth Maind!¡±

    At that point, the void was torn open, and Lu Yin emerged. His spiritual force was going berserk as he unleashed Night Advent at Nightking Zhenwu, whose eyes went wide as he also released his spiritual force.

    At that moment, the two stood at the center of attention as visible ripples of spiritual force spread out, sending Zhanlong Daynight, Nightqueen Yanqing flying, and everyone else who had joined the Daynight Feast flying. Quite a few youths were unable to endure these spiritual shockwaves, and they spat out blood before fainting.

    A simple collision between the two youths¡¯ spiritual force was enough to leave the area within a 1,000 meter radius of them devoid aside from Lu Yin, Nightking Zhenwu, and Zhuo Daynight.

    The two did not speak a single word as their spiritual force surged once again. This time, they manifested as lines that swept out in all directions.

    Within the distant crowd, Ling Que¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Run!¡±

    The next moment, the colliding lines of spiritual force swept out, tearing through the void as well as the ground.

    This was Nightking, and furthermore, they were within Everbright Square. Not even Hunters could tear through the void here, but the spiritual force collision between the two youths had actually surpassed the strength of many Enlighters.

    Wen Qian¡¯er was also in a dangerous situation, and she was nearly struck head on by the spiritual force.

    The man she had been speaking to was still next to her, but he suddenly copsed to the ground without a word. Even if he managed to survive this, he woulde out an idiot.

    Star energy exploded in front of Qing Longlong as the aftershocks of spiritual force surged forth. She quickly moved back in response, but she was still almost struck.

    Avery was hit. He had been arrogant, thinking that with his strength as the person ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings, he would be able to withstand the aftershocks from the spiritual force collision between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu. However, Avery had overestimated himself. Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu were on apletely different level from those on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Xia Tian was on the very top of the Top 100 Rankings, and he had challenged all of the Ten Arbiters, but he had also lost to all of them. And Avery was far inferior to Xia Tian.

    When the aftershocks of the spiritual force collision struck Avery, all he could do was fall to the ground. In fact, he was already lucky in that his strength was sufficient enough to prevent him from bing an idiot.

    All of the elites who had been invited to the Daynight Feast as guests were forced to evade the aftershocks, as anyone not at the Ten Arbiters¡¯ level was incapable of withstanding the aftershocks of the sh between Lu Yin and Arbiter Zhenwu. It was possible that Xia Tian might be barely able to resist it, but Qing Longlong was certain that not even Tai Yuanjun, who was ranked second on the Top 100 Rankings, could withstand this spiritual force assault.

    Only Starsibyl silently stood in ce. She was able to divine the attacks and was confident that she would not be affected. From the very start, her eyes had been focused on Nightking Zhenwu, as this might be the day when he emerged glorious.

    Zhuo Daynighty onto the ground, sprawled out as she constantly muttered to herself. She could not understand why Nightking Zhenwu had done such a thing. He had clearly promised her that he would release the Dayking bloodline, and they had alreadye to an agreement.

    There was an unprecedented coldness in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°You deserve to die.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was still arrogant, and the ck color on his poisoned right hand gradually dissipated. ¡°Some lowly, despicable Dayking bloodline actually dared to dream of freedom. I can agree to it, and I can also reject it. Lu Yin, let me tell you this¡ªI was originally nning on giving the Dayking bloodline their freedom, but it all changed because of you. Because you ascended the Night Watch Pagoda! You actually dared to reach the peak! You are asking to die!¡±

    He pointed at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°That woman also deserves to die. If not for her back then, you would have never survived.

    ¡°Because of you, the Dayking bloodline will never receive their freedom, and I will even bury these tens of thousands of Dayking people today. From today onwards, there will no longer be a Dayking bloodline that¡¯s a part of the Daynight n.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s body trembled. She lifted her head, and her desperation could clearly be seen. ¡°I¡¯veprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and I can help you do anything you want! I¡¯ve already surpassed Zhanlong Daynight, and there¡¯s nobody in the Daynight n who is more talented than me.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu looked down and smiled at her. ¡°Yes, nobody is indeed more talented than you. It¡¯s actually quite a pity¡ªbecause your talent is too impressive, you have to die. Your Dayking bloodline is actually able toprehend Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, so all of you must die. They will all die because of you! Remember, everything that is happening is because of you.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes lost their focus, and her face went ck as she tried to endure this unimaginable shock. ¡°You were the one who forced me to surpass everyone else!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu lips curled up, and he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You see? Women are all so stupid. However I want to y, I¡¯ll y, and not with just her. Do you hear that music? That¡¯s the Fireplume Tribe. A stupid tribe with a stupid princess. She blinded both of her eyes in order to rescue me? Hahaha, what a joke.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and his nine lined battle force erupted high into the sky. Heshed out at Nightking Zhenwu with a hand. In response, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body also erupted with nine lined battle force that soared into the sky as he tapped out with a finger: Nightking Finger.

    There was a thump, the impact of their physical bodies resulted in another wave of extremely terrifying spiritual force that swept out in all directions. ck and white interchanged.

    This was not a repeat of their past fight in the Innerverse. Back then, the Innerverse had been suppressed by the cosmic phenomenon, and everyone had been forced to restrain their attacks to under a power level of 200,000. However, at this moment, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s unimaginable spiritual forcepletely exploded forth, and the power of his Nightking Finger had doubledpared to then. Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was just barely able to resist it, and he felt like a little boat in a storm. Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s physique surpassed Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s.

    Nightking Zhenwu used his spiritual force to force Lu Yin back, but at the same time, Lu Yin used his Oveying Stacks Path to force Nightking Zhenwu to retreat.

    The two youths both took multiple steps back, but there was no pause as they charged at each other again. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s nine lined battle force grew even brighter, and he activated his Nightking''s Body. ¡°Lu Yin, do you really think that I was using my full strength when you fought against me in the Innerversest time? Today, I¡¯ll let you know that, even among the Ten Arbiters, there are the strong and the weak.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as his pupils transformed into runes while he stared at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s descending finger. This attack was the Nightking Finger, which was the move that Zhenwu was the most adept at. Lu Yin opened his hands, and the Twin Suns converged and swept forward.

    The two burning suns tore through the Nightking Finger, splitting it apart. After that, a ming sphere exploded as the second sun crashed towards Nightking Zhenwu. The colors ck and white interchanged in front of Nightking Zhenwu as they formed a visible barrier. This screen was made entirely out of spiritual force, and it blocked the second sun.

    Immediately after that, an arrow formed in the Nightking¡¯s hand and shot out at Lu Yin.

    Not only had Nightking Zhenwuprehended the numerous battle techniques of the Daynight n, but he had also received an inheritance from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. During theirst encounter, Lu Yin had not been fast enough to roll his die before being crushed, and the attack that had sealed his defeat had been the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s secret technique: Heart Seeker. This attack could not be defended against; if the heart was willing, then anything could be an arrow.

    The Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique was a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and it vastly surpassed the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. Nightking Zhenwu had never used this attack during hisst battle against Lu Yin, and he had not revealed it during his battle with Bu Kong on the Champions'' Stage either. However, at this moment, Zhenwu used the attack.

    Lu Yin quickly used the Yu Secret Art to divert the arrow, but the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique could not be diverted so easily. Even the Yu Secret Art was only able to shift it slightly, and the arrow still struck Lu Yin. It drew out a splurt of blood from his waist that sttered onto the ground.

    Lu Yin did not treat his injury, but neither did he move to attack Nightking Zhenwu. One of his hands grabbed at the flesh on his waist as he decisively severed a portion of his flesh. An intense pain spread through his entire body, but it was nothingpared to the suffering of the Heart Seeker secret technique.

    The Heart Seeker secret technique was something that could not be effectively defended against. Lu Yin¡¯s only countermeasure was to observe the attack¡¯s runes and tear off any bit of his body that was struck by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle techniques.

    During theirst battle, Lu Yin had been too careless, and he had been defeated because the Heart Seeker secret technique had sneaked into his body. The secret technique¡¯s attacks had very few runes, so it was extremely difficult to sense them.

    But this time, Lu Yin was specifically focusing on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s attacks. Thatst arrow had not injured Lu Yin too badly after slicing through his waist, but it had contained the Heart Seeker secret technique, which left Lu Yin very wary. If he had not quickly removed the flesh that had been struck by the arrow, then the Heart Seeker would have moved to his heart once again, and the oue of this battle would be the same as thest one.

    This was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s strength.

    There were countless people in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse watching the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu take ce. None of them had thought that the calm scene of the Daynight Feast would suddenly erupt into battle, and some people still had not processed the events.

    As people watched Lu Yin mutte himself, they grew even more confused.

    In Evernight Square, the crowd had retreated far away from the battle. Ling Que cursed; he had had a feeling that some problem woulde up today. However, he was more confused than almost anyone else when he saw Lu Yin tear off a piece of his own body in the distance. Had Lu Yin lost his mind?

    Nightking Zhenwu sneered. ¡°Do you really think that you can stop the Heart Seeker by doing that? How much flesh can you afford to lose?¡±

    He then raised a hand, causing another arrow to take shape and shoot out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wanted to consume some of his upgraded medicines to treat his injuries, but he found that his cosmic ring could not be essed since the space on Nightking had been isted. The arrow drew closer to Lu Yin, and he converged the Twin Suns in his right hand to push the arrow aside. When the arrow collided with the Twin Suns, star energy exploded in an eruption that far surpassed a power level of 250,000. As the energy swept across the square, the arrow¡¯s fletching suddenly spread open and directly shot through the Twin Suns to continue moving towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had never thought that even his Twin Suns would not be able to stop this arrow. However, due to the dy caused by the Twin Suns, he had gained enough time to use the Yu Secret Art. He waved a hand, and the arrow brushed past him, just barely not touching him.

    Despite having avoided the attack, Lu Yin still looked down at his shoulder. Only when he saw that no tiny runes were infiltrating his body did he feel reassured.

    In the distance, Wen Qian¡¯er and the others were overwhelmed; where had Nightking Zhenwu learned such terrifying arrow techniques?

    Everyone had watched Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Lan Si, and they were quite clear on how powerful Lu Yin¡¯s Twin Suns were. Even so, Lu Yin was unable to stop this arrow technique. This was clearly not one of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques.

    Nobody knew where Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow techniques hade from.

    Nightking Zhenwu had no need to exin himself, and he quickly fired off three more arrows, one after another. Lu Yin used Truesight to erase some of the runes, and at the same time, he also unleashed his forcefield, battle force, and Fatesand. Despite all of that, he was unable topletely stop all three arrows. These attacks were not too dangerous to Lu Yin, but they all carried the Heart Seeker secret technique. Thus, Lu Yin was forced to tear off portions of flesh from his shoulder, thigh, and abdomen. There was blood dripping from his entire body, and his appearance caused the crowd¡¯s scalps to go numb.

    Nightking Zhenwu waspletely crushing Lu Yin, and he was only able to passively defend.

    During their battle in the Innerverse, Nightking Zhenwu had not revealed the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s techniques that he had inherited, and he had only used the Progenitor¡¯s Heart Seeker secret technique. Lu Yin did not have a clear understanding of the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s arrow techniques, but they were truly terrifying. These attacks far surpassed the power of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and nothing in Lu Yin¡¯s repertoire could stop them. All he could do was meet the attacks head on, but how long could he hold out by doing that?

    Nightking Zhenwu spoke in an arrogant tone, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I would let you know the difference between us!¡±

    Another arrow appeared in his hand, but this arrow was different from the previous ones. All of the previous arrows had possessed a single feather as fletching, but this arrow had two. ¡°It must have been difficult to get to the Daynight Flowzone, but now, you will die.¡±

    He then loosed the arrow.

    When that double-fletched arrow was loosed, its strength was doubled, and it also carried the Heart Seeker secret technique. Nobody within the same generation could stop this attack.

    Nightking Zhenwu wanted to use this battle to solidify his position as the leader of the Ten Arbiters. He was the heir of the Daynight n, the inheritor of the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and the possessor of a secret technique, status, and everything that could be possessed. Even Lu Yin, who had defeated Lan Si, would be easily exterminated by him, and the next thing that Nightking Zhenwu would obtain was Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. All of thatbined with the possibility of the Third Nightking returning and the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s assistance reinforced Zhenwu¡¯s belief that he was the child of the heavens.

    He was the person most likely to step onto the path of bing a Progenitor, and he was the Fifth Maind¡¯s hope. He wanted to demonstrate all of this to the entire universe. This was the Daynight Feast that he had wanted to see.

 Chapter 1071: Desperation

    <h4>Chapter 1071: Desperation</h4>

    The double-fletched arrow pierced the void, carrying Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s courageous aura with it. This arrow represented his full glory.

    Lu Yin looked up as his star energy converged over his right hand. He was a seventh cycle Cruiser, and his star energy was nearly equivalent to that of an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. He poured all of his remaining star energy into the converging sun at once, and burning sunlight shot out before solidly mming into the double-fletched arrow. At the same time, Truesight erased some of the double-fletched arrow¡¯s runes. This maneuver had pushed Lu Yin to the limit.

    There was an explosion, and the ground shattered as the square fractured. The void itself copsed, and Nightking even quivered slightly, which rmed some of the older Nightking n experts on Nightking.

    Nightking Zhenwu had never even considered the possibility of Lu Yin possessing such terrifying amounts of star energy, and nobody was aware that Lu Yin¡¯s star energy had already reached the point where it could rival that of an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000. This was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack that he had ever released through a sun. When it wasbined with Truesight¡¯s ability to weaken opposing attack¡¯s runes, the sun was just barely able to resist the double-fletched arrow.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed, and he pped a palm at Nightking Zhenwu from a distance: Nine lined battle force, One Hundred Stacks, Six Hundredfold Spacerender Palm.

    Nightking Zhenwu had never expected that Lu Yin would be able to retaliate in this situation. ording to his understanding, Lu Yin should have been severely injured by the double-fletched arrow. Then, the Heart Seeker secret technique would snatch Lu Yin¡¯s life away. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s current battle techniques were from a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and not even the Daynight n¡¯s ultimate battle techniques couldpare to these powerful moves. This attack had been his hidden trump card to deal with those freakish geniuses from the Neoverse, and it greatly surpassed the battle techniques that Lan Si had used. But even then, this attack had been stopped. At that moment, the Spacerender Palm descended and hit Zhenwu squarely in the chest.

    Nightking Zhenwu spat out a mouthful of blood as his nine lined battle force warped. There was a mighty explosion, and the double-fletched arrow pierced through the burning sun and shot into the distance whereas the zing sun exploded on the spot, erupting with a power level of 300,000. Evernight Square began breaking apart as star energy swept out in all directions. The First Nightking¡¯s statue slowly crumbled.

    Multiple figures arrived from the distance. ¡°How brazen!¡±

    They were the older powerhouses of the Nightking bloodline, and they raced to support the First Nightking¡¯s statue.

    Lu Yin ran straight at Nightking Zhenwu and tapped out with a finger: Dream Finger. The void congealed. Beforeing to the Daynight Feast, Lu Yin had obsessively reviewed his previous battle with Nightking Zhenwu. As long as he could guard himself against the Heart Seeker secret technique, Lu Yin should be able to rely on his die to achieve victory, just as he had during his battle with Lan Si. Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift was extremely powerful, and even if Nightking Zhenwu had his own powerful innate gift, it would be useless. All Lu Yin needed to do was hide within the Timestop Space. In there, not only could he restore his star energy and power level, but he could even improve his strength. This innate gift was basically cheating, and it was how Lu Yin was assured of his own victory.

    Although Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrow techniques were extremely intimidating, they were unable to surpass the mysterious power of Lu Yin¡¯s die. Besides, Zhenwu¡¯s defenses were not as fearsome as Lan Si¡¯s.

    At that moment, Lu Yin wanted to exchange blow for blow and do his best to severely injure Nightking Zhenwu. Of course, some luck was needed when it came to rolling the die, but that was the only variable in his n. Still, even if there was a mishap, Lu Yin had a backup n. Otherwise, there was no other way he would have traveled to Nightking so brazenly. Be it Lu Yin himself, Zhuo Daynight, or even the entire Dayking bloodline, he was confident of taking everything away.

    Suddenly, Nightking Zhenwu raised his head and grinned. Fresh blood seeped through his teeth, giving him an exceptionally frightening appearance. ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±

    Lu Yin tapped his finger at Nightking Zhenwu, but suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed as a ck gas emerged from his abdomen and gradually enveloped his entire body. His vision grew fuzzy, and his body lost all strength. In front of him, Nightking Zhenwu sneered and kicked at him, sending Lu Yin flying.

    Lu Yin barely regained control of his body with great difficulty, and his legs left two long lines across the ground. He struggled to find his bnce and not copse as he spat out a mouthful of ck blood, his entire body going numb.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve been poisoned!¡± The Ghost Monkey started to panic.

    Lu Yin had also realized that he was poisoned, but when? And what poison could be so effective? How had he not sensed it, or even seen its rune lines? This ck color was identical to the poison that Nightking Zhenwu had used Zhuo Daynight of using against him.

    Nightking Zhenwu had not been poisoned, but instead, it had been Lu Yin?

    During the intense battle, Evernight Square had been shattered into pieces. As the dust settled, everyone saw Nightking Zhenwu towering high in the sky. Beneath him, Lu Yin was already struggling to not copse, and his limbs looked rigid. His vision had gone fuzzy, and his mind was fading. His entire body was trembling uncontrobly.

    Countless eyes from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse watched on.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that there are strong and weak people even among the Ten Arbiters! You¡¯re too arrogant in trying to challenge me! You tried to intervene in my Daynight n¡¯s internal matters. Additionally, Lu Yin, your death cannot wash away your crimes¡ªyou¡¯re a traitor to the Fifth Maind!¡±

    Lu Yin could not open his mouth or even speak a single word. His entire body had gone numb.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how are you? Seventh Bro!¡± the monkey shouted desperately.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was covered with blood, and he looked iparably pitiful. However, he was still enduring and had not fallen down yet. Sweat dripped down from his forehead. Since he did not even look up, everyone took it as Lu Yin acknowledging his defeat to Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu had an arrogant expression. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and at this moment, he was rejoicing that Lu Yin had managed to defeat Lan Si. By defeating Lu Yin, Zhenwu had be someone who stood above even the other Ten Arbiters.

    Close by, Zhuo Daynight looked truly desperate. She had not known that she had given poisoned wine to Lu Yin; she truly had not known.

    All around them, the guests of the Daynight Feast looked overwhelmed by what they were witnessing. Some became excited, some cheered, and others mocked and ridiculed Lu Yin, saying that he had overestimated himself by daring to challenge Nightking Zhenwu.

    Starsibyl stared at Nightking Zhenwu; his moment of glory had finally arrived.

    At this moment, Nightking Zhenwu was basking in his moment of shining glory. He had managed to easily defeat Lu Yin and had demonstrated a terrifying level of strength that nobody had imagined that he could possess. Everyone was able to understand Lu Yin¡¯s strength due to his battle with Lan Si, but when Lu Yin had faced off against Nightking Zhenwu, the Nightking had yed around with him like he was a child. This showed the incredible disparity between them, and it also revealed that there was a strength differential even among the Ten Arbiters.

    Who could have known that Nightking Zhenwu was so fearsome? Many people suddenly thought of the rumors concerning a leader of the Ten Arbiters. Could Nightking Zhenwu really possess enough strength to be the leader of the Ten Arbiters?

    Starsibyl was assisting him, so just what exactly had the Starsibyl Sect seen?

    Throughout the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, the Hall of Honor, and the Outerverse, countless eyes were fixated on Nightking Zhenwu at this moment.

    Just as Lu Yin had appeared glorious after defeating Lan Si, Nightking Zhenwu was enjoying a simr glory at this moment.

    Nightking Zhenwunded in front of Zhuo Daynight and slowly said, ¡°Woman, you¡¯re really stupid. Your foolishness has actually doomed the entire Dayking bloodline. Do you know why this Daynight Feast was held? It¡¯s because of you! This Daynight Feast will be recorded down in history as the day when the Dayking bloodline waspletely buried, and it was all because of a woman called Zhuo Daynight who tried to assassinate Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s expression was deathly white and devoid of all color.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked calm as he continued on, saying, ¡°You must find it strange. Where are your parents?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight looked up and stared at Nightking Zhenwu. Blood dripped from her lips; she had bit her tongue. ¡°My- my parents?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s pupils shrank, and her mind went nk.

    ¡°Not only them, but so are the tens of thousands of members of the Dayking bloodline. Right, and that person Lu Yin as well. In fact, he might not have been guaranteed to lose to me. However, it¡¯s a pity that you gave him a cup of poisoned wine and sent him to an early grave. Your parents, your rtives, and your lover. Today, they are all going to leave you. How interesting, hahaha.¡± Nightking Zhenwu chuckled, which was exceptionally jarring when juxtaposed with the words he had just spoken. His smile sent chills running down Zhuo Daynight¡¯s spine.

    His voice had been rather loud, but he had controlled it so that no one else could hear anything. Only Nightking Zhenwu, Zhuo Daynight, and Lu Yin were able to hear these words.

    Lu Yin struggled to look up, and he stared at Nightking Zhenwu. This person was deliberately mocking Zhuo Daynight. Just as the Nightking had promised in the past, he intended to push Zhuo Daynight into despair, as this was his opportunity to seize Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. But why did he need to obtain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak? Night¡¯s End, Daybreak and Skybreaker were two battle techniques that were on the same level, and neither one couldpare to the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle techniques. But despite that, Zhenwu had put in all this time and effort to obtain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    Everything that he had done had been to obtain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, as only by pushing Zhuo Daynight to utter despair would he have a chance to obtain the technique. This person¡¯s personality was so dark that even in the entire universe, very few things wereparable.

    ¡°Everything happened today because of your stupidity. You harmed yourself, and you also harmed the Dayking bloodline,¡± Nightking Zhenwu barked.

    Zhuo Daynight shuddered, and her eyes went ck. Two streams of bloody tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Her entire being had copsed, and her originally ck-and-white hair had gone white,pletely white. It was a pale white that did not have any luster to it whatsoever. She hadpletely fallen apart, and not even the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s songs could save her anymore.

    Nightking Zhenwu grew excited, as this was the moment that he had been waiting for. Truly, at this moment, everything that he had done wasing to fruition; he had lured Lu Yin over not just to kill him, but more importantly, for Zhuo Daynight. Nightking Zhenwu had tried all sorts of cruel and unusual methods in his attempts to push Zhuo Daynight into despair, and it had all been for this moment so that he could obtain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. It was all for this very moment, and nobody could understand better than he himself the importance of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    But even still, it was still not enough. She needed just a little more, just one more push. After thinking about it, the Nightking waved a hand. The ground split open, and two corpses appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes. Their appearances could barely be discerned by now. ¡°Do you recognize them? They¡¯re your parents, and they died because of you. It¡¯s all because of you.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu then turned around to shout out some orders. ¡°Bury the Dayking bloodline.¡±

    The people in the distance did not know what was happening.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was finally able to move, and his die appeared. He tapped it with a finger, and it spun. It came to a stop. One pip: Pilfer. Useless. Continue.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s unfocused eyes stared towards the ground, and a desperate scream echoed from all ten thousand members of the Dayking bloodline off in the distance. Suddenly, every sound in her ears vanished, and all she could hear was the thumping of a heartbeat. Because of her, her parents had died. And so too would her pitiful nsmen, rtives, and everyone she had ever held dear to her. Extreme grief and despair engulfed her, and Zhuo Daynight knelt on the ground with herpletely white hair as she screamed at the sky. ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s excitement rose even higher, as this was the moment he had been waiting for. He raised his hand and pped at Zhuo Daynight.

    Right at that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s die stopped spinning. Four pips: Timestop.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin appeared in the grey-white space. He copsed, and the poison continued to spread. His consciousness faded.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, where is this ce?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked. Lu Yin had not screened the monkey off this time before appearing in the grey-white space. This was the second time that this had urred.

    Lu Yin was too preupied to deal with the monkey, as he was finally able to use his cosmic ring within this space. One of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s methods to deal with Lu Yin had been to make sure that all cosmic rings would be sealed on Nightking. After all, Lu Yin had even been able to contest Envoy realm powerhouses in the Outerverse due to his various items, and Nightking Zhenwu had to make ample preparations. Fortunately, Lu Yin had his innate gift: the die.

 Chapter 1072: You Deserve to Die

    <h4>Chapter 1072: You Deserve to Die</h4>

    ¡°Monkey, what¡¯s the poison in my body?¡± Lu Yin asked while checking the various medicines that were in his cosmic ring.

    The Ghost Monkey seriously answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if even Seventh Bro couldn¡¯t sense it, then there¡¯s no way for this poison to be something simple. It¡¯ll be very difficult to get rid of this kind of poison.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to go through the numerous medicines stored in his cosmic ring, but he was only able to confirm that not a single one of them would be able to neutralize this poison.

    Nightking Zhenwu was just too meticulous. Even though he had beenpletely confident in being able to defeat Lu Yin, he had still resorted to methods like poison. Not only had the Nightking wanted to defeat Lu Yin, but he had also wanted to utterly crush Lu Yin and establish his power and prestige as the leader of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the Root of Intelligence¡¯s wilted. Otherwise, you would definitely have an antidote.¡± The monkey sighed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he instantly screened the monkey off before rolling his die again. He was guaranteed to eventually roll three pips: Enhance in this ce.

    The first roll was one pip: Pilfer. Useless. Lu Yin rested for ten days.

    The second roll was five pips: Gift Copy. Still useless. He rested for another ten days.

    The third roll was one pip: Pilfer again. Useless. Ten more days passed.

    ¡­

    Time went on in this fashion, and good luck did note to Lu Yin. Fortunately, although he could not resolve the poison, Lu Yin¡¯s physique prevented the poison from killing him outright. It was possible that Nightking Zhenwu might have never nned to poison Lu Yin to death and that he had wanted to personally beat him up.

    During these days, Lu Yin¡¯s injured body recovered quite a bit, and he continued to absorb star energy. His body had alreadypletely recovered from all of his wounds, and he was only waiting to remove the poison.

    One day, the die slowly stopped spinning andnded on three pips: Enhance. Two light screens appeared, one above and the other below.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he immediately threw the Root of Intelligence onto the upper light screen, followed by a pile of star essence. To his amazement, he found that the Root of Intelligence only fell a tiny bit despite consuming almost 100,000 star essence. This was simply too obscene! To date, the Skyze Stone had been the most expensive item that Lu Yin had upgraded, yet that had only taken him 1.3 million star essence for the first upgrade.

    On the other hand, this Root of Intelligence, judging by this initial measurement, would need at least a few million star essence for a single upgrade.

    The Root of Intelligence was supposed toe from a tree that had been personally nted by Progenitor Hui. Not only could it take care of all poisons, but apparently, it could even temporarily enlighten a person¡¯s mind after ingesting it, allowing them toprehend many things previously hidden to him. Lu Yin did not know if this was true or false, and he was simply hoping it could actually neutralize this poison.

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin swallowed his saliva and then frantically threw out more star essence.

    Soon, one million star essence had been used up, but the Root of Intelligence had only moved a tenth of the way through.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This was ridiculous! This was just a wilted piece of a Root of Intelligence, but it would take at least ten million star essence to be upgraded once. Fortunately, he had more than seventeen million star essence avable. Otherwise, he might not have been able to upgrade it even once.

    As the Root of Intelligence fell through the light screen, its surface regained a bit of luster, and a little halo appeared above it as well. When the Root of Intelligencepletely fell through the lower screen, a small, dragon-like rhizome appeared in front of Lu Yin. It looked perfectly ordinary, and there was only the slightest bit of luster to it. However, this little root had just drained his wallet of ten million star essence.

    Lu Yin used some star energy to simte water, and he soaked the Root of Intelligence in it and boiled it, as if he were preparing tea.

    Gradually, a delicate fragrance appeared, and the slightest whiff left Lu Yin feeling clear-headed, as if the world had be clearer and sharper. It was like he had returned to a natural state. This was quite useful, and Lu Yin could not wait to take a deep drink. After downing the cup, a refreshing sensation gradually entered his stomach. Suddenly, the ck poison that had been coursing through his body was gradually broken down into nothingness.

    Lu Yin could feel his entire body rx, and he raised a hand. He then began using the Oveying Stacks Path. He instantly used Thirty Stacks, which was the limit of what he had personally deduced, but at this moment, he was able to go further, and deducing these additional stacks felt rather effortless. It was almost too simple; how had he never thought of this before?

    Forty Stacks were very simple. Fifty Stacks were still very simple.

    Lu Yin had always felt that deducing stacks was a very difficult task, and that it was even somewhat beyond his abilities. However, at this moment, he was suddenly deducing stacks without any difficulty. It was as natural as breathing.

    His mind was clear, and his mental state was rxed like never before. With a casual wave of his hand, he continuously deduced multiple stacks. Sixty Stacks, Seventy Stacks, and he effortlessly reached¡­ One Hundred Stacks.

    The most stacks that he had ever mastered were One Hundred Stacks. At this moment, he closed his eyes and thought back to his battle with Lan Si, and each scene reyed within his mind¡¯s eye. On Fleabane, Lan Si had used One Hundred Fifty Stacks. When Lu Yin raised his hand, it was as if Lan Si¡¯s own palm had struck out. The ripples spread out, and a berserk strength of One Hundred Fifty Stacks surged forth.

    Lu Yin took several steps back, and his right palm jerked up as it was unable to resist the movement. He continuously retreated, taking a step back for each stack that he had deduced in the Oveying Stacks Path. He took ten steps back and used One Hundred Ten Stacks. He then took twenty steps back for One Hundred Twenty Stacks. However, this was not the limit of his physical body.

    After taking fifty steps back, Lu Yin raised his hand. He struck out with a palm again, and although he had reached One Hundred Fifty Stacks, it was not enough.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. His left hand pressed against his right arm, and there was a soft thump. When his right palm shot out, the void warped: One Hundred Seventy Stacks. Afterunching that attack, his right arm suddenly became powerless.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at his right arm with ecstasy. He had actually deduced One Hundred Seventy Stacks! How had he done it? Had he actually done it himself?

    Deducing multiple stacks by himself was different from learning from others. If hepeted in the Oveying Stacks Path with Lan Si, and they each used a simr One Hundred Fifty Stacks, then Lu Yin would crush the Arbiter. This was the strength of self-deduction, as it allowed one¡¯s understanding of the Oveying Stacks Path to be much deeper.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his heart raced as he closed his eyes once again. He thought back to the battle with Lan Si until he could remember nothing more. No, he had to continue. He thought about it to the fullest extent, and then took another sip of the Root of Intelligence tea, leaving his mind clearer once again. He reyed every action that Lan Si had made while using the Vacuum Palm, and even the minuscule pause due to the momentum transfer was endlessly magnified in his mind.

    Slowly, Lu Yin raised a hand and struck out with an invisible palm. It was Vacuum Palm.

    Vacuum Palm was the manifestation of Lan Si¡¯s deep understanding of the Oveying Stacks Path. Lan Si had to firstprehend One Hundred Fifty Stacks before he could cultivate the Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin, on the other hand, had used the Root of Intelligence to deduce the Oveying Stacks Path to One Hundred Seventy Stacks. Then, with that deep understanding of the Oveying Stacks Path as a foundation, he had recalled the Vacuum Palms that had struck him and easily deduced andprehended it for himself.

    When the Vacuum Palm appeared, it was as if Lan Si himself had attacked. No, this one had even surpassed what Lan Si was capable of, as Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path was self-deduced, and he had even deduced One Hundred Seventy Stacks. With his current level of physical strength, the Vacuum Palm that Lu Yin could unleash had no pause due to the momentum transfer, and it was much more powerful than Lan Si¡¯s.

    Lu Yin himself did not understand why his physical strength was so absurd, but even now, it was continuously improving.

    There was not much left of the Root of Intelligence tea, and this had nothing to do with the water that he had used. Such a small piece of Root of Intelligence was only able to brew so much tea, and there were only three more mouthfuls at best. This meant that the small Root of Intelligence could be brewed into five mouthfuls of tea.

    Lu YIn could not waste a single drop of this miraculous tea, but he had alreadyprehended the Vacuum Palm. Thus, what could heprehend next? Lu Yin fell into deep thought.

    Lockbreaking? His domain? Truesight? The Cosmic Art? The Dream Finger? There were simply too many things for him to improve on.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin realized what he needed toprehend the most: secret techniques. And he was not thinking about the Yu Secret Art, but rather the Astral Chessboard that Mister Mu had helped him ess through the Zhu family¡¯s bloodline. He had sent Lu Yin to be a spectator, and he had witnessed the Ce Secret Art.

    The Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard. This was the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family¡¯s secret technique that had been created by someone named Ce Wangtian. Its effect was to allow the user to make an extra move, as though they were cheating in chess.

    Lu Yin took another mouthful of the Root of Intelligence tea, and he tried his best to recall the chessboard in his memories. Eventually, he saw that ancient chessboard and heard people ying chess. Some were taking their moves back while others wereughing and still others sighing. His consciousness seemed to merge with the chessboard, though he also seemed to merge with a chess yer.

    Under the pale moonlight, the pieces on the ancient chessboard looked like stars littering the night sky. Lu Yin could not understand if he was somewhere in space or if he was on top of the chessboard.

    Was he a chess piece? Or was he a yer?

    He could not understand this game of chess, not even with the Root of Intelligence¡¯s assistance.

    ¡°Hahahaha, I, Ce Wangtian, have finally created a secret technique: Astral Chessboard. After ying chess for so many decades, I¡¯m the only person in the universe who can take back a move! Nobody can rewind their life, but if I want to do so, then only I can take back my move! Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard.¡±

    This sentence roused Lu Yin. His head was beaded with sweat, but he still could not understand this game of chess. He had clearly already drank the Root of Intelligence tea, but he still was not able to understand the situation at all. Lu Yin did his best to recall the chessboard again, but he shook his head vigorously soon afterwards. This was not right¡ªif he could not understand the chess game, then he should not try to force it. However, was there any other way to see things more clearly? Was there any way? Any other way at all?

    As he thought about it, Lu Yin could not help but nce back at the Root of Intelligence tea and drink another mouthful. His mind grew clear once again, and it felt as though the dots in his head were connecting. He then raised his hand, causing his die to appear. Five pips: Gift Copy was able to borrow another person¡¯s innate gift. In the past, when he had rolled five pips: Gift Copy at Endless Weave¡¯s border warfront, he had borrowed Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift. However, he had never used it until now, and it was still stored in his die, represented by a symbol of a pair of hands on that face of the die.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift was that of deduction.

    Lu Yin had realized that he would not be able toprehend the Astral Chessboard by himself, not even if he used the Root of Intelligence tea. However, the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family had to have had heirs who were able toprehend the Ce Secret Art. Since others were able toprehend this secret technique, then it proved that it was possible.

    If he could notprehend it himself, then he could only borrow some assistance from others. Qiong Xi¡¯er was very smart, and her intellect had even been noticed by Wang Wen while she was someone evaluated to be on the same level as Wei Rong. Her innate gift was even that of deduction, which Lu Yin believed would be of great use to him in his current endeavor.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin activated Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift and then took thest mouthful of the Root of Intelligence tea. This would determine whether or not he was sessful.

    The ancient chessboard reappeared, and Lu Yin used Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift of deduction to observe the ancient chessboard. This time, he saw a different scene. This was¡­?

    ¡­

    Before much time passed, Lu Yin reopened his eyes and stood up. He had drained all of the Root of Intelligence tea, and it waspletely gone as well as the Root of Intelligence itself.

    This had been the most expensive tea that Lu Yin had ever drunk, though it had also been the most useful one.

    He checked his remaining time in the Timestop Space and saw that he would soon be able to leave. Lu Yin took a deep breath as he thought to himself, Nightking Zhenwu, our second round is about to start.

    In Evernight Square, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s palm struck down, apanied by Zhuo Daynight¡¯s desperate wails. Just as his hand was about to reach Zhuo Daynight¡¯s forehead, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression changed, and he slowly turned around to see Lu Yin¡¯s exceptionally cold eyes.

    ¡°You can still move?¡± Nightking Zhenwu was in utter disbelief.

    In both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, countless people saw what had just happened and rubbed their eyes in disbelief. How was Lu Yin still able to move? Also, how had he crossed that distance so quickly? He had moved too fast!

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes ckened and her entire body trembled. It seemed that she could fall at any moment, and in fact, she had already copsed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he exerted his strength. A cracking sound split the air. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s nine lined battle force tried to resist the external pressure, but as Lu Yin exerted more and more strength, the Nightking¡¯s nine lined battle force grew unstable. Eventually, the two nine lined battle forces shot into the sky as one, causing the ground to split open, and the three youths slowly sank down as stones flew into the air before being obliterated in space.

    Nightking Zhenwu was overwhelmed, and he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Impossible! How did you recover? You were just beaten half to death, and you should have fallen! You should have been trampled beneath my feet! You should have died!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze showed his hatred, and the two nine lined battle forces shed one again. This time, a berserk spiritual force appeared, and it was like two apocalyptic storms colliding. Their spiritual forces were actually visible, and they tore apart the sky above Nightking.

    ¡°You deserve to die,¡± Lu Yin growled through gritted teeth.

 Chapter 1073: Great Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 1073: Great Chaos</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu snarled, ¡°Release me¡ªI need to kill her! You¡¯re all nothing but bugs! I have the mandate of the heavens behind me, and I¡¯ll get Night¡¯s End, Daybreak soon. I¡¯ve already obtained the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and I¡¯m about to get another Progenitor inheritance from the Astral Tower! Then, I will be a Progenitor and lead the Fifth Maind up against the Sixth Maind! My legacy will be unrivaled! Going against me is betraying the Fifth Maind¡ªall of you must serve me!¡±

    ¡°Get your dirty paws¡­ away!¡± Lu Yinshed out at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s belly with a powerful kick. Spiritual force formed a barrier in front of him to block the kick, but Lu Yin easily shattered it. This kick had the power of One Hundred Fifty Stacks, which was not something that spiritual force could stop.

    Nightking Zhenwu was sent flying by the kick, and it was even more ruthless than Lu Yin¡¯s previous kick. The Nightking spat out a mouthful of blood while still in mid air, and his figure crumpled as he crashed into the ground, shooting towards Nightking¡¯s core.

    Countless people were rendered speechless as they nkly stared at Lu Yin. What was going on? He seemed to have changed in just an instant.

    Nobody could understand the miracle that was Lu Yin¡¯s die, so nobody could understand Lu Yin¡¯s mysteriouseback.

    Not much was passing through Lu Yin¡¯s mind at this moment; he only wanted to end Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s life.

    Next to the First Nightking¡¯s statue, several of the Nightking experts traded nces. ¡°Should we intervene?¡±

    ¡°Just wait. There¡¯s no hurry, as Zhenwu will not be defeated,¡± someone else replied.

    At the same time, an rm rang out in Daynight Flowzone; countless pirate vessels had appeared, and the Daynight n¡¯s troops were forced to move out in full strength.

    Leon¡¯s Armada had formally dered war against the Daynight n, and thousands of pirate crews from all over the Innerverse suddenly surrounded the n, besieging the Daynight n.

    The Daynight n instantly descended into chaos.

    Highsage Leon himself appeared above Nightking, and he nced down at it. He had almost been unable to keep himself from interfering. Fortunately, the little fellow had caught back up, so there was no need for Highsage Leon to interrupt a battle between juniors.

    Highsage Leon took a deep breath as he stared at Nightking. He then suddenly bellowed, ¡°Dijiang, get out here!¡±

    Nightking trembled, and everyone looked towards outer space.

    Lu Yin looked up as well. Highsage Leon had arrived.

    Suddenly, an arrow shot up from underground, and Lu Yin raised a hand. The arrow exploded within the void, having been smashed apart by an invisible palm print.

    Nightking Zhenwu shot up from the ground and looked at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°How is that possible? What did you just do?¡±

    Not too far away from Nightking, there was another. This was where Lan Si was staying at the moment.

    The other Ten Arbiters would not step foot on Nightking; otherwise. they would have been stepped over by Nightking Zhenwu when he had ascended the Night Watch Pagoda.

    Naturally, none of them would interfere in the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu. Even if Lan Si had pledged to unconditionally support Lu Yin, he would not help Lu Yin in his fight against Nightking Zhenwu. That was because of the unspoken rules that they all followed: a battle between Arbiters had to be impartial.

    When Lu Yin shattered the arrow, Lan Si¡¯s expression changed, and his mouth dropped open in disbelief. Was that his Vacuum Palm?!

    Lan Si was not alone, as many people were able to recognize what Lu Yin had just used. Lan Si had recently fought against Lu Yin, and his Vacuum Palm battle technique had shocked the universe at that time by beating Lu Yin to a pulp. Countless people had been searching for the battle technique since, as the shock that they had received from seeing it in battle had been overpowering. That impression was even further magnified when Lu Yin used the technique at this moment.

    Nobody had thought that Lu Yin would actually be able to use Vacuum Palm.

    In the Outerverse, Lan Baobao, Elder Tie, and the others with them nearly had their eyes drop out of their sockets; wasn¡¯t that Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm?

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face became crestfallen. This was impossible; how could Lu Yin use the Vacuum Palm? Had Lan Si taught him? Even if he had, Lu yin should not have been able to learn the technique so quickly.

    In the past, it had taken Lu Yin everything he had to understand Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm ande up with a countermeasure. At this moment, he intended to make Zhenwu suffer in the same manner.

    There was indeed a differential among the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength, but the disparity between them was not very great. Thus, Lu Yin would use Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm to contend against Nightking Zhenwu.

    There was a thump. Nightking Zhenwu had been caught unprepared, and he was sent flying a thousand meters back after being struck by a Vacuum Palm. His nine lined battle force nearly shattered, and he coughed up blood as he stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    Then, Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew fierce and he gritted his teeth and bellowed, ¡°You¡¯re asking for death!¡±

    He raised a hand as his spiritual force visibly gathered around him. ¡°Skybreaker.¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head as he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures. The spiritual force thatposed Skybreaker was too formidable for him to resist. If he did not recite the Stonewall Scriptures, there would be no possibility of him enduring it.

    The watching universe grew excited upon seeing Nightking Zhenwu use Skybreaker.

    In the Wen family¡¯s territory, the elder who had been sweeping the floor was looking at a screen, and his expression instantly changed. This battle technique that had once beaten an entire era into silence had actually reappeared.

    In Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall, the mountainous Million trembled. ¡°Skybreaker, it¡¯s actually Skybreaker.¡±

    In the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue¡¯s expression turned cold. He had never expected this kid to actuallyprehend Skybreaker. Fortunately, the other invincible battle technique, Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, had not appeared. Otherwise, the Daynight n would truly be unstoppable during this era.

    In the Divine Venom Dynasty, Qiong Shaohuang was shocked. ¡°Skybreaker has appeared! Then, when will Night¡¯s End, Daybreak appear?¡±

    The Lingling n¡¯s patriarch, Ling Qiu, snorted upon seeing Skybreaker reappearing. Lu Yin was in no way Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s opponent. It was a pity, as he was a good sapling, and in her mind, he was even qualified to be Ling Gong¡¯s husband. What a pity.

    In Chaos Flowzone, Cang Zhou clenched his fists. The Daynight n could be considered the nemesis of his Chaosgod Mountain. The moment Nightking Zhenwu used Skybreaker, Cang Zhou had realized that they were in trouble. In the future, they would have to kill Nightking Zhenwu, as otherwise, they would be utterly defeated by the Daynight n.

    Logically, the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique should have far surpass the Daynight n¡¯s unrivaled battle techniques, but unfortunately, the Arrow Progenitor had been a Progenitor from the Sixth Maind. Thus, nobody in the Innerverse had recognized the battle technique, or else they would have long since been overwhelmed by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s power.

    Only by personally facing the techniques in battle could one understand the true terror of the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle techniques.

    Lu Yin had been able to rely on various methods to deal with Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, but Lu Yin had found it extremely difficult to deal with the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique. His only option was to use all-out force, but that had only worked once.

    Nobody had even considered that Lu Yin would be perfectly fine facing Skybreaker, but Lu Yin simply withstood Skybreaker as though nothing had happened.

    ¡°It looks like you haven¡¯t learned your lesson!¡± Lu Yin barked as he struck out again with another Vacuum Palm, sending Nightking Zhenwu flying.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hair was dispersed, and he looked disheveled as he red angrily at Lu Yin. Zhenwu raised a hand and incessantly unleashed various Nightking n battle techniques.

    However, his battle techniques were almostpletely ineffective against Lu Yin, as just a single Vacuum Palm could counteract everything that Zhenwu was throwing out.

    At this moment, it seemed as if Lu Yin had integrated into Lan Si¡¯s body; Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength meant that he was almost immune to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force while Lu Yin continued to unleash Vacuum Palm to his utmost physical limits. Nightking Zhenwu seemed to be facing two people by himself, and he was being beaten into a pathetic state.

    Everyone waspletely dumbfounded. Was the almighty Nightking Zhenwu really being beaten in this manner?

    The Daynight n found it hardest to ept what they were seeing, and they all felt as if there was something wrong with their sight. The one being knocked about should be Lu Yin.

    The few experts who were watching from next to the First Nightking¡¯s statue were no longer able to sit still, and they all wanted to deal with Lu Yin. At that moment, the sky shattered as a threateningly beautiful woman emerged. ¡°You people from the Nightking n, your opponent is right here.¡±

    One powerhouse after another began to appear on Nightking.

    Countless people understood that the Daynight n was about to experience great changes, or at the very least, they would not be able to remain calm.

    Above Nightking, Highsage Leon held out his fearsome de as he watched a middle-aged man emerge from the void in front of him. The man was d in all ck clothes. ¡°Nightking Dijiang, you¡¯re finally willing toe out now?¡±

    The ck-clothed man had a calm voice as he looked at Highsage Leon. ¡°You came as an escort for that little fellow while on Nightking. Take him away¡ªI won¡¯t touch him.¡±

    Highsage Leonughed. ¡°What a joke! Your Daynight n¡¯s so-called ¡°mandate of the heavens¡± is about to be destroyed. You must be dreaming, wanting to put an end to things so easily.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang frowned. ¡°Highsage Leon, my Daynight n is not as simple as you believe. Take your people away, and I can pretend that today¡¯s events never happened, and we can even write off all grievances from the past.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still dreaming, so let me cut you awake!¡± Highsage Leon¡¯s de shed out.

    Nightking Dijiang sighed in a helpless manner.

    At the same time, a dispute erupted inside the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court. There, one of the Judicial Commissioners, the Calm of Despair, Mu Tianlun, was vigorously lobbying to send assistance to the Daynight n and eliminate the various pirates surrounding the n. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu seized the Champions'' Stage and has made tremendous contributions to the Fifth Maind! As a result, the Daynight n has been named a Family of Honor, but they¡¯re actually being attacked! This must be a joke.¡±

    Across from him was another Judicial Commissioner, Mu En, who was known as the Virtue of Righteousness. He countered, ¡°Leon¡¯s Armada has a private feud with the Daynight n, so it¡¯s not appropriate for us to interfere.¡±

    ¡°Leon¡¯s Armada can go by themselves if they have a private feud with the Daynight n. Right now, there are hundreds and maybe even thousands of pirate crews within Daynight Flowzone,¡± Mu Tianlun gloomily replied.

    Mu En smiled. ¡°If you put it that way, then shouldn¡¯t the people from the Daynight n who are not a part of the Nightking bloodline also not intervene? Should we allow Leon¡¯s Armada to fight against just the Nightking bloodline?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re twisting my words!¡± Mu Tianlun was furious.

    Mu En smiled. ¡°I¡¯m only stating facts.¡±

    On the other side of the building, within the Hall of Honor¡¯s council, the nine overseers were also debating at this moment, and one of the overseers was a member of the Daynight n. He indignantly shouted, ¡°A Family of Honor has been surrounded by pirates, which is simply a joke! This is a stain upon my Hall of Honor, and this matter will definitely be recorded down in history. Those pirates must be executed, and Leon¡¯s Armada must also be eliminated.¡±

    After he sputtered those words, another overseer retorted, ¡°The status of the Family of Honor should not be discussed at this moment. Yuan Shi has sent a message questioning the usibility of Nightking Zhenwu seizing the Champions'' Stage, and he is also requesting that we remove the Daynight n¡¯s Family of Honor status for the moment.¡±

    ¡°Seconded. Yuan Shi¡¯s words must be true.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, Yuan Shi has never lied.¡±

    ¡°Yuan Shi is too great.¡±

    The overseer from the Daynight n trembled from rage. Yuan Shi¡¯s status within the Hall of Honor was truly too impressive, and he had guided too many high ranking members of the hall. Thus, the overseer was not able to stand against Yuan Shi on his own.

    At this time, countless pirates had arrived within Daynight Flowzone, and the various experts of the Daynight n were all being sent out to stop the pirate crews.

    The Xun family, the Dire Barbarian n, the Frostmoon Sect, and the other various great powers all received reinforcement requests from the Daynight n, asking them to immediately assist them in dealing with the pirates.

    However, the Frostmoon Sect had already sealed itself off.

    The Xun family wanted to help, but a few days earlier, the Myriad Swords Peak and Watermoon Vi had both created some trouble for the family. Thus, they did not have the time or ability to help anyone at this moment.

    The Dire Barbarian n had been attacked by the Souldream Tribe. No excuses were needed for these two powers to fight, and a conflict between them could break out at any moment.

    The Daynight n was not able to receive any reinforcements from anywhere at all. Even the Phoenix family, which was the closest power, would not send them any help.

    Although the Daynight n had numerous troops and many outside experts working under them as subordinates, they simply could not handle the sheer numbers of pirates. Helpless, they were forced to order Daynight n experts in nearby flowzones to return home. However, these people faced sudden ambushes from experts from powers such as the Sword Sect, who had taken this opportunity to seize the n¡¯s resources.

    The Sword Sect would not attack Daynight Flowzone, but there was nothing wrong with taking action in the surrounding flowzones. After all, the two powers had often fought in those ces.

    In a brief moment, Daynight Flowzone had fallen intoplete bem.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, Leader Hong quickly reached out to the upper levels of Daynight Flowzone, informing them that he was willing to send them experts to assist. However, before his experts could move out, zing Mist Flowzone was ambushed by various experts, all of whom were from the Outerverse. There were more than twenty Enlighters joining the attack, which was a full third of the Outerverse¡¯s Enlighters. There were also people from the Mt. Stacks Dojo and the Sea King¡¯s Dome among the attackers.

    Leader Hong himself even faced an assassination attempt from Smoker, which made him so furious he bellowed in an insane manner.

 Chapter 1074: Deathmatch

    <h4>Chapter 1074: Deathmatch</h4>

    Everything seemed to have descended into chaos.

    However, to the Daynight n, these events were not enough to bebeled a cmity that would destroy the n. To them, this situation was merely a bit troublesome.

    The top experts of the Daynight n hid in two ces; one was on Nightking, and aside from the dormant Nightking Dijiang, there were also numerous other old monsters with power levels between 300,000 and 400,000. All of these people were currently being kept busy by the pirate underlings of Leon¡¯s Armada. The other ce where the Daynight n¡¯s experts generally stayed was the ancestral grounds, and there had even been a few Envoy realm powerhouses there in the past, but unfortunately, they had all been killed by the Sixth Maind.

    Even so, there were still various elite Enlighters with power levels between 400,000 and 500,000 who stayed in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    Their ancestral grounds contained a few hidden powerhouses, and any one of them could easily eradicate all of the pirates in Daynight Flowzone.

    From the Daynight n¡¯s perspective, although there were a great number of pirates, they were just some random nobodies.

    Beneath the stone que in the ancestral grounds, those few ancient beings opened their eyes, and one stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go and handle this.¡±

    That person was just about to leave when the ancestral grounds¡¯ stone que suddenly changed abnormally, and light beams shot up from beneath the ground, sealing off the area.

    A person among the elders suddenly opened his eyes. ¡°Protect the sourcebox array protecting the que.¡±

    He then suddenly looked at the elder to his right. This person was also protecting the stone que, but he opened his eyes and spoke with a voice that was rich with countless life experiences. ¡°The Dayking bloodline should not be extinguished.¡±

    The figure between the two had a cold expression. ¡°You¡¯ve already been graciously epted into the Nightking bloodline, but you still want to help the Dayking bloodline? You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    The elderughed sadly. ¡°Graciously epted? The Dayking and Nightking bloodlines are the two king ns of the Daynight n! So then, why can your Nightking bloodline stand above all the rest? Even if I die, I will not allow the Dayking bloodline to be exterminated!¡±

    The figure between the two grew furious, and the sourcebox array protecting the que was activated. There was no way for them to leave, as this array had been set up specifically to protect the ancestral grounds¡¯ stone que. Thus, when it was active, people could neither enter nor leave, which was frustrating.

    The moment the sourcebox array was activated, Hui Daynight had entered the area, and behind him was a woman. She was actually Cool Sis, the current captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fifth Squadron.

    Of the captains, only the elites ranked tenth and above on the Top 100 Rankings had been qualified to receive an invitation to the Daynight Feast and enter Daynight Flowzone.

    Hui Daynight had seen that the sourcebox array protecting the que was about to activate, and his expression seemed grieved. He gloomily said, ¡°Now!¡±

    Cool Sis stepped forward while essing her cosmic ring. One android after another appeared and charged towards the ancestral grounds, where they started fighting within the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds. These androids were the most powerful ones in the Great Yu Empire¡¯s possession, and although they were rtively weak whenpared to the members of the Daynight n, there were many androids, close to four thousand.

    Lu Yin had taken out all of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s trump cards, and he had also coordinated with Leon¡¯s Armada in order to create chaos in the entire Daynight n.

    The Daynight n had never dreamed that, one day, such a cmity would befall them. The situation within the Hall of Honor, the Xun family, the Dire Barbarian n, and other outside allies had all been targeted and slowed down. Every region within Daynight Flowzone was busy dealing with attacks from pirates who greatly outnumbered the Daynight n¡¯s troops, and the n¡¯s powerhouses in the ancestral grounds had also been trapped. The powerhouses on Nightking were being obstructed, and everything seemed to have happened in an instant.

    This was the setup that Lu Yin and Wang Wen had designed to deal with a colossal power from the Innerverse. The various parts of the n might seemplicated, but in reality, all the numerous powers needed to do was provide a little bit of force, as Leon¡¯s Armada was the true force truly facing off against the Daynight n.

    The Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews were powers that not even the Hall of Honor wanted to offend, especially Leon¡¯s Armada, which was the foremost of the Four Pirate Crews. Highsage Leon was a ruthless individual who had even forced his way into the Technocracy once. Not only did he have a powerful strength, but he also had an even more terrifying background.

    His background was not from the Innerverse, but rather the Neoverse.

    No matter how much more powerful the Daynight n became, they were still just a monster from the Innerverse that could not enter the Neoverse.

    After suffering through the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and in particr, after surviving through the assault on Endless Weave¡¯s border, Lu Yin no longer felt too apprehensive towards the Daynight n. They were just a powerful n, and he was bold enough to attempt to overthrow them.

    No matter how chaotic Daynight Flowzone became, countless people in the Innerversepletely disregarded the conflicts breaking out everywhere, as they were all utterly focused on Lu Yin.

    He waspletely fine even after receiving Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s Skybreaker, which left many people in shocked disbelief.

    Skybreaker¡¯s reputation surpassed even that of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and it was because the First Nightking had used it to raise the Nightking bloodline into a supreme position within the Daynight n. Skybreaker had once massacred countless experts from the various great powers of the Innerverse, and it had even changed the politicalndscape in many of the Innerverse¡¯s flowzones. It was a battle technique that could not be countered, as one could only use their spiritual force to desperately attempt to endure the attack. But despite that, Lu Yin had actually managed to withstand it.

    Nightking Zhenwu spat out another mouthful of blood, as Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms had beaten him to the point where he could not even retaliate.

    It was at this moment that the rest of the universe finally understood just how powerful Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm was.

    When Lan Si had lost to Lu Yin, many people had not been able to truly understand just how powerful this technique was. But now, they were able to see its power more clearly, as even Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s nine lined battle force had crumbled against the onught of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms. The attacks had shattered nine lined battle force, which was the most powerful level battle force known in the universe.

    Lan Si¡¯s face showed his shock, as he was well aware of just how powerful Vacuum Palm was. However, he was also aware that it was not powerful enough topletely prate Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s defenses. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was not the same as Lan Si¡¯s, and Lu Yin¡¯s actually seemed to be even stronger.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face flushed a deep scarlet color, and he raised a hand as he screamed out. A double-fletched arrow shot out. Lu Yin clenched his fists in response, still using Vacuum Palm,

    Lu Yin crossed through the void, and one of his feet kicked Nightking Zhenwu out of Evernight Square, and on his way out, his body shattered the First Nightking¡¯s statue.

    The Nightking n all shrieked, and a dozen people charged at Lu Yin with many members of the Daynight n appearing in all directions. They no longer intended to allow Nightking Zhenwu to face Lu Yin on his own.

    Tens of thousands of Dayking bloodline cultivators who were originally condemned to be buried suddenly charged forward as one, and they fought against the members of the Nightking bloodline, though a few of them were still restrained by the Sealed Cage Technique. However, a great majority were able to act because they were under Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s control, and at the moment, he did not have the time to restrict them with the Sealed Cage Technique.

    The Dayking bloodline had been suppressed for countless years, and at this moment, their despair had exploded forth. It had reached the point where they would either explode in silence or die in silence. The Dayking bloodline had also been one of the king ns of the Daynight n, and the members of that bloodline would not merely drift along without purpose.

    Zhuo Daynight was picked up by a few of the Dayking elders. ¡°Child, you weren¡¯t wrong. Pull yourself together¡ªwe¡¯re rebelling.¡±

    ¡°Child, we¡¯re rebelling.¡±

    ¡°Rebelling!¡±

    ¡­

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes refocused, and she nkly stared at the intense battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu that was taking ce in the distance. The void in the region surrounding Nightking had begun to break apart, and great battles were taking ce everywhere.

    Her eyes narrowed as her determination solidified. ¡°Rebel!¡±

    During the Daynight Feast, Nightqueen Yanqing and some others had already started attacking the Dayking bloodline members. At this moment, Zhuo Daynight suddenly whirled around. She rose into the sky as her white hair flew about in a mboyant manner. ¡°Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.¡±

    These words stunned countless hearts, including the members of the Dayking bloodline.

    Zhuo Daynight hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak! This had been kept a secret for so long, and nobody had known about this aside from Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu. At this moment, Zhuo had revealed that she possessed this exceptional battle technique in front of the entire universe, and in just an instant, she caused many Nightking experts to fall into a fantasy, including Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Zhanlong Daynight was shocked. This was actually Night¡¯s End, Daybreak!

    The members of the Dayking bloodline grew unbelievably excited, as they recognized their queen. They shot out, filled with the courage tomit a massacre.

    Nightking had devolved intoplete chaos.

    Nightking Zhenwu was sent flying by Lu Yin, and he crashed into Evernight City, sting through many buildings as he continuously coughed up blood.

    Lu Yin tore through the void. When he emerged, he shouted, ¡°Zhenwu, you¡¯re finished!¡±

    Lu Yin pped out a hand, his Vacuum Palm beating Nightking Zhenwu even deeper underground. The Nightking went so far that he actually shot through Nightking and emerged on the other side.

    Nightking Zhenwu raised his head and coughed up more blood. His body waspletely powerless, and he felt like all his bones were about to shatter.

    Lu Yin stepped into outer space. He moved past Nightking Zhenwu before striking out again, sending Nightking Zhenwu flying back down to Nightking.

    Nightking Zhenwu had no strength to retaliate in any way at all.

    He hadprehended Skybreaker, cultivated nine lined battle force, and even inherited the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle techniques. Any one of these moves could be considered an ultimate power, but they were all useless against Lu Yin. Lu Yin had cultivated up to this moment, and it felt as if everything that he had grasped had all been in preparation for this day, as he was able topletely counter Nightking Zhenwu.

    Was Nightking Zhenwu weak? No one would dare to say such a thing. After all, he was one of the Ten Arbiters, and who could be confident about defending themselves against Skybreaker? Who would dare to im that they could disregard the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, let alone the Heart Seeker secret technique? However, Lu Yin could.

    If not for their previous battle in the Innerverse, Lu Yin would not have been able to seize control of the battle this easily as he likely would have rushed into battle. Unfortunately, Nightking Zhenwu had been too arrogant, and he had exposed his secret technique, Heart Seeker, too early.

    In the sky above Evernight Square, a ck dot grew bigger until it finally crashed into the za.

    Everyone stared, disappointed. It was Nightking Zhenwu, and he looked iparably pathetic at this moment.

    Lu Yin descended into the square and looked down at Nightking Zhenwu.

    Shouts rang out from the Nightking experts who were off in the distance, all of them threatening Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin ignored them, only focusing on Nightking Zhenwu. If Lu Yin did not remember wrongly, then back in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Zhenwu had once used a triple-fletched arrow during his battle against Wu Taibai. However, so far he had only used double-fletched arrows, which meant that Nightking Zhenwu still had not used his full strength yet.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    Everyone felt lost, no matter if they were from the Innerverse or the Outerverse. Everyone who was watching the battle waspletely confused. Nightking Zhenwu had already been reduced to such a state; could he actually still retaliate?

    Nightking Zhenwuy on the ground. The injuries that he had suffered were severe, which was perfectly normal. Even Lan Si had lost after suffering such injuries. However, Nightking Zhenwu suddenly smiled in a manner that was extremely excited, exceptionally cruel, and yet also incredibly pleased. ¡°Hahaha, hahahahaha¡­¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he clenched his fists as his heart filled with a sense of unease.

    Suddenly, a golden radiance appeared on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body, and it formed a manifestation of his own body that then broke open. The next moment, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he bent his arms as if he were firing an arrow. This time, it was one of the triple-fletched arrows. When this arrow was released, the void copsed, and everyone on Nightking felt their hair stand on end. It felt as though this arrow could strike anyone of them and that no one could possibly evade it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. One Hundred Seventy Stacks Vacuum Palm.

    There was a thump as the Vacuum Palm shot out at the triple-fletched arrow, and they collided within the void. The extremely powerful Vacuum Palm was pierced through by the triple-fletched arrow, and the arrow continued to race towards Lu Yin. His expression changed, and he quickly used Truesight to weaken the attack while simultaneously using the Yu Secret Art to try to divert it. As a result, he barely managed to get the arrow to brush past him.

    The arrow sped into outer space, and wherever it went, the surrounding void waspletely shattered. It was impossible to see just how far the arrow had gone.

    Everyone was left speechless, and it was as if they had all gone mute. This power absolutely surpassed an attack from an Enlighter with a power level of over 300,000. How had Nightking Zhenwu done it?

    Those few elders from the Nightking bloodline who were on Nightking were also overwhelmed, as they were aware that this was not a battle technique of the Daynight n. It contained a truly terrifying power that not even Skybreaker couldpare to.

    While everyone was shocked at the strength of this triple-fletched arrow, Lu Yin was the only person still focused on Nightking Zhenwu himself. ¡°Just what is your innate gift?¡±

    Although Nightking Zhenwu had just been in a truly miserable state with all of his clothes torn apart, there was currently no other sign of injury to be seen. He had basically recovered to his peak state.

 Chapter 1075: A Battle Beyond Comprehension

    <h4>Chapter 1075: A Battle Beyond Comprehension</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu grinned There was still some blood between his teeth, and he looked incredibly sinister. ¡°Lu Yin, did you really believe that you had won? Or that you would definitely be victorious? You must have been the one who brought Leon¡¯s Armada here. Hahaha! Did you really think that you could beat me, Nightking Zhenwu? Let me tell you now¡ªit¡¯s impossible! Let alone just you, there is nobody who can defeat me! I¡¯m the leader of the Ten Arbiters, and I¡¯ve received the mandate of heaven!¡±

    He raised his hand and released another triple-fletched arrow.

    Anyone from the Innerverse who witnessed this felt frightened. Just exactly what was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift? How had hepletely recovered? No one could endure Lu Yin¡¯s attacks from before, but the Nightking had fully recovered in such a short period of time; just what sort of innate gift was this?

    The leaders of the guiding powers were also overwhelmed. They had not paid too much attention to these Ten Arbiters juniors before, and the Wen family patriarch looked shocked. ¡°This kid will definitely shock the Neoverse in the future, as very few in his generation can be his match.¡±

    Within the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue sighed. ¡°What a terrifying and unknown innate gift. On top of that, he was even able toprehend Skybreaker, and he seems to have had a destined encounter that allowed him to obtain an unrivaled arrow technique. This kid had indeed received the mandate of the heavens. It would be far, far too difficult to defeat such a person.¡±

    Even the previous sect leader of the Sword Sect had said that defeating Nightking Zhenwu would be incredibly difficult, and these words aligned perfectly with Lu Yin¡¯s current thoughts.

    He had never expected that Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift would be so terrifying, and Lu Yin even suspected that it might be something simr to his die¡¯s four pips: Timestop. If Zhenwu could stop time, then he would have all the time in the world to recover.

    Even more terrifying was the fact that despite having such a powerful innate gift and a battle technique like the triple-fletched arrow, Zhenwu had still readily resorted to poisoning as a means of dealing with Lu Yin, which showed that the Nightking was extremely meticulous. Someone who let their arrogance belie their true cautious nature was the most fearsome kind of opponent to face.

    Against the triple-fletched arrows, the only way Lu Yin could defend was by using Truesight to weaken the attacks, and then following it up with Vacuum Palm and the Yu Secret Art.

    Nightking Zhenwu had no other means of dealing with Lu Yin, so he could only incessantly fire off more triple-fletched arrows.

    The two exchanged blows like this for a long time, and Nightking had long since been reduced to a miserable state, as the ground had rent asunder underneath the¡¯s constant quivering. The First Nightking¡¯s statue had disappeared long ago, and Evernight City had been mostly destroyed as well. Everbright City had also shattered apart, and even the Night Watch Pagoda had crumbled away.

    Ling Que and all of the other guests cursed their misfortune as they hid themselves in space.

    However, not even outer space was safe. Even if Nightking Dijiang had led Highsage Leon to an unknown ce for their battle, aftershocks from the other various fights surrounding the still asionally swept through the area near the.

    Every ce next Nightking was essentially going through an apocalypse right now.

    Nightking was not just suffering from the intense battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu; the battles between the members of the Nightking n¡¯s older generation and the Enlighters from Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s subordinate forces were also causing massive damage to the.

    Something like this had never happened throughout the entire history of the Daynight n before. Even when the Sixth Maind had invaded, the invading forces had never found Nightking, and they had even given up on finding it. But on this day, Lu Yin was destroying the.

    Lava spewed out from underground and burned the sky.

    Lu Yin panted heavily as he exchanged nces with Nightking Zhenwu. Off in the distance, the Dayking and Nightking bloodlines were busy ughtering each other, and Zhuo Daynight alone was holding back a dozen Daynight n cultivators, including even Nightqueen Yanqing. A bit further away, Zhanlong Daynight was fighting against Nightking Gu.

    None of the Dayking bloodline members couldpare to the Nightking n¡¯s experts, but many of Nightking bloodline¡¯s experts were being upied by members from Leon¡¯s Armada. Thus, the Dayking n only needed to deal with a portion of the opposing Nightking n.

    ¡°Lu Yin, today, I must kill you!¡± Nightking Zhenwu swore as he gritted his teeth. He then slowly raised a hand and caused a triple-fletched arrow to appear. Then, above the three fletchings, a fourth fletching appeared. This was a quadruple-fletched arrow.

    Suddenly, the quadruple-fletched arrow seemed to be entwined with something else, and the heavens felt like they were breaking apart as everything before Lu Yin fluctuated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shrank, and he immediately activated Truesight to try to weaken the might of the quadruple-fletched arrow. However, no matter how hard he tried, the arrow retained enough power to severely wound him. More importantly, if he was injured by this arrow, then not only would it give him a physical injury, but it would also send the runes of the Heart Seeker secret technique into his body, which was absolutely deadly.

    Nightking Zhenwu revealed an arrogant look, and he rxed his hand as the quadruple-fletched arrow shot out. The void split in two before the arrowhead. Qing Longlong and the other spectators all felt their scalps go numb, and they raced away.

    Countless people were petrified as they witnessed this scene, as the power of this attack was simply too terrifying.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he moved a single foot forward as he waved a hand. Before his eyes, lines appeared in his surroundings and formed a giant chessboard. Lu Yin, Nightking Zhenwu, and even the quadruple-fletched arrow each took up a separate space on this chessboard, the Ce Secret Art¡ªAstral Chessboard. With this, everything in the universe was a chess piece.

    The quadruple-fletched arrow was naturally a chesspiece as well, one which was shooting towards Lu Yin.

    This was a Progenitor¡¯s secret technique. If Lu Yin was up against something that he could not shift with the Yu Secret Art, then the Ce Secret Art simrly would not be able to fully control it. However, the appearance of the chessboard allowed Lu Yin to sense his current situation more sharply, and he could even see the nearby lines more clearly. He himself was a chesspiece, and if that was the case, then he could also be moved.

    He saw himself as a chesspiece, so he moved himself.

    The next moment, the quadruple-fletched arrow brushed past Lu Yin¡¯s cheek and continued on into the distance, vanishing in just an instant.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression changed drastically. Impossible!

    Lu Yin struck out with a palm, and a Vacuum Palmnded straight on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s head, and his forehead visibly caved in. Logically, this attack should have knocked the Nightking unconscious if it shattered his head outright as he had not strengthened his body with his nine lined battle force.

    However, the golden radiance appeared once more before shattering, and Nightking Zhenwu returned back to normal. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°How did you evade that quadruple-fletched arrow?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Exactly what is your innate gift?¡±

    The two of them had sessfully confused the other now. Nightking Zhenwu could not understand how Lu Yin had avoided his arrow, as it had been a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique that could even seal the void.

    However, Lu Yin was even more confused, as he could not understand how Nightking Zhenwu could instantly and repeatedly recover from his injuries. It was simply freakish.

    The countless people watching the battle between the two youths were even more perplexed. Even the powerhouses from the older generation like Liu Qianjue could not understand what was happening or what these two youths were doing.

    This battle was not at the level of a fight between mere youths, and it had drawn the attention of countless older powerhouses. In fact, these two youths had revealed their ability to contend with Enlighters whose power levels were above 300,000.

    ¡°If you can avoid that quadruple-fletched arrow, then why don¡¯t you try this!¡± Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew malevolent. His skin cracked open as blood seeped out, giving him a bloodied look. Another quadruple-fletched arrow appeared in his hand, but then he spat a mouthful of blood onto the four feathers. With that, a fifth feather appeared; this was a quintuple-fletched arrow.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, and he immediately used Truesight to try to remove some of the arrow¡¯s runes.

    At that moment, the sky seemed to re up, as if an unbearable power had appeared.

    Highsage Leon and Nightking Dijiang were also shocked, as this was a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique.

    This quintuple-fletched arrow was not something that Nightking Zhenwu could normally manifest. However, he had sacrificed part of his own body in order to fire the arrow at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face went pale, and the chessboard reappeared beneath his feet. He turned himself into a chesspiece, intending to move himself. He sessfully did so; after all, this was a secret technique. Still, moving was one matter, and the quintuple-fletched arrow contained a sharpness that sliced at his neck, causing blood to spurt towards the sky.

    Lu Yin was shocked; this was not good.

    Nightking Zhenwu suddenly looked excited. ¡°If the heart is willing, then anything can be an arrow! You¡¯re doomed! Heart Seeker!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and the Astral Chessboard suddenly shrank to cover him. He turned himself as well as the Heart Seeker secret technique into chesspieces that he instantly diverted. The Heart Seeker secret technique was shifted to his shoulder just a moment before it reached his heart, and Lu Yin moved his hand to tear away the flesh at his shoulder.

    This scene was identical to what had happened before, and nobody outside of the battle could make any sense of Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Only some powerhouses from the older generation were able to vaguely understand that this had something to do with a secret technique.

    After all, only secret techniques could fight off another secret technique.

    Nightking Zhenwu was astonished to see that even his Heart Seeker secret technique had been neutralized. Lu Yin could not be allowed to live! The same golden radiance once again appeared around the Nightking¡¯s body, and his originally pitiful state instantly recovered. He once again manifested the quintuple-fletched arrow, injuring himself yet again. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many times you can avoid it!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and Night Advent descended, causing Nightking Zhenwu to see nothing but darkness.

    Nightking Zhenwu snorted, as he had never been afraid of anyone when it came to spiritual force.

    But all Lu Yin needed was that single moment, as he used it to unleash Vacuum Palm while Nightking Zhenwu was still raising the arrow in his hand.

    However, the power of the quintuple-fletched arrow was too great to be blocked. Although Lu Yin used the Astral Chessboard to once again divert the Heart Seeker secret technique, he had to rip off another piece of his body to eliminate it.

    Fresh blood dripped down from his body, making him look even more pathetic than Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate in the slightest, and he continuously raised his hand to release Vacuum Palms, stopping Nightking Zhenwu from using the quintuple-fletched arrow again.

    Nightking Zhenwu was constantly bombarded by Vacuum Palms, and his body sank underground. Indents appeared on his body, but a golden radiance would asionally appear andpletely restore him.

    Above the, the observing crowd was dumbfounded, as this was an unbelievable battle, and it far surpassed the confrontation between Lu Yin and Lan Si.

    These people did not know about the remaining Ten Arbiters, but they were quite confident that these two youths had surpassed Lan Si.

    Lu Yin sted at Nightking Zhenwu, and the Nightking sank underground. The two people shot into the magma, and Lu Yin did not dare to let up. He knew that the moment he did, Nightking Zhenwu would be able to release another quintuple-fletched arrow.

    Also, if Lu Yin did not stop his assault, he would not be able to kill Nightking Zhenwu either.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift was inexplicable.

    Nightking Zhenwu constantly coughed out blood, but he smiled like a fanatic. ¡°Beat me! Let¡¯s see just how much you can beat me, but you¡¯ll never be able to defeat me! Nobody can defeat me! Hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he continued to unleash more Vacuum Palms to suppress Nightking Zhenwu. By now, Nightking itself was starting to break apart.

    Could he truly not win? Just what exactly was this person¡¯s innate gift?

    Given Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s arrogance, he would not tell anybody else about his innate gift, as this was his greatest trump card, and it was what made him impossible to defeat.

    Sweat mixed with blood and as the mixture rained down. Lu Yin¡¯s arms grew weak, and he decided to roll his die. If Nightking Zhenwu was betting on his innate gift, then so too could Lu Yin. They could simplypete over whose innate gift was better.

    Suddenly, a voice rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s ears. ¡°Don¡¯t give up! This might be the day when he ascends into glory, but it might also be the darkest moment of his life. I can¡¯t calcte his future.¡±

    It was Starsibyl. Lu Yin had never thought that, at this moment, Starsibyl would tell him such a thing. She could not predict Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s future?

    While Lu Yin was thinking about this, the golden radiance reappeared on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s body, and he instantly recovered again. Then, he raised a hand and unleashed Skybreaker. Lu Yin was caught unprepared and was struck head on without a chance to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. As a result, his mind went fuzzy, and he crashed far underground.

    Nightking Zhenwu leaped up, panting heavily. He waved a hand, causing his star energy to form an arrow that would pierce Lu Yin¡¯s body and pin him to the ground. At that moment, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s vision shifted, and he saw the First Nightking, still as imposing as before. Hmph, so it¡¯s Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    Others might be forever dragged down into a fantasy by Night¡¯s End, Daybreak and be unable to free themselves, but Zhenwu would not. He hadprehended Skybreaker.

    Pop!

    Zhuo Daynight spat out a mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground, her face deathly white.

 Chapter 1076: Only Weakness

    <h4>Chapter 1076: Only Weakness</h4>

    Nightking Zhenwu turned around to stare at Zhuo Daynight, his gaze cruel and filled with naked bloodlust. ¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡±

    He then suddenly appeared right in front of her, grabbed ahold of her head, and picked her up. As he moved closer, he revealed a cruel smile. ¡°Do you really think that your life can change for the better? Let me tell you this¡ªI don¡¯t even want Night¡¯s End, Daybreak anymore. I, Nightking Zhenwu, am invincible, and nobody can defeat me! Today, I¡¯ll kill off the Dayking bloodline, and I¡¯ll have the entire Dayking bloodline die the same miserable death as your parents! I will even cut Lu Yin to pieces in front of you!¡±

    He then flung Zhuo Daynight straight towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°Keep singing, Fireplume Tribe. Keep singing for me! I, Nightking Zhenwu, am invincible! Hahaha.¡±

    The Fireplume Tribe¡¯s song rang out, and they wove a song of Nightking Zhenwu stepping onto the path of being invincible.

    Above the, all the onlookers hadplex expressions, as Nightking Zhenwu was truly disying an unfathomable strength.

    Throughout the Innerverse, the countless people watching this scene fell silent. There were stronger and weaker members among the Ten Arbiters, and Lan Si¡¯s most powerful attack was the Vacuum Palm, which was not even enough to stop a quadruple-fletched arrow. In other words, he would barely be able to match up to Nightking Zhenwu.

    If that was true of Lan Si, then what of the other Arbiters?

    Nightking Zhenwu approached Lu Yin, step by step.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire vision had gone fuzzy, and he was finally able to understand the true power of Skybreaker. Even now, his body was still pinned to the ground as fresh blood flowed from his body, staining his surroundings.

    Zhuo Daynight struggled to her feet and blocked Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s path to Lu Yin, her eyes overflowing with hatred.

    Nightking Zhenwu raised his head arrogantly. Although he was also in a pathetic state, at this moment, he had emerged victorious.

    Thebination of one of the Daynight n¡¯s unrivaled spiritual force battle techniques, a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, a secret technique, and finally, a mysterious innate gift had given rise to a truly peerless powerhouse. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s demonstration of power in this fight had left the entire universe speechless.

    Even Envoy-level powerhouses from the older generation looked at the young Nightking with a renewed wariness. Once someone like this matured, they would be unstoppable, and not even the other nine Arbiters would be able to hold Zhenwu back. Although they might not know the true strength of the other Arbiters, no matter what, it was impossible for them to surpass the strength that Nightking Zhenwu had revealed today.

    Countless people from the Innerverse and Outerverse had witnessed Nightking Zhenwu step onto the peak of humanity, and his existence left untold numbers of people nervous.

    The people within the Hall of Honor who had been neutral up to this moment all started leaning towards supporting Nightking Zhenwu. He would definitely be one of the Cosmic Five, and it might not actually be impossible for him to be a Progenitor in the future.

    Even if someone like Zhenwu was not able to be a Progenitor, his strength would still be at the peak of his generation.

    This was the effect that Nightking Zhenwu wanted to have on everyone. He had schemed to administer the poison to Lu Yin and force Zhuo Daynight into despair, all toprehend Night¡¯s End, Daybreak while countless people from the universe watched on. He wanted to force everyone to recognize him as the leader of the Ten Arbiters. From the very beginning, he had wanted to trample over Lu Yin, and although some mishaps had urred along the way, this oue was the one that he had always desired.

    No, this was actually even better; the stronger Lu Yin was, the greater the value there was in trampling over him.

    The air around Lu Yin began to clear, and the after-effects of Skybreaker gradually disappeared. He raised his hand to break the arrow and then half-knelt on the ground as he struggled to stare at Nightking Zhenwu.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s voice was icily arrogant. ¡°How many times can you resist? I¡¯m not injured in the slightest, but what about you? You¡¯re already crippled! Lu Yin, I¡¯ve given you an opportunity, but you didn¡¯t cherish it. Nobody can offend my Daynight n and get away with it. There never was, and there never will be.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was speaking to Lu Yin, but was also delivering a warning to the entire universe. The First Nightking had led the Daynight n to the top ranks of the Innerverse¡¯s powers, and Zhenwu wanted to carry the Daynight n into the Neoverse and to the peak of the Human Domain.

    He wanted to use this Daynight Feast to let everyone in the Innerverse know that he, Nightking Zhenwu, was not someone who could be defied and he would be utterly invincible in the future.

    Countless people felt their hearts tremble as they stared at Nightking Zhenwu in fear.

    At that moment, a figure moved along the cracked earth with an unsteady gait. They approached from the distance, narrowly avoiding the cracks that constantly released burning clouds of air from underground. Nightking asionally trembled, which caused the person to fall down several times, but they stubbornly got up and continued on every time. They had walked for a long time to reach this battlefield.

    The person was a woman with white fiery wings burning behind her. Her demeanor was elegant, and she would normally be a beautiful person. However, her current appearance was as skinny as a corpse, and there were vacant holes where her eyes should have been, making for a rather frightening appearance.

    Nightking Zhenwu looked over at the woman and frowned. He then barked at her, ¡°Why did youe here? Get back!¡±

    The woman slowly spoke out, her voice beautiful and intoxicating. ¡°Twenty-six of my sisters have already been sacrificed for this battle. I want to ask you, how much longer will this battle continue for?¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression grew sharp, and he waved a hand to create a gale that flung the woman away. ¡°Scram!¡±

    Upon hearing the woman¡¯s words, it was as if a streak of lightning shed through Lu Yin¡¯s brain, Twenty-six, Twenty-six¡­

    Lu Yin had attacked Nightking Zhenwu and injured him to the point of death exactly twenty-six times so far. Lu Yin had taken note of this number very well because he did not believe that there was such a thing as an invincible innate gift that couldpletely heal a person¡¯s injuries forever. There had to be an upper limit to Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift, and Lu Yin simply had not reached that limit yet. This was why the number twenty-six was so clear in his mind.

    In this part of the universe, it was impossible for there to be an innate gift like what Nightking Zhenwu apparently possessed, one that could restore him to perfect health without any sort of limit. It was simply impossible. So, if his innate gift was not perfect recovery, then could it be¡­ transference?

    Lu Yin looked up at Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°You can transfer your injuries away?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight was overwhelmed. Transfer injuries? Is there really an innate gift like that?

    Nightking Zhenwu sneered, and he looked at Lu Yin with pity. ¡°You¡¯re quite smart. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s transference. I can tell you right now that there are over a thousand members of the Fireplume Tribe on this that I can transfer my injuries to. That means that, unless you kill me more than a thousand times, I¡¯m basically invincible and will be able to recover at any time.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face turned deathly white; how was that possible? How could there be such a freakish innate gift?!

    Lu Yin had never thought that such an innate gift existed; over a thousand? There were actually so many tribe members? That could not be right. Lu Yin¡¯s own innate gift was an extremely bizarre die, but it was restricted by the aspect of luck, and he could not roll whatever number he wanted whenever he wanted. The more inexplicable an innate gift was, the greater the restrictions that would be ced upon it. It was impossible for Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift to not have any restrictions.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered Ellen Gale¡¯s diary that he had read before. That journal had mentioned that the members of the Fireplume Tribe had ¡°offered him blood from our hearts.¡± Could Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift be rted to the heartblood of the Fireplume Tribe? If so, then the Nightking¡¯s weakness might lie in his heart.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold. No matter what, he had to try out this theory. Otherwise, he would absolutely lose.

    When Nightking Zhenwu saw Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grow more determined, the Nightking suddenly took action. A double-fletched arrow appeared in his hand. ¡°Are you trying to resist?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes focused, and he diverted the Fatesand in his body as he burst out with his full physical strength.

    He had not diverted the Fatesand during this entire battle because his Vacuum Palm had been enough to leave a fatal wound on Nightking Zhenwu. Thus, there had been no need for Lu Yin to unleash his full physical strength, and it had coincidentally be the perfect hidden trump card at this moment.

    As the Fatesand was diverted, his physical strength rose dramatically. Lu Yin picked up a hand and used pure physical strength to p out a Vacuum Palm, shattering the double-fletched arrow. The attack continued on and almost directly struck Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s heart.

    Nightking Zhenwu spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was sent flying. However, while he was still in mid air, the golden radiance appeared andpletely restored his body. He red at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much longer you can persist for!¡±

    His body then seemed to shatter as he fired off a quintuple-fletched arrow.

    Against a quintuple-fletched arrow, Lu Yin was forced to use his full strength along with the Ce Secret Art to divert the arrow. Then, he had to rip off another portion of his flesh to diffuse the Heart Seeker secret technique. Lu Yin¡¯s body was riddled with wounds from where he had gouged out his own flesh, and he looked exceptionally miserable.

    If not for his innate gift to transfer his injuries, there was simply no other way for Nightking Zhenwu to shoot out a quintuple-fletched arrow.

    At this moment, Nightking Zhenwu was basically cheating. If the members of the Fireplume Tribe were taken away, there was no way Zhenwu would be able to do anything to Lu Yin. Actually, Zhenwu was not that much more powerful than the other Arbiters, and his innate gift was not that exceptional either. Rather, thergest difference between them was that Zhenwu had a truly vile personality.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and endured. If he had not seen wrong, then Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift of transference was a bit slower when shifting his injuries. After thinking about it, Lu Yin once again aimed at the Nightking¡¯s heart, intending to focus every one of his attacks on the heart. No matter how much blood Lu Yin lost or how severe his injuries became, he would not let up on his relentless attacks.

    Vacuum Palms rained down from above, and the two youths sank beneath the ground as the earth trembled while the sky was sted apart.

    Qing Longlong, Avery, Ling Que, Mira, Michelle, and the others had all long since lost their voices, and they could only watch on in silence.

    On the other side of Nightking, an elder was feeling uneasy. This man was Nightking Leng, and he was the Nightking elder who had ambushed Lu Yin in the Outerverse.

    Nightking Leng¡¯s opponent was a man with a strange body whose skin was covered with scales. This man was one of the captains of the seven great regiments subordinate to Leon¡¯s Armada. He was the captain of the Merman Regiment, and people called him Brother Hao. As could be seen, he was a powerful merman with a power level of more than 400,000.

    Nightking Leng wanted to intervene in the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu, but he had been stopped by Brother Hao.

    ¡°Does your Leon¡¯s Armada really want to be mortal enemies with my Daynight n?¡± Nightking Leng threatened.

    Brother Hao grinned, revealing his fangs. ¡°Obviously! That¡¯s Little Seven¡¯s fight, so you should stay here with me.¡±

    The captain then ferociously charged at Nightking Leng, grabbing and pulling the elder into outer space.

    Before the captain left, he looked at Nightking with worry in his eyes. Little Seven, this is the choice that you¡¯ve made. Whether or not you win, whether or not you survive, it all depends on you. Leon¡¯s Armada has done all that we can.

    All of the Nightking bloodline¡¯s older powerhouses on Nightking had been intercepted by various captains from Leon¡¯s Armada, and they had all been dragged into outer space by now.

    At this moment, Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battlefield had taken up all of Nightking, and it was continuing to spread as the two struggled for victory. Outsiders would not be allowed to disturb the youths¡¯ battle.

    Nightking began to crack, and although Nightking was absolutely massive, it was unable to tolerate attacks that almost had power levels of 300,000.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attacks never ceased, and he pushed himself to endure as he did not believe there was such a thing as a perfect innate gift. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s weakness had to be his heart.

    Nightking Zhenwu was simply unable to retaliate against Lu Yin¡¯s continuous attacks. Lu Yin had already learned his lesson, and he constantly recited the Stonewall Scriptures as he attacked, preemptively guarding himself against any of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force counter attacks.

    Everyone was staring at Nightking, as they all felt that Lu Yin had reached his limit whereas Nightking Zhenwu was constantly recovering to a perfect state through the flickering golden light. However, each time he recovered, it took him a bit longer.

    Each time the golden light appeared, it left Zhuo Daynight and others feeling even greater despair. At this time, the countless people in the Innerverse and Outerverse watching the battle felt their hearts tighten each time they saw the golden radiance appear, and they all clenched their fists. They were strangely hoping that Lu Yin would be able to achieve victory. He had already done so much, and he had also endured for long enough.

    The leaders of the great flowzones¡¯ guiding powers had developed a rather strong impression of Lu Yin. No matter if it was Lu Yin or Nightking Zhenwu, once either of these two matured, they would both be peerless powerhouses.

 Chapter 1077: Funeral Dirge

    <h4>Chapter 1077: Funeral Dirge</h4>

    On the surface of Nightking, shattered pieces of earth pressed down upon the leg of the Fireplume Tribe woman, and her thigh bled incessantly. Nearby, plumes ofva shot into the air and burned away the trickling blood while turning the air red.

    The woman looked over. She could not see the battle, but she could still hear it. Her name was Ellen Gale.

    There was a bang as the ground split open. Lu Yin instantly grabbed Nightking Zhenwu and rose into the air before fiercely pounding Nightking Zhenwu back down into the ground. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mouth opened wide, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face betrayed his agony, though his eyes continued to grow even more hateful and malevolent. He was waiting for the moment when Lu Yin faltered. Zhenwu would not allow Lu Yin to die too easily, and the young Nightking intended to torture Lu Yin to death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arms trembled as his blood continued to trickle down. He was truly about to reach his limit, but he still had not breached the Nightking¡¯s innate gift yet. Lu Yin could only gamble by continuing to roll his die. If he rolled four pips: Timestop, he would be able topletely recover, and after that, they would see who ousted the other.

    Ellen Gale faced the battlefield. The Fireplume Tribe¡¯s war song for Nightking Zhenwu still echoed within her ears. She slowly opened her mouth, and a pleasant and elegant melody flowed forth as she guided the Fireplume Tribe to change their tune. It quickly became a distressed song that had never been heard before. This was the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s funeral dirge, and Ellen was sending off her dead sisters.

    As the funeral dirge filled the battlefield, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he felt an intense pain in his heart that was so severe that it left him unable to breathe. He whirled around to re at Ellen Gale. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Ellen Gale was kneeling on the ground, her fists clenched as she held them in front of her chest and sang a moving and mournful song that sounded more like a prayer. This funeral dirge was to send off her sisters, but at the same time, she also intended to send Nightking Zhenwu on his way.

    Nightking Zhenwu had never heard the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s funeral dirge before, and the grief contained within this song made his heart ache so badly that he could hardly breathe. He felt like something was off, and he wanted to stop the Fireplume Tribe, but at that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s punchnded above his heart. Nightking Zhenwu was once again forced to face the sky as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He hurriedly tried to transfer his new injuries away, but the pain and grief surging within his heart interrupted his ability to do so. He was fully experiencing Ellen Gale¡¯s emotions because his heart held Ellen Gale¡¯s heartblood as well as the heartblood of the entire Fireplume Tribe.

    All of the sorrow, despair, and helplessness that the Fireplume Tribe had ever experienced was surging through Nightking Zhenwu at this moment.

    Humans possessed a wide range of emotions, and there were several basic ones shared by everyone. Nightking Zhenwu had originally ignored all of these emotions, but as much as he tried at this moment, they were magnified beyond his control. Specifically, the agony he felt was multiplied until it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

    ¡°Shut up, shut up!¡± Nightking Zhenwu screamed.

    Lu Yin kicked out, stomping Nightking Zhenwu underground. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes werepletely bloodshot. ¡°Nightking Zhenwu, you¡¯re finished!¡±

    He knew that Nightking Zhenwu could no longer transfer his injuries away, and no matter what the reason behind that change was, the Nightking was doomed.

    Lu Yinnded multiple punches right above Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s heart.

    Nightking Zhenwu shrieked and tried to unleash Skybreaker, but Lu Yin severed the Nightking¡¯s left arm. ¡°This is for Wendy!¡±

    Zhenwu raised a hand to create a quadruple-fletched arrow, but his right arm was sliced off by Lu Yin before the arrow could form. ¡°This is for ndering me!¡±

    Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force erupted, but it was useless against Lu Yin.

    He had unleashed the Heart Seeker secret technique the moment that Lu Yin attacked, but Lu Yin had instantly diverted it with his Ce Secret Art and ripped off another chunk of his own flesh.

    Both youths¡¯ bodies were heavily mutted by now, and Lu Yin¡¯s punchnded on Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s face, sending him flying away before crashing straight into a stone wall. ¡°This punch is for the Fireplume Tribe!¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu was no longer able to transfer his injuries not only because Ellen Gale had started singing the Fireplume Tribe¡¯s funeral dirge, but also because all of the women of the Fireplume Tribe with whom he had linked himself had killed themselves. After Lu Yin had started attacking his heart, Zhenwu was no longer able to transfer his injuries.

    Over a thousand members of the Fireplume Tribe had killed themselves all at once, and this showed Ellen Gale¡¯s determination. She had waited a long time for this day, and she had already recorded down her swan song in her diary. Right now, she was determined to drag Nightking Zhenwu down with them. Nightking Zhenwu had condemned the Fireplume Tribe to a lifetime of agony and despair, and Ellen Gale had found herself unable to continue living like this. At the same time, she could not stop herself from loving Nightking Zhenwu, as this man had given her a taste of love. Thus, all she could do was take the man down along with her.

    Nightking Zhenwu was embedded within the stone wall, and he looked at Lu Yin with scarlet eyes, refusing to ept his situation as he constantly coughed up blood. ¡°I- I won¡¯t lose! No, I am.. peerless! I am the¡­ mandate of heaven!¡±

    Lu Yin mmed a hand down, sting Nightking Zhenwu straight underground. The earth erupted as the surface dropped by dozens of meters.

    Nightking Zhenwu copsed onto the ground like a corpse, still coughing up blood.

    The people in the Innerverse and Outerverse were allpletely silent, as no one knew what to think. They could only nkly stare at the screens.

    However, they were certain of one thing: Nightking Zhenwu was truly finished this time.

    Above Nightking, Nightking Dijiang suddenly appeared, and he raised a hand as he tried to reach toward Nightking. However, right as he stretched out his hand, a tyrant de shed out, and Highsage Leon snarled, ¡°Dijiang, are you trying to interfere?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s face grew dark. ¡°Zhenwu¡¯s already lost, so there¡¯s no need for them to keep fighting.¡±

    Highsage Leonughed maniacally. ¡°This isn¡¯t a duel¡ªit¡¯s a war!¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Highsage Leon, are you trying to be mortal enemies with my Daynight n?¡±

    Highsage Leon sneered. ¡°So what if I am?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he kept ncing down at Nightking. Nightking Zhenwu was of vital importance to the Nightking bloodline, as the kid¡¯s talent was second only to the First and Third Nightkings. In fact, he had even gained the opportunity to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower. Zhenwu was the Daynight n¡¯s best hope of rising to a higher level, and they could not allow him to be killed.

    ¡°Highsage Leon, my Daynight n will pay any price as long as Nightking Zhenwu can survive,¡± Nightking Dijiang said in a deep voice. He was the patriarch of the Daynight n, and he was already setting his dignity aside by speaking to a pirate in such a manner.

    Highsage Leon twirled his de around. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. This is their battlefield, so the oue should be decided by them.¡±

    On the other side of Nightking, one after another, powerhouses from the Nightking n tried to force their way onto Nightking so that they could rescue Nightking Zhenwu. However, everyst one of them was stopped.

    At this moment, Daynight Flowzone was filled with chaos, and many of the Daynight n¡¯s powerhouses were busy dealing with the pirates, like Nightking Yuanjing.

    The outside universe was unable to reinforce the Daynight n, and those who had supported the Daynight n within the Hall of Honor had also been stalled. zing Mist Flowzone had been ambushed, the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds had activated the sourcebox array to protect the stone que, and the final unaffected experts in the ancestral grounds had been stalled by the Great Yu Empire¡¯s androids.

    The entire Daynight n was unable to support Nightking in any way.

    Beneath the stone que, in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, a person within the elders stood up and calmly looked at the elder who had activated the sourcebox array. ¡°Your sin will be judged once I return.¡±

    He then stepped out. His strength, which should have been that of an Enlighter, suddenly exploded. Space itself distorted, and he instantly vanished.

    The ones left behind were all overwhelmed. ¡°That¡¯s an Envoy¡¯s strength, as only an Envoy can break through this array. When did he be an Envoy?¡±

    ¡°The strength of stellr energy. My Daynight n actually has a hidden Envoy.¡±

    That elder who had activated the Sourcebox Array to protect the que suddenly went pale; there had actually been an Envoy among them. This was the end, as an Envoy could change everything.

    Above Nightking, the person who had been seated with the elders in the ancestral grounds appeared, and he was about to descend upon Nightking when a longsword tore through the void in front of him, blocking his path to Nightking. ¡°One more step forward, and you¡¯ll die.¡±

    The emissary''s eyes shrunk, ¡°The Liu family?¡±

    Behind the sword stood a middle-aged man. ¡°Subordinate to Leon¡¯s Armada, captain of the Lightning Sword Regiment, Liu Feng.¡±

    The emissary was shocked. ¡°Liu Feng? Back then someone with that name had left the Liu family, destroyed all of the Liu family sword techniques that they had learned, and entered the Cosmic Sea alone. Are you that Liu Feng? You actually became an Envoy?¡±

    Liu Feng clenched his sword hilt and pointed it at the Daynight elders¡¯ emissary. ¡°Another step forward and you will die.¡±

    The emissary smiled bitterly. ¡°Who could have known that Leon¡¯s Armada even contained a hidden powerhouse like you. It¡¯s no wonder why they stand at the top of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s four pirate crews and are even able to leave the Hall of Honor apprehensive.¡±

    He then turned to nce over at Nightking before also looking at Highsage Leon. ¡°Captain Leon, can you give my Nightking n some face and not kill Zhenwu? My Nightking n will forever remember this favor.¡±

    Highsage Leon barked, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that the oue of this battle is up to those two kids. If Little Seven dies, then I won¡¯t try to stop the Nightking either. Thus, if Nightking Zhenwu dies, I won¡¯t let you guys stop it.¡±

    The emissary shook his head, ¡°Since you¡¯ve revealed your stance, then there¡¯s nothing more to discuss.¡±

    The man¡¯s body gradually dispersed and slowly floated away before ultimately merging into Nightking Dijiang¡¯s body.

    When they witnessed this scene, both Highsage Leon and Liu Feng were left in a daze; what was happening?

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s aura had originally been weaker than Highsage Leon¡¯s, but it suddenly surged and climbed past Highsage Leon when the two men merged together, leaving space trembling. The Nightking patriarch waved a hand, and Highsage Leon was actually beaten back. He cried out in rm, ¡°A power level of 800,000? You-¡±

    On Nightking, Lu Yin looked up,pletely stunned. This was a terrifying power level, and it wasparable to Ancestor Autumnfrost, whom Lu Yin had seen at Endless Weave¡¯s border. So the Daynight n actually had a powerful expert on this level.

    Nightking Dijiang had absorbed the elders¡¯ emissary, allowing his power level to surge dramatically and instantly surpass Highsage Leon¡¯s. The Nightking patriarch had reached the level of a World Imprinter.

    Nobody could have predicted this.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse, the Daynight n also had suffered some casualties, and more than ten of their Enlighters had died. In fact, even an Envoy of the n had perished. Despite all of that, Nightking Dijiang had never revealed his full strength. But at this moment, for Nightking Zhenwu, he had exposed his full strength in view of the entire universe.

    This was the Daynight n¡¯s hidden power.

    Nightking Dijiang was the Daynight n patriarch, and he had always remained quiet, rarely ever showing his face. However, the moment he revealed himself, he had shocked the universe.

    Highsage Leon swallowed his saliva. ¡°You- What the hell? How did you do it?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang had a stern expression, and his voice was cold. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you¡ªtake your people away, and we can ignore everything that¡¯s happened today.¡±

    Highsage Leon gritted his teeth.

    Liu Feng¡¯s gaze grew sharp.

    Above Nightking, the pirate captains who had been blocking the Nightking n¡¯s experts were also shocked. It was no wonder why the Daynight n was considered to be one of the ultimate families of the Innerverse. Out of nowhere, they had revealed the existence of a powerhouse whose power level exceeded 800,000. It was simply insane.

    On Nightking, Nightking Zhenwu coughed up blood as he stared up into outer space. He then smiled in a very sinister and miserable fashion. ¡°Lu Yin, do you dare to move? Do you dare? Hahaha, in the end, you don¡¯t even dare to attack me!¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists.

    In the distance, Zhuo Daynight was grieving.

    Nightking Zhenwuughed in a disturbing manner. ¡°Wait, oh just wait for me to get back from the Neoverse after I be one of the Cosmic Five and obtain a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance! At that time, I¡¯ll stomp on you, and then, you¡¯ll never be able to beat me! It will be forever impossible!¡±

    Lu Yin calmly looked down at Nightking Zhenwu. ¡°There¡¯s no need to wait. You¡¯re doomed to die today.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu red at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you actually dare to kill me? Do you even have the ability to do so? My patriarch is watching. Let alone you, even if that entire group of pirates wanted to kill me, they wouldn¡¯t be able to! No one can kill me, and you¡¯ll never be able to either! I¡¯ll slowly torment Zhuo Daynight to death, so just wait. I¡¯ll bury the entire Dayking bloodline!¡±

 Chapter 1078: Nightking Planetâ€™s Doomsday

    <h4>Chapter 1078: Nightking¡¯s Doomsday</h4>

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, and his conversation with Wang Wen reappeared in his head.

    ¡°Do you have the means to go against a super powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s answer had been ¡°yes.¡± He had given such an answer because of Big Sis¡¯s promise, and Big Sis¡¯s promise was the same as Highsage Leon¡¯s promise.

    ¡°Do you dare to do anything? Hahaha! Rest assured, I will never retract my usations, and you will never qualify topete at the Astral Tower! I won¡¯t give you the opportunity to do so! Hahaha!¡± Nightking Zhenwuughed maniacally.

    Lu Yin frowned, and a hand swept down to p the Nightking. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mouth filled with blood, and he spat it out. The marks of five fingers had appeared on his face, and his expression grew venomous. ¡°Sooner orter, I¡¯ll have you disappear without even a corpse remaining behind. Just wait!¡±

    In outer space, above Nightking, Highsage Leon was puzzled. ¡°What exactly have you cultivated? How can you actually absorb a living person?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang calmly said, ¡°Take your people out of Daynight Flowzone, immediately.¡±

    Highsage Leon put his tyrant de away. ¡°I probably won¡¯t be able to beat you, but someone else can.¡±

    Suddenly, he shouted, ¡°Senior, Junior is being bullied!¡±

    His loud voice reverberated throughout space, startling the various people watching.

    With that, another tremendous bellow rang out, startling the crowd once more. ¡°Who dares to bully my junior? Get over here and die!¡± A muscr, middle-aged man appeared as the voice echoed about, and he immediately red at Nightking Dijiang. A terrifying aura warped the nearby space, as not even space could endure this man¡¯s presence.

    With his appearance, ripples could be seen spreading out across more than the surrounding region¡ªthey were actually distorting the entire Daynight Flowzone.

    Everyone was overwhelmed, as an unknown powerhouse had just appeared.

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s pupils shrank, as he had not noticed this person¡¯s presence at all.

    ¡°Who dares to bully my junior?¡± the middle-aged man barked. He pped a hand onto Highsage Leon¡¯s shoulder despite clearly being much shorter than Highsage Leon. However, this one hand was powerful enough to almost flip Highsage Leon over. ¡°Junior, point that person out to Senior. Who dares to bully you?¡±

    Highsage Leon grimaced. ¡°That hurts, Senior. Be more gentle, it hurts.¡±

    The middle-aged man pulled his hand back, but he unhappily said, ¡°Such soft skin and tender flesh. So what if I tap you once?¡±

    Highsage Leon was left speechless. ¡°Senior, your power level is over 900,000, and any random pat that you give could kill someone.¡±

    The middle-aged man blinked. ¡°Oh, right. I forgot about that. Hahaha, my power level did break through 900,000! Hahaha.¡±

    Highsage Leon pursed his lips, but he no longer spoke.

    Across from the two men, Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eyelids twitched¡ªbroke through a power level of 900,000?

    ¡°May I ask who you might be? Why are you interfering in my Daynight n¡¯s affairs?¡± Nightking Dijiang gloomily asked.

    The middle-aged man raised his head. ¡°I am Highsage Shenwei, Highsage Leon¡¯s senior. Why did you bully my junior?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang seemed a bit wary. The name Highsage was clearly some sort of title rather than a familial surname. However, it represented a power that was known as Eversky Ind.

    Anybody who left Eversky Ind would change their surname to Highsage.

    This was why Nightking Dijiang had always remained cautious of Highsage Leon. Even if the patriarch had merged with the elders¡¯ emissary and bolstered his power level to above 800,000, he still did not want to act against Highsage Leon, and it was precisely because the patriarch was wary of Eversky Ind, which stood behind Highsage Leon. Who could have known that the attackers would bring out people from Eversky Ind?

    ¡°So it¡¯s an expert from Eversky Ind. Please, excuse my disrespect,¡± Nightking Dijiang courteously replied.

    Eversky Indy within the Neoverse, and although the patriarch did not know exactly where it stood within the Neoverse, he did know one thing: nobody was willing to provoke Eversky Ind. Even powers that were on a simr level within the Neoverse, such as the Cosmic Sect, were unwilling to upset Eversky Ind, as the ind was rather unnatural.

    Nightking Dijiang spoke quite courteously, and Highsage Shenwei was very satisfied. ¡°That¡¯s right. Your attitude seems to be alright, and you have some manners.¡±

    Next to the middle-aged man, Highsage Leon quietly muttered, ¡°Senior, he¡¯s just putting on a front. Don¡¯t forget, he¡¯s the Nightking n¡¯s patriarch. A Nightking! Have you forgotten?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s brows rose. ¡°A Nightking? Right, that family isn¡¯t very reasonable to talk with.¡±

    He then suddenly barked, ¡°Did you bully my junior?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang calmly answered, ¡°Leon¡¯s Armada attacked my Daynight Flowzone, and my Daynight n has only acted in self-defense thus far.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei snorted and looked around. ¡°The way things are looking, this doesn¡¯t seem much like self-defense, but rather like excessive self-defense.¡±

    Highsage Leon bellowed, ¡°That¡¯s right! Senior, teach him a lesson! He nearly crippled Junior!¡±

    Nightking Dijiang grew furious. He was the patriarch of the Daynight n, and they had dominated both the Innerverse and the Outerverse with nobody daring to scold him. He had never encountered such a humiliation before, but he was forced to act submissively before an ultimate powerhouse from the Neoverse. ¡°I have not even taken action.¡±

    Highsage Leon¡¯s brows rose. ¡°The moment you moved, I would have been crippled.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°Makes sense.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eye twitched, as these two bastards were clearly stirring up trouble for no good reason. ¡°Today¡¯s matter was instigated by Leon¡¯s Armada, and they have initiated numerous great battles throughout my Daynight Flowzone. Although my Daynight n is not a great power of the Neoverse, we are still recognized as a Family of Honor by the Hall of Honor. Despite us having no powerful individuals within the n, we will not go down without a struggle or tolerate such humiliation. When the Third Nightking returns, this matter will definitely be brought back up.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was shocked. ¡°The Third Nightking? He isn¡¯t dead?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang replied in a low voice, ¡°Of course not, and he¡¯ll return shortly.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked over at Highsage Leon. ¡°If the Third Nightking returns, I might not be able to beat him.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Highsage Leon asked.

    Highsage Shenwei thought about it before replying, ¡°We¡¯ll pull Grand Senior out and have him make some trouble. As long as he steps out, we won¡¯t have to be afraid even if the First Nightking revives, let alone the Third Nightking.¡±

    Highsage Leon nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, we will need to ask Grand Senior toe out.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang listened to the conversation of the two men, and his skin started to crawl. They still had a Grand Senior? Someone who was not even afraid of the First Nightking? Exactly what kind of freaks was Eversky Ind nurturing?

    Highsage Shenwei looked back at Nightking Dijiang and impatiently said, ¡°That should have been your worst threat, so now what? Should we y for a bit?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang helplessly stared at Highsage Shenwei and Highsage Leon. ¡°What exactly is it that you want? Get to the point.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked over at Highsage Leon.

    Highsage Leon pointed down at Nightking. ¡°Don¡¯t interfere in their battle, regardless of their life or death.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang stared at Highsage Leon. ¡°My Daynight n is willing to pay any price for Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s life.¡±

    Highsage Leon grew arrogant. ¡°Does my Leon¡¯s Armadack something that you can provide? If we want it, won¡¯t we just take it?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei red at Highsage Leon. ¡°Don¡¯t speak so rudely! You make it sound as if everyone whoes from my Eversky Ind is some kind of convict who only knows how to loot and pige.¡±

    Highsage Leon smiled in embarrassment.

    Highsage Shenwei continued, ¡°It¡¯s called borrowing.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang grew exasperated, as these two powerhouses were clearly both rascals. He reluctantly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for some fight between children to escte to the point where things cannot be settled amicably. Zhenwu is already crippled.¡±

    Highsage Leon waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve already said my condition¡ªdon¡¯t interfere in their battle. No matter who lives or dies, everything should be decided by them.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang frowned as he looked down at Nightking and at Lu Yin.

    On Nightking, both Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu had heard Highsage Leon¡¯s words. Zhenwu was petrified, and his face turned deathly white. ¡°Patriarch, save me! Patriarch, he¡¯ll definitely kill me! Save me, Patriarch!¡±

    Lu Yin sent Nightking Zhenwu flying with a kick and allowed him to crash down to the ground. Half of his body sank into the magma, and his eyes went dull as one scene after another reyed itself in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    From the moment Nightking Qingyu had first appeared during Earth¡¯s apocalypse, Lu Yin had gradually learned of the Daynight n, and of the Daynight n¡¯s king ns. When he had first entered the stone of inheritance, he had already seen Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mighty name as well as his figure towering high above. Lu Yin had never thought that, on this day, twelve yearster, he would be able to tread over this person.

    Nightking Zhenwu was the hope of the Nightking bloodline, and he was a lofty existence as one of the Ten Arbiters. He was also a peerless powerhouse, and a single sentence from him was enough to destroy several of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves, and another one had been able to condemn Lu Yin without any hope of reprieve.

    Just one sentence from Zhenwu had forced Lu Yin to do everything in his power to protect himself and shifted his attitude to that of someone always thinking of a method to survive.

    Lu Yin realized that he had luckily encountered enough opportunities; otherwise, he would have died many years ago.

    The Daynight n had been causing problems for Lu Yin from the very beginning, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name had never disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s mind, not even when the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated. Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s shadow had never left Lu Yin.

    During the battle atop the Champions¡¯ Stage in the Innerverse, Lu Yin had actually died at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands. However, Lu Yin¡¯s defeat at that time had set the foundation for his current victory.

    Lu Yin looked up and screamed at the sky, venting the frustrations of many years of oppression. This scream caused volcanoes to erupt and shoot countless rocks into the sky where they exploded into dust. A powerful shockwave swept though the¡¯s atmosphere, reaching outer space.

    In the distance, Zhuo Daynight smiled. She had never smiled with such happiness before, and although her mouth was filled with blood, she still wanted to smile. Even if her head was covered with white hair, even if her mind was about to copse, she still wanted tough. She wanted tough at the Nightking n¡¯s unbelievable fall from glory, and also at the unimaginable tragedy that had just struck them.

    Even further away, Ellen Gale had already died. If she had not died, then Nightking Zhenwu would have been able to transfer his injuries to her body.

    She had been a respectable woman; if she had not had the Fireplume Tribe start singing a funeral dirge and led thest of her tribe intomitting suicide, the battle would not have ended so easily. She had forced herself to live entirely for this moment. She had lived to sing her burial song to send Zhenwu off along with herself.

    Battles were being fought everywhere on Nightking between the members of the Dayking and Nightking bloodlines.

    Quite a few members of the Nightking n desperately charged at Lu Yin in hopes of rescuing Nightking Zhenwu. However, they all faced persistent resistance from the Dayking n. Although the two bloodlines were from the same n, the hatred between them ran deeper than any mortal feud.

    Nightking was quivering as the ground cracked and split apart. The huge was still suffering repercussions from various intense battles.

    Evernight City and Everbright City had both copsed long ago.

    The First Nightking¡¯s statue had shattered, and the pieces had fallen into the magma.

    The entire Night Watch Pagoda had been buried deep underground.

    Lu Yin had personally brought an apocalypse upon Nightking, just like how Nightking Qingyu had brought doomsday to Earth. Lu Yin had repaid the injury an eye for an eye.

    Lu Yin approached Nightking Zhenwu, step by step, and looked down at him.

    Nightking Zhenwu was clearly unable to ept his fate, and he red at Lu Yin while struggling to get up. However, Zhenwu¡¯s body had been crippled long ago, and the injuries that he had suffered from Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm were not wounds that could be easily recovered.

    ¡°I want to announce my victory, but for some reason, I feel like you are quite pitiful,¡± Lu Yin spoke, and there was a trace of pity in his eyes as he looked at Nightking Zhenwu. This person had always existed in such a high and mighty ce while carrying the dreams of his entire n. However, his personality was too dark, which had led to him being unable to control his emotions. Although Zhenwu¡¯s power level had surpassed Lan Si, he actually was not able to match up to Lan Si.

    [1] Shen means Godly/Divine and Wei means Authority. Godly/divine authority.

 Chapter 1079: Ten Arbiters Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1079: Ten Arbiters Meeting</h4>

    After listening to Lu Yin¡¯s words, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Pitiful? You, a descendant of worthless bugs, think that I¡¯m pitiful?¡±

    He then snarled, ¡°Keep your pity to yourself, Lu Yin. You have no right to pity me¡ªyou¡¯re just a bug! Some trash from the Outerverse is not qualified to pity me.

    ¡°Kill me if you¡¯re able to. If you don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll definitely destroy everything you¡¯ve ever held dear. I¡¯ll massacre the Great Eastern Alliance, Earth, and everyone you value-¡±

    There was a thump, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mouth went wide as he spat out a mouthful of blood. The rest of his words were buried by Lu Yin¡¯s leg, along with his body.

    Lu Yin did not hold back anything at all with this kick, and used a full One Hundred Fifty Stacks to send Nightking Zhenwu on his way to the underworld.

    This kick caused Nightking itself to fragment, and a giant fissure tore apart the¡¯s surface.

    Above the, Nightking Dijiang¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and his expression filled with a boundless killing intent as he stared at Lu Yin. The Nightking patriarch¡¯s entire body trembled from rage.

    Highsage Leon and Highsage Shenwei exchanged nces. After this kick, if the Nightking n was not exterminated, Lu Yin would eventually die, as he had just be mortal enemies with the n.

    This kick had ended an era; Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s era.

    Zhuo Daynight went limp, as her body had lost all of its strength.

    On Nightking, everyone from the Nightking bloodline froze, and they turned to stare towards where Nightking Zhenwu had been in a daze, as they all felt a bit lost.

    In outer space, Qing Longlong, Ling Que, Avery, and the others, including all of the invited guests who had attended the Daynight Feast, were stunned as well. Lu Yin had personally buried the Nightking bloodline¡¯s ultimate hope. He had killed one of the Ten Arbiters, and from this moment onwards, as long as he did not die as well, he would rece Nightking Zhenwu as one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered. She had made a calction before the Daynight Feast that had stated that this would be the beginning of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s path to glory. However, no matter what, she had not been able to calcte Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s future past this point. It meant that Nightking Zhenwu would either be able to surpass her divination, or that the person would no longer exist afterwards.

    She had previously predicted that the person to defeat Nightking Zhenwu might be neither one of the Ten Arbiters nor some expert from the older generation. However, she had never thought that Lu Yin alone would be able to deal with Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin¡¯s strength hadpletely eclipsed Starsibyl¡¯s expectations, as he was improving far too quickly.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had lost all reason, and she charged at Lu Yin with blind rage. Zhanlong Daynight did not stop her. Nightking Zhenwu was already dead, which was something that Zhanlong had never imagined could happen, and he had not had a chance to react.

    Lu Yin lightly tapped out with a finger, causing the void to tremble. Nightqueen Yanqing was thrown back by a ferocious force, and she spat out a mouthful of blood as she flew through the air.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw that Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s rune lines hadpletely vanished. He then slowly sat down. At this moment, his clothes were essentially nothing more than tatters, and he sat on a rock, naked, with his head bowed. No one knew what he was thinking.

    Starsibyl descended onto Nightking from outer space and approached Lu Yin from behind. She then took out a coat, draped it over Lu Yin¡¯s body, and silently stood behind him.

    At this same moment, above the, a middle-aged man from the Nightking n screamed. He willingly endured his opponent¡¯s attacks as he attempted to force his way down to the to kill Lu Yin. This man was Nightking Zhenwu and Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s father, though he was only a Nightking whose power level was at around 200,000. Nightking Zhenwu had been the man¡¯s greatest pride. Although the man himself had never been very capable, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mere existence had elevated his father high up within the Nightking n.

    At this moment, the man had nothing left. He hated Lu Yin to the core, and wanted to rip the youth to shreds.

    Suddenly, a sword light streaked by and sliced off his shoulders. The middle-aged man wailed as his body was flung into the distance.

    A white sword reentered its scabbard. It was being held by a woman with long ck hair andrge-framed sses. She had an endearingly young and naive appearance. It was Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin had stomped Nightking Zhenwu dead with one kick, and Liu Tianmu had appeared to descend onto Nightking.

    In another direction, War King Xing Kai¡¯s massive body appeared, and he grinned as he tore through the void and entered Nightking.

    Lan Si stepped out, also arriving on Nightking, where he calmly looked at Lu Yin.

    White Knight Ling Gong appeared in her armor, and she steadily walked towards Lu Yin.

    A fire in the sky red to form an Undying Bird that then morphed into a man. He was none other than Serati Phoenix.

    Wen Sansinded on the ground with Mira following behind him. He sighed in amazement as he looked at the distant rock where Lu Yin was sitting with a bowed head.

    Not too far away from Wen Sansi was a woman who seemed to still be intoxicated from a heavy round of drinking. She was carrying a wine barrel that was taller than the average human as she stumbled her way over.

    Even further away, Unseen Light appeared with his eyes still tightly closed. Mu Rong walked behind the Arbiter, and they slowly made their way across the.

    Behind Lu Yin appeared a young man with long hair and a smile on his lips. He also walked towards Lu Yin. His name was Jin He.

    Countless people from the Innerverse and Outerverse were witnessing the appearance of all Ten Arbiters.

    Everyone held their breaths and silently watched this scene.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and looked around. His lips curled up as he stood.

    At this moment, all of the Ten Arbiters had appeared near Lu Yin, and all of them were looking at him.

    Lu Yin had stepped into a position that should have belonged to Nightking Zhenwu. Starsibyl had helped the Nightking be the leader of the Ten Arbiters, but Nightking Zhenwu had suddenly been killed, so Lu Yin had taken Zhenwu¡¯s ce.

    Starsibyl stood behind Lu Yin, observing him. From this day onwards, his status would turn on its head. Even if he had unified the Outerverse, from the perspective of the Innerverse¡¯s various great powers, he had only grasped a limited amount of strength and was not nearly strong enough to match up to the various great powers of the Innerverse.

    But on this day, Lu Yin had proven his power to the entire universe.

    He had toppled the Daynight n, held back zing Mist Flowzone, and influenced the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin was essentially the person who had directly cut off the Daynight n¡¯s future, and the situation had reached the point where not even Nightking Dijiang, an overwhelming expert with a power level of more than 800,000, could do much.

    Lu Yin had demonstrated his ability to topple any power in the Innerverse.

    Through their screens, countless people throughout the universe stared at Lu Yin, witnessing the birth of a peerless powerhouse.

    ***

    In Erudite Flowzone, the Wen patriarch who had been sweeping the grounds withdrew his eyes and sighed. He had thought that the child, Nightking Zhenwu, had been ambitious in his decision to release the Dayking bloodline, and the patriarch had even momentarily felt some admiration for him, a junior, which was unprecedented. However, the oue had been determined, and that child had tried to toy with human nature in vain before suffering the ultimate consequences of his actions.

    The Daynight n should truly not give birth to any true geniuses, as such a tyrannical n would not be able to raise a genius with the proper heart and mind. The only way out for the n was with the Dayking bloodline. What a pity.

    ***

    In Beast Tamers Flowzone, within the Divine Grade Hall, the mountain known as Millionughed maniacally. Although an absolute monster such as Lu Yin had appeared, he had also killed another freak, Nightking Zhenwu. This had been a good show to watch.

    ***

    In the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue shifted his focus, his expression solemn. Lu Yin was even more terrifying than Nightking Zhenwu, despite both of them being children. If Nightking Zhenwu had truly possessed the resolution to release the Dayking bloodline, then Liu Qianjue would have taken another look at the youth. Unfortunately, he had turned out to be too foolish, and his personality had been too dark. In the end, Lu Yin had proven to be the more capable one.

    As long as Lu Yin did not die prematurely, there woulde a day when he would wield true power in the universe.

    Aside from the two youths, Liu Qianjue was even more focused on the people from Eversky Ind and Liu Feng. Liu Feng had actually be an Envoy, and Liu Qianjue somewhat regretted the incident in the past, as Liu Feng hadpletely severed ties with the Liu family. If he had not done so, then the Sword Sect¡¯s strength would have risen to another level. What a pity.

    ***

    Countless people in all parts of the universe were sighing with sorrow. Some felt that it was a shame that Nightking Zhenwu had perished while others cheered at his demise.

    Even people without much vision were able to see that Nightking Zhenwu had been amazingly powerful and that almost no one within the same generation was capable of defeating him. Out of the Ten Arbiters, Zhenwu was considered to be one of the most powerful. Unfortunately, he had gone up against Lu Yin.

    The stage that Nightking Zhenwu had built up for himself had instead been inherited by Lu Yin.

    There had clearly been people with power levels in the several hundred thousands fighting, but Lu Yin had managed to be the sole protagonist in the entire skirmish.

    ¡­

    On Nightking, the Ten Arbiters met.

    This was something that would be recorded down in history. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ names could not be spoken, and most people did not even know what they looked like. But at this moment, all Ten Arbiters had gathered in one ce, revealing themselves to countless people in the Innerverse and the Outerverse, which left everyone a bit nervous.

    These ten youths not only represented the younger generation, but more importantly, they represented the future.

    In the future, these ten would be the true elites of the Innerverse, and they would hold influence for countless years.

    ¡°Starting today, you will rece Zhenwu and join us as a member of the Universe Youth Council, which is alsomonly referred to as the Ten Arbiters Council,¡± Wen Sansi calmly said with open admiration of Lu Yin.

    Behind him, Mira swallowed. She had been the one to take Lu Yin away from Earth. At that time, she had already felt a bit of admiration for Lu Yin. However, on this day, he had climbed to an unimaginable height, which was simply unbelievable. He had surprised her many times already, but she had never been as badly shocked as at this moment, where Lu Yin had actually killed Arbiter Zhenwu.

    ¡°You defeated Lan Si and then killed Zhenwu. Bro, you¡¯re definitely ruthless enough,¡± Xing Kai spoke. His three-meter tall body was exceptionally oppressive, but he openly grinned.

    Lu Yin looked at the giant and then at Wen Sansi. ¡°Is it that simple to be one of the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    Ling Gong coldly replied, ¡°Simple? Go and find someone else in the entire universe who can defeat one of the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°Are you including the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Ling Gong snorted, as she was not used to people giving her an attitude like Lu Yin always did.

    Lu Yin was very happy, as a huge stone had been removed from his heart.

    At that moment, a bucket of wine crashed down from the sky, and Lu Yin caught it. He turned to see the drunk woman, who was very beautiful. She had a rather voluptuous body that was dressed rather scantily, but she was also one of the Ten Arbiters: Liquor Hero.

    ¡°Drink, if you¡¯re a man!¡± Liquor Hero shouted as she pointed at Lu Yin. Her face was flushed, and she was clearly not sober.

    Lu Yinughed, and he opened his mouth to drain the wine bucket before tossing it aside. ¡°How refreshing.¡±

    Liquor Heroughed. ¡°I admire you! You don¡¯t dilly-dally around like that Nightking Zhenwu fellow. Kid, next time you¡¯re in trouble, give them my name, and I¡¯ll support you. From now on, we¡¯re drinking buddies, haha.¡±

    Liu Tianmu spoke coldly as she adjusted her sses. ¡°Stop speaking such nonsense.¡±

    She then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Joining the Ten Arbiters Council means that you are required to carry out certain duties. First, you must join forces with us to deal with that group from the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You¡¯re intimidated?¡±

    Liu Tianmu frowned. ¡°You speak like you¡¯re asking for a beating.¡±

    Lu Yin choked.

    Liu Tianmu continued on in the same cold voice, ¡°The Neoverse has the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, Gods¡¯ Origin, the Mavis family, Aurora Enterprises, and the Three Dark Hands. With so many top powers, they will want to kick us out first. If we don¡¯t join forces, then we will easily be eliminated.¡±

    Wen Sansi said, ¡°This is about a territorialpetition. The Neoverse will absolutely not allow us to get a piece of the action. After all, since ancient times, the Astral Tower has belonged exclusively to the Neoverse. Even if one of us bes one of the Cosmic Five, the Neoverse might not be willing to ept it.¡±

    ¡°Nightking Zhenwu gained control of the Champions'' Stage, which gave him the unique opportunity to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower, which is something that those people could not change. However, they will definitely do their best to stop the rest of us,¡± Ling Gong said.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. It seemed that the heavy pressure of the Neoverse had put the rest of the Arbiters on edge, as even these arrogant youths needed to join forces.

 Chapter 1080: Old Grievances And New Qualifications

    <h4>Chapter 1080: Old Grievances And New Qualifications</h4>

    Starsibyl seriously said, ¡°Nightking Zhenwu was able to be the leader of the Ten Arbiters because of his promise. He said that he would be able to receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower the fastest, and after that, he would help the rest of the Arbiters deal with the people from the Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°And they believed him?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°They had no other choice but to do so. This is an opportunity, but to grasp it, they need to go up against numerous top-tier experts from the Neoverse. Even if the Ten Arbiters are actually unrivaled in the universe, they still would not be able to endure an endless battle.¡±

    ¡°How many people from the Neoverse will bepeting for the Astral Tower?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°Many. All of the great powers qualify, so they will all send people. At one point, the number of people who could participate was restricted, but those restrictions are not being applied this time. Thus, anyone who wants to go from those powers can do so. This is an opportunity to glimpse the Progenitor realm, and the most important factor this time will not be strength but rather destiny.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. Some people were simply blessed by fate, and there were also those who were weaker but still fated to receive an inheritance. These people would have an easier time bing a Progenitor.

    However, even if there were no restrictions on the number of participants allowed to enter, not just anyone couldpete. At the very least, they needed to be part of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers that are qualified to send people to the Astral Tower. Otherwise, how could they join thepetition?

    Lu Yin nced around the area. ¡°Everyone, there¡¯s a question that¡¯s been weighing me down for over ten years that I want to ask you all.¡±

    He paused and then looked around. ¡°Fourteen years ago, someone from the Ten Arbiters Council targeted the Big Sis Mercenary Group based off of a list of people surnamed Lu. I wish to know, who did this?¡±

    After hearing this question, all of the Ten Arbiters had different expressions; some looked stunned, some seemed to be at a loss, and others remained calm.

    Lu Yin had not asked this question when he defeated Lan Si, mainly because Lan Si could have been the person who Lu Yin had been searching for. Instead, Lu Yin had waited ten years for this day, when he could ask all Ten Arbiters this question at the same time.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s question was spoken out loud, Highsage Leon¡¯s gaze trembled from where he was floating above the. He knew who this person was, and it was also why the Cosmic Sea had not been peaceful during these past few years. However, Highsage Leon had never mentioned anything to Lu Yin, as the youth needed to find out for himself.

    Finally, Lu Yin would obtain an answer.

    War King Xing Kai rubbed his head. ¡°Passing judgement upon a paper listing people surnamed Lu? That sounds rather familiar, and I seem to remember this happening. I remember-¡± He paused as he looked at Jin He. ¡°It seems like you were the one to suggest it.¡±

    The others looked at Jin He as well.

    Jin He gave a shrug and a slight smile. ¡°I follow through with what I was entrusted to do.¡±

    Lu Yin had long since guessed that Jin He was the one behind the massacre. In fact, Lu Yin had already inferred this after reading through Amethyst Exchange¡¯s intelligence on the Ten Arbiters.

    Also, Old Gu De had told Lu Yin that the entire matter was rted to a regiment from the Cosmic Sea. Out of all the Ten Arbiters, Jin He was the only person from the Cosmic Sea, as he had been a part of the Ignition Crew, one of the four major pirate crews.

    Lu Yin had also made other inquiries, and as a result, he had discovered that Jin He deeply hated people with primeval surnames, which had resulted in him having a very bad rtionship with Liu Tianmu; the two almost never spoke to each other. Jin He¡¯s rtionship with Wen Sansi was also poor because the Erudite Flowzone had the highest poption of primeval surnames.

    ¡°You follow what you were entrusted to do. It sounds so simple, but seventy-two human lives were sacrificed.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice had be exceptionally cold as he stared at Jin He. Lu Yin hated this person not one bit less than Nightking Zhenwu.

    Jin He smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Only seventy-two lives? Didn¡¯t they all die? Or are you a survivor?¡±

    As the Arbiter spoke those words, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he moved forward as his pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Jin He. The Arbiter¡¯s eyes also went wide, and his pupils simrly transformed into runes as he exchanged nces with Lu Yin.

    The two of them erased each other¡¯s runes as their star energy collided.

    Suddenly, a sword light burst out from Liu Tianmu as she took action, cutting through the colliding star energy. ¡°Enough.¡±

    Lan Si also moved forward, stopping in front of Jin He. Meanwhile, Serati Phoenix stepped out and faced Lu Yin. The sides were distinct.

    The entire situation was on the verge of exploding.

    Wen Sansi suddenly had a headache. ¡°Brother Lu, just how many battles do you want to fight today?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. He was still suffering from the aftereffects of his battle against Nightking Zhenwu. As a result, when he contested Jin He¡¯s star energy, some of Lu Yin¡¯s wounds had opened up and started bleeding again.

    ¡°The most important thing right now is thepetition at the Astral Tower. When ites to a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, everything else can be set aside,¡± Ling Gong said.

    Jin He spread his hands. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin averted his eyes. ¡°This debt will be collected sooner orter.¡±

    Jin He smiled even more brilliantly, and it reminded Lu Yin of Silver. ¡°I dislike problems, so I prefer to remove the source of trouble directly.¡±

    Lan Si spoke up in a gloomy voice, ¡°You¡¯re spouting a lot of nonsense.¡±

    Jin He merely smiled and stopped speaking.

    Serati Phoenix suddenly spoke up, ¡°Those who qualify to participate in the contest at the Astral Tower are those who received a title of King or Queen during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. Brother Lu, are you qualified?¡±

    Everyone seemed to wake from a dream, including Lu Yin.

    He had defeated Nightking Zhenwu, and everyone had logically expected him to rece Nightking Zhenwu by bing one of the Ten Arbiters. Naturally, he should then be able to go to the Neoverse to participate in the events at the Astral Tower. However, Lu Yin was his own person while Nightking Zhenwu had been himself. Defeating Nightking Zhenwu did not mean that Lu Yin could simply rece Nightking Zhenwu.

    He had never been given the title of King while defending against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and neither was he a disciple from one of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers. On top of that, his status as an Honor Chosen had been temporarily revoked as well. In that case, how would he qualify to go to the Astral Tower?

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes shed, as even she had forgotten about this issue. Rather, it was not that she had forgotten, but that she had simply grafted everything that she had predicted about Nightking Zhenwu onto Lu Yin since she had never been able to calcte anything about Lu Yin. She had done so much to achieve her goals, but she had forgotten about the most basic detail: Lu Yin was not qualified to join the contest at the Astral Tower.

    Lu Yin immediately reached out to Yuan Shi to ask about his qualifications.

    Soon, Lu Yin¡¯s face sank, as his status as an Honor Chosen was unable to be reinstated for the time being.

    Nightking Zhenwu was dead, and thus, he could not retract his usations. Thus, Lu Yin was still under suspicion of being a traitor to the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this can¡¯t be! You¡¯ve destroyed your only chance ofpeting at the Astral Tower!¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted in an exaggerated manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned ugly, as this was notpletely his fault, but rather something that had simply gone out of control. By the time Lu Yin could properly react, he had already started fighting Nightking Zhenwu.

    Before everything had taken ce, Lu Yin had agreed to return the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance so that Nightking Zhenwu would revoke his usations. However, Nightking Zhenwu had never once mentioned getting the stone of inheritance back, as he had been certain that Lu Yin would die on Nightking.

    However, Lu Yin had not expected Nightking Zhenwu to move so quickly, and thus, he had been unprepared for Zhenwu to suddenly start killing all the members of the Dayking bloodline.

    Everything had urred too suddenly.

    Jin He¡¯s smile grew even more brilliant. ¡°It looks like Brother Lu doesn¡¯t qualify to join us at the Astral Tower in the Neoverse for this opportunity. Well then, I¡¯ll head out first. Everyone, let¡¯s meet in the Neoverse.¡±

    He then turned to leave. ¡°What happened to Nightking Zhenwu is a pity, as he would have been able to help us deal with those people from the Neoverse. Really, what a pity.¡±

    Nobody stopped him from leaving.

    After Jin He left, Liu Tianmu followed suit, as did Xing Kai, Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, and the others.

    They hade here as they had been invited by Nightking Zhenwu to discuss the experts from the Neoverse as well as to confirm Nightking Zhenwu as the leader of the Ten Arbiters. Now that Zhenwu was dead while Lu Yin could not go to the Neoverse for the Astral Tower, everyone had left.

    In the end, Lan Si was the only one who remained behind. He was still qualified to go to the Neoverse, as he had received his title of Arbiter when the Starfall Sea¡¯s Grayweed Continent had still been a prominent power. That title did not only refer to the Ten Arbiters, but it also applied to the titles given out by the Champions'' Stage during the war. Only the Ten Arbiters had achieved merits enough to be titled Arbiter.

    In the past, Lan Si had wanted to take over Lu Yin¡¯s position as an Honor Chosen because he wanted to seize the opportunity to go to Neoverse andpete at the Astral Tower. At that time, the Ten Arbiters had not qualified to participate in the contest, and only the disciples of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers were permitted to do so.

    Who could have known that, in the end, those who had received a title of King or higher would all qualify? In fact, during Lan Si¡¯s battle with Lu Yin, Lu Yin¡¯s status as an Honor Chosen had actually lost its attractiveness to Lan Si, and he had purely wanted to fight with Lu Yin.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one way for you to participate in the Astral Tower contest.¡± Lan Si looked at Lu Yin and continued in a solemn manner, saying, ¡°Go to the Neoverse and join some power there before the Astral Tower contest begins. Then, you¡¯ll be able to represent that power during the contest.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and the first thought that came to his mind was the Cosmic Sect.

    ¡°However, there¡¯s also a problem with that. Even if you prove yourself to be stronger than their top disciple, as long as you haven¡¯t gained their trust, you¡¯ll never be allowed to represent them at the Astral Tower. On top of that, there are always internalpetitions within such organizations, and receiving the chance to go to the Astral Tower is not only about personal strength. Still, Brother Lu, this is your only chance,¡± Lan Si said. And with that, he left as well.

    Lu Yin felt a bit lost. There were less than five months until the Astral Tower opened. Could he really possibly get to the Neoverse, join some power, and then represent them at the astral tower, all within five months?

    Without even considering thepetition at the Astral Tower itself, whether or not Lu Yin could get to Neoverse was a problem in and of itself.

    ¡°Has this been frustrating for you?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had turned around to speak to Starsibyl.

    Her eyes flickered. ¡°Although I can¡¯t calcte your actions, I¡¯ve tested things several times, and I¡¯m quite certain that you won¡¯t lose very easily.¡±

    ¡°Tested things several times?¡± Lu Yin was curious and he looked at Starsibyl. ¡°When?¡±

    Starsibyl smiled and turned to leave. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ll wait for you in the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her in amazement. ¡°You also qualify to go to the Astral Tower?¡±

    Starsibyl simply replied, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Since she was also able to go to the Astral Tower, it suddenly made sense why Starsibyl had been relying upon Nightking Zhenwu. Had she intended to make him one of the Cosmic Five so that he could then help her rise up?

    Everyone had believed that Nightking Zhenwu would receive an inheritance from the Astral Tower and that he would definitely be one of the Cosmic Five. However, were things really that simple? If a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance could be given away so easily, then it would not be a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s deepest impression of a Progenitor was actually the Ce Secret Art. If not for the Root of Intelligence, he likely would have neverprehended that secret technique throughout his entire life. Actually, he had also relied on Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift to seed.

    The events on Nightking had been blocked off from the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and thest thing that the viewers saw was the Ten Arbiters leaving one by one.

    No one knew what had happened, but it seemed that the Ten Arbiters hade to some sort of an agreement.

    Many were concerned about whether or not Lu Yin had reced Nightking Zhenwu and be an Arbiter.

    If Lu Yin became an Arbiter, then his influence would be simply too astounding. He was already capable of toppling the Daynight n, or any power from the Innerverse for that matter. He could even topple a flowzone.

    Nightking Dijiang had not prevented Nightking Zhenwu from being killed during the fight, and zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s forces had stood down as well. The various experts from the Outerverse was in the process of withdrawing.

    The pirates scattered throughout Daynight Flowzone had also withdrawn, and peace and calm soon returned.

    Lu Yin moved over to Zhuo Daynight and held out a hand towards her.

    She grabbed his hand, and her white hair drifted by, giving her a gentle look.

    ¡°Everything has almostpletely fallen apart, hasn''t it?¡± Lu Yin smiled as he spoke.

    Zhuo Daynight seemed quite rxed, and she looked over at where Nightking Zhenwu had died. ¡°Not almost¡ªeverything has already copsed.¡±

    Lu Yin moved his hand to pat her head, and although this was a rather intimate gesture, Zhuo Daynight did not pull away.

    ¡°Am Ipletely ugly now?¡± Zhuo Daynight asked.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Your white hair is quite pretty to look at.¡±

    There were quite a few people around Lu Yin withpletely white hair.

 Chapter 1081: Family

    <h4>Chapter 1081: Family</h4>

    The members of the Dayking n gathered around Lu Yin in all directions, each one with an apprehensive expression. They had stopped the people of the Nightking n from interfering in Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Nightking Zhenwu, so the people from the Dayking n were all wondering what the future would bring them.

    Zhuo Daynight looked at Lu Yin with pleading eyes. ¡°Can you please save my Dayking bloodline?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up into the sky. ¡°That should be possible.¡±

    Above Nightking, Nightking Dijiang¡¯s expression remained dark, but he also seemed to be terrifyingly calm. There was an overpowering chill in his eyes whenever he looked at anyone. ¡°Gentlemen, the decisive battle has reached a conclusion, and my Daynight n must tend to Nightking. Thus, I won¡¯t be seeing you off.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked over at Highsage Leon.

    Highsage Leon spoke up. ¡°We want to take the Dayking bloodline away.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eyes went wide, and a boundless aura shot towards the two other men. ¡°Highsage Leon, don¡¯t go overboard! The Dayking bloodline is a branch of my Daynight n, and even if we have our own conflicts, those are internal matters and are none of your business!¡±

    Highsage Shenwei also felt that Highsage Leon had gone overboard. ¡°Junior, you can¡¯t bully other people like this.¡±

    Highsage Leon pointed down at Zhuo Daynight on Nightking as he said to Highsage Shenwei, ¡°Senior, that girl might be our family in the future.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was lost.

    Highsage Leon pointed at Lu Yin and then at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Senior, you¡¯re smart; do you get it now?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei puffed up his chest, suddenly full of confidence. ¡°I got it.¡±

    Highsage Leon then looked at Nightking Dijiang in a provocative manner. ¡°We want to take the Dayking n away, so just tell us if you agree or not. If you don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll give you a chance with a duel.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang stared at Highsage Leon. ¡°A duel with you?¡±

    Highsage Leon sneered. ¡°You¡¯ll duel both of us.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang immedaitely became furious. ¡°Highsage Leon, don¡¯t go overboard!¡±

    Highsage Leon shouted back even louder, ¡°Nightking Dijiang, don¡¯t you go overboard!¡±

    Everything fell silent for a while as everyone stared at the two powerhouses. Highsage Shenwei felt that he and Highsage Leon were the ones in the wrong and that they were behaving somewhat unforgivably. However, when Highsage Shenwei saw Highsage Leon¡¯s indignant expression, the man felt that the Nightking n was indeed too much and that they must have done something to upset his junior this badly.

    ¡°Nightking Dijiang, my Eversky Ind wants to take the members of the Dayking bloodline away, so give us your answer,¡± Highsage Shenwei spoke up.

    Nightking Dijiang clenched his fists, as he had never imagined that, after waking up this time, he would encounter such a cmity. He had never suffered such a humiliation ever since he had be the patriarch of the Daynight n, and how many years had that been?

    He looked down at Nightking with great reluctance, and looked at Zhuo Daynight who had a head of white hair. He then looked at Lu Yin, standing beside her with an unyielding gaze. Then, the patriarch looked at the numerous indignant faces of the Nightking n as well as the numb faces of the Dayking people. Finally, he sighed. ¡°Go on, take them all.¡±

    Down on Nightking, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that someone would arrive to reinforce the Daynight n. Fortunately, the Daynight n did not have the best reputation in the Innerverse; generally, the more tyrannical someone was, the less people would want to help them when they encountered a cmity. If the Daynight n had dared to fight against Leon¡¯s Armada a second time, then there would be severe casualties on both sides. As a result, the Daynight n might even be challenged by the other Innerverse powers, and it would be difficult to estimate their final losses.

    Nightking Zhenwu had wanted to exterminate the Dayking bloodline. Whether or not the Dayking bloodline survived was not actually one of Nightking Dijiang¡¯s priorities, but he could not simply toss the Nightking aside.

    However, on this day, due to Highsage Shenwei¡¯s suppression, Nightking Dijiang gave in.

    However, the matters of this day would not be concluded this simply. No matter if it was revenge for Nightking Zhenwu or for the humiliation of having the Dayking bloodline being taken away, all of the me fell onto Lu Yin.

    Nightking Dijiang red coldly at Lu Yin; this kid had to die.

    Lu Yin looked up, and for the first time, he exchanged nces with Nightking Dijiang. As he looked at the powerhouse, Lu Yin maintained a calm expression without any hint of fear. So what if this old man was an expert with a power level greater than 800,000? When the Sixth Maind had invaded, Lu Yin had even fought against powerhouses with power levels in the millions.

    Unfortunately, the jade talisman that Mister Mu had given Lu Yin had shattered when it had protected him from that finger. Otherwise, he could simply use his Summon Master technique, and the Daynight n would be finished.

    Highsage Leon descended to Nightking,nding in front of Lu Yin and Zhuo Daynight. He then used a great deal of strength to pat Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good job, kid. You didn¡¯t throw away Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s face! Hahaha.¡±

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting Highsage Leon in person, but he would always remember what Uncle Reuben had once said. Highsage Leon¡¯s exact words had been, ¡®Kid, you can do whatever you want and offend whoever you want. If anyone tries to bully you, I¡¯ll back you up. Remember, I got your back.¡¯

    Although the words had been crude, they had given Lu Yin a great deal offort, as he had felt protected.

    He seldom experienced such a feeling, but the Pirate King, Highsage Leon, had given Lu Yin suchfort.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lu Yin sincerely replied.

    Before Lu Yin could even finish speaking, Highsage Leon firmly patted him on the shoulder once again, almost shoving Lu Yin underground. ¡°Why are you being so polite? You belong with me, so I won¡¯t let off whoever dares to bully you. This Daynight n is an example.¡±

    ¡°Be more gentle! Little Yin is injured and almost fell apart from your pat,¡± a beautiful woman coldly scolded as she appeared in the distance. Although her tone seemed a bit forceful, she still looked at Lu Yin with a tender gaze.

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°And you are?¡±

    The stunning woman grew angry, took out a cigarette, and put it to her lips. ¡°Little Yin, do you need a beating?¡±

    Lu Yin was petrified. ¡°B- B- Big Sis?¡±

    ¡°What sort of expression is that?¡± Big Sis pped him, and she nearly sent Lu Yin flying.

    This time, Highsage Leon was rendered speechless. ¡°Be more gentle.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight supported Lu Yin, and cast a doubtful look at the other two people, unsure of their rtionship with Lu Yin.

    At that moment, the void tore open, and one figure after another appeared.

    There was a muscr, five-meter tall man whose nose was more than half a meter long.

    After him came a beautiful woman with swirls drawn across her body, and there was another strange person who seemed to be made entirely from stones.

    There was even a merman covered with scales. Seven people had appeared, which made for nine when Big Sis and Highsage Leon were included.

    These were the strongest people in Leon¡¯s Armada.

    The Pirate King, Highsage Leon, had seven regiment captains who were his subordinates and a reserve captain, Big Sis.

    If the people from the Innerverse and Outerverse could see what was happening on Nightking right now, they would definitely all be stunned. The most powerful pirates from the Cosmic Sea had just appeared, and these people had millions upon millions of pirates under theirmand.

    Once, the ckbeard Pirates had been a group that Lu Yin did not dare to provoke, but they could be easily swatted dead by any single person present.

    The existence of these people was the basis behind Highsage Leon¡¯s title of Pirate King, and it was also what had created the most powerful one of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Leon¡¯s Armada was enough to take on the Daynight n all by itself, and they were the source of Lu Yin¡¯s confidence.

    He was someone with backing.

    Big Sis began introducing the captains to Lu Yin, and Lu Yin greeted them one by one.

    ¡°This person is the captain of one of Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s seven great regiments. He¡¯s the captain of the Charging Elephants Regiment, the Elephant King,¡± Big Sis introduced.

    Lu Yin greeted the man, and he could not help but look at the Elephant King¡¯s nose curiously.

    ¡°This is another regiment captain. She¡¯s the captain of the Quickstream Regiment, Sister Fei,¡± Big Sis continued.

    Lu Yin greeted the woman and saw water flowing and revolving around Sister Fei¡¯s body. This woman had a terrifying number of rune lines, as her power level was clearly 300,000 at the very least.

    ¡°This is another member of the seven regiments¡¯ captains. He¡¯s the captain of the Cross Regiment, Rocky,¡± Big Sis introduced.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up; what a random name. Also, the man¡¯s appearance was very unusual, as he looked like nothing more than a simple piece of rock.

    ¡°This is the Mermen Regiment Captain, Brother Hao,¡± Big Sis introduced.

    Lu Yin greeted the man with a respectful expression. He could not show any sign of disrespect to these people who hailed from the variant human races, as that would cause them to be mortal enemies with him, as these people definitely had very high self-esteem.

    ¡°This is also one of the captains of the seven regiments, the Ghost Doctor Regiment Captain, Ghost Doc,¡± Big Sis introduced. This time, there was a bit of nervousness in her voice, and she did not sound as casual as before.

    Lu Yin looked at Ghost Doc.

    Ghost Doc had a hunched over body and an ugly face. It was impossible to determine his age, and he snickered when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, your injuries were cured by me.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°What injuries?¡±

    Ghost Doc wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Big Sis, who pointed at another man within the group who was asionally making poses. She sounded like she was in a bad mood as she said, ¡°That- that guy is also a regiment captain, but it¡¯s fine if you just call him Kidney.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. Kidney?

    The man was irritated. ¡°What Kidney? Call me Handsome! I¡¯m the captain of the Handsome Regiment.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed; he was a shameless person, especially since his looks were not anywhere near being called handsome.

    Finally, Big Sis grew solemn as she introduced thest person to Lu Yin. ¡°This is the Lightning Sword Regiment Captain, Liu Feng.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes trembled, and he looked at the nearby man who was holding a sword. This person was an Envoy.

    Lu Yin hurriedly greeted the swordsman.

    Liu Feng looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve fought against the Thirteen Swords. What¡¯s your impression?¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it. ¡°They¡¯re very powerful, and each sword ispletely unique.¡±

    Liu Feng calmlymented, ¡°Everyone uses the Thirteen Swords differently, but there¡¯s one shared point between all its users: the final sword cannot be evaded, and neither can it be blocked.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Then how should I deal with it?¡±

    Liu Feng did not reply and simply turned to look elsewhere.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Who were all these people? They were all freaks!

    Highsage Leon grinned and patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder once again. Lu Yin could only suffer through the pain and straighten himself out afterwards with great difficulty.

    ¡°What needed to be dealt with has been resolved. This battle was quite refreshing and a lot of fun!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. This incident should have led to numerous deaths, and he still did not know how the people from the Outerverse had fared against zing Mist Flowzone.

    ¡°Right! Kid, let me introduce you to someone,¡± Highsage Leon barked. The void then tore open as Highsage Shenwei stepped out next to Highsage Leon.

    Lu Yin quickly bowed. ¡°Junior Lu Yin thanks Senior for rescuing me.¡±

    Highsage Leonughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such courtesies! He¡¯s my senior, and we¡¯re family. Definitely family, hahaha.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei also seemed very happy as he looked at Lu Yin with great appreciation. ¡°Child from the Fifth Maind¡¯s youth, you¡¯re most impressive. Even whenpared to those people from the Neoverse, you can¡¯t be considered inferior to them. Impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin remained humble. ¡°I was fortunate enough to obtain some lucky opportunities. Senior is overpraising me.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked at Highsage Leon with a strange face. ¡°Why does he speak in such a refined manner? Isn¡¯t he your son?¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned.

    The others were also dumbfounded.

    Big Sis blew out a cloud of smoke. ¡°Of course not! Little Yin is too handsome.¡±

    The captains of the seven regiments all had bizarre expressions, and they did their best to stifle their amusement.

    Highsage Leon was initially stunned by Highsage Shenwei¡¯s sentence, but then he was destroyed by Big Sis¡¯s remark. He felt a little lost, and was unsure who to answer first.

    ¡°What? Is he not your son? Why else would you ce so much importance on him? You even brought over Leon¡¯s Armada and all these other pirates to create this huge battle that covered the entire Daynight Flowzone.¡± Highsage Shenwei was surprised.

    Highsage Leon answered, ¡°He¡¯s not my son, but he¡¯s better than a son.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, as these words from Highsage Leon warmed his entire body, much like the promise that he had made before. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting these people, but they acted like his family members, and the way that he looked at Highsage Leon had also changed.

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°Got it, an illegitimate child.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered utterly speechless.

 Chapter 1082: Qualification

    <h4>Chapter 1082: Qualification</h4>

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s words caused Highsage Leon to grind his teeth. ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t even have a son! Where would an illegitimate sone from? Stop making random guesses! You must have trained until you became an idiot. Be careful or else I¡¯ll tell Grand Senior that you¡¯ve been bullying me.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei grinned. ¡°Grand Senior isn¡¯t a child. Do you think that he¡¯ll stand up for you?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we see?¡±

    ¡°No, let¡¯s just talk about matters properly,¡± Highsage Shenwei quickly said as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Child, just now, we heard what you told those other kids. Are you facing some trouble?¡±

    Lu Yin did not remain polite, as his mindset concerning these people had already changed. They were all part of his family, so there was nothing he couldn¡¯t bring up to them.

    ¡°Junior lost his qualifications topete at the Astral Tower,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    After listening to Lu Yin¡¯s exnation, Highsage Shenwei was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re an Honor Chosen? Who¡¯s Chosen?¡±

    ¡°Yuan Shi¡¯s,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Highsage Shenwei marveled, ¡°The same Yuan Shi who has as many disciples as dogs?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twisted, as he felt that the description was not very polite.

    ¡°Little Yin, don¡¯t pay any attention to him. This Senior always talks like that,¡± Big Sis whispered to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Big Sis in astonishment. ¡°Big Sis, you actually know how tofort people?¡±

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since west saw each other. Is that why your skin¡¯s itching for a beating?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled drily.

    ¡°Who knew that Yuan Shi would actually pick a Chosen? Interesting. But since your status as a Chosen has been stripped away, it really isn¡¯t possible for you to go to the Astral Tower,¡± Highsage Shenwei mumbled.

    Highsage Leon nudged his senior.

    Highsage Shenwei suddenly grinned. ¡°How about this? Kid, are you willing toe with me to Eversky Ind and be a nominal disciple? That way, you can use your status as a disciple of Eversky Ind to go to the Astral Tower.¡±

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Will that work?¡±

    Highsage Leonughed. ¡°Of course! Eversky Ind is our home, and as the saying goes, it¡¯s easy to deal with things as long as you have the right people-¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t say it so crudely!¡± Highsage Shenwei was irritated.

    Highsage Leonined, ¡°That¡¯s the saying! Senior, you¡¯re bing more and more like Grand Senior.¡±

    Lu Yin was afraid that the two would bicker endlessly, so he hurriedly added. ¡°But Junior already has a master.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. You¡¯ll just be a nominal disciple, and it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll actually join Eversky Ind. Besides, even if you wanted to, Master might not take a fancy to you.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? Master will definitely fancy him!¡± Highsage Leon was unhappy.

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s mouth twitched.

    Both of them were old monsters with power levels above 500,000 and Highsage Shenwei¡¯s was even over 900,000. However, the two were currently bickering back and forth like children.

    Experts at their level greatly valued proper behavior and putting forth a dignified appearance, so this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such experts behaving in this manner.

    Eversky Ind, huh? He was curious to see what it looked like.

    ¡°Alright, if there¡¯s nothing else, then let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t want to stick around here any longer. That Nightking Dijiang was about to leak water from his face,¡± Highsage Shenwei said impatiently.

    Lu Yin looked at Highsage Leon. ¡°Cap- captain, after this battle, there¡¯s no way that the Daynight n will leave things be. What about the Outerverse?¡±

    Big Sis replied, ¡°Rx, we¡¯ll watch over things for you. Nothing will happen to the Outerverse. Anyways, didn¡¯t you gain control over the Astral River Ark? Just hide it, and we¡¯ll also help you out by taking the Dayking bloodline members to the Outerverse. The most important thing right now is the Astral Tower.¡±

    Lu Yin was grateful. ¡°Thank you, captain. Thank you, Big Sis. Also, thank you all, captains.¡±

    Highsage Leon shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with that. Just follow my Senior into the Neoverse; we¡¯ll await good news from you there.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and exchanged nces with Zhuo Daynight, who weakly said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but then he looked into the distance once again, where he could see Ellen Gale¡¯s corpse. The Fireplume Tribe¡¯s fate was simply too tragic.

    In truth, this was simply the way of the universe. If Lu Yin had not faked being King Zishan¡¯s descendant in the past, then he would have suffered the same fate as everyone else on Earth. All of the cultivators would have lived out their days hoping to die while themoners would have been captured and forced to work as miners.

    The strong feasted on the weak.

    Even after reaching his current level, against the monstrous powers of the Neoverse, everyone else was just a bug.

    Even though Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, he still had no choice but to rely on Eversky Ind¡¯s strength to flip Daynight Flowzone on its head. It was impossible to do so with just the Outerverse.

    He had visited many ces in the universe, and now, he was headed for the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He had cultivated for twelve years, and his earliest memories were of the Cosmic Sea. After that, he had gone to the Innerverse and then the Outerverse. However, he had never been to the Neoverse. Neoverse, here Ie.

    Countless eons had passed since ancient times, but Daynight Flowzone had never experienced a cmity on the scale of what it had suffered this day.

    Nightking, the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, and the entire Daynight Flowzone was in chaos.

    And everything had happened because of Lu Yin.

    The fight between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu had already been recorded down in history, though there were many details that could not be exined, such as how Lu Yin had dealt with the poison, why his power level had surged at one point, or what exactly Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift had been.

    Nightking Zhenwu had been killed during the battle, and Nightking waspletely silent as Highsage Leon cooly led away the people who had stirred up so much trouble in the Daynight Flowzone. Cool Sis, the androids that had attacked the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, and all the members of the Dayking bloodline moved out.

    This incident had caused the Daynight n¡¯s strength to take a drastic hit.

    Still, there was no one who dared to underestimate the Daynight n. Nightking Dijiang¡¯s true strength had been exposed, and his power level was actually above 800,000, which was horrifying to others.

    As long as Nightking Dijiang was alive, the Daynight n would remain a colossal pir of the Innerverse.

    Also, through this campaign, Lu Yin had be someone whom the various great powers of the Innerverse were wary of. A single person¡¯s connections had been enough to practically tear apart all of Daynight Flowzone.

    Everyone now knew that offending Lu Yin meant offending the entire Outerverse as well Leon¡¯s Armada. Those who knew a bit more might even know about Lu Yin¡¯s connections to Eversky Ind.

    The other powers were still manageable, but Eversky Ind was an existence that not even the Hall of Honor wanted to cross. In the Neoverse, although Eversky Ind could not be said to be one of its colossal powers, it was still an absurd existence. Despite it not going out of its way to create trouble, Everysky Ind was never afraid of getting into trouble.

    There was a piece ofmon knowledge in the Neoverse, which was to not provoke people from Eversky Ind. The main reason was that Eversky Ind fiercely protected their own, even when they were the ones in the wrong.

    s quickly passed by as a lone spacecraft shot through the dark universe, headed towards the Cosmic Sea at a speed that normal people could not even imagine. It was so fast that the ripples even caused the void to tremble.

    This miniscule spacecraft could not carry more than ten people.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was within this vessel, which was an eonlight-grade Aurora. He had only ever seen a vessel of this caliber once before. Aurora Enterprises¡¯ Outerverse manager, President Qi, had owned one, but it had gone missing after President Qi died during Endless Weave¡¯s border defense.

    Before this, the fastest ship that Lu Yin had ever traveled in was a ckhole-grade Aurora, which had a hundred times the speed of an ordinary spacecraft.

    This vessel belonged to Highsage Shenwei.

    Lu Yin truly could not understand why a powerhouse with a power level of over 900,000 who had the ability to transcend endless space and time with but a thought would want to sit in a spacecraft.

    Highsage Shenwei was actually a littlezy. ¡°A spacecraft is so nice, and there¡¯s no need to move to get to where we want to go. There¡¯s no need to hurry, and it¡¯s quite peaceful.¡±

    After giving an exnation, his body sank deep into a hot tub. He had actually installed a small jacuzzi in the spacecraft, but it could only fit him.

    Lu Yin could tell that this person knew how to enjoy life to the fullest, as there was nothing but fine liquor and exquisite delicaciesid out beside the hot tub.

    ¡°Right, do you want to get in for a soak? This water is all spring water that was given to me by Azure Mansion,¡± Highsage Shenwei casually offered.

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Azure Mansion?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, Azure Mansion. The name really is a little toomonce.¡±

    Lu Yin tried to recall where he had heard this familiar name before. After thinking about it, he realized that he had heard it back on Starlight Ind, when he had participated in the Sixth Maind¡¯s pre-battle strategy meeting. At that time, he had heard people mentioning something about some flying brothel.

    ¡°Senior, is Azure Mansion from the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°Azure Mansion is a power of the Neoverse, and there are nothing but beauties there. They all work in the business of pleasure, and they receive guests from all over the Neoverse. No matter if someone is from the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, Aurora Enterprises, or some other organization, every organization has members that have visited Azure Mansion. Those women should not be provoked, and I¡¯ll take you for a visit when there¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°Prostitution?¡± Lu Yin was astonished.

    Highsage Shenwei was instantly irritated. ¡°What prostitution? That¡¯s so coarse! It¡¯s a service.¡±

    Lu Yin understood.

    ¡°Do you want to get in for a bath? Everyone from Azure Mansion uses this kind of water to bathe, and it¡¯s why their skin is so soft and gleaming.¡± Highsage Shenwei cupped some of the spring water in his hands as he marveled.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Gleaming? Isn¡¯t that an indication that the physical body has reached a certain level of power?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei pursed his lips. ¡°Can your brain process anything besides cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Haha! Seventh Bro, this monkey has a premonition that this senior will take you to see a whole new world,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a snicker.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as where did he have the luxury to think about such things? At this moment, he was more focused on the uingpetition at the Astral Tower.

    ¡°Senior, can you tell Junior more about the contest at the Astral Tower?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Highsage Shenwei replied, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that after we get to Eversky Ind, as you won¡¯t be the only one representing Eversky Ind at the Astral Towerpetition. We¡¯ll discuss things further then.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Does Senior have any advice concerning this contest?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to find out about your opponents?¡± Highsage Shenwei arched a brow.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Know your enemy, and know yourself.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei responded in an irritated tone. ¡°This is something that concerns you kids, and I don¡¯t know much about it. So. I can only give you somemon knowledge.¡±

    He paused for a moment before continuing on. ¡°First off, there¡¯s the Cosmic Sect. This sect is a colossal monster even in the Neoverse. I¡¯m not too clear on what kinds of elite disciples the current generation has, but there is one important detail of note.¡± Highsage Shenwei¡¯s expression grew serene. ¡°Every disciple of the Cosmic Sect is a Lockbreaker, and the most elite disciples are likely to be Advanced Lockbreakers who haveprehended a sourcebox array.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly thought of Qiu Shi, who was known as the All Rounder Fairy. Back in the Whitecliff Region, she had shown off a rather normal performance, but in the end, she had used a sourcebox array to throw the Champions'' Stage, along with Bu Kong and others, off of the miniature maind. If not for her, the Champions'' Stage might have been taken back, and the subsequent events following the capture of the Champions¡¯ Stage may have never urred.

    For the All Rounder Fairy, her sourcebox array could be considered one of her techniques while her cultivation was another. So what were her other two ultimate techniques?

    ¡°Gods¡¯ Origin is simrly a colossal organization from the Neoverse, and they are just a bunch of nutjobs who refer to themselves as gods. The truth is that they¡¯ve inherited the cultivation method of the Rune Progenitor, allowing them to weaken others¡¯ attacks and even create objects from nothing. You seem to know this technique as well,¡± Highsage Shenwei exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Junior knows a little of it.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei continued, ¡°Don¡¯t unt it in front of the experts. Gods¡¯ Origin has researched Rune Technology for countless years, and the power within their grasp has absolutely surpassed yours, so be careful.¡±

    [1] This nickname indicates that she is strong in 4 different areas/specialties.

 Chapter 1083: Universeâ€™s Number One Mysterious Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1083: Universe¡¯s Number One Mysterious Technique</h4>

    Upon hearing the mention of Gods¡¯ Origin, Lu Yin instantly thought of God Taiyi. Although he called himself a god and was extremely arrogant, he had also treated Lu Yin rather decently. If he had time, Lu Yin felt that he should visit Gods¡¯ Origin, as he might be able to raise hisprehension of Truesight to the next level.

    Truesight was a very useful weapon, as it allowed Lu Yin to directly weaken his enemy¡¯s attacks, and at times, it could even help him heal. When Luo Shen¡¯s abdomen had been badly injured, Lu Yin had relied on Truesight to erase some of the harmful runes in her injury to save her.

    The Rune Civilization had been mysterious, and Gods¡¯ Origin were expert researchers of the ancient civilization¡¯s methods and technology, so there was no way that the power was simple.

    ¡°The Mavis family are born from the great tree. They actually have very few people, but all of them have a peerless talent, especially their Treeheart Descendants. You don¡¯t need to know what a Treeheart Descendant is, but you should know that if you bump into one of them, you must be very, very careful. They are difficult, exceptionally difficult, to deal with,¡± Highsage Shenwei solemnly warned.

    Lu Yin nodded again, as he understood. Not a single one of the Neoverse powers could be discounted.

    ¡°Next is Aurora Enterprises, Smoke-Eater Peaks, and Azure Mansion. I don¡¯t want to exin any more, and you¡¯ll understand things better when you meet them for yourself. Then, you just can ask them your own questions. However, I do want to stress the Hall of Honor.¡± Highsage Shenwei¡¯s expression grew solemn the moment he mentioned the Hall of Honor, and he looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°Have you ever felt that the Hall of Honor has never sent out any truly impressive experts? And that none of their youths have ever appeared? That it¡¯s as though they look down on others?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt like they¡¯re condescending towards others in particr, but since the Hall of Honor is the Fifth Maind¡¯s guiding power, they¡¯re definitely not simple.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°You¡¯re rather clever. This is how it is, as the Hall of Honor has a certain technique that¡¯s regarded as the number one technique in the entire universe. If someone sessfully cultivates it, then nobody can fight against them. It¡¯s known as the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused, as he had never heard of this before.

    The Ghost Monkey eximed, ¡°The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique? That¡¯s right! It really is the number one technique in the universe. ording to the journals of some old powerhouses, once the Tri-Yang Technique has been cultivated, it¡¯s absolutely peerless. However, nobody has cultivated it in many years.¡±

    ¡°Tri-Yang Technique is the Hall of Honor¡¯s ultimate inherited technique, but it¡¯s been several hundreds of thousands of years since anyonest managed to learn it,¡± Highsage Shenweimented with an emotional sigh.

    Lu Yin remained doubtful. ¡°Is this technique really that powerful?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei thought about it for a moment before saying, ¡°Let me put it this way. Anyone who¡¯s cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique would beat you as easily as beating a dog.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, as this was simply insulting him!

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the power of Tri-Yang Technique, and I¡¯ve only heard Master mention it before. Apparently, he¡¯s seen it, but he hasn¡¯t said much about it.¡± Highsage Shenwei moved over in front of Lu Yin and chuckled. ¡°I bet that Master was also thrashed by Tri-Yang Technique in the past, which is why he isn¡¯t willing to talk about it, hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Maybe. Maybe not.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei sshed back into the hot tub and then picked up his head as the waternded everywhere. He took a big swig of his drink. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether or not Master was defeated by the Tri-Yang Technique, but you definitely will be, because the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Chosen of your generation has already cultivated Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed.

    The Ghost Monkey was terrified. ¡°That can¡¯t be! Someone actually cultivated it? Seventh Bro, quickly find out that person¡¯s name so that we can hide from them. There¡¯s no way we can fight against someone like that¡ªthey have the Tri-Yang Technique! It¡¯s undoubtedly the number one technique in the entire Fifth Maind, which even includes the Astral Beast Domain. There¡¯s no technique that canpete with it¡ªnone!¡±

    ¡°Senior, what¡¯s the name of that First Chosen who¡¯s cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique?¡± Lu Yin also felt his hair stand on end, as just the name of this technique sounded incredibly powerful.

    Highsage Shenwei shook his head and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I heard was that someone picked it up, but only a ghost would know for sure if someone¡¯s learned that technique.¡±

    Lu Yin resisted a sudden impulse tosh out at Highsage Shenwei. This fellow sounded like he was cursing someone with each sentence, and he clearly liked to make things unnecessarilyplicated, which was infuriating.

    After Lu Yin calmed down a bit, he activated his gadget and tried to look for some information on Tri-Yang Technique, but there was nothing at all.

    ¡°Aside from Tri-Yang Technique, the Hall of Honor also has a few other secret techniques. There is one particrly obnoxious one called Discipline.¡± Highsage Shenwei sighed and looked at Lu Yin with a good deal of sympathy. ¡°I didn¡¯t participate when my generationpeted at the Astral Tower, but my Grand Senior went. I heard that he was rather revolted by the Discipline secret technique, so you should be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin licked his lips. ¡°Are the powers that you¡¯ve mentioned everyone who¡¯s participating in the Astral Tower contest?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei sneered. ¡°Of course not! The Astral Tower is the treasure of the entire Fifth Maind, but it¡¯s simply controlled by our Human Domain. As for why we can keep control of it, that¡¯s because the entire Human Domain is working together to hold back the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy. Also, two of the Three Dark Hands join in on the contest at the Astral Tower, though the Neohuman Alliance is not epted.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance is clearly a dark existence, and anyone from that organization needs to be eliminated as soon as anyone they are spotted. As for the Seven Courts and Burial Garden, they¡¯re both able to send people to participate, and they do so both openly and secretly. On the surface, the Hall of Honor seems to try to stop such things, but in reality, they won¡¯t. Thus, your opponents will also include the heirs of the Seven Courts and Burial Garden.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood why the Ten Arbiters felt the need to join forces. It was because there were simply too many heirs from the top powers of the universe. Just the Seven Courts alone, aside from the Yu family, would likely have six powerful heirs, and each one had most likelyprehended their family¡¯s corresponding secret technique. Burial Garden, the few Honor Chosens from the Hall of Honor, and the Cosmic¡¯s Sect disciples were each already powerful enough. Even if some of them only sent a single heir, there would definitely be more than ten people altogether. Additionally, there were no limits to how many people couldpete at the Astral Tower this time, so it was possible that there would be dozens of participants or more.

    This was also not counting the elites from powers like Eversky Ind.

    If all of the Neoverse¡¯s powers joined together to deal with the Ten Arbiters, then those ten would be in danger even if they united. The Arbiters might not be worried about one one one fights, but if there was a battle royale, then they would definitely be pressured by a numerical disadvantage.

    Highsage Shenwei was amused by how Lu Yin¡¯s expression was fluctuating, and the older man finally burst out in a fit ofughter. ¡°Kid, are you scared? Hahaha.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Less so scared, and more worried about the sheer number of people.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid. You¡¯ll be representing my Eversky Ind, and you¡¯re already a nominal disciple of Everysky Ind. Thus, the people from the Neoverse won¡¯t target you. They¡¯ll only go after those people from the Innerverse, the so-called Ten Arbiters.¡±

    ¡°Senior, I¡¯m also one of the Ten Arbiters now,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Highsage Shenwei snickered. ¡°Then everything will simply depend on your fate. Although you¡¯re not particrly handsome, you aren¡¯t too ugly either. Nobody should beat you up just because of your looks, hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin often felt like conversing with Highsage Shenwei was an insult to his intelligence.

    ¡°Although not many people will beat you up for your looks, you really overdid things this time. There are definitely some people who are upset with you, especially since you even united the Outerverse, and it just had to be at this important time right before the contest at the Astral Tower begins. You¡¯ve certainly got balls.¡± Highsage Shenweiughed.

    Lu Yin had also thought about this, and he realized that he had taken on too much heat recently, and there were definitely many people who were upset with him. He just hoped that the First Chosen or some other such monster had not set their eyes on him.

    ¡°Right, Senior, how strong are the people from Eversky Ind who will be participating in the contest?¡± Lu Yin expectantly asked. It would definitely be a bit better if he had a helper or two. He had recently fought against Lan Si and then dueled Nightking Zhenwu. As a result, Lu Yin was feeling a bit tired. He wanted to join a battle royale where people would randomly beat other opponents.

    Highsage Shenwei blinked, and his expression became a bit strange. ¡°They¡¯re alright, still alright.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? So how many people are there?¡± Lu Yin followed up urgently.

    Highsage Shenwei licked his lips. ¡°Two.¡±

    Lu Yin was quite happy with this. ¡°Two? That¡¯s great!¡±

    Including him, they would have three people. If they moved around together, they would not suffer a numerical disadvantage against other groups. If Lu Yin also cooperated with the Ten Arbiters, his chances of surviving this contest would go up dramatically, which gave him some hope.

    Highsage Shenwei stopped speaking, and he silently soaked in the hot tub, though he asionally threw sympathetic nces at Lu Yin. The youth never even noticed.

    Soon, the spacecraft reached the Cosmic Sea.

    Although the meteorological conditions within the Cosmic Sea were ever-changing and contained strange variations that preventedmoners from passing through, none of this was an issue for Highsage Shenwei.

    When Eversky Ind¡¯s disciplespleted their apprenticeship, all of them had to undergo an evaluation: they had to force their way into the Technocracy on their own. Highsage Leon had sessfully done so, which meant that he hadpleted his training. Once this task was aplished, Eversky Ind would not care about what their former disciples decided to do.

    Since Highsage Leon hadpleted the final evaluation, then naturally so had Highsage Shenwei.

    If they were able to force their way into the Technocracy, then there was no need to even mention the Cosmic Sea.

    Highsage Shenwei held the spacecraft with one hand and Lu Yin with the other. He then effortlessly passed through the Cosmic Sea to appear over the Whitecliff Region.

    As Lu Yin looked down at the white sea, all the memories of what had happened here during hisst visit flooded back.

    This was the region where the battle between the most elite youths from two mainds had broken out, and it was also where two of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters and two of their Cosmic Imprinters had fallen. Two experts from the Fifth Maind with power levels of 1,000,000 had also perished here. Finally, it was also where Bu Kong had fought in a shocking manner as he towered over everyone on the Champions'' Stage. Lu Yin would never forget that scene.

    Even with his current strength, Lu Yin was not confident in his abilities to face off against any of the Daosource Three Skies. Each one was an Enlighter, and Bu Kong had evenprehended a sourcebox array.

    The Sixth Maind had super elites from the younger generation who had already be Enlighters like the Daosource Three Skies. So, just what sort of strength was hidden within the Neoverse?

    Lu Yin looked to the south, and in front of himy the Neoverse.

    As the Whitecliff Region vanished behind them, Lu Yin was once again grabbed by Highsage Shenwei as they tore through the void. They then appeared in a foreign region of space. Aside from a dark and endless expanse in front of them, Lu Yin could vaguely see bits of dirt and earth connecting different regions.

    Lu Yin was amazed. Soil?

    Highsage Shenwei exined, ¡°This is the Neoverse, which was previously the Fifth Maind. This is the true Fifth Maind.¡±

    ¡°The true Fifth Maind?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Highsage Shenwei said, ¡°Do you know why they¡¯re called mainds?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°Since the beginning of the universe, there have been six mainds. Five of them have shattered, and the people that invaded us before were from the Sixth Maind. And this right here, this is the part of the Fifth Maind that remained the most intact after the rest of it shattered. This region has soil connecting it, much like the Sixth Maind,¡± Highsage Shenwei exined.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to test the void, and to his surprise, he found that the void in this ce was quite stable. Only when he used enough strength to exceed a power level of 200,000 was he able to tear it apart.

    ¡°Due to the soil connecting different ces, the void here is very stable, and only Enlighters can tear through it. Check out the star energy here,¡± Highsage Shenwei suggested.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and absorbed some star energy. To his surprise, the amount of star energy in this ce far surpassed the ambient levels of the Innerverse. The Innerverse¡¯s ambient star energy already surpassed the Outerverse¡¯s, but whenpared to the Neoverse¡¯s, there was still arge difference; the Neoverse¡¯s star energy was at least twice as dense. Compared to the Outerverse, there was at least ten times more star energy here.

    This was the Neoverse.

    ¡°Do you understand now why everyone wants toe to the Neoverse?¡± Highsage Shenwei asked with a smile.

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Highsage Shenwei grew solemn. ¡°It¡¯s because this is where the first humans of the Fifth Maind came from. This soil has nourished the human race, which makes it fundamentally different from the soil on various randoms. When you live on this soil, it¡¯s easier to be a Progenitor. Thus, many people like to sit on this dirt when they cultivate.¡±

 Chapter 1084: Honor Zone

    <h4>Chapter 1084: Honor Zone</h4>

    Lu Yin was quite surprised by this. ¡°Something like that actually exists? The soil connecting the space in this area is rted to a Progenitor?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked at Lu Yin,pletely serious, but then he suddenly smiled. ¡°In any case, that¡¯s just what the ancient legends say. Who really knows? Come on, I¡¯ll take you to Eversky Ind.¡±

    Lu Yin nkly nodded. Highsage Shenwei¡¯s attitude seemed to have changed a bit too quickly.

    Lu Yin stared out of the spacecraft and into the distance, where he caught a glimpse of something. As the vessel continued to shoot ahead, he squinted and tried to make it out. What was that? A continent drifting through space?

    ¡°In the Neoverse, there¡¯s an area that¡¯s a true part of the originalndmass. It¡¯s known as the Honor Zone. That bit of earth floating over there that you see right now is the Honor Zone,¡± Highsage Shenweimented.

    Lu Yin stared on in shock as the distant continent drew closer and closer. Finally, he took in a breath of cold air when he saw that the region of space waspletely isted by an insurmountable continent. No matter how far up he looked, he could not see the top. Was this the Honor Zone?

    The Honor Zone towered high in space. It was a continent that upied an untold area of space, and its size was simply too shocking. Just how much area did thisndmass cover? He simply could not fathom it, as it looked to be at least asrge as one or more of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves!

    How could a continent be so big?

    ¡°The continent that makes up the Honor Zone is coincidentally located in the exact center of the Neoverse. Thus, ever since the Honor Zone first came into existence, it has divided the Neoverse into four realms. It¡¯s pretty simple: north, south, east, and west. My Eversky Ind is in the western realm. You should have heard of the Cosmic Sect before, and they¡¯re also in the western realm, which is where we¡¯re headed to now,¡± Highsage Shenwei exined.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Is the Hall of Honor headquartered in the Honor Zone?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°The Honor Zone belongs entirely to the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. Although the Honor Zone was not as vast as the entire Outerverse, it was absolutely massive whenpared to the rest of the Neoverse. It was no wonder why the Hall of Honor ruled over the Human Domain. After all, whoever controlled the Neoverse controlled the Human Domain.

    ¡°Stop staring. The Honor Zone is different from outer space, and there are restrictions regarding both movement and cultivation over there. For now, you can¡¯t go,¡± Highsage Shenwei said calmly.

    Lu Yin averted his eyes. That enormous continent stretched far into the endless distance, separating the entire Neoverse. So this was the Neoverse.

    ***

    In another part of the Neoverse, at the border of the Cosmic Sea, many people had already arrived at the Ten Arbiters¡¯ rendezvous point. These people were from Cyberstars Network, and they hade to interview the Ten Arbiters.

    Everyone had heard of CyNet as they were the ones who had set up the universalwork connecting the entire Human Domain. However, thispany was different from Aurora Enterprises or the Mavis Bank because CyNet was controlled by the Hall of Honor. After all, it controlled the entire human race¡¯swork. If any one organization were to control it, they would have far too much influence as they would be capable of toppling the entire Human Domain.

    CyNet was headquartered in the Neoverse, and it was not actually normally responsible for interviews, as it was not a mediapany. However, the Innerverse manager had suddenly sent out new orders,manding people to go interview the Ten Arbiters and encourage them before they left. He was hoping that the Innerverse could give birth to one of the Cosmic Five.

    Actually, everyone from the Innerverse and Outerverse held simr expectations.

    Most people in the Outerverse had not even heard of the Neoverse, but the Innerverse was different. Many of the great powers in the Innerverse dreamed of entering the Neoverse one day.

    Even the Daynight n hade up with all sorts of schemes with the intention of entering the Neoverse.

    The Neoverse was the very foundation of the Fifth Maind, and it towered over both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    The Cosmic Five were originally supposed to bepletely unrted to either the Innerverse or the Outerverse, but this time around, after great difficulties, the elites of the Innerverse had been given the chance to enter the Astral Tower andpete. Countless people throughout the Innerverse hoped that the youths representing them would be able to enter the true contest and perhaps even suppress the Neoverse.

    These youths carried the dreams of countless people from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they here yet? We¡¯ve been waiting for months!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t know that Nightking Zhenwu used the Daynight Feast to invite the Ten Arbiters over. They¡¯ll definitelye together if they¡¯re going to work together.¡±

    ¡°Nightking Zhenwu thought that he was a shoe-in to be one of the Cosmic Five, and our boss even celebrated when that news came out. But in the end, he was still killed by Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°That Lu Yin is certainly quite ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t think that Lu Yin has a grasp of the big picture. He can¡¯t even go to the Neoverse and participate in thepetition at the Astral Tower, but despite that, he killed Nightking Zhenwu and crushed half of our hopes for the Astral Tower.¡±

    ¡°Is that really the case? Nightking Zhenwu and Lu Yin were mutually exclusive. Even at his death, he still didn¡¯t retract the usations he made against Lu Yin. That caused Lu Yin to lose his qualifications to join the Astral Tower contest.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin deserves it! He wasn¡¯t thinking of the big picture.¡±

    ¡­

    The people from Cyberstars Network argued with each other as they waited for the Ten Arbiters to arrive. To the south of them was the Cosmic Sea, which they did not dare to approach. To the north was the darkness of outer space.

    Before much more time passed, a person arrived: Tai Yuanjun. He had not gone to the Daynight Feast, but at this moment, there was a delighted smile on his face.

    The people from CyNet hurriedly went over to interview him. ¡°Tai Yuanjun, are you confident that you can be one of the Cosmic Five?¡±

    The interviewer was an adorable young girl. Reportedly, she was the daughter of CyNet¡¯s Innerverse manager.

    Tai Yuanjun arrogantly raised a hand as he nced at the girl. ¡°Obviously.¡±

    The girl felt embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Neoverse has many powerful cultivators who aren¡¯t inferior to the Ten Arbiters in any way. Are you, Tai Yuanjun, really that confident?¡±

    Tai Yuanjun snorted. ¡°So what about the Ten Arbiters? Don¡¯t they still end up dying from freak idents?¡±

    The girl pursed her lips and stopped asking questions. Tai Yuanjun looked friendly and pleasant, but it turned out that his temper was actually very nasty.

    Soon after, Xia Tian arrived, and the girl¡¯s eyes lit back up. This person was at the top of the Top 100 Rankings, and he had reportedly challenged every single one of the Ten Arbiters. ¡°Xia Tian, are you confident in your chances of sess at the Astral Tower¡¯spetition?¡±

    Xia Tian gently replied, ¡°No.¡±

    The girl was taken aback, and she blinked in surprise. ¡°What did you say? Could you please repeat that?¡±

    Xia Tian seriously answered, ¡°I have no confidence.¡±

    The girl swallowed her saliva. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because there are too many powerful cultivators in the Neoverse, and there are many who are no weaker than the Ten Arbiters,¡± Xia Tian honestly said.

    The girl was speechless; hadn¡¯t she just said the same thing?

    Tai Yuanjun was irritated, as he had just mocked the girl for speaking those words. ¡°If you¡¯re not confident, then don¡¯t go. How embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°My luck is pretty good. There might be a bit of destiny for me at the Astral Tower, so who knows? I¡¯m just going to try my luck.¡± Xia Tian smiled.

    Tai Yuanjun snorted and suddenly felt that Xia Tian was especially gifted at making people unhappy.

    This girl remained rooted in ce,pletely at a loss for what to say. These two¡¯s personalities were theplete opposite of one another. One was exceedingly arrogant, while the other was honest to a fault. They were both in front of a camera that was broadcasting this to the entire universe, and many people were watching, and their responses hadpletely disrupted her rhythm for the interviews.

    Half a dayter, Wen Sansi arrived, He was the first of the Ten Arbiters to appear.

    The girl immediately moved up to interview the Arbiter. ¡°Arbiter Wen, are you confident regarding this contest at the Astral Tower?¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes zed as she looked at Wen Sansi with adoration; he was a well mannered man.

    Wen Sansi thought about the question before responding, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    The girl was lost. ¡°You- you don¡¯t know? You¡¯re one of the Ten Arbiters!¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°Think before you act. No matter if it¡¯s speaking or acting, we don¡¯t even know yet who our opponents will be yet. Thus, how can we know anything?¡±

    The girl felt that she wascking experience. Was it too early for her to be interviewing such big shots? She could not hold her ground against facing them, but could anyone? Strangely, she suddenly thought of Lu Yin. Things would have been different if he was the one interviewing these people!

    Liu Tianmu arrived, along with a sharp sword radiance that shed often, shocking many people.

    The girl did not dare to approach the swordswoman, as she was somewhat afraid.

    Fortunately, Xing Kai appeared shortly after Liu Tianmu, and the girl quickly moved her gaze from Liu Tianmu to Xing Kai. Although Xing Kai was massive, the girl felt that he would be easier to talk to. After thinking about it, she approached Xing Kai. ¡°Hi! Are you confident in your chances regarding the contest at the Astral Tower?¡±

    Xing Kai felt rather lost, and he looked around in confusion. Was someone talking to him?

    ¡°Here! Down here!¡± The girl waved her arm as best she could to get his attention. She really was quite short.

    Xing Kai finally saw her, and he bent down and grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll flip them all over!¡±

    The girl grunted in acknowledgement. Although his answer was crude, it had also been very honest. ¡°Thank you for your response.¡±

    Xing Kai stretched out a hand, looking to be offering to shake hands.

    The girl was almost too afraid to reciprocate, and she started to panic, terrified that her arm would get twisted apart.

    She nervously grabbed Xing Kai¡¯srge hand, and Xing Kai grinned at her again before walking off.

    The girl watched him leave. Although he looked terrifying, he seemed very approachable at the same time.

    Ling Gong arrived, and she seemed rather antisocial, so the girl did not dare to approach her, allowing Ling Gong to walk off into the distance.

    Serati Phoenix was the next to arrive, apanied by a roar of mes that filled the sky. The girl wanted to interview him, but the cameras were not capable of approaching him as the mes were too fierce.

    Helpless, the girl decided to wait for others.

    Lan Si appeared, and the girl wanted to cry in relief. Finally, there was a normal person. She hurried over to interview him. After she asked her question, Lan Si looked into the camera with a serious expression as he replied, ¡°I have no confidence.¡±

    The girl pursed her lips. ¡°But you¡¯re an Arbiter.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been defeated,¡± Lan Si frankly admitted.

    The girl felt like she was about to cry. This person was even more abnormal than the others! Who would admit that to a camera that the entire universe was watching? The girl almost wanted to go home.

    At this moment, a hand tapped against the girl¡¯s shoulder in a very graceful manner. She turned around, and the heavy stench of strong liquor almost knocked her out. ¡°Come, have a drink. After you drink, we¡¯ll be sisters, and then you can ask me anything! Drink up.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot, and Liquor Hero forced the girl to down severalrge bowls of wine. If the girl wasn¡¯t a Melder, she would have gottenpletely drunk.

    She struggled to remove the alcohol from her body, but Liquor Hero looked back over, scaring the girl into running away.

    She felt that none of these people were normal and that they were all freaks.

    After taking just a few steps, she almost ran into Unseen Light. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry! I nearly ran into you.¡±

    Unseen Light merely smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t run into me.¡±

    With just those words, he walked away.

    The girl blinked. A blind person? Right, he¡¯s Unseen Light of the Ten Arbiters, and he¡¯s actually blind.

    ¡°Eh, kid, you got anything to ask me?¡± Jin He beamed at her in a good-natured fashion.

    The girl was instantly on guard. The kinder these people seemed, the stranger they actually were. However, since Jin He had spoken to her, she did not dare to leave. She cautiously approached him. ¡°May I ask if you are confident regarding the contest at the Astral Tower?¡±

    Jin He seriously considered the question.

    The girl¡¯s heart sank. Everything was over. She was going to receive another unreliable answer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best. We aren¡¯t clear what sorts of opponents will be waiting for us in the Neoverse, but we¡¯ll do our best to win glory for the Innerverse,¡± Jin He said with a smile.

    The girl waspletely caught off guard. This was good! Finally, a perfect answer! This was what a normal person should say. She cried, as she had finally met someone normal. ¡°May I ask what your thoughts are concerning the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu?¡±

 Chapter 1085: Stolen Stone of Inheritance

    <h4>Chapter 1085: Stolen Stone of Inheritance</h4>

    Upon hearing this question, quite a few people looked over.

    Jin He shrugged. ¡°Those were personal grievances, and there¡¯s nothing much that can be said about that.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin smothered one of the Innerverse¡¯s best hopes at bing one of the Cosmic Five. Don¡¯t you feel that it¡¯s a pity? After all, Lu Yin isn¡¯t able to go to the Astral Tower himself,¡± the girl asked.

    Jin He smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been talking about it for quite a while, but do you know what the contest at the Astral Tower actually is?¡±

    She shook her head, and her eyes lit up. ¡°Are you willing to tell us?¡±

    Jin He smiled teasingly. ¡°I¡¯m not saying.¡±

    The girl was rendered speechless.

    ¡°Who said that the Cosmic Five would surpass the Ten Arbiters?¡± Jin He finally said. His long hair swept up and blew about by itself without any wind.

    The girl really did break down at that moment. This person was actually the strangest one out of them all, as he was too brazen and mocking. By now, she just wanted to go home.

    At that moment, the crowd suddenly looked up in another direction. In outer space, a man tore through the void, emerged, and made his way toward the rendezvous point with an icy expression.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Does he also qualify to go to the Astral Tower?¡±

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡­

    The man¡¯s expression was cold, and he did not say a single word while standing there in silence.

    Jin He encouraged the girl to go interview the neer.

    The girl had learned from her previous experiences, and she had decided that she would not speak to this person, not even if she was beaten to death. Besides, she had interviewed everyone that she needed to, and most people would have stopped watching by now.

    ¡°You¡¯re Little Leaf King! You were in cryostasis for thousands of years. Were you waiting for today?¡± Starsibyl appeared and spoke to the cold-looking man.

    The crowd felt puzzled for a moment, but then someone remembered.

    Liquor Hero pulled out a wine barrel. ¡°Little Leaf King? I remember that name. He¡¯s an absolute genius from thousands of years ago.¡±

    ¡°Another old fart,¡± Tai Yuanjunmented in an unhappy tone.

    Xia Tian took a serious look at Little Leaf King. This person was from Shamrock Enterprises.

    Many people would enter cryostasis and wait for a certain moment before awakening. In truth, some of the Ten Arbiters had already exceeded the younger generation¡¯s age limit, but they bypassed this by frequently freezing themselves in cryostasis to stop their bone-age from surpassing the limit.

    War King Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix were the only ones who hadpletely exceeded the age limit of the younger generation, and they were simply testing their luck in going to the Neoverse¡¯s Astral Tower. There was no guarantee that they would be allowed to participate.

    Little Leaf King was someone from thousands of years ago who had undergone cryopreservation. However, his bone-age was no different from someone under forty years of age.

    ¡°Strange, why does he qualify to go to the Astral Tower?¡±

    ¡°Shamrock Enterprises moved their headquarters to the Neoverse long ago, so he can be thought of as someone from the Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°That actually works?¡±

    ¡­

    Half an hourter, another vessel arrived. This time, it was from the Cosmic Sea. The ship was enormous, and there was an ancient character etched on the hull. Someone quickly recognized it and called out, ¡°The Longevity Brigade?¡±

    Each of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s four pirate crews were extremely powerful in their own right. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Jin He was even from one of them¡ªthe Ignition Crew.

    This time, the Longevity Brigade had arrived. There was someone else from the four great pirate crews within the crowd, and they stepped forward. It was Zi Jun. He was from the Longevity Brigade, and he had participated in the Tournament of the Strongest.

    As the Longevity Brigade¡¯s warship arrived at the shore, an immature-looking man jumped off and approached the crowd. ¡°Ple- please, everyone. Bo- board the war- warship to go- go to the Neo- Neoverse.¡±

    The crowd was puzzled; a stutterer?

    The man grew nervous as the crowd¡¯s attention was focused on him, and he blushed bright red. ¡°I- I¡¯m from the Long- Longevity Brigade. Everyone, let¡¯s- let¡¯s go together.¡±

    ¡°Alright, cut the nonsense. Let¡¯s go.¡± Tai Yuanjun had grown impatient, and he leaped aboard the warship as the rest quickly followed suit.

    They had long since received notice that the Longevity Brigade would escort them through the Cosmic Sea and lead them to the Neoverse.

    The stuttering man¡¯s face was still red, and he looked at everyone once he returned to the warship. ¡°Ex- excuse me. Who- who is Lu- Lu- Lu Yin?¡±

    The crowd gave the man odd looks.

    Xia Tian was puzzled. ¡°Why are you looking for Lu Yin?¡±

    The man swallowed his saliva. ¡° Ma- master said that i- if I follow Lu Yin, I- I''ll have meat to eat.¡±

    The crowd was rendered speechless.

    Tai Yuanjun frowned. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s not here. He didn¡¯t qualify to go to Neoverse and the Astral Tower. Set sail.¡±

    The stutterer¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°Then wha- what should I do? Who do I follow?¡±

    ¡°You know Lu Yin?¡± Lan Si asked.

    The stutterer shook his head.

    Nobody bothered with him any further.

    Starsibyl looked at the stutterer, and her eyes flickered as though she was calcting something.

    Before long, the warship set sail for the Neoverse, carrying with it the expectations of countless people from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. All the aspirations towards the Astral Tower were focused on this ship, and it was the start of a new adventure.

    ***

    Within the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, Nightking Dijiang gloomily stared at the stone que. Once, three stones of inheritance had circled around the que, but one was still in Lu Yin¡¯s hands, leaving only two here.

    However, after the Daynight n¡¯s cmity, only one stone of inheritance remained. The other one had suddenly gone missing.

    An elder appeared behind Nightking Dijiang. He was one of the elders responsible for guarding the stone que. ¡°Patriarch, we¡¯ve scoured the ancestral grounds, but we¡¯ve found nothing.¡±

    Nightking Dijiang clenched his fists. ¡°There¡¯s no way those androids would have taken away the stone of inheritance, so who else could have done it?¡±

    The elder wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

    Nightking Dijiang looked at the man. ¡°Does Elder have some clue?¡±

    The man nodded. ¡°Patriarch, do you remember, around ten years ago, when a stone of inheritance first went missing?¡±

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯re referring to Nightking Qingyu?¡±

    The elder replied, ¡°I cannot be sure, but if someone has deceived us and made off with a stone of inheritance, then Nightking Qingyu is certainly one possibility. His innate gift is very mysterious, and he also disappeared again several years ago. It¡¯s as if his body simply evaporated.¡±

    ¡°At that time, who was thest one to see him?¡± Nightking Dijiang asked.

    The elder checked. ¡°Someone called Liu Shaoge.¡±

    At the same time, at the ce on Nightking where Nightking Zhenwu had died, a man crouched down and carefully recovered a bit of dirt. His lips curled up. ¡°I got it.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, swathes of soil formed countless lines that covered the sky.

    Lu Yin looked outside of the spacecraft curiously. He could see that there really were cultivators sitting on the soil.

    Although there was a tremendous amount of the dirt, it was not dense or sturdy, and it did not obstruct the vessel''s passage at all.

    After a spacecraft broke apart a line of soil, the scattered dirt would quickly return to their original state. It was as though some inexplicable force was preserving the very structure of the soil.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this dirt. Although it might seem sparse at times and easily scattered when struck, if it gathers inrger amounts, then you can simply forget about charging through it with a spacecraft. Even experts with power levels in the several hundred thousands might not be able to shatter it. The various great powers of the Neoverse are all built upon this sort of dirt, as is our Eversky Ind. In fact, the entire ind is made from this kind of dirt,¡± Highsage Shenwei introduced.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, grabbed some of the fine, loose soil, and focused his rune eyes on it.

    There were no rune lines to be seen from the dirt, and it seemed to be nothing more than ordinary soil. However, the moment Lu Yin opened his hand and released the dirt, it would fly back into outer space, attempting to return to where it had been taken from.

    There was simply no exnation for this phenomenon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Even the Hall of Honor doesn¡¯t understand it, let alone someone like you. Rest for a bit. It¡¯ll take us about one more day to arrive,¡± Highsage Shenwei said.

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°We¡¯ll arrive at Eversky Ind in just a day?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei did not reply.

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget, and found that it could not scan the nearby region to create a basic star chart. The Neoverse was indeed different from the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Without anything else to do, Lu Yin rested quietly inside the ship. Although his injuries seemed severe, they quickly recovered after being treated with certain medications.

    One dayter, the spacecraft arrived outside a city floating in outer space.

    Lu Yin stared at the far off city. It¡¯s foundation was on the soil, which rather surprised Lu Yin.

    He could see spacecraft constantlying and going from the city, and the city¡¯s architecture lookedplicated with it boasting both ssic and more modern styles.

    ¡°Is this Eversky Ind?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Highsage Shenwei rolled his eyes. ¡°Is that what you think?¡±

    ¡°Then where are we?¡±

    ¡°Just a city in space. There are a lot of cities like this in the Neoverse. In fact, wherever the dirt floating in space converges, a city can be built.¡±

    Lu Yin did not ask any more questions.

    The spacecraft did not dock at the city¡¯s space station. Instead, they directly flew above it. Many people watched as Highsage Shenwei led Lu Yin out after theynded.

    Flight should have been prohibited throughout the entire city. However, it seemed that such rules were not enforced for people like Highsage Shenwei.

    Lu Yin looked towards the center of the city, and his brows furrowed oddly.

    He could not see rune lines belonging to an especially powerful expert within this city. Logically, this ce was in the Neoverse. Thus, even if the streets were not filled with Hunters, it should still be rtivelymon to see such experts. However, Lu Yin did not even see a single one as he walked along.

    There was only one possible answer: the cultivators from the Neoverse were all rather adept at hiding their aura and concealing their strength.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask Highsage Shenwei, but he ultimately remained silent. The city opened up at its center, and the dirt floated up as if it had its own consciousness. It formed a smallndmass that rose above the city center, looking like a giant mushroom that covered the entire city.

    There were quite a few people atop the soil tform, and among them there was a middle-aged man who was wearing white clothing. He beamed at Highsage Shenwei.

    Highsage Shenweinded on the tform, and the white-clothed man hurriedly approached in a respectful manner. ¡°Westgazing City¡¯s master pays his respects to Eversky Ind¡¯s Master Shenwei.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Eversky Ind¡¯s Master Shenwei,¡± the other people on top of the tform spoke in unison.

    Down below, countless people from throughout the entire city chorused, ¡°Greetings, Eversky Ind¡¯s Master Shenwei.¡±

    Lu Yin was startled and jumped; why were these people so passionate?

    Highsage Shenwei was obviously used to this response, and he casually waved a hand. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t put on such a show. I say, Swindler, are the people behind you the elites who want to join my Eversky Ind?¡±

    The city master who had been called Swindler shook his head, and from behind him, three men and two women lined up in a row and bowed respectfully. ¡°Juniors pay their respects to Eversky Ind¡¯s Master Shenwei.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked at the five people and marveled. ¡°Not bad. Their quality is pretty good. They¡¯re all Cruisers, and peak Cruisers at that. How are their foundations? Do they intend to break through to the Hunter realm before the contest at the Astral Tower?¡±

    Swindler was thrilled by this response. ¡°Is Master Shenwei agreeing to let these juniors represent Eversky Ind at the Astral Tower?¡±

    Highsage Shenweizily replied, ¡°That¡¯s not up to me. You¡¯ll have to ask him.¡±

    He then pointed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was confused, and he looked at Highsage Shenwei.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin inplete confusion as well.

    Only Swindler smiled at Lu Yin, ¡°Little bro, please.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei continued on, saying, ¡°You, go. Go y with them.¡±

    He then looked at Swindler. ¡°Let¡¯s make things a bit clearer: one bout. If any of your elites canst one bout with this kid, then I¡¯ll agree to give them a chance. However, if they can¡¯t evenst for one bout, Swindler, then you can¡¯t me me.¡±

    Swindler solemnly replied, ¡°The contest at the Astral Tower is of the utmost importance, and if they aren¡¯t able tost for even a single bout with this little brother, then there¡¯s no need for them to go and lose face for Eversky Ind.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. He threw a meaningful nce towards Lu Yin, and softly said, ¡°Deal with them. If you can¡¯t finish them in one round, then there¡¯s no need for you to go to Eversky Ind.¡±

    [1] In Chinese, by saying that there''s meat to eat, it means that if he follows Lu Yin he will be able to live life in abundance, because meat is a symbol for the wealthy.

 Chapter 1086: Cultural Exchange Zone

    <h4>Chapter 1086: Cultural Exchange Zone</h4>

    Lu Yin instantly understood. Even if Eversky Ind was a top power, it also needed to survive, which required resources. When their disciples traveled around, they would require a bit of help every once in awhile and would have some limitations. It was clear that this city was something that Eversky Ind used to keep track of its disciples, and these people wanted to take advantage of Eversky Ind in order to send some youths to the Astral Tower.

    Lu Yin was feeling a bit down, as he did not want to offend others the moment he arrived in the Neoverse. However, it was clear that Highsage Shenwei would not allow for any leeway or bargaining in this matter. That City Master Swindler had also been extremely serious and had acted very confidently.

    On the raised dirt tform in the center of the city, three men and two women all looked at Lu Yin, their eyes revealing a strongpetitive desire. They were able to tell that Lu Yin was a Cruiser, and not even a peak Cruiser at that. However, he was supposed to defeat all of them within just one round. How was that even possible?

    One woman stepped forward. She looked at Lu Yin and said, ¡°Brother, this sister is here to learn.¡±

    Highsage Shenweizilymented from nearby, ¡°All of you together.¡±

    Swindler, the city master, was astonished by this order, and he suddenly grew more serious as he looked at Lu Yin. It was clear that Master Shenwei was very confident in this kid¡¯s abilities.

    Everyone else was also focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had be exceptionally famous, but that was only within the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Most people in the Neoverse did not care about the Innerverse or the Outerverse at all, and there were many who had not never even heard of the Ten Arbiters.

    This was just like how the disciples from the Innerverse¡¯s great powers did not care about the various organizations that ruled the Outerverse¡¯s weaves. To the people of the Neoverse, the Innerverse and Outerverse were uncivilized wastnds¡ªwhat kind of elite geniuses could possiblye from such ces?

    If not for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, arge percentage of the Neoverse would have never even heard about the Ten Arbiters.

    Even then, there were many people who had never heard of the Outerverse; most had only heard of the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin was basicallypletely unknown in the Neoverse.

    The three men and two women exchanged nces before looking at Swindler.

    The city master nodded at them. ¡°Do your best.¡±

    The five people stepped forward as one to face Lu Yin, and one of the men said, ¡°Brother, you can attack now.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Highsage Shenwei. ¡°One round to knock all of them down?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded.

    The five were infuriated, as these two were simply looking down on them too much.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure flickered, and he rose into the sky. He did not move at all, but a berserk star energy tore through the void and struck down,nding directly in the center of the five youths. At this instant, Swindler¡¯s expressionpletely changed, as this attack had surpassed a power level of 250,000.

    The overwhelming power created a gale that flung the five people far away before tearing through the soil tform and continuing on towards the city.

    The city master instantly took action and waved a hand to dispel the attack. He looked up, overwhelmed, as that had been a terrifying palm attack.

    Lu YIn had used Vacuum Palm, but he had actually held back. Otherwise, his attack would have been enough to kill all five of them.

    Instead, they had been sent flying, crashing into the ground far off in the distance. Each of them had been severely injured, but not one of them had fainted. They all looked at Lu Yin with fear in their eyes as he stood high in the sky. What a terrifying attack.

    Lu Yin descended. He had checked the rune lines of the five people before attacking, allowing him to adjust the power of his Vacuum Palm. Otherwise, his full powered attack could reach a power level of around 300,000, which would have been enough to kill every single one of the youths.

    Even Nightking Zhenwu had been severely injured after being struck by one or two Vacuum Palms, let alone Cruisers like these five.

    The city went still, and all of the people gathered atop the dirt pir stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. This youth was too freakish.

    Swindler sent some people to move the five severely injured youths down from the pir and treat them before staring at Highsage Shenwei in shock. ¡°Master Shenwei, who is this little brother?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei smiled. ¡°He¡¯s a nominal disciple of my Eversky Ind, and if there are no idents, then he¡¯ll represent Eversky Ind at the Astral Tower.¡±

    The city master was astonished. ¡°This little brother is so young, but he already possesses so much strength. He¡¯s strong enough to rival the top geniuses of my western region. There¡¯s finally some hope for the Astral Tower.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Farewell, Master Shenwei.¡±

    ¡°Farewell, Master Shenwei.¡±

    ¡­

    Back aboard the older man¡¯s spacecraft, Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°Senior, was there a need for that?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei solemnly answered, ¡°What do you think the contest at the Astral Tower really is? Those people want to go to the Astral Tower and try their luck, but there is danger everywhere in that ce. Without a certain prerequisite level of strength, participating is equivalent to asking for death.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at the city in outer space. Were those people weak? No, they were not. Otherwise, they would not have been able to remain conscious after being struck by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Even the top ten on the Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings could not guarantee being able to stay conscious after receiving such an attack. Those people definitely were not weak, but they still did not qualify to go to the Astral Tower.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much. Go and get some rest. There are a few more areas further ahead,¡± Highsage Shenwei saidzily.

    Lu Yin nodded. He believed that Highsage Shenwei was absolutely someone who would follow through on their words. If Lu Yin had not been able to take care of his opponents in a single round, then he would have truly lost his chance with Eversky Ind.

    It was incredibly difficult to obtain an opportunity to go to the Astral Tower, and Lu Yin would not let go of this chance.

    He could only hope for the best when it came to Highsage Shenwei¡¯s arrangements.

    There were less than three months left till the contest at the Astral Tower started, and Lu Yin was very anxious to get to Eversky Ind. However, Highsage Shenwei did not show even the slightest bit of anxiety.

    He was nning on first using Lu Yin to knock down the various elite geniuses that were being rmended from a few of the floating cities. After that, they would go to Azure Mansion.

    That¡¯s right, Azure Mansion.

    When Lu Yin saw the building floating through space off in the distance that was shining with bright lights, his mind wentpletely nk. Was this the so-called flying brothel?

    At first, he had assumed that the aptly named Azure Mansion was a city in space; he had never considered that it could truly be a building with roofs and walls. Its design was interesting and appealing, and its lighting was resplendent. Even from a great distance, he could sense theughter and cheer surrounding it. This ce was one that promoted a luxurious lifestyle.

    Highsage Shenweiughed. ¡°Kid, go and y around for a bit. It¡¯s my treat.¡±

    He looked like he was about to tear through the void, but then he suddenly paused and he fixed an eerie gaze onto Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else about this, or you¡¯ll have to bear the consequences. Got it? Nobody!¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t tell anybody.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked happy at hearing this response. ¡°You have some tact. Alright, go on and have fun.¡±

    He then moved out first.

    Lu Yin remained within the vessel, speechless. The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice appeared in his head. ¡°Seventh Bro, this senior ispletely different from ordinary people, and he¡¯s actually quite simr to your Pirate King.¡±

    When the monkey mentioned this, Lu Yin felt that his words were quite urate. Didn¡¯t pirates normally enjoy these kinds of ces? Right, Highsage Shenwei was Highsage Leon¡¯s senior, so could Highsage Leon have picked up all these bad habits from Shenwei?

    The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more he felt that this was right.

    At this moment, the spacecraft docked at Azure Mansion. Some people had been designated to take care of the vessel for Lu Yin, and there were about a hundred people respectfully waiting outside the space station in a line.

    When Lu Yin emerged, all of the people there bowed respectfully.

    Lu Yin looked back at the vessel. It was probably the reason for this treatment, as it was an eonlight-grade Aurora. Not many of these vessels existed in the universe, and anyone who owned one would be considered a VIP client at Azure Mansion.

    ¡°Little brother, you seem unfamiliar. This must be your first time, so may I ask how to address you?¡± asked a quiet-looking girl nearby with a gentle temperament as she smiled at Lu Yin. An intoxicating fragrance wafted from her body, and her gaze was pure. She seemed to bepletely out of ce in Azure Mansion.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°You can call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    The girl¡¯s eyes shed, but then she bowed at the waist. ¡°I¡¯m the madam of the western region¡¯s Azure Mansion. It¡¯s my honor to meet Seventh Bro.¡±

    With the madam¡¯s guidance, Lu Yin entered the famous flying Azure Mansion.

    Although Azure Mansion was a pavilion floating through space, it was by no means small, and it was as tall as a mountain. To space-exploring cultivators, such a thing could be shattered with a single p.

    However, after Lu Yin asked this question, the madam gave him a small smile. ¡°Seventh Bro, have you tried to use your star energy in this ce yet?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed a bit, and he immediately tried to do so. However, he quickly found that he could not move any of the star energy within his body.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey can¡¯t see outside!¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed.

    Lu Yin looked at the madam in astonishment. ¡°This is?¡±

    ¡°A sourcebox array.¡± the madam smiled.

    Lu Yin was shocked; so this Azure Mansion actually had a sourcebox array. This was almostughable, but the facts were in front of him. If this was not a sourcebox array, then how else could his star energy be sealed within his body?

    ¡°Anyone who enter Azure Mansion will allow Azure Mansion to take care of their personal safety, and nobody is allowed to fight here. Of course, there are some cultivators with exceptionally powerful physical bodies, but Azure Mansion is constructed from extremely rare materials that are difficult to damage. Also, there are only Azure Mansions in the Neoverse,¡± the madam exined with a smile as she led Lu Yin along.

    On the way, some people asionally looked at Lu Yin curiously, as he must not be simple for the madam to be showing him the way.

    Out of curiosity, Lu Yin tested things out and casually tried to pinch the walls. It was difficult to break through, and he could not help himself from exerting more and more strength until a crack appeared.

    the madam was stunned, and she hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Mister Seventh Bro, please show mercy.¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his hand. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    the madam smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright, as the walls can heal themselves. Still, Mister Seventh Bro¡¯s physical strength is astounding.¡±

    Astounding? When it came to astounding, Lu Yin was even more astounded than the girl. He had just used 170 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path, but he had only managed to create a tiny crack. This meant that the materials that this Azure Mansion¡¯s walls were constructed from could resist attacks with power levels above 300,000. On top of that, the building could even restore itself.

    He had never seen such a material in all of his years of cultivating.

    On one hand, this building was able to restrict a person¡¯s star energy, and on the other, the building itself had been reinforced. It was no wonder why Azure Mansion was able to peacefully survive within the Neoverse.

    Azure Mansion was extremely busy, and there were people running around all over. However, things were different from what Lu Yin had imagined, as this ce sold the arts, not people¡¯s bodies.

    Rather than a brothel, this ce seemed to be more like a ce for cultural exchange. Still, the number of beautiful women walking about was certainly dazzling.

    He dismissed the madam after some time, and Lu Yin continued to roam about Azure Mansion by himself. He did not know where Highsage Shenwei had gone, though Lu Yin guessed that he had probably gone to visit an old me!

    The girls in this ce did not take the initiative to approach people, and although Lu Yin had made aplete circuit of Azure Mansion and had passed by many beautiful women, at most, they had smiled at him after making eye contact. There had not been any sort of advances.

    There were artificial mountains and waterfalls within the central courtyard, and the atmosphere was exquisite there.

    Lu Yin sat down in a pavilion below a waterfall, and he prepared to wait for Highsage Shenwei.

    At that moment, he heard a quiet and peaceful song that left him engrossed.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he could actually see rune lines in this song, which reminded him of Luo Shen¡¯s dance.

    The song onlysted for a single moment before vanishing.

    After a short while, the sound of soft footsteps entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and he turned around, only to lose his breath.

    An exceptionally beautiful woman was standing behind him. Her face was bashful and dazzling, and she was wearing pink cotton clothes that made her look like a blooming pink rose. She carried a guqin in her arms, and she slowly bowed when Lu Yin turned to face her. Her expression was calm and elegant as she greeted him. ¡°I am Ya¡¯er, the ¡®Lotus¡¯ of the western region¡¯s Azure Mansion. I pay my respects to Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°You recognize me?¡±

    Ya¡¯er gave him a small smile as her eyes shed. ¡°Arbiter Lu is famous throughout the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so of course I would recognize you.¡±

    [1] This is actually referred to as a brothel, but it''s a pleasure house. Many of the women here sell art and entertainment, not their bodies.

 Chapter 1087: Eversky Bridge

    <h4>Chapter 1087: Eversky Bridge</h4>

    Lu Yin gave the girl a wry smile, as people had started referring to him as Arbiter Lu ever since he had defeated Nightking Zhenwu and taken Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s ce as one of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Please, have a seat,¡± Lu Yin courteously offered.

    Ya¡¯er sat down across from Lu Yin and ced her on the stone table. ¡°I never expected that Arbiter Lu would visit our Azure Mansion. Your presence brings glory to our humble western region Azure Mansion.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only apanying someone,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Ya¡¯er smiled. ¡°It would seem that Arbiter Lu¡¯s friend is a distinguished guest.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not say much. He knew that Azure Mansion offered entertainment rather than selling their bodies. Visiting them was more like going on a blind date with a bunch of women. Highsage Shenwei actually had note to this ce for the reasons that Lu Yin assumed, but he also had note for a so-called distinguished guest.

    ¡°Is there anything weighing on Arbiter Lu¡¯s mind? Ya¡¯er is willing to y a song for Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°Do I have to pay?¡±

    Ya¡¯er tried to stifle herughter but failed. Her smile was dazzling. ¡°Arbiter Lu really knows how to joke around.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey was speechless. ¡°Seventh Bro isn¡¯t actually joking though.¡±

    Ya¡¯er raised her hand and plucked the guqin. ¡°A melody of the cool breeze, as a gift for Arbiter Lu.¡±

    As the guqin yed, melodious music drifted out. This was the same song that Lu Yin had heard earlier, and it left him with a calm and peaceful feeling. In the distance, someone else was lured over by the music and approached, only to be surprised to see Ya¡¯er. ¡°It¡¯s actually the western region¡¯s Lotus! Who exactly is that man? Not only did the madam personally escort him in, but the western region¡¯s Lotus, Ya¡¯er, is also personally entertaining him.¡±

    ¡°He must be a disciple from one of the great powers. The contest at the Astral Tower is about to begin, and a few absolute geniuses who have been in hiding are beginning to show themselves. I even heard that someone will join Eversky Ind as a nominal disciple to participate in the contest at the Astral Tower. Could he be from Eversky Ind?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very possible. This ce isn¡¯t that far away from Eversky Ind.¡±

    ¡­

    When Lu Yin heard this conversation, he was left somewhat speechless, as this person had guessed his identity too easily. Apparently, the Neoverse was not that big.

    When the song ended, Lu Yin pped. ¡°Bravo.¡±

    Ya¡¯er smiled gently. ¡°Thank you, Arbiter Lu, for thepliment. Truthfully, Ya¡¯er should thank Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused.

    Ya¡¯er smiled. ¡°Ya¡¯er also just returned to the western region¡¯s Azure Mansion, as before that, I was on Nightking.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°When was that?¡±

    ¡°When Arbiter Lu fought against Arbiter Zhenwu,¡± Ya¡¯er replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. It was no wonder why this girl had recognized him, as she had been on Nightking at the same time as him.

    ¡°Arbiter Lu¡¯s strength is astounding. Even in the Neoverse, there are not many who are a match for Arbiter Lu. Are you going to represent Eversky Ind for this contest at the Astral Tower?¡± Ya¡¯er asked.

    Lu Yin nodded, as there was no reason to hide such a thing.

    Ya¡¯er marveled. ¡°The Innerverse and Outerverse both thought that Arbiter Lu was destined to miss the contest at the Astral Tower. However, which one of them knows that Arbiter Lu has already arrived in the Neoverse? Ya¡¯er will congratte Arbiter Lu in advance for bing one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his hand, embarrassed by her words. ¡°You¡¯re that confident in me?¡±

    Ya¡¯er smiled. ¡°Naturally. Anyone who saw that battle would be confident in Arbiter Lu.¡±

    When she said this, Lu Yin suddenly thought back and realized that he had revealed all of his strength and trump cards during his battle against Nightking Zhenwu, which was definitely not good. Lu Yin had even used the Ce Secret Art, though he did not know if anyone could recognize it for what it truly was. If his battle had been transmitted and disyed into the Neoverse, then his opponents from the Neoverse would definitely be prepared for him, which was not eptable. Fortunately, the Neoverse did not seem to care very much about the Innerverse or the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, deep in thought.

    Ya¡¯er suddenly asked, ¡°Does Arbiter Lu fancy Ya¡¯er?¡±

    Lu Yin casually agreed. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re quite pretty.¡±

    ¡°Then should Ya¡¯er marry Arbiter Lu?¡± Ya¡¯er said bashfully.

    Lu Yin was about to nod when he suddenly came to his senses. ¡°What did you say? Say that again.¡±

    Ya¡¯er suddenly turned shy. ¡°Shall Ya¡¯er marry Arbiter Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°Why? That couldn¡¯t be good for you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you already have a wife.¡± The Ghost Monkey wasughing.

    Lu Yin instantly screened the monkey off.

    Ya¡¯er looked sad, and she quietly said, ¡°Does Arbiter Lu not fancy Ya¡¯er? That must be it¡ªYa¡¯er is only a Lotus, and there¡¯s still others above Ya¡¯er, not to mention the supreme queen of flowers. Ya¡¯er truly isn¡¯tpatible with Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know about any of that, but why did you suddenly say that you want to marry me?¡±

    Ya¡¯er¡¯s eyes lit up, and she looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Arbiter Lu should have some understanding of Azure Mansion: the women in this ce offer entertainment, but not intimacy. Our ultimate ending is to die in Azure Mansion of old age or to marry out. Ya¡¯er is not yet at Flower Queen Ming Yu¡¯s level, but nevertheless, I am still Lotus. Thus, it¡¯s extremely difficult for me to be married off. If Arbiter Lu wishes to marry Ya¡¯er, then Azure Mansion will definitely not reject such an offer. And Ya¡¯er¡­ Ya¡¯er already worships Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin was stumped and was unable to reply.

    Ya¡¯er expression dimmed, and she stood up to bow to Lu Yin. ¡°Ya¡¯er was too rude and has disturbed Arbiter Lu. Please, don¡¯t be inconvenienced.¡±

    As he watched Ya¡¯er leave, Lu Yin did not know what to think. Out of nowhere, such a beautiful woman had asked to marry him, and it was impossible for him to not be moved. However, he also thought of Ming Yan. When this contest at the Astral Tower ended, he would take Ming Yan to the Great Yu Empire, as it was time for him to make things up to her.

    With his current position, he was able to protect her.

    Over the course of an entire day, nobody disturbed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waited, rather anxious, as he was concerned about wasting time. After all, he still had to be epted by Eversky Ind and then go to the meeting ce for the contest. His time was tight.

    Finally, after two days passed, Lu Yin saw Highsage Shenwei again.

    Highsage Shenwei did not say much to Lu Yin. He simply led the youth straight to the spacecraft, turned it on, and directed it to the south.

    ¡°I heard that Lotus Ya¡¯er wanted to marry you?¡± Highsage Shenwei was leisurely lounging in the hot tub.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°She was probably just testing me.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei let out a veryfortable breath. ¡°She wasn¡¯t testing you. The women in Azure Mansion form connections with others through marriage, and they even have people within the Seven Courts. With your status, position, and ability, marrying a Lotus would be a cheap price for them to pay.¡±

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°They bind themselves to other powers through marriage? Azure Mansion¡¯s influence must be unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure,¡± Highsage Shenwei said.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the boss?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Highsage Shenwei did not reply.

    With the eonlight-grade Aurora¡¯s speed, it only took them a single moment to cover an astronomical distance.

    Before much more time passed, Lu Yin looked into the distance at where the sky had grown bright.

    Outer space was always dark, but off in the distance, there was an entire region that looked boundless and clear white.

    ¡°We¡¯re at Eversky Ind,¡± Highsage Shenwei saidzily as he got out of his hot tub.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance; that was Eversky Ind?

    The soil normally scattered throughout space converged towards Eversky Ind from all directions, looking like chains.

    Eversky Ind was actually a real ind asrge as a continent, but it floated in outer space. The surrounding area had even changed its structure, eliminating the darkness.

    Lu Yin could not help but transform his pupils to take a better look at this ce. However, when he did so, he was shocked at what he saw: there were no runes to be seen! Not a single one could be seen anywhere.

    The vast white expanse surrounding Eversky Ind was clearly artificial, but there were no runes to be seen. Just how had this been done?

    The vessel shot towards Eversky Ind, and soon, Lu Yin had entered the white expanse.

    The moment he entered Eversky Ind¡¯s territory, his surroundings changed, and it was as though he had entered a separate ne. A space that was filled with peace.

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s vessel casuallynded on the ground, and he grabbed hold of Lu Yin before flying off. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ll have to remember these rules: do not casually tear through the void in the Neoverse or else you¡¯ll make a lot of trouble.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand, Senior.¡±

    Eversky Ind was quiterge, but there was not a single person to be seen.

    Highsage Shenwei took Lu Yin over to a cliff. ¡°After crossing this bridge, you¡¯ll be a nominal disciple of Eversky Ind. Go on.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°Cross this bridge?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei exined, ¡°This is Eversky Bridge, and it¡¯s unique to Eversky Ind. It allows you to see the powers that you¡¯ve used in the past but from a third-person perspective. This is the best method to gather your abilities and fuse them to create a unique fighting style.¡±

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°There¡¯s really such a thing?¡±

    ¡°This is something left behind from ancient times, so don¡¯t bother asking me for any more details. Go on. There are countless people in this universe who have racked their brains, trying to find a way to pay to cross this bridge, but you get to do so for free.¡± He then gave Lu Yin a push from behind, and Lu Yin¡¯s foot stepped onto the bridge.

    Eversky Bridge lookedpletely ordinary, and it was just a suspension bridge that connected two steep cliffs. Also, there was a great deal of fog obscuring one¡¯s vision.

    Step by step, Lu Yin moved forwards, and he quickly lost sight of Highsage Shenwei.

    The fogpletely blocked his vision.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, and the fog boiled for a moment before quickly forming the towering tree while Lu Yin stared in shock. This was the shape of Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield; it had been perfectly replicated by the fog, and it looked remarkably lifelike.

    Lu Yin was amazed, and he stared at the tall tree formed from the fog. After observing it for a while longer, he lifted a foot and continued to press onwards. The fog forming the tall tree dissipated, though a strand of it floated past his eyes and changed once again. This time, it formed one rune after another.

    At the same time, in the depths of Eversky Ind, a pair of eyes opened, and they peered through space to observe Lu Yin walking across Eversky Bridge, and they also saw the runes formed within the fog. ¡°The Rune Progenitor¡¯s inheritance? But not by Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods? Shenwei,e here.¡±

    Next to Eversky Bridge, Highsage Shenwei¡¯s expression suddenly trembled, and he vanished. When he next appeared within the depths of the ind, there was a smile stered on his face. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve awakened. You must have been thinking of this disciple. Did you know, Master, that-¡±

    ¡°Alright, less nonsense. Who is that child?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei swallowed his saliva. ¡°He¡¯s a junior from the younger generation that Junior Leon holds important. He was schemed against and lost his qualifications to go to the Astral Tower. As a senior, I couldn¡¯t simply watch on and allow people from my Eversky Ind to be bullied. It¡¯s ridiculous, and although others might not want him to participate, this disciple just wants to give him the chance. Thus, I brought him here.¡±

    ¡°Leon¡¯s junior? His son?¡±

    ¡°Master is brilliant, but nope.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s ¡®no,¡¯ then brilliant your ass! What rtionship does he have with those loons from Gods¡¯ Origin?¡±

    ¡°He has no rtionship, and he only knows a little of their methods.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s methods? That¡¯s just the technique from that old man, the Rune Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Master is right.¡± Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eyes grew shiftily as he looked up. ¡°Master, that- this child, is it okay?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to see.¡±

    ¡°Master is right.¡±

    ¡­

    On Eversky Bridge, Lu Yin was stunned to see the fog forming various runes. The fog had even discovered his Truesight. It really was extremely mysterious. It reminded him of the Daosource Sect¡¯s tform of Inception, which had been quite simr to this fog. Hold on, could the two have been made by the same person?

    Lu Yin continued to walk forward, and the runes formed from fog dissipated as a mist blew by that circled around his fingers. The fog then formed the Skybeast w, which produced a distant beast howl.

    In the depths of Eversky Ind, ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that that battle technique?¡±

    ¡°Master, what did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

 Chapter 1088: Fusion Of Battle Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 1088: Fusion Of Battle Techniques</h4>

    The fog swirled around Lu Yin¡¯s finger again, and spread over his hand before forming a Cosmic Palm high up in the sky whereupon ny nine stars burst forth.

    In the depths of Eversky Ind, a voice called out, ¡°Cosmic Palm? Is this kid from the Cosmic Sect?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei felt lost. ¡°What Cosmic Palm? Master, you saw the Cosmic Palm?¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Too interesting. The Rune Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s inheritance, and even a bit of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s battle technique. This kid is too interesting.¡±

    On Eversky Bridge, the fog had formed a Cosmic Palm, but it quickly dissipated as an intense gale blew by. This time, it was Vacuum Palm, which was Lu Yin¡¯s ultimate physical attack. Over the Vacuum Palm, he could see his nine lined battle force.

    Right after Vacuum Palm was shown, the fog went ck. This was Night Advent, which was a spiritual force attack.

    Lu Yin looked up, as this was the first time he had seen his battle techniques from this perspective, and he had to say that it was quite impressive.

    The fog continued to spread out, and it swirled over each of his fingers before finally swirling over his index finger to form the Dream Finger, which caused the void to congeal.

    From the depths of Eversky Ind, the voice called out again. ¡°Is that?¡±

    ¡°Master, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Right after the Dream Finger appeared, the fog formed two suns that swept through the void before suddenly exploding.

    Regarding the Twin Suns, the Master did not show any surprise, as they were nothing more than two suns. If Lu Yin did not personally use the move with his cauldron energy, then this technique would be nothing more than an ordinary attack with condensed star energy.

    Up till now, Eversky Ind¡¯s Master was most concerned by the Dream Finger. ¡°That sort of void-congealing technique is definitely not simple, and it also carries some trace of the Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap. Could this kid have some connection to the Ku family as well?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was already very confused from listening to his master.

    ¡°Shenwei, who is this child?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s expression changed, as his Master¡¯s tone of voice did not seem to be quite right. Shenwei swallowed his saliva as he tried to exin, ¡°Master, he- he belongs to Junior Leon. This disciple doesn¡¯t know anything else.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? This child seems to have some connection with Gods¡¯ Origin, the Cosmic Sect, the Ku family, and even the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei felt frightened. ¡°Is that so? This disciple didn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Right, you mentioned earlier that others schemed against this child. Who?¡±

    ¡°It was the Daynight n, but this kid took care of things by himself. He unified the Outerverse, and he also borrowed the strength of Junior Leon¡¯s Armada. He nearly tore Daynight Flowzone apart with their strength, and he killed the Daynight n¡¯s heir who was the sole person promised an inheritance from the Astral Tower¡­¡±

    Highsage Shenwei shared everything that he knew about Lu Yin, and since he still felt that something was amiss, he quickly activated his gadget to find the recording of the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu to show to his master.

    ¡°Interesting. This child isn''t Leon¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Definitely not,¡± Highsage Shenwei instantly gave his guarantee.

    ¡°A pity.¡±

    ¡°Master, what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. This is quite interesting, as he also has the Yu Secret Art. If I didn¡¯t see wrong, then he also seems to possess the Ce Secret Art as well. You said that he¡¯s a Chosen of the Hall of Honor? Keke, this child¡¯s background is extremelyplicated.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei did not dare to reply.

    ¡°And now he¡¯s joining our Eversky Ind. Keke, this makes things even more interesting, hahaha!¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s heart trembled, as whenever his master smiled like that, something was wrong. Shenwei¡¯s master definitely wanted to torment somebody, and Shenwei looked at Eversky Bridge in sympathy. Was the kid the target? Or was it Shenwei himself?

    On Eversky Bridge, Lu Yin felt strangely cold, and he looked around. He felt as though he had encountered a ghost, but he saw no one around.

    He then went back to walking towards the other side of Eversky Bridge.

    The fog in the sky continued to roil, and it asionally turned into palm imprints, rune lines, or even w marks. Lu Yin also felt that all of the transformations of the fog were somehow intertwined.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you know too much! That¡¯s why this fog is so busy.¡± The Ghost Monkey wasughing.

    Lu Yin agreed, as most people seemed to specialize in something for their cultivation whereas he seemed to know a bit of everything. The truth was that Lu Yin could not be med for this, as he had not specifically cultivated his domain. Rather, it had actually improved itself without any assistance from Lu Yin. His physical strength was the same, as was his spiritual force. Even Lu Yin felt that his improvements were bizarre.

    The faster Lu Yin walked, the more the fog churned, and when Lu Yin slowed down, the roiling of the fog slowed down as well.

    Lu Yin felt that the fog¡¯s behavior was rather strange. Could it be that when he arrived at the end of Eversky Bridge, the fog would fuse his battle techniques together? That would be a little disturbing.

    As he thought about this possibility, Lu Yin felt that he would rather not continue on, and he decided to stand where he was. After all, haste could ruin everything.

    Two days soon passed.

    The fog continued to roil and churn, and Lu Yin tested things out. The faster he moved forward, the more agitated the fog would be.

    He waited for another two days.

    On one day, the fog in the sky suddenly stopped churning. Soon after, it formed a finger. This finger was wrapped with nine lined battle force that spun towards the back. Then, the towering tree that was Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield suddenly appeared before a ck fog enveloped the area and converged upon the finger. The finger trembled, which was due to the power of the Oveying Stacks Path. At the same time, the runes surrounding the finger started to continuously disappear.

    This finger pierced through the void, and then the fog dissipated. The sky around Eversky Bridge seemed to grow clearer, and Lu Yin was now able to see the other end of the bridge.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce without moving. Had he just witnessed a fusion of all his battle techniques? That attack had used his domain to suppress his spiritual force before then fusing it with a singr finger attack as Truesight erased the runes of his target. On top of that, the finger was reinforced with the Oveying Stacks Path and had been released with the power of Finger Tap. This fog had truly merged everything into one move for him.

    Lu Yin stood where he was and raised a hand. It was strengthened with his nine lined battle force. He then suddenly released Night Advent, before immediately trying to condense it to the best of his ability with his domain, only to find that Night Advent would not budge. It turned out that it was extremely difficult topress spiritual force.

    He panted heavily as he looked at his finger. Fusing his techniques was not that easily done! However, since the fog had sessfully done so, it proved that it was at least possible. Lu Yin muttered under his breath; did he simply need time to practice this? What he was the least afraid of was having enough time.

    When he finished crossing Eversky Bridge, Lu Yin looked back at it. It was a mystery how such a strange ce actually existed.

    A short figure suddenly appeared in front of him, and it was a girl in a ck dress who looked to be around fifteen years old. Her expression was solemn, and she acted like an adult. ¡°Are you the nominal disciple that Senior Shenwei brought back?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The girl calmly appraised Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m called ck, your Senior.¡±

    ¡°Senior?¡± Lu Yin had a strange look.

    ck turned around without responding. ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll take you to meet Master.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Eversky Ind¡¯s master was a truly legendary being. He had established Eversky Ind on his own, and even the Hall of Honor was wary of this powerhouse. It was possible that this person had the strength of an Empyrean Imprinter since Highsage Shenwei already had a power level of more than 900,000. Highsage Shenwei had also mentioned that he and Highsage Leon had a Grand Senior who was unafraid of even the Third Nightking. Thus, this Grand Senior¡¯s power level definitely surpassed one million. It would actually be strange for their Master to not possess the strength of an Empyrean Imprinter.

    An Empyrean Imprinter was a powerhouse that was exceptionally rare even in the Sixth Maind.

    In the Fifth Maind, where there were no Progenitors, such a powerhouse would be counted among the apex experts!

    Lu Yin followed ck into the depths of Eversky Ind, and his gaze suddenly trembled as he nced to his right. There, he saw a white streak speed by, and had glimpsed enough to see some rune lines, but it was moving so fast that he could not see anything clearly.

    ¡°You saw that?¡± ck paused as she turned around. Her demeanor was very serious.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°That white blur?¡±

    ck nodded. ¡°Every year, there are many who challenge Master, and some die here on Eversky Ind. That white blur was one of them.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°What do you mean? A ghost?¡±

    ck solemnly asked, ¡°Are you afraid?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m still fine.¡±

    ck replied seriously, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid, as they don¡¯t generallye out. You¡¯re a living creature, so just say hello to them.¡±

    She then continued forward.

    ¡°Sev- Seventh Bro, are there ghosts here?¡± the Ghost Monkey shrieked, clearly terrified.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Where could a ghoste from? Even if humans died and left remnants of their strength behind, those remnants should be spiritual force. However, it seemed that remnant spiritual force could also be referred to as ghosts. Lu Yin took a more serious look around.

    Suddenly, a strangeughter echoed out, the sound of which could scare anyone.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned around to look behind him as another white sh sped by. This time, it was moving even faster. Even though Lu Yin hadpletely unleashed his domain, he still wasn¡¯t able to see what was moving around. Could this blur really just be some remnant spiritual force?

    ¡°Uh, Senior ck, does Master know that there are ghosts here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ck¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Master doesn¡¯t care, as they¡¯re all defeated foes. In his eyes, they can help guard the gate.¡±

    Ghosts could even be used for such purposes? This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing of such a thing.

    The chillingughter rang out again, and this time, Lu Yin paused. He turned around as a chessboard appeared beneath him that only he could see. This was the Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard. He did not believe that this was a ghost.

    The chessboard spread out to cover thend and the sky, and even the trees and flowers became chesspieces. ck was also on top of the chessboard, as was that white blur.

    With the chessboard, Lu Yin was able to clearly see the ghost. Wait, what ghost? That streak was a girl! Wait a moment, this girl?

    Lu Yin swallowed, and he grew serious once again as he looked back at ck. The two girls werepletely identical, which meant that either this white streak really was a ghost or that these two were twins.

    The chessboard disappeared from beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and it had only existed for an instant. ck had not noticed anything at all, and the white streak also had not sensed what Lu Yin had done, though she let out another strangeugh before leaving again.

    ck had a sneaky look on her face. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid. There aren¡¯t actually too many around, only about a dozen. They won¡¯t hurt people, and they just want to get to know the new people.¡±

    Lu Yin took a few quick steps to reach ck¡¯s side, and he sighed. ¡°Senior, actually, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ck was confused. ¡°Sorry? For what?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated, and he seemed conflicted as though he had been put in a difficult position. ¡°Actually, I kept something from Senior Shenwei, and it¡¯s really important.¡±

    ck¡¯s eyes lit up, and an intense curiosity could be seen in them. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed again, and it looked as if he really did not want to say it.

    ck started getting anxious. ¡°Hurry up and tell me. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. ¡°I never thought that Eversky Ind would have ghosts, but if that¡¯s the case, then I can¡¯t hide this anymore. Actually¡­¡± He looked at ck with apletely serious expression that she returned in kind. The two looked at each other for a moment before Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed as his eyes turned a sinister, bloody-red color. He howled, ¡°I¡¯m the ghost!¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!!!¡± ck was startled into screaming.

    A simr cry echoed out from nearby,ing from the white streak.

    Lu Yinughed.

    ck took a few steps back and fell on her butt on the ground, paralyzed. She breathed heavily as she stared at Lu Yin in fear.

    Lu Yin chuckled for a moment and then looked off into the distance. ¡°Come on out. You two must be twins. You scared me.¡±

    In the distance, the white blur red at Lu Yin. She had a delicate face that was identical to ck¡¯s, and the girl gritted her teeth. ¡°You! You¡¯re too much, scaring people.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled. ¡°You two tried to scare me first.¡±

    ck struggled to calm herself down, and she shot a death-re at Lu Yin as she continued to grind her teeth.

 Chapter 1089: Choice

    <h4>Chapter 1089: Choice</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at ck, and then back at the girl in the white dress who was standing off in the distance. He asked in a strange voice, ¡°Would your name be White by any chance?¡±

    The girl in the white dress was stumped. ¡°You know me?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless; her name really was White.

    ck and White, each wearing clothes with their namesake¡¯s color, were easy to differentiate.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough nonsense. Let¡¯s keep moving. Take me to see Master,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ck snorted and turned around, ignoring him.

    White also snorted before ignoring him.

    Lu Yin¡¯¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Actually, what I just said was true.¡±

    ck and White turned around to look at Lu Yin, fear glimmering in the depths of their eyes.

    ¡°There really are no such things as ghosts.¡± Lu Yinughed.

    The two girls became so angry that they started grinding their teeth again.

    ¡°ck, hit him!¡± White was furious.

    ck stood up and fixed a cold stare onto Lu Yin. She then suddenly vanished, as did White.

    Lu Yin was astonished, as these two had an amazing level of speed. They were moving so quickly that even he could not clearly see them. Runes shed in front of him, moving no slower than a Vacuum Palm.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s fight against Lan Si, Lu Yin had been forced to try out all sorts of tactics to dodge Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm. However, he had changed since then, and both his speed and his strength had reached new heights. Against ck and White¡¯s current speed, Lu Yin simply thrust a casual palm strike from below, and a Vacuum Palm caused the void to tremble. ck and White were just about to strike Lu Yin, but they were both forced back by his sudden palm attack, and they no longer dared to approach him.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Your speed is something rarely seen, and honestly, I¡¯ve never met anyone in the same generation faster than the two of you. However, unfortunately for you two, you can¡¯t hit me.¡±

    ck and White werepletely infuriated by him, and they exchanged nces before each of them raised both of their hands. Four hands tightly clutched each other, and the twins¡¯ star energy exploded in a ck and white pattern that spun in a circle between the sisters. They then threw it at Lu Yin. ¡°ck White Combo.¡±

    Lu Yin stared intently at the rotating ck-white energy pattern. This attack had actually caused a bit of fear to appear within him, as its rune lines were almostparable to an attack from one of the Ten Arbiters. These two girls were clearly just Cruisers, but they were already able to unleash such a powerful attack when they cooperated.

    In the Innerverse, not even Xia Tian, who was the leader of the Top 100 Rankings, could guarantee being fine after receiving this attack.

    Lu Yin dodged to the side and carefully observed the round ck-white pattern. A certain feeling was tugging at his mind, telling him that this attack was not as simple as it seemed.

    The ck and white circle spun through the sky, and an untold amount of star energy converged and melded into it, causing its rune lines to gradually increase in number.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°It can grow stronger on its own?¡±

    White was thrilled. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us! Our ck White Combo has unlimited strength. Big man, you¡¯re doomed!¡±

    This was the first time Lu Yin had ever been called a big man, and it felt rather fresh. He was quite curious about how strong this ck White Combo could be, as limitless strength was clearly impossible.

    The ck White Combo sliced through the sky, and Lu Yin continuously evaded it. It continued to absorb star energy, and soon, its rune lines wereparable to when Lan Si had used One Hundred Fifty Stacks. However, this attack was not finished, and it continued to grow stronger.

    Lu Yin became truly interested, though he continued to evade the attack.

    The void soon warped, as the ck White Combo had surpassed the power of an Enlighter¡¯s attack, but it was still strengthening itself. It eventually reached a power level of about 250,000.

    Even though the void within the Neoverse was quite stable, it could still be torn apart. However, they were on Eversky Ind, and an attack with a power level of 250,000 was still not enough to do so.

    After some time, the ck White Combo managed to reach the power of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, which was the Arbiter¡¯s first attack that had severely injured Lu Yin during their battle. Its power was overwhelming, and even the other Arbiters would likely struggle to deal with it.

    Lu Yin looked at ck and White and found that the twins had gone a bit pale. ¡°Are you guys unable to control it anymore?¡±

    ck and White snorted, and they stubbornly maintained their ck White Combo.

    Lu Yin shook his head, and in front of him, the circr pattern formed from the ck White Combo continued to slice towards him. He raised a hand that was shrouded with nine lined battle force as he faced the attack head on.

    The void warped and trembled as a sharp gale swept through the surrounding area. ck and White were both forced to take several steps back before falling down onto the ground. Some distance away from them, the ck White Combo¡¯s circr shape had actually been crushed apart by Lu Yin. He had changed since his battle with Lan Si, and he had rapidly improved.

    ck and White exchanged nces and then simultaneously looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Freak.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°I haven¡¯t even said a word about the two of you. It¡¯s impressive for you two to be able to produce such a powerful attack at your ages, and your battle technique is very strong.¡±

    White was pleased. ¡°Of course! We¡¯re the only ones who can use the ck White Combo, and others wouldn¡¯t be able to learn it even if they devoted their entire lives to it.¡±

    ck stood up and calmly said, ¡°Don¡¯t act arrogant, White. Did you forget about what Master said? We have to be humble.¡±

    White nodded, but then she looked at Lu Yin with a pleased expression.

    Lu Yin was amused at the girls. ¡°We¡¯ve fought and even scared each other. Is it finally time to take me to see Master?¡±

    ¡°Not taking you. Go by yourself.¡± White instantly put on a cold facade.

    ck raised a hand and pointed at the highest mountain that stood in the distance. ¡°Master lives at the base of that mountain. You can go by yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Really?¡±

    ck indifferently replied, ¡°I don¡¯t like liars.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless; just who was the one who had lied about ghosts?

    No matter if what ck had told him was true or not, he still had to go. After all, he was on Eversky Ind. Also, he could continue to deal with these two girls, though he was certain that his every movement was being watched by Highsage Shenwei.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head out first then. Later.¡± Lu Yin smiled and waved at the two girls before speeding off into the distance.

    White started fuming. ¡°That person is too despicable! He scared me half to death.¡±

    ck felt helpless. ¡°Who told you to get found out?¡±

    White felt puzzled. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have happened. Normally, nobody can notice me with my speed.¡±

    ck replied, ¡°He even crushed our ck White Combo, so what¡¯s the use of our speed?¡±

    ¡°I wonder where Senior Shenwei found him. We¡¯ve got to mess with him some more in the future.¡± White refused to ept the oue, and a certain crafty light filled her eyes as she gave ck a sly look.

    ck nodded, and she began to seriously consider how they could mess with Lu Yin.

    Eversky Ind was not veryrge, but that also depended on what it was beingpared to. If a person could not fly or tear through the void, then Eversky Ind would be considered very big.

    It took Lu Yin half a day of traveling to arrive at the base of the highest mountain, and Highsage Shenwei had been waiting there for him for a while.

    ¡°Face the mountain and pay your respects to Master for allowing you to represent Eversky Ind in the uing contest at the Astral Tower,¡± Highsage Shenwei solemnly told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurriedly offered his thanks, ¡°Junior Lu Yin thanks Senior.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei directed a stern look at Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Yin, Master is offering you two choices: first, you can just be a nominal disciple of Eversky Ind, which means that you will not be Master¡¯s disciple, though that also means that you will be allowed to leave at any time. Your other choice is to truly join Eversky Ind, which would mean that, from today forwards, my Master will be your Master, and you will be the fourth formal disciple of my Eversky Ind. Choose.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Junior already has a Master.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei said, ¡°This is why Master offered you this choice. Some people don¡¯t care if you have multiple masters and will allow you to have many, but my Eversky Ind is not like that. If you want to join my Eversky Ind, then you must sever your rtionship with your previous Master. Choose.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he bowed deeply towards the mountain. ¡°Junior Lu Yin is untalented, and though Master has shown Junior a great favor, Junior is incapable of forsaking his master.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Consider your choice carefully. I can tell you this clearly¡ªEversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Master is one of the top experts in the Fifth Maind, and he is someone who stands at the true peak of the universe. He has lived for countless years, but he has only ever epted three disciples. You are one of the few geniuses who has managed to catch his eye, so you only have one more opportunity to reconsider.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed again. ¡°Junior thanks the Highsage Master for his praise. However, I am unable to forget the grace that my current master has shown me, and thus, I am unable to part from him.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei sighed. ¡°I had thought that you were intelligent. What a pity, you¡¯ve missed out on the greatest opportunity.¡±

    Lu Yin also felt helpless, as he was aware that Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Master was definitely an extraordinary individual. However, Mister Mu had indeed been too generous to Lu Yin. Without Mister Mu, Lu Yin would have died multiple times. Even if Highsage Master was one of the peak powerhouses in the universe, or even a Progenitor, Lu Yin would not betray Mister Mu.

    Besides, Mister Mu was not necessarily inferior to Highsage Master.

    ¡°Actually, before we arrived, I had never even considered that Master would favor you. After all, Master has not been concerned with recent affairs, and he normally has no thoughts of taking in any more disciples. Who could have expected that he would take a liking to you? And yet, you rejected him. What a pity.¡± Highsage Shenwei sighed with sorrow.

    Lu Yin felt curious. ¡°ck and White aren¡¯t disciples?¡±

    ¡°They are just nominal disciples like you. Eversky Ind actually has quite a few nominal disciples, as aside from Junior Leon, Master has not taken a liking to anyone else. ck and White are no different, and in the future, they will have to leave Eversky Ind,¡± Highsage Shenwei exined.

    Lu Yin nodded, but he did not speak any further. His goal was the contest at the Astral Tower, and being a nominal disciple of Eversky Ind was sufficient to achieve that goal.

    ¡°Right, Senior-¡±

    ¡°You can just call me Senior Apprentice Brother. A nominal disciple is still a disciple,¡± Highsage Shenwei casually replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Senior Shenwei, you mentioned before that Eversky Ind has two other disciples who will participate in the contest at the Astral Tower, and I would like to meet them.¡±

    When Lu Yin mentioned this, Highsage Shenwei¡¯s expression suddenly grew strange, and he coughed awkwardly. ¡°About that, you- haven¡¯t you already met them?¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused. ¡°I¡¯ve already met them?¡±

    Hold on. His expression suddenly changed. ¡°ck and White?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei coughed again. ¡°Wait here. Master is calling me for something.¡±

    The older man instantly vanished.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, as the two apanying him really were ck and White. Now that everything had been revealed, Lu Yin suddenly understood Highsage Shenwei¡¯s strange reaction when Lu Yin had asked this question aboard the spacecraft, as well as why the man had waited at this ce for Lu Yin.

    ck and White were clearly just adolescent girls, and they also did not know their ce. Who knew what sort of trouble they would cause?! If he apanied them for the contest at the Astral Tower, then he might as well just go off by himself.

    No, Lu Yin suddenly thought of a possibility. Highsage Shenwei had willingly brought Lu Yin to Eversky Ind, so perhaps he had the intention of bringing him over as a bodyguard to protect the two brats during the contest at the Astral Tower.

    The more Lu Yin thought of this possibility, the more likely it seemed.

    Lu Yin felt like he had been duped, as those two brats would create problems even when none existed. The path in front of him that had been so bright seemed to have suddenly grown dark.

    At the same time, Highsage Shenwei arrived at the depths of Eversky Ind. ¡°Master, what do you think about this kid?¡±

    ¡°Keke, though I don¡¯t know who his master is, for them to be able to nurture such a child, they cannot be anyone simple. Forget it. Just keep him as a nominal disciple.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    ¡°Right, doesn¡¯t the Cosmic Sect owe us quite a quota of a few exchange disciples?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yes! The Cosmic Sect has continuously sent the asional disciple to walk across our Eversky Bridge, and in exchange, Eversky Ind¡¯s disciples are allowed to cultivate at the Cosmic Sect. Unfortunately, Master has not yet epted any suitable disciples.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, those people were simply all too weak, and it would be embarrassing for my Eversky Ind if they went to the Cosmic Sect. ck and White are not bad, but their temperament has room for improvement, and they would only y around if they were sent there. We¡¯ll do it like this: send this child.¡±

 Chapter 1090: The Cosmic Sect

    <h4>Chapter 1090: The Cosmic Sect</h4>

    Highsage Shenwei hesitated. ¡°But Master, the contest at the Astral Tower will begin in just two more months.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. The Cosmic Sect seems to owe us quite a lot of quotas, so let him go there and y around by himself. ck and White would kick up too much of a fuss. Let him show the Cosmic Sect what our Eversky Ind is capable of.¡±

    ¡°Then, should ck and White follow him?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to send them.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡­

    At the base of the mountain, Lu Yin was stunned by the news. ¡°I¡¯m going to the Cosmic Sect?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°The Cosmic Sect and my Eversky Ind have always maintained a friendly rtionship, and we also maintain a certain quota of exchanges to allow disciples to cultivate in the other organization. This time, you will represent Eversky Ind and cultivate at the Cosmic Sect, where you¡¯ll be treated as an inner disciple, just the same as any other Cosmic Sect disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Can I learn the Cosmic Sect¡¯s techniques?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei smiled. ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t think of yourself as an outsider while you¡¯re there. In fact, you¡¯ll be thought of as a Cosmic Sect disciple during your stay. You can learn whatever you want, so long as you have the ability.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath quickened. The Cosmic Sect and the Cosmic Art! How could he have expected that this opportunity woulde so soon? He would never forget the benefits that the Cosmic Art gave.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had constantly used the Cosmic Art, and now, he had finally gotten a chance to improve it tremendously.

    ¡°Senior Apprentice Brother, it seems that it won¡¯t be long before I need to go to the Astral Tower, so I won¡¯t be able to cultivate at the Cosmic Sect for too long.¡± Lu Yin felt like he had been forced into a difficult position.

    Highsage Shenwei replied, ¡°Just treat it as a bit of fun. Although you¡¯re short on time, you might still be able to pick up something that will help you at the Astral Tower.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Thank you, Senior Shenwei.¡±

    Up on the mountain¡¯s precipice, Highsage Master felt puzzled. ¡°Judging by his attitude, he is clearly aware that he has cultivated the Cosmic Art. However, he doesn¡¯t refuse to go to the Cosmic Sect. Strange, very strange.¡±

    In the Neoverse¡¯s West Realm, there was a certain region that contained an endless number of stars revolving around a giant vortex. This vortex seemed to be held up by some invisible hand that carried half of the West Realm. At the center of these stars was the Cosmic Sect.

    The Cosmic Sect was one of the top powers of the Neoverse, and it had countless disciples. Although it was not too famous in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, this was not because the sect was not powerful enough, but rather because it had no intention of improving its fame in those ces.

    In the Cosmic Sect¡¯s eyes, the Innerverse and Outerverse were basically uncivilized wild hintends.

    ¡°This is Internal Affairs Elder Hai Yan reporting to Sect Leader: Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Shenwei has sent a message that a nominal disciple is being sent to our sect to cultivate. Lu Yin, a Cruiser at seven cultivation cycles, whoes from the Outerverse.¡± a middle-aged man reported in a respectful tone as he stood in front of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s great hall.

    ¡°Lu? A primeval surname? When did Eversky Ind get entangled with primeval surnames? A Cruiser? Arrange an inner disciple spot for him.¡±

    Before long, the middle-aged man arrived in another location. ¡°This is Internal Affairs Elder Hai Yan reporting to True Elder. The exchange disciple from Eversky Ind has arrived. His name is Lu Yin, and he hails from the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°They sent an exchange disciple at this time? What is Eversky Ind thinking? Just make some casual arrangements, though nothing too random. Treat him as best you can, as we cannot afford to lose the right to the Eversky Bridge.¡±

    ¡°Elder, do we need to investigate his background?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need; he¡¯s just a Cruiser. He should be some genius that Highsage Shenwei plucked out of the Outerverse. It will be alright.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡±

    The middle-aged man hesitated and turned around to bow respectfully. ¡°Does Elder have any further instructions?¡±

    ¡°Send Hua Xiao or Mu Ziying to receive this disciple.¡±

    The middle-aged man was surprised. ¡°Should we really send a true disciple to greet him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still a nominal disciple from Eversky Ind. Treat him well, and we might even be able to wrangle out a few more Eversky Bridge slots for our disciples in the future.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡­

    Outside the Cosmic Sect, in a sealed underground space, Mu Ziying suddenly looked up from a dark tome filled with star charts. ¡°I clearly followed the pattern of the star chart from the Skystar Jade Wall, so why is it ineffective? It looks like I need to return to the Skystar Jade Wall for another look. The contest at the Astral Tower is quickly approaching, and if I can cultivate the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art, I¡¯ll have some hope for this contest.¡±

    At that moment, the middle-aged man arrived. ¡°Internal Affairs Elder Hai Yan requests an audience with the second true disciple.¡±

    Mu Ziying frowned and exited the underground room. ring sunlight lit up his face, and he nced around before focusing on a middle-aged man standing close by. ¡°So it¡¯s Elder Hai. What is the reason Elder Hai is looking for this disciple?¡±

    The middle-aged man respectfully answered, ¡°An Eversky Ind disciple is about to arrive at the Cosmic Sect to cultivate, and the True Elder ordered that either third true disciple Hua Xiao or second true disciple Mu Ziying to wee him. Since Hua Xiao is not here in the sect, second true disciple is being asked to wee them.¡±

    Mu Ziying felt puzzled. ¡°They¡¯re sending over an exchange disciple to cultivate at a time like this? What are they thinking? There¡¯s only a small amount of time left before the Astral Tower contest, so what can anyone learn?¡±

    Hai Yan replied, ¡°I only just received Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Shenwei¡¯s message.¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded. ¡°If an Eversky Ind disciple ising to the sect, then they will be considered an inner disciple. Our Cosmic Sect has many inner disciples, and who knows if this person will be able to step into our internal rankings? However, if Eversky Ind is sending them, they should not be weak. What¡¯s their name?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, from the Outerverse,¡± Hai Yan replied.

    Mu Ziying nodded casually as he repeated, ¡°Lu Yin.¡± Eh? Wait a sec, Lu Yin?

    Mu Ziyin stared at Hai Yan in astonishment. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Hai Yan felt confused by Mu Ziyin¡¯s reaction, so he exined a bit more. ¡°His name is Lu Yin, and he is from the Outerverse.¡±

    Mu Ziying¡¯s expression turned a bit strange, and his eyes went rather nk due to his shock. ¡°Lu Yin? Isn¡¯t he dead?¡±

    Hai Yan was lost. ¡°Does Disciple know him?¡±

    Mu Ziying¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Inform the sect to immediately find out all the recent events in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse with a focus on any information regarding this Lu Yin person.¡±

    Hai Yan was instantly put into a difficult position. ¡°Since the contest at the Astral Tower is about to begin, the Honor Zone has sealed off the Neoverse. Thus, it¡¯s very difficult to find out anything from the Innerverse or Outerverse.¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Just try. He¡¯s incredibly famous, so you should be able to find out something at least.¡±

    Hai Yan nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    As he watched Hai Yan leave, Mu Ziying shifted his gaze. Lu Yin, Lu Yin¡­ He should have died at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands, and he was evenbeled a traitor to the Fifth Maind by Nightking Zhenwu. So what is he doing with Eversky Ind? And why did they send him here as part of the disciple exchange program?

    Mu Ziying was even more confused.

    Unfortunately, Hua Xiao was not around, as he knew Lu Yin even better than Mu Ziying.

    Since Eversky Ind and the Cosmic Sect were both located in the West Realm, they were not too far from each other. With the speed of Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eonlight-grade Aurora, they quickly arrived.

    ¡°Kid, you seem to have high expectations.¡± Highsage Shenwei nced at Lu Yin, a little puzzled.

    Logically, before the contest at the Astral Tower began, everyone should be in seclusion in preparation. However, Lu Yin did not seem to have any issue with going to the Cosmic Sect to cultivate. However, what could he gain in a short one or two months? Lu Yin¡¯s attitude puzzled Highsage Shenwei, as he had casually mentioned to Lu Yin that he should improve his techniques. However, the true objective of this exchange was to let the Cosmic Sect know that Eversky Ind had its own gifted people.

    Lu Yin answered with clear longing, ¡°When I was still in the Astral Combat Academy, I heard my mentors say that the Cosmic Sect is one of the most powerful sects in the entire Human Domain. Thus, I¡¯m looking forward to finally seeing it.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei nodded. ¡°Although they are not the most formidable power in the Neoverse, they¡¯re close to being the most powerful sect. The Cosmic Sect has countless disciples, and there are thousands of inner disciples, and any one of their inner disciples has the strength of a top elite from the Innerverse or Outerverse. In particr, the top ten disciples ranked in the sect¡¯s Internal Rankings areparable to the top ten youths of your Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings.¡±

    Although Lu Yin had considered the Cosmic Sect to be an overwhelming power, he had not expected their strength to be this absurd.

    The Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings took into ount the top youths from both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, which included countless genius cultivators, each one a Realmbreaker. They were true elites of the Human Domain, and they had all been qualified to receive an invitation to the Daynight Feast.

    And yet, the Cosmic Sect alone was able to match up to the Top 100 Rankings. What sort of concept was thousands of inner disciples? ording to Highsage Shenwei, the Cosmic Sect merely had the power of a single sect, but it alone was able to suppress the Top 100 Rankings experts that included both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. If their true disciples were also included, then the sect¡¯s strength would be even more terrifying.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded and when the cosmic phenomenon had suppressed the entire Innerverse, what exactly had the Neoverse been doing? Why had there been no word of any Neoverse powerhouses entering the battlefield? Although the Cosmic Sect¡¯s three true disciples had participated, Lu Yin remembered that the All Rounder Fairy Qiu Shi had not really put in that much effort.

    The various great powers of the Innerverse had sacrificed countless people to stop the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators, and they had also used up a great deal of resources and power vessels. The average strength of the Sixth Maind cultivators far surpassed those of the Innerverse, but when they werepared to the Neoverse¡¯s, the two were almost equal.

    Did this indicate that the Neoverse¡¯s elites improved at the same rate as the Sixth Maind¡¯s? Was the only difference between the two that the Neoversecked any Progenitors?

    The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more that he felt he was right. After all, the Neoverse contained the most pristinely preserved remnants of the Fifth Maind, and they were the true core of the Fifth Maind.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced about, half a day soon passed, and Lu Yin saw a vortex off in the distance. Its power seemed to be stirring the universe itself, and there were countless stars spiralling around it. It was a truly magnificent sight. As they approached, the shock within Lu Yin¡¯s heart only increased.

    The Cosmic Sect seemed like arge hand stirring the universe, or rather, a hand that was holding up the heavens.

    Lu Yin did not dare to look at the runes in this ce, as he was afraid that he would injure his eyes.

    Truesight was a very rare ability in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so he was able to use it anywhere he wished. However, Gods¡¯ Origin was well known throughout the Neoverse for their ability to use Truesight, and Lu Yin had not been able to see almost anything at Eversky Ind, and he assumed that he simrly would not be able to observe anything in the Cosmic Sect. In fact, it was even possible that he would suffer a bacsh from using the technique.

    Lu Yin had to constantly remind himself that he was now in the Neoverse, and certain methods that he had used in the Innerverse and Outerverse would not work here. Truesight was the most important one.

    The Cosmic Sect was hidden within the center of all these countless stars, and as Lu Yin looked around at the endlessly revolving stars, he had a strange thought. If powerful foes attacked the Cosmic Sect, could the sect unleash a tremendous power by detonating these stars?

    The Cosmic Palm originally allowed one to erupt with great strength by detonating stars and unleashing their destruction.

    If Lu Yin could simte this many stars with the Cosmic Art, then his rate of star energy absorption would spike, and he might even reach the stage where he would no longer need to rely on the Skyze Stone.

    It was decided; after Lu Yin settled down in the Cosmic Sect, he would use the Skyze Stone toplete another cultivation cycle, and he would also figure out the integrated finger attack that he had seen on the Eversky Bridge.

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s arrival at the Cosmic Sect did not create much of a stir.

    Lu Yin stood atop a floating stone step within a certain area of the Cosmic Sect while he waited for someone to wee him. Highsage Shenwei had already disappeared.

    Before long, a figure flew over from the distance andnded on the stone step. ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple, Mu Ziying. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    Mu Ziying was the one who had appeared in front of Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1091: Promotion Method

    <h4>Chapter 1091: Promotion Method</h4>

    Lu Yin had only met the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple once before, in the Cosmic Sea when they had attacked Starlight Ind. At that time, they had fallen into a trap, and Lu Yin had raced over to the Whitecliff Region right after. Thus, he had not had the time to talk to this person.

    ¡°Brother Mu, we meet again,¡± Lu Yin replied courteously.

    Mu Ziying smiled. ¡°Our encounter in the Cosmic Sea feels like it took ce an era ago. Since then, not only has Brother Lu defeated the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, but you have also personally killed your mortal enemy, Nightking Zhenwu, and taken his ce as one of the Ten Arbiters. You have my full admiration.¡±

    Mu Ziying had just been given this news. Since the Neoverse was currently sealed off, the Cosmic Sect had received this information straight from the Hall of Honor.

    When they had seen the provided information on Lu Yin¡¯s background, no matter if it was Elder Hai Yan or Mu Ziying, they were both taken aback. The two had been speechless for a long time, particrly Mu Ziying. He had actually conversed with Hua Xiao about how one of the Neoverse¡¯s elites had been suppressed by Nightking Zhenwu when the Nightking had been guaranteed an inheritance, and the second true disciple had never dreamed that Nightking Zhenwu would die so soon after.

    Furthermore, the person who had dealt with Zhenwu was someone who everyone had assumed was dead: Lu Yin.

    Mu Ziying could not understand what had happened in the Innerverse and Outerverse, as Nightking Zhenwu had made a solemn vow that he had killed Lu Yin. However, despite that, Lu Yin had managed to reappear. And not only had he returned, but he had also unified the entire Outerverse, defeated the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, and practically destroyed Daynight Flowzone.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded, although the Neoverse had been shocked by the strength of the Sixth Maind cultivators, they had been just as surprised by the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. Mu Ziying had believed those ten to be absolute freaks, but Lu Yin had already defeated two of those monsters on his own.

    Regarding Lu Yin at this moment, Mu Ziying felt sincere admiration, and he was not simply following the required decorum.

    Mu Ziying was someone from the Neoverse, and he had always enjoyed an exceptional advantage in terms of resources. But despite that, he held no confidence in being able to defeat Arbiter Divine Fist or Arbiter Zhenwu, which Lu Yin had done.

    Lu Yin smiled, as he heard too many simr praises before. Defeating Nightking Zhenwu was indeed a major aplishment, as was uniting the Outerverse, which had been a difficult and closely managed task. However, Lu Yin would not allow himself to becent. Nightking Zhenwu had truly been very powerful, but he was not guaranteed to be the most powerful youth.

    Lu Yin also could not forget about the Tri-Yang Technique that Highsage Shenwei had mentioned, the Mavis family¡¯s so-called Treeheart Descendant, or the All Rounder Fairy, Qiu Shi. She had thrown the entire Champions'' Stage, along with Bu Kong, Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin, and others, into outer space.

    ¡°Brother Lu, please follow me. You now have the status of an inner disciple in the Cosmic Sect, so you will receive all the treatment due an inner disciple, and you will also need to follow their rules. Right-¡± Mu Ziying paused for a moment as he took out a chip and passed it over to Lu Yin. ¡°This is the firstyer of our Cosmic Art, and it also holds the secret to our Cosmic Palm. Brother Lu, you absolutely cannot give this to any outsiders.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly received the memory chip, though his breathing quickened.

    Mu Ziying smiled. No matter who it was, even an Honor Chosen would drool over the Cosmic Art. This was the foundation of the Cosmic Sect, and it was a technique that had shocked the entire universe.

    Lu Yin remained serious as he stored it away. ¡°Thank you, Brother Mu.¡±

    Mu Ziying smiled. ¡°That¡¯s simply how things are supposed to be. Brother Lu, please, I¡¯ll take you on a tour of the ces that the inner disciples can go to.¡±

    With that, he flew into the sky.

    Lu Yin followed closely behind.

    The Cosmic Sect had every climate imaginable since it covered an extensive territory. Even if Lu Yin was given a full month to explore it, he would not be able to visit all of its public areas. However, he was not interested in such ces as he did not n to cultivate here for an extended amount of time. He was more interested in being promoted to a true disciple, as only true disciples were allowed to ess the higheryers of the Cosmic Art.

    ¡°The firstyer of Cosmic Art can allow you to simte eight stars, and the secondyer of the Cosmic Art has a maximum of ny nine stars. Brother Lu, with your talent, you should be able to quickly cultivate the entire firstyer of the Cosmic Art,¡± Mu Ziying exined.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°How can I get the secondyer of the Cosmic Art?¡±

    In the past, Mister Mu had given Lu Yin a scroll of the Cosmic Art as an apprenticeship gift, and that scroll had been the secondyer of the Cosmic Art. Hence, at the moment, Lu Yin could manifest ny-nine stars.

    Mu Ziying exined, ¡°It¡¯s not too difficult to get the secondyer of the Cosmic Art, as many inner disciples of my Cosmic Sect have already learned it. As long as you make some contributions or receive some guidance from some of the elders, you¡¯ll get it.¡±

    Lu Yin understood.

    ¡°Since Brother Lu has only just arrived at the Cosmic Sect, and since you¡¯re also a nominal disciple from Eversky Ind, no elders will take you as their disciple. Thus, it¡¯ll take you a bit of time to make some contributions, so it¡¯s not too realistic for you to get the secondyer of Cosmic Art in a short amount of time. Still, you¡¯ll have plenty of time in the future, and the firstyer of Cosmic Art should be enough for Brother Lu to use for now.¡± Mu Ziying smiled.

    Lu Yin nodded, as what he really wanted was to obtain was Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer.

    ¡°Right, Brother Mu, how many stars can the thirdyer of Cosmic Art simte?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously, his gaze betraying his expectations.

    Mu Ziying rearranged his expression. ¡°720.¡±

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed. ¡°720?¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded, now serious. ¡°The thirdyer of Cosmic Art is a dividing line, and it¡¯s something that differentiates the disciples from the elders. Since ancient times, very few disciples of my Cosmic Sect have been able to cultivate the Cosmic Art to the thirdyer, and all those who were able to have long since grown out of the younger generation, as such a thing takes time.¡±

    ¡°Has Qiu Shi cultivated the entire thirdyer?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ziying shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but she shouldn¡¯t have. Otherwise, the entire sect would have been notified.¡±

    Lu Yin had never expected the difference between the second and thirdyers of the Cosmic Art to be sorge or for it to be this exaggerated. It was no wonder why there were so few youths who were able to sessfully cultivate the thirdyer topletion.

    ¡°Right, Brother Mu, if I can get promoted to a true disciple, then can I receive the secondyer of Cosmic Art?¡± Lu Yin asked with a burning look.

    Mu Ziying thought about it. ¡°That¡¯s possible. Still, unfortunately, if Brother Lu can make some contributions to the sect, then you¡¯ll be given the secondyer. And with Brother Lu¡¯s strength, getting promoted to a true disciple would be very simple. Then, you would instantly have the qualifications to gain ess to the thirdyer of Cosmic Art.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m only here as an exchange disciple, so I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be here for.¡±

    Mu Ziying said, ¡°That¡¯s true. Since that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll take Brother Lu to where you can participate in the exam to be promoted to a true disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin was grateful. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Although it was said that there were opportunities to obtain even higheryers of the Cosmic Art in the Cosmic Sect, Lu Yin did not hold any hopes of obtaining them. The contest at the Astral Tower was right in front of him, and it would be very difficult for him to obtain the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art within such a short period of time. At the moment, all he wanted was to be able to use the Cosmic Art without fear in the future.

    Although he had tried to conceal his use of the Cosmic Art so far, those who were able recognize it were not few, and he would eventually run into trouble if he was exposed some day. This cultivation art was just like the blood-red bell, which felt like a time bomb that could explode without any warning. Lu Yin did his best not to think about such a thing, but that matter was like a knife hanging over his head that could fall down at any moment, and it made him very nervous.

    It was better to have fewer matters that could trouble him at any given moment.

    The contest at the Astral Tower was a grand asion for the entire Neoverse, and countless youths were in the midst of preparing for it.

    The Cosmic Sect had its own rules, and only true disciples were allowed to participate in the contest.

    At present, there were three true disciples within the Cosmic Sect. The first true disciple was the All Rounder Fairy, Qiu Shi. The second true disciple was Mu Ziying, and the third true disciple was Hua Xiao. The other top disciples were all experts on the sect¡¯s internal rankings.

    Not only was this particr day the day when Lu Yin represented Eversky Ind as an exchange disciple at the Cosmic Sect, but it was also the day when many of the experts on the internal ranking would battle and work towards being promoted to a true disciple.

    They had to be a true disciple more than a month before the contest began at the Astral Tower, as only then would they have the opportunity to represent the Cosmic Sect at the Astral Tower and fight for a slight chance of bing one of the Cosmic Five.

    It was not easy to be promoted to the true disciple position, as that position represented not only one¡¯s strength, but also a chance to learn the Cosmic Sect¡¯s core techniques. The disciples needed to demonstrate more than an adequate power level, and it was actually more important for them to have offered sufficient contributions to the Cosmic Sect.

    Mu Ziying had evidently forgotten that his promotion to the true disciple position had been very smooth because he had grown up within the Cosmic Sect, which meant that he had already met all of the required conditions. The true disciple promotion was quite organized, but things were different for Lu Yin.

    Mu Ziying felt rather embarrassed. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m really sorry. Who knew that being promoted to a true disciple would require such qualifications?¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°I¡¯m here representing Eversky Ind, so isn¡¯t that enough of a qualification?¡±

    Mu Ziying thought about it. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±

    He then sent out a request towards the True Elder. It wasn¡¯t long before he received a reply. ¡°He can only be evaluated by the third method.¡±

    Mu Ziying was astonished. ¡°Actually, you can only use the third method.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°What¡¯s the third method?¡±

    Mu Ziying solemnly exined, ¡°There are three methods to be promoted to a true disciple within my sect. First, you can bang on the promotion drum under the watch of ten experts on the internal rankings and make the sound spread across the Cosmic Sect. Of the ten experts on the internal ranking, one of them has to be among the top three. Second, you can cultivate our sect¡¯s Cosmic Art to ny nine, be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and then bang on the promotion drum. These are the two standard ways of taking the test to be promoted to a true disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped, as neither the first nor second methods were simple. The first meant that a person basically had to force their way through an obstruction formed by ten people at the level of the Top 100 Rankings, and one of them would even have the strength of the top three of the Top 100 Rankings. Although these people were only an obstacle, only the top three experts could possibly ovee such an obstacle, and even then, they were not necessarily guaranteed to seed. The second method involved cultivating the Cosmic Art, which was still alright. However, bing a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was very difficult.

    If Lu Yin remembered correctly, then the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five were only at that level. In the past, if Ku Wei had not relied on the upgraded gemspring water, then he might not have be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker during that exam.

    These two methods ensured that the true disciples would be around as strong as the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the third method?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ziying let out a long breath. ¡°The third evaluation method to be promoted to a true disciple is to endure for an entire day without falling and then sound the promotion drum.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused.

    Mu Ziying exined, ¡°Any disciple from the Cosmic Sect can challenge you, and you can¡¯t fall in front of the promotion drum an entire day. After that, you have to bang on the drum to be promoted to a true disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s arched a brow. ¡°All of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples?¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded. ¡°All of the disciples, including me, and even including that Grand Senior.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. If the All Rounder Fairy attacked him, then wouldn¡¯t that be the same as facing off against one of the Ten Arbiters? No, she might be even more difficult than one of the Ten Arbiters, as he simply did not know what she was capable of. ¡°Brother Mu, when you say all of the disciples, then does that mean all of the disciples who are a part of the younger generation, or all of those who haven¡¯tpleted their apprenticeship yet?¡±

    Mu Ziying smiled. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not all of them. This is limited to members of the same generation. Otherwise, if a true disciple from an older generation attacked, then nobody would ever stand a chance. On top of that, not all of the older disciples are willing toplete their apprenticeship, as some prefer to stay behind and look for ways to be sect elders. Thus, it wouldn¡¯t be fair for those older disciples to attack Brother Lu either.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, then I ept.¡±

 Chapter 1092: Reverberating Drumbeats

    <h4>Chapter 1092: Reverberating Drumbeats</h4>

    Mu Ziying was not surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s decision, but he still warned Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, I know that your strength is very impressive, but I still have to warn you: the inner disciples from my Cosmic Sect are not weak. Although they might not be your match in a one-on-one battle, an entire day is more than enough time for a lot of disciples to challenge you. Also, there¡¯s one more thing: the evaluation never specified that the challenges have to be solobat.¡±

    Lu Yin slowly turned around. ¡°Brother Mu, I¡¯m not particrly concerned about that.¡±

    Mu Ziying smiled bitterly. ¡°Please, Brother Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin was left with no other choice, and Mu Ziying led him toward where the evaluations for the true disciple promotions were being held.

    Countless stars were revolving around the Cosmic Sect, and there was a particr among the closest stars that had been specially set aside to hold evaluations for people attempting the true disciple promotion. It was known as Skystar, and beating the drum on Skystar meant that one had sessfully been promoted to a true disciple. Doing so represented them leaping into the skies with a single bound, as their status would undergo aplete change. Skystar was also a with a special meaning, and anyone who was able to safely return from that would be considered a blessed child of the starry sky.

    At this moment, there was a girl on Skystar emitting an icy white vapor from head to toe. The chilly vapor formed an endless ice jail that extended out from her. In front of her, there were several cultivators who were being overwhelmed by the ice as they desperately dodged around. There was only one man among them who looked serious, and he raised a hand, causing ny nine stars to appear and explode as they collided with the icy prison.

    The ground vibrated and cracked as the void warped.

    The girl leaped forward, directly confronting the man with an open palm.

    The man was overwhelmed. ¡°Show mercy, Senior!¡±

    The girl¡¯s hand streaked past the man¡¯s cheek, and she grabbed hold of the massive drumsticks thaty behind the man and did her best to raise them up. It seemed that the drumsticks were too heavy, as the girl was actually incapable of moving them.

    Behind her, the man spoke up. ¡°The drumsticks used to sound the promotion drum are as heavy as a, and wanting to sound the promotion drum requires one to use an enormous amount of star energy to support them. In theory, it¡¯s impossible for anyone who hasn¡¯t reached the Hunter realm to sound the drum, let alone make it echo throughout the entire Cosmic Sect. Senior, please give up.¡±

    The girl fiercely growled, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The man had said his piece, so he helplessly stepped back. All around them, the other nine cultivators also retreated. They were experts on the Cosmic Sect¡¯s internal rankings. This girl¡¯s name was Yun Feifei, and she had chosen to undergo the first promotion method, and she was actually ranked second on the sect¡¯s internal rankings. Nobody could stand against her in terms ofbat, but it was still extremely difficult for her to move the drumsticks.

    Further away, countless Cosmic Sect disciples watched on with high expectations, and many of them cheered. ¡°Come on, Senior Feifei! You have to be a true disciple!¡±

    ¡°Senior Feifei, use more strength!¡±

    ¡°Senior Feifei, you can do it!¡±

    ¡­

    Yun Feifei exerted her full strength, and she even bit her lips to the point of bleeding. Finally, she picked up the drumsticks and used them to fiercely bang against the war drum.

    With a tremendous bang, Skystar trembled as ripples shot out through the void and dispersed. Visible sound waves spread across the entire Cosmic Sect, and they showed Yun Feifei¡¯s determination to be promoted to the true disciple position.

    In Skystar¡¯s Great Hall, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Sect Leader, Yuan Qiong¡¯s eyes opened wide, but then he sighed. ¡°She needed just a little bit more, unfortunately.¡±

    The sound of the war drum spread through Skystar¡¯s Great Hall and continued on towards the countless stars thaty outside the Cosmic Sect.

    Many of the Cosmic Sect disciples looked up. ¡°That must be Senior Feifei. She¡¯s going to be promoted to a true disciple.¡±

    ¡°Senior Feifei will definitely be able to do it.¡±

    ¡°Senior Feifei, we support you!¡±

    ¡­

    On Skystar, Yun Feifei stared expectantly at the ripples that radiated outwards, but they ultimately dispersed before reaching every corner of the Cosmic Sect.

    Yun Feifei¡¯s expression fell as she opened her hand, letting the drumsticks fall to the ground. ¡°I failed again?¡±

    Next to her, the man bitterlymented, ¡°Senior, just wait another month. There are still almost two months before the contest at the Astral Tower starts. Thus, you still have a chance.¡±

    Yun Feifei shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s only one month left, and I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    The man sighed.

    In the distance, countless Cosmic Sect disciples also sighed.

    At that moment, a handsome man approached, and he looked at Yun Feifei with a rxed expression. ¡°Junior, it¡¯s my turn.¡±

    When Yun Feifei saw the handsome man, her eyes frosted over. ¡°Yao Ji, if I can¡¯t do it, then neither can you.¡±

    Yao Ji revealed a faint smile. ¡°Junior, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re second on the rankings while I¡¯m first.¡±

    Many of the Cosmic Sect disciples stared at Yao Ji with aggression in their gazes. They supported Yun Feifei because Yun Feifei was good-natured and never bullied juniors. Yao Ji on the other hand, waspletely different. He was the grandson of True Elder Yao Shan, and he had lived a prince¡¯s life since birth, acting condescending;y towards everyone. Nobody liked him.

    Yun Feifei sneered. ¡°You won¡¯t even be able to touch the drumsticks, as I¡¯ll block your path to bing a true disciple.¡±

    Yao Ji showed a massive smile as his lips crept upwards. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this senior has chosen to undergo the second method.¡±

    Yun Feifei and the others were all stunned, ¡°You¡¯ve already be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker?¡±

    Yao Jiughed and activated his gadget. He then shared his Lockbreaker profile page with them, revealing that the emblem of a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker was actually disyed on it.

    Yun Feifei¡¯s face went pale, as she waspletely unwilling to ept this. She was just a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and she knew that it was not simple to be a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. It was just like beating the war drum; although she was onlycking a tiny bit, it would take a long time to make up for that tiny bit.

    ¡°Alright, Junior, don¡¯t be discouraged. I¡¯ll take your ce and have fun ying with those people from the Innerverse. I can¡¯t believe that the trash from that barbaric Innerverse actually wants topete over my Neoverse¡¯s Astral Tower. I believe that, even if I can¡¯t be one of the Cosmic Five, I¡¯ll definitely be able to entertain those people quite well. Since this is how things are, will you be satisfied?¡± Yao Ji arrogantly dered.

    Yun Feifei released her hands and helplessly moved to the side.

    Yao Ji¡¯s gaze swept past Yun Feifei and to the man standing behind her. ¡°Junior Yan, are you trying to block this senior¡¯s path?¡±

    The man¡¯s name was Yan Kun, and he was ranked third on the sect¡¯s internal rankings. Yun Feifei had chosen the first promotion evaluation method, and that method required one of the top three ranked experts to obstruct her path, and he had been the one fulfilling that role.

    Yan Kun also moved aside.

    Yao Ji walked over to the promotion drum with high spirits. He then bent at the waist, grabbed the drumsticks, but at that moment, his expression suddenly changed.

    All of the Cosmic Sect disciples stared at him.

    Besides the disciples, some of the older experts in the Cosmic Sect were also watching. Not only was Yao Ji ranked first on the internal rankings, but he was also the grandson of the sect¡¯s True Elder. Thus, he was basically guaranteed to be sessfully promoted to a true disciple, and many people were waiting to hear the resounding drumbeat when the Cosmic Sect¡¯s number of true disciples increased.

    In the distance, Mu Ziying and Lu Yin were also watching.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept past Yun Feifei. He felt that it was a pity, as this woman was somewhat unable to make full use of her own strength. She could have seeded if she had used the Cosmic Palm to move the drumsticks, but unfortunately, she was not able to control her strength well enough to do so.

    Yun Feifei was only a little weaker than Yao Ji, and she had found it difficult to move the drumsticks. Thus, Yao Ji was the same.

    Under everyone¡¯s attention, Yao Ji struggled to pick up the drumsticks, after which he firmly struck them against the promotion drum.

    There was a bang that caused Skystar to vibrate, and the sound waves spread out, radiating outwards as they made their way towards Skystar¡¯s Great Hall.

    Sect Leader Yuan Qiong nodded. ¡°Enough.¡±

    The sound wave gradually spread out until it reached the endless stars thaty outside the Cosmic Sect, allowing everyone from the Cosmic Sect to hear it.

    As the sound wave vanished, a voice rang out through the sect, announcing, ¡°Inner disciple Yao Ji has been promoted to be the fourth true disciple. Protect my Cosmic Sect from ever falling.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Senior Yao Ji.¡± In the distance, many of the inner disciples helplessly bowed, including both Yun Feifei and Yan Kun.

    Within the Cosmic Sect, countless disciples bowed. ¡°Congrattions, Senior Yao Ji.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Senior Yao Ji.¡±

    ¡­

    Countless voices rang out in the Cosmic Sect, as the sect¡¯s fourth true disciple had just appeared. This event would not only shock the Cosmic Sect, but it would also stun the rest of the Neoverse.

    Each true disciple would be a pir of strength for the Cosmic Sect in the future.

    Yao Ji sped his hands behind his back and looked around. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and it had finally arrived.

    Ever since he had been little, with his grandfather¡¯s guidance, he had always stood a cut above the rest. However, despite that, he had still been suppressed by Qiu Shi, Mu Ziying, and Hua Xiao. Everyone had envied Yao Ji, but he in private, had always been severely punished by his grandfather for being unable topare to the others. But at this moment, he had finally be the fourth true disciple, and next, he would defeat Hua Xiao, Mu Ziying, and step to an even loftier status.

    As for Qiu Shi, Yao Ji¡¯s eyes grew heated. That woman would be his.

    Yao Ji looked around, as at this moment, everyone had to lower their heads to him. That was because his status had just reached apletely different level.

    Eh? Why aren¡¯t those two aren¡¯t bowing their heads? He turned around to get a better look, and his expression changed as he slowly smiled. ¡°So it¡¯s Senior Mu. Junior Yao Ji greets Senior Mu.¡±

    Yun Feifei and the others looked over in astonishment, and they quickly bowed as well. ¡°Greetings, Senior Mu.¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded. He did not care for Yao Ji, so he did not really respond. Instead, Mu Ziying told Lu Yin, ¡°Brother Lu, that¡¯s the promotion drum. You have to stay in front of it for a full day without falling.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I got it.¡±

    Off in the distance, Yao Ji frowned as he looked at Mu Ziying before looking back at Lu Yin. He then coldly asked, ¡°Brother Mu, who is this junior? Is he a new disciple? Why haven¡¯t I ever met him before?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a newly arrived inner disciple,¡± Mu Ziying said.

    Lu Yin looked over at Yao Ji and nodded. He then looked around at the rest of the disciples. There were many disciples here, and not a single one of them was weak. It was no wonder why the Cosmic Sect was considered a powerful force even within the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s nonchnt attitude angered Yao Ji. He had just be a true disciple, and his arrogance had been renewed. Every disciple needed to bow to him, but not only did this person not bow his head, but he was even putting on such a casual attitude. Yao Ji barked, ¡°Brother Mu, it seems that this junior doesn¡¯t understand the rules.¡±

    Yun Feifei and the others all looked at Lu Yin with curiosity. He was an unfamiliar face, so was he a new arrival? However, he was able to stand next to Senior Mu, and his attitude was not normal.

    Mu Ziying introduced, ¡°This is Lu Yin, from Eversky Ind. He¡¯s representing Eversky Ind as an exchange disciple who¡¯se here to the Cosmic Sect to study. Thus, he¡¯s an inner disciple for the moment.¡±

    The crowd instantly understood.

    Yao Ji was shocked. ¡°So it¡¯s a junior from Eversky Ind. Junior is called Lu Yin? Your surname is Lu? A primeval surname?¡±

    Lu Yin simply replied, ¡°Legal status.¡±

    Yao Jiughed. ¡°I know, as otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to visit my Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Mu Ziying looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, have you thought it through?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and moved closer to the promotion drum.

    Yao Ji¡¯s brows rose, and he stared at Lu Yin with a slight look of iprehension.

    The other Cosmic Sect disciples also looked at Lu Yin with strange expressions.

    Mu Ziying spoke up, ¡°Juniors, Brother Lu intends to undergo the third promotion method to be a true disciple. I ask all juniors to please start off leniently.¡±

    The crowd was stunned, and then amotion broke out.

    ¡°Did I hear wrong? The third method?¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t fall for a full day in front of the promotion drum while any disciple can attack him. What¡¯s more, there aren¡¯t even any limits to how many people can go up at once!¡±

    ¡°Even true disciples can participate. Since ancient times, nobody¡¯s been able to seed through this method.¡±

    ¡°There have been some, but they are very, very few. And that was only when there weren¡¯t any really outstanding disciples in their generation or when the true disciples were away.¡±

    ¡°He actually wants to use the third method to get promoted? That¡¯s just looking down on us too much.¡±

 Chapter 1093: Much Obliged

    <h4>Chapter 1093: Much Obliged</h4>

    Yun Feifei was shocked; the first promotion method that she had selected was already considered to be extremely difficult. In fact, if Yao Ji had been the one blocking her instead of Yan Kun, then she would have failed to even touch the drumsticks. And yet, did this person actually want to go through the third promotion method?

    Yao Ji¡¯s face fell. This was too bold. The third method? If this person seeded, then this would no longer be the day when he, Yao Ji, stepped up to the peak. Rather, he would likely be nothing more than a supporting character. In the Cosmic Sect¡¯s entire history, Yao Ji would forever bepared to this person, and he could not allow such a thing to happen.

    Fortunately, it was basically impossible to seed at the third method.

    Lu Yin walked past Yao Ji and stepped in front of the promotion drum. He then raised his head and looked at the crowd of disciples with a gentle smile. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin. Please forgive my boldness for attempting the third promotion method to be a true disciple. I ask all seniors to please show some leniency.¡±

    The crowd of disciples were still processing his words, and many of them simply stared at him nkly.

    This method was too difficult, and it was not much different from suicide.

    Anyone who underwent the third promotion method would essentially be pping the faces of an entire generation of Cosmic Sect disciples, even including the true disciples. Nobody would willingly allow themselves to be embarrassed in such a manner.

    Within Skystar Hall, Yuan Qiong¡¯s eyes pierced through the void, and he focused on Lu Yin¡¯s body as he eximed, ¡°This child¡¯s physical strength is remarkable.¡±

    Within the Cosmic Sect, many of the older powerhouses were looking at Skystar and Lu Yin. Someone undergoing the third method for the true disciple promotion was something that had not happened in a very long time. If Lu Yin was an actual disciple of the Cosmic Sect, then these elders would be delighted to see such an attempt, as a sessful attempt would be beneficial for the entire sect as it would mark the appearance of a peerless individual. Unfortunately, Lu Yin represented Eversky Ind, and although the two powers had a good rtionship, they could not allow Lu Yin to seed. Otherwise, the Cosmic Sect would be utterly humiliated if none of their disciples could challenge this nominal disciple from Eversky Ind.

    Lu Yin had clearly underestimated this evaluation; in his mind, this was merely one of the ways to be promoted to the true disciple level. However, he had actually forgotten that he represented Eversky Ind right now. If he managed to seed, then he would utterly embarrass the entire Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin stood in front of the promotion drum, and two minutes passed without a single disciple attacking him.

    Mu Ziying was not worried, as one day was plenty of time. Although he respected Lu Yin, Mu Ziyong did not wish to see Lu Yin seed either.

    Yao Ji looked at the crowd of disciples and gave them a look.

    One disciple walked forward until he was 100 meters from Lu Yin. ¡°Junior Lu, please excuse me.¡±

    ¡°Him? Isn¡¯t that Senior Yi, who¡¯s ranked ninth on the internal rankings?¡±

    ¡°I heard that Senior Yi was epted as an elder¡¯s disciple, and he should be one of the few inner disciples who has surpassed the secondyer of the Cosmic Art.¡±

    ¡°I heard that Senior Yao Ji was the one who rmended him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite normal. Senior Yi has always been following Senior Yao Ji.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gestured for the man to begin.

    Senior Yi¡¯s gaze trembled as stars began revolving around him. There were more than 100 stars circling around him, and he charged straight at Lu Yin as he raised his hand. Stars appeared over the man¡¯s palm, the characteristic of the Cosmic Palm, which was something that Lu Yin was extremely familiar with.

    Lu Yin had never directly received a Cosmic Palm himself, so his emotions were ratherplex since he was being attacked by it for the first time.

    As the palmnded, more than 100 stars exploded, and though Lu Yin did not try to see the lines of runes, he could still feel the power of the attack. The strength of this palm was definitely no weaker than what Cool Sis, tenth on the Top 100 Rankings, was capable of with her innate gift of Icy Crystallization. Moreover, this person was an elite disciple of the Cosmic Sect. Lu Yin sidestepped the attack as he waved a hand covered with nine lined battle force, unleashing a violent p.

    Lu Yin pushed all of the Cosmic Palm¡¯s exploding stars aside and then shoved his palm into Senior Yi¡¯s stomach, making him spit out a mouthful of blood. The older disciple¡¯s body flew away outside of his control, and hended on the ground far away. His face turned ashen, and he was unable to get back up. He looked extremely miserable.

    Everyone was shocked, as just one attack had defeated the ninth ranked expert on the sect¡¯s internal rankings.

    Lu Yin retracted his arm and looked solemn. ¡°Forgive me.¡±

    He did not want the challengers toe up one by one, so he had revealed a great deal of strength right from the very start.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s eyes narrowed when he saw that Lu Yin had nine lined battle force, a terrifying physical physical strength, and the ability to see through a Cosmic Palm. It was no wonder how he had already defeated two of the Ten Arbiters. Although Lu Yin¡¯s palm attack had looked simple, it would be impossible for anyone else to replicate that attack unless they were on the same level as Lu Yin.

    On Skystar, everyone wentpletely silent as they stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    The sect¡¯s internal rankings were incredibly important, and yet, the expert ranked ninth on those rankings had just been swept aside with one strike, amply demonstrating Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Not just anyone would have the courage to face him after seeing this demonstration of his abilities.

    At this moment, Yan Kun stepped forward. ¡°Brother Lu, please excuse me.¡±

    Yun Feifei stepped out at the same time, and she also looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t mind the two of us working together.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. ¡°Please.¡±

    The third promotion method did not stipte that the ones blocking the path forward had to do so in solobat. This was the most frustrating of the three promotion evaluation methods.

    Yun Feifei and Yan Kun exchanged nces briefly before simultaneously attacking; one moved from the left and the other from the right. Since they were both in the top three of the internal rankings, this was equivalent to a joint attack from Tai Yuanjun and Qing Longlong. Lu Yin was not underestimating these two at all, so he took a step forward and opened his eyes wide: Night Advent.

    Yun Feifei and Yan Kun were just about tond their attacks when their entire vision suddenly went ck before a terrifying spiritual force surged forth. The two youths paused and then subconsciously pulled back. The void warped, and Lu Yin was surprised to see that his attack had not yielded the expected results. Had they actually evaded it?

    Yun Feifei gritted her teeth, her face deathly white. Night Advent had jostled her brain, though she had been able to endure it. She raised both of her arms as an endless, icy prison spread out in an attempt to freeze Lu Yin.

    Across from her, Yan Kun leaped up to unleash a downwards attack, using another Cosmic Palm. However, his palm contained dozens more stars than Senior Yi¡¯s, and the power behind it was naturally different.

    As the stars appeared over the palm, they exploded. At the same time, the cold prison froze over and spread out in all directions as Yun Feifei and Yan Kun attacked in unison, enveloping the entire area within a thousand meters. A breeze blew past, and before the two could see the results of their attack, they were both sted into the ground, suffering the same fate as Senior Yi. This was Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin casually waved his hand, dispelling the frosty air. His body soon emerged from the mist, revealing that he had not been harmed in the slightest bit; not even his clothes had been ruffled.

    The other disciples were all left speechless.

    Yao Ji¡¯s pupils shrank; Lu Yin was actuallypletely unharmed?

    Mu Ziying clenched his fists. This was Lu Yin¡¯s strength. He had already defeated two of the Ten Arbiters, and those people were Arbiters. While others might not be too concerned about that title, Mu Ziying had personally witnessed the Ten Arbiters¡¯ power. Unseen Light and Ling Gong were both extremely powerful, and as fellow Arbiter members, there was no way the Divine Fist or Nightking Zhenwu would be overly weak. But in spite of that, Lu Yin had defeated the two of them. Thus, his power level was something that perhaps only their Grand Senior could contend against out of all of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples.

    Yun Feifei struggled to stand up, and blood poured from her lips as she half-knelt on the ground and stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. She had not even been able to see Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but her body had been sted away,pletely unable to resist the power of his attack. What sort of battle technique was that? This person was basically a monster, and he gave her the same feeling as when she looked at her Grand Senior.

    Yan Kun also struggled to pick himself up, and he looked at Lu Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin had actually held back with this attack, and that Vacuum Palm had been weaker than what Lan Si had used during their battle. If Lu Yin had attacked with the same power that he had used during his fight with Nightking Zhenwu, then the two disciples definitely would have died.

    ¡°Forgive me,¡± Lu Yin said softly.

    Yun Feifei spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s strength is astounding. Impressive.¡±

    Yan Kun bitterly admitted, ¡°We¡¯ve lost.¡±

    At this point, many eyes looked towards Yao Ji.

    Lu Yin simrly looked at him.

    The second and third ranked disciples on the sect¡¯s internal rankings had just been defeated as a team. So now, it was the first ranked disciple¡¯s turn.

    Mu Ziying also turned to look at Yao Ji.

    Yao Ji pursed his lips, as even without looking, he knew that everyone was staring at him¡ªeven Lu Yin was focused on the first ranked disciple. Yao Ji cursed in his heart. If possible, he would rather not make a move even if it meant being beaten to death. He had be the fourth true disciple of the Cosmic Sect today, and he did not want it to be the same day when he had been beaten like a sandbag.

    He now regretted his actions. If Yao Ji had known that this would happen, then he would havee out for his promotion just a littleter; even just a few minutester would have been enough. Why had he had toe out so quickly? Now he had been forced into a dead end by the crowd.

    The atmosphere had suddenly be very awkward!

    Everyone stared at Yao Ji, and he could not not step forward.

    Yao Ji clenched his fists and exchanged nces with Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, excuse me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Please teach me.¡±

    Yao Ji was speechless, as he felt that Lu Yin¡¯s attitude had be very serious, which meant that he would suffer even more than the previous two. Yao Ji was fully confident that he was not Lu Yin¡¯s match, and he wanted to back down. However, everyone was staring at him at this moment, and it was even possible that the Sect Leader was watching.

    It seemed that Yao Ji could onlypete by relying on his innate gift. He silently considered his options as he focused on Lu Yin. Yao Ji raised a hand, and the dust on the ground rose into the air before exploding forward in a powerful st.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as he evaded the attack, and when he turned around, he saw that a crater had appeared where he had just been standing. Even the void had been shredded apart, and thin lines of spatial cracks could be seen spreading out from the impact zone.

    The strength of this attack surpassed even that of an Enlighter.

    It was no wonder why Yao Ji was first on the sect¡¯s rankings.

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin threw out a Vacuum Palm.

    The invisible palm imprint shot through the void and squarely struck Yao Ji¡¯s body, who, just like Yun Feifei and Yan Kun, was struck before he could sense the attack. His body was also sent flying far away. Yai Ji felt his organs burn, and he also spat out a mouthful of blood, but then with great difficulty, he steadied his figure and stared at Lu Yin in shock. What a powerful palm strike.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, as Yao Ji had actually managed to withstand a Vacuum Palm. Even though these Vacuum Palms were not as powerful as the ones that Lan Si had used during the battle against Lu Yin, thisst one had not been much weaker than that. Its power should have been around the same level as that of One Hundred Stacks. This person¡¯s physique must be nearlyparable to an Enlighter¡¯s if he had withstood that palm.

    The nearby Cosmic Sect disciples might not be fond of Yao Ji, but none of them wanted to see Lu Yin seed at his promotion. Thus, they all cheered when they saw that Yao Ji had managed to endure.

    Yao Ji was aware of his own struggles, and he suppressed the impulse to spit out a mouthful of blood. Instead, he forcefully swallowed the rising blood. This would cause his injuries to be more severe, but his innate gift allowed him to absorb materials and convert them to his own vitality, essentially a more effective way of absorbing the strength of items to heal his own body.

    Lu Yin did not make another attack, as he felt that Yao Ji was acting a little strangely at this moment. He seemed to be taking precautions, though he was also wary. An unseen wind drifted above the ground.

    The dust vibrated beneath Lu Yin, and he looked at Yao Ji seriously, but to his surprise, he found that Yao Ji¡¯splexion was improving.

    Yao Ji let out a deep breath. Fortunately, his injuries had not been too severe, and he grew more confident after recovering. He rolled his shoulders. ¡°Brother Lu, again.¡±

    He then raised both hands, and the entire void instantly exploded. ¡°Limitless Explosion.¡±

    A ferocious aftershock swept across the ground, radiating in all directions. The nearby Cosmic Sect disciples were all dumbstruck as they tried to avoid the widespread attack. If one was watching from outer space, then they would have seen the aftershock propagate in an arc that spread across the surface of Skystar.

    Lu Yin stepped forward with one leg, and his star energy erupted and formed visible ripples that overpowered and isted Yao Ji¡¯s Limitless Explosion. Suddenly, Yao Ji appeared with a raised hand. ¡°Cosmic Palm.¡±

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples were most adept at the Cosmic Art and the Cosmic Palm, and as the first ranked disciple, when Yao Ji raised his hand, more than 200 stars appeared around his palm.

    The stars of the Cosmic Palm helped by slowing down how the user perceived time, allowing them to see every move of their opponent and even imitate them. Still, the greatest power of the attack was from the explosion of the stars.

    Yao Ji¡¯s Cosmic Palm was not weak at all, but before the stars could even explode, they were shattered by an invisible attack, and Yao Ji was sent flying once again. This time, he had not been struck by an attack as simple as the previous one, and his abdomen had visibly caved in as a palm-print appeared on his body. He was unable to stop himself from spitting up a mouthful of blood; it felt like his eyeballs had nearly popped out as well, and they were clearly bloodshot.

 Chapter 1094: Sweeping Through The Cosmic Sect

    <h4>Chapter 1094: Sweeping Through The Cosmic Sect</h4>

    With a thump, Yao Ji heavily mmed into the earth, but he did not stop there. Instead, he sank dozens of meters into the ground, and from there, he spat out another mouthful of blood. His vision grew hazy, and he could only vaguely hear a few shouts from some nearby disciples.

    In front of the promotion drum, Lu Yin patted the dust off of his body. Thatst Vacuum Palm had been on the same level as Lan Si¡¯s. If Lu Yin took such an attack head on, even he would still have to spit out blood. Yao Ji¡¯s innate gift was likely rted to healing, as he seemed to be able to slowly heal his injuries. Since Yao Ji had been able to receive the first Vacuum Palm, Lu yin definitely would not give his opponent any more chances.

    Besides, this person clearly had a big ego.

    The surrounding Cosmic Sect disciples had all fallen silent as their dumbfounded gaze wavered between the few miserable challengers and Lu Yin. If he had not chosen to be evaluated through the third method, then he definitely would have be a true disciple because he had defeated the fourth true disciple, Yao Ji.

    However, there was no limit to the number of true disciples who could challenge the examinee during the third evaluation.

    Many of the Cosmic Sect disciples looked at Mu Ziying next, as he was the only one they could rely on here.

    These disciples were not the only ones looking at him, as quite a few of the powerhouses from the Cosmic Sect¡¯s older generation were also looking at Mu Ziying.

    Lu Yin simrly looked at the second true disciple.

    At this moment, Mu Ziying was the only person who could go up against Lu Yin, and regardless if it was from the perspective of the entire sect, or if it was Mu Ziying¡¯s personal opinion, he had to take action. This was also something that Lu Yin had predicted when he had first agreed to the third method of promotion evaluation.

    Mu Ziying took a deep breath. His expression was solemn, and he remembered when he had returned to the Cosmic Sect and spoken to Hua Xiao. ¡°Each of the Ten Arbiters are monsters. Who knows how the Innerverse gave birth such monsters?¡±

    ¡°The only one who can go up against the Ten Arbiters is Grand Senior."

    "Senior Mu, are you confident in being able to deal with the Ten Arbiters?"

    "Honestly, in solobat, I would either have to break through to the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art or be a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker andprehend a sourcebox array. Otherwise, any one of them would be incredibly truly difficult to deal with. White Knight Ling Gong and Unseen Light are both extremely terrifying, and the other Ten Arbiters aren¡¯t weak either..."

    This person standing before Mu Ziying had defeated both the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist and Nightking Zhenwu. The Nightking had been considered incredibly powerful even among the Ten Arbiters, which was something that Mu Ziying was aware of.

    He did not know how Lu Yinpared to Ling Gong or Unseen Light, but he was definitely on the same level at the very least.

    Mu Ziying raised a foot and advanced step by step. Stars revolved around his body, and there were more than 400 of them, twice that of what Yao Ji had disyed. At the same time, Mu Ziying¡¯s strength erupted, revealing that he was a Hunter, as visible ripples spread out from him. With each step that he took, the dust on the ground billowed out in all directions. His might seemed iparable at this moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew much more serious. Although they were both true disciples, Yao Ji and Mu Ziying were in two entirely different sses, and this person was able to challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Brother Lu, please excuse me,¡± Mu Ziying spoke solemnly.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Please.¡±

    Mu Ziying yelled, ¡°All disciples, retreat from Skystar!¡±

    As he shouted those words, his star energy whistled out and swept over the entirety of Skystar. His star energy took on a bizarre form, and his body instantly vanished only to suddenly reappear next to Lu Yin. Mu Ziying¡¯s stars revolved around him, and he unleashed a Cosmic Palm with over 400 stars exploding at once.

    Lu Yin had never expected Mu Ziying to be this fast. Actually, that was not right. Mu Ziying was not moving with incredible speed, but rather, he was using a battle technique that had integrated star energy into it. His control over his star energy had definitely reached the Divine Gaze realm.

    Lu Yin had not forgotten that everyone in the Cosmic Sect was a Lockbreaker, and he had also not forgotten that the Cosmic Art was an unparalleled technique that all Lockbreakers dreamed of learning. However, at this moment, Lu Yin was finally experiencing for himself just how terrifying it was when the Cosmic Art was used as a lockbreaking technique. In the Cosmic Sea, Hua Xiao had used a simr lockbreaking method to dissolve Realmling Nan Yanfei¡¯s attacks.

    Nine lined battle force shrouded Lu Yin¡¯s body as he kicked off of the ground with his right foot and shot into the sky. Lu Yin released One Hundred Stacks, and its fluctuating strength distorted the void as he tried to iste Mu Ziying¡¯s Cosmic Palm. However, Mu Ziying had predicted this, and he paused for a moment. To his eyes, although Lu Yin¡¯s One Hundred Stacks had erupted quickly, Mu Ziying was still able to see it perfectly clear, and the trembling void caused by One Hundred Stacks was not a perfect defense.

    There was a loud explosion, and both youths were flung backwards.

    Mu Ziying panted heavily as he stared at his opponent.

    Across from him, Lu Yin nced down at his shoulder, where his clothes had been ripped apart. He had just endured the force of dozens of stars exploding from the second true disciple¡¯s Cosmic Palm, and Lu Yin¡¯s body even felt a bit sore.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple,¡± Lu Yin marveled.

    Mu Ziying smiled bitterly. ¡°Brother Lu, please don¡¯t mock me. My full powered Cosmic Palm was only able to tear off a bit of your clothes. Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect that.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew serious. At this moment, Mu Ziying was in the same position that Lu Yin had been in against Lan Si. Lan Si had never thought that he would be defeated, and he hadpletely suppressed Lu Yin when he had revealed his Vacuum Palm. But in the end, Lan Si was the one who ultimately lost. Lu Yin did not want to go down the same path as Lan Si.

    Lu Yin would not underestimate anyone, especially not the Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple.

    ¡°Brother Mu, I¡¯m going to attack, so please take care,¡± Lu Yin respectfully warned as he focused entirely on Mu Ziying.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s expression changed, and ayer of tree-like material suddenly gathered over his skin. It gradually spread out until it covered his entire body.

    Lu Yin was stumped; was this an innate gift?

    One of the Cosmic Sect disciples cried out, ¡°This is Senior Mu¡¯s innate gift! I heard that, in the past, Senior Mu was given his name by the Sect Leader because of this innate gift.¡±

    ¡°An innate gift to form wood. Even Senior Hua Xiao isn¡¯t able to cause any harm to Senior Mu when he covers himself with wood, and even Grand Senior has praised his defense as almost imprable.¡±

    ¡°Several years ago, when Senior Mu encountered a Neohuman Alliance corpse king capable of a green eyes transformation, he was still able to face it head on. This is the power of my Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple. Lu Yin will definitely lose.¡±

    ¡­

    Yun Feifei stared at the wooden Mu Ziying in shock, as she had seen Senior Mu fight before. She knew that it was normal for her senior to fight against Enlighters after covering himself with wood, and that had been when Senior Mu had merely been a Cruiser.

    After Mu Ziying¡¯s body was covered with wood, he had not slowed down at all, and he instantly vanished once again. His star energy control was incredibly precise, and he appeared right behind Lu Yin as Mu Ziyin used his movement technique and attacked with another Cosmic Palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. Although there did not seem to be any movement, Mu Ziying¡¯s Cosmic Palm was pierced through, and his body was sted away just like Yun Feifei, Yao Ji, and the others before.

    Many of the Cosmic Sect disciples were stunned, as they were all watching on carefully.

    Mu Ziying was forced a thousand meters back before he could stabilize himself. He then vanished again, moving to attack Lu Yin.

    Many Cosmic Sect disciples cheered.

    Yun Feifei heaved a sigh of relief. Sure enough, Senior Mu could defend himself against Lu Yin¡¯s invisible palm imprint.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as the strength of that Vacuum Palm had been the same as the one that Lan Si had used against him. Mu Ziying¡¯s innate gift was actually incredibly powerful, and it could even block this powerful palm attack.

    There was a thump, and Lu Yin dodged. Where he had just been standing, Mu Ziying¡¯s Cosmic Palm had struck. ¡°Brother Lu, if that is the full strength of your attack, then you can stop now, as I canst for a very long time with my innate gift.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly evaded another attack. Mu Ziying was very fast, and he intended to use his innate gift topletely stonewall Lu Yin¡¯s offense while using the Cosmic Palm to attack Lu Yin at every opportunity. Although the Cosmic Palm was not very effective against Lu Yin, as long as Mu Ziying couldst for long enough, someone else might find an opportunity to make a move.

    Mu Ziying had already realized that he could not defeat Lu Yin, but Mu Ziying also believed that Lu Yin could not defeat him either.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s only response was his innate gift.

    When the stars exploded, the dust on the ground flew into the air, and the void tore open. Mu Ziying¡¯s attack far surpassed the power of an early Enlighter. And in theory, being able to unleash an attack that surpassed an Enlighter¡¯s while still in the Hunter realm indicated that one was able to fight against the Ten Arbiters, even if that was just barely enough to qualify.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s palmnded once again, but he suddenly froze as his expression changed drastically; his palm had been seized by Lu Yin¡¯s tight grip, and the nine lined battle forcebined with Lu Yin¡¯s enormous strength made it impossible for Mu Ziying to break away.

    ¡°Brother Mu, forgive me.¡± Lu Yin then struck out with a Vacuum Palm.

    There was a thump as Mu Ziying shot backwards; his entire body had been struck by a Vacuum Palm. The strength of this palm could notpare to those from before, as this was Lu Yin¡¯s full force powerful Vacuum Palm, which matched up to the power that he had used against Nightking Zhenwu.

    Mu Ziying had an incredible defense, but there would always be a limit. This palm from Lu Yin had almost forced him to cough up blood, and if not for his innate gift of forming wood, his entire body would have been shattered apart.

    Even when Nightking Zhenwu had used his nine lined battle force and all sorts of other methods to increase his defense, he had not been able to take much more than a few of these strikes. If not for the Arbiter¡¯s innate gift that allowed him to transfer his injuries to others, he would have been defeated far sooner.

    Mu Ziying had not yet reached Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s level.

    Skystar trembled, and shockwaves shot out in all directions as the void split open, and spatial cracks spread out like a spiderweb.

    Many Cosmic Sect disciples raced away from Skystar and watched the battle from outer space.

    Mu Ziying flew a great distance before he was finally able to stabilize himself. He panted heavily and looked down to see that his wooden skin had actually slightly caved in. If the strength of that attack had been any higher, the wood would have shattered.

    He stared into the distance in utter disbelief; the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s palm attack was truly terrifying.

    Suddenly, another Vacuum Palm was sent out, and this time, Mu Ziying saw it through his Cosmic Art. The Vacuum Palm moved at speeds that could not be seen by the naked eye, but Mu Ziying still managed to track its path. However, seeing was one thing while being able to dodge it was another matter entirely.

    During his battle against Lan Si, Lu Yin had used Truesight in order to track the trajectory of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palms, and he had also used Truesight to erase some of the attacks¡¯ runes so that he could use the Yu Secret Art to defend himself.

    Mu Ziying did not have Truesight, let alone a secret technique. Thus, he had no choice but to directly receive Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    With a thump, he was struck again, and the palm struck the same location as before. This time, the wood sank in a bit further. Suddenly, Lu Yin appeared. ¡°Brother Mu, how many more strikes can you take?¡±

    His Vacuum Palmnded again.

    Thump thump thump!

    Truthfully, Lu Yin had never expected Mu Ziying¡¯s innate gift to have such an impressive defense, and the man actually managed to endure seven Vacuum Palms. However, that was his limit. When the eighth Vacuum Palmnded, the wooden skin covering Mu Ziying¡¯s body was no longer able to hold on, and it broke apart.

    Mu Ziying even spat out a mouthful of blood as his face turned a deathly shade of white. ¡°Brother Lu, I admit defeat.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s raised hand lowered, and a hint of a smile twitched at the corner of his lips. ¡°Forgive me.¡±

    Ever since he had been struck by the first full strength Vacuum Palm, Mu Ziying had been unable to retaliate, and he had been passively beaten into submission from then on.

    This was the hidden technique that Lan Si of the Ten Arbiters had cultivated, and unless one could reach One Hundred Fifty Stacks in the Oveying Stacks Path, they would not be able to learn this technique. Within the same generation, how many youths were capable of cultivating the Oveying Stacks Path to One Hundred Fifty Stacks?

    Nightking Zhenwu had been unable to endure this attack, and Mu Ziying had struggled against it even more, and others were simrly unable to endure it.

    Above Skystar, many Cosmic Sect disciples fell silent.

    Yun Feifei was overwhelmed when even Senior Mu was defeated. Just where had this Lu Yine from? How had they never heard of him? Lu Yin? A primeval surname? From Eversky Ind?

    Yao Ji was helped up by a female disciple as he rose up into outer space. He had finally regained consciousness and had seen Mu Ziying admit defeat. Yao Ji heaved a sigh of relief; fortunately, even the second true disciple, Mu Ziying, had lost to Lu Yin. Thus, it was not too embarrassing that he had been defeated.

    The rest of the disciples all hadplex expressions, as the only person who could possibly stop Lu Yin from being promoted to a true disciple now was their Grand Senior, the All Rounder Fairy Qiu Shi.

    [1] In this context, Mu means wood.

 Chapter 1095: Skystar Jade Wall

    <h4>Chapter 1095: Skystar Jade Wall</h4>

    Within Skystar¡¯s Great Hall, Sect Leader Yuan Qiong voiced his admiration as he looked at Lu Yin from above the in outer space. ¡°A powerful physique, a palm imprint manifested from the Oveying Stacks Path, and the perception to see through the Cosmic Palm. It¡¯s not unreasonable for them to lose.¡±

    On the other side of the Great Hall, a Cosmic Sect elder opened his eyes and looked over at a certain revolving around the Cosmic Sect. ¡°Qiu Shi, can youe out?¡±

    On that particr, Qiu Shi opened her eyes. ¡°My apologies, Elder Yao, but the Astral Tower contest is fast approaching, and it¡¯s inadvisable to make enemies.¡±

    The elder felt helpless. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then this child will end up bing one of the few disciples in the history of my Cosmic Sect to be promoted to a true disciple through the third method.¡±

    Qiu Shi looked towards Skystar and at Lu Yin. She was not unfamiliar with him. Although he had not fought in the battle atop the Champions'' Stage, after the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces retreated, she had seen him charge onto the Champions'' Stage and join forces with God Taiyi and Nightking Zhenwu to fight against Bu Kong.

    At that time, Qiu Shi had felt that Lu Yin was not an average person, and now, he seemed to be even more unfathomable.

    If they were destined to fight, then it should take ce within the Mountains and Seas Zone; not here on Skystar.

    Besides Qiu Shi, there was nobody else who could stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood silently in front of the promotion drum on Skystar.

    Mu Ziying was standing in the distance, as he had no other choice. He had tried his best, but in the end, he had failed to stop Lu Yin. If Hua Xiao was here at this time, then they might stand a chance after joining forces. Of course, at this level, numbers did not make much of a difference, not unless there was a sourcebox array.

    Half a day passed, and more and more Cosmic Sect disciples gathered on Skystar. They all looked at Lu Yin with unwilling and grudging looks.

    Lu Yin stood there silently as he recited the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Quite a few of the disciples discussed joining forces to attack Lu Yin from all sides, but that idea was quickly shut down. They were merely unwilling to ept Lu Yin¡¯s sess, not idiots.

    Another few hours passed, and a dozen Cosmic Sect disciples were finally unable to hold themselves back, and they all stood up. Just as they were about to attack, Mu Ziying stopped them. ¡°Haven¡¯t you been embarrassed enough yet? Get back.¡±

    Those disciples felt helpless, and they red hatefully at Lu Yin as they withdrew.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked at the numerous Cosmic Sect disciples in the area. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m also a Cosmic Sect disciple, and all of us are a part of the same sect.¡±

    Same sect your ass, someone cursed to themselves.

    This one sentence from Lu Yin had ignited a great deal of fury.

    They felt as though Lu Yin was boasting.

    Mu Ziying grew frustrated. ¡°Brother Lu, just stop speaking.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as he had actually been speaking from his heart. He truly did not want to offend the Cosmic Sect. In the future, he hoped to find an opportunity to cultivate the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art, but when he looked at these current circumstances, these disciples really did not like him.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe that he had done anything wrong.

    Soon, the day passed without any changes.

    The Cosmic Sect disciples in the area exchanged nces and sighed. They had all hoped that their Grand Senior would take action, but she had remained in seclusion and had not emerged.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s time,¡± Mu Ziying said.

    Lu Yin looked up. He solemnly picked up the drum sticks while everyone stared at him.

    The drum sticks were incredibly heavy, and even Yun Feifei and Yao Ji had found it very difficult just to lift them. However, in Lu Yin¡¯s hands, they seemed to be nothing more than normal drum sticks, which caused Yao Ji¡¯s eye to twitch. This person was clearly inhuman.

    There was a loud boom, and a sound wave shot past the crowd before anyone could even react. It swept across the entire Cosmic Sect so fast that almost everyone in the Cosmic Sect heard it at the same moment.

    Yun Feifei was overwhelmed, as this physical strength was simply terrifying.

    Yao Ji¡¯s face twitched. Monster.

    As the sound wave faded, a voice sounded out from space. ¡°Internal disciple Lu Yin has been promoted to be the fifth true disciple. Protect our Cosmic Sect from ever falling.¡±

    As those words were spoken, strange expressions appeared on the faces of quite a few Cosmic Sect disciples.

    Protect ¡®our¡¯ Cosmic Sect? This guy isn¡¯t even from our Cosmic Sect!

    At the center of Skystar, an elder frowned, looking rather exasperated. He had been the one who had spoken just now, as he was the elder who oversaw Skystar.

    Typically, whenever he announced someone¡¯s promotion to the true disciple position, it was good news, as it meant that someone was qualified to be a sessor of the Cosmic Sect. But at this moment, the elder felt very sullen as he had ever spoken these words for an outsider before; how embarrassing!

    Lu Yin set the drum sticks down and smiled at the nearby Cosmic Sect disciples. He then seemed to think of something, and he turned to face the center of the Cosmic Sect. ¡°Junior Lu Yin thanks the sect for nurturing me.¡±

    Many disciples were left speechless.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s expression showed his embarrassment, as he felt that Lu Yin was simply asking for a beating.

    Lu Yin was trying to express his goodwill, but he had forgotten that he was representing Eversky Ind, not the Cosmic Sect.

    ***

    Far away, in another region of the Neoverse, Highsage Shenwei had already returned to Eversky Ind after tossing Lu Yin off at the Cosmic Sect. He had wanted to rest for a few days before giving ck and White some guidance. He wanted them to be less mischievous, but he suddenly received a bit of news.

    When he saw the message, a strange expression appeared on Shenwei¡¯s face, and he quickly tore through the void to arrive at the tallest mountain. ¡°Master, nominal disciple Lu Yin passed the Cosmic Sect¡¯s third promotion evaluation method and was promoted to the true disciple position. He is the fifth true disciple.¡±

    Within the depths of Eversky Ind, two eyes opened wide in astonishment. ¡°He used his own name?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Highsage Shenwei was puzzled as to why his master would ask such a question.

    The Highsage Master was confused. Clearly this child had never joined the Cosmic Sect, though he had somehow learned the Cosmic Art. Thus, he must have either once been a part of the Cosmic Sect or his elder hade from the Cosmic Sect and had taught him the Cosmic Art. No matter which possibility was the truth, if there was some rtion to the Cosmic Sect, then it was impossible to leave no trace of any connection.

    ¡°He¡¯s called Lu Yin, correct?¡± the Highsage Master asked.

    Highsage Shenwei respectfully answered, ¡°Yes. He hasn¡¯t changed his name in the Innerverse or the Outerverse either.¡±

    The Highsage Master could not understand this, as only by changing one¡¯s name could they evade the Cosmic Sect¡¯s investigation. There was no other way to deceive them. The Cosmic Art would never be taught to outsiders, and whoever learned it would be forever recorded down. Even if Lu Yin had changed his name, why would he have taken on a primeval surname? The Highsage Master could not understand this.

    The Highsage Master was not concerned with Lu Yin¡¯s past, as at his level, there was no history that could possibly influence him. In fact, it wouldn¡¯t even matter if Lu Yin¡¯s ancestors had betrayed the Cosmic Sect! The Highsage Master would simply resolve it. However, since the Cosmic Sect had not discovered anything strange, the Highsage Master would not mention anything unnecessary.

    ¡°Interesting, so he was promoted to a true disciple? This child is quite interesting,¡± the Highsage Mastermented.

    Highsage Shenwei smiled. ¡°Yes, very interesting.¡±

    One of Eversky Ind¡¯s nominal disciples had gone to the Cosmic Sect as a part of an exchange program, but he had then be one of the rare few individuals in the history of the Cosmic Sect to be promoted to the true disciple position. When news of this matter spread, it was impossible to estimate how many people would be stunned, and this was definitely a glorious moment for Eversky Ind, though not as much for the Cosmic Sect.

    However, due to Eversky Ind¡¯s rtionship with the Cosmic Sect, no animosity would arise from this incident.

    ***

    Within the Cosmic Sect, Lu Yin had sessfully been promoted to the true disciple position, which meant that he could now ess the secondyer of Cosmic Art, which was his true objective.

    ¡°Lu-¡± Mu Ziying paused for a moment as he corrected himself before continuing. ¡°Brother Lu, do you want to immediately start cultivating the secondyer, or would you like to go to the Skystar Jade Wall to look around before learning the secondyer?¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°The Skystar Jade Wall?¡±

    Mu Ziying exined, ¡°The Skystar Jade Wall has a record of the full Cosmic Art, and even the first and secondyers can be learned from the Jade Wall. However, our sect has some rules stating that the firstyer of the Cosmic Art cannot be learned directly from the Jade Wall, and only true disciples are allowed to visit the Jade Wall to study the secondyer of the Cosmic Art. Everyone else has to learn it from memory chips. However, the thirdyer can only be learned from the Skystar Jade Wall.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Theplete Cosmic Art has countless stars, and someone who¡¯s never studied it before would easily be overwhelmed if they saw the full diagram. In our historical records, many disciples in the past have copsed from doing so, which meant that they were destined to have nothing to do with the Cosmic Art. Eventually, some ancient senior separated the Cosmic Art into multiple parts. The firstyer gives one the qualification to study the art, and the secondyer is essentially the introduction. Eachyer after that represents different realms.¡±

    ¡°So are you saying that I can go straight to the Skystar Jade Wall to study theplete Cosmic Art?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes brightened.

    Mu Ziying smiled. ¡°I know what Brother Lu is thinking, so I need to warn you not to get too excited. Eight stars and ny-nine stars¡ªthe first qualifies one while the second is just the basics. Only byprehending ny-nine stars will you be able to observe the thirdyer of Cosmic Art, as otherwise, it will be hidden by all the other stars. Thus, Brother Lu will only be able to see ny-nine stars.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why didn¡¯t those ancestors simply hide things until only eight stars were left visible and allow all of the sect¡¯s disciples to study the Skystar Jade Wall?¡± Lu Yin could not understand this bit.

    Mu Ziying shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. It was already hard enough to cover the wall up until only ny-nine stars are visible. Besides, those who have never cultivated the Cosmic Art would copse not only because there were too many stars, but also because they could not endure the mental suppression of the Skystar Jade Wall, as the wall released the most fundamental pressure of the Cosmic Art.

    ¡°Also, there¡¯s one more detail: the first threeyers of Cosmic Art are all fine, but once one breaks through the thirdyer of Cosmic Art, one needs to gain ess to the thirty six fatal meridian points of the human body and remove any weak points before they can cultivate the fourth level of Cosmic Art. This is impossible to do alone, and it requires help from the sect¡¯s seniors.¡±

    At this time, Lu Yin did not have much hope of touching the fourthyer of Cosmic Art. ¡°Brother Mu, let¡¯s go and see the Skystar Jade Wall.¡¯

    Mu Ziying nodded. ¡°Brother Lu, please.¡±

    Lu Yin started to get excited. ¡°Brother Mu, please.¡±

    The Skystar Jade Wall was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasures, and it was also the origin of Cosmic Art. Without the Cosmic Art from the Skystar Jade Wall, there would never have been a Cosmic Sect.

    The Skystar Jade Wall was located on one of thes that orbited the Cosmic Sect the closest, and it was known as Chen Star. This was practically touching the Cosmic Sect, and it looked as though the two might collide at any moment.

    The Skystar Jade Wall was not the only thing on Chen Star, as there was also Cosmo Hall. Only the sect¡¯s true disciples could enter Cosmo Hall, and it was also where the Cosmic Sect¡¯s True Elder stayed.

    Mu Ziying and Lu Yin made their way towards Chen Star unimpeded. On the way, Mu Ziying said, ¡°Brother Lu, as a true disciple, you still need to pay your respects and enter Cosmo Hall to carve your name inside for True Elder to authenticate.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Does Brother Mu really think that my name can be carved in Cosmo Hall?¡±

    Mu Ziying was taken aback and did not know how to respond for a moment. He thought about it and then replied, ¡°I¡¯ll take Brother Lu to see the Skystar Jade Wall first.¡±

    As long as one¡¯s status as a true disciple was recognized, they could visit the Skystar Jade Wall; this was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s rules. Even if Lu Yin was a nominal disciple from Eversky Ind, it made no difference since he had been recognized by the Skystar Elder.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The Skystar Jade Wall was located in arge valley 10,000 kilometers away from Cosmo Hall. Surprisingly, it looked like there was no one standing guard over this ce, and that appearance was actually true. If someone could invade the Cosmic Sect and reach the Skystar Jade Wall, then the Cosmic Sect was already done for. Thus, it was pointless to assign anyone to guard this ce.

    Only true disciples were allowed to enter Cosmo Hall, but any inner disciple or person who had received special permission could visit Chen Star.

    At this moment, there were at least ten disciples waiting outside therge valley that held the Skystar Jade Wall, as the Skystar Jade Wall could only amodate one person at a time.

    ¡°Senior Mu.¡±

    ¡°Senior Mu.¡±

    ¡­

    When Mu Ziying arrived, all of the disciples bowed in unison.

    Mu Ziying nodded and looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ll find somewhere for you to practice the firstyer of the Cosmic Art. No one can enter the Skystar Jade Wall without at leastpleting the firstyer.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as Mu Ziying had mentioned this before. Beforepleting the firstyer, no one was allowed to visit the Skystar Jade Wall.

 Chapter 1096: Mavis And Tortoise

    <h4>Chapter 1096: Mavis And Tortoise</h4>

    ¡°It works out perfectly since there are still a few juniors in front of us who want to enter. By the time you finish cultivating the firstyer, it¡¯ll be about time for you to head in,¡± Mu Ziying said. He then pointed to a few well-used caves some distance away from therge valley. ¡°Brother Lu, you can go over there and cultivate in private.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as he reappeared outside a cavern. There was a symbol above each cavern, showing that some were upied and that others were vacant.

    After Lu Yin entered a cave, a female disciple curiously asked Mu Ziying, ¡°Senior Mu, is he the newly promoted fifth true disciple, Lu Yin?¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded. ¡°So you¡¯ve all already heard?¡±

    The group nodded, and the female disciple looked over at the cavern, clearly curious. ¡°It¡¯s practically unheard of for someone to sessfully be promoted through the third evaluation method even in ancient times. It¡¯s amazing, but unfortunately, he¡¯s not a disciple of our Cosmic Sect.¡±

    ¡°Eversky Ind and my Cosmic Sect fundamentally have a good rtionship, and we¡¯re lucky that they¡¯re not an enemy of ours.¡±

    ¡°So what if they are? It¡¯s just that Grand Senior never took action. Otherwise, just one Teleportation Formation would have been enough to finish off this Lu Yin.¡± One disciple refused to ept Lu Yin¡¯s sess.

    Mu Ziying barked, ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need to talk so much. Just focus on cultivating while you wait to enter the Skystar Jade Wall.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Senior Mu.¡± The crowd quickly bowed and no longer dared to talk any more.

    Mu Ziying did not reveal anything openly, but in truth, he was also frustrated about losing to Lu Yin. However, Mu Ziying simply had not been as capable as Lu Yin, and there was nothing more to it.

    He nced over at the cave. One had to learn the firstyer of the Cosmic Art before they could move on to the introduction, and even at the fastest speed, it would take Lu Yin at least a month toprehend eight stars. Mu Ziying wondered how long Lu Yin would actually take.

    In the past, when Lu Yin had first cultivated the Cosmic Art to eight stars, it had taken him far longer than one month to do so, but that was also because he had never cultivated before that. At this moment, Lu Yin could cause ny nine stars to appear, but he needed to put on an act and look like he was cultivating the art from the very beginning. Thus, he was terribly bored as he waited in the cave.

    He was within the Cosmic Sect, so he could not be certain whether or not he was being monitored, which prevented him from rolling his die. In the end, it was better to pretend.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin pulled out the chip that he had been given and inserted it into his gadget as if to study the firstyer of the Cosmic Art.

    On the surface, it looked as though he was studying the movement of the Cosmic Art, but in reality, he had long since started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Soon, the chip automatically self-destructed, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he pretended to get excited. ¡°So it¡¯s like this? So this is the Cosmic Art? It¡¯s really very mysterious.¡±

    He then put on a show of trying to cultivate it.

    Putting on an act was exhausting.

    While Lu Yin was pretending to cultivate the Cosmic Art, the warship that had gone to pick up the Ten Arbiters had finally arrived in the Neoverse.

    They were weed by an eonlight-grade Aurora, and a veryrge one at that. Even Aurora Enterprises did not have many of these vessels, and this one specifically belonged to the Hall of Honor. In front of the spacecraft, the passengers saw the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Judicial Commissioner, the Virtue of Righteousness, Mu En.

    Everyone had heard of the powerful Interster Supreme Court before, and everyone in the Innerverse and Outerverse knew that the Hall of Honor was the ruling power of the Human Domain. However, very few powerhouses from the Hall of Honor had ever shown themselves in those ces. But when the young elites of the Innerverse and Outerverse arrived in the Neoverse, they finally understood what it meant for the Hall of Honor to rule the Human Domain.

    The Virtue of Righteousness, Mu En, was a super powerhouse whose power level had far surpassed 600,000 and was approaching 700,000. He gave off the feeling that he ruled over heaven and earth despite merely standing there. Although he was significantly weaker than the Shadow of Death, Lord Shadow was someone from the same generation as the Chief Justice whereas Mu En was even younger than the Sea King. His age was actually simr to the Calm of Despair¡¯s.

    It was impossible to find a powerhouse on this level throughout the entire Outerverse, aside from the Hall of Honor¡¯s Yuan Shi, though he greatly surpassed this power level.

    There were not many powerhouses of such strength even in the Innerverse. If all of the Hall of Honor¡¯s resources were taken into ount, then not even the Daynight n¡¯s patriarch, Nightking Dijiang, could guarantee that he could overpower the Virtue of Righteousness.

    This was the power of the Human Domain¡¯s ruler, and although there were only three such powerhouses within the Interster Supreme Court, above them was the Chief Justice.

    ¡°Greetings, Judicial Commissioner, Virtue of Righteousness.¡± Wen Sansi and the other Ten Arbiters bowed as one. Before this, they had acted indifferently, but at this moment, even Little Leaf King bowed despite having never spoken to anyone aboard the warship. There was no one who dared to act arrogantly in front of a Judicial Commissioner.

    Mu En looked like a benevolent elder, and he smiled gently at the crowd. ¡°Not bad, not bad. Eras have passed by yet there has never been a generation with so many elite geniuses.¡± His gaze swept over War King Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix. ¡°The two of you are not fated with this contest at the Astral Tower and may only watch.¡±

    Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix had no choice, as they were both over forty years old, which meant that they were no longer a part of the younger generation. Technically, they truly did not qualify.

    During the battles in the Cosmic Sea, their participation had already been essentially cheating. However, since they had still been considered a part of the Ten Arbiters, the Sixth Maind had not really cared, and thus, the two had been allowed to act.

    ¡°Yes, Lord Commissioner.¡± Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix bowed.

    ¡°Move out. We¡¯ll head to the Mountain and Seas Zone. There are less than two months before the contest at the Astral Tower begins.¡± Mu En smiled before his figure vanished.

    The youths all boarded the spacecraft, and a momentter, the vessel had vanished, headed towards the center of the Neoverse.

    This was the first time the stutterer from the Longevity Brigade had been to the Neoverse, and his reaction was the same as Lu Yin¡¯s:plete curiosity towards this ce. This was particrly so when he saw thendmass that made up the Honor Zone, as the sight of it shocked him so much that his stuttering worsened even further.

    ¡°This- this- this-¡± The stutterer pointed at the distantndmass that was so massive that he could not even see its peak. His face showed his disbelief.

    Next to him, Tai Yuanjun was getting irritated. ¡°This? What this? You¡¯ve never seen it before? Countryside hick.¡±

    The stutterer¡¯s mouth opened wide. ¡°Hi- hi- hi.¡±

    ¡°Wine? Where¡¯s the wine?¡± Liquor Hero appeared with an expectant look on her face.

    Tai Yuanjun felt grossed out, so he snorted as he turned to leave.

    The stutterer turned to face Liquor Hero. ¡°Wi- Wine?¡±

    Liquor Hero nodded and looked at him excitedly. ¡°Right! Where¡¯s the wine?¡±

    The stutterer swallowed his saliva and was rather confused. To him, Liquor Hero looked like she was about to eat him alive.

    ¡°There¡¯s no wine. Where would winee from? You should drink less,¡± Unseen Light said.

    Liquor Hero rolled her eyes. ¡°Men who don¡¯t understand pleasure are fated to be abandoned by women.¡±

    Unseen Light stopped speaking.

    Some distance away, Xing Kai¡¯s expression dimmed as he stared at the Honor Zone. Since ancient times, the contest at the Astral Tower had always been something exclusive to the Neoverse. However, their generation had finally obtained this opportunity only for him to be unable topete. Truthfully, he hated this development, but he had no choice.

    Lan Si spoke in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s not just you. Lu Yin defeated Nightking Zhenwu, but he also doesn¡¯t qualify to participate. He personally strangled his only hope.¡±

    Xing Kai smiled bitterly. ¡°This trip is a waste.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head as his eyes grew bright. ¡°Not a waste. At the very least, you¡¯ll be able to witness the rise of the next Cosmic Five, and you¡¯ll be able to see who the true top powerhouses will be in the future. In fact, you might even have a chance to trade blows with them in the future.¡±

    Xing Kai nodded and then grinned. ¡°Even if I go up against the Cosmic Five, I still won¡¯t admit defeat. Instead, I¡¯ll overthrow them.¡±

    Starsibyl calmly stared off into outer space. Was Lu Yin here? ording to her knowledge of him, he should not be this quiet. Nightking Zhenwu had previously been near the peak, and Lu Yin had defeated him. ording to her divinations, Lu Yin should have reced Zhenwu to climb up to the pinnacle, and the pinnacle of the Innerverse was fated to sh with the top of the Neoverse. This sh would create the most vibrant sparks in the entire Fifth Maind, and in the future, they would still have to face the Sixth Maind¡ªand even further beyond that.

    Little Leaf King remained indifferent, and he did not seem to be concerned about anyone. He only calmly looked at the Honor Zone.

    The Ten Arbiters approached the Mountain and Seas Zone from outer space.

    Within the Honor Zone, Shu Jing faced an approaching man and slowly bowed.

    The man¡¯s face was as white as jade, and his facial features were as exquisite as a statue¡¯s. He seemed to be around the same age as Shu Jing. His eyes were calm, and there was a flow of white air that constantly circled around his body, giving him an extraordinary sensation, almost like he was a deity. This young man was Shang Qing, the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Chosen.

    To others, the Astral Tower was a ce for them topete, but for the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Chosen, bing one of the Cosmic Five was something easily obtained.

    All of the previous generations of the Cosmic Five had always had at least one member who was an Honor Chosen, and sometimes, even the Second Chosen would also be one of the Cosmic Five. This was the Hall of Honor¡¯s strength.

    It was extremely powerful.

    In the northern region of the Neoverse, at Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s headquarters:

    If Lu Yin were present, he would have seen lingering rune lines hovering about here. This ce was filled with historic relics from the ancient Rune Civilization, and at times, someone would create something from nothing.

    God Taiyi opened his eyes, his pupils shaped like runes. They then effortlessly transformed into an even moreplex shape. ¡°Finally, I¡¯ve entered the Perception Realm. There will definitely be a spot for myself, God Taiyi, among the Cosmic Five.¡±

    In the eastern region of the Honor Zone, at the top of the giantndmass, a truly enormous tortoise was slowly climbing up. Each step it took caused the entire mountain range to tremble, and these cracks extended endless into the infinite space above as well as the infinite space below thendmass.

    There was a massive, ancient tree on the tortoise¡¯s back, and it was flourishing with many leaves and branches.

    This was the Mavis family¡¯s home, as the Mavis family lived on this tortoise¡¯s back.

    The base of the tree was shrouded in shadows, as each ancient leaf was asrge as an entire city. They trembled as the tortoise moved.

    The roots of this ancient tree looked like a mountain range, each root like a giant dragon.

    Lulu and Grandini Mavis were sitting atop one of the ancient roots, and Lulu suddenly looked up. ¡°Do you think Sister Yuhua can be one of the Cosmic Five?¡±

    Grandini Mavis gently responded, ¡°As long as Sister Yuhua is smarter than you, it¡¯s a strong possibility.¡±

    Lulu got upset at this, and she clenched her fists as she red at Grandini. ¡°Do you get ufortable if you don¡¯t make fun of me every day? Do you want to be beaten up?¡±

    Grandini was unperturbed as always. ¡°I¡¯m not mocking you but rather stating facts. I¡¯m just too honest.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too irritating! Let¡¯s fight.¡±

    ¡°Act moredylike.¡±

    The next moment, the two girls attacked each other with their full strength. They were clearly both girls, but they were stronger than monsters.

    Right when the two girls¡¯ fists collided, a pure-white hand extended from the void and lightly tapped out. The monstrous strength of the two girls was instantly suppressed, and they both took several steps back. A woman who looked like a fairy in a green dress stepped out of the void with long, golden hair and bare feet. She was enchantingly beautiful, and she smiled at the two girls. ¡°Fighting again? You two are very noisy.¡±

    Lulu and Grandini were both thrilled to see this woman. ¡°Sister Yuhua.¡±

    This woman seemed to have a gentle temperament, and she was stunning and seemed the quiet sort. She had crescent-shaped eyes and a delicate fragrance. There even seemed to be a faint halo around her. Fresh flowers bloomed beneath her bare feet, and even the ancient tree seemed to awaken, as its branches swayed.

    Lulu and Grandini felt their worries disappear as they smiled at the woman. ¡°Sister Yuhua, we¡¯ve missed you!¡±

    ¡°Sister Yuhua, Grandini is bigger than me, and she keeps on bullying me,¡± Lulu immediatelyined.

    Grandini was upset. ¡°You¡¯re the one who always picked fights against me at the academy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re setting me up!¡± Lulu was angry.

    Grandini rolled her eyes. ¡°You tattled first.¡±

    [1] Wine = xiang = vige, which is art of the word "hick." We couldn''t find any way to get "bumpkin," "hick," or simr words to rhyme with any sort of alcohol. Happy to take suggestions to help this flow better.

 Chapter 1097: Cutting In Line

    <h4>Chapter 1097: Cutting In Line</h4>

    Yuhua Mavis smiled as she watched the two girls bicker. ¡°Alright, you two, give me some quiet.¡±

    ¡°Right, Sister Yuhua needs to go to the Astral Tower, so she can¡¯t be disturbed. Lulu, you should go,¡± Grandini said gently as she clutched Yuhua Mavis¡¯s arm.

    Lulu showed her teeth. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go? I won¡¯t!¡±

    Yuhua Mavis helplessly said, ¡°You can both stay. Tell me more about what you two experienced outside. The academy? Wasn¡¯t it interesting? Did you meet anyone you like?¡±

    Lulu quickly said, ¡°Sister Yuhua, I captured a giant tortoise during the apocalypse on a called Earth. It¡¯s really, really big!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t brag. How could it be bigger than our ancestral tortoise?¡±

    ¡°Are you trying to annoy me? It¡¯s an Explorer! It hasn¡¯t matured yet.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too noisy.¡±

    ***

    In the Neoverse¡¯s western region, at Smoke-Eater Peaks, Gu Xiao''er had a stunned expression on his face, and he looked a bit like an idiot.

    A ray of sunlight shot through the smoke, and his father, Gu Laogui, appeared with a smile on his face. ¡°Xiao¡¯er, you cane out now. Rest for a bit. Then, we¡¯ll head to the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er looked up, shocked. ¡°I- I can go out now?¡±

    Gu Laogui nodded.

    Gu Xiao''er shouted, ¡°You¡¯re lying! I won¡¯t go out! You¡¯re trying to hurt me.¡±

    ¡°Xiao¡¯er, Father has been doing all of this for your own good. Think about it¡ªif you can be one of the Cosmic Five, then won¡¯t all of thosedies from Azure Mansion flock to you? Think about that Flower Queen Ming Yu!¡±

    Gu Xiao''er swallowed his saliva, his eyes showing both expectation, nervousness, as well as a longing and a rather obscene glint. ¡°I- I¡¯ll go out.¡±

    ¡°Come, Xiao¡¯er,e over to Father first and take a puff of smoke.¡±

    ¡°You lied to me again, ***!!!¡±

    ¡­

    Thepetition at the Astral Tower was about to begin, and the Mountain and Seas Zone had already opened up. The powers who knew the location of the Mountain and Seas Zone had made their preparations a long time ago, and they were ready to set out at any moment.

    ***

    At this time, Lu Yin was still putting on a show of learning the firstyer of the Cosmic Art. He felt that ten days should be about right, and the group of disciples who had queued up outside the valley should be almost done by now. If not, then he would just cut the line, as a true disciple should have some special privileges.

    Ten dayster, outside of the Skystar Jade Wall¡¯s great valley, five disciples were still queued up and waiting for their turn.

    Mu Ziying was waiting to one side, bored. He also wanted to cultivate, but cultivating at this time would have absolutely no bearing on the contest at the Astral Tower. In truth, he just wanted to try his luck.

    Yao Ji also arrived at this time. He was still recovering from his battle with Lu Yin, and his face was a bit pale.

    After being promoted to a true disciple, he had gone to the Cosmo Hall and had carved his name there before moving onto the Starsky Jade Wall. He still had more than a month left before the contest at the Astral Tower began, and the Cosmic Sect was only half a month away from the Mountain and Seas Zone, which meant that he had about a month left to prepare, which should be enough. In reality, ten days were generally enough to learn the Cosmic Art from the Skystar Jade Wall.

    Yao Ji did not n to wait in line at all, and he simply nodded towards Mu Ziying before moving to the front of the line. The disciples already in line were not surprised by this treatment, as the true disciples would soon leave for the Astral Tower while they would not. Thus, they could continue to wait.

    Yao Ji did not even say anything to the other disciples.

    Mu Ziying did not mind either.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin stepped out of the cave.

    Mu Ziying looked over, and his expression instantly changed. Lu Yin had only been in there for a bit over ten days; had he finished already? That was impossible!

    ¡°Brother Lu, you-?¡± Mu Ziying hesitated, but Lu Yin simply smiled and revolved the Cosmic Art, causing eight stars to appear around him.

    Mu Ziying was surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve already seeded?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Of course. I wouldn¡¯t havee out otherwise. Brother Mu, is it my turn?¡±

    Mu Ziying was overwhelmed. This was the level of Lu Yin¡¯s talent. When Mu Ziying had first heard how long Lu Yin had been cultivating for, it was already abundantly clear just how talented Lu Yin was. However, Mu Ziying had not been overly concerned at that time. But now, he was witnessing it for himself as he had watched Lu Yin casually shattered the Cosmic Sect¡¯s records one after another. First, he had gone through the third promotion method to be a true disciple, and then, just ten short dayster, Lu Yin had broken a second record. Mu Ziying was leftpletely speechless.

    Mu Ziying was not the only one. When Lu Yin emerged from the cave and revealed hisprehension of the Cosmic Art, quite a few of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s older powerhouses were also stunned.

    Sect Leader Yuan Qiong¡¯s eyes burned with a fervent light; if this child truly belonged to his Cosmic Sect, then it would be so much better.

    Hold on. The sect leader suddenly thought of something, and he immediately called Highsage Shenwei.

    Outside of the Skystar Jade Wall¡¯s valley, both Lu Yin and Mu Ziying suddenly appeared. ¡°There are still six people? Eh, isn¡¯t that the fourth true disciple? When did he get in line?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Yao Ji simrly noticed Lu Yin, and although he stayed quiet, he inwardly felt disgusted. He could do nothing but quietly wait.

    Before Mu Ziying could say anything, Lu Yin walked over next to Yao Ji, looked at the disciples lined up behind the true disciple, and then smiled at Yao Ji.

    Yao Ji was stunned. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a guest from far away. Bro, please let me cut in line.¡±

    After Lu Yin spoke, Yao Ji did not even have a chance to respond when a disciple flew out of the valley and Lu Yin shot in. Before Yao Ji had even spoken, Lu Yin had already disappeared underground, which was where the Skystar Jade Wall was hidden.

    Yao Ji was infuriated. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re cutting in line! Get back here!¡±

    However, Lu Yin was already gone.

    The five disciples in line behind Yao Ji stared in stunned silence.

    Yao Ji looked at Mu Ziying in indignation. ¡°Brother Mu, this Lu Yin is too shameless!¡±

    Mu Ziying waspletely speechless. ¡°Just wait a bit. It¡¯ll only be about ten days.¡±

    Yao Ji was furious. No one had ever cut in front of him in his entire life. This was too infuriating, and it waspletely illogical! He wanted to curse.

    The other disciples stifled theirughter, as being cut off in such a manner was indeed infuriating. However, when Yao Ji was the one being cut, they were all somewhat delighted. This person was fine with cutting in line if he did it, but when he was cut, he was insulted?

    Lu Yin had also thought of this, and if Yao Ji had not been the one at the front of the line, Lu Yin would have been too embarrassed to cut. However, since Yao Ji had clearly done it to all these people already, Lu Yin felt that his actions were eptable.

    Right when he arrived underground, Lu Yin was greeted by a heavy aura, and it caused him to frown. He had never experienced such a sensation before, and it was indescribable. It was as if the aura in the air was¡­ Grieving? Emotional? Lu Yin could not think of an appropriate word to describe the ineffable sensation.

    There were actually remnants of some intelligent being¡¯s emotions in the air.

    Lu Yin moved forward, step by step, as he ventured deeper underground. He eventually arrived at a ce where water dripped onto the floor with a soft sound and a faint blue light shone in front of him.

    Lu Yin picked up his pace and moved further underground.

    Soon, he saw the Skystar Jade Wall.

    He had originally expected it to be a magnificent object that matched its reputation, so he was a little disappointed when he finally saw it. The so-called ¡°Skystar Jade Wall¡± was just an enormous mirror that emitted a faint blue light. It was framed with ancient wood, and it lookedpletely ordinary. There was no intimidating auraing from it, and at best, it had a respectable appearance.

    As he slowly approached it, Lu Yin circled around the Skystar Jade Wall once, but it was really just a mirror. This was very strange; this mirror was the foundation behind the grand Cosmic Sect¡¯s prosperity?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, is this the fabled Skystar Jade Wall?¡± the Ghost Monkey screamed, his shrill tone revealing his incredulousness.

    Lu Yin felt surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of it before?¡±

    ¡°A powerhouse¡¯s journal mentioned this thing once before. It said that the Cosmic Sect¡¯s ancestor obtained a jade wall that allowed them toprehend the Cosmic Art. After that, they founded the Cosmic Sect. Who could have known that the fabled Skystar Jade Wall would look like this?!¡± the monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin seriously studied the Skystar Jade Wall up and down.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, look, up there! Aren¡¯t those things decorative symbols?¡± the monkey cried.

    Lu Yin looked at where the Ghost Monkey was pointing, and he saw a row of diagrams in the upper piece of the wooden framing. The wood was quite old, and although the carvings were somewhat worn, they could still be made out.

    ¡°It looks like stars revolving around a flower,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself.

    The Ghost Monkey cried out, ¡°Are there nine stars?¡¯

    Lu Yin counted them carefully. ¡°Nine. Have you seen this before?¡±

    The monkey grew excited. ¡°That¡¯s Progenitor Chen¡¯s symbol!¡±

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, and his mind quickly descended into chaos. ¡°Progenitor Chen?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! This monkey read in a powerhouse¡¯s journal that Progenitor Chen¡¯s symbol is nine stars supporting a single, pure white flower. Thus, this Skystar Jade Wall must havee from Progenitor Chen! This means that the Cosmic Art was created by Progenitor Chen!¡± the monkey eximed.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought, though he was not surprised. A powerful cultivation art like the Cosmic Art must have been developed by a fearsome powerhouse, so he did not find it strange that Progenitor Chen was the one who had created it. Progenitor Chen had been known as the Progenitor of the Stars, so this actually seemed quite normal.

    The Cosmic Art and the Nine Clones Secret Technique. He had truly been an unparalleled powerhouse, and it was no wonder why the Sixth Maind did not dare to leave a record of this expert behind in its history. The power of Progenitor Chen had been so overwhelming that he had been able to go up against nine opponents from the same generation.

    ¡°I never imagined that the Cosmic Sect would actually be founded on Progenitor Chen¡¯s techniques. That Progenitor really did leave behind too much good fortune forter generations,¡± the Ghost Monkey said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin again started to study the Skystar Jade Wall. There really was not much more to see, so he followed Mu Ziying¡¯s earlier instructions. Lu Yin slowly raised his hand and moved closer to the mirror¡ªno, the Jade Wall. When his finger made contact with it, ripples appeared on the surface, and a momentter, Lu Yin was absorbed into the Skystar Jade Wall. When he opened his eyes again, all he saw was a dark, endless void. It was as though he was in outer space, and there were ny-nine stars around him. This was the secondyer of the Cosmic Art.

    The fundamental condition to enter the Skystar Jade Wall and study it was topletely cultivate the firstyer of Cosmic Art. Long ago, the Cosmic Sect had hidden away all of the other stars, making it so that one would only be able to see the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art once they cultivated ny-nine stars.

    Theplete Cosmic Art was here, but whether or not Lu Yin could ess it all depended on him.

    Lu Yin stared at the ny-nine stars revolving through the space. He took a deep breath as stars emerged from his body. As they sped up, more than eight stars appeared from him, and then, ny-nine stars suddenly started revolving above his head.

    He quickly released all ny-nine stars, and a momentter, the area around him grew clearer, and it was as if the universe was being reborn. More stars emerged and began to revolve around him until there were more than 700 stars.

    Lu Yin quickly counted the stars, and he found that there were 726 stars orbiting him, not one less than 726. This was the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art.

    He had never thought that he would actually be able to learn the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art; it had been the right decision to visit the Cosmic Sect.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s second true disciple, Mu Ziying, had only simted a bit more than 400 stars so far, proving that not even he hadpleted the Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer. This was enough for Lu Yin for the time being.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin looked up and watched as the stars revolved, entering a cultivation session.

    Outside of Skystar Jade Wall¡¯s valley, Yao Ji waited for more than ten days, growing exceptionally irritable with each passing day.

    Mu Ziying nced at the other true disciple before looking down towards the underground region. Lu Yin should emerge soon. Ordinary people were only able to remain within the Skystar Jade Wall for around ten days, and one¡¯s personal aptitude determined how long they could cultivate in that ce for. Even those with the best perception could not stay any longer than a month at best.

    But Mu Ziying lost a bit of his confidence once he remembered Lu Yin¡¯s abnormal talent and how quickly he hadpleted the firstyer of the Cosmic Art. Would he actually be able to stay in that space for more than a month?

    More and more disciples had queued up behind Yao Ji, all of them waiting to visit the Skystar Jade Wall.

    These disciples were not qualified to go to the Astral Tower, so they were in no rush.

    Only Yao Ji was anxious, and he had be so anxious that he was about to curse. His frantess was made even worse by the fact that Lu Yin had cut in front of him to enter, and Yao Ji had simply been a moment too slow to stop him. Even remembering it caused him to grow more sullen.

    [1] His name, Chen, means star(s), so Progenitor of the Stars.

 Chapter 1098: Mountain and Seas Zone

    <h4>Chapter 1098: Mountain and Seas Zone</h4>

    Another five days passed, and if Mu Ziying and the others could see Lu Yin¡¯s state within the Skystar Jade Wall, then their chins would definitely hit the floor as Lu Yin had already simted 120 stars.

    Over this period of half a month, Lu Yin had carefully observed the revolving stars within the Skystar Jade Wall. As he cultivated, one star after another had appeared from his body, and the number that he was simting had gradually increased to 120 stars. However, he was not done yet, and he was stillprehending more of the Cosmic Art.

    In the past, Lu Yin had only managed to see the first and secondyers of the Cosmic Art a single time. After that, he could only rely on his memory to simte the stars. He had never had an opportunity like this, where he could constantly look at and refer to stars revolving in the distance. This was the best way to learn the cultivation method, especially for the Cosmic Art, and it was akin to stepping on an elerator.

    It was no wonder why all the disciples would queue up to enter this ce.

    In the Neoverse, the Hall of Honor¡¯s spacecraft traveled for half a month before finally arriving extremely close to the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The stutterer had been staring out the vessel for this entire half month, and it was as though this was his first time seeing the universe.

    The others all rested silently.

    The Virtue of Righteousness, Mu En, was rather excited; the youths of this generation were too outstanding, and even the Neoverse¡¯s elites might not be able to reach this level.

    The great changes that the universe had recently gone through had also brought forth new opportunities. When the Sixth Maind¡¯s false sky vanished, the opportunity to ascend to even greater heights had appeared, though it remained unknown if anyone among these juniors would be able to be a Progenitor.

    Only a Progenitor could lead the Fifth Maind out.

    Suddenly, Mu En¡¯s bosom trembled, and his expression changed. He stepped out into outer space and stood atop the spacecraft while staring off into the distance.

    On the Honor Zone¡¯s massivendmass was a silent figure. It looked as if it had been standing there for countless years, and the person was a great distance away from the spacecraft. This distance would be difficult for even the Ten Arbiters to travel across.

    However, such a distance could be instantaneously crossed by Mu En.

    Mu En carefully stared at this figure, which suddenly looked up. Scarlet eyes looked straight into Mu En¡¯s eyes.

    Mu En was shocked¡ªthe Neohuman Alliance! The Judicial Commission did not hesitate in the slightest, and he immediately took out a blood-red bell from his breast pocket and rang it.

    When the bell rang out, the void calmed down; no matter if it was space, the spacecraft, or the various astral phenomena nearby, everything paused for a moment. The Ten Arbiters and everyone aboard the vessel all forgot about their own existences while the only thing they were aware of was arge hand appearing above them and suppressing everything.

    In the distance, the Neohuman Alliance corpse king with scarlet eyes growled, causing a sound wave to tear through space. As it rippled out, manys burst apart, and drifting lines of soil fell apart.

    This terrifying sound wave swept towards the spacecraft.

    Mu En rang the blood-red bell once again.

    The sound wave was overpowered by the bell¡¯s ringing, and it gradually vanished.

    When Mu En looked back again, the corpse king had already vanished.

    He heaved a sigh of relief. Every time the contest at the Astral Tower was about to begin, the Neohuman Alliance would attempt to kill the talented youths headed for the Astral Tower, and they had seeded more than once. No matter if the youths were from the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, or even the Seven Courts, losing disciples at this time was very normal.

    Mu En had been prepared, and he simply had not wanted to exchange blows with the corpse king. No matter what his opponent¡¯s strength might have been, Mu En would rather use the blood-red bell.

    The oue ended up supporting his decision. That corpse king was actually able to withstand the first ring of the blood-red bell, and it had even retaliated. Its power level definitely surpassed 800,000, which meant that it was not something that Mu En could deal with.

    After the corpse king vanished, Mu En returned inside the spacecraft.

    The Ten Arbiters and the others were all confused, and they looked at each other without any understanding of what had just happened.

    Ignorance is bliss, and those who remained ignorant were fearless. They would never know that they had just walked upon the border of life and death.

    If not for Mu En¡¯s decisiveness, they would have already died.

    One dayter, the spacecraft stopped, and Mu En¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Children, we¡¯ve arrived at the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Everyone in the spacecraft exited at the same time, and they stared at the sky. Eh? There seemed to be nothing before them¡ªonly another dark expanse.

    The stutterer spoke, ¡°Mou- mou- mou- mou-¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Tai Yuanjun found the stutterer irritating.

    Mu En smiled and moved out. The void in front of him warped as he vanished.

    ¡°It¡¯s a superimposed space.¡± Wen Sansi smiled.

    ¡°The Mountain and Seas Zone holds the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. Each inheritance consists of one mountain and one sea. Thus, this should be a superimposed space that contains five mountains and five seas.¡± Jin He smiled and stepped forward, simrly vanishing.

    Soon, the rest of the crowd also stepped forward, and they vanished one after another.

    When they reappeared, they had arrived on a continent floating in the sky. Above their heads was a blue sky filled with white clouds, and they were surrounded by a vast sea. Some distance away, in five directions, they could see five mountains. Each one had a different shape, but all of them towered into the clouds.

    The stutterer was astonished. ¡°Mou- mou- mou-¡±

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Tai Yuanjun firmly shoved the stutterer a few meters away and then looked around to take in the view. He eximed, ¡°So this is the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s inheritance?¡±

    This was the first time the crowd had ever seen the Mountain and Seas Zone, as each person only had a single opportunity to do so in their lifetime unless they were someone like Mu En who could escort members of the younger generation to the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Mu En stared off into the distance, his expressionplex. In his younger years, he had also participated in the contest at the Astral Tower, but nobody from his generation had seeded. And thus, the position of the Cosmic Five had remained empty during his generation. After so many years, he had returned.

    ¡°The ancient legends of my Fifth Maind speak of nine mountains and eight seas. During the ancient battle, our Daosource Sect copsed, and at that time, our ancestors moved the inheritances in five mountains and five seas from the Daosource Sect into the Neoverse. That is the origin of this Astral Tower, as this ce is the confluence of those five mountains and five seas. This continent floating through space is simply thebination of those five mountains seas. You guys may leave this ce once the contest begins, but for the moment, you cannot,¡± Mu En exined.

    Mu En looked at the crowd before continuing, ¡°Even if it¡¯s impossible to know if anyone among your group is capable of bing one of the Cosmic Five, I hope that you all will remember one thing: everyone participating in this contest at the Astral Tower is a child of the Fifth Maind, so if possible, don¡¯t be too extreme in your behavior. There are only a few people who will ultimately stand at the peak, and although some of you may be enemies now, you may also be allies in the future.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for the lesson, Lord Commissioner, Virtue of Righteousness.¡± the crowd bowed.

    Mu En nodded, satisfied. ¡°You are free to roam about this area, and in principle, interactions and duels are not prohibited. However, massacres are forbidden. As for us older folk, we will leave for now.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°Right, ording to previous experiences, not everyone whoes to participate in the contest in the Astral Tower necessarily hopes to be one of the Cosmic Five. Aside from battle techniques and cultivation arts, the inheritances here also include all sorts of resources, which is what many participants target. Somee only for this, so if possible, find someone to team up with.

    ¡°The Mountain and Seas Zone rejects all outside items, so hand over all of your cosmic rings.¡±

    All of the youths had clearly heard of this rule before, so they all gave up their cosmic rings without any hesitation.

    Although they were all peerless within the younger generation, when they werepared to the powerhouses from the Hall of Honor, anything that they possessed quickly lost almost all value, so none of them were afraid of having their possessions stolen. Besides, without their blood, their cosmic rings would not even open.

    Mu En waved a hand, and everyone was given a set of clothing. ¡°These clothes are made from materials found in the Mountain and Seas Zone, so wear these. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be buck naked the moment you enter the inheritance regions, haha.¡±

    He then waved a hand towards Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix. ¡°You twoe with me. ording to the rules, you cannot remain here.¡±

    Xing Kai felt depressed at hearing this, and he hung his head as he moved over next to Mu En.

    Serati Phoenix did the same.

    Mu En took Xing Kai and Serati Phoenix away while the others all put on their new clothes, not really interacting with each other. Liu Tianmu turned to leave.

    Unseen Light, Lan Si, Jin He, Little Leaf King, Qing Longlong, and the others all followed suit.

    Xia Tian was about to leave as well, but he was stopped by Ling Gong. ¡°You, help me out during the contest here at the Astral Tower.¡±

    Xia Tian felt puzzled, and he pointed at himself. ¡°Me?¡±

    Ling Gong coldly said, ¡°There¡¯s no hope for you guys, so helping me out is your best choice.¡±

    Xia Tian felt helpless. ¡°Can I refuse?¡±

    ¡°No. This is an order,¡± Ling Gong said.

    Xia Tian was left speechless, and he thought back to the time when he had dueled with Ling Gong. His rhythm had been disrupted by her favorite phrase: ¡®This is an order.¡¯

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    When Tai Yuanjun saw this, he was slightly startled, as he had not expected people to start cooperating so soon, and he chased after Qing Longlong. ¡°You help me.¡±

    Qing Longlong did not even nce over and simply left.

    Tai Yuanjun was irritated. ¡°Woman, helping me is helping yourself!¡±

    Qing Longlong moved even further away.

    Tai Yuanjun snorted, as Qing Longlong clearly did not know how to appreciate his kindness. Thus, he shifted his eyes and ended up exchanging nces with another person: the stutterer.

    The stutterer stared at Tai Yuanjun and swallowed.

    Tai Yuanjun became upset. ¡°Scram!¡±

    He moved away first.

    The stutterer turned to look at Ling Gong and Xia Tian, his eyes filled with envy. ¡°Bri- bri- bring me along!¡±

    Ling Gong coldly responded, ¡°Go and find Lu Yin.¡±

    The stutterer felt insulted. ¡°Me- meat¡¯s gone.¡±

    Xia Tian simply smiled at the stutterer as he left with Ling Gong.

    This group of Innerverse cultivators who werepeting at the Astral Tower had drawn a great deal of attention to themselves.

    In fact, there were more than a hundred people who had already arrived on the continent.

    There was no limit to how many people could participate in this contest at the Astral Tower, and anyone from the Neoverse who knew the Astral Tower¡¯s location was able topete.

    This floating continent was enormous, and it wasrge enough to hold several cities.

    A market had already started to form some distance away.

    This so-called market was a ce to trade materials that had been obtained from the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone prevented any foreign items from entering it, and even clothes could not be brought in. In fact, only items made from materials originating from this ce could be taken in.

    After countless years of contests in the Astral Tower, a considerable amount of resources had started circting outside, and they were controlled by all sorts of people. Whenever a new contest was about to begin, these people would appear on the continent containing the Mountain and Seas Zone in order to barter and trade for items that they needed.

    For example, there was something called a Mountain Sea Pouch that was quite popr.

    Since it was impossible to bring cosmic rings into the Mountain and Seas Zone, whenever someone found a precious item during the contest, they would have to either strut around with it or end up getting robbed.

    Hence, these Mountain Sea Pouches were specially made pouches that could be taken into the Mountain and Seas Zone and store the items found within it. These pouches were very sturdy, and they could store a great number of items. Although they were just ordinary bags, using them was still better than carrying everything by hand, which would tempt people into stealing.

    These pouches were the only items that could store objects within the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Aside from the Mountain Sea Pouch, people were also trading weapons made from materials gathered in the inheritance zone. Among the wares were swords, halberds, and even hidden weapons.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, there were quite a few such markets, and they had naturally and spontaneously formed. Thergest market was quite near where the Ten Arbiters and the others had arrived since everyone who had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone would appear in the same ce.

 Chapter 1099: The Might Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 1099: The Might Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Lan Si arrived at one of the markets, and he looked around out of curiosity.

    This market was located just outside of a mountain valley, and there were nearly identical booths set up at regr intervals. The asional shopper would walk through and look through one booth and then another.

    ¡°This junior needs to use his cosmic ring!¡± someone shouted loudly. The void split open a short distance in front of the cultivator, and multiple cosmic rings appeared.

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes shed. This was a trading area, so they could ask to use their cosmic rings in this region.

    This was perfectly normal for the people from the Neoverse, but for Lan Si and the others from the Innerverse, this was their time seeing such a thing ur. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how this was the first time the Innerverse had qualified to participate in the contest at the Astral Tower.

    Footsteps sounded from behind Lan Si, and an ugly-looking man with arge bearing appeared. ¡°Bro, you must be from the Innerverse.¡±

    Lan Si turned to look at the man. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±

    Therge man grinned and stared at the Arbiter. ¡°I never thought that those rumors would actually be true! So people from some primitive ce like the Innerverse actually dare topete for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritances? How ridiculous!¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he decided to ignore the man and continue on his way.

    Therge man moved his body to block Lan Si¡¯s path. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! Tell me, what¡¯s your name? Where are you from? Show me some of your skills, and if they¡¯re passable, you can follow me, and I¡¯ll give you some of the resources.¡±

    The big man¡¯s voice was extremely loud, and his shouting attracted a great deal of attention.

    The people in this market were all from the Neoverse, and they naturally looked down upon the Innerverse cultivators.

    Even though the Neoverse cultivators had not made any moves when the Sixth Maind invaded.

    Lan Si frowned. ¡°Move.¡±

    The big man sneered and set a hand on Lan Si¡¯s shoulder. He then quietly threatened the Arbiter. ¡°Kid, run back to the Innerverse. The Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s resources aren¡¯t something you guys can touch.¡±

    The man then exerted some of his strength.

    Lan Si¡¯s expression remained calm.

    The big man exerted more and more pressure with his right hand until his veins started to bulge and the ground seemed to move without any wind. This man was a peak Cruiser, and his physical strength was quite impressive for his realm. Once, he had even trained within a ster energy storm, which had earned him the epithet of Barbaric Beast. There were not many people who were willing to engage in close-rangebat with this man due to his tyrannical strength, as no matter what his opponents did, they were never able to beat him down.

    Taunting expressions appeared on the faces of many people throughout the market, and they were anticipating the scene of Lan Si struggling and then falling to the ground.

    However, the crowd was soon left stunned.

    Lan Si never moved the slightest bit, and he continued to calmly stare at therge man. ¡°Are you done ying around?¡±

    The man¡¯s expression changed; even though he was using his full strength, this person was not showing any sign of difort or pain. How was this possible?

    The man growled, and the ground cracked open beneath his feet as he sank underground. Ripples appeared in the void, showing that the power level of the man¡¯s attack had already surpassed 150,000.

    A Cruiser who was able to unleash an attack with a power level of 150,000 was enough for them to be ranked within the top ten of the Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings.

    However, such an attack waspletely useless against Lan Si.

    Lan Si frowned, and he stepped past therge man before slowly walking away.

    The big man¡¯s body froze in ce, and a momentter, he spat out a mouthful of blood as he slowly dropped to his knees. There was an extremely ugly expression on his face, and he wailed in agony before crumbling to the ground, where he panted heavily.

    All of the people in the market were stunned; what had just happened?

    ¡°Interesting. That¡¯s a very powerful attack that¡¯s based on achieving an impressive level of cultivation in the Oveying Stacks Path.¡± There was a man in a corner, leaning half-way against a stone wall, and he was looking at Lan Si with tant curiosity.

    Lan Si looked over at the man, his expression growing solemn. This person was very powerful.

    The man slowly walked towards Lan Si, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ¡°Let¡¯s get acquainted. I¡¯m Ku Lei.¡±

    Lan Si¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family?¡±

    Ku Lei smiled. ¡°Which of the Ten Arbiters are you?¡±

    ¡°Lan Si.¡±

    Ku Lei nodded. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, Lan Si. I heard of your prowess with the Oveying Stacks Path long ago, and sure enough, those rumors were urate. Follow me. Although you can¡¯t be one of the Cosmic Five, I can promise that you¡¯ll get plenty of resources. If I remember correctly, during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, Grayweed Continent¡¯s seventy-two dojos fell. Since you have nowhere to go, you cane to my Ku family.¡±

    Lan Simented, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m not interested in the Neoverse.¡±

    He then moved to leave.

    Ku Lei blocked Lan Si¡¯s path. ¡°My Ku family isn¡¯t interested in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, but there is one thing that we do know: you were defeated by someone called Lu Yin.¡±

    Lan Si remained silent.

    Ku Lei continued on, saying, ¡°Losers don¡¯t have any rights, and you must be very unwilling to ept such a defeat. I can help you get revenge, and if that persones to the Mountain and Seas Zone, I¡¯ll beat him until he kneels on the ground. That¡¯s a promise that I can make to you¡ªhow about it?¡±

    Lan Si looked at Ku Lei, amused. ¡°You¡¯re quite confident.¡±

    Ku Lei arrogantly answered, ¡°This is your greatest opportunity, so take it and rise rapidly.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t ept it.¡±

    Everyone in the market with a nearby booth immediately packed up their stuff and left. This person was Ku Lei, and they had all heard of him before. He was the Ku family¡¯s first inheritor, and his temper was horrible.

    Ku Lei¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°You don¡¯t know how to appreciate my kindness.¡±

    The next moment, a thunderp rang out, and star energy shed while the void warped and twisted. Then, a loud bang split the air as lightning shot out in all directions. Lan Si was directly knocked back a hundred meters, and he stared in front of himself in astonishment.

    Lightning covered Ku Lei¡¯s body, and a blue light flickered within his eyes as he raised a hand to swat at Lan Si.

    Lan Si raised his hand: One Hundred Fifty Stacks.

    The two palms struck each other, and the Oveying Stacks Path shed against the lightning as a shockwave cut through the mountain range. By now, quite a few people who were off in the distance were looking back in amazement.

    As the lightning and thunder faded, a giant crater could be seen at the impact site.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone had been reinforced long ago, and it required the power of an Enlighter at the minimum to cause any damage to it.

    Quite a few stared at Lan Si in astonishment. This person was actually incredibly powerful, as he was actually able to go up against Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei had never considered that Lan Si would be able to stop his attack, but his lips curled up upon seeing this. ¡°An Arbiter, huh? Your power level isn¡¯t bad. Consider my offer carefully, ande find me after you¡¯ve thought things through. My promise still stands.¡±

    The lightning covering his body flickered and then instantly vanished.

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he raised his hand. His palm had been slightly burned during that exchange. He had actually been injured, and the power of that lightning had been utterly terrifying as it had even disintegrated theyers of his Oveying Stacks Path, rendering his attack ineffective. Ku Lei.

    ***

    In another ce, Jin He had also run into a bit of trouble, and people from Gods¡¯ Origin were blocking his path.

    Jin He had a helpless expression as his long hair flowed in the wind. ¡°You people are really annoying.¡±

    Across from him was a youth in an embroidered gown, who shouted, ¡°You actually dare to show yourself here, traitor?¡±

    Jin He picked at his ear with a finger. ¡°Not so loud. I still haven¡¯t reached the level of a traitor yet. Back then, captain left peacefully, and the old farts didn¡¯t stop him.¡± He then put on a mocking smile. ¡°Or rather, would it be more urate to say that they didn''t dare to stop him?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡± The few people were all enraged, and they immediately attacked. Their pupils all transformed into runes as they erased a portion of Jin He¡¯s runes lines.

    Jin Heughed and did not bother fighting with the people from Gods¡¯ Origin. Instead, he flew off at great speed. ¡°If you guys want to y, then head to the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s inheritance area. I¡¯ll y with you there, but I¡¯m afraid that you guys aren¡¯t qualified.¡±

    ¡°Chase this traitor down and kill him!¡± The small group pursued Jin He.

    Nearby, a few people were discussing what they had seen, ¡°Those lunatics from Gods¡¯ Origin are causing trouble for someone again.¡±

    ¡°Speak softly! They might be nuts, but they are freakishly strong, and even a single one of them is very difficult to deal with.¡±

    ¡°After all, they¡¯ve received the inheritance of an ancient civilization, so it¡¯s best to keep your distance from them.¡±

    ***

    As more and more people appeared on the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent, the number of conflicts greatly increased.

    At the same time, more and more people started forming parties, and although the people from the Seven Courts could not openly participate in the contest at the Astral Tower, they had nheless still arrived, and the Hall of Honor did not stop them either.

    More and more people from the Neoverse converged at the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Azure Mansion had quietly appeared.

    Wherever people gathered, the Azure Mansion would appear. This wasmon knowledge throughout the Neoverse, as Azure Mansion could fly.

    News of Azure Mansion¡¯s appearance outside the Mountain and Seas Zone quickly spread throughout the contestants, and many of them grew excited and became anxious to visit them.

    It was at this time that God Taiyi entered Azure Mansion.

    After the Sixth Maind retreated, the contempt that he had previously held for the Innerverse had vanished. Each of the Ten Arbiters were an absolute monster, and even if he was more arrogant, he would not look down on the Ten Arbiters.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone would only be more chaotic as more people arrived, and the truly important characters had not arrived yet. He did not want to reveal his strength this soon, so he decided to spend his time rxing at Azure Mansion.

    ***

    In the Cosmic Sect, outside the valley that held the Skystar Jade Wall, a disciple walked up behind Mu Ziying and softly whispered to him.

    Mu Ziying nodded and then dismissed the disciple.

    ¡°Junior Yao, when we enter the Mountain and Seas Zone, what do you want to choose?¡± Mu Ziying asked, his voice directly entering Yao Ji¡¯s ears.

    Yao Ji was surprised. ¡°Why is Senior Mu asking?¡±

    Mu Ziying calmly exined, ¡°The Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters have already entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, and their Divine Fist has already shed against the Ku family¡¯s first heir. Also, at least ten people from Gods¡¯ Origin have already shown up. If Junior Yao wants topete at the Astral Tower, then please be careful.¡±

    Yao Ji muttered, ¡°Senior Mu, just how strong are those Ten Arbiters from the Innerverse?¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Very.¡±

    Yao Ji frowned. The Ten Arbiters were ten young powerhouses, and there were far too many youths and freakish powerhousepeting for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritances this time. ¡°What path does Senior Mu intend to choose?¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed this with Junior Hua Xiao, and we¡¯ll cooperate at that time. Destiny will determine whether or not we can contest for an inheritance.¡±

    Yao Ji said, ¡°I would like to follow Senior Mu.¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded, and did not speak any further on this matter. Although he did not like Yao Ji, when they entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, it would always be better to have more allies to face off against those monsters. Truthfully, he did not have much confidence in their team as the Mavis family, the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosens, the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs, Burial Garden, and even the Neohuman Alliance would all show up.

    During the past contests at the Astral Tower, the Neohuman Alliance would always find some way to enter, and they had actually seeded at times. Their sect actually had some records of these incidents. Whenever anyone encountered someone from the Neohuman Alliance, very few would manage to survive, so Mu Ziying hoped to find more allies.

    It would be great if Lu Yin was willing to cooperate with them, but that was impossible. Lu Yin was clearly trying to be one of the Cosmic Five while Mu Ziying and Yao Ji did not share that ambition. Rather, they were instead more interested in the opportunities that they could find in the Mountain and Seas Zone. These two true disciples did not have any great enmity between them, so it was possible for them to team up. However, if they were going to cooperate, then why not also look for their Grand Senior?

    As Mu Ziying thought about this, he looked at the entrance to the underground area; Lu Yin should be heading out soon.

    In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

    Yao Ji looked depressed, as Lu Yin had actually managed to spend another ten days within the Skystar Jade Wall, which Yao Ji found hateful.

    Mu Ziying was not surprised, as with Lu Yin¡¯s talent, it was not inconceivable for him to stay in there for even an entire month. Wait a moment¡ªjust how many stars will Lu Yin be able to simte when he emerges? Will he have cultivated all the way to ny nine stars in one go?

    There were already more than 200 people within the Mountain and Seas Zone, and almost all of them were elites from the Neoverse.

    During thest ten days, people had continuously stirred up trouble for the people from the Innerverse, but the strength of the Ten Arbiters had truly stunned the Neoverse elites, and it left thempletely speechless.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ reputation had spread to the Neoverse long ago, but nobody had actually paid any attention to them. It was only when the Sixth Maind had invaded that the top youths of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers hade to understand the Ten Arbiters¡¯ power levels. At this moment, the entire Neoverse was learning of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ strength.

 Chapter 1100: Youâ€™re Not Worthy

    <h4>Chapter 1100: You''re Not Worthy</h4>

    The stutterer was unlucky. He had been constantly bullied by others, but fortunately, he was very quick, and he had been able to run away every time.

    Xia Tian¡¯s strength was not bad either, and even though he was not quite at the same level as the Ten Arbiters, he was still able to keep himself safe.

    Little Leaf King had gone missing, and nobody was able to find him.

    Qing Longlong spread poison everywhere, so very few people tried to provoke her, as everyone was wary of a poison user.

    The most unfortunate one ended up being Tai Yuanjun, as he was not very impressive, not very strong, and had a sharp tongue. Thisbination led him to constantly being surrounded and attacked by several people.

    Starsibyl remained unbothered, and she had not acted even once. Even the people in the Neoverse were rather hesitant when it came to the Starsibyl Sect, as nobody dared to casually provoke those with the ability of divination. Besides, Starsibyl was far too pretty, so many of the Neoverse cultivators tried to butter her up.

    On the continent, the previous one-on-one battles had developed into chaotic battle royales, and quite a few people had already formed parties of groups of two or three. They would work together to attack others, causing a great deal of smoke to drift up from all over.

    Within a certain mountain range, there were eight people locked in battle, and they caused the mountains to crumble as the sky shook from numerous explosions.

    When a lone figure descended, the chaos instantly stopped, and both sides fled from the mountain range, not a single one of them daring to show their face there.

    Soon after, news of the appearance of the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant shook the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    There were a few colossal organizations in the Neoverse that could not be provoked. The Hall of Honor went without saying, and there was also the Cosmic Sect, the Seven Courts, Burial Garden, and the Mavis family. Each one of these forces was iparably powerful.

    The Mavis family was very mysterious, and their residence was not in a fixed location. Many people were aware that the Mavis family¡¯s origins stemmed from an ancient tree that grew on the back of a giant tortoise. For countless years, they had controlled the finances of the Human Domain, though nobody knew how they had managed to do so. Still, one could only imagine how terrifying they were.

    Beyond the mountain range, two men and a woman panted heavily. ¡°Who knew that the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant would get here so quickly! The Hall of Honor¡¯s Chosen haven¡¯t even arrived yet.¡±

    ¡°The Mavis family might currently be a bit further away from the Mountain and Seas Zone, leaving them with no choice but to get here earlier,¡± one of the men said.

    The three youths were helpless, as themotion from earlier had been the three of them fighting against another group. However, everything had stopped as soon as the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant had appeared.

    A piece of stone fell down and struck the ground, causing dust to billow up from the ground for a little bit. It moved very gently, but it also contained a power that made the three people too afraid to move at all.

    A man had appeared above them at an unknown time, and he was slowly descending towards them until he was right in front of them.

    The man looked rather ordinary, and there was nothing noteworthy about his appearance with the sole exception of his eyes; they were unforgettable after just one nce.

    ¡°Did you guys just say that the Mavis family appeared in this mountain range?¡± the man asked with a gentle voice.

    The trio nodded in stunned silence.

    ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°O- one.¡±

    The man was astonished. ¡°Just one?¡¯

    The trio nodded.

    The man waved a hand, and the trio felt as though a burden had been lifted off of them. Once free, they instantly fled.

    ¡°So there¡¯s actually only one. It seems like this generation¡¯s Treeheart Descendant is very confident in herself. This is quite troubling,¡± the man mumbled to himself.

    The trio ran a great distance before finally stopping.

    ¡°That frightened me out of my mind! I thought that he was going to kill us. Who was that?¡± the woman asked fearfully.

    The two men both shook their heads. ¡°I didn¡¯t recognize him, but his strength left us paralyzed, so he¡¯s definitely a top-notch expert.¡±

    ¡°Too many experts have shown up for the Mountain and Seas Zone this time, and the Innerverse¡¯s so-called Ten Arbiters don¡¯t seem weak either. Apparently, they can go up against the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs, which is ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a few more people to team up with since we¡¯re not even considering aiming to be one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s find a few more teammates.¡±

    ***

    Within the mountain range, Yuhua Mavis was floating in the air, and tender des of grass spread out beneath her and propped her up.

    She was sitting on the grass as she stared off into the distance, looking at the hazy mountains. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

    Before long, a man arrived and smiled at her. ¡°Sure enough, there¡¯s just one person. May I ask for your name?¡±

    Yuhua Mavis looked at the man, her face showing her surprise, but she calmly replied, ¡°Yuhua Mavis.¡±

    The man eximed, ¡°That¡¯s a good name. I¡¯m Xia Jiuyou.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°From the Seven Courts, the scion of the Xia family. I¡¯ve heard of you.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou smiled. ¡°The honor is mine.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s brought you here?¡± Yuhua Mavis asked.

    Xia Jiuyou said, ¡°I only came to take a look. After all, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants are rarely seen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nothing too strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± Yuhua Mavis said.

    Xia Jiuyou smiled and spoke to her for a bit before moving on.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s expression grew solemn as she watched Xia Jiuyou leave. He was somewhat different from the others, though she did not know how to describe it. There was just something about him that seemed rather unfathomable.

    The Seven Courts¡¯ families were Xia, Y¨­u, Yu, Ce, Ku, Hui, and Xie. Although there was no differentiation in strength among the families, the Hall of Honor had always been the most wary of the Xia family.

    Even her Mavis family, the Cosmic Sect, and other top powers publicly recognized the Xia family as the leader of the Seven Courts, and Xia Jiuyou was definitely one of the most terrifying people to appear at this Astral Tower contest.

    ***

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, a spacecraft emitting smoke arrived.

    Many looked at it with strange expressions, as this vessel looked like it was about to explode!

    Within the spacecraft, Gu Xiao''er was excited, as he had arrived and finally escaped from his wretched suffering. He was more than willing to enter into a deathmatch with those freaks if the other option was to remain at Smoke Eater Peaks to be tormented by his father. He had finally escaped alive. As soon as he could, Gu Xiao¡¯er leaped out of the spacecraft and was about to make his way to the Mountain and Seas Zone. However, perhaps due to a twist of fate, Gu Xiao''er slowly turned his head and looked at Azure Mansion. Without any hesitation, he changed directions. He felt that he should rx for a bit first.

    Three dayster, a massive spacecraft appeared outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, drawing a great deal of attention.

    Within Azure Mansion, the originally carefree Gu Xiao''er and God Taiyi were both stunned, and they looked at the ship. This was the Hall of Honor¡¯s vessel, and within this impressive vehicle sat the Honor Chosen.

    There were many rumors circting around about the current generation¡¯s Honor Chosen, and the most prevalent rumor was that the First Honor Chosen had sessfully cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique.

    The Tri-Yang Technique was nearly as famous as the Hall of Honor itself. From another angle, the Tri-Yang Technique was what had actually given rise to the Hall of Honor.

    It was equivalent to the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Cosmic Art.

    Everyone had heard of the Tri-Yang Technique, and all of the various organizations had researched it. However, very few individuals knew its true strength. This was because, even in ancient times, nobody had ever managed to bring out the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique.

    Of course, there was another reason as well, which was that not many people in each generation were even capable of cultivating the Tri-Yang Technique.

    In the past hundreds of thousands of years, nobody had ever managed to cultivate the Tri-Yang Technique, and many did not believe the tales of its power.

    Shu Jing was the first to exit the spacecraft. He was the Honor Chosen who had charged into the forefront of the battle against the Sixth Maind in the Cosmic Sea. During that battle, he had worked with the Ten Arbiters to fight against Bu Kong, and many people respected him for his efforts.

    Next was a woman with a mask thatpletely covered her face. In fact, her power level was also hidden, and not even God Taiyi could see her rune lines.

    Finally, Shang Qing appeared. He was the First Honor Chosen.

    Shang Qing had a cold face, and three currents of air twisted about his body, giving him the appearance of a deity and leaving many caught off guard.

    ¡°That- could that be the fabled Tri-Yang Technique?¡± someone guessed.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be. Wasn¡¯t the Hall of Honor just bragging?¡±

    ¡°You actually believed them?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, are you asking if I believe that the Hall of Honor was bragging, or if that¡¯s the Tri-Yang Technique?¡±

    ¡°Why do I get the feeling that this First Chosen seems to view himself as a god like those maniacs from Gods¡¯ Origin?¡±

    ¡°I was just thinking the same thing.¡±

    ¡­

    God Taiyi¡¯s expression grew darker as he listened to the nearby conversations, and his pupils transformed into runes as he looked at Shang Qing.

    However, no matter how hard he stared, he could not determine Shang Qing¡¯s true strength, and the woman and Shu Jing were the same.

    Gu Xiao''er no longer cared after ncing at the neers. His dad had sent him here topete at the Astral Tower, but he did not want to fight at all. Wouldn¡¯t he just be chasing death if he fought against these freaks?

    In the blink of an eye, the three Honor Chosens from the Hall of Honor entered the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    As these three entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, Tai Yuanjun was confronting two Neoverse cultivators.

    Tai Yuanjun had an arrogant expression. ¡°These are the so-called elites of the Neoverse? You people are supposed to be the only ones qualified to fight for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritance? What a joke.¡±

    Before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, Tai Yuanjun had been extremely arrogant, but even then, he had not shot off his mouth in such a manner. However, after Starsibyl had started following Nightking Zhenwu, Tai Yuanjun had been triggered, and he still struggled with the impulse to vent his frustrations on everything around him.

    In front of him, the two cultivators coldly responded, ¡°A cultivator from the barbaric Innerverse dares to act this brazenly here? Are you trying to die?¡±

    Tai Yuanjun waved a hand. ¡°Try me.¡±

    At this moment, Shang Qing¡¯s trio calmly appeared, and they stood between Tai Yuanjun and the other two cultivators.

    The two cultivators saw Shang Qing¡¯s small group, and they revealed a look of surprise before quickly backing away. They had recognized Shu Jing and the woman; she was the Second Honor Chosen, and her mask was too recognizable.

    Even after his two opponents had moved away, Tai Yuanjun was still unhappy. ¡°Just stand there! Don¡¯t you guys know how to walk behind us? Is everyone from the Neoverse this rude?¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s trio paused, and they all looked at Tai Yuanjun.

    The two cultivators who had been confronting Tai Yuanjun earlier were overwhelmed, and they exchanged nces before racing away without looking back. Their respect for Tai Yuanjun had just spiked a hundred times over, as he was clearly a person who wanted to die!

    Tai Yuanjun frowned. ¡°They ran away? Trash!¡±

    He then nced over at Shang Qing and the other two before turning to leave.

    ¡°Stop there. You- are you from the Innerverse?¡± Shang Qing spoke up, and when he spoke, the mask-wearing Second Honor Chosen flew up and away.

    Shu Jing gave Tai Yuanjun a sympathetic look before also leaving. Now, Shang Qing was standing there alone as he stared at Tai Yuanjun.

    Tai Yuanjun turned around. ¡°Why? Do you want to challenge me?¡±

    Shang Qing coldlymanded, ¡°Take me to see the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m not one of them?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t measure up,¡± Shang Qing indifferently replied.

    Fury immediately raged in Tai Yuanjun¡¯s eyes, and his first thought was of Nightking Zhenwu and how Starsibyl had followed Nightking Zhenwu for so long. Thoughts about who knew what had happened between those two emerged soon after, and as soon as that thought entered his mind, Tai Yuanjun seemed to lose control. He whipped out his dark green flute without any hesitation and started using his musical battle technique known as Gentleman¡¯s Eulogy, as this song would send off a gentleman.

    His Gentleman¡¯s Eulogy was famous throughout the Innerverse, and it had left countless peers of Tai Yuanjun speechless. As long as this flute released its song, only the Ten Arbiters could withstand the melody.

    Recently, Tai Yuanjun had created a name for himself within the Mountain and Seas Zone due to his Gentleman¡¯s Eulogy.

    Right when the flute was about to release its song, a stream of air swirling around Shang Qing¡¯s body suddenly vanished as it shot past Tai Yuanjun. His pupils instantly shrank, and the flute helplessly fell from his hands as his entire body copsed to the ground. Fresh blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth.

 Chapter 1101: Absolutely Unrivaled

    <h4>Chapter 1101: Absolutely Unrivaled</h4>

    Someone off in the distance watched on with an indifferent expression as Tai Yuanjun copsed.

    Shang Qing approached Tai Yuanjun step by step. Once he was next to Tai Yuanjun, Shang Qing looked down at him.

    At this moment, Tai Yuanjun realized that he was not even touching the ground. Rather, he was hovering about a centimeter above it.

    ¡°Now, can you take me to the Ten Arbiters?¡± Shang Qing calmly asked. It was as if defeating Tai Yuanjun had been as simple as crushing an ant for him.

    Tai Yuanjun struggled to even lift his head. ¡°I- I don¡¯t know where they are.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s move out together, and you can point them out when you see them,¡± Shang Qing said indifferently.

    Tai Yuanjun nodded as he panted heavily. He now looked at Shang Qing with an intense fear in his eyes. This person was too terrifying.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent was veryrge, but even if it was twice asrge, one would still eventually run into other people while traveling across it.

    About an hourter, Shang Qing suddenly stopped and turned to look to his right, at a man walking past.

    Tai Yuanjun was puzzled.

    Shang Qing stared at the man. ¡°Stay there.¡±

    The man looked over, confused. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Shang Qing had a calm expression. ¡°Try to escape from me.¡±

    He then waved a hand, causing one of the streams of air circling around his body to whistle out and disappear in an instant. It shot through the void before reappearing in front of the man who had been passing by.

    Tai Yuanjun red when he saw this scene, as he had just been crushed by this stream of air.

    The stream of air descended, and the man¡¯s expression instantly changed. He immediately unleashed his forcefield, which manifested as a giant ruler that covered the void. The man then jumped on the ruler and moved a thousand meters away.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes shed, and his stream of air vanished once again only to reappear behind the man and firmly m against him.

    The man frowned and he raised a hand, causing the ruler to flit about. At his fastest possible speed, he used multiple battle techniques, attempting to destroy the stream of air. The sight of each battle technique overwhelmed Tai Yuanjun, as not a single one of them was inferior to his Gentleman¡¯s Eulogy. Still, the stream of air was not distorted or even stalled for a moment, and it ruthlessly passed through the void to crash into the man.

    The man snorted, and in an impossible manner, he suddenly disappeared. He did not reappear, and the stream of air spiraled at the ce where the man had been standing before eventually returning to Shang Qing¡¯s body.

    Tai Yuanjun was confused. What just happened? Where had that person gone?

    Shang Qing calmlymented, ¡°So he was someone from the Ce family. The Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard. Next time we meet, you won¡¯t escape.¡±

    He then continued walking along as before.

    Tai Yuanjun was stumped. That was actually a secret technique? The Ce family? Aren¡¯t they a part of the Seven Courts?

    One of the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs who hadprehended a secret technique had been beaten into retreat that easily? Tai Yuanjun suddenly looked at Shang Qing with even more fear than before.

    Another hour or so passed. In this location, lightning ripped through the sky as a figure coldly stared into the distance.

    Shang Qing raised his head and waved a hand. The stream of air circling around his body moved through the void and forced the lightning aside, attempting to sweep the man away.

    This man was Ku Lei. He had already defeated quite a few cultivators himself, and his lightning meant that there were no opponents within the same realm who he did not dare to provoke. But despite his power, he had just been inexplicably struck by an attack.

    This stream of air was extremely strange, and Ku Lei¡¯s lightning had beenpletely unable to block it, making him feel that something was off. He immediately reacted by raising his hand and tapping out with a finger, causing a giant finger to descend: Finger Tap.

    The Finger Tap sessfully struck the stream of air and pierced through it, but the stream instantaneously fused back together and hit Ku Lei.

    He felt his chest grow stifled, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, Ku Wei looked down in disbelief; what the heck was that?

    Below him, he saw Shang Qing with two more streams of air twining about his body, and Ku Lei¡¯s pupils shrank. Is that¡­?

    Shang Qing waved his hand, which caused the stream of air that had struck Ku Lei to growrger andrger until it covered the sky. Then, it started pressing down.

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth, and his nine lined battle force shot into the sky as his lightning twisted about before striking out at top speed.

    Not even Shang Qing was able to react to this speed.

    Ku Lei vanished into the distance, and Shang Qing called back the flow of qi. ¡°The Ku family¡¯s heir. Interesting.¡±

    He then continued on his way.

    Tai Yuanjun was stupefied after seeing this scene. He and Shang Qing had already run into two of the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs while walking along, but both of them had been easily sent running. Who the hell was this person?

    If the encounters with the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs had not given Tai Yuanjun a terrible shock, then the third powerhouse whom Shang Qing ran into definitely would. It was someone even more astounding: Wen Sansi.

    Shang Qing looked at Wen Sansi with tant curiosity. ¡°Are you the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Schr?¡±

    Wen Sansi seriously observed Shang Qing, particrly focusing on the three streams of air that gave off an untouchable feeling. Practically no one within the younger generation could make Wen Sansi feel like this, and this was actually the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.

    ¡°And you are?¡± Wen Sansi asked.

    Although the Ten Arbiters were overwhelmingly famous throughout the Innerverse and the Outerverse and were privy to many secrets themselves, their knowledge was still quite limited when it came to the Neoverse. Additionally, even in the Neoverse, not many people knew about Shang Qing¡¯s existence.

    Those who could participate in the Astral Tower¡¯s contest and enter the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent were all top elites of the Neoverse, and their backgrounds were impressive. But despite that, not all of them were able to recognize Shang Qing, though they had all received news of him.

    ¡°The fame of the Ten Arbiters has spread past the Innerverse and Outerverse, even reaching the Honor Zone. Thus, I want to experience your strength for myself.¡± Shang Qing then waved a hand and caused a stream of air to shoot out. He only relied on a single battle technique, and he was even more specialized than Lan Si. Aside from the Oveying Stacks Path, Lan Si still had his Vacuum Palm whereas Shang Qing used nothing aside from the streams of air around him.

    However, this unique attack method caused Wen Sansi¡¯s hair to stand on end, and he fell back at top speed while congealing the void and forming ancient characters. He instantly used a 7x7 Literary Prison to trap the stream of air while he fled without looking back.

    The next moment, the Literary Prison began to crack beforepletely shattering, and the stream of air struck the void with a force that caused it to ripple. They quickly reached ten kilometers, then a hundred, thousand, and eventually ten thousand.

    These ripples impacted many people, and every single one of them was stunned, as the ripples emanated an unstoppable power. The people werepletely awed by its power, and they were struck by an irrepressible desire to worship this power.

    In the distance, Wen Sansi had an extremely grave look. He had always been a cautious person, and this moment where he had exchanged blows with someone from the same generation could be considered his most cautious moment yet. However, he felt that he still had not done enough. ¡°In the future, whenever I meet that person, I must immediately leave. Think before acting, think before acting.¡±

    In the same ce as before, Shang Qing retracted his qi flow and sighed. ¡°Sure enough, they are at the same level as the most powerful heirs from the Neoverse. He was actually able to safely retreat. For that, he should be proud of himself.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun waspletely stunned. He had never even dreamed that one of the Ten Arbiters would be driven back so easily. Although Wen Sansi had not been defeated, that sh had looked even worse than a defeat; it had looked like Wen Sansi did not even dare to trade blows with Shang Qing.

    In some sense, Wen Sansi had been able to clearly see that Shang Qing was possibly¡ªno, definitely the strongest person participating in this Astral Tower contest. Shang Qing absolutely was not just ¡°one of the strongest.¡±

    Before long, news of the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, Shang Qing, consecutively defeating the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs as well as one of the Ten Arbiters spread out. This news quickly reached every corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone, and the entire ce was thrown into an uproar.

    The Tri-Yang Technique was the most powerful technique in the entire Human Domain, and even the ancient legends had said as much. However, nobody knew just how powerful this technique really was. Now, everyone finally had aparison to make, allowing them to fully understand that when the Tri-Yang Technique was used, it was unparalleled and truly unrivaled within the same generation.

    In the Cosmic Sect, within the Skystar Jade Wall, Lu Yin had been there for an entire month now, and the number of stars that he could simte had already reached 402. Even if he was fully confident in himself, he would never have imagined that just one visit to the Skystar Jade Wall would allow him to simte so many more stars, as he had already surpassed Mu Ziying. Out of everyone in the Cosmic Sect¡¯s younger generation, Lu Yin was currently only inferior to the All Rounder Fairy, Qiu Shi.

    As Lu Yin looked at the stars moving about in the sky, he was only afraid that the outside world would start to suspect him of something. Thus, he had no choice but to leave.

    At this moment, outside the Skystar Jade Wall¡¯s valley, Yao Ji¡¯s anger had already reached the heavens. However, this anger also came with an indescribable mix of admiration, jealousy, hatred, and other various emotions.

    He hated Lu Yin for cutting in line and going into the Skystar Jade Wall first to cultivate, but Yao Ji was also overwhelmed by how long Lu Yin had stayed within the mirror.

    There were only a few people in the history of the Cosmic Sect who were able to stay within the Skystar Jade Wall for more than a month, and Lu Yin had already been there for that long. If he was able to remain inside for a bit longer, then he would enter the Cosmic Sect¡¯s historical records. No¡ªhe was already in those records.

    Mu Ziying had a look of admiration on his face, as he felt that he was witnessing this generation¡¯s blessed child of the heavens when he looked at Lu Yin.

    Recently, some news from the Mountain and Seas Zone had leaked out, and Mu Ziying had heard of many rumors. Most of them were about Shang Qing defeating various experts along his way, cementing his reputation of being utterly peerless.

    ¡°Shang Qing, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant, and our Grand Senior should be the most powerful participants taking part in this contest. It¡¯s not clear if any of the Ten Arbiters have hidden their strength, and as for Lu Yin¡­¡± Mu Ziying could not judge this person very well, as Lu Yin¡¯s strength was something very rarely seen in the younger generation, and on top of that, he was from the Outerverse, which meant that his aplishments thus far had been limited. No matter how gifted Lu Yin might be, those ces would restrict his future.

    Even if the Ten Arbiters were stronger, it was impossible for them to surpass the Neoverse¡¯s top youths. The Arbiters simply did not know how powerful their opponents were, and they would despair if they knew the truth.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing out!¡± one disciple shouted.

    Yao Ji and the others looked over and saw Lu Yin emerge.

    Lu Yin reluctantly appeared from the underground space and exited the valley. He smiled towards Yao Ji. ¡°Sorry to dy you.¡±

    Yao Ji was furious, but he did not dare to reveal any of his anger, so he simply snorted before dashing underground.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°How rude.¡±

    The various Cosmic Sect disciples were left speechless, and they suddenly sympathized with Yao Ji. He was a proud child who had always bullied others to get his way, but he had beenpletely shut down by Lu Yin and actually been taken advantage of. It was a wonderful story.

    Mu Ziying coughed and smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Congrattions, Brother Lu, foring out. I wonder, how far has Brother Lu progressed in terms of the secondyer?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Very sessful. I wonder, can I reenter the Skystar Jade Wallter? I want to continue with the thirdyer.¡±

    Quite a few disciples exploded in response to this. ¡°He actually cultivated the entire secondyer in just a month? What a monster.¡±

    ¡°If he weren¡¯t, how could he have seeded at using the third promotion method to be a true disciple? Aside from the Grand Senior, no one else in our sect can match up to him.¡±

    ¡°Freak.¡±

    ¡­

    Mu Ziying was stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s talent. ¡°Brother Lu, you can simte ny nine stars already?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and casually replied, ¡°It¡¯s not too difficult.¡±

    He then immediately revealed ny nine stars.

    In an instant, Mu Ziying was rendered speechless.

    At the same time, many of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s older powerhouses red at Lu Yin with wide eyes.

    ¡°This kid¡¯s cultivation speed is too fast.¡±

    ¡°In just one month¡¯s time, he¡¯s managed to sessfully cultivate the secondyer. If he¡¯s given another chance, then he might surpass even Hua Xiao, Mu Ziying, and the others. This child¡¯s talen is exceptional.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s simply very well suited to the Cosmic Art. What a pity.¡±

    Within the Cosmic Sect¡¯s grand hall, Sect Leader Yuan Qiong eximed, ¡°Sure enough, his talent is truly astounding.¡±

    He suddenly seemed to think of something, and he immediately contacted the True Elder.

    ¡°Brother Mu, I wonder, how can I return to the Skystar Jade Wall?¡± Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    Mu Ziying answered, ¡°Entering the Skystar Jade Wall isn¡¯t simple, but it¡¯s also easy in some sense. You just need to make some contributions to the sect. The sect nurtures the disciples not just as a blind investment, and the disciples also need to contribute back to the sect.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as Mu Ziying had mentioned this detail of contributing to the sect. However, Lu Yin did not have the time to do such a thing.

    ¡°Brother Lu, before long, our sect will take us to the Mountain and Seas Zone. Thus, it would be best to preserve your energy right now, as the Mountain and Seas Zone is very busy right now,¡± Mu Ziying said. He then proceeded to share a few of the recent rumors about what had taken ce in the Mountain and Seas Zone with Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1102: Lu Yinâ€™s Longing

    <h4>Chapter 1102: Lu Yin¡¯s Longing</h4>

    All of these rumors left Lu Yin rather excited. Hearing about the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs, the Ten Arbiters, the Mavis family heir, the unrivaled First Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor, his Tri-Yang Technique, and everything else left him impatient to go to Mountain and Seas Zone.

    ¡°Is the Tri-Yang Technique really that powerful?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ziying nodded and calmly answered, ¡°ording to the ancient records, whenever someone sessfully cultivates the Tri-Yang Technique, they will always be unrivaled without exception. The Tri-Yang Technique is a miracle that is definitely without equal, and its only weakness is that very few can cultivate it. Once someone seeds, there¡¯s no reason for anyone else to strive for the top. All others have to be content with just striving for second.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Nothing in the universe is absolute.¡±

    Mu Ziying shook his head. ¡°Brother Lu, you don¡¯t know enough about the Tri-Yang Technique. While in theory, it¡¯s valid to say that nothing is truly absolute in the universe, the Tri-Yang Technique is absolutely without equal. This statement doesn¡¯t just hold true within the Human Domain, as it also includes the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy. It is undoubtedly the most powerful battle technique in the entire Fifth Maind¡ªit¡¯s not simply ¡®one of the best.¡¯¡±

    ¡°So are you saying that the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Chosen is basically guaranteed to be one of the Cosmic Five?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ziying said, ¡°Definitely. There¡¯s no question about it.¡±

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing of the Tri-Yang Technique, as Highsage Shenwei had mentioned it before. Back then, Lu Yin had not paid too much attention to it, and he had not expected this battle technique to actually appear at this time.

    Even Wen Sansi had avoided going up against this technique for the time being. Although Wen Sansi might not necessarily be more powerful than Nightking Zhenwu, ording to Lan Si, it was very difficult to defeat the Schr Arbiter.

    Someone so difficult to defeat had actually fled, so what about the others?

    Lu Yin held little confidence in his ability to win. He had never underestimated the Neoverse¡¯s experts, but he had also never expected to encounter such a freak.

    ¡°Once Shang Qing appears, everyone else can only fight for second ce, and that even includes our Grand Senior. What a pity¡ªthe Tri-Yang Technique actually appeared during our generation,¡± Mu Ziying said helplessly.

    ¡°Brother Mu, I heard that everyone in our sect is a Lockbreaker. I wonder, what would be required for me to learn a sourcebox array?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked. He was trying to take his mind off of Shang Qing. Since this First Chosen was being praised so highly by everyone, it felt as though he was simply asking for a beating. Other powers would definitely have their own ns, so Lu Yin was not overly worried about him.

    If everyone else¡¯s ns proved ineffective, then it would simply be pointless for Lu Yin to have any thoughts on the matter.

    Mu Ziying was astonished. ¡°A sourcebox array? Brother Lu, you want to learn one?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Any Lockbreaker would want to learn a sourcebox array.¡±

    Mu Ziying was left speechless. ¡°It looks like Brother Lu intends to empty out my Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a serious manner, ¡°Brother Mu, you¡¯re treating me like an outsider now. I, Lu Yin, am also a disciple of the sect, and I¡¯m even the fifth true disciple.¡±

    Mu Ziying was about to say something, but he suddenly paused as if listening to something. He then looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll head to Cosmo Hall so that you can carve your name there.¡±

    ¡°I can leave my name in Cosmo Hall?¡± Lu Yin was bbergasted.

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Of course! Brother Lu is the fifth true disciple of our Cosmic Sect. Did you forget?¡±

    Mu Ziying had just shot back with a rejoinder of Lu Yin¡¯s own words, so he simply nodded. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    Only true disciples could enter the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Cosmo Hall. Additionally, when a true disciple carved down their name in Cosmo Hall, one of the older powerhouses would appear to ept the person as their own disciple, and those with outstanding talent might even cause the older experts topete to ept such a disciple.

    ¡°Back when Grand Senior carved her name in Cosmo Hall, she had multiple seniorspeting over her, as they all wanted her as their disciple,¡± Mu Ziying spoke with envy.

    Lu Yin became curious. ¡°Which senior did she finally ept as her mentor?¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°It¡¯s not convenient for me to say. It would be best to ask Grand Senior herself. Brother Lu, we¡¯ve arrived at Cosmo Hall.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the misty hall ahead of them, and he very solemnly bowed at the waist. This was one of the most important ces in the entire Cosmic Sect, and once they entered, they would be constantly watched by several of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s older powerhouses. Lu Yin hoped to have some good luck and that an older expert would be willing to guide him in the Cosmic Art. It would be great even if he only obtained another opportunity to enter the Skystar Jade Wall.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attitude left the senior members of the Cosmic Sect very satisfied. Mu Ziying had not expected Lu Yin to be so courteous, and he simply waited for a moment.

    Lu Yin soon stood up straight. ¡°The Cosmic Sect has protected my Fifth Maind, and it has also made great contributions that havested throughout the ages. This junior has received the honor to carve my name down in Cosmo Hall, and I will follow my seniors¡¯ example to protect this Fifth Maind and protect humanity.¡±

    It was impossible to tell if Lu Yin¡¯s words had any effect, but Cosmo Hall actually emitted a bit of radiance that illuminated the entire Cosmic Sect.

    Sect Leader Yuan Qiong was surprised by this sight. ¡°This child was actually able to catch the attention of Elder Jiu Shen. He truly has some fate with my Cosmic Sect. Unfortunately, he was taken by Eversky Ind one step quicker. What a pity.¡±

    Mu Ziying was stunned; was this actually possible? He immediately bowed and imitated Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, but he received no such response.

    Lu Yin gave the young man a strange look. ¡°Brother Mu, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first visit to Cosmo Hall, so he was unaware that Cosmo Hall rarely radiated any light.

    Mu Ziying felt embarrassed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Brother Lu. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    Cosmo Hall was a symbol of status, but it was only a symbol. Once Lu Yin entered the hall, he saw countless names carved along the top, and there was also an elder nearby.

    ¡°Junior Mu Ziying greets Elder Yuan Shou.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly went over as well. ¡°Junior Lu Yin greets Elder Yuan Shou.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou studied Lu Yin, and was very satisfied with what he saw. ¡°Good, good. A humble attitude with righteousness in your heart. You are also extremely respectful towards my Cosmic Sect. Child, you are quite decent.¡±

    Lu Yin remained humble. ¡°This disciple iscking in many areas, so I ask Elder to please guide me.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou smiled. ¡°Your greatest inadequacy is that you are not a disciple of my Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciple. It¡¯s such a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, ¡°Since I¡¯ve learned the Cosmic Art, I¡¯m also a disciple of the Cosmic Sect. Disciple Lu Yin greets Elder Yuan Shou once again.¡±

    Mu Ziying was astonished; why had he never realized that this person knew how to speak to elders so tactfully? Mu Ziying watched as Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s smile stretched from ear to ear in satisfaction. This fellow really knows how to appeal to people.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯re truly disgusting.¡± The Ghost Monkey also could not stand Lu Yin¡¯s brown-nosing.

    Lu Yin did not care. He had cultivated the Cosmic Art, so of course he would want to establish a good rtionship with the Cosmic Sect. After all, he still wanted to learn the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art at the very least. As for the fourthyer, that would require him to unseal his body¡¯s thirty six fatal meridian points, which was something that he could simply forget about. If he did not truly join the Cosmic Sect, then he would never be able to learn the fourthyer. Thus, the thirdyer was enough for him.

    Elder Yuan Shou was quite happy as he looked at Lu Yin, and he patted the youth¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well said. Since you¡¯ve learned the Cosmic Art, you are indeed a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, so don¡¯t embarrass my sect when you go out in the future.¡±

    ¡°This disciple understands,¡± Lu Yin replied respectfully.

    Before long, the two youths left Cosmo Hall.

    Mu Ziying stared at Lu Yin, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with admiration. ¡°Brother Lu, I now understand how you made it so far in the Innerverse and Outerverse. You truly have my respect.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ziying. ¡°Brother Mu, you still haven¡¯t told me how I can learn a sourcebox array.¡±

    Mu Ziying pursed his lips. ¡°Only Advanced Lockbreakers can learn a sourcebox array. Brother Lu, you haven¡¯t reached that level yet, have you?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded in agreement, upied by his own thoughts.

    ¡°Brother Lu, in just a few more days, we¡¯ll head out for the Mountain and Seas Zone. I¡¯ll take you somewhere to rest, and you can make your preparations there,¡± Mu Ziying offered.

    Lu Yin looked at Mu Ziying. ¡°Brother Mu, our sect should have a secret technique, right?¡±

    Mu Ziying blinked. ¡°Brother Lu, you can¡¯t be thinking of trying toprehend a secret technique, are you?¡±

    ¡°Is there any possibility of it?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were bright.

    Mu Ziying was speechless. ¡°Of course not!¡±

    ¡°A true disciple should qualify to learn a secret technique, right?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Mu Ziying calmly replied, ¡°Contributions.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. ¡°Is it possible to borrow it? Or get an advance on credit?¡±

    Mu Ziying was amused. ¡°Brother Lu¡¯s way of thinking is rather advanced.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Then I have no choice since there¡¯s a limit to how long I can stay here in the Cosmic Sect for. Right, Brother Mu, what is the sect¡¯s secret technique?¡±

    Mu Ziying shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t say, but if Brother Lu gains the qualification to learn it, then you¡¯ll naturally find out.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated for a moment. ¡°Has Brother Mu not learned it?¡±

    Mu Ziying shook his head. ¡°Out of the sect¡¯s current disciples, only the Grand Senior has learned the sect¡¯s secret technique. I truly haven¡¯t learned it.¡±

    Lu Yin had not expected the situation to be like this, but sure enough, a secret technique was very difficult to ess. He had relied on silently reciting the Stonewall Scriptures in order toprehend the Yu Secret Art, and that had even been within his Timestop Space. And he had only managed toprehend the Ce Secret Art with the help of the Root of Intelligence and Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s innate gift of deduction.

    Each of those two secret techniques had been very difficult for him to master.

    The Cosmic Sect definitely had a secret technique, but it was definitely something that was also very difficult to ess.

    All secret techniques were truly mysterious, and once any of them were learned, one¡¯s strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.

    Lu yin really wanted to understand what the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique was.

    There were very few secret techniques, and the way past Progenitors chose to focus their cultivation was what determined how useful their secret technique wouldter be for the people whoprehended their techniques.

    For example, the Yu Secret Art had allowed Lu Yin to remain undefeated against various powerhouses. Only when his opponent¡¯s attack speed was so fast that he could not even see the attack, such as Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm or a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, would their attacks be difficult to divert.

    The Ce Secret Art leaned towards evasion.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s Heart Seeker secret technique had been the most suited for sneak attacks by far, though that was not to say that the Heart Seeker actually surpassed the Yu or Ce Secret Arts. At least, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the Heart Seeker was not something as mysterious as the two secret techniques that he hadprehended, though Heart Seeker certainly leaned towards sneak attack and ambushes. However, as long as the opponent had some way to defend against the secret technique, it would only be able to cause superficial injuries. However, if one was unable to defend against it, they faced certain death.

    Since he had personally faced the Heart Seeker secret technique, Lu Yin had his own views of the attack. In his mind, the Arrow Progenitor, who had created the secret technique, had definitely been a treacherous person.

    Currently, Lu Yin wanted to get an idea of Progenitor Chen¡¯s character through learning about the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique because the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique was definitely connected to Progenitor Chen.

    Lu yin simply did not know if the Cosmic Sect possessed Progenitor Chen¡¯s self-created Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Strangely, Lu Yin thought back to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, when he had heard Xiao Qing mention how she had encountered some people in this area of the universe whose auras shared simr origins. In her opinion, they had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Lu Yin also wondered who she had been referring to.

    ¡°Brother Lu, our time is quite limited, so don¡¯t think about all this random stuff right now. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you somewhere to rest,¡± Mu Ziying urged. He understood how difficult it was to make meaningful contributions to the Cosmic Sect. It was simply impossible for Lu Yin to obtain enough contributions to return to the Skystar Jade Wall or learn the sect¡¯s secret technique in the short amount of time he had remaining.

    Lu Yin also knew this, so he could only follow Mu Ziying.

    Mu Ziying had arranged for Lu Yin to rest on a that was a bit outside the Cosmic Sect.

    ¡°This ce will belong to Brother Lu, though, of course, only until Brother Lu returns to Eversky Ind,¡± Mu Ziying exined.

    Lu Yin looked at the ahead of them and then back towards the Cosmic Sect. He carefully studied the and saw that there was ayer of rune lines wrapping around the.

    ording to what Mu Ziying had said, this was something put in ce to prevent others from freely entering.

    The entire Cosmic Sect had a massive sourcebox array arranged around it, and each star and was able to tap into this sourcebox array to erect a barrier and conceal itself.

    Lu Yin felt very secure, and he moved forward to rest on the.

 Chapter 1103: Contributions

    <h4>Chapter 1103: Contributions</h4>

    Mu Ziying merely heaved a sigh of relief when he sent Lu Yin off to rest on the, and he quickly left afterwards. During thest few days, he had gained a better understanding of Lu Yin, and Lu Yin¡¯splete shamelessness had left a deep impression on Mu Ziying. Lu Yin was merely an exchange disciple from Eversky Ind, but he sought to take advantage of everything that the Cosmic Sect possessed. The Cosmic Art was fine, but Lu Yin even wanted to learn the sect¡¯s sourcebox array and secret technique, which was utterly shameless.

    However, they would soon head out for the Mountain and Seas Zone. Thank goodness.

    Countless celestial bodies revolved around the Cosmic Sect, and the that Lu Yin was resting on was one specially reserved for true disciples to cultivate upon. There were many unique climates on this, and it was very helpful in cultivating one¡¯s physical body or spiritual force. And like the others, there were also many servants avable.

    Perhaps it was because Lu Yin could not stay within the Cosmic Sect for long, but there were not many servants waiting for him.

    Lu Yin was looking forward to some peace and quiet.

    He looked about and quickly saw that this ce was where true disciples rested. The architecture on this had a different style from the rest of the sect. At least a hundred manors had been built on the; some looked ancient while others were quite ornate. There were also tiered pavilions and primitive dugouts avable. In short, any imaginable style was avable.

    Lu Yin chose a random pavilion and entered the building¡¯s secure cultivation room before lifting a hand to start rolling his die.

    Since he had learned the method to cultivate the Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer, there was no reason for him not to cultivate it. After all, needing time to prepare or cultivate was what he was the least worried aboutpared to others.

    He carried high expectations for the Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer as he tapped a finger onto the die. He watched as it spun before finally stopping on¡­ six pips: Possession.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed greatly when he saw the result. Not good! Just as this thought entered his head, the scenery changed before his eyes as he appeared in a dark space. He did not spend any time thinking before dashing at the closest ball of light, immediately merging with it.

    At the moment, he only had a bit more than seven million star essence in his possession, and this was all of his reserves. He did not wish to spend this amount on a Possession, and he had wanted to save up a bit more before rolling this.

    At the moment, he had only wanted to roll four pips: Timestop so that he could cultivate the Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer and practice the integrated technique that he had seen on the Eversky Bridge, that finger formed from fog.

    Lu Yin did not even check to see if the ball of light that he had merged with was suitable for him, and he simply charged straight in. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a ce of pure pleasure, and there were two delicate-looking girls nestled in his arms.

    Lu Yin blinked and tried to ess the body¡¯s memories. He had Possessed a person called Shang Chen, who was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s internal disciples. This person lived on a floating city known as Crimson Star, and his father, Shang Ju, was the ruler of this ce.

    Right as he remembered this, the door shattered, and a group of people dashed in. ¡°He¡¯s here! Capture him and send him to the city master¡¯s residence.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he instinctively wanted to flee.

    ¡°Lord, the secret passage!¡± One of the girls in his arms grew flustered, and she pulled the curtains around the bed aside in a practiced manner, revealing a dark passageway.

    Lu Yin immediately dashed into it, and the passageway was sealed after he entered it.

    Wait a moment, why was he running? Lu Yin was left speechless, as he was not actually being captured. The people who had burst into the room hade from the city master¡¯s residence, and they answered to this body¡¯s father. They were here to take him back home. At worst, he would suffer a bit of a beating, but that was nothing much.

    Lu Yin tried to recall more on the matter, as this body had instinctively tried to escape. It turned out that the city master, Shang Ju, was very strict with Shang Chen and disciplined him harshly. Crimson was one of the cities that existed in the general Neoverse that the Cosmic Sect oversaw, and it was simr to how Eversky Ind oversaw Westgazing City. Shang Ju hoped that Shang Chen would one day be one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples, and to that end, the older man had cut off any distraction that could possibly dy Shang Chen¡¯s cultivation, including trips to brothels.

    However, Shang Chen liked visiting the brothels, which was what had led to that situation.

    Lu Yin was nning to directly head back when a certain matter suddenly entered his mind, and it caused him to follow the passageway and flee without any hesitation. Actually, he was not fleeing, but rather heading directly to the city master¡¯s residence.

    Crimson was quiterge, but Shang Chen was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s internal disciples, and he was also a Cruiser. Thus, he was by no means slow, and he soon returned home.

    Following the body¡¯s memories, Lu Yin strutted right into the city master residence, and very smoothly arrived outside the city master¡¯s office.

    ¡°Young lord, the city master has ordered that nobody is allowed to approach the office, so please, young lord, withdraw.¡± Outside Sheng Ju¡¯s office, there was a man standing guard over the ivory tower-like room, and his expression was solemn as he looked at Shang Chen.

    Lu Yin raised his head and responded with an arrogant attitude. ¡°Even I can¡¯t enter?¡±

    The man replied in a deep voice, ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and then pressed a hand to the man¡¯s shoulder and released a bit of strength. Although the body belonged to Shang Chen and was not capable of unleashing One Hundred Seventy Stacks, using Eighty Stacks was not an issue. Wt worst Shang Chen would suffer from some muscle painter on.

    The man was firmly pushed aside by Lu Yin, and he looked at the youth in astonishment. ¡°Young lord, are you¡­?¡±

    Lu Yin snorted, pushed open the door, and entered the room.

    The man did not dare to stop him. ording to his memories, the young lord should only have a decent physical strength, nothing able to casually push aside a Hunter like him. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how the young lord had just used a formidable attack with the Oveying Stacks Path, and it seemed as though he had improved significantly.

    Lu Yin entered Shang Ju¡¯s office, and his breathing hastened as he looked in a certain corner.

    Through Shang Chen¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had learned about Shang Chen¡¯s father¡¯s greatest secret. Although the city master was extremely respectful towards the Cosmic Sect on the surface, in reality, he coveted the Cosmic Sect¡¯s arts and secret techniques, as well as its sourcebox array. This man had held these ambitions for a long time. More than a hundred years prior, one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples of that generation, Chen Fu, had died, and his death had been orchestrated by City Master Shang Ju, and he had done so precisely because Chen Fu had obtained a sourcebox array.

    Chen Fu had had a pretty decent rtionship with Shang Ju, and he had unintentionally revealed that he had obtained information regarding the sect¡¯s sourcebox array, which had ignited Shang Ju¡¯s desire to kill the true disciple. After doing so, Shang Ju had shifted the me for Chen Fu¡¯s death onto someone else and sessfully evaded all suspicion.

    This had happened more than a century before, and the Cosmic Sect was not overly suspicious about the incident. However, Shang Chen had identally learned the truth.

    Lu Yin now also knew about this great secret, and not only that, but he had also discovered that Shang Ju had conspired to have Chen Fu killed for the sourcebox array called the Teleportation Formation.

    The Cosmic Sect only had one sourcebox array, and it was precisely this Teleportation Formation.

    When Lu Yin thought of this name, he remembered how, during the battle atop the Champions'' Stage, Qiu Shi hadunched the Champions'' Stage into outer space along with Lu Yin, Bu Kong, Nightking Zhenwu, and everyone else who had been atop the stage. She had almost definitely used this sourcebox array to do so.

    As he breathed rapidly in anticipation, Lu Yin picked up a wooden case sitting in a corner that had been covered in dust from sitting there for a long period of time. The instructions for the Teleportation Formation should be inside.

    Since Shang Ju had not be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker yet, he could not learn the sourcebox array, which had worked out to Lu Yin¡¯s advantage.

    He stored the wooden box away and exited the office. As he left, he nced at the guard outside the door. ¡°If Father asks, tell him that I never stopped by.¡±

    Lu Yin left quickly afterwards.

    The man did not say anything more, and remained standing there respectfully.

    Lu Yin directed Shang Chen¡¯s body to an unassuming location and then buried the box. He then went back to the brothel and ended his Possession.

    When he next opened his eyes, Lu Yin had an expression of excitement. He would not be able to retrieve that box for the time being as he had only recently arrived at the Cosmic Sect. He had not even explored the sect yet, so he could not just randomly go visit Crimson Star. Also, it was almost time to go to the contest at the Astral Tower, so making such movements now would be overly suspicious.

    Since the Cosmic Sect required its disciples to make contributions to the sect, Lu Yin would make his contributions through this information, and this should be plenty.

    Lu Yin hesitated slightly as he looked down at his gadget. He had only just parted ways with Mu Ziying; would it be a bad thing if he went looking for the second true disciple so quickly?

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin simply left the and directly headed back to Cosmo Hall, as he felt that the True Elder had not treated him badly.

    ¡°What? You want to report someone?¡± Inside Cosmo Hall, True Elder Yuan Shou was surprised at Lu Yin¡¯s request, and he gave the youth an odd look.

    Lu Yin responded in a respectful tone, ¡°Disciple just remembered a report that I received in the past, though I did not know the meaning behind it at the time. However, after visiting the Cosmic Sect and seeing the star chart of the surrounding area, I now understand.¡±

    ¡°What was this report?¡± Elder Yuan Shou became very curious.

    Lu Yin put on an expression of grief. ¡°Elder, do you remember a true disciple by the name of Chen Fu?¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s expression instantly changed, and his entire temperament seemed to be abnormally severe. ¡°Your information is rted to Chen Fu?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. When this disciple first united the Outerverse, the number of reports that I received were as countless as the stars. Just half a year ago, I received a partial report iming that someone from a ce in the Neoverse called Crimson Star conspired against Chen Fu. Originally, this disciple could not connect the dots, but after looking at the cities close to the sect, I noticed the name Crimson Star.¡±

    Yuan Shou had an extremely cold expression, and he stared at Lu Yin for a moment before urgently pressing, ¡°Who? Who conspired to murder Chen Fu?¡±

    Lu Yin was curious about Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s attitude; could Chen Fu have been this elder¡¯s disciple?

    ¡°It was Crimson Star¡¯s city master, Shan Ju. He took action because Senior Chen Fu had learned about the sect¡¯s sourcebox array,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Yuan Shou¡¯s pupils shrank, and he slumped down, looking as though he was trying to remember something.

    Lu Yin did not move.

    After half an hour, Yuan Shou looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ve reported this matter to the sect leader. As long as this information is verified as true, it will be considered as a contribution towards our sect, and you¡¯ll be given the opportunity to visit the Skystar Jade Wall to cultivate.¡±

    Lu Yin replied in a deeply emotional voice, ¡°This disciple does not ask for such treatment, only for the truth of what happened to Senior Chen Fu to be revealed.¡±

    Yuan Shou looked appreciatively at Lu Yin. ¡°Child, you¡¯re pretty decent.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Elder Yuan Shou. ¡°Elder, I would like to ask to visit Crimson Star to personally watch when the perpetrator is punished.¡±

    Yuan Shou thought about it. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll take you along.¡±

    Lu Yin spoke his thanks.

    Crimson Star was not very far away from the Cosmic Sect, and although Lu Yin was unsure of Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s strength, he was certain that the elder could effortlessly tear through the void and travel beyond the Cosmic Sect. As expected, it only took them a second to tear through the void and arrive on Crimson Star.

    Lu Yin was currently thinking about how he could recover the box.

    At this moment, within Crimson Star¡¯s city master¡¯s residence, Shang Ju looked rather pathetic as he looked at the dozen Cosmic Sect cultivators lined up in front of him. ¡°I, Shang Ju, have worked for the Cosmic Sect for hundreds of years. Even if I have not made considerable contributions, I¡¯ve still worked hard for the sect. Is some groundless usation enough to pin a crime upon me?¡±

    ¡®The one using you is the Cosmic Sect¡¯s current fifth true disciple. Shang Ju, return to the sect with us and ept the investigation. If the usation is found to be false, we¡¯ll naturally release you and provide you with duepensation.¡± One person stepped forward, and just his star energy alone was enough to suppress the entirety of Crimson Star. This person was actually a powerhouse with a power level of more than 400,000.

    Shang Ju merely had a power level of about 300,000, so there was no way he could possibly resist. ¡°I don¡¯t ept this! Who¡¯s this fifth true disciple? Have hime here and confront me himself! Someone is clearly trying to frame me!¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou brought Lu Yin along, and they appeared directly outside the city master¡¯s residence, where they stood high in the sky and looked down at Shang Ju.

    When Shang Ju saw Elder Yuan Shou, he quickly shouted, ¡°Elder, I¡¯m being framed! Brother Chen Fu and I had a sincere friendship, so how could I have possibly harmed him? Elder should clearly remember the situation at that time. It¡¯s obviously-¡±

    Upon hearing the man¡¯s shouts, Lu Yin barked back, ¡°Shang Ju, you¡¯re still trying to quibble even now? You killed Senior Chen Fu in this city, inside a cave on Crimson Star¡¯s Wanzhang Mountain. Senior Chen Fu was beheaded by your de, and even his cosmic ring was taken away, which is now in your office.¡±

    Shang Ju¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he red at Lu Yin inplete disbelief. ¡°You- you-¡±

 Chapter 1104: Fighting For Life

    <h4>Chapter 1104: Fighting For Life</h4>

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Are you still trying to quibble? You pushed Wanzhang Mountain into the sea, trying topletely remove all traces, but do you think that you can fool the universe? Your business has been spoken of by others for a long time.¡±

    Shang Ju had a venomous look. ¡°It¡¯s that mute! He must have betrayed me.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless to discover that there was yet another person who knew about this matter. The main reason why Lu Yin had dared to use Shang Ju in the first ce was because Chen Fu¡¯s cosmic ring was still in the man¡¯s office, and there was also some other evidence. Otherwise, Lu Yin would never have taken away the ns for the sourcebox array, as a baseless usation would be pointless.

    Yuan Shou¡¯s face was cold, and an overflowing killing intent descended that caused even the void to tremble. Shang Ju¡¯s entire body was forced down onto the ground, his bones almost shattering. ¡°It really was you! How bold! You dared to harm my disciple. Just who gave you such courage?¡±

    Shang Ju struggled to look up, blood leaking from his mouth. Hatred filled his eyes as he looked at Yuan Shou. ¡°He forced me to do it! Back then, he said that he¡¯d give me a look, but in the end, he went back on his word. And for what? I gave him so much so that he could make enough contributions to the sect, but he reneged on his promise in the end!¡±

    Yuan Shou was furious and swatted down with his palm, pping Shang Ju into the ground ¡°Speak! Where are the ns for the sourcebox array?¡±

    Shang Ju screamed.

    Outside the city master¡¯s residence, Shang Chen was kneeling on both knees, and he stared at Yuan Shou in terror.

    Yuan Shou shouted, ¡°If you don¡¯t speak up, I¡¯ll have you suffer the Cosmic Sect¡¯s worst punishment.¡±

    Shang Ju seethed, but in the depths of his eyes, a hint of terror could be seen. Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s might was overpowering, and Shang Ju could only drop his head. ¡°In my office.¡±

    Yuan Shou¡¯s gaze trembled, and he waved a hand and flipped the city master¡¯s residence apart. The man who was standing guard in front of the office instantly spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew out and crashed into the ground. ¡°What?¡±

    Shang Ju coughed, and the Cosmic Sect cultivators dragged him over to his office. He had already resigned himself to his fate as he approached a corner of the office and looked down. Eh? Where¡¯s the case?

    Shang Ju was left in a daze as he stared at the empty corner of his office, his face nk.

    Elder Yuan Shou looked down on the man from above.

    Sheng Ju was surrounded by the Cosmic Sect cultivators. Not even an Envoy-realm powerhouse could escape from this situation, which showed the power of the Cosmic Sect. Any random elder who appeared would have a power level exceeding 500,000, and ording to Lu Yin¡¯s best guess, Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s true strength might beparable to the Sea King¡¯s.

    As the True Elder, his position should not be much lower than the sect leader, and Yuan Shou was clearly one of the most influential individuals within the sect.

    Everyone was staring at Shang Ju.

    Shang Ju nced at the side and rubbed his eyes, though his entire hand was covered with blood. The box¡­ was gone? Well and truly gone?

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva, and he suddenly felt somewhat sympathetic towards Shang Ju. It was just the man¡¯s misfortune to have encountered Lu Yin, and this was simply a matter of fate.

    ¡°You still want to hide it despite how things have turned out?¡± Elder Yuan Shou barked.

    Shang Ju fearfully answered, ¡°I¡¯m not hiding anything; I left it right here.¡±

    He then looked at the guard for the office, and roared, ¡°Who went in my office?¡±

    The man had already fainted, but one of the Cosmic Sect cultivators quickly roused him.

    The man nkly took in his surroundings.

    ¡°Who¡¯s entered my office within thest two days?¡± Shang Ju red at the guard.

    The man coughed up blood and stuttered, ¡°It¡¯s- the young lord.¡±

    Shang Ju¡¯s face went pale. ¡°Only him?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Only- only the young lord went in.¡±

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°Not too long ago.¡±

    Yuan Shou snorted, and his eyes swept over the city master residence towards Shang Chen, who was trembling in front of the residence. Shang Ju stared at his son, his eyes filled with regret and a beaten look. ¡°You entered my office? Where¡¯s the item?¡±

    Shang Chen was perplexed. ¡°What? What item?¡±

    ¡°The thing that was in the corner of the office!¡± Shang Ju raged.

    Shang Chen¡¯s face went pale, and he quickly shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Shang Ju fiercely red at the youth. ¡°Speak! Where is it? Hurry and speak up. Only then can you avoid death.¡±

    Shang Chen became desperate. ¡°Father, I don¡¯t know! I didn¡¯t go to your office.¡±

    That man guarding the office red at Shang Chen. ¡°Young lord, you just came by, and you even pushed me aside.¡±

    Shang Chen red at the guard. ¡°What nonsense! When did I push you aside? You¡¯re a Hunter. How could I push you anywhere?¡±

    Shang Ju shot a venomous re at the guard. ¡°You said that my son pushed you aside? How is that even possible? You¡¯re lying! Speak up, why are you framing us? What¡¯s your rtionship with that mute?¡±

    The man spoke as best he could, though his voice was hoarse with desperation. ¡°It really was the young lord who pushed me aside. If not him, who else could enter the office or even the city master¡¯s residence so easily?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re spouting nonsense!¡± Shang Chen bellowed. ¡°You¡¯re framing me!¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Elder Yuan Shou shouted. His gaze swept over the three men. ¡°Take them all back to the sect and carefully interrogate them.¡±

    Shang Ju despaired as he looked at Elder Yuan Shou. ¡°Elder, I¡¯ll admit that I killed Chen Fu and that I must die. Thus, I naturally have no need to hide the sourcebox array ns! Elder, someone is framing me, and they must have also stolen the sourcebox array ns.¡±

    ¡°Elder, this disciple isn¡¯t lying! I really never went to the office!¡± Shang Chen shouted desperately.

    But no matter what the men said, they could not change the facts of the situation, and a tragic future awaited them, or possibly, no future at all.

    Elder Yuan Shou let out a deep breath and stared off into the distance. ¡°Little Fu, Master has finally found revenge for you.¡±

    Lu Yin silently stood to the side. He did not speak at all, and actedpletely innocent.

    The city master¡¯s residence was sealed off, and many Cosmic Sect cultivators stood guard on all sides.

    After a long time, Elder Yuan Shou let out a sigh and turned to look at Lu Yin. The old man gratefully said, ¡°You¡¯re a good child, and you¡¯ve made a great contribution to my Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin hurriedly replied, ¡°As long as Senior Chen Fu is avenged, this disciple will be satisfied. These kinds of people who stab our sect in the back should not be let off.¡±

    Yuan Shou sternly replied, ¡°Rest assured, he will not have a good time.¡±

    ¡°Elder, this junior wants to explore Crimson Star star for a bit, as I¡¯ve be a bit exhausted from all my time cultivating,¡± Lu Yin mentioned.

    Elder Yuan Shou grew concerned. ¡°Exhausted? Are you alright?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. I just seem to be slightly fatigued.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou lifted a hand, and a medicinal bottle appeared in his hand. ¡°These are pills that are specialties of my sect, and they are even effective on Envoys. Take this.¡±

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°How good it would be if you were truly my Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciple. Even if it proved to be more difficult than normal, I would still find some way for you to learn our secret technique and the highestyer of the Cosmic Art. It¡¯s really such a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as this was an extremely alluring suggestion.

    ¡°Your contributions this time are very great, and I¡¯ll keep a watch on you and give you another chance to enter the Skystar Jade Wall to cultivate. You can use this opportunity at any time, and even if you¡¯re not a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, you can still use this permission,¡± Elder Yuan Shou said.

    Lu Yin was thrilled. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder once again and then left Crimson Star, feeling quite despondent.

    Lu Yin looked at the shattered residence and mumbled, ¡°Don¡¯t me me. If you want to me someone, then me it on yourselves for reaping what you sowed. Cultivating is fighting against fate from the very beginning, and this is the oue when you lose the fight.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, how did you know that this city master secretly killed one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked curiously.

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°A report received in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Really? Information regarding the Neoverse can make its way to the Outerverse?¡±

    Lu Yin also realized that such an excuse was not very reliable, but the Cosmic Sect would not be able to investigate his im even if they wanted to. First of all, the Cosmic Sect had almost nothing to do with the Outerverse, which meant that its influence in the Innerverse and the Outerverse was negligible. Secondly, the Great Eastern Alliance still controlled the backup Astral River Ark, so unless the Cosmic Sect sent out a powerhouse with a power level of several hundred thousands who was able to freely cross the Astral River, they would not be able to enter the Outerverse to investigate anything.

    And even if they did investigate, they would not be able to learn much in a short period of time.

    Besides, Shang Ju had already admitted to his crimes, so the origin of the intelligence was not at all important to the Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin passed through the area where he had hidden the wooden case, and he surreptitiously recovered the box. This trip to Crimson Star had thus sessfully concluded, and if he roamed about for a bit longer, then he could return to the Cosmic Sect devoid of all suspicion.

    He had also gained another opportunity to enter the Skystar Jade Wall and study it.

    In reality, it would be best for him to return to the Skystar Jade Wall after the Astral Tower contest, as he would then be able to cultivate however he wished. However, Lu Yin was not certain that he would be able to return to the Cosmic Sect after the contest. Thus, it would be best to take advantage of this opportunity as soon as possible, and this would also give him an excuse to reveal that he had already broken through the secondyer and started cultivating the thirdyer. This would also allow him to freely use the Cosmic Art no matter where he went in the future.

    Also, the more stars he could simte, the stronger he would be. After all, the Astral Tower contest was a cruel battlefield.

    Elsewhere, within the Cosmic Sect, Mu Ziying was studying reports concerning the recent battles within the Mountain and Seas Zone when news of Lu Yin¡¯s contribution to the sect reached him.

    Mu Ziying was rather stunned. ¡°What¡¯s this about the fifth true disciple making contributions?¡±

    Across from him, a female disciple respectfully exined, ¡°The fifth true disciple revealed the truth regarding how Crimson Star¡¯s City Master Shang Ju schemed against true disciple Senior Chen Fu and killed him 100 years ago. This was counted as a contribution to the sect for Lu Yin, so he was given an opportunity to return to the Skystar Jade Wall.¡±

    Mu Ziying blinked. ¡°Are you sure that it was the fifth true disciple, Lu Yin? Isn¡¯t he resting?¡±

    ¡°Completely certain.¡±

    Mu Ziying held his forehead; what was Lu Yin up to? Was he crazy? He seemed to be bouncing here and jumping there.

    Forget it, this was none of Mu Ziying¡¯s business, so he would just ignore it.

    ***

    On the continent that held the Mountain and Seas Zone, an astounding battle was taking ce.

    Three strands of qi spiralled through the air while Shang Qing watched with a cold expression as Xia Jiuyou retreated step by step. Xia Jiuyou was solemnly watching the streams of air, as they left him speechless; he could not break this attack no matter what he tried, and he could not iste these qi flows either. They were simply too powerful.

    Off in the distance, thunder crashed, and Ku Lei gritted his teeth as he waited for an opportunity to make a move.

    Even further away, Ling Gong was also facing off against a qi stream, and it was proving exceptionally difficult to deal with.

    Three absolute experts had joined forces to fight against Shang Qing, but even together, they could not gain the upper hand.

    Shang Qing¡¯s lips curled upwards, as he was simultaneously controlling three qi streams to force three different experts back step by step.

    Many people watched this battle from a distance,pletely dumbfounded.

    Tai Yuanjun had already been stunned by Shang Qing;s power, as Tai Yuanjun had watched this same scene y out several times already. One of the Ten Arbiters had joined forces with two others to try to deal with Shang Qing, and the ¡°others¡± were actually the heirs to two of the Seven Courts.

    Tai Yuanjun had discovered Shang Qing¡¯s identity by now, and his wariness towards the Hall of Honor had spiked by at least 1200%.

    ¡°Shang- Shang- Shang-¡± The stutterer had arrived some time ago, and he pointed at the battlefield and trembled as he stammered. He simply wanted to say ¡°Shang Qing,¡± the same words as what he had heard the other spectators discussing.

    In front of the stutterer, arge man turned around and stared at the stutterer indignantly. ¡°Who are you asking to go up? If you¡¯ve got the strength, you go up!¡±

    ¡°You- you- you-¡±

    The stutterer looked at the man, and he wanted to say ¡°you¡¯ve misunderstood,¡± as the big man had misinterpreted his stuttering as a provocation to join the battle. However, the man grew even more irritated, and he stepped aside for the stutterer. ¡°You go!¡±

    ¡°Shen- shen- shen-¡±

    The stutterer saw Lan Si at that moment and wanted to say that the Divine Fist had arrived, but the big man instantly grew infuriated. ¡°Don¡¯t spout bullshit! I¡¯m not one of those maniacs from Gods¡¯ Origin!¡±

    At this time, the small group who had been chasing after Jin He suddenly arrived, and when they heard the big man¡¯s words, they looked at him with unfriendly expressions. ¡°Kid, who are you calling maniacs?¡±

    [1] "Go up" = Shang.

    [2] Éñ = Shen, and is the "divine" in Divine Fist as well as the "God" in Gods'' Origin.

 Chapter 1105: Xie Secret Art

    <h4>Chapter 1105: Xie Secret Art</h4>

    The big man was stunned, as he had never thought that people from Gods¡¯ Origin would suddenly appear right next to him, and he hurriedly smiled as he tried to exin. ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°Mis- mis- mis- misunderstanding.¡± The stutterer finally managed to say aplete phrase.

    ¡°If you spout anymore shit, you¡¯ll have to be careful of your mouth,¡± a woman from Gods¡¯ Origin threatened.

    The big man did not dare to retort. Even though his background was good enough for him to make it to the Mountain and Seas Zone, his organization was far toocking whenpared to Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Speaking of which, this misunderstanding could actually be med on that bastard, though the big man had finally understood that the kid had a stutter.

    The stutterer felt that the big man¡¯s gaze had turned malicious, so he quickly fled to another area.

    The battle continued for more than half an hour until finally both parties left without an oue being determined.

    Although the battle had not reached an ultimate conclusion, everyone had realized a horrifying fact: Shang Qing had not moved an inch from start to finish.

    This realization shocked the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Whether one considered Xia Jiuyou, Ku Lei, or the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Ling Gong, each one of the three was considered to be among the most powerfulpetitors in the Mountain and Seas Zone. However, thebination of all three of them together had not been able to force Shang Qing into taking even a single step. Although it might seem like the battle had ended inconclusively, the truth was that three people had joined forces, which meant that they had lost the fight from the very beginning. On top of that, they had not even been able to force Shang Qing to move the slightest bit.

    Shang Qing¡¯s unrivaled legacy continued to unfold in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Shang Qing wanted to be truly peerless. He represented the Hall of Honor, which meant that he represented the supreme authority of the entire human race. It might seem like he was being impulsive by challenging everyone whom he encountered, but that was just his style. No matter if it was the beginning or the end of thepetition, he would not be defeated, not even once. There were a total of five seats among the Cosmic Five, and he was going to be their leader. This was his path, and it was his only path.

    Everyone was at a loss for words when it came to Shang Qing¡¯s invincibility.

    Some dayster, Highsage Shenwei¡¯s spacecraft arrived outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, and two figures, one ck and one white, sped into the zone.

    Highsage Shenwei had actually wanted to give the twins a few words of encouragement, but he didn¡¯t ever get a chance to do so. ¡°Just try your best not to provoke others.¡±

    Half a dayter, within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Ku Lei bellowed and chased after the two ck and white figures, wanting to fight them. Clearly, Highsage Shenwei¡¯s wishes had already been shattered.

    ck and White had only just entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, but they were simply too fast. After entering, they had not slowed down at all, and they had quickly crossed a vast distance, which led to them coincidentally crossing paths with Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei had no interest in the two brats, and he intended to arrogantly continue on his way, but he had been riled up by something that White had said.

    ¡°Stupid brat! Just wait till I catch you and tear your mouth off!¡± Ku Lei screamed as lightning raged about him. His domain was fully unleashed as he tried to suppress ck and White.

    The two brats were fleeing at an impressive speed, and they did not seem to be affected by his domain at all.

    White¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°You¡¯re so ugly, yet you still me others. Who else can you me for your sharp tongue and your monkey cheeks? Do you have low self-esteem?¡±

    ¡°White, you can¡¯t talk about others like that. Who knows, they might really have low self-esteem,¡± ck calmly tried to dissuade her sister.

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth and raised his finger. A strand of lightning swept out and tore through the void, nearly sting several passing by cultivators into pieces. They were terrified by the attack and hastily started running away.

    White effortlessly dodged the attack.

    She was able to move so quickly that even Lu Yin could barely see her clearly. Thus, it was not difficult for her to dodge Ku Lei¡¯s attack.

    Ku Lei had not expected these two brats to be this difficult to fight against, as he could not even touch them.

    ¡°Hey, lightning dude! You¡¯ve done enough. Anymore and you¡¯ll be going overboard. Were you raised that badly?¡± White shouted.

    ck once again tried to calm her sister down, ¡°White, don¡¯t speak about him like that! He might be an orphan, so of course he wouldn¡¯t have been raised properly.¡±

    Ku Lei flew into a rage and raised his hand once again. This time, a finger froze in the void as it pressed down. This was the Ku family¡¯s battle technique: Finger Tap.

    When this Finger Tap appeared, the nearby area dimmed. This attack was capable of affecting a person¡¯s mental state and causing them to feel so at peace that they would lose all thoughts of resistance.

    However, ck and White had never considered resisting Ku Lei, as they had only ever wanted to escape from him.

    Ku Wei¡¯s Finger Tap proved to be ineffective against the twins.

    Before much more time passed, ck and White seeded in slipping away, as Ku Lei was not able to catch up to the two girls.

    Ku Lei was heaving as he tried to catch his breath, sullen at his failure.

    Recently, he had been suppressed by Shang Qing, and now, he had been yed by this sneaky pair of twins. Ku Lei felt like he had been too unlucky.

    After another two days passed, and ck and White were being chased by someone again. This time, they were being pursued by a man from Gods¡¯ Origin called God Qingguang.

    God Qingguang had originally been with the other people from Gods¡¯ Origin, and they had been discussing how to deal with Jin He and the rest of the Ten Arbiters. At that time, they had failed to notice that ck and White were right beside them. However, the two brats had suddenly slipped away and then announced the group¡¯s ns, infuriating the people from Gods¡¯ Origin. Naturally, they had begun to chase after the two brats after that.

    Shang Qing also had some people chasing him, or to be more precise, they were tagging along behind him.

    Following along behind Shang Qing was a strange young woman who was wearing extremely revealing clothes. In fact, there was only a single piece of cloth covering her entire body. She had an enticing figure, and she wore quite a few bells that emitted crisp sounds as she moved. She was Xie Xiaoxian, an heir from the Seven Courts¡¯ Xie family.

    The Xie family was unique even within the Court of Seven Names, and that was because the family¡¯s secret technique was sickening, exceptionally so.

    The Xie Secret Art was called Universal Appropriation, and as the name suggested, this secret technique allowed a person to borrow another¡¯s battle technique. If the user wished, then they could borrow anyone¡¯s battle technique within a certain range.

    At this time, Xie Xiaoxian was focused on Shang Qing, as she wanted to borrow his Tri-Yang Technique.

    Shang Qing turned around to look at Xie Xiaoxian. ¡°It¡¯s useless. Even if you borrow one flow, you still won¡¯t be my match.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian revealed an enchanting smile, and she walked several steps forward, releasing a clear ringing sound from her bells. ¡°I have no interest in fighting you. Rather, I have my own enemies, and following you keeps me safe.¡±

    Shang Qing calmly looked at the woman.

    Nearby, Tai Yuanjun swallowed, as Xie Xiaoxian gave off a unique charm that left others struggling to control themselves.

    Xie Xiaoxian noticed Tai Yuanjun, and she looked over at him out of curiosity. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Tai Yuanjun hoarsely replied, ¡°Second on the Top 100 Rankings, Tai Yuanjun.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian tapped her chin. ¡°Second¡­ where¡¯s the first?¡±

    Tai Yuanjun did not answer.

    Shang Qing coldly said, ¡°Your so-called enemy is the Specter n. Do you really think that people from the Specter n will enter the Mountain and Seas Zone?¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian cocked her head to the side, putting on a rather naive look. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s not impossible. The Specter n has joined the Neohuman Alliance, so whether or not they can enter the Mountain and Seas Zone isn¡¯t something that you can decide.¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes shed, but he did not speak any further. Instead, he calmly continued onwards.

    Xie Xiaoxian smiled gently and immediately continued to follow behind him.

    ***

    In the Cosmic Sect, Lu Yin had returned after spending several rxing days at Crimson Star and a few more days sightseeing on his way back. Then, he went straight to the valley next to the Skystar Jade Wall, waiting for Yao Ji to exit.

    ¡°Sorry for the inconvenience, fellow juniors,¡± Lu Yin greeted the people in line and cut to the front once again.

    There were more than ten disciples queued up outside the valley, and the few at the front of the line were the same ones from before.

    First, Yao Ji had cut in front of them. Then, he had been cut off by Lu Yin, and now, Lu Yin had returned to cut the line yet again. They had patiently waited here for more than a month, and from the looks of things, they would have to wait for yet another month.

    However, they had no choice in the matter, as the true disciples were given special privileges. Also, after waiting for so long, these people were all unwilling to leave.

    The disciple at the very front of the line was the most pitiful, and he clearly had the worst luck of them all.

    They had never seen anyone visit the Skystar Jade Wall consecutively, as anyone who entered the Skystar Jade Wall would have depleted a great deal of their contribution points, and thus, a long interval would normally pass before they returned. This timing also yielded the best results. Who would act like Lu Yin and immediately return?

    However, since Lu Yin had arrived, they had no way to stop him.

    One dayter, Yao Ji emerged in high spirits. During his time in the Skystar Jade Wall, he had made decent progress with the Cosmic Art, as it had been more than a year since he hadst entered. This time, the number of stars that he could simte had surged by fifty, which was quite decent, and he was quite proud of himself.

    Not everyone could increase the number of stars that they could simte by such a number during a single visit. Currently, he felt that he should not be too far behind the third true disciple, Hua Xiao.

    As Yao Ji exited the valley, he met a face that he really wanted to bash.

    ¡°It looked like Senior Yao¡¯s made some decent improvements. Congrattions.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Yao Ji stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°Why are you here again?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve got no choice. Since the Astral Tower contest is about to begin, I also want to improve as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°The Skystar Jade Wall is not some public toilet. Do you really think that you can enter whenever you want? Hurry up and leave, or else the elder might not y nice with you,¡± Yao Ji replied mockingly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thank you, Senior Yao, for your reminder. I¡¯ll leave first.¡±

    Lu Yin then shot past Yao Ji and entered the underground space.

    Yao Ji was taken aback as he watched, and the disciples lined up outside the valley all looked exasperated.

    After seeing everyone else¡¯s faces, Yao Ji realized that Lu Yin must have found some means of gaining another opportunity to enter the Skystar Jade Wall. Yao Ji was not an idiot, so he was able to understand this much instantly.

    ¡°Hmph, so what if he can return right away. Does he think that he can catch up to me?¡± Yao Ji muttered sourly. He then simply left.

    As he reentered the Skystar Jade Wall, Lu Yin knew that he only had about ten days to cultivate, as in twelve days, the people from the Cosmic Sect would leave to make their way to the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    He also wanted to leave himself two days to roll his die.

    Lu Yin stared at the revolving stars filling the sky, and his heart moved. 302 stars appeared around his body, which was his current limit. He wondered how many stars he would reach at the end of these next ten days.

    Focusing his thoughts, Lu Yin began to silently cultivate.

    It had taken Lu Yin a month of cultivation to go from ny nine to 302 stars, and that was in a situation where he had been fully prepared since he had been able to simte ny nine stars for a while.

    At first, Lu Yin had assumed that it would be pretty good if he could increase the number of stars by a few dozen.

    However, who could have possibly known that, after just ten days, he would be able to simte 420 stars?

    It appeared that his foundation had not been fully utilized during hisst cultivation session, though his next visit to the Skystar Jade Wall might not yield such exaggerated results.

    He had actually managed to simte 420 stars, and while that was not quite the same as what Mu Ziying had aplished, it was quite close.

    Lu Yin wondered what Mu Ziying¡¯s reaction would be if he discovered that Lu Yin had nearly reached the second true disciple¡¯sprehension of the Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin thought about this as he emerged from the Skystar Jade Wall.

    Unfortunately, he had to leave since he had run out of time. Otherwise, he would have spent a month or so cultivating the Cosmic Art. After that much time, he might even be able to simte 500 stars and surpass Mu Ziying. What a pity.

    There were still two more days before the disciples left for the Astral Tower, and Lu Yin realized that he truly had not wasted a single moment.

    Lu Yin returned to the that Mu Ziying had shown him as a resting ce. Lu Yin then entered a secure room and raised his hand to bring out his die.

    This time, Lu Yin made sure to ce his cosmic ring to the side before tapping the die with a finger, causing it to slowly spin.

    Three pips: Enhance. It was a good roll, but Lu Yin currently possessed nothing that he wanted to upgrade at the moment.

    He rolled again.

    One pip: Pilfer, and a sealed letter fell out. This was a truly ancient method of correspondence, and the envelope had already been torn open. Lu Yin looked at the letter but found that it was merely a love letter, which he instantly tossed aside before continuing to roll.

    This time, he rolled four pips: Timestop, and Lu Yin quickly grabbed his cosmic ring before vanishing from the cultivating room. When he reappeared, it was within the Timestop Space.

    He immediately increased his time within the space to half a year before thinking back to what he had seen in the Skystar Jade Wall and continuing to cultivate the Cosmic Art.

 Chapter 1106: Upgrade

    <h4>Chapter 1106: Upgrade</h4>

    Cultivation was something that went on for countless ages, and as one¡¯s level climbed, their potential time spent in seclusion would increase from one year to ten years, a hundred years, or even a thousand years.

    Who knew how many ages Yuan Shi had lived for? Once he fell into a deep slumber, it was possible that the veryyout of the Innerverse might change when he next awoke.

    The time that Lu Yin spent cultivating this time in the Timestop Space was not that exaggerated, but when he reopened his eyes, five months had already passed, and he only had one month remaining in the space.

    He quickly added on another half a year.

    He had cultivated the Cosmic Art for five months now, and the number of stars that he was able to simte had increased by yet another hundred. By now, he had already surpassed Mu Ziying, as Lu Yin hadprehended 520 stars.

    Lu Yin was quite excited, and he raised a hand as he used the Cosmic Palm. Stars appeared over his palm, and 520 stars exploded. When this attack was reinforced by his nine lined battle force and absurd physical strength, it would be no weaker than a Vacuum Palm.

    As for the strength of the attack, Lu Yin was not too concerned about it. After all, the Vacuum Palm was something that came from one¡¯s extreme understanding of the Oveying Stacks Path, and it was already strong enough to deal with top experts. Unless he broke through to the fourthyer of the Cosmic Art, the Cosmic Palm would not be able to exceed the power of the Vacuum Palm.

    The greatest benefit that he had gained from cultivating the Cosmic Art to this level was the defensive forcefield that came from the stars surrounding him, as they allowed him to perceive his opponents¡¯ attacks in slow motion.

    This was simr to what Lu Yin had experienced back on Earth during the trial. At that time, he had relied on the Cosmic Art to defeat various experts from the Great Yu Empire, and he had also used it to fight against Qingyu. It had even allowed him to copy other people¡¯s battle techniques, and speed had been utterly pointless against him. Even more importantly, the increase in the number of stars he could simte had further elerated his cultivation speed, which was the greatest value of the Cosmic Art.

    Now that Lu Yin hadprehended 520 stars, it meant that his cultivation had been sped up by a factor of 520 timespared to the average cultivator.

    What sort of concept was 520 times faster? With the absurd amount of star energy that Lu Yin needed toplete a single cycle, even when he hadprehended ny nine stars, he had been fifty times slower than others. With his currentprehension of the Cosmic Art, he would only be ten times slower. If he could simte 5,000 stars, then he would finally cultivate at the same speed as a regr cultivator.

    His insane cultivation speed might truly need to rely on the Cosmic Art to be bnced.

    However, Lu Yin was not overly concerned, as his cultivation had never proceeded in a typical fashion, and he often used the Skyze Stone as a shortcut.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something: the Cosmic Sect¡¯s first true disciple, All Rounder Fairy Qiu Shi, had definitely cultivated the Cosmic Art to a higher level than Lu Yin. Thus, her cultivation speed had to be absolutely phenomenal. In that case, was she actually still a Hunter?

    Mu Ziying could simte more than 400 stars, so why was he still a Hunter? Why had he not be an Enlighter yet?

    There had to be a reason behind this.

    The Cosmic Art could greatly speed up a person¡¯s cultivation speed, but Mu Ziying and the others had not taken advantage of that to be Enlighters. Lu Yin needed to look into this anomaly a bit.

    After spending five monthsprehending the Cosmic Art, Lu Yin altered the environment within the Timestop Space and enjoyed two days of rest. After that, he took out the Skyze Stone as it was time for him to cultivate once more.

    After hisst cultivating session with the stone, Lu Yin had used the Skyze Stone to absorb the fifteenthyer of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s ckme barrier as well as the Fire Spirit from the ze Realm¡¯s Monster Chi.

    Lu Yin quickly took out a million star essence and started using the Cosmic Art as the temperature spiked. He was soon absorbing star energy at his absolute limit.

    The Cosmic Art¡¯s stars swirled about, and Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed rose much higher than before. The lines characteristic of the intense heat extended across his skin, and Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he endured the intense pain and hastened to absorb the vaporized star energy.

    This time, he had cultivated for less than ten days, as the Cosmic Art had increased his cultivation speed too much. In fact, his absorption rate was more than five times greater than before.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath of hot air and looked down at his hands. He had be an eighth cycle Cruiser, and his strength had risen once again.

    If he wasn¡¯t afraid of frightening the Cosmic Sect by suddenly jumping two cultivation realms, then he would have continued cultivating until he reached the peak Cruiser realm.

    Still, this was fine. There was not much of a difference between eight and nine cycles, as the next big power jump woulde when he broke through to the Hunter realm.

    Lu Yin was not very confident about that breakthrough.

    The memories of his past major breakthroughs were still fresh in his mind. When he had broken through to the Melder and Explorer realms, he had suffered extreme difficulties while doing so. The Hunter realm definitely wouldn¡¯t be an easy exception.

    If he wanted to break through to the Hunter realm, then he definitely had to use the formcast model. He had tried to upgrade his formcast model in the past, just to see if it was possible to upgrade it to seven stages, as this was a very important detail.

    Many people were not aware that a seven stage formcast model could even exist, and Lu Yin had never heard of one either. However, he still intended to give it a try.

    If he could truly upgrade his formcast model to seven stages, then he would be able to sell it for an exorbitant sum, and he definitely would not becking for money after that.

    Since he had be an eighth cycle Cruiser, the next thing for him to focus on was cultivating that integrated finger that the fog had simted for him on Eversky Bridge.

    That finger had been wrapped with nine lined battle force, further reinforced by a domain that had beenpressed by spiritual force, and also used the Oveying Stacks Path. It had even been apanied by Truesight, which had erased a portion of the enemy¡¯s runes.

    That one finger epassed everything that Lu Yin hadprehended thus far, and it would be a battle technique unique to him. Although it had been simted by the Eversky Bridge, it could be considered a self-created technique, and he would name it¡ªthe Seventh Bro Finger!

    The Seventh Bro Finger would not be easy to cultivate, as he had already found that just using his domain topress his spiritual force was very difficult.

    However, since Eversky Bridge had been able to simte the finger, that was proof that it was a possibility.

    Lu Yin silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures and calmed himself down before releasing his domain and beginning to cultivate the Seventh Bro Finger.

    ***

    In the Cosmic Sect, the spacecraft to take the disciples to the Mountain and Seas Zone had long since been prepared, and the third true disciple, Hua Xiao, had also returned. When he was told of the recent happenings within the sect, he was quite amazed. ¡°Lu Yin actually used the third method to be a true disciple?¡±

    Mu Ziying nodded, and he helplessly exined, ¡°Nobody could stop him, and Grand Senior didn¡¯t make a move. Thus, even with me, we failed.¡±

    Hua Xiao smiled bitterly. ¡°Even if I had been here, you and I together might have only been able to force him into a tight spot. Although we might not have been defeated, it¡¯s highly likely that we wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat him either.¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Yes. Also, two true disciples were promoted on the same day, which is certainly rare.¡±

    As for Yao Ji, Hua Xiao did not really pay any attention to the fourth disciple. Yao Ji might also be a true disciple, but his strength was simply too inferior to the rest of them. It was just the case that he had a rare and powerful innate gift. ¡°With Junior Yao Ji here, we can put forth our full efforts in a fight against anyone.¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to talk about. Junior Yao Ji¡¯s innate gift will be a great help, so control your temper and treat him a bit better.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Hua Xiao casually responded. He then looked around at the sect. ¡°Where¡¯s Lu Yin?¡±

    Mu Ziying rolled his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know. That guy bounces around everywhere, so who knows what he¡¯s gotten up to? Ten days ago, he even managed to uncover the mystery behind Senior Chen Fu¡¯s death. His actions ended up getting Crimson Star¡¯s City Master Shang Ju executed, and he made a massive contribution to the sect. Who knows where he even got his information from?¡±

    Hua Xiao was amused. ¡°He unified the Outerverse, and he¡¯s actually the master of the Outerverse.¡±

    When this was mentioned, even if the people of the Neoverse did not really consider the Outerverse anything, Mu Ziying still felt respect for his achievement. ¡°The Outerverse might be a savage ce without any experts, but it¡¯s still a massive territory, and it¡¯s really not easy to unite such arge ce. And that¡¯s especially so since he has to deal with the pressure from the Innerverse now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just something that concerns the outside world, and there¡¯s no need to pay too much attention to it. The Astral Tower contest depends on one¡¯s strength and fate, but once we join forces along with Junior Yao Ji, we might actually stand a chance against some of the top powerhouses there,¡± Hua Xiao said confidently.

    ¡°Junior Yao Ji has risen to be a true disciple?¡± A girl¡¯s voice rang out behind them.

    Mu Ziying and Hua Xiao simultaneously turned around to see Qiu Shi standing behind them with a calm expression.

    Qiu Shi was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Grand Senior, and she was the leader of all of the sect¡¯s disciples. Aside from her nickname, the All Rounder Fairy, she had also been given another name: Queen Jugs.

    She had been given this title during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. When she received her title atop the Champions¡¯ Stage, she had been called Queen Qiu, but since her chest was simply too impressive, everyone had automatically started calling her Queen Jugs.

    ¡°Grand Senior, you¡¯re out of seclusion?¡± Mu Ziying was thrilled.

    Hua Xiao respectfully greeted the young woman. ¡°Grand Senior.¡±

    Qiu Shi nodded, though her expression was indifferent. ¡°Is Junior Yao Ji going to team up with you two?¡±

    Mu Ziying said, ¡°I was the one who invited him, as Junior Yao Ji¡¯s innate gift is very suitable for working with us.¡±

    Qiu Shi looked back towards the sect. ¡°How far has Lu Yin cultivated his Cosmic Art?¡±

    Mu Ziying smiled bitterly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s visited the Skystar Jade Wall twice in a row, and he even wants to learn the sect¡¯s sourcebox array and secret technique. There¡¯s no end to his greed.¡±

    Qiu Shi turned around and moved deep into the spacecraft.

    Mu Ziying and Hua Xiao did not dare to speak any further.

    Not long after, Yao Ji also arrived.

    This time, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Yuan Ke from the Cosmo Hall was the one escorting the youths to the Mountain and Seas Zone. He was from the same generation as Sect Leader Yuan Qiong and True Elder Yuan Shou, and he was naturally one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s top powerhouses.

    Not long after he arrived, Lu Yin arrived at the ship.

    Mu Ziying had a strange expression on his face as he nced at Lu Yin. Strangely enough, Mu Ziying had a feeling that Lu Yin was a bit different from before.

    Lu Yin nodded to Mu Ziying before looking at Hua Xiao and smiling. ¡°King Hua, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Hua Xiao eximed, ¡°We haven¡¯t met in a while, and not only has Brother Lu beaten both the Divine Fist and Arbiter Zhenwu, but you also came here to Neoverse and are representing Eversky Ind in the Astral Tower contest. I heard that you even entered the Skystar Jade Wall twice to cultivate. Unless I¡¯ve guessed wrongly, Brother Lu should have already broken through to the thirdyer of the Cosmic Art.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the sect¡¯s nurturing.¡±

    Hua Xiao wanted to know how many stars Lu Yin could simte, but that was a delicate question to ask as it was probing into a person¡¯s personal affairs. Hua Xiao believed that Lu Yin, at best, had cultivated to the same level as Yao Ji, but at the same time, he felt that such a thing was not really possible. Instead, it was more probable that Lu Yin had reached a level equivalent to the top five inner disciples from the sect, which was at around 100 stars.

    The Cosmic Art was not something that was easily cultivated.

    The vessel wasrge, and Lu Yin was given a personal room. While walking there, he ran into Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi had noticed him the moment Lu Yin boarded the spacecraft. The two had never interacted or even greeted each other before, though they had seen each other a few times before. At most, Lu Yin could be seen as someone borrowing the Cosmic Sect¡¯s vessel to travel to the Mountain and Seas Zone. After the Astral Tower contest, he would no longer be considered a disciple of the Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin also had no real ns to interact with Qiu Shi.

    Instead, he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The five true disciples were all aboard the ship, so Elder Yuan Ke did not wait any longer, and he directed the vessel to head toward the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Many of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples watched as the ship left, as it carried within it their sect¡¯s hopes of one of the Cosmic Fiveing from their sect.

    Although the Cosmic Sect was a mammoth power in the Neoverse, within the recent generations, too few had been able to win a position of one of the Cosmic Five. Aside from the Hall of Honor, all of the other powers were about the same.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest hope for this generation was Qiu Shi. She was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and she would definitely make her name renowned throughout the entire Human Domain.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s vessels steadily flew towards the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Ten dayster, the ship received an update of the situation within the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, and Yao Ji were all left speechless. ¡°The Hall of Honor¡¯s crazy this time! Just Shang Qing alone has already fought to the point where no one dares to face him. And yet, their Second Honor Chosen, Lei N¨¹, is also ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°Xia Jiuyou really is out of luck this time. First, he was beaten by Shang Qing, and then, he bumped into Lei N¨¹ and was beaten yet again. I heard that he didn¡¯t have a good time after facing a few of those Ten Arbiters either. It looks like the Xia family¡¯s heir won¡¯t be able to cut it this time.¡±

    ¡°It looks like there will be a change in the leader of the Seven Courts.¡±

 Chapter 1107: Dead Regiment

    <h4>Chapter 1107: Dead Regiment</h4>

    Mu Ziying¡¯s small group of three were talking when Lu Yin came over to join in. ¡°Xia Jiuyou?¡±

    Mu Ziying replied, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s really unlucky. Both the Hall of Honor¡¯s First and Second Honor Chosen have beaten him to a pulp.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Xia family the leader of the Seven Courts? How can he be so weak?¡±

    ¡°Who knows.¡± Hua Xiao shrugged.

    Yao Ji was very ufortable, and he looked at his shoulder, where Lu Yin had set a hand. Right now, Yao Ji wanted to do nothing more than throw this person aside, but when he thought about how merciless Lu Yin was, Yao Ji felt that it would be better to forget things and endure his difort in hopes of more peaceful times.

    ¡°Brother Lu, there are still a few more days before we reach the Mountain and Seas Zone. What are your ns for when we get there?¡± Mu Ziying asked.

    Hua Xiao and Yao Ji both looked over.

    Lu Yin did not understand. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®ns?¡¯¡±

    Hua Xiao was the one to respond this time. ¡°Brother Lu, do you not know this? There are two types of people who go to the Mountain and Seas Zone topete. First, there are those who actually want topete to be one of the Cosmic Five, which includes Grand Senior, Brother Lu, and all the other top disciples of the various great powers as well as the Ten Arbiters. The others are going to grasp as many opportunities that they can, which may be some inheritance from the Astral Tower or rare resources found within the Mountain and Seas Zone. Generally, those who arepeting for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritances will work with people who are searching for resources. Since their objectives don¡¯t sh, they can help each other out.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Let¡¯s cooperate.¡±

    Hua Xiao was left speechless, and Mu Ziying and Yao Ji were both stumped as well. This fellow was really looking down on them. He had automatically assumed that they were nning to search for resources, though, that was exactly what they were nning on doing.

    ¡°Brother Lu, even if we cooperate with someone, we¡¯d help our Grand Senior first. Why don¡¯t you also help our Grand Senior?¡± Mu Ziying said with a smile.

    Lu Yin thought about this suggestion and then replied, ¡°That works. Since the sect has treated me so well, then as long as I¡¯m alive, I, Lu Yin, will not shirk from my responsibilities.¡±

    Mu Ziying rolled his eyes, as only an idiot would believe Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Whether or not what Lu Yin said was true, his attitude gave them some bit offort, or at the least, Elder Yuan Ke felt very reassured.

    ¡°I¡¯ve long since heard that this child is very loyal to my Cosmic Sect and shows a sincere attitude. Sure enough, it¡¯s true. Sadly, he¡¯s not a real disciple of my Cosmic Sect.¡± Yuan Ke muttered to himself with a sigh.

    ***

    Elsewhere, just outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the void distorted, and a spacecraft smoothly flying through space appeared. It was just about to arrive at the Mountain and Seas Zone when it seemed to run into something as a scraping sound filled the area.

    Inside the vessel, an elder looked up, and his expression immediately changed. ¡°Stop!¡±

    There was a young woman behind the elder, and she was somewhat confused. ¡°Master, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The spacecraft came to a stop, and the elder¡¯s expression grew solemn. He had heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. After they stopped, the sound of hooves drew closer and closer until they were right overhead.

    The girl looked up, but she did not see a thing.

    Before long, the sound of the hooves grew more distant and eventually vanished.

    The elder heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°The people from Burial Garden have arrived.¡±

    The young woman¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Burial Garden? One of the Three Dark Hands? They can alsopete at the Astral Tower? Doesn¡¯t the Hall of Honor care about them?¡±

    The elder shook his head. ¡°This matter is veryplicated, and I can¡¯t exin it to you in much detail.¡± He then looked at the girl with a serious expression. ¡°There¡¯s only one thing you must remember: do not provoke those who are riding horses.¡±

    The girl nodded, only half-understanding.

    The elder looked out into space andughed. ¡°However, even if you wanted to, you won¡¯t be able to see them with your ability.¡±

    The girl had a nk expression.

    ***

    Not long after, news of Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple appearing within the Mountain and Seas Zone spread out. Their presence had been discovered due to some strange mes that had been spotted burning on the ground. Each me had the shape of a horse hoof, and only those from Burial Garden would leave such tracks behind.

    Quite a few cultivators grew afraid. ¡°I remember hearing that during the previous contest for the Cosmic Five, nobody from Burial Garden participated. Who would have thought that they woulde this time?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just thest contest. It¡¯s been quite a few generations since Burial Garden has sent anyone. However, every time they¡¯ve shown up, they always taken one of the Cosmic Five¡¯s seats. There was once an heir from Burial Garden who seized the inheritances from three mountains and seas, shocking the universe.¡±

    ¡°Well, they are one of the Three Dark Hands after all, and they are also the most mysterious of the three. Compared to Burial Garden, the Xia family, which is able to strike fear in others, is much worse. Xia Jiuyou might not be able to raise his head for the rest of his life.¡±

    ¡°I once heard that Xia Jiuyou was very powerful, but it seems that he¡¯s just so-so.¡±

    ¡°Ignore Xia Jiuyou. Just think of a way to deal with Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®deal with?¡¯ Can you see them? The average person can¡¯t even see them!¡±

    ¡°Every single one of Burial Garden¡¯s top disciples is a member of the fabled Dead Society, which has been mentioned many times throughout history. I urge you all to keep a great distance.¡±

    ¡°Burial Garden¡¯s Dead Regiment is truly terrifying.¡±

    ¡°¡®The suona summons forth hell,¡¯ ¡®the dead travel on a sedan,¡¯ ¡®a paper thin life,¡¯ and ¡®rice straws protect tombs.¡¯ These four phrases refer to the Dead Regiment¡¯s fourmanders, and they can intimidate the entire universe. You¡¯d best keep a good distance if you bump into those from Burial Garden.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, news of Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple arriving spread everywhere.

    Shang Qing was astonished. ¡°Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple is actually joining us? An interesting opponent has arrived.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun was curious. ¡°Burial Garden? I met some of them once. They certainly had some strange attacks, but are they really all that mysterious?¡±

    When fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invading forces, Tai Yuanjun had joined forces with an expert from Burial Garden and Mu Ziying to fight against Zhi Yi. However, Tai Yuanjun¡¯s impression of that expert had not been deep enough for him to expect Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple to be this terrifying.

    Shang Qing calmly exined, ¡°Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple is an opponent that cannot be seen. Rather, only those who qualify topete with them are able to see them.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun still did not understand.

    Burial Garden was too mysterious, and even if one disregarded the Innerverse, there were very few even within the Neoverse who had even encountered someone from that ce.

    On a green field, Yuhua Mavis was holding onto a book as she lounged on a patch of green grass several meters in size. Suddenly, some distance away, the field started to burn as the faint sound of horse hooves rang out.

    Yuhua Mavis turned around and stared off into the distance. ¡°Please don¡¯t destroy thewn, thank you.¡±

    Across from her, the scorched grass suddenly glowed with a renewed vitality.

    The sound of the horse hooves grew more distant and gradually disappeared.

    Yuhua Mavis continued to read her book, as though this was a perfectly normal interaction.

    Another five days passed, and the discussion in the Mountain and Seas Zone concerning Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple gradually died down. It seemed as though the person had not actually appeared, and regardless, there had not been any news of anyone crossing paths with the heir.

    Aurora Enterprises¡¯ young master was the next to arrive, and the following day, rumors that he had also defeated the Xia family¡¯s Xia Jiuyou spread out, which left everyone speechless.

    ¡°The Xia family has really been humiliated this time.¡±

    ¡°The Seven Courts as a whole has be so much weaker¡ªthe Yu family has disappeared, and the Y¨­u family has split. The Xie family has also been fighting off the Specter n for a long time, and now, it looks like it¡¯s going to be the Xia family¡¯s turn.¡±

    ¡°How unfortunate.¡±

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s spacecraft finally arrived with only a few days left before the start of the Astral Tower contest.

    Qiu Shi walked out of her room.

    When Lu Yin saw Qiu Shi, he happily greeted her. ¡°Grand Senior.¡±

    Qiu Shi calmly looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, you are too courteous. Once you left the Cosmic Sect, you were no longer a Cosmic Sect disciple.¡±

    Lu Yin politely replied, ¡°One day as a Cosmic Sect disciple leaves me a Cosmic Sect disciple for life.¡±

    ¡°Shameless,¡± Yao Ji muttered under his breath.

    Elder Yuan Ke appeared, and he looked at Lu Yin with appreciation before looking over at Qiu Shi. ¡°Come, leave your cosmic rings. You remember the rules.¡±

    Qiu Shi nodded and bowed. ¡°Yes, Elder.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Elder,¡± Mu Ziying and the others answered the same.

    Lu Yin had also been told about the rules earlier. In the Mountain and Seas Zone, all foreign items would be rejected, and even the clothes that they wore had to be made from materials that came from the Mountain and Seas Zone. This meant that Lu Yin would not be able to rely on any of his items.

    This was considered fair, as otherwise, any descendant from the Hall of Honor could simply pull out something like the walnut-shaped power vessel that Lu Yin had received from Yuan Shi. In that case, there would be no need for anyone else to fight, and the contest would be purely fought through their backgrounds. Not even Lu Yin was confident ofpeting against someone from the Hall of Honor in terms of external items.

    As the spacecraft departed, Qiu Shi was the first to move into the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Lu Yin stood high in outer space, and he prepared himself to enter, but then, a voice entered his ears, and he turned around in surprise to look at a building off in the distance: Azure Mansion.

    Lu Yin rubbed his eyes, but it really was Azure Mansion. He had never expected Azure Mansion to show up in this ce.

    And the one who had transmitted their voice to Lu Yin was naturally Gu Xiao''er.

    Gu Xiao''er had been rxing in Azure Mansion this entire time, and he had situated himself at the outermost part of Azure Mansion so that he could see everyone who entered the Mountain and Seas Zone. Although Gu Xiao¡¯er might be frivolous at times, he would never forget about the important issues at hand .

    He had actually watched as Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple entered, and he had felt doomed at that moment.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had also watched the young master of Aurora Enterprises enter, and he had been very envious of the young man¡¯s exceptionally luxurious spacecraft.

    More recently, Gu Xiao¡¯er had seen the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples arriving, and after struggling, he had pulled his eyes away from Qiu Shi¡¯s imposing chest. It was at that moment that he had spotted Lu Yin.

    Actually, Gu Xiao¡¯er was quite confused; weren¡¯t the rumors saying that Lu Yin had died? And that he was a traitor to the Fifth Maind? So why had hee to the Astral Tower contest? Also, why was he with the Cosmic Sect?

    ¡°Come, Brother Lu, there¡¯s a veryfortable ce here!¡± Gu Xiao''er called out.

    Mu Ziying and the others saw Gu Xiao¡¯er, and they all turned to give Lu Yin strange looks.

    Lu Yin coughed and told Mu Ziying, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit. That¡¯s an acquaintance of mine.¡±

    Yao Ji spat in disdain, ¡°Wastrel.¡±

    But then he nced at Azure Mansion with heated eyes before entering the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Mu Ziying and Hua Xiao exchanged nces and then shook their heads before entering the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    This Azure Mansion was evenrger than the one Lu Yin had visited in the West Realm, but when Lu Yin arrived, a group of women bowed to him, just as they had in the West Realm Azure Mansion.

    Gu Xiao''er sent the madam away and personally led Lu Yin in.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you dead? Why are you here?¡± Gu Xiao''er asked in a strange tone.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°That¡¯s just a rumor spread by Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er nodded. ¡°That guy¡¯s truly despicable, and one look is enough for anyone to tell that he¡¯s no good. Actually, I wanted to help you get here, but I was captured by my dad and dragged back home to train hard, and I only got out a little while ago. Don¡¯t worry. Once we get into the Mountain and Seas Zone, I¡¯ll help you beat up Nightking Zhenwu if we meet him.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Azure Mansion¡¯s actual rules were different from one one envisioned in a brothel. All the women were beautiful beyond description, but they could only be looked at and not be touched.

    Gu Xiao''er was satisfied with this, as he just wanted to pursue the girls. Of course, Azure Mansion was also where his so-called ¡°true love¡± was, but she was not in this particr one.

    Aside from Smoke Eater Peaks, Azure Mansion had be Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s second home, and he was especially amiable with the women who worked there.

    ¡°Brother Lu, did you know that the Mountain and Seas Zone is crazy right now? All the people in there are like crazy dogs, biting as soon as they meet anyone. Like that First Honor Chosen¡ªhe relies on his so-called ¡®miraculous technique¡¯ to beat up anyone he runs into. Also, the Second Honor Chosen is always wearing a mask¡ªwho knows if she¡¯s crying or smiling, but regardless, she¡¯s ridiculous. The person from the Mavis family causes flowers to bloom and grass to grow wherever she goes while those idiots from the Seven Courts are swaggering about everywhere. That poor bastard from the Xia family has already been beaten up a few times, and the Ten Arbiters are just stared at wherever they go. I tell you this with the best intentions: don¡¯t go in right now. You should only enter after thepetition begins. Otherwise, people will make trouble for you.¡± Gu Xiao''er sipped his wine and shook his head as he concisely shared the current situation inside the Mountain and Seas Zone with Lu Yin.

    ¡°Have people from Eversky Ind arrived yet?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    [1] A is a horn that can be blown during a funeral procession. The description of all of these people has to do with them being about to die, which seems rather appropriate.

 Chapter 1108: So Close Yet So Far

    <h4>Chapter 1108: So Close Yet So Far</h4>

    Gu Xiao''er thought about Lu Yin¡¯s question for a moment before answering, ¡°Right, a ship from Eversky Ind stopped by recently. Why? Some acquaintances?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°More or less.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better if they¡¯re your acquaintances, as it¡¯s best not to be enemies with anyone from Eversky Ind¡ªthose people are crazy. A lot of people say that the people from Gods¡¯ Origin are lunatics, but from my perspective, Eversky Ind is even worse. Also, the one protecting them ispletely terrifying. He acts as though each person was his own child,¡± Gu Xiao''er said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± God Taiyi walked over from nearby.

    Lu Yin looked over. He had long since noticed God Taiyi, but he had not really interacted with him before, which was why Lu Yin had not moved to greet the young man from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Lu Yin had a rather good impression of God Taiyi, as they had once worked together to fight off Bu Kong, and God Taiyi had helped Lu Yin during that fight.

    ¡°You¡¯re from Gods¡¯ Origin?¡± Gu Xiao''er stared at God Taiyi in astonishment.

    God Taiyi said. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er pursed his lips and stopped talking. Although he had said that the people from Eversky Ind were even crazier, he had still said that Gods¡¯ Origin was a group of maniacs.

    Lu Yin¡¯s deepest impression of God Taiyi was when the man first appeared on the Champions'' Stage. He had brazenly referred to himself as a deity and then challenged Bu Kong to a duel. The people from Gods¡¯ Origin were all extremely arrogant, but they also had reason to be like that. Also, the cultivation method that they had inherited from the Rune Civilization was truly deific, as they could create objects from nothing.

    ¡°Gods¡¯ Origin inherited their methods from a precious civilization, and I hope to make a visit to you in the future,¡± Lu Yin said.

    God Taiyi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve also received an inheritance from the Rune Technology, so what level have you cultivated Truesight to?¡±

    ¡°rity Realm.¡± Lu Yin did not conceal the truth.

    God Taiyi eximed, ¡°Few outsiders can cultivate Truesight to the rity Realm, as once you¡¯ve reached that level, you¡¯ve basically joined the top of your generation.¡±

    ¡°Bro, you don¡¯t need to go that far to brag about yourself.¡± Gu Xiao''er rolled his eyes.

    God Taiyi proudly answered, ¡°The youths of my Gods¡¯ Origin who can cultivate their Truesight to the rity Realm can fight against the heirs of the various great powers, and regardless of victory or defeat, each of them can at least hold their own. It¡¯s no boast.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve surpassed the rity realm?¡± Lu Yin grew serious as he asked God Taiyi.

    God Taiyi smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve surpassed it.¡±

    Lu Yin eximed in admiration, ¡°Amazing.¡±

    God Taiyi was very arrogant. Those from Gods¡¯ Origin never behaved humbly, and amazing was amazing.

    Gu Xiao''er pursed his lips.

    Azure Mansion continued to orbit the Mountain and Seas Zone, and the building was filled with the elites of the younger generation. Anybody who could make it to this ce would not becking in strength or background.

    The nearby older powerhouses would not demean themselves to entering Azure Mansion when it was filled with children.

    Soon, Lu Yin noticed another acquaintance: Liquor Hero.

    Lu Yin did not really know why the woman would visit Azure Mansion, but he quickly found out when he saw her carrying two barrels of wine.

    ¡°Eh? A friend?¡± Liquor Hero drunkenly stared at Lu Yin and then staggered over to him.

    Gu Xiao''er¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nudged Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, who¡¯s the beauty?¡±

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liquor Hero,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Gu Xiao''er¡¯s excitement almostpletely disappeared, as he had seen for himself just how impressive the Ten Arbiters were. The truth was that he was not confident about dealing with even one of them, especially not one who was like this woman. She seemed to be drunk on the surface, but nobody knew what she was actually thinking. This sort of person was the most terrifying.

    However, Gu Xiao''er had clearly made the wrong assumption, as Liquor Hero was simplypletely drunk.

    She sprawled across Lu Yin¡¯s table and instantly passed out.

    After Liquor Hero appeared, Xing Kai came next, his entire face gloomy.

    He was the physicallyrgest of the Ten Arbiters, but he was also the simplest. He had truly wanted to participate in the Astral Tower contest, but he had been excluded due to the age limit.

    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re really unlucky.¡± Gu Xiao''er was sympathetic towards Xing Kai.

    Xing Kai became even more sullen after hearing condolences.

    God Taiyi stared at Xing Kai and then nced over at Liquor Hero, his expression solemn. The rune lines of these two people showed that they were not weak; just how had the Innerverse given birth to these ten monsters?

    One table held three of the Ten Arbiters, someone from Gods¡¯ Origin, and another person from the Smoke-Eater Peaks. This was more than enough to catch the attention of Azure Mansion. Their objective had always been to establish rtionships with the various great powers and expand their influence. Thus, how could they ignore this table?

    Quite a few women streamed across, trying to make friends with them, but they were all turned away by God Taiyi¡¯s brazen expression, which nearly caused Gu Xiao''er to flip over in anger.

    ¡°None of these women are very interesting. If you want, I can introduce you to God Xiaobai,¡± God Taiyi generously offered.

    Gu Xiao''er was surprised. ¡°God Xiaobai? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°The most beautiful woman from my Gods¡¯ Origin. She¡¯s cute and lively, and you¡¯ll definitely like her,¡± God Taiyi answered in total confidence.

    Gu Xiao''er felt tempted. ¡°When you can, call her over so that we can take a look.¡±

    Before God Taiyi could speak, Azure Mansion suddenly burst into an uproar as everyone began shouting fervently.

    Gu Xiao''er¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly grew delighted. ¡°Flower Queen Ming Yu is here! They¡¯re cheering to wee the Queen of Flowers! Come on, let¡¯s go see Flower Queen Ming Yu!¡±

    He then immediately ran off.

    Lu Yin was also curious, as he had met West Realm¡¯s Azure Mansion¡¯s Lotus, but that Lotus had been two grades below a Flower Queen Ming Yu.

    God Taiyi also felt somewhat curious.

    Azure Mansion was famous throughout the Neoverse, and every woman on the Flower List was stunning. However, the one at the very top of the Flower List was Flower Queen Ming Yu. Flower Queen Ming Yu had always stayed in the Honor Zone¡¯s Azure Mansion, but she had actually appeared at this Azure Mansion on this asion. Whether or not people were actually interested in Flower Queen, since they were already present, they had to take a look.

    Xing Kai also walked over.

    There was a rainbow bridge in each Azure Mansion that spanned across the entire building. Whenever a Flower Queen appeared, she would walk across the rainbow bridge so that everyone could see her, though they would not be able to draw close to her.

    This time was no different.

    Flower petals rained down upon the rainbow bridge when Flower Queen Ming Yu appeared, and she looked like a fairy that had entered the mortal world. She was exceptionally beautiful, and every aspect of her face was utterly captivating.

    When Lu Yin saw Azure Mansion¡¯s famed Flower Queen, she was indeed astoundingly beautiful with an exquisite feminine charm. In terms of looks, she was the the most beautiful woman whom Lu Yin had ever seen, but more importantly, the woman gave off an indescribable femme fatale aura, and despite the number of beautiful women that Lu Yin had seen before, he was still moved when he saw Flower Queen Ming Yu.

    The aspect that stood out the most to Lu Yin was that this woman was actually a Hunter.

    The Hunter realm was something that differentiated the members of the younger generation into two groups. Lu Yin, Gu Xiao¡¯er, and even Hua Xiao and others were all Cruisers, but this Ming Yu was actually a Hunter, which was rather unbelievable.

    ¡°So this is Azure Mansion¡¯s fabled Flower Queen,¡± God Taiyi eximed in surprise.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had be so excited he could not breathe, and he cheered like the rest.

    Lu Yin was left somewhat speechless; could Gu Xiao¡¯er actually draw Ming Yu¡¯s attention in this fashion?

    With the level that this woman had reached, those who could attract her attention would generally all be top heirs from the various great powers, but Smoke Eater Peaks was also a pretty decently strong force.

    Ming Yu stood on the rainbow bridge and looked down with a smile. She then moved on, leaving behind nothing but a wisp of fragrance; she had not spoken a single word from start to finish.

    Despite this, Gu Xiao¡¯er was satisfied. ¡°This is my second time seeing Flower Queen Ming Yu! She¡¯s still so beautiful, intoxicatingly so.¡±

    ¡°Who knows who she¡¯ll end up married off to.¡± God Taiyi was curious.

    Atop the rainbow bridge, after Flower Queen Ming Yu left, the resident Hua Niang appeared and smiled at everyone. ¡°During this Astral Tower contest, Ming Yu will also be participating. At that time, we hope that all of our distinguished guests will offer their help and take care of her. Ming Yu has said that she will marry one of the Cosmic Five, and she won¡¯t even find it a pity even if she bes a maid.¡±

    Ming Yu was the Flower Queen¡¯s name.

    Many people grew excited, but even more people let out sighs. They had absolutely no hope of bing one of the Cosmic Five, so they would only be able to watch as Flower Queen Ming Yu entered another¡¯s embrace.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er excitedly said to himself, ¡°I must be one of the Cosmic Five! I must be one of the Cosmic Five!¡±

    He then directed a fervent gaze over to Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, give me a hand!¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    Some distance away, a young lord smiled slightly and looked out at the crowd with a contemptuous expression. ¡°What a bunch of trash! They actually want topete for a seat among the Cosmic Five. How could someone who actually has a chance of bing one of the Cosmic Five be drawn to this ce? They actually want to use this opportunity to break free from me¡ªwhat a joke!¡±

    Behind him, a man softly spoke up, ¡°Lord, it won¡¯t be easy if one of the Cosmic Five ends up favoring Ming Yu.¡±

    The young lord coldly answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. Brother Shang Qing will definitely be one of the Cosmic Five as the Tri-Yang Technique is unparalleled. Lei N¨¹ also has the strength to take another seat. As for the others, although my old man hasn¡¯t said anything specific, there shouldn¡¯t be any changes. Thus, it¡¯s impossible for them to get rid of me.¡±

    ¡°My lord is wise.¡±

    ¡°Right, what about the other girl? Once I obtain Ming Yu, that girl will be Flower Queen, so nurture her well, as she¡¯ll also be mine in future,¡± the young lord said as his eyes took a fevered glint.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my lord.¡±

    On the other side of Azure Mansion, after Flower Queen Ming Yu hadpleted her walk over the rainbow bridge, she returned to her quarters. There was another girl already there who was standing with her back to the door as she nkly stared into the mirror.

    ¡°Have you thought it through yet? I¡¯ve already told you that I don¡¯t need you to apany me, as those guests are just here as ythings. You can capture them with any expression you direct at them, causing them to do anything for you. Just treat it like a game. Why be so loyal?¡± Ming Yu closed the door and moved over behind the girl. She spoke gently, and her voice was very pleasant to hear.

    The girl coldly replied, ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡±

    Ming Yu sighed. Step by step, she circled the girl and raised her chin. Ming Yu felt her breath being taken away. ¡°This innocent and pretty face of yours is very well suited for this. Forget your past name. From now on, you¡¯re Yan Yu.¡±

    Ming Yu then slowly left the room.

    After Ming Yu left, the girl continued to stare into the mirror. Her expression seemed a little downcast, and she slowly ran her hand over her face as she bitterly said, ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯m sorry! Who knew that it would turn out like this? I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    This girl was Ming Yan, and she had been appointed by Azure Mansion to be the next Flower Queen.

    Lu Yin waspletely clueless that Ming Yan was so close by they were perhaps only separated by a few walls. They were so close yet worlds apart.

    Over the course of the next few days, Lu Yin stayed in Azure Mansion as Gu Xiao¡¯er suggested. The Mountain and Seas Zone continent had indeed descended into chaos for now, and the Ten Arbiters could not catch any breaks; Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Lan Si, Unseen Light, and Jin He were constantly and repeatedly attacked by Neoverse experts. Many people from the Neoverse wanted to drive the Ten Arbiters out, and among them were heirs of some of the great powers, such as the Ku family¡¯s Ku Lei and the people from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    On one particr day, a piece of news made it into Azure Mansion that shocked the crowd.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu used the Eleventh Sword against the Hall of Honor¡¯s Second Honor Chosen, Lei N¨¹. However, the attack was ineffective, and it seems that Liu Tianmu might have already lost the battle.

    This news was the most shocking to Lu Yin; when he had been fighting in the Cosmic Sea, Liu Tianmu had used the Eleventh Sword to block Zhi Yi¡¯s strongest attack, and the Eleventh Sword had torn the sea apart. The Eleventh Sword had been so overwhelming that it¡¯s fame had even spread into the Sixth Maind.

    But in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Liu Tianmu had actually been defeated by the Hall of Honor¡¯s Second Honor Chosen.

    When Gu Xiao¡¯er heard this news, he stuck out his tongue. ¡°The Honor Chosens for this contest are rather fierce. There¡¯s no need to even mention that First Chosen, who¡¯s just a freak. Even their Second Chosen is so terrifying that she defeated that woman from the Ten Arbiters. Hehe, surely enough, the Ten Arbiters can¡¯tpare to our Neoverse¡¯s monsters.¡±

 Chapter 1109: Lu Yin And Shang Qing

    <h4>Chapter 1109: Lu Yin And Shang Qing</h4>

    God Taiyi¡¯s face grew solemn when he heard this piece of news, as he had also participated in the Cosmic Sea battle, and he was aware of just how terrifying Liu Tianmu was. If not for Zhi Yi being held back by the Arbiter while the others fought for the Champions¡¯ Stage, the battle¡¯s oue might have been very different. However, such a powerful person had actually been defeated, and her sword technique had actually lost. The people from the Hall of Honor this time around were truly terrifying.

    Although the differences in strength between the Ten Arbiters had never been determined, Liu Tianmu was definitely one of the most powerful among them. Thus, her defeat had caused a shadow to hang over the other Arbiters, including Lu Yin.

    ¡°Liu Tianmu lost? Inconceivable!¡± Xing Kai¡¯s first reaction to the news wasplete disbelief.

    Liquor Hero burped. ¡°I feel like I can handle another bucket. I¡¯ve got the money.¡±

    Was the Hall of Honor¡¯s hidden strength really that powerful? The peerless nature of the Tri-Yang Technique battle technique did not even need to be mentioned, but the other battle techniques second to that technique definitely were not weak either. Everyone had constantly been staring at Shang Qing, and so they had forgotten the other Honor Chosen.

    Speaking of which, Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he himself was also an Honor Chosen.

    Who knew what the other Arbiters thought of this development.

    ¡°Bro, you¡¯re out?¡± Someone shouted in the distance.

    A man emerged with a bitter smile. ¡°I was lucky. It¡¯s a mess in there, and some unknown person is leading everyone to eliminate the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. There are battles taking ce everywhere, and Honor Chosen Shang Qing is fighting everyone he sees. Thus, staying inside would just be asking for it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that¡ªthe Ku family¡¯s Ku Lei has gone nuts, and he¡¯s sworn to capture those two brats from Eversky Ind, and he¡¯s been chasing after them all over the Mountain and Seas Zone ever since,¡± someone said.

    ¡°Speaking of which, just what did those two brats do? Many people in the Mountain and Seas Zone are chasing after them.¡±

    A ways away from the conversation, Lu Yin stood up. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll need to head out first.¡±

    Liquor Hero raised a hand. ¡°Can I get another barrel?¡±

    God Taiyi felt puzzled. ¡°Brother Lu, you want to go inside the Mountain and Seas Zone?¡±

    Lu Yin did not even turn around. ¡°I¡¯m Eversky Ind¡¯s nominal disciple.¡±

    And with that, he left Azure Mansion.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er, God Taiyi, and Xing Kai were all dumbfounded, as they had not been privy to this information.

    On the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent, a figure appeared from a distortion in the void that quickly returned to normal.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw that there were five tall mountains standing in five different directions. Was this the ce that held the mountain and sea inheritances?

    Off in the distance, star energy erupted and swept out along with a strong wind.

    Lu Yin looked all around him, and he saw rune lines everywhere, making it difficult for him to find ck and White.

    Although he did not know those two very well, they were still from Eversky Ind, and he could not just leave them alone.

    He saw the most runes in the north, so he started heading that way.

    Along his way, he saw quite a few cultivators in groups of two or three, and he also passed by several fights.

    There was no need to wait for the contest for the Astral Tower to begin, as even this period could be considered a part of thepetition. Naturally, there were quite a few people who wanted to eliminate some opponents early.

    Lu Yin¡¯s luck was not very good, and he did not go too far before running into Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing did not recognize Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had suppressed his aura rather well. Thus, at first, Shang Qing did not pay any attention to Lu Yin. That is, until Tai Yuanjun spoke up.

    ¡°Lu Yin? Why are you here?¡± Tai Yuanjun was surprised.

    In front of him, Shang Qing turned around to look. Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin frowned, as he had seen Shang Qing before, and he did not want to get caught up with Shang Qing. Those three qi flows were horrifying, though Lu Yin had never imagined that Tai Yuanjun would be following the First Honor Chosen.

    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡± Shang Qing looked over, and a clear desire to fight filled his eyes.

    Lu Yin casually nodded. ¡°You¡¯re the First Honor Chosen, Shang Qing?¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°You defeated the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lan Si and Zhenwu, and I watched your fight with Arbiter Zhenwu. Not bad.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp.

    ¡°As one of the Honor Chosen of my Hall of Honor, you have the qualifications to seed, so I hope that you¡¯ll do your best during the Astral Tower contest. Lei N¨¹ can fight for one ce, and I hope that you¡¯ll do your best to take another. That way, we can control three of the seats for the Cosmic Five,¡± Shang Qing continued.

    Tai Yuanjun spoke up, ¡°Lu Yin isn¡¯t just an Honor Chosen, but he¡¯s also one of the Ten Arbiters, and people even call him Arbiter Lu. Didn¡¯t you want to find the Ten Arbiters?¡±

    A stream of qi swept out from Shang Qing¡¯s body and mmed into Tai Yuanjun to smack him away. Shang Qing coldly ordered, ¡°Just do your job. Your scheming will only cause me to despise you.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. He no longer dared to even look at Shang Qing.

    ¡°You¡¯re very confident,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Shang Qing calmly responded, ¡°My confidence is different from Arbiter Zhenwu¡¯s, and ites from winning one battle after another. To prevent you from making trouble for me in the future, I can let you understand.¡±

    Shang Qing then raised a hand and sent a qi flow streaming towards Lu Yin.

    Close behind, Xie Xiaoxian looked excited, as Shange Qing was fighting again. This person was someone who she could not recognize at all, but he had managed to get Shang Qing to act. Thus, he had to be another one of the Ten Arbiters!

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This stream of qi was the Tri-Yang Technique, and he raised a hand and instantly attacked with a Vacuum Palm. An invisible palm print tore through the void and mmed against the qi flow, easily dispersing it. However, the qi flow quickly reformed and continued shooting at Lu Yin again. His body shed as he evaded the attack, but the qi flow also pierced through the void, not any slower than he was moving. He turned around and 520 stars revolved around his body: Cosmic Art.

    In the distance, Shang Qing¡¯s eyes went wide; this person actually used Cosmic Art?

    The qi flow entered within the range of the revolving stars, and in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the qi suddenly began moving slower, and he was able to clearly track its path. He made a move and struck out with a palm, using the Oveying Stacks Path to disperse the qi flow once again. However, it merely reformed and continued to shoot towards him.

    Nine lined battle force appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he intended to forcibly endure the qi flow¡¯s attack. In his eyes, this qi flow did not have too many runes.

    However, the next moment, right when the qi struck him, his stomach fell as he watched his nine lined battle force quickly start disintegrating. His pupils shrank, and they transformed into runes as he immediately tried to erase some of the iing attack¡¯s runes. However, he was astonished to see that the attack could not be weakened. This was the first time that Truesight had failed him.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, this time to use the Yu Secret Art in order to divert the qi flow a bit, but as soon as it was diverted away, it returned towards him at full force.

    Lu Yin looked down. The nine lined battle force protecting his abdomen had actually been effortlessly broken; just how had Shang Qing done that? Not only could that flow of qi resist Truesight, but it had also easily disintegrated Lu Yin¡¯s nine lined battle force. Could it simply disregard all defenses?

    The qi flow sped up behind Lu Yin once again. This was a very simple attack, but it caused Lu Yin¡¯s hair to stand on end.

    He raised a hand andunched a Vacuum Palm directly at Shang Qing.

    Another qi flow appeared in front of Shang Qing¡¯s body to defend him from the attack. The qi flow that should have been easily dispersed turned out to be rather sturdy, and it actually managed to resist a Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the ground and unleashed Night Advent. A wild spiritual force swept out to suppress Shang Qing.

    As the spiritual force attack passed by, Tai Yuanjun fell unconscious and copsed onto the ground.

    Xie Xiaoxian¡¯s expression changed, and she immediately retreated. This was an overwhelmingly powerful spiritual force attack, and it should be a Daynight n battle technique. Was this person from the Daynight n?

    Shang Qing¡¯s brows furrowed, and he allowed Night Advent to fall upon him. His vision went utterly dark. This sort of spiritual force attack could only be resisted by one¡¯s own spiritual force, and Lu Yin had assumed that Night Advent would at least be able to make Shang Qing ufortable. Then, he would then be able to grasp an opportunity to strike out with a Dream Finger. However, Shang Qing did not seem to tremble at all, and Night Advent seemed to bepletely ineffective.

    Shang Qing¡¯s spiritual force might not be at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s level, but it was still enough for him to disregard Night Advent.

    Lu Yin frowned, as this opponent was too difficult to deal with. The qi flow whistled as it flew behind Lu Yin and tried to smash him again. His body shed, and he consecutively unleashed six Vacuum Palms, all aimed at Shang Qing. Unfortunately, they were all stopped by the qi flow revolving around Shang Qing¡¯s body and were unable to pass through.

    Lu Yin felt helpless as he used the Yu Secret Art to forcefully divert another attack from the qi flow before fleeing.

    He was not able to deal with the Tri-Yang Technique, and he could not even touch Shang Qing. Thus, before he found some way to deal with them, it would be best if he avoided crossing paths with Shang Qing.

    Fortunately, the attacks of these qi flows could be diverted with the Yu Secret Art. In the past, the speed of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palms had been so fast that Lu Yin had been unable to divert them while Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle techniques that had been inherited from the Arrow Progenitor had been too powerful for Lu Yin to divert. However, this Tri-Yang Technique could unexpectedly be diverted, though Lu Yin did not feel that this was a wonderful thing.

    Since it was referred to as a peerless battle technique and the premier miracle of the universe, how could the Tri-Yang Technique be that easily dealt with?

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression turned solemn as he watched Lu Yin leave. He then looked towards the qi flow in front of him. ¡°His attack was the strongest out of everyone we¡¯ve met so far. In the entire Mountain and Seas Zone, you can be considered one of the most powerful experts here. There¡¯s hope for you to take one of the seats of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    He then looked into the distance and saw Xie Xiaoxian.

    Xie Xiaoxian was staring at Lu Yin¡¯s vanishing figure, her eyes full of admiration. She had experienced the power of Vacuum Palm in the exchange just now, and she had been truly surprised. If that palm hadnded on her body, then she would have struggled to endure even one strike. Apparently, that person was known as Lu Yin.

    People had assumed that all of the most powerful experts had already arrived, but nobody had considered this person. Also, if she had not judged incorrectly, Lu Yin had used the Yu Secret Art.

    The battle between Lu Yin and Shang Qing had been very short, yet there were still witnesses, so word of it spread out.

    Of course, the news naturally revolved around Shang Qing¡¯s peerless abilities, and Lu Yin ended up as just a side character.

    Without personally facing Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, outsiders would only see Lu Yin run away as a qi flow chased after him. Not many had realized the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms, so they believed that Lu Yin had just been another passerby.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s name still spread.

    In one corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lan Si and Ling Gong were traveling together, and when they heard people mentioning Lu Yin¡¯s name, both of them were left stunned.

    They had never thought that Lu Yin woulde to this ce.

    ¡°So he¡¯s really still around,¡± Ling Gongmented.

    Lan Si smiled, ¡°He¡¯s here, so things will definitely be interesting.¡±

    ¡°He can create trouble so easily,¡± Ling Gong responded coldly.

    Lan Si smiled, but he did not reply.

    In another ce, when Starsibyl heard that Lu Yin had arrived, she smiled. ¡°Sure enough, he¡¯s here.¡±

    In a green meadow, Yuhua Mavis closed her book as a strange look appeared on her face. ¡°Lu Yin? That¡¯s definitely someone interesting.¡±

    Up until now, the stutterer had been following behind Little Leaf King, as he had felt that Little Leaf King was very indifferent. Also, very few people dared to provoke him, so there was some sense of security in following behind Little Leaf King.

    Reality proved that the stutterer was rather smart; sure enough, nobody dared to provoke Little Leaf King. The cold attitude that he gave off ran deep, and aside from the top-tier experts, nobody dared to cause any trouble for him. Also, his luck proved to be rather good, as he had not really encountered any trouble.

    When the stutterer heard that Lu Yin had arrived, he grew excited. ¡°Meat- meat- meat is here!¡±

    Little Leaf King paused. Lu Yin?

    There were not many in the Neoverse who knew about Lu Yin, but everyone in the Innerverse and Outerverse had heard of this name. Once Lu Yin started cultivating, his name had slowly spread further and further out.

    After all, since ancient times, Lu Yin had been the only one to ever unite the entire Outerverse.

 Chapter 1110: Confronting Ku Lei

    <h4>Chapter 1110: Confronting Ku Lei</h4>

    Shamrock Enterprises¡¯ businesses were spread throughout the entire universe whereas Lu Yin had united the Outerverse and could be considered the king of the Outerverse. As the young master of Shamrock Enterprises, Little Leaf King was definitely familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s name. Between Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu, Little Leaf King had seen them both.

    Little Leaf King¡¯s deepest impression of Lu Yin was of his various battle techniques as well as his absurd rate of progression.

    Whenever Lu Yin made an appearance, it was as though he had transformed.

    Even further away, Xia Tian half-knelt on the ground. He was currently surrounded by several Neoverse cultivators.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one on the top of the so-called Top 100 Rankings? How weak! A backwards ce like the Innerverse can¡¯t produce any real powerhouses, and yet you dare topete with us for the Astral Tower¡¯s inheritance? Scram!¡± someone barked.

    ¡°Outsiders will never understand what it means to be the center of the Human Domain.¡±

    Xia Tian held his chest and struggled to lift his head. If he had not been unexpectedly attacked by that person from Burial Garden, how would he have been so defeated so easily? Normally, these people would not be able to defeat him even if they joined forces.

    ¡°Scram! Otherwise, we¡¯ll send you on your way.¡±

    There was a thump as Xia Tian was kicked away, and he rolled off of the mountain.

    A few others wanted to make a move as well, but Xia Jiuyou suddenly descended from the sky and smiled at the small group.

    Their expressions changed, and they slowly backed up.

    Xia Jiuyou walked over to Xia Tian. ¡°Things are bing more and more interesting.¡±

    Xia Tian looked up and smiled bitterly. ¡°I heard you were beaten rather badly.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou shrugged, ¡°My skills cannotpare to the others¡¯, so there¡¯s no choice. Right, Lu Yin¡¯s here, and he¡¯s already fought with Shang Qing.¡±

    Xia Tian spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°I really admire him.¡±

    Xia Jiuyouughed. ¡°Me too.¡±

    ***

    Lu Yin had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone to find ck and White. By now, almost everyone in Mountain and Seas Zone had heard of the two brats, and quite a few had been harassed by the twins. However, the person whom they had picked on the most was still Ku Lei.

    Nobody knew what ck and White had done to him, but he constantly swore that he would tear their mouths off.

    Lu Yin started to get a bit anxious; even if ck and White were extremely fast, Ku Lei was still the heir of the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family, and he clearly was not a simple adversary. Lu Yin was worried that the twins would reveal a moment of carelessness.

    They had be quite well-known in the Mountain and Seas Zone, but very few people had truly seen the twins due to their exceptional speed.

    It was difficult for Lu Yin to find the girls, but fortunately, he found Ku Lei instead.

    At this moment, he represented the greatest threat towards ck and White.

    Lightning streaked through the sky, and Ku Lei had a sullen look. He had been searching for ck and White for a long time; even if they were from Eversky Ind, he still had to teach them a lesson. As long as he did not end anyone¡¯s life, nobody would be able to criticize him for any actions taken during the Astral Tower contest.

    ¡°Stupid brats, you better not let me find you,¡± Ku Lei mumbled to himself as he searched for ck and White while simultaneously avoiding Shang Qing and Lei N¨¹. Ku Lei was very cautious of the Hall of Honor¡¯s first two Honor Chosens.

    Lu Yin looked up from right below Ku Lei, and his eyes shed. He then took a light step to ascend to the sky and block Ku Lei¡¯s path. ¡°Are you the Ku family¡¯s heir?¡±

    Ku Lei stared at Lu Yin in discontent. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°I¡¯m from Eversky Ind.¡±

    Ku Lei¡¯s eyes went wide, and he instantly released an attack, not sparing any time with nonsense.

    Lightning tore through the void. This attack possessed a power level of more than 200,000, and it caused the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s entire continent to tremble, drawing a lot of attention to their location.

    ¡°Ku Lei¡¯s fighting someone again. He really has a bad temper.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s also very strong. It¡¯s best to keep our distance so that we don¡¯t get caught up in his lightning.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stood tall in the sky as the lightning formed a massive beast that weed him with a snarl. This was an exceptionally cruel attack. As the Ku family¡¯s heir, Ku Lei was a Hunter, and the power of his lightning attacks were known throughout the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and struck out with a palm that had stars all over it: Cosmic Palm.

    520 stars swirled through the sky, though only a few people could see them.

    Ku Lei frowned. ¡°Cosmic Palm? Are you from the Cosmic Sect or Eversky Ind?¡±

    ¡°Take a guess,¡± Lu Yin growled as the stars exploded. His 520 stars had even surpassed Mu Ziying¡¯s aplishments, and out of all of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s youths, Lu Yin was second only to Qiu Shi. Even though Ku Lei was very conceited, he did not dare to underestimate this attack.

    The power of these exploding stars dispersed the lightning, and Ku Lei groaned as his nine lined battle force shot high into the sky towards Lu Yin. The lightning formed a halberd that thrust forward while Ku Lei¡¯s nine lined battle force reinforced it. The power behind this halberd caused it to prate the void and cleave the sky apart, stunning many cultivators.

    Lu Yin cocked his head and dodged the halberd before reaching out to grab it.

    Ku Lei sneered. ¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡±

    His halberd was formed from his lightning, and it had also been wrapped in his nine lined battle force to perfectly disy his full strength. Also, at this time, another de appeared from the center of the halberd, slicing downwards.

    Lu Yin¡¯s left hand held the lightning halberd while he lifted his right hand. His hands were also wrapped with nine lined battle force, and he gently tapped out with a single finger. There was an explosion as the lightning de shattered, causing a shockwave to sweep out and m into Ku Lei. An excruciating pain rang out in his shoulder when Ku Lei was struck, and he instantly released his grip and retreated several steps backwards.

    Lu Yin continued to move forward with his hand raised, once again using the Cosmic Palm.

    Ku Lei¡¯s expression slightly changed, and his star energy moved out and covered his entire body. It ultimately dissipated into a formless spirit that seemed to ripple and expand outwards, filling Lu Yin with the desire to stop attacking, and at the same moment, a finger tapped out: Finger Tap.

    Lu Yin simrly raised a finger and tapped out with it: Dream Finger.

    The two fingers struck each other in midair, and the resulting shockwave tore through the void and shook the ground so hard that the entire area was left trembling.

    Ku Lei was inplete disbelief. His Ku family¡¯s ultimate technique, Finger Tap, rarely shed with other finger techniques. When it wasbined with the Ku family¡¯s battle technique, it was difficult for any other finger technique to match up to Finger Tap no matter how powerful the opponent might be, especially since the opponent might not even be able to act. However, Lu Yin had apparently been well prepared, as not only had the power of his finger attack overpowered Ku Lei¡¯s, but Lu Yin was also not even influenced by the Finger Tap.

    There was another thump as Ku Lei¡¯s finger broke; not even his nine lined battle force could endure this attack. Lu Yin took this opportunity tosh out with another finger, and he struck Ku Lei¡¯s right shoulder, piercing through it and leaving a bleeding hold behind.

    Ku Lei fell back 1,000 meters. His left shoulder was still numb from the shockwave while his right shoulder had been injured by the finger. Both of his arms powerlessly hung limp at his sides as he stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Lu Yin pulled back his hand as a smile crept across his face. ¡°Lu Yin.¡±

    During his battle with Lan Si, he had only just stepped onto this level, but after defeating Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin had reached the peak of this level.

    Not only had the Root of Intelligence allowed him toprehend the Ce Secret Art, but it had also raised hisprehension of the Oveying Stacks Path to the limit, whichplemented both his nine lined battle force and domain. His foundation was solid enough for him to stand on the same level as the heirs from the top powers and even vaguely surpass them.

    Ku Lei did not seem to have any advantage when going up against Lu Yin, as his nine lined battle force, innate gift of lightning, and even his Finger Tap were all ineffective.

    ¡°Lu Yin?¡± Ku Lei involuntarily cried out as he stared in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused. ¡°That¡¯s a very strong reaction. Have you heard of me before?¡±

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth. When the Ten Arbiters had first entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, in order to suppress Lan Si, Ku Lei had promised to help the Arbiter get revenge, and he had even said that he would beat Lu Yin like a dog until he knelt on the ground. But at this moment, when the actual person appeared in front of him, the one being pathetically beaten was not Lu Yin, but rather Ku Lei, which left him humiliated.

    ¡°Did Lan Si tell you?¡± Ku Lei gritted his teeth and asked.

    Lu Yin felt lost. ¡°What does this have to do with Lan Si?¡±

    Ku Lei frowned. ¡°Then why were you looking for me?¡±

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°I¡¯m Eversky Ind¡¯s nominal disciple, and I heard that you¡¯ve been causing trouble for the people of my Eversky Ind. Thus, I came to find you.¡±

    Ku Lei finally processed what Lu Yin said and realized that Lu Yin had just called himself a nominal disciple from Eversky Ind.

    ¡°Are you looking down on my Eversky Ind?¡± Lu Yin asked arrogantly.

    Ku Lei looked crestfallen. ¡°You¡¯re standing up for those two brats?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lu Yin barked. He suddenly remembered when he had asked Highsage Leon for help and how Highsage Shenwei had taken action. By standing up for ck and White, Lu Yin had just been thrust into the role that Highsage Shenwei had yed back then.

    Ku Lei bellowed, ¡°Your Eversky Ind doesn¡¯t have any sort of discipline¡ªand those two brats¡¯ mouths will be torn off sooner orter!¡±

    ¡°But it won¡¯t be by you,¡± Lu Yin said as he stepped forward and unleashed Night Advent.

    A wild spiritual force swept through the void like some sort of dark cloud that instantly flowed over Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei was furious, as this was intolerable bullying. Those two brats had humiliated him, and now Lu Yin was actually standing up for them! When had Ku Lei ever been bullied by others in such a manner?

    Lightning connected the sky and earth, and Ku Leipletely erupted. When he had fought against Shang Qing, he had left after one exchange because it had been clear that Shang Qing was extremely difficult to deal with, and at this moment, he felt that Lu Yin was simrly difficult to handle. However, Ku Lei did not want to leave. Lu Yin hadpletely enraged the Ku heir, so he intended to give this battle his all.

    Ku Lei¡¯s burst of strength left Lu Yin excited, as he would finally be able to seriously trade blows with one of the proud children of the Neoverse. He had long considered the heirs of the Court of Seven Names as his primary rivals, and Ku Lei had even mentioned this Ku heir to Lu Yin before. In Lu Yin¡¯s mind, Ku Lei was his first opponent during this contest at the Astral Tower, as Shang Qing did not count.

    Lightning tore through the spiritual force and filled the sky before covering the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s continent.

    Shang Qing looked up; who had forced Ku Lei to such an extreme?

    Xia Jiuyou looked up with an extraordinary expression; was Ku Lei upset?

    Yuhua Mavis, Little Leaf King, Wen Sansi, and the others also looked up, as they could feel the determination of Ku Lei fighting for his life.

    Off in the distance, ck and White were speechless. ¡°Is he using this terrifying lightning to deal with us? I¡¯m afraid!¡±

    ¡°What are you afraid of? That stupid lightning guy still hasn¡¯t found us. Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll find Lu Yin, as he¡¯s apparently arrived.¡±

    ¡°Right, he¡¯s powerful, and that lightning dude hasn¡¯t captured us yet. So, Lu Yin can capture him and help us fight the bad guys.¡±

    ¡­

    The lightningpletely erupted, and it eventually isted a region. Ku Lei himself seemed to have transformed into lightning, and even his eyes were sparkling. As electric sparks shed, he simply vanished only to reappear right behind Lu Yin before releasing a kick reinforced with nine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin did not even turn around as he easily dodged the attack. He had activated the Cosmic Art long ago, so speed was pointless against him.

    One hand grabbed hold of Ku Lei¡¯s leg as Lu Yin threw his opponent away. In response, Ku Lei turned around and opened his mouth to release a howl, but lightning burst out. His voice filled the air, shocking the people watching.

    Right after that, Ku Lei tapped out with a finger, using Finger Tap again. But unlike before, the power of his lightning was much more terrifying this time.

    Lu Yin still looked calm, and he casually waved a hand: Vacuum Palm.

    Thump!

    Ku Lei was fast enough to defend himself, and he was still struck by the Vacuum Palm. His body was flung far into the distance. He opened his mouth and vomited out a bit of bile, as this palm strike had nearly forced his organs out.

    Lu Yin had not held back in the slightest, and the power of this palm wasparable to what he had used against Nightking Zhenwu, as Ku Lei was also able to use nine lined battle force.

    Ku Lei was smashed into the ground, and he violently coughed several times, releasing a trace of blood as he did so. The intense pain racking his abdomen rendered him speechless. That palm strike was absolutely terrifying, and the power behind it was too overwhelming, as not even his nine lined battle force had been able to hold up against it. In fact, if not for his nine lined battle force, the palm might have simply pierced straight through his body.

    It turned out that Lu Yin was actually terrifying.

    He definitely surpassed the Ten Arbiters, and he was actually approaching the same level as Shang Qing.

 Chapter 1111: Unexpected Person

    <h4>Chapter 1111: Unexpected Person</h4>

    Ku Lei struggled to sit up, and there was a clear palm print embedded in his abdomen.

    Lu Yin appeared in the distance and coldly looked at Ku Lei. ¡°You can leave now.¡±

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin, but he did not speak. His abdomen was quickly recovering, and it was not the only area doing so; both of his shoulders were also rapidly recovering.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°The Ku Secret Art: Spring Renewal?¡±

    The Ku family¡¯s secret technique was known as Spring Renewal, and even though Lu Yin could tell that the secret technique probably had something to do with healing, he had never thought that it would be this fast. Shockingly, it had actually surpassed the Sixth Maind¡¯s Reversal Cycle.

    Ku Lei quickly recovered, and he stared at Lu Yin even with bloodstained teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve learned something today. Lu Yin? Alright, I¡¯ll look for you.¡±

    Lightning shed as he sped off into the distance.

    Lu Yin did not stop him. Ku Lei had already lost, and people were supposed to do their best to avoid killing others during thispetition. This was particrly true considering how Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was someone from the Seven Courts.

    Actually, even if Lu Yin had wanted to kill Ku Lei, it would not be easy, and there was no blood feud between them either.

    However, if Lu Yin encountered Jin He, there would be no mercy shown, and it would actually be fine as people would simply say that it was a bit of internal strife rted to the Innerverse. The blood debt stemming from that paper that had listed seventy two lives with the Lu surname had to be collected.

    Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Ku Lei was astounding, and it shocked the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    In almost no time at all, everyone had heard of it.

    As the heir of the Ku family, Ku Lei was considered to be one of the most powerful youths in the Neoverse, and he was even able to safely retreat against Shang Qing, but that same Ku Lei had been defeated by Lu Yin.

    This incident led to amotion that far outstripped Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    In particr, the Seven Courts had set their sights on Lu Yin.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, within Azure Mansion, many discussed Lu Yin first fight against Shang Qing and then his second with Ku Lei. They would then talk about what Lu Yin had done in the Innerverse and Outerverse, and his aplishments shocked many people when they learned of them.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er was also shocked. ¡°He actually defeated Ku Lei? Impressive.¡±

    War King Xing Kai felt envious. ¡°How good it must feel to roam about and freely fight in the Mountain and Seas Zone!¡±

    God Taiyi looked to be at peace. ¡°Defeating Ku Lei means that the other heirs from the Seven Courts won¡¯t let the matter rest. They¡¯ll definitely look to make trouble for Lu Yin, even if just to salvage their reputation.¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er answered with disgust, ¡°What Seven Courts? They¡¯re the weakest out of the Three Dark Hands. The Xia family¡¯s Xia Jiuyou has already been beaten several times, and the Ce family¡¯s Ce Jiu simply slipped away as soon as he met Shang Qing, as if he had nothing to show. The entire Yu family is simply gone, the Y¨­u family has fallen apart, and the entire Seven Courts has been greatly weakened.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the Seven Courts. Their foundation is immeasurable,¡± God Taiyi cautioned.

    Liquor Hero was sprawled across the table while holding her barrel of wine. She mumbled something to herself, but nobody was able to understand what she said, though a few words could barely be made out, ¡°Chen,¡± and ¡°Some tomb.¡±

    The Mountain and Seas Zone were inplete chaos at this time, especially since, recently, rumors of heirs from the Neoverse¡¯s various top-tier powers joining forces to force out the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters had started spreading. When this news broke, quite a few people simply left the Mountain and Seas Zone; they had onlye to try their luck, and they did not want to get caught up in such an intense battle. They would rather return to the Mountain and Seas Zone once the Astral Tower contest actually began while hiding for the time being!

    This rumor led to a surge in Azure Mansion¡¯s business, leaving Gu Xiao¡¯er disgruntled. For him, life was no longer as peaceful as before.

    In one corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone, one ck and one white figure streaked through the air. There were dozens of cultivators behind them, all of them wearing an indignant expression with some even cursing.

    ¡°White, you went overboard! Teasing is teasing, but why did you take their pants off? Don¡¯t you feel any shame?¡± ck said.

    White pursed her lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do it either! Who asked him to move? As soon as he did, his pants fell down.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not pants. It¡¯s a skirt.¡±

    ¡°A skirt? It should have been pants.¡±

    ¡°Look back. That¡¯s definitely a skirt! Look at how angry that auntie is.¡± ck turned around as she spoke.

    A girl chasing after the twins at the front of the group heard ck¡¯s words, and the girl¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°Stupid brat! I¡¯ll tear your mouth off when I catch you!¡±

    ¡°ck, she¡¯s so fierce! She definitely won¡¯t be able to find any man like that.¡± White felt afraid.

    ck nodded in a serious manner. ¡°She¡¯s so fierce and ugly, and her skin is so loose that she¡¯ll easily get wrinkles. It¡¯s no wonder why no one wants her.¡±

    ck then shouted behind, ¡°Auntie! Control your anger, you¡¯re starting to smoke!¡±

    Whiteughed, ¡°Giving off smoke, haha, smoking.¡±

    That woman behind was so angry she nearly shattered her teeth in anger. ¡°Get them! Those two stupid brats have to be captured.¡±

    There were some dozens of cultivators chasing after the girl, and there were some who did not even know her. However, everyone¡¯s reason for chasing after ck and White was the same: they wanted to rip the girls¡¯ mouths off, which the twins indeed deserved.

    ck and White exchanged nces. ¡°Faster! We can''t be captured.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all so aggressive. They should be put in cages.¡±

    ¡­

    With ck and White¡¯s speed, even someone like Ku Lei was not able to catch them, let alone this group of people. However, the two girls were not moving very fast at this time, and they kept the hopes of their pursuers alive. As a result, the pursuers became more and more infuriated, and they began plotting and scheming of a way to surround the twins and capture them.

    Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, and Yao Ji were resting nearby, and they looked up to see ck and White running towards them.

    Yao Ji was about to make a move when Hua Xiao growled at him, ¡°It¡¯s none of our business, so don¡¯t make any trouble.¡±

    Yao Ji nodded and sat back down.

    They did not move while ck and White drew closer and looked at the trio with curiosity. White pointed at the three young men. ¡°They look familiar.¡±

    ck blinked and then excitedly shouted, ¡°They y with stars!¡±

    Mu Ziying¡¯s lips stretched tight, as he had recognized these two as the troublemakers from Eversky Ind.

    Hua Xiao had also recognized the twins, which was why he had told Yao Ji to sit down, as Hua Xiao had not wanted to draw the girls¡¯ attention. He had not expected them to be unable to avoid the twins.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Juniors ck and White. What are you girls doing?¡± Mu Ziying asked with a forced smile.

    White eximed, ¡°ck, look at how ugly his smile is.¡±

    Mu Ziying¡¯s eyes twitched.

    ck pressed a hand onto White¡¯s head, and seriously told her, ¡°White, don¡¯t spout nonsense! This is Senior Mu from the Starry Stars Sect.¡±

    White grunted in acknowledgement. ¡°I know, the Starry Stars Sect.¡±

    Mu Ziying was speechless. ¡°Juniors, we have some things that we need to attend to, so we¡¯ll leave first.¡±

    He wanted to leave quickly.

    ck and White tugged Mu Ziying¡¯s sleeves from each side and pathetically whined, ¡°Starry Stars Sect Senior, we¡¯re being bullied!¡±

    As they spoke, the group of cultivators caught up from behind and surrounded the small group while ring at the two brats.

    In particr, one woman gritted her teeth until they nearly shattered. She sneered at the twins, and mockingly said, ¡°Run! Go on and run some more! We¡¯ll definitely rip your mouths off this time and help your teachers by teaching you a lesson.¡±

    ck and White pursed their lips as they looked Mu Ziying with tearful eyes.

    Mu Ziying held his forehead and helplessly looked over at Hua Xiao.

    Hua Xiao tapped Yao Ji¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Chase them away.¡±

    Yao Ji was taken aback. ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°If not you, then who else?¡± Hua Xiao nced around.

    Yao Ji was stunned. How did he end up as the unlucky one? However, when facing res from both Mu Ziying and Hua Xiao, Yao Ji did not dare to resist, and he stepped forward. Stars revolved around his body, and suddenly, the expressions of all the surrounding people drastically changed.

    ¡°Everyone, no matter your grievances, since the Astral Towerpetition is about to begin, please leave,¡± Yao Ji said.

    The Cosmic Sect was a colossal existence in the Neoverse, and even the Hall of Honor would prefer not provoking them. Their sect contained many experts, and they were also all Lockbreakers.

    Lockbreakers were highly respected. That,bined with their identities as members of the Cosmic Sect, meant that not many in the Neoverse would bother the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples.

    Although they were unwilling to let go of this grievance, the surrounding people did not want to offend the Cosmic Sect just because of these two brats¡¯ pranks.

    Each person eventually left, and even the most reluctant woman was finally dragged away.

    Mu Ziying grudgingly said, ¡°Alright now, juniors.¡±

    ck and White released his sleeves, and they smiled casually at him. ¡°Senior Acquaintance is really so good. Even though he¡¯s ugly, his heart is kind.¡±

    Hua Xiao and Yao Ji looked at the twins with odd expressions.

    Mu Ziying took a deep breath. ¡°Thatst sentence didn¡¯t need to be said.

    ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll leave first, as we have things we need to do.¡±

    The two brats grabbed ahold of his sleeves once again and looked at him with pitiful expressions.

    Mu Ziying was momentarily rendered speechless, but then he suddenly thought of something, and he smiled at the girls. ¡°I forgot to tell you this¡ªyour Eversky Ind¡¯s nominal disciple, Lu Yin, is here. He just defeated the Ku family¡¯s heir, Ku Lei, of the Seven Courts. He must have done so to avenge you two. Go and look for him, as he¡¯s clearly thinking of you.¡±

    The two brats grew excited. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s here? Alright, ck, let¡¯s go look for him to y around! This senior is too weak, so he can¡¯t protect us.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, White! Senior isn¡¯t weak¡ªit¡¯s just that his body is a little frail. Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go look for Lu Yin to y with,¡± ck said.

    White grunted in agreement, and in the blink of an eye, the two disappeared, leaving behind Mu Ziying¡¯s trio, all of whom had ugly expressions on their faces.

    They were true disciples of the Cosmic Sect, but they had actually been ridiculed and their bodies criticized. They had never suffered such a humiliation throughout their entire lives.

    Hua Xiao smiled bitterly. ¡°Senior, don¡¯t mind them, all of us know how those brats are. When Grand Senior first came to the sect, she was also frustrated by them.¡±

    Mu Ziying shrugged. ¡°I know. It¡¯s good that they left us, but Lu Yin won¡¯t have a good time if they stick around.¡±

    Hua Xiaoughed as he thought about that. ¡°He¡¯s going to be unfortunate, haha.¡±

    Yao Ji also smiled, as he was delighted to think of how Lu Yin would have a difficult time.

    Many people wanted to see Lu Yin suffer, but few were capable of putting him in that situation. At this moment, he was very, very surprised to see a certain person. This was someone who should not be in this ce yet clearly was: Xia Luo.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lu Yin stared at Xia Luo in astonishment. Xia Luo still had the same gentle and dignified appearance with a calm aura.

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°Why should I be here? You should know my background by now.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The leader of the Seven Courts, the Xia family.¡±

    Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin with admiration. ¡°I thought that you had really died at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands back then. Who could have expected that you would reappear in such a lively manner, and you even managed to get all the way over here. Brother Lu, it¡¯s no wonder why you were the leader of our Astral-10 back then.¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°It was just good luck.¡±

    Xia Luoughed. ¡°It was good luck that you defeated Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu? That sort of luck is simply defying the heavens.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not bad either. You must be a Cruiser now, so you must have graduated.¡± Lu Yin looked at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo spread his hands. ¡°Not yet, I forgot.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Me too, I also forgot. Since it¡¯s like this, I guess that we can still be considered students.¡±

    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re still my leader.¡± Xia Luo smiled.

    Lu Yin had never thought that he would bump into Xia Luo in this ce. Lu Yin had progressed this quickly because he had taken some shortcuts, but Xia Luo had also be a Cruiser, which was an exceptional cultivation speed.

    Also, he was able to represent the Xia family at the Astral Tower contest while just a Cruiser, which showed that Xia Luo¡¯s status within the Xia family was by no means ordinary.

 Chapter 1112: Golden Screens

    <h4>Chapter 1112: Golden Screens</h4>

    Lu Yin still remembered when he had first met Xia Luo during Earth¡¯s apocalypse. Back then, he had given Lu Yin an indescribable feeling that he was both mysterious and immeasurable. At this moment, Lu Yin still had that same feeling.

    A primeval surname from the Court of Seven Names; this was the Xia family.

    ¡°Do you still remember the first time we met?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Luo thought about it. ¡°You want to reminisce on our youth?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Then we can¡¯t skip one person.¡±

    ¡°Silver?¡±

    Xia Luo nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that I feel a strange hostility towards him and that it¡¯s a terrible feeling.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°So do you know why now?¡±

    Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. It¡¯s because he belongs to the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised that Xia Luo knew this, as Silver was indeed a part of the Neohuman Alliance, and Lu Yin had also known for a long time. ¡°But he¡¯s not a corpse king.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s worse than a corpse king,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°How so?¡±

    Xia Luo shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the feeling that he gave me was something very treacherous, indescribably so. It was pure evil, and I have a foreboding feeling that we¡¯ll meet again sometime in the future.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯ll be this time,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Xia Luo was stumped, but he then looked seriously at Lu Yin, ¡°Perhaps.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that he¡¯lle to the Mountain and Seas Zone?¡± Lu Yin had only been joking, but it seemed that Xia Luo was not.

    Xia Luo calmly answered, ¡°Brother Lu, I know that you don¡¯t really believe it, but trust me¡ªSilver¡¯s evil is so dark that it makes me want to vomit. This is absolutely true, so be careful. We¡¯re currently at the highest stage of the entire Human Domain, so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he does appear.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You evaluate him very highly.¡±

    Lu Yin had cultivated for over twelve years now, and he had met Xia Luo at the beginning of that journey, as well as Silver. The destinies of this trio were interwoven, and Lu Yin had always felt that these other two were very mysterious. Now that Lu Yin¡¯s status had risen and his understanding of the universe had broadened, he had graduallye to understand Xia Luo a bit better, but Silver was still aplete mystery to him.

    Although Lu Yin had been slightly surprised to see Xia Luo, he was rather happy about it as Xia Luo was a friend of more than ten years.

    Xia Luo was also happy, and he chatted with Lu Yin for a whole day.

    In the afternoon of the following day, the Mountain and Seas Zone suddenly quivered. Then, golden screens rose up from the five mountains in five directions, one after another.

    Lu Yin looked around, as these golden screens seemed to be setting up the final stage; they had formed a tower-like structure that illuminated the entire Mountain and Seas Zone with a golden hue. Wherever people looked, it was golden.

    ¡°This is the Astral Tower.¡± Xia Luo sighed, his gaze fervent.

    Lu Yin observed the area; so this was the Astral Tower?

    ¡°Brother Lu, do you see that final stage? If you can ascend there, then as long as you can stand at the highest stage, you¡¯ll be one of the Cosmic Five, but five is simply the highest number. In the past, there¡¯ve been three, two, or even one sometimes. If only one person ascends to that stage, then there won¡¯t be a Cosmic Five, but rather a single person standing at the pinnacle of the Human Domain¡¯s younger generation. It¡¯s rumored that one of the seniors in the Hall of Honor has done it before,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and looked up. This was the Astral Tower contest, and it represented the highest stage of the Human Domain¡¯s younger generation. The golden screen at the top was where everyone wanted to reach, and standing on it meant rising above everyone else.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to hurry to ascend the screens, as the Mountain and Seas Zone is focused on the inheritances. The seas are not easy to cross, and the mountains are not easy to climb either. Take it slow, Brother Lu. I¡¯ll go first,¡± Xia Luo said.

    Lu Yin looked at him. ¡°Not together?¡±

    Xia Luo¡¯s lips curled upwards, and he turned to look at the final golden screen. ¡°We can meet up there.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Luo in a serious manner. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll be the one waiting for you.¡± Xia Luo waved a hand as he left.

    Lu Yin stared at the distant mountains and seas; mountains that were difficult to climb and seas that were difficult to cross?

    At that moment, a ck and a white figure sped over from the distance. ¡°Lu Yin! It¡¯s Lu Yin! Little Lu, we¡¯re here!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes as ck and White shed over to his sides. Lu Yin grabbed hold of one of them with each hand. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Little Lu. Call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    White¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°No.¡±

    ck groaned.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You won¡¯t? Fine then, I won¡¯t take you two around to y.¡±

    ck and White¡¯s eyes lit up, and they looked at him with bubbling excitement. ¡°y? y what?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips bent upwards, and he pointed at the distant mountains. ¡°We¡¯ll cross the seas and climb the mountains to seize the inheritances.¡±

    ck and White immediately became excited. ¡°Seventh Bro!¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro!¡±

    Lu Yinughed as he grabbed a hold of the two girls and leaped up. He jumped towards the center of one of the seas.

    Before he had arrived at the Mountain and Seas Zone, Cosmic Sect Elder Yuan Ke had mentioned that the contest for the inheritances would be very difficult and that it was not possible to fly over the seas. After all, this ce held the Mountain and Seas inheritances, and regardless of if it was the mountains or the seas, any of them could hold an ultimate inheritance.

    Since they could not fly over the seas, the only ways to cross them were to either swim across or use star energy to form a small boat and sail across.

    When Lu Yin had first heard of this, he had been immediately reminded of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s trial zones, and specifically, of the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death. Back then, Lu Yin and some others had used their star energy to cross the sea, but the seawater had constantly corroded their star energy.

    This ce should be quite simr, though the star energy corroding water would not affect them that much and was much more like ordinary seawater.

    Lu Yin wondered if there was some connection between the Ocean of Death and this ce.

    The five mountains were located in five different directions, and those who were participating in the Astral Tower contest would separate and set off towards these five mountains.

    There were dozens of others headed in the same direction as Lu Yin, and he saw Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, and Yao Ji among them.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s trio also saw Lu Yin, though Yao Ji felt revolted and also a little nervous.

    The three of them were aware of how strong Lu Yin was, and they would struggle to obtain anything if he was nearby.

    However, at this time, the Mountain and Seas Zone was filled with nothing but the top experts of the younger generation. Thus, this direction was actually the better choice for their trio, and the other choices contained either the Hall of Honor¡¯s Shang Qing and Lei N¨¹, the heirs of the Seven Courts, or the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. There were even mysterious experts like Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple, and the three were very unwilling to be caught up with such people.

    Inparison, although Lu Yin might be more powerful than the others, he would not be too hard on them.

    Lu Yin saw Shu Jing, and this person moved the fastest as he dashed towards a distant mountain in a straight line.

    Lu Yin also saw Qing Longlong, and she simrly saw Lu Yin. She was rather surprised, but she did not greet him. After all, they were opponents at this time.

    What concerned Lu Yin the most was two very powerful clusters of rune lines. One of them belonged to a person with a cold feel to them. Lu Yin could also see traces of white air flowing around his body, which asionally froze the void solid; this one look was enough for Lu Yin to see that this person had recentlye out of cryostasis. It was unknown how long ago this person had been born, but he had definitely only recently been released.

    The other person looked normal, but their rune lines were by no means weak, and they wereparable to Ku Lei¡¯s.

    These two people were Hunters.

    People with this level of strength would be at the level of the Ten Arbiters in the Innerverse or Outerverse, but at this time, there were quite a few such powerhouses in the Mountain and Seas Zone. The only unknown was whether or not there were any Enlighters among thepetitors.

    Lu Yin led ck and White along as he used his star energy to form a boat and sailed towards a mountain. While traveling, Lu Yin was not looking off into the distance, but behind the cold-looking man was another person: the stutterer. He looked at Lu Yin with excitement, and opened his mouth. ¡°The me- me- meat¡¯s here!¡±

    As he spoke, he used his star energy to form a boat and chase after Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, a grey fog appeared over the ocean and enveloped everyone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. Just like Elder Yuan Ke had warned, illusions would attack anyone sailing over the seas, just like the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death.

    The stutterer chased after Lu Yin, but a face covered with open sores suddenly appeared in front of him. The ugly face startled the stutterer, and he felt like even his soul had jumped in fright. But when he looked back, the face had disappeared.

    The stutterer¡¯s face was deathly pale, and he vigorously rubbed at his eyes. ¡°Gho- ghost!¡±

    Up ahead, Lu Yin raised a hand and released a palm strike, causing a gust to sweep out and tear through the fog, dissipating all the illusions.

    He could also discover the illusions in advance by observing the runes.

    ck and White were both afraid. ¡°There really are ghosts! I want to go home.¡±

    ¡°White, don¡¯t be afraid. The ghost is gone.¡±

    ¡°How terrifying!¡±

    Elsewhere on the sea, Mu Ziying¡¯s trio were panting heavily. They had just encountered an illusion, and they had nearly attacked each other.

    Hua Xiao was quite embarrassed as he looked at Yao Ji. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, junior. I didn¡¯t know that it was you.¡±

    Yao Ji was in agony, as he had just been struck by Hua Xiao¡¯s palm, and his internal organs had nearly shattered. He bitterly replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Senior, but let me rest a while.¡±

    Hua Xiao pursed his lips.

    Mu Ziying calmly said, ¡°There are illusions here, so be careful.¡±

    The one who was the furthest ahead along this path was Shu Jing, as his innate gift was Linear Movement. No matter what attack he used, it would always form a straight line, and he was moving towards a distant mountain in a straight line as fast as possible, and he had already thrown Lu Yin and the others far behind.

    Just as he approached the mountain, a streak of de light sliced by, tearing through the void as it approached him.

    Shu Jing¡¯s expression changed drastically, and his star energy swept out in a straight line. There was a bang as the de light disappeared, but Shu Jing was still forced back, and the collision caused seawater to swell into a wave that surged back at where Lu Yin and the others were traveling.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to dispel the seawater, but then he frowned; the distant de light had vanished.

    That attack had not been something as simple as an illusion; rather, it had been a war spirit.

    This ce seemed to be exactly the same as the Dao of Heaven¡¯s Ocean of Death, so was there an ind at the end of this ocean as well?

    Could this ce actually be rted to the Sixth Maind?

    Shu Jing was forced back, and his setback showed the rest of the people that this sea would not be traversed that easily, and it would not be simple to obtain an inheritance.

    The Astral Tower contests had existed for countless years, and there were ancient records that allowed all of the great Neoverse powers to have at least some understanding of the Astral Towerpetition. Thus, Lu Yin looked over at ck and White. ¡°Did Senior Shenwei say anything to you guys about this Astral Tower contest?¡±

    ck and White seriously considered Lu Yin¡¯s question, and both of them nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at them expectantly.

    ck and White simultaneously spread their hands with nk, silly looks. ¡°Forgot.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he suddenly felt that these two brats deserved to be beaten.

    Suddenly, ck and White pointed behind Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s a treasure over there!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around to see that a massive whirlpool had appeared on the surface of the sea, and he remembered something that Elder Yuan Ke had mentioned aboard the spacecraft. The inheritances in the Mountain and Seas Zone were usually apanied by phenomena, and the mostmonly seen phenomena were vortices that appeared in the seas. Normally, there would be something at the bottom of each vortex.

    In the distance, Shu Jing used his Linear Movement to charge straight towards the bottom of the whirlpool.

    The others who were nearby also raced forward.

    ck and White desperately wanted to follow suit, but they were held back by Lu Yin. ¡°Just watch.¡±

    White was upset. ¡°Watch what? That¡¯s a treasure, so let¡¯s take it!¡±

    ck was also getting anxious. ¡°Lu Yin, you¡¯re really timid.¡±

    Lu Yin was staring at the bottom of the whirlpool, as he could only see that there was arge number of runes all tangled upthere. Clearly, a battle had broken out down there, and he leaped up to rush over towards the vortex at the same time as many other cultivators. Onerge man shouted, ¡°Scram!¡±

    He then unleashed a punch in an attempt to force Lu Yin to back off.

 Chapter 1113: Contest On The Seabed

    <h4>Chapter 1113: Contest On The Seabed</h4>

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand, causing an overpowering force to tear through the void as star energy whistled out and swept through the entire area.

    Therge man and a few other cultivators were overwhelmed, and they were not even able to run away before they were caught up in the star energy and thrown away.

    These people were all outstanding experts, and some of them were Cruisers with the strength of those ranked in the middle of the Top 100 Rankings. However, none of them were able to block even one of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks. The difference between them was just too great.

    Lu Yin did not care about these people, and he dashed straight towards the bottom of the sea only to be greeted by a strand of sword light. He raised his hand and flicked a finger, causing the longsword to break. The girl wielding it was dumbstruck. ¡°You-¡±

    Before she could finish speaking, she was thrown aside by Lu Yin. He then looked over and saw a piece of a stone que slowly float up from beneath the ground.

    Shu Jing and another youth were currently locked in battle, and there were a dozen more cultivators caught up in a chaotic mess. At the moment, the ones closest to the stone que were Shu Jing and his opponent.

    Behind Lu Yin, ck and White dashed into the whirlpool, cheering as they sped towards the stone que.

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°Get back!¡±

    However, ck and White were moving far too quickly, and not even Lu Yin could stop them in time. In front of the stone que, Shu Jing waved a hand, causing a straight line to slice across the seabed and leave behind a visible trace across the seabed. ck and White were nearly struck by the attack, and they jumped in fright. They red angrily at Shu Jing, but they no longer had the courage to continue on.

    Shu Jing¡¯s opponent took this opportunity to race toward the stone que. However, star energy suddenly surged forth and transformed into distinct leaves that bound the man tightly in ce. His expression changed, and when he looked to his right, he saw a man with a cold expression. This was the same man who had recently been released from cryostasis that Lu Yin had seen earlier.

    ¡°Starswapped Leaf. That¡¯s a technique from Shamrock Enterprises. So you¡¯re Little Leaf King,¡± the man was shocked.

    The cold-faced youth was indeed Little Leaf King, and he had just caught someone. Two leaves fell below Little Leaf King¡¯s feet, and he shot towards the stone que at an impressive speed. At the same time, everyone at the bottom of the sea found themselves unable to control their own star energy as the star energy in this area had transformed into leaves, trapping them all.

    Lu Yin had also been trapped, and he was also unable to control his star energy, as his star energy had formed into falling leaves trapping him in ce. This technique was quite mysterious.

    As Lu Yin watched Little Leaf King approach the stone que, he noticed a golden light appear above everyone. After that, meteors streaked down, crashing towards everyone on the seafloor, not just Little Leaf King.

    Close to Lu Yin, a man cried out, ¡°That¡¯s the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family¡¯s battle technique: Golden Meteors.¡±

    Bang bang bang¡­

    The seabed was struck by a barrage golden meteors, and Lu Yin was wary of each and every one of them. The power of each meteor was no weaker than Ku Lei¡¯s lightning, so was the person behind this attack the heir of the Hui family?

    Little Leaf King repeatedly dodged the shower of golden meteors as he attempted to approach the stone que, but the meteors fell at an increasing pace, though each one was just as strong as the previous. Little Leaf King did not want to let even a single one of these attack touch him.

    The seabed soon began to boil.

    Above the sea, Mu Ziying¡¯s trio exchanged nces. ¡°Those golden meteors have run out, so we can go in now. Charge!¡±

    As Mu Ziying spoke, the three young men shot into the vortex and raced towards the seafloor. At this time, the people already on the seabed were still trapped by Little Leaf King¡¯s technique, but Little Leaf King was also being forced further and further away from the stone que.

    Mu Ziying and Hua Xiao acted in unison, and they both used the Cosmic Art to envelop their surroundings.

    Shu Jing raised a hand and tapped out with a finger. Star energy moved in a straight line and pierced through the void as heunched a direct attack at Little Leaf King.

    Little Leaf King tried to dodge, but since he was busy evading the golden meteors, he was unable to dodge in time, and the Linear Movement attack struck him squarely in the shoulder, tearing his clothes apart.

    When Little Leaf King was attacked, the falling leaves trapping the crowd all dispersed, and they reformed into star energy.

    Lu Yin subconsciously withdrew his star energy, and he instantly used that strength to elerate himself towards the stone que.

    The Hui family¡¯s heir simrly withdrew his star energy and dashed forwards.

    Mu Ziying was extremely fast, but he was not as close to the que as Lu Yin. However, the second true disciple had covered too much area with his Cosmic Art, and the stars suddenly exploded, attacking everyone indiscriminately. Even ck and White were caught up in the attack.

    It should be said that Mu Ziying had taken ck and White into consideration with his move. These two were moving very fast, and if either of them were able to grab the stone que, then nobody would be able to catch them.

    ck and White shrieked as they evaded the attack.

    Lu Yin easily avoided the star explosions, and he kicked out with his right leg, unleashing a terrifying gale that sliced across the seabed. This slice was only about a meter above the seafloor, and everyone was targeted by it.

    Since others had attacked without any sort of distinction, then he would do the same.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin did not use any star energy in this attack, his physical strength was too overpowering, and the power level of this attack instantly surpassed 200,000, horrifying many, and they immediately squatted down. Even Little Leaf King, the Hui family¡¯s heir, and Shu Jingpletely disregarded their dignity as the ducked down under the attack.

    Mu Ziying and the two with him did not even need to be mentioned, as they had squatted down the moment they saw Lu Yin raise his leg.

    This slice sped across the seabed and tore through the void, leaving numerous spatial cracks in its wake.

    As people waited for the sh to pass by, they all stared at Lu Yin in horror; this power was simply too terrifying.

    Little Leaf King focused intently on Lu Yin, as this person¡¯s physical strength was overwhelming.

    After witnessing the gale released by a simple sweep of Lu Yin¡¯s leg, everyone else was rendered speechless. It was at this moment that the stone quepletely emerged.

    He firmly dashed towards the que and sped past Little Leaf King, who reflexively used Starswapped Leaf, only to discover that there was no star energying from Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Shu Jing tapped out with a finger, unleashing another straight line. However, nine lined battle force appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s palm as he simply pped down and shattered the attack. At the same time, a massive wind palm whistled by, causing the water to surge towards the Hui family heir.

    The heir only felt an unstoppable force pushing him over as he was forced 100 meters back. He raised a hand in response, prompting another shower of golden meteors to crash down once again, all of them aimed at Lu Yin this time.

    Lu Yin did not evade this attack. Instead, he watched, and right when the golden meteors were about to strike, he waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art. The meteors were redirected, and they suddenly crashed towards the Hui family heir.

    The Hui family heir¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°The Yu Secret Art?¡±

    There was an explosion as the golden meteors struck the seabed and raised a massive wave of dust that obstructed everyone¡¯s vision.

    Mu Ziying had been racing toward the stone que, but he was also caught up by the unexpected golden meteor attack, and he had to pause for a moment before moving back.

    Lu Yin had simply used the Yu Secret Art to redirect the golden meteors, leaving the region in front of himselfpletely empty except for the stone que. He effortlessly shot through the void and pressed a hand against the que before grabbing it and cing it behind himself.

    Nobody was willing to let Lu Yin take the que, and they all looked at him for a moment before attacking in unison.

    Shu Jing¡¯s Linear Movement.

    The Hui family heir¡¯s golden meteors.

    Little Leaf King¡¯s Starswapped Leaf.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s Cosmic Palm.

    There were also various attacks from the other cultivators present, and they all fell upon Lu Yin at the same time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled, and 520 stars revolved around his body as his nine lined battle force shot into the sky and enveloped each and every star before finally exploding.

    When the 520 stars appeared, Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, and Yao Ji were all struck dumb.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s stars exploded, the seabed erupted, and the tremendous shockwave even shot past the surface of the sea. Multiple fountains appeared and rose into the sky.

    Quite a few cultivators above the sea started evading these eruptions, and they were overwhelmed by the show of force. They were simply thrilled that they had not taken part in the undersea conflict.

    Shu Jing, the Hui family heir, Little Leaf King, and the others were all caught up in Lu Yin¡¯s attack, as he had paid special attention to them. Little Leaf King and Shu Jing were both beaten to a pulp, and the Hui family heir was the only one fine. He had wanted to take advantage of the opportunity when Lu Yin was using the Cosmic Art to snatch the stone que, but the Cosmic Art was merely one of Lu Yin¡¯s attack methods¡ªhe still had something even more absurd.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to act against the Hui family heir, ck and White dashed past him, looking like human meteorites that shot through the battlefield. They moved far too quickly, and they struck both of the Hui heir¡¯s shoulders at the same time, sending him flying away. Afternding, his shoulders were still numb, and he could not even raise his arms.

    Lu Yin was astonished but not entirely surprised. Since Eversky Ind had dared to allow ck and White to participate in the Astral Tower contest, it showed their confidence in these two. While the twins might look pitiful, they had been able to repeatedly escape from Ku Lei, which was not an easy task. Also, they had abined battle technique in their ck White Combo that had even stunned Lu Yin.

    ¡°That hurt so freaking bad! ck, that guy¡¯s shoulders are so hard!¡± Whiteined.

    ck was also gritting her teeth and enduring her pain, and the two brats immediately turned around and directed pitiful stares at Lu Yin, both of them looking as if they were about to cry.

    Lu Yin was helpless. ¡°Alright, thank you, girls.¡±

    The two immediately smiled through their tears.

    The Hui family heir, Shu Jing, and Little Leaf King were the most powerful opponents within the area, but even they had been beaten back. The other nearby people did not even qualify to resist.

    Mu Ziying¡¯s trio did not act, as they were rather cautious of Lu Yin.

    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯ve taken the object, so you can all stop now,¡± Lu Yin said as his gaze swept across everyone gathered. After uniting the whole Outerverse and sessively defeating Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin¡¯s temperament had changed quite significantly. Right now, he gave off a feeling of being truly peerless, which was something that would only appear in those who could stand at the true peak of the universe in the future.

    Shu Jing and the others looked at each other. They were reluctant, but Lu Yin had revealed an overwhelming strength. Though one person could overpower them all, they could still escape and they also had their own followers.

    There were many inheritances throughout the Mountains and Seas Zone, so there was no need to enter an all-out fight for just one. If they did, then once something else appeared in another ce, they would be at a disadvantage.

    ¡°Brother Lu, congrattions. This stone que is yours. However, you¡¯ll need to be careful now that you¡¯re holding onto it,¡± Shu Jing calmly said before casually leaving the seabed.

    Little Leaf King never spoke a word, and he was exceptionally cold.

    The Hui family heir looked at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Where is the Yu family?¡±

    Lu Yin and the young man exchanged nces. ¡°They can be thought of as being in seclusion for the moment, as they don¡¯t participate in outside affairs.¡±

    The Hui family heir frowned. ¡°The Seven Courts¡¯ Yu family can¡¯t hide. You¡¯re Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you before. When the Sixth Maind invaded, everyone said that you died at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands. Actually back then, I also wanted to check Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s strength,¡± he said.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Toote. I already killed him.¡±

    The Hui family heir went silent and turned to leave.

    Lu Yin calmly watched him go.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, that guy¡¯s too rude! You and his ancestor practically became sworn brothers, so when he sees you, he should call you Ancestor Lu, hahaha!¡± The Ghost Monkey cackled.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. What the monkey had said was somewhat urate, as Brother Hui Kong was definitely one of the Hui family¡¯s ancestors. In fact, this Hui family heir was mostly likely the old man¡¯s junior by countless generations.

    The Hui family heir had been the only one who had not been pushed back by Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art, and he had probably used a secret technique, the Hui Secret Art, to block the Cosmic Art. Lu Yin wondered how well the heir could utilize the secret technique.

    Little Leaf King appeared at the sea¡¯s surface.

    Off in the distance, Qing Longlong looked down at the seabed. She had not gone down topete, as she was well aware of her own abilities. Thus, she did not try to challenge anyone, unlike Tai Yuanjun.

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone inheritance region, there were many participants who were much stronger than Zing Longlong. She hade here to test her luck, and she had no desire topete for anything truly valuable in this ce, as she felt that she did not have the strength to do so.

    Even further away, the stutterer licked his lips and anxiously looked down at the seabed, waiting for Lu Yin to emerge. As long as Lu Yin came back up, the stutterer had already made up his mind to follow Lu Yin. As his master had said, there would be meat if he followed Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1114: Lu Yin Vs. Jin He

    <h4>Chapter 1114: Lu Yin Vs. Jin He</h4>

    Down on the seafloor, Lu Yin, ck, and White all studied the stone que with puzzled expressions.

    The que had ancient characters carved into it, and it seemed to originate from a long, bygone era. ording to Lu Yin¡¯s best estimates, this que might even stem from the same era as the ancient characters that he had seen in the Daosource Sect¡¯s Scripture Pavilion, which were from the same era as the Daosource Sect itself.

    ¡°Can you girls understand these characters?¡± Lu Yin could not help himself from asking this when he saw ck and White¡¯s serious expressions.

    ck and White looked up at Lu Yin as if he were illiterate.

    Lu Yin blinked, and asked with greater expectations, ¡°Can you girls really read this?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± White shouted.

    ck nudged her sister. ¡°White, when ites to reading these kinds of things, even if we don¡¯t understand them, we still have to act like we do. Do you get it now? Otherwise, other people will look down on us.¡±

    White seemed to have been enlightened, and she looked back at Lu Yin with a serious expression. ¡°I can.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Someone would really end up tearing off these two brats¡¯ mouths sooner orter.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, these ancient characters are identical to what we saw in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins¡¯ Scripture Pavilion, and this monkey can make out a few words. ording to what I can understand, this que should be some sort of eulogy. During the ancient times, people followed different traditions, and they seemed to have written down eulogies while creating the Mountains and Seas Zone. This eulogy was written by people living next to the sea, and they wanted their region to be blessed by peace. It isn¡¯t very valuable,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin copied down the characters on the stone que before punching the stone que back into the seabed. It would be too inconvenient to carry such a thing on his back, and it could be easily stolen by envious people; all in all, it would only bring him trouble. Regardless, the most valuable part of the stone que was the writing on it.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s impressive strength, he was not able to damage the stone que at all. Its materials were quite sturdy, so he felt that it was a pity that he could not take it with him.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s strength, the stone que had definitely been pounded very deep into the ocean floor, and others would not be able to easily find it.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin said.

    When the three were about to leave the seabed, White pointed off into the distance and excitedly shouted, ¡°Look, a current!¡±

    Lu Yin nced over to see a white stream passing through the sea off in the distance. It looked like a passageway that snaked across the seafloor and off into the distance.

    On the spacecraft, Elder Yuan Ke had mentioned that while there were many treasures along the seafloor, there were just as many dangers to be found. Thus, the best way to travel was through the currents.

    There were quite a few currents that ran along the seabed, and they were essentially passageways across the seas. As long as one followed the current, they would usually be able to find good items, as the current was basically an expressway that ran through the sea.

    Throughout the countless years, many cultivators had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, and many of them had not intended topete for the contest at Astral Tower. Rather, they focused on searching for these undersea currents and the treasures within.

    Since a current had appeared, there was no reason not to use it.

    Lu Yin led ck and White into the current, and an instantter, the scenery on either side sped away.

    There were five mountains and seas in the Mountain and Seas Zone; the five mountains stood in five different directions while the five seas were connected.

    Upon entering the current, Lu Yin¡¯s group were unsure of which mountain they would ultimately end up at. They might continue traveling along in their original direction or they might turn around and head in theplete opposite direction.

    There were many currents throughout the seas, and all of them intersected and converged upon each other in aplicated pattern.

    Lu Yin led ck and White along as they followed the current along the seafloor. While traveling, they ran into quite a few other currents, and they also saw other cultivators.

    At one time, Lu Yin saw Liu Tianmu, and vice versa as the two crossed paths.

    Next, he saw Liquor Hero, who was carrying arge wine barrel and sleeping as a current carried her along. ck and White even yelled at her.

    It may have been fate, but Lu Yin also ran into Ku Lei.

    ck and White also shouted the moment they saw Ku Lei.

    When Ku Lei saw Lu Yin, his expression grew angry, and he leaped out of the current and shot up towards the surface.

    ¡°Chase him! Beat him, beat him!¡± ck and White shouted.

    Lu Yin immediately put some pressure on them. ¡°Are treasures or beating up others more important?¡±

    The two brats thought about it but ultimately decided not to chase after Ku Lei, which was the logical choice.

    Ku Lei simply moved into another direction. The next person Lu Yin ran into was Jin He, and killing intent filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he shot straight at the Arbiter.

    Jin He stared at Lu Yin, astonished, but then he smiled. He leaped up and made his way towards the surface.

    Lu Yin immediately gave chase.

    ck and White were both very fast, and they pulled at Lu Yin from either side. ¡°Lu Yin, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°To beat someone up.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice sounded very dark.

    ck shouted, ¡°Are treasures or beating someone up more important?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Clearly, beating someone up is more important.¡± Lu Yin was decisive in his reply, and he immediately leaped towards the surface. His actions left ck and White rather speechless, as this was the first time they had been verbally outmaneuvered.

    There was a bang as Jin He left the sea, and he looked down to see Lu Yin exit the sea as well. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were ice cold.

    Jin He¡¯s eyes narrowed as he backed away, but Lu Yin raced after him and unleashed a Vacuum Palm without any hesitation.

    No matter who they were, anyone would suffer the first time they were struck by a Vacuum Palm. After all, not only were these invisible palm prints fast, but they also carried an extraordinary power.

    Jin He was no different. Although he was one of the more mysterious of the Ten Arbiters, it was mainly because he had cultivated Truesight. One look from him was enough to wipe out a¡¯s civilization, and he was known as the Arbiter who could not be attacked. However, that was in the past.

    Once the mysterious veil was pulled aside, Jin He was no longer overly mysterious.

    The Vacuum Palm smacked Jin He straight down to the seafloor. In fact, he had already prepared himself for an attack when Lu Yin emerged from the sea, but his preparations had been too little. The strength of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was too much, and although Jin He had weakened the runes in Lu Yin¡¯s hand even before heunched the attack, that had only managed to reduce the power by a small fraction, and the palm strike was still strong enough to force out a mouthful of blood from Jin He.

    Lu Yin shot back down to the seabed and grabbed at Jin He.

    The corner of the Arbiter¡¯s lips were stained with blood, and his smile had disappeared. A bizarre firearm had appeared in his hands that looked like a gun. He fired it with a bang, but Lu Yin simply waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art to divert the projectile into the void.

    This gun was rather powerful, but it could only be used once, and after that, it was eliminated by the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Another gun appeared in Jin He¡¯s left hand, and he fired again.

    Lu Yin struck out with another Vacuum Palm, and this one simply shattered the bullet. However, Jin He also managed to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin was dumbstruck, and he looked down at his hand before ring at Jin He. Jin He¡¯s Truesight had erased many of Lu Yin¡¯s rune lines; in a directparison to himself, Lu Yin could not erase even half of what Jin He had just done.

    At the same time, both Jin He and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and they erased some of their opponent¡¯s runes. Lu Yin continuously released a barrage of Vacuum Palms as star energy formed a screen in front of Jin He that he stared intently at. Since he could erase all rune lines that came within a certain distance of him, that essentially meant that Jin He had a defensive forcefield protecting him.

    For a Vacuum Palm tond on Jun He, Lu Yin would need tounch an attack that could break through the screen, but all of the rune lines that approached the screen were greatly weakened.

    Even if Lu Yin was capable of unleashing an even stronger Vacuum Palm, its strength would be reduced by half by the time it struck Jin He.

    And Jin He was easily able to dodge a half-powered Vacuum Palm.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing someone use Truesight in such a fashion, and it broadened his horizons. His use of Truesight had always been very crude, and Jin He had just given Lu Yin a lesson in its more advanced applications.

    ¡°We¡¯re in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and everyone here wants to chase us out. Lu Yin, do you really want us to fight amongst ourselves?¡± Jin He¡¯s long hair undted as he stood at the bottom of the sea and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was exceptionally cold. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m representing Eversky Ind.¡±

    Jin He reluctantly said, ¡°Stop attacking me. I really don¡¯t want to fight you, as I can¡¯t beat you. Still, it¡¯s not very realistic for you to kill me either, as you should have heard about me already.¡±

    ¡°About how you¡¯re unable to be attacked?¡± Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Jin He smiled. ¡°You should have already experienced it yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent, as this person was indeed very difficult to deal with.

    Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Lan Si had been a head-on confrontation, as they had both used the Oveying Stacks Path. Thus, they had fought thrown force against force.

    When Lu Yin had fought against Nightking Zhenwu, it had been like walking across thin ice. Lu Yin had to constantly be on guard against Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s spiritual force attacks and secret technique while also working to find a way to break through Zhenwu¡¯s defenses. However, back then, Lu Yin had already been stronger than Nightking Zhenwu, and if Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift hadn¡¯t been aplete cheat of an ability, then Lu Yin would not have suffered such a miserable victory. The battle against Nightking Zhenwu had been more of a battle of wits than a battle of strength.

    After Lu Yin defeated Nightking Zhenwu, he had been seen as someone who stood at the peak of a certain level. Ku Lei, the Hui family heir, Shu Jing, and the others had all been suppressed by Lu Yin. Jin He was the same, as they were all weaker than him when it came to pure strength.

    However, Jin He¡¯s special trait of being unable to be attacked presented a thorny problem to Lu Yin.

    Truesight was something that had been created by the Rune Progenitor, and this technique had been the foundation of a mysterious civilization that had been able to resist the Sixth Maind. This technique was not as simple as merely erasing some runes of an enemy.

    From the very beginning, Jin He had only cultivated Truesight, and hisprehension as well as his use of it had both reached perfection. For the time being, it would bepletely pointless for Lu Yin to trypeting against Jin He in terms of Truesight.

    Just a simple screen had rendered Jin He essentially untouchable.

    Nightking Zhenwu had possessed an innate gift that was essentially cheating, and he had been able to survive multiple attacks that should have killed him while Jin He could simply nullify any attack aimed at him.

    None of the Ten Arbiters were simple.

    Inparison, the Seven Courts heirs all had their secret techniques, but they were a lot easier to deal with.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that if the Ten Arbiters were pitted against ten heirs from the elite powers of the Neoverse, the Arbiters might actually have a higher odds of victory.

    ¡°The Rune Civilization was the most mysterious in history, but it was also the most cruel. Lu Yin, do you know why?¡± Jin He spoke.

    Lu Yin stared at Jin He.

    Jin He¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Because those who cultivate Truesight don¡¯t need many techniques to fight. If one canpletely erase their opponent¡¯s runes, then that opponent will simply vanish. Completely vanish.¡±

    Lu Yin focused on his opponent.

    Jin He smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it very cruel?¡±

    ¡°Just try and make me vanish. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll make you disappear,¡± Lu Yin coldly vowed.

    Jin He reluctantly asked, ¡°Why? We¡¯re not mortal enemies. The judgement back then was made out of loyalty. I was just the spokesperson, not the instigator.¡±

    ¡°The instigator was the Ignition Crew?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Jin He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Years ago, the group led by your Big Sis returned to Leon¡¯s Armada, and Leon¡¯s Armada had dered war on the Ignition Crew. The many years of peace in the Cosmic Sea was broken, and the Ignition Crew suffered heavy casualties as a result.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also an aplice, and there¡¯s a debt of seventy two lives. You can¡¯t hide from it!¡± Lu Yin barked.

    Jin He looked up and sighed. ¡°Had I known that this day woulde, I would have definitely killed you long ago. How troublesome.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote now. Let¡¯s see just who kills who!¡± Lu Yin barked, and his eyes opened wide as Night Advent covered the surface of the sea. Jin He spread both of his hands out, and his star energy formed a screen thatpletely covered him. This was the true appearance of Jin He¡¯s epithet. In this state, Truesight weakened any and all rune lines that drew close to his body. No matter where an attack approached him from, its power would always be reduced by half.

    And it was very difficult to defeat Jin He of the Ten Arbiters with a half-powered attack.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1115: Battle Of The Ten Arbiters

    <h4>Chapter 1115: Battle Of The Ten Arbiters</h4>

    Lu Yin continuously threw out Vacuum Palms, and he put his all into each strike. However, whenever an attack passed through Jin He¡¯s screen, its rune lines would be reduced by half, meaning that none of the attacks were able to present much of a threat when they reached Jin He.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s Heart Seeker secret technique, as a sneak attack secret technique like that would be perfectly suited for this situation. As long as such an attacknded, it would be enough to severely injure or even kill Jin He outright.

    Jin He retreated, step by step. Although he was confident that he would not be defeated, he also knew that he could not defeat Lu Yin, and he truly regretted his previous actions. If he had known that this day woulde, he would have personally dealt with the Big Sis Mercenaries.

    Who could have known that, at that time, amoner who hadn¡¯t cultivated would eventually climb to a level where he could suppress Jin He in such a manner in only a bit more than ten years? This sort of talent was absolutely terrifying.

    As he thought about this, a deep killing intent glimmered in the depths of Jin He¡¯s eyes. He could not give Lu Yin any more time to mature; otherwise, who knew what sort of strength Lu Yin would develop in the future.

    ¡°Brother Lu, I won¡¯t y around with you anymore.¡± Jin He smiled as dozens of guns appeared in front of him and fired at the same time. Dozens of bullets pierced through the void as they all flew towards Lu Yin.

    Jin He intended to leave. Later on, he woulde up with some way to destroy Lu Yin, as it was impossible to do so in a one-on-one fight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes quivered as something seemed to move beneath his feet. A chessboard appeared that only he could see: Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard. Lu Yin turned himself into a chesspiece, and he moved.

    His entire body vanished as he reappeared right behind Jin He. Suddenly, there was less than a meter separating the two of them.

    Jin He¡¯s pupils shrank in disbelief. Not good! A secret technique?

    Lu Yin pressed a hand against Jin He¡¯s chest. There was a soft thump as Jin He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood while his body was sent flying away. He spat out another mouthful of blood while still in midair, the blood dying his hair red. Afterwards, he fell out of the sea, his face deathly white.

    Lu Yin did not n on giving Jin He any opportunity to survive, and he threw out another Vacuum Palm, intending to exterminate Jin He in one go.

    But at that moment, a shield appeared in front of Jin He. It had formed as he flew out of the sea, and it had coincidentally blocked Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Even the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm could not break through this shield.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone rejected all foreign objects, and the guns and shield that Jin He had condensed could only be used once.

    This was the mystery of Truesight; it allowed one to truly create items, especially in this ce where others could not bring anything in.

    After blocking one of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms, Jin He endured the pain in his chest as he formed another shield. A momentter, it managed to block another Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°How many more times can you stop me?¡±

    He then raised a hand and struck out with yet another Vacuum Palm.

    Jin He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. After that, his star energy converged in front of him as his pupils transformed into runes and he tried to erase the rune lines before him. However, this time, he affected a much smaller area than before, and he was only able to protect half of his body. Additionally, when Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm passed through the defensive screen, Jin He could not dodge the attack, and he was struck in the abdomen. He was sent flying once more as he spat out even more blood.

    Lu Yin groaned, and his body flickered as he raced after Jin He. Once he reached the Arbiter, Lu Yin looked down and said, ¡°Unable to be attacked? What a joke.¡±

    There was blood leaking out of the corner of Jin He¡¯s mouth, and he was sprawled on the seabed. He struggled to look up at Lu Yin and revealed a bitter smile. ¡°A secret technique. Again, it¡¯s a secret technique, as only a mysterious secret technique would allow you to approach me. This defeat is fair. Lu Yin, kill me if you can.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, as he did not n to talk any further with Jin He. Lu Yin was just about to deliver the final blow when several figures suddenly shot up from the seafloor. ¡°Stop!¡±

    Lu Yin looked over and saw that this group of people were from Gods¡¯ Origin, and there were a total of seven men and women.

    Their leader was a man, and when he saw that Lu Yin was about to execute Jin He, he shouted, ¡°Stop! I¡¯m God Qingguang from Gods¡¯ Origin. This person is a traitor to my Gods¡¯ Origin, so we must take him back to be judged.¡±

    God Qingguang waved a hand, and several people dashed out from behind him and towards Jin He, ready to take him away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold, and he casually waved a hand. Ripples spread through the void, and an enormous strength forced everyone who had moved to seize Jin He back.

    ¡°Who¡¯s letting you take him away?¡± Lu Yin coldly asked.

    God Qingguang¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Brother, think about this carefully. We¡¯re from Gods¡¯ Origin. If you want to get your revenge, thene to my Gods¡¯ Origin and personally watch him be judged. We wee you to do so. But, please, don¡¯t block us.¡±

    Lu Yin had long heard of how arrogant the people from Gods¡¯ Origin were. While it was true that God Taiyi was quite arrogant and that he referred to himself as a god, God Taiyi had also helped Lu Yin before, which made God Taiyi¡¯s arrogance seem less overbearing. However, against God Qingguang, Lu Yin was able to sense the sheer arrogance of these people, and he could understand why people called them lunatics.

    Jin Heughed. ¡°This is great! God Qingguang, keep moving. This is Lu Yin. You want to take me away from him? What a joke!¡±

    God Qingguang frowned. ¡°Shut up, traitor!¡±

    He then focused on Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you. God Taiyi mentioned you and that you also cultivate Truesight. We won¡¯t bicker over that, but don¡¯t stop us right now. Take him away.¡±

    Those few Gods¡¯ Origin people moved for Jin He once again.

    Jin He looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a cold expression. With a sharp re, he unleashed Night Advent in all directions. God Qingguang and the others were all enveloped by the darkness, and the spiritual force attack left them dizzy. Aside from God Qingguang, all the other cultivators from Gods¡¯ Origin practically copsed to the ground.

    God Qingguang shouted, and his pupils transformed into runes as he stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils simrly transformed into runes as he locked eyes with God Qingguang. Both sides were erasing the other¡¯s rune lines. This was a battle that outsiders could not witness, as only people who had cultivated Truesight could understand anything.

    There was an explosion, and God Qingguang¡¯s body trembled. He eximed in shock, ¡°You¡¯ve actually cultivated Truesight to the rity realm?¡±

    Lu Yin retorted, ¡°Haven¡¯t you done the same?¡±

    God Qingguang was in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s extremely difficult for outsiders to reach the rity realm¡ªyou must have found a Rune Technology ruin. Hand it over!¡±

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°Your brain must not be working right. Was the Rune Progenitor your ancestor?¡±

    God Qingguang¡¯s face twisted into an extremely ugly expression.

    The other people from Gods¡¯ Origin all began to shout as they red at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, these fellows are all sick. They¡¯re lunatics,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    At this moment, ck and White shot up from the seafloor and stood next to Lu Yin as they red at God Qingguang. ¡°Eh? White, it¡¯s the crackpots!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ck, the nuts are here.¡±

    The expressions of God Qingguang and the others all grew darker.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he turned around to look at Jin He, only to see that a strange device had appeared on Jin He¡¯s back. He smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Goodbye!¡±

    Then, the device released a loud noise as Jin He suddenly shot away, moving even faster than when he had tried to flee earlier. He went straight to the seafloor and raced into a current.

    Lu Yin was toote to even try to chase after Jin He.

    He was infuriated, and he red at God Qingguang and the others. They were even more upset, as they felt that Lu Yin had interfered in their business.

    ¡°Lu Yin, right? We¡¯ll remember you!¡± God Qingguang was enraged.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. ¡°Originally, for God Taiyi¡¯s sake, I didn¡¯t want to fight with you all despite your provocations.¡±

    He then lifted a hand and swatted out with multiple Vacuum Palms.

    These invisible palm strikes were inexplicable, and neither God Qingguang nor any of the others could do anything about these attacks. They could not react like Jin He, and although they were a group of seven, not a single one of them managed to evade an attack. As a result, all of them fell into the sea.

    Lu Yin did not attack with overly powerful Vacuum Palms, as he did not want to do much to these people besides teach them a lesson. That way, perhaps they would not impede him in the future.

    Of the seven youths from Gods¡¯ Origin, God Qingguang was the only Hunter, and the rest were just Cruisers. They had each been struck by a Vacuum Palm, and although none of them were weak, they all found the attacks unendurable. Thus, quite a few of them fell unconscious as they floated on the surface of the sea.

    God Qingguang¡¯s face turned green, and he gritted his teeth as he red at Lu Yin. A hazy green light radiated from his body.1

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°So you actually have an innate gift of healing.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin, do you know who you¡¯re going against?¡± God Qingguang barked, unable to curb his rage.

    Lu Yin was amused. ¡°A bunch of lunatics.¡±

    ¡°Alright, just you wait! My Gods¡¯ Origin will not let you go! You¡¯re from the Innerverse, so this Astral Tower contest has nothing to do with any of you. People will soon make trouble for you, so just wait to be thrown out!¡± God Qingguang threatened.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard the news that there are some people who want to team up and kick all of the Innerverse people out. So tell me, just who¡¯s going to make trouble for me?¡±

    God Qingguang sneered. He then used his star energy to pick up the other six people as he left.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. God Qingguang¡¯s bravado did not seem fake, and Starsibyl¡¯s worries were not wrong either. The Neoverse was indeed trying to push the Innerverse out. In the past, Starsibyl had begged the Ten Arbiters to work together, which was not illogical. Even if the Ten Arbiters were even more powerful, they could not go against the sheer numbers of the Neoverse¡¯s elite youths.

    However, there was one detail that reassured Lu Yin: the Ten Arbiters were truly strong.

    Before Lu Yin had arrived at the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had been frightened by Highsage Shenwei and Starsibyl¡¯s descriptions. He hade to believe that the heirs of the Seven Courts and the core disciples of the other great powers in the Neoverse could each rival the Ten Arbiters. If that were true, then they could use their numerical advantage topletely suppress the Ten Arbiters.

    However, his battle with Ku Lei had allowed Lu Yin to realize that while Ku Lei did indeed have the strength to fight with the Ten Arbiters, it would be very difficult for him to beat any of them. Out of the Ten Arbiters, Lu Yin only understood the strength of Lan Si, Nightking Zhenwu, and Jin He. However, the rest of the Arbiters were just as unfathomable, and Lu Yin did not truly understand any of them. If the people of the Neoverse underestimated the Ten Arbiters, then the final oue might not be the one they hoped to see.

    Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm was not something that Ku Lei could easily deal with, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s battle prowess went without saying, especially given his deceptive and deadly personality. Jin He¡¯s use of Truesight had practically reached perfection, as even the people from Gods¡¯ Origin could not match up to him. Additionally, throughout the entire battle, Jin He had never used his innate gift. Did he not have one, or had he simply not used it?

    ¡°Lu Yin, let¡¯s keep traveling in the current.¡± ck and White pulled at Lu Yin and hurried back down towards the seabed.

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone, in a certain area on the seabed, blood flowed from Wen Sansi¡¯s arms. His face was a bit pale, and across from him stood a woman: Qiu Shi.

    ¡°The fabled All Rounder Fairy truly lives up to her epithet. That must be your Cosmic Art that you just used at full force. It actually broke through my Literary Prison,¡± Wen Sansi praised.

    Across from him, Qiu Shi¡¯s expression was calm. ¡°You¡¯re not my match. Leave the Mountain and Seas Zone. This Astral Tower contest has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Wen Sansi felt helpless. ¡°I carry the hopes of my Wen family and the entire Innerverse on my back, and I am truly unwilling to leave so easily.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll send you on your way.¡± As she spoke, the star energy around Qiu Shi¡¯s body trembled, and more than 900 stars revolved about her body. The seafloor suddenly looked like outer space as she raised a hand and struck out with a Cosmic Palm.

    Wen Sansi clenched his fists and waved a hand. Ancient characters appeared one after another, trying to trap Qiu Shi within a formation. This was a seven by seven array.

    Everyone knew that Wen Sansi of the Ten Arbiters was well-versed in the Literary Prison and that he used a seven by seven array.

    However his seven by seven Literary Prison was not enough to trap Qiu Shi, and when the stars exploded, the Literary Prison shattered just like before.

    But at that moment, the number of characters suddenly increased as it transformed into an eight by eight array.

    [1] Qing means green. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1116: Fated Outcome

    <h4>Chapter 1116: Fated Oue</h4>

    The strongest Literary Prison in the Wen family¡¯s possession was an eight by eight array, and Wen Sansi had actually cultivated the technique to that limit.

    Once the eight by eight Literary Prison appeared, even Qiu Shi was trapped.

    ¡°Like all matters, think before you act. All Rounder Fairy, farewell.¡± Wen Sansi waved a hand and moved to leave.

    The next moment, a frightening amount of star energy erupted out from the prison and caused the sea to surge.

    Wen Sansi whipped around and stared at Qiu Shi in shock. This star energy belonged to an Enlighter!

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation, there was no one who had publicly be an Enlighter yet.

    Only the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies had reached such a level.

    However, the All Rounder Fairy Qiu Shi had actually broken into the Enlighter realm, and thebination of her terrifying star energy and her Cosmic Artpletely shattered Wen Sansi¡¯s eight by eight Literary Prison. After escaping, she immediately swung a palm at the Arbiter.

    The difference between a Hunter and an Enlighter might appear to just be a difference of a single major realm, and the Ten Arbiters and others had long demonstrated their ability to cross realms and challenge Enlighters. However, the person before Wen Sansi was no ordinary cultivator.

    Qiu Shi and Wen Sansi were two geniuses on the same level. Once someone with their level of talent reached the next realm, their strength would bepletely differentpared to other cultivators.

    The Ten Arbiters had long been capable of bing Enlighters, but they had postponed their breakthroughs in order to consolidate their foundations even further before taking that step. Breaking through to the Enlighter realm was a fundamental change in one¡¯s being, and the greater one¡¯s foundation as a Hunter was, the more drastically one would transform upon bing an Enlighter.

    The fact that Qiu Shi had dared to break through showed that she had umted a strong enough foundation, and her strength had clearly undergone a metamorphosis once she broke through.

    Just one Cosmic Palm pressured Wen Sansi so much that he was unable to catch his breath. He instantly retreated, but he was still unable to evade the encroaching stars. ¡°I told you that you should leave, but you didn¡¯t. I¡¯ll send you on your way then. The Cosmic Five has nothing to do with you.¡±

    The floor of the sea rocked as a massive trench appeared beneath Qiu Shi¡¯s palm. Rocks flew up from the seabed and shot up before crashing back into the sea.

    In another ce, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Ling Gong was also facing a difficult opponent: Yuhua Mavis.

    The Mavis family had always been a mysterious group. They were known to hold the reins of the Human Domain¡¯s finances, so they nevercked money. The members of the family also possessed an extraordinary strength. Yuhua Mavis had been born from the Treeheart, and she was the true nucleus of the Mavis family who possessed a strength that no one fully understood.

    Ling Gong¡¯s face looked serene. As one of the Ten Arbiters, she was fearless no matter who she faced. However, this Mavis woman was certainly able to shake Ling Gong¡¯s confidence. In particr, wherever Yuhua Mavis passed by, flowers would bloom. This was a rather disturbing power.

    ¡°Leave. The contest at the Astral Tower belongs to the Neoverse, and it has nothing to do with your Innerverse.¡± Yuhua Mavis revealed a slight smile. Her countenance looked very warm, and she spoke with a gentle tone of voice.

    The White Knight hefted her spear. ¡°Just try it if you want me to leave.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis sighed. ¡°The Lingling n, darlings of the universe who can merge multiple innate gifts into a single body. Against someone from your n, nobody can be absolutely confident that they will win. However, you¡¯re a Hunter. Thus, you can¡¯t fight me.¡±

    Ling Gong¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°You¡¯re an Enlighter?¡±

    Yuhua Mavis looked up. ¡°If one hasn¡¯t be an Enlighter, then how could they be one of the Cosmic Five?¡±

    She lightly stepped forward as green grass spread out from beneath her bare feet. It expanded across the seafloor towards Ling Gong, and the greenery suddenly formed itself into a giant fist that mmed itself at Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong stabbed forward with her spear, and there was a snap as her spear shattered. The power of the green grass fist was enough to make Ling Gong doubt her life, and she was sent flying.

    Throughout Ling Gong¡¯s entire cultivation journey, she had never met an opponent with such overwhelming strength before, and this might was simply unexinable.

    Yuhua Mavis continued smiling, and the green grass that formed the fist spread out into a palm that grabbed at Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong¡¯s expression grew cold, and her innate gift instantly appeared as the sound of a clock¡¯s strike rang out. Everything seemed to pause for a moment when the Skycastle appeared.

    Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle was known to suppress everything. Once it appeared, a corresponding phenomenon would ring out, causing fear to directly strike any listeners¡¯ hearts.

    Yuhua Mavis eximed, ¡°What a powerful innate gift! It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s such a huge gap between us at this moment. An innate gift won¡¯t be enough topensate for that.¡±

    The green grass began to frantically grow once again, and it formed a hand that grewrger andrger until it reached a size that covered the entire mountain range. Then, it descended towards the Skycastle.

    The Skycastle shot up into the sky, and Ling Gongunched herself forward with her spear pointed forward as she stabbed at Yuhua Mavis.

    There was an explosion. A dozen cultivators off in the distance seemed to be fighting against each other over some treasure when the Skycastle and the giant green hand collided. The shockwave caused by the collision swept across the seabed, and it quickly enveloped the dozen of fighting cultivators. The ones who did not react in time were crushed and instantly lost consciousness as they were thrown down to the seabed.

    The massive sea itself trembled as the terrifying shockwave burst forth from the surface of the sea and thundered into the sky. There was another explosion that warped the void, and spatial tears spread out in all directions.

    Down on the seafloor, Ling Gong stared at Yuhua Mavis in utter disbelief, as her spear had been casually grabbed by the woman while her Skycastle had been smashed apart by the massive green hand. How was this possible?

    Yuhua Mavis smiled. ¡°You really are tremendous. Is this the power of the Ten Arbiters? If I hadn¡¯t broken through to the Enlighter realm, it would have been extremely difficult to fight against you. But unfortunately, there is too much of a difference between us now.¡±

    She strengthened her star energy, and the spear that Ling Gong had formed through her own power shattered once more as Ling Gong was thrown aside by Yuhua Mavis.

    The Ten Arbiters were each being targeted, and Shang Qing had even been searching for them ever since he had arrived in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Once the Astral Tower contest started, all of the Ten Arbiters had faced an onught of attacks, both from individuals and from nearby groups of cultivators. Not a single Arbiter was left to wander about freely.

    Lan Si had met a few joint attacks from Neoverse cultivators, but he had not encountered anyone that posed too much of a threat yet.

    His luck had been rtively good while Wen Sansi and Ling Gong were among those with the worst luck.

    Everyone was searching for the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s inheritances, and quite a few cultivators were traveling within the currents.

    Whirlpools appeared one after another, each one indicating the presence of a treasure beneath the waves.

    On the seafloor in one particr area, a dozen cultivators were fighting over a stone que. A sword light streaked through the area, and the dozen cultivators all froze. They nkly turned to look at a ce off in the distance, and at that moment, they felt that death had descended upon them.

    The moment this person unsheathed her sword was the moment their destiny had reached its end.

    This was the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu, whose sword qi rose into the clouds.

    The dozen cultivators all retreated. This person was absolutely powerful, and those who were more tactful could sense just how powerful Liu Tianmu was.

    Liu Tianmu easily retrieved the stone que, but then she suddenly set it back down again as she slowly turned around. There were some vacant ck mes burning on the seabed, and it was possible to vaguely hear the sound of a horse¡¯s hooves. There was a distinct sound with each step that struck the ground, but nothing could be seen.

    Others could not see anything, but Liu Tianmu could. There was a strange-looking horseman immted in mes. He rode a ck warhorse and carried a war g on his back.

    This appearance could not be any more characteristic of Burial Garden.

    A mournful and deste whistling was heard down on the seabed, and it became louder and louder. This whistle came from the horseman from Burial Garden. The vacant ck mes slowly spread out, and they eventually surrounded Liu Tianmu.

    ¡°Leave¡­ the Mountain and Seas Zone,¡± the phantom-like ck rider spoke in a cold voice, but his eyes were even colder.

    Liu Tianmu unsheathed her sword. ¡°Try me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Y¨­u Qi,1 and I will indeed weep as I send you on your way. Goodbye.¡± As he spoke, the whistling sound reached an even higher pitch as the ck mes converged to form a spear while the warhorse charged forward. The horseman then stabbed at Liu Tianmu, but she shed out with her sword: First Sword.

    There was a bang and an explosion as a sharp attack sliced out and cut the sea apart. The dozen cultivators who had remained behind were all overwhelmed, and they dropped down as fast as they could before the sh tore through the void and reached them.

    ¡°What the?¡± One cultivator was inplete disbelief. The power of this attack was just too terrifying. If they had even touched it, they would have died without question.

    The other cultivators exchanged nces as well, and they stared into the distance in shock.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword had been formed from star energy, and although her First Sword had stopped the spear, the sword had also begun to shatter, as the star energy that formed it was actually being incinerated by the ck mes. She had also been struck by a frightening strength, which forced her to continuously retreat.

    The horse whinnied. All of its hooves zed, and it exerted itself once more. Liu Tianmu frowned, and she instantly used the Fourth Sword. Countless sword shadows appeared around the pair before eventually merging into a single sword body that sliced out.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear turned even darker, and he thrust the spear forward as his warhorse charged. The tip pierced the void.

    There was another bang as the sea roiled. The void seemed to shatter as spatial cracks spread out in all directions like lightning while the sea split open.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes went wide; human and sword merged into one. The sword and domain merged, and then human and domain merged. Fifth Sword.

    Bang

    There was another explosion, but this time, Y¨­u Qi was forced back, and not even his warhorse was able to resist the blow, being pushed back several steps.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ck spear that was formed from the mes had been sliced apart, and Liu Tianmu leaped up high before shing down at Y¨­u Qi. When the sword qinded, it shot right past him and the warhorse, striking the seafloor.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s pupils shrank. This was not right! The next moment, her wrists were grabbed, and the ck mes spread across her body. These vacant ck mes felt cold to the touch, but they burned her skin.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword swept out: Sixth Sword, which was a defensive stance.

    Y¨­u Qi was forced back once again, but this time, Liu Tianmu also retreated.

    There were a hundred meters between the two people, and they stared intently at each other.

    ¡°What sort of existence is Burial Garden?¡± Liu Tianmu spoke, carefully enunciating every word.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s strange, cold eyes bore into her. ¡°Within the same generation, there are few who can exchange blows with us. I acknowledge you, Liu Tianmu of the Sword Sect.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still too early for you to say such things. You are very bizarre, but you¡¯re not invincible. As long as I can find a w, with the strength that you¡¯ve shown, you might not be able to receive my acknowledgement,¡± Liu Tianmu coldly retorted.

    Y¨­u Qi smiled with an expression that did not seem to be a smile; it was impossible to discern the truth. The mournful whistling sound rose to an even higher pitch, and the ck mes that covered his body spread upwards until they covered his head as well. Then, the mes then gradually formed a¡ªbook. It was a strange book that burned with ck mes.

    ¡°Ten thousand years ago, there was a powerhouse known as Dun Jiu who had an innate gift of shielding that could block all manner of items and weaponry.2 I wonder if your sword can break his shield.¡± As Y¨­u Qi slowly spoke, a giant shield emerged that moved around his body like a stream of water. The horse neighed and then dashed towards Liu Tianmu as Y¨­u Qi ferociously thrust his spear forward.

    Liu Tianmu tightly clenched the hilt of her sword as she watched the ck speartip race towards her. She slowly lifted her sword, and her clothes billowed about despite the absence of wind. ¡°Tenth Sword, Staryer.¡±

    There was a whoosh, and a formless sword qi swept out. The sea and air were both visibly cut apart, and the stars seemed to spread over the area like a nket of stars, and they drifted down into the seabed.

    The Thirteen Swords: each sword had reached the level of an ultimate sword technique, and countless people yearned to learn them. Each sword also demonstrated a different power when wielded by different people.

    However, no matter whose hands wielded it, once the Tenth Sword was used, the power of the technique would always be shocking.

    The Tenth Sword, Staryer, was incredibly powerful.

    The seafloor itself was swept away as the sword technique sliced out, and only gradually did the sea restore itself.

    The shield moving around Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body had been sundered, and the ck mes had alsopletely vanished from his body, revealing a person wearing ck armor. This was Y¨­u Qi.

    [1] Qi means to sob/cry or tears. ?

    [2] Dun means shield, like Aden (Ah Dun). ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1117: Lu Yin And Lei N

    <h4>Chapter 1117: Lu Yin And Lei N</h4>

    ¡°Is this the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords? So Dun Jiu is not enough to stop it,¡± Y¨­u Qi spoke slowly.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What about you?¡±

    Y¨­u Qi slowly looked up, and his warhorse whinnied at the sky. The ck mes surged out once more as they enveloped the seabed and spread to the surface. At the same time, an indescribable power descended. This person¡­ was an Enlighter.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s expression changed, as her opponent was actually an Enlighter.

    ¡°During your battle against Lei N¨¹, I know that you were not defeated, but she also did not reveal her full strength. As for me, even if I didn¡¯t reveal my strength as an Enlighter, you still wouldn¡¯t be my match. But for you to gain a greater understanding of the difference between us, I will let you see the truth. You can make your move now¡ªuse the Eleventh Sword,¡± Y¨­u Qi coldly stated. The warhorse¡¯s eyes turned scarlet as it stared at Liu Tianmu. The creature looked as though it had walked out of hell and brought death with it.

    Liu Tianmu breathed deeply. She had used the Eleventh Sword in her battle against Lei N¨¹, and although Liu Tianmu had not been defeated, she had not won either. This was something that would have beenpletely foreign to her before, but now, she had run into Y¨­u Qi. This person had been blessed by the heavens, and there was meaning in an all-out battle.

    Off in the distance, Shang Qing had moved against Xie Xiaoxian.

    Before the Astral Tower appeared, Xie Xiaoxian had been following Shang Qing, and the First Honor Chosen had not acted against her. However, at this moment, Shang Qing had attacked.

    As the heir of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xie family, Xie Xiaoxian had an impressive strength, and she was even able to fight against members of the Specter n without losing. She hadprehended the Xie Secret Art, and most people could not match up to her. Despite that, Xie Xiaoxian was quickly defeated.

    She seemed to have experienced something she fundamentally could not exin, and shey on the seafloor as she watched Shang Qing leave. What just happened? Was that the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique? Is there anyone who canpare to him?

    So was that the first miraculous art of the universe? Was it really a peerless technique?

    It lived up to its reputation.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone had existed for countless years, and it had been explored countless times. Each vortex in the sea indicated a ce where treasure was emerging.

    Lu Yin roamed the seabed for two days, and during that time, he encountered quite a few people, some while traveling along a current. As time passed, Lu Yin had no idea where he had ended up after drifting along through the seas.

    No one was seen hurrying to climb the mountains, as there were quite a few inheritance treasures within the sea.

    Lu Yin saw quite a few people carrying sacks filled with items as they ran around, and there was even a term for these bags: Sierrasea Pouch.

    ¡°We just said to go right, but you just had to veer left! How stupid,¡± Whiteined, as Lu Yin had led them to wander around for several days, but during this time, they had seen any treasures.

    ck was also frustrated. ¡°That¡¯s right, right is better! Are you left-handed?¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly responded, ¡°It was clearly you girls who dragged me left.¡±

    ¡°Liar! You just have a terrible sense of direction.¡±

    ¡°A terrible sense of direction.¡±

    Lu Yin could not be bothered to argue with the two brats.

    At this moment, two cultivators in front of the trio were sneakily trying to leave the Mountain and Seas Zone, and they were carrying bags full of items on their backs.

    White grew excited. ¡°Treasure! Lu Yin, quick, grab them!¡±

    When the two cultivators heard her, they were terrified. Their faces nched, and they picked up their speed as they fled.

    Lu Yin was eager to try grabbing some things, but he felt rather embarrassed to act like a bandit outright.

    ck and White urged Lu Yin to steal from people, but they did not move an inch themselves.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two are grabbing it? Your ck and White Combo is so powerful, so you must be able to get something,¡± Lu Yin said.

    White rolled her eyes. ¡°Something so depraved as stealing can only be done by you.¡±

    ¡°Right, you do it,¡± ck continued.

    Lu Yin had nothing to say to the twins, and he merely nkly stared on as the two cultivators fled. He feltpletely embarrassed.

    When he had participated in the trial during Earth¡¯s apocalypse, he had stolen from many people. However, all of his opponents and victims back then had been outsiders. When up against enemies, Lu Yin was willing to do anything, but those two cultivators had not been his enemies, and they had not acted against him. Thus, he could not bring himself to do anything to them.

    Of course, it was also rather frustrating. Next time, he would definitely rob someone next time.

    As he thought about this, a massive whirlpool appeared on the seabed up ahead, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up: a treasure.

    ck and White immediately shot forward, but Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°Dodge!¡±

    In front of them, the seabed was torn apart as multiple attacksnded. They were apanied by a terrifying pressure.

    ck and White evaded one dangerous blow after another, but they were nearly struck several times as they raced away. They patted their chests to dispel the still-lingering fear.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell as he looked in another direction. He saw a woman wearing a mask that was half-red and half-white. She walked over the waves as she approached them. Her gaze was fixed on Lu Yin. Then, without saying a single word, she raised a hand, gathered star energy that formed a de, and threw it at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he raised a hand to summon Twin Suns before fiercely responding with his own attack.

    The nearby water trembled, and the collision from the surging star energy released aftershocks that almost tore the seabed apart.

    520 stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body. He had already released the Cosmic Art when he noticed the masked woman dashing towards him, and her approach was apanied by a stifling oppression and an indescribable sense of empty silence that Lu Yin could not endure. He felt as though his heart had been broken, as if all of his emotions had abandoned him.

    He merely heard the words, ¡°Autumn''s Sorrow,¡± being called out when, a momentter, he was struck by an extreme sense of suffering and depression that caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. He grabbed ck and White and pulled back as fast as he could. They had obviously fallen into a trap, and Lu Yin had absolutely no idea what sort of attack he had just been struck by, but he had mysteriously been injured.

    The masked woman remained standing in ce. ¡°Leave the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he looked her up and down. If he was not wrong, then this woman should be Lei N¨¹, and there were rumors that she had ovee Liu Tianmu¡¯s Eleventh Sword. She was also the Second Honor Chosen from the Hall of Honor.

    What had that attack been? An attack that targeted one¡¯s emotions?

    Although he had only cultivated for twelve years, Lu Yin believed that he had experienced many things that others had not. Even then, this was his first time facing such a weird attack.

    ¡°You¡¯re Lei N¨¹?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Leave the Mountain and Seas Zone. This is your only chance,¡± the girl indifferently dered.

    ¡°I¡¯m also an Honor Chosen,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Lei N¨¹ remained very cold. ¡°Your status has been temporarily revoked, and more importantly, you are one of the Ten Arbiters from the Innerverse and Outerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin had ck and White move far away. At this moment, the two brats did not put up any sort of argument.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Lei N¨¹ before his eyes suddenly red wide: Night Advent.

    Lei N¨¹ looked up. Night Advent was ineffective against her, so Lu Yin struck out with a palm: Vacuum Palm.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s body trembled as she was directly hit by the Vacuum Palm. She was instantly beaten back, and a trace of blood appeared from underneath her mask.

    Within the same generation, no matter how powerful someone was, there was no one who could disregard Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, especially the power of his Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin raised his hand once again, and unleashed another Vacuum Palm.

    Ripples appeared in Lei N¨¹¡¯s eyes. Then, corresponding ripples appeared in both the air and the sea that spread out.

    These waves were rune lines in Lu Yin¡¯s vision, but he did not know what they would do. Regardless, he did not dare to approach them, and he wanted to avoid them. However, they were moving too quickly, and he did not have any time to evade.

    Helpless, Lu Yin could only weaken these ripples¡¯ rune lines.

    After being struck, Lu Yin felt strangely abandoned, and all the strength fled from his body. Shockingly, his eye actually slowly closed.

    Suddenly, warning signs rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s heart¡ªnot good! This was a form of hypnosis, and he suddenly looked up to see a finger approaching. It was that finger, the same finger in his dreams. An endless rage instantly erupted that left him unable to stop himself from bellowing, ¡°How dare you!¡±

    The next moment, the finger struck him, and the finger that Lu Yin had seen suddenly vanished, reced by Lei N¨¹¡¯s strange red and white mask. An intense pain erupted in his chest, and he looked down to see that blood had stained his clothes red. He had been struck again.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s attacks were too strange.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you, leave the Mountain and Seas Zone,¡± Lei N¨¹ spoke.

    A fierce light appeared within Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just a small cut. Do you really think that you can win?¡±

    He suddenly grabbed Lei N¨¹¡¯s arm, and One Hundred Seventy Stacks shot up it. Even Zhi Yi had been injured by this move when Lu Yin had grabbed her, let alone Lei N¨¹. However, that was under the premise that Lu Yin was able to hit her.

    When Lu Yin used One Hundred Seventy Stacks, he discovered that the Lei N¨¹ in front of him was just a puff of air and that the real Lei N¨¹ had already retreated.

    He then heard the words in his ears ring out once again. ¡°Autumn''s Sorrow.¡±

    Pop

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood, and a jolt of pain racked his heart. What was going on? What kind of attack was she using? This was definitely not an ordinary battle technique, as there was no trace of an attack to be seen. But despite its stealthiness, its power surpassed his Vacuum Palm. This power could not belong to any ordinary attack.

    Was this the power of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Second Honor Chosen?

    Lu Yin had always known that the Hall of Honor was the guiding power of the entire Human Domain, but he had never seen its true strength. Even though Highsage Shenwei had warned Lu Yin, he had only been concerned with Shang Qing, and Lu Yin had never imagined that the Second Honor Chosen Lei N¨¹ would also be a monster. Her attacks were traceless, and he could not find any way to dodge them.

    By the time he reacted, he was already injured.

    This was the strength of the Hall of Honor¡¯s direct heirs.

    He stared at Lei N¨¹, and he was suddenly reminded of Starsibyl.

    Lei N¨¹ used hypnosis in a manner that left Lu Yin unable to find her, and she would then attack him through it. By the time he reacted, he would have already fallen into her trap.

    In contrast, Starsibyl used divination to evade her opponents¡¯ attacks in advance, and she would evenunch her attacks beforehand.

    Comparing the two, Lu Yin felt that the technical skills used by the members of the Starsibyl Sect were greater, but Lei N¨¹¡¯s attacks were too sneaky, and they could not be avoided.

    Since he could neither avoid her attacks nor attack her, there was only one option remaining. A chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet: Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard. The air, the sea, the people, and even the attacks were all changed into chesspieces. And on top of the Astral Chessboard, everything could be observed.

    When Lu Yin activated the Astral Chessboard secret technique, Lei N¨¹¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Is this?

    Lu Yin also changed himself into a chesspiece, and he noticed that Lei N¨¹ was no longer in her original ce on the Astral Chessboard. He did not know if Lei N¨¹ was actually where she appeared to be, but that no longer mattered. He raised a hand, and his muscles flexed: One Hundred Seventy Stacks struck the void.

    There was a soft thump as the air waspressed. The terrifying Oveying Stacks Path visibly swept through the void, and the space in the targeted region was distorted as was the sea. Meanwhile, Lu Yin saw that the entire chessboard was enveloped by this attack.

    Lei N¨¹ was able to hypnotize Lu Yin and prevent him from pinpointing her location, but as long as she was within range of the Astral Chessboard, she would have to endure this attack.

    Ripples appeared in the sea, and Lei N¨¹ firmly sshed into it.

    Lu Yin turned to look behind him, as that had been her true location. Without any hesitation, one Vacuum Palm after another struck out, and the sea suddenly surged as a terrifying star energy shot into the sky. A mighty oppression descended that spread out in all directions.

    ¡°Autumn¡­ Grief,¡± a cold female voice rang out, apanied by the formidable star energy of an Enlighter. There was an unexinable and indescribably strange feeling that the sound contained, and it made Lu Yin feel as though he could not endure any more. It was as if there was someone clutching his heart.

    He was shocked; Lei N¨¹ was actually an Enlighter!

    She was only the Hall of Honor¡¯s Second Honor Chosen, but she was actually an Enlighter. This indicated that the First Honor Chosen, Shang Qing, must be an Enlighter as well.

    It had to be acknowledged that there were only three Enlighters in the Sixth Maind¡¯s entire younger generation, and those three were known as the Daosource Three Skies.

    Since the First Honor Chosen and Second Honor Chosen were both Enlighters, then could it be that the other colossal organizations that the Hall of Honor was wary of also had elite Enlighter youths?

    Sure enough, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse was not simple.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1118: Tablet World

    <h4>Chapter 1118: Tablet World</h4>

    Lu Yin considered the ramifications of Lei N¨¹ being an Enlighter as he unhesitatingly raced over to ck and White. ¡°Run!¡±

    ck and White blinked before slipping away with even less hesitation than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had personally suffered from these two brats'' speed, so he was not worried that they would be caught by Lei N¨¹.

    However, the three had still underestimated her.

    All of the youths here were focused on expanding their foundations while in the Hunter realm as a preparation step for the Enlighter realm. The fact that Lei N¨¹ dared to break through to the Enlighter realm showed that she had already umted a steady foundation. Thus, the moment she revealed her true strength, the battle was already over. Or at least, that was what she believed.

    Ripples spread through the sea, carrying with them the hypnotic strength of this Enlighter. Lu Yin turned around only to be shocked at what he saw. He instantly used his full strength and caught up to ck and White. An Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and Lu Yin turned himself into a chesspiece, which he then moved.

    Lu Yin grabbed hold of ck and White as he used the Ce Secret Art to disappear. Lei N¨¹ suddenly appeared where Lu Yin had just been, and she looked around in astonishment. Lu Yin had already raced away, and he was headed for the whirlpool.

    Lei N¨¹ vanished, simrly moving toward the vortex when she reappeared.

    Down on the seabed, there was a stone tablet at the bottom of the vortex, and there were some indecipherable words etched on it that made it look identical to the one that Lu Yin had grabbed earlier.

    Lu Yin felt a pang of disappointment when he saw the stone tablet, and he was just about to use the Ce Secret Art to escape once more. However, at that moment, he suddenly saw a cultivator appear next to the stone tablet, who grew quite panicked when he saw Lu Yin. The man pressed his hand back onto the stone tablet, and his entire body started to be swallowed by the stone. Lu Yin was surprised. What the heck is going on?

    ck and White grew excited, and they both increased their speed. White grabbed a hold of the vanishing cultivator, who was astonished at this development. ¡°Let go of me!¡±

    ¡°No, I want to go to the tablet world!¡± White shouted.

    ck grew excited. ¡°Tablet world! Tablet world!¡±

    Lu Yin did not know what these two brats were trying to do, and he was even more confused about how this cultivator had nearly been swallowed by the stone tablet. He waspletely baffled, but he let himself be dragged along by ck and White, and the three of them vanished along with the cultivator who had appeared from the stone tablet.

    The next moment, Lei N¨¹ appeared at the bottom of the whirlpool, but the stone tablet had already turned grey, and it looked as if it had been corroded from the ages.

    As the vortex vanished, Lei N¨¹ stood on the seabed, calmly staring at the grey stone tablet. A trace of blood leaked out from beneath her mask. It was from a wound caused by Lu Yin¡¯s attack with the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Although she seemed calm, she could not hide her admiration for Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Lei N¨¹ had encountered the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs and some of the Ten Arbiters. But of them all, she believed that not even Liu Tianmu¡¯s Eleventh Sword was as intimidating as Lu Yin¡¯s techniques. At the very least, Liu Tianmu had not managed to injure Lei N¨¹ twice.

    Lu Yin was nothing more than a Cruiser, and once he became a Hunter, his strength would advance by leaps and bounds. At that time, even she, an elite Enlighter, might no longer be his match.

    The Outerverse had actually given birth to such a genius.

    He had to be driven out of the Mountain and Seas Zone, as otherwise, he might be an unknown variable in the contest for the Cosmic Five.

    ¡­

    Qian Zou was a good person, or at least, he had always felt that he was. Normally, when there was nothing to do, he enjoyed fighting for justice. Additionally, he often gave money to others who were stuck in poverty, which seemed to be amon urrence. In the cruel universe, it was not easy to find someone like Qian Zou.

    Of course, doing good deeds came at a cost, so he preferred to rely on his abilities to obtain valuable objects. That way, he would not have to bear those costs himself. Many people would call it stealing, but it really wasn¡¯t. Rather, he saw it as an art that focused on maturating one¡¯s spirit.

    Those who had lost their possessions wouldprehend a lesson that would subsequently help them to mature. Thus, that could also be considered a good deed, no?

    Qian Zou did not believe himself to be very good-looking, but the universe treated him well. He thought back to when he had been caught stealing¡ªpah, when he had been discovered taking some items and been unable to hide. After some difficulty, he had hidden himself within an auction house, during which he had coincidentally obtained a movement technique known as the ¡°Inverse Step.¡± After learning it, he had been able to escape from his predicament.

    There had also been that one time where he had been surrounded by many opponents with one of them being a very powerful old man. Qian Zou had thought that he was a goner, but the people surrounding him had been attacked by their own enemies that same day. Ultimately, they had been wiped out, and the enemies of those people had then rewarded him, as if he had not stalled that group, then they would have all been able to escape.

    And there was that other time where he had been simply minding his own business when someone had mistaken him for the heir of some sect. As a result, Qian Zou had been weed into a city that drifted through outer space, and he had enjoyed a luxurious life for a dozen days.

    Wait a minute, there had been too many incidents like that, and Qian Zou could not even remember all of them.

    His current situation was no different. One day, his spacecraft had been cruising along just fine when he had identally entered this ce, and he had even been pushed in. Only after entering had he learned that this was the fabled Mountain and Seas Zone where the Cosmic Five were selected.

    After learning that he had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, Qian Zou had be very excited but also very nervous. Anyone who could take part in the Astral Tower¡¯s contest was an absolute freak, and he could not receive even a few blows from such people. Fortunately, he was exceptionally fast, so he could still run away from them.

    After the contest at the Astral Tower began, he had been fine while moving around in the sea, but he had encountered battles taking ce everywhere. There was this one fellow called Lu Yin who was especially violent. That person had the ability to simply take the items, so why was he beating everyone up? One wild kick had nearly frightened Qian Zou to death, and he would have died then and there if not for his speed.

    That Lu Yin really was a freak, and his strength was so ridiculous that even a kick could cut through the void.

    Fortunately, because Qian Zou was so fast, he was often able to avoid disaster.

    However, Qian Zou felt that his good luck was about toe to an end. He had been traveling along a current in the sea when he had coincidentallynded right in front of an exposed stone tablet. He had simply wanted to leave, but then he had run into that scoundrel Lu Yin. Because Qian Zou had been afraid of him, he had subconsciously wanted to escape into the tablet world. But then, the scoundrel had actually sent two brats to catch him, and Qian Zou had ended up dragging all of them into the tablet world along with him. Infuriated, Qian Zou felt that the scoundrel had done it on purpose.

    ¡­

    Dong!

    Lu Yin crashed to the ground, immediately stood back up, and surveyed his surroundings. Everything that he could see was grey and colorless. There were streets fanning out in all directions that had an ancient appearance.

    Across from him, ck and White both fell out, and they rubbed their heads as they stood up. The cultivator that they had followed in also scanned the surroundings in rm, and he acted as though he was some kind of thief.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Shhhh!¡±

    After his question, ck, White, and the young man instantly raised their index fingers towards Lu Yin and shushed him.

    Lu Yin blinked, as he waspletely confused.

    That cultivator was panicking. ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise! This is the tablet world.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    That cultivator was stumped. ¡°You don¡¯t know about the tablet world?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    At that moment, some fuzzy figures appeared off in the distance.

    The young cultivator raced towards a section of the street that looked like a hotel. ck and White urgently followed him, so Lu Yin naturally tagged along as well.

    The small group moved quickly, but none of them created much of a disturbance.

    What surprised Lu Yin the most was that ck and White were deliberately being as quiet as possible. These two brats had never shown a hint of fear before, but at this moment, they were actually acting very reserved and were insisting that Lu Yin not make any noise. It was all very strange.

    The cultivator motioned for Lu Yin toe over with a gesture and had him sit down. ck and White also sat down at the same time, and they kept their mouthspletely closed with perfect behavior.

    Lu Yin felt utterly lost, and he sat down at a table.

    He wanted to ask something, but the cultivator made another shushing motion before sitting down at the table. He did not move or speak, and he only sat there like a statue.

    The strangest thing was that ck and White did the exact same thing.

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva, feeling his hair stand on end.

    Everything was grey, and there was not the slightest bit of color anywhere.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey feels a bit afraid,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin ignored the monkey, as he was also starting to panic slightly. It felt as though they were about to meet some ghost, or as if there was something staring at them.

    He nced at the unknown cultivator and saw that sweat was beading up on the man¡¯s forehead, and his expression was that of absolute terror.

    Lu Yin then nced at ck and White and discovered that the twins also looked quite flustered. asionally, their eyes would nce over at the outside of the hotel.

    Before much time passed, a few figures approached the hotel.

    Lu Yin looked over, and his pupils shrank; these figures were not human at all! Instead, there was a grey, humanoid shadow. What was that thing? Could it actually be a ghost?

    The unknown cultivator swallowed his saliva and gave Lu Yin a little nudge, trying to get him to look away.

    Lu Yin copied the cultivator, averting his gaze and silently sitting at the table.

    The figures slowly passed by the building. They seemed to have the shape of a man and an old woman while another looked like a girl. The three figures seemed to be a family of three slowly passing by the hotel.

    The group of four waited for the figures to walk away and fade from view. Once it was safe, ck and White both heaved sighs of relief. ¡°That scared me to death! That was insane!¡±

    ¡°Crazy.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the young man curiously. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    That cultivator was panting heavily, and there was fear in his voice as he answered, ¡°This is the tablet world in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Didn¡¯t the senior who brought you here mention this to you?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head; Elder Yuan Ke had not mentioned anything about this ce.

    That cultivator felt confused. ¡°That¡¯s not right, this ismon knowledge. Even if your senior didn¡¯t say anything, you still should have heard of this ce.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Speak clearly, what is this tablet world?¡±

    That cultivator answered, ¡°The tablet world is a bizarre ce. You can basically think of this ce as a copsible dimension. No one in here is actually alive, and only remnant spiritual forces left over from dead people exist here. The same events repeat and cycle endlessly in here, and it¡¯s been like this for countless years. You can¡¯t make any noise here, as the moment the spiritual force remnants discover you, you¡¯ll have to face attacks from all of them in this tablet world. This ce can be thought of as an area where there are remnant spiritual forces of bothmoners and super powerhouses.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a strange ce?¡±

    The man urgently said, ¡°Speak softer! You¡¯re going to doom us all!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at ck and White. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we didn¡¯t enter the tablet world when we touched that stone que we found earlier?¡±

    ck replied, ¡°Some stone ques can be entered, and others can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you girls tell me anything about this tablet world?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    White rolled her eyes. ¡°Who would have thought that you didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as it truly did seem like this tablet world was a piece ofmon knowledge within the Neoverse. Elder Yuan Ke had apparently assumed that Lu Yin already knew about the ce, which was why the old man had not mentioned anything.

    ¡°Manye to the Mountain and Seas Zone to enter the tablet world, as the remnant spiritual forces repeat the same events without end. Although the cycle takes a bit of time toplete, certain activities are always carried out during each cycle, such as daily activities and other menial tasks, but the repeated activities also include cultivation,¡± the cultivator exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew bright. ¡°Are you saying that, as long as we don¡¯t make any noise, we can observe anyone in here? Even if that person is cultivating, can we still study their whole process?¡±

    The cultivator nodded. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t make any noise.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew fervent. ¡°How big is this tablet world?¡±

    The cultivator shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t give you an answer, but after a certain amount of time, the remnant spiritual forces in this tablet world will start to repeat their cycle, but the scope can also change. Remember, you absolutely must not make any noise.¡±

    Lu Yin understood.

    The young man heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there had not been too many spiritual force figures on the street they had arrived at. Otherwise, they would not have even had a chance to exin anything before Lu Yin made some noise.

    No, Qian Zou could not stay with Lu Yin.

    As he thought about it, Qian Zou stood up and nodded. He wanted to leave.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1119: Remnant

    <h4>Chapter 1119: Remnant</h4>

    Lu Yin quickly grabbed the man and smiled at him. ¡°Bro, you seem to know quite a bit, so let¡¯s travel together.¡±

    The man¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need. There¡¯s something I have to do, so I¡¯ll head out first.¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you a question. How do we leave this tablet world?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    The man replied, ¡°There are two types of stone tablets: one to enter, and another to leave. So, you just need to find one that allows you to leave.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but then he suddenly thought of something. He turned back to look at ck and White. ¡°The stone that we found earlier didn¡¯t let us enter this ce, so does that mean that we could have used it to leave?¡±

    The two brats exchanged nces and then nodded.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Lu Yin gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Forgot,¡± the brats readily admitted.

    Lu Yin really wanted to give the twins a spanking.

    ¡°Ah, about that, actually, there are quite a few of those stone ques in this tablet world. Thus, it¡¯s not impossible to find one. I¡¯ll head out now. See you!¡± The man smiled drily and raced out of the hotel, terrified that Lu Yin would stop him again.

    Lu Yin watched the man leave, a little unhappy about it. What was the big hurry? Wait a second, that man had been extremely flustered, which meant that he might have been looking for something good!

    Lu Yin looked at ck and White, who simultaneously looked over at him as well. They exchanged nces, and an unspoken understanding passed between them as they all stood up to chase after the man.

    Qian Zou was not actually searching for anything good. Rather, he simply wanted to get as far away from Lu Yin as possible, as he had a feeling that things would not turn out well for him if he stayed with Lu Yin. If Qian Zou remembered correctly, the Hall of Honor¡¯s Second Honor Chosen had been chasing after Lu Yin, which was why he had been forced to flee into the tablet world. Qian Zou did not want to be viewed as an aplice.

    The first thing Qian Zou did was to look around and get an idea of his surroundings. He was in a city, a real city, which meant that there should be a city master somewhere. Generally, the city master would be the strongest person around, so Qian Zou wanted to see if he could learn any battle techniques from the city master. Just thinking about that happening excited Qian Zou, and the thrill of peeping ran through him, even if it was open peeping.

    All of the cultivators who entered the tablet world would do nothing besides peep in this ce.

    No matter what the remnant spiritual forces did, as long as no noise was made, the cultivators could tantly observe everything, even if they were watching someone take a bath.

    Bath? Qian Zou suddenly froze for a moment as he slowly turned around. There was a wretched expression on his face, and he looked around in all directions before finally finding a brothel. He swallowed his saliva, licked his lips, and walked over to it.

    Behind him, Lu Yin¡¯s trio had hidden themselves as they tailed Qian Zou, and once they saw his expression, it became clear to them that this person was up to something suspicious.

    They were just about to charge after him, but suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Lu Yin saw a smear of grey. He reflexively grabbed a hold of ck and White, and in front of them, the shadow of a child crossed their path.

    ck and White both jumped in fright, their faces falling ashen.

    Lu Yin was also startled. It was already forbidden to make any sound in this realm, and it was even more important to avoid any physical contact with the remnant spiritual forces here, though Lu Yin was uncertain of the precise ramifications of such an action.

    Off in the distance, Qian Zou had already entered the brothel.

    When Lu Yin saw where the young man had gone, Lu Yin¡¯s expression became strange; why was that fellow going into a brothel?

    There were quite a few ques that allowed people to enter the tablet world, and after the Astral Tower¡¯s contest started, quite a few vortexes had appeared throughout the sea. So naturally, quite a few cultivators had entered the tablet world by now.

    For example, Tai Yuanjun. He had also entered the tablet world, and he had pragmatically gone straight to the city master¡¯s residence.

    Aside from him, there were quite a few other cultivators in the city master¡¯s residence at this time. Tai Yuanjun was attentively observing the city master, who was sitting straight in the main hall, seemingly discussing something with his subordinates. Everyone was waiting for the city master to begin cultivating, as none of them believed that he would not do so.

    At this time, it was still in the middle of the night, so there were not that many people on the streets.

    Lu Yin led ck and White over to the outside of the brothel to take a look, and they immediately saw that there were quite a few female figures inside along with some males. There was also someone who clearly had a role simr to a madam¡¯s in this establishment, as she was standing at the entrance, weing people and sending them off.

    Before long, Qian Zou reappeared, looking depressed. It was pointless to peep on these remnant spiritual forces, as there was nothing to see.

    When Lu Yin saw Qian Zou¡¯s expression, he instantly realized why the young man had run off, and he quickly led ck and White away. Following this man would just be a waste of time.

    Lu Yin had also thought of visiting the city master¡¯s residence, so next, he led ck and White to find the tallest building in the city.

    In the city master residence, the city master, who had just finished his meeting with his subordinates, dismissed everyone before retreating to his quarters to rest.

    Tai Yuanjun and a dozen other cultivators stood in the bedroom, watching the city master sleep.

    To the remnant spiritual forces, Tai Yuanjun and the others were essentially ghosts.

    Lu Yin arrived, escorting ck and White with him.

    He noticed Tai Yuanjun but ignored him. Instead, Lu Yin turned his attention toward the sleeping city master.

    When Tai Yuanjun saw Lu Yin, he was disgusted to see him. Tai Yuanjun immediately moved to the other side of the room to carefully observe the city master.

    This sort of behavior was quite strange. It was as if one was within a movie and observing it first hand, making for quite a unique experience.

    None of the observers knew what era these remnant spiritual forces were from nor why they had be remnant spiritual forces that endlessly repeated their past events. Perhaps this was all somehow rted to a Progenitor.

    Progenitors were capable of creating their own piece of the sky, and the Rune Progenitor had set in ce ¡°a sky that covered another sky.¡± Thus, it was not impossible for another one to have created this world.

    Lu Yin was puzzled why so many cultivators would squeeze themselves into the city master¡¯s bedroom, and it seemed as though they were all waiting for something.

    The remnant spiritual forces in the tablet world constantly repeated cycles of the past. Thus, was something interesting about to happen in this ce?

    At that moment, someone nudged Lu Yin from behind.

    Lu Yin looked back and saw that there was a woman. She looked at him and pointed to the side.

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    She frowned, dragged Lu Yin to the side, and then rolled her eyes at him.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; they were all peeking, so did it really matter where they stood?

    On the other side of the room, Tai Yuanjun was also dragged to the side by a man, and although he was unhappy, he did not act up. Clearly, he was aware of the rules inside the tablet world.

    After some time passed, Lu Yin suddenly looked outside the bedroom, as more figures had suddenly appeared.

    These remnant spiritual forces had no rune lines, so he could not see them in advance.

    One of the figures silently opened the door to the bedroom and stepped inside. A sword appeared in the figure¡¯s hand as they approached the city master. Without any hesitation, the figure stabbed out with it. This was an assassination attempt.

    The cultivators watched on in excitement, and Lu Yin was also carefully observing the situation.

    The spectating cultivators only saw the city master suddenly stand up, tap his index and middle fingers against the sword, and spin the de around. The de twisted and snapped apart while the rest of the sword shattered and disappeared. The city master¡¯s finger had pierced through the void to strike the assassin before sweeping to the side, releasing a vigorous gale that swept out and tore the entire ceiling away. This attack split the sky open; a single finger had rent open the entire sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. Although he could not see any runes while in this world, the strength of that finger terrified him. Its power level had definitely surpassed 300,000, and it might have even reached 400,000. That finger strike had been incredible, and it had to be a powerful battle technique.

    These people must have alle here to observe this finger battle technique!

    The failed assassination caused many other figures to flood into the bedroom, and Lu Yin and the others quickly moved to the corners, as they were all afraid of touching these figures.

    The city master appeared to give out some orders. After that, the assassin¡¯s body was taken away, and the city master returned to his rest.

    One by one, the observing cultivators left, as there was nothing left in this ce worthy of their attention. Of course, there were also some people who stayed behind, as they hoped to learn that battle technique.

    Tai Yuanjun nced at Lu Yin before leaving.

    Lu Yin also left the city master¡¯s residence along with ck and White. Once outside, he looked up at the sky. That finger battle technique had been very powerful, but it was not very appealing to Lu Yin. He already had the Dream Finger, and he had also learned the basics of Finger Tap, so there was no need to learn another, simr battle technique.

    The cultivators who had left the city master residence all moved in the same direction.

    Lu Yin felt drawn to the crowd, so he followed them.

    Tai Yuanjun simrly followed the crowd.

    These cultivators definitely had a greater understanding of the tablet world than the two of them, and following the crowd might allow them to see quite a few interesting things.

    As they walked down the street, the number of the remnant spiritual force figures quickly grew, showing that it was now morning in the city.

    ck and White both became frightened. There were so many grey figures moving about like ghosts, all of themcking any discernible facial features.

    Lu Yin tried to console them, and they followed closely behind the other cultivators.

    Among the group of cultivators was the woman who had pulled Lu Yin aside. When she noticed that Lu Yin was following them, she fiercely red at him and gestured for him to leave.

    Lu Yin smiled but continued to follow along.

    The woman grew angry, and she turned to leave.

    The crowd soon arrived at arge residence. There was a massive za in front, and quite a few figures were sparring within it.

    The cultivators continued walking along, and they eventually arrived at the innermost section of the residence. There, a lone figure was cultivating and continuously practicing his battle techniques.

    The cultivators were all very interested in this disy, and they all watched on in excitement.

    Lu Yin shook his head, as these battle techniques were all worthless to him.

    He led ck and White out of the residence and back onto the street, where he saw the cultivator who had initially brought them into the tablet world.

    This man had never thought that he would coincidentally run into Lu Yin¡¯s trio on this street, and he absentmindedly nodded to them before picking up his pace and leaving.

    The tablet world was veryrge, and there was also a wide world outside of this particr city.

    Quite a few cultivators had entered the tablet world to search out and observe how the various remnant spiritual forces cultivated. These experiences might prove to be very useful, and there were records of people actuallyprehended something through these observations.

    Lu Yin had learned some things, but he had only seen battle techniques that werepletely useless to him.

    ck and White were very scared of ghosts, and they did not dare to talk at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s trio spent half a month in the tablet world in this manner, and although they did not learn anything useful, they did see quite a few familiar people. At one point, they even saw Lei N¨¹.

    However, Lei N¨¹ did not dare to attack Lu Yin in this ce.

    Lu Yin was very wary of Lei N¨¹, as she was an Enlighter, and she definitely had not revealed all of her strength yet. He had not forgotten that the Hall of Honor had its own secret techniques, and there might even be several different kinds.

    ¡°This is so boring. Lu Yin, let¡¯s go,¡± Whiteined.

    ck pulled at Lu Yin¡¯s hand and looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I want to leave as well, so let¡¯s look for a stone que. Weren¡¯t there supposed to be a lot of them here? Why haven¡¯t we seen any despite looking for half a month?¡±

    White rolled her eyes. ¡°We might not have found any, but that doesn¡¯t mean that no one else did.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. ¡°Got it.¡±

    For the next two days, Lu Yin¡¯s trio specifically searched for cultivators who possessed stone ques. It was impossible for cultivators to use cosmic rings in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and everything had to be physically carried. Thus, it was quite easy to find these cultivators

    Under the guise of searching for stone ques, the trio cleaned out quite a few cultivators, and they actually robbed five people in total.

    White was now carrying arge Mountain and Seas Pouch, which contained their harvest over thest few days. Her face betrayed her satisfaction.

    ck was also carrying a Mountain and Seas Pouch with an extremely happy look.

    Behind the trio was a stone que, which had just been tossed there.

    ¡°Come on, White, show me what we got over thesest few days!¡± Lu Yin happily asked.

    ck and White warily stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Not sharing¡ªit¡¯s mine!¡±

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. ¡°It¡¯s ours.¡±

    ¡°Mine!¡± White shouted.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°That¡¯s going too far. We got this stuff together.¡±

    ¡°Mine!¡± White remained unyielding.

    ck blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path to White and red at him. Lu Yin felt a certain feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu where he was a thief.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1120: Ancient Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1120: Ancient Battle</h4>

    Lu Yin smacked his forehead, feeling rather helpless. ¡°I still can¡¯t have a pleasant time looting.¡±

    Then, right after he uttered those words, he turned around and looked to the side to see a cultivator peeking their head out.

    When the man saw Lu Yin look over and see him, the cultivator tried to smile in an ingratiating manner before quickly turning to leave.

    Lu Yin¡¯s figure shed as he chased after the man. When he caught up, he set a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Bro, what a coincidence! How many times have we run into each other now?¡±

    This cultivator was Qian Zou, and he had never expected to run into Lu Yin¡¯s group yet again. Their meetings were so coincidental that he was starting to feel nervous.

    ¡°That- I¡¯m just passing by, so sorry if I disturbed you three. Anyways, I¡¯ll be heading out now,¡± Qian Zou hurriedly said. He then nced at the Mountain and Seas Pouches behind ck and White¡¯s backs. If he remembered correctly, these three definitely had not had anything like that when they first met. And yet, they now had bulging pouches. The tablet world didn¡¯t have any treasures, so these three must have robbed others. Bandits! Gangsters!

    Lu Yin held tight to Qian Zou¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Bro, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    The cultivator hoarsely replied, ¡°Qian- Qian Zou.¡±

    ck was surprised at this response. ¡°Are you asking for a beating?¡±1

    White clenched her fists. ¡°Then we¡¯ll beat him up.¡±

    Qian Zou¡¯s mouth opened wide. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a beating! My name¡¯s Qian Zou!¡±

    ¡°Beat him up,¡± ck stated.

    White grew eager. ¡°Beat him up!¡±

    Qian Zou was about to cry, as he could not win against these two brats.

    At that moment, the tablet world suddenly underwent a momentous change, and a distant city was instantly shattered. The earth and sky also changed, especially the sky, which seemed to shatter. Countless figures flew up into the skies and shot towards the ruined city, and quite a few figures that had been in the city shot up towards the figures in the sky.

    At the same time, shadowy figures started killing each other all around Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    Their small group was startled, as a significant change was clearly taking ce.

    The tablet world would continue on until a certain day or event urred. Then it would restart the cycle once again. Lu Yin¡¯s group had not expected the end of the cycle to take ce right then and there.

    At this moment, a loud shout echoed out from the distance. There, several cultivators who had failed to dodge themotion had ended up touching one of the remnant spiritual forces, which had drawn the attention of that remnant spiritual force. That group of people had been immediately killed.

    Lu Yin tightly held onto Qian Zou as they backed away. At the ce where they had just been standing, an attack struck and broke through the ground.

    Qian Zou¡¯s face went white.

    The attack hade from the sky, and it had merely been an aftershock from a battle. And while it had been only an aftershock, the power of the attack had definitely surpassed the power level of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn as he looked up at the sky. An ancient battle was being reyed, and it should be the scene of this city being invaded.

    The city master made another appearance, and he used his powerful finger technique to tear the sky apart. However, his body was soon torn apart by another grey figure. The victor¡¯s physical strength was so formidable that the watching cultivators all trembled. As the figure smashed through the sky, the shockwave from its attack caused the ground to visibly cave in slightly.

    Lu Yin quickly grabbed onto Qian Zou and retreated. ck and White were both very fast, so there was no need to worry about either of them.

    Behind them, in front of them, and on all sides, grey humanoid figures were fighting and massacring each other.

    These figures were all grey, and it was impossible to determine where they came from. However, the ones that were attacking the city all used strange techniques, and there was a certain sense of something contemptible to their techniques.

    ¡°It¡¯s- it¡¯s the Neohuman Alliance!¡± Qian Zou was petrified with fear as he softly mumbled this realization in surprise.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°What did you say? The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    Qian Zou nodded. ¡°The figures attacking the city are corpse kings. Look at their attacks!¡±

    When Qian Zou mentioned this, Lu Yin suddenly realized that it was true; the attacks and movements of the attacking humanoids were identical to the corpse kings he had faced in the past. These beings were simply charging forward and howling, and there were some that paused for a moment before suddenly bing far more terrifying. That should be the corpse king transformation.

    This was the record of an ancient battle. The tablet world was something found within the Mountain and Seas Zone, so if one followed this line of thought, then the era when this battle took ce should be when the Fifth Maind still had Progenitors and when the Daosource Sect had not been destroyed yet. The Sixth Maind had not invaded the Fifth Maind back then, but even in the ancient past, the Neohuman Alliance existed? Lu Yin remembered hearing that the Neohuman Alliance had been established after the Seven Courts.

    No, that was not right. Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. Back when he had visited the Six-Fingered Tribe¡¯s ancestral grounds, he had seen a stone b with scarlet eyes and vertical pupils carved into it. That stone b had been iparably ancient, and there had also been some of the most ancient characters he had ever seen carved on it. If the Neohuman Alliance had been born after the Seven Courts, then there would not be such ancient characters on it. When Lu Yin saw that stone and the red eyes, he had already formed a theory that the Neohuman Alliance had existed since long, long ago. It was possible that it might have not been known as the Neohuman Alliance in the beginning.

    The entire city was reduced to ruins, and Lu Yin dragged Qian Zou along as they constantly evaded the aftershocks of the battle. Within the city, quite a few cultivators had been discovered, and they were instantly killed by the humanoid figures.

    ¡°Some people are approaching from the distance,¡± White whispered.

    Lu Yin turned around to see quite a few grey figures streaking through the sky from the distance, moving towards the city. One of them raised his hand and used a battle technique that Lu Yin surprisingly recognized: Skybeast w.

    Lu Yin had not used the Skybeast w battle technique in a while. He had long since known that the Skybeast w was not an ordinary battle technique; otherwise, when he had used the technique on the Stargazing Deck, he would not have seen marks from the technique on that ancient warship. However, the battle technique had be rather weak inparison to his other attacks as his strength had improved.

    He had actually almost forgotten about this battle technique, and he had never thought that he would see it in this tablet world.

    The Skybeast w that this figure used looked like Lu Yin¡¯s, but the moment that he saw it, an ancient beast howl rang out next to Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and it was far more intense than when he used the technique. It sounded as if a massive beast had truly emerged from the ancient era as the w descended.

    One w shed through the area, and it tore straight through the humanoid who had killed the city master.

    Qian Zou¡¯s face went pale, and his legs became slightly wobbly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew fervent as he stared intently at the Skybeast w. Was the battle technique actually this formidable?

    A single battle technique had targeted all of the corpse kings that had ambushed the city.

    Following the Skybeast w, all sorts of other battle techniques were unleashed, and the power of each one was peerless, and there were even some battle techniques that felt more powerful than the Skybeast w. The aftershock of each attack forced Lu Yin to take evasive maneuvers as he dragged Qian Zou behind him. Fortunately, they had already reached the edge of the city before this new barrage, as otherwise, they would have never been able to escape.

    ¡°Starry Star Art!¡± ck cried.

    In the sky, countless grey orbs revolved about before eventually enveloping the city and the entire sky. These stars were actually from the Cosmic Art, only that they were grey like everything else in the tablet world.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, as there were thousands of stars here. What the hell? Not to mention the city, but even an entire region of space would not be able to withstand this attack, so why would such an attack appear in a city?

    Cosmic Art and the Skybeast w were not the only techniques that appeared, andter on, more people arrived who used more and more different techniques, each one able to destroy an entire region of space. However, only a portion of the city was destroyed with each attack, and not a single one of the attacks was able to destroy the entire city.

    This clearly had not been an ordinary city.

    Lu Yin tightly held onto Qian Zou as he constantly evaded the various grey humanoids and raced out of the city.

    In another direction, God Taiyi was also racing out of the city. He noticed Lu Yin running along and saw that Lu Yin was holding onto Qian Zou with ck and White closely following behind. God Taiyi¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately distanced himself from the group. He did not want to be caught up with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had actually wanted to greet God Taiyi, but seeing God Taiyi avoid him left Lu Yin somewhat unhappy. Thus, he actually led Qian Zou, ck, and White to chase after God Taiyi.

    When God Taiyi looked back and saw that Lu Yin was chasing after him, he was momentarily taken aback. He repeatedly gestured with his eyes for Lu Yin to move away.

    Lu Yin raised a hand in greeting.

    God Taiyi was infuriated; what a bastard!

    At this moment, Qian Zou also wanted to curse at Lu Yin, but he did not dare to do so. ¡°Um, brother? Could you please let me go? I can take care of myself.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Where can an Explorer like you hide? Just quietly follow me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me when you die.¡±

    Qian Zou grew flustered. ¡°Bro-¡±

    ¡°Call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    ¡°That- Seventh Bro, let me down. I¡¯m very fast.¡±

    ¡°As fast as those two brats?¡±

    Qian Zou nced over at ck and White and thought about the question. ¡°Just about.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he looked Qian Zou up and down. ¡°You¡¯re about as fast as those two?¡±

    Qian Zou nodded seriously.

    Lu Yin let go of the youth. ¡°Best of luck.¡±

    At the same time, countless grey attacks fell down from the sky like meteors, and theypletely covered the city and reduced it to ruins. Lu Yin subconsciously wanted to grab hold of Qian Zou and dodge, but Qian Zou¡¯s feet moved about with a strange pace. He looked like he was stepping backwards, but his body continued to move forward and released ripples that traveled through the void. The sight of him moving gave people the misconception that he was moving in the reverse direction, which made for an extremely ufortable feeling.

    Lu Yin was surprised; what sort of battle technique was this?

    Qian Zou had not been lying, and he truly was not slower than ck or White. This was the Inverse Step. In the past, when he had been surrounded by enemies, he had luckily managed to acquire this technique from an auction house, and he had subsequently used the Inverse Step to escape from numerous dangerous situations after that. This time was no exception.

    Lu Yin was very curious about Qian Zou¡¯s Inverse Step, but there was no time to observe the movement technique in detail, as various strange attacks were sweeping through the city from the sky. Another group of grey humanoids hadnded, and based on their attacks and movements, these attackers were more corpse kings.

    Who knew why there were so many of them here.

    One corpse king crashed right in front of Lu Yin¡¯s group, terrifying God Taiyi. He quickly fled off in another direction, as that grey humanoid had nearly struck him.

    The corpse king stood up and snarled where it stood. Its voice should have been exceptionally loud, as the void was fluctuating from its howl. However, since it was just a remnant spiritual force, there was no sound at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s group dodged the attack once again, but right when they were evading, the void split open. A finger that contained an indescribably bizarre feeling descended. A single finger shattered the corpse king.

    Qian Zou¡¯s face turned deathly white, and he picked up his pace.

    Lu Yin stared at that finger, and his pupils shrank; that was the Dream Finger! He was certain, as that had unmistakably been the Dream Finger just now.

    Lu Yin had cultivated for over twelve years, and he had made his way into the Neoverse from the Outerverse. Over the course of his journey, he felt like he had seen countless battle techniques, and among them were quite a few finger techniques. However, he had never seen the Dream Finger anywhere else. He had even secretly made some inquiries to see if the Dream Finger was somehow connected to his past, but there had been no news at all.

    He had never thought that he would see this technique in the tablet world.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the void behind the finger, as he wanted to know who had used this Dream Finger.

    However, the void instantly closed back up, and Lu Yin was not able to see anything.

    Lu Yin nkly stood in ce as he looked at the recovered void in front of him. As long as he managed to uncover the identity of the person who had used the Dream Finger just now, he would be able to delve into his past. It might even reveal some of the mystery behind his missing memories.

    With great difficulty, a few cultivators managed to escape from the city, and they all looked back to see it be reduced to ruins. Countless grey humanoids were fleeing in all directions, though they represented meremoners, and they disappeared after being struck by the aftershocks of various attacks.

    This battle was something that had urred in ancient times, and the people from the city had died long, long ago.

    Outside the city, besides Lu Yin¡¯s small group, there were a few other cultivators, and they all looked rather disheveled. There were a few cultivators who would never be able to leave the city.

    ck tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s clothes, and he followed where her finger was pointing, only to see Lei N¨¹ and Qiu Shi.

    Quite a few experts had gathered in this ce, though Lu Yin did not see any of the Ten Arbiters.

    Qiu Shi also noticed Lu Yin, but her expression remained calm, and she continued to stare at the city.

    [1] Qian Zou = asking for a beating. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1121: Design

    <h4>Chapter 1121: Design</h4>

    The battle taking ce over the city was still growing even more intense as the fighters were using more and more powerful battle techniques. All of the cultivators stared at the battlefield in excitement, studying the battle techniques that the grey humanoid figures used.

    The cultivators did not immediately leave, as they intended to get as much out of their stay in the tablet world as possible. Some of them even held desires of possiblyprehending one of the battle techniques even if it was nearly impossible.

    The great battle over the citysted for an entire day, and during this time, there were as many different battle techniques as there were countless stars in the sky. Even some secret techniques appeared.

    However, the secret techniques were not that attractive to the watching cultivators, as they could not learn those techniques through observation.

    After a whole day passed, the city¡¯s appearance hadpletely changedpared to the beginning of the battle when the city master had been torn apart by a Skybeast w. The cultivators outside the city continued to watch the events unfold.

    Lu Yin watched as the Dream Finger crushed another corpse king, and he tried his best to see the person behind the Dream Finger, but the attack had taken ce too far away.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin turned and whispered to ck and White, ¡°You two wait here and don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯m going to head into the city to take a look.¡±

    ck grew curious. ¡°What¡¯re you going into the city for?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grewplicated. ¡°To look for the truth.¡±

    He then leaped towards the city.

    Lei N¨¹ and Qiu Shi also raced towards the city from another area. At this time, only experts at their level would dare to enter the city and observe the battle more closely. Only such people were confident of avoiding the battle¡¯s aftershocks.

    The other cultivators could only watch on in envy.

    Even God Taiyi did not dare to enter the city. After all, this was the tablet world, and he could not see any runes here, which crippled his strength. This was why he did not want to take such a huge risk.

    Lu Yin effortlessly avoided the battle¡¯s shockwaves after entering the city, and he made his way toward the ce where the Dream Finger had crushed the corpse king. There, he silently waited, hoping to see the person hidden within the void.

    Aside from Lu Yin, there were a few other cultivators who had moved back inside the city.

    Tai Yuanjun had survived the first day of the battle, and when the cycle caused the battle to repeat once more, he raced forward to escape from the city. At that moment, the stutterer suddenly appeared behind Tai Yuanjun. ¡°Ta- ta- take me!¡±

    Tai Yuanjun harshly whispered, ¡°Shut up! Are you trying to get yourself killed?¡±

    The stutterer leaped up, grabbed a hold of Tai Yuanjun¡¯s clothes, and dangled behind him like a kite. ¡°G- go!¡±

    Tai Yuanjun wanted to kick this bastard aside, but he was afraid this stutterer would shout out and draw the attention of the grey humanoids. Thus, Tai Yuanjun had no choice but to reluctantly drag the man along as he raced out of the city. His hatred for the stutterer was overflowing by now, and he nned to ughter the man as soon as they left the city.

    The stutterer was clinging tightly to Tai Yuanjun¡¯s back when he happened to turn around and see Lu Yin. Excited, he started shouting, ¡°Me- meat!¡±

    Tai Yuanjun¡¯s expression abruptly changed, and he pped the leech¡¯s face. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The stutterer grew sullen, but he could only point at Lu Yin and mouth, ¡°Meat.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked when he saw Tai Yuanjun dragging the stutterer away. Lu Yin was confused, Meat?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, get out of the city! What are you doing here? Don¡¯t let those ghosts find you!¡± The Ghost Monkey was terrified, as this ce was indeed quite frightening.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked around. He made sure to avoid every aftershock of the battle, but he was focused on the void.

    Before much more time passed, the grey corpse king figure charged forward in the exact same position as before.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide, and he clenched his fists as he carefully watched.

    The void split open, a finger descended and directly shattered the corpse king, and then immediately vanished.

    Lu Yin had not seen the figure behind that finger, and he felt frustrated. He was still too far away, and it had not worked. He would try again.

    The next day, Lu Yin carefully watched the same scene take ce once again.

    The corpse king crashed forward, the finger tore through the void, and it fell onto the grey figure. A solitary finger shattered the corpse king.

    This time, Lu Yin was standing much closer to the corpse king, and the shockwaves from the finger attack almost touched him. But despite how close he was, he still could not see anything clearly, though he had seen a bit of long hair.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath quickened; it was a woman! The person who had used the Dream Finger was a woman!

    His eyes grew feverish. Again! He had to see it clearly.

    This time, he moved even closer, basically standing right next to the corpse king.

    Off in the distance, Qiu Shi was staring at the sky. This entire time, she had been observing the ancient powerhouse using the Cosmic Art, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw where Lu Yin had positioned himself, and her gaze trembled. ¡°Move further away. You¡¯ll get caught up.¡±

    Lu Yin did not seem to hear her as he ignored her.

    Qiu Shi frowned, ¡°You¡¯ll die if that attack even nces at you. Move back. You can¡¯t handle an attack on that level.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at her. ¡°Mind your own business.¡±

    Qiu Shi¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Don¡¯t drag us down if you want to die! Move back.¡±

    Lu Yin growled, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Qiu Shi¡¯s expression froze over, and she wanted to make a move, but there were grey humanoids locked in intense battle all around her. She would be easily discovered if she attacked. ¡°This is the only opportunity you¡¯ll have. Don¡¯t make this mistake.¡±

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s estimations, the scene should be taking ce soon.

    The next moment, the corpse king rushed forward.

    Just like before, the void split open, and the Dream Finger fell.

    Lu Yin could personally feel the power of that finger from where he was standing next to the corpse king. This finger carried an unimaginable coldness along with a power capable of destroying heaven and earth. It felt as though the sky had frozen over and been sealed by this power. It was a strength that normal people could not withstand.

    Even if Lu Yin was capable of unleashing attacks whose power level exceeded 300,000, in front of this finger he was no stronger than amoner.

    As the finger descended, Qiu Shi¡¯s expression changed even though she was observing it from some distance away.

    A chessboard suddenly appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s fee; it was the Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard. He repositioned his body and instantly vanished as the corpse king was crushed by the finger. Lu Yin reappeared beside the shattered void, and he looked within to see a grey humanoid hiding there. There was a carved, grey symbol on the figure¡¯s chest, and it seemed to be shaped like a cloud.

    The shattered void would have normally restored itself, but Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance attracted the attention of the hidden grey humanoid. The figure in the void actually raised a finger once again, this time aimed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt his hair stand on end, and he felt his heart skip a few beats. He reflexively used the Ce Secret Art again to try to escape, but the Dream Finger shot past his side, shattering his shoulder along with half of his body. Fresh blood sshed down to the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body crashed to the ground, and he spat out a mouthful of blood; half of his body had practically disappeared.

    Due to the sudden change in this area, the grey humanoids that had originally been locked in intense battle were all drawn over, and they all attacked Lu Yin.

    Off in the distance, Qiu Shi¡¯s expression grew ugly. That idiot!

    Lu Yin looked up and saw numerous grey figures ready to attack him from all sides. These remnant spiritual force figures had all been quite powerful in their life, and there were even corpse kings among them. Lu Yin struggled to stand up as he gritted his teeth. Being surrounded meant death.

    He then nced over at Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi¡¯s heart fell, and a bad premonition washed over her.

    Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art again, this time repositioning his body in front of Qiu Shi. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll make this up to you in the future!¡±

    He then shot out of the city. He was hoping to use Qiu Shi as bait to distract his attackers.

    The grey humanoids that had been lured over suddenly rained their attacks down, targeting both Lu Yin and Qiu Shi.

    At this moment, Qiu Shi felt nothing aside from an overflowing hatred towards Lu Yin. This scoundrel had actually dragged her down, and if she had known that this would happen, she would have defeated him back in the Cosmic Sect.

    However, Lu Yin had truly been left with no alternatives, as there was no way for him to escape on his own. However, if it was with Qiu Shi, then things were different.

    This was the same situation as when Lu Yin and the others had been found themselves on the Sixth Maind¡¯s transport continent. Lu Yin had only managed to save the Outerverse cultivators after dragging the people from the Innerverse down along with them.

    They would either live together or die together.

    Qiu Shi had light feet, and she instantly shot past Lu Yin. She looked back at him with cold eyes. ¡°If we survive, I¡¯ll make you pay for this.¡±

    She then left him far behind.

    The Astral Chessboard reappeared underneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I won¡¯t be polite any longer. Grand Senior, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Lu Yin disappeared, and he reappeared far in front of Qiu Shi.

    She snorted as hundreds of stars appeared around her. A faint halo was emitted from her body as the stars all revolved. This light then formed a sword of stars, and it shed down at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art to divert the sword sh. The attack streaked through the void and sliced open the earth, attracting the attention of even more grey figures.

    At this moment, the surrounding stars suddenly vanished, and more swords formed and shed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was horrified; what sort of sword technique was this?

    The sword qi covered the sky, and in Lu Yin¡¯s current situation, there was no way for him to endure such an attack.

    Qiu Shi did notunch any fatal blows at him, as she was instead merely using the sword qi to trap him as she shot past with a cold glint in her eyes.

    Lu Yin attempted to use the Vacuum Palm to break up the starry sword technique, but half of his body was still numb, which left him unable to use the technique.

    The two traded several blows within the span of just a few breaths. Lu Yin had been trapped by Qiu Shi¡¯s sword technique, and although he wanted to use the Ce Secret Art to escape, he had already used it several times in a row. Thus, his body would not be able to take another use. Countless grey figures had appeared and surrounded him from all directions.

    As he watched Qiu Shi leave, Lu Yin was left with no choice. His die appeared in his hand, and he tapped it with a finger. The die spun as Lu Yin dodged the various attacks from Qiu Shi¡¯s sword technique.

    The die eventually stopped on three pips: Enhance. Lu Yin waved a hand, instantly dispelled the two light screens, gathered some star energy, and formed a star energy crystal that instantly restored the die.

    He tapped out again.

    All around him, the grey humanoids were drawing closer, especially from above. A grey figure smashed down at him, and it seemed to be another corpse king.

    The die stopped again. Four pips: Timestop.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and he appeared in a grey-white space.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the die had finished in time. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for him to escape.

    Lu Yin endured his suffering as he copsed to the floor. His cosmic ring had been taken away upon entering the Mountain and Seas Zone, so he did not have anything to treat himself with. All he could rely upon was time.

    Fortunately, he was a Cruiser, which meant that he could forcefully converge star energy to form star crystals. There was no star energy in this grey-white space, but the amount of star energy that revolved within his own body was enormous.

    Lu Yin screened the Ghost Monkey off and began to revolve the star energy within his body and gather it over his palm. The process was not fast, but was enough to maintain the timer in the Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves could rival those of an Enlighter, so it would be no problem for him to form star energy crystals equivalent to hundreds of star essence. As he did this, his injuries slowly recovered.

    He looked around the space and then thought of the design that he had seen within that spatial tear. Lu YIn was certain that he had never seen a design like that before and decided that he would not think of it any further for the time being.

    As he recited the Stonewall Scriptures, he continued to form star energy crystals.

    A month soon passed, and he had recovered to where half of his body was no longer numb, though that also meant that he was now forced to suffer the full force of the pain.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and slowly exhaled. Continue.

    Without any medications, he could only slowly recover through his body¡¯s natural ability.

    Another month passed, and then another. Soon, two months had gone by.

    He had spent more than four months in the Timestop Space now, and the shattered half of his body had recovered about half way. Continue.

    ¡­

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin emerged from the Timestop Space to see Qiu Shi fleeing into the distance. Above him, there was still the grey figure that had been a corpse king in the past, and it was descending with an attack. Also, he was surrounded by the des of Qiu Shi¡¯s sword technique.

    The Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he repositioned himself.

    The next moment, Lu Yin appeared outside of the encirclement formed by the sword technique, and he was not too far away from Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi turned around, surprised. Impossible!

    Lu Yin could not possibly use a secret technique that many times in a row. Even if he had several secret techniques, he had already used this one several times before, so how could his body endure the stress?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1122: The Cosmic Sectâ€™s Secret Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1122: The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Secret Technique</h4>

    No matter what Qiu Shi considered, she could not think of an exnation for how Lu Yin had used his secret technique again. On top of that, Qiu Shi was shocked to see that the half of Lu Yin¡¯s body that had been almost entirely shattered was now fully recovered.

    Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art twice in a row to move in front of Qiu Shi, and then he turned around to wave goodbye.

    He was even able to use the Ce Secret Art once more to escape.

    Qiu Shi¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°Lu Yin, have you heard of my Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated, and he turned back around.

    Qiu Shi calmly continued, ¡°The Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique, Star Transference.¡±

    As she spoke, her body vanished. Then, she suddenly appeared right where Lu Yin had been standing while he appeared in her previous position.

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed; what kind of secret technique was this? Trading positions?

    Qiu Shi smiled softly, and stars revolved around her body as she picked up her pace.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and the Astral Chessboard reappeared beneath his feet, as he wanted to escape. However, right before he could do so, a w shot out from underneath him. This was the Skybeast w, and the howl of an ancient beast echoed through the void, sounding like it was emerging from the river of time.

    When the beast howl reached Lu Yin, the chessboard beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet actually shattered apart. This Skybeast w carried an iparably overbearing strength, as it was even able to destroy even a secret technique. From Lu Yin¡¯s memories, he had only ever encountered a single battle technique that had been able to affect secret techniques¡ªa Progenitor¡¯s battle technique: Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s unnamed arrow technique. Was the Skybeast w also a battle technique from a Progenitor?

    Regardless of whether or not the Skybeast w had been created by a Progenitor, at this moment, Lu Yin could only endure the attack. He did not even have time to use the Yu Secret Art.

    Fortunately, he still had his Fatesand and nine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin curled up as his nine lined battle force shot into the sky and wrapped around his entire body. There was a loud explosion, and Lu Yin was smacked away like a ball. His back took the brunt of the attack, and the sheer power drove his Fatesand back inside his body while his nine lined battle force instantly shattered. The power of this attack absolutely surpassed a power level of 300,000, possibly even one of 350,000. Fortunately, it was still still within Lu Yin¡¯s tolerance, as this attack had not carried with it the full power of the Skybeast w.

    Blood dripped out of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth, and he used the momentum from the Skybeast w to fly out of the city, though in a different direction than Qiu Shi.

    Lu Yin had assumed that some of the grey humanoids would chase after him after he was struck by the Skybeast w. However, when he turned to look, he saw that countless grey figures were still chasing after him. One of them raised a hand, using the Skybeast w once again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed tremendously, and he pushed his body to its limits to use the Ce Secret Art once more. His body was relocated a vast distance away, and he arrived outside the city.

    When he appeared, not even a hundred meters away, Lei N¨¹ was staring at him in astonishment.

    The two exchanged nces, and Lu Yin blinked before taking off again. He shot past Lei N¨¹ as he fled the city in the direction where ck and White were located.

    Lei N¨¹ had thought that Lu Yin would attack her, but he had simply gone past her. However, this did not make her rx, and on the contrary, she grew even more cautious. She soon saw the endless number of grey figures off in the distance that were racing towards her.

    Even with Lei N¨¹¡¯s mental resilience, she was a bit intimidated by the sheer number of grey figures, and she immediately fled without another thought.

    Lu Yin had left her far behind. There were only a few cultivators who had remained outside the city, and among them was God Taiyi. Lu Yin raced towards ck and White. ¡°Hurry! Leave the tablet world!¡±

    Not only were the twins quick on their feet, but their responses were also quite fast. They instantly realized that Lu Yin was in trouble based on his panicked behavior, so they immediately pulled out the stone tablet, pressed their hands to it, and were sucked into the tablet.

    God Taiyi and the others soon saw the countless grey figures chasing after Lu Yin, who passed them all in an instant. When he did, God Taiyi could not stop himself from cursing. ¡°Damn that ass!¡±

    God Taiyi turned tail and ran. Some others also pulled out stone ques to make their escape while others fled into the distance.

    God Taiyi was one of the ones who fled into the distance, as he had not found a stone que.

    Coincidentally, he saw Lu Yin¡¯s trio leave the tablet world, and he felt sullen.

    Suddenly, he saw Qian Zou.

    As a person who had developed a habit of multiple escape routes, Qian Zou had developed a habit to first secure an escape route wherever he went. Hence, after entering the tablet world, the first thing that he had done was shake off Lu Yin¡¯s trio while the second thing had been to visit that brothel. The third, then, had been to find a stone que that would allow him to leave the tablet world whenever he wanted.

    Qian Zou had made the right decision with his actions, and when he saw the endless cloud of grey figures that filled the sky, he frowned. He calmly cursed Lu Yin, and, satisfied with his own foresight, pressed a hand to his stone que. His expression was proud; who cared how many ghosts there were? He would simply leave.

    However, the next moment, right before Qian Zou disappeared, a hand sped his shoulder. God Taiyi had arrived. ¡°Bro, let¡¯s go together.¡±

    Qian Zou was rendered speechless. Why was he always the unlucky one?

    As the scenery changed before their eyes, Lu Yin, ck, and White all appeared on the seabed, exactly where Qian Zou had entered the tablet world. People would always exit from where they entered¡ªthis was another one of the tablet world¡¯s rules.

    Although God Taiyi had taken advantage of Qian Zou to leave the tablet world, when he emerged, he appeared right where he had entered.

    Just as Lu Yin¡¯s trio emerged, Qian Zou appeared right behind them, and he immediately saw the small group. He almost failed to stop himself from cursing out loud, but when he remembered the difference in their strength, he stifled the urge.

    Lu Yin¡¯s behavior was truly hateful. The cycle within the tablet world had been that of the battle over the city, which contained countless battle techniques. This scene had been beneficial to many cultivators, but because of Lu Yin¡¯s actions, many of the cultivators had been forced to flee, and many of them were cursing him at this moment.

    Lu Yin knew that he had created trouble for many people, but he had had no other choice. There was no way he could take any of the grey humanoids away, and he had also wanted to survive. Thus, the other people could only be considered as unlucky.

    ¡°Eh, your expression isn¡¯t very friendly.¡± ck stared at Qian Zou in a provoking manner.

    Qian Zou blinked, but then he forced out a smile. ¡°Everyone, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave first. Goodbye!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and watched as Qian Zou left.

    Lu Yin was very interested in Qian Zou¡¯s movement technique, but it was not something that Lu Yin could really take, especially since many members of the older generation were watching everything. Forget it, there would definitely be an opportunity to learn a good movement technique in the future.

    Also, the Ce Secret Art made up for Lu Yin¡¯sckluster speed to a certain extent.

    Lu Yin then remembered Qiu Shi and the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique, Star Transference. What a good secret technique!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and look for a current,¡± Lu Yin said. There was no time limit to the Astral Tower contest, and it was mostly determined by when people reached the golden screens. Once people appeared there, it meant that the final part of the contest had begun. No one had moved there thus far, which meant that most people had not started climbing the mountains yet.

    Lu Yin did not want to be everyone¡¯s target. Lei N¨¹ was an Enlighter, which meant that Shang Qing was definitely one as well. However, what about the others Neoverse heirs? Who knew how many people in the Mountain and Seas Zone were actually Enlighters? Thus, Lu Yin did not want to make the first move.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone had inheritances within the seas, so there were naturally some on the mountains as well.

    Many people searched the seas for inheritances, but others went to climb the mountains.

    The mountains were so tall that normal mortals would never be able to climb any of them, much like the mountain in the space with the golden ocean. Back then, Lu Yin had only managed to climb the mountain by relying on the strength of the Stonewall Scriptures. Fortunately, these mountains did not seem to be the same as the mountain in the space with the golden ocean, as that mountain had been able to make people vanish.

    The five mountains in this zone were all difficult to climb, but none of those who were able to participate in the Astral Tower contest were simple.

    At the bottom of one mountain, there were several cultivators making their way up with great difficulty.

    Each of these mountains had been created by Progenitors, and thus, each one had its own prestige. They had a pressure that was not intentionally released, but was rather one that came from the might of a Progenitor. Those with weak spiritual forces could not even approach a mountain, let alone ascend it.

    Each mountain had varying degrees of ascension difficulty, so the obstruction that the climbers faced would clearly differ.

    This particr mountain was special in that a boulder would asionally roll down it. These boulders were not real rocks, but were rather objects formed from star energy that had coalesced into boulder-like forms. If anyone was struck by these boulders, they would definitely suffer.

    The higher one climbed, therger the boulders that they would encounter.

    These cultivators had climbed for more than ten days, but they had not even made it a fifth of the way up the mountain.

    ¡°If I had known that it would be this difficult earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have chosen to climb this mountain. It¡¯s easier to find a current in the seas, and I might have been able to enter the tablet world and watch an ancient battle,¡± one personined.

    Some distance away, a girl sharply retorted, ¡°When we made this decision together, you didn¡¯t voice any objections to climbing this mountain, so what¡¯s the use inining now? Keep climbing. There are definitely more inheritances on the mountains than in the seas.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Stay strong and keep climbing,¡± said an unflustered man who was the furthest ahead.

    ¡­

    About an hourter, a boulder came crashing down, and the small group joined forces to shatter it. Beneath them, there was a person who was quickly ascending the mountain, and this boulder did not dy him even the slightest.

    The few cultivators stared at the approaching man in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s Xia Jiuyou from the Xia family.¡±

    ¡°One of the top heirs. It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s so fast.¡±

    Soon after, Xia Jiuyou had overtaken the few of them as he headed toward the peak.

    As they watched Xia Jiuyou leave them behind, the cultivator who had beenining suddenly groaned. ¡°What¡¯s he so happy about? Ever since he¡¯s entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, I¡¯ve lost count of the number of people who¡¯ve beaten him. Even the Seven Courts won¡¯t care about him much anymore after how he¡¯s embarrassed the Xia family.¡±

    The others did not respond, but they all held simr thoughts.

    Since ancient times, the heir of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family had always been a pinnacle expert. Even if the family¡¯s heir could not measure up to Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique, they should still at least beparable to the Second Honor Chosen, and they definitely would not be any weaker than the top youths of the Cosmic Sect or the Mavis family. However, the current generation¡¯s Xia Jiuyou was truly toocking whenpared to these other top figures.

    As these people thought about this, another figure sped past them. This person¡¯s body was wrapped about with three qi flows, and he chased after Xia Jiuyou.

    The group of cultivators was overwhelmed. ¡°That¡¯s the Tri-Yang Technique! That was Shang Qing!¡±

    ¡°Shang Qing is actually here?¡±

    Up above them, Xia Jiuyou helplessly looked down to see the stream of qi rocketing towards him. ¡°Brother Shang Qing, there are no grudges between us, so there¡¯s no need to chase me.¡±

    Shang Qing waved a hand, causing a flow of qi to whistle through the air that Xia Jiuyou barely managed to dodge. ¡°During this contest for the Cosmic Five, there¡¯s no ce for your Seven Courts. Give up.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou repeatedly dodged the attacking qi stream, though it was a terrible struggle for him. It was not that his reactions were slow. Rather, he also had an impressive physical strength, and he hadprehended several powerful battle techniques. But in the end, Xia Jiuyou failed to dodge the qi stream, and he was struck directly in the chest and cast off from the mountain.

    Shang Qing watched as Xia Jiuyou fell down, and he shook his head. The current generation¡¯s Xia family heir was too weak. He had not even cultivated the Xia family¡¯s secret technique.

    The Xia Secret Art, Nullify, was the most domineering of all of the Seven Courts¡¯ secret techniques. Xia Jiuyou did not deserve his surname since he had not cultivated the secret technique.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, there was a group of older powerhouses observing a screen. There were many scenes of what was taking ce during the Astral Tower contest, but most of them were focused on the most powerful Neoverse heirs.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Yuan Ke, Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Shenwei, the Hall of Honor¡¯s Mu En, the Mavis family¡¯s Qinmei Mavis, and many other powerful figures were all observing the contest. This tiny ce in outer space hosted a gathering of multiple experts with power levels exceeding 500,000, and there were even some whose power levels exceeded 900,000. Among them was the Xia family¡¯s Xia Meng, who was considered a goddess, as she had once entranced the entire Neoverse with her beauty and style.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1123: Splitting Mountains And Inheritances

    <h4>Chapter 1123: Splitting Mountains And Inheritances</h4>

    Xia Meng calmly observed the screen. Although she had lived for countless years and was not that much younger than Yuan Shi, time had barely touched her face. She was as absolutely stunning as in her youth. Rather, the ages had given her a mature vor like a fine wine, only growing more fragrant as it aged.

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eyes were filled with infatuation whenever he looked at her, as this woman was truly too stunning.

    ¡°Cough, cough.¡± Some distance away, Mu En coughed to break the awkward atmosphere. ¡°The current Xia family heir is rather weak.¡±

    The others nced at Xia Meng, but she did not show any reaction.

    Highsage Shenwei spoke up, ¡°He¡¯s not weak. Rather, anyone who goes against the Tri-Yang Technique will suffer the same fate.¡±

    Mu En looked over at Highsage Shenwei, bemused. ¡°That fellow representing Eversky Ind is not weak either, and he was even able to trade blows against the Tri-Yang Technique before eventually escaping unscathed. He¡¯s strong enough that even Shang Qing has to be cautious around him. When he fought against Lei N¨¹, both sides suffered some injuries, and he left Lei N¨¹ with no choice but to reveal her strength as an Enlighter. In the entire Mountain and Seas Zone, there are extremely few who can do this.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei smiled. ¡°He¡¯s alright, but just that.¡±

    Elder Yuan Ke said, ¡°That Lu Yin¡¯s not bad. I rather like him.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei grew even happier, though he did not forget Xia Meng, and he walked over towards her. ¡°Actually, every generation of the Xia family heir has been pretty good. Take him back and have him train hard, and he can be brought up in the end.¡±

    Xia Meng looked up, her crescent eyes sweeping past Highsage Shenwei as she nced over everyone gathered. She calmly said, ¡°My Xia family does not want to ruin anyone¡¯s ns, but my family wants a seat among the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Everyone looked at Xia Meng, each one with a strange expression on their face. The most exaggerated one was on the Hall of Honor¡¯s Mu En, who gave her a bizarre look. ¡°At this time, there¡¯s no use even if the Xia family pays a steeper price. The oue has already been decided, and nobody can change it.¡±

    Xia Meng¡¯s lips curled up, brightening the universe in an instant. ¡°I like you.¡±

    Everyone was dumbfounded, and Highsage Shenwei was left utterly speechless, and even a bit stupefied. Mu En also seemed to be at a loss for words.

    ¡°-rst sentence,¡± Xia Meng slowly finished.

    The crowd heaved a sigh of relief.

    Highsage Shenwei felt drained. ¡°Don¡¯t speak in half-sentences! You could easily frighten a person to death.¡±

    Mu En was speechless.

    Xia Meng smiled and said nothing more.

    At this moment, the crowd considered Xia Meng¡¯s words; she liked Mu En¡¯sst sentence? Mu En¡¯sst sentence had been ¡°nobody can change it.¡± What was she saying?

    Mu En looked at Xia Meng in a serious manner; was she really that confident in her Xia family¡¯s heir?

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Shang Qing had just thrown Xia Jiuyou off of the mountain, but he did not continue making his way upwards. Instead, he sat down, seemingly waiting for something.

    Another ten days quickly passed by, and during this time, Lu Yin had been following along a current and picking up treasures every now and then. Among them were minerals, natural treasures, and even some battle techniques, though he had found nothing that was of much use to him.

    During these ten days, he did not meet any of the other Ten Arbiters, though he heard about quite a few incidents.

    One of them said that Wen Sansi had been severely injured and that he had fallen to the bottom of the sea. Another person said that Ling Gong had run into Yuhua Mavis and had been driven out of the Mountain and Seas Zone. And yet another one said that the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords had been broken and that the person from the Sword Sect had been sliced apart by an invisible person.

    Along his way, all the news concerning the Ten Arbiters that Lu Yin heard was bad.

    Although Lu Yin was confident in the Ten Arbiters¡¯ abilities, Qiu Shi, Yuhua Mavis, and the others were all top heirs of the Neoverse¡¯s strongest powers. Additionally, the most terrifying part of it all was that they might all be Enlighters.

    Lu Yin believed that the Ten Arbiters were some of the strongest youths in the Mountain and Seas Zone, but it was no coincidence that the Ten Arbiters were unable to beat their opponents. After all, Lu Yin himself had been unable to defeat Lei N¨¹.

    As for the other Arbiters, their victory and defeat was unrted to Lu Yin. He was not worried about their survival, for the Ten Arbiters were people who could join together at the very least. Lu Yin did not feel that he was some genius who could face off against these elite Enlighters on his own.

    Although he was representing Eversky Ind, in the end, he had stille from the Innerverse, which meant that he represented the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    On one particr day, Lu Yin, ck, and White were all arguing over how their loot was being distributed. At this time, a distant mountain began to split apart.

    At the exact same time, all five mountains began to split apart, and each revealed an extraordinary scene.

    One mountain revealed giant eyes that covered the peak and looked down at the Mountain and Seas Zone. The pupils seemed to be zed over, though each one contained a world within it, as well as numerous stars.

    One mountain exposed a nt that looked like a root. It looked quite normal, but anybody who saw it would have a miraculous feeling, as if their minds were being cleared.

    An overflowing fog appeared atop one mountain, and different scenes could be seen within the fog.

    One mountain exposed a bizarre phenomenon. It sounded as though countless people were reciting something, and the entire area seemed to be resonating with the chanting.

    A droplet of blood appeared atop the mountain that stood closest to the trio, and this drop illuminated the Mountain and Seas Zone, causing half of the continent to turn red. The light fluctuated with the illumination from the golden screens.

    Lu Yin¡¯s little group were dumbfounded as they stared at the five mountains splitting open, and they were all bbergasted.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice suddenly rang out, and he sounded quite excited, ¡°Progenitor¡¯s blood! That¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s blood! Seventh Bro, hurry! Go and grab the Progenitor¡¯s blood!¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he looked at the droplet of blood that had appeared atop the fractured mountain. ¡°That¡¯s a drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Seventh Bro, you have to get it! A Progenitor¡¯s blood is priceless¡ªyou can use it toprehend the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance or even use it like a Progenitor¡¯s weapon to attack. It¡¯s very profound, and it¡¯s simply too valuable. You have to take it!¡± The Ghost Monkey was extremely agitated, and he had started babbling somewhat incoherently.

    Lu Yin was also moved, as who would not be moved by something from a Progenitor?

    ¡°Go.¡± Lu Yin no longer cared about fighting over a bit of loot with ck and White, and he led the two brats closer to the mountain. Regardless of if they could actually seize the drop of blood, they still needed to at least try.

    When the mountains cracked open, all of the cultivators in the Mountain and Seas Zone grew excited and dashed towards the various mountains.

    At the base of the mountain with the eyes, Ce Jiu, Unseen Light, and the young master of Aurora Enterprises all appeared. An astounding battle immediately ensued.

    Under the mountain with the weird rhizome, Xia Luo, Shu Jing, God Qingguang, and the experts from Gods¡¯ Origin appeared.

    Little Leaf King, God Taiyi, Xia Tian, and others all converged under the mountain with the roiling fog.

    Beneath the mountain with the strange sound, there was Qing Longlong, the Hui family heir, the Y¨­u family heir, and Starsibyl.

    Lan Si arrived at the base of the mountain with the Progenitor¡¯s blood, and at the same time, so too did a veiled woman. Her eyes were as clear as flowing water, and her presence was intoxicating. Lu Yin¡¯s group was also rushing toward this mountain.

    The Astral Tower contest had already gone on for more than a month now, and most people had started making their way towards the mountains since then.

    When the mountains split open, it coincidentally took ce as when many cultivators had started to arrive at the bases of the mountains.

    Shang Qing stood up from where he had been sitting on the side of the mountain with his eyes directed towards the top. When he looked down towards the base, he saw Ce Jiu, Unseen Light, and the young master of Aurora Enterprises locked in a fierce battle. Shang Qing¡¯s gaze trembled, as everything was proceeding as nned. No ident had urred, and none would in the future either. The so-called ¡°Cosmic Five¡± had already been chosen long ago, and the only thing preventing them from announcing it was an opportunity to go public.

    The Astral Tower contest appeared to be impartial, as everyone couldpete for a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance. However, was the universe really that absolutely impartial?

    The inheritance of the five mountains and five seas truly did exist, but how could the Hall of Honor let such a thing go to outsiders? The inheritances of the Mountain and Seas Zone had been taken away long ago, and they had actually already been given away. All that was left was a pitiful charity that needed to be maintained in order to uphold the poprity and reputation of the Astral Tower contest.

    If not for the inheritances from the Mountain and Seas Zone, then how else could the Hall of Honor possess so many powerful battle techniques and secret techniques?

    These people were too pathetic. Each one of them was trying to vie for the position of one of the Cosmic Five, but none of them knew that the opportunity had already been taken away long ago. The Cosmic Five were something that was determined internally, and the inheritances that the five youths would receive had been given to them long ago.

    This was the truth of the universe; some people were destined to be nothing more than supporting actors, and that was the simple fact of the matter.

    At the foot of the mountain, Ce Jiu used his inherited battle technique, Combat Doctrine, to merge various battle techniques together. Combat Doctrine simplified theplicated, and it allowed the user to disy a level of battle techniques that far surpassed what their peers could attain. Ce Jiu had evenplemented this technique with his forcefield, and at the start of the battle, he had managed to suppress Unseen Light. However, Unseen Light¡¯s domain was far too powerful, and the moment he opened his eyes, not even Combat Doctrine could predict his actions anymore, though Unseen Light was now able to see through Ce Jiu¡¯s next moves.

    Not even a minuteter, Ce Jiu was pathetically beaten back, and he stared at Unseen Light with shock filling his eyes. This person¡¯s domain was extremely powerful¡ªso this was one of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. They wereplete monsters. Ce Jie had the Ce family¡¯s inheritance as a foundation, and he had also cultivated within the Neoverse. However, he had beenpletely overpowered by this person. Just how had the Innerverse given birth to such freaks?

    Nearby, the young master of Aurora Enterprises had already retreated, and he did not even look back, which confused Unseen Light.

    The mountains had already split open, and the inheritances were about to emerge. Leaving at this time meant giving up. Or, was there another, greater inheritance?

    Unseen Light was wrong with this line of thought, as the heir from Aurora Enterprises was not hoping to find a greater inheritance. Rather, he had seen who was already on this particr mountain: Shang Qing. With the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen present, there was no reason to contest for this mountain.

    A bolt of lightning shed by as Ku Lei appeared, and he charged towards the mountain peak, ascending with a shocking speed. He had also noticed Shang Qing, but Ku Lei believed that he could withstand the Honor Chosen by relying on his secret technique. In his mind, he could obtain the inheritance as long as he entered the ce with the giant eyes.

    Ce Jiu frowned as the Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet. Ce Secret Art, Astral Chessboard!

    The next moment, Ce Jiu arrived behind Ku Lei, and his forcefield manifested as a massive ruler above him that smashed down.

    Ku Lei barked, ¡°Scram!¡±

    He tapped out with a finger.

    The Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap and the Ce family¡¯s Combat Doctrine collided with each other.

    The Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap had a strange power that caused the targeted person to lose all desire to resist.

    On the other hand, the Ce family¡¯s Combat Doctrine was able to merge multiple battle techniques together and simplify theplicated. This allowed the user to respond to various situations during a battle, and this naturally included the Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap.

    The Seven Courts had joined forces to retain control of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but they also internallypeted with one another.

    Ku Lei and Ce Jiu both retreated at the same time.

    At this moment, Shang Qingnded and lifted a hand. Three qi streams swept out to strike at Ku Lei, Ce Jiu, and Unseen Light.

    The three youths could all feel the power of the Tri-Yang Technique, as there was no attack that could deal with this technique. It was also extremely powerful.

    Ku Lei and Ce Jiu both attacked Shang Qing at the same time while Unseen Light¡¯s forcefield became a giant version of himself. The colossus then smashed a palm down towards Shang Qing.

    A qi flow shot out, piercing straight through the forcefield from bottom to top. Then, it continued moving on after that, aiming for Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light was able to predict his opponent¡¯s attacks and could thus formte the ideal response for all situations, but he felt rather helpless against the Tri-Yang Technique, especially because his domain was not of much use against it.

    With the arrival of Shang Qing, this battle had already ended.

    This entirepetition was just a show put on by the Hall of Honor. Shang Qing and a few others were the protagonists whereas Unseen Light and the others were simply the supporting cast. That was the truth of the matter.

    At the foot of the mountain with the rhizome, Shu Jing and God Qingguang fiercely fought against each other while Tai Yuanjun faced off against Xia Luo.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1124: Five Mountains

    <h4>Chapter 1124: Five Mountains</h4>

    Originally, Tai Yuanjun had not paid much attention to Xia Luo, but after trading blows, Tai Yuanjun realized that he was a fearsome opponent. Xia Luo¡¯s star energy control was very impressive, and all of Tai Yuanjun¡¯s attacks were being dissolved. To be more precise, Xia Luo was using lockbreaking to dissolve all iing attacks, which rendered any attack that used star energy useless against Xia Luo. He also did not use any battle techniques and only released casual attacks. It was as if Xia Luo could fight however he wished.

    Tai Yuanjun was feeling very sullen. Then, he formed a flute with his star energy and started ying A Gentleman¡¯s Eulogy; this was a melody to send off a gentleman.

    The flute released a melody that formed ripples, but they dispersed before they could reach Xia Luo. The melody was simply unable to touch him.

    Tai Yuanjun was shocked. This person was also a Cruiser, and he seemed have only recently broken through at that. However, he was already able to withstand Tai Yuanjun¡¯s full strength attack.

    Xia Luo calmly observed Tai Yuanjun. ¡°Second on the Top 100 Rankings. You live up to your rank.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun kept a wary eye trained on Xia Luo. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°I attended the Astral Combat Academy, and I¡¯m a ssmate of Lu Yin¡¯s.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun was shocked. ¡°You¡¯re from the Innerverse?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°Not really.¡±

    Tai Yuanjun¡¯s flute spun in a circle over his palm, and he took a series of light steps approaching Xia Luo. ¡°Wherever you¡¯re from, get out of here!¡±

    Xia Luo moved to the side, but his focus slipped past Tai Yuanjun and locked onto the surface of the nearby sea. A graceful figure slowly appeared where Xia Luo was looking, and there was a strange red and white mask covering this person¡¯s face. Lei N¨¹ had arrived.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s appearance caused the few people present to immediately stop fighting.

    Although Lei N¨¹ was only the Second Honor Chosen from the Hall of Honor, her battle record was not far from Shang Qing¡¯s, especially when people remembered her fight with the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu that had taken ce before the start of the Astral Tower contest. The news of Liu Tianmu¡¯s defeat had spread everywhere, and everyone knew that Lei N¨¹ was terrifyingly strong.

    Suddenly, an overwhelming amount of star energy swept through the area and caused the surface of the sea to start boiling. It felt like the sky and the air itself had suddenly frozen solid.

    Tai Yuanjun, God Qingguang, and the others were stunned. ¡°An Enlighter?¡±

    Lei N¨¹ had revealed her power as an Enlighter immediately after appearing, and she had also activated her innate gift. Ripples spread out and gradually enveloped the base of the mountain as she tried to use her innate gift of hypnosis to strike everyone down at once.

    God Qingguang¡¯s pupils shrank as a screen appeared in front of his body. It looked identical to what Jin He had used against Lu Yin, and various weapons soon appeared all around his hands, ready to attack Lei N¨¹.

    In this situation, God Qingguang seemed to be the only one who could put up a fight against Lei N¨¹, as Shu Jing would not. God Qingguang was a Hunter, so he was the only opponent that Lei N¨¹ would even bother with.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s eyes had been fixated on God Qingguang from start to finish, but nobody present thought that he could beat her. If God Taiyi was present, then there might be a bit of hope, but only the faintest glimmer.

    At the bottom of the mountain with an overflowing fog covering its peak, the Little Leaf King and God Taiyi fought against each other. One of them sealed his opponent¡¯s star energy while the other erased their opponent¡¯s runes. Both sides¡¯ attacks were somewhat strange as the two became entangled.

    The Little Leaf King had a cool expression, though internally, he was actually feeling rather helpless. Back during his time, there had not been this many young experts, and there had not been any Arbiters around. However, the current generation had the Ten Arbiters, and all of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers had youths who were incredibly difficult to deal with.

    Aside from the Little Leaf King and God Taiyi, Xia Tian, the stutterer, and others had also gathered at this mountain. All of them were standing at the foot of the mountain, thinking of a way to reach the top.

    These people were all locked in an intense battle when green grass suddenly appeared atop the sea¡¯s surface. This grass seemed to be overflowing with vitality, but there was also an unshakeable strangeness to it.

    It was impossible for grass to normally appear on top of the sea, and the only possible reason behind its appearance was Yuhua Mavis¡¯s arrival.

    The Mavis family controlled the finances of the Human Domain, and their foundation was truly unfathomable. Yuhua Mavis was the Mavis family¡¯s most important heir, but she had never taken action up till now. Despite that, she was publicly recognized as one of the most powerful members of the younger generation, and she was seen as an existence that could rival Shang Qing.

    Her arrival caused all of the fighting to stop.

    ¡°This inheritance is not rted to any of you, so leave.¡± Yuhua Mavis spoke as her eyes swept over everyone in front of her.

    God Taiyi and the Little Leaf King froze while Xia Tian carefully observed Yuhua Mavis.

    As the person on the top of the Top 100 Rankings, Xia Tian had challenged many people in the Innerverse who were from the Mavis family, and his greatest impression of them was, first their money, and second their absurd physical strength. It was not as simple as merely being strong. Who knew what these women ate while growing up, but all of them had an insane level of physical power.

    The woman standing before him was the only member of the Mavis family who had been sent to the Astral Tower contest, and her power would definitely be overwhelming.

    The stutterer stood some distance away, carefully watching Yuhua Mavis. He violently swallowed his saliva and was clearly rather afraid; this woman seemed to be very powerful, and after thinking about it, he quickly moved over to the Little Leaf King¡¯s side.

    The Little Leaf King carefully studied Yuhua Mavis. During his time, there had also been a Treeheart Descendant in the Mavis family, and her strength had indeed been shocking. It left him wondering just how strong this era¡¯s Treeheart Descendant was.

    Yuhua Mavis knew that just talking would not be enough to chase anyone away. After a moment¡¯s consideration, a field of green grass spread out from beneath her feet, and it covered the sea¡¯s surface as far as anyone could see. After that, the green grass grew frantically and twined together to form a massive green fist, simr to what had dealt with Ling Gong.

    Dozens of giant fists smashed towards the gathered cultivators.

    There had been more than twenty cultivators locked in an intense battle at the foot of the mountain earlier, but at this moment, all of them were faced with the green fists. One cultivator tried to receive a fist head on, but they were sent flying the moment they made contact with the attack.

    The other cultivators all suffered the same fate.

    The stutterer ran away at the first sign of danger, as he did not dare to go up against such an attack.

    The Little Leaf King used his Starswapped Leaf, and the star energy surrounding Yuhua Mavis¡¯s body transformed into leaves that trapped her.

    Yuhua Mavis was surprised, though there was still a smile hanging on her lips as she nced at the Little Leaf King. Then, an emerald green shed through her eyes before the leaves that had trapped her melted back into star energy; the Starswapped Leaf had failed.

    The Little Leaf King¡¯s pupils shrank, and he looked stunned. Right after that, he used Starswapped Leaf to trap all of the other cultivators.

    God Taiyi carefully watched on as the green fist sted at him, and he used Truesight to erase some of its rune lines. However, to his shock, the star energy surrounding his body suddenly turned into leaves that trapped him. He turned to re at the Little Leaf King only to see that the man¡¯s eyes were sluggish. Once he saw that, God Taiyi¡¯s heart sank as he remembered the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift. Unable to do anything, he silently cursed, and there was a thump as his body was struck by a green fist and sent crashing into the sea.

    Even God Taiyi had suffered such a fate, so there was no need to mention the others.

    Yuhua Mavis had only used one attack, and she had even included God Taiyi among her targets. Despite that, everyone had been beaten to the bottom of the sea, and she had even taken control of the Little Leaf King, who was also smacked into the sea. The green fists did not dissipate, and they reformed themselves into tendrils of green grass that tied everyone down to the seabed.

    Yuhua Mavis looked down and nced at all her prisoners. She then smiled faintly as she stepped onto the mountain.

    She suddenly paused and then turned around. A person had shot out of the sea, and although they were in a rather pathetic state, this person had still broken free of the green grass¡¯s grasp. It was none other than God Taiyi.

    ¡°You were able to break free?¡± Yuhua Mavis was surprised.

    God Taiyi panted heavily, and there was blood dripping down from the corner of his mouth. His pupils transformed into runes, and he stared directly at Yuhua Mavis. A screen of star energy surrounded him as the weapon in his hands constantly changed shape until finally settling into the shape of five ck balls. He let go and the five balls spiralled towards Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis smiled. ¡°The Perception Realm of Rune Technology. You are the first person to attain the Perception Realm in your generation from Gods¡¯ Origin. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re their top heir. Unfortunately, you haven¡¯t reached the Enlighter realm yet.¡±

    The five ck balls surrounded Yuhua Mavis and then exploded one after another. Each explosion formed an iparable shockwave that tore through the void, and the five explosions ovepped with each other, increasing the power of the attack until the void where Yuhua Mavis was standing shattered.

    Even with God Taiyi¡¯s strength, it was not easy for him to form these five ck balls, and this was his strongest attack.

    As the smoke cleared, he saw an unscathed Yuhua Mavis standing in the same ce. The green grass was gradually dissipating, but there was not even the slightest wrinkle on her clothes.

    God Taiyi was overwhelmed; how was this possible?

    Yuhua Mavis looked at him. ¡°When has your Gods¡¯ Origin ever defeated my Mavis family?¡±

    She then lightly tapped out with a finger; God Taiyi¡¯s legs had been wrapped about by green grass without him even realizing it, and it suddenly pulled back with Yuhua Mavis¡¯s move. He wailed in agony and immediately tried to weaken the grass¡¯s rune lines, but it was already toote. He was dragged down to the sea floor by the grass, and once there, he spat out a mouthful of blood as his strength drained away.

    Yuhua Mavis turned to continue making her way up the mountain.

    Under the mountain with the phenomenon of countless chanting voices, the Hui family heir, Hui Santong, was locked in battle with the Y¨­u family heir, Y¨­u Qin. Aside from these two, Qing Longlong, Starsibyl, and a dozen others were also present.

    Starsibyl left those who tried to attack her feeling sullen, as she was able to predict all of their actions and always be one step ahead.

    Anyone who tried to attack her would ultimately give up in frustration.

    She stared up at the phenomenon and silently listened to the chanting, looking as though she would be able to receive the inheritance from where she stood.

    Qiu Shi arrived from the distance, her face calm. She had only just arrived at the base of the mountain, but she was surrounded by almost a thousand stars that enveloped everyone gathered. Next, she used just one Cosmic Palm to cause the stars to explode, affecting everyone present.

    Hui Santong cursed the woman, and used the Hui Secret Art that could eliminate all battle techniques. He then shuttled amidst the exploding stars to appear in front of Qiu Shi, and golden meteors appeared over his palm as he pped out with it.

    Qiu Shi looked up and vanished only for Y¨­u Qin to appear in her ce. She had used the secret technique Star Transference to swap positions with Y¨­u Qin.

    Originally, Y¨­u Qin had been busy dodging the explosions of stars, but unexpectedly, she suddenly traded ces with Qiu Shi, who then left. She had no idea that she would have to face not only the exploding stars, but also Hui Santong¡¯s golden meteors.

    She was slightly slow to react, and her shoulder was struck by a golden meteor. Her face turned deathly pale, and she plummeted down into the sea.

    The other cultivators also tumbled down, one after another, just like raindrops.

    Qiu Shi waved a hand, revealing her strength as an Enlighter. The stars revolved about her once again before exploding. Hui Santong felt overwhelmed, as the power of this attack was even more terrifying than before. He could not repeatedly use the Hui Secret Art and thus could only reluctantly try to dodge. However, this Cosmic Palm had enveloped the entire area around him, and he could not dodge the attack, which caused him to be injured by the exploding stars. Hui Santong thus also ended up falling into the sea.

    This was Qiu Shi¡¯s strength. So what if her opponent was the Hui family heir? The Seven Courts had started declining long ago, and it was possible that after just a few more years, Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum might not be in their control anymore.

    Qui Shi then nced over at Starsibyl. From start to finish, this woman had not moved at all, yet all of the exploding stars had not harmed her in the slightest.

    Starsibyl gave Qiu Shi a slight smile. ¡°I don¡¯t n on climbing the mountain.¡±

    Qiu Shi¡¯s gaze trembled. ¡°You¡¯re this generation¡¯s Starsibyl? Help me divine who this generation¡¯s Cosmic Five will be.¡±

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°Why bother with a divination?¡±

    She then looked at the five mountains. ¡°These five directions were already divided up by you all long ago, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    Qiu Shi¡¯s face was calm, but she gave Starsibyl a measured stare before stepping past her and continuing on towards the mountain. ¡°Don¡¯t try to act smart, as you might just invite trouble upon yourself.¡±

    Starsibyl did not respond, and she silently watched Qiu Shi ascend.

    Five mountains, five directions, five top-notch heirs. This was what the Cosmic Five represented.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1125: Burial Gardenâ€™s Inheritor

    <h4>Chapter 1125: Burial Garden¡¯s Inheritor</h4>

    ¡°The Neoverse is truly dark. So this is how the Hall of Honor handles things. The so-called ¡°Astral Tower contest¡± is actually just a massive stage to them, and not even the Seven Courts can change this,¡± Starsibyl mumbled to herself as she stared off into the distance. She hoped that the rest would do as they had said, as only by joining forces could they create a miracle.

    Strangely enough, Starsibyl suddenly thought of Lu Yin. That person was the only variable in her ns, as she could not divine anything about Lu Yin.

    ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll be able to create a miracle,¡± Starsibyl muttered, though she did not even know who she was talking about.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin led ck and White along towards a tall mountain at a startling speed. As they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they saw Lan Si sweeping out in all directions with Vacuum Palms, beating all of the other cultivators until they could not even move. By this time, quite a few people were already floating in the sea and wailing in agony.

    When he saw Lu Yin arrive, Lan Si¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I knew that you¡¯de! There¡¯s no way you¡¯d miss out on something like this.¡±

    Before Lu Yin even had a chance to reply, White spoke up. ¡°Hey, Lu Yin, introduce us to this handsome guy.¡±

    ck also looked highly expectant.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ¡°This is Lan Si. Is he handsome?¡±

    ck and White both nodded vigorously.

    Lan Si looked at the two brats in surprise. He then seemed to remember something, and a strange expression appeared on his face. ¡°Are they from Eversky Ind?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and helplessly said, ¡°And full of trouble .¡±

    ck and White red at Lu Yin, as though they were signalling for him to shut up.

    Lan Si was amused.

    Off in the distance, a veiled woman observed the group as she drew closer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s group looked over at her in turn.

    After drawing close, the woman peeled off her veil and revealed her unique features.

    The others were all stunned, even ck and White.

    ¡°Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu?¡± Lu Yin blurted out, rather surprised.

    Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu, Ming Yu, was standing in front of them. Lu Yin had seen this woman in the Azure Mansion outside of the Mountain and Seas Zone, and she had left a rather deep impression on him.

    She smiled, ¡°Hello, everyone.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ming Yu smiled. ¡°Although Azure Mansion is a ce of entertainment, it¡¯s also one of the Neoverse¡¯s great powers. The Mountain and Seas Zone is the entire Human Domain¡¯s inheritance, and any who know its location are free to enter.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood.

    ¡°Eh? Lu Yin, you went to Azure Mansion? I¡¯m going to tell Master!¡± ck eximed as she red at Ming Yu.

    White was also quite upset. ¡°We definitely need to tell Master and Senior Shenwei as well.¡±

    Lu Yin really wanted to interject and say that Highsage Shenwei was the person who had first taken him to Azure Mansion, but he did not dare to say anything after thinking about it. After all, Highsage Shenwei might be staring at Lu Yin right at this moment.

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrongly, as Highsage Shenwei was indeed staring at their small group at this moment. Or rather, he was staring at Ming Yu with a readily apparent look of infatuation. What a beautifuldy.

    Lan Si had no interest in Ming Yu, and he turned to Lu Yin. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, this should be a drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood. Brother Lu, if you want it, you can have it.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, quit messing around! Go and grab the Progenitor¡¯s blood! That¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s blood!¡± The Ghost Monkey had lost his patience.

    Lu Yin apologized to Lan Si. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this Progenitor¡¯s blood is very valuable to me, so I¡¯ll pay you back when we get out of here.¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    He then muttered, ¡°On our way to Neoverse, Starsibyl told us that we had to join forces if we wanted any possibility of one of the Ten Arbiters bing one of the Cosmic Five. We have to try our best to break the norm of the Cosmic Five onlying from the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°If you guys actually listened to her, then you wouldn¡¯t be known as the Ten Arbiters.¡±

    Lan Si smiled. ¡°She underestimated us. Even if all of us fail to be one of the Cosmic Five and fail to obtain an inheritance, we still won¡¯t team up. The Ten Arbiters are ten individuals, though these are just my own thoughts.¡±

    ¡°But at the time, you guys still agreed to join forces, right?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Lan Si exined, ¡°Only so that we could get some more information about the Astral Tower contest. Besides, don¡¯t you feel like the Starsibyl Sect is too obsessed with this contest for the Cosmic Five? The Starsibyl Sect has always been pretty much considered supernatural, and yet, they created the Top 100 Rankings while excluding the Ten Arbiters. Now, they¡¯re trying to interfere with the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Five. I have a nagging feeling that they¡¯re plotting something.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, as he had the same feeling as well. The Starsibyl Sect had always been exceptionally mysterious, and it was not strange to suspect that they were plotting something.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, go get the drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood!¡± The Ghost Monkey was really feeling frustrated.

    Lu Yinughed, as there was no reason to be so anxious. That was because a fearsome strength had appeared long ago from another direction. Both Lan Si and Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu were able to sense it; why else would they be idly chatting away at the foot of the mountain?

    That terrifying strength definitely belonged to an Enlighter, though they did not know who the powerhouse was.

    The others did not speak anymore, and they all made their way towards the tall mountain.

    To their right, the sea surged, and the seawater was scorched by a high temperature. At the same time, white fog also appeared.

    A warhorse whinnied, and an illusory ck fire burned the void. An expert from Burial Garden had appeared at the foot of this mountain: Y¨­u Qi.

    The Y¨­u family¡¯s heir was Y¨­u Qin while Burial Garden''s heir was known as Y¨­u Qi; their names were off by just a single letter.

    Azure Mansion was an entertainment venue, but they had an impressive reputation throughout the Neoverse, especially after the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. During that time, one of the Azure Mansions had made its way into the Cosmic Sea, and it had flown through the sky there.

    Ming Yu was Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu, and she was a super genius who had already be a Hunter. Naturally, she was also able to see the person from Burial Garden.

    ck and White were simrly able to see him.

    It could be said that, of those who had gathered around Lu Yin, they were all among the cream of the crop within the Mountain and Seas Zone aside from ck and White. However, the two brats were so fast that not even Ku Lei could catch up to them, and nobody could deny that they were among the top in their generation.

    As Lu Yin looked at the slowly approaching Y¨­u Qi, he took a deep breath. The image of this person matched that of the warhorse-riding illusory figure that Lu Yin had once seen in the Outerverse. ¡°An eye of cold indifference¡± was clearly meant to describe this person.

    When Lu Yin saw that figure in the Outerverse, the person had ridden the warhorse through space, and they had almost destroyed his spacecraft. That person had clearly been from Burial Garden.

    Of the Three Dark Hands, Burial Garden was the most mysterious.

    Lu Yin seemed to have some connection to Burial Garden, as Xuan Jiu had once said that Burial Garden woulde to look for Lu Yin.

    The illusory ck mes spread out, and they burned the base of the mountain before spreading out all over the sea.

    The other cultivators hurriedly moved away, as there were some who could not even see Y¨­u Qi, though those who could had slipped away at the first opportunity.

    Lan Si¡¯s face turned solemn, and he took a step forward. ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ll pave the way for you.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Lan Si approached Y¨­u Qi, step by step.

    The illusory ck mes covering Y¨­u Qi formed a spear that he raised up to point at Lan Si. ¡°Leave the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Lan Si looked up and boldly charged forward while unleashing a palm: One Hundred Fifty Stacks.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ck spear shot forward.

    A palm and spear collided, and the void shattered in a spiderweb-like pattern. Lan Si¡¯s expression immediately changed. He had known that Y¨­u Qi was very powerful, but the Arbiter had not expected his opponent to be capable of directly blocking One Hundred Fifty Stacks. Was this person¡¯s physical strength really that impressive?

    No, it was the might of the warhorse.

    Y¨­u Qi was a cavalier, and he had merged his strength with his warhorse, pushing his strength to a level unimaginable to theyperson.

    Even so, Y¨­u Qi was still shocked at the strength of Lan Si¡¯s Oveying Stacks Path. Y¨­u Qi was confident that very few could actually block his spear; Liu Tianmu had relied on the Thirteen Swords to do so while this Lan Si had relied on his Oveying Stacks Path.

    The warhorse whinnied and screamed at the sky, causing the illusory ck mes to shoot forward to swallow Lan Si.

    Lan Si fell back, and his palm quivered as he struck out with a Vacuum Palm. Off in the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide.

    Not only was Vacuum Palm one of Lan Si¡¯s trump cards, but it was also his most powerful attack. Vacuum Palm was an invisible palm strike, and even if one was able to sense it, they still might not be able to dodge it let alone withstand its power.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s experience, only two people had been able to receive a Vacuum Palm head on so far. One was Mu Ziying, who could rely on his innate gift of wood armor, though he had not been able to take more than just a few blows. The other person was Shang Qing, who had resisted it with his Tri-Yang Technique.

    Shang Qing was the only person who had been able to take a full force Vacuum Palm, as even Lei N¨¹ had spat out blood after being struck.

    The rune lines of each Vacuum Palm were numerous, and Lu Yin could see this palm attack pass through the void before arriving in front of Y¨­u Qi. Suddenly, the illusory ck mes red up; the Vacuum Palm did notnd on Y¨­u Qi and instead struck the ck mes that now enveloped his body. The attack managed to dissipate quite a few of the ck mes, but Y¨­u Qi did not take even half a step back.

    Lan Si had a solemn expression, as very few were able to receive his Vacuum Palm like this. This person from Burial Garden was quite terrifying.

    Y¨­u Qi looked at his opponent with admiration. ¡°The Ten Arbiters truly have a justified reputation. Liu Tianmu was very powerful, and you are also very powerful. What a pity.¡±

    Suddenly, a deste and miserable whistling rang out, and a strange book appeared above the cavalier¡¯s head.

    ¡°There was once a powerhouse in the ancient times known as Dun Jiu, and his innate gift was that of a shield,¡± Y¨­u Qi slowly stated. As he spoke, the ck mes covering him vanished and a shield appeared in front of him instead.

    Lan Si¡¯s brows rose. Y¨­u Qi had retracted his ck mes, which indicated that those mes were not able to take more than a few Vacuum Palms. Thus, Lan Si should have simply unleashed a barrage of Vacuum Palms, but suddenly, those mes had been reced by a shield.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp; what kind of innate gift was this? Dun Jiu¡¯s shield? Could Y¨­u Qi borrow other people¡¯s innate gifts?

    At Lu Yin¡¯s side, Azure Mansion¡¯s Ming Yu turned pale. ¡°Legend has it that Burial Garden is a ce where the dead are reborn. It¡¯s indeed true that Dun Jiu was a powerhouse who died many years ago, and his innate gift was indeed the shield that¡¯s being used right now.¡±

    Lu Yin was overwhelmed, as this person was really borrowing someone else¡¯s innate gift and a dead person¡¯s at that.

    ck and White looked panicked, and they stared at Y¨­u Qi with fearful faces. This person was very strange.

    Lan Si did not think much on the matter, and he simply attacked with a Vacuum Palm.

    His Vacuum Palms were extremely powerful, and this one shot through the void to arrive right before Y¨­u Qi. There was a loud bang, and the shield protecting Y¨­u Qi had a section of it visibly sink in, but it was able to block the Vacuum Palm.

    Y¨­u Qi raised his spear and charged at Lan Si, thrusting his spear forward. The shaft spun in his grip, and the tip pierced through the void.

    Lan Si tried to dodge, and the spear that Y¨­u Qi had thrust at the Arbiter was suddenly forcefully diverted, and it stabbed at Lu Yin instead. Since he was not able to strike Lan Si, Y¨­u Qi had decided to attack someone else, as he wanted to strike someone.

    ck and White screamed and took off.

    Ming Yu wanted to dodge, but Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear had freezed her in ce, and she could not move. Although she was a Hunter, how much battle experience could she have umted while growing up in an entertainment venue like Azure Mansion? When Lu Yin saw the spear stab towards him, he grabbed Ming Yu, tossed her aside, raised a hand, and then grabbed the spear. Nine lined battle force shot into the sky, and One Hundred Seventy Stacks vibrated from his hand.

    The shield protecting Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body grew unstable, and he was not able to hold his spear steady.

    Lu Yin barked, ¡°Get down!¡±

    He then used his strength to try to force Y¨­u Qi to the ground.

    Y¨­u Qi released the spear in his hand, allowing the weapon to be taken away by Lu Yin. The cavalier then grabbed his warhorse¡¯s reins, prompting the beast to release a high-pitched whinny as its forelegs rose high into the sky before crashing down onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at the warhorse¡¯s descending hooves and erased some of its runes. At the same time, his left palmshed out with a Vacuum Palm.

    There was a bang, and Y¨­u Qi was struck. This time, he was truly struck, and he was sted off of his horse. When the warhorse¡¯s hooves mmed into Lu Yin, he only retreated a few steps. Then, Lu Yin raised his hands and converged Twin Suns to attack the warhorse.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1126: Lu Yin Vs Yu Qi

    <h4>Chapter 1126: Lu Yin Vs Yu Qi</h4>

    Illusory mes burned atop the warhorse, and Lu Yin¡¯s Twin Suns also began to ze.

    The Twin Suns were both hurled at the warhorse, which neighed as the ck mes on its body were suppressed. It continuously moved back while making a wailing noise.

    Y¨­u Qi wanted to remount his warhorse, but Lan Si attacked him at that moment, and a Vacuum Palm struck Y¨­u Qi on his back, forcing him even further away. Although the Vacuum Palm had not managed to break through Dun Jiu¡¯s shield, the attack had still pushed him further away from his warhorse.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s expression grew cold, and a terrifying star energy swept out in all directions as he released his Enlighter-realm power. He raised his hands, and the illusory ck mes filled the sky before falling down.

    There were quite a few cultivators off in the distance who had fled in terror.

    Those ck mes were of no threat to Lu Yin or Lan Si, but that was because their defenses were too obscene. However, it was different for the others, and these mes were enough to make them simply disappear.

    ck and White had run even further away.

    Ming Yu had also repeatedly pulled back, and she stared at the unfolding battle in shock.

    Y¨­u Qi had revealed himself to be an Enlighter, and both Lan Si and Lu Yin were feeling the pressure. After all, their opponent was an expert from Burial Garden, and the fact that he dared to break through to the Enlighter realm showed that he had umted a satisfactory foundation. He had revealed his full power, not because he could not deal with these two opponents with the power of a Hunter, but rather because he did not want to waste his time.

    The warhorse was struck by Lu Yin¡¯s Twin Suns, and it screamed in anguish as drops of its blood scattered about.

    Y¨­u Qi spoke in an ice cold voice. ¡°Defeating two of the Ten Arbiters at once is enough to pave my path to bing one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Lu Yin and Lan Si both moved at the same time: Vacuum Palm.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s eyes went wide, as he had no time to mount any sort of defense. The shield protecting his body immediately broke apart, and he was forced back a dozen steps.

    Lan Si followed up with another palm, as he did not want to give Y¨­u Qi any time to recover.

    However, the palm attack passed straight through Y¨­u Qi and struck the distant sea, which caused the water to sink in the shape of a palm.

    Lan Si was surprised; what was going on?

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body seemed to have turned transparent and illusory. His cold eyes swept over Lu Yin and then over Lan Si. The same book from before appeared in front of his head. ¡°An ancient powerhouse known as Liu Guai used the Eleventh Sword, Particle Diffusion.¡±

    Lu Yin and Lan Si felt their scalps go numb when they heard Y¨­u Qi¡¯s words: the Eleventh Sword? From the Thirteen Swords? Could this person even use the Liu family¡¯s Eleventh Sword? How was that possible?

    No matter how ridiculous this information was, the strange book above Y¨­u Qi¡¯s head suddenly caused a burst of sword light to appear.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine, and every single one of his cells felt like they were trembling. He reflexively used the Ce Secret Art, and an Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet. At the same time, the air, the sea, and the nearby star energy all were turned into chesspieces as were Lu Yin, Lan Si, and Y¨­u Qi. There was also one more chesspiece: the falling Eleventh Sword.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no idea when the Eleventh Sword had appeared or how the attack would strike. All he could do at this time was instantly shift his body to avoid the Eleventh Sword. He could not even save Lan Si.

    The sword disappeared as the sea was shed apart. The sword qi sliced past Ming Yu, ck, and White. All three women felt a cold chill that left them not even daring to move.

    As for the cultivators who were even further away, they were all stupefied, as they simply could not understand this sword attack.

    Everyone stared at Y¨­u Qi, though Y¨­u Qi himself was looking elsewhere, which happened to be where Lu Yin had appeared.

    Lan Si remained in the same ce as before, and his eyes went ck as he slowly bent over. Fresh blood dripped down his chest, staining half of his body red. He had suffered a direct hit from the Eleventh Sword, and he had not even had a chance to dodge.

    Lan Si had long since known that the Eleventh Sword was terrifying. As one of the Ten Arbiters, he had naturally challenged Liu Tianmu. Lan Si had already gone up against the first Ten Swords, and he had believed that he should be capable of enduring the Eleventh Sword with his innate gift and defenses. However, he had never expected to be unable to even dodge the Eleventh Sword after finally encountering it.

    He had not even seen when he had been sliced.

    His Vacuum Palm was an attack that relied on speed while the Eleventh Sword disregarded speed entirely. It was as though the attack simply emerged from the void.

    With a thump, Lan Si fell down to the sea below. A circle of blood soon appeared on the water¡¯s surface.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, pulled Lan Si up from the sea, and tossed him over to ck and White. ¡°Take care of him.¡±

    After that, Lu Yin turned around and faced Y¨­u Qi with a serious expression.

    Y¨­u Qi stared at Lu Yin, as the cavalier had assumed that the battle would end with that attack. He had never thought that Lu Yin would be able to dodge the Eleventh Sword. Y¨­u Qi had always been the one that others made assumptions and guesses about, as he was a mysterious existence. But at this moment, he was feeling that towards Lu Yin, as Y¨­u Qi could not fully grasp Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Evading the Eleventh Sword was not as simple as just using the Ce Secret Art; otherwise, Ce Jiu would be a nigh unbeatable existence. This was a matter of awareness and timing, and Lu Yin¡¯s battle awareness was extremely acute. Once it reached a certain level, he would be able to use it to predict the future.

    Lu Yin was just a Cruiser, so what had he relied on to dodge the Eleventh Sword? And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how an Enlighter had used the technique.

    Lu Yin stared at Y¨­u Qi. ¡°You can borrow the strength of the dead? Exactly what sort of existence is your Burial Garden?¡±

    The pages of the book above Y¨­u Qi continued flipping, and the ck mes covering his body surged as his warhorse trotted over from the distance.

    He leaped onto the steed and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°My Burial Garden is not something that you can understand. However, you¡¯ve exceeded my expectations by dodging the Eleventh Sword, and you¡¯re qualified to be my opponent. Unfortunately, you will still ultimately be defeated.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, as Y¨­u Qi was truly a difficult opponent, and his innate gift waspletely bizarre. It allowed him to borrow the Liu family¡¯s Thirteen Swords and alsopletely disregard his Vacuum Palms. How had he done that? Was Y¨­u Qi actually able to ignore his Vacuum Palms? If so, then why had he not done so at the beginning?

    ¡°Seventh Bro, you have to get the Progenitor¡¯s blood! Please!¡± the Ghost Monkey solemnly begged.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he kept a wary eye on Y¨­u Qi while slowly tightening his fists.

    Off in the distance, at the foot of another mountain, Shang Qing looked up before proceeding to slowly climb the mountain. Below him, at the base of the mountain, floating in the sea, were the defeated Ce Jiu, Ku Lei, Unseen Light, and other contestants.

    At the same time, Lei N¨¹ made her way up her mountain as Tai Yuanjun, God Qingguang, and the others had simrly been defeated by her. To her, such people were meaningless, and the so-called ¡°contest¡± to be one of the Cosmic Five was merely a formality.

    In one corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone, an heir from the Xia family was participating in the contest, and he was known as Xia Kang.

    At this moment, Xia Kang was lying on the sea and staring up at the golden screen in the sky. His eyes slowly closed as his body gradually vanished.

    Yuhua Mavis was also climbing a mountain as not even God Taiyi had been able to stop her. This was an inevitable conclusion.

    However, in this ce, Xia Tian¡¯s body was gradually dissipating in the same manner as Xia Kang¡¯s.

    Qiu Shi made her way up a mountain since Hui Santong and the others had already been beaten. Starsibyl stood at the foot of the mountain, her eyes flickering. It was impossible to know what she seemed to be calcting.

    There were five mountains and five directions; the battles at the other mountains had already concluded, and Y¨­u Qi was the only Enlighter who had encountered a variable. However, in Y¨­u Qi¡¯s perspective, this was nothing more than a dy, and he would quickly finish it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your name, Lu Yin. You¡¯ve united the Outerverse and then consecutively defeated two of the Ten Arbiters. Within the same generation, you can be considered unrivaled. If I hadn¡¯t already be an Enlighter, then this battle with you would be incredibly taxing. However, your fate today has already been decided,¡± Y¨­u Qi slowly dered, his voice as gloomy as ever. As he spoke, the warg that he had been carrying this entire time suddenly melted down into a strange forcefield that wrapped around his body. Then, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s entire aura seemed to undergo a massive change, and even the sky grew darker.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, as Y¨­u Qi¡¯s rune lines had already been much greater than Lu Yin¡¯s own, but at this moment, their number actually surged even higher.

    Lu Yin had been able to fight against Y¨­u Qi so far because he had been relying on Truesight to constantly erase some of this person¡¯s rune lines. But now that Y¨­u Qi¡¯s power level had surged, Truesight would no longer be enough topensate for the difference in power levels.

    The warhorse whinnied, and Y¨­u Qi pulled at the reins as it charged at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand: Vacuum Palm.

    The illusory mes surrounding Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body twisted the void, and Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm mmed into the mes, shattering a portion of them. However, it was only a portion.

    This was the difference in their strength. If Y¨­u Qi had not be an Enlighter, then there would have been no way for Y¨­u Qi to block Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm that easily.

    As it stood, Y¨­u Qi was using the disparity in cultivation realms to forcefully make up for the disparity between Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms¡¯ power and his defense.

    The ck mes merged into a long spear that thrust forward, and the ck radiance on the spear tip left Lu Yin¡¯s scalp feeling numb. His body flickered and disappeared.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s eyes grew cold, and his ck mes swept out in all directions, covering everything around him. Countless ck lights flickered about like the infinite stars of the universe.

    When Lu Yin reappeared, the ck lights all shed towards him. Although he was able to dodge several of them, he still ended up being struck by a dozen. The ck lights beat Lu Yin¡¯s Fatesand back into his body while also nearly shattering his nine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin crashed into the sea, and Y¨­u Qi raised his spear to thrust it forward again, the ck light on the speartip utterly terrifying.

    Down on the seafloor, Lu Yin looked up and waved his left hand to activate the Yu Secret Art.

    The ck spear was forcefully diverted in a different direction, which caught Y¨­u Qi off guard. The spear stabbed into the sea, but at the veryst moment, Y¨­u Qi managed to suddenly stabilize his weapon, and the ck light at the tip of the spear caused ripples to spread across the seafloor.

    Lu Yin could tell that something was wrong, so he immediately dashed out of the sea.

    The next moment, endless ck mes covered the sea, and at the same time, Y¨­u Qi pulled his spear back and thrust it at Lu Yin once again.

    There was no ce to flee to, not in the sky above nor the earth below. Even if Lu Yin dodged at his top speed, he would still eventually be smoked out by the endlessly spreading mes.

    Off in the distance, beyond the ck mes, ck and White helped Lan Si up as they watched the mes in fear.

    Ming Yu was stunned by this sight. This was truly one of the top-tier battles in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew fierce as he looked at Y¨­u Qi¡¯s approaching spear. In response, he raised a finger and tapped out.

    Nine lined battle force twined around the finger, and a domain suppressed everything as spiritual force wound around it as well. At the same time, the tip of the finger contained the Oveying Stacks Path while Truesight weakened the enemy¡¯s runes. This was the battle technique that the Eversky Bridge had derived from Lu Yin¡¯s various techniques as he walked across it. This was a battle technique that was unique to him alone.

    He had named it the Seventh Bro Finger.

    The Seventh Bro Finger was an attack that epassed spiritual force, physical strength, and even Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    He tapped out with a finger, and Y¨­u Qi felt stunned; his spear was able to block the Oveying Stacks Path and the battle force on it, but it was unable to stop the devastating spiritual force.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was powerful enough to withstand Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s Skybreaker, and no one in the same generation had a spiritual force that surpassed Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s. Even if Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spiritual force was not weak, he would still faint for the briefest moment.

    Lu Yin had been aiming for that exact moment, and he lifted a hand to unleash a Vacuum Palm.

    As the palm descended, it pierced through the ck mes, but then it passed through Y¨­u Qi and struck the sea.

    Lu Yin immediately pulled back as he stared at Y¨­u Qi.

    What was going on? How was this person able to avoid his Vacuum Palms? Was it an innate gift? No, his innate gift was that book.

    Across from Lu Yin, Y¨­u Qi raised his head to look at Lu Yin. ¡°You might be the most powerful person under the Cosmic Five. Not even the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu is guaranteed to be your match. If you had reached the Enlighter realm like me, then it¡¯s true that I might not be your opponent. However, for now, this battle can¡¯t be changed.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as he could not defeat this person. Even his Seventh Bro Finger had failed to gain an advantage, as Y¨­u Qi was able to take such an attack head on.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1127: Swallowed

    <h4>Chapter 1127: Swallowed</h4>

    ¡°You might believe that I can¡¯t beat you, but you can¡¯t beat me either,¡± Lu Yin shot back.

    Y¨­u Qi stared at him. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    The book suddenly reappeared above his head.

    Upon seeing the book, Lu Yin instantly felt a sh of fear run through him; who knew what sort of innate gift or battle technique this person could borrow next? The Eleventh Sword had already left a scar on Lu Yin¡¯s mental state.

    Neither of the two dared to allow themselves to be distracted in the slightest during their battle, and so neither of them had noticed that the Ghost Monkey, who had been in his imprint on Lu Yin¡¯s right arm so far, had just left.

    The Ghost Monkey was a streak of shadow, and at this time, endless ck mes were burning atop the sea. Thus, nobody was able to notice the surreptitious shadow making its way through the ck mes.

    Although the ck mes were ineffective against Lu Yin and Lan Si, the mes still held an exceptional power. Logically, no Explorer should be able to handle the ck mes and not be devoured.

    However, the monkeypletely disregarded the ck mes as he dashed towards the distant mountain. As a shadow, nobody would notice him climbing the mountain either.

    His desire for the drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood had surpassed his limits of self-control.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the group of older powerhouses were watching the battle between Y¨­u Qi and Lu Yin.

    Mu En sighed. ¡°This fellow is actually able to almost fight on par with Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple, who¡¯s an Enlighter. He¡¯s also only cultivated for a dozen years¡ªhis talent is too terrifying.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was thrilled. ¡°That¡¯s my Eversky Ind¡¯s nominal disciple!¡±

    Yuan Ke chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s my Cosmic Sect¡¯s interim disciple.¡±

    Off to the side, Xia Meng was also looking at Lu Yin. ¡°The time isn¡¯t quite right for him. Once he¡¯s given a few more years to develop, aside from two or three other youths, no one else in his generation will be his opponent.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not the only one either. None of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters are weak in any way, and that Lan Si also managed to trade blows with Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple despite not being an Enlighter. The Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters are not bad¡ªit¡¯s just that their cultivation realm is a bitcking along with their foundations,¡± Mu Enmented.

    ¡°This stage is not fated for them,¡± Highsage Shenweimented with pity.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Y¨­u Qi slowly said, ¡°An ancient powerhouse named Liu Guai once used the Eleventh Sword.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as it was the Eleventh Sword yet again. He instinctively used the Ce Secret Art to escape, and the ce where he had been standing was split open while the sea was shed apart. Even the ck mes were cut in half.

    When Lu Yin reappeared, he heard the sound of the warhorse¡¯s whinny behind him, and his back erupted in pain. Y¨­u Qi had appeared behind Lu Yin, and his speartip stabbed towards Lu Yin¡¯s back. His nine lined battle force cracked before finally shattering; Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear plunged into Lu Yin¡¯s back, causing a trickle of blood to appear. The ck mes seeped into the wound and tried to incinerate Lu Yin from the inside.

    Lu Yin turned around and unleashed an attack, but his Vacuum Palm phased through Y¨­u Qi yet again.

    Y¨­u Qi swept his spear to the side and smashed at Lu Yin¡¯s body. Lu Yin could only bring both of his arms up to try to block the attack, and the blow sent him flying into the sea with two broken arms.

    Up on the mountain, the Ghost Monkey turned around to see Lu Yin being overpowered. ¡°Hold on just a bit more, Seventh Bro! This monkey will help you, just a bit longer.¡±

    He then continued to race towards the mountain¡¯s broken peak. Progenitor¡¯s blood! Progenitor¡¯s blood!

    Y¨­u Qi had stopped everyone else from climbing the mountain, which was the same as helping the Ghost Monkey, as he was able to race up the mountain without any obstacles. Aside from the resistanceing from the mountain itself, the monkey encountered no other hindrances.

    Also, the mountain¡¯s natural suppression was surprisingly ineffective on the monkey.

    Off in the distance, Ming Yu felt helpless, as Lu Yin was not able to match up to Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple. As long as he revealed even a hint of an opening, Lu Yin would be defeated in an instant. The disparity between the two was too great.

    ck and White were both nervous.

    Lan Si had regained consciousness, and he looked into the distance. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Ming Yu pursed her lips. ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s losing.¡±

    Lan Si was frustrated, but the fact was that Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was an Enlighter. If Lu Yin had be a Hunter, then they could have a real fight. However, he was just a Cruiser.

    It was a difference of two major realms, and as long as Y¨­u Qi couldnd a hit, Lu Yin¡¯s loss would be sealed.

    Down on the seafloor, Lu Yin was suffering from an excruciating pain in his back. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure the stinging injury. The ck mes spread down to the seabed, and they emitted ck lights that swept out once again.

    Lu Yin had already nned to give up on fighting against this person head on, so he was actually looking for an opportunity to withdraw.

    He had already fought with Shang Qing, Lei N¨¹, and Qiu Shi, and now, he was fighting against Y¨­u Qi.

    Lei N¨¹, Qiu Shi, and Y¨­u Qi were all Enlighters, and Shang Qing was definitely one as well. There turned out to be four Enlighters in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and Lu Yin could not measure up to any one of them.

    These people stood at the true pinnacle of the Neoverse¡¯s younger generation.

    Y¨­u Qi rode his warhorse and towered high above Lu Yin on the sea¡¯s surface, looking down as Lu Yin repeatedly dodged about on the seafloor. Y¨­u Qi¡¯s eyes grew sharp.

    He could tell that Lu Yin wanted to withdraw, but Y¨­u Qi refused to let this person escape that easily. He was extremely powerful, so he had to leave Lu Yin in the same manner that he had with Liu Tianmu: severely injured. Otherwise, Lu Yin might be a variableter on.

    Off in the distance, on the side of the mountain, the Ghost Monkey had encountered no dys, and he was fast approaching the Progenitor¡¯s blood.

    Down on the seafloor, Lu Yin felt mentally strained. He raced away, but Y¨­u Qi had no ns to let Lu Yin off. ¡°An ancient powerhouse, known as Jun, had an innate gift of caging.¡±

    As he spoke, the endless ck mes that had spread across the sea suddenly changed. They no longer looked like mes, as they had transformed into a cage that started to shrink, moving to trap Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and 520 stars revolved about him before suddenly exploding.

    The power of so many stars¡¯ eruption shattered the cage.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Elder Yuan Ke was blown away; how had this fellow actually simted 520 stars? This was too shocking! What kind of talent was this?

    Elder Yuan Ke was not alone, as all of the old powerhouses were simrly shocked.

    Lu Yin was representing Eversky Ind, which meant that, even if he had learned the Cosmic Art, his grasp of it should not be too deep. However, he had just revealed 520 stars, which startled all of them.

    Xia Meng eximed her admiration for Elder Yuan Ke, saying, ¡°The Cosmic Sect is truly generous.¡±

    He was speechless, as not even he had known that Lu Yin had reached this level in the Cosmic Art.

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s lips curled upwards, as he understood the truth.

    During the Astral Tower contest, everyone had been watching the heir of their own power, so Shenwei had naturally been focused on Lu Yin, ck, and White. Lu Yin had already revealed that he could use the Cosmic Art with 520 stars, but the others had not noticed. However, Shenwei had. At that time, he had jumped from being startled, but he had not said anything. At this moment, he was able to smugly watch everyone else twitch in shock.

    As he watched the stars of the Cosmic Art revolve around Lu Yin¡¯s body, Highsage Shenwei thought back to what the Cosmic Sect¡¯s leader Yuan Qiong had mentioned. Shenwei then looked at Lu Yin oddly; did this fellow really have some fate with the Cosmic Sect?

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lu Yin had used the Cosmic Art to break free of the innate gift caging him. However, he was still no match for Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear pierced through the void, and a point of ck light shot straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin once again used the Yu Secret Art to divert the attack. He did not follow up with a counter and instead immediately fled into the distance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s opponent could not be hit, so it was meaningless to fight against him.

    Trading blows with Y¨­u Qi was even more stifling than fighting against Shang Qing. Shang Qing relied on the Tri-Yang Technique to defend himself against attacks, but Y¨­u Qi did not even need to defend himself. Instead, hepletely ignored the attacks, which was too disgusting.

    Lu Yin wanted to escape, but Y¨­u Qi had no intentions of letting his opponent get away, and he relentlessly chased after Lu Yin. Fortunately, Lu Yin was fast enough, and he also had the Ce Secret Art and the Yu Secret Art. Even if he was not able to defeat Y¨­u Qi, Lu Yin could still get away.

    At that moment, the light given off by the Progenitor¡¯s blood on the mountain peak began to react. Before, its light had dyed half of the Mountain and Seas Zone red, but at this moment, its red light covered the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Aside from that red light, there was also a ck shadow that covered Y¨­u Qi, Lu Yin, and the others. It looked like a ck cloud covering the sun.

    Everyone looked up to see the Ghost Monkey grab the Progenitor¡¯s blood.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s pupils shrank, and he shouted, ¡°Stop!¡±

    He stabbed his spear forward, and it transcended space itself to stab at the Ghost Monkey.

    The Ghost Monkey panicked. ¡°Seventh Bro-!¡±

    Lu Yin had no idea when the Ghost Monkey had left, and at this moment, he did not even care what the monkey¡¯s objective was; he could not allow Y¨­u Qi to kill the monkey. With this thought, Lu Yin waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art to divert Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear.

    Y¨­u Qi waved his hand as well, causing more ck mes to spread out towards the mountain. Lu Yin raised his hand once again,unching more than ten Vacuum Palms in an instant to disperse the ck mes.

    Y¨­u Qi was furious, but he had no time to bother with Lu Yin. The book reappeared over his head. ¡°There was once an ancient powerhouse known as Liu Guai, and he used the Eleventh Sword, Particle Diffusion.¡±

    When the book appeared, Lu Yin raised his finger and tapped out: Seventh Bro Finger.

    He did not attack Y¨­u Qi himself. Instead, Lu Yin aimed at the book, as attacking Y¨­u Qi was pointless.

    Sword light shed out and shed at both the mountain and the Ghost Monkey.

    The monkey was overwhelmed, and just as he was about to reach the Progenitor¡¯s blood, the sword light suddenly vanished. The Eleventh Sword had vanished the moment it was about to strike the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger had dispersed the book. He might not be able to directly contest the Eleventh Sword, but he could still interrupt Y¨­u Qi¡¯s innate gift.

    Y¨­u Qi flew into a rage, and he whirled around and furiously shed his spear at Lu Yin to knock him aside. Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood as he sailed through the air, falling back into the sea.

    Y¨­u Qi turned back to look at the mountain, but the Ghost Monkey had already seized the Progenitor¡¯s blood, and while everyone watched on in confusion, he swallowed it.

    At this moment, Y¨­u Qi and the other nearby cultivators were not the only stunned ones, as even the people outside the Mountain and Seas Zone were left speechless.

    They were all able to tell that the Ghost Monkey was Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast, so they had not minded it when the monkey grabbed ahold of the Progenitor¡¯s blood. Lu Yin had already been defeated, so the blood would still ultimately go to Y¨­u Qi; this was what they had promised Burial Garden, and there would be no idents.

    However, who among them could have predicted that the Ghost Monkey would swallow the Progenitor¡¯s blood as soon as he grabbed it? That was the blood of a Progenitor! It could be considered a Progenitor¡¯s weapon, and even Envoys could not endure the power of a Progenitor¡¯s blood. How could a mere Explorer-level tamed beast swallow such a thing? How could it even dare to do so?

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s actions left everyone doubting their eyes.

    Everyone was so stunned that nobody was able to act. Instead, they all carefully watched the Ghost Monkey, waiting to see what changes would ur.

    Mu En and the others all carefully observed the Ghost Monkey, as even in the ancient era, nobody had dared to swallow a Progenitor¡¯s blood. Even those top-notch experts from the Astral Beast Domain had not done such a thing, as swallowing a drop of blood with that much power was no different than asking for death. However, Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast had just done so.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes down on the seafloor. He was panting heavily, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before leaping up to the surface of the sea. He had not seen the monkey swallow the Progenitor¡¯s blood, but he could still see the monkey standing on top of the mountain. So, he hollered at the beast. ¡°Get down here!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s shout roused Y¨­u Qi and the others from their stupor, as they had been carefully observing the Ghost Monkey. Why wasn¡¯t it dead?

    On top of the mountain, the Ghost Monkey had taken the form of a shadow that constantly quivered; asionally, it was ck, and at other times, it was red. It was truly a bizarre sight.

    Y¨­u Qi did not move to interfere, and instead, he merely watched on from the side.

    Lu Yin was confused, but a buzzing sound quickly entered his ears. Lan Si was transmitting his voice from a distance, and he quickly filled Lu Yin in on what had just happened.

    Lu Yin was stunned; that stupid monkey had actually swallowed the Progenitor¡¯s blood?!

    He suddenly thought back to when he had been in the Hall of Honor¡¯s warehouse at Southside Weave¡¯s border. At that time, the monkey had desperately asked him to obtain the drop of Semi-Progenitor blood that had been there. The Ghost Monkey had said that his bloodline could absorb the drop of Semi-Progenitor blood to improve his strength and that it would be as strong as a Hunter at the very least.

    That had only been a drop of Semi-Progenitor¡¯s blood whereas the monkey had just swallowed a drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood.

    Could an Explorer-realm beast absorb a Progenitor¡¯s blood? Despite how it sounded, this was no joke.

    Such a thing was asughable as amoner instantly taking out an Explorer.

    However, such aughable situation had just urred under everyone¡¯s eyes, and it had obliterated everyone¡¯s understanding of the world.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1128: The Ghost Monkeyâ€™s Name

    <h4>Chapter 1128: The Ghost Monkey¡¯s Name</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at the ball of shadow that the Ghost Monkey had be, and his eyes flickered. He had never really trusted the Ghost Monkey from the very beginning, and Lu Yin had always tried to screen the monkey off whenever he used his innate gift of the die. The primary reason behind all of Lu Yin¡¯s caution was the fact that the Ghost Monkey knew far too many secrets.

    A person¡¯s knowledge was rted to their environment, and the monkey was too knowledgeable on too many matters. He definitely had not gained all that knowledge by raiding tombs.

    Even if Lu Yin had taken precautions towards the Ghost Monkey, the beast had never done anything threatening to Lu Yin. Thus, Lu Yin had never been overly concerned.

    However, at this moment, the Ghost Monkey¡¯s strange behavior left Lu Yin feelingpletely uncertain.

    The understanding that Lu Yin had about Beast Tamers was that, if he died, his tamed beast would also die though the converse was not true. When a tamed beast died, the controller would still be rtively fine. At worst, they would suffer severe injuries.

    However, this was the case for when one used the Beast Tamers¡¯ technique. The Ghost Monkey, on the other hand, imed to have used the reverse technique to forcefully be Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast. This was also the one detail that Lu Yin doubted the most.

    Lu Yin only hoped that no ident would befall the stupid monkey, as who knew what the oue of a reversed beast-taming technique might be. Even if Lu Yin and the monkey became enemies, it would still be better than Lu Yin being injured if the monkey died at this moment.

    Across the Mountain and Seas Zone, figures started to appear atop the golden screens.

    While Lu Yin and the others were watching the Ghost Monkey as he shifted between shadows, Shang Qing appeared atop the golden screen at one of the distant mountain peaks. His expression seemedpletely unbothered, and three qi streams swirled about him, giving him a deific appearance.

    To him, ascending the mountain and stepping onto the screen were both perfectly normal urrences.

    Yuhua Mavis soon followed him.

    Subsequently, Lei N¨¹ and Qiu Shi emerged atop the other golden screens.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone was veryrge, but those who had stepped upon the golden screens seemed to be magnified tremendously. Everyone was able to see each one of them.

    Y¨­u Qi looked up and nced in every direction. His expression grew cold as he looked back at Lu Yin. He thrust his spear forward, as he did not want to waste any more time.

    The ck spear shot forward, its tip glittering with a ck light. While Lu Yin was distracted, the de pierced his heart, and fresh blood dripped down from the speartip.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s eyes grew exceptionally cold. ¡°Don¡¯t me me¡ªyou can only me yourself for standing in my way.¡±

    The spear suddenly shuddered, and he tossed Lu Yin aside.

    Y¨­u Qi pulled his spear back, about to make his way up the mountain, when he suddenly felt that something was off; had Lu Yin really been struck that easily? He slowly turned around to see that Lu Yin was still standing in the same ce with a strange expression on his face.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s expression sank as he closed his eyes and pulled at his horse¡¯s reins. The beast whinnied and ck mes rose into the sky to form a fiery dragon that covered the surface of the sea. There was a loud bang as the void was torn open; Y¨­u Qi saw Lu Yin standing through the shattered space, but the Lu Yin that he saw had already drawn close and was swatting down at him with a Vacuum Palm.

    Y¨­u Qi snorted; this was an illusion. Someone was trying to trick him with an illusion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm passed through Y¨­u Qi. This time, it was not just his palm¡ªhis entire body phased through Y¨­u Qi as his palm passed through the man, just like before.

    Y¨­u Qi instantly recovered and stabbed forward with his spear. Lu Yin dodged, but as he did so, he raised a hand to grab the spear shaft. When he tried this, it was not as simple as grabbing ahold of the spear like the first time. Y¨­u Qi was using his full strength as an Enlighter, and regardless of if it was his physical strength or his star energy, all of his abilities had surged in power. He had also been even further strengthened by his warg, and not even Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was enough to keep a steady grip on the spear.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s goal was not to actually grab the spear, but rather to simply make physical contact with it.

    As one hand held the spear, Lu Yin¡¯s other pped out with a Vacuum Palm.

    Y¨­u Qi released his hand, and the Vacuum Palm passed through his body yet again, missing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Sure enough, there was a condition behind Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ability to turn immaterial, which was that no one could be in contact with his real body. Once contact was made, he would not be able to turn immaterial.

    Y¨­u Qi sat astride his warhorse as its forelegs rose up to smash down on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood in ce without moving, allowing the warhorse¡¯s hooves to smash him down to the seafloor.

    Y¨­u Qi immediately felt that something was wrong, and he realized that this was yet another illusion. The ck mes shrouding his body rose high into the sky, shattering the illusion once again. Then, he suddenly looked over towards the tall mountain, only to see that the Ghost Monkey¡¯s shadow that should have been on the mountain had disappeared.

    The Ghost Monkey had been the one who had cast several illusions on Y¨­u Qi.

    In the past, the Astral Beast Domain had sent several individuals to participate in the Tournament of the Strongest, and the Ghost Monkey had been one of those chosen participants. However, he had not been able to participate because he had already be Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast by then.

    As one of the five lords of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Spiritual Academy, the monkey¡¯s talent was excellent, and once someone fell under his illusions, few within the same generation could shake them off.

    Even if the monkey could not leave otherspletely oblivious like Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, his illusions were still enough to threaten an enemy.

    In the past, the monkey had not been able to help Lu Yin much since Lu Yin had grown far too quickly for the monkey to keep pace. The Ghost Monkey¡¯s cultivation simply had not been able to keep up with Lu Yin¡¯s, and Lu Yin¡¯s opponents had be far too powerfultely. However, the monkey had just consumed the drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood, and he had already broken through to the Hunter realm; he was now strong enough to battle alongside Lu Yin.

    Even more importantly, it wasn¡¯t just his illusions that had improved, as the monkey¡¯s innate gift of shadows had also been enhanced.

    When Y¨­u Qi realized that the Ghost Monkey was using illusions, it was already toote as the monkey had already transformed back into shadows and merged into the surrounding.

    Once the Ghost Monkey merged with Y¨­u Qi¡¯s shadow, Lu Yin took action, using the Vacuum Palm once again.

    But this time, the palm directly struck Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi was sted off of his horse and into the sea. Lu Yin quickly pped out with another palm, smacking Y¨­u Qi into the seabed.

    Y¨­u Qi had not expected to be beaten so miserably so suddenly. Lu Yin had various attack techniques, at least two different secret techniques, other strange attacks, and even a tamed beast. The sheer variety was rather unbelievable to Y¨­u Qi.

    Even if Burial Garden was more mysterious than it already was, it could not exceed the mystery that Y¨­u Qi saw in Lu Yin at this moment.

    In particr, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was so extreme that he was basically a humanoid monster. Otherwise, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s earlier spear thrust would have ended the battle then and there.

    Liu Tianmu had not been able to stop Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear, and aside from the other four Enlighters in the Mountain and Seas Zone, there was nobody else who could stop his spear let alone when he used the Sword Sect¡¯s Eleventh Sword.

    But once the Ghost Monkey merged with Y¨­u Qi¡¯s shadow, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ability to turn immaterial had been sealed off. He looked up, only to see another one of Lu Yin¡¯s palmnd on him.

    Y¨­u Qi was beaten by one Vacuum Palm after another until he was driven down to the seabed. He was unable to endure the bombardment, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En shook his head. ¡°This generation¡¯s Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple is too weak. He can only able to rely on their formless battle technique and their willpower secret technique to fight, so how could he rise to the pinnacle? That innate gift is very powerful, as it allows him to search through and use the innate gifts and battle techniques of the dead. However, there are heavy restrictions on it as well.¡±

    Highsage Shenweimented, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that he¡¯s weak. During the previous contests for the Cosmic Five, only the generation with the four captains of the Dead Regiment couldpete against this kid. Unfortunately, there are simply too many geniuses in this era.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more curious about that child, Lu Yin. Just how did he cultivate? When you and I were his age, we would have been considered decent if we had obtained even half of his current strength. He actually qualifies topete for a position in the Cosmic Five,¡± an elder spoke.

    Mu En slowly said, ¡°The Cosmic Five of this generation should truly stand at the pinnacle above all of the previous contest winners. Even the inexplicable Tri-Yang Technique has reappeared even though it is truly unfair to the others. The Ten Arbiters, if any of them were ced in any other generation, would have all be a part of the Cosmic Five. It¡¯s a pity.¡±

    Xia Meng looked over at Mu En. ¡°If the Sixth Maind hadn¡¯t invaded, then even if they were stronger, they would have never qualified to participate. Besides, this show to determine the Cosmic Five has already ended.¡±

    Mu En did not reply and continued to quietly watch the screen.

    Highsage Shenwei had an exasperated expression. The Cosmic Five had been decided upon long ago, and yet he couldn¡¯t help but stare at Lu Yin on the screen. Even if Lu Yin managed to win, so what? All that would await him was an even more overwhelming opponent.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, the ck mes gradually dissipated from the surface of the sea. In the distance, Ming Yu and the others all nervously watched on.

    Lu Yin stood tall on the surface of the sea as he stared down at the seafloor. He could see that Y¨­u Qi¡¯s rune lines had significantly decreased. Who cared if Y¨­u Qi was already an Enlighter? His Vacuum Palm was an attack that ignored realms, and once struck, whether or not a person could endure it all depended on their defense.

    Y¨­u Qi was an Enlighter, and his attacks¡¯ power level easily surpassed 300,000. However, his defenses were even more impressive, as he could not be struck by any attacks. But once his battle technique that let him turn immaterial was sealed off, his defenses were insufficient to protect him from a Vacuum Palm.

    If Y¨­u Qi had not be an Enlighter, then Lu Yin guessed that a single Vacuum Palm would be enough to beat his organs out¡ªhis physical defenses were actually a notch lower than Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ws were too clear.

    A shadow slowly ascended from the seafloor and then merged into Lu Yin¡¯s arm; it was the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You really didn¡¯t lie. So you really could have used a drop of Semi-Progenitor or even Progenitor¡¯s blood to raise your strength. You actually broke through and became a Hunter while you were just an Explorer before.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey remained silent for a moment, but then he said, ¡°Seventh Bro, from the very beginning, you¡¯ve never trusted me, have you?¡±

    Lu Yin did not deny the usation, as there was no need to do so. At this moment, he wanted to rify the rtionship he had with the Ghost Monkey. If Lu Yin could not gain the monkey¡¯s trust, then he would rather erase it.

    It was rather terrifying for a creature to step from the Explorer realm straight to the Hunter realm. Who knew if the Ghost Monkey could suddenly rise to the Envoy realm? Then, the guest might even be the host.

    Also, the stupid monkey had absorbed a drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood, and it was impossible for the blood to have been fully absorbed in one go. The monkey¡¯s strength might surge again in the near future.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, I really am called a Ghost Monkey, but there¡¯s never been a Ghost Monkey bloodline in the Astral Beast Domain. Since ancient times, there¡¯s only ever been one Ghost Monkey: me,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin silently listened.

    ¡°And this name, ¡®Ghost Monkey,¡¯es from¡­ Progenitor Wushang.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, his expression betraying his shock. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    The Ghost Monkey let out a long breath. ¡°This monkey knows that it¡¯s difficult for you to ept it, but these are the facts. My appearance was aplete ident, as I was birthed from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s shadow and blood. Ever since I first appeared and became conscious, I was with Progenitor Wushang. In other words, I was created by Progenitor Wushang.¡±

    Lu Yin had a massive frown on his face, and he did not quite dare to believe such a im. ¡°You were created by Progenitor Wushang?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t believe it, can you? That¡¯s why I never said anything about it, as I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t believe me even if I told you the truth. In fact, if I said anything, you might even view me as your enemy and simply eliminate me. But I can¡¯t stay silent, as it only took this monkey a moment to jump from the Explorer realm to the Hunter realm. If I don¡¯t tell you now, then with your vignce, you could very well wipe me out of existence. So, I had no choice,¡± the Ghost Monkey reluctantly exined.

    Lu Yin suppressed his shock, and calmly asked, ¡°What are you relying on to convince me?¡±

    ¡°Aside from an organism created by a Progenitor, what else could simply skip over the Cruiser realm? And what else could absorb a Progenitor¡¯s blood while in the Explorer realm? Only this monkey, who has observed history throughout countless ages, can. No other creature can do what I just did¡ªno one else can absorb Progenitor¡¯s blood like me, and that¡¯s because this monkey was born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood. Thus, I can directly absorb a Progenitor¡¯s blood,¡± the monkey exined.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought and stayed silent.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you remember when I told you that the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Ice Phoenix n is a part of my harem? That¡¯s actually true. When this monkey was born, Progenitor Wushang was thrilled, and he thus made the Celestial Ice Phoenix my harem. This is something that is only known to Progenitor Wushang, the Celestial Ice Phoenix n¡¯s ancestors, and me, though it¡¯s recorded down in their n¡¯s history. If not for the ident that happenedter on, then I might have be one of the oldest powerhouses in the Astral Beast Domain right now!¡± the Ghost Monkey proudly proimed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1129: Youâ€™ve Won

    <h4>Chapter 1129: You¡¯ve Won</h4>

    After hearing the Ghost Monkey¡¯s words, Lu Yin felt curious about something. ¡°What mishap?¡±

    The monkey sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t remember that many events, and I can only vaguely recall that I was very powerful at my peak. When my consciousness next returned, countless years had passed, and I could only recall bits and pieces of a few ancient matters. Most of my memory had been lost.¡±

    ¡°Then where did you get your news about the various aspects of the current universe?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey said, ¡°Seventh Bro, this monkey didn¡¯t lie to you about this part. Because I¡¯m a shadow that was born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood, it¡¯s very difficult for me to die. This is why I frequently look for hidden graves, and it¡¯s also how I¡¯vee to know many things that lie beyond the knowledge ofmoners. Searching through tombs isn¡¯t just a hobby, as it¡¯s also a way for me to find out the truth.¡±

    ¡°The truth?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The monkey continued to exin. ¡°I want to find Progenitor Wushang¡¯s Tomb, and I want to know why Progenitor Wushang disappeared so long ago. Also, is dead or alive? Or is he in cryostasis? Just what happened back then? This monkey really wants to know all of these things.¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. He could not believe the monkey¡¯s words, but it was also impossible to deny them.

    Based on Lu Yin¡¯s personality, he should exterminate the Ghost Monkey right now. After all, the beast was a potential threat to him. However, they had been together for so long, and Lu Yin was not apletely ruthless person; he could not kill the Ghost Monkey based on some groundless conjectures.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts wereplicated at this time, and he did not know what to do.

    At this moment, Y¨­u Qi dashed up to the surface from the seafloor, and stood there as he panted heavily. His warhorse galloped over from the distance, and it lightly rubbed up against Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi stared at Lu Yin as the same book reappeared over his head.

    The Ghost Monkey instantly transformed back into a shadow and shot towards Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi noticed the shadow, and his ck mes red up to stop it. However, they were not able to cause any harm to the shadow. This thing was aplete mystery to him, as a shadow had actually managed to block his attack.

    As the Ghost Monkey merged back into Y¨­u Qi¡¯s shadow, the ck mes shrouding Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body vanished, and he calmly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡±

    Lu Yin rxed his clenched fists. He had won even though the method had been a little dishonest.

    Before the Ghost Monkey became a Hunter, Lu Yin had been unable to find any way to deal with Y¨­u Qi¡¯s techniques. Although Lu Yin had been aware of the person¡¯s ws, as they were very obvious, Lu Yin could not take advantage of them. Thus, it had been the same as if Y¨­u Qi had no shorings.

    Lu Yin had once faced off against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Cosmic Hou, who had simrly used an unbreakable power. Against it, even Starsibyl had been defeated.

    Y¨­u Qi was someone even more powerful than the Cosmic Hou, and his battle techniques and secret techniques from Burial Garden were all very strange. At one point in the battle, Lu Yin had actually given up.

    However, the Ghost Monkey had broken through the Hunter realm, allowing his shadow form to withstand Y¨­u Qi¡¯s attacks. This allowed the pair to seal off Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ability to turn immaterial, which had turned the tides of the battle and allowed Lu Yin to obtain victory.

    Although Lu Yin held the spotlight in this battle, the monkey had helped at the most critical moment.

    ¡°Battle force, domain, spiritual force, physical strength, battle technique, secret technique, and even a tamed beast. Lu Yin, congrattions, you¡¯ve won. You are one of the Cosmic Five,¡± Y¨­u Qi said in a low voice. No unwillingness or resentment could be heard. There was only a sense of calmness as well as something strange.

    Lu Yin stood there with his arms folded, and he looked at Y¨­u Qi with respect. ¡°You¡¯re very strong.¡±

    Y¨­u Qi leaped onto his horse. ¡°Of course, but unfortunately, I ran into you. Honestly, your tamed beast is very powerful, and without it, you could not have defeated me.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey merged back into Lu Yin¡¯s arm. ¡°Seventh Bro, we won!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped. We, we¡­ Is it we?

    He sighed as he thought to himself, That¡¯s right, we: you and me. One body. Even if I feel nervous or am second guessing myself, none of that can erase the years and the connection that¡¯s been built between you and me.

    Whether or not he believed the monkey¡¯s story, Lu Yin could not bring himself to kill the beast. The two had been together for far too long. Perhaps a day woulde when Lu Yin peeled the Ghost Monkey away, as it might be better for the monkey to have his freedom in the future.

    Lu Yin looked at Y¨­u Qi. ¡°Even if I beat you, it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Y¨­u Qi spun the warhorse to face another direction. ¡°Defeating me means that you should be one of the Cosmic Five, unless there are still other people who don¡¯t ept it.¡±

    He then slowly changed into a mass of illusory ck mes that dissipated, vanishing.

    ck and White supported Lan Si and approached from the distance.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you won! That¡¯s great!¡± ck and White celebrated.

    Lan Si was shocked, as he had not expected Lu Yin to win. His opponent had been an Enlighter who was also Burial Garden¡¯s top heir. Neither his secret technique nor his battle techniques had been weak, and his innate gift had been downright freakish¡ªit was almost as though Y¨­u Qi had merged bodies with Liu Tianmu. Lu Yin had improved once again, and Lan Si felt like he would never be able to defeat such a person.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly and looked up; had he really won? The Cosmic Five were not guaranteed to be five people, so where were the other four? Eh? Lei N¨¹?

    While Lu Yin had been fighting with Y¨­u Qi, Shang Qing, Lei N¨¹, Qiu Shi, and Yuhua Mavis had all climbed onto the golden screens. Standing on that stage was symbolized that they had be one of the Cosmic Five. At this moment, Lu Yin assumed that the fifth screen had been meant for Y¨­u Qi.

    There were five Enlighters, and Lu Yin did not believe that this was a coincidence. There was only one option that he could only think of: the Cosmic Five had been decided upon long ago.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s words had cemented Lu Yin¡¯s previous assumption, and since he had defeated Y¨­u Qi, it meant that Lu Yin had reced Y¨­u Qi.

    However, Lu Yin did not feelfortable at this moment. He knew that the final victors had already been decided upon beforehand. Lu Yin and the rest of the Ten Arbiters, and even everyone else from the Neoverse, were just there to y supporting roles for those five.

    Since the Cosmic Five had already been decided, it was possible that Lu Yin taking Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ce could lead to bacsh from the other four victors.

    The moment Lu Yin looked up, he was already prepared to greet attacks from the other four.

    He had only managed to defeat Y¨­u Qi because the man¡¯s weaknesses had been too tant while his strengths had coincidentally been countered by the Ghost Monkey. The other four would not be dealt with as easily. There was Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique, Lei N¨¹¡¯s innate gift and Autumn''s Sorrow, and Qiu Shi¡¯s Cosmic Art and secret technique. Although Lu Yin had not run into Yuhua Mavis yet, there was no way that she was weak. Of the four, not one of them would be an easy opponent.

    Lu Yin was not very hopeful towards his chances of bing one of the Cosmic Five. Not unless he somehow managed to get ahold of some star essence and was able to enter the Time Stop Space and cultivate to the Hunter realm.

    However, at this moment, Lei N¨¹ had not arrived atop the golden screen.

    It was not just Lu Yin¡ªShang Qing, Qiu Shi, and Yuhua Mavis were also all looking in the direction where Lei N¨¹ should have been, as she had descended from the screen.

    ¡­

    At the foot of the mountain that held the Root of Intelligence, a man had appeared, and he raised his head to face Lei N¨¹.

    This man was the reason why Lei N¨¹ had descended the mountain. ¡°I thought that you had been driven out of the Mountain and Seas Zone by Shang Qing, Xia Jiuyou.¡±

    The man standing at the foot of the mountain was none other than Xia Jiuyou. After entering the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had faced many powerful foes one after another, but he had constantly been beaten. As a result, he had been mocked as the weakest heir of the Xia family since ancient times, and he was also being used as a symbol of the Xia family¡¯s fall.

    However, this same person had actually forced Lei N¨¹ to take him seriously at this moment. In fact, she was even somewhat fearful of him.

    Right now, Xia Jiuyou waspletely different from when he had crossed paths with Shang Qing, and the greatest change was in his realm. He had also broken through to the Enlighter realm.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little greedy for the Hall of Honor to hope to upy two of the Cosmic Five¡¯s positions?¡± Xia Jiuyou casually asked, as if he was not the person who had recently been defeated many times in a row.

    Lei N¨¹ coldly replied, ¡°Just see if you can stop me.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou shrugged and lightly stepped forward. He vanished, and Lei N¨¹ also suddenly disappeared.

    There was an explosion as two opposing star energies collided, causing the void to warp and begin tearing apart. The terrifying aftermath from the collision swept out, shooting in all directions and even disturbing the sea.

    The two passed by each other, but Xia Jiuyou suddenly clutched at his heart as blood appeared on his lips. He turned back, only to hear the words, ¡°Autumn''s Sorrow,¡± enter his ears.

    Lei N¨¹ turned around and stared at Xia Jiuyou. Ripples spread through the air and expanded as they enveloped Xia Jiuyou. This was her innate gift of hypnosis.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he suddenly pped down with both hands. Lei N¨¹ appeared in front of him, and heshed out with a palm which carried a gloomy light with it. ¡°Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.¡±

    The palm passed straight through Lei N¨¹. He had been hypnotized, and the Lei N¨¹ that he saw in front of him was fake.

    He heard, ¡°Autumn''s Sorrow,¡± call out once again, this time from behind. Xia Jiuyou coughed; just like Lu Yin, Xia Jiuyou could not determine where these attacks wereing from.

    Xia Jiuyou was struck, and although Lei N¨¹ wanted to follow through with her attack, her pupils suddenly shrank as a chill shot down her spine. At some unknown time, a palm print had appeared on her back. This wound was from Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, though Xia Jiuyou had clearly always been in front of her.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s back gradually froze over, and she struggled to dissolve the ice even with her star energy. She stared at Xia Jiuyou in confusion. ¡°When?¡±

    Xia Jiuyou wiped the blood from his lips. ¡°It¡¯s an innate gift. You won¡¯t be able to figure it out.¡±

    He then charged at Lei N¨¹ and struck out with the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm once more.

    Lei N¨¹ was extremely apprehensive towards Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, as the palm print on her back was something that she could not dissolve or melt. As time passed, more and more of her back froze over, greatly affecting her mobility and attacks. When she saw that Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack had arrived once again, the ripplesing from her body expanded even further.

    Xia Jiuyou shook his head. ¡°Hypnosis is indeed a powerful innate gift, but it depends on who you use it on.¡±

    A Y¨­u Reinforced Palm shot out. This time, it was not just one, as there were over a dozen, and they shattered the void in all directions.

    ¡°Autumn''s Sorrow,¡± Lei N¨¹¡¯s voice rang out again, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression changed. Pain erupted from his heart, as he had been struck once again. How was the attack approaching him? What was this, exactly?

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s Autumn''s Sorrow was as unfathomable as Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ability to turn immaterial. Unfortunately, Xia Jiuyou was not as lucky as Lu Yin, who had been able to perfectly counter his opponent¡¯s strange ability. However, Xia Jiuyou did not actually need to do so as Lei N¨¹ was simultaneously suffering from his Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    Even if Lei N¨¹ immediately retreated after her attack, she was still struck in the shoulder by the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. Just like her back, her shoulder gradually began to freeze over.

    Her face went pale as she stared at Xia Jiuyou with fear. Xia Jiuyou was able to endure many of her attacks, but she would not be able to take many more of these Y¨­u Reinforced Palms; more importantly, she could not stop the freezing from progressing.

    Xia Jiuyou raised a hand, still using the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, but this time, he did not strike out. Instead, the gloomy light gathered over his palm in the shape of a long knife. He then looked over at Lei N¨¹. ¡°Triple de Will.¡±

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s pupils shrank; was this the Xia family¡¯s famed Triple de Will?

    The Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family had passed down the Triple de Will from ancient times. One de superimposed over another, and the strength of each consecutive de would double the former, and the third de was essentially unrivaled within the same realm. It was one of the strongest battle techniques in the Neoverse. Although it was notpletely unrivaled like the Tri-Yang Technique, it was still a top-notch battle technique.

    The more peerless a technique was, the harder it was to sessfully train in it. The Tri-Yang Technique had not been sessfully cultivated in hundreds of thousands of years, and the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will was also something that had also not been sessfully cultivated in tens of thousands of years. Many people had actually forgotten about it, but at this moment, Xia Jiuyou was actually using it.

    Lei N¨¹ did not even think as she reflexively pointed a hand at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°Banishment.¡±

    This was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques: Banish. This technique banished the victim to some remote distance, and it was not something that could be fought or resisted.

    The Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will gave Lei N¨¹ a nervous feeling, so she had instinctively fallen back to using her secret technique to banish Xia Jiuyou and interrupt his usage of the Triple de Will.

    Banishment was a secret technique, and it could not be seen or felt, though it certainly existed. However, Xia Jiuyou did not even move or even twitch.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s eyes grewrge. ¡°The Xia Secret Art, Nullify!¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1130: Xia Jiuyou

    <h4>Chapter 1130: Xia Jiuyou</h4>

    Xia Jiuyou looked up and shed out with the de that had formed in his hand. A jet-ck glint swept past the void, which separated like simple paper as the de light glided towards Lei N¨¹.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy gathered in front of her to block the Triple de Will while she simultaneously tried to dodge to the side.

    However, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s de severed her star energy and moved through the sea, splitting it in two.

    The next de fell soon after, and the strength of the attack had doubled.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s pupils were pinpricks now, and she charged straight at Xia Jiuyou with a look of determination on her face.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s de struck, but then it suddenly changed directions. The attack that should have cut Lei N¨¹ down had shifted the tiniest bit, and the attack once again parted the sea. Meanwhile, Lei N¨¹ suddenly froze and stopped her mad dash towards Xia Jiuyou.

    Although Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Triple de Will had not finished, Lei N¨¹¡¯s expression gradually calmed down.

    The ce fell silent.

    At that moment, a figure had appeared on the previously unupied golden screen that was off in the distance. At this new development, the two youths turned to look.

    It was Lu Yin.

    The Ghost Monkey had swallowed the drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood atop one of the split mountains, and Lu Yin had ascended that same mountain. Step by step, he had arrived atop the golden screen.

    His appearance grabbed everyone¡¯s attention.

    Shang Qing was shocked. Ever since he had first arrived in the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had remained indifferent no matter what happened. However, at this moment, Lu Yin had surprised him.

    Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple should have appeared on that screen, so why was Lu Yin standing there instead?

    Although Shang Qing had once mentioned that he hoped that Lu Yin would be one of the Cosmic Five, Shang Qing did not actually believe that Lu Yin was capable of defeating Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple.

    When Qiu Shi saw Lu Yin standing on the golden screen, her expression grew cold. She was reminded of the incident in the tablet world, particrly how Lu Yin had managed to suddenly fully recover from all of his injuries and how he had repeatedly used a secret technique more times that should be possible. This person was a royal pain.

    Yuhua Mavis looked at Lu Yin with curiosity; was this the ssmate that Lulu had mentioned?

    For someone of Lulu¡¯s age to reach this stage was very mysterious.

    In another part of the Mountain and Seas Zone, Jin He saw Lu Yin step onto the golden screen. He looked casual and rxed, but the depths of his eyes contained a profound terror. He was the third member of the Ten Arbiters who had been defeated by Lu Yin, and if not for those fools from Gods¡¯ Origin, Jin He would have been in mortal danger.

    If Lu Yin was really able to be one of the Cosmic Five, then that would be terrible news for Jin He. Not even his status as one of the Ten Arbiters would be enough to save him in that case.

    Tai Yuanjun watched Lu Yin up on the golden screen. Envy, jealousy, and hatred all shed through his eyes. This creature who had once been a mere ant had actually surpassed him in just a few short years, and he had even surpassed most of the Ten Arbiters. What a monster.

    Qing Longlong, the Little Leaf King, Shu Jing, Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, Yao Ji, God Taiyi, God Qingguang, Ku Lei, Hui Santong, Ce Jiu, Xie Xiaoxian, and more were all staring at the people on the golden screens. These people represented the true peak of the Fifth Maind¡¯s youth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance left many people shocked, though those who had exchanged blows with him were not as stunned. They knew that Lu Yin¡¯s talent was truly peerless. Thus, they were not surprised to see him climb up no matter what stage it might be.

    On top of the golden screen, Lu Yin walked over, step by step. From this height, he could clearly see the Mountain and Seas Zone, and atop the golden screen, he seemed to be observing everything through a magnifying ss. Here he could clearly see every corner and inch of the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    He saw Mu Ziying¡¯s trio, Tai Yishen, Ku Lei, Jin He, and even the fight taking ce between Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹.

    Upon seeing the confrontation between those two, Lu Yin suddenly realized why Lei N¨¹ had retreated from her screen¡ªshe had an opponent to face.

    Lu Yin had never met Lei N¨¹¡¯s opponent, but the young man¡¯s appearance was very simr to Xia Luo¡¯s. Thus, he should be someone from the Xia family.

    The Xia family was the leader of the Court of Seven Names, but recently, rumors that the current Xia family heir, Xia Jiuyou, was quitecking and that he was destroying the Xia family¡¯s reputation had been spreading rampantly. But at this moment, he did not seem like the weakest of the heirs, but rather the most powerful. Lu Yin was well aware of Lei N¨¹¡¯s strength, and it looked like she was actually at a disadvantage in her fight against Xia Jiuyou.

    Shang Qing and the others who had nced at Lu Yin just now ignored him again. They all turned to continue watching the showdown between Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹.

    There were threeyers of golden screens. The firstyer started at the peak of each mountain and the second spread towards the center of the Mountain and Seas Zone, covering nearly half of the entire continent.

    The thirdyer was the highest point of the Mountain and Seas Zone, and ity in the center. Only those who could reach this highest screen would have proven their qualifications to be one of the Cosmic Five. There were some rumors that it was possible to be one of the Cosmic Five through fate, but that was just false hope offered by the Hall of Honor. Rather than obtaining it through destiny, the Cosmic Five were positions that had always been internally decided long before the contest ever started.

    Shang Qing and the others did not move from where they were standing on the golden screens that formed the firstyer. Lu Yin did not move either, and they all watched the battle between Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹ take ce. This battle would determine who was qualified to climb the mountain and the golden screens.

    Hold on, where were Wen Sansi and the others?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the other Arbiters: Wen Sansi, Liu Tianmu, Ling Gong, Liquor Hero, and Unseen Light. Not one of them could be seen from his vantage point. Were they all at the bottom of the sea? Or had they been killed?

    Off in the distance, Xia Jiuyou looked away from Lu Yin and focused on Lei N¨¹ again. ¡°If I haven¡¯t guessed wrongly, then you were nning to take my second Will of the de while using the secret technique Discipline to transfer that injury back to me.¡±

    Lei N¨¹ calmly answered, ¡°So that¡¯s why you gave up on the third de.¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t many people who are as capable as you. Aren¡¯t you afraid to die?¡± Xia Jiuyou was curious.

    Lei N¨¹ replied, ¡°I am, but you can¡¯t kill me.¡±

    Xia Jiuyouughed. ¡°Those who should have revealed themselves have alle out, and I don¡¯t want to waste any more time. This battle should end now.¡±

    After saying that, the gloomy radiance formed over the center of his hand once again as he leaped towards Lei N¨¹ and pped out.

    Ripples spread out from Lei N¨¹¡¯s body. She was still trying to use her innate gift of hypnosis, but this time, she was not sessful. Xia Jiuyou thrust his palm at an empty area, but he struck Lei N¨¹.

    Lei N¨¹ was struck by the palm, and her body was smacked back a hundred meters. Xia Jiuyou did not pause his assault as he quickly released another palm. Right before he seemed to be about tond a hit on Lei N¨¹, he turned around as his palm moved half a body width to the side. Then, itnded, hitting Lei N¨¹ once again.

    Lei N¨¹ had already been struck by four of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palms, and half of her body had been frozen. She was only able to sluggishly move around now, and she suddenly understood what had happened; Xia Jiuyou was able to find her through sensing the location of the frost left behind by the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    She had previously been struck by two of his palms, and the frost from those two meant that she was no longer able to evade any more of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attacks.

    Xia Jiuyou stared at Lei N¨¹. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve figured it out. The moment you were struck by my first Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, the battle¡¯s oue had already been determined.¡±

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s eyes were cold. ¡°Not necessarily.¡±

    She then raised a hand and pointed it at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°Secret technique: Discipline.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou suddenly felt a burst of agony on his back as the air chilled and froze while a palm print appeared on his back.

    Xia Jiuyou frowned, but he did not even try to dodge it. This was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques, Discipline, and it could not be evaded.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s most infuriating secret technique was precisely this Discipline, as it allowed the user to transfer their injuries to their attacker. This technique could not be dodged or blocked in any manner, and it could only be endured.

    This was the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique that had shocked the Neoverse: Discipline.

    Within the Neoverse, whenever the Hall of Honor was mentioned, countless people would first think of the Honor Zone. Then, they would think of the hall as the masters of the Human Domain. Finally, their third thought would be of the secret technique Discipline.

    The Hall of Honor had more than just one secret technique, but Discipline was the only one that universally induced fear and disgust.

    Nobody wanted to suffer from their own attacks, but this secret technique forced them to do so. Just the fear of potentially suffering from this technique could cause many people to hold back and not put their full force into their attacks. Using more power in their attack could backfire on them. However, if they did not put forth their full efforts into the fight, then how could they win?

    Discipline was the most frustrating secret technique.

    Nobody knew which Progenitor had developed this secret technique, but if it were to be known, then that Progenitor would be cursed for countless ages.

    Xia Jiuyou was forced to endure the bitter result of being struck with his own Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. He had not allowed the Second Will of the de tond as he had precisely been worried about this secret technique.

    Lei N¨¹ continued to point at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°Secret technique: Discipline.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou did not move a muscle, but his shoulder absorbed the force of his Y¨­u Reinforced Palms and quickly frosted over.

    Next was the third Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, which struck his chest.

    He was in the same condition as Lei N¨¹ now, and half of his body was frozen.

    Lei N¨¹ panted heavily as she stared at Xia Jiuyou, unwilling to ept her situation. Secret techniques were not battle techniques, and she could not use Discipline however she wished. This was her limit.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Have you finished venting? You can admit defeat now.¡±

    Lei N¨¹ closed her eyes and silently stood atop the sea. ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    A Y¨­u Reinforced Palm dealt a great deal of damage, but its more troubling aspect was the cold that froze the opponent and impeded their movements. The frost could also be used to detect the opponent¡¯s location, which was how Xia Jiuyou had countered Lei N¨¹¡¯s innate gift of hypnosis.

    Lei N¨¹ had been able to give Xia Jiuyou the same injuries as she had suffered from the Y¨­u Reinforced Palms, but she could not borrow the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm itself to attack him. In Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes, Lei N¨¹¡¯s actions were nothing more than venting her anger, which was fairly urate.

    Lei N¨¹ had been defeated, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s body suddenly trembled. The ice covering him shattered and fell into the sea. It turns out that the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm was actually ineffective against Xia Jiuyou.

    He smiled at Lei N¨¹ and then started making his way toward the tall mountain. He had reced Lei N¨¹ and be one of the five people qualified to stand atop the golden screens. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be one of the Cosmic Five.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the group of older powerhouses were all silent, especially Mu En.

    The appointment of the Cosmic Five needed to be seen as a contest to the outside world, and it should be something that required destiny. However, to the Hall of Honor, these contests were merely a formality, as they had already decided on the youths who would be the Cosmic Five. This time, they were supposed to have been Shang Qing, Lei N¨¹, Yuhua Mavis, Qiu Shi, and Y¨­u Qi.

    This decision had not been made with just the consideration of the Cosmic Five¡¯s matchless strength. More importantly, there was the distribution of benefits for the powers behind them.

    The Hall of Honor controlled the Honor Zone, and it was the power that ruled over the entire Human Domain. However, despite being the most powerful organization, they could not possibly rule over the Human Domain all by themselves, and there was a power bnce. That was why there had previously been some people from the Seven Courts who had be a part of the Cosmic Five.

    This bnce had not been broken in many years, and it could not be allowed to be broken.

    This Astral Tower contest was no different, and the power of the various heirs of the Seven Courts were all known. None of them should have presented a threat to the five youths who had been preselected to be the Cosmic Five.

    The other powers of the Neoverse, and even the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters, had all been evaluated by the Hall of Honor. They had determined that there were no threats to the appointed five, which was why this Astral Tower contest had been allowed. However, noen of them had expected that Xia Jiuyou would suddenly spike in strength to reveal an astounding power that allowed him to defeat Lei N¨¹. Her defeat had not been a simple thing in Mu En¡¯s eyes, as he had watched her be crushed by her opponent.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s Autumn''s Sorrow was very difficult to defend against, and she also had two secret techniques, her innate gift, and various battle techniques that she had received from the Hall of Honor. Whether it was her physical strength or spiritual force, every aspect of her was practically perfect. However, all of that had beenpletely neutralized by thebination of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm and his innate gift. Although Xia Jiuyou had been injured during the fight, it was nothing much that would affect his future battles.

    To the Hall of Honor, this was not an oue they had predicted, but rather an ident that had broken the equilibrium.

    This was an ident that could actually threaten the others.

    Also, it had not only been Xia Jiuyou who had upset the bnce, as there was also Lu Yin. He had actually managed to defeat Y¨­u Qi and take his ce as another one of the Cosmic Five, which was something that had shocked Mu En and the others even more badly.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1131: Nine Clones Secret Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1131: Nine Clones Secret Technique</h4>

    Y¨­u Qi was Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple and an Enlighter realm cultivator, but he had still been defeated.

    Mu En could not help but look over at Highsage Shenwei.

    Highsage Shenwei simultaneously looked at Mu En. ¡°I feel that such a bnce is fine.¡±

    Mu En shook his head. ¡°Watch Shang Qing. We can no longer interfere.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei looked back at the screen. Kid, good luck.

    It was possible that not even most of the people from the Hall of Honor were aware that the true strength of the Tri-Yang Technique still had not been revealed yet.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, five people stood atop the golden screens, and their golden light covered the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The other people in the Mountain and Seas Zone were all watching those five figures. Were they the Cosmic Five?

    Shang Qing calmly looked over the others in the group and then at the eyes atop one of the split open mountains. Those eyes were an inheritance. They might be some sort of ancient remnant, a power vessel, a natural treasure, or even possibly some kind of experience. The drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood had been a treasure, and during each Astral Tower contest, various phenomena would appear that were each able to affect the entire Mountain and Seas Zone, and those phenomena represented the inheritances. Whoever obtained one of the inheritances would be one of the Cosmic Five.

    Shang Qing could take the inheritance from his mountain, but he did not move, and the other four would not either.

    Lu Yin did not move either, though that was because the drop of Progenitor¡¯s blood that had appeared atop the mountain that he had climbed had already been absorbed by the Ghost Monkey. Instead, Lu Yin was staring intently at the mountain with the nt. That rhizome looked incredibly familiar. Could it be the Root of Intelligence?

    If that nt was actually the Root of Intelligence, then Lu Yin had to find a way to grab it.

    Lei N¨¹ had originally reached the top of the mountain with the root, but she had just been reced by Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou assumed that Lu Yin was looking at him, as Lu Yin would not stop staring in his direction. So, he smiled and said, ¡°Brother Lu, I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you.¡±

    Lu Yin had not been looking at Xia Jiuyou, but he still heard the greeting, so he nced over at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°Are you the Xia family¡¯s inheritor? You look a great deal like Xia Luo.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s lips curled up, as there were certain details that no longer needed to be kept hidden. At this juncture, he needed to obtain support from the entire Human Domain, not just the Xia family. ¡°Xia Luo once told you that he¡¯d wait for you here, and his words are akin to mine.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he suddenly stared fixedly at Xia Jiuyou. Lu Yin could not conceal the shock in his eyes, and a veritable storm was raging through his mind.

    Xia Jiuyou smiled quite happily, though it also seemed to contain some deep meaning that left people trembling.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Jiuyou in disbelief. ¡°You- you and Xia Luo-?¡±

    Xia Jiuyouughed.

    Shang Qing, Yuhua Mavis, and Qiu Shi all looked at Lu Yin, feeling rather confused.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he heard the Ghost Monkey¡¯s hurried shout, ¡°Him and Xia Luo? They do look very simr, but they¡¯re definitely not the same person. Seventh Bro, what¡¯s the matter? What does he mean by saying that Xia Luo¡¯s words are his?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched, and his thoughts quickly went back to Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, when Xiao Qing had mentioned that there were some people from the Fifth Maind who possessed auras that came from the same source. That only had two exnations: they were either the same person, or they had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    If not for Xiao Qing¡¯s words, Lu Yin knowing of the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s words, then Lu Yin could never have guessed at such a possibility. This was too absurd! Did the Nine Clones Secret Technique actually exist?

    ¡°You¡¯ve cultivated the fabled Nine Clones Secret Technique? Is Xia Luo one of your clones?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    This one sentence caused the other three people atop the golden screens to be rmed, and they all turned to stare at Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s lips curled up, and he calmly looked over at Shang Qing, Yuhua Mavis, and Qiu Shi. ¡°The Nine Clones Secret Technique, is it that strange?¡±

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath as Xia Jiuyou had basically just admitted it. He had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and Xia Luo had been a clone. Hold on¡ªin that case, then Xia Tian should be a clone as well, and the other Xia family heirs like Xia Kang might also be clones. One person had split into nine: the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Shang Qing stared at Xia Jiuyou in shock, The Nine Clones Secret Technique? That legendary, peerless technique?

    In ancient times, Progenitor Chen had used this technique to fight nine Progenitors all by himself. Although he had only been a single Progenitor, he could also be thought of as nine Progenitors.

    The Tri-Yang Technique was indeed an unrivaled technique, but if a directparison was made, then it would be difficult to determine whether the Tri-Yang Technique or the Nine Clones Secret Technique was stronger. They had never shed within the same era.

    Yuhua Mavis stared at Xia Jiuyou in amazement. The Nine Clones Secret Technique? The Mavis family did have records that mentioned such a technique, but they had assumed that it was nothing more than a rumor. However, had someone actually managed to cultivate it? How had they obtained it? Was the inheritance of the Nine Clones Secret Technique in the Xia family¡¯s possession?

    The Mavis family¡¯s records actually revealed Progenitor Chen¡¯s surname to be Xia. Could he actually have been the Xia family¡¯s ancestor?

    Qiu Shi frowned and stared at Xia Jiuyou. The Nine Clones Secret Technique was Progenitor Chen¡¯s unrivaled technique. To others, the revtion of this technique was merely shocking, but it was different for the Cosmic Sect. The Cosmic Art was also something that hade from Progenitor Chen, so the two techniques shared the same source. Thus, the Cosmic Sect craved the Nine Clones Secret Technique in ways that were unimaginable to others.

    The Cosmic Sect had long since discovered that the Xia family¡¯s ancestor had been Progenitor Chen. So, it made sense for them to have inherited Progenitor Chen¡¯s secret techniques. Still, she was surprised that even the Nine Clones Secret Technique had managed to be passed down.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En and the others were in shock as well. The Nine Clones Secret Technique actually existed, and someone had actually sessfully cultivated it.

    Quite a few people turned to look at Xia Meng, as they all believed that Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique had been given to him by the Xia family.

    Xia Meng had a calm expression on her face as she looked at the screen. Everyone believed that she was watching Xia Jiuyou, but in truth, she was actually looking at a woman who was slowly ascending a mountain.

    Xia Jiuyou looked around the area. ¡°Is the Nine Clones Secret Technique leaving you all that surprised? I¡¯m not the only one.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he turned around to look in the direction of Qiu Shi.

    Shang Qing and the others also turned to look in the direction of Qiu Shi as a woman had arrived behind her: Starsibyl.

    Qiu Shi slowly turned around to look at Starsibyl.

    Xia Jiuyou also looked at Starsibyl. ¡°You couldn¡¯t hold yourself back anymore? You¡¯ve finally jumped out?¡±

    Starsibyl looked over at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°It no longer matters.¡±

    Qiu Shi stared at Starsibyl. ¡°The other person who¡¯s cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique that he mentioned is you?¡±

    Starsibyl denied nothing, and she exchanged nces with Qiu Shi. ¡°Among the Cosmic Five, my Innerverse definitely needs to hold one ce.¡±

    Qiu Shi was puzzled. ¡°Why? Others may not know, but you should have a clear understanding that there is no meaning in the Cosmic Five themselves. Why is the Starsibyl Sect willing to pay such a steep price to fight for such a title? If not for your Starsibyl Sect acting and using divination as a condition to allow the Innerverse to participate in the Astral Tower contest, then neither the Ten Arbiters nor you would havee here. What do you people want? Just the reputation connected to the Cosmic Five?¡±

    Starsibyl calmly replied, ¡°We can talk about this after we obtain the position. Everything is meaningless otherwise.¡±

    Qiu Shi responded indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s something that you can¡¯t have, as you people can¡¯t seize it.¡±

    Starsibyl then looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Find a way to be one of the Cosmic Five. If you seed, the Starsibyl Sect will serve you, Lu Yin alone, as our leader for 10,000 years.¡±

    Lu Yin had already been surprised enough for one day, and at this point, Starsibyl could not say anything to shock him more. Serve him for 10,000 years? He did not actually believe this promise. After all, who knew what this woman was actually thinking.

    She was someone who had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique yet still hid behind the scenes. She had wanted to take advantage of Nightking Zhenwu to make him one of the Cosmic Five, but after Nightking Zhenwu had been defeated, she had wanted to tempt Lu Yin in his stead. And now, at this time, she was entering the contest herself. The position of the Cosmic Five seemed to be extremely important to the Starsibyl Sect, and for this position, there was nothing that this woman would not do.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the group of elders were all quite confused. Not only were they able to watch the events by looking at the screen in front of them, but the same images were also simultaneously being transmitted to the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, the Seven Courts, and the other various great powers.

    Not even these old powerhouses from the Neoverse¡¯s top forces were able to understand what the Starsibyl Sect wanted. The Cosmic Five were just titles given to members of the younger generation, though it technically also contained authority over the younger generation. More generally speaking, the Cosmic Five held influence over the people of their own generation, but the older powerhouses were still alive, and there were also some old monsters preserved through cryostasis that acted as hidden powers for their organizations. Standing over a single generation was not considered a great deal of power, so why was the Starsibyl Sect so focused on this particr title?

    The Starsibyl Sect seemed to be overly fixated on the Cosmic Five, and nobody understood why.

    In the Honor Zone, within a truly strange area, Arch-Elder Zen opened his eyes as his gaze transcended the void to look at a screen. On it, he looked at Starsibyl. ¡°I also hope that the Innerverse can destroy the Neoverse¡¯s monopoly over the Cosmic Five, but unfortunately, this generation is not enough. The Tri-Yang Technique has appeared, and all others are destined to hold nothing more than supporting roles. The Nine Clones Secret Technique will allow for amazing aplishments in the future, but not right now. The current era belongs to the Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone, atop a golden screen, Starsibyl¡¯s arrival had frozen everyone.

    Everyone was watching the people on the golden screens from everywhere in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The stutterer looked up at Lu Yin with longing in his eyes. ¡°Meat, it- it- it¡¯s meat! Follow meat!¡±

    Ku Lei stared up at the golden screens. He craved the thought of climbing up onto that stage, but he was too weak, and this definitely was not the right opportunity. If Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had opened sooner, then he could have obtained a better inheritance and be an Enlighter. In that case, he definitely would have been qualified to climb onto the golden stage.

    The Little Leaf King looked up at the origins of the golden radiance that illuminated the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    He had been frozen in cryostasis for many years, and before he underwent preservation, he had been one of the top powerhouses of his generation. He had thought that, after emerging, he would easily dominate his peers. However, the moment he saw the Ten Arbiters, he had realized that such a dream was not realistic. Those ten were simply too strong, and aftering to the Neoverse, he had discovered that there were even stronger opponents. He truly could not understand this generation. Were just a few formcast models really enough to produce freaks on their level?

    Ming Yu looked up into the sky. Of the six people standing up there, three of them were men. Her destiny was to wed one of those three, even if she was offered up as a ve. After every Astral Tower contest, Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu would always be given to one of the winners. Of course, she also hoped for such a fate as only then could she shake that person off.

    She wondered, who would she marry?

    Ming Yu looked at Shang Qing, then at Xia Jiuyou, and finally, at Lu Yin. He was clearly in a disadvantageous position, as the others were obviously stronger than him. Thus, the most realistic options were Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou.

    ¡°Lu Yin, do your best! Get rid of them!¡± ck and White shouted in high spirits.

    Lan Si let out a long breath as he looked up at the golden screens in the sky. The Cosmic Five represented more than the strongest of a generation. After this contest, Lan Si would return to Grayweed Continent, as there were palm techniques that followed his Vacuum Palm. Brother Lu, at that time, let¡¯s have another match.

    On a golden screen, as though an agreement had already been made, aside from the Progenitor¡¯s blood that had been secretly swallowed by the Ghost Monkey, nobody touched any of the inheritances. Each of them was supremely self-confident, and they were certain that they would be able to take their inheritance and defeat the others.

    Qiu Shi attacked Starsibyl as Nine Clones Secret Technique was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest desire. Xia Jiuyou had been able to learn it because he was a descendant of Progenitor Chen, but it was uncertain as to what Starsibyl had relied upon.

    The moment Starsibyl stepped onto the golden screen, she had already been prepared to fight against Qiu Shi.

    Just one step took Shang Qing past the highest part of the golden screens, and he shot towards Xia Jiuyou. ¡°I want to experience the power of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou pulled back with a rxed and serene expression as he watched Shang Qing approach. ¡°I also want to learn from the Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    Four people began to fight, and in the end, Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis were the only ones left.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1132: Contest of Strength

    <h4>Chapter 1132: Contest of Strength</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Yuhua Mavis, and she returned the stare right back at him.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, there were quite a few eyes focused on this pair, as they were the only two who had yet to start fighting.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Highsage Shenwei sighed; this was the end. This kid had been able to defeat Y¨­u Qi by working together with his tamed beast, but that was only because Lu Yin had managed to target Y¨­u Qi¡¯s weakness. However, truth be told, when it came to the Mavis family, despite the passage of so many years, not even Highsage Shenwei had found any of their weaknesses.

    Mu En nced at Lu Yin, but then he quickly stopped paying attention to the youth as the old man refocused on Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou. This was a fight between the Tri-Yang Technique and the Nine Clones Secret Technique. These two battle techniques were not from the same era, and they were finally shing in this generation.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, atop a golden screen, Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Actually, when their fights finish, there¡¯ll be five people left, or maybe even only four. There¡¯s no need for us to fight.¡±

    Lu Yin truly really did not want to fight right now, as he had no confidence in his chances. Yuhua Mavis was the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant, and just her title sounded very impressive. In the past, he had relied on the Cosmic Art to gain ess to the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stone and its corridor of inheritance, but Lulu had also been able to do so. Back then, Lulu had only been a Melder, but she had already been able to control an Explorer-realm tortoise. Lu Yin would never forget that sight for the rest of his entire life. Even though Lulu¡¯s performance in the trial on Earth had not been excessive, Lu Yin would never forget the apprehension he held towards the Mavis family¡¯s power.

    Additionally, he needed money to cultivate efficiently, so subconsciously, he had always felt that whoever possessed great wealth would undoubtedly be powerful. The Mavis family was definitely the wealthiest power in the universe, which made Lu Yin panic slightly.

    Across from him, Yuhua Mavis smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s have a duel. I¡¯ve been very curious about Lulu¡¯s ssmate. Since you were able to defeat Y¨­u Qi, we¡¯re at the same level.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°I¡¯m still a bitcking. How about next time? Or at least after I break through to the Hunter realm?¡±

    Yuhua Mavis chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need. This is a rare opportunity. I¡¯ve heard your strength is quite impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin was at aplete loss. ¡°Lulu and I are ssmates, and we actually have a very good rtionship.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis blinked. ¡°My rtionship with Lulu is also very good.¡±

    Some of the onlookers were left speechless; this was embarrassing to watch, as Lu Yin was being too terrified.

    ck and White hid their faces behind their hands.

    Lan Si coughed; Lu Yin could not be med for such behavior. After all, he was just a Cruiser.

    Highsage Shenwei felt humiliated. Bastard! Don¡¯t act scared even if you can¡¯t beat someone!

    Xia Meng looked at Lu Yin, surprised. ¡°He¡¯s able to give and take. Not a bad child.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yes, flexibility in different situations is a tradition of our Eversky Ind. Little Meng, do you like it?¡±

    A nearby elder started ridiculing, ¡°If Highsage Grandmaster knew that you said that just now, he might very well beat you.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei pursed his lips.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, no matter what Lu Yin said, Yuhua Mavis still started moving across the golden screen and began attacking him.

    Lu Yin did not want to fight, but since his opponent had already arrived, he was not willing to simply admit defeat. Even if he was wary of Yuhua Mavis, he would not be careless when it came to defending himself.

    It was quite frightening to watch Yuhua Mavis approach. She stepped across the sky with bare feet, but flowers bloomed wherever she passed, which intimidated many people. However, Lu Yin¡¯s battle record was not bad either, and he had been able to kill Enlighters as a Limiteer. Thus, he was able to disregard many extraneous details once he started trading blows with an opponent.

    Bang!

    A loud sound startled many people, and they all jumped in surprise. Yuhua Mavis had leaped down from the highest part of the golden stage and punched at Lu Yin. This attack only contained pure, physical strength. Just as she had said, she intended to test Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin matched her back with his own pure force.

    Fist met fist, and the shockwaves of the impact tore through the void and caused spatial fractures to spread everywhere.

    In an instant, Qiu Shi, Starsibyl, Shang Qing, and Xia Jiuyou all had their attention diverted.

    The physical might that each side had just used was rather excessive. The strength of the Mavis family members went without saying, as the entire universe had heard of their overwhelming strength. However, not many in the Neoverse had heard of Lu Yin¡¯s physical might before.

    Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis met each other with raw physical punches, and they each took a few steps back, which stunned quite a few people watching. Was this person actually able to contest Yuhua Mavis in terms of physical strength?

    Lu Yin stabilized himself and looked over at Yuhua Mavis. He clenched his right fist; his knuckles had already turned red. This woman was actually this overbearingly strong.

    Across from him, Yuhua Mavis also looked up with astonishment on her face. She then smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why Lulu said that you¡¯re very strong. Again!¡±

    She charged back at Lu Yin with another punch.

    She was a girl who used her fist as her weapon, but this was nothing unusual. This was simply how every Mavis family member fought.

    Whenever the Mavis Treeheart Descendant fought against others, she had always only ever manipted her green grass, but she behaved differently when facing Lu Yin. This was because Lu Yin¡¯s strength had truly piqued her interest; how could someone from the Outerverse be so powerful?

    Lu Yin unsealed a grain of Fatesand and unleashed another punch.

    Bang!

    The air itself trembled as visible ripples spread out from the impact site.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Again.¡±

    Lu Yin diverted his second grain of Fatesand and unleashed another punch.

    Bang!

    Ripples spread from the impact of their fists again, and these ripples even affected Qiu Shi and Starsibyl. The two women countered the might of these ripples with their Enlighter-realm star energy, but their star energy was still destabilized by the aftershocks of this physical confrontation.

    Yuhua Mavis then unleashed her third punch.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he shifted his third grain of Fatesand to release his full strength in this next punch.

    Bang!

    Another loud bang shook the air, and this one even attracted Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attentions.

    Even though the other fights were all interesting, the match between the Tri-Yang Technique and the Nine Clones Secret Technique was the main focus. However, the battle between Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis had be too rowdy to be ignored. A physical brawl was the most intense way to fight, and more importantly, it had been many years since anyone had challenged a Mavis family member in a contest of physical strength. Lu Yin was the first in a long time, and he was even challenging a Treeheart Descendant at that.

    Even Highsage Shenwei and the other elders were quite curious as to how far Lu Yin could push Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis had never even considered that Lu Yin might be able to take her fourth punch. ¡°Again!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He had already used his full strength, but when he looked ahead, he saw that another one of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punches was approaching him. It was yet another mass of pure physical force that was inexplicably overbearing. Lu Yin¡¯s nine lined battle force shot into the sky as he punched back in retaliation. There was a tremendous boom, and the two once again retreated in unison.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes shed. No more physical strength? He reinforced his punch with nine lined battle force this time.

    She thought about this as she fiercely charged forward once again. Once again, she thrust forward with a very simple punch, but the strength behind this attack was so massive that even the void was suppressed, making it very difficult for Lu Yin to dodge. However, he did not want to dodge¡ªhe had never lost to anyone in terms of strength before, and he did not want to be suppressed by Yuhua Mavis here.

    Of course, Lu Yin had already lost in terms of pure physical strength, but he still had his battle force, the Oveying Stacks Path, and even Truesight. He did not believe that Yuhua Mavis could defeat him with just a simple fist.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s control of her strength had already reached perfection. No matter how much power Lu Yin unleashed bybining his monstrous physical strength with his nine lined battle force, the power of her attack always happened to be slightly superior. Lu Yin was forced to use an even greater strength to endure her attack; otherwise, he would be defeated.

    Her style of quickly closing-in and suppressing him with her raw strength left him with no opportunity to be distracted, and his mind was stretched taut by the battle tension.

    When he met this punch, Lu Yin¡¯s arm released the Oveying Stacks Path, and he instantly unleashed a full 170 Stacks. His punch sted out, apanied by his nine lined battle force.

    Yuhua Mavis unleashed a punch. Bang! Another loud boom rang through the air.

    The strength from the Oveying Stacks Path continuously exploded forth, surprising Yuhua Mavis. Her eyes contained an unusual glint of excitement as well as a powerful battle intent. She held up both fists and exchanged nces with Lu Yin. ¡°Again!¡±

    She unleashed an even greater strength, actually managing to overpower the strength of 170 Stacks and forcing Lu Yin back.

    Lu Yin took ten steps back and stared at her in disbelief. This woman was a monster!

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this woman is too much of a freak!¡± The Ghost Monkey was horrified.

    On the other side, Yuhua Mavis dashed forward yet again. ¡°You¡¯ve taken six of my punches head on, which is something that nobody in my generation has ever done before! Lu Yin, I admire you.¡±

    Admiration was on her lips, but her body remained honest as sheunched yet another punch at Lu Yin. The moment this fist was released, the void struggled to endure its power, and Shang Qing and the others grew nervous from the power they felt.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and his pupils transformed into runes as he activated Truesight to erase some of this punch¡¯s rune lines.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch had definitely exceeded a power level of 300,000, but its power level was lowered to around 200,000 after Lu Yin used his Truesight. He then seized advantage of this opportunity to strike back with his own fist. It was imbued with both his nine lined battle force and Oveying Stacks, the same punch as before.

    Yuhua Mavis noticed that the strength of her attack had waned, and she smiled softly as her fist continued forward.

    Bang!

    The shockwave tore through the region, and the void shattered like lightning bolts that streaked out in all directions.

    These two were clearly only smashing their fists together, but each collision left countless onlookers stunned.

    Just as Yuhua Mavis had said, nobody in her generation had ever been willing to trade punches with her before. Lu Yin was the first.

    Seven fists! He had actually matched her punch for punch seven times.

    Lu Yin was knocked back once again. The bones in his right fist were already on the verge of shattering, and blood dripped down from his body onto the golden screen. He stared at Yuhua Mavis; this woman was a true monster.

    Yuhua Mavis looked at Lu Yin with great appreciation. ¡°You¡¯re already at your limit. So seven punches is your limit. Lulu was right¡ªyour strength is indeed impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head and smiled bitterly, ¡°In terms of strength, I was only able to take on the first four. I basically cheated to match the next three.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis smiled. ¡°Competing with my Mavis family in terms of strength is just looking for trouble. Our strength is basically our innate gift, so what you did can¡¯t be considered cheating, as I¡¯m using my innate advantage against your disadvantage.¡±

    These words sounded strange to Lu Yin, as ever since he had be a Melder, his physical strength had always been a point of pride for him. In fact, it was the basis of his battle style. But at this moment, someone was actually telling him that his strength wascking, which sounded like a joke when he thought about it. Still, the facts could not be changed.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why she¡¯s from the Mavis family. Seventh Bro, stoppeting with her in terms of strength,¡± the Ghost Monkey said.

    Lu Yin also felt that this was true, and he felt that trying topete with strength was just asking to be steamrolled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s escape,¡± the Ghost Monkey suggested.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    The monkey helplessly responded, ¡°How do I put this? Although I¡¯ve lost many of my memories, by reading various powerhouses¡¯ journals, I¡¯vee to gain a bit of an understanding about the Mavis family. This family¡¯s true innate gift is far more mysterious, and the Treeheart Descendant seems to have never been defeated. If you want to beat her, then you have to be a Hunter at the very least, or maybe even an Enlighter. You can only have a fair fight with her once you¡¯re in the same realm. Otherwise, it¡¯d be difficult to the point of impossibility.¡±

    A powerhouse who was unrivaled within the same generation? Someone whom others should not even consider challenging without being in the same realm? Then how was it possible to even think of winning?

    Lu Yin knew that victory was not very likely, and after seeing Yuhua Mavis¡¯s rxed expression, Lu Yin knew that he would be defeated. However, he had already reached this stage. Thus, he was reluctant to just back down, and he could not ept such an ending.

    ¡°Although your rtionship with Lulu is good, this Astral Tower contest has nothing to do with you. This is something determined by fate, so you can leave now,¡± Yuhua Mavis said, sounding as though she was truly trying to help Lu Yin. Through Lulu and Grandini¡¯s descriptions of him, Yuhua knew that Lu Yin held a strong desire for authority and that he had even been able to unite the Outerverse. His methods were ruthless, but when it came to his personal rtionships, he was not emotionless. She appreciated such a person, so she did not want to attack him too severely.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1133: Total Oppression

    <h4>Chapter 1133: Total Oppression</h4>

    Lu Yin could tell Yuhua Mavis¡¯s advice for him was sincere, but he truly did not want to give up at this junction.

    Upon seeing that Lu Yin was still unwilling, Yuhua Mavis was left without any other choice. The green grass spread out from beneath her and covered the entire golden screen. It soon began to frantically grow, and the des of grass twined together to form a green fist. ¡°Even if you can¡¯t be one of the Cosmic Five, it¡¯ll still be a precious experience for you to fight against us. Try this.¡±

    Her gaze trembled.

    The green fist smashed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed. By observing the rune lines, he was able to determine that this green fist wasparable to Yuhua¡¯s seventh punch in terms of power, though it was superior in terms of range and size.

    He waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art in an attempt to forcefully divert the path of the grass fist.

    Many people were surprised.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Xia Meng¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°The Yu Secret Art.¡±

    Mu En and others simrly recognized the technique, and they knew that Lu Yin had just used the Seven Courts¡¯ Yu family¡¯s Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer.

    The Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer and the Xia Secret Art: Nullify. There was just a single character difference between the two names, but their effects werepletely different.

    ¡°The Yu family retreated to the Outerverse, and it seems that this child has some rtionship with them,¡± Elder Yuan Kemented.

    Highsage Shenwei moved over next to Xia Meng. ¡°Little Meng, you said that this child inherited the Yu Secret Art, right? If so, can he be viewed as a member of the Yu family? If that¡¯s the case, he should also qualify to participate in visiting the tomb that your Seven Courts control.¡±

    At these words, quite a few people turned to look at Xia Meng.

    Mu En also looked over, as the Court of Seven Names had originally joined forces in order to protect Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Each time it was opened, only the seven family¡¯s direct heirs would be allowed to enter, and not even the Hall of Honor could interfere in this.

    Xia Meng continued, ¡°The Yu family¡¯s descendant will need to receive approval from their family. It is not enough for him to have learned the Yu Secret Art. After all, it¡¯s possible that he might have moved against the Yu family.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s also true, since he actually unified the Outerverse,¡± one elder spoke.

    Highsage Shenwei rolled his eyes. ¡°No matter how far the Yu family has fallen, a child can¡¯t deal with them.¡±

    ¡°This child has climbed up to his current strength step by step, and now, he has entered the stage to determine the Cosmic Five in just twelve years. That is something that not even the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen, Shang Qing, can do. This child¡¯s background is not that simple, and there might be others standing behind him aside from your Eversky Ind,¡± an elder said. He then chuckled, as though rejoicing in others¡¯ misfortune.

    Highsage Shenwei wanted to retort, but after considering thement, he felt that it was quite reasonable.

    Even if the fact that Lu Yin had risen to his current position from the Outerverse was disregarded, even if Eversky Ind had provided him with every imaginable resource required to nurture a top genius, they would only be able to match Lu Yin¡¯s record. They actually might not be able to guide someone to exceed his current cultivation, which was truly ridiculous.

    When considering everything that Lu Yin had experienced, from the moment that he had started cultivating to now, he had survived far too many situations that should have left him dead. Thus, it was not very realistic to think that there was nobody standing behind him.

    Many of the older powerhouses looked back at the screen and at Lu Yin, each with their own thoughts.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Yuhua Mavis was shocked to see her fist be diverted by Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique. ¡°The Yu Secret Art?¡±

    Lu Yin charged at Yuhua Mavis. He then raised a hand and tapped out with a finger: Seventh Bro Finger.

    Nine lined battle force wrapped around the finger as Lu Yin¡¯s domain alsopressed his spiritual force onto it. The tip of the finger carried the Oveying Stacks Path, while Truesight erased some of the rune lines on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s body. This was the strongest attack that Lu Yin was capable of unleashing at this time.

    The Seventh Bro Finger shocked many people. Even if the nine lined battle force was ignored, not just anyone could use a domain topress their spiritual force. On top of that, the fingertip carried the Oveying Stacks Path, and the attack was evenbined with Truesight. The power of this finger strike was enough to instantly kill the top experts within the same generation.

    At this moment, even Yuhua Mavis was stunned as she watched the finger approach her, and she did not move. The shock in her eyes suddenly evaporated, and Lu Yin felt his heart sink as a bad premonition filled his heart. At some unknown time, his legs had been wrapped up by the green grass. His finger was still half a meter away from Yuhua Mavis, but he could not move it even an inch further.

    The green grass was tougher than he had imagined, and it instantly threw Lu Yin away.

    As it flung him away, the grass grew at an insane rate and twisted together to form a giant green fist that covered the entire sky. The fist then shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still trapped by the green grass, and he could not break free despite his strength. As he saw the looming fist m toward him, an Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet¡ªCe Secret Art: Astral Chessboard. The next moment, his body was turned into a chesspiece, and he moved.

    Boom!

    A massive explosion erupted as the green fist mmed against the golden screen.

    However, at that moment, few were overly concerned with Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attack, as they had just been shocked by the fact that Lu Yin had used the Ce Secret Art.

    Although quite a few people had seen Lu Yin use the Ce Secret Art before, they had still been shocked. Now that they were seeing it once again, they were still stunned.

    Lu Yin hadprehended two secret techniques from the Seven Courts, which was something that nobody had done since ancient times. Lu Yin was the first.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Ce Jiu stared at the sky, dumbfounded. How was this possible? Wasn¡¯t that their Ce family¡¯s secret technique? Why was this Lu Yin able to use it?

    The Ce family¡¯s secret technique was extremely difficult toprehend, even for the family¡¯s heirs who wished to learn it. Since ancient times, not every one of the family¡¯s heirs were guaranteed toprehend this secret technique, but now, an outsider had somehow done so. How?

    Lu Yin was not concerned about revealing that he could use the Ce Secret Art. Now that he had Eversky Ind backing him up and the united Outerverse behind him, he had no fear of the Ce family whatsoever. Although they could cause some trouble for him, that was something to worry about at some other time. He could not leave a secret technique unused just because he was afraid of potential trouble in the future.

    On the golden screen, Yuhua Mavis looked at Lu Yin with admiration. ¡°The Yu Secret Art and the Ce Secret Art as well. Lu Yin, I¡¯m very curious, what other abilities do you have? Use all of them together!¡±

    The green grass started to frantically grow again. A flurry of green fists appeared one after another, and they all shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was able to dodge one and even two fists, but he could not possibly dodge all of them. This was Yuhua Mavis¡¯s line of thought.

    However, the stars of the Cosmic Art started to revolve around Lu Yin¡¯s body at this moment as he dodged every single one of the green fists. Against the Cosmic Art, speed was meaningless.

    Not only did Lu Yin sessfully dodge the bombardment of green fists, but he also had time to unleash a Vacuum Palm.

    Vacuum Palm was an incredibly fast attack, and neither Y¨­u Qi nor Lei N¨¹ had been able to react to the technique. One of the two had been able to turn immaterial against all attacks while the other had been forced to take the attack head on. Yuhua Mavis was the same as Lei N¨¹, and she could only face the Vacuum Palm head-on.

    However, she was stronger than Lei N¨¹, as Yuhua Mavis was able to easily endure a Vacuum Palm as ayer of green grass appeared in front of her body. Most of the Vacuum Palm¡¯s power was dispersed by the grass, and the attack was unable to injure Yuhua Mavis. If Lu Yin wanted to harm her, then he would have to approach her.

    ¡°The Cosmic Art, and more than 500 stars at that. Lu Yin, you¡¯ve really surprised me,¡± Yuhua Mavis marveled. Suddenly, the number of green fists rose by a dozen, and they covered the sky as they attempted to strike Lu Yin down in an all-epassing attack.

    However, Lu Yin was not slow, and by using abination of the Cosmic Art and Truesight, he managed to avoid them all.

    Yuhua Mavis did not even have time to be surprised when an Astral Chessboard suddenly appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet and he moved himself.

    He appeared directly in front of Yuhua Mavis, and he used the Seventh Bro Finger once again. Lu Yin refused to believe that he could notnd a strike on this woman.

    Yuhua Mavis was wearing green clothes that seemed to have been made from leaves.

    Lu Yin tapped out with a finger that was pointed directly at her heart. Suddenly, the leaves that covered Yuhua Mavis¡¯s heart grewrger, and they wriggled to form baby-sized fists that moved to grab the Seventh Bro Finger.

    The Oveying Stacks Path was instantly repelled by an enormous strength, and the nine lined battle force crumbled. As for his domain that waspressing Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, it was ineffective against Yuhua Mavis. Lu Yin¡¯s Seventh Bro Finger was immediately dissolved by the fists that had formed from the leaves, and the attack shattered.

    Lu Yin was paralyzed in his disbelief. His attack was actually useless; just how strong was this woman?

    Yuhua Mavis opened her hand and then formed another fist. The green grass that had spread beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet suddenly rose up to entangle him. The enormous pressure made Lu Yin feel as though he was being constricted by a python, and he felt suffocated.

    ¡°This Astral Tower contest is exhausting. You may leave.¡± Yuhua Mavis waved a hand, causing Lu Yin to be thrown off of the golden stage and into the sea below.

    Was Lu Yin weak? Absolutely not. He had been able to join forces with the Ghost Monkey to defeat Y¨­u Qi. Although Lu Yin had managed to counter Y¨­u Qi¡¯s battle technique of turning immaterial after discovering Y¨­u Qi¡¯s weakness, Lu Yin had also proven that he was on the same level as Y¨­u Qi and the others¡ªthere was no other way he could have defeated Y¨­u Qi.

    However, Yuhua Mavis was terrifyingly powerful, and her strength was endless. Also, there were no gaps in her defenses. Unless an absolute attack overpowered her defenses, there was simply no way for Lu Yin to win. This was also under the condition that she did not use any additional battle techniques or her innate gift.

    At this time, Lu Yin was not capable of unleashing an attack powerful enough to breach Yuhua Mavis¡¯s defenses.

    Yuhua Mavis was not too overbearing in her treatment of Lu Yin, and she merely threw him down into the sea.

    This battle had reached a conclusion, but elsewhere on the golden screens, Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s battle continued. Although the power of the attacks was not as intense as the collision of raw strength between Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis, the anticipation was in no way inferior. In fact, it was possibly the more exciting fight to watch.

    Xia Jiuyou relied on thebination of his Y¨­u Reinforced Palm and innate gift to fight, and he attacked Shang Qing over and over again. However, Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique was indeed difficult to ovee; one strand of ancestral qi chased after Xia Jiuyou and attacked him while the other two appeared to show no gaps while defending Shang Qing. They rendered all of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attacks ineffective, and his attacks were not able to affect Shang Qing in the slightest.

    Left without any other choice, Xia Jiuyou was only able to use the Triple de Will.

    The first de tore through one strand of ancestral qi and shed down at Shang Qing, but it was shattered by the second strand of ancestral qi.

    The second de shot out, but before it reached Shang Qing, Xia Jiuyou had already retreated. The ancestral qi that had been scattered by the first de had already reformed, and it gave him a strong sense of danger.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third de still had not been released.

    This was the same as Xia Jiuyou¡¯s battle against Lei N¨¹.

    Shang Qing¡¯s gaze trembled. He was able to suppress Xia Jiuyou with just one strand of ancestral qi, and just one strand was enough to force Xia Jiuyou to constantly dodge about as he was unwilling to take even a single attack. This was the strength of the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen, and this was the power of the Tri-Yang Technique. it was truly an inexplicable technique.

    On the other side of the golden screens, Qiu Shi and Starsibyl¡¯s battle waspletely iprehensible.

    Starsibyl was adept at divining her opponent¡¯s attacks, allowing her to dodge them in advance. Qiu Shi used the Cosmic Art, so speed was meaningless against her. The two women had already fought for a while, but neither had managed to hit their opponent.

    Yuhua Mavis looked at the two battlefields, and her finger gradually bent as she prepared to attack.

    Down within the sea, Lu Yin fell into the water with a thump and a ssh.

    The green grass dispersed once it hit the seafloor, and Lu Yin struggled to catch his breath.

    Off in the distance, ck, White, and Lan Si raced over to him.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you lost! How useless!¡± White was very unhappy.

    ck red at Lu Yin. ¡°You really embarrassed our Eversky Ind.¡±

    Lu Yin bitterly smiled at the twins.

    Lan Si said, ¡°Before, we heard that the real elites of the Human Domain were in the Neoverse, and I experienced the truth of that for myself today. Sure enough, even Brother Lu was totally oppressed, which was something that I did not expect.¡±

    Lu Yin grudgingly responded, ¡°Actually, against Y¨­u Qi, it was the same. If not for my tamed beast breaking through to the Hunter realm and being able to coincidentally counter Y¨­u Qi¡¯s battle technique, I would have never been able to defeat him.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1134: Ultimate Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 1134: Ultimate Confrontation</h4>

    ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll talk again once you¡¯ve cultivated for longer than just twelve years. With your talent, it won¡¯t be impossible for you to catch up to them,¡± Lan Simented.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly and turned to look up at the golden screens.

    He had ovee many great difficulties to reach this stage, and he had even traded blows with some of the Neoverse¡¯s top powerhouses in his generation. However, there was just too much of a disparity between him and them.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, don¡¯t be discouraged. There are still many days left, and you¡¯re also younger than them,¡± the Ghost Monkey consoled.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you try to help out just now?¡±

    The monkey reluctantly said, ¡°Everyone watched as we fought Y¨­u Qi, so how could that woman not be on guard against me?¡±

    ¡°With your strength, you should be enough to threaten the Ten Arbiters in the Hunter realm, and if you had fought with me, we wouldn¡¯t have lost so pathetically,¡± Lu Yin was still dissatisfied.

    The Ghost Monkey was in agony. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating this monkey. All I did was use some illusions to influence the enemy, and you have to realize just who your opponent was! That¡¯s a Mavis, and her ancestors can control people. My attacks would have beenpletely ineffective against her, and I would have been countered by that family¡¯s innate gift and ended up just causing more trouble for you.¡±

    Lu Yin thought about it and eventually agreed. After all, his opponent had been a member of the Mavis family, and they were all monsters.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded them, their highest echelons had sent down orders to prioritize capturing any and all members of the Mavis family. However, the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces had not had even one sess. That showed the strength of the Mavis family, the family with too many secrets.

    There were five people atop the golden screens at this moment, and there were two battlefields.

    Quite a few people assumed that Yuhua Mavis would make another move. However, none of them could have expected that still more people would enter the fray.

    Yuhua Mavis slowly turned around as she carefully measured the man who had just stepped foot onto the golden screen. Her face betrayed her surprise. ¡°The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Unseen Light.¡±

    This newest addition to the group atop the golden screens was Unseen Light of the Ten Arbiters. This person had already been defeated by Shang Qing, and he should have lost his qualifications to participate in the contest to determine the Cosmic Five. However, he had just appeared atop the golden screen where Yuhua Mavis stood. His eyes were already wide open, and they shone brilliantly as he stared at Yuhua Mavis.

    Many people in the Mountain and Seas Zone were surprised by this development, particrly that one of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters was still making moves.

    Delight shed through Starsibyl¡¯s eyes as she fought with Qiu Shi. Sure enough, the Ten Arbiters had not disappointed her. The Starsibyl Sect had schemed for countless years all for this day, and the Ten Arbiters were not as simple as they appeared to be on the surface.

    Although not all of them were extremely powerful, there were a few among them who could contest with the Neoverse¡¯s top young experts, especially if the Arbiters became Enlighters.

    Beneath the golden screen, Lu Yin was also not surprised at all by the appearance of an Arbiter.

    Ever since Lu Yin entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, all he had heard about was who had defeated which Arbiter and rumors that they had all been driven out of the Mountain and Seas Zone. This waspletely different from the Ten Arbiters that Lu Yin was familiar with.

    The fact remained that all the Neoverse geniuses who qualified topete for the position of the Cosmic Five were all extremely powerful, and indescribably so at that. However, the Ten Arbiters should not have beenpletely annihted. Lan Si had been able to retaliate against Y¨­u Qi, and Lu Yin believed that if the two had seriously fought, even if Lan Si ultimately failed to achieve victory, he would not be easily defeated.

    If that was the case with Lan Si, then there was no way all the other Arbiters would be weaker than him. Or to take things one step further, if any of the Ten Arbiters broke through to the Enlighter realm, the entire situation would be different.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Unseen Light: people called him the Arbiter of Light. Once he opened his eyes, there was no light regardless of if it was day or night.

    Such a saying was not an exaggeration. When the remnant spiritual force of the Rune Progenitor had been suppressing the entire Innerverse, Unseen Light had been able to evenlypete with Zhi Yi. At this moment, he revealed himself to be an Enlighter as he stood before Yuhua Mavis.

    Shang Qing, who was battling Xia Jiuyou, noticed Unseen Light and frowned; this person should have already been defeated by him.

    Yuhua Mavis looked at Unseen Light curiously. ¡°You hid your strength as an Enlighter and intentionally took a beating. Why? Do you want to be one of the Cosmic Five so badly?¡±

    Unseen Light calmly looked at Yuhua Mavis. ¡°Someone once told us to be defeated once, and only once. That way, we would be able to gain a clear view of this Mountain and Seas Zone. Thus, we all lost once.¡±

    ¡°¡®We¡¯?¡± Yuhua Mavis was puzzled.

    Unseen Light looked over towards Shang Qing as Liu Tianmu slowly stepped up onto the golden stage. She had been seen as someone rather pathetic due to her fight with Y¨­u Qi. However, that battle had been a false defeat, as it was actually something that they had agreed to beforehand with Starsibyl. This was the moment for the Ten Arbiters to reveal their true power.

    Once more, someone else stepped onto the golden screen where Qiu Shi and Starsibyl were fighting: Wen Sansi.

    From three directions, three of the Ten Arbiters appeared. This was a development that nobody had foreseen.

    Even though Lu Yin was confident in the Ten Arbiters and believed that they had not been defeated that easily, he had neither expected them to be this powerful nor for them to have intentionally lost at Starsibyl¡¯s request. What exactly was the Starsibyl Sect plotting?

    ¡°Starsibyl had you guys intentionally ept defeat?¡± Lu Yin looked over at Lan Si.

    Lan Si nodded, but then he smiled bitterly. ¡°However, I really lost. I can¡¯t beat Y¨­u Qi. However, they should have lost on purpose, as the three of them are actually Enlighters.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. In just a few short moments, eight people among the younger generation had revealed themselves to be Enlighters. During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the only youths who had been Enlighters were the Daosource Three Skies.

    However, there was nothing too amazing about this revtion once Lu Yin thought about it. The Ten Arbiters, as well as the heirs of the Seven Courts, were all able to break through and be Enlighters. However, they had simply wanted to establish a stronger foundation, and so they had dyed their breakthroughs. The Realmlings from the Sixth Maind were the same; it was not that they could not break through, but rather that they did not.

    Lu Yin believed that, right now, the Sixth Maind would have more than just the Daosource Three Skies as Enlighters within their younger generation. After all, quite some time had passed since the invasion.

    Xia Jiuyou pulled back from Shang Qing and looked over the distant Liu Tianmu. Astonishment was clearly written on his face, as he had never imagined that the Ten Arbiters would appear at this time.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique fused one into nine. Aside from Xia Jiuyou himself, the clone with the highest cultivation had been Xia Tian, who was just the top ranker on the Top 100 Rankings.

    Xia Tian had consistently challenged the Ten Arbiters, as he had wanted to understand their strength. He had originally thought he had a clear grasp of it, but he had never imagined that he had still underestimated the Ten Arbiters. At least, in Xia Tian¡¯s mind, there had been no hints that any of the Ten Arbiters had be Enlighters.

    Liu Tianmu had inherited the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, which were iparable. At this moment, she had also revealed her status as an Enlighter. Her sword qi distorted the void, and it was enough to cause even Shang Qing to nce over at her.

    In the entire Neoverse, there were no sects or families that could surpass the Sword Sect when it came to sword techniques. If not for the fact that the sect truly had no top-tier powerhouses, the Sword Sect would have entered the Neoverse long ago.

    However,cking top-tier powerhouses did not mean that their youths were simrlycking. Liu Tianmu¡¯s appearance proved that the Sword Sect was qualified topete with the youths of the Neoverse¡¯s various great powers, even whenpared to the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen.

    Qiu Shi stopped fighting Starsibyl at this moment, and she calmly looked over at Wen Sansi. ¡°You actually hid your strength as an Enlighter.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled. ¡°I had no choice. I agreed to be defeated once, so things could only have yed out in such a manner.¡±

    Qiu Shi looked over at Starsibyl. ¡°Just what does your Starsibyl Sect want? Is it worth it? All this for a position as one of the Cosmic Five? You should know that the titles are artificial.¡±

    Starsibyl looked utterly serene. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this only after the results are decided. At that time, you will understand.¡±

    Qiu Shi frowned. She looked at Wen Sansi and then at Starsibyl. ¡°You two can attack me together.¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s eyes flickered, and she looked as though she was divining something.

    Qiu Shi was known as the All Rounder Fairy; she was an Enlighter, had grasped a secret technique, and had shown a strong lockbreaking ability. However, herst trait had actually never been revealed, and this was what made her opponents the most nervous.

    Yuhua Mavis acted. ¡°No matter what you guys are nning, the oue will not change. You people simply don¡¯t know what sort of existences you¡¯re up against.¡±

    Then, green grass spread across the golden screens and turned the entire sky green. Dozens of giant green fists appeared, and they all smashed at Unseen Light.

    Lu Yin had the strength and defenses to contest Yuhua Mavis, but Unseen Light did not. However, he was able to predict all of his opponent¡¯s attacks, and the power of his domain was something rarely seen within a generation¡ªit had already reached a level that not even Shang Qing and the others could touch.

    Unseen Light constantly dodged the green fists, and at the same time, his forcefield coalesced to form a giant, humanoid figure that pped out at Yuhua Mavis. This was not a physical attack, but rather his domain suppressing her.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes shed, and the green grass started madly growing to form yet another giant fist that shot up from below.

    The collision between the material and a domain resulted in an impact between what looked like reality and nothingness, but the two undeniably collided. Unseen Light was an Enlighter as was Yuhua Mavis. When the two attacks met, the might of the collision rang the sky itself and even caused the golden screens to vibrate.

    Lu Yin had used all sorts of methods to cross realms and challenge Yuhua Mavis in a stunning battle, though their battle had not been straightforward.

    In contrast, Unseen Light¡¯s battle with Yuhua Mavis was just the two going head-to-head; he was using his domain to go against Yuhua Mavis¡¯s brute strength.

    One possessed the strongest domain while the other had the most powerful physical strength of their generation. The two had both reached an extreme in a single aspect.

    Yuhua Mavis had never thought that one of the Ten Arbiters would be so difficult to deal with, and the green grass spread out beneath her to form one fist after another that punched at Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain was like a storm that covered everything within 10,000 meters of him, and a visible forcefield had appeared that isted the fists.

    The situation was absolutely shocking.

    Even Shang Qing, Qiu Shi, and the others atop the golden screens were distracted by this battle, as they were asionally forced to dodge a shockwave from the face-off between the domain and the green fists.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En marveled at the disy. ¡°It is truly rare for a member of the younger generation to cultivate a domain to this degree. In the future, he¡¯ll definitely improve and be known throughout the entire universe. This kid deserves to enter the observation list.¡±

    Nearby, Yuan Ke also eximed, ¡°There are too many in this uing generation with rarely seen talents. Domain, strength, spiritual force, battle techniques, innate gifts, and secret techniques¡ªthere¡¯s someone who¡¯s reached the pinnacle in each aspect. Since ancient times, there has never been a generation this powerful.¡±

    ¡°Resplendent stars will definitely give rise to Progenitors. Leave the opportunity for these youths. There¡¯s no more hope for us,¡± one elder helplesslymented.

    Highsage Shenwei spoke up, ¡°Old Mu, Lu Yin also qualifies to enter the observation list, correct?¡±

    Mu En smiled. ¡°Naturally. He was already ced on the list back when he defeated that Daynight child. No, it was actually back when he united the Outerverse. Those on the list are not only evaluated for their power level, as their plotting, strategy, thinking, and so on are all considered. This child is very well qualified.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was unhappy. ¡°Why is it that our Lu Yin entered the observation list not because of his strength but because of his scheming?¡±

    Mu Enughed. ¡°Strength and mind are both aspects of oneself.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s known as boldness.¡± Highsage Shenwei could not help himself.

    Mu En thought about it, but then he nodded. ¡°Yes, boldness. Since ancient times, there has been nobody who has aplished the feats Lu Yin has.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was pleased, and he looked over at Xia Meng. ¡°Little Meng, why aren¡¯t you speaking? Rest assured, Xia Jiuyou has definitely entered the observation list as well. He¡¯s fighting that Chosen who¡¯s cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique to a standstill, and there aren¡¯t many who can do that.¡±

    Xia Meng calmly replied, ¡°I know.¡±

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Unseen Light¡¯s domain gave off a grand aura while Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fist contained a boundless strength. The two fought each other for several breaths, and their battle filled the sky, stunning all the spectators.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1135: Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 1135: Destiny</h4>

    The people from the Neoverse who were qualified to participate in the Astral Tower contest had been aware that the Ten Arbiters were powerful. However, none of them had realized that some of the Arbiters were able to directly contest Yuhua Mavis in a fight.

    ¡°These Ten Arbiters from the Innerverse are too monstrous! How did they cultivate? Actually, how do you even go about cultivating a domain like that?¡± Someone was racing by in one corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone in shock.

    Close by, Mu Ziying¡¯s trio eximed in admiration, and Yao Ji was also left in utter disbelief; was this person really from the Innerverse?

    Hua Xiao felt agonized. ¡°I had assumed that Lu Yin was the strongest of the Arbiters, but it looks like that may not necessarily be the case. This Unseen Light is even more of a freak, as it is rare to see someone cultivate their domain to such a level in any generation.¡±

    In another ce, God Qingguang and the other people from Gods¡¯ Origin stared at the golden screens with a stupefied expression. They had not cared about the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters before, and they had spent all of their time chasing after Jin He. Were all of the Ten Arbiters freaks at this level? Jin He and this Unseen Light were equally famous, so there should not be much of a difference between them. Upon thinking of this, a sh of fear ran through them.

    Tai Yishen looked at the sky, shocked. He had a solid understanding of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength. The fact that Unseen Light had also reached that stage was something very hard for him to ept.

    They were not alone, and Lu Yin was also shocked. Unseen Light¡¯s domain at this moment had even surpassed what he had used during his battle with Zhi Yi. Although it hadter been revealed that Zhi Yi had also kept some of her strength reserved during that fight, it appeared that Unseen Light had done the same. This was the true power of his domain, and it was no wonder why even Mister Mu had marveled at it and stated that Unseen Light had the potential to be a Progenitor.

    This was the power of a domain that could predict attacks.

    Such a violent sh ended up affecting the other battlefields, and even Shang Qing and Qiu Shi looked over towards Yuhua Mavis¡¯s battle. As the youths who had been chosen to be the Cosmic Five, they seemed equal, however, in their hearts, there was apetition to be the most powerful. No matter how the powers behind them tried to stop such apetition, the five youths would absolutely pick out the most powerful of them, as only the most powerful individuals might have even a possibility of bing a Progenitor.

    The violent collision shocked countless others, and the tremendous bang caused many to look over and see how the fight progressed.

    The human body was truly wondrous; once one reached the true pinnacle in an aspect, it was the same as undergoing a metamorphosis.

    On one side, the battle between Unseen Light¡¯s domain and Yuhua Mavis¡¯s raw strength continued to rage on. From the look of things, it would not resolve any time soon.

    Xia Jiuyou took this opportunity to attack Shang Qing, and he struck out with a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. This attack contained a horrifying dark glimmer, and it took advantage of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s innate gift to appear behind Shang Qing.

    One flow of qi appeared behind Shang Qing¡¯s back to block the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm while he waved a hand and shot another qi stream at Xia Jiuyou while the third stream wasunched at Liu Tianmu. Since some of the Ten Arbiters had appeared, Shang Qing would not ignore them, and he felt that it was appropriate to confront two people at the same time. This was the power of the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s arrogance would not allow for her to join forces with someone else, but the flow of Shang Qing¡¯s qi was flying straight at her. Thus, she could either respond or leave the contest atop the golden stage.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s gaze trembled, and her star energy formed a de that shed out with the Fourth Sword. The attackpletely disregarded space as it appeared directly in front of Shang Qing.

    Each one of the Thirteen Swords was extremely powerful, and the Fourth Sword was able to disregard space and instantly appear before the opponent. However, Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique could even seal off the void around him, preventing the Fourth Sword from directly striking him. As a result, the attack was shattered by a qi flow before it could even approach Shang Qing.

    Liu Tianmu moved forward with a series of light steps to directly face off against the qi flow rushing at her with the Sixth Sword, Sword of Protection.

    In another direction, Xia Jiuyou was constantly unleashing the Y¨­u Reinforced Palms while relying on his innate gift. Each palm that he released became two, and the second would always appear from an unknown direction.

    Even Shang Qing was forced to constantly reserve one of his qi flows to protect himself, resulting in the offensive ability of the other two qi flows to be clearly reduced.

    It was two against one, which temporarily stabilized the situation. The two attackers had not managed to overpower Shang Qing as his Tri-Yang Technique was truly mysterious, and Xia Jiuyou and Liu Tianmu did not dare to let it touch them.

    Elsewhere on the golden screens, Wen Sansi was attacking Qiu Shi. As opposed to Liu Tianmu, Wan Sansi was not overly concerned about teaming up to attack a single person, not even if his opponent was a woman.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s principle was to think before acting, and Qiu Shi was an opponent who was worth teaming up against.

    Wen Sansi immediately used an eight by eight Literary Prison. Of course, he had already fought against Qiu Shi before, and he knew that this would not be enough to trap the woman. However, Literary Prison was not the only battle technique that the Wen family possessed. Additionally, when he used those techniques inbination with the Literary Prison and Starsibyl, the two managed to suppress Qiu Shi for a bit.

    It seemed that, of everyone on the three battlefields, Qiu Shi was the one struggling the most, but down below, Lu Yin was aware that the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique, Star Transference, was terrifying. It could definitely change the situation in an instant.

    That golden stage represented the greatest stage for the Human Domain¡¯s youth, and on this stage, whoever managed to endure until the end would be considered the most powerful.

    Lu Yin was envious, but he had already been defeated by Yuhua Mavis, and he truly could not match up against those atop the screens with his strength as a Cruiser. Things might change once he broke through to the Hunter realm, but it would not be easy for him to do so.

    While everyone was staring at the battles taking ce atop the golden stage, dumbfounded, an overpowering fluctuation of star energy swept across the entire Mountain and Seas Zone. Suddenly, the sky changed as an illusory tolling sound rang out across thend.

    Many people turned to look in the direction where the sound hade and the resulting fluctuation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Is that?

    ¡°Someone broke through and became an Enlighter! That tolling sound¡ªcould it have been Ling Gong?¡± Lan Si eximed.

    Lu Yin had also guessed the same thing. Out of everyone he knew, only Ling Gong gave off this feeling and that illusory tolling sound of a bell.

    The next moment, her grand Skycastle appeared like a mirage that illuminated the sky.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. That had to be Ling Gong; she had actually managed to break through to the Enlighter realm at this time. Clearly, she had done so in order to participate in the greatest battlefield. Of the Ten Arbiters, four of them had stepped onto the golden screens, though Lu Yin had already been defeated. Along with Lan Si who was standing next to Lu Yin, Jin He, whom he had defeated, and the two others who were not qualified to enter the Mountain and Seas Zone, most of them had appeared. The only one who still had not appeared was Liquor Hero, though for all he knew, that woman might actually be sleeping somewhere at this time!

    Lu Yin had not guessed wrong. At this moment, Liquor Hero was indeed sleeping as she drifted along a sea current, roaming about without stopping. She showed no sign of consciousness, and no matter how intense the battles, nothing seemed capable of rousing her.

    Atop the golden screen, Yuhua Mavis looked over towards where Ling Gong had broken through to the Enlighter realm, and then she looked back at Unseen Light. ¡°You Ten Arbiters can really surprise people. Logically speaking, the Innerverse does not have sufficient means to nurture the strength that you people possess. Did you really find opportunities to transform in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins?¡±

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain smashed against the green fist, and he smiled. ¡°The Neoverse has the inheritance of five Mountains and Seas, so none of you cared about the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. Also, going to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins meant that you would have to deal with the people from the Sixth Maind. You guys could not be bothered to put forth such efforts, so you never knew of the opportunities waiting there.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis fel curious. ¡°What destiny did you obtain?¡±

    Unseen Light had aplicated expression, and he seemed to be talking to Yuhua Mavis, but also to himself at the same time. ¡°The Sixth Maind does not see value in cultivating a domain, but in an ancient time, there was a person in the Sixth Maind whose innate spiritual force was socking that he could not receive a powerful imprint. Even when he became an Enlighter, an Envoy, or even a World Imprinter, he still could not receive too powerful of an imprint. Throughout his entire life, he lived in ridicule, and all the other powerhouses of his generation viewed him with disdain. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect never admitted him, and everyone viewed him as a pariah.

    ¡°This person was known as Unseen Sky. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard of him before.¡±

    At first, Yuhua Mavis was puzzled, but then she seemed to think of something, and she looked shocked. ¡°In an ancient battle, there was a powerhouse with a power level of 1,000,000 whosted for an entire day against a Semi-Progenitor. His efforts allowed the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces to safely escape from a trap that had been set by the Fifth Maind. In the end, did he also manage to escape?¡±

    Unseen Light nodded, and then he spoke with a voice that containedplicated emotions. ¡°That person was someone who made great contributions to the Sixth Maind, and despite only having a power level of 1,000,000, he was able to rival the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters. In fact, he even stood up to the attacks of one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. After that, his injuries were too severe, and he went into seclusion where not even the Sixth Maind was able to find the slightest trace of him. He had cultivated only one aspect of his strength to the extreme: his domain.¡±

    ¡°And you received his inheritance?¡± Yuhua Mavis was surprised.

    Unseen Light answered, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten my name, and after I received his inheritance, I changed my name to Unseen Light. Although he was my enemy, he¡¯s also my respected teacher.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis eximed, ¡°He was only an enemy because of different viewpoints. In the end, he was also a part of the human race, and he passed his experience onto you. In the Fifth Maind, and from my Fifth Maind¡¯s perspective, this was done to atone for the ancient battle. His inheritance was in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins?¡±

    Unseen Light replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Yuhua Mavisughed. ¡°The Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins never seemed to hold much value to us of the Neoverse, and only ten futons survived the ancient battle. Thus, this opportunity was passed onto the Innerverse, but it looks like those futons managed to raise quite a few powerful people. Unfortunately, if you¡¯ve only received Unseen Sky¡¯s inheritance, then you still won¡¯t be my match. There are limits to a domain while my strength has none!¡±

    She clenched her fists, causing all the giant green fists that had been bombarding Unseen Light¡¯s domain to suddenly start trembling. Right after that, the green color of the fists became even purer, and the sight was stunning.

    Down below, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°Be careful...¡±

    He watched as the rune lines of those green fists suddenly surged by nearly 1.5 times. Just what sort of technique could suddenly boost a person¡¯s power that drastically?

    The green fists smashed down, and although the first fist failed to break through the domain, it neutralized the domain. So, when the second fist smashed against the domain right behind the first fist, Unseen Light felt his chest tighten. Fresh blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, but the third, fourth, fifth, and more fists continued to hammer down on his domain.

    After a dozen fists, the domain suddenly disintegrated, and a massive green fist shot down from right above Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light¡¯s entire body was smashed against the golden screen, and he could not even move.

    The sheer power of the Mavis family left everyone watching speechless.

    Across the stage, Shang Qing¡¯s vision swept across Yuhua Mavis, and apprehension shed through his eyes. Although he had cultivated the most powerful technique in the Human Domain, the Tri-Yang Technique, he still felt horrified to see Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength. The Mavis family¡¯s overwhelming strength was rare, and the biggest difference between a Treeheart Descendant and the ordinary members of the Mavis family was that while the other family members had limited strength, a Treeheart Descendant had unlimited strength.

    The so-called ¡°unlimited strength¡± was not the same as endless strength. Rather, it referred to something from ancient times and how there was nobody within the same generation who could urately measure the full strength of a Treeheart Descendant. Even Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique might not be able to force out Yuhua Mavis¡¯s full strength.

    The Tri-Yang Technique might be able to defeat her, but it would not be able to draw out her full power. This was the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant.

    If the Tri-Yang Technique was an unrivaled technique that could not be matched, then the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant had a peerless strength. In that sense, they were both peak powers.

    Down below, on the surface of one of the seas, Lu Yin was shocked. That woman¡¯s strength was so absurd that it waspletely ridiculous, and it far outmatched Lu Yin¡¯s. Was this the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant¡¯s true power?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1136: Black Coffin

    <h4>Chapter 1136: ck Coffin</h4>

    Unseen Light was truly very powerful, and when he revealed his true strength as an Enlighter, he had managed to contest Yuhua Mavis for a long time. At this time, he was the person who had forced out the greatest amount of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength, though in the end, he had also failed to endure her freakish strength.

    The woman had unlimited strength, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning her unbreachable defense and hidden innate gift that allowed her to control others. This was the power of one of the Cosmic Five who had been selected long ago: an immovable powerhouse, Yuhua Mavis.

    Starsibyl was cooperating with Wen Sansi to attack Qiu Shi, but when she looked over at Unseen Light, Starsibyl¡¯s brows rose up; was this still not enough? Unseen Light¡¯s strength had been quite impressive, but even so, he had still failed to challenge Yuhua Mavis. After all, he was from the Innerverse, and his background simply was not strong enough.

    Starsibyl was secretly feeling quite upset; long ago, she had asked the Ten Arbiters to join forces to defeat at least one person so that at least one of them could be one of the Cosmic Five. However, at this moment, it seemed like she could only pin her hopes on Liu Tianmu, Wen Sansi, and Ling Gong, who had apparently just broken through to the Enlighter realm.

    ¡°Where are you looking?¡± Qiu Shi¡¯s voice entered Starsibyl¡¯s ears, and her heart sank as her eyes flickered. Suddenly, Starsibyl¡¯s expression changed. She immediately retreated, but it was already toote. A pure white hand stretched out in front of her with nearly a thousand stars revolving around it. It was the Cosmic Palm, an attack with stars appearing around the palm.

    With a bang, Starsibyl was instantly swept aside by the explosion of the Cosmic Palm¡¯s stars. Her face paled as her body was thrown back. Qiu Shi chased after Starsibyl, though a Literary Prison appeared around her. Wen Sansi was using his star energy to write within the void and form a cage to capture Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi did not resist Wen Sansi¡¯s move, and she simply waited for Wen Sansi to entrap her with fifteenyers before her lips curled upwards. ¡°Star Transference.¡±

    The next moment, Starsibyl appeared inside the prison, and Qiu Shi appeared precisely where Starsibyl had just been standing, not too far away from Wen Sansi. Nearly a thousand stars revolved to form a sword of stars. ¡°Celestial Sword Technique.¡±

    There was a whoosh as sword qi tore through the void and sliced at Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi had known that the Cosmic Sect possessed a secret technique known as Star Transference. However, knowing about it was one thing and reacting to it was another. The Celestial Sword Technique stabbed into his stomach, releasing a spray of fresh blood that scattered onto the golden screen.

    From within the cage, Starsibyl¡¯s expression changed. She raised a hand, causing pearls to form beneath Wen Sansi¡¯s feet one after another. Qiu Shi¡¯s Celestial Sword Technique stopped its advancement as one of the round pearls emitted a light that connected the sky to the earth. This light actually managed to block the Celestial Sword Technique, giving Wen Sansi a moment of respite.

    Qiu Shi twirled the sword of stars and dispersed the light with the de. Nearly a thousand stars reappeared as she leaped at Wen Sansi again. Yuhua Mavis¡¯s battle had already ended, and Qiu Shi intended to end hers quickly as well.

    Starsibyl raised her hand once again, prompting another pearl to light up with a radiance that connected the sky and earth. She once again managed to block Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi shed out with her sword, attempting to cut through the light, but two more light rays shone out to iste Qiu Shi from all directions. They all helped buy Wen Sansi some more time to catch his breath.

    Wen Sansi stared at the pearls emitting light, and he noticed that each and every pearl was actually blocking off a route that Qiu Shi had tried to take.

    Qiu Shi tightly clenched her sword of stars and sliced out, cutting through all of the lights in one stroke. She then red at Starsibyl andmented, ¡°The Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Calctions of the Abacus certainly lives up to its name.¡±

    Starsibyl focused on Qiu Shi. ¡°The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Star Transference and Celestial Sword Technique is quite powerful as well.¡±

    Wen Sansi waved a hand to dispel the cage that had trapped Starsibyl as he panted heavily. He had been nearly finished just a moment ago; he now knew why the Cosmic Five had been decided upon in advance. Qiu Shi was able to disregard her opponent¡¯s speed, form a sword from stars, and she even possessed an unrivaled attack power along with the secret technique Star Transference. This woman was as mysterious as Yuhua Mavis.

    It had to be said that there was nothing wrong with the people the Neoverse had selected to be the Cosmic Five.

    Shang Qing did not even need to be mentioned, as the Tri-Yang Technique that he had cultivated was unrivaled by itself. The power of just that technique allowed him to face two opponents at their level by himself. Even if the number of opponents surpassed the strands of Tri-Yang Technique, he could still remain undefeated at the very least.

    In Yuhua Mavis¡¯s case, there was simply no exnation, as her strength was immeasurable, and her defense was robust. Besides that, she also had the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift which she still had not used yet. Regardless, it was definitely something that nobody couldpete against.

    The secret technique that Qiu Shi had received from the Cosmic Sect, as well as the other battle techniques that she had mastered, were able to overpower almost all opponents.

    Even the defeated Y¨­u Qi, if he had not fought against Lu Yin, but rather literally anyone else, might not have lost. Lu Yin had defeated Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple precisely because of the Ghost Monkey; without the monkey, Y¨­u Qi would have remained undefeated.

    Although Lei N¨¹ seemed to be the worst of the five, her innate gift and her battle technique were impossible to defend against, and she had alsoprehended one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques. Thatbination meant that few within the same realm could defeat her. If she had not encountered Xia Jiuyou and had instead fought against Unseen Light or Wen Sansi, she would have had a high chance of achieving victory.

    The Cosmic Five. If these five were ced in any previous Astral Tower contest, they would have absolutely be the Cosmic Five without any issue. The only thing that could be med was the sheer number of geniuses that had appeared in this particr contest.

    There had never been a contest for the positions of the Cosmic Five where so many Enlighters had participated, not since ancient times.

    The Astral Tower contest could be said to have reached its climax, and everyone shifted their attention away from Yuhua Mavis and over to Shang Qing and Qiu Shi¡¯s battles.

    Even if they were both fighting against two opponents, many people from the Neoverse were confident that these two would emerge victorious.

    Everyone believed that Yuhua Mavis¡¯s battle had already ended, but a cry was heard, and many people shifted their eyes back towards Unseen Light, who actually stood up.

    Beneath the golden screens, ck and White¡¯s mouths were wide open, as even they were stunned; this person was actually still able to stand after receiving such an attack.

    Lan Si was overwhelmed; even with his powerful physique that he had cultivated to use the Oveying Stacks Path, he might not be able to stand after enduring such an attack.

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as he had seen that Unseen Light¡¯s rune lines had not been reduced by much. Of course, he was clearly injured. However, when Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attack hadnded, various things had urred and allowed Unseen Light to not endure the full power of the punch.

    Yuhua Mavis looked over at Unseen Light. ¡°So you converged your forcefield at the veryst moment and countered most of the power. Although it looks pathetic, you weren¡¯t actually severely injured.¡±

    Unseen Light stood up and dusted off his clothes. Blood hanging dribbled from his lips, and there was an intense shock in his eyes as he looked at Yuhua Mavis. ¡°A strength like yours is rarely ever seen. It¡¯s no wonder why the Mavis family can control the finances of the Human Domain. The previous Treeheart Descendants must have all been extremely powerful, as just your Mavis family alone is enough to overpower half of the Human Domain.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis calmly replied, ¡°You think too highly of us. Since everyone thought that you had lost, why didn¡¯t you just continue to lie there? After all, you don¡¯t stand a chance even if you are able to stand back up.¡±

    Unseen Light smiled, revealing the blood between his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll give this a try. Maybe I¡¯ll win.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis frowned, and she clenched her fists. The green grass started to frantically grow into giant green fists again. These green fists contained the same power as the ones that had just defeated Unseen Light, and they fiercely sted towards him.

    Unseen Light¡¯s pupils shrank, and he suddenly raised his left hand. ¡°ck Coffin.¡±

    After he spoke those words, Yuhua Mavis¡¯s entire surroundings went dark; it was as though space itself had been stripped away, trapping her within a ck coffin. At the same time, the giant green fists vanished.

    Yuhua Mavis seemed to have been isted.

    Before long, the ck coffin warped as countless thorns stabbed outwards, looking as though they had pierced through the ck coffin along with Yuhua Mavis.

    At that instant, everyone fell silent. Everyone was watching in disappointment.

    Even Shang Qing and the others stopped fighting, and they carefully watched the ck coffin.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En and the others cried out, ¡°A secret technique!¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s a very familiar secret technique, and I seem to have seen it somewhere before¡­¡±

    Xia Meng responded in a low voice, ¡°The Sixth Maind¡¯s Ancestor ck.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei suddenly remembered. ¡°That¡¯s right! Master said that the ck Coffin secret technique came from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Ancestor ck who died in battle. He was a Progenitor. How did this kid get a hold of a secret technique from a Sixth Maind Progenitor?¡±

    Mu En replied, ¡°Ancestor ck was killed by my Fifth Maind, and he was beheaded during an ancient battle by my Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen. His corpse fell, but it was never found. This child should have obtained this secret technique through a destined encounter.¡±

    ¡°The ck Coffin secret technique¡ªMaster once said that this is a secret technique with a very high attack strength,¡± Highsage Shenwei marveled.

    Everyone stared at the ck coffin that had appeared on the golden stage within the Mountain and Seas Zone. It looked just like its name: ck Coffin.

    Everyone watched on, and even a fool could tell that it was not a pic inside the ck box. The worst oue was that Yuhua Mavis might have been torn apart by those ck thorns.

    Unseen Light panted heavily as he stared at the ck coffin, a strange confusion apparent within his eyes; he also did not know if this attack would be enough to defeat his opponent.

    Before long, the ck coffin started to shatter into fragments, and Yuhua Mavis emerged.

    At this moment, Yuhua Mavis lookedpletely different from before, and there were several dozens of wounds strewn across her body, and one or two of them seemed to have reached her bones. Her eyes were icy, and there was an endless chill to them as she red at Unseen Light. Without a single word, she raised her right hand, prompting an untold amount of green grass to crazily grow and ultimately form a giant palm that covered the sky before mming down on Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light had no choice, as not even his secret technique ck Coffin was enough to win. This Mavis heir was truly too powerful, and his forcefield gathered above him to form a giant humanoid figure that moved to defend against the palm.

    At that moment, a figure shot across the seas towards one of the five tall mountains. A white spear stabbed forward, and the spear thrust was apanied by the sound of the ancient Skycastle¡¯s bell that reverberated through the air. The spear was aimed at Yuhua Mavis.

    It was Ling Gong, as she had made her way straight toward the golden stage afterpleting her breakthrough to the Enlighter realm. Naturally, she also intended to participate in this battle of the strongest.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s face grew cold. The green hand continued to m straight down, and the green leaves covering her body formed fists that mmed towards the approaching spear.

    There was a thump as a shockwave trembled out in all directions; the massive giant palm was actually being held up by the Skycastle. All sorts of warped and twisted images appeared within the Skycastle, and each phantom image contained a spear that stabbed at the hand, shredding it in an instant.

    ¡°Unseen Light, swap with me!¡± Ling Gong¡¯s voice was sharp, and she dashed forward once more after being forced back by Yuhua Mavis¡¯s leafy fists. The White Knight¡¯s spear spun and lit up the Skycastle, causing the building to release a might that sought to suppress all else as it fell down.

    A verdant green shed through Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes, as she had just been preparing to seize control of Ling Gong. On the other side of the golden stage, the gloomy light of the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm appeared and pped against the spear, diverting it. Xia Jiuyou had actually abandoned his battle with Shang Qing to attack Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong turned and stabbed out with her spear once again. This time, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s palm glittered with light as he shed out with a de¡ªthe Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    Tzz! The void was torn apart while the gloomy radiance and the white brilliance scattered in all directions. Ling Gong was forced back by the first de, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s second de struck the top of Ling Gong¡¯s head, causing her Skycastle to ripple. The grand bell sounded once again, preventing the second de from drawing any closer to Ling Gong as the attack simply crumbled.

    Xia Jiuyou smiled coldly as he clenched the de with both hands. The third will de sliced out.

    This was the first time that Xia Jiuyou hadpletely unleashed all three des of his Triple de Will. This attack was special in that each de had double the power of the previous one. As a result, the might of the third de left both Ling Gong and Unseen Light overwhelmed, and they instantly tried to dodge. The Skycastle was cleaved in two by the de, and the de light tore open the entire Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s sky before continuing on into the distance.

    Even Yuhua Mavis had to treat this de seriously.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1137: Peerless Sword Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1137: Peerless Sword Technique</h4>

    The Xia family had always been the leader of the Seven Courts, and their Triple de Will had left an entire previous era speechless. It released an incredible sharpness and a tyrannical aura; unless the third de could not be released for some reason, there were very few who could face this technique head on.

    Ling Gong gazed at Xia Jiuyou with a solemn face.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain gradually restored itself around his body, and he frowned at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°Weren¡¯t you fighting against Shang Qing?¡±

    Xia Jiuyou looked at Yuhua Mavis and then nced at the other two ongoing battles. ¡°I suddenly feel that the current circumstances aren¡¯t right. The contest for the Cosmic Five really has nothing to do with your Innerverse. ording to how things normally y out, I¡¯m already one of the Cosmic Five. In that sense, your Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters are basically challenging my Cosmic Five.¡±

    Quite a few heard these words, and they reflexively turned to look across the golden screens, only to see that his words were quite urate.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu was challenging Shang Qing.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Wen Sansi and the Innerverse¡¯s Starsibyl were challenging Qiu Shi.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Unseen Light was challenging Yuhua Mavis.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Ling Gong had just joined the battlefield.

    Ten Arbiters, Ten Arbiters, Ten Arbiters. It was all about the Ten Arbiters. The contest to determine the Cosmic Five was something that had originally been unrted to the Innerverse, but since the Sixth Maind had invaded and the Starsibyl Sect had fought for this opportunity at all costs, the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters had actually been allowed to participate on the highest stage in the Human Domain. Here, they werepeting with the top youths of the Neoverse.

    In the very end, four of the Ten Arbiters remained, and the Neoverse simrly had four people.

    In one corner of the Mountain and Seas Zone, someone cried out, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have realized it if he hadn¡¯t said anything, but the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters are more than a little abnormal. There are actually four of them up on that stage.¡±

    ¡°Saying that we¡¯re amazed isn¡¯t even enough anymore. The Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters have to be defeated. Otherwise, our Neoverse will be humiliated.¡±

    ¡°The Ten Arbiters must be defeated!¡±

    ¡°Even if the Ten Arbiters are defeated, their reputation will definitely spread throughout the Neoverse, and everyone will know of them.¡±

    ¡­

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, one elder was surprised. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even realized that these Ten Arbiters who were nurtured in the Innerverse were actually able to rise to this level. They are standing in the limelight along with my Neoverse¡¯s top youths.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei was also surprised. ¡°Is this why the Starsibyl Sect schemed so deeply? Was it all to allow the Innerverse to participate in the Astral Tower contest? The Ten Arbiters truly have not let them down.¡±

    Mu En eximed, ¡°Originally, I did not hold much hope for these ten, and I merely allowed them to participate. However, to my surprise, their abilities are actually quite impressive.¡±

    Xia Meng¡¯s gaze grew sharp, as the situation had developed into a contest between the Neoverse and the Innerverse. If the situation was recalcted, then ording to the division of power, the Seven Courts would already be considered defeated. If not for Xia Jiuyou, not a single person from the Seven Courts would be standing on the highest stage. Also, Burial Garden had simrly failed.

    The Three Dark Hands had truly fallen from grace.

    The Innerverse was the one that had risen to power, along with one other person. Xia Meng looked at Lu Yin, as this child had relied on slightly more than a decade of cultivating to reach such a level, and he was just a mere Cruiser at that. Despite his realm, he had managed topete with Yuhua Mavis. Once he became a Hunter, let alone an Enlighter, it was difficult to predict his future.

    The circumstances of the universe had changed, and the Seven Courts had to change as well. Otherwise, they would eventually be eliminated.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s words redrew the battle lines atop the golden stage. Now, it was the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters against the Neoverse¡¯s selected Cosmic Five.

    Although Xia Jiuyou truly wanted to discover the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique, at this moment, the Nine Clones Secret Technique had not reached the step where it could reveal its full strength. Under these circumstances, he would be at a significant disadvantage against the Tri-Yang Technique. Besides, he was representing the Neoverse¡¯s Xia family, and he naturally could not allow the Innerverse to interfere in the contest for the Cosmic Five. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ had sufficient strength, and the Neoverse youths would not be able to suppress the Arbiters if they improved even one step further.

    From the perspective of the Neoverse, they had to suppress the Innerverse regardless of if it was the older generation or the younger generation.

    There were not many members of the older generation in the Innerverse who could truly make people in the Neoverse notice them. The few that could belonged to the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, the Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Lingling n, and a few more. There were only about a dozen of them despite the passage of so many years, and those at the pinnacle of the Innerverse were at Nightking Dijiang¡¯s level, but that was not the peak in the Neoverse.

    The younger generation simrly felt a need to suppress the Innerverse¡¯s youths, and there were no exceptions.

    It was alreadypletely unexpected that the Ten Arbiters had managed to achieved such impressive results on this stage, but they were still limited up till this point.

    Xia Jiuyou moved to deal with Ling Gong, Yuhua Mavis faced off against Unseen Light, Shang Qing was against Liu Tianmu, and Qiu Shi fought against both Wen Sansi and Starsibyl.

    This was the current battlefield atop the ultimate stage.

    Although the Innerverse held high hopes for the Ten Arbiters, the current circumstances did not seem optimistic for them.

    Unseen Light¡¯s secret technique, ck Coffin, had indeed managed to injure Yuhua Mavis, but she had recovered incredibly quickly. Now, she was now on guard against it, so it would not be easy for Unseen Light to use it again. As a result, was quickly crushed by Yuhua Mavis.

    Ling Gong was simrly suppressed by Xia Jiuyou. No matter if it was his Triple de Will or his Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, both techniques worked in tandem with his innate gift and were very problematic for White Knight.

    Shang Qing did not even need to be mentioned. From the very start, his Tri-Yang Technique hadpletely tied up Liu Tianmu. Even if she managed to use the Thirteen Swords, she was not able to fight against him.

    Beneath the golden stage, Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. At this rate, there was no doubt that the Ten Arbiters would be defeated. The Cosmic Five would still be from the Neoverse. Although Lu Yin wanted to participate, the Ten Arbiters each had their own pride, and none of them would allow a bystander to intervene in their battles. Wen Sansi might be taking advantage of Starsibyl¡¯s strength, but it was possible that they had formed an agreement before, and it might very well be counterproductive for Lu Yin to attempt to interfere.

    Lu Yin could not help but nce over at Lan Si. If this person became an Enlighter, then he would qualify to intervene, as his Vacuum Palm was not weak. Unfortunately, Lan Si had no interest in breaking through.

    And where had Liquor Hero gone off to?

    Lu Yin was not the only one who could see where the battles were headed to, as everyone could tell that the Ten Arbiters were on the brink of defeat.

    While dodging Qiu Shi¡¯s Cosmic Art, Starsibyl nced across the golden stage and gently tapped out with a finger. She had not been injured, but for some reason, there was a line of fresh blood dripping down the corner of her lips. This was from overexertion.

    Qiu Shi noticed the blood and frowned. A Celestial Sword sliced at Starsibyl.

    Wen Sansi pushed the Celestial Sword aside. He was curious as to what Starsibyl was about to do.

    Some distance away, Ling Gong had moved into her Skycastle, and she used the sound of the grand bell to attack Xia Jiuyou. He raised his hand and consecutively unleashed the Triple de Will, and the power of the third de was absolutely horrifying.

    At this moment, beams of light appeared on the ground and connected it to the sky. The first beam of light shifted the third will de slightly while the second beam once again moved the will de a tiny bit. A total of ten beams of light followed closely after. Ultimately, the third will de was fully diverted, and it swept past the Skycastle.

    Ling Gong frowned as she looked over at Starsibyl.

    Xia Jiuyou turned around and looked at her as well.

    Starsibyl had used this technique before, and she relied on the power of divination to predict a will de¡¯s trajectory in advance before shifting the will de.

    Ling Gong was not the only one, as Liu Tianmu had simrly received help from Starsibyl; her Calctions of the Abacus was even able to disturb attacks of Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique.

    Starsibyl could not help the Arbiters attack, but she was able to support them by predicting their opponents¡¯ attacks and creating disturbances and openings.

    Starsibyl alone was able to disrupt the entire battle, and she was doing her best to manipte the entire situation in order to turn the tables.

    Shang Qing nced at Starsibyl. ¡°Ignorant.¡±

    The second strand of ancestral qi vanished only to reappear behind Liu Tianmu and fiercely attack her.

    ¡°Sword of Protection.¡± Liu Tianmu growled as a sword light managed to iste and block the first strand of ancestral qi, though she was not able to block the second qi flow. Her shoulder was struck by the Tri-Yang Technique, and her entire body was sted a thousand meters back, the violent force nearly crushing her five organs. She could not stop herself from spitting out blood.

    Shang Qing stood in ce, unmoving. He looked like a deity with those two strands of ancestral qi that were able to suppress everything.

    Upon seeing the two strands of ancestral qis shoot towards her again, Liu Tianmu clenched the hilt of her sword tightly and raised her de to point at Shang Qing. As the tip of the sword moved, the sword light vanished, and at that moment, Shang Qing¡¯s pupils shrank as he immediately retreated. Simultaneously, the third strand of ancestral qi moved to defend his front. The powerful sword light mmed into the ancestral qi, forcing Shang Qing a dozen steps back. This was the first time that Liu Tianmu had managed to move him at all. It was the Eleventh Sword: Particle Diffusion.

    Liu Tianmu did not want to force Shang Qing to merely retreat, and she had not ounted for being forced to evade the two offensive strands of ancestral qi. Beams of light appeared on the ground and connected to the sky. From the distance, Starsibyl called out, ¡°Move aside.¡±

    Liu Tianmu had a cold expression on her face. Since ancient times, the Thirteen Swords had always been peerless, and the users of the Thirteen Swords did not need help from anyone. Rather than escaping with others¡¯ help, she would rather trade injury for injury. The Tri-Yang Technique was indeed very powerful, but Liu Tianmu did not believe that Shang Qing¡¯s innate defenses were that impressive.

    When she saw the two ancestral qis that were about to hit her, Liu Tianmu¡¯s originally falling de suddenly swept out. Nobody expected her to be able to use the Thirteen Swords one after another, as each of the Thirteen Swords was astounding on its own. Additionally, she had just used the Eleventh Sword, and this next move was actually the Twelfth Sword: Profound.

    When Y¨­u Qi had used the Eleventh Sword: Particle Diffusion, he had managed to cripple Lan Si. Although Lu Yin had managed to dodge the attack by using the Ce Secret Art, that had been due to Lu Yin¡¯s alert state, and he had only seeded through abination of sheer luck and a secret technique. Shang Qing had relied on his Tri-Yang Technique to block the Eleventh Sword, but he could not block the Twelfth Sword.

    As the sword light shed, blood spurted as Shang Qing¡¯s expression changed. Red filled his vision; he had been cut and injured.

    After stepping foot onto the Mountain and Seas Zone, this was the first time Shang Qing had ever sustained any injury. Up till now, no matter whom he had fought against, even when he had faced off against Ku Lei and others joining forces, no one had ever managed to harm Shang Qing in the slightest. In fact, no one had been able to force him to take even half a step back. However, at this moment, he had just been wounded by Liu Tianmu.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords were the Human Domain¡¯s most powerful sword techniques. The Twelfth Sword had been used by Liu Tianmu, and it had managed to injure Shang Qing.

    At this moment, everyone was watching.

    Liu Tianmu had suffered from the attacks of two ancestral qi strands after releasing the Twelfth Sword, and it was readily apparent that she had been severely injured. Her face was ashen as she copsed on the golden screen. She was no longer even able to maintain her sword formed from star energy, and the de vanished.

    Shang Qing looked down at her. Both of his shoulders had been cut by the sword, and a wound had been torn open. This was a sword cut, and there was even remnant sword qi within the wound.

    His injuries were not severe, and although it appeared to be a massive wound, it was not enough to affect him.

    Shang Qing looked at the fallen Liu Tianmu off in the distance, and he was shocked. ¡°Who knew that someone would actually be able to harm me during this Astral Tower contest.¡±

    As the Tri-Yang Technique revolved around him, he gazed at Liu Tianmu with a serious expression. ¡°You¡¯re indeed qualified to be one of the Cosmic Five, but unfortunately, you won¡¯t live that life.¡±

    Liu Tianmu copsed to the golden screen. Her eyes went ck as she stared at the sky; she won¡¯t live that life? If she had managed toprehend the Thirteenth Sword, then things might have turned out differently.

    Off in the distance, Starsibyl¡¯s heart sank when she saw that Liu Tianmu had lost.

    Out of all the Ten Arbiters, Starsibyl had favored Liu Tianmu the most. The unrivaled reputation of the Thirteen Swords had given Starsibyl a great deal of hope, and seeing Shang Qing be injured was proof that Liu Tianmu had not been a disappointment. Unfortunately, the Arbiter was still a bitcking, as the Twelfth Sword was not enough to defeat Shang Qing. Instead, Liu Tianmu herself had fallen.

    As Starsibyl thought about this, she looked at the other battle, and her expression changed. She saw Unseen Light facing Ling Gong, who was looking at Xia Jiuyou. Unseen Light¡¯s hand was raised up, ready to strike down.

    Ling Gong¡¯s surroundings suddenly went ck, and it was as though she had been enclosed within a coffin. Secret technique: ck Coffin.

    Many were taken aback at this development, as Unseen Light had actually attacked Ling Gong.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1138: Looking For Treasures

    <h4>Chapter 1138: Looking For Treasures</h4>

    Even Xia Jiuyou was caught off guard by this development, but he suddenly thought of something as he warily looked over at Yuhua Mavis.

    Unseen Light was being controlled by the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes returned to normal, and she grew solemn as she looked at Unseen Light.

    Unseen Light¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and he looked back at Yuhua Mavis, as she had briefly taken control of him.

    Unseen Light was shocked, though Yuhua Mavis was also stunned. She had originally expected to control him for much longer. However, she had only managed to do so for a mere moment. Unseen Light was indeed very powerful, and he was qualified to fight against her.

    A ck coffin sealed Ling Gong, but no thorns appeared like when Yuhua Mavis had been sealed within it. Unseen Light immediately dispelled the secret technique, and Ling Gong fell out.

    Although Ling Gong had not been forced to deal with a full powered secret technique like Yuhua Mavis had, White Knight had still been severely injured. Her armor of condensed star energy shattered, revealing her cute and innocent looking face.

    Many people were stunned at this sight, and they all stared at Ling Gong, dumbfounded.

    The Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight was actually a small girl?

    At this moment, even Unseen Light, Wen Sansi, and Lan Si stared at Ling Gong in disappointment. They knew that Ling Gong was female, but none of them had known that she looked this, this¡­ lovable? Pure? This was White Knight? Her appearance waspletely different from the image of a knight!

    Beneath, Lu Yin pursed his lips. He did not know why, but he felt a little pity. It was as though a secret that had used to belong solely to him was now known to everyone, and it was very ufortable.

    Xia Jiuyou stared at Ling Gong in amazement. ¡°Who could have known that you looked this pure?¡±

    Ling Gong gritted her teeth, converged her armor of star energy, red at Unseen Light, and then aimed her spear at Xia Jiuyou before stabbing out. ¡°Rubbish.¡±

    From another side, Starsibyl nced at Wen Sansi before dashing towards Xia Jiuyou. Although Ling Gong looked fine at a nce, the truth was that she had been severely injured. A secret technique was not something that could be endured that easily, so Xia Jiuyou could only be left to Starsibyl.

    Xia Jiuyou instantly abandoned Ling Gong when he saw Starsibyl approaching. When facing Starsibyl, he said, ¡°The grudge from back then should have already been settled.¡±

    ¡°Then finish it,¡± Starsibyl coldly responded. She then looked over at Ling Gong. ¡°Go and help Wen Sansi. The Innerverse must im the position of one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Ling Gong did not move, and she stared at Shang Qing. She would not cooperate with others, and at worst, she would simply lose. However, she absolutely had to lose with honor.

    Starsibyl frowned and felt rather helpless. All of the Ten Arbiters had simr personalities, and all of them wanted respect. She suddenly thought of Lu Yin, as he was much more practical. However, it was unfortunate; if he had broken through to the Enlighter realm, then the situation would bepletely different.

    Without Starsibyl¡¯s help, Qiu Shi was able topletely overpower Wen Sansi, and her Celestial Sword Technique was enough to ovee all of Wen Sansi¡¯s attacks. His Literary Prison was unable to trap her, and Wen Sansi was soon in grave danger.

    Beneath the golden screens, Lan Si sighed. ¡°This is how things should have turned out long ago. Wen Sansi doesn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered something that Lan Si had said before. ¡°You once said that even if Wen Sansi just stands there, he still can¡¯t be attacked. What did you mean by that?¡±

    Lan Si looked up at Qiu Shi, rejoicing a bit at her approaching misfortune. ¡°Just wait and see. You¡¯ll soon know what it means to be infuriating.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at where Qiu Shi and Wen Sansi were fighting. His expectations started to rise.

    Wen Sansi truly was not Qiu Shi¡¯s match. All of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters were very powerful, but their backgrounds could notpare to that of the top youths from the Neoverse.

    No matter if one looked at the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosens, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples, or the Seven Courts¡¯ heirs, each and every one of them had a secret technique. Of the Ten Arbiters, few had a secret technique, and even Nightking Zhenwu had only managed to obtain a secret technique from the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins when he had received the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance. If Zhenwu had not received that inheritance, then he would not have had a secret technique either. This showed the sheer difference in background and resources behind each of the youths.

    Wen Sansi used both of his hands to write, and ancient characters appeared and formed a strange attack that enveloped Qiu Shi. The star energy around her swirled, as all of Wen Sansi¡¯s attacks were like child¡¯s y in her eyes. ¡°The Wen family is most famous for their Literary Prison, but without it, what can you guys do?¡±

    Wen Sansi frowned, and his fingers moved. Once again, an eight-by-eight Literary Prison trapped Qiu Shi. But a momentter, Qiu Shi used the Star Transference secret technique to trade positions with Wen Sansi. This time, however, she felt that something was amiss, as a Literary Prison had instantly appeared around her once again. This was the true Literary Prison, as the one that had appeared around her a moment ago had been fake.

    Qiu Shi snorted and raised a hand to use a Cosmic Palm. Her star energy erupted with enough force to tear the Literary Prison open.

    At this moment, Wen Sansi¡¯s star energy gathered to form a huge painting of a mountain and sea that crashed down.

    Down below, Lu Yin was surprised to see this. Wasn¡¯t this the same technique that Han Chong had used? The leader of Astral-2, Realm Master Han Chong, had been called the Sage of Painting. He used his star energy to create paintings of mountains and rivers; who would have expected that Wen Sansi also knew the same technique?

    The painting that Wen Sansi created with his star energy was not something that Han Chong¡¯s creations couldpare to. As the painting fell down, Qiu Shi let her star energy burst forth, and the voidpletely shattered in what looked like ck lightning that shot out in all directions. The next moment, Qiu Shi gathered her star energy to form a longsword again, and the Celestial Sword Technique shed through the scroll and towards Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s attacks were inadequate, which was his greatest weakness.

    Qiu Shi¡¯s Celestial Sword Technique was not as overwhelming as the Twelfth Sword, but the sword could still slice through the Literary Prison. With Wen Sansi¡¯s techniques, this attack was not something that he could defend against, which left him only able to evade the sword. However, how many times could he sessfully dodge it?

    Off in the distance, Starsibyl could not help but look over. She wanted to intervene, but she was being blocked by Xia Jiuyou. ¡°I know all of your methods, and trying to intervene in that battle will only leave you at a disadvantage.¡±

    Starsibyl was left with no choice but to seriously face Xia Jiuyou.

    Nobody was able to help Wen Sansi, and the Celestial Sword Techniquended.

    The Celestial Sword Technique drew close to Wen Sansi¡¯s head, and it moved closer and closer, to the point where even Qiu Shi believed that the sword was guaranteed to strike true. As a result, she slightly diverted the attack, as there was no need to kill anyone during the Astral Tower contest.

    Suddenly, a transparent screen appeared above Wen Sansi¡¯s head, and the Celestial Sword Technique struck it.

    There was nothing aside from a deafening thud as the void warped with ripples. The Celestial Sword Technique was not able to proceed any further, and it had actually been blocked. Not only that, but Qiu Shi was actually repelled a hundred meters back by an opposing force. She looked up with surprise.

    All she could see was a barrier around Wen Sansi¡¯s body that looked just like ss. He was within the barrier, and he was calm as he looked at Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi was surprised. ¡°Your innate gift.¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s lips bent upwards. ¡°Sorry. I definitely can¡¯t beat you, but you also can¡¯t defeat me.¡±

    Far below, Lu Yin looked up with a nk expression. ¡°That¡¯s what you were calling disgusting?¡±

    Lan Si smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m seeing it again. Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift is a barrier. An unbreakable barrier.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°An unbreakable barrier?¡±

    Lan Si exined, ¡°When I fought against Wen Sansi, I used 150 Stacks against that barrier in a frenzied attack, and he just let me hit him. No matter what I did, I couldn¡¯t break through his barrier, and I was ultimately trapped by his Literary Prison. That¡¯s why I said that I couldn¡¯t beat him.¡±

    ¡°Is that also why you said you lost?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was trapped within the Literary Prison, and I also couldn¡¯t break through his barrier. Thus, lost.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Wen Sansi up on the golden screen with curiosity. Did such an innate gift really exist? Was his barrier really unbreakable?

    Lu Yin did not believe it, and clearly, neither did Qiu Shi. She continued to attack, and multiple stars appeared over her palm: Cosmic Palm.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift of barrier appeared once again, and he clearly had no ns to defend himself any more. He merely stood there and allowed Qiu Shi to attack him.

    Nearly a thousand stars exploded as a palm struck the barrier, but the attack had no effect. Qiu Shi¡¯s pupils shrank, and stars began to converge into swords. Almost a thousand stars gradually melded together to form the strongest Celestial Sword Technique that she had manifested up till now. The sword stabbed forward, and although its might could not quitepare to the Twelfth Sword, it was not too far behind it.

    However, even that powerful de could not break the barrier.

    Wen Sansi said, ¡°Once this barrier is used, nobody can harm me.¡±

    Qiu Shi coldly responded, ¡°It just means that my attacks haven¡¯t surpassed its limits. There¡¯s no such thing as a perfect technique, just as how there is no such thing as an invincible innate gift.¡±

    Wen Sansi subconsciously nced over at Shang Qing. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Tri-Yang Technique publicly acknowledged as a peerless technique?¡±

    Qiu Shi did not reply. Instead, she used her Cosmic Palm to attack the barrier in a frenzied rush. Her onughtsted for a full minute, but it was indeed impossible to break through the barrier.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift of a barrier drew the attention of Yuhua Mavis and the others; was there really such a freakishly defensive innate gift?

    Qiu Shi backed a thousand meters away and frowned at Wen Sansi. She really could not break his barrier.

    Wen Sansi disgusted Qiu Shi. When he used his innate gift of a barrier, he could not attack, but others could not even think of beating him. Such a situation waspletely infuriating.

    Lu Yin was also disgusted.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, are you thinking of just watching on like this?¡± The Ghost Monkey¡¯s voice rang in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°What should I do if not watch? I already lost.¡±

    ¡°Steal treasures! Aren¡¯t those people risking life and death for those treasures? Let¡¯s just take them first!¡± the monkey urged.

    Lu Yin frowned. Although he was slightly tempted, such an idea was also quite embarrassing. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be very good.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°Let me ask you this: weren¡¯t the Cosmic Five predetermined? Regardless of whether or not this took ce behind the scenes, those people were already decided upon to be the next Cosmic Five, and you guys were just props for this show. The Neoverse never nned to let any of you to stain the inheritance of the five Mountains and Seas. If that¡¯s the case, then why not take care of it ourselves? They were never being fair to us, so there¡¯s no need for us to be obedient either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s logical.¡± Lu Yin was a decisive person. A current suddenly appeared beneath his feet as he turned towards Lan Si. ¡°You can take your time to watch. I¡¯m going to go wander around.¡±

    Lan Si was stumped. Wander around?

    Lu Yin immediately grabbed ck and White as they shot into the current.

    ck and White were not able to react in time, and they twitched, startled, as they reflexively resisted. They only obediently stopped after seeing that Lu Yin was the one who had grabbed them.

    Off in the distance, Ming Yu saw this incident, but she felt a little lost. At this time, everyone was focused on the battles in the sky. Just what were these people trying to do?

    After entering the current, Lu Yin maintained a tight hold on ck and White, and the twins did not move, allowing the current to carry them along.

    After a while, Lu Yin grabbed ck and White as he rushed out of the current and shot towards the surface of the sea.

    The currents moved with extraordinary speed, and they were essentially an expressway across the seafloor. When Lu Yin brought ck and White towards the surface, they were far away from the tall mountain that Lu Yin had previously ascended. When they looked up, they saw Liu Tianmu sprawled across the golden screen above them and Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle being eroded by the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s attacks. They had arrived at the mountain that Shang Qing had ascended.

    Massive eyes had appeared atop this mountain when it had split open, and although Lu Yin did not know what use those eyes might have, since they were an inheritance within the Mountain and Seas Zone, they were clearly invaluable. The Progenitor¡¯s blood had been priceless, and they far surpassed the value of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Thus, the value of these eyes could only be imagined.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you scared us out of our minds! We thought that an enemy had found us!¡± Whiteined.

    ck was also upset. ¡°That¡¯s right! How annoying!¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you guys to go look for treasures.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1139: Pleading Words

    <h4>Chapter 1139: Pleading Words</h4>

    Both ck and White¡¯s eyes lit up, and the two subconsciously tightened the Mountain and Sea Pouches on their backs. ¡°Treasures? What sort of treasures?¡±

    Lu Yin pointed at the giant eyes at the top of the distant mountain.

    ck and White repeatedly nodded, and they both seemed to be in high spirits.

    Lu Yin smiled, and he felt rather expectant about the giant eyes atop the fractured mountain, wondering what they were.

    He hoped that he would not be discovered by Shang Qing, and he suddenly felt like a thief.

    The three people set off for the tall mountain, and along their way, Lu Yin saw something strange floating about. It was something white that formed the words, ¡°Save me.¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed the white substance and gave it a slight squeeze only for it to transform into smoke and waft away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze trembled. Smoke? Gu Xiao¡¯er?

    When Lu Yin thought of Gu Xiao¡¯er, he realized that the Astral Tower contest within the Mountain and Seas Zone had been going on for quite a long time. But despite that, Lu Yin had not seen Gu Xiao¡¯er even once. Although the Mountain and Seas Zone was quiterge, given Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s strength, he should have stirred up quite amotion. That white smoke of his was very mysterious, and it had even been able to go up against Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi. Thus, Gu Xiao¡¯er should not have silently gone missing.

    Also, Gu Xiao¡¯er was not the type of person to hide himself.

    After realizing this, Lu Yin searched across the distant sea, and he quickly found more of the white substance. They were still forming the same two words, ¡°Save me.¡±

    The smoke was forming pleading words, and they wereing from the distant mountain.

    Lu Yin led ck and White along as they sped across the sea.

    Before long, the trio arrived at the foot of the mountain.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw some rune lines. Eventually, he noticed that there were some cultivators on the side of the mountain, and they were gradually making their way towards the giant eyes.

    It seemed that, aside from Lu Yin, there were others who wanted to steal the inheritances.

    He could not allow others to seize the treasure first. So, Lu Yin led ck and White to rapidly ascend the side of the mountain.

    At the same time, halfway up the mountain, three cultivators were dripping with sweat as they climbed.

    ¡°How did those monsters get up? It didn¡¯t even look like they were sweating, and yet they directly appeared on those screens. Damn!¡± one personined.

    The man next to theiner replied in a low voice, ¡°Shut up! They¡¯re all Enlighters.¡±

    ¡°I remember that at the beginning, there was a person whopeted with that Mavis girl in terms of physical strength, but he was just a Cruiser. He made it up too,¡± someone else countered.

    ¡°They¡¯re all freaks! Imaginepeting with a member of the Mavis family in strength¡ªthere¡¯s no need to talk about someone who can do that. Just do your best and climb. The inheritance is right in front of us!¡±

    ¡­

    While they spoke, a softugh floated out from behind the small group.

    The few people climbing the mountain were startled, and they all turned to look back. At some unknown point in time, a scantily d woman had approached them, and she was smiling at them.

    Only a few pieces of cloth were covering her body, and her figure was extremely alluring, like a seductress¡¯s. What¡¯s more, she gave off a strange, demonic aura from head to toe; she was none other than Xie Xiaoxian.

    As they looked at Xie Xiaoxian, the people turned deathly pale. They were all Neoverse cultivators, and since they were able to enter the Mountain and Seas Zone, it meant that they were all from sufficiently powerful organizations. Naturally, they had instantly recognized Xie Xiaoxian.

    ¡°You- weren¡¯t you defeated by Shang Qing?¡± One of the people felt overwhelmed.

    Xie Xiaoxian smiled. ¡°Does being defeated mean I can¡¯te here? I¡¯m the same as you guys, and I want to steal some stuff.¡±

    The people exchanged nces, and then they gritted their teeth. ¡°Attack!¡±

    None of the people who were qualified to enter the Mountain and Seas Zone were weak in any way, but these people had run into one of the heirs from the Seven Courts. Before her, they were no different from infants, and they were all knocked down within just a few breaths.

    Xie Xiaoxian pped her hands, as she had been very efficient. She was just about to continue climbing up when she hesitated and slowly turned around to see three figures shooting up the mountain beneath her. Her eyes trembled, as their speed wasparable to her own; they were experts!

    Making the first move gave one the advantage, and this was also a Xie family tradition. Xie Xiaoxian picked up a stone beside her and instantly threw it down the mountain. The moment she released it,yers of white bone appeared over her arm, wrapping around it before covering the rest of her body.

    Lu Yin looked up and waved a hand, releasing a Vacuum Palm that swept the three stones aside and shattered them. At the same time, he passed through the void and attacked Xie Xiaoxian.

    Xie Xiaoxian was surprised, and the bones that had emerged from her body protected her from Lu Yin¡¯s attack. There was a thump as her body was sted against the mountain, and she coughed out blood. What a vicious palm! It could have onlye from that person.

    Lu Yin grabbed ck and White and continued to dash up the mountain, and they soon approached Xie Xiaoxian.

    When he saw Xie Xiaoxian, Lu Yin¡¯s breath was taken away; the woman was wearing way too little!

    ¡°Ahh, shameless!¡± White covered her eyes with a hand as she pointed at Xie Xiaoxian.

    ck¡¯s face flushed red, and she jumped up in an attempt to cover Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t look! Pervert!¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he pushed ck down as he looked at Xie Xiaoxian. ¡°I saw you when I first entered the Mountain and Seas Zone and ran into Shang Qing. You were following him.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian pulled herself out from the mountainside, and the white bones returned into her body. She rubbed her abdomen and scolded Lu Yin, ¡°Your attacks really hurt! Don¡¯t you know how to go easy on someone?¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°You attacked first.¡±

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t know that a handsome boy was approaching me! If I had known that it was you, I wouldn¡¯t have had time to do anything but have a heartache.¡± Xie Xiaoxian batted her eyes flirtatiously as she spoke in a tender voice.

    Lu Yin felt awkward, as this was the first time anyone had called him handsome. Honestly, he had an average appearance, and he was the type who looked more attractive the longer someone looked at him.

    ck red at Xie Xiaoxian. ¡°So shameless! How can you even say something like that out loud?¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian chuckled. ¡°A little girl is too young. It¡¯s called teasing, and I like the brother who¡¯s next to you, hehe.¡±

    White bared her teeth. ¡°Shameless! Senior said that women with big chests and butts are all shameless.¡±

    ck looked at White with a serious expression. ¡°Senior said that? Wasn¡¯t it Master?¡±

    White made a shushing gesture and then cautiously looked around. ¡°Don¡¯t be heard by Master! He¡¯s petty.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. Was the Highsage Grandmaster that sort of person?

    Across from the three people, Xie Xiaoxian heard the conversation between the two brats, and sheughed happily. ¡°Little sisters, thanks for thepliments.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯splimenting you, shameless girl?¡± ck and White rebuked simultaneously.

    Xie Xiaoxian justughed.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and looked at Xie Xiaoxian. ¡°You also want to steal the inheritance.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian nodded and beamed at Lu Yin. ¡°Together?¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to turn her down, but he suddenly thought about how Gu Xiao¡¯er might be asking for help. After reconsidering it, he said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go together, but when ites to taking the inheritance, that¡¯ll depend on our individual ability.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°I can agree to that. Right, what should I call you? Little brother?¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Call me Seventh Bro.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro? Alright, Seventh Bro,¡± Xie Xiaoxian gently cooed, which caused a chill to run down Lu Yin¡¯s spine.

    ck and White grew furious, and they violently grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s hands. ¡°Lu Yin, you weren¡¯t seduced by her, right? Master was right! Women with big chests and butts are all bad!¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed the twins¡¯ heads. ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense. Master wouldn¡¯t say something like that.¡±

    ck was about to respond, but White hurriedly spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s right, Senior said that. Senior Shenwei.¡±

    Fortunately, at this time Highsage Shenwei and the others were all focused on the battles atop the golden screens. Otherwise, they would have been exasperated to death by the two brats, and Eversky Ind¡¯s reputation would have beenpletely ruined.

    They were not very far from the broken mountain peak, and Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian climbed thest bit without much difficulty. They could even continue onto the golden screen and join in on the battles from here, but ck and White were not able to persevere.

    Although the two were fast, and theirbined ck White Combo was very powerful, they themselves were too weak.

    Helpless, Lu Yin had the two remain where they were as he followed Xie Xiaoxian up the mountain top.

    ¡°Lu Yin, don''t be seduced by her! Bad woman, cover your chest. It¡¯s about to fall out!¡± White shouted.

    ck bared her teeth. ¡°Lu Yin, don¡¯t look at the bad woman¡¯s chest!¡±

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed when he heard their words, and he hurried up the mountain.

    Xie Xiaoxianughed and followed after him.

    Right above Lu Yin and the others, atop the golden screen, Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle was still being constantly bombarded by the Tri-Yang Technique while the illusory figures inside Skycastle were constantly being swept aside by the Tri-Yang Technique. Even if they could shatter the Tri-Yang Technique, the qi strands quickly gathered back together.

    This was the most exasperating aspect of the Tri-Yang Technique; it could be dispersed, but it could not be truly trapped or destroyed. Additionally, it could not be defended against either. Once a person was struck by a qi strand, they would suffer severe injuries.

    Liu Tianmu had been struck thrice, and she had already fallen.

    Going up against the Tri-Yang Technique would cause a person to descend into a pit of despair. Ling Gong was the person on the golden screens who was the most unsuited to fighting against Shang Qing, as she was just toorge of a target. Her Skycastle tried to suppress the Tri-Yang Technique in vain, but it could only passively endure the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s bombardment.

    Not even Truesight could erase the runes of the Tri-Yang Technique. This was the number one miraculous technique in the universe, and its reputation was not for nothing.

    Ever since they had first started exchanging blows, Ling Gong had been overpowered step by step.

    However, her Skycastle had endured many attacks from the Tri-Yang Technique, and she could absolutely be proud of her innate gift.

    Shang Qing eximed, ¡°Not everyone¡¯s innate gift can endure attacks from the Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    He suddenly looked over at Wen Sansi. Was Qiu Shi really unable to break through the Arbiter¡¯s innate gift of barrier? He also wanted to give it a try.

    At this moment, Liu Tianmu slowly stood up from where she had fallen some distance away. She looked at Ling Gong. ¡°He¡¯s my opponent.¡±

    Ling Gong moved aside, and her Skycastle dissipated. Although she had her pride as one of the Ten Arbiters, she was not foolish. She knew that Shang Qing was the opponent who restrained her the most, and she naturally would not fight to the death. ¡°Don¡¯t die. It wouldn¡¯t be nice if the Ten Arbiters became the Nine Arbiters.¡±

    Shang Qing turned to look at Liu Tianmu in astonishment. ¡°You still want to fight with me? Based on what?¡±

    Liu Tianmu let out a deep breath. Her ck hair hung down, but even that hair was stained with blood. Her star energy moved around her body and formed a de, and she looked up at Shang Qing. ¡°The Thirteenth Sword.¡±

    Ling Gong, who had just turned to leave, suddenly froze before whirling around to look back at Liu Tianmu. The White Knight blurted out in disbelief, ¡°You¡¯veprehended the Thirteenth Sword?!¡±

    Shang Qing was also surprised. ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords are famous throughout the universe. Reportedly, the first twelve swords only require one to have sufficient talent, and it¡¯s even possible for a Hunter toprehend them. However, for the Thirteenth Sword, no one has ever managed toprehend it before bing an Envoy. ording to what I know, within the current Sword Sect, only the old Sect Master, Liu Qianjue, can use the Thirteenth Sword. No one else can.¡±

    Liu Tianmu tightly clutched her sword hilt. Her gaze was determined as she looked at Shang Qing. ¡°Try me.¡±

    Shang Qing grew serious as he looked at Liu Tianmu. He then smiled and nodded. ¡°If you can use the Thirteenth Sword, then I¡¯ll let you see the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s pupils shrank upon hearing this¡ªtrue power? What did that mean? Could it be that, even now, the Tri-Yang Technique that had left everyone speechless still had not revealed its true power?

    When Ling Gong heard these words, she also felt incredulous. Those three qi strands had beaten them speechless, and no one could figure out how to deal with them aside from overpowering them with numbers. But despite that, was Shang Qing insinuating that he still had not revealed his true power?

    Shang Qing¡¯s wordspletely astonished Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu had a determined expression on her face. The Thirteenth Sword had a very in and simple name: Emotions. It was a very mysterious sword, though it waspletely unrted to space. As long as there were emotions, they could be turned into a sword. How could a human have no emotions? Thus, the Thirteenth Sword could not be dodged.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1140: The Thirteenth Sword

    <h4>Chapter 1140: The Thirteenth Sword</h4>

    As the river of time passed, nobody had ever been able to evade the Thirteenth Sword. No matter how powerful a person became, they would always be forced to endure the Thirteenth Sword. This was the Sword Sect¡¯s unrivaled Thirteenth Sword.

    The reason why only Envoys couldprehend the Thirteenth Sword was not due to some cultivation requirement, but rather, it was a requirement of the swordsman. The user needed to have a thorough understanding of emotions, and they could only gain this deep insight by relying on the vast amount of time that came with bing an Envoy. This was why it was so difficult to cultivate the Thirteenth Sword.

    The Thirteenth Sword required one toprehend Emotions.

    Liu Tianmu had never experienced strong emotions before. Ever since she had been born, she had always been an absolute genius. She had been selected to inherit the Thirteen Swords, and she had looked down upon her generation. Who dared to even mention emotions with her? Even the other Arbiters kept a respectful distance from her, and she would not have been able to find anyone even if she wanted to. As for familial love, that was something even more distant. A cultivator could wield power throughout the universe, but they would not be able to receive the normal familial love thatmoners took for granted. This was a tragedy that many cultivators experienced.

    Love and kinship¡ªLiu Tianmu had never experienced either, and this was the reason why she had never been able to fullyprehend the Thirteenth Sword.

    However, Liu Tianmu was a genius. While most people would assume the quintessential human emotions to be love or kinship, as these were the most profound feelings, she believed that there was another sort of passion, dedication. Dedication to the sword. Dedication to cultivation. These were also forms of passion. These were her emotions, and they were also the emotions that she used to unleash the Thirteenth Sword.

    A gentle breeze blew by, rustling Liu Tianmu¡¯s hair. The wind flowed along with her sword as it blew past the golden screens and through the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Everyone felt something change, and at this moment, this gentle breeze contained countless emotions, which caused the surroundingbatants to be temporarily drawn out of their battles. They involuntarily followed where the mild breeze hade from to look at Liu Tianmu.

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression grew solemn, and the three strands of ancestral qi instinctively revolved around him as an indescribable feeling of danger filled his heart. Despite it not being very strong, how many people in the entire Mountain and Seas Zone could cause him to feel threatened at all?

    He grew expectant. The Thirteen Swords were something that he had long since wanted to experience. Although the Thirteen Swords were known to be mysterious and powerful, allowing their users to y powerful foes, Shang Qing did not care about any of that. Nobody could defeat the Tri-Yang Technique. Thus, nobody could defeat him.

    This was the source of his confidence, and it was also why he had no intention of trying to stop Liu Tianmu; he wanted to see what the Thirteenth Sword was like.

    Directly beneath Liu Tianmu, both Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian were watching everything take ce. They could feel that something was off, especially Lu Yin. At this moment, he had actually seen the rune lines of Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword vanish.

    He could see rune lines, and the sword formed from star energy was clearly still in Liu Tianmu¡¯s hand. However, the sword¡¯s rune lines had vanished. What did this mean? It seemed to say that this technique had surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of Truesight.

    It was just like how Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique could not be weakened by Lu Yin¡¯s Truesight.

    Liu Tianmu had reached a miraculous realm at this moment. It was not that she or Shang Qing could escape from Truesight, as that was impossible. However, they had managed to surpass Lu Yin. At least right now, when he had only cultivated Truesight to the rity realm, Lu Yin was unable to use Truesight to influence these two.

    Truesight was a technique, and since that was the case, it was possible for others to surpass the technique. Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique and Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteen Swords had both surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of Truesight. Thus, he naturally could not understand either of their techniques.

    There was no sword light or shing movement, but when Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword split apart in her hands as she copsed to the golden stage and spat out a mouthful of blood, everyone knew that she had used the Thirteenth Sword.

    Everyone instinctively looked over at Shang Qing, and to their amazement, they all saw that Shang Qing had turned pale. Bloodstains had appeared on his chest that started to slowly spread out. Finally, his blood fell onto the golden screen. He shuddered and then slowly crouched down, panting heavily as beads of sweat fell from his forehead. A hint of blood could be seen on his lips.

    Anyone who had fought with Shang Qing knew how powerful his Tri-Yang Technique was. He had never been injured, but Liu Tianmu had actually managed to aplish that feat twice, with both the Twelfth Sword and the Thirteenth Sword. Of particr note, the Thirteenth Sword had been especially effective, and it was clear that Shang Qing¡¯s injuries were not minor.

    Had the Thirteenth Sword really been used? Why hadn¡¯t anyone noticed anything at all?

    There was only one person in the entire Mountain and Seas Zone who could see the power of the Thirteenth Sword: God Taiyi. He had cultivated Truesight to the Perception Realm, which was a level higher than Lu Yin¡¯s, and he was able to see the Thirteenth Sword¡¯s rune lines.

    God Taiyi was shocked at what he saw; was this the Thirteenth Sword? It was no wonder why the legends imed that the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteenth Sword could not be avoided, as the sword had nothing to do with distance or space. When that sword appeared, it was as if it had already released its attack.

    God Taiyi warily looked over at Liu Tianmu who was lying on the stage in an unknown condition. This woman was truly terrifying, as she had a means of mutual destruction no matter who she faced¡ªnot even Shang Qing was an exception.

    Lu Yin could not see Shang Qing¡¯s rune lines either, but God Taiyi could.

    In his eyes, Shang Qing¡¯s rune lines had been greatly reduced in just an instant.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the crowd of older experts had fallen silent.

    After a while, Mu En eximed, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteenth Sword again in my life, and it¡¯s still just as breathtaking.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei had a serene expression. ¡°If the Sword Sect had a few more people who had inherited the Thirteen Swords, they would have long since entered the Neoverse.¡±

    Xia Meng stared at Liu Tianmu; in the future, there would be a role for this child to y.

    Mu En smiled. ¡°It¡¯s true. This Astral Tower contest truly is truly not bad, as even the Thirteenth Sword has been used. This child also qualifies to enter the observation list.¡±

    Nearby, Yuan Ke sighed. ¡°So far, she¡¯s the only one who¡¯s been able to injure the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s user. If she doesn¡¯t qualify, then nobody does.¡±

    Atop a golden screen in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Shang Qing half-squatted as he panted heavily. It took him a long time to recover enough to stand up. He then staggered over to Liu Tianmu, looked at her fallen figure, and shook his head. ¡°Did you exceed your limits by using that move? Although the Thirteenth Sword is truly iprehensible, you can only use it once. Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Tianmu, I, Shang Qing, recognize you. If you can stand up, then I guarantee that you will be one of the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s words left many people bbergasted. Everyone had assumed that he was not concerned with mortal affairs, that he would only obey the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders, and that he was only interested in his personal strength. Nobody could have predicted that he would say such a thing to Liu Tianmu.

    Outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, Mu En¡¯s brows rose, as these words should not have been said by Shang Qing. The Cosmic Five were predetermined by the powers of the Neoverse after distributing various benefits, and the oue was ultimately controlled by the Hall of Honor. Even though Xia Jiuyou had revealed that he hadprehended Nine Clones Secret Technique and defeated Lei N¨¹, he had still been stopped from bing one of the Cosmic Five, let alone someone from the Innerverse.

    Despite that, Shang Qing had still made such a promation.

    Highsage Shenweiughed. ¡°Not bad! Not bad! I thought that that kid was just a blockhead who became out of touch with reality after cultivating the Tri-Yang Technique. However, it looks like he still has his own thoughts. Hahaha, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Some distance away, Yuan Ke also smiled and looked at Shang Qing with appreciation. ¡°Without his own thoughts, even if he manages to cultivate the most miraculous technique in the universe, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to be a Progenitor. Merely relying on a technique isn¡¯t enough to make one truly unrivaled. Your Hall of Honor has not nurtured this child wrongly.¡±

    This was also the first time that Xia Meng¡¯s face had showed any sign of appreciation.

    Mu En felt exasperated. These people could have such thoughts and reactions, but there were certain people within the Hall of Honor who did not think the same. They hoped to nurture a Tri-Yang Technique user who waspletely loyal to the Hall of Honor; they wanted a faithful warrior, not a stubborn thorn who might even admire his enemies.

    After Shang Qing¡¯s words were said, it was likely that quite a few people would be unable to sleep well.

    It appeared that the Hall of Honor had notpletely subdued Shang Qing. Rather, he disregarded them. It was not only his enemies or the other members of his generation that he belittled or felt contempt for. It was clear that he also disdained some of the Hall of Honor¡¯s powerhouses, and he was too bothered to even argue with them.

    This was the true Shang Qing. He was someone of flesh and blood, and he was the unrivaled genius who had cultivated the universe¡¯s most miraculous technique.

    ¡­

    Nobody knew how severe Shang Qing¡¯s injuries were at this time, but nobody attacked him either.

    Ling Gong had challenged Shang Qing, but she had also retreated, which was the same as admitting defeat. ording to her personality, she would not be shameless enough to challenge Shang Qing again.

    Yuhua Mavis had managed to suppress Unseen Light from the very beginning of their fight, and Ling Gong had no ns of intervening. However, Yuhua Mavis had actually included Ling Gong within the scope of her attack, and green fists pounded down at her in a frenzied manner, leaving Ling Gong with no choice but to coordinate with Unseen Light to fight back against Yuhua Mavis.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s battle with Starsibyl was the simplest of the various battles. Others could not see how these two were using the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but could that secret technique have really only raised them up from the Hunter to the Enlighter realm? That was clearly not the case. In the eyes of the onlookers, Progenitor Chen¡¯s peerless technique would be in no way weaker than the Tri-Yang Technique.

    The most sullen person at this time was Qiu Shi, as all of her attacks werepletely ineffective against Wen Sansi.

    Actually, Qiu Shi was not the only one feeling frustrated, as both Yuhua Mavis and Xia Jiuyou were feeling quite stifled. Just like how Starsibyl asionally used her Calctions of the Abacus to help Wen Sansi and Unseen Light by interfering with attacks targeting them, Wen Sansi was also asionally using his barrier to protect Starsibyl or Unseen Light by blocking Xia Jiuyou and Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attacks.

    His barrier was truly unbreakable in this situation, and it even asionally blocked Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attacks, which left her quite upset. She actually wanted to swap opponents with Qiu Shi and see if the Mavis Treeheart Descendant¡¯s endless strength could break through the barrier.

    The intense battle atop the golden screen was nearing a conclusion. In fact, if Wen Sansi hadn¡¯t revealed his imprable barrier that could block any attacks, the Innerverse¡¯s youths would have long since been defeated.

    Shang Qing had been severely injured by Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteen Swords, though nobody knew just how serious his injuries were.

    These were the circumstances when Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian seized the opportunity to rush towards the giant eyes.

    They were very concerned about Shang Qing, as it was impossible for him to not be cautious of potential thieves¡ªhow could he allow his inheritance to be stolen by others? However, he had just been severely injured by the Thirteenth Sword, and Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian felt confident that they were strong enough to evade the Tri-Yang Technique and make it into the giant eyes.

    However, they had been overly cautious, as Shang Qing simply did not care about them. It was possible that he had actually noticed them but simply did not care, allowing them to charge into the giant eyes that were at the broken peak of the mountain.

    The moment that the two stepped foot within the range of the eyes, the scene before thempletely and suddenly changed. This ce seemed to be a foreign pocket of space that had been removed from the world. As the two looked around, specks of star energy slowly moved about everywhere. These giant eyes had been formed from star energy to create a bizarre area, or rather, a strange world.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this area is demonstrating the Worldliness realm of star energy control, or maybe even the Creation realm!¡± The Ghost Monkey was excited.

    Lockbreakers focused the most on their star energy control, and their level of control was measured by six levels: Intricacy, Cloudwalk, Skywise, Divine Gaze, Worldliness, and Creation. Thus far, Lu Yin was only able to reach the Divine Gaze by using the upgraded gemspring water, and he was normally only capable of reaching the Skywise realm. As for the Worldliness and Creation realms, he had no understanding of them, though he had just entered a bizarre area that might be formed by those two realms of control.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this should be an amazing ce that was created specifically to help Lockbreakers improve their star energy control. This might actually be the most suitable ce for you,¡± the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin felt the same.

    It was no wonder why Shang Qing had not cared about this ce, as he was not a Lockbreaker. While ascending the mountain, he had long since discovered the secret within the giant eyes. Thus, he had not minded the two thieves.

    Xie Xiaoxian was disappointed, as she was able to see that this ce held nothing for her.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1141: Shaman God

    <h4>Chapter 1141: Shaman God</h4>

    At this point, in the distance, a tiny piece of something white appeared. Lu Yin was about to grab it when Xie Xiaoxian moved over first and grabbed the white substance in her hands. She gave Lu Yin a charming smile, but when she looked down, her expression turned grave. The white substance had formed two words, ¡°Save me.¡±

    Lu Yin saw the message as well, and sure enough, the words hade from this ce.

    He made a shushing gesture towards Xie Xiaoxian, and the two carefully moved inside.

    They soon entered a ce where the scenery had been molded from the star energy to look like outer space. Neither of the two dared to make any sudden movements here, as they were afraid of causing this ce to suddenly change.

    Before long, the two moved around a bend, and there, they saw a puff of white smoke along with a head sticking out from within the smoke. It was Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    At this moment, there was an indignant look on Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s face, and he was secretly using his smoke to form messages that he was throwing out of the strange space. At times, he would carefully turn to look behind himself, and his eyes would suddenly roll.

    Overall, he had been quite unlucky. Before the Astral Tower contest started, he had been waiting around inside Azure Mansion, enjoying himself for quite a period of time. He had not even wanted to enter the Mountain and Seas Zone when the Astral Tower contest first began, but he had eventually been forced to move by his father.

    After he entered, Gu Xiao¡¯er felt like he could not allow all the hardships that he had suffered through go to waste, and he had nned to show off his skills. He had wanted to find an expert to spar with, and coincidentally, he encountered a current in the seas. There were usually treasures in that kind of ce, and he had thought that people would definitely appear to fight over them. Thus, Gu Xiao¡¯er had considered this to be the perfect time for him to act.

    He had just arrived on the seafloor when someone tapped him on the shoulder and asked him for the way. What the? This is the Mountain and Seas Zone! The way? What way? The way to find the inheritance? Gu Xiao¡¯er wanted to know that himself!

    He had already been in a bad mood, and he had yelled at the person as a result. However, the person who had tapped Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s shoulder had an excellent temper and had smiled like a fox while saying that he wanted to treat Gu Xiao¡¯er to a good meal.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had felt that he was being tricked. A meal? In the Mountain and Seas Zone? Where could food even be found? The more Gu Xiao¡¯er looked at the fellow, the more fox-like he looked, and Gu Xiao¡¯er had actually been readying himself to show off his skill and attack the fox-like person. But then, Gu Xiao¡¯er had somehow woken up in this strange space, and if not for his white smoke protecting him, he might have already died.

    Although the white smoke was protecting him, Gu Xiao¡¯er was unable to move from where he had woken up, and that rather disgusting-looking fellow was still watching him.

    All Gu Xiao¡¯er could do was use his white smoke to form words and throw them out, hoping that someone would see his calls for help.

    While doing so, Gu Xiao¡¯er himself waspletely miserable. Just when he had been preparing to step into the limelight, he had been thrown into such a miserable ce. He couldn¡¯t even see anything here. He had wanted to participate in the Astral Tower contest, and he certainly wanted to marry Flower Queen Ming Yu, but in the end, he had been left with nothing at all. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he felt.

    He had been hoping that someone who knew him would see his call for help, and so, Gu Xiao¡¯er had miserably continued to send out more messages.

    Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian were some distance away when they saw Gu Xiao¡¯er, and the two exchanged nces.

    Smoke Eater Peaks was not a colossal power of the Neoverse, but it was still above average. Their white smoke was very mysterious, and not even the Seven Courts really understood it.

    With his white smoke, even if Gu Xiao¡¯er could not match up against people like Shang Qing, he was still at least capable of fighting against one of the Ten Arbiters or an heir from the Seven Courts. However, he had still been trapped in such a ce.

    Lu Yin made a shushing gesture yet again, and he led Xie Xiaoxian closer to Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er continued to secretly write his messages, and a bit more of the white smoke enveloping his body wafted away. Then, he suddenly looked up and exchanged nces with Lu Yin. Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s eyes quickly flushed red. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m here!¡±

    Lu Yin silently cursed, and a ck shadow appeared in front of him in a streak. Scarlet eyes flickered, and the figure raised two fists to release a violent attack. Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    He raised his arms to block the attack, and there was a thump as his body was sted a hundred meters back.

    At the same time, Xie Xiaoxian dealt with another attack, but fortunately, she had already been prepared. White bones spread across her body and formed an armor that endured the punch, though she was also blown back a hundred meters.

    Lu Yin stared at the figure in front of them that was d entirely in ck in shock. This person really was from the Neohuman Alliance, but how had they entered?

    Xie Xiaoxian looked upset. ¡°You half-human half-ghost creatures actually came, too? Aren¡¯t you scared of death?¡±

    Across from them, the corpse king dressed in ck looked up at them with its scarlet eyes, and it clenched its right fist as its eyes swept past Xie Xiaoxian to look at Lu Yin. Its body gave off a fluctuating aura that spread out with a whistling sound, but it did not extend too far¡ªthe terrifying strength was limited to just within the space formed by the giant eyes.

    This corpse king was an Enlighter.

    Xie Xiaoxian¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°This is troublesome.¡±

    As she spoke, the ck-clothed corpse king¡¯s eyes suddenly changed, and they changed color from scarlet to grey before instantly changing to green. It was the corpse king¡¯s Second Transformation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. This corpse king¡¯s rune lines had already surpassed those of Lu Yin and Xie Xiaoxian in the beginning, and its physical strength had not been much worse than Lu Yin¡¯s. But now, its strength had just increased nearly a hundred times over in just an instant, which scared Lu Yin. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    He was trying to warn Xie Xiaoxian, but she had already turned around to flee. The Neoverse¡¯s knowledge of the Neohuman Alliance greatly surpassed what the Innerverse or the Outerverse had, especially the Xie family¡¯s knowledge. They were mortal enemies with the Specter n, and the Specter n had joined the Neohuman Allianceter on. Ever since then, the Xie family and the Neohuman Alliance had had an intense enmity.

    Xie Xiaoxian had only needed to take a look to know that she was not this corpse king¡¯s match.

    It was clear that she could not deal with this corpse king, and Lu Yin did not even enter her thoughts.

    Lu Yin had never expected for Xie Xiaoxian to directly run away. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the appearance of a ck shadow. The corpse king punched at Lu Yin again with a simple and crude attack, but it was still absolutely horrifying. The power of this fist caused Lu Yin to panic, and he instinctively used the Ce secret art to escape. The void copsed where he had just been standing, and even the giant eyes were distorted.

    Thismotion drew Shang Qing¡¯s attention. He did not care about who obtained this inheritance, as it was useless to him. However, he had suddenly sensed a hint of an aura in those massive eyes that left even him feeling nervous.

    Within the space of the giant eyes, Lu Yin barely managed to dodge the punch. Next to him, the corpse king whirled around and threw out another one. Wind swept out before the fist as an unstoppable force crashed down. Lu Yin quickly waved a hand and activated the Yu secret art to divert the attack.

    He managed to dodge yet another punch.

    However, simple attacks like these punches were not as limited as secret techniques. As long as one had the required strength, they would be able to unleash countless punches.

    Lu Yin had used two secret techniques to dodge two punches, but he could not evade the third.

    There was a thump as the corpse king¡¯s fist struck Lu Yin¡¯s body head on. The nine lined battle force shrouding Lu Yin¡¯s body instantly shattered, and his Fatesand was simrly driven back into his body at the first hint of contact. He was sted away while his arms almost broke from the impact and his organs were jarred by the impact; Lu Yin could not stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood.

    This corpse king¡¯s physical strength was beyond terrifying, and the power of its fist even surpassed Yuhua Mavis¡¯s seventh fist multiple times over. It wasparable to the fist that Yuhua Mavis had used against Unseen Light, and its power level definitely exceeded 300,000.

    The ck-clothed corpse king dashed toward Lu Yin, and it raised its fist tosh out once again. Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and used the Ce secret art again, causing the Astral Chessboard to appear beneath his feet before he moved.

    This time, he instantly appeared next to Xie Xiaoxian.

    Only a span of a few breaths had passed since the corpse king¡¯s first attack, and Xie Xiaoxian had not managed to escape from the space within the giant eyes yet. When Lu Yin appeared right next to her, she shouted, ¡°Get away from me!¡±

    Lu Yin had no time to reply, as the corpse king¡¯s physical strength had erupted yet again. Its speed alone was enough to distort the void, and it unleashed a double-fisted strike this time.

    This was the corpse king¡¯s preferred method of attack, as the corpse king¡¯s transformation strengthened the physical body, giving it an overpowering strength. These corpse kings often fought in a simr manner as Yuhua Mavis, but they were far more barbaric.

    Lu Yin revolved star energy around his body, and his pupils transformed into runes as he erased some of the corpse king¡¯s fist¡¯s runes, allowing him to narrowly dodge another attack. But Xie Xiaoxian was not so fortunate, and she was struck by the fist. The white bone armor surrounding her body instantly shattered, and she opened her mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood as she was thrown against the mountain.

    This was one of the mountains that a Progenitor had created, and it was extremely sturdy. Even so, a crack appeared where shended.

    Xie Xiaoxian fell to the ground in a pitiful condition.

    Lu Yin swatted out: Vacuum Palm.

    The palm struck the corpse king, but it only managed to force it back a few dozen meters. The corpse king raised its green eyes to stare straight at Lu Yin as it shot towards him.

    Lu Yin continued to release multiple Vacuum Palms in an attempt to break through the corpse king¡¯s defenses.

    However, a Green Eyes Transformation would increase a corpse king¡¯s physical strength by a hundredfold¡ªjust what sort of concept was that? The corpse king was far stronger than Lu Yin, and even his Vacuum Palm was not a very powerful attack in the eyes of this corpse king.

    Lu Yin had never thought that someone within the same generation as him would actually be able to forcefully resist his Vacuum Palm. Mu Ziying¡¯s innate gift of wood armor had allowed him to endure a few Vacuum Palms, but only a few. But in the case of this corpse king, Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms could not even prate its defenses.

    The corpse king tanked several Vacuum Palms before punching at Lu Yin again. Its attacks were simple and crude.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the Yu Secret Art diverted the wind from the fist as Lu Yin raised a hand to tap out with a finger: Seventh Bro Finger.

    The Seventh Bro Finger was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack at this time, though he did not expect it to damage this corpse king at all. All he wanted to do was force the corpse king out of this space within the eyes so that Shang Qing and the others would see it.

    Opposite Lu Yin, Xie Xiaoxian was lying on the ground as blood leaked out from her mouth. She raised a hand and simrly tapped out with a finger. Her attack waspletely identical to Lu Yin¡¯s Seventh Bro Finger.

    The Xie Secret Art: Universal Appropriation. This was the Xie family¡¯s secret technique.

    Lu Yin did not know that the Xie family had such a secret technique, so when he saw her unleash an identical Seventh Bro Finger, he was dumbfounded. However, this was not the time to think about such a thing.

    The two Seventh Bro Fingers joined together as they struck the corpse king, and they forced the ck-clothed corpse king out of the space within the giant eyes and out onto the mountainside. A crack had appeared at the point where the corpse king was struck.

    Shang Qing instantly saw it as well as the corpse king¡¯s green eyes. He could feel the creature¡¯spletely detestable aura as well as the terrifying fluctuation that indicated that it was an Enlighter.

    Shang Qing was not the only one to see it. The corpse king had been forced out from the giant eyes¡¯ space, and its Enlighter-realm power had naturally been revealed as well. It instantly caught the attention of everyone atop the golden screens, as well as those who were outside the Mountain and Seas Zone; all of the members of the older generation instantly noticed it.

    Mu En and the others were rmed. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    They intended to take immediate action, as the Neohuman Alliance was an acknowledged enemy of the entire universe. There was only one thing to do when that power was discovered: extermination. There was no need to even think about a fair fight.

    However, just as they were about to move, they suddenly hesitated as their vision went ck. They could not even sense their own bodies anymore.

    Mu En was only able to sense the existence of his own nose, but he was still somehow able to see all around him.

    Highsage Shenwei was only able to sense the existence of his hands, but his hands could smell all sorts of strange scents.

    Yuan Ke, Xia Meng, and the other older powerhouses simrly had their senses all mixed up.

    Xia Meng spoke in a low voice, ¡°One of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods, Shaman God.¡±

    As she spoke, a strange white doll appeared next to the crowd. It had a bizarre appearance, with two green lines extending out from the corners of its lips and sunken eyes. It looked exceptionally treacherous and terrifying, and itughed with a strange snicker. ¡°The Xia family¡¯s Xia Meng, gaga!1 Back then you were the number one beauty in the Neoverse, and your beauty even surpassed Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Ming Yu¡¯s to captivate all others. Now, you¡¯re an expert with a power level of more than 900,000, and you qualify to know of me. You¡¯re even good enough topete with me, gaga.¡±

    [1] This person''s supposed to have a strangeugh, but it also changes, so just roll with it whenever youe across weird sounds when they speak. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1142: Declaration Of War

    <h4>Chapter 1142: Deration Of War</h4>

    Highsage Shenwei could not see his surroundings, but he could still hear. Thus, he angrily scolded, ¡°Shaman God, show yourself if you dare!¡±

    ¡°Gaga, is that someone from Eversky Ind? How¡¯s your senior doing? Back then, he cared for my disciple,¡± Shaman God spoke in a sinister voice.

    Another elder suddenly barked out, ¡°Shaman God, back then, you ughtered the Yu¡ªwhat more do you want now?¡±

    ¡°Gaga, the Yu family was seeking death, and I cannot be med for what happened. As for today, I only want to bring back a few outstanding juniors to inherit my Neohuman Alliance,¡± Shaman God said.

    Yuan Ke took a step forward, and Shaman God snickered. ¡°I suggest that none of you move, as moving could result in your demise, gaga.¡±

    ¡­

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, the moment the ck-clothed corpse king revealed itself, all of the battles on the golden screens instantly stopped.

    Shang Qing raised a hand, and a qi flow whistled through the air as it hurtled towards the corpse king.

    When the Neohuman Alliance appeared, all other grievances had to be put aside, as exterminating the Neohuman Alliance always took precedence.

    Suddenly, a streak of light shed by. Someone had appeared behind Shang Qing some time ago, and they had short silver hair. Both of the person¡¯s eyes gleamed when they smiled, though his lips curled up into a strange arc. He spun a butterfly knife in his hands as he casually said, ¡°You¡¯re too careless. This won¡¯t do, First Honored Chosen.¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes shed, and he slowly turned around. ¡°What? When?¡±

    There was a plopping sound as fresh blood suddenly spurted out from both of Shang Qing¡¯s legs while he slowly copsed to the ground.

    The man with short silver hair twirled around with a gentle smile. ¡°I traded blows with you once before. Did you forget?¡¯

    Shang Qing¡¯s legs were bleeding, and he stared at the silver-haired man in concentration. He eventually remembered; this person had ambushed him on the seafloor, but he had been injured and chased off by the Tri-Yang Technique.

    The silver-haired man smiled softly and bowed at his waist while still staring at Shang Qing. ¡°The Tri-Yang Technique is indeed powerful, but my death energy isn¡¯t bad either.¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°At that time, you hid your death energy within my body?¡±

    The curve of the silver-haired man¡¯s smile grew even wider. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re the First Honored Chosen! In solobat, nobody is a match for the Tri-Yang Technique, but in terms of hidden attacks, my Specter n isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Shang Qing clenched his fists and tried to stand, but his legs had been maimed. There was also death energy lingering within the wounds, which would take him some time to remove.

    The butterfly knife spun about the man¡¯s fingers before he suddenly attacked Shang Qing once again. The flow of qi swirling around Shang Qing¡¯s body mmed towards the assant, but the attacker was exceptionally fast, and he actually managed to dodge the qi flow. The butterfly knife streaked through the void and sliced at Shang Qing¡¯s neck.

    Even if Shang Qing was unable to move, the Tri-Yang Technique was still a mysterious technique. Despiteunching multiple attacks, the silver-haired man¡¯s efforts were all for naught.

    At this moment, Xia Jiuyou and the others had finished crossing the golden screen, and they moved to attack the silver-haired man in unison.

    The man looked over at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°The Nine Clones Secret Technique? I¡¯m a close acquaintance of one of your clones.¡±

    A dim radiance appeared over Xia Jiuyou¡¯s palm and formed a de that he then shed out with: the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    From behind, Ling Gong¡¯s white spear thrust forward, and it was apanied by the sound of a ringing bell.

    Even further away, Yuhua Mavis, Unseen Light, Qiu Shi all suddenly appeared. However, Wen Sansi was nowhere to be seen.

    Qiu Shi was quite upset. Right before the corpse king had flown out of the giant eyes, she had be sick of Wen Sansi¡¯s defensive barrier, and so, she had used her Teleportation Formation sourcebox array to toss Wen Sansi far away from the golden screen. No one knew how far he had flown away.

    If only she had been one step slower.

    Upon seeing abined attack from several top expertsing at him, Silver snapped his fingers. From down below, the ck-clothed corpse king instantly abandoned Lu Yin¡¯s small group inside the space within the eyes as it raced towards the golden screen. The creature bellowed as it unleashed a fierce punch.

    Yuhua Mavis moved in front of the crowd and met the attack with a punch of her own.

    Bang!

    The collision shook the void, and the resulting terrifying and powerful shockwaves forced Unseen Light and the others to dodge them.

    Silver leaped backwards, grinning ear to ear.

    The corpse king was overpowered by Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch, and it backed up a dozen steps.

    Yuhua Mavis also retreated, but she only moved three steps back.

    Silver was surprised. ¡°You live up to your position as a Treeheart Descendant of the Mavis family, seeing as how you can actually overpower an Enlighter realm corpse king that¡¯s transformed twice. Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s knuckles were flushed red, and she stared at the corpse king standing across from her in utter shock. She had just used an unprecedented amount of power, and the power of her punch had surpassed what she had used against both Lu Yin and Unseen Light. Despite that, she had only been able to push the corpse king back slightly. This showed the power of the corpse king¡¯s two transformations.

    This thought caused her to clench her fists as sheshed out with another punch.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s second will de sliced towards Silver.

    Silver continued to sport a horrifying smile on his face that would looked more fitting on a fox. The butterfly knife spun through his hands, and it shed about in a strange manner, though it actually managed to slice through Xia Jiuyou¡¯s second will de. ¡°So you¡¯ve learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique? How many have you merged?¡±

    The de in Xia Jiuyou¡¯s hands shed down again: the third will de.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third will de was something that had even made Lei N¨¹ feel apprehensive, and she had suppressed it with the secret technique Discipline by making Xia Jiuyou unwilling to use the technique. This attack had even attracted Shang Qing¡¯s notice, and it had also sliced through Ling Gong¡¯s innate gift in one attack. The power of this de was incredible.

    At this moment, that de sliced at Silver.

    Silver¡¯s expression did not change, though he retreated step by step. The ck-clothed corpse king moved in front of Silver, and it raised both hands, trying to catch the third will de between its palms. It gave out a low growl as its body was continually pushed backwards by the will de, which eventually drew out two long marks on the golden screen.

    From the other side, Yuhua Mavis raced towards Silver and unleashed a punch.

    Ling Gong, Unseen Light, and Qiu Shi had not attacked yet, as they believed that victory had already been attained.

    Silver evaded Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch, though verdant green grass had wound its way beneath his feet some time earlier, and it bound him tight, just like what had happened to Lu Yin before.

    However, Yuhua Mavis did not show Silver the same gentleness that she had with Lu Yin. The grass binding Silver flickered with a green light, and Silver¡¯s expression showed a slight change. His eyes opened a little wider, and he let out a sharp breath as a stream of ck air appeared all over his body; it was death energy.

    The appearance of the death energy instantly destroyed the green grass, and Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes grew cold. She raised a fist tosh out with another punch, and the force behind this attack was so tremendous that the void could not even endure the power before the punch was unleashed.

    When the fist moved forward, a bang echoed through the sky and caused many people to jump in fright.

    Silver stood in ce, and the ck-clothed corpse king roared at the sky from where it was standing near Silver. Its green eyes suddenly turned red¡ªno, a brilliant scarlet. This red color was the color of blood that stained all wars. The creature¡¯s strength caused ripples to spread out in the air; not only did they crush Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third will de, but the might of the creature also made Yuhua Mavis feel nervous. She was so disturbed that she forcibly changed the target of her punch to the ck-clothed corpse king.

    The ck-clothed corpse king¡¯s eyes opened wide, and it raised a hand to grab Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch. Another bang split the air, and a shockwave sted past their feet. Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fist had been grabbed tightly by the ck-clothed corpse king, and she could not budge in the slightest. Her expression changed. ¡°A corpse king¡¯s third transformation?¡±

    The ck-clothed corpse king let out a deep growl, and it pulled its right hand towards itself with great force, dragging Yuhua Mavis closer to it as it clenched its left fist and punched at Yuhua Mavis¡¯s stomach.

    Yuhua Mavis stepped forward with her right foot, and a green light appeared all over her body. There was a grave expression on her face that no one had ever seen before, and simr to the ck-clothed corpse king, ripples around her body, an indication that the void was trembling due to her sheer strength. She actually resisted the pulling motion of the ck-clothed corpse king as she raised a foot to kick at the creature.

    The ck-clothed corpse king¡¯s left fist collided with Yuhua Mavis¡¯s right foot in a loud boom. A horizontal tear appeared in the void; the impact of the corpse king¡¯s fist forced Yuhua Mavis back a thousand meters, and she nearly fell off of the golden screen.

    Everyone was aware of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength, and even though Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique was referred to as an unrivaled technique, he still did not dare topete with Yuhua Mavis in terms of raw power.

    However, at this moment, Yuhua Mavis had been clearly overpowered by this ck-clothed corpse king¡¯s raw physical strength.

    This was the strength of a corpse king that had undergone the third transformation, and its strength was now a thousandfold that of its normal capabilities.

    An Enlighter realm corpse king already had impressive physical strength to begin with, and its normal strength surpassed that of many of the people currently present. Only Lu Yin, Yuhua Mavis, and a few other people with overpowering physical strength couldpete with an Enlighter realm corpse king. But at this moment, that impressive strength had been increased by a thousandfold, and not even Yuhua Mavis could forcefullypete with the creature anymore.

    The corner of Silver¡¯s mouth twitched into a semnce of a smile. ¡°Beast, take them out.¡±

    The ck-clothed corpse king raised both hands and clenched both of its fists. It then punched at Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression immediately changed, and he raced to evade the attack, but the wind from the swift fist was too much, and it shattered the void in front of the youth, affecting his movements. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s left shoulder was struck and subsequently shattered while his body was thrown far away.

    At the same time, the ck-clothed corpse king also punched at Yuhua Mavis.

    The green leaves covering Yuhua Mavis¡¯s body formed a fist that retaliated. Another massive explosion shook the air, and her body was thrown back a hundred meters by the fist¡¯s wind. She had lost in apetition of strength.

    A grand bell rang out once more, and Ling Gong tried to use her Skycastle to suppress the corpse king.

    The corpse king raised both of its arms as it grabbed at the air to attack the Skycastle. The innate gift was torn apart, and Ling Gong hurriedly dodged aside, as she did not dare face the corpse king¡¯s attacks head on.

    Unseen Light raised both of his hands and pressed down.

    A ck space appeared in the void surrounding the corpse king. It looked like a coffin that was tightly sealing the creature. Secret technique: ck Coffin.

    The next moment, ck spikes appeared all over the ck coffin. This was the technique that had injured even Yuhua Mavis.

    But then, a thump rang out, and the ck coffin crumbled as the corpse king dashed out of the ruins to punch at Unseen Light.

    Multiple light beams appeared in front of Unseen Light¡¯s body, connecting the earth to the sky. It was Starsibyl¡¯s Calctions of the Abacus. This was the technique that had helped Ling Gong evade Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third will de earlier.

    However, it proved to bepletely ineffective against the corpse king, as the creature simply charged straight through.

    Although Starsibyl¡¯s Calctions of the Abacus had been useless in diverting the beast, it had still dyed it for a brief moment, which was enough for Unseen Light to dodge its attack.

    At this moment, Qiu Shi¡¯s Celestial Sword sliced down from above.

    The corpse king looked up, but it did not even move. It actually allowed the Celestial Sword to slice down, and the sword squarely struck the creature¡¯s skull.

    Everyone held their breaths and watched on, but then, the corpse king raised its right hand, grabbed the Celestial Sword, squeezed its hand, and casually shattered the sword before pping a hand at Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi¡¯s eyes shed as her body vanished only to reappear where Silver had been standing. It was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique: Star Transference.

    The corpse king¡¯s palm stopped the instant it was about to touch Silver, and it slowly turned around to fix its red eyes on Qiu Shi. The corpse king growled again.

    Silver pped and smiled as he looked all around at everyone. ¡°I believe that everyone here has now experienced Beast¡¯s strength. At this moment, my Neohuman Alliance is officially dering war on any power in the universe that doesn¡¯t defer to my Neohuman Alliance, and all of them will be killed without question. However, any who join my Neohuman Alliance will receive matchless strength.¡±

    There had been a flurry of attacks, and the most gifted youths in the entire Human Domain had fought an intense battle atop the golden screen. And yet, all of their efforts had been utterly ineffective against the corpse king, and everyst one of them had been overpowered.

    Nobody dared to receive an attack from the corpse king, as being struck would spell their end.

    Atop the golden screen, Shang Qing was still trying to remove the death energy from the wounds on both of his legs.

    Close by, Liu Tianmu opened her eyes, as she had finally regained consciousness. However, she still was not able to move. When she looked over at the invincible corpse king, her fingers trembled. She wanted to get up, but she truly could not move.

    Outside of the Mountain and Seas Zone, a bunch of the older powerhouses were being controlled by Shaman God, and they were also unable to move.

    Within the Mountain and Seas Zone, beneath the golden screens, those who had participated in the Astral Tower contest speechlessly stared up at the golden screens, as they had all been watching. The Neohuman Alliance only had two individuals, but those two had suppressed all the others, and the onlookers were all at a loss for words.

    Silver creepily looked around before looking down. ¡°The Human Domain¡¯s experts are not just these few up here, and even those losers might be able to turn the tide. So-¡±

    His eyes swept across the entire Mountain and Seas Zone as he said, ¡°There will be no idents.¡±

    As he uttered those words, the seafloor suddenly changed as the stone ques flew up to the surface of the seas before exploding.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1143: Strength And Its Usage

    <h4>Chapter 1143: Strength And Its Usage</h4>

    When the stone ques exploded, countless spatial cracks appeared all throughout the entire floating continent, and it looked as though another entire world had suddenly appeared.

    Shang Qing and the others were all shocked; this was not good.

    Down on the surface of the sea, a stone que exploded right next to Mu Ziying¡¯s trio, and the void warped in front of their eyes. A grey figure shot out, and when it sensed the three people, it raised a hand: Skybeast w.

    This grey figure was actually a remnant spiritual force from the tablet world, and it was a master of the Skybeast w. The power of this attack was impressive, and this Skybeast w was so powerful that even Lu Yin was very careful to not let such a thing touch him.

    Hua Xiao and Yao Ji¡¯s expressions immediately changed, and they both felt as though a terrible cmity had arrived.

    Mu Ziying stepped forward, and he activated his innate gift of forming wood.

    There was a thump as the wnded. He was flung back, but his efforts allowed Hua Xiao and Yao Ji to defend themselves against one Skybeast w.

    Elsewhere, Jin He, who had been severely injured by Lu Yin and had been recuperating, was facing a simr situation. A grey humanoid carrying a spear stabbed at the Arbiter. Jin He¡¯s expression did not change, and he simply raised a hand to crush the spear. In his eyes, the grey humanoid¡¯s rune lines did not even measure up to those of a Hunter.

    Runes could not be seen within the tablet world, but in the Mountain and Seas Zone, they could, and the remnant spiritual forces had just entered the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The entire Mountain and Seas Zone was filled with grey humanoid figures, and they attacked anyone they encountered, inciting total chaos.

    Atop the golden screen, Silver¡¯s lips curled up, and he smiled broadly at the sight. This was it; this was the effect he had been hoping to see.

    Behind him, Yuhua Mavis and the others attacked him once again, but the ck-clothed Beast snarled and raised a fist. One punch was enough to force everyone back.

    Silver was unruffled, and he looked over at the giant eyes, and it seemed as though his gaze passed through the eyes to look at Lu Yin, who was inside. ¡°Captain, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    The giant eyes at the split peak of the mountain had formed what was essentially a separate space, and it had been formed from star energy.

    Lu Yin had never even gotten a chance to take a serious look at the space so far.

    After he teamed up with Xie Xiaoxian to unleash a doubled Seventh Bro Finger and force the corpse king out of the space, the situation outside had ceased to be any of Lu Yin¡¯s business. When he saw the corpse king shift its attention to the golden screens, Lu Yin had known that he could leave the matter of the Neohuman Alliance to Shang Qing and the others. Instead, Lu Yin returned to the giant eyes, and he immersed himself in observing the mysterious star energy that had created this separate space.

    To a Lockbreaker, their star energy control was extremely important, and these giant eyes had been formed from star energy controlled at the Worldliness realm at the very least. In terms of value, it definitely rivaled that of the Progenitor¡¯s blood from before. If Lu Yin did not take advantage of this experience, then he would havepletely wasted this trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The Progenitor¡¯s blood had been taken by the Ghost Monkey whereas Lu Yin had happened to chance upon this inheritance.

    Lu Yin was immersed in studying the star energy.

    The Ghost Monkey stood behind him, vigntly keeping an eye on Xie Xiaoxian.

    Xie Xiaoxian rolled her eyes, as she was not interested in this star energy. Instead, she was busy observing the battle outside. The situation there did not seem very optimistic. Since the Neohuman Alliance dared to take action, and since the old powerhouses outside the Mountain and Seas Zone had not made a move, things were not looking too good for them. They had to find a way to escape.

    The monkey transformed into a ball of shadow as he warily stared at Xie Xiaoxian. Actually, he also wanted to study the star energy as he was also a Lockbreaker. However, since Lu Yin was already doing so, the monkey did not dare to seize this moment from him.

    On top of the golden screens, Beast used its newfound power after undergoing the third transformation to overpower Yuhua Mavis and the others. All of their attacks were easily swept aside by its overwhelming strength.

    This was thest straw for Yuhua Mavis.

    The Mavis family had always been widely known for their strength, especially the Treeheart Descendant. In fact, they had not lost in a contest of strength to anyone within the same generation, not even in ancient times or when their opponent had been a third transformation corpse king. Of course, a corpse king¡¯s age could not be judged or determined.

    A corpse king¡¯s transformation technique upgraded nothing besides its physical strength, andpared to battle techniques, purely increasing one¡¯s physical strength did not give too much of an advantage. Battle techniques frequently allowed a person to unleash attacks with power levels multiple times that of their own, and Xia Jiuyou and the others did not have average battle techniques either.

    The third transformation seemed to boost the corpse king¡¯s physical strength to an exaggerated level, but as long as its strength could not be applied through battle techniques, it was nothing more than brute force. Although the creature was still able to suppress the crowd, its attacks were only around the level of what Yuhua Mavis had used to attack Unseen Light¡¯s domain.

    Lu Yin was able to take advantage of his strength and use the Oveying Stacks Path or even the Vacuum Palm technique, which brought out the greatest aspects of his strength. However, such techniques were clearly beyond the corpse king.

    Despite that, the corpse king¡¯s abilities were enough for the Neohuman Alliance, as a single corpse king that had undergone a third transformation was able to suppress this entire group of youths. On top of that, a single punch from this corpse king would leave most of these people half-dead if the attack connected. Its strength was not overly exaggerated, and even if it was not able to perfectly utilize its strength, it was still enough; just one person with sufficient strength could overpower multiple opponents who were more skilled.

    Thump!

    There was another loud bang, and Yuhua Mavis retreated seven steps. She immediately shot forward once more. ¡°Again!¡±

    Beast¡¯s scarlet eyes grew even crueler, and it threw another punch at Yuhua Mavis.

    Thump!

    Thump!

    Thump!

    Silver was continuously forced back by the shockwaves, and at that moment, a white spear stabbed down from above. Silver had no choice but to vanish as his butterfly knife spun out to slice at Ling Gong who was wielding that white spear.

    Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle appeared around her, and its heavy presence caused Silver¡¯s movement to grow sluggish. The spear then swept out and directly mmed itself into Silver¡¯s abdomen, striking him heavily.

    From behind, a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm mysteriously appeared, and it was right about to hit Silver when ck death energy appeared behind his body and took the form of a sickle that shed sideways.

    The Y¨­u Reinforced Palm was cut apart by the death energy sickle, and Ling Gong¡¯s spear was also instantly broken, forcing her to instinctively pull back.

    At this point, a ck light appeared around Silver, and it was just about to envelop him. This was the ck Coffin secret technique. Death energy erupted around Silver¡¯s body, and it managed to dy the ck coffin for an instant. With that moment, Silver jumped away, escaping from the ck Coffin as he turned to stare at Unseen Light, who was also looking at Silver. The Arbiter¡¯s domain crashed down.

    Silver was mmed into the golden stage by the domain, which then transformed into a forcefield shaped like Unseen Light and smashed down towards Silver.

    Nearly a thousand stars appeared all around him, and they moved to form the Celestial Sword Technique as the de immediately fell down towards Silver.

    Many of the most powerful youths in the universe wereunching their most powerful attacks in session, and aside from Shang Qing at his peak, nobody else in the same generation could endure such a bombardment.

    When the crowd¡¯s attacks dispersed, Silver¡¯s position had been upied by Beast, and Silver was hiding behind the corpse king¡¯s body.

    Some distance away, Yuhua Mavis panted heavily. Her fist was bleeding.

    Silver smiled at the crowd. ¡°It seems like the third transformation is still a little too weak. In that case, Corpse Beast, fourth transformation.¡±

    Everyone was stunned, and they all turned to look at Beast, appalled.

    The corpse kings¡¯ transformations were the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s unrivaled battle technique that had been specifically created for the corpse kings. Nobody knew precisely how many transformations there were, but it was well known that each transformation strengthened the physical body by more than tenfold the previous one.

    Corpse kings were a variation of humans, and they relied entirely on their physical bodies and devouring all sorts of strange items to acquire an innate gift. Also, they could disregard spiritual force.

    The corpse kings¡¯ transformations were essentially a technique that endlessly upgraded their physical power, which had already been raised to an extreme. Thus, it was one of the most terrifying battle techniques that the Neohuman Alliance possessed.

    An Enlighter realm corpse king, after undergoing a third transformation, would have its physical strength improved by a thousandfold. Such a creature would be peerless within the Mountain and Seas Zone, and not even Shang Qing in peak form could have defeated such a foe. By itself, the corpse king had suppressed Yuhua Mavis and all the others, including five top-notch experts. If itpleted the fourth transformation and raised its strength by yet another level, then they would no longer be merely suppressed; it would simply be a massacre.

    Even Yuhua Mavis had been overwhelmed by the corpse king¡¯s third transformation¡¯s power, and the crowd was barely able to hold on against the current Beast. Even though the creature could not efficiently utilize its overwhelming strength, rendering it nothing more than a meat shield, if its strength increased by yet another level, it would reach a level where no battle techniques would even be necessary. At that point, a single punch would be enough to determine everything. Such matchless strength could be treated the same as matchless speed, as nobody could guarantee dodging such an attack.

    Beast silently stood in ce as its scarlet eyes swept over everyone, utterly devoid of emotion.

    Silver smacked himself in the head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot! Beast is only an Enlighter, so he can¡¯t use the fourth transformation yet. Just this third transformation has already pushed him past his limits, and he¡¯ll need some time to recuperate.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis and the others stared at Silver; this person was absolutely infuriating.

    Silver¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°However, even if he can¡¯tplete the fourth transformation, I never said that his strength couldn¡¯t be improved.¡±

    Silver then pointed a finger below Beast¡¯s feet.

    The crowd watched as the star energy that had been revolving around Silver¡¯s body suddenly merged into Beast¡¯s body.

    Everyone felt their scalps go numb, as that energy was pure death energy.

    Roar!

    The corpse king released an angry bellow as Beast¡¯s ck clothes shattered to reveal a body covered with countless scars. Its malevolent and terrifying body had death energy wriggling beneath its skin, making for a nauseating and horrifying sight.

    Beast stepped forward and snarled as its right hand swept out and pped down. The wind of its movement created a visible shockwave that tore through the void and struck Yuhua Mavis and the others, sweeping them all back.

    The entire crowd was knocked a thousand meters back by the wind from a single swing of a hand.

    Right now, Beast was like a barrier protecting Silver.

    Silver smiled and then turned to look at Shang Qing. ¡°It¡¯s your turn, user of the Tri-Yang Technique. Our target this time is actually you.¡±

    Shang Qing had still been working on trying to remove the death energy from his wounded legs. He had been ambushed, and when that attack was added on top of his injuries from Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteenth Sword, even if he were invincible, he would still be severely injured at this moment. ¡°You want to capture me?¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°We have no choice. Who asked you to sessfully cultivate the Tri-Yang Technique? Haven¡¯t you studied history? The Hall of Honor should have records pertaining to this¡ªanyone who manages to cultivate the Tri-Yang Technique will be targeted by my Neohuman Alliance, and you¡¯re no exception.¡±

    Shang Qing replied coldly, ¡°Since you value the Tri-Yang Technique that much, then you should know that it¡¯s a peerless battle technique.¡±

    A qi flow swirling around his body suddenly moved out and shot towards Silver.

    Silver was irritated, and he reluctantly responded, ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s not easy to deal with. However, it also won¡¯t do if we don¡¯t.¡±

    Within the space inside the giant eyes, Xie Xiaoxian was staring at the golden screens, and specifically, at Silver. Hatred was overflowing from her eyes.

    Mortal enemies could be found everywhere in the universe, such as the Outerverse¡¯s Six-Fingered Tribe and the Wei family, or the Innerverse¡¯s Dire Barbarian n and the Souldream Tribe. Naturally, there were also mortal enemies within the Neoverse, and one example was the Seven Courts¡¯ Xie family and the Specter n.

    Due to the source of their battle techniques, both sides held a bitter hatred toward the other that could never be resolved.

    It was actually because of the Xie family that the Specter n had been attacked by the various powers of the Neoverse. That had nearly annihted them, leaving them with no choice but to join the Neohuman Alliance.

    But on the other hand, the Xie family had not been left in a good situation either. Officially, they were still one of the Seven Courts, but only a few of their heirs remained.

    As for the Specter n, Xie Xiaoxian had an excellent understanding of them, which was why she was not worried about Shang Qing¡¯s safety.

    Death energy might be terrifying, but it was not something that could match up to the Tri-Yang Technique. She was especially confident of this since she had personally experienced the true might of the Tri-Yang Technique herself, and she was sure that Shang Qing was truly undefeatable. Within this region of the universe, there was nobody who could defeat Shang Qing¡ªnot a single one. Such a person did not exist, as such an existence was simply impossible.

    Atop the golden screen, Yuhua Mavis moved in front of the crowd as her fist mmed towards Beast. The Mavis family had never lost when it came to strength, and she had no intention of being the first.

    Unseen Light frowned. Too impulsive.

    There was a thump as Beast¡¯s retaliatory punch beat Yuhua Mavis back several hundred meters. By now, cracks could be seen on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s right hand, and it was possible to catch a vague glimpse of her white bones.

    Yuhua Mavis had been hit by an all-out counter, but she recklessly dashed forward once again, only to be pulled back by Unseen Light. ¡°Don¡¯t go in head on!¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1144: Progenitor Chen

    <h4>Chapter 1144: Progenitor Chen</h4>

    Unseen Light did not understand the Mavis family very well, and although Yuhua Mavis might look gentle, beautiful, and rational, she was still a Mavis at her core. And therefore, she was incredibly strong. There was a savage ferocity ingrained into the very bones of this family, and they were not ustomed to losing. The more they were suppressed, the harsher their ferocity would rage.

    She moved past Unseen Light, and a green light blossomed over her fist as she punched out yet again. Death energy twined around Beast, and the corpse king punched back at her.

    ¡°Limitless strength!¡± Yuhua Mavis shouted as her fist collided with Beast¡¯s.

    A bang shook the air as the void shattered. An unstoppable shockwave sted Unseen Light, Ling Gong, and all the others back.

    Beast remained standing in ce, but Yuhua Mavis had been sent flying away.

    The strength of the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant was truly terrifying; if Beast¡¯s physical strength had not been boosted a thousandfold by its third transformation, it would have never been able to withstand such an attack. However, no matter how great the creature¡¯s strength was, there would always be a limit. Otherwise, corpse kings would truly be unrivaled.

    In previous generations, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants had never encountered an expert in the same generation whose strength surpassed theirs. In some sense, Yuhua Mavis could be seen as unlucky.

    After Beast knocked Yuhua Mavis back, it raised both of its hands and unleashed a second attack of pure strength that targeted Qiu Shi and the others.

    With sheer force, the corpse king forced Qiu Shi, Unseen Light, Ling Gong, and Xia Jiuyou all back. Nobody dared to resist, because at this moment, the corpse king was truly unrivaled.

    Another expert suddenly appeared atop the golden screens; Y¨­u Qi rode his warhorse as he grasped a spear in his hands and charged at Beast.

    Beast raised its hands and pped out in response, but the wind from its attack passed through Y¨­u Qi and mmed into Qiu Shi and the others instead. At the same time, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear stabbed at Beast¡¯s head.

    Beast hesitated for a moment before raising a hand to grab the ck spear and then wrestling Y¨­u Qi down from the warhorse. The warhorse immediately reared up and mmed its hooves down onto Beast, but the corpse king did not even move. With another p, it smacked the warhorse off of the golden screen.

    Y¨­u Qi stared at Beast in shock. This was a terrifying level of physical power! Then, a book appeared above Y¨­u Qi¡¯s head. ¡°There was once an ancient powerhouse known as Liu Guai who used the Eleventh Sword: Particle Diffusion.¡±

    Sword light shot out. As usual, Beast showed no intention of evading, and the Eleventh Sword left behind a massive wound on its body that quickly recovered.

    Corpse Beast lifted its right hand and pped out. The wind from its attack passed through Y¨­u Qi once again, which forced Qiu Shi and the others to keep retreating.

    Y¨­u Qi stared at Beast in disbelief. ¡°A corpse king that¡¯s undergone the third transformation. With our strength, we can¡¯t ovee this.¡±

    Qiu Shi moved forward. ¡°I¡¯ll use a Teleportation Formation to throw it away.¡±

    Y¨­u Qi replied in a low voice, ¡°Even if you throw it away, it will quickly return.¡±

    Beast snarled and raised both of its hands to p out. Just the wind from its hand movements were enough to overpower the crowd, and they could not even receive the shockwaves of the corpse king¡¯s attacks. Y¨­u Qi was the only one able to disregard the attacks, but he could not find any means of actually defeating Beast.

    Off in the distance, Silver was simrly unable to deal with Shang Qing. Even though Shang Qing could not move, his Tri-Yang Technique meant that he was unapproachable.

    Silver was incredibly frustrated, as the Neohuman Alliance had made what they thought to be a generous estimate of the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s capabilities. However, in the end, they had still underestimated this technique. Silver¡¯s death energy was being suppressed by just a single one of the three ancestral qi strands, and he was also unable to destroy Shang Qing¡¯s body from within. Otherwise, the battle would have ended long ago.

    ¡°I can¡¯t deal with you, so the only thing I can do is grab some of the others and report back. Fortunately, the Thirteen Swords are enough to take back.¡± Silver dodged the Tri-Yang Technique and raised a hand to grab Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu still could not move.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes went wide, and a qi flow moved out to defend Liu Tianmu. ¡°It looks like there are only two of you here from the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    Silver dodged an attack and looked over at Shang Qing in surprise. ¡°How many did you think woulde?¡±

    Shang Qing let out a long breath. ¡°You guys are very confident, but you¡¯ve still underestimated the Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    Silver¡¯s expression grew sharp as he stared at Shang Qing.

    Liu Tianmu also turned to look at Shang Qing.

    One of the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s qi strands was swirling around Shang Qing¡¯s body, another was suppressing the death energy, and thest one was protecting Liu Tianmu. However, at this moment, thest one started to slowly change, and it transformed from a strand of qi into a humanoid shape. A nose formed, and then eyes, arms, and legs until the qi strand finally took on the shape of a dashing man, albeit one with a cold demeanor. He actually looked almost identical to Xia Jiuyou.

    Silver stared in astonishment; just what was happening?

    Shang Qing calmly looked over at Silver. ¡°Since ancient times, those who cultivate the Tri-Yang Technique have always be must-kill targets of your Neohuman Alliance. You guys have sought all kinds of methods to kill users of the Tri-Yang Technique, but have you people ever actually seen the Tri-Yang Technique? Do you dare to allow a user of the Tri-Yang Technique to cultivate?¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes shed.

    Indeed, the Tri-Yang Technique was mainly well known for being the most miraculous technique in the universe. Anyone who managed to sessfully cultivate it would be a must-kill target for the Neohuman Alliance, and they had never ever considered giving those people any hint of an opportunity to develop.

    It was precisely because of this that Shang Qing had not made an appearance when the Sixth Maind invaded. He had always remained under the Hall of Honor¡¯s protection, and it was so extreme that he had never even had a chance to hone himself. It had all been done to avoid an assassination from the Neohuman Alliance.

    There were both pros and cons to this method, as it had preserved Shang Qing¡¯s life and allowed him to cultivate in peace. But on the other hand, it had also stopped him from obtaining almost any practical experience at all.

    Still, to some of the top powerhouses in the Hall of Honor, as long as Shang Qing managed to sessfully cultivate the Tri-Yang Technique, something like worldly experience would not matter as he would still be absolutely peerless.

    Historically, there had been many top geniuses who cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique that had died after being ambushed by the Neohuman Alliance. Naturally, the Hall of Honor did not want to risk such a loss.

    During the contest in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Shang Qing had stood above all others, and everyone had assumed that they had seen the extent of the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s unrivaled power. However, in truth, they had only scratched the surface of the technique, and only one person had experienced the true might of the Tri-Yang Technique among them: Xie Xiaoxian. The Xie Secret Art that she used was able to copy the Tri-Yang Technique and use it against Shang Qing, and as a result, she had managed to force out the true power of Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique.

    After witnessing the full might of the Tri-Yang Technique, Xie Xiaoxian fully believed that Shang Qing was without equal, and she was sure that nobody was capable of defeating him.

    At this moment, the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique had appeared once again.

    Off in the distance, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third will de sliced down at Beast, but it only left a shallow mark on the corpse king¡¯s body. It had about as much of an effect as Y¨­u Qi¡¯s Eleventh Sword, though not much more than that.

    The shockwave from Beast¡¯s attack swept across the field, and Xia Jiuyou dodged it as he looked into the distance, past Beast, and at where the Tri-Yang Technique had transformed in front of Liu Tianmu¡¯s body. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s gaze trembled, and his face betrayed his disbelief as he had just witnessed something that he could not understand.

    The qi strand of the Tri-Yang Technique had taken on a form nearly identical to Xia Jiuyou¡¯s, and the figure stood in front of Liu Tianmu, expressionlessly staring at Silver.

    The scene was a little strange, and even Silver felt that it was rather odd.

    Shang Qing arrogantly asked, ¡°Have you ever seen Progenitor Chen before?¡±

    Silver did not understand, but the next moment, the figure formed by the Tri-Yang Technique suddenly vanished only to reappear in front of Silver. The figure then raised a hand immted in mes that burned the void. It looked very simr to the mes from Burial Garden¡¯s Y¨­u Qi, and the hand pped at Silver.

    The death energy around Silver¡¯s body blocked the attack, but the palm of the figure passed straight through the death energy and smacked against Silver¡¯s chest. Silver felt stifled, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked up, overwhelmed.

    Just what was this thing?

    The figure attacked him again and again. It would also asionally vanish, only to reappear and p a hand at Silver¡¯s head.

    Silver frowned as his butterfly knife danced about, shing everywhere.

    The butterfly knife streaked past the figure and cut through the void, but at the same time, the figure¡¯s palm struck Silver¡¯s shoulder, knocking Silver back.

    Silver managed to stabilize himself with great difficulty, and he looked down at his shoulder in bewilderment. The illusory ck mes were still burning him, and an intense pain was wracking his body. This attack had to havee from a real, physical hand, so why had his own attacks simply phased through it?

    Silver¡¯s eyes snapped over to look at Burial Garden¡¯s Y¨­u Qi.

    At this moment, Y¨­u Qi was also watching the strange figure, as it was using a technique identical to his own; it was turning immaterial to disregard the opponent¡¯s attack, and it also wielded those illusory ck mes.

    Suddenly plunged into an unknown situation, Silver could only dodge around, and he did not dare to confront the figure in a head-on battle.

    However, the figure was extremely fast, and illusion mixed with reality in a manner that instantly suppressed Silver.

    Off in the distance, Y¨­u Qi suddenly thought of something, and he turned to stare at Shang Qing in shock.

    There was a smile on Shang Qing¡¯s lips, and he was exuding an invincible aura. Ever since he had first started cultivating the Tri-Yang Technique, he knew that he would not ever be defeated, as it was simply impossible. He had expected no one in the Mountain and Seas Zone to be able to force out his true strength, and he had never imagined that he would end up fighting against the Neohuman Alliance here. In his view, using the Neohuman Alliance as a stepping stone was a good start to his road to bing a Progenitor.

    Silver continuously dodged the figure¡¯s attacks, and although the figure had been formed from a qi strand of the Tri-Yang Technique, it seemed to have its own consciousness. Every attack seemed to seal off another one of Silver¡¯s escape routes, and if not for Silver¡¯s strength having reached a certain level, he would already have been defeated.

    These attacks were not mechanical or repetitive, and instead, they seemed toe from a talented, Enlighter realm expert, such as Y¨­u Qi.

    Helpless, Silver moved over next to Beast, and the corpse king waved a hand at the figure.

    The hand streaked past the figure while one of the figure¡¯s palmsnded on Beast¡¯s chest. There was a thump, and Beast trembled, but it was not harmed.

    In the distance, Shang Qing¡¯s gaze trembled. He saw Yuhua Mavis and the others prepare tounch an attack at Silver, and he hurriedly shouted at them, ¡°Move aside!¡±

    Another qi strand of the Tri-Yang Technique shot away from his body, and this one also transformed into a humanoid figure that stood in mid air. There was a gloomy light over its palm, and it formed a long de that sliced out.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression sharpened, as this was the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    The first will de passed through the void to slice Beast¡¯s body, leaving behind a gaping wound on the creature¡¯s body. Beast snarled and swatted a palm at the figure before it, but the figure simply turned immaterial once again as it phased through Beast to attack Silver.

    From the second figure, the second will de appeared, and it sliced across Beast¡¯s shoulder, nearly crippling the corpse king¡¯s right arm as it tore through the void.

    This sight shocked everyone, as they could not understand what was happening. These two figures had been formed from Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique. Even more shocking was the fact that the strength of these figures were definitely not above Shang Qing¡¯s own level, which was the Enlighter realm.

    Since the others were also Enlighters, they could not understand how these figures were able to injure Beast.

    Beast was without equal at this moment, and not even Shang Qing was guaranteed to emerge victorious, even with his Tri-Yang Technique. However, at this moment, the transformed corpse king was being sliced apart by a flow of qi.

    Xia Jiuyou was shocked. ¡°Ancestor.¡±

    Next to him, Y¨­u Qi was simrly stunned. ¡°Progenitor Chen.¡±

    The others could not understand.

    Inside the space within the giant eyes, Xie Xiaoxian was witnessing a certain scene take ce for the second time. She let out a slow breath, her eyes still showing signs of shock. ¡°This is the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique¡ªit can take the form of Progenitors in the same cultivation realm as the user to fight. Those two figures, judging by their appearances, should be Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. Do you guys want topete with Progenitor Chen when he was an Enlighter? How could you everpare? Since ancient times, who was ever able to defeat Progenitor Chen?¡±

    Progenitor Chen was synonymous with being invincible throughout time immemorial. He had been the one to create the Nine Clones Secret Technique, the Cosmic Art, the Xia family¡¯s secret art, the Triple de Will, and more. Each of his clones during his prime had been able to fight against a Progenitor on their own, and each clone had created their own Progenitor¡¯s battle technique. As he could essentially fight nine against one, the Sixth Maind had not even dared to leave behind any records of him. That was Progenitor Chen.

    Shang Qing might be unrivaled within the Mountain and Seas Zone at this moment, but who dared to im that he was guaranteed to be a Progenitor?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: Choco

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1145: Worldliness And Array

    <h4>Chapter 1145: Worldliness And Array</h4>

    Nobody knew exactly how powerful Progenitor Chen had been as an Enlighter. However, at this moment, everyone was able to witness it for themselves, and the person sitting in the front-row seat was Silver.

    After Beast underwent his third transformation and absorbed Silver¡¯s death energy, it had been able topletely suppress Yuhua Mavis and the others. However, it had been cut open and wounded by the first will de from Progenitor Chen¡¯s figure. Just one person, Progenitor Chen, was sufficient to stand against a full-powered Beast.

    Silver had never anticipated the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique being this terrifying, and it was no wonder why this technique was hailed as the most miraculous in the universe. Let alone beating Silver, once Shang Qing revealed the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique, his technique was no different than summoning three Progenitors who possessed the same cultivation as him. In fact, just one of these figures would be enough to sweep the entire Mountain and Seas Zone.

    This was the true power of the universe¡¯s most miraculous technique.

    Everyone stared at Shang Qing in shock; so this was why he had maintained such a high profile within this ce. He could truly be fearless in this area, as even if everyone participating in this contest joined together to attack him, he would still be able to win with this level of power.

    Inside the space within the giant eyes, the Ghost Monkey sneakily nced outside the space and stuck out his tongue. ¡°Seventh Bro! Oh, Seventh Bro, you have no idea what sort of opponent you¡¯ve been facing all along! He¡¯s a monster! Just too monstrous! Who can beat that?¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er swallowed his saliva. ¡°Father can¡¯t me me. He can only me the universe for being too absurd.¡±

    On the other side, Xie Xiaoxian rolled her eyes. ¡°Fight that? Forget it! The fight would onlyst for a second.¡±

    Ever since Lu Yin had fought at the border warfront at the edge that was next to Erudite Flowzone, the Ghost Monkey had been with him. Thus, he had witnessed all of the miracles that Lu Yin had aplished. The monkey held more confidence in Lu Yin than anyone else, and he believed that Lu Yin was truly an unrivaled genius. However, that was under the condition that he had enough time to mature. But at this moment, the monkey lost all confidence, as the miraculousness of the Tri-Yang Technique would leave anyone speechless. It was no wonder why people dared to im that it was able to rival the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    In the past, the monkey had felt contempt for such a im, as what could possibly rival the Nine Clones Secret Technique? But now, the monkey felt certain that the Tri-Yang Technique was truly capable of such a thing.

    The Tri-Yang Technique consisted of three qi strands, and since two of them had already taken the form of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, then what about thest one? Who would this one transform into?

    This thought turned the Ghost Monkey¡¯s scalp numb. Throughout the long river of time, not many Progenitors had risen, but there had been multiple Progenitors that history had not dared to record down. Since Shang Qing had chosen to produce clones of Progenitor Chen, then the final qi strand might take the form of Progenitor Chen or some other monstrous Progenitor; could it perhaps be Progenitor Wushang?!

    Some distance away, Lu Yin awoke and stared at the space around him that had been formed from star energy. Then, he began to roll his die without any hesitation.

    Six pips: Possession. That was useless, as he did not have even a single star crystal on himself right now. So, there was nothing to spend to enter that mysterious space.

    Star energy gathered around Lu Yin to form a crystal that restored the die. Again.

    This time, it was three pips: Enhance. As soon as it appeared, Lu Yin waved a hand to dispel the two screens. Again.

    Finally, he managed to roll four pips: Timestop. The scenery immediately changed before his eyes as he reappeared within the Timestop Space.

    The reason why Lu Yin had chosen to enter the Timestop Space at this time was because he clearly did not have enough time in the outside world.

    Although he had not seen the battle taking ce outside the golden screens, he had heard the Ghost Monkey and Xie Xiaoxian¡¯smentary. Thus, he was aware that a truly extraordinary battle technique had appeared on the battlefield.

    The specific battle technique that had appeared was none of Lu Yin¡¯s business or concern; at this moment, the only thing on his mind was how he could improve his star energy control more. Therefore, he wanted to memorize everything that he had seen within the space inside the giant eyes.

    When his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin converged more than 10,000 star essences from within his body to increase his time within the Timestop Space, sat down, and then began to silently meditate.

    A month passed in this manner.

    When Lu Yin opened his eyes and raised a hand, he could see that his star energy seemed to take on the form of various shapes. However, it had not changed much whenpared to before, so he continued to study.

    Two months passed before he raised a hand and saw that his star energy seemed to have changed a bit more. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew bright. He had to continue.

    ¡­

    After another four months, he raised his hand. This time, the feeling of his star energy was qualitatively different.

    Before, he had merely seen star energy when he looked at it. But at this moment, when he observed his own star energy, he was able to detect a microscopicyer.

    Someone had once said that the limit of the microscopic was the macroscopic.

    Star energy was subtle, andmoners could not observe it with the naked eye. Thus, it belonged to the microscopic realm. But at this moment, Lu Yin was able to see the star energy more clearly than ever, and he felt like he could see the microscopic realm of star energy. This was the Worldliness realm of star energy control.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. This time, when he raised his hand, his star energy took the form of a gaseous state before simting space. After that, it shrank and condensed upon itself further and further until it finally exploded, erupting like the Big Bang. Lu Yin¡¯s star energy control had undergone a fundamental evolution.

    Though, he had no idea how much this improved star energy control would raise hisbat prowess.

    That¡¯s right. He seemed to think of something, and stars spun around his body. Lu Yin activated the Cosmic Art, and 520 stars instantly appeared around his body as he closed his eyes.

    Some dayster, his eyes opened again. When he first closed his eyes, there had been 520 stars around him, but this number had gradually increased as he meditated, bing 600, 630, 680, 700, 720, and finally, 726. This was the limit of Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer.

    Lu Yin stood up and looked around himself in amazement. He was simting a total of 726 stars, which marked thepletion of the Cosmic Art¡¯s thirdyer.

    He had not expected improving his star energy control to lead to such a benefit.

    The star energy around Lu Yin¡¯s body suddenly converged, and it formed a piece of star essence that once again extended his time within the Timestop Space. Now that his star energy control had reached the Worldliness realm, the next step was toprehend a sourcebox array.

    Although Lu Yin had never unlocked an advanced sourcebox, his current abilities were already enough for him to be an Advanced Lockbreaker. Thus, he was definitely capable ofprehending a sourcebox array.

    He only had ns to learn one sourcebox array, which was the Teleportation Formation that he had taken from Shang Ju¡¯s office on the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Crimson Star.

    This particr sourcebox array was too well known, so even if Lu Yin managed toprehend it, he would not be able to use it openly¡ªotherwise, he might be discovered by the Cosmic Sect. Still, it was something that he could use to save himself at a critical juncture.

    With that thought, Lu Yin had only recently legitimized his use of the Cosmic Art before obtaining an illegal copy of the Teleportation Formation.

    And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how he had Pilfered the blood-red bell. He had not resolved that crisis yet either.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and decided to forget about it for the moment. He would try to understand what he had, which was better than not having anything.

    He remembered the sourcebox array that he had seen before, and he closed his eyes to study the memory.

    Sourcebox arrays were veryplicated, and they were naturally arranged with sourceboxes. However, each sourcebox had a unique and different type of danger zone, and these auras would have to bebined to form the core of a sourcebox array.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, a sourcebox array was basically a static form that was able to produce a mysterious power. As long as the form was precisely followed, a predetermined result could be obtained. This was simr to using star energy.

    Wen Sansi had been thrown off of the golden screens by a sourcebox array that Qiu Shi had formed from star energy.

    However, it was easy to reach that stage of mastery.

    After all, the first step was simply toprehend a sourcebox array.

    If one did not reach the advanced level, then they would be unable toprehend a sourcebox array. That meant that they could not even understand a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone let alone manipte it. Furthermore, this was only the first step. There were some Lockbreakers who could rely on their powerful cultivation to forcefully follow the form of a sourcebox array.

    As long as one was able to find a sourcebox with a danger zone that was simr to what the form called for, then such a brute force method was possible. However, those methods were difficult to use and took a great deal of time even when they were possible.

    This was the method that many Lockbreakers in the Human Domain used in the current age.

    At a higher level of mastery, one could employ a method simr to Qiu Shi¡¯s, as they were able to use their precise star energy control to emte the process ofying out a sourcebox array.

    This stage was extremely difficult to reach, as one¡¯s star energy control had to have reached the Worldliness realm at the bare minimum. Even though the Divine Gaze realm allowed a Lockbreaker to see the world clearly, it was still not enough to aplish such an achievement.

    When the upgraded gemspring water improved Lu Yin¡¯s star energy control in the past, he had reached the Divine Gaze realm, and he had easily reached that realm by himself while studying the space within the giant eyes. If any other Lockbreaker had been in Lu Yin¡¯s ce, then that would have been the limit of their gains from the inheritance as well. However, Lu Yin was able to rely on his Timestop Space to extend his gains from the inheritance until he reached the Worldliness realm. Only after reaching the Worldliness realm could one observe the microscopic world of star energy and view it in the same light as the macroscopic world.

    At that time, one would be capable of using their star energy to arrange a sourcebox array.

    Withoutprehending a sourcebox array, the whole affair seemed to be ratherplicated, and not even a five-star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker could easilyprehend such a thing. However, once oneprehended a sourcebox array, it could simply be recalled as a form and nothing more.

    At this time, Lu Yin intended to rely on the form of the Teleportation Formation, and he hoped that his star energy control would be enough to emte the array¡¯sposition.

    Comprehending an array was one thing, but actually arranging one was something else entirely, let alone doing so in the midst of a battle. Taking a whole day to set up a sourcebox array could not be considered a sess

    Lu Yin calmed himself down and silently recalled the ns while asionally testing his star energy, causing it to transform at times and disappear at others.

    ¡­

    Just like that, nearly a year passed within the Timestop Space. On one day, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes and raised a hand. His star energy spread out in all directions. It was imperceptible to the eye, but he could perceive it clearly. To his left, the star energy thrust forward in the shape of a fan, while to his right, the star energy spread out in an attack that arced and fluctuated. In front of him, behind him, and in all eight directions around him, the star energy took on various shapes. And yet, everything synchronized with the shape next to it to form a bizarre attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up, and he lightly tapped out with a finger, causing all of the gathered star energy to explode. The small space at the center of the star energy field warped for a moment before everything stabilized.

    This was the Teleportation Formation. If a person had been standing in the center of the array, then they would have been teleported away. Of course, the distance that they could be moved was limited, as Lu Yin had instantly formed this array. If he had spent more time arranging the array as Qiu Shi had done, then Lu Yin would also be capable of moving the Champions¡¯ Stage, along with Bu Kong and other experts, into outer space.

    Lu Yin looked up and let out a deep breath. He had spent nearly a year improving his star energy control to the Worldliness realm. Also, his Cosmic Art was now able to simte 726 stars, which was the end of the thirdyer. Finally, he had evenprehended the Teleportation Formation.

    This year had not been spent in vain.

    He looked at how much time he had remaining, but there was not much left. Thus, he sat down once again and began to silently recite the Stonewall Scriptures as he patiently bided his time.

    The Stonewall Scriptures often demonstrated its usefulness at the most critical junctures. Who knew who the old man who had passed it onto Lu Yin had originally been, let alone why he had been in the Outerverse? ording to that old man, the Stonewall Scriptures that Lu Yin had been given was actually out of order, but despite that, it had miraculous effects, and it had also imperceptibly influenced his spiritual force, improving it to the point where he could maintain his consciousness even when attacked by Nightking Zhenwu. Also, it had resonated with the Nine Cauldrons, allowing Lu Yin to obtain the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique.

    Along with the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu YIn had also been given a series of numbers, and he did not dare to forget them even at this time. He had a premonition that, in the future, the series of numbers would prove to be just as important as the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Back then, the old man had told Lu Yin that when he arrived in the Neoverse, he should deliver the Stonewall Scriptures to someone. However, the old man had never said who, and he had eventually removed the curse that he had nted on Lu Yin¡¯s body to ensure delivery.

    If not for that encounter, Lu Yin would not have attained nearly as many achievements as he had.

    Lu Yin recalled that time of his life as he silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures.

    After some time, the scenery changed before his eyes, and he exited the Timestop Space, returning to the space within the giant eyes.

    Once he emerged, Lu Yin absorbed the ambient star energy to replenish his personal reserves.

    Some distance away, Xie Xiaoxian, the Ghost Monkey, and Gu Xiao¡¯er were still watching the battle take ce outside.

    To Lu Yin, nearly a year had passed, and he felt as though he had been gone for an entire generation. However, from the others¡¯ point of view, not even a second had passed, and it had been no more than a moment for them.

 Chapter 1146: Vanish

    <h4>Chapter 1146: Vanish</h4>

    When Lu Yin walked out into the golden screen and saw the current battle situation, he was bbergasted. ¡°Is that the Tri-Yang Technique?¡± he eximed.

    As he spoke, the Ghost Monkey returned to Lu Yin¡¯s arm.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er noticed that Lu Yin had walked over, and he replied, ¡°Brother Lu Yin, you¡¯re finally awake. You saved my life, so my life is now yours. There¡¯s nothing more to say.¡±

    Lu Yin ignored him and continued to stare at the battle taking ce atop the golden screen in amazement. He could tell that Shang Qing was fighting against two enemies alone, and one of them was even Beast.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Beast¡¯s rune lines were monstrous, and Lu Yin estimated that the creature¡¯s power level was around 400,000. Yuhua Mavis¡¯s rune lines were far inferior to this.

    It was inconceivable that Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique was on par with Beast, let alone able to damage the corpse king.

    Xie Xiaoxian was stupefied as well. ¡°But that¡¯s Progenitor Chen.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned ashen. ¡°Progenitor Chen?¡±

    Xie Xiaoxianmented, ¡°The true nature of the Tri-Yang Technique is that each qi strand is able to transform into an image of a Progenitor that has the same cultivation realm as the user. Shang Qing is an Enlighter, so he is able to summon the powers of Progenitor Chen from when he was an Enlighter.¡± After this exnation, Xie Xiaoxian turned to face Lu Yin squarely and said, ¡°I once thought that our generation was extraordinary and that history has never produced a batch of youths as talented and strong as us. However, the strength of past generations is really astounding. Look, there isn¡¯t anyone among us that can fight against that corpse king, but Progenitor Chen apparently could.¡±

    Lu Yin stared in awe at the figure that was fighting against Beast. This figure contained the might of Progenitor Chen, and with each sh of his de, he dealt a grievous amount of damage to Beast. The de intent imbued in each swing made Lu Yin¡¯s hair stand on end. If he was the one facing these shes, then he likely would not be able to fully avoid it even with the Ce secret technique. Was this Progenitor Chen¡¯s battle prowess when he had still been an Enlighter?

    ¡°But Shang Qing has surely surpassed Progenitor Chen then. After all, he¡¯s the one who summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s figure to fight against that corpse king,¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er couldn¡¯t help retort.

    ¡°That¡¯s different. While Shang Qing is indeed unrivaled, he needs to rely on the powers of the Tri-Yang Technique. As forparing him to Progenitor Chen, if Shang Qing hopes to match up to a Progenitor back when they were only an Enlighter, the Tri-Yang Technique isn¡¯t enough by itself. Techniques are merely a means to fight with, not the path to bing a Progenitor. Shang Qing might be able to suppress our generation, but he still can¡¯t hold a candle to Progenitor Chen during his time.¡± Xie Xiaoxian shook her head and countered Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s im.

    ¡°As if you¡¯ll be able to be a Progenitor,¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er remarked with a chuckle.

    Xie Xiaoxian frowned and red at Gu Xiao¡¯er. ¡°You¡¯re asking for a beating, huh?¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er looked at Xie Xiaoxian and especially her scantily d clothes that barely covered her. He licked his lips before saying, ¡°You can spank me.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian snorted and turned to look back at the golden stage.

    At this moment, Silver was still on the screen, and his sorry figure was a marvel to behold. He was clearly no match for his opponent, and the figure of Progenitor Chen was utterly suppressing Silver at every turn. His attacks werepletely ineffective against the clone, though the opposite was not true at all; Silver was being thoroughly beaten down.

    Not far away, Beast howled in agitation. While the will de released by Progenitor Chen¡¯s figure were not fatal to the creature, this was the only entity present that was able to dominate the corpse king in terms of closebat.

    Shang Qing truly did have the power to look down upon his generation. What¡¯s more, there was still one more clone from the Tri-Yang Technique that he had not released yet. Everyone was waiting in anticipation to see who thest clone would be, and Silver was no exception.

    He was finally able to understand why the Neohuman Alliance was willing to spare no cost to capture Shang Qing, even at the expense of sending out the Seven Skygods. The Tri-Yang Technique was simply too overwhelming, and if Shang Qing was left alone to develop and hone his skills until he reached the Envoy realm, then forget a power level of a million¡ªthe threat that he would pose towards the Neohuman Alliance would be beyond belief.

    Who could defeat a person who was close to bing a Progenitor? With Shang Qing¡¯s talent and skills, he would surely be able to challenge a Semi-Progenitor if his power level was at a million. Such a talented cultivator made for an unsolvable riddle

    The few people who truly understood the power of the Tri-Yang Technique were most likely the Seven Skygods.

    Now that Silver had discovered the terror of this technique, he had no reason to let Shang Qing go.

    ¡°Beast, fourth transformation,¡± Silver murmured as he evaded an attack from Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone.

    Earlier, Silver had simrlymanded Beast to use the fourth transformation, but he had given up before the transformationpleted. Silver had used his death energy to allow Beast to achieve a powerup simr to what it would through another transformation, but it had not been enough for Beast to actually transform for the fourth time. However, the situation was different now.

    This time, the corpse king shuddered before raising its head to the sky and howling.

    Yuhua Mavis and the others who were staring from afar cried out in shock. So there is a fourth transformation!

    A cold wind began to blow.

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression hardened as he summoned the final qi clone, causing thest qi strand to gradually take on a human form. Even Shang Qing felt pressured by this.

    While Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had been illogically strong, they still would not be able to defend themselves from Beast after it underwent the fourth transformation. That level of physical strength was enough to even threaten Envoys, and even if no techniques were used, their bodies were simply realms above everyone else.

    Silver¡¯s lips curled into a grin as he stared at Shang Qing with mocking eyes.

    Lu Yin himself unconsciously cried out in dismay. The moment he saw Silver¡¯s expression, he knew that Shang Qing had fallen into Silver¡¯s trap. That bastard¡¯s extremely sneaky and patient, but he¡¯s the best when ites to disguising himself.

    When the third qi clone fully formed, it immediately struck down at Beast, who had charged straight at the clone. Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone struck down at the corpse king, who threw out its right arm to block the attack. The downward sweep of the depletely severed Beast¡¯s right arm, but the corpse king¡¯s charging momentum was too much, and it managed to push Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone off bnce and back. Beast then seized this opportunity to shoot past Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone and rush at Shang Qing with an outstretched left arm. Its goal was Shang Qing all along!

    Silver and Beast had managed to put some pressure on Shang Qing and pushed him to the point where he had felt the need to summon his final qi clone. However, that meant that there was nothing left to defend Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing had assumed that Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone would be able to defend against Beast¡¯s attacks, and he was taken aback by the sudden change.

    ording to his earlier battle analysis, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone should have been able to defend against Beast¡¯s attack, but Silver¡¯s scheming had finally managed to gain the upper hand in this battle. Silver had continuously suppressed Beast¡¯s true power as he waited for the right moment all along. His intention all along had never been to defeat Shang Qing, but rather to capture him.

    Yuhua Mavis and Qiu Shi were both so stunned by this sudden change that neither was able to act in time to lend Shang Qing a hand. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how they were quite far away.

    Lu Yin was also unable to help Shang Qing. After all, he was no merciful saint who would ce himself in mortal danger by moving in between Shang Qing and Beast. Qiu Shi was the same; she was capable of using Star Transference, but had chosen not to.

    Even though Shang Qing was a force to be reckoned with, before Beast, his defenses were like paper. At this moment, a screen appeared in front of Shang Qing, defending him from Beast¡¯s sudden charge. There was a sound reminiscent of a hammer strike when Beast rammed into the screen, which caused the barrier to slowly start disintegrating, and the tremor from the impact had also managed to injure Shang Qing. Combined with his earlier injury from the Thirteenth Sword, Shang Qing finally began to vomit blood as he copsed to the ground.

    Wen Sansi, who had been thrown some distance away by Qiu Shi¡¯s sourcebox array earlier, had returned at this crucial moment and was standing some distance away.

    Even though Wen Sansi¡¯s insurmountable barrier had crumbled from just one strike, it had still managed to buy them enough time. At this moment, the golden tform violently shook, and a golden light radiated out from the ground. Silver¡¯s expression changed and he hurriedly cried out, ¡°Beast, JUMP!¡±

    Beast and Silver both jumped off of the golden tform.

    By then, the golden light had engulfed the entire area. There was a sh, and Yuhua Mavis, Unseen Light, Ling Gong, Liu Tianmu, Xia Jiayou, Wen Sansi, and Y¨­u Qi all vanished from the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Lu Yin gaped in disbelief at the empty space where the golden screens had once been.They¡¯ve all disappeared!

    The people still inside the Mountain and Seas Zone were also staring nkly at the empty space.

    The golden tform disappeared? What the hell just happened?

    Xie Xiaoxian finally reacted and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s the Hall of Honor. They took those people away.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell and he looked over at Silver, who had jumped off of the golden screens.

    At this same time, Silver turned to face Lu Yin with eyes that chilled Lu Yin to the bone.

    Nobody had expected the Hall of Honor to have put some defensive measures in this ce. The golden screens clearly had not naturally formed within the Mountain and Seas Zone, but were rather something from the Hall of Honor. The Neohuman Alliance had callously attempted to kidnap Shang Qing along with all the other remarkable youths atop the golden tforms, but their efforts had all been in vain. The Hall of Honor had long since put defensive measures in ce.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts wandered to this point, his only feeling was that of abandonment.

    He was not alone, as all of the people who had been vying for a spot in the Astral Tower had the exact same thought.

    They had all been left behind with the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s powerhouses. Ifdy luck smiled upon them, then they would be able to endure the uing battle of attrition until the Hall of Honor¡¯s powerhouses rushed into this ce. If she didn¡¯t, then their lives and deaths wouldy in their own hands.

    Lu Yin had not felt this feeling of abandonment in a very long time. There was a reason why he had conquered the Outerverse, continuously wing his way up to a higher status and greater backing. It was because he did not want to suffer through the tragedy of being thrown away onto Driftcharge ever again. Lu Yin did not want to be treated as white meat nor be a person who was born and died in a stifling silence. However, in an ironic twist of fate, Lu Yin had been abandoned yet again after climbing to the very peak of the Outerverse.

    The only silver lining was that the other people who had been abandoned were heirs to many of the Neoverse¡¯s most powerful factions. For example, there was Xie Xiaoxian, who was standing next to him, Gu Xiao¡¯er, Ku Lei, ck and White, and Mu Ziying. The truth of the matter was that they had not been abandoned, but rather that the Neoverse¡¯s resources were limited and that they were simply not the first ones to be saved. The only reason for this was that they had not reached the pinnacle of their generation.

    The universe was a cruel and merciless ce. Others could decide your fate, but it was up to each individual to seize their own.

    While Eversky Ind would not abandon Lu Yin, they were neither able to represent the Mountain and Seas Zone nor the entire Neoverse.

    Someday, when Lu Yin himself reached the pinnacle of the Neoverse, he would be able to decide his own fate. Only then would he never be abandoned, and at that time, he would actually be the one who chose the people to be abandoned.

    Meanwhile, the remnant spiritual forces from the tablet world were still flooding into the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er nudged Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu Yin, back up a bit. Don¡¯t let those freaks from the Neohuman Alliance see you.¡±

    ¡°Seventh Bro, all of the good stuff on top of those split mountains are still there! Do you remember the mountain that Xia Jiuyou climbed up? The thing that appeared there seemed to be some kind of root. Do you think it could be a Root of Intelligence?¡± the Ghost Monkey asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. A Root of Intelligence? That was definitely not a bad thing.

    He took immediate action, dashing out of the space within the eyes and shooting towards the base of the mountain. He wanted that Root of Intelligence!

    Suddenly, Beast appeared behind him.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he raced to evade an attack. The sides of the mountain crumbled from just one sweep of Beast¡¯s arm. Silver was rather close by, and he grinned at Lu Yin with smiling eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, captain.¡±

    Lu Yin tightened his guard against Beast as he responded to Silver, ¡°There¡¯s no mutual hatred between us. I would suggest that you leave quickly, as the moment the Hall of Honor¡¯s powerhouses show up, you won¡¯t be able to leave.¡±

    Silver shrugged his shoulders in reply. ¡°It¡¯s too bad that I wasn¡¯t able to capture Shang Qing or that girl who¡¯s learned the Thirteenth Sword. Thus, my mission will be judged iplete, and I won¡¯t be able to answer to them if I go back like this.¡±

    ¡°So now you¡¯re aiming for me?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned stone cold.

    Silver grinned like a sly fox. ¡°Oh, but captain, you are a true treasure! In just twelve years, you were able to climb to the apex of our generation, and you even conquered the Outerverse. If I¡¯mpletely honest, you¡¯re worth no less than Shang Qing in my eyes.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1147: Capture And Chaos

    <h4>Chapter 1147: Capture And Chaos</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned solemn. If all of his secrets were revealed, then he would absolutely be of greater value than Shang Qing. Just his innate gift alone, the die, was enough to leave anyone intoxicated.

    Beast howled and threw another punch at Lu Yin.

    Yuhua Mavis could not face Beast¡¯s third transformation head on, let alone Lu Yin. It would be extremely difficult for him to avoid this blow.

    Lu Yin immediately used the Yu Secret Art to redirect Beast¡¯s attack away, just as he had done within the space inside the giant eyes.

    Beast stepped forward once again and mmed its fist down yet again.

    This time, Lu Yin used the Astral Chessboard to move away.

    After reappearing some distance away, Lu Yin¡¯s only thought was to flee. However, Beast¡¯s physical power was too monstrous, and it caught up to Lu Yin in no time at all. The distance that he had created with the Ce secret technique was easily covered, and Beast smacked down at Lu Yin¡¯s head yet again.

    This time, stars appeared and revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body. 726 stars rotated about him, and Beast¡¯s movement slowed in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He was barely able to make out the corpse king¡¯s movements and narrowly avoided the blow as a result. However, the wind from the fist still struck Lu Yin¡¯s arm, causing a massive wound to instantly open up as Lu Yin was sent flying into the mountainside.

    Beast grabbed at Lu Yin, but at that moment, a puff of white smoke wafted by and yanked Lu Yin away. Gu Xiao¡¯er was standing some distance away, his face extremely pale from fright. However, he still gritted his teeth and tossed Lu Yin down to the sea.

    Silver grinned once again, and his butterfly knife cut a beautiful arc through the air as it shed at Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er panicked and used his white smoke to deflect the iing de. However, the de cleanly cut through the smoke and opened a wound on Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s throat, almost slicing his headpletely off.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er was extremely startled, and he hurriedly brought out more smoke and enveloped himself within it, the same as how he had dealt with Beast before.

    Beast reacted by leaping down and shing its ws at Lu Yin, who had been violently thrown down to the sea.

    This time, a flicker of ck and white light appeared that shed at Beast.

    Beast did not avoid this flicker. Instead, it recklessly allowed the ck and white ball to strike its body, though to no effect.

    ck and White went pale upon seeing that their joint attack waspletely ineffective.

    Lu Yin shouted at the twins, ¡°Get away!¡±

    An astral chessboard again appeared beneath his feet, and he vanished in a different direction.

    Beast growled and immediately changed directions to chase after Lu Yin.

    Silver groaned as he smacked his forehead. ¡°What a massive headache. Captain, for someone who¡¯s barely cultivated for twelve years, you¡¯re actually able to evade capture from a thrice transformed corpse king! You really are a treasure!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s body broke through the surface of the sea, and he sank down towards the seabed. Beast dove into the water and raised an arm towards Lu Yin. At that moment, Lu Yin turned around and used the Vacuum Palm, but the attack was nullified by Beast¡¯s own attack. Lu Yin¡¯s attack was clearly inferior to Beast¡¯s, and he received another massive blow to his stomach, causing him to nearly vomit out his organs.

    Beast drew closer and swung its ws at Lu Yin once again.

    With a wave of his arm, Lu Yin activated the Teleportation Formation.

    Beast was thrown a thousand meters away by the array. It raised its head and stared at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes. With just one step, it closed the distance once more. Such a distance waspletely meaningless for such a monster.

    Silver was perched atop a mountain as he observed Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Beast. ¡°Was that a sourcebox array? Unbelievable!¡±

    Lu Yin racked his brains to find a means to escape from Beast, but Beast was simply too powerful. Even Yuhua Mavis and the others had not been a match for Beast when they joined forces, which meant that Lu Yin was only barely able to evade the corpse king¡¯s attacks. Out of the entire younger generation, there were not many within the Human Domain who would be able to evade capture for so long, and Beast would eventually catch Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew exasperated, and he rolled his die, hoping to get four pips: Timestop.

    He was not hoping for much, but even using the Timestop Space as an opportunity to recover from his wounds and recharge his secret techniques would be enough to buy him some more time.

    If the people on the golden screen had been able to see Lu Yin¡¯s performance at this time, their jaws would definitely drop. Lu Yin had managed to avoid being captured for so long, which was something that none of them could be confident of aplishing.

    Right when Lu Yin¡¯s die appeared, a massive white w appeared and grabbed Lu Yin, causing both Lu Yin and the w to disappear.

    Beast was stunned, and it stared around in utter confusion.

    Silver seemed vexed, and he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Shaman God has made a move. This mission is a failure.¡±

    At that moment, the eerie-looking doll vanished from outside the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Mu En and the others had their senses return to normal, and they stared at the Mountain and Seas Zone in unison, only to realize that the golden screen had vanished.

    Highsage Shenwei looked around and soon caught sight of ck and White, but Lu Yin was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°Neohuman Alliance, do you wish to be hunted down by the entire universe?¡± Mu En roared in a threatening tone.

    Shaman God¡¯s voice echoed through the air, chilling all those who heard it. ¡°Judicial Commissioner Mu En, it¡¯s actually the opposite. Not us, but you.¡±

    Mu En frowned. ¡°Just your Neohuman Alliance alone dares to wreak havoc against the entire Human Domain?¡±

    ¡°Heuheuheu, just wait and see. Very soon, all of you will be our ves and will be changed. I can barely wait to see how that will turn out, but that day isn¡¯t too far away. Oh right, please take good care of our little Shang Qing, as that Tri-Yang Technique is something that we must definitely get a hold of. Heuheuheu.¡± Shaman God vanished after speaking those words.

    ¡°Wait! Where is Lu Yin? Did you guys capture him? He¡¯s part of our Eversky Ind! Master will not let you guys off!¡± Highsage Shenwei yelled, but he could no longer find any trace of Shaman God.

    At this same time, within the ancient Honor Zone, there was a boundless continent, and on that continent, there was a strange ce known as the Land of Creation. This was where the Semi-Progenitor, Arch-Elder Zen, resided.

    The moment Shaman Godnded within the Mountain and Seas Zone, Arch-Elder Zen opened his eyes as an enormous hand crushed down upon the Land of Creation. This hand covered the entirety of the Land of Creation, even the sky above.

    Arch-Elder Zen stood up and called out, ¡°Ancient Skygod of the Seven Skygods.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Arch-Elder Zen.¡± A loud voice boomed across the Land of Creation.

    Arch-Elder Zen bemusedly replied, ¡°Ancient Skygod, you have always avoided me, so why have youe of your own volition now?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t fought in a while, and I wish to break through and be a Progenitor after this fight.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. ¡°A mere corpse king like you wishes to be a Progenitor? Preposterous!¡±

    ¡°The magic of a Progenitor is that every living thing has a chance of reaching that level. Compared to you humans, the astral beasts and even the corpse kings like us have a better chance of reaching that realm. Arch-Elder Zen, your knowledge is seriously limited,¡± Ancient Skygod replied as he sent down another palm to crush the entire Honor Zone. Tremors ran through thend, and the shockwaves even spread out into the Neoverse.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Your true motive is not to break through, but rather to attack the Land of Creation. Who revealed this location to you?¡±

    ¡°So it turns out that you¡¯re not that stupid. I thought that you would have already turned senile from age.¡±

    ¡°There is a traitor within the Hall of Honor working for the Neohuman Alliance! Who is it?¡± Arch-Elder Zen raised his voice as the sky over the Honor Zone instantly changed.

    A massive change was taking ce within the Honor Zone, not just the Land of Creation. Four of the Seven Skygods were assailing four different, important locations within the Honor Zone.

    The ones who attacked were not just the Seven Skygods, as droves of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings also appeared.

    All of this happened without any preemptive signs, and it was by far andrge the greatest attack that the Neoverse had faced. Even the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had not shaken the Honor Zone, but it was currently embroiled in chaos.

    The Neohuman Alliance was the enemy of all humanity within the Human Domain, and no matter how they had been hunted throughout the countless years, they had still managed to thrive in the darkness and expand their forces. Now that they were finally revealing their power, chaos rocked the Honor Zone to its very core.

    Many powerhouses from the Hall of Honor heeded the call to duty and appeared to fend off these attacks. Even members from the Cosmic Sect, Gods¡¯ Origin, and the Seven Courts showed up to defend against the Neohuman Alliance.

    Disrupting the bnce in the Honor Zone would shift the bnce of the entire Neoverse as well as the Cosmic Sea.

    Arch-Elder Zen personally ordered everyone in the Neoverse to fight against the Neohuman Alliance. Just like that, a war of epic proportions erupted.

    At the border of the Neoverse, there was a ce known as Ster Tempest, and all year round, it was enveloped by violent storms of stellr energy.

    The sheer brutality of these gales were enough to bar a Semi-Progenitor from passing through, and it separated the Human Domain from whaty beyond.

    At this moment, a figure appeared rather near the Ster Tempest along with several other ancient beings.

    The figure who had appeared first was shrouded in darkness. His eyes were distinctive; they were bright, charming, but also deep like an abyss. His pupils were noticeably formed from three intersecting ck lines that formed a star that looked like an asterisk. He was one of the Seven Skygods, ckless God.

    ¡°ckless God, how dare you have the gall to appear in the Ster Tempest Zone!¡± an ancient powerhouse roared, causing the void to crack from the pressure of the voice. This powerhouse¡¯s power level far exceeded a million.

    Several other powerhouses surrounded ckless God as well.

    ckless God looked at his surroundings. ¡°Look at all of you, hiding in the Ster Tempest Zone. I knew that you geezers weren¡¯t dead yet. Nobody will be able to stop our Neohuman Alliance today!¡±

    When he finished talking, a ck mist emerged from his body, and an indescribable wave of energy swept through the surroundings, causing the aged powerhouses¡¯ hair to all stand on end.

    ¡°This aura¡ªa Progenitor?¡± someone eximed.

    ¡°Impossible! The Fifth Maind has no Progenitors. ckless God, how did you do this?¡± someone else asked.

    ckless God chuckled with a raspy voice. He then closed his eyes, and when they reopened, his gaze hadpletely changed. It was like they were staring at two different people.

    Everyone in the area stared at ckless God alone.

    ckless God ignored everyone as he nced around. Another wave of peculiar energy flowed through the area yet again. This time, everyone, including Arch-Elder Zen and the Seven Skygods, felt a chill run down their spine. ckless God sighed and revealed aplicated expression. ¡°This familiar ce¡­ How long has it been? No one can stop us now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not ckless God! Who are you?¡± someone cried out.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked towards the Ster Tempest Zone, and his pupils dted, seemingly filled with an incredible tension at that moment.

    The entire Neoverse was trembling, but only those who had reached a certain level were able to understand just how terrifying the pressure from this energy was.

    ckless God raised his head and looked down in contempt. ¡°We are the perfect race! Humans are a weak race, so you can all die now.¡±

    After saying that, he waved a hand and caused several of the old powerhouses to stagger backwards from his power. ckless God did not actually attack anyone; instead, his energy was directed towards the Ster Tempest.

    ¡°No! He¡¯s going to tear open the Ster Tempest!¡± The people around were all terrified, but they had no way to stop ckless God. They could do nothing else besides watch on as ckless God began to unseal the Ster Tempest. At this same time, the winds violently warped, as if there was another powerful entity on the same level as ckless God who was opening a path through the Ster Tempest from the other side.

    Nobody could understand the fear that these old powerhouses were feeling at this moment. They had lived since time immemorial, and history might not even have records of them. They had all seen death, and they had all long since be apathetic to it. The fear in them at this moment was not for themselves, but rather for the entire Human Domain, and for the Fifth Maind itself.

    Whaty beyond the storm winds was a truth that history had once attempted to bury.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Been waiting to share this chapter for a long time...

    - Neshi

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1148: A Plot Spanning Eons

    <h4>Chapter 1148: A Plot Spanning Eons</h4>

    The ancient war between the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind was also a subject that had been struck from the annals of history, but the truth that was about to be revealed was on apletely different scale.

    ckless God had fused with an unknown entity and had be something entirely different. His realm had instantly surpassed that of a Semi-Progenitor, and he might have stepped into the Progenitor realm. Bybining his efforts with another monstrous power on the other side of the Ster Tempest, the stormy winds were gradually being ripped apart.

    Several of the ancient powerhouses tried to stop him, but their efforts were all in vain. ckless God was simply too powerful at this moment.

    Countless crimson eyes with vertical irises appeared in the space behind the gales, only a short distance away from the Human Domain.

    At the same time, outside the Mountain and Seas Zone, the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court had appeared, ringing his crimson bell. Under the startled eyes of Highsage Shenwei and the others, the Chief Justice reached out towards the Mountain and Seas Zone with a hand and pulled every single cultivator on the continent out before detonating the continent.

    Nobody had expected this turn of events. The Mountain and Seas Zone held the inheritance of various Progenitors, and the Five Mountains and Five Seas were also within it. It was the stage that had been set for the universe¡¯s most remarkable youths topete upon, and it held the once-glorious past of the Fifth Maind. However, it had suddenly been shattered by the Chief Justice.

    Even if Arch-Elder Zen had wanted to detonate the entire Mountain and Seas Zone, it would not have been very realistic for him to do so, let alone the Chief Justice. However, the Hall of Honor, and possibly the entire Neoverse, had been waiting for this moment for far too long.

    The Chief Justice was merely carrying out a n, and he was not the mastermind behind this event. The Mountain and Seas Zone had been meant to be destroyed long ago.

    There was a gigantic explosion of epic proportions, and the entire Neoverse reverberated from the detonation. Most people heard a ringing sound in their heads, and some even fainted.

    The Mountain and Seas Zone had exploded, just like that.

    Eons had passed since the Neoverse first began preparing to detonate the Mountain and Seas Zone. The Five Mountains and Five Seas were inheritances that had been left behind by Progenitors, so the power of this explosion was akin to detonating five Progenitor-level items at the same time. Even the Chief Justice had to open his eyes wide to witness the scene unfolding in front of him.

    The explosion sent the Five Mountains and Five Seas flying in different directions; some shot towards the east while others went towards the west. Eventually, their locations lined up in a linear pattern. After that, they shot through the void and exploded once again. The remnant spiritual forces within the Mountain and Seas Zone were instantly obliterated, and the explosion ripped through the void. This was not the void that Hunters were able to tear through, but rather the true essence of the universe itself. This was where stellr energyy. Even a sh between Envoys would normally be unable to tear through this space. However, at this moment, the explosion tore through the entire universe.

    One of the Mountains and Seas appeared outside the stellr winds, and the ancient powerhouses saw it explode and tear through the gales. The explosion forcefully separated ckless God from the stormy winds as, in the space between them, a massive ck hole that looked like a beast rearing its head formed.

    This ck hole stretched endlessly to the west, so far that not even the vision of these ancient powerhouses could see the end of it.

    Even the Chief Justice was stunned, as he was also unable to see how far it stretched out.

    This was the magnum opus of the Hall of Honor and of the entire Neoverse, which included the Cosmic Sect, Gods¡¯ Origin, Burial Garden, and several of the other top factions and ancient powerhouses. The explosion of the Five Mountains and Five Seas ripped through theyer of space where stellr energyy, and as a result, it created a ckhole that spread across the Neoverse, the Cosmic Sea, into parts of the Innerverse, across the Starfall Sea, and even somewhat into the Sixth Maind.

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen emerged from the Ster Tempest Zone, and he stared towards the west with an astounded expression on his face.

    Standing a short distance away from him was Ancient God, who was also staring towards the west with a baffled look on his face.

    After some time, Arch-Elder Zen let out a hearty guffaw. Hisughter betrayed his current exhration, and it sounded as if he were releasing bottled up frustrations from a long, long time ago.

    Ancient God stared into the west before slowly turning his head to look in a straight line towards the east. He clenched his fist tightly and red at Arch-Elder Zen. ¡°You plotted against us.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen chortled. ¡°Even I myself can¡¯t tell you how many years it¡¯s been! I have waited far too long for this day toe.¡±

    Ancient God growled, ¡°What have you done?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen continuedughing as he stared at Ancient God. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember the true history? How our Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was destroyed? Or even further back to how the other four mainds were destroyed? Have you already forgotten all of that? Our countless predecessors all gave up their lives just for this day toe to pass. Did you really think that you could just waltz in, tear open the storm, and upy our Fifth Maind?

    ¡°Dream on! All of your schemes werepletely within our expectations.¡±

    Ancient God waspletely stupefied. ¡°This n was hatched from the very beginning? The Cosmic Five, the Mountain and Seas Zone, the changes within the Outerverse and Innerverse, and even the Sixth Maind¡­ All of that was within your calctions?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen released a long breath. His eyes were currently filled with mixed emotions. ¡°This n wasid out eons ago, so long ago that time can not even be measured. I have almost forgotten what the ultimate goal for this n even was. I thought that I would never see it in my lifetime, but somehow, it has finally been achieved. The damage and casualties that you and the Sixth Maind have caused us should be returned. You guys can fight it out now.¡±

    Ancient God¡¯s fist clenched even more tightly, and his eyes overflowed with rage. ¡°These machinations could have onlye from Progenitor Hui. Is he still alive?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen chose to ignore this question and simply stared at the stormy winds.

    Ancient God followed the other man¡¯s gaze.

    The three other Skygods who had attacked the Honor Zone also turned their heads to look in the same direction.

    The ancient seal had finally been released, and countless crimson eyes shot past the winds and ckless God until they appeared above the skies of the Fifth Maind. However, they were still separated by the line formed by the ck hole. It had been drawn across the entire universe. These eyes continued to stare down at the Fifth Maind and at the ancient powerhouses.

    The ancient powerhouses all looked at each other, and as if they had just heard something, they all nodded their heads in unison and started moving. They bent the void and stretched the ck hole line horizontally to form an even greater barrier than before.

    ckless God stood in ce and gritted his teeth. It had all been one massive conspiracy! They had thought that they would be able to unseal and unleash the eyes in one fell swoop, causing utter destruction to fall upon the Fifth Maind. However, they had been countered by this borate n that had beenid out eons ago.

    ¡°This kind of master n that spans across eons, can decide the fate of an entire race, and can rewrite the truth of history¡­ Such a thing can only take effect and be manipted by one person: Progenitor Hui. Are you still alive?¡± ckless God muttered under his breath. Even though he was infuriated by this turn of events, excitement ran through his veins. ¡°If only you were still alive! It won¡¯t mean much if you¡¯re all dead. If you¡¯re alive, then what about the rest of them? Only the handful of you human Progenitors are worthy of being our enemy. I truly hope that you aren¡¯t dead.¡±

    Only those who stood at the very top were able to know the true history. The ckhole created a rift between the stormy winds and the Fifth Maind, but the Sixth Maind was not isted.

    The countless crimson eyes with vertical pupils were unable to prate the ckhole, and so they were only able to move in one direction¡ªtowards the Sixth Maind.

    Cmity would soon befall the Sixth Maind.

    The ancient truth would always prevail, and revenge would always be sworn. Bitterness would be suffered while despairing desperation and anguishedmentation would always be returned.

    No one in the Fifth Maind, apart from Arch-Elder Zen and the several other powerful experts present, were able to see the ck hole.

    This was true for most people, and they werepletely unaware of the truth behind the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind. They did not need to know that their skies were fake, and nor did they need to know that revenge had finally been exacted.

    The predecessors of past eons had finally been revealed, along with their ns.

    ***

    Within the Honor Zone, in the Land of Creation:

    Ancient God looked to the west. Although he was currently seething with fury, he could not help butment, ¡°I¡¯m actually impressed. Progenitor Hui is truly amazingly intelligent. He created an unprecedented force through the power technology and then schemed up a n like this in ancient times that only came to fruition today to resolve the impending crisis. Only the few like Progenitor Hui have our admiration.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°A creature such as you is not worthy to praise Progenitor Hui.¡±

    Ancient God¡¯s eyes glowed with a red light as he looked back at Arch-Elder Zen. ¡°The Sixth Maind is truly shortsighted. They thought that you guys were weak, but it turns out that they had fallen into this trap of yours long ago. It¡¯s no wonder why the Mountain and Seas Zone was left in a ce like that. Back then, we were puzzled by the stage for the Cosmic Five¡ªwhy was the show to determine the apex of the Human Domain¡¯s younger generation ced so far south? But it all makes sense now.

    ¡°However, even if you were able to avoid cmity at this time, it doesn¡¯t mean that you will be able to avoid the next one. When the Sixth Maind invaded, you were saved by the Rune Progenitor, and this time, you were saved by Progenitor Hui. What about next time? Will it be Progenitor Chen? Or perhaps Progenitor Wushang? Or maybe even the Progenitors from the four earlier mainds? How many times can your predecessors save you?¡± After saying this, Ancient God¡¯s figure vanished, though he left some more words behind. ¡°Just wait and see. You humans will eventually die out and be reced by us. We will take over and be the most intelligent race in the universe. After all, we¡¯re invincible.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen did not try to stop Ancient God from leaving. Although they were both Semi-Progenitors, he was incapable of stopping Ancient God from leaving.

    Ancient God¡¯s words held some truth; a n created eons ago had saved them at this time, but it was something that could only be used once. The Neohuman Alliance had existed for just as long, and actually, they were even older. They were an indestructible force, and they did have the means to create a new n. At that time, who would save them?

    Complicated feelings arose within Arch-Elder Zen as he looked in the direction of the Sixth Maind. If they had not been so foolish, then this day would have had apletely different conclusion.

    Their fate was still undecided. It was entirely possible that the Sixth Maind would cease to exist after this day.

    No matter what, revenge had been taken for the destruction of the Daosource Sect.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had no idea what had just happened. At this time, he was in a strange ce, a ce known as Aeternus Nation.

    ¡°Captain, wee to Aeternus Nation.¡± Silver smiled as he introduced Lu Yin to where they had arrived.

    Lu Yin remained still as he stood atop some grass at a mountaintop. With a single nce, he could see multiple cities around the mountain as well as viges scattered close towards the base of the mountain, exactly like those in human worlds. However, he was acutely aware that this was the headquarters of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Not once had he ever dreamed that the headquarters of the Neohuman Alliance, an abhorrent and vile organization filled with zombies and corpses, would have a world that so closely mimicked those of humans. There was a clear blue sky with clouds floating through it above his head while below his feet were hills of soft, green grass. A clear, murmuring river ran nearby while the asional chirping of birds, the fragrance of blooming flowers, and the bustling of the nearby cities all made Lu Yin feel as if he had returned to Earth. This was what humanity should have been.

    ¡°Is this the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters?¡± Lu Yin stared at Silver in disbelief.

    Silver grinned as he answered, ¡°That''s right, this is Aeternus Nation. How about a tour?¡±

    Lu Yin looked far into the distance in bewilderment. He saw droves of humans going about their daily lives. ¡°Are there zombies here?¡±

    Silver smiled and exined, ¡°There are zombies as well as regr humans here. We of Aeternus Nation want to create a world where both zombies and humans are able to coexist. We want the zombies here to gain reason and intelligence and for regr humans to gain eternal life and to be able to freely choose their innate gift. This is our dream, and this is Aeternus Nation.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1149: Aeternus Nation

    <h4>Chapter 1149: Aeternus Nation</h4>

    Lu Yin immediately countered Silver¡¯s im, saying, ¡°That¡¯s just not possible! How could humans ever gain eternal life? Not even Progenitors can do that.¡±

    ¡°A physical body can be eternally preserved through cryostasis, so why can humans not live forever? These are the ideas that should be researched, and until then, it can only be called a dream, no?¡± Silver beamed.

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded, and he stared off into the distance. Were those humans truly zombies? They looked no different from regr humans. They were pursuing whatever they wanted in their lives, doing what they loved the most. It was no different from the mortal human world, and it waspletely different from what he had envisioned the headquarters of the Neohuman Alliance to be.

    Lu Yin followed Silver, and they entered a city and passed by many regr humans. These humans¡¯ rune lines showed varying realms of power. As the two walked around, the surroundings were filled withughter, as if everyone was blissfully content with their lives.

    Why? Is this the true nature of the Neohuman Alliance?

    ¡°Captain, what about a drink? My treat.¡± Silver pointed at a nearby restaurant.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Soon, they were both seated, and a rather stiff waiter walked over to serve them drinks.

    Lu Yin stared at this waiter curiously.

    Silver smiled. ¡°He¡¯s new to the city. He¡¯ll adapt soon enough.¡±

    Lu Yin averted his eyes and then looked down at his drink in bewilderment.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, do you think that this fellow brought a regr human into this city just to fool you?¡± The Ghost Monkey offered a guess.

    Lu Yin had been thinking along simr lines, but he was certain that this ce was the Neohuman Alliance headquarters, and he was also certain the waiter from a moment ago and the ¡°people¡± that they had passed by earlier were indeed all zombies. They could not deceive his eyes.

    All of these people were leading peaceful and carefree lives, but they all had crimson eyes and vertical pupils.

    It was the telltale characteristic of a zombie.

    Could zombies truly retain their intelligence? Could zombies really return to the regr daily lives of humans? This situationpletely confounded Lu Yin.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯ll have a bag of blood, please. Thank you.¡± Ady sitting at the restaurant¡¯s counter ced an order.

    Behind the counter, the rigid waiter bent down and then handed a bag of blood to the woman. She received it with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After that, she left the restaurant.

    Lu Yin was shocked. That woman was a true human.

    Silver sipped his drink and smiled wistfully at Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, you were always on my radar.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at hispanion. ¡°You¡¯ve been watching me?¡±

    Silver nodded his head as he sighed. He then smiled as he answered, ¡°Captain, you are indeed my captain. When the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, I thought that you would die for sure. Some of the Innerverse¡¯s powerhouses were left behind in the Outerverse, and some of them were even your enemies. To think that not only did you survive, but that you also unified the Outerverse¡­¡±

    ¡°Forcibly seizing the Astral River Ark, defeating Lan Si, defeating Nightking Zhenwu, and also throwing the entire Daynight Flowzone into chaos? Captain, every single thing that you¡¯ve aplished is remarkable, and Ipletely admire you.¡±

    Lu Yin directly looked at Silver. ¡°What about yourself? You went from being a student of the Astral Combat Academy to standing at the top of our generation and crushing everyone with your strength. If we¡¯re talking about achievements, then yours are no less than mine.¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m nowhere close to you, captain. Honestly, I was always a Hunter, but through some means I was able to conceal my true strength. But you, captain, you cultivated for just twelve years to reach this level¡­¡±

    Silver suddenly stood up and leaned in closer to Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, something amazing has happened around you.¡±

    Lu Yin remained unperturbed, and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you also know Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Technique.¡±

    Silver grinned and slowly sat back down. ¡°Only Starsibyl and Xia Jiuyou know the Nine Clones Technique. Shang Qing was only able to hold out against me for so long because of those two qi clones of Progenitor Chen, which is proof of how powerful that technique is. s, it also has its own ws.

    ¡°Xia Jiuyou¡¯s nine clones consist of Xia Tian, Xia Ye, Xia Luo, and six others. It¡¯s fine if they don''t merge, but once they do, which will be the true ego?¡±

    Lu Yin had once thought of this as well, and he knew Xia Luo very well. Xia Luo would never be willing to merge back into Xia Jiuyou. This was truly a fatal w to the technique.

    ¡°However, I believe that Xia Jiuyou has already made the necessary preparations. Still, nothing remains constant. Just like you, captain. Who would have thought that you would be able to reach your current heights? Xia Luo isn¡¯t merely some tool, either.¡± Silverughed with obvious schadenfreude.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at Silver. ¡°Surely, you didn¡¯t capture me just to talk about such things?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I want you to join our cause and the Neohuman Alliance! We need someone like you, captain. Your martial talent is truly peerless, and your intelligence even united the Outerverse. Captain, you are someone who our Neohuman Alliance has set our sights on, and your value is definitely no less than that Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, are you the reason why ckless God came looking for me back then?¡±

    Silver chuckled. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    Lu Yin could guess the truth the moment SIlver replied. He had definitely yed a hand in that incident.

    In the past, Xia Luo, Silver, and Lulu Mavis had all made painstaking efforts to leave Earth with Lu Yin. Why the hell had so many high-profile people gathered on Earth for?

    Lu Yin immediately asked Silver, ¡°What were you doing on Earth?¡±

    ¡°That was a coincidence.¡± Silver replied.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Like I¡¯d believe that.

    ¡°Actually, captain, you¡¯ve already seen for yourself that our Neohuman Alliance is not as evil as you make us out to be. Isn¡¯t life here great? Nobody suffers any stress, and they all can enjoy eternal life.¡±

    Lu Yin sucked in a deep breath. ¡°What¡¯s the point in an eternal life without any ups and downs?¡±

    Silver was taken aback for a moment before he smiled. ¡°Is that a refusal?¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Do I have a choice?¡±

    Silver gulped his drink down and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s go, captain. Let¡¯s rx our souls for a bit, as you¡¯ll soon be suffering.¡±

    Lu Yin was in no position to refuse. He was in the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters. There were powerhouses stationed all around him. Just the thought of his kidnapper, Shaman God, left Lu Yin with no choice but to acquiesce.

    Even if he had his cosmic ring, it wouldn¡¯t be of much help.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart bled when he thought of his cosmic ring. Everyone else probably thought that he was dead right now.

    Fortunately, the items in his ring would not go missing. If the seven million plus star essence in his ring just disappeared, he would definitely be more distressed.

    Every part of the city looked extremely clean, and the zombies and humans here truly did seem able to coexist.

    ¡°Where is the Aeternus Nation located? In the Neoverse?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°In a pocket dimension within the Neoverse.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately understood that this space was the same as Shenwu Continent. Parallel spaces were amon phenomenon throughout the universe. Sometimes, parallel worlds would appear in the universe, but they were never able to epass the entire universe, and they would always be limited to a specific area. They could be asrge as fments or just a few square meters in size.

    Some of the civilizations within these pocket dimensions were extremely advanced and had reached impressive levels of technology while others might be rather primitive. The flow of time could also be different in these spaces.

    At this very moment, the parallel universe that contained the Aeternus Nation within the Fifth Maind might very well match up to another, simr city. Or, it might be a mere barren wastnd.

    Lu Yin chose to believe that this ce matched up to an empty space, as that would make it even harder to find Aeternus Nation.

    ¡°Aeternus Nation is a utopia for many people, some have even called this ce paradise. Captain, you¡¯ll definitely love it here.¡± Silver smiled.

    Lu Yin and Silver strolled along the streets, and after some time, Lu Yin discovered that the people here wore very modest clothes that covered their entire bodies. But it isn¡¯t that cold here¡­

    ¡°Captain, Aeternus Nation is veryrge, and this is just a city. There are also mountains and rivers nearby as well as inds and even other kingdoms further away. The name for this entire ce is Aeternus Nation. Let me take you on a tour,¡± Silver exined.

    Lu Yin nodded his head. Suddenly, he grabbed one of the people who was walking by and tore their clothes off. His pupils instantly constricted.

    The Ghost Monkey cried out in shock.

    The person who was stripped by Lu Yin had their intestines and guts all fall out, and they started bleeding profusely. Based on the wound that had been revealed, this person had clearly been disemboweled.

    Chills ran down Lu Yin¡¯s spine. The person whose clothes he had torn away howled in despair. Suddenly crimson eyes started glowing all around him as others charged at the man.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist and seized Silver¡¯s cor. Silver¡¯s eyes went wide as he looked at the approaching zombies. ¡°Back up.¡±

    Several of the zombies started huffing for breath as the man trembled and gathered his torn clothes back together. Only then did the nearby zombies return to their docile, human-like selves.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he watched the man scurry away, fear readily seen in his eyes.

    His voice was icy as he spoke to Silver, ¡°Is this the paradise that you spoke of?¡±

    Silver¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Captain, why would you bother exposing me? Isn¡¯t paradise a good thing?¡±

    Killing intent surged up within Lu Yin as he clenched a fist. ¡°These regr humans are merely toys for the zombies. They¡¯re forced to live with zombies who, at any time, can tear them apart, kill them, and harvest their organs. Your so-called ¡®paradise¡¯ only applies to the zombies, not us humans.

    ¡°The eternal life that you speak of only applies to an eternally living body, but all of these people can only cower in fear and despair.¡±

    Silver smirked. ¡°So what? They¡¯ve been given eternal life, and they can¡¯t die.¡±

    ¡°Se¡­ Seventh Bro. Will we suffer this same fate? We have to cover our entire bodies, as otherwise, we¡¯ll be eaten clean by zombies! Seventh Bro, hurry up ande up with a n to escape! Seventh Bro!¡± The monkey was clearly scared shitless by the macabre scene.

    At this moment, trepidation rose up in Lu Yin as he stood within this seemingly peaceful city. An indescribable fear filled his heart as the sunlight that shone on him gave him no warmth, but rather an appalling cold. This was no regr city, neither for the humans nor the zombies.

    This ce was a banquet for the zombies and a cage for humans. This was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s paradise.

    On the other side of the street, Blood sttered on the windows of the room next to Lu Yin. Pairs of eyes with crimson irises and vertical pupils met his gaze, and soon enough, the blood was cleaned away. The windows were so clean that they looked as if nothing had ever happened.

    Lu Yin felt as if he had been encased in ice. He had never thought that such a ce could exist. This ce was even more revolting than Driftcharge, and even bing white meat would be a better fate than ending up here. At the very least, one could die on Driftcharge. But in this ce, death was not the end, and living was actually far worse than dying.

    Someone had once said that waiting for death was worse than dying. The people here had to constantly face a bloodcurdling horror while being unable to die.

    Eternal life? What a terrible joke! The greatest dream that all of these humans held was most likely dying.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1150: Ultimatum

    <h4>Chapter 1150: Ultimatum</h4>

    The Neohuman Alliance was the deepest darkness that lurked within the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain. The moment they were discovered, every human was required to obliterate them at any cost. Anybody and anything found to have worked with or have even a hint of a rtionship with the Neohuman Alliance, regardless of their faction, organization, or location, would be immediately erased.

    This was a decree from the Hall of Honor, and it was an iron-d rule.

    Lu Yin had not understood this rule very well in the past, but everything clicked into ce at this moment.

    This was the Neohuman Alliance, the stain of humanity. No, they were not actually human, but rather monstrosities that wore the skin of humans.

    ¡°You¡¯re also a human, so why did you fall so low?¡± Lu Yin asked incredulously.

    Silver¡¯s eyes were icy when he met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve always believed in one thing since I was young: being alive is the most important thing. Even if that means bing a monster.¡±

    Lu Yin chose to remain silent. Just staying in this ce gave him the urge to throw up. He felt apulsion toy waste to Aeternus Nation and raze everything to the ground.

    ¡°Captain, shall we continue with our tour?¡± Silver smiled.

    ¡°If possible, I¡¯ll definitely destroy this ce,¡± Lu Yin growled.

    ¡°I believe you, but I also have faith that such a day will nevere.¡± As he spoke, Silver nced at his gadget and said, ¡°All of the preparations are done. Let¡¯s go, captain. It¡¯s time to join us now. There¡¯s someone who wants to meet you, so put on your best behavior!¡±

    There was an ominous darkness thaty behind this sun soaked city. Lu Yin felt extremely stifled as they walked around it.

    The oppressive feeling filled him with the desire to vent his rage and destroy everything in his path, especially the zombies that treated humans as toys while calling this ce paradise.

    ¡°There are many cities in Aeternus Nation, but everyone, humans, zombies, and even me, have a figure whom we worship. It¡¯s over there.¡± Silver pointed to a distant location.

    Lu Yin looked at where Silver was pointing to see seven monumental ck towers that stretched high into the sky.

    He had noticed them before.

    ¡°Seven towers? The Seven Skygods?¡± Lu Yin indifferently asked.

    Silver grinned and nodded. ¡°The Human Domain was able to create the Mountain and Seas while our Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Progenitors created the Towers of Darkness. The seven towers you see are the Seven Skygods. But very soon, there will be an eighth, ninth, tenth, and even more towers to form an entire forest. This is the magnificent future of the Neohuman Alliance!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered past Silver and he fell deep into thought.

    What a joke! If the Neohuman Alliance could build that many towers, then they would have already conquered the Human Domain. The power levels of the Seven Skygods are definitely higher than a million, and they should be on the same level as an Empyrean Imprinter. They¡¯re definitely not Progenitors.

    Once, in the past, Mister Mu had easily destroyed a strand of ckless God¡¯s spiritual force that had been residing within a corpse king. From the way ckless God had acted in front of Mister Mu, the Seven Skygods were at best on the same level as Mister Mu or actually weaker.

    There¡¯s still Mister Mu.

    No matter how infinitesimal it may be, Lu Yin still wanted to clutch onto any bit of hope he had.

    This was Aeternus Nation, a ce that not even the Hall of Honor was able to destroy. Lu Yin could only soothe himself by putting his hopes in Mister Mu. However, even if Mister Mu was able to reach this ce, would he be able to rescue Lu Yin?

    Silver led Lu Yin past the towering mountain ranges and flowing rivers. SIlver was right about one thing: the picturesque beauty of this ce was truly mesmerizing, to the extent where it felt like a fantasy. It was so extreme that everything seemed a bit forced.

    Still, the beauty was not able to conceal the lurking darkness.

    Contrary to Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, the Seven Towers of Darkness were not surrounded by guards, and they actually seemed like a forsaken territory.

    The two young men continued walking towards one of the towers.

    Lu Yin assumed that this was ckless God¡¯s tower, as the Skygod had already contacted Lu Yin several times during his time in the Outerverse. Additionally, during their third encounter, ckless God¡¯s spiritual force had been destroyed by Mister Mu. ckless God was extremely weing towards Lu Yin, and he had almost used Ming Yan to threaten Lu Yin.

    However, contrary to Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, the person who wanted to meet him was not ckless God, but rather the one who had captured Lu Yin: Shaman God.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hair stood on end when he saw a spooky doll floating in midair. Once again, he felt like he was no longer in control of his own life. This sensation was something that he only ever felt when nearby major powerhouses.

    This was a shadow that hid next to humanity. One who had reached the pinnacle of the Fifth Maind. One of the Three Dark Hands: Shaman God of the Seven Skygods.

    ¡°Captain, even if you¡¯re not a part of the Neohuman Alliance yet, you still have to show basic respect for your elders. You¡¯re facing Shaman God.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the floating doll and said, ¡°My apologies, but you don¡¯t deserve my respect.¡±

    Silver remained grinning.

    Shaman God cackled in an eerie manner and said, ¡°No matter. You¡¯ll soon be one of us.¡±

    While speaking, Shaman God violently trembled and produced a buzzing sound.

    Lu Yin felt as if all of his secrets had been pulled out of the dark, and he felt as though an icy knife had sliced down into his spine.

    Suddenly, the Ghost Monkey¡¯s body appeared, and he melted into the ground. ¡°Seventh Bro, save me!¡±

    Lu Yin tried to reach out toward the monkey, but his actions were to no avail. He found that he had been immobilized, and his entire world flipped upside down. His vision soon went dark afterwards, and he helplessly crumbled to the ground. He had lost all control of his body at this moment.

    His vision deviated from what he was ustomed to, and things seemed taller than what he was used to seeing. He realized that his sight now somehow originated from his nose.

    His five senses had beenpletely mixed up. Lu Yin moaned in agony.

    In front of him, the creepy looking doll began fusing with the Ghost Monkey¡¯s shadow. ¡°Save me, Seventh Bro!¡±

    ¡°Heuheuheu, save you? This is Aeternus Nation! Who can save you?¡± Shaman God teased.

    Lu Yin remained rooted in ce, unable to move. He had lost his sense of spatial awareness.

    He was like some kind of toy being subjected to all sorts of whimsical ying.

    "Interesting, interesting. You¡¯re a shadow, aren''t you?" Shaman God incredulously observed the Ghost Monkey and cackled.

    The monkey''s phantasmic figure began to tremble. ¡°Please don¡¯t look at me like that! I¡¯ll get scared.¡±

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened a bit, and he began to focus his attention on the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin¡¯s sight was focused on the monkey as well.

    Shaman God floated in a circle around the Ghost Monkey and began to study him. ¡°Interesting¡­ You¡¯ve piqued my interest. I¡¯ll release from this human¡¯s clutches, but you¡¯ll have to join the Neohuman Alliance. How about it?¡±

    The monkey stopped resisting.

    Lu Yin furrowed his brows, but he remained silent.

    Silver grinned.

    Shaman God flew another circle around the Ghost Monkey and waited for his reply.

    Right at this moment, Silver spoke up. ¡°This creature actually absorbed the blood of a Progenitor back in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and it suddenly jumped from the Explorer realm to the Hunter realm. It waspletely bizarre.¡±

    Shaman God turned to stare at Silver, causing him to shudder and his pupils to constrict. He then spat out a mouthful of blood that was a strange ck color, and he half knelt on the ground.

    ¡°Did I allow you to speak?¡± Shaman God¡¯s voice boomed, shaking the Tower of Darkness atop its foundation.

    Silver hurriedly dropped his head. ¡°My sincerest apologies, Shaman God.¡±

    Shaman God shifted his attention and returned his focus to the Ghost Monkey. ¡°Heuheuheu, you only have one chance. Join our Neohuman Alliance, and I¡¯ll get rid of that subjugation spell. Else, you can die.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey promptly replied, ¡°I¡¯ll join you!¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised at all, and he observed the situation in a calm manner. The Ghost Monkey would not be the Ghost Monkey that Lu Yin knew if he did not make such a choice. What¡¯s more, Lu Yin did not me the monkey, as each person had to choose how to live their own lives in such a situation.

    Shaman God sniggered and turned to look at Lu Yin. His arm suddenly felt scorching hot, and the heat rose until he felt it spread all the way to his heart, almost causing him to faint.

    Beads of sweat trickled down from his forehead, and he could not help but adopt the same half-kneeling position as Silver. The half of Lu Yin¡¯s arm that held the monkey tattoo had been burned.

    Shaman God snickered for another moment before saying, ¡°This is the ultimate fate of all humans. I¡¯ll offer you the same choice as well: join us or live a life worse than death. It¡¯s your choice.¡±

    The shadow that was the Ghost Monkey went still.

    Lu Yin huffed and snorted. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of death, but I believe that I¡¯m worth more to you alive than dead. How are you nning to use me?¡±

    Shaman Godughed out loud. ¡°Your temperament is definitely different from others. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to unite the Outerverse. You wish to be used?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head in a helpless manner. ¡°Nobody wants to be a tool, but if I can escape death and have a future, then so be it.¡±

    ¡°Your future is with the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Shaman God replied.

    Lu Yin stayed silent.

    Shaman God looked down at Lu Yin. ¡°Actually, you have my admiration, along with the admiration of all Seven Skygods. If you¡¯re willing to join us and ept having your body remodeled, then you might be able to create a tower of your own with your own strength in the future. Do you still remember that kiddo from Amethyst Exchange?¡±

    Lu Yin pupils dted.

    Shaman Godughed. ¡°He epted remodeling himself, and he was then able to cultivate himself into a corpse king, which increased his powers significantly. Aren¡¯t you moved by this, boy? Think about it! You were abandoned by the Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor only took away those top ranked talents and left the rest of you behind. Why? It¡¯s because you haven¡¯t reached that level yet.

    ¡°Is Shang Qing really that much better than you? Is he really that much more talented than you? No. From my perspective, you are actually far more valuable than Shang Qing. If not for his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, how else could he have reached his current position? All of those talented youths have their own backing, unlike you, who wed your way to this ce on your own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel the injustice of it all?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you bear a grudge from having been forsaken? So what if you¡¯ve united the Outerverse? You were still abandoned. Join us¡ªjoin the Neohuman Alliance and obtain powerful techniques beyond your imagination, ones far stronger than what Shang Qing possesses. Be greater than even the Cosmic Five! You will stand at the very top of the Human Domain, you¡¯ll have a great chance of breaking through to the Progenitor realm!¡±

    Shaman God¡¯s words were verypelling, and Lu Yin was somewhat moved. The part that nearly convinced him was the allure of bing stronger than Shang Qing. Ever since the true nature of the Tri-Yang Technique had been revealed, nobody had imed to be stronger than Shang Qing. Lu Yin craved the idea of defeating Shang Qing and having his name resound throughout the universe.

    However, not by relying on the Neohuman Alliance.

    Although Shaman God was powerful, and his words were rather captivating, they actually ended up having the reverse effect; the words only strengthened Lu Yin¡¯s desire to escape. He wanted to stand at the top of the Human Domain through his own strength.

    The Neohuman Alliance did not provide a future for humans. And if there was no future, then what would be the point of beating Shang Qing? Absolutely none at all.

    Aeternus Nation seemed to be a regr mortal world from the outside. As long as the outer clothes were not peeled off of the humans, and as long as the blood and the tearing of flesh remained hidden in the dark, it would look to be a utopia.

    It was a facade of a utopia that covered up the darkest sides of humanity.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1151: Aeterna

    <h4>Chapter 1151: Aeterna</h4>

    Just like how the humans in Aeternus Nation wore robes to hide the fact that they were nothing more than toys for the zombies, the Neohuman Alliance masked Aeternus Nation¡¯s dark underground with a beautifully scenic surface.

    Silver led Lu Yin underground.

    Lu Yin was no longer being suppressed, and there was nobody watching him either. This was because there was simply no way for him to escape from Aeternus Nation.

    Beneath Aeternus Nation, the underground section was shrouded in darkness. Zombies aimlessly wandered about, asionally growling.

    ¡°Only zombies that have developed intelligence are allowed topside. Otherwise, they have to remain underground. Captain, this will be your future home.¡±

    Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings, and something in the distance caught his eye. There were numerous rune lines there, and some of the clusters that he saw were enormous while others were minute. Also, there were some in constant flux.

    The primary detail was that the entire underground was enveloped by a single rune.

    Lu Yin raised his hands towards ck matter that was floating in the air.This is?

    Silver looked at Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s death energy. Captain, you likely haven¡¯t seen it before. It is a unique power that my Specter n possesses. It has an unusually powerful effect when fused into corpse kings, and it is why our tribe was allowed to smoothly join the Neohuman Alliance without being remodeled.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the death energy around him.

    I haven¡¯t seen this before, huh? Heh.Not only had Lu Yine into contact with death energy in the past, but he had also discovered that he was able to suppress it. Back in the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Lu Yin had ordered Faceless to eliminate Feng Mo and the Bo Duo, and Faceless had obeyed because of this ability.

    At that time, Lu Yin spected that Arcane Art, Fatal Revival had something to do with death energy, but there had been no way for him to validate that hypothesis.

    No matter what, the fact still remained that he was able to suppress death energy.

    Lu Yin subconsciously moved away from Silver. Silver was from the Specter n, and if Lu Yin remained too close to Silver, then his secret might be discovered. If that happened, it would only lead to more trouble for him.

    ¡°Oh right, captain, I should tell you one more thing. Your remodeling will be different from any other.¡± Silver grinned slyly as he continued on, saying, ¡°Twelve years! You¡¯ve cultivated for just twelve years, and your aplishments have caused us to have great expectations for you. Thus, your remodeling process will be different. The almighty Seven Skygods want to use you to create the ultimate fighting machine, so, congrattions, captain. You won¡¯t be immediately remodeled into a corpse king.¡±

    ¡°So what then?¡± Lu Yin impassively asked.

    Silver¡¯s eyes went wide as he met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°So, this is your only chance to escape.¡±

    Lu Yinughed hoarsely. ¡°Run away? Are you kidding me? This is the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters, Aeternus Nation. All of the Seven Skygods are here, and you want me to try to run away?¡±

    Silver looked at Lu Yin and grinned as he waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. Don¡¯t take things so seriously, captain.¡±

    Lu Yin had never been able to understand what Silver was thinking or his true intentions. When the man smiled in this fashion, it always creeped Lu Yin out.

    Aeternus Nation¡¯s underground was filled with death energy. As they continued walking along, Silver told Lu Yin many things about the Neohuman Alliance, possibly because he assumed that Lu Yin would not be able to escape, or possibly because Silver was lonely. No matter what, this gave Lu Yin a much better understanding of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Corpse kings were not the only beings involved in the governing of Aeternus Nation, and some humans were also involved. In fact, there was also a Dark Interster Supreme Courtprised of the Specter n and certain powerhouses from other powerful factions who were currently undercover.

    Many of these Neohuman Alliance spies had infiltrated powerful factions throughout the Human Domain.

    While this might have been a shock to Lu Yin, he also found it reasonable to ept.

    Humans feared death, and he was no exception. Those who would choose death when there was still an opportunity to keep living were rarer than rare. Most would choose to continue living.

    ¡°One of the Seven Skygods is the most mysterious, and even I haven¡¯t seen them. They are known as Whiteless God, and not only are they the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods, they are also the only one who has the list of people in the Human Domain who are working for the Neohuman Alliance¡ªAeterna.¡±

    Lu Yin listened in silence.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Whiteless God is a beauty, but who knows. Captain, if your remodeling goes well and you be the ultimatebat weapon, then maybe you¡¯ll get to meet Whiteless God,¡± Silvermented with a smile.

    Lu Yin calmly followed along.

    As they continued walking, he saw hordes of corpse kings.

    Back on Earth, all of those zombies had given rise to no more than five corpse kings. But in this ce, there were at least fifty thousand of them.

    Among the zombies, there were some whose rune lines were simr to Lu Yin¡¯s, and there were even a handful that made Lu Yin feel chilled after taking just a nce.

    ¡°These corpse kings are here all year round, just absorbing death energy. They¡¯re just like my favoritepanion, Beast,¡± Silver rambled on.

    A cry was heard from far away.

    Lu Yin focused on that direction.

    There¡¯s someone over there.

    There was a man cowering in fear, kneeling on the ground. Wounds covered his entire body, and all of his hair had fallen off. Death energy was seeping through his wounds and into his body, and he released it as he exhaled from his nose.

    The man was obviously experiencing some kind of excruciating pain, and he was wailing and mumbling incessantly. At times, a sense of viciousness would surface, while at other times, it was a deep madness.

    Lu Yin stood there, watching the man. This person was not a corpse king, but rather a regr human who was being remodeled by the abundance of death energy.

    Silver snapped his fingers and pointed to the man.

    A handful of corpse kings immediately rushed over to the man and dragged him away.

    ¡°Sorry about that, captain. You witnessed a failed experiment.¡± Silver smiled.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Silver smiled and continued walking.

    Before much more time passed, he stopped and turned to look at Lu Yin before finally stepping away.

    Lu Yin felt this was rather absurd, but then he saw a pair of eyes with white pupils that were staring at him. They looked utterly lifeless and devoid of all emotions.

    The moment Lu Yin met those eyes, he felt paralyzed.

    An innate gift?

    These eyes belonged to a malevolent looking corpse king. When Lu Yin¡¯s body went numb, the corpse king charged at him with a raised fist.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled once before he regained his mobility. He then raised a hand and smacked the corpse king away.

    The corpse king struck the ground hard, and it howled in rage. Soon, the corpse king¡¯s eyes went grey. It had transformed. The corpse king¡¯s aura instantly spiked, and it charged at Lu Yin once again.

    Lu Yin frowned and pped the creature back again, mming it to the ground once more. The corpse king growled, and ck death energy enveloped the corpse king before taking on the shape of a de. The corpse king once more moved to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smacked the corpse king away yet again, but this time, the corpse king was smashed to pieces and waspletely destroyed.

    From behind, Silver pped. ¡°Captain, you¡¯re as powerful as I thought. Our Specter n¡¯s eye technique isn¡¯t able to stop you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Lu Yin asked ndly.

    Silver smiled and answered, ¡°That corpse king was a sessful experiment. Originally, before their death, that person was an Explorer with a budding talent. After they sessfullypleted their first death energy remodeling process, they were able to use our eye technique. After the second remodeling, they were able to use the corpse king transformation. If the third remodeling seeded, then they would have regained their sapience. At that time, it would have been able to work for us by going into the Human Domain.

    ¡°And this, captain, is your future. I just wanted you to know your fate.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the puddle of flesh on the ground. ¡°What are the chances of sess for these kinds of experiments?¡±

    Silver frowned. ¡°About one percent.¡±

    Lu Yin red at Silver. This one percent did not mean one person out of a hundred, but rather one person out of a hundred cultivators who had above average talent. The other ny nine would be reduced to mindless zombies, corpse kings, or simply die.

    Lu Yin was now more convinced than ever that the Neohuman Alliance was the number one enemy of the entire Human Domain. Even the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy sought to destroy the Neohuman Alliance. They were a loathsome abomination of an organization.

    ¡°What meaning would your life have if all humans were turned to zombies by the Neohuman Alliance?¡± Lu Yin questioned.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to turn everyone into zombies. We can keep some of them alive. Didn¡¯t humans begin raising livestock the moment they gained intelligence?¡±

    Lu Yin peered deep into Silver¡¯s eyes. There was nothing more to say to this person.

    ¡°Captain, your mindset will change after you undergo the remodeling procedure. Let¡¯s go. The ce where you¡¯ll be remodeled isn¡¯t far from here.¡± Silver gestured.

    Lu Yin followed Silver deeper underground.

    The deeper they went, the denser the death energy became. This also meant that more powerful corpse kings could be seen.

    Lu Yin was eventually brought to the deepest section of the underground area, before a massive pit. A thickyer of death energy emanated from the pit.

    Silver looked at Lu Yin with surprise. ¡°Apart from the Specter n, everyone who approaches this ce should have their bodies infiltrated by the death energy. Captain, I¡¯m really impressed that you¡¯ve managed to endure for this long.¡±

    Lu Yin faltered for a moment. He had forgotten that a regr cultivator would be unable to tolerate such densely concentrated death energy.

    Silver merely spoke his thoughts, and he did not pry any deeper. He knew that Lu Yin was aware that, no matter what secrets he tried to keep for now, once he was remodeled by the death energy, he would have no choice but to join the Neohuman Alliance. The Hall of Honor would never allow him to live.

    No matter what secrets Lu Yin had, they would only serve to benefit the Neohuman Alliance in the future.

    There were no corpse kings around the pit ast he death energy in this ce was not easily endured. Apart from the members of the Specter n, all other beings could only slowly absorb the death energy; otherwise, they would simply burst from the excess.

    The ce where Lu Yin was to absorb death energy was not at the huge pit, but rather ten thousand miles past it. Silver had only led Lu Yin to the pit for him to see it. It was just as Silver had said; as long as Lu Yin started to absorb death energy, he would be very close to being remodeled.

    It was unclear where the death energy in the pit wasing from.

    Lu Yin eventually arrived at the location where he was to absorb death energy, and there were many corpse kings sitting around them cross-legged as they absorbed the death energy.

    ¡°Captain, you may now begin. Don¡¯t make things hard for both of us.¡± Silver stood next to Lu Yin and grinned at him.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He was unwilling, but he eventually loosened his fists and chose a ce to sit down. No matter whether or not he was willing, he had no choice but to eventually resign himself to his fate of absorbing death energy.

    Lu Yin would always leave countermeasures in ce when doing things. For instance, when participating in the border defense war, he had been holding Mister Mu¡¯s jade talisman. When he had fought against Nightking Zhenwu, he had been supported by Leon¡¯s Armada. Under regr circumstances, Lu Yin would never do something without confidence.

    However, the fate of cultivators was never determined by themselves. Nobody could truly protect themselves from everything. Lu Yin had faced many mortal dangers in Ironblood Weave, and he had even been killed by Nightking Zhenwu once. His greatest epiphany had urred on Driftcharge, and it was when Lu Yin had realized how insignificant an individual was.

    Back then, he had then sworn to himself that he would never end up in a simr predicament. However, his journey to the Mountain and Seas Zone could very well be hisst.

 Chapter 1152: Absorbing

    <h4>Chapter 1152: Absorbing</h4>

    Even if Lu Yin had his cosmic ring on him, he still would have been captured by Shaman God. There had simply been no chance for Lu Yin to escape. His fate had been sealed the moment he had set foot in the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and looked around the dark underground space. He thought to himself that this might very well be the end of his road. The only chance of a miracle was Mister Mu, but even Mister Mu might not be able to save him from this ce, as just finding this parallel space was quite difficult. Even though, for countless years, every discovered member of the Neohuman Alliance had been instantly eliminated, the dark power was still standing tall, and that was not without reason.

    Silver did not press Lu Yin, and he only silently watched from the side. The same smile as always decorated his face.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought, and then he asked Silver, ¡°Silver, do you have any human emotions?¡±

    Silver¡¯s smile slowly faded as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back. ¡°I might. Look at how polite I am to you, Captain.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll absorb the death energy, so you can leave now.¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going. Captain, next time we meet, you might not be yourself anymore. Till next time. Oh wait, there won¡¯t be a next time¡­¡±

    His words trailed off as he turned around and left.

    Lu Yin then turned to look in the direction of the massive pit. He had no other choice in the Aeternus Nation, even if it was simply trying to drag things out. Despite Silver being polite, and even though Shaman God had not used any force, Lu Yin knew that the moment he tried to stall, he would be force-fed the death energy.

    His only glimmer of hope was to proactively absorb the death energy. If he lost initiative and became reactive, his secrets might be unveiled.

    Lu Yin was very decisive about this matter. His ambition had allowed him to be the first person in history to sessfully unite the Outerverse. Hence, he had the courage to proactively absorb this death energy as well.

    If one was unable to avoid a specific fate, then taking charge of the situation would be more beneficial. Lu Yin had already resigned himself to his fate, the fate of absorbing death energy. However, that did not necessarily mean that his mind would be corrupted by the death energy. This was the only way that Lu Yin could calm himself, as having a tiny sliver of hope was better than nothing at all.

    Lu Yin released his domain and then retracted it. This pulled the death energy into his body, where it was absorbed. At the same time, he began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures in his mind. More often than not, whenever Lu Yin was in a perilous situation, he would find himself relying on the scriptures for a miracle and a sense of security.

    Silver turned around and looked at Lu Yin from a distance. His eyes flickered for a moment as he watched Lu Yin absorbing the death energy. He then turned away, muttering, ¡°This really is it. Goodbye, Captain.¡±

    Aboveground, the Ghost Monkey shuddered in fear inside Shaman God¡¯s tower.

    Shaman God cackled. ¡°It has finally begun! He¡¯s absorbing death energy to create the perfect weapon! With this kid¡¯s physical prowess, he¡¯ll be able to cultivate the Specter n¡¯s eye technique to at least the gold eyes. Then, he¡¯ll be able to use the corpse king¡¯s transformations to the fourth or fifth change. Once he seeds, he¡¯ll be unrivaled within his generation. To hell with the Tri-Yang Technique! Even if Progenitor Chen was at this kid¡¯s cultivation level, he still wouldn¡¯t be a match. Heuheuheu.¡±

    The shadow of the Ghost Monkeymented beneath Shaman God. ¡°Seventh Bro, this is the end for us. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, but rather, it¡¯s that I don¡¯t have a choice either. You¡¯d better pray for a miracle. I think that you¡¯re pretty lucky, so good luck! We¡¯re each on our own for now.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse¡¯s western region¡¯s Azure Mansion, Ming Yu returned with a pale face. Her trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone had greatly broadened her perspective.

    As Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen, she had seen many talented youths, and there were even powerhouses with power levels of more than a million. However, none of that had had the same effect as what she had witnessed atop those golden tforms.

    In particr, the Tri-Yang Technique had toppled her entire worldview.

    Such an incredible technique actually existed in the universe!

    Aside from Shang Qing, the other people atop the screens had also given her quite a shock. The one who had left the deepest impression on her was actually that Beast creature from the Neohuman Alliance.

    Thud, thud, thud.

    ¡°Come in,¡± Ming Yu said.

    The madam stepped into the room with a subservient smile. No matter how innocent and kind this woman appeared to be, Ming Yu knew that it was all just a fa?ade. There were only six Azure Mansions, but there were hundreds of madams. If their demeanor was deemed improper, then they would immediately be removed from their position, and more often than not, a tragic fate awaited them after that.

    Normally, most madams would not be allowed to enter Azure Mansion, but those who could were people capable of doing anything.

    ¡°Ming Yu, how was your trip? Was there anyone who caught your fancy?¡± the madam asked coquettishly.

    Ming Yu indifferently answered, ¡°You must not have heard the news. The Mountain and Seas Zone no longer exists.¡±

    The madam remained smiling. She was fully aware of this groundbreaking news. After all, she had been close to the Mountain and Seas Zone when everything had happened. What¡¯s more, she was fully aware that Ming Yu was mocking her, but the woman did not pay it any mind.

    There were many madams. But the Flower Queen? There was only one.

    ¡°Young Master Tian said that thepetition for the Cosmic Five was unsessful. It¡¯s possible that there will no longer be a Cosmic Five in the future. So, he is very concerned about where your loyalties lie.¡± The madam chuckled.

    Ming Yu¡¯s expression grew cold as she stared at the madam. ¡°Tell Young Master Tian that I, Ming Yu, already have someone I favor, and that person has promised to take my hand in marriage. So, please, don¡¯t concern yourself with this matter any longer.¡±

    The madam shook her head and said, ¡°Your time here at the Azure Mansion hasn¡¯t been short. You should be well aware of our influence. Even in the Mountain and Seas Zone, there were people working for Young Master Tian. Don¡¯t think for a minute that Young Master Tian does not know about what you were doing in the Mountain and Seas Zone. You never made any contact with Shang Qing, Xia Jiuyou, Wen Sansi, or any of the other promising talents.¡±

    The corner of Ming Yu¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Everything is fine if Young Master Tian knows about this. Go and ask him yourself who I spent most of my time with in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    The madam was stupefied as her eyes flickered over Ming Yu¡¯s figure. She had thought that Ming Yu was lying, but apparently, that was not the case.

    Ming Yu stood up and said, ¡°Please, make yourself at home. I¡¯m going to pay Sister Yan Yu a visit.¡±

    As she spoke, she left the room.

    The madam fell deep into thought as she watched Ming Yu leave. After a while, she used her gadget to call someone.

    After Ming Yu left her room in disgust, she moved towards another room and opened the door.

    Inside this room was Ming Yan. She faced the sky, but her expression was one of despair and hatred. However, there was also resolution.

    ¡°Sister Yan Yu, have you not thought things through?¡± Ming Yu asked.

    Ming Yan answered coldly, ¡°Cut the bullshit.¡±

    Ming Yu sighed. ¡°Azure Mansion will not force you to sell your body, but you must make an appearance¡­¡±

    Soon, the madam followed Ming Yu into Ming Yan¡¯s room with an unpleasant expression. ¡°Were you looking for Lu Yin or Lan Si?¡±

    Ming Yan whirled around when she heard the madam¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin?

    Ming Yu smugly answered, ¡°Lu Yin, of course.¡±

    The madam brows furrowed. ¡°He agreed to marry you?¡±

    Ming Yu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ming Yan stared at Ming Yu in shock.

    The madam responded, ¡°What a pity. Lu Yin was captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and he will never return in his lifetime. Even if he does, he will be eliminated by the Hall of Honor. You can¡¯t rely on him.¡±

    Ming Yu said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not he returns. He promised to marry me, and I have already informed Lan Si as well as ck and White from Eversky Ind of this matter. They will ry that message to Lu Yin¡¯s people. Go and ask Young Master Tian if he still dares toy a hand on me. I am already Lu Yin¡¯s fianc¨¦e."

    The madam¡¯s eyes grew cold as she red at Ming Yu.

    Azure Mansion¡¯s motto was to be friends with all and offend no one. They aimed to build awork with people of high value. The reason why Lu Yin had been so highly regarded was not because he had unified the Outerverse. Any powerful faction in the Neoverse was capable of doing the same, and breaking the Outerverse back up could be easily aplished.

    The true reason was Lu Yin¡¯s backing. He had Eversky Ind and the Hall of Honor¡¯s Yuan Shi supporting him. These two were tremendously robust support pirs for Lu Yin, and if given a choice, Azure Mansion would not easily choose to offend such forces.

    Now that Ming Yu had imed that she belonged to Lu Yin, if Young Master Tian dared toy a hand on her, that would essentially be pping Eversky Ind and Yuan Shi in the face. Not only would the master skin Young Master Tian¡¯s hide, but the madam¡¯s fate would also be far worse.

    The madam felt utter regret. She wanted Young Master Tian¡¯s support, but Ming Yu was too cunning. She was now regretting ever letting the girl go to the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    She did not doubt Ming Yu¡¯s words, as it would not be too difficult for a Flower Queen to find a marriage partner.

    Ming Yu felt extremely smug. This was the effect that she wanted. This was the sole reason why she had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Young Master Tian had always had his eyes on her, so Ming Yu¡¯s only option had been to find someone who Azure Mansion was unwilling to offend. This was the precise reason why she had made contact with Lu Yin and Lan Si.

    She wanted Young Master Tian to grow wary and abandon any ns for her.

    Her beauty was not the only thing that she had relied upon to reach her position of Flower Queen Ming Yu, and her cunning was just as sharp.

    ¡°Young Master Tian will send someone to verify this matter. Ming Yu, you are truly clever.¡± Although the madam was filled with regrets, she did not forget to praise the girl and force out a smile.

    Ming Yupletely ignored the woman.

    The madam then shifted her attention to Ming Yan. ¡°Strange. Are you feeling unwell, Yan Yu?¡±

    Ming Yan seemed to be lost in thought, and she ignored the madam.

    The madam was seething with rage, but she could not show anger before the two girls standing in front of her.

    Ming Yu won¡¯t do it, but I can hand Yan Yu over to Young Master Tian. Also, Ming Yu can stay as the flower queen.

    As she thought about this, the madam smiled radiantly and looked at Ming Yan before throwing another nce towards Ming Yu.

    ¡°Ming Yu, guide Yan Yu well, as she will be your sessor,¡± she said as she left the room.

    Ming Yu heaved a sigh of relief. It seems that she would be safe for the moment.

    ¡°You said that Lu Yin agreed to marry you?¡± Ming Yan nkly stared at Ming Yu as she tried to conceal her emotions.

    Ming Yu nodded and answered, ¡°Alright now, let¡¯s not talk about this any longer.¡±

    ¡°Was Lu Yin captured by the Neohuman Alliance?¡± Ming Yan asked another question.

    Bewildered, Ming Yumented, ¡°You seem very concerned about Lu Yin¡±

    Ming Yan remained expressionless. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of him, as I¡¯m also from the Outerverse.¡±

    Ming Yu immediately understood. ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re also from the Outerverse. Yes, he was captured.¡±

    Ming Yan clenched her fists and turned around, facing away. She trembled, though she did manage to keep her emotions under control.

    Ming Yu had no intention of staying and chatting with Ming Yan, as she had to find a way to conceal the lie that she had concocted.

    ¡°Think about it, Yan Yu.¡± With those words, she left the room.

    After Ming Yu left, Ming Yan was no longer able to control her surging emotions as she crumpled to the ground and silently wept. Her hair changed from ck to white and then back to ck once again. The excruciating pain left her gasping for air.

    Even if Ming Yu had imed that Lu Yin had agreed to marry her, Ming Yan did not believe it. She knew what kind of person Lu Yin was, and she knew that he would not agree to marry Ming Yu so quickly. However, it was true that he had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and that was what had dealt her such a harsh blow.

    After a long time, Ming Yan regained control of her emotions, and her fists loosened. Blood dripped down from where her fingernails had cut into her palms. She vehemently swore, ¡°Brother Lu, I will definitely avenge you. I swear!¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1153: Break Through

    <h4>Chapter 1153: Break Through</h4>

    When the news that Lu Yin had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance spread, it was not some sort of groundbreaking news for the Neoverse. After all, he had only recently visited the Neoverse for the first time.

    Eversky Ind and the Cosmic Sect were the only ones affected by this news.

    However, once this news reached the Cosmic Sea, it was bound to induce a ripple effect.

    Young Master Shao wasfortablyying atop a bed within an Azure Mansion as a seductive maid attended to him.

    When he heard the madam¡¯s report, Young Master Shao first suppressed his rage, but he soon thought of something else. ¡°The Outerverse¡­ Does this mean that no one controls the Outerverse right now? Hahahaha, luck is on my side! I have to thank the Neohuman Alliance for this, hahahah.¡±

    The madam¡¯s face instantly nched, as there would be severe consequences if these words ever left this room, even as a joke.

    ¡­

    In the underground space beneath Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin continued absorbing death energy. Eventually, he shuddered when he reached his limit, so he stopped and began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. He then looked down at his hands in confusion.

    He soon continued to absorb the energy only to stop once again. This time, his expression changed to one of anticipation.

    As if he had discovered something, Lu Yin quickly continued to absorb the death energy.

    Somewhere in the distance, a corpse king roared and red at Lu Yin with white eyes. The creature started to approach Lu Yin, and he could hear its ragged breathing as it drew closer.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and faced the pair of white eyes.

    This corpse king might have once been a human who had transformed after absorbing the death energy, or it might have been a corpse king that had been modified by the death energy. It was not a strange sight in this ce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze struck fear into the corpse king, and it did not move any closer after sensing how powerful Lu Yin was.

    As for Lu Yin, he was able to tell that the owner of these eyes was a Hunter at the very least.

    If a Hunter was in this ce, then they must have been a former human who had managed to sessfully absorb death energy and then undergone a corpse king transformation. Such beings were what Silver deemed sessful experiments. Only the sessful ones were allowed in this ce.

    The corpse king quickly left, and Lu Yin continued absorbing death energy.

    Every once in a while, he would open his eyes. If someone was there to see him, they would see his expressions shift between confusion, anticipation, and even trepidation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s feelings of unrest persisted until a new person arrived and joined the underground crowd.

    Silver had returned, and he had brought another sessful experiment with him. This experiment was a man who was a Hunter.

    This man hade of his own ord, and he looked at the death energy in the area in excitement. Lu Yin overheard their conversation. The man hade from the Cosmic Sea, and he had once been a member of a pirate crew. However, he had been abandoned by his crew mates and then unintentionally joined the Neohuman Alliance. He sought to obtain greater power in order to obtain revenge against his former crew.

    Death energy was seen as a shortcut to increase his powers, so he began to greedily absorb the death energy.

    Silver turned to look at Lu Yin, and smiled. ¡°Captain, there¡¯s no reason to stall. Nobody will be able to save you.¡±

    After that, he left.

    Lu Yin looked at the man who was absorbing death energy.

    The man hastily absorbed death energy, and he did not pause for even a single moment. After just half a day, he had already undergone tremendous changes. First, the man went mad, and he had been ovee by an insatiable bloodlust. His hands started scratching the skin off of his body, and his eyes turned grey. He howled frenziedly, and soon, hebusted in an explosion of flesh that littered the ground.

    He had failed.

    Silver soon returned, and hemented, ¡°What a pity. A pawn that could have been used in the Cosmic Sea was lost just like that. Captain, I hope that you¡¯ll seed.¡±

    After Silver left, Lu Yin was extremely bewildered. Even though the man seemed to be in a hurry with the absorption, he certainly had not absorbed more than what Lu Yin had.

    Silver thought that Lu Yin had only absorbed a little of the death energy, which would exin why there were no noticeable changes in his physique. However, in reality, Lu Yin had already absorbed a tremendous amount of death energy.

    Why had there been no changes to his body? Actually, there had been, as the death energy had entered his body in the same manner as star energy, and it was actually recing his star energy as it circted through his body.

    This was extremely bizarre, as death energy was not something that should be able to rece star energy. The Specter n was the only known group that could utilize death energy, so was Lu Yin actually a member of that n? Otherwise, how could he disy no changes despite absorbing so much death energy?

    Death energy was a very aggressive energy, and it was no different than poison to a normal human¡¯s body. However, the energy remained perfectly docile after entering Lu Yin¡¯s body, and actually gave him quite afortable feeling. It was as though he had discovered the source of his strength.

    Again.

    Lu Yin focused his gaze.

    Now, Lu Yin began to absorb copious amounts of death energy, much more than what he had taken in before. He also began to drag over more death energy from his surroundings.

    However, he still felt extremelyfortable as a flood of death energy entered his body. In fact, it was sofortable that he nearly panicked.

    It would be eptable if death energy pained him while he absorbed it, but why was the process sofortable?

    What the hell?

    Lu Yin started to panic, and he even began to question his existence as a human. No, even the members of the Specter n were human; it was just that they cultivated differently. In that case, what was happening with his body?

    He thought back to the incident when he had crushed Faceless. At that time, Faceless had assumed that Lu Yin was a high-ranking member of the Specter n. Now, Lu Yin was discovering that not only could he suppress death energy, but apparently, he could also absorb it.

    Lu Yin was extremely confused, and he did not know what was happening with his body. The only logical exnation that he coulde up with was the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival.

    He had been a dead person before, and he had actually died three times so far.

    The first time had been on Driftcharge, and the second had urred after leaving that. His third death was in the Technocracy. He had already died, so was that why he was able to absorb death energy?

    That was the only conclusion that he coulde up with.

    Of course, the dead used death energy to cultivate. After getting used to this power, Lu Yin realized that using death energy to cultivate was much faster than using star energy. In the Cosmic Sect, he had broken through and be an eighth-cycle Cruiser, but during this time underground, the energy that he had absorbed was the equivalent of a hundred thousand star essence. It was entirely possible for him to use this death energy to reach the ninth cycle, or possibly even be a Hunter.

    If his conjectures were right, then his biggest problem at the moment was how he could keep this matter hidden.

    He suddenly realized that he had been putting on a show the moment he had entered the Neoverse. He had gone to the Cosmic Sect and pretended to learn their Cosmic Art all so that he could use it publicly, and in this ce, he needed to demonstrate that he was being influenced by the death energy.

    Lu Yin swallowed a gulp of saliva as he thought of the man who had exploded not too long ago.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The earth trembled.

    Silver appeared, along with Shaman God and the Ghost Monkey who had taken the form of a shadow.

    ¡°The kiddo¡¯s started. I¡¯m going to force him if he still doesn¡¯t absorb the death energy. Gagagaga.¡± Shaman God sniggered.

    Silver¡¯s eyes sharpened. ¡°Goodbye, Captain.¡±

    From the ground, the shadow that was the Ghost Monkey watched Lu Yin from afar. The person who understood Lu Yin the best was not Ming Yan, Wendy Yushan, or Big Sis, but rather the monkey. He had spent more than a decade with Lu Yin, and he was perfectly aware of what Lu Yin was doing. He was ten thousand percent certain that Lu Yin was putting on an act.

    Seventh Bro, your acting skills really suck.

    The monkey panicked, and he was extremely scared that Lu Yin¡¯s act would be discovered. He immediately said, ¡°Lord, this insignificant one wishes to revere the magnificence of the Aeternus Nation and look upon the almighty Tower of Darkness.

    Shaman God looked down at the Ghost Monkey with some satisfaction. ¡°Almighty¡± and ¡°magnificent¡± were indeed urate words to describe him. ¡°Go on then.¡±

    ¡°Lord, this insignificant one wishes for you to grant me power,¡± the monkey spoke up again, getting Shaman God and Silver¡¯s attention.

    Shaman God replied, ¡°You need to absorb blood to improve your cultivation. When you were just a Explorer, you were actually able to absorb the blood of a Progenitor. That is truly incredible. Let¡¯s go. I have to take another look at this.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey fumbled around and looked over at Lu Yin. Seventh Bro, I can only help you this much. Good luck!

    ¡°Oh almighty, unrivaled Lord Shaman God, you are the figure of worship for even deities. I wish to remain beneath your feet even as a shadow and serve under your radiance.

    ¡°Oh almighty, unrivaled Lord Shaman God...¡±

    ¡­

    Silver watched Shaman God leave, and then he looked back at Lu Yin. His lips curled up, but then he followed the other two to leave.

    ¡­

    There was only darkness beneath Aeternus Nation. When Lu Yin counted the time, he realized that he had already spent a month in this ce. During this time, he had absorbed a veritable sea of death energy, but his thoughts still remained clear. While this act left him feeling exhausted, he was unable to cause his eyes to change colors.

    One¡¯s eyes would change color when they absorbed death energy. The eyes of the man from earlier had turned half-white, which was the trademark of the Specter n.

    Despite the amount of death energy that Lu Yin had absorbed, his eyes still did not change color, which made his entire act extremely unconvincing. He could not fake this change either, as the eyes of the Specter n were able to affect their enemies¡¯ senses. Lu Yin was aware of this, and he knew that these eyes could not be faked.

    Now what?

    Lu Yin was growing rather frustrated, and he slowed down how quickly he was absorbing the energy. This caused Silver to pay a visit, which left Lu Yin with no choice but to continue.

    By now, the death energy had started recing the star energy that had once circted through his body.

    There were two reasons to absorb star energy after bing an Explorer: to cultivate and to prevent aging.

    Lu Yin did not know if death energy would have the same anti-aging effects. Perhaps! Either way, he already saw himself as a dead man at this time.

    Soon, another month passed.

    Lu Yin absorbed enormous amounts of death energy on a daily basis, and on this day, he could no longer control himself, and he broke through.

    He was extremely exasperated, as he did not want to break through, but Silver had been keeping a constant eye on things. Putting on an act was driving Lu Yin crazy, and absorbing so much death energy had naturally forced him to break through and enter the ninth cycle.

    Despite his unwillingness, the death energy was too effective for Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, and it was far more efficient than star energy. The two sources were inpletely different sses, and just two months of absorbing the death energy had allowed him to break through.

    Also, there was not one bit of difort throughout the entire ordeal. The death energy was like air to him.

    Sometimes he wondered if the people of the Specter n like Silver would fly into rage if they discovered his secret. Lu Yin was confident that his rate of absorption was faster than theirs; otherwise, Silver would have reached a higher cultivation level by now, and he would not just be an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin frequently wondered if he was actually a member of the Specter n. After all, he had lost his original memories.

    Even if he was one of them, he might as well be their ancestor with the capabilities that he possessed.

    While the physical effects of breaking through were not huge, this news still spread throughout Aeternus Nation like wildfire.

    Normally, it was a long and arduous process for humans to absorb death energy and cultivate with it. Nobody was capable of making such progress in just two months like Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1154: Ultimate Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 1154: Ultimate Weapon</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath was ragged, and he growled as dark death energy started to fill his eyes.

    Silver stood behind him and observed with a frown. Shaman God was also present.

    ¡°How is it? Have you figured out why?¡± Shaman God asked.

    Silver shook his head. ¡°Should I invite the n leader over?¡±

    Shaman God replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. There¡¯s more important research for us to focus on. So, I guess that this kiddo should be considered a sessful experiment, no?¡±

    Silver carefully eyed Lu Yin as he raised his head and roared at Silver. Silver¡¯s eyes gleamed as he raised a hand and set it on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders. The roaring stopped.

    Silver furrowed his brows. He had suppressed Lu Yin with death energy, which was what was supposed to happen. However, even though Lu Yin had been suppressed, Silver felt like something was off, though he could not quite put his finger on it. He could not feel the superiority that the Specter n held concerning death energy.

    One possible exnation was that Lu Yin was already able to control death energy, but Silver was highly skeptical of that theory. Even other members of the Specter n were not able to control death energy that quickly.

    But what is this strange feeling?

    Silver stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. They had not turned white, and everything was a bit strange.

    When regr humans absorbed death energy, their eyes would change color, regardless of their sess or failure. But what was happening with Lu Yin? There was death energy in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, but they had not turned white.

    Strange.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the verdict? Can he undergo a second remodeling?¡± Shaman God pressed on.

    Silver deferentially replied, ¡°It¡¯s better to not perform the second remodeling just yet, as his eyes have not turned white. Proceeding could allow for an unimaginable consequence to ur.¡±

    Shaman God was extremely displeased. ¡°The Specter n has never let me down when it came to controlling death energy.¡±

    ¡°My lord wishes to obtain the perfect weapon, and at the moment, Lu Yin has not reached that state yet. Only after his eyes have changed color will he be able to cultivate the corpse king transformation.¡±

    Shaman God snorted derisively. ¡°Then show me some results now.¡±

    Silver nodded and snapped his fingers. Far away, a crouching figure stood up.

    Lu Yin continued to act crazy, and with death energy in his eyes, he saw Beast, which had attacked him in the Mountain and Seas Zone, draw close. This was the same corpse king that had managed to nearly capture even Shang Qing, and it had actually managed to injure the First Honor Chosen with its ws. This creature was peerless within the younger generation.

    It possessed a strength that wasparable to Progenitor Chen¡¯s when the progenitor had been an Enlighter.

    ¡°Attack,¡± Silver ordered with a grin that would give a person chills.

    Beast growled as its crimson eyes went grey¡ªfirst transformation. It rushed at Lu Yin while raising its ws.

    Lu Yin stood rooted in ce and allowed Corpse Beast to sh his shoulder. The attack drove Lu Yin into the ground. He suffered through the pain with a low growl before leaping up high. His body was wrapped with death energy as he charged back at Beast, using the same wing motion. Beast was sent flying a hundred meters back, and it left a huge pit in the ground uponnding.

    Lu Yin did not stop and charged at the transformed corpse king again. His body was shrouded with ck death energy as he stomped at the creature.

    This time, Beast¡¯s eyes turned green¡ªsecond corpse king transformation. It met Lu Yin¡¯s foot with a punch of its own, catapulting Lu Yin away. Beast then leaped up and sent another punch flying at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply absorbed the death energy shrouding his form back into his body and punched back.

    Boom!

    The violent impact sent massive ripples throughout the underground area, causing many corpse kings to roar.

    In the past, without transforming, Beast had been no match for Lu Yin. After the first transformation, its strength had rivaled Lu Yin¡¯s. And with the second green eyes transformation, Lu Yin had been outssed even with his nine lined battle force. But at this moment, he was able to fight the creature with just brute strength and death energy.

    This was the power of death energy.

    However, after the third corpse king transformation, Lu Yin was sent flying by another punch, and he vomited a mouthful of blood as he crashed into the ground.

    Beast wanted to continue attacking, but it was stopped by Silver.

    Silver looked over at Shaman God.

    Shaman Godmented in a satisfied tone, ¡°Not bad. With his physical strength and death energy, he¡¯s already able to fight against a twice transformed Enlighter realm corpse king. He¡¯s indeed worthy of bing the perfect weapon. Even if the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendent was remodeled with death energy, she wouldn¡¯t be much stronger than him.¡±

    Silver smiled. ¡°The Treeheart Descendent is an Enlighter, so this humble one believes that once Lu Yin bes a Hunter, he will definitely be able to surpass the Treeheart Descendent or even Shang Qing even if they were remodeled by death energy.¡±

    Shaman God cackled at those words and left some words behind before returning topside. ¡°Will he be able to achieve that much just by bing a Hunter? Interesting. Continue letting him absorb death energy to be the perfect weapon. Once he has regained control of his mind, force him to hand over his secret techniques.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord,¡± Silver replied.

    Silver turned towards Lu Yin after Shaman God left.

    Lu Yin was still growling where hey on the ground.

    Silver looked down at Lu Yin and said, ¡°Do your best to absorb more death energy and be a Hunter. Then, you will be able to fight against Beast after he uses the third corpse king transformation. As for me, I¡¯ll have another weapon on my hands, as well as more assurance for my uing journey to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Captain, do your best.¡± Silver left and took Beast with him. However, before that, he had Corpse Beast toss Lu Yin next to the pit that emanated death energy. The concentration of death energy in that ce was even stronger.

    After they left, Lu Yin stood up and roared while internally cursing them.

    It¡¯s so painful!

    Beast¡¯s attacks had been overwhelmingly strong, and Lu Yin had been forced to face all of the attacks head-on during their fight.

    Fortunately, he had be a nine cycle Cruiser, and with the additional strength of the death energy, he had been able to fend off the corpse king even after the second transformation. The third, however, was powerful enough to maim him with any random move.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings and saw that there was a dense concentration of death energy all around him. He then recalled Silver¡¯s words.

    What¡¯s that about Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? Isn¡¯t it protected by the Seven Courts? He¡¯s able to get there?

    He remembered that, back in the Outerverse, Ku Wei hade from the Neoverse and had invited Lu Yin to pay the Ku family a visit after thepetition for the Cosmic Five was over. Then, the two of them were supposed to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum together.

    Did this mean that Progenitor Chen¡¯s grave was about to open? Only descendants from the Seven Courts were able to enter that ce, so Lu Yin was once again surprised by the influence that the Neohuman Alliance wielded.

    However, that meant that Lu Yin could also go! His eyes sparkled with excitement.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was an opportunity for him to leave Aeternus Nation and escape.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing started to growbored as he studied the death energy around him. If he apanied Silver to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and escaped, then he would no longer have the opportunity to cultivate with this death energy in the future.

    Lu Yin was rather reluctant to abandon this power that had left him feeling extremelyfortable.

    I¡¯ll have to make use of this time, then. Lu Yin opened his mouth and began to deeply inhale the death energy.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin continued absorbing death energy beneath Aeternus Nation. In the outside world, news of the Neohuman Alliance capturing him had spread everywhere, and the Great Eastern Alliance descended into chaos. The Great Yu Empire grieved the loss of their leader, and everybody appeared to pay respects to Lu Yin¡¯s statues.

    Themon consensus was that even if Lu Yin had not died after being captured, he would still be turned into a corpse king. It was over for him.

    This news dealt a heavy blow to many people.

    But before they could even react, another piece of news spread out.

    The Hall of Honor ordered the Great Eastern Alliance to release the Astral River Ark to facilitate travel between the Innerverse and Outerverse. At the same time, control of the Great Eastern Alliance would temporarily be given to Bu Laoweng.

    At this moment, on the Great Yu Empire¡¯s capital, Zenyu Star, all of the high-ranking members, such as Wei Rong, the Imperial Cab, the Lu Cab, and the Lu Defense, were engaged in a heated discussion.

    ¡°The Royal Regent has been captured, and the Hall of Honor immediately sent someone to take charge of us? They¡¯re too much!¡±

    ¡°With the Royal Regent¡¯s abilities, he might still be able to return. Let¡¯s contact someone higher up in the Hall of Honor and ask for them to wait for the Royal Regent¡¯s return.¡±

    ¡°Immediately contact Ye Gui! He is the guardian of Zenyu Star! He¡¯s an Enlighter stationed here by the Royal Regent. He¡¯s the only one who can contact the higher ranks of the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°And the Lan family as well. Didn¡¯t Lan Si and the Royal Regent travel to the Astral Towerpetition together? Request their aid. With the status of one of the Ten Arbiters, he should be able to contact the Hall of Honor as well.¡±

    ¡­

    The entire Outerverse was thrown into disarray by the news of Lu Yin¡¯s capture.

    Within Grandtop Weave, Tian Ming was feeling extremely apprehensive. He had managed to be the leader of the Nine Stacks Sect due to Lu Yin¡¯s support, but with Lu Yin gone, how could he remain in this position? After the news spread, he had felt the attitude of the higher members of the sect abruptly change.

    In Lars Weave, the leader of the Six-Fingered Tribe, Bach Shamus, hadplicated feelings. When he had agreed to join the Great Eastern Alliance, it had been in order to deal with the Wei family, but now that the Wei family had assimted into the Great Eastern Alliance, the tribe¡¯smon foe had vanished. Even if the Great Eastern Alliance ended up fracturing, the Wei family no longer posed any threats to the tribe.

    Bach Shamus did not know how to feel. Was he looking forward to Lu Yin¡¯s return, or was he hoping that the youth would nevere back?

    No, Lu Yin definitely was noting back.

    If he could note back, then there was no reason for the Six-Fingered Tribe to listen to others¡¯ orders. Heed the orders from the Hall of Honor? Impossible!

    Bach Shamus was not the only one with such thoughts, as all of the powerful factions within the Great Eastern Alliance, including Greenpeak Gorge, the Vastdearth Sect, Evenground Pce, the Neo-Vestige Sect, the Dark Phoenix family, and the others werepletely unwilling to ept orders from some stranger.

    Lu Yin had seeded in unifying the Outerverse due to the Outerverse being isted from the Innerverse and his various methods. However, was everyone expected to heed orders from some new guy? On what basis?

    This oue was well within the expectations of the Hall of Honor. Now that travel between the Innerverse and Outerverse had returned to normal, the Innerverse had no desire to see an united Outerverse, not even if the Hall of Honor wished for such a thing.

    A unified Outerverse would not benefit or profit the Innerverse powers.

    The Hall of Honor was naturally aware of such things, so they immediately released Bu Laoweng¡¯s identity: he was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    On the surface, the decision-making group within the Hall of Honor was the overseers. They had the authority to pass judgment and conduct trials.

    Even if they were not powerful individuals, they had been given absolute authority, and to some extent, they could even affect the Interster Supreme Court, the Lockbreaker Society, and other such powerful organizations.

    Bu Laoweng was naturally a powerful authority figure who stood at the peak of the Human Domain as the overseer.

    Such a figure would oversee the Great Eastern Alliance. This caused the various factions who had intended to break away from the Great Eastern Alliance to break out in a cold sweat. They all wanted to leave, but nobody wished to be the first to make such an attempt.

    It was evident that the Hall of Honor had disclosed Bu Laoweng¡¯s identity as a warning to such powers. Most likely, they would be immediately dealt with if they tried to break away.

    At this moment, even the Innerverse did not dare toy any ns regarding the Outerverse.

    As for thepetition for the Cosmic Five, that fever had died down after the massive changes within the Neoverse. The Mountain and Seas Zone no longer existed, and naturally, the same was true of the Cosmic Five.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1155: A Minor Episode

    <h4>Chapter 1155: A Minor Episode</h4>

    On Eversky Ind, Highsage Shenwei¡¯s gadget rang. He sighed as he epted the call, and a projection of Highsage Leon appeared.

    ¡°Senior Brother, what happened to Lu Yin? Why didn¡¯t you protect him?¡± Highsage Leon roared, his eyes bloodshot.

    Highsage Shenwei exasperatedly replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Junior Brother. Everything happened in a sh. Nobody could have predicted that the Seven Skygods would personally take action this time around.¡±

    Highsage Leon shouted, ¡°Then why are all those kids from the Hall of Honor still unscathed? Everyone else was also safe except for Lu Yin!¡±

    Highsage Shenwei shook his head as he answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know. The Neohuman Alliance only captured Lu Yin, and Shaman God himself was the one who did it. Even if Master had been there, he might not have been able to prevent it.¡±

    Highsage Leon huffed and tightly clenched the hilt of his cuss, his emotions still unstable.

    After some time, Highsage Leon regained hisposure and said, ¡°I believe that Little Lu will return. He¡¯s always been lucky, so things won¡¯t end just like this.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei wanted to say something in response, but he ultimately held his tongue.

    ¡°We can¡¯t possibly let Bu Laoweng take control of Lu Yin¡¯s resources! Senior Brother, Eversky Ind cannot remain silent on this issue,¡± Highsage Leon¡¯s voice boomed.

    Highsage Shenwei nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Master will personally see to this matter. No harm wille to the Great Yu Empire, and no one will gain control of it.¡±

    ¡°What of the Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    ¡°Junior Brother, you should be well aware that a unified Outerverse is not the same Outerverse as before. Someone must take control of the Great Eastern Alliance. If the Great Eastern Alliance were to break apart, then it would never reform ever again.¡±

    ¡°All of this was done by Little Lu.¡±

    ¡°I know, and so too does Master. There¡¯s also Yuan Shi behind Little Lu, and you know how high Yuan Shi¡¯s status within the Hall of Honor is. Nobody will be able to touch Little Lu¡¯s properties. If hees back alive, then Eversky Ind will do our best to return what he deserves to him. However, with how things have turned out, we must ept the truth. What we can do, however, is protect his loved ones. The Hall of Honor is not trying to im his resources¡ªthey are only moving in so that they can stabilize the Outerverse. There are some things that have to be done.¡±

    Highsage Leon was not an unreasonable person. With Lu Yin gone, it was understandable for the Hall of Honor to send someone to oversee the unified Outerverse. Despite that, Highsage Leon was unable to ept the truth of this matter that quickly.

    ¡°Please tell Master to wait for Little Lu¡¯s return. If hees back, then not only will the Hall of Honor have to give him what he deserves, but they will also have to return the Great Eastern Alliance to him.¡± Highsage Leon said.

    ¡°That¡¯s all well within reason. If Little Lu returns, then neither Bu Laoweng nor any of the nine overseers will be able to keep hold of the Great Eastern Alliance. While the Neoverse cannot interfere with matters of the Outerverse, Eversky Ind will stand by Little Lu. Master has also promised to teach him all of Eversky Ind¡¯s battle techniques, even our secret techniques.¡±

    Eversky Ind felt rather guilty over what had happened to Lu Yin. They had always been aware of the n regarding the Mountain and Seas Zone, as well as the fact that the Cosmic Five were merely bait used to lure the Neohuman Alliance out. However, no one had expected that the Neohuman Alliance would capture Lu Yin alone.

    Highsage Shenwei did not know how to ount for this matter, and no promise was more valuable than a life. The Neohuman Alliance had sent Shaman God to capture Lu Yin, not kill him. Otherwise, they would have simply taken his life in the Mountain and Seas Zone. It would be better if Lu Yin never returned, as who knew what the Hall of Honor or other powerful factions would do to him if he did eventually reappear.

    Highsage Leon ended the call. Forcing Eversky Ind¡¯s hand was something that he could do, and as long as Eversky Ind¡¯s stance was made clear, the Hall of Honor would proceed with caution. Little Lu, you muste back!

    In the Neoverse. Tian Shao looked at his gadget andughed. ¡°Although the Outerverse is a wastnd, with such a position, I might be able to climb to a higher position in the future.¡±

    He was Bu Laoweng¡¯s grandson, and his grandfather was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers. Tian Shao had an official position that allowed him to apany Bu Laoweng to oversee the Great Eastern Alliance. While everyone knew that this was merely a stepping stone for the youth, he wouldter be able to assume the position of overseer as long as he did not mess up this assignment.

    Tian Shao grew more excited at the possibility of his name being recorded down in the annals of history.

    The Outerverse had never once been unified throughout history, and Lu Yin had been the first to do so. However, he had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and everyone knew that he had not been captured to be killed. Tian Shao fervently wished for Lu Yin to return as a zombie. If that happened, his reputation would be destroyed, and Tian Shao¡¯s grandfather, Bu Laoweng, would be granted the greatest aplishment for governing the Outerverse. Tian Shao would then inherit that honor, and he would thus step into the highest echelons of the Hall of Honor, as well as that of the Human Domain itself.

    Deep in his heart, Tian Shao felt extremely grateful to Lu Yin. Without Lu Yin, he would have never had such an excellent opportunity to make such rapid progress.

    ¡°Don''t worry, I¡¯ll protect your assets well. Although we have never met, I will definitely remember your contributions,¡± Tian Shao muttered under his breath as he looked in the direction of the Outerverse. While it seemed like a forsaken territory for now, it marked the beginning of his ascension.

    ¡­

    The mastermind strategy spanning eons that was devised by Progenitor Hui to protect the Fifth Maind¡­

    The Hall of Honor interfering in order to reestablish transit between the Innerverse and Outerverse¡­

    The cmity that had befallen the Sixth Maind¡­

    All of these momentous events had quickly urred over a very short timespan. Nobody knew what consequences they would have on the Human Domain¡ªnot even the Starsibyl Sect was able to predict the future.

    In the massive universe, there were also some changes that urred on Earth.

    Earth was the beginning of Lu Yin¡¯s journey, and more than a decade had passed since that time. It had originally been destined to be ruled by the Great Yu Empire and be an ordinary. However, because of Lu Yin, Earth¡¯s status had drastically changed. Its reputation throughout the Outerverse had be extremely impressive.

    The major cities of the changed tremendously, going through more than a thousand years¡¯ worth of development in this short amount of time. Technology and cultivation were the focal point.

    Jinlin, one of Earth¡¯srgest cities, was the city where Lu Yin had spent most of his time while on Earth. It had also experienced many changes, but the city¡¯s oldest buildings had been preserved.

    From the perspective of the universe, the history of the small city was not even as extensive as a cultivator. However, many of the humans from Earth were grateful to that they could protect some of their heritage.

    Jinlin also had a statue of Lu Yin.

    Countless people paid homage to this statue every day. When news of Lu Yin¡¯s capture arrived, more people began to frequent this ce as they prayed for his safe return.

    One young man walked out from a cafe close to the statue. He pressed his bucket hat down on his head as he yed with a straw that was in his mouth. He then took a sip of the drink in his hands and looked around. ¡°Is this the Jinlin of this parallel world? Interesting. After so many parallel worlds, the heritage that has been preserved in this Jinlin is pretty good. Father will be happy if he learns of this. Back then, he found great-grandfather in Jinlin.¡±

    The youth was rather shocked once he noticed the many people kneeling on the ground in front of the statue despite the scorching sun. ¡°Why do they show so much respect for that dude? Back then, pops saved Earth, but he never received this much respect! This guy should be pretty good at this shit, huh?¡±

    His words were overheard by several burly men who just happened to be passing by. They flew into rage and surrounded the young man while ring at him with menacing eyes. ¡°Little runt, what did you just say?¡±

    The young man thought for a moment while staring nkly at the men. ¡°I forgot what I said. Could you give me a hint?¡±

    One of the muscr men stepped forward and red down at the young man. ¡°You said ¡®pretty good at this shit,¡¯ didn¡¯t you? How dare you pay respects to Lord Lu in such a manner?¡±

    The young man blinked several times. ¡°But I¡¯m not paying him my respects.¡±

    The man grew livid. ¡°You scum! You¡¯re from Earth, are you not?¡±

    The young man sheepishly nodded.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re an Earthling, then why don¡¯t you know the meaning of gratitude? If not for Lord Lu, we would all be ves out in the universe. Earth¡¯s cultivators would have been sent to the battlefield to be cannon fodder. Don¡¯t you know that? He¡¯s why you¡¯re able to keep living on Earth and sip that drink in your hands this casually!¡± the muscr man shouted in fury.

    The more Earthlings learned of the outside universe, the more grateful they were towards Lu Yin. Only by experiencing the darkness were they able to understand the light that Lu Yin had brought with him.

    Themotion soon drew over more people.

    The muscr man red at the young man and shouted, ¡°Little rascal, what¡¯s your name? How did your parents raise you? Don¡¯t you understand respect? Don¡¯t you understand gratitude?¡±

    People from all around chimed in and began aggravating the situation. ¡°Find his family and tie them up! Make them kneel in front of Lord Lu¡¯s statue!¡±

    ¡°Tie him up!¡±

    ¡°Tie him up!¡±

    ¡°Tie him up!¡±

    The young man saw that the crowd was pressing in on him closer and closer. Each of them was fiercely ring at him. He forced out augh and with one breath, downed the rest of his drink and gestured his departure with his hands. ¡°My apologies, I don¡¯t quite understand the history of your parallel world. I¡¯m just someone chasing after a lightning rabbit. Sorry!¡±

    With those words, he disappeared, leaving behind nothing aside from an empty cup that fell to the ground with a light thud.

    The people in the area all looked at each other in confusion. They were not willing to ept this oue, but none of them could even find a trace of the young man¡¯s shadow.

    ¡­

    Back beneath Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin had been busy sucking in therge amounts of death energy that emanated from the deep pit. Every now and then, he would pause, but after sensing that the death energy still had not caused any negative effects, he would continue. There was an urge to use this death energy to break through to the Hunter realm.

    However, one day, possibly due to the massive amount of death energy that he had absorbed, Lu Yin finally felt like something was off. Images of massacre and ughter began to fill his mind. There were images of his past. He saw Puyu, Feng Mo, Nightking Zhenwu, and every enemy that he had in, and his heart filled with pleasure upon seeing these scenes.

    Not right.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes. The death energy had finally started affecting him. He immediately stopped absorbing the energy, but somehow, he found himself unable to. Even against his will, the death energy continued to move, forming a cycle between him and his surroundings.

    Without any concern for potential consequences, Lu Yin tried to move away from the pit, but he found that he was unable to move his body. The death energy was now suppressing him, and his body was just like a puppet. Death energy continued to flow into his body and settle down before part of it left his body. This cycle continued to repeat.

    Damn it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank as he felt chills run down his spine.

    Silver was extremely prudent. Lu Yin had appeared to have been sessfully remodeled, but there had been no signs of his eyes changing to match those of the Specter n. Thus, Silver had quickly decided to throw Lu Yin over to the deepest part of the pit.

    Even members of the Specter n would be unable to withstand such an intense concentration of death energy. Even if Lu Yin had been faking his situation, he would not be able to continue for long after being ced right next to the pit.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1156: A Black and White Mist

    <h4>Chapter 1156: A ck and White Mist</h4>

    The fact that Lu Yin had cultivated for just twelve years made his aplishments absolutely extraordinary. He had already be ustomed to the changes that urred in cultivation, and he quickly resigned himself to the fact that even if he was able to stop the current of death energy from entering his body, he would not be able topletely stop the pit¡¯s death energy from affecting him. Not even an Envoy could do such a thing.

    Lu Yin desperately gasped for air as images of ughter shed through his mind even more rapidly. He felt as though he was hallucinating; his enemies were appearing before him one by one as zombies, and they surrounded him.

    ¡°GET! LOST! Go away, all of you!¡± Lu Yin hammered the air with his fists as he shouted, and the death energy dissipated at the ces he punched, but it soon returned as if nothing had ever happened.

    Lu Yin half-knelt on the ground, his entire body trembling. He had simply absorbed far too much death energy, and he was losing control.

    Several days passed, and a massive amount of death energy had already settled down within Lu Yin¡¯s body. This death energy could function as a recement for star energy, and it was nearly enough for him to break through to the Hunter realm. His rate of absorption in this location was ten times higher than the previous one. However, his consciousness was heavily impacted. His thoughts constantly drifted around, and even reciting the Stonewall Scriptures was fruitless.

    Death energy was not a form of spiritual energy, so the Stonewall Scriptures were not able to help in this matter.

    Countless images had shed through his mind by this time, and Lu Yin continued reciting the scriptures in a bid to retain his consciousness. He had considered using the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival, as this technique seemed to be the reason why the death energy had not initially affected him.

    Could I nullify the effects of death energy if I circte the arcane art around my body?

    That¡¯s not right. Arcane Art, Fatal Revival might absorb even more death energy!

    Lu Yin¡¯s haphazard thoughts were running wild. Suddenly, an idea shed into his mind. If the arcane art was able to absorb death energy, then would the reversed technique be able to suppress death energy?

    The arcane art had the power to suppress the natural healing ability of a person¡¯s physical body, and it would force someone to the brink of death. This was why nobody had been able to sessfully cultivate it despite the passage of countless years. However, once one seeded, they would experience a qualitative improvement in their overall strength. As for the reversed technique, Lu Yin already knew it: it was the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    The Daynight Restoration Technique was able to elevate the healing potential of the physical body to allow for nearly limitless recovery.

    In the past, on Shenwu Continent when Lu Yin had fought against Zhanlong Daynight, he had felt suppressed due to Zhanlong Daynight using the Daynight Restoration Technique. This was because it was the pr opposite of Lu Yin¡¯s arcane art.

    The Daynight Restoration Technique was a powerful technique that belonged to the Daynight n. Its power terrified its foes, and its fame had spread throughout the universe. Even though it had been suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s Fatal Revival, the technique was not a low grade one.

    It was a coincidence that Lu Yin had stolen the stone of inheritance from Nightking Zhenwuter on. When he entered the inheritance hallway, he had also learned the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    At that time, he had thought that the Daynight Restoration Technique would basically be poison to him since he was already practicing Fatal Revival. However, in this current situation, it was necessary to take that poison.

    If his conjecture was correct, death energy benefited Fatal Revival, so it was possible that the Daynight Restoration Technique might reject death energy.

    Lu Yin set his mind to this task. If he continued to allow the death energy to remodel his body, it was very likely that he would end up bing a weapon for the Neohuman Alliance.

    There was also the possibility that the Daynight Restoration Technique would harm him even further, but at this moment, he did not have a choice.

    Cultivating the Daynight Restoration Technique was not easy. Otherwise, someone besides Zhanlong Daynight would have done so. Despite merely being a member of the Daynight n, Zhanlong Daynight had been able to defeat Nightking Yanqing because of this technique, which was proof of its powers.

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply. As long as it was not a Progenitor level technique, he would be able toprehend it quickly.

    Soon after, Lu Yin managed to circte the Daynight Restoration Technique through his body.

    The result was like a huge rock had been suddenly tossed into a peacefulke. The moment the technique circted through his body, the death energy inside him began to sizzle, as though it had met its natural nemesis. Soon, the death energy was surging endlessly in an attempt to overpower the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    The Daynight Restoration Technique would be quickly suppressed if Lu Yin lost consciousness, so he did his best to retain what little awareness he had left as he used thest bit of star energy in his body to cycle the Daynight Restoration Technique and fend off the death energy.

    All of a sudden, the natural cycle between the death energy in his surroundings and his internal body was severed. His body was no longer part of the circle, and death energy no longer entered his body.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief.

    It works!

    He was absolutely ecstatic.

    I have to hold out until Silver takes me to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. I must!

    Lu Yin felt extremely grateful towards Nightking Zhenwu; if the Nightking had not carried the inheritance stone on his person, Lu Yin would have never been able to learn the Daynight Restoration Technique, and he might have be the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s weapon here.

    Lu Yin thought of the Ghost Monkey and wondered what had happened to him. The monkey had actually been born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s shadow, so it was no wonder why he could absorb the blood of a Progenitor and immediately rush through two realms by doing so. Could realms be crossed that easily? There was no way it could happen ordinarily, and that scene had toppled Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the universe. The Ghost Monkey should have been a powerhouse in the past, but it had somehow lost its memory, just like Lu Yin. That was the only logical exnation.

    Lu Yin then thought about the battle to determine the Cosmic Five. When the Neohuman Alliance had invaded the Mountain and Seas Zone, the people on the golden tform had all been taken away. In that case, why had Silver not been taken away as well?Damn it.

    It¡¯s rather chilly here. I wonder if I can get some more clothes to wear or if I¡¯ll see some familiar faces. Forget it. It¡¯s better if I don¡¯t see anyone, as I would probably be forced to kill them.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin circted the Daynight Restoration Technique through his body as his thoughts ran free. Various useless thoughts streamed through his mind, but if he lost consciousness, it would all be over.

    He had never guessed that the venomous Daynight Restoration Technique would one day be his only salvation.

    The universe is indeed an interesting ce. Back when I was a librarian on Earth, I perused many books, and one of them exined the concept of naturalws and cycles. Could this be one such case? It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve visited Earth. If I manage to leave this ce alive, I¡¯ll go with Ming Yan. It¡¯s time to marry her.

    Should we have kids? A boy or a girl? That¡¯s a question worth considering¡­

    If it¡¯s a boy who looks like me, he¡¯ll only be an average person. It¡¯d be better to have a daughter who looks like Ming Yan. But Ming Yan is just so pretty, and I might be reluctant to marry off my daughter in the future.

    Maybe I¡¯ll have a boy and a girl. I hear that only people with good fortune are able to have a pair like that. Wait a minute, with my lifespan, I¡¯ll be able to have ten boys and ten girls! Oh, kids should only be made at night, but the white-haired Ming Yan is the one who usually appears at night. She¡¯s not easy to deal with¡­

    Will she bite?

    ¡­

    Lu Yin let his mind run wild. His consciousness did not fade, which meant that he was not controlled by the death energy. The Daynight Restoration Technique continued circting through his body as it fended off the death energy.

    While in this state of semi-consciousness, Lu Yin lost track of time. He did not know how much time passed, but then, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He instantly jerked awake and began putting on an act and growling like a beast.

    Silver appeared next to Lu Yin and ced a hand on his shoulders.

    Lu Yin immediately suppressed the death energy in his body.

    Silver moved in front of Lu Yin and looked him in the eyes.

    Silver¡¯s heart sank the moment he saw Lu Yin¡¯s pupils. They were deep like the abyss, and it was as if all light would be devoured by them.

    Silver frowned.

    What the hell? I¡¯ve never seen anything like this.

    Lu Yin was fully awake at this moment, and he controlled his death energy, concentrating them in his eyes. He himself was not aware that his eyes had changed color, but they had turned into something unrecognizable even for Silver.

    Silver carefully observed Lu Yin before pulling out his butterfly knife and using his right hand to sh at Lu Yin¡¯s arm, leaving a gash. Apart from some blood flowing out, death energy also leaked out from the wound.

    This was a symptom of absorbing excess death energy.

    Silver was extremely puzzled. Had Lu Yin absorbed so much energy that even his eyes had be abnormal?

    ¡°Captain, you¡¯ve be quite strange. We of the Specter n have never seen a pair of eyes like yours. Perhaps your remodeling has been sessful, or maybe you¡¯re just putting on a show. No matter which is true, I¡¯m still taking you with me to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum topete for what I want. If you¡¯re putting on an act, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Silver eyes smiled as he spoke. He then gestured for Lu Yin to follow behind him, the same as any zombie.

    At this time, Lu Yin had to put on his best zombie act, and he started observing his body. There was a strange ball of something that looked simr to mist, but at the same time, it seemed to be a fusion of clear and dark skies. He did not know what this thing was, or what its true appearance was.

    Does this have something to do with Fatal Revival and the Daynight Restoration Technique?

    He did not have much time to think about this matter for the moment. That strange ball of matter could be sealed away by using his fatesand to cover it up. Lu Yin currently had three grains of fatesand himself, and they were stored in his heart, his left arm, and right leg. He had also absorbed Hong Ying¡¯s fatesand, though it was rather small.

    From now on, if possible, I¡¯ll have to absorb more fatesand so that I can cover this thing up better. I wonder, who has more fatesand? Nobody in the Mountain and Seas Zone showed any. Was that because they didn¡¯t have it, or because there wasn¡¯t time to use it?

    ***

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was located in the Neoverse¡¯s southern region. It was a ce filled with darkness, and it was where the Seven Courts were found, along with many of the Neoverse¡¯s more restless powerhouses. Burial Garden was also in this region, and the Neohuman Alliance had many rendezvous points in the area as well.

    There was a phrase from the Neoverse: someone from the southern region can live anywhere in the universe.

    The southern region was a chaotic ce where many powerhouses gathered.

    The Seven Courts were arranged in a circle, and in the middle of that circle was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. As such, nobody could force their way past the Seven Courts to reach the mausoleum.

    The Court of Seven Names had been formed because of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. There would be no Seven Courts in the current era if not for Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Each century, Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum would open.

    The Seven Courts¡¯ descendants had been preparing for this day for a very long time.

    There was a river in the Neoverse¡¯s southern region that was known as the Great Abyss, and its surging waves could corrode anything. As for the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u family, they were located right in the middle of the Great Abyss.

    A spaceshipnded outside of Great Abyss. The Y¨­u family heir, Y¨­u Qin, and the elder, Y¨­u Ren, had arrived at the riverside, and they silently waited.

    There were many disciples of the Y¨­u family who guarded along the edge of the river, but in truth, there was no need for any guards; the Great Abyss itself was the best form of defense.

    A small boat slowly drifted over to the riverside. The boatman was an elderly man who slowly moved the oars while humming an unknown song.

    When the boat arrived, Y¨­u Qin and Y¨­u Ren both bowed and greeted the elder.

    ¡°Children,e now, and board the boat,¡± the elderly boatman said to Y¨­u Qin and Y¨­u Ren with a smile.

    Y¨­u Qin was the Y¨­u family heir, and she was the strongest in her generation. Thus, it was eptable for her to be referred to as a child. However, Elder Y¨­u Ren had lived for many years, and was even an Envoy. Being called a child sounded strange, yet both Y¨­u Qin and Y¨­u Ren seemed to ept this as natural. They were indeed children before this boatman.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1157: The Seven Courts

    <h4>Chapter 1157: The Seven Courts</h4>

    The boatman hummed a little ditty as he rowed, and the small boat disappeared into the distance as it crossed the Great Abyss.

    ¡°Y¨­u Qin pays her respect to the matriarch.¡±

    In front of Y¨­u Qin was a tall woman wearing a dark-colored robe made of a sheer fabric. ¡°You have suffered.¡±

    The woman¡¯s voice was beguiling to the extreme, and her tone contained a mature sense of beauty. However, her face was concealed by a veil. This was the Y¨­u family¡¯s matriarch, Y¨­u Kexin.

    Y¨­u Qin bowed, but he did not speak.

    ¡°How was your trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone?¡± Y¨­u Kexin asked indifferently.

    Y¨­u Qin¡¯s gaze went soft. ¡°Your daughter is still too weak. So weak that I was not a match for any of the people upon the golden screens. I lost face for our family.¡±

    Y¨­u Kexin slowly turned to face Y¨­u Qin. ¡°No worries. You were never the Y¨­u family¡¯s first heir. It wasn¡¯t easy for you to achieve what you have. Your mission is simply to live and pass down the Y¨­u family¡¯s inheritances.¡±

    Y¨­u Qin¡¯s eyes betrayed her, as she did not want to ept this fate.

    Y¨­u Kexin sighed. ¡°Have you seen your big brother?¡±

    Y¨­u Qin¡¯s body trembled and she nodded. ¡°I have.¡±

    ¡°Is¡­ he still okay?¡± Y¨­u Kexin hesitated as she asked her question.

    Y¨­u Qin felt extremely bitter. ¡°Mother, are you asking about the status of his body? He is nothing but a dead person!¡±

    Y¨­u Kexin suddenly shrilly yelled, ¡°He¡¯s not dead!¡±

    ¡°Being resurrected from the Burial Garden only revived his physical body and his innate gift! Big Brother has long since died!¡± Y¨­u Qin could not hold herself back as she shouted back.

    Y¨­u Kexin raised a hand, and there was a loud smack as she pped Y¨­u Qin to the ground.

    Y¨­u Qin was already ustomed to such treatment, and she quickly stood back up. Blood appeared at the corner of her lips.

    Y¨­u Kexin instantly regretted her behavior, and she opened her mouth, wanting to say something. However, she ended up remaining silent.

    ¡°If mother does not have any further orders, I will take my leave,¡± Y¨­u Qin said coldly.

    Y¨­u Kexin stared at the girl for a while before waving a hand in a tired manner. ¡°Go. Remember, your safetyes first in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.¡±

    Y¨­u Qin did not say another word and simply left.

    After Y¨­u Qin left, Elder Y¨­u Ren walked up to Y¨­u Kexin and said, ¡°Matriarch, you¡¯re being too hard on her.¡±

    Y¨­u Kexin responded indifferently, ¡°If I were to reveal the expectations that I hold for her, she would risk her life topete with those youths who stand at the top. I have already lost a son, and I don¡¯t want to lose my daughter as well.¡±

    Y¨­u Ren sighed and said no more.

    ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the Y¨­u family, but I don¡¯t even know the family¡¯s greatest secret. Nobody was willing to exin to me what really happened in the Mountain and Seas Zone. This is truly pathetic.¡±

    ¡°Elder, how much do you know?¡± Y¨­u Kexin added thest part with aplicated expression on her face.

    Y¨­u Ren shook his head and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know much, only that the Mountain and Seas Zone exploded and that any further news has been locked down by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°Y¨­u Lao would definitely know.¡± Y¨­u Kexin looked out at the Great Abyss, as if trying to catch sight of the small boat.

    Y¨­u Ren¡¯s face instantly went pale. ¡°Leader, you must not ask! Y¨­u Lao has reasons for not mentioning these things.¡±

    Y¨­u Kexin harrumphed. ¡°I know.¡±

    She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but when she looked at Y¨­u Ren, no words left her mouth.

    Y¨­u Ren knew what she wanted to say, so he said, ¡°Burial Garden¡¯s top disciple is Y¨­u Qi, and he had originally been chosen to be one of the Cosmic Five. However, he was defeated by the Outerverse¡¯s Lu Yin. However, Y¨­u Qi was eventually saved by the Hall of Honor, so you can rest at ease.¡±

    Y¨­u Kexin¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Y¨­u Ren continued, ¡°Yes, Lu Yin. He is an extraordinary genius who has cultivated for merely twelve years and yet is capable ofpeting with the top youths. If his cultivation wasn¡¯t rathercking, he might not be any weaker than the Cosmic five.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of him. He¡¯s the one who unified the Outerverse. He has a strong determination,¡± Y¨­u Kexinmented.

    Y¨­u Renughed hoarsely. ¡°Unifying the Outerverse is aplete joke. If the Outerverse and Innerverse had not been separated, then not even the Hall of Honor would have been able to aplish such a thing.¡±

    ¡°But he still did it,¡± Y¨­u Kexin countered.

    ¡°He was captured by the Neohuman Alliance. Shaman God himself took that youth away,¡± Y¨­u Ren said.

    Y¨­u Kexin¡¯s voice grew cold, ¡°So the Neohuman Alliance actually values him so highly. It seems quite likely that he will be a public enemy of the entire Human Domain when he next appears.¡±

    ¡­

    Thend that was next to the Great Abyss was the Voidsoul Region, and that was where the Ku family resided.

    Ku Wei had returned immediately from the Mountain and Seas Zone, and at this moment, he was standing before the Ku patriarch, Ku Pu.

    ¡°Father, things can¡¯t end like this! The fight for the Astral Tower was organized too soon. If we had gone into Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum first, and then to the Mountain and Seas Zone second, then the results would have beenpletely different.¡±

    Ku Pu turned around with a stern expression on his face. ¡°A loss is a loss. You did not make it up any mountain, but despite that, you¡¯re boasting before me now?¡±

    Ku Wei tried to reason with his father. ¡°The battle for the Astral Tower has always urred after Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was opened. This is the only time the order has been reversed, and it was extremely unfair to us. The Hall of Honor¡¯s First Chosen, Shang Qing, already received his inheritance, but what about us? If we had gone to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum before, then our strength definitely would have risen a level, and then we could have fought against Shang Qing then.¡±

    Ku Pu snorted derisively. ¡°Even if your power spiked up twice, it would still be useless. The Tri-Yang Technique is invincible. Don¡¯t do anything for now and just focus on cultivating. Do your best to be an Enlighter. Otherwise, you won¡¯t even have a chance to enter the list.¡±

    Ku Wei was not resigned to this, but he did not say another word as he turned around and left.

    Ku Pu felt exasperated.

    ¡­

    Beside the Voidsoul Region was a strange area, ands littered this region like pieces strewn across a chessboard. If one observed this ce from a bird¡¯s eye view, they would see that a full chess board had been set up here. This was the Starpiece Region, and it was where the Ce family was based.

    Ce Jiu concentrated on the chessboard in front of him. He had held a piece in his hand for more than ten hours, but he still had not decided where to ce it. Across from him sat Ce Laoyan, the Ce family patriarch, who was slowly sipping some tea.

    Finally, Ce Jiu decided upon his move and set the piece down on the chessboard.

    Ce Laoyan shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m rather disappointed. You were still too hasty.¡±

    Ce Jiu pursed his lips. ¡°But Father, I¡¯ve already spent twenty six hours considering this move!¡±

    ¡°So what? Back when I yed chess with Elder Yue, I spent several hundred years on one move.¡± Ce Laoyan was unhappy.

    Ce Jiu was left rather speechless, and he simply replied, ¡°I¡¯m still young.¡±

    Ce Laoyan chuckled. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve learned something from this trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Ce Jiu nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯m still not at the level of the Cosmic Five. For instance, the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosens and the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters are astoundingly strong. I really wonder how those monsters trained.¡±

    Ce Laoyan replied, ¡°Our Seven Courts have nock of talent either.¡±

    Ce Jiu nodded in agreement. ¡°There¡¯s Xia Jiuyou, who¡¯s apparently cultivated the Nine Clones Technique. However, why can the Innerverse¡¯s Starsibyl also cultivate that technique?¡±

    Ce Laoyan said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to know why. Sometimes, knowledge can cause more harm than good. The only thing that you need to know is that you must do your best in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. However, staying alive is your top priority.¡±

    Ce Jiu replied, ¡°I know.¡±

    Ce Laoyan looked at the chessboard and said, ¡°I hear that not only does little fellow Lu Yin know the Yu family¡¯s secret technique, but that he also knows our Ce family secret technique?¡±

    Ce Jiu said, ¡°Father, I was about to tell you about this. It¡¯s true. I really don¡¯t know where he picked up the secret technique. Should we send someone to the Outerverse to investigate this matter?¡±

    ¡°I already sent someone out, but I don¡¯t have high hopes. An Outerverse cultivator actually managed to learn our Ce family¡¯s secret technique, which is truly bizarre,¡± Ce Laoyan remarked with an incredulous expression.

    ¡°Could this have something to do with the Zhu family in Millions City?¡± Ce Jiu asked.

    Ce Laoyan shook his head and exined, ¡°The Zhu family does not know the Ce secret technique. Besides, in order to learn the Ce secret technique, one must emte our ancestral chessboard. This is the greatest mystery at y; what if there¡¯s another, simr chessboard in the Outerverse?¡±

    ¡­

    Beside the Starpiece Region rose a tall and lofty series of mountains that formed a mountain range that spanned all the way to the Honor Zone. People named this range Nature¡¯s Manifestation, and it was the home of the Hui family.

    Nature¡¯s Manifestation was the Hui family¡¯s territory, and the Root of Intelligence hade from this ce.

    The Root of Intelligence had been grown by Progenitor Hui, and the Hui family¡¯s inheritances also came from him, which were the Hui secret technique and the methods to grow the Root of Intelligence. However, the effects of the Root of Intelligence that the family grew were inferior to those that had been personally grown by Progenitor Hui.

    Despite that, the Roots of Intelligence that grew within Nature¡¯s Manifestation were still treasures that people sought.

    Since ancient times, many wise people had emerged from the Hui family, and people associated that trend with the Root of Intelligence. The Hui family did not deny the rumors either.

    Hui Santong had returned from the Mountain and Seas Zone, and he was standing on a region of arablend. A middle aged-looking man was in the field, bent at the waist as he tugged at something in the ground.

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve found you! Did you think that you could hide? Nature¡¯s Manifestation is only so big. Did you really think that I wouldn¡¯t be able to find you? Hahaha!¡± The middle-aged manughed heartily. He was Hui Zhi, the current Hui family patriarch.

    Hui Santong looked at the Root of Intelligence in Hui Zhi¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Congrattions, Father. You¡¯ve found another one.¡±

    Hui Zhi looked at Hui Santong with displeasure and said, ¡°You did not aplish much during this trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone, and you were no different from amoner. You cast aside our face!¡±

    Hui Santongughed. ¡°We of the Hui family aren¡¯t barbarians. Fighting simply isn¡¯t our style.¡±

    Hui Zhi chortled. ¡°Hah. Then tell me of your discovery.¡±

    Hui Santong said, ¡°Even though the Hall of Honor hid the signs of the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s explosion, my guess is that this was a part of a chess game-like n that has been being yed out for a very long time. What¡¯s more, the mastermind should be Progenitor Hui.¡±

    Hui Zhi stared at Hui Santong in surprise. ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve be quite smart. How¡¯d you guess it?¡±

    Hui Santongughed. ¡°It was just a wild guess.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking,¡± Hui Zhi pressed.

    Hui Santong pursed his lips. ¡°It was simply a guess.¡±

    ¡°Based on what?¡± Hui Zhi could not hold back his curiosity.

    Hui Santongughed merrily. ¡°Father, you¡¯ve already said that I guessed it. That¡¯s the only basis.¡±

    Hui Zhi was momentarily taken aback, but then he burst outughing.

    Hui Santong joined him inughing.

    ¡°Alright, enough is enough. Get some rest. Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum is about to open. This time, I want you to carefully watch the Xia family¡¯s Xia Jiuyou. He cultivated the Nine Clones Technique, and he even managed to pull the wool over the eyes of our Hui family. Even the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Starsibyl knows this technique. There is something very suspicious going on between them.¡±

    Hui Santong nodded, and he was about to take his leave, but then he suddenly recalled something. In a solemn voice, he asked Hui Zhi, ¡°Father, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ performance was rather peculiar. One of them was clearly an Enlighter, but they kept their strength hidden from beginning to end, and they even lost on purpose. This surely has something to do with Starsibyl. The Starsibyl Sect has sacrificed a great deal for thispetition for the Cosmic Five.¡±

    Hui Zhi replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take a look.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Lu Yin was captured by the Neohuman Alliance,¡± Hui Santong added.

    ¡­

    Beside Nature¡¯s Manifestation was an enormousndmass. This was not connected to the Honor Zone, and rather, it remained in its own space, connected to manys that drifted nearby.

    If one looked at this from a distance, they would see that thisndmass was shaped like a saber.

    ording to the rumors, one of the clones of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Technique wielded a saber as a weapon. The Xia family was the descendants of Progenitor Chen, and they were masters of weapons. However, countless years had passed, and nobody from the Xia family had been able to wield this saber since. It had eventually transformed into andmass that became the Xia family¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1158: Progenitor Chenâ€™s Clones

    <h4>Chapter 1158: Progenitor Chen¡¯s Clones</h4>

    ording to the Xia family¡¯s traditions, if any of the family¡¯s descendants were able to cause the saber to tremble, they would immediately assume the position of patriarch and would inherit everything that the Xia family had passed down.

    Aside from Shang Qing, who was truly invincible within his generation due to his Tri-Yang Technique, the next most outstanding person was Xia Jiuyou with the Nine Clones Technique. He was the only person from the Xia family who had sessfully cultivated this technique throughout the entire history of the Xia family.

    Progenitor Chen had been acknowledged as being peerless in the universe with his nine clones. Thus, the Xia family treated Xia Jiuyou, who had also cultivated the Nine Clones Technique, as Progenitor Chen¡¯s inheritor.

    The Xia patriarch, Xia Yi, peacefully looked at the sky, toward the direction of the Honor Zone. ¡°Even as the family patriarch, I still don¡¯t know how you managed to cultivate the Nine Clones Technique. Only our family¡¯s Elder Meng knows how, and it was no wonder why Elder Meng insisted on apanying you for this trip to the Mountain and Seas Zone. She was worried that something might happen to you.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou looked over at Xia Yi, who had an indifferent expression. He was not the patriarch¡¯s only child. Xia Yi had more than ten sons, which essentially meant that there were more than ten people in the line of session. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s abilities, however, had shone through, and he had be the sole scion of the Xia family. As for Xia Kang, he was a clone from Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Nine Clones Technique, and the deception had been assisted by Elder Meng.

    ¡°Do you me me for the things that I did in the past?¡± Xia Yi looked at Xia Jiuyou, seemingly having read the youth¡¯s mind.

    Xia Jiuyou shrugged the question off. ¡°No. Patriarch has done nothing wrong. The Xia family is the leader of the Seven Courts, so even if you have to have your sons duke it out to choose a winner, it¡¯s still not wrong.¡±

    Xia Yi stared at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°You have to understand me. You will be the patriarch in the future. When you are standing in this ce and reach a different viewpoint, your actions and choices will be different as well.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou nodded.

    Xia Yi sighed. It was one thing to simply talk about such things, but in reality, those who were capable of doing so were truly brutal. Xia Yi had allowed more than ten of his sons to plot, scheme, and kill each other until only one was left: Xia Jiuyou.

    At the same time, Xia Yi''s thoughts wandered to Elder Meng. If not for that woman, Xia Jiuyou would have be a weapon answerable only to the patriarch himself, and the fact that Xia Jiuyou had clones would not have been hidden from the older man.

    ¡°I know that you me me, but there is still something that I must tell you¡ªthe Nine Clones Technique originated from Progenitor Chen, and it will only grow stronger the longer you cultivate it. However, there is one fatal w.¡± Xia Yi carefully observed Xia Jiuyou. ¡°And that is the retaliation from the clones.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression grew cold. He had already absorbed Xia Tian and Xia Kang, the two strongest clones, and that had allowed him to immediately break through and be an Enlighter. Originally, he had nned to absorb Xia Luo as well, but that attempt had failed. At that time, when he had beenpeting for the Astral Tower and fighting to be one of the Cosmic Five, Xia Jiuyou had not dwelt on the matter. However, now that he thought about it more fully, he was unable to discover any trace of Xia Luo¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen cultivated the Nine Clones Technique, and with his temperament, he managed tobine all nine souls into one because Progenitor Chen was a straightforward man who had no deceit. You, however, have kept this secret from even your own family, which is actually detrimental to your cultivation progress. If one of your clones develops a stronger spirit than you, then you will most likely face that clone¡¯s retaliation and end up as his clone instead. You need to watch out.¡± Xia Yi then left after sharing those words.

    Images of his clones shed through Xia Jiuyou¡¯s mind before finally settling on Xia Luo. Xia Luo was not a particrly strong clone at this time, but he was able to conceal himself extremely well. Furthermore, Xia Jiuyou was unable to predict Xia Luo¡¯s movements.

    This won¡¯t do. I have to find him!

    ¡­

    Of the Seven Courts, the Xie family was the one shrouded in darkness.1

    The Bone ins was where the Xie family¡¯s dwelling in the universe. The reason why the ce was known as the Bone ins was because there were many human and beast skeletons strewn about in this part of the universe, which had something to do with how the Xie family cultivated. To people who did not know the family, the Xie family embodied eeriness and terror.

    The matriarch of the Xie family was Xie Ahua.2 Her name was simple, and her name followed a somewhat different convention than the other family members.

    ¡°The Specter n is out and about, stirring up chaos again?¡± Xie Ahua looked at Xie Xiaoxian as she spoke.

    The two women were both wearing revealing clothes. However, one sparkled with youthfulness while the other had a mature seductiveness.

    Xie Xiaoxian stood in front of Xie Ahua as she spoke, ¡°Yes, and he¡¯s quite powerful. He was able to control a corpse king that could undergo three transformations. Even the Mavis family members and disciples from the Cosmic Sect didn¡¯t dare to get close to him.¡±

    Xie Ahua¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°You definitely have to kill him the next time you see him.¡±

    ¡°But first I¡¯ll need to beat him¡­¡± Xie Xiaoxian muttered.

    After a pause, Xie Ahua continued, saying, ¡°You¡¯ve let me down,ing back this time without a single inheritance.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian grew rather exasperated. ¡°You really can¡¯t me me! It wasn¡¯t easy for me to sneak up a mountain, but the inheritance there was actually rted to controlling star energy! I¡¯m not a Lockbreaker, so I couldn¡¯t understand anything. However, that Lu Yin got the best out of everything.¡±

    Xie Ahua grew somewhat curious. ¡°Lu Yin? The young man who united the Outerverse and directly confronted the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant while merely a Cruiser?¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the one. You don¡¯t know how infuriating he is! He almost let me die.¡±

    ¡°Is he that powerful?¡± Xie Ahua asked

    Xie Xiaoxian nodded again and seriously replied, ¡°He¡¯s extremely powerful. And he really is only a Cruiser. If he was a Hunter, then he most likely would have been able to fight against the inheritors and scions from the top Neoverse powers.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also one of those, so why aren¡¯t you at the top with the others?¡± Xie Ahua chided.

    ¡°I have no way to beat them! Why don¡¯t you help me find some powerful bones and give them to me?¡±

    ¡°Find them yourself in Progenitor Chen¡¯s grave. If you can find a piece of Progenitor Chen¡¯s bones, then you¡¯ll absolutely be invincible,¡± Xie Ahua retorted with palpable annoyance.

    Xie Xiaoxian pursed her lips.

    The Seven Courts of Xia, Y¨­u, Yu, Ce, Ku, Hui, and Xie. These seven families had settled down in a circle that protected Progenitor Chen¡¯s grave, which was located in the middle of theirbined territories.

    Due to various reasons, the Yu family had disappeared. Despite that, the stars ands that had been under the Yu family¡¯s jurisdiction were still protected by the remaining six families. They would not allow anyone else to get close to Progenitor Chen¡¯s grave.

    On one particr day, in the middle of the Seven Courts, at an area that was normally peaceful, a rip tore open in space, swallowing up many pieces of earth that were connected to this space.

    This was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Many people began to appear just outside the spatial tear, and the whole situation seemed as if it had been previously arranged.

    The various patriarchs of the Seven Courts appeared, leading their descendants to this spatial tear. They still needed to wait for several days before they could enter.

    Ku Wei was absolutely ecstatic. He had been waiting for this day for a long time. Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had already been scoured multiple times, and everyone present was very familiar with the internalyout. A senior member of the Ku family had even drawn out a map, and Ku Wei only needed to follow the map to obtain what he needed.

    This was not just true for the Ku family, as the other families of the Seven Courts were in the same situation. Even though there were many ces within the tomb that were still sealed off, there were multiple choices avable.

    For instance, the Hui family¡¯s sole goal was to find the Root of Intelligence.

    Although Progenitor Hui had raised his own Root of Intelligence, Progenitor Chen had received a few roots as well. The two ancient powerhouses hailed from simr eras, and they had even met at one point. Thus, it was no wonder that Progenitor Chen had managed to gain something from Progenitor Hui. If Progenitor Hui had not given Progenitor Chen the Root of Intelligence, then the Hui family might have never been able to learn the methods of growing a root.

    As for the Xie family, their only goal was Progenitor Chen¡¯s bones.

    Legend had it that one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had possessed the bloodline of giants and that he had been capable of reaching an enormous size. The bones of that body had naturally grown to epic proportions. The Xie family had previously located these bones, but they had been unable to take them out. Once the Xie family managed to do so, even if it was just a small bone fragment, their powers would surely skyrocket.

    Apart from all these treasures, Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum also had ancient battle techniques that he had personally gathered. ording to the legends passed down, this grave even held the oldest, most powerful secret technique of the Progenitors. This rumor alone made the grave a fatal attraction for the Seven Courts.

    It was not just the Seven Courts that valued the mausoleum, as the entire universe lusting after the treasures in there. However, the Court of Seven Names was extremely strong, and they had already received inheritances from Progenitors. They possessed secret techniques, power vessels, and powerhouses that served as guardians of the tomb. Not even the Hall of Honor dared to make reckless moves against the united Seven Courts. Hence, Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had always remained in the Seven Courts¡¯ possession.

    The various patriarchs of the Seven Courts led their scions to just outside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Ku Pu, the Ku family patriarch, looked over at Hui Zhi and said, ¡°Brother Hui, what exactly happened in the Mountain and Seas Zone? Can you tell us?¡±

    The other patriarchs also turned to Hui Zhi.

    However, Hui Zhi merely smiled and said, ¡°If Brother Ku does not know, then how could I?¡±

    Ku Pu chuckled. ¡°Come now, all of us know that your inheritance is from Progenitor Hui. How could your Hui family not have made any preparations for an event as massive as this?¡±

    At this time, the Ce family patriarch, Ce Laoyan, spoke up. ¡°Ku Pu, you¡¯re just jealous. How could they know everything, even if they are very wise? Besides, even if they knew, why should they tell you? Don¡¯t assume things of others just because you¡¯re such a dunce. Hmph.¡±

    Ku Pu was outraged. ¡°Ce Laoyan, don¡¯t put on pretenses! Don¡¯t you also want to know?¡±

    Ce Laoyanughed hoarsely. ¡°They¡¯ll tell you if they want to. Are you going to force them?¡±

    Hui Zhi only smiled. On the surface, Ce Laoyan seemed to be defending him, but in reality, Ce Laoyan was trying to force Hui Zhi¡¯s hand.

    Y¨­u Kexin, the Y¨­u family matriarch, was nearby, and she quietly said, ¡°When the timees for you to know, then you will naturally know. The fact that you don¡¯t know at this time is because you don¡¯t possess the right to know.¡±

    Her words instantly offended two people. However, Ku Pu and Ce Laoyan were not the least bit angry. They understood this woman, Y¨­u Kexin, too well. After the death of her son, her entire demeanor had changed. There were times when she spoke without thinking.

    ¡°Hah hah. Every time we gather, I¡¯m able to see you people fight like this. Back then, when our own patriarchs led us here, you all ended up squabbling like this as well. It¡¯s quite nostalgic.¡± Xie Ahua beamed, and even her eyes smiled.

    Ku Pu¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Back then, we weren¡¯t the only ones to gather for Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum opening.¡±

    He then turned to look at the taciturn Xia Yi. ¡°Brother Xia, will Burial Garden¡¯s peoplee again?¡±

    ¡°Even if they areing, it¡¯s nothing to be surprised about. Even though we Seven Courts stand guard, Burial Garden¡¯s people can still easily enter. They have already done so several times in recent years. Nobody canpletely stop the fourmanders, the Deathly Quartet of the Dead Regiment,¡± Ce Laoyan said.

    Xia Yi spoke, ¡°They most likely won¡¯t being this time, as they would have informed us in advance.¡±

    The others heaved sighs of relief.

    While it might seem like Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum belonged solely to the Seven Courts, there were always anomalies. It just so happened that Burial Garden was one of these anomalies.

    All of the members of Burial Garden were able to turn transparent and be hidden from others. The stronger the powerhouse from Burial Garden, the more undetectable their presence would be. As for the Deathly Quartet, they were all top tier powerhouses. Even if they entered the interior of the Hall of Honor, not many people would be capable of sensing them, not to mention trespassing in the Seven Courts¡¯ sealed region.

    Burial Garden was truly an anomaly in the universe.

    Ku Lei and Ku Wei stood behind Ku Pu. After hearing his elders¡¯ words, Ku Wei grew somewhat frightened. He had seen Burial Garden¡¯s dead people when he hadst been outside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and he would never ever forget the feeling, as it was too disturbing.

    The fact that that chatan, Xuan Jiu, had predicted this course of events was a miracle.

    Ku Lei red at Ku Wei. He did not understand how this fellow had made it to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. The other patriarchs had only brought their scions, but the Ku family had actually brought two youths.

    [1] "Xie" means dark or unorthodox. ?

    [2] "Hua" means flower, so it really is a very simple name. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1159: Liberation

    <h4>Chapter 1159: Liberation</h4>

    ¡°Hey, Brother Ku, why did you bring two children along? Don¡¯t tell me, are you letting both of them in?¡± Xie Ahua asked Ku Pu.

    Everyone switched their attention to Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei immediately felt the pressure mount, but he shrugged it off. He unconsciously smiled as he felt rather afraid.

    Ku Pu indifferently replied, ¡°Tell them yourself.¡±

    Ku Wei cleared his throat, stepped forward, and raised his hands. ¡°Seniors, fellow brothers and sisters, my family sent me to the Outerverse on a mission, and I identally chanced upon the Yu family¡¯s remaining bloodline there. An elder from the Yu family decided to give me their slot to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. So¡­ I¡¯m here.¡±

    The people around were surprised, and they all carefully studied Ku Wei.

    In a deep tone, Xia Yi asked, ¡°You found the remnants of the Yu family? Tell me, who¡¯s alive?¡±

    Ku Wei was rather scared of Xia Yi, as this patriarch was known to be a ruthless person who was harsh even to his own sons. ¡°No- I don¡¯t know who they are specifically. He¡¯s an elder who spends most of his time in cryostatis.¡±

    ¡°Did you learn the Yu secret technique?¡± Y¨­u Kexin asked Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei gulped and shook his head. ¡°No. I only obtained a slot.¡±

    ¡°How did Lu Yin learn the Yu secret technique?¡± Xie Xiaoxian brightly asked.

    Ku Wei shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Are you not acquainted with Lu Yin?¡± Xie Xiaoxian was rather puzzled.

    Ku Wei proudly replied, ¡°Of course I am! I¡¯m also the captain of the Tenth Squad of the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire!¡±

    ¡°Stop embarrassing yourself,¡± Ku Pu scolded the youth.

    Ku Wei jumped in fright and fell silent.

    ¡°So you¡¯re pretty close to Lu Yin, then? Do you know how he learned our Ce secret technique?¡± Ce Jiu asked.

    Ce Laoyan turned around to re at Ce Jiu. ¡°Hold your tongue!¡±

    Ce Jiu hung his head, and Ku Wei pretended to not have heard the question.

    Xia Jiuyou eyed Ku Wei with curiosity. ¡°Brother Ku, with what you know of Lu Yin, do you think that he¡¯ll be able to escape after being captured by the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    Everyone looked at Ku Wei to hear his answer.

    While Lu Yin was just a child in their eyes, his very existence influenced too many things. Aside from his feat of unifying the Outerverse, he was also supported by Eversky Ind, and he was also one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen who had been nominated by Yuan Shi. Due to his twelve short years of cultivation, no one believed that there were any powerhouses behind him guiding him. Even the patriarchs of the Seven Courts had specifically sought out information regarding this youth.

    Ku Wei was ced under incredible pressure as all the family leaders looked at him. He wished that Lu Yin could appear at this moment and remove this burden from him. The two of them had previously agreed to explore Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum together by kicking Ku Lei off of the list of eligible participants. They had been brothers in arms, but Ku Wei had been left alone.

    Ku Wei cleared his throat as he looked around the crowd. He saw Ku Lei¡¯s disdain, Y¨­u Kexin¡¯s indifference, Xie Xiaoxian¡¯s ridicule, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s arrogance, which enraged Ku Wei. Suddenly, courage surged through him, and he solemnly replied, ¡°What nonsense. Of course he can.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s brows furrowed, and his expression towards Ku Wei immediately grew unkind.

    This guy¡¯s just asking for a beating.

    However, the rest of the crowd was rather surprised. This cowardly fellow actually dared to speak in such a manner?

    Ku Wei felt nothing but regret after spouting off. He had clearly offended Xia Jiuyou. Still, he had been unable to stomach any more of Xia Jiuyou''s arrogance.

    Does he really think that he¡¯s invincible after learning the Nine Clones Technique?

    Ku Wei also hated the fact that the women present were disregarding both him and Lu Yin. Not to mention, there was also Ku Lei¡¯s look of contempt.

    I received a slot based on my own merit!

    Ku Pu looked at Ku Wei in confusion. Originally, the patriarch had not favored this disciple of the Ku family, but he hade to rather appreciate the young fellow.

    He¡¯s got the guts to speak loudly. Not too bad.

    ¡°Enough with the questions. Get back,¡± Ku Pu ordered.

    Ku Wei tottered back to Ku Pu¡¯s side, his eyes lit up with excitement. When he saw Ku Pu¡¯s eyes, Ku Wei knew that his action had been appreciated. Not once has the patriarch ever looked at me like this! It was always only Ku Lei, even though I¡¯m second only to him.

    However, on this day, Ku Wei had seen a glimmer of hope, and he suddenly felt liberated.

    Ku Lei quietly said to Ku Wei, ¡°Once we enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, you must fight off anyone who tries to hold me back. I won¡¯t treat you unfairly in the future.¡±

    ¡°Go and y by yourself! Big Bro Ku Wei wants the best inheritance,¡± Ku Wei reflexively retorted.

    Ku Lei grew furious and he red at Ku Wei. ¡°You dare to talk to me like that?¡±

    Ku Wei smacked his lips and was quite frightened. Still, since he had already spoken, he forced himself to muster up all his courage and simply looked away.

    Does that Xie family scion know no shame? She¡¯s so pretty, but she¡¯s wearing so little. Still, I like it!

    Ku Lei only grew more furious after seeing Ku Wei¡¯s reaction. ¡°Just wait. People always grow stronger after entering Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. You, however, will forever be crushed by me!¡±

    Ku Wei was extremely upset at these words, so he replied, ¡°Big Bro Wei likes girls, so go and y by yourself.¡±

    Ku Lei clenched his fist and snorted in derision.

    After speaking back to Ku Lei twice, Ku Wei seemed to have be fully liberated. He was no longer afraid of Ku Lei, so he turned around and teased Ku Lei with a grin, which nearly caused Ku Lei to erupt in rage and attack.

    ¡°No one from Burial Garden ising this time, though the Hall of Honor will be present,¡± Xia Yi spoke once more in a low voice.

    Xia Yi¡¯s words shocked the juniors who were present. The Hall of Honor was actually able to send their people here? Based on what? The united might of the Seven Courts was able to ward off the Hall of Honor, but the Hall of Honor was still somehow participating? This was just too bizarre.

    But none of the patriarchs present were surprised.

    ¡°We have no choice but to give this one up,¡± Hui Zhimented.

    Y¨­u Kexin looked at Hui Zhi and asked, ¡°Is it worth it?¡±

    Hui Zhi replied in a somber voice, ¡°Extremely.¡±

    ¡°Care to borate?¡± Ku Pu enquired.

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Hui Zhi smiled.

    Ku Pu was thoroughly unhappy to hear this reply, as it was a repeat of what had happened when he had asked about the events at the Mountain and Seas Zone. The patriarchs were not aware of the reason why the Hall of Honor had been given a slot at this time. All that they had been told was that there was a list of names, all of whom were ced under observation. The strongest powerhouse of each of their families had told them that a slot had to be given for a person, but they had no idea why.

    Ce Laoyan was rather sullen, as Hui Zhi was still staying silent about what he knew.

    ¡°I can divulge a little.¡± Hui Zhi looked around at the crowd as he solemnly exined, ¡°Those who did not make it onto the observation list have almost zero chance of bing a Progenitor. As for those who are on that list, even their chances are just over one percent.¡±

    Xie Ahua was rather shocked. ¡°Do you mean that we have a chance?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The Sixth Maind is already on the verge of destruction,¡± Ku Pu said.

    Hui Zhi smiled. ¡°And that is why, while our chances are greater than zero, they are still infinitely close to it. If the false sky of the Sixth Maind were still present, then we would have no chance at all. As for the people who made it onto the list and were ced under observation, their chances of bing a Progenitor is over one percent.¡±

    Xia Yi and the rest were rather shocked. This meant that the person who had received this extra slot was not someone controlled by the skies.

    How had they managed to do that?

    Hui Zhi continued, ¡°For this distant and elusive chance, our Hui family is willing to gamble everything that we have. Also, this list is not limited to the Human Domain. The Technocracy and Beast Domain each have their own additions. Does everyone present understand the importance of this?¡±

    Only a fool would not understand after hearing so much.

    To put it simply, this observation list belonged to the entire Fifth Maind. The Hall of Honor was not the only one controlling this list. Rather, they merely had the right to choose who could be ced on the list.

    This was the Hall of Honor, the ruler of the Human Domain.

    Countless years had passed since the Seven Courts had banded together to repel all outsiders, but they had just as many internal conflicts as external ones. In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Ce Jiu and Ku Lei had fought each other, and there were many other examples to be found.

    Over the next few days, while everyone waited for Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum to fully open, the patriarchs mocked and ridiculed each other, leaving Ku Lei and the other youths quite stunned. They had never seen their normally stern family heads act in such a manner.

    All of the bickering came to a stop the moment the people from the Hall of Honor arrived.

    The Seven Courts were always united against outsiders, but especially so against the Hall of Honor.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s Mu En was the ambassador this time. He was the Judicial Commissioner of the Interster Supreme Court, the Virtue of Righteousness, and he had a rather good rtionship with people as he was the type of person who smiled at everyone he met. He left people feeling quitefortable.

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing followed behind Mu En.

    This was not outside of the Seven Courts¡¯ expectations. The strongest Honor Chosen was Shang Qing, and he had no need to obtain any inheritances from Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. As for Lei N¨¹, she was a bit weaker than the First Chosen, but not by much. Shu Jing was the Third Honor Chosen, though he was clearly inferior to Shang Qing and Lei N¨¹, and it was natural that he had been sent over.

    Lei N¨¹ stared at Xia Jiuyou the moment she arrived. She had been beaten pretty badly when fighting against him in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and she had barely managed to do any damage to him.

    Xia Jiuyou returned her look, and his expression sharpened.

    Although he had beaten her, Lei N¨¹¡¯s strength was not something that he could ignore.

    ¡°So, is this Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum?¡± Mu En looked at the spatial tear in surprise.

    Hui Zhi smiled and replied, ¡°Judicial Commissioner, please wait a bit longer. Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum will open soon.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry, no hurry at all.¡± Mu En smiled. Receiving an opportunity to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was extremely precious.

    Two more days went by, and after a cold gust of wind swept through the region where everyone was waiting, the rift widened. Xia Jiuyou, who was standing behind Xia Yi, immediately shot forward. Ku Lei also moved like lightning as he shed through the opening, as did the rest of the youths, all at simr speeds.

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing managed to stay right behind them. They were at an extreme disadvantage in this ce, as they had no information concerning Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum at all, which was why Mu En had told both of them to stay close to one of the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors. That would increase their chances of finding something good within the tomb.

    Lei N¨¹ had her eyes on Hui Santong. Progenitor Hui¡¯s descendants were all extremely intelligent, so it seemed quite likely that his descendants would also find plenty of opportunities in this tomb.

    As for Shu Jing, he had chosen to follow Xie Xiaoxian. He wanted to raise his physical strength, and the Xie family were known to excel in this area.

    Once they entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, there was a dark, ck dome looming over their heads, and the inside resembled that of a normal mausoleum. Suddenly, a loud whistling sound came from far off in the distance. Xia Jiuyou immediately ducked, and the air where he had just been standing warped as a giant club swung down. He raised his eyes and saw a giant over a thousand meters tall.

    ¡°It¡¯s the guardian giant!¡± Hui Santong shouted as the club came smashing down towards his head. His eyes shed as a golden light shed as a shooting star appeared beneath his feet, sending him away.

    The club was swung about more than once as the guardian giant roared and iled his club recklessly.

    Y¨­u Qin was the first to be struck, and she spat a mouthful of blood that sprayed all around her. Next, Ku Wei and Xie Xiaoxian were hit. Shu Jing, who had been flying in a straight line, was also hit, and he nearly fainted from the impact. He was just too easy of a target.

    Ku Lei transformed into lightning and easily avoided all the attacks.

    As for Ce Jiu, he used the Ce secret technique and simply vanished.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1160: An Opening And Conditions

    <h4>Chapter 1160: An Opening And Conditions</h4>

    Lei N¨¹ used the club¡¯s momentum to shoot towards Hui Santong. The trail of golden light that had appeared beneath Hui Santong¡¯s feet allowed him to move extremely quickly, and Lei N¨¹ did not want to lose sight of him.

    The guardian giant bellowed at the ground as everyone split up. Nobody wanted to face the guardian giant head on, and their decision was made based on experience that had been handed down from the Seven Courts¡¯ predecessors.

    Although the guardian giant didn¡¯t have any battle technique and also could not use star energy, its physical might was something rarely seen in the universe. When it had firste into existence, it had already possessed enough physical power to destroys, and it had only grownrger and more impressive as time passed. An adult guardian giant was strong enough to force an Enlighter to be serious. Otherwise, Progenitor Chen would have never used one of his clones to absorb the giants¡¯ bloodline.

    One guardian giant was enough to drive these invaders back.

    Three figures appeared in the distance. They were led by Silver with Lu Yin and Beast following behind him, each hidden beneath a ck robe.

    ¡°Lord Shaman God¡¯s space transfer technique is getting better and better. As long as we have the coordinates, he can be quite urate. The teleportation of this sourcebox array is really powerful.¡± Silver felt rather rueful.

    Lu Yin stood behind him, death energy filling his eyes. Shock spread through him as he listened to Silver¡¯s words.

    It¡¯s no wonder how Silver and Beast entered the Mountain and Seas Zone before and Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum now. There¡¯s actually a teleportation array that ignores thews of space and time. But just having the coordinates? Does that mean that there¡¯s someone who¡¯s cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance? That must be how they obtained the coordinates for the Mountain and Seas Zone and Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Off in the distance, the guardian giant continued to roar.

    Silver¡¯s lips curled up as he said, ¡°Look, captain, that guardian giant is a mutant from a certain ancient race of giants. That ancient giant race was rumored to have beenpletely annihted by the Sixth Maind just because one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones used their bloodline to turn himself into a giant.¡±

    Lu Yin showed no emotion on his face. Silver had been talking the moment they arrived, and he was treating Lu Yin like a normal person.

    Lu Yin actually was a normal person, and he could have shedded his disguise the moment they arrived. However, Lu Yin still had not thought through how he could ount for his whereabouts to the Seven Courts. On top of that, he wanted to know what Silver needed from this ce, and Lu Yin also had very little knowledge of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Oh right, did Ku Wei make it here? Lu Yin was rather looking forward to it.

    ¡­

    At the same time that Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum opened up, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had started to crumble.

    ¡°Why have these creatures appeared here? Weren¡¯t they eradicated long ago?¡±

    ¡°Why would these creaturese to our Sixth Maind?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Fifth Maind! They¡¯re the ones who caused the universe to crumble!¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind¡­ Either you or us will die!¡±

    ¡­

    Blood soaked the Sixth Maind as countless people died. As for those who survived, they were utterly desperate.

    With the fall of the Daosource Sect, an indescribable wave of powerful energy coursed through the entire Sixth Maind, and their three Progenitors appeared. With their might, they managed to force all of the monstrosities out of the Sixth Maind and erect a barrier centered around the three of them that surrounded the entire Sixth Maind.

    The barrier that they had created started above the Mara River, and beyond the barrier was the ckhole that had been created by the explosion of the Mountain and Seas Zone. On the other side of the barrier, there were countless pairs of crimson eyes staring inwards at them.

    The Progenitor of Combat looked out at the endless horde of creatures outside the barrier and roared, ¡°Why has this cmity befallen our Sixth Maind? What happened? And why?¡±

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts struggled to find the words, but then he said, ¡°This was the result of a scheme by the Fifth Maind. We were too careless.¡±

    ¡°We should have destroyed the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse back then! Then all of their scheming would have ended!¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines roared with rage.

    ¡°The n behind this could not have been devised by the current Fifth Maind. There was definitely a Progenitor behind this,¡± the Progenitor of Combat observed.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts concurred. ¡°The only person who could have done this was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Hui.¡±

    ¡°How dare a dead person from the Fifth Maind scheme against us? Once this ordeal is over, we need to invade the Fifth Maind again and wash itsnds with blood!¡± The Progenitor of Combat was clearly livid.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts looked at creatures massing outside the barrier that stretched endlessly into the distance. There were existences that even the three of them were reluctant to fight, and there were even some that they knew they could not match up against. This was a cmity in the truest form. Would they be able to fend this off? Perhaps, but at what cost?

    The Sixth Maind was the only one of the six mainds that was still intact, but at this moment, they faced the same dire straits as the rest. Perhaps this was a destined oue.

    Had they made the right choice during the ancient war in the past?

    Progenitor Hui had seen past the sands of time, and with this unique arrangement, he had helped the Fifth Maind escape from this cmity, and they had even retaliated against the Sixth Maind for its actions in the ancient war. He had caused the Sixth Maind to suffer this time.

    While Progenitor Hui had done his best to n for the future, nothing could ever go exactly as nned. His scheme had deviated, or perhaps it had changed because his sessors had been the ones to execute the n. This had led to the ckhole having a small opening. This opening also just happened to connect the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind.

    This opening was notrge, and it only allowed a few people to pass through at the same time. The three Progenitors had noticed it, as had the owners of the countless crimson eyes. The monsters howled and shot forth towards the opening.

    The three Progenitors could help the Fifth Maind block the opening, but they did not do so. To them, it was better for the Fifth Maind to suffer than the Sixth Maind.

    Suddenly, a powerful surge of bloodthirsty energy swept around the barrier and shot towards the opening.

    This overwhelming force of this bloodthirst shocked even the three Progenitors. Although the power level of this energy did not reach that of a Progenitor, it was definitely at the level of a Semi-Progenitor. That,bined with the unique fighting style of these creatures, meant that this power was enough to overwhelm everyone aside from the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors.

    Just as this bundle of energy was about to pass through the opening and enter the Fifth Maind, a figure appeared, raised its hands, and then pressed down. The surge of energy gradually dissipated before eventually disappearing.

    The three Progenitors looked towards the opening and at the figure who had appeared, and they could not believe their eyes. ¡°Impossible! Why are you here?¡±

    The figure stood in front of the opening, blocking the horde of creatures. With a wave of a hand, many of the creatures simply vanished. The figure then looked at the three Progenitors and said, ¡°We need to talk.¡±

    ***

    Right when the bloodthirsty surge of energy was approaching the opening of the Fifth Maind, Arch-Elder Zen opened his eyes in utter shock.

    How?

    He took one step and vanished into thin air.

    Not only did Arch-Elder Zen leave the Neoverse at that time, but Highsage Grandmaster, a woman from the Mavis family, and other apex experts also did the same. In total, seven people moved out. They all made their way towards the Mara River, the entrance of Starfall Sea. The opening was in that ce.

    When Arch-Elder Zen and the others arrived, they saw that the opening in the ckhole barrier had been blocked by the three Progenitors using the barrier that they had set up. The seven people stood face to face with these three supreme beings.

    A Progenitor represented a realm, a boundary, and immeasurable time. Even more than that, they represented a sort of faith.

    The Fifth Maind had no Progenitors, so even just the Progenitor of Combat was enough to leave the Fifth Maind in despair.

    The only being who could rival a Progenitor was another Progenitor.

    While a Semi-Progenitor and a Progenitor were only separated by a single word, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other six people stood in front of the opening in the barrier as they looked past the opening and into the Sixth Maind and at the three Progenitors. The three Progenitors were also looking at the small group.

    ¡°We pay our respects to the Progenitors.¡± Arch-Elder Zen and the other six people bowed. Even though the two sides were enemies, the seven people still had to maintain decorum when confronting a Progenitor.

    Across from them, the Progenitor of Combat was rather surprised. ¡°The Fifth Maind actually has seven Semi-Progenitors? That¡¯s more than our Sixth Maind. You guys have concealed yourselves quite well.¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines spoke up, ¡°You guys are no doubt from the Fifth Maind that produced the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. We have belittled you.¡±

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts did not speak, but the shock in his eyes was apparent.

    These three Progenitors stood at the top of the Sixth Maind¡¯s hierarchy. Beneath them were the Four Empyreans, who were each Empyrean Imprinters. While this did not mean that there were only four Empyrean Imprinters, there were still fewer than seven of them. On top of that, an Empyrean Imprinter was not at the same level as a Semi-Progenitor.

    This meant that if the three Progenitors were disregarded, there were more Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Maind than the Sixth Maind. Also, the Fifth Maind sorely outnumbered the Sixth Maind when it came to people at the Empyrean Imprinter level.

    ¡°We express our gratitude to the three Progenitors for helping us protect this opening,¡± Arch-Elder Zen and the other six people said. However, they did not understand why the three Progenitors had chosen to help them, as they were technically enemies. If the opening was not blocked, then the Fifth Maind would have be the crimson-eyed creatures¡¯ feasting grounds. This would only serve to benefit the Sixth Maind, so the seven powerhouses did not understand why the Progenitors had done such a thing.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines derisively snorted. ¡°There¡¯s no need for thanks. We have our own terms.¡±

    ¡°Please, speak your mind,¡± Arch-Elder Zen solemnly requested.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was rather unwilling, but he finally spoke up, ¡°Even if the three of us tried to hold back those creatures, we might not be able to endure. Thus, we need to have our people transferred into the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other six looked at each other. They were not surprised by this at all, as it was the only logical reason why the three Progenitors would protect this opening for the Fifth Maind.

    The seven people remained silent and quickly calcted the advantages and disadvantages of the Sixth Maind moving into the Fifth Maind.

    The Progenitor of Combat spoke in a cold voice, ¡°Agree, and we will help you block this opening. If you don¡¯t, then we¡¯ll remove our barrier, and you can guard it yourselves. With your strength and the inheritances that your predecessors from the ancient past have left behind, it¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll be able to fight against the creatures and perish together. That would also benefit us. No matter what your answer is, we¡¯ll still be able to ept it. Choose now.¡±

    Finally Arch-Elder Zen answered in exasperation, ¡°Very well, we agree. Where are you three Progenitors looking to move to?¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, ¡°We won¡¯t make things hard for you. The Outerverse will suffice.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others heaved sighs of relief. They had been afraid that the three Progenitors would demand the Innerverse, which would spell trouble for them. Although the Innerverse was not as important as the Neoverse, it was still home to several powerful factions. For instance, there was the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, the Wen family, and a few others. These factions had members who were powerful enough to enter the upper echelons of the Hall of Honor, and such a decision could not be made lightly. However, the Outerverse was different.

    ¡°The Outerverse is rather huge, and it will not be easy to find a suitable ce for your Sixth Maind. Please give us some time,¡± Arch-Elder Zen requested.

    ¡°That¡¯s eptable. The opening is merely thisrge, so even if we wanted to move quickly, it would take some time. However, there¡¯s another condition.¡± The Progenitor of Combat stared down at Arch-Elder Zen and the others. ¡°You all are in possession of several Matters of Origin, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    The expressions of Arch-Elder Zen and the others instantly changed, and they all grew wary.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines ridiculed, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. We won¡¯t make any moves against you. Since we have agreed to cooperate, we will demonstrate cooperative behavior. However, we are quite curious. If you guys had one Matter of Origin, then it could be exined as your predecessors leaving it from the ancient past. However, you are in possession of more than one, and one of them has an aura that is not very dense or strong, which means that you only obtained it after Progenitor Chen and the rest perished. How did you get your hands on such a thing?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others all remained silent.

    The three Progenitors stared at them in silence.

    Before long, after Arch-Elder Zen and the others finished considering the situation, they helplessly decided to share a few matters with the three Progenitors. Now that the lives of those in the Fifth Maind had been ced in the hands of these three Progenitors, there were some secrets that needed to be shared. The three Progenitors had been the ones to gain the upper hand this time.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1161: ZENITH

    <h4>Chapter 1161: ZENITH</h4>

    After hearing Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s exnation, the Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you allowed the skies to change and have so many Semi-Progenitors. It seems that we have to thank that little fellow who broke through the Upper Three Gates. If not for him, we would not have learned about all these secrets.¡±

    ¡°This has nothing to do with him. Even when the Sixth Maind invaded our territory, you never truly entered the Neoverse,¡± Arch-Elder Zen said.

    ¡°How many slots are there?¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines asked.

    ¡°Only ten,¡± Arch-Elder Zen reluctantly answered after looking at the other six.

    ¡°Understood. We want five,¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines stated.

    Arch-Elder Zen instantly refused. ¡°Of these ten, two belong to the Technocracy, three to the Astral Beast Domain, and five for our Human Domain. Now that your Sixth Maind is here, we are willing to offer up two of our slots, but no more.¡±

    ¡°Even though the Technocracy and Astral Beast Domain had been waging war against you, they still have ces on this list?¡± the Progenitor of Secret Arts eximed.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°Aside from the racial differences, part of the reason why we wage war is topete for more slots on this list. This list belongs to the entire Fifth Maind, not just our Human Domain. However, we hold the majority of the slots. So, Progenitors, please understand our position: we can give up two slots at the most.¡±

    The Progenitor of Combat was incensed and roared, ¡°We three are helping you defend your Fifth Maind, and yet you¡¯re only giving us two slots? Do you know who you are speaking to?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen raised his head. ¡°This concerns the profits of the entire Fifth Maind, and thus, it cannot be decided by just the seven of us. The Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain also have their own Semi-Progenitors. Do you want all of us to fight it out with each other?¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was surprised. ¡°Your maind still has more Semi-Progenitors? This seems to be the Fifth Maind¡¯s greatest secret, and only now are we learning of it. If time had continued to flow by, then it is indeed possible for the Fifth Maind to produce a Progenitor without us knowing about it. It seems that we have these monsters to thank.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen felt rather stifled. The Human Domain had always acted with a low profile. Even if they had known where the Neohuman Alliance was based out of, they still would not go all out to eradicate them. This was because they had always been afraid of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s retaliation. Progenitor Hui¡¯s scheme had been well thought out, but deviations were bound to ur. The Human Domain did not want to take on the burden of more risks, so they had never gone all out against the Neohuman Alliance. However, at this time, it seemed that another anomaly had appeared.

    One could onlyment such a life.

    ¡°How you decide to divy up the slots is up to you, but no matter what, we will take four slots. You all can leave now. As for the people currently in the Outerverse, those who wish to stay may do so, and we will treat them fairly. However, the Outerverse will be ced under our Sixth Maind¡¯s jurisdiction.¡± The Progenitor of Bloodlines seemed to have run out of patience and no longer wished to speak to Arch-Elder Zen and the others.

    The seven powerhouses all left. For the moment, they did not have to worry about the breach, but the Progenitors¡¯ words remained in their minds.

    There was simply no way to distribute the slots with the addition of the Sixth Maind.

    The seven discussed the matter for several days before reaching out to the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Skymender as well as someone from the Technocracy. In the end, everyone agreed: since sharing the slots was not easy, the eligible participants wouldpete for the slots themselves.

    After reaching that conclusion, Arch-Elder Zen went to the breach and spoke to the three Progenitors. ¡°We have discussed the matter, and we simply cannot just give away the slots. At the moment, the observation list has more than twenty people, and with those of the Sixth Maind added in, there simply will not be enough spaces to go around. So¡­¡± Arch-Elder Zen paused and looked at the three Progenitors. ¡°Let thempete for the slots with their own strength. We have decided to host apetition, and the top ten will win the right to go to that ce and seek their own fates.¡±

    The three Progenitors looked at each other, and the Progenitor of Secret Arts was the first to agree. ¡°Very well, a fairpetition to choose the top ten it is. Remember your words, as you cannot go back on them, even if all top ten are from the Sixth Maind.¡±

    ¡°We definitely will not,¡± Arch-Elder Zen confidently replied.

    At this moment, the three Progenitorsughed, as they had the Daosource Three Skies.

    Arch-Elder Zen joined inughing because he was thinking of Shang Qing and the top talents who had fought atop the golden screens in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Each side waspletely confident in their own people, which formed the foundation of thispetition.

    Arch-Elder Zen then let the Hall of Honor publicly announce this decision. The time for thepetition had not been determined yet, but the number of people who could participate was not limited. Everyone and anyone was allowed to participate. The top members of the Hall of Honor along with the nine overseers were all publicizing this martialpetition as an event to ¡®unite the Human Domain¡¯ in a bid to boost the morale of the entire Human Domain.

    During thepetition, live footage of thepetition would be broadcasted throughout the entire universe, including the Sixth Maind¡¯s newly assigned area. The purpose of thispetition was to show everyone the strength of the new generation, which was the reason behind its name¡ªZENITH.

    The universe was simply too fragmented. It held the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, and Technocracy. As for the Human Domain, there was the Outerverse, Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse. In the future, they would have to face an invasion from those horrendous creatures, and only by consolidating the strength of the entire universe would they be able to repel the outsider forces. Thispetition was the first step towards unification, though it definitely would not be thest.

    It was important to first allow everyone to befortable with the idea of uniting.

    In the past, the three domains of the Fifth Maind had hosted the Tournament of the Strongest, but many people had considered it child¡¯s y. However, this time, ZENITH would be the ultimate stage for the Human Domain¡¯s youths, and it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity topete for a chance that could improve their chances of eventually bing a Progenitor. This could be considered a true life or death battle.

    Hosting ZENITH would not be a simple task as it concerned more than just the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. First, they had to spread coverage throughout the entire Astral Beast Domain.

    The Astral Beast Domain and Human Domain were often locked in war, and even if Skymender and the Celestial Beast Empire agreed to thispetition, it would not be easy to spreadwork coverage across the entire Astral Beast Domain. Such a thing required time, as did relocating the people from the Outerverse.

    Overseer Bu Laoweng and his grandson Tian Shao were the ones most affected by these changes.

    Arch-Elder Zen had unwillingly given the Outerverse to the Sixth Maind, and these two people were suffering the most from this decision.

    ¡°Grandfather, since we¡¯ve lost the Outerverse, then does it mean that we no longer control the Great Eastern Alliance? Doesn¡¯t this mean that the Hall of Honor¡¯s decision to let you take charge was just a farce?¡± Tian Shao grumbled to the image of Bu Laoweng that had appeared on his gadget.

    Bu Laoweng indifferently replied, ¡°Don¡¯t panic. There are countless people from the Sixth Maind. Even if they want to move to the Outerverse, it will take them time. The exact amount of time is uncertain, but it will be a hundred years at the minimum. For now, the Hall of Honor has to move everyone from the western region of the Outerverse into the Innerverse, which will take a long time as well. All of this time will be enough for you to gather the aplishments that you need.¡±

    Tian Shao heaved a heavy sigh of relief. ¡°Then I¡¯ll begin packing and making my way to the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Remember this: you are going on my behalf, so you cannot throw the Hall of Honor¡¯s face aside. Still, at the same time, you cannot be too insolent. Although Lu Yin was captured by the Neohuman Alliance, his influence still pervades the entire Outerverse. This is especially true as he has Yuan Shi as well as Eversky Ind as his backers. Leon¡¯s Armada is no weakling either, so try to avoid any direct confrontations. There are many factions within the Great Eastern Alliance that are only members in name, so you can make good use of those people,¡± Bu Laoweng stated.

    ¡°Grandfather, I already know all of this.¡± Tian Shao paid little heed.

    Bu Laoweng frowned and continued, saying, ¡°Make sure to remember that not only do you need to aplish things out there, but you also cannot afford to make even a single mistake. That ce is your stepping stone for climbing up the ranks within the Hall of Honor, and you cannot fail at the first step. Don¡¯t squander my many years of hard work. Originally, this was all intended for your father, but he passed away too soon. If not for the creation of the Great Eastern Alliance, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to give you this position even after another thousand years of hard work. Now that this lucky opportunity has fallen in yourp, do your best to seed.¡±

    Tian Shao nodded resolutely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, grandfather.¡±

    Bu Laoweng still felt rather uneasy, but for the moment, he was unable to leave the Neoverse. He could only send someone else to keep an eye on Tian Shao. However, in a wastnd like the Outerverse, there wasn¡¯t likely to be anyone who would dare to cause trouble for his grandson.

    ¡­

    The interior of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was dark, and there was no sun there. Just as the name suggested, this ce was a sealed space.

    It covered an exceptionally vast area. After all, it was the grave of a Progenitor.

    The chaos caused by the guardian giant meant that everyone lost track of each other soon after entering. Hui Santong continued to fly away on his golden shooting star trails. He had initially intended to keep an eye on Xia Jiuyou, but he had already lost him. As for Lei N¨¹, she kept her eyes trained on Hui Santong at all times. The people from the Hall of Honor were not familiar with Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and she had decided that Hui Santong was her best option to tail.

    Hui Santong felt rather speechless when he turned around and saw that Lei N¨¹ was still following him.

    This woman is nning to follow me to death, huh?

    ¡°Second Honor Chosen, can¡¯t you find your own way?¡± Hui Santong could not stand it anymore and spoke up.

    Lei N¨¹ maintained her silence as she continued to follow him.

    There was a dark dome above them and a ck mountain range below. Each mountain peak looked like a sharp de, which was rather disturbing. There were also strange bubbling noisesing from a river running below them that was also ck.

    Hui Santong asked Lei N¨¹ to leave several more times before finally deciding to attack her. However, he was unable to defeat her, and Lei N¨¹ was not too harsh with her fists as she simply continued to follow him. Hui Santong felt utterly suppressed at this time.

    Xie Xiaoxian was feeling the exact same thing as Shu Jing followed her.

    ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t have any sense of security with you staring at my skimpy clothes like that. Go and ogle someone else!¡± Xie Xiaoxian said with displeasure.

    Shu Jing frowned. ¡°My apologies. I won¡¯t attack you so long as you don¡¯t attack me.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian was rather infuriated, and she decided to simply stop moving. Suddenly, bones appeared from her hands that took the shape of spikes, and they pierced the ground beneath her as they started drilling a hole. Shu Jing was stupefied and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian gave a sly smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you like following me? Keep up! Anyways, I won¡¯t be going anywhere.¡±

    Shu Jing was bbergasted.

    The Neohuman Alliance was definitely more familiar with Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum than the Hall of Honor¡¯s participants. And from what Lu Yin could tell, the Neohuman Alliance seemed to have as much knowledge as the Seven Courts.

    Silver confidently headed in a certain direction, though he never stopped talking to Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, there¡¯s plenty of good stuff here in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but there are three things that stand above everything else. There¡¯s Progenitor Chen¡¯s secret technique, the Root of Intelligence, and the chance to experience a Progenitor¡¯s enlightenment. Right now, we¡¯re headed towards the ce of enlightenment, and-¡±

    Suddenly, Silver stopped talking.

    Lu Yin maintained his zombie-like expression and continued following Silver.

    Silver turned around and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, have you truly been remodeled, or not? I really can¡¯t get a read on you any longer.¡±

    At this moment, a streak of lightning shot over their heads. It was Ku Lei.

    Silver looked up and said, ¡°Is the Ku family¡¯s inheritor stupid, or is he justpletely arrogant? Doesn¡¯t he know that there are guardian giants here?¡±

    As Silver spoke, a horn sounded from afar, and it echoed throughout the entire mausoleum.

    The horn hade from a certain direction, and it was where a tribe of guardian giants lived. This sound caused all of the giants in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum to bellow and rush out from their vige and stare up at the sky.

    Ku Lei turned into a streak of lightning and flew further away. He narrowly avoided a club swing and looked to the left, where a giant was charging at him. In response, Ku Lei could only p down with a hand.

    Ku Lei¡¯s expression grew icy cold as he pointed at the giant: Finger Tap.

 Chapter 1162: Big Bro Monkey

    <h4>Chapter 1162: Big Bro Monkey</h4>

    The giant¡¯s rage immediately quelled when it saw Ku Wei¡¯s Finger Tap technique. The technique had drilled a hole into the massive humanoid¡¯s palm and knocked it to the ground.

    This giant had not fully grown up yet, which was why Ku Wei dared to fight it. However, as more giants continued to run at him, he did not stick around for a moment longer as he quickly dropped to the ground.

    Ce Jiu was in the same position as Ku Wei. All of the outsiders were immediately attacked by the giants, aside from Xia Jiuyou who simply moved past the giants.

    The Xia family were Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendants, which was the only logical exnation for this phenomenon. As for the earlier attack, he had just been unlucky.

    Within the Seven Courts, it wasmon knowledge that the members of the Xia family were able to move about freely within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Lu Yin¡¯s trio had also encountered the guardian giants.

    The guardian giants sought out their prey by smell, and the trio was quickly discovered.

    A giant smashed down at them with a club, creating a huge pit in the ground.

    Silver, Beast, and Lu Yin immediately ducked. The giant roared and followed up with another smash. This time, even the air around the club warped.

    A single swing from the guardian giant¡¯s club was easily powerful enough to destroy a whole. Lu Yin did not want to face such a monstrous strength head on.

    The trio did not notice that someone was standing atop this guardian giant¡¯s head, hidden within the hair and staring at them in shock. It was Ku Wei.

    Upon entering Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, Ku Wei had been immediately sent flying by a club smash, and when he regained consciousnesster on, he had found himself stuck in a random giant¡¯s hair. His legs were tangled in the hair, and he was dangling from his legs.

    He was actually somewhat grateful that he had beenunched into the giant¡¯s hair, as otherwise, he would have been discovered and turned into a meat patty.

    While Ku Wei¡¯s luck had been quite good, he was also a bit worried, as he had no way to escape. He knew that, with his speed, the moment he moved away from the guardian giant¡¯s body, he would be immediately caught and smashed to death. There was no way about it.

    Originally, he had submitted himself to his fate and had decided to only leave when Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum reopened. However, then, he had noticed these three people.

    At this moment, he was fervently hoping that they could kill the guardian giant he was trapped atop.

    Ku Wei did not know who these three people were as he had never met Silver, and he also was not able to see Lu Yin, who was wearing heavy ck robes. However, a chance was still a chance. Of course, Ku Wei would resign himself to his fate if these three people wanted to kill him instead.

    In theory, a mature guardian giant was strong enough to fight against a powerhouse with a power level greater than 100,000. This was because guardian giants fought by using brute force and raw, physical strength. The most important detail was that their bloodline made them strong, but that was not their true fighting potential. A powerhouse with a power level greater than 300,000 was strong enough to kill a mature guardian giant. However, Silver, Beast, and Lu Yin each had the means to unleash attacks with power levels higher than 300,000, though they chose not to do so. They merely sliced open a gash on the giant¡¯s leg, bathed in the blood that poured out, let it cover every inch of their bodies, and then quickly escaped. This method kept them from being pursued by the other guardian giants, as the blood was masking their scent.

    Ku Wei watched all of this take ce, and he was very disappointed that the three people had not chosen to kill the giant. However, he was tempted to copy the method that they had used. The guardian giant half knelt on the ground, and Ku Wei hesitated before the opportunity to bathe in its blood.

    What if I get smashed to death?

    Due to that moment of hesitation, Ku Wei lost his window of opportunity to escape from the guardian giant. The giant simply picked up a bit of dirt, pped it on his wounds, and rubbed it around. The blood flow immediately stopped, stumping Ku Wei.

    He felt as though destiny was ying a joke on him. It had not been easy for him to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but as soon as he entered, he had been forced to spend his time stuck to a giant. If word of this reached the outside, his patriarch would probably skin him alive.

    However, no one could really me Ku Wei. After all, he was simply afraid of dying.

    After moving away from the guardian giant, the trio reached an impressive speed as they continued on towards their destination.

    Then, a huge droplet of some dark liquid suddenly fell on Beast.

    Silver and Lu Yin both instantly dodged aside before turning around to check on Beast after it had been struck.

    Beast was unscathed. It growled within the ball of liquid and tried to break out, but to no avail. Its attacks werepletely ineffective against the ball of dark liquid.

    ¡°Attack it from the outside,¡± Silver ordered.

    Lu Yin knew that Silver was speaking to him. So, he raised his hands, formed a sickle with death energy, and then shed at the liquid ball.

    The sickle hacked at the liquid, leaving behind a gash in the droplet. However, nothing dripped or spilled out. This material did not seem to have the normal properties of a liquid.

    Silver whipped out his butterfly knife and also shed at the ball of liquid, but his attempts yielded simr results.

    At this moment, more droplets began to fall to the ground. Silver and Lu Yin continuously dodged and evaded them while Beast continued to be hammered.

    Y¨­u Qin was some distance away, also dodging the droplets. However, she was eventually hit and sealed within the liquid.

    Ku Lei, Ce Jiu, Hui Santong, and the rest were also being attacked by this rain of strange droplets.

    Even Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing, who were the closest to the entrance, were suffering from the same attack.

    ¡°Stange, when did attacks like this start showing up in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum?¡± Xie Xiaoxian was rather confused. The Seven Courts had explored this area for countless years, and as a result, they had found and taken many things from this region, including battle techniques, cultivation techniques, power vessels, and more. This ce was a mass grave that contained many traps and guardian giants. However, massive droplets of liquid had never fallen from the sky before.

    Something seemed to have changed within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    The falling of ck droplets continued on for nearly ten days, and during this time, everybody did their best to avoid them.

    While all of the humans had to evade these droplets, the guardian giants werepletely unaffected by them. To the giants, this rain seemed to be normal droplets of water, and there were unaffected when the droplets struck their bodies.

    After ten days, the rain gradually vanished.

    At that time, Beast was able to use the second corpse king transformation to escape from the droplet that had trapped it.

    These droplets were only able to immobilize people, and they had no other effect. They were not very fast either. As long as one paid attention, they would not be struck.

    Y¨­u Qin also managed to escape after using some of her Y¨­u family¡¯s techniques.

    After the droplets of dark liquid disappeared, next was gigantic volleys of arrows that flew through the air horizontally.

    These arrows were able to pierce and even kill a guardian giant, but due to the creatures¡¯rge size, these arrows were not regr arrows to the humans. Rather, they were massive weapons that could st their bodies to smithereens in a single hit.

    These arrows were rather intimidating, and everyone had no choice but to descend to the ground to avoid being struck.

    Lu Yin felt somewhat puzzled. These arrows did not seem designed to injure any would-be invaders. Rather, it seemed more like they were meant to damage or kill the guardian giants.

    Is it possible that these guardian giants are not actually guarding Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? Are they also seeking something in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? In that case, who put these arrows in ce?

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was filled with dangers and traps. After the volley of arrows, next was a strange gust of wind, and that was then followed by strange screeching noises. The members of the Seven Courts were all prepared for this. Lei N¨¹, Shu Jing, and Lu Yin were the only ones experiencing it without any foreknowledge.

    At this moment, the first person that Lu Yin thought of was the Ghost Monkey. That damned monkey had raided many tombs and graves in the past, and he definitely had a great deal of experience in this area.

    Lu Yin still felt somewhat reluctant about letting the Ghost Monkey go after spending over ten years together with him. He wondered how the Ghost Monkey was doing right now.

    ***

    Far, far away, in Shaman God¡¯s Tower of Darkness that stood tall within Aeternus Nation, the Ghost Monkey was feeling extremely rxed. He was not a human, and he held no animosity towards the Neohuman Alliance. He was just a shadow, and he had decided that it made no difference to him who he followed.

    When he had been with Lu Yin, he had often encountered danger, but now that he was following Shaman God, one of the Seven Skygods, the monkey felt extremely carefree. A powerhouse like Shaman God often trained in seclusion, and thus, he had no time to care about the Ghost Monkey. The monkey had thus decided that he would act more loyal towards Shaman God and gain a better position within the Neohuman Alliance. He would then takemand of an army of zombies to attack the Astral Beast Domain and take back ¡°his¡± concubines¡ªthe Celestial Ice Phoenix n.

    The Ghost Monkey felt more excited about his future prospects the longer he thought about it. It was as if he could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, beckoning him toward a beautiful future.

    As for Lu Yin... Forget it. he¡¯s just someone I used to know. At the most, I¡¯ll let him off next time I see him. Well, so long as he calls me Lord Ghost Monkey. No, Big Bro Monkey instead! How dare he make me call him Seventh Bro? That bastard! I¡¯m getting more pissed the more I think about it. Seventh Bro? Pfft. Call me Big Bro Monkey.

    ***

    As time passed, the people within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum gradually moved past the various traps and closer to their destinations. They moved further in, and soon, there was a tall, lofty city wall standing before them.

    Xia Jiuyou was the first to spot the city walls. These city walls were like towering mountain peaks, and they resembled sharp, inverted daggers. Upon closer inspection, one could see that there were sharp, bloodstained spikes in front of the walls.

    This area had once been the birthce of a civilization.

    The Xia family possessed records showing that, once, there had been a civilization of giants within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and that the current guardian giants were nothing more than a certain tribe that did not have much intelligence. However, how had the guardian giants managed to build such tall walls? Also, were there giants patrolling along top of the city walls? Had they given birth to a giant emperor?

    Ce Jiu was the next to see the city walls. His usage of the Ce secret technique allowed him to proceed through the mausoleum extremely quickly, and it also helped him evade the guardian giants.

    When he saw the city walls, he felt as though his knowledge had been overturned. This was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and the presence of the guardian giants was already considered a bizarre thing. However, after countless years, had the giants finally managed to give birth to a civilization?

    Xia Jiuyou saw Ce Jiu, as neither of them had hidden themselves. They would not be able to proceed and make it over these walls by themselves.

    Soon after, Hui Santong arrived with Lei N¨¹ tailing him.

    Ku Lei and Y¨­u Qin were thest to arrive, and Y¨­u Qin looked to be in a rather sorry state.

    She was the weakest out of the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Xie Xiaoxian?¡± Y¨­u Qin asked.

    ¡°She had a tail, so my guess is that she won¡¯t being,¡± Ce Jiu replied.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum is littered with treasures for the Xia family, so it¡¯s no big deal if she doesn¡¯te,¡± Hui Santong said as he nced sideways at Lei N¨¹ before looking back at the towering city walls. Suddenly, he felt rather relieved that Lei N¨¹ had managed to follow him. When faced with these massive city walls, the more people they had, the greater their chances of getting over it would be.

    Beneath her mask, Lei N¨¹ stared up at the city walls in awe. Even the Hall of Honor¡¯s records had mentioned the rare possibility of a civilization emerging from a tribe of giants. It often heralded the birth of a giant emperor, which meant that the guardian giants must have one.

    ¡°The giants throughout the universe can be divided into two types: the first are savage giants who use their bodies as weapons and are often brutal warmongers. The second type are intelligent giants, and they lean more towards creativity and technology. Once upon a time, a civilization of intelligent giants armed with amazing technology appeared in the Innerverse and caused a great upheaval. They had created many technological weapons, but they eventually disappeared without any trace. As for savage giants, the only reason why they would form a civilization is when a Giant Emperor is born,¡± Hui Santong exined in a rxed manner while the rest of the youths listened quietly.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1163: Giants And A Pool of Blood

    <h4>Chapter 1163: Giants And A Pool of Blood</h4>

    ¡°A Giant Emperor''s intelligence isn¡¯t inferior to our own, and they are actually smarter than most humans. Once a Giant Emperor appears, the fighting capability of the entire giant tribe will spike, and a Giant Emperor can also control the other giants at will,¡± Hui Santong continued his exnation.

    ¡°Stop spouting crap! Everyone here already knows all this. Tell us how we can get over those city walls,¡± Ku Lei interrupted.

    Hui Santong indifferently replied, ¡°There¡¯s only one method, which is to mask our scent. We are basically ants to the guardian giants, so once we mask our scent, they¡¯ll practically ignore whatever us little ants are up to. Do you notice the ants on the ground?¡±

    The group then turned to look at the city walls. Hui Santong¡¯s words were quite clear: they had to catch a giant and bathe in its blood to mask their scent.

    A trio appeared across the way and also looked up at the giant city walls. Silver was very surprised. ¡°A civilization was actually established here in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? It looks like a Giant Emperor was born.¡±

    Lu Yin was also surprised, and he remembered what he had experienced on Gigastar in Umbral Butterfly Weave.

    The giants on Gigastar had loved smearing mud on their backs and using it as a form of defense. However, those giants had been very weak whenpared to the guardian giants in the tomb.

    The giants on Gigastar were probably just a branch of the giant race, but their Giant Emperor had been highly intelligent, and it had often left people running about in circles. It also knew how to conceal its strength. If a Giant Emperor appeared in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, then its intelligence certainly would not be low, and it had most likely already discovered their presence.

    ¡°The Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors must be racking up their brains to find a way to cross that wall right now. We¡¯ll just sit back and wait. Once they draw the attention of the guardian giants, we¡¯ll sneak in from the back. What do you say, captain?¡± Silver beamed at Lu Yin.

    Death energy filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he stared ahead nkly without saying a word.

    Silver continued to smile, and he looked over to where Xia Jiuyou and the others were standing.

    Before much more time passed, several guardian giants jumped down from the city walls and smashed the spikes erected before the wall. The earth trembled and broke open.

    They had picked up the scent of Xia Jiuyou and the others.

    ¡°Hide!¡± Hui Santong urged.

    They all masked their scents and began to fan out.

    Three of the guardian giants moved out, sniffing the air as they separated into three different directions. As they walked, they smashed their clubs against the ground, as if extremely upset.

    Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹ were tasked with luring two of the giants away while the rest of the group would deal with the final giant.

    Boom!

    The ground trembled as a guardian giant copsed, its club falling to its side. Ku Lei formed a de of lightning and cut open a gash on the giant¡¯s leg. Fresh blood spilled out onto thend, sttering everywhere as it covered Y¨­u Qin and the others.

    Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹ returned at this moment and also drenched themselves in the blood.

    The two other giants rushed over to where the youths were gathered, but Hui Santong said, ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯ll wait a few days before entering.¡±

    The crowd dispersed at his words.

    The injured giant stood up after they left. His leg had been cut by Ku Lei, but with the giant¡¯s sheer size, this wound was equivalent to its skin being scraped by a tree branch.

    The group had masked their scent, and the three guardian giants could only return to the city walls.

    As for the injured giant, he was a tad slower than the other two, and he almost fell down when hopping back atop the city wall. Silver nearly erupted withughter.

    ¡°Why wait a few days?¡± Ku Lei asked.

    Hui Santong exined, ¡°There¡¯s a Giant Emperor here, and it¡¯s definitely different from the other giants. We can¡¯t have the Giant Emperor¡¯s focus be on us.¡±

    No one rebuked him. If the Giant Emperor was as smart as a human, then that would make for a truly frightening foe. And as the leader of the giants, its strength would definitely be extraordinary.

    No one felt certain of their chances against such a creature, and neither were they fully confident of being able to escape.

    Y¨­u Qin looked at Xia Jiuyou and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go on ahead? For countless years, the Xia family has been fearless within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Perhaps the giants won''t attack you.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou dryly replied, ¡°It''s difficult to predict how the Giant Emperor will behave.¡±

    ¡°Regr guardian giants respond to scent, and the rumors im that the Xia family¡¯s home was once the weapon for one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. Thus, it has the same scent as them, which is why they won¡¯t attack Xia family members. However, the Giant Emperor is different,¡± Hui Santong said.

    Xia Jiuyou looked at Hui Santong intently. On the surface, it might sound seemed like Hui Santong was offering an exnation for Xia Jiuyou¡¯s decision, but in truth, Hui Santong was telling everyone that thendmass where the Xia family lived, the one that was shaped like a de, was actually a weapon that used to belong to one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. The Hui family knew too much.

    After two days passed, Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing arrived.

    ¡°We thought that you weren¡¯t going toe.¡± Hui Santong looked at Xie Xiaoxian in surprise.

    Xie Xiaoxian felt rather suppressed as she looked at Shu Jing. She had assumed that this fellow would not be able to endure for so long, but he had actually waited by the side of the pit for more than a month. What a lunatic.

    Shu Jing was not overly concerned. His purpose foring to this ce was to improve his physical body, and the Xie family was filled with experts in that area. Since Xie Xiaoxian had entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, then there was no reason for her to leave empty handed. Regardless, Shu Jing had almost no knowledge of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, so he had already set his mind on following Xie Xiaoxian the entire time, even if it drove her crazy.

    ¡°Hey, did you guys manage to get some giant blood? Is there any left? Give me some,¡± Xie Xiaoxian said.

    Ce Jiuughed and pointed at the ground.

    Xie Xiaoxian saw the puddle of blood that was still on the ground.

    She pursed her lips. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°You should understand what the appearance of these city walls means. We can only lure the giants out once. If we do it again, the Giant Emperor will notice us,¡± Hui Santong said.

    Xie Xiaoxian rolled her eyes. ¡°Ohe on! We should have been discovered as soon as we showed up! Besides, didn¡¯t you hear those horns earlier?¡±

    Ce Jiu said, ¡°The Giant Emperor might have thought that it was because of some giants getting restless, not that it was a warning about us.¡±

    Xie Xiaoxian bit her lips. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you.¡±

    With that, she walked towards that puddle of blood, but just when she was about to use it to cover her body, Shu Jing jumped right in the puddle, and she had to fight him for thest bit of blood.

    Soon after, both of them were covered in the giant¡¯s blood.

    Hui Santong looked up at the ck dome above their heads. ¡°Three days. We¡¯ll wait three more days before crossing the walls.¡±

    Silver, who was observing the group from afar, said, ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be able to wait for much longer. We¡¯ll follow them when they enter. Captain, if you¡¯re still conscious, then run when you can. Don¡¯t stab me in the back, as I haven¡¯t let you down in any way.¡±

    Lu Yin stood rooted in ce and stared nkly at the wall in front.

    There were no rune lines within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and there was nothing else that he could see either. Despite that, his intuition was telling him that there was a threatening existence on the other side of that wall.

    Lu Yin constantly reminded himself that these guardian giants before him were different from the giants that he had seen in the past.

    At best, the giants on Gigastar had been capable of destroyings when their strength reached the limit. On the other hand, these guardian giants each possessed the strength to casually destroy a.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin recalled that he had once obtained a massive, mechanical right arm from theary warehouse that belonged to the border warfront in Southside Weave. It was toorge for a human, but it was far too small for any of these true giants to wield.

    Three days passed in a sh. Nothing happened among the giants during this time, as everyone present had covered their scents with giant blood. The guardian giants roaming outside the city walls had all returned to the tribe, and the giants atop the city walls remained rather calm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Hui Santong ordered. Although he wasn¡¯t the strongest of the group, it was generally epted within the Neoverse that, whenever a group headed into battle, a member of the Hui family would be the one to make the calls. Over the course of countless years, the Hui family had shown that their members possessed remarkable wisdom. Even the leader of the Seven Courts, the Xia family, agreed with such an evaluation.

    Although the city walls were extremely tall, the present experts were able to easily leap over them. After scaling the walls, they dashed straight to the other side, right beneath the noses of the guardian giants.

    What awaited them on the other side shocked them. Even though they had all made various guesses about what they would see, when they saw the civilization that had formed among the giants, they were still bbergasted.

    On the other side of the city wall, there were iparably massive houses, which were where the giants lived. Even though each house had been shoddily constructed from piles of rocks and gave off an impression of being deserted, they had obviously been designed. The streets were kept clean and perfectly straight. In a sharp contrast to the environment outside the city walls, there was a true civilization inside.

    As they climbed the wall, they were first shocked by the city, but all of them soon looked off into the distance and at a building that had been erected in the center of all the other houses. At that location, there was also a truly vast pool filled with blood. The stench of the blood filled the area, and just one look sent the entire group¡¯s senses tingling. They felt as though they had seen an iparably enormous giant standing tall in outer space. One wave of its arm was enough to easily destroys and anything nearby.

    Their hearts sank as they all copsed to the ground. Their instincts were driving them to seek cover even as they gasped for air.

    Xia Jiuyou tightly squeezed his chest, utterly appalled at the vision.

    What in the world is that? Why was there such an unbelievably massive giant? That thing made these guardian giants look like ants. Did such a giant ever exist? The aura and pressure that it gave off made it seem like the ruler of the universe¡­ Could that have been Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone?

    Xia Jiuyou was not the only one in the group having such thoughts.

    Blood trickled down from Hui Santong¡¯s lips.

    It¡¯s no wonder why a civilization was born in this ce. Most likely, a giant uncovered this blood from Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone and gained intelligence from that, bing a Giant Emperor. No, not only that. Given the potential and power of this Giant Emperor, it might have even inherited a bit of the strength of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone as well!

    Xie Xiaoxian eyed the pool of blood with excitement. This blood most likely came from Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone. And since there was blood in this ce, then it meant that there were likely to be bones close by as well. What she wanted the most were Progenitor Chen¡¯s bones. If she was able to get her hands on those, then her strength would definitely rise by leaps and bounds. Her strength would not just rise by one level, as she might even be able to break through and reach the Enlighter realm with those bones.

    So what if you have the Nine Clones Technique? So what if you have the Tri-Yang Technique?

    She did not believe that such people were truly invincible. However, first, she had to get her hands on Progenitor Chen¡¯s bones.

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing looked at each other, both in shock. Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum actually contained Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. The value of this ce was much, much higher than the Hall of Honor had initially assumed. In fact, the corpse of one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones might be buried in this ce.

    Everyone remained silent, and they each kept to their own thoughts.

    Ku Lei was first to break the silence. ¡°Now that we¡¯re over the city wall, everyone¡¯s on their own.¡±

    Hui Santong looked at Ku Lei, but did not speak.

    Ku Lei snorted in derision and left first.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1164: Bottom Of The Pool

    <h4>Chapter 1164: Bottom Of The Pool</h4>

    After Ku Lei took off, Xie Xiaoxian left while Shu Jing followed right behind her. By now, Xie Xiaoxian was starting to wonder if the fellow had actually taken a liking to her, which flustered her slightly. The reason why she wore such skimpy clothing was so that she could use her battle techniques more easily. In truth, she was a rather conservative person, and she felt that it would not be good to have someone like Shu Jing following her around.

    Hui Santong subconsciously shifted his attention back over to Lei N¨¹ after seeing that Shu Jing was following Xie Xiaoxian.

    Lei N¨¹ looked back at him.

    Hui Santong inwardly heaved a sigh. There was no need for him to guess, as her eyes clearly indicated that she would follow him everywhere. What rotten luck.

    Xia Jiuyou took his leave, as did Ce Jiu and Y¨­u Qin. They all shared the same target: the pool of blood in the middle. They slowly left the group.

    There was no reason for Hui Santong to ask everyone to join forces again, as the pool was extremely vast. Based on everyone¡¯s capabilities, they would all somehow manage to get a piece of the pie.

    However, was the pool really filled with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood? That might not necessarily be the case. After all, the blood of a Progenitor was normally very difficult to find.

    As for the trio from the Neohuman Alliance, they climbed over the city wall and also saw the giants¡¯ civilization and the pool of blood.

    Silver¡¯s eyes grew feverish as he licked his lips. ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood!¡±

    Silver¡¯s words allowed Lu Yin to understand that Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood was in this ce.

    If the Ghost Monkey was here, he would definitely scream for joy. That iparably huge giant that I saw earlier, the one who could easily destroys with just a swing of his arms¡­ Could that have been Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone? That thing was simply too enormous!

    Silver smiled at Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, you actually don¡¯t have to put on an act any longer now that we¡¯re here.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not move and maintained the behavior of a zombie.

    Silver shrugged. ¡°You can¡¯t actually be thinking of stabbing me in the back, can you? We¡¯re not enemies.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not move.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Silver smiled.

    The pool of blood was located right in the middle of the giants¡¯ vige. Everyone looked like ants crawling through a human city, as everything was humongouspared to them.

    Silver¡¯s little group passed by one stone hut after the next. Suddenly, one of the hut¡¯s doors opened in front of them as a guardian giant walked out. Then, the giant mmed the door closed behind him, creating a loud boom and sending a puff of dust through the door. However, each speck of dust looked more like a rock to Silver¡¯s trio.

    The guardian giant moved away, and the three continued on towards the center of the vige.

    The others were all in simr situations as they each sought a way to the pool of blood.

    The most unfortunate person at this time was Ku Lei. He had transformed into lightning and tried to speed through the vige. However, he had been too fast, and he had nearly been stomped to death by a giant. In the end, he narrowly managed to avoid the giant¡¯s foot, but he had still been buried by the dust kicked up by the giant¡¯s footfall.

    As their scent had been covered up, the group slowly moved closer to the pool of blood.

    The closer they drew to the pool, the more they could feel the pressure emanating from it. It exuded an aura of supremacy. However, this aura did note from the power that the blood held, but rather from the will that it contained. This was the natural suppression of a Progenitor. Even if Progenitor Chen had died countless years ago, so long ago that the annals of history barely have records of him, this suppressive aura still existed. This was how a Progenitor should be.

    The pool of blood was surrounded by arge fence that had been put up to fend off the other guardian giants. However, for Lu Yin and the others, the poles of this fence were like stone pirs that reached high into the sky.

    They easily passed through the fence and then saw the massive pool of blood that was just a thousand meters in front of them.

    Everyone was closing in from different directions, and they were all looking at the pool of blood at this time.

    Just as Ku Lei was about to dive straight into the pool, a horn red and echoed through the sky. Ku Lei was so startled that he nearly fell over.

    The others all sought cover at this moment.

    Silver¡¯s trio hid beneath a stone pir and looked into the distance. They were all wondering if someone else had somehow entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    However, this horn did note from outside, but rather from within the city walls.

    As the horn continued to re, one giant after another emerged from the stone huts and dejectedly made their way toward the pool of blood.

    The humans in the vige all felt their hair stand on end as they watched the giants close in on the pool of blood. The seemingly endless procession of approaching giants would shock anyone witnessing this scene.

    They would have to be serious to fight against just one of these guardian giants, but the sound of that horn seemed to have summoned all of the guardian giants within the city walls. If any of the humans were even the slightest bit unlucky, they could very well be stomped to death. So, the humans hid beneath the stone pirs hoping that the giants, who saw it as a simple fence, would not step right to the edge of a fence.

    Y¨­u Qin nervously eyed one of the guardian giants in front of her. It was the one closest to her, and if its foot shifted just slightly, it would crush her.

    Suddenly, a nauseating stench overpowered her senses as her face went pale. The giant¡¯s foot stank so bad that it almost caused her to vomit right then and there.

    This guardian giant¡¯s feet were smelly beyond belief.

    Ce Jiu caught sight of Y¨­u Qin¡¯s expression far away, and he saw that she was holding her breath while staring at a giant¡¯s foot in contempt. He nearly burst outughing, as the inheritors of the Seven Courts were rarely seen in such a sorry state.

    But at that moment, he also caught a whiff of something stinky. It was the feet of an approaching guardian giant, and it was also enough to make him want to run.

    He suddenly understood how Y¨­u Qin was feeling at this moment.

    Although everyone was separated by great distances, they were still able to easily see across such a distance. Hui Santong saw Ce Jiu and Y¨­u Qin caught in a sorry situation, and he could not help butugh internally.

    These two morons, they could have hidden somece further away. The giants on my side won¡¯t get even close to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m still the smarter one.¡± Hui Santong bragged to Lei N¨¹ who was beside him, but she just silently stared at the pool of blood.

    Suddenly, a loud boom startled the living hell out of everyone. Hui Santong immediately went pale. He slowly turned around toe face to face with the buttocks of the closest guardian giant. Could that explosion actually have been a fart? A fart like thunder, what an apt description! That damn giant actually farted!

    The next moment, a revolting stench spread out, apanied by a yellow sulfurous cloud that filled the air near Hui Santong.

    Hui Santong¡¯s pupils shrank, and his reflexes screamed at him to run away. He could not ept to suffer such a disgrace.

    Lei N¨¹ grabbed his shoulders and pressed down. ¡°Don¡¯t move! We don¡¯t know where the Giant Emperor is yet, and if you move, we could be discovered.¡±

    Hui Santong could only stare on in horror as the yellow cloud gently enveloped him. He tightly shut his eyes.

    The elegance I¡¯ve cultivated for my entire life is now gone¡­

    Y¨­u Qin and Ce Jiu could see Hui Santong, but the others were standing further away and could not. They only saw the yellow cloud billow out, and they all stared nkly at the area before taking a moment of silence for the unlucky person in that area.

    Xie Xiaoxian stared intently at where Hui Santong was. She could not see who was hiding there. Who was that unlucky? I have to see!

    On another side, where the others could not see him, Silver stared at Hui Santong, pitying the man¡¯s poor luck.

    Lu Yin had also seen what had happened. This story was enough tough at the Hui scion for his entire life.

    If I see Brother Hui Kong in the future, I have to tell him about how I really admire his descendant for his impressive endurance.

    Hui Santong felt as though his world had been shrouded in darkness.

    I won¡¯t be able to get out of this one. A fart has ruined my life!

    More giants continued to fill the area, but none of them moved closer to the pool of blood. Then, the horn red again, and upon hearing it, the first giant walked towards the pool of blood. Under everyone¡¯s astonished gazes, the giant picked up a sharpened piece of rock, slit its wrist, and let its fresh blood drip into the pool of blood.

    To the giants, only a drop of blood fell out, but to Lu Yin and the others, the amount was like a waterfall.

    The humans were appalled. It was no wonder why there was so much blood in this pool; most of it belonged to these giants.

    ¡°Now it all makes sense! Although the body of Progenitor Chen''s clone was extremely massive, there¡¯s no way it could have produced so much blood essence,¡± Hui Santong muttered to himself. Although he had been struck by a thunderous fart, he had not lost his mind. Lei N¨¹ was actually somewhat impressed by the mental fortitude of this Hui family descendant.

    Hui Santong was even more impressed at how a girl like Lei N¨¹ was able to maintain herposure even after suffering through such a horrible ordeal.

    Xie Xiaoxian was somewhat disappointed when she realized that the pool was not filled with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. This meant that she likely would not find Progenitor Chen¡¯s bones nearby.

    What a pity.

    The giants all took turns, one by one, to add a drop of their blood to the pool. While they each only donated a single drop, when it was all added together, it was enough to create a huge pool of blood that gave off a murderous aura.

    It took the giants two full days toplete the ritual, and after that, they all headed back to their stone huts.

    The humans waited around anxiously, as it seemed to be time for the Giant Emperor to appear.

    They all assumed that the Giant Emperor would soon appear, but even after several days, there was no movement.

    Ku Lei finally could not hold himself back, and he flew towards the pool of blood

    The rest of the people all watched him.

    Ku Lei leaped over to the stone walls around the pool and stared down at the blood. To the giants, this was just a small pool, but to a human, it seemed like ake of blood.

    Ku Lei nervously stared at theke of blood and slowly released his aura. He was once again able to see Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone roaring in outer space, and Ku Lei became extremely excited. There was definitely some Progenitor¡¯s blood in this pool. He stared even more intently at theke, as if trying to see through to its bottom.

    Suddenly, all of his hair stood on end. There was arge pair of eyes watching Ku Lei from beneath the pool, and they looked at him in a toying manner. These eyes contained a mix of mockery, contempt, and cruelty.

    Ku Lei¡¯s pupils shrank, and he reflexively pulled back. Suddenly, an enormous hand reached out from the pool and smacked the stone walls, creating a crack in it. The wind from this movement sted Ku Lei a thousand meters back, mming him into one of the fence¡¯s stone pirs.

    The humans were all in shock. A guardian giant had risen from the pool and stepped out. This giant was much smaller than the others, but his eyes were bright with intelligence. This was the Giant Emperor.

    Nobody had expected the Giant Emperor to be hiding within the pool this entire time. Ku Lei had been blown back, but he had not suffered any severe injuries. Still, the pain caused him to grit his teeth as he red at the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s expression remained the same, and he raised a hand to flick the air. Each of his fingers were asrge as three men tied together. To Ku Lei, this flick unleashed a powerful gust that shot at him. He immediately ducked, and the wind smashed the stone pirs behind Ku Lei to bits.

    The giant continued staring at the youth with mockery in his eyes. He then used his thumb as a springboard to flick all four of his fingers at Ku Lei. The resulting wind was so fierce that the air distorted.

    Ku Lei¡¯s expression changed, and he transformed into lightning to avoid all of the slicing winds. However, when he lifted his head, he saw the Giant Emperor striking at the air with a fist. The gale produced by this attack sent Ku Lei smashing against the stone pirs.

    Ku Lei coughed as blood dripped down. He red at the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor was different from all the other giants, and he continued to look at Ku Lei like a toy. He then reached out with a hand to grab Ku Lei.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1165: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1165: Exposed</h4>

    Ku Lei activated the Ku secret technique to recover from his wounds before gracefully leaping into the void.

    The Giant Emperor grabbed at the now empty air, but then he immediately turned to face in a different direction. It was Ce Jiu¡¯s direction. The Giant Emperor had long since discovered the Ce family scion, and the giant smashed down at the youth. However, just like with Ku Lei, all the giant managed to hit was air.

    Ce Jiu had sessfully escaped, and he heaved a sigh of relief far off in the distance. He did not dare to reveal his presence, and he did not want to actually fight against the Giant Emperor. After escaping, Ce Jiu stared at the Giant Emperor in shock, as the giant had actually managed to discover him. That meant that the others had also been discovered.

    ¡°Let¡¯s team up to fight him! Our covers have already been blown!¡± Hui Santong shouted. He raised a hand, causing numerous golden meteorites to fall down from the ck dome above and hurtle towards the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor casually smacked away the various golden meteorites, despite each of them being powerful enough to threaten Enlighters. The giant did not seem surprised when Hui Santong revealed himself either, immediately readying his next attack. Suddenly, Lei N¨¹ flew past the giant while saying, ¡°Autumn¡¯s Sorrow.¡±

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s body trembled, and it was clear that he had suffered a hit.

    Although Lei N¨¹ had lost to Xia Jiuyou, her Autumn¡¯s Sorrow technique had not failed even once in battle. Xia Jiuyou and Lu Yin had both suffered from this technique, and the Giant Emperor was no different.

    Y¨­u Qin and Shu Jing both followed up with attacks of their own after Lei N¨¹ made a move.

    Y¨­u Qin¡¯s Soulsplitter technique shed at the Giant Emperor¡¯s knee while Shu Jing''s straight line attack struck the other kneecap. The two were hoping to bring the Giant Emperor to his knees and restrict his movements.

    However, their attacks were severelycking in power and were unable to prate the Giant Emperor¡¯s defenses.

    The Giant Emperor looked down at Y¨­u Qin and Shu Jing. He then tried to grab the pair, but they fled right afterunching their attacks.

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s brows furrowed. He had sped up a great deal, but he still had not caught anyone yet.

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s attacks and defenses were stronger than any other giant, but the humans were not in too bad of a position either. So far, they had managed to evade all of the giant¡¯s attacks.

    Xia Jiuyou appeared behind the Giant Emperor, and light radiated from his hands that took on the form of a saber that shed at the Giant Emperor. It was the Triple de Will.

    The first de shed at the Giant Emperor¡¯s neck, but it was a futile attempt. The next attack, however, forced the Giant Emperor to be wary. He raised his left hand to block the de while he clenched a fist and punched at Xia Jiuyou, which prevented Xia Jiuyou from releasing the third de.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he watched Xia Jiuyou fight the Giant Emperor in the distance. Lu Yin felt extremely frustrated on Xia Jiuyou¡¯s behalf, as this person seemed to always be unable to use the third de of his Triple de Will.

    Everyone took turns attacking the Giant Emperor, but no one was sessful in causing any damage. Instead, they only managed to infuriate the Giant Emperor even further.

    The Giant Emperor roared and punched two fists into the air. A violent gust of wind sted out in all directions, pushing everyone back. The only two who were unaffected were Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹.

    The Giant Emperor suddenlyshed out and tried to grab Lei N¨¹. This time, his speed was drastically faster than his previous movements. As a result, Lei N¨¹ was unable to react in time, and she was caught.

    The Giant Emperor grinned and squeezed his right hand, causing Lei N¨¹ to vomit blood as his grip tightened. Her eyes turned exceptionally cold, and suddenly, the Giant Emperor released her, as if he had been hurt.

    Lei N¨¹ plummeted to the ground and panted heavily. Still prone, she raised a hand and directed it at the giant. ¡°Secret technique: Banishment.¡±

    The next moment, just as the Giant Emperor was about to attack her again, he staggered back several steps, tripped over the pool of blood, and fell into it. The blood from the pool sshed out, drenching Lei N¨¹.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s focus sharpened. Ever since she had sessfullyprehended Banishment, very few people had ever managed to take it head on. Out of her peers, Xia Jiuyou was the only one who had managed to forcefully nullify it with the Xia secret technique. As for the Giant Emperor, the discrepancy in their power level meant that he had only retreated a few steps.

    The battle pressure was mounting, as the Giant Emperor was far more powerful than anything the youths had anticipated.

    At the same time, they were worried that other guardian giants would return. If that happened, then they would be forced to fight against the entire guardian giant civilization, not just the Giant Emperor.

    Fortunately, the battle next to the pool of blood did not alert the other guardian giants. This might have been partly because the giants had all given a bit of blood to the pool earlier, but regardless, they had not joined the fight.

    The Giant Emperor emerged from the pool, and everyone began attacking him.

    He roared in anger and tried to sweep them all away with a palm.

    Not only were the humans¡¯ attacks nullified, but the wind unleashed by the giant¡¯s palm also sent them flying into the air. This time, even Xia Jiuyou and Lei N¨¹ were blown away.

    Ce Jiu was the only one who had managed to evade this attack with his Ce secret technique, though he was not much better off than the others. The Giant Emperor red at Ce Jiu and sent another p towards him. This time, the gust broke the stone pir-like fences as Ce Jiu was sent flying.

    Ce Jiu crashed to the ground and vomited out a mouthful of blood, his face extremely pale.

    The humans were like mere ants to the Giant Emperor, and the gap in their strength was simply too overwhelming.

    Fortunately, the Giant Emperor did not have any battle techniques. If he had, then none of the humans would have been able to survive.

    From the beginning of the entire event, Xie Xiaoxian had not attacked even once. Instead, she had been stealthily creeping closer to the pool of blood.

    However, the Giant Emperor had also kept his eye on her.

    Just when Xie Xiaoxian was about to climb over the stone walls surrounding the pool, the Giant Emperor looked straight at her and pped at her as if she were a fly.

    Xie Xiaoxian screamed in terror as her bones covered her and formed a set of body armor right before she was sent flying.

    The Giant Emperor stood tall beside the pool and arrogantly looked down upon the humans with contempt clear in his eyes.

    Xia Jiuyou huffed in frustration. He knew that the difference in their power levels were too vast and that their attacks could not pierce the Giant Emperor¡¯s defenses. It was nearly impossible for them to win. Helpless, Xia Jiuyou looked over at Hui Santong.

    Hui Santong had already used his secret technique, Omnibreak. This secret technique was able to break down his enemies¡¯ battle techniques and reveal their fatal ws. However, Hui Santong had unfortunately found that he could not find the Giant Emperor¡¯s weakness. All of their attacks were like child¡¯s y to the Giant Emperor. It was impossible for them to obtain any of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood from the pool.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s mask had almost cracked open, as she had suffered the most damage so far. If not for her secret technique, Discipline, which had reflected a lot of damage that she would have otherwise suffered back to the Giant Emperor and caused him to release her, then she would have died.

    ¡°Any ideas?¡± Ku Lei pressed Hui Santong.

    Hui Santong shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way to deal with his offence and defense.¡±

    Ku Lei cursed. Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood was extremely important to all of them here. Even worse, it was right in front of them, but they could not touch it.

    Ce Jiu was extremely frustrated; they would rather face any of the dumb guardian giants than this Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor lumbered towards the humans, his towering body giving off a tremendous amount of pressure. He clenched his two fists together to form a hammer fist, and everyone started to panic.

    Suddenly, the Giant Emperor smashed a different ce than before.

    The ce that the giant had attacked was precisely where Silver, Lu Yin, and Beast had been hiding.

    The Giant Emperor had been able to discover Xia Jiuyou and the others, so he had naturally noticed the trio as well.

    Xia Jiuyou was rather confused; everyone was standing together, so what was the Giant Emperor targeting?

    Ku Lei considered the chances Ku Wei had shown up.

    Actually, no. With his strength, he could never make it here.

    Everyone was stunned when Silver and two others appeared.

    The Neohuman Alliance?

    The Giant Emperor¡¯s attack mmed into the ground and split the earth open, causing the blood in the pool to churn violently.

    The trio dodged the attack, after which Silver looked at the others and smiled brightly at them. ¡°Hello everyone! We meet again.¡±

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s pupils shrank, and she instantly attacked Silver.

    Silver could only dodge, and he eximed, ¡°Guys, our enemy¡¯s the Giant Emperor!¡±

    Shu Jing raised his hands and also attacked Silver, who managed to evade yet again.

    Shu Jing coldly dered, ¡°To us, you¡¯re a worse enemy than that Giant Emperor.¡±

    Silver was left with no choice and said, ¡°That¡¯s why you guys are a bunch of blockheads. Oh right, I brought someone along.¡± He pointed to a figure off in the distance, and everyone turned to look.

    Lu Yin had evaded the Giant Emperor¡¯s attack, but the resulting shockwave had blown back his ck robes, revealing his appearance.

    Everyone was shocked. ¡°Lu Yin?!¡±

    Lu Yinnded on the ground with death energy obviously filling his eyes. He stood motionlessly where hended near Beast.

    Hui Santong stared at Lu Yin.

    That¡¯s¡­

    Xie Xiaoxian saw it as well. She red at Silver with hatred.

    Death energy? These damned Specter bastards¡­

    Silver beamed at everyone. Even his eyes smiled as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a choice: either deal with the Giant Emperor, or¡­¡±

    His expression instantly grew extremely cold as his eyes opened wider. ¡°I¡¯ll have Beast eliminate you all first.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou and the others clenched their fists, and they all recalled the fight in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Back then, they had joined hands with Yuhua Mavis and Qiu Shi, but they still hadn¡¯t been able to defeat Beast. Currently, they did not stand the slightest chance of victory.

    ¡°Wrong, we have a third choice: join forces with the Giant Emperor to deal with you,¡± Hui Santong shouted in reply. ¡°Move!¡±

    Everyone immediately began to attack Beast.

    Their actions took the Giant Emperor¡¯s attention away from Lu Yin, and the giant raised his hands to attack all the humans.

    Silver¡¯s expression remained extremely cold as he watched everyone attack.

    The Giant Emperor mmed a fist down, and everyone separated to dodge the attack before dashing forward towards Beast once again.

    Beast immediately underwent the third corpse king transformation, and its crimson eyes put a huge amount of pressure on the attackers. The corpse king¡¯s increased physical strength caught the attention of the Giant Emperor, so the giant smacked at Beast, sending it crashing into the ground and leaving arge crater behind.

    Silver frowned and reevaluated the Giant Emperor. He had underestimated the giant¡¯s powers, and the Giant Emperor was clearly more powerful than he initially appeared to be.

    Is it because the Giant Emperor absorbed Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood?

    Lu Yin was rather shocked to see that, even after undergoing a corpse king transformation, Beast was still unable to fight against the Giant Emperor head on.

    The Giant Emperor reached out for Beast.

    Silver¡¯s butterfly knife flickered as he shed at the Giant Emperor¡¯s body, but the Giant Emperor did not care about his attack in the least. Right when the giant was about to grab ahold of Beast, which was lying in the pit, Beast opened its eyes and punched at the Giant Emperor¡¯s nose. The Giant Emperor was caught off guard by this sudden attack, and he staggered back as blood dripped down from his nose.

    Everyone was stupefied, as Beast¡¯s first attack had managed to harm the Giant Emperor in a direct confrontation. And the corpse king didn¡¯t even have a technique like Lei N¨¹¡¯s unblockable Discipline or Autumn¡¯s Sorrow.

    The Giant Emperor roared with rage, and he pped at Beast once again. This time, he was even faster than before. However, Beast evaded this blow.

    Death energy flowed out from Silver¡¯s body and into Beast. Before, the influx of death energy had allowed Beast to crush the universe¡¯s most powerful youths atop the golden screen. Now, that same power had appeared once again.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1166: Breakthrough

    <h4>Chapter 1166: Breakthrough</h4>

    At this moment, Ce Jiu appeared at Silver¡¯s side with a forcefield shaped like a giant ruler and mmed it down on Silver.

    Silver casually waved a hand to destroy Ce Jiu¡¯s forcefield, sending the youth fleeing backwards. The next moment, Xia Jiuyou appeared and unleashed the first will de.

    Silver¡¯s body shed as he rejoined Lu Yin. ¡°Captain, take care of them.¡±

    Lu Yin was still putting on an act. So, as he turned to receive Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack, death energy flowed out from his body to take the form of a sickle that hacked at the will de.

    After breaking through and bing a ninth cycle Cruiser, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had increased once again. The hacking motion of his sickle managed to stop Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack, rather surprising him as he shed out with the second will de.

    Lu Yin once again used the sickle to block. Suddenly, lightning shot down from over Lu Yin¡¯s head. Ku Lei had made a move against Lu Yin.

    More death energy flowed out from Lu Yin¡¯s body. Not only did he manage to block Ku Lei¡¯s attack, but Lu Yin also took Xia Jiuyou¡¯s will de head on. However, Xia Jiuyou did not wait to see if Lu Yin had blocked his second de; he immediately whirled around to unleash the third de.

    The third de was the strongest attack in the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, and it was multiple times stronger than the first one. This de was something that even Lei N¨¹ feared, and it was the same attack that had broken Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle. Its strength was to be feared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s power had grown after he had absorbed so much death energy, and he had be strong enough to fight a twice but not thrice transformed Beast. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s third de was rather threatening to Lu Yin, and he knew that he was not yet as durable as Beast. Although Lu Yin was still putting on an act, since he had made it to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, there was no longer much more of a need to continue with these pretenses.

    As the third de drew close, the death energy left Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and an Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet. Ce secret technique: Astral Chessboard.

    Silver had been watching Lu Yin, and his eyes went wide as Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack neared Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin had been sessfully remodeled, then he would have faced the attack head on, no matter his chances of sess, not even if it meant him dying.

    When the death energy left Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Silver felt rather exasperated. So it was all just an act after all.

    Lu Yin vanished, and the third de missed its target.

    Silver slowly turned to his right, where Lu Yin had reappeared. Silver grinned and said, ¡°Captain, congrattions on leaving hell!¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at Silver and answered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank you. Without you, I wouldn¡¯t have made it out.¡±

    Silver¡¯s smile reached his eyes as he continued, ¡°Captain, have you ever wondered why, even when I suspected that you were putting on an act, I still brought you here?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°You¡¯re confident in taking me back.¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± Silver smiled in a disturbing fashion as his gaze swept past Lu Yin. Silver then raised his hands, and a puppet appeared in his grasp.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp tingled the moment he saw the puppet, Shaman God?

    There was probably no one present aside from Lu Yin who had seen the real Shaman God before.

    At the same moment that Silver took out Shaman God¡¯s puppet, Lei N¨¹ attacked Silver.

    Lu Yin roared, ¡°Be careful! That¡¯s one of the Seven Skygods!¡±

    Before Lei N¨¹ could react, Silver moved the puppet in front of her face. Lei N¨¹ instantly dropped to the ground, and no one knew what had happened except for Lu Yin. Lei N¨¹¡¯s senses had been mixed up. This was the power that Shaman God possessed: loss of sensation.

    Silver looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Captain,e with me.¡±

    Lu Yin shivered and waved a hand. Silver was immediately thrown into the distance.

    Silver had a backup n, but so did Lu Yin. When Xia Jiuyou had attacked Lu Yin, Silver had dodged the attack and hidden behind Lu Yin. At that moment, Lu Yin had set up the Teleportation Formation. Although he had not had enough time to make one that could teleport Silver too far away, a hastily made one still had its uses when timed correctly. At this moment, it had given Lu Yin a chance to catch his breath.

    Silver wasunched towards the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor was focused on chasing after Beast, as the corpse king was the only one who had been able to do any physical damage to the giant so far.

    Silver mmed into the Giant Emperor¡¯s back, and the Giant Emperor shivered before turning around to smack Silver away.

    Silver did not move while Beast leaped up to punch at the Giant Emperor¡¯s hand, causing the giant¡¯s hand to divert from its course.

    At the same time, Y¨­u Qin attacked Lu Yin and shed at him with her de. ¡°Soulsplitter.¡±

    Lu Yin evaded the attack and red at her. ¡°Don¡¯t hit me! We¡¯re on the same team.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s on the same team as a monster like you?¡± Y¨­u Qin felt rather insulted and began to assault Lu Yin with even more powerful attacks.

    Lu Yin remained patient, and 726 orbiting stars appeared around his body before exploding. The force of the explosion sent Y¨­u Qin staggering back as she coughed up blood. She was not even at Ku Lei¡¯s level, let alone Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Ku Lei¡¯s lightning shed towards Lu Yin once again.

    Lu Yin held back when retaliating against Y¨­u Qin, but against Ku Lei, he used a Vacuum Palm straight away, who crashed into the stone pirs that made up the fence.

    Xia Jiuyou stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Were you controlled?¡±

    Lu Yin was growing rather exasperated. ¡°Do I look like I am?¡±

    Xia Jiuyou felt rather confused at this point. Nobody had ever managed to remain the same after being captured by one of the Seven Skygods.

    Lei N¨¹ regained her senses and panted heavily. She looked at her surroundings and soon focused on Lu Yin. What¡¯s going on? He warned me earlier.

    A ck figure hurtled towards Lu Yin from the distance. It was Beast, who had been pped away by the Giant Emperor.

    Even after being attacked by the Giant Emperor, Beast had not been injured very seriously. It turned around and threw a punch at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s left hand moved as he activated the Yu secret technique to divert Beast¡¯s punch while his right handunched a Vacuum Palm to attack Beast. His Vacuum Palm was powerful enough to threaten the others here, but it could not do much to Beast. At best, it could stall the creature for a brief moment.

    Lu Yin did not actually want to fight against Beast.

    At this moment, the Giant Emperor leaped into the sky beforending while punching at the air before him. This attack was targeting everyone due to the size of the Giant Emperor¡¯s fists.

    Everyone scrambled to flee, and Lu Yin immediately used the Astral Chessboard to escape. However, he caught sight of Ce Jiu and noticed that the Ce family scion had not used the Ce secret technique to evade. Lu Yin¡¯s heart immediately sank.

    Boom!

    The Giant Emperor hammered the ground with his fists and caused the earth to explode. Lu Yin had used the Ce secret technique to turn everyone within its range into chess pieces, even the Giant Emperor. However, the secret technique was not invincible, and the Giant Emperor¡¯s strength exceeded the limits of a chess piece. Hence, the Astral Chessboard was destroyed by one blow from the Giant Emperor¡¯s fist.

    Everyone else had tried to retreat by relying on speed, but Lu Yin had relied on the Ce secret technique, only for it to fail. This meant that Lu Yin was the closest to the giant, and he was struck by the fist¡¯s strongest aftershocks.

    The Giant Emperor red lividly at Lu Yin. The shockwave had torn space apart and opened cracks in the void.

    Lu Yin only felt a surging sensation in his chest, and he was unable to stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood as he went flying into the pool with a ssh.

    No matter how intense the battle had be, the Giant Emperor had always kept an eye on the pool. He would never let anyone get anywhere close to it at all. However, when he attacked Lu Yin just now, Silver had also attacked the giant with the Shaman God puppet. Silver had been worried that the Giant Emperor would be able to kill Beast in one blow, so he had borrowed Shaman God¡¯s strength to overload the Giant Emperor¡¯s senses.

    The power of Shaman God¡¯s puppet was simr to a strong power vessel, and the Giant Emperor had not been able to resist its effects. After attacking Lu Yin, the giant¡¯s senses were scrambled, and he gradually copsed.

    This happened right before Lu Yin fell into the pool, which was why the Giant Emperor did not notice Lu Yin falling in.

    Everyone else had been sent flying by the shockwave, so none of them had noticed Lu Yin either.

    Only Silver saw what had just happened. Lu Yin was even more useful to Silver than Beast, and Silver had been attentively watching as Lu Yin fell into the pool.

    After the Giant Emperor¡¯s punch, a deafening boom rang out as dust filled the sky. Everyone seemed to be injured to some degree, so Silver took advantage of this opportunity to move towards the pool in a bid to deal with Lu Yin.

    However, at this moment, the Giant Emperor regained his senses, stunning Silver. How can he regain his senses so quickly?

    The Giant Emperor roared in rage when he saw Silver moving towards the pool. He immediately pped out, releasing a fierce gust of wind that swept Silver off of his feet and sent him tumbling through the air.

    Nobody could get close to the pool, as that was the Giant Emperor¡¯s territory.

    Silver retreated a thousand meters and stared intently at the pool that he believed held some of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. Forget it. If Lu Yin can get Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood out of there, then I¡¯ll take both of them away.

    Silver believed that he was invincible inside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum as long as he had Shaman God¡¯s puppet. However, he had failed to take into ount the fact that the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors also had power vessels of their own.

    Lu Yin was the only one who had taken a direct attack. Everyone else had managed to pull out their power vessels in time. For example, Y¨­u Qin had a water stream that allowed her to instantly move more than ten kilometers away. Ku Lei, after being struck by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, had encased himself within a Withered Bark.

    Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring had been taken away before he had entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, and he had not managed to get it back. However, everyone else had recovered their rings, and the inheritors of the Seven Courts did notck extraordinary power vessels.

    Lu Yin had no idea what was happening in the outside world. After being struck by the Giant Emperor, the ck and white mist within Lu Yin¡¯s body that was formed from death energy and the Daynight Restoration Technique trembled. After that, the previous equilibrium shattered, and death energy surged out of his heart and into his veins, following along the path that his star energy had once cycled through.

    To others, death energy was simr to a poisonous drug, but Lu Yin was able to cultivate with death energy as if it were star energy.

    The massive amount of death energy that he had absorbed before and had stored in his heart was suddenly released, and it reced star energy as it cycled through his body. In just an instant, Lu Yinpleted his ninth cycle.

    When Lu Yin opened his eyes, he noticed that there were traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, but he did not care about that at all. He could tell that he was about to break through, and since he hadpleted his ninth cycle, it meant that his formcast model was going to melt. He needed to break through.

    Originally, he had nned to raise his formcast model one more grade before breaking through to the Hunter realm. Still, things could not always go ording to n.

    Nobody had expected Lu Yin to use death energy as a recement for star energy. The flood of death energy that had been unleashed had instantly rocketed him to the verge of breaking through, forcing him to go along with it. He either had to act immediately or fail.

    Lu Yin had no other choice. He gritted his teeth, determined to break through here and now.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1167: The Second Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 1167: The Second Innate Gift</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was still falling into the deep pool of blood, and it was unclear just how far down the pool went.

    However, he was in no mood to care about such things, as he was currently suffering from an excruciating pain that started from his back. Lu Yin had experienced the same feeling when he broke through to the Melder realm and the Explorer realm. Now that he was breaking through to the Hunter realm, it had appeared once again.

    Behind Lu Yin, multiple seals filled with an arcane runic script appeared in the form of chains that pierced his body, abruptly stopping him from moving past his ninth cycle as they worked to stop him from breaking through.

    At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s formcast model melted and seeped deep into his bones, unleashing a pain so intense that he felt as though his body had been crushed to pieces and then built back up molecule by molecule.

    He had suffered through this experience in every major breakthrough so far, but it was particrly strong this time.

    Not just everyone was able to break through to the Hunter realm with a formcast model. After all, just how many six-stage formcast models could exist in the entire universe?

    Part of the reason why Yuhua Mavis, Shang Qing, and a few others were so powerful might precisely be because they had broken through with six-stage formcast models. However, how many of the Ten Arbiters had been able to use a six-stage formcast model?

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth in silence. He wanted to break through and be a Hunter, but the excruciating pain from his back was a constant reminder that it would be impossible for him to seed.

    Back when he had broken through to the Melder realm, Astral-10¡¯s crazy headmaster had helped him break the seal.

    Then, the desated corpse had helped break the seal during his breakthrough to the Explorer realm.

    But at this moment, there was no one around who could help Lu Yin with his breakthrough.

    The ninth cycle gradually stalled after the seal manifested, and Lu Yin''s heart sank. He tried to circte the death energy in his body, hoping that they would break the chains, but it was to no avail. The seal was not something that he could break.

    Lu Yin had benefited from many lucky encounters thus far, and he had also mastered numerous battle techniques and skills, including even two secret arts. But at this moment, there was simply nothing that he could do about his situation.

    Lu Yin yearned endlessly to see Mister Mu, Yuan Shi, or even one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods at this moment. Those people were definitely strong enough to help him break this seal.

    His ninth cycle gradually ground to a halt, and Lu Yin was left with a helpless feeling. He had failed.

    At this moment, his body fell to the bottom of the pool of blood. There, a distinct ball of crimson blood floated in the midst of the blood, and it constantly emanated a mighty aura. The pressureing from this blood sphere felt like it came from a massive giant roaring in space. This was Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood.

    Lu Yin''s body fell right on top of Progenitor Chen''s blood, and this drop of blood came into direct contact with the seal on his back.

    Right when Lu Yin¡¯s ninth cycle came to aplete halt, the seal on his back touched the drop of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. The mighty aura of a giant fiercely punching outnded on the seal. Somewhere, far away in outer space, a pair of beautiful eyes opened and sparkled, the owner clearly shocked. ¡°The strength of a Progenitor?¡±

    Behind Lu Yin, a giant formed from blood and the seal on his back wore each other down by consuming the other¡¯s strength.

    The moment after Lu Yin gave up, the chains shattered.

    As if the floodgates had opened, death energy burst out to circte through Lu Yin¡¯s body in the blink of an eye instead of star energy. Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly shot open, and a terrifying aura rose up from the bottom of the pool, and along with it, a phenomenon appeared.

    When Lu Yin had broken through to the Explorer realm, a phenomenon had also appeared, and at this moment, another phenomenon manifested as he broke through to the Hunter realm. This time, the phenomenon was less ethereal than before and seemed to be even moreplete.

    At the bottom of the pool of blood, the void fluctuated as a small sapling slowly grew out from the top of Lu Yin''s head. It quickly flourished and grew past the pool of blood before overshadowing the guardian giants¡¯ various stone huts. Still, the tree continued to grow until it spread across the entirety of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and even beyond that. Eventually, the tree broke through the void and appeared in the space outside the tomb.

    What the hell? The patriarchs of the Seven Courts were all stupefied.

    This tree had drooping branches, but it distorted the void and exuded a strange gaseous substance that seemed capable of creating anything and everything. Beneath one branch, there was an orb, and under another branch, there was a sword. Under yet another branch, there was some four-sided object. The observers could even see a card along with many other items...

    It seemed that this tree was the source of everything as more and more things were birthed under this tree that hade from Lu Yin. As it grew, the tree gradually covered the starry sky. Even with its size, the phenomena was still clearer than when Lu Yin had broken through to the Explorer realm.

    Everyone stared at the scene developing in front of them, dumbfounded.

    Hui Zhi was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s a phenomenon caused by someone breaking through. Who could it be?¡±

    Xia Yi solemnly stared at the scene. Breakthroughs with phenomena were extremely rare, and though the inheritors of the Seven Courts all enjoyed bountiful resources and powerful inheritances, they were not guaranteed to generate phenomena when they broke through. Given the aura of this phenomena, it seemed that the person breaking through was a Hunter. However, just who was bing a Hunter? Everyone who had gone in had already be Hunters. Actually, that second boy from the Ku family had not been a Hunter.

    Mu En was surprised that someone was breaking through to the Hunter realm within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and that they were capable of creating a phenomenon that seemed to cover the entire starry sky. This was simply too unbelievable.

    The tree was still growing, and it eventually reached a size that covered nearly half of the Seven Courts¡¯ territory.

    The shock stirred up by this phenomenon was simply too astounding.

    Even if the Seven Courts had powerhouses with power levels that exceeded a million, people were still stunned by the sight of this phenomena.

    Above the Great Abyss, the old man in the rowboat lifted his head. "An absolute talent."

    An old man within the Xia family¡¯s territory opened his eyes and looked in the direction of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. ¡°Whose child is that? For them to generate such a phenomenon, they will be unrivaled throughout the universe.¡±

    Everyone was stunned upon seeing the phenomenon, and that even included the Giant Emperor, who was, at this moment, staring at the pool of blood in stupefaction. The Giant Emperor was very intelligent, but his intelligence was not enough toprehend what was happening within the pool. The only thing that the giant was certain of was that this phenomena had something to do with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. However, in his eyes, nobody had entered the pool, and all of the intruders were right before him.

    Silver stared at the pool intently; Lu Yin had broken through and be a Hunter.

    With just the strength of a Cruiser, Lu Yin had already been fighting on par with many of the Neoverse¡¯s top talents, and he had even stepped upon the Astral Tower and fought against Yuhua Mavis with his pitiful cultivation realm, shocking everyone. However, he had just broken through to the Hunter realm, and at this moment, not even Silver could judge just how powerful Lu Yin had be.

    Silver¡¯s eyes showed his excitement as he licked his lips. A breakthrough! The stronger the better!

    The stronger Lu Yin became, the greater Silver¡¯s harvest would be. In the entire universe, this person had the best potential to be the perfect weapon.

    The Giant Emperor had even forgotten to attack as he stared at the pool of blood, ck-jawed. But despite his vulnerability, no one moved to attack him, as they all seemed to be waiting for something to emerge from the blood pool.

    At the bottom of the blood pool, Lu Yin''s body glowed; he had finally broken through and be a Hunter. His power had been drastically enhanced, and when he unleashed his domain, it instantly exceeded the limits of the blood pool as it enveloped the city and even spread beyond the city walls. It continued to spread further and further away, to the point where not even Lu Yin could judge how far its range was.

    For a moment, Lu Yin felt as though he was in control of everything.

    Death energy was still circting through his body, but even this tremendous amount was not able to affect Lu Yin at this moment.

    Lu Yin started circting the Daynight Restoration Technique, which restrained the death energy and concentrated it into a ball of ck and white mist that stayed within his heart. At this moment, there was only a small amount of star energy left in Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he needed to absorb more toplete a cycle.

    Right now, the biggest difference that Lu Yin could feel was that he seemed to have activated a new innate gift.

    That''s right, an innate gift! He now had a second gift.

    There were very few people in the universe who were able to develop an innate gift, and there were many different kinds of gifts. Some allowed one to transform into a giant beast, control ice and fire, or even give mutated vision or hearing. Generally speaking, innate gifts could be divided into three categories: natural gifts, acquired gifts, and mysterious gifts.

    Lu Yin''s die belonged to the mysterious gift category.

    Only one out of countless people would be able to awaken an innate gift, and out of the few people who were able to awaken their innate gifts, only a tiny percentage of people possessed two. In short, such people were extremely few and far between.

    But at this moment, when Lu Yin broke through to the Hunter realm, a second gift had appeared. Additionally, it was a gift that seemed so familiar that he was shocked and unable toprehend it¡ªthe Champions'' Stage.

    That''s right, the innate gift that Lu Yin awakened was none other than the Champions'' Stage.

    He had not expected to awaken a second innate gift, and what¡¯s more, he definitely had not expected to receive the Champions'' Stage as his gift.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, in order to inspire their youths to fight to the death, the Hall of Honor, had revealed the Champions'' Stage and conferred titles upon the most outstanding youths. Those who had received a title of King had also received the right to join the contest for the Cosmic Five.

    At that time, everyone''s eyes had been focused on those handful of talented individuals who had received titles, and no one had paid any attention to the Champions'' Stage itself. In fact, Lu Yin had been the same. He had only thought of the stage as a very tough artifact.

    However, at this moment, his second innate gift had awakened, and it was actually identical to the Champions'' Stage, which was iprehensible to him. Was this thing actually a weapon? Or was it a construct? Just how was this an innate gift?

    After looking at the Champions'' Stage for a moment, Lu Yin''s expression slowly changed from one of confusion to one of pure excitement. Even though he did not know if his innate gift of the Champions'' Stage that he had just awakened was the same as the Champions'' Stage that the Hall of Honor had used, Lu Yin had an understanding of what his innate gift did. Thus, he knew that it was powerful¡ªvery powerful¡ªand that it was also very suited for him.

    Although he was still at the bottom of the blood pool at this moment, Lu Yin was perfectly aware of everything that was happening outside. His domain had undergone aplete transformation, and it was possible that it was no longer inferior to Unseen Light''s!

    Xia Jiuyou and the others outside the pool were all rather perplexed. Was this feeling a domain? Several people present hadprehended a domain, and the one who used it the most was Ce Jiu. However, this domain clearly did not belong to Ce Jiu, so who could it belong to? Even scarier, this domain was actually making Xia Jiuyou feel a bit pressured.

    Xia Jiuyou was not the only one pondering this question, as Ku Lei had also reacted. He looked around but could not see Lu Yin anywhere. Where is he?

    Everyone present had impressive vision, but none of them could find Lu Yin, and so, they finally focused on the pool of blood. Could he have fallen in? If so, then did that mean that the phenomenon just now had been real? Had Lu Yin broken through to the Hunter realm within the blood pool?

    The Giant Emperor was still staring nkly at the blood pool. Since he had been born and raised in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, he did not have any knowledge of battle techniques or even cultivation realms.

    At the bottom of the blood pool, Lu Yin clenched a fist. It was now time for him toe out. With one smooth motion, he moved up and leaped out of the blood pool. I wonder how strong I am now. Maybe I even stand a chance against Beast.

    Everyone present saw as Lu Yin emerged from the blood pool, including the Giant Emperor. The Giant Emperor¡¯s pupils immediately constricted as he grew enraged with crimson flushed eyes. Progenitor Chen''s blood was gone! This intruder had absorbed Progenitor Chen''s blood!

    The giant was unbearably furious as he roared at the sky and reached out to p Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes focused. His feet tapped, and the void rippled as his body disappeared. He had easily avoided the Giant Emperor''s attack, and as for the shockwave from the passing hand, it had no effect on Lu Yin.

    At that instant, Beast appeared behind Lu Yin and punched at him

    This was an order from Silver, as he wanted to probe Lu Yin''s strength after his breakthrough. And if possible, Silver wanted to recapture Lu Yin in one move.

    Lu Yin turned around, clenching his right fist. His nine lined battle force glowed as he met Beast''s punch with one of his own.

 Chapter 1168: Group Tactics

    <h4>Chapter 1168: Group Tactics</h4>

    Boom!

    The void tore apart as a loud explosion rattled everyone¡¯s eardrums.

    Lu Yin and Beast faced off against each, each wielding nothing more than their own fists. However, the shockwave from their exchange swept out and shattered the void as both of them stepped back at the same time.

    The crowd was baffled. This should be impossible. Had Lu Yin actually forced Beast back after the corpse king underwent its third corpse king transformation?

    Not only were the people from the Seven Courts shaken, but Silver was shocked as well. Lu Yin bing much more powerful after breaking through to the Hunter realm was well within his expectations, but Silver had never thought that Lu Yin¡¯s power would increase by so much.

    In the past, Lu Yin had just barely managed to stand up to the corpse king after its second transformation with the help of death energy. However, Beast had already undergone its third transformation, and it had even absorbed Silver¡¯s death energy, which meant that it was just as strong as it had been atop the golden tform.

    Yuhua Mavis, Unseen Light, Xia Jiuyou, and other elites had all failed to defeat Beast even when they teamed up. However, was Lu Yin actually able to fight it on his own?

    The increase in Lu Yin''s strength was just a bit too absurd. Silver was not the only one with such thoughts, and even Lu Yin himself was thinking this.

    Originally, Lu Yin had not thought that his strength would be able to match up to Beast¡¯s; rather, he had just wanted to test how much his strength had increased by since his body had been surging with power. However, he had not expected his nine lined battle force to be strong enough to force Beast back, and even though Lu Yin had retreated more steps than Beast, if Lu Yin had also utilized death energy or Truesight, he might actually be able to fight against the corpse king.

    A regr human was actually fighting melee against a corpse king that had undergone three transformations; this was something that even Yuhua Mavis had failed to do. At this moment, it was apparent that Lu Yin was no worse than Yuhua Mavis when it came to pure strength.

    Beast let out a fierce roar after being knocked back, and its blood-red eyes stared at Lu Yin before it rushed forward once again. It was punching out like before, though this one carried more power than the first.

    Lu Yin had already tested his strength, so he had no intention of fighting the corpse king head on. Additionally, there was still the Giant Emperor behind him as well.

    Beast missed its target. It was no longer a threat to Lu Yin. Instead, Lu Yin¡¯s main priority target was now the Giant Emperor behind him.

    Lu Yin evaded Beast''s and the Giant Emperor''s attacks. Then, he looked over at Xia Jiuyou and the others. ¡°Are you all just going to watch?¡±

    Hui Santong frowned. ¡°Is there any of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood still left in the blood pool?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Hui Santong pursed his lips. ¡°So it''s empty? Then we no longer need to fight the Giant Emperor. See youter!¡±

    He was the first to fly away, and he did so without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He had clearly said that there was still some of Progenitor Chen''s blood in the pool! The Hui family¡¯s inheritor was truly intelligent.

    Xie Xiaoxian red over at Lu Yin. After the appearance of that gigantic phenomenon, only a fool would believe that any of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood still remained.

    You can just go and y with yourself.

    With that thought, she also left.

    The others all looked at Lu Yin before leaving, one after another.

    Lu Yin grew extremely anxious, as the Giant Emperor¡¯s focus waspletely on him right now. Even if he were alone, he would not be a match for the giant while Silver was still close by right now.

    The people who had gathered here were not going to fight Silver, and even Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing had given up. In fact, Lu Yin was also able to leave, but he was unwilling to do so since he had just awakened his second innate gift. Right now, he wanted to test his newfound powers out on the Giant Emperor.

    As his thoughts reached this point, Lu Yin shouted, ¡°The bottom of the blood pool leads to Progenitor Chen''s corpse!¡±

    Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaoxian froze in ce before abruptly turning around with an incredulous expression on her face.

    Xia Jiuyou and the others also all halted in their tracks.

    Even Hui Santong, who had moved the furthest away, stopped and turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s corpse? Really?¡± Ku Lei shouted.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Of course! Where else would you find so much of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood? I absorbed enough blood to fill a big bowl, and at the very least, the corpse still has enough blood to fill another bowl.¡±

    Despite using such a crude description, Lu Yin had managed to convince everyone to stay, and even Silver, who had intended to attack Lu Yin with Shaman God''s doll, hesitated. If Silver was actually able to find Progenitor Chen''s corpse, then that would be of immense value. Progenitor Chen''s blood simply could notpare.

    Besides, there was indeed a high probability of finding the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s clone in this ce, as how else could the Giant Emperor have gotten ahold of Progenitor Chen''s blood? The more everyone thought about Lu Yin¡¯s words, the more likely it seemed. The group of humans began to turn unfriendly eyes upon the Giant Emperor. This creature was a rock in their way, and it had to be kicked aside.

    How strong exactly was the Giant Emperor? So far, aside from Lei N¨¹''s Discipline and Autumn''s Sorrow, only Beast had managed to force the giant back in any way at all. An ordinary adult guardian giant was strong enough to threaten an Enlighter whose power level was higher than 400,000, and this Giant Emperor was clearly much stronger than an ordinary adult guardian giant.

    Of course, that was only true in the outside world. The guardian giants inside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had never been exposed to battle techniques before, so their fighting style was very savage and unrefined, which greatly reduced their fighting power. Despite that, the Giant Emperor''s physical strength was not something that the youths could ovee.

    However, they were not in the Mountain and Seas Zone. They could use power vessels in this ce, and there were times when fights were entirely about power vessels.

    At this moment, their enemy was not only the Giant Emperor, but also Silver and Beast. To the humans, the Neohuman Alliance pair posed a threat in no way inferior to the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin was still dodging the Giant Emperor''s attacks. It would not be difficult for him to leave, but why should he? The ability of his new innate gift of the Champions'' Stage made him long for the Giant Emperor, and he wanted to appoint the Giant Emperor as his champion.

    Beast struck at Lu Yin once again. Silver knew Lu Yin very well, which was why Silver did not believe that the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s clone could be found at the bottom of the pool of blood. Instead, Silver¡¯s foremost priority was still to capture Lu Yin.

    Silver raised Shaman God''s doll. Lu Yin had be someone who Beast could no longer capture. Thus, Silver made a move of his own.

    Suddenly, Silver''s gaze trembled. An exceptional cold feeling caused him to look in another direction, and his expression slightly changed.

    Far away, Xie Xiaoxian was covered with ayer of white bone. In addition to that, there was also a ck skeleton covering and protecting her, which gave her an extremely dark and sinister appearance. Ghostly and obscure, the ck skeleton had clearly once belonged to a Specter n member, and there was still some faint death energy twining around the dark bones. This was a mighty power vessel that belonged to the Xie family.

    "Scum of the Specter n, die!" Xie Xiaoxian shouted as she fiercely charged at Silver. She raised her right hand that was protected by twoyers of bone and shed down with a wed hand.

    Silver''s expression grew icy, as the Xie family was the Specter n¡¯s arch-enemy. Any member of either group would kill the other on sight.

    Bang!

    The earth shattered, and a silver light shed before Xie Xiaoxian''s eyes as Silver¡¯s butterfly knife shed through the air. Xie Xiaoxian easily parried the knife and then wed at Silver once again.

    Xie Xiaoxian''s powers had drastically improved after she started using power vessels. Apart from Lu Yin, she was the most suitable person to deal with Silver here, and it was precisely because she had a skeleton from a Specter n member. This skeleton rendered her immune to death energy, and Hui Santong had actually tasked her with dealing with Silver. She had to prevent Silver from having any opportunity to use Shaman God''s doll.

    Beast was left for Ce Jiu to handle, as the Ce family could easily avoid such crude attacks with their secret technique, and he also had their Immovable Chessboard. Thebination of the Ce family¡¯s secret technique and power vessel was enough to stop Beast from advancing even an inch.

    The Immovable Chessboard was small and therefore ineffective against the Giant Emperor, but it was perfect for dealing with Beast.

    As for the rest of the youths, their target was the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin narrowly evaded another attack from the Giant Emperor, but his face showed no sign of exertion. After breaking through, his strength had increased multiple times over. If he was being honest, then not even he knew how much his strength had improved by, especially if he included his new innate gift, the Champions'' Stage. Regardless, at this moment, Lu Yin was confident in his chances inpeting against Yuhua Mavis in pure physical strength, and he also believed that his domain was in no way inferior to Unseen Light¡¯s.

    Hui Santong appeared at Lu Yin''s side and threateningly demanded, "You haven''t lied to us, right? If the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s clone isn''t down there, then the way we deal with the Giant Emperor right now is how we¡¯ll deal with youter."

    Lu Yin hated it when people threatened him. "Then just leave now, and when the Giant Emperor falls asleep, I''ll have Progenitor Chen''s corpse all to myself."

    Hui Santong red ferociously at Lu Yin, but then he removed a pot of water from his cosmic ring and took a sip. In front of them, the giant emperorunched an attack at Hui Santong.

    Lu Yin stared at Hui Santong in awe. You''re still in the mood to drink some water at a time like this?

    The two youths evaded the Giant Emperor¡¯s attack, and the giant grew more agitated as it began to attack faster and faster. Hui Santong''s gaze quickly swept past Silver and Beast before finally settling onto Xia Jiuyou. "Brother Xia, it''s up to you."

    A de appeared in Xia Jiuyou hand. He was using the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    The first de was useless, and the second proved to be equally useless. When the third de finally appeared, it did not look solid, but it did contain a supreme and overpowering aura.

    The moment the third de appeared, the Giant Emperor hesitated and turned around to look at the de in fear.

    Hui Santong then shouted, "Brother Lu, beat him senseless!"

    The moment after Lu Yin received Hui Santong¡¯s words, he appeared before the Giant Emperor''s face with a sh: Vacuum Palm!

    This Vacuum Palm waspletely different from all the previous ones. Lu Yin¡¯s strength had spiked, and when he hit the Giant Emperor''s nose, the giant took two steps back as blood spurted out.

    Just like with Beast, Lu Yin was also able to injure the Giant Emperor with nothing more than pure, physical strength.

    The Giant Emperor looked like he had been beaten senseless by Lu Yin, and Xia Jiuyou took advantage of the opportunity to release his third will de. The power emanating from the de gave Lu Yin chills.

    The de swept out and opened up a huge gash on the Giant Emperor''s thighs. Blood streamed out like a waterfall.

    "Ku Lei!" Hui Santong shouted.

    From off in the distance, thunder shed as Ku Lei appeared, charging straight towards the Giant Emperor''s wound. When he came in contact with the wound, Ku Lei brought out a Withered Bark, one of the Ku family¡¯s power vessels, and hid within it.

    When Lu Yin had been ambushed, Ku Wei had simrly hidden within a Withered Bark, as the defenses of that power vessel were quite incredible.

    Ku Lei hid within the Withered Bark that hadnded in the Giant Emperor¡¯s wound while lightning crackled and coursed through the giant¡¯s entire body.

    The Giant Emperor had not cared about any of Ku Lei¡¯s earlier lightning attacks, but this time, it was different. The lightning had bypassed the Giant Emperor''s defenses since it originated from within a wound, and the electricity left the Giant Emperor wailing in pain.

    The Giant Emperor pped a hand against his wounded thigh, but Ku Lei was unfazed since the Withered Bark was able to protect him.

    With a tremendous bang, the Giant Emperor pped at the gash on his leg again, but the impact was followed by another burst of lightning that connected the sky and the earth. The attack caused the Giant Emperor to suffer while also slowing his movements.

    Elsewhere, Ce Jiu and Beast had both be pieces on a chessboard. Beast howled, and the chessboard began to tremble unsteadily.

    As Beast lifted his head and threw out a punch, a river appeared beneath Ce Jiu''s feet, sweeping him away. Then, just when Beast was about to attack Lu Yin once again, the chessboard reappeared beneath his feet.

    Ce Jiu was not able to deal with Beast alone, so he needed Y¨­u Qin¡¯s assistance.

    The fight between Xie Xiaoxian and Silver was equally intense, though Silver had yet to use any power vessels. Still, Xie Xiaoxian had held Silver back so far, as she had alsoprehended a secret technique.

    Just a moment ago, she had used her family¡¯s secret technique to borrow the power of Triple de Will, which had forced Silver to retreat.

    The Giant Emperor had been hindered by Ku Lei¡¯s lightning. At this moment, Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing struck and attacked the Giant Emperor''s neck. This was the second ce that Hui Santong wanted to attack, as it was the only ce where they could guaranteending a fatal blow.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1169: Anointing A Champion

    <h4>Chapter 1169: Anointing A Champion</h4>

    At the same time that Ku Lei¡¯s lightning was rampaging through the Giant Emperor¡¯s body, Lu Yin repeatedly unleashed Vacuum Palms at the Giant Emperor''s neck. Under the barrage of attacks, the Giant Emperor''s neck was severely wounded, and the Giant Emperor was feeling extremely stifled and unable to breathe.

    Every time the Giant Emperor tried to retaliate, another burst of lightning would be released, slowing his movements.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment and could not stop himself from looking over at Hui Santong. This guy had actually instantly grasped everyone''s techniques and given outmands that gave them the upper hand in the battle. Was this what the Hui family¡¯s inheritor was capable of? Brother Huikong¡¯s descendents seem to be pretty decent. Should we acknowledge each other?

    Hui Santong took another sip of water, and his eyes grew brighter.

    Lu Yin''s heart trembled as he thought of something. He then looked at Hui Santong''s pot of water, his eyes burning fervently.

    "What are you looking at? Attack!" Hui Santong shouted at Lu Yin as he raised a hand of his own. A golden meteor smashed down onto the Giant Emperor''s head, but this attack was nearly useless against the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin did not have any time to think about it any further, and he raised a hand to unleash another Vacuum Palm.

    The palm shockwave swept past Lei N¨¹ and struck the Giant Emperor¡¯s neck.

    Lei N¨¹ was taken aback. Although she had note into direct contact with the shockwave, she could still tell how terrifying that attack was as it passed by her. She could not help but take another look at Lu Yin. After this man had broken through to the Hunter realm, his strength hadpletely transformed. It was no wonder why Shang Qing thought so highly of Lu Yin, and Lu Yin¡¯s victory over Y¨­u Qin in the Mountain and Seas Zone clearly had not been a fluke.

    The Giant Emperor had been able to suppress the youths at the beginning, but at this moment, he was the one being suppressed. Although they were heavily relying on their various power vessels, the humans had managed to reverse the situation.

    Finally, after Xia Jiuyouunched another third de of his Triple de Will, a huge gash opened up on the Giant Emperor''s neck.

    As all of the attacksnded on the Giant Emperor, he finally was unable to endure the barrage, and he copsed, half kneeling on the ground. Even now, his massive eyes red at his attackers with hatred.

    Although he could not speak, the humans were all able to see his resignation.

    Lightning shed once again.

    Lu Yin looked down at the Giant Emperor''s thigh, where Ku Lei was like a poison. If not for him, the wound on the giant¡¯s leg would have had little to no effect on the Giant Emperor. It was all because of Ku Lei that the Giant Emperor had been unable to block the flurry of attacks.

    The Giant Emperor abruptly raised his head and released a shocking roar, which caused horns to re off in the distance.

    Hui Santong''s expression changed. "Oh no, he''s summoning the other giants! Quickly, kill the Giant Emperor!"

    As soon as he spoke, everyone moved. Lu Yin''s nine lined battle force red brightly as he gradually clenched a fist. He then raised both of his hands and violentlyshed out.

    The Giant Emperor wanted to escape, and he tried to move his body away. However, another sh of lightning paralyzed his body and stopped him in his tracks. At the same time, Lei N¨¹ used Discipline to reflect her injuries onto the Giant Emperor, causing him to vomit blood for the first time. The Giant Emperor growled as he endured the heavy attacks before trying to move again.

    "Secret art: Banishment!" Lei N¨¹ shouted, forcing the Giant Emperor several steps back. In response, the giant swung his arm, sending Shu Jing flying with a bang.

    Lu Yin set up the Teleportation Formation so that, after the Giant Emperor moved, he was shifted around by the sourcebox array and returned to his original position.

    Off in the distance, many guardian giants waddled out of their stone huts and started making their way toward the blood pool.

    The Giant Emperor roared, and the crowd of guardian giants roared back in unison before rushing forward.

    As Lu Yin turned around to face the iing horde, he retracted his domain and formed a forcefield shaped like an enormous tree that enveloped the surrounding area.

    Numerous guardian giants started smashing against the forcefield.

    Xia Jiuyou looked extremely solemn as he took out a de and unleashed the third de of his family¡¯s battle technique again. At the same time, Xie Xiaoxian borrowed the powers of the third de for herself andunched an attack at Silver.

    The Giant Emperor and Silver simultaneously faced the threat of the third will de.

    Silver dodged the attack. So far, he still had not started fighting seriously yet, and even atop the golden tform within the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had only been ying around.

    The Giant Emperor was not as lucky, as Ku Lei¡¯s lightning was still paralyzing him. As a result, his wounded neck was struck yet again. This time, the de managed to cut a third of the way through the bone in the giant¡¯s neck, snapping the head to the side. Lu Yin took advantage of this opportunity to lift a hand and pointed a finger at the Giant Emperor: Seventh Bro Finger.

    Seventh Bro Finger was still Lu Yin''s strongest attack after breaking through. As he pointed at the giant, his forcefield shaped like a tree disintegrated and merged with the power contained within his finger, the Oveying Stacks Path, and with his newly improved strength as a Hunter. The energy from this finger drilled a hole through the Giant Emperor''s neck and forced out a hint of dark blood that was colored differently than the rest of the blood flowing from the Giant Emperor¡¯s wounds.

    This dark blood fell into the blood pool, and it did not disperse into the blood. Rather, it floated in it instead.

    The Giant Emperor''s eyes grew dull, and he slowly knelt down, his knees causing the earth to tremble.

    Everyone stared at the Giant Emperor, but he was deader than dead. He had not been able to escape.

    Lu Yin''s figure shed and he appeared atop the Giant Emperor''s shoulders. With his back to the crowd, he took out his Champion''s Stage and muttered, "By my name, I appoint you as my champion."

    As his words fell, a gust of wind blew past, and a brand of the Giant Emperor appeared on the Champion''s Stage. The image was then engraved onto the stage in exquisite detail.

    Lu Yin was ted.

    At this moment, numerous guardian giants angrily rushed inside the fence from all directions and punched at the humans.

    Hui Santong stared at the pool of blood before quickly leaping in, and the rest of the humans immediately followed behind him as well.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, and his gaze swept over Silver and Beast before he turned around to leave.

    There was no time for Silver to take out Shaman God''s doll, as there were quite a few guardian giants blocking his path to Lu Yin. Silver felt quite exasperated.

    "Captain, good luck," he said before leaving.

    The guardian giants let out angry roars; they were clearlymenting the death of the Giant Emperor.

    Lu Yin looked back. He was secretlymenting as well, but at the same time, he was also feeling a bit excited. If he could take all of these guardian giants back to the Great Yu Empire, then he might have enough power to fight against factions from the Innerverse.

    Wait, this was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Did that mean that all of the guardian giants here actually belonged to the Seven Courts?

    Once Lu Yin was far away enough from the blood pool, he surveyed his surroundings, only to discover that he was lost.

    The truth was that he knew nothing about Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum as Silver had always been the one leading the way. This ce was so massive that Lu Yin might not be able to find anything good.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was only open for a limited amount of time, and Lu Yin did not want to leave empty-handed. Still, he had already received tremendous benefits from this visit.

    Lu Yin remembered seeing Hui Santong drink a bit of water, and Lu Yin was confident that a Root of Intelligence had been steeped in the water. He wanted some of that water for himself, so he decided to wait for Hui Santong.

    Before long, Xia Jiuyou and the others emerged from the pool, each and every one of them radiating a murderous aura.

    Ku Lei was particrly heated. "I''m going to skin Lu Yin alive if I see him again."

    Xie Xiaoxian rolled her eyes. "You can''t even beat him."

    Ku Lei red at Xie Xiaoxian and simply grunted without speaking.

    Numerous guardian giants saw the humans around and raised their hammers to smash them.

    The crowd scattered, and everyone left.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin''s eyes lit up as he moved out.

    He saw lightning sh off in the distance, and he knew that Ku Lei had to be there.

    Lu Yin also saw Ce Jiu; the immovable chessboard underneath the young man¡¯s feet was rather eye-grabbing.

    Soon, Lu Yin also saw a river carrying Y¨­u Qin away.

    Their power vessels were truly amazing.

    Finally, he saw Hui Santong, and there was a golden light that shone brightly at the bottom of his feet.

    Hmm? Behind Hui San Tong was¡­ Lei N¨¹?

    At this moment, Hui Santong was feeling quite frustrated, and he turned around. "Why are you still following me?"

    Lei N¨¹ did not say a single word and simply continued to follow Hui Santong.

    He was quite frustrated, as Lei N¨¹ was basically treating him as her tour guide, but there was no way he would stop searching the tomb just because Lei N¨¹ was following along behind him.

    How can I get rid of this woman? Hui Santong thought, and he could not resist taking a sip of water.

    "Sorry, but I''m rather thirsty. Can I have a sip too?" A voice spoke up from nearby.

    An incredulous look appeared on Hui Santong¡¯s face. How had he actually failed to notice someone so close to him? Was it Lu Yin?

    Lei N¨¹ was also unable to find Lu Yin, and her eyes narrowed.

    This person was rather powerful.

    Lu Yin looked at Hui Santong with a faint smile. "I''ll have a sip of that water."

    Hui Santong''s expression darkened. "Brother Lu, it''s not a good habit to borrow a knife to kill."

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I''m also helping the Seven Courts, because the next time your inheritors visit this ce, they won''t meet up with that Giant Emperor, will they?"

    Hui Santong put away his pot of water "I told you¡ªif you lied to us, then we¡¯ll deal with you the same way we dealt with the Giant Emperor."

    Lu Yin was helpless. "Brother Hui, the fact is that you and I are closer than anyone else here. If we want to talk about specifics, you should be calling me ¡®ancestor.¡¯"

    Hui San Tong grew furious. "Lu Yin, your words are extremely insulting! This is Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and outside are the Seven Courts. My Hui family¡¯s experts are here."

    Lu Yin quickly exined, "Brother Hui, listen to me. When the Sixth Maind invaded, and after Nightking Zhenwu almost killed me, I went to the Technocracy. There, I met someone who I became fast friends and then brothers with. That person is called Hui Kong."

    Hui San Tong pupils shrank, and his voice involuntarily turned hoarse. "Who?"

    "Hui Kong." Lu Yinughed.

    Hui Santong stared at Lu Yin intently. "Lu Yin, I hope that you''re not joking. Are you sure you''re telling the truth? If you lie to me, I swear that my Hui family will hunt you down and kill you."

    Lu Yin seriously answered, "It''s true. Hui Kong told me to call him Big Brother, and he also said that if something happens to me, Lu Yin, in the future, he will definitely have his children and grandchildren help me get revenge. At that time, Big Brother Hui Kong didn''t tell me that he came from the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family. Bur from what I could tell, judging by the strength that he possesses, he could onlye from the Hui family."

    Hui Santong inhaled sharply and approached Lu Yin. "Did you really see Ancestor Hui Kong? Where is he?"

    "As I said, the Technocracy."

    "Why is he there? How long has he been there for?"

    "He said that he¡¯s there to find the truth," Lu Yin said.

    Hui Santong''s expression changed yet again. If he had been a bit uncertain before, then this answer had confirmed that Lu Yin had truly met the Hui family¡¯s old ancestor.

    Lei N¨¹ stared at Lu Yin in amazement. Was this person making things up, or was it true? Just now, Lu Yin had managed to hoodwink the entire group into helping him deal with the Giant Emperor by using the irresistible temptation of Progenitor Chen''s corpse, and now, Lu Yin was able to pacify Hui Santong. This was Hui Santong, someone from the Hui family. Tricking the Hui family¡¯s inheritor twice in a row was not something that just anyone could do. Even if one used deceit, the story had to be nearly perfect. It was no wonder that Lu Yin had managed to unite the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin did not make a sound, and instead, he just looked around, especially back towards the blood pool. Without the Giant Emperor, the guardian giants were all just bumbling about.

    Giants might look likerge humans, but they were actually savage creatures that were more simr to beasts than humans. Lu Yin still had not forgotten what he had seen on Gigastar, when those giants had eaten humans.

    Lu Yin had not hesitated to kill the Giant Emperor because the Giant Emperor definitely would have killed Lu Yin even if Lu Yin stayed passive.

    Now that the Giant Emperor was dead and the guardian giants had fallen into chaos, the huge city walls were meaningless.

    Just as Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts reached this point, there was a loud sound in the distance. A corner of the city wall had copsed, revealing a hole in the wall. Whether this had been done by a giant outside or inside the walls was something that Lu Yin did not care about.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1170: Lead The Way

    <h4>Chapter 1170: Lead The Way</h4>

    Hui Santong lowered his head, his expressionplicated.

    Compared to the other inheritors of the Seven Courts, Hui Santong knew far more, not only about his Hui family, but also about the rest of the Court of Seven Names.

    The more one knew, the more there was for one to think about.

    "I will not pursue the matter of the Giant Emperor, so draw a map of where you encountered Ancestor Hui Kong," Hui Santong growled.

    Lu Yin replied, "Sorry, but I have no knowledge of the Technocracy, so I can¡¯t make a map for you."

    Hui Santong sighed, but then he suddenly remembered something. He looked at Lu Yin solemnly. "Are you being controlled by the Neohuman Alliance?

    Lu Yin had already thought of this issue, and he replied, "If I tell you that I''m not being controlled, do the Seven Courts have any way to verify it?"

    Hui Santong shook his head. "It''s not important if we have a method or not, as the only authority that can genuinely recognize your situation is the Hall of Honor. Even if we ept what you say as true, you will still be hunted down by the entire universe. It will be impossible for you to live like before."

    Lu Yin also thought of this, and he turned to look at Lei N¨¹.

    Lei N¨¹ indifferently replied, "Judicial Commissioner Mu En is outside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. When we leave, he''ll take you to the Honor Zone. Nothing will happen to you if you are proven to be clean."

    Lu Yin nodded, outwardly showing his relief, but deep down, he was worried about the ck and white mist inside his heart. Who knew what would happen if that was detected and taken as the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s method of controlling him. Lu Yin would not be able to argue his way out of anything at that time.

    Still, he needed to be tested, and Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind would not be able to back him up this time. It was a matter of principle.

    After visiting Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin finally understood why the Hall of Honor was so adamant about eradicating the Neohuman Alliance. If he were given the choice, he would issue the samemand.

    However, a test was another issue altogether. He did not want to surrender his fate to the hands of others and be wrongly used.

    Of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, one of them was from the Daynight n, and there were also others among them who were eager to benefit from the Daynight n. Lu Yin would never believe that those people would treat him justly.

    "The Hui family¡¯s patriarch will contact you after we leave," Hui Santong said. He believed that Lu Yin had met Hui Kong, but Hui Santong did not believe that Lu Yin and Hui Kong referred to each other ''brothers,'' as the age difference between them was simply too extreme. Hui Santong then hesitated for a moment before adding, "I really hope that you aren''t being controlled by the Neohuman Alliance."

    Hui Santong looked off into the distance. Due to themotion caused by the Giant Emperor, all of the guardian giants had been lured over to the pool of blood, which meant that none of them were blocking the way out. The humans quickly left and fanned out in various directions.

    Hui Santong was the first of the trio to leave, immediately followed by Lei N¨¹. Lu Yin chased right after them.

    When Hui Santong noticed Lu Yin, he turned around and stared at Lu Yin in confusion. "Why are you following me?"

    Suddenly, he seemed to understand something, and his expression soured. "What do you want?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I''m lost, so can you lead the way?"

    Hui Santong''s eyes widened. "You want to follow me too?"

    Lu Yin nodded and looked at Lei N¨¹, who was staring back at him.

    Hui Santong was left speechless.

    Why does everyone want to follow me?

    "What do you want?"

    "The Root of Intelligence." Lu Yin did not conceal his intentions.

    Hui Santong frowned. "We might not be able to find it. After all, thates from our ancestor, Progenitor Hui."

    ¡°Come on, don''t say that. Progenitor Hui is also an ancestor of all of humanity. It¡¯ll be up to our own luck whether or not we can find it,¡± Lu Yin replied with a smile. He really wanted to get his hands on another Root of Intelligence so that he could deduce more of the Oveying Stacks Path. With his current physical strength, he was definitely able to use more stacks, and his strength would greatly increase if he fused more stacks into his Vacuum Palm. If he seeded, his Vacuum Palm would be a technique that could strike fear even in the hearts of Enlighters like Xia Jiuyou.

    Hui Santong felt rather helpless. It was actually a bit absurd that there were two people following him. Never in the history of the Seven Courts had outsiders had entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, except for Burial Garden, who knew the tomb as well as the Seven Courts. Also, never before had anyone from the Seven Courts acted as a guide for outsiders.

    "Just keep walking. You''re not going to give up on finding anything just because there¡¯s two of us here, right?" Lu Yin asked without any confidence. He was truly a bit concerned.

    Hui Santong looked at Lu Yin, and then he looked at Lei N¨¹. "I won''t look for the Root of Intelligence any longer," he said as he flew off.

    Lei N¨¹ frowned and red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin didn''t expect Hui Santong to decisively give up on the root just like that. But since the youth did not want to look for the root, Lu Yin could not force the matter. Lu Yin and Lei N¨¹ were both more powerful than Hui Santong, so even if he did manage to find a Root of Intelligence, it would never belong to him. Someone as intelligent as Hui Santong would have instantly realized this.

    This meant that Hui Santong was now headed somewhere everyone was aware of.

    There was no way for Lu Yin to change Hui Santong''s mind, so he could only follow in silence.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was indeed vast. After half an hour, Hui Santong turned around and saw that Lu Yin and Lei N¨¹ were still following him, so he said, "I heard that you were captured by one of the Seven Skygods, Shaman God. Where did he take you?"

    "Aeternus Nation," Lu Yin replied.

    Hui Santong trembled and stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You were captured and taken to Aeternus Nation?"

    Lei N¨¹ was also stunned to hear Lu Yin¡¯s answer, and she even stared at Lu Yin and began to carefully examine him.

    Lu Yin said, "It seems like you guys have heard of it before. That''s right, that Aeternus Nation."

    "Where is it?" Lei N¨¹ asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know. I only know that it''s in a separate dimension and that it has seven Towers of Darkness, with each one representing one of the Seven Skygods."

    "You were taken to Aeternus Nation, but you were able to escape? Honestly, I don¡¯t buy it," Hui Santong said.

    Lu Yin replied, "That''s why I need to undergo some testing. Otherwise, nobody will ever believe me."

    "What¡¯s Aeternus Nation like? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s a paradise created by the Neohuman Alliance where they research ways to have people live forever," Lei N¨¹ asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression darkened. "It''s hell, a ce that should be destroyed immediately if discovered."

    Lei N¨¹ no longer spoke, and Hui Santong also remained silent as they continued moving forward.

    Before long, they felt star energy fluctuations off in the distant horizon. Soon after that, the trio saw tens of enormous earthworms, each more than a thousand meters long, floating in midair. Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing were flying above the worms and were attacking the creatures.

    Hui Santong averted his gaze, clearly having absolutely no intention of helping the two out, and he began to take a detour around them.

    ¡°What are those things?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°What happens to a human corpse after it dies?¡± Hui Santong countered.

    Lu Yin immediately understood, and he thought back to the creatures that he had seen in Northline Flowzone. They actually looked somewhat simr to the giant earthworms currently before him.

    However, these worms were definitely more powerful, as they were attempting to devour Progenitor Chen¡¯s corpse.

    While there were many worms here, each one was not that powerful. Thus, Shu Jing was able to handle them on his own, as could Xie Xiaoxian.

    Lei N¨¹ looked down, and her pupils shrank. Seeing all these worms coiled together in a writhing mass was rather revolting.

    These were simply parasitic worms, much like the tiny parasitic worms that lived within the hair follicles ofmon people. However, in this mausoleum, they had been blown out of proportion due to the massive size of Progenitor Chen''s clone.

    "If these worms have appeared, then does that mean that the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s clone is down there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Santong exined, "Not really. These worms have no effect on Progenitor Chen¡¯s corpse. With their strength, how could they possibly devour the corpse of Progenitor Chen? They¡¯re merely parasitic worms, though they¡¯re also a source of food for the guardian giants.¡±

    "That''s food?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Hui Santong said, "Why don''t you go have a bite? They¡¯re supposed to be pretty tasty."

    Lu Yin felt disgusted. "Have any of you ever tasted them before?"

    Hui Santong did not reply, instead speeding up and continuing forward.

    Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing had both noticed the trio, and they were both focused on Lu Yin.

    That despicable bastard.

    "Hey guys, don''t leave!" Xie Xiaoxian shouted as she quickly chased after the three youths.

    Everyone who had entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had moved on from the pool of blood and headed deeper into the mausoleum, all except for one person: Ku Wei. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about him, and in some sense, he had even forgotten about himself. During this entire time, he had been hiding in a guardian giant¡¯s hair while praying not to be discovered.

    After the giant crossed the broken city walls, Ku Wei blinked in amazement.

    Really? A giant civilization formed here?

    He was clearly a tad slower than the rest of the participants. If the guardian giant that he was riding on had not crossed the walls, then Ku Wei might have never found out what was going on.

    Guardian giants were more like beasts than humans, and they acted purely on instinct. Ku Wei¡¯s particr guardian giant had been drawn to the pool of blood.

    There were many other guardian giants who had left after circling the pool of blood once or twice. The guardian giant that Ku Wei was riding upon seemed a little bit off, however, as it actually instead bent down and stuck its head into the pool, possibly to wash its face. However, this action essentially tossed Ku Wei straight into the pool.

    Kui Wei was caught off guard, and he fell into the pool of blood. As soon as he fell off the giant, the guardian giant caught sight of the youth.

    Although guardian giants relied heavily on their sense of smell, they were also able to see if something was not too far away. At this moment, Ku Wei and the guardian giant locked eyes with one another.

    The guardian giant naturally reached out for Ku Wei, who felt as though a mountain was falling down on him.

    Kui Wei was terribly rmed, and he used the Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap technique.

    The giant''s palm was simply too massive, and Ku Wei could only break off a single finger of the giant, but he was still pped by the hand, and the force of the impact nearly crushed him to death. Ku Wei could not help himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. However, as he did so, the blood in the pool flowed into his body. This was the blood of the guardian giants as well as the Giant Emperor, but mixed in among all the giant blood was also the tiniest traces of Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    Lu Yin had absorbed the majority of Progenitor Chen''s blood, but since the blood hadid within the pool for an unknown length of time, some of it had eventually dissolved into the general blood pool.

    The concentration of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood within the pool was insignificant, but Ku Wei had swallowed enough blood to absorb some of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood as well.

    The guardian giant scooped Ku Wei out of the pool, picked him up, and brought him closer to its eyes to examine him. After a moment, the giant red at Ku Wei before tossing him away.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1171: Giantâ€™s Memories

    <h4>Chapter 1171: Giant¡¯s Memories</h4>

    Ku Wei was smashed against the stone fence with a loud bang, and he once again spat out another mouthful of blood. His vision grew blurry, and he tried to move his fingers, but he had lost his sense of touch. In front of him, the ground trembled and dust whirled as a guardian giant walked over. The creature mercilessly raised its foot to stomp Ku Wei to death.

    Ku Wei refused to die here, and he gritted his teeth as he let out a low roar in defiance, Move, move, move, body! You have to move!

    The giant''s foot fell down, but just as it was about to touch Ku Wei, his body suddenly grewrger. Twice, thrice, ten times, and then a hundred times. Eventually, his body grew to the same size as the guardian giant, forcing it to retreat several steps.

    The numerous guardian giants around Ku Wei all looked at him, unable toprehend what had just happened. None of them moved, and even the guardian giant who had attacked Ku Wei first remained still as it stared at Ku Wei in confusion.

    Kui Wei blinked and looked down. What''s going on? Why did these guardian giants get smaller? No, wait¡­

    When he looked at the pool of blood in front of him, Ku Wei suddenly realized that he was the one who had grownrger.

    Looking down at his hands, Ku Wei stood up with a dumbfounded expression. He had really be much bigger, and he was suddenly as big as the guardian giants. What had just happened?

    When he looked around, he saw that thendscape hadpletely changed. What used to be gigantic oversized stone huts now looked like ordinary houses to him.

    Ku Wei waspletely confused, but then he realized that he had turned into a guardian giant himself.

    Upon realizing this, Ku Wei clenched his fist before looking over at a guardian giant that was slowly approaching him. He could not help himself from raising a hand and pushing the giant.

    The guardian giant looked at Ku Wei with a bewildered expression.

    Ku Wei blinked innocently and patted the giant¡¯s shoulder in a friendly manner.

    The guardian giant did not respond, and instead continued walking forward with a dull expression.

    Kui Wei was shocked. The giant had taken him as one of their own. Let''s try again, he thought as he raised a foot and kicked the giant¡¯s behind. The guardian giant roared in anger as it fell to the ground. When it stood back up, it raised its hammer to retaliate, but Ku Wei was a step ahead of the giant. He grabbed the hammer and then pointed at it with a finger: Finger Tap.

    When Ku Wei used Finger Tap, something unimaginable urred. He began to shrink back to his normal size of a regr human. Once the transformation finished, his head felt like it was splitting, and everything around him was gigantic once again.

    He was terrified, and he hurriedly tried to escape, but the guardian giant did not attack. Perhaps Ku Wei had gotten some giant¡¯s blood on him and covered up his smell, or perhaps there was some other reason. In any case, the giant did not attack him.

    From above, a huge hammer fell down. Kui Wei screamed and raced out of the way, but his physical and mental strength were already spent.

    After looking around and ascertaining a path to safety, he leaped up and shot off into the distance.

    Ku Wei felt confident that he could transform back into a guardian giant and gain the strength of a giant. However, he also knew that his transformation time was brief and that using any battle technique would reduce that time even further. On top of that, the battle techniques would be more physically exhausting than normal.

    Despite this, the mere fact that he could transform into a guardian giant made Ku Wei very excited.

    He was different from the regr guardian giants. Once he managed to extend his transformation time to an appropriate length, he would be able to utilize an unimaginable strength to execute his battle techniques.

    The more Kui Wei thought about this, the more excited he became. He had a feeling that he was the true winner of this trip to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin arrived at a strange ce with Hui Santong leading the way.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had been built within a dark dome, and in this dome, for as far as the eye could see, everything was ck. The earth, the water, and even the creatures were ck, except for the guardian giants.

    The three youths had just arrived in a strange ce filled with many bubbles.

    These bubbles constantly floated out of the ground, slowly gained altitude, and then burst at the highest point. They were like normal bubbles that moved opposite the normal direction.

    "What kind of ce is this?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Hui Santong sighed. "Progenitor Chen''s clone used this ce to store his memories."

    Lu Yin was confused.

    Hui Santong did not give any more exnations, instead leaping straight into a bubble. The bubble did not break, and after entering, Hui Santong sat down inside it as it slowly rose to the highest altitude before shattering. After the bubble popped, he immediately rushed into another bubble.

    The entire process looked extremely bizarre to Lu Yin. On the other hand, Lei N¨¹ had already rushed forward and also entered a bubble.

    Lu Yin did not want to wait around any longer, and he instantly moved into a bubble as well. Once he sat down, his vision suddenly changed as his mind seemed to have been transported to a far off ce, possibly crossing both space and time. He then saw a man in front of him brandish a saber while rushing towards him.

    Lu Yin was so shocked that he raised a hand and tried to use Vacuum Palm, only to find that, instead of using Vacuum Palm, he had casually pped the man''s attack aside and cleaved him in two.

    Lu Yin was surprised; was this not his own body?

    At this time, a beautiful woman with an icy expression appeared across from Lu Yin. "Xia Shang, you actually took in the giants¡¯ bloodline? You have fallen too low! The sect has issued an arrest warrant for your capture. Come with me."

    Lu Yin could see a deep chill in the woman''s eyes as well as a tinge of excitement. He observed ''his'' body to see how it would react.

    ¡®He¡¯ reached out to p the woman.

    The woman grew furious. "You dare to fight back? Your Xia family isn¡¯t afraid of being exterminated by the sect?"

    She then raised her own hand and threw an orb out that quickly grew a hundredfoldrger as it neared him.

    Lu Yin was able to feel the power within the orb, and it definitely surpassed a power level of 400,000.

    The body he was possessing suddenly grew hundreds of timesrger, and it seized the orb before throwing it straight back towards the woman, terrifying her.

    "No!" With a loud bang, the earth broke open while mountains and forests were razed and the void warped. The woman was sted into millions of pieces that were sent flying in different directions. More people rushed forward to surround him, their eyes filled with hate.

    ¡®He¡¯ then raised his hand up into the sky before mming it down on the ground. At the same time, nine lined battle force appeared and shrouded the gigantic body, radiating an intense pressure.

    Lu Yin''s fighting spirit soared.

    This is how one should be: domineering.

    Suddenly, his vision changed once again, and Lu Yin slowly descended. The bubble that he had entered had popped.

    At that moment, Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing both appeared in the distance.

    Xie Xiaoxian looked at Lu Yin and gritted her teeth, but she quickly revealed a smile. "Seventh Bro, you put this little sister through a lot. If not for my power vessel, I would have died to that person from the Specter n."

    Lu Yin replied, "Why does your power vessel contain death energy? Does it have something to do with the Specter n?"

    Xie Xiaoxian looked at him flirtatiously. "Take a guess."

    To the side, Shu Jing looked at the bubbles in surprise. "What¡¯s this?"

    Xie Xiaoxian could not be bothered to reply to him.

    At this moment, Hui Santong dropped down from the sky. He looked at Lu Yin before shifting his gaze to Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing. "This ce contains the enlightenment achieved by Progenitor Chen''s clone. Since the Neohuman Alliance has infiltrated Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, we can''t all meditate in these bubbles at the same time. Let''s do it like this: we''ll take turns standing guard. If we spot those two from the Neohuman Alliance, we''ll immediately wake the others."

    "Ok," Lei N¨¹ agreed the moment shended.

    Lu Yin nodded. Nobody knew what Silver might be nning, as that person was simply too conniving. Even though Lu Yin had broken through to the Hunter realm and was much stronger than before, he still felt that Silver was a threat. Additionally, Silver was carrying that Shaman God¡¯s doll with him, which would be very troublesome for Lu Yin to deal with.

    Xie Xiaoxian and Shu Jing also agreed to the proposal.

    "Each person will stand guard for half a day, after which the next person will take over. I¡¯ll go first," Hui Santong said. He then looked over at Lei N¨¹ with obvious intentions. Lei N¨¹ was holding him back, and he was petty enough to want her to go next. Although this ce held the memories of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, the chance of truly receiving any enlightenment was minuscule.

    The bubbles in this ce contained memories of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone¡¯s life, but most of them were not very useful.

    Lei N¨¹ agreed.

    Hui Santong then looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Okay, I''ll go third."

    Xie Xiaoxian looked over at Shu Jing and said, "Why don''t you be a gentleman for once."

    "Okay," Shu Jing answered indifferently.

    Once the order was decided, Hui Santong said, "Time is limited, so you guys should move out now."

    After he finished speaking, the others all rushed toward the bubbles.

    There wererger bubbles and smaller ones. Although there was no corrtion between the size and how enlightening the memories inside were, everyone still scrambled to enter therger ones, even if only because they were morefortable to sit in.

    Shu Jing moved in a straight line towards thergest bubble, but Lu Yin still beat him to it. Shu Jing¡¯s speed was no match for Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Since he was unable to match Lu Yin''s speed, Shu Jing had no choice but to make his way towards another bubble.

    After Lu Yin entered the bubble, he watched as his vision transformed once again. He once again took on the viewpoint of Progenitor Chen''s clone, and before him was a person ruthlessly rushing towards him. After that person grabbed a hold of Progenitor Chen''s clone, the clone retaliated by raising a hand to fight the person off.

    Lu Yin felt that something was amiss when he looked below him and saw mountains and rivers beneath him. He was surprised to discover that he was actually seeing things from the point of view of a giant and that the figure before him was actually a guardian giant. It was no wonder why things had not felt right; they were two giantspeting for power.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone did not use any battle techniques, and instead, he used an elbow to knock the guardian giant over before letting out a fierce roar and ring at the rest of the guardian giants.

    Another giant stepped forward before leaping up with a raised fist that smashed down.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone retreated half a step with his left foot, but then he spun around and kicked to the side with his right leg, sting away the guardian giant that was still in mid air. The clone then raised his fists high in the air and roared victoriously.

    The other nearby guardian giants also started shaking.

    Soon, another guardian giant stepped forward and raised a hand, fist already clenched. Then,yers of battle force covered the body of the guardian giant. It was nine lined battle force!

    The giant covered with nine lined battle force seemed to grow a bitrger as it hurled a fist at Progenitor Chen''s clone.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone huge body had not mastered nine lined battle force yet, as his battle force had only reached eight lines. He was forced ten thousand meters back by the challenger, and the clone tore through the earth apart as he stumbled back.

    The guardian giant followed up with a savage kick, sending Progenitor Chen''s clone flying away. The clone spat out a mouthful of blood, and then he looked up to see the opposing guardian giant high above him, aggressively hammering down with yet another attack.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone roared, and his eight lined battle force actually broke through to nine lines. He ruthlessly shed with the challenger as the earth shattered.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin opened his eyes and fell down from the sky once again. It was unfortunate that he had not managed to see the end of that battle.

    These bubbles should record the journey and growth of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, Lu Yin thought. He then looked to the distance where Hui Santong was quietly standing watch.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1172: Realm Of Memories

    <h4>Chapter 1172: Realm Of Memories</h4>

    Lu Yin looked around the entire realm of memories and eventually chose arge bubble that he rushed straight into.

    The scenery that greeted him was that of a starry sky, and before him was a that was actually resting within his hands.

    Lu Yin was shocked; how was this possible? He was actually holding a in his hand! Just how big did this body have to be to do such a thing?

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone clutched the before turning around and pping out at a point in the distance. This attack was directed towards an old man dressed in brocade robes. Upon seeing the smashing towards him, the old man¡¯s expression changed drastically. "Xia Shang, do you really not care about the n trial?"

    "How many years has it been since you¡¯ve only cared about this nonsense? Human cultivation has already changed on a fundamental level. Your Daosource Sect boasts following the orthodox path, but can you find a peer who can beat me? In the future, I will be invincible throughout the universe! Invincible throughout the ages, and I will gain the power of a Progenitor that willst for immemorial eons!¡± A tremendous huge voice filled the starry sky.

    The old man destroyed the and then shouted, "Arrogant! Is the Progenitor realm that easily attained? So it turns out that you still aspire toward the forgotten ages of the Progenitors, but it has long since be impossible for modern humans to match up to the ancient Progenitors."

    "That¡¯s just you!" Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone shouted back angrily as he unleashed a clenched fist at the old man. This fist was, surprisingly, golden in color.

    Bang!

    The deafening sound shook the heavens and earth and reverberated across the starry sky as space itself ripped asunder, shattering countlesss.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he fell down. This time around, the time in the memory had been very short.

    After getting up from the ground, he recalled what he had just experienced; Progenitor Chen had been known as Xia Shang back when he had absorbed the giants¡¯ bloodline. And for some reason, the Daosource Sect had apparently forbidden him from doing so. That Daosource Sect should have been the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone¡¯s works had beenced with dripping contempt for the Daosource Sect. He longed to be invincible throughout the ages and had held the ancient Progenitors as his ultimate goal.

    However, what were the ancient ancestors? If Lu Yin remembered correctly, there were nine mountains and eight seas that hade from the Fifth Maind. However, Progenitor Chen had eventually be a Progenitor himself, and this memory seemed to imply that there had been Progenitors long before him. On top of that, the old man in the memory had also mentioned that it was impossible for humans to match up to the Progenitors of the ancient, forgotten past. Could it be that the Progenitor realm of the forgotten ages was somehow on a higher level than what everyone knew of as the modern Progenitor realm?

    "These bubbles contain experiences of a Progenitor¡¯s clone¡¯s entire lifetime, and there are some memories that brother Lu should not dwell upon too much. There are some things that cannot beprehended before one reaches a high enough level," Hui Santong¡¯s voice echoed out.

    Lu Yin nodded; yes, his realm was not yet high enough to fullyprehend everything here. There were definitely things that could not be understood, and also things that could not be fathomed.

    However, there was one other aspect of the memory to consider, which was the shocking size that Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had reached! He had actually grown to such a gargantuan size that he had been able to hold a and hurl it like amon stone. Lu Yin turned around and looked across the entirety of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. If the size that Lu Yin had seen was urate, then it was entirely possible that the entire tomb had been built atop the corpse of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone and that they were currently standing atop of that clone¡¯s corpse.

    Time was limited, so Lu Yin rushed into another bubble.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone followed the path of fighting and killing to grow stronger, and it seemed that his choice to absorb the giants¡¯ bloodline had somehow gone against the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s rules. Thus, he had been condemned by the Daosource Sect. Even after he became incredibly powerful, he was still treated as an outcast.

    Hui Santong stood watch for half a day, and after that, it was Lei N¨¹¡¯s turn.

    For an entire day, Lu Yin continued to race into various bubbles. 90% of them were battle scenes, and it seemed that Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone constantly fought all the time, though he didn¡¯t always kill.

    He had been the most brilliant person of his era; even though he had disobeyed the Daosource Sect, he had still climbed to the top step by step.

    Lu Yin greatly admired Progenitor Chen, as not everyone had that kind of courage, talent, and determination. Compared to Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin felt like his life had been too easy.

    However, this did not mean that the path that Progenitor Chen had taken was absolutely correct. Rather, it was just that Progenitor Chen had chosen to take the most difficult path whereas Lu Yin knew how to travel along a slightly morefortable path. Still, the destination that they both strove to was the same: the Progenitor realm.

    Lu Yin could not help but wonder¡ªjust when had Progenitor Chen seeded in cultivating the technique of splitting into nine clones? Or was this a clone from the beginning? If Lu Yin was looking at the memories of just a clone, then Progenitor Chen¡¯s talent must far exceed what he had initially assumed, as it was impossible to create such an amazing technique at such a young age. Actually, was it possible that Progenitor Chen had not actually created the Nine Clones Technique?

    Lu Yin thought a great deal about this possibility, and the more he viewed Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone¡¯s memories, the more Lu Yin admired the clone.

    One time, Lu Yin saw Progenitor Chen''s clone get drunk with a group of friends. This was the first time Lu Yin saw Progenitor Chen interact with any sort of friends, and it was also the first time he saw the clone get drunk.

    These memories painted a tale of Progenitor Chen¡¯s path to invincibility. If the Daosource Sect had truly wanted to deal with him, then they would have done so from the very beginning. The underlying reason why they had not done so was because they also valued Progenitor Chen¡¯s talent. It could almost be said that the more willfully he behaved, the safer and more untouchable he had been.

    It was also possible that the Daosource Sect had simply wanted to know if humans were capable of following alternative cultivation methods.

    In this particr memory, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone became extremely drunk, which was an extremely rare urrence.

    Eventually, Lu Yin opened his eyes and fell to the ground. In the distance away, Lei N¨¹ calmly looked at him.

    "It''s my turn," Lu Yin said as he leaped to the side, not too far away from where Lei N¨¹ was standing. She then rushed towards a bubble.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought as he unleashed his domain and let it expand it further and further out. First, he felt lightning. Then, there was lightning and a Withered Bark.

    The lightning shot towards where Lu Yin and the others were, and when that person detected Lu Yin¡¯s domain, they let out a cold snort before unleashing a shocking amount of lightning into the sky that attempted to tear through the domain.

    When encountering an unknown person, the foremost priority should always be to get a good idea of who that unknown person was.

    The next moment, countless branches spread out. With how strong Lu Yin¡¯s domain had be, even though he was not entirely confident that he could defeat Unseen Light, and even though he had not reached the level where he could predict his opponents¡¯ attacks yet, Lu Yin was not far off from that level. His domain was already incredibly powerful.

    Numerous branches twined about one another. The lightning was able to cut through one, two, and even thousands of the branches, but the branches continued to propagate onwards, eventually wrapping around their target.

    Ku Lei was not able to easily stabilize himself, and he gasped for air after being entangled rather close to Lu Yin, who looked at Ku Lei with a smile. ¡°Hello again.¡±

    Ku Lei stared at Lu Yin with scorn despite beingpletely overpowered. When Ku Lei had first encountered Lu Yin in the Mountain and Seas Realm, the Ku family¡¯s inheritor had managed to fight against Lu Yin evenly, but currently, Lu Yin was able to crush Ku Lei without even moving. Lu Yin¡¯s progress was simply too terrifying.

    Ku Lei had researched Lu Yin''s aplishments after returning from the Mountain and Seas Realm, but he was barely able to believe that Lu Yin had reached such a level after only twelve years of cultivating. However, at this moment, Ku Leipletely believed what he had read; Lu Yin was an absolute monster.

    If Lu Yin had been a Hunter during the contest for the Astral Tower in the Mountain and Seas Realm, then the oue atop the golden stage might have been very different.

    Ku Lei was not very happy with Lu Yin, but Ku Lei was also not someone who made a habit of looking for fights. So, he simply let out a cold grunt and dashed towards a bubble.

    Lu Yin''s figure shed over in front of Ku Lei. "Wait."

    Ku Lei''s expression grew upset. "What? Do you want to stop me?"

    Lu Yinughed. "You really are a prick! You say that, but I¡¯m definitely able to stop you if I want."

    "You!" Ku Lei was infuriated, but he did not speak any further.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, "Everyone here agreed that, in order to prevent the Neohuman Alliance from ambushing us, each of us will stand guard for half a day. You also need to take a turn standing guard, and you¡¯ll go after Xie Xiaoxian.¡±

    Ku Lei grunted affirmatively and then rushed towards a bubble.

    Lu Yin looked at Ku Lei¡¯s back and muttered, "Inverted Step." Lu Yin suddenly remembered the person he had seen within the tablet world named Qian Zou. He had been an interesting person, and his speed had been quite impressive.

    Soon, half a day passed, and other than Ku Lei¡¯s arrival, nothing unusual urred.

    Then, Shu Jing moved over to Lu Yin''s side, as it was his turn to stand guard.

    Normally, Lu Yin would not feelfortable leaving his back open for these people to watch. However, they had united against the Neohuman Alliance, and the entire universe was united against them; in fact, it was nearly instinct for people to band together against the Neohuman Alliance, and this was the basis of their current cooperation.

    Lu Yin rushed into another bubble, and he once again witnessed Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone¡¯s great battles one after another. He experienced the clone¡¯s battle power in the Explorer realm, the Hunter realm, and once, Lu Yin even experienced a power that he could notprehend.

    Outside of a burst bubble, Xie Xiaoxian fell to the ground. Half a day had passed, so she moved over towards Shu Jing, but then she shot off.

    Shu Jing stared at her, dumbfounded. "You''re not going to stand watch?" .

    Xie Xiaoxianughed. "I want to go y somewhere else. You guys y by yourselves here."

    After speaking, she let out anotherugh and vanished in an instant.

    Shu Jing was speechless, and he felt like he had just been yed.

    When he was right about to lose track of Xie Xiaoxian, Shu Jing was unwilling to simply watch her leave despite the fact that he hoped to stay in the Realm of Memories a while longer. Witnessing Progenitor Chen''s life experiences was too tempting, and it was possible for there to even be memories of him cultivating the Nine Clones Technique. Still,pared to the value of following Xie Xiaoxian, Shu Jing decided to abandon the ce for the moment, especially since he already knew its location.

    With this in mind, he raised a hand and unleashed a straight line attack that broke the bubble holding Ku Lei, who instantly fell to the ground and looked over at Shu Jing.

    "It''s your turn," he curtly said before turning around to chase after Xie Xiaoxian.

    Ku Lei wanted to respond, but he was too slow to say anything. Thus, he could only grit his teeth in frustration, not even knowing who to curse. He had been immersed in a very important memory fragment from Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone that was from the time when the clone had been a Hunter, but his experience had been interrupted.

    At this moment, there was a distant figure quickly approaching them.

    Ku Lei frowned and grew vignt.

    The person approaching was actually Ku Wei, who had finally arrived after encountering the worms along his way. Despite the fact that none of the guardian giants had blocked his path, he still had to fight a long series of battles to make it here.

    Ku Lei was surprised to see Ku Wei, as Ku Lei had not expected Ku Wei to make it this far into the tomb. In his anger, Ku Lei clenched a fist. Not only had this person entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but he was also clearly trying to catch up to him, and he was also the only person from the Ku family attempting to do so. Ku Lei had always looked down on his peers, but despite the vast difference between them, Ku Wei still hoped to catch up, which greatly irritated Ku Lei.

    Within the Ku family, Ku Lei had often picked on Ku Wei, but then, Ku Wei had left for the Outerverse. Recently, he had returned with the Yu family¡¯s entrance slot for Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and Ku Lei was particrly worried about the possibility that Ku Wei might have also received the Yu family¡¯s secret technique.

    This thought would not leave Ku Lei, and as he thought about it, he grew more and more upset, until he struck out. Lightning instantly shot out to viciously strike Kui Wei.

    However, the difference between Ku Wei and Ku Lei¡¯s power was too disproportionate; Ku Wei had only recently be a Cruiser whereas Ku Lei was a Hunter. Even if Lu Yin was the one facing Ku Lei right after bing a Cruiser, he would still have had a very difficult battle, let alone Ku Wei.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1173: Bully

    <h4>Chapter 1173: Bully</h4>

    Ku Wei¡¯s face was pale as he stared at Ku Lei. He furiously shouted in response, "Are you trying to kill me?"

    Ku Lei''s expression was cial as he slowly replied, "You¡¯re just a bug. Still, tell me, did you learn the Yu secret art?"

    Ku Wei secretly thought that he was too unlucky to have run into Ku Lei of all people. "No."

    "Do you really think that I¡¯d believe that? You were able to obtain the Yu family''s slot for entering Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, so how could you not have also gotten the Yu family¡¯s secret technique?" Ku Lei shouted sternly. He then raised his hand, and lightning sted out yet again.

    Back in the Mountain and Seas Realm, Ku Lei''s strength had been below Lu Yin''s, so this lightning was not overly powerful, but it was still quite fast. Additionally, due to Ku Wei¡¯s power level, he waspletely overwhelmed.

    Ku Wei raised his hand and struck out with a Finger Tap, but this attack only made Ku Lei want tough. "How dare you use the Ku family''s masterpiece against me? You¡¯re asking to die!"

    He then raised a hand and thrust out with his own Finger Tap.

    Ku Wei jumped in shock and hurriedly evaded the counter. He gasped for air as he stared at Ku Lei in shock.

    At this time, Hui Santong came down from the sky and saw the two men fighting. He frowned. "The Neohuman Alliance is nearby, so this is not the time for infighting!"

    Ku Lei replied in a low voice, "When did the members of the Seven Courts ever cooperate within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum? There¡¯s no need for you to meddle."

    Hui Santong was helpless, as Ku Lei¡¯s character was rotten to the core.

    Ku Wei shouted, "Ku Lei, don''t talk so much nonsense! There¡¯s no way our patriarchs want us to self-destruct in here.¡±

    "You aren¡¯t qualified to fight against me! I¡¯ll just teach you a lesson so that you know how you should speak to me here."

    Ku Lei then arrogantly raised a hand with lightning shing within.

    Ku Wei clenched his fists as he stared at Ku Lei. Ku Wei¡¯s mind raced as he kept evaluating his chances of winning if he transformed into a guardian giant versus remaining in his normal form. If he did not transform, he might be killed, but there was no guarantee of victory even if he did transform into a guardian giant. Even without considering escaping from Ku Lei, Ku Wei felt that he might still end up being dissected and studied by his family.

    Besides, transforming into a guardian giant might not let Ku Wei match up to Ku Lei, especially since Ku Wei still was not capable of using any battle techniques while in the guardian giant form. And a giant who could use nothing more than brute force would be at a terrible disadvantage against Ku Lei.

    Suddenly, Ku Wei looked over at a familiar figure; who was that?

    Ku Lei coldly snorted. He raised his hand, and lightning flickered out. "I taught you how to speak to me back when you were still a child! Kneel!"

    Ku Wei pursed his lips. "In addition to being a part of the Ku family, I also have another identity".

    Ku Lei frowned and stared at Ku Lei.

    Hui Santong also grew curious.

    Ku Wei raised his head and proudly dered, "I, Ku Wei, am the captain of the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire¡¯s tenth Imperial Squadron, loyal to the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin."

    Hui Santong was surprised and subconsciously looked over at Lu Yin.

    Ku Lei''s expression grew cold. "Are you threatening me?"

    Ku Weiughed and pointed behind Ku Lei. "You can say that."

    At that exact moment, Lu Yin''s bubble reached its peak, popped, and released him.

    Just as Lu Yin reached the ground, before he even had time to look around, a familiar wailing voice reached his ears. "Your Highness, Royal Regent, Alliance Leader, Seventh Bro, your lovely little Brother Wei is being bullied!"

    Ku Wei mournfully cried out, sounding as if even heaven was set against him.

    Lu Yin was dazed, and he looked over. Ku Wei?

    Some distance away, he saw Ku Wei with an expression full of grief and anger. He pointed at Ku Lei and startedining to Lu Yin, saying, "Your Highness, Little Wei picked up your scent and chased after you for millions of miles, just to confirm Your Highness''s safety and report back to the Great Yu Empire and the Great Eastern Alliance! However, this man," he paused as he angrily red at Ku Lei, "Not only did this man block this humble one¡¯s path, but he also forced Little Wei to kneel to him! Your Highness, Little Wei is your man, so how can I suffer such insults? Your Highness, you must do something for Little Wei, ah!"1

    Ku Wei¡¯s sudden soliloquy left Ku Lei dumbfounded; how could the descendant of one of the Seven Courts actually demean themselves to another in such a manner? Wasn¡¯t this the behavior of apdog?

    Hui Santong was also stupefied. This was his first time witnessing someone from the Seven Courts acting in such an undignified and brazen manner. It was utterly shameless.

    It was important to have a clear understanding of what it meant to beg for help versus what it meant to rely on individual strength. What did having the support of a massive power like the Seven Courts mean? This behavior was none of Hui Santong¡¯s business.

    At this moment, Ku Wei wanted to rely on Lu Yin despite the rumors iming that Lu Yin had been taken away by the Neohuman Alliance. So what? Who cared? Secure the support first.

    Lu Yin returned to his senses and looked over at Ku Lei in an unfriendly manner. "Are you bullying my people?"

    Ku Lei was caught off guard, as he had not expected Lu Yin to actually pick a fight with him over this matter. Out of instinct, Ku Lei did not back down. "This matter concerns my Ku family. This has nothing to do with you."

    "You¡¯re asking for a beating!" After Lu Yin said these two words again, he raised a finger and flicked it, unleashing a tremendous force that rippled through the void and ruthlessly sted Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei''s eyes burned bright, and he transformed into a lightning bolt to dodge the attack, but the speed of lightning was not faster than the wind of Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    The moment he was hit, Ku Lei almost spat out his internal organs, and he was knocked back a thousand meters. He then spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Lu Yin with hatred in his eyes, though Ku Lei was unable to even say a word.

    Hui Santong¡¯s eyes narrowed. What a massive gap in strength.

    Now, Ku Wei was dumbfounded. He had always known that Lu Yin was strong, and he had guessed that Lu Yin might have surpassed Ku Lei, but Ku Wei had not expected that Lu Yin would be this strong. This was not merely a matter of him surpassing Ku Lei, but rather one of utterly crushing him.

    How had His Highness''s strength risen to such a terrifying extreme? The gap was mind-bogglingrge.

    Lu Yin had be strong enough to hold his own against a thrice transformed Corpse Beast. Back when the corpse king had managed to fight off Yuehua Mavis, Xia Jiuyu, and the other experts atop the golden tform, Shang Qing was only able to gain the upper hand after using his Tri-Yang Technique to summon Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone. This was the level of strength that Lu Yin had currently reached.

    It could even be said that if one ignored external objects and power vessels, Lu Yin was the strongest person within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum right now. After all, Corpse Beast was an unintelligent corpse king and was not capable of defeating Lu Yin on its own.

    If Lu Yin returned to the Mountain and Seas Realm with his current strength, then he would be able to suppress everyone and even render Shang Qing helpless.

    Of course, if Lu Yin had progressed in his cultivation, then the others naturally had done so as well. Depending on the person, they might have also improved substantially.

    The wind from Lu Yin¡¯s finger was able to force Ku Lei back, and Ku Wei¡¯s expression became quite interesting to see. He quickly grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s thighs and held onto them tightly. "Your Highness, Brother Wei missed you to death! You don¡¯t know this, but when I heard the news that you were captured by the Neohuman Alliance, Little Wei cried countless times! I cried every day and night until my eyes were swollen! Your Highness¡­"

    Lu Yin was leftpletely speechless. "Quit spouting crap!"

    Ku Wei immediately stopped for a moment and then put on a brilliant smile. "Yes, Your Highness."

    After speaking, he arrogantly looked around in all directions before settling on Ku Lei. "You haven¡¯t rushed over to apologize to His Highness yet? Are you blind? Or do you want His Highness to make another move?¡±

    Ku Lei was furious, and he could not stop himself from spitting out another mouthful of blood as he viciously red at Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei felt smug, and when he then looked over at Hui Santong, he grew upset. "Kid, His Highness is right here, so why aren¡¯t you hurrying to greet him? Show him the best of the Hui family¡¯s hospitality. You¡¯re so blind! You should be grateful that you¡¯re still the Hui family¡¯s inheritor."

    Hui Santong arched a brow. Thispdog was already dead in his eyes.

    Lu Yin looked over at Hui Santong; Ku Wei''s words made some sense. After all, didn¡¯t the Hui family normally entertain others with the Root of Intelligence?

    Upon seeing that Lu Yin seemed to agree with Ku Wei''sment, Hui Santong quickly spoke up. "Brother Lu, we¡¯ve already agreed that each of us would stand guard for half a day, but there¡¯s not much time left, and we¡¯re also running out of time before Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum closes."

    "His Highness will be the one to decide," Ku Wei directly answered, defying the mood Hui Santong was trying to set. In fact, Ku Wei directed a look at Hui Santong that looked like he wanted to beat the Hui family¡¯s inheritor for being too unreasonable.

    As soon as Ku Wei finished scolding Hui Santong, Ku Wei adopted a boot-licking smile and looked over at Lu Yin. "Your Highness, the Hui family¡¯s inheritor is right¡ªtime is limited. You should hurry up and gain any advantage that you can as soon as possible. Don¡¯t waste your time with that trash.¡±

    As he spoke, Ku Wei pointed to Ku Lei, who grew furious again.

    Lu Yin realized that, as long as Ku Wei was around, there was no need for him to even speak a single word.

    Soon, Lu Yin stepped a foot inside another bubble.

    Simrly, Ku Wei, because of his rtionship with Lu Yin, also stepped into a bubble. Hui Santong was left to stand guard, unwilling to speak even a single word to Ku Wei. Besides, with Ku Wei¡¯s strength, he would not even be able to shout a warning if the Neohuman Alliance arrived.

    Hui Santong¡¯s feelings towards the entire matter with Ku Wei was that a single piece of shit was enough to spoil an entire pot of soup.

    Ku Lei inwardly swore that, after leaving the tomb, he would definitely report this incident to his family. This guy was too shameless, and he hadpletely discredited the entire Ku family.

    It was impossible to know if Ku Wei''s arrival affected Lu Yin''s luck, but the next scene that Lu Yin saw upon entering a bubble was not a vision of Progenitor Chen''s clone fighting, but rather one of a flower garden. The garden was beautiful, and there were many exotic flowers and nts swaying in the breeze. Off in the distance, the sun was setting over picturesque mountains that framed a group of rustic thatched cottages. The entire ce emanated a pastoral aura with its peaceful and natural feeling.

    Looking at the flower garden that spread boundlessly before him, Lu Yin simply could not believe his eyes.

    It had felt like every appearance of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone was apanied by fighting, killing, and rebellion, but this flower garden did not match any of those themes at all. The moment Lu Yin appeared outside the flower garden, he squatted down and smelled the flowers.

    This actionpletely subverted the previous visions.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone remained outside the flower garden, and up till the moment that Lu Yin''s bubble popped, the clone did not move a single step.

    Lu Yin entered yet another bubble.

    This time, he was greeted by a normal scene, and he witnessed another battle. Progenitor Chen¡¯s opponent in this battle was not an expert from the Daosource Sect. During the time of this memory, the Fifth Maind had not shattered yet, and there were many familial powers in ce. The universe¡¯s situation was entirely different from modern times, as there was no Hall of Honor or Court of Seven Names. In fact, there wasn¡¯t even any sort of distinction between locations such as the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    However, Lu Yin did not have any knowledge of the ancient universe, as he was only able to witness what the clone experienced, not read the clone¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin witnessed quite a few more battles, including fights against experts from the Sixth Maind.

    "You don¡¯t even have an imprint! You people from the Fifth Maind will never understand the power thates from cultivating an imprint." These words came from a man who was dressed exquisitely and carried exceptional weapons and temperament. There were also a multitude of power vessels floating behind him.

    However, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone only responded with a single word. "Stupid."

    It was just one word, but the elegant man grew furious at the response, immediately attacking. A divine imprint appeared behind him, and one of his power vessels released a powerful might that felt as though it could suppress the stars themselves.

    Despite facing such a powerful attack, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone simply pped out, which caused the man, his weapons, and his power vessels to all shatter in a moment.

    This was dominance.

    Lu Yin felt excited, as in this memory, the clone had only been an Enlighter. The opponent had used power vessels and wielded an imprint that made his attack powerful enough to threaten a powerhouse with a power level greater than 400,000, but that person had still been instantly annihted by Progenitor Chen¡¯s p.

    [1] This is literally "Little Wei-zi," and using "little" and "-zi" is a typical manner for eunuchs to refer to themselves. The guy is debasing himself to being Lu Yin''s ve here. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Well, boys and girls, that''s the end of Book 3: Champions'' Stage. A bit of a strange cut-off point to me, but hope you stick with us throughout Book 4: ZENITH.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1174: Assail

    <h4>Chapter 1174: Assail</h4>

    Within the Human Domain, it was amon belief that there had never been a generation with as many gifted youths as the current one. Both the Ten Arbiters and the Neoverse¡¯s top elites were a point of pride for the entire Human Domain, and each one of them could be considered invincible among their peers. Throughout all of recorded history, it was exceptionally rare for so many talents to appear in the same generation.

    Over time, this led to many people believing that the current generation¡¯s youths were the strongest in all of history and that they had the greatest chances of reaching the Progenitor realm.

    However, those people simply did not know that, throughout the endless marching of time, there had never been a shortage of exceptional talents in each generation.

    Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Wushang, and all of the other Progenitors had been young at some point in time. Without exception, all of them had been invincible within their generation, and none of them were inferior to the most gifted youths of the current generation in any way.

    Lu Yin would never forget about the person at the top of Astral-10¡¯s Rain List, the one who was named Shao Chen. At the same age, Shao Chen had vastly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s star energy control, and there was no shortage of simr experts throughout the endless years.

    Time flowed on, and several more days passed as Lu Yin observed many of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone past experiences. Most of the scenes involved battles, but there were asional breaks from the violence.

    As Lu Yin ced a foot within another bubble, Lei N¨¹ stood guard in the outside world.

    This time, Lu Yin saw a strange scene, as in front of him was himself. No, it was not Lu Yin, but rather a person who looked exactly the same as Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone. This person should be one of the other nine clones.

    It was very strange when two identical people looked at each other; and it was like looking into a mirror, but one where the reflection moved independently.

    The other body of Progenitor Chen had stars orbiting it, and Lu Yin''s eyes went wide when he noticed this detail. Was that the Cosmic Art?

    He did not have time to see anything else, as the bubble popped immediately afterwards, and he fell to the ground.

    To Lu Yin¡¯s chagrin, he had personally witnessed one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones using the Cosmic Art, but he had not been able to see the actual fight. It was a pity, especially since it had been a fight between two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones.

    However, despite not being able to see the entire scene, Lu Yin had seen no fewer than thousands of stars in that instant. Even a conservative estimate would ce it at no less than five thousand stars, which shocked Lu Yin to the core. He knew that, at the moment of that memory, Progenitor Chen had only been an Enlighter. His power level had been around Qiu Shi¡¯s current level, who had only recently broken through to be an Enlighter.

    At best, Qiu Shi was capable of simting a thousand stars, but the number of stars that Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had been capable of simting was more than five times greater than her¡¯s. And yet, the two had a simr age and power level. What sort of concept was this? This meant that his battle strength was essentially five times stronger than Qiu Shi¡¯s when they were at the same level, and that was even when disregarding the Progenitor¡¯s other clones!

    Nine clones, nine supreme cultivators. Just how strong would the nine people bebined as one? Lu Yin did not dare to even imagine.

    If Progenitor Chen had participated in thest contest of the Mountain and Seas Realm, just one of his clones would have been enough to sweep everyone else aside, even Shang Qing.

    This gap was not something that could be surpassed by techniques.

    This was the terrifying power of the ancient expert that the Sixth Maind had not dared to record down in history.

    If that was the case for Progenitor Chen, then what about the Rune Progenitor? He had been a powerhouse that no ce had recorded down, and his civilization had even been erased!

    Looking at both the past and present, just how many brilliant stars had been buried by the passing years?

    Lu Yin felt excited, and he suddenly wished that he could have been born during the same era as these truly exceptional elites. If he could havepeted with them, that would truly be amazing.

    Perhaps, one day, he would be able to step across the river of time and battle against the powerhouses of the past! This was something that Lu Yin longed for.

    After the bubble popped, it was Lu Yin''s turn to stand guard.

    Hui Santong continued entering bubbles.

    Shortly after, Xia Jiuyou arrived in the Realm of Memories, and his turn to stand guard would be after Ku Lei¡¯s.

    The Xia family possessed an advantage when entering Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum because Progenitor Chen was the Xia family¡¯s ancestor.

    Lu Yin was curious as to what Xia Jiuyou had gained within the tomb.

    Everyone had their own opportunities, and Lu Yin remembered Ku Wei saying that there were some ces within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum where one needed toprehend something in order to proceed. However, Lu Yin had note across any of those ces.

    Lu Yin did not know much about Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and he had already received an exceptional encounter in reaching the Hunter realm. At this moment, he was viewing Progenitor Chen¡¯s memories, and Lu Yin would not try to force anything else.

    However, based on Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression, there was a high probability that he had gained great rewards during his time in the tomb, and Lu Yin felt quite curious about what those rewards were exactly.

    Half a day quickly passed by, and after Lu Yin, it was Ku Lei¡¯s turn.

    Currently, Ku Lei red at Lu Yin with eyes that were full of anger and contempt, though he did not dare to make any moves.

    As Lu Yin ced a foot in a bubble, Ku Lei let out a cold snort.

    They each needed to stand guard for half a day. Meanwhile, Hui Santong fell down before quickly entering another bubble.

    Ku Lei calcted the time, and it was nearly Xia Jiuyou¡¯s turn, but suddenly, Ku Lei was surrounded by darkness. He could not see anything, and when he opened his mouth, he could not make any sound. Despite that, his hands were able to feel a revolting smell.

    His senses had been confused. This was bad; the Neohuman Alliance had struck.

    Although Ku Lei hated Lu Yin and wanted to kill him personally, when faced with the Neohuman Alliance, Ku Lei instinctively channeled lightning through his body.

    His scrambled senses prevented him from instantly alerting the others, so all Ku Lei could do was randomly shoot out lightning in hopes of alerting someone.

    Unfortunately, Ku Lei was unlucky, and his lightning did not warn anyone. Actually, Corpse Beast had already appeared next to him and blocked all of the lightning. As for Silver, he had appeared next to the bubble that held Lu Yin.

    However, Silver was also unlucky, as Xia Jiuyou suddenly exited a bubble at that moment.

    The moment he emerged and saw Silver and Beast, Xia Jiuyou raised a hand and struck out with a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. There was a flicker of a ghostly light over his hand, and the p was aimed at Beast. With the help of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s innate gift, Echo, a second attack shot towards Lu Yin.

    Xia Jiuyou''s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm was not able to do anything to Beast, and Ku Lei was kicked into the ground by the corpse king.

    Lu Yin''s bubble was popped by the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, and his eyes immediately snapped open. Beneath his feet, an astral chessboard appeared, and he shifted away.

    The next instance, a butterfly knife sliced through the void, carrying a silver gleam as it shed through the sky. Lu Yin evaded the knife and moved about a hundred meters away. "You really came."

    Silver smiled as he looked at Lu Yin and then helplessly responded, "What bad luck. I was just a little bit off."

    After he spoke, Shaman God¡¯s doll appeared, and Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. This was not good! Lu Yin waved a hand and tried to divert Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    The doll was sessfully diverted, but Lu Yin¡¯s senses were still confused.

    His nose saw nothing but darkness while scents entered his eyes.

    Beast dashed through the void and smashed its fist at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin instinctively started using the Cosmic Art, and 720 stars instantly exploded. Not only did this stall Beast for a moment, but it also woke up everyone else from the memories they were immersed in.

    With a loud bang, Beast smashed Lu Yin to the ground with a fist. To the side, Hui Santong swept out a hand, causing a golden meteor to smash into Beast and force the corpse king back.

    Beast had already undergone its third corpse king transformation, so it did not even notice Hui Santong¡¯s attack. The corpse king raised an arm and pressed down with its hand down. Space itself waspressed before exploding.

    The three young men, Hui Santong, Ku Wei, and Xia Jiuyou, as well as Lei N¨¹, were all forced back.

    Silver tore through the void, and his butterfly knife flipped in the air as he ruthlessly tried to cut through Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened up a sliver, radiating a cold light. At the same time, death energy took the shape of a scythe and shed down at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s five senses had only been confused for a moment, and right when Silver attacked, Lu Yin recovered. He raised his hand¡ªVacuum Palm.

    Silver watched as the iing Vacuum Palm split the void, sending both the death energy and Silver flying back. While still in mid air, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Beast roared and fiercely pressed its attack.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist, and nine lined battle force shot into the sky. He then unleashed his strongest Vacuum Palm.

    Bang!

    Space split apart horizontally, and the spatial crack reached far into the distance. The power of the attack sent Lu Yin flying down into the ground, though Beast was also forced back.

    So far, the only person who had managed to fight Beast head on was Lu Yin.

    The shockwaves from the impact rippled out, and not even Hui Santong or Ku Lei were able to withstand the st. They all flew back while spitting out blood due to their internal injuries.

    Ku Wei was sent flying without being able to mount any form of defense.

    Xia Jiuyou was the only one able to remain steady, and he raised his hand and followed up with the first de of the Triple de Will.

    Beast''s head was cut, but it was unharmed.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s second de descended.

    Beast still did not avoid the attack.

    As for the third de, at the same time that Xia Jiuyou released the attack, Lei N¨¹ also raised a hand towards Silver, ready to release her own attack.

    Silver suddenly looked over at Xia Jiuyou and took out Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand, once again diverting Shaman God¡¯s doll with the Yu secret technique. But Silver seemed to have expected this, and he turned to direct a smile towards Lu Yin. "Captain, I''ll see youter.¡±

    After saying that, he shot off into the distance.

    Simultaneously, Beast left.

    Xia Jiuyou''s third will de was released, and although the attack was supposed to be unavoidable, both Silver and Beast evaded it.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s expression grew heavy. Compared to Beast, Silver was far more important to stop. His strength was terrifying, and Xia Jiuyou had been suppressed and unable to attack throughout the fight. It was as though Silver had been waiting for something.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. He felt that, despite bing a Hunter and being confident that he could defeat anyone in his generation, he still had no confidence against Silver. Lu Yin had never been able to see through Silver, and the man was like a fox; no one ever knew what he was thinking. Xia Luo was possibly the one person able topare to Silver in that regard.

    Upon thinking of Xia Luo, Lu Yin remembered Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. Progenitor Chen''s clones had all looked the same, but Xia Luo, Xia Jiuyou, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s other clones all looked different from each other, though there were definitely strong simrities between them.

    This was where Xia Jiuyou differed from Progenitor Chen.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to know if there was a problem with the Nine Clones Technique or if it was a matter of individual will. However, it was clear that Xia Jiuyou¡¯s spirit was greatlycking whenpared to Progenitor Chen. The ancient Progenitor had been fearless of everyone, and he had deliberately taken a different path and gone against the Daosource Sect, which had been the universal supreme power during his era. This was not something that Xia Jiuyou could do.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that Xia Luo¡¯s spirit and determination far exceeded that of Xia Jiuyou.

    Silver left, though Shaman God¡¯s doll fell down not too far away from the youths.

    Lu Yin walked over and picked it up. He looked at the doll''s bizarre face and felt a chill inside. Before long, Shaman God¡¯s doll disintegrated.

    Shaman God was one of the Seven Skygods, all of whom were among the most powerful experts in the entire universe at the moment. Although Shaman God had not entered the Progenitor realm, he had to be a Semi-Progenitor at the very least, as he was one of seven apex powerhouses that belonged to the Neohuman Alliance. Just thinking of their number of top experts gave Lu Yin a stifled feeling.

    "The Neohuman Alliance really thinks highly of you. Don''t pretend otherwise." Ku Lei forced himself to endure the pain so that he could sneer at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Believe it or not, I can knock all your teeth out right now."

    "Brother Lu, why did that person call you captain just now? Do you know each other?" Hui Santong brought up this crucial question, and everyone focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "His name is Silver, and he was admitted to Astral-10 in the Outerverse at the same time as me. We also went to Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfront together for training. At that time, he called me captain."

    "And at that time, none of you realized that he was from the Specter n?" Lei N¨¹ asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Don¡¯t even mention us students¡ªnot even Astral-10¡¯s mentors noticed anything wrong."

    "That¡¯s impossible! The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s mentors are not weak, especially not Astral-10¡¯s mentors," Hui Santong blurted out as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1175: Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 1175: Attitude</h4>

    Upon hearing Hui Santong''s words, Lu Yin merely shrugged. "I have no idea why they didn¡¯t notice anything wrong. Why don¡¯t you go and ask Astral-10¡¯s mentors?"

    Hui Santong frowned. "What was Silver¡¯s strength at that time?"

    "He was the same as me, and he improved at the same rate." Lu Yin replied. However, right after speaking, he felt that something was wrong with what he had just said. Lu Yin had relied on various shortcuts to raise his cultivation quickly, but he had only just be a Hunter. As for Silver? It was quite bizarre that he was already an Enlighter.

    Everyone just stared at Lu Yin.

    Ku Lei sneered. "You don¡¯t even have time to figure out your lies! Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum is about to close, and you¡¯ll be done for at that time!"

    Lei N¨¹ stared at Lu Yin, as she was also suspicious.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, as he also did not know how to exin this matter. The truth really was that Silver had possessed the same cultivation as Lu Yin when they had first entered Astral-10, but even Lu Yin felt that Silver¡¯s improvement was impossible. He understood that anyone would think he was lying. It should be impossible for anyone to improve their strength so quickly. Lu Yin had relied on his Timestop Space to improve as quickly as he had along with other shortcuts. But what about Silver? Could he have something simr to Lu Yin¡¯s Timestop Space?

    Ku Wei was off in the distance. He rubbed his head and asionally coughed in pain as he had suffered from the battle¡¯s terrible shockwaves.

    As he drew closer to everyone else, Ku Wei was able to sense that something was wrong, as everyone seemed to have deliberately surrounded Lu Yin, who looked quite upset. Ku Wei knew that it was his turn to act, so he immediately took on the role of a loyal dog and began shouting at everyone and scolding them. "How dare you! How dare you be rude to His Highness? That- Ku Lei! Hurry up and kneel in apology!"

    Ku Wei spoke quickly and viciously red at everyone as he moved behind Lu Yin.

    Ku Lei stared at his n member with eyes that made clear that he wished for Ku Wei¡¯s death. Killing intent overflowed from Ku Lei.

    Ku Wei sneered and leaned towards Lu Yin.

    "What is the truth? Go and make a report to the elders before passing judgment. And that¡¯s not even mentioning how Judicial Commissioner Mu En is also outside waiting," Hui Santong said. His expression was serious as he looked at Lu Yin. "Before Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum closes, I would like to ask Brother Lu to not leave our sight. Once we leave this ce, we¡¯ll make an honest report to our families. If you¡¯vemitted such a crime, then even if you¡¯re not being controlled by the Neohuman Alliance, you still might not be able to clear your name.¡±

    Lu Yin was just about to respond, but Ku Wei spoke up from behind. He arched a brow as he stared at Hui Santong. "Crime? What crime? Kid, do you even know who you''re talking to? This is the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Alliance Leader. He¡¯s the king of the entire Outerverse. His Highness is the one who passes judgment upon others, so how could others pass judgment on His Highness? You must be blind."

    Hui Santong had originally been ignoring Ku Wei, but Hui Santong was too nervous in this situation, and he could not stop himself from responding to Ku Wei, who was behaving like a loyal dog. ¡°Shut up!"

    Ku Wei raised his head even higher than before. "Shameless! Who are you telling to shut up? I am His Highness''s man. Does His Highness need you to tell him what to do? Don''t you have any shame?"

    Hui Santong''s mouth twitched. This person¡¯s mouth sure was vicious!

    Lu Yin looked over at Hui Santong, and oddly enough, upon seeing Hui Santong¡¯s stifled look, Lu Yin suddenly felt very happy.

    He found that there really was no need for him to speak up. Ku Wei had already said everything that needed to be said, and the current situation was not bad at all.

    There were still a few days left before Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum closed, but Lu Yin''s words had made everyone else suspicious of him. However, with Lu Yin¡¯s strength and talent, not even Xia Jiuyou or Lei N¨¹ were able to stand up to him. The crowd was helpless to act against Lu Yin, so they could only surround him.

    Lu Yin felt that this was fine, as this meant that he was able to peacefully enter the bubbles and browse through the memories of Progenitor Chen''s clone, as there was always someone standing guard for him. Actually, everyone was standing guard for him.

    He was not worried that the people present would try to find an opportunity to attack him, as the moment the tomb closed, he would face the entire Seven Courts, and there was no way he would be able to escape from them. Even Shaman God, one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods, would find it difficult to escape from so many powerhouses. Thus, there was no need for anyone to attack Lu Yin at this time and fight in such a disadvantageous situation.

    Ku Wei, on the other hand, went all out in acting the part of the loyal sycophant. He was determined to follow Lu Yin, and Ku Wei also was quite knowledgeable of the Seven Courts, particrly the Ku family.

    The family viewed Ku Wei as far less valuable than Ku Lei, especially because Ku Wei¡¯s greatest gain during this trip to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was his new ability to take the form of a guardian giant, and it was not something that he dared to reveal. Thus, to the Ku family, Ku Wei had gained nothing at all from this trip. The Ku family would easily abandon him, and Ku Lei would be able to casually finish off Ku Wei at that time.

    At this moment, Ku Wei only wanted to cling to Lu Yin. Even if there was a chance that Lu Yin was actually being manipted by the Neohuman Alliance, what if that was not the case? With Lu Yin''s talent, he would be invincible after leaving the tomb, and Ku Wei could gain power.

    If it turned out that Lu Yin really was being manipted, then only at that critical moment would Ku Wei reveal his ability to transform into a guardian giant, as being studied and examined was still better than being abandoned.

    Ku Wei was very smart, and he had considered all of this the moment he had seen Lu Yin.

    Also, Ku Wei had always been absolutely certain that there was some hidden superpower behind Lu Yin. Not Yuan Shi, but rather another, unknown power¡ªthat was the true support that Ku Wei wanted to rely on.

    The unluckiest person during this trip to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum was Hui Santong, who had not found the opportunity that he had hoped to find. Xie Xiaoxian was also unfortunate, as her search had also resulted in nothing.

    Everyone else had searched for their own opportunities, and the results of their efforts were unknown.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin was immersed in yet another one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s memories. Over the past days, Lu Yin had witnessed too many battles, but asionally, he had also seen another side of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone when he stared at that flower garden, though Lu Yin had never found out who the clone was looking at.

    A person''s memories epassed too much time. Even if Lu Yin spent one, ten, or even a hundred years in the Realm of Memories, he would only see a drop in the ocean of memories.

    A beam of light appeared in the distance, indicating that Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum was closing. It was time to leave.

    Ce Jiu and Y¨­u Qin had both arrived at the beam of light at some point, and they had possibly been waiting there for several days already.

    Lu Yin noticed them, and they looked back at Lu Yin with wary gazes.

    Lu Yin did not care.

    Ku Wei directed a vicious re towards the two, looking like a mad dog.

    Star energy descended, and everyone entered the beam of light before heading up towards the dark dome. The ground below them grew smaller and smaller as they flew up.

    They saw a guardian giant roaring at them, and a club whistled through the air. Ku Wei paled, but none of the others cared at all. The club was unable to affect the beam of light in any way whatsoever. Everyone quickly exited the Progenitor¡¯s tomb, and they soon appeared in outer space.

    Behind them, the spatial tear leading to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum closed.

    Everything that had urred within Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum was hidden to the outside world, so all of the Seven Courts¡¯ leaders froze when they saw Lu Yin exit the tomb with the other youths.

    "Lu Yin? Why were you inside Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum?" Ku Pu, the Ku family patriarch, spoke up first.

    Ku Lei immediately made a report and honestly revealed everything that had happened within the tomb, particrly focusing on Silver.

    All of the patriarchs and matriarchs grew apprehensive, and they turned to focus on Lu Yin.

    Mu En stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "You followed someone from the Neohuman Alliance into the tomb?"

    Lu Yin nodded and respectfully replied, "Junior Lu Yin greets all the seniors. I was captured by the Neohuman Alliance, who made a vain attempt to transform me with death energy. However, this junior once learned a technique that made me immune to the death energy transformation. The Neohuman Alliance failed to discover this, so when the opportunity arose to follow one of their members to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, I took advantage of it to escape."

    "Hmph, how naive! Death energy is the source of the Specter n¡¯s power, and the Specter n has relied on their death energy to contend against my Seven Courts. Therefore, we understand death energy better than anyone else. What sort of method could possibly allow you to resist being transformed by death energy? Besides, you were captured by one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods. Are you also iming that you were able to hide this from one of the Skygods?" Ku Lei shouted.

    At this time, Ku Wei did not dare to make a sound and was very well behaved.

    Lu Yin softly replied, "That is exactly why this technique was able to deceive the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s elders and convince them that I had been sessfully transformed."

    Ku Lei was about to continue, but he was stopped by Ku Pu, who fixed a harsh re onto Lu Yin. "Regardless of whether or not the death energy seeded in transforming you, tell me this. How did the Neohuman Alliance manage to get into Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum?"

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin curiously.

    If the Neohuman Alliance was able to casually enter the tomb, then what was the point in them all standing guard here? Throughout all of history, there had never been a time when people from the Neohuman Alliance had entered the tomb.

    Lu Yin said, "With a sourcebox array."

    "Impossible." The Y¨­u matriarch, Y¨­u Kexin, was the first to deny such a possibility. "No matter how magical sourcebox arrays may be, it¡¯s impossible to magically transfer people into Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum unless the location is already known."

    Lu Yin replied, "This is something that I am not certain of, as Shaman God was the one who arranged the array. Once we entered the tomb, Silver mentioned that they had used this sourcebox array before and that it was the Teleportation Formation from True Insight."

    You Ke Xin was shocked and looked at the other family leaders.

    The eyes of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Seven Courts all showedplicated thoughts. If the words Lu Yin spoke were true, then someone among them had colluded with the Neohuman Alliance.

    "Shut up! This is the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s entire goal, isn¡¯t it? They sent you here to disrupt the unity of my Seven Courts, and even more importantly, to raise the suspicions of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Judicial Commissioner!" Xia Yi shouted.

    Mu En¡¯s gaze swept across the area, and he did not know what to think.

    Hui Zhi mentioned, "This is also a possibility."

    Ce Laoyanmented, "Indeed, trying to stir up internal discord within our Seven Courts is somewhat despicable."

    Xie Hua smiled gently. "My Seven Courts have been united for so many years, and we will not be destroyed by just a few words. What are you all so concerned about?"

    Y¨­u Kexin coldly said, "His words are not merely for our ears.¡± After this, she looked over at Mu En.

    Mu Enughed. "The Hall of Honor will not be suspicious of people just because of a few words from a junior. You all don¡¯t need to take this to heart."

    Although the Judicial Commissioner had said this, the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude towards the Neohuman Alliance was that it was better to wrongly kill an innocent person than to risk letting a guilty party escape. Although the Hall of Honor was apprehensive of the Seven Courts, it was guaranteed that there would be a secret investigation.

    Xia Yi eyes fixed a cold stare onto Lu Yin. "Junior, you must take responsibility for your words, and I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to bear the results."

    Lu Yin looked over at Xia Yi and locked eyes with him. "This junior is only responsible for conveying what I heard. As for whether or not it is true, that has nothing to do with this junior."

    "You need to first gain a greater understanding of what you are doing.¡±

    Lu Yin was fearless. "Can¡¯t you see it for yourself? Or are you also admitting that someone within your families may be cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance?"

    Xia Yi''s eyes grew sharp, and he pped out with a palm. Mu En suddenly blocked the attack before it could strike Lu Yin, easily dissolving Xia Yi''s attack. Mu En¡¯s expression was solemn. "Patriarch Xia, have mercy."

    Xia Yi angrily retorted, "Commissioner Mu En, this person suddenly appeared from within Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. This ce belongs to my Seven Courts, and it is up to us how to handle this matter."

    Mu En replied, "This junior is one of Eversky Ind''s disciples as well as the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciple and the ruler of the Outerverse. Does Patriarch Xia really intend to stir up irreparable harm because of a few words from a junior?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1176: The Specter Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1176: The Specter n</h4>

    Xia Yi responded in a cial tone, saying, "My Seven Courts is not afraid of Eversky Ind."

    "There is no need for any of this. Whether or not this child has been controlled by the Neohuman Alliance is something that must be tested by the Hall of Honor, so he needs to go there. Additionally, if he is indeed free of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s maniptions, then his talent means that he will definitely be a pir of the Fifth Maind."

    "I do not need him to protect my Seven Courts! A mere child just spoke to me in such a rude manner, and he may well grow up to be an enemy rather than a friend in the future."

    "A child is nothing but a child. Why would Patriarch Xia be so concerned?"

    "I can agree to not killing him, but he must be taught a lesson as a warning to others."

    Xia Yi was determined to harm Lu Yin. Upon seeing the Xia family patriarch¡¯s stance, Lu Yin frowned and clenched his fists. He looked over at Xia Jiuyou and saw that Xia Jiuyou looked calm, as though none of this was important. This person was the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, someone who would not even spare his own son and who raised his children with apulsion to train. He was utterly ruthless.

    "Brother Xia, why must you make things difficult for a junior? This child spoke some words, but he did not mean to cross Brother Xia. Perhaps things were triggered by the Neohuman Alliance." Hui Zhi spoke up, stopping Xia Yi.

    Xia Yi looked over at Hui Zhi, wondering why he was speaking up for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also looked at Hui Zhi.

    Hui Zhi looked back at Lu Yin. Hui Santong was standing behind his patriarch.

    Lu Yin realized that Hui Santong must have already shared the information about Hui Kong with Hui Zhi.

    Mu En spoke up again, saying, "This child is a five star intermediate Lockbreaker from the Lockbreaker Society. Patriarch Xia should consider giving face to old Geoffrey. Even if that old man does not give face to others, he is still very protective. This child, as the ruler of the Outerverse, helped out the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and he can be considered to have done Geoffrey a favor."

    Xia Yi''s eyes narrowed. Eversky Ind and the Lockbreaker Society were both known to be quite overprotective, and although Xia Yi could deal with Eversky Ind, the Lockbreaker Society was different.

    That group of Lockbreakers were capable of doing anything.

    Y¨­u Kexin nced at Lu Yin in surprise. "You¡¯re a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker?"

    Lu Yin answered, "Yes."

    Y¨­u Kexin''s expression suddenly changed. "In that case, Brother Xia, just let him go for now and don¡¯t bother with him."

    Xia Yi was left speechless, as people here were already moving to protect their own. Y¨­u Kexin was also a Lockbreaker, and she had even studied with Geoffrey. Thus, she often and readily protected fellow Lockbreakers.

    The more senior the Lockbreaker, the more they would be protected by the society. After all, only Lockbreakers could understand what their fellow Lockbreakers faced, and they had a tradition of protecting their own.

    When Lu Yin had first joined the Lockbreaker Society, he had indeed made the right choice. The society had helped him numerous times over the years.

    Xia Yi stared at Lu Yin. "Junior, watch your words in the future."

    Lu Yin and Xia Yi stared at each other, neither showing any fear.

    Mu En looked at Lu Yin. "Why aren¡¯t you apologizing to the Xia patriarch? These people are elders, and you should address them in a proper manner."

    Lu Yin felt helpless, but he also knew that Mu En was trying to help him. "Patriarch Xia, this junior spoke rashly."

    Xia Yi coldly snorted and ced his hands behind his back.

    As the patriarch who was the head of the Seven Courts, Xia Yi had far more details to consider when acting than the other family leaders. Maintaining the stability of the Seven Courts was the most important matter to him, and he was naturally greatly concerned with Lu Yin''s words. Lu Yin could only think of two motivations behind the patriarch¡¯s reaction, and although one was the patriarch¡¯s proper duty as the chief of the Xia family, the other was that they might be colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, as the most suspect family was the Xia family. Otherwise, the patriarch¡¯s reaction would not have been so exaggerated.

    Whatever the reason for the patriarch¡¯s reaction, it was none of Lu Yin¡¯s business.

    "Did you absorb Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood while within the tomb?" Hui Zhi suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin nodded affirmatively.

    "In that case, the phenomena from someone breaking through to the Hunter realm was you?" Ce Laoyan asked.

    Lu Yin was confused. "Phenomena? This junior couldn¡¯t say."

    "It was him," Ce Jiu confirmed, as all of the other youths had seen it.

    The crowd was amazed, and Mu En sighed. "What an amazing phenomena. It would be wonderful if you are not under the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s control."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "This junior is truly not being controlled, and I am willing to be tested.¡±

    Mu Enughed. "That''s good."

    "Judicial Commissioner, don''t listen to him! Perhaps the Neohuman Alliance has developed a way for him to pass the test." Ku Lei could not stop himself from speaking up.

    Lu Yin looked at the young man like he was an idiot.

    Ku Pu pped Ku Lei across the head. "Shut up! The Hall of Honor is not something that you can order about."

    Ku Lei could not understand what he had said wrong.

    Ku Wei forced himself to stifle hisughter.

    Mu En was not concerned. "Children are just children. There¡¯s no need for Patriarch Ku to be so serious," he said, but he did direct a serious look at Ku Lei. "My Hall of Honor will always suppress the Neohuman Alliance, and no matter what means they may develop, it is impossible for someone to cheat the test. This is something that my Hall of Honor can guarantee."

    Ku Lei finally realized what he had said wrong, as it had been improper for him to publicly underestimate the Hall of Honor, as that promoted the strength of the Neohuman Alliance.

    The elders gathered around and wanted to ask Lu Yin many things, such as what he had experienced after being taken, as well as what changes he had undergone after absorbing Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, not to mention the location of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters. There was much more they wanted to say, but they were all stopped by Mu En, except for a question that Xie Ahua posed, which Mu En allowed.

    "You said that the child from the Specter n was admitted to Astral-10 in the Outerverse at the same time as you, yes? And that he had the same cultivation as you at that time?" Xie Ahua asked.

    This question was what had triggered everyone¡¯s suspicions of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "Yes. If you seniors are suspicious, you can ask Astral-10¡¯s mentors. This junior is not lying."

    In aplicated tone, Xie Ahua said, "It is actually possible that this situation regarding Silver is not thatplicated, though this means that the Specter n will reappear."

    Lu Yin grew curious.

    All of the juniors looked over at Xie Ahua.

    Actually, even Y¨­u Kexin, Ce Laoyan were puzzled.

    When it came to knowledge of the Specter n, no one had a better understanding than the Xie family.

    Xie Ahua exined, "Each time someone from the Specter n breaks through to a new realm, they are reborn, allowing them to remove their bones and recultivate with death energy, which allows their physique to grow stronger. This is somewhat simr to the Nine Clones Technique, but it is apletely different method. The reason why my Xie family and the Specter n are nemeses is because their bones are the best material for our cultivation technique.

    "However, members of the Specter n are typically only able to remove their bones once they be Enlighters, and only after a period of time will they fuse back together with their bones, which increases their strength several fold. If this Silver was able to molt his bones at such a young age, then he might actually be even more powerful than you believe."

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this warning at all, as he did not really know how strong Silver was, and Lu Yin had never seen Silver go all out either. Instead, he always used a butterfly knife with a calm and rxed look. Thinking about it would actually give one chills.

    Xia Luo was the exact opposite. He was gentle to everyone and felt like a breeze, as though everything was under his control. But at the same time, no one ever knew what Xia Luo was thinking.

    Silver and Xia Luo had both visited Earth. One of them cultivated the Specter n¡¯s techniques and had developed his skeleton while the other cultivated the Nine Clones Technique.

    Lu Yin felt the two were strange, as though they were opposite sides of the same coin.

    That said, many of the people who had participated in that trial on Earth were not simple: Lulu Mavis, Lu Yin, Silver, Xia Luo, and that was not even mentioning the people who had disappeared into Jupiter, Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue. There was also Liu Shaoge, who had stayed in the Outerverse.

    Earth had produced an entric group of gifted individuals.

    Even though the Seven Courts were one of the Three Dark Hands, they had been given that title due to their control of Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    When it came to actually dealing with the Neohuman Alliance, the Hall of Honor had always remained as the master of the Human Domain.

    The leaders of the Seven Courts had many questions that they wished to ask Lu Yin, but in the end, Lu Yin was taken away by Mu En. Lu Yin needed to be tested, and if he failed the test, he would be instantly eliminated by the Hall of Honor.

    Ku Wei wanted to follow along, but Ku Lei had already reported Ku Wei¡¯s actions to Ku Pu, and Ku Pu did not even give Ku Wei the opportunity to speak.

    Lu Yin was being taken away to be tested, and he would not be able to contact the outside world during this time, let alone take along someone like Ku Wei. Still, Mu En had told Lu Yin that people from Eversky Ind would definitely be present for the testing, which put Lu Yin''s mind at ease.

    Mu En took Lu Yin to the Hall of Honor. At the same time that this was happening, Tian Shao was standing atop the Astral River Ark, looking towards the far-off Outerverse that he was about to enter.

    The news of the people from the Sixth Maind moving into the Outerverse in the future was something that very, very few people were aware of.

    Tian Shao¡¯s current goal was to take advantage of the Outerverse and gain des that would improve his ability to climb ranks within the Hall of Honor.

    Holding the position of ruler of the Outerverse would be quite the record, and it would allow him to stand out brilliantly.

    Few people in the Innerverse were aware of Tian Shao¡¯s identity, but he had deliberately informed the people of the ze Realm as a means of highlighting his influence. Due to this, the ze Realm had sent along many experts with Tian Shao for his protection even though he did not need any protection.

    "Tian Shao, here is your rod," said a ze Realm powerhouse as he handed over a fishing rod.

    Tian Shao took the rod. He had heard that one could fish within the Astral River many times, and he had long since wanted to try it for himself.

    Many people said that fishing in the Astral River was dangerous and that it was not something to attempt before bing an Enlighter, but Tian Shao was not concerned. After all, there were two experts near him who each had a power level exceeding 400,000, and this was only the Astral River.

    No one was able to clearly see through the energies of the Astral River, and one would need quite a bit of luck to catch a few of the odd creatures.

    There was a middle-aged man some distance away who was also fishing. His expression was dark, and he looked quite solemn.

    Ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had returned the Astral River Ark, it had been operated normally, and the Innerverse and Outerverse could be considered as reconnected. However, due to the Hall of Honor¡¯s interference, no one from the Innerverse had made any attempts to stir up trouble for the Great Eastern Alliance so far.

    "Young man, good luck catching a fish." The solemn looking man looked over at Tian Shao and smiled as he encouraged the youth.

    Tian Shao arrogantly replied, "It¡¯s only fishing in the Astral River; it¡¯s nothing much."

    The solemn looking man''s expression instantly fell, and he stopped talking.

    Tian Shao simply ignored the man, but an old man spoke up from behind the youth. "Young master, that man is not weak."

    Tian Shao was surprised. "Not weak? How strong is he?" .

    The old man nced over at the solemn-faced man. "A conservative estimate of his power level would be over 300,000."

    Tian Shao was shocked. "It¡¯s possible to randomly run into such a strong person in a barbaric ce like the Innerverse or Outerverse?¡±

    As he spoke, he nced over at his fellow fisherman before saying to the old man, ¡°Invite that old red monster toe out."

    Soon, an expert from the ze Realm appeared. He was Monster Chi, an expert with a power level of more than 400,000, though he was still extremely respectful when speaking to the youth sent by the Hall of Honor. "Tian Shao, you called for me?"

    Tian Shao smiled, and the old man exined what had just happened.

    Monster Chi nced at the solemn-faced man who was some distance away, and then exined to Tian Shao, "There is a group who spend all year fishing in the Astral River due to their interest in the creatures that live there. They call themselves the Anglers Club."

    "So that''s how it is." Tian Shao quickly understood. Someone capable of fishing in the Astral River naturally was not weak, but Tian Shao did not hold such people in high regard. After all, there were numerous experts in the Neoverse whose power levels exceeded 300,00 or 400,000.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1177: News

    <h4>Chapter 1177: News</h4>

    The Innerverse and Outerverse were not very far from each other, and soon, the Outerverse was in sight.

    Tian Shao grew excited, as this was when he would stop living the life of a wastrel squandering money. From this moment forth, he would step onto the tform that would catapult him into the upper levels of the Hall of Honor. This road would be incredibly difficult, but Tian Shao¡¯s grandfather, Bu Laoweng, was one of the nine overseers and had already paved the way for his grandson. Tian Shao had only been missing an opportunity, and that opportunity had finally arrived.

    Monster Chi¡¯s face betrayed theplex emotions surging within his heart as he looked at the Outerverse once again. Last time he had visited the Outerverse, he had thought that he would be able to single-handedly suppress the Great Eastern Alliance, but to his surprise, Lu Yin had brought out an Envoy. Not only had their entire forces been captured, but the Astral River Ark had also been seized. If not for the fact that Lu Yin had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, the ark would have still been under the Outerverse¡¯s control.

    The reason why Monster Chi had been able to return to the ze Realm was because the Hall of Honor had spoken up and demanded that the Great Eastern Alliance return the Astral River Ark. Monster Chi had agreed to apany Tian Shao not only to return the favor that he owed the Hall of Honor, but also to personally watch as the Great Eastern Alliance that Lu Yin had painstakingly established be snatched by another. What a delightful experience.

    At this moment, there was a shout of surprise, and Tian Shao and the others looked back to see that the middle-aged fisherman wasughing excitedly. He had caught a fruit fish.

    Fruit fish were quite precious, as their vor would always be the most delicious fruit that a person had ever eaten, and each bite contained an addictive taste. This was one of the most coveted fish that could be caught in the Astra River, and it was generally very difficult to catch one of them. Many people had been known to venture deep into the Astral River in hopes of catching one.

    The fisherman had not expected his luck to be good enough to catch a fruit fish today.

    Tian Shao looked at the fruit fish in surprise. "That¡¯s unexpected, a fruit fish. I haven¡¯t eaten one in a long time. Go and buy it."

    Behind him, the old man respectfully assented and walked towards the ck-faced man.

    The ck-faced man excitedly put away the fruit fish, but upon seeing the old mane over, the fisherman¡¯s face grew cold, and he turned to leave.

    The old man''s figure flickered over in front of the fisherman. "How much for the fruit fish?"

    The man stiffly replied, "It¡¯s not for sale."

    The old man repeated, "How much for the fruit fish?¡±

    The fisherman frowned. "I said no."

    The old man¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Young man, you should think things through before speaking.¡±

    As he spoke, a terrifying pressure fell upon the fisherman, but the pressure was only limited to a few meters around the man, enveloping only him.

    The middle-aged man had a power level of more than 300,000, but he was frozen still when facing the old man, as the elder¡¯s power level had clearly exceeded 400,000.

    Some distance away, Monster Chi had a scornful expression. This child was from the peak of the Neoverse, so the youth¡¯s protector was extremely powerful.

    The middle-aged man''s face grew extremely ugly. Not only did the members of the Anglers Club fish to eat their catches, but they also did so as a way to show off their abilities. When the fisherman had been invited to provide a fruit fish for the Daynight n for their Daynight Feast, he had only done so because he had been absolutely certain that no one would be able to eat it. He had been confident that not only would be able to eat the fish, but that he would also receive fullpensation from the Daynight n.

    Unfortunately, that fish had ultimately been eaten by a junior, which gave the fisherman great regret. At this moment, he had just been lucky enough to catch another fruit fish before running into this situation.

    "I have a great need for this fruit fish. If you want one, I can keep fishing longer," the man said.

    The old man raised a hand and pressed down on the fisherman¡¯s shoulder. "For thest time, how much for the fruit fish?"

    The middle-aged man gritted his teeth. He had been rendered helpless after being subjected to this old man¡¯s terrifying pressure. In the end, the fisherman sighed.

    Not a momentter, the old man returned to his young charge.

    Tian Shao was dissatisfied. "So slow?"

    "My apologies, Tian Shao," the old man respectfully responded.

    Tian Shao snorted coldly and nced over at the fisherman, who coincidentally was looking over at that moment.

    Tian Shao smiled coldly as the corners of his mouth curled into a disdainful arc. The Innerverse and Outerverse were both savage territories in his mind, so he waspletely unconcerned about how he treated people here. As this thought ran through his mind, the Astral River Ark docked.

    The fisherman spat in disgust as he watched Tian Shao and the others leave, though the fisherman did not dare to say a single word. That old man was far stronger than him, and if that elder was acting as the youth¡¯s protector, then there was no way the young man had a simple background. ¡°You better not fall into Lao Zi¡¯s hands in the future, or else I¡¯ll use you for fish bait.¡±

    After venting his anger, the man despondently returned to his fishing.

    After exiting the Astral River Ark, Tian Shao¡¯s face grew dark, even uglier than the fisherman¡¯s. No one in the Outerverse had appeared to greet him.

    He was the person who had been sent to take control of the Great Eastern Alliance on behalf of Bu Laoweng, which meant that Tian Shao was about to rule the highest power in the entire Outerverse, and he could even be said to be the ruler of the Outerverse. Whatever power Lu Yin had held before, that was the authority that Tian Shao had been given.

    Despite that, there was no one present to greet him.

    "Did you not notify the Great Eastern Alliance of my arrival?" Tian Shao asked in a low voice, his expression icy.

    The old man respectfully replied, "They were notified."

    Tian Shao clenched a fist and stared out into the vast darkness of the Outerverse. "Pass down an order to convene a meeting with the entire alliance."

    "Yes, Tian Shao," the old man answered.

    Monster Chi looked out at the Outerverse and spoke up. "Tian Shao, the Outerverse is basically a wastnd, so the people here probably know nearly nothing of the Neoverse, and they may not have even heard of it at all. They do not know what you represent, and they might even hold those Innerverse powers in greater respect than you. You can only say that they are ignorant."

    Monster Chi''s words greatlyforted Tian Shao.

    When Bu Laoweng had initially tried to take control of the Great Eastern Alliance, the alliance had not paid any heed to his order. It was only after Bu Laoweng used the Innerverse to threaten the Outerverse that the Great Eastern Alliance had be submissive and allowed one of the nine overseers to take charge of them. However, at this moment, the members of the Great Eastern Alliance were demonstrating their rebellious attitude

    ¡°Young Master Tian, there is nobody here to receive us,¡± the old man returned and mentioned casually, as though it had nothing to do with him.

    Tian Shao was infuriated. "This must be because of the remnants that Lu Yin left behind! Go! Take me to the Great Yu Empire."

    The old man spoke up to refute the order. "Tian Shao, the Great Yu Empire is one ce we cannot go."

    "Why?" Tian Shao was upset.

    The old man calmly exined, "When the Hall of Honor took control of the Great Yu Empire, Eversky Ind became quite upset with us, but because of the overall situation, they were unable to object. However, this was epted under the condition that Frostwave Weave, the surrounding weaves, and everything within them is under their protection. They have promised to protect everyone who is rted to Lu Yin, so if you go to the Great Yu Empire to cause trouble, then not only will this vite the promise made by the Hall of Honor, but you will also aggravate Eversky Ind. Leon¡¯s Armada is present here in the Outerverse, and the Great Yu Empire is still supported by Starfall Sea¡¯s Lan family, as well as the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome."

    Upon seeing that his charge was still upset, the old man continued, saying, ¡°There are Envoys among the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome."

    Tian Shao was frustrated. He had only just arrived in the Outerverse, but he was already feeling stifled, and hatred for Lu Yin began to blossom in his heart. Originally, there was nothing between Lu Yin and Tian Shao at all, and Bu Laoweng had even advised his grandson to befriend Lu Yin if they ever met. However, Lu Yin had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and although Tian Shao was genuinely grateful towards Lu Yin for providing him with this opportunity, at this moment, Tian Shao was finally discovering how difficult it was to deal with Lu Yin¡¯s legacy.

    Lu Yin was gone, but the power that he left behind frightened Tian Shao, and what¡¯s more, it even frightened his grandfather. If Lu Yin had survived, then he would be an absolute powerhouse within the younger generation, but fortunately, he had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance. At this point, even if Lu Yin returned, he would be destroyed and treated as an enemy of humanity.

    Monster Chi stood silently to the side. He had been tasked by the ze Realm to keep Tian Shao safe and to demonstrate the ze Realm¡¯s position.

    After the Daynight Flowzone had been practically overturned by Lu Yin, the Daynight n had lost all hope of entering the Neoverse. So, the ze Realm had shifted their allegiances over to Tian Shao. If they sessfully befriended him, then they might regain an opportunity to enter the Neoverse.

    The nine overseers each held a great deal of power.

    Even after considering the situation for half a day, Tian Shao''s face remained crestfallen. "Release word that the Outerverse will soon be taken over by the Sixth Maind."

    The old man was startled. "That secret has not been revealed yet. If word of this leaks out, will the overseers be upset?"

    Tian Shao waved a hand. "It''s fine. These people will find out sooner orter, and one of the reasons why we¡¯re here is to pass over the western regions of the Outerverse to the Sixth Maind. This matter can''t be kept hidden."

    The old man nodded. "Very well."

    ***

    In Ironblood Weave, Wang Wen scratched his head as he helplessly looked out at the starry sky. "Chesspiece bro, we were just getting started and moving on to bigger and greater things. How could you have disappeared? This is truly infuriating, as we had only just begun to move. We should have realized that those top families from the Innerverse would not fall so easily and that you wouldn¡¯t be allowed to go to the Neoverse. We moved too early, but I guess that we can only me you for zing too brightly. You were the only one that the Neohuman Alliance grabbed, so you really can only me yourself, ah¡­"

    At this time, his gadget beeped with a notification. Wang Wen looked down at it, and his expression changedpletely. "How is this possible?"

    On Zenyu Star, Wei Rong was equally shocked, and a rarely seen expression appeared on his face, as he was absolutely stunned. Was the Outerverse really going to be given over to the Sixth Maind?!

    At this moment, Wang Wen called, and Wei Rong answered. ¡°Did you see the news?¡±

    Wei Rong answered in a low voice, "I saw, but is it true?"

    "No one would dare to joke about such a thing. This informationes from the grandson of one of the nine overseers, Bu Laoweng, and he publicly released the information. We can be sure that it¡¯s true," Wang Wen replied.

    Wei Rong lifted his head to look at the sky, gazing at the three mainds that circled the. This news would quickly spread, and it would terrify the entire Outerverse. This young man was too bold, or did he just not care about the Outerverse in any manner?

    "This person from the Neoverse has no restraint, and he will say anything he wants to. Once this news spreads, the consequences will be dire, but the changes will work to his advantage. At the very least, there will be many who will agree to attend the alliance meeting he is calling for," Wang Wenmented.

    Wei Rong spoke, "Since he released this news while also calling for an alliance meeting, it means that he has the means of gaining some supporters, and they will back him at this meeting."

    "He wants toe here to the Outerverse to build his credentials at a young age. He certainly has guts," Wang Wen said.

    "I¡¯ll attend the alliance meeting," said Wei Rong.

    "Ok."

    In the Vastdearth Sect, the sect leader, Meng Tianlong, stood up in shock. Just as Wang Wen had mentioned, there was no one who would joke about such a im, and Tian Shao¡¯s identity as an elite from the Neoverse meant that he could not afford to y around with such ims. If he had released the news, then it had to be true.

    "Sect Leader, if this is true, then what should we do?" Elder Huaqiao¡¯s face had gone pale. The Vastdearth Sect had existed in the Outerverse for far too long, and if they left, they would have nowhere to go. However, if they did not leave, they would end up under the thumb of the Sixth Maind.

    They knew almost nothing about the Sixth Maind other than the war and the invasions. Many members of the Vastdearth Sect had joined the Outerverse¡¯s defensive efforts, and there was no way to know if the Sixth Maind¡¯s people would take advantage of this situation to pay back the grudges from those battles.

    Meng Tianlong truly could not understand this news; why would a force that had originally been mortal enemies with the Human Domain suddenly take over the Outerverse. And on top of that, why was the Hall of Honor agreeing? Meng Tianlong could not understand this, but there was no one who could exin things to him; all he had received was the announcement.

    "We must join this alliance meeting. This young man from the Neoverse is using this announcement to force us to attend the meeting, so he must have some sort of solution," Elder Huaqiao urged.

    Meng Tianlong sighed and helplessly nodded. As long as they joined this new alliance, the Great Eastern Alliance would continue to exist. They would merely be under the control of a young man, so what was the difference from when Lu Yin had united the Outerverse?

    They had thought that they would be free after Lu Yin disappeared, but that possibility now seemed incredibly distant.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1178: Honor Zone

    <h4>Chapter 1178: Honor Zone</h4>

    As far as most people were concerned, the fact that Lu Yin had essentially prepared a dowry for someone else by uniting the Outerverse was something that was both ridiculous and pathetic.

    In the Mordo Weave, at the Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling incredulously stared at his gadget. This news was absolutely shocking.

    "Sect Master, could this be fake? Could Tian Shao by trying to trick us into attending his meeting?" Gong Chou asked.

    Gong Ling shook his head. "This can¡¯t be fake. He wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing."

    Gong Chou''s face grew ugly. "If really is true, then where will our Neo-Vestige Sect go? There will be no ce for us in the Outerverse, and we cannot easily enter the Innerverse either. No matter where we go, we will be suppressed and dominated by others.¡±

    Gong Ling softly replied, "We will go to the alliance meeting. I would like to see what this young master has prepared in order to coerce into joining this alliance and to resolve this matter."

    Gong Chou nodded. "Yes."

    Gong Ling looked back at the announcement, and he thought of Lu Yin. Lu Yin had managed to climb to the top from the very bottom, step by step. He had worked hard and survived through numerous life and death hardships, but he had never been able to defeat the Outerverse with a simple message. This was the power of those from the Neoverse, the core of the entire Human Domain. Even if Lu Yin had be the master of the Outerverse, so what? He had still been captured like that.

    The incident with Lu Yin solidified Gong Ling¡¯s fear of the Neoverse, and he realized that ordinary people could not even enter that ce.

    The news that Tian Shao publicized shook the entire Outerverse, and every single power began deliberating, only to ultimately decide to attend the meeting. This was true of even Millions City, the Dark Phoenix n, the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, and the Lan family.

    The Starfall Sea still had not recovered from the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and as a result, many of their forces had decided to stay in the Outerverse for a period of time as instructed by the Hall of Honor. But in truth, the Starfall Sea was already gone; the ck hole that had ravaged the area had created a barrier starting from the Neoverse, going across the Cosmic Sea, and through the Innerverse. Half of the Starfall Sea had originally been connected to the Sixth Maind, so it had been sundered apart when the barrier appeared. Otherwise, there would have still been a bridge to the Sixth Maind.

    They were destined to remain in the Outerverse.

    Upon seeing the replies from the Outerverse¡¯s major powers, the corners of Tian Shao¡¯s mouth curled up. ¡°They¡¯re actually choosing to take the difficult way out. That¡¯s fine. Simply giving them a promise will allow my time here to pass smoothly. Whether or not these locals live or die has nothing to do with me. Once we¡¯re done here, please invite the Azure Mansion over. It¡¯s time for me to taste the Flower Queen.¡±

    Behind him, Monster Chi adopted a respectful appearance. The power and information that Tian Shao possessed was not something that could bepared to the resources of the Innerverse or Outerverse¡ªno one in the Innerverse had even been aware that the Outerverse had been ceded to the Sixth Maind. This showed the sheer difference in the level of information that they had ess to.

    However, the Innerverse would soon receive the news as well, and the shock that would ripple through the region at that time would be no less than what the Outerverse was currently experiencing. The ze Realm would also need to find some way to retreat as soon as possible. After all, once the Outerverse was taken over by the Sixth Maind, the ze Realm would be the closest Innerverse power to that foreign power.

    Upon thinking of the border war between the Outerverse and the Sixth Maind and the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Innerverse, Monster Chi felt a chill run down his spine. When it came to facing the Sixth Maind, the ze Realm was merely an ant that could be swatted to death at a whim.

    They had to find a way out of this dilemma, and clinging to Tian Shao was one possible shortcut.

    ...

    Elsewhere, Mu En led Lei N¨¹, Shu Jing, and Lu Yin out of the Neoverse¡¯s southern region, which was where the Seven Courts were located. They followed along the soil road and soon entered the Honor Zone.

    Back when he had first entered the Neoverse, Lu Yin had been very curious about the Honor Zone. Just how on earth could such argendmass exist in the universe? This piece ofnd covered nearly half of the Neoverse, but it was apparently just a rtively well-preserved fragment of the original Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin could only imagine the full size of the Honor Zone.

    Within a eonlight-grade Aurora, Lu Yin watched as the stars flew past them outside. Lu Yin could not actually see the stars, as everything was a light show due to the speed at which they were traveling. The vessel trembled slightly and then a light appeared in front of them. They had arrived at the Honor Zone.

    Lu Yin could not describe his feelings at this moment, but it came with a realization of just how small people truly were.

    The Honor Zone was a giantndmass, but it was impossible to see its end.

    The moment they entered the Honor Zone, Lu Yin''s body sank down, as the gravity in this ce greatly exceeded that of the outside world. Additionally, the space in this ce was also different.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed an attack with a power level that surpassed 200,000, attempting to tear through space, but it felt impossible.

    When Shu Jing saw Lu Yin''s action, hemented, "The Honor Zone is the most well-preserved portion of the original Fifth Maind, and it has the same spatial stability as the original Fifth Maind. Thus, it¡¯s quite difficult to tear through the void here, unless you¡¯re capable of unleashing attacks whose power levels exceed 300,000.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood. There were many ces with different levels of spatial stability, especially in ces where people were afraid of enemies teleporting in by traveling through the void. Within the Honor Zone, attack had to have a power level of at least 300,000 to tear space, and Lu Yin believed that if someone wanted to tear through the void to enter the Honor Zone, then they would have to be a powerhouse above the Envoy realm or at least an Envoy with special methods.

    Inexplicably, he felt chills, as though he was being observed by an expert he could not escape from. Lu Yin moved over to a window and looked out into the sky. There, he observed unconcealed rune lines that represented exceptional strength shooting straight up into the sky in all four directions.

    Lu Yin realized that they must be passing through a portal at that moment, and he could imagine that there were powerhouses protecting every corner of the Honor Zone. And since their perception covered such an enormous area, they had to be super powerhouses.

    Lu Yin had expected the Honor Zone to be very prosperous or at least highly popted. However, upon arriving, he was greeted by a bleak and destend that was so vast that he could not see its end.

    There was a dark, boundless starry sky up above them, and from time to time, huge creatures would fly by, stirring up hurricanes in their paths.

    Lu Yin saw all kinds of rune lines appear around him. These rune lines came from not only people, but also from the various creatures around them.

    They heard a low roar as they were exiting the ship. Mu En left first while Lu Yin, Lei N¨¹, and Shu Jing all followed behind him and saw a huge creature off in the distance. It was tens of thousands of meters long, and each step it took sent shockwaves flying through the air and ground, shattering thend beneath it.

    Lu Yin was amazed. This creature was shaped like a cow, but it was covered in a thickyer of wool, and it had curved horns on either side of its head that linked up to create the outline of a heart. Although the creature¡¯s rune lines were enough to match up to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, the beast looked quite docile, which made for a bizarre juxtaposition given the beast¡¯s powerful and massive size.

    However, the beast¡¯s size alone warranted its number of rune lines.

    "That¡¯s an ancientiu, and they are used for transportation within the Honor Zone because the space here is too stable, resulting in many unpredictable changes. It is not suitable to travel in a spacecraft here as it is too easy to suffer an ident. Thus, these ancientiu are our best forms of transportation, as they are fast, have a robust defense, and can even give ample warning before powerful foes arrive. Although it looks powerful, they have no offensive prowess and can only passively defend," exined Shu Jing.

    Lu Yin looked at theiu that approached them step by step; was this thing running along?

    Mu En looked at Lu Yin. "Let''s go to the Hall of Honor."

    Lu Yin nodded and took a deep breath. He was finally going to visit the seat of power that sat atop the entire Human Domain. This was the gathering ce of the most powerful force in the entire domain, and it was also the base for the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcers and even the Lockbreaker Society. This was the core of the Human Domain.

    Theiu was very docile, and it allowed Mu En and the four youths to climb on top of its wide back. After all, it was tens of thousands of meters long, and a luxurious estate had been built on its back.

    While the four youths entered the residence, theiu let out a low hiss before turning to face in a different direction and stepping forward. Lu Yin merely felt the scenery around him shift before he suddenly realized that they were no longer in the same ce.

    He froze; this was too fast! Starry mountains had appeared on either side, but they disappeared as fast as they had appeared, being reced by an endless sea. A low roar echoed outside, but the sea had already disappeared.

    It had crossed the sea with one step.

    Mu En looked at Lu Yin and revealed a faint smile. "How is it? This is the Honor Zone, and this is your first time here, correct?"

    Lu Yin nodded and said, "It''s different from what I had imagined."

    Mu En felt curious. "How so?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I thought that there would be many people living here inrge cities or floatings. However, it really is just a vastndmass that¡¯s actually deste in nature."

    Mu Enughed. "Deste? That''s simply because thisndmass is far too vast. An ordinary person would not be able to climb to the peak of even a single mountain after a lifetime. An Explorer would struggle to travel from one mountain to the next, and a Hunter would face simr difficulties trying to cross a single sea. Did you ever consider that the variouss in outer space might have been torn from thisndmass?"

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such a theory, and he instinctively wanted to deny it. After all, outer space was impossibly vast, and even if thisndmass was bigger, it should still be impossible for fragments of it to form all of the variouss. However, after considering the matter, Lu Yin remained silent.

    No one knew how the universe had been formed, and although there were various theories, the existence of cultivation civilizations, technological civilizations, and others had disproven justas many various theories. Could Mu En have just shared the Hall of Honor¡¯s own spections?

    "As for you saying that this ce is devoid of people, that¡¯s merely because you cannot see them," Mu En added on.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Can''t see them? Is that because we¡¯re traveling too fast?"

    Mu En shook his head. "I can''t tell you, but I''ll point it out to you when I see it."

    "Thank you, Lord Commissioner." Lu Yin felt grateful.

    Mu En asked with evident emotion in his voice, "Do you carry any resentment in your heart?."

    Lu Yin felt stunned, and he gave Mu En a serious look. "No."

    Mu En and Lu Yin looked at each other for a moment, and the Judicial Commissioner¡¯s smile faded. "If you were someone else, that might be impossible. But you, you have experienced far too much, and you understand the cruelty of survival in this universe. Although you do not bear any resentment, I still want to say a few words to you." After a pause, Mu En continued, saying, "The Cosmic Five were originally conceived as a ploy, and the survival of the Fifth Maind hinged upon the sess of this scheme. Shattering the Mountain and Seas Zone was something that the Neohuman Alliance could never have imagined we would be willing to do no matter the situation. And in a plot like this, everyone is a mere pawn, both you and us ourselves."

    "The Mountain and Seas Zone exploded?" Lu Yin eximed in disbelief.

    Mu En was bewildered. "You didn¡¯t know?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior was in Aeternus Nation and never heard any news."

    Mu En nodded. "So that''s how it is."

    He then spoke some more, sharing selective bits of information to share with Lu Yin, though Mu En¡¯s knowledge was also limited. Still, Lu Yin learned a great deal, and he also learned something else: when it came to the Neohuman Alliance, the Sixth Maind had been horribly unlucky.

    Lu Yin took a long time to digest what he had learned. It was no wonder why Mu En had said that the entire thing had been a ploy.

    During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, when Lu Yin had been in the Technocracy, he had seen hints that the Fifth Maind had been plotting something monumental. However, the n that he had just been told about had been in the making for far too long.

    Without even considering the Neohuman Alliance, just the revtion that the Cosmic Five had been mere bait and that the Astral Tower had all been a scheme exined why the golden screen had whisked Shang Qing and the others away. Even if the entire thing had been a massive deception, the Hall of Honor would never be willing to sacrifice one of the most talented generations. It had merely been Lu Yin¡¯s bad luck that he had not been on the golden screen when everyone else had been taken away.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1179: Absorbing The World

    <h4>Chapter 1179: Absorbing The World</h4>

    A roar echoed out in the distance as aiu swept past Lu Yin, waking him from his contemtions.

    Lu Yin turned around to face Mu En and respectfully asked, ¡°Judicial Commissioner, may I please contact my family and friends?¡±

    Mu En shook his head. ¡°You will not be allowed to contact anybody before the results of your test are determined. On top of that, we are within the Honor Zone right now, so you won¡¯t be able to contact anyone even if you were allowed to. We are too far away.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, someone from Eversky Ind is already on their way to the Honor Zone, and they will be personally observing your test to ensure that there aren¡¯t any issues. No one would dare to create any problems,¡± Mu En exined.

    Lu Yin felt grateful. ¡°Thank you, Judicial Commissioner.¡±

    Mu Enughed. ¡°I will try to protect you as well. I¡¯m on good terms with the Sea King, and you will soon be his son-inw.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. Soon-to-be son inw? He had nearly forgotten about that matter.

    That was right, when Lu Yin had lost his position as an Honor Chosen, one of the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s elders had reached out to ask Mu En to intercede on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf. If that was the case, then it seemed that Mu En could be considered as someone on Lu Yin¡¯s side and who would help him out in the Interster Supreme Court.

    Although the Honor Zone appeared to be barren, ording to Mu En, that was simply due to its iprehensible size. The people living here stayed in specific locations, which was something that Lu Yin could not truly understand.

    There were quite a fewius throughout the Honor Zone, and Lu Yin had already seen many more of those creatures several times along their way.

    Not everybody was able to ride aiu, and all those who could were either from a reputable family or extremely powerful. This was because all theius belonged to the Hall of Honor, and it was quite expensive to use one for transport.

    Theius were the most luxurious means of transportation in the Honor Zone, but there were various other options such as flying or gliding. At one point, Lu Yin noticed an enormous bird-like creature flying above them, and it nearly matched the size of the ancient centipede that he had seen in Northline Flowzone.

    ¡°That¡¯s a country,¡± Mu En patiently exined.

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°A country?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a country that¡¯s been built atop a living creature. That bird is known as Nevend since it nevernds on the ground and forever flies around the Honor Zone, roaming in all directions. It¡¯s been doing so for years, so that country is known as Nevend Country,¡± Mu En exined.

    ¡°Nevend Country sounds quite impressive,¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    Mu En grinned. ¡°It merely sounds impressive. None of the truly powerful forces would expose themselves in such an open manner where they could be easily attacked.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitantly nodded. His use of Truesight was not very useful in the Neoverse since the people here were ustomed to the people from Gods¡¯ Origin using the technique. That meant that the people here also know how to handle people who could see runes, so Lu Yin was unable to take advantage of his ability to see runes to urately judge a person¡¯s power level.

    There was a battle off in the distance, and Lu Yin turned to see two Enlighters fighting. However, theiu traveled so quickly that he lost sight of the fight instantly out of sight again.

    A whileter, Mu En stopped theiu and pointed at a discarded machine. ¡°Look, that¡¯s a world.¡±

    Lu Yin was intrigued, and he carefully observed the bit of machinery that appeared to have been thrown away.

    The machine was massive, and just the aboveground, exposed portion wasrger than theiu. If the underground portion that was hidden from view was included, then this machine would be muchrger than any spacecraft he had ever seen before. ¡°A world?¡±

    Mu En smiled gently. He then formed a beam of star energy that pointed out a certain piece of the machine.

    Lu Yin looked at where the raynded and saw that there was a sphere there. He would not have even noticed it without specifically paying attention to that location, as it looked as if it were just another part of the machinery.

    ¡°That is the world.¡± When the ray of star energy touched the sphere, ripples radiated through the area. The star energy then disappeared, and a man wearing strange clothes suddenly appeared. He turned towards Mu En and bowed. ¡°Wee, Judicial Commissioner.¡±

    Mu En nodded at the man.

    Lu Yin was stunned, as that sphere was actually a world. ¡°Is- is that a pocket dimension?¡±

    Mu En shook his head. ¡°This entire world has been hidden.¡±

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°Even a world can be hidden?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. For example, the Great Yu Empire can be stored within a separate space. Just like how objects can be stored within cosmic rings, such spaces are also ced in a unique state. There are about 3,000 of these worlds scattered throughout the Honor Zone,¡± Mu En exined.

    Lu Yin was shocked. This was the first time that he had ever heard of such a thing. How could an entire world be stored within something else in the same manner that one stored an item in a cosmic ring? Just one such world was amazing beyond belief, but apparently, there were 3,000 of these worlds!?

    Mu En¡¯s expression grewplex. ¡°The Honor Zone is a dangerous ce, and although it¡¯s under the Hall of Honor¡¯s control, not even the Hall of Honor can monitor every corner of the Honor Zone. Naturally, there will be battles wherever people gather, and the conflicts here areparable to those that ur in the Innerverse and Outerverse. Also, there are many dangerous natural phenomena and unique creatures here. So, many forces would rather not expose themselves and have instead stored their entire world away as a means of protection.¡±

    Lu Yin was unable to understand this. ¡°Are each of these three thousand worlds as powerful as the Sword Sect or the Daynight n?¡±

    Mu Enughed. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. There are only a few of the worlds that canpare to the Sword Sect or the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why don¡¯t major forces like the Sword Sect and the Daynight n enter the Neoverse? Aren¡¯t they desperate to enter this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked. This was something that he had been wondering about for a long time. Before, he had thought that the Innerverse powers simplycked the ability, but when Lu Yin considered Smoke-Eater Peaks or the Azure Mansion, he felt that the Sword Sect was definitelyparable to such powers.

    Mu En answered, ¡°There are limited resources here, and do you believe that a major force like the Sword Sect would be willing to hide? They are simr to the Cosmic Sect in that they want a region of the sky to themselves. Only those who own a region of space can truly be considered a part of the Neoverse, but this is not something given by the Neoverse, and those organizations are unable to fight for such a privilege on their own.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of entering the Honor Zone if you just have to go into hiding? It would be hard for them to attract disciples here, and these hidden worlds also have limited resources, which means that it would be difficult for those Innerverse powers to raise a talented new generation. In the end, it would only lead to their eventual copse.¡±

    Lu Yin could understand such reasoning. If the Sword Sect was forced into hiding, then they would only be able to recruit disciples from within their own world, and how many people could that possibly add up to? In contrast, currently, they were recruiting from both the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Meanwhile, although it was difficult for these 3,000 worlds to recruit talented individuals, they would still find the asional genius who would be subsequently recruited by the Hall of Honor.

    As Lu Yin stared at the sphere that contained the hidden world, his emotions grew ineffablyplicated. He felt that he would never be happy if he simply hid the Great Yu Empire away, but perhaps this was just how these hidden forces survived.

    Mu En nced over at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s just one possible situation, but there¡¯s another, more likely scenario.¡± He thenmanded theiu to continue on towards the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°Another possible scenario?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Mu En answered, ¡°Some worlds hide themselvespletely while others simply transform the space around them into another form. That form might not bepletely hidden, and some of them traverse the Honor Zone or even the entire Neoverse. Such worlds are far more powerful and are not scared of anything.¡±

    Lu Yin felt surprised. ¡°Are you saying that there are worlds that can travel about the Neoverse?¡±

    Mu En nodded and looked out at the limitless space. He suddenly stopped theiu and tapped a finger against the air. Ripples spread out through the area, and within the ripples appeared an orb of light that seemed to be locked in ce. A voice rang out from the orb. ¡°Judicial Commissioner Mu En? Why are you blocking me?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the ball of light in shock; the ball of light was speaking!

    This time, Mu En¡¯s tone was not as casual as when he had spoken to the man from the world hidden within the mechanical sphere. Instead, he solemnly replied, ¡°I¡¯m just guiding a junior about.¡±

    ¡°A junior? This child?¡±

    Lu Yin felt that something was scrutinizing him, and chills ran down his spine. He squinted at the orb of light and suddenly saw a strange world within that wasposed entirely of light. Nany people were living within the rays of light, and there were even cities, mountains, ands. In reality, the rays were not made of light, as they were actually fragments of space. Finally, he saw a pair of extremely dignified eyes.

    Lu Yin suddenly snapped out of his daze, sweat dripping down his forehead.

    Mu En set a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Not bad, not bad at all. The Hall of Honor is truly exceptional at finding talents. This child is definitelyparable to your Chosen, and he might actually be even stronger. I think that none of his peers can match up to him with the sole exception of Shang Qing.¡±

    Mu En smiled. ¡°He is one of my Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so annoying. I thought that you guys were just being generous and that you would allow others to fight for the slots instead of making us all just watch from the sidelines. After all, you guys were willing to even host ZENITH. However, it seems that we won¡¯t have any more chances. What a shame.¡±

    Mu En replied, ¡°ZENITH is open to the entire universe, and Lightson can also participate. However, you will have to obtain a slot through their capabilities. People can also keep training, as there¡¯s still some time.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! That young man next to you is already so far ahead of Lightson¡ªhow is he supposed to evenpete? I¡¯m leaving.¡± The orb of light quickly disappeared.

    Lu Yin turned to Mu En in confusion as the orb of light vanished.

    Mu En exined, saying, ¡°That was also a world, but they¡¯re different from the spherical world in the machine from before. That person rushes around everywhere, searching for resources, and thus, they are much stronger than the world in the machine. Although they still can¡¯tpare to the Sword Sect or the Daynight n, they are nearly at the same level. If they were in the Innerverse, they would able to contend with the eight great flowzones.¡±

    Lu Yin was dazzled. This was the true Neoverse. There were 3,000 worlds in just the Honor Zone, and it was truly the core of the Human Domain.

    If those 3,000 worlds had all sent out people to assist in the defensive efforts against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the Sixth Maind would have never been able to win, not even if they had mobilized all nine realms.

    ¡°Senior, what is ZENITH?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu En replied, ¡°That¡¯s a secret among the senior generation, but it¡¯s fine for me to let you know.¡± He then paused for a moment before continuing on in a solemn voice, saying, ¡°ZENITH is apetition hosted by the Hall of Honor that the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Sixth Maind will participate in. The goal is to boost humanity¡¯s morale while also uncovering talented youths from each area. Additionally, it will determine the ten most powerful youths of our era, and they will receive a truly precious opportunity as their prize.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. Why did this sound so familiar? Right, it was basically thepetition for the Cosmic Five.

    Wait a moment, the Sixth Maind?

    ¡°The Sixth Maind?¡± Lu Yin yelped in surprise.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1180: Vitality-Draining Poison

    <h4>Chapter 1180: Vitality-Draining Poison</h4>

    Mu En had already anticipated Lu Yin¡¯s surprise. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be concerned with the specifics, but take note of a few things: try to ce among the top ten during ZENITH, as it would be extremely beneficial for you in the future. It might even determine the heights you will ultimately be able to reach.¡±

    ¡°Senior, wasn¡¯t the Sixth Maind cut off from us? How are they still able to join ZENITH?¡±

    ¡°I cannot disclose those specific details to you,¡± Mu En replied matter-of-factly. The truth was that he was not entirely certain of the details himself, as these matters were above his domain.

    But those few words had already caused Lu Yin¡¯s mind to descend into total chaos. He had no clue what questions he should pose at this moment, as there were simply too many on his mind.

    Mu En then said, ¡°The Starsibyl Sect¡¯s divinations concerning the fight for the Cosmic Five were not just a mere ploy on their part. The most important goal was to determine a list of ten names. Initially, the Human Domain had five slots on that list, the Astral Beast Domain three, and the Technocracy two. However, the Sixth Maind was thrown into the mix as well due to special circumstances, which led to ZENITH being organized.

    ¡°Since reallocating the slots between the various powers and domains is not easy, it was decided that we would hold a contest to determine the names on this list. The Hall of Honor is confident in you, and our Human Domain¡¯s morale will soar if we can obtain enough positions during thispetition.¡±

    Upon seeing Lu Yin''s doubts, Mu En continued, solemnly saying, ¡°This time, the event is not a sham, so do your best during thispetition, as only a handful from the entire Human Domain have ever received an opportunity of this level. There are many extraordinarily gifted youths throughout the Human Domain, but only a rare few have ever received something as valuable as the reward. Once you agree to participate, you will be carrying the hopes of the entire Fifth Maind, not just yourself.¡±

    Mu En spoke to Lu Yin in an earnest manner, and the old man eventually convinced Lu Yin. Even though he still had doubts regarding the Sixth Maind, he knew that it would be impossible to get any answers from Mu En as the old man would simply keep silent about it.

    As for ZENITH? Lu Yin was looking forward to it. He had reached his current strength after progressing forwards one step at a time. He had started by leaving Earth, attended the Astral Combat Academy, entered the Innerverse, be the master of the Outerverse, and even entered the Mountain and Seas Zone, which had been hailed as humanity¡¯s greatest stage. Lu Yin had seen many formidable youths throughout his journey.

    There were true elites, like the Ten Arbiters, all the peoplepeting to be the Cosmic Five, the Realmlings, the Daosource Three Skies, and the powerhouses from the Astral Beast Domain like Skymender¡¯s followers and the Technocracy. The thought of having so many formidable peerspeting in the same arena left Lu Yin buzzing with excitement.

    In the past, Lu Yin might not have been confident about his chances of winning, but at the moment, his eyes were zing brightly. He felt that he would definitelye out on top, even if he faced Shang Qing.

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing were both standing rather close by, and they also heard what Mu En had revealed to Lu Yin. They had known about ZENITH for some time, and they were feeling the pressure. Their trip to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had been entirely to help them further prepare for ZENITH.

    As Honor Chosens, they were supposed to stand at the pinnacle of the Human Domain¡¯s entire younger generation. But even still, an immense pressure weighed upon them despite their prestigious position.

    Even if they ignored all the other potentialpetitors, they were both well aware that Lu Yin would not be an easy opponent, as he was actually aplete monster. The same was also true of the Ten Arbiters, the Daosource Three Skies from the Sixth Maind, and many others. There were simply too many formidable youths who would participate.

    Fortunately, they still had ample time before ZENITH started, and that time was enough for them to improve their strength.

    With that thought, the two Honor Chosens turned around, returned to their rooms, and resumed training.

    ¡­

    ck storm clouds loomed overhead, shrouding their location in pitch ck darkness.

    Their only option was to have theiu stop and wait for the dark storm clouds to pass.

    ording to Mu En, the Honor Zone¡¯s weather was capricious, and their group would likely be swept away by the storm even with theiu¡¯s defenses if they tried to press on.

    Lu Yin was curious as to why Mu En did not offer to help the youths pass through the storm, but Lu Yin kept his thoughts to himself.

    The dark storm raged on for two days before a ray of light broke through, illuminating the way forward. The weather had changed once again, and a dry heat swept through the air.

    Theiu resumed running and continued on its way towards the Hall of Honor.

    While Lu Yin was riding atop theiu¡¯s back, he suddenly saw what looked like a card flit past him. He instinctively raised a hand to catch the card, but his hand was stopped midair by Mu En.

    Mu En looked at Lu Yin with apletely serious expression. ¡°Did you forget my instructions? Do not casually touch anything in this ce.¡±

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "What was that card just now?"

    Mu En solemnly replied, ¡°That was a world.¡±

    ¡°A world?¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Mu En continued in a solemn tone, saying, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have already lost your hand.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned to learn that he had just attempted to catch a world. ¡°So that card is the same as that orb of light from before?¡±

    Mu En nodded. ¡°There are more than 3,000 worlds throughout the Honor Zone, but those are just the ones that we have records of. There are also some powerful beings that have been slowly awakening, one after another. These powerful creatures hail from ancient ages, and they might have awoken after emerging from cryostasis or from being unlocked through lockbreaking. These rare urrences can increase the number of worlds wandering about the Honor Zone, and the card that you just saw is one such unrecorded world.¡±

    ¡°Was it very powerful?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Mu En shook his head. ¡° I don¡¯t know, but at that precise moment, my intuition was telling me that we should never provoke that card.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Although Mu En had shown a bit of respect to the orb of light, he had clearly not feared it. Did that small card really contain something that powerful?

    Mu En looked back in the direction where the card containing a world had disappeared into. Such undocumented worlds introduced an element of unpredictability to the Honor Zone, and it was a shame that the blood-red bell had been confiscated by the Chief Justice. Otherwise, Mu En would have stopped that world and further investigated it.

    Mu En fell silent after encountering the hidden world within the card. The Honor Zone was vast, but its size was still limited. At the very least, it was not as massive as the Outerverse.

    The power held by those who controlled the Honor Zone should be enough to rule over all of the creatures within it. However, they were still unable to control the appearance of the hidden worlds. Some worlds were birthed from other worlds, or as Mu En had mentioned, an ancient being might awaken and cause new worlds to appear.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that, despite how the Hall of Honor came across as overbearing or even selfish at times, its existence was the primary reason why the Human Domain had been able to safely develop this far. If the more than 3,000 worlds within the Honor Zone somehow escaped into the Neoverse or started an all-out attack, there would be unimaginable consequences.

    The Hall of Honor was like a mountain that suppressed all instabilities, and although that might not be fair to some people, it was the best overall method. At the very least, it was the best means of protecting the interests of ordinary people.

    If the entire Human Domain was viewed as a war-torn continent where the major powers constantly fought against each other, then the Hall of Honor would be an empire that had unified the continent. Although some people''s best interests had to be sacrificed in the process, their actions preserved the lives of the majority.

    In fact, the Great Eastern Alliance was rather simr. Although the media had praised Lu Yin for how his rise to power had put an end to the various interweave wars in the Outerverse, that suppression was clearly unfair to the various powers in control of those weaves. Despite that, the suppression was needed to protect the majority, which was no different than the Hall of Honor¡¯s behavior.

    Entering the Honor Zone had really given Lu Yin some deep insights. In addition to the world hidden within the mechanical sphere, there had also been the world within the orb or light, and the one within the small card. Finally, Lu Yin had also encountered a hidden world that was the size of a speck of dust! It seemed that the smaller the world was, the safer it would be within the Honor Zone.

    In addition to the various hidden worlds, Lu Yin also saw some people who lived within the Honor Zone and even some cities. Each city wasrge, and they even created their own, unique climates.

    For example, there was a sun suspended above one city, zing and burning specifically to illuminate that city.

    Other cities had been built underground, and they were protected by a strange substance that even the full weight of the ancientiu could not shake.

    Yet other cities had been built atop leaves, though if one did not look closely, it would be impossible to even see the cities, and the people living there would be assumed to be mere ants.

    The Honor Zone was filled with too many unimaginable kingdoms.

    "Anyone who dares to establish their country in the open is either incapable of storing away a world or is very confident of themselves, though thetter case is exceptionally rare. The Mavis n lives on the back of an iparable massive turtle that walks across the Honor Zone, and Smoke Eater Peaks was originally a part of the Honor Zone as well. Azure Mansion was also once based here, just like the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind," said Mu En.

    Lu Yin asked, "Didn¡¯t the Court of Seven Names also have ces here as well?"

    Mu En nodded.

    Lu Yin understood. He had heard of the great powers of the Neoverse before, and he hade to understand that they each had the confidence to hold a piece of the Honor Zone, but for various reasons, they had all left thisndmass. Part of it might be that the entire Honor Zone belonged to the Hall of Honor.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters was at the center of the Honor Zone, and Lu Yin and the others were gradually getting closer.

    After crossing a boundless forest wherein they saw many powerful beasts, Mu En suddenly stopped in theiu. He frowned as he looked around, seemingly searching for something. Finally, he focused his gaze on a single drop of water on the ground.

    Lu Yin looked at the drop of water. It was strange; why was there a drop of water sitting there? Why had it not evaporated or soaked into the ground? Instead, it just sat on the ground, looking like a ss bead.

    "Senior, is that a world?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu En nodded and leaped off of theiu to approach the nearby drop of water.

    Lu Yin, Lei N¨¹, and Shu Jing followed closely behind.

    As Mu En disappeared into the drop of water, the three youths all looked at each other before also entering the droplet.

    It was indeed a hidden world, a world hidden within a drop of water. Furthermore, this world was nothing but water.

    As the youths entered, Mu En immediately isted them from the water, his expression extremely ugly.

    Lu Yin looked up ahead, and his pupils shrank.

    All he could see were countless corpses drifting about through the water. These corpses seemed to spread out infinitely in all directions. Among them were not only human corpses, but there were also bodies of all sorts of creatures, bothrge and small. It looked as though the entire world had perished.

    There was onemon feature to all of the corpses, which was that they all looked exceptionally old, as if they had aged to the extreme and then died of old age.

    Mu En quietly muttered to himself and then led Lu Yin and the other two off into the distance. With the Judicial Commissioner¡¯s speed, they soon traversed the entire world.

    Not one of the youths spoke. They all felt a chill tun down their spines, as this world was utterly devoid of all life, and there was not a single living person, animal, or nt. Everything had died.

    "Poison," Lei N¨¹ said softly.

    Lu Yin looked at the nearby human corpses, and something suddenly urred to him. "The vitality poison, Regression.¡±

    Mu En whirled around to stare at Lu Yin. "You know what this is?"

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing both warily eyed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin exined, "I¡¯m not certain, but someone in the Outerverse was once poisoned with simr symptoms where all of his vitality drained out of him. I eventually learned that the poison came from the Neohuman Alliance and that it was called Regression No. 91."

    Mu En''s eyes narrowed. "When was this?"

    "About a year and a half to two years ago. It was while the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse," Lu Yin said.

    "Why was that person poisoned?" Mu En asked.

    Lu Yin said, "At first, I didn''t know, butter on, this junior searched through the entire Shenwu Continent, and I found someone from the Neohuman Alliance. He was conducting experiments and trying to research death energy."

    Mu En instantly inquired, "Aside from you, do the members of the Hall of Honor in the Outerverse know of this matter?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1181: Arbitration World

    <h4>Chapter 1181: Arbitration World</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell when he heard Mu En''s question. This was not good. When the Xun family elder had told Elder Lohar about the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s presence on Shenwu Continent, Elder Lohar had intended to destroy the continent. However, he had been stopped by Lu Yin. To gain the necessary authority, Lu Yin had revealed that he was able to visit the Daosource Sect. If Mu En reached out to Elder Lohar, then not only would the fact that Lu Yin was able to visit the Daosource Sect be revealed, but the matter regarding the blood-red bell might alsoe to light.

    Lu Yin was not overly concerned if his ability to visit the Daosource sect was revealed, as it was not terribly important in the grander scheme of things. However, the matter regarding that little red bell could not be revealed.

    All of this shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind in an instant, and he quickly replied, "Junior reported the matter to Yuan Shi, who personally went to sweep through Shenwu Continent."

    Mu En nodded, not having any doubts regarding the truth of this statement. Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Yuan Shi was widely known within the Hall of Honor, and this was not an issue that Lu Yin could afford to lie about. Besides, Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge of the vitality-draining poison supported his statements, as he could have simply kept his mouth shut.

    This was exactly why Mu En did not grow suspicious of Lu Yin¡¯s answer, and instead, he continued on speaking. "The poison that was used here was not No. 91, but No. 70 at the least. Or possibly an even stronger version of the poison," Mu En said quietly.

    Lu Yin knew that the Regression poison¡¯s number indicated their efficacy, but he had still not expected the poison that had been used on this world to have been so potent. This poison had killed off an entire world.

    He then remembered the assassin in the Outerverse, Poison Master. It had been said that he had once killed 100 billion people, but they had been almost all regr humans. This hidden world had held many powerful experts, and there had definitely been Envoys among their numbers.

    Wait a moment, there were more than 3,000 hidden worlds across the Honor Zone. It was impossible for each of them to have an Envoy.

    Even after searching through the entire hidden world, no one from the Neohuman Alliance could be found. So. Mu En took Lu Yin and the other two youths back out of the hidden world before incinerating the entire dimension.

    "What a pity. If not for the Regression poison, that world could have been sold at a very decent price," Mu En casuallymented.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Sold?"

    Shu Jing opened his mouth to offer an exnation. "Selling off hidden worlds is a business exclusive to the Neoverse. As long as one has reached the Envoy realm, then with the proper materials, they can make a hidden world like this one and then sell it off. Most of the hidden worlds throughout the Honor Zone are ones that were made and sold in this manner, and some were even custom-made".

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless; was such a thing actually possible? Even worlds could be made? This was something that he had never considered before. It was no wonder why there were 3,000 hidden worlds roaming about the Honor Zone.

    Learning that hidden worlds could be made in such a manner calmed Lu Yin down, because he had been under the impression that each hidden world had their own Envoy level powerhouse. The thought of more than 3,000 Envoys roaming about was simply terrifying.

    The world hidden within the drop of water waspletely incinerated by Mu En, and finally, an ancient stone fell out of the void that the elder picked up and tucked away.

    Lu Yin assumed that the stone was likely one of the materials needed to make a hidden world. If that was the case, then just having this material meant that one would be able to ask an Envoy for help and make a hidden world!

    The universe was so vast that all sorts of strange situations and environments existed.

    Not even rumors of such possibilities had entered the Outerverse or the Innerverse¡¯s ear. Or, if they had, those rumors had never reached Lu Yin¡¯s ears. This was because such a thing waspletely out of reach for the people in those ces, and the necessary material to create hidden worlds would never even make it to the Innerverse or Outerverse.

    The destruction of an entire world left everyone in a gloomy mood. The Neohuman Alliance was pervasive and coldblooded, and they employed the absolute worst methods to achieve their goals.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Silver had mentioned something about Whiteless God and Aeterna, the list of every person in the Human Domain who was cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin had initially wanted to mention this list of people to Mu En, but he had eventually decided against it. For one, revealing such a thing to Mu En would be useless. After all, he was only a Judicial Commissioner, and he did not possess the power or authority to investigate such a thing. Additionally, it was impossible to know if Mu En might be part of Aeterna himself.

    Sometimes, the less likely it seemed for a person to be a traitor, the more likely it was that they actually were one.

    Lu Yin''s experience throughout the years had tempered him to always remain calm and steady, so he would not rashly speak up. He knew the proverb regarding loose lips.

    The matter regarding Aeterna had only been casually mentioned by Silver, and it was entirely possible that most of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s members had no knowledge of such a list existing. It would be easy for them to act like Silver had never said anything, but if the Neohuman Alliance discovered that Lu Yin was revealing all of these secrets, he would be in great trouble and might face a disaster in the nearby future.

    Before long, far off in the distance, at the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s vision, a light appeared. Soon after he saw the light, the scenery around them changed. Everything started to feel warmer, safer, and even¡­ holier.

    "This is the Hall of Honor. Don¡¯t randomly use your Truesight here," Mu En warned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was startled, as he had just been thinking of observing how many rune lines there were in the Hall of Honor, but Mu En¡¯s warning was like a bucket of cold water.

    He had not even been able to observe the runes in the Sea King¡¯s Dome, as the attempt had caused his eyes to bleed. And the Sea King¡¯s Dome was definitely lightyears away from matching up to the Hall of Honor. If Lu Yin behaved rashly and used Truesight here, he would definitely end up suffering for it.

    "Thank you for the reminder." Lu Yin was grateful.

    Mu En¡¯s voice revealed his emotions. "The universe has endured countless years, and from when mankind first appeared to the present, there have been countless powerhouses who have created untold numbers of civilizations and techniques. But throughout all the eons, Truesight can still be considered to stand at the absolute top. The Rune Progenitor was someone who truly stood at the pinnacle of humanity. You have been able to cultivate Truesight, so if you ever receive the opportunity, try to visit Gods¡¯ Origin. They have many relics from the Rune Civilization.¡±

    "I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Lu Yin replied. He then looked up, and his pupils shrank. Theiu truly moved too quickly, because in just the blink of an eye, they had finished approaching the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin was suddenly able to see the seat of the master of the entire Human Domain.

    So, this was the Hall of Honor?

    Lu Yin nced around in shock. There were lofty mountains whose peaks he could not see. There were white clouds, wide rivers, giant beasts, bright stars, and even enormous gxies rotating about the mountains. There was an indescribable brilliance no matter where he looked. The sea that he saw seemed to cover the stars, and there were what looked like worlds lying within the rivers. He noticed one hidden world after another no matter where he looked, alongside numerous bizarre life forms.

    Humans were not the only beings here, as there were also various other creatures. They ran the gamut from beautiful, flowery elves to ancient, majestic, and solemn giant apes. There were also divine pythons that were too long to see all at once, and so much more.

    There were million-foot-tall trees that shot straight into the starry sky and delicate air currents decorating them. He noticed that there was also a humanoid race that looked like palm-sized humans living on the trees. The tiny people were staring up at them with curiosity.

    With the speed that theiu traveled at, they were suddenly in the middle of an ocean, or more urately, they were within a flower that was blooming in the middle of the ocean.

    This flower was a world itself, and it held other hidden worlds as well.

    There were many people in the sky, and they were riding a variety of creatures, but they were soon swept far behind them.

    Next, they saw tens of millions of people, all kneeling in the direction of the high mountains, and they were surrounded by countless experts from the Hall of Honor. High above them, there were ripples separating them from the rest of the sky, and it gave the impression of the Hall of Honor being removed from the rest of the universe.

    Lu Yin could not see the end of the Hall of Honor as it was simply too big. The Hall of Honor consisted of one percent of the Honor Zone, and although that sounded like a tiny amount, when one considered the sheer size of the Honor Zone, it meant that the Hall of Honor actually took up a massive area.

    "There are more than 3,000 hidden worlds in the Honor Zone, and my Hall of Honor possesses more than a hundred of them. All of the hidden worlds hope to gain the attention of my Hall of Honor and receive our blessing," Mu Enmented.

    Lu Yin looked in all four directions in awe. He could not describe the emotions rocking his heart at this moment, but he knew that he was less than an ant in the face of the Hall of Honor.

    Eh? There? Lu Yin looked at one point far off in the distance in amazement. It was what appeared to be a normal mountain whose peak had been cut off at a corner, and although it looked like a natural rock formation, such a thing was impossible within the Hall of Honor. It was more likely a scar leftover from an attack.

    Mu En followed Lu Yin''s gaze and softly said, "Let''s go. I¡¯ll take you to the Arbitration World."

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing bade Mu En and Lu Yin farewell before taking their leave, though they nced back at Lu Yin.

    As the master of the Human Domain, the Hall of Honor radiated a bright, warm feeling. They gave the impression of being tolerant and graceful, as though they were the ones that offered the greatest amount of help possible to all who came. However, beneath this radiance, the Hall of Honor was a steel rod. They were ruthless, and they possessed the most powerful team of enforcers in the entire Human Domain. These enforcers were known as the Interster Supreme Court.

    A defining feature of the Neoverse was the presence of hidden worlds, and while some of these hidden worlds contained unknown civilizations, the Interster Supreme Court was also headquartered within a hidden world, and not just any at that.

    Mu En led Lu Yin across half of the Hall of Honor before entering and descending to the very bottom of a massive tree. That was where the Arbitration World was located.

    There was light at the top and darkness at the bottom. It was as though the Arbitration World provided nutrients to the Hall of Honor and was forever hidden down below it.

    The moment Lu Yin entered the Arbitration World, his entire body felt cold. He looked around and saw a dark starry sky, but it was as though he could not see anything at all. Lu Yin knew that he was being watched from the moment he had entered. He also knew that if he showed any signs of suspicion at all, he would not be able to survive for even a second.

    The vast space that surrounded them was filled with stars, and there were people atop each star. Lu Yin assumed that they were people from the Supreme Court. They looked decisive, cold-blooded, and ruthless, and their mere existence ensured the Hall of Honor¡¯s unquestionable authority over the rest of the Human Domain.

    Lu Yin understood that he was facing the sword of the Human Domain and that he was looking at the sharpest de of the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcer.

    Without saying anything, Mu En led Lu Yin forward and had him move to a massive star in the center of the space.

    The moment Lu Yin reached the star, his body lurched, and beads of sweat rained down from his forehead. He felt countless eyes staring at him from all directions. The gazes of the experts on this star focused on him with ruthless eyes, and hints of killing and teasing intent came at him from everywhere, all at once.

    Lu Yin was almost left breathless. This was simr to the unbearable pressure that he had suffered when he first visited the Great Yu Empire¡¯s court. However, at that time, he had just been a Sentinel and had been facing powerhouses who had been stronger than Cruisers, whose mere pressure had left him unable to breath. At the moment, Lu Yin was feeling the same pressure again, but this time, the killing intent was stronger.

    These people were like predators.

    "What are you looking at?" A stern shout caused the stars to tremble, and even the Arbitration World itself.

    Lu Yin snapped out of his daze and realized that there was someone in front of him. Lu Yin could not see the man¡¯s face, as his back was facing Lu Yin. The man raised his right hand. "Look at him like that again, and I¡¯ll exterminate you!"

    Mu En moved over to Lu Yin''s side before stepping forward to stand next to the man¡¯s side. He respectfully spoke to the man, saying, "Mister Wudi,1 my apologies. These people are ustomed to acting in such a way, so please set your anger aside.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the person in front of him; had this man just managed to suppress the entire Arbitration World with just one sentence? That was too terrifying! Mr. Invincible? Could this person possibly be¡­?

    The man snorted coldly, and his eyes swept past Mu En to look back at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes suddenly softened, and he revealed a smile. "Don''t be afraid. Who would dare bully you? Your Senior Brother will handle this for you.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he immediately bowed. "Nominal disciple Lu Yin greets Senior Brother.¡±

    This man was none other than the most senior disciple of Eversky Ind, Highsage Wudi. He was a terrifying powerhouse with a power level that exceeded a million, and a single word from him was enough to suppress the entire Arbitration World.

 Chapter 1182: Judgment

    <h4>Chapter 1182: Judgment</h4>

    Not many people in the entire Neoverse could match up to Highsage Wudi, and within the Arbitration World, only the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court could possibly keep Highsage Wudi under control.

    Lu Yin had previously heard about Highsage Wudi from Highsage Shenwei, but Lu Yin only had a vague impression of his senior disciple. Still, from what Lu Yin had observed, Highsage Wudi wasparable to Yuan Shi at the very least.

    Highsage Wudiughed and nodded as he patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll take you to see the Chief Justice. I¡¯m positive that you aren¡¯t being controlled by the Neohuman Alliance, but we¡¯ll still need the Chief Justice to make the decision.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and followed Highsage Wudi.

    He felt less worried with Highsage Wudi¡¯s presence.

    Since one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers was from the Daynight n, Lu Yin knew that he had an enemy within the Hall of Honor. However, the overseers only handled administrative duties, and they did not actually control the Hall of Honor.

    The nine overseers definitely would not be able to affect the Chief Justice¡¯s decision.

    For a long time, Lu Yin had been in awe of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, especially after Lu Yin had Pilfered the blood-red bell. For many nights, Lu Yin had been gued by nightmares of the Chief Justice chasing after him, and that dream still terrified Lu Yin.

    He grew incredibly nervous the moment he thought about meeting the Chief Justice.

    He hoped that nobody was aware that he had stolen that blood-red bell.

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that he needed to stand on a set of scales; he had never seen anyone stand on scales while being judged.

    There were two sides of the scale; one represented life and the other death. After the Chief Justice¡¯s decision was made, the scales would tilt to the corresponding side. Not everybody had the right to be judged with these scales.

    There were many stars scattered throughout the Interster Supreme Court, but there were only a few scales, and thus, only certain people were qualified to be judged with these scales. Generally, most people would only receive an instant judgment and would never even approach this area.

    Lu Yin was still young, and he should not have qualified to be judged by the Chief Justice himself, but Lu Yin was Yuan Shi¡¯s Chosen, and Eversky Ind was also behind him. However, the most important detail was that Lu Yin was the master of the entire Outerverse.

    Just the fact that he had subdued the Outerverse was enough to get the Chief Justice involved.

    The Outerverse was a massive portion of the Human Domain, and thus, the ruler of the Outerverse could only be judged by the Chief Justice himself.

    Those in attendance to witness the proceedings included Highsage Wudi, Mu En, and two other Judicial Commissioners: the Calm of Despair and the Shadow of Death.

    Lu Yin looked at the Calm of Despair curiously. He was a solemn middle aged man with a slightly haggard look. This Judicial Commissioner supported the Daynight n, and Lu Yin had heard that this Judicial Commissioner brought despair to everybody, and everyone who mentioned him feared him.

    As for the Shadow of Death, Lu Yin had encountered thismissioner during the battle against the Sixth Maind in the Cosmic Sea. At that time, the Shadow of Death had appeared with a blood-red bell. There were rumors that he was the most senior of the three Judicial Commissioners and that he was even on par with the Chief Justice himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze drew the attention of the Calm of Despair. He turned to smile at Lu Yin and even nodded in a friendly manner.

    Lu Yin bowed in return, but he only grew more wary of the man.

    ¡°The court convenes.¡± The Chief Justice¡¯s voice rang out, but Lu Yin could not see the Chief Justice anywhere.

    The three Judicial Commissioners were all ustomed to this, as the Chief Justice did not normally show himself.

    Highsage Wudi was equally unfazed, as he had witnessed these trials before.

    But Lu Yin was extremely nervous. Although he knew that he was not being controlled by death energy, it was still true that he had cultivated with death energy. Thus, he had no idea how the Chief Justice would rule. However, Lu Yin had no choice in the matter. He had to go through this trial simply because his strength wascking.

    At this time, the person whom Lu Yin wished would appear the most was Mr. Mu. Master, ah, Master. You¡¯ve been gone for so long! It¡¯s time for you to show up and support your disciple.

    The scales remained still, and the three Judicial Commissioners all grew solemn. Highsage Wudi looked up at the point in front of the scales, which was the Chief Justice¡¯s spot. The space might look empty, but Highsage Wudi knew that the Chief Justice was staring at Lu Yin.

    To be honest, Highsage Wudi was not very confident about Lu Yin¡¯s situation. Highsage Wudi was quite familiar with the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s methods, so how could Lu Yin have managed to escape so easily after being captured by Shaman God? It was also possible that Lu Yin himself was unaware that he was being controlled.

    Eversky Ind felt apologetic towards Lu Yin, and had they known that the Neohuman Alliance would strike during the most recent Astral Tower, they would have told Lu Yin the truth. In that case, at least he might have had a chance to touch the golden tform and escape with the others and avoid being captured.

    This trial was a mental struggle, and Lu Yin stopped breathing while his fate was being decided.

    After a while, the Chief Justice''s voice rang out. "Judgment!"

    The three Judicial Commissioners and Highsage Wudi all stared intently at Lu Yin, only to see his body move due to an unseen force that shifted him towards one end of the scales: life.

    Lu Yin waspletely unable to control his body, so he was thoroughly relieved to discover that he had been moved to the side representing his survival.

    Highsage Wudi also sighed with relief, overjoyed at the oue.

    Mu En smiled and nodded.

    The Shadow of Death remained expressionless, much like a shadow, but the Calm of Despair behaved differently.

    Desperate, Mu Tianlun¡¯s eyes flickered over to the Chief Justice¡¯s position.

    "He is not being controlled, but he has cultivated with death energy. I hope that you will be able to maintain your heart and not be controlled by the death energy. This power is neither good nor evil, but it can easily influence people and guide them towards death. This power is that of darkness," the Chief Justice spoke in a low voice after delivering his verdict.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart lurched. Sure enough, the Chief Justice had noticed that Lu Yin had cultivated with death energy. Everything about Lu Yin had beenid bare before the Chief Justice, but fortunately, the Chief Justice was open-minded. Lu Yin did not hesitate in the slightest to bow to the Chief Justice. "Thank you, Chief Justice, for the reminder."

    Highsage Wudi looked over at Lu Yin in surprise; this kid had cultivated with death energy? Highsage Wudi had not been able to sense it at all. Wasn¡¯t the ability to cultivate with death energy unique to the Specter n? How could a normal person cultivate it?

    Mu En stared at Lu Yin with the same confusion.

    Mu Tianlun opened his mouth. "Chief Justice, using death energy is a cultivation method that belongs to the Specter n. Anyone who cultivates death energy, even if they are not initially controlled, will be suppressed by a Specter n member that has a stronger cultivation or purer energy.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold as he turned to stare at Mu Tianlun.

    Mu Tianlun continued to show a gentle smile, and he even turned around to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. This was someone who used his words to kill without ever seeing blood.

    "Mu Tianlun, the Chief Justice has already delivered his verdict. Are you challenging the Chief Justice''s decision?" Highsage Wudi shouted sternly as he stared at Mu Tianlun.

    Mu Tianlunughed. "I would not dare to be so bold. Highsage Wudi understands death energy, and you should understand if what I¡¯m saying is true or not. Death energy is easily suppressed, and it is easy to control other practitioners as long as one¡¯s mastery of it is greater. Even if he is not controlled at the moment, that does not mean that he will never be controlled."

    Highsage Wudi wanted to retort, but he was unable to do so as Mu Yianlun¡¯s words were impossible to refute. The difference between those with greater and lesser mastery was too distinct, and once a person was suppressed, the death energy in their body would be easily manipted. At that time, even if they did not lose their mind, all was still lost.

    Highsage Wudi helplessly looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was thinking about how he could exin his immunity to being suppressed by the death energy when the Chief Justice spoke up. "The death energy that this child cultivates cannot be suppressed, and he will not be controlled by them."

    Mu Tianlun was shocked, as he had not expected that reply from the Chief Justice.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1183: Not To Be Disclosed

    <h4>Chapter 1183: Not To Be Disclosed</h4>

    "Almighty Chief Justice, even if the death energy within this child cannot be controlled by them, it can most likely still be influenced. Furthermore, this child stands at the absolute peak of the entire Human Domain and is also one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen. If word that he cultivates with death energy leaks out, it will discredit the Hall of Honor." Mu Tianlun continued to plead his case.

    "There are endless paths to cultivating. Progenitor Chen once went against the Daosource Sect¡¯s orders and merged the ancient giants¡¯ bloodline into one of his clones. That vited the Daosource Sect¡¯s infallible doctrine, but they forgave him in the end. There is no reason for me to not do the same," the Chief Justice said.

    Mu Tianlun frowned and shot a troubled nce towards the empty location that belonged to the Chief Justice. Mu En and the Shadow of Death also focused on the same location. The Chief Justice had never been one to give much of an exnation for his judgments, but in this case, he was clearly defending Lu Yin, which was unnecessary.

    It was clear to everyone that the Chief Justice was speaking up for Lu Yin. This was especially shocking since, given the Chief Justice¡¯s personality, it did not matter to him at all that Lu Yin was backed by Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind. It would not even matter if he were backed by one of the Arch-Elders; the Chief Justice should still remain unbiased and not defend a defendant in a manner like this. The Chief Justice always needed to keep in mind that he was one of the true supreme members of the Hall of Honor.

    Even Highsage Wudi was able to notice that the Chief Justice was defending Lu Yin. Surprised, Highsage Wudi looked at Lu Yin in a questioning manner; could this child have some sort of personal rtionship with the Chief Justice?

    In stark contrast to everyone else, Lu Yin did not feel that this matter warranted much notice. He was not familiar with the Chief Justice, and thus, he merely thought that the Chief Justice was being fair and speaking the truth. Lu Yin let out a smallugh. "Thank you, Chief Justice, for upholding justice."

    Mu Tianlun was still feeling indignant, and he looked over at Lu Yin. "Boy, you don''t know enough about death energy! It is not that all of us are trying to pick on you, but rather, with your position, the fact that you¡¯ve cultivated death energy would have toorge of an impact on society. The ramifications could be catastrophic! What do you think of all this?"

    Lu Yin blinked and said, ¡°I think that everything¡¯s just fine.¡±

    Mu En smirked and stifled his impulse tough.

    Highsage Wudi¡¯s lips started to curl up as well.

    Mu Tianlu was not familiar with Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was fearless, as evidenced by how he had nearly overturned the entire Daynight Flowzone. Naturally, such a person would not be overly concerned about a threat from a Judicial Commissioner.

    ¡°How did you manage to suppress death energy and cultivate it? If it¡¯s not stable, then you cannot continue using it and will need to remove it.¡± Mu Tianlun refused to relent.

    Highsage Wudi loudly eximed, ¡°Mu Tianlun, are you trying to force him into revealing his cultivation techniques? That¡¯s quite interesting. Since that¡¯s the case, then why don¡¯t you share all the techniques that you¡¯ve cultivated with us as well? Including your secret techniques and everything else about you, both minor and important? List them off one by one, as if you¡¯re being punished for punching someone or peeping on girls. Don¡¯t leave anything out!¡±

    Mu Tianlian red fiercely at Lu Yin andpletely ignored Highsage Wudi¡¯s provocation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes locked with Mu Tianlun¡¯s. Then, Lu Yin slowly uttered four words, one by one. ¡°Not. To. Be. Disclosed.¡±

    Mu Tianlun arched a brow, and his expression stiffened.

    Mu En stood. ¡°The Chief Justice has already dered his decision, and Lu Yin has been proven that he is free of any outside control. Thus, his freedom shall be restored.¡±

    After speaking, he turned to Lu Yin and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot, child.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°Thank you, Judicial Commissioner Mu En, for your concern.¡±

    After that, he turned and bowed to the empty location that belonged to the Chief Justice. ¡°Thank you, Chief Justice, for your ruling.¡±

    Mu En smiled and nodded.

    The Shadow of Death instantly disappeared.

    Mu Tianlun stood, his face sullen. Just as he was about to leave, Highsage Wudi grabbed his shoulder. Mu Tianlun turned around to stare at Highsage Wudi, and Highsage Wudi trained his eyes on the Judicial Commissioner as he strengthened his grip. Mu Tianlun¡¯s expression grew annoyed. ¡°Mister Wudi, what are you trying to do?¡±

    In a low voice, Highsage Wudi replied, ¡°Nothing. I just wanted to remind you that we of Eversky Ind are not easy targets.¡± After saying that, he squeezed his right hand, instantly crushing Mu Tianlun¡¯s shoulder. The Judicial Commissioner did not make a sound throughout the entire process.

    Highsage Wudi then released his grip and scoffed in a condescending manner.

    Mu Tianlun picked up his feet and continued on his way, leaving.

    Mu En sighed.

    Lu Yin was a bit thrown off by the exchange, but he quickly recovered and spoke to Highsage Wudi and Mu En. ¡°Since Little Yin here is free again, my position as an Honor Chosen should be restored, right?¡±

    Mu En nodded. ¡°Rest easy. The Chief Justice informed us earlier, and I will submit an application to the nine overseers.¡±

    Highsage Wudi still felt confused by what had happened, and he quietly asked, ¡°What connections does Little Yin have with the Chief Justice?¡±

    Mu En thought that the trial was strange as well. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Do you?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡± retorted Highsage Wudi.

    Both men turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was confused as well. He was still processing what had happened when he had talked back to the Calm of Despair. Lu Yin had to admit that being so bold felt quite invigorating. That man had helped the Daynight n in the past, and Lu Yin had finally been able to retaliate a bit.

    ¡°Oh right, now that Lu Yin is back, the Hall of Honor can relieve Bu Laoweng of his duties of overseeing the Great Eastern Alliance, right?¡± Highsage Wudi asked.

    Lu Yin was surprised to hear this; some Bu Laoweng had been tasked with overseeing the Great Eastern Alliance? That was news to him.

    Mu En showed a bit of frustration. "I''m sorry Mr. Wudi, but that was a decision made by the nine overseers, and it has nothing to do with us from the Interster Supreme Court. We have no right to interfere either."

    "Don''t try to pull that garbage on me. The nine overseers are nothing but figure heads. It''s not like I don¡¯t know that," Highsage Wudi refuted.

    Mu Enughed bitterly. "Even so, a Judicial Commissioner like me has no power over the nine overseers. Isn''t that so?"

    Highsage Wudi pondered the matter and felt that this was urate. "I''ll go and look for the Chief Justice myself then."

    Mu En did not say a word and simply had someone deliver Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring and gadget to him.

    Lu Yin quietly put his cosmic ring away. He should be feeling happy at this moment, but after learning that this Bu Laoweng had been given control of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had fallen into a foul mood.

    He had only been captured by the Neohuman Alliance for a short while, but the people from the Hall of Honor had alreadyid their eyes on his Great Eastern Alliance.

    With the authority of the Hall of Honor, Bu Laoweng, whomever he might be, had likely already sessfully taken over the reigns of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Mu En left, and Highsage Wudi led Lu Yin along as they left the Arbitration World.

    "Senior, who is Bu Laoweng?" Lu Yin asked.

    Highsage Wudi answered, "I know that you have many questions, but let''s leave for now. I''ll slowly fill you in."

    Lu Yin nodded and followed behind Highsage Wudi.

    There were many trees nted throughout the Hall of Honor, and they were all tall. From their boughs fell down flows of air like waterfalls, one stream after another.

    Lu Yin and Highsage Wudi moved to the top of a tree, and from there, they saw the peak of a close by mountain. From this location, they had a beautiful view of an impressive portion of the Hall of Honor, and down below them was the setting sun. All of these elements together coalesced into a striking picture ented by the sea''s reflection. The view was breathtaking.

    None of the other beautiful sceneries that Lu Yin had seen in the universe couldpare to this view of the Hall of Honor. This ce truly had appeared to be something out of a dream.

    Highsage Wudi told Lu Yin about many of the things that had happened recently, including how the Mountains and Seas Zone had exploded, formed a ckhole that swept through the universe, and formed a barrier. He also mentioned how the Sixth Maind had been brought in and how the Outerverse would be given over to the Sixth Maind. The older man thoroughly exined many things.

    Mu En either had limited knowledge of these events, or had been unwilling to say more, but Highsage Wudi had no such hesitations.

    The people of Eversky Ind would not lie to their own people.

    Lu Yin was shaken, as he could never have imagined that so many things would have happened during his time in captivity. It was no wonder why the Sixth Maind had been allowed to participate in ZENITH.

    The creatures being held back by the ckhole¡¯s horizontal barrier and the grudge with the Sixth Maind had all been a part of Progenitor Hui''s n. Lu Yin could not imagine just how impressive one¡¯s intellect had to be for them to plot out schemes that would determine the fates of countless others.

    However, this was nothing more than a passing thought in his mind. Lu Yin did not dwell on the thought because it was something that was simply too far removed from him. What concerned him the most were the developments regarding the Outerverse.

    "Has it been set in stone that the Outerverse will be given over to the Sixth Maind?" Lu Yin asked yet again, unwilling to believe it.

    Highsage Wudi helplessly responded, "If we didn''t give it to them, their three Progenitors wouldn¡¯t have agreed to help us fight against the greater enemies, and a cmity would have struck our Fifth Maind instead. If that happened, then forget about the Outerverse¡ªthe entire Human Domain, along with the Technocracy and Astral Beast Domain, would be doomed."

    "Just what sort of beings are we defending ourselves from? What could have rendered even Progenitors powerless?" Lu Yin questioned.

    Highsage Wudi grew serious. "I can''t tell you about that for now, but when you reach the level of an Envoy, you¡¯ll earn the right to also know."

    Lu Yin felt dejected. An Envoy? That was too far away. He had only just be a Hunter.

    "More importantly, right now, you should be preparing for ZENITH. I know that you''ve improved drastically, but don''t underestimate your opponents. Even during the battle for the Astral Tower, there were some people who didn¡¯t reveal their full strength. We were analyzing everyone¡¯s abilities at that time, and the other forces most likely were doing the same," Highsage Wudimented.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold, and he earnestly answered, "I understand, Senior."

    Highsage Wudi sighed. "Though I was one of the Honor Chosens of the past, I, your senior, failed to make it. You must not fail.¡±

    ¡°If I do enter the top ten of ZENITH, what exactly is it that I will win?¡± Lu Yin could not help but ask.

    Highsage Wudi did not answer immediately and instead smiled. ¡°An out of this world opportunity that will allow you to enter an infinitelyrger world.¡±

    Lu Yin did not understand, but Highsage Wudi did not offer any further exnations. ¡°Wait here. I¡¯m going to go ask for your position as an Honor Chosen to be restored. Who knows how long they¡¯ll drag things out if we don¡¯t give them a little push.¡±

    ¡°Senior, I would like to contact some people in the Outerverse,¡± Lu Yin said. With his gadget, there was no way for him to contact anyone in the Outerverse while he was in Neoverse.

    Highsage Wudi replied, ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll take you somewhere.¡± Then, he led the way.

    The space within the Hall of Honor was the most stable that Lu Yin had ever encountered before. It felt as though only Envoys could possibly tear through the void here, and it was clearly beyond his capabilities. Although Highsage Wudi was strong enough to do so, he held himself back out of respect for the Hall of Honor.

    Many years had passed, but the Hall of Honor had always been the master of the Human Domain. Even though they could be tyrannical and often chose to sacrifice others for the greater good, their existence still allowed the vast majority of humanity to enjoy normal lives. Even Eversky Ind had to show respect for what the Hall of Honor had aplished.

    Lu Yin followed Highsage Wudi, and they passed by one towering tree after another that shot up towards outer space. Before long, they arrived at the foot of the main mountain within the Hall of Honor. ¡°This mountain contains the Hall of Honor as well as its origins. There is only one mountain within the Hall of Honor, and it is known as Mt. Microcosms.¡±

    Standing at the base of the mountain, Lu Yin tipped his head up as far as possible, but he still could not see the peak. He actually actually had been unable to see the peak of this mountain even when atop therge tree earlier.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough gawking. You can¡¯t see anything with just your eyes. However, I¡¯ll tell you one thing¡ªeven if I wanted to topple this mountain, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so,¡± said Highsage Wudi.

    Lu Yin was appalled. Highsage Wudi was an expert whose power level exceeded one million. Such power was enough to ce him at the very peak of the entire Human Domain, and it meant that he wasparable to even to Yuan Shi. If he was ced within the Sixth Maind, then he would be a Cosmic Imprinter. But despite his apex strength, was he actually saying Yin that he could not destroy a mountain?

    ¡°Mt. Microcosms contains multiple hidden worlds, and one of them is known as the CyNet Great World. Have you heard of CyNet?¡± Highsage Wudi questioned.

    Lu Yin thought that the name sounded a bit familiar, so he considered it for a bit. His eyes then suddenly shed. ¡°Is that thepany that runs the universalwork?¡±

    Highsage Wudi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Cyberstars Network links the entire universe. They¡¯re headquartered here in Mt. Microcosms, as they are overseen and protected by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    CyNet had started in the Innerverse, and although they had long nned to connect the Innerverse¡¯swork to the rest of the universe, they had failed. Until recently, they had only managed to connect theirwork to Ironblood Weave and a few other weaves.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1184: A Familiar Stranger

    <h4>Chapter 1184: A Familiar Stranger</h4>

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had deliberately setup Endless Weave to suffer a defeat in order to create an opportunity for the proposal for a universalwork to be resubmitted. CyNet had eventually won the bid for the project, bing thergestworkpany in the entire universe in one fell swoop.

    The reason behind their sess was not just the high price that they had paid, as over the many years, they had also set upworks for various powers throughout the universe. Thus, they were able to instantly merge all of the variousworks together. It could even be said that they had predicted this turn of events long ago and that they had merely been biding their time.

    When Lu Yin asked En Ya about this matter, she had said that many people from CyNet had reached out to Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao, and the two parties hade to an agreement. As a result, Shui Chuanxiao had deliberately lost in Endless Weave.

    Lu Yin had always been curious about CyNet. Thispany had seen a possibility and then found the right person. This was not merely a matter of vision, as what could have possibly convinced them that Shui Chuanxiao had the abilities to help them? What was the source of their belief that, one day, the entire universe would be connected by a singlework? These questions had triggered Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity.

    "By the way, how many Honor points do you have?" Highsage Wudi suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Twenty."

    Highsage Wudi nodded. "That¡¯s enough. Average people aren¡¯t even allowed to enter the CyNet Great World, but twenty Honor points will get you in.¡±

    After saying that, the man set a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder as their two figures flickered. Lu Yin did not move, but when he looked around, they were in an enclosed space, and there was a human figure close by them.

    Highsage Wudi said, "Head on in¡ªjust walk straight through there. I¡¯m going to go and pressure the nine overseers a bit."

    Lu Yin nodded and walked towards the figure. Before long, the space in front of Lu Yin rippled, and he kicked off before disappearing.

    Lu Yin had initially assumed that the CyNet World would be a technologically advanced realm. After all, it was the headquarters of the universe¡¯s premierworkpany¡ªit made sense for it to be full of cutting edge technology. But upon entering, Lu Yin found that his assumptions werepletely wrong, as he was greeted by a beautiful scenery reminiscent of a verdant paradise.

    Right after he entered this world, a vertical curtain of light swept past him, which then turned green. Lu Yin passed through the light curtain without any problems and moved on.

    He was surrounded by beautiful mountains and surging rivers. The only building in sight was a tower off in the distance that rose high into the clouds.

    The Arbitration World had only contained a starry sky, but the CyNet World had both a ground and a sky. Lu Yin instantly felt the difference, as it was a difference between worlds. ording to his estimation, the CyNet World was only about asrge as a single star in the Arbitration World.

    He did not immediately unleash his domain to better observe his surroundings and instead simply flew towards the tower.

    As Lu Yin made his way forward, other people asionally passed him by, and although they looked at him with clear curiosity in their eyes, no one asked him any questions.

    Instead of arge world, CyNet World seemed to be more like a confined space. Neither the Arbitration Great World nor the CyNet Great World had very many people in them. Thus, it did not seem urate to call either one a world.

    Suddenly, a white figure appeared off in the distance that flew past Lu Yin, shooting towards the south.

    Lu Yin had not seen that many people in the CyNet Great World, but he had still seen around ten. He had not been overly concerned at first, but after seeing the white figure, his attention snapped onto that person. There was an extremely suspicious gnawing at his heart, as that person felt very familiar.

    The white figure was a veiled woman, and even though Lu Yin was unable to see her face, he felt that her eyes were familiar. For this reason alone, he was unable to stop staring at her.

    With his cultivation level, Lu Yin was very confident in his exceptional memory, so he was certain that he had seen those eyes somewhere else before. They looked familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.

    Lu Yin trusted his intuition, and he felt that he must have seen the woman before.

    With this thought, he chased after the woman, but not by flying, as that would be too conspicuous. Instead, he followed after the woman on the ground

    She was quite strong, and she was even a Cruiser. However, she could notpare to Lu Yin and waspletely unable to sense him.

    The woman in white flew through the sky for more than half an hour before she eventuallynded in some nearby mountains, where she instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin passed over the mountain peak with a single leap. He looked down as he passed over, and the sight caused his pupils to shrink as his expression became quite interesting.

    This mountain peak was a caldera, and in the center of the depression, there was a hot spring. As Lu Yin passed by overhead, there were two women within the hot spring, and despite the thick steam, Lu Yin could still see a great deal of white skin and ck hair. The tantalizing scene filled Lu Yin¡¯s mind for a moment, but then he saw the woman¡¯s face. Bai Xue?

    Lu Yin froze. Is that¡­?

    Within the hot spring, one of the women¡¯s expressions became terrifying, and her face snapped over to look at the peak of the mountain. ¡°Impudent!¡± she shouted before pping a hand into the water of the hot spring and sending a flurry of droplets shooting through the sky at Lu Yin. The water froze in midair, taking on the form of an ice-white sword that stabbed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the sheer viciousness of this sword technique, and he raised a hand and flicked a finger in response, his overwhelming power shattering the ice sword.

    Despite its keen edge, the sharp ice sword was not able to get close to Lu Yin.

    "Sorry! It¡¯s just a misunderstanding!" Lu Yin hurriedly tried to exin himself as he turned around.

    The two women who had been in the water emerged and dressed themselves while standing above the water. One seized a long sword formed from ice condensed out of the air. The sword was then swung towards Lu Yin. As the attack approached him, the void froze over as ice flowers bloomed and spread out. Lu Yin was surprised yet again. This sword?

    Bang!

    The woman¡¯s sword was stopped by his domain, and despite her exceptional sword skills, she was unable to push through Lu Yin¡¯s domain. However, Lu Yin had never expected his domain to actually start freezing.

    The woman''s ice possessed such an unfathomable strength that it was actually able to freeze his domain.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he unleashed the power of his domain, shattering the ice.

    The woman wielding the sword stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, but then, surprise suddenly spread across her face. "It''s you?"

    Lu Yin also stared back at the woman. As he looked at her, she did indeed have a familiar look. Although he had initially thought that she was Bai Xue, her appearance was merely extremely simr, not identical. Bai Xue was cold, but she also possessed a soft beauty. This woman was even colder than Bai Xue, though her appearance was also more stunning.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of someone. "Are you Bai Qian?"

    The woman put away her sword, her expression still cold. "Why are you here?"

    "Are you really Bai Qian? Bai Xue''s sister?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    While staring at Bai Qian, the other woman spoke up, asking, "Is this someone you know?"

    Bai Qian indifferently replied, "I¡¯ve seen him before, but I don''t know him."

    Lu Yin was surprised, as she really was Bai Qian. This woman was a legend, as she had been the first Earthling to reach Neptune, and she had also discovered Nightking Qingyu and had then taken him back to Earth. If not for her, Earth might never have suffered through its apocalypse, let alone everything that had followed after.

    It could be said that this woman had changed the lives of countless people.

    Lu Yin still remembered when Bai Xue had told him that while her sister, Bai Qian, had a face that could cause a rainbow to lose its color, she was also a woman who had a strong heart and possessed a burning ambition to rule.

    This woman should have left Earth towards the end of its apocalypse after receiving an invitation from Starsybil. At that time, she had already be an Explorer, and she had surpassed all of her peers from Earth.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten about this woman, and he had merely assumed that she had most likely died among the stars. He had never expected to run into her at all, let alone in this ce. The was the CyNet Great World located within the Neoverse¡¯s Hall of Honor. How had this woman actually managed to reach this stage?

    "Why are you here?" Lu Yin asked once again. His curiosity was too strong, and he wanted to find out what this woman had been through.

    Bai Qian stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. "This is not a reason for you to peep."

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "It was an ident, an ident!"

    "You have a domain, so how was this an ident?" The woman next to Bai Qian looked at Lu Yin with an inquisitive expression. Her voice was questioning, but her eyes were not as harsh as Bai Qian''s. Instead, this woman looked toward Lu Yin with an intense curiosity and some ineffable intention.

    Lu Yin exined, "A domain can¡¯t be used indiscriminately, as that would be rude."

    "But it''s not rude to peep?" The woman smirked.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips.

    "Why did youe here?" Bai Qian asked coldly, still staring at Lu Yin.

    "I was captured by the Neohuman Alliance. After I escaped, I was judged by the Chief Justice, and I was judged to be a free man. After that, I wanted toe here to CyNet to call the Outerverse," Lu Yin exined.

    Bai Qian became calm and no longer asked any questions.

    "Lu Yin¡ªI know you," the woman beside Bai Qian spoke up.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman, curious. "And you are¡­?"

    The woman smiled. "Zi Jing. You¡¯ll need to remember this name."

    "Why?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    The woman¡¯s brows rose. "You need to know who you¡¯ve seen. If I¡¯m unable to get married in the future, I¡¯ll have toe looking for you."

    Lu Yin let out a dryugh. This was not his first time being in such a situation, as he had once fallen into Ming Yan¡¯s bathtub, and he had also seen Wendy Yushan once when using his domain. That experience had caused Wendy to warn Lu Yin not to use his domain to look for others, particrly so that he would avoid another such situation. However, he had not expected to repeat such an experience due to heeding her warning, and he did not know if his luck was good or bad.

    This thought made him recall what he had very clearly seen back then. It had been a very beautiful sight¡­

    No¡ªthe more he thought about it, the more he would be unable to resist the thought. Lu Yin quickly changed the subject and looked over at Bai Qian. "Why are you here? There¡¯s been no news from you for so many years that Bai Xue even thought you were dead."

    Bai Qian¡¯s expression twisted asplicated emotions appeared for a moment, but her icy demeanor quickly returned. ¡°Is she okay?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. "She hasn¡¯t been doing well. First, she was manipted by some people, and then she disappeared. No one even knows where she is now."

    "Where did she go missing?" Bai Qian felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin looked at Zi Jing and stayed silent.

    Zi Jing smiled. "This seems to be some sort of secret. You two talk."

    Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she looked back at Lu Yin. "I can read fortunes."

    Lu Yin was confused. "What do you mean?" His first thought was of the Starsybil Sect.

    Zi Jingughed. "I predict that you¡¯ll need to ask me for something soon."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but Zi Jing just smiled at him and left.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed and looked over at Bai Qian. "What¡¯s her rtionship with CyNet Network?"

    Bai Qian indifferently replied, "The boss."

    "The boss? Her?" Lu Yin eximed.

    Bai Qian frowned. "Where did Bai Xue go missing?"

    Lu Yin casually answered, "Jupiter."

    He was still looking in the direction where Zi Jing left, as she had gone towards the high tower.

    That woman was the boss of CyNet? At such a young age? How could she have built up such a mammothpany that it actually needed to be overseen by the Hall of Honor itself?

    Perhaps she was not actually that young and just had a youthful appearance. There were many such people throughout the universe.

    Bai Qian stared at Lu Yin. "Jupiter? She went to Jupiter?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "She and Zhang Dingtian were both sucked into Jupiter. I wanted to bring them out, but I couldn''t get in."

    Bai Qian fell deep into thought.

    Lu Yin temporarily put his doubts regarding Zi Jing''s position aside, and he looked straight at Bai Qian. "Where the hell have you been all these years? From what I was told, you left with Starsybil¡¯s invitation, right?"

    Bai Qian lightly replied, "I went to the Astral Combat Academy."

    Lu Yin was surprised by this. "The Astral Combat Academy? Which one?"

    "Astral-1," Bai Qian indifferently replied.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Then why did I never see you?"

    "I had poor grades, was weak, and blended into the crowd," Bai Qian said indifferently. She then returned to the ground. "I want to keep enjoying the hot springs. Do you n to keep watching?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1185: CyNetâ€™s Boss

    <h4>Chapter 1185: CyNet¡¯s Boss</h4>

    Lu Yin felt helpless. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask Bai Qian, the most pressing one of which was how she had be a Cruiser.

    It had to be said that Lu Yin had many advantages in cultivating¡ªthere was his innate gift of the die with its Timestop Space, the death energy that he had used to be a Hunter, and several other means of speeding up his cultivation. But after around twelve years of cultivating, he had only reached the Hunter realm. But what about Bai Qian? She had the most mediocre background imaginable, but she had managed to be a Cruiser at an exceptional speed, and her power level was no weaker than Ku Wei¡¯s.

    Ku Wei was a member of the Seven Courts, but what did Bai Qian have that let her match up to that?

    This woman clearly had her own secrets.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask, but people were entitled to their own secrets, and Bai Qian was not volunteering up any information. Thus, there was no way for him to force her to reveal anything. Still, meeting up with someone from Earth was something that made him quite happy.

    "Come back to Earth sometime and take a look. Maybe you can get Bai Xue and the others out of Jupiter," Lu Yin said. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and made his way towards the tall tower.

    Down below, already within the hot water, Bai Qian stared up at Lu Yin''s back as he moved away. Now alone, she fell deep into contemtion.

    If Lu Yin had been surprised by Bai Qian¡¯s strength, then she had been absolutely shocked by Lu Yin''s.

    Her family was privy to her situation, and she believed that, with her talent and opportunities, it was perfectly normal for her to already be a Cruiser even though others would be shocked by her cultivation speed. In truth, she actually felt that her cultivation speed was a bit slow.

    However, what about Lu Yin? How had he managed to improve so quickly?

    Furthermore, during the brief time that they had exchanged blows, Lu Yin had pressured Bai Qian more than any other peer she had encountered before.

    From the time that Lu Yin had participated in the Astral Combat Tournament, to when he had fought against the Sixth Maind in the Cosmic Sea, all the way to now, Lu Yin had constantly improved at a truly unbelievable pace. As a result, his talent and opportunities had propelled him above everyone else.

    Bai Qian¡¯s thoughts turnedplicated as she sank deeper into the hot spring. As for Bai Xue and Zhang Dingtian, since they had entered Jupiter, they had already embarked on a different path. They would eventually return one day, or they might be waiting after having walked their own path.

    Earth would eventually be discovered; this was inevitable. Lu Yin was simply too high-profile, and the higher he rose, the quicker a cmity might visit Earth. Thus, Bai Qian had to raise her strength as quickly as possible.

    CyNet¡¯s headquarters was a tower that rose high into the sky. Off in the distance, the tower did not appear overlyrge, but as Lu Yin drew closer, he was gradually able to appreciate its full size.

    It was no exaggeration to say that the tower would not be crowded even if billions or even tens of billions of people lived in it. Naturally, it could also amodate an untold number of technological products.

    This was one of the only ces in the Neoverse where he could contact the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin had been out of contact with the Outerverse for some time, and the Hall of Honor¡¯s decision regarding the Outerverse meant that Lu Yin Lu was eager to regain control as soon as possible.

    He encountered no obstacle when entering the tower, which left him wondering why the ce was sox in terms of security.

    The first level was so vast that it was impossible to take it all in with just a nce. The structure was clearly a tower, but once one drew closer, it almost looked like a verticalndmass.

    This was the CyNet that Lu Yin was familiar with. Wherever he looked, he saw bits and pieces of cutting edge technology. People moved about a curtain of light, appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye, each focused on their own business.

    Suddenly, a mechanical voice sounded in Lu Yin''s ears. "Mr. Lu, please head to the top."

    Lu Yin was a bit puzzled by this request, but then a beam of light descended from high above. As it wrapped around him, his body began to float up on its own.

    This beam of light was not very restrictive, and he could easily break free of it, but there was no need for him to do so.

    He rose up faster and faster, higher and higher. It was simr to flying through outer space, and Lu Yin was able to see mountains andndscapes pass him by.

    Before long, he reached the top floor of the tower. It was not an office, but rather a garden.

    As Lu Yin entered the garden, he heard a familiar voice singing off in the distance. His heart moved, and he looked over. Sure enough, it was Zi Jing.

    Zi Jing looked up and smiled when she saw Lu Yin. "See? I told you I can predict the future.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile slipped away, and he entered the garden.

    It was filled with all sorts of exotic flowers and nts that he was not able to recognize, but it was absolutely beautiful. Zi Jing freely and casually moved about as she tended to the nts, watering flowers from time to time.

    "You¡¯re CyNet¡¯s boss?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing nodded and looked over at Lu Yin. "What? Do I not seem like it?"

    "Very much so," Lu Yin replied. But then, he felt that he was being a bit rude, so he added on, "You¡¯re too young and too pretty."

    "Oh, Lu Yin, do you frequently sweet-talk girls like this? You¡¯re quite smooth." Zi Jingughed.

    Lu Yin gave a slight smile. "Can you tell me how to contact the Outerverse?"

    "I said that I can tell fortunes, and I said that you would need to ask me for something." Zi Jing smiled happily.

    Lu Yin was well aware of the old saying that one could not offend a woman. Naturally, he knew that he could reach out to Mu En and ask Zi Jing to connect him to the Outerverse, but doing so would definitely offend her as she was not a part of the Hall of Honor¡ªCyNet was merely under their authority. On top of that, she controlled awork that spanned the entire universe, and he would surely need to reach out to her some time again in the future. Thus, it would not be worth it to offend her over such a minor detail.

    "Alright, what do you want?" Lu Yin asked helplessly.

    Zi Jing set down the watering can, grabbed a hat from nowhere, and put it on. She then gestured for Lu Yin to take a seat.

    There was a wooden table set close by, so Lu Yin sat down there.

    She poured him a cup of tea. "Try this. It¡¯s a floral tea brewed from these flowers."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Floral tea? Isn¡¯t this what Zhao Ran likes to make?

    After taking a sip, Lu Yin was struck by the taste. How strange¡ªit was quite familiar and simr to the teas that Zhao Ran normally prepared for him.

    Zi Jing watched Lu Yin. "How¡¯s the taste?"

    Lu Yin nodded and praised, "It¡¯s very good, and it¡¯s also very beautiful."

    Although the tea tasted simr to what Zhao Ran had made, the appearances of the two drinks could not have been any more different. Anything that Zhao Ran made looked like a deadly poison, and it took great courage for anyone to merely taste it whereas the tea in front of Lu Yin was quite pleasant to look at.

    Zi Jing smiled as she replied, "Thank you."

    Lu Yin asked, "I wonder, can Boss Zi Jing let me contact the Outerverse?"

    Zi Jingughed again. "I never stopped you!"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but sure enough, she had done nothing to stop him.

    "So, can I call the Outerverse now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing smiled. "Now I¡¯ll have to go ahead and stop you."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "What''s your request? Tell me."

    Zi Jing lowered her teacup. "Can Mr. Lu truly ept others¡¯ requests so easily?"

    "That depends on who the other party is," Lu Yin countered.

    Zi Jingughed. "The Hall of Honor gave one of the nine overseers authority over the Great Eastern Alliance, and that overseer then sent his grandson into the Outerverse as his representative. Is Mr. Lu worried that this Tian Shao will gain control of the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Zi Jing continued probing. "Does Mr. Luck confidence in the Great Eastern Alliance that he created?"

    Lu Yin looked at the woman before him. "What are you trying to say?"

    Zi Jing continued, saying, "On the premise that the Outerverse is about to be handed over to the Sixth Maind, Tian Shao has called for a convention of the entire Great Eastern Alliance with the intention of electing an Alliance Leader. Was Mr. Lu aware of this?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I am now."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1186: The Great Eastern Alliance Convention

    <h4>Chapter 1186: The Great Eastern Alliance Convention</h4>

    Zi Jing exined, saying, "Then Mr. Lu will have to seize the time when the alliance convention is being held, ideally appearing just a bit before the votingmences. When Alliance Leader Lu was first elected, there was no mention of term length for the position and when elections would be held. But in just the blink of an eye, six years have already passed. At this point, if Tian Shao moves to hold an election, no one can really speak out against him."

    Lu Yin asked, "So, can I contact the Outerverse?"

    Zi Jing took a sip of her tea. "Everything¡¯s ready."

    With that, she pped her hands, prompting a woman to appear on the top floor through the same beam of light that had brought Lu Yin in, and she handed Lu Yin a gadget.

    "This is thetest gadget, and through a specific signal, it can connect to the Innerverse, Outerverse, Neoverse, and the Cosmic Sea. No more than fifty people in the entire Human Domain have one of these models," Zi Jing exined.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why are you giving me one?"

    Zi Jing grew serious as she looked at Lu Yin. "Does Mr. Lu remember the promise you gave to En Ya?"

    A thought shed through Lu Yin''s head. "So, you want me to save General Marshal Shui Chuanxiao?"

    Zi Jing quietly replied, "Grand Marshal Shui purposely let Endless Weave suffer defeat, and from a military viewpoint, he is a traitor. However, he did that to create an opportunity to connect the entire Human Domain under a singlework, which allows information to be quickly transmitted anywhere. This is a huge service, and Alliance Leader Lu should be able to fully appreciate the value of having such speedy and reliable transmissions. Otherwise, Alliance Leader Lu would only be able to watch the Great Eastern Alliance be taken away from him at this moment."

    Lu Yin suddenly understood. This woman had never wanted to make things difficult for Lu Yin, as she had simply wanted him to better appreciate the value of aprehensivework and how it would expedite the Human Domain¡¯s development. Her intentions were well ced.

    "I''m afraid that there¡¯s a bit more to it than that. You were the one who reached out to Grand Marshal Shui to begin with, and you asked him to find a way to connect the entire Human Domain in a singlework. All that for the sake of human development? If that was the case, then you could have simply approached the Hall of Honor or even spread such an idea through your ownwork. Also, what led you to believe that Shui Chuanxiao would be able to help you in the first ce?" Lu Yin couldn''t help but ask.

    Zi Jing smiled. "I can answer your question, but does Mr. Lu really feel that this is the right time?"

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat; she was right, as he was running out of time. He immediately called Wang Wen.

    At the same time, in the Outerverse, Tian Shao was traveling to the meeting. It would be held on a nearby, normal.

    Hundreds of representatives from bothrge and small forces throughout the Outerverse were already there, fiercely discussing the situation. Some of them were from powers that spanned entire weaves while others only held control over smaller regions.

    The news that Tian Shao had released had shaken the entire Outerverse, and it was the underlying reason why everyone was attending this Alliance Convention. Things were proceeding smoothly, and just as Zi Jing had told Lu Yin, the vote for Alliance Leader was about to take ce. The main point of discussion at this moment was that Tian Shao had promised to help the Outerverse fight for its rights and interests so that it would not bepletely overtaken by the Sixth Maind.

    No one would be willing to leave the Outerverse and give their territory to someone else.

    "Neverpromise! When the Sixth Maind attacked the Outerverse, we were not defeated! How can we just give up what has belonged to our ancestors and our families for generations? There¡¯s no reason for everything to end with our generation!"

    "That''s true, but when we faced off against the Sixth Maind, we were supported by the Hall of Honor and Yuan Shi, an absolute powerhouse. There were many experts on our side, but we still suffered heavy casualties. Now, the Hall of Honor has abandoned our Outerverse, so who do we have left to stop the Sixth Maind?"

    "Come on, you people in the eastern region will be fine. Even if the Sixth Maind does take over your region, it will still take a long time. What about our weaves in the west?"

    "Didn''t Tian Shao say that he would help us? He¡¯s the grandson of Bu Laoweng, one of the nine overseers. Technically, Bu Laoweng oversees the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, as long as our alliance can offer him substantial benefits, there¡¯s no reason for him to abandon us."

    "Good, since one of the nine overseers have spoken, then we won¡¯t be forsaken so easily, and there will still be a chance for us to turn things around. It will all depend on what Tian Shao does."

    ...

    Vastdearth Sect¡¯s leader, Meng Tianlong, listened to the various discussions taking ce around him, and from time to time, he looked over at Wei Rong. The youth had been silent this entire time, but the young man¡¯s continued silence made the sect leader hesitate.

    From the very beginning of the alliance convention to the present moment, even Tian Shao had only managed to squeeze out two polite sentences from Wei Rong. Wei Rong had merely changed the subject, demonstrating that he was loyal to Lu Yin. However, Meng Tianlong did not believe such a thing for a single moment. It was not that Wei Rong was loyal, but rather that he was not making a stand against Tian Shao.

    Wei Rong was smart, and this sort of attitude would infuriate both parties, which did not seem to be a smart move.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Gong Chou was also keeping an eye on Wei Rong even while listening to the crowd¡¯s discussion. In particr, Gong Chou paid attention to the people who were pinning their hopes on Tian Shao, which caused a mocking light to appear in Gong Chou¡¯s eyes.

    The Outerverse did not have much knowledge of the Neoverse, and they had even less of an understanding regarding the Hall of Honor.

    Since the information that the Sixth Maind would be taking over the Outerverse was true, then how could an overseer save the Outerverse? Let alone a single overseer, even if all nine of them were united, the truth was that the overseers were nothing more than a front for the Hall of Honor to handle administrative duties. The real decisions were not something the overseers could influence at all.

    It was possible that not even the nine overseers were privy to the true reasons why the Outerverse had been given over to the Sixth Maind.

    Tian Shao was just using this fear as a tactic to force the crowd to ept his authority.

    Although he was aware of these details, Gong Chou had no intention of leaking anything. If the Sixth Maind was really to receive the Outerverse, then the Neo-Vestige Sect would also need to find its own way to survive. No matter what, it would not be worth it to offend Tian Shao in this situation.

    Gong Chou nced back at Wei Rong. What is he thinking? He can¡¯t possibly be waiting for Lu Yin to appear, right? Unfortunately, it''s impossible for him toe back after being captured by the Neohuman Alliance.

    Doro cupped her chin in her hand as she silently observed the arguing crowd.

    Bard Weave was located in the eastern region of the Outerverse, which was far away from the Sixth Maind. Even if the Sixth Maind did manage to take over the eastern weaves, it would take them a long time to do so. If Doro was being honest, then even though Evenground Pce¡¯s elders were as anxious as fleas, Doro herself was not anxious at all. It would not be difficult for her to head to the Innerverse, as she had no intention of ever bing the master of Evenground Pce. Such a move would make Doro¡¯s master absolutely ecstatic, as even now, she was still trying to find a way to contact Lan Si, and she was actually swooning over the Arbiter.

    Angie, Qiong Xi¡¯er, Zhu San, as well as Zi Xianxian, Zi Fang, and the representatives from the Nn family were all attending the convention. The Lan family and the people from the Sea King''s Dome''s were the only ones who had unexpectedly not attended.

    The Outerverse not only included the powers that ruled and controlled the various weaves, but it also housed the four great corporations, which were actually even more important.

    It could be said that this Alliance Convention was the first true alliance meeting aside from the first one that Lu Yin had held. Not only was this meetingrger, but it was also much more formal.

    This was the effect that Tian Shao wanted. He was to be the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, as this was his best opportunity to leave a mark down in history. Even if Lu Yin was not dead, he had probably already be a corpse king by now, and as a result, he would never be praised in history. At best, his legacy would receive a neutral opinion. Such a person would never be able topare to Tian Shao.

    The more intense the discussion became, the better it would be for him. The more desperate people became, the easier it would be for Tian Shao to seed.

    His eyes swept across everyone in the meeting until they stopped on Wei Rong. Tian Shao¡¯s expression cooled. He had actually spoken to Wei Rong before the start of the convention. This person had been defeated by Lu Yin, but he hadter be one of Lu Yin¡¯s followers, which had been a very smart move. Tian Shao had seen all of Wei Rong¡¯s information, and Tian Shao wanted to take Wei Rong as his own subordinate, but he had never expected that Wei Rong would simply be blind to the heights that Tian Shao stood at. Wei Rong hadpletely disregarded Tian Shao¡¯s kindness.

    Tian Shao then looked over at Gong Chou, Goldric Phoenix of the Dark Phoenix n, Qiong Xi¡¯er, and Zi Xianxian. All of these people were ignorant of Tian Shao¡¯s status and importance, and they had ignored him. To him, they were just a bunch of dumb people who were ignorant of the world, but it did not matter. There was no hurry. They would alle to understand what the Neoverse truly meant, as well as the Hall of Honor. At that time, just watch!

    Right now, there were people who had fled to the Outerverse from the Starfall Sea as well as some people from Leon¡¯s Armada. Both of those groups could potentially stir up trouble for him.

    Yuan Shi was still in the Outerverse, and with the people from the Starfall Sea and the Lan family present, Tian Shao did not dare to act too rashly. However, the future was still uncertain.

    When he looked at Qiong Xi¡¯er and Zi Xianxian''s beautiful faces, Tian Shao¡¯s face grew hot, though he hid his desires well.

    This was the first time in his life that he had seriously striven to aplish a task, and there was no room for error. For this reason, he had carefully hidden his true nature, and he would continue to do so. At this time, concealing himself was a necessity.

    "Ahem. Everyone, how is the discussion proceeding?" Tian Shao gazed upon the crowd with a smile.

    Wei Rong had a slight smile as he returned Tian Shao¡¯s gaze, but Wei Rong¡¯s eyes were empty. It was as though he was not even looking at a person. Wang Wen¡¯s words kept repeating within Wei Rong¡¯s mind. ''Wait. Keep waiting. Wait until the veryst moment. Our value will not diminish with time, and if Lu Yin really does die or turn into a corpse king, then that is the fate of the heavens. Still, it is better to fade back into obscurity than assist a piece of trash.¡¯

    Wei Rong, on the other hand, disagreed with Wang Wen''s thoughts. Fade away? Wei Rong was still young, and he did not have the mindset of a geezer. However, he did agree on one thing, which was to wait and keep on waiting until thest moment. Wei Rong had fought against Lu Yin for a long time, and he felt that he knew Lu Yin better than anyone. A person¡¯s luck was very important, and even though there was less than a one in a billion chance to escape from the Neohuman Alliance, there was still a chance of sess.

    Wei Rong would not not hold onto any false hope, but it was impossible to know the final oue, and waiting would incur no losses. Thus, Wei Rong was confident that his value would not fade as he bided his time.

    At this moment, the people with the true pull in the Outerverse were all waiting. They were not waiting for Lu Yin, but rather waiting for the Hall of Honor to publicize the final oue. They were not holding out any hope for Lu Yin, but they had no desire to be suppressed and oppressed by a ruler. Whether Lu Yin was around or not did not make much of a difference to most of the people present.

    Most of these people were actually hoping that Lu Yin would simply disappear and never reappear again. Greenpeak Gorge was the most open with this stance, and of the major Outerverse powers, they had been the first to demonstrate their attitude towards Tian Shao, which was why their representatives were sitting in a position second only to Tian Shao. They arrogantly looked at the rest of the crowd, paying particr attention to Wei Rong with no attempt to hide their hatred.

    Greenpeak Gorge had always been very fearful of the Great Eastern Alliance, and they had simply joined out of fear. They had also only received a seat in the alliance because they had reced Darkstar Gorge, whose downfall had made Greenpeak Gorge terrified of the Great Eastern Alliance. As a result, they did not dare to show even the slightest bit of disrespect towards Lu Yin. However, the greater the fear a person holds, the greater the arrogance they will carry once the source of their fear disappears.

    "Tian Shao, we have spoken at great length, and only the Hall of Honor¡ªno, only Overseer Bu Laoweng can save us from being taken over by the Sixth Maind. Please, Tian Shao, show us a clear path," said the Lord of Greenpeak Gorge, Feng Shu, to Tian Shao, though in an exceptionally subservient tone.

    Tian Shao nodded with satisfaction, gazing at Feng Shu with open appreciation. He then looked at the rest of the crowd. "What do all of you think?"

    The crowd all looked at each other. Some responded, but others did not.

    Feng Shu nced at Wei Rong. "Brother Wei, I wonder, what position is the Great Yu Empire taking?"

    He had deliberately named the Great Yu Empire, and his meaning was clear: in the future, there would just be the Great Yu Empire, and there would no longer be any power lording over the Great Eastern Alliance.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1187: Edible Forest

    <h4>Chapter 1187: Edible Forest</h4>

    Feng Shu''s words caused everyone else to look at Wei Rong.

    One of the groups in the meeting represented the old leader of the Great Eastern Alliance while another was the up anding new master. If Wei Rong gave a bad response, then he could very well be struck by bad luck.

    Wei Rong maintained his slight smile. "There is a strange ce in the Outerverse known as the Edible Forest. It¡¯s not a simple ce, and there are many delicious creatures that live there. These creatures wander about the forest and swim in the water. There are also creatures that have no legs and can only swim. No one knows why, but all of these creatures are particrly delicious¡­"

    Wei Rong spoke at length about this Edible Forest, and the crowd froze.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er smiled slightly.

    Gong Chou¡¯s expression turned rather strange.

    Meanwhile, Zi Xianxian rolled her eyes.

    Feng Shu¡¯s brows quirked up. "Brother Wei, I asked you a question. Please don''t change the subject."

    Wei Rong sighed. Tian Shao was staring at him in a solemn manner, and everyone had grown serious as well. Was he about to finally answer the question?

    "Unfortunately, the Edible Forest is too far away from the eastern weaves, and we can never enjoy such delicacies. There¡¯s a book that ims¡­"

    The crowd was left speechless. It was unbelievable that this person was talking about food at a time like this.

    Feng Shu wanted to say something, but Tian Shao stepped in. "Well, Brother Wei, if you would like to visit the Edible Forest for a meal some time, I would be happy to escort you. Does anyone else have any opinion on the matter at hand?"

    Feng Shu stared at Gong Chou. "Brother Gong Chou, as one of the three strongest forces in my Outerverse, the Neo-Vestige Sect has the right to speak here. May I ask what the Neo-Vestige Sect thinks?"

    Tian Shao also stared at Gong Chou. He had heard of the Neo-Vestige Sect before. Not many forces in the Outerverse could catch his attention, but the Neo-Vestige Sect was definitely one of those few. The support of an Envoy had propelled them to the top of the Outerverse, and even though their greatest powerhouse had fallen, the merits that their sect had earned at the border warfront meant that they were a power that not even Tian Shao could afford to offend, as doing so would be offending the Hall of Honor.

    The Hall of Honor took great care of individuals and organizations that had performed meritorious services for the Human Domain. In the case of the Great Yu Empire, just because of Lu Yin¡¯s feats, forget about Tian Shao¡ªeven his grandfather Bu Laoweng would not be able to move against the empire. And this would be true even if one disregarded the support that Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind was giving the empire.

    This attention and protection was what allowed the Hall of Honor to maintain its control over the Human Domain, as their punishments and rewards were clear to everyone.

    Gong Chou grew solemn, and his face looked very serious as he turned to look at¡­ Wei Rong. "Really, are they very delicious?"

    Everyone was dumbfounded.

    Wei Rong responded in a dead serious manner. "Very delicious. They are absolutely worthy of the name ¡®Edible Forest.¡¯"

    "Where did you read about this ce? Could you lend the book to me? My father has a great interest in such things," Gong Chou sounded extremely serious, and his tone was as though he were discussing ns to join forces against the Sixth Maind.

    Wei Rong replied in an even more somber tone. "Yes."

    Feng Shu''s eyebrows shot up.

    Tian Shao''s face went dark.

    Feng Shu coldly snorted, and he turned to stare at Qiong Xi¡¯er. He did not believe that the young woman would also be so bold. "Qiong Xi''er, what is Millions City¡¯s-"

    However, Feng Shu couldn¡¯t even finish speaking before Qiong Xi''er interrupted him. She also sounded very solemn, and her expression was just as severe as she stared at Wei Rong. ¡°Those of us from Millions City would also like to see this Edible Forest."

    Wei Rong looked back at Qiong Xi''er. "That¡¯s no problem."

    "Let¡¯s go together as a group to enjoy a meal in the Edible Forest," Goldric Phoenix interjected.

    Wei Rong nodded. "Absolutely. I''ll set it up."

    "Zizi, the Edible Forest has the best delicacies and delights in the Outerverse. You must take me with you!" Meng Tianlongughed.

    Zi Xianxian also raised her hand. "I would like to go as well. Take me with you."

    Zi Fang hurriedly pulled Zi Xianxian back. He had noticed that Tian Shao¡¯s face had turned dark; even though the youth was holding it in well, he seemed to be on the verge of erupting.

    Feng Shu felt confused. The words ¡°Edible Forest, Edible Forest, Edible Forest¡± kept ringing through his mind, but everyone looked so serious while saying it. Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er were hailed as the most intelligent people in the Outerverse, but even the Neo-Vestige Sect and the Dark Phoenix tribe had gotten involved in this discussion. This so-called ¡°Edible Forest¡± could not possibly hide such incredible secrets! In just a moment, various Outerverse legends shed through his mind regarding various strange treasures, and then he leaned over to Tian Shao''s ear. "Tian Shao, let''s also go to the Edible Forest."

    "Piss off!" Tian Shao quietly snapped back as he red at Feng Shu in fury. Tian Shao felt that the guy was being deliberately aggravating. Bastard, are you actually a mole who was just waiting for the right moment to humiliate me? Just wait and see¡ªI¡¯ll make your life even worse than death.

    Feng Shu waspletely confused.

    The Alliance Convention had been ledpletely astray by Wei Rong. Everyone had started thinking about the Edible Forest, and some people had even started looking up the forest¡¯s location on their gadgets.

    Tian Shao gritted his teeth and mmed his hands on the table. The loud sound startled everyone, and they all looked at him in unison.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, let''s set the topic of food aside for the moment. The Sixth Maind will soon take over the Outerverse, so we should discuss this matter first," Tian Shao slowly enunciated each word. His eyes were cold as they swept over everyone present.

    "Good, good, let''s discuss the Sixth Maind first!" Feng Shu hurriedly supported Tian Shao, but the young man no longer trusted Feng Shu as Tian Shao felt that Feng Shu was just putting on an act.

    Upon hearing this, Qiong Xi''er and others once again fell silent. Others at the meeting wanted to speak, but if the Outerverse¡¯s top powers remained silent, any such discussion would be pointless.

    Tian Shao could feel his patience rapidly waning, and his hands slowly clenched into fists. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Wei Rong. "Now, one by one, each of you must take a position and state whether or not you agree to the Outerverse being overseen by my grandfather, Bu Laoweng. If not, please speak clearly."

    He then looked at Feng Shu. "You may be the first. Speak."

    "Of course we support this move. I absolutely support overseer Bu Laoweng supervising the Great Eastern Alliance." Feng Shu quickly made a stand.

    Tian Shao coldly snorted before turning to look at the next person, who was from the Six-Fingered Tribe, Bach Shamus.

    Bach Shamus¡¯s eyes shed, but he nodded. "I agree."

    Following that, more than ten people voiced their agreement. The Outerverse was simply too weak to stand up to the Neoverse, and Tian Shao¡¯s promise had convinced many people that Wei Rong was leading them astray and that Tian Shao was guiding them onto the correct path.

    "I agree," a man spoke up. Then, all eyesnded on the next person: Wei Rong.

    Tian Shao focused his gaze onto Wei Rong. His eyes were sharp, and he no longer attempted to hide the ferociousness in his gaze as he focused on Wei Rong. Tian Shao felt that the people before him were all worthless and that they would not know proper fear without first suffering oppression. This was the first time since his childhood that Tian Shao had been this enraged, and if not for Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind, Tian Shao would not have been able to restrain himself.

    Wei Rong returned the crowd''s looks and tilted his head. "Who else wants to sign up to visit the Edible Forest?"

    "Brother Wei Rong, please answer." Tian Shao¡¯s tone was cial, and the old guardian who always stood behind him raised his eyes, causing a terrifying pressure to immediately descend. To the side, Monster Chi felt like gloating. What a group of fools! The heirs of the Neoverse are not people whom you can fight against.

    Wei Rong was not weak, but he was not a powerhouse either. When faced with the pressure from the old man, Wei Rong¡¯s forehead quickly became drenched with sweat that started to pour off of his face.

    Some distance away, seated with the Umbral Butterfly Tribe, Angie¡¯s face remained indifferent. She still had not forgiven Wei Rong for the past.

    Wei Rong gasped and stared at Tian Shao. "Excuse me, Tian Shao."

    At these words, the pressure from the old man subsided, and Tian Shao also rxed. Wei Rong was not dumb enough to not give in.

    Everyone stared at Wei Rong.

    Angie¡¯s eyes were filled with spite.

    "There is one more person who would like to sign up to visit the Edible Forest, and he is-"

    Wei Rong finished his sentence by poking his gadget with a finger, which caused an image to appear before everyone. Then, a soft voice called out. "Ladies and gentlemen, it''s been a long time."

    More than a hundred people were present at the convention, and they represented the entire Outerverse, but at this moment, they were allpletely dumbfounded as they stared at the image on the gadget. This was unbelievable. Was that Lu Yin?

    Qiong Xi''er, Gong Chou, Goldric Phoenix, Zi Xianxian, Angie, Meng Tianlong, and the others were dumbfounded. Everyone who had known Lu Yin in the past was utterly shocked to see that he had actually returned.

    As for everyone else, even though they had not personally met Lu Yin before, his image was already embedded within everyone¡¯s memory. Even death would not remove it.

    At this moment, upon seeing Lu Yin, the crowd reacted as though they had seen a ghost.

    The entire venue instantly fellpletely silent, and the silence stretched out for an entire half minute.

    The corners of Wei Rong''s mouth curled up as he looked over at Tian Shao as though he were watching a clown. Wei Rong was waiting, as there was definitely something to this. Lu Yin¡¯s opportunities were truly able to defy belief, and although Wei Rong was not very familiar with the Neohuman Alliance, he knew that it was a power that had stood against the entire Human Domain for countless years. The backing and inheritance behind such a power was unimaginable. Lu Yin had managed to escape from such a desperate situation, and Wei Rong believed that nothing in the future would be too difficult for Lu Yin to ovee.

    At this moment, Wei Rong was convinced. No, he had been convinced the moment that Lu Yin had contacted him.

    Tian Shao was in disbelief. Upon being told to go to the Outerverse, he had naturally studied the history of the Outerverse. The most important event in recent times had clearly been the unification of the Outerverse and Lu Yin¡¯s rise. Naturally, Tian Shao had studied this as well. "Impossible, how could you escape?"

    These words were at everyone¡¯s heart at the moment.

    Even the perpetually unruffled old man who constantly shadowed Tian Shao and Monster Chi felt as though they were looking at a ghost.

    Lu Yin looked at Tian Shao, and a smile appeared on his face. "Are you Bu Laoweng¡¯s grandson?"

    Tian Shao clenched a fist and stared straight at Lu Yin. "Fake! You¡¯re a fake!"

    He red at Wei Rong. "How dare you? How dare you openly oppose the Hall of Honor and impersonate Lu Yin! Do you want to die?"

    Everyone else also stared at Wei Rong, confusion in their eyes.

    Wei Rong shrugged but did not say a thing.

    Lu Yin''s gaze grew cold. "Tian Shao, look at where I am."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he adjusted his gadget to show his surroundings.

    Tian Shao stared behind Lu Yin. He looked again and again. At first, he was a bit confused. Even though he was from the Hall of Honor, it was impossible for him to have seen every ce within the Hall of Honor, but when he saw Zi Jing drinking tea at a table, it was as though his entire being had been struck by lightning. "Zi- Zi Jing? The CyNet Great World?"

    Behind Lu Yin, Zi Jing raised a hand and smiled. "Tian Shao, it''s been a long time. Give my warm regards to Bu Laoweng."

    Tian Shao''s eyes went wide, and at this moment, he finally believed that Lu Yin was real. The CyNet Great World and Zi Jing were not things that could be faked. After all, not everyone even knew of Zi Jing, as she rarely made appearances, even within the Hall of Honor. Thus, how could someone from a ce like the Outerverse know of her? She could not be fake.

    Tian Shao stared at Lu Yin in shock. "How did you escape from the Neohuman Alliance?"

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. "That¡¯s not anything that you need to be concerned about. The Chief Justice has already given his decision, and I, Lu Yin, am free."

    Tian Shao''s scalp tingled. His mind was still inplete chaos. Lu Yin had returned, and Tian Shao did not know what he should do. Lu Yin''s appearance had caught himpletely off guard, and Tian Shao had no experience in handling unexpected situations. If Bu Laoweng were the one present instead, the overseer certainly would not panic, but his grandson was different. In the end, Tian Shao was just a wastrel.

    Tian Shao remained silent as he dumbly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back, but he had already disregarded the youth. Lu Yin had never been concerned with Tian Shao. Rather, it was Bu Laoweng who stood behind Tian Shao that Lu Yin needed to be careful of. The Hall of Honor had given Bu Laoweng authority over the Great Eastern Alliance, and that order had nothing to do with this little clown of a youth who was jumping around in front of him.

    Behind Tian Shao, the old man whispered something.

    Tian Shao seemed to wake up from a dream, and he focused on Lu Yin before looking at everyone else. "Ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I would like to congratte Brother Lu Yin for his safe return."

    The crowd directed their attention back to Tian Shao as he continued speaking. "Secondly, since Brother Lu Yin is present, I would ask you to represent the Great Yu Empire during this Alliance Convention. Then, we can continue with the current ongoing discussion." Tian Shao paused for a moment as he looked at Wei Rong. "Does Brother Wei Rong agree that my grandfather, Bu Laoweng, should supervise the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1188: Lu Yin And Bu Laoweng

    <h4>Chapter 1188: Lu Yin And Bu Laoweng</h4>

    No one in the venue spoke, and everyone¡¯s eyes were on Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong did not speak either, as there was no longer any need to do so.

    Lu Yin looked at Tian Shao in surprise, and when he looked at the old man behind the youth, Lu Yin¡¯s smile disappeared. "Your name is Tian Shao, right?"

    Tian Shao stared back at Lu Yin. "That''s right. My grandfather is one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, Bu Laoweng."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know. I''ve heard of him."

    Tian Shao¡¯s arrogance grew.

    Lu Yin looked at the youth, and his slight smile reappeared. "Do you want to die?"

    Upon hearing these words, silence filled the room once again, and everyone froze while staring at Lu Yin. What?!

    Not even Wei Rong had expected Lu Yin to be this, this¡­ Domineering? He had actually just threatened the grandson of one of the nine overseers straight to his face! This was too arrogant!

    Tian Shao was left utterly stupefied. These words were usually spoken by him, and nobody had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner before. He actually did not even know how to respond.

    Behind Tian Shao, the old man''s expression changed, and he took a few steps forward to get closer to Lu Yin¡¯s image. The old man¡¯s eyes were wary and radiated a killing intent.

    The corners of Monster Chi''s mouth twitched as he stared at Lu Yin in a daze. This kid had guts.

    "If you want to die, then I can grant you your wish," Lu Yin continued, still with a small smile on his face. He acted as though he was not threatening the grandson of one of the nine overseers, but rather just apletely ordinary person.

    Lu Yin did not feel that his Great Eastern Alliance had existed long enough for his prestige to be able to convince everyone to sacrifice everything and follow him. He was not vain, and so he had no intention ofpeting with Tian Shao in terms of charm or conditions. Instead, Lu Yin preferred to go straight to the root of the issue: the Outerverse belonged to Lu Yin, and no one else could touch it.

    This was not only true of the Outerverse, but also of everything that belonged to Lu Yin; no one could take his belongings away.

    At this moment, Tian Shao finally managed to react, and heughed out of sheer anger. Still, hisugh contained an indescribable mockery and arrogance. He looked at Lu Yin. "You? Are you threatening me? Threatening Tian Shao?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Your smile just now was somewhat simr to Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s, though he was much smarter and stronger than you."

    Tian Shao''s expression fell. "Don''tpare me to some loser from the Innerverse."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Who gave you confidence to consider yourself above the Ten Arbiters? Although I hated the Nightking, I have to say that, out of all my peers who have opposed me, he ranks at the very top. However, you don¡¯t even qualify."

    "Lu Yin, don''t be arrogant! You¡¯re nothing but some bug from the Outerverse! How could youpare to me?¡± Tian Shao was infuriated, and he continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Believe it or not¡ªa single word from me can wipe out the entire Great Yu Empire, and everyone you hold dear will die!"

    Lu Yin''s expression chilled. "Is this Bu Laoweng¡¯s position?"

    Tian Shao was about to respond, but the old man pulled him back and whispered a few sentences into his ear. The youth was reluctant, but Tian Shao still ended up helplessly nodding and agreeing to the old man¡¯s words.

    The gathered representatives of the Outerverse all looked at Lu Yin and then over at Tian Shao. They were all struck byplicated emotions. On one hand, they feared Lu Yin''s methods, but on the other, they wanted what Tian Shao had promised them. In short, they wanted to help Tian Shao, but they were too afraid of Lu Yin.

    This was particrly true of Feng Shu. He had been shamelessly sucking up to Tian Shao, but at this moment, Feng Shu simply wanted to hide in the ground.

    Lu Yin dared to openly and verbally threaten Tian Shao, and this showed that Lu Yin¡¯s words carried true weight. There was no one present who dared to interrupt the two youths.

    The fact that Lu Yin had gradually be more and more domineering proved that his backing had continuously grown stronger. When Wei Rong thought about the strength of Leon''s Armada and the fact they were in the Outerverse, he believed that Lu Yin could actually carry out his threat.

    The first and foremost priority for anyone was to figure out what one wanted to do.

    Besides, Lu Yin had already offended one of the nine overseers, none other than the Daynight n¡¯s Nightking Zheng. Thus, Lu Yin did not care if he added Bu Laoweng to the mix.

    Lu Yin always felt that it was better to have fewer enemies, but not if it meant giving up his own benefits.

    Tian Shao reluctantly looked at Lu Yin, and then he turned on his own gadget to call someone.

    Lu Yin looked at Tian Shao''s gadget and saw that it was the exact same model as what Lu Yin had just received. Thistest type of gadget was able to connect to the Innerverse, the Outerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse. Unsurprisingly, Tian Shao was contacting Bu Laoweng.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn; he was about to meet Bu Laoweng face to face, and although Lu Yin was bold enough to offend even the nine overseers, in reality, meeting one directly was a bitplicated. Truly, there were always more and more enemies.

    Behind Lu Yin, Zi Jing smiled as she watched him. He was a very overbearing man, albeit a bit thin.

    Tian Shao did not move to hide this matter from the other people from the Outerverse. Instead, he called Bu Laoweng straight away, and the overseer¡¯s image soon appeared before the crowd.

    Everyone stared at him in awe, even Wei Rong. While he might not care about Tian Shao, he was still solemn when facing an overseer.

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s authority waspletely different from Tian Shao¡¯s. What kind of existence was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers? Forget the Outerverse¡ªeven the experts from the eight great flowzones in the Innerverse likely would not be able to meet an overseer. These people stood at the absolute peak of the Human Domain, and a single word from any one of them could determine the rise or fall of an entire weave.

    Even though Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse with methods that inspired fear in the people present in the Alliance Convention, the mere presence of Bu Laoweng, even though he had a smiling expression, sent chills to the hearts of everyone in the crowd. This old man held true, uncontested power.

    Authority came with power, and the old man behind Tian Shao was a powerhouse whom Bu Laoweng had personally sent.

    Bu Laoweng was an ordinary-looking old man dressed in in clothes. If one randomly met him out on the street, he would not even receive a second nce. However, at this moment, everyone was staring at the image of the old man, and no one knew what would happen next.

    "Grandpa," Tian Shao respectfully greeted the old man.

    The old man behind Tian Shao also saluted the image, his demeanor respectful.

    At the same time, everyone attending the Alliance Convention began to salute the old man, including Wei Rong, Gong Chow, and the others. This was the respect owed to one of the nine overseers.

    Most people in the Outerverse did not know about the Neoverse, let alone the faces of the nine overseers who stood at the peak of the Human Domain. To them, it was instinctive to bow when seeing such a person.

    Bu Laoweng smiled. He had long since grown ustomed to a crowd¡¯s adoration. However, there was one exception, and that person was Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not salute the elder, and instead, he simply raised his hand in greeting. "Elder Bu Laoweng, how are you?"

    "Insolent!" the old man behind Tian Shao sternly shouted while ring at Lu Yin. "How dare you speak to the overseer in such a tone! Junior, you are toox in your manners!"

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the old man.

    Bu Laoweng also raised a hand. "Come, children, be more tolerant."

    The old man immediately bowed his head. He did not dare to speak up again.

    Upon seeing this, everyone felt chills run down their spines.

    The subservient old man was an Enlighter with a power level of at least 400,000, which ced him among the universe¡¯s top experts. However, that old man was currently groveling before Bu Laoweng, which amply demonstrated the overseer¡¯s power and authority.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1189: Not Giving Up

    <h4>Chapter 1189: Not Giving Up</h4>

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers were not people who had gained their position through a mere glib tongue; the resources at Bu Laoweng¡¯smand could hardly be imagined.

    Lu Yin instantly grew several times warier of Bu Laoweng.

    Tian Shao did not interrupt his grandfather as he deferentially stood behind the old man¡¯s projection.

    Bu Laoweng looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "You are Lu Yin, correct?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior does not intend to be disrespectful, but this junior is a nominal disciple of Eversky Ind, and Highsafe Shenwei is this one¡¯s senior disciple. Since this junior calls Highsage Shenwei his senior disciple, if I were to salute senior, then Senior Disciple Shenwei might not ept my exnation. I¡¯m sure that Senior Bu is familiar with Highsage Shenwei¡¯s temper."

    Bu Laoweng smiled and waved a hand. "Etiquette is merely a superficial matter. Can these people saluting this old man actually offer me any true respect?¡±

    His ancient eyes swept over everyone present, and many people¡¯s hearts shook.

    After that, Bu Laoweng focused his gaze back on Lu Yin. "There are likely many people who would like to catch this old man outside of the Neoverse to see what the nine overseers are truly capable of, haha."

    Lu Yinughed as well. Bu Laoweng spoke and behaved in a seemingly easy-going manner, but his every word and action carried an innate sense of majesty and dominance. This was a person who was both worthy and superior. His skill of hiding his fangs behind a smile was something still beyond Lu Yin.

    "You are a disciple of Eversky Ind, which is quite a fortunate opportunity. You should cherish it," Bu Laoweng said with a smile as he praised Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior knows this."

    "Right, I''m curious, how did you escape from the Neohuman Alliance? Where is their headquarters?" Bu Laoweng suddenly asked, staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Tian Shao reflexively raised his head and looked at Lu Yin.

    Monster Chi did the same.

    Lu Yin had been able to escape from the Neohuman Alliance, but this aplishment was not something that the people of the Outerverse could fully appreciate. They knew that his feat was incredible, but that was about all. On the other hand, Bu Laoweng was perfectly clear on how shocking this matter was. Lu Yin had even been captured by one of the Seven Skygods, each one of whom was a powerhouse that stood at the peak of the entire universe. The Skygods were even able to fight against Arch-Elder Zen and retreat in one piece. The expert who had captured Lu Yin was on that kind of level, and Lu Yin had managed to escape from that person. This had shocked the entire Hall of Honor to its core in an extraordinary fashion.

    If Eversky Ind and Yan Shi were not standing behind Lu Yin, then someone from the Hall of Honor would have already suggested for Lu Yin be taken away and interrogated.

    Lu Yin grew a bit embarrassed. "I¡¯m not clear as to the whereabouts of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters. As for how I escaped, it was due to a mere coincidence."

    Bu Laoweng''s eyes shed, as Lu Yin¡¯s words were essentially no different than saying nothing.

    "Might I ask, what has caused Senior to appear at a meeting of the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance?" Lu Yin asked knowingly.

    Bu Laoweng smiled and replied, "The Outerverse will soon be delivered over to the Sixth Maind. Thus, the Hall of Honor has appointed me to supervise the Great Eastern Alliance during this period to prevent chaos and appease the people of the Outerverse. After all, if not forced to do so, the Hall of Honor would never be willing to forsake the Outerverse. I came here to discuss how to survive this crisis with the people here."

    Bu Laoweng''s words left many people in the meeting excited, as in contrast to Lu Yin, most people would naturally believe that Bu Laoweng was able to lead them through this crisis.

    Lu Yin cursed himself for spouting too much nonsense. He had instinctively asked a question, which had instantly given Bu Laoweng the opportunity to pull the crowd to his side.

    "There¡¯s no need for Senior to bother with this little matter regarding the Outerverse. After all, Yuan Shi is here, and this junior has also just finished discussing the matter with Judicial Commissioner Mu En, who will be speaking to the other overseers. This junior greatly appreciates senior¡¯s good intentions, and we will find a way to cope with theing changes.¡± When confronted with Bu Laoweng''s position, Lu Yin could only rely on Yuan Shi.

    Although the people of the Outerverse crowd did not have any knowledge of the Hall of Honor¡¯s power structure, they did know one thing: unsurprisingly, given his power, Yuan Shi was someone at the highest level of the Hall of Honor.

    Yuan Shi stood behind Lu Yin while Bu Laoweng was an overseer. These two sides left the crowd feeling extremely conflicted.

    "Other overseers? Which overseers?" Bu Laoweng asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This is a private matter, and it is not something that is convenient to talk about openly. Senior, you can call your grandson back to the Neoverse. I happen to be at Mt. Microcosms at the moment, so I would love to have Tian Shao show this junior around."

    Tian Shao¡¯s head snapped up, and in a grim tone, he retorted to Lu Yin¡¯sment. "Didn¡¯t you want to keep me from returning to the Neoverse?"

    Bu Laoweng''s expression grew stern as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained fearless. "That depends on what choice is made."

    "This old man is curious. What could I choose that would cause my grandson to not be able to return to the Neoverse?" Bu Laoweng asked. His smiling expression had fallen away by now. He had realized that his habitual friendly old man act was not effective on Lu Yin.

    Tian Shao stared at Lu Yin in a provocative manner.

    Lu Yin had already voiced a threat, and he had no intention of being polite. "Senior, my senior brother, Highsage Shenwei, told me that one can die without aint, but once the older generation steps in, things change. This junior and Tian Shao are considered peers. Does Senior intend to intercede?"

    Bu Laoweng replied, "Competition among peers refers tobat, but my grandson is not proficient at such things. How could hepete with you? At this moment, he is supervising the Great Eastern Alliance on behalf of this old man."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance needs no outside supervision.¡± Lu Yin''s tone had cooled, though its pitch had risen.

    Bu Laoweng frowned. "Do you intend to go against the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders?"

    Lu Yin stared back at Bu Laoweng. "If I remember correctly, although the Hall of Honor is able tomand the entire universe, it is not the master of the universe, and it has no right to intervene in the internal affairs of major powers without permission.¡±

    "The Sixth Maind-"

    Bu Laoweng began to speak, but Lu Yin unceremoniously cut him off. "There¡¯s no need to mention the Sixth Maind. Even if the Sixth Maind will take over the Outerverse, such changes require a great deal of time. And that¡¯s not even mentioning,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp as he stated, ¡°The Outerverse will remain. The threat of the Sixth Maind does not frighten us, and the Hall of Honor cannot force us to abandon our homnd. Even if we must die, we will resist to the end.¡±

    "Good! We can''t abandon our home!" a man attending the Alliance Convention suddenly shouted out. His face was flushed, as he had been holding these words back for a long time.

    "That''s right, we won''t give up our home!"

    "We won¡¯t give up!"

    ...

    Not everyone was willing to ept fate and leave their destiny in the hands of others for them to decide. The people who were able to attend this Alliance Convention had risen up through the ranks, and there were many strong-willed people present. Many of them would rather die than surrender, and the moment someone took this stance, they would be willing to do anything.

    Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse with the Great Eastern Alliance, but the Outerverse had never been truly united. They had merely been a loose coalition. Forget the entire Outerverse¡ªLu Yin was not able to truly control even a tenth of the Outerverse.

    The Sixth Maind wanted to take over the Outerverse, and as a result, the significance of the Great Eastern Alliance had suddenly taken a drastic turn. Now, it roused many people¡¯s bloodlust.

    The old man behind Tian Shao immediately released an overpowering pressure, but it was instantly offset by an even more magnificent power.

    The old man was appalled. "An Envoy?"

    Bu Laoweng was shocked that an Envoy had stepped out. Envoys were on an entirely different power level than Enlighters.

    "I wonder which old friend is present. Please show yourself." The image of the old man spoke up as he looked around.

    No one answered.

    Bu Laoweng asked again, calling out, "I wonder which old friend is present. Please show yourself."

    Still, no one answered.

    Bu Laoweng''s face sank. The Outerverse was not as easily controlled as he had believed it to be. The overseer looked back at Lu Yin. "There is the Outerverse, the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and finally, the Neoverse. Out of all these ces, the Neoverse is the center of the entire Human Domain. There are people here who can cause the Great Eastern Alliance to disintegrate with just one word, and there are also people here who can allow people to step into the heavens with just one word.

    "You¡¯re an intelligent person, and thus you should understand what this old man is saying. At this moment, what you have is not really yours. Rather, it¡¯s just that others do not want to interfere. The smart thing to do is trade the cards in your hand for the greatest benefits possible."

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. "This junior has no interest in the Neoverse, and I simply wish to idle about in the Outerverse. To put it another way, I want to live and die with the Outerverse."

    Many of the representatives attending the meeting suddenly looked over at Lu Yin. This kid was not bad. This was a man from the Outerverse.

    ¡°Young man, you don¡¯t know the true heights of the heavens. You believe that you can be reckless just because you have Eversky Ind behind you, but Eversky Ind can''t interfere in my Hall of Honor¡¯s affairs, let alone someone like you, a mere nominal disciple. The Outerverse will be given to the Sixth Maind, and only this old man can provide you with a path to survival. Why fight to the death? Who doesn''t have family and cherished friends? Young man, try and see the big picture."

    Lu Yin countered, "This junior is not old enough to see the things that form the bigger picture. Without the courage to fight, how can one even speak about the future? Without courage, it¡¯s only possible to cower and hide when a strong enemy is at the door. That is not seeing the big picture, but rather cowardice."

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "Insolent! Junior, do not think that Eversky Ind¡¯s backing is enough for you to speak to me in such a tone! Eversky Ind has but a few people, and although they are exceptionally strong, they do not wield great influence and are unable to change the Hall of Honor¡¯s orders. Before you think about relying on your position as an Honor Chosen, that title was stripped away when Nightking Zhenwu sacrificed his Honor points to use you of betraying my Fifth Maind. This old man has always felt that the usation had merit, and I will use my position as an overseer to take an action that can only be used once every hundred years. I will imprison you until you are cleared of all suspicion! You will not be able to get out of this."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "My Honor Chosen title will be reimed by Judicial Commissioner Mu En, and as for the matter regarding Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s usation, Yuan Shi will see to justice himself."

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s expression turned solemn. "There is a privilege given to each of the nine overseers. Once every hundred years, we are allowed to veto anything that would interfere with a decision. Junior, I have not used this privilege for hundreds of years, but I will do so for you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold as he stared at Bu Laoweng.

    Wei Rong and others looked on in silence as the two went tit-for-tat. Chaotic thoughts swirled through everyone¡¯s minds; who here could have imagined that some youth would be able to stand up against someone from the top of the Hall of Honor. If Lu Yin came out on top from this skirmish, his status wouldpletely change, and his influence would no longer be limited to just the Outerverse.

    At this moment, the outline to a n that he had once dreamed of, but also dismissed for being too unrealistic, reappeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. That n had been the basis behind his desire to attack the Innerverse, as well as his desire to create something unparalleled. Lu Yin had to win here.

    While Lu Yin and Bu Laoweng were going back and forth, someone appeared in the same ce as Bu Laoweng: Highsage Wudi.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1190: Eversky Islandâ€™s Style

    <h4>Chapter 1190: Eversky Ind¡¯s Style</h4>

    Out of the nine overseers, Bu Laoweng was known for being the overseer with the best temperament and the one who listened to others the most readily. As a result, he was extremely well liked and never offended anyone. He even frequently defended the interests of those in the bottom ranks of the Hall of Honor, which had led to him having an excellent reputation within the Hall of Honor.

    Of particr note was that he did not put on any airs. He once stated that, for any urgent matters, people were wee to visit his home and speak to him directly without any need to file a report or suffer through the time-consuming bureaucracy. In an emergency, it was best to take care of things sooner rather thanter.

    After saying this, Bu Laoweng had followed through with his words, and as long as a person could find Bu Laoweng¡¯s home, they were wee to freely enter.

    Without mentioning the nine overseers, even those within the Hall of Honor with far less authority would not be willing to do such a thing, but this had been Bu Laoweng¡¯s standard policy for hundreds of years, and it caused countless people to admire him.

    There was another point of importance that Bu Laoweng had mentioned to Lu Yin. He had truly never used his privilege as an overseer to ignore anything stopping a decision that he had made.

    If not for his grandson and the opportunity that the Outerverse presented, Bu Laoweng would have thought to use this privilege against Lu Yin, as doing so wouldpletely offend Eversky Ind.

    Regardless of whether or not Bu Laoweng¡¯s actions were an act, he had still followed through on what he said, and it had garnered a great deal of admiration from many people.

    At the present moment, just as in the past, Bu Laoweng¡¯s home was open for all to enter whenever there was an emergency. So, right when Highsage Wudi entered his home, he heard Bu Laoweng saying, ¡°Insolent! Junior, do not think that Eversky Ind¡¯s backing is enough for you to speak to me in such a tone! Eversky Ind has but a few people¡­ I will use my position as an overseer to take an action that can only be used once every hundred years. I will imprison you until you are cleared of all suspicion! You will not be able to get out of this."

    ¡°There is a privilege given to each of the nine overseers. Once every hundred years, we are allowed to veto anything that would interfere with a decision. Junior, I have not used this privilege for hundreds of years, but I will do so for you.¡±

    ...

    Highsage Wudi silently watched and listened as Bu Laoweng and Lu Yin argued back and worth. Highsage Wudi did not move an inch.

    "I really don¡¯t understand. Is it really worth it to offend Eversky Ind just to gain control of Outerverse? You''re just an overseer, and you can be reced at any time." Lu Yin was a bit confused.

    Bu Laoweng coldly replied, "What about Eversky Ind? They can do nothing to this old man, and that¡¯s not even mentioning how I truly do suspect you of betraying my Fifth Maind. Even if Eversky Ind wants to intervene, it will be useless. I will be the one to ultimately decide your fate.

    "I will keep you detained for a hundred years, and by then, you will no longer be considered a part of the younger generation. Thus, you will no longer be an Honor Chosen! This is an authority given only to us overseers, and no one can help you with this."

    ...

    Highsage Wudi silently turned around and left, his expression dark.

    In the CyNet World, Lu Yin coldly looked at Bu Laoweng. For the sake of his grandson, the old man was ready topletely cast aside his face and reputation. He did not even care about Eversky Ind¡¯s possible retaliation. Wait, he¡¯s held his position for hundreds of years. Could he be hoping for his grandson to take over his position as overseer after stepping down?

    Although such a thing seemed farfetched, if Bu Laoweng¡¯s grandson could gain experience by supervising the entire Outerverse, it would paint him as a golden child. Then, it would no longer be impossible for him to attain such a high position, especially after a few more decades of work.

    For his grandson, the old man had been scheming for a long time, as there was no other reason for him to be so desperate when Lu Yin threatened to pull Tian Shao down.

    For the sake of his grandson¡¯s future as an overseer, Bu Laoweng would not hesitate to offend anyone.

    While Lu Yin was contemting the possibilities, the disy surrounding him suddenly disappeared. Lu Yin turned to give Zi Jing a strange look, only to see someone else behind her: Highsage Wudi.

    Highsage Wudi''s expression was quite bad.

    "Senior Wudi?" Lu Yin wondered what could have happened.

    Highsage Wudi moved next to Lu Yin and set a hand on the youth¡¯s shoulder. "What a bunch of bullshit! Today, I''ll show you how Eversky Ind handles things!"

    With that, Highsage Wudi disappeared, along with Lu Yin.

    Zi Jing facepalmed; something big was about to happen.

    At the Alliance Convention in the Outerverse, Lu Yin¡¯s image had suddenly disappeared, much to the crowd¡¯s confusion.

    Bu Laoweng also felt that this was strange. He had actually expected that Lu Yin to give up on the Outerverse, as Bu Laoweng truly did not want to offend the Eversky Ind over such a matter, let alone offend Yuan Shi. However, he had no other choice. Bu Laoweng would have to abdicate his position in just a few more decades at most. He had actually started putting ns in motion a hundred years ago so that his son could receive his position and be an overseer, but an ident had urred. Fortunately, Bu Laoweng still had a grandson.

    The original timeframe for his ns was not quick enough, and his grandson was much too young. Even though Bu Laoweng¡¯s ns required some hundred years for his grandson to be an overseer, nobody could have expected a massive piece of cake like the Outerverse to fall down from the sky. As long as Tian Shao could handle the Outerverse for a hundred years, and with Bu Laoweng¡¯s original preparations, it would be enough for Tian Shao to be an overseer within a hundred years. That would make him the youngest overseer in history.

    Bu Laoweng had given up too much for this opportunity. He made a point to never offend people, to always maintain amicable rtionships, and managing everything had left him both physically and mentally exhausted. Still, the Outerverse was a shortcut, and for the opportunity to seize such a shortcut, Bu Laoweng would offend anyone that he had to.

    He simply hoped that Lu Yin would know how to behave. Hopefully, there would be no incidents along the path that Bu Laoweng had paved for his grandson.

    Suddenly, Bu Laoweng¡¯s image also disappeared.

    The crowd was all wondering what had happened. First, Lu Yin had disappeared, and then Bu Laoweng had vanished as well. What had happened?

    Back in the Neoverse, the top of Mt. Microcosms trembled, shocking countless people throughout the Hall of Honor. Was the Neohuman Alliance attacking again?

    At this moment, Lu Yin was shocked to his core, as he was watching Highsage Wudi attack the peak of Mt. Microcosms. Yes, Highsage Wudi was striking Mt. Microcosms, the same Mt. Microcosms that was the headquarters of the entire Hall of Honor, the core of the whole Human Domain that hid dozens of worlds. Highsage Wudi was decisive, and he struck down with another palm. This was insane!

    Lu Yin was quite bold, but at this moment, he felt that he could not evene close to Highsage Wudi. This man was simply crazy!

    Lu Yin felt a flurry of breaths as many powerhouses reached out to Highsage Wudi. "Senior Wudi, what are you doing?"

    "Brother Wudi, what is it that you need to say?"

    "Highsage Wudi, have you gone crazy?"

    ...

    Lu Yin felt his scalp tingle. He felt the presence of countless experts converge upon their location, more than what he could have ever imagined. It felt like there were hundreds of thousands of powerhouses, but could there really be so many top experts in the universe? Wasn¡¯t Highsage Wudi simply poking the ho''s nest?

    The peak of Mt. Microcosms was being attacked by Highsage Wudi, and Bu Laoweng also stepped out to see what was happening. His face went white when he looked up and saw Highsage Wudi and Lu Yin standing there. Bu Laoweng¡¯s pupils shrank, and his heart dropped.

    Highsage Wudi looked at the overseer with a cold smile. "Bu Laoweng, Eversky Ind and I really don''t have much influence, so I can only meet you by using this method. Can my junior brother''s position as an Honor Chosen be returned, or do you want my master to show up himself? I don''t know if the words ¡®Highsage Master¡¯ are enough for you, but Bu Laoweng, could you be magnanimous this time?"

    Lu Yin blinked. Highsage Wudi was referring to the conversation that had just taken ce between him and Bu Laoweng! How had Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother heard of it?

    Bu Laoweng believed that Lu Yin was behind this, so he quickly and loudly replied, "Senior Wudi, don''t listen to these young troublemakers! I, Bu Laoweng, have been in the Hall of Honor for so many years, and you know very well how I behave. How could I besmirch your Eversky Ind?"

    One figure after another appeared and gathered around the unfolding scene. There were both men and women, young and old, and everyone was staring at the scene while keeping a wary eye on Highsage Wudi.

    Despite everyone around him being on full alert, Highsage Wudi waspletely unconcerned. At his level, there were simply too few people who could suppress him, even within the Hall of Honor. This was a sacred ce for countless people, but despite that, he still dared to strike.

    Lu Yin was thoroughly convinced that this was simply the nature of everyone from Eversky Ind. For example, Highsage Leon had created Leon¡¯s Armada, which was the most powerful fleet of pirates in the entire Human Domain, and people even called him the Pirate King.

    As for Highsage Shenwei, despite his age, he still spoke and acted as recklessly as a young rogue. While Lu Yin had initially believed that Highsage Wudi was a normal person, he could have never guessed how brazen Eversky Ind¡¯s eldest disciple truly was.

    Would a normal person ever even consider attacking the Hall of Honor? This was simply unbelievable, and Lu Yin¡¯s world was currently being overturned.

    However, when he nced at the expressions of the people surrounding them, Lu Yin started to suspect that this might not be the first time that Highsage Wudi had done such a thing. No, it was very likely not the first time.

    Highsage Wudi stared at Bu Laoweng with cold eyes. "I heard it with my own ears. You said that my Eversky Ind has no influence, so I guess that this is as influential as I can be."

    Bu Laoweng''s expression grew ugly. He finally remembered that his home was open to all visitors, let alone a powerhouse like Highsage Wudi.

    The people surrounding Highsage Wudi all looked over at Bu Laoweng. Although Highsage Wudi was bold, he was not an unreasonable person, and it seemed like the reason behind his behavior had finally been revealed.

    The Hall of Honor was a veryplex organization, and other than the Interster Supreme Court, there was also the Lockbreaker Society and several other major organizations. There were more subtle divisions, such as the nine overseers who focused more on dealing with the outside world, and there were also some who specialized in dealing with powerhouses or guarding Mt. Microcosms. None of these departments ever interfered with each other¡¯s work.

    At this moment, due to Highsage Wudi moving against Bu Laoweng, all of these people had be involved.

    The cultivators guarding Mt. Microcosms were all very powerful, but they were not even close to Highsage Wudi¡¯s level. So, they were left with no choice but to reach out to the Arbitration World and ask the Chief Justice toe out.

    However, the Chief Justice had not appeared, and he had simply ignored the requests.

    Someone sent a message to Bu Laoweng, asking him to admit his mistake. Actually, it was not just one person; nearly everyone present was asking Bu Laoweng to admit to his mistake.

    Bu Laoweng was someone who was extremely well liked within the Hall of Honor, and he had worked there for hundreds of years. So naturally, many people spoke up for him.

    "Senior Wudi, Overseer Bu Laoweng did not mean to besmirch Eversky Ind. If he has offended your Eversky Ind, then please allow him to apologize. There is no need to take action and hurt the peace," someone said.

    "Yes, Brother Wudi, Bu Laoweng is but a child to you. Why concern yourself with a child?"

    "Senior Wudi, wouldn¡¯t it be better to allow Bu Laoweng to apologize? As for the position of the child beside you, as long as things are done legally and properly, his status can be immediately restored."

    ...

    Highsage Wudi looked down at Bu Laoweng from high above, waiting for the overseer¡¯s response.

    At this moment, several more figures arrived, and they situated themselves not too far away from the elderly overseer. When Lu Yin looked over, he saw that there were four people: an old man, two middle-aged men, and a white-haired woman with a beautiful face.

    These people had caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention precisely because they had not joined everyone else and surrounded Highsage Wudi. Instead, their presence felt invisible, but they also felt very simr to Bu Laoweng. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was not wrong, then these four were also overseers. Realizing this caused Lu Yin to pay more attention to the four people because the old man had ck and white hair with a touch of gray in the middle. He should be the overseer from the Daynight n, Nightking Zheng.

    The white-haired woman who had appeared with the three men bowed in a dignified manner. She seemed to have a soft andfortable temperament with the appearance of a ssic beauty.

    Highsage Wudi looked at her. "Xin Jiao, it has truly been a long time since Ist saw you."

    The woman''s name was Xin Jiao, and she was indeed one of the nine overseers, being known as Overseer Xin.

    Xin Jiao looked up at Highsage Wudi. "I wonder, what has Bu Laoweng done to offend Senior Wudi and anger you so? I remember that such a thing has not happened in a long time."

    Highsage Wudi stared at Bu Laoweng. "It''s true that I never meddle in the Neoverse¡¯s affairs. Eversky Ind has always remained above such things, but if you guys are going to act so brazenly, then I will no longer take things lying down. My junior brother is one of your Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen, but due to certain events, his qualifications were temporarily rescinded. The Chief Justice recently agreed to return everything back to as it was before, but Overseer Bu Laoweng dared to state that he will retain my junior disciple by using his privilege as an overseer and force my junior brother to be imprisoned for a hundred years. I¡¯m simply here to find out why.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1191: Overseer Xin

    <h4>Chapter 1191: Overseer Xin</h4>

    Many people looked at Bu Laoweng, and they felt rather puzzled. This particr overseer had never been antagonistic towards any others, and he had many good friends. But at the moment, he had been used of tantly offending Eversky Ind! That was not very likely, right?

    Many people could not believe this allegation simply because Bu Laoweng was known for his good temper and excellent reputation.

    However, none of the overseers had changed for many years, so how could they be unaware of Bu Laoweng¡¯s true colors? Having a public face and a private face was only too normal for them.

    Xin Jiao looked over at Bu Laoweng. "Is this so?"

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s face went pale, and he bowed to Highsage Wudi. "Senior Wudi, I had no intentions of smearing Eversky Ind¡¯s name. However, if the ims that Nightking Zhenwu made concerning Lu Yin are true, then him having the position of Honor Chosen is simply uneptable. Twenty Honor points were paid to verify the allegations that Lu Yin is a traitor to the Fifth Maind. Even without any proof supporting that im, this junior believes Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s words.

    "Earlier, I was actually arguing with the Honor Chosen, Lu Yin, and he, using his position as a disciple of Eversky Ind, presumed to threaten a member of the senior generation. So as his senior, I was hasty in my words and spoke against Eversky Ind. This junior is willing to ept your punishment."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This man was a wily old fox, and he was actually trying to drag Lu Yin down in order to divert attention.

    Highsage Wudi¡¯s eyes zed. "You still dare to try and muddy the waters! I think that you must be tired of living."

    As he spoke, the starry sky copsed and fell down towards Bu Laoweng.

    Lu Yin was the closest person to Highsage Wudi, and thus, he was able to feel an unimaginable terrifying power tearing the void apart. This power was not something that Lu Yin could understand, and he felt like an ant facing a storm.

    If Lu Yin had been exposed to this power before he had gone to the Mountain and Seas Zone and participated in the contest for the Astral Tower, then at most, he would have felt that this power possessed terrifying strength and nothing more. However, his control of star energy had risen tremendously within the Mountain and Seas Zone, and he had also be a Hunter while in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, making his sensespletely different from before.

    Highsage Wudi struck, and he broke through the all-epassing universe that everyone knew and observed to breach the starry sky of another universe. At that moment, the sky became visible.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered what Yuan Shi had once said about stellr energy and the true universe.

    Once one stepped beyond the Envoy realm, a battle would take ce in the true universe, as the perceived universe would simply copse.

    Bu Laoweng was appalled.

    All of the people surrounding the overseer who had been wary of Highsage Wudi immediately stepped forward and worked together to protect Bu Laoweng behind them, though it barely slowed Highsage Wudi. "Senior Wudi, you are in the Hall of Honor. Do you really want to ughter an overseer?"

    "The Chief Justice is about to arrive."

    ...

    Highsage Wudi pressured the entire crowd by himself. These people were the true protectors of the Hall of Honor, but at this moment, theirbined strength was ovee by Highsage Wudi alone.

    This was the peak of power within the present Human Domain, and the battle that was taking ce would be iprehensible to anyone who had not reached the Envoy realm at the very least.

    Not even Bu Laoweng fully understood what was happening; all he knew was that if any of the people protecting him left, he would undoubtedly die.

    At this moment, Nightking Zheng spoke up. "Senior Wudi, Bu Laoweng''s words are not without merit. If Lu Yin is not guilty, then why would Nightking Zhenwu have been willing to sacrifice twenty Honor points to support his usation? Everyone knows how rare Honor points are, and it is even rarer for such a young man to have so many. After paying such a price, even if the usation did note from Nightking Zhenwu, it cannot be ignored, not even if the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, Shang Qing, were questioned."

    Many people agreed with Nightking Zheng''s words, as twenty Honor points was truly toorge of a price to pay, and most of the people here did not have that many.

    Xin Jiao looked over at the Nightking Zheng and frowned.

    One of the people among those resisting Highsage Wudi shouted out in a stern voice, "Brother Wudi, what you are doing right now is as grave a crime as genocide and wanton ughter! Do you want your junior to be proven innocent, or do you want him to suffer the stigma of a traitor for the rest of his life?"

    Highsage Wudi¡¯s hand stopped, and he looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin somewhat regretted killing Nightking Zhenwu too quickly, as a great deal of trouble would have been avoided if he had simply forced Zhenwu to withdraw his usation.

    "It seems that the overseers have decided that I, Lu Yin, am a traitor to the Fifth Maind, correct?" Lu Yin asked in a loud voice. He directly looked at several of the people in front of Bu Laoweng, particrly Nightking Zheng. After all, this person should want Lu Yin dead even more than Bu Laoweng, right?

    Nightking Zheng¡¯s expression remained calm. "There is certainly a need to investigate, as my Hall of Honor¡¯s position has always been that, without evidence, a person is innocent. Even if we are convinced that you are a traitor, if there is no evidence, then you need not worry about anything. Overseer Bu Laoweng grew too angry, which is why he said that he would use his exclusive privilege as an overseer on you¡ªhe has nothing personal against Eversky Ind.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile fell away. "So, are you saying that despite apleteck of evidence, you¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m a traitor?"

    "That¡¯s not what we said," Nightking Zheng calmly replied.

    Lu Yin felt amused. "As we all know, the Nightking n harbors a deep hatred for me, and I even killed Nightking Zhenwu. As for Overseer Bu Laoweng, even though he seems to have no grudge against me, his grandson is currently trying to seize authority over the Great Eastern Alliance that I established." At this point, Lu Yin looked around. "All of you, tell me, is it fair to allow these two to take advantage of their privileges?"

    Everyone gathered fell silent. These people were not fools, and the two overseers clearly held grudges and had cause to move against Lu Yin. The fact that he was a target was all too obvious.

    Highsage Wudi looked at Xin Jiao. "I remember that there are nine overseers. So what? Do the rest of you just not care?"

    Xin Jiao smiled lightly. "That¡¯s naturally not the case. We were actually just deliberating over this child¡¯s case, and both Bu Laoweng and Nightking Zheng recused themselves."

    Nightking Zheng¡¯s head snapped around as he looked at Xin Jiao. "You-"

    Xin Jiao raised her hand to cut off Nightking Zheng. She then continued to simply stare at Highsage Wudi. "In the investigation of this child, this junior guarantees that no biased parties will be involved and that there will be no conflicting interests. How does Senior Wudi feel about this?"

    Highsage Wudi coldly snorted. "What about that special privilege held by overseers?"

    Xin Jiaoughed. "If this child¡¯s investigation takes an unfavorable turn, then an overseer can indeed exercise such a privilege. However, if there is absolutely no evidence, where the possibility of someone being a traitor does not even theoretically exist, then such a privilege may not be used."

    Nightking Zheng could no longer hold himself back. "Overseer Xin, whether we use our privilege or not is up to each of us alone. You are not qualified to deny us this privilege."

    Xin Jiao looked over at Nightking Zheng, and her expression suddenlypletely changedpared to when she had been looking at Highsage Wudi. The woman¡¯s face was filled with ruthlessness and contempt as she replied, ¡°You have been able to retain your seat as an overseer out of a need to pacify the Innerverse. You actually have no authority to decide anything, so don¡¯t get so full of yourself. Your authority barely exists."

    Nightking Zheng''s face twisted.

    Xin Jiao looked at Bu Laoweng. She was able to suppress Nightking Zheng, but she could not deny Bu Laoweng the right to use his privilege. After all, Bu Laoweng represented the Neoverse, and the powers behind him could not be looked down upon.

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s head tilted, and he loudly said, "Regarding the allegations of Lu Yin being a traitor, the other overseers will investigate this matter. I will not intervene, let alone use my privilege as an overseer. However, Lu Yin cultivates with death energy, and as one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, I propose that he be watched, and if necessary, at any moment, I will exercise my rights."

    Bu Laoweng''s words caused countless people in the area to cry out, for death energy was an exclusive cultivation method of the Specter n. Such knowledge was notmon in the Outerverse or Innerverse, but in the Neoverse, and especially in the Hall of Honor, most people were aware of this information.

    Once someone cultivated death energy, they were basically a part of the Specter n with the sole exception being the Seven Courts¡¯ Xie family.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1192: Mushroom Head

    <h4>Chapter 1192: Mushroom Head</h4>

    Bu Laoweng had directly revealed the matter of Lu Yin cultivating death energy. This tore apart the little remaining cordiality between Bu Laoweng and Eversky Ind. The overseer believed that, since he had already offended Highsage Wudi, offending the entirety of Eversky Ind did not matter anymore.

    Many people turned to look at Lu Yin, the man who cultivated death energy.

    The expressions of everyone present instantly changed.

    Even the expression on Xin Jiao''s face changed as she looked at Lu Yin. Cultivating death energy was not explicitly a major crime, but it did mean that that person posed a legitimate potential risk.

    Highsage Wudi¡¯s brows rose. "My junior brother has indeed cultivated death energy, but the Chief Justice has already passed judgment and ruled that my junior brother cannot be affected by death energy."

    Bu Laoweng froze. Then, his expression became sinister, as he had not known of this matter. Insinuating that the Chief Justice¡¯s verdict was wrong was essentially the same as going against the Chief Justice himself.

    Many of the surrounding people looked at Bu Laoweng like he was an idiot. His scalp tingled, and as he looked around, he saw numerous looks of ridicule directed at him, though there were a few looks of sympathy as well. Bu Laoweng quickly weighed his options, as he could not retract such a statement. After a moment of thought, he loudly said, "The Interster Supreme Court¡¯s verdict is based on the present, and cultivating with death energy is not a crime in and of itself, but death energy has a unique characteristic that makes it very risky. If Lu Yin were just some regr cultivator, this wouldn¡¯t matter, but he is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance that controls the entire Outerverse, which essentially makes him the ruler of the Outerverse. So doesn¡¯t him cultivating with death energy mean that the entire Outerverse could easily fall under the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s control?

    "Who can guarantee that he won''t end up being controlled by the Specter n? Who can guarantee that he will always remain untainted by death energy? Not even Eversky Ind can make such a promise, no?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. The fact that he had cultivated with death energy was something that only the Chief Justice, Highsage Wudi, and the three Judicial Commissioners had been aware of, but Bu Laoweng had clearly been informed of this. Mu Tianlun must have shared the news with the overseer; the Calm of Despair was truly hostile towards Lu Yin.

    Also, Bu Laoweng still dared to bring up the matter of death energy. This indicated that the Chief Justice¡¯s authority was either not enough, or as one of the Judicial Commissioners had mentioned, the Chief Justice did not interfere with matters concerning the overseers.

    Lu Yin suddenly discovered a problem: Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind had no direct influence within the Hall of Honor, and it seemed that not even the Chief Justice would be able to sway the Hall of Honor itself. Rather, his authority was limited to passing judgment. He might support his own people in climbing to higher positions, but he did not concern himself with menial matters, which gave Bu Laoweng the courage to press this issue.

    Despite the fact that most of the people present were stronger than the overseer, none of them moved. If not even these seniors would support Lu Yin, then he would be in deep trouble.

    Bu Laoweng had made usations that not even Highsage Wudi could refute.

    Despite not being at the top of the hierarchy of the Hall of Honor, an overseer was still somewhat influential, and his words were convincing to many people.

    Bu Laoweng was deliberately pitting himself to see things all the way through to the end with Lu Yin. Unless he was pped to death by Highsage Wudi, the overseer would retain every right and reason to imprison Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not able to deny that he had cultivated death energy, but he also had no means of convincing others that he could not be controlled by death energy. Furthermore, if he made such a im, then people would grow even more suspicious of him and believe that he was a member of the Specter n.

    Lu Yin was in a tricky situation.

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s words were urate; despite Eversky Ind¡¯s power, their influence was not enough, and Highsage Wudi was unable to convince the gathered people to believe in Lu Yin. Their only hope was for the Chief Justice to step in, but how could the Chief Justice possibly step forward for Lu Yin?

    The entire ce fell silent for a time, and then, everyone started discussing death energy

    The situation was moving in a direction that was very unfavorable to Lu Yin.

    Bu Laoweng sucked in a cold breath; since he had already offended Eversky Ind, he intended to go all the way and decided to present the image of a strong-willed overseer who was fearless of even Eversky Ind.

    "That- that- I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but¡­" A voice called out from below. The person stammered constantly, clearly scared.

    Everyone instinctively looked down. They saw the ruined mountain peak, and standing on it was a teen dressed in extremely rustic clothes with a mushroom-like haircut andrge sses. He was struggling to raise his right hand since his left was preupied with an enormous pile of books a half-meter high, and he scowled as he spoke.

    Upon seeing the crowd look at him, the teenager looked frightened, and he swallowed hard and coughed awkwardly. "Um, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but- uh. About that- in fact, death energy is just another power source for cultivation. Essentially, it¡¯s no different from star energy. There¡¯s nothing good or bad to¡­"

    Bu Laoweng''s expression inspired awe as he shouted, "What are you talking about? Say that again!"

    The teenager with a bowl cut panicked, and a book fell from the pile and smashed his foot. He let out a miserable howl, and he looked to be in pain as well as terrified.

    Lu Yin froze; this was a strange person to see in the Hall of Honor¡¯s headquarters. Did he not cultivate? Actually, he was a Melder, so how could a book falling on his foot have hurt him?

    The gathered crowd all had strange expressions on their faces as they stared at the teenager.

    The teen could not easily pick up the fallen book, and he was still staring at Bu Laoweng fearfully. "That- that¡¯s just what¡¯s written in the history books. I- I just was stating what¡¯s recorded."

    Bu Laoweng snapped, "What¡¯s your name? The Hall of Honor does not permit entry to people with weak wills like you. Do you want to cultivate death energy? Arrest him."

    Lu Yin loudly spoke up. "What an impressive leader. Overseer Bu Laoweng won¡¯t even allow others to speak?"

    Bu Laoweng''s expression fell. He coldly snorted and simply stared at the bowl cut youth.

    Xin Jiao smiled gently as she looked at the mushroom head. "I remember you. You¡¯re from the Institute of History, yes?"

    The teenager pushed his sses up and nodded with a scowl. "I- I- my name is Xiao Shi."1

    "Good. Little Shi, what is it that you wanted to rify? Is Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation of death energy not a risk?" Xin Jiao had a soft look and a smile on her face as she prodded the teen.

    Xiao Shi swallowed once again and opened one of the books he was carrying. He looked through it for a bit, pushed his sses back up, and began reciting, "Naturally, death energy is not something unique to the Specter n. They simply discovered and began to utilize death energy. After countless generations passed, death energy became the most suitable form of cultivation for them. Theoretically, anyone can cultivate death energy as long as they slowly incorporate it. After enough time, their descendants would be able to smoothly cultivate with death energy, and if enough time passes, another Specter n would be created."

    "Cultivating with death energy means that one will be suppressed or even controlled by the members of the Specter n. This power is simply a means for the Specter n to create traitors and turncoats," Bu Laoweng retorted.

    Xiao Shi pushed his sses up. "People can suppress others with star energy just as easily."

    Bu Laoweng¡¯s brows arched up high. "Those who cultivate death energy are easily controlled by stronger cultivators of death energy.¡±

    Xiao Shi scowled. "That''s just a matter of being suppressed and being unable to resist. It¡¯s no different than what happens with normal cultivators."

    Lu Yinughed. "Overseer Bu Laoweng, right now, you¡¯re trying to intimidate Brother Mushroom Head. With your strength, it¡¯s too easy for you to intimidate a Melder. Does that mean that star energy is also too dangerous to be used for cultivation?"

    Bu Laoweng solemnly replied, "No matter how you twist it, death energy makes it easier for the Specter n to control you, and you can never remove that risk."

    "Unless you abolish the strength you cultivated with death energy," Nightking Zheng loudly added.

    Xiao Shi raised a hand and swallowed hard.

    Highsage Wudi pointed at the teen. "Talk."

    Bu Laoweng and Nightking Zheng both angrily red at Xiao Shi.

    Countless people watched the teen in amazement. A tiny Melder realm child actually dared to interject in this situation? Where did he find such guts?

    Xiao Shi was extremely nervous, and he looked back at his book while sneaking peeks at Bu Laoweng. The teen was terrified, but he still managed to speak up, "In fact, people can have a preternatural aptitude for death energy. It¡¯s not that people who cultivate with death energy can¡¯t be controlled by members of the Specter n. Rather, if one has a strong enough aptitude, encounters some kind of special opportunity, has some special innate gift, or has something else along those lines, then they can actually use death energy to control the members of the Specter n. This is also another possibility."

    Bu Laoweng was infuriated, and he could barely stop himself from pping the mushroom head dead.

    Lu Yin tilted his head. "It¡¯s no wonder why I never felt anything special when cultivating with death energy. You can check with the people from the Seven Courts, but in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, I was never controlled by the Specter n. Instead, I was actually able to suppress them."

    Bu Laoweng opened his mouth to counter Lu Yin¡¯s words, but for a moment he was speechless.

    If there was a chance that Lu Yin could counter-control members of the Specter n, it would not be possible to use his privilege as an overseer on Lu Yin. Attempting to do so would not only simply offend Eversky Ind, but it could also trigger Highsage Wudi to actually smash Bu Laoweng dead.

    Nightking Zheng¡¯s expression was dark as he stared at the teenager with a bowl cut. "Kid, don''t speak nonsense. Death energy is a power that belongs solely to the Specter n. This ismon knowledge throughout the Human Domain and is universally recognized."

    Xiao Shi''s attitude suddenly changed, and he red at fiercely Nightking Zheng, clearly angered. "You''re the one who''s spouting nonsense! It''s people like you who confuse history! The people who treatmon knowledge as actual history are the dumbest! Death energy is in no way something that belongs to the Specter n. It belongs to the God of Death, you stupid bastard!"

    The Nightking was instantly enraged. "What did you say?"

    Xiao Shi froze. He quickly reacted, hastily ducking down and holding the book over his head to shield himself. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I didn''t mean it!"

    Nightking Zheng raised a hand to attack Xiao Shi, but Highsage Wudi let out a cold snort as he grabbed Xiao Shi and pulled him over. Lu Yin caught the teen, and with this, Nightking Zheng no longer dared to attack.

    Bu Laoweng loudly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, don¡¯t listen to this kid¡¯s nonsense! There is no God of Death, as that¡¯s just a fable."

    Nightking Zheng said, "That¡¯s good. Death energy belongs to the God of Death? Then does star energy belong to the God of Stars? This is not some home to gods, and there are no such things as gods or deities."

    Xiao Shi looked up and muttered, "I''m not talking nonsense! The God of Death is the oldest being, and the God of Death was the one who created death energy."

    Lu Yin felt his heart twinge, and he looked at Xiao Shi, particrly focusing on the book above the teen¡¯s head. It was massive.

    No one believed Xiao Shi''s words, as something like the God of Death was too absurd. After all, there were no gods in the universe.

    At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the sky. This person was just there; they could have been standing there for a long time without anyone noticing them.

    Highsage Wudi was the first to see the figure, and his demeanorpletely transformed as he greeted withplete respect, "Wudi pays his respects to Arch-Elder Zen.¡±

    The next moment, everyone else noticed the person in the sky, and they all saluted him in unison. "We pay our respects to Arch-Elder Zen."

    "We pay our respects to Arch-Elder Zen."

    ...

    Lu Yin also formally greeted the neer. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked up at the person. Was this Arch-Elder Zen the true source of authority in the Hall of Honor? If even Highsage Wudi was being so submissive, then this person might really be the true top powerhouse in the entire Hall of Honor.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked down and focused on Highsage Wudi. "You¡¯re bing more and more reckless."

    Highsage Wudi respectfully responded, "Junior actually did not want to do so, but this overseer is too much of a bully. He¡¯s targeting a member of my Eversky Ind."

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. "Don''t be ridiculous, he is not a member of your Eversky Ind."

    Highsage Wudi replied, "Lu Yin is a nominal disciple of my Eversky Ind."

    "Is he willing to worship the Highsage Grandmaster as his master?" Arch-Elder Zen asked, his expression a bit strange.

    Highsage Wudi looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not understand how the subject had taken such a turn. His answer might allow Eversky Ind to hold the higher moral ground and protect him. Then, there would be no problem with Highsage Wudi¡¯s actions, but Lu Yin already had a master, and he had also already given Highsage Shenwei an answer.

    For a moment, Lu Yin did not know how to answer, as if he spoke incorrectly, then not only Lu Yin would be in trouble, but even Highsage Wudi might also be implicated.

    Arch-Elder Zen quietly watched Lu Yin with a smile.

    Highsage Wudi kept winking at Lu Yin.

    Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin with a mix of curiosity and equal parts admiration, awe, and excitement.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, but then he helplessly said to Highsage Wudi, "Senior Wudi, I''m sorry, but I already have a master. I can''t take the Highsage Grandmaster as my master. I, Lu Yin, can''t be an ungrateful person."

    Highsage Wudi was stunned, but he simply nodded. "No harm done. Just be yourself."

    Lu Yin felt truly grateful.

    [1] Xiao Shi = Little History. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1193: A Mere Commotion

    <h4>Chapter 1193: A Mere Commotion</h4>

    Highsage Wudi raised his head and spoke to Arch-Elder Zen. "Lu Yin is a disciple of my Eversky Ind, and he has the status of a disciple despite not being under the Highsage Grandmaster."

    Arch-Elder Zen was clearly amused.

    Below, Bu Laoweng respectfully spoke up as well. "I also ask that Arch-Elder Zen make a decision. Lu Yin is suspected of betraying our Fifth Maind, and it has now been discovered that he cultivates death energy, which means that he might be a puppet manipted by the Specter n. This junior wished to use my privilege as an overseer, but my life was threatened by Senior Wudi. Thus, I now ask Arch-Elder Zen to make a decision."

    Nightking Zheng also seized this opportunity to speak up. "Please, Arch-Elder Zen, do step forward for us. The lives of us overseers have been threatened."

    Xin Jiao and the other three overseers remained silent.

    Highsage Wudi grew angry and red at Bu Laoweng. "Who threatened your lives?"

    Neither Bu Laoweng nor Nightking Zheng responded.

    At this time, it would bepletely inappropriate for a junior like Lu Yin to speak up or say anything at all, so he silently waited for Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s decision.

    Arch-Elder Zen waved a hand. "This is nothing more than a farce, so just disperse."

    The crowd was stunned. Disperse? That was too easy!

    Highsage Wudi was overjoyed. "Thank you, Arch-Elder Zen."

    Bu Laoweng was reluctant to ept such an oue. "Arch-Elder Zen, Senior Wudi attacked Mt. Microcosms, and that junior truly has cultivated death energy."

    Arch-Elder Zen indifferently replied, "There are thousands of possible paths to tread on the path of cultivation. Did that child not clearly exin it already? Death energy is not something that was created by the Specter n, and others can retain control of themselves despite cultivating death energy. This child could potentially end up being able to control members of the Specter n in the future, which would be a great aplishment against the Neohuman Alliance. Why should this matter so much?"

    Bu Laoweng had no way to respond.

    "Return this child¡¯s proper status to him, and the matters of the Outerverse should be left for the people there to deal with on their own. You should not intervene. My Hall of Honor has always stood at the top of the Human Domain and remained impartial in all its doings without acting in an overbearing manner. You went a bit too far this time," said Arch-Elder Zen as he nced over at Bu Laoweng. "Your privileges are revoked."

    With that, the Semi-Progenitor looked over at Lu Yin, and the old man¡¯s expression softened. "Little fellow, you are very good. Very good."

    Lu Yin froze and then gave a deep bow. "Senior is too kind. Thank you for stepping out for this junior."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. He looked at Lu Yin intently for a moment and then disappeared.

    Anyone could see that Arch-Elder Zen was very supportive of Lu Yin. Not only had he not pursued the matter of Lu Yin cultivating death energy, but the ancient powerhouse had also deprived Bu Laoweng of his privilege as an overseer. What¡¯s more, the Outerverse had even been returned to Lu Yin.

    This was a huge matter.

    Arch-Elder Zen was the true master of the Hall of Honor, and his attitude towards Lu Yin instantly caused everyone to understand what had happened. The way that people looked at Lu Yin transformed from moment to moment, and soon, everyone looked at him with kind expressions. A few even bowed to Lu Yin.

    The mushroom-headed Xiao Shi looked at Lu Yin with clear envy in his eyes. "You''re awesome! Can you teach me?"

    Lu Yin did not have any time to pay attention to the teenager, as he was already thinking about Arch-Elder Zen''s behavior. The old man¡¯s expression when looking at Lu Yin had been strange, and Lu Yin felt as though the old man hadpletely seen through him.

    Below, Bu Laoweng''s body swayed as he nearly copsed. Not only had he been defeated this time, but he had also lost the Outerverse to Lu Yin while also helping Lu Yin ascend to heaven. Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude regarding Lu Yin had been openly supportive, and Lu Yin¡¯s position within the Hall of Honor wouldpletely transform after this incident.

    As for Bu Laoweng, losing his privileges as an overseer marked the end of his path.

    There were nine overseers, and each overseer possessed their own privilege, which was, in a certain sense, that overseer¡¯s guarantee. It was not something that they often actually used, and it was more of a means to intimidate others, as it was something that could even be used against even Envoys.

    Losing his privilege meant that Bu Laoweng was now an overseer in nothing but name, and no one would acknowledge his authority again.

    Xin Jiao nced at Bu Laoweng with cold eyes. They had watched Bu Laoweng¡¯s behavior for many years without being able to intervene, as there were too many powers behind Bu Laoweng. However, after losing his privilege, his power and authority would erode bit by bit. He was destined to fall to nothingness.

    He had been delusional to think that he could give his grandson an overseer¡¯s seat. It had all been a foolish dream.

    "Senior Wudi, we bid you farewell." Xin Jiao respectfully said goodbye to Highsage Wudi, and the other people in the area began to gradually disperse.

    Arch-Elder Zen had made an appearance, so Highsage Wudi would not make any more fuss.

    Highsage Wudi asked Xin Jiao, "When will my junior brother''s position as an Honor Chosen be returned?"

    Xin Jiaoughed and said, "Right away, of course."

    Lu Yin let out a pent up breath. After nearly ten months, his status as an Honor Chosen was finally going to be restored. It had been a difficult road, and there had been multiple twists and turns along the way. In the end, Arch-Elder Zen had even stepped in, which Lu Yin had never expected to happen.

    Lu Yin had caused Eversky Ind, the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and even the Interster Supreme Court and the Daynight n to move. A single hair could cause the entire body to react.

    Fortunately, in the end, Lu Yin had won.

    Themotion this time had been truly massive, but Lu Yin had been the biggest winner in the end. Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s tant support had thoroughly changed Lu Yin¡¯s status, and he would be unhindered in the Hall of Honor after this. In fact, his position would be no worse than Shang Qing¡¯s.

    Lu Yin coldly looked over at Bu Laoweng. "It¡¯s not easy to travel to the Outerverse, and the trip back is difficult as well."

    Without another word, the frightened Bu Laoweng fled to call Tian Shao in order to avoid any possibility of Lu Yin making a move against the overseer¡¯s grandson.

    In the Alliance Convention in the Outerverse, everyone was still waiting.

    Tian Shao was fully confident, as in his view, an overseer held the highest authority within the Hall of Honor. It was simply too easy for such a person to threaten a youth, regardless of how much support the youth enjoyed.

    The Outerverse was important to the grandfather and grandson¡¯s ns, and Lu Yin was definitely someone who could throw a wrench in them.

    The more Tian Shao considered the situation, the happier he became. He looked across the people gathered in the room. They were about to be his subordinates, and his name would end up in the history books. This would mark the start to his ascension of bing an overseer of the Hall of Honor.

    This entire time, no one said a word, and no one made any moves either.

    Even the people who had supported Lu Yin¡¯s stance of living or dying with their home remained silent at this moment.

    Wei Rong looked calm as he quietly waited.

    No one knew what was happening in the Neoverse at this moment.

    Beep beep beep!

    Tian Shao''s gadget rang, and he quickly answered the call and pointedly called out, "Grandpa."

    "Come back," Bu Laoweng¡¯s voice was heard, but the overseer sounded helpless and exhausted.

    Tian Shao was stunned. "Come back? Back where?"

    "Where else would you go? Do you want to die in the Outerverse? Get back to the Neoverse!" Bu Laoweng suddenly sounded irritable. His sh with Lu Yin had ended in a total loss. While he still could not ept the price that he had paid, he had no choice but to ept it.

    Tian Shao was dumbfounded.

    Throughout the meeting room, everyone else was also dumbfounded.

    Wei Rong''s mouth curled into a smile; Lu Yin was still lucky enough to encounter good fortune wherever he went.

    The truth was that Wei Rong could not be considered as loyal to Lu Yin yet. Rather, he had put on an act of loyalty for Tian Shao because the situation had never reached a critical point. Wei Rong and Wang Wen were both intelligent people, and they would never reveal their true position too early and risk exposing themselves to others.

    Lu Yin could always aplish something unthinkable, and this was Wei Rong¡¯s strongest impression of Lu Yin. This time, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent had been one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, but Wei Rong had still held a sliver of hope for Lu Yin¡¯s victory. In the end, his hope had proven true.

    Most people in the room looked thrilled, though there was a small number of people who still felt that the Outerverse would have a better future if they were led by one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    The sect leader of Greenpeak Gorge, Feng Shu, waspletely confused at this moment. Defeated? One of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers actually lost? How is that possible?

    Tian Shao was even more incredulous. "Grandpa, what did Lu Yin do? How could he beat you? That¡¯s impossible! You¡¯re an overseer! Don''t you have that special privilege? Grandpa, use that! There¡¯s no need to hide it."

    "Shut up! Just do as you¡¯re told! Brother Zhan, please bring him back," said Bu Laoweng in an exhausted tone.

    The old man behind Tian Shao quickly replied, "Yes, overseer."

    Tian Shao froze when the call abruptly ended. He was unable to react for a long time. How could they have been defeated? It was impossible. This should not have happened.

    The old man set a hand on Tian Shao''s shoulder, and the two people suddenly disappeared. The situation had be clear to everyone; there was no ce in the Outerverse for those two. This was Lu Yin''s territory, and judging by the overseer¡¯s tone of voice, Tian Shao¡¯s old protector knew that he was short on time and that he needed to hurry back.

    Monster Chi also froze. He did not know what to do.

    Suddenly, Wei Rong''s gadget rang, and he answered the call. Lu Yin¡¯s image reappeared, along with the figure of Xiao Shi at his side. The teen was curiously looking at the crowd attending the Alliance Convention.

    "We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader." Wei Rong got up and bowed in greetings.

    Meng Tianlong, Gong Chou, Doro, Angie, Qiong Xi''er, and others all stood to bow in unison. "We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader."

    Even Feng Shu and the others who had defected to Tian Shao respectfully bowed. They were acting out of fear, as they did not know what would happen to them with the fall of Tian Shao.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept across the crowd before finally focusing on Monster Chi. "Do you want to take part in a meeting for my Great Eastern Alliance? Get lost!"

    Lu Yin used a stern voice to scold an expert whose power level was more than 400,000. Monster Chi was a powerful Enlighter whose strength was enough to make him one of the ze Realm¡¯s trump cards, but when he was scolded by Lu Yin, Monster Chi did not dare to say a word in rebuke.

    An overseer from the Hall of Honor had already lost to this youth, which deprived Monster Chi of all courage. He silently left with an ugly expression.

    The alliance representatives were all shocked. Previously, Lu Yin¡¯s authority had been exclusively limited to the Outerverse even though he was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. His influence had not stretched to the Innerverse, but now, he was scolding such a powerful expert.

    The way that Lu Yin had casually spoken to such an expert made it seem as though powerhouses at Monster Chi¡¯s level were no longer able to enter Lu Yin¡¯s sight. This domineering behavior gave everyone chills, and they all became certain of one thing: Lu Yin had definitely overturned things even in the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin indifferently asked, "Where¡¯s Tian Shao?"

    Wei Rong replied, "He left. He should be on his way back to the Neoverse."

    Lu Yin''s expression was cold. He had wanted to find someone to fight, but he had ultimately thought better of it. The entire matter had already been blown up to such huge proportions. Even though he was the victim, the nine overseers had decided to appoint a supervisor to the Great Eastern Alliance. Although Lu Yin had seized that authority back from them, which had upset some of the overseers, if he continued to pursue things with Tian Shao, he would seem vindictive, and Lu Yin would end up offending even more people.

    Unless it became absolutely necessary, Lu Yin did not want to offend too many people, as there were powers supporting each of the overseers from behind. Gaining even more enemies at this stage was not one of Lu Yin¡¯s goals.

    As for Tian Shao, he could still be useful in the future.

    "I will stay in the Neoverse for a while still, and the Great Eastern Alliance will continue to follow the previouslyid outlines. Wei Rong, I hope that the ns can be implemented as soon as I return to the Outerverse," Lu Yin said.

    Wei Rong respectfully replied, "Don''t worry, Alliance Leader, I have never cked off."

    There was a pause. Then, Wei Rong suddenly remembered something and whispered to Lu Yin, "Your Highness, Yan Yan disappeared a few days ago."1

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Disappeared? What do you mean?"

    Wei Rong shook his head. "I don''t know. He just vanished. I don''t know if he left by himself or if he was taken away by someone."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Wait there for now, and we¡¯ll deal with it when I get back.¡±

    With onest look at the crowd, Lu Yin¡¯s image disappeared.

    [1] Back to Chapter 668 if you need a refresher. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1194: God Of Death

    <h4>Chapter 1194: God Of Death</h4>

    After Lu Yin''s image disappeared, Wei Rong smiled and looked around at everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen, did you all hear the Alliance Leader¡¯s words?"

    Everyone looked at each other before silently leaving.

    Feng Shu''s scalp tingled, and his entire body trembled. He had totally forgotten that after the n to subvert Daynight Flowzone had beenpleted, the Great Eastern Alliance had already started another n. Feng Shu was not clear on the specifics of this next n, but the time and resources that it required surpassed what they had used to move against Daynight Flowzone. Thus, this n should be even more ambitious than Lu Yin¡¯s move against the Daynight n.

    They could not possibly be targeting the Innerverse, could they? Feng Shu was terrified by such a thought, but he was even more scared of Lu Yin. Would the youth be able to survive what he had just done?

    Feng Shu started to have a panic attack.

    In the Neoverse, atop Mt. Microcosms, Lu Yin lowered his gadget. Xiao Shi was the only person next to him, and the teen was still holding his massive book. Highsage Wudi had left afterining about how Arch-Elder Zen had scolded him.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Highsage Wudi would have a good time of things. This was not the first time that Highsage Wudi had caused a massivemotion, and Arch-Elder Zen definitely would not let things go so easily this time.

    Before Highsage Wudi had left, he had asked Lu Yin to wait for him on Mt. Microcosms, but Lu Yin did not want to waste his time while waiting.

    "Do you know where I can take a Lockbreaker ranking test?" Lu Yin asked while looking over at Xiao Shi.

    Xiao Shi''s eyes lit up. "Are you going to the Lockbreaker World? That happens to be where I¡¯m headed, so let''s go together."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Is it far?"

    "It''s not far. It¡¯s actually also part of Mt. Microcosms, as it¡¯s one of the many worlds in the mountain," Xiao Shi said as he led the way.

    Lu Yin looked at the peak of the mountain that Highsage Wudi had shattered. This ce had been Bu Laoweng¡¯s home, but after what had just happened, the old man was done for.

    Although the Lockbreaker World was not far, it would still take them some time to travel there due to Xiao Shi''s speed. Lu Yin eventually ended up grabbing the teen with one hand as he flew the both of them to the other side of Mt. Microcosms.

    They did not fly high above the mountain. After all, this was Mt. Microcosms, and Lu Yin was not as reckless as Highsage Wudi. Thus, he only dared to fly close to the ground.

    "Why did you just help me?" Lu Yin asked, feeling slightly suspicious.

    Xiao Shi pushed his sses up and looked at Lu Yin with a confused expression. "Help you? When did I do that?"

    Lu Yin pressed a bit further. "Didn''t you just help me by exining where death energy originally came from?"

    Xiao Shi gulped and pushed his sses up again. "I was just sharing history since people were mistaken. This is the true history, and I don¡¯t want facts to be twisted and changed."

    Lu Yin was stunned. This guy dared to say that he had not been helping Lu Yin, but had instead only been trying to correct people¡¯s understanding of history. This kid was too pure. "Is that really why you offended Bu Laoweng? Didn¡¯t you consider the consequences?"

    Xiao Shi felt rather confused. "Why would I offend him? He didn¡¯t understand any better than anyone else, so I just needed to correct that."

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, as it felt impossible to have a conversation with this person. Was he sick in the head, or was he really just that naive?

    "What''s this God of Death that you just mentioned?" Lu Yin asked.

    As soon as the topic switched to history, Xiao Shi''s expressionpletely changed, and his mien became confident. He forcefully shoved his sses back up. "The God of Death was the oldest human powerhouse, and he was also the first person to create death energy. Death energy is simply a power that was born from the God of Death¡¯s cultivation method, and there¡¯s inherently nothing good or bad about it. It¡¯s not like most people believe that death energy is unique to the Specter n anyways. It¡¯s really not, and the Specter n was just formed from the first group of people who epted and started to use death energy. That¡¯s all. They¡¯re human, and so are we, which is why we can all use death energy."

    "Are you saying that if a normal person absorbs death energy, their offspring will also be able to use death energy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi seriously answered, "That¡¯s not what I mean. That¡¯s what¡¯s recorded in history books, but the books say that it¡¯s not certain. Still, the possibility is quite high, and the more death energy that one cultivates, the more likely it is for the descendants of that cultivator to also have an aptitude for death energy. The Specter n has reached their state because of how long they¡¯ve been cultivating death energy. The result is that, not only are their members able to immediately cultivate death energy, but their eyes are also different from birth whereas a typical person would need to first cultivate death energy before their eyes changed.

    "Death energy is the energy that the God of Death cultivated, and anyone who cultivates death energy is theoretically one of the God of Death¡¯s heirs. This doesn¡¯t only include the people from the Specter n people, as you are also a part of that group."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Are you saying that the God of Death really existed?"

    Xiao Shi nodded, utterly serious. "Yes."

    Lu Yin blinked. It was not that he could not believe this. After all, humans had developed for countless eons, and it was impossible for everything and everyone to be recorded down in history. Someone with a name like the ¡°God of Death¡± would not have been an ordinary powerhouse, but Lu Yin somehow felt that the teen in front of him was not a very reliable source.

    "You don¡¯t believe me?" Xiao Shi asked in a rhetorical manner before pulling out his book and pointed at the top. "Look, it¡¯s written right here."

    Lu Yin looked at the book, but it was nk. He stared at Xiao Shi. This guy was just messing with him!

    Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin, still solemn. "Believe it."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "You''re messing me."

    Xiao Shi was dismayed. "You can''t see the words either?"

    Lu Yin felt surprised. "Is there supposed to be something written there?"

    Xiao Shi nodded. He felt a bit helpless, but he was also used to such reactions. "Of course there is! It¡¯s very clearly written that death energy was born from the God of Death, and the God of Death was one of the oldest human Progenitors. They were born at the dawn of mankind. You really can¡¯t see the writing?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. It seemed that this person was not trying to trick Lu Yin, but the book really waspletely nk.

    "How frustrating! No one believes me no matter what I say, but there really is writing in this book," Xiao Shimented helplessly as his entire being shrank in on itself a bit.

    "Can anyone other than you see the writing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "No, just me."

    Lu Yin quickly understood; it was no wonder why no one believed Xiao Shi. It seemed this guy really was not a trickster. Words that only this person could see? Was it an innate gift?

    "Is this book your innate gift?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "I found it in the Historical Archives."

    Lu Yin did not speak another word. People passed by the two youths and looked at them in astonishment. Lu Yin felt that everyone was staring at Xiao Shi, as the teen¡¯s eyes looked like a madman¡¯s.

    This guy might actually be insane, Lu Yin instinctively wanted to pull away.

    The Hall of Honor was the guiding power of the entire Human Domain, but they had numerous subsidiary organizations underneath them. The most famous of such powers were the Interster Supreme Court and the Lockbreaker Society. Lu Yin had already seen the Arbitration Great World, and the view of a sky full of stars had shocked him.

    When Lu Yin entered the Lockbreaker World, he was met by an even more shocking sight. Not only was there a starry sky, but there was also an endless amount of spiritual thread spreading out as far as the eye could see. Every that Lu Yin could see was draped with countless strands of spiritual thread.

    But that was not even the most astounding thing. Even more shocking, upon entry, Lu Yin was not far away from an iparablyrge. However, it was not actually a. This massive object was a sourcebox! It was undeniable that this sourcebox was on an evenrger scale than the five sealings that protected Shenwu Continent.

    This sourcebox wasparable in size to Nightking.

    Lu Yin stared at the sourcebox off in the distance. He could notprehend anyone being able to unlock this sourcebox, though he did wonder what it might contain.

    The five sealings protecting Shenwu Continent were alreadyrge enough that Lu Yin felt that it was impossible to unlock them, but this sourcebox surpassed those five by far.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1195: Array Master

    <h4>Chapter 1195: Array Master</h4>

    "Hey, what are you looking at?" Xiao Shi asked. He followed Lu Yin''s gaze. "That¡¯s the Lockbreaker World¡¯s sourcebox array."

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. "What? That¡¯s a sourcebox array?"

    Xiao Shi nodded and answered, "Yep, a sourcebox array."

    Lu Yin pointed at the incrediblyrge sourcebox that filled the horizon. "So, are there more than one of those things?"

    Xiao Shi nodded. "There are a total of six."

    Lu Yin felt that, despite cultivating for so many years, exploring everywhere from the Outerverse to the Neoverse, and seeing all the various wonders and phenomena, this was still too much.

    These kinds of sourceboxes had danger zones, and he could only imagine how terrifying the zone around such a sourcebox would be. He expected that even an Envoy would struggle to survive such a sourcebox, and these had been used to arrange a sourcebox array. He reflexively asked, ¡°What sort of person is capable of setting up such an array?¡±

    Xiao Shi thought for a moment. "Can¡¯t say."

    "You know?" Lu Yin was shocked. He had just asked out of habit, as such information was usually kept highly ssified.

    Xiao Shi nodded. "It''s noted down in history books, but I can''t say."

    Lu Yin marveled at Xiao Shi. Did this guy actually have that much knowledge, or was he just a habitual liar?

    He pointed to Xiao Shi¡¯s book. "Was that also written down in that book?"

    Xiao Shi nodded.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. There was no way tomunicate with this person, as there was no way to determine if he was telling the truth or not.

    "By the way, what rank do you want to be tested for?" Xiao Shi asked, looking at Lu Yin with curiosity.

    Lu Yin replied, "Boundless Advanced."

    Xiao Shi eximed, "Boundless Advanced? You?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "You don¡¯t believe me?"

    Xiao Shi grew excited, and he kept staring at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re really powerful. Can you teach me?"

    "Teach you what?"

    "Can you teach me how to be strong? Then, people will believe anything I say."

    Lu Yin nced at the book. The words in books were able to convince a few people, but only a few. Words were actually not the key to convincing people, as only fools blindly believed what they were told.

    The Lockbreaker World was a starry sky, and the first that theynded on was filled with guards. Lu Yin could feel a powerful strength constantly sweeping through the area, and he felt fear rattle his bones.

    Any random expert from the Hall of Honor was able to give him such a feeling. This ce left him feeling very unsafe, and he was convinced that the Outerverse was a great ce to be.

    The center of the Lockbreaker World was not a, but rather a continent that floated atop a sea in outer space.

    There were many cosmic wonders, so this was not an overwhelmingly surprising sight.

    However, the moment Lu Yin saw someone pull out a sourcebox from the sea, his expressionpletely changed.

    "What¡¯s that all about?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi exined, "There are all kinds of sourceboxes in this sea. Some were put in by the ancestors while others were pulled in by the Lockbreaker World¡¯s sourcebox array. If Lockbreakers want to get them, then they have to trade by putting in a sourcebox of equal value, but it¡¯s definitely possible to unlock the sourceboxes found here."

    Lu Yin was amazed. "So there¡¯s really such a thing."

    He started to get a bit jumpy. He hade here to test his Lockbreaker rank, but he had juste across a sea where you could practice lockbreaking. However, Xiao Shi next led Lu Yin to a that was next to the sea. As they traveled, he exined that there were people on that who could test Lu Yin¡¯s Lockbreaker rank. They were powerful Lockbreakers, and Xiao Shi was also familiar with them, so there was no need to be concerned.

    Lu Yin faithfully followed after Xiao Shi, mostly because Lu Yin was curious about who Xiao Shi was iming to be powerful Lockbreakers. Since they were Xiao Shi¡¯s acquaintances, Lu Yin felt that he might be able to ask them for pointers regarding lockbreaking.

    At this moment, two people rapidly approached from behind Lu Yin and Xiao Shi. They were also headed towards therge, but upon seeing Xiao Shi, they stopped in surprise. "Isn''t that the Shit Eating Duo?"1

    "It¡¯s not a surprise to see that the duo is getting back together again, haha."

    Lu Yin gave Xiao Shi a strange look after hearing the two people speak. Shit Eating Duo?

    Xiao Shi did not seem to understand what was being said.

    The longer Lu Yin looked at the teen, the more he felt that this guy was a nutjob. "You- you have a strange taste.¡±

    Xiao Shi was confused. "What taste?"

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Thatment had scared him, as he had been worried that his person actually ate shit.

    "My friend''s surname is Chi, so he¡¯s known as Xiao Chi. My surname is Shi, and I¡¯m called Xiao Shi, so¡­" Xiao Shi did not have a pleasant expression on his face.

    Lu Yin felt that this was strange, but he did not ask any further. When it came to one¡¯s surname, it would be insulting to mock it. Although Xiao Shi was clearly rather odd, not even he would appreciate having his surname mocked!

    Before long, Lu Yin¡¯s assumption turned out to be correct, and another teenager appeared in front of them. This person also worerge sses and had a mushroom-shaped haircut. When Lu Yin looked at the two people, he wondered if they were actually brothers.

    "Wow, Xiao Shi, it¡¯s been a long time," the bowl headed Xiao Chi said in surprise.

    Xiao Shi was also happy to see his friend. "Xiao Chi, it¡¯s been quite some time."

    "Why haven''t you visited in so long? I¡¯ve missed you."

    "I was exining history to people, but they didn''t believe me."

    "They still don''t believe you? Those people are just too stubborn."

    "What about you? Have you found anyone who can understand the romance of mushroom heads?"

    "No, not a single one. My master even keeps scolding me, trying to get me to cut off the mushroom head. Hmph! A head can be broken, but the mushroom cannot be messed with!"

    "Yes, we must stick with things to the end! My book records the true history."

    "My mushroom head is a lockbreaking tool, and it¡¯s the best lockbreaking tool!"

    "Come on, let''s go for it and never give up."

    "One, two, three,e on! Never give up!"

    Lu Yin froze and subconsciously took two steps back. He felt that these people had somehow suddenly be idiots.

    The two mushroom heads eagerly turned to look at Lu Yin. "Xiao Shi, is he Lu Yin? The youngest and most promising Lockbreaker in the history of the Outerverse? The one who returned a page of True Insight?"

    "That¡¯s right, Xiao Chi. He¡¯s that Lu Yin, the person who united the Outerverse. After only cultivating for twelve years, he was able topete in the Mountain and Sea Realm. He¡¯s already done enough to be recorded in history."

    "So powerful! How did you end up bringing him here? Is he willing to talk to us? Will he believe us?"

    "Not so much right now, but don''t worry. I''m confident that I¡¯ll be able to convince him. He¡¯s the same kind as us."

    ...

    Lu Yin was suddenly d that the Ghost Monkey was gone, as otherwise, Lu Yin would have been mocked relentlessly. The same kind of person as them? Lu Yin was not an idiot!

    "Sorry, but I still have to take a ranking test, so I can¡¯t keep youpany,¡± Lu Yin spoke up in a stiff voice as he hurriedly tried to leave.

    Xiao Chi''s eyes lit up. "A Lockbreaker test? You''re going to try for the Boundless Advanced level?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Xiao Chi was taken aback. "That¡¯s great! I''ll take you to Master and have Master give you the test."

    Lu Yin stared at Xiao Chi. "Your master?"

    Xiao Chi nodded, clenched a fist, and cheered himself up. "He¡¯s one of the most powerful Lockbreakers in the entire Neoverse! My master is Gui Junheng."

    Lu Yin had not heard this name before, but he knew too little of the Neoverse.

    Xiao Chi was clearly disappointed by Lu Yin¡¯sck of reaction. "You haven¡¯t heard of my master before?"

    "Sorry, it¡¯s my first time here," Lu Yin apologized.

    Xiao Shi exined, "He¡¯s from the Outerverse, so it makes sense for him to not have heard of Master Gui.¡± He then looked at Lu Yin and exined, saying, "Master Gui is one of the most powerful Lockbreakers in the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s main headquarters, and he¡¯s a powerful Array Master as well."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank¡ªan Array Master?

    There was a clear ranking of Lockbreakers: Discerning Elementary, Bright Eyes Junior, Perceptive Intermediate, and finally, Boundless Advanced. The ranks were further subdivided by stars, with five stars being the highest within a given rank. This wasmon knowledge throughout the Innerverse and the Outerverse, but there was also a rank above the Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers: Array Master.

    Those who were known as Array Masters were Lockbreakers who had be five star Advanced Lockbreakers that had also mastered sourcebox arrays, hence the name.

    This meant that the Master Gui that these two were mentioning was not only a five star Advanced Lockbreaker, but also a master of setting up sourcebox arrays.

    Any Lockbreaker who was an Array Master was not someone to be underestimated. Although sourcebox arrays were not quite as valuable as secret techniques, in some ways, sourcebox arrays could be even more versatile than secret techniques. There were arrays that were capable of changing the sky and even creating something out of nothing.

    The Neohuman Alliance had been able to enter the Mountain and Seas Zone and Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum because they had an Array Master and the appropriate sourcebox array. Thisbination was enough to change anything.

    Any and all Array Masters were considered treasures of humanity.

    If Lu Yin had not coincidentally entered the giant eyes at the peak of one of the mountains in the Mountain and Seas Zone with the ability to ess to his Timestop Space, which gave him the time needed toprehend what he saw in that ce, then he would not have reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control. In that case, it would have been even more impossible toprehend a sourcebox array. Still, hisprehension was not that deep, and he was not anywhere close to the point of being able to ignore space.

    Only once a person reached the level of an Array Master would they be able to manipte the most powerful sourcebox arrays.

    Lu Yin had not expected someone whom he suspected of being a madman would actually have an Array Master as their teacher.

    Lu Yin grew respectful. "Please introduce me to this Array Master."

    Xiao Chi was satisfied, as Lu Yin''s respectful attitude towards his master made the youth feel proud. "Wait a moment, and I''ll call Master out."

    He then turned on his gadget and sent out a message.

    Before long, Xiao Chi told Lu Yin, "Let''s go to Master''s ce, and you can take the ranking exam there."

    "Anyone who¡¯s able to be an Array Master is allowed to test any Lockbreaker for ranking exams," Xiao Shi exined.

    At this time, Xiao Chi moved close to Xiao Shi''s ear and whispered something. Xiao Shi was surprised. "He¡¯s there, too? Should we wait a while before going?"

    Xiao Shou gritted his teeth. "We need to go now." He then nced over at Lu Yin. "If he¡¯s with us, what are you afraid of?"

    Xiao Shi puffed out his chest. "That¡¯s true. Ok, we¡¯ll go now. There¡¯s no reason to be afraid."

    Lu Yin felt these two were strange, and it always seemed like they were discussing weird things. This conversation seemed rted to Lu Yin, but surely they would not get him involved in anything too strange. He actually started to panic a bit as he looked at the two mushroom heads.

    The entire Outerverse had no Array Master. Actually, no, there was one¡ªGeoffrey, though he was not actually from the Outerverse, but rather had been transferred there from the Neoverse. More urately, there was no Outerverse native who had be an Array Master. Lu Yin did not know whether or not any such expert had risen from the Innerverse, but he felt that there should be at least one in the form of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society President, but that person might also be from the Neoverse. ording to Xiao Chi, there were very few Array Masters, even in the Neoverse.

    Gui Junheng waspletely unknown to the people of the Outerverse and Innerverse, but those who in the know were aware of him.

    Lu Yin remembered seeing a video when he had first joined the Lockbreaker Society where a powerful expert had unlocked a sourcebox shaped like a massive nt that had been sorge that its roots had even reached the sky. Everyone who joined the Lockbreaker Society saw that video, and it left a deep impression on everyone. Naturally, Lu Yin had been inspired by it as well.

    The person in that video had been Gui Junheng.

    Lu Yin had originally expected the person in that video to be an ancient expert, and he had never expected it to be Gui Junheng. When Xiao Chi mentioned this, Lu Yin was shocked, though he also felt that this was very odd. Why would a powerhouse like Gui Junheng ept Xiao Chi as his disciple? If Xiao Chi had not already contacted the Array Master and received a response, Lu Yin would not have wanted to continue on.

    [1] A y on words, as Shi Chi and shit-eating have the same hanyu pinyin spelling. Also, "Xiao Chi" means "little ruler." ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1196: The Pride Of A Lockbreaker

    <h4>Chapter 1196: The Pride Of A Lockbreaker</h4>

    Xiao Chi led Lu Yin to the far side of a where Gui Junheng was waiting for them. When they arrived, the Array Master had already been waiting there for quite some time, and he was apanied by a young man with an indifferent expression.

    Lu Yin was blown away upon seeing the youth. Even though he was not using Truesight since he was in the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin could tell that this young man was extraordinary just by the star energy surrounding him.

    Once one¡¯s star energy control reached the Worldliness realm, their sensitivity would qualitatively changepared to that of ordinary people. It was this sense that allowed Lu Yin to feel¡ªto some extent at least¡ªthe level of another person¡¯s star energy control. In fact, he could also weaken or even reverse the star energy that a person was manipting if their control was far enough behind Lu Yin¡¯s. However, he was not able to feel any sort of superiority against this youth.

    When the young man noticed Lu Yin, his expression also showed his astonishment, along with a hint of interest.

    Both Lu Yin and the young man instantly felt that the other person was someone who had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control.

    Lu Yin stared at the young man for a bit before shifting his focus over to Gui Junheng.

    The video that Lu Yin had seen all those years ago had not been too clear, so upon seeing the real person, Lu Yin grew a bit excited. "Junior Lu Yin greets Array Master Gui Junheng."

    Gui Junheng was surprised when he looked at Lu Yin, and the Array Mastermented, "The Worldliness realm of control. It¡¯s no wonder why you dare to challenge the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam. You have a good chance of passing."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Many thanks, senior."

    Gui Junheng nodded and nced over at the young man next to him. The youth then stepped forward towards Lu Yin, and somberly introduced himself. "My name is Wu Dan, and I am a one star Advanced Lockbreaker."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "It''s an honor to meet you."

    Wu Dan replied, "I am also honored to meet you. Lu Yin, I¡¯ve heard your name more than once before."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why would that be?"

    Wu Dan casually replied, "Your fast progress. You quickly became a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker, skipped past the one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker level, and immediately became a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker instead. Skipping levels like that is very rare even throughout history, and your name has already spread all the way from the Outerverse to the Neoverse. It has even entered this Lockbreaker World."

    Lu Yin quietly absorbed this information.

    "I wasn¡¯t too concerned about you at first, as lockbreaking requires experience, and talent alone isn¡¯t enough. However, I never expected that your star energy control would have already reached the Worldliness realm. In both the Innerverse and Outerverse, you¡¯re the only person who has the ability topare to me," Wu Dan said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "What about the Distinguished Five?"

    Wu Dan contemptuously said, "They¡¯re just five pieces of trash. None of them have be an Advanced Lockbreaker yet, and it doesn¡¯t look like any of them are capable of doing so within the next ten years. It¡¯s just advancing one step, but that step is like the difference between heaven and earth. None of them can everpare with me."

    "What about Master Wusheng?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Wu Dan responded with the same disdain as before. "He¡¯s known as the heir to the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society President, and although he¡¯s a gifted Lockbreaker, his strength is too low. While lockbreaking focuses more on one¡¯s ability to perceive and understand, if one doesn¡¯t have the strength to stay alive while lockbreaking, then it¡¯s all useless. He¡¯ll never be able topare to me, regardless of if it¡¯s his cultivation or his lockbreaking ability."

    Lu Yin stared intently at the young man in front of him. This Wu Dan had criticized all of the best Lockbreakers in the Innerverse and Outerverse, and he saw only Lu Yin as a peer. No, that was also not quite right. Before meeting Lu Yin, Wu Dan had not considered him either.

    Wu Dan did not even nce at Xiao Chi or Xiao Shi. Instead, he simply turned around and left the. ¡°You¡¯re clearly capable of bing an Advanced Lockbreaker, so learn a sourcebox array as soon as you can. Otherwise, there won¡¯t be any actual point to advancing. I¡¯ll also be participating in ZENITH, and I¡¯ll going to let everyone know just how powerful Lockbreakers are, though I don¡¯t want to be the only one there."

    Lu Yin watched Wu Dan leave, not knowing where the young man¡¯s confidence came from. Wu Dan was a Hunter at best while Enlighters had participated in the contest in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    While Lockbreakers did enjoy an advantage in battle, it definitely was not an advantage that could allow a Hunter to reach the same level of strength as Lu Yin¡¯s. Lu Yin could not discern just how strong Wu Dan actually was.

    Xiao Chi suddenly sighed in relief. "He¡¯s finally gone! He¡¯s so scary."

    Xiao Shi nodded. "Too scary."

    Gui Junheng red intensely at Xiao Chi. "I¡¯ve allowed you to ck off on work for too long, and you didn¡¯t even have the courage to participate in ZENITH. Just look at what you¡¯ve be! Hurry up and get rid of that mushroom head."

    Xiao Chi scowled a bit, as did Xiao Shi. The two were unexpectedly stubborn about their mushroom heads. "My mushroom head is my lockbreaking tool! It¡¯s a powerful lockbreaking tool that surpasses all others! It cannot be cut!"

    Xiao Shi nodded. "My history is true."

    Lu Yin speechlessly stared at the two teens. They really were exactly the same.

    This clearly was not Gui Junheng¡¯s first time hearing these protests, and he helplessly smacked his forehead. He then looked at Lu Yin andughed. "I¡¯ve let you see a joke. Come, let¡¯s have you take the Advanced Lockbreaker exam."

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "Many thanks, senior."

    Gui Junheng waved a hand. "There¡¯s no need to call me senior¡ªjust call me Master Gui. That¡¯s what everyone else calls me."

    "Very well, Master Gui."

    Xiao Shi moved right behind Lu Yin and nodded at him with a curious expression. Xiao Shi then whispered, "Master Gui is very easy to get along with, but if he starts lockbreaking, you should immediately sneak away."

    "Why?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Xiao Shi purposely slowed Lu Yin down and quietly whispered in an awed tone, "Master Gui¡¯s behavior when lockbreaking ispletely different from normal. He¡¯s like an entirely different person. How should I say this? He bes very rude, exuberant, and will easily turn violent. We all run away, and no one dares to stick around."

    A double personality. These words appeared in Lu Yin''s mind, as this sounded very simr to Ming Yan.

    The entire was covered with spiritual thread. Lu Yin could not understand where so much spiritual thread hade from. The entire Great Eastern Alliance had searched everywhere, but they had only managed to scrounge up enough spiritual thread to construct one lockbreaking room while spiritual thread was literally everywhere in this Lockbreaker World.

    Spiritual thread was the most effective material at stopping the danger zones radiated by sourceboxes. Although many sourceboxes had danger zones powerful enough to easily ughter powerhouses, spiritual thread was still able to curtail that power. Everything in the universe had its natural opposition, and this was simply the way of things.

    Gui Junheng eventually stopped, and Lu Yin and the other two stood behind the Array Master. The older man casually waved his hand, and the spiritual thread in front of them was suddenly swept away into the sky as a bridge appeared on the ground.

    Neither Xiao Shi nor Xiao Chi felt anything, but Lu Yin was dazed.

    The moment the spiritual threads moved aside, the star energy surrounding the bridge had transformed. The void warped, and illusory voices suddenly called out. They had filled his ears with countless voices of worship, arguing, fighting, cultivation, and more. It was as if the bridge had experienced countless people¡¯s lives.

    Gui Junheng looked at Lu Yin. "This bridge is a Boundless Advanced sourcebox. You can start, and if you seed in unlocking it, you will be an Advanced Lockbreaker."

    Xiao Chi was taken by surprise. "Master, where did this bridgee from? Why has this disciple never seen it before?"

    Gui Junheng fiercely red at the teen. "What do you want to see? Not mentioning this, but there are many intermediate sourceboxes that you can¡¯t see."

    Xiao Chi jumped in shock and moved to hide behind Xiao Shi.

    Lu Yin bowed to Gui Junheng and then cautiously began approaching the bridge. At the same time, his eyes filled with star energy. Since he was lockbreaking and would stay on this for the time being, he could use Truesight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he saw countless runes covered with more runes. The sheer amount that he saw was astounding, and he estimated that the number matched up to those of an expert with a power level of at least 300,000.

    This is not just a normal Advanced sourcebox.

    A Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker needed to be in the Hunter realm at the very least, which meant that even the worst advanced sourceboxes had the strength of a Hunter. One really did need to have the strength of a Hunter in order to unlock such a sourcebox, and for a sourcebox that had a strengthparable to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, it was clear that this was not a one star advanced sourcebox.

    Gui Junheng¡¯s voice reached Lu Yin. "You can give up on this exam. As you can see, this sourcebox is not simple."

    Lu Yin said, "There¡¯s no need. This junior will still try."

    Gui Junheng nodded in admiration. "An ordinary person would instantly give up, but you fought in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Also, this sourcebox is not impossible to unlock, and you should have no trouble staying alive, which is why I brought you to this sourcebox for your exam. Also, some time ago, Wu Dan became a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker by unlocking a simr sourcebox for his advancement exam."

    Lu Yin understood that this was an attempt topare him to Wu Dan, and it was likely also Wu Dan''s intention.

    They were challenging him, and Lu Yin grew a bit excited. Renewed with vigor, he started walking closer to the bridge.

    At this time, the entire Lockbreaker World, as well as the Lockbreakers on many outsides, were watching this scene, as was Wu Dan.

    It was not clear how many Lockbreakers there were in the universe, as many preferred to remain hidden. Still, even if the number of Lockbreakers surpassed the recorded number, there was no way that the difference was toorge, as otherwise, Lockbreakers would not be so rare.

    Word soon leaked out of the Lockbreaker World that Lu Yin was taking the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam. Since the news had reached the outside world, it would not take long for the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society to hear of it as well.

    Still, no matter what happened in the outside world, Lu Yin was too busy to care.

    He used Truesight to make his way past the numerous rune lines as the sourcebox released its first wave of attacks.

    There was a shocking boom that sounded like an explosion of thunder, and it echoed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He was stunned; this attack contained both spiritual power and star energy. It was no wonder why there were so many rune lines.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision waspletely different from everyone else¡¯s. Most would not see anything at all, as spiritual force attacks were formless and invisible.

    Fortunately, these spiritual force attacks were not quite as strong as Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s Skybreaker, andpared to back when Lu Yin had fought against Nighking Zhenwu, he had already be a Hunter. Thus, he was able to easily endure these spiritual force attacks. Otherwise, he would have been forced to start reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Step by step, Lu Yin approached the bridge. The spiritual force attacks continuously assaulted Lu Yin''s mind and grew more and more powerful as he drew closer. When he was still about a meter away from the bridge, Lu Yin actually saw a scene from ancient times. There was a young man kneeling before the bridge, and on the other side, there was an old man.

    ¡°If you and the others who want to join our sect can cross this bridge, you will prove your strength of will. Only those who can cross the bridge qualify to enter the sect.

    ¡°Anyone unable to cross this bridge must immediately leave.¡±

    ¡°This bridge represents the immortal splendor of my sect and the pride that will not allow others to defile it.¡±

    The moment Lu Yin raised a hand to touch the bridge, a terrifying attack descended from beyond the sky. The bridge shook, moving out of reach of Lu Yin, and simultaneously, sword qi severed the massive sect thaty beyond the bridge.

    ''''We are immortals! This should not happen! My sect should not be suppressed!''

    ¡°We are unwilling to seal this bridge! This bridge records my sect''s peerless battle skills, and whoever can receive this bridge will inherit them when rebuilding my sect. My sect was known as the Rocksoul Sect.¡±

    ...

    As Lu Yin pressed a hand against the bridge, his eyes snapped open. He saw an overwhelming number of rune lines gather together and crash down to crush him. He was startled, and he immediately began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures as an oppressive spiritual force attack fell down upon him. The attack took on the form of a visible sound wave that spread out, so intense that the void began trembling.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1197: Energy Flow

    <h4>Chapter 1197: Energy Flow</h4>

    Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi were terrified by the scene, and they fled.

    Gui Junheng''s eyes showed that he was impressed, but he merely waved a hand to dispel the sound wave. The Array Master looked at Lu Yin and saw that all that had happened was that a bit of sweat had beaded up on Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. The youth opened his eyes and continued.

    Gui Junheng nodded in approval. As expected of the Human Domain¡¯s most talented Lockbreaker among the younger generation. It was clear that Lu Yin was able to control his spiritual force.

    Just because a person was capable of unleashing powerful attacks did not mean that their spiritual force would also be as impressive; the two metrics werepletely independent of each other.

    Upon thinking about this, Gui Junheng began to look through Lu Yin''s records.

    All of the Lockbreakers throughout the Lockbreaker World praised how Lu Yin had handled the attack.

    "So there are people in my Lockbreaker Society who qualify to inherit this organization. It¡¯s not easy to even touch such a sourcebox at his age, and he¡¯sparable to Wu Dan."

    "Yes, this child is even from the Outerverse. Geoffrey must be thrilled."

    "It¡¯s too bad that that old drunk¡¯s gone, as this would give him another reason to get drunk."

    "Whether or not he canpare to Wu Dan will also depend on whether or not he¡¯s able to sessfully unlock this sourcebox. Approaching it merely indicates that his strength is enough to begin."

    ¡­

    Somewhere in the starry sky, Wu Dan was staring at a screen in front of him, and he watched as Lu Yin started lockbreaking. A smile slowly began to appear on Wu Dan¡¯s face; things were starting to be interesting. As an independent organization, the Lockbreaker Society was not able to overwhelm thepetition in ZENITH. However, Wu Dan had been working hard to master a sourcebox array in preparation for those arrogant young talents. Still, he alone would not be enough, and he needed someone there who could be used as aparison to him, and Lu Yin was the best option.

    Beneath countless eyes, Lu Yin began lockbreaking.

    It was prohibited to use any items when taking a lockbreaking exam, though Lu Yin did not even have anything that he could use. By now, he had already grown past the upgraded gemspring water of being any help to him.

    Still, Lu Yin did not need to rely on any lockbreaking tools. He had alreadyprehended a sourcebox array, and as for his lockbreaking abilities, he had improved tremendously after learning from the Daosource Sect¡¯s tform of Inception and reading through Gu Yue¡¯s journal.

    Lu Yin''s lockbreaking method was different from most contemporary Lockbreakers, and it was actually more simr to the ancient methods.

    He swept his star energy across the entire bridge, and once he saw the condensed energies that formed the sourcebox, he felt as though he were peering into an alternative universe. Still, his star energy control had reached the Worldliness realm, and he had also extensively studied Gu Yue¡¯s journal, which made it easier for him to unravel the energies covering the stone bridge. He then began to search for the opening.

    Gui Junheng and the others watched Lu Yin crouch down and begin lockbreaking from a specific corner. Most Lockbreakers were not able to understand Lu Yin¡¯s choice, and the faces of the very few who could immediately changed, as they had noticed what Lu Yin was doing.

    Many of the spectators were surprised. "He¡¯s already able to perceive the energies¡¯ flow despite his youth. That¡¯s not something that Lockbreakers are normally capable of, as not only does it require a fine control of one¡¯s star energy, but also sufficient experience. Where did this childe from?"

    "There are many experienced Advanced Lockbreakers who need to use lockbreaking tools, battle techniques, and everything else at their disposal to aplish such a feat, but this child is able to aplish this so easily. His lockbreaking talent is extraordinary."

    "Whose disciple is this child?"

    Being able to see the pattern behind a sourcebox¡¯s energies was one thing, but being able to use those veins of energies to elerate one¡¯s lockbreaking speed was an entirely different matter.

    Lockbreaking was aplex process, and it could be said that it revealed everything that a Lockbreaker had mastered.

    Lu Yin traced the flow of the energies within the stone bridge, and he carefully observed the runes filling his vision. Then, he quickly identified the blockages in the flowing energy and traced them back. Suddenly, 720 stars erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s body and surrounded the entire stone bridge.

    Someone in the Lockbreaker World who was watching was shocked by the sight. "That¡¯s actually the Cosmic Art, and he¡¯s even reached the peak of the thirdyer! So this child¡¯s a member of the Cosmic Sect?"

    "Is he from my Cosmic Sect? Haha, awesome!"

    "So he¡¯s from the Cosmic Sect. Then, this is normal."

    Not far from the where Lu Yin was lockbreaking, there was a bit ofnd above a sea. This ce was where many Lockbreakers were tested. There was one remote portion of this ind where a person named Xiu Ming lived. He was from the Neoverse, and he was actually the president of the entire Lockbreaker Society. He was an incredibly powerful Lockbreaker, and he was known as Grandmaster Xiu.

    There was a thatched hut, a flowerbed, and a waterfall next to where Xiu Ming lived.

    He was lounging in a recliner that gently rocked as he stared at a screen. Xiu Ming was also quite surprised at what he saw, as well as delighted. "Young man, you are quite powerful. So there still are people who will inherit this society. However, this child is far more conniving and ambitious than Wu Dan. Even if a Lockbreaker is extremely talented, his future achievements will be limited by his mindset, and he will never be able to reach the true peak. What a pity.

    "You should continue to train and train. If you train to the level where you qualify to be one of the society¡¯s presidents, then not even old guy Geoffrey will be able to teach you anymore." Having spoken, Xiu Ming seemed to suddenly remember something, and he took out his gadget. "It¡¯s been a long time, and the society has nothing that it needs to bother you for, but you should have a student and do some teaching. You already know about Lu Yin, and you are not strangers."

    Atop Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen was calmly looking at a screen, and it was showing Lu Yin unlocking the stone bridge sourcebox.

    Behind the ancient powerhouse, Highsage Wudi was sitting cross-legged on the ground. His eyes would flick up from time to time, and he looked distressed.

    Sitting down cross-legged was a very simple action, but Highsage Wudi felt like he was suffering through purgatory at this moment. Clearly, his experience was different from a regr person¡¯s.

    "Arch-Elder Zen, you seem to be very concerned about my junior brother," Highsage Wudi asked in a strange tone.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied in a light tone, "Don''t call him ¡®junior brother¡¯ in the future. I have already told Highsage Grandmaster that, starting from today, Eversky Ind has no one by the name of Lu Yin."

    Highsage Wudi was taken aback. "Why? Does Old Zen have some opinion about him?"

    Arch-Elder Zen looked over at Highsage Wudi. "Highsage Grandmaster gave him a choice, and Lu Yin did not choose Eversky Ind. I also gave him a choice, but he still did not choose Eversky Ind. It is his life, and he already has a master. Thus, there is no need for you to intervene."

    "Master also mentioned that he must have another master, but he didn''t say who that is. Is there someone in the Fifth Maind who surpasses you and my master?" Highsage Wudi was surprised and grew even more puzzled.

    Arch-Elder Zen did not respond. Instead, he continued to silently stare into the screen, as though he was staring at a treasure.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1198: Sourceboxâ€™s Contents

    <h4>Chapter 1198: Sourcebox¡¯s Contents</h4>

    In the Innerverse, at the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters, Casanova was idly flipping through his gadget. He was bored and was hoping to find a beautiful woman to chat with.

    Somewhat nearby, Liu Ju was casually browsing through the Lockbreaker Network and looking at lockbreaking videos.

    Across the room, there was a man squatting on the ground and ying video games, which was an oddity among cultivators.

    Even further away, there was another young man leaning against the wall. His entire body was shrouded in the shadows so that his face was not visible.

    There were silent Lockbreakers everywhere, and some of them would asionally get up and look for a lockbreaking room.

    No one spoke, and it was very quiet, but the silence was suddenly broken as someone called out, "Hey, this person, is this Lu Yin?"

    The name ¡°Lu Yin¡± meant little to those in the Neoverse, but he had long be famous throughout the Outerverse and Innerverse.

    The person who had spoken up was a middle-aged man who enjoyed a high status within the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society. He was even a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but at this moment, he was being incredibly disruptive.

    Casanova and others all looked at the man.

    The middle-aged man adjusted his gadget to disy a video in front of everyone. It was of Lu Yin unlocking the stone bridge sourcebox.

    The people there could barelyprehend what they were seeing.

    The middle-aged man solemnly exined, "This video is a livestream from the Neoverse. He¡¯s taking a ranking exam."

    Although some people still did not understand what they were looking at, most people were petrified by the exnation.

    Everyone knew that Lu Yin was Seventh Bro, and they all knew that when Seventh Bro hadst taken a ranking exam, he had jumped from being the one star Perceptive Intermediate level to a five star one. This massive jump had caused a great deal of confusion within the Lockbreaker Society, and many were still shocked by his results. But at this moment, it was obvious that Lu Yin was taking the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker exam.

    Lu Yin was already qualified to be an Advanced Lockbreaker?

    Everyone gasped. No, this is too fast!

    Casonova pursed his lips. Freak.

    Liu Ju was stunned; her chance to challenge Lu Yin had already disappeared. Even though Lu Yin had not sessfully passed the Lockbreaker ranking exam yet, for some reason, everyone thought that he would seed.

    The other two young people nearby were also staring at the image. They were both members of the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five. One was named Mi Wen, who was a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and the other was Qing Zhiyu.1 He was the leader of the Distinguished Five, and just the day before, he had be a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker, which was something that not even Wu Dan had learned of yet.

    However, even if Wu Dan had learned of such a thing, he still would not care. As he had told Lu Yin, there was only a difference of one word between an Advanced and an Intermediate Lockbreaker, but that difference was also the difference between heaven and earth.

    "Lu Yin, what a legend." Mi Wen smiled as he looked over at Qing Zhiyu. "If he joins my Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, he can take your ce."

    Qing Zhiyu silently leaned back against the wall and ignored her.

    At that moment, a lockbreaking room off in the distance opened, and someone exited. If Lu Yin was present, he would be surprised, as this person was an old acquaintance of his.

    Dao Bo was the one who emerged.

    Qing Zhiyu spoke to him, saying, "Congrattions on bing a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. You¡¯re one of the Distinguished Five. No, sorry, it¡¯s the Distinguished Four now."

    The Innerverse Lockbreaker Society used to have the Distinguished Five, but unfortunately, two of them had died during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. Otherwise, even though Dao Bo had be an Intermediate Lockbreaker, he would not have qualified to receive such a title.

    It was supposed to be a happy asion for a new member to join the Distinguished Five, but at this moment, everyone was focused on the disyed stream. It would be a major event if Lu Yin was promoted to a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Lu Yin represented the Outerverse, and his sess would mean that the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society had surpassed the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society. The Neoverse Lockbreaker Society had always stood at the top, and this would mean that their Innerverse Society would fall to the bottom.

    Dao Bo nodded to Qing Zhiyu and then looked at the image that everyone was focusing on. He was surprised to see Lu Yin.

    "You have a good student." Mi Wen looked at Dao Bo with a smile, but then she continued with her video game.

    Everyone silently stared at the image of Lu Yin lockbreaking.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin spent an entire day in the Lockbreaker World unlocking the sourcebox. With his current lockbreaking speed, it would not take him long to understand an intermediate sourcebox and unlock it. However, this Boundless Advanced sourcebox was clearly in a different realm, and it would take him more than a few days to do so.

    Once it became clear that Lu Yin had managed to sessfully start the actual lockbreaking process, everyone knew that his sess was just a matter of time. Unless he ran out of energy, he would be able to seed no matter how long the process took him, and no one even considered the possibility of him giving up due to exhaustion.

    Two more days passed, and most of the people in the Lockbreaker World stopped watching since the final result was already clear. Many of them would want to see the video after everything was finished, but that was only because they were curious as to what the sourcebox held.

    There were many sourceboxes throughout the universe. Each had a unique form, and no two sourceboxes were identical.

    Sourceboxes could take any shape and form, but the form of a stone bridge was very unusual. Many people had tried to unlock it before, so they were even more curious as to what the sourcebox contained.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin''s expression was solemn as he seriously observed the sourcebox. He had already unlocked most of it, and he was on the verge of finally seeding. He was also anticipating finding out what the sourcebox contained.

    With a gentle sound, the final bits of condensed energies that formed the sourcebox¡¯s blockages disintegrated, and everyone stared on expectantly; what would happen next?

    The stone bridge sourcebox was truly ancient, and it was clearly something of great significance for a bridge to be sealed into a sourcebox.

    The sessful unlocking of any Boundless Advanced sourcebox would draw a great deal of attention, and this was where most Lockbreakers would stop their recording in order to prevent anyone else from discovering what the sourcebox contained.

    Although Lu Yin was too inexperienced to stop the recording, fortunately for him, Gui Junheng took action and stopped the video at the moment that the lockbreaking finished. Otherwise, everyone would know what Lu Yin had gained.

    When the video suddenly stopped, many people throughout the Lockbreaker World were stunned. If Lu Yin had seeded, then he had just be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    There was a huge difference between a Perceptive Intermediate and a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and these two different ranks heldpletely different statuses.

    Every Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker enjoyed privileges that far surpassed what regr Lockbreakers received. The moment that an Advanced Lockbreaker died, their death would invariably be investigated, which was the same as having ten Honor points.

    In the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, everyone stared at the nk screen in shock. Even after the video cut off, they all remained silent.

    Dao Bo let out a long breath. He could still remember when Lu Yin had been a student in the Astral Combat Academy and how he had ended up butting heads with the ze Realm. Dao Bo had helped Lu Yin out at that time, and even back then, Lu Yin had possessed many different statuses and positions. But now, the umtion of everything that Lu Yin had gained made him a truly unique existence.

    Among their peers, who else was capable of the same?

    In the Neoverse, on top of Mt. Microcosms, Highsage Wudi sighed. "What a pity. If he had joined our Eversky Ind, then Master definitely would have raised this kid with all his strength. None of us can inherit the mantle of Grandmaster, but this kid might have been able to. What a pity."

    Arch-Elder Zen lightly said, "It''s fine. His achievements are still those of my Human Domain, and he still belongs to my Fifth Maind."

    Although Lu Yin had only just be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, there were people who were not looking at this present strength, but rather at the birth of a dazzling powerhouse who would appear countless years in the future.

    A person¡¯s level determined what they were capable of seeing. Wu Dan was an Advanced Lockbreaker, and thus, he only saw a Lockbreaker when looking at Lu Yin.

    Yuhua Mavis and others saw Lu Yin''sbat power, but not his lockbreaking talent.

    As for Mu En, he recognized Lu Yin''s ambition and ability that had allowed him to unite the Outerverse.

    Everyone stood in a different position, and naturally, what they saw was affected by where they stood. No one believed that what they saw was just one aspect of Lu Yin.

    Only an old man like Arch-Elder Zen who stood at the very top of the entire universe and was aware of both the current universe and the ancient world, was able to clearly see Lu Yin as he truly was.

    In another sense, for a young man to require someone at Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s level to urately evaluate him showed just how much of a genius he really was.

    Within the Lockbreaker World, Lu Yin stared nkly at the ce where the stone bridge sourcebox had stood. Upon unlocking the sourcebox, there was only gravel to be seen and nothing else.

    He pursed his lips. He had sessfully unlocked the sourcebox, but the stone bridge had also disappeared. This was the main frustration of all Lockbreakers; it was incredibly dangerous to unlock a sourcebox, and there was no guarantee of there being anything within the sourcebox.

    Xiao Chi sighed. "Nothing. What bad luck.¡±

    Xiao Shi shook his head.

    Gui Junheng continued to stare at the gravel on the ground, and his eyes suddenly shed. "There is something."

    Upon hearing this, Lu Yin also noticed that there was something hidden within the ordinary gravel. Was that¡­ fatesand?

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he quickly blew away the gravel to reveal sixteen bits of fatesand left on the ground.

    Fatesand was extraordinarily rare. Lu Yin had encountered many people in the Innerverse and Outerverse, but very, very few had possessed fatesand. Lu Yin had once stolen Hong Ying¡¯s fatesand and merged it with what he had received from Mister Mu, and now, this one sourcebox had given him sixteen more.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed, as this was absolutely wonderful.

    Gui Junheng nodded and admiringly said, "It''s rare to unlock a sourcebox and actually get something from it."

    Lu Yin quickly put away the fatesand. "Thank you, senior, for giving me this ranking exam."

    Gui Junheng smiled and replied, "Don''t thank me. The Lockbreaker Society willpensate me with an advanced sourcebox after giving you your new ranking. I¡¯ve lost nothing, and I was even able to witness the birth of a new Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker for myself, haha."

    Lu Yin smiled, and then suddenly remembered something. He lifted a hand, caused some bits of fatesand to appear, and handed them over to Xiao Chi and Xiao Shi. "These are for you."

    The two mushroom-headed teens froze for a moment. They looked at each other and then at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin said, "Thank you for introducing Master Gui to me. This is a gift to say thank you."

    Giving anything to Gui Junheng would be a p to his face. He was a senior, and Lu Yin was not qualified to give a gift to such an expert. So, all he could do was offer something to these two teens. Xiao Chi was Gui Junheng¡¯s apprentice, so giving Xiao Chi a gift would count as a gift to Gui Junheng.

    Gui Junheng watched the exchange with a smile.

    The two mushroom heads flinched.

    Lu Yin smiled and encouragingly said, "Take them, it''s fine."

    The two finally took the grains of fatesand.

    Fatesand was extremely useful to Lu Yin. He had managed to steal fatesand from Hong Ying, and as a result, he had discovered that fatesand could be merged. Thus, the fatesand that he had just received should also be able to merge with what was already in his body.

    He needed to perfectly merge it with the fatesand next to his heart in order to seal off the ck and white fog.

    If he sealed off the ck and white fog with fatesand, then it should be impossible for others to detect it. However, that was still wholly dependent on the strength of the observer.

    "Just wait here. Your exam will soon be assessed, and once your sess is announced, you will be qualified to own your own here in the Lockbreaker World. You¡¯ll also be able to enjoy all of the benefits of the Lockbreaker Society, including lockbreaking tools, techniques, and being able to exchange for sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea with sourceboxes of equal value," Gui Junheng exined.

    The Ancient Spirit Sea was the nearby sea maintained by the enormous sourcebox array formed from the six massive sourceboxes.

    Lu Yin asked curiously, "Senior, I don''t know what the sourcebox formation of the Lockbreaker World is called."

    Gui Junheng casually responded, "The Six Ancient Spirit Array.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned.

    Xiao Shi looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "Have you heard of it before?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I haven''t heard it before, but the name sounds amazing."

    At this moment, Gui Junheng''s gadget beeped with a notification, and he nced at it. He then told Lu Yin and the two teens, "I¡¯m heading out, so you guys are free to do whatever you want."

    With that, he immediately left.

    Xiao Chi moved over to where the stone bridge sourcebox had once stood before being unlocked. He regretfully said, "It¡¯s too bad that the advanced sourcebox had nothing but fatesand inside it."

    Xiao Shi said, "It''s fine. Fatesand is incredibly valuable, and almost no one in the Innerverse or Outerverse has any. Even in the Neoverse, there aren¡¯t many people who can get a hold of it. It''s just a pity that it can''t be gathered, as doing so will lead you to Destiny."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows shot up, as Xiao Shi''s words had disrupted his thoughts. "What did you say? ¡®Gathered?¡¯"

    Xiao Shi said, "Yeah, fatesand."

    "What do you mean by ¡®gathered fatesand?¡¯ Is it scattered?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi nodded. He shoved his sses up and opened his massive book. His expression grew serious as he searched flipped through the pages. "Found it." He stared at the book before solemnly quoting, "Fatesand was created by Destiny. It sees the past and the future, and it offers one the possibility of peering through the long rivers of the time. It is a very magical item.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the book that did not have a word written within it.

    [1] Qing Zhiyu means "light as a feather." ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1199: Star Devourer

    <h4>Chapter 1199: Star Devourer</h4>

    Xiao Chi was surprised. "Lead you to Destiny? What does that mean?"

    Xiao Shi exined, "Destiny is an ancient powerhouse from the same generation as the God of Death."

    Xiao Chi sucked in a cold breath. "There was more than one powerhouse in the God of Death¡¯s generation?"

    Xiao Shi grew serious. "Not just those two. There were many more, but I can¡¯t figure out why they disappeared."

    Lu Yin had no desire to continue the conversation. This was nothing more than a fable. The God of Death, Destiny, and all the rest sounded even more far-fetched than the Starsybil Sect¡¯s divination powers in Lu Yin¡¯s ears.

    However, the name fatesand did have a strong sense of mystery to it.

    At that moment, a dinging sound came from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. He looked down and saw that Seventh Bro¡¯s profile page on the Lockbreakers Network had changed. Before, he had been a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and now, he was a one star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. He had done it.

    At this same time, messages poured in from all over. The same thing had happened when he had first be a five star Intermediate Lockbreaker. Actually, to some degree, this happened every time he improved, but he had never paid any attention to the messages.

    However, there was one message that thrilled him, which was one informing him that he had been given a within the Lockbreaker World.

    Anyone who became an Advanced Lockbreaker would receive a in the Lockbreaker World whenever they made it to the hidden world in the Neoverse. Saul was also eligible to receive such a, but since he had never traveled to the Neoverse, he had never received one.

    Lu Yin had been given a in a good location, and it actually neighbored Gui Junheng¡¯s, which meant that it was quite close to the Ancient Spirit Sea, which made it a great location.

    Lu Yin led Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi over to see the.

    "So it¡¯s this," Xiao Chi said.

    Xiao Shi wondered, "You know it?"

    Xiao Chi nodded. "This used to belong to a high-level Advanced Lockbreaker. I met him a few times, but he¡¯s almost always gone. Last time, he left when the Sixth Maind invaded, and he never came back. Finally, the society put his name on the list of the deceased."

    Lu Yin¡¯s feelings grewplicated. Too many people had died when the Sixth Maind had invaded. Lu Yin had not seen much of the invasion, but people from all over the Human Domain had perished during the invasions.

    The Sixth Maind owed toorge of a blood debt to the Fifth Maind.

    It was possible that this was part of the reason why the Sixth Maind wanted to settle in the Outerverse; less blood had been spilled between the Sixth Maind and the Outerverse. Also, it was true that the Innerverse could not possibly amodate everyone from the Sixth Maind.

    Everything that had belonged to the former owner had already been removed from the, and it was devoid of everything besides a few mechanical servants.

    There are very few ordinary people within the Lockbreaker World, as everyone who entered the hidden dimension was a Lockbreaker. Thus, typically, the servants of powerful Lockbreakers were actually the expert¡¯s students.

    "Lu, Big Brother Lu, do you want to start gathering students?" Xiao Chi eagerly asked.

    Xiao Shi''s eyes lit up, and he also looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed. "For what?"

    "We¡¯ll help you find some!" Xiao Chi was eager to take on such a task, as it sounded quite fun.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ll be heading back to the Outerverse soon, and I won¡¯t be visiting here too often."

    Xiao Chi was disappointed.

    "You two just do whatever you want for a bit. I''m going to head off and unlock the sourceboxes that I have from before," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Chi looked at Lu Yin. "What kind of sourceboxes? Do you have a humanoid one?"

    Lu Yin shook his head, but then he became surprised as he realized what he had just heard. "There are humanoid sourceboxes?"

    Xiao Chi and Xiao Shi looked at each other and then nodded in unison.

    "I¡¯ve never seen such a thing before. What kind of sourceboxes are humanoid? Could they be people?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Xiao Chi''s expression grew serious. "They are people, but maybe not good people."

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    Xiao Shi pulled Xiao Chi over and whispered in his ear. Xiao Chi nodded from time to time and then looked at Lu Yin. "Big Brother Lu, you¡¯re now an Advanced Lockbreaker, but if someone asks you to unlock a sourcebox in the shape of a lifeform, it would be best to leave it alone."

    "Something in the shape of a person or an animal?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Chi nodded.

    "Tell me why," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Chi shook his head. "I know that you don¡¯t believe me right now, but you have to be careful. I¡¯ve warned many people about it, but no one ever listens to me. Also, no one has ever seen a humanoid sourcebox before."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he pointed to Xiao Shi''s book. "Is this connected to something in that book?"

    Xiao Shi was shocked. "How did you know?"

    Lu Yin stopped paying attention to the two mushroom heads. Instead, he found a ce to be alone and left the two teens looking at each other.

    "Do you think he believes us?"

    "Probably not."

    "No one believes us, not even the president."

    "It''s fine. That sort of thing shouldn''t happen anyway, as it''s very unlikely."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin found a quiet ce that was quiterge and secluded himself. Many of thes in the Lockbreaker World were draped with spiritual thread, which made the substance nearly worthless in this ce.

    Lu Yin did not actually have a sourcebox that he wanted to unlock. Rather, he wanted to roll his die and study the pages of True Insight that were in his possession. He had returned one of the pages to the Lockbreaker Society, which meant that he still had five pages of True Insight left.

    Lu Yin did not know how many sourcebox arrays he could learn from these five pages of True Insight, but he was looking forward to it. Also, the journal that Gu Yue had been in possession of also seemed to have some sourcebox arrays, but those records were iplete.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and caused his die to appear. He did not bother removing his cosmic ring, as he had not rolled six pips in a very long time.

    This thought was still in his mind as the die came to a stop, and Lu Yin was struck dumb. It really was six pips.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and he appeared in a strange ce where he was surrounded by spheres of light. Lu Yin did not know or have any control over who he would Possess, but with 7.21 million star essence in his cosmic ring, he felt that he could end up very, very far away.

    He looked around, found an exceptionally bright light, and immediately merged with it.

    His vision changed once again, and Lu Yin blinked. He took a good look at what was in front of him and was dazed by what he saw. What was he looking at? What the hell was this?

    He was in the middle of outer space, but there was dirt floating around him, and there were numerouss off in the distance.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was in the middle of outer space, and there was a bizarrely shaped creature eating a in front of him.

    Lu Yin rubbed his eyes and looked again. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, as, yes, it really was a massive beast chomping away at a. A creature was eating an entire; just what the hell was going on?

    Soon, memories poured in. Lu Yin closed his eyes for a while, and when they opened up once again, the shock that filled him was almost overwhelming.

    The giant beast devouring the in front of him was known as a Star Devourer.

    Lu Yin had not expected to return to the Astral Beast Domain once again, but he had Possessed a Star Devourer¡¯s guardian this time. This guardian had a power level of over 300,000, which was part of what had made this individual so initially appealing to Lu Yin. Coincidentally, he had managed to see a Star Devourer in person as it was eating a.

    At this time, another memory entered his mind, and it quickly swelled through his mind. Lu Yin understood.

    The Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, and they had invaded the Astral Beast Domain as well as the Human Domain. However, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s casualties had been heavy, and they had lost nearly half of everything.

    It was only after news of ZENITH being released that new members had entered Skymender¡¯s List.

    This Star Devourer was one of those individuals. It was truly an amazing astral beast, and just like Tian Hou, it was a species that rarely was born. Their diet consisted of entires, and the mores that they consumed, the stronger that they would be.

    A Star Eater could digest a and convert its mass into power. If the Mavis family was the representative of the physical strength in the Human Domain, then Star Devourers were the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s equivalent.

    The Star Devourer was not the only new addition to Skymender¡¯s List, as the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Crown Prince Yao Xuan and a carrion bug named Bai Mai had also been ced on the list.

    The Celestial Beast List was a record of the most powerful creatures in the Astral Beast Domain, and the top entry was the Celestial Demons. This race had also founded the Celestial Beast Empire.

    The second entry was the carrion bug race. Rumors imed that these creatures had been born from the corpses of powerful ancient creatures and that they were the ancestors of all insects. Although they were ranked second, they had not been seen in hundreds of thousands of years, and their various subspecies had all been hibernating this entire time.

    This information had alle from the memories of Star Devourer¡¯s guardian. If there were other young powerhouses that had been added on to Skymender¡¯s List, then this particr expert did not know about them.

    ZENITH was turning out to be something far more important than what Lu Yin had initially assumed. The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, a member of the carrion bug race, and this Star Devourer had all woken up because of their intention to join ZENITH.

    The Hall of Honor had agreed to hold ZENITH because of their absolute confidence in the Human Domain¡¯s victory, but victory would note easy.

    The Astral Beast Domain was making all these preparations, and the Technocracy had to be doing the same. And the Sixth Maind still hadn¡¯t even been mentioned.

    Lu Yin had actually been assuming that, after bing a Hunter and awakening a second innate gift, he would be able to sweep through his peers. With the exception of a select few like Shang Qing, no one within the same generation could rival Lu Yin. However, he was learning that his confidence might havee too soon. His current strength was not enough to be fearless of a Mavis n member¡¯s strength or this Star Devourer¡¯s power. What¡¯s more, he was also discovering that there were other creatures even more terrifying than this Star Devourer. Lu Yin subconsciously braced himself.

    He finally noticed that he had felt something strange when he had rubbed his eyes. When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that he was not in a familiar form, as he had Possessed an astral beast.

    The creature that Lu Yin had Possessed looked rather strange, and Lu Yin had no idea what the beast was called. He stared off into the distance and watched as the Star Devourer consumed the bite by bite. Lu Yin was left speechless upon discovering that there were so many monsters among his peers.

    Lu Yin was just about to leave after watching the Star Devourer eat for a bit when another memory that belonged to this body suddenly struck him.

    When I met a strong human known as Lu Yin, I tried to take away the beast hidden on his arm. The beast is known as the Ghost Monkey, and I must take it back.

    Lu Yin was startled, as this was a memory of a meeting with Skymender, the imperial tutor of the Celestial Beast Empire. This powerhouse had ordered the Star Devourer to take the Ghost Monkey back.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s existence had been exposed, though Skymender had likely known about the Ghost Monkey from the very beginning. He most likely just had not been able to do anything.

    Wait a minute, the Ghost Monkey had only been exposed during Lu Yin¡¯s fight within the Mountains and Seas Zone. Before that, he had always maintained tight control over the Ghost Monkey, and the Ghost Monkey had never been exposed. In other words, since the Astral Beast Domain was aware of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s actions during that time, then they should also be aware that Lu Yin had been captured by Shaman God. If the Astral Beast Domain was aware that Lu Yin had been captured, then why did they still believe that Lu Yin would be participating in ZENITH?

    Unless, the Astral Beast Domain had already received word that Lu Yin had returned.

    How long had it been? Had the Astral Beast Domain already received word? That was too quick, and it was clear that someone within the Human Domain had leaked the news.

    The Neohuman Alliance had Aeterna, which was a list of regr humans that served the Neohuman Alliance. The Astral Beast Domain must possess a simr list of traitors, though Lu Yin did not know the name of this list as the astral beast that he had Possessed was ignorant of such things.

    This showed the value of information.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1200: Inception Array

    <h4>Chapter 1200: Inception Array</h4>

    Lu Yin had arrived at the realization that the Innerverse and the Neoverse must also possess their own intelligenceworks.

    He suddenly thought of Zi Jing, as who could have greater ess to information than CyNet? It was a pity that CyNet was a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor that was closely supervised. That must be the reason why the Hall of Honor had been willing to give CyNet its own hidden world. It was impossible for Lu Yin to gain the loyalty of such an organization, and he realized that he was simply dreaming.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision changed once again as he ended the Possession and returned to his own body. Upon returning, he reflexively checked his cosmic ring. Unfortunately, of the 7.21 million star essence, only about 300,000 remained. This Possession had cost him about 6.9 million star essence, which was just too much.

    Still, the knowledge that he had gained was truly invaluable.

    With 300,000 star essence left in his possession, Lu Yin did not hesitate to roll his die once again. This time, he rolled one pip: Pilfer, and a token fell out.

    It looked to be some kind of imperial token, and it broke under just a bit of force. Judging by the material¡¯s quality, the empire that had issued it was not even strong enough to control a single weave, and such a token was worthless to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin threw the considerations of the token out of his mind as he continued to roll the die. Next, Lu Yin rolled three pips: Enhance, but since he was broke, he was unable to upgrade anything. Thus, he simply continued.

    His next roll finally ended on four pips: Timestop.

    The scenery changed before his eyes as he entered the Timestop Space.

    300,000 star essence was only able to extend his time in this ce to a bit more than 200 days, but Lu Yin was already able to form his own star crystals at this point in time. Although this would be a bit annoying to deal with, he could still extend his time by nearly a year if he condensed his own star crystals.

    Lu Yin had used his Timestop Space for nearly a year in the area with the eyes at the top of the mountain in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and that session had improved his control of star energy to the Worldliness realm as well asprehend the Teleportation Formation sourcebox array. He did not know what sort of results he could achieve this time.

    Lu Yin nced at the number representing how much time he potentially had left. He then removed the golden pages of True Insight from his cosmic ring.

    He had five pages, and it was time to go through them.

    True Insight was a manuscript made up of thirty six pages in total. It belonged to the Hall of Honor, and it was a supreme treasure of sourcebox arrays.

    Only Advanced Lockbreakers had the potential toprehend the sourcebox arrays recorded in True Insight, and even then, it was possible for the sourcebox arrays to be beyond their capabilities.

    Lu Yin had assumed thatprehending the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Teleportation Array meant that he would also be able toprehend the sourcebox arrays in True Insight. However, he had underestimated the golden pages and evaluated himself too highly.

    He realized that it was possible that what he had learned had just been a simplified version of the Teleportation Array that had been specifically designed for the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples to learn. Qiu Shi had most likely also learned the same thing.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that it would take several years or even decades to fullyprehend a sourcebox array. There were some arrays that could even take him hundreds of years, and there were still others that would never beprehended even after spending an entire lifetime studying them.

    Lu Yin read all five pages of True Insight and then finally selected one page to study. It seemed to be the simplest sourcebox array, and it was known as the Inception Array. Lu Yin did not even know what the array did, but he was in the Timestop Space.

    The main reason why it was so important for Lockbreakers to improve their star energy control was so that they could eventuallyprehend sourcebox arrays. Only after reaching the Worldliness realm of control could one use star energy to mimic the danger zones radiated by sourceboxes. Otherwise, one would have to arrange a sourcebox array with sourceboxes that had identical danger zones, which was practically impossible.

    To put it more simply, sourcebox arrays were a method to simte the power of the predecessors.

    First, one needed to simte, learn, and graduallyprehend the array before they could ultimately arrange a sourcebox array on their own.

    It was said that top level Array Masters were capable of seeing through the danger zones of multiple sourceboxes in but a nce and that they could arrange even the mostplex and most powerful sourcebox arrays in just a few moments.

    At this point in time, Lu Yin struggled to unlock even a single advanced sourcebox, and he was far from even glimpsing the abilities of an Array Master.

    Of course, Lu Yin had no intention of overextending himself, and he intended to proceed step by step. As he progressed, he would eventually reach the point where he had fully grasped a sourcebox array.

    Time was nothing more than a number for most cultivators. When Lu Yin grew excited overprehending the Inception Array, he was almost out of time in the Timestop Space.

    The Inception Array was a sourcebox array that protected one¡¯s spiritual force. By using this array, one¡¯s spiritual force would be as sturdy as a rock. Although it was not invincible, it would still make one¡¯s spiritual force much more durable than before.

    Lu Yin tried it out. If he had possessed this sourcebox array when he had fought against Nightking Zhenwu, then not even the Nightking¡¯s Skybreaker would have been able to do much to Lu Yin. Even Zhenwu¡¯s cheat-like innate gift would not have been enough to threaten Lu Yin.

    Also, there was another important aspect to the Inception Array, which was that it was able to nourish and strengthen one¡¯s spiritual force. Although the effect was not much, it was still much better than the slow improvement that naturally urred with time. Once Lu Yin found a suitable method for cultivating his spiritual force, this Inception Array would be a perfect supplement.

    Although this sourcebox array seemed to be rather useless since it was unable to be used offensively, defensively, or even to heal, spiritual force was often a weakness for many people. There were also others who specialized in spiritual force attacks since that would typically give them an overwhelming advantage.

    With the Inception Array and the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin had no need to be concerned about his spiritual force being a weakness, not even if he faced a master of spiritual force.

    Wait, why did he just have to passively defend? Why couldn¡¯t he take the initiative to learn a strong spiritual force attack?

    Night Advent was useless against people like Nightking Zhenwu, but it was still very effective against other powerhouses. If Lu Yin managed to raise his spiritual force and his cultivation level even further, then he should be able to threaten top powerhouses like Yuhua Mavis.

    The more he thought about this, the more Lu Yin felt that he should attempt to further improve his spiritual force. He also happened to have a method to do so; which organization in the universe was more adept at using spiritual force than the Daynight n?

    The scenery before him changed, and Lu Yin reappeared in a secluded part of his in the Lockbreaker World. After rxing for a while, he found Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi, but he could not figure out what the two were muttering about. For them, almost no time had passed, but it had been a full year for Lu Yin. This disconnect with how others perceived the passage of time was something that Lu Yin had never been able to adjust to.

    He returned to the area of the that he had chosen to be private. There, he raised a hand and brought out the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stone.

    The Daynight Banquet had been held because of this stone, but the banquet had ultimately ended with Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s death. Zhenwu had never even considered letting Lu Yin survive, and thus, he had never asked for the inheritance stone. The Nightking had just assumed that he would take the stone back himself.

    This was why Lu Yin had never returned the stone of inheritance and why it was still in his possession. After all, Nightking Zhenwu had never retracted his usation against Lu Yin, and that had caused all sorts ofplications and problems for Lu Yin.

    Compared to such difficulties, Lu Yin would rather keep the stone of inheritance.

    The Daynight n was a powerful force, and there was no doubt that their spiritual force techniques were unparalleled throughout the universe. Those techniques were precisely what Lu Yin was currentlycking.

    Although the Daynight n was his enemy, Lu Yin had to admit that they were incredibly powerful.

    With a burning desire for the Daynight n¡¯s spiritual force techniques, Lu Yin entered the inheritance corridor once again. He found himself in a familiar ce, and he looked at the te that stood outside the corridor. When he had first seen this te, Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s name had topped the list, but his name had since disappeared and been reced by Zhuo Daynight.

    Although Zhuo Daynight had led the Dayking n to rebel against the Daynight n and had left for the Great Yu Empire in the Outerverse, the tablet in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds did not distinguish between family branches or ount for divisions within the n. Even Lu Yin¡¯s image had appeared on the tablet, so there was no need to mention why Zhuo Daynight¡¯s image was still present.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1201: The End Of The Inheritance Corridor

    <h4>Chapter 1201: The End Of The Inheritance Corridor</h4>

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s image on the ancestral que had be a terrible eyesore to the majority of the Nightking n after she had taken the top position away from Nightking Zhenwu. Just below her was Lu Yin, who was an even worse eyesore. Their ancestral que was topped by a traitor and an enemy.

    Zhanlong Daynight ranked third, but he had also moved to the Outerverse with Zhuo Daynight, which made him as well as everyone from the Daynight n more traitors.

    The fact that these three had imed the top ranks on the Daynight n¡¯s que in their ancestral grounds sent the entire family into a depressive mood. None of their youths were able to surpass these three, not even Nightqueen Yanqing, who had risen to fourth ce.

    Ever since Lu Yin had killed Nightking Zhenwu and used the Daynight n as a stepping stone to enter the Neoverse, the Daynight n hadpletely sealed themselves off. They could no longerpare to their former glory days when all of them had been tyrannical and proud. Their insufferable arrogance had drastically diminished since their loss.

    Even when Lu Yin had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, the Daynight n still had not uttered even a single word. Everyone was focused on the images on the que in the ancestral grounds, determined to surpass the top two.

    No matter how despicable or conceited the Daynight n might behave, the pride that they held in their own n was something that ran deep in their blood. They were the strongest n in the universe, and they would not allow anyone else to step on that pride. As long as they were unable to surpass Lu Yin and the two traitors to the n, then the Daynight n would remain sealed away from the universe.

    Even pitiful people would have some repulsive traits just as detestable people also possess some respectable traits. The Daynight n¡¯s methods of handling things were frowned upon by the various top powers of the Innerverse.

    Numerous Daynight n members were sitting cross-legged beneath the que in the ancestral grounds. Everyone here was trying their best to betterprehend the n¡¯s battle techniques and push their images up the stone que. People asionally coughed up blood, but they still persisted in their training.

    Directly beneath the que, Nightking Dijiang personally kept watch over everyone, though his eyes were fixed on Nightqueen Yanqing, who was sitting in the distance.

    After Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s death, Nightqueen Yanqing had be the Daynight n¡¯s greatest hope due to her excellent talent. Although she was severelyckingpared to her brother, it was still possible for her to improve her talent.

    Moving on, Nightking Dijian¡¯s eyes turned to Nightking Gu, and the old man silently shook his head. Nightking Gu had long since graduated from the younger generation, and his potential was now continually declining rather than improving.

    The old man then looked at each of the other members of the Nightking n in turn, but he only felt displeasure concerning them. He also turned to look at the Daynight n members, though he just shook his head yet again.

    The Daynight n¡¯s current younger generation had produced many gifted prodigies, but the more experienced n elders had once said that the entire generation¡¯s luck had been seized by Zhenwu. However, that was not actually the case. Zhuo Daynight, Zhanlong Daynight, and even Nightqueen Yanqing all possessed extraordinary talent. However, the n¡¯s most gifted youths had all betrayed the n with the sole exception of Nightqueen Yanqing.

    As Nightking Dijiang recalled how he had been suppressed by Highsage Shenwei, the Daynight patriarch¡¯s expression grew sinister, and a murderous intent surged forth, chilling the entire ancestral grounds.

    Beneath the que, most of the people from the Daynight n felt cold as chills ran down their spines, but they all remained silent out of fear. They had felt this oppressive aura emanate out from their patriarch multiple times recently, and they constantly felt like they were bncing upon the precipice between life and death.

    Nearby, the elders of the Nightking n sighed as one, though they did not dare to make any sounds.

    To some degree, each and every one of the elders felt responsible for how they had allowed a mere child to overturn their great Daynight n.

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s eyes were icy. Lu Yin, you bastard, he thought. If he had known that such a day woulde, then he would have eliminated that disastrous child early on. But unfortunately, it was already toote.

    These thoughts filled through Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s mind as he raised his head to look up at the stone que. He stared at Lu Yin¡¯s image so intently that the elder almost seemed to want to devour the youth.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s image flickered, and right after that, he reced Zhuo Daynight¡¯s image at the peak of the stone que.

    Nightking Yuanjing was dumbstruck, and he stared at the image in utter disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.

    Simrly, the others also quickly took note of this change. Countless members of the Daynight n continuously entered the inheritance stone to improve theirprehension of the n¡¯s battle techniques even though they were risking their lives. This was because every singlest one of them waspletely focused on taking one of the three top spots on the stone que. However, just now, Lu Yin had shot to the top of the que, seizing the position that should have belonged to Nightking Zhenwu. Of course, everyone would immediately notice such a change.

    A solemn silence filled the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds as everyone present looked up at the peak of the que in a daze.

    Nightking Dijiang was only momentarily stunned before a killing intent filled his eyes like never before.

    Zhuo Daynight had taken a full day toprehend the Dayking n¡¯s ultimate technique and reach the peak rankings on the stone que, but Lu Yin had actually managed to surpass her. What exactly had heprehended? Could it possibly be¡­?

    ¡­

    The long corridor that the inheritance stone gave ess to was as dark as ever. This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time here, and he was actually quite familiar with it. So, he just continued to move straight forward.

    In the past, he had traveled quite far down the corridor, so this time, he quickly returned to where he had previously reached his limit, which was also where he hadprehended Night Advent.

    He continued to advance further into the long corridor, steadily moving towards the deepest regions.

    As Lu Yin walked down the corridor, amazing strikes appeared before his eyes. These were not physical attacks, but rather attacks condensed from spiritual force. This was Skybreaker.

    Lu Yin had not expected that just one more step would allow him to learn Skybreaker, and his eyes radiated excitement as he quietly recited the Stonewall Scriptures, keeping his eyes fixed forward.

    He was well aware of Skybreaker¡¯s awesome power, as he had suffered at its hands more than once before. If not for the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin actually would have died to this technique long ago, but at this moment, he had an opportunity to learn it for himself.

    Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s ultimate technique had also been the battle technique that the First Nightking had used to subdue his generation. At this moment, the technique had revealed itself and bared its mysteries to Lu Yin.

    There were two ways to learn the Daynight n¡¯s inherited techniques. The first was to enter the long corridor and allow the will of the inheritance stone to bestow the techniques upon oneself as a member of the Daynight n, This was how Zhanlong Daynight had managed toprehend the Daynight Restoration Technique during his time in the corridor.

    The other method was to forge ahead by relying on individual ability. As long as a person could force their way into the depths of the corridor, they would be able to learn any technique avable to the Daynight n. This was the method that Lu Yin was using; since he was not an actual member of the Daynight n, no technique would be bestowed upon him by the corridor. So, he needed to acquire them by force.

    After an unknown amount of time, the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as the corridor vanished. He was thrilled. So this is Skybreaker.

    He raised a hand, and a visible, strange power manifested. It was his spiritual force, and it was now able to take on the form of shes that tore through the void. Although Lu Yin had not reached the same level of mastery over the technique as Nightking Zhenwu, there was still a visible amount of strange power, which was spiritual force, gathered around him. It then morphed into a series of shes that tore through the void. Although his Skybreaker had not yet reached the level of Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s, Lu Yin¡¯s control was still significantly better than most people¡¯s.

    Ever since he had learned Night Advent, Lu Yin had felt that its power was a bitcking, but now, he had finally obtained a powerful offensive spiritual force technique.

    He did not stop there, instead continuing forward, as he was only an arm¡¯s length away from the wall that marked the end of the long corridor.

    An endless amount of spiritual force repelled him when he tried to proceed further, and Lu Yin could not understand how a youth could possibly withstand such an intense spiritual force. Even the old monsters in the Daynight n who had nearly be Envoys might not be able to endure this much spiritual pressure.

    Luckily for him, Lu Yin was able to hold on due to the Stonewall Scriptures and hisprehension of the Inception Array, which had given him a deeper understanding of spiritual force.

    He raised his foot to take another step, and this was the single step that had caused him to surpass Zhuo Daynight and im the top position on the stone que in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    He was right at the end of the corridor, and Lu Yin saw a series of murals on the walls, though he could not understand them. They seemed to be portraying ancient stories, something about a war. Lu Yin took a closer look since he still was unable to receive any sort of inheritance or battle technique. All he could do was stare at the mural on the corridor walls and observe the vivid lines that made up each detail. He saw creatures of all shapes and sizes as well as¡ªclouds.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew somber as he stared intently at a ¡°cloud¡± symbol engraved on a girl¡¯s clothing in the mural. He had seen this symbol in the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s tablet world, on the body of a spiritual force figure. This symbol represented the faction behind the person who had used the Dream Finger.

    Lu Yin had not expected to see this symbol painted on the walls of the Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance¡¯s corridor. This symbol clearly represented some sort of faction or belief, and it was also a power that triggered his deepest hatred.

    What exactly did this symbol represent?

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew ragged as he forcefully resisted the overpowering spiritual force all so that he could take a closer look. He stepped forward once more, and this time, he managed to ce his hand atop the mural at the end of the corridor. At the same time, he tore through the void with a single finger, and his pupils constricted. The Dream Finger?

    That¡¯s not it. Lu Yin¡¯s expression wavered. The finger that he had just seen epassed both day and night, and it was clearly a spiritual force battle technique that belonged to the Daynight n. The moment he had seen it, it was as though he had also heard the words ¡°Nightking Advent Immortal Finger¡± ring through his head.

    This finger was clearly the same, but it also was not. Lu Yin could not suppress his urge to raise his hand and reach out his finger to make contact with the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger. The two techniques seemed simr, but one embodied an inexplicable grace at the fingertip while the other was a spiritual force battle technique that unleashed an irresistible and oppressive pressure.

    Although they looked identical, they were clearly not the same. But ironically, they clearly didn¡¯t originate from the same battle technique.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. This battle technique had only appeared at the very end of the corridor, but its power paled inparison to Skybreaker. He must have eitherprehended this finger technique incorrectly, or it must have some special meaning separate from its power.

    This battle technique definitely had something to do with the Dream Finger and the organization represented by the ¡°cloud¡± symbol.

    As soon as Lu Yinprehended the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger, the oppression from the spiritual force in the entire corridor vanished. Lu Yin raised his hand to touch the mural on the wall, and it was as though he was touching each and every one of the ancient scenes that had been recorded down on it.

    The end of the corridor only had one mural, and it did not appear to be anything special. No matter what, Lu Yin was simply unable to uncover the great treasure that was supposedly hidden in here.

    After half a day passed, he retracted his hand. He had not managed to gain anything. This was the end of the corridor in the Daynight n¡¯s stones of inheritance, but it only contained the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger.

    However, Lu Yin was not disappointed as he had at least found out that the faction represented by the ¡°cloud¡± symbol might have some kind of rtionship with the Daynight n.

    Lost in thought, Lu Yin turned around and exited the long corridor.

    After just a few steps, he suddenly froze in ce. What appeared before his eyes was no longer the corridor, but rather outer space. There were countless spacecraft and innumerable experts able to freely move throughout the universe, but they were all on their knees. ¡°We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader,¡± they chanted.

    ¡°We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader!¡±

    ¡°We pay our respects to the Alliance Leader!¡±

    ¡­

    Far away, the Astral River was as resplendent as ever, and many more people could be seen kneeling atop the Astral River Ark. Even further away, past the Astral River, Lu Yin could see the ze Realm within the zing Mist Flowzone as well as Daynight Flowzone. These powerhouses, all of them individuals who had once stood tall and proud in the universe and hailed from influential families with glorious heritages, were kneeling to him. This was the scene that greeted his eyes.

    After that, Lu Yin shifted his gaze past the Innerverse and into the Cosmic Sea. He was able to see the Neoverse, the Honor Zone, and even the entirety of Mt. Microcosms.

    Everyone was bowing to him, acknowledging and revering his new status.

    At that moment, Lu Yin reached the pinnacle of his entire life. He was standing at the peak of the entire Human Domain. There was no one above him, as everyone was beneath him.

    He was the master of the universe.

    Lu Yin blinked a few times. He was feeling quite dumbfounded; just what was going on? Suddenly, he remembered something, and his lips curled up. It turned out that Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was not only hidden within the Dayking n¡¯s bloodline, as it also existed within the inheritance corridor.

    Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was the battle technique that the Dayking had used to dominate an entire generation. It was known as the most powerful illusion technique, and it could swallow people without them ever realizing that they had fallen into an illusion.

    Zhuo Daynight had once attempted to immobilize Nightking Zhenwu by using Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and she had nearly seeded. Considering therge disparity in their strength at the time, it showed that the power of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was indeed iparable.

    Lu Yin had originally given up any hope of obtaining Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, but the thought that he would actually be able toprehend it here was incredible.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1202: Daynight Praises

    <h4>Chapter 1202: Daynight Praises</h4>

    Still, this was to be expected. The corridor that the inheritance stones connected to represented the entirety of the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance, and Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was naturally a part of that inheritance as well. Lu Yin had walked to the deepest portion of the corridor and touched the mural at the end, which essentially meant that he had sessfullypleted the entirety of the long corridor. This also meant that he couldprehend all of the battle techniques belonging to the Daynight n, which included Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    At this point in time, Lu Yin watched space change before him once more. This time, all of the people who had originally been paying their respects to him merged into a beam of light that formed into a falling de that bisected the entire universe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression of pride faded away, and he immediately started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. His footsteps grew lighter as he attempted to shake off the illusion.

    He ran into the stone walls of the corridor with a loud thud, knocking himself out momentarily. When he regained consciousness, Lu Yin¡¯s vision had changed once again, and he found himself back within the corridor.

    He rubbed his forehead as he carefully examined his surroundings. After all, he was still in a bit of shock from being nearly cleaved in two.

    He had just experienced Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, which was able to draw anyone into an illusion, even if they were fully aware of that fact. As Lu Yin panted from the shock of the event, the scenery around him returned to what he had just seen. Confused appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. This was not Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. Was it¡ªDaynight Praises?

    The Daynight n was very rich and powerful, and those aspects had been particrly strong during the time of the First Nightking and the First Dayking. The two of them hadmanded the respect of their peers for years, but even they had been unable to push their Daynight n into the Neoverse, which proved that there were multiple powerful factions that were even scarier than the Daynight n.

    Daynight Praises was the result of that union.

    Thebination of Skybreaker and Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was surprisingly powerful. The result seemed tobine the offensive power of the two, and thebination technique had even been used to eliminate an exceptionally strong opponent who had been beyond the founders¡¯ level in the past. That event was also the reason for the Dayking¡¯s death.

    Even though none of the Daynight n¡¯s records ounted for the Dayking¡¯s death, there were still numerous spections about it circting around. In truth, Daynight Praises had been the cause behind the Dayking¡¯s death. Not only had the death of that exceptional powerhouse enraged the organizations behind him, but the existence of Daynight Praises had also pushed the Daynight n to even greater heights, which had triggered a great deal of dissatisfaction amongst some people.

    Daynight Praises was a technique that unleashed Skybreaker within the illusion cast by Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    The unique characteristic of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was how it forced the target to fall into the illusion before taking advantage of that illusion to unleash unavoidable damage. This damage urred both within and without the illusion, so if Skybreaker, which was known for its countless attacks, was somehow added on top of such an illusion, then just how terrifying would thatbination be?

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew ragged. This had to be the final inheritance of the entire corridor: Daynight Praises.

    It was no wonder why Nightking Zhenwu had always wanted to gain Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. He must have already known about the existence of Daynight Praises, and if he had ever gotten hold of this technique, his strength would havepletely transformed. Lu Yin could imagine the horrifying scene of Nightking Zhenwu using Night¡¯s End, Daybreak to entrance everyone before unleashing an infinite barrage of Skybreaker. Such an attack would have been able to suppress all of the younger powerhouses who had managed to climb atop the Astral Tower and werepeting for the positions of the Cosmic Five.

    The reason why some of the Ten Arbiters had not attempted to break through to the Enlighter realm yet was because of theircking foundations, but this Daynight Praises would have been the perfect technique to solidify Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s foundation before that next breakthrough.

    If Nightking Zhenwu had managed to learn Daynight Praises and also be an Enlighter, then Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the Nightking would have been one of the few youths at the absolute peak of the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s unparalleled physical power, Unseen Light¡¯s peerless domain, and Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mastery of spiritual force meant that each one of them represented the pinnacle in a specific aspect. Now, such a pinnacle had been handed over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin spent ten days or so odd days trying toprehend the techniques that he had just gained from the inheritance stone.

    These ten days were utterly tortuous for the Daynight n. Everyone stared at Lu Yin¡¯s image atop the stone que in their ancestral grounds. All of them felt dazed, angry, helpless, or frustrated. Countlessplex emotions surged forth within the hearts of the members of the Daynight n.

    Even Nightking Dijiang was only able to nkly stare at Lu Yin¡¯s image.

    If this young man were to fully mature, then would there be any room for their Daynight n¡¯s survival in the future? Nightking Dijiang desperately wanted to kill Lu Yin, but it was already toote.

    Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s fists clenched as she stared at the image of Lu Yin. The distance between them was constantly growing, and the gap had already be so massive that she was in despair; could she ever surpass him in the future?

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to the Lockbreaker World, and he felt a bit lightheaded when he returned. He had overused his spiritual force during this trip, but he still felt invigorated. His shorings concerning spiritual force had finally been shored up, and if he also managed to learn Unseen Light¡¯s domain methods, then Lu Yin would have everything.

    As Lu Yin exited from his seclusion, he noticed Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi next to him. Lu Yin also saw a stunningly elegant personal spacecraft with a streamlined shape that made it look like a beam. The hull was mostly ck, which gave it a more intimidating look, but more importantly, it was a copsible spacecraft, which meant that it had to be a ckhole-grade Aurora. ording tomon knowledge, this ship was still in development.

    The two mushroom-heads were constantly circling the vessel with envy written on their faces.

    Lu Yin approached and asked, ¡°Whose ship is this?¡± Other than the three of them, he was not able to sense any other presences on the entire.

    The two bowlcuts jumped in startlement, and after realizing that Lu Yin had called out to them, Xiao Shi finally responded in a longing voice. ¡°It¡¯s yours.¡±

    ¡°Any Lockbreaker will be rewarded by the Lockbreaker Society when they be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and you¡¯ve received a ckhole-grade, personal copsible Aurora as well as two million star essence,¡± Xiao Chi said right after Xiao Shi.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he was instantly thrilled. ¡°Really? All that¡¯s mine?¡±

    Xiao Chi nodded and held out his hand, offering Lu Yin a red bank card from the Mavis Bank. ¡°This card contains the two million star essence that the society gave you.¡±

    The Lockbreakers Society was far too generous, and Lu Yin had not expected to receive such ample rewards. Other than the ckhole grade copsible Aurora and the two million star essences, the located in the Lockbreaker World that he had received was already a substantial reward. On top of all of that, there was also what he had gained from unlocking the advanced sourcebox itself, as that was also considered his. That was sixteen particles of fatesand! After giving two of them to the mushroom-heads, Lu Yin still had fourteen left, and each grain of fatesand was a priceless treasure.

    On this day, Lu Yin merged his newly acquired fatesand into the grain that was already next to his heart one by one. He intended to conceal the ck and white fog stored there as best as he could.

    Lockbreakers were famous for their wealth, but weren¡¯t these rewards simply too much for Lu Yin¡¯s feat of bing a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker? Did all the other Lockbreakers receive simr rewards when they became Advanced Lockbreakers?

    As all of these thoughts swirled through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he was suddenly reminded of something; it had been quite a few years since he had be the Great Eastern Alliance Leader, but he had never received any sort of sry from the alliance. Clearly, there was something wrong going on there.

    When he had be the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, the empire had actually needed financial assistance from him because of its crippled economy. However, things had changed, and now, the Great Eastern Alliance and the Great Yu Empire should instead be paying Lu Yin for his services.

    Everyone was aware of how highly Lu Yin regarded money. As soon as he had the thought that someone might be docking his pay, Lu Yin became upset as he was struck by a feeling of difort. He could not wait to set things straight, so he immediately called En Ya.

    Thankfully, he had acquired the newest gadget that CyNet had given him. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have no means of calling the Outerverse.

    Before long, he heard En Ya¡¯s voice. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded back in greetings, and then thought for a moment before asking, ¡°How has the Outerverse been, En Ya?¡±

    ¡°Everything is fine. Please do not worry, Your Highness,¡± she replied.

    Lu Yin hummed in acknowledgement before continuing, ¡°Right, despite being the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, it seems like the alliance hasn¡¯t given me any sort of sry, have they?¡±

    Sry? En Ya was stunned for a moment. This word was quite strange to her, as it was something that cultivators rarely heard. ¡°Your Highness, I applied for a Mavis Bank card on your behalf during the alliance¡¯s one year anniversary, and I personally delivered it to Zhao Ran.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as he felt like he had been ripped off. Zhao Ran was a little brat who suffered from a severe case of short-term memory loss.

    ¡°Did Zhao Ran not give the card to Your Highness?¡± En Ya asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember. Could you tell me how much money was in the card?¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Please wait, Your Highness,¡± En Ya replied.

    Lu Yin eagerly waited.

    Before long, En Ya spoke up again. ¡°I apologize, Your Highness. The alliance has only been established for a very short amount of time, andpared to the entire Outerverse, the resources allotted to you have not amounted to much.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank.

    ¡°However, as the alliance solidifies, the economy will strengthen along with the increasing number of safe shipping routes. Naturally, the resources allotted to Your Highness will increase correspondingly,¡± En Ya exined.

    ¡°You just need to tell me how much money was in that card,¡± Lu Yin said, having already lost all hope.

    ¡°11,520,000 star essence,¡± En Ya reported.

    ¡°Come again?¡± Lu Yin was stupefied, and he actually wondered if he had misheard.

    ¡°11,520,000 star essence,¡± En Ya repeated.

    How was that considered not much? Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Eventually, he managed toe to terms with it. After all, he was essentially the ruler of the Outerverse. Even if the total amount of resources in the Outerverse was less than the Innerverse¡¯s, it would still be an impressive sum. Lu Yin only received around eleven million star essence despite having served as the Alliance Leader for eight year really did make for a rather unimpressive sry.

    Compared to the ruler of the Outerverse, even the leaders of the Innerverse¡¯s eight major flowzones¡¯ guiding powers would earn more money than what Lu Yin had over the same amount of time.

    ¡°Your Highness, the alliance has only been around for a short while, and there are still many details that need to be worked out as well as the establishment of a unified military. Besides that, there were also the campaignsunched against Daynight and zing Mist Flowzones. That,bined with various other expenditures-¡±

    En Ya was cut off by Lu Yin before she could finish. ¡°Enough, I get it. That¡¯s all I need.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± En Ya softly replied.

    Lu Yin ended the call, and his eyes sparkled in excitement. Although eleven million star essence was an amount that could be considered a small for the leader of the Outerverse, to Lu Yin, who had never received any sort of marypensation, it was basically free money. Besides, the benefits that he enjoyed as the leader of the Outerverse amounted to a great deal more than this sum of money.

    If Lu Yin had not be the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, then how would he have ever managed to fight against Daynight Flowzone or stall all the reinforcements from zing Mist Flowzone? Those details were the true benefits to his position. With his status, he enjoyed full control over the Outerverse along with ess to its historical records. Compared to these benefits, some mere piles of star essence were insignificant.

    These eleven million star essence were more like an unexpected gift that had just fallen into Lu Yin¡¯sp. Also, the more time that passed, the more that he would earn.

    That little rascal Zhao Ran was so unreliable¡ªshe had nearly caused Lu Yin to lose an enormous amount of money. If Lu Yin had not randomly thought to ask En Ya about this matter, he would have unknowingly suffered a great loss.

    ¡°This has been such a great day! Oh, your hair looks great, too,¡± Lu Yin said emotionally. He was so thrilled at this moment that his words left the two mushroom-heads tilting their heads in confusion.

    ¡°Thank you for yourpliment! A mushroom head is a man¡¯s romance!¡± Xiao Chi was ecstatic, and he felt that Lu Yin must have finally been enlightened.

    Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Do you want to get a mushroom-head too? If you do, we¡¯d no longer be the Eat Shit Duo.¡±1

    Lu Yin hurriedly waved his hands in refusal. Just the idea was frightening.

    Once Highsage Wudi¡¯s punishment ended, he immediately contacted Lu Yin, hoping for the two of them to return to Eversky Ind.

    Thus, Lu Yin bade farewell to Xiao Shi and Xiao Chi.

    The two bowlcut youths clearly did not wish to separate from Lu Yin so soon. ¡°Remember not to rashly unlock anything or else you¡¯ll suffer a cmity! Very, very scary ones!¡± Xiao Shi reminded Lu Yin as he waved goodbye.

    ¡°Go and get your hair cut into a mushroom-head. That¡¯s the secret to a man¡¯s romance.¡± Xiao Chi waved goodbye to Lu Yin as well.

    Lu Yin left the Lockbreaker World without turning around, as he was terrified that he would be seen as a part of those two mushroom-heads¡¯ little group. The Eat Shit Duo? The Eat Shit Yin Trio? Just the thought of such an appetion sent chills running down his spine.

    [1] Just a reminder, "Shi Chi" and "shit-eating" have the same hanyu pinyin spelling. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1203: The Championsâ€™ Stage Titles

    <h4>Chapter 1203: The Champions'' Stage Titles</h4>

    The moment Lu Yin left the Lockbreaker World, he saw Highsage Wudi.

    Highsage Wudi appeared to be unharmed, and he chuckled as he greeted Lu Yin. ¡°It seems like you¡¯ve reaped a pretty good harvest these past few days, huh?¡±

    ¡°I just got lucky. Senior Wudi, have you been alright?¡± asked Lu Yin.

    Highsage Wudi smirked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, did you tell Junior Leon about how you¡¯ve been?¡± Highsage Wudi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded and exined, ¡°Yes, I sent him a message.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a little weird about contacting Highsage Leon from the Honor Zone due to Highsage Leon¡¯s status as the Pirate King.

    Highsage Wudi told Lu Yin, ¡°Junior Leon was the most anxious one when you were captured by the Neohuman Alliance. He got into a big fight with Junior Shenwei, and he even behaved badly in front of master. Because of all that, Master finally agreed that, if you managed to escape, you would be allowed to enter my Eversky Ind and choose battle technique, art, or even secret technique to learn aspensation.¡±

    Lu Yin was ecstatic; his luck had really been amazing recently. First, he broken through to the Hunter realm. Then, he had managed to resolve the issue with his revoked Honor Chosen status. After that, he had managed to reim control of the Great Eastern Alliance. On top of all of that, he had also be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker,prehended Daynight Praises, received more than ten million star essence, and now, he was learning that he was entitled to receiving even more!

    Such exorbitant gains felt unreal to Lu Yin; could he possibly still be trapped within the illusion of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak?

    The battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone had been particrly memorable to Lu Yin. Before that battle, he had believed that defeating Nightking Zhenwu meant that he had reached a new height. However, he had soon learned that there were much higher peaks still above him.

    Even though Lu Yin had managed to defeat Y¨­u Qi, from start to finish, Lu Yin was more of a spectator to the true peakpetition of the Astral Tower.

    But if he had joined the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone with his current strength, Lu Yin was certain that he would have to fear no one, as Shang Qing was the only one who might have posed any sort of threat to him.

    ¡°Senior Wudi, what sort of battle techniques and arts does Eversky Ind have?¡± Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    Highsage Wudi lifted his head and replied, ¡°There really are countless of them, but my Eversky Ind has thirteen ultimate techniques that are renowned throughout the universe. We also have battle techniques, arts, secret techniques, and even a sourcebox array. If you name it, the ind has it. You can learn anything you desire.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°There¡¯s even a sourcebox array?¡±

    Highsage Wudi burst outughing as he answered, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°Can I only choose one thing?¡± Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    Highsage Wudi¡¯sughter ceased, and he told Lu Yin, ¡°Little rascal, just one thing is already more than enough to keep you busy. How many do you want to learn? Speaking of which, you¡¯ve recently be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, so you probably can¡¯t wait to learn a sourcebox array. Am I right?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded eagerly.

    Highsage Wudi shook his head as he reminded Lu Yin, ¡°A sourcebox array isn¡¯t something that ordinary people can even fathom. The number of Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers in the Lockbreakers Society is quite high, but there are few to none who haveprehended a sourcebox array. Just focus on stabilizing your lockbreaking abilities. With your talent, you¡¯ll eventuallye across a sourcebox array in the future, and at that time, you can attempt toprehend it. However, don¡¯t bother getting your hopes up.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. He had actually alreadyprehended two sourcebox arrays, but unfortunately, he could not tell Highsage Wudi about either of them since they were both rted to the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Teleportation Formation. It would be nice if Lu Yin could be the disciple of the Cosmic Sect again one day, as that way, he could officially learn the Teleportation Formation.

    ¡°Senior, are there any Mavis Banks near Mt. Microcosms?¡±

    Highsage Wudi nodded and gestured, ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you. There are Mavis Banks scattered all over the universe.¡±

    ¡°Is it true that the Mavis family lives on the back of a massive tortoise?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That tortoise is known as the ancestor tortoise. No one knows how long it¡¯s lived for, not even the Arch-Elder or master. We only know that ites from a forgotten part of history and that the tree growing out of its back gave birth to the Mavis family.¡±

    ¡°The Mavis family was born from a tree?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? The Mavis family have their own secrets, just like how we members of Eversky Ind have our own. There are even some who im that those of Eversky Ind are rted to the Mavis family, but those are just baseless rumors.¡±

    ¡°I wonder, how did the Mavis family earn so much money?¡± Lu Yin mused to himself.

    Highsage Wudi chuckled. ¡°Money is just a material item. If I wanted to, Eversky Ind could also achieve the same thing. Once your strength reaches a certain level, certain thingse in easily, so don¡¯t ce too much importance on money.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded seriously. It was true that cultivators as a whole did not ce much importance on money, but he was clearly an exception.

    Lu Yin sometimes wished that Highsage Leon was supported by the Mavis family instead of Eversky Ind; then, everything would be perfect.

    There was arge tree in front of the two that shot up through the clouds with drooping branches. Here, star essence decorated the smallest twigs. They were disgustingly rich, and this was simply them bragging.

    This enormous tree could practically shroud an entire mountain range. It had billions of branches, and the star essence hanging from the branches clearly added up to a few tens of millions! This tree was openly unting more wealth than what Lu Yin had gathered throughout his entire lifetime. This was a physical disy of the Mavis family¡¯s wealth in Mt. Microcosms. They really were just too rich.

    As for this ce, it was not one of the wealthiest branches, but rather the wealthiest branch of the Mavis Bank. After all, it was located on Mt. Microcosms, which was where the heart of humanityy.

    Lu Yin sessfully withdrew everything that had been deposited in his name with the Mavis Bank, including even the bank card that Zhao Ran still physically possessed. Even without the card, he was still able to ess the funds that it represented, and the entire process was much easier than Lu Yin had expected.

    His sum of more than ten million star essence did not seem to be much at this particr branch. At the very least, it was not enough to attract the bank manager¡¯s attention. After all, far too many influential people visited this store.

    At the same time, En Ya sent details of Lu Yin¡¯s annual sry over to him.

    Lu Yin looked at it for a bit and was shocked to realize that his sry increased exponentially as the years went by. The amount that the alliance had paid him before the battle against Daynight Flowzone was practically equal to the amount that he had been paid for the past few years. The amount really did climb quickly as the years passed.

    He suddenly had visions of the mountains of star essence that had been piled on that small transport continent that had been bringing plundered resources back to the Sixth Maind. The star essence had veritably filled entire mountain ranges and had truly been incalcble.

    If he possessed that much star essence, he would bepletely confident. Regardless, Lu Yin was not doing badly for the time being.

    Before Lu Yin had arrived at Mt. Microcosms, not many people in this ce had heard of Lu Yin before, but when he was leaving, more people began to take notice of him.

    The attitude that Arch-Elder Zen had shown Lu Yin was clear for all to see, and many people had affirmed that Lu Yin was someone not to be messed with.

    As he left, Lu Yin turned around to take onest look at Mt. Microcosms. Who knew when he would next return to this ce?

    ¡°Senior Wudi, what does someone have to do to obtain a hidden world?¡± Lu Yin asked. It sounded as though he was speaking about something that he had been meaning to ask for a while.

    ¡°They¡¯re not easy to make, and the materials for them are hard toe by as well. Moreover, the Hall of Honor forbids any hidden world from staying outside the Honor Zone long term. So, if one is discovered, it will be immediately seized while others race over to buy it,¡± Highsage Wudi replied.

    Lu Yin was disappointed, though he actually held little hope of obtaining a hidden world anytime soon. ¡°Does Senior Wudi know about the Champions¡¯ Stage?¡±

    Highsage Wudi¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Lu Yin responded, ¡°In the past, I was nearly killed by Nightking Zhenwu because of the Champions¡¯ Stage, and so, I would like to take it with me as a sort of memento and motivation for cultivating. I¡¯d be happy to buy it.¡±

    Highsage Wudi shook his head. ¡°Buying it is out of the question, as the Hall of Honor will never sell it to you. The Champions'' Stage is no ordinary item, so just set such wishful thinking aside.¡±

    Lu Yin indicated his understanding, but his eyes shone brightly. Could the Champions'' Stage be the same as his second innate gift? If that were the case, then the original owner of the Champions'' Stage was likely rted to Lu Yin in some way.

    Innate gifts could be inherited through blood, and it was basically impossible for something like the Champions'' Stage to appear in the universe without it having any connection to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin left Mt. Microcosms and started making his way toward Eversky Ind. At this moment, in the Outerverse, Yu Mu solemnly submitted a video showing the fight between him and Lu Yin, and he made specific points about Lu Yin¡¯s mechanical right arm.

    ¡°What are you trying to prove?¡± A voice resonated from the man¡¯s gadget in a listless tone.

    Yu Mu replied quietly, ¡°This technologyes from a supposedly extinct tribe of giants. I¡¯m wondering if Lu Yin has anything to do with that giant tribe.¡±

    ¡°Even if he does, it¡¯s none of our business. We, Shamrock Enterprises, were not the ones who exterminated that giant tribe in the past.¡±

    Yu Mu replied, ¡°If Lu Yin gained bits of the giants¡¯ technology, then he might be able to revive the past glory of the giants¡¯ civilization. Don¡¯t forget¡ªthe reason why the giants were destroyed was because of the massive threat that they posed. Besides, Lu Yin has amassed a great deal of power in the Outerverse over thest few years, and his various items and power vessels could very welle from the giants¡¯ civilization.¡±

    The other person remained silent.

    Yu Mu grew indignant. ¡°Are you just going to give up on the giants¡¯ civilization? That civilization was capable of creating armors that could even withstand the power of an Envoy! Even the Hall of Honor was apprehensive of that powerful force.¡±

    ¡°I understand. I will investigate this matter.¡± The party on the other end of the gadget immediately disconnected after saying this.

    Yu Mu let out a sigh and stared at the video. ¡°Don¡¯t me me for doing this, Lu Yin. If there¡¯s anyone to be med, then it would only be you for being too excellent of a weapon. The universe is not simple, and you do not see things as clearly as you believe.¡±

    ***

    A great distance away from Yu Mu, Wei Rong was speaking with someone else. Hispanion looked young, but they also acted more mature than they appeared. However, their eyes were filled with uncertainty and doubts. This person had a cautious and curious expression, though there was a tiny bit of excitement as well. Wei Rong adored such expressions.

    Someone else was also next to Wei Rong: Lilyrose.

    ¡°Brother Paige, what sort of service might we be able to provide to your Gasfire Alliance? Or should I say, how are we able to help?¡± Lilyrose asked with a mild smile.

    Lilyrose clenched her fists as she eagerly stared at Paige. The day was finally approaching.

    Paige took a few deep breaths before impatiently whispering, ¡°We have a n.¡±

    Lilyrose¡¯s smile grew wide, and she said, ¡°Of course. I love working with organized people. His Highness will be delighted to hear this as well. Now, we can finally begin our discussion, and the ze Realm is a good ce to start.¡±

    Paige nodded in excitement.

    Wei Rong¡¯s lips curled up in delight.

    In the entire Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin held the highest seat, and below him were Wang Wen and En Ya. Wei Rong did not possess much real authority, as he was more of a military advisor. Wei Rong had the authority to maneuver hidden forces, such as trading information, giving orders to Aegis¡¯ assassins, and such.

    Before speaking to Paige, Wei Rong had issued an order to find the sylvan dragon that was hiding in the Outerverse, Long Erhuo.

    Wei Rong was a strategist, and he could quickly analyze the situation on a battlefield in a mere nce. Furthermore, he tended to influence the oue of wars through ever-changing ruses and often took advantage of external factors to influence his likelihood of winning a war.

    Wang Wen was theplete opposite. He did not participate in war, or rather, he was toozy to participate. This was mostly because he had already set his sights on goals far beyond mere wars: the entire universe.

    Wars served interests, but Wang Wen was keen to secure the greatest interests possible.

    At this moment, in Ironblood Weave, Wang Wen was looking at a star chart of the Innerverse as he spoke aloud. ¡°This day is finallying, how exciting! This is something that no one has ever managed to aplish, but I wonder, how well will Chesspiece Bro fare?¡± As he spoke, Wang Wen¡¯s eyes shifted from the ze Realm to another region, and his expression gradually grew heated.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1204: Rebel

    <h4>Chapter 1204: Rebel</h4>

    On the other side of the Neoverse, inside an Azure Mansion, Ming Yu had an uneasy expression as she asionally nced at the door.

    The anxiety welled up every time she heard footsteps.

    All of a sudden, a series of knocks sounded on her door, and Ming Yu¡¯s expression drastically changed. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    The door opened, and the local madam entered with a smile stered on her face. ¡°Ming Yu, have you still not managed to get in touch with Lu Yin? He¡¯s already been free for quite a long time.¡±

    Ming Yu gritted her teeth and begged, ¡°Please, just give me a bit more time.¡±

    The smile on the madam¡¯s face vanished, and her expression grew ice cold. ¡°A little more time? One year? Ten years? Or maybe a hundred more years?¡±

    Ming Yu turned as pale as a ghost.

    She had previously lied about being engaged to Lu Yin to force Tian Shao to back down, and the madam had allowed it since it had beenmon knowledge that Lu Yin was not someone to be messed with. Everything had been going ording to her n, but unexpectedly, Lu Yin had actually escaped from the Neohuman Alliance. What¡¯s more, his status had even been cleared by the Hall of Honor.

    The moment that Ming Yu had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s return, she had realized that she was doomed. She had no means of even contacting Lu Yin, let alone marrying him.

    ¡°It was impossible to take anything into the Mountain and Seas Zone when we were there, so Lu Yin said that he would only be able to pass his contact information to me after leaving. That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t been able to reach him,¡± Ming Yu nervously replied.

    The madam scoffed. ¡°Really?¡±

    Ming Yu was insistent. ¡°Of course!¡±

    Although the madam was unable to verify the truth of Ming Yu¡¯s ims, excitement gleamed in the older woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°You better not be lying to me. Well, it¡¯s fine even if you just deceive me. However, if it turns out that you¡¯ve also lied to Tian Shao, you already know what the consequences will be. No one can save you from that.¡±

    The madam turned around and left after issuing her threat. Next, she went to the room where Ming Yan was staying.

    The madam was absolutely confident that Ming Yu had lied, but regardless of the situation, a new Flower Queen was still needed, and Ming Yan was the most suitable candidate. The madam needed to make sure that all of Ming Yan¡¯s preparations wereplete in order to avoid any potential mishaps.

    Upon entering Ming Yan¡¯s room, the madam¡¯s attitude hardened, not nearly as gentle as when she had addressed Ming Yu. ¡°In a few months, you¡¯ll be recing Ming Yu as the new Flower Queen, and at that time, Azure Mansion will be yours to manage. You better not get into any trouble during this time.¡±

    In an emotionless tone, Ming Yan replied, ¡°There won¡¯t be any trouble.¡± As she spoke, she picked up a ss of water and slowly brought it to her lips.

    She drank slowly, very slowly.

    What should have been a perfectly ordinary action caused the madam¡¯sposure to shatter. She hurriedly approached Ming Yan, snatched the girl¡¯s arm, and yanked the ss of water away. Having stopped Ming Yan, the madam stared at her while eximing, ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    Ming Yan calmly turned to look at the madam. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    The madam¡¯s brow furrowed as she looked at the remaining water in the cup. Ming Yan¡¯s behavior just now had made the madam feel uneasy, and she had assumed that Ming Yan was trying to end her life by drinking poison. However, after thinking about it, the madam felt that this was a bit far-fetched. After all, this entire mansion was under constant surveince, and there was no way Ming Yan could even gain ess to any sort of poison.

    Ming Yan smiled. ¡°You took my cup.¡±

    The madam grew more ufortable the longer she stared at Ming Yan. She did not know why, but she was absolutely certain that something was wrong.

    After casually disposing of the cup, the madam looked back at Ming Yan, but just as the madam was about to speak, she abruptly coughed up a mouthful of blood while every strand of her hair quickly turned white. The madam lost all strength, and she nearly copsed from the sudden onset of weakness. Realizing that she had been poisoned, she fiercely red at Ming Yan and usingly cried out, ¡°You poisoned me?¡±

    Ming Yan slowly walked towards the madam. ¡°I told you, you took my cup.¡±

    The madam nced at the cup that she had thrown away; had the cup beenced with poison?

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Where could you have gotten any kind of poison, let alone snuck it past me!¡± The madam was incredulous, as she was a powerful Enlighter while Ming Yan had not even reached the Explorer realm yet.

    The madam suddenly attacked Ming Yan, but Ming Yan¡¯s only response was to narrow her eyes and coldly state, ¡°Look at your own hand.¡±

    The madam hesitated and looked down at her hand, only to see that it had be old and desated. She frantically rolled up her sleeves, but she only found more wrinkled, dead skin. It was as if she had aged decades in but a moment. ¡°What kind of poison is this? You- what exactly did you poison me with?¡±

    Ming Yan calmly observed the madam¡¯s reaction before raising a hand and pointing in three different directions. She had pointed to the precise locations of the guards tasked with monitoring her. Ming Yan was not even an Explorer yet, but she was already able to sense her guards even though they consisted of two Hunters and an Enlighter. On top of that, she even dared to directly deal with these guards.

    Despite Ming Yan¡¯s provocative actions, there was no reaction from the guards, which made it abundantly clear that they had already been dealt with.

    The madam had no idea how Ming Yan had aplished such a thing, and the only thought in the older woman¡¯s mind was how her strength was continuously ebbing away. In any case, she had never been very good at fighting.

    Ming Yan stood tall above the madam and stared down at the woman with cially cold eyes. Ming Yan¡¯s poison stemmed from the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s regression poison. Despite her poison¡¯s potency, Ming Yan had never revealed it until now, as it would be easily neutralized if the target had an idea of how it worked.

    She had taken advantage of her extended time in the room by allowing her poison to slowly infiltrate the bodies of her three guards. And at this moment, Ming Yan had managed to take control of the madam in one decisive move.

    Naturally, the madam felt indignant upon discovering that someone had been leading her along for some time. However, unfortunately for the madam, Ming Yan¡¯s poison was too potent, and soon enough, the madam was not even able to stand straight.

    She nced sideways at the hallway outside the door. There were some people that followed the madam wherever she went, and they would soon sense that something had happened. As soon as they raised the rm, that little brat, Ming Yan, would not be able to resist them with her pitiful strength. Her people would definitely be able to force her to hand over the antidote.

    ¡°Who are you waiting for? Your guardians? Or your watchers?¡± Ming Yan asked mildly.

    Right after that, the door opened, and Ming Yu entered the room. The look of unease that the madam had seen in Ming Yu¡¯s eyes just a few moments ago was now gone. Instead, it had been reced by a look of contempt.

    Madam instantly understood¡ªthe two of them had joined forces.

    This revtion made it clear how the people watching Ming Yan had been poisoned; with Ming Yu¡¯s help, it would be simple for Ming Yang to do all this. Regardless of everything else, Ming Yu was still a Hunter, and any youth able to reach the Hunter realm was someone capable of oveing numerous challenges without much issue. Even if Ming Yan had not used her poison, Ming Yu''s abilities were definitely enough for her to take out three guards without alerting anyone else in the Azure Mansion.

    However, for Ming Yan to poison the guards, the story waspletely different.

    The madam looked at the two women. One was the present Flower Queen while the other was the future queen. The madam could scarcely believe that she had fallen to the schemes of these two brats!

    Ming Yu nced over the madam¡¯s hands and then nervously turned to look at Ming Yan. ¡°You¡¯ve achieved your goal, so what are you going to do next? Escape from Azure Mansion?¡±

    Ming Yan shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m going to take back what belongs to me.¡±

    Ming Yu was confused because she actually just wanted to leave Azure Mansion forever.

    Ming Yan looked at Ming Yu and asked, ¡°Can you escape? Even if there aren¡¯t many Azure Mansions, that Tian Shao guy is quite influential. As soon as word of your escape spreads, it¡¯s quite likely that they¡¯ll capture you and drag you back here.¡±

    The light in Ming Yu¡¯s eyes flickered, but she remained silent.

    The madam was limp on the floor and desperately trying to catch her breath. As she watched herself slowly age, her face betrayed her panic. With a fierce re at Ming Yan, she croaked out, ¡°What exactly did you poison me with? If you give me the antidote, I swear that I¡¯ll never make things difficult for you again!¡±

    Ming Yan locked eyes with the madam and asked, ¡°Do you think that we can leave the Neoverse?¡±

    Without any hesitation, the madam replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The Forgotten Land¡¯s ck Street is Azure Mansion¡¯s backer, and they roam the Neoverse as outcasts and forsaken fugitives. With these kinds of people, information spreads like wildfire, and that¡¯s not even mentioning how the leader of ck Street can easily grasp everything that happens in every corner of the Neoverse. You guys will never be able to escape, so stop daydreaming and give me the antidote right now! I swear that I¡¯ll make your lives easier.¡±

    Ming Yu gritted her teeth. She was capable ofing up withplex schemes, but the more she thought things through, the more apprehensive she was towards Azure Mansion. What did it matter if she managed to escape from the Neoverse? She had heard of ck Street before. Forget about leaving the Neoverse¡ªeven if she managed to make it all the way to the Outerverse, there would still be people hunting her down unless she actually married Lu Yin.

    ¡°There is no ce for you in this entire universe,¡± Ming Yan said gently.

    Ming Yu looked at the other girl and asked, ¡°Then what do you suggest we do?¡±

    Ming Yan matched Ming Yu¡¯s gaze and replied, ¡°We will work together to take down Azure Mansion.¡±

    Ming Yu was momentarily stunned, as she had just heard something incredible.

    The madam was simrly dazed by these words, and she let out a strange squawk that seemed to be a bit of mockery mixed with fear. It was as if she was trying to hold in herughter after hearing the world¡¯s greatest joke.

    ¡°Do you know what Azure Mansion represents? Do you even know what ck Street, the organization behind Azure Mansion, represents? And yet you want to take over Azure Mansion?¡± Ming Yu cried out.

    Ming Yan¡¯s face was as calm as still water as she stared at Ming Yu. ¡°With this poison, I can do it.¡±

    Ming Yu was in utter disbelief.

    Ming Yan had been the empress of Shenwu Continent for several years, and despite having split personalities with one of the two seeming incredibly naive, she was still able to see through Ming Yu¡¯s concerns with a nce. ¡°Let¡¯s just give this a try. If we fail, I still have a way out, and I can guarantee that we¡¯ll both get out of this unscathed.¡±

    Something shed through Ming Yu¡¯s mind as she looked at Ming Yan. Ming Yu did not believe Ming Yan¡¯s words. If the girl could make such a guarantee, then how had she ended up in Azure Mansion to begin with?

    Ming Yan looked down at her gadget, and a small smile appeared. ¡°I¡­ I am Lu Yin¡¯s woman.¡±

    ¡­

    In the southern region of the Neoverse, where the Ku family resided in the Voidsoul Region:

    The Voidsoul Region was the Ku family¡¯s ancestralnd. The name came from how thisnd was the transition area between a ce filled with life and the void.

    Thunder and lightning swept through the Voidsoul Region all year round, and the Ku family¡¯s power vessels, the Withered Bark, was made from the many wilted trees that grew on thisnd.

    In one region of thend, within a mountain range, tworge beasts were growling and snapping at each other.

    Each of the beasts had the power of an Explorer at the minimum, and the snapping of their fangs caused mountain creeks to shatter and rivers to flow in reverse.

    All of a sudden, a human in a sorry state emerged from the void. He gingerly held his abdomen and was gritting his teeth as he looked around. His eyes burned with rage.

    Right after his appearance, a bolt of lightning shed and incinerated the two fighting beasts. Lightning began to gather together in the void, and it soon took on the form of Ku Lei, who stared down at the pathetic figure from high above. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? This is the Voidsoul Region, and I can track you down no matter where you try to go.¡±

    The pathetive figure was actually Ku Wei. He had been running from Ku Lei¡¯s murderous pursuit for many days now, and Ku Wei was in a sorry state. His entire body was exhausted and had been pushed to the limit.

    Ku Wei had gravely offended Ku Lei in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Originally, Ku Wei had nned on bing one of Lu Yin¡¯s followers and earning Lu Yin¡¯s protection after leaving the tomb. However, to his surprise, Lu Yin had been immediately sent to the Hall of Honor for testing without being able to bring anyone along with him. Ku Pu, the Ku family patriarch, had even stopped Ku Wei from following after Lu Yin.

    Then, Ku Wei had be Ku Lei¡¯s target the moment they returned to the Voidsoul Region. Not only were all of Ku Wei¡¯s resources seized, but he also no longer even had the right to meet with the patriarch, let alone leave the Voidsoul Region.

    Ku Lei seemed to enjoy ying a game with Ku Wei, like a cat chasing a mouse.

    There was a sizzling sound as lightning shed and tore a hole through Ku Wei¡¯s knee. Excruciating pain wracked Ku Wei¡¯s body, but he resisted the urge to drop to his knees with his entire being, instead ring angrily at Ku Lei.

    Ku Leimented, ¡°Come on, run! Let¡¯s see you run some more. So you don¡¯t want to kneel? Then I¡¯ll make sure to hit you hard enough for you to kneel to me. To think that a member from our great Ku family would submit to an outsider! Just the thought disgusts me.¡±

    Ku Wei stayed quiet. From recent experience, he had learned that the more he spoke, the more he would suffer.

    Ku Lei scoffed, ¡°Where¡¯s the sessor of the Yu family?¡±

    Ku Wei lowered his head and stayed silent. A few days ago, he had realized that everything was over when Ku Lei first asked him that question. This was not a question from Ku Lei, but rather from the patriarch. Only then had Ku Wei understood everything¡ªit was no wonder why Ku Lei was allowed to wantonly attack Ku Wei and mercilessly toy with him. It was because the Ku family had never intended to take Ku Wei¡¯s life from the very start; all the family wanted was to learn of the Yu family¡¯s whereabouts.

    Another bolt of lightning struck Ku Wei, and the impact sent Ku Wei violently crashing to the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his skin tore apart, revealing raw flesh.

    Ku Lei arrogantly proimed, ¡°We¡¯ll pause our game for today. Let¡¯s see how many more days you can endure this for.¡±

    After speaking, Ku Lei transformed into lightning and shot away.

    Ku Wei stared at where Ku Lei had disappeared in indignation. He had fallen intoplete despair.

    Ku Wei washed his wounds as he endured the severe pain. Before much time passed, a figure appeared right beside him, but the figure disappeared right after setting a gadget down next to Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei stared at the figure in a daze.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1205: The First Disciple

    <h4>Chapter 1205: The First Disciple</h4>

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had already left Mt. Microcosms with Highsage Wudi. The two of them were currently riding on the back of aiu.

    Every time they passed by a hidden world, Highsage Wudi would briefly introduce Lu Yin to it, leaving Lu Yin envious of the man¡¯s knowledge.

    These hidden worlds were arranged in a cluster around the Hall of Honor, possibly as a form of protection for the heart of the Human Domain. But more likely, it was so that experts from the Hall of Honor could conveniently and easily ess these hidden worlds whenever they destabilized and needed maintenance.

    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the Hall of Honor allow hidden worlds to exist in the Innerverse?¡± Lu Yin asked in a puzzled manner.

    Highsage Wudi exined, ¡°It¡¯s too easy to destroy hidden worlds. If someone powerful shows up and destroys a hidden world, then none of the people inside it would be able to escape. It would be toote for the Hall of Honor to even try to stop it even if they wanted to.¡±

    It was just barely an eptable exnation, but Lu Yin seemed to have understood something.

    At this moment, his gadget beeped with an alert. Ku Wei was calling. Lu Yin had almost forgotten about this qualifiedckey.

    ¡°Your- Your Highness, you must save me!¡± Ku Wei¡¯s voice was weak as it came through the gadget.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei shared everything that he had recently suffered through before bitterly begging, ¡°Your Highness, I can¡¯t stay with the Ku family any longer! Ku Lei¡¯s going to kill me! Please, take me with you.¡±

    Lu Yin felt troubled, as the Ku family was a part of the Seven Courts, and they were in no way subordinate to Lu Yin. It would not be easy to go through them and take Ku Wei away.

    Lu Yin looked at Highsage Wudi, who had overheard the entire conversation.

    Highsage Wudi shook his head. ¡°Eversky Ind has never had much contact with the Seven Courts, but there¡¯s also no bad blood between us. It wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for us to stick our heads into this situation.¡±

    Lu Yin sank deep into thought. Ku Wei had helped Lu Yin in the past, and he was also the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Tenth Imperial Squadron. In essence, Ku Wei was one of Lu Yin¡¯s men, and if Lu Yin did not even try to save one of his loyal followers, then he would look bad. Still, trying to help Ku Wei would get Lu Yin involved with the Seven Courts.

    Lu Yin had no intention of looking down on the various powers of the universe just because he had managed to topple Daynight Flowzone. The Seven Courts had dared go against the Hall of Honor after joining together, so they clearly had their own hidden strengths. Even if Lu Yin tried to deal with each family separately, each and every single one of them had their own incredible powerhouses. Lu Yin simply was not in a position to interfere.

    ¡°Your Highness, I understand that it¡¯s a difficult task, but I¡¯m begging you. You have to take me with you! If I stay here, I¡¯m dead.¡± Ku Wei started panicking, as Lu Yin¡¯s silence had sent Ku Wei¡¯s heart plummeting straight into the abyss.

    Lu Yin was also pondering how he could take Ku Wei along.

    Ku Wei anxiously pleaded, ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m one of your men.¡±

    ¡°Give me some time to figure this out. It¡¯s not a simple situation,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Highsage Wudi casually said, ¡°You¡¯ve just be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, so you¡¯re able to take in disciples. Lockbreaking disciples, that is.¡±

    An idea instantly shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly turned back to Ku Wei and asked, ¡°Do you have any problem with bing my disciple?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯ll even be your grandson!¡± Ku Wei eximed.

    Lu Yun was left speechless by Ku Wei¡¯s shamelessness. ¡°I will officially bring up the matter of taking you in as my disciple to the Lockbreakers Society. All I need for you to be my lockbreaking disciple is your consent.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes shed, ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ku Wei was overjoyed, and he immediately essed the Lockbreakerswork.

    In no time at all, another line was added to Ku Wei¡¯s profile page on the Lockbreakerswork. In addition to his title as a three star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, he also gained another line as Lu Yin¡¯s disciple. It noted Ku Wei as a disciple of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Lu Yin immediately filed the application with the Lockbreakers Society and requested for Ku Wei to immediately be transferred over to the Lockbreaker World so that he could watch over Lu Yin¡¯s.

    With that finished, Lu Yin put his gadget down. Whether or not Ku Wei could be saved was now up to the Lockbreaker Society. Lu Yin did not hold any high hopes for sess; even if Ku Wei had be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, he was still a part of the Ku family, and the Lockbreaker Society would never meddle in internal affairs.

    Ku Wei also put his gadget away and braced himself, ready to ept whatever came his way.

    In the center of the Voidsoul Region, the Ku patriarch, Ku Pu, stood with his hands sped behind his back. Ku Lei was kneeling in front of him.

    ¡°In both the Mountain and Seas Zone and in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, your performance was greatly disappointing for the Ku family,¡± Ku Pu said solemnly, his tone brimming with discontent.

    Ku Lei suppressed his frustration, as he currently felt helpless.

    Ku Pu stared straight at the youth for some time, as the patriarch was not sure what to say. If he were to bepared to the geniuses of past generations, Ku Lei was certainly not weak, but in the current era, far too many freakishly talented people had been born. Thus, it was easy to overlook Ku Lei¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°ZENITH ising up, and if your strength has not increased substantially by then, then reaching the Enlighter realm will at least allow you to seize a decent position. Whatever you do, do your best to make it into the top ten, as only the top ten spots are worth anything,¡± Ku Pu said.

    Ku Lei¡¯s eyes revealed his determination. ¡°I will. I must uncover the Yu family¡¯s whereabouts and then master the Yu Secret Art. Gaining the Ku and Yu families¡¯ secret techniques will allow us to defeat any and all foes.¡±

    Ku Pu silently shook his head. Surpassing one¡¯s foes was something that was easier said than done. Even without taking into ount the other domains, the Tri-Yang Technique alone was already indomitable, which meant that one of the top positions was already taken. The Mavis family, the Cosmic Sect, and Burial Garden were all powers to be reckoned with as well. On top of that, it was still necessary to consider the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Sixth Maind. Powerful opponents were simply everywhere.

    The Seven Courts¡¯ only hope in ZENITH seemed to be the Xia family¡¯s Xia Jiuyou. If he managed to fuse with his clones created by the Nine Clones Secret Technique, then his abilities would absolutely be strong enough for him topete for one of the top ten positions.

    In the end, hopes would always be hopes, and Ku Pu was hoping for a miracle. ¡°If you want to find the Yu family, then do that on your own.¡±

    Ku Lei grunted in acknowledgement as his eyes lit up with excitement. The Ku family no longer cared about whether Ku Wei lived or died, which was good news for Ku Lei. He was fully confident that he could extract the Yu family¡¯s location from Ku Wei.

    At this moment, Ku Pu¡¯s gadget started beeping, and he nced at it. Immediately, his expression transformed into one of rage. ¡°This is ridiculous!¡±

    Ku Lei was confused.

    Ku Pu suppressed his anger and tried to speak with the person on the other end of the call. Before long, he looked over at Ku Lei and helplessly said, ¡°Let Ku Wei go. Just leave him alone.¡±

    Ku Lei was shocked. ¡°Why?¡±

    Ku Pu became annoyed. ¡°Just do as I say. Don¡¯t touch him again, and let him go.¡±

    After that, Ku Pu left with a dark expression on his face.

    It was rare for him to feel so frustrated and offended since bing the Ku family patriarch.

    The Lockbreaker Society had summoned Ku Wei to the Lockbreaker World as the disciple of the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, Lu Yin. Ku Pu had assumed that he could simply refuse the arrangements given his position, as the Lockbreaker Society would likely not try to suppress the Seven Courts. However, the one who had issued the request for Ku Wei¡¯s transfer had actually been the president of the Lockbreaker Society, Xiu Ming. This grandmaster had always been an enigma to Ku Pu¡ªeven when he had been young, Xiu Ming had already been the president of the society. However, even though Ku Pu had be an old man, Siu Ming still held the same position, and he even looked exactly the same as he always had.

    There were not many people in the Neoverse who were able to leave asting impression on Ku Pu, but Xiu Ming was certainly one of them.

    Since Xiu Ming had personally submitted the request on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf, Ku Pu could not respond disrespectfully. Not even the Ku family¡¯s strongest experts could afford to refuse that man¡¯s request.

    Ku Pu waspletely baffled; just how had someone from the younger generation managed to get Xiu Ming to help him out with such a request?

    The truth was that Lu Yin had never even considered the possibility that Xiu Ming would make the request for him.

    On an ind, above the Ancient Spirit Sea, Xiu Ming slowly leaned back and forth on his rocking chair, looking incredibly rxed.

    Arch-Elder Zen was nearby, and he chuckled lightly. ¡°You¡¯re doing a favor for that little rascal?¡±

    Xiu Mingughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to do much, and if he does well in the future, then we¡¯ll all need to pin our hopes on him anyway.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded in agreement. ¡°With that guy here, nothing will go wrong.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s certainly hope so.¡±

    Ku Wei left the Voidsoul Region in a miserable state. He looked back with hatred zing in his eyes. ¡°Just you wait! Ku family, I¡¯ll be back.¡±

    Lu Yin and Ku Wei had agreed to meet at Eversky Ind, and during the journey to the ind, nothing much happened.

    After traveling for half a month, Lu Yin and Highsage Wudi finally left the Honor Zone. With Highsage Wudi¡¯s abilities, he was able to directly tear through the void and bring Lu Yin across the Neoverse. Thus, they arrived at Eversky Ind in no time at all.

    When Lu Yin had first arrived at the Honor Zone, he had not felt much, but upon leaving, all sorts of strange emotions suddenly welled up within him. It was as though this ce was where he needed to stay and that returning to outer space was the same as bing a rootless, wandering ball of duckweed.

    Lu Yin did not mention these feelings to Highsage Wudi, as Lu Yin was guessing that it might be rted to how humanity might have been originally born on thatndmass.

    Thisnd was the root of humanity. Six mainds had once existed in the universe, and this had been the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin remembered that Highsage Shenwei had once mentioned how people could cultivate more quickly when on the soil of the Fifth Maind. The reason why cultivators from the Sixth Maind were able to receive imprints and why they possessed an innate suppression over people of the Fifth Maind was because the Sixth Maind had not been shattered.

    There was some sort of connection between humans and their native mainds.

    After returning to Eversky Ind, Lu Yin finally met the famous Highsage Grandmaster.

    On Eversky Ind, there was a shriveled and scrawny old man who was standing rather close to Lu Yin. This old man was wearing a gray robe, and he had a rather ordinary appearance. In fact, he looked no different than amon old man who could be seen walking down any random street. His appearance would never catch anyone¡¯s eyes, as he was simply toomonce.

    If not for Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei standing before the old man with great respect and Highsage Wudi calling him ¡°Master,¡± then Lu Yin would have thought that the old man was simply another one of ck and White¡¯s pranks.

    ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Highsage Grandmaster.¡± Lu Yin bowed in a courteous manner with a serious look on his face.

    Highsage Grandmaster nodded and admiringly scanned Lu Yin from head to toe. ¡°This old man has lived for a long time, so long that it would be difficult to even trace my history. Throughout all the ages I¡¯ve lived, I¡¯ve seen too many blessed with an exceptional innate gift, but you, my boy, are unlike any I¡¯ve ever seen before. For you to cultivate your skills to this level where you stand at the pinnacle of your generation in merely twelve years, it¡¯s possible that your cultivation talent might only be rivaled by Progenitor Chen during his rise.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°You tter me, Highsage Grandmaster. I¡¯ve just been lucky.¡±

    Highsage Grandmasterughed. ¡°Well, luck is also a type of strength. You possess powerful physical strength, spiritual force, a domain, and the highest quality battle techniques. There are far too few whose abilities can stand on the same level as within your generation. Even that Tri-Yang Technique hailed as being invincible would struggle to defeat you.¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled to receive such recognition from Highsage Grandmaster.

    The Tri-Yang Technique had always been universally praised as a truly invincible technique. It was true that everyone believed that Shang Qing was unbeatable after he had revealed the technique¡¯s true power, as it was simply unreal. Despite that, Highsage Grandmaster still saw Lu Yin up asparable to the user of the Tri-Yang Technique, which vividly expressed Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s admiration and praise for Lu Yin.

    ¡°Wudi,¡± Highsage Grandmaster called out.

    Highsage Wudi bowed and answered, ¡°Master.¡±

    ¡°Contact the Hall of Honor and let them know that I, Highsage Grandmaster of Eversky Ind, rmend Lu Yin to be one of the gatekeepers at Zenith Mountain,¡± Highsage Grandmaster said.

    Highsage was not surprised, and he simply acknowledged the orders, ¡°Yes, your disciple understands.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. Zenith Mountain? Gatekeeper?

    Highsage Grandmaster did not give bother exining anything to Lu Yin. Instead, he simply waved his right arm, causing all sorts of images to appear in midair. Some of the images took on the form of tiny humans that unleashed incredibly powerful battle techniques. Other images morphed into arrays that were impossible to derive due to theirplexity and mysteriousness. The final group took on the form of pictures that could not be properly interpreted.

    ¡°My Eversky Ind possesses thirteen ultimate techniques, which consists of one secret technique, five sourcebox arrays, and seven peerless battle techniques. You may choose any one that you wish to learn,¡± Highsage Grandmaster informed Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1206: Grandmaster

    <h4>Chapter 1206: Grandmaster</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at the images before him, but he could only see one tiny human, who was surrounded by multiple other people attacking the solitary figure. The various attackers unleashed a multitude of different battle techniques, but they were all simply reduced to vapor before they could strike the little human in the middle, the remnant wind simply brushing past him.

    ¡°That is Eversky Ind¡¯s secret technique, Thousand Rivers Return to the Sea. It is able to reduce all your opponents¡¯ attacks to the original energy state,¡± Highsage Shenwei exined before adding on, ¡°It is a very powerful secret technique.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his interest pique. Thousand Rivers Return to the Sea. Just the name alone soundedpelling. However, Lu Yin already had the Yu secret technique, which could redirect enemy attacks as well as the Ce secret technique, which helped him avoid enemy attacks. Thus, this particr secret technique seemed to ovep with the abilities he already had.

    While pondering his options, Lu Yin looked to the side, where he saw a tiny human wielding a massive de. The weapon sliced through the air in a domineering fashion.

    ¡°This is one of Eversky Ind¡¯s battle techniques, Overlord sh, which junior Leon uses with great skill. One attack of the Overlord sh is in no way inferior to the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will. Additionally, the more intimidating the user is, the stronger their power will be. The key is in dominating others,¡± Highsage Shenwei continued to exin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze moved past it. Dominating, huh?

    He was capable of unleashing such an aura, but his was different from Highsage Leon¡¯s forthright and unrestrained dominance. The dominance that Lu Yin possessed revealed itself in a more subtle manner, but he was still just as individualistic, refusing to ept anyw above him. It was clear that this battle technique was not for him.

    Lu Yin continued to observe all the battle techniques that Eversky Ind possessed, after which he focused on the five arrays. Arrays¡­ Are these sourcebox arrays? Five of them! You''ve got to be kidding me!

    ¡°Are these all sourcebox arrays?¡± Lu Yin guessed as he looked up at Highsage Grandmaster.

    Highsage Grandmaster nodded with a smile and looked at Lu Yin as he answered, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve reached the Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker level, so I think that it¡¯s time for you toprehend a sourcebox array. Only Lockbreakers who have grasped a sourcebox array can call themselves true Lockbreakers. The vast universe is limitless, and it is often extremely difficult to approach precious and hidden things. The path of Lockbreakers is one that resists the fate given to us, but of course, the universe is not a force to be underestimated. Thus, it would only be natural for sourcebox arrays to be even more terrifying.¡±

    From what Highsage Grandmaster had just said, it was clear that he hoped that Lu Yin would pick a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin found it strange that Highsage Grandmaster had five sourcebox arrays. Wait¡­ Highsage Grandmaster, MASTER! It couldn¡¯t be¡­

    Lu Yin looked up at Highsage Grandmaster inplete shock. ¡°Senior, you- are you an Array Grandmaster?¡±

    Lockbreakers were categorized as Discerning Elementary, Perceptive Intermediate, and Boundless Advanced. But there were still more levels above the Boundless Advanced level: Array Master, Senior Array Master, Realm Array Master, and finally, the highest rank that any Lockbreaker could achieve, Array Grandmaster.

    A Lockbreaker could only im the title of Array Master afterprehending at least five sourcebox arrays and designing their own, unique sourcebox array.

    Comprehending and mastering five sourcebox arrays was not an easy task.

    The Teleportation Formation that Qiu Shi hadprehended from the Cosmic Sect was the lowest level of sourcebox arrays, and it might have been even further simplified. Despite that, it would still take her a substantial amount of time before she mastered it and was able to casually use the array as she wished. Lu Yin had grasped two sourcebox arrays so far, but they were both extremely simple ones.

    He also had five pages of True Insight in his possession, but the only sourcebox array that he had managed toprehend from those pages was the Inception Array. Lu Yin needed at least a few more years before he couldprehend any of the other sourcebox arrays even though his lockbreaking foundation came from the Daosource Sect¡¯s tform of Inception and Gu Yue¡¯s journal.

    Not even Qiu Shi couldprehend the Inception Array as quickly as Lu Yin had, and she was considered one of the universe¡¯s most gifted Lockbreakers. She was someone who stood at the same at the true peak of their generation as the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Wu Dan.

    It took time toprehend a sourcebox array, and to be an Array Master, a Lockbreaker also had to design their own array. That was an entirely different sort of strugglepared to simply learning an array.

    It was a pity that the sourcebox array recorded within Gu Yue¡¯s notes was iplete. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have had at least some chance ofprehending it. It was impossible to know if the damage had been made by Gu Yue himself or by someone else, but regardless, it was quite unfortunate.

    ¡°Of course my master is an Array Master! Why else would everyone else call him Highsage Grandmaster? Idiot!¡± Highsage Shenwei grumbled angrily.

    Lu Yin stared at Highsage Grandmaster in absolute awe. So this was what the appetion ¡°Master¡± indicated. From what Lu Yin knew, there was only one person in the entire Human Domain who was a Celestial Array Master, and that was the president of the Lockbreaker Society, Xiu Ming. He had never expected that Highsage Grandmaster would also be one.

    It was no wonder why Eversky Ind had five sourcebox arrays.

    Highsage Grandmaster turned to re at Highsage Shenwei before scolding him. ¡°Shush! Even though this old man has be a Celestial Array Master, each of my disciples end up being more useless than thest! Not a single one of you were able to even be a Senior Array Master, and yet you still dare to spout such crap.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei let out a dryugh, but he did not dare to say anything more.

    Highsage Grandmaster looked back at Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°Little rascal, although you haven¡¯t been formally recognized as one of Eversky Ind¡¯s disciples, a nominal disciple is still a disciple. I suggest that you choose to learn a sourcebox array.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed respectfully as he responded, ¡°I thank Highsage Grandmaster for your good will, but I am already in the process ofprehending a sourcebox array. Even if I wished toprehend a second one, at this juncture, I¡¯m afraid that it would be too much for me to handle.¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster was taken aback. ¡°You have a sourcebox array?¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in affirmation and started thinking of some way to exin how he had gotten it to Highsage Grandmaster.

    Unexpectedly, Highsage Grandmaster did not press the matter any further. ¡°Well that¡¯s fine. Since you already have a sourcebox array, then you should focus on fullyprehending it. In that case, what else do you desire? Secret techniques? Battle techniques?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his head and asked, ¡°Senior, are my choices limited to only secret techniques and battle techniques?¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster furrowed his brows. ¡°Child, are you not interested in the secret technique or the battle techniques that this old man has?¡±

    Highsage Shenwei and Highsage Wudi both turned to look at Lu Yin, shooting him repeated and pointed looks.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I have already learned the Yu and Ce families¡¯ secret techniques, and their abilities happen to ovep with the effects of your Thousand Rivers Return to the Sea Secret Technique. As for battle techniques, my humble self already has a few too many. Thus, I would be extremely hard pressed to learn anything more.¡±

    Also, Eversky Ind¡¯s battle techniques were rather ipatible with Lu Yin. None of them suited him well even though they were each very powerful.

    Highsage Grandmaster carefully scanned Lu Yin from top to bottom, and then he seemed to remember something. ¡°Indeed, even when you crossed the Eversky Bridge back then, you already had an abundance of battle techniques. There was the Cosmic Art, one of the Ku family¡¯s techniques, the Daynight n¡¯s techniques, the Oveying Stacks Path, and more. Add your innate gift and secret techniques on top of that, and you¡¯ll be all set. It would indeed be meaningless for you to learn anything more.¡± As the old man considered the matter, he looked at Lu Yin and said, ¡°However, I promised Leon that Eversky Ind would properlypensate you if you returned safely.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately replied, ¡°I understand that Highsage Grandmaster has your reasons for doing this, but I don¡¯t need anypensation.¡±

    The smile on Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s face vanished. ¡°I can¡¯t renege on a promise that I made to my disciple. Little rascal, just now, you asked me if there¡¯s anything else that you could learn, but I can¡¯t think of anything. In that case, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin pondered for a bit before meeting Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s gaze. ¡°Would Senior happen to have something for protection?¡±

    Right now, Lu Yin was stillcking a power vessel that could protect him from true top-level experts. He had offended far too many people, and with the Outerverse being handed over to the Sixth Maind, there was still a great deal more that he needed to aplish.

    Highsage Grandmaster thought for a moment before raising his hand and causing an item the size of a palm to appear. ¡°I do have something that can help save your life, but this item¡¯s force is too overwhelming, and it covers toorge of an area. If you¡¯re not careful, then you might be caught up in it yourself.

    ¡°This item contains a sourcebox array that I designed myself, the Deste Array. Once used, an entire gxy will be wiped clean. The force of this array is enough to reduce a cultivator with a power level of 800,000 to a smoking corpse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide with shock. The walnut-looking power vessel that Yuan Shi had given Lu Yin had been powerful enough to reduce an expert with a power level of 700,000 to ashes, but this tiny item was able to threaten a powerhouse with a power level of 800,000! And on top of that, it had an area of effect!?

    Highsage Shenwei spoke up. ¡°Master, wouldn¡¯t this be pushing things for him? He¡¯ll destroy himself if he¡¯s not careful.¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster replied, ¡°With his ability as an Advanced Lockbreaker and Truesight, he should be able to escape death. The power of this Deste Array might be strong, but it¡¯s not overlyplicated. It¡¯s a purely offensive sourcebox array.¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled, and he eximed, ¡°Thank you Highsage Grandmaster! I shall choose that then!¡± Such a powerful item was exactly what he had beencking. Everything would be perfect after he returned to the Outerverse and asked Yuan Shi for a few more of the walnut-shaped power vessels.

    After taking the item that held the Deste Array, Lu Yin carefully stored it away in his cosmic ring.

    Highsage Grandmaster spoke up, ¡°Eversky Ind has now fullypensated you. Little rascal, keep up the good work and continue to cultivate hard. You should be able to enter the top ten in the uing tournament, ZENITH, and it will be entirely up to you to seize any opportunities that appear before you. Remember, when you arrive, avoid causing conflicts as much as possible, but if you are forced to make a move, then never show mercy. You must seize what you need.¡±

    After saying that, Highsage Grandmaster left.

    Lu Yin did not understand what the old man meant, so he turned to Highsage Wudi.

    Highsage Wudi shrugged. ¡°Just keep Master¡¯s words in mind. You¡¯ll understand in the future.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei moved in front of Lu Yin and leaned close while studying the youth up and down in a weird manner. ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯re not under the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s control? We all thought that you were dead meat! Even Master wasn¡¯t able to guarantee you making it back safely. Otherwise, he would have never agreed to Junior Leon¡¯s request to make things up to you.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It was a narrow escape.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei sized Lu Yin up. ¡°You¡¯ve cultivated death energy?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. It seemed that almost everyone had learned of this. He really needed to thank the person who had told Bu Laoweng about this matter; it was most likely Mu Tianlun, the Calm of Despair. Lu Yin intended to remember this favor that he owed the Judicial Commissioner.

    ¡°The Specter n can use death energy to easily suppress other people that cultivate it, so you should watch your back, alright? I don¡¯t want to hear anything about you joining the Neohuman Alliance in the future,¡± Highsage Shenwei cautioned.

    Lu Yin still needed to wait at Eversky Ind for Ku Wei to arrive, so Lu Yin called him again. Ku Wei replied that he was still a few days away, so Lu Yin decided to take another walk across the Eversky Bridge out of boredom. He wanted to see what the bridge would bring him this time.

    However, the results left him greatly disappointed, as there was no reaction from the bridge whatsoever. It seemed that a person could only cross the bridge once in their lifetime.

    After crossing the bridge, Lu Yin heard a strangeughter echoing out from somewhere. He pursed his lips. Just when he had been thinking about where those two brats might have gone, they showed up.

    ck and White were actually moving slightly faster than when they had been in the Mountain and Seas Zone. As they ran around, they looked like a ck and a white shadow, clearly hoping to startle Lu Yin. He unleashed his domain in response, causing a tree to appear from the ground as he used his forcefield. The tree branches quickly wrapped around the two brats¡¯ ankles, and Lu Yin purposefully shaped the branches to look like demonic ws, nearly scaring the twins to death.

    Only then did Lu Yin appear.

    ck and White¡¯s faces were both extremely pale, and they red at him in a menacing fashion. ¡°Little Lu, you¡¯re so mean! And you¡¯re getting meaner!¡±

    ¡°To think that we were worried about you, Little Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°You guys tried to scare me first. So, was it fun?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± White turned her head away.

    ck rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yinughed and ruffled their heads. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten quite a bit faster. Have you been working hard at cultivating?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to fight in ZENITH,¡± White bragged.

    ck clenched her fists. ¡°We¡¯re going to represent Eversky Ind!¡±

    Lu Yin found their antics amusing. Despite the girls¡¯ young ages, neither of them were in any way weak. It was a shame that no team fights would take ce at ZENITH. Otherwise, the twin¡¯s ck and White Combo would have been enough to overwhelm other Hunters.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stayed at Eversky Ind for a few more days before Ku Wei finally arrived.

    The moment Ku Wei saw Lu Yin, hepletely broke down. ¡°Your Highness! Seventh Bro! Your Little Wei has been bullied so badly!¡± he wept as he ran to Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1207: First Flowzone

    <h4>Chapter 1207: First Flowzone</h4>

    Lu Yin endured Ku Wei¡¯s flurry of whining, remaining rooted to the ground. However, he now looked at Ku Wei in a new light. "I remember you being quite dependable when I first met you, but it seems that you''ve be increasingly sloppy."

    Ku Wei exaggeratedly replied, "Little Wei only behaves like this when I see Your Highness! Please, you have to treat me fairly."

    "Little Lu, this guy¡¯s super gross." White suddenly showed up, though she was looking at Ku Wei with disgust.

    Ku Wei''s eyes went wide. "Preposterous! How dare you speak to His Highness like that? Hurry up and apologize to His Highness!"

    "Brown-noser," White mocked.

    "That insult is only apliment in my ears. I proudly serve His Highness and him alone," Ku Wei proudly stated.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and so was White.

    Ku Wei had gradually taken on more and more of a subordinate¡¯s mindset as he interacted with Lu Yin. By now, he was tightly fixated onto a single belief, and he was determined to cling onto Lu Yin and never let go. After all, not even the Neohuman Alliance had been able to keep Lu Yin down. That aplishment,bined with Lu Yin¡¯s various backings and his own status, meant that Ku Wei felt that he could rely on Lu Yin regardless of what happened.

    Ku Wei had alreadypletely discarded any bit of self-respect stemming from his background as a member of the Seven Courts'' Ku family. Rather than meeting his end there, Ku Wei would much rather leave and be free.

    ¡­

    Highsage Shenwei had brought Lu Yin into the Neoverse, and he was also the one escorting Lu Yin out.

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin arrived at the Innerverse¡¯s First Flowzone. This was the Sword Sect¡¯s territory.

    Highsage Shenwei then turned around to return to the Neoverse while Lu Yin whipped out his radiant-grade copsible Aurora. This was the ship that he had received from Hai Qiqi, and he had always kept it stored away within his cosmic ring. He still hadn¡¯t found an opportunity to use the ckhole-grade copsible Aurora that he had received from the Lockbreaker Society since that ship was meant for personal use and was quite small. The radiant-grade Aurora was able to seat two, but otherwise, it was quite simr to the personal vessel.

    "Your Highness, this is the Sword Sect¡¯s First Flowzone. When I think back on it, Your Highness has managed to defeat the Thirteen Swords multiple times, which still amazes me to no end," Ku Wei said in a shocked manner. It appeared as if he hadpletely immersed himself in the role that he had created for himself.

    The First Flowzone and the Sword Sect¡ªLu Yin had been looking forward to seeing this ce for a long time. "Do you know how to get to the Sword Sect?"

    Ku Wei shook his head and immediately spoke up again, saying, "We can just grab any random person and ask them. Does Your Highness wants to visit the Sword Sect?"

    Lu Yun nodded. He had never found out about what had happened to Li Zimo after sending him to the Sword Sect, and Lu Yin had invested quite a bit of effort into getting to know the sword genius. On top of that, Lu Yin was essentially the ruler of the Outerverse. Surely, that gave him enough weight even with the Sword Sect. Also, if possible, Lu Yin wanted to experience the Thirteen Swords again.

    All of a sudden, Ku Wei shouted, "Your Highness, news about ZENITH is out!"

    While shouting in excitement, he shared his screen with Lu Yin.

    At the video¡¯s start, all that could be seen was darkness. After a moment¡¯s pause, a tall mountain appeared out of nowhere. One ck shadow after another flickered about, fighting each other as all of them struggled towards the peak of the mountain. Strangely enough, even though this was just a promotional video, it still ignited mes of passion within the viewers'' hearts. More shadows continued to appeared, and battle technique after battle technique was unleashed. The unending flood of attacks and energy was all focused on a single point: the mountain peak.

    Atst, one figure arrived at the top. It lifted its hand and set it down upon the mountain peak. This one hand enveloped the entire mountain.

    There were no words, and it was just a video. However, the background musicbined with the battle techniques that were both familiar and unfamiliar made Lu Yin¡¯s blood boil.

    He envisioned those figures as being Shang Qing, Yuhua Mavis, Liu Tianmu, Wen Sansi, and the other matchless powerhouses who dominated the universe.

    Everyone had their eyes on a single prize: the peak.

    This was ZENITH. Although Lu Yin had been told to ce within the top ten, a mountain only had one peak. For him, cing second would not be enough. If Lu Yin was to participate, then how could he merely aim for the top ten?

    Ku Wei clenched his fists. ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ll definitely be able to stand at the very top.¡±

    Lu Yin focused on the towering mountain and on the figure that had set down their hand to cover all the other shadows. That was the peak. That was the pinnacle that Lu Yin and all his peers striven for, both from the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind.

    Taking that position was the only way anyone would ever be recognized as truly invincible within their generation.

    During the trip back to the Innerverse, Lu Yin had asked Highsage Shenwei about what it meant to be a gatekeeper. Highsage Shenwei had exined that ZENITH would be held on Zenith Mountain and that the mountain had five entrances located in the north, south, east, west, and center. Only the participants who managed to break through the entrances would actually be allowed to participate in ZENITH.

    Thispetition was meant to epass both the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind. Thus, the number of prospective participants would be so high that it was simply impossible to even estimate. As such, they had created this elimination round to limit the number of participants. From these entrances known as gates, five individuals out of the entire generation would be chosen, one for each entrance. Only by making it past these entrance guardians would a person receive a ticket to participate in ZENITH.

    Two entrances had been reserved for the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, two for the Sixth Maind as well, and thest for the Astral Beast Domain. These five youths would be the five gatekeepers tasked with filtering out thepetition.

    Lu Yin, as a nominal disciple of the esteemed Highsage Grandmaster, had been rmended to be one of the five gatekeepers.

    With the opportunity to step onto the greatest stage in both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds that included all of humanity, it was a given that everyone would want to participate and show themselves. The five gatekeepers would undoubtedly be the center of attention. After all, simply being gatekeepers meant that they had already been recognized as individuals capable of taking one of the top ten positions without exception.

    Essentially, by bing a gatekeeper, Lu Yin had been given the task of suppressing a fifth of the universe¡¯s ambitious youths by stopping them from reaching Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin would be seen as an obstacle by countless people, but he would simultaneously be recognized as one of the strongest members of his generation as well.

    When he first heard of this elimination round, the first thing that Lu Yin thought of was the Three Academies Guarding the Gate event during the Astral Combat Tournament. Even though he had not returned in time to witness that scene for himself, he had still watched videos of it afterwards. To his surprise, the rules were quite simr to what ZENITH was employing.

    With so many people moring to participate from all over the universe, this mass elimination round was already the best solution possible. Otherwise, ZENITH would never end.

    Highsage Shenwei had also told Lu Yin that the elimination round with the five entrances would cut the number of contestants in half.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s strength, the number of opponents that he was to face had already lost all meaning. Additionally, it would also be impossible for him to be knocked out by just a single formidable opponent. He nned to allow anyone who could persist for two or three breaths after receiving his attacks through. His job as a gatekeeper was simply to weed out the weak while also demonstrating the absurd power of the five gatekeepers.

    There were only two spots for the entire Human Domain, so Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s confidence in rmending Lu Yin for this prestigious position made it abundantly clear how highly he regarded Lu Yin¡¯s potential.

    The youths who had fought for the position of the Cosmic Five at the Astral Tower had basically already reached the pinnacle of the Human Domain¡¯s younger generation. Shang Qing, Lei Nu, You Qi, Yuhua Mavis, Qiu Shi, Xia Jiuyou, Wen Sansi, Unseen Light, and the rest were all already Enlighters. However, aside from Shang Qing, none of the others could confidently be rmended to be a gatekeeper.

    Lu Yin himself was not entirely certain that he would be confirmed, but he was feeling nonchnt about the whole affair. He was fully confident that he would make it to the final ten regardless of what happened.

    ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s a spacecraft heading toward us from the distance,¡± Ku Wei announced.

    Lu Yin raised his head to take a look, but he did not see too many rune lines from the approaching vessel, which meant that the most powerful person aboard was a Hunter. Of course, Lu Yin¡¯s calctions would change if the person had hidden their true strength.

    ¡°Ask him for directions,¡± said Lu Yin.

    Ku Wei immediately exited the vessel and stood before the approaching ship. He watched as a sword-shaped spacecraft quickly approached them.

    Lu Yin was taken by surprise. Since it was a sword-shaped spacecraft, it had to belong to the Sword Sect, right? What a coincidence!

    The upants of the sword-shaped spacecraft did not seem to notice Ku Wei, and the ship crashed straight into him.

    Ku Wei was incredibly offended, and he instinctively raised a hand to attack whoever was trying to plow through him. Although Ku Wei was still just a Cruiser, he was also a realmbreaker who was perfectly capable of standing up to a normal Hunter. His one attackpletely destroyed the spacecraft.

    A man¡¯s angry groan could be heard from within the wreckage, and aforementioned man quickly rushed out, angrily wielding a sword as he tore through the void. Clearly, he was a high-level Hunter.

    Ku Wei scoffed. Although he willingly debased himself in front of Lu Yin, Ku Wei was still an untamed and obnoxious man against all others. In fact, he regrly went around and calling himself ¡°Brother Wei.¡±

    Ku Wei watched as the sword approached him, but he merely raised his hands and countered with a Finger Tap.

    Finger Tap was a battle technique that came from the Ku family¡¯s legacy, and it was famous for quelling the target¡¯s battle intent. And without any intent, the tip of a sword would lose its sharpness.

    Ku Wei¡¯s Finger Tap struck the tip of the sword, and the de shattered into multiple pieces that flew in all directions. The swordsman in the Hunter realm was shocked when he realized what had happened, and he stared at Ku Wei in aghast. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The Sword Sect¡¯s cultivators were usually the challenged ones, so he had not expected to be challenged like this on this day. Additionally, he was thoroughly embarrassed that he had not even been able to hold his sword correctly against his challenger. Still, despite his raging emotions, the Hunter did not continue his attack. He was someone who had managed to be a Hunter, and he was definitely experienced enough to understand what sort of situation he was in.

    Ku Wei¡¯s Finger Tap had left quite an impression on the Hunter, as it was an extraordinary battle technique.

    ¡°Judging from your appearance, you must be from the Sword Sect, correct?¡± Ku Wei asked.

    The man warily stared at Ku Wei before shifting his focus over to the spacecraft where Lu Yin was still sitting. Suddenly, the Hunter went pale. He had recognized the copsible Aurora after noticing the Sea King¡¯s Dome¡¯s emblem that decorated the hull. ¡°Are you from the Sea King¡¯s Dome? Why did you block my path? I¡¯m a Sword Sect cultivator who¡¯s carrying out his duties.¡±

    Ku Weizily replied, ¡°Brother Wei here isn¡¯t trying to block you. I¡¯m just trying to get some directions. Which way is the Sword Sect in?¡±

    The man stared at Ku Wei with open suspicion. ¡°Just who exactly are you? Why would you ask me for the Sword Sect¡¯s location?¡±

    Ku Wei was losing his patience. ¡°Just do what I tell you to do! Stop yapping!¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed further, and he secretly tapped his fingers against his gadget. While doing so, he kept a close eye on Ku Wei. This person did not appear to be a decent human being no matter how he looked at him.

    At that moment, Lu Yin emerged from the spacecraft. He faced the man and courteously said, ¡°Please report to the Sword Sect that Lu Yin wishes to visit.¡±

    The man was momentarily stunned, and then his expression quickly changed to one of surprise. He stared at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Are- are you Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The man repeatedly scanned Lu Yin up and down. ¡°Are you really Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Why? What is there to doubt? Don¡¯t you feel his domineering aura and invincible aura?¡± Ku Wei roared loudly as he moved over to stand beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned; was this bastard Ku Wei trying to mock him? If not, then why was it so ufortable to hear him spout all this ttery?

    The man hurriedly replied, ¡°Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll make the report now.¡±

    With that, he raced back to his ruined spacecraft.

    Ku Weiined, ¡°Your Highness, that guy was so blind! Despite Your Highness¡¯s endless grace, he wasn¡¯t able to recognize you even though he¡¯s from the Innerverse. How useless! It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s stuck as a Hunter even after all his years of cultivation. He¡¯s certainly not young.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly responded, ¡°Don¡¯t ever refer to me as ¡®domineering¡¯ or ¡®invincible¡¯ in the future. I haven¡¯t reached that level yet. Actually, call me Seventh Bro from now on.¡±

    Ku Wei was thrilled. ¡°Seven- Seventh Bro? Does Little Wei have the right to do so? Your Highness, you¡¯re too good to me! Little Wei will give you my all! I¡¯ll dlyy my life down for you.¡±

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he suddenly recalled that this bastard was actually Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking disciple. If Lu Yin asked Ku Wei to address him as ¡®master,¡¯ then would Ku Wei start another insane session of bootlicking right away? The thought sent chills down Lu Yin¡¯s spine.

    Before much time passed, the man returned and respectfully informed Lu Yin, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, we are quite far from the Sword Sect. So, Elder Liu has invited you to join him at Charm Mountain Flowzone before traveling to the Sword Sect together.¡±

    Lu Yin asked in confusion, ¡°Charm Mountain Flowzone?¡±

    The man nodded and replied solemnly, ¡°The Sword Sect is about to wage a war against the Charm Mountain Sect and exterminate them.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1208: War Against The Sect

    <h4>Chapter 1208: War Against The Sect</h4>

    Charm Mountain Flowzoney between First Flowzone and Daynight Flowzone. It was a smaller flowzone, around the same size as Northline Flowzone. The flowzone only contained one power, and it was known as the Charm Mountain Sect, which was also the source of the flowzone¡¯s name.

    The backstory of why the Sword Sect was moving to exterminate Charm Mountain Flowzone was long andplicated. Charm Mountain Flowzone contained a natural resource known as the Charm Mountain Herb, and since this smaller flowzone was sandwiched between two of the great flowzones, it meant that this herb was amon reason for conflict between those two great flowzones.

    In the past, First Flowzone had lost the contest, and Charm Mountain Flowzone had been annexed by Daynight Flowzone. However, after Lu Yin had overturned Daynight Flowzone, First Flowzone had seized the opportunity to forcibly upy Charm Mountain Flowzone. To the Charm Mountain Sect, their job was simr to Ironblood Weave¡¯s clean-up operations.

    Lu Yin had never expected his actions to be the trigger for this war.

    Daynight and First Flowzone were both part of the Innerverse¡¯s eight major flowzones. As a result, their activities generally affected things on a greater scale, and they also held widespread influence. With the help of Leon¡¯s Armada and the power of half of the unified Outerverse, Lu Yin had wreaked havoc in Daynight Flowzone. Its resulting near copse had strongly influenced the Innerverse¡¯s political situation to the point where it was nearly unrecognizablepared to before.

    Daynight Flowzone had always been so domineering that the other powers did not even dare to speak out even though the Daynight n usually took arge proportion of the Innerverse¡¯s resources for themselves. Now that the tables had turned, the resulting implications were just as severe. The situation with Charm Mountain Flowzone was just one of the consequences, and there were many more that Lu Yin had not noticed yet.

    This was not a war fought for principles, but rather one for leverage and influence.

    The Innerverse was different from the Outerverse in that it was much crueler and more unreasonable.

    Lu Yin stared out at a distant point in space where the war was unfolding, but his expression remained calm.

    The Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s forces were much stronger than most Outerverse powers. Even though they were not on the same level as the Neo-Vestige Sect, the Charm Mountain Sect still had multiple powerful Enlighters.

    Sword qi filled this entire region, tearing at the fabric of space. Tens of thousands of Sword Sect disciples were participating in the battle, and just the sight of their sharp and polished swords was enough to induce fear in any foe. The countless swords all struck at once, slicing one of Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s Enlighters apart in one blow.

    Ku Wei was stunned speechless by the scene. ¡°Seventh Bro, the Sword Sect¡¯s pretty ruthless. They didn¡¯t even let him finish his sentence.¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°Since they¡¯re here to exterminate their opponent, it¡¯s already toote for words.¡±

    Themanders and officers in the Central Coalition that Lu Yin had ordered hits on had not had a chance to speak up either.

    There was a loud roar, and waves of energy swept across the entire battlefield. Off in the distance, a few stars copsed and formed a ck hole. At the same time, one of the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s battleships caught fire and was shredded into countless pieces by sword qi. Not a single intact corpse could be found amongst the wreckage.

    ¡°The Charm Mountain Sect is willing to surrender to the Sword Sect. Why not put an end to this ughter, Sword Sect? The Charm Mountain Sect is willing to surrender!¡± shouted an old, male Enlighter with a maniacal desperation, but his skull was soon pierced through by a streak of sword qi. The light left his eyes as despair filled them right before he died. His expression stood in stark contrast to the Sword Sect disciple who was still standing.

    The person who had killed the elderly Charm Mountain Sect Enlighter was a powerful disciple of the Sword Sect, and he was wearing a crimson red robe. In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, this man had the second highest number of rune lines on the entire battlefield, and ording to Lu Yin¡¯s estimation, this man¡¯s power level should be greater than 400,000. The person with the most rune lines on the battlefield was actually a scrawny, unremarkable man on the side of the Charm Mountain Sect. It was possible that the people from the Sword Sect had not realized it yet, but that scrawny man was actually the strongest person on the entire battlefield.

    Currently, the scrawny man¡¯s opponent was a mere Hunter from the Sword Sect. No matter how amazing the sword techniques unleashed by the Hunter were, everything was easily swept away by the scrawny man¡¯s power.

    Upon seeing that the death of Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s elder did not bring a stop to the Sword Sect¡¯s ughter, the scrawny man¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Sword Sect, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    As he spoke, he grabbed the Hunter¡¯s sword and instantly crushed it. The skinny man then pped the hilt out of the Hunter¡¯s hand, and to the Sword Sect disciple¡¯s shock, disintegrated the hilt within the void.

    A terrifying pressure emanated out from the scrawny man and washed across the battlefield, attracting the attention of numerous Sword Sect powerhouses. A wave of sword qi quickly attacked the man.

    The scrawny man simply scoffed and nonchntly waved a hand to dissolve all of the iing sword qi.

    At that moment, the Sword Sect powerhouse in the crimson red robe appeared. ¡°So you¡¯re still alive. Were the rumors from a hundred years ago fake?¡±

    The scrawny man¡¯s eyes remained as cold as ice. ¡°Does it matter if they were real or fake? Since I¡¯m not dead, I beseech you, Elder Li: end this war. My Charm Mountain Sect is willing to submit to the Sword Sect.¡±

    Elder Li sneered, ¡°You should have known that this would happen sooner orter. The Charm Mountain Sect made its choice back then, and you must now face the consequences.¡±

    The scrawny man fiercely growled, "The reason why you want to exterminate my Charm Mountain Sect is just because we tried to help Daynight Flowzone during the recent chaos. Elder Li should understand our difficult position, as we are stuck between the Daynight n and the Sword Sect. It''s difficult for us to even survive."

    "There¡¯s no excuse for swaying wherever the wind blows. The Sect Leader personally ordered the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s doom this day. In fact, he no longer wishes to see the words ''Charm Mountain Flowzone'' on a star chart. It''s time for this flowzone to have a new master." As Elder Li spoke, he drew his sword. This time, his sword qi had reached a power level of more than 400,000, and it sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield. It was impossible to tell how far the force of this sword could go, and it was possible for it to even split Charm Mountain Flowzone in half.

    The scrawny man shouted in rage, "Today the Sword Sect exterminates Charm Mountain Flowzone, and tomorrow, another flowzone might fall as well! Do you have no fear of the surrounding flowzones allying together to withstand the Sword Sect¡¯s tyranny?"

    "Try us!" Elder Li cried out.

    Within his spacecraft, Lu Yin simply watched the fight. This showdown between the two powerhouses had left the rest of the battlefield in silence. The aftershock from the collision of the two powerhouses¡¯ techniques swept through the entire region.

    Lu Yin realized that he had forgotten about a certain detail. Out of the Innerverse¡¯s eight major flowzones, the most powerful ones had always been the Sword Sect and the Daynight n. Naturally, the two had always been fighting for the top position and had thus kept each other in check. However, after Lu Yin had destabilized the Daynight n with a massive blow and forced the Daynight n to essentially iste itself, the Sword Sect had immediately seized this opportunity to take action. They had be uncontroble in their advances due to theck of a strong rival, and that was not good.

    Lu Yin nced over at the Sword Sect cultivator escort nearby. Could they have brought Lu Yin to this ce so that he would witness the battle as a warning? Could they be setting their sights on the Outerverse?

    A united Outerverse was not something that benefited the Innerverse, and at this moment, the strongest and most influential power in the Innerverse was the Sword Sect. In other words, the Sword Sect would suffer the most from a united Outerverse.

    Upon realizing this, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold.

    Everyone else on the battlefield was forced to endure the shockwavesing from a battle between two powerhouses whose power levels exceeded 400,000.

    All of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples retreated, as did the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s disciples. This entire area was left empty for this final confrontation.

    The reverberations from the multiple shes shook space, and they caused Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft to shake like a small boat caught in rough waves.

    Many people felt suffocated by the experts¡¯ star energy¡¯s oppressive force. Elder Li¡¯s sword qi was particrly violent, and it blinded many who simply caught sight of it.

    Even though the man from the Charm Mountain Sect surpassed the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder Li in terms of sheer power level, Elder Li was from the Sword Sect. Thus, it was not possible to properly evaluate his strength by just looking at his rune lines. Before long, the scrawny man from Charm Mountain Sect had been suppressed, and he was clearly at the end of his rope.

    The people from the Sword Sect were fully confident in Elder Li, and they calmly watched the fight approach its conclusion.

    Conversely, the Charm Mountain Sect disciples fell into despair.

    ¡°Sword Sect, you¡¯ve gone too far! Even if the Charm Mountain Sect vanishes today, we¡¯ll take you down with us!¡± the skinny man screamed with everything he had.

    Elder Li had a ferocious expression, and he was about to swing his sword to end the fight, but at that moment, a figure appeared in front of him. That person was wearing universal armor, and they raised their left hand to block Elder Li¡¯s attack. The skinny man from the Charm Mountain Sect struck the armor with full force, but the person remained unaffected. The figure then raised their right hand, held it against the Charm Sect cultivator''s abdomen, and sent the man from the Charm Mountain Sect flying with a loud bang as raging waves of energy shot out in all directions.

    This immense impact tore the void apart and even forced Elder Li to instinctively retreat a few steps. Once he had re-stabilized himself, he looked at the figure in utter shock; just who was this person with such monstrous strength? This armored person had even managed to catch him by surprise, so if they hadunched an attack instead¡­ Elder Li did not dare to think of the oue.

    The person who had moved was naturally Lu Yin. He had not really saved Elder Li, as Lu Yin could tell from the rune lines of the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s elder¡¯s attack that Elder Li would not have been badly injured even without Lu Yin¡¯s intervention, but Lu Yin had still made a move. He wanted to do the Sword Sect a favor while also simultaneously demonstrating his own strength.

    The Sword Sect nned to instill fear in other organizations with this war, but Lu Yin intended to do the same exact thing to them.

    Elder Li was aware that the attack from the man from the Charm Mountain Sect would not have done much damage to him, but the surrounding Sword Sect disciples did not know this. To them, Lu Yin had just done them an unrequested favor.

    ¡°I apologize, Elder Li. This junior could not resist the urge to join the fight,¡± Lu Yin said apologetically.

    Elder Li met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Some distance away, the man from the Charm Mountain Sect was coughing up blood, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin in terror. That child had actuallypletely disregarded his full strength attack and then caused him to spit out blood with just a p! What monstrous strength.

    Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor had been upgraded seven times, and its rune lines were closely approaching a power level of 500,000. Naturally, someone with a power level of 400,000 could not break through it.

    It had been a long time since Lu Yin had used his items to make up for a difference in strength, and it was invigorating to do so once again.

    Elder Li shifted his eyes over to look at the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s elder. The coldness in Elder Li¡¯s eyes turned into sword qi as he raised a hand and thrust his sword forward, piercing a hole in the void. This move was far moreplex than any attack that he had previously unleashed. From what Lu Yin could tell, this move even contained some of the Thirteen Swords¡¯ concepts. This strike reminded Lu Yin of Liu Xiaoyun, who had also made many attempts to imitate the Thirteen Swords despite never inheriting the technique.

    The man from the Charm Mountain Sect had coughed out a mouthful of blood after taking a full strength blow from Lu Yin. This was actually to be expected as Lu Yin could fight against the corpse king, Beast, after it had undergone three transformations. Even though Enlighters with power levels over 400,000 could not match up to the skinny man¡¯s strength, Lu Yin¡¯s p had injured the man quite badly, and it had left him too weak to avoid Elder Li¡¯s de. Atst, the skinny man was cut to death.

    As he watched the corpse of the man from the Charm Mountain Sect drift through outer space, Lu Yin was reminded of Northgate Taisui. Lu Yin had been terrified when he had first encountered someone with a power level of more than 400,000, but he had already be someone who could pose a threat to such powerhouses. How time flew by!

    Surprisingly, more than half of the Ten Arbiters did not exceed the age limit of forty years old, and were thus still considered a part of the younger generation. Many of them were likely very close to the limit, but were lucky enough to qualify for ZENITH.

    The death of the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s strongest member meant that the entire sect would copse soon.

    Such a scene was more than familiar to Lu Yin, and so, he felt no sympathy for the Charm Mountain Sect. If it were not for the Sword Sect, then the Charm Mountain Sect definitely would have helped the Daynight n when Lu Yin had made his move, which would have ruined his ns. Ultimately, everything boiled down to fate.

    Lu Yin had also experienced simr moments of despair on multiple asions. This was simply the cruel reality of the universe.

    ¡°Are you Lu Yin?¡± Elder Li stared at Lu Yin with eyes that were filled with animosity and killing intent. It was clear that killing had be second nature to the man.

    Lu Yin nodded and removed his universal armor. ¡°Junior Lu Yin pays his respects, senior.¡±

    Elder Li scanned Lu Yin, and his eyes gradually moved down to Lu Yin¡¯s right hand. ¡°Your strength is quite formidable. Not even I can match up to you.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Elder Li vastly surpasses me in terms of sword technique. I just happen to have a little more physical strength, so how could Ipare with Elder Li?¡±

    ¡°Reaching a pinnacle is strength.¡± With that, Elder Li turned around and left.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1209: Internal Strife

    <h4>Chapter 1209: Internal Strife</h4>

    After Elder Li left, another elder by the name of Liu Shen approached Lu Yin. He was much more polite and friendly to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''ve heard a great deal about you. I am Liu Shen."

    "Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Elder Liu."

    "Please, there¡¯s no need to be so formal, Alliance Leader Lu. You are the master of the Outerverse, and your status is much higher than a mere elder like me," Liu Shen said with a lightugh.

    Lu Yin remained humble. "Elder Liu, you''re too kind. Despite everything else, I am still your junior."

    The two exchanged a few more niceties with a backdrop of the Charm Mountain Sect¡¯s total annihtion. To these two people, the countless deaths that came with a sect¡¯s extinction was a rather typical urrence.

    In the distance, a certain man observed Lu Yin with surprise, but he only took one nce before charging straight at the survivors of Charm Mountain Sect. The man was Li Zimo, and he had joined the war efforts against the Charm Mountain Sect as a Sword Sect disciple.

    Lu Yin had also noticed Li Zimo, but it was impossible for them to acknowledge each other in the current situation. Thus, they simply pretended that they had not seen each other. Lu Yin even avoided looking at Li Zimo in order to prevent anyone from the Sword Sect from learning that the two knew each other. Lu Yin felt that it was enough to know that Li Zimo had sessfully joined the Sword Sect.

    With Li Zimo''s talent for the sword, he should be able to climb quite high in the Sword Sect in the future.

    Liu Shen was a polished and discerning individual. He used polite words to test the waters with Lu Yin before trying to sweet-talk Lu Yin. His adtion was so excessive that it even seemed like Liu Shen was worshiping Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had never been one to fall to ttery, and Liu Shen¡¯s skills at the verbal arts were severelyckingpared to the journalists from the Outerverse who had gone all out to praise Lu Yin. Even Ku Wei was better at ttery than Liu Shen, though that was mostly due to the fact that Ku Weicked any sort of shame when doing so.

    At this time, Ku Wei was standing behind Lu Yin and staring at Liu Shen with a look of contempt; this fool did not even know how to properly bootlick! Ku Wei had tossed away his shame, and he felt that this Liu Shen would do well to learn from him.

    Liu Shen tried his absolute best to demonstrate the Sword Sect¡¯s good will towards Lu Yin while Lu Yin did his best to show Liu Shen the same in return.

    Before long, the assault on the Charm Mountain Sect calmed down. Not only had the Sword Sect eliminated the vast majority of their foes, but most of their opponents during this battle had also been core members of the Charm Mountain Sect. The survivors were captured by the Sword Sect, though Lu Yin did not know why.

    Liu Shen and Elder Li escorted Lu Yin back to the Sword Sect¡¯s headquarters.

    During the trip back, Lu Yin saw someone familiar aboard the Sword Sect¡¯s vessel: Long Yun.

    In the past, when they had both been on Pyrolyte, Lu Yin had only been able toprehend six lines of battle force due to Long Yun¡¯s assistance. Lu Yin had a strong impression of Long Yun, and he was also aware that Long Yun was someone who excelled at hiding his true power.

    "It¡¯s been almost eight years, hasn''t it? Many things have changed since then, and you''re already the leader of the Outerverse," Long Yun spoke with nostalgia as he sat down in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "You''ve almost surpassed the Hunter realm, right? What about your battle force? You''ve probably already passed eight lines by now."

    Long Yun let out a smallugh. "Isn''t it embarrassing for me to speak of battle force with you? Back then, you used my help to raise your battle force to six lines when I was still at seven. But what about now? You¡¯ve already reached nine lines while I¡¯m still stuck at eight. I went from standing in front of you togging behind. Ah, how quickly do the tides turn."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I heard that you received the title of Marquis."

    Long Yun nodded. "The Sixth Maind invaded us, and I nearly lost my life."

    "Me too," Lu Yin replied.

    Long Yun turned his head to look straight at Lu Yin. "But you''ve already gotten your revenge. Nightking Zhenwu was someone who dominated our entire generation, but you actually managed to kill him. Honestly speaking, I didn''t quite believe it when I first heard the news, though I had no reason to doubt it either."

    Lu Yin had a deep understanding of the position that the Ten Arbiters upied in the hearts of Long Yun and many other youths; to them, those ten were truly invincible. Lu Yin had first defeated Lan Si, shocking both the Innerverse and Outerverse, but then, he had proceeded to also defeat Nightking Zhenwu, which had created an even biggermotion due to the various forces behind Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin really wanted to know what sort of expressions Long Yun, Liu Shaoqiu, and the other Sword Sect disciples would have if Lu Yin also defeated Liu Tianmu. Would Liu Shen still be all smiles? Lu Yin started looking forward to finding that out!

    "Who''s the next Arbiter that you''re going to defeat? Oh, right, you¡¯re already a part of the Ten Arbiters now, so there¡¯s probably no reason for you to fight them now. The people you should be aiming for should be those guys from the Neoverse and the people who will be in ZENITH," Long Yun remarked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed at the words, and he asked, "Speaking of ZENITH, how many people from the Sword Sect will go?"

    Long Yun shook his head. "I''m not too sure, but there¡¯s no limit to how many people can join, so probably a lot."

    "What about you? Will you be joining?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Yun sighed. "At first, I didn''t want to because I know that there¡¯s no way I can make it into the top ten no matter what. However, those old farts in the sect forced me to join. I didn''t have a choice."

    Lu Yin did some mental calctions. Liu Tianmu, Liu Shaoqiu, and Long Yun were all participating from the Sword Sect, and Liu Xiaoyun should also be going as well. That meant that there were already four people without taking anyone else into ount. Lu Yin felt that a safe guess was that around ten people from the Sword Sect would go, and the other Innerverse powers would probably send a simr number. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how many people from the Cosmic Sect¡¯s top rankings would want to join. The same was also true of the other Neoverse powers like the Seven Courts, and this was still just the Human Domain.

    The number ofpetitors that wouldpete at ZENITH would be astronomical.

    "I don''t even understand why the Hall of Honor is holding ZENITH. There''s going to be so many people taking part, and I heard that they''re nning on having some elimination round to cut the number of the participants in half right away. If they''re going to do that, then why not just let the Ten Arbiters and the best youths from the Neoverse go at it? Why bother dragging everyone else in?" Long Yunined. He hated troublesome things.

    Lu Yin had a bit of insider information concerning thepetition, but he was not able to share it with Long Yun.

    They heard a distantmotion, and both Lu Yin and Long Yun looked towards the noise. Ku Wei had arrived, and he was gloating over what had happened. "Seventh Bro, there''s some sort of internal fight within the Sword Sect."

    Curious, Lu Yin moved closer to themotion.

    The Liu family had stood at the top of the Sword Sect for generations. In addition, all of the sect masters had been from the Liu family. This was why the members of the Liu family were considered elitespared to the rest of the Sword Sect.

    Even though Liu was a primeval surname, the Liu family was widely recognized as the most powerful family in the Sword Sect.

    Since the Liu family essentially controlled the Sword Sect, they were naturally able to cultivate their family¡¯s disciples to a level above the rest. They had reserved arge portion of the Sword Sect''s resources for themselves, and they often oppressed the more average disciples. Most of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples had already be numb to the situation, but neers were the exception.

    On a spacecraft, some disciples of the Liu family had gathered together along with some of their followers. Across from them were standing some disciples who had recently joined the Sword Sect.

    For someone to be able to enter the Sword Sect, they had to have exceptional talent with the sword, and they had also all been elites before joining. Thus, many of them had impressive backgrounds and were not afraid to confront members of the Liu family.

    Besides, there were only a few members from the Liu family¡¯s main branch who were actually valued. The rest were from various side branches.

    When Lu Yin, Long Yun, and Ku Wei arrived, they were met by the sight of many disciples arguing with each other.

    "Give up your resources like we told you. In the Sword Sect, the Liu family calls the shots," one man arrogantly ordered.

    On the other side, another man stubbornly retorted, ¡°If Liu Shaoqiu were telling me this, then I wouldn¡¯t dare to disobey, but you? I¡¯m not scared of you!¡±

    ¡°How brazen! The Liu family stands as a single entity yet you dare to resist our orders? It¡¯s ridiculous that you didn¡¯t bother finding out what happened to all the other disciples who joined right before you. Some of them were just as cocky as all of you are right now, but now, they know how to behave.¡±

    ¡°Swordsmen are known to openly disy their skills, but within the Sword Sect, you¡¯d better know your ce! We¡¯re the Liu family.¡±

    ¡°Know your ce.¡±

    ¡°So what? I doubt that the sect will make things difficult for us new disciples just because of you guys.¡±

    ¡°The sect won¡¯t back you guys either.¡±

    ¡­

    Long Yun just shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t pay them any mind, Brother Lu. This happens frequently. They¡¯re from the Liu family, after all, and they all expect to receive some special privileges in the Sword Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin responded, ¡°The Liu family members that I¡¯ve met were never like that.¡±

    Long Yun said, ¡°The higher you stand, the clearer you are of what lies before you. It¡¯s lonely at the top, and everyone is constantly trying to pull you down. Rather, the ones at the bottom are more prone to behaving arrogantly, but they won¡¯t take things too far.¡±

    ¡°Did Brother Long also experience something like this when you first joined the Sword Sect?¡± Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Long Yun responded with nothing more than a smile.

    Soon after, Liu Shen arrived and scolded everyone.

    All of the disciples from the Liu family were unafraid of Liu Shen, and they were already used to him scolding them. Instead, it was the new disciples who did not dare to make any noise and instead suppressed their grievances.

    Lu Yin scanned the area and noticed Li Zimo standing behind the group of new disciples. However, he stood some distance away and had not participated in the skuffle.

    Most of these disciples who had recently joined the Sword Sect were only Limiteers, and only a handful were Explorers. On the other hand, the Liu family members seemed to have higher quality members, as there were several more Explorers in their group.

    The battlefield for most of these people should have been at the Charm Mountain Sect, not in outer space.

    ¡°Just you guys wait! We¡¯ll teach you guys a lesson when we get back to the sect!¡± someone from the Liu family threatened.

    Liu Shen shot a fierce re at the instigator.

    At that time, a dainty-looking girl from the Liu family asked, ¡°Elder, in the past, you¡¯ve always had us send representatives from each side to fight it out with the winner getting thest say. Why don¡¯t you do that this time as well?¡±

    In a low voice, Liu Shen answered, ¡°Can¡¯t you see that we have a guest with us today? You¡¯re embarrassing yourselves! Leave now.¡±

    Many of the people looked over at Lu Yin and Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei felt pleased with himself, and he looked down at the crowd with tant contempt. His rude expression had thoroughly angered the Dark Phoenix family in the past, and it had actually triggered a fight between him and them at that time. At this moment, even though he was around people from the Sword Sect, Ku Wei actually had not toned down his behavior at all. Instead, he had kicked things up a notch! His ability to incite hatred and hostility had caused even Liu Shen to be upset.

    Ku Wei was not even doing this on purpose. Rather, as someone from the Neoverse, there was an immense sense of internal arrogance that was hard to cast aside, even if he had separated from the Ku family.

    ¡°Elder Liu, please don¡¯t pay me any mind. Since the girl wishes for a fair fight, I¡¯d also like to see the abilities of the Sword Sect¡¯s talented disciples.¡± Lu Yin encouraged the two parties.

    The girl who had spoken stared at Lu Yin and furrowed her brow as she said, ¡°You look familiar.¡±

    Long Yun chided the girl, ¡°Don¡¯t be rude. This is Arbiter Lu.¡±

    Everyone felt a bit confused, and some of them even gasped. ¡°The Lu Yin who defeated Arbiter Zhenwu? The leader of the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    As soon as one person recognized Lu Yin, everyone else did as well, and they all stared at him in disbelief.

    Regardless of if they were from the Liu family or recently members of the Sword Sect, everyone stared at Lu Yin inplete shock. It was like they were meeting a person straight out of a legend.

    The dainty-looking girl from the Liu family blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re the Lu Yin who defeated Brother Shaoqiu?¡±

    Lu Yin made eye contact with the girl and asked, ¡°Are you Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s little sister?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m his cousin! Lu Yin, I challenge you!¡± the girl cried out.

    ¡°Shut your mouth and leave right now! How embarrassing!¡± Liu Shen loudly reprimanded the girl.

    She felt indignant and continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    Ku Weiughed. ¡°Little girl, why don¡¯t you let Brother Ku y with you?¡±

    Lu Yin instantly scolded Ku Wei, ¡°Zip it and back off.¡±

    Ku Wei retreated without question.

    ¡°Lu Yin, if you¡¯re really that strong, then ept my challenge!¡± the young girl goaded.

    Lu Yin found the matter quite amusing, as the girl had not even broken past the Explorer realm, yet she still wanted to challenge him. While thinking of this, he looked across the new Sword Sect disciples. He pointed at them and said, ¡°Your opponents are over there.¡±

    The girl dismissed them all and said, ¡°They¡¯re all way too weak for me.¡±

    Liu Shen wanted to scold the girl once again.

    Lu Yin countered, ¡°Why don¡¯t I choose your opponent? If you can defeat him, then I¡¯ll ept your challenge.¡±

    The girl was thrilled. ¡°Really? Who is it? The vulgar man behind you?¡±

    Ku Wei red at the girl in annoyance.

    Lu Yin found the whole thing quite entertaining, but he simply pointed at Li Zimo and said, ¡°Him.¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Li Zimo.

    Li Zimo remained perfectly calm as he met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin continued to smile, though it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1210: Lu Yinâ€™s Confidence

    <h4>Chapter 1210: Lu Yin¡¯s Confidence</h4>

    Liu Shen¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked back and forth between Li Zimo and Lu Yin before finallymenting, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve got a good eye.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Liu Shenughed. ¡°That disciple is known as Li Zimo, and during the Sword Sect¡¯s recruitment assessment, he ced first. At that time, Elder Lianxin took him in as a disciple, and he immediately inherited the Inner Peace Sword Arts. Out of the tens of millions of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples, he¡¯s always managed to retain a ce at the very top.¡±

    Lu Yin responded in a knowing manner. ¡°It looks like my luck¡¯s pretty good.¡±

    Upon seeing that Lu Yin had selected Li Zimo to be her opponent, the girl from the Liu family frowned. Li Zimo had already built quite the reputation for himself in the sect due to him bing Elder Lianxin¡¯s only disciple and creating quite amotion when he joined the Sword Sect. On top of that, Li Zimo had always been very strong, and it had to be acknowledged that he had even created his own sword techniques. The Liu girl had no confidence of victory, but since she had already agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s conditions, she had no choice but to face Li Zimo.

    ¡°Li Zimo,e!¡± The girl from the Liu family grabbed her sword as she moved out of the crowd and stared at Li Zimo.

    Li Zimo did not move.

    The girl from the Liu family pointed her sword at him. ¡°Li Zimo,e at me!¡±

    Li Zimo raised his head to look at the girl. ¡°My sword is not a performance to be watched.¡±

    Liu Shen spoke a warning in a low voice, ¡°Li Zimo, since Alliance Leader Lu has made a request, just have a duel with Liu Ling. You only need to go through the motions.¡±

    Li Zimo furrowed his brow, but he still stood up. He stretched out his right arm, and a sword materialized. The tip of the de was pointed at Liu Ling.

    Everyone else retreated to leave space for the two fighters.

    Liu Ling¡¯s eyes narrowed and she said, ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to see just what you¡¯ve learned from Elder Lianxin and also to witness your self-created, so-called ¡®Silent Sword.¡¯¡±

    After speaking, she conjured forth countless shadows with her de, which looked quite simr to the Myriad Swords Sect¡¯s Ten Thousand Swords as One, but at the same time, there were key differences. The core idea of the Ten Thousand Swords as One technique was to merge the various des to form onerge sword that would cut through everything to unleash the most powerful sword. In contrast, Liu Ling¡¯s skill locked the void with the countless sword shadows that she had conjured.

    Neither of the two sword techniques were necessarily better than the other, as it truly depended on how the user wielded them.

    Lu Yin praised, ¡°Impressive sword skills.¡±

    In the face of Liu Ling¡¯s aggressive assault formed from countless void-locking shadows, Li Zimo unhurriedly raised his sword and stepped forward. His sword fell down, and his body moved with the sword. A light ¡°nk¡± sound was all that anyone heard, but Liu Ling remained frozen in ce, dumbstruck. The sword in her hand cracked, and Li Zimo suddenly appeared behind her.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt like he was once again seeing Li Zimo defeat Tang Si from the Reverent King¡¯s Residence. Lu Yin remembered being utterly amazed by just one sh of Li Zimo¡¯s sword, and he had been unable to decide whether Li Zimo or Liu Shaoqiu was stronger. Currently, Li Zimo¡¯s sword skills had progressed much further. He was still as precise as ever, and he left no traces behind when moving his sword. That was the essence of his Silent Sword, and its power wasparable to the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword.

    Most of the people watching this match had never seen Li Zimo¡¯s Silent Sword before, and they were stunned by his skill.

    Even Liu Shen was taken back, and he could not help but exim, ¡°The First Sword?¡±

    However, he came to his senses immediately after his unbidden outburst. Although the Silent Sword closely resembled the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword, the two were not the same. The First Sword was a ranged sh that struck from a distance whereas the Silent Sword demanded that the swordsman¡¯s body move with the sword.

    Liu Ling could not believe that she had been defeated in just one move. She was an elite from the Liu family, but she lost after her opponent moved his de a single time.

    Li Zimo nced over at Lu Yin with cold eyes before returning to his ce where he leaned against the wall. He acted as if the match had never even happened.

    At that moment, despite how unruly the Sword Sect disciples from the Liu family were, they all looked at Li Zimo with respect and fear.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s top expert within the younger generation was undoubtedly Liu Tianmu followed by Long Yun and Liu Shaoqiu. Liu Shaoqiu had a particrly certain air of superiority to him even though he only ranked third even after inheriting the Thirteen Swords.

    Li Zimo''s sword skills had silenced the crowd. They felt that it might even be possible for him to challenge Liu Shaoqiu.

    p, p, p!

    Lu Yin apuded the exchange. "As expected of the Sword Sect. One can pick out any disciple, and they¡¯ll find someone with amazing sword skills." After that, he looked over at Liu Shen and asked, "You said that that disciple''s name is Li Zimo?"

    Liu Shen averted his eyes from Li Zimo and replied, "That''s right. He''s Elder Lianxin''s only disciple. Have you taken an interest in him, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Elder Lianxin?" Lu Yin questioned.

    Liu Shen exined, "Elder Lianxin is an elder only below the Sect Leader. She¡¯s an Envoy.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°So she¡¯s an Envoy! It¡¯s no wonder that she raised such an impressive disciple. I, Lu Yin, openly admit my admiration.¡±

    Liu Shenughed and looked back at Li Zimo.

    Lu Yin looked over at Li Zimo as well and said, ¡°I hope to see you in ZENITH. The technique that you used was fascinating.¡±

    Li Zimo met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, but he looked unhappy and threatened, ¡°Do you want a taste of it?¡±

    The atmosphere immediately grew tense.

    Liu Shen instantly scolded Li Zimo. ¡°Impudent! How can someone at your level even dream of challenging Alliance Leader Lu? He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters, and he defeated Divine Fist Lan Si as well as Arbiter Zhenwu. Even in the Neoverse, his aplishments are absolutely outstanding. He¡¯s someone who has actually stood upon the highest stage of all humanity, but you want to challenge Alliance Leader Lu? Not in this lifetime!"

    Lu Yin shot a look at Liu Shen. The man was essentially stirring up Li Zimo¡¯s animosity against Lu Yin. Most people would not take such words well, and this man was indeed someone who hid daggers behind a smile.

    "If you wish to challenge me, I''ll be your opponent anytime," Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    Li Zimo stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before lowering his head and withdrawing.

    Liu Shen turned to apologize to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m to me for hisck of discipline. When we return to the Sword Sect, I''ll make sure to report this matter to Elder Lianxin and have her punish him."

    The other Sword Sect disciples left one after another.

    Liu Ling was the only one who remained in ce, dejectedly standing still. Though, she was soon dragged away by the other Liu family disciples.

    Just before all of the disciples left, Elder Li, who was the elder with crimson robes, appeared.

    Everyone from the Sword Sect immediately bowed. "We pay our respects to Elder Li."

    "We pay our respects to Elder Li."

    ¡­

    Elder Li calmly looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, since you¡¯ve had the opportunity to see a demonstration put on by my Sword Sect¡¯s youths, then why don¡¯t you give us a demonstration of your own?¡±

    Upon hearing Elder Li¡¯s words, all of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples grew excited. It was almost impossible to get the opportunity to witness one of the Ten Arbiters unleash their power.

    Li Zimo turned back towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gave a smallugh. ¡°Does Elder Li intend to have a match with junior Lu Yin?¡±

    Elder Li arched a brow. ¡°Is there anything that you¡¯re looking to learn from me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. Excuse my impudence, but out of everyone here, who else has the strength to take a move from me aside from Elder Li?¡±

    All the disciples of the Liu family, including Liu Ling, were thoroughly enraged. This was too arrogant!

    Long Yun was also taken aback; this rascal had indeed grown even cockier.

    Liu Shen had not expected Lu Yin to reply with such conceited words, as the youth had been a pleasant conversationalist up until this point.

    Elder Li locked eyes with Lu Yin, but he shook his head after a moment. ¡°If word gets out that I had a match with you, I would be ridiculed.¡± He then turned to Long Yun and ordered, ¡°You, go.¡±

    Long Yun was stunned for a moment, but he had no choice but to step forward. The only youth present who was capable of going up against Lu Yin was indeed Long Yun, though his defeat was also a foregone conclusion. Long Yun was not sure why Elder Li was so insistent on making Lu Yin reveal his strength.

    Lu Yin was also uncertain as to what Elder Li was nning, but since the elder wanted Lu Yin to make a move, then Lu Yin was fine with it. He was even willing to face off against Elder Li. If it came down to it, then Lu Yin could simply use some of his items, as it waspletely impossible for Elder Li to force Lu Yin to reveal his full hand.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was Long Yun, then the fight would be a contest of battle force, or at least, that was what everyone assumed.

    Lu Yin still remembered hisst match against Long Yun on Pyrolyte, though at that time, Lu Yin had only been a Limiteer.

    Eight years had passed since the two had met, and many things had changed in that time. Upon seeing each other again after so long, Lu Yin was no longer the weaker of the two, as that position had fallen to Long Yun.

    As much as Long Yun did not want to fight with Lu Yin, there was no other choice. So, if it was bound to happen, Long Yun would not pull any punches. ¡°Brother Lu, give it your all. I don¡¯t want you to go easy on me.¡±

    With a solemn expression, Lu Yin replied, ¡°Out of respect to you, I wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Long Yun said calmly. After a moment¡¯s thought, he continued, ¡°But don¡¯t take things too seriously. I still want to be able to take part in ZENITH.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Sure.¡±

    The other Sword Sect disciples all grew nervous. From Long Yun¡¯s words, it was clear that he was feeling hesitant.

    Long Yun held a high position within the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples. It could be said that, out of all of the younger disciples, Long Yun was only eclipsed by Liu Tianmu and Liu Tianmu alone. Despite that, he was already showing signs of fear before the fight even started. This caused Lu Yin to be an even more mysterious person in the eyes of the other youths, and at the same time, they also began to revere him even more.

    Long Yun clenched both of his fists, and a blue aura slowly covered his body. Purple lines streaked across the blue, revealing it as eight lined battle force. The powerful aura emanating from Long Yun astounded the spectators, and the Sword Sect disciples grew excited as they admired their senior.

    Cultivating battle force was not easy, and neither wasprehending it to begin with. Only a handful of youths were capable of cultivating their battle force to eight lines. Even within the Sword Sect, there were no peers who had reached the same level of mastery as Long Yun, not even Liu Tianmu. Long Yun was the sole disciple with such an aplishment.

    With his eight lined battle force, Long Yun had solidified his position as right below Liu Tianmu. Even though Liu Shaoqiu had inherited the Thirteen Swords and was able to surpass realms with ease, he still found it difficult to challenge Long Yun.

    Eight lined battle force was the sign of a powerhouse.

    On the opposite side, Lu Yin let out a slow breath, and purple lines appeared and shrouded his body. However, they didn¡¯t envelop his entire body. Instead, they merely wrapped around a finger. Red lines appeared on the purple, revealing it as nine lined battle force.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s nine lined battle force, many of the Sword Sect disciples went as pale as a sheet as they stared at him in confusion, as though they had just realized that he was a monster.

    He was so young, so how had he managed to cultivate nine lined battle force?

    The disciples were not the only ones confused, as even Elder Li could notprehend how Lu Yin could have possibly aplished such a thing.

    There was no way it was that easy to cultivate battle force!

    For ordinary cultivators, it was normal to take decades or even centuries to improve their battle force, so the thought of someone improving to this level in just a few years was out of the question. It wasmon sense that each level of battle force became sequentially and more more difficult to reach, but Lu Yin had managed to improve his battle force from six lines to nine in just a mere eight years. This wentpletely against the face ofmon sense.

    Upon seeing that Lu Yin¡¯s nine lined battle force was only twined about a finger, Long Yun¡¯s brows furrowed, and he asked, ¡°Brother Lu, just a finger with battle force won¡¯t be enough, will it?¡±

    Lu Yin raised his finger and retorted, ¡°It¡¯s plenty.¡±

    Long Yun¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had a good temper though he was a bitzy and generally not fond of fights. He had also intended to back down before the fight truly began, but that did not mean that he was without any sense of pride. The idea that Lu Yin intended to fight him with just one finger was utterly humiliating.

    Elder Li scowled; wanting to defeat Long Yun with one finger was too much even if Lu Yin was one of the Ten Arbiters unless Lu Yin was going to use one of his fingertip battle techniques with the finger wrapped in battle force. Those techniques were on the same level as the Thirteen Swords, and a power that could match the First Sword would indeed be enough for this match.

    Long Yun nodded. ¡°Since Brother Lu is so confident, then I¡¯ll move first.¡±

    As he finished speaking, a sword materialized in his hand, and he grew resolute. He used a basic sword technique, Sword sh. It looked like an ordinary sh attack, but it was still formidable and fierce. This attack was different from the Thirteen Sword¡¯s First Sword which traveled through the void, as this sh seemed to have exchanged speed for a heavy and domineering aura.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as this was very different from the attack that he had witnessed before, though it still was not enough to do anything to him. With that thought, he ran forward with light steps and struck out with his finger.

    It was not impossible for Long Yun to change the trajectory of his attack, but he was still angered by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, so Long Yun directed his sword straight at Lu Yin¡¯s finger. So what if Lu Yin had nine lined battle force? Long Yun would just break the finger! His Sword sh fearlessly shot forward.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1211: Sword Qi Barrier

    <h4>Chapter 1211: Sword Qi Barrier</h4>

    ng!

    A loud ringing sound filled the room, closely followed by a few more light noises that sounded like metal hitting the floor.

    Everyone stared nkly at the scene.

    Long Yun stood frozen in ce, stunned. The sword in his hand had shattered with only the hilt remaining. The fragments of the sword that had fallen to the floor still contained traces of eight lined battle force that had yet to dissipate.

    Right in front of Long Yun¡¯s neck, just millimeters away from touching him, there was a finger that he was staring at. It was wrapped in ring red lines, the characteristic sign of nine lined battle force.

    With just one finger, Lu Yin had managed to destroy Long Yun¡¯s Sword sh along with his eight lined battle force. After that, Lu Yin had suddenly moved right in front of Long Yun, and if he had even taken one more step, Long Yun would have been killed.

    Everyone had expected Long Yun to lose, but no one had thought that Long Yun would be unable to withstand even a single move from Lu Yin, as that was just too absurd.

    An extraordinary light shone in Li Zimo¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin was still the same as ever, as invincible as ever.

    The disciples of the Liu family were all shocked to the core, as they simply could not believe their eyes.

    Numbness covered Liu Ling¡¯s scalp. She had just witnessed the power of the person that she had wanted to challenge. Arbiter Lu was incredibly powerful and seemed insurpassable; could even their Grand Senior Sister defeat him? After all, Lu Yin had already defeated two of the Ten Arbiters.

    Liu Shen nervously swallowed. Despite being an Enlighter, he still felt chills run down his spine after witnessing Lu Yin¡¯s finger attack. Liu Shen knew that he would not be able to handle such an attack. Despite his unwillingness to admit it, he knew that he could not stand up to a single finger from Lu Yin.

    Elder Li gasped and stared intently at Lu Yin. ¡°As expected of nine lined battle force. Alliance Leader Lu is quite impressive.¡±

    Lu Yin withdrew his finger, and the battle force twined around it vanished. He smiled at Long Yun and then looked over at Elder Li. ¡°Thank you for yourpliment, Senior.¡±

    Elder Li calmly replied, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why you asked to have a match with me. You are indeed qualified to do so.¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°You tter me, Senior.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re visiting the Sword Sect, feel free to take a good look around.¡± After speaking, Elder Li turned and left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes followed Elder Li as he left. For some reason, Lu Yin felt that Elder Li had something against him, and the Sword Sect trying to warn Lu Yin by showing him the battlefield had given him the impression that something was up.

    Long Yun bitterly put away the remaining hilt of his sword. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re very impressive. One finger really was all you needed.¡±

    Lu Yin told Long Yun, ¡°That¡¯s the power of nine lined battle force. Once you improve, you¡¯ll be capable of doing the same thing.¡±

    Long Yun helplessly replied, ¡°It¡¯s already been eight years, but I haven¡¯t even found a shadow of how I can improve. It¡¯s far too difficult.¡±

    He shook his head as he spoke and moved to leave. He felt utterly crushed.

    The remaining Sword Sect disciples also left after being chided by Liu Shen.

    Before Liu Ling left, she stared straight into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for a bit, as if trying to engrave his image deep into her memory.

    With a smile, Liu Shen told Lu Yin, ¡°As expected of Arbiter Lu. It seems that invincible aura you radiate willmand the respect of an entire era in the future.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing me, Elder Liu. No matter how powerful I am, even I can¡¯t resist the Thirteen Swords, especially the Thirteenth Sword.¡±

    During the battle atop the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lu Yin had watched Liu Tianmo unleash the Thirteenth Sword in person. Lu Yin was speaking honestly, as he still had no idea how he could face that technique that did not even reveal anything about the principle behind that sword technique.

    In the past, Liu Feng, the captain of Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s Lightning Sword Regiment, had mentioned that the Thirteenth Sword was a technique that could not be dodged. Rather, it had to be endured. Lu Yin still believed that.

    Lu Yin¡¯s praises of the Thirteen Swords was music to Liu Shen¡¯s ears, and he was all smiles as he led Lu Yin to his amodations. They were now just waiting to return to the Sword Sect.

    The trip was a dull affair, as First Flowzone was simply massive. With the speed of the battleship that they were traveling on, it would take quite a few more days to arrive at the Sword Sect¡¯s Swords Peak.

    After the initial incident, there were no further conflicts aboard the ship. All of the disciples seemed to have been shocked into passivity after witnessing Lu Yin¡¯s power. Elder Li never appeared again, and neither did Long Yun.

    Even Elder Liu Shen only asionally stopped by to say hello.

    Many dayster, the vessel finally arrived at the Sword Sect.

    As Lu Yin looked at the faraway mountain that resembled the sharp tip of a sword, he was spellbound even though he had personally gazed upon the beauty of the Cosmic Sect and even Mt. Microcosms.

    This was the headquarters of the Sword Sect, the most powerful organization in both the Innerverse and Outerverse. It was home to many sword users and Swords Peak, which housed invincible sword arts.

    From a distance, Swords Peak was immense, and there were even stars revolving around it. It exuded a peculiar sharp aura that was not merely a sensation, but reality.

    Swords Peak was the ce where the Sword Sect had first settled and established their sect, making it their ancestral grounds as well as a training ground. The mountain was surrounded by endless sword qi, and a constant flow of sword qi fell from the mountain, almost like some sort of waterfall. Anyone who wished to enter or leave Swords Peak would have to endure a wave of sword qi prating through their body.

    Ku Wei was shocked by the sight. "Seventh Bro, the Sword Sect is insane!"

    Lu Yin had the same thought. Were they not afraid that the sword qi might go out of control and annihte all of their disciples?

    All of a sudden, hundreds of millions of sword qi strands shot up into the sky above Swords Peak. They brushed past the spacecraft and then shed out in another direction.

    Lu Yin was astonished. What he had just witnessed was not something that came from just one individual, as that flurry of sword qi hade from abination of many sword cultivators. It actually felt quite simr to thebined arrow technique shot out by countless disciples of the Neo-Vestige Sect. However, the key difference was that the sword qi was much more powerful.

    The number of rune lines he had seen in the united sword qi had definitely exceeded a power level of 300,000. Who knew just how many disciples had to contribute to form a joint attack of such strength.

    Liu Shen arrived and begged for Lu Yin''s pardon, "I apologize, Alliance Leader Lu, for giving you such a shock just now."

    Ku Wei was upset by the apology. ¡°How could that mere bit of sword qi be capable of shocking Seventh Bro? Even if that sword qi was multiple times stronger, or even tens of times stronger, Seventh Bro would still be able to disintegrate it with one breath! Let alone something of that power.¡±

    Lu Yin quietly grunted, ¡°Zip it!¡±

    He suddenly felt as though Ku Wei¡¯s body had been possessed by a ghost.

    Displeased, Liu Shen sized Ku Wei up before again speaking to Lu Yin. ¡°The Sword Sect disciples cultivate their sword techniques daily, and they oftenbine their sword qi as a part of that routine. Please pay them no mind, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°As expected of the Sword Sect, that was quite impressive. There is no ce in the entire universe that canpare to the Sword Sect when ites to sword arts.¡±

    Liu Shenughed. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at Swords Peak, Alliance Leader Lu. Please prepare yourself, as the falling sword qi has little to do with the level of one¡¯s cultivation. The amount of sword qi that each individual is capable of withstanding can be quite different. It¡¯s possible that Alliance Leader Lu might shock the Sword Sect when entering.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    Liu Shen exined, ¡°Sword Peak¡¯s protective barrieres from a single source, which is the falling waterfall of sword qi. It¡¯s capable of detecting a person¡¯s true strength, and the greater the cultivator¡¯s power, the more sword qi that will be drawn to them. For instance, an Enlighter might only attract a small strand from the barrier of sword qi, but for someone like Elder Li, the amount of sword qi that will be attracted will be much greater.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that the sword qi barrier decides the battle power and strength of anyone who passes through it?¡±

    Liu Shen replied, ¡°Well, that¡¯s notpletely true either. I¡¯m not exactly sure what kind of power the barrier of sword qi is drawn to, but generally speaking, sword cultivators seem to attract the most sword qi. Alliance Leader Lu has never practiced sword arts, so the barrier should not be too extreme, but it will likely still be much more than what an average person would attract. With your cultivation, it¡¯s possible that you might startle the entire Sword Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and continued to stare ahead at the distant Swords Peak in anticipation.

    Soon, the vessel docked, and the passengers lined up to exit.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me into Swords Peak,¡± Liu Shen requested.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    At the same time, another spacecraft had docked rather nearby, and the first person to emerge from it was someone familiar to Lu Yin: Liu Shaoqiu.

    Lu Yin had not expected to run into Liu Shaoqiu so soon during this visit.

    Liu Shaoqiu seemed to have also sensed Lu Yin¡¯s presence. Right after disembarking from the spacecraft, his eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s, and he said in a surprised voice, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m a guest of the Sword Sect. It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I see a lot about you on thework.¡±

    People continued exiting from both vessels, and aside from Liu Shaoqiu, two more familiar faces appeared: Liu Xiaoyun and Yan Hua.

    Liu Xiaoyun had not expected to see Lu Yin upon returning to the sect. They could be said to be old friends, as they had both been members of the Astral Academy Council.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time, Brother Lu,¡± Liu Xiaoyun immediately greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It has been a long time. Have you already graduated?¡±

    ¡°A long time ago. You guys are the only leftovers who aren¡¯t willing to graduate,¡± Liu Xiaoyun said.

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°I just don¡¯t have the time.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. You¡¯ll have many more chances to reminisce about old timester on,¡± an elderly man coldly said from behind Liu Xiaoyun and the others. After speaking, he nced sideways at Lu Yin, clearly not happy to see the youth.

    Liu Shen politely gestured to the front with an arm and said, ¡°After you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Only after reaching the foot of Swords Peak was it possible to fully appreciate the majesty of the mountain.

    The peak was not visible no matter how far back one tilted their heads and looked up.

    An endless amount of sword qi formed the descending waterfall that connected the heavens to earth.

    Sword Sect disciples rushed into the sword qi barrier one after another. Some drew ten or so rays of sword qi into their body while others drew hundreds. The amount of sword qi that responded differed with each person.

    Liu Shaoqiu and the other disciples did not rush to enter first. Instead, they all looked over at Lu Yin, curious to see just how much of the sword qi Lu Yin would attract.

    Lu Yin was also curious about how much sword qi his friends would attract, so he turned to look at them. ¡°Are you guys not going?¡±

    ¡°Please go first, Brother Lu,¡± Liu Xiaoyun encouraged.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips.

    Just above them, Elder Li dashed into the sword qi barrier. Instantly, the entire waterfall split open. From the bottom up, arge sheet of sword qi within the barrier was attracted to Elder Li and surged into his body. The sight looked as though the entire mountain had cracked open, and it was a truly impressive to behold.

    Elder Li quickly disappeared, and arge number of people looked at Lu Yin.

    Even Ku Wei was curious.

    Lu Yin stared at Ku Wei and said, ¡°You go first.¡±

    Feeling offended, Ku Wei begged, ¡°Seventh Bro, you ought to go first. Little Wei is merely your obedient servant.¡±

    Lu Yin warned Ku Wei in a low voice, ¡°If I tell you to go, then go.¡±

    Ku Wei had no choice but to obey, and he dashed straight towards the waterfall to enter Swords Peak. A sheet of sword qi was drawn over and immediately absorbed into his body, and right after that, more of the sword qi was pulled towards him.

    The watching crowd of Sword Sect disciples eximed, ¡°How can that be? Only an Enlighter can draw that much sword qi!¡±

    Liu Shen was also shocked, as he had never really paid much attention to Ku Wei, assuming that Ku Wei¡¯s strength was not worthy of notice.

    Even Lu Yin was surprised; was Ku Wei that good? It seemed that Ku Wei¡¯s strength was on a simr level as an Enlighter¡¯s.

    ¡°What are you surprised about? The amount of sword qi that enters one¡¯s body is not necessarily indicative of theirbat strength. It can also be due to some sort of affinity for all you know. A restless heart is disdained by all sword cultivators. Everyone who made amotion just now will circle the mountain barefoot for a month after returning to Swords Peak!¡± barked the elderly man who had been Liu Shaoqiu and the others¡¯ chaperone.

    Many of the Sword Sect disciples acknowledged their punishment.

    Liu Shen once again gestured for Lu Yin to move forward.

    Lu Yin was no longer able to refuse, so he leaped forward and shot towards Swords Peak at a moderate speed.

    As he drew closer to the sword qi waterfall, Lu Yin felt an endless stream of piercing power drawing closer to him. The more he approached the waterfall, the more clearly he felt its power. It was as though he was going against heaven and earth.

    Soon, he moved into the sword qi barrier, and right after that, the waterfall burst open above him as countless strands of sword qi entered his body. His nerves ached from the sword qi, but there was no real damage.

    He continued forward into Swords Peak.

    Lu Yin forced his way inside, but little did he know the extent of shock that he had created outside.

    The amount of sword qi that he had drawn in had been even more than Elder Li, and it had split open the waterfall of sword qi. Just as Liu Shen had mentioned, Lu Yin had indeed shaken up the Sword Sect, and he had even caused Swords Peak itself to quake.

    Liu Shen, Liu Shaoqiu, and Long Yun all nervously gasped as they stared at the waterfall of sword qi as it slowly merged back together again. All of them were in utter disbelief.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1212: Lu Yin And Liu Qianjue

    <h4>Chapter 1212: Lu Yin And Liu Qianjue</h4>

    "How could he attract so much sword qi? Who is that?"

    "Lu Yin. That was Arbiter Lu. Didn¡¯t you see him?"

    "That¡¯s Lu Yin? He¡¯s too much! Not even Elder Li attracted as much sword qi as that kid. Did he break the sword qi barrier?"

    "That was ridiculous! What a freak."

    "Elder Li is an expert whose power level exceeds 400,000, so how did Lu Yin draw in even more sword qi than Elder Li?"

    "That¡¯s impossible! Not even our senior sister can do that."

    ¡­

    Long Yun felt bitter; just how much was Lu Yin keeping hidden?

    Liu Shaoqiu''s eyes flickered, and the hint ofpetitiveness that had been rising was instantly lit aze.

    Liu Shen had a bitter taste in his mouth. After all, he was also still a young man.

    Even the old man who had just scolded the Sword Sect disciples was left shocked and speechless. Although everyone was aware that strength was not the sole factor in how much sword qi was drawn to a person, strength still absolutely ounted for the majority of sword qi that was drawn to a person. Lu Yin had attracted so much sword qi that he had even surpassed Li. Elder. This was unbelievable; how was such a thing possible?

    They all felt that Lu Yin must have cheated somehow.

    On the other side, Lu Yin entered Swords Peak, and just as hended, he felt the soles of his feet tingle. The sensation startled him, and he looked down at the ground.

    "This is Swords Peak, so sword qi is ubiquitous here. It can appear anywhere from the earth to the houses, and even the food. So, don''t be too surprised." a middle-aged man nearby smiled as he introduced Swords Peak to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you, Senior, for rifying the confusion."

    The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Alliance Leader Lu is too polite. I''m just someone who cleans up around the mountain, so there¡¯s no need to be so polite."

    "Senior is too modest," Lu Yin countered. The middle-aged man was an Enlighter.

    Ku Wei approached Lu Yin''s side and began toin, "Seventh Bro, this ce isn¡¯t fit for people to live. Sword qi can appear anywhere!"

    Lu Yin red at Ku Wei. "Don''t be rude."

    The middle-aged man merely smiled and did not rebuke Ku Wei.

    It did not take long for Liu Shen and the others to also enter Swords Peak, and although shock was still shining through their eyes, none of them said much.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, let me lead you to our sect master, as he has been waiting for a while," Liu Shen said.

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he nodded. The master of the Sword Sect was a major figure in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Although the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers were seen as the masters of the Human Domain, that was merely how things appeared to be. There were still various powers standing behind each of those overseers. For example, Nightking Zheng was from the Daynight n while one of the other overseers was from the Sword Sect. Of course, that overseer would listen to the sect leader of the Sword Sect.

    Two of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers came from the Innerverse, and they were from the Daynight n and the Sword Sect. This was one of the main reasons why the two powers were the most powerful organizations in the Innerverse.

    In other words, the sect master of the Sword Sect was also someone who stood at the pinnacle of humanity.

    Of course, this referred to not only his cultivation, but also his status.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s current leader was named Liu Qianjue. Not only was he the leader of the current generation¡¯s Sword Sect, but he had also been the leader of the previous generation. He was an existence whose strength could not be estimated.

    Lu Yin had met Liu Qiuyu in Ironblood Weave before, and he was the current generation¡¯s sect master of the Sword Sect, but he was merely a transitional figure. In fact, he was actually known as the embarrassing person from the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family.

    It could be said that the Sword Sect¡¯s recent history was inseparable from its current leader, Liu Qianjue, whose hand had constantly governed the sect.

    On his way to the Sword Sect, Lu Yin had considered what would happen when he met the leader of the Sword Sect, and he had also thought about what status he should use to speak with the sect leader.

    Lu Yin had pictured this meeting taking ce in a conference hall or a training room, and he had never considered that he would meet the sect leader next to a pond.

    Sword qi asionally rose out of the earth and pierced the soles of his feet, and the sword qi also permeated the air and pricked his lungs whenever he inhaled.

    Sword qi was an offensive energy, and it did not match the scene of the tranquil pond. Still, this was the ce that Lu Yin had been led to, and when he arrived, he saw an old man fishing in the pond.

    Right before Lu Yin arrived, the old man caught a lively fish. It had a strange shape to its body and fins, but it was very beautiful.

    "It''s a fish from Gan. I haven¡¯t caught anything else yet, but these don¡¯t really taste good.¡± After thatment, the man threw the fish back into the pond and resumed fishing.

    No one else was nearby.

    Lu Yin walked up to the old man and stood a few meters behind the fisherman. It was unclear if Lu Yin had stopped because he did not want to move any further or if he was actually incapable of doing so. The sword qi surrounding the old man was terrifying and unfathomable.

    "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior."

    The old fisherman turned his head to look back at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s face had a gentle look, giving him the appearance of a kind elder. The moment the man turned around, all of the sword qi surrounding his body vanished, and he patted the spot on the grass next to him. "Come, sit and talk."

    Lu Yin nodded and casually sat down next to the old man.

    After everything that Lu Yin had experienced¡ªnot to mention the sect leader of the Sword Sect¡ªbut even if he was speaking with an elder from the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin would be able to behave in neither a servile nor arrogant manner. He knew that members of the younger generation could meet their elders in a respectful manner without needing to be afraid.

    The old man kept smiling as he looked at Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I''ve heard many impressive things about you for a long time," the old man said softly.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "This junior has also admired the master of the Sword Sect for a long time. It is an honor for this junior to meet you today."

    "Haha, what kind of honor? I¡¯m just a rotten old man." The old manughed. He was indeed Liu Qianjue, the sect leader of the Sword Sect.

    Lu Yin began by speaking of his admiration. "The Sword Sect is the most powerful sect in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and they are the undisputed king of swords. Not even in the Neoverse is there a power that dares to im that their swordsmanship surpasses that of the Sword Sect. It¡¯s amazing how the name of the Sword Sect has been known by everyone for eons."

    The old man shook his head. "Don''t say such things about my Sword Sect. Even those giants from the Neoverse are nothing but ripples along the long river of time. No one can remain a zing light forever, and the Daynight n is the best example of that."

    Lu Yin nced at the pond in surprise. "I just heard Senior mention that the fish that you just caught was from Gan?"

    Liu Qianjue replied, "Yes. This pond is connected to all of the mountains and rivers in this particr flowzone. This old man enjoys fishing."

    Lu Yin was amazed; fishing throughout an entire flowzone? This was certainly ambitious, but the sheer fact that this existed was a clear indication of the Sword Sect¡¯s absolute dominance over the First Flowzone.

    "Could I ask, Senior, how did you manage to create such a thing? This junior also enjoys fishing, and when I return, I would like to build a pond connected to the entire Outerverse," Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Qianjue looked over at Lu Yin with a strange glint in his eyes. "You should really punish the people below, and punish them heavily at that."

    Lu Yin was confused.

    "Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, you fought with Shaoqiu, and this old man watched your fight. At that time, this old man ordered some people to recruit you, but unfortunately, they failed," Liu Qianjue said.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that when he had returned to Astral-10 after the Astral Combat Tournament, Old Cai had mentioned that the Sword Sect had asked Lu Yin to join them and be a direct disciple of the Sword Sect¡¯s master. Additionally, Lu Yin¡¯s status would be equal to Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s. But with his ability, Lu Yin had known that he would not have been able to develop sessfully within the Sword Sect.

    There were countless geniuses throughout the universe. Lu Yin did not use the sword, so there had been no reason for him to enter the Sword Sect just to receive the status that went along with just a position. Lu Yin had actually been confident that the Sword Sect would reach out to him again, but various incidents had urred after that, and the Sword Sect had eventually lost its appeal to Lu Yin. He had not expected the sect leader to remember such an incident from years ago.

    Lu Yin had once been invited to be the direct disciple of the Sword Sect¡¯s sect master, who was Liu Qianjue. Lu Yin had nearly be the disciple of the old man in front of him.

    "If that recruitment had seeded, you would have be my disciple, and my Sword Sect would have gained another genius. What a pity." Liu Qianjue sighed.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "This junior is the one to have lost out on such luck."

    The truth was that, even with Lu Yin''s current strength, Liu Qianjue was still qualified to ept Lu Yin as a disciple. However, Liu Qianjue did not attempt to do so. Lu Yin had be a shining star throughout the entire universe, and there was no point in trying to recruit such a person.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what do you think of my Sword Sect?" Liu Qianjue asked. He looked back at the pond. The water was very calm.

    Lu Yin answered, "This junior already mentioned his views. The Sword Sect is the ruler of the sword and has been famous throughout eons."

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "Those exaggerations are meaningless. My Sword Sect does indeed have some aplishments when ites to the sword, and we are also the master of First Flowzone. Throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse, we have long since been unmatched with the exception of the Daynight n. But now that they have gone silent, my Sword Sect has be unrivaled. Does Alliance Leader Lu agree with this assessment?"

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Of course I would agree to such facts."

    "My Sword Sect has thousands of disciples, and their sword qi allows them to leave this ce and roam the universe without any peer. Does Alliance Leader Lu disagree?"

    "I naturally agree to this as well."

    "My Sword Sect has been passed down for countless generations, and we have a powerful background as well as a widespread influence. Our Thirteen Swords are a peerless sword technique, and it is capable of shattering the sky. Does Alliance Leader Lu disagree?"

    "I still agree with everything that you have said."

    "In that case, this old man has some advice for you." Liu Qianjue somberly stared at the surface of the pond. "Break up the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Ever since Liu Qianjue had asked his first question, Lu Yin had already guessed what wasing. Lu Yin had been shown the destruction of the Charm Mountain Sect as well as the conflict between the two groups of disciples aboard the battleship. And at this moment, Lu Yin was personally meeting with the Sword Sect¡¯s master. Everything had been done to intimidate Lu Yin with the goal of encouraging him to dissolve the Great Eastern Alliance. After all, a united Outerverse was not in the best interests of the Innerverse.

    The Innerverse had always surpassed the Outerverse, and of the various organizations in the Innerverse, was there a single one that did not profit from the Outerverse? Was there anyone who did not expect to harvest resources from the Outerverse? This was particrly true within the eight great flowzones, and of the top Innerverse powers, the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, the Wen family, and a few others gained the most from the Outerverse. So, the Great Eastern Alliance harmed those powers the most.

    After the Innerverse had reconnected to the Outerverse, the ze Realm¡¯s attempt to overwhelm the Outerverse had failed, but many people had believed that the Sword Sect and the Daynight n would eventually move out to suppress the Outerverse. However, Lu Yin had moved first and suppressed the Daynight n, making it seem as if things had fallen to the Sword Sect now.

    The Sword Sect and the Daynight n were known as the top powers of the Innerverse, and they mutually restricted each other. This had worked out fine when the Daynight n had been active, but after they went into istion, the Sword Sect had be even more overbearing than before, and they had clearly locked onto the Great Eastern Alliance as their next target.

    "If this junior hadn¡¯te back, and the Great Eastern Alliance had continued to be supervised by that old overseer, then what would the Sword Sect¡¯s attitude have been?" Lu Yin asked. There was a hint of provocation to his words.

    Liu Qianjue smiled,pletely ignoring Lu Yin''s attitude. "The same."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You would fight against one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1213: The Purge

    <h4>Chapter 1213: The Purge</h4>

    Liu Qianjue had a rather amused expression on his face as he looked at Lu Yin. "Fight? Why would there be a fight? That old man thinks too highly of himself, and he does not actually hold that much power. Even if the overseers are used as a checks and bnces system against each other, a mere overseer cannot alter the course of the universe.

    "No actions were taken back then, but that was simply because it was not time yet."

    "So is now the time?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "No matter if this is the right time or not, the Great Eastern Alliance must be broken up. Alliance Leader Lu, do you know how much damage the Great Eastern Alliance has caused the Innerverse since its establishment? Even if we ignore the other Innerverse powers, just my Sword Sect has already lost millions of star essence."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Is Senior calcting this starting from when the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse?"

    "This is just the period after the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse," Liu Qianjue said.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    "Cultivation is something thatsts for a long time, and a year is nothing. It is normal for any sect to exist for tens of thousands of years, hundreds of thousands, millions, or even longer. With this, you should be able to estimate just how much the Innerverse powers will lose."

    "Senior, there¡¯s no need to make these sorts of calctions. Those resources did not originallye from you. Otherwise, after so many years, Swords Peak would not even be able to exist without the Outerverse¡¯s support. The Outerverse is not so rich that it can support all this."

    "That¡¯s true, but it is still a great loss. What I mentioned was just the star essence. If you include the various other resources, talents, and materials that have also been lost, then our losses are incalcble. The Great Eastern Alliance cannot afford to cause such a loss for the Innerverse."

    Lu Yin looked at the calm water of the pond. "Has Senior ever considered that, when you catch a fish from this pond, there is one less fish on the that it came from?"

    Liu Qianjueughed. "So what? Does this old man even need to think about such things?"

    "True. Senior has no need to consider such things, as these fish are no different from ants that have no ability to resist. Even if Senior fishes fors while being frugal and throwing back what is caught, thoses can''t resist," Lu Yin spoke emotionally as he stood up. "Does Senior think that I, Lu Yin, am one of those ants without any means to resist?"

    Liu Qianjue set his fishing rod down and replied, "The reason why this old man is telling you this story is proof that I see you as a human. You even have support within the Hall of Honor, as well as a master and Eversky Ind. Without that level of backing, you would have never been able to wreck Daynight Flowzone. I am not treating you as a junior, which is why I am speaking to you. However, everyone has their own bottom line, and that is also true of the Innerverse. You cannot cross this line."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew dark. "Coincidentally, this is also my bottom line."

    Liu Qianjue sighed. "Few people are able to see something like the flow of time, including that old overseer. You know how to unite the Outerverse and exert a tremendous power, and you were even able to stand up to the Daynight n, but have you thought of this? If the Innerverse also unites, then just what kind of power would it wield?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and he waved goodbye to Liu Qianjue. "Junior bids you farewell."

    With that, Lu Yin turned around and left.

    Liu Qianjue did not turn around and continued to calmly fish.

    Once Lu Yin waspletely out of sight, a person appeared behind the sect master. He was Elder Li, and he was still wearing his crimson robes.

    "Sect Master, how should we deal with this?" Elder Li asked without any sign of emotion.

    Liu Qianjue felt helpless. "There is someone big standing behind this child, and it¡¯s not as simple as just Eversky Ind. Do nothing to him, but reach out to the ze Realm and let them take the lead. We will agree to their n."

    "Yes, Sect Master."

    "Have Shaoqiu escort him as he visits the Swords Peak."

    "Understood."

    After finishing speaking, Liu Qianjue calmly resumed fishing.

    Elsewhere, a Sword Sect disciple led Lu Yin to a pavilion close to a waterfall. There was a disciple cultivating beneath the waterfall, and they were enduring the heavy pressure of the waterfall along with the continuous assault of sword qi.

    That disciple was not even a Melder yet, but his eyes remained firm and persistent.

    Anyone who was able to join the Sword Sect was an elite, and if any one of them was ced on Earth, then they would be able to be the strongest person on the.

    Upon thinking of Earth, Lu Yin also thought of Jupiter. As soon as he had time, he really needed to visit Jupiter and discover what secrets that held.

    He expected the situation within the Outerverse to not be very peaceful at the moment. Liu Qianjue¡¯s attitude had revealed that the Sword Sect would soon take action against the Outerverse. The Great Eastern Alliance was too appealing a prize, and everyone in the Innerverse seemed to either covet and want to seize control of it or destroy the alliance in its entirety.

    Lu Yin often felt that it would have been better for the Outerverse to have remained cut off from the Innerverse.

    "Seventh Bro!" Ku Wei arrived from somewhere far away, and he carefully nced around before whispering to Lu Yin like a thief, "Seventh Bro, guess who I saw in Swords Peak!"

    "Who?" Lu Yin wondered.

    "I actually don¡¯t know," Ku Wei said.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew hostile. "Are you messing with me?"

    Ku Wei quickly exined, "No! Seventh Bro, listen for a second. I really don''t know who that person is, but I¡¯ve seen him before, and he was at the first alliance meeting of the Great Eastern Alliance that you held on Zhenyu Star. He was also there when you were elected as the leader of the alliance."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Someone from the Great Eastern Alliance? Are you sure?"

    "Absolutely! That guy has too much personality, and he¡¯s also rather ugly. I¡¯ve never seen an uglier person in my life! It might just be his race, but he¡¯s even uglier than your doorman, Kayze," Ku Wei said.

    Lu Yin began to consider the implication of someone from the Great Eastern Alliance visiting Swords Peak. If this was true, then someone from the alliance had already defected to the Innerverse.

    This was not a surprise. The Great Eastern Alliance had originally been established after Lu Yin threatened multiple parties into joining. During the Alliance Convention, Tian Shao had easily won over many people, and the prestige of the Innerverse was something that had been ingrained into the denizens of the Outerverse for far too many years. So, a single word would be able to attract an entire group of people from the Outerverse.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had never been stable, and the only reason why it had not fallen apart yet was because of Lu Yin¡¯s skills as well as the various bits of sensitive information that he had used to coerce many of the involved parties. Also, there was the ever present threat of Aegis and Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Still, despite everything, the Great Eastern Alliance would still easily fall apart at the seams.

    Liu Qianjue had said as much just earlier. While it sounded as if the sect master had been attempting to persuade Lu Yin to break the alliance apart, he had actually been warning Lu Yin to not interfere when it naturally copsed, as the sect leader was concerned about the powers standing behind Lu Yin. However, those powers were not overly concerned with whether or not Lu Yin kept the Great Eastern Alliance, so it could fracture at any moment.

    Were these people not concerned about the Hall of Honor? The fact that Bu Laoweng had been ordered to supervise the Great Eastern Alliance by the other nine overseers was enough to prove that the Hall of Honor had already epted the existence of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin grew solemn when he remembered Liu Qianjue''s words: how much power could a unified Innerverse wield?

    There were two people from the Innerverse among the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers. Although the Innerverse was not nearly as powerful as the Neoverse, the power of the Innerverse was still something that the Neoverse could not simply ignore. If the Innerverse really did unite and destroy the Great Eastern Alliance, then it would not be easy for the Hall of Honor to intervene.

    The situation had be a little tricky.

    After thinking about this , Lu Yin turned around to go speak to Liu Qianjue again in hopes of learning some more useful information.

    However, before he arrived at the pond, Lu Yin did not find Liu Qianjue. Instead he only saw Elder Li.

    "Sect Master said to rest, Alliance Leader Lu. Pleasee back next time." Elder Li treated Lu Yin with apletely indifferent attitude.

    Lu Yin understood that Liu Qianjue had no intentions of speaking with him again.

    "Shaoqiu will arrive soon, and he will show Alliance Leader Lu around our Swords Peak," Elder Li said lightly.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. Looking off into the distance, he seemed to see the old man fishing with his back to Lu Yin. The sect master may have a kind appearance, but he was very overbearing with his actions.

    "Elder Li, please share with the sect master that I, Lu Yin, am able of suppressing the old generation without relying on Eversky Ind," Lu Yin said.

    Elder Li''s eyes grew sharp. "Are you threatening my Sword Sect?"

    In a low tone, Lu Yin replied, "A gambler who¡¯s lost everything ispletely fearless. If I was able to overturn Daynight Flowzone, then I can do the same to your First Flowzone."

    Elder Li''s eyes narrowed as he radiated a strong killing intent.

    Lu Yin was not afraid. If the Sword Sect waspared to the Daynight n, then the Sword Sect was more reasonable. The Nightking n held too deep a hatred for Lu Yin, and no matter who stood behind him, either they or Lu Yin had to die. However, the Sword Sect was different. They could not afford to offend others by killing Lu Yin. There was Yuan Shi and Eversky Ind behind Lu Yin, and he was also not that easily dealt with himself.

    Elder Li enjoyed a special status within the Sword Sect. Although he did not care about many matters, he was the one in charge of the sect¡¯s war efforts. Whenever the Sword Sect went to war, Elder Li was always the vanguard.

    The elder¡¯s thoughts were very pure: if someone threatened the Sword Sect¡¯s master, then he would kill them without mercy. Elder Li truly wanted to kill Lu Yin there and then, but Lu Yin looked back at the older man without any fear.

    Elder Li''s expression suddenly changed, as though he had just heard something, and the killing intent filling his eyes disappeared. "Alliance Leader Lu, you should know that the major powers of the Innerverse have their own interests in the Outerverse, especially the eight major flowzones. The Daynight n, for example, have historically maintained control over no fewer than ten weaves in the center of the Outerverse, and those weaves were only allowed to trade with the Daynight n. zing Mist Flowzone is the same, and there are weaves such as Darkmist Weave and a few others that will only trade with that flowzone."

    Lu Yin grew confused, as he did not know where Elder Li was going.

    "When the Outerverse was first isted from the Innerverse, those weaves had no choice but to join the Great Eastern Alliance. The Innerverse wasn¡¯t able to say anything, but the connection has been restored, and those weaves are still a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. That is no less than a betrayal to the Innerverse. They are our forces in the Outerverse. Since they have betrayed us, then they must be cleaned up. I might as well tell you that there is a purge that has been nned, and it¡¯s called ¡®The Purge,¡¯" Elder Li continued to exin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide. "So the Innerverse wants to eliminate the top people in the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    "This is an internal matter where those leaders who are unwilling to withdraw from the Great Eastern Alliance and resume their rtionship with the Innerverse will be eliminated. The list has already been finalized: 409 people," Elder Li said.

    Lu Yin clenched his fist. This was a threat, a tant threat. 409 people. Each of them was a leader of a major Outerverse power, and they were also all willing to remain as a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. Although this number did not ount for too much of the Great Eastern Alliance, it showed that the others had already entered negotiations with the Innerverse.

    "I shared this with Alliance Leader Lu just to rify an issue. The copse of the Great Eastern Alliance is already in motion. Even without considering the Great Eastern Alliance itself, not even the Hall of Honor can stop this. We can even give this list over to Alliance Leader Lu. Does Alliance Leader Lu have enough experts to protect all of these people? Even if there are, what about the others? They all want to leave the Great Eastern Alliance, so can Alliance Leader Lu force them to remain?" Elder Li asked lightly.

    "The entire Innerverse is behind The Purge, though it is mostly being supported by the eight great flowzones. How many people can Alliance Leader Lu handle? The n has already started, and the execution date is only a few days away. How can Alliance Leader Lu prevent this?"

    "Why are you telling me now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Li continued, "The Sword Sect has no desire to be mortal enemies with Alliance Leader Lu. Rather, we simply wish to demonstrate the Innerverse¡¯s bottom line to Alliance Leader Lu and show that you have vited this bottom line. Of course, The purge list does not include people from the Great Yu Empire or anyone who is close to Alliance Leader Lu. So, for Alliance Leader Lu, there will be no losses with the exception of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s dissolution. This is the goodwill of my Sword Sect."

    Lu Yin felt that this was funny; they were obviously threatening him while presenting it as a kindness.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1214: Sword Formation

    <h4>Chapter 1214: Sword Formation</h4>

    Lu Yin had known for a long time that the Innerverse could not allow the Great Eastern Alliance to remain. No actions had been made for a long time, and he was now finding out that it had been peaceful while this list was being determined. There were 409 people on this list, and with the strength of the Innerverse, all who were sent out to assassinate the people on the list would be powerhouses. Lu Yin did not have so many experts who he could field, not even with the assistance of Leon¡¯s Armada, the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and the Lan family, or even with the Dayking n. There was no way to create a lineup that could protect 409 people.

    Even if everyone was sent out, it would still be useless. The Innerverse could send out enough experts to assassinate twice that number of targets. The Purge was also not considered something top secret, which actually meant it was an even greater threat.

    Compared with the assassinations themselves, the knowledge of them produced even greater fear. This fear could cause people to change their positions or choose to leave the Great Eastern Alliance, and this was something that Lu Yin could not stop.

    No one wanted to live under a butcher''s knife.

    This Purge could easily destroy the Great Eastern Alliance. It was no wonder Liu Qianjue had said that even if Lu Baoweng had taken over the Great Eastern Alliance, it would not have mattered.

    The only way out was if the Hall of Honor stepped forward to restrain the Innerverse.

    "How bold! You dare to threaten Alliance Leader Lu like this? Your Sword Sect doesn''t want to make enemies? Sure, and all of these swords are rusted. Forget something small like your Sword Sect, even the Seven Courts have to bow low before our Alliance Leader Lu! Do you know..." Ku Wei started making pompous threats.

    Elder Lipletely ignored Ku Wei, and even ignored Lu Yin.

    He had simply been ordered to tell Lu Yin about The Purge. This was the Sword Sect¡¯s attempt to demonstrate their good will towards Lu Yin, as they were wary of the forces behind Lu Yin and did not want to sever all cordiality with Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the sect master asked me to tell you that if you wish, you are wee to be a friend of my Sword Sect at any time. If you need help, you can directly reach out to the Sword Sect. I have a connection with you, which you should be aware of," Elder Li said.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. There was a certain fate to things, and this connection between Lu Yin and Elder Li was likely Madam Nn, as her given name was Liu Fuxue. She was a member of the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family, and she had given Lu Yin quite a bit of assistance.

    It had taken Lu Yin 12 years to go from being the lowest of cultivators to his present level. Even the revered master of the Sword Sect had taken the initiative to express his goodwill towards Lu Yin. It had only taken Lu Yin 12 years to reach such a height. This was something to be proud of, but Lu Yin did not feel the slightest bit proud, as he was still being threatened.

    Ku Wei continued to spout venom at Lu Yin''s side, and threatened Elder Li non-stop.

    At this moment, Liu Shaoqiu arrived and gave Ku Wei an odd look. "Brother Lu, the sect master asked me to show you around Swords Peak."

    Lu Yin nodded, and then led Ku Wei to follow Liu Shaoqiu away without saying another word to Elder Li.

    Elder Li¡¯s eyes were locked on Lu Yin¡¯s back as the youths left. The elder¡¯s character pushed him to kill the youth right away. Although The Purge did not target the Great Yu Empire, there was no way that Lu Yin did not harbor some resentment for the Innerverse¡¯s actions, and that could hurt the Sword Sect in the future.

    Still, the master of the sect had his own thoughts and concerns on these matters.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s master, Liu Qianjue, remained calmly fishing, but he began to grow ufortable. How many years had it been since he had felt such a sensation? How should he describe it? Fear of potential damage, yes, that¡¯s exactly what it was.

    Liu Qianjue was afraid of a child.

    Laughing, Liu Qianjue emotionally sighed. "Times have truly changed. The appearance of the Ten Arbiters symbolizes the future, yet this child has already surpassed the Ten Arbiters, which also shows the trend of the times. The children of today are really incredible."

    Swords Peak was famous throughout the universe. Star revolved around it, and it was a famous sight.

    While walking along Swords Peak, Lu Yin remained thinking about The Purge.

    Liu Shaoqiu did not speak, but simply walked up ahead. He was considering whether or not he should challenge Lu Yin to learn of the difference in their strength.

    Lu Yin thought about calling Wang Wen to brainstorm options to deal with The Purge, but despite considering the call, Lu Yin did not do so. Wang Wen was highly intelligent, as were Wei Rong and Qiong Xi''er, but when it came to facing the united front of the entire Innerverse, their intelligence would not mean much.

    They possessed the courage to go against the Innerverse, but they were not capable of seeing past the Innerverse. This was an important difference, and with the Sword Sect¡¯s position and attitude, what they could consider far exceeded what the three geniuses from the Outerverse coulde up with.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Root of Intelligence, as drinking that tea again would greatly boost his intelligence and would make it easier to find a path forward.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not consider asking Eversky Ind or Leon¡¯s Armada for help, but this was the desire of the entire Innerverse. Eversky Ind could threaten the Sword Sect, but not the entire Innerverse.

    The hatred between the various powers of the Innerverse ran deep, but when it came to the Great Eastern Alliance, the opinions were surprisingly consistent, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to deal with.

    "Brother Liu, where is Arbiter Liu? Why haven¡¯t I seen her?" Lu Yin asked suspiciously.

    Liu Shaoqiu said, "Training in istion."

    "Preparing ZENITH?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded.

    "Brother Liu, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s proper to ask you something." Lu Yin hesitated.

    Liu Shaoqiu looked over at him. "You can at least ask."

    Lu Yin was curious. "How old is Arbiter Liu?"

    Liu Shaoqiu was taken aback and thought for a moment. "Almost forty."

    "Almost forty?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded. "Very close. Actually, there¡¯s not much of an age difference among the Ten Arbiters, and they¡¯re about ten years older than us. Talentbined with resources to create the Ten Arbiters, and if we had been born just ten years earlier, they might not be any better than us, but they are still powerful."

    After saying this much, Liu Shaoqiu returned to his senses. Despite the fact that Lu Yin was about the same age as Liu Shaoqiu, Lu Yin had be one of the Ten Arbiters, and even more impressive was that he had defeated two of the Ten Arbiters in one-on-one fights.

    After this realization, Liu Shaoqiu lost all desire to challenge Lu Yin. After all, Liu Shaoqiu already had a reasonableparison; if he challenged Liu Tianmu, what would the result be? It would be a miserable defeat. Lu Yin was someone on the same level as Liu Tianmu.

    "Brother Lu, you are a real freak," Liu Shaoqiu finally choked out that much.

    Ku Wei grew arrogant. "Of course! My Seventh Bro is a genius! Don''t you know that in the Neoverse, Seventh Bro stood alone against many heirs of the top powers? He was absolutely invincible while in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum..."

    Lu Yin interrupted Ku Wei. He was looking into the distance where sword qi shot high into the sky, and each strand resonated with the rest of the sword qi to form a strange battle technique.

    Lu Yin has seen a simr type of battle technique before. This was abined battle technique, which could also be referred to as a battle formation. What he was looking at should be from a sword formation.

    Swordsmen wouldbine their skills to form a sword array to multiply the power.

    Lu Yin, Liu Shaoqiu, and Ku Wei arrived at the top of a mountain that was near the impressive sword qi, and they looked down.

    They saw hundreds of Sword Sect disciples gathered in a massive square. They were training together tobine their sword techniques. Each person would walk in a different direction and would use their sword qi in a different direction as well, yet it all worked together to form a powerful formation. They let out a roar, and the sound waves were powerful enough to distort the void.

    These Sword Sect disciples were not very powerful individually, yet Lu Yin could see that the formation they were executing seemed to be powerful enough to threaten even a Cruiser.

    "What a powerfulbination technique. As expected of the Sword Sect, the individual technique of the Thirteen Swords is invincible, and the sect¡¯s formation techniques are even more exquisite," Lu Yin praised.

    Ku Wei was surprised by what they were looking at. "I didn''t expect the Sword Sect to have this kind of a sword formation. I¡¯ve only seen simrbination battle techniques in the Neoverse, and I don¡¯t think they exist in the Outerverse."

    "There are some. The Neo-Vestige Sect has somebination techniques for their archery, but the power is not this impressive, and they also need more people," Lu Yinmented.

    Liu Shaoqiu said, "The power of a sword formation depends not only on the strength of the individuals setting it up, but also on their coordination with each other. My Sword Sect has a formation for hundreds of people to execute. They are powerful."

    Lu Yin''s heart moved. "Where could I see that? Or are outsiders not allowed to see it?"

    Liu Shaoqiu replied, "Anyone can see it. The Sword Sect tries to be open-minded and also has its own training methods. Even if outsiders see the formation, they can''t learn it."

    After saying this, Liu Shaoqiu led Lu Yin somewhere else.

    Before long, they arrived at the foot of another mountain. There was another square at this ce, but it was ten timesrger than the previous one, and there were hundreds of Sword Sect disciples sitting cross-legged across the square.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that most of them were Cruisers.

    This was the strength of the Sword Sect. Originally, only the captains of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Squadrons had been Cruisers, yet in the Sword Sect, Cruisers were ordinary disciples, though they were a bit older.

    The disciples of the Sword Sect were elites, and Cruisers from the sect were capable of challenging average Hunters. Though the Cruisers might not be able to win, they at least stood a chance. This was the strength of the Sword Sect.

    If hundreds of elite Cruiser realm disciples united, it would not be impossible for them to challenge an Enlighter if they used a sword formation.

    Just outside the square, there was a massive b of stone with some writing engraved on it: Those who seed in entering the Hunter realm can make requests.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Brother Liu, what does that mean?"

    Liu Shaoqiu answered, "There¡¯s a rule in my Sword Sect that¡¯s been passed down from ancient times. Anyone who¡¯s a Hunter can challenge the sword formation, and if they seed, they can meet with the sect master and make a reasonable request."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Has anyone seeded?"

    Liu Shaoqiu nodded. "If I remember correctly, Senior Sister seeded, as did Nightking Zhenwu when he climbed Swords Peak, and so did Wen Sansi."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered and he looked towards the square.

    Liu Shaoqiu nced over at Lu Yin. "It looks like Brother Lu is interested."

    Lu Yin smiled and raised a hand to pat Ku Wei on the shoulder. "Give it a shot."

    Ku Wei was momentarily stunned, but did not respond.

    Lu Yin grabbed Ku Wei¡¯s shoulder and tossed him straight into the square.

    Ku Wei was shocked, and a majestic flow of sword qi crashed down towards him. He wailed, and his body flickered as he evaded the sword qi. It attacked his back, his head, and from every single direction, including even the soles of his feet. Every attack was from the sword formation, and it was not ordinary sword qi.

    Ku Wei, as a member of the Seven Court¡¯s Ku family, was powerful enough to fend against someone of a stronger realm than himself, but his hair stood on end even after using his abilities as a three star Intermediate Lockbreaker. The attacks were dangerous and unavoidable, and his scalp was almost sliced off.

    There was no time at all to react once within the sword formation. The endless sword qi was like the sky suppressing everything beneath it. Ku Wei sessfully evaded a few times, but his arms and thighs were stabbed by the sword qi, and he began bleeding. He grew enraged, and shouted, ¡°I will go all out now!¡±

    After shouting, he pointed a finger and attacked the sword qi head-on.

    The sword qi suddenly transformed and disappeared into the void. This was the power of the Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap. It was able to give a person a feeling of tranquility and cause them to lose all desire to fight.

    Despite the sess of his Finger Tap, Ku Wei was not facing a single opponent, but hundreds of them, and they were all elite, Cruiser realm disciples from the Sword Sect. Ku Wei¡¯s face went pale. "Seventh Bro, help!"

    In a sh, Lu Yin appeared beside Ku Wei. Looking at the surrounding sword qi, Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked his fingers. There was a popping sound, and an overwhelming power shatter the sword qi as Ku Wei was tossed away by Lu Yin with a single hand. The sword qi then converged and cut off the void before enveloping Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1215: A Request

    Chapter 1215: A Request

    Lu Yin twisted to the side and easily evaded the sword qi. Lu Yin¡¯s speed was iparable to Ku Wei¡¯s, and even if the sword formation had locked down the void, Lu Yin was still able to easily avoid all of the attacks. He even had room to look at the faces of the Sword Sect disciples who were controlling the sword formation, and saw that they looked rather numb.

    Elder Li appeared outside the square, and after his arrival, the Sword Sect¡¯s other experts began to appear one after another to watch as Lu Yin forced his way into the sword formation.

    "Who is that? It takes courage to challenge the sword formation while only a Hunter."

    "He''s the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Lu Yin."

    "What? That¡¯s Lu Yin? No wonder he¡¯s able to break through. He¡¯s the one who defeated both Arbiter Zhenwu and Divine Fist. When Zhenwu entered this sword formation ten years ago, he was definitely worse than Lu Yin is right now. Much worse."

    "It looks like he¡¯s able to easily handle it, and the sword formation can''t lock him down."

    ¡­

    Everyone was able to see that the sword formation was useless against Lu Yin and that the only reason that he had not broken the formation was because he wanted to test it out a bit.

    Liu Shaoqiu tightly clenched his right fist, as he could see the discrepancy in strength was incrediblyrge.

    At this moment, an old man rushed into the square and traded ces with one of the Cruiser realm disciples. The old man was a Hunter, and his participation instantly caused the power of the formation to spike.

    Lu Yin wondered if the sword formation required a clear mind. Even if the old man was a Hunter, it was impossible for him to cooperate with all of the other disciples creating the sword formation, and trying to do so would not have actually improved the power of the formation, but likely would have weakened the whole thing. So why had the power suddenly spiked?

    Lu Yin looked at the old man as the Hunter thrust his longsword forward. From next to the old man, dozens of strands of sword qi merged into a terrifying strand of sword qi that had a power level that surpassed 200,000. It shot straight towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled gently, but still raised a hand and flicked his fingers. That was all it took for Lu Yin to disintegrate the sword qi. He reached out a hand towards the old man and casually tapped a finger as the old man watched in horror. The delicate move sent the old man flying out of the sword formation.

    Dozens of strands of sword qi shed across the sky behind Lu Yin.

    He instantly disappeared, and then swung his right hand through the air. A powerful wind carried an unstoppable force that forced dozens of Sword Sect disciples back, and they all spat out blood.

    Lu Yin''s strength had reached a level where not only was an early Enlighter not his opponent, but not even an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000 would be able to stand up against Lu Yin.

    Xia Jiuyou, Yuhua Mavis, Qiu Shi, and the other inheritors from the Neoverse were all Enlighters, yet none of them had been able to stand up to the corpse king Beast after it had transformed, whereas Lu Yin had reached a level where he was able to directly confront Beast.

    This sword formation could not threaten Lu Yin in any way at all.

    Another of the Sword Sect¡¯s Hunters moved to take a disciple¡¯s ce within the sword formation. After that, one disciple after another was reced, yet the result remained the same. Lu Yin did not use a single battle technique, nor did he use battle force, spirit force, his domain, or anything else. He used nothing aside from his physical strength and speed, yet was still able to prove the sword formation useless.

    Ku Wei praised Lu Yin¡¯s efforts, "Seventh Bro is mighty and invincible!"

    The sword formation was an important part of the Sword Sect¡¯s heritage. Some people had challenged the sword formation in the past, and each one was famous enough to attract the attention of countless Sword Sect disciples.

    More and more Sword Sect disciples gathered to watch, and soon more than 10,000 people were watching.

    Liu Shen, Liu Ling, Yan Hua, Long Yun, Li Zimo, and many others were all watching.

    Even the Sword Sect¡¯s master, Liu Qianjue, looked around the pond where he was fishing, and the surface of the pond was showing the scene of Lu Yin fighting against the sword formation.

    With a bang, another strand of sword qi shattered, and off in the distance, Elder Li nced over at Liu Shen.

    Liu Shen nodded and rushed into the sword formation and reced a disciple.

    Liu Shen was someone who always had a smile on his face, but Lu Yin had always felt that there was a knife hidden behind Liu Shen¡¯s smile. Still, the man was not weak and was actually an Enlighter.

    An Enlighter had finally joined the sword formation, and his participation immediately transformed the entire formation.

    The numerous Sword Sect disciples watching from the side all went silent.

    Lu Yin was only a Hunter, so sending out an Enlighter to deal with such a person could already be considered bullying, yet Liu Shen had still moved to join the sword formation. Even if the sword formation managed to defeat Lu Yin, Liu Shen would still have lost.

    Ku Wei became upset. "Your Sword Sect is too shameless! Seventh Bro, just stop fighting and expose them so people can just humiliate them to death!"

    Liu Shaoqiu helplessly shook his head from next to Ku Wei, but kept silent.

    Lu Yin suddenly disappeared, but only after Liu Shen stabbed a sword forward that was apanied by a fusion of dozens of strands of sword qi. By using the sword formation, Liu Shen¡¯s attacks were able to far exceed a power level of 200,000, and even exceeded 300,000.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Elder Liu, isn¡¯t this a bit much?"

    "It would seem I¡¯ve offended Alliance Leader Lu," Liu Shen replied with a smile. Despite the man¡¯s words, his movements did not slow. With one move of his sword, the void was sealed off.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew sharp. "I¡¯ll also need to offend Elder Liu."

    After Lu Yin¡¯sment, despite no one seeing Lu Yin move a muscle, Liu Shen¡¯s attack waspletely shattered. Liu Shen and dozens of Sword Sect who sat near him were sent flying, and they all spat out blood as they flew through the air.

    Lu Yin moved around with light steps, surrounded by more than 700 stars. There was a loud bang as the stars exploded: Cosmic Palm.

    Hundreds of people participating in the sword formation vomited blood and copsed to the ground. None of them were able to block even a single Cosmic Palm from Lu Yin.

    Only Lu Yin remained standing in the square, and he looked down at the crowd.

    All of the Sword Sect disciples in the area stayed silent as they simply stared at Lu Yin. He had instantly seized victory.

    He had used Cosmic Palm. The Cosmic Sect deserved their status as a giant in the Neoverse, and an attack like Cosmic Palm also happened to be the nemesis of the Sword Sect¡¯s sword formation; not only did Cosmic Palm ignore speed, it was also able to be used as a ranged attack.

    Liu Shen''s sword had shattered, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as he stared at Lu Yin in shock. He had felt a peerlessly fierce attack just a moment ago, yet the attack itself had been invisible. Could that have been Arbiter Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm? Lu Yin had fought against Arbiter Zhenwu and had used that same Vacuum Palm to overpower Zhenwu throughout the entire fight. Lu Yin¡¯s attack against Liu Shen did indeed seem to have been a Vacuum Palm, and the power of the attack truly was unparalleled.F?ll0w current nov¨ºls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

    Elder Li''s eyes held a wary light, and he suddenly remembered that Lu Yin had asked for a match on the battleship. The child truly was unfathomable.

    No one more clearly understood the power of the sword formation than the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples. Naturally, the shock that Lu Yin had given them by his actions had produced a memory that would never be forgotten by the Sword Sect.

    Liu Ling stared at Lu Yin in disbelief as he stood alone within the square. His attitude of being invincible caused her to tremble. This was a truly domineering person.

    Lu Yin looked around before finally focusing on Liu Shen. "It would seem I¡¯ve offended Elder Liu."

    Liu Shen wrily smiled as he stood up and shook his head. He looked down at his shattered sword and sighed. "Thank you for showing mercy, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin smiled and walked out of the square. He lifted his head to look up at Elder Li. "ording to the rules of challenging the sword formation, I can meet with the sect master and make a request, right?"

    Many people looked up at Elder Li.

    Elder Li remained silent for a long time, but finally nodded. "Follow me."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

    Back at the same pond, Liu Qianjue was still quietly fishing as Lu Yin approached from behind.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve already said whatever you need to say, so there is no reason for us to meet again. Why bother?" Liu Qianjue spoke lightly. As he spoke, his fishing rod twitched. He grew overjoyed and suddenly lifted the fishing rod to pull a huge, strange fish from the water.

    This weird fish was ferocious, and it opened its mouth to produce a sound that warped the void.

    This strange fish was at least as strong as a Hunter.

    Liu Qianjue justughed and said, "Naughty."

    Lu Yin did not see any movement, but the fish was instantly torn to shreds. All of the blood and internal organs just disappeared, leaving nothing but the meat of the fish.

    "If you don''t resist, you live to return. What a pity." Liu Qianjue sighed, but then continued to fish.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Qianjue''s back. "Senior, when will The Purge start?"

    Liu Qianjue indifferently replied, "My Sword Sect is not the mastermind behind The Purge, but rather the entire Innerverse, so why ask me such a thing?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew hard. "Can this junior make a request?"

    "If your request from defeating the sword formation is for my Sword Sect to withdraw The Purge, just forget it," Liu Qianjue said.

    Lu Yin answered in a low tone, "Of course not, this junior is not so stupid. Even if the Sword Sect pulled out of The Purge, the rest of the Innerverse would still be able to sessfullyplete the n without any issue.¡±

    Liu Qianjue became curious. "Then what is your request?"

    Lu Yin looked up. "Junior would like the names of the leaders of the eight great flowzones."

    Liu Qianjue stood up and turned to look at Lu Yin with a solemn expression. ¡°Do you want to talk to them?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Liu Qianjueughed. "You can''t even convince the old man, so how do you expect to convince them?"

    "Trying is still better than doing nothing." Lu Yin shrugged.

    Liu Qianjue looked at Lu Yin and thought back to the youth¡¯s aplishments. Although he was young, Lu Yin was decisive and bold with his actions.

    "Senior won¡¯t agree to even such a small request?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Qianjue nodded. "Very well, this old man agrees. Let''s contact them and see if you are able to convince them. You must already know that the mere existence of the Great Eastern Alliance has caused them all to suffer terrible losses, and that is not something you can make up for."

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. He was not confident, but he still needed to try.

    The eight great flowzone¡¯s dominated the Innerverse, and the true masters of the Innerverse were the Wen family of Erudite Flowzone, the Beast Tamers Hall of Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Sword Sect of First Flowzone, the Daynight n from Daynight Flowzone, the Divine Venom Dynasty from Venom Flowzone, the Lingling n from Soulseal Flowzone, and Chaosgod Mountain from Chaos Flowzone. As for zing Mist Flowzone, there was the ze Realm, the sylvan dragons, and the Ross Empire, so the power was actually split three ways in that flowzone.

    Daynight Flowzone was also home to the Phoenix n, but the Phoenix n only held control of a portion of Daynight Flowzone and were unable to affect the entire flowzone. Simrly, Soulseal Flowzone also had the Souldream tribe and the Dire Barbarian n, but the Lingling n was the absolute master of the flowzone.

    At this moment, Lu Yin saw one of the Innerverse leaders who was qualified to speak to Liu Qianjue on nearly equal terms.

    The surface of the pond was calm, and the fishing rods had beenid t. A gentle breeze peacefully swept through the area.

    Lu Yin stood beside Liu Qianjue, and in front of them, a screen appeared showing a me. After a moment, a man emerged from the fire. Despite it just being an image, Lu Yin still had the impression of feeling the heat from the ze.

    "Senior Liu, could I ask why you called this junior?" The man looked rough, and had strong muscles, and a ruddyplexion. His skin had marks that looked like mes, and his eyes were sharp. Even the man¡¯s pupils seem to have mes within them. He gave the impression of being able to burn the sky.

    This man was the leader of the ze Realm: the Leader Hong.

    "We¡¯ll talk about this once everyone has gathered," Liu Qianjue lightly replied. Although the ze Realm was one of the three major powers from zing Mist Flowzone, they were still considered one of the most powerful organizations in the Innerverse. Still, Leader Hong¡¯s status could notpare to the master of the Sword Sect, and if not for the uniqueness of the location of the ze Realm, Liu Qianjue would never even speak to Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong responded in a respectful manner. He was clear on his own status, and he did not dare be disrespectful to Liu Qianjue.

    At this moment, when Leader Hong noticed Lu Yin, he first felt confused, and then surprised. He went from looking confused to radiating a cold light as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Knowing that the man recognized him, Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and his eyes also grew cold.

 Chapter 1216: Altercation

    <h4>Chapter 1216: Altercation</h4>

    Leader Hong¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he nced over at Liu Qianjue, a little suspicious. Leader Hong had no idea about what sort of rtionship might exist between Lu Yin and the Sword Sect. Could the Sword Sect be behind Lu Yin? No¡ªLeader Hong instantly rejected that possibility. If the Sword Sect was behind Lu Yin, then Lu Yin¡¯s situation would have been much better as the Sword Sect would have never agreed to The Purge in the first ce. Since Liu Qianjue had already agreed to the n, this was obviously not the case.

    The next moment, another screen appeared, and it showed a woman in white armor with long hair, but with her features were hidden.

    Upon seeing her outfit, Lu Yin instantly realized that this person as someone from the Lingling n.

    "Senior Liu, did you need me for something?" the woman asked. She had a soft voice, but there was a hint of coldness to it, though it was still very pleasant to hear. She was Ling Qiu, the Lingling n¡¯s matriarch.

    Liu Qianjue casually responded, ¡°Just wait a moment."

    Ling Qiu frowned. If Leader Hong possessed both respect and awe for Liu Qianjue, then Ling Qiu merely respected the master of the Sword Sect. She had no fear of the man or his sect; her Lingling n was not the ze Realm.

    "Huh? Lu Yin?" Ling Qiumented in surprise.

    Lu Yin was not surprised that the woman had recognized him, and he calmly replied, "This junior is Lu Yin, and you must be the Lingling n¡¯s matriarch."

    Ling Qiu was surprised to see Lu Yin. "Why are you at the Sword Sect?"

    She looked over at Liu Qianjue. "What sort of rtionship is there between you two?"

    Liu Qianjue replied, "We¡¯ll talk once everyone has gathered."

    Ling Qiu was dissatisfied, but she said nothing further. She looked over at Leader Hong, who smiled and nodded to the matriarch.

    Ling Qiu did not care about Leader Hong. In her eyes, the master of the ze Realm was not as important as Lu Yin. Although Leader Hong acted like he led zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s three powers, the truth was that he only postured and made small moves.

    Leader Hong''s eyes grew cold, but he did not speak.

    The next person to appear was anky old man.

    Upon seeing the old man, Liu Qianjue''s attitude grew much more serious. This old man was the master of Chaosgod Mountain, Cang Zhou.

    "What has caused Sect Master Liu to contact me at Chaosgod Mountain?" the old man asked in a strange tone. "Are there any changes to The Purge?"

    Lu Yin''s heart leaped, and he listened carefully.

    Liu Qianjue replied, "There¡¯s a junior who wishes to speak with you. Let''s talk about this once everyone arrives."

    Cang Zhou''s eyes fell onto Lu Yin. "You look familiar. Little guy, who are you?"

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. "This junior is Lu Yin."

    Cang Zhou was caught off guard. "I remember you. You¡¯re Lu Yin, the Arbiter who reced that Nightking Zhenwu and is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance in the Outerverse. How interesting to see that you¡¯re in the Sword Sect. So you¡¯re already aware of The Purge?"

    "Let''s talk once everyone arrives. Isn¡¯t it rather tiring to repeat everything for each person?" Liu Qianjuemented.

    Cang Zhou sneered, "I¡¯ve never grown tired of cultivating in Chaosgod Mountain, and I only do what I wish to do."

    Liu Qianjue no longer spoke.

    Cang Zhou looked back at Lu Yin. "Little guy, what are you doing in the Sword Sect? Did you persuade their sect master to help your Great Eastern Alliance? What did you promise them?"

    Lu Yin answered, "Senior, please wait."

    Cang Zhou snorted coldly. "I don''t like to wait. I¡¯m an old man."

    From her own screen, Ling Qiu indifferently said, "His status as the master of the Outerverse is enough for you to wait for him."

    Cang Zhou was unhappy to hear this response, and his eyes snapped over to Ling Qiu. "Girl, why are you talking to your senior? You were still dreaming of your first crush when this old man was roaming the universe."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, as those words were quite overbearing.

    Ling Qiu red at Cang Zhou. "I have no respect for the elderly, as they will just die eventually."

    Cang Zhouughed.

    At this time, another screen appeared. However, it did not show a person, but rather a mountain.

    Lu Yin was stunned. A mountain? Could a mountain actually use a gadget?

    "It''s so lively. Everyone¡¯s here," the mountain said.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Yes, the mountain had spoken. The mountain could actually speak. What the hell was going on?

    Liu Qianjue seemed to notice Lu Yin''s confusion, and he quietly said, "This is the tamed beast of the master of Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Hall, Bai Wanshan. He is the guardian of the mountain."

    How did that work? Lu Yin was confused.

    "Senior Liu, why did you call for me?" Bai Wanshan asked.

    To the side, Cang Zhou was still fighting with Ling Qiu.

    Ling Qiu was unable to win the argument against the old man, and she ended the argument by saying, ¡°Old bastard.¡±

    Cang Zhouughed arrogantly, acting as though he had won the fight. His strength made it clear that Ling Qiu was absolutely not the old man¡¯s opponent, as there was not merely a single generation of difference between the two leaders.

    Liu Qianjue grew dissatisfied. "Alright, stop arguing. The Wen family is about to join."

    He then turned to the mountain. "Wait for a bit, and we will discuss things once everyone joins."

    The mountain seemed rather straightforward and did not speak.

    Cang Zhou twitched the most out of those gathered. Still, it was clear that his status was just as high as Liu Qianjue¡¯s while the others were all his juniors.

    Soon, another screen appeared, and it revealed an old man with a broom. "Senior Liu, what are your orders?"

    This old man was Wen Zizai, the Wen family¡¯s patriarch.

    Lu Yin realized that the masters of the eight great flowzones were not necessarily dignified experts, and actually, the more powerful the person, the more inconspicuous they tended to be.

    Liu Qianjue was a fisherman.

    Cang Zhou was a rogue.

    As for the Wen patriarch, he was just a janitor.

    By appearances, Leader Hong and Ling Qiu behaved more like typical powerhouses, though while the mountain was incredibly impressive, he was not human.

    "Everyone is here now." Liu Qianjue looked at Lu Yin. "If you have something to say, you can say it now."

    Cang Zhou asked, "Everyone¡¯s here? What about Dijiang? And also, that kid Shen Shaohuang hasn¡¯t arrived."

    Liu Qianjue casually replied, "The Daynight n has almost entirely isted themselves and are not a part of The Purge. As for the Venom Flowzone, they have no connection to the Outerverse and are also not a part of our ns."

    When Ling Qiu, the Mountain God, Wen Zizai, and Leader Hong heard The Purge being mentioned, they gave Lu Yin and Liu Qianjue strange looks.

    The Purge had been formted to destroy the Great Eastern Alliance, and Lu Yin was the founder and leader of that alliance.

    This was basically having someone present while making ns to eliminate them. What was this all about? Everyone was stunned.

    "He is already aware of our Purge, and he asked me to call everyone for a meeting, as he wishes to say something," Liu Qianjue said.

    Lu Yin faced the gathered people. "This junior asked Senior Liu to call you all."

    Cang Zhou smiled. "Little guy, if you have something to say, then just say it. No matter what you say, The Purge won¡¯t change, and the Great Eastern Alliance will be destroyed, haha."

    Ling Qiu indifferentlymented, "We will not touch the Great Yu Empire, but the Great Eastern Alliance cannot continue to exist."

    Wen Zizai stared at Lu Yin with some excitement in his eyes. "You are Lu Yin, and I have long since admired you. You soundly dealt with the Daynight n, and they¡¯ve even sealed themselves off. You¡¯re very young to have such aplishments."

    Leader Hong snorted coldly.

    The mountain simply stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was facing a great deal of pressure. It could be said that this group of people represented most of the Innerverse. Even the Hall of Honor needed to tread somewhat lightly when dealing with them. This had nothing to do with these people¡¯s strength, but rather how their influence had spread too far and had permeated the Innerverse too thoroughly.

    The Innerverse did not have a single expert whose power level exceeded a million while the Hall of Honor had more than just one such powerhouse. However, this did not mean that the Hall of Honor could act however it wished. If that were the case, then the Hall of Honor would have united the Human Domain long ago, and the Innerverse would have been united with the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked up at everyone. "This junior knows of your Purge, and I wanted to speak with you all to discuss the future with you."

    His words left everyone confused.

    "What about the future? Have you joined the Starsibyl Sect?" Ling Qiu asked.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "It is indeed said that the Starsibyl Sect can predict the future. However, I want to speak to you about the future that I see. To put it another way, I want to fight against the future."

    "What do you mean by that?" Leader Hong asked quietly.

    Lu Yin looked at the older man. "I, Lu Yin, created the Great Eastern Alliance that you are working to destroy. For this reason, you put your Purge together. This junior is not one to sit and wait. I can see the future, and if you seniors insist on carrying out your Purge, then this junior can also see your future, and to be blunt, it¡¯s not good.¡±

    "This is what you wanted to say? Threats? What a joke! You¡¯re but a child¡ªwho gave you the balls to threaten us?" Leader Hong shouted angrily.

    Everyone else simply stared at Lu Yin.

    If another person were in Lu Yin¡¯s ce, they would be terrified, but Lu Yin had already encountered many such situations before, and he had even had the courage to mock a Judicial Commissioner during a trial. Thus, there was no need to even consider someone threatening him from a video transmission.

    Lu Yin stared back at Leader Hong. "The ze Realm lies right next to the Outerverse. When the Innerverse and Outerverse first reconnected, your ze Realm sent Monster Chi along with an entire armada to destroy my Great Eastern Alliance. That didn¡¯t end well for you, did it, Leader Hong? Do you feel that you canpare to the Daynight n? Or do you actually believe that your ze Realm surpasses the Daynight n?"

    The arrogant Leader Hong grew furious, and mes billowed up behind him and shot into the sky to eventually shatter a distant. At the same time, waves ofva shot into the sky, turning everything red-hot.

    Lu Yin simply ignored the man and directed his attention to the others. "What do you seniors think?"

    Cang Zhouughed. The mountain alsoughed, followed by Wen Zizai, and finally, Liu Qianjue.

    "No doubt, this is quite the unique experience! No junior has ever dared to provoke and threaten all of us at the same time. The times really have changed." The mountain''s voice was deafening, though he also sounded as though he was speaking quietly.

    "Very well, go ahead and deliver your threat," Wen Zizai said with a smile.

    Liu Qianjue calmly sat and began fishing again, apparently ignoring Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s face grew solemn. "The goal of your Purge is to ughter many of the top leaders of the Outerverse who are unwilling to cooperate with the Innerverse. There are a total of 409 people, and the n is simple. Honestly, I have no way of dealing with this. Despite having the support of Leon¡¯s Armada, as well as Yuan Shi, Eversky Ind, the Lan family, and the Sea King¡¯s Dome, I still cannot field a lineup to protect those 409 people. Each of the assassins will be a powerhouse, and I cannot stop so many experts. Once your Purgemences, it is guaranteed to seed. Even if I do ask Leon¡¯s Armada and Eversky Ind to help me, it¡¯s impossible to stand up to the entire Innerverse at the same time.¡±

    Leader Hong smiled contemptuously.

    Wen Zizai calmly stared at Lu Yin.

    No one spoke.

    There were rules to the universe. A few disciples from Eversky Ind were powerful enough to threaten the Innerverse, but that did not mean that they could actually deliver on those threats. There were rules in ce to maintain a certain bnce, and if that bnce broke, then even the Hall of Honor would be affected, and that was not something that would be tolerated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I have to admit that the mastermind who designed this n is highly intelligent. This junior also believes that, even if it were possible to arrange enough powerhouses to protect all 409 people, it would still be useless, as they can¡¯t be protected continuously. It¡¯s impossible to forever remain vignt, and although you might be able to stop a thief for a thousand days, he only needs to seed once, and this is a n that can be executed at any moment.

    "However, you seniors have forgotten something." At this moment, Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly grew cold and filled with killing intent. His murderous aura caused the surface of the nearby pond to begin boiling even as the air froze over.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1217: Mutual Destruction*

    <h4>Chapter 1217: Mutual Destruction*</h4>

    Even though Lu Yin was only a Hunter, at this moment, his towering killing intent was enough to surprise even these leaders of the Innerverse.

    "Everyone considers the people of the Outerverse to be nothing more than sheep, and even I see them as nothing but sheep. How many people control the major powers of the Outerverse? Those 409 are only a handful among the minority, and most of the other leaders have already reached an agreement with you. They have agreed to cooperate with you after your Purge starts and will immediately withdraw from the Great Eastern Alliance! However, can they truly leave?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes rose and swept across the experts before him. "You were able toe up with this Purge, but I, Lu Yin, can also create a n. A master wants to kill an ordinary person, and I can''t protect them. However, what if I also want to kill an ordinary person? You all see these leaders of the Outerverse organizations as ordinary people, and to me, they are also ordinary people."

    Cang Zhou''s eyes went wide, and he stared at Lu Yin in surprise. This kid was quite ruthless.

    Liu Qianjue''s expression sank, and his rage burned hot enough in his heart to burn jade and incinerate stones.

    Wen Zizai stared intently at Lu Yin. Others had spoken about how Lu Yin had only managed to unite the Outerverse due to an ideal timing and his background, but at this moment, Wen Zizai became absolutely certain that Lu Yin had the ability, boldness, and decisiveness to dominate the Outerverse.

    It was clear that Lu Yin was nning to simply shuffle the cards. While all of the leaders for the factions that had joined the Great Eastern Alliance against the Innerverse would die, another group would be chosen to take their ces.

    "Hmph. Junior, you really think this can scare us? You¡¯re talking about people from the Outerverse. If you do this, then it will just cause the Great Eastern Alliance to copse even quicker. Additionally, you will be seen as an enemy by all of those people," Leader Hong quietly retorted.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Naturally. However, I, Lu Yin, have never been afraid of anything. You can ask around and see how many dissenting voices spoke up after I established the Great Eastern Alliance. However, those voices are still there, and their descendants are also still alive. If I, Lu Yin, dare to do this, then I will take on all of it."

    "Is this how you n to threaten us into negotiating?" Ling Qiu asked.

    Lu Yin looked over at her.

    Ling Qiu shook her head. "What you¡¯re saying is useless. Even after the current targets are all eliminated, we can target their recements just as easily and reenact our Purge. We don¡¯t care, but how many can you watch be killed? Do you think that this is just between you and us? Even if this is the choice that you make, what about the people themselves? If you allow too many to die, the resistance will grow endlessly, and things might even escte to the point where your Great Yu Empire is dragged into the fray. Then, no one will be able to save you.¡±

    Cang Zhou found the entire matter to be amusing. This child was determined, but unfortunately, he was not thoughtful.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled up. "Senior Ling Qiu is right. Once again, I, Lu Yin, will have to be hated by hundreds of millions of people. Compared to dissolving the Great Eastern Alliance, this is something that is much more difficult to ept, which means that I¡¯m unlucky, as I will not let you all befortable.

    "You all want the Great Eastern Alliance to disappear so that you can continue profiting off of the Outerverse, whether by plundering, trading, or deception. To be blunt, the Innerverse wants to gain riches from the Outerverse. However, what if those profits be unreliable? For example, the shipments might be raided by pirates, some insider information concerning various transactions might be leaked, or some recently discovered resources might end up being destroyed. Could you still rest easy?"

    Everyone''s expressions instantly changed. The pirates that Lu Yin was referring to were not ordinary pirates, or even a group of pirates. Rather, he was talking Leon¡¯s Armada that was led by the Pirate King himself. One sentence from that man could summon most of the pirates in the entire universe, and he had even been able to overwhelm Daynight Flowzone. His pirates were amazingly powerful.

    "Junior, are you threatening us?" The mountain''s voice had gone cold.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "This junior said from the beginning that we should fight it out."

    Wen Zizai said, "Pirates can''t act openly, and the only reason why they seeded against the Daynight n was because the n was not prepared for such a thing and because they never expected it. If Alliance Leader Lu believes that some pirates are enough to make us step back, then your thoughts are too simple."

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior admits that is true, and honestly, I¡¯m facing incredible pressure by standing up to you seniors. No matter what happens, it seems useless to go against you seniors. There might be only six of you, but you represent the majority of the Innerverse and can even direct the direction that the Innerverse moves. Not to mention me, Senior Liu mentioned that not even one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers can stop all of you.

    "The things I just mentioned were only intended to be used as an example to entertain you seniors. If you all don¡¯t take this seriously and insist on following through with your Purge, then this junior will be forced into a dead end. If that happens, then you can¡¯t me this junior for his actions. For example-¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sharpened as he looked at Ling Qiu. "I might visit you one by one and challenge all the best cultivators within my generation."

    Ling Qiu''s expression changed.

    Wen Zizai and Liu Qianjue''s expressions also changed.

    "This junior has always been curious about the innate gifts of the Lingling n as well as the Wen family''s Literary Prison and the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords. Of course, I¡¯m also very curious about Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s hand-to-handbat as well as the strange creatures that the Beast Tamers control. This junior is fascinated, and I have decided to challenge my peers as ZENITH approaches and make sure that the best of them all fail to enter ZENITH." Lu Yin''s voice was loud and confident.

    His words left everyone silent, but everyone''s expressions had changed.

    If ZENITH was just an ordinarypetition, then none of them would care, but they were all privy to certain secrets, and thus, they were all aware that the importance of ZENITH far exceeded what most people thought it to be. Even if these six did not know what rewards would ultimately be given to the top ten finalists, they had an idea and were aware that this was an opportunity for the contestants to change their destinies.

    Other than ZENITH, their youths would never receive another opportunity to evenpete for such an opportunity.

    This was not merely a chance for the contestants to change their fates, but also for the powers standing behind each of them to change.

    The Daynight n had always wished to enter the Neoverse, so when Nightking Zhenwu had stepped onto the path of bing one of the Cosmic Five, the entire n had celebrated and, Zhenwu had instantly be the first in line to be the next n patriarch.

    The Sword Sect also wanted to enter the Neoverse, as did the Lingling n and Chaosgod Mountain. Honestly, was there anyone who did not want to move into the Neoverse? Was there anyone who did not want to alter their destiny?

    ZENITH was precisely that opportunity to change their destiny.

    When news of ZENITH had been released, and when these six had received some private information, all of them had prepared themselves to spend all of their organization¡¯s best resources to prepare their most outstanding youths in an attempt to take one of the top ten ces.

    However, at this moment, Lu Yin stood as an obstacle in their path.

    Others could not threaten them in such a manner, but Lu Yin absolutely could. His list of aplishments was too impressive, and his strength was too overpowering.

    If he really did move out to challenge his peers, even if their youths were able to match up to Lu Yin, they would still be unable to qualify for ZENITH in the end.

    This was a price that they could not afford to pay.

    This was not a matter of profit, but rather a matter of destiny.

    "You don''t want to participate in ZENITH?" Ling Qiu challenged.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It doesn''t really matter. I am quite satisfied with progressing from an ordinary person to my current level of strength, and the Great Eastern Alliance is more important to me than apetition. If you want to destroy my Great Eastern Alliance, then I will destroy that which you hold dear: Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle is amazing, and I would love to face it."

    "Is the Great Eastern Alliance really so important to you? Whether or not it exists has little impact on you, and as far as the Neoverse is concerned, you can be reced as the master of the Outerverse at any time," Wen Zizai inquired.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s very important. I see that you seniors don''t believe me. In that case, let me add that Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Grandmaster has nominated me to be a gatekeeper of Zenith Mountain. If you seniors don¡¯t understand what that means, then please ask, as it¡¯s a very important bit of news."

    "You¡¯ve been nominated to be a gatekeeper?!" Cang Zhou finally lost his demeanor.

    Liu Qianjue also stared at Lu Yin inplete shock.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It would seem that you seniors are already aware of what that means, so you should also know what will happen when your juniors show up for the challenge."

    The six people looked at each other.

    As the masters of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, they had received a lot of secret information after ZENITH had been announced. Of course, that information included the role of the gatekeepers.

    The people known as gatekeepers would be tasked with limiting the number of participants in ZENITH. Only the most powerful participants qualified to be gatekeepers, and there would only be five gatekeepers. To put it more simply, gatekeepers were seeded contestants who were preemptively recognized as the strongest contenders for the final ten contestants.

    Ling Qiu was quite confident in Ling Gong. She would be invincible until the final ten, but despite the matriarch¡¯s confidence, she had never even considered the possibility of Ling Gong being nominated as a gatekeeper, as it was too difficult to qualify.

    The only gatekeeper that had been identified so far was Shang Qing, the undefeatable user of the Tri-Yang Technique. He was the only person who was clearly qualified to be a gatekeeper.

    None of the six elders had considered that Lu Yin had been nominated for such a role, especially by someone like the Highsage Grandmaster.

    Eversky Ind¡¯s master was someone who stood at the pinnacle of humanity, and his vision could not be doubted. Was Lu Yin really able topare with Shang Qing?

    There was nothing else that Lu Yin could say to threaten these six except for this. This threat was aimed at their sole chance to alter their fate, and any price was worth it to obtain such an opportunity.

    Regardless of whether or not they believed that their juniors could make it to the final ten in ZENITH, they would not dare to take such a risk at this time.

    Lu Yin was the type of person who would follow through on what he had said.

    "Battles help to improve one¡¯s battle strength, and young cultivators grow the fastest while fighting. The more you fight, the faster you improve. I''m looking forward to fighting against the others for the final ten," Lu Yinmented with a sigh as he threatened everyone once again.

    "Junior, don''t think that defeating two of the Ten Arbiters makes you invincible. Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, and Liu Tianmu have all be Enlighters, so how could you possibly deal with any of them? Any of them could easily deal with you. You want to use this to coerce us into canceling our Purge? Impossible!" Leader Hong shouted angrily. At this moment, he wished that he could personally strike Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin looked at the older man with contempt and disdain. "In the ze Realm, there is no one who can do such a thing, and you don¡¯t even qualify for me to challenge any of your youths. Actually, challenging you would just tter you and humiliate me."

    The arrogant Leader Hong grew furious, and he stared at Lu Yin as though he were about to devour the youth.

    Liu Qianjue casually asked, "Are you confident that you can deal with the Thirteen Swords?"

    Lu Yin lightly replied, "It doesn''t matter. Regardless, I¡¯m absolutely certain that I won¡¯t die to the Thirteenth Sword, and as long as I don¡¯t die, I can drag my enemy down."

    Liu Qianjue went silent.

    Cang Zhou sneered, "Go ahead. After all, you can only challenge the other Arbiters."

    Lu Yin looked at him. "Even if the Ten Arbiters don¡¯t participate, your youths will still have to face the people from the Neoverse. Don''t forget¡ªthe Cosmic Five are all from the Neoverse, and only the Ten Arbiters can help deal with them."

    Wen Zizai sighed. "I¡¯m actually being threatened by a child. It¡¯s morefortable to sweep the floor."

    The mountain stared at Lu Yin, as did everyone else. They had all been ced in a very difficult position.

    If a junior, one of the Ten Arbiters, or even someone who was actually peerless within their generation dared to threaten these six powerhouses, then they simply would not care. They could bepletely confident that the youth would never even be able to get close to experts at their level. However, Lu Yin was different. His backing was simply too terrifying, and any one of the many powerhouses who backed him left the six people feeling helpless.

    * The actual title for this chapter trantes to "jade and stone burn together." This is a Chinese expression that means that fire is blind and burns both the good and bad together. Since this is voluntary in this situation, mutual destruction was the best we coulde up with. Still, I like the original title better even if it does need an exnation.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1218: Unexpected Aid

    <h4>Chapter 1218: Unexpected Aid</h4>

    To these six Innerverse leaders, Lu Yin was holding a heavy stone. He could not move his hand, but if he began to smash something, they would not be able to stop the stone. Even if the stone shattered, he would still be able to smash their heads in.

    When had they ever encountered such a youth before? Typically, youths who had be Hunters had been carefully raised by an organization pouring resources into them. Thus, they would behave in a civilized manner and have a rather refined quality. In contrast, Lu Yin was brash and seemed rather wild.

    "Everyone, just ignore the child¡¯s nonsense. I don''t believe that he will truly dare to challenge our youths one by one, and we can instantly carry out our Purge anyway. Just wait to see if he issues any challenges or will race back to save the Great Eastern Alliance," Leader Hong angrily pressed.

    Lu Yin was resolute. "I¡¯ll be at your door with a challenge. Anyways, based on what you just said, the Great Eastern Alliance is already dead. So, I will just break your trap and send someone to do what I just told you. Then we¡¯ll see who ends up suffering the greater losses between you and I."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin grew increasingly confident. "Believe it or not, after dealing with your youths, I¡¯ll still be able to participate in ZENITH, as these challenges won¡¯t harm me."

    Ling Qiu and Liu Qianjue both stared at Lu Yin; just how confident was this child?

    They then remembered that Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Grandmaster had nominated Lu Yin to be a gatekeeper. Could this child¡¯s power really be that impressive? Was he truly peerless among this generation?

    "I know that you seniors are facing trouble. The truth is that the Great Eastern Alliance is not a closed organization, and neither does it wish to seal off the Outerverse. If you wish to trade with the Outerverse, then you can proceed normally, though it will change how you¡¯ve normally done things. Still, it should not greatly affect your gains from the Outerverse," Lu Yin said.

    The mountain loudly said, "Such profits are a powerful motivator, and a unified Outerverse could force things out of our control."

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "I''m not trying to negotiate this matter with you seniors, as I am merely offering you a way forward. You are wee to proceed however you wish."

    Leader Hong looked at others with uncertainty. He was still eager to implement The Purge, as he had been the one to initially propose the scheme. Not only would the sess of this n mean a destroyed Great Eastern Alliance, but it would also allow the ze Realm to return to its original status and allow him to step into the ranks of these masters of the Innerverse and solidify his rtionship with them.

    "Junior, I don''t know how vast the universe might be, but how could those of us here be tricked by a child like you, let alone threatened? You must be dreaming!" Leader Hong shouted sharply.

    Lu Yinughed. "Seniors, he¡¯s trying to force you with his words so that you will continue with his n. I¡¯m surprised, has the ze Realm already reached the same level of power as the rest of you?"

    Ling Qiu shot an unhappy look over at Leader Hong. "We will consider how to proceed ourselves. There¡¯s no need for you to speak."

    Cang Zhou was also irritated with Leader Hong. "Shut up."

    Liu Qianjue was even more direct¡ªhe dismissed Leader Hong¡¯s screen so that only the other five Innerverse leaders were left to speak with each other and Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief and calmed himself down.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, well done. You¡¯ve won. My Sword Sect will not participate in The Purge," Liu Qianjue stated.

    Ling Qiu agreed, "My Lingling n will not participate either."

    "We¡¯re not participating," Cang Zhou agreed.

    Ling Qiu looked at the old man. "You¡¯re free to participate. After all, you don¡¯t have any juniors who you can use to take advantage of ZENITH."

    Cang Zhou sneered. "One of my juniors can just marry your junior, so won¡¯t that make your kid a part of my Chaosgod Mountain?"

    "Bastard!¡± Ling Qiu shouted angrily before she quickly disconnected from the call.

    Cang Zhouughed arrogantly.

    Wen Zizai shook his head. "The Wen family will withdraw as well."

    After that, he disconnected.

    The mountain did not say a single word, and he simply closed his screen, making his attitude clear.

    Lu Yin calmly stood there until only he and Liu Qianjue were left.

    Liu Qianjue turned back around and resumed fishing. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are young but tough. You sought out a path forward and then saw things through to the end. You have this old man¡¯s admiration."

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, "I was just acting out of self-defense, so please forgive me, senior."

    Liu Qianjue smiled and said, "It is my privilege to meet such a junior. If the disciples from my Sword Sect could be half as good as you, then this old man could die happy."

    "The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords are able to shake the universe, and this junior admires the technique greatly," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Qianjue helplessly shook his head. "What benefit is there to only knowing how to cultivate?"

    Liu Qianjue suddenly thought back to the bit of conversation between Cang Zhou and Ling Qiu, and an odd glint entered the old man¡¯s eyes as he looked back at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu is still single. Have you seen Arbiter Liu yet?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What are you saying, senior?"

    "I think that you and Tianmu would make a good couple, and then there¡¯ll be a possibility of us enjoying each other¡¯spany for the future," Liu Qianjue mentioned with a smile.

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed and quickly retreated. "This junior epts senior''s kindness, but I need to quickly return to the Outerverse, so I must take my leave."

    After saying that, Lu Yin fled.

    Liu Qianjue did not stop Lu Yin from leaving, and he simply watched the youth depart with a lingering smile on the old man¡¯s face. "That old man Cang Zhou was right. There are still ways to tie this child to my Sword Sect in the future."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin let out a long breath after leaving the pond. He had finally managed to stop The Purge for the moment, but he felt no pride in this aplishment.

    The reason why Lu Yin had managed to put a stop to The Purge had been entirely due to ZENITH. Once the tournament was over, Lu Yin would no longer have any cards to y against the Innerverse, and at that point, The Purge would definitely rmence.

    The top powers of the Innerverse were not easily dealt with, and Lu Yin had pped their faces just now. Thus, they would definitely get revenge in the future.

    Lu Yin did not have much time left.

    "Seventh Bro, what were you doing for so long? Did that old man embarrass you? Would you like to call Leon¡¯s Armada over to take down the Sword Sect?" Ku Wei asked, eager to make such an attempt.

    To the side, Elder Li stared at Ku Wei with murder in his eyes.

    Lu Yin quietly told Ku Wei to shut up before nodding apologetically to Elder Li. "I need to go and head back to the Outerverse."

    "You¡¯re done visiting the Sword Sect already?" Ku Wei was taken aback.

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯ll be more opportunities in the future."

    He then looked back at Elder Li. "Please tell the Sect Master that this junior bids him farewell. The Sword Sect and the people that the sect master invited over have opened this junior¡¯s eyes. I know that there will be more opportunities toe back in the future."

    Elder Li nodded. "Lord Lu, tread cautiously."

    ¡­

    In the darkness of outer space, Lu Yin and Ku Wei flew towards the Outerverse in a spacecraft.

    Ku Wei was very curious about what Lu Yin had talked about with the Sword Sect¡¯s master, but Lu Yin did not mention anything.

    Lu Yin spent this time thinking about how he couldpletely resolve the threat of The Purge, as temporary measures were ultimately pointless.

    After returning, he knew that he needed to discuss the matter with Wang Wen and Wei Rong.

    After crossing one of the Astral River¡¯s tributaries, the two young men entered a small flowzone, and they quickly passed through this flowzone before entering yet another one.

    Many of the Innerverse¡¯s flowzones were separated by the Astral River¡¯s tributaries, and the sizes of these flowzones all varied greatly.

    After a few days, Lu Yin looked out and saw that Venom Flowzone was on their left.

    Venom Flowzone was not particrlyrge, though it was very long, and its length covered nearly a quarter of the entire Innerverse. The entire flowzone was filled with poisonous astral beasts that resembled insects and all other sorts of creatures. The flowzone was almostpletely isted from the rest of the Innerverse.

    Although it was also one of the eight great flowzones, Venom Flowzone was the least famous.

    No one dared to casually enter Venom Flowzone, and even when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse, they had avoided Venom Flowzone in fear of suffering heavy losses.

    Lu Yin was very curious about Venom Flowzone and the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    After passing through the current flowzone, Lu Yin and Ku Wei would enter zing Mist Flowzone.

    Out of the entire Innerverse, the Great Eastern Alliance needed to deal with zing Mist Flowzone the most. Lu Yin suspected that this flowzone was the true mastermind behind The Purge, and the ze Realm was most likely the driving force behind the n as well. There was no other reason why Liu Qianjue would have been in contact with Leader Hong.

    The size of the ze Realm did not qualify Leader Hong to be in direct contact with Liu Qianjue.

    The ze Realm was the closest organization to the Outerverse. Thus, the ze Realm wanted to deal with the Outerverse the most, while the Outerverse felt the same way about the ze Realm.

    Their vessel continued its flight towards the Outerverse, but at this moment, they were in zing Mist Flowzone; a flowzone that could be said to be full of Lu Yin''s enemies.

    The ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and even the sylvan dragons all wanted him dead.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget rang, and Lu Yin was surprised by the caller; it was Yan Yan, but wasn''t Yan Yan supposed to be missing?

    As the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s 13th Imperial Squadron, Yan Yan had the right to contact Lu Yin, but he had never done so on his own. Additionally, Wei Rong had told Lu Yin that Yan Yan had disappeared some time ago, which made this call very strange. Yan Yan¡¯s disappearance was already something that Lu Yin had been nning to investigate after he arrived in the Outerverse. Yan Yan was quite powerful, and it was impossible for him to vanish into thin air.

    After epting the iing call, Lu Yin heard Yan Yan''s voice. "Your Highness, my memory haspletely returned."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and next to him, Ku Wei grew curious; Yan Yan¡¯s memory had returned?

    "Are you telling me that you voluntarily left the Great Yu Empire?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes. My apologies, Your Highness, for not informing you. The truth is that my name is Shao Yangxun, and I am themanding general of Subzero City in the Royal Frost Continent." Yan Yan immediately informed Lu Yin of his origins.

    Lu Yin had met Yan Yan during the destruction of Firesmelt. To be more urate, Lu Yin had recognized Yan Yan¡ªno, Shao Yangxun, was someone from the Royal Frost Continent due to the pattern of interlocking snowkes rings on his body. However, Lu Yin had never expected that Shao Yangxun would have such an important background. It sounded like Shao Yangxun was quite an important figure in his home.

    "Now that you¡¯ve recovered your memory, what is it that you want? Do you want to leave the Great Yu Empire? You¡¯ve already left," Lu Yin asked.

    Yan Yan remained silent for a long time. "I wish to beg Your Highness to save the Royal Frost Continent."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "The reason why several of us subjects left the Royal Frost Continent was to go and seek help¡­" Shao Yangxun slowly exined as he informed Lu Yin of the situation on the Royal Frost Continent.

    Lu Yin slowly understood that the Royal Frost Continent was literally a continent thaty atop ciers.

    "I don''t know when it started, but the climate of the Royal Frost Continent has quickly be colder. Even those of us who were born on the cier and excel at ice battle techniques are bing unable to endure such frigid temperatures, and the temperature keeps dropping lower and lower. It won¡¯t be long before the entire Royal Frost Continent ispletely frozen over, along with the hundred of millions of people living in Subzero City.¡±

    The vessel came to a halt as Lu Yin listened quietly to Shao Yangxun. The more Lu Yin heard, the more confused he became. ¡°It¡¯s said that the Royal Frost Continent is unafraid of even the ze Realm, which indicates that there must be at least an Envoy on the continent. However, you¡¯re telling me that your continent needs help. It¡¯s just a continent while an Envoy should be able to save even an entire weave.¡±

    "The Frost Emperor, the lord of Subzero City, is a powerhouse even among Envoys, but not even he can save us," Shao Yangxun said.

    "Then have your people leave and immigrate to the Outerverse. I will find a ce for all of you," Lu Yin offered.

    Shao Yangxun remained silent for a while. "Your Highness, there is special meaning in the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s existence, and we cannot leave it. Subzero City can¡¯t disappear."

    Lu Yinughed. "Then what do you want me to do? You just said that not even an Envoy can help you, and my strength can¡¯tpare to an Envoy¡¯s. There¡¯s no way for me to help you."

    "Your Highness can help us. When the city lord asked us to find help, we were not sent to find powerhouses, but rather Lockbreakers," Shao Yangxun exined.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1219: Royal Frost Continent

    <h4>Chapter 1219: Royal Frost Continent</h4>

    Shao Yangxun''s words caught Lu Yinpletely by surprise. "A Lockbreaker?"

    "The city lord''s words were that only a powerful Lockbreaker can help the Royal Frost Continent, and it must be a Lockbreaker who hasprehended a sourcebox array. Your Highness is a Lockbreaker, and you must also know other powerful Lockbreakers as well, which is why I am begging Your Highness to find a powerful Lockbreaker to enter the Royal Frost Continent and save Subzero City.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Don''t simply assume that I know a Lockbreaker strong enough to help an Envoy. Even if I did, they wouldn''t agree to go to such a strange ce, especially if it¡¯s a ce that not even an Envoy can protect. Do you understand?"

    Shao Yangxun eagerly replied, "Your Highness, you can! You saved the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, and you can ask President Geoffrey! You can report this situation to the Lockbreaker Society."

    "Alright, there¡¯s nothing more to say. All I can do is help you all find a ce to live in the Outerverse and make sure that you get settled in safely. I can¡¯t help you with the rest.¡± Lu Yin bluntly refused Shao Yangxun¡¯s request. Lu Yin had many things that he needed to do, and not even an Envoy could resolve this situation, which meant that it would be too rash for Lu Yin to just jump in. Shao Yangxun had been Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate, not Lu Yin¡¯s boss. Thus, Lu Yin was not indebted to the man in any way.

    After refusing to help, Lu Yin wanted to end the call, but two words from Shao Yangxun made Lu Yin hesitate for a moment. "I''m sorry."

    Lu Yin felt this was quite strange. An apology?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This was not good. He instantly ended the call, but it was already toote. The darkness of space had been reced with white. This was not sunlight, but rather ice. The spacecraft had beenpletely frozen through, and Lu Yin and Ku Wei tried to fight in vain as the starry sky disappeared from their sight.

    It did not take long for theyer of ice in space to melt away, but all that remained was a bit of cold air.

    ¡­

    Wind blew a flurry of snow across the ground. The snow drifted over, floated across the ice, and was blown over mountains before finally settling above a city.

    It was a very rural city, and its architecture seemed to draw heavily from a more primitive era, and there were even many buildings with thatched roofs.

    The cold wind froze the city. The urban area was surrounded by a curtain light that could be seen with the naked eye, and a thickyer of solid ice had umted outside the barrier.

    This was Subzero City. It was located at the center of the Royal Frost Continent, and it was actually the only city on the entire continent.

    Subzero City spread out to cover arge area, and although the city was not very tall and its construction was limited to the most basic types of houses in many ces, it was still home to hundreds of millions of people. However, due to the extreme cold, people rarely walked about.

    There was a building at the center of the city with a slightly more modern design. It was a beautiful building, but it was alsopletely different from all of the others. This was the city lord''s mansion, and it was home to the most powerful man on the Royal Frost Continent: the Frost Emperor.

    The city lord¡¯s mansion covered a vast area, and it even included some mountains and ins, though everything was colored white by the freezing wind.

    Inside the city lord''s mansion, there was a silent, unmoving spacecraft that was surrounded by many curious onlookers. One person looked at the spaceship with an apologetic expression andplicated emotions in his eyes. It was Shao Yangxun, who had been previously known as Yan Yan.

    Next to Shao Yangxun stood an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man. This man looked a little more elegant than the other people in the area, but even he could not shake off the rather primitive feeling that all of the people here gave off.

    "You did nothing wrong. We won''t do anything to him," the middle-aged man softlyforted.

    Shao Yangxun responded quietly, "When will he wake up?"

    The middle-aged man smiled. "He woke up a long time ago. I expect him to be thinking of a way to deal with us."

    Shao Yangxun was surprised, and he looked at the vessel before lifting his feet and approaching the ship.

    The spacecraft did not move.

    All of the surrounding people continued to watch. Most of them had never even seen a spacecraft at all, so they were extremely curious.

    As Shao Yangxun approached the vessel, the hatch suddenly opened, and a figure reached out with a hand to grab Shao Yangxun''s neck. The hand squeezed the neck tightly as the person behind it red fiercely at the middle-aged man. "Don''t move."

    The expressions of the surrounding people all instantly changed, and they red at Lu Yin. "Stop! Let him go!"

    "Release the general!"

    "Let him go!"

    ¡­

    "Shut up." The figure was Lu Yin, and he had just been tricked.

    Shao Yangxun had taken the initiative to contact Lu Yin, not only to ask for help, but also to determine Lu Yin¡¯s location. Because Shao Yangxun had promised to save the Royal Frost Continent, after he realized that Lu Yin was refusing to help, Shao Yangxun had confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s location and then left things to the master of the Royal Frost Continent for him to catch Lu Yin and drag him to the Royal Frost Continent.

    Lu Yin held Shao Yangxun''s neck tightly, leaving the man panting heavily. Right now, Lu Yin assumed that he had been teleported to the Royal Frost Continent by the person who Shao Yangxun had just been standing behind. That person was also most likely the most powerful person on the Royal Frost Continent, as well as the city lord.

    "Your Highness, I''m sorry," Shao Yangxun apologized again after being caught by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You betrayed me."

    Shao Yangxun felt helpless. "This one is willing to apologize with my death. All I ask is that Your Highness save my Royal Frost Continent, which is this one¡¯s hometown."

    "Child, do you think that you can threaten us after being captured? Or do you simply wish to vent your anger?" the middle-aged man asked in a light tone. His expression remained unchanged, and he apparently was unconcerned with Shao Yangxun¡¯s capture.

    Lu Yin stared at the middle-aged man. "Who are you?"

    The middle-aged man smiled. "The Royal Frost Continent¡¯s master and the Subzero City Lord: the Frost Emperor."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Just to make sure, his pupils transformed into runes as he looked at the Frost Emperor. As a result, his eyes were suddenly stabbed by pain, and he nearly released Shao Yangxun.

    However, Shao Yangxun did not take advantage of the opportunity to try to escape. He had approached the spacecraft in order to give Lu Yin a chance.

    The Frost Emperor did not take any action either. If he wanted to, Lu Yin would never have been able to take Shao Yangxun hostage. Otherwise, Lu Yin would not merely have been dragged to the Frost Emperor Continent.

    Lu Yin rubbed his eyes and then looked back at the middle-aged man once again, this time with fear in his eyes. After a moment of silence, Lu Yin pushed Shao Yangxun away and moved to stand next to the vessel and observe his surroundings.

    Shao Yangxun did not move far away, but instead, he turned to formally greet Lu Yin. "My apologies, Your Highness. I''m truly sorry, but this one had no choice in this matter. My Royal Frost Continent can''t afford to wait."

    Lu Yin nced at the man and then looked over at the Frost Emperor. "It would seem that you believe that you have me in your bag."

    The Frost Emperor had a soft expression on his face, and there was none of the typical oppression that Envoys had. He calmly addressed Lu Yin. "We should not be enemies, and I will not hurt you, or rather, I can offer you anything you want. I simply hope that you can help my Royal Frost Continent."

    "What if I say no?" Lu Yin coldly asked.

    The Frost Emperor answered helplessly, "I can send you on your way then."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed and he sneered. "You took the trouble to capture me, and yet you¡¯re offering to just let me go? Is this an act?"

    The Frost Emperor stared intently at Lu Yin. "I brought you here, but I only wish to ask you to listen to the story of my Royal Frost Continent. You might change your mind. Only once you are here will my story have any meaning."

    Lu Yin frowned. In front of him, Shao Yangxun continued to bow. All of the people from the Royal Frost Continent in the surroundings hadplicated expressions on their faces, and some of the people asionally shivered from the terrible cold.

    After considering the situation for a moment, Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Take care of the person inside the ship."

    The Frost Emperor grew overjoyed. "Please don''t worry about him."

    Lu Yin moved past Shao Yangxun and followed the Frost Emperor into the mansion.

    Shao Yangxun stood back up and heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    As he followed the Frost Emperor into the city lord''s mansion, Lu Yin was quite curious. He had never seen a ruler¡¯s home with this kind of style before. The mansion was far too simple, and any building from a prosperous would far outshine this mansion.

    Still, although there were no skyscrapers, the rural buildings were all very beautiful.

    They walked through the city lord''s mansion, and if rudeness could be considered an artform, then Lu Yin was doing an exquisite job.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, thank you for your willingness to stay and help us," the Frost Emperor expressed his gratitude as he walked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I may not be able to help, but you mentioned that you would allow me to see the history of the Royal Frost Continent?"

    The Frost Emperor nodded. "Our history is stored underground to prevent its destruction. Please."

    Lu Yin followed the Frost Emperor beneath the estate, and there, he saw countless pieces of wooden shelves. What was this?

    He stared nkly at the underground space, unable to determine how far it extended. The wooden shelves seemed to spread out endlessly, and there were countless wooden slips stacked upon these shelves. "This is your history?"

    The Frost Emperor sighed. "This ce contains the history of my Royal Frost Continent, and Alliance Leader Lu may peruse it at your pleasure."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and picked up a wooden slip from next to him. At the top, he read, ''On the thirty-fifth day of the Twelfth Frost Emperor''s 1826th year, the temperature was very low, and 235 households froze. The repairs cost¡­''

    Lu Yin set the wooden slip back down and picked up another one to read. ''On the thirty-sixth day of the Twelfth Frost Emperor¡¯s 1826th year, the ground cracked. The Frost Emperor¡¯s army repaired the damage and helped Er Zhuzi¡¯s family move their home of ten years. The crack spread three meters, and due to the aging houses¡­''

    Lu Yin frowned. He walked away and looked at another wooden slip. ¡®On the 208th day of the Eleventh Frost Emperor¡¯s 925th day, the city lord¡¯s son was born, and Subzero City rejoiced. The celebration required food, housing, and cleanup¡­¡¯

    Lu Yin set the third wooden slip back down and then gave the Frost Emperor a strange look.

    The Frost Emperor just smiled gently.

    Lu Yin averted his eyes and walked further along before picking up another wooden slip. He soon set it down and picked up another one before setting that one down as well and moving to a corner to pick up another dusty wooden slip. He looked at it before gently setting it down and ncing back at the Frost Emperor. "Your daily life is quite boring, isn¡¯t it?"

    The Frost Emperor was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin exined, "These wooden slips record all of these trivial details, such as cleaning the streets, helping people move their houses, and even the days¡¯ weather. Are these really your typical tasks on a given day?"

    The Frost Emperor smiled and said, "Subzero City is still a city. Despite its hundreds of millions of inhabitants, it has never suffered from war. These records show the cost of living and quality of life from every era of the city, and they are very valuable."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Despite the age of the city, it¡¯s never faced war?"

    The Frost Emperor shook his head. He thought for a moment and then seriously replied, "The Frost Emperor¡¯s lineage can be traced through the history of Subzero City, and all of the previous Frost Emperors were my ancestors. Each Frost Emperor possesses enough strength to surpass a typical Envoy, and Subzero City¡¯s citizens have no need to fight. Their leader is an Envoy, and there is also the army, which is called the Frostgate Army. If the city master is unavable, then the Frostgate Army can handle matters. Thus, Subzero City has never faced the threat of war since its founding.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that even when a lion threatened a flock of sheep, the sheep would still refuse to move.

    He looked at the Frost Emperor strangely; how could every Frost Emperor be guaranteed to be an Envoy? This was an important question, but Lu Yin did not ask it. "Lord Frost Emperor, the history that I would like to see does not pertain to these matters, but rather why the people of the Royal Frost Continent cannot leave this continent and move elsewhere."

    The Frost Emperor''s eyes shed. "Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me." He then headed into the depths of the archives, and Lu Yin followed behind him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1220: Sealing Array

    <h4>Chapter 1220: Sealing Array</h4>

    Before long, the two men arrived at their destination. The Frost Emperor pointed at the wooden slip furthest in. "Alliance Leader Lu, please read that one. It is our earliest record."

    Lu Yin felt curious, and he immediately picked up the wooden slip to read it, only to discover that the text had long since disappeared. He picked up the next one, but that was also missing its text. He turned to look at the Frost Emperor.

    The Frost Emperor sighed. "Even writing has a shelf life, and too much time has passed. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that these pieces of wood are made from a very strange material, even the wood would have disappeared by now. If you look at the various records, you will notice that some text is missing from many of the records and that my Royal Frost Continent is missing a great, great deal of our history."

    "But when he spoke with me, Shao Yangxun''s behavior was quite strange. I offered for him to move the residents of the Royal Frost Continent to the Outerverse, and he refused. He said that emigrating is not possible, but apparently, even Lord Frost Emperor does not know why.¡± Lu Yin coldly continued, saying, ¡°I, Lu Yin, am willing to do my best to help, but if Subzero City insists on keeping matters hidden, then this junior will leave.¡±

    The Frost Emperor smiled and replied, "It''s not that we are hiding anything, but rather that we have to admit to Alliance Leader Lu that my Royal Frost Continent is missing much of our history. There are details of our history that were never recorded down, but were instead passed down orally. Although I don''t know why this is so, that is how certain things have been passed down through the generations."

    Lu Yin grew even more curious.

    The Frost Emperor pointed at the ground. "Beneath Subzero City, at the center of the Royal Frost Continent, there is a sourcebox array, and it is a seal."

    "A sourcebox array? What is it sealing?" Lu Yin was caught by surprise, but anything to do with a sourcebox array would trigger his curiosity, as not just any Lockbreaker could arrange a sourcebox array, especially one that covered such arge area. It would take a Lockbreaker at least at the Array Master level to set up such an array. There were very few Array Masters even when looking at all of recorded history.

    The Frost Emperor shook his head and solemnly replied, "The ancestors never specifically said what the seal was for. They merely asked that, when the next generation took over the position of city lord, to swear to never abandon the Royal Frost Continent, to never open the seal, and to always protect the seal without ever allowing anyone to open it. Even if hundreds of millions of people in Subzero City die, even if the Frost Emperor''s lineage dies off, that seal can never be opened."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows climbed high. "It sounds like your ancestors were very concerned about that seal."

    The Frost Emperor simply replied, "Not just very concerned¡ªthey were more concerned about it than my own life."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Then there¡¯s nothing this junior can do. I¡¯ll take my leave."

    After speaking, Lu Yin moved to leave.

    The Frost Emperor said, "Alliance Leader Lu, I understand that not saying anything is not how one should behave when asking for help, and all I can promise you is that, if you are able to help my Royal Frost Continent, then all you need to do is send word and I, the Frost Emperor, will immediately move out to give you my aid. This includes my pce. Also-¡± The Frost Emperor grew even more serious as he spoke. ¡°I can swear to you that I have no information regarding what is beneath that seal at all. If I have misled you in any way, then I pray to suffer a life worse than death.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly stopped. "There¡¯s no need for Lord Frost Emperor to behave in this manner. I trust you."

    The Frost Emperor nodded. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, and I also offer the thanks of the hundreds of millions of people upon my Royal Frost Continent."

    After everything that the Frost Emperor had said, it was no longer easy for Lu Yin to walk away. He believed what the older man had said, as cultivators would not casually make such oaths. This was not due to any sort of superstition or belief in a deity, but rather that breaking such oaths could easily affect a cultivator¡¯s mindset. Thus, the more powerful a cultivator was, the less likely it was that they would casually make such an oath.

    Also, if what had been ced beneath the sourcebox array was truly that important, then it was no surprise that information about it had not been shared with theter generations.

    Lu Yin lowered his head; he was genuinely curious, just what had been sealed down there?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please help us contact a powerful Lockbreaker. Only Lockbreakers are able to repair this sourcebox array. The freezing cold destroying the Royal Frost Continentes from what is beneath that seal, and if the sourcebox array is fully repaired, then there will be no need for us to try to protect ourselves from this terrible cold," the Frost Emperor asked.

    Lu Yin countered, "Why ask another Lockbreaker for help? I''m also a Lockbreaker."

    The Frost Emperor smiled. "I¡¯m not looking down on Alliance Leader Lu, but it¡¯s just that you are too young."

    Lu Yin raised his gadget and essed the Lockbreaker Network. ¡°Senior Frost Emperor, this junior is a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker."

    The Frost Emperor was shocked. "Boundless Advanced?"

    He took a look at the profile page on the Lockbreaker Network and then at Lu Yin before admiringlymenting, "So you are a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker at such a young age. Even when searching across the entire universe and its countless geniuses, you can stand proud. There are not many who can aplish such a feat.¡±

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget.

    "However, a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker still won¡¯t be able to help us. We need someone who is an Array Master, and that is the minimum rank," the Frost Emperor said.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the star energy around him shifted. He then waved his hand, causing a nearby wooden slip to move away.

    The Frost Emperor was caught off guard. "A sourcebox array?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "The difference between an Array Master and an ordinary Lockbreaker is that an Array Master hasprehended the method to arrange sourcebox arrays. Since this junior hasprehended a sourcebox array, then I wonder, might I be able to help?"

    The Frost Emperor stared at Lu Yin in amazement yet again. Shao Yangxun had returned from the outside world and shared many things with the Frost Emperor, mostly about Lu Yin. The truth was that the Frost Emperor believed that Shao Yangxun¡¯s stories about Lu Yin were exaggerated. How could an Envoy be so polite to a mere Hunter? The Frost Emperor had practically begged Lu Yin for help and cast aside all of his dignity. But despite all of that, the older man was still stunned by what Lu Yin had revealed.

    This youth was far more than what Shao Yangxun had shared with the Frost Emperor.

    Although all of the Frost Emperors were born on the Royal Frost Continent, that did not mean that they remained on the Royal Frost Continent for their entire lives. They also needed to leave and gain experience about the word. The current Frost Emperor was quite well informed of the outside universe, and his knowledge allowed him to better appreciate Lu Yin''s achievements.

    The Frost Emperor could not understand how such a young man had managed to reach this level so quickly. Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, honed his fighting skills, be one of the Ten Arbiters, and even reached the peak of his generation in regards to his lockbreaking skills.

    The Frost Emperor sighed. "Alliance Leader Lu, there must be no one within your generation who can surpass you. Please follow me." He no longer refused Lu Yin''s request, as that would be too disrespectful. All that the Frost Emperor could do at this time was allow Lu Yin to try.

    Lu Yin acted modestly and followed the Frost Emperor. He was looking forward to seeing the sourcebox array.

    Every sourcebox array was uniquely different, and regardless of whether it was a matter ofprehending, arranging, or repairing a sourcebox array, all of it would help improve a Lockbreakers abilities.

    Lu Yin was confident that he could repair this sourcebox array, inrge part because he had Gu Yue¡¯s journal.

    Gu Yue had not been an ordinary Lockbreaker, and although Lu Yin was not exactly sure what level Gu Yue had reached, Lu Yin was certain that the ancient powerhouse had not merely been an Array Master.

    The foundation of Subzero City consisted of severalyers, and the lower that one descended, the warmer it became.

    Lu Yin followed the Frost Emperor about 10,000 meters down through the underground levels, and he peered through the darkness.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, we are now standing atop the seal formed by the sourcebox array," the Frost Emperor said.

    Lu Yin was surprised; they were right above the sourcebox array right now? He could not feel any danger zones from the sourceboxes. His pupils then transformed into runes as he looked down, after which his pupils instantly shrank upon seeing the boundless number of rune lines.

    His eyes quickly returned to normal, and Lu Yin squatted down to touch the ground. He looked up and stared off into the distance. "Senior, this sourcebox array is huge."

    The Frost Emperor''s eyes shed. "How big?"

    Lu Yin answered, "It spreads across the entirety of the Royal Frost Continent."

    The Frost Emperor¡¯s eyes narrowed as he slowly nodded. "What do you need in order to prepare, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Let me just try, though I likely won¡¯t be able to seed."

    The Frost Emperor softly answered, "It''s fine to at least take a look."

    He then quietly stood there and watched Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no confidence that he could repair this particr sourcebox array. The truth of the matter was that he could not even understand this array, much less determine if the cold came from the sourcebox array or if the array was attempting to seal the cold away.

    This sourcebox array was vastly beyond what Lu Yin was capable of understanding, and it was impossible to repair with his level of skills. Still, he needed to at least try, as just the attempt would likely help improve his lockbreaking skills.

    The Frost Emperor was not concerned that Lu Yin might break the seal, but still, the instructions of his ancestors made him grow increasingly cautious as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Soil covered the sourcebox array, and ordinary people would not even be able to find it. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s star energy control had entered the Worldliness realm, he could not find anything wrong with the sourcebox array. Helpless, he activated Truesight once again.

    The number of rune lines that he saw as soon as he activated Truesight were overwhelming, and the sight could easily damage Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. But fortunately, it also allowed him to pinpoint exactly where the breach in the sourcebox array was.

    Subzero City sat at the center of the Royal Frost Continent, and it did not cover the entire continent, but the sourcebox array did.

    The location of the array¡¯s leak was at the southernmost region of the Royal Frost Continent.

    Lu Yin had found the leak.

    When the Frost Emperor saw this, hope filled his eyes. Since Lu Yin was able to find the leak, then it indicated that Lu Yin had some understanding of the array. Could this young man actually fix the sourcebox array?

    Of course, Lu Yin was not able to repair the array, and he had only managed to aplish this much because of how miraculous Truesight was.

    The cold wind raged, and Lu Yin felt chilled all over. The low temperature made him feel as if his entire body was about to freeze over. If not for the barrier surrounding the city, most of the continent¡¯s residents actually would have already frozen by now.

    The chill was leaking out from the ground thousands of miles away from the city.

    Lu Yin took out Gu Yue''s journal as the pattern of the rune lines that he had just seen with Truesight appeared in his mind. Like that, he started trying to understand the sourcebox array.

    One day, two days, three days¡­

    Back in Subzero City, Ku Wei woke up. He nced around and saw Shao Yangxun and felt a bit confused. "Are we back on Zhenyu Star?"

    Shao Yangxun calmly looked back at Ku Wei. "You¡¯re on the Royal Frost Continent."

    Ku Wei blinked. "What?"

    Shao Yangxun repeated, "We¡¯re on the Royal Frost Continent."

    Ku Wei averted his eyes and rubbed the ce where his head ached. After thinking for a long while, his eyes reopened, and he red at Shao Yangxun. "I remember now! Brother Wei was frozen! Where¡¯s Seventh Bro?"

    Shao Yangxun looked away. "He''s helping our Royal Frost Continent."

    Ku Wei wondered, "Helping? Since when has Seventh Bro been a good Samaritan?"

    Shao Yangxun replied, "Just go and take a walk once you¡¯re up and moving. Just remember¡ªthis is Subzero City, so don''t cause trouble."

    "You''re the only one making trouble! Brother Wei is the kindest! I''m going to go find Seventh Bro," Ku Wei said.

    Shao Yangxun stopped Ku Wei. "Wait, His Highness will return soon. He¡¯s busy right now."

    Ku Wei stared at Shao Yangxun. "You wouldn¡¯t do anything to Seventh Bro, right? I¡¯m warning you¡ªSeventh Bro has very impressive backing. Forget you, as not even the Sword Sect or the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers can do anything to him."

    Shao Yangxun grew cold and arrogant. "If we wanted to do something to His Highness, then why would we bother keeping you alive? Do you think that you¡¯re worth more than His Highness?"

    "Yan Yan, do you have a problem?" Ku Wei gritted his teeth.

    Shao Yangxun stared back at Ku Wei. "You can''t beat me. My memory has returned, and my strength has also recovered. My power level surpasses 300,000 now."

    Ku Wei was stunned. "You have a power level over 300,000?"

    Shao Yangxun put a hand on Ku Wei''s shoulder and suddenly pushed him back. ¡°Either rest or take a walk, but don¡¯t cause any trouble.¡±

    After saying that, Shao Yangxun walked out.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1221: Repair

    <h4>Chapter 1221: Repair</h4>

    Ku Wei was frozen with shock, and he reached up to touch his shoulder. He had beenpletely unable to resist, and only now did he realize that Shao Yangxun¡¯s power level really was above 300,000. This bastard was also one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadron Captains, but he still dared to treat Ku Wei in such a manner. "I¡¯ll definitely take care of this after Seventh Bro gets back."

    He then walked out of the room, but he was only greeted by a cold wind. Shocked, Ku Wei looked up to see a white sky and a flurry of snow. ¡°What the hell?"

    To the south of Subzero City, Lu Yin had spent ten days studying the sourcebox array with the help of Gu Yue¡¯s journal. However, he had only gained a few tiny clues as to what might be wrong with the array, and all he could do at this point was give it a try.

    His observations over thest few days had revealed that there was no way for him to destroy this array given his current abilities. Thus, since he could not destroy it, he could at least make some attempts. After all, maybe he could fix it!

    Lu Yin was willing to take a risk, and he was also the type of person to immediately follow through on a decision that he had made.

    When the Frost Emperor saw Lu Yin moving closer to the weak point in the sourcebox array, he grew a bit flustered and could not stop himself from speaking up. "Alliance Leader Lu, are you confident?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Ny percent."

    The Frost Emperor let out a sigh of relief, though he was still rather worried.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He actually meant that he was 90% uncertain, but it did not matter if he failed. Regardless of what he did, he would not be able to have any negative effect on the sourcebox array.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to fly into the sky. He then looked down at the gap where whipping, howling cold wind rushed out of the seal. More than 700 stars appeared around his body as he shot down.

    The Frost Emperor grew increasingly nervous, and he stared off into the distance.

    Before long, the cold wind stopped.

    The Frost Emperor grew overjoyed; it was done! It had been the right decision to bring this kid to the Royal Frost Continent.

    However, the very next moment, the violent cold wind swept back up into the sky. Lu Yin had been frozen solid and he shot out before smashing back onto the ground off in the distance, the impact cracking the ice. "Frost Emperor, block the wind."

    Seeing that the cold wind had begun to rage once more, the Frost Emperor quickly took action. Now, the cold wind that was billowing up was much worse than before, and if it reached Subzero City, then the city¡¯s protective barrier might not be enough to stop this cold.

    The Frost Emperor angrily red at Lu Yin. "Didn''t you say that you could do it?"

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, "I didn''t say that I was 100% certain."

    The Frost Emperor was infuriated, and he wanted to teach Lu Yin a lesson.

    Lu Yin quickly said, "Senior, can you block all of this cold air?"

    The Frost Emperor stared at Lu Yin. "Are you asking me to act as a human bandage for the sourcebox array?"

    Lu Yin was helpless. "There¡¯s no other way. Senior, please block the cold for a bit, and this junior will contact an Array Master."

    The Frost Emperor felt rushed. "Then hurry up! This wind is getting colder and colder, and even if I can stop the wind, the cold will still leak out and lower the temperature until all of Subzero City has frozen over."

    Lu Yin opened his gadget, but then he suddenly remembered that he was on the Royal Frost Continent and that there was no signal he could use. In that instant, a sh of insight struck him, and he raised his head to ask the Frost Emperor, "Senior, can you open the void to make a path to zing Mist Flowzone? This junior will then be able to contact a powerful Lockbreaker."

    "The sooner the better," the Frost Emperor replied. He raised a hand, and cold air twisted at the void before tearing it open.

    "Senior, can''t you send the cold air into zing Mist Flowzone?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Frost Emperor said, "Yes, but doing so would cause countless people in that flowzone to freeze to death."

    That was not an option. "Then what about creating a pocket dimension and sending it there?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Frost Emperor angrily retorted, "Do you think that it¡¯s that easy to open a pocket dimension? Unless the person in question is an Envoy, it¡¯s very easy to suffer damage while trying to create a dimension, and it¡¯s very dangerous even for Envoys."

    Lu Yin realized that this was true after thinking about it. The pocket space that held Shenwu Continent had first been opened by Gu Yue, and onlyter were Enlighters able to tear through to ess the continent. ¡°How long?"

    The Frost Emperor gritted his teeth. "At most, one month. After that, the coldness leaking out will be enough to break through Subzero City¡¯s barrier, and all of the hundreds of millions of residents there will freeze to death."

    The crack in the void that led to zing Mist Flowzone opened the rest of the way, and the cold air was sucked into the crack. Lu Yin also managed to call Saul with his gadget.

    On Hydrotink, Saul had been in a bad mood for a while due to one reason: Geoffrey had returned.

    Saul had expected that Geoffrey would want to settle matters with Saul due to the events on Sourcepeak, but the old man had acted very happily upon returning. It was almost as though he had won a grand prize. He carried himself about in a familiar manner and spent every day drinking with Saul.

    Saul was a very serious person and also tried to always remain calm, but Geoffrey had caused Saul topletely lose his temper.

    There was a thud as Geoffrey smashed a barrel onto the ground, startling Saul.

    "Come on, Saul, drink a bucket! Be happy, hahahaha!" Geoffrey was a dry little old man with an ugly appearance and no distinguishing physical characteristics. Whether it was his speech or his demeanor, he seemed like a rascal, at least from Saul¡¯s perspective.

    "President, I don''t want to drink," Saul coldly refused.

    Geoffrey patted Saul on the shoulder, hard. "Don''t be like this, old Saul. After so many years of holding back, I''m finally free! Hahahaha."

    Saul''s forehead twitched. This old man¡¯s words could be easily misunderstood by others.

    "Don''t you want True Insight? Say it! Say it! This president will just give it to you. You never said anything for so many years, and I even thought that you wanted something else with the way that you were staring at me all the time! Sorry, hahahaha." Geoffreyughed.

    The corner of Saul''s eye twitched. "President, you''ve been drinking too much."

    At this time, Saul¡¯s gadget rang, and he looked at it in surprise. "President, Lu Yin is calling me."

    Geoffrey pointed at Saul''s gadget. "Lu Yin? Is he that powerful little kid? Why is he calling you?"

    Saul replied, "This is his territory, and technically, he owns where we¡¯re staying."

    Geoffrey lifted the barrel and took a drink. "Not bad."

    Saul no longer had any expectations for Geoffrey. He activated his gadget, and Lu Yin''s voice came through. "Saul, help me contact President Geoffrey."

    Saul froze for a moment and reflexively looked around, thinking that Lu Yin was somehow spying on him.

    Lu Yin spoke up again, "Did you hear me? I need you to help me to get in touch with President Geoffrey."

    Saul looked over at Geoffrey. "President, Alliance Leader Lu is looking for you."

    Geoffrey set the barrel of wine down and burped. His cheeks were bulging, his eyes were bloodshot, and he lookedpletely drunk. "A- A- Alliance Leader Lu? Looking for me?"

    He then howled into the gadget, "I''M GEOFFREY!"

    Back on the Royal Frost Continent, Lu Yin was left speechless, as it sounded as though President Geoffrey was right next to him. "This junior is Lu Yin. Is that Senior President Geoffrey?"

    "It''s me! Will youe drink with me?" Geoffrey shouted loudly.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Senior, this junior needs to ask for your help."

    "Help? Do we know each other?" Geoffrey asked as he grabbed the barrel again and resumed drinking.

    Lu Yin said, "This junior is being very abrupt, but this concerns the lives of hundreds of millions of people, and so, I am asking Senior to please help."

    Geoffrey lowered the barrel of wine and smashed it onto the ground. "What''s the matter? Tell me."

    Lu Yin exined, "This junior is currently on the Royal Frost Continent. There is a sourcebox array beneath the continent that is sealing something away, but a hole has formed in it, and cold air is constantly rising from that hole. If the hole can¡¯t be repaired within a month, then the sheer chill will freeze the entire Royal Frost Continent. The hundreds of millions of people living on the Royal Frost Continent will all freeze to death. I am asking Senior to help repair this sourcebox array because of the hundreds of millions of people facing a desperate situation.¡±

    Geoffrey''s eyes lit up. "A sourcebox array? Repair it? Interesting! Where?"

    "In zing Mist Flowzone, on the Royal Frost Continent," Lu Yin said.

    Geoffrey belched. "Got it. This old man will go and see your sourcebox array."

    After he spoke, there was a bang as he fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin quickly voiced his gratitude, "Thank you, Senior!"

    He spoke up twice more, but only Saul''s helpless voice came through the call. "Alliance Leader Lu, the president¡¯s drunk."

    Lu Yin did not understand. "Drunk?"

    Saul sighed. "The president is fond of drinking a very strange alcohol, and even if an Envoy drinks it, they¡¯ll still end up drunk. Additionally, they¡¯ll stay drunk for anywhere from half a month to an entire month."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Can you wake him up?"

    "Sorry, but I can''t," Saul answered helplessly.

    Lu Yin was stunned; just what was this situation?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, don''t worry. We¡¯ll work to wake up the president, and as soon as he wakes up, he¡¯ll be on his way to the Royal Frost Continent. He should arrive within the time limit," Saul tried to reassure Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained anxious. "Will the president even remember our conversation just now?"

    "Don''t worry. All of us are aware of the president¡¯s habits, so his gadget is always active and recording everything that happens around him. Since he¡¯s already promised to go to the Royal Frost Continent, he won¡¯t change his mind. Now it¡¯s just a matter of when the president wakes up," Saul exined.

    Lu Yin was speechless. How was this sort of behavior a habit? It sounded like Geoffrey had been causing trouble for a long time.

    Helpless, Lu Yin asked Saul a few more things before ending the call and falling deep into thought.

    From the distance, the Frost Emperor shouted, "How did it go?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "I reached over to someone, and the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s President Geoffrey has promised toe over."

    The Frost Emperor was thrilled. "When?"

    "Within a month," Lu Yin said.

    The Frost Emperor¡¯s eyes went wide. "What are the specific details?"

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and could only ry Saul''s words over to the Frost Emperor. The Frost Emperor nearly vomited blood. The lives of hundreds of millions of people were on the line, but their best source of help was dead drunk.

    Still, the Frost Emperor could not really me Geoffrey. He was not someone from the Royal Frost Continent, and he had no obligation to save the continent. It was already pretty good that he had promised to go.

    This was the way of the universe, and the destruction of an entire was but a transient event. After all, the deaths of hundreds of millions of creatures on such a was quite normal.

    The Frost Emperor once again became anxious. "Lord Lu, can you call another Lockbreaker?"

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "I can, but I can¡¯t make any promises. Such people might not even speak to me."

    The Frost Emperor was helpless and grew increasingly nervous.

    "Senior, this junior might have a way to extend the time limit."

    The moment Lu Yin finished speaking, the Frost Emperor instantly refused, "There¡¯s no need."

    Lu Yin blinked; the Frost Emperor clearly did not trust Lu Yin. "Senior, this junior isn¡¯t trying to repair the sourcebox array, but rather just trying to find someone to help you block the cold from reaching Subzero City."

    The Frost Emperor coldly retorted, "Can you call an Envoy? It¡¯s useless. Unless we can bring over a high temperature to neutralize the cold, this cold can¡¯t be stopped. It¡¯s even able to freeze the void, so it¡¯s not that easy to contain.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, have you heard of the ze Realm before?"

    ¡­

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1222: Temptation

    <h4>Chapter 1222: Temptation</h4>

    zing Mist Flowzone was massive. As one of the eight great flowzones, as well as the one closest to the Outerverse, a great deal of trade urred within and around zing Mist Flowzone.

    Outer space was vast and boundless. Even if the flowzone¡¯s poption wasrge, it was difficult to find a spacecraft when just looking around in space. The possibility of two spaceships crossing paths was very low, but the possibility was much higher when traveling through zing Mist Flowzone.

    On one particr day, two vessels crossed paths, and they immediately began to fight each other.

    The ship that had been attacked hade from the ze Realm.

    Within zing Mist Flowzone, almost no one dared to attack the ze Realm¡¯s vessels, but the attacking spacecraft belonged to the Gasfire Alliance.

    The battle ended quickly, and there was only one person still alive from the ze Realm vessel. He was lying on the deck, dismembered, as he stared at the dozens of cultivators from the Gasfire Alliance before him.

    "You guys, just wait! The ze Realm won¡¯t let you go!" roared the ze Realm cultivator lying on the deck. His expression was truly terrifying.

    At this moment, one man with a cruel smile approached. "Do you remember me, Big Brother?"

    The cultivator from the ze Realm looked at the man with a horrified expression. "Third brother? You- how are you still alive?"

    The man let out a darkugh as he looked down at the man from the ze Realm. "Why am I still alive? Are you surprised to see me? Yes, I survived. We promised that we would evenly divide the resources we received, but you shot and killed the other two siblings. Big Brother and Fourth Brother threw me into space, but how could a Limiteer survive in space? Luckily, I was rescued by the Gasfire Alliance."

    The man from the ze Realm stared at his oldrade in a daze, and then he smiled miserably. "I see, no wonder. Were we attacked because of you?"

    The man squatted down and stared at the ze Realm cultivator. "That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been watching you for a day or two."

    The ze Realm cultivator closed his eyes. "You can kill me, but never forget¡ªyou¡¯re also from the ze Realm, so you understand its terror. These rats from the Gasfire Alliance won¡¯t be able to hide, and even if they flee to the Outerverse, they¡¯ll never survive."

    The squatting manughed wildly and then pped the man from the ze Realm across the face, leaving a swollen, red palmprint behind. As he stared into the hate-filled eyes of the man from the ze Realm, the man from the Gasfire Alliance arrogantly dered, "It won''t be long before the ze Realm falls into chaos. Let me tell you something before I let you rest your eyes." He then paused for a moment before continuing in a lower voice, "Our Gasfire Alliance has found the entrance to the Royal Frost Continent, right next to Coo. The master of Subzero City has already died, and the entire continent doesn¡¯t even have an Enlighter anymore, so we¡¯ll conquer the Royal Frost Continent quite soon."

    The ze Realm cultivator''s eyes briefly went wide. "So what?"

    The other manughed. "So what? You may not know, but there''s a secret technique on the Royal Frost Continent."

    The wounded man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "What did you say?"

    The other man revealed a cruel smile. "There¡¯s a secret technique on the Royal Frost Continent, and the natives don''t even realize what it is. But the Gasfire Alliance realized what it was, and we¡¯ll soon be able to obtain it. Tell me, how will your ze Realm fight against us after that?

    "The ze Realm has too many enemies, and it has even be enemies with the Great Eastern Alliance that has unified the entire Outerverse. Soon, we¡¯ll ally ourselves with the Great Eastern Alliance, and with that secret technique, it will be much too easy to destroy your ze Realm."

    The ze Realm cultivator stared at the other man. "Is there really a secret technique on the Royal Frost Continent?"

    "Of course. Those native don¡¯t even realize what it is. They believe that it¡¯s nothing more than a bunch of ancient records. So tell me, do you still think that the ze Realm will avenge you? I want you to die," the man stated arrogantly.

    A strange expression appeared on the dismembered cultivator¡¯s face, and excitement zed in his eyes.

    The other man frowned. "What¡¯s with that face?"

    The wounded cultivator suddenlyughed. Although he was suffering from terrible pain and was facing death, he stillughed, and the eerie sound gave everyone chills. "The ze Realm already knows about it!"

    The other man''s expression changed greatly, and he instantly looked up and around the room. Finally, his eyes focused on a certain corner. He saw an activated gadget and fired a shot to destroy the gadget.

    The ze Realm cultivator continued tough. "It''s toote! The ze Realm already knows! So it¡¯s close to Coo? And there¡¯s even a secret technique? Third brother, you¡¯re still so stupid! You may want to kill me, but your Gasfire Alliance is already doomed! It¡¯s done for!"

    The man became so enraged that he pped the ze Realm cultivator and killed him.

    The surrounding people from the Gasfire Alliance went silent, still staring in astonishment.

    The man waved his hand and dismissed everyone.

    After everyone left, he pulled up his gadget and reported, "Got it."

    At the same time, within the ze Realm, this message was passed upyer byyer until it finally reached Leader Hong''s ear.

    Leader Hong thought that he must have heard wrong, and he stared at the middle-aged man standing in front of him in a respectful manner. This man''s name was Kun Ban, who was just an ordinary deacon elder in the ze Realm. However, he had just reported word of a secret technique to Leader Hong. This had to be a joke.

    "I¡¯ll give you one more chance. If you lie to me, you already know what will happen." Leader Hong said loudly, his voice apanied by mes that filled the sky and lit up a vast region of space.

    Kun Ban trembled and respond in terror, "Yes! I will be rewarded. The Lord of the Royal Frost Continent has died, and the Gasfire Alliance has discovered a secret technique on the Royal Frost Continent." As he spoke, he reyed the conversation recording that had been sent to him.

    Leader Hong listened to the recording. Regr logic told him that such a thing was impossible. Even if there was a secret technique, how could the people of the Royal Frost Continent not have recognized it?

    The more he thought about it, the more impossible the entire story sounded. Still, this involved a secret technique, which was too important to simply dismiss. How many people in the entire Innerverse had learned a secret technique? Not even the Daynight n possessed such a treasure. "Send someone to Coo to check into this."

    "Master, Elder Si has already sent someone, and we have someone stationed at Coo as well," Kun Ban replied.

    Soon, Kun Ban''s gadget rang. He nced at it and was filled with joy. "Reporting to Leader Hong: some remnants of the Gasfire Alliance were discovered on Coo, as well as traces of a cold air that has frozen over the nearbys. It must havee from the entrance to the Royal Frost Continent."

    Leader Hong''s eyes shed. The Royal Frost Continent was a monster that had long remained hidden within the ze Realm, and it was no weaker than the ze Realm. They had an Envoy known as the Frost Emperor, and that powerhouse had rendered the three major powers of zing Mist Flowzone powerless, as he was too difficult to deal with.

    Was there really a secret technique there? As he thought back to the various rumors that he had heard about the Royal Frost Continent, Leader Hong suddenly remembered that the previous master of the ze Realm had mentioned that the Royal Frost Continent seemed to be protecting something and that the continent had existed for an extremely long time.

    ording to the words of the previous ze Realm Master, the Royal Frost Continent might not contain a secret technique, but at the same time, the continent had always been sealed off to the outside universe. Thus, it would make sense for them to not recognize a secret technique.

    The more Leader Hong thought about the situation, the more likely he felt that the report was true. He then made a bold decision. "Summon the Heavenme Army and send them to Coo." Even if there is no secret technique in the Royal Frost Continent, it was worth taking advantage of this opportunity to eliminate the hidden danger that was the Royal Frost Continent. The ze Realm had long since wanted to destroy the continent.

    "Yes, Realm Master." Kun Ban was overjoyed, as this entire development would be credited to his subordinates, which was the only reason why he had been allowed to make a direct report to the Realm Master. If this mission was sessful, then Kun Ban¡¯s status would rise dramatically, and his future would be unlimited.

    Soon, the entrance to the Royal Frost Continent was revealed, and it was not on Coo, but rather nearby.

    Of course, this news was only revealed to the top members of the ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and the sylvan dragon n. This also allowed Leader Hong to determine the authenticity of the report. It was impossible for anyone with a lower status to learn of the entrance to the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s location.

    Cold air spread out from cracks within the void, and Coo along with the nearby region were soon all left frozen and white.

    Space began to look like a frozen gxy, and the cold spread far away.

    Outside of this frozen gxy, a vessel from the ze Realm appeared and locked down the surrounding area.

    Leader Hong himself appeared outside the frozen region, and he stared at the cracks in the void with his hands sped behind his back.

    He was a cautious man. The entrance to the Royal Frost Continent had not been discovered despite the passage of so many years. At this moment, no matter what the reason behind the Frost Emperor¡¯s death might be, and even if Leader Hong was fully confident that he would be invincible upon entering the Royal Frost Continent, he would not rush into anything.

    He thought for a moment before ordering, "Burn the continent."

    The ze Realm¡¯s forte was mes. At Leader Hong''s order, endless mes spread out, first thawing the frozen region of space before quickly incinerating the nearbys. Many of thes began to copse, including Coo.

    Fortunately, no one lived on any of theses, as they were not suitable for human life.

    The ze Realm¡¯s forces were led by Leader Hong, and there was also a group of experts that included Monster Chi, various elders, and even Kun Ban. After Leader Hong gave his orders, Kun Ban was the first to rush out, followed by the rest. More than a dozen Hunters rushed forward, quickly followed by more than a hundred other people. Cruisers and thousands of Explorers all raced forward, unleashing all kinds of me-based battle techniques as the heat spread into the cracks within the void.

    On the Royal Frost Continent, the Frost Emperor saw the mes spread across the sky. He was immediately overjoyed, and he stepped back.

    Soon, these mes rushed down and swept next to the Royal Frost Continent.

    However, the moment the mes approached the Royal Frost Continent, they were frozen solid by the sheer cold, and frozen mes fell to the ground before simply disappearing.

    The Frost Emperormented, "These mes are just not enough to suppress this cold."

    Lu Yin saw the same thing. "Don''t worry, Senior. The ze Realm has more that they can throw out."

    The Frost Emperor replied, "I know, I¡¯ve yed with them before."

    Lu Yin was surprised, as it seemed that this Frost Emperor had spent quite a long time away from the Royal Frost Continent in the past.

    The mes froze in the starry sky above the continent as they entered the pocket dimension. When the ze Realm¡¯s forces noticed this, they began to strengthen their mes. However, the moment these reinforced zes entered the Royal Frost Continent, they were also frozen, to no surprise.

    Leader Hong looked over at the elder beside him.

    This elder was known as Si Penghai. He was an Enlighter from the ze Realm with a power level of 290,000. The entire ze Realm only had three Enlighters.

    He walked out after Leader Hong¡¯s look, and the mes around Si Penghai took the form of massive strange birds that rushed towards the Royal Frost Continent. As they passed by, not only did the void warp and burn, but the mes of Kun Ban and others were also disintegrated, as Si Penghai¡¯s mes could burn other mes. This was a suppression by power.

    Everyone watched on as a ming monster raced into the Royal Frost Continent, but even that fearsome bird was frozen, and it disappeared afterpletely losing its power.

    Si Penghai''s expression instantly changed. He gritted his teeth and strengthened his mes even further before taking out an exotic treasure that caused the me monster to grow evenrger. Then, it mmed into the Royal Frost Continent again, but it was frozen once more.

    Leader Hong frowned and looked over at Monster Chi. "This is a problem."

    Monster Chi was not Si Penghai. He held a unique status within the ze Realm as he was an elder with a powerful background, and his power level also exceeded 400,000. Even Leader Hong had to show respect to such a powerhouse.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1223: Exploitation

    <h4>Chapter 1223: Exploitation</h4>

    Monster Chi sighed. "Back in my younger days, I followed my master to attack the Royal Frost Continent. My ze Realm and the Royal Frost Continent have shed several times, but not once have I ever encountered such cold air. It seems that something really has happened on the Royal Frost Continent." He then walked forward and moved past Si Penghai, stepping closer and closer to the cracks in the void until he finally arrived right next to them.

    The cracks in the void were frozen over as the Frost Emperor wanted to prevent Monster Chi or anyone else from seeing inside.

    Monster Chi stared at the crack in the void for a time. Then, mes covered the entire area and converged to form a ming giant that scorched the entire region. "Fire Spirit."

    This Fire Spirit had once fought against Lu Yin in the Outerverse, and it was now appearing once again.

    Not only was this Fire Spirit extremely hot, but it also mimicked Monster Chi¡¯s movements, which meant that it was basically the old man¡¯s avatar.

    The Fire Spirit¡¯s appearance made everyone from the ze Realm grow excited, as this was one of the ze Realm¡¯s strongest battle techniques.

    With a snort, the Fire Spirit rushed into the crack in the void.

    On the Royal Frost Continent, the Frost Emperor had changed his appearance after being persuaded by Lu Yin. His cultivation now appeared to be much lower, and he had also preemptively forced out some blood so that he could spit it out at any time.

    When the Fire Spirit raced into the pocket space containing the Royal Frost Continent, it instantly forced the cold air back.

    It was not difficult to push the cold air back; rather, the main difficulty came from how it was impossible topletely contain the cold air, which was why the Frost Emperor had been rendered helpless. Even if he isted the cold air and swept it away from the Royal Frost Continent, the chill would still slowly permeate through the entire continent.

    Even a temperature drop of a few degrees would have catastrophic consequences for the Royal Frost Continent.

    A high temperature quickly spread across the surface of the continent from the Fire Spirit, and it pushed back the cold air as it glowed red in the sky, looking like a sun on the south side of the continent. This sight quickly drew the attention of Subzero City¡¯s inhabitants, but fortunately, the Frost Emperor stopped the city¡¯s experts from moving out and investigating.

    From time to time, the roiling mes covering the Fire Spirit¡¯s body would freeze over, but those frozen mes would quickly melt once again. When the fire giant looked around, it saw the vast white world, and off in the distance, there was Subzero City.

    The Fire Spirit was about to race towards Subzero City when the Frost Emperor suddenly appeared with the appearance of an old man. He raised a hand and pped at the Fire Spirit. Countless people in the distant city watched on, and they also felt what the attack brought with it: warmth.

    For the people of Subzero City, a high temperature meant warmth, and they loved it.

    "You dare to resist? Can your Royal Frost Continent stand up to the ze Realm?" the Fire Spirit spoke with a terrifying voice.

    The little old man who was actually the Frost Emperor in disguise replied in a hoarse voice, saying, "Even if everyone on my Royal Frost Continent burns, I will never surrender!"

    As he spoke, his clothes burned away, his skin cracked from drying out, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Go to hell!"

    After that, with the assistance of the cold air, the white ice in the sky took on the shape of five interlocking rings of snowkes, and itpletely froze the Fire Spirit before shattering it.

    Lu Yin nkly stared on; that acting had been quite good.

    In Subzero City, countless people stared at the scene in shock. Although the high temperature of the mes had brought them a bit of warmth, the name "ze Realm" had also incited panic.

    People were always afraid of the unknown, and most of the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s residents had absolutely no knowledge regarding the outside world. Many even believed that they were the only people in the entire universe.

    Shao Yangxun looked to the south, and his brows furrowed. How could the ze Realm have found the Royal Frost Continent? They had attacked the continent several times in the past, and each attack had failed. So why would they try again now of all times?

    Shao Yangxun wanted to go investigate, but the city lord had just sent out a message stopping Shao Yangxun as well as all of the other powerhouses in Subzero City from doing precisely that. Just what was the city lord doing? And for that matter, what role had Lu Yin yed in the current situation?

    Ku Wei was standing just a little ways away from Shao Yangxun, and he felt rather dazed. For some reason, he had a feeling that this entire situation was rted to Seventh Bro.

    In outer space, outside the continent, Monster Chi went pale when his Fire Spirit shattered. He stared at the cracks in the void and then turned around to approach Leader Hong. "Realm Master, there is no one in the Royal Frost Continent who can resist us. The city lord who was an Envoy should truly be dead. I could not sense him anywhere, and there was only an old man whose power level was slightly more than 300,000 protecting the ce."

    Leader Hong''s eyes zed with excitement. "Did you see any secret technique there?"

    Monster Chi shook his head. "I didn''t see any such thing. What did the people from the Gasfire Alliance say about it?"

    Leader Hong replied, "They mentioned that it¡¯s in a city."

    Monster Chi said, "There really is a city. The entire continent is not that big, and our army is strong enough to sweep through the entire ce."

    Leader Hong nodded. "Look again, and scout it out a few more times."

    Monster Chi acknowledged his orders. "Understood."

    On the Royal Frost Continent, the mes swept through the air once again, but this time, Monster Chi had joined hands with the other experts from the ze Realm. Theirbined mes swept across the Royal Frost Continent, and not only did they suppress the cold, but they also brought even greater warmth to Subzero City.

    The sky itself turned red.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "This junior has some knowledge of the ze Realm¡¯s master, Leader Hong. He is a cautious man, and he will most likely observe the situation for a few more days before entering."

    The Frost Emperor responded, "If Leader Honges, then I will definitely have to stop him, and he will realize that the whole thing is a trick. This scheme is pointless."

    Lu Yin said, "Not only did this junior make sure that the information was leaked to Leader Hong, but the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire also learned of it. Leader Hong might see through the deception, what about the other two? Each of these three parties are highly suspicious of the others, and even Leader Hong can''t be absolutely certain regarding this situation. There isn¡¯t any secret technique, but the only way to be sure is to destroy the Royal Frost Continent. Senior¡¯s strength is enough to hold back the three masters, and the heat of the mes can stop the cold from spreading, which will buy some extra time for your Royal Frost Continent. Like this, we can simply wait for President Geoffrey to arrive."

    The Frost Emperor looked at Lu Yin, his eyes showing his understanding. "Alliance Leader Lu is quite shrewd. You are actually hoping to use my Royal Frost Continent to eliminate your powerful enemies."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Is Senior saying that this junior¡¯s idea is bad?"

    The Frost Emperor turned to look at the crack in the void. "Alright, it¡¯s quite good. It¡¯s enough to help my Royal Frost Continent while also helping you to eliminate your enemies."

    Lu Yin blinked. "This junior doesn''t understand."

    The Frost Emperor sighed emotionally. "The universe is ever-changing, and not everything can be perfectly predicted. Alliance Leader Lu, have you considered that this n of yours could cause me to suspect you of deliberately damaging the sourcebox array and risking the survival of my Royal Frost Continent?"

    Just as Lu Yin was about to respond, the Frost Emperor cut him off. "Of course, I don''t doubt you, as you are not capable of deliberately breaking that seal."

    "Senior is overthinking things," Lu Yin said.

    The Frost Emperor seriously answered, "But from the very beginning, you could have earned my Royal Frost Continent¡¯s friendship."

    Lu Yin looked at the Frost Emperor¡¯s back. "Using the ze Realm like this helps your continent to restrain the cold while the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n are forcing the ze Realm¡¯s hand."

    "But when those three forces enter my Royal Frost Continent, they will suffer heavy losses. I have already heard of Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s aplishments. You have unified the Outerverse, and naturally, the next step is the Innerverse. This scheme is merely to eradicate some of your enemies for you, isn''t it?" the Frost Emperor challenged.

    Lu Yin''s expression was not very good at this moment. "If you can kill two birds with one stone, then why not do so?"

    The Frost Emperor wanted to refute these words, and he wanted to im that Lu Yin had used him. However, after thinking for a moment, the Frost Emperor realized that nothing that had been said was worth refuting. From Lu Yin''s standpoint, this approach was too wonderful an opportunity, and from the Frost Emperor¡¯s standpoint, he was unable to find any alternate methods.

    "I, Lu Yin, asked a senior to reach out to President Geoffrey, and I also tried to help Senior gain some more time. This all started when Senior kidnapped this junior. If Senior thinks that I am doing something wrong, then this junior will simply leave," Lu Yin spoke coldly.

    The Frost Emperor''s expression changed, and he quickly looked back at Lu Yin with a forced smile. "I''ve been overthinking things, Alliance Leader Lu. Don''t mind my words."

    The Frost Emperor had felt upset that he had been used by Lu Yin, but after thinking things through, why should someone selflessly help his Royal Frost Continent? Since Lu Yin had helped the Frost Emperor, then there was nothing wrong with the Frost Emperor helping him in turn. This was just a matter of equivalent exchange.

    Lu Yin coldly snorted. "Senior¡¯s a bit too cold to treat those who help him in this manner."

    The Frost Emperor drily replied, "My tone just now was not very good, but don''t pay any attention to it, Alliance Leader Lu. Since this is how things are, then if you need anything, just say it, and my Royal Frost Continent and I will do what we can."

    Lu Yin pointed at the crack in the void. "I want to let the three armies enter the Royal Frost Continent so that they don¡¯t even have a chance to run away."

    The Frost Emperor''s expression immediately changed. Lu Yin was indeed using the older man to deal with zing Mist Flowzone. The Frost Emperor wanted to refuse, but upon seeing Lu Yin''s firm gaze, the older man considered how Lu Yin was the only one who could contact Geoffrey. The Frost Emperor might still need Lu Yin¡¯s help in the future, so he unwillingly responded, "I''ll try my best, but don''t hold onto too much hope. Those three forces are not easy to deal with, and there¡¯s a limit to what I can handle."

    Lu Yin had no intention of forcing things, as he was already very happy with this response. Also, the Frost Emperor was right: Lu Yin did want to make use of the Royal Frost Continent to deal with zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s major powers in one fell swoop. Even if Lu Yin forgot about his grudges with the ze Realm, he would never forget about how the Ross Empire had invaded the Great Yu Empire or about the contempt that the sylvan dragon n had shown for the Outerverse.

    There were many old grudges within zing Mist Flowzone, and even without this seething old hatred, Lu Yin would still have moved against zing Mist Flowzone eventually. After all, this was where the Great Eastern Alliance would have to start if they wanted to enter the Innerverse.

    Of course, Lu Yin had not deliberately damaged the sealing sourcebox array beneath the Royal Frost Continent as he was not cruel enough to gamble with the entire poption of the continent.

    Several days soon passed. During this time, the battles between the mes and the cold air resulted in the first sprinkling of rain that the Royal Frost Continent had seen in many years. The downpour was apanied by a bitingly cold wind, but it was still a unique experience for the many residents experiencing it for the first time.

    Although this rain was bitterly cold, it was warm to the inhabitants of Subzero City. Many of them believed that this rain had been caused by the city lord.

    Shao Yangxun stared towards the south with aplicated expression on his face. Just what were the city lord and Lu Yin doing? If an exnation was not given soon, the city¡¯s elders might end up hanging themselves out of sheer anxiety.

    Ku Wei was very rxed. His greatest pastime was going out and hitting on beautiful women. He quickly found that the women of this city did not dress overly conservatively. In fact, their fashion was a bit revealing despite the ancient and somewhat wild style to their clothing. As they moved about, he was able to catch glimpses of delicate white flesh. He loved this ce.

    "Really, Yan Yan, can you really not appreciate happiness when you¡¯re surrounded by it!? Look at how beautiful this ce is and how lively the girls are! Look at you! Give Brother Wei a wink, haha!" Ku Wei turned to smile and call out to a girl as she passed by. She smiled at his wink and quickly sped away.

    Shao Yangxun nced over at Ku Wei. "Subzero City¡¯s rules state that, if you have a physical rtionship with any of the city¡¯s women, then you must stay here forever, never allowed to go out."

    Ku Wei was stunned. "Can''t you change that?"

    Shao Yangxun turned away to stare back towards the south. "No, you¡¯ll have to stay even if you break your leg."

    Ku Wei''s mouth twitched. A girl a ways away from him looked at him yfully, but he justughed drily before quickly lowering his head. After that, he did not dare to take another look; it would be better to die than be stuck in this primitive city forever.

    A few days passed, and Monster Chi used his Fire Spirit to enter several times during these days. Each time, the Fire Spirit was destroyed by the little old man who was the Frost Emperor in disguise. The Frost Emperor¡¯s act was not seen through, and he acted weaker each time, seemingly only defeating the Fire Spirit by taking on greater and greater risks.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1224: Masters Of Blazing Mist Flowzone

    <h4>Chapter 1224: Masters Of zing Mist Flowzone</h4>

    Lu Yin watched the Frost Emperor''s performance with rapt admiration, and he was certain that Monster Chi did not suspect anything.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hunches were correct, as Monster Chi did not see any issue with the situation at all. He was fully confident that the Royal Frost Continent only had this single Enlighter protecting them and that their Envoy realm expert must have already died.

    After receiving Monster Chi''s confident report, Leader Hong finally moved out. He raised a foot to take a step forward, disappearing. When he reappeared, he was already next to the cracks in the void. When he took another step, he passed through the cracks and entered the dimension containing the Royal Frost Continent.

    When Leader Hong entered the Royal Frost Continent, the entire continent trembled. Clouds formed from mes quickly spread through the sky, melting the ice that covered the ground. The once white Royal Frost Continent quickly thawed, and fierce floods raged throughout the city.

    The Frost Emperor raised his head. "He¡¯s finally here."

    After that, his body disappeared.

    Lu Yin looked up at where Leader Hong was standing next to the spatial crack. This person was an Envoy. Lu Yin had faced them more than once before, and he had even killed one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters, though that had only been possible due to his power vessel. Despite Lu Yin¡¯s recent increase in strength, he was still helpless against an Envoy. Even Enlighters with power levels above 400,000 would find it difficult to deal with an Envoy.

    Envoys were different from all of the cultivators below them as they fought on a different level. Supposedly, they used stellr energy, not star energy.

    That was a fundamental difference in level, and Lu Yin could not yet understand the level at which Envoys stood.

    After Leader Hong appeared, his eyes immediately looked at Subzero City off in the distance. The moment Lu Yin saw the man, the Envoy felt it. As soon as Leader Hong looked at Lu Yin, the Frost Emperor appeared in front of the ze Realm¡¯s master. The Frost Emperor did not say a word, but Leader Hong was frozen for a moment as he stared at the Frost Emperor in amazement. "You- you¡¯re not dead?"

    The Frost Emperor shouted, "Of course I¡¯m not dead!¡±

    He then pped a palm out at Leader Hong. In response, his eyes opened wide as mes filled the sky and caused the Royal Frost Continent to shake.

    Lu Yin was scorched by the terrible heat, and he was forced to continuously fall back. By the time he looked back up, the two powerhouses had already vanished.

    He looked around in confusion; where had those two gone?

    This was a battle between Envoys. Yuan Shi had once mentioned to Lu Yin that fights between Envoys took ce in the true universe, which meant that the two had entered a different ne.

    In outer space, humans could only see the mostmon dimension. Different creatures could see different spectrums of light, and spatial dimensions were actually in a simr situation. Some creatures could see deeper into the various dimensions, and this was rathermon for certain creatures of the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin felt a chill spread throughout his body. At this moment, if Leader Hong attacked Lu Yin, it would be impossible for him to mount any sort of resistance at all.

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin hurriedly donned his universal armor.

    At that moment, the sky suddenly broke open, and a spatial crack spread across the entirety of the Royal Frost Continent. mes fell down from the sky like waterfalls, but they were quickly frozen by the cold air. It was a spectacr scene that made it look as if the continent was copsing.

    Countless people in Subzero City became terrified. If those scattered mes had fallen, then the entire Royal Frost Continent would have been burned.

    A streak of red appeared high in the sky, but then it disappeared.

    The Frost Emperor then reappeared. He stood high in the sky and stared at the crack in the void before slowly descending next to Lu Yin. "When will the sylvan dragons and the Ross Empire appear?"

    Lu Yin answered, "Soon."

    "Are you certain that the allure of a secret technique will not cause the entire Innerverse to attack my Royal Frost Continent?" The Frost Emperor had be anxious once again.

    Lu Yin had already answered this question before, but he calmly answered it once again, "Yes. It is truly impossible for everyone to target this ce, and not everyone would believe such a ruse either. The ze Realm only trusts this information because of their greed and where they are located.¡±

    The Frost Emperor¡¯s worries were not calmed.

    Lu Yin continued, "There¡¯s no other way. Do you want the Royal Frost Continent to freeze over and let hundreds of millions of people die? Or, do you want to take this risk? Are you willing to gamble on President Geoffrey waking up sooner than predicted?"

    The Frost Emperor felt helpless. "I hope that you¡¯re telling the truth."

    ¡­

    Leader Hong suddenly appeared in zing Mist Flowzone, just outside the crack in the void near Coo. As he did so, he nearly copsed. His face was pale, and there were traces of blood at the corners of his mouth.

    He did not allow anyone from the ze Realm to see his condition, and he immediately moved into a spacecraft.

    Monster Chi, Si Penghai, and the others all looked at Leader Hong and were shocked at what they saw. "Realm Master, what happened?"

    Leader Hong lifted his head, revealing a fierce light in his eyes. "The Frost Emperor isn¡¯t dead."

    Everyone present was stunned.

    Monster Chi could not believe the news. "How is that possible? I went in several times and found no trace of the Frost Emperor."

    Leader Hong gritted his teeth. "It was all a part of their n."

    Kun Ban was terrified of the prospect that he would be implicated by the existence of such a n. He might very well be shunned after this, so after thinking quickly, he said, "Realm Master, there¡¯s no reason for the Frost Emperor to pretend to be dead. Even if he did pretend to be dead, there¡¯s no way for me to have learned of it from the Gasfire Alliance. There¡¯s no motive behind this possibility."

    "That''s true. Realm Master, the Royal Frost Continent has been at peace with our zing Mist Flowzone for so many years, and there''s no reason for them to purposely dupe us right now," Si Penghai said.

    Leader Hong looked up. "What if they¡¯re cooperating with the Gasfire Alliance?"

    Monster Chi shook his head. "The Gasfire Alliance is made up of nothing but a bunch of trash. They don¡¯t qualify to cooperate with an Envoy."

    Leader Hong was in a rotten mood. "Let''s pull back first before surrounding this ce. I want to see what that old ghost, the Frost Emperor, wants to do."

    "Yes, Realm Master."

    Suddenly, Leader Hong stood up and stared to the east, upon which his expression drastically changed. "Sylvan dragons."

    Everyone was caught off guard, and Monster Chi frowned before quietly saying, "The sylvan dragon n is here."

    Off in the distance, hundreds ofrge sylvan dragons swam through space, headed straight for Coo.

    Many wary eyes from the ze Realm¡¯s forces watched the approaching dragons.

    The spacecraft looked rather small in front of the massive sylvan dragons, and at the front of the crowd of dragons, there was one who was several timesrger than any of the others. It was Long Yi, the Envoy realm patriarch of the sylvan dragon n.

    As Long Yi moved forward, his massive eyes swept across the area, terrifying the ze Realm¡¯s forces to the point where not a single one of them dared to make even the slightest sound.

    The Heavenme Army was the ze Realm¡¯s most elite army, but its members were still quite terrified by the sight of so many great dragons.

    "Old friend, Leader Hong, since you''re here, then why don''t youe out and greet me?" Long Yi¡¯s voice caused space itself to tremble.

    Many of the ze Realm¡¯s vessels were slightly damaged by this sentence, as they were not able to withstand the pressure of the powerful dragon.

    Leader Hong then appeared in outer space. Hisplexion had already returned to normal, and he calmly looked at the dragon patriarch. "This ce is within the territory of my ze Realm. Long Yi, what is it that you want for you to have brought out so many of your children and grandchildren? You don''t want to go to war with my ze Realm."

    Long Yi grinned. "Of course not. I just heard that the entrance to the Royal Frost Continent appeared, so I want to go and take a look."

    Leader Hong¡¯s brows rose. "The Royal Frost Continent? Who told you that?"

    Long Yi rolled his massive eyes before staring at Leader Hong once again. "Do you still want to hide it? The Royal Frost Continent is hiding a secret technique, and your ze Realm can¡¯t handle owning such a thing."

    Leader Hong frowned. "You''ve been deceived. There is no secret technique on the Frost Emperor Continent, and that old ghost Frost Emperor is still alive."

    Long Yi was surprised by this news. "The Frost Emperor is alive? Didn''t they say that he had died?"

    "You''ve been deceived," Leader Hong solemnly repeated.

    Long Yi clearly did not believe such a thing. "Even if this is a trick, we still need to go in and investigate. At the very least, we should greet the Frost Emperor. After all, he is by no means weak."

    Leader Hong stared intently at Long Yi. Leader Hong believed that this whole thing was a trick, but as Si Penghai and the others had said, what possible reason could motivate the Frost Emperor into faking his own death? There was no reason to do such a thing, and the Gasfire Alliance did not have the qualifications to ally themselves with the Royal Frost Continent. And if someone imed that the alliance was taking advantage of the Royal Frost Continent to deal with the ze Realm, no one would believe it either.

    Since there was no motive to fake the Frost Emperor¡¯s death, then it meant that the information from the Gasfire Alliance should not be fake. However, the Frost Emperor was clearly not dead, which just ced everything else in a suspicious light.

    Leader Hong was stuck. He could not understand the motivation behind this scheme, but did the secret technique really not exist?

    He could not be sure of anything right now.

    After seeing Leader Hong¡¯s reticent attitude, Long Yi became even more convinced that there was a secret technique hidden on the Royal Frost Continent. "Old friend, it seems that you really want to have the secret technique all for yourself, but don''t even think about it. Not only has my sylvan dragon ne, but that guy from the Ross Empire is also on his way, and he¡¯s bringing the top troops of his empire. You can¡¯t deal with this on your own anymore."

    Long Yi¡¯s voice fell, and Leader Hong looked in another direction. He was able to sense the approach of another powerhouse: the Ross Empire¡¯s Emperor Luo wasing.

    All the masters of zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s three top powers had appeared in the same ce, and they had also all brought their best troops. Their goal was very simple: the Royal Frost Continent.

    Regardless of whether or not Leader Hong doubted the information about the Royal Frost Continent, it was impossible for him to allow Long Yi and Emperor Luo to enter alone. What if the information was true? If there really was a secret technique hidden on the continent, then Leader Hong would be done for.

    It was better to kill an innocent than let a guilty man go free. This was Leader Hong¡¯s personality, and it was in line with that of most of the universe¡¯s powerhouses.

    No one would be willing to give up the Royal Frost Continent at this junction. If it turned out that there really was nothing hidden on the continent, then the three powers would simply join hands to eradicate a blight that had long gued them.

    Inside the spacecraft, Leader Hong, Long Yi, and Emperor Luo spoke face to face.

    Long Yi had taken on a human form, and he looked like arge, brutish man with some simrities with Leader Hong, though he was even more domineering.

    Although Leader Hong had a rough appearance, he was actually quite shrewd and calcting.

    As for Emperor Luo, his whole body was covered with metal machinery, and even his face was hidden behind a screen of reflective metal. No one knew whaty behind those metalyers, and he also spoke with a unique voice that sounded mechanical and metallic, but also a bit hoarse.

    "So, the Frost Emperor is still alive, and he fought you," Emperor Luo stated. Even his eyes were mechanical, and they scanned Leader Hong¡¯s face.

    To Leader Hong, the most ufortable part of having Emperor Luo stare at him was the overwhelming sensation of condescension that the mechanical man gave off. "Someone must be trying to plot against my ze Realm, which is why this false information was deliberately leaked."

    "It¡¯s been years since the Royal Frost Continent has gone into hiding, but this time, they tore open a hole in the void. This in and of itself is a problem," said Long Yi.

    Leader Hong looked at Long Yi and Emperor Luo. "How did you receive this news?"

    Emperor Luo was silent, but Long Yi sneered. "How could we not know that your ze Realm was making moves?"

    Leader Hong''s eyes grew sharp. "Even if you can observe our movements, there¡¯s no way for you to have heard anything about the secret technique."

    "We were told by someone in your ze Realm," Emperor Luo said.

    Leader Hong grew furious. "You nted a mole within my ze Realm?"

    Long Yi smiled oddly. "Don''t say it like that. Everyone does such things."

    Emperor Luo looked over at Long Yi. "We never nted a mole in your sylvan dragon n."

    "That¡¯s because it can¡¯t be done," Leader Hong said angrily.

    Long Yi responded arrogantly, "We¡¯re simply a different race. There¡¯s no me to be cast here."

    "Okay, so the current problem is the Frost Emperor. As long as we can discover the reason why he faked his death, the entire story will be unraveled," Emperor Luo quietly said.

    Leader Hong slowly said, "The Frost Emperor is not a good start. None of us can match up to him."

    "Then we can team up," refuted Long Yi.

    Leader Hong frowned. He no longer wanted to fight against the Frost Emperor. Fire was the antithesis of ice, but in the same sense, ice was also the antithesis of fire. This rtionship aptly described how Leader Hong¡¯s battle against the Frost Emperor had gone. The other two leaders were probably more worried about leaving Leader Hong outside on his own.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1225: Itâ€™s Worth It

    <h4>Chapter 1225: It¡¯s Worth It</h4>

    Emperor Luo¡¯s eyes swiveled over to look at Leader Hong. "Don''t worry about us. We can''t retreat at this time, so let''s just enter the Royal Frost Continent altogether."

    Leader Hong''s eyes flickered as he thought about something.

    Emperor Luo suddenly asked, "How¡¯s the Purge going?"

    Leader Hong''s tone turned gloomy. "I was thwarted by Lu Yin. Didn''t I tell you?"

    "But what happened, specifically? How did he avert the Purge?" Emperor Luo pressed.

    Leader Hong snorted and gave a brief ounting of what happened.

    Long Yi clenched a fist. "That little brat¡¯s quite powerful. Were the Sword Sect and the Lingling n really overwhelmed by him?"

    Leader Hong replied, "It¡¯s true that very few in his generation can match up to him, and my guess is that only the Neoverse¡¯s inheritors or maybe Liu Tianmu with the Thirteenth Sword have a chance of beating him. All of the others are too far behind him, and it would not be difficult for Lu Yin to drag them down one by one."

    "Is ZENITH really that important?" asked Long Yi. The sylvan dragon n had a truly embarrassing status in the Human Domain. Not only were they traitors to the Astral Beast Domain, but they were also outsiders within the Human Domain. Not having any ess to sensitive information was just the beginning of the dragons¡¯ troubles. They had intended to take refuge under the umbre of the Daynight n even if as mounts, but unfortunately for the dragons, that path had been severed by Lu Yin.

    When it came to their hatred for Lu Yin, the sylvan dragons did not fall behind the ze Realm in any way.

    The problems between the Ross Empire and the Great Yu Empire went back as far as when Lu Yin had first been admitted to Astral-10, and the grudge between the two parties had only grown since then.

    No one replied to the dragon''s question. Even Leader Hong looked down on the sylvan dragon n, and if not for the dragons¡¯ strength, Leader Hong would never have tolerated their presence in zing Mist Flowzone.

    Outside the vessel, therge sylvan dragons roared and released a strange scent.

    There were some people within the ze Realm¡¯s forces who felt contemptuous for the dragons while others were excited by the prospect of owning a sylvan dragon as a mount, which would be amazing.

    As for the army from the Ross Empire, no sound could be heard from them at all. This was a true army, unlike the ze Realm¡¯s Heavenme Army where the members were more individual cultivators than hardened soldiers.

    After half an hour, Leader Hong, Long Yi, and Emperor Luo made their way out of the spaceship and towards the spatial crack thaty near Coo. They had finally agreed to explore the Royal Frost Continent together.

    On the Royal Frost Continent, Lu Yin had be a little uneasy, so he once again asked to confirm something. "Senior, the rulers of zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s three major forces are about to attack. Can you really stop them?"

    From the very beginning, the Frost Emperor was the foundation of this n. The continent had to be able to stop zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s united forces in order to stop the various powers of the Innerverse from making moves due to rumors about a secret technique.

    Lu Yin had the means to prevent the Royal Frost Continent from being targeted over a rumored secret technique, but he had no confidence in the Frost Emperor being able to hold off three Envoys. These three had been able to maintain their positions as masters of zing Mist Flowzone, and they could not be underestimated.

    The Frost Emperor appeared calm. "Even if I can''t win, it will be fine as long as I can hold them off."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and touched his cosmic ring. He had no intention of holding back. If zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s three major forces were not weakened, then his entire n would go up in mes. At first, Lu Yin had hoped that the ze Realm would simply send in their army along with their powerhouse so that they would be destroyed all at once. Even if that did not work, at least the Frost Emperor would be able to wound Leader Hong.

    However, although Leader Hong had been defeated in thest battle, he had not been seriously injured. Lu Yin knew that he had underestimated Leader Hong¡¯s abilities and that he had simrly looked down upon the Frost Emperor. If no idents urred, then the Frost Emperor would indeed be able to hold off the three other Envoys, but the whole endeavor would be nothing more than a joke if Lu Yin failed to achieve his goal. At best, the n would help the Royal Frost Continent, but everything revolved around a key point: could the Frost Emperor really hold three Envoys back?

    Still, even if the Frost Emperor was incapable of holding the three powerhouses back, Lu Yin had some power vessels on him, and that was even without considering that Lu Yin¡¯s backing might be enough to intimidate Leader Hong and the other two into not taking any actions against Lu Yin.

    It was very important to have this kind of backing. Lu Yin had known this from the beginning, and he had always sought the support of strong organizations and powerful experts. His most effective support was Leon¡¯s Armada, as they were famous for being unreasonable.

    It was a pity that Leon¡¯s Armada also had a bad reputation and that they were always under the Hall of Honor¡¯s scrutiny. Taking revenge was fine, but there would be trouble if certain lines were crossed.

    At this moment, Lu Yin needed to find a way to preemptively weaken the three armies outside of the spatial crack. He nced up at it, set his cosmic ring aside, opened his hand and brought out his die. He wanted to give it a shot.

    The dice slowly stopped spinning and revealed four pips. Lu Yin quickly snatched up his cosmic ring as the scenery changed before his eyes to that of the Timestop Space.

    Using the die had worked out smoothly this time, and as long as Lu Yin was able to enter this space, he would feel at ease.

    He rolled the die again.

    Three pips was one of the few useable rolls within the Timestop Space, though it might take him a few attempts to make such a roll.

    Lu Yin had recently acquired a great deal of star essence, so he was really hoping to roll three pips right now.

    His only problem was that many of his items could no longer be upgraded because of their materials, such as the mechanical right arm, the one-way mirror, and the sealed cannons. Thus, there were only two items that Lu Yin was anxious about upgrading: his cosmic armor, and the poison.

    As far as items that Lu Yin could use as weapons went, both his poisons and the arrows in his possession could be upgraded, but Lu Yin did not have any skill when it came to arrows. While he also did not have any particr expertise when it came to poisons, it was versatile enough and easy to use, which made it his first choice.

    He had not upgraded his universal armor to the limit yet, mostly because he had run out of star essencest time. His current armor had been constructed from materials that came from the Technocracy, and Lu Yin believed that it should have an upgrade limit of six more times, which would allow it to stop attacks of power levels of 700,000.

    Lu Yin tapped his die, only for it tond on six pips. Useless.

    He calmly sat down and began reciting theplete Stonewall Scriptures while simultaneously increasing the gravity in here to the limit of what he could bear in order to train his body.

    Ten days quickly passed by, and he rolled the die again. One pip. Useless. Again.

    The next time he rolled the die, itnded on five pips. Still useless. Again.

    On the third try, he finally rolled three pips, and Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He had seeded.

    Lu Yin sucked in a deep breath as he stared at the two screens of light. He had not upgraded anything in a long time, and doing this once again felt a bit nostalgic and exciting.

    Items. Without upgraded items, Lu Yin would have never been able to unify the Outerverse, and he actually would have perished right after the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse.

    As he revisited this memory, Lu Yin felt that upgrading his universal armor was his foremost priority. So, he quickly set it on the upper light screen and began to frantically throw out star essence. One million. Two million. Three million. Only then did the armor fall through.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart ached at the cost. He had only spent three million star essence on a single upgrade once before. When he hadst upgraded this armor, it had cost him 1.5 million star essence, so it made sense for the eighth upgrade to cost three million.

    THREE MILLION star essence. Three million¡­ Lu Yin felt like he was about to vomit blood, as this was simply just too much.

    Lu Yin was the leader of the entire Great Eastern Alliance. In the eight years that he had held this position, he only received a bit more than thirteen million star essence, and he had just used a quarter of that amount in one go.

    Surprisingly, Lu Yin felt like he was spending funds as quickly as any one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. His expenses couldpare to those of an entire organization with countless disciples.

    Lu Yin gulped nervously as he looked at his universal armor that had just been upgraded for the eighth time before gently touching it. After the seventh upgrade, its rune lines were nearly on the same level as those of an expert with a power level of 500,000, but now, its rune lines far exceeded the previous number. This armor was now able to withstand attacks from an Envoy.

    Anything on the power level of an Envoy had to pass through a difficult barrier. Lu Yin had spent more than six million star essence for his armor to break through this barrier, and that was not even counting the effort to get his hands on the precious materials from the Technocracy. If the value of those materials were also ounted for, then this armor would cost more than ten million star essence to make. Certain things could not be bought, and the materials of Lu Yin¡¯s armor were simply not avable within the Human Domain.

    At this moment, the question before Lu Yin was whether or not he should upgrade it once more.

    Lu Yin swallowed as he stared at the universal armor before ultimately deciding to wait. He would upgrade the poison first.

    He was a little worried, as he was afraid that upgrading the poison just once would not be enough for it to be effective.

    Why was it that the further one progressed, the less they valued money? This reality caused Lu Yin to feel rather depressed.

    To Lu Yin, things like poison were quite magical, as there seemed to have no limit to how many times they could be upgraded. At the least, he had not found a limit yet.

    All of Lu Yin¡¯s poisons hade from Elder Wu, who had been an Enlighter with a gift for poisons. Elder Wu was also the only powerhouse that Lu Yin had encountered who used poisons. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Regression poison did not count, as even if it were given to Lu Yin, he would not dare to use it.

    He still had seven bottles of Elder Wu''s poison remaining. Each one had been upgraded eight times already, and their rune lines were close to matching those of an Enlighter with a power level of 400,000. Lu Yin ced one of the bottles of poison on the upper light screen and began to throw out star essence.

    He upgraded the poison three times, which ended up costing him a bit more than 1.3 million star essence, and it caused the poison¡¯s rune lines to nearly rival a power level of 500,000. The fourth upgrade would be a slow and expensive process.

    It ended up taking two million, a full two million star essence to upgrade the bottle of poison one more time. At this point, Lu Yin estimated that it¡¯s rune lines should exceed a power level of 500,000, which meant that the poison could threaten even an Envoy.

    It really was not easy to produce something so potent. Lu Yin had had to upgrade the poison twelve times and spend almost four million star essence in total for it to be able to threaten an Envoy. Although it was one-third the cost of his universal armor¡¯s upgrades, it was still an absurd cost.

    Lu Yin once more felt the pain of spending his wealth, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He had to improve, and one bottle of poison was clearly not going to be enough. After thinking about it for a moment, Lu Yin grabbed another bottle of poison.

    As he looked at his cosmic ring, Lu Yin closed his eyes. He still had more than seven million star essence left, but he had burned through nearly half of his funds in such a short amount of time to only upgrade three of his items.

    It was hard for him to calm down, but he knew there would be more money in the future. After he used his funds this time, he would be able to earn moreter. Additionally, it would not take as long as it had in the past. Lu Yin was guaranteed to earn more money in the future.

    As heforted himself, Lu Yin ced his armor on the upper light screen and started frantically throwing out star essence once again. He would not be safe with its current level of defenses.

    6.25 million. That was how much it cost to upgrade his universal armor for the ninth time. When Lu Yin looked at his cosmic ring and saw that he once again had less than a million star essence, despair almost took him. However, even though he was almost out of money, he had gained something that would protect his life, so it was absolutely worth every essence spent!!!

    Lu Yin still had more than two months of time left in the Timestop Space, so Lu Yin pulled out his fatesand and merged two more grains into it. They did not add much mass to the fatesand near his heart, and it was still not enough to conceal the ck and white fog in his heart, but he still had more fatesand grains to absorb.

    Just what was that ck and white fog? In this ce, Lu Yin could test it out safely.

    ¡­

    The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he returned to the Royal Frost Continent.

    Not even an Envoy like the Frost Emperor was able to notice that Lu Yin had just experienced several months in that moment. After all, time was an illusory thing, and it had nothing to do with one¡¯s strength.

    The only ones in the entire universe who dared to im to have a sensitivity for time were those of the Starsibyl Sect, though Lu Yin had always felt that they were just bragging.

    Still, he did not dare to enter his die¡¯s Timestop Space near anyone from the Starsibyl Sect.

    "Your breath?" Lu Yin heard the Frost Emperor''s voice as the older man looked at Lu Yin in confusion. It had just been a moment, but Lu Yin''s breath had suddenly changed dramatically in that moment. It was a weird feeling.

    Lu Yin instead asked, "Senior Frost Emperor, what will you do if the leaders of zing Mist Flowzone''s three top powers spread out? What will you do if one of them tries to keep you pinned down while the other two rush over to Subzero City?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1226: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1226: Exposed</h4>

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s question, the Frost Emperor replied, "None of them can hold me on their own. Rather, I can keep them all busy."

    "There are power vessels in this universe, and ording to this junior¡¯s understanding, the ze Realm has existed for a long time. Thus, I believe that the ze Realm, the sylvan dragon n, and the Ross Empire must each have a powerful power vessel. Is Senior still confident in dealing with those?" Lu Yin asked another question.

    The Frost Emperor went silent for a moment. "Do you have a solution?"

    Lu Yin raised his hand. "What does Senior see?"

    The Frost Emperor stared at Lu Yin''s palm, but there was nothing there¡ªno! The Envoy¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Such an arrow actually exists?"

    Lu Yin had brought out the Arrow of Valiance, which was an invisible arrow. "Senior did not see it at first, and this junior believes that Leader Hong and the others will be no different. I can lend this for Senior to use."

    Lu Yin then tossed the Arrow of Valiance over to the Frost Emperor.

    The Frost Emperor shook his head. "This invisibility only exists in certainyers of space, and as long as you look carefully, you will see it. Also, at the Envoy level, all powerhouses have developed a strong sense for danger. Thus, this arrow is not powerful enough to hurt an Envoy."

    Lu Yin then took out the bottle of poison and tossed it over to the Frost Emperor. "This bottle of poison is potent enough to even injure an Envoy. The effectiveness also depends on the person who uses it. If you use it along with the Arrow of Valiance, then while I¡¯m not sure if Senior can fight off all three opponents, it might still be worth trying, no?"

    The Frost Emperor grabbed the poison in shock and stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "Why do you have so many items that are able to injure even Envoys?"

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled up, and he said, "This junior has someone supporting me."

    The Frost Emperor believed this statement fully, and he also believed that it was more than just one person, as how could anyone have so many powerful items?

    At this moment, three figures appeared off in the distance in front of the crack in the void. The Frost Emperor turned, his eyes already sharp. "Leave my Royal Frost Continent!"

    Leader Hong and the other two looked at each other. "Let¡¯s kill this old ghost."

    After that, the sky broke open.

    Lu Yin stared in shock. The world froze over as the Frost Emperor revealed his true power. The cold that he controlled instantly froze Leader Hong¡¯s mes, and it simultaneously froze Emperor Luo as well. Then, a long spear of ice appeared in the Frost Emperor¡¯s hand and shot towards Long Yi.

    There was a bang that shook the entire Royal Frost Continent.

    A terrifying, crushing pressure fell down and enveloped the entire continent. Lu Yin was already wearing his universal armor and was therefore uninjured, but when he looked back up, the four Envoys had all disappeared.

    They were fighting in the true universe, and their battle was not something that he could watch, though he could vaguely observe their rune lines. The four were all Envoys, and thus, the number of runes that he saw stung his eyes.

    Leader Hong¡¯s presence and battle techniques raised the temperature of the Royal Frost Continent, and it just barely managed to counter the cold air that leaked from the seal.

    This had been the goal all along: to save the Royal Frost Continent with Leader Hong¡¯s mes. At this moment, they had already achieved their primary goal, so now, everything depended on how long the Frost Emperor could hold the other three off for, as he needed to stall until Geoffrey arrived.

    Lu Yin hid beneath the ice and stared up at the sky where he could vaguely see the rune lines of four people fighting.

    As Lu Yin had guessed, the trio of attackers wanted to break into Subzero City, and they made such an attempt after two days of fighting, but they were stopped by the Frost Emperor. The Frost Emperor''s cold covered toorge of an area, and his range extended across the entire Royal Frost Continent. He was truly powerful enough to threaten the three Envoys.

    The Frost Emperor deliberately slowed the battle down and dragged things out with the other three. He managed to stall them for half a month, and during this time, the sky often cracked open and leaked out some overpowering star energy that suppressed the Royal Frost Continent.

    Some distance away stood Subzero City¡¯s experts. Although none of them were Envoys, they were all Enlighters and were barely able to resist the pressure wracking the continent.

    The topography of the Royal Frost Continent hadpletely changed due to this fight.

    Leader Hong used high-temperature mes. Long Yi took advantage of his body and speed, but the most concerning one was Emperor Luo. His attacks werepletely unpredictable, and he also attacked Lu Yin a few times. It seemed as though he was testing something.

    Lu Yin started to suspect that Emperor Luo might have recognized him.

    The three Envoys could not tolerate being stalled by the Frost Emperor, and they eventually issued some orders to the outside world. After receiving the orders, Monster Chi and others raced through the cracks in the void. At the same time, the three Envoys switched things up with Leader Hong moving to upy the Frost Emperor and block him from rescuing Subzero City.

    The Frost Emperor was in no hurry. He was fully confident that Leader Hong was actually being restrained by the cold air.

    Ice covered a majority of the continent, but so did mes. The Frost Emperor took advantage of the cold air to freeze the attacks of Leader Hong and the other Envoys, so he was naturally able to extend his attacks to strike at the area of the sky with cracks in the void.

    When Monster Chi and the others first appeared, they were nearly frozen to death, and they immediately fled in terror.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin could not understand the Envoys¡¯ battle, he felt that the Frost Emperor was worthy of his title of emperor. This man was truly amazing at utilizing ice.

    There was a roar in the sky as Long Yi suddenly appeared only to disappear once again.

    Right after that, mes rained down from the sky, and it looked as thoughva was falling and trying to drown Subzero City, but the mes were quickly frozen by the terrible cold.

    Finally, Emperor Luo released dozens of energy beams that swept towards Subzero City. However, when the beams were only halfway to the city, Emperor Luo was frozen by ice and plummeted to the ground.

    One of the beams stopped just a thousand meters away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin approached and reached out to touch it. The ice cracked apart, and the remnant energy sted Lu Yin a few meters back. His hand ached so badly that he knew that if he had not had his universal armor equipped, his hand would have simply disappeared.

    An Envoy and an Enlighter truly did stand onpletely different levels.

    Emperor Luo suddenly appeared up in the sky and looked down at Lu Yin. The powerhouse had mechanical eyes, and it was impossible to know what he was looking at. Suddenly, he fired at Lu Yin, and a beam shot through the void as it raced towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and he dodged away, but he could not move faster than the beam.

    The light beam slid across Lu Yin¡¯s back and smashed him down onto the ice. It felt like his back was on fire, and he was overwhelmed by a burning pain.

    Emperor Luo was stunned. "That thing actually blocked this emperor''s attack? That is a very strange armor. Give it to me."

    As the Envoy spoke, he rushed towards Lu Yin, but the cold air froze the sky in front of him. Emperor Luo struck the ice, and he looked up into the sky where the Frost Emperor was wielding a long spear that stabbed forward. "You stay with me."

    Emperor Luo asked in a deep voice, "Who is that person?"

    The Frost Emperor did not respond. Five interlocking rings of snowkes appeared in the sky and locked down the void. The next moment, the rings disappeared, but the world froze over with Emperor Luo, Long Yi, and Leader Hong all stuck inside. Lu Yin raised his head and looked at Emperor Luo and the other two frozen people.

    ¡°Hit Leader Hong!" Lu Yin shouted loudly. As he spoke, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes. He stared intensely at Leader Hong, and for a moment, blood and tears flowed from his eyes. He was erasing as many of Leader Hong¡¯s runes as possible.

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s words, the Frost Emperor reflexively attacked Leader Hong.

    The two sides had already experienced many exchanges, and they were both clearly aware of each other''s strength. When the Frost Emperor took action, Leader Hong already had an idea of his attack¡¯s strength. He immediately moved to shatter the ice, and mes rippled out in front of him. As far as Leader Hong was concerned, his attack would be enough to stop the Frost Emperor¡¯s attack, given that the Frost Emperor also had to remain on guard against Long Yi and Emperor Luo.

    But strangely enough, Leader Hong felt that something was wrong, as his power had weakened.

    The ice spear pierced straight through the mes and stabbed into Leader Hong¡¯s shoulder. The intense cold instantly spread throughout his body from the wound.

    Leader Hong¡¯s pupils instantly dted, and he grabbed hold of the ice spear and shattered it with a crisp sound. The Frost Emperor raised his right index finger, and Leader Hong vomited blood. The cold air was rampaging throughout his body.

    The Frost Emperor had not expected his attack tond so smoothly. He then moved through the scorching mes without hesitation as he brought out the Arrow of Valiance and thrust it at Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong did not even notice the Arrow of Valiance at first, but he was an Envoy, and he had umted a tremendous amount ofbat experience over the years. So, even if he did not see the arrow, his sense of danger still reacted to it, and he quickly retreated. The Arrow of Valiance did not strike true.

    The Frost Emperor sighed. Sure enough, a sneak attack was useless. He was not able to continueunching any more attacks on Leader Hong, as Long Yi and Emperor Luo had already caught up.

    Right when Leader Hong believed the Frost Emperor''s attack was over and that the man was resetting the situation, the Arrow of Valiance suddenly disappeared only to reappear and pierce the wound where Leader Hong had just been stabbed by the Frost Emperor¡¯s spear of ice.

    Leader Hong''s pupils shrank to pinpricks; a secret technique?

    He grabbed the Arrow of Valiance and quickly pulled it out. He nced at the Frost Emperor, but the old man had had nothing to do with the arrow momentarily disappearing. Suddenly, Leader Hong¡¯s eyes shot down to where Lu Yin stood. That was the person responsible for this attack.

    Given the effect of the secret technique, Leader Hong could only think of one person, and he red angrily at that person. "Lu Yin!"

    Down on the ground, Lu Yin knew that he had been exposed, but he had already seeded.

    "You''re asking to die!" Leader Hong roared and rushed at Lu Yin. A zing sphere appeared in the sky and crashed down towards the ground. The miniature sun was hot enough to dry out the entire Royal Frost Continent.

    The Frost Emperor hurriedly attacked.

    However, the next moment, Leader Hong suddenly twitched and spat out a mouthful of ck blood. He had been poisoned. His expression darkened, and he gritted his teeth as he looked down at his wound.

    However, he had been poisoned by something that Lu Yin had upgraded to the point where its runes had exceeded a power level of 500,000¡ªhow could it be easily suppressed? Leader Hong roared in pain as his mes surged. ¡°Lu Yin, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    As he spoke, he waved a hand and sent a wave of rolling mes shooting towards Lu Yin.

    The heat of the mes instantly melted the ice covering the ground, and it evaporated shortly after. Lu Yin was struck by the mes and sent flying away. But that just caused him to cough. Although there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, he was rtively fine.

    After attacking Lu Yin, Leader Hong fell to the ground.

    "Leader Hong, be careful," Emperor Luo shouted.

    Leader Hong looked up to see the Frost Emperor high in the sky above, surrounded by five interlocking rings of snowkes. Long Yi shot through the sky to smack the Frost Emperor away with a wed hand, but it was already toote. Leader Hong was frozen through by the Frost Emperor¡¯s cold.

    Emperor Luonded next to Leader Hong and fired a beam of light to shatter the ice, causing Leader Hong to fall out. The Envoy¡¯s body had turned ck and white from the poison, and most of his organs had already stopped functioning. This was a serious injury, and it would take him a long time to recover.

    Emperor Luo turned to stare at Lu Yin off in the distance.

    Lu Yin stood back up and raised a hand. Nine lined battle force wrapped around the hand as Lu Yin released his full strength and unleashed a Vacuum Palm.

    Emperor Luo raised a hand and erected a barrier of light in front of him. The Vacuum Palm struck the barrier, causing ripples to spread across it as the massive impact forced Emperor Luo back.

    Emperor Luo was absolutely shocked; Lu Yin was just barely a Hunter, but he had managed to push him, an Envoy, back!

    In the distance, the cold continued to rage, and the Frost Emperor stabbed Emperor Luo with a spear.

    Long Yi mmed into it fiercely, and the Frost Emperor threw out the spear, swept past the sylvan dragon patriach, and pierced the crack in the void.

    At the other end of the Void Crack, Monster Chi checked the time. Leader Hong had asked the man to enter the Royal Frost Continent every other day in order to distract the Frost Emperor. Whenever it was time, Monster Chi would lead a group of experts from the ze Realm to the other side, including Si Penghai.

    The Heavenme Army once again rushed into the Royal Frost Continent, but this time, a long spear shot through the crack in the void, stabbing straight through Monster Chi and continuing on, skewering the powerhouse right behind him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1227: Geoffrey

    <h4>Chapter 1227: Geoffrey</h4>

    In an instant, everyone was skewered through, and the army was pushed back out of the spatial crack and into the regr universe by the ice spear. Finally, the spear shattered, and a cold air spread out, freezing Monster Chi along with everyone else.

    Everyone in the area from the ze Realm, including the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire, stared as Monster Chi and the other experts became ice sculptures. They looked like a work of art, but they were actually already dead.

    In the Royal Frost Continent, Leader Hong copsed to his knees as the chill continued to wreak havoc inside his body while the poison left him in agony. He stared at Lu Yin with hatred burning in his eyes.

    Long Yi was also affected by the Frost Emperor¡¯s cold, so he quickly pulled away. "Emperor Luo, let¡¯s retreat."

    Emperor Luo grabbed hold of Leader Hong and then raced towards the void crack.

    This time, the Frost Emperor did not give chase, as he had also been injured. Not a single one of the four Envoys were uninjured, but the one in the worst condition was definitely Leader Hong, who was in terrible shape.

    Lu Yin knelt down, panting heavily. He put his universal armor away and then sat down on the ground while staring up at the spatial tear. His figure was still dirty, and there was even some blood smeared on the corners of his eyes.

    The Frost Emperornded next to Lu Yin and stared at the youth in amazement. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re actually able to survive several attacks from an Envoy. That is incredibly impressive."

    Lu Yin coughed twice. "It would have been even better if Senior had been able topletely hold those three back."

    The Frost Emperor apologized. "I was also injured. As you predicted, they used a power vessel at the very beginning. If not for the fact that I was the one fighting them and that I also had a powerful item, then they might not have been stopped. Fortunately, Alliance Leader Lu didn''t suffer too badly. The thought of what could have happened greatly disturbs me."

    Lu Yin raised three fingers. "Three strikes. I endured three strikes, and Senior must remember that everything was done for your Royal Frost Continent."

    The Frost Emperor nodded. "Don¡¯t worry about such things."

    "By the way, were the other two also injured?" Lu Yin asked. At the moment, this was his greatest concern.

    The Frost Emperor replied, "Of course. Although I was also injured, their bodies have been afflicted with cold energy, and it will take them at least half a year to remove it. Also, if they don¡¯t deal with it quickly, then it will only grow worse. Holding off for a single day can dy the recovery by several months, which is something that they cannot tolerate."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. That was good¡ªno, excellent. "Why isn''t Senior going back to blocking the cold air from leaking out? Leader Hong countered the cold that had already leaked out onto the continent, but more of the cold air ising out from beneath the sourcebox array."

    The Frost Emperor simply asked, "Do you need to return to the city to recover?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    The Frost Emperor continued, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for showing such great kindness to my Royal Frost Continent. We will absolutely repay you."

    After speaking, the man leaped up and turned towards the leak in the seal to continue blocking off the cold air.

    After Leader Hong''s barrage of ming attacks, thendscape of the Royal Frost Continent had beenpletely changed, but everything was quickly re-freezing due to the cold air, and snow was once again falling from the sky.

    They had gained a month of leeway, as the battle with Leader Hong and the others had essentially reset the clock. If Geoffrey failed to arrive within a month, then Subzero City would be doomed.

    More than half a month had passed since Lu Yin had first reached out to Geoffrey, so there should be enough time.

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin opened his gadget. "Assemble the Allied Force and have them be ready to move out against the ze Realm at any given moment."

    "The ze Realm? Chesspiece Bro, the ze Realm is not some power that we can easily deal with, and that¡¯s not even considering how close they are to the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire. It¡¯s not very realistic for us to attack the ze Realm with our current strength without any support from higher powers," Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin replied, "Leader Hong has already been seriously injured, so follow my orders."

    "Leader Hong¡¯s been seriously injured? How bad?" Wang Wen was overjoyed.

    Lu Yin smiled and said. "Worse than you could ever imagine."

    "Got it." Wang Wen smiled.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, just outside the spatial tear near Coo, Emperor Luo raced out into outer space, dragging Leader Hong along with him. Emperor Luo then tossed Leader Hong into the ze Realm¡¯s battleship before racing over towards the Ross Empire¡¯s forces.

    Long Yi nced over at the ze Realm¡¯s battleship. His eyes shed for a moment, but then he flew towards the sylvan dragon n.

    Many of the ze Realm¡¯s cultivators were not even able to react when they heard Leader Hong¡¯s orders. "Return to the ze Realm."

    "Realm Master, Elder Si and the others were all frozen," someone reported.

    Leader Hong nced over to see Monster Chi, Si Penghai, and the others who had been frozen to death all floating through space. Leader Hong gritted his teeth and repeated, "Return to the ze Realm."

    "Yes, sir."

    Before long, no one could be seen anywhere near Coo, and asionally, only a bit of cold air would blow out from the spatial cracks and sweep through the nearby space.

    Inside the ze Realm¡¯s battleship, Leader Hong continued to cough up blood. He had taken a great number of antidotes before finally managing to reduce the potency of the poison, but the cold energy that had seeped into his body proved far more difficult to resolve. Given Leader Hong¡¯s current physical state, he would need at least a hundred years to resolve the cold energy.

    "It''s a pity that I didn''t bring the Karmic mes. If I had, then I wouldn¡¯t have been defeated! Lu Yin, Frost Emperor, I¡¯ll avenge this humiliation sooner orter!" As Leader Hong gritted his teeth, the cold air froze the surface of his body, and he coughed up more blood. This time, the blood froze the moment it exited his body, and it shattered on the floor.

    Elsewhere, Long Yi had returned to his form as a huge sylvan dragon as he flew through outer space. A trail of cold energy was left in his wake, and all of the other sylvan dragons kept their distance. None of them dared to draw close, as they would freeze if they even brushed by this cold energy.

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s battleship, Emperor Luo ced his body within a sealed machine, and his body was then continuously dismantled. The machine froze over from time to time, but it quickly thawed once more.

    The Frost Emperor''s strength was greater than the other three Envoysbined, and his cold energy was not something that they could easily suppress.

    "Lu Yin is actually on the Royal Frost Continent. It seems that he joined forces with them and used the rumor of a secret technique as bait to lure the three of us over after making many preparations in advance. How vicious." Emperor Luo''s voice rang out nonstop, echoing through the chamber as he analyzed various things.

    After a while, he ordered, "Release the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s location and all of the information regarding the rumors of them hiding a secret technique. If they want to y, then we¡¯ll y big."

    ¡­

    At the same moment, in the Outerverse, battleships gathered as armies amassed. Although the scale was huge, because these ns and arrangements had all been made a long time ago and everyone was already aware of their tasks, no information regarding the n was leaked.

    Wei Rong had not expected to enact this n so soon. Leader Hong had been hit hard, and a once in a lifetime opportunity was currently in front of them. However, no matter how injured an Envoy might be, they were still an Envoy, and how could such a powerhouse be easy to deal with? On top of that, the ze Realm had been around for many years, and it was impossible for them not to have some hidden cards. No one knew just how much they had hidden.

    Then, Wei Rong suddenly remembered a particr person: Smoker.

    Ever since Lu Yin had forced Tian Shao out of the Outerverse, Smoker had disappeared, which was ording to Lu Yin¡¯s n. He had specifically ordered Smoker to disappear, and Wei Rong did not know where Smoker had gone.

    As far as familiarity with the ze Realm was concerned, if Smoker imed to be second, then no one would im to be first. Not even the high-level ze Realm natives knew as much about the ze Realm as Smoker. He had tried to assassinate Leader Hong more than once, and during Lu Yin¡¯s n to stir up chaos in Daynight Flowzone, Smoker had once again attacked Leader Hong.

    Lu Yin had Smoker, Lilyrose, the Gasfire Alliance, many other hidden forces, and the entire Great Eastern Alliance supporting him. Wei Rong knew that the ze Realm was dangerous, but Lu Yin was the type of person to ensure sess whenever he attempted something.

    His actions against Daynight Flowzone were a perfect example; although most of the credit could be attributed to Leon¡¯s Armada, Lu Yin had been the driving force as well as the mastermind behind the entire scheme.

    The truth was that dealing with the ze Realm was not nearly as difficult as dealing with the Daynight n.

    Upon thinking of this, Wei Rong began looking forward to watching this next n unfold.

    Word of what had happened in zing Mist Flowzone quickly spread, but without any information regarding Leader Hong and the other two Envoys¡¯ injuries. Instead, there was only word of the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s location and its supposed secret technique, and this news stirred many of the Innerverse powers to move.

    A few days after the sensational incident in zing Mist Flowzone, Geoffrey woke up on Hydrotink in Frostwave Weave.

    The first thing that the skinny old man did upon waking up was to have a drink and force Saul to apany him.

    Saul was helpless, but he managed to show Geoffrey the conversation that he had had with Lu Yin through Geoffrey¡¯s own gadget.

    Geoffrey was confused for a few moments, and then he patted his head. "How long was I out?"

    "Almost a month," Saul said.

    Geoffrey heaved a sigh of relief. "It''s okay then. It''s not toote."

    After speaking, he got up and moved to leave, but then he suddenly remembered something and turned back around to pat Saul on the shoulder. ¡°Work hard, and you¡¯ll be the next president."

    Saul''s bones were almost shattered by the little old man.

    As Saul watched Geoffrey leave, Saul felt quite bitter. If he had known how things would turn out, he would have never tried to scheme his way into obtaining True Insight. If he had never made that attempt, then his status might have already risen to the point of receiving some pages of True Insight long ago.

    After everything that he had experienced, it could be said that Saul had let go of some of his resentment. He also knew that it would not be easy for him to be the president of the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, as it was impossible for people to forget about his previous actions.

    Of course, he still held out for another hope, which was Lu Yin.

    Upon thinking of Lu Yin, Saul grew more hopeful. He had not expected Lu Yin to be so capable as to be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker at such a young age. It was an amazing aplishment.

    In Saul¡¯s mind, there were very few Lockbreakers who could reach such a high level of skill at such a young age. Anyone with that level of aplishments who did not die prematurely was guaranteed to reach the highest levels of the Lockbreaker Society in the future, so Saul had already ced his future in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    A few dayster, on the Royal Frost Continent, Lu Yin was chatting with the Frost Emperor, as there were some questions that he wished to ask the Envoy, when Geoffrey finally arrived.

    "It''s easy to get sick if you visit such a cold ce while still drunk." Geoffrey looked at the Frost Emperor off in the distance and smiled with his hands sped behind his back.

    The Frost Emperor was overjoyed upon seeing Geoffrey¡¯s arrival. The Frost Emperor had wandered the universe before, and at that time, Geoffrey had already been a famous Lockbreaker as well as an Array Master. Seeing Geoffrey before him, the Frost Emperor hurriedly greeted the older man, "Senior Geoffrey, this junior greets you."

    Lu Yin jumped up and flew into the air. "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior."

    Geoffrey nodded. He appraised the Frost Emperor and was surprised by what he saw. "So this tiny continent in a pocket dimension has such a strong expert?"

    The Frost Emperor respectfully replied, "In front of someone like Senior, how could this junior dare to call himself strong?"

    Geoffreyughed and looked over at Lu Yin. "Little guy, although this is the first time we¡¯re actually meeting, I¡¯ve already watched a lot of your videos."

    Lu Yin responded, "This junior acted recklessly in the past, so if I did anything to upset Senior, then please forgive my actions."

    Geoffrey smiled and said, "It doesn''t matter, child. Your goals and actions are generally along the correct path, and they¡¯ve helped the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society. Honestly, Xiu Ming, Shang Yang, and I are all looking forward to your future. Your generation will eventually take control of the society."

    Lu Yin quickly and respectfully replied, "Thank you for your praise, Senior."

    Geoffrey nodded. He then looked up and nced across the entire Royal Frost Continent.

    The Frost Emperor and Lu Yin did not dare to make any sound, and they remained silently floating in the air.

    After a while, Geoffrey was startled by something. His eyes went wide, and then he suddenly disappeared.

    Not even the Frost Emperor was able to see how Geoffrey had vanished, as there was too great of a difference in their strength.

    The Frost Emperor had believed that Geoffrey was merely an excellent Lockbreaker, but this action forced him to realize that Geoffrey might actually be much stronger than what he had originally believed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1228: Progenitor Huiâ€™s Insignia

    <h4>Chapter 1228: Progenitor Hui¡¯s Insignia</h4>

    Lu Yin felt a shiver of fear run through him when he saw Geoffrey''s terrifying strength. If Geoffrey had not been trapped in the Innerverse when the Outerverse had been cut off, then the attack on Sourcepeak would have gone very differently. Anyone attempting to plot against the Lockbreaker Society would have ended up in major trouble, no matter if they were the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, or Shamrock Enterprises. No one couldpete with the power of the Lockbreaker Society.

    Geoffrey alone would have been enough to change the bnce of the entire Outerverse, and he might not even be much weaker than Yuan Shi.

    Of course, this was nothing more than Lu Yin''s spections.

    "There." The Frost Emperor found Geoffrey and tore through the void, disappearing from Lu Yin¡¯s sight.

    Lu Yin discovered that, while he could not sense any of Geoffrey''s movements, he was still able to see Geoffrey¡¯s rune lines. Although the Array Master¡¯s runes were enough to injure Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, it only took the quickest of nces to determine Geoffrey¡¯s location.

    At this moment, Geoffrey was at the north of Subzero City, and he was solemnly staring at the ground and the mountains.

    The Frost Emperor appeared first, quickly followed by Lu Yin.

    "What can you see?" Geoffrey asked.

    The Frost Emperor and Lu Yin looked around at the mountains and rivers in confusion, but they saw nothing.

    Geoffrey raised a hand, causing his star energy to form lines that moved out and cut open the rivers of ice and ground, revealing several hidden seals.

    Geoffrey¡¯s star energy was able to reach the sourcebox array, which also meant that he could slice through the entire continent.

    The Frost Emperor¡¯s heart skipped a beat at this sight, as he feared that his Royal Frost Continent would be cut apart.

    When Geoffrey stopped, the Frost Emperor and Lu Yin both looked at the ground to see a certain pattern there. It seemed to be¡­ the roots of a tree?

    Neither of the two could understand it, and they both looked at Geoffrey in confusion.

    Geoffrey''s eyes revealed someplicated emotions, and he seemed to be reminiscing about something. He solemnly said, "That¡¯s the mark of Progenitor Hui."

    These words immediately set off a storm in the minds of Lu Yin and the Frost Emperor.

    Progenitor Hui was a legend who had reached the highest cultivation peak that humans could aspire to.

    If Lu Yin had heard this name in the past, then he would have been clueless about what reaching the Progenitor realm actually meant. However, after learning what had happened to the Mountain and Seas Zone after thepetition for the Cosmic Five, his understanding of Progenitor Hui hadpletely changed.

    This man was someone able to peer through the eons for his ns.

    Progenitor Hui¡¯s actions had rippled across the long river of time, and he had included the actions of the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, and even the Neohuman Alliance into his calctions. He was someone who represented wisdom and the human civilization.

    Lu Yin had not expected to see Progenitor Hui¡¯s mark in this ce.

    The Frost Emperor was also stunned. Progenitor Hui, Progenitor Hui. Was the Royal Frost Continent left behind by Progenitor Hui?!

    Geoffrey looked at the Frost Emperor. "About this sourcebox array, is there any record about who left it?"

    The Frost Emperor shook his head and bitterly replied, "No. ording to the oral records passed down from my ancestors, this seal must never be broken. Even if everyone on the Royal Frost Continent perishes, this seal still cannot be allowed to break."

    At this moment, hearing this sentence again gave Lu Yin apletely different sensation.

    If this sealing sourcebox array had really been left behind by Progenitor Hui, and if the Progenitor had ordered that it could never be opened, then those words were absolutely true. Whatever was sealed away here might give rise to some unimaginable disaster.

    At this moment, as he stood high in the sky of the Royal Frost Continent, Lu Yin felt a bit of panic, and he was even afraid that stepping on the ground might break the seal.

    Geoffrey''s hunched back straightened out slightly. "Let''s go. This seal is just cracked, and while creating this sort of sourcebox array is beyond this old man¡¯s abilities, I¡¯m just barely able to repair it."

    The other two quickly retreated, as they did not dare to dy and risk releasing whatever had been sealed below.

    No one knew what had been sealed beneath the continent, but the unknown always induced greater fear.

    Geoffrey approached the leak in the seal, where his body disappeared. Suddenly, the ground shook.

    Lu Yin and the Frost Emperor both returned to Subzero City and waited.

    If Geoffrey was unable to fix the sourcebox array, then it would not matter if the two were with him or not.

    In fact, when Lu Yin initially learned that this array might have been left by Progenitor Hui, his first thought was to contact Highsage Grandmaster and ask the Array Grandmaster toe and repair this array. However, that would be too insulting to Geoffrey.

    Lu Yin touched his gadget. If even Geoffrey was unable to fix this array, then Lu Yin would have to immediately contact Eversky Ind.

    "Seventh Bro, you''re fine! That''s great!" Ku Wei saw Lu Yin and rushed forward while shouting.

    Lu Yin said, "It seems that your mind is fine and that you weren¡¯t frozen into stupidity."

    Ku Wei patted his chest. "Of course not! I can still serve Seventh Bro for 10,000 years."

    He was like a dog with only one master.

    While Lu Yin and the Frost Emperor had been gone, panic had struck Subzero City, especially when Leader Hong and the other two Envoys had teamed up to fight against the Frost Emperor, as their battle had caused the entire Royal Frost Continent to tremble.

    Only when the Frost Emperor returned were the people of Subzero City able to rx.

    Shao Yangxun saluted Lu Yin. "Your Highness."

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "If your name is Shao Yangxun, then you can''t call me ¡®Your Highness.¡¯ However, you can call me ¡®Your Highness¡¯ if your name is Yan Yan."

    Shao Yangxun''s emotions were immediately thrown into turmoil.

    When the Frost Emperor saw this, he said, "Alliance Leader Lu has greatly helped in saving our Royal Frost Continent. You can continue to be Yan Yan and serve the Alliance Leader Lu if you wish."

    Shao Yangxun replied in a very respectful tone, "Yes, lord."

    He then turned back to Lu Yin. "Yan Yan is guilty."

    Lu Yin was still very angry about being betrayed, but it had proven to be a blessing in disguise. Yan Yan had his own story and home, and the two of them had never been friends or very close. In reality, Yan Yan had merely been a captain of one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, which meant that he had just been a subordinate.

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin looked at the Frost Emperor. "Senior, please don''t forget what you promised me earlier."

    The Frost Emperor replied, "Don''t worry. As long as the seal is sessfully repaired, you will be given a great reward."

    Some distance away, a man looked at Lu Yin with mixed feelings. He was Che Han, and he had once been on the Top 100 Rankings, and he had even fought with Lu Yin at the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    Back then, there had not been a great difference in strength between the two, and although Lu Yin had been stronger, Che Han had still been able to see Lu Yin as a rival, unlike the present moment.

    He still owed Lu Yin a favor, as Lu Yin had allowed Che Han to pull out the Sea King¡¯s trident. But unfortunately, Che Han had not been able to seed. He had actually beenpeting in the contest to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw so that he could ask the Sea King to help for the Royal Frost Continent.

    Looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago.

    Che Han knew that his favor was no longer of any use to Lu Yin!

    Having visited the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse, Lu Yin was no longer as curious as he had been when first leaving Earth.

    Lu Yin quietly remained in the city master¡¯s mansion as he waited to see how things would work out with Geoffrey.

    A few days passed in a sh, and there were no signs of Geoffrey repairing the sourcebox array. It waspletely peaceful, as though nothing was being done.

    There were several moments when the Frost Emperor wanted to take a look out of curiosity, but he was stopped by Lu Yin.

    So, he could only force himself to be patient and wait for two more days.

    On this day, Ku Wei raised his head and gave the sky a strange look; why did it not seem to be quite as cold as before?

    Ku Wei was not the only one, as Lu Yin had also noticed the change.

    When the Frost Emperor appeared, he was ecstatic. "Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s warmer! This is not due to any mes or outside heat, but it¡¯s because the temperature of the entire continent is climbing."

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "It would seem that President Geoffrey was sessful."

    The Frost Emperor nodded. Ever since the sourcebox array had started leaking that cold air, he had been terrified that his Royal Frost Continent wouldpletely freeze over, and he had been even more worried that the seal had been permanently damaged. His ancestors¡¯ warnings were still vivid within his mind, which had made it difficult for him to calm down even when training. He had sent many people out to seek help. On the bright side, that had allowed his people to be acquainted with many powerful Lockbreakers. Shao Yangxun was a good example of this, as were Che Han and the others.

    In truth, the Frost Emperor had always known that it would be practically impossible for the people that he had sent out to find and bring back a powerful Lockbreaker. Another reason why he had sent them out was to leave behind a spark of hope for his Royal Frost Continent. After all, everyone who had been sent out had been an elite powerhouse. If not for his ancestors¡¯ orders, then the Frost Emperor would have simply migrated the entire poption of Subzero City out.

    It was also true that, if he asked for help himself, he could easily gain the help of an Array Master. After all, the Frost Emperor was a powerful Envoy. Still, that was the veryst option, and unless absolutely necessary, he would not take a single step away from the Royal Frost Continent, as his absence would mean that Subzero City might freeze over at any moment. This was why he had limited himself to remaining on the Royal Frost Continent.

    Lu Yin could also be considered to be unlucky. If he had not just happened to be passing through zing Mist Flowzone and been quite close to the Royal Frost Continent, then he would never have been caught.

    The Frost Emperor had only tried to capture Lu Yin because Shao Yangxun had told too many stories about how Lu Yin had crossed realms with his power vessels. Lu Yin¡¯s sesses and defeats were tied to his items, which made the Frost Emperor view Lu Yin in a strange light.

    Before long, Geoffrey silently appeared within the city master¡¯s mansion. The old man was even more hunched over than before, and he looked exhausted.

    The Frost Emperor asked everyone else to leave, and he looked at Geoffrey with expectation clear in his eyes.

    Geoffrey sighed emotionally. "This is indeed something worthy of being left behind by Progenitor Hui. He may have even arranged 90% of this seal himself, and the danger zones contained within this array are as vast as the sea. This thing is far more than a single sourcebox array, and it is actually several, or even dozens of sourcebox arrays superimposed on top of each other. This is something that can¡¯t be understood unless one has reached the ranks of an Array Grandmaster.¡±

    Lu Yin''s heart sank, and he took out his gadget. It seemed that Geoffrey had failed and that he had not been able topletely repair the array, so Lu Yin needed to call Eversky Ind!

    The Frost Emperor felt helpless. "Even Senior can¡¯t repair it?"

    Geoffrey sighed.

    Lu Yin turned on his gadget.

    "It¡¯s fixed," Geoffrey said.

    The Frost Emperor was taken aback.

    Lu Yin hesitated and stared at Geoffrey in confusion. "Senior, what did you say? It¡¯s fixed?"

    Geoffrey nodded and smiled, a hint of smugness clear on his thin face. "Of course it''s repaired!"

    "Didn''t you say that only an Array Grandmaster could understand anything about it?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Geoffrey raised his head high. "This old man is infinitely close to bing an Array Grandmaster."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "You were able toprehend the array?"

    "No," Geoffrey replied sinctly.

    Lu Yin choked several times and fell silent.

    The Frost Emperor asked, "Could Senior really not understand the sourcebox array? Then how did you manage to repair it?"

    Geoffrey sighed. "There was only a small leak, so it didn¡¯t matter whether or not I could understand the array."

    The Frost Emperor did not quite believe this im.

    Lu Yin did not believe it either. He did not understand how a sourcebox array could be repaired without understanding it.

    Seeing the two people¡¯s expressions, Geoffrey rolled his eyes at them. "What? If the paint peels on your spaceship, then you touch it up and fix it. Does that mean that you can rebuild the ship? The hole in the array was like the paint peeling, so I just needed to give it a touch-up. I didn¡¯t need to actually change anything at all, get it?"

    With this, the two finally understood.

    Lu Yin felt a little ashamed, as he, a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, had not even been able to fix some peeling paint.

    This also showed how broad and profound lockbreaking truly was, and how far he still had to go.

    Geoffrey had repaired the leak, so the Frost Emperor quickly brought out his best wine.

    For Geoffrey, there was nothing on the Royal Frost Continent that could even arouse his attention, so the only thing that the Frost Emperor could do was serve some wine.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1229: The Froststone And The Frostgate Army

    <h4>Chapter 1229: The Froststone And The Frostgate Army</h4>

    Wine was a perfect fit for Geoffrey¡¯s preferences, so he was delighted. "This old man has traveled across the universe and drunk countless good wines, but I¡¯ve never had this wine. Although it¡¯s not the best, it is quite unique."

    After speaking, he downed an entire bucket of the wine.

    The Frost Emperor joined Geoffrey in drinking and smiled as he responded, "My Royal Frost Continentcks many resources, and I have nothing else to offer to show my gratitude to Senior. If Senior enjoys this wine, then please allow this junior to prepare more wine for Senior."

    Geoffrey waved a hand. "How about a spacecraft worth of wine?"

    Lu Yin was stunned by what he heard. This was someone with a real talent for drinking; he used a spacecraft as a unit of measurement for alcohol! But Geoffrey seems to link everything back to spaceships, so really, how much does he like spaceships?

    The Frost Emperor held a special banquet for Geoffrey, but Geoffrey merely finished drinking half of the wine that he had been given when he received a call and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he repeatedly reminded the Frost Emperor and Lu Yin to never allow the sourcebox array to be destroyed.

    Lu Yin asked Geoffrey what was sealed away, but Geoffrey replied that he did not know. However, since it had Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol on it, then it was definitely something that could not be destroyed.

    After Geoffrey left, Lu Yin also bade the Frost Emperor goodbye and prepared to leave.

    The Frost Emperor once again apologized to Lu Yin.

    "Senior, if you had known that the seal was set up by Progenitor Hui, then I would havee even without being kidnapped," Lu Yin joked.

    The Frost Emperor said, "We never knew that Progenitor Hui was the one who left thatmand about the seal behind, and if not for Senior Geoffrey, then how could anyone have connected this small Royal Frost Continent to Progenitor Hui?"

    He then pped his hands, and Shao Yangxun stepped forward with more than ten cosmic rings.

    Lu Yin wondered, "What¡¯s this?"

    The Frost Emperor solemnly exined, "Apologizing is one thing, but Alliance Leader Lu has helped my Royal Frost Continent. As the emperor of this continent, I am naturally grateful, and so, Alliance Leader Lu, please ept this with a smile."

    Lu Yin was not polite, and he picked up a cosmic ring to check what they held, and his eyes went wide when he discovered that it was full of star essence.

    He picked up another, and another, and yet another.

    He grew incredibly excited. "All of these contain star essence?"

    Frost Emperor smiled and exined, "I heard that Alliance Leader Lu has a strong desire for star essence. This is all that my Royal Frost Continent has, but I don''t usually have any use for them. All of this is for Alliance Lord Lu, and there are more than twenty eight million star essence in those rings. I hope that Alliance Leader Lu will not criticize this gift."

    "Absolutely not, I like this very much!" Lu Yin was very excited. He had just used up more than ten million star essence, but now, he was receiving more than twenty million star essence! His money had returned, but a bit too quickly this time. In Lu Yin¡¯s opinion, this ce was just a continent, and given how barren the continent was, he would have never imagined that they would be able to gather so much star essence.

    The Frost Emperor smiled and nced over at Shao Yangxun, as Shao Yangxun had been the one to suggest giving Lu Yin this star essence.

    "This star essence is to show my Royal Frost Continent''s gratitude to Alliance Leader Lu. As for kidnapping you, I cannot apologize enough," the Frost Emperor continued.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up; was he about to get something good?

    Ku Wei grew eager and wanted to try his luck as well. In fact, he wanted to speak up and remind the Frost Emperor that he had also been kidnapped.

    The Frost Emperor solemnly took out an insted box, but as soon as the box appeared, the void in the surrounding area began to freeze over.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as even looking at this box caused him to feel cold.

    "This is a froststone that appears on my Royal Frost Continent only once after hundreds of millions of years. It can even freeze injuries, and I want to give it to Alliance Leader Lu." The Frost Emperor then handed the box over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the box. The moment he touched it, he was ovee by the cold, and his fingers froze over. He quickly used his star energy to thaw out his fingers before slowly opening the box. He felt a fierce cold energy covering the surface of the box¡¯s contents, and even his vision seemed to start freezing, so he quickly closed the box and put it in his cosmic ring.

    "Even injuries can be frozen?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The Frost Emperor exined, "A froststone is extremely cold, and it can freeze everything in the universe. In my opinion, it can even theoretically freeze time, but that is merely just my theory. It would take an infinite amount of time to form such a froststone, and although this stone cannot freeze time, it can still freeze injuries. For example, take Leader Hong. The poison that he was afflicted with could have been frozen to prevent it from aggravating him."

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised to learn that there was such an item in this world. When he heard that these stones could theoretically freeze time, even though it would take an infinite amount of time to condense such a stone, he instantly thought of his die¡¯s three pips; wasn¡¯t this just a matter of upgrading the stone? Although the star essence consumption would definitely be obscene, as long as he had enough money, the froststone could definitely be raised to its theoretical limit.

    What would it feel like to freeze time?

    "Is Senior giving this junior such a precious thing just as an apology?" Lu Yin asked.

    Frost Emperor smiled. "Of course. I apologize."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. Then this junior will take my leave."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please wait a moment." The Frost Emperor quickly stopped Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the older man in amusement. "What else do you have for me, Senior?"

    The Frost Emperor hesitated, but then he asked, "Did Alliance Leader Lu forget what was used as bait to lure Leader Hong and the others to my Royal Frost Continent?"

    Lu Yin was stunned, as he had almost forgotten about this matter. "Senior, don''t worry. This junior sent out some orders a few days ago, and the outside world should be quite lively right now."

    The Frost Emperor felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin smiled. "The Royal Frost Continent is not the only ce where a secret technique has popped up. Rather, this was merely the first ce, and it certainly won¡¯t be thest."

    The Frost Emperor understood, realizing that while rumors had already spread through the outside world about how a secret technique was hidden in the Royal Frost Continent, so too had simr rumors about many other ces spread. If information about too many secret techniques in various ces was spread, then people would consider them all to be nothing more than rumors. Also, with what the Great Eastern Alliance was capable of, none of the rumors would be obvious, and they would all seem authentic.

    This would divert the attention away from the Royal Frost Continent.

    Of course, there would still be quite arge number of people who would still target the Royal Frost Continent. However, the sourcebox array had already been repaired, so the tear in the void connecting the continent to zing Mist Flowzone would also disappear. It would soon be very difficult to find the Royal Frost Continent, and even if it was found, the Frost Emperor would still be present.

    Even Leader Hong and others had been forced to turn away in defeat. Unless someone at the level of the Sword Sect¡¯s Sect Master moved out, the Royal Frost Continent would remain unbothered.

    However, how could people at that level casually make a move? The truth would soon be revealed, whether it was the rumors spread by the Great Eastern Alliance or the attack on the Royal Frost Continent by zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s three top powers, everything woulde out. The rumored secret technique was aplete joke.

    The Frost Emperor let out a sigh of relief, as he had been the most afraid of attracting the attention of the Innerverse¡¯s top powers. However, Lu Yin¡¯s news meant that the continent should be fine.

    "Also, even if someone who can threaten the Royal Frost Continent does make a move, Senior can just call this junior, and I¡¯ll ask President Geoffrey toe speak up to prove that no one can threaten the Royal Frost Continent," Lu Yin said.

    The Frost Emperor said, "That''s wonderful. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Is there anything else, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Frost Emperor said, "We have caused enough trouble for Alliance Leader Lu, but there can be no idents where this sealing sourcebox array is concerned. So, I would like to ask Alliance Leader Lu to take care of us in the future as well, as there might be more trouble."

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "There¡¯s no need to be so polite. We¡¯ll help each other out."

    The Frost Emperor smiled. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin blinked as he looked at the Frost Emperor. "By the way, I almost forgot about something. Earlier, you mentioned something about a Frostgate Army, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about it."

    The Frost Emperor was stunned for a moment, as he could not understand why, when Lu Yin was about to leave, he would suddenly ask about the Frostgate Army. The older man replied, "The Frostgate Army is a guardian force of my Subzero City. When the city master is unavable, he will send out the Frostgate Army, which is capable of suppressing everything. My Subzero City has never suffered from war, but the Frostgate Army has always existed.¡±

    "What kind of army is it?" Lu Yin was curious.

    The Frost Emperor looked at Shao Yangxun.

    Shao Yangxun stepped forward and quietly exined, "If one bes an Enlighter, then they can willingly enter cryostasis and be ced in reserve to protect Subzero City. That is how you can join the Frostgate Army."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide and he nearly lost his voice. "All Enlighters?"

    Shao Yangxun continued, saying, "Only Enlighters can survive such a long period of cryostasis, as others can only be frozen for a thousand years at most before suffering physical damage from being frozen. After 10,000 years have passed, the members of the army can exit from cryostasis and continue their lives. This allows there to be hundreds of members of the army at any given time.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this was an absolutely amazingly strong army.

    "Thest time the Frostgate Army was sent out was when zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s powers attacked. It was simr to what we just witnessed, but the scale was muchrger at that time, and there were more than thirty casualties within the Frostgate Army. However, they defeated all three of zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s major powers," the Frost Emperor recalled.

    "In that case, how many members does the Frostgate Army currently have?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shao Yangxun replied, "Eighty six."

    Lu Yin sucked in a breath of cold air. Eighty six Enlighters! That was too ridiculous! If the Royal Frost Continent could produce such an army, then did that mean that the rest of the Innerverse powers could do the same?

    Over the course of time, the major powers of the Innerverse would produce more than 100 Enlighters. Even if only one Enlighter appeared every 1,000 years, it would still amount to more than 100 people since the ze Realm had been around for more than a million years. However, why had such a terrifying army not appeared back when Lu Yin had attacked the Daynight Flowzone? There was no way that the Royal Frost Continent couldpare to the Daynight n.

    Seemingly reading the thoughts running through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, the Frost Emperor spoke up, saying, "Only my Royal Frost Continent has something like the Frostgate Army, and the all the army members are volunteers. My Royal Frost Continent is only so big, and there is very little trade and few resources. If a person cannot support their cultivation after bing an Enlighter, then the cultivators here will either die of old age before bing an Enlighter or die upon bing an Enlighter. This is what led to the formation of the Frostgate Army. Once someone bes an Enlighter in the outside world, then they can simply roam the universe¡ªno one would willingly enter cryostasis just to join an army. An army of such powerhouses consists of strong individuals, and they will not obeymands like simple machines.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief when he heard the Frost Emperor¡¯s words. This was not too bad. After all, who would want to join an army after bing an Enlighter? Those powerhouses would generally want to roam the universe and continue rising to greater strength. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how there would be a state of regression after entering the Hunter realm. Unless a powerhouse entered cryostasis, all of them were forced to search for resources to improve their strength and fight against the decline. Cultivators trained mostly in order to live longer, so what was the point of training until bing an Enlighter only to be frozen? An Enlighter was not the same as an Explorer. After all, Explorers could be raised up and trained by the handful.

    By taking this line of thought, it seemed unlikely for the major powers of the outside universe to have an army like the Frostgate Army, but there were no absolutes in the world. Thus, Lu Yin made it a point to remember this matter.

    "Senior, if this junior encounters any difficulties and needs the help of the Frostgate Army, I wonder, can I ask Senior for help?" Lu Yin asked, eagerly looking at the Frost Emperor.

    The Frost Emperor understood why Lu Yin had suddenly asked about the Frostgate Army, and he was a little hesitant to respond.

    Lu Yin''s face fell. "If this would cause trouble for Senior, then please just forget about it."

    He then moved to leave.

    The Frost Emperor quickly spoke up, "Alliance Leader Lu is overthinking things. However, although this is a bit embarrassing, the army only listens to me, and Alliance Leader Lu would not be able tomand them as I cannot easily leave the Royal Frost Continent."

    Lu Yin pointed over at Shao Yangxun. "He¡¯s Subzero City¡¯s general, and he knows a great deal about the Frostgate Army. So if I¡¯m guessing right, then he¡¯s also able tomand the Frostgate Army."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1230: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 1230: Attack</h4>

    The Frost Emperor looked at Shao Yangxun and gave him a wink; the Frostgate Army could not be allowed to leave the Royal Frost Continent.

    Shao Yangxun was ced in a dilemma: Lu Yin was on one side and Shao Yangxun¡¯s home was on the other, which caused him to hesitate.

    The Frost Emperor''s heart sank, as Shao Yangxun¡¯s hesitation made their ploy obviously transparent.

    Lu Yin sneered. "I understand. This junior won¡¯t embarrass Senior any longer then. Farewell."

    The Frost Emperor was helpless. "Alliance Leader Lu, we can allow the Frostgate Army to help you."

    Lu Yin smiled and looked back at the Frost Emperor. "Senior, this isn¡¯t helping me, but the two of us helping each other."

    The Frost Emperor helplessly nodded.

    "Since Senior intends for us to help each other, then this junior would like to ask for the Frostgate Army¡¯s help," Lu Yin said.

    Ku Wei shot a strange look over towards Lu Yin, as this was clearly something that Lu Yin had nned ahead of time.

    The Frost Emperor was startled, as he had not expected Lu Yin to make such a request already.

    Shao Yangxun, on the other hand, was not surprised, as he knew Lu Yin.

    "What does Alliance Leader Lu wish to do?" the Frost Emperor asked.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "The ze Realm is too annoying, so I intend to clear it."

    ¡­

    On one particr day, just thirteen years after Lu Yin first started cultivating, a massive event shook both the Innerverse and Outerverse: the Astral River Ark was stolen.

    The ark connected the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and it did not belong to a single person or power. At best, it could be said to be overseen by zing Mist Flowzone.

    The Astral River Ark had originally been zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s biggest cash cow, but after the Great Eastern Alliance appeared, the ark had fallen under the joint supervision of the Great Eastern Alliance and zing Mist Flowzone. Since that time, zing Mist Flowzone had been unable to monopolize things like before when a mere Limiteer had been able to force an Explorer to kneel.

    Of course, the ze Realm was extremely dissatisfied with this situation, as they had lost a percentage of the profits that came from operating the ark, and this was one of the primary motivations behind the ze Realm¡¯s attempts to destroy the Great Eastern Alliance.

    However, on this particr day, Aden boarded the Astral River Ark and triggered a historic event.

    The cultivators stationed aboard the Astral River Ark were all wiped out, and the Great Eastern Alliance seized full control of the ark.

    Thousands of people warily stared at the surrounding army. They were a mix of cultivators from the Outerverse and Innerverse while the troops surrounding them were all from the Great Eastern Alliance. There was already blood covering the floor.

    "Everyone, there¡¯s no need to panic. We are from the Great Eastern Alliance, and we are temporarily closing the Astral River Ark. Please return to the Outerverse one by one and wait to enter the Innerverse," Aden loudly announced.

    After hearing this statement, one man within the crowd became upset. "I¡¯ve finally saved up enough money to board the Astral River Ark, and now you¡¯re forcing us to get off and go back? What are we supposed to do about our losses?"

    Aden¡¯s eyes snapped over to the man, who grew flustered by the attention.

    "I don''t intend to stop you, but am rather simply asking you to wait a bit longer before traveling to the Innerverse. For the moment, please return to the Outerverse. Thank you for your cooperation." After speaking, a tremendous pressure swept over the crowd.

    Recently, Aden had broken through to the Enlighter realm, making him the first of Lu Yin''s subordinates to reach this level. Aden had even been a Realmbreaker before bing an Enlighter.

    No one dared to offer up any sort of resistance, and Aden¡¯s pressure convinced everyone to quickly file off of the Astral River Ark.

    It did not take long for everyone to see battleships fly into the massive ark, and everyone here knew that something monumental was about to happen.

    In the crowd, a bearded man felt helpless. "I can''t even think about fishing anymore. Things are really bing troublesome nowadays."

    With that, he simply left.

    In the ze Realm, mes swept through outer space, burning the sky. There were buildings formed from mes, and they wereplete with doors, rooms, and pools that were all formed from fire.

    This was the ze Realm. It had remained at peace for countless years, as the ze Realm was always the invader. It had not suffered an invasion in countless years. In fact, thest time that the ze Realm had retreated was when the Sixth Maind had attacked the Fifth Maind. In terms of the Fifth Maind¡¯s internal conflicts, the ze Realm had never been invaded.

    The disciples of the ze Realm held an elite status within zing Mist Flowzone, and it was not easy for outsiders to enter the ze Realm.

    "Senior brother, we¡¯re lucky that we didn''t get sent to Coo, as we might not have been able toe back. Even some of the elders and other powerhouses died! I heard that there was a frightening cold air that froze everyone." Just outside the ze Realm¡¯s border, a disciple was speaking with evident fear in his voice.

    Next to the ze Realm disciple, his senior disciple sighed. "True. The Royal Frost Continent is not a ce to mess with. ording to the historical records, they once stopped an assault from the entire zing Mist Flowzone."

    "I don''t even know if that secret technique is real."

    "Of course not! I never heard of such a thing before. It¡¯s nothing but a hoax, and the Royal Frost Continent isn¡¯t the only ce where such rumors have sprung up. There are rumors about many other ces having secret techniques. Apparently, some of the rumors have reached the sylvan dragon n, and I heard that the dragon who reported the rumor was nearly beaten to death by Long Yi."

    "Regardless, the rumors are seen as true, and so more and more people have been heading towards Coo."

    "Going there¡¯s useless. Even I can''t get into the Royal Frost Continent, so those trash won''t even be able to find the door."

    "I don''t know what happened to the Realm Master, but I heard he was seriously injured."

    "Shhh! That¡¯s not something that we can even speak about."

    ¡­

    "What¡¯s that- Senior Brother, was arge fleeting back today?" The junior disciple suddenly spoke up.

    His senior disciple replied, "Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

    The junior disciple blinked and then mournfully wailed, "Enemy attack¡ª!"

    An infinite number of light beams shot out from the distance at the ze Realm. Outside their borders, many of the stationed defenders entered space for the first time. Beams of light rained down on them from battleships, and each beam had a power level of over 10,000. The defenders were unable to withstand these attacks, as there were only a few Explorers protecting the ze Realm¡¯s border.

    The entire ze Realm was shrouded in mes, but countless attacks shot forward and sted into the mes before piercing through and shooting into the ze Realm.

    Space itself seemed to shatter.

    Some distance away, Aden solemnly watched the attacks rain down from within a battleship. They had traveled a long way within the Astral River Ark and had seized the opportunity tounch a sneak attack. After all, the ze Realm possessed one-third of zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s strength.

    This was not the first time that the Great Eastern Alliance had fought with the ze Realm, as they had instigated small difficulties and dys in order to prevent the ze Realm from sending reinforcements to the Daynight Flowzone when Leon¡¯s Armada had stirred up so much trouble.

    At this moment, the Great Eastern Alliance hadunched its first ever battle on their path to truly entering the Innerverse.

    There were nearly 15,000 battleships here, and they filled the entire nearby region. The number of vessels participating in this attack essentially matched the number of ships that the Sixth Maind had sent when attacking the entire Outerverse after forcing their way through the Astral River. However, that had been before Lu Yin had even visited the Daynight Flowzone and enacted his ns there.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had long since made preparations to attack the Innerverse.

    A single round of attacks was the same as 15,000 Explorersunching all-out attacks. Not to mention the ze Realm, but not even the entire zing Mist Flowzone had that many Explorers. In fact, they had far fewer.

    The outermost mes surrounding the ze Realm were instantly destroyed, as well as many of the surroundings.

    Theses belonged to the ze Realm¡¯s cultivators, and many spacecraft and various precious materials had been stored on them.

    Countless attacks were fired without any pause, and soon, some figures appeared in space. There were more than a dozen people here, and they were all at least Explorer realm cultivators from the ze Realm. The most powerful of them was Kun Ban.

    Due to the incident with the Royal Frost Continent, Kun Ban had been punished and sent to guard the ze Realm¡¯s border. He was a powerful Hunter, and thus, he was able to ignore all of the attacks that contained the power of an Explorer. Even with a greater number of attacks, he would remain uninjured.

    "Fire!" Kun Ban fiercely yelled. Behind him, more than a dozen ze Realm cultivators unleashed their attacks at the same time. Their mes converged to form a massive fireball that shot towards the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces.

    Several figures emerged from within the Allied Forces, and they raised their hands as the fireballs approached and deflected the fireballs away.

    Kun Ban was startled. "Hunters?"

    Then, an even more shocking scene unfolded before his eyes. One after another, Hunters stepped forward from the attacking forces until a full fifty Hunters appeared. This terrified Kun Ban, and he went pale. "Why are there so many Hunters?"

    The next moment, the Hunters all attacked, overwhelming Kun Ban and the other ze Realm experts. With that, the attack was done. With the exception of a massive spatial tear in the sky, there was nothing else to be seen.

    Inside his battleship, the corners of Aden''s mouth curled up. This was the power of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s rapid response team that had been assembled from the entire Outerverse¡¯s various experts. The fifty Hunters all hailed from the seventy two weaves of the Outerverse.

    15,000 battleships made their way into the ze Realm.

    The interior of the ze Realm had fallen into chaos long ago. Under the direction of the ze Realm¡¯s powerhouses, every cultivator who had reached the Explorer realm or above rushed out, and battleships raced through outer space to confront the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces. At the same time, the mes surrounding the ze Realm suddenly changed. They formed themselves into a long whip that shed at the Allied Forces.

    Aden leaped forward and used his thunder shield along with his Thunder Mountain Breach and nine lined battle force to block the fiery whip. However, the force was so strong that his thunder shield instantly shattered while Aden was forced to spit out blood with a pale face.

    Dozens of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Hunters were stunned by this sight, and the devices that measured power levels started going off, asionally exploding. The whip attack had had a power level above 400,000, and it had actually approached the power of an Envoy.

    Aden was actually quite lucky that he had moved out when the whip had just formed, as the strength of the whip would have risen even further after another second. By then, it would have been enough to kill Aden.

    The Allied Forces had originally assumed that their attack on the ze Realm would proceed smoothly and that many of the Hunters had disregarded the Innerverse¡¯s powerful organizations. But this sight stunned all of the leaders of the Outerverse¡¯s major powers observing the battle into silence. This was not something that the Great Eastern Alliance could break through.

    This was the difference in strength.

    The Great Eastern Alliance''s low level forces far exceeded what the ze Realm could field, and they actually surpassed that of any Innerverse powers. However, as soon as one considered powerhouses in the Enlighter realm, the Outerverse would no longer beparable to the Innerverse, as they had almost no experts with power levels that amounted to hundreds of thousands.

    Inside a battleship, Wei Rong¡¯s eyes narrowed. He was personally leading this attack.

    He felt helpless when he looked out at the ming whip that could warp space and smash through the void. This was a difference in strength that he could notpensate for.

    Behind him, a woman spoke up. "This is the ze Realm¡¯s defensive measures. Out of the thousands of powers in the Outerverse, Millions City, the Neo-Vestige Sect, and the Dark Phoenix n are all capable of defending themselves against an Envoy¡¯s attack, so how could the ze Realm not have simr capabilities?"

    Wei Rong casually replied, "It''s time for you to y your part, Lilyrose."

    The woman was Lilyrose, and she had told Lu Yin about the Astral River Ark¡¯s location within zing Mist Flowzone, put Lu Yin in touch with the Gasfire Alliance, and told Wei Rong about the weakest section of the ze Realm¡¯s border. Without her, the Great Eastern Alliance would have had a much harder time of things, as the ze Realm had already been on high alert.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1231: The Battle Of The Blaze Realm

    <h4>Chapter 1231: The Battle Of The ze Realm</h4>

    As she looked out at the ming whip off in the distance, Lilyrose''s eyes flickered. "The ze Realm spent a lot to request an Array Master to set up this formation. This particr one needs many people to work together to activate this whip, and I have been one of them before."

    Wei Rong smiled. "His Highness greatly appreciates your efforts. I hope that you can bring us good news."

    Lilyrose walked out into space without another word, and she soon appeared outside the ze Realm¡¯s defensive mes in a different direction. She was not certain what to do, but the mes did not attack her and allowed her to pass through.

    The ming whip moved like a fiery snake connected to the ground. It continued to grow bigger and stronger, and its power level rose higher and higher until just ncing would cause people¡¯s scalps to go numb.

    If this whip fell on their forces, then the Great Eastern Alliance would be finished.

    Wei Rong immediately ordered a retreat, as he could not ce hisplete trust in Lilyrose.

    For as long as the ze Realm had existed in zing Mist Flowzone, it had always upied the location closest to the Outerverse and overseen the Astral River Ark. If the ze Realm could be defeated this easily, then their entire history would have been for nothing.

    Even if Leader Hong had been seriously injured, and even if their Enlighters such as Monster Chi, Si Penghai, and Huo Houye had all died in battle with their Heavenme Army had beenpletely annihted, the ze Realm still would not be easily defeated.

    At this moment, Madam Lan was still in the ze Realm. She was Leader Hong¡¯s wife, and she was an expert with a terrifying power level of 400,000.

    She was not well known, not even within the ze Realm. This was entirely because of Leader Hong''s temperament, which Madam Lan found uneptable. Since she was unable to deal with her husband, she usually chose to cultivate in seclusion. Even when the Sixth Maind had attacked, her residence had been quickly and quietly moved away without her awakening.

    She had remained in a state of cultivation for thousands of years, but at this moment, she was awakened by the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s attack.

    Aside from Madam Lan, the ze Realm had another Enlighter who had long been forgotten. His surname was Tan, and his given name had long since been forgotten. Everyone called him Elder Tan. He was incredibly timid, and he was also the youngest and weakest Enlighter within the ze Realm.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had attacked when Leader Hong was seriously injured, and Elder Tan was unable to support the ze Realm on his own. So, he had been forced to wake Madam Lan up.

    A massive mingy at the center of the ze Realm. The air, water, and everything on this was full of heat, and one had to be an Explorer at the very least to survive on the. This was the heart of the ze Realm: Red.

    Off in the distance, away from the, one could see the ze Realm¡¯s most powerful defensive measures which were even able to hold off an Envoy.

    From where she was on Red, Madam Lan frowned. She was about as old as Leader Hong, but she looked very young. She wore a sheer, translucent red dress, and long hair hung to her waist. Her feet were bare as she stepped off the and into space, her figure incredibly seductive.

    Back where he had remained behind, Elder Tan swallowed, not even daring to look up.

    To the front, there were millions of the ze Realm¡¯s disciples. Their strengths were all over the ce, and all of them were standing in or near the massive battleships unique to the ze Realm. However, there were less than ten people moving about in open space.

    Madam Lan spoke in a voice that betrayed her foul mood. "After so many years, the Outerverse dares to attack my ze Realm! What a joke."

    Elder Tan shrank down even lower, and he did not dare to speak.

    Inside the battleships, the millions of the ze Realm¡¯s disciples remained silent with grief and indignation written on all their faces. They also harbored anger and murderous intent from being provoked by mere ants. It was indeed a joke that the Outerverse had dared to attack the ze Realm. It was absolutely insulting.

    They were nothing but the Outerverse, and they were just ants.

    Even if they managed to repel the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s attack at this time, the ze Realm would still be ridiculed by the rest of the Innerverse.

    "What of the grand elder?" Madam Lan asked.

    Elder Tan replied in a quiet and terrified voice, "He¡¯s dead. First, the Sixth Maind attacked, and the grand elder sacrificed himself then." After speaking, he briefly exined how the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse.

    Madam Lan was surprised at the news. "So, when the Sixth Maind attacked, my ze Realm sacrificed a grand elder and two Enlighters?"

    "As well as hundreds of thousands of disciples," said Elder Tan.

    Madam Lan''s eyes were sharp. "What of Monster Chi and Si Penghai? How did they die?"

    Elder Tan swallowed and nced at Madam Lan''s stark white bare feet. He quickly averted his eyes to avoid being discovered. "Monster Chi and Elder Si were frozen to death by people from the Royal Frost Continent."

    Madam Lanughed. "When the ze Realm was glorious at its peak, we had two Envoys, six Enlighters, and dozens of Hunters as well as the powerful Heavenme Army. But now, almost all of them have fallen. What a terrible change of circumstances. That idiot, Leader Hong, has lost our ancestors¡¯ legacy. All is already lost."

    Elder Tan did not dare to respond or even breathe.

    Madam Lan stared off into the distance. "The Great Eastern Alliance is an alliance created by a mere child, but it was actually able to force me into activating the ze Realm¡¯s defenses. Do you have any idea how much it costs to activate such arge formation?"

    Elder Tan bitterly replied, "Madam, the Great Eastern Alliance is not simple. The Realm Master once said that Lu Yin was the mastermind behind the matter with the Royal Frost Continent, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. He caused us to suffer heavy losses from that incident, and he even stopped the Purge. This child forced one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers to retreat, and he has incredible people supporting him."

    Madam Lan shouted back, "So what? Are there any Envoys among the attackers right now?"

    "No, no."

    "If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll activate the formation and go out to confront this so-called ¡®Great Eastern Alliance¡¯ for a bit," Madam Lan coldly stated.

    Elder Tan quickly acknowledged her orders.

    Suddenly, off in the distance, the massive me whip suddenly shrank, and the mes defending the ze Realm instantly weakened.

    Madam Lan''s expression changed; something had just happened to the formation, and upon realizing this, she moved out and raced out of the ze Realm.

    A roar exploded from within the ming formation. Each roar shattered the void, causing it to twist and shatter. This was the strength of an Enlighter.

    Lilyrose retreated some distance away and stared back in awe. She had not expected that thing to be so powerful. It had clearly just been a piece of paper, but it had actually unleashed a power level equal to an Enlighter, killing all of the ze Realm¡¯s cultivators who had been operating the formation.

    She had only used five pieces of paper, but that meant that it was at the same level as five full powered attacks from an Enlighter. How could the ze Realm cultivators stop such an attack?

    It was no wonder why Wei Rong had looked so cautious when handing the pieces of paper over to her.

    Lilyrose gritted her teeth and continued on into the ze Realm.

    Right after Lilyrose left, Madam Lan appeared and waved a hand to disperse the aftermath of the explosions. The me whip gradually disappeared, and the ze Realm¡¯s defensive formation proved uncooperative as it continuously grew weaker.

    Madam Lan frowned. Not just any cultivator could operate a formation like this, as the formation required months and years of training and cooperation. There were no recements who could operate the formation in a short amount of time.

    Still, it did not matter, as she was about to stop the formation.

    In the distance, countless attacks came from warships.

    Madam Lan snorted coldly and raised her hands up high. Then, a hot light illuminated the entire nearby region of space as it took on the form of a ball of fire that radiated a scorching heat that continued to grow hotter and hotter. This battle technique was known as zing Sun, which was once been used by Asharom, who had once held a ce on the ze Rankings.

    Madam Lan¡¯s power level of about 400,000 was all pushed into the fireball, which was then flung towards the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces. She wanted to burn their entire army to cinders until nothing remained.

    The appearance of the zing Sun caused Wei Rong''s face to turn pale. He realized that there were still amazing powerhouses in the ze Realm and that it truly deserved its ce as one of the Innerverse¡¯s major powers.

    The ze Realm only represented a third of zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s strength, and the flowzone was actually the weakest out of all the eight great flowzones. Wei Rong could not even imagine how strong the Sword Sect and the Daynight n had to be.

    Fortunately, Leon¡¯s Armada had moved to stop the Daynight n from moving out when Lu Yin had made his move against Daynight Flowzone. Otherwise, any one of the n¡¯s powerhouses would have been able to easily wipe out the entire Great Eastern Alliance.

    "That''s zing Sun, one of the ze Realm¡¯s inherited battle techniques. If possible, we should keep all of their battle techniques intact." A voice spoke up from behind Wei Rong.

    Hearing this voice, Wei Rong grew respectful and turned around. "Your Highness, you¡¯re here."

    Lu Yin was the one who had spoken up as he was naturally the only one qualified tomand the attack against the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin would not underestimate the ze Realm. After all, it was an established power of the Innerverse. If the ze Realm was still at its peak, then Lu Yin would not dare to make a move against them even after gathering the full strength of the entire Outerverse. However, he had seen an opportunity, and even if it was a small chance of sess, he would still make a move.

    In the end, if things did not work out, then there was still Leon¡¯s Armada, which was powerful enough to even stand up to the Daynight n. If not for Lu Yin being worried about owing too great a debt to Leon¡¯s Armada and the fact that pirates had a rather bad reputation, then Lu Yin would have definitely asked for their help.

    Leon¡¯s Armada was made up of seven regiments, and any one of them would be enough to deal with the ze Realm on their own.

    "Your Highness, how should we deal with that zing Sun?" Wei Rong asked.

    In the distance, space was being warped by the massive fireball that was drawing closer to the Allied Forces, and the people within the battleships were growing terrified.

    Lu Yin smiled gently. "We can''t deal with the ze Realm with just our own strength, so it''s time for some others to take action."

    As he spoke, the starry sky grew white. This whiteness was caused by ayer of ice that had appeared in space, and it continued to spread out as an overpowering cold wind blew through the area. The cold energy then formed into five interlocking rings of snowkes that swept towards Madam Lan.

    Madam Lan was stunned¡ªthe Royal Frost Continent?

    ¡­

    Right when the Great Eastern Alliance attacked the ze Realm, there had also been a discussion urring within the Hall of Honor. Naturally, the topic was about the Great Eastern Alliance''s attack on the ze Realm.

    "With the Sixth Maind about to upy the Outerverse, the ze Realm will be the gateway that defends the Innerverse. It can suffer no losses. The Great Eastern Alliance must be stopped."

    "Yes. If the ze Realm is defeated, then the bnce of zing Mist Flowzone will be destroyed, and more importantly, Lu Yin''s desire to expand is too strong. He must be suppressed."

    "We cannot be toox with this child."

    ¡­

    However, these words were only the opinions of a few people, as most of those present supported Lu Yin''s attack on the ze Realm. This was not because of any particr opinion concerning the ze Realm, but rather because these people did not dare to offend Lu Yin.

    Who stood behind Lu Yin? Yuan Shi. Although he kept to himself at almost all times and did not abuse his influence over his old disciples, his mere existence served as a powerful deterrent. Almost none of these people present were qualified to criticize those who Yuan Shi valued.

    Who else was behind Lu Yin? Eversky Ind, which was a bunch of lunatics who would do anything.

    What else? Lu Yin was a part of the Lockbreaker Society and had be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, which gave him an exceptional status within the society. Although the ze Realm also had their own Advanced Lockbreakers, their status could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s within the Society.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1232: Lu Yin And Leader Hong

    <h4>Chapter 1232: Lu Yin And Leader Hong</h4>

    Was there more? Did the Chief Justice count? Apparently, it did not matter that Lu Yin cultivated death energy. Finally, what about Arch-Elder Zen? He was the head of the Hall of Honor, and yet the old man had stepped out for Lu Yin. Countless people in the Hall of Honor were able to read the signs; Arch-Elder Zen favored Lu Yin.

    Arch-Elder Zen was the true master of the Hall of Honor, and he favored Lu Yin. Thus, what more needed to be said?

    Those who wanted to stop the Great Eastern Alliance from attacking the ze Realm went silent one by one. They had been given a warning, and their expressions grew ugly. They were all on good terms with the ze Realm.

    Lu Yin had attacked the ze Realm, but no one in the Hall of Honor dared to interfere.

    The ze Realm¡¯s final hope was the other Innerverse powers. The mere existence of the Great Eastern Alliance had caused the entire Innerverse to suffer terrible losses, and thus, it made sense that the Innerverse¡¯s top powers would not stand by and watch the Great Eastern Alliance attack the ze Realm and allow the Outerverse to gain a foothold in zing Mist Flowzone.

    However, in truth, the top Innerverse powers did not actually care. Lu Yin¡¯s threat from when he had visited the Sword Sect was still fresh in their ears, and they did not dare to make any rash moves before ZENITH concluded.

    Suspicion and jealousy made it so that no one moved to reinforce the ze Realm. The closest allies, the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire, were both stopped by Leon''s Armada. The pirates would not take action, but they also would not allow anyone to send out support.

    This was Lu Yin''s final y. Regardless of if it was the sylvan dragon n, the Ross Empire, or even the Sword Sect, the Wen family, or any of the other top Innerverse powers, any and all support would be blocked by Leon''s Armada.

    ¡­

    The eighty six members of the Frostgate Army were all Enlighters who had woken up from cryostasis. The power of this army had already caused zing Mist Flowzone to suffer heavy casualties in the past. Even at their peak, when the ze Realm had teamed up with the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n, they had still failed to defeat the Royal Frost Continent. At this moment, the ze Realm was facing the Frostgate Army all by themselves, and no matter how powerful Madam Lan might be, it would be difficult for her to win when pitted against the entire Frostgate Army. After all, there were experts in the army with power levels above 300,000.

    Suddenly, the Skyze Stone flew through space and towards the zing fireball.

    The scorching temperature of the fireball roasted everything in the area, and the temperature continued to rise higher and higher. Just when Madam Lan wondered why the Frostgate Army had not frozen her fireball, she noticed that the ze was shrinking.

    She stared in disbelief, as her zing fireball was actually shrinking until it finally simply disappeared. All that remained where the fireball had once zed was a small, red stone. Her attack had been absorbed by that stone.

    Madam Lan immediately moved out, intending to seize the stone that had managed to absorb her attack. Such a thing was too suited for her ze Realm.

    However, the Frostgate Army would not let her move about as she wished.

    Madam Lan took out a power vessel, and without fully understanding what had happened, she managed to move past the Frostgate Army and approach the Skyze Stone with a single step as she stretched out her hand to grab it.

    However, just as she was about to grab the Skyze Stone, the red stone simply disappeared.

    She was stunned, and her eyes swept the area until she found a red dot, which was the Skyze Stone. When she found it, the Skyze Stone was being held by a young man who looked back at her with a smile.

    Madam Lan stared at the young man, and her eyes narrowed. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "Madam Lan, why is Leader Hong treating you like this? Why would he sacrifice you for the ze Realm?"

    Madam Lan sneered. "Some mere child wants to convince me to surrender!"

    After that, she pped out a palm, and formless mes roared out to cover the entire Allied Forces.

    This was the ze Realm''s battle technique: Cotton Palm. Long ago, Arikar had adapted the Cotton Palm to create his Endless Darkgold Palm by utilizing his innate gift of dark gold.

    But before the attack could even reach Lu Yin, it was stopped by a lone figure: Shao Yangxun.

    Shao Yangxun looked up, revealing that one of his pupils had turned blue while the other had turned red. "Iceburst mes."

    After that, blue ice wrapped with a trace of me burst forth, flying towards Madam Lan.

    Her pupils shrank sharply, and her back went cold. This person''s battle techniques gave her a feeling that a crisis was headed her way; this man¡¯s power level was absolutely not weak. He actually almost her equal in terms of power.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that Yan Yan had recovered to the point where his power level was almost 400,000 again. He was worthy of his position as the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s general and the Frostgate Army¡¯s Commander.

    Standing in space and facing the strange burning ice, Madam Lan gritted her teeth and took out a ball from her cosmic ring. A bit of mes could be seen within the ball, but Madam Lan suddenly looked sad. "Master, your disciple is ipetent, and the items that you left for this disciple were only meant to save my life. This is thest one, and today, your disciple will use it."

    Her eyes grew firm as she spoke these words before lifting a hand to throw the ball at the burning ice.

    However, the next instant, the ball simply disappeared.

    Madam Lan was stunned and then turned to stare at Lu Yin. He had used a secret technique.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin opened his hand to look at the ball that he now held. He saw an impressive number of rune lines from it, and they approached a power level of 500,000. This ball contained the strength of the predecessors, and it was simr to the power vessels that Yuan Shi had once given Lu Yin like the pearl bracelet and the walnut-looking power vessels.

    "Give it back to me!" Madam Lan shouted fiercely,pletely ignoring the burning ice approaching her as she rushed towards Lu Yin. She was a striking woman, but at this moment, she looked absolutely vicious.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled up, and he put away the ball before lifting a hand. ¡°Vacuum Palm."

    There was a bang as Madam Lan was struck by the Vacuum Palm head on. She had an impressive battle strength, but she was very weak when it came to her physique. If even Emperor Luo had been knocked back by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, there was no need to mention Madam Lan.

    A single Vacuum Palm was enough to take away half of Madam Lan''s life.

    Shao Yangxun did not strike the woman with his Iceburst mes, instead throwing the Iceburst mes further into the ze Realm when Madam Lan had rushed at Lu Yin.

    The next second, the ze Realm exploded, and space warped as ripples swept out in all directions.

    The Frostgate Army had erected a barrier of solid ice in front of the Allied Forces to protect them from the power of Shao Yangxun¡¯s Iceburst me.

    Madam Lan''s face went pale, and she looked back at the ze Realm. There was blood on her mouth, and her body began trembling uncontrobly. She could not stop it.

    "Protect the army!" Lu Yin snapped at Shao Yangxun before donning is universal armor and rushing further into the ze Realm.

    At this moment, Lu Yin did not need to worry about any of the ze Realm¡¯s cultivators, as the only powerhouse left was Madam Lan, but she would not be an opponent for Shao Yangxun''s in her current state. Lu Yin was headed out to find Leader Hong.

    After passing by the ze Realm¡¯s defensive sourcebox array, Lu Yin regretted being a step toote. It would have been ideal if he had absorbed the mes from the array with his Skyze Stone.

    In front of him, there was a ck hole in space that was surrounded by the wreckage of many spacecraft that were in the process of being sucked in.

    The Iceburst mes had shattered a portion of space and wiped out the ze Realm¡¯s fleet of battleships. That one attack had eliminated hundreds of thousands of ze Realm disciples.

    Off in the distance, Elder Tan gasped and stared at the scene in terror. He did not want to stay. This battle was too frightening, and not even Madam Lan was able to do anything.

    Elder Tan no longer cared about Madam Lan''s situation, as he intended to save his own life.

    Just as he tried to flee, Lu Yin appeared in front of the Enlighter.

    Elder Tan''s face went pale, as he knew of Lu Yin. It was impossible for anyone with any sort of status in the Innerverse or Outerverse to not know about Lu Yin. He had attacked the ze Realm, and he was obviously trying to rece them in order to establish a foothold in the Innerverse.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin asked in a deep voice.

    Elder Tan shuddered, "ze- ze Realm elder."

    "Take me to Leader Hong." After finishing speaking, Lu Yin grabbed a hold of Elder Tan and raced further into the depths of the ze Realm.

    Elder Tan instantly started begging for mercy. "Alliance Leader Lu, the Realm Master is in the innermost depths! Just go straight until you see thergest and reddest. That¡¯s where you¡¯ll find the Realm Master. Please let me go! I¡¯m just a little Enlighter."

    Lu Yin did not respond. Instead, he continued to tear through the void as he made his way forward. Countless people from the ze Realm fled as he made his way forward, scrambling in all directions before gathering inrge groups that protested against the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin ignored them all, and he soon arrived at the heart of the ze Realm: Red.1

    Looking at the red, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could see Leader Hong''s rune lines, which were amazing in number. Although the Envoy had been seriously injured, he still gave off the feeling of being unfathomable.

    An Envoy would still be an Envoy.

    ze Realm cultivators appeared from all around and surrounded Lu Yin. Each of them were Explorers, which was too weak to cause Lu Yin any concern at all.

    "Get out!" a fire cultivator shouted fiercely as he stared at Lu Yin. The man raised his hand and shed out with a long knife that radiated a terrible temperature. The knife sliced through the void with a single sh.

    Lu Yin''s eyes paused. Then, his energy exploded: Night Advent.

    The surrounding practitioners all trembled before simultaneously vomiting blood and copsing in space. Their spiritual force and cultivation was not strong enough to stop Lu Yin¡¯s Night Advent.

    Lu Yin looked down at the massive red. "Leader Hong, is letting your disciples die for you how you behave as the master of the ze Realm?"

    Leader Hong¡¯s voice rose up from within Red, "Junior, do you really believe that gathering a bit of trash is enough to destroy my ze Realm? You underestimate this ze Realm that has stood in zing Mist Flowzone for countless years!"

    Lu Yin raised his head. "I wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate it. The ze Realm at its peak was truly not something that a junior like me could fight against, and not even the full power of the entire Outerverse would have been enough to break you. However, you are long past your peak, and I was even able to overturn Daynight Flowzone. Thus, there¡¯s no need to mention your ze Realm."

    "Daynight Flowzone was overturned by Leon¡¯s Armada, not you! You can barely hold my ze Realm back from stepping forward with your Outerverse trash," Leader Hong replied in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s enough to drag down the entire zing Mist Flowzone."

    "I may not know the vastness of the universe, but the universe is not a kind ce. The Outerverse and Innerverse were separated for a time, which allowed you to unify the Outerverse. However, now that the Innerverse has reconnected with the Outerverse, your every move is being watched by the entire Innerverse. What you¡¯re doing will not work again, and it is not repeatable. If you try this for a second time, then you will be devoured by the Innerverse. At that time, your family, friends, and even your followers will all be devoured until no trace of you scum is left!" Leader Hong shouted.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. This old man had said things quite well, as Lu Yin¡¯s methods of attacking the ze Realm were guaranteed to be thoroughly studied by the Innerverse, such as the moment that he had used the Skyze Stone to absorb the mes, or how he had sent Lilyrose out. Everything that he had done during this attack would be thoroughly studied.

    Doing something once meant that it could never be done again, which was very troublesome.

    "Leave now, and my ze Realm and your Great Eastern Alliance will have peace, and my ze Realm can promise to never participate in the Purge," Leader Hong loudly dered, his voice shaking Red, and even a bit of the nearby space. mes leaped up from the and swept across space in all directions.

    Lu Yin felt amused. "I¡¯ve managed to make it all the way to this point, and yet you still are trying to convince me to retreat. Leader Hong, you must be losing your edge in your old age."

    "Impudent!" Leader Hong shouted angrily. Red shone brightly before the light turned into mes that swept towards Lu Yin. Leader Hong was using the power of the to boost his attack power, which was something that Lu Yin had already guessed would happen. The same thing had taken ce when Lu Yin had wiped out Firesmelt, as Yan Wujiu had consumed the entire to push his strength to the limit.

    [1] I swear, this is a new low for the author... ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1233: Lu Yin VS Leader Hong

    <h4>Chapter 1233: Lu Yin VS Leader Hong</h4>

    Lu Yin made no attempt to hide. Leader Hong had unleashed a truly terrifying attack after consuming Red to raise the power of his attack. However, no matter what the master of the ze Realm did, he could notpensate for the fact that he had been seriously injured, and even the temporary increase in strength did not raise the attack to his former peak.

    However, Lu Yin''s universal armor was able to defend against Envoys¡¯ attacks now.

    Upon seeing that his attack was useless, Leader Hong shouted, "Lu Yin, I am on Red, and you can''t kill me! Will you still be able to endure after I recover from my injuries? You can¡¯t just ignore the sylvan dragon n or the Ross Empire either. Pull your troops out of my ze Realm and leave, and I can still pretend that none of this ever happened."

    Lu Yin did not respond, and he quietly stared at Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong shouted again. "Did you hear me? Lu Yin, leave my ze Realm!"

    Lu Yin still did not speak.

    Leader Hong stopped shouting, and Red trembled. It was obvious that he was preparing something.

    "Leader Hong, Madam Lan will soon die," Lu Yin suddenly stated.

    Leader Hong answered in a low voice, "She isn¡¯t dead yet, and she won¡¯t die so easily."

    "Why would you say that? Is it because of this?" Lu Yin took out the ball that he had stolen from Madam Lan.

    The mes writhed above Red, revealing Leader Hong''s agitation. "Junior, do you really want to fight with me inside of the ze Realm? Let me tell you, my ze Realm and I have survived in the universe for many years. We have countless disciples, and my ze Realm even has people within the Hall of Honor. I know that you have powerful supporters behind you, and as long as you give up on this attack, you and I will have nothing to do with each other from now on. Otherwise, the disciples of my ze Realm will sooner orter destroy you."

    Lu Yin was listening quietly, and so Leader Hong continued speaking. "As long as you retreat, the ze Realm can be considered to be your ally from now on."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Are you willing to form an alliance with my Great Eastern Alliance?"

    "Of course," Leader Hong replied.

    Lu Yin considered this for a while and then slowly descended onto Red. "You won''t seize the opportunity to attack me?"

    "Of course not. Alliance Leader Lu, please leave. The ze Realm has a strong foundation, but your Outerverse is not truly united and is just a loose alliance. Thus, my ze Realm can also join your Great Eastern Alliance," said Leader Hong.

    Lu Yin seemed to be considering this matter.

    In front of him, mes condensed around Leader Hong and formed an armor around him. It had a crude shape but excellent defense, and the master of the ze Realm approached Lu Yin step by step. "Alliance Leader Lu, if my ze Realm joins your Great Eastern Alliance, then its power will spike as my ze Realm is much stronger than that trash from the Outerverse. All you need to do is pull back."

    Lu Yin stared at Leader Hong. "Were you poisoned?"

    A trace of resentment shed across Leader Hong''s eyes, but he quickly hid it. "How could mere toxins affect me? What is Alliance Leader Lu thinking?"

    Lu Yin looked down at Leader Hong''s feet. "At this distance, are you certain that you can kill me?" After speaking, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet as he moved away.

    As his body disappeared, a wisp of ming sword qi shot into the sky from where he had just been standing. This attack split space apart, and it almost severed the entire ze Realm. This was Leader Hong¡¯s power, as he truly wanted to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not fight back, and he actually rushed back down to the.

    Leader Hong''s eyes revealed his overwhelming murderous desires. "You¡¯vee to Red yet you still want to escape? You¡¯re asking to die!"

    As he spoke, Red trembled, and the temperature of the shot up as Leader Hong tried to burn Lu Yin alive.

    Suddenly, ck and white colors shed before Leader Hong¡¯s eyes, and he was stunned by a spiritual energy attack. This was one of the Daynight n''s battle techniques.

    An old man had appeared above Red. He had both ck and white hair on his head, and he stared at Leader Hong with a solemn expression. "Daynight Channeling."

    Leader Hong looked up at the old man. "Are you from the Daynight n? Then you must be a Dayking traitor."

    The old man''s name was Duane Daynight, and he was the elder in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds who had activated the protective sourcebox array around the stone que in order to stop any of those elders from rescuing Nightking Zhenwu. He had been the one to attack Leader Hong.

    "You¡¯re seeking death! I will eliminate all of you traitors to the Nightking n!" Leader Hong shouted as he raised a hand. The mes above Red covered the sky and took on the shape of a ming giant. This was Fire Spirit, the ze Realm¡¯s ultimate technique, and it had also been Monster Chi¡¯s specialty.

    Duane Daynight had a dignified expression on his face, but he continued to bombard Leader Hong with spiritual energy attacks. Fortunately, Leader Hong had already been seriously injured, so he was unable to use his full strength as an Envoy. Otherwise, Duane Daynight would not be qualified to participate in this battle, as Leader Hong was normally on an entirely different level of power from him.

    Although Leader Hong was an Envoy, his weakness was spiritual energy, which caused him to be suppressed by Duane Daynight several times.

    The Fire Spirit still raised its fist and threw a punch at Duane Daynight.

    Duane Daynight''s face flushed red as his body was smashed away by the Fire Spirit. He had gone up against an Envoy, and even a seriously injured Envoy was powerful enough to kill Duane Daynight.

    The Daynight elder had onlye in order to repay Lu Yin for saving Zhuo Daynight as well as the entire Dayking n.

    However, Duane Daynight had already reached his limit, which was stalling Leader Hong for nearly half a minute.

    Half a minute was enough for Lu Yin to travel into the depths of Red.

    Leader Hong was just about to continue attacking Duane Daynight when his expression suddenly changed drastically. He looked down at the ground, and a startlingly high temperature raged out in all directions as the Envoy shouted out, "Lu Yin, how did you know that that thing was hidden within Red?"

    He had discovered Lu Yin''s intention, but it was already toote.

    Lu Yin''s eyes revealed his excitement, and he waved a hand to use the Yu secret technique once more, causing an irregrly shaped crystal to appear in his hand. There was a me flickering within the crystal. This was the Karmic me.

    The ze Realm¡¯s most powerful battle technique could only be used in conjunction with the Karmic me. This crystal was Leader Hong¡¯s greatest trump card, as even if he was terribly injured to the point where he could not exert the power of an Envoy, the Karmic me Sword would still allow him to kill an Envoy in seconds. Even if one was not an Envoy, the Karmic me Sword could still let them pose a danger to an Envoy. This was Leader Hong¡¯s ultimate power, and it had fallen into Lu Yin¡¯s hands at this moment.

    Within the furthest depths of Red, a cloud of smoke suddenly disappeared. It was Smoker.

    Lu Yin had kept Leader Hong talking all in order to buy Smoker time to find the Karmic mes, as it was only possible for Lu Yin to use the Yu Secret Art if he knew the location of what he was swapping. After that, it had simply been a matter of getting within range of the center of the.

    The center had been a bit too far for Lu Yin to use the Yu Secret Art from the surface, which had been why he had raced underground.

    Everything had gone smoothly.

    When Leader Hong saw that Lu Yin had stolen the Karmic me, the Envoy¡¯s eyes burned red. The overwhelming anger aggravated his injuries, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

    At first, he had thought that Lu Yin had been fleeing in panic, but the scene before Leader Hong¡¯s eyes meant that Lu Yin had been nning this move for a long time, to the extent where he had even asked an elder from the Daynight n to help him buy time. However, how had Lu Yin known that the Karmic me was being kept in the depths of Red? How had he even managed to learn of it to n this robbery?

    Then, Leader Hong suddenly remembered a certain person: Smoker. That assassin had attacked Leader Hong multiple times before, but they had always managed to escape to safety. Only that assassin was capable of moving around Red without Leader Hong¡¯s notice.

    He suddenly realized that he had miscalcted.

    Lu Yin had utilized all of the power that he could muster tounch the strongest attack possible against Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong was furious. He had thought that he was the one manipting Lu Yin into traveling to Red, but he had actually been yed by Lu Yin.

    Leader Hong let out a roar, and Red itself cracked open as endless mes were sucked into his body, causing his stomach to start glowing.

    Off in the distance, Elder Tan was horrified to see the Realm Master go insane.

    Lu Yin looked up from within the depths of Red and watched as Leader Hong absorbed the¡¯s mes. Surreptitiously, Lu Yin sprinkled some poison that had been upgraded twelve times into the mes.

    After seeing Leader Hong absorb the mes that had been tainted by poison, Lu Yin waited for the poison to take effect, but Leader Hong just sneered. "The mes may have been poisoned, but it doesn''t matter how much you put in there. Did you think that I wouldn¡¯t see your despicable behavior?"

    After speaking, he pressed down with a hand and caused Red itself to start squeezing down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew angry with himself; he had miscalcted and wasted a bottle of poison.

    He burst out of the ground and raced up from the surface with a raised hand as heunched a Vacuum Palm at Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong''s expression immediately changed, and he evaded the attack. Even though he was an Envoy, he still needed to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, which showed how powerful the attack was. It also demonstrated how severe Leader Hong''s injuries truly were; if he was at his full strength, then a Vacuum Palm would only be able to knock him two steps back, but it would not be able to deal any damage to him at all.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. It was good to see that Leader Hong was afraid of the Vacuum Palm, as Lu Yin had been concerned that his attacks would not be able to do anything to the wounded Envoy.

    Leader Hong stretched his hands out and caused his mes to condense into the shape of a sword that then shed at Lu Yin.

    This was not any sort of sword skill, but rather an attack that possessed an indescribable heat that just happened to be in the shape of a sword. Lu Yin was forced to endure the attack, and he was knocked back as the heat baked his armor. Although the heat did not cause any damage to Lu Yin, he still felt the searing heat.

    The temperature had already reached an ineffable level.

    At this moment, Leader Hong swung the me sword again, but this time, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he erased a number of the attack¡¯s runes while simultaneously unleashing a spiritual force attack: "Daynight Praises."

    Daynight Praises was the most powerful spiritual force-based battle technique that Lu Yin had learned, and it could also be called the Daynight n¡¯s best spiritual force technique.

    After all, Daynight Praises was when Lu Yin used Night¡¯s End, Daybreak to create an irresistible illusion while simultaneously using Skybreaker to attack. This was the first time that Lu Yin had used Daynight Praises on a living target, and he unleashed it on the seriously injured Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong was stunned, and right when he was about to swing his sword of mes for the third time, his vision changed. He saw a powerhouse standing high above all who looked as though he could incinerate the universe. The moment Leader Hong saw this man, his pupils abruptly shrank. "No way! You can''t still be alive!"

    The man in front of Leader Hong raised a hand. "You scoundrel! You sneak attacked your teacher to snatch away the seat of the Realm Master. Make way for your teacher now."

    The man¡¯s right hand rose while his left hand fell.

    The words "make way" caused Leader Hong to suddenly sober up. He thought of the Purge and Lu Yin and realized that he had fallen into an illusion. After Leader Hong realized what had happened, he did not resist the man¡¯s attack and instead swung his sword around him in an attempt to destroy the illusion.

    As far as Leader Hong was concerned, everything around him would disappear beneath his sword.

    However, when the man pped Leader Hong¡¯s forehead, Leader Hong reacted as if he had been struck by lightning, and his brain went nk. He was not able to resist spitting out blood, and he stared at the man in utter disbelief; how could this be? This had to be an illusion, but what illusion was terrifying enough to create real attacks? Leader Hong¡¯s eyes turned red.

    "Scum! How dare you resist!" the man shouted as his hand fell down once again.

    Leader Hong roared, and the mes shrouding his body exploded outwards and shot towards the man, incinerating everything close by Leader Hong.

    The next moment, Leader Hong saw his vision change once more; he had returned to Red. In front of him, a puff of white smoke appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around his neck. His face went pale, and his eyes went bloodshot as blood leaked from his mouth. "Lu- Yin! I will kill you!"

    As the man spoke, Red shattered as mes from the¡¯s core enveloped Leader Hong once more.

    The white smoke continued to burn. Although Smoker had attacked Leader Hong many times, it had never amounted to anything. Leader Hong was not someone who Smoker could deal with, and in truth, Leader Hong was not even remotely concerned with Smoker.

    Lu Yin panted heavily, as Daynight Praises was too exhausting to use, and he could not properly support the technique yet. His muscles trembled as a dizzy and nauseous feeling overcame him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1234: Summoning A Champion

    <h4>Chapter 1234: Summoning A Champion</h4>

    After absorbing all of the mes from Red, Leader Hong¡¯s power level sharply increased, and the ze Realm¡¯s master¡¯s number of rune lines finally approached an Envoy¡¯s.

    Lu Yin knew that he could not wait any longer. If too much time passed, then even if Leader Hong ultimately died, all their efforts would be for naught if they could not seize victory. Lu Yin had note here to fight against Leader Hong.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as his thoughts reached this point, and arge tform appeared before his eyes. He sliced open his finger and caused a drop of blood to flow out into the air. He then adopted a pious expression as he solemnly called out, "With my blood, I summon a Champion."

    The blood floated forward and fell onto the tform, where it covered the emblem of the Giant Emperor. A roar seemed to be heard in the distance, though it quickly drew closer and closer.

    After Leader Hongpletely absorbed the mes from the, he directed the mes towards the stage right when the figure of the Giant Emperor suddenly appeared.

    At this time, most of the star energy in Lu Yin''s body vanished. After all, this Giant Emperor was formed from his blood and star energy as Lu Yin had summoned the giant with his second innate gift: the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Lu Yin was stunned as he stared at the Giant Emperor¡¯s back. This was his first time that he had used this innate gift, but it did truly seem to summon the Giant Emperor that he had encountered in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Both his expressions and movements were exactly the same.

    Not only had the Giant Emperor in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum been intelligent, but he had also possessed formidable physical strength. Even after Lu Yin had broken through to the Hunter realm, he had still only been able to force the Giant Emperor a few steps back.

    Although the Giant Emperor possessed no battle techniques and could not use star energy, his physical strength was enough to make an Envoy look twice.

    Off in the distance, Leader Hong stared nkly at the massive Giant Emperor. What is that? Where did ite from? Leader Hong had never noticed anything different until the giant actually arrived.

    Above Red, Duane Daynight and Elder Tan both saw the Giant Emperor appear, and his appearance had shocked them both. No one understood where the Giant Emperor hade from. The fact that such a massive creature had suddenly appeared without being noticed challenged their very understanding of the universe.

    Lu Yin was left in a weakened state, as summoning the Giant Emperor had exhausted him both physically and mentally.

    The Giant Emperor roared at the sky.

    Lu Yin''s heart moved, and he ordered the Giant Emperor to kill Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong''s eyes suddenly went wide. "Giant, you¡¯re courting death!"

    As he spoke, roiling mes rolled forward in an overbearing manner, tangling with the Giant Emperor. They threw the Giant Emperor up and then mmed him back down to the ground, where raging mes covered the Giant Emperor and attempted to consume him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he was able to sense that the Giant Emperor was still fine.

    Sure enough, the next moment, the Giant Emperor stood back up and rushed at Leader Hong. As the giant advanced forward, he grabbed a boulder and hurled it forward.

    Leader Hong frowned and waved a hand. mes condensed into another sword that fell and destroyed the boulder before continuing on to sh at the Giant Emperor.

    The Giant Emperor''s chest was cut open, and blood could be seen, but no blood fell out. Instead, the giant actually began to recover. The price for his healing was that more of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy was consumed.

    Lu Yin instantly realized that, if he did not possess a reserve of star energy that far surpassed an ordinary cultivator, he would never be able to support the Giant Emperor.

    Even if someone else possessed the same innate gift as Lu Yin, it would be almost impossible for them to have enough star energy to support its usage. Could this be considered as some sort of fate?

    The Giant Emperor quickly recovered from Leader Hong¡¯s attack and continued to approach the master of the ze Realm as he threw another punch.

    Leader Hong''s expression changed drastically as he watched the Giant Emperor''s wound heal. Was this some sort of innate gift? However, he could not afford to spend much time thinking about it, as the Giant Emperor¡¯s fist was quickly barrelling towards Leader Hong, so he rushed to evade it.

    The ground shattered, and Red broke in two. The tremendous power even distorted the void before space shattered into spider web-like cracks that spread out.

    Leader Hong was astonished by the giant¡¯s incredible physical power.

    When it came to pure physical strength, neither Lu Yin nor Corpse Beast couldpare to the Giant Emperor since giants held too much of an advantage when it came to their physiques. As for Leader Hong, even though he was a powerful Envoy, he had never excelled at physical power. Still, despite his wounds and rtively poor physique, he was still an Envoy, which meant that he was notpletely overwhelmed by the Giant Emperor¡¯s impressive strength.

    The punch did not strike Leader Hong, so the Giant Emperor raised his hand once more. This time, all five fingers were spread out as the hand swept across thend.

    A violent wind burst forth, and it sted the smaller half of Red away, sending countless rocks and a great deal ofva hurtling through the nearby region of space.

    Elder Tan quickly evaded, and he stared at the shattered remnants of Red in horror. Even the shockwaves from this battle were enough to shatter his body.

    Duane Daynight was simrly shocked by the power that he was witnessing.

    Lu Yin quickly retreated as he watched the mes from Leader Hong coalesce to once again form a Fire Spirit. This time, the ming giant had reached an even more impressive temperature than when Duane Daynight had been attacked.

    The Giant Emperor roared as it rushed at the Fire Spirit. In response, Leader Hong raised a hand and pressed down, causing the Fire Spirit to rush towards the Giant Emperor. The two behemoths fiercely shed with each other.

    Leader Hong spat out a mouthful of blood, but this time, the blood was ck. He still had not fully cleansed his body of the poison, and ayer of ice would still asionally cover his body, which was the aftermath of the Frost Emperor¡¯s attacks.

    The Giant Emperor was constantly being burned by the Fire Spirit, but the giant continued his fierce barrage of attacks, causing the Fire Spirit to shrink smaller and smaller.

    Sweat fell from Lu Yin''s forehead, and 720 stars revolved around his body as he crazily absorbed star energy. However, it was not enough, and he had already used up almost all of his star energy. His head scrambled for an answer, and after a moment, he pulled out the Skyze Stone and threw it straight at the Fire Spirit.

    If Madam Lan were present, she would have stopped the stone, as she had personally witnessed how the Skyze Stone had absorbed her terrible fireball attack. However, Leader Hong was still ignorant.

    The Skyze Stone entered the Fire Spirit, and its heat and mes were frantically absorbed as the Fire Spirit began to disappear at a visible rate.

    Leader Hong was stunned and unable to react. Where had his Fire Spirit gone?

    At this moment, the Giant Emperor threw out another punch, fiercely pressing the attack against Leader Hong.

    The Envoy¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly evaded. However, he had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear in the direction where he was dodging. Leader Hong was smashed against the remnants of Red, and he vomited another mouthful of blood. His face grew pale.

    The Giant Emperor roared and punched out again.

    Leader Hong''s eyes grew vicious. "Curse you!"

    There was another loud bang as the Giant Emperor smashed Leader Hong into a pile of rocks.

    The Giant Emperor fiercely stomped down, and Lu Yin hurriedly stopped him. His eyes darted about before looking at a ce ten thousand meters away from the Giant Emperor. Lu Yin put the massive mechanical arm over his right hand, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet before he moved.

    Beneath the surface, Leader Hong''s eyes burned with resentment as they radiated an unbelievable killing intent. The ground around him broke apart and floated through space, causing Red topletely shatter. A me appeared in Leader Hong¡¯s hand, only to instantly disappear as if it had never even existed.

    A few mes appeared, but each of them looked like they were about to be blown out at any time. However, these mes caused an excited glint to appear in Leader Hong''s eyes. "The power vessel left behind by that old ghost really is too valuable. Unfortunately, it¡¯s about to bepletely used up."

    The mes danced about for a moment before gradually taking the shape of a long sword that exuded sword qi. This de actually seemed somewhat simr to the Karmic me Sword.

    The Karmic me Sword technique was a battle technique that used Karmic mes, but those mes were not actually required to use the battle technique.

    Leader Hong had been injured when he took out this bit of me, and he had actually been burned by its extraordinary temperature. Because of his terrible injuries, he was very unwilling to use this me, as doing so was no different than resigning himself to death, and he would even suffer excruciating pain.

    However, he was left with no choice given his current predicament.

    Leader Hong''s eyes changed from excited to vicious. "Lu Yin, you¡¯ve forced me!"

    "What did I force you to do?" Lu Yin''s voice came from behind Leader Hong, startling the Envoy; was this a secret technique?

    Leader Hong immediately whirled around and unleashed a palm, using the sputtering mes to reinforce his attack: Cotton Palm.

    Lu Yin used his left hand to pull out the one-way mirror while his right hand punched at Leader Hong¡¯s arm along with the mechanical arm.

    When Leader Hong''s Cotton Palm closed in on Lu Yin, it was suddenly absorbed by the one-way mirror, and at the same time, Leader Hong¡¯s body was mmed into the ground by Lu Yin''s fist. Leader Hong lost all control over the me that he had just taken out, and it fell away from him before suddenly spreading out and burning space and the void.

    Lu Yin''s pupils abruptly shrank, and he quickly took out the Skyze Stone to absorb this me.

    However, these mes were so fierce that not even the Skyze Stone could absorb everything. Fortunately, Lu Yin was wearing his universal armor. Otherwise, he would have been reduced to ashes by these mes.

    Although Lu Yin had managed to avoid that fate, the Giant Emperor was not able to do the same, and he was instantly erased by the mes.

    The mes burned the shattered remains of Red away before spreading out to burn the space in the surrounding area. All of thes touched by the mes were transformed into a sea of fire, and the native creatures tried to flee in terror, but they were all destined to be turned to nothing but ash.

    Smoker did not even know where to flee.

    The moment Elder Tan saw these mes, he fled. He merely yed with fire while these mes were not something that he could even approach.

    Duane Daynight also moved far away. He stared at where Red had once stood, but he did not dare to touch this kind of me.

    Leader Hong had been pounded deep into the ground, and he had been repeatedly and severely injured by Lu Yin. He had endured until his limit, but he could no longer bear it. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he screamed, "Junior, if you want to die, then I¡¯ll oblige you!"

    After speaking, Leader Hong opened his mouth and swallowed the surrounding mes that were burning space and the void.

    This was the second time that the man had swallowed mes. The first time, he had swallowed the mes from Red, but this time, he had swallowed that strange, sputtering me. Leader Hong had been afraid of this me just when holding it in his hands, but he had actually been enraged to the point of consuming these mes to restore his strength as an Envoy.

    Even if his strength would never be fully restored again in the future, he would do whatever it took to destroy Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin kept evading the mes while keeping a careful eye on Leader Hong. Lu Yin saw the Envoy¡¯s rune lines continue to increase without limit, and Lu Yin¡¯s scalp started tingling. This was not good, as the old man had finally grown desperate. This was an Envoy¡¯s true power, and they were powerhouses who did not use star energy, but rather stellr energy.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt as though his body was mired in mud, unable to breathe. Additionally, the star energy within his body could no longer be controlled. It had stopped, as he was being suppressed.

    Leader Hong was perfectly demonstrating the power of an Envoy right now. mes danced in his eyes and in his mouth as he stared at Lu Yin. "Junior, I will burn you to ashes."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. It waspletely impossible for him to deal with a true Envoy, as they were simply onpletely different levels.

    Challenging an Envoy before entering that realm was far more difficult than contending with Explorers before entering that realm.

    Was he finished? Lu Yin could not fight any longer, and it appeared that he would need to ask an Envoy to step forward for him, which made him feel helpless.

    At this moment, aside from the powerhouses in Leon¡¯s Armada, Lu Yin only knew of two Envoys who could help him: the elder from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and the Frost Emperor.

    The Frost Emperor could not appear, as the Enlighters of the Frostgate Army had already been led out by Lu Yin. Additionally, Lu Yin would not ask the elder from the Sea King¡¯s Dome for help unless there was no other choice. The Sea King¡¯s Dome had its own position to consider, and it would cost Lu Yin dearly to ask for their help.

    However, just as Lu Yin was struggling over which elder to ask to take action, Leader Hong suddenly vomited up another mouthful of blood.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1235: The Blaze Realmâ€™s Collapse

    <h4>Chapter 1235: The ze Realm¡¯s Copse</h4>

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that the injury that the Frost Emperor had inflicted upon Leader Hong was so severe; it was no wonder why Leader Hong had never dared to use his full strength as an Envoy.

    The Frost Emperor was also an Envoy, so he naturally used stellr energy as well. Thus, the moment Leader Hong used stellr energy, the cold energy would re up and wreak havoc on his body.

    Leader Hong had not expected the Frost Emperor¡¯s cold energy to be so powerful either, and it had pped him down as soon as he tried to use the strength of an Envoy. He copsed halfway to his knees, panting heavily. He coughed another mouthful of blood, but it came up as red ice this time. His blood had started to coagte, and there was also a faint trace of ck within it.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his n of taking advantage of the Royal Frost Continent had seeded. Otherwise, the Enlighters in the Frostgate Army might not be a match for Leader Hong even in their prime.

    Leader Hong stared at the ground and smiled miserably. Defeated. He had been defeated. The blood in his body congealed, and his stellr energy surged. The me that he had just swallowed burned his internal organs, and at this moment, even if Lu Yin did nothing at all, Leader Hong would still be burned to ash by that sputtering me.

    Those mes hade from his master, the previous Realm Master of the ze Realm. To seize power, Leader Hong had revolted against his master and assassinated the previous Realm Master.

    "Master, are you getting revenge? This is heaven¡¯s will, heaven¡¯s will," Leader Hong muttered to himself. He was bleeding from all seven orifices, and mes constantly leaked out of his mouth. It enveloped his entire body, consuming the cold energy even as it incinerated the Envoy himself.

    This scene was extremely tragic. The dignified Leader Hong, master of the ze Realm, a powerhouse who had roamed the universe for countless years, had tragically met his end here.

    Lu Yin stared at Leader Hong from a distance, on guard against the Envoy making a desperate final attack.

    Leader Hong stared at Lu Yin with resentment, pain, and hatred filling his eyes. This image engraved itself within Lu Yin''s mind as Leader Hong spat out, "You will also suffer this fate one day. There will definitelye a day."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Even if that¡¯s true, you won''t be able to see it."

    Leader Hong¡¯s skin burned and peeled off oneyer at a time in a terrifying scene. The Envoy stared at Lu Yin with his hideous face and croaked, "I will wait for you in the afterlife. You will go there too. Sooner orter, someone will give you a worse death than mine, and you will suffer even greater pain than me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Leader Hong who had turned into a burning man whileplicated emotions ran amuck in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. This was the universe. It was truly cruel, and not even the master of the ze Realm could escape from this fate.

    At this moment, two people arrived on the scene. They were two women, and one of them was Lilyrose. The other woman looked somewhat simr to Lilyrose, but she was even more mature and enticing. The older woman looked extremely flustered, and she was constantly trying to break away from Lilyrose, but the younger woman kept a firm hold of the woman as she approached Leader Hong.

    Leader Hong saw the two women. His skin had already burned away, but his eyes still worked.

    "Who is my real father?" Lilyrose asked loudly as she stared at Leader Hong.

    The woman who was being held captive by Lilyrose stared at Leader Hong in fear, trembling. She had entered a state of shock from the sheer terror in her heart.

    "Tell me! Who is my real father?" Lilyrose sharply asked once again, still staring at Leader Hong.

    One of Leader Hong¡¯s arms fell off, incinerated. His legs gradually disappeared, and half of his body copsed to the ground. Despite all of this, his eyes remained intact. He first looked at Lilyrose and then looked at the woman who she had captured. A sinister smile spread across the dying man¡¯s face. ¡°You will never, ever know. You betrayed the ze Realm, and you and that woman will always be sluts."

    Lilyrose''s eyes grew bloodshot. "So you really aren''t my father."

    The woman who had been caught by Lilyrose kept twisting her body. "Let me go! Lily, I''m your mother! Let me go!"

    Lilyrose''s eyes went wide even as her hand holding the woman was bruised.

    Lu Yin quietly watched as things yed out, but at this moment, a person tore through the void to appear on the scene: Madam Lan.

    There was blood dripping down from the corner of her mouth, and her abdomen had been frozen and pierced through. Her entire back had also been frozen, and Shao Yangxun appeared soon after, clearly chasing after Madam Lan.

    When she arrived, Madam Lan saw that Leader Hong was being burned away and that there was only half of the man¡¯s body left. She smiled miserably and rushed over to him.

    Shao Yangxun wanted to make a move, but Lu Yin stopped him.

    So, Shao Yangxun stood behind Lu Yin and kept a wary eye on Madam Lan.

    Duane Daynight alsonded from where he had been watching in space. What he was witnessing causedplicated emotions to surge through him, as he was witnessing the pathetic end of one of the Innerverse¡¯s dignified overlords.

    Madam Lan moved over in front of Leader Hong and looked down at him. "Did you ever consider that this day would arrive? Back then, you burned Master alive."

    By this point, only Leader Hong¡¯s eyes could move, and he could no longer speak.

    Madam Lan took a deep breath and raised her left hand to touch the mes that were devouring Leader Hong. The next moment, her body also burst into mes.

    Leader Hong''s eyes shot wide open in disbelief.

    "I couldn''t stop you from killing Master back then, but today, I¡¯ll join you in atoning for your sins." As she spoke, she suddenly shot towards Lilyrose. Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, but he stopped right after he prepared to intercede.

    Madam Lan did not attack Lilyrose, and instead, she grabbed the woman that Lilyrose had captured. The mes attacked and covered the woman.

    The woman let out a shrill scream.

    Lilyrose was startled.

    "Stop!" Lu Yin suddenly appeared behind Lilyrose and held her. "Don''t touch her, or else you¡¯ll die."

    "No!" Lilyrose shouted. Even though she hated her mother, the woman was still her mother.

    The woman screamed and reached out to grab at Lilyrose. "Save me! I''m your mother! SAVE ME!"

    Lu Yin dragged Lilyrose away as she helplessly wept in despair.

    Madam Lan was being consumed by the mes, but her voice was cold. "You¡¯ve served him for so many years, so let''s go together now. Didn''t you say that you loved him?"

    The woman''s scream grew increasingly miserable, but she onlysted for a few more seconds before she turned to drifting ash. She had not nearly been strong enough to hold back the mes at all. She had died much faster than Leader Hong, but her ending was also not nearly as terrible as Leader Hong¡¯s.

    There was a snap as Leader Hong''s two eyes fell down, but before they couldnd, they were burnt to ash and drifted away. The master of the ze Realm had disappeared from the universe.

    Madam Lan was also burned away and gradually turned to ash.

    Lilyrose slumped to the ground in anguish as she nkly stared at the space where her mother had been consumed by the mes.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and looked around. He did not know what he was feeling at the moment, but it was certainly not simple. What¡¯s more, Leader Hong''s words were still echoing in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    In order to deal with Leader Hong, Lu Yin had first schemed to get the Royal Frost Continent involved and had taken advantage of the Frost Emperor¡¯s power to inflict severe injuries upon Leader Hong. Then, Smoker had been sent out to sneak around the ze Realm to find and steal the Karmic me. Lu Yin had nned out every possible step to make Leader Hong suffer serious injuries, but in truth, if not for the cold energy that the Frost Emperor had left within Leader Hong¡¯s body, Lu Yin would have been forced to beg an Envoy for assistance.

    Lu Yin had won, but he could not take credit for this victory.

    Still, that did not matter, as from this day forward, the ze Realm belonged to Lu Yin.

    This was fundamentally different from the Great Eastern Alliance. Although the Outerverse had been united, Lu Yin only truly controlled Frostwave Weave, Grandtop Weave, Northcastle Weave, and Armament Weave. Only these four weaves had been conquered while the rest of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves had merely allied with Lu Yin. However, he had now conquered the ze Realm as well.

    Through iron and blood, he had seized a ce within the Innerverse.

    Was it tough? It had been incredibly difficult. Before this, Lu Yin had only been able to imagine what predicaments he might encounter when attacking the ze Realm.

    Within the Hall of Honor, the major powers of the Innerverse did not wish to allow Lu Yin to seed, and yet, he had still done so, though it had everything that he possessed.

    If not for their fear of who and what stood behind him, the people in the Hall of Honor who were from the ze Realm would definitely have created trouble for Lu Yin.

    If not for Leon¡¯s Armada, Lu Yin also firmly believed that the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n definitely would have taken action as well.

    No one particrly cared about war within the Innerverse, but Lu Yin was a different matter altogether. He was essentially the master of the Outerverse and officially the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. It had been a great struggle for him to temporarily stop the Purge, but he had managed to seed.

    Thirteen years, it had been a full thirteen years since Lu Yin had gone from a regr, ignorant person to his present self. He had experienced far too much after he started cultivating, and he had brushed against death multiple times. In fact, he had even died several times, but Lu Yin had still managed to rise to this step.

    It was a pity that the mes that had consumed Leader Hong had been too hot, as Lu Yin had not been able to touch the man and anoint him as his Champion, which was truly unfortunate.

    Shao Yangxun stepped back slightly and slowly said, "Congrattions, Your Highness, for taking control of the ze Realm."

    Those words prompted Duane Daynight toe to his senses and look at Lu Yin with sincere admiration in his eyes. What shocked the elder the most had been the battle between Lu Yin and Leader Hong. Although Lu Yin had used various items during the fight, that still was not something that just anyone could do.

    Lu Yin¡¯s future was truly unimaginable.

    From the void, Smoker formed some words as well. "Congrattions, Your Highness, for taking control of the ze Realm. Can you show your appreciation with some natural treasures?"

    Lu Yin admitted that Smoker had greatly contributed to this battle. If not for Smoker, Lu Yin would have never found the Karmic me, and if Leader Hong had used the Karmic me Sword, then the oue would have beenpletely different.

    This thought spurred Lu Yin into tossing out fifty upgraded natural treasures over to Smoker. ¡°Here¡¯s your reward."

    Smoker was overjoyed, and the white smoke distorted before forming more words. "Thank you, boss."

    Lu Yin still had thirty natural treasures in his cosmic ring. Each of them hade from Bushtree and could be upgraded to the point where they could sense and avoid danger. Ten of them had already been upgraded.

    Looking at the smoke, Lu Yin suddenly asked, "What''s your rtionship with the Neoverse¡¯s Smoke Eater Peaks?"

    Smoker did not answer, and the smoke slowly dissipated.

    Lu Yin looked behind and to the right. "If you don''t want to answer, then it¡¯s not a problem. However, if you ever need any help, just say the word."

    The white smoke disappeared. Smoker had left.

    Actually, during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, Lu Yin had already guessed that there was a connection between Smoker and the Smoke Eater Peaks after seeing Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s smoke. How else could Smoker have traveled deep within the ze Realm to repeatedly attempt assassinating Leader Hong? The only possibility was that the smoke was something truly special.

    Smoke Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke had even been capable of resisting Zhi Yi''s Vitality Qi, and it had helped Gu Xiao¡¯er stay alive when being attacked by Corpse Beast. The smoke was truly amazing, and it was this smoke that allowed Smoker to sneak attack Leader Hong so many times. Although the attempts had been useless, they had somewhat helped, as Smoker had created an amazing reputation for themselves.

    The Frostgate Army appeared in the distance, and then the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces approached.

    Wei Rong saw Lu Yin standing there from within a battleship, and he became overjoyed. They had won.

    At this moment, the Great Eastern Alliance had officially taken over the ze Realm.

    All of the ze Realm¡¯s millions of disciples were captured, though many of them fled with spacecraft scattering in all directions, leaving the territory in chaos.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to worry about announcing the results, and he intended to leave such matters to Huan Sha, Wei Rong, and the others. At this moment, what Lu Yin needed to do was take control of the ze Realm¡¯s wealth, which meant all of the region¡¯s resources.

    Elder Tan trembled before Lu Yin, and spoke in a very respectful tone. "Sin- sinner Little Tan greets the leader of the alliance."

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, and then he gave the Enlighter a strange look. "Little Tan?"1

    Elder Tan answered in terror, "Ye- yes."

    Lu Yinughed. "You know how this works, huh?"

    [1] This man is referring to himself in the exact same manner as Ku Wei. As a reminder, this is a term traditionally used by eunuchs, so quite submissive. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1236: Lu Yinâ€™s Self-esteem

    <h4>Chapter 1236: Lu Yin''s Self-esteem</h4>

    Elder Tan hurriedly reacted and spoke in a loud and resolute voice. "Alliance Leader Lu is majestic and unparalleled throughout the universe! Xiao Tan is willing to follow the Alliance Leader to open up territory, and the direction of the leader''s sword is where Xiao Tan will go, even if it kills me. Alliance Leader Lu will surely dominate the entire universe, control the Hall of Honor, suppress the Sixth Maind, and conquer the Astral Beast Domain! Alliance Leader Lu is invincible.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, as this manner of speech felt incredibly familiar.

    Ku Wei had already arrived, and while he approached Lu Yin, Ku Wei had prepared a great deal of ttery that would showcase his own position while also ttering Yin''s unparalleled iparableness. However, Ku Wei remained silent, as this old man had just said everything that there was to say! This man was a master in the art of ttery!

    The highest level of ttery was to tter someone in such a way that no one else could add any further praise on!

    This old man hadpletely shut down Ku Wei''s means of ttering Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Elder Tan, where are the ze Realm¡¯s resources? Take me to check them out."

    Elder Tan quickly replied, "Yes, Alliance Leader Lu. If the ze Realm¡¯s ancestors came to know that the treasures they gathered would eventually be used by the Alliance Leader, then they would be honored even in death."

    Ku Wei was stunned once again; these words were way too shameless! If anyone from the ze Realm heard this old man, they would definitely be angered to death. This old fart waspletely shameless.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed just hearing the man¡¯s words.

    "Seventh Bro, congrattions! You¡¯ve managed to defeat Leader Hong, which means that you¡¯ve defeated an Envoy while merely in the Hunter realm. Seventh Bro is truly invincible throughout the universe, and you will definitely be a Progenitor in the future! The Human Domain¡¯s first Progenitor," Ku Wei loudly proimed. He felt a need to get some ttery in. He could not allow himself to be defeated by an old man, and since Ku Wei could no longer praise Lu Yin¡¯s impressive aplishments, then he needed to switch to Lu Yin¡¯sbat strength.

    As soon as the words ¡°the Human Domain¡¯s first Progenitor¡± were spoken, Elder Tan turned to stare at Ku Wei in shock, and he looked as though he had been struck by lightning. This youth was also a master of words, an absolute master of sycophancy! He had just shown Elder Tan a new way to use words and a new method of offering praise.

    Ku Wei looked at Elder Tan in a provocative manner.

    An inexplicable atmosphere descended upon the two men as their eyes met. It was as though they could each sense the strength of the other¡¯s abilities, like they had each encountered a destined foe.

    The ze Realm¡¯s resources were stored in a pocket dimension not too far away from the Red. It was hidden in such a way that no one would be able to find it without the assistance of one of the ze Realm¡¯s powerhouses.

    Although Elder Tan had been the weakest among the ze Realm¡¯s Enlighters, he was still an Enlighter, which made him one of the few people qualified to enter the pocket dimension.

    It was a very small pocket space, and it was only the size of a city. However, it contained the ze Realm¡¯s entire treasury.

    When Lu Yin and the others entered the treasury, they just happened to see people from the ze Realm hurryingly storing the resources into cosmic rings.

    "How impudent! Don¡¯t you see that the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance has arrived? He¡¯s from the Hall of Honor, the most talented Lockbreaker, the most powerful of the Ten Arbiters, and peerless within his entire generation! Why are you not rushing over to kneel and beg for forgiveness?" Elder Tan shouted as he red at the people from the ze Realm.

    Ku Wei had been a step toote, which secretly annoyed him. He red at Elder Tan.

    The handful of ze Realm cultivators who had been focused on plundering what they could instantly panicked, and they hurriedly saluted Lu Yin while trembling. "We- we greet Alliance Leader Lu."

    They had never considered that Lu Yin would manage to find this ce so quickly after defeating the ze Realm. Was it not normal to first announce the situation to the outside universe?

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain and spread it across the entire space, and his eyes lit up with excitement. This ce was the ze Realm¡¯s entire treasury, and if nothing else, the star crystals and star essence here roughly numbered in the hundreds of millions. That was hundreds of millions of star essence, an amazing amount! It was nearlyparable to that mountain range of star essence on the Sixth Maind¡¯s transport continent.

    This was the third time that Lu Yin had seen so much star essence at once. The first time had been on the transport continent that the Sixth Maind had used to transport resources, and the second time was at the border warehouse in Endless Weave. During those first two times, the wealth that he had seen had had nothing to do with Lu Yin. However, this time, it all belonged to him.

    Also, the star essence was the least valuable resource in the treasury. It was spread across the ground in a way where anyone could step on it. Besides the vast amount of star essence, Lu Yin also saw sourceboxes, natural treasures, various weapons, and various unknown ores, raw materials, and unique treasures.

    The financial value contained within this space was simply incalcble.

    Lu Yin had the feeling that he might have suddenly be rich.

    ¡­

    When Leader Hong died, the ze Realm had already fallen.

    Thebination of the Frostgate Army and the Great Eastern Alliance army was enough to sweep through the ze Realm.

    Countless people throughout the Innerverse had been watching the battle in the ze Realm. The Hall of Honor had remained indifferent to the situation, the major Innerverse powers were wary of Lu Yin at the moment, and the other powers in zing Mist Flowzone had been rendered helpless to do anything other than sincerely hope that Leader Hong would not lose.

    In Soulseal Flowzone, the Lingling n¡¯s matriarch, Ling Qiu, had a solemn expression. She had always looked down upon Leader Hong and his ze Realm. Even though the ze Realm was known as one of the Innerverse¡¯s great powers, it had still been far weaker than the Lingling n.

    However, she had mostly looked down on Leader Hong for his personality and behavior, as he had made her feel sick. But at this moment, she had never more desperately wanted Leader Hong to be stronger, the more the better.

    At this moment, an old woman approached and quietly said, "Matriarch, the ze Realm has been defeated, and both Leader Hong and Madam Lan are dead."

    Ling Qiu was startled by the news, and she helplessly shook her head. "I still lost."

    "Did Matriarch guess at something?" The old woman was surprised.

    Ling Qiu replied, "If you look at all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, he has only ever suffered very few losses. Once he actually makes a move, he is almost guaranteed to seed. The child ns and executes his ns wlessly."

    The old woman frowned. "What should we do? Should the Purge be re-implemented?"

    Ling Qiu was helpless. "I can condemn the Great Eastern Alliance by using the name of my Lingling n for arbitrarily instigating a war, but we can¡¯t do anything else. Everything will have to wait until after ZENITH."

    The old woman nodded. "Yes, Matriarch."

    Ling Qiu stared in the direction of the ze Realm. "You may have gained the ze Realm, but we didn¡¯t care about them at their peak, let alone when they were reduced to nothing more than a group of rabble. If not for your threat before ZENITH, the Innerverse would definitely teach you what it means to be unfathomable and what it means for something to be irreversible."

    In the Sword Sect, still at the same pond, Sect Master Liu Qianjue quietly stared at the surface of the water and shook his head. "Sure enough, we still lost. Leon¡¯s Armada, the united Outerverse, and the Royal Frost Continent are all forces that have been united behind you. Just do as you wish for now, as everything will be settled after ZENITH."

    The Lingling n, the Sword Sect, the Beast Tamers¡¯ Divine Grade Hall, the Wen n, and Chaosgod Mountain had all silently epted Lu Yin¡¯s upation of the ze Realm. In their eyes, Lu Yin was running around barefoot while unafraid of having no shoes. ZENITH was too important to them, and the more important it was, the more cautiously they behaved.

    However, caution did not actually mean that they were surrendering. ZENITH was quickly approaching, and once that tournament concluded, they would finally settle their ounts with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Innerverse was not that easily entered, and it was a joke for Lu Yin to think that he could simplybine the strength of the Outerverse to fight against many of the Innerverse¡¯s major forces.

    The masters of the eight great flowzones were each capable of single-handedly crushing the ze Realm.

    Leader Hong¡¯s words had been true; Lu Yin¡¯s assault on the ze Realm had revealed all of his cards, and he would not be able to use any of these methods again when he fought against the Innerverse.

    Leon¡¯s Armada, the Royal Frost Continent, and the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces would all be targeted by the Innerverse¡¯s major forces. None of those powers were led by fools.

    The ze Realm¡¯s defeat had not scared off the great powers of the Innerverse, but it had absolutely terrified the smaller organizations scattered around the ze Realm, such as Northline Flowzone, Tempest Flowzone, Ascension Flowzone, and more. They were all scared that the Great Eastern Alliance would target them next. Though, of course, the most nervous of all were the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n.

    This led to the situation where, after the ze Realm was defeated, all of the nearby organizations united to denounce the Great Eastern Alliance. Additionally, all of their people within the Hall of Honor began to speak up about suppressing the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Even in the Outerverse, Elder Lohar, Elder Daggs, and many others were sent a lot of information, as many people were hoping that the elders would step forward to suppress Lu Yin. The Hall of Honor¡¯s elders in the Innerverse were simrly bombarded with messages from all of the major forces in the Innerverse.

    The powers leading the eight great flowzones were not afraid of the Great Eastern Alliance, and they remained unruffled. They had alreadyid ns to deal with Lu Yin after ZENITH, but the smaller powers and organizations from the smaller flowzones were ignorant of such matters. Since they did not even qualify to be a part of the discussions regarding ZENITH, they were all scared to death of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s upation of the ze Realm had the same effect as a boulder being violently thrown into a calmke; waves of disruption rippled through the entire Innerverse.

    The nearby flowzones all gathered their troops and cultivators together while keeping a wary eye on the ze Realm, with the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n taking the lead. Although they had been blocked off by Leon¡¯s Armada, their hostility towards the Great Eastern Alliance was still growing greater and greater.

    News of this incident quickly spread to the Neoverse, and although it was shocking news, most of the people there did not care at all. As far as most of them were concerned, both the Innerverse and Outerverse were mere wastnds.

    ¡­

    In the ze Realm, inside the treasury pocket space, Lu Yin walked atop the star essence, which was a very refreshing feeling.

    When he had received his first piece of star essence, he had felt rich, butter on, his eyes had been opened.

    When he received the quintessence of millions of cubic stars, he had truly felt like he was a rich man, but then, his horizons had opened up again.

    After he obtained tens of millions of star essence, he had been absolutely certain that he was rich, but after improving his universal armor, his horizons had been broadened yet again.

    Now, as Lu Yin looked out at the star essence that was spread across the ground, he secretly warned himself not to grow proud. His die¡¯s three pips: Enhance, was a bottomless pit. At this moment, if he decided to upgrade his universal armor even further, he would likely run out of funds.

    He felt that his perspective had reached a high enough level.

    Inadvertently, he looked over at Ku Wei, and he found that Ku Wei did not seem surprised by the treasury at all. Did Ku Wei not find this to be arge sum? He must have seen more than this before. After all, he was from the Ku family, and the Seven Courts¡¯ wealth had to vastly exceed the ze Realm¡¯s.

    Ku Wei had an even greater level of perspective than Lu Yin, which did not feel good. Lu Yin¡¯s self-esteem would not allow himself to be seen as a beggar.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin pretended to be dissatisfied. "Why is this all of the ze Realm¡¯s resources? The ze Realm is a major power, so it doesn¡¯t make sense for there to be so little,¡± Lu Yin lightlymented.

    Ku Wei was just about to open his mouth when Elder Tan spoke up to reply, "Of course these resources are not worthy of Alliance Leader, and they are not even enough to count as Alliance Leader''s pocket money. However, when the Sixth Maind invaded, the costs of fighting back were high. Also, the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse for several years, which led to a reduction of ie. Over the years, we have depleted our reserves, and a great deal was also consumed to activate the defensive formation. I can only ask Alliance Leader Lu to forgive such offenses."

    Ku Wei was infuriated that he had been upstaged yet again by the old man. "What pocket money? Even twice this money would not be enough for Seventh Bro¡¯s usage. This can¡¯t even count as pocket money."

    Elder Tan stared at Ku Wei, provocation in his eyes.

    Ku Wei raised his head higher.

    Lu Yin listened to them both and thought for a bit, but they were actually right; his die¡¯s three pips was too terrifying with its star essence consumption rate.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1237: Lu Yinâ€™s Status

    <h4>Chapter 1237: Lu Yin''s Status</h4>

    "Have Wei Rong distribute some of this to everyone who participated in the war and then leave the rest to me." Lu Yin coughed as he stared eagerly at all the star essence strewn across the ground. This was more than everything that he had received in the pastbined; now, he finally had a decent amount of money.

    Not only had he acquired the ze Realm¡¯s treasury, but he had also obtained the strange power vessel that Madam Lan had tried to use when Lu Yin first appeared as well as the Karmic me. Both of these items were priceless treasures.

    After emerging from the pocket dimension, Lu Yin immediately ordered the surrounding area to be blocked off so that no one could raid the treasury. As for the few ze Realm cultivators who had tried to steal a tidbit, not only did they have to return what they had grabbed from the treasury, but everything that they owned was also confiscated while they themselves were made prisoners, which was a pathetic oue.

    As soon as Lu Yin emerged, he received a call from Wei Rong. "Your Highness, the Innerverse is boiling right now, and everyone wants us to be kicked out. The nearby flowzones have already formed an allied army, and the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n are ready to dere war."

    Lu Yin felt helpless; why was it that people protested his presence wherever he went? His recent attack on the ze Realm had been a bit showy; perhaps, next time, he would employ alternate means and stealthily upy a territory.

    "With Leon¡¯s Armada blocking their path, they won¡¯t dare to actually do anything. The nearby flowzones are also just minor powers, so there¡¯s no need to be worried about any of them," Lu Yin said.

    Suddenly, another call appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, but this time, a stranger was calling him.

    If someone unknown was able to reach out to Lu Yin at this time, then they were definitely someone important, as not just anyone could call Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin connected to the call, and a pleasant female voice called out. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m Xin Jiao."

    Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open, as this woman was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers. "So it¡¯s Overseer Xin. How has this little junior managed to draw an overseer¡¯s attention?"

    "Hehe, Alliance Leader Lu is a great person, and there¡¯s no need to belittle yourself." Xin Jiaoughed.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know how the overseers are investigating the ims that I¡¯m a traitor to the Fifth Maind, but do you intend to use your overseer¡¯s unique privilege?"

    "Is Alliance Leader Lu still holding a grudge? You shouldn¡¯t hold one against me, regardless," Xin Jiao said.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "I wouldn¡¯t dare, as I¡¯m just asking. I, Lu Yin, have a clear conscience and simply do not want to be ndered."

    Xin Jiao answered with a smile as well. "I believe that no investigation has beenunched against Alliance Leader Lu, as everyone believes you."

    Lu Yin smiled. This had nothing to do with whether or not people believed him. If he had not received the support of Eversky Ind, Yuan Shi, as well as Arch-Elder Zen, then the overseers would have arrested Lu Yin long ago, regardless of whether or not he had actually been framed.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers managed the mundane matters of the Human Domain. Under normal circumstances, not even the Chief Justice would intervene in such matters, though this was only in theory. If the Chief Justice spoke up, then the nine overseers would not dare to slight such a powerhouse by ignoring him. Yuan Shi held a simr level of prestige within the Hall of Honor due to all the people that he had taught, but it did not matter at this moment.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, first of all, congrattions on leading the Great Eastern Alliance to upy the ze Realm. You have Xin Jiao¡¯s admiration."

    Lu Yin said, "So Overseer Xin is calling about this matter. Does the Hall of Honor intend to step in?"

    "Although the Hall of Honor stands at the top of the Human Domain, it does not concern itself with internal affairs. I would just like to remind you that the Outerverse will be given over to the Sixth Maind in the future. Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s history with the Sixth Maind is quite clear, and you are one of their greatest enemies. Thus, Alliance Leader Lu should not try to set up the Innerverse as an enemy as well."

    "The Sixth Maind is the enemy of my entire Fifth Maind. Compared to just me, the major forces of the Innerverse should be more concerned about the Sixth Maind."

    "That''s what I said as well, but it''s still a terrible situation for one to be stuck between the hammer and the anvil. Alliance Leader Lu should carefully think things through. Still, regardless of what you choose to do, we nine overseers will not intervene. That''s all, Alliance Leader Lu. I wish you good luck." After speaking, Xin Jiao hung up.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. Xin Jiao was clearly hoping that Lu Yin would not start another war. It was also clear that many people from all across the Innerverse had appealed to the Hall of Honor, causing a lot of pressure to befall the overseers, which had naturally led to this call.

    Lu Yin found this matter somewhat amusing. Regardless of Xin Jiao¡¯s call, Lu Yin had no intention of starting another war. He did not want to set himself to go against the entire Innerverse.

    He thought for a moment and then called Wei Rong. "Go ahead and release it. We aren¡¯t the Innerverse¡¯s enemy."

    Wei Rong smiled. "Yes, Your Highness."

    Before long, an edited video was broadcast throughout both the Outerverse and Innerverse on the universalwork. The video contained a great deal of historical content, and it documented many of the atrocities that the ze Realm had carried out over the years, which mostly included oppressing the top forces in the Outerverse. Included in the video were clips of Outerverse powerhouses being forced to kneel in order to gain ess to the Astral River Ark.

    The video was more than ten hours long, and it documented dozens of incidents perpetrated by the ze Realm. Any of these incidents could easily incite public outrage, especially among the Outerverse cultivators.

    And at the end of the video, there was a quote by some former ze Realm cultivator. "Trash from the Outerverse who want to enter the Innerverse can only be ves. They are bottomfeeder cultivators who will never be anything more than ants, and they can only kneel down and worship me when in the ze Realm." This sentence was paired with the scene of an Explorer on his knees before a Limiteer from the ze Realm.

    The Explorer in the video was no longer alive, as the end of the video showed him being killed by a ze Realm cultivator as a joke.

    As soon as the video was released, it shook both the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    The universe was cruel and full of darkness, and terrible things that could challenge anyone¡¯s faith in humanity were carried out on the daily. But those aspects remained hidden, and as long as nothing was exposed, there would be no problems. At this moment, the ze Realm¡¯s darkness had beenpletely exposed.

    Immediately, across the entirework, countless people cursed the ze Realm, especially the people from the Outerverse. Anyone with ess to the universalwork would hear rumors about this video, and it threatened to destroy the ze Realm¡¯s entire legacy.

    Soon, a second video appeared, which portrayed more incidents of cultivators from the ze Realm bullying others. It was soon followed by a third video, a fourth, and more. Before long, thousands of videos had appeared.

    The ze Realm had stood for countless years, and even tens of thousands of videos would not be enough to document all the atrocities that the ze Realm hadmitted. There were millions of ze Realm disciples, and even if only one in ten people hadmitted such deeds, there would still be countless such people and millions of incidents.

    These videos were all released by the Gasfire Alliance.

    The Gasfire Alliance has been secretly hiding and fighting against the ze Realm. Most of their members were people who had previously suffered at the hands of the ze Realm, as only such people would be willing to join the Gasfire Alliance. They had hundreds and thousands of such videos documenting numerous cases of abuse.

    In thest video, En Ya appeared. "My Great Eastern Alliance has no intention of starting a war with anyone else, but the ze Realm has bullied our Outerverse for countless years, and they even masterminded a n known as the Purge. Our Great Eastern Alliance is not aggressive. By¡­"

    With this final video, the Great Eastern Alliance announced that Lu Yin had gone into seclusion to concentrate on preparing for ZENITH.

    The Great Eastern Alliance''s war against the ze Realm had initially triggered severe bacsh across the entire Innerverse, but the videos released by the Gasfire Alliance caused countless people across the entire universe to condemn the ze Realm. Although these people could not influence the major powers¡¯ decisions, public sentiment had already changed.

    Many people imed that the cultivation era was all about strength and that, no matter how many ants appeared, they could do nothing. However, public opinion was also a sign of the zeitgeist. Why had the Hall of Honor even created the nine overseers¡¯ positions? It was to secure benefits for the people at the bottom. Although the people at the bottom had no power, their general opinion was not necessarily any less influential than the opinion of the major forces.

    Even back when the Great Eastern Alliance had first been established, Lu Yin had learned of the benefits of having the support of the public. The feelings of the hoi polloi were invisible, but they could reverse a situation at any critical moment.

    The Hall of Honor also valued public opinion.

    In fact, mastering the wills of the masses was no different than mastering the opinion of the Hall of Honor.

    Liu Qianjue, the sect master of Sword Sect, had said that Lu Yin could not stop the general trend of the Innerverse and that Lu Yin could not fight the Innerverse all alone.

    But at this moment,pared to when the Great Eastern Alliance had first invaded the ze Realm, countless people''s opinions had changed after they learned of the various crimes that the ze Realm hadmitted over the years. Many people in the flowzones near the ze Realm no longer had any interest in taking up arms against the Great Eastern Alliance as long as the alliance maintained the neutral stance that they had stated. The nearby forces had been willing to go to war, but none of them actually wanted to do so.

    A war had nearly been started due to a fog of misunderstanding, so Lu Yin had cleared the air for the nearby flowzones.

    The Ross Empire was different from the sylvan dragon n in that they were natives of zing Mist Flowzone. The Great Eastern Alliance posed a threat to the empire, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how the Great Eastern Alliance had clearly allied with the Royal Frost Continent. The empire was very nervous, but Leon¡¯s Armada had blocked their path, preventing them from attacking Lu Yin.

    After Lu Yin announced that he would go into seclusion to prepare for ZENITH, many forces heaved a sigh of relief, hoping that he would not make trouble for a period of time.

    Lu Yin really was not concerned about what was happening in the outside world. He genuinely did want to prepare for ZENITH, and he needed to put all of these distractions aside.

    A few dayster, Wang Wen arrived in the ze Realm and stared out at the starry sky. The ze Realm was being rearranged, as it had be the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯sunchpad to enter the Innerverse.

    There were thousands of habitables throughout the ze Realm, and Lu Yin had found one with a beautiful environment to stay in. Although it was a habitable, it was still wild and prehistoric with massive creatures roaming everywhere. There were creatures hundreds of meters tall roaming about, and some were even thousands of meters tall. Not only were these creatures enormous, but some of them were also quite powerful.

    This was normally used for trials and assessments for the ze Realm¡¯s disciples, and it was used all year round.

    Lu Yin stood on top of the back of a gigantic creature known as the terrorphant. It truly did look very simr to an elephant, but it was more than a thousand meters tall and three thousand meters long. The ground shattered with every step that the creature took, and even Limiteers were unable to withstand its roars.

    Wang Wen dropped down from high above andnded on the back of the terrorphant. "I didn''t expect the ze Realm to haves that aren¡¯t furnaces."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s been a very long time."

    Wang Wen smiled back. "Your Royal Chesspiece, it has indeed been a long time. You''ve be even more domineering."

    Lu Yinughed and sat down cross-legged as he watched a distant volcano erupt. Many creatures hurried to escape while others were trampled to death. "The ze Realm is just like those creatures being trampled. If they don''t move forward fast enough, they will die."

    Wang Wen also sat down. "And you, Your Highness, are like the one running in front."

    As soon as Wang Wen finished speaking, the creature at the front slipped, fell off of a cliff, and plummeted to its death.

    Wang Wen pursed his lips, feeling a little embarrassed.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You''re right. If you rush too fast, then you will easily fall to your death. Those who survive are often the second or third."

    "Do you want to be second and third?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not. Even if you might fall to your death by running too fast, if you survive, you will be the leader, and all creatures have to follow the leader."

    Wang Wen nodded. "Then I can rest assured. I was afraid that you would be fooled by those people from the Innerverse."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1238: Command

    <h4>Chapter 1238: Command</h4>

    While Wang Wen and Lu Yin sat on the back of the terrorphant, the creature seemed to bepletely unaware of their presence. It swung its huge trunk as it cleared a path and trampled the many creatures in its way to death, trumpeting like an overlord all the while.

    "Actually, before this, the ze Realm was not actually my goal¡ªit has too much influence. After all, it is in one of the eight great flowzones. However, you moved too fast," Wang Wenmented.

    Lu Yin replied, "Leader Hong ended up being seriously injured, which presented a rare opportunity. I just couldn¡¯t resist seizing it."

    "True. But trying to upy the ze Realm will only result in two possible oues: will you either be beaten back to the Outerverse, or you will be beaten while you stay in the Innerverse," Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "So then why fight?"

    "You have to. If you don''t fight, then others will force you to," Wang Wen replied helplessly.

    Lu Yin thought about this for a while. "If war breaks out, then we stand absolutely no chance of winning unless all of Leon¡¯s Armada joins the Great Eastern Alliance. We really don¡¯t have any other means of stopping the Innerverse¡¯s forces."

    "They''re also not united. We can always provoke a bit of infighting."

    "They¡¯re also not stupid. The Sword Sect alone can send out enough powerhouses to deal with us."

    "The best method is to deter them in a manner where they won¡¯t dare make a move. Then, we can secretly set the situation up so that they¡¯ll break apart in one fell swoop."

    "How do we deter them?"

    Wang Wen looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. "When you came back from the Technocracy, I asked you if you were confident about dealing with Nightking Zhenwu. You said yes, and Nightking Zhenwu died shortly after. Now, I''ll ask you one more question."

    At this moment, Wang Wen grew more serious than ever before. "Are you confident about ZENITH?"

    Lu Yin and Wang Wen looked at each other, and then their mouths broke into smiles. "What kind of confidence?"

    Wang Wen pointed to the terrorphant beneath them. "Like this."

    As soon as Wang Wen finished speaking, the terrorphant seemingly responded to his words, letting loose a deafening cry that tore apart the clouds in the sky and caused the distant volcano that had just erupted to copse as the soundwave swept out in every direction.

    Lu Yin held his head and let out a long breath as he stared off into the distance. "Do you know that this beast isn¡¯t the overlord of this?"

    He pointed at himself as he stared at Wang Wen and smiled. "I am, because I¡¯m here."

    Wang Wenughed. "Alright, I believe you."

    "Just make your ns, and I¡¯ll do something to stun them all. This ZENITH will be my stage," Lu Yin confidently dered with a smile.

    Wang Wen was happy with this response. "I love shameless confidence."

    Lu Yinughed.

    After Wang Wen left, En Ya visited the.

    En Ya stopped by to give a report on the current situation in the ze Realm. The matter of dealing with the captured disciples was a major problem. Those disciples were not weak, and their average strength far exceeded that of the Allied Forces¡¯ troops. There was also the matter of reorganizing the ze Realm, as it was now a part of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin did not want to hear about all of these administrative matters, as it gave him a headache. Thus, he quickly cut En Ya off, "Figure all of this things out with the Lu Ministry of Staff. Don''t bring it to me."

    En Ya felt helpless, but she had already be ustomed to how Lu Yin handled matters.

    "Your Highness, what about Grand Marshal Shui?" En Ya hesitantly asked.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat, and he remembered Zi Jing¡¯s attitude regarding Shui Chuanxiao atop CyNet¡¯s tower. "I¡¯m going to try."

    En Ya was instantly thrilled. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    Lu Yin had no way to get in touch with Arch-Elder Zen, so he instead called Yuan Shi.

    It was difficult to get a hold of Yuan Shi, and Lu Yin usually had to first call Elder Daggs and ask the elder to help connect him with Yuan Shi.

    Elder Daggs felt rather helpless and aggrieved. He was the Hall of Honor¡¯s elder who had been sent to defend the border of the Human Domain, buttely, he seemed to have be Lu Yin¡¯s messenger. The elder considered refusing the request outright, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he did not dare to offend Lu Yin. Technically, Elder Daggs was also Lu Yin''s subordinate.

    "Junior Lu Yin greets Yuan Shi." Lu Yin spoke with great respect to the old man from the back of the terrorphant.

    Yuan Shi was one of the most respected ancestors within the Human Domain. He was a top expert with a power level of over a million, but he did not care about fame or fortune at all. Instead, he merely stood guard over the Outerverse. Although Yuan Shi did not voice his support of Lu Yin often, he made his position known in other ways. The fact that Yuan Shi had helped give Lu Yin a voice within the Hall of Honor had already been a huge sign of support, and Lu Yin was very grateful to the old man.

    There were times that Lu Yin felt great regret. If Yuan Shi would simply show his support from the chariots and horses,1 let alone the nine overseers, not even the Judicial Commissioner Mu Tian would have dared to move against Lu Yin.

    Yuan Shi was a transcendent elder.

    "You¡¯ve stirred up a great deal of trouble." This was Yuan Shi¡¯s greeting to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "It would seem that I¡¯ve bothered Senior."

    Yuan Shi softly replied, "It''s fine. I didn''t help you very much."

    Lu Yin solemnly countered, "Without Senior¡¯s influence, this junior would not have had such an easy time of things."

    "Eversky Ind was the one that helped you, as well as Arch-Elder Zen. I¡¯m merely the old man who protects the Outerverse, and even then, I haven''t even been able to protect it." Yuan Shi''s voice sounded rather bleak.

    Lu Yin knew what Yuan Shi was thinking about. The old man had stood guard over the Outerverse for eons, but in the end, the Outerverse had been handed over to the Sixth Maind. It would be difficult for anyone in Yuan Shi¡¯s position to ept this oue.

    The fact that Yuan Shi was willing to express such an emotion in front of Lu Yin proved that he regarded Lu Yin as one of his own, as a junior who could be spoken to.

    "Senior, don''t be too obsessive about certain things. You have been protecting all of humanity and the Fifth Maind, not just the Outerverse," Lu Yin said.

    Yuan Shi smiled gently. "That''s true, though I needed you to remind me of it. Alright child, why did you seek me out?"

    Lu Yin nced over at En Ya and respectfully asked, "Senior, are you familiar with Gaia¡¯s Swamp?"

    Yuan Shi wondered, "The Hall of Honor¡¯s prison?"

    "Yes. This junior would like to have one of the prisoners released," Lu Yin said.

    "Their sentence?"

    "Ten thousand years."

    "Ten thousand years?" Yuan Shi was taken aback. "What''s their name?"

    Lu Yin answered quietly, "Shui Chuanxiao."

    Yuan Shi did not answer, as he was likely looking into the situation. So, Lu Yin waited quietly.

    A growing unease filled En Ya¡¯s heart, and her eyes revealed all sorts ofplicated emotions, though the most prevalent was anticipation. Even her hands were clenched white with stress.

    She was aware of who Lu Yin was speaking with, Yuan Shi. She was not qualified to reach out to such a powerhouse, but she had long since known of him, as he was the protector of the Outerverse who Grand Marshal Shui had told her about.

    Although En Ya did not know a great deal about Yuan Shi, she was aware of his position due to Shui Chuanxiao. If Yuan Shi spoke up, then the Grand Marshal would definitely be released.

    Lu Yin nced back over at En Ya, and he grew even more curious about Shui Chuanxiao. What sort of charm did this person with the greatest military mind in all of history have that his former subordinates would still do their best to save him, even after he nned the fall of half of Endless Weave? Why did these people continue to trust the man without any hesitation and still speak up for him?

    It almost felt like brainwashing, but people like En Ya who had survived the cruelty of a border warfront would have a strong mentality resistant to brainwashing.

    "Tell me about Grand Marshal Shui," Lu Yin suddenly said.

    En Ya did not have the presence of mind to speak at this moment, but since Lu Yin had been the one to ask, she had no choice but to respond. She whispered, "What would Your Highness like to know about the Grand Marshal?"

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin replied, "What about him makes it that you would die for him?"

    En Ya looked at Lu Yin in surprise, but she seriously considered his question for a while. "The Grand Marshal didn''t do anything on purpose, but he has a certain charm about him that causes people to feel that, as long as they follow him, they¡¯ll win."

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows; was it that extreme?

    "Does Your Highness think that you saw everything at the border with the Astral Beast Domain? That our only enemy was the Wilderness Beast Alliance?" En Ya said.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Of course not. The Astral Beast Domain isparable to the Human Domain, so how could the Wilderness Beast Alliance possibly be enough to contest us when they only have seven Enlighter realm astral beasts?"

    When Lu Yin had still been a student of the Astral Combat Academy, an Enlighter had been an iparable powerhouse to him. But from his current perspect, he alone was enough to deal with seven Enlighter realm astral beasts.

    "Your Highness witnessed the border warfront in both Endless Weave and Ironblood Weave, so how could the Wilderness Beast Alliance be the only power at the border of the Astral Beast Domain? Originally, that was not even the Wilderness Beast Alliance¡¯s territory. Countless giant beasts were evacuated from the area while the Wilderness Beast Alliance was actually forced there by both the Celestial Beast Empire and Grand Marshal Shui."

    "Grand Marshal Shui was able to force the Wilderness Beast Alliance?" Lu Yin was surprised to hear this.

    Additionally, the information that he had received concerning the border warfront in the Erudite Flowzone was nothing like what En Ya was sharing.

    En Ya murmured, "The Grand Marshal and the Celestial Beat Empire both have a tacit understanding with the Wilderness Beast Alliance at the border of Erudite Flowzone. The alliance was put there as a buffer zone so that the two great powers would not directly share a border. It¡¯s possible that the Wilderness Beast Alliance might actually be unaware of this, as Grand Marshal Shui yed them from the beginning, all to change the border situation. The true border stretches from the Innerverse¡¯s Erudite Flowzone, across the Cosmic Sea, and all the way to the Neoverse. That is the true border line.

    "The Grand Marshal of the border is also the bordermander of the entire Human Domain, and he possesses authority over all of the other borders, including Endless Weave and Ironblood Weave. Even a powerhouse like Yuan Shi is considered a part of the Grand Mashal¡¯s resources, and Grand Marshal Shui had the authority to mobilize everyone at a critical moment, even Yuan Shi."

    En Ya''s wordspletely shocked Lu Yin.

    There was a certain universal rule that wasmon sense: strength was greater than everything else. A cultivator could easily seize authority, and the greater their strength was, the more authority they could receive.

    A powerhouse like Yuan Shi was capable of ughtering everyone in the Innerverse and the Outerverse without anyone stopping him. That was the privilege possessed by the powerful.

    The reason why Yuan Shi was so respected was not only because of how many people he had selflessly taught, but also because he had never oppressed others with his amazing strength.

    Power was greater than authority, and power also enhanced authority. This was the way of the universe.

    However, thismon sense was turned on its head with Shui Chuanxiao. He was only a Hunter realm cultivator, but he actually had the authority tomand a powerhouse like Yuan Shi. This situation destroyed Lu Yin¡¯smon sense.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s mere existence was something that few people in the Innerverse were even aware of, let alone the Outerverse. Despite that, Shui Chuanxiao had actually been able to issuemands to such a powerhouse.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Shui Chuanxiao had been given this authority by others, and the only possibility that Lu Yin coulde up with was that Yuan Shi had voluntarily agreed to bemanded during a battle. Whether it was Shui Chuanxiao or someone else, Yuan Shi would follow the Grand Marshal during times of war. This could only happen with Yuan Shi¡¯s willingness, as he could not be forced into such a thing.

    Yuan Shi could easily eliminate Shui Chuanxiao if he cared to since Yuan Shi was a peak expert. Thus, he could only bemanded if he was willing.

    Someone had forsaken half of Endless Weave, causing countless deaths and delivering despair to countless more. However, the guilty party was not sentenced to death, but instead merely incarcerated. This also showed the privileges that Shui Chuanxiao had earned due to being the Grand Marshal who had been inmand of all of the Human Domain¡¯s borders.

    [1] This is simply a Chinese expression that I liked, so it got left. It literally means to openly ce the chariot and horse pieces in Chinese chess, and it means to do things in an open and blunt manner. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1239: Zenith Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 1239: Zenith Mountain</h4>

    "A grand marshal canmand many people," En Ya said.

    Lu Yin looked up. "So that¡¯s why he was able to betray Endless Weave, pass his opinions to the Hall of Honor, and even sessfully connect the entire Human Domain on a singlework."

    "Your Highness, please save the grand marshal no matter what it takes! He can die on the battlefield, but not in prison," En Ya begged.

    After listening to En Ya''s words, Lu Yin suddenly abandoned all hope of being able to rescue Shui Chuanxiao, at least by relying on Yuan Shi. Yuan Shi had selflessly agreed to bemanded by the Human Domain¡¯s grand marshal, so Yuan Shi clearly attached great importance to righteousness. If this were not the case, then when Shui Chuanxiao had deliberately lost half of Endless Weave, would Yuan Shi have agreed to such a method? This would have gone against the ancient powerhouse¡¯s principles.

    After a while, Yuan Shi''s voice was heard from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, ¡°I can do nothing.¡±

    En Ya''s eyes dimmed.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. "Senior, Grand Marshal Shui is guilty. This is true. But his actions allowed the entire Human Domain to be connected under onework, which allows us to nowmunicate in real-time. If not for an interconnectedwork, then the Outerverse might not have been able to reinforce Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenses in time. Thiswork also provides endless possibilities for the other border warfronts."

    "I know, but who will pay the debt for the countless lives lost when half of Endless Weave fell?" Yuan Shi solemnly asked.

    Lu Yin had nothing to say. This was a matter that had to be viewed from one¡¯s own morality and knowledge of the overall situation. Shui Chuanxiao had seeded in the grand scheme of things, but only at the cost of his morality.

    Yuan Shi had always remained unaffiliated, not caring about iming political power or authority. In fact, he had even submitted to another¡¯smand. Such a person often ced great importance upon morals and virtue. Thus, Lu Yin believed that Yuan Shi no longer had a very good opinion of Shui Chuanxiao.

    "An imprisonment of 10,000 years is the punishment that was given to him. No matter if I can or cannot save him from this fate, I will not," Yuan Shi said.

    Lu Yin was helpless. "Junior understands. I''m sorry for making things ufortable for Senior."

    Yuan Shi remained silent for a while before speaking again, "Everyone has their own value. This sentence was given as his punishment, but that was not its true purpose. If he canpensate for his crime, then the sentence can then be reduced."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "This junior understands. Thank you for reminding me."

    "Many people im that the bigger picture is the most important aspect of things, but what is it worth if you win the war by losing your soul? You must have a bottom line, and I hope that your bottom line, no matter if it¡¯s now or in the future, will never be crossed."

    After finishing his call with Yuan Shi, Lu Yin looked over at En Ya. "Wait a bit more."

    En Ya pursed her lips. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    En Ya left soon after, and Lu Yin ruminated over Yuan Shi¡¯sst words. The bigger picture? His bottom line?

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, the Azure Mansion remained as lively as ever. However, within Ming Yu''s room, Tian Shao was sitting down with a pale face as he stared at two women in front of him. One was Ming Yu, and the other was Ming Yan, who was known to Tian Shao as Yan Yu.

    "You? How dare you poison me!" Tian Shao¡¯s eyes were sinister as he red at Ming Yu.

    Ming Yu''s eyes betrayed her terror. Her fear of Tian Shao left her feeling uneasy, but after looking at Ming Yan, who was standing beside her, Ming Yu grew more confident. She had never expected that Ming Yan''s poison would be so powerful. Not only was it effective on Tian Shao, but it also affected everyone else. The old powerhouse who acted as Tian Shao¡¯s bodyguard had also been poisoned, aging dramatically. Right now, he looked as though his life had already passed by.

    What made Ming Yan even more unfathomable was that she actually had two different people. No, that was not quite right; she was one person, but with two personalities, though that also seemed wrong. Her hair alternated between ck and white at unpredictable times. The ck-haired Ming Yan was kind hearted while the white-haired Ming Yan was ruthless. However, the two personalities both had some things inmon, which was that they were both decisive and contained the overwhelming momentum of a ruler.

    "Who controls ck Street?" At this moment, Ming Yan had white hair, and she spoke in an indifferent tone.

    In a sinister voice, Tian Shao replied, "Bitch! You dare to move against me? I am Bu Laoweng¡¯s grandson! Do you know how many people within the Hall of Honor serve our family?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan did not mess around, and she simply broke Tian Shao''s arm in response, causing him to howl in agony.

    In another room, Tian Shao¡¯s old bodyguard was struggling more and more with his rapid aging. His skin looked more like a dehydrated piece of bark hanging off of his face, and it looked like it was going to fall off at any moment. It was horrendously terrifying.

    In front of him was the establishment¡¯s madam, who was petrified. She was not scared of the old man, but rather of Ming Yan.

    The madam was aware of this old man¡¯s power, and she was horrified to see that such an incredible powerhouse could be crippled by a poison.

    "Hurry! Inform Bu Laoweng! Call him now!" The old man raised his face that looked like a ghost and red at the madam.

    The madam took a step back in fear, but she did not dare to respond.

    The old man''s eyes grew ever fiercer. "You dare to betray ck Street? You know what will happen, and it is a hundred times worse than simply dying. Are you sure that you want to go through with this?¡±

    The madam shook her head, her facepletely white. "I- I dare not! I dare not!"

    "Two mere girls think they can stand up to ck Street with nothing but a little poison? Immediately call Bu Laoweng. Hurry up!" the old man threatened the madam.

    At this moment, the door to the room opened, and the white-haired Ming Yan entered. She calmly looked down at the old man and then over at the madam. ¡°If you want to believe him, then go ahead. I¡¯ll let you experience what it means to have a life worse than death."

    The madam''s body trembled. "Yes, yes.¡±

    The old man stared at Ming Yan. "You¡¯re courting death! Do you know who you are going up against? He is one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers! Do you know what will happen to whoever moves against him?¡±

    The white-haired Ming Yan gave the old man a strange look. "Old man, I just did.¡±

    ¡­

    Chaos Flowzone was the Innerverse¡¯s darkest ce. It was full of pirates, assassins, ve traders, and more. This darkness that ordinary people could only imaginey in this flowzone, along with another, unexpected darkness.

    Manys in the flowzone contained ck markets where shady transactions took ce everyday.

    On one particr day, a man appeared above a certain. His whole body was hidden within a strange armor, and his face could not be seen. Only a single word was engraved upon the surface of the armor: Ji. This was the symbol of the Interster Supreme Court.

    As the man stepped through space, he instantly disappeared. When he next appeared, he was in the darkest corner of the, deep underground. This was where the¡¯s ck market was located.

    The center of the was surrounded by magma, and curtains of magma fell down in all directions, illuminating the hidden space. It made for an extraordinary view that was as beautiful as it was dangerous.

    The moment the man arrived, countless strands of sword qi flew at him from all directions, shattering the void. The invisible barrier that kept this space isted from the surrounding magma was immediately torn apart, and an endless amount of magma poured in like a broken dam.

    The moment the neer made a move, someone in the ck market had noticed something and immediately wanted to stop what was about to happen. However, there was simply nothing that he could do. The neer was too strong, and those who protected the ck market were only Hunters. They could not withstand even a single attack from this man.

    "Is that¡­? The Interster Supreme Court! Not good! RUN!"

    "Who offended the Interster Supreme Court? They¡¯ve brought disaster."

    "Sir, please stop! This ce is under the protection of Chaosgod Mountain. Please show mercy."

    The space at the center of the was covered with magma. That,bined with the countless spatial cracks, made thisnd look like a scene of doomsday.

    After one round of attacks, the man slowly stated, "ZENITH will be held in Chaos Flowzone. By the order of the Chief Justice, Chaos Flowzone will be purged."

    The man''s words echoed through the hearts of those deep in the bowels of the, and countless people wailed in despair.

    "Why did they decide to hold ZENITH in Chaos Flowzone? What should we do now?¡±

    "Let''s escape! We can go to another flowzone to avoid attention for now, and we¡¯lle back after ZENITH."

    "Who came up with the idea of holding ZENITH in Chaos Flowzone? Did Chaosgod Mountain agree?¡±

    "Bro, stop dreaming. The Hall of Honor is organizing ZENITH. No matter how you look at it, Chaosgod Mountain isn¡¯t qualified to object. I bet that they¡¯re dealing with their own problems right now.¡±

    ¡­

    Chaosgod Mountain was indeed facing a true challenge at this moment. Cang Zhou red at Mu En with a face that contained grief and indignation. "Why should I have my Chaosgod Mountain maintain order? Clean up the darkness? If we do this, who will give us face in the future in this chaotic flowzone?¡±

    Mu En answered with a smile. "This is an order from the Hall of Honor. Sect Master Cang should cooperate, as otherwise, I won¡¯t be the one speaking to you next time. Rather, it might be the Chief Justice."

    Cang Zhou gritted his teeth. "Understood. You are certainly cruel enough."

    Mu En smiled bitterly. "It was decided that ZENITH will be held in Chaos Flowzone, which is something that none of us can change, no matter who Sect Master Cang wishes toin to."

    "The Outerverse has been handed over to the Sixth Maind. What is there that I can¡¯t figure out?" Cang Zhou unhappilyined.

    Mu En shook his head. "There are some things that are not decided by people, and I don''t know the specifics."

    The master of one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones waspletely clueless as to why Chaos Flowzone had been chosen to host ZENITH. Cang Zhou felt helpless, and he looked in the direction of the Neoverse.

    He suddenly remembered Lu Yin. That junior had greatly impressed Cang Zhou. Lu Yin was just a child, but he had actually forced the Innerverse powers to abandon their ns of the Purge, and he even held the qualifications to face such powerhouses directly. At the moment, Lu Yin had already defeated the ze Realm and secured a ce for himself within the Innerverse. His goal should also be the Neoverse.

    "Although he¡¯s just a child, we old farts can¡¯t match up to his spirit," Cang Zhou said with a sigh.

    Chaosgod Mountain was the only power that could quickly clear Chaos Flowzone. As the master of Chaos Flowzone, Chaosgod Mountain was also the most familiar with the flowzone.

    Ten days. Chaosgod Mountain gave the people of Chaos Flowzone¡¯s underworld ten days to clear out. After that, they took another ten days to deal with anyone who had refused to leave.

    It only took a total of twenty days before Chaos Flowzone was clean. Although Chaosgod Mountain had be hated by countless people and was ridiculed for bing the Hall of Honor¡¯spdog, suchints had nothing to do with the Hall of Honor.

    On the second day after Chaos Flowzone¡¯s purge, Zenith Mountain appeared.

    Even Cang Zhou felt amazed when he stared at the nearby tall and majestic mountain.

    Zenith Mountain was a mountain, but it had been made from a certain ore known as tika. Tika was known as the hardest stone known to the universe, and it was tough enough topare to many metals that were used to forge weapons. It was difficult for even Hunters to leave any marks on tika.

    An entire gigantic mountain madepletely of tika was certainly enough to be the battlefield for where the younger generation¡¯s vied for supremacy.

    Also, this was just what Zenith Mountain was made of. The gravity on the mountain was also an impressive hundred times stronger than normal gravity. This was the limit that most regr Limiteers could tolerate.

    Additionally, Zenith Mountain was constantly covered by catastrophic weather phenomena and many strange obstacles.

    At the center of Zenith Mountain were four valley passes. Theyy to the south, east, north, and west. These passes were checkpoints, and they had to be crossed if one wanted to reach the peak of the mountain.

    Above the four valleys was a massive pass that stood near the mountain¡¯s peak. This was the final checkpoint.

    Thus, there were five checkpoints in total: south, north, east, west, and center, and each had a gatekeeper.

    The moment Zenith Mountain appeared in Chaos Flowzone, space trembled, and an image spread out that was seen by the entire universe, even the Sixth Maind.

    Pinnacle Youth. This was the title everyone desired, and it would be given to ZENITH¡¯s final victor.

    At this very moment, registration for ZENITH opened up.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1240: Registration

    <h4>Chapter 1240: Registration</h4>

    The western region of Chaos Flowzone had long since beenpletely sealed off by the Hall of Honor, as it had been given over to the Sixth Maind. The Sixth Maind continued to send their youths through the small gap in the barrier, and those who had arrived were currently living on a floating maind.

    This drifting maind bordered the Starfall Sea to the west of Chaos Flowzone. When the Ghost Monkey had dragged Lu Yin into the Technocracy to escape, they had actually passed by this drifting maind.

    The Sixth Maind continued to send their youths to the floating maind in the Fifth Maind. At this moment, the drifting continent had already been renamed to the Upper Realm.

    The Upper Realm was not veryrge, and it had been under Chaos Flowzone¡¯s control for a long time. But when the Sixth Maind had invaded, the casualties had been catastrophic and incalcble. Now though, the Sixth Maind¡¯s most talented youths had already arrived at the Upper Realm after several months had passed.

    The Hall of Honor had only sealed off the region where the Upper Realm sat, and nothing had been revealed to the outside world. The people from the Sixth Maind were also aware that they were hated by those from the Fifth Maind.

    In the Upper Realm, in a region that was covered with yellow sand and scorched by a zing hot sun, more than a dozen figures walked across the sand while searching for something.

    "Where did the young master go?"

    "I don''t know, but continue looking for him. We can¡¯t allow the young master to miss this opportunity."

    "I don''t know what the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor is thinking. They¡¯re actually hosting this ZENITH, and they are even inviting people from the Sixth Maind to participate. With our Daosource Three Skies, does the Fifth Maind even stand a chance?"

    "I¡¯ve heard that the Fifth Maind is far moreplicated than what we witnessed during the attack. I hope that the young master will be more careful."

    Just as these few people were talking, a pair of eyes opened beneath the sand. The strangest thing was that these eyes had no pupils and were solid ck. This person was White Silkworm, the inheritor of the Sightless n and the person known throughout the ckblood Realm as being second only to Realmling Shang Rong.

    White Silkworm jumped up out of the sand and stood in front of everyone, and they were all overjoyed. "Young Master, you can now register for ZENITH, which will be held in the Fifth Maind."

    White Silkworm nodded. "I know."

    White Silkworm had once been arrogant. Even when confronted with Shang Rong, White Silkworm had possessed the courage to challenge the Realmling with the confidence that he wouldn¡¯t lose to Shang Rong. However, at this moment, White Silkworm¡¯s face looked worn down and tired, seemingly carrying a deep sadness.

    The sudden arrival of those monsters had left the Sixth Maind with no time to react. One realm after another had copsed, and even the Daosource Sect had fallen. Only the appearance of their three Progenitors had allowed the Sixth Maind to barely beat the monsters back.

    The loss of the ckblood Realm had truly been tragic. More than half of the Sightless n¡¯s direct descendants had died, and almost all cultivators relying upon the Sightless n had been eliminated. The worst of all was that nearly all of their ckblood Realm¡¯s super powerhouses had died.

    And this was just what the ckblood Realm had suffered. The Sixth Maind consisted of nine realms as well as the countless Imprinters who had been a part of the Daosource Sect.

    They had never expected their invasion of the Fifth Maind to fail, but they had been forced to return to the Fifth Maind so soon. This time, they had note as invaders, but rather as refugees.

    The once-arrogant invaders had failed and then been summarily driven from their homes like a beaten dog. Thisplete 180 had drained White Silkworm of his previous arrogance, and it had also silenced his peers from the Sixth Maind.

    On another, the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Realmling, Di Fa, met with Bai Ling, the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling. Both remained silent.

    Some distance away, someone whispered, "Another group¡¯s already arrived. I heard that this group is from the Sage Martial Realm."

    "Sage Martial Realm? Didn¡¯t they want to stay in the Sixth Maind until the very end? Why did they escape?"

    "Shh! Don¡¯t talk about that. It won¡¯t be good if someone from the Sage Martial Realm overhears you."

    Bai Ling had already heard their conversation, but his face did not even twitch. Their pride, their everything, had been destroyed by those monsters, so what was the point in dwelling on such matters?

    "Have you heard? ZENITH, thepetition being held by the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor, has opened up for registration."

    "ZENITH? What an arrogant name. Is the Fifth Maind worthy of using such a title? My Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies are enough to wipe out everyone from the Fifth Maind."

    "I don''t know where the Fifth Maind got the confidence to call their contest ZENITH, but aren¡¯t they afraid that their peak youths will be beaten like dogs by our Daosource Three Skies?"

    "Actually, the Fifth Maind has quite a few powerhouses themselves, and their strongest youths are very impressive. What about the Ten Arbiters or the Neoverse¡¯s top youths? Without them, we¡¯ll take everything."

    "By the way, I heard that there¡¯s another Arbiter named Lu Yin who injured one of the Daosource Three Skies and that he¡¯s the person Zhi Yi issued a special reward for. She even said that she would introduce his captor to the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Even if the Progenitor of Bloodlines doesn¡¯t take that person as a disciple, they would still be able to have an Empyrean Imprinter as their master."

    "So? What happened?"

    "It was all useless. The East Realm¡¯s Realmling, Little Arrow Saint, chased Lu Yin for many days trying to capture or kill him, but Lu Yin ultimately managed to run away. It''s such a pity."

    "There really are some people from the Fifth Maind who aren¡¯t weak, so be careful."

    "What''s the use of so much talk? I¡¯m guessing that no one from the Sixth Maind will even be able to participate in theirpetition. There¡¯s no guarantee that we¡¯ll be safe, and even if we win, then so what? The Fifth Maind¡¯s people are so short-sighted. They only see the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy as their nearby enemies while they think of us as their greatest enemy. They don¡¯t even know that the real enemy is those monsters. They¡¯re just a group of short-sighted people. Even if they win, they have nothing to be proud of.¡±

    This person''s words resonated with many others, as they all still looked down on the Fifth Maind.

    ¡­

    Listening to the people''s conversations, Di Fa shook his head, "They¡¯re the ones who are truly short-sighted. If the Fifth Maind was really as weak as they im, then why would the three Progenitors need to wait outside? They would have simply seized control of the Fifth Maind long ago, and at worst, they would have brought those monsters in as well and allowed the Fifth Maind to be consumed. Instead, those monsters are destroying my Sixth Maind, which is enough to prove that the three Progenitors actually fear this Fifth Maind."

    Bai Ling''s eyes had long since lost the arrogance and sharpness that they had once possessed, though this was not because of the Fifth Maind. Just like White Silkworm and many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s other geniuses, she had lost her confidence after being beaten by those monsters.

    Even just thinking about those monsters gave Bai Ling shivers of fear. She had no thoughts whatsoever about participating in ZENITH.

    After Zenith Mountain appeared, registration for ZENITH had opened up. No fewer than 10,000 people from the Fifth Maind had immediately signed up, and they came from the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse. The Outerverse received the news a bitter, but the people from there also signed up as soon as possible. At the same time, the youths of the Astral Beast Domain also started entering, their names being engraved on Zenith Mountain.

    After registering, a person¡¯s name would appear on Zenith Mountain. Such a massive mountain could have countless names engraved upon it, and the names of the losers would disappear once they were eliminated until only ten names remained.

    No one from the Sixth Maind had signed up yet, and none of them had any knowledge about the tournament at all. They were all focused on growing stronger so that they could drive out those monsters one day and return to their Sixth Maind. Everyone had a blood feud with those monsters.

    The three Progenitors had not told anyone that the monsters had only appeared in the Sixth Maind because of Progenitor Hui¡¯s n and predictions. If these people knew, then they would never feel safe again.

    The grudges thaty between the Fifth and Sixth Maind were so deep that they could never be resolved.

    The people of the Sixth Maind passed through the hole in the barrier formed from the ck hole. After entering the Fifth Maind, they made their way to the Upper Realm.

    Sword Schr looked both sad and angry as he looked back at the Sixth Maind. His eyes were bloodshot, as were the eyes of everyone else from the Sage Martial Realm.

    At this time, Sword Schr and all of the others heard a voice, and this same voice was simultaneously heard by the people in the Upper Realm along with all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators.

    "I am the Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    As soon as these words were heard, everyone looked up at the sky, horrified. The Progenitor of Bloodlines? This was a Progenitor¡¯s voice?

    "I know that you are unwilling, and I know that you are unafraid of death. But what is the value of unnecessary sacrifice? The Fifth Maind¡¯s ZENITH is about to start, so sharpen your skills. Fight, steal, and win the championship of ZENITH. Anyone who manages to take one of the ten final ces of ZENITH will be epted as my disciple, and I will teach them everything that I have learned so that the Sixth Maind can be reimed in the future and be invincible."

    Progenitor of Bloodlines''s words shocked everyone from the Sixth Maind.

    Bai Ling and Di Fa stood up and looked at each other; each seeing the shock in the other''s eyes.

    Out in the desert, White Silkworm was stunned that the Progenitor of Bloodlines had actually spoken.

    In yet another part of the Upper Realm, a fat man who had been frantically eating lifted his head and muttered to himself for a moment before swallowing his food. "Bloodlines? The Progenitor of Bloodlines actually spoke?" He was Nan Yanfei.

    In another part of the Upper Realm, a white sun shone down on the ground. Beneath this sun, several cultivators cried out in fear. However, no matter how they shouted, they could not evade their fate of being burned.

    "You people from the Sixth Maind will pay the price sooner orter! This is the Fifth Maind, and you will definitely be forced out!" one cultivator shouted.

    High in the sky, just beneath the sun, Shang Rong''s eyes remained indifferent. The blood, cruelty, and ruthlessness that he had experienced had changed him. After living through the monsters¡¯ invasion, many of the people from the Sixth Maind had changed.

    "Your master was the one to ask us toe, and the weak can only ept their fate when they are not even qualified to resist." As his words faded, the few cultivators werepletely wiped away.

    Shang Rong thennded on the ground. "ZENITH?"

    In yet another region of the Upper Realm, the rulers of the War Martial Realm continued to forge their weapons. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, their ancestor had perished, which had caused the Toolwielder n¡¯s status to plummet. They still had some power, but it was nowhere close to what it had once been.

    After hearing the Progenitor¡¯s words, Toolwielder stopped his task and lifted his head, excitement burning in his eyes. If he could be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple, then his n¡¯s former glory would bepletely restored. This was the path he should take. Be one of the ten finalists? It was practically guaranteed.

    Countless people from the Sixth Maind were roused by the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯s words, but the matter was still not over yet.

    "I am the Progenitor of Combat."

    As soon as these words were heard, everyone from the Maind was stunned once again.

    "The Fifth Maind ZENITH has begun. All of my Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings willpete for the position of champion and ascend to the stars, hailed as invincible throughout the universe. Those who reach the top ten can be my disciples. The Progenitor of Bloodlines and I will teach these disciples together, and the day wille when we wade through blood as we fight to retake our Sixth Maind."

    The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s words were very simr to what the Progenitor of Bloodlines had just said. While the Progenitor of Bloodlines'' words had already ignited the ambitions of countless Sixth Maind cultivators, the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s words sparked those mes into fierce roaring fires.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s youths had all be eager and excited at the prospect of bing a Progenitor¡¯s disciple. This temptation was too strong.

    Generally speaking, no matter how badly one wished to be the disciple of one of the three Progenitors, it was an opportunity reserved for only the Daosource Three Skies. At this moment, as long as anyone made it to the final ten in ZENITH, they would be the disciple of not only the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but also of the Progenitor of Combat. Such a thing had never urred before.

    In the Upper Realm, a woman in green clothes raised her head and said, "ZENITH? I should try it. Maybe I can get into the top ten."

    Her name was Xiao Qing.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1241: Bright Starry Sky

    <h4>Chapter 1241: Bright Starry Sky</h4>

    In a far off ce, but still in the Upper Realm, there were two cultivators high in the sky, one fat and one thin, but both were excited. "Fat Bro, we¡¯re going to be disciples of both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat!"

    "That¡¯s right, Skinny Bro. The day has finallye. We just need to ce in the top ten of this ZENITH, right? That¡¯s too easy."

    "Fat Bro, I''ve decided that I won''t eat before thepetition. I¡¯ll get even thinner. That way, I¡¯ll definitely make it into the top ten."

    "Skinny Bro, you¡¯re already very thin. Hey, you actually look a lot thinner than yesterday."

    "Really? Fat Bro, you¡¯re definitely a lot fatter than yesterday."

    "Hahaha, really? Skinny Bro, let''s work together to be disciples of the two Progenitors. When the timees, we¡¯ll roam the universe. Forget the Fifth Maind¡ªnot even those monsters will be our opponents."

    "Fat Bro, let''s work together."

    "Skinny Bro, you¡¯ve inspired me! Let''s work together."

    ¡­

    At this moment, another voice was heard throughout the Upper Realm that rendered everyone from the Sixth Maind utterly speechless. "I am the Progenitor of Secret Arts."

    When the Progenitor of Secret Arts spoke, everyone from the Sixth Maind felt numb. Of their three Progenitors, the Progenitor of Secret Arts had always been the most mysterious, and he rarely ever appeared openly. He had created more secret techniques than the other two Progenitorsbined.

    Many people wished to worship the Progenitor of Secret Arts as their teacher. Even if they were unable to learn any of his supreme battle techniques or receive the greatest inheritance, they would definitely still be able to learn at least two secret techniques under his tutge, which was enough to change defeat into victory in most situations.

    It wasmon sense in the Sixth Maind that people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory should not be provoked because fighting against them was simply too infuriating.

    "My home has been stolen away, and my life will be decided within a few days. However, the people of my Sixth Maind will not be affected by fate. They will definitely take back their homnd, and everyone will retain their strength. The Fifth Maind¡¯s ZENITH is about to start, and those who can sessfully enter the top ten will be the disciples of us three Progenitors and will be able to ept the inheritance of all three Progenitors."

    The words of the Progenitor of Secret Arts sent the mes within the hearts of all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators into overdrive. All of the youths immediately registered for ZENITH while the older cultivators decided to do everything possible to improve their younger generation¡¯s strength.

    Although the Sixth Maind cultivators originally had not cared about ZENITH, their passion had now burst into full mes.

    An arrow pierced through the dark vacuum of space. It was impossible to know how far that arrow traveled, but it might have even left the region of the known universe.

    Little Arrow Saint raised his head, his eyes zing with an unprecedented fire. The opportunity to be a disciple of all three Progenitors was something that could not be sought, but rather only stumbled upon.

    Back then, he had wanted to hunt Lu Yin down to prove that he was worthy to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple, but unfortunately, he had failed. Little Arrow Saint did not want to fail again at this junction. Regardless of if he had to go up against the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings, the Daosource Three Skies, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, or the geniuses from the Neoverse, he would defeat every single one of them in order to climb to the top ten.

    In another region of the space above the Upper Realm, a man dressed in white clothes with a faint smile on his face walked along. "The disciple of all three Progenitors? What¡¯s the point? Their path of cultivation is different. Still, this ZENITH sounds very interesting, and it''s been quite a long time. The final ten?"

    This man was Mr. Bai, whose true name was Wu Taibai. He was one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Some distance away, Zhi Yi opened her eyes, revealing a cold light. She stood up and respectfully said, "This disciple will follow her orders."

    She had just heard the Progenitor of Bloodline¡¯s words, letting her know that she had been appointed as one of the gatekeepers of ZENITH, and she immediately understood her purpose as a gatekeeper.

    "Don''t worry, Master. Your disciple will definitely stomp on everyone from the Fifth Maind," Zhi Yi resolutely dered.

    Elsewhere, Bu Kong had received a message from the Progenitor of Secret Arts, learning that he had also been appointed as a gatekeeper for ZENITH. However, Bu Kong did not think that these matters were as simple as they appeared to be. He had a deep impression of the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses after the battle in the Cosmic Sea, and he knew that there was only one thing to be done as a gatekeeper: allow the Sixth Maind cultivators to pass through and no one else.

    When it came to thebat power of the average cultivator, Bu Kong felt that the Sixth Maind far outssed the Fifth Maind.

    ¡­

    Arge crowd had already gathered around Zenith Mountain, and they were all watching the mountain from a distance. The live broadcast of thepetition would also be broadcast across the entirework.

    One name after another continuously appeared on Zenith Mountain, and the speed at which they appeared was astonishing, especially the names of the people from the Sixth Maind. It felt as if thousands of people were simultaneously registering at any given moment.

    This was true of not just the Sixth Maind, as there were many people signing up from the Astral Beast Domain, the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, and even the Astral Wilderness.

    Slowly, the people of the Human Domain realized that they would not be the only participants in ZENITH.

    The people at the top had already known about this, but the people at the bottom had beenpletely unaware that the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and even the Sixth Maind would be sending youths topete. This news created huge waves throughout the entire Human Domain.

    Countless people objected to such an openpetition, and the entirework was full ofments revealing people¡¯s dissatisfaction. Naturally, there were countless insults made against the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Sixth Maind, forcing CyNet to consider implementing a public perception campaign even as they frantically deleted numerousments.

    However, ZENITH was something that the Hall of Honor had started promoting long ago. Thus, any information about thepetition at all would create a stir, let alone a huge matter like other territories participating.

    Far away from Zenith Mountain, countless people stared at the names that appeared on the side of the mountain one after another, as they all wanted to know which famous powerhouses would bepeting. Many people had a gambler¡¯s mentality, and therefore, they wanted to make a list ofpetitors to produce a ranking and determine the odds.

    "Who¡¯s that? Yao Go? Isn''t that person on Skymender¡¯s List from the Astral Beast Domain? I heard that the beings on Skymender¡¯s List are able topete for the top ten ces and that each one is practically peerless within their generation," someonemented, and theirment immediately sparked a flood of responses.

    At this time, another name appeared. "Cursewind? That¡¯s another powerhouse on Skymender¡¯s List."

    "Tian Hou? Do you see that name? Tian Hou? Do you remember the Tournament of the Strongest that took ce several years ago? Tian Hou was a participant from the Astral Beast Domain, and he was a legend."

    "When I think about it, any attack made against that creature was useless, and now, he¡¯s appeared once again."

    "The victor of the Tournament of the Strongest was Lu Yin, who¡¯s now one of the Ten Arbiters. No matter how powerful this Tian Hou, Arbiter Lu already beat him back then, and now, Lu Yin has defeated two of the other Ten Arbiters. If Tian Hou ends up meeting Lu Yin in thispetition, he¡¯ll just be defeated once again."

    "Things aren¡¯t the same now. A unique lifeform like a Cosmic Hou grow increasingly powerful as they improve, and they can even develop strange abilities. I hope that Arbiter Lu won¡¯t be careless."

    "Don''t just pay attention to the Astral Beast Domain. Let¡¯s see who¡¯s going to be participating from the Sixth Maind."

    "What about the Technocracy?"

    "Why bother even looking at the names from the Technocracy? Not even a ghost would know anything about that ce, so we clearly don¡¯t have anything to go off of."

    "During the Tournament of the Strongest, the participants from the Technocracy were certainly not weak."

    ¡­

    Although many people had heard that the Sixth Maind would be sending people to participate, few knew the names of any of the people from the Sixth Maind.

    The major forces of the Innerverse had known for a long time that the Sixth Maind would have a ce in ZENITH. Thus, they were not surprised by their presence. However, what was truly shocking was the sheer number of registrants from the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin was also browsing thework at the moment and reading through the names on Zenith Mountain while thinking about the uing contest.

    His gadget beeped with a notification. Lan Si was calling.

    "Have you seen Zenith Mountain?" Lan Si asked.

    Lu Yin grunted, "Are you getting nervous?"

    "Of course! I¡¯ve faced or at least heard of them all. I already saw Yuhua Mavis¡¯s name on the list along with Y¨­u Qin, Xia Jiuyou, and more. Also, I saw that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bai Ling ispeting. No one expects the Realmlings to lose, and that¡¯s not even considering the Daosource Three Skies," Lan Si said.

    Lu Yin quietly listened.

    "Are you confident? I mean, about getting to the top ten?" Lan Si asked.

    Lu Yin considered the question before replying, "90%."

    Lan Si was stunned and stayed silent for an entire minute. "I don''t want to meet you in ZENITH. I suspect that you¡¯ll be one of the scariest participants in this contest."

    Right after Lan Si finished speaking, five more names appeared above the five mountain passes on Zenith Mountain. These names were written in a much more impressive manner than any of the others, and they radiated a golden light that caused countless people to stare at them.

    The name that had appeared over the southern pass was Bu Kong. Above the western pass was Zhi Yi, the northern pass Yao Xuan, and the eastern pass Lu Yin.

    Then, there was a final pass that stood above the other four mountain passes that had to be crossed regardless of the path if one wanted to approach the top of the mountain. Above this central pass, the name Shang Qing appeared.

    Ever since news of ZENITH had been released, many rumors had spread about the gatekeepers, and everyone had been eager to find out who the gatekeepers would be. At this moment, the five seeded contestants had finally been announced.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose as he stared at Zenith Mountain. He had really been appointed as a gatekeeper, and he would be standing guard over the eastern pass. During thepetition, he would definitely be assaulted by countless people.

    At the other end of the call, Lan Si was left speechless. He had just mentioned that he felt that Lu Yin would be one of the most terrifying opponents in thepetition, and now, it had just been revealed that Lu Yin was a gatekeeper.

    It was impossible for the Hall of Honor to randomly designate a gatekeeper, as they were responsible for filtering out at least half of the participants. If their gatekeeper was defeated, then it would be humiliating for the Hall of Honor. To put it simply, the Hall of Honor would only appoint gatekeepers who were considered invincible. Additionally, there was a ny nine percent chance of the gatekeepers ending up among ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    "I waspletely right." Lan Si smiled wryly.

    Lu Yin suggested, "You should break through and be an Enlighter. It¡¯s already expected that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings will all break through before ZENITH."

    "Yeah, this isn¡¯t something I can deal with without bing an Enlighter," Lan Si said before ending the call.

    Right after Lan Si hung up, Lu Yin heard Ku Wei¡¯s voice call out. "Seventh Bro! Great Seventh Bro! You are too impressive! You¡¯re one of the five gatekeepers, and you will be standing as the protector of the first stage. You are the most powerful of our generation, and the Sixth Maind¡¯s best will all be shocked! The Astral Beast Domain will be dumbfounded! Seventh Bro¡­"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, as this guy''s words were getting even more shameless with time. Lu Yin felt that Ku Wei had started to be unpredictable in terms of his development, but it was true that Ku Wei had never been one to look back.

    There was another shameless one right next to Ku Wei, who was Elder Tan. He was not the same as Ku Wei, and Elder Tan felt that Ku Wei was just spouting hot air. As soon as Elder Tan saw that Lu Yin had really been announced as one of the five gatekeepers, he immediately essed thework andmanded everyone who was logged in to cheer for Lu Yin. Elder Tan sang praises to Lu Yin¡¯s virtues, and he stunned people by iming that Lu Yin was the most powerful participant in ZENITH. Elder Tan wanted to tter Lu Yin without being noticed, though he also needed to find a way to show Lu Yin how much of an abomination hispetitor, Ku Wei was.

    The people of the Human Domain had already been disgusted to learn that the Sixth Maind would also be participating in ZENITH, but after learning that two of the five gatekeepers were from the Sixth Maind, countless people grew infuriated.

    However, despite their anger even spreading to the Hall of Honor, nothing could affect ZENITH itself. Out of desperation, someone started a petition begging the masters of the Human Domain to force thepetitors from the Sixth Maind, Astral Beast Domain, and Technocracy to leave thepetition.

    In truth, many people had be enraged by the recent news, and even in the Neoverse, there were many people ranting about how they wanted the invaders from the Sixth Maind to be kicked out of ZENITH the most.

    The entire Human Domain erupted in passionate anger.

    The Sixth Maind had been bewitched by the allure of bing a disciple of all three Progenitors, but this excitement waspletely thrown off track after the revtion that Lu Yin had been appointed as a gatekeeper.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1242: Mentorâ€™s Help

    <h4>Chapter 1242: Mentor¡¯s Help</h4>

    In the Upper Realm, Autumnfrost Qing stared nkly at the information on thework, utterly focused on the word above the eastern pass. How had that person had actually managed to be a gatekeeper? Truly, how? Could he reallypare to the Daosource Three Skies? Or was it that the Fifth Maind had lost all of their younger powerhouses?

    In the Upper Realm, outside a ce whereva flowed up into the starry sky, a group of people were grilling food.

    A savory aroma filled the air as it drifted out from the meat of a giant beast that was in the process of being roasted, the scent making the nearby people drool.

    Sixteenth was quite clever, and he attentively offered the roasted meat over to Xu San, leaving the young man quite content. "Sixteen, I''m guessing that your mind alone will be enough to get you into the top ten of ZENITH. It¡¯s almost guaranteed."

    Sixteenth offered a ttering smile. "I must ask Master San to speak well of me before the elders and ask the elders to teach and instruct me so that I can work hard towards entering the top ten."

    "Hahaha! That¡¯s easy enough, plenty easy. We¡¯re old friends." Xu Sanughed, sounding very happy. The truth was that only he was aware of his inner turmoil.

    I thought that by clinging to Ancestor Lingtong, I¡¯d have nothing that I¡¯d ever need to worry about ever again. Who could have known that some group of monsters would suddenly invade the Sixth Maind?! If not for my luck, I would have died there! Xu San trembled as he remembered that incident. I wonder, what happened to that guy? Did I save him, or did he save himself? Xu San felt a bit confused about some things, but there was one thing that he was very clear on: that person was someone from the Fifth Maind, and they were also incredibly strong.

    "Xu- Xu- Xu San, look!" Sixteen suddenly shouted while pointing at a page on thework.

    Xu San nced at the screen, and he promptly dropped the leg that he had been eating.

    What had shocked him so much? It was precisely the two golden characters written on Zenith Mountain: Lu Yin. Boss! Boss!

    Sixteen stared nkly at the screen as a storm tore through his mind. That kid from before had be a gatekeeper? What a joke! How could hepare to any of the Daosource Three Skies?

    Meanwhile, Xu San held a fervent gaze. Boss is getting better and better. Xu San decided that he could not go back to the Sixth Maind and had instead decided to return to the Fifth Maind. Regardless, Boss was in the Fifth Maind, and with him around, no one would dare to bully Xu San. As for Ancestor Lingtong, Xu San just sighed. The old man was too good to Xu San, but if possible, perhaps Boss would be able to take care of the old man too.

    He still did not understand just how terrifying a Cosmic Imprinter was.

    In another part of the Upper Realm, somece that was not too far away from Xu San, Nong Zaitian stared at his screen and sighed. His home was gone, along with so many treasures. Also, he did not have the other hoe; just where had it gone? Nong Zaitian had searched all over the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, but he had been unable to find that bastard anywhere. He couldn¡¯t be dead! He still had Nong Zaitian¡¯s hoe.

    At this moment, the person from the Sixth Maind who was the most concerned about Lu Yin was actually Tong Zhan. After all, he knew who had attacked him from behind and taken him out in an instant: Lu Yin. As a result, Tong Zhan had lost his impressive cultivation talent and been abandoned by his Tong family afterwards.

    Looking at the name written on the side of the Zenith Mountain, Tong Zhan''s eyes radiated a deep hatred. In ZENITH, he had to do his best to destroy Lu Yin.

    Zhi Yi had the same idea as Tong Zhan. She had never expected Lu Yin to be a gatekeeper, but it was both hrious and lucky to her. "Is there no one better than you in the Fifth Maind? If that¡¯s the case, then just forget about it. You¡¯ll be taken out during ZENITH."

    The Sixth Maind shook from the news concerning the gatekeepers, but the same reactions urred in the Neoverse.

    Although they had been brilliant in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Yuhua Mavis, Xia Jiuyou, and the others had not qualified to be gatekeepers, but Lu Yin had. This was no different than all of them being told that Lu Yin had surpassed them, and it immediately caught their attention.

    Yuhua Mavis was on the back of the massive turtle as she stared at the bright characters that made up Lu Yin¡¯s name that was etched onto the side of Zenith Mountain. "I look forward toparing strength with you again. I don''t know how many punches you can match up to, but the Hall of Honor has to have confirmed your strength in order for you to be a gatekeeper. I hope that I won¡¯t be disappointed by your power."

    The revtion that Lu Yin had be a gatekeeper created quite a stir, but that was not the only piece of sensational news. Zhi Yi, Bu Kong, and Yao Xuan had all been confirmed as gatekeepers, which also created quite a stir. Many people throughout the Human Domain criticized this announcement and hoped that the three outsiders would all be badly beaten .

    As for Shang Qing, he had been given the position of the most important gatekeeper. The reputation of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had even spread to the Sixth Maind, and they were well aware that the Tri-Yang Technique could transform the three strands of qi into clones of a Progenitor with the same realm of strength as the user. It was also known that two of Shang Qing¡¯s qi strands had taken on the form of Progenitor Chen¡¯s nine clones, but there was a great deal of spection concerning the third strand.

    No matter which Progenitor was cloned by the final strand, Progenitor Chen alone was already a challenge to deal with.

    Who could be confident of defeating Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation level? Was there anyone from the Fifth Maind? No one. The Sixth Maind? They did not even dare to record Progenitor Chen down in their history.

    After the Sixth Maind learned that Shang Qing could borrow the power of two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, the youth became the number one enemy of everyone from his generation in the Sixth Maind.

    The five golden names that had appeared on Zenith Mountain shook the entire universe.

    Lu Yin disconnected from thework soon after. No matter how the rest of the universe shook at the news, it had nothing to do with him. He even considered trying to roll Timestop in order to enter that space and cultivate for several years, perhaps even a decade or more.

    However, even the thought of attempting such a thing gave him a headache. If he trained in seclusion for more than a decade, he believed that he would change, and he would likely mentally age tremendously.

    His gadget sounded with an alert, and he simply nced down to check. He had received a tremendous number of calls recently.

    Huh? Someone was actually calling through the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s internalwork?

    Lu Yin connected, and he instantly heard an old voice. "Little guy, do you still want to graduate?"

    This voice sounded both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and it sent Lu Yin back ten years into the past. When he hadst heard this voice, he had still been a student at Astral-10. "Student Lu Yin greets the Trialmaster."

    "How ttering, this little guy still remembers me." The Trialmaster gave a slight smile.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "A student would never dare to forget what they are taught at the academy."

    When Lu Yin had been in the academy, he had not understood just how powerful Astral-10¡¯s mentors actually were. But the further he had progressed, the more clearly he hade to understand the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s hidden depths, as each one of the academies had been able to fight against the universe¡¯s superpowers. Lu Yin would never forget how Astral-9 had managed to block Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack during the attack on the border, nor had he forgotten that Astral-10 had actually intimidated the Sixth Maind. The Astral Combat Academy was incredibly strong, but Astral-10 stood out amongst them all.

    "I don''t have the time to just chat with you. Your fellow cohorts have already all graduated. When do you n to graduate?" the Trialmaster asked.

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, "Teacher, this student is really short on time at the moment, as I need to prepare for ZENITH."

    The Trialmaster said, "Well, I saw that you¡¯re going to be one of the five gatekeepers. Are you confident?"

    Lu Yin wanted to reply confidently. Facing his alma mater, he wanted to show off a bit. It would be even more perfect if he returned to the academy and was able to show off to those junior students, but suddenly, Lu Yin felt something was wrong. Those words¡ªjust what did the old man mean by them?

    Lu Yin thought of a possibility, and he bitterly replied, "The Hall of Honor is cing too much on this student, and I have actually been dealing with a great deal of pressure."

    The Trialmaster replied, "The Hall of Honor really does put too much on you. How long have you been cultivating? The time you¡¯ve spent cultivating probably can¡¯tpare to even a quarter of the participants in ZENITH. Still, it¡¯s better to train and practice. Will you soon be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?"

    Lu Yin answered quickly, "Yes, this junior has already achieved that."

    "Have you tried toprehend a sourcebox array?"

    "It''s rather difficult."

    "Since you haven''t graduated yet, then it means that you still belong to my Astral-10. The academy will give you some support. Although this old man has no real skills, I still have some achievements when ites to lockbreaking. I¡¯ll give you a sourcebox array so that you don''t humiliate yourself in ZENITH. As long as youprehend a little of this array, you should have a much easier time as a gatekeeper," the Trialmaster said.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Thank you, Mentor."

    "You¡¯ll receive the sourcebox array in no more than three days, so do your best toprehend it. I don¡¯t expect you to fullyprehend it, but do your best to achieve at least some bit of sess. Also, hurry up ande back to graduate." The Trialmaster hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

    Lu Yin continued staring at the screen, the ecstasy in his eyes unable to dissipate.

    What was this? Had fortune flown straight into hisp?

    He had never expected his alma mater to deliver such a big surprise to him. They were giving him a sourcebox array, not some battle technique.

    All sourcebox arrays were extremely precious, as there was no other way that Saul would have schemed and plotted so desperately to get his hands for even a single page of True Insight. Lu Yin had several sourcebox arrays in his possession, and now, he was actually being given another one! Mentor!

    Ever since Lu Yin had escaped from the Neohuman Alliance, he had found that his luck had be nothing less than absolutely amazing.

    As for the matter of graduating, that was impossible. He would never graduate in his entire lifetime.

    Before graduating, he was still considered a part of Astral-10, and Astral-10 would not forget their own. If Lu Yin ever encountered something in the future, they would be one more source of support.

    Lu Yin had always felt that Astral-10 was a bit unpredictable, but the one who had cared the most for Lu Yin had always been the crazy director.

    Previously, Lu Yin had been unable to understand just how powerful the director was, but as Lu Yin had grown stronger, he had gradually gained a bit of understanding.

    The mad director had actually been able to deduce the Cosmic Art! The Cosmic Art was something that had been created by Progenitor Chen, but the director had managed to deduce it. Although he had only managed to deduce the firstyer of the cultivation art, it was still an aplishment that ordinary people could not fathom.

    The madman was clearly very powerful.

    News of ZENITH shook the universe, and many people sped up their ns to explore,pete for resources, and other simr activities. At the same time, many organizations dedicated all of their resources to raising up their most talented disciples, even if they were aware that none of their youths could reach the top ten. As long as their name could remain written on the mountain for even just a little bit longer, that was already enough.

    That was Zenith Mountain. It was the location of the first youthpetition that was open to the entire universe, even the Sixth Maind. If a youth¡¯s name was able to remain on the side of the mountain for even a bit longer than average, then it would be enough to raise waves in their home territory.

    The most simplistic way of exining this was that it was advertising. Zenith Mountain was basically a giant billboard that the entire universe was focused upon, and each contestant¡¯s name was an advertising slogan. The longer a name remained on the mountain for, the more effective it would be, and the greater the benefits that the power behind the youth would receive.

    In this situation, countless people signed up for ZENITH, even in the Outerverse, which was widely regarded as the weakest territory. People wanted to see their name appear on Zenith Mountain, even if only for a moment. That alone would be worthy of bragging about to future generations. Of course, there were also people who signed up with no intention of ever participating in thepetition.

    Numerous names appeared on the side of Zenith Mountain at any given moment, and there were all kinds of bizarre names. There were some that were just a series of numbers while others were a simple paw print or some other strange mark. Many people were stunned.

    However, after a few days, there were a number of names that distinctly stood out on the mountain, as all the participants had beenpiled into a list of those favored to enter the top one hundred, as well as those expected to enter the top ten. Of course, that second list included the names of all five gatekeepers. Additionally, the Neoverse¡¯s Yuhua Mavis and Xia Jiuyou, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Star Devourer, and thest of the Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai, had been ced as the favored candidates for the final ten contestants.

    Of course, everything was based off of who had signed up so far, and many people had not done so yet. Additionally, there was not only one such list, but rather many, many lists made by different people, and their lists were all different.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1243: Big Gamble

    <h4>Chapter 1243: Big Gamble</h4>

    Some of these lists include prospects for all ten finalists, which were being called the top ten. Others added Lei N¨¹, Y¨­u Qi, and Qiu Shi, and still others left Lu Yin out of the seeded contestants. Their logic was that, even if a Hunter was incredibly gifted, it would still be impossible for a Hunter to stand out amongst numerous genius Enlighters.

    They believed that the reason why Lu Yin had been able to join the Ten Arbiters was because originally, none of the Ten Arbiters had broken through to the Enlighter realm. However, ZENITH was about to start, and any of the Ten Arbiters could break through at any given moment. Lu Yin had only just be a Hunter, and it was clearly impossible for him to be an Enlighter so quickly.

    It had to be admitted that many people felt that this was the truth of the matter.

    Of course, Lu Yin was not the only one who had been removed from some of the lists of the expected top ten. Almost all of the Ten Arbiters were removed, as well as the Neoverse''s Y¨­u Qi and Yuhua Mavis. Only Shang Qing and Xia Jiuyou stayed on these lists. This was because one of them cultivated the peerless Tri-Yang Technique while the other one used Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clone¡¯s Technique. Actually, there was one other person who had been added to the list of predicted finalists: Starsibyl. After all, she also cultivated the Nine Clones Technique.

    There were all kinds of lists, and it was possible to find hundreds of variations of rankings for thepetitors at any given moment.

    However, no matter which list was checked, Lu Yin was not ranked highly due to his cultivation only being at the Hunter realm. Despite his strength being impressive and receiving the position of gatekeeper from the Hall of Honor, everyone considered him to be too weak due to his cultivation realm.

    Lu Yin was not even angry about these lists. Rather, Ku Wei and Elder Tan were infuriated on his behalf. One of the two desperately tried to raise Lu Yin¡¯s fame and hold him up as being invincible while also doing his best to nder the people who created the ranking lists. The other coerced others into singing Lu Yin¡¯s praises across the entirework.

    They both felt that these lists were nothing less than a p in the face, and they were both so angry that they wanted to hunt down whoever had created the ranking lists.

    Ku Wei visited Lu Yin once again, jeering and cursing the people who had drafted the ranking lists.

    "Seventh Bro, those stupid mortals don''t understand your power at all! They actually put you beneath Xia Jiuyou and Wu Taibai. What a joke! Even a mere beast like Star Devourer ranks above you, Seventh Bro. It''s an insult to our Great Eastern Alliance!" Ku Wei shouted angrily.

    Lu Yin skimmed through the different lists. It was true¡ªalthough he was ranked within the top ten on most of the lists, he was never a top seed.

    Shangqing was almost always the highest ranked contestant, and Wu Taibai was generally second only to Shang Qing. Bu Kong, Zhi Ti, Xia Jiuyou, and the others all followed closely behind. Each list was different, but each one gave ample reasoning for their particr chosen order.

    It was a point of great pride to even be listed on a ranking of the ten favored contestants. However, even if getting onto that list was difficult, Lu Yin¡¯s record certainly allowed him to join it. Unfortunately, he was always perceived in the same way, as someone who relied too much on items. The only truly exceptional feats ofbat that he had aplished were defeating Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu, but that was not enough for Lu Yin to earn recognition from everyone.

    After all, he had been nothing more than a spectator during the final battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone in the Neoverse.

    "With Seventh Bro¡¯s strength, even without mentioning the championship, it¡¯s only right for you to be listed as one of the top ten. Seventh Bro, Little Wei has already mobilized a lot of our people to promote you. You have to enter the final ten. The betting odds are one to two, which is quite high, but don''t worry. Little Wei will definitely support you," Ku Wei firmly dered.

    Lu Yin was looking at a list when Ku Wei''s words startled him. A sh of inspiration entered his mind, and he looked at Ku Wei with fervent eyes. "Show me the odds."

    Ku Wei felt embarrassed. "Seventh Bro, don''t look at them. You¡¯ll get angry."

    "Cut the bullshit and just show me," Lu Yin ordered.

    Ku Wei essed thework and brought up a dense list of names that was separated into each region. The Outerverse was divided into seventy two sections, which corresponded to the seventy two weaves, and the Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse were all divided in simr ways.

    "This bookmaker listed almost all of the younger powerhouses whose names have appeared on Zenith Mountain. For example, Seventh Bro, your name is right at the top. If you enter the top ten, then the odds are one to two. The top five is one to five. Top three is one to ten, and winning the entirepetition is one to twenty. By the way, this is Lan Si¡­" Ku Wei exined the entire system to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised that this bookmaker could list so many people and that they even had odds posted for people to bet on. This was not a small amount of work!

    "Do you know who this bookmaker is?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei shook his head. "Nope. No one knows. I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s some major force in the universe, and some people are even iming that the Mavis family is behind this. How else could they target such arge market? Regardless, there are a bunch of rumors."

    Lu Yin''s eyes began zing when he learned that this bookmaker was covering both the Innerverse and Outerverse. Just how much money with this would it take to set this up? Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current finances, this was far beyond his means, so who could it be?

    After thinking for a while, Lu Yin shook his head. No matter who was behind this, they were still looking down on Lu Yin too much. If that was the case, then there was no reason not to y. After thinking of this, Lu Yin turned to Ku Wei. "Do you want to make some money?"

    Ku Wei was stunned for a moment, as well as a bit confused. Still, he reflexively nodded. It had be a habit for Ku Wei to agree when Lu Yin was the one speaking.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled up. "Let''s ce a bet. If you ce arger wager, then we''ll bet on me ending up in the top three."

    Ku Wei pursed his lips. Although he had wildly praised Lu Yin in public, it did not mean that Ku Wei actually held absolute confidence in Lu Yin¡¯s chances of making it to the top three. Ku Wei had actually just wanted to ce a small wager as a show of support, but based on Lu Yin¡¯s words, it seemed that a significant amount would have to be shelled out.

    "Start a rumor that says that I, Lu Yin, secretly suffered an injury during the attack on the ze Realm and that I need at least two years to recover," Lu Yin suggested.

    Ku Wei''s eyes lit up, and he stared at Lu Yin with admiration. "Seventh Bro, that¡¯s big, that¡¯s really big. This will make your odds spike up like crazy! We¡¯ll bet on you getting into the top ten, and then we¡¯ll strike it rich! Seventh Bro, you really are too amazing! Your wisdom is unmatched throughout both the ancient and modern universe. This¡­"

    "Alright, fine, but not the top ten. The top three," Lu Yin repeated.

    Ku Wei hesitated. "That- Seventh Bro, the top ten is a much sagacious choice. Isn¡¯t that better than the top three?"

    "Are you doubting me?" Lu Yin nced at him.

    Ku Wei immediately and firmly stated, "Of course not! Little Wei¡¯s admiration for you is like the endless stream of gxies throughout the universe! It¡¯s overpowering like a ck hole. We¡¯ll take the highest odds then.¡±

    Properly leaking rumors would be a rather delicate task, as it could not be too deliberate. Fortunately, Ku Wei had a bit of experience in such matters, as he had frequently done such things when he had been roaming the universe on his own.

    Before long, a very special channel leaked a secret message regarding Lu Yin¡¯s recent injury. This intelligent channel was known for its exceptionally urate information.

    Of course, despite the reliability of the source, not many people really believe the information, especially not the hidden forces behind the online bookmaker. Not everyone was stupid.

    In order to cooperate with Ku Wei¡¯s efforts, Lu Yin deliberately left the ze Realm and returned to the outer Outerverse to meet with Yuan Shi. This meeting was a secret, and before leaving, Lu Yin announced that he was going into seclusion to train.

    When Lu Yin''s ns were leaked yet again, many people believed the matter about his secret injury, thinking that he intended to seek help from Yuan Shi.

    Ku Wei constantly kept an eye on Lu Yin¡¯s odds on the bookmaker¡¯s page, waiting to see if Lu Yin¡¯s odds would change, but unfortunately, the odds never changed. The numbers seemed to have been determined and did not fluctuate.

    Lu Yin felt quite helpless after hearing this news. This must not be the first time that the organizers behind the online bookmaker had set up such schemes, and they must have already seen through all sorts of tricks and scams. They would not change the odds, as the risk was too great, not unless they were the ones who had injured him.

    "Seventh Bro, these guys are too timid! You still have ten to one odds of entering the top three," Ku Wei helplesslyined.

    Lu Yin said, "If you lose ten, then you lose ten. ce bets on me in batches with staggered times. Each bet should be 100 million star essence."

    Ku Wei was stunned, as this was essentially forcing the other party¡¯s hand. Seventh Bro had to be exceptionally confident of entering the top three. If he seeded, then the bookmaker would have to pay out a billion star essence on each wager that Lu Yin ced. Just the thought of this left Ku Wei¡¯s scalp numb.

    However, for someone to set up an online bookmaker page that epted bets from the Outerverse and Innerverse, then they must have invested at least a billion star essence to get things started. Was there any top Innerverse powers that did not have a billion star essence? Still, losing such an amount would definitely cut them to the bone.

    Ku Wei did not even consider the possibility of what would happen if the bookmaker defaulted on paying out, as that was simply impossible. The powers standing behind Lu Yin guaranteed that not even the top Neoverse powers would dare to default on a payment to Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Ku Wei had a vision of looking at a billion star essence, and it was overwhelming.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not want to ce a bet on himself with all of the funds at his disposal, but rather that there was still a bit of time before ZENITH started. Just in case, it would be better to keep some funds in reserve.

    Inside his spacecraft, Lu Yin stared at a star chart, but it did not take him long to arrive in Southside Weave.

    Although Lu Yin had been putting on a show with Ku Wei, since he had traveled all the way to Southside Weave, it would be best if he at least greeted Yuan Shi.

    Southside Weave had be a border weave, so it waspletely sealed off and could not be freely entered by most people.

    As the nominalmander-in-chief of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces, Lu Yin was naturally qualified to enter and inspect the border.

    When Lu Yin arrived at Southside Weave, Elder Daggs was immediately informed of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, and the elder grew a little nervous. However, he also remembered some rumors that he had recently heard about Lu Yin, and the elder had some expectations. So he quickly met up with Lu Yin.

    "Elder, it¡¯s been a long time." Lu Yin smiled.

    Elder Daggs replied with a smile, "Isn''t Alliance Leader Lu in seclusion? How is it that you have time to visit my border?"

    "As themander-in-chief of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces, I can''t just leave everything to Elder Daggs," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Elder Daggs had a bad premonition the moment he heard the title mander-in-chief of the Outerverse¡¯s Allied Forces.¡±

    "By the way, Elder, I¡¯ve been themander-in-chief of the Outerverse for such a long time, but I¡¯ve never seemed to have received any sry." Lu Yin continued to smile.

    Elder Daggs pursed his lips, and his smile grew a bit dry. "I will have to ask Alliance Leader Lu to discuss this with Yuan Shi. You are my boss, and subordinates can¡¯t decide on their boss¡¯s sry."

    Of course, Lu Yin was not actually concerned about the sry from his position, and he was just making small talk. Still, it was always better if he had more money.

    "I¡¯d like to ask to meet with Yuan Shi. Could you please ask the elder and lead the way," Lu Yin said.

    "Please, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Please."

    On their way to where Yuan Shi stayed, Lu Yin continued to have a casual conversation with Elder Daggs. Elder Daggs mostly asked about Lu Yin¡¯s time in the Honor Zone, and Lu Yin naturally obliged the elder.

    Elder Daggs eximed, "It¡¯s eptable for you to cultivate death energy? Alliance Leader Lu is truly held in high regard."

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "It''s the Chief Justice and Arch-Elder Zen who are taking care of me, not to mention that it really is fine for me to use death energy."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1244: Masterâ€™s Order

    <h4>Chapter 1244: Master¡¯s Order</h4>

    Elder Daggs smiled bitterly. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you think that you are the only one who has been put on trial for cultivating death energy throughout all these years? Anyone who is found to cultivate death energy will be immediately executed without exception. You are the first person to be acquitted, and Arch-Elder Zen even stepped forward to verify your freedom himself."

    Lu Yin had been unaware of any of this. It was no wonder why Bu Laoweng had been so confident that he would be able to incarcerate Lu Yin with his privilege as an overseer. If not for Arch-Elder Zen appearing, then even if the Chief Justice ignored the matter of him cultivating death energy, Lu Yin might still have been imprisoned. At the very least, he would have been ced under observation.

    "Arch-Elder Zen really is taking care of Alliance Leader Lu, which is truly enviable. Alliance Leader Lu, do you still remember our visit to the border warehouse?" Elder Daggs looked at Lu Yin with eager eyes.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "Elder, don''t worry. As long as there is an opportunity, I will have you transferred back to the Honor Zone."

    Elder Daggs quickly expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    When he saw Yuan Shi once again, Lu Yin¡¯s emotions were different from before. In the past, he had beenpletely ignorant. At the present moment, Lu Yin felt that there was an ethereal aspect to Yuan Shi, as though he did not belong to this universe.

    Yuan Shi also felt amazed upon seeing Lu Yin. Throughout the countless years, Yuan Shi had taught many students, all with various degrees of talent. Although he had just casually taught many of these people, the old man had still seen some of the most elite geniuses among all cultivators. Despite that, he felt that he had never seen a geniusparable to Lu Yin before.

    "It''s no wonder why the Hall of Honor chose you as a gatekeeper. In both the past and present, there are perhaps very few people who could be considered your rivals while still being your peers, and all of those people have written some of the most splendid pages in history," Yuan Shi said admiringly.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "Senior, there are too many outstanding members of my generation, and with this junior¡¯s current strength, I am not confident about ZENITH."

    Yuan Shi smiled gently. "You aren¡¯t confident of taking the championship?"

    Lu Yin did not hide anything about this matter, as there was nothing worth hiding in front of an ancient powerhouse like Yuan Shi. "This junior really wants to be the champion."

    Yuan Shi nodded. "It''s normal for young people to bepetitive. I don''t know what kind of geniuses are in your generation, but they all have their own elders supporting them and teaching them. All I can offer you is merely this.¡± With that, Yuan Shi took out a power vessel and tossed it over Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed, as it was another one of the precious walnut-shaped power vessels. He quickly grabbed it. "Thank you, Yuan Shi."

    Yuan Shi said, "Even though you were imprisoned, I could not help you given my position. All I can do is offer you some power vessels aspensation. If you ever do go astray in the future, then I will personally move to take care of you, so you must remember this."

    Lu Yin understood that Yuan Shi was talking about the Neohuman Alliance. The Chief Justice and Arch-Elder Zen had both verified that Lu Yin could not be controlled by death energy. However, this matter was one ofmon sense, and not even Yuan Shi could defy suchmon knowledge. At his level, the Chief Justice and Arch-Elder Zen were merely stronger cultivators, so it was impossible for Yuan Shi to blindly trust their words.

    "Yuan Shi, please rest assured. I, Lu Yin, will never go astray," Lu Yin firmly dered.

    Yuan Shi nodded.

    Lu Yin wanted to leave, but then he suddenly remembered something. Though it seemed unlikely, he at least wanted to give it a try. "Yuan Shi, this junior would like to ask for your help with something."

    Yuan Shi asked, "With what matter?"

    Lu Yin carefully organized his words before solemnly saying, "This junior nearly died at Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s hands because of the Champions¡¯ Stage, as this junior was actually the one to retrieve that stage.¡±

    "What do you want with that stage?" Yuan Shi asked in an odd tone. Although his expression looked normal, there was a hint of questioning and confusion, as well as otherplicated emotions that could not be deciphered.

    Lu Yin did not see any of this, and he respectfully exined, "That was the first time that this junior has evere so close to death, and I almost died. This junior would like to keep a memento to remind me to remain wary at all times."

    Yuan Shi grew serious as he stared at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin lowered his head. Highsage Wudi was unable to help Lu Yin obtain the Champions¡¯ Stage, and he had even warned Lu Yin to forget about it, which showed just how much importance the Hall of Honor ced on the stage. However, Lu Yin had no choice. His innate gift was the Champions¡¯ Stage. Thus, he desperately wanted to obtain the existing Champions¡¯ Stage and study it in hopes of perhaps finding some clues rted to his forgotten past.

    Yuan Shi considered this matter for a bit. ¡°The Champions¡¯ Stage is not as unimportant as you seem to think. Not only is it a symbol, but it also has other meanings. If this were not the case, then there is no way that the reward for recapturing it would have been a guaranteed spot within the Cosmic Five."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank; was it still impossible?

    "However, the Hall of Honor has held the Champions¡¯ Stage for many years, but no one has been able to discover anything. You can do with it as you wish, though it will only be lent to you from the Hall of Honor," said Yuan Shi.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Thank you, Yuan Shi."

    "Head on back for now, and I will retrieve the Champions¡¯ Stage for you," Yuan Shi said.

    Lu Yin respectfully bade farewell to Yuan Shi. Sure enough, if you wanted something from the Hall of Honor, then you needed to go through someone who was part of the Hall of Honor. Although Lu Yin had been told he could only borrow the stage, Yuan Shi had never mentioned when it would need to be returned, so Lu Yin had not asked.

    After Lu Yin left, Yuan Shi activated his own gadget. He rarely used the thing, but he had to admit that it was very convenient on certain asions.

    "That little guy wants to borrow the Champions¡¯ Stage? To what end?" An old voice was heard from the gadget.

    Yuan Shi replied, "He ims that he wants it as a memento to remain wary."

    "Hehe, that child never does such things, so there should be some other reason."

    "Anyways, the stage has remained there for so many years, but none of us can solve its mystery. Just let this child borrow it. Maybe he can figure something out," Yuan Shi suggested.

    "We can do that."

    After separating from Yuan Shi, Lu Yin was in a good mood. The excuse that he had given for asking for the Champions¡¯ Stage was a bit ridiculous, but he had not been able toe up with anything more reasonable. Also, he had no idea how much time he would need to properly study the stage.

    He could not wait to study the Champions¡¯ Stage and see if it had anything at all to do with his own past.

    Lu Yin did not return to Southside Weave. Instead, he made his way straight towards the ze Realm. With ZENITH about to start, he intended to move a bit closer to Chaos Flowzone.

    When Lu Yin returned to the ze Realm, the sourcebox array that Astral-10¡¯s Trialmaster had sent had just arrived.

    The Diversion Diagram? When Lu Yin stared at the sourcebox array¡¯s name, he felt that it sounded quitemon. Still, he started to seriously study the array designs.

    After a day, Lu Yin raised his head, let out a long breath, and muttered to himself, "It¡¯s no wonder why the Trialmaster said that this will help me guard the mountain passage."

    The so-called Diversion Diagram used the danger zones of sourceboxes to form a channel or a node to transmit the power of the sourceboxes around and create an isted realm of star energy.

    With his control of star energy already in the Worldliness realm, Lu Yin had exquisite control. Thus, this isted realm would give him an exceptional advantage when fighting against others at his level. He was already able to suppress and resolve their star energy, but this Diversion Diagram would vastly increase the area that he could control.

    With this Diversion Diagram, the more sourceboxes with danger zones that Lu Yin had on hand, therger the area of control that he could formed. Within this area, he would be able to sense every movement and ignore distance and space by sending his attacks through the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. With this array, one person would be able to hold back thousands of people. No, a million people.

    This seemed simr to the effects of a domain, but a domain was a unique and separate ability. With this Diversion Diagram, even battle force could be transmitted through the danger zones.

    This essentially meant that each sourcebox used in this array would act as an additional guard to protect the region.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed with excitement. He had started to understand the Diversion Diagram¡¯s profundities, but it would not be easy to reach a level ofprehension where he could set it up. The Trialmaster had sent him a very clear set of instructions with this sourcebox array, but it would be impossible for Lu Yin to achieve any sort of useful mastery of this array without devoting at least a few months to studying it. In fact, it was normal to take a few years toprehend a sourcebox array like this one.

    Lu Yin put down the instructions for the Diversion Diagram, already having decided to roll his die and take advantage of the Timestop Space toprehend the array.

    However, just as he was about to lift his hand, everything around him suddenly turned gray. He was in a secure room, but this gray color covered everything. Lu Yin was able to see outside of the room and off into the distance, but everything outside was also gray.

    The sky, the scorching sun, mes, the ground¡ªeverything had turned gray. Up in outer space, a spacecraft had frozen, and down on the, the waves in the ocean had also frozen. It seemed as though time itself had been frozen.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Looking outside of the secure room, he saw a figure quietly standing off in the distance with his back facing Lu Yin. It was Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin quickly exited the room and moved closer to greet Mister Mu. "Master."

    Mister Mu lightly replied, "It¡¯s been such a long time since Ist saw you. You¡¯ve improved tremendously."

    Lu Yin replied, "Your disciple did not dare to ck off."

    Mister Mu turned around to look at Lu Yin, and the older man¡¯s eyes lingered at Lu Yin¡¯s heart, his eyes narrowing. "You¡¯ve actually cultivated this kind of power."

    Lu Yin nced down, and then he respectfully exined, "Your disciple was helpless and taken away by the Neohuman Alliance. I was left with no option but to cultivate death energy. Master, rest assured, your disciple will never be controlled by death energy."

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "There are thousands of cultivation paths, but the destination remains the same. You¡¯ve simply altered your cultivation method."

    Lu Yin released a sigh of relief. He was not concerned about other people, but he had been afraid that Mister Mu would hold the death energy against him.

    Even if Lu Yin had met with Yuan Shi, the Chief Justice, Shaman God, Highsage Grandmaster, and even Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin still felt that Mister Mu was the most mysterious person that he had ever met. Thinking back to the past, when Mister Mu had shifted half of Endless Weave, Yuan Shi and the other powerhouses had not been able to sense anything. Even with his new experience and strength, Lu Yin still had no idea how powerful Mister Mu truly was.

    If not for the fact that the Fifth Maind had no Progenitor, Lu Yin would have suspected that Mister Mu was a Progenitor himself.

    Also, there had been Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin, which only made him more confused.

    "Since you¡¯ve cultivated this kind of power, I ask that you take first ce in this ZENITH that ising up. Fail, and you will be expelled as my disciple," Mister Mu said.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Expelled as Master¡¯s disciple? Master, your disciple''s cultivation of death energy is not enough."

    "Since it is insufficient, then take advantage of it as soon as possible. You have the ability to manipte time, but you¡¯re telling me you have no time to train?" Mister Mu said indifferently.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he could only lower his head. He was somewhat confident about taking first, but ZENITH would not be full of simple prey for him. Shang Qing had the Tri-Yang Technique, the Astral Beast Domain had Star Devourer and Yao Xuan, the prince of the Celestial Demon Empire, and there were still the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. All of them had to be Enlighters.

    Lu Yin could not simply use Timestop to cultivate all the way to the Enlighter Realm. At the very least, others would be suspicious.

    "Step back and look at things from a distance. What you have seen so far may not be all of your enemies, and your true opponents may be individuals who you are not even able to see at this point in time." Mister Mu said something that Lu Yin was not able to understand very well. Then, the older man pressed a hand to Lu Yin¡¯s chest before turning his palm to the right. Lu Yin did not react, and he felt a heat rise from his chest. It was as if his heart had caught on fire.

    He did not resist and allowed Mister Mu to act.

    Even though it was only for a few seconds, Lu Yin felt as though entire years passed, and he was able to hear boiling beads of sweat fall from his forehead.

    Mister Mu withdrew his hand.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1245: Masterâ€™s Gift

    <h4>Chapter 1245: Master¡¯s Gift</h4>

    Lu Yin looked down at his heart, and he was pleasantly surprised to see that the rest of his fatesand had all merged together, which nowpletely hid the ck and white mist in his heart.

    He immediately used his fatesand. Although his fatesand still took the form of a clod of dirt, it was muchrger, and its durability should have increased correspondingly.

    Lu Yin still had not forgotten about he had used his fatesand to block a Hunter¡¯s attack in the past. At that time, his fatesand had been too small to be of much use, and most of his enemies had been too powerful. Thus, his fatesand had not been very useful. However, things had changed now. His fatesand was nowrge enough to protect half of his body.

    However, there are not many situations where he would be forced to use his fatesand, simply because his physique alone was extremely robust.

    Eh? As he looked at the fatesand in front of him, Lu Yin felt like something was a bit off; it seemed as if his fatesand was starting to take a specific shape.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin''s actions and casually said, "At the moment, your fatesand is not very useful. It may be useful in the future, or it may bepletely useless. It depends entirely on chance."

    Lu Yin remembered something and looked over at Mister Mu. "Master, um, your disciple has already be a Hunter, but it seems that my physical strength has not reached the limit for my current cultivation yet."

    Mister Mu knew what Lu Yin was about to ask. "After bing an Explorer, you can only cultivate by relying on yourself. Using the strength of others will only be an obstacle in your future, and you must remember this."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "I understand, Master."

    Mister Mu raised his hand, and something familiar entered Lu Yin''s vision, and his eyes lit up. "A Root of Intelligence?"

    Mister Mu had just taken out a Root of Intelligence. This was something that Lu Yin was familiar with. However, this root was not withered, but rather a normal Root of Intelligence. It looked just like the one that Lu Yin had gained after upgrading the withered one that he had found.

    "This is the only thing that can help you as a guide. Borrowing outside assistance is never the right path. You must know that, in the future, if you want to improve your strength, you can only rely on yourself," he said as he handed Lu Yin the Root of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic as he received it. As far as he was concerned, even being taught a battle technique or a secret technique by Mister Mu could notpare to receiving a Root of Intelligence. The moment Lu Yin saw this Root of Intelligence, he had already decided how to use it.

    "Master," Lu Yin looked up, about to speak, but everything had already returned to normal. The spacecraft shot away, the sea churned, and chattering voices filled the air once again. It was as though everything that had just happened had been nothing but an illusion.

    Lu Yin was annoyed, Mister Mu had walked away too fast. He still had a lot of questions to ask, and he didn''t even have time to ask him for a piece of jade. Without that jade, he couldn''t take the initiative to contact Mister Mu, which was a pity.

    Shaking his head, Lu Yin sighed. He thought about what Mister Mu had just said while staring at the Root of Intelligence. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up; it was time for him to improve once again! ZENITH¡ªhis only goal at the moment was ZENITH.

    ***

    At the same time, in another ce in the Innerverse, Lu Yin¡¯s image was still prominently disyed atop the stone que in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds. No one could challenge his position. On top of that, the image directly below Lu Yin¡¯s was that of Zhuo Daynight, followed by Zhanlong Daynight.

    These three people were the Daynight n¡¯s most hated individuals at this time. Having one¡¯s image disyed on the stone pir was one of the most respected positions possible for the members of the Daynight n. And yet, the highest positions were all held by their enemies and traitors. This was a humiliation to the entire Daynight n.

    All of the Daynight n members were working hard at their cultivation, and they werepletely unconcerned with what was happening in the outside world.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was no longer in the ancestral grounds. Nightking Dijiang had taken her away in order to help her prepare for ZENITH. The Daynight n was still one of the greatest powerhouses of the Innerverse, and ZENITH was an opportunity that could not be missed.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was currently ranked fourth on the ancestral que. Everyone in the Daynight and Nightking ns believed that she would soon rece Zhanlong Daynight and be one of the top three on the que before eventually overtaking Zhuo Daynight as well. As for Lu Yin, the Daynight n subconsciously ignored him. He was an absolute freak, and unless Nightking Zhenwu was somehow resurrected, they had no one who couldpete with Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, a cry split the air. "Who¡¯s that? They¡¯re rising so fast!"

    Many of the Daynight n members opened their eyes and looked up at the ancestral que, searching for what had triggered such an exmation. They watched as an image suddenly jumped from a ce in the teens to fifth ce, right beneath Nightqueen Yanqing. The image looked very unfamiliar.

    The appearance of this person¡¯s image on the stone que not only caused numerous n members to start talking about it, but it also aroused the attention of the elders protecting the ancestral grounds. They quickly asked whose image had appeared, but there was no answer, as no one in the Nightking n knew.

    At this moment, a youth from the Daynight n approached the elders protecting the que, and he tremblingly said, "Seniors, this junior knows who that person is."

    One of the guardian elders, Zuocheng Daynight, stared at the youth. "Who is he?"

    "Liu- Liu Shaoge," the youth answered in terror.

    Zuocheng Daynight and Dwayne Daynight, one of the other elders protecting the que, looked at each other. "Liu Shaoge? Why does this name sound so familiar?"

    Dwayne Daynight''s eyes narrowed as he looked over at thest inheritance stone. "One of the three inheritance stones was taken from Zhenwu by Lu Yin and never returned. The other inexplicably disappeared after that entire fiasco. Nightking Qingyu may have taken it away, but he disappeared long ago."

    "Thest person to see him was Liu Shaoge!" Zuocheng Daynight blurted.

    Dwayne Daynight nodded. His expression was dignified as he looked up at the tall que. "He is indeed Liu Shaoge. I¡¯ve investigated him before. He was brought here from the Outerverse by Nightking Qingyu, but there was nothing special about him, and at first, no one cared about him. I never even considered that he might have been the one to steal the inheritance stone from my Daynight n. How despicable."

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s image had appeared on the que, and it was obvious that he had an inheritance stone with him. The disappearance of the second inheritance stone suddenly made sense.

    "But how could such a child steal an inheritance stone from you and me? And he is not from our Daynight n, so why is he able to enter the inheritance corridor?" Zuocheng Daynight was puzzled.

    Dwayne Daynight solemnly replied, "Perhaps Nightking Qingyu is working with him."

    Zuocheng Daynight nodded. "Yes. Nightking Qingyu was able to steal the inheritance stone before, so he could have done so again. However, his image has long since disappeared and is no longer anywhere to be seen on the stone que. He should already be dead."

    Dwayne Daynight could not understand this matter. "If he was already dead, then how could Liu Shaoge have stolen an inheritance stone from you and me by himself? Not even Lu Yin could have managed that."

    "Unless¡­" Zuocheng Daynight seemed to have thought of a possibility.

    Dwayne Daynight grew far more serious. "Unless he happens to have the same innate gift as Nightking Qingyu and can ignore space."

    Zuocheng Daynight solemnly said, "Liu Shaoge should still be in the Outerverse at East San Dios. I will immediately send someone to capture him."

    Dwayne Daynight nodded. They now had conclusive evidence that Liu Shaoge had stolen the Daynight n''s inheritance stone, so how could they simply let things go?

    Back when Nightking Qingyu had first stolen one of the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stones, the Daynight n had beenpletely unbothered by the matter as they had been utterly confident that no one in the entire universe would dare to try to take away one of their inheritance stones. However, things had changed, and they now needed to send someone out to retrieve the stone, though they could not be too public about it. After all, the Outerverse was closed to the Daynight n, and if news of the Daynight n sending someone into the Outerverse leaked out, then the Great Eastern Alliance would definitely stop them.

    Lu Yin had already be their mortal enemy.

    Neither of the two elders mentioned this detail, and they both acted as though the other was ignorant of the matter. Neither of them wanted to admit how far their Daynight n had fallen.

    ***

    In the ze Realm, after Mister Mu disappeared, Lu Yin began hisst session of secluded training before ZENITH started. This time, he really did enter into seclusion, because ZENITH was right around the corner.

    Although Lu Yin was no longer paying attention to matters regarding ZENITH, he did know that the outside world had already erupted. ZENITH had created amotion in both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    Mister Mu''s words continued echoing in Lu Yin¡¯s ears. An unseen opponent, an unseen enemy¡­ in ZENITH?

    He lifted his head, and his die appeared. Lu Yin took a deep breath and tapped the die. It slowly spun in ce before finally stopping at five pips: Gift Copy. It was useless, as there was no one within ten seconds of him who had an innate gift. Thus, Lu Yin simply rolled the die again, and this time itnded right on four pips: Timestop.

    Upon entering the space, Lu Yin calmed himself down. His current assets were enough for him to stay in this space for a long time, and he casually waved a hand to add two hundred and forty days to his time in the space before taking out the Skyze Stone.

    Although he could not be an Enlighter before ZENITH started, there would be no issue if hepleted a few more cultivation cycles by utilizing the high temperature mes that the Skyze Stone had absorbed along with the star essence that he had umted in his cosmic ring.

    At present, the Skyze Stone had absorbed the mes from the sixteenthyer of the darkme barrier protecting the Dark Phoenix n, Monster Chi¡¯s Fire Spirit, Madam Lan¡¯s zing Sun, and finally, Leader Hong¡¯s Fire Spirit. Lu Yin had used up all of the mes that had been previously absorbed.

    Lu Yin held the Skyze Stone as lines appeared on his arm due to the high temperature. The pain of his flesh being burned assaulted him continuously , and the star essence that he had brought out was quickly incinerated by the high temperature, forming a red shroud that wrapped around Lu Yin.

    This fire was from Leader Hong¡¯s Fire Spirit, as that was the greatest heat that the Skyze Stone had absorbed, and it was on a simr level as the sixteenthyer of the Dark Phoenix family¡¯s darkme barrier.

    The heat from these two mes wasparable to the heat of a burning star, and all across Lu Yin¡¯s body, his skin suddenly cracked apart, though that actually elerated the speed at which he absorbed star energy.

    Even when a shortcut appeared, it would not be something that everyone could use. For example, using the Skyze Stone¡¯s heat to speed up one¡¯s cultivation speed in this manner. Even an average Enlighter would be consumed by this heat, and Lu Yin was only able to withstand the heat due to his freakish physique. Still, such a torturous shortcut yielded great returns.

    Lu Yin had relied on death energy to break through to the Hunter realm. After the death energy had merged and formed the strange ck and white fog, it had started consuming the star energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body, and thus, it needed to be constantly replenished. Additionally, he had used up far too much star energy when summoning the Giant Emperor as his champion to fight against Leader Hong. Lu Yin had not even managed toplete even a single cycle after bing a Hunter.

    He needed almost 1.2 million star essence toplete a single cycle.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves had also started replenishing themselves much faster after he became a Hunter.

    Thebination of the Skyze Stone, the Cosmic Art, and Worldliness realm star energy control allowed Lu Yin to absorb star energy incredibly quickly.

    After just a few days, Lu Yin had replenished his depleted star energy, and so, his next step was toplete his eleventh cultivation cycle, which cost him nearly 1.45 million star essence. This was far more than what other cultivators needed, but it worked perfectly with Lu Yin¡¯s second innate gift.

    After several days of roasting himself within the high temperature, Lu Yin limated to the temperature, and he even began to grow numb to it

    He had no idea how long it would take him toplete this cycle, but Lu Yin only opened his eyes again afterpleting his eleventh cycle. There were only eight cycles left until he became a peak Hunter. Then, he would need to break through once again in order to be an Enlighter.

    Breaking through to the Enlighter Realm seemed like it would be a massive obstacle, but Lu Yin was still far from that step.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin continued to absorb star energy by relying on the Skyze Stone.

    ¡­

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1246: Pinnacle Of Comprehension

    <h4>Chapter 1246: Pinnacle Of Comprehension</h4>

    Lu Yin had less than five days remaining in the Timestop Space when he opened his eyes and let out a long breath. The air that he let out warped the void, as its temperature was simply too high.

    His skin had been burnt so badly by the high temperature mes that he was no longer able to feel any pain.

    The Skyze Stone finally began to cool down, and Lu Yin stored it away.

    Despite the number of mes that the stone had absorbed, they were only enough to allow Lu Yin toplete three cycles as a Hunter. Thus, he still had six cycles to go before reaching the apex of the Hunter realm. His seventh breakthrough was not too far away.

    As for star essence, he had absorbed the star energy of about seven million star essence. This was a ridiculous amount, but fortunately, Lu Yin still had quite a bit more in reserve.

    After resting for a long while, Lu Yin raised a hand and brought his die out to roll.

    After being tapped, the die spun around and eventually stop on one pip. Useless.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry. He checked his time and saw that he still had four days remaining, which was not enough. His first instinct had been to extend that time, but that would not be cost-effective. Whenever ten days were added, the cost would double. Adding even ten more days would be too much for him to bear.

    Since he was in no hurry, Lu Yin began to silently recite the full Stonewall Scripture. He had already made it a habit to recite the scriptures anytime he had nothing else to do. This scripture was absolutely amazing.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin returned to a secure room, where he continued to recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

    After three days, he was able to roll the die once again.

    This time, Lu Yin did not have good luck. He rolled Pilfer three times in a row and only received useless items. When he rolled the die for a fourth time, he rolled one pip yet again. Speechless, he stared at the trash covering the floor of the room.

    There was a magazine with Luo Shen on the cover, who was an acquaintance of Lu Yin¡¯s.

    After rolling the die five times, it was necessary to wait at least ten days before rolling it again.

    These ten days quickly passed by, after which Lu Yin raised his hand to bring out his die. This time, he needed to roll a four. He tapped the die.

    He was always afraid of rolling six pips, so he had set his cosmic ring to the side.

    His fears were proven true, as he really did roll a six.

    If he had not set his cosmic ring aside, then the star essence he had inside would have already been all consumed.

    The second time he rolled the die, he finally got what he wanted: four pips.

    Lu Yin entered the Timestop Space once again.

    It only took a mere 20,000 star essence for him to extend his time in this space to 240 days. If he had not left the space when he had, then he did not even want to know how much it would have cost to extend his time by another 240 days.

    While in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin wanted to roll three pips, but his luck was against him, and he did not get it.

    Without anything else to do, Lu Yin made the Root of Intelligence into a tea.

    The size of each Root of Intelligence varied. The root that Mister Mu had given him was not as big as the withered one that he had obtained from lockbreaking, and this one was only enough for three sips of tea. The previous root had been enough for five.

    As the tea brewed, the pleasant fragrance spread out. Lu Yin felt his mind clear up, and no matter if he focused on the present or the past, all of his memories were exceptionally clear. It was simr to watching a movie and being able to examine all of the details.

    His mind had improved dramatically all at once.

    This was the magic of tea made from a Root of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin had already decided to use the tea made from the Root of Intelligence to deduce more of the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Even when considering all of the techniques that he had learned, Lu Yin¡¯s most effective attack was still his Vacuum Palm, whichbined his physical strength with the Oveying Stacks Path to continuously raise the power of an attack. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was constantly and passively increasing, and a Vacuum Palm was enough for him to defeat most of his peers. Given his increased strength, his Vacuum Palm should even be enough to threaten the Mavis family¡¯s inheritor now.

    The truth of the matter was that Lu Yin had hoped that he would also have enough tea toprehend more of Daynight Praises and his various sourcebox arrays, but unfortunately, he was limited to only three mouthfuls of the tea.

    After the first sip, Lu Yin''s whole body felt like it was floating. He raised a hand and struck out with a palm. The void twisted and rippled inyers like waves. He stared at the waves and saw palm after palm.

    When he had been fighting against Nightking Zhenwu, Lu Yin had managed to deduce up to 170 Stacks, but at this time, he quickly deduced 180 Stacks and then 190.

    The Oveying Stacks Path was based off of one¡¯s physical strength, and Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had spiked after he broke through to the Hunter realm. The increase was truly rather absurd, and it meant that he could deduce up to 220 Stacks before reaching his limit.

    If Lu Yin ever faced Lan Si again, then a single Vacuum Palm with 220 Stacks would be enough to instantly defeat Lan Si.

    By Lu Yin''s estimation, even if Lan Si became an Enlighter, the number of stacks that he could unleash would be 200 at best, and it was impossible for the Arbiter to exceed that. As for Yuhua Mavis, he judged that her strength was a bit better. She was definitely capable of using more than 200 Stacks, but not much more.

    Of course, 200 Stacks was not Lu Yin¡¯s limit. He had justpleted his thirteenth cycle, and his strength continued to rise dramatically with every breakthrough.

    After taking another sip of the tea made from the Root of Intelligence, Lu Yin continued to deduce the Oveying Stacks Path.

    The void trembled with a vibration that sounded like the beating of drums echoing down across the long river of time.

    250 Stacks. He was able to deduce a full 250 Stacks with the second sip of the tea.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked down at his palm. Right now, he even felt terrified of himself. He did not know if even Yuhua Mavis could withstand such an attack, but he really hoped to be able topare strength with that woman once again.

    Next time, he intended to find out just how many stacks she could endure.

    With thest sip of Root of Intelligence tea, Lu Yin''s eyes locked onto his heart, and he peered past his fatesand to look at the ck and white mist.

    This mist was the primary reason why Mister Mu had ordered Lu Yin to take first ce in ZENITH. Lu Yin had tried to test the ck and white mist when he had been on the Royal Frost Continent, but its power had been beyond him at that time. However, even if it was still beyond his current capabilities, he still had to master this power, as he did not want to be expelled from Mister Mu¡¯s tutge.

    With this thought, Lu Yin downed thest of the tea and directed the ck and white mist to exit his body.

    ¡­

    There were less than a hundred days remaining within the Timestop Space when Lu Yin finally returned to himself after drinking the tea made from the Root of Intelligence. His next task was to bring out his die once more, as he needed to roll a three this time!

    With this goal in mind, the die slowly came to a stop, revealing five pips. Lu Yin was rendered speechless.

    After his luck failed him again, twenty days passed, which meant that he had only eighty days remaining in the Timestop Space. Only then did he finally roll three pips, Enhance.

    He heaved a sigh of relief as he stared at the two light screens. It had not been easy to get this roll!

    The first thing that Lu Yin intended to upgrade was his formcast model.

    His body had consumed the formcast model that he had possessed when entering the Hunter realm. It had been a sixth stage formcast model, which was widely known as the limit for formcast models in the current universe. However, Lu Yin wanted to see if he could upgrade one to a seventh stage formcast model. If such a thing was possible, then just how would it change his body?

    Lu Yin ced a formcast model on the top light screen. This was merely a fourth stage formcast model, which made it a verymon one. He quickly upgraded it past the fifth stage and to the sixth stage by throwing out numerous star essence.

    Once it became a six stage formcast model, Lu Yin observed an amazing number of rune lines from it. Only Envoys were capable of creating such a formcast model, and they could be sold for astronomical prices.

    He had once considered selling upgraded formcast models to generate ie, but there were too many drawbacks to doing such a thing. For one, he could potentially improve his enemies¡¯ strength, and for another, he would definitely expose himself.

    There were certain methods that could be used to generate money, but there were others that would simply burn the one behind them.

    After upgrading the formcast model to six stages, Lu Yin grew solemn as he set it back atop the upper screen of light. He desperately hoped that it could be upgraded yet again.

    Lu Yin immediately threw out 10,000 star essence.

    The formcast model fell down slightly, but only a tiny bit. Despite the fact that the formcast model had barely moved, Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised. This proved that the formcast model could be upgraded to seven stages, which meant that his improvement upon bing an Enlighter would be absolutely insane.

    A key contributor to Lu Yin¡¯s incredible increase in strength after bing a Hunter was definitely because of his sixth stage formcast model.

    He believed that almost no one had a seventh stage formcast model, even when among the Ten Arbiters and the Neoverse¡¯s top talents.

    A long time ago, Lu Yin had asked Hai Qiqi about formcast models, and he had been told that sixth stage formcast models could only be made by Envoys whereas seventh stage formcast models could theoretically only be made by a super expert with a power level of at least a million or more. Just how many such monsters were there in the Fifth Maind? A handful?

    Lu Yin¡¯s advantages were growing greater and greater.

    This thought prompted Lu Yin to continue trying to upgrade the formcast model to seven stages.

    When he looked at the formcast model again, he blinked. Lu Yin had not paid much attention a moment ago, and he had only cared about if the formcast model could be improved again. However, now that he was taking a serious look, his pupils shrank. No way!

    He had indeed seen the formcast model drop down a bit, but it seemed as if it had onlypleted a thousandth or even ten-thousandth of a full upgrade!

    Lu Yin was stunned. This was just too much. How could it be so expensive?

    Just how much would it cost to upgrade the formcast model from six stages to seven?

    He did some quick math and sucked in a sharp breath. 100 million. This upgrade was guaranteed to cost him hundreds of millions of star essence.

    Lu Yin''s whole body went cold. It was true that he had hundreds of millions of star essence, but this would essentially bankrupt his entire savings! Why was it so expensive?

    He then thought the matter through for a bit. It had cost him 300,000 star essence to upgrade the formcast model from four stages to five, and upgrading it again to six stages had cost him eight million star essence. This was more than a 26-fold increase. If it did indeed cost hundreds of millions of star essence to upgrade it to a seventh stage formcast model, then it simply meant that it was even more than a 26-fold increase in cost, which was not too extreme.

    Formcast models were magical things that allowed the younger generation to improve to levelsparable to their seniors. They were a magical discovery that had shortened the potential gap between the current generation and their ancestors. Each breakthrough would allow them to have an amazing increase in strength, and spending hundreds of millions of star essence to obtain something as rare as a seventh stage formcast model was not actually an expensive price to pay.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. Cultivation consumed resources, which was why ordinary people could not cultivate at all. Even if a person had talent, they would be useless without the resources to support them.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin still had means to make more money.

    He silently put the formcast model away. Since it would take hundreds of millions of star essence to upgrade it, he would not worry about it for the moment. He had already given Ku Wei hundreds of millions of star essence to use to ce wagers on ZENITH, so Lu Yin only had 50 million left on his person. It was not enough!

    Since he did not have enough star essence to fully upgrade his formcast model, Lu Yin thought for a moment before taking out the froststone. This was what he should upgrade at the moment.

    If what the Frost Emperor had said was urate, then this stone was potentially capable of freezing even time. Naturally, Lu Yin needed to get it to that point.

    However, if this froststone had a connection to time, then the amount of star essence needed to upgrade it would definitely be a painful sum.

    Lu Yin thought about this as he set the froststone on the upper light screen and threw out arge number of star essence.

    At this point in time, anything that Lu Yin wanted to upgrade would be extremely expensive, and each upgrade could easily cost him hundreds of thousands of star essence. This prompted Lu Yin to immediately throw out 100,000 star essence, but the froststone only dropped about ten percent of the way through the screen.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1247: Upper Realm

    <h4>Chapter 1247: Upper Realm</h4>

    Lu Yin opened his mouth, but he actually did not know what to say. He had had a hunch that his 50 million-plus star essence would be unable to upgrade his formcast model to the level that he desired, but now, it seemed that he would not be able to upgrade the froststone either.

    The first upgrade alone required a million star essence, which was the highest cost he had ever seen for an initial upgrade.

    However, since he had started, he did not want to stop before finishing. Thus, he continued to throw out more star essence.

    Eventually, the froststone fell through, but it had only been upgraded once.

    After being upgraded, the froststone had changed slightly. Its color was a bit whiter, and it looked a bit colder as the void around it had started to freeze over.

    When Lu Yin picked the stone up, he only felt that his palm was cold with the cold being biting and a little painful.

    This cold was actually enough to cause him pain, which was a bit much. He estimated that this cold could freeze Enlighters with power levels of more than 300,000.

    Still, it was far from freezing time.

    Lu Yin put the froststone back on the upper light screen and upgraded it again.

    The second upgrade for the froststone cost him five million star essence.

    Lu Yin felt his heart ache.

    As he looked at the froststone, he saw that it had changed once again, bing even whiter. Strangely, this color actually seemed to not belong to the universe.

    ck holes were able to absorb light, and the white of this stone also seemed capable of absorbing light as well. Besides white, all other colors were absorbed and could no longer be seen.

    Lu Yin gently touched the stone, and the tips of his fingers froze like when an ordinary person suffered an electric shock.

    He was pleasantly surprised. Even if the froststone was still unable to freeze time, it could definitely be used as a weapon, and whoever touched it would definitely suffer.

    Lu Yin wanted to upgrade it a third time, but after considering it for a moment, he gave up on that idea.

    Time was an illusory concept, and even if he could upgrade the froststone to the point where it could freeze time, he had no idea of just how much star essence that would cost. If he did not consider the hundreds of millions of star essence that he had used to ce bets on himself, he still had more than thirty six million star essence left, but he could not afford to use it all.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment and put the froststone away before checking all of the various items that he owned. In the end, the item that he felt was best suited for being upgraded at this point was his universal armor.

    He had no clue just how far this set of universal armor could be upgraded. It had been made from materials that had been fabricated in the Technocracy, and Lu Yin expected that, even if the armor could not be upgraded to the point where its runes matched up to the mechanical monsters that the Technocracy had sent after Brother Hui Kong, it should still be close.

    After thinking about it, he put the cosmic armor on the upper light curtain, and then started to throw in star essence.

    He had already upgraded this universal armor nine times, and the ninth upgrade had taken more than six million star essence. Thus, Lu Yin estimated that the next upgrade might possibly require tens of millions of star essence.

    It turned out that the next upgrade took fourteen million star essence.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart ached as he stared at his upgraded universal armor.

    The further he went, the more star essence he needed for everything. Based on the ratio of the recent cost increases, Lu Yin¡¯s current ie waspletely insufficient.

    He wanted to upgrade the universal armor once more, but after considering it, Lu Yin decided not to.

    His remaining twenty two million star essence might not be enough to finish!

    He let out a long sigh, hoping that he would be able to gain a little more from ZENITH. Otherwise, he would really be out of money, and all the money that he had gained from the ze Realm would be gone.

    Actually, the least valuable thing in the ze Realm¡¯s treasury had been the star essence, and there had been many other items that could be sold. After a bit of thought, Lu Yin had had everything sent over to Bei Qing.

    With the rise of Lu Yin¡¯s status and his obscene use of star essence, the ie from Lu''s Grand Auction was no longer enough to support him. However, if the auction opened a branch in the Innerverse, then it would be able to sell off the ze Realm¡¯s treasures, and it should also be able to attract a crowd of buyers who could afford decent prices. Also, if Lu Yin was not able to sell the items for a decent price, then he could just use them himself.

    As he thought about ways to earn more money, Lu Yin recited the full Stonewall Scriptures. In this manner, time quickly passed by.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and he reappeared in the secure training room that he had been using in the ze Realm.

    His gadget beeped with a notification. When Lu Yin nced down, he was overjoyed at what he saw and rushed off to the space station.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage had been sent from the Neoverse two days ago. Yuan Shi was quick and efficient in what he did.

    Lu Yin had originally thought that therge stage might not be delivered until after ZENITH, and he certainly didn''t expect it to arrive so soon.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage had been towed here from the Neoverse by a ckhole grade Aurora, ording to a surprised Ku Wei. "Seventh Bro, what is that thing? It''s so big that it can''t even be stored in a cosmic ring."

    Lu Yin himself had only just learned that the Champions¡¯ Stage could not be stored in a cosmic ring, which exined why the Sixth Maind had not done that when they had first stolen it. Otherwise, it might have been impossible to retrieve even if the Chief Justice himself had moved out.

    Lu Yin stared at the huge tform before him and jumped onto it. Suddenly, he felt something familiar. He seemed to hear some sound. Roaring? Wailing? Howling? Despair?

    There was a thud as Ku Wei punched the stage next to Lu Yin, rousing Lu Yin. "Is it that hard?"

    "You can head out," Lu Yin said.

    Ku Wei quickly spoke up, "By the way, Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve already ced your bets, and they were done in batches."

    "What was the bookie¡¯s reaction?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei showed a strange smile. "Due to therge wagers, the bookie actually panicked and sent someone to investigate, but they couldn''t find us."

    Lu Yin casually said, "Let them investigate and make sure that things are traced back to either the Neoverse or Leon¡¯s Armada."

    Ku Wei was confused for a moment, but then he figured it out. Lu Yin was doing this because he was afraid that the bookie would default on the bets. With the bookie epting suchrge wagers, the power behind the betting site could not be underestimated. Thus, Lu Yin wanted to make sure that they would not dare to default on payouts.

    "In that case, they¡¯ll know that it¡¯s Seventh Bro. By the way, will doing this change your odds?" Ku Wei asked.

    Lu Yin said, "It doesn''t matter since the bets are based off of the odds when we ced the bets."

    Ku Wei nodded and quickly left.

    If the bookie discovered that the bets were ced by Leon¡¯s Armada, then they would absolutely think of Lu Yin. However, even if they realized what the situation was, it did not matter; the bets had already been ced and could no longer be changed.

    All Lu Yin had to do at this time was keep an eye on the bookie and prepare for ZENITH.

    ¡­

    Half a month passed, after which arge, radiant-grade Aurora set off from the ze Realm, headed towards Chaos Flowzone.

    Lu Yin, Ku Wei, Zhuo Daynight, Zhanlong Daynight, and Cool Sis were all aboard the vessel, as they were all participating in ZENITH.

    Cool Sis had already be the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fifth Imperial Squadron. She had been ranked tenth on the Top 100 Rankings, but with nowhere to go, she had followed Lu Yin back to the Great Yu Empire.

    Ku Wei did not even need to be mentioned.

    Zhuo and Zhanlong Daynight both intended to participate in ZENITH as well.

    Lu Yin had finally met Zhuo Daynight for the first time after they had parted ways back in Daynight Flowzone.

    The two had a veryplicated rtionship. Calling them friends did not seem to be quite appropriate as they had both risked their lives for each other, bgut calling them lovers was also wrong as those emotions did not exist between the two.

    Even Ling Gong could be thought of as being closer to Lu Yin''s lover than Zhuo Daynight.

    Lu Yin himself did not know exactly what his rtionship with Zhuo Daynight was, but when he looked at her, the woman''s face remained indifferent.

    Looking out at the stars shooting by, Lu Yin remembered the markings that he had seen on the Champions¡¯ Stage. There had been images of both astral beasts and people. If that Champions¡¯ Stage was the same as his second innate gift that had the same name, then those images should be the champions who had been anointed to that stage.

    Despite studying the Champions¡¯ Stage for half a month, Lu Yin was still unable to summon any of the champions. It had been useless even when he had tried to use his own blood.

    Could an innate giftst forever? Perhaps the owner was not actually dead.

    Lu Yin''s thoughts on the matter wereplicated. The Champions'' Stage had to be connected to him. If it was actually someone else¡¯s innate gift, then that person was almost definitely rted to Lu Yin by blood. However, he had no idea who that person might be.

    "Seventh Bro, have you heard of this? In the western region of Chaos Flowzone, the ce that used to be called the Floating Realm has been renamed as the Upper Realm. The people living there are all from the Sixth Maind, and now, the entire Innerverse and Outerverse know about it," Ku Wei walked over and spoke in a low tone like a thief.

    Lu Yin had actually not known anything about this matter. "How did the people of the Innerverse and Outerverse react to this?"

    "It''s messed up. Although the Upper Realm has been sealed off by the Hall of Honor, many people from the Innerverse have still gathered nearby. I¡¯ve also heard that several very fierce fights have broken out,¡± Ku Wei said.

    Lu Yin did not respond, and he just quietly considered the situation. The Sixth Maind would gradually move into the Fifth Maind, and no one could change that fact. Their futurey in the Outerverse, and the Outerverse was his territory. Sooner orter, he would sh with the Sixth Maind, and it was possible that things would erupt right after ZENITH ended.

    Lu Yin did not know how many powerhouses the Sixth Maind had, but any random Imprinter would be powerful enough to deal with Lu Yin. No matter who was supporting Lu Yin, they could not match up to the entire Sixth Maind. Yuan Shi had been the guardian of the Outerverse for his lifetime, but even he was left powerless in this situation.

    The Sixth Maind was not the various Innerverse powers who had masterminded the Purge. Any thoughts of resisting the Sixth Maind was nothing more than a dream. Lu Yin¡¯s only way out of the matter was to gradually move the entire Great Eastern Alliance into the Innerverse.

    This was also one of the reasons why Lu Yin had been so eager to upy the ze Realm. Frostwave Weave had to have an escape route.

    Still, if there was an option, Lu Yin would prefer not to leave the Outerverse.

    Also, if a ce could be found for the Sixth Maind to settle, then they might not take over the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin thought about it and opened a star chart, only to quickly shake his head. It was easier said than done to find another ce for the Sixth Maind to settle.

    His eyes were then drawn to the Technocracy on the star chart. He remembered the moment when he had rolled a six on his die and Possessed that mechanical ant. Even thinking back to that time gave Lu Yin chills; where were those mechanical ants? Who had created them?

    Humans were always fearful of the unknown, but Lu Yin hoped to have the Sixth Maind explore the unknown regions of the Technocracy. It would definitely be better if those mechanical ants could be forced out.

    After thinking about this, Lu Yin sent a message to Wang Wen, roughly sharing his thoughts. He hoped that Wang Wen coulde up with some way to redirect the Sixth Maind into the Technocracy. Not only would this challenge the Technocracy, but it would also save the Outerverse.

    ZENITH would start in two more months, and Lu Yin and his party would reach Chaos Flowzone in half a month at most.

    At this time, a series of videos appeared on thework that drew the attention of countless people. These videos featured the highlights of battles of the various talented youths participating in ZENITH, and CyNet was behind the appearance of these videos.

    CyNet controlled the entire Fifth Maind¡¯swork, and they had ess to everything that had ever been recorded.

    Appearing alongside these videos was the most publicly epted list of the predicted ten finalists, and the list was apanied by a collection of videos featuring each of the ten favored youths.

    "This is so unreasonable! I''m furious at myself!" Ku Wei shouted loudly, his voice spreading throughout the entire spacecraft.

    Zhanlong Daynight and others all looked over at him.

    Ku Wei brought up a screen and shared it with Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro, these people are so tricky! They actually ranked you thirteenth! They aren¡¯t showing you any respect at all!"

    Lu Yin nced at the screen, and Zhuo Daynight and others all looked at it as well.

    The list predicting the ten finalists was not a list of just ten people, but rather of fifteen youths.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1248: Predicted List

    <h4>Chapter 1248: Predicted List</h4>

    Shang Qing was naturally listed first. The information about him was very simple: Tri-Yang Technique¡ªInvincible. There was also a video avable, and it showed Shang Qing¡¯s fight against Shu Jing, and throughout the entire video, Shu Jing was utterly helpless against Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique.

    Shang Qing looked like a spirit or a god in the video with the two strands of qi twirling around him. Shu Jing was not even able to approach him, and he had ultimately been struck and defeated by the third strand of ancestral qi.

    During the battles in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Shang Qing had proven himself to be truly invincible among his peers with his three strands of ancestral qi. Originally, none of his peers had been able to force him to reveal the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique, but then, Corpse Beast had appeared and overpowered everyone. Only then had Shang Qing finally revealed the true strength of his technique.

    The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique allowed one to produce three Progenitor incarnations that were at the same cultivation realm as the technique¡¯s user. There really was no way to counter this technique, which ced Shang Qing firmly in first among the predicted list of finalists. Almost no one voiced anyints about this, except for the Sixth Maind.

    Second ce belonged to Bu Kong, one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. There was almost no information provided about Bu Kong, as he was someone from the Sixth Maind. However, his innate gift was mentioned, along with the fact that he had already be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker who had evenprehended a sourcebox array. These three aspectsbined made him ranked second.

    A person who was one of the Daosource Three Skies was practically peerless, and Bu Kong had also managed toprehend a sourcebox array. This really did qualify him to be ranked second.

    There was a video avable of Bu Kong¡¯s battle in the Cosmic Sea, and it especially focused on how Bu Kong had used a sourcebox array to knock everyone else off of the Champions¡¯ Stage. This scene was something that people would remember for the rest of their lives.

    Yao Xuan was ranked third, the crown prince of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Demon Empire. The description had essentially nothing about him the individual, but was rather an introduction to the Celestial Demon race.

    The Celestial Demon Race was ranked first in the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast List. Anyone born into the Celestial Demon Race was born at the Hunter Realm. The species consumed spiritual force, and whatever they devoured could never be recovered.

    There was no video avable for Yao Xuan or the Celestial Demon Race, as this was something that was even beyond CyNet¡¯s means. There were rumors that the crown prince had been in cryostasis for many years and that he had only awoken after ZENITH had been announced. It was quite clear that he had onlye out for the tournament.

    No one knew just how strong Yao Xuan was, but as the representative of the Astral Beast Domain, as well as the crown prince of the Celestial Demon Empire, it did not seem excessive for him to be ranked third. After all, the Astral Beast Domain had managed topete with the Human Domain for countless years, and they had even managed to stop the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. This proved that the Astral Beast Domain had an unfathomable foundation.

    Zhi Yi was ranked fourth. She was another one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, and when the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion had reached the Cosmic Sea, Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi had left a strong impression on many people. At that time, everyone participating in the battle had only been at the Hunter realm, but Zhi Yi had used her Vitality Qi to virtually hold everyone back.

    However, her use of Vitality Qi was not the reason why she was ranked fourth. The core reason was because the Sixth Maind¡¯s fundamental path of cultivation was significantly different from the Fifth Maind¡¯s. The people of the Sixth Maind had ess to imprints and bloodlines, which was why both Zhi Yi and Bu Kong were rated so highly.

    Cultivators from the Sixth Maind possessed a natural suppression when facing their Fifth Maind peers who were at the same cultivation realm as them. And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how they had their imprints, bloodlines, secret techniques, and martial prints. It was simply too difficult for someone from the Fifth Maind to defeat their corresponding peer from the Sixth Maind.

    All of the Daosource Three Skies were Enlighters, which meant that they had already surpassed many people in the Fifth Maind. It was possible that only people like Yuhua Mavis and the other elites from the Neoverse had be Enlighters before the Daosource Three Skies.

    The Sixth Maind had dared to invade the Fifth Maind, and they had also reced the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky in the past, which amply demonstrated their strength. The Daosource Three Skies were truly invincible within the Sixth Maind.

    If not for the fact that Shang Qing cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique, which was too well known for being peerless, and that Yao Xuan was too mysterious, Bu Kong and Zhi Yi might have taken both first and second ce in the rankings prediction.

    There were not that many videos of Zhi Yi''s battles, but the most viewed video was of her battle against Liu Tianmu. Many people knew of the Sword Sect¡¯s inheritor, as she was one of the Ten Arbiters. However, she was only ranked eleventh¡ªnot even able to break into the top ten.

    Although the Thirteen Swords were incredibly powerful, the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone had already revealed Liu Tianmu''s full strength, and she was much weaker than Shang Qing. That was why she ranked so low on this list.

    Xia Jiuyou was in fifth ce, and there was only one reason why he was able to ce fifth: Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Technique. During the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Xia Jiuyou had revealed a level of strengthparable to Yuhua Mavis after only merging with two of his clones at that time. Everyone believed that Xia Jiuyou would merge with more clones before ZENITH, and the Nine Clones Technique was also famous for being invincible.

    If the technique had been created by someone else, then that im might not be believed. However, no one dared to underestimate Progenitor Chen. This alone was enough to ce Xia Jiuyou fifth.

    There were a few more videos of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s fights, and even without the video of his battles in the Mountain and Seas Zone, there were many other videos of his battles during more normal situations, and these videos showed both wins and losses. However, his strength in these videos were not enough to qualify him for his rank, and he had been given this rank entirely because of the Nine Clones Technique.

    In sixth ce was Yuhua Mavis. The Mavis surname was not unfamiliar to the people of the Fifth Maind, or even to people from the Sixth Maind. Their surname not only represented wealth, but also strength.

    The Mavis family were known to be unmatched among the human race when it came to physical strength, and their family also had an innate gift that allowed them to control others. No matter what era, even during the time of Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, the Mavis family always had been an existence that could not be ignored.

    There were no videos of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s battles, as the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant had only ever gone out for the Astral Tower. However, no one had any objections to her being ranked sixth, and many people even believed that her ranking was too low.

    Wu Taibai was ranked seventh, another one of the Daosource Three Skies. There was only one line to introduce this person, and it could not even be considered a full sentence: ¡®He likes to y.¡¯ Not even the people of the Sixth Maind knew much about Wu Taibai, and no one knew anything about his battle techniques,bat style, or innate gifts.

    But despite theck of information, he was still ranked seventh. This was simply because he was one of the Daosource Three Skies. There was no other reason, but these three words alone were enough. Naturally, there were no videos of him.

    Ranked eighth was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Bai Mai, which was a carrion bug.

    There is no information about Bai Mai at all. Rather, the description was an introduction to the carrion bug race. It was rumored that these insects had been born from the body of an ancient Progenitor, and many people regarded them as parasites.

    The term "parasite" was a bit derogatory, but no one dared to underestimate the carrion bugs. Not all creatures were able to parasitize the body of a Progenitor. In Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, the guardian giants were unable to prate the tomb, and the thousand meter long worms had simrly been unable to dig deep at all, which showed the toughness of a Progenitor¡¯s body even in death. And yet, the carrion bugs had been able to parasitize the ancestral Progenitors. Their physical strength had to be beyond imagination.

    It was all because of their connection to a Progenitor that the carrion bugs were ranked second on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast List, second only to the Celestial Demon race. If not for the fact that there were too few carrion bugs and that they had been in istion for hundreds of thousands of years, it was possible that they could actually surpass the Celestial Demon race and taken the top position of the Celestial Beast List.

    This was how, despite there being absolutely no information regarding Bai Mai, he was still ranked eighth. It was just because of his race¡¯s connection to an ancient Progenitor.

    The person ranked ninth was Qiu Shi, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s senior disciple. She was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and there was a bit more information about her. She was an Enlighter, had received the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique, and was also a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker who hadprehended a sourcebox array.

    Just these three aplishments alone were enough to shock people. Qiu Shi¡¯s achievements were very simr to Bu Kong¡¯s, but unfortunately, she was from the Fifth Maind. If she were from the Sixth Maind and also had an imprint like Bu Kong, then she would not have been ranked so lowly. She had actually set up a sourcebox array to teleport the Champions¡¯ Stage away along with Lu Yin just so that the Sixth Maind would not seed in stealing it.

    During the events in the Mountain and Seas Zone, she had once again teleported Wen Sansi away by using a sourcebox array, and she had also stood alone against Wen Sansi and Starsibyl.

    The only reason why Qiu Shi was ranked lower than Yuhua Mavis was because Qiu Shi was a regr human and not a Mavis.

    However, there was something else about Qiu Shi that people were looking forward to, which was the fourth aspect of her strength that had granted her the title of All Rounder Fairy. It should be an innate gift, but no one had any information on what it was.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s elders had granted her the name of All Rounder Fairy, and it was well known that three of the four aspects behind that title were her cultivation realm, her lockbreaking skills, and her secret technique. It was also possible that she had a terrifying innate gift, but people could only imagine.

    There were many videos of Qiu Shi¡¯s battles, but what drew the most eyes were not her fights, but rather her impressive bosom. Quite a few people maliciously spread rumors that her fourth strength was her chest. After all, she also had another title: Queen Jugs.

    The tenth name on the list was Wang Yi. When Lu Yin saw this name, his expression changed, Wang? That was a primeval surname.

    Lu Yin was not the only one to pay attention to this name, as Wang was a rare surname in the universe, and no one had thought that a Wang would appear in ZENITH.

    Wang Yi was from the Technocracy, and there was no further information provided, and there were no videos either. He was only ranked tenth because he was the Technocracy¡¯s representative for ZENITH.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s three domains were all forces that stood on the same level. Thus, no matter what an individual¡¯s strength might be, if they represented the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, or the Technocracy, then they deserved a ce in the list predicting the top ten finalists.

    However, because there was no information about Wang Yi, they could only rank him tenth.

    As he looked at the name ¡°Wang Yi,¡± Lu Yin somehow felt that he wanted to meet this person.

    Right below Wang Yi was Liu Tianmu, at eleventh. This was no surprise. The Thirteen Swords were famous, and Liu Tianmu had used the Thirteenth Sword to injure Shang Qing. If not for how freakish the people in the top ten were, Liu Tianmu would have been ced much higher.

    Wen Sansi was listed right below Liu Tianmu at twelfth. There was no need to look at Wen Sansi¡¯s information, as he was very well known. However, his strength should not have been enough to push him to twelfth. Although Lu Yin clearly had a stronger battle strength, Wen Sansi had a truly infuriating innate gift. It was a barrier that not even Qiu Shi or the other Neoverse powerhouses had been able to break. This barrier had even helped Shang Qing block an attack. Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift was the reason why he had been ranked twelfth, as the creators of this list did not believe there were more than a dozen people participating in ZENITH who could overpower Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier.

    Lu Yin was ranked thirteenth, and there was simply too much information about him. There was an entire list of titles that he had been given, and there were simply too many videos of his battles to even count.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1249: Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 1249: Coincidence</h4>

    The Hall of Honor had given Lu Yin a position as one of the five gatekeepers, which should have been enough for him to be listed among the top ten predicted finalists. However, his cultivation was simply too low, and all of the people predicted to emerge in the top ten had been recognized for their strength. Lu Yin¡¯s dazzling performances had been recognized by even the Hall of Honor, but there were simply too many people in the universe who did not acknowledge Lu Yin¡¯s strength, especially those from the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy. It was impossible for them to acknowledge Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    There were many reasons why Lu Yin could only be ranked thirteenth. In fact, even if the creators of the list personally believed that he should be ranked in the top ten or even the top five, they could only rank him thirteenth.

    After all, for a ranking list predicting the finalists to be acknowledged, most people had to ept the uracy of the list.

    The only people who recognized Lu Yin''s true strength were the Innerverse and the Outerverse. There were many people even in the Neoverse who did not acknowledge Lu Yin¡¯s power. While it was true that Lu Yin had stepped upon the highest stage within the Mountain and Seas Zone, afterwards, he had been beaten down while Wen Sansi and others had remained fighting on that golden stage.

    Simrly, Y¨­u Qi had been defeated by Lu Yin, and he could not even be listed among the predicted fifteen finalists.

    Wu Dan was right below Lu Yin.

    If not for the ranking list, Lu Yin would have almost forgotten about Wu Dan and his arrogant deration about showing everyone the strength of a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. Still, it was true that he was a young genius who had mastered a sourcebox array at a young age.

    Wu Dan did not have much information attached to his name, just that he was from the Lockbreaker World.

    Not many people knew of the Lockbreaker World, and there was no public information avable on it. Still, the reason why Wu Dan was ranked fourteenth was because he had mastered a sourcebox array. He was an Advanced Lockbreaker who hadprehended a sourcebox array, which was certainly enough for him to enter the predicted list of the fifteen finalists.

    This showed that most people still viewed Lockbreakers as elites, as Wu Dan did not even have any videos avable.

    Finally, thest of the predicted fifteen finalists was Starsibyl.

    Starsibyl had been ignored for a long time; whenever anyone thought of the name ¡°Starsibyl,¡± they would think of fortune-telling. She looked like she had a frail body that was unsuited for fighting.

    However, Lu Yin could never forget the scene of when he had still been in the Astral Combat Academy and seen how Starsibyl had used divination to predict her opponent¡¯s movements and preemptivelyunch her attacks. During the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone, she had also fought right up until the end. If not for her and Unseen Light, the Ten Arbiters might not have been able to hold out until the very end.

    Starsibyl¡¯s divination was only one of her strengths, as she also had quite the impressivebat experience.

    Still, the foundational reason for why Starsibyl was ranked fifteenth was because she also cultivated Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Technique.

    Progenitor Chen''s invincible technique had been acquired and learned by two people: Xia Jiuyou and Starsibyl. No one knew how they had managed to do so, but the Nine Clones Technique alone qualified Starsibyl to be ranked fifteenth.

    These were the names of the people who were predicted to make it to the end of ZENITH, and thest five people were also acknowledged to have a high chance of cing in the top ten.

    Out of everyone, Lu Yin was the one who was looked down upon the worst. He was a gatekeeper, but people were not even optimistic about his chances of entering the top ten. However, his true goal was to take first ce.

    "What a bunch of blind idiots! Seventh Bro, let''s make our own list! You will definitely take first ce. What is this Tri-Yang Technique? Bah!" Ku Wei shouted angrily, as he was the most infuriated person in the room.

    Lu Yin did not actually care. Back when he had defeated Lan Si and Nightking Zhenwu back to back, it was true that he had stirred up quite amotion throughout the universe. But at that time, everyone who he had faced had only been Hunters. In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lu Yin truly had been more of a spectator, so it was quite normal for people to ignore him. If the Hall of Honor had not selected him to be a gatekeeper, then he would have never qualified to even be listed as one of the fifteen predicted finalists.

    Who among the fifteen listed youths was not some well known figure? Even if the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Prince Yao Xuan and the Technocracy¡¯s Wang Yi had almost no information listed about them, their origins were enough to speak for them.

    Not a single one of the Ten Arbiters had made it onto the list of the predicted ten finalists. This was enough to reveal the strength of the young geniuses participating in ZENITH.

    Lu Yin''s eyes slightly paused on the name ¡°Wu Taibai¡± as he remembered Mr. Bai. That young man had actually been Wu Taibai. At one point, Wu Taibai had fought against Nightking Zhenwu in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect while Lu Yin had almost been burned to death.

    After that, his eyes lingered on the name ¡°Wang Yi.¡± Lu Yin remained quite focused on this name. He had almost forgotten about the primeval surnames, but each time that happened, another person with such a name would appear in an unforgettable manner.

    Cool Sis stared at the name ¡°Shang Qing¡± at the top of the list and asked in surprise, "Is that Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s ancestral qi really invincible? Is just that really enough to put him above all these people?"

    "Bullshit! How can a technique really be invincible?" Ku Wei rolled his eyes.

    Ku Wei¡¯s words were not technically wrong, as there was no truly invincible technique in the universe, but his next words left Cool Sis unhappy.

    "Whoever believes that Tri-Yan Technique is invincible is an idiot. Our Seventh Bro is the invincible one! The word ¡®invincibility¡¯ was specially made for Seventh Bro." Ku Wei was proud.

    Cool Sis red at him, and his words actually convinced her that the Tri-Yang Technique was indeed invincible.

    Zhuo Daynight casually said, "Nightqueen Yanqing is also participating in ZENITH. She¡¯s actually the only person from the Nightking n."

    Lu Yin looked at where both Zhuo Daynight and Zhanlong Daynight were looking at a screen. This screen showed the statistics of all of the contestants. On the list, there was a single Nightqueen Yanqing from the Daynight n. She was the only person that the n had sent out.

    "I¡¯ll deal with her," Zhanlong Daynight said solemnly.

    Zhuo Daynight shook her head. "Nightking Dijiang has made his move, and Yanqing is the only person in the entire Daynight n who has a chance of having a good showing in ZENITH. They must have put their full efforts into raising her up, and she will not be the same person as before."

    Zhanlong Daynight¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a trace of fear appeared.

    Only someone from the Daynight n could truly appreciate just how terrifying the n¡¯s foundation was.

    Even ordinary people were aware of how important ZENITH was, and there was no way that the Daynight n would allow such an opportunity to slip away from them. They might be desperate or had given up if they were only sending Nightqueen Yanqing, but she would absolutely have undergone aplete transformation when they met again.

    The ranking list that they had all read through was simply the one acknowledged as the most urate one avable on thework. There were still countless other listspiled by qualified individuals, and Lu Yin¡¯s name was on every such list. He was a Hunter, but everyone acknowledged that he deserved a ce on the predicted rankings. This proved that he was not someone to be underestimated, but hispetitors were just too powerful.

    Ku Wei browsed through thework, but the more he saw, the angrier he became. "Seventh Bro, someone¡¯s iming that the Hall of Honor designated you as a gatekeeper in order to keep the stronger people hidden away. They¡¯re saying that, because you weren¡¯t able to stay on the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone back then, you aren¡¯t even as powerful as Lei N¨¹. In fact, some use you of using back-handed methods to sneak in. These people are going to hear it from Brother Wei!"

    Lu Yin was also browsing through thework, though he was not checking the predicted rankings, as they were meaningless. Would the contestants actually reveal their greatest strengths? It was possible, but regardless, he was not interested in these rankings. Rather, what had captured his interest were the battle videos that CyNet had released. These videos not only featured the people who were listed on the ranking lists, but also many unknown powerhouses.

    For example, there was a girl named Feng Liu1 from the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. Their race was also listed on the Celestial Demon List, and she was a substitute representative for the Astral Beast Domain. She was only a Hunter, but she was not weak at all.

    Also, Luo Yu from the Jasper World stood out. She had used a needle attack to kill an Enlighter while only at the Hunter realm.

    Also, there was someone known as Lightson, who was from the World of Light. Lu Yin had actually seen this hidden world when he had been traveling with Mu En, and the Judicial Commissioner had spoken with the leader of this hidden world.

    These were also other unknown powerhouses that Lu Yin managed to casually find. As far as he knew, there was still Xiao Qing from the Sixth Maind as well as the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling who had never shown themselves. There were simply too many unknown experts.

    "Your Highness, there¡¯s a Northline Flowzone vessel up ahead," a voice alerted.

    Lu Yin looked up ahead and saw arge spacecraft also en route to Chaos Flowzone that was traveling in the same direction as them. It was also a radiant-grade Aurora, but it seemed to be purposely slowing down. The symbol of Northline Flowzone could be seen on the hull, as well as the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s emblem.

    It was not unusual to see a ship from Northline Flowzone at the intersection of zing Mist and Northline Flowzones.

    Northline Flowzone had aplicated rtionship with Lu Yin.

    They had initially helped him sneak onto Pyrolyte, and he had in turn helped protect their forces on that. Based on this event, it would seem that Lu Yin was a friend of Northline Flowzone. However, he hadter killed one of their Enlighters, Granny Chan. She had grown jealous of him and betrayed him, which had nearly led to Lu Yin¡¯s death.

    Her death had ended any grudge that Lu Yin held against them, but he had recently upied zing Mist Flowzone, and Northline Flowzone had been one of the powers to immediately jump out and oppose Lu Yin¡¯s actions. Still, Lu Yin felt that it was only right for them to dere their position. After all, the two flowzones shared a border, and they were worried about bing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s next target. But then again, they had tried to block Lu Yin¡¯s path, and that meant that, for the moment, they were enemies and not friends.

    "Your Highness, the Northline Flowzone vessel has sent us an invitation. They request that you move to their ship for a meeting," someone on the ship reported to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had originally wanted to simply pass by the Northline Flowzone spaceship, as he did not want to get involved with them. After hearing the report, he considered the situation for a bit before answering, "I got it."

    Ku Wei approached and sneakily said, "Seventh Bro, do you want to kill them? They¡¯ve been the fiercest opponents to you upying the ze Realm."

    Lu Yin red at Ku Wei. "Stay here."

    He wanted to leave after that, but then he looked back at Ku Wei once again. "Actually,e with me."

    Ku Wei''s eyes lit up. "Yes, Seventh Bro."

    The Northline Flowzone vessel belonged to the Barthe Jacques family. They were an extremely wealthy family that supported the economy of the entire Northline Flowzone all by themselves.

    Although the Barthe Jacques family had no powerhouses, they used money as a weapon. They had used their wealth to hire Tie Sa, a powerful Enlighter, as well as the entire Scarlet Mercenaries. Thus, the Barthe Jacques family was just as famous as the Lily family or the Northgate family.

    If one looked at both the nearbyrge and small flowzones, the Barthe Jacques family was the best representative of wealth around.

    Upon boarding the Northline Flowzone spaceship, Lu Yin was greeted by Northgate Taisui, whom he had met before.

    Northgate Taisui was an expert with a power level of over 400,000, and he was the strongest member of the Northgate family. It was expected for him to be the guardian of Northline Flowzone¡¯s youths as they made their way to ZENITH.

    Northgate Taisui had been the first powerhouse with a power level of over 400,000 who Lu Yin had ever seen. Initially, Lu Yin had been terrified of Northgate Taisui, unimaginably terrified. A powerhouse on his level could lock down an entire region of space and render it impossible for Lu Yin to escape.

    At that time, Lu Yin had been dragged back by Northgate Taisui and had been utterly helpless.

    It could be said that Northgate Taisui had opened Lu Yin''s eyes.

    However, only ten years had passed, but now, Lu Yin¡¯s impression upon seeing Northgate Taisui hadpletely changed. This old man was no longer scary, and he actually just seemed ordinary.

    As Northgate Taisui looked at Lu Yin, who was boarding the vessel, theplexities in the old man¡¯s eyes were beyond words.

    He still remembered the first time that he had seen this little guy. Back then, this youth had been nothing more than an ant before him. If not for the Daynight n intervening, Lu Yin would never have qualified to even speak to Northgate Taisui.

    How many years had passed since that incident? For a powerhouse like Northgate Taisui, it was around the time needed to take a nap, but the child had already climbed to a level where the Northgate family¡¯s ancestor had to meet with Lu Yin in person and show him the proper respect.

    [1] Name literally means Phoenix 6. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1250: Resolution

    <h4>Chapter 1250: Resolution</h4>

    Northgate Taisui had beenpletely stunned when he had heard news of Lu Yin defeating Daynight Flowzone. The young man standing before the ancient powerhouse had relied on powerful people to protect himself when he had been younger, yet he had already grown into his own power and had aplished countless feats.

    Northgate Taisui had paid close attention to Lu Yin¡¯s actions over the years and was extremely wary of the youth. This was also why Northline Flowzone had responded so strongly when the Great Eastern Alliance had taken over the ze Realm. Northgate Taisui, a powerhouse with a power level exceeding 400,000, was scared!

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Senior,¡± Lu Yin boarded the spacecraft and spoke calmly.

    Northgate Taisui¡¯s eyes shed as he stepped forward. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Senior, you look as healthy as ever.¡±

    ¡°Haha, thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. Please, follow me.¡± It had been a very long time since Northgate Taisui had needed to pretend to show someone respect, and it felt very awkward.

    Northgate Taisui was followed by the Northgate family¡¯s patriarch, the family¡¯s inheritor, Northgate Kong, Northgate Lie, Northgate Gang, and the Northgate family¡¯s Enlighter powerhouse, Elder Northgate. Also present was the Lily family¡¯s matriarch, Lily Liana, and her heir, Lily Anne, and Lily Shu¡¯Er. Finally, the Barthe Jacques family¡¯s patriarch, Henry, and his heir, Harold, was present along with Banico and Tie Sa.

    Almost all of Northline Flowzone¡¯s important characters had appeared to wee Lu Yin.

    This was a huge honor for anyone.

    Lu Yin was already aware that the current Northline Flowzone could notpare in any way to the Great Eastern Alliance. Also, since Northgate Taisui had referred to Lu Yin as Alliance Leader, Lu Yin intended to interact with them as the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Naturally, Lu Yin ignored Northgate Kong and everyone else present, as only Northgate Taisui was qualified to speak with Lu Yin. This also helped Lu Yin demonstrate his status as the Alliance Leader while also unting his power to Northline Flowzone¡¯s top individuals since they were still enemies.

    Northgate Kong and the rest did not reveal any displeasure and simply stood there silently, watching as Lu Yin followed Northgate Taisui deeper into the vessel.

    Ku Wei arrogantly followed behind Lu Yin, looking like ackey.

    Lily Anne watched Lu Yin with aplicated expression. In just ten years he had climbed to such impressive heights. If only she could have seen thising, as she would have made sure to reach a partnership with Lu Yin no matter what.

    Lily Anne had learned about Granny Chan¡¯s actions only after the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse had been restored. Lily Anne had been furious, as she had been friends with Lu Yin, yet her family had be Lu Yin¡¯s greatest enemy from Northline Flowzone¡¯s three families.

    Within the ship¡¯s guest lounge, Northgate Taisui sat across from Lu Yin as Lily Anne stood behind the elder.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been ten years, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Northgate Taisui smiled.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s already been ten years.¡±

    ¡°My Northline Flowzone has had some history with you, and I still remember when Alliance Leader was ced in charge of our Youth Council and you were a witness during thepetition at Northgate tform.¡± Northgate Taisui tried to establish some rapport with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯ughed. ¡°That¡¯s right, I also used Northline Flowzone¡¯s ships to get to the fight on Pyrolyte.¡± He paused and swirled his teacup. ¡°However, I don¡¯t understand why Northline Flowzone has expressed so much animosity towards me recently.¡±

    Northgate Taisui¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Animosity? Where did you hear that, Alliance Leader Lu?¡¯

    Lily Anne carefully watched Lu Yin.

    Ku Wei, who was standing behind Lu Yin, shouted back, ¡°Old man, are you just acting dumb? Does His Highness need people to tell him about such things? As long as he wants to find out about something, who can hide anything from him?¡±

    Northgate Taisui frowned and red at Ku Wei, and put a tremendous amount of pressure on the obnoxious youth.

    Ku Wei¡¯s face went red, but he simply snorted and kept his head high.

    Northgate Taisui was shocked. He had assumed that Ku Wei was just a simpleckey, and had not expected the youth to be able to withstand such pressure. Even Northgate Lie, who was Northline Flowzone¡¯s most elite youth, was incapable of such.

    The elder seriously appraised Ku Wei seriously, and asked, ¡°Young man, where are you from?¡±

    Ku Wei just sneered.

    Lu Yin reprimanded him, ¡°Ku Wei, don¡¯t be rude to Senior Northgate.¡±

    Northgate Taisui¡¯s brows rose as soon as he heard Ku Wei¡¯s name. ¡®Ku¡¯ was not a typical surname. The older man looked back at Ku Wei before turning to Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, there have been quite a few misunderstandings. I¡¯m sure you understand Northline Flowzone¡¯s position, and your Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s upation of the ze Realm has incited chaos for us.¡±

    Lu Yin put down his teacup. ¡°So, are you saying you want the Great Eastern Alliance to leave the Innerverse?¡±

    Northgate Taisui anxiously replied, ¡°Of course not, I merely wanted to clear the air. Northline Flowzone wishes to be on good terms with you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lily Anne smiled and spoke up, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please believe our Northline Flowzone¡¯s sincerity.¡±

    She stepped forward and offered Lu Yin a cosmic ring.

    Lily Anne was the person in Northline Flowzone who knew Lu Yin the best, and she was aware of how much Lu Yin loved money.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t move, and instead Ku Wei took the offered ring. He nced at it and tossed it back towards Lily Anne. ¡°Lady, since Northline Flowzone is such a small ce, His Highness won¡¯t me you for this, but how could you believe that a mere million star essence would be enough to remove past grudges?¡±

    Lu Yin turned towards Lily Anne and smiled. ¡°Miss Anne, we¡¯re old friends; what need is there for you to do this? The Great Eastern Alliance will not attack your Northline Flowzone, so you have no need to worry.¡±

    Lily Anne bowed. ¡°This is my fault, and I hope you won¡¯t me me, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    She then turned to look at Northgate Taisui.

    Northgate Taisui made a gesture to her.

    Lily Anne left the room and Lily Shu¡¯er entered. She had a huge smile on her face, and her actions were theplete opposite of Lily Anne¡¯s.

    Lily Anne appeared elegant and knowledgeable, while Lily Shu¡¯er was active and vibrant.

    She carefully took out ten cosmic rings after entering the room, and she ced them on the table. She grinned at Lu Yin and stuck out her tongue at him before running back out of the room.

    Lu Yin shot a curious look at Northgate Taisui.

    Northgate Taisui looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, my Northline Flowzone has no significant grudges with you, and these are just some small gifts we prepared for you. I hope you will ept them and forgive any past actions of Northline Flowzone that might have offended you.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the cosmic rings. ¡°Are all these being offered to remove old grudges?¡±

    Northgate Taisui answered sincerely, ¡°That¡¯s right. We have no further intentions.¡±

    Lu Yin remained sitting while Ku Wei stepped forward and silently collected the cosmic rings.

    ¡°Senior Northgate, how many people from the Northline Flowzone are participating in ZENITH?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Northgate Taisui showed a bitter smile. ¡°Only three: Lily Anne, Lily Shu¡¯er and Northgate Gang. The other youths simply aren¡¯t ready.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°There are four.¡±

    Northgate Taisui was confused.

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Ah Fan graduated from your Northline Flowzone¡¯s Shangwu Academy, and he¡¯s currently based at San Dios and serves my Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Northgate Taisui had not even known of Ah Fan¡¯s existence, but as soon as he heard that this person served the Great Eastern Alliance, Northgate Taisui smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize we had another elite. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for your help.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°It was nothing. By the way, your ship isn¡¯t very fast.¡±

    Northgate Taisui exined, ¡°We don¡¯t want to travel too quickly as things are already so chaotic at Zenith Mountain. Everyone in the entire universe wants to leave their name on the mountain, and some of our enemies are already there. Northline Flowzone is not very strong, so we don¡¯t want to arrive too early. Additionally, with so many geniuses participating in ZENITH, I don¡¯t want Anne and the others to be discouraged.¡±

    Lu Yin understood how the man felt. Judging by the strength he had observed Lily Anne and the others possessed, they would not be able to do anything during ZENITH. If they arrived too soon, people would be able to discover their weaknesses, and they might even attract their enemies¡¯ attention.

    Lu Yin and Ku Wei returned to their own vessel once matters were resolved.

    Lu Yin had resolved his grudges with Northline Flowzone, but that was only past grudges. He had not made any mention of grudges that might be made in the future, and he had never promised to leave Northline Flowzone alone. It was just a matter of time before the Great Eastern Alliance needed to expand.

    Ku Wei passed Lu Yin the ten cosmic rings after they returned to their own spacecraft. ¡°Seventh Bro, was this really just trying to smooth things out between you and them? They¡¯re paying a massive price, as there¡¯s almost ten million star essence here. That¡¯s basically a tenth of the ze Realm¡¯s treasury.¡±

    Lu Yin stored the star essence. ¡°That old man wants me to take care of his people from Northline Flowzone during ZENITH.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Ku Wei hesitated. ¡°Let them past the gate?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°This is apetition open to the entire universe. No matter how many people sign up, as long as someone is able to get past the first level, they will be able to have their name on Zenith Mountain for another day, which will bring greater glory to their family. Although Northgate Taisui said that he doesn¡¯t have any hope for his family during thispetition, he still would like to see their names remain on Zenith Mountain even just a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Seventh Bro, as long as you cut them some ck during thepetition and don¡¯t make things too difficult for them, they should be able to make it through,¡± Ku Wei said.

    The reality was that what Lu Yin was saying was just one of the reasons behind offering such wealth. Another big motivation was the Lily family trying to apologize for the incident with Granny Chan. The three families might not have offered up equal amounts of money for this peace offering, and the Lily family might have needed to supply the majority.

    No matter what was behind the gift, Lu Yin was happy just to receive ten million star essence. This also seemed like a good way of earning money.

    Lu Yin looked at space. As long as he was powerful, he would have no need to fight for what he wanted, as it would simply appear before him.

    ¡­

    In Chaos Flowzone, after Zenith Mountain had appeared, manys had begun to appear around the mountain, as well as many strange buildings. Various major powers had sent these structures, and many of the elder generation¡¯s powerhouses began to appear.

    More and more people gathered at Zenith Mountain, and they were from the Innerverse, the Outerverse, the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, and even the Sixth Maind.

    Countless different styles of spacecraft could be seen, and some did not even look like spaceships.

    Also, whenever people gathered together, conflicts would arise.

    Nearly a hundred fights broke out on a daily basis due to all sorts of things.

    At this moment, An Shaohua was fighting against Xun Jiong on one.

    One of the two was from Watermoon Vi, while the other was from the Xun family. Their strength wasparable, and they had already been fighting for many hours.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1251: Circumstances

    <h4>Chapter 1251: Circumstances</h4>

    Xun Jiong panted heavily as he red at An Shaohua. ¡°You will destroy Watermoon Vi one day! You¡¯re from the Innerverse, yet working for Lu Yin.¡±

    An Shaohua sneered. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Xun family just working for the Daynight n?¡¯

    ¡°My familyes from Ascension Flowzone! We¡¯re not rted to the Daynight n.¡¯

    ¡°So you deny it? If not for my Watermoon Vi, your Xun family would have gone to help the Daynight n. However, now that the Daynight n has been dealt with, your family can¡¯t wait to sever all ties with them. I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless n!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Xun Jiong charged at An Shaohua.

    An Shaohua smirked. ¡°You¡¯re getting desperate.¡±

    He rushed also towards Xun Jiong.

    Off in the distance, someone crouched in a corner while sneakily filming the battle. His name was Wu Da and he was someone from the Astral Combat Academy. He had founded the academy¡¯s tabloid and had done multiple reports on Lu Yin¡¯s fights. His ambition was to be the best reporter ever, and he had spent a long time preparing for ZENITH, as his goal was to interview the final champion.

    Although neither Xun Jiong nor An Shaohua were very famous, the trigger for their fight was itself interesting enough for Wu Da.

    The greatest source of conflict at the moment was the mere existence of the Great Eastern Alliance, and Wu Da had kept his eye on the matter for a long time. Additionally, the Great Eastern Alliance had been founded by one of Wu Da¡¯s peers: Lu Yin. This made the alliance even more interesting to the would-be reporter.

    Xun Jiong and An Shaohua¡¯s battle was a representation of the conflict between the Innerverse and the Great Eastern Alliance, and there was no way that Wu Da would miss this battle.

    In another hidden location, someone else was also recording the fight. She was Yun Yun, and she had been the girl who had interviewed the Ten Arbiters at the Cosmic Sea on their way to the Neoverse. She had still been inexperienced at that and had been absolutely terrified of the Ten Arbiters. However, she had since gained more experience and was determined to take advantage of ZENITH to shake off her image as a terrified girl.

    Even though Xun Jiong and An Shaohua were not very powerful whenpared to others contestants, their battle was still being filmed from all angles.

    Senior generation powerhouses from both the Xun family and Watermoon Vi were also present. However, since they were already right next to Zenith Mountain, and since the battle was only between two members of the younger generation, none of the elders would interfere.

    The older powerhouses would not generally interfere with most of their juniors¡¯ battles unless someone¡¯s life was at stake.

    The battle continued for yet another hour, as twobatants¡¯ strengths were too close, and no victor could be determined. Xun Jiong grew impatient and asked for reinforcements. Someone else from Ascension Flowzone stepped out to help him, as the Xun family had many allies due to the usefulness of their Gear Construction Technique.

    In contrast, An Shaohua was a quiet person who did not have many friends. Fortunately, he belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    After seeing that Xun Jiong was getting reinforcements, An Shaohua immediately requested help for himself. Yue Xianzi, Ah Fan, and even Lilyrose, who had left for Zenith Mountain before Lu Yin, moved out to help Ah Shaohua.

    Suddenly, more than thirty people had gathered within the area, and the battle intensified.

    Nearly a hundred people had gathered around the arena, one side represented the Innerverse and the other side represented the Great Eastern Alliance. The Great Eastern Alliance in turn represented the entire Outerverse, which made it a battle between the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    ¡°Since when did the Outerverse dare to fight against the Innerverse? Has the sky fallen?¡± a woman standing next to Xun Jiong sneered.

    Someone behind Yue Xianzi retorted, ¡°Even if the sky copses, tall people die first. Woman, you¡¯re pretty tall; you must still be single.¡±

    The woman snapped, ¡°You¡¯re shameless! Is everyone from the Great Eastern Alliance like you? No wonder it¡¯s about to be given over to the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Yue Xianzi coldly replied, ¡°The Sixth Maind is supposed to be ourmon enemy; are you actually on their side?¡±

    Xun Jiong answered, ¡°Yue Xianzi, aren¡¯t you the heir of the Innerverse¡¯s Frostmoon Sect? Why would you stoop to An Shaohua¡¯s level and be Lu Yin¡¯sckey? No wonder your sect went into hiding. You better be careful the Daynight n doesn¡¯t destroy your sect.¡±

    ¡°Worry about your own family, first. I heard that the Xun family were the first to escape when the Sixth Maind invaded the Innerverse.¡±

    Xun Jiong smirked. ¡°Watermoon Vi took off pretty quick, too.¡±

    ¡­

    Hundreds of people taunting each other created an impressive sight.

    Both sides had simr strength at the moment, but the situation did not favor the Great Eastern Alliance, as there were simply too many people from the Innerverse who despised the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Also, most of the people taking the lead for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s side were actually from the Innerverse.

    There truly was a huge gap between the Outerverse and the Innerverse.

    Arge crowd gathered some distance away to watch the fight, and among them were some people from the Cosmic Sea and even the Neoverse. They watched the entire scene with disdain, as though looking at ants.

    As more and more people from the Innerverse appeared, someone famous finally arrived: Avery, a genius from the Dire Barbarian n who was ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings. He had called himself the Second War King when participating in the ported battles, and he was extremely powerful.

    Of the people from the Great Eastern Alliance, only Lilyrose could be considered somewhatparable to Avery. However, Lilyrose only ranked 31st, which was much lower than Avery.

    Avery¡¯s presence caused the area to fall silent, and even some of the people from the Neoverse grew serious upon seeing Avery.

    Although the number of powerhouses in the Outerverse and the Innerverse could notpare to the Neoverse, both regions still had numerous youths who were close to the level of the top talents. This became more apparent once they became Hunters, as talented cultivators would improve greatly after that breakthrough.

    Avery was a hideous man, and he red at the people from the Great Eastern Alliance. ¡°Who gave you the courage to challenge the Innerverse? Do you really think you can rebel against us simply by joining forces?¡±

    He nced at An Shaohua, Yue Xianzai, and the others with cold eyes. ¡°As people from the Innerverse, how could you follow someone from the Outerverse? You all have no right to im to be from the Innerverse.¡±

    Lilyrose stepped forward. She had changed quite a bit after the destruction of the ze Realm and the death of Leader Hong. Also, her mother¡¯s death had traumatized Lilyrose. She had previously been very arrogant because of her mother, but that had changed entirely. ¡°You have no right to taunt us, Avery. The Dire Barbarian n is just a subordinate to the Lingling n.¡±

    Avery looked at Lilyrose and sneered. ¡°Oh? It¡¯s a bitch who betrayed her own sect.¡±

    Lilyrose froze.

    The people from the Great Eastern Alliance all looked furious.

    ¡°Since you were able to betray your own and surrendered to Lu Yin, you two must be very close,¡± Avery said suggestively.

    ¡°Avery, how dare you!¡± Ah Fan bellowed. He leapt forward, and An Shaohua and the others were unable to stop him. Avery lifted his head, he had not actually intended to attack the Great Eastern Alliance, as he was still scared of Lu Yin¡¯s reputation after Lu Yin had defeated two of the Ten Arbiters one after the other, not to mention the fact that the Hall of Honor itself had recognized Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Therefore, no matter how much Avery despised the Great Eastern Alliance, he still did not dare openly cross Lu Yin. If he attacked anybody from the Great Eastern Alliance, he would simply be giving Lu Yin a reason to target him.

    However, there was no need to worry about such things if the person from the Great Eastern Alliance attacked first.

    Avery roared as soon as he saw Ah Fan, and overpowering soundwaves shattered air. Ah Fan went pale as the sky in front of him was torn apart. He was not able to withstand the attack at all. However, suddenly, someone moved in front of Ah Fan and instantly dissolved Avery¡¯s attack.

    Everyone in the area pulled back a bit.

    The person in front of Ah Fan was Ye Gui, who was an Enlighter who Lu Yin had assigned to protect Zenyu Star after the man had tried to ambush Lu Yin. Ye Gui had traveled with the youths from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    As soon as Ye Gui appeared, the Enlighter from the Dire Barbarian n showed up as well. The two Enlighters red at each other, but nobody attacked.

    Ah Fan panted heavily and warily eyed Avery.

    Averyughed. ¡°So the Great Eastern Alliance can only rely on their elders?¡±

    Ye Gui did not want to fight against the Dire Barbarian n, as he did not want to be an enemy of the Innerverse. He turned to face the Dire Barbarian n¡¯s elder. ¡°The young ones can fight, but there¡¯s no need to use deadly force.¡±

    The Enlighter from the Dire Barbarian n looked at Avery in a threatening manner.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had just defeated the ze Realm, and the Dire Barbarian n definitely could notpare to the ze Realm. Only idiots would try to fight against the Great Eastern Alliance at this time. Since nobody from any of the eight great flowzones had attacked, smaller powers should not initiate anything on their own.

    Avery was not dumb, and he stopped attacking Ah Fan.

    At that moment, another famous person appeared, though it could not really be considered a person. It was a rock that floated in the air.

    Despite that, everyone kept a wary eye on the rock, as this was the inheritor of Beast Tamer Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall. This was a powerhouse who had been in cryostasis for a thousand years: Little Mountain God.

    Bai Wanshan had always used the appearance of a great mountain when appearing in public, while Little Mountain God always took the appearance of a round stone.

    Whenpared to the steadfastness of Bai Wanshan, Little Mountain God seemed far more energetic, as well as more impatient. ¡°How dare the Great Eastern Alliance challenge us?¡±

    An Shaohua and the others warily watched Little Mountain God.

    The names of the participants in ZENITH had already been announced, and while Little Mountain God had not been included within the list of the predicted top ten, he was still considered a powerfulpetitor and had been listed within the top thirty. Despite not being an Arbiter, he was nearly as strong as the Arbiters. This was a true elite.

    Little Mountain God¡¯s appearance stressed Ye Gui, as this was the heir of one of the eight great flowzones. Ye Gui did not dare offend such a person, as that would be no different from insulting the entire Beast Tamer Flowzone. Moreover, Ye Gui was not even confident that he could actually beat Little Mountain God.

    Ye Gui felt the shift in the atmosphere. These youths were insane. Back when Ye Gui had been a youth, no matter how powerful his peers had been, not one of them had been able topare to an Enlighter. This was a change brought about by the introduction of formcast models, and they had led to the rise of so many geniuses.

    The people from the Great Eastern Alliance had no more allies.

    Lightning shed across the sky and a terrifying aura descended upon the area.

    ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance? Lu Yin¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance? You all are nothing but a joke.¡± Ku Lei appeared and red at An Shaohua and everyone standing behind him.

    Ku Lei¡¯s appearance was shocking not only to the people from the Great Eastern Alliance, but also to Little Mountain God. Ku Lei was extremely powerful.

    Avery¡¯s expression grew much more serious. This man¡¯s aura was terrifying.

    Ku Lei arrogantly surveyed the area. As an inheritor to one of the Seven Courts from the Neoverse, there was nobody from the Innerverse or Outerverse who could beat him.

    The people surrounding the crowd all started retreating. The Great Eastern Alliance had offended too many people, or to be more urate, Lu Yin had offended too many people, and all of them wanted to get revenge from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ye Gui started sweating. He was absolutely certain that he could not defeat Ku Lei. How could he protect the people under his protection when he was not able to keep even himself safe? How had the Alliance Leader managed to offend so many people?

    Ku Lei turned to An Shaohua. ¡°Where¡¯s Lu Yin?¡±

    An Shaohua reluctantly replied, ¡°The Alliance Leader isn¡¯t here yet.¡±

    Ku Lei sneered. ¡°I heard that he was injured quite badly when invading the ze Realm. Tell him that he should avoid me during ZENITH, or else I¡¯ll be the first to deal with him.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1252: The Friendship Of The Ten Academies

    <h4>Chapter 1252: The Friendship Of The Ten Academies</h4>

    Someone from among the people watching eximed, ¡°Ku Lei? Is he from the Court of Seven Names?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they one of the Three Dark Hands? Why would he dare show up here? Won¡¯t the Hall of Honore after him?¡±

    ¡°I heard that the people from the Seven Courts can freely travel about the Neoverse and aren¡¯t suppressed by the Hall of Honor.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s one of the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors? Lu Yin¡¯s in big trouble this time! He¡¯s really offended too many people.¡±

    ¡­

    Little Mountain God said, ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in meeting Lu Yin. He¡¯s just a Hunter, yet he actually dares to threaten the Innerverse.¡±

    Ku Lei nced over at Little Mountain God, and was shocked at the person¡¯s appearance, though he remained silent. Instead, Ku Lei turned to face An Shaohua and shouted, ¡°Did you hear me? Answer me!¡±

    Lightning exploded across the sky after he finished speaking.

    Ye Gui¡¯s eye twitched.

    Ku Lei had revealed his strength as an elite from the Neoverse, and everyone felt threatened and no one dared to speak up.

    Suddenly, Ku Lei¡¯s expression changed and his lightning dispersed. He stared off into the distance as Lan Si suddenly appeared in the sky.

    An Shaohua and the others heaved a sigh of relief as soon as they saw Lan Si.

    Everybody else was shocked, as they had not expected the Divine Fist to appear.

    Little Mountain God turned towards Lan Si; this guy was an Arbiter? After being in cryostasis for a thousand years, Little Mountain God had been eagerly anticipating challenging an Arbiter.

    Lan Si descended and stared at Ku Lei. ¡°How dare you threaten Lu Yin¡¯s followers when he¡¯s not here? Did you already forget how he thrashed you in the Neoverse?¡±

    Ku Lei red at the Arbiter. ¡°Lan Si, this is none of your business! Leave!¡±

    ¡°I can keep youpany if you¡¯re looking for a fight. When Lu Yin shows up, you won¡¯t even have the opportunity to kneel and beg,¡± Lan Si calmly replied.

    The crowd all turned to look at Ku Lei with great curiosity. They had thought that this person was a peak powerhouse, and none of them had realized that he had already been defeated by Lu Yin.

    Ku Lei snorted. ¡°There¡¯s no meaning in fighting you; you¡¯re the weakest of the Ten Arbiters, which is why Lu Yin chose to fight you. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re helping him.¡±

    He then transformed into lightning and disappeared.

    Little Mountain God turned to Lan Si. ¡°See you at thepetition! I¡¯ll help you aplish what you Ten Arbiters aren¡¯t able to achieve.¡±

    With that, he flew away.

    Lan Si¡¯s gaze fell onto Avery, and Avery left without a single word.

    Everyone left behind was shocked. Even though Lan Si had lost to Lu Yin and had not shown any astonishing achievements in the Mountain and Seas Zone, he was still an Arbiter. Nobody would be confident of defeating such a person with the exception of other Arbiters. Lan Si was not weak, he had simply met extraordinarily powerful opponents.

    Wu Da put away his gadget, his eyes shining with excitement; he would definitely get some good so long as he kept following these people. The Great Eastern Alliance and Lu Yin had many more enemies still, so there would definitely be newsworthy events wherever these people went.

    Yun Yun had the same thought, and she had evene up with a title for the incident she had just witnessed.

    This incident had urred on a on one side of Zenith Mountain. On the opposite side of Zenith Mountain, there was andmass with a beautifulndscape that was evenrger than an entire.

    At this moment, Xia Luo fell from the sky onto a corner of thendmass. He looked back and immediately dodged. A de shed through where he had just been, splitting the sky as it passed. Xia Jiuyou calmly walked out.

    ¡°Xia Luo, you can¡¯t escape. We are the same person, so why are you opposing me?¡± Xia Jiuyou bellowed. He red over at Xia Luo and raised his de.

    Xia Luo smiled bitterly. ¡°I have my own personality, and besides, who would want to be fused with you?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice. Once I fuse with you I will reach my peak and will be able to enter the top ten. I¡¯ll even be able to challenge Shang Qing, as Nine Clones Secret Technique is definitely capable of overpowering his Tri-Yang Technique; don¡¯t you want that to happen?¡± Xia Jiuyou asked as he shed his de at Xia Luo.

    As the de approached, Xia Luo raised a hand and used a finger to gently redirect the de. However, he was still thrown back by tremendous force, and half of his body went numb.

    Xia Jiuyou walked closer to Xia Luo andmented, ¡°I never expected you to reach this stage. If I hadn¡¯t fused with a few clones in the Mountain and Seas Zone, I might not be able to defeat you in a one on one. Of my nine clones, you are the most powerful aside from me. As long as you cooperate and join with me, we will be able to reach new heights.¡±

    Xia Luo shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll die during the fusion. Xia Jiuyou, a technique can¡¯t make you invincible. You have too much faith in the Nine Clones Secret Technique.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Xia Jiuyou raised his de once again. He felt incredibly anxious as he was feeling overwhelmed by the elites who had registered for ZENITH. Even with Nine Clones Technique, he had still only ced fifth in the list of predicted ten finalists. There were simply too many powerhouses present, especially Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin was only ranked thirteenth on the prediction list, Xia Jiuyou had interacted with Lu Yin before in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and he felt that Lu Yin was very mysterious and that nobody was entirely certain just how powerful Lu Yin had truly be. On top of that, Xia Jiuyou believed the Hall of Honor had chosen Lu Yin to be a gatekeeper for a reason.

    Since they had selected Lu Yin, he was guaranteed to be one of the most powerful people in ZENITH.

    Thus, Xia Jiuyou was feeling extremely nervous about ZENITH, and he felt that he had to fuse with Xia Luo to raise his strength.

    Xia Luo had no ce to go, so he could only attempt to fly into the sky. However, Xia Jiuyou intercepted the escape with a de, simultaneously destroying a spacecraft full of people from Windrift Hall, including Coco and Zora.

    Although there were Hunters inside the vessel, none of them were able to stand up to Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack.

    The attack left Coco, Zora, and a few other Windrift Hall disciples falling from the sky.

    Xia Jiuyou waspletely unconcerned about the people from Windrift Hall, and he continued to attack Xia Luo. Xia Luo¡¯s eyes narrowed and his hands quickly flitted about, and he managed to use his lockbreaking technique to dissolve Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack.

    The fact that Xia Luo was able to handle Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack by using lockbreaking skills proved that his control of star energy had reached the Wordliness realm.

    Xia Jiuyou was stunned, and he raised his de once more to continue viciously attacking Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo was not the only one within range of these attacks, as all of the people from Windrift Hall were also within range.

    Coco screamed.

    Xia Luo whirled around and saw Coco. He was shocked and he immediately diverted the attack that was about to strike Coco. However, since one side of his body had already gone numb, he was unable topletely dodge, and blood flowed down from his arm. He copsed to the ground along with Coco.

    Zora had been a bit luckier and was not injured by the attack.

    Of the dozens of people from Windrift Hall, nearly half of them had died from the attack.

    ¡°Xia- Xia Luo?¡± Coco stared at her savior in shock, as she couldn¡¯t believe such a coincidence.

    Xia Luo¡¯s face was pale and he quickly let her go. ¡°Sorry for getting you caught up in this.¡±

    Zoranded and instantly rushed for Coco. She also saw Xia Luo and eximed in surprise, ¡°Xia Luo? Why are you here?¡±

    Xia Luo got up slowly, blood raining from his arm and staining the ground red. He had no time to chat with the two girls, and he turned to face Xia Jiuyou.

    An elder from among the survivors from Windrift Hall shouted at Xia Jiuyou, ¡°Who are you? We are from Windrift Hall and will not forgive such actions!¡±

    Xia Jiuyou arrogantly ignored the elder and continued his attack on Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo shoved Coco and Zora away. ¡°Hurry up and run!¡±

    At this moment, a girl rushed at Xia Jiuyou and tried to punch him. He simply frowned and gently shook his sword. His star energy spread out and took the form of des that scattered in all directions. The girl¡¯s attack was not able to ovee the des and her arms were injured and her clothes shredded by the des. Xia Jiuyouunched another attack and tried to attack Xia Luo yet again.

    Suddenly, his de changed direction and shed at the sky. A woman appeared in front of his attack and stomped a foot downwards. A massive force created visible shockwaves that shed with Xia Jiuyou¡¯s sword.

    The sky shattered with a bang, and the entirendmass trembled, causing countless creatures to flee.

    A crack appeared on the ground.

    Everyone turned in awe.

    Xia Jiuyou grew solemn as he looked up at the sky. ¡°This is an internal matter of my Xia family, and it¡¯s none of your business, Yuhua Mavis.¡±

    The woman in the sky was Yuhua Mavis, while the girl who had attacked Xia Jiuyou was Lulu Mavis.

    Lulu Mavis was not able to get anywhere near Xia Jiuyou. If not for Yuhua Mavis, Lulu would have been in grave danger.

    Yuhua Mavis coldly replied, ¡°I have no ns of interfering with your family¡¯s issues. I just wanted to save Lulu.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou turned around to stare at Lulu Mavis.

    Lulu Mavis was panting heavily. Her arms were all scratched up, but she still red at Xia Jiuyou. ¡°He¡¯s my ssmate.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou frowned. ¡°The Mavis family shouldn¡¯t get involved in my Xia family¡¯s problems.¡±

    Lulu was stubborn, and she shot towards Xia Luo. Xia Luo had never expected to be saved by friends from Astral-10.

    Astral-10 had just been a passing phase for him, and he had not particrly cared about the people there with the exceptions of Lu Yin and Silver. Thus, he had not expected his former schoolmates to move to save him.

    Coco kept a wary eye on Xia Jiuyou while holding an enormous syringe in her arms and gritted her teeth. She had grown much braver from the time she had entered Astral-10.

    Zora stood next to Coco and nervously watched everything. She had finally recognized Xia Jiuyou, and knew that he was a powerhouse from the Neoverse and an heir from the Seven Courts. He was ranked fifth on the list predicting the top ten finalists of ZENITH, and he was known far and wide as someone guaranteed to be on of the top ten. She had never expected to meet someone like him as soon as they arrived at Zenith Mountain.

    This was not somebody they could defeat.

    Even the entire Windrift Hall was meaningless to the Xia family, as the Windrift Hall could be destroyed at whim.

    Xia Jiuyou didn¡¯t care about Lulu and the rest and was only concerned about Yuhua Mavis.

    He looked up at her. ¡°I won¡¯t harm anyone from your Mavis n, so you shouldn¡¯t interfere in my Xia family¡¯s problems.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis replied, ¡°Sure.¡±

    Lulu Mavis immediately began begging, ¡°Sister Yuhua, they¡¯re my ssmates from Astral-10 and are like my siblings. I can¡¯t ignore their situation! Please save them.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°I want to take Xia Luo with me.¡±

    Lulu Mavis cried out, ¡°Sister Yuhua, please help them! Please!¡±

    Xia Jiuyou used a battle technique, Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, showing how serious he was about the matter.

    He directed this attack at Xia Luo, but it was blocked by a green fist. Yuhua Mavis stood in front of Xia Jiuyou and said, ¡°I won¡¯t interfere with the Xia family¡¯s problems, but as long as Lulu is with him, you won¡¯t attack him.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou red at her. ¡°Yuhua Mavis, this is my family¡¯s issue. Are you trying to stir up chaos in the Neoverse?¡±

    Yuhua Mavis answered in a cold voice, ¡°The Mavis family is not scared of any trouble.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1253: Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 1253: Challenge</h4>

    Xia Jiuyou was very upset and he red at Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis red straight back.

    They were both among the forecast top ten and ranked fifth and sixth. It would be difficult for them to determine a winner if they fought.

    Lulu gloated, ¡°Thanks, Sister Yuhua.¡±

    Xia Luo was also grateful. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Coco sighed in relief, and Zora was feeling the same way at the moment.

    Xia Jiuyou put away his sword and looked at Xia Luo. ¡°ZENITH is about to begin, and I don¡¯t believe you will always have someone protecting you.¡± He then turned and left.

    Xia Luo¡¯s arm was still bleeding. His eyes shed, but nobody knew what was going through his mind.

    Yuhua Mavis turned back to look at Xia Luo. ¡°A rebellious personality. That¡¯s the w of the Nine Clones Technique.¡±

    Xia Luo agreed, ¡°The more powerful the battle technique, the greater the w.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a w, but also a motivation. He can fuse with you, but you can also fuse with him in turn,¡± Yuhua Mavis said meaningfully.

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Not many people managed to see this exchange, and even those who did only saw it from a distance, so they were unable to fully understand what had happened.

    A great distance away, a woman muttered to herself, ¡°The Nine Clones Technique¡¯s w¡­ Interesting. Back in the day, Progenitor Chen fused with his eight clones to be invincible, but it seems like Xia Jiuyou isn¡¯t able to do the same. This Xia Luo is interesting.¡±

    This woman was Zi Jing, and she was from CyNet World in the Neoverse.

    Countless people had gathered at Zenith Mountain, and most of the youths were being protected by their elders.

    At this time, most of the people who had gathered on Zenith Mountain¡¯s western side were from the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Innerverse had created too much hatred, and everyone from the Innerverse despised these people. Besides that, the people from the Sixth Maind looked down on anyone from the Fifth Maind.

    With both groups gathered at Zenith Mountain, there were an increasing number of fights breaking out.

    The verbal conflicts soon escted into a massive battle.

    Hundreds of people joined the fight, and someone died momentster while others suffered fatal injuries. At this rate, the area would end up as a graveyard for both sides before ZENITH even began, especially since more and more powerhouses kept flocking towards the battle.

    Everyone was focused on this fight, and there were even livestreams being broadcast as though it were a war.

    However, everything was soon stopped as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Shang Qing and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Zhi Yi separated the cultivators from each side.

    ¡°This will serve as a divider, and the western side will belong to the Sixth Maind, while the eastern, northern and southern sides will belong to the Fifth Maind,¡± Shang Qing calmly ordered.

    ¡°Why do you guys get three sides!¡± someone from the Sixth Maind called out.

    Vitality Qi erupted from Zhi Yi and swept over the, forcing all the cultivators from the Sixth Maind down. ¡°Imand you, as one of the Daosource Three Skies: remain silent.¡±

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind all went quiet as nobody dared to oppose this woman.

    The Daosource Three Skies stood at the top of the Sixth Maind¡¯s hierarchy among their peers, and any of the Daosource Three Skies was invincible. This was a simple fact to people of the Sixth Maind.

    In the same manner that the Ten Arbiters were allowed to pass judgement on anyone from the younger generation in the Innerverse or Outerverse, the Daosource Three Skies had the same authority in the Sixth Maind and could even execute anybody who defied them.

    Zhi Yi suppressed the cultivators from the Sixth Maind and then cautiously looked over at Shang Qing. ¡°I agree.¡±

    Shang Qing was solemn as he looked at Zhi Yi. This was his first time understanding what it meant for someone to be one of the Daosource Three Skies. Although Shang Qing was the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen, he was definitely unable to suppress the Fifth Maind¡¯s youths as casually as Zhi Yi had done for her own people. This showed how the Sixth Maind operated.

    Shang Qing was impressed by the respect Zhi Yi¡¯s peers gave her, whereas Zhi Yi was impressed by Shang Qing¡¯s abilities.

    When she had been separating people, she had intentionally allowed her Vitality Qi near Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique, and she had been stunned to realise that her Vitality Qi waspletely ineffective against ancestral qi.

    Her Vitality Qi was supposed to iste the ancestral qi, yet it had been ineffective. This reminded her of Lu Yin, who had also been unaffected by her Vitality Qi.

    Just this one interaction had given Zhi Yi an understanding of why Shang Qing had been the only person who had been named to represent the Fifth Maind; their legends imed the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to bepletely invincible.

    Zhi Yi felt that it was a shame that this guy had not participated in the defensive efforts during the invasion, as that way she would have been able to learn more about him.

    ¡°I have wanted to meet one of the Daosource Three Skies for a long time,¡± Shang Qing said.

    Zhi Yi answered, ¡°I¡¯ve also wanted to observe the legendary Tri-Yang Technique.¡±

    ¡°You will,¡± Shang Qing replied before turning around and calmly leaving. He behaved as though he did not care at all about Zhi Yi¡¯s abilities.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed and she grew a bit more wary. The Tri-Yang Technique was indeed very mysterious.

    After Shang Qing had left, Zhi Yi turned around to look at the cultivators from the Sixth Maind and saw how unsatisfied they all appeared. ¡°Did all of you hear what the three Progenitors said? The disaster striking our Sixth Maind is only temporary and we¡¯ll return soon. So what if the Fifth Maind hosts this ZENITH? So what if we only have one side of the mountain? Everyone believes Shang Qing will win thepetition, but we¡¯ll see what happens during the actualpetition. I hope all of you are able to defeat their Fifth Maind and turn ZENITH into an internal battle for our Sixth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Sky Zhi, don¡¯t worry. These people from the Fifth Maind can¡¯t defeat us.¡±

    ¡°ZENITH will definitely be an internalpetition for the Sixth Maind.¡±

    ¡°The only winners will be the Daosource Three Skies.¡±

    ¡­

    Many other conflicts broke out around Zenith Mountain, and countless articles were posted daily, with the conflicts between the Sixth Maind and the Fifth Maind and the skirmishes between the Innerverse and the Great Eastern Alliance being the mostmon stories.

    There were also some personal grudges that came out.

    Lu Yin was browsing thework while Ku Wei was cursing under his breath at the Innerverse. ¡°Seventh Bro, after we get to Zenith Mountain, we have to teach these people a lesson and let them know how powerful Seventh Bro really is!¡±

    Ku Wei was referring to the people from the Innerverse who had tried to fight against the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin had seen the video and remembered who the people were. They thought they could do whatever they wanted because of their numbers, but they did not realise that numbers were actually meaningless to certain people.

    Lu Yin was the most interested in the video of Xia Jiuyou trying to kill Xia Luo. The Nine Clones Technique¡¯s critical w was that each clone had a unique personality, and none of them would want to disappear. Instead, each would want to be the primary individual.

    Xia Luo was clearly unwilling to fuse with Xia Jiuyou, and had even managed to escape, though it had taken the help of the Mavises. Regardless, Xia Luo¡¯s mere existence was Xia Jiuyou¡¯s greatest weakness. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s power would improve drastically after fusing with Xia Luo, but without that, Xia Jiuyou would still be quite limited.

    Xia Jiuyou would also have a much more difficult time trying to fuse with Xia Luo, as the otherpetitors in ZENITH would do their best to not let him seed.

    It would be practically impossible for Xia Jiuyou toplete the fusion after moving to Zenith Mountain. Both because of ZENITH itself and because Xia Luo had been Lu Yin¡¯s ssmate, there was no way that Lu Yin would allow Xia Luo to disappear.

    He also wondered if Silver would be hiding among the contestants.

    ¡°Wendy should be arriving at Zenith Mountain soon,¡± Cool Sis shared from nearby Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°What¡¯s her cultivation realm now?¡±

    Cool Sis answered, ¡°She¡¯s still a Cruiser, but I can¡¯t tell how strong she¡¯s be.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Cool Sis. ¡°Do you remember our first fight? You used some battle technique that I wasn¡¯t even able to understand.¡±

    Cool Sis did not respond and instead turned to stare out at space. Suddenly, a ball of light shed by, and Lu Yin immediately looked in front of their vessel. He saw an incredible number of runes that couldpare or even surpass Northgate Taisui. This was an expert with a power level of more than 400,000.

    The spacecraft quickly stopped and an rm rang. A soldier reported, ¡°Your Highness, there¡¯s someone blocking our way.¡±

    Ku Wei shot to his feet. ¡°Who dares block Seventh Bro?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he looked at a screen in front of him that disyed whaty in front of their ship.

    There was a familiar looking ball of light directly in front of them.

    Lu Yin remembered the Light World he had seen in the Neoverse, and this orb of light looked exactly the same. Could this be the Light World?

    The light twisted and a smaller orb of light detached and transformed into a golden silhouette. Although Lu Yin was unable to clearly see the face, the person was clearly a young man. He turned to look at Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft. ¡°I am Lightson, from Light World. Lu Yin is in there, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin emerged from the vessel and stood in space across from Lightson. ¡°You¡¯re Lightson?¡±

    Lightson raised his head. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me?¡±

    ¡°I once saw the Light World,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Lightson said, ¡°Lu Yin, the Hall of Honor has given you the position of gatekeeper, and the master of the Light World also met you in the past. He told me that you¡¯re an elite who¡¯s second only to Shang Qing, and even told me that I am not your opponent, but I don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Lu Yin carefully observed Lightson and saw the youth¡¯s face. He was an average looking young man, but the light surrounding him made him appear quite intimidating, and some people might even think he was a god.

    ¡°So you want to fight me during ZENITH?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lightson snorted. ¡°We don¡¯t have to wait for ZENITH, we can fight now. Let me see if you qualify to be a gatekeeper.¡±

    A spear appeared in his hand and the halo surrounding him intensified as heunched an attack on Lu Yin.

    The Light World was in the Honor Zone and was one of the few major forces that Mu En acknowledged did not rely on protection from the Hall of Honor.

    As the representative of the Light World, Lightson was arrogant andpletely self-confident. His sudden challenge also showed that he looked down on the Outerverse, as he would not have done so if Lu Yin were an elite from the Neoverse.

    Lightson thrust his spear at Lu Yin, and the runes from this attack indicated a power level of 250,000. It was actuallyparable to Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and it gave off a sensation that space was about to shatter.

    Lu Yin remained calm and simply raised a hand to grab hold of the spear. Lightson¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡±

    With that, his spear suddenly grew illusory.

    Light was something that could be seen, but not touched. It could take various forms, and though light could not be touched, it could still cause injuries. This was simr to the ability shown by Burial Garden¡¯s Y¨­u Qi. However, he had used illusory mes that made him look like someone not of this world, while the other was pure light.

    Lu Yin tilted his head to the side, and the spear shot past him, taking away a few hairs from his head. The speartip tore space apart and extended as a lightray that shot through the universe.

    Cool Sis and the others still inside the spacecraft were all shocked. That had been a terrifying attack that none of them would have been able to defend against.

    Ku Wei was stunned. ¡°That ball of light is so arrogant.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1254: Lu Yin VS Lightson

    <h4>Chapter 1254: Lu Yin VS Lightson</h4>

    Lightson forced his spear downwards and the lightspear changed into multiple beams that shot into all directions. Since it was all light, the attack was not limited by distance. Lightson felt that he possessedparable strength to the Honor Chosens and that he was just as powerful as the inheritors of the Neoverse¡¯s major forces. Thus, he felt that running into Lu Yin was a good opportunity for him to prove himself.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the attack, as he had not known that the spear was nothing but light. Still, no matter how hard it was to catch a ray of light, this attack had still been formed by star energy, and since it was star energy, Lu Yin was able to ovee it due to his control or star energy already reaching the Wordliness realm.

    Lightson was attempting to push his spear down, but it suddenly stopped as it approached Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. Lightson¡¯s expression changed, as he had lost control of his spear. The light quickly dissipated.

    Lu Yin stared at Lightson. ¡°How dare you challenge me when you can¡¯t even hold your weapon properly?¡±

    He lifted a hand and his palm approached Lightson. As the palm approached, the light shrouding Lightson¡¯s body began to dim.

    Lightson¡¯s eyes narrowed as his star energy began wildly surging. Although Lu Yin was in the same cultivation realm as Lightson, Lu Yin was able to control his opponent¡¯s star energy. Lightson suddenly remembered that Lu Yin was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and Lockbreakers carried the advantage when fighting against opponents within the same realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm slowly approached. Although Lightson was not weak, he still was not much of a threat to Lu Yin, and Lightson¡¯s strength could at bestpare to Lu Yin¡¯s when he had fought against Lan Si in the Outerverse. This meant that Lightson was actually weaker than the Ten Arbiters, which caused Lu Yin to grow curious as to whether Lightson still had any hidden skills.

    Lightson¡¯s star energy was suppressed and this caused his battle technique to be unstable. As Lu Yin¡¯s palm approached him, he knew that he would lose once Lu Yin struck him. He didn¡¯t challenge Lu Yin rashly as everyone knew that Lu Yin was physically gifted. Thus, since his attack was light, he should have been able to defeat physically strong powerhouses. However, he hadn¡¯t realized that Lu Yin had such good control over star energy.

    Lightson gritted his teeth and another ball of light appeared from within his body to confront Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded on the light and his eyes went wide. ¡°Fatesand?¡±¡¯

    Lightson¡¯s face grew red as the fatesand blocked Lu Yin¡¯s attack and the light around his body intensified. ¡°Light Explosion.¡±

    Lu Yin saw countless rays of light fill his field of vision, and then suddenly, he was unable to see anything.

    With the light removed, Lu Yin had be blind.

    Lightson lifted his spear again and thrust it at Lu Yin. Most people would panic after losing their vision, Lightson saw this as his opportunity.

    However, his attack missed its mark yet again. Lu Yin¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Is this yourst attempt? I¡¯m quite disappointed.¡±

    Lightson stared at Lu Yin in shock and saw glowing eyes. ¡°You can still see?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Seeing? That doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    His palm moved a bit and Lightson¡¯s fatesand was shattered. A shockwave from Lu Yin¡¯s attack struck Lightson and forced him back. He spat out a mouthful of blood and his shroud of light dissipated, revealing him as a young man with an average appearance.

    A middle aged man appeared and helped Lightson. The older man nced over at Lu Yin in surprise; his Young Master had beenpletely defeated.

    Lightson had received a Vacuum Palm. Fortunately, Lu Yin had not used his full strength in the attack, as if he had even used the same power of the attack as he had used against Lan Si, Lightson would have died.

    The fatesand returned to Lightson¡¯s body. There was blood at the corner of his mouth and the middle aged man anxiously gave the youth some pills. ¡°Young Master, how are you?¡±

    Lightson¡¯s face was pale and he was panting heavily. He stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. He had underestimated this person. Lu Yin really did have the strength to be one of ZENITH¡¯s gatekeepers. Lightson had not even had the strength to retaliate, as the gap between them was too massive.

    ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m fine,¡± Lightson spoke slowly. He turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Thank you for holding back.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Your attack is quite special. Is that how people from the Light World attack?¡±

    Lightsonughed bitterly. ¡°You still overcame it.¡±

    ¡°But normal people aren¡¯t able to do so,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Lightson was not sure if Lu Yin wasplimenting himself or the Light World. ¡°I admit defeat. Master was right, only a handful of people in our generation might be able to defeat you. I thought he had been exaggerating in order to encourage me to work harder, but I can now see he spoke the truth.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged.

    ¡°Sorry for disturbing you.¡± Lightson turned to return to his vessel.

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, ¡°Does your fatesand also take the form of light?¡±

    Lightson nodded. ¡°Fatesand will take different forms depending on its owner. Do you also have some?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He had actually wanted to absorb Lightson¡¯s fatesand. Despite the fact that Lu Yin did not believe the legends that fatesand could lead someone to Destiny, he still felt that it would not be bad for him to gather more of it. However, he had refrained from taking Lightson¡¯s fatesand since it was such a precious treasure, and even Mister Mu had mentioned that it was difficult to obtain. There was no way that Lightson would agree to trade such a treasure to Lu Yin, especially considering the fact that the inheritor of a hidden world was definitely not hurting for money.

    The orb of light left.

    Lu Yin returned to his own spacecraft.

    Ku Wei immediatelyid on thepliments, ¡°Seventh Bro, who was that lightbulb? How dare he challenge Seventh Bro! He should go and consider his own abilities!¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Have you heard of the Light World?

    Ku Wei paused. ¡°The Light World? I think I¡¯ve heard of it before. It¡¯s probably one of the hidden worlds within the Honor Zone, and I think it¡¯s quite well known as one of the stronger hidden worlds.¡±

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Apart from the Light World, what are the other stronger hidden worlds within the Honor Zone?¡±

    Ku Wei thought for a moment, but then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The Seven Courts typically ignore any of the hidden worlds. If the people in them were more powerful, they wouldn¡¯t be hiding in the hidden worlds.¡±

    Hiding? Lu Yin did not agree with that view. When Mu En had first introduced the concept of the hidden worlds to Lu Yin, in addition to the regr hidden worlds, Mu En had also mentioned that some of the hidden worlds were not even recorded by the Hall of Honor, like the world that had nearly taken off Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    Lu Yin had heard before that the limit of the microscopic was the macroscopic, and he felt there was a possibility of there being some unimaginable hidden world in some corner of the Honor Zone that not even the Hall of Honor was aware of. Although the Hall of Honor kept an eye on the hidden worlds, it was just as possible that there might be some terrifyingly powerful hidden world that was observing the Hall of Honor.

    He would never forget what he had witnessed on his way to Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border: a civilization had been monitored by another civilization as though it were a bug.

    Could there be another civilization monitoring their universe as well?

    The spacecraft continued on its way towards Chaos Flowzone as Lu Yin¡¯s head spun with wild ideas. They would soon arrive in the flowzone.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft crossed the Astral River and officially entered Chaos Flowzone.

    Meanwhile, to the southeast of Zenith Mountain, participants from the Astral Beast Domain had started to arrive.

    The Astral Beast Domain had no need of spacecraft, as all of their participants and guardians were atop an enormous skeleton. The skeleton was massive and there were multiple curved bones that held various beasts.

    The beasts were in all different shapes and sizes. Some were enormous, while others were smaller than a finger. Although the Human Domain had fought against the Astral Beast Domain for countless years, they still were unable to recognize all of the beasts, inrge part because some of the creatures were able to evolve.

    As the skeleton drew closer, everyone in the area surrounding Zenith Mountain turned to look at it.

    They saw an enormous snake.

    They saw bugs that were tens of thousands of meters long that released noises that gave people chills.

    They saw gorgeous snow witches.1

    On the western side of Zenith Mountain, cultivators from the Sixth Maind stared at the skeleton in surprise.

    ¡°What is that? There are so many beasts! Are we supposed topete with them?¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind is so useless. We also had powerful astral beasts in the Sixth Maind, but they were tamed long ago by the Daosource Sect and they¡¯re now helping us fight those monsters. The Fifth Maind can¡¯t even tame some beasts.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate those beasts, they¡¯re different from the beasts in our Sixth Maind. These ones are much stronger and are actually intelligent. The Blood Homage Realm suffered terrible losses when they invaded the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because the Astral Beast Domain is too barren and ispletely worthless.¡±

    ¡°Of ZENITH¡¯s five gatekeepers, one is from the Astral Beast Domain. Even the three Progenitors have acknowledged the power of that ce, and yet you still want to underestimate them? We shouldn¡¯t underestimate either the Astral Beast Domain or the Technocracy.¡±

    ¡°The Technocracy is also participating? Aren¡¯t they helping us?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s actually uncertain. We only managed to seize control of half of the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain. The rest is still unknown.¡±

    ¡­

    To the north of Zenith Mountain, Xia Luo was still with his former ssmates. He needed to stay close to Lulu Mavis, as he would be fused with Xia Jiuyou if he did not.

    ¡°Those beasts are so scary! Do we have to fight them?¡± Coco wondered as she stared out at the enormous snake and bugs that were riding atop the skeleton. She was terrified.

    Zora consoled her, ¡°That¡¯s nothing we need to worry about. The beasts sent by the Astral Beast Domain have to all be powerhouses aiming for the top. We can just leave them to Lu Yin and the others.¡±

    Lulu asked, ¡°Where is Lu Yin? Why isn¡¯t he here yet?¡±

    Xia Luo smiled. ¡°He should be arriving soon. He just took over ze Realm, so he¡¯s probably quite busy.¡±

    Coco carefully observed Xia Luo. ¡°Hey, let me give you an injection. I think you¡¯ve been quite seriously injured.¡±

    Xia Luo¡¯s eye twitched. He looked over at the huge syringe on Coco¡¯s back and instinctively refused. He felt that getting stabbed by that needle would be as pleasant as being stabbed by a sword.

    Some distance away, God Taiyi and a few others sat inside a restaurant as they stared at the skeleton in astonishment. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of runes! The Celestial Beast Empire is going all out, and even Yao Xuan woke up.¡±

    God White looked at the skeleton with Truesight before turning to God Taiyi. ¡°Judging by these runes, those beasts from the Astral Beast Domain are powerful, but they still aren¡¯t too strong. They must be hiding their abilities.¡±

    ¡°Obviously.¡± God Qingguang rolled his eyes.

    Some people nearby muttered, ¡°It¡¯s those nuts from Gods'' Origin! Stay away from them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right; keep your distance. They¡¯re crazy.¡±

    ¡­

    [1] From what we can tell, yes, the author is referencing the Japanese yuki-onna. The characters used are the same as the Japanese kanji. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1255: Lu Yin And Wu Taibai

    <h4>Chapter 1255: Lu Yin And Wu Taibai</h4>

    One day, Gu Xiao¡¯er arrived at the east of Zenith Mountain. He was feeling quite smug at the moment, as he was in the Innerverse. Thus, as a powerhouse from the Neoverse, he naturally felt very superior.

    After just walking a few steps, he spotted a fortune teller wearing a grey robe with a star chart drawn on the back in ink. He was also carrying a g with two words on one side: ¡°Staribyl¡¯s Grandfather.¡± The other side had six words: ¡°Fortune Teller¡ªbelieve it or not.¡± This was precisely Xuan Jiu, and he had just made it just in time.

    Gu Xiao''er stared at Xuan Jiu in surprise, especially after reading what was written on the g. He walked towards Xuan Jiu and asked, ¡°Are you really Starsibyl¡¯s grandfather?¡±

    Xuan Jiu looked over at Gu Xiao''er. ¡°Let me see¡­ Young man, you¡¯re not from the Outerverse.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er was shocked. ¡°You can see that?¡±

    Xuan Jiu smirked and began to act all mysterious. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er was stunned. ¡°What else can you see?¡±

    Xuan Jiu snorted. ¡°My fortune telling is a rare skill! Do you think that I¡¯ll just do it whenever you want?¡±

    Gu Xiao''er was about to answer, but then someone started shouting from up above. ¡°Xuan Jiu, stop embarrassing us and follow me.¡±

    It was Starsibyl. She had tracked Xuan Jiu down to this ce.

    Xuan Jiu cursed under his breath before replying, saying, ¡°Granddaughter, this young man is here to ask for your hand, so let me take a look at him for you.¡±

    Starsibyl arched a brow before a sudden and massive surge of star energy crashed down towards both Xuan Jiu and Gu Xiao''er.

    Gu Xiao''er felt a terrible chill. ¡°Hey! What are you doing? I¡¯m innocent!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all the same,¡± Starsibyl retorted coldly as she continued attacking.

    Xuan Jiu immediately made his escape, but Starsibyl chased after him.

    Gu Xiao''er had already been dragged into this mess for no reason. Although he had not been injured, he still felt wronged since Starsibyl had shoved him underground with star energy.

    After finally climbing out from the hole, Gu Xiao¡¯er heard a mocking voice. ¡°Girl, look at this! This two-legged beast is insane¡ªhe actually likes being buried in the ground.¡±

    Gu Xiao''er was outraged. When he turned around, he saw a girl walking towards him, but there seemed to be something on her head¡­ Was that a fish? She had a fish on her head?

    Gu Xiao''er felt like he was most likely hallucinating after being hit by Starsibyl.

    It was Xi Qi. She also intended topete in ZENITH, and when she saw Gu Xiao''er staring at her in shock, she gently asked, ¡°Hey, are you ok?¡±

    The fish pped its fins. ¡°Stupid! Why are you talking to him? He¡¯s clearly crazy. Such a two-legged beast can¡¯t even qualify to be my ride. Let¡¯s go. Lord Fish will give you special training to ensure that you win ZENITH.¡±

    Xi Qi reluctantly replied, ¡°You already said that you would teach me about sourcebox arrays, but you still haven¡¯t taught me any of that.¡±

    ¡°Stupid! I know countless sourcebox arrays that you can¡¯t even imagine. Even if I teach you just a few, you¡¯ll still be way better than that Xiu Ming.¡±

    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t say that! What if Master Xiu hears you?¡±

    ¡°What are you scared of? I want him to be my ride.¡±

    ¡­

    As they walked away, Gu Xiao''er listened in on their conversation in a daze and rubbed his eyes. He had only just arrived in the Innerverse, but he had already gotten beat up and heard a fish say that he wanted to find a ride. Gu Xiao¡¯er felt like his life was going downhill.

    Some distance away, atop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s skeleton, Tian Hou appeared and stared out at the distant Zenith Mountain. It had been ten years since he hadst been in the Human Domain, so he wondered if he would meet that person here again. Lu Yin¡¯s image appeared in Tian Hou¡¯s mind, and although there were many talented youths participating in ZENITH, Tian Hou still felt the most threatened by Lu Yin.

    Apparently, Lu Yin had been selected as one of the five gatekeepers. That proved that Lu Yin was someone on the same level as Crown Prince Yao Xuan. There was a huge gap between them, but Tian Hou was a unique lifeform. Thus, even powerhouses that were much stronger than him were not guaranteed to emerge victorious over him.

    However, within the Astral Beast Domain, there were many other unique lifeforms as well.

    ZENITH had brought all of the younger powerhouses from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds to one ce, and from among them, the champion would soon emerge.

    More and more experts arrived at Zenith Mountain.

    One dayter, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft arrived at Zenith Mountain.

    As the ship¡¯s upants looked out at the distant towering Zenith Mountain, they were all shocked.

    Lu Yin had been to the Honor Zone before, but he was still blown away by Zenith Mountain. This had nothing to do with the size of the mountain, but rather because Zenith Mountain represented the peak of his generation.

    His eyes were invariably drawn towards the highest peak of Zenith Mountain. He would only be considered peerless if he could stand at that point alone.

    Lu Yin altered his appearance and left on his own without waiting for Ku Wei or the others to tag along. He did not want people following him everywhere he went.

    There were manys surrounding Zenith Mountain, and Lu Yin sipped some alcohol as he listened to the gossip around him on one of thes.

    Many projected lists and leaderboards had been created, and aside from predicting the top ten, he also heard about something called a genius leaderboard, an appearance leaderboard, and many more.

    His name kept appearing on the various leaderboards, as he was simply too famous. The people of the Neoverse did not know anything about the various powerhouses from the Innerverse or Outerverse, and the same was true in the reverse direction. And yet, everyone knew of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt that it was not ideal to be so famous.

    He heard a bang as a fight broke out nearby.

    This particr fight was between disciples of the Sword Sect and the Cosmic Sect after the two groups had upset each other. The Sword Sect was fearless of even the Neoverse¡¯s major forces while the Cosmic Sect disciples instinctively felt superior to the Innerverse, especially since Qiu Shi outranked Liu Tianmu in the most popr prediction list for the top ten. This made the Cosmic Sect disciples even more arrogant than normal, and thus, a battle had erupted between the two sides.

    The restaurant was soon destroyed by both sects¡¯ disciples.

    Lu Yin did not interfere at all, as he could simply move to another location if this restaurant was destroyed.

    He had only walked a few steps when two silhouettes shed past him. He smiled, as the two were ck and White, and the two brats wereughing as they ran along.

    Qian Zou hurriedly chased after ck and White. Lu Yin had not expected him to be the one who had be ck and White¡¯s prey, and Qian Zou looked extremely reluctant.

    ¡°Please, let¡¯s return his items to him! He¡¯s not someone who we can offend! He¡¯s predicted to be one of the top ten,¡± Qian Zou wailed as he chased after ck and White.

    ¡°Haha, stupid! We¡¯ll get beat up if we give it back. This is fun, so let¡¯s just keep running since he¡¯s chasing us.¡± Whiteughed.

    ck looked more serious. ¡°Stopughing, White. We are going to get beat up soon.¡±

    White smiled slyly. ¡°Oh, right. I don''t want to get beaten up, so let¡¯s run faster.¡±

    They then did just that.

    Qian Zou was helpless. This had nothing to do with him, but he had been implicated in the end even though he was not the thief.

    Wu Dan was right behind the trio, and he furiously shouted, ¡°You crazy girls! Give it back to me!¡±

    The two brats had stolen his pills together with another bastard a few days before. They were healing pills that he had received from Master Xiu, and he had especially saved them for ZENITH, making him absolutely furious.

    Lu Yin was speechless. ck and White were always getting into trouble, regardless of if they were in the Mountain and Seas Zone or at ZENITH. This time, they had even dragged someone else into their mess.

    Lu Yin did not interfere and simply allowed Wu Dan to continue chasing after the three. Nothing would happen to them anyway. The fact that the twins were present meant that someone else from Eversky Ind would also be nearby. Between Highsage Shenwei and Highsage Wudi, either one was perfectly capable of protecting the two girls.

    The older powerhouses generally stayed away from Zenith Mountain in an attempt to create a fair environment.

    Lu Yin wandered around Zenith Mountain on his own, and he saw many things take ce, some of which were even rted to him.

    The powerhouses from the Innerverse kept causing trouble for anyone who was from the Great Eastern Alliance, as the Great Eastern Alliance presented a threat to the Innerverse.

    Some of Lu Yin¡¯s close friends also got into trouble. For example, he saw Ku Wei challenging Ku Lei and then getting chased around. Lu Yin also saw Starsibyl chasing after Xuan Jiu, but he did not interfere in either of these incidents.

    ZENITH was approaching, so everyone was trying to reserve their strength. Thus, none of them attacked with their full strength.

    Additionally, when Lu Yin looked up at outer space, he could see some truly enormous clusters of rune lines around the mountain. These rune lines belonged to Envoys who were present to ensure that ZENITH would proceed smoothly.

    ZENITH was different from thepetition for the Cosmic Five. ZENITH was a truepetition, and nobody knew just how many peak powerhouses had been sent by the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin had even seen Yuan Shi¡¯s rune lines over on the western side of the mountain. This meant that, unless the Neohuman Alliance wanted to start a war against both mainds, they absolutely would not create any problems during ZENITH.

    The most important detail was that Zenith Mountain was quite close to the Starfall Sea, which was where the three Progenitors were. Nobody knew just how powerful the Progenitors were, but that was enough reason for even the Seven Skygods to be unwilling to show up.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin saw another familiar face from someone who was simrly wandering around aimlessly: Mr. Bai.

    The two of them stood at opposite sides of a waterfall on some.

    Mr. Bai was still as calm and unruffled as always, looking as if nothing could affect him. ¡°Deafmute Bro¡ªno, Brother Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Mr. Bai¡ªno Brother Wu, it certainly has.¡±

    ¡°People say that a person can change a great deal in just three days. Brother Lu, you have certainly changed a lot,¡± Mr. Bai replied.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve interacted with you before, but even when I stand this close to you, I still can¡¯t see you clearly.¡±

    Mr. Baiughed. He stepped atop the waterfall, and Lu Yin also began walking towards the other youth. Finally, they ended up a meter away from the center of the waterfall, and an unseen force shed between them. Although there was no impressive explosion, the waterfall tore apart, quickly followed by the ground, the mountains, rivers, and even a few cities.

    Nobody on the understood just what was happening, and even the Enlighters on the were confused since they were unable to locate the source of energy that was splitting the apart.

    Fortunately, the sh between the two onlysted for a short moment. The waterfall merged back together, though with a slight split due to how the ground had changed. The water flowed towards the ground, but it was quickly vaporized into steam.

    Mr. Baiughed. ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s boring to walk around all alone. Would you care to join me?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Brother Wu. It really is boring to be alone.¡±

    ¡°After you.¡±

    Although the collision between the two had just been a test, it had allowed them to gain some understanding of the other¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin did not know what Wu Taibai¡¯s thoughts were, but Lu Yin was extremely wary of the Daosource Three Skies. This carefree person had actually given Lu Yin a feeling of being threatened. With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, it was rare for him to feel threatened by anything. Even when he had been in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, neither Xia Jiuyou nor Corpse Beast had made Lu Yin feel threatened despite their incredible strength.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1256: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 1256: Attack</h4>

    The Daosource Three Skies were the future leaders of the Sixth Maind, and thus, they were the three strongest members of their generation. Both Zhi Yi and Bu Kong had taken part in the Sixth Maind¡¯s war against the Fifth Maind, but Wu Taibai had never revealed himself. Thus, most people from the Fifth Maind knew almost nothing about Wu Taibai.

    It was possible that he was the strongest of the Daosource Three Skies.

    With Wu Taibai as hispanion, Lu Yin no longer wandered only around the regions upied by the Fifth Maind; the two also visited the western side of Zenith Mountain where the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators stayed.

    Cultivators from the Sixth Maind generally looked down on those from the Fifth Maind, which included the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, when Lu Yinpared the current cultivators from the Sixth Maind to their attitude back when they had invaded the Fifth Maind, everyone seemed rather down, likely due to being forced from their homes. No matter how arrogant they had been, they were still losers at the moment.

    ¡°Brother Wu, are those monsters really that powerful? Not even your three Progenitors could defeat them?¡± Lu Yin asked Wu Taibai curiously.

    Wu Taibai sighed. ¡°How should I put this? If you¡¯ve never fought against them directly, then you will never know the fear that they induce. It¡¯s a primal fear. They are actually more like evolved humans; they have human intelligence, an unaging body, and endless abilities. They are not simple killing machines.¡±

    ¡°Humanity has progressed through technology and cultivation until we¡¯ve reached a point where we no longer have natural enemies. However, the appearance of these creatures has caused everyone from the Sixth Maind to realize that our natural enemy has finally arrived.¡±

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    Wu Taibai continued to speak in a softer voice. ¡°Actually, nobody knows just how vast the universe truly is. Many people have guessed that a civilization that surpasses us humans will appear one day, and that civilization might destroy or enve us. Still, nobody really cares about such conjectures since we have our Progenitors and everyone believes them to be invincible. However¡­¡±

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that these monsters seem like they¡¯re from another civilization, right?¡±

    Wu Taibai nodded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Has the Sixth Maind ever interacted with the monsters before?¡±

    Wu Taibai¡¯s eyes narrowed and he focused on Lu Yin. ¡°What are you saying, Brother Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Wu Taibai, but then he just shook his head. ¡°Nothing much.¡±

    Wu Taibai looked at Lu Yin with a meaningful expression, but he also remained silent.

    They both wanted to go and take a look at the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s skeleton, but neither one had any idea how to go about doing so. In the end, they did not attempt to climb the skeleton since they knew that they were not wee among the astral beasts, and any attempt to do so would just be looking for trouble.

    Although the two were among the strongest of their generation, they were not arrogant enough to pick fights with the senior powerhouses.

    There was only half a month left before ZENITHmenced.

    One day, while the two were talking about something, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped. He looked down, and his expression suddenly changed.

    Something huge had happened. Xia Jiuyou had joined hands with Ce Jiu and Hui Santong to overpower Yuhua Mavis in order to forcefully absorb Xia Luo.

    Everyone was resting before thepetition, but for Xia Jiuyou, fusing with Xia Luo was far more important than resting.

    Although Ce Jiu and Hui Santong were unable to defeat Yuhua Mavis, they were still strong enough to stall her for a bit. Additionally, since Xia Jiuyou had waited so long to spring this attack, he had to have gathered even more helpers. The entire Seven Courts might have formed an alliance to help Xia Jiuyou in ZENITH.

    Lu Yin immediately tore through the void and disappeared.

    Wu Taibai looked at where Lu Yin had just disappeared from, but he did not chase after him. Instead, Wu Taibai just looked at the forecasted list of the top ten finalists and smiled.

    There was a sea to the north of Zenith Mountain, and a continenty in this sea. An invisible force supported the entire ce.

    On that continent within the sea, both Ce Jiu and Hui Santong were simultaneously retreating while Yuhua Mavis stood opposite them with a raised hand. Grass frantically grew out and formed into a green fist that then punched at the two inheritors of the Seven Courts.

    Ce Jiu cursed, and an Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He shifted himself to the side and dragged Hui Santong along. Then, Hui Santong stepped forward and raised his hand, causing golds to fall towards Yuhua Mavis,pletely covering the entire battlefield.

    Although the two young men were working together, they still were unable to defeat Yuhua Mavis. But despite their failure, they had managed to seed in dragging Yuhua Mavis some distance away.

    Off in the distance, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s de shed, and a massive wound appeared on Xia Luo¡¯s abdomen as he was mmed deep into the ground. ¡°I told you, your fate is to fuse with me! All nine clones must fuse.¡±

    He tried to grab Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes were sharp, and he also lifted a hand to meet Xia Jiuyou¡¯s palm. However, Xia Jiuyou was an Enlighter while Xia Luo was still only a Hunter. Additionally, Xia Luo had only managed to reach such a realm because he was Xia Jiuyou¡¯s clone. Otherwise, Xia Luo would have still been stuck in the Cruiser realm at the moment.

    Xia Luo¡¯s arm broke with a snap, and Xia Jiuyou moved to grab his clone again when his expression suddenly changed. He pulled back as a bullet suddenly appeared where he had just been standing, but it disappeared the next moment.

    Xia Jiuyou turned around. ¡°God Taiyi.¡±

    God Taiyi hadunched the attack, but he tossed his gun aside. ¡°Xia Jiuyou, you''re an Enlighter, but you¡¯re attacking a Hunter? That doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou narrowed his eyes. ¡°How dare you stop me?¡±

    God Taiyi smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just giving it a shot.¡±

    He was not actually trying to be righteous at the moment; rather, he did not want Xia Jiuyou to fuse with all of his clones. If possible, God Taiyi actually wanted to kill Xia Luo.

    Xia Jiuyou snorted and turned to look in another direction.

    Xie Xiaoxian rushed towards God Taiyi. ¡°I¡¯ll be your opponent.¡±

    God Taiyi¡¯s brows rose up. ¡°Have the Seven Courts formed an alliance? It looks like you guys all want to help Xia Jiuyou win ZENITH. Unless I¡¯m wrong, this was probably the Hui family¡¯s n.¡±

    Xia Jiuyoupletely ignored God Taiyi.

    Xie Xiaoxian was not able to defeat God Taiyi, and Xia Jiuyou was also aware that Ce Jiu and Hui Santong were not Yuhua Mavis¡¯s opponents. He needed to act quickly, as God Taiyi was not the only one who wanted to prevent him from fusing with his final clone.

    This thought prompted Xia Jiuyou to reach towards Xia Luo once again.

    Xia Luo was helpless; was this the end?

    Coco and Lulu were of no help at all.

    A sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pointed at Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes shed as he shattered the sword. Wendy Yushan appeared, as that sword strike had been a battle technique from Myriad Swords Peak: Ten Thousand Swords as One.

    Xia Jiuyou snorted. ¡°A mere Cruiser.¡±

    He swiped at the air. It was a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    Off in the distance, God Taiyi¡¯s pupils transformed into runes. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm weakened a bit, but Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword still shattered. Fortunately, she had managed to use the You Secret Art to transfer the coldness from the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm away. Otherwise, the attack would have killed her.

    At the same time, a conflict broke out above the youths. Two elders had appeared, one with ck and white hair. This person was Ying Daynight, a member of the Dayking n who had escaped from the Daynight n and had been given the responsibility of escorting Wendy Yushan to Zenith Mountain. The other elder was from the Xia family.

    The elder from the Xia family coldly warned, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t interfere in our juniors¡¯ fights. Don¡¯t you know that?¡±

    Ying Daynight frowned. He knew that many elders from the Seven Courts were remaining hidden near this battle and that there were also elders from the Mavis n who had not appeared.

    However, Ying Daynight was not able to stop himself from taking action, as Xia Jiuyou had almost killed Wendy Yushan. He knew just how important this girl was to Lu Yin, and if Ying Daynight allowed Wendy to die, it would be a grave sin.

    Wendy Yushan nodded. ¡°Senior, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Ying Daynight was left helpless. ¡°Don¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Wendy Yushan turned towards Xia Luo and knelt down. She pressed a hand against his abdomen, and his wound visibly recovered.

    Most of the people present were shocked, as this girl had an innate gift of healing.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You¡¯re going to die.¡±

    His de rose up once more.

    Wendy Yushan whispered to Xia Luo, ¡°This is all that I can do.¡±

    ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± Xia Luo asked.

    Wendy Yushan replied, ¡°You¡¯re Lu Yin¡¯s ssmate.¡±

    Xia Luo nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He then stood up and faced Xia Jiuyou. ¡°She won¡¯t interfere anymore. I¡¯m your only target.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes were icy. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this! Let¡¯s end this!¡±

    He disappeared, and his de became a shadow. This was the first de of his Triple de Will.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eyes went wide, and his fingers trembled. Right when he was about to attack, someone appeared in front of him with a raised hand. Xia Luo did not see the hand move, but Xia Jiuyou suddenly flew back a hundred meters.

    Nobody had expected Xia Jiuyou to actually be forced back.

    Everyone turned to look at the person in front of Xia Luo in shock. ¡°Lu- Lu Yin?¡¯

    ¡°Brother Lu?¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu?¡±

    It was Lu Yin. He had a calm look after forcing Xia Jiuyou to retreat with a Vacuum Palm.

    Off in the distance, Wu Da grew excited; a famous person had shown up.

    Yun Yun also grew excited. ¡°This is huge, huge news! Two people predicted to be in the top ten are actually already fighting.¡±

    Ce Jiu, Hui Santong, and everyone else all stopped.

    Yuhua Mavis turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. That had been a truly powerful attack.

    God Taiyi also stared at Lu Yin in stupefaction; why did Lu Yin have such an insane number of rune lines?

    Xia Jiuyou picked himself up and looked over at Lu Yin as he clenched his fists. ¡°This is an internal matter of our Xia family. This is none of your business!¡±

    Lu Yin calmly retorted, ¡°Xia Luo is my ssmate.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou coldly replied, ¡°Lu Yin, do you want to be enemies with the Seven Courts?¡¯

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°A lot of people have asked me that very question before. And as I¡¯ve always said, I don¡¯t like making enemies, but I¡¯m not scared to do so either.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou gritted his teeth.

    Hui Santong felt helpless. With Lu Yin present, even though he might not be able to defeat Xia Jiuyou if Xia Jiuyou unleashed his full strength, it would still be impossible for Xia Jiuyou to fuse with Xia Luo at this time. When Hui Santon realized this, he murmured something to Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou was unwilling to give up, as his Nine Clones Secret Technique had already been revealed. Thus, he had to quickly reach his most powerful state.

    He wanted to attack, but he was stopped when he saw the cracks in his sword. Lu Yin was much more powerful than he appeared to be. Xia Jiuyou had already known this when they had all been in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and he would have to wait to beat Lu Yin during ZENITH.

    Xie Xiaoxian was speechless; why was it this guy yet again? This was so annoying!

    Xia Jiuyou looked past Lu Yin and at Xia Luo. ¡°We eventually have to fuse together. This isn¡¯t for you or for me¡ªit¡¯s for the Xia family and for us to restore Progenitor Chen¡¯s past achievements.¡±

    He gave Xia Luo a meaningful look before finally leaving.

    Hui Santong nodded a greeting to Lu Yin. Although the Seven Courts all supported Xia Jiuyou, it was because he was worthy of such support. However, the seven individual families were still not harmonious. Compared to Xia Jiuyou, Hui Santong actually had a better feeling about Lu Yin. Additionally, Hui Santong was closer to Lu Yin, as they were connected through Hui Kong.

    Ce Jiu just quietly left, and Xie Xiaoxian did the same.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1257: Declaration

    <h4>Chapter 1257: Deration</h4>

    Xia Luo finally rxed when he saw his enemies leaving.

    Lu Yin turned around and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. You¡¯ve gotten much stronger.¡±

    Xia Luoughed. ¡°You¡¯re talking about yourself, right?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled before turning to face Wendy Yushan. He gently asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Wendy Yushan nodded her head in assent.

    Lulu punched Lu Yin¡¯s back. ¡°I knew you¡¯de!¡±

    The punch actually hurt Lu Yin, and he turned to re at Lulu. ¡°Brat! Don¡¯t you know how strong you are? Be gentler!¡±

    Lulu clenched her fists. ¡°I¡¯ll get even stronger.¡±

    ¡°Brother- Brother Lu, are you injured? Do you need me to give you an injection?¡± a soft yet familiar voice called out.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need, Coco. I¡¯m not hurt.¡±

    Coco was disappointed and turned to look at Xia Luo with hope-filled eyes.

    Xia Luo¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°I¡¯m fine now.¡±

    Coco¡¯s pout deepened, and she turned to look at Wendy Yushan with a pitiful expression.

    Wendy Yushan just stared at Coco¡¯s syringe in a daze; was that the girl¡¯s innate gift?

    Yuhua Mavis walked over and looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward toparing our strengths again.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°I hope that you can withstand seven of my attacks.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis did not even have a chance to reply when Grandini Mavis appeared. ¡°You¡¯re too smug! Sister Yuhua, he¡¯s looking down on you.¡±

    Lulu also stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Hey, are you crazy? Do you really want topare your strength to Sister Yuhua¡¯s?¡±

    Lu Yin felt confident.

    Yuhua Mavis looked at Lu Yin with a meaningful expression. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve improved quite a bit. Bing a Hunter¡¯s made you arrogant.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± Yuhua Mavis answered.

    God Taiyi walked over. ¡°Brother Lu, not bad. You¡¯ve be much stronger than when you were in the Mountain and Seas Zone.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face God Taiyi and checked the man¡¯s pupils. ¡°You¡¯ve also improved. What level are you at now?¡±

    ¡°Still the same¡ªnothing much¡¯s changed. Come and visit Gods'' Origin when you¡¯re free.¡± God Taiyi waved a hand and left.

    Off in the distance, Wu Da was still recording everything. Many of the most talented members of their generation had approached and greeted Lu Yin; he was like amp in how he attracted both friends and enemies like bugs.

    Aside from reuniting with his friends, Lu Yin¡¯s arrival also drew over everyone from the Great Eastern Alliance, as their backbone had finally arrived.

    Meanwhile, the people who had been causing trouble for the Great Eastern Alliance all fell silent.

    Lu Yin was one of the five gatekeepers, and he was also predicted to be one of the top ten finalists. If not for his lower cultivation realm, he would practically be guaranteed to end up in the top ten. Thus, despite the millions of participants gathered around Zenith Mountain, not a single person dared to challenge him.

    To the west of Zenith Mountain, quite a few cultivators from the Sixth Maind were also discussing Lu Yin.

    The battle that Xia Jiuyou had triggered was the most intense battle to break out during this stewing period before ZENITH started, as the participants had included the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors, the Mavis family, and even Gods¡¯ Origin. Videos of the battle had spread everywhere, and many people were shocked to discover that Lu Yin had been able to force Xia Jiuyou to retreat with just one attack.

    The Little Arrow Saint was one such person, staring at the video in disbelief; was that really Lu Yin? The same Lu Yin whom he had chased for three days and had almost killed? How could he have improved so quickly? There had to be something wrong. Yes, it had to be because the people from the Fifth Maind were too weak. There was no way that that guy could have be so strong so suddenly.

    That Xia Jiuyou was probably just a weakling.

    Xin N¨¹ happily watched the video. Although she was not very good at expressing her emotions, she always had a feeling of wanting to protect Lu Yin whenever she saw him.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been doing well, and you have a lot of friends too.¡± Xin N¨¹ smiled, which was a rare urrence.

    Zhi Yi was the angriest. She was not as naive as the Little Arrow Saint, and she was perfectly aware that Xia Jiuyou had to be quite powerful since he was someone who cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique. But despite all that, Lu Yin had been able to overwhelm Xia Jiuyou with just one attack, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s strength had increased greatly.

    That was a problem for Zhi Yi, as she had never given up on capturing Lu Yin because of his immunity to her Vitality Qi. That was why she had to take him away. However, this task had be increasingly monumental as it was far more difficult for Zhi Yi to do anything to Lu Yin now.

    Many people from the Sixth Maind had fought against Lu Yin in the past; Autumnfrost Qing, Tong Zhan, Hong Ying, and the others all grew frustrated when they saw the video. How had Lu Yin improved so quickly?

    Elsewhere, many astral beasts atop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s massive skeleton were also watching the video.

    An enormous blue lion took the form of a man and red at the video. He had previously fought against Lu Yin in Ironblood Weave, and if not for Lu Yin, the Astral Beast Domain would have seeded in their attempt to capture Wang Wen. The blue lion would never be able to forget how Lu Yin¡¯s finger had pierced through a Yin Guai.

    The blue lion had fought against Lu Yin when the human had been using external items to improve hisbat ability. But in these few years, Lu Yin¡¯s base strength had already surpassed the lion¡¯s.

    Some distance away, Yao Gu and a few other beasts were also watching the video.

    Tian Hou was the one who paid the most attention to the video, and he immediately left the skeleton after finishing.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was like a ma with the way that his arrival had attracted people¡¯s attention.

    Apart from Ku Wei and the others, ck, White, and Qian Zou all sought out Lu Yin even with Wu Dan still on their tail.

    Lu Yin scolded the two girls and asked them to return Wu Dan¡¯s property to him, so they reluctantly obeyed.

    Qian Zou nearly wept as he thanked Lu Yin.

    Wu Dan red at ck and White before turning to face Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold this against them on your ount. Don¡¯t embarrass us Lockbreakers during ZENITH.¡±

    He then turned around and left.

    Ku Wei grew annoyed, and he appeared in front of Wu Dan and said in a respectful tone, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were Grandmaster Xiu, Chairman of the Lockbreaker Society. I would like to ask you to teach me some lockbreaking skills.¡±

    Wu Dan was stunned. ¡°I¡¯m not Grandmaster Xiu.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyebrows rose up high, and he shouted, ¡°THEN WHY ARE YOU SO ARROGANT IF YOU AREN¡¯T GRANDMASTER XIU!¡±

    Wu Dan was astonished by Ku Wei¡¯s outburst. In his rage, he attacked Ku Wei, but Ku Wei immediately ducked behind Lu Yin. Ku Wei was not dumb and knew that if Wu Dan dared to act disrespectfully in front of Lu Yin, then he had to be quite powerful himself. After all, Ku Wei was just a sycophant, not a bodyguard.

    Wu Dan red at Lu Yin. ¡°Control your people.¡±

    ck and White bothughed at Wu Dan.

    Wu Dan snorted and immediately left, as he did not want to hang around these people a second longer.

    Soon after Wu Dan left, Gu Xiao''er arrived. He immediately beganining the moment he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Bro, you¡¯ve gotta help me! I was almost killed by that Starsibyl and stupid fortune teller¡­¡±

    Ling Que also appeared, as he simrly wanted to catch up with Lu Yin.

    After Ling Que, Ling Gong simrly showed up.

    As soon as Ling Gong arrived, Wendy Yushan immediately appeared. She had been sent to Myriad Swords Peak by Ling Gong, and Lu Yin had once even suspected that there might be something going on between the two. However, he hadter realized his suspicions were unfounded when he discovered that Ling Gong was a girl during their encounter in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you need to be more serious! Don¡¯t embarrass the Innerverse and the Outerverse¡ªyou¡¯re publicly recognized as an Arbiter, so don¡¯t associate yourself with just anyone!¡± Ling Gong was annoyed by the fact that random people were constantly surrounding Lu Yin. To her, everyone in this area was a random nobody.

    Lulu arched a brow. ¡°Hey, what are you saying? Are you too ugly to take off that mask?¡±

    Ling Gong red at Lulu. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Lulu was furious, as nobody had ever shouted at her like that before. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Arbiter White Knight,¡± Ling Gong proudly replied.

    Lu Yin pouted. ¡°Fine, just stopining. Why are you here?¡±

    Ling Gong snorted. ¡°You shut up too. Don¡¯t embarrass us.¡±

    She then red over at Ling Que. ¡°Stop staring. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With that, she dragged Ling Que away.

    Lulu was enraged. ¡°That person is so rude! She ruined my mood.¡±

    Wendy Yushan felt helpless. ¡°That¡¯s just how she is.¡±

    Lu Yin was just thankful that Ling Que had not told him that it was an order.

    A few dayster, Liquor Hero arrived. She had somehow gotten the idea that Lu Yin liked to drink, and so, she gave him a barrel of wine the moment she arrived. Lu Yin did not hate drinking, but he also did not want to get drunk at this time.

    ¡°Cheers!¡± Liquor Hero always looked drunk.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask her where she had gone after the Mountain and Seas Zone, as he had not seen her even once.

    This woman would probably get along very well with Geoffrey if the two ever met.

    Thunder rumbled across the sky; Ku Lei was passing by.

    When Ku Wei saw the lightning, his eyes shed. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you see Brother Wei? Get over here and greet me now!¡±

    Ku Lei was furious; he had just been passing by, but he had still been mocked by Ku Wei.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Ku Lei was about to rush over.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Go.¡±

    This single word was followed by a terrifying domain that forced Ku Lei to retreat.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s domain had not reached the level of Unseen Light¡¯s where it allowed him to predict his opponent¡¯s attacks, Lu Yin was still confident about fighting against Unseen Light, and Unseen Light was someone who wasparable to Yuhua Mavis.

    Ku Lei warily nced at Lu Yin and red at Ku Wei before leaving.

    Ku Wei was delighted; that was fun!

    A young man observed Lu Yin from the distance. His face was expressionless, and nobody could tell what the man was thinking. His name was Wang Yi, and he was the onlypetitor from the Technocracy.

    More and more elders began to appear around Zenith Mountain. ¡°It¡¯s about to start. Despite the passage of so many years, we¡¯ve never been able to determine a champion from both mainds. This is a truly rare event.¡±

    ¡°Only in Progenitor Chen¡¯s and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s era were there champions.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait. I hope it starts soon.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Frostwave Weave, there was a huge statue of Lu Yin on Earth.

    When the people of Earth had heard that the Neohuman Alliance had captured Lu Yin, countless crowds had knelt before this statue to pray for him. When they had learned of his return, they had rejoiced and made the statue even taller in celebration.

    At the moment, the statue had be the tallest monument on Earth, and it could even be seen from space.

    The statue was taller than the clouds, and it was the structure on Earth that came closest to surpassing the atmosphere.

    Everyday, people would pray before the statue. No matter if they were survivors from Earth¡¯s apocalypse or recently born children, they all prayed to Lu Yin like a god.

    Some thousands of meters away from the statue, a young man leaned against a wall with a drink. He muttered to himself, ¡°That damned rabbit escaped again. Just you wait! I finally got the bead from dad that¡¯ll let me travel across nes. I¡¯ll definitely get you someday.¡±

    After swearing, he choked on his drink and coughed a few times before chucking the bottle away in irritation.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1258: ZENITH Begins

    <h4>Chapter 1258: ZENITH Begins</h4>

    The unknown young man pressed his hat down and looked back at Lu Yin¡¯s statue. ¡°That¡¯s a huge pocket dimension, and time passes differently there. I should go take a look.¡±

    At that same moment, a massive screen appeared next to Lu Yin¡¯s statue which attracted the attention of everybody nearby.

    Screens then appeared all over Earth.

    The screens showed a towering mountain, and a loud voice rang out: ¡°ZENITH has begun.¡±

    At this same time, a screen appeared on the busiest street on Zenyu Star, right next to Lu''s Grand Auction. Screens also appeared next to King Zishan¡¯s pce, the imperial pce and many other locations on the capital.

    There was apetition urring on the first maind ring surrounding Zenyu Star. Huo Xiaoling, Gerbach, Logan, Huo Zhong, and Ruky Mathers were all present, as well as Hall Master Schutz. They were all watching a match between Fu Xiaoshu and Song Shi. Although the two had only trained for a short period, their innate gifts made them almostparable to the Hall Masters.

    Everyone from the Yu Academy was cheering.

    A screen suddenly appeared in the sky: ¡°ZENITH has begun.¡±

    Schutz immediately stopped the match and looked up at the screen in excitement. This was ZENITH, and the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent, Lu Yin, was one of the five gatekeepers, and thepetition was finally beginning.

    Countlesss throughout the entire Outerverse, as well as all of the major forces were watching ZENITH and Zenith Mountain.

    Simr events could be seen in the Innerverse, as screens also appeared at the Sword Sect, the Wen family¡¯s territory, the Lingling n¡¯s territory, and even about the Astral River Ark. Screens even appeared in the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse.

    In the western region of Chaos Flowzone, all of the cultivators from the Sixth Maind looked up at the screens. ZENITH was finally about to begin, and everyone vividly remembered what the three Progenitors had said, and everyone believed that the Daosource Three Skies were the three strongestpetitors in ZENITH due to their status as the future leaders of the Sixth Maind.

    In another part of the universe, a screen appeared within a majestic, futuristic looking city in the Technocracy.

    Hui Kong was sitting in the za and looked up at the screen. ¡°ZENITH? Even the Sixth Maind has joined? This is really an unprecedented matter. I wonder who will appear.¡±

    Within the Astral Beast Domain, a screen appeared in parts of the Celestial Beast Empire. Countless beasts stared at the image of Zenith Mountain with hopeful expressions. Their crown prince, Yao Xuan, would undoubtedly be the champion.

    The Celestial Demon race was invincible, which was a simple fact that all beasts in the Astral Beast Domain simply epted.

    The Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, and alls that were part of civilization were attentively watching various screens; ZENITH had begun.

    ¡­

    How many young cultivators were there throughout the universe? Nobody knew the answer, and not even the Hall of Honor had an estimate. Even a wastnd like the Outerverse had billions of cultivators.

    Proportionally, not many cultivators had been able to sessfully reach Zenith Mountain to participate in ZENITH. Thepetition was being held in the Innerverse, and the location alone disqualified many would-be participants. Despite that, millions of cultivators had still arrived at Zenith Mountain along with their elders.

    Not every cultivator dared to participate in thepetition, as items and such were not allowed to be used during ZENITH, and there was also a possibility that thepetitors could lose their lives.

    Also, anyone who had not even be a Limiteers did not dare participate, as only Explorers and above had a chance of cing well during ZENITH.

    Despite all of those limitations, there were still millions ofpetitors, which just showed how anticipated thepetition was.

    Also, this horde was merely the people who had sessfully arrived at Zenith Mountain. If everyone who had registered had sessfully arrived, there would have been billions ofpetitors. Most people simply wanted to see their names on the side of Zenith Mountain for a while, and some of the people who had registered were mere Melders and Sentinels.

    However, their names would only remain on the mountain briefly, as anyone who did not sessfully pass the five gatekeepers would be eliminated; only those who passed those five obstacles would enter the second round, which was the actual start of ZENITH.

    There were also a massive number of elders who had escorted their young juniors. They surrounded Zenith Mountain, and some of them were nervous, while others were excited or concerned.

    ¡­

    Zenith Mountain possessed steep slopes and a powerful current blew down from the peak. The wind was strong enough to kill Limiteers.

    At the moment, millions of cultivators were gathered around the mountain. They were divided into four areas: east, south, north, and west. There were four passes a third of the way up Zenith Mountain, and thepetitors would only be able to continue climbing after passing through the checkpoints. Additionally, another third of the way up Zenith Mountain, there was another, enormous checkpoint. Only those who passed through this fifth checkpoint would remain in thepetition, which made it the gateway to the truepetition.

    Countless eyes were focused on Zenith Mountain, and every corner of the mountain were being broadcast to the Universe.

    All of the video feeds were naturally focusing on the five gatekeepers.

    At the northern pass, a handsome man leaned against the mountainside with closed eyes. He looked like he was sleeping. The man¡¯s clothes were ornate, and he exuded nobility. He was the Crown Prince of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast Empire, Yao Xuan.

    At first nce, Yao Xuan looked simr to an average human, except for his exquisite looks. However, as people continued looking at him, they felt that his image became increasingly vague, and their memory of him began to fade.

    The longer they stared at this person, the more people felt that he was shrouded in fog.

    At the western pass, Zhi Yi wore a white cotton robe and had her ck hair carelessly thrown over her shoulders as she stood there with a solemn expression. Although she looked normal, her usage of Vitality Qi gave her an indescribable aura.

    She stared down at the base of the mountain where hundreds of thousands of cultivators had already gathered. All of them hoped to pass through her checkpoint.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes shed; most of the gathered people were useless and were unqualified to fight with her, yet there were a few elites within the crowd. Of particr note was that girl Qiu Shi. During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, Qiu Shi had always been nearby, yet had never used her full strength.

    The Daosource Three Skies were the future leaders of the Sixth Maind. After thispetition, Zhi Yi intended to be the future leader of the Fifth Maind as well.

    Compared to Zhi Yi, Bu Kong¡¯s thoughts were much simpler; he simply wanted to teach the Fifth Maind¡¯s people a lesson. However, he only intended to do that during the realpetition.

    He was confident that he would be the champion. Since that was the case, he did not mind giving some people a chance.

    Bu Kong was clearly not as mature as Zhi Yi, and had a much more casual appearance.

    Yet despite appearances, more people were willing to face Zhi Yi than Bu Kong, because Bu Kong was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker who hadprehended a sourcebox array. Although he looked young, he was amazingly talented to be able to be one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Bu Kong protected the northern pass. A yful smile appeared on his face as he looked down. ¡°Just a bunch of ants. My mood will determine whether or not I¡¯ll let them pass.¡±

    At the eastern pass, Lu Yin leaned against the mountain much like Yao Xuan as he silently stared at the base of the mountain.

    It would not be easy for the contestants to reach the gatekeepers¡¯ positions. Of the millions ofpetitors, less than half of them would reach the checkpoints. This was not only because of the difficulty in ascending Zenith Mountain, but also because of the challenge presented by the otherpetitors as everyone made their way up to the gatekeepers.

    As the gatekeeper, Lu Yin was able to attack at random. If he wished, he could even attack all of the cultivators waiting down below.

    Millions of cultivators created a massive horde, yet quantity could never make up for pure quality.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be able to watch the battles between elites like Yuhua Mavis and Liu Tianmu. He still remembered the awe and eagerness he had initially felt when hearing about the Ten Arbiters, yet the Ten Arbiters currently had to look up at him.

    The lowest points in one¡¯s life neversted forever, and everything depended on one¡¯s destiny.

    Lu Yin was sure that out of the other Ten Arbiters or even the elites from the Neoverse, no one had gone through as many life and death experiences as he. Lu Yin had even actually died a few times in order to reach his current ce.

    However, Lu Yin was still not recognized as the pinnacle. He turned and looked up to see the enormous pass further up the mountain. Shang Qing stood there silently, as if a statue. He was surrounded by three streams of qi, and he was floating above the ground.

    Lu Yin pouted; nobody looked more like a god than that person. What a poser!

    However, due to Shang Qing¡¯s ability to summon a past Progenitor from when they had possessed the same cultivation as himself, Shang Qing had been widely acknowledged as the strongest person in the tournament. Nobody would dare im to be able to defeat a Progenitor when having the same strength, let alone three Progenitors. This was even more true due to the fact that nobody knew who thest Progenitor even was, and it had be the subject of a great deal of spection.

    Only those who had been present for the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone understood just how helpless it felt to go up against Shang Qing. This Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was truly invincible.

    Yao Xuan, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and everyone below them wanted to take first ce, yet they all felt that their greatest obstacle was Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Even with his current strength, he still felt threatened by Shang Qing. People were always scared of the unknown, and Lu Yin was worried about which Progenitor would be the summoned from Shang Qing¡¯s third strand of qi.

    The sky trembled as a huge ripple spread across all of Zenith Mountain. Somebody released the first roar, and then millions of cultivators simultaneously rushed towards Zenith Mountain.

    Although millions of cultivators were surging forward at once, Zenith Mountain was truly enormous and it was not crowded at all, and there was a considerable distance separating all of the contestants from each other.

    On the eastern side, Yuhua Mavis was the first to race forward. Although she did not move very fast, she had already spread out grass beneath her feet. The moment thepetition started, the grass formed a palm that threw her forward.

    Lu Yin was shocked, as this woman was clearly rushing at him.

    If this were a normal location, the throw wouldunch Yuhua Mavis all the way to the peak, yet Zenith Mountain was different, and it was the location chosen for all of the universe¡¯s most talented youths topete against each other.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1259: Breeze

    <h4>Chapter 1259: Breeze</h4>

    Yuhua Mavis managed to rush forward a thousand meters before finally meeting an opposing force that pushed her downwards. At the same time, a fierce wind began to howl from the peak, and the first person to be struck by it was naturally Yuhua Mavis.

    However, she was not overly affected by the wind, though she was still forced downwards by the force, preventing her from simply leaping up the mountain.

    Aside from Yuhua Mavis, a lot of other participants simrly wanted to fly towards the peak, but they all met with the same fate. Some unfortunate Limiteers were even heavily injured.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up, and his gaze grew sharp as his pupils transformed into runes and scanned the mountain. He could see an endless amount of runes floating around Zenith Mountain, and the number far exceeded what he had seen on the Frost Emperor or Leader Hong. This meant that there were Envoys surrounding Zenith Mountain, ready to ensure that Zenith Mountain would not be destroyed by the various attacks.

    Even a mere Limiteer was able to destroy an entire, let alone an Enlighter.

    Since Zenith Mountain had been chosen as the location for ZENITH, it was definitely tough enough to withstand many attacks.

    Additionally, cosmic rings were forbidden during ZENITH, and all external items were simrly restricted the moment the participants stepped onto Zenith Mountain, as a means of ensuring that thepetition remained fair.

    However, there were certain items that would not be restricted, such as fatesand and personal weapons. These were allowed as long as they were not power vessels.

    Although Yuhua Mavis had been forced back, she was still the person closest to Lu Yin, as her first leap had been very powerful.

    Yuhua Mavis looked up and locked eyes with Lu Yin. Her eyes flickered, and she bent her knees to jump once again, but then, she suddenly heard some weird noises right next to her. When she turned to the side to look, she saw that some strange lines had transformed into birds, insects, animals, and nts.

    These strange creatures suddenly exploded as a weird noise rippled through the area. Yuhua Mavis was momentarily dazed and rooted to the ground.

    In addition to Yuhua Mavis, thousands of people on the eastern side of Zenith Mountain were also affected by the explosion, and most of them immediately vomited blood and copsed. This attack had beenunched by Bai Ling, the Realmling from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Grand Martial Realm with her martial print. In the past, she had made quite a name for herself in the Starfall Sea.

    This was the first time that Yuhua Mavis had been hit by such an attack, but fortunately, she was very physically strong. Thus, Bai Ling¡¯s attack did not greatly affect Yuhua Mavis.

    The Treeheart Descendant looked into the distance while Bai Ling looked back at the same time. Bai Ling raised a hand, and Yuhua Mavis felt all sound around her disappear. The sound then transformed into strange lines that took various forms.

    ¡°Get down,¡± Bai Ling calmly ordered. She then clenched her fists, and the lines around Yuhua Mavis exploded once again.

    Suddenly, Bai Ling¡¯s figure shed away as a huge fist formed from grass appeared right where she had just been standing while a terrifying power sent shockwaves rippling throughout the area. Although Bai Ling managed to dodge the fist itself, the shockwaves still forced her to retreat.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Don¡¯t go looking for trouble.¡±

    Bai Ling¡¯s expression chilled as she raised an index finger. An invisible force expanded outwards a thousand meters, ten thousand meters, and then a hundred thousand meters¡­

    The entire eastern side of the mountain fell within her attack range, and she intended to use sound to deal with all of the other contestants on this side of the mountain.

    Any ce with sound was a ce where Bai Ling could use her power.

    At that same moment, a domain spread out that covered the eastern face of the mountain.

    Bai Ling was shocked, and she turned to face a certain direction. Unseen Light had raised his head high. ¡°This is the Fifth Maind.¡±

    His domain transformed into a forcefield that took the shape of a giant that attacked Bai Ling.

    Bai Ling¡¯s expression grew cold. Countless linesbined to form an enormous beast that shed against the forcefield.

    There was a loud bang.

    The eastern face of Zenith Mountain shook, and the millions of cultivators on it were impacted by the powerful shockwaves. Most of them were unable to withstand the force and either directly fainted or were thrown down the mountain.

    The battle between Unseen Light and Bai Ling drew the attention of many people watching from beyond Zenith Mountain.

    Many cultivators screamed as they watched the situation on their screens.

    Everyone had known that ZENITH would be a thrillingpetition, but most people had not expected thepetition to start off with such a bang. A Realmling from the Sixth Maind and an Arbiter from the Fifth Maind had already shed; they were both elites.

    Lu Yin watched their battle from atop the pass that he protected on the eastern side of Zenith Mountain.

    Although the battle looked intense, neither one of them had unleashed their full strength, as they were aware that the truepetition would take ceter on. They both wanted to make it into the top ten, and they knew that having an all-out battle at this point in time would just benefit others.

    However, even though they were just casually feeling each other out, their battle was not something that the other participants were qualified to join, as they were simply on vastly different levels.

    Yuhua Mavis did not bother stepping in to fight Bai Ling. Instead, she continued rushing up¡ªher only goal at this moment was Lu Yin.

    She had not forgotten about Lu Yin¡¯sment, and in truth, everyone from the Mavis family was very impulsive. Although Yuhua Mavis had a quiet appearance and loved to read on a grassy in, that was simply because nobody was able to ruffle her. However, Lu Yin had seeded. She wanted to know why Lu Yin would say such a thing and why he was qualified to be one of the five gatekeepers.

    At the same time, thousands of meters away from Bai Ling and Unseen Light¡¯s battle, Gu Xiao¡¯er excitedly stared at a Celestial Ice Phoenix flying above him. It was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had always wanted to capture an impressive and beautiful creature to use as his mount, and this looked like his best chance.

    This Celestial Ice Phoenix was Feng Liu, and she had just flown past Gu Xiao¡¯er. She had been added to Skymender¡¯s List to rece someone who had died as she was the strongest member of the Celestial Ice Phoenix n¡¯s younger generation, and she far surpassed Feng Jiu, who had participated in the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Most of the participants in ZENITH were from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, and since the Human Domain was enemies with the Astral Beast Domain, most of the human participants targeted the participating astral beasts in an unspoken agreement.

    However, since Feng Liu was one of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s representatives, she was far stronger than most of the humans, and she had frozen thousands of participants in one move, including some people from the Sixth Maind.

    The Celestial Ice Phoenixes possessed both tricolored rays as well as extremely cold ice. Their rays could melt everything, and the stronger the phoenixes became, the stronger their tricolored rays would be.

    As tricolored rays swept through the area, Gu Xiao¡¯er yelped out and quickly dodged away.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be my ride. Don¡¯t run!¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er screamed as he chased after Feng Liu.

    Feng Liu¡¯s beautiful eyes grew cold, and a pale blue light radiated out from her body that spread out, freezing the sky.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er started huffing and puffing, and soon, a strange smoke appeared. Although it looked quite delicate, the smoke managed to iste the cold, and Gu Xiao¡¯er followed the path opened up by the smoke to leap onto Feng Liu¡¯s back. ¡°Hahahaha! Now I have a ride!¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned; this guy was too obnoxious! He suddenly remembered that the Ghost Monkey had always imed that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes were a part of his harem. If that monkey saw Gu Xiao¡¯er riding Feng Liu, he would be livid.

    Lu Yin was unaware that the monkey had indeed seen this scene and was absolutely furious.

    As the Ghost Monkey stared at the screen showing Gu Xiao¡¯er riding on Feng Liu, the monkey screamed, ¡°I won¡¯t forgive you, you bastard! Don¡¯t let me meet you, as I¡¯ll kill you! How dare you touch Feng Liu! I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    The monkey was angry whereas Feng Liu was humiliated. ¡°You stupid human, die!¡±

    Feng Liu transformed into a beautiful, long haired girl wearing a blue dress.

    Before Gu Xiao¡¯er could even react, Feng Liu raised a hand and tapped her finger against the sky. A terrible cold froze the sky around Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    However, the cold was held back by Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s smoke and was unable to hurt him.

    Feng Liu was shocked to discover that this smoke was powerful enough to withstand her attack.

    Although the smoke was not frozen, Gu Xiao¡¯er could still feel how cold Feng Liu¡¯s ability was. He suddenly realized that the phoenix he was targeting was not an easy opponent. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll just leave for now. Remember my name, it¡¯s Gu Xiao¡¯er.¡±

    He then shrouded himself in smoke and turned around to flee.

    Suddenly, a huge shadow covered Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s entire body. He raised his head, and his mouth fell open in shock. ¡°What a huge lion.¡±

    A huge blue lion stared down at him. His left eye was made of wind while his right eye was made of fire, and his body emanated a terrifying aura. The lion then swiped a paw at Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er was instantly mmed to the ground.

    Cursewind was the one who had attacked Gu Xiao¡¯er. This blue lion was another powerhouse on Skymender¡¯s List, and he had recently be an Enlighter, making him one of the strongestpetitors in ZENITH.

    Feng Liu grew annoyed. ¡°Cursewind, I don¡¯t need your help.¡±

    Cursewind answered in a cold voice. ¡°You¡¯re too gentle.¡±

    ¡°You from the Astral Beast Domain, so prepare to die.¡± Someone suddenly attacked both Cursewind and Feng Liu.

    Cursewind snorted, and although he did not make anyrge movements, a storm suddenly appeared and descended upon the area. Although it did not look very powerful, any cultivators that tried to attack Cursewind screamed the moment they touched the storm.

    A bone chilling wind and soul burning fire¡ªthis was Cursewind. He was a powerhouseparable to Yao Gu and the others on Skymender¡¯s List, and he could absolutelypare to the Ten Arbiters.

    Up on the mountain pass, Lu Yin watched the battles breaking out beneath him. His attention was drawn to Cursewind, as Lu Yin had a strong impression of the blue lion. Cursewind had been one of the first powerhouses among the younger generation that Lu Yin had ever fought. He lifted his finger and gently flicked it.

    People were always paying attention to Lu Yin, as the various broadcasts that were being yed around the universe showed the various scenes taking ce across the mountain, and most cameras were focused on the most powerful youths.

    There were also feeds entirely focused on the five gatekeepers. Even if the five were not moving, there would always be cameras focused on them.

    The moment Lu Yin moved his hand, countless people switched their focus onto him.

    A breeze was sent out by his finger flick, and itnded at the foot of the mountain and struck Cursewind.

    Cursewind turned and saw the approaching breeze. When he looked to see where the wind hade from, he instantly saw Lu Yin¡¯s arrogant expression and grew furious. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡±

    The lion¡¯s bone chilling wind grew into a powerful gale that moved to sh against the breeze.

    When the breeze struck the gale, the gale was shredded apart in a mere second. The breeze then swept past Cursewind¡¯s enormous body and pierced into the mountain, leaving behind a deep cave.

    Cursewind stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How was this possible? It had been less than ten years since the two hadst fought, and back then, there had been a huge power difference between them. Even though humans improved faster than beasts, it still was impossible to reverse the power gap in such an extreme manner.

    Lu Yin smirked and turned away from Cursewind to focus on another part of the mountain¡¯s eastern face. He had noticed the Thirteen Swords appearing there, as Liu Tianmu hadunched an attack against Xin N¨¹.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1260: Lu Yinâ€™s Power

    <h4>Chapter 1260: Lu Yin¡¯s Power</h4>

    Cursewind¡¯s bone chilling wind slowly dissipated, though some of it scattered onto the ground where it injured some unlucky participants.

    Lu Yin had overwhelmed that bone chilling wind by just flicking a finger and sending out a small breeze, which terribly confused both Cursewind and Feng Liu. Cursewind was an Enlighter, and even though his bone chilling wind was not his most powerful move due to its ability of corroding his enemies to the bone, it still should not have been so easily overpowered.

    The only exnation was that Lu Yin was far more powerful than the others.

    ¡°His pure strength has reached a level that only Star Devourer can ovee,¡± Feng Liu said solemnly as she kept a wary eye on Lu Yin. She recalled how upset Feng Jiu had looked after returning from her defeat during the Tournament of the Strongest.

    Fortunately, Feng Jiu had note to ZENITH, as she would have been in huge trouble if she had impulsively challenged Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had improved tremendously, and if he was truly just as strong as the other gatekeepers, then it would be hard for them to aplish the mission that their master had given them.

    Cursewind stood in the sky, unable to go any further without being forced down to the ground like Yuhua Mavis.

    ¡°Cursewind, don¡¯t attack yet. Don¡¯t forget Master¡¯s mission.¡±

    Cursewind was unwilling, but he ultimately stopped challenging Lu Yin. He descended to the mountainside, hisnding causing the mountain to shake.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had been secretly watching the astral beasts from a distance. When he saw that the two beasts had tried to challenge Lu Yin, he had been surprised by their guts. After all, Lu Yin was an absolute genius.

    Of the millions of people on Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern side, there were not that many Explorers, as most of thepetitors were from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse and Outerverse, and most of them were Limiteers.

    Liu Tianmu continued to fight against Xin N¨¹. Countless shockwaves spread throughout the area, causing most of thepetitors to hastily retreat, and some unlucky ones were even instantly killed.

    Even Lu Yin at his peak power when he had been a Limiteer would not have been able to endure the shockwaves from Liu Tianmu¡¯s battle, let alone the Limiteers participating in ZENITH.

    Liu Tianmu represented the Fifth Maind and the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. And since most of the participants were also from the Fifth Maind, they naturally hoped for Liu Tianmu¡¯s victory. However, Lu Yin was actually rooting for Xin N¨¹.

    Xin N¨¹ had helped him multiple times, and he always felt a familial connection whenever he met with Xin N¨¹. Regardless of which side people were on, Lu Yin cared more about who treated him well.

    Liu Tianmu had rarely interacted with Lu Yin, and the Sword Sect had actually be one of his adversaries.

    Liu Tianmu stood across from Xin N¨¹ on a corner of the mountain¡¯s eastern face. Xin N¨¹ frowned, as Liu Tianmu wasn¡¯t an easy opponent. She had fought against Zhi Yi with just a sword, and even Zhi Yi had been unable to secure a quick victory.

    Liu Tianmu was also very wary of Xin N¨¹. Xin N¨¹ was able to dissolve the swordswoman¡¯s attacks, and she was clearly a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Before the start of ZENITH, nobody had known that there would be five Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker among the participants¡ªthe only publicly known Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers were Bu Kong, Qiu Shi, Wu Dan, and Lu Yin.

    Every Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker presented a huge threat, as their control of star energy was terrifying for their opponents to have to deal with.

    Liu Tianmu had exceptional skills, but she was also feeling frustrated due to how her star energy was being suppressed.

    She unleashed her domain before suddenly contracting it. She thenunched an attack¡ªthe Thirteen Swords¡¯s Fifth Sword, sword and domain as one.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s expression changed slightly as she could tell that this particr attack was unavoidable. Every move that she made was being monitored by her opponent¡¯s domain, and Xin N¨¹ had a feeling that she would be injured when the sword drew close.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened, and he instinctively wanted to help Xin N¨¹.

    Xin N¨¹ raised a hand, and her palm met the tip of the sword, slightly diverting the attack. At the same time, her left hand shot forwards towards Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu instantly dodged aside while using the Sixth Sword, which was a defensive stance.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s attack did not strike Liu Tianmu, though the shockwave did hit an unlucky individual.

    At the same time, Liu Tianmu¡¯s attack traveled a vast distance and struck numerous people.

    The two girls were not injured by the two attacks, but the people nearby had. For example, Xun Jiong had been unfortunate enough to be in the way.

    When ZENITH hadmenced, all of thepetitors had been randomly assigned to one of the four mountain faces, and Xun Jiong had been assigned to the eastern face.

    When Xun Jiong saw that Lu Yin was the gatekeeper for his side, he had been devastated. He had hoped to rush through the mountain pass along with arge group of people so that Lu Yin would not notice him.

    With Xu Jiong¡¯s ability and position in the Xun family, his family would never let the matter go if he was unable to even pass the first checkpoint of thepetition.

    Thus, he had always kept a low profile, not even talking back when random people had challenged him. By doing so, he had simply followed along the crowd, but the group that he had been a part of had been suddenly implicated by Liu Tianmu¡¯s attack.

    Xun Jiong was quite powerful. He was only an Explorer, though not even a Cruiser or a Hunter could endure Liu Tianmu¡¯s Fifth Sword. Thus, Xun Jiong¡¯s left arm was sliced off, and he was eliminated from ZENITH.

    Nearly a hundred people were affected by the attack, and all of them were immediately eliminated.

    These were just the people who had been affected by Liu Tianmu¡¯s attack; Xin Nu¡¯s attack had struck Hart Phoenix. He was Arbiter Serati Phoenix¡¯s younger brother, and he had once fought against Lu Yin back when they had both been students at the Astral Combat Academy. Ever since Hart Phoenix had be an Explorer, he had hoped to make a name for himself. Although he recognized that he was not as strong as Lu Yin or the other Arbiters, he still felt that he could break into the Top Hundred Rankings.

    However, he suddenly fainted because of Xin N¨¹¡¯s attack. What did it matter if he was an Undying Bird? The attack that struck him far exceeded his limit, and he was instantly eliminated.

    Both Xun Jiong and Hart Phoenix possessed the strength to join the truepetition of ZENTIH and clear the first checkpoints. Both of them had enough strength where the gatekeepers should not cause too much trouble for them, and they should have been able to easily pass the first checkpoints.

    However, they had both been very unlucky.

    Another unfortunate person was Young Master Zhi. Most people did not know much about him, but if people knew about his background, they would be shocked.

    He was the heir to Aurora Enterprises and had participated in the battle for the Cosmic Five. Although he had not done much at that time, he had still been qualified to participate in the battle.

    He had been eliminated by the Little Arrow Saint when the Little Arrow Saint had unleashed a wave of arrows, eliminating thousands of contestants at once. If not for the Little Arrow Saint wanting to catch up to Yuhua Mavis, then he would have continued eliminating more contestants.

    Yuhua Mavis still held the lead on the eastern face.

    The people from the Sixth Maind did not want to allow someone from the Fifth Maind to clear the checkpoint first. And since Lu Yin was the gatekeeper, the Little Arrow Saint felt certain that Lu Yin would not cause trouble for Yuhua Mavis. Thus, the Realmling focused his attacks on her.

    From the peak of Zenith Mountain,rger waves crashed down like ocean waves.

    Countless screams rang out as the waves eliminated tens of thousands of contestants.

    Although they were quite powerful, Coco and Zora had also already been eliminated. Neither of them had been able to endure the waves cascading down the mountain or the ambushes from the Sixth Maind cultivators. Thus, they had eventually been eliminated.

    Typically, people would not continue attacking anyone who had already given up and was voluntarily descending the mountain. After all, nothing was more important than continuing with thepetition.

    Coco and Zora¡¯s elimination attracted Lu Yin¡¯s attention. He had been watching the battle between Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹ closely, but he had not expected Coco and Zora to be eliminated so soon. He saw excited expressions on the faces of the Sixth Maind cultivators who had eliminated them and frowned before gently flicking his fingers.

    Several winds struck the cultivators who had eliminated Coco and Zora, instantly crippling them. Hong Ying looked up at Lu Yin and then turned to look at the Sixth Maind cultivators who he had attacked. She ignored them and even distanced herself from them.

    However, Lu Yin had not forgotten about her. The other cultivators from the Sixth Maind had just been random people to Lu Yin whereas the people he actually felt the need to eliminate were those like Hong Ying.

    As Lu Yin turned to Hong Ying, nine lined battle force appeared over his fingertip, which caused many people to shout out in surprise.

    It was extremely rare for someone so young to cultivate nine lined battle force. That, when coupled with Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, meant that this blow would be enough to eliminate half of thepetitors.

    Although Lu Yin was close to the bottom of the list of forecasted finalists, nobody could deny his strength. It was just that the people rated above him were truly insanely powerful.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s nine lined battle force appeared, Hong Ying raised her head and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. She saw him bend his finger, causing her to panic and race in another direction. She would much rather move to another side of the mountain than face Lu Yin.

    Even in the Starfall Sea, she had not been his opponent, and Lu Yin had improved far too much in the short time since then. Thus, Hong Ying was absolutely terrified.

    However, it would not be so easy for her to escape.

    Lu Yin flicked his finger. This time, the wind tore the sky apart and created a spatial crack that appeared in front of Hong Ying.

    Lu Yin had not held back at all. Hong Ying had also not held back when killing countless Fifth Maind cultivators in the Starfall Sea, and her victims had even included Lan Si¡¯s younger brother, Lan Yu.

    Hong Ying was shocked, as this finger strike was very threatening to her. Madam Hong¡¯s image instantly appeared behind the young woman as Hong Ying counterattacked. Her martial print appeared as she had been forced to use her full strength to contend with the breeze that Lu Yin had casually sent towards her.

    Hong Ying''s spear snapped in half as the wind shot through the red spear and shattered her martial print. It struck Hong Ying heavily and continued on through her shoulder before entering the ground.

    Hong Ying spat out a mouthful of blood as her imprint disappeared. A massive force flung her away, and she fell down the mountain.

    At the same moment, in Chaos Flowzone¡¯s western region, countless people from the Sixth Maind were left stunned.

    Hong Ying, the heir to the Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Flying Horse Manor, someone who was second only to their Realmling Bai Ling, had just been eliminated. She had recently be a Hunter, and she could almost stand on par with Bai Ling. But despite all that, she had beenpletely defeated by a mere breeze.

    Most of the Sixth Maind cultivators who were on Lu Yin¡¯s side of the mountain had not initially cared much about him. They had heard of his background and assumed that he had only been given his position as a gatekeeper due to his reputation. Although they all knew that he was powerful, they still felt that he did not qualify to be a gatekeeper. Even after he had merely flicked his finger and used a breeze to defeat Cursewind, they had not been impressed.

    However, at this moment, all of them fell silent; Lu Yin had just defeated Hong Ying by flicking a finger. Could a Realmling do that?

    Countless people across the universe watched Lu Yin in awe; he turned out to be much stronger than they had expected.

    Bai Ling saw what had happened and threw a cautious eye to Lu Yin. Her voice rang out. ¡°Everybody hide¡ªdon¡¯t reveal who you are and just try to get past this checkpoint.¡±

    She also felt threatened. Bai Ling was well aware of Hong Ying¡¯s strength, and although Hong Ying was weaker than Bai Ling, she definitely could not defeat Hong Ying by flicking a single finger. The fact that Lu Yin could do so meant that he was much stronger than what they had assumed. Bai Ling did not want the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators to be singled out and eliminated by this gatekeeper.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1261: No Restrictions

    <h4>Chapter 1261: No Restrictions</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger flick had just been a casual attack, but that only served to make people even more nervous.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators all fell silent and stopped provoking those from the Fifth Maind. As for the participants from the Innerverse who belonged to powers antagonistic to the Great Eastern Alliance, they also went silent out of shock.

    Although the Sixth Maind cultivators stopped attacking, Lu Yin had no ns of letting them off. His next target was Bai Ling.

    It would be interesting if he could eliminate a Realmling with a flick of a finger.

    He raised a hand once again.

    At this moment, countless people stared at Lu Yin¡¯s finger while wondering who his next target would be.

    Everyone on the eastern face of Zenith Mountain was terrified, and some of them even stopped moving as they stared at Lu Yin.

    Bai Ling felt a chill, and her eyes shot up to look at Lu Yin. When she saw his cold gaze, goosebumps crawled down her back; she knew that she was his next target. Bai Ling¡¯s eyes narrowed, and countless strange lines appeared across the entire eastern side of the mountain. All the other battles fell silent as she fully utilized her innate gift.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. This girl really was a Realmling as well as an Enlighter; she was so powerful that her innate gift could affect the entire eastern face of the mountain. If Lu Yin insisted on attacking Bai Ling, then he would end up implicating everyone on his side of the mountain, including the Fifth Maind cultivators.

    Lu Yin hesitated, but then he lowered his hand. He had his own matters to consider, as the existence of the Great Eastern Alliance had already created a rivalry with some of the major Innerverse powers. If Lu Yin dragged all of thepetitors into his battle, then he would definitely be seen as the universal enemy of not just the Innerverse, but also the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse.

    Once one attained a certain status, they would be forced to make some difficult decisions.

    Bai Ling felt confused as to why Lu Yin had stopped attacking.

    At that same moment, a huge shadow covered her. She turned around to see a strange creature attacking her. It was Ze Lin, who was ranked sixty-seventh on the Top 100 Rankings. He was able to fuse with his tamed beast, an Oolong Horse, and was extraordinarily strong.

    Ze Lin¡¯s physical strength could evenpare to Lu Yin¡¯s, though that was back when Lu Yin had still been a Limiteer.

    Furthermore, Ze Lin had be a Cruiser, so he had also be much stronger. However, he had vastly underestimated his opponent.

    Bai Ling¡¯s expression chilled. The strange lines that she had formed wrapped around Ze Lin, and then something new happened.

    Ze Lin copsed and died.

    Lu Yin shook his head. Ze Lin had not thought his attack through. What a shame; the Beast Tamers Flowzone had just lost one of their geniuses.

    In the Innerverse¡¯s Beast Tamers Flowzone, the master of the Divine Grade Hall, Mountain God roared angrily. Ze Lin had been an elite whom the Divine Grade Hall had groomed. Within the younger generation, he had been second only to the Little Mountain God, who did not actually belong to the current generation.

    Ze Lin¡¯s death meant that the Divine Grade Hall had lost a future elite, and the Mountain God was grieving.

    However, there were no restrictions during ZENITH, and it was Ze Lin¡¯s own fault for dying while trying to sneak attack Bai Ling.

    ¡°Stupid! Stupid! That woman dared to go up against Lu Yin. Why did you think that you would be able to deal with her? Stupid!¡± the Mountain God bellowed.

    Ze Lin was not the firstpetitor to die during ZENITH, but his death carried arger impact since the cultivators from Beast Tamers Flowzone were all furious. Additionally, many of the Innerverse cultivators were shocked.

    There had already been tens of thousands of deaths on the eastern face of Zenith Mountain in the short time that thepetition had officially started, and most of the people had died from getting caught up in the powerhouses¡¯ battles.

    The various deaths caused manypetitors to stop and wait for the stronger participants to clear the first checkpoint. Otherwise, many of them would simply die from getting caught up in the elites¡¯ battles.

    Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹ had also both stopped fighting, and despite Little Arrow Saint¡¯s persistent harassment, Yuhua Mavis was still the closest to Lu Yin.

    Although Zenith Mountain was very tall, it would take an Enlighter less than half a day to reach the first checkpoint if no one disturbed them.

    Lu Yin could almost hear Yuhua Mavis¡¯s breath by now.

    Lu Yin was excited to see what Yuhua Mavis would do upon arriving at the mountain pass. Although she had the appearance of a calm demeanor, she was actually just as impulsive as Lulu, and she simrly hated being challenged. It was possible that Yuhua Mavis would challenge Lu Yin to a fight as soon as she reached the checkpoint.

    That seemed to be the most likely scenario.

    Yuhua Mavis was focused on reaching the mountain pass, and Little Arrow Saint was infuriated that she was constantly ignoring him. He raised his bow as nine lined battle force covered the weapon. At the same time, a ten meter tall image appeared behind him; his imprint came from an absolute powerhouse.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s actions attracted the attention of countless otherpetitors, including Lu Yin.

    He was no stranger to Little Arrow Saint, as the Realmling had once hunted Lu Yin for a few days, though Lu Yin had never seen Little Arrow Saint use his imprint during that time.

    During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the Fifth Maind had been protected by the Rune Progenitor, which had forced everyone to suppress their power level to under 200,000, regardless of whether or not they possessed an imprint. This was why Lu Yin had never seen Little Arrow Saint use his imprint during the invasion. However, when Lu Yin had fought against Little Arrow Saint in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Little Arrow Saint had used his imprint, which had been a three inch tall elder at the time, the same as Shi Zhongjian¡¯s. However, the Realmling¡¯s imprint had since changed.

    His current imprint was that of a ten meter tall man wearing animal skins. The man was muscr and carried a bow.

    He was the East Realm¡¯s new Empyrean Imprinter.

    When Little Arrow Saint used his imprint, Yuhua Mavis suddenly hesitated before slowly turning around.

    Little Arrow Saint sneered at her. When he loosed his arrow that held thebined might of his nine lined battle force and imprint, its power level far exceeded 300,000. This was the strongest attack that Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern face had seen so far, and it was even more powerful than Liu Tianmu¡¯s Fifth Sword.

    Yuhua Mavis frowned. Green grass spread across the ground before turning into an enormous fist that punched at Little Arrow Saint.

    The Mavis family possessed the greatest wealth and the greatest physical strength.

    The fist collided with the arrow, and the sky exploded. A massive shockwave raced down the mountain, and manypetitors cursed at the two powerhouses since they could not dodge in time and were thrown back by the shockwave.

    A hole had appeared on Zenith Mountain.

    The two attacks had both exceeded a power level of 300,000, which was terrifying.

    Little Arrow Saint kept a careful eye on Yuhua Mavis.

    She then picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it at Little Arrow Saint.

    It was just a normal rock, so it should not have bothered Little Arrow Saint at all. However, a chill suddenly ran down his spine. Although it was just a normal rock, it contained an incredible amount of force.

    He narrowly dodged the stone, and it smashed against the mountain, which shattered from the impact.

    Shattered pieces of rock went flying in all directions, striking down a fewpetitors in the air. One of the shards even scratched Little Arrow Saint¡¯s cheek.

    Little Arrow Saint looked up at Yuhua Mavis in shock; this woman was incredibly strong!

    He watched in a daze as Yuhua Mavis continued to rush up the mountain. Little Arrow Saint no longer wanted to stop her after being startled by her strength.

    Lu Yin smirked. Yuhua Mavis was one of the most physically adept people in the entire universe aside from him. In anticipation, Lu Yin clenched his fists as Yuhua Mavis approached, wondering how many attacks she would be able to endure.

    Many people were interested in a battle between two of the strongest participants, but most people were even more concerned about the contestants who were actually rted to them.

    In Southside Weave, within Astral-9, arge group of students nervously watched a screen.

    They were watching a battle between three people, of which two were from Astral-9. They were Liu Yin, the previous top student of Astral-9, and Chao Zhi, who had participated in the Astral Combat Tournament.

    At this particr moment, they were working together to fight against Kayze, who had been Lu Yin¡¯s doorman for King Zishan¡¯s pce for a long time.

    Kayze had also signed up for ZENITH since he had previously been ranked in the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings. After the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, Kayze had been captured by Lu Yin and tasked with guarding King Zishan¡¯s pce. Even after the Innerverse had reconnected with the Outerverse, Kayze still had not returned to the Dire Barbarian n, as he had watched Lu Yin achieve the impossible.

    Aside from those closest to Lu Yin, Kayze was the person with the best understanding of how much Lu Yin had improved. Over the past few years, he had seen Lu Yin countless times, and Kayze¡¯s innate gift was that of hearing, which allowed him to hear the vibrations of a person¡¯s body.

    Whenever Lu Yin had returned to King Zishan¡¯s pce, Kayze had always attentively listened to him, hearing new things every time. Over the years, Kayze had gained a new understanding of physical strength, and he had even achieved a breakthrough in his own battle technique, which had allowed him to be much stronger.

    He had also be a Cruiser, and he was nowparable to the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings, which was why he had dared to join ZENITH.

    Once registration for ZENITH had opened, Kayze had told Lu Yin about his ns to register and had only signed up after Lu Yin agreed.

    Kayze wanted to create a name for himself during ZENITH. He had no delusions of reaching Lu Yin¡¯s level and having everybody be in awe of him, but Kayze at least hoped to be recognized as someone with the power to be in the top half of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Liu Yin and Chao Zhi were not weak, and they were both Explorers. If they had been fighting against the old Kayze, then they would have definitely been able to defeat him by working together. However, they were facing the Kayze who had followed Lu Yin for many years, and there was no possible way for them to defeat him.

    Liu Yin was the first to fall. His voice could notpare to Bai Ling¡¯s innate gift of sound, and he was not able to damage Kayze much before being defeated by Kayze¡¯s strength.

    Chao Zhi had a good grasp of battle force, and she also possessed a strong battle technique: Wind of Seasons, which was able to cause her opponent¡¯s body to decay. However, even though it was a powerful battle technique, it still a strong power to support it.

    Compared to Kayze, Chao Zhi was much weaker and she was also summarily defeated.

    The people back in Astral-9 felt helpless, but there was no shame in losing to someone in the Top 100 Rankings.

    There were countless cultivators throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse, but only a hundred of them were on the rankings. On top of that, Kayze clearly belonged in the top half.

    Kayze was exhausted after defeating Chao Zhi and Liu Yin, as they were both quite strong. If they had actually been in the same cultivation realm as Kayze, he might not have been able to beat them.

    He looked up at Lu Yin.

    Kayze had once been an elite in the Dire Barbarian n, but his life hadpletely changed because of Lu Yin. Even after the Outerverse had reconnected to the Innerverse and Kayze had been summoned back to the Dire Barbarian n, he had never returned. He was smart, and he knew that following Lu Yin would be a much better choice than returning to the Dire Barbarian n. After all, they would rather focus all of their resources on Avery instead of him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1262: A Bunch of Familiar Faces

    <h4>Chapter 1262: A Bunch of Familiar Faces</h4>

    Suddenly, Kayze felt a chill and he instantly moved to the side. A slender needle pierced where he had just stood. He looked into the distance and saw countlesspetitors copsing from needles piercing their bodies.

    A woman had attacked Kayze. She looked cold and ugly spots covered her face, but she was dressed beautifully.

    The woman looked over when Kayze dodged her attack. She raised a hand and threw another needle at him.

    Kayze was shocked, as this woman was a Hunter. He dodged the needle once again, but it was hard for him to dodge this attack as she had changed to specifically targeting him.

    Kayze watched as a needle approached his forehead, when suddenly a breeze caused the needle to snap in two and fall to the ground.

    The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed and she looked up. The wind hade from Lu Yin.

    Kayze shot a grateful look at Lu Yin and breathed heavily.

    Lu Yin had seen the woman trying to kill Kayze, and since Kayze followed Lu Yin, he could not allow anyone to kill Kayze.

    Although Lu Yin had a bad impression of the Dire Barbarian n, over thest few years of standing guard over King Zishan¡¯s pce, Kayze had done his best, and Lu Yin had already recognized the man as a follower.

    The woman was cautious of Lu Yin and stopped attacking Kayze. She lowered her head and quickly continued on her way towards the checkpoint.

    Kayze did not dare try to stop the woman, as he knew he could not defeat her.

    The woman was a stranger to Kayze, and he was certain that she was not someone who was on the Top 100 Rankings. She was a Hunter whose strength was nearlyparable to the Ten Arbiters; could she be from the Cosmic Sea or the Neoverse?

    The universe was vast, and the Top 100 Rankings obviously did not include every single powerful youth in the universe. There were many powerhouses who had entered cryostasis or were from mysteriousnds, and while they might not be the strongest within their age group, there were still many elites among such unknown cultivators.

    That woman was clearly one of those people.

    Lu Yin stopped attacking the woman and turned towards another direction instead.

    There were millions ofpetitors on Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern face, and some of them were familiar to Lu Yin. For example, he saw a girl be defeated: Zi Jun. She was someone who had lost to Starsibyl during the Tournament of the Strongest and was from the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Longevity Brigade. However, what stunned Lu Yin was that the person who had defeated Zi Jun had been Nong Zaitian.

    If Lu Yin had to rank the people he felt the most apologetic towards from the Sixth Maind, Nong Zaitian would be the first on the list.

    Back when Blood Looney had been chasing Lu Yin, he had escaped by stealing Nong Zaitian¡¯s hoe by using the Yu secret technique. Lu Yin had also entered a cauldron because of Nong Zaitian and had then discovered how to absorb star energy far more quickly after witnessing a battle between Nightking Zhenwu and Wu Taibai.

    If not for Nong Zaitian, Lu Yin would never have been able to reach his current level of strength.

    Thus, Nong Zaitian was not only Lu Yin¡¯s savior, but also his lucky star. Lu Yin had always ended up experiencing good luck after bumping into Nong Zaitian.

    A long time had passed since Lu Yin hadst bumped into Nong Zaitian near the cauldron, and Lu Yin had almost forgotten about this person. He had certainly expected to bump into Nong Zaitian in this ce!

    Every time Lu Yin ran into Nong Zaitian, Nong Zaitian was being bullied by others. Nong Zaitian was certainly not weak, and was almost a Hunter, which was why he had been able to to easily defeat Zi Jun even without any items.

    Maybe it was telepathy, but regardless, Nong Zaitian suddenly looked up and met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin paused and smiled.

    Nong Zaitian gritted his teeth and mouthed two words. Although he was not able to hear Nong Zaitian¡¯s voice, Lu Yin knew exactly what had been said: ¡°My hoe.¡±

    Lu Yin felt awkward and looked away. He could not believe that Nong Zaitian still remembered that hoe. How petty.

    Nong Zaitian snorted and continued carefully climbing up the mountain. He did not dare offend Lu Yin. In the past, Lu Yin had frequently been chased around just like Nong Zaitian, but at the moment, Lu Yin was standing in a much higher position and could eliminate Nong Zaitian with the casual flick of a finger.

    Off in the distance, the stutterer was frantically running around as Tong Zhan chased after him.

    Tong Zhan had finally recovered from being crippled by Lu Yin, however Tong Zhan had not been able to improve his strength. His entire reason for participating in ZENITH was to fight against Lu Yin again, even if it killed him. Tong Zhan wanted to die in a battle.

    The stutterer was unlucky enough to bump into Tong Zhan when dodging shockwaves from Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹¡¯s battle. The stutterer had nearly shoved Tong Zhan off the mountain. Tong Zhan had not actually nned on retaliating, but the stutterer kept shouting ¡°meat!¡± excitedly after seeing Lu Yin, and Tong Zhan had assumed the two were friends, so he immediately started chasing the stutterer.

    Although Tong Zhan had not been able to improve his strength, he was still the Tong family¡¯s heir. With his battle techniques, martial print, and imprint, he was more than enough to defeat the stutterer.

    Despite all of that, the stutterer was also not weak, and his cultivation was actually higher than Tong Zhan¡¯s. The stutterer was a peak Cruiser, and his innate gift was rted to speed, so it turned out to be very difficult for Tong Zhan to catch up.

    Lu Yin had noticed Tong Zhan. but did not actually care as such a person did not matter to Lu Yin. There were only a few of the Sixth Maind¡¯s elites who Lu Yin cared about.

    ¡°Meat! Meat! Meat!¡± the stutterer kept shouting. He still remembered that his master had said that he would be able to have meat if he followed Lu Yin. Although the stutterer looked frail and weak, he was incredibly stubborn and he firmly believed that Lu Yin was ¡°meat,¡± so he continued shouting at Lu Yin while running forward.

    Tong Zhan gritted his teeth while chasing his target.

    ¡°Meat? What meat? Fish? How dare he insult me!¡± A skinny figure slowly climbed while fighting against the waves of force that descended from the mountain. It was Xi Qi, and she still had a fish on her head.

    Xi Qi helplessly replied, ¡°Nobody said fish! You heard wrong.¡±

    The fish kept pping its fins. ¡°I have never misheard anything! Someone must have said fish, so find the person now! I want to make that person my ride.¡±

    Xi Qi was panting heavily. She was already exhausted from climbing the mountain, and she had no desire to fight with the fish.

    Lu Yin had also noticed Xi Qi and her annoying fish.

    The fish kept pping its fins. ¡°That two-legged beast is looking at me! Hurry, make hime down and wee me.¡±

    Xi Qi was helpless. She looked up at Lu Yin, but he was so far away!

    Countless battles had broken out across the mountain¡¯s eastern face, and Lu Yin was able to see many familiar faces.

    Although he had only been traveling around the universe for 13 years, he had still managed to meet many people, as there was an invisible attraction about Lu Yin that drew people to him.

    Lu Yin was only able to observe the eastern face of Zenith Mountain, but there were also many familiar faces on the northern face.

    The most unlucky person on the northern face of Zenith Mountain was Ku Lei. He had initially nned to be the first to pass the checkpoint and hoped to test out just how powerful the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies really were.

    However, he had run into the back of an enormous beast as he had tried to rush up the mountain. This beast was Star Devourer, who ate entires when in his full size. Although Star Devourer was not currently at his full size yet, he was still taking up nearly half of the northern side of Zenith Mountain and had forced many of thepetitors back to the starting point.

    Somepetitors had even been smashed.

    Star Devourer had the appearance of some sort of mix between a wolf and a tiger. He had four limbs and six eyes, which made him look both creepy and powerful. The most mysterious thing about the creature was that all six of his eyes were closed, which made people feel even more scared.

    Ku Lei bumped into Star Devourer, but then used lightning to attack the astral beast. ¡°Move!¡±

    Star Devourer lifted a paw and swept the lightning away, and the movement even flung Ku Lei all the way back to the starting point.

    Ku Lei was stunned; since when had his lighting been so vulnerable?

    Everyone on the northern face of Zenith Mountain and also everyone watching from other ces was stunned to see how Star Devourer had thrown Ku Lei away with just a swipe of a paw.

    The powerhouses from the Astral Beast Domain were not surprised, as this creature was Star Devourer, who ates. He was a member of one of the most powerful species in the entire Astral Beast Domain, and if not for the fact that only one was born over the course of many years, the species would definitely have been ced on the Celestial Beast List.

    The Astral Beast Domain felt satisfied at this oue, but all others felt threatened.

    Ku Lei was the Ku family¡¯s inheritor and was from the Seven Courts, yet had been by a simple swipe.

    Wen Sansi was also on the northern side of the mountain, and he grew solemn as he observed Star Devourer. This creature¡¯s strength was truly terrifying.

    Some distance away, Jin He¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Star Devourer¡¯s paw. The runes Jin He had observed were not just from the beast¡¯s physical strength, but something else had been present as well. The creature was definitely a powerhouse.

    At this same time, thunder crashed off in the distance as Ku Lei rushed back. Countless lightning bolts transformed into spears that shot towards Star Devourer. Ku Lei was the Ku family¡¯s inheritor, yet he had actually been overpowered by a beast. This was too humiliating for Ku Lei to endure, as every part of ZENITH was a live broadcast, and his Ku family was definitely watching as well. He was determined to kill this beast.

    At this time, Lu Yin was standing at the mountain pass that he was protecting while looking at a screen off in the distance. Although he was not able to see the northern side of the mountain from where he stood, he was able to watch the events taking ce there on the screen and saw the exchange between Ku Lei and Star Devourer.

    Lu Yin had a strong impression of Star Devourer, as he had once possessed Star Devourer¡¯s guard after rolling a six: Possession, on his die, and Lu Yin had personally witnessed how Star Devourer ate entires. It would be simpler if the beast had nothing more than overwhelming physical strength, but Star Devourer was definitely moreplex than that, as he was able to actually digests.

    Countless people focused on Zenith Mountain¡¯s northern face to watch as Star Devourer responded to the lightning bolts.

    All six of Star Devourer¡¯s eyes remained closed, but right as the lightning drew close, a single eye opened and the beast¡¯s tail shook. This simple action sent ripples through the sky that distorted the lightning and pushed it away.

    Ku Lei did not even have time to react before Star Devourer swiped his tail and threw Ku Leipletely off the mountain. This time, Ku Lei was not as lucky as before, and he ended up badly injured.

    Everyone went silent as they stared at Star Devourer in shock.

    Ku Lei had not even possessed the strength to retaliate.

    When Ku Lei was flung off the mountain, light formed multiple des that shot towards Star Devourer; Lightson had attacked the beast as he had felt threatened.

    At this same time, Jin He¡¯s pupils transformed into runes and he erased a portion of Star Devourer¡¯s runes. Wen Sansi also used Literary Prison to trap Star Devourer¡¯s tail, and all of them worked together to attack Star Devourer.

    Star Devourer roared and his immense strength shattered the Literary Prison. The roar released shockwaves that also destroyed the approaching rays of light.

    Lightson was stunned; this was a truly powerful beast.

    Jin He frowned. It would be very difficult to fight Star Devourer.

    Star Devourer flicked its tail towards Wen Sansi.

    A barrier appeared in front of Wen Sansi and nothing at all happened when Star Devourer¡¯s tail struck the screen.

    Star Devourer¡¯s opened eye turned to look at Wen Sansi.

    Wen Sansi met the creature¡¯s gaze.

    Star Devourer¡¯s presence had caused a few of the cultivators on the mountain¡¯s northern face to cooperate, including even Wen Sansi who was predicted to end up among the top finalists. This was an exhrating battle, though there were some people who were confused by what was happening.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1263: Mixed Battle

    <h4>Chapter 1263: Mixed Battle</h4>

    The people watching from outside Zenith Mountain were astonished. ¡°Why is that beast so powerful? Not even two Arbiters working together can defeat it.¡±

    ¡°And the scariest thing is that, of its six eyes, it''s only opened one so far. Could its power possibly increase every time it opens an eye?

    ¡°Of course, everybody knows that! The predicted top ten lists are going to change. That beast is definitely going to enter the top ten.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so scary! There really are many different kinds of beasts in the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡­

    Mu En appeared from some corner of the sky and solemnly said, ¡°Star Devourers have appeared a few times in the past, but whenever one appears, it always causes terrible damage to us since there are very few people who can stand up to such a beast.¡±

    Qinmei Mavis was standing next to him. She was a powerhouse from the Mavis n, and she replied, ¡°Not only do the Star Devourers have amazing strength, but they are also naturally resistant to star energy attacks, which is simr to how people from the Sixth Maind naturally suppress those from the Fifth Maind. The beasts¡¯ attacks can destroy star energy, and its immense strength makes it a very difficult opponent.¡±

    ¡°In the past, your Mavis n haspeted against Star Devourers in terms of physical strength, but sadly, your n was always defeated.¡± Mu En sighed.

    Qinmei Mavis looked dejected. ¡°We¡¯ve never been able to defeat those creatures. A Star Devourer has the greatest strength of anyone in the entire universe.¡±

    The Xia family patriarch, Xia Yi, appeared. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. The strongest was the clone of Progenitor Chen who acquired the giants¡¯ bloodline.¡±

    Qinmei Mavis paused, but then she nodded. ¡°Progenitor Chen was truly invincible.¡±

    ¡°Although they are powerful, it is still possible to defeat the beasts by utilizing other methods,¡± Mu En said.

    Elsewhere, the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses were also watching from around Zenith Mountain, and among them was Nong Laohan, an elder from the Nong family.

    Nong Laohan watched as the Star Devourer fought against Wen Sansi and the others and eximed, ¡°The Fifth Maind also has it hard. We¡¯ve never seen such a beast in our Sixth Maind.¡±

    Ancestor Autumnfrost appeared nearby. ¡°That beast is not from the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Nong Laohan looked over at the other elder in shock.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost exined, ¡°Have you forgotten about the other four mainds? Some of the beasts in the Astral Beast Domain, and even some of the ns in the Human Domain, originate from the previous four mainds.¡±

    ¡°There are a considerable number of such beasts in the Fifth Maind that came from the previous mainds. If not for those creatures, it would have been much easier to invade the Fifth Maind.¡± Madam Hong appeared with a cold expression on her face as she stared at the mountain¡¯s eastern face. She also red at Lu Yin. She should have killed him before, as he had now risen to a level where he could injure Hong Ying with just the flick of a finger. Madam Hong wondered how Hong Ying was faring and hoped that the girl was not dead.

    As Madam Hong stared at Lu Yin, she suddenly thought of someone and smiled.

    Zenith Mountain¡¯s northern face fell into chaos due to Star Devourer. After revealing his massive size, the beast had be everyone¡¯s public enemy. Despite that, he was still able to withstand all the attacks due to his sheer power. Conversely, another beast had revealed its enormous size on the western side of the mountain, but it had met with an unfortunate end. That beast had been an Amethyst Beast named Zi Tongtian, and it had revealed itself even earlier than Star Devourer.

    However, the Amethyst Beast had not been as powerful as Star Devourer, and he had been quickly eliminated by Ling Gong and Y¨­u Qi.

    Amethyst Beasts were very powerful, but this one had met even stronger opponents.

    Y¨­u Qi had an imprable defense and was so powerful that even Zi Tongtian had beenpletely helpless against him. Additionally, Ling Gong had used her Skycastle to suppress Zi Tongtian, which had led to the beast¡¯s instant death.

    The powerhouses from the Astral Beast Domain who had initially grown excited because of Star Devourer fell silent upon seeing Zi Tongtian¡¯s death.

    Humans were not easy to deal with.

    Zhuo Daynight and Nightqueen Yanqing were both on Zenith Mountain¡¯s western face, and Nightqueen Yanqing had naturally attacked Zhuo Daynight.

    The Daynight n¡¯s conflict drew many people¡¯s attention, and Lu Yin also turned to watch the battle.

    Although Lu Yin was uncertain as to just how powerful Nightqueen Yanqing had be, he was confident that Zhuo Daynight would not suffer defeat.

    A hundred meters away from Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhuo Daynight¡¯s battle, a fat and a thin figure excitedly discussed something.

    ¡°Fat Bro, look, there¡¯s a flying stone.¡±

    ¡°Thin Bro, that must be some beast from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t it a stone?¡±

    ¡°How can a stone fly? It has to be a beast.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro, I- I- I like it.¡±

    ¡°Thin Bro, I- I like it, too.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Little Mountain God was feeling very rxed. He watched the battle between the two girls from the Daynight n take ce on his left before turning to watch the Sixth Maind¡¯s Sword Schr fight with Shu Jing, an Honor Chosen from the Hall of Honor. Neither of the fights affected Little Mountain God, as he was just a stone that was easily overlooked.

    Suddenly, Little Mountain God grew wary and instinctively dodged to the side. A fat figure and a thin silhouette crashed onto the ground right where it had been standing.

    Little Mountain God moved along while wondering who those two people were. They were probably just a couple of random cultivators who were not very powerful.

    Little Mountain God looked behind himself. Hmm? Isn¡¯t that someone from the Great Eastern Alliance?

    He felt that it was time for him to teach such a person a lesson since they were alone. How dare the Outerverse unite to move against the Innerverse? What a joke!

    Suddenly, Little Mountain God felt some sort of threat again, and he immediately dodged. The ground shook, and Little Mountain God looked back. Hmm? Those people look familiar. Aren¡¯t they those two fat and thin cultivators? How are they still conscious? They must be the two attacking me.

    The Greenmen Duo looked at Little Mountain God with excited eyes. ¡°That¡¯s definitely something good! It has such quick reactions. Fat Bro, I have to catch it and give it to you.¡±

    ¡°Thin Bro, I¡¯m going to catch it and give it to you.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro, we¡¯re brothers forever.¡±

    ¡°Thin Bro, let¡¯s work hard.¡±

    Little Mountain God was dazed. Just what was going on?

    ¡°Catch it!¡± The Greenmen Duo rushed at Little Mountain God, but he instantly made his escape. He was not scared of the two, though he did feel rather disgusted by them since they looked like two madmen.

    Neither Little Mountain God nor the Greenmen Duo had noticed that there was a tiny bug asrge as a fingernail sitting atop Little Mountain God¡¯s head. The bug looked like a beetle, and it remained perfectly still atop Little Mountain God¡¯s head.

    As for the northern face of the mountain, the energy waves from the top of Zenith Mountain kept washing over thepetitors. Yao Xuan, the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, stood in front of the mountain pass as he looked down at the variouspetitors. A faint glow shrouded him that moved together with the energy wavesing off of Zenith Mountain.

    On the eastern, southern, and western faces of Zenith Mountain, although some of the participants were eliminated by the energy waves falling from Zenith Mountain, none of the Explorers were affected by it. Thus, no more than 200,000 to 300,000 people had been eliminated by the energy waves.

    In contrast, nearly 500,000petitors had already been eliminated on the mountain¡¯s northern side, and it was entirely because of Yao Xuan. He had mixed his own power into the energy waves, which had eliminated a lot of the participants.

    Once they were touched by the energy waves, Explorers and even Cruisers would simply fall off of the mountain.

    Most people were not capable of detecting Yao Xuan¡¯s power, as only a small number of people were capable of doing so, and an even smaller number of people were able to remained unaffected by the energy.

    Liu Ling was from the Sword Sect, and she was breathing heavily while racing to dodge the energy wave approaching her.

    Not only did the energy wave have arge impact, but it also contained a hidden spiritual force attack. This was precisely why so many people had fainted.

    A single nce showed that many of the participants had fainted, and some were even dead.

    Was ZENITH truly such a challenge? Even the energy waves from the mountain were enough to eliminate half of thepetitors.

    Liu Ling had not realized that the otherpetitors were not being eliminated by the energy waves, but rather by Yao Xuan.

    Some distance away, Lilyrose, Charon, Dai Ao, and the others avoided the energy waves, as they also felt threatened by them.

    At the same time, in a certain corner of the mountain, Bai Qian, who was wearing a white chiffon mask, calmly looked at a man standing in front of her. ¡°Why are you blocking my path?¡±

    This man was Calcifer, an assassin who had been in cryostasis for a hundred years. He had previously attempted to assassinate Starsibyl, and he had also participated in the Astral Combat Academy, where he had been defeated by Chao Zhi.

    ¡°I saw you before in the Astral Combat Academy. You were with the current generation¡¯s Starsibyl,¡± Calcifer said.

    Bai Qian replied, ¡°So?¡±

    Calcifer¡¯s eyes zed with killing intent. ¡°Since I can¡¯t kill Starsibyl, you can rece her.¡±

    He quickly shot towards Bai Qian. His battle technique was Ten Step Kill, and his innate gift allowed him to destroy anything. The fact that he had been able to enter the fourth round of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s tournament in the past was enough to prove his strength, and he was also able to hide his aura as an assassin.

    His assassination skills made him way more dangerous during ZENITH.

    Calcifer suddenly appeared behind Bai Qian and used his arm to attack her back. His innate gift would split her in half.

    Suddenly, white mist appeared in front of him, and the world turned cold. Was the world frozen? No, he was the one who had been frozen.

    Calcifer fell to the ground with a bang. He had been frozen within a block of ice, and his expression still showed the satisfaction ofpleting a sessful attack.

    Bai Qian stepped over him. She simply didn¡¯t care about his grudge with Starsibyl.

    Wherever one looked on the mountain, there were powerhouses fighting against each other. There was Xia Jiuyou, Wu Taibai, Liquor Hero, and Starsibyl on the mountain¡¯s northern face.

    One of thepetitors on that side of the mountain drew a great deal of attention: Wang Yi. He was the only participant from the Technocracy, and his name alone was enough to attract attention from countless people.

    Wang was a primeval surname, which meant that it represented an inheritance and a certain distinction. Wang Yi was very mysterious, and not many people had seen him before the start of ZENITH. Even after thepetition started, he still had not attacked anyone even though many people were still focused on him.

    The reason why nobody else from the Technocracy had registered for ZENITH was because androids were considered items. Wang Yi, on the other hand, was a normal person and did not seem to have any signs of having been altered.

    Ever since Wang Yi had shown up, the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family had begun investigating him since they hoped to learn more about Hui Kong from him.

    A huge thunderbeast swept across the northern side of the mountain; Yao Gu had attacked Wang Yi in order to test this mysterious person¡¯s abilities.

    The Techonocracy wasn¡¯t a mystery only to the Human Domain, as it was equally mysterious to the Astral Beast Domain.

    When Yao Gu attacked, more people paid attention to the two contestants.

    Countless screens across the universe focused on Zenith Mountain¡¯s northern face, and more were watching these participants than even during the start of the battle with Star Devourer.

    Wang Yi had average looks and was dressed normally. Other than that, he was quite pale and looked a bit underweight. Although everyone else was rushing up towards the mountain pass, Wang Yi had been slowly walking along and had fallen behind the majority of the crowd.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1264: Mavis And Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 1264: Mavis And Lu Yin</h4>

    Yao Gu attacked from above.

    A massive gale covered this section of the mountain, and everyone who had been around Wang Yi immediately ran away the moment they saw Yao Gu attacking. Some of the participants even leaped off the mountain and chose elimination over death.

    Wang Yi looked up and calmly observed the void thunderbeast. His right foot hesitated midway before he suddenly shed away. He reappeared a thousand meters to the side, and the massive void thunderbeast crashed against the side of the mountain like a meteor. A huge wound opened, blood started spurting out, forming a red river that flowed down the mountain. The onlookers were all stunned.

    Yao Gu was stunned, and he looked down at his abdomen in astonishment. A massive open wound covering his entire body had appeared, but more shockingly, he did not know when or how it had appeared, which was also why he had been unable to prevent it. Yao Gu was a void thunderbeast, which meant that he could escape from most situations even when facing a powerhouse who was much stronger than him.

    However, he had been instantly defeated without even a chance to defend himself.

    To the southeast of Zenith Mountain, an enormous void thunderbeast tore through the sky to appear atop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s skeleton. He stared at a screen in shock. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could Yao Gu be injured so badly?¡±

    Multiple other beasts appeared from the distance, all of them staring at the screen in shock.

    That was Yao Gu, a genius from the void thunderbeast n who had been bestowed the surname Yao by the Celestial Beast Empire. He was also a powerhouse on Skymender¡¯s List, but he had been instantly defeated, and shockingly, no one had been able to see how it had happened.

    This development not only shocked the powerhouses from the Astral Beast Domain, but also everyone else.

    Zenith Mountain¡¯s entire northern face fell quiet, and even Yao Xuan, who was up high on the mountain pass, stared at Wang Yi with astonishment. This person was very powerful.

    Yao Gu slowly turned around to look at Wang Yi in shock. He was a powerhouse on Skymender¡¯s List, and he was one of the strongest powerhouses in the entire Astral Beast Domain, so how could he have been defeated so easily?

    Wang Yi calmly continued walking up the mountain without revealing any expression on his face, as if the matter with Yao Gu was not worthy of any regard.

    At the same time, elsewhere on the northern face of the mountain, Starsibyl closely observed Wang Yi with shing eyes as her star energy went berserk.

    She could not see. She could not see. Why was she not able to see this person¡¯s destiny? It was just like Lu Yin!

    Starsibyl kept a wary eye on Wang Yi. Wang was a primeval surname, and no one with a primeval surname should be underestimated. Where was this person from? Was he actually from the Technocracy? Was he somehow rted to Wang Wen, who stayed in Ironblood Weave?

    The Technocracy was toorge of an unknown.

    In Frostwave Weave, on Earth, a young man fiddled with his hat as he stood near Lu Yin¡¯s statue. He looked up at a screen in surprise. ¡°Not bad. That¡¯s really not bad.¡±

    On the mountain¡¯s eastern face, Lu Yin watched a screen as Wang Yi defeated Yao Gu, feeling blown away.

    Lu Yin had not been able to see anything on the screen, but he was certain that Wang Yi was extremely fast, to the point where Yao Gu had not even been able to react. Additionally, Wang Yi¡¯s one move had gravely injured Yao Gu. The Technocracy¡¯s representative would be one of Lu Yin¡¯s fiercest opponents in ZENITH.

    ¡°Since you have the time to watch others, it¡¯s time for me to attack!¡± Yuhua Mavis had already arrived at the mountain pass.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°You¡¯re really impatient.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s see how much you¡¯ve improved and what the source of your arrogance is.¡±

    She then leaped into the sky and punched at Lu Yin. A massive shockwave shot forward from her wrist and arm, and a loud bang rang across Zenith Mountain as she punched at Lu Yin.

    Yuhua Mavis nearly always formed a grass fist when attacking, and she rarely ever used her actual fists, possibly because she was too strong and that her bare fists might kill her opponent.

    However, she was using her fists against Lu Yin. This was a full powered attack from the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant.

    At that moment, numerous screens across the universe switched their feed from Wang Yi over to Lu Yin. Qinmei Mavis also paid close attention and grew very attentive. Originally, the Human Domain¡¯s second gatekeeper should have been either Yuhua Mavis or Qiu Shi, as that had been the understanding when ZENITH had first been announced.

    However, after Lu Yin had returned from Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, he had been nominated by Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Grandmaster and supported by Arch-Elder Zen.

    Although Yuhua Mavis was not upset about not being a gatekeeper, she was still annoyed that Lu Yin had reced her. Furthermore, Lu Yin¡¯sment had been the main reason why she had raced to the first checkpoint. She wanted to see how someone who had previously only been able to withstand seven of her attacks was suddenly able to rece her as a gatekeeper and act in such an arrogant manner.

    As he watched Yuhua Mavis¡¯ fists approach him, Lu Yin saw the countless rune lines on her fist. This attack far exceeded the power of the seventh punch that had removed him from the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Yuhua Mavis was not holding back at this moment, and if Lu Yin could not withstand this attack, then he would end up either dead or crippled.

    Yuhua Mavis had fully tapped into the strength of the Mavis family. The Mavis family was a powerful n that not even the Sixth Maind would dare to underestimate. They were extremely strong.

    When Yuhua Mavis attacked, everybody turned to watch the battle.

    Everybody was aware that Lu Yin¡¯s ability to retain his position at the mountain pass would depend entirely on whether or not he was able to stop Yuhua Mavis.

    Everybody felt anxious, as this battle represented the true level of ZENITH.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯ fist drew closer to Lu Yin with a swish. The attack raced towards Lu Yin like an ancient beast.

    Lu Yin raised his head and clenched his right hand. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

    Ever since he had be a Melder and experienced the absurd increase in his physical strength, he had believed that no human at the same cultivation realm as him could be stronger than him. However, Lu Yin had finally understood why the Mavis n represented the Human Domain¡¯s peak physical power during the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Seven attacks. At that time, Lu Yin had only been able to endure seven attacks, but even the final attack had not been Yuhua Mavis¡¯s full strength. She possessed an impossible level of strength and was quite possibly the strongest human of their generation.

    When he had been forced off of the golden stage, Lu Yin had been shaken, as he had been defeated in what he believed to be his greatest forte. Although he had been two realms below Yuhua Mavis at the time, it had still been a loss.

    After bing a Hunter, finding Yuhua Mavis andparing his strength to hers had risen to the top of Lu Yin¡¯s list of goals.

    And that day had finally arrived.

    Strength could ovee everything; this was the Mavis family¡¯s motto.

    Yuhua Mavis made no attempt to stop Lu Yin from moving away. She had released a simple attack, but if Lu Yin did not dare to stand up to this attack, it was a sign that he had lost to the Mavis family.

    Yuhua Mavis approached Lu Yin with killing intent flickering through her eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s right fist suddenly rxed, and he raised his hand to grab Yuhua Mavis¡¯ right fist.

    Bang!

    The sound of the impact shattered the ground near the mountain pass and released a massive gust of wind.

    The ground fractured apart as everybody was fixated on Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern pass. The tremendous shockwaves were visible, and they drew out an arc through the sky. On the screens, it looked as though a hole had opened up in the sky.

    The contestants across the entire eastern side of the mountain who had been fighting and squabbling with each other all felt an overbearing pressure wash over them that nearly caused them to faint.

    Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, Bai Ling, Xin N¨¹, Cursewind, and all of the other elites looked up at the sky. This pressure hade from a massive physical attack, but how could a human be so strong?

    Feng Liu was shocked; this strength was nearlyparable to Star Devourer¡¯s! That was insane!

    Lu Yin did not fight with Yuhua Mavis, and he had merely stopped her attack. Then, he tossed her off to the side, causing her tond behind the pass. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for us to fight.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis was stunned. If Lu Yin had fought back against her and stopped her attack that way, she would not be this surprised. However, Lu Yin had stopped her attack without any attempt at retaliation, which meant that he was much stronger than her.

    Even after being flung through the pass, Yuhua Mavis still had not recovered enough to react.

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯sment, she stabilized herself andnded on the ground before looking back at Lu Yin with a conflicted expression.

    At this moment, Qinmei Mavis, who was standing outside of Zenith Mountain, was just as dumbfounded as Yuhua Mavis. Only someone from the Mavis n could understand just how strong the Treeheart Descendant was, and theoretically, no human should have been able to withstand Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attack. Even beyond that, the only creatures capable ofparing with the Mavis family¡¯s physical power were a few unique beasts from the Astral Beast Domain.

    Qinmei Mavis had never expected that another human would actually be able to stop Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attack, let alone toss her away. It waspletely unbelievable.

    Lulu was also blown away, and she looked at Lu Yin in a daze. How could he be so strong? It had already been ridiculous when his strength had exceeded her, but now, he was actually even stronger than Sister Yuhua somehow! Was he actually an astral beast in disguise?!

    A simr reaction rippled through not only the eastern face of Zenith Mountain, but also thepetitors on the other sides. Wen Sansi had a solemn expression. Although he was confident in his barrier, there were no absolutes in the universe. Corpse Beast had destroyed Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier before, and if Lu Yin had reached a simr level of strength, then he might also be capable of shattering Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier.

    No, Lu Yin could not be that strong.

    Star Devourer ignored all of the iing attacks as watched Lu Yin with one open eye. This solitary eye showed a strong interest as the massive beast mused, ¡°Humans, strength. Do you really understand?¡±

    Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed. She had been able to sense the resulting shockwaves from Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and she had realized how strong he had be. Why was Lu Yin so mysterious? Zhi Yi did not want to receive such a powerful physical attack herself, so it was no wonder why Lu Yin had been chosen to be a gatekeeper.

    Nevertheless, physical strength was just one of many aspects of strength, and there were still ways for Zhi Yi to defeat Lu Yin.

    Xiao Qing blinked as she stared at a screen. Since when had this guy be so powerful? There was a huge difference from when she had first met him in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Did all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators improve this quickly?

    Sixteen gulped, thankful that he had not offended Lu Yin when they had been together in the Cosmic Sea. This guy was basically an astral beast in human form!

    Wu Taibai watched Lu Yin with curiosity. This person was indeed interesting.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1265: Lu Yinâ€™s Power

    <h4>Chapter 1265: Lu Yin¡¯s Power</h4>

    Wang Yi had remained calm, and his expression had remained still during this entire time, not even blinking when Yao Gu had attacked him. However, upon seeing Lu Yin make a move, Wang Yi¡¯s fingers twitched, and his eyes sparkled. This would be a worthwhile fight.

    Shang Qing was standing at the central mountain pass above the other four passes, and he was also watching the events y out on a screen. ¡°You are much more useful than Lei N¨¹ or Shu Jing¡ªkeep going. The Hall of Honor must be the most powerful, so I hope that you can be second only to me.¡±

    On Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern face, after flinging Yuhua Mavis through the pass and past the checkpoint, Lu Yin faced Little Arrow Saint. This person was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings, and he had once chased after Lu Yin for several days. If not for receiving help from Xin N¨¹ and some others, Lu Yin would have been in grave danger. After that, when Lu Yin had fought Little Arrow Saint in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin had only managed to escape after being injured. Thus, the two had never had an all-out battle before.

    Little Arrow Saint had constantly thought about Lu Yin, as he was unable to get over their battle in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. Lu Yin had improved far too quickly, and when the two hadst seen each other, they had possessed simr levels of strength. But now, Lu Yin had be extraordinarily powerful, and Little Arrow Saint felt threatened after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Yuhua Mavis.

    Little Arrow Saint felt increasingly scared the more he thought about this. Since the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor had chosen Lu Yin as a gatekeeper, then they must be fully confident in his strength, which caused Little Arrow Saint to panic slightly.

    His eyes flickered. No matter how strong Lu Yin had be or how fast he had improved, Little Arrow Saint was still confident that Lu Yin could not easily defeat him. In fact, Little Arrow Saint was not actually thinking about passing through the checkpoint, as his main goal had always been to defeat Lu Yin.

    As Lu Yin nced at the Realmling, nine lined battle force appeared over Little Arrow Saint¡¯s arrow, and an imprint appeared behind him. The Empyrean Imprinter was ten meters tall and had a barbaric appearance. Little Arrow Saint¡¯s face flushed red, and his veins bulged out as a blood-red mist surrounded him. He bellowed, ¡°Power Transfer!¡± and a terrifying aura emerged before condensing on his arrow.

    Power Transfer was a secret technique that the Progenitor of Secret Arts had created. It allowed the user to burn their own essence tomunicate with the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and there were rumors that a select few could even ask the Progenitor of Secret Arts to possess them, which would allow them to temporarily be extremely powerful.

    Lu Yin had previously seen Young Master Changbai use Power Transfer as well, but Young Master Changbai had been much weaker than Little Arrow Saint. This Power Transfer was chilling, and an indescribable power had spread across the mountain, leaving Lu Yin and all of thepetitors on the eastern side feeling a genuine fear and awe.

    It was the aura of the Progenitor of Secret Arts. Little Arrow Saint had managed to summon the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ aura by using Power Transfer. He was a Realmling, and in the Sixth Maind, he was second only to the Daosource Three Skies.

    Xin N¨¹, Shi Zhongjian, and the other elites from the Sixth Maind were all surprised to sense Little Arrow Saint going all out. People would generally only use Power Transfer when they were holding nothing back at all; did Little Arrow Saint no longer care about ZENITH?

    Outside of Zenith Mountain, a powerhouse from the Sixth Maind closely watched Little Arrow Saint¡¯s actions. Using Power Transfer tomunicate with the Progenitor of Secret Arts required one to pay a steep price, and Little Arrow Saint had to defeat Lu Yin now.

    Lu Yin had just dealt with Yuhua Mavis, but he was already fighting with Little Arrow Saint, which drew the attention of countless eyes.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was also able to tell that Little Arrow Saint was going all out. The secret technique obviously ced a huge burden on the body, but Lu Yin was also able to sense that Little Arrow Saint had be much stronger sincest time. Right now, Lu Yin the Realmling¡¯s arrow gave him a threatening feel, and he could also feel the aura of the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    Using Power Transfer had raised Little Arrow Saint¡¯s aura to its peak. He had already broken through to the Enlighter realm before ZENITH, and he was currentlyparable to the Ten Arbiters. After using Power Transfer, he stood at the peak of his peers.

    ¡°Lu Yin, we¡¯ve fought twice before¡ªonce in the Cosmic Sea, and another in the ruins of the Daosource Sect. This will be our third and final match!¡± Little Arrow Saint roared as nine lined battle forcepletely surrounded him and dyed the sky red.

    Although most people did not understand what was happening at this moment, they could all tell that this was a very powerful attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched as he kept an eye trained on Little Arrow Saint.

    Little Arrow Saint released his bow string, and the arrow flew towards Lu Yin.

    He knew that Lu Yin possessed a secret technique that could divert attacks. After learning that Lu Yin had been selected to be a gatekeeper, Little Arrow Saint had also learned that Lu Yin possessed another secret technique that allowed him to instantaneously dodge any attack. Regardless, both of these secret techniques were useless against this attack, as the Realmling had released a chain of arrows. Even if Lu Yin was able to shift one arrow away and also dodge aside, a second arrow, hidden within the first, would stillnd. This was Little Arrow Saint¡¯s killer move.

    If Lu Yin did not dodge the first arrow, then he would then have to endure the full power of both arrows.

    Although Little Arrow Saint was very impulsive, he had thought this attack through and was very confident about it.

    This attack was the strongest that a Realmling like Little Arrow Saint was capable of unleashing.

    Little Arrow Saint had considered every possibility, but there was one detail that he had not expected.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he used a two hundred fifty stacks Vacuum Palm.

    When Lu Yin had fought against Little Arrow Saint in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, he had only been capable of using a hundred stacks. Since then, Little Arrow Saint had improved and had even be an Enlighter. As for Lu Yin, he had improved far more in terms of his Oveying Stacks Path. Vacuum Palm was a culmination of one¡¯s understanding of the Oveying Stacks Path, and when that technique was coupled with his physical strength that had been strong enough to fling Yuhua Mavis through the mountain pass, it simply shattered the arrow.

    Both the first and hidden second arrow shattered, and the remaining force of the Vacuum Palm struck Little Arrow Saint¡¯s chest head on. The Realmling had no time to react, and his body flew back after he loosed his arrow. An excruciating pain spread throughout his body, and an immense pressure that crushed his organs caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. His body flew towards the sky, but then it was then forced back towards the ground by the energy waves released by Zenith Mountain.

    Little Arrow Saint¡¯s eyes were about to pop out of his head, and he could not understand what had happened. He felt a numbness, and his body began to show cracks, particrly around his chest. His natural instinct had triggered the Secret Technique of Resurrection.

    Ah!

    Little Arrow Saint spat out yet another mouthful of blood as he struck the ground. He looked at the sky and vomited blood once more. The sky and his surroundings grew blurry as his body trembled uncontrobly. The Secret Technique of Resurrection triggered once more, but his hair and flesh grew white as he coughed again before finally fainting.

    Everybody on the eastern side of Zenith Mountain had fallen silent. They had all felt the fearsome aura that Little Arrow Saint had emitted, and they had all been genuinely afraid, to the point where they had even not dared to look at his arrow.

    The power level of that arrow attack had exceeded 400,000, which was significant even to Envoys. This power level had only been achieved after he used Power Transfer tomunicate with the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    Despite that, such a terrifying attack had been utterly destroyed by a single palm.

    Everyone fell silent as they carefully observed Little Arrow Saint¡¯s body, wondering whether or not he was still even alive. They would never forget how pathetic he looked at this moment.

    Some people had already guessed that Little Arrow Saint would be defeated, but they had never expected him to lose this badly.

    Countless people stared at Lu Yin in awe. This was the strength of a gatekeeper, one of the five strongest powerhouses in the younger generation. He had flung Yuhua Mavis through the checkpoint and then defeated Little Arrow Saint with just one attack. Only people that Lu Yin approved of would be allowed to go through the pass, and no one else would be able to do so.

    This was the strength of a gatekeeper.

    On the western side of the mountain, the Sixth Maind¡¯s elders were all stunned. Madam Hong waspletely astounded to see just how powerful Lu Yin had be.

    Ever since ZENITH had begun, Lu Yin had attracted many people¡¯s attention. He was the epitome of a gatekeeper, as he was in absolute control over who could go through his checkpoint.

    Who could defeat Little Arrow Saint after he used Power Transfer? That palm strike did not seem to have exhausted Lu Yin, which meant that it was possible for him to use the same attack a dozen more times to stop people from proceeding up the mountain.

    The people on the eastern face were all frightened, and they all stared at Lu Yin as if he was a monster.

    Lu Yin looked down at Little Arrow Saint. He had previously used two hundred fifty stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path to force Emperor Luo to take a few steps back, and even Leader Hong had not wanted to take such an attack. Madam Lan had been an Enlighter with a power level of over 400,000, but she had been injured by just a single palm. Just from this, no matter how powerful Little Arrow Saint became, he would not be able to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s full force Vacuum Palm.

    Out of all the participants in ZENITH, there were likely less than fifteen people who were capable of withstanding Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    This attack was his killer move.

    Lu Yin watched as Little Arrow Saint¡¯s hair turned white, and his eyes narrowed. Lu Yin was surprised that the Realmling was not dead. Had he used the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Secret Technique of Resurrection? Lu Yin had been foiled by that secret technique more than once before, as Shi Zhongjian and Little Arrow Saint had both used it against him in the past. Lu Yin had guessed that the secret technique required a price to be paid, and at this moment, he became certain that the price was rted to the user¡¯s lifespan. Although Little Arrow Saint had not died, he had aged significantly, and he no longer looked young at all. Instead, he resembled Undying Yushan.

    Although the secret technique would reduce a person¡¯s lifespan, it was truly a miracle that Little Arrow Saint was even still alive.

    Lu Yin quietly stood in the mountain pass and looked down at thepetitors below him.

    Those who caught his eye panicked and did not dare to meet his gaze.

    Over the years, Lu Yin had built up quite a reputation for himself as the founder and leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. When that was added to the invincible attack that he had just used, it was enough for all of the elites in ZENITH to look away from his gaze.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s match with Yuhua Mavis had surprised people, then his victory over Little Arrow Saint through a single attack had astounded them.

    The elites on the other sides of the mountain were all shocked as well.

    Bu Kong, Wen Sansi, Jin He, Zhi Yi, Qiu Shi, and the other predicted finalists all looked at Lu Yin nervously.

    Wen Sansi realized that there was a high chance that his barrier would not be able to survive Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Star Devourer looked excited, as he wanted to fight with Lu Yin.

    Wu Taibai smirked; Lu Yin had be truly powerful.

    Some people paid attention, though others did not even care. For example, Yao Xuan only graced Lu Yin with a single nce. Although Lu Yin was strong, he had only used a singr attack. No matter how physically strong Lu Yin might be, he still might not be able to withstand Yao Xuan¡¯s attack. The Master¡¯s mission centered on Lu Yin, and the human¡¯s physical strength made things a little interesting. It was a difficult mission, but still not impossible.

    Wang Yi still remained calm. The more powerful, the better it would be, as it would make Lu Yin¡¯s defeat even more meaningful.

    Many of thepetitors on the eastern side hesitated, as they did not know how to go about passing through the first checkpoint.

    One such participant was Nan Yanfei. He had kept a low profile up to this point, and he had not fought with anyone. He actually could have arrived at the mountain pass even before Little Arrow Saint, but he had held himself back. After seeing Little Arrow Saint¡¯s oue, Nan Yanfai grew anxious and gulped nervously.

    Nan Yanfei did not think of himself a coward, but he still froze at this moment. He wanted to let some other people go through the pass in front of him so that he could watch and see what would happen next.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1266: Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 1266: Attitude</h4>

    Many others had the same thought as Nan Yanfei. Nobody wanted to suffer the same fate as Little Arrow Saint, who had been left either dead or crippled.

    Xia Luo rushed past the group ofpetitors and approached Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not move when he saw Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo brushed past Lu Yin. ¡°Later.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I hope that you can make it past Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint.¡±

    Xia Luo smiled and continued on his way.

    Ling Que was right behind Xia Luo. He had kept a low profile up until this point, which was very surprising considering his personality. However, he had no choice in the matter, as all of the participants in ZENITH were powerhouses. Even the Ten Arbiters were among hispetitors, so he had no choice but to keep a low profile.

    Ling Que approached Lu Yin, and Lu Yin looked at him.

    Ling Que suddenly panicked. ¡°Bro- Brother, you¡¯re not going to attack me, right? Can I offer you my cheerleaders?¡±

    His cheerleaders? Lu Yin remembered those girls and felt disgusted. He turned to look somewhere else.

    Ling Que continued on his way and sighed. ¡°Oh, right. I heard a conversation between my matriarch and Ling Gong. She wondered if Ling Gong would be willing to marry you. Congrats, haha!¡±

    Ling Que then fled.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Marry him? Ling Gong?

    He still remembered the woman that he had seen in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins with the adorable face. She was stubborn, proud, and assertive, but she had also helped him multiple times.

    Lu Yin smirked and shook his head. Why was he thinking about such things right now?

    After seeing Xia Luo and Ling Que make it past Lu Yin, the otherpetitors felt a bit more hope.

    ¡°He can¡¯t stop everyone, and at best, he can only stop half of us. Let¡¯s just rush him, and maybe we¡¯ll make it past,¡± a person spoke softly to the girl next to him.

    The girl was frightened. ¡°But he looks so scary! Look at that arrow guy¡ªhe was badly hurt and even became older. Is the gatekeeper¡¯s attack rted to time? I don¡¯t want to get old! I¡¯m not going to participate anymore! You go ahead.¡±

    The man gulped. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. He¡¯s probably just badly injured, which is why he looks older.¡±

    The girl shook her head with firm determination. ¡°I¡¯m not going! You can go by yourself. Anyway, I just came to try my luck. Do you really want to fight him? You could die.¡±

    The man was torn¡ªshould he stay or leave? Stay or leave? That was the all-important question.

    Regardless of what decision the man made, the girl had already left the mountain, and many of the other girls who had been on the eastern face of Zenith Mountain forfeited thepetition as well.

    Most women were very concerned about their appearances, and after seeing how much Little Arrow Saint had aged, many of them thought that it was because of Lu Yin¡¯s move, and so they did not dare remain in ZENITH any longer. If they tried to continue through the mountain pass, their fate would be up to Lu Yin, and they did not want to sacrifice their physiques.

    A tremendous number of people left Zenith Mountain because of their fear of Lu Yin.

    On the other hand, the fact that Xia Luo and Ling Que had both made it through the pass excited other people.

    Nan Yanfei gulped and steeled himself. He no longer cared¡ªhe would try to make it past the checkpoint, and in the worst case scenario, he would just forfeit thepetition. He was a Realmling, and everyone from the Sixth Maind was watching him. People would see him as a coward if he did not at least try, and he did not want that to happen.

    He did not want to humiliate himself.

    He gritted his teeth and rushed towards the mountain pass.

    On the western side of Zenith Mountain, the Sixth Maind elders carefully watched a screen. They were worried that Lu Yin would specifically target the youths from the Sixth Maind, and that would create a great deal of trouble for them. Since Little Arrow Saint had already been defeated by a single palm, none of the Sixth Maind¡¯s youths on the eastern side of the mountain were capable of defeating Lu Yin. Whether or not they would be able to proceed past the checkpoint depended on Nan Yanfei.

    A Nong family elder, Nong Laohan, was the most anxious person present. Nan Yanfei was the Blood Homage Realm¡¯s Realmling, and the Nong family naturally belonged to the Blood Homage Realm. If Nan Yanfei seeded, then Nong Zaitian would also be able to proceed through the mountain pass. Then, there was a chance that Nan Yanfei would be able to take care of Nong Zaitian during thetter portion of ZENITH.

    In the western region of Chaos Flowzone, many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators anxiously watched thepetition. They had been angry and frightened when they saw what had happened to Little Arrow Saint. So, everyone clenched their fists when they saw Nan Yanfei rushing towards the checkpoint. They all hoped that he would not end up like Little Arrow Saint.

    In the eastern pass, Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose when he saw Nan Yanfei.

    Nan Yanfei grew increasingly nervous when he saw Lu Yin arch a brow. The Realmling instinctively slowed down, but then he remembered that everyone was watching him. He had no choice but to keep moving forward. He met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes and tried to look as friendly as possible, even squeezing out a smile to make himself look harmless.

    Lu Yin was amused. He had not nned on attacking Nan Yanfei. There were many different things to consider given the fact that the Outerverse would soon belong to the Sixth Maind.

    Nan Yanfei was not Little Arrow Saint. Lu Yin had a grudge with Little Arrow Saint, but he did not particrly care about Nan Yanfei. Shang Qing could just deal with himter!

    Lu Yin turned to look elsewhere.

    Nan Yanfei was overjoyed; Lu Yin¡¯s reaction clearly showed that he would not attack.

    Nan Yanfei immediately sped up and rushed past Lu Yin. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; it was too early for Nan Yanfei to offer thanks. Lu Yin was merely nning for the future.

    The Sixth Maind grew excited when they saw that Nan Yanfei had seeded. They all felt that it was a miracle that Lu Yin had not attacked.

    Many of the people from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse were confused; why hadn¡¯t Lu Yin attacked? However, they also could not me Lu Yin, as it was entirely his decision whether or not to block someone from proceeding up the mountain. They could not simply rely on Lu Yin to eliminate all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s participants.

    People in different positions naturally had different things to consider.

    If Lu Yin were just a normal cultivator, then he could happily target everyone from the Sixth Maind without any further thought. However, he was the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and he held even greater ambitions for the future. Although the Hall of Honor had allowed the Sixth Maind to take over the Outerverse, it did not mean that they did not care about the Outerverse at all. They simply had their own considerations while Lu Yin had his own concerns.

    Given his difference, Lu Yin¡¯s concerns were much different from those of the Hall of Honor. His initial goal had just been the Innerverse, but he had recently felt that he should harbor an even more ambitious goal.

    No matter what, he still held a grudge against the Sixth Maind for their invasion, and he would never forget that.

    Nan Yanfei¡¯s thanks had been offered way too early.

    After seeing Nan Yanfei, Xia Luo, and Ling Que clear the checkpoint, many people grew hopeful. Was Lu Yin perhaps not a ruthless person after all? Was it possible that he had only attacked Little Arrow Saint because they were enemies?

    Some of the people who had left the mountain returned after seeing these few sesses, as they felt that they still had a chance to continue onto theter stages of ZENITH.

    Apart from the challenging terrain of the mountain and the bizarre weather phenomenon, the greatest challenge when climbing the mountain were other participants.

    There were millions of people climbing the mountain at this time, and they were forced together in order to funnel through a mountain pass that had a limited size.

    Once thepetitors began crowding together, there was a higher chance of fights breaking out.

    Yuhua Mavis and the others had been the first group to pass through the checkpoint, which was because of their strength. Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, Bai Ling, Xin N¨¹, and a few others had also been part of the first group. As long as nopetitors at the same level tried to hold them back, they were all capable of quickly reaching the first checkpoint.

    After the first group cleared the checkpoints, it was time for the otherpetitors.

    After Lu Yin allowed Nan Yanfei to clear the mountain pass, many people grew more hopeful, and some of the people who had thought about leaving ZENITH gained renewed confidence. They had initially wanted to give it a try, but they felt that they would only have a chance to do so after the first group of contestants made it past the first checkpoint, as these weaker people did not want to be caught up in the battles of these powerhouses.

    This was especially true regarding the battle between Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹. The shing of the two women¡¯s swords had forced many people out of thepetition. Nobody dared to go near them.

    Also, the battle between Bai Ling and Unseen Light had enveloped a huge area, and every attack that they threw out affected tens of thousands of people, forcing many of them to abandon thepetition.

    Most people were just waiting for the four powerhouses to pass through the first checkpoint.

    In his mountain pass, Lu Yin saw a ck and a white silhouette rushing towards him.

    He smiled. The twins had been hiding the entire time, but they were finally showing themselves.

    ck and White were very smart, and they had hidden themselves as soon as Bai Ling had started fighting against Unseen Light. There were too many powerhouses participating in ZENITH, and the twins had not wanted to be targeted down.

    After the various fights had slightly calmed down, they both immediately rushed towards Lu Yin and stopped right in front of him.

    Lu Yin looked at both of them with a smile on his face. ¡°Why are you two suddenly being so well behaved?¡±

    White panted heavily as she red at Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s because of Senior Shenwei! He kept scaring us. So annoying!¡±

    ck looked at Lu Yin and informed him, ¡°If Shang Qing stops us, you have to help.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to help you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    White retorted, ¡°Stupid! You can attack the people below you, so why can¡¯t you also attack Shang Qing?¡±

    ckughed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re scared.¡±

    Lu Yin straightened up. ¡°You¡¯re just teasing me. Why would I be scared? Just go for it, and I¡¯ll keep an eye on you two.¡±

    ck and White looked at each other sneakily. ¡°Bye!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lu Yin grinned as he watched them move past him. Shang Qing definitely would not target the two since the five passes only needed to eliminate half of thepetitors. The two girls were quite powerful when they worked together, and they could even annoy Ku Lei. If Shang Qing eliminated the two, then it would mean that he was targeting Eversky Ind, which would create a great deal of friction.

    The twins had no need to worry about Shang Qing at all.

    Lu Yin looked around the mountain¡¯s eastern face and settled his gaze onto Tong Zhan.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see Tong Zhan among thepetitors on the eastern side. Lu Yin had crippled Tong Zhan, and he was stunned to see that the youth had actually recovered, though, unfortunately, Tong Zhan had not managed to increase his strength at all.

    As Lu Yin looked at Tong Zhan, Tong Zhan paused and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze with a murderous eyes. Tong Zhan was certain that nobody from the Sixth Maind hated Lu Yin more than he did, and he wanted to fight against Lu Yin just once, even if it meant his own death.

    Tong Zhan had already seen Little Arrow Saint¡¯s fate and was fully aware that he stood no chance of defeating Lu Yin. However, Tong Zhan was already a cripple who would never improve beyond his current level of strength. The Tong family had already given up on him, and his only wish was to fight to the death with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply ignored Tong Zhan and checked the rune lines of the variouspetitors strewn about the eastern face of the mountain. The person with the most runes was Unseen Light, but the Arbiter made no attempt to move past the checkpoint since he was keeping a close eye on Bai Ling. He had been constantly suppressing Bai Ling, as her innate gift was capable of eliminating everyone else on the eastern side.

    Bai Ling did not continue her attacks and instead rushed towards the checkpoint. She kept a careful watch on Lu Yin; would he stop her?

    Lu Yin did not stop her and simply allowed her through the pass, which caused many cultivators from the Sixth Maind to heave sighs of relief.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1267: Guess

    <h4>Chapter 1267: Guess</h4>

    Unseen Light also rushed through the checkpoint, his eyes closed. As he went past Lu Yin, he said, ¡°Your domain is very strong. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained the same. His domain was indeed very strong, and the Trialmaster had also given him the designs for a sourcebox array to help Lu Yin control the mountain pass. However, Lu Yin had no need for a sourcebox array, as his domain and spiritual force were more than enough to protect the checkpoint.

    After seeing Bai Ling and Unseen Light clear the pass, Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹ also stopped fighting. Liu Tianmu rushed through the checkpoint without a word. Xin N¨¹ was right behind the other woman, but as she brushed past Lu Yin, she said, ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve improved a lot.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He was thankful for Xin N¨¹ helping him multiple times in the past.

    Xin N¨¹ smiled and continued making her way upwards. There still was another checkpoint up above them, and Shang Qing was guarding it. Shang Qing was recognized as the strongest participant in ZENITH, and he was treated as the pinnacle of all the youths.

    A huge shadow covered the area as Cursewind appeared, making his way through the checkpoint.

    Feng Liu appeared at the same time as Cursewind, both of them powerhouses on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Skymender List.

    Lu Yin looked up and frowned. ¡°You¡¯re way too big. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for me to not attack you.¡±

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, Cursewind¡¯s eyes red. He then shrank into the form of a young man who looked at Lu Yin with wary eyes.

    Lu Yin was astonished; Cursewind was actually scared of him.

    When ZENITH had first begun, Cursewind had not cared at all about Lu Yin, and he had even wanted to attack the human and throw the gatekeeper off the mountain. However, the blue lion had since lost his courage to attempt such a thing.

    Although Cursewind had not been the target of Little Arrow Saint¡¯s attack, he had still been threatened by it. Cursewind knew that it would have been very difficult for him to withstand such an attack, as he had participated in the war efforts against the Sixth Maind when they had invaded the Astral Beast Domain. He was well aware that cultivators from the Sixth Maind naturally suppressed those from the Fifth Maind.

    Little Arrow Saint had released an extremely powerful attack, and Cursewind had no confidence of withstanding such power. Despite that, Lu Yin had still defeated Little Arrow Saint with a single attack. Thus, Cursewind had promptly decided that he would not fight with Lu Yin at all. He felt that Lu Yin was much stronger than him.

    Feng Liu had not expected Cursewind to admit defeat so easily, and he looked at hispanion in shock.

    Cursewind remained calm, as though everything about the situation was a normal urrence.

    Lu Yin no longer felt like attacking the astral beast, as he was being too respectful.

    Cursewind sighed in relief when Lu Yin looked away, and he quickly cleared the checkpoint.

    Feng Liu nced at Lu Yin and tried to rush through the checkpoint when Lu Yin suddenly appeared in front of her.

    Feng Liu immediately transformed back into a Celestial Ice Phoenix and froze everything around her. She was ready to attack, as she believed that Lu Yin would attack her.

    Cursewind turned back and changed back into an enormous blue lion. If Lu Yin attacked Feng Liu, Cursewind would definitely join forces and help her.

    Countless people attentively watched Lu Yin, since he was one of the most active gatekeepers in ZENITH.

    An elderly beast atop the skeleton from the Astral Beast Domain roared and kept a careful watch of the events ying out on a screen. ¡°This boy isn¡¯t targeting those from the Sixth Maind, but he is attacking our Astral Beast Domain! Traitor, traitor!¡±

    ¡°Does this child support the Sixth Maind?¡±

    Back in the mountain pass, Lu Yin felt amused by the chaos that he had stirred up. He looked up at the Celestial Ice Phoenix. ¡°I¡¯m not going to attack you, but it¡¯s tiring looking up given how enormous you are.¡±

    Feng Liu slowly blinked and changed back into the shape of a human. She warily watched Lu Yin, and at the same time, Cursewind changed back into the form of a person as well, the two nking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin cocked his head and shouted at Cursewind, ¡°I¡¯m giving you one chance to leave. Otherwise, you won¡¯t have a chance to participate any longer.¡±

    Cursewind was outraged. He admitted that Lu Yin was powerful and was able to eliminate him, but he could not stand being humiliated in such a manner.

    ¡°Cusewind, focus on the bigger picture,¡± Feng Liu urged.

    Cursewind gritted his teeth, furious.

    Lu Yin locked eyes with Cursewind. ¡°Do you want to fight?¡±

    Cursewind grunted and looked over at Feng Liu. ¡°Take care.¡±

    He then continued making his way upwards.

    Lu Yin turned and looked back at Feng Liu. ¡°I want to know more about Progenitor Wushang.¡±

    Feng Liu was confused. ¡°Progenitor Wushang? That¡¯s a Progenitor from the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Celestial Ice Phoenix n is connected to Progenitor Wushang,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Feng Liu asked, ¡°Connected? I don¡¯t know anything about that, so how would you know such a thing?¡±

    Lu Yin carefully observed Feng Liu. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about it?¡±

    Feng Liu shook her head. ¡°Progenitor Wushang was an ancient powerhouse who everybody in the Astral Beast Domain knows about. The other ns have a number of legends regarding him, but not our Celestial Ice Phoenix n. We arepletely unrted to Progenitor Wushang.¡±

    Lu Yin was certain that the girl was not lying since he had been observing her with his domain.

    The Ghost Monkey had once told Lu Yin that the entire Celestial Ice Phoenix n was his harem and that they had been chosen by Progenitor Wushang. The monkey had mentioned this to him during the Tournament of the Strongest, and Lu Yin did not believe that the monkey would lie to him. Since Progenitor Wushang had chosen the n, then it meant that the Celestial Ice Phoenix n was definitely connected to Progenitor Wushang since they had listened to his instructions.

    Since Feng Liu had said that her n had no connection to the Progenitor, then it must mean that she was ignorant of the matter.

    ¡°Have you heard about the Ghost Monkey?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Surprise momentarily shed through Feng Liu¡¯s eyes. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. No? How was that possible? Lu Yin had once Possessed Star Devourer¡¯s protector and gone through that guard¡¯s memory. Lu Yin was aware that all of thepetitors from the Astral Beast Domain had been ordered by the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Skymender to seize the Ghost Monkey from Lu Yin and that themand had been personally issued by Skymender himself.

    Lu Yin closely observed Feng Liu¡¯s eyes and saw a hint of panic, which confirmed that the memories that he had obtained had been urate.

    Feng Liu was definitely unaware of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s capabilities, and the same had to be true of Cursewind, Star Devourer, and the otherpetitors from the Astral Beast Domain. There was even a chance that not even Crown Prince Yao Xuan was aware of the matter, but Lu Yin was certain that Skymender knew.

    Lu Yin did not expose Feng Liu¡¯s lie, as he had simply wanted to confirm the information that he had received from those memories.

    ¡°You can go now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Feng Liu rushed by and continued climbing up the mountain.

    She felt confused; why had Lu Yin talked about the Ghost Monkey? Wasn¡¯t the monkey Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast? So why would Lu Yin ask her such a question? Was there something wrong with the monkey? Or had Lu Yin discovered something?

    Feng Liu remembered what Skymender had said; he had ordered the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s contestants to seize the Ghost Monkey from Lu Yin, and she was wondering what that monkey was capable of. Did Lu Yin know about that order? But that was impossible as Skymender had only given the order to a few astral beasts.

    Feng Liu left the pass withplicated emotions.

    After Feng Liu and Cursewind left, a cloud of smoke approached Lu Yin. It was Gu Xiao¡¯er, and he was finally showing himself.

    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m here.¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er was ecstatic. He had known that he would definitely be able to clear the first checkpoint after discovering that he had been assigned to Zenith Mountain¡¯s eastern face. The gatekeeper on this side was Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s brother who had gone through life and death with him.

    Lu Yin looked at Gu Xiao¡¯er. ¡°Can you give me some of that smoke?¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er red at Lu Yin. ¡°This is a treasure from Smoke-Eater Peaks! I managed to get the first part of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Cosmic Art with this smoke.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He had just asked for the fun of it.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know who stole that thing from me. I only kept it in my cosmic ring, and it just suddenly disappeared one day, but not even my dad believes me. It¡¯s so irritating,¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er muttered as he walked past.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched, and he turned to give Gu Xiao¡¯er a sympathetic nce. The memory chip with the Cosmic Art on it that Lu Yin had Pilfered all those years ago had actually belonged to this unfortunate boy.

    Suddenly, Gu Xiao¡¯er paused and turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew nervous.

    ¡°Do you think that the Cosmic Sect fooled us? Could those memory chips with the firstyer of Cosmic Art disappear automatically after some time?¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er asked,pletely serious.

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er grew furious. ¡°Then it must be them! Those bastards! Bastards!¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er ran off while scolding the Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin was relieved as he thought to himself, Xiao¡¯er, Seventh Bro owes you for this. I¡¯ll repay you one day.

    Lu Yin looked up at a screen above him. A few people had already cleared his checkpoint, and some others had seeded at the other three passes as well. On the southern face of the mountain, thepetitors had stopped attacking Star Devourer after the beast had proven to possess an imprable defense, and he had simply climbed up despite so many people attacking him. Every step that the beast took covered a huge distance, and he was the first to reach the checkpoint.

    Star Devourer was not the first to reach the pass because of how much faster he was, but rather because everyone had been stunned by how Lu Yin had defeated Little Arrow Saint, making them wary of the other gatekeepers. No one wanted to be the second Little Arrow Saint.

    Star Devourer was unconcerned and continued rushing towards the mountain pass. It looked as though the beast was going to crush Bu Kong, the southern gatekeeper.

    Bu Kong calmly watched as Star Devourer rushed closer.

    Star Devourer suddenly opened his second and third eyes when he arrived at the checkpoint. He raised a paw and smashed it down towards Bu Kong. Although the beast did not look down on Bu Kong, as a unique creature, Star Devourer possessed an innate sense of pride and disdain toward humans. Thus, he felt that humans were a lower species, treating them like ants.

    To Star Devourer, there were no humans that could threaten it.

    It was already impressive that the massive beast had opened three eyes to deal with Bu Kong, and it had only done so because Lu Yin¡¯s attack had increased Star Devourer¡¯s respect for all the gatekeepers. Otherwise, he would have merely opened a single eye against Bu Kong.

    Many people switched their attention from Lu Yin to Bu Kong, as the Star Devourer¡¯s reputation warranted their attention. This creature devoureds to increase his strength, and these such terrifying rumors made him one of the most mysteriouspetitors in ZENITH. Although he had not been predicted to be one of the top ten finalists, that was only because the people at that level had all either demonstrated extraordinary power or came from peerless backgrounds. Still, most people felt that Star Devourer would make it to the top ten.

    Bu Kong slowly raised a hand when faced with the legendary Star Devourer. ¡°Time Reversal.¡±

    When Star Devourer¡¯s w struck Bu Kong, his massive body suddenly began to shrink, and his aura disappeared. The barbaric pressure that had been suffocating the entire southern side of the mountain disappeared.

    Everyone felt as though a storm had changed into a sunny day.

    The most obvious change, aside from the beast¡¯s smaller body, was that Star Devourer¡¯s six eyes had been reduced to merely two, as he had been reverted to a much younger age.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1268: Lu Yinâ€™s Standards

    <h4>Chapter 1268: Lu Yin¡¯s Standards</h4>

    Time Reversal was a secret technique that had been created by the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and it forcefully sent a person tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years back in time. What¡¯s more, the target¡¯s strength would revert to their strength at that time, which was the truly horrifying aspect of this secret technique.

    During the battle in the Cosmic Sea, nobody dared to be struck by any of Bu Kong¡¯s attacks, as they would be immediately defeated if Time Reversal returned them to their youth.

    Although Time Reversal was extremely powerful, its greatest disadvantage was that it was difficult to use. As long as someone was cognizant of the ability and had their guard up, it was not easy to apply Time Reversal to them.

    Despite that, such a limitation did not apply to Star Devourer, as he hadpletely underestimated Bu Kong.

    The moment Bu Kong used Time Reversal, Star Devourer was instantly sent back to his childhood, and those who witnessed the subsequent physical changes were terrified.

    No matter how powerful Star Devourer was, his strength would be useless if he was sent back to his childhood.

    Star Devourer was absolutely stunned. He was not a very intelligent creature to begin with, and the sudden change left him terribly confused.

    ¡°Stupid,¡± Bu Kong calmly stated. He then shed to a point above Star Devourer and raised a hand. ¡°Dpose.¡±

    Suddenly, a halo of light spread out from the distance to cover the entire mountain. It brushed past Bu Kong before disappearing into the sky.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes went wide, and he looked to the north. That light had been formed from the spiritual force of the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, Yao Xuan. The crown prince had attacked Bu Kong.

    Not only had Yao Xuan¡¯s attack affected Bu Kong, but it also hit Lu Yin and Zhi Yi, as they had also been within range of Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack.

    Cultivators from the Sixth Maind possessed considerably strong spiritual force due to their imprints, but despite that, Bu Kong was still shocked by the power of Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force, which dyed Bu Kong¡¯s attack for a split second. During that moment, Star Devourer managed to recover and m his paw against the mountain, causing the mountain to fracture. As Bu Kong¡¯s palm approached Star Devourer, the giant beast opened his fourth eye, and a visible shockwave of power radiated forth from him.

    Bu Kong¡¯s palm did not strike Star Devourer. Instead, it only dissipated the shockwaves from the newly opened eye, but at that moment, Star Devourer rushed through the mountain pass.

    Bu Kong was outraged that Star Devourer had managed to clear his checkpoint.

    ording to the rules of ZENITH, the gatekeepers were not supposed to attack any of thepetitors after they cleared the checkpoints unless they the gatekeepers were attacked first.

    Bu Kong was upset, and he turned to face towards the north. Had that been Yao Xuan, the crown prince from the Celestial Beast Empire? If not for that person, Star Devourer would have already died. Bu Kong grew serious as he thought about the spiritual force attack that he had just been hit by.

    He was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and his imprint was from the Progenitor of Secret Arts. Although spiritual force was not Bu Kong¡¯s specialty, it was no weakness either. Despite that, he had still been affected by Yao Xuan¡¯s attack. That meant nobody in ZENITH wasparable to Yao Xuan when it came to spiritual force.

    Zhi Yi held the same opinion. She had also been affected by the attack, which had allowed the first person on her side of the mountain to sessfully clear Zhi Yi¡¯s checkpoint.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force was amazingly powerful, and nobody couldpare to him in this aspect. The Sixth Mainders quickly realized that they would need to think of alternative means to defeat the crown prince. Fortunately, their spiritual force was not that weak.

    There was nobody behind Zhi Yi, but someone had already cleared her checkpoint: Y¨­u Qi.

    Not many people were able to see him, but everyone who could were elites.

    ¡°Consider yourself lucky,¡± Zhi Yimented.

    Y¨­u Qi did not respond and simply continued on his way up the mountain.

    On the eastern side of the mountain, Lu Yin was looking at a screen with curiosity. Yao Xuan waszily leaning against the mountainside after he used his spiritual force to help Star Devourer clear the checkpoint.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force was very powerful, and Lu Yin wanted to find out if Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack or his own Daynight Praises was stronger. He was looking forward to shing with him.

    To the north, Yao Xuan was still calm. Somebody had cleared his checkpoint, but it had not been Xia Jiuyou, Wu Taibai, or Wang Yi. Rather, it had been a Void Wanderer.

    This timid and cunning Void Wanderer was named Xu Ling, and it was one of the elites that the Astral Beast Domain had sent to ZENITH.

    Tian Hou followed right behind the Void Wanderer. Although he was not as powerful as Xia Jiuyou, the unique characteristics of a Cosmic Hou made it difficult for anyone to injure Tian Hou, and no one had been able to stop him from steadily climbing up the mountain.

    The most shocking contestant on the northern side was Wang Yi, who had injured Yao Gu with a single attack. At the moment, Yao Gu was still recovering at the foot of the mountain.

    Everybody wondered whether or not Yao Xuan would move to stop Wang Yi from crossing through the mountain pass since the Technocracy¡¯s representative had injured Yao Gu.

    There were quite a number of elites on the northern face of the mountain, and among them were even Starsibyl, Arbiter Liquor Hero, the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen, Lei N¨¹, and the Sixth Maind¡¯s White Silkworm and Toolwielder.

    Many people felt that it was a pity that Lu Yin had not been assigned to the northern pass since he had been the most proactive gatekeeper so far.

    In truth, Lu Yin was quite tired at the moment. This was not him being exhausted from fighting, but rather from keeping watch. There were quite a few familiar faces among the millions ofpetitors, and Lu Yin asionally helped some of them out when they were up against stronger opponents, which was quite draining.

    Half a day had passed since ZENITH hadmenced, and at the moment, the person who was closest to Lu Yin right was the Sixth Maind¡¯s Corpse Looter.

    Lu Yin had a strong impression of this person since he was always followed around by a number of corpses.

    The most memorable part about this person to Lu Yin was that Corpse Looter was not as creepy as people assumed, and he was actually a chatterbox.

    Corpse Looter calmly walked through the checkpoint, his lips moving rapidly the entire time.

    Lu Yin did not bother listening to what Corpse Looter said, instead scanning the other people approaching. Mu Rong had made it quite close; he had once been hailed as one of the four peerless Limiteers.

    Mu Rong had been known as the strongest person under the Explorer realm until Lu Yin had appeared and destroyed that legacy.

    His most powerful move was a song that took people to a grassy in with cattle, which was actually his innate gift.

    At the moment, Mu Rong was still an Explorer, and he had nearly reached the Cruiser realm. He was much stronger from before, and Lu Yin felt that Mu Rong possessed a level of strengthparable to a Hunter, which meant that he was still practically invincible within his realm.

    There were not many Explorers who could fight evenly against Mu Rong, and it was possible for him to reim the title of the strongest Explorer.

    ¡°I want to fight you again, but I won¡¯t have the chance to ever do so again.¡± Mu Rong continued climbing up the mountain without even looking over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Mu Rong¡¯s back¡ªfight? It was true that Mu Rong no longer had the chance to do so, as he was no longer capable of standing up to a single attack from Lu Yin. At this point, even Lu Yin¡¯s domain alone would utterly crush Mu Rong.

    Then, Lu Yin remembered that Mu Rong¡¯s idol was Unseen Light and that the younger youth had been a member of Unseen Light¡¯s group within the Ten Arbiters Council. It had to be because of the Arbiter¡¯s domain!

    Lu Yin felt that his life would not be lonely as long as he had strong rivals like Unseen Light with his domain, Yao Xuan and his spiritual force, and Yuhua Mavis and Star Devourer for their strength.

    Someone rushed over and smiled at Lu Yin.

    This person was Qian Zou, who was familiar to Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked at the young man¡¯s legs, as Qian Zou used a rather unique battle technique, Inverse Steps.

    Qian Zou panicked when Lu Yin looked over, and he fled the moment he made it through the checkpoint.

    With the sole exception of Little Arrow Saint, Lu Yin had not blocked anyone from passing through his checkpoint, and this excited many of thepetitors on the eastern side.

    Some of these participants were powerhouses who could qualify to be second tier contestants.

    However, Lu Yin was not actually as nice as people believed; only half of thepetitors could be allowed past each checkpoint.

    Only the strongest powerhouses in the younger generation could qualify to participate in theter stages of ZENITH, and the people who could continue on certainly were not mere average cultivators.

    A young man excitedly walked up to the checkpoint. He was just a normal Limiteer who did not possess any impressive battle techniques. Rather, he had relied entirely on his unique innate gift to avoid all of the powerhouses on his way up the mountain, finally arriving at the mountain pass. He had actually arrived even before Mu Rong, but he had not dared to attempt to continue.

    After seeing that Lu Yin had still not blocked anyone, the Limiteer finally gathered the courage to walk forward.

    The young man nced at Lu Yin once more as he stepped into the pass. He was about to continue walking, looking up at the mountain before him. After passing through this checkpoint, his name would remain on Zenith Mountain. He looked a little higher, at the central checkpoint, which was guarded by the strongest powerhouse of the entire younger generation. This Limiteer had no confidence that his innate gift could help him make it past Shang Qing, but the first Honor Chosen could not eliminate everyone.

    The Limiteer grew confident that he would be one of the first to arrive at the second checkpoint. As long as he moved faster than the others, it would demonstrate that he possessed a certain level of ability. Hopefully, Shang Qing would not cause any trouble for him and would instead focus on eliminating thepetitors further back.

    The young man stepped forward, but his body suddenly flew backwards. His face went pale. Oh no, Lu Yin attacked.

    Lu Yin had been observing this young man from the start. This Limiteer had been hiding near the checkpoint for a long time and had clearly wanted to see if Lu Yin would eliminate the otherpetitors. This young man was too scheming and was not qualified to continue on in ZENITH.

    Lu Yin did not use a powerful attack on the youth, and he simply forced him off of the mountain with pure strength. The Limiteer tried to move, but he instantly failed. Lu Yin¡¯s strengthpletely suppressed the youth, and there was toorge of a difference.

    Why? Why had Lu Yin attacked him? Did he have some grudge against the youth? If that were the case, then Lu Yin would not have been this gentle. Had Lu Yin simply wanted to eliminate the Limiteer?

    That young man was the first person that Lu Yin had personally eliminated aside from Little Arrow Saint, but he would not be thest one.

    Many of thepetitors on the eastern face of the mountain were shocked. Lu Yin had attacked, and he clearly did not intend to allow everyone who made it to the checkpoint to pass through.

    A group of people who had arrived close to the checkpoint suddenly froze.

    Kayze caught up to the crowd and then rushed on to the checkpoint. He bowed to Lu Yin. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself. Just use this as a way to gain experience.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Kayze bowed again and then walked past Lu Yin.

    Kayze was followed by Lu Yin¡¯s former ssmate from Astral-10, Zhao Yilong. He also greeted Lu Yin and walked through the checkpoint. Although Zhao Yilong had been Lu Yin¡¯s ssmate, he was still only an Explorer at this time. He came from Myriad Swords Peak, which was a ce that Lu Yin had once admired, but now, it was just a minor force in his eyes, as they did not even have any Envoys.

    Zhao Yilong was followed by An Shaohua, but An Shaohua was not alone. Several people had tagged along with him, and some of them were from the Great Eastern Alliance. Some of these people felt that they would definitely make it through the checkpoint as long as they followed An Shaohua, though they were taking a gamble.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin allowed only An Shaohua and a few others to pass; all of the others were eliminated, even including some people from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin was the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, so he would naturally take care of his people from the Great Eastern Alliance. However, he was not their nanny.

    Furthermore, if he allowed such people to continue through to theter stages of ZENITH, then their weakness could get them killed. It was better to just painlessly eliminate them here.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1269: Clearing The Checkpoint

    <h4>Chapter 1269: Clearing The Checkpoint</h4>

    A great number of participants on the eastern side of Zenith Mountain felt helpless when they saw that even people from the Great Eastern Alliance had been eliminated. They finally realized that Lu Yin was more focused on individual strength rather than status when he chose who to eliminate.

    ¡°Let¡¯s rush through the checkpoint all together! If hundreds and thousands of us go, I refuse to believe that he can block all of us. At least some of us will be able to make it through,¡± someone quietly suggested, and many others quickly agreed.

    Simr situations urred on all three other faces of the mountain.

    Only those who were powerful or knew the gatekeepers well had dared to boldly approach the checkpoints alone. The gatekeepers had full autonomy when it came to deciding whether or not a participant was allowed through the checkpoints, though most of thepetitors refused to ept that.

    However, they also knew that the five gatekeepers needed to eliminate half of thepetitors.

    The only viable method was to overwhelm the gatekeepers with numbers. If everybody rushed through the checkpoint at the same time, then at least some of them would be sessful.

    Thepetitors who had gotten close to the checkpoints stopped and decided to wait for people further back.

    Zenith Mountain continued to change, and it was soon shrouded in darkness. When thepetitors looked up, a sky full of stars greeted them. Each star shone brightly, and some even asionallyunched attacks at them.

    Manypetitors immediately began grumbling when they saw these iing attacks, as they had already nearly given up after experiencing the unending energy wavesing off of the peak of the mountain and the strength of the gatekeepers. Despite the already absurd level of difficulty, thepetition would only be more challenging as time went on.

    The attacks from the stars grew increasingly powerful, and somepetitors were forced to work together to endure.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky and suddenly remembered the entrance examination that he had taken to join Astral-10. At that time, he had been astounded to see countless stars sparkling high in the sky, but that had only been because he had not understood what he had been looking at back then.

    At the moment, Lu Yin knew that the stars that he was looking at were not actually real. Rather, each one had been condensed from a powerhouse¡¯s star energy.

    This was nothing difficult, as star energy could be forcibly condensed, though not in the same manner as Lu Yin¡¯s Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. That technique was much more powerful, though it also required one to gather a massive amount of star energy.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that it had been quite some time since he hadst visited the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. As soon as he had that thought, he decided to return to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins after ZENITH and absorb more of the cauldron energy.

    He had many means of attacking, and he even had more than one secret technique along with several sourcebox arrays. Despite all of that, Lu Yin still wanted to learn theplete Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, as he felt that it was one of his techniques with the greatest potential. Lu Yin would never forget the scene that he had seen when he had firstprehended the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. It had been as if he had traveled back in time to a primeval era.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation would be invincible after Lu Yinpleted all nine suns, and he would never give up on such a battle technique.

    Two people rushed towards Lu Yin: Lulu and Grandini Mavis.

    These two girls had beenpeting ever since they had been students at the Astral Combat Academy, and they were stillpeting with each other during ZENITH. They were always fighting, but they had also supported each other when the Sixth Maind had invaded.

    The two girls rushed past Lu Yin without even ncing at him.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t fall.¡±

    Another person rushed towards Lu Yin at an extremely high speed. They were actually even faster than Lulu and Grandini, which surprised Lu Yin.

    With this speed, this person should have arrived at the checkpoint a long time ago.

    It was the stutterer. He nervously looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I- I- I-¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback; did this person want to fight him?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fall!¡± the stutterer screamed and copsed.

    Lu Yin stared as the stutterer fell down and stopped moving. Just what did this fellow want from him?

    The stutterer rubbed his head and blinked excitedly the moment he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Meat! Meat! Meat!¡±

    ¡°You want to eat meat? Then go home,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    The stutterer grew anxious. ¡°Long- long- long-¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he realized the man had a stutter.

    ¡°Longevity Bri- Brigade. Me.¡± The stutterer pointed at himself.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he had seen this before, in the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s tablet world. Even back then, the young man had been talking about meat.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Longevity Brigade?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The stutterer nodded, and his face flushed red. ¡°Mas- Master said that I¡¯ll get to eat meat if I follow you.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°I don¡¯t have meat with me.¡±

    The stutterer gulped and did not know what else to say.

    ¡°You can pass,¡± Lu Yin said. This guy was from the Longevity Brigade, which was one of the four most powerful crews in the Cosmic Sea.

    There were four powerful crews in the Cosmic Sea, which were Leon¡¯s Armada, the Longevity Brigade, the Ignition Crew, and the Soldier Crew.

    The four crews each controlled a part of the Cosmic Sea, and they were all extremely powerful. Any one of the crews had the strength to go up against the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones.

    Leon¡¯s Armada ruled over all of the pirates in the universe as Highsage Leon was the King of Pirates, and he naturally headed the strongest crew.

    The Ignition Crew consisted of former powerhouses from Gods¡¯ Origin, and Lu Yin had heard that Gods¡¯ Origin was actually trying to kill everyone from the Ignition Crew.

    Finally, both the Longevity Brigade and the Soldier Crew were very mysterious, and Lu Yin had not heard much about them even from Big Sis.

    Lu Yin was quite curious toward the Longevity Brigade, but he clearly would not be able to learn anything about them from the stutterer.

    Xi Qi finally arrived at the checkpoint after avoiding all the energy waves cascading down upon Zenith Mountain, the falling attacks from the stars, and the various shockwaves from all of the battles between the elites.

    She felt reborn the moment she arrived at the checkpoint.

    ¡°I¡¯m so tired.¡± Xi Qi sighed.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a familiar two-legged beast! Do you want to be my ride? I¡¯ll teach you how to be a Progenitor.¡± The fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head grew excited as soon as it saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pouted. This darn fish was still present.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Lu! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Xi Qi nervously apologized. She even turned pale since Lu Yin was a gatekeeper.

    The stutterer stared at the fish in shock; how could a fish talk? This was insane.

    The fish saw the stutterer andined, ¡°Hey, two-legged beast, why are you looking at me like that? Have you never seen a fish as handsome as me?¡±

    The stutterer gulped and turned towards Lu Yin. ¡°Meat- meat-¡±

    He was still thinking of meat.

    The truth of the matter was that the stutterer wanted to ask Lu Yin to help, as his master had said that he would be able to eat meat if he followed Lu Yin.

    However, the fish grew outraged as soon as it heard the word ¡°meat.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you two-legged beast! How dare you mock me? Girl, attack! Attack!¡± it yelled while pping Xi Qi with its fins.

    Xi Qi whined, ¡°Stop hitting me! You¡¯ll make me dumb.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already dumb! Attack!¡± the fish screamed anxiously.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. He then grabbed the stutterer and flung him past the checkpoint. ¡°Take care.¡±

    The stutterer yelped as he fell to the ground. He had cleared the checkpoint, but he was unhappy since he felt like he would end up in trouble if he did not get Lu Yin¡¯s help. The stutterer suddenly missed the Little Leaf King, as that person had helped the stutterer avoid a number of disasters.

    ¡°Two-legged beast, who allowed you to let him go? If you bring him back here, I¡¯ll teach you about sourceboxes and even turn you into a Progenitor!¡± The fish was outraged and pped his fins even more violently, causing Xi Qi to grimace.

    Lu Yin pitied her at this moment.

    ¡°Alright, keep going. Shang Qing¡¯s still up there, but since you¡¯re from the Lockbreaker Society, he probably won¡¯t stop you,¡± Lu Yin made a point to speak to Xi Qi.

    Xi Qi was grateful. ¡°Thank you, Brother Lu. Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Two-legged beast, don¡¯t you want to be a Progenitor? I can teach you! You already have some potential, and with my teaching, you¡¯ll definitely be a Progenitor, even if you¡¯re a bit stupid.¡± The fish¡¯s words grew quieter and quieter as Xi Qi quickly ran away before the fishpletely offended Lu Yin.

    ¡°Girl, why are you running so fast? I wasn¡¯t done talking!¡± The fish pped its fins.

    Xi Qi¡¯s head was aching. ¡°Stop hitting me. It hurts!¡±

    ¡°What hurts? I¡¯m training you to be more resilient. Turn back¡ªI still want to talk with that two-legged beast a bit more.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu has already let us go, so what do you want to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Let go? You must be joking. If I so desired it, you would be the champion.¡±

    ¡°Yes, champion. I¡¯m the champion,¡± Xi Qi muttered under her breath as she climbed the mountain. This was exhausting.

    Above her, the fish muttered, ¡°The God of Death¡¯s power. It¡¯s really strange that there¡¯s someone in this era with the God of Death¡¯s power. That¡¯s really strange. Wait, who¡¯s the God of Death? Why did I mention the God of Death? Where did thate from? The God of Death? That sounds familiar. Death¡­ Wait, what Death? What was I just talking about?¡±

    Xi Qi felt helpless. The fish would randomly spout such nonsense from time to time, and she was never able to understand what it actually meant. The worst part was that it never remembered what it had said before. She often wondered how long she would have to live like this for.

    Lu Yin did not hear thest bit that the fish had said, and he instead focused on thepetitors gathering below him. They had finally stopped fighting each other and were preparing to work together to push through the checkpoint.

    More than ten thousand youths had gathered before him, and there were still more people joining every minute.

    Lu Yin had eliminated less than thirty thousand people so far, and about ten thousand more had voluntarily forfeited. Thus, the leftovers had begun to gather.

    It would probably take them more than half a day to finish organizing themselves.

    There were still a few familiar faces to be seen among the remaining participants, such as Yue Xianzi and Xi Yue. It was not that they did not want to approach the checkpoint, but rather that they were being blocked from doing so by the gathering crowd of cultivators.

    The two were not weak, just a bit unlucky. However,pared to them, Coco, Zora, and a few others had it even worse; they had been eliminated by the earlier battles¡¯ shockwaves.

    Lu Yin quietly leaned against the side of the mountain as one man finally reached the checkpoint.

    It was Nong Zaitian. He looked somewhat pathetic, but Lu Yin treated this person like a lucky star.

    A sense of guilt welled up within Lu Yin when he saw Nong Zaitian, so he moved towards him.

    Nong Zaitian felt dazed when he saw Lu Yin reaching for him, and he screamed, ¡°What are you doing? Give me back my hoe!¡±

    Before he could even finish speaking, he was thrown upwards by Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll help you pass, so we don¡¯t owe each other anything more.¡±

    Nong Zaitian howled.

    Nong Laohan sighed in relief as he looked at the screen. He had been extremely anxious since he had expected Lu Yin to attack Nong Zaitian.

    The screens only transmitted images and not sound. So, Nong Laohan had seen Lu Yin and Nong Zaitian exchanging words, but he did not know what they had said.

    Since they had spoken to each other, was it possible that they were acquaintances?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1270: Boring

    <h4>Chapter 1270: Boring</h4>

    Nong Laohan felt curious about the possible rtionship between Nong Zaitian and Lu Yin.

    Madam Hong coldlymented, ¡°Elder Nong, your family has really hidden yourselves well.¡±

    Nong Laohan¡¯s brows rose. ¡°What do you mean?¡¯

    Madam Hong sneered, ¡°Even Lu Yin¡¯s friends had to qualify to pass his checkpoint on their own, but your descendant was personally sent through by the gatekeeper. Should I ask you to exin their rtionship?¡±

    The Sixth Maind powerhouses all looked over at Nong Laohan, but they did not say anything.

    Nong Laohan was considered to be one of the strongest experts present, as he was a Cosmic Imprinter. The only reason why Madam Hong had dared mock him was because she had almost reached the level of a Cosmic Imprinter herself.

    ¡°Madam Hong, look closer. Zaitian was thrown through the pass, not sent through. I think that Lu Yin used a considerable amount of force,¡± Nong Laohan answered.

    The coldness did not leave Madam Hong¡¯s voice. ¡°Senior, are you suggesting that your descendant has no rtionship with Lu Yin at all?¡±

    Nong Laohan did not answer, as even a fool could tell the two youths knew each other.

    Madam Hong merely wanted to taunt the Nong family elder as a means of venting her frustrations over Hong Ying¡¯s injury. She did not actually want to offend Nong Laohan.

    The monsters¡¯ invasion of the Sixth Maind had caused them devastating losses. Although the three Progenitors had managed to reduce the casualties to a minimum, a number of top powerhouses had still been killed, such as Ancestor Di, who had been a Cosmic Imprinter. Overall, the monsters had killed four Cosmic Imprinters.

    As the number of Cosmic Imprinters dropped, the importance of the still-living ones reached even greater heights. Although Madam Hong was not intimidated by Nong Laohan, she did not actually dare to truly offend him.

    Thepetitors on the eastern side of Zenith Mountain were preparing to rush into the checkpoint en masse, and thepetitors on the other three sides were preparing to do the same.

    On the mountain¡¯s eastern face, Bu Kong did not stop the elites from the Fifth Maind from clearing the checkpoint. Wen Sansi, Jin He, Wu Dan, Mira, Kuang Wang, Liu Xiaoyun, Li Zimo, and even Ku Lei had all passed through sessfully.

    Bu Kong did not make any attempt at all to stop them, and he watched them go by with a smile.

    Many of the people from the Fifth Maind were confused by his actions, but those who understood Bu Kong knew that he was not being congenial.

    It was meaningless for him to eliminate such people at this point in thepetition, as Bu Kong wanted to personally defeat them when everyone¡¯s eyes were fixated on him. He had worked hard to create an unforgettable scene when he had simultaneously defeated many powerhouses atop the Champions¡¯ Stage, and he wanted to recreate that situation at ZENITH.

    This same sentiment was shared by Zhi Yi, and likely Yao Xuan as well.

    The more confident the contestants were, the more willing the gatekeepers were to let the elites pass through the checkpoints.

    Still, that was just one of multiple reasons.

    Another reason was because the gatekeepers had no idea what special abilities these powerhouses might have kept hidden, and if the gatekeepers insisted on blocking the passes from everyone, the other contestants would feel threatened. Most of thepetitors had to possess some kind of hidden abilities.

    Instead of stubbornly fighting everyone, it would be better to let the elites clear the first checkpoints and let them face Shang Qing.

    After the five gatekeepers had been selected, and after they had learned that Shang Qing had been chosen to be the gatekeeper of the central pass, both Bu Kong and Zhi Yi had been furious.

    They had always looked down upon the Fifth Maind, so they saw it as an insult that someone from the Fifth Maind had been selected to be the top choice for the champion.

    They had initially wanted to simply discredit Shang Qing, but since the Tri-Yang Technique was known to be invincible, and since the Hall of Honor had recognized the First Honor Chosen as the strongest, the two had be curious as to whose strength was greater. They wanted to see if Shang Qing would stop the powerhouses that had been allowed to pass, and if he did so, then it would be possible for them to sense a bit of his strength.

    None of the gatekeepers were fools, and even Lu Yin had thought of this idea. He was confident in his own strength, and he knew that, if he used his full power, none of thepetitors on his side of the mountain would be able to pass through his checkpoint. However, he was not going to do that, as doing so would only help Shang Qing, and only an idiot would help their futurepetitors.

    Liu Tianmu and the others were by no means weak.

    The main purpose of the five gatekeepers was to eliminate about half of the weakerpetition, not to fight against the stronger participants. Of course, the gatekeepers also had to not be defeated, as that would be extremely embarrassing.

    The strength of the five gatekeepers was essentially the same as the pride of ZENITH.

    In just a day, the more powerfulpetitors had all proceeded past the first checkpoints. The remaining people were basically just filler for the gatekeepers.

    The gatekeepers would need to eliminate half of the remaining crowd.

    On the eastern side, Lu Yin looked up and saw that Yuhua Mavis was currently the closest person to Shang Qing. Not only had she been the first to pass the eastern checkpoint, but she was also the first to reach Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint.

    Countless people focused on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s progress.

    In the central pass, Shang Qing opened his eyes and saw Yuhua Mavis rushing towards him.

    Qinmei Mavis grew anxious as she watched from outside Zenith Mountain.

    The Mavis family was very powerful and were unafraid of anybody. Even the Hall of Honor was respectful towards the family.

    Furthermore, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant had never been scared of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen. However, at this moment, all of that was different as Shang Qing had mastered the Tri-Yang Technique.

    With the Tri-Yang Technique, everything against it was useless.

    Nobody was capable of defeating a Progenitor with the same realm of cultivation. And since the Tri-Yang Technique essentially forced its opponents to fight against three Progenitor powerhouses at the same realm as the user of the technique, it made all the users of this technique invincible. Thus, both theoretically and practically speaking, nobody could defeat this technique.

    Yuhua Mavis stared at Shang Qing. She then leaped forward and ran past Shang Qing in one motion, who did not move.

    Qinmei Mavis and many others felt relieved, as this proved that Shang Qing was not going to stop everyone who approached his pass.

    Yuhua Mavis suddenly stopped, after passing by Shang Qing, she turned around and said, ¡°Everyone wants to know who your third strand of qi will summon. There haven¡¯t been many Progenitors throughout all of history, and there have been even fewer who wereparable to Progenitor Chen. Or, could it be that all three of your qi strands are of Progenitor Chen?¡±

    Shang Qing calmly closed his eyes. ¡°If you want to know, then you should force me to use my third strand of qi. But-¡±

    Shang Qing paused, and the tone of his voice suddenly changed. It was still calm, but his voice rang out across the entirety of Zenith Mountain. ¡°Nobody in ZENITH is able to force me use my third strand of qi, and nobody can force me to use my full strength.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯ eyes shed; Shang Qing was too arrogant.

    Everyone on Zenith Mountain was surprised by these words, and some of them looked as though they were already defeated while others seemed unfazed. Shang Qing¡¯s statement had included absolutely everyone on the mountain, and his statement was insanely arrogant.

    ¡°All of you can try to force out my full strength, as I¡¯m actually feeling quite bored,¡± Shang Qing continued to say in a calm voice. The screens throughout the universe only provided a video feed of the events on Zenith Mountain, and there was no audio. However, Shang Qing¡¯s voice had been incredibly loud, and even people outside of Zenith Mountain had been able to clearly hear him.

    An uproar broke out across the Zenith Mountain. The people outside Zenith Mountain, and everyone in the universe who had heard Shang Qing¡¯s words were all stunned.

    ZENITH was the firstpetition of its kind, and countless young powerhouses were participating. Despite that, Shang Qing had imed to be bored, which tantly disregarded everybody in thepetition.

    Many people throughout the universe, in ces such as the Great Eastern Alliance, the Innerverse¡¯s major powers, and the Sixth Maind, scolded Shang Qing for his arrogance. The people in these ces were supporting those known as the strongest of their generation, but all of them had beenpletely disregarded by Shang Qing.

    In contrast, many of the people who supported the Hall of Honor and Shang Qing cheered excitedly.

    The more arrogant Shang Qing behaved, the more confident they all became

    Liu Tianmu and the others paused at where they were on Zenith Mountain and looked up at Shang Qing. When he had used the Tri-Yang Technique in the Mountain and Seas Zone, they had all felt helpless, but he had not been this arrogant back then.

    Those who actually understood Shang Qing knew that he was a truly arrogant person and that he had only said what he actually thought. He really was bored.

    He was lonely, as it was always lonely at the top.

    Bu Kong took a deep breath, and his expression grew sullen. Even as one of the Daosource Three Skies, he had never been as arrogant as this man.

    Zhi Yi was also upset. She wished that Shang Qing had taken part in the battle of the Cosmic Sea, as that would have reduced his arrogance.

    Yao Xuan looked at Shang Qing. Humans were always arrogant, but the Tri-Yang Technique was a truly powerful technique.

    Lu Yin cracked his neck. Shang Qing had challenged everyone all at once, and he probably really did feel extremely bored.

    Was Shang Qing truly unfazed by what people had demonstrated so far? Lu Yin thought about the invincible Progenitor Chen and the fact that Shang Qing was able to summon two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones to fight for him, which was truly disgusting.

    As he looked at Shang Qing, Lu Yin felt that he could vaguely see three silhouettes standing behind the young man. Three Progenitors were standing high up on the mountain and waiting for people to challenge Shang Qing. This era was too boring, and nobody qualified to have this era named after themselves. Shang Qing could only create his own era after dealing with this obstacle.

    A long time ago, Progenitor Chen had represented an era, and both the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Wushang had simrly represented an era themselves. Progenitors were invincible among their generation, and each one represented an entire era. It has been a long time since such a person had appeared.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath; he wanted this to be the Lu era.

    A terrible roar was heard from the base of the mountain. When Lu Yin turned around, he saw that the crowd was finally rushing towards his checkpoint.

    Away from the eastern side of the mountain, thepetitors on the other sides were also rushing their checkpoints at the same moment.

    Everyone had seemingly been triggered by Shang Qing¡¯s words, bing determined to clear the first checkpoints.

    Determination was one thing, but reality was something else entirely.

    Lu Yin responded by unleashing his domain and covering the entire mountain pass. The first few hundredpetitors to reach the checkpoint directly flew off of the mountain. Only a few people managed to hold their ground, but they were still forced to squat low.

    Lu Yin continued leaning against the mountainside, and he looked at the various people with curiosity.

    A few people had gone pale and were panting heavily as they met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    At this moment, the contestants all rushed forward, one after another. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he flexed his domain. To the contestants, it felt as though the sky had fallen down and the earth had shattered. As a result, most of the people flew off of the mountain or tumbled down to its base.

    Additionally, of the few people who had withstood Lu Yin¡¯s domain, some were unable to endure the second attack, also flying off of the mountain. There was only one person who was able to continue forcing their way forward: Yue Xianzi.

    She was surrounded by whirlpools, which came from the battle technique that she hadprehended in the Three Realms Six Daos: Water God¡¯s Armor.

    Yue Xianzi had be an Explorer and was actually nearly a Cruiser. With the Water God¡¯s Armor, she was indeed qualified to pass through the checkpoint even with the suppression from Lu Yin¡¯s domain. There were not manypetitors left with her level of strength, and she should have cleared the checkpoint much earlier based on her power level.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1271: An Old Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 1271: An Old Enemy</h4>

    The contestants who had managed to withstand the second attack from Lu Yin¡¯s domain rushed through the checkpoint even as more clusters of participants continued to rush toward the mountain pass. Lu Yin used his domain to attack each and every group that approached. Thus, even if they were able to withstand two of his attacks, none were confident in being able to withstand three.

    The mountain shook as Lu Yin¡¯s domain kept crashing into the participants, sending numerous people flying off of the mountain.

    Xi Yue managed to clear the checkpoint by using her battle technique. She eventually rushed through the checkpoint and then turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at her as well, as it had been a long time since they hadst met.

    Xi Yue still remembered their little conflict back in Astral-10¡¯s Sand Ocean and how Lu Yin hadprehended battle force during that time.

    Back then, the two of them had possessedparable strength, but at this moment, Xi Yue was barely able to withstand a casual attack from Lu Yin¡¯s domain. He had reached an unattainable positionpared to her.

    During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, most of the Souldream Tribe had been captured, and she had heard from Elder Redmoon that they had been saved by Lu Yin. Thus, Xi Yue knew that she was indebted to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Xi Yue said.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Good luck.¡±

    Xi Yue nodded, but then she suddenly went pale. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    Tong Zhan abruptly rushed out from a hidden ce near Lu Yin and summoned a sword from star energy. Elder Tong¡¯s imprint appeared behind the youth, and a martial print appeared behind his hand. He had been waiting for precisely this moment.

    He knew that he did not have much of a chance of sess, as Lu Yin¡¯s domain was very powerful. However, Tong Zhan nhelessunched an attack.

    At this same time, a girl raced for the checkpoint. She was the same girl who Lu Yin had stopped from killing Kayze. Since Lu Yin had moved against her, she had assumed that Lu Yin would target her. Thus, she had been lying in wait all this time, just like Tong Zhan. However, this girl¡¯s goal was not to attack Lu Yin, but rather just to clear the checkpoint.

    The two people rushed out at the same time, and they were far more powerful than all the otherpetitors present.

    By the time that Xi Yue had shouted, Tong Zhan had already gotten close to Lu Yin. For someone of Tong Zhan¡¯s strength, he should have been able to instantly reach Lu Yin, but the distance hadpletely destroyed his ns.

    Tong Zhan was frozen in the air, and the sword that had just left his hand was also frozen in ce. Lu Yin¡¯s domain hadpletely restricted the youth.

    The girl was also trapped.

    Lu Yin turned to face Tong Zhan. ¡°You¡¯re still so unrepentant even after I spared your life in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.¡±

    He then casually waved a hand, and Tong Zhan flew to the foot of the mountain. While he was still in the air, Tong Zhan¡¯s organs were destroyed, rendering him undeniably dead.

    Lu Yin ignored the corpse and then turned his focus towards the girl.

    The girl bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m from the Jade Great World in the Neoverse! You-¡±

    Before she could even finish speaking, she had been thrown to the bottom of the mountain.

    Jade Great World? Lu Yin hated being threatened more than anything.

    He had initially intended to let the girl through after a scolding, but she had tried to threaten him. After that, there was no way she would make it through the mountain pass.

    ZENITH was divided into two sections, and the first four gatekeepers¡ªLu Yin, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Yao Xuan¡ªwere the barrier sieving through the participants.

    From an aerial point of view, there was a single group of people heading for the central checkpoint while another four were rushing to each of the other checkpoints, trying to use sheer numbers to make it through.

    However, quantity was not enough topensate for quality.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain, Bu Kong¡¯s sourcebox array, Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, and Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force. These four powers were filtering away thepetitors, and they had already forced arge number of the contestants to fall off of the mountain.

    To the gatekeepers, the remainingpetitors were not as important as those who were actually powerful, as all of those people were already making their way towards Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin looked up as he released his domain. He no longer cared about any of the people still below him.

    Yuhua Mavis was the first to rush past Shang Qing.

    A short while after she passed by the central checkpoint, she disappeared, only to reappear atop a massive tform.

    The tform was one of the threeyers on the upper region of Zenith Mountain. Yuhua Mavis had just appeared on the third andrgestyer while the second and firstyers were still above her, as well as the mountain¡¯s peak.

    Yuhua Mavis looked around. This tform was huge, and she could not even see its edges. This was not a simple rock tform, as there were actually various biomes in here, including forests, seas,va, hurricanes, and deserts. She had appeared in the middle of a pile of rocks that only made up one thousandth of the tform¡¯s total area.

    This stone formation looked like a forest of stone, and each rock had sharp edges with the biome being a region with a radius of ten thousand meters. There was a desert beyond the stone formation, but there was also a visible barrier of light separating the two regions.

    These were the various arenas for thepetitors to battle within.

    This was the next stage of ZENITH. After passing through the five checkpoints, thepetitors would appear in the various arenas, ording to the order in which they passed. Only one person would be able to win within each arena, and the number ofpetitors transported to each arena would be determined by the number ofpetitors who cleared the fifth checkpoint. This was a battle royale.

    Lu Yin and the other gatekeepers also needed to clear this next challenge, as there were no exceptions.

    Yuhua Mavis was the first to arrive.

    The next person to pass through Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint would appear in the next arena, until there was someone in each arena. Then, the next person would appear in the same arena as Yuhua Mavis, and the pattern would continue.

    This kind of brawl not only depended on a person¡¯s individual strength, but also their luck, as whoever was matched with Shang Qing would be quite unlucky.

    After several more people crossed through Lu Yin¡¯s checkpoint, they noticed the arenas that had appeared on the screens, and some of the smarter participants immediately started calcting their chances.

    At most, there were about a hundred true elites participating in ZENITH. Thus, if a person cleared the final checkpoint after the hundredth person, then their chances of meeting a true powerhouse would significantly drop. The luckiest people would be those who obtained the 500th to the 10,000th positions, as they were essentially guaranteed to not meet up with a powerhouse in their arenas.

    Some people sped up while others slowed down as they processed this new information.

    Everyone carefully observed Shang Qing. His attitude would determine how many people would be able to clear his checkpoint. If he behaved the same as Lu Yin and the other gatekeepers, then half of thepetitors would make it through. However, if he decided to be ruthless, then the numbers might fall drastically.

    More and more people began approaching the final checkpoint.

    Shang Qing quietly floated in the sky with three strands of qi swirling around him, giving him the appearance of a god.

    The sky was still dark at this time, but this darkness suited people like Di Fa and Y¨­u Qi.

    Di Fa was the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Realmling, and he had the Demonfox Bloodline, which allowed him to phase through everything.

    Y¨­u Qi was rather simr to the Realmling, and the only real difference was that Y¨­u Qi¡¯s power came from Burial Garden.

    Di Fa had climbed up the southern face of Zenith Mountain. Nobody had seen him clear the checkpoint, but Bu Kong had not caused the Realmling any problems since they were both from the Sixth Maind.

    At this moment, Di Fa was the closest person to Shang Qing.

    Di Fa did not hesitate and immediately rushed forward.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes glinted, and the qi surrounding him began to twist about. One strand of qi suddenly shot towards Di Fa.

    The people who had participated in thepetition for the Cosmic Five knew that Shang Qing had previously used these qi strands to overwhelm the otherpetitors back then. Only Corpse Beast had managed to force the first Honor Chosen to reveal the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique, as he had never used such tactics against Xia Jiuyou or the others.

    Shang Qing did not see Di Fa as someone worthy of his Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s full power.

    Di Fa had expected Shang Qing to move to stop him since he was from the Sixth Maind, but he still held some confidence that his Demonfox bloodline would allow him to phase through everything, even Shang Qing¡¯s attacks. Thus, unless he attacked first or made some basic mistake, it would be difficult for anybody tond a strike on him.

    However, as the strand of qi drew near, Di Fa suddenly felt a sense of danger and reflexively dodged aside. Unfortunately, it was already toote. The strand of qi struck his shoulder, and half of his body went numb. He crashed into the mountainside like a stone, barely able to assert any control over his body as he fell. He pulled himself upright and stared at Shang Qing in shock; how could this be?

    Shang Qing was still floating in the sky, and he casually looked down at Di Fa. He waved a single hand, and the strand of qi disappeared. It had been a simple attack, but that had actually only made people more anxious, as they had no idea how they could ovee such an attack.

    Half of Di Fa¡¯s body remained numb, and he kept dodging around while trying to make it past the checkpoint. An imprint appeared behind the Realmling, that of Bluedome Elder, an Empyrean Imprinter.

    The moment the imprint appeared, Di Fa¡¯s power spiked, but he did not make any attempt to fight back against Shang Qing. Di Fa¡¯s only goal was to make it past the checkpoint.

    Shang Qing had wanted to fight against someone from the Sixth Maind for a long time. Actually, he had wanted to participate in the war efforts back when the Sixth Maind had invaded, but he had been stopped by the circumstances. Hence, he wanted to stop every single person from the Sixth Maind from clearing his checkpoint.

    Everybody had their own position. Bu Kong and Zhi Yi were both a part of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, which meant that they had not blocked anybody from their Sixth Maind. Yao Xuan was from the Astral Beast Domain, and since the Celestial Beast Empire was an enemy of the Human Domain, then it was understandable why he would not stop the Sixth Maind¡¯spetitors. However, Shang Qing could not understand why Lu Yin had not stopped them.

    Regardless, it did not actually matter. Shang Qing was the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, and he had a duty to stop all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s participants. Not only was he merely fulfilling his responsibility as an Honor Chosen, but he was also demonstrating the Hall of Honor¡¯s stance to the rest of the Fifth Maind.

    A strand of qi rushed at Di Fa and blocked his path as he tried to race out of the checkpoint.

    The w of Shang Qing¡¯s qi attacks was that they could not lock onto a target, and even Ku Lei had been able to escape from the strands of qi back in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Nobody could defeat this technique through brute force, but it was possible to dodge it.

    Di Fa tried to use his speed to dodge the attack.

    Suddenly, everything in his sight shot away. Di Fa¡¯s eyes narrowed as he realized that he was moving further away from the checkpoint¡ªhe had been thrown towards the foot of the mountain, where hended with a bang.

    Di Fa could not understand what had just happened to him, but the people watching had all seen that Shang Qing had just used a secret technique.

    He had used Banishment, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques. Only Xia Jiuyou had been able to withstand this secret technique, just as the Giant Emperor had not been Banished into the distance. Aside from Xia Jiuyou, not a single one of Shang Qing¡¯s peers was capable of withstanding this particr secret technique.

    Di Fa had been thrown off of the mountain by Banishment.

    Thepetitors from the Sixth Maind were furious. Shang Qing had used a secret technique just to deal with Di Fa. The Honor Chosen had clearly shown his stance of refusing to allow the Sixth Maind¡¯s participants to pass his checkpoint.

    He wanted to single-handedly stop every single one of Sixth Maind¡¯spetitors here.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1272: The Invincible Progenitor Chen

    <h4>Chapter 1272: The Invincible Progenitor Chen</h4>

    Lu Yin had already known that Shang Qing would try to keep all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s participants from passing through his checkpoint, as he was representing the Hall of Honor. If he simply allowed the Sixth Maind¡¯s youths to pass through, then the people loyal to the Hall of Honor would lose morale. After all, the Sixth Maind had killed far too many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s people.

    If Shang Qing truly did his best to block off everyone from the Sixth Maind, then they would truly have a very difficult time of things.

    On the mountain¡¯s western face, Zhi Yi frowned; was Shang Qing specifically targeting their Sixth Maind? Fortunately, he had been forced to use a secret technique against Di Fa, which meant that this person was not as invincible as people believed him to be. If he wanted to stop all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s participants, then he was guaranteed to exhaust himself quickly.

    Di Fa had been banished to the foot of the mountain, but that did not mean that he had been eliminated from ZENITH. He was still an activepetitor.

    It would be much easier for him to clear the first checkpoint now. Furthermore, the southern face¡¯s gatekeeper, Bu Kong, was another person from the Sixth Maind.

    Di Fa rubbed his head and stood up. But when he looked around, he noticed that his surroundings did not seem familiar; this was not the southern side of the mountain.

    When he looked up at the screen, he was shocked by what he saw. He had not been sent to the bottom of the southern side of Zenith Mountain, but rather to the eastern side! Lu Yin was the gatekeeper of this section.

    Di Fa had not expected to be thrown over to the eastern side, and the audience watching ZENITH were also shocked by this development.

    Lu Yin was simrly confused, but after thinking it through, he realized that he was the gatekeeper who was the most likely to stop Di Fa from making it through the first pass.

    Di Fa was annoyed, as he had interacted with Lu Yin in the past. Back then, he had nearly caused Lu Yin to be killed by Shang Rong, and they had fought a few times in the past as well. To be honest, Di Fa was even more cautious of Lu Yin than Shang Qing, as Lu Yin was an enemy.

    When Y¨­u Qi arrived at the central checkpoint, he sessfully passed through. He then appeared in an arena next to Yuhua Mavis.

    Shang Qing had not tried to stop him.

    However, Y¨­u Qi was quickly followed by Star Devourer. The beast had made it past Bu Kong with Yao Xuan¡¯s help, but he still needed to face Shang Qing.

    After being stopped by Bu Kong, Star Devourer had be much more humble, and he had shrunk himself down to a more manageable size before racing through the final mountain pass.

    Star Devourer had seen Shang Qing¡¯s secret technique, and although the beast looked down upon humans, he still felt threatened by that particr secret technique. Besides, if Star Devourer retained his full size, Shang Qing¡¯s attacks would easily hit him. With both considerations in mind, Star Devourer had shrunk down.

    Shang Qing did not make a move, and he calmly watched the astral beast pass on by.

    The participants from the Astral Beast Domain all felt relieved.

    Qiu Shi and Ling Gong rushed through at the same time, and Shang Qing still did not move.

    However, the next to arrive was Nan Yanfei.

    Shang Qing turned to face the Realmling.

    Nan Yanfei was rendered speechless. He had already been extremely anxious when he had arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s checkpoint, and as for Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint, Nan Yanfei waspletely certain that he would be stopped by this final gatekeeper.

    Countless people were watching him right now, so Nan Yanfei could not back down. He was a Realmling, and if he stopped, then he would be forever seen as a coward, and he refused to suffer such a fate.

    Nan Yanfei charged at the checkpoint.

    A strand of qi shot towards him, and Nan Yanfei sighed to himself.

    Unseen Light had rushed toward the final checkpoint at the same time as Nan Yanfei, but Unseen Light easily passed through while Nan Yanfei was stopped.

    In Chaos Flowzone¡¯s western region, all the Sixth Maind cultivators angrily cursed at Shang Qing, but there were still a few who remained calm.

    The Sixth Maind had a deep enmity with the Fifth Maind, so it was no surprise that Shang Qing was targeting the Sixth Maind¡¯s youth. At this moment, everything depended on thepetitors¡¯ individual ability.

    Fortunately, Shang Qing was not as invincible as the rumors painted him to be, and he actually seemed less intimidating than Lu Yin. The scene of Lu Yin crushing Little Arrow Saint with just one attack was still shocking and fresh in their mind.

    The strand of qi flew towards Nan Yanfei, and he kept dodging around while trying to push forward through the checkpoint. Although the qi strand was unable tond an attack on the Realmling, it always managed to block him from moving forward, as it was much quicker than him.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s really not realistic for you to stop everyone from the Sixth Maind all on your own!¡± Nan Yanfei threatened.

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression grew cold, and he continued attacking with his qi strand.

    Liu Tianmu and Xin N¨¹ soon arrived at the pass. Liu Tianmu smoothly cleared the checkpoint, but Xin N¨¹ was blocked by another qi strand.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s eyes narrowed; there were now two qi strands in action.

    When Bai Ling arrived at the checkpoint, Shang Qing¡¯s third qi strand blocked her path.

    Shang Qing alone was blocking three experts. This was his strength.

    However, as far as most people present were concerned, Shang Qing¡¯s actions were not sustainable. Even if his three qi strands could block these three experts, what would happen once a fourth person from the Sixth Maind arrived?

    It was also unreasonable to expect him to repeatedly use Banishment.

    Sword Schr arrived, but instead of trying to pass through the checkpoint, he chose to attack Shang Qing with his Schr Sword.

    Everyone¡¯s focus turned to Shang Qing. Four of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings were fighting against Shang Qing, so just how would he deal with the situation by himself?

    Lu Yin looked up. Progenitor Chen was about to appear.

    Further up, on the thirdyer, Yuhua Mavis looked up at a screen with anticipation. How big of an uproar would the reappearance of Progenitor Chen create? ZENITH was not as simple as the Mountain and Seas Zone. Thispetition was being broadcast live throughout the entire universe. Progenitor Chen¡¯s image would appear before everybody.

    Mu En stood up. It was time for the Fifth Maind¡¯s invincible powerhouse to appear: Progenitor Chen.

    Sword Schr¡¯s attack brushed past Shang Qing without injuring him, as it had been deflected by a qi strand. The other two strands returned to Shang Qing, leaving only one strand in front of the checkpoint. The four Realmings would be able to clear the final checkpoint if they managed to get past that qi strand.

    Nan Yanfei and the others hesitated as they warily stared at the strand of qi.

    ¡°I hope that you all can force me to send out a second qi strand. Otherwise, things will just be too boring.¡± The qi strand blocking the fourpetitors suddenly began to morph. A silhouette appeared. Then, eyes and a nose took shape until, eventually, a handsome yet arrogant man appeared before them.

    Once the man was fully formed, Nan Yanfei and the others felt goosebumps. It was as though they were facing a monster.

    Yuhua Mavis, Xia Jiuyou, and others from the Fifth Maind grew solemn; this was Progenitor Chen.

    A Progenitor was invincible, and who would dare to im that they could rival a Progenitor at the same cultivation realm as them? Especially when that Progenitor was the most powerful expert of all: Progenitor Chen.

    The moment Progenitor Chen appeared, the battle was already decided.

    Illusory ck mes burned as an illusory Progenitor Chen appeared in front of Nan Yanfei. The summoned powerhouse attacked.

    Nan Yanfei¡¯s imprint, Bluedome Elder, appeared behind him, and the youth roared as he activated his Taotie bloodline. He felt truly threatened at this moment.

    The ground trembled as Nan Yanfei¡¯s attack broke the mountain upon contact. This was the true power of a Realmling¡¯s attack. However, this attack had no effect on the illusory Progenitor Chen. The figure¡¯s palm struck Nan Yanfei¡¯s chest, causing blood to spurt out his back as he suddenly flew off of the mountain.

    The illusory Progenitor Chen then turned to attack Sword Schr, who hadunched an attack against Shang Qing.

    Distance was meaningless to Sword Schr, and a sh of his sword left behind a crack in the sky.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm hit the hilt of Sword Schr¡¯s sword, causing the sword to fly out of Sword Schr¡¯s hand. Illusory mes instantly engulfed Sword Schr the next moment.

    Sword Schr¡¯s eyes narrowed, but before he could extinguish the mes, he was thrown from the mountain in the same manner as Nan Yanfei.

    The illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s next target was Bai Ling. She was terrified, as this illusory figure had instantly defeated two Realmlings. She quickly retreated, but the illusory Progenitor Chen still appeared right before her, gazing at her with cold eyes.

    Bai Ling went pale. She feltpletely helpless.

    Suddenly, the illusory figure disappeared; Xin N¨¹ had attacked Shang Qing, causing the illusory Progenitor Chen to appear behind Xin N¨¹ and retaliate against her.

    Nobody could withstand Progenitor Chen¡¯s attacks.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s gaze sharpened, and she raised her right palm towards Shang Qing,pletely ignoring everything behind her.

    Xin N¨¹ was very quick, but Shang Qing was still being protected by another qi strand, rendering her attack ineffective. Behind her, the palm of the illusory Progenitor Chen approached her back.

    Suddenly, the illusory figure paused, and the strand of qi protecting Shang Qing also paused. Xin N¨¹¡¯s attack did notnd on Shang Qing, but the momentum of her attack pushed her forwards, causing her to clear the checkpoint.

    Bai Ling¡¯s eyes went wide, and she also raced through the checkpoint.

    In just an instant, the two girls had cleared the mountain pass

    Many people stared at Shang Qing, as they could not understand what had just happened.

    Mu En was confused; could there be a w in the Tri-Yang Technique?

    Shang Qing had just unleashed his power and eliminated two Realmlings by summoning an illusory Progenitor Chen. However, something else had urred shortly after, and many people were feeling terribly confused.

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression darkened as he turned to look at Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Yao Xuan.

    Who? Who had it been?

    Someone had used an extremely powerful spiritual force attack to drag him into an inescapable illusion. If not for the power of the illusory Progenitor Chen, then Shang Qing would have been affected by the illusion even longer.

    Who was capable of producing an illusion that not even he, Shang Qing, could ovee?

    Shang Qing grew solemn as he tried to remember all of the participating experts who possessed powerful spiritual force. His gaze finallynded on Yao Xuan. Had it been him? The Celestial Demons had always been experts in spiritual force, surpassing even the Daynight n.

    Shang Qing was not able to confirm his suspicion, as there was no reason for Yao Xuan to help these people from the Sixth Maind. However, apart from the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, Shang Qing could not think of anyone else who could unleash such a powerful spiritual force attack.

    On the eastern side of the mountain, Lu Yin felt relieved, though he looked slightly annoyed. He had only managed to affect Shang Qing for an instant. The summoned Progenitor Chen was truly too powerful.

    Fortunately, Xin N¨¹ had sessfully passed through the checkpoint, and Lu Yin had managed to repay a favor that he owed her.

    Shang Qing might not know who had attacked him, but other people did. For example, the people from Gods¡¯ Origin like God Taiyi and God Qingguang had seen Lu Yin¡¯s rune lines surround Shang Qing at that moment. Although they could not determine exactly what had happened, they knew it had to be rted to Lu Yin.

    Yao Xuan also knew, as he was very sensitive to spiritual force.

    He was shocked by the sheer power of Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, as the crown prince had not expected a human¡¯s spiritual force to reach such a tremendous level. Yao Xuanpletely reevaluated Lu Yin, and he realized that Lu Yin would not be easy to deal with. It would be hard for the participants from the Astral Beast Domain to fulfill their mission, as Lu Yin was truly powerful since he possessed both a strong domain and a powerful spiritual force.

    Hmm? Yao Xuan felt that a number of people were looking at him, particrly Shang Qing.

    When he met Shang Qing¡¯s gaze, Yao Xuan felt that the first Honor Chosen had misunderstood something.

    Although Xin N¨¹ and Bai Ling had both managed to clear the final checkpoint, nobody dared to underestimate Shang Qing.

    He had defeated two Realmlings with just a single strand of qi while there were three swirling around him. The thought of three Progenitor powerhouses was a chilling thought.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1273: Poor Di Fa

    <h4>Chapter 1273: Poor Di Fa</h4>

    No matter what, everybody had to admit that Shang Qing was nearly invincible the moment the illusory Progenitor Chen appeared.

    ¡°If you really want to pass through this checkpoint, then you can just go. The higher you climb, the further you will fall,¡± Shang Qing calmly stated as he gazed at Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Yao Xuan. He had changed his mind.

    Bu Kong grew annoyed; Shang Qing had the exact same idea as the Daosource Three Skies. The only reason why Bu Kong had allowed so many people to go past his checkpoint was because he wanted to defeat them on a more impressive stage. Shang Qing had the exact same idea. Fine then¡ªthey would find out who was more powerful at that time.

    Although Progenitor Chen was invincible, it was still a strand of qi that had no intelligence.

    Intelligence was the most important thing for a cultivator, and since the illusory Progenitor was just a humanoid with no intelligence, Bu Kong did not feel threatened by it.

    If Shang Qing was able to summon a Progenitor Chen that possessed intelligence, then there would simply be no point in fighting him. People could still have hope when fighting against Shang Qing since he was only capable of summoning Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, not the Progenitor¡¯s intelligence.

    Since the figure that was summoned was just a shell without any intelligence, its strength could not reach the same level that the true Progenitor Chen had wielded.

    Regardless, it would still be incredibly difficult to fight against a Progenitor Chen that possessed no intelligence. On top of that, Shang Qing was able to summon more than one Progenitor Chen.

    As Shang Qing had said, he would simply allow certain people to pass since the final result would not change no matter what.

    However, not all of thepetitors from the Sixth Maind would be able to sessfully pass through Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint. Only those who had a certain level of strength, at leastparable to a Realmling¡¯s, would be let through. But even this was enough to provide a bit of relief to the people from the Sixth Maind.

    Shang Qing was confident that he would be the champion, and since that was the case, there was no difference between defeating the others sooner or defeating themter. As long as he defeated all of the Sixth Maind¡¯spetitors, he would be fulfilling his duty to the Fifth Maind.

    ¡­

    The excitement that had suddenly spread throughout the entire Fifth Maind was soon extinguished, and many people grew disappointed when Shang Qing stopped targeting the participants from the Sixth Maind. The illusory Progenitor Chen transformed back into a qi strand that eliminated the weakerpetitors.

    Many people switched their focus back to the mountain¡¯s eastern face, as Di Fa was about to reach Lu Yin¡¯s checkpoint.

    Shang Qing had thrown Di Fa to the bottom of the mountain on the eastern side, and everybody was curious about whether or not Lu Yin would allow the Realmling through the mountain pass.

    At first, people had simply assumed that Lu Yin would allow Di Fa through the checkpoint, but then someone dug up some information about the old grudges between Di Fa and Lu Yin. This information even revealed the matters that had happened in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    Most people had never even heard about the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and they only knew that Lu Yin and Di Fa were enemies. Little Arrow Saint had also been enemies with Lu Yin, and he had suffered a terrible fate; was it now Di Fa¡¯s turn?

    Di Fa was also a bit wary of Lu Yin, but he was also confident that his Demonxfox bloodline would guarantee his safety as long as he did not pick a fight with Lu Yin. Di Fa¡¯s ultimate goal was to simply push past the checkpoint.

    Lu Yin stood at the eastern checkpoint where he eliminated batches ofpetitors with his domain. Tens of thousands ofpetitors had already been eliminated, but there were still tens of thousands more trying to get past the checkpoint.

    Di Fa passed by countlesspetitors as he climbed up the mountain.

    He shot a cold look at Lu Yin, but then he turned his focus onto Shang Qing. Di Fa was determined to not be hit by Shang Qing¡¯s Banishment a second time.

    However, he still felt very threatened by that illusory Progenitor Chen, which was the greatest obstacle to him passing this first stage. If Shang Qing attacked Di Fa with the illusory Progenitor Chen, it would be very difficult for the Realmling to make it past the final checkpoint. The worst oue was ending up like Sword Schr or Nan Yanfei.

    Di Fa brushed past the majority of the participants and drew closer to the mountain pass. Countless people grew both anxious and excited when they saw that this Realmling was about to enter a fight.

    Di Fa overtook the other youths and rushed into the pass. He did not even look at Lu Yin as he had no intention of fighting against Lu Yin, and he was also fully confident that Lu Yin would not be able to stop him.

    Lu Yin arched a brow; how arrogant. His pupils transformed into runes as he looked at Di Fa and raised a hand.

    Out of the corner of his eye, Di Fa saw Lu Yin lifting his hand. He sneered and simply increased his speed. Lu Yin would need to be able to actually hit him if he wanted to stop him.

    Di Fa¡¯s Demonfox bloodline allowed him to phase through anything, and if Lu Yin had enough time, he might be able to ovee the bloodline. For example, during the battle in the Cosmic Sea, Di Fa had been targeted by Qiu Shi. However, it was impossible for anyone to ovee his bloodline in a short amount of time.

    Di Fa suddenly stumbled and then stared down in shock; he had stumbled? How was that possible? He should be able to phase through rocks, so how could he have stumbled?

    Lu Yin was staring at Di Fa and erasing a portion of the Realmling¡¯s runes through Truesight.

    Di Fa¡¯s Demonfox bloodline allowed him to phase through everything, and this ability increased the number of rune lines that Lu Yin could see on the Realmling. Therefore, when Lu Yin erased some of Di Fa¡¯s runes, the efficiency of the Demonxfox bloodline also decreased.

    This was why Di Fa¡¯s phasing ability had weakened.

    By the time that Di Fa had realized what was happening and reacted, activating his imprint of the Bluedome Elder, it was already toote¡ªLu Yin¡¯s palm had struck him. A Vacuum Palm sent Di Fa flying off of the mountain, and he even broke off a piece of the mountain when he crashed into the bottom. The ces he passed by left a trail of blood.

    Everyone who saw this scene was stunned, as everything had happened too quickly.

    That was Di Fa, one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmling! But despite his status, he had just been defeated in the same manner as Little Arrow Saint: just one attack.

    Many of thepetitors on Zenith Mountain felt chills run down their spines.

    Bu Kong and Zhi Yi both turned to look at Lu Yin. Once again, he had seeded in just one attack. Just how powerful was that attack?

    All of thepetitors currently rushing towards the central checkpoint were stunned. Who had imed that Lu Yin had only been appointed as a gatekeeper because of his background? Even Shang Qing had had to use a secret technique to deal with Di Fa, but Lu Yin had defeated him in a single attack.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind were all infuriated.

    On the eastern side of the mountain, Lu Yin calmly stood still. Di Fa had been too careless, thinking that his Demonfox bloodline would allow him to simply ignore all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Runes were the nemesis of everything, as anything that could influence the universe could be represented by runes. Thus, Truesight affected the most fundamental level of the universe.

    However, it would have been useless even if Di Fa had prepared himself. Fewer than fifteen people participating in ZENITH were capable of withstanding the attack that Lu Yin had just unleashed, and Di Fa was not on that list, even if he was a Realmling at the Enlighter realm.

    The gap between him and Lu Yin was simply toorge.

    ZENITH had gone on for more than a day now, and quite a few powerhouses had already been eliminated. Four of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings had been eliminated: two by Lu Yin and two by Shang Qing.

    Realmlings wereparable to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, and the people of the Sixth Maind had expected their Realmlings to dominate their peers from the Fifth Maind. However, four of them had already been eliminated before thepetition¡¯s official start, which was a huge insult to the Sixth Maind.

    In addition to the eliminated Realmlings, a huge number of the Sixth Maind¡¯s youths had died. The Sixth Maind hadmitted too many crimes against the Fifth Maind during the war, and their people would be targeted no matter where they went.

    Despite the targeting, some of their powerhouses had still cleared all the checkpoints and appeared on the thirdyer.

    ZENITH would officially begin once all of the activepetitors appeared on the thirdyer. The five checkpoints were really nothing more than a qualifying round for the actualpetition.

    Another day passed, and the universe was at peace with everyone watching ZENITH.

    Somepetitors managed to make it past the central checkpoint, while others failed.

    Lu Yin calmly watched the show while leaning against a wall. The gatekeepers¡¯ mission had already ended, as all those who should have passed had moved up the mountain while the remainingpetitors would never be able to get past the checkpoints.

    At this time, Lu Yin just had to wait for thepetition to officially begin.

    Millions of people crowded around at the foot of Zenith Mountain and stared up with envious eyes. They were thepetitors who had been eliminated.

    Names had started to disappear from Zenith Mountain.

    Coco was busily trying to treat people¡¯s injuries and offering injections, but nobody paid her any attention. She had been unlucky enough to get caught up in a battle between some powerhouses before being eliminated. There were many people who had suffered the same fate as her.

    More and more people appeared on the thirdyer.

    There were already a hundred people in the arena where Yuhua Mavis had appeared. There were both men and women, and they all looked anxious.

    Only one person could pass through each arena, and Yuhua Mavis would definitely emerge victorious in her arena. In other words, the people close to her were already aware that their time in ZENITH was about toe to an end.

    There were only a few dozens of true elites in ZENITH, but there were tens of thousands of arenas on the thirdyer. Only some unlucky few would be grouped together with an elite.

    Kayze was one of the unlucky ones. His arena was a forest that held a hundred people who would soon be fighting for the single slot to continue onto the next stage of ZENITH. Kayze knew that his journey was over as soon as he saw White Silkworm in this arena.

    Kayze had seen White Silkworm before. When the Sightless n had invaded the Outerverse, White Silkworm had fought against Lan Si, and Kayze knew that the youth was a true elite. Within the ckblood Realm, White Silkworm was second only to the Realmling, Shang Rong, and he had always wanted to challenge Shang Rong.

    After the monsters had invaded the Sixth Maind, White Silkworm¡¯s temperament had changed drastically. He had let go of his obsession over fighting against Shang Rong, though his strength had certainly not fallen.

    Kayze was resigned to his fate. This was the end of his journey in ZENITH.

    There was another person in the same arena: An Shaohua. He also felt helpless, and he sighed as he met Kayze¡¯s eyes.

    They were not the only unlucky participants. The Sword Sect¡¯s Long Yun, the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s Che Han, and Northline Flowzone¡¯s Ah Fan were even more unfortunate, as they were in the same arena as Unseen Light.

    Each arena only held a hundred people, but the three of them had all ended up in the same one. Furthermore, their greatest obstacle at the moment was an Arbiter, which meant that it was basically impossible for them to pass through this round of thepetition.

    Of the tens of thousands of arenas, not many were able to attract the attention of the viewers.

    The Cosmic Sect was also quite unlucky, as their third strongest disciple, Yan Kun, had ended up in the same arena as the Technocracy¡¯s Wang Yi.

    In truth, Yan Kun had felt extremely anxious as soon as he saw Wang Yi because he had climbed up the northern face of Zenith Mountain, the same as Wang Yi. Yan Kun had personally witnessed Yao Gu falling down the mountain, and he still was not able to understand just how Wang Yi had attacked.

    Yan Kun surveyed the surroundings. There were tens of thousands of arenas, so why did he have to end up in the same one as Wang Yi?

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s second strongest disciple, Mu Ziying, was also feeling depressed, as he had ended up in the group with Star Devourer.

    The beast had returned to his full, enormous size after clearing Shang Qing¡¯s checkpoint. Hisrge size meant that he took up half of the arena¡¯s space by himself, forcing the rest of thepetitors to squeeze into the remaining area.

    Mu Ziying was rendered speechless. This beast had beenpletely unaffected by the barrage of attacks that the powerhouses climbing up the southern side of the mountain hadunched at him. Thepetitors in this particr arena would definitely work together to attack Star Devourer, but would that even aplish anything? Mu Ziying knew that such tactics were clearly useless and that this arena would be the end of ZENITH for him.

    As thestpetitor fell off the mountain, there was nobody left to attempt to clear any of the checkpoints. ZENITH had truly begun.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1274: The Third Layer

    <h4>Chapter 1274: The Third Layer</h4>

    For the next elimination round, everybody was required to participate, even the gatekeepers. There were no exceptions.

    Shang Qing continued to quietly float in the sky as he looked down at the four people below him.

    Lu Yin turned around and started walking towards the central checkpoint. At the same time, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and Yao Xuan also began moving towards the upper mountain pass.

    Everyone anxiously watched the five gatekeepers; would a huge battle break out between them?

    The audience had clearly been overthinking things, as the four were not dumb enough to start fighting each other at this time.

    The four arrived at the central checkpoint at around the same time, and they were all quite close to Shang Qing.

    Yao Xuan observed Lu Yin with fascination. His master wanted Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast. Initially, Yao Xuan had thought that this mission would be an easy task, but he hade to discover that Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was surprisingly strong. Although Yao Xuan was still confident that his own spiritual force was stronger, it would not be an easy battle.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes were fixed upon Shang Qing. The Daosource Three Skies were still young and arrogant, and not even the monsters¡¯ invasion had changed him. He hadplete confidence that he would be a Progenitor in the future.

    Shang Qing was the opponent that Bu Kong was the most interested in, as he wanted to fight against Progenitor Chen.

    ¡°I hope that your Tri-Yang Technique is truly as powerful as the rumors im,¡± Bu Kong told Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes moved from Yao Xuan to Bu Kong. ¡°I hope that you guys can force me to use my third qi strand.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying the same thing over and over again. You¡¯ll be humiliated if you end up defeated. You¡¯ll be an embarrassment to your Hall of Honor,¡± Yao Xuan replied with a smile. He had an exotic handsomeness to him, and this unique charm was deadly to many girls.

    Shang Qing looked at the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince. ¡°Why are you helping the Sixth Maind?¡¯

    Yao Xuan¡¯s gaze grew sharp; Shang Qing truly believed that Yao Xuan had been the one to attack him.

    Bu Kong arched a brow and curiously looked at Yao Xuan. Had this guy helped the Sixth Maind? Was that statement just now supposed to be helpful in some way? Shang Qing was too petty and would never be able to climb to the true heights of power.

    Zhi Yi kept an eye on Lu Yin. She had never forgotten about how Lu Yin had ignored her Vitality Qi. ¡°You''ve improved tremendously. If you¡¯re willing, I still can ask the Progenitor of Bloodlines to take you in as his disciple.¡±

    Shang Qing and the rest stared at Zhi Yi and Lu Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll have to refuse your kind offer. I know myself best, and I¡¯m not fated to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple.¡±

    ¡°How dare you,¡± Zhi Yi replied coldly.

    Shang Qing looked at Lu Yin. ¡°With your strength, you can get into the top ten. Do your best. You¡¯re also one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He found Shang Qing¡¯s overt arrogance quite annoying.

    Yao Xuanughed. ¡°First Honor Chosen, is that how you judge people? Be careful, as your ns might backfire on you.¡±

    Shang Qing remained calm. ¡°I¡¯m just being honest. All of you will learn what true desperation is in due time.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense. Your cultivation system isn¡¯t evenplete. What desperation?¡± Bu Kong sneered as he walked past Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin shook his head and rushed by as well.

    Zhi Yi had always been watching Lu Yin. To her, Lu Yin was the most important person here, and so, she followed him through the checkpoint.

    Yao Xuan smirked and moved closer to Shang Qing. ¡°Let me let you in on a secret¡ªI didn¡¯t attack you.¡±

    Shang Qing was stunned. ¡°That wasn¡¯t you?¡±

    Yao Xuanughed and ran through the pass.

    Shang Qing stared at Yao Xuan¡¯s back in shock; had it not been him? Then who could it be? Who else was capable of creating an illusion that he, Shang Qing, could not resist? Illusory battle techniques had always been the forte of the Celestial Demons, so who else could have been behind that attack?

    Shang Qing suddenly thought of the Daynight n. In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, they were the best at utilizing spiritual force, just as the Sword Sect was the best at swordsmanship.

    Night''s End, Daybreak had been the Dayking¡¯s signature battle technique.

    Could it have been someone from the Daynight n?

    Shang Qing looked at the thirdyer, searching for the Dayking descendant who hadprehended Night''s End, Daybreak. Could it have been her?

    At this moment, thepetitors already on the thirdyer were terribly nervous; the five gatekeepers were about to join them. All of thepetitors in whichever arena a gatekeeper appeared in were guaranteed to be eliminated.

    Everyone held their breath.

    Bu Kong disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was standing above a sea and surrounded by a hundred people.

    This particr arena was a sea, and there was nond nearby. There were a few other arenas separated by the barriers of light that were also above the sea.

    The hundredpetitors groaned when they saw Bu Kong appear in their midst. This was the end for them, as Bu Kong would definitely be the final victor in this arena.

    Lulu Mavis covered her face. Thepetition was over for her. This meant that Grandini would definitely surpass her. How unlucky.

    Lu Yin disappeared and reappeared within a dark cave, surrounded by a hundred people.

    The people in the cave were all left speechless when they saw Lu Yin. Thepetition was over for them as well.

    A stone in the middle of the crowd wobbled and fell to the ground after seeing Lu Yin appear. ¡°Master, it¡¯s not my fault! The enemy is just too cunning!¡±

    This stone was Little Mountain God. He had thought that he was guaranteed to win this round since the arena was so well suited for him. However, he knew that everything was over for him, as he did not believe that he had any possibility of defeating Lu Yin.

    Little Mountain God might have had the courage to challenge Lu Yin before the start of ZENITH, but after seeing what had happened to Little Arrow Saint and Di Fa, he would be happy as long as he was notpletely destroyed.

    The arena where Zhi Yi appeared did not contain anybody particrly powerful or special.

    Yao Xuan appeared in the same arena as Kuang Wang, who had been prepared to use his butterfly topgrass to eliminate the star energy in the area before using his azure dragon tamed beast to secure a victory. However, after seeing Yao Xuan appear, Kuang Want quietly put his butterfly topgrass away, as there was no longer any point in using it. It would be better to not wastefully use the butterfly topgrass and his azure dragon.

    The unluckiest person was the Sixth Maind¡¯s Mojiang Xiao. This expert from the Mo family had been utterly confident in passing this round and continuing further on in thepetition. However, the moment Shang Qing appeared, Mojiang Xiao knew that his journey was over.

    The true ZENITH finally began after the section with the five checkpoints concluded. There were no judges here, nor anyone to maintain control of thepetition. This gave off the impression that ZENITH was being run by Zenith Mountain itself.

    Everyone waited silently.

    It was not that people did not want to attack, but rather that they were unable to move. They were all being restricted by some invisible force, just like when they had been transferred into each arena.

    When Shang Qing appeared in the thirdyer, everybody was suddenly able to move again. The stage had finally begun.

    Many famous powerhouses were immediately attacked, especially anyone predicted to end up as a top ten finalist. Also, the five gatekeepers were attacked by hundreds of people at the same time.

    Lu Yin was in that exact situation, as the hundreds of people around him simultaneously attacked him with a variety of battle techniques.

    Despite that, therge number of people attacking meant nothing to Lu Yin. He simply unleashed his domain, causing half of the attackers to copse. The others were barely able to stand, and they all soon stopped attacking.

    A round stone quickly shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He had noticed this stone the moment he had arrived in the arena. It had not been because of the stone¡¯s rune lines, but rather because it was simply a stone. Even an idiot could tell that a rock was not normal if it could participate in ZENITH. Also, the stone was actually quite famous. It was Little Mountain God, a genius from the Beast Tamers Flowzone who had been in cryostasis for a thousand years, someone who dared to challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    Little Mountain God had not been affected by Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and it shot towards Lu Yin. A cultivator shattered into pieces as the wind kicked up in the stone¡¯s wake identally brushed by the person.

    Although the stone was small, it had the same power as Bai Wanshan. This was the Mountain God¡¯s heir, an elite who had been cultivated by Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Lu Yin was curious about Bai Wanshan, so he raised a hand and tried to grab the stone.

    Just when Lu Yin was about to catch Little Mountain God, the stone suddenly transformed into a human covered in stone. The human was the size of a palm and had sharp, distinct facial features. He passed through the gaps between Lu Yin¡¯s fingers and punched at Lu Yin with an enormous power that shattered the sky. ¡°You¡¯re careless!¡±

    Little Mountain God had unleashed his full power in that punch, and the attack¡¯s power level had gone over 300,000. No matter if it was Lu Yin or an Arbiter receiving this attack, they would not be able to endure it unprepared. Little Mountain God was confident that he could at least stun Lu Yin with this punch, which would give him a chance of defeating Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly observed Little Mountain God.

    Little Mountain God grew uneasy, but he continued with his attack. The punch was supposed to hit Lu Yin''s nose, as Little Mountain God wanted to stun Lu Yin with this attack that contained Bai Wanshan¡¯s power.

    However, his punch stopped in front of Lu Yin. Little Mountain God was right next to Lu Yin, so his punch should havended, but the distance between the two was insurmountable.

    Little Mountain God had not noticed that 726 stars had already appeared around Lu Yin. To Lu Yin, speed was meaningless, and he simply stepped back as the punch neared him, maintaining a constant distance from Little Mountain God.

    This was nothing more than a game to Lu Yin, but to Little Mountain God, that had been his sole chance of victory.

    Lu Yin flicked a finger and sent Little Mountain God flying backwards as the stars around Lu Yin exploded with a bang.

    The otherpetitors who had managed to remain standing all this time copsed and lost their ability to continue fighting.

    Lu Yin had deliberately not used much of his strength; otherwise, everyone would have died.

    Little Mountain God crashed heavily against a wall of the cave, leaving a dent behind. He was covered in stone and had the power of Bai Wanshan, but Lu Yin¡¯s attack had almost caused him to vomit blood.

    Lu Yin was shocked that Little Mountain God was still conscious.

    Little Mountain God pulled himself out of the wall and unsteadily floated in the air while keeping a wary eye on Lu Yin.

    ¡°What, do you still want to fight?¡± Lu Yinughed. Little Mountain God was the heir of Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall, which was one of the eight great flowzones. He was an important person, so Lu Yin did not mind speaking with him a bit.

    Little Mountain God gritted his teeth. "I still have a chance!"

    The cave shook as bits of stone fell off of the walls and flew towards Little Mountain God.

    This stone was all from Zenith Mountain itself, and it was extremely tough,

    These stones quickly covered Little Mountain God''s body, and he grew visiblyrger. One meter, ten meters, a hundred meters¡­ He grew to a thousand meters, at which point he really was a stone giant looking down at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows quirked up. Judging by the number of rune lines, at this moment, Little Mountain God wasparable to Nightking Zhenwu. It was no wonder why he was confident in being able to fight against the Ten Arbiters.

    Unfortunately, Little Mountain God was already toote. Judging by Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s talent, he would have already be an Enlighter if he had been alive. Even without breaking through, he still would have been much stronger than before, just like Lan Si and Unseen Light.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1275: Ability And Luck

    <h4>Chapter 1275: Ability And Luck</h4>

    Little Mountain God cultivated slower than the Ten Arbiters, and his talent could not quitepare to theirs.

    However, he was unaware of the gap between his own talent and that of the Ten Arbiters.

    ¡°Petrify!¡± Little Mountain God roared. The rocks on his body trembled, and he rapidly shrank in size. The stones merged together as though they were melting, but his rune lines actually spiked in number.

    Lu Yin was stunned; was this guy absorbing rocks? Was this a cultivation method? How interesting.

    Little Mountain God shrank down to a height of five meters before finally stopping. Now, his rune lines wereparable to Lan Si¡¯s after he had be an Enlighter, which meant that Little Mountain God had actually stepped onto the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    Little Mountain God swiped a hand at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting battle technique. It¡¯s too bad that this is the end of your journey.¡±

    Little Mountain God¡¯s five meter tall body suddenly flew backwards despite no visible movements on Lu Yin¡¯s part. The stone body crashed against the cave wall, leaving behind a massive crater.

    Little Mountain God¡¯s eyes nearly fell out as rocks continuously fell from his body. He eventually turned back into a round rock that tremblingly fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin had used Vacuum Palm to defeat Little Mountain God. This rock was quite strong, and he could even fight against the elites expected to enter the top fifty, or even the top thirty. However, his luck was just too bad.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, the people from Beast Tamers Flowzone sighed. Little Mountain God had lost in the end, though it had been inevitable since he had been up against Lu Yin.

    Within the Divine Grade Hall in Beast Tamers Flowzone, Mountain God sighed. When he had seen that Little Mountain God had been in the same arena as Lu Yin, he had still held a sliver of hope, but Little Mountain God had been utterly defeated. Mountain God watched the screen and prayed that Lu Yin would let his heir live.

    In the cave inside Zenith Mountain, Little Mountain God shakily tried to fly up, but he kept failing. Cracks had even appeared on the surface of the rock.

    Lu Yin looked down at the stone. ¡°Remember¡ªI can defeat you now, and that will also be true in the future.¡±

    Little Mountain God mentally gritted his teeth, but he did not retaliate. He knew how to act in such a situation.

    Lu Yin had obviously been the victor, so he looked up at the screen.

    At this moment, a few of the arenas were being shown on the screens, as they had attracted the most attention. Among them was Lu Yin¡¯s. Other than that, the most interesting arenas included the one where the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Yan Kun was fighting against Wang Yi, where the Seven Court¡¯s Y¨­u Qi was fighting against Liu Tianmu, and where the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Mu Ziying was fighting against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Star Devourer.

    The scene in each of these arenas yed out exactly like Lu Yin¡¯s; everybody tried to attack the Ten Arbiters and Wang Yi the moment the elimination round started.

    Lu Yin had not seen the start of the various battles, but as he looked at the screen, he was able to see Yan Kun copsing while Wang Yi remained standing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He was curious about Wang Yi, not only because of his abilities, but also because of his surname.

    Primeval surnames were always shrouded in mystery for the people from the Fifth Maind. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current status, he still did not dare to poke too far into the matters concerning primeval surnames, as he had one himself.

    The fact that people with such surnames drew the hatred of the entire Fifth Maind indicated that there was arger story behind everything.

    Since there were people in the Technocracy with primeval surnames, then did the primeval surnames somehow originate from the Technocracy? If that was the case, then was Lu Yin¡¯s background rted to the Technocracy?

    At this time, in another arena, many of thepetitors copsed after being affected by Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword qi.

    Only Y¨­u Qin remained standing a hundred meters away from Liu Tianmu with a solemn expression and a thickyer of ice beneath his feet.

    Y¨­u Qin was the only one capable of fighting against Liu Tianmu.

    As the inheritor of the Y¨­u family from the Seven Courts, Y¨­u Qin¡¯s strength was disappointing. Blood flowed from her wounded abdomen, and even the sword in her hand had shattered after only a few exchanges.

    The people from the Neoverse were shocked; were the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors all this weak? First, Ku Lei had been defeated by Star Devourer, and at this moment, Y¨­u Qin was about to lose to someone from the Innerverse. The Court of Seven Names had truly fallen far.

    Lu Yin watched Y¨­u Qin and shook his head. The Y¨­u family¡¯s true inheritor was Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, as she was the one who had inherited the family¡¯s secret technique. She was the true inheritor of the family, but she was also likely the most hidden of all the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Undying Yushan. If that man was still alive, then he would actually be the most hidden, as not even his own family elders knew what the former emperor¡¯s intentions were.

    Undying Yushan had be a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart; as more time passed, Lu Yin had a more and more certain feeling that the former emperor was still alive. Lu Yin had also guessed that the spiritual force that he had absorbed from Liuying Zishan might be rted to Undying Yushan, but that was still nothing more than a guess.

    Within a short bush, a girl who looked to be only around ten or so years old turned to look at a screen. She was surrounded by hundreds ofpetitors who were all lying on the ground. She was Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Upon seeing Y¨­u Qin¡¯s unwilling expression, Y¨­u Ye''er muttered, ¡°This is your destiny.¡±

    In a different arena, Y¨­u Qi looked up at a screen before looking back down again.

    Mu Ziying had beenpletely defeated. Despite his innate gift providing him an impressive defense, he had still been unlucky enough to be ced in the same arena as Star Devourer.

    Everybody in the arena had attacked Star Devourer at once, but they had all been defeated, and half of them had even died. Mu Ziying had been lucky enough to stay alive, but he had still been nearly crippled.

    Mojiang Xiao had been grouped with Shang Qing, but even without summoning any copies of Progenitor Chen, Shang Qing had still managed to eliminate all of his opponents.

    Elsewhere, Lulu Mavis, Kuang Wang, and Long Yun were all defeated as well.

    Michelle lost to Little Leaf King.

    After losing, Michelle looked at Wen Sansi before looking up at the screen to see Lu Yin. They had once been ssmates, but the gap between them had be indescribably massive.

    One defeat that surprised Lu Yin was the discovery that Zhuo Daynight had been defeated.

    That was not something that Lu Yin had expected.

    There was nobody famous in Zhuo Daynight¡¯s arena, and she hadprehended Night''s End, Daybreak. Even Nightking Zhenwu had sumbed to her illusions, as she was capable of affecting even Enlighters with power levels of 300,000 to 400,000. Despite all of that, she had been defeated.

    The person who had defeated her had a strange name: No. 0007.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed upon seeing No. 0007. This guy was just a Hunter, so how had he been able to ovee Night''s End, Daybreak?

    Zhuo Daynight was not famous anywhere except within the Daynight n.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was the only other person from the Daynight n who had joined ZENITH.

    In the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, the members of the Daynight n were shocked to see that Zhuo Daynight had been defeated.

    Nightking Dijiang was surprised and looked at No. 0007. This person had actually survived through Night''s End, Daybreak. There were countless types of innate gifts in the universe, but Night''s End, Daybreak had been invincible in a past era.

    It seemed that defeating Zhuo Daynight had not been any sort of big deal to No. 0007, as he was calmly gazing at a screen.

    There were tens of thousands of arenas spread across the thirdyer, and there were about a hundred people in each one. Thus, of the roughly million people who had made it past the five checkpoints, which was actually less than a quarter of the people that had initially started in thepetition, only ten thousand people would be left after the elimination round on the thirdyer.

    The battles on the thirdyer continued for an entire five days.

    Powerhouses like Lu Yin easily and quickly overpowered a hundred people, but there were less than a hundred arenas that had true powerhouses. In the rest of the arenas, it took a few days to determine a winner, and the determining factors for the winners were not only strength, but also intelligence and background. Various tricks, threats, and bribes urred everywhere, and thus, it took five days for a winner to emerge from some arenas.

    Some of the winners were not even the strongest in their group.

    However, most people did not care about such matters. Only a dozen people appeared on the screens at a time on the screens broadcast across the universe.

    As the end of the round approached, there would be a higher and higher chance of each battle being broadcast.

    People started disappearing from the thirdyer and reappearing up higher on the secondyer. There were two hundred arenas on the secondyer, which was fifty times less than the thirdyer, and there were also only fifty people appearing within each arena.

    Fifty people was still a significant number.

    The people who appeared on the secondyer were all powerhouses. No matter how lucky a person was, no one could reach this stage without a certain level of strength.

    ording to some people, ZENITH still had not begun, as to them, everyone who had been eliminated so far had been nothing but filler.

    Once people arrived at the secondyer, they all looked around and checked their surroundings.

    There were only two hundred arenas, and not many elites had been eliminated on the thirdyer. Thus, the chances of meeting other elites on this stage was much higher.

    A lot of people were devastated when they saw who was grouped together with them.

    Cang Shi¡¯s eye twitched. He felt chills run down his spine when Yao Xuan turned to look at him.

    In the face of such an opponent, Cang Shi swallowed and let out a sigh. This was the end of his time in ZENITH, as he had encountered a gatekeeper.

    In another arena, Lan Baobao felt like crying after seeing that she was in the same arena as Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing still looked otherworldly with the three strands of qi swirling around him. He floated in the air, stunning the dozens of people who had been grouped together with him.

    They had never imagined that they would ever meet Shang Qing.

    Some people actually felt very happy, as they were not very powerful and had only managed to reach this stage through luck.

    Instead of being eliminated by other people, they felt proud to end up in Shang Qing¡¯s group. That way, after everything was said and done, they would be able to tell others that they had been eliminated by Shang Qing. Who was Shang Qing? He was the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen! The true champion! It would be an honor to be eliminated by him.

    A fat man anxiously checked his surroundings. ¡°Skinny Bro! Skinny Bro! Where are you?¡±

    The cultivators nearby all looked at the young man with curiosity. Skinny Bro? This guy had to be nuts.

    The fat young man was one half of the Greenmen Duo from the Sixth Maind, and he was currently facing Tian Hou.

    Tian Hou was extremely famous, so everyone kept ncing at him.

    As for the Greenmen Duo, they were nothing more than two randompetitors.

    This same scene was happening in another arena, as the other half of the Greenmen Duo kept shouting for Fat Bro, unable to find him.

    However, the saddest person on the secondyer was Charon. He stared at Lu Yin in a daze; why was this bastard here?

    Lu Yin had also not expected to run into Charon in this ce. What a coincidence!

    Lu Yin missed the time that they had spent together, as they had been schoolmates who had been very, very close.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1276: Outlook and Scope

    <h4>Chapter 1276: Outlook and Scope</h4>

    As Lu Yin reminisced about his time in Astral-10, he smiled.

    He thought that his smile looked friendly, but to Charon, it was a devil¡¯s smile, and a bead of sweat immediately ran down his forehead. Nothing good had ever happened to Charon when he ran into this jerk. This was the end of ZENITH for him.

    Lu Yin felt insulted; why did Charon look like he had just seen a ghost? Did Lu Yin look that scary? Why did this guy get more timid the older he got?

    Many people¡¯s reputations were on the line in ZENITH, and the major powers were directly vying for a scant few benefits. However, to most of the people in the universe, apart from those who were recognized as the strongest amongst the younger generation who were taking part in ZENITH, the entirepetition was pure entertainment.

    On the other hand, to some of the bookmakers who were handling peoples¡¯ bets for thepetition, ZENITH had an immense impact on their lives.

    After the end of the elimination round on the thirdyer, an ancient family in Beast Tamers Flowzone was in deep trouble.

    Before thepetition, this particr family had opened up a betting service, and they had made some calctions about the Little Mountain God¡¯s odds. Since they were tied to the Divine Grade Hall and were clearly aware of the Little Mountain God¡¯s abilities, they had had high hopes for him.

    Therefore, the Little Mountain God¡¯s defeat on the thirdyer had ced the family in huge trouble as well as a significant amount of debt.

    They had considered simply reneging on the bets and not paying their debt, but that would lead to even worse consequences as they were unaware of who had ced bets. When they initially refused to pay, a few Enlighter powerhouses had attacked the family while people from the Divine Grade Hall, the First Grade Hall, the Second Grade Hall, First Flowzone, Daynight Flowzone, and many other elite powers hade to ask for their money.

    This ancient family copsed from this one event, and even if they ended up surviving the crisis, it would be difficult for them to return to their former glory.

    Also, this was just one small part of the universe.

    The universe was too vast. There were countless young geniuses among the Outerverse¡¯s seventy two weaves who had joined ZENITH, so the major forces of each weave had each calcted their own odds. Some had made money while others lost it.

    These bookmakers had all been confident in their odds, but the ZENITH¡¯s current results were already quite different from their expectations.

    The young elites that the various bookmakers had been so confident in were mere passersby in ZENITH and were casually eliminated if they were a bit unlucky.

    This had led to huge windfalls for those who had bet against those geniuses.

    Aside from the Outerverse, simr situations urred in the Innerverse¡¯s great flowzones, various areas of the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse.

    The battle on the thirdyer alone had caused thousands of bookmakers to lose everything, and this was just the beginning.

    The real bookmakers had not calcted the odds for random people who might be easily eliminated. Instead, they had focused on the more famous powerhouses. For example, a bookmaker had set Lu Yin¡¯s odds to enter the top three as 10:1. That bookmaker had also posted odds for the same category for Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, Yao Xuan, and everyone else who was famous.

    Nobody knew who that bookmaker was. There were many guesses, but no one was confident.

    Once all of the contestants appeared on the secondyer, a woman appeared in the sky and looked at a spacecraft in front of her. ¡°I finally found it.¡±

    ¡­

    On the secondyer of Zenith Mountain, thepetition restarted when the invisible force restricting thepetitors disappeared.

    Just like on the thirdyer, the moment people were given their freedom, everyone worked together to attack the famous powerhouses like Shang Qing and Lu Yin.

    Stars appeared around Lu Yin''s body and exploded as he looked at the people attacking him.

    The Cosmic Art was the Cosmic Sect''s defining battle technique, and most people were unable to endure it. Among those attacking Lu Yin, there were a few people from the Sixth Maind as well as the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse. However, only a few remained standing after Lu Yin¡¯s initial attack, as the rest had all copsed.

    Charon was one of the ones who had copsed. Lu Yin had made no efforts to keep an eye out for Charon, as he would be eliminated regardless of anything else.

    Charon helplessly red at Lu Yin. The gap between them had be enormous.

    When they had both been at the Astral Combat Academy, Charon had actually been stronger than Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had had to ckmail Charon into protecting him within the training realms. However, Charon could no longer withstand even one attack from Lu Yin.

    Two cultivators from the Sixth Maind used their imprints and rushed at Lu Yin together.

    A young girl from the Neoverse maneuvered behind Lu Yin and attacked him at the same time.

    Stars vibrated around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and the three people instantly passed out.

    The battle between fifty people and Lu Yin had concluded just like that.

    Lan Baobao had also given up, just like most of the otherpetitors in her arena once they had realized that Shang Qing was with them.

    Battles were still raging in most of the arenas. The most interesting battle at this moment was the one between Lei N¨¹ and Bu Kong. None of the true powerhouses had expected to encounter Bu Kong so soon.

    Lei N¨¹ was the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen, and she was extremely powerful. She hadprehended a secret technique and even reached the final stage in the Astral Tower, but unfortunately, she had been defeated by Xia Jiuyou at thest moment.

    On the other side, Bu Kong was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, so naturally, their battle had attracted a great deal of attention, far surpassing the amount paid to the fight between Shu Jing and Wu Taibai or the battle between Ce Jiu and Liquor Hero.

    Bu Kong gave Lei N¨¹ a curious look. He had eliminated the otherpetitors just a moment before, but Lei N¨¹ had still managed to attack him.

    He had only heard two words, ¡°Autumn¡¯s Sorrow,¡± before her attack had struck him.

    This was the first time that Bu Kong had ever been attacked without being aware of the attack.

    Lei N¨¹ wore a mask that was half red and half white, and ripples radiated out from her body. Her innate gift was hypnosis.

    Bu Kong immediately dodged aside, as he was now wary of this girl.

    Bu Kong was eventually surrounded by the ripples and hypnotized. At that moment, he once again heard those two words. ¡°Autumn¡¯s Sorrow.¡±

    Bu Kong crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

    Lei N¨¹ floated in the sky and stared down at Bu Kong.

    Countless people grew excited at this sight; the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen was truly invincible!

    Lu Yin stared at a screen. Lei N¨¹¡¯s Autumn Sorrow was a truly baffling technique. However, after all this time, he had finally gained some understanding as to how it worked. Bu Kong would not be able to understand it so quickly in the heat of battle, so everything depended on if he could counter it.

    The participants from the Sixth Maind grew nervous, as they could not understand what had happened. They had not seen Lei N¨¹''s attack, but Bu Kong had somehow copsed. They refused to believe that he had been defeated; he was one of the Daosource Three Skies!

    Bu Kong slowly stood back and brushed off the dirt that had gotten onto his body before taking another look at Lei N¨¹. He still could not understand her attack, but that did not matter.

    Lei N¨¹ floated in the sky, and ripples spread out from her to cover the entire arena.

    Bu Kong raised a hand, and the ripples touching him shattered instead of surrounding him.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s innate gift was hypnosis while Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift was dposition. Thus, he simply dposed Lei N¨¹¡¯s hypnosis.

    There was a difference in their innate gifts and strength, and Lei N¨¹ was inferior by a level.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious to see what you look like under that mask.¡± Bu Kong waved his hands as he spoke. Lei N¨¹ was about to move, but she was hit before she could do so. Bu Kong had used a sourcebox array.

    Then, Bu Kong appeared right in front of Lei N¨¹ and grabbed at her mask.

    Lei N¨¹ was frozen in the air and unable to move. However, one of her hands was facing forward at where Bu Kong had appeared.

    Bu Kong¡¯s hand had just touched her mask when he suddenly flew backwards and crashed against the barrier of light that isted the arena.

    This was a secret technique: Banishment. It was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques, and not even Bu Kong could avoid it.

    Lei N¨¹ took this opportunity to escape from the sourcebox array and rush at Bu Kong again. ¡°Autumn¡¯s Sorrow.¡±

    Bu Kong raised a hand, and although nobody could see what he was dposing, the space between him and Lei N¨¹ suddenly shattered, forcing Lei N¨¹ to race backward.

    Bu Kong sneered. ¡°I already know that your battle technique is spread through sound, so the moment I hear your words, I¡¯ll be attacked. It¡¯s a pretty good battle technique, but it¡¯s useless once a person understands how it works. I just have to stop sound from spreading.¡±

    He seized control of the star energy surrounding Lei N¨¹, and her star energy waspletely suppressed.

    This was the suppression that a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker possessed over powerhouses within the same realm. Bu Kong was at the Worldliness stage of star energy control, and even Lei N¨¹ could not prevent her star energy from being suppressed.

    No matter what battle technique she wanted to use, Bu Kong was able to disrupt the star energy inside Lei N¨¹. Even if he couldn¡¯t injure her, he was still able to prevent her from retaliating.

    Bu Kong rushed towards her with a raised hand. As his hand swung down, Lei N¨¹ stared at him without moving.

    The two flew back at the same time, and blood spilled into the air.

    This blood was not only from Lei N¨¹, but also from Bu Kong.

    He looked at her in shock, his face pale.

    This was Discipline, the most infuriating secret technique that the Hall of Honor possessed. It reflected attacks that a person suffered back to their enemy. Thus, Bu Kong¡¯s attack had struck both Lei N¨¹ and himself.

    ¡°Autumn¡¯s Sorrow.¡± Lei N¨¹ had braced herself to receive Bu Kong¡¯s attack, as this was the only way for her to defeat him.

    Despite her heavy injuries, she still tried to attack Bu Kong right after using Discipline. She was confident that she could defeat him if she couldnd an attack at this moment.

    However, Lei N¨¹ had still underestimated Bu Kong. He was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and although he was the youngest, he was also the most intelligent. He had already managed to thoroughly understand the principle behind Autumn¡¯s Sorrow, along with its ws, after seeing Lei N¨¹ use it just a few times. Thus, he would not be defeated so easily.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s Autumn''s Sorrow struck true, and her n seeded. However, the results were not within her expectations.

    Bu Kong was the disciple of the Progenitor of Secret Arts and had been given many secret techniques. In addition to Time Reversal, he had also mastered Reversal Cycle.

    He had started using Reversal Cycle the moment he had been injured by Discipline. Thus, he had already recovered by the time that Lei N¨¹ had attacked.

    Autumn¡¯s Sorrow could fatally injure an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, but it was useless against a perfectly healthy Bu Kong.

    ¡°Nobody has ever used so many secret techniques against me, and you are the first person from the Fifth Maind to injure me. Still, this is the end.¡± Bu Kong¡¯s voice rang out as he swung his hand at Lei N¨¹. He was using his innate gift, and Lei N¨¹ would either die or be heavily injured once he touched her.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1277: The Hall Of Honorâ€™s Disgrace

    <h4>Chapter 1277: The Hall Of Honor¡¯s Disgrace</h4>

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s face was still calm beneath her mask, and her eyes revealed her steely determination. She lifted her other hand towards Bu Kong, still using Discipline.

    Bu Kong was shocked, and he quickly averted his attack.

    Lei N¨¹ did not end up using her secret technique, and the twopetitors pulled away from each other.

    ¡°Are you nning to fight me to the death?¡± Bu Kong asked Lei N¨¹, curious.

    Lei N¨¹ answered, ¡°So what?¡±

    Bu Kongughed. ¡°Woman, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re using a secret technique, which you can¡¯t keep using repeatedly. How many times can you withstand my attack? You¡¯ll eventually be struck.¡±

    Lei N¨¹ fell silent, as this was the truth. No matter if she was facing Bu Kong or Xia Jiuyou, her weakness was too obvious, as she did not know many battle techniques. Although Autumn¡¯s Sorrow was a strong battle technique that was difficult to counter, it was also not particrly effective.

    As the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen, Lei N¨¹ had spent most of her efforts in mastering secret techniques. That was what had allowed her to surpass Shu Jing and the other young elites within the Hall of Honor. However, once she faced an opponent able to withstand her secret techniques, she lost all of her advantages.

    ¡°It seems like you really thought that you¡¯d be able to keep up with me with just your secret techniques. Your innate gift isn¡¯t bad, you know multiple secret techniques, and your battle technique is hard to counter as well. If you weren¡¯t facing me, then you could¡¯ve easily defeated any other opponent. What a shame,¡± Bu Kong said with augh, ¡°You won¡¯t seed if you try to fight me with your secret technique. Do you know how Lockbreakers fight? Specifically, Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers?¡±

    Lei N¨¹ frowned as she kept a close eye on Bu Kong.

    Many people heard Bu Kong¡¯s words and were confused; how Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers fought?

    Most people did not know the answer to that, as it was rare to encounter an Advanced Lockbreaker, especially one who had mastered sourcebox arrays.

    ¡°The greatest advantage that Lockbreakers have over normal cultivators is our control of star energy. Star energy is the main weapon for all cultivators, but are you sure that you can control your weapon?¡± Bu Kong mocked gently. The air nearby started swirling about, and the dust on the ground started moving as well. It was not actually wind moving about, but rather star energy. Bu Kong had seized control of the atmospheric star energy in the entire arena.

    Lei N¨¹ was stunned. The star energy inside her body had turned chaotic, and although it had only just happened to her, she was still unable to react in time. Her reserves of star energy rushed out of her body, and she copsed onto the ground, unable to tolerate the sudden change.

    The people watching saw waves billow through the arena, which were actually star energy made visible.

    Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy had been forcibly andpletely expelled from her body by Bu Kong.

    Everyone was stunned. How was such a thing possible?

    In another arena, Wu Dan was astonished. He had not expected anybody from the Sixth Maind to have such an in-depth understanding of star energy. It was not easy for somebody to aplish what Bu Kong had just done. Although star energy was amon energy source, it would transform into a unique energy after being absorbed by a cultivator. It was easy for a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker to suppress another cultivator¡¯s star energy, but fully controlling the star energy within someone else¡¯s body was another feat entirely.

    Bu Kong¡¯s mastery of star energy was terrifying since he had gained an understanding of the unique characteristics of Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy within such a short amount of time. Wait¡ªhe had just extracted Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy, and she was quite powerful. How could Bu Kong have possibly seeded so quickly?

    The more Wu Dan thought about it, the more worried he became. Were there anypetitors in ZENITH who were capable of defeating Bu Kong? Lei N¨¹ was very powerful, and even if she was not a Lockbreaker, she should still have excellent control of her own star energy.

    Bu Kong must have done something.

    Aside from Wu Dan, Qiu Shi, Xin N¨¹, and Lu Yin all felt confused as well.

    Lu Yin felt that he had great control over star energy, and he had alsoprehended more than one sourcebox array. With all that, he was able to easily suppress his opponents¡¯ star energy, even if they were powerhouses in a higher realm. However, dispelling the star energy from within an opponent¡¯s body was apletely different task.

    It was easy to defeat someone, but very difficult to force them to fully submit.

    Bu Kong had done so, but how?

    Outside Zenith Mountain, the older powerhouses from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds were also very confused at this time. There were some powerful Lockbreakers among these older powerhouses, but even for them, it would not be easy to achieve what Bu Kong had just done.

    Nobody could understand how Bu Kong managed to do it, but he had turned Lei N¨¹ into a normal person in an instant.

    Countless people stared at him with respect.

    In the arena, Lei N¨¹ knelt on the ground as blood dripped out of her mask. She had beenpletely suppressed by Bu Kong, and he had even turned her into a normal human.

    Bu Kong smirked and looked up at a screen. He saw many stunned faces looking up at various screens, and he knew that they were all focused on him.

    This was the feeling that he had wanted to enjoy. He was one of the Daosource Three Skies. He was not just the Sixth Maind¡¯s sky, but also the Fifth Maind¡¯s.

    Who else could turn an Enlighter, the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen, into a normal person? He was able to do so with just a wave of a hand! He must seem to wield the power of gods to the people watching!

    Lu Yin silently observed Bu Kong; that person was a great threat. Lu Yin had some understanding of the battle that had just happened, and Bu Kong had countered Lei N¨¹¡¯s Autumn¡¯s Sorrow after she had used it just a few times. In contrast, Lu Yin had spent quite a bit of time trying to understand the technique.

    Bu Kong¡¯s talent for fighting was absolutely terrifying, but his ability to dispel star energy from within his enemy¡¯s body was even more frightening.

    Lu Yin could not understand how Bu Kong had managed to achieve that.

    However, Lu Yin was certain of one thing; when Bu Kong had made Lei N¨¹ into a normal person, he had immediately be one of the top candidates for ZENITH¡¯s champion.

    This was what it meant to be one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    The battle between Bu Kong and Lei N¨¹ had taken quite a long time, and most of the other battles had already finished. For example, Corpse Looter had been defeated by Yao Xuan. Although Corpse Looter was quite powerful and inferior only to the Realmlings, he was still powerless when up against Yao Xuan.

    Cang Shi had been in the same arena as Corpse Looter, but he had immediately copsed.

    Elsewhere, Feng Shang had been defeated by Wu Dan, leaving him frustrated. However, the gap between them was simply too great to ovee.

    Additionally, Liu Xiaoyun, Avery, Han Chong, and many others had also been defeated.

    They were all quite powerful and could be considered elites in the universe, but they were not able to proceed any further in thispetition.

    Avery was ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings and was known as the Second War King. The bookmakers in Soulseal Flowzone had predicted that Avery would finish ZENITH with a high ranking, but he had already been eliminated.

    His loss had caused multiple ns in Soulseal Flowzone to go bankrupt.

    Avery had been easily defeated by White Silkworm.

    At this moment, the battle that attracted the most attention was the fight between Shu Jing and Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai was another one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. He rarely showed his abilities in front of others, and Lu Yin¡¯s greatest impression of Wu Taibai was from the battle in the cauldron in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. Even after Wu Taibai had forced Nightking Zhenwu to use the battle technique that he had learned from the Arrow Progenitor, Wu Taibai had still almost killed Nightking Zhenwu.

    Of the three Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai was the most mysterious, but despite that, he had only been predicted to ce seventh in thepetition, only receiving that position due to his status as one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    After Bu Kong demonstrated his power, everybody became curious about Wu Taibai¡¯s abilities.

    Shu Jing was the Hall of Honor¡¯s third Honor Chosen, and he had fought against Bu Kong during the battle atop the Champions¡¯ Stage. Although Shu Jing was weaker than Lei N¨¹, he was still considered one of the elites of ZENITH.

    Regardless, Shu Jing felt very frustrated during his fight against Wu Taibai, as he seemed to be unable to touch Wu Taibai no matter what battle technique or innate gift he used. Wu Taibai moved around very casually, but he always managed to barely dodge Shu Jing¡¯s attack at thest second. This made Shu Jing feel as if he had the ability tond an attack on Wu Taibai, but he failed every time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell as he watched the frustrating battle. It was aplete suppression.

    This was different from Bu Kong¡¯s fight with Lei N¨¹, as Wu Taibai only ever dodged Shu Jing¡¯s attacks with his vast experience. This member of the Daosource Three Skies had not even used any of his own abilities, but he had already managed to force Shu Jing into a corner.

    Shu Jing was being yed with by Wu Taibai.

    Although Shu Jing was weak, he was the Hall of Honor¡¯s third Honor Chosen. Yet, his battle with Wu Taibai made him look like a child fighting against an adult.

    There was a linear movement that tore the sky apart and streaked into the distance. Shu Jing tucked in his arm, but Wu Taibai still appeared right next to him and grabbed Shu Jing¡¯s arm. ¡°Let me feel what Discipline is like.¡±

    Wu Taibai quickly retreated with an arm in his hand. He had just torn Shu Jing¡¯s arm off of his body.

    Sweat dripped down Shu Jing¡¯s forehead. ¡°Discipline.¡±

    Wu Taibai¡¯s expression changed as blinding pain appeared in his right arm. It felt as though his whole arm was going to be torn apart.

    This was Discipline, a secret technique that could reflect an opponent¡¯s attack back to them.

    However, the pain onlysted for a short while before Shu Jing copsed.

    He did not have the strength to fully utilize the secret technique.

    Wu Taibai threw the arm away and looked over at Shang Qing. Only the person that had summoned Progenitor Chen would be able to let him feel the excitement of a true battle.

    Bu Kong¡¯s battle with Lei N¨¹ had been astounding, but Wu Taibai¡¯s fight with Shu Jing had been eerily calm.

    Lu Yin did not understand Wu Taibai¡¯s battle technique.

    At this time, Wang Yi was staring at Wu Taibai in confusion from another arena. Was his intuition wrong? Wu Taibai had made Wang Yi experience a familiar feeling just now, but wasn¡¯t Wu Taibai from the Sixth Maind? Why did he give Wang Yi that feeling? This should not be possible!

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En was furious.

    Both the Hall of Honor¡¯s second and third Honor Chosen had been defeated by people from the Sixth Maind.

    Although the first Honor Chosen, Shang Qing, was still widely epted as the strongest contestant, the defeat of two other Honor Chosen was a disgrace to them.

    Oh right, Lu Yin was still there as well.

    Mu En turned to look at Lu Yin; he was Hall of Honor¡¯s fourth Honor Chosen.

    The Hall of Honor would only be able to redeem themselves if two of their Honor Chosen entered the top ten, and one of them became ZENITH¡¯s champion.

    Mu En immediately sent out orders to publicize the news that Lu Yin was the fourth Honor Chosen. He wanted to recast Lu Yin¡¯s image as a genius who had been groomed by the Hall of Honor rather than him being the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Although nobody understood what had happened in the fight, the results were as expected: Shu Jing lost.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1278: Unique Battle Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1278: Unique Battle Technique</h4>

    Lu Yin turned to look at the other arenas on the screen, but then his expression suddenly changed. He saw Ce Jiu copse, revealing Liquor Hero standing before him.

    Liquor Hero looked as drunk as usual, but Ce Jiu had been defeated.

    Before, Lu Yin had been paying attention to Wu Taibai and Shu Jing¡¯s battle, and he had not even noticed the fight between Liquor Hero and Ce Jiu.

    Ce Jiu was from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family, and he had also mastered a secret technique: Astral Chessboard. Thus, he should not have gone down without a fight.

    Of the Ten Arbiters, Lu Yin had seen Liu Tianmu, Wen Sansi, Lan Si, Ling Gong, Unseen Light, and Jin He fight before, so he had an idea of their limits. Liquor Hero, on the other hand, was the only remaining mystery to Lu Yin. She had never shown herself during the battles in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Lu Yin had looked into Liquor Hero in the past, but he had not managed to uncover any information.

    However, it appeared that she had to be quite powerful if she had defeated Ce Jiu this easily.

    Many people had the same thought as Lu Yin. Although Ce Jiu was not the most powerful of the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors, the Ce family had still spent a tremendous amount of resources to help him raise his strength after he was selected to enter ZENITH. Thus, at the minimum, he should have been able to enter the top thirty of thepetition.

    Despite his recent increase in strength, Ce Jiu had still been defeated quite quickly, which made Liquor Hero appear extremely threatening.

    Half of the people on the secondyer had now been eliminated. There was a much higher chance of two powerhouses running into each other on the secondyer. So, while Lu Yin and the rest of the audience had watched some of these exciting fights, they had also neglected some of the otherpetitors.

    Wen Qian''er looked fearfully at a worm crawling in front of her. Although it looked negligible, this worm had already pierced through everybody else in the arena.

    Blood continued to leak from her abdomen, and she was in a great deal of pain.

    This worm was Bai Mai, and people had already been talking about it before ZENITH¡¯s start. However, nobody had been able to find it after thepetition had started.

    In this arena, Hua Xiao had also been defeated despite being the Cosmic Sect¡¯s third disciple. His power wasparable to the Ten Arbiters, and he had also built up an impressive reputation while fighting in the Cosmic Sea.

    As soon as Hua Xiao had arrived on the secondyer, the other participants in his arena had all attacked him at once since he had been predicted to end up in ZENITH¡¯s top thirty.

    Despite the group attack, nobody had expected Hua Xiao to suddenly be defeated by a sonic attack. His eardrums were torn apart, and blood bled out from his ears. If not for his opponent holding back, he might have died.

    Hua Xiao bitterly looked at the man sitting in front of him. This man was not from the Sixth Maind, which meant he was from the Fifth Maind. However, he also was not from the Neoverse.

    Since when had so many hidden powerhouses existed in the universe?

    Ku Lei had also been defeated by Bai Ling.

    Ku Lei would not have been defeated so easily if not for the injury that he had suffered from Star Devourer. As a result, Ku Lei had only been able to use half of his power, which led to him losing to Bai Ling despite them both having the same cultivation.

    No matter how indignant Ku Lei felt, he had still been defeated.

    Meanwhile, Ku Wei was ecstatic. He had been lucky enough to not be grouped with any elites. Thus, he had actually emerged victorious again on the secondyer.

    However, he became even happier when he saw that Ku Lei had lost. Ku Wei was so happy he wanted to break out in song.

    The battles had already concluded in half of the two hundred arenas, and the ones with elite powerhouses had concluded much earlier. As for the arenas where there were contestants withparable strengths, it took them much longer to determine a winner.

    Lu Yin looked around, and he eventually focused on one specific arena, as he had seen someone familiar there: Tian Hou.

    Lu Yin had known beforehand that Tian Hou was participating in ZENITH, but he had not expected the Cosmic Hou to encounter a formidable opponent.

    In one corner of an arena of the secondyer, dozens of people had copsed onto the ground. Only ten people were left in the arena, and they all looked at Tian Hou while trembling before turning to look at the fatty who was close by.

    Where had this fattye from? His defenses were incredible!

    Tian Hou was a unique creature that was actually a vortex. Nobody could actually attack such a being, and after thepetitors had realized that their attacks were ineffective, they had given up on attacking. For ack of a better target, they had turned to attack the fatty, as they found his size intimidating.

    However, the fatty had not been injured in the slightest. In fact, all of the attacks had been reflected as though they hadnded on a rubber ball, instantly eliminating dozens of participants.

    ¡°Skinny Bro, Fat Bro got even fatter today! I¡¯ll unleash my power, and we¡¯ll meet in the finals!¡± the fatty roared as he rushed at thepetitors around him.

    The fatty did not care about using things like battle techniques or innate gifts, and he simply rushed at his opponents.

    He bulldozed up to sevenpetitors at a time while the rest of the people ran around the arena, trying to escape. Most of them ended up behind Tian Hou.

    Tian Hou suddenly attacked the fatty, his Phantom Soul Strike enveloping the entire arena. In an instant, all of the remainingpetitors had copsed.

    But the fatty waspletely unaffected and continued to charge at Tian Hou.

    Eventually, the fattynded on the ground with a bang. He was not able to touch Tian Hou at all.

    Tian Hou looked down at the fatty and used his Phantom Soul Strike multiple times.

    This attack was simr to Shockwave Palm, and the more attacks that were stacked up, the more powerful the final blow would be. However, Phantom Soul Strike also produced illusions.

    Countless Phantom Soul Strikes struck the fatty headon. Most people in his position would have been unable to bear such an onught. After all, Tian Hou and the fatty were both Cruisers, but Tian Hou was essentially invincible within his realm.

    Despite that, the fatty was also nearly invincible, and Tian Hou¡¯s attacks werepletely ineffective against him.

    The fatty¡¯s enormous size made him look like a ball, and nothing happened to him no matter how Tian Hou attacked.

    The fatty rolled over and shouted, ¡°Fat Bro is invincible! Attack me! Attack me! Just keep trying!¡±

    Countless people were speechless; this fatty was so thick skinned.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Tian Hou. He still remembered that Tian Hou¡¯s innate gift was devouring. This Cosmic Hou was able to devour objects, items, battle techniques, and even emotions.

    When Tian Hou had devoured Lu Yin¡¯s will during their fight in the past, Lu Yin had been ovee by fear at that moment. That was Tian Hou¡¯s most terrifying ability.

    There were even rumors iming that one of the Sword Sect¡¯s elders had once been devoured by a Cosmic Hou.

    When Tian Hou turned to face the fatty, the people who knew about the Cosmic Hous¡¯ abilities all stopped watching. The battle was already over; the fatty¡¯s five senses and will were all about to be devoured.

    However, the very next moment, something surprising happened.

    The fatty screamed like a madman, and a middle aged man in a green robe appeared behind him. That man was the fatty¡¯s imprint.

    After his imprint appeared, the fatty¡¯s hands struck Tian Hou and sent him flying backwards.

    Everyone who saw this was stunned; what had just happened?

    Lu Yin was simrly astonished; how had that fatty hit Tian Hou?

    Tian Hou was a vortex, a unique being, so how had he been hit?

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had seen the Greenmen Duo. Xu San had mentioned the pair to Lu Yin in the past, and he had also mentioned that they were quite powerful.

    However, at the time, Lu Yin had not paid attention to the two as he had simply thought that they were just weirdos.

    Regardless, he was shocked by the fatty who had overpowered Tian Hou with a punch.

    Lu Yin could see Tian Hou¡¯s rune lines from his position on the secondyer.

    Tian Hou¡¯s runes started to rapidly diminish, and his vortex also began to disappear.

    A unique being like Tian Hou possessed an extremely high resistance to most forms of damage, but he had actually been defeated by a single attack.

    Then, Lu Yin turned to look at the fatty. His rune lines had increased greatly after his imprint appeared. Both the fatty and the skinny were true elites.

    Off in the distance, Wang Yi was feeling quite rattled. This was not because of how powerful the fatty was, but rather because of the battle technique that he had used. ¡°How does he know that move?¡±

    All of the rumors about Cosmic Hous were true; one of them really had devoured one of the Sword Sect¡¯s elders who had mastered the Thirteen Swords. The rumors surrounding this creature had been built upon the defeat of countless people from the Human Domain, as it was incredibly rare for a human to defeat a Cosmic Hou within the same realm as them, especially since the creatures¡¯ resistance to most attacks increased as they grew stronger.

    The fatty had astonished everybody by defeating Tian Hou with one attack.

    Those from the Astral Beast Domain were the most shocked, as they were the most familiar with the Cosmic Hou¡¯s resistances and abilities. How had the battle ended so quickly?

    The skinny guy screamed from where he was on the secondyer. ¡°Fat Bro! Fat Bro, you¡¯ve won! You¡¯re even fatter now!¡±

    The fatty vaguely heard these words, and he excitedly shouted back, ¡°Am I fatter? Really? Skinny Bro, you must have grown thinner, too.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro, I can hear you! We¡¯re brothers forever.¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro!¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro!¡±

    The people next to the two were all bbergasted; these two had to be insane.

    Everyone watched the twopliment each other and rave about being fat or thin. It was quite a disturbing conversation.

    You should die quicker, some people secretly cursed the two.

    Tian Hou¡¯s defeat had caused another few bookmakers to be cleaned out. These people had started taking bets after seeing who had ended up in each arena, as they did not have the ability to even attempt predicting the overall winners.

    Most people were unaware of the rumors regarding Cosmic Hous, so these particr bookmakers had set good odds for Tian Hou¡¯s defeat in order to lure people into betting against Tian Hou.

    However, they had not expected Tian Hou to actually be defeated at this stage.

    A huge surge of star energy destroyed an entire n on a, leaving only an elder remaining.

    The elder cried out as he looked at a screen, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have taken those bets! How? How could Tian Hou have been defeated?¡±

    Another man shot the elder a cold look. ¡°If you can¡¯t pay me, then die.¡±

    He then pressed a hand down, causing the entire ce to burst into mes.

    More such scenarios would ur as ZENITH progressed.

    Nothing was certain when it came to gambling, and this applied to both the betters and the bettors. Although the bookmakers had ess to more information than the average person, ZENITH far exceeded the scope of the level of information that these bookmakers had ess to. Thus, the whole event was a gamble for them as well. Since it was a gamble, then there was clearly the possibility of them losing everything.

    Countless people throughout the universe scolded and cursed the fatty when Tian Hou lost.

    Arch-Elder Zen calmly watched the fatty¡¯s fight on a screen in the Honor Zone. ¡°That¡¯s aplicated battle technique, though it looks familiar.¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster was also watching a screen on Eversky Ind. Only the top ten in ZENITH would receive that reward, and only ten people from the Fifth Maind had ever tried to do so since ancient times. However, only a handful from them had ever seeded, though those who had seeded would beparable to him.

    The top ten from thispetition would be the strongest of all time, since ZENITH included the youths from both mainds.

    In the Cosmic Sea, waves surged beneath a dark sky.

    A rugged old ship bobbed atop the waves, constantly being tossed into the sky by them.

    This ship was old and seemed like it would be capsized by the waves at any moment, but this ship had existed for a long time. This ship belonged to one of the four most powerful crews in the Cosmic Sea: the Soldier Crew.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1279: Gaiaâ€™s Swamp

    <h4>Chapter 1279: Gaia''s Swamp</h4>

    Soldier Crew had existed in the Cosmic Sea for a long time, though Leon''s Armada was known to be the strongest of the four pirate crews. However, if one looked at the history of the pirate crews, then Leon¡¯s Armada had only been formed a little before the Ignition Crew while neither of those two couldpare to Soldier Crew or the Longevity Brigade.

    On Soldier Crew¡¯s dpidated ship, countless people looked at a screen with steely eyes. Although their faces could not be seen, their eyes were filled with passion and determination.

    This crew consisted of a group of old soldiers, but nobody knew where they hade from or who they were working for.

    Within the Cosmic Sea sat the Human Domain¡¯s darkest prison: Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp spread across millions of kilometers and covered an entire region. It was even capable of devouring Hunter realm powerhouses.

    This was humanity¡¯s worst prison.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp did not have any prison cells. Instead, the criminals were simply chained to a wall. These chains were extremely strong, and even Enlighter realm powerhouses were barely able to break them.

    There were three thousand chains locking down the Human Domain¡¯s captive criminals. This was the darkest ce within the Human Domain that housed people who hadmitted horrendous crimes deserving of execution but were too strong to execute.

    Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was one of the people in this ce.

    In Gaia¡¯s Swamp, the Warden was the only ruler, who was the master of Gaia¡¯s Swamp. He spent most of his time sleeping and only asionally woke up.

    When he was awake, the Warden¡¯s only pastime was using his gadget. He watched movies, television shows, and countless other programs. This was also the only thing of any interest for the criminals incarcerated in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Whatever made the Warden happy made the prisoners happy.

    At this particr moment, everyone in Gaia¡¯s Swamp was watching ZENITH on a screen.

    Loudughter erupted throughout Gaia¡¯s Swamp. ¡°That fatty¡¯s so funny. Hahahaha! His battle technique is very interesting too. He shoulde to Gaia¡¯s Swamp, hahahaha.¡±

    ¡°Prison- Warden, please be softer. They can¡¯t handle it¡ªyourughter will kill them,¡± a voice shakily spoke up.

    ¡°Let them die then. We¡¯ll have the space for someone new. It¡¯s been so many years, but all those who should die still haven¡¯t while those who shouldn¡¯t die are all dead. It¡¯s so boring,¡± the Wardenined loudly with a voice that shook Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    ¡°But- but Master Cha¡¯s father won¡¯t be able to endure it,¡± the voice nervously protested.

    The Warden immediately stoppedughing. ¡°Hmm¡­ Go and take a look then. Make sure that he¡¯s still alive.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± A huge pig rushed into Gaia¡¯s Swamp. This pig known as Lord Piggy was allowed to travel through Gaia¡¯s Swamp as it was Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s Assistant Warden.

    Lord Piggy was a thousand meters long and a few hundred meters tall. Despite that, it was still only as big as the Warden¡¯s toe.

    The Warden looked at a particr arena on his screen and said, ¡°You¡¯re a representative of Gaia¡¯s Swamp, so don¡¯t lose too badly.¡±

    On Zenyu Star, a huge crowd watched Lu Yin on the screen in awe. They only had eyes for Lu Yin.

    The same thing was happening on Earth.

    Only one young man looked around curiously. ¡°This is a bustling ce. I¡¯ll bring dad over to take a look once we¡¯re free.¡±

    A burly man red at the young man, but the young man looked over and grinned.

    The burly man was infuriated. ¡°This man insulted King Lust time he was here! Let¡¯s kick his ass!¡±

    ¡°Beat him!¡±

    ¡­

    The young man was speechless. ¡°Again? I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    And with that, he disappeared.

    In Ironblood Fort, Elder Lohar and some others were all watching a screen. The border was peaceful, as the Astral Beast Domain was also focused on ZENITH.

    As he watched the battles in the various arenas y out, Elder Lohar eximed, ¡°It¡¯s only been a short while, but even I can no longer defeat Lu Yin. Despite that, he¡¯s not even predicted to be in the top ten! The younger generation is really powerful.¡±

    Nightqueen Qiuyu stared at the screen with aplex expression, though she only paid attention to Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu had been trapped in Ironblood Weave when Lu Yin had overturned Daynight Flowzone. She hated him, but there was nothing that she could do about it. Even the entire Daynight n had been unable to defeat that youth.

    At this moment, Nightqueen Qiuyu merely wished that Nightqueen Yanqing would do well in ZENITH and not embarrass her Daynight n.

    It took ten days for the battles on the secondyer to finish.

    Thetest round of ZENITH had attracted a great deal of attention from people, but not because it was exciting. Rather, it was simply because this round had dragged on for too long. There had been a few arenas withpetitors that possessedparable strengths, and they had been forced topete in both brain and brawn.

    This was the reason why some battles hadsted for ten days.

    Despite that, each of thebatants had sessfully revealed themselves to the entire universe.

    To some people, the actualpetition had only begun after thepetitors had cleared the five checkpoint, but for others, ZENITH would only start once the one-on-one battles started after the elimination rounds were done.

    There were only a hundredpetitors remaining now, and the individual battles would take ce on the topyer.

    From this point onwards, each battle would be one-on-one fight, and each would happen separately. After all, anypetitor that had reached this stage was worthy of such treatment.

    Avery, who was ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Little Arrow Saint, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ku Lei, and even the Hall of Honor¡¯s second and third Honor Chosen, Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing, had all been defeated. Anyone who had managed to reach the battlestage on the firstyer, whether by strength or luck, was worthy of having a featured battle.

    Although such a format required more time, it also amply showed the importance of ZENITH.

    The goal of ZENITH was not merely to determine the top ten strongest youths, but it was also a means to encourage cultivators in both mainds to strive for more.

    This was the hope of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors as well. They would eventually return to reim their Sixth Maind, and they did not want the cultivators from their Sixth Maind to feel dejected. ZENITH was a means to raise their morale.

    After ten dayster, the individual battles finally began.

    Two people disappeared from the arenas and reappeared on the firstyer.

    Everyone¡¯s focus shifted onto these two people.

    The two who had appeared on the firstyer were both very nervous. There were countless people throughout the universe who were focused on them at this moment, including their friends, family, enemies, and countless others. Everybody was watching them.

    Every single thing that they did would be scrutinized by the entire universe.

    They were just Explorers, so nobody had paid much attention to them during the earlier rounds, but at this moment, the whole universe was watching them.

    The only fortunate thing for them was that they were both Explorers, meaning that neither of them had to fight one of the elites.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ah San from the Cosmic Sea. Fate has allowed us to meet each other during ZENITH. May I know your name?¡± one of the Explorers spoke politely. Although he was acting politely, he still looked incredibly nervous. He wanted to be more courteous than normal since the whole universe was watching him.

    One of the broadcasts was definitely being sent out throughout the universe where all of the screens were focused on him.

    The moment he thought about this close up, he panicked once again and gulped.

    The man across from Ah San looked even more nervous. ¡°I- I am Qian Zou.¡±

    Ah San¡¯s eyes gleamed¡ªhis opponent seemed far more nervous than himself, and his name also sounded weak. He, Ah San, would definitely win this round!

    ¡°From- from the Neoverse,¡± Qian Zou finished before gulping. He felt speechless. How had he been featured in the very first round? His reputation was too pathetic, and there were people who wanted to catch him wherever he went. He felt bad for revealing himself in such a major event.

    ¡°Neoverse? You¡¯re from the Neoverse?¡± Ah San hesitated.

    Qian Zou nodded.

    Ah San¡¯s eye twitched. He knew that he was in trouble. The Neoverse held the majority of the Human Domain¡¯s powerhouses, and anyone from that ce who was participating in ZENITH was definitely quite powerful.

    While the both of them were thinking about how to defeat their opponent, the audience all started growing impatient.

    ¡°Start fighting! What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re taking too long. We just want to see Shang Qing and Bu Kong fight, so finish up already.¡±

    ¡°They should just kill each other and stop wasting time.¡±

    ¡­

    There was no time limit for the battles in ZENITH, and nobody could rush the contestants no matter how long they took. However, the two already knew that everyone was watching them, and they felt a great deal of pressure.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, bro.¡± Ah San attacked first.

    Ah San was quite powerful for an Explorer. He was likely able to enter the top sixty of the Top 100 Rankings. Despite that, his attack missed. There was nobody in front of him; where had that guy gone?

    A punch struck Ah San¡¯s face, stunning him. Before he could even respond, dozens of punches knocked him unconscious.

    This was Qian Zou¡¯s battle technique, Invisible Hands. It was his favorite technique for when he stole¡ªno, borrowed items. He was finally able to put it to good use at this moment, and he had instantly defeated his opponent.

    Many people were surprised, as they had not expected Qian Zou to be so powerful.

    Qian Zou had also not expected to finish everything this smoothly. He had thought that there was a chance that his opponent might be quite powerful, so perhaps, was he also a powerhouse?

    White jumped around down on the secondyer. ¡°Good job! You didn¡¯t embarrass me.¡±

    ck nodded. ¡°Not bad, not bad.¡±

    The only highlight from the first battle was Qian Zou¡¯s battle technique. Many people were surprised when they saw it, including even Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster. They were not surprised by how quickly the youth had moved, but rather by how unique his movement technique was. He looked as though he was walking forward when he moved backwards, and the reverse was also true.

    Many people in the Neoverse felt chills when they saw Qian Zou¡¯s performance. Fortunately, they had not been too harsh on him in the past, as it turned out that he was surprisingly powerful.

    Many people also gritted their teeth and sighed when they realized that they would never be able to get their stuff back.

    White jumped about excitedly on the secondyer as she cheered for Qian Zou. Then, she suddenly appeared on the topyer.

    She looked around in confusion as somebody appeared in front of her.

    Lu Yin sighed as he saw who had appeared in front of White; why was it him? This was the end of White¡¯s time in ZENITH.

    Many people sighed when they saw who had appeared. The poor girl was going to lose.

    White and ck were very likable despite how mischievous they were. Many people doted on the twins and had hoped that they would be able to reach a further stage.

    However, Xia Jiuyou had appeared in front of White, which meant that this would be the end of ZENITH for her.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1280: Not Living Up To The Name

    <h4>Chapter 1280: Not Living Up To The Name</h4>

    Upon seeing that her opponent was Xia Jiuyou, White reacted with a show of disgust on her face. "Ugly."

    With that, she raised her hand high and said, "I give up."

    These three words were loud and clear, and they were spoken with a bright tone.

    No one was surprised, and many were actually relieved, as they had been worried that Xia Jiuyou would hurt White.

    On the secondyer, ck nodded with a serious expression. "That''s right, just as Master taught us: don''t be stubborn."

    In the Neoverse, on Eversky Ind, Highsage Grandmaster felt his teeth ache. The next generation really was not very reliable.

    Xia Jiuyou remained calm, and he did not care about White''s teasing remarks at all. He simply briefly appeared on the firstyer before returning to the secondyer, not moving once.

    There were no powerhouses in the next match, as it was a battle between the third ranked person on the Top 100 Rankings, Qing Longlong, and the Realmling of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Brahman Realm.

    The power of a secret technique was too much, and the gap between Qing Longlong and the Realmling was also toorge.

    Cang Mu ended up going against the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Yao Ji, and he was easily defeated. Cang Mu was not even able to withstand a single Cosmic Palm.

    Yao Ji was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples. Although he was much weaker than Lu Yin and had been bullied repeatedly by Lu Yin, Yao Ji was more than enough to deal with an opponent at Cang Mu''s level. Although Cang Mu was a Cruiser, there was still too much of a gap between him and Yao Ji.

    Tu Bo was pitted against Shi Zhongjian, which ended in disaster for him.

    ck met Toolwielder, and just like White, she did not even try to fight. She immediately surrendered and disappeared after leaving behind onement: ugly.

    Battles continued to y out under the watchful eyes of the entire universe. Some were fast while others were slow.

    Time passed, and soon, an entire day had gone by.

    The following day, Lu Yin had grown bored. Two figures appeared on the firstyer who perked him up and excited countless viewers.

    Lan Si was facing off against Yuhua Mavis.

    A battle between one of the Ten Arbiters and one of the Neoverse¡¯s top elites became the focus of both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    During the events in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lan Si had essentially been a spectator, much like Lu Yin. However, Lan Si certainly was not weak, and he had onlycked the cultivation realm to stand on the same level as the others atop the golden stage.

    At the moment, Lan Si had already broken through to the Enlighter realm, and the Arbiter¡¯s cultivation was no longergging behind anyone else¡¯s in ZENITH.

    Up on the firstyer, the two contestants stood across from each other.

    Lan Si solemnly stared at Yuhua Mavis. This woman had knocked Lu Yin down from the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone with just seven punches, resulting in one of Lu Yin''s few defeats.

    Yuhua Mavis also viewed Lan Si as someone with great importance. Previously, she had not cared about the Ten Arbiters, but in the Mountain and Seas Zone, she had seen the power of some of the Ten Arbiters like Unseen Light, Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, and Liu Tianmu. Each and every one of them had revealed impressive levels of strength. On top of that, the Hall of Honor had apparently evaluated Lu Yin, another one of the Ten Arbiters, as even more powerful than Yuhua Mavis. Thus, she no longer looked down upon any of the Arbiters.

    "I heard that Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm actually came from you and that you were the first of the Arbiters to face him," Yuhua Mavis said.

    Lan Si replied, "He figured it out on his own. I didn''t teach him anything."

    Yuhua Mavis looked grave. "It¡¯s a very powerful palm technique, but unfortunately, it is useless for me."

    After she spoke, grass appeared beneath the soles of her feet and spread out in all directions.

    Lan Si did not bother talking any more. Instead, he instantly made a move and fired off an invisible Vacuum Palm.

    Yuhua Mavis forcefully received the Vacuum Palm. Even if Lan Si had be an Enlighter, the power of his Vacuum Palm should still be somewhat simr to what Lu Yin had used against her atop the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone. This was an intimidating attack, but not for Yuhua Mavis. Although a Vacuum Palm was both fast and unseen, it could not break through her defense.

    The green grass in front of Lan Si seemed to weaken slightly, but his Vacuum Palm was only able to disperse a bit of the grass. It was not enough to push all the way through this defense.

    Yuhua Mavis raised a hand and smashed a volley of massive green fists at Lan Si. Each punch carried the same level of power that she had used to knock Lu Yin off of the golden stage.

    Lan Si was not Lu Yin. Although Lan Si had an impressive physique and had made great progress in the Oveying Stacks Path, he was not as strong as Lu Yin. His defenses were also inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s, and the green fist punched Lan Si to the ground, followed by many more. Over a dozen green fists mmed down on the Arbiter.

    Yuhua Mavis had not held back. She was facing one of the Ten Arbiters, and it would be disrespectful to not go all out. Besides, she refused to underestimate any of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lan Si was defeated. It was a clean victory.

    His most powerful attack was his Vacuum Palm, but it was useless against Yuhua Mavis.

    Bing an Enlighter had only slightly increased the power of Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and his greatest improvement was that he had gotten rid of the momentary pause before the attack¡¯s release that had originally urred due to the huge momentum transfer. Still, that change was not enough for his Vacuum Palm to be effective on Yuhua Mavis. She had not underestimated her opponent. Lan Si was more powerful than Lu Yin when he had been in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    Lan Si coughed up blood, feeling bitter. He looked out in the direction of the far off Starfall Sea. He had received the Oveying Stacks Path and Vacuum Palm from the Stacks Dojo, that ce actually had a follow-up technique that built off of Vacuum Palm. If the Starfall Sea had not been blockaded, then he could have returned to the Stacks Dojo and learned that next technique. In that case, his strength would not have been limited to what he currently possessed.

    Without the subsequent technique to Vacuum Palm, Lan Si had not been able to qualitatively improve his strength. He had not been able to return to Stacks Dojo, so he was much weaker than the other Arbiters. Even if he had attempted to learn a new technique, mastery would havee toote for ZENITH.

    Lan Si had basically entered ZENITH with a strengthparable to what the other Ten Arbiters had possessed in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and his progress was not obvious.

    As he had expected, he had been overtaken.

    On the secondyer, Lu Yin shook his head. Why was Lan Si still using the same Vacuum Palm? His innate gift allowed him to turn off his sense of pain, which was incredibly effective when facing opponents of a simr level. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s die, he would have lost to Lan Si.

    However, ack of pain was worthless when facing an opponent like Yuhua Mavis who could simply crush Lan Si.

    Lu Yin was a bit disappointed in Lan Si. The strength that Lan Si had disyed was not worthy of the current Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as many people were disappointed with Lan Si.

    Yuhua Mavis gently asked, "Is that Vacuum Palm your only technique?"

    Lan Si had nothing to say, but he also refused to retreat from his path. Since he could no longer return to the Stacks Dojo, he needed to find a way to learn more powerful palm techniques on his own.

    No one could help him, so he needed to figure out a way to help himself.

    Countless people throughout the universe stared at their screens. Thisst battle had not allowed them to see Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength. Rather, it just demonstrated how powerless Lan Si had been before her.

    Even in the Innerverse, there were countless people who were disappointed with Lan Si. They felt that ever since this Arbiter had lost to Lu Yin, his performance had not been anything impressive.

    He was known as the Divine Fist, but he did not seem to be worthy of such a title.

    After Lan Si, Xia Luo was unlucky enough to encounter Bu Kong.

    The moment Xia Luo appeared, Xia Jiuyou''s entire demeanor changed, and he became extremely focused.

    Lu Yin frowned and stared at the firstyer.

    Xia Luo was not weak, but there was still a massive gap between him and Bu Kong.

    Lu Yin had always felt that Xia Luo was somewhat unreadable, but he did not think that Xia Luo¡¯s secrets could be enough to pose a threat to Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong looked like he wanted topletely crush his opponent, and he raced towards Xia Luo with his hands raised, ready to unleash an attack. Xia Luo avoided the attack and continued to evade several more times.

    However, once things reached the point where Xia Luo was unable to avoid the attack, he actually stopped. "You¡¯re a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, right? How about wepete in terms of our star energy control?"

    Bu Kong was about to continue attacking, but when he heard Xia Luo''s words, he smiled and his expression grew arrogant. "You want topare your control of star energy with mine?"

    Xia Luo nodded. "I''m very curious about how you dispelled Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy. I won''t fight against you, because I definitely can¡¯t beat you inbat. So, are you willing to change this to a contest in star energy control? If you don¡¯t want to, I won¡¯t force things."

    Bu Kong sneered. "Fine then, let''s see how youpare with me."

    As he spoke, he raised his hand. Star energy converged before sting towards Xia Luo.

    This was a pure star energy attack.

    Xia Luo''s eyes grew solemn as he also raised a hand and gathered a ball of star energy that shot back towards Bu Kong.

    Two pure star energy attacks shed in midair. This was the most primitive way to use star energy, as there were no other energies or techniques affecting it. This was a straightforwardparison in the two people¡¯s control of star energy, and the results could be judged by how far each attack prated through the other.

    Once one¡¯s star energy control reached the Worldliness realm, not only would one be able to control their own star energy, but they would also be able to see through their enemies¡¯ star energy. Such a person¡¯s vision was different from that of ordinary people.

    Bu Kong thought that it would be easy for him to suppress Xia Luo, but he quickly realized that Xia Luo had actually blocked his star energy bombardment¡ªBu Kong''s star energy control was not enough to affect Xia Luo in the slightest.

    Xia Luo was not a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but his control of star energy had already entered the Worldliness realm. Contrary to most people''s expectations, the two attacks of pure star energy collided and started to infiltrate each other.

    Bu Kong frowned and suddenly looked a lot more serious, as he instantly realized that he could not easily suppress his opponent''s star energy. As they continued to fight, Bu Kong grew increasingly astonished. When had so many geniuses appeared in the Fifth Maind? It was nearly impossible to find a youth who had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, as anyone who had reached that level and umted enough lockbreaking experience would be able to work toprehend a sourcebox array.

    Any Lockbreaker whose star energy control entered the Worldliness realm would be regarded as a future Array Master.

    Bu Kong, Lu Yin, and countless others were all amazed.

    Xia Jiuyou was the only one who was not surprised. If Xia Luo¡¯s control of star energy had not already reached the Worldliness realm, then it would have been impossible for him to have evaded Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attack before ZENITH.

    In the Neoverse, in the Lockbreaker World, Xiu Ming stared at his screen in surprise. "This child is very skilled at controlling star energy and is quite talented."

    In the territory of the Seven Courts, on thendmass that housed the Xia family¡¯s headquarters, the Xia patriarch, Xia Yi, narrowed his eyes; the Nine Clones Technique¡¯s w had been revealed. Xia Luo was clearly one of the nine clones, but he had resisted Xia Jiuyou¡¯s will, and his masterful control of star energy might even cause the Lockbreaker Society to reach out to help Xia Luo.

    Xia Yi had already heard about the Ku family. Xiu Ming had stepped in and forced the Ku family to let Ku Wei go. But Xia Yi would never willingly follow in the footsteps of the Ku family and allow Xia Luo to be taken away by the Lockbreaker Society.

    Xia Luo waspeting in ZENITH, and he was clearly using thepetition as a tform to garner the attention of the Lockbreaker Society!

    Xia Yi had guessed correctly. Xia Luo had never considered cing high in the ZENITH as a priority, as he just wanted to reveal his control of star energy in order to gain the support of the Lockbreaker Society. That way, he would have a backer to resist Xia Jiuyou with.

    He had learned this from Lu Yin. It was useless to try to keep a low profile. This lesson had caused Xia Luo to realize that Lu Yin was quite smart and that he himself needed to find a power to support and strengthen his own position with. How else had some nobody from the Outerverse managed to survive even after being targeted by the Daynight n?

    Being able to fight against Bu Kong and change the battle into a contest of controlling star energy meant that Xia Luo had already seeded. He was just about ready to admit defeat, but then, his expression suddenly changed as he stared at the star energy that he had released. Is this?

    Across the battlefield, Bu Kong saw the change in Xia Luo''s expression, and Bu Kong¡¯s expression grew sharp as a glint of murderous intent shed through his eyes.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1281: Way of Doing Things

    <h4>Chapter 1281: Way of Doing Things</h4>

    "I admit defeat!" Xia Luo suddenly shouted. Across from him, Bu Kong''s eyes opened even wider, and the power of the star energy that he was controlling increased yet again. Then, he smashed it at Xia Luo without holding anything back.

    Xia Luo appeared indifferent to the assault, and his body disappeared.

    Star energy shot through where he had just been standing, shattering the void, but causing no damage to Xia Luo at all.

    Bu Kong clenched his fists. He had been one step toote.

    On the secondyer, Xia Jiuyou heaved a sigh of relief even as he angrily red at Bu Kong. Bu Kong had almost killed Xia Luo with that attack, and if Xia Luo died, then Xia Jiuyou would have also been damaged.

    Lu Yin was surprised. He had been watching the fight with Bu Kong and had seen Xia Luo''s expression change. Something had to have happened between the twobatants.

    While considering this, Lu Yin looked at Xia Luo from the secondyer, and it just so happened that Xia Luo looked down at Lu Yin at the same time. Xia Luo¡¯s eyes were solemn, and he opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was only transmitted to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised at what he heard, and he stared nkly at the battlefield. It was no wonder how Bu Kong had casually dispersed the star energy from Lei N¨¹''s body. Was there really such a method?

    Bu Kong continued to stare at Xia Luo, and when he saw his ex-opponent speaking to Lu Yin, Bu Kong¡¯s expression changedpletely.

    Xia Luo had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, so it was not a surprise that he had managed to see through Bu Kong¡¯s methods.

    Bu Kong nced at Xia Luo and then stared at Lu Yin, waiting for the two of them to say something to others, but fortunately, they did not.

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked through the void.

    Bu Kong looked at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin smiled back before turning to look back at the firstyer.

    Bu Kong secretly hated knowing that his methods had been seen through.

    Honestly, Lu Yin had not expected Bu Kong''sprehension of sourcebox arrays to have already reached such a level. This usage of a sourcebox array reminded him of a phrase: there were no trashy innate gifts, only people who could not use them properly.

    The battle continued.

    Lu Yin really wanted to see Liquor Hero¡¯s abilities, but unfortunately, her opponent was merely an Explorer. Thus, there was nothing of value to see.

    Nightqueen Yanqing, God Taiyi, Gu Xiao¡¯er, Xin N¨¹. All of these people were powerhouses who had fought, but their opponents had not been anyone impressive.

    Mira appeared on the firstyer. She and her Red Lotus Witchbow had once guided Lu Yin. If not for Mira, Lu Yin might have lived a very different life.

    Mira still looked incredibly seductive as she walked through the air with her bare feet. Her opponent was a Void Wanderer from the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see a Void Wanderer in ZENITH. While these creatures were ranked ninth on the Celestial Beast List, they had mostly reached this rank because of their gift for roaming the void and their inexhaustible numbers. A single Void Wanderer was easily killed.

    Of course, the species also had powerful members, like that Void Wanderer elder who was powerful enough to trap the Third Nightking.

    This Void Wanderer was qualified to participate in ZENITH, so it should not be weak.

    This Void Wanderer was known as Xu Ling, and it had already proven itself to not be weak, though it also was not overly powerful.

    Mira pressed ahead and fought to the end, but she could notnd a single hit. The Void Wanderer was far too slippery for her to catch. Her attacks that shattered the void were useless, and in the end, Xu Lingnded a powerful counterattack. Thus, when her star energy was nearly exhausted, she finally lost.

    Their battle went on for three days.

    Many members of the audience were trolls on thework, and they all started cursing the Void Wanderer. It was too scared of death and Mira, and it could slip away faster than anyone else.

    Void Wanderers were able to travel through the void, and Mira could not even find the beast¡¯s hair.

    It had to be said that Mira was quite unfortunate, and she felt even more wronged when she ultimately lost. She had been exhausted to death.

    Although Mira eventually lost, her beauty, talent, and Red Lotus Witchbow had amazed a great number of people, especially those from the Sixth Maind. Many looked at her with burning eyes.

    Mira had always been a beautiful woman who radiated a strange seduction. No one actually cared about the results of her battle, as they were simply staring at her figure.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the incredibly timid Xu Ling. This Void Wanderer seemed to be very strange. It traveled through the void differently from the other Void Wanderers. Otherwise, with Mira¡¯s strength as a Cruiser, she definitely would have destroyed the beast.

    Where had it gone? Lu Yin could not find it.

    The creatures of the Astral Beast Domain despised humans, and they had the power to back their arrogance. For example, the Celestial Demons were born into the Hunter realm, so how could they not look down on humans?

    On the other hand, humans¡¯ greatest advantage was theirprehension. Throughout all of history, how many Progenitors had risen from the Astral Beast Domain? And what of the Human Domain¡ªhow many Progenitors had they produced?

    The next battle featured another one of Lu Yin¡¯s acquaintances. Sixteen was from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Lingtong n, and he was someone who liked to p people and tter Xu San. His opponent was Hui Santong.

    Upon seeing Hui Santong step out, everyone knew that Sixteen was doomed to a tragic fate.

    Sixteen was not weak, but it was absolutely impossible for him to measure up to someone like Hui Santong.

    The result was not unexpected, and Sixteen was brutally defeated.

    Darkvoid also had a match, and his opponent was Starsibyl. There was no suspense in this match either.

    When it was Feng Liu¡¯s match, the Celestial Ice Phoenix piqued the curiosity of countless people. The beast was so beautiful that everyone wanted to take it as a mount, but this Phoenix¡¯s luck was so terrible that no one could say anything at all: her opponent was Shang Qing.

    When Feng Liu saw Shang Qing, she felt despair fill her heart. This person was not predicted to just end up in the top ten, but to be the ultimate champion of ZENITH.

    Shang Qing remainedpletely calm; no matter who he faced, nothing would affect his mood. He still gave off the impression of being some sort of god or immortal.

    A tri-colored beam of light swept toward Shang Qing as Feng Liu attacked, but it took less than half a minute for the Celestial Ice Phoenix to bepletely defeated.

    The Celestial Ice Phoenix was arge beast that was rtively slow, and she could not evade the strand of qi like the other contestants. The beast¡¯s cold breath and tri-colored beam had no effect on the strand of qi. Feng Liu was unable to attack, and she was also unable to defend.

    This battle made it clear to everyone that it was necessary to be small and fast in order to go up against Shang Qing. Otherwise, no matter how powerful one was, they would simrly be out of luck.

    Still, very few had luck as terrible as Feng Liu, and it was impossible for most people to face a powerhouse who was predicted to enter the top ten like Shang Qing.

    For example, Lilyrose won her match as did Dao Bo, Ye Xingchen, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Young Master Changbai, and Autumnfrost Qing. All of them won their matches. Only a few had the unfortunate luck to face an elite powerhouse who was guaranteed to enter ZENITH¡¯s finals.

    Nong Zaitian held high hopes of continuing the lucky streak that he had enjoyed so far, but unfortunately,dy luck was not with him; his opponent was Xie Xiaoxian.

    The Seven Courts were very famous even in the Sixth Maind. Although Xie Xiaoxian was not the most powerful inheritor from the Seven Courts, she was still the Xie family¡¯s only descendant. Before ZENITH, all kinds of bookmakers had predicted how far she would make it into thepetition, and she had received a great deal of attention. This was not only because of her background, but also because of how she dressed, as her outfit was rather eye-catching.

    She could be regarded as the participant with the most recognizable figure in all of ZENITH. Even if the other contestants were simrly voluptuous, they hid it while Xie Xiaoxian was very forward.

    Nong Zaitian considered himself a simple man. He generally sneaked nces at beautiful women, and he would asionally have an idle dream or two. However, it was no fantasy to encounter such a woman in ZENITH.

    Xie Xiaoxian''s clothes were very revealing, but that was simply because of the Xie family''s bone-based battle techniques. She had to wear such clothes even if she was actually a rather conservative girl.

    Seeing Nong Zaitian staring at her instantly made Xie Xiaoxian ufortable, and bones quickly pierced through her skin to form a battle armor that spread across her body. At the same time, a white bone spike appeared in her hand. She lookedpletely domineering, and she pointed her weapon straight at Nong Zai Tian. "Come! Let me see the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprints."

    Nong Zaitian blinked and swallowed hard before silently raising a hand high in the air. "I admit defeat."

    Xie Xiaoxian was stunned; it was that easy?

    Many people from the Sixth Maind were stunned, and then they began to curse wildly.

    Nong Zaitian did not care one bit about the spectators This was the philosophy of the Nong family that Nong Zaitian adhered to. He would always be cautious and act carefully, only fighting if luck favored him.

    This was what his ancestors had taught him.

    Nong Zaitian came from a family that had originally been peasants, but they had a glorious heritage. He believed that, one day, he would make his way back home after finding his fortune just like his ancestor.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, the older powerhouses from the Sixth Maind shot strange looks at Nong Laohan.

    Madam Hong sneered. "This little guy is quite good at searching for good luck and avoiding unfavorable situations."

    Nong Laohan¡¯s face convulsed. He was not angry with his descendant, as this was the style of the Nong family. This did not matter. It really did not¡­

    Xie Xiaoxian felt like she had won without any effort.

    Lu Yin still remembered the time when he and Nong Zaitian had fled away from Blood Loony together. Thus, he was not at all surprised by Nong Zaitian¡¯s choice to surrender.

    It would have been amazing if Nong Zaitian had been able to take out his hoe for the battle, but unfortunately, ZENITH did not allow anyone to use power vessels or natural treasures, which was a pity.

    "Fat Bro, I''m going! Be sure to cheer for me!" A loud shout was heard. On the firstyer, a thin man shouted at the secondyer.

    On the secondyer, many people gave a fat man strange looks as he shouted back words of encouragement. These two were clearly crazy.

    A figure appeared in front of Skinny Bro. This person had a dull expression, as though in disbelief. It was Ling Que.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was amazing to see after he noticed that Ling Que was Skinny Bro¡¯s opponent. There was a sense of getting revenge.

    In the past, Ling Que had roamed the Innerverse with a crowd of cheerleaders that supported him. But during a conflict, Lulu and the others from Astral-10 had paid off those cheerleaders to switch their support over to Lu Yin, which had been incredibly humiliating to Ling Que. At this moment, Ling Que was up against Skinny Bro, who was even more of an embarrassment than himself.

    Ling Que''s expression was quite wonderful as he watched Skinny Bro and Fat Bro cheer each other on. He felt the cold approach of death, as though he had just swallowed a dead fly.

    ZENITH was the ultimate stage for the entire universe, and countless people from both mainds were watching everything that was taking pce, and yet Ling Que had to suffer such humiliation.

    Ling Que considered himself to be quite thick-skinned, butpared to the two in front of him, he was nowhere close.

    Seeing the fat and skinny duo endlessly cheering each other on, Ling Que was no longer able to stand the situation, and his Que¡¯s Might sh shot out at Skinny Bro.

    A dull ringing noise reverberated through the arena when Skinny Bro was struck by the massive de, and he was knocked back a few steps. He whirled around to re at Ling Que. "A sneak attack? You¡¯re despicable!"

    Ling Que was surprised. Was this guy really uninjured?

    As he contemted this, the massive de shed out once again, locking down the void this time. There was a burst of lightning and a scorchingly hot temperature that apanied the de as it shot out.

    This was the strongest attack that Ling Que was capable of unleashing without using the Soulsplitting technique.

    Skinny Bro crossed his arms in front of him, and the dull ringing sound was heard once again. The lightning shredded the void apart and shot out in all directions, sending sparks everywhere.

    Even the strongest Que¡¯s Mighty sh had failed to wound Skinny Bro.

    On the secondyer, Ling Gong''s face grew solemn. She was fully aware of the power of Que¡¯s Mighty sh. If even her brother¡¯s most powerful attack was useless, then this battle would be quite dangerous for Ling Que.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. The thin man''s rune lines were constantly growing, especially after his imprint appeared behind him. At that moment, the number of rune lines on him was massive.

    Ling Que also felt Skinny Bro¡¯s power growing, and he quickly split into three different bodies that surrounded Skinny Bro. All three figures raised the massive de and attacked as one.

    Skinny Bro stretched out a hand as both of his hands moved about strangely as he unraveled all three attacks. In the end, there was only a dull ringing sound as the massive des were shattered after Skinny Bro clenched his hands. He raised his head and stared at Ling Que before rushing forward with a raised hand. Skinny Bro¡¯s hand fell as he unleashed a secret technique: Reversal Cycle.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1282: State of Mind

    <h4>Chapter 1282: State of Mind</h4>

    The Ling Que that Skinny Bro had attacked dissipated, and he turned to attack another of the Ling Ques.

    Ling Que pulled back from Skinny Bro and said, "I give up!"

    Skinny Bro paused and then grew ecstatic. He turned to look at the secondyer. "Fat Bro, did you see that? I won! I won!"

    On the secondyer, the fat man cheered, "Skinny Bro, we¡¯re the strongest! Skinny Bro, I''m so proud of you! Hey, are you getting thinner?"

    "Hahahaha! Fat Bro, are you getting fatter?"

    "Hahahaha."

    ¡­

    Ling Que¡¯s mouth fell open, making him look as though he had gone stupid. How had he actually been defeated by this idiot? Ling Que was a genius of the Lingling n with Que¡¯s Mighty sh and the Soulsplitting Technique; wasn¡¯t he supposed to be superior?

    He felt an urge to die.

    It was all over. His n would definitely kill him for this. He was done for.

    The entire universe had watched Ling Que be humiliated, and an idiot had managed to beat him. His reputation, his image, and his cheerleaders were forever gone.

    Ling Que felt tremendously humiliated.

    On the secondyer, Ling Gong stared at the thin man''s hands. The battle technique that he had just used had actually managed to shatter Que¡¯s Mighty sh, which showed that it was very powerful.

    Lu Yin frowned. Skinny Bro had very strange and powerful battle techniques.

    Wang Yi''s eyes were bright; sure enough, it was that kind of battle technique.

    It was unknown if Ling Que had started a new trend, but the next person to appear on the firstyer was Mu Rong, and his opponent was Wu Taibai.

    The battle between Ling Que and Skinny Bro had revealed the strength of his Que¡¯s Mighty sh, as well as the miraculousness of the Soulsplitting Technique. Ling Que had drawn a great deal of attention from many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s people, amazing them. They asked about Ling Que¡¯s background while Mu Rong, who had once been famous for being the most powerful Limiteer, did not attract much attention. After all, his opponent was Wu Taibai, and Mu Rong would be easily defeated.

    It was not that Mu Rong could no longerpare to Ling Que. As soon as the battle began, he yed a song on his flute and summoned the illusion of the grassy ins with the cow-herder and the cows!

    However, to the eyes of those from the Sixth Maind, Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield was not that impressively powerful. Still, Mu Rong''s domain was quite powerful, and if he fought Ling Que, Lu Yin believed that Mu Rong would emerge victorious. It was just that their opponents were on different levels.

    Mu Rong''s opponent was Wu Taibai, who easily shattered Mu Rong¡¯s forcefield.

    Although Mu Rong¡¯s defeat appeared simple, Wu Taibai still expressed his admiration for Mu Rong. Wu Taibai said something at the end of the match, but no one heard what was said.

    Lu Yin suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on the firstyer.

    He was caught off guard; this was really quite the coincidence. First Ling Que, then Mu Rong, and finally Lu Yin. Of the four who had been heralded as peerless Limiteers for a time, Ye Xingchen had been eliminated at the beginning, and both Ling Que and Mu Rong had lost in a row. Finally, it was Lu Yin¡¯s turn.

    A figure appeared on the firstyer: Lu Yin. When Lu Yin appeared behind the first barrier on the battlefield, countless people in the Great Eastern Alliance cheered. However, when people saw Lu Yin''s opponent, they were all stunned.

    This was not because Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was more famous than him, but rather because this person was incredibly odd; he was actually sleeping.

    Lu Yin''s opponent was actually Sleeping Prince.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed when he saw Sleeping Prince appear on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin had not forgotten about how this person had nearly killed him on Pyrolyte. In fact, if Wendy Yushan had not suddenly appeared and intervened with the Yu Secret Art, then Lu Yin might have actually died right then and there.

    This person had been the reason why Wendy had been forced to reveal that she possessed a secret technique, which had directly led to Enlighters targeting the Great Yu Empire, which had in turn led to the events that had caused Lu Yin to gain the title of Enlighters¡¯ Bane.

    After thinking through all of this, a murderous light appeared in Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Sleeping Prince opened his eyes. "I give up."

    Many people cursed when they heard his surrender, as his appearance on the battlefield had tricked them.

    It was not an easy thing to have such a bizarre appearance, and the fact that someone had appeared on the battlefield while sleeping when their opponent was Lu Yin had led many people to believe that Sleeping Prince was an absolute powerhouse. They had been prepared for an exciting and riveting battle, but it turned out that the guy was nothing but a coward.

    The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. More and more people started cussing out Sleeping Prince.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at his opponent.

    Sleeping Prince stretched his waist before looking at Lu Yin and speaking in a serious tone. "Alliance Leader Lu, I know that you want to kill me. The whole time, the matters on Pyrolyte were for each party to get as much for themselves as possible, and we Graceful Mercenaries were hired hands, so we naturally had to do our best. If you still hold any grudges, then please forgive us with your magnanimity."

    Lu Yin''s expression softened slightly. "What sort of techniques are you practicing?"

    He had always been curious about this.

    Sleeping Prince answered with a smile. "The Dream Heart Sutra is a very powerful technique by ordinary people¡¯s standards, but it is not enough to deserve your attention, Alliance Leader Lu."

    As his voice cut off, the two disappeared from the firstyer.

    After Lu Yin and Sleeping Prince, more than ten of the next consecutive matches were boring, as no powerhouses appeared among them. Still, these battles dragged on and took up two whole days.

    Finally, Wang Yi appeared, and many people became excited.

    The only participant from the Technocracy was very mysterious, but he was also very powerful. The manner in which he had defeated Yao Gu had given many people chills.

    Wang Yi''s opponent was Li Zimo, and most people looked at him with pity. It was nothing more than a joke for an Explorer to try to face off against Wang Yi.

    People sighed; even if Wang Yi was not going against Bu Kong, it still would have been great for him to face Zhi Yi, as that would be a marvelous battle.

    Li Zimo stood on the secondyer and calmly stared across the battlefield at Wang Yi.

    Wang Yi''s eyes seemed ethereal, as though he did not care at all about Li Zimo before him. Still, Wang Yi did not seize the initiative.

    Soon, half an hour passed.

    Wang Yi still did not make a move, and his eyes were out of focus. It was as though he was wandering about outside of his own body.

    The serenity in Li Zimo''s eyes grew more distinct.

    Many people were in a hurry. "Will you fight already? What in the world do you even think you can do as an Explorer? Just end things already!"

    "Come on, you¡¯re just wasting time."

    "Get off if you don''t want to fight!"

    "Get off! Quit acting like that! If you¡¯re afraid of death, then you¡¯re afraid of death."

    ¡­

    Whether it was the people on Zenith Mountain or beyond it, or even those right in front of the barrier, more and more people started hounding the twobatants. It really was too slow for them to just stand there instead of fighting. Also, every time twopetitors with simr strength were paired up, they were forced to fight with wits and courage, which ate up even more time. Thus, many people were growing impatient.

    Even though most of the audience could not fully understand the fights between the powerhouses, it did not stop them from feeling the thrill of excitement of seeing someone be crushed. They loved seeing one side brutally dominate the other and force out a victory in seconds.

    A few hourster, Wang Yi was still the same as ever with his eyes looking as though he was seeing something out of the world.

    Li Zimo''s eyes remained as tranquil as those of a corpse.

    In the Innerverse, above the Sword Sect, Elder Lianxin was calmly observing the scene on a screen when Liu Qianjue''s voice came out from behind her. "This child is extremely talented. He is able to suppress his emotion even in this situation. His heart is steady as a rock. You have excellent eyes."

    Elder Lianxin casually replied, "It''s just a pity that the gap in their strength is toorge."

    Liu Qianjue smiled. "That¡¯s fine. There¡¯s still time. Comprehension of the Inner Peace Sword Arts does not look at age or wisdom¡ªit only matters if one can calm their mind. This child is most suited for the Inner Peace Sword Arts."

    "I also took a fancy to his self-created sword technique, Silence, as it is simr to my Inner Peace Sword Arts. That is why I epted him," Elder Lianxin said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

    After that, she turned her attention to Wang Yi. "Sect Master, what do you think of this person?"

    Liu Qianjue looked at Wang Yi and shook his head. "The Technocracy has always been mysterious, and the way in which that child defeated Yao Gu is something that I have never seen before. His battle technique even included his blood flow. It is a very powerful battle technique."

    "I have never seen that kind of battle technique before."

    Elder Lianxin stared at Li Zimo, the admiration in her eyes growing ever more intense, though she was also extremely worried. The youths in ZENITH could not help but rush tost through the rounds, and although no one had tallied the number of deaths, they definitely numbered in the hundreds of thousands at the very least. She was hoping that Wang Yi would not be too harsh with his attack.

    For an entire day, the two contestants did not move, and they both stood there like statues.

    Even if the others¡¯ battles had taken more time, at least there had been action to watch. These two were on the secondyer of Zenith Mountain¡¯s final portion, but they did nothing to appease the audience. Just what was going on?

    More and more people started to mock the twobatants, and they had moved on from merely cussing out Li Zimo to also including Wang Yi in their criticism. After all, why had he not ended things yet?

    Lu Yin carefully observed Li Zimo''s eyes. Those eyes were not dead, but calm, and his heart was still like an old well. Li Zimo waspletely unconcerned with external factors, and he had actually forgotten about everything around him, including even ZENITH.

    He was not happy, but neither was he sad; this was how Lu Yin interpreted Li Zimo¡¯s emotions at this time.

    On the secondyer, Liu Shaoqiu was simply amazed. He had seen the Inner Peace Sword Arts before, and this new disciple''s understanding of the technique was truly rather terrifying.

    Liu Tianmu was solemnly watching Li Zimo, his eyes shed brightly. Li Zimo was a genius who could evenpare to Liu Shaoqiu within the Sword Sect. The Thirteen Swords were representative of the Sword Sect, but that was not the only technique that the Sword Sect held. The Inner Peace Sword Arts was another of their treasured techniques.

    Five days¡ªfive entire days passed with neither Li Zimo nor Wang Yi moving a single muscle. The two merely just stood there.

    The various critics already felt powerless, and some of the audience just stopped watching, waiting for the battle to be over.

    Lu Yin and the others no longer waited either.

    Finally, Wang Yi moved. His eyes returned to normal, and he looked at Li Zimo. "Unfortunately, you were born in the wrong ce."

    After speaking, Wang Yi¡¯s body disappeared, and when he reappeared, he had already appeared behind Li Zimo.

    Li Zimo slowly squatted down. Blood dripped down his abdomen, and he fell to his knees.

    Wang Yi turned his back to Li Zimo and indifferentlymented, "What a pity. You have an amazing talent for the sword."

    Li Zimo had been defeated. He had not moved even once, just standing on the battlefield for five whole days.

    Most people only knew enough to mock him, and many people ridiculed him, iming that he had not moved because of a paralyzing fear of death. However, a few people had managed to see what he had endured.

    ZENITH was an event that no one could ignore. When under the eyes of the entire universe, even the most determined person could not truly be free of sadness or joy and truly calm themselves. However, those who could achieve such a thing would reach a strange realm, and although this realm could not increase theirbat power, it was iparably useful for one¡¯s path of cultivation.

    Wang Yi was someone capable of reaching such a state, and Li Zimo was the same. Their match had greatly helped Li Zimo, and it could be said that their match had created a solid foundation for his future.

    It really was a pity that the gap in the two¡¯s strength had been so great that Li Zimo had not even been able to draw his sword.

    Above the Sword Sect, Elder Lianxin let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Wang Yi had not attacked seriously, for if he had, Li Zimo definitely would have died.

    He was only an Explorer, and no matter how powerful he was within his realm, he was still limited to being an Explorer. Even if Lu Yin had faced off against Wang Yi as an Explorer, and Lu Yin was widely considered to be the most talented person in the current universe, he also would not have been able to stand up to Wang Yi. In fact, Lu Yin would have been lucky to escape with his life.

    Lu Yin also let out a sigh of relief. It was good that Li Zimo had not died.

    Lu Yin solemnly stared at Wang Yi. The man¡¯sbat skills were iprehensible, and the number of rune lines that Lu Yin had seen in that single attack had been very few, and they could not evenpare to the Greenmen Duo¡¯s. However, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that if either of the Greenmen Duo faced Wang Yi, they would be no different from Li Zimo and would fall from a single attack in a matter of seconds.

    This man was very, very strong.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1283: Horrifying Spiritual Force

    <h4>Chapter 1283: Horrifying Spiritual Force</h4>

    Thus far, the second elimination round was about halfway through, so there were still a number of people who had not yet fought.

    Ling Gong appeared in the next match, and to no surprise, her opponent was absolutely powerless to fight back. Even when they released their imprint, it waspletely useless.

    No. 0007, who had defeated Zhuo Daynight, also easily won his match.

    At this point, although there were still a few people who had managed to remain in thepetition due to luck, not many of the remaining contestants were able to draw much attention from the audience.

    When Liu Tang appeared, Bai Qian was actually the one facing off against the Astral-2 alumnus.

    Lu Yin had not expected Bai Qian to also participate in ZENITH, and he was quite curious about the woman. She had been the first person from Earth to discover Nightking Qingyu, the first to leave the, and also the first to make it to the Neoverse.

    Bai Xue had spoken exceptionally highly about her sister.

    For some time, Lu Yin had actually forgotten about Bai Qian, but everything hade rushing back when he ran into her in the CyNet World. She was quite strong, and she had also been a student of Astral-1 for a time.

    Her particr match was basically a battle between two students from the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Astral-1 and Astral-2.

    However, the match ended quickly.

    Liu Tang certainly was not weak, and his sword qi and battle techniques were executed viciously within his domain, but Bai Qian instantly froze the arena without even taking a single step.

    The difference between them was just too much.

    Lu Yin had expected Bai Qian to win, but her strength nheless still surprised him, stoking his curiosity about her even more.

    Nearly half of the people on the secondyer of the mountain had been eliminated by now, as the losers were all sent down to the thirdyer, leaving only the winners on the secondyer.

    More than half a month had passed since the first one-on-one battle. The chain of victories and defeats had led some people in the universe to make a fortune while others had lost everything.

    Many had ced their hopes on a distant star, but would still end up losing in the end. Others would remain skeptical but ultimately emerge as winners. There was a certain element of luck when it came to betting on the contestants.

    Whether it was Xia Luo, Lan Si, Feng Liu, Sleeping Prince, ck, or White, everyst one of them had suffered bad luck in their matchups. And next to join them was Wendy Yushan, who had been matched up against Zhi Yi.

    Anyone who had to fight against one of the Daosource Three Skies had the worst luck.

    Wendy Yushan had long since broken through to the Cruiser realm, and she was only a single step away from breaking through to the Hunter realm. Once, she had been ranked within the top thirty of the Top 100 Rankings, but after she revealed her secret technique, public sentiment had ced her within the top ten or even top five.

    Xia Tian, who had been ranked first on the Top 100 Rankings, had merged back with Xia Jiuyou. The second ranker, Tai Yuanjun, had been overwhelmed by what he had seen in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and the third on the list, Qing Longlong, had been defeated by the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling. Avery and Cang Mu had both been defeated while several of the others in the Top 100 Rankings had already reached the age where they were no longer a part of the younger generation. All in all, nearby the entire echelon of the Top 100 Rankings had been eliminated from ZENITH, with the exception of Cool Sis.

    Wendy Yushan was strong enough to ce within the top ten of the list, but she had never put any efforts into raising her rank. No one was optimistic about her chances of winning the match, including Lu Yin.

    However, the moment the battle started, Wendy Yushan''s strength stunned countless people.

    She even managed to pierce through Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi with her sword.

    This surprised not only Zhi Yi, but also Lu Yin.

    He was quite familiar with the power of Zhi Yi''s Vitality Qi. That ability was why she had obtained her position as one of the Daosource Three Skies so easily. Her Sky Dipper could not be pierced, but her perfect defense had just been broken by Wendy Yushan, who was not even a Hunter.

    Zhi Yi stared at Wendy Yushan''s sword in confusion. The weapon was nothing special, and it possessed no strange power either. Why had it been able to tear through her Vitality Qi? This did not make any sense.

    No one from the Sixth Maind could understand what had happened, especially the Daosource Three Skies.

    Vitality Qi was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect''s most powerful abilities, and anybody who sessfully cultivated it would instantly be one of the Daosource Three Skies. This showed the value that the Sixth Maind ced on Vitality Qi, but it had just been ovee by a mere Cruiser.

    A bang shook the entire arena.

    Although Wendy had managed to break through Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, the gap in strength between Wendy and Zhi Yi was simply too great. Wendy¡¯s sword was shattered by a single finger from Zhi Yi. Then, the Daosource Three Skies member waved a hand, unleashing a st of Vitality Qi that forced Wendy Yushan back.

    Blood could be seen leaking out from the corner of Wendy¡¯s mouth. She stood there, a broken sword in hand, staring at Zhi Yi.

    "How did you do it?" Zhi Yi asked sharply.

    Wendy''s long hair drifted in the wind above her broken sword, and a few strands were cut off. It gave others the impression that she was both helpless and unwilling. "I admit defeat."

    Zhi Yi stared at Wendy Yushan and shouted, "Tell me, how did you do it?"

    As she yelled, Zhi Yi moved to grab Wendy. However, Wendy Yushan''s figure had faded away and reappeared down on the thirdyer.

    Zhi Yi turned her head to stare down at the thirdyer. Inexplicably, she then turned to look at Lu Yin, who happened to be staring at her.

    Was it him? Was he the one behind whatever it was that had allowed that woman to break through her Vitality Qi? Lu Yin was the only person that Zhi Yi could think of, as he was the only one who had ever ignored her Vitality Qi.

    If Lu Yin had the means to allow others to overpower Vitality Qi as well, then he had just be her worst enemy.

    Zhi Yi red at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    Lu Yin was confused; why was that woman staring at him? He could not understand the situation, and he was simrly clueless as to how Wendy had managed to pierce through Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi. If Vitality Qi was so easy to overpower, then Zhi Yi would have never be one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    On top of everything else, there was a gap of two realms between Wendy Yushan and Zhi Yi.

    Life was truly amazing sometimes. In order to help Xin N¨¹, Lu Yin had stunned Shang Qing with his spiritual force, but Shang Qing had believed that Yao Xuan was the one behind that attack.

    At this moment, Zhi Yi had misread Lu Yin¡¯s intentions.

    Almost half of the contestants on the secondyer had been removed now, and there was only one match left.

    Many people turned to look at White Silkworm with sympathy in their eyes.

    The only two people on the secondyer who had not yet fought were White Silkworm and Yao Xuan.

    "That kid¡¯s so unlucky!" Ku Wei¡¯s face was filled with schadenfreude. He had been incredibly lucky so far, as none of his opponents had been very strong, which was why he was still a contestant in ZENITH.

    Qian Zou''s eyes were full of sympathy, as he had also been quite lucky.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er also believed himself to be lucky, though he was also much stronger than these two. Initially, he had been concerned that he had not been predicted to be a finalist on any of the prediction lists, but he honestly believed that he had an excellent chance of reaching the final ten.

    He was not the only one with such confidence as Wu Dan, Cursewind, Bai Ling, and others were simrly confident in their own strength. Out of everyone, the most confident was actually Xi Qi, or rather, the fish atop her head.

    "A group of two-legged and four-legged beasts can''t possiblypare to Lord Fish! Lord Fish has taught you two tricks to settle things properly." The fish kept pping the top of Xi Qi''s head.

    Xi Qi had been quite lucky as well. She had been paired up with someone who had only been a mere Melder, so she had easily won.

    It was truly amazing that Xi Qi had managed tost so long through the contest while only being a Melder herself.

    Not far away, God Taiyi gave Xi Qi a strange look as he stared at the fish on her head. After a moment, God Taiyi blinked strangely. The fish could talk, so was it a creature from the Astral Beast Domain?

    "Hey, what are you looking at, you ugly two-legs?" the fish shouted as he red at God Taiyi while pping his fins all about and jumping all over.

    God Taiyi blinked. Two-legs?

    "Ha, it''s a stupid two-legged beast! When you see Lord Fish, how dare you not rush to kowtow and be a mount. When Lord Fish is happy, I can give you anything! The ability to break through to new realms, cross the shores, marry the daughter of a Progenitor, and leave now. When you reach the pinnacle of your life, your life will shine¡ªit won¡¯t even be impossible to be a Progenitor!" the fish shouted.

    God Taiyi was stunned and dumbfounded by the fish''s promation.

    On the other side, Wu Taibaimented, "How can one of us marry the daughter of a Progenitor? The age difference would be too big."

    The fish turned to stare at Wu Taibai. "Stupid! Even if she¡¯s an old hag, you¡¯ll have to marry her, as that will allow you to reach the pinnacle of life in the future! Life, that¡¯s life. Don''t be fooled by appearances.¡±

    "How bold! You¡¯re nothing but a fish, so how dare you speak in such a manner?" God Qingguang snorted as he shot a threatening re at Xi Qi.

    Xi Qi panicked, as she had not been the one to speak.

    The fish turned to stare at God Qingguang. "Bah, get out of the way, you dead two-legged beast! You and the other two-legged beasts around you actually have the audacity to put the word "God" in your names! Hurry up and be a mount for Lord Fish for eighteen million years. Then, Lord Fish might be able to forgive you."

    Not far away, Qing Zhiyu pursed his lips as he watched things y out. That fish was an absolute menace, and Qing Zhiyu did not dare to take a second look for fear of being dragged into the mess.

    Lu Yin had heard everything. That fish had created far too many enemies for Xi Qi, and Lu Yin could not understand where the fish¡¯s confidence hade from.

    At this moment, White Silkworm and Yao Xuan had already appeared on the firstyer.

    White Silkworm did not hesitate, and his imprint immediately appeared as he charged at Yao Xuan. Coincidentally, White Silkworm had climbed up the northern face of Zenith Mountain, and Yao Xuan had been the gatekeeper of that side¡¯s checkpoint.

    Although the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators generally had excellent spiritual force, Yao Xuan''s spiritual force made White Silkworm panic, as he felt powerless against it.

    White Silkworm was from the ckblood Domain¡¯s Sightless n. Their family possessed the bloodline of the eyeless silkworm, which was hailed as an invincible bloodline. No matter how many injuries they suffered, they could restore their body by entering a cocoon,ter being reborn in perfect condition. It was somewhat simr to how the people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory could use the Secret Technique of Resurrection. The greatest strength of the eyeless silkworm bloodline was that it could metamorphosize, and after each transformation, one¡¯s strength would improve by leaps and bounds.

    White Silkworm was the Sightless n¡¯s inheritor, and he believed that his strength was sufficient to put him on the same level as Shang Rong, the Realmling of the ckblood Realm. White Silkworm¡¯s power was practically the same as that of the Realmlings, which made him a top powerhouse in ZENITH.

    On the firstyer, White Silkworm rapidly approached Yao Xuan.

    Yao Xuan''s mouth had curved up into a strange smile.

    White Silkworm approached closer and closer. Five meters, four meters, three meters, two meters, until he was only one meter away from Yao Xuan. Then, he passed by and rushed away from Yao Xuan.

    Everyone stared at White Silkworm strangely as they watched White Silkworm oddly attack the empty air. Many people''s expressions changed. This battle was alreadypletely under someone¡¯s control: Yao Xuan was controlling White Silkworm with his spiritual force.

    At this moment, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, Wu Taibai, and all of the others grew solemn.

    It was only possible to seize control of someone¡¯s spiritual force if there was a massive gap in power between the two¡¯s spiritual forces.

    White Silkworm was as strong as a Realmling, but he was beingpletely controlled by his opponent. Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force waspletely unfathomable.

    Lu Yin frowned; the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince had a terrifyingly powerful spiritual force!

    There was a thud as White Silkworm copsed to the ground without any sign of resistance. From the beginning to the end of the match, Yao Xuan had not moved a muscle, still wearing that strange smile on his face.

    But despite his strange smile, the crown prince was charming and handsome. With his alluring charisma, he had won over many women, even Ling Que¡¯s cheerleaders¡ªthey could not help themselves from cheering for the prince.

    In the western area of Chaos Flowzone, in the Upper Realm, the people from the Sixth Maind werepletely at a loss for words when they saw White Silkworm¡¯s loss.

    The disdain and contempt that they had once held for the Fifth Maind was gradually disappearing.

    White Silkworm was a top elite from the Sixth Maind, second only to the Realmlings, but he had been toyed with like a fool. Other than him, Little Arrow Saint, Tong Zhan, Mojiang Xiao, and many others had already been eliminated. The Fifth Maind might not have any Progenitors, but they had truly hidden their strength deeply.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded both the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain and Astral Beast Domain, they had never encountered any young powerhouses like Shang Qing or Yao Xuan. This sudden reveal of power was proof that the Fifth Maind was moreplicated than what the Sixth Maind had initially believed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1284: Exposed

    <h4>Chapter 1284: Exposed</h4>

    ZENITH continued on with the next round of elimination matches after just a single day of rest.

    Perhaps it was because he had leaped too high earlier, or perhaps his luck just changed, but regardless of the reason, Gu Xiao''er was the first to appear on the firstyer. He was first to fight in the second round of elimination matches.

    Another figure appeared in front of Gu Xiao''er, still suspended in midair while being surrounded by three strands of qi and emitting a godly aura.

    Many people were dumbstruck; this luck was a bit too impressive.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; that guy was gone.

    Gu Xiao''er stared nkly at the indifferent Shang Qing before him while feeling like he had just stepped in shit.

    How could this happen? There were still a hundred people left, which was equivalent to fifty matches, so why had he, Gu Xiao¡¯er, immediately run into Shang Qing? This was too much!

    There was a roar from within Smoke-Eater Peaks. "You bastard! You must have visited Azure Mansion before ZENITH, causing your luck to be taken away by those girls! I¡¯ll skin him alive when he gets back."

    No matter what anyone thought, these results would not be changed.

    Gu Xiao''er raised his head with grief and indignation clear on his face. "Who set this up? Is there some grudge against my Smoke-Eater Peaks? Has there been some offense?"

    Across from him, Shang Qing attacked.

    It did not take long for Gu Xiao¡¯er to be defeated, and he reappeared down on the secondyer while Shang Qing remained on the firstyer.

    Although the firstyer was not asrge as the third, it was still quite big.

    After winning his match, Shang Qing appeared at the edge of the firstyer. Thisyer had no barrier around it. Instead, the barrier only isted the battlefield.

    Immediately after the first match ended, Ye Xingchen appeared up on the firstyer. His opponent was Fan Shun.

    Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin, Mu Rong, and Ling Que had once been called the four peerless Limiteers, but when Ye Xingchen had been a Limiteer, he had always been in the Cosmic Sea.

    It was not until after the Sixth Maind had invaded and the war reached the Cosmic Sea that Lu Yin had met Ye Xingchen.

    Ye Xingchen''s innate gift was meteor shower. He was in no way weak, but there was simply toorge of a gap in strength between him and Fan Shun. Regardless of if it was cultivation realm or battle strength, Ye Xingchen could notpare at all.

    In the end, he lost without any surprises during the battle.

    Experts both known and unknown appeared on the firstyer, and the winner of each match would stay behind while the losers reappeared on the secondyer. This stage was the greatest tform in the current universe.

    Autumnfrost Qing lost to Qiu Shi, Lilyrose lost to a man named Ze Cu, and Qian Zou lost to God Taiyi. No matter how unbelievable Qian Zou¡¯s strength was, God Taiyi simply weakened his runes, rendering Qian Zou¡¯s strength nothing more than ordinary.

    Dao Bo lost to Liu Tianmu, and Liu Shaoqiu lost to Yao Xuan. These two battles in particr attracted a lot of attention since both users of the Thirteen Swords had appeared.

    However, Liu Shaoqiu never revealed anything to do with the Thirteen Swords throughout his battle.

    Yao Xuan smiled. "I want to see Liu Tianmu''s Thirteen Swords, not yours."

    This single phrase was all that was said before Liu Shaoqiu copsed. Yao Xuan''s spiritual force was unfathomable.

    Long ago, Liu Shaoqiu had been a favorite to win the Astral Combat Tournament, and he had been expected to eventually rece one of the Ten Arbiters. However, he was not able to make any waves in ZENITH at all. The level of this tournament was just too high for him.

    On the firstyer, the Leaf King was defeated by Y¨­u Qi. The Leaf King possessed powerful battle techniques and was able to transform his opponents¡¯ star energy into leaves, but Y¨­u Qi simply ignored all of his opponent¡¯s attacks while the Leaf King was unable to do anything to Y¨­u Qi.

    If he had fought against almost literally anyone else, then the Leaf King would have been able to put up a fight. However, he was perfectly countered by Y¨­u Qi.

    Even at this stage of ZENITH, there were still a few people who had managed to rely on their luck to get through, such as Ku Wei. He ran into a Limiteer for this round, but Ku Wei was quickly running out of luck.

    The goal of ZENITH was to determine the top ten youths, and any position outside of the top ten waspletely meaningless. Also, it was impossible to enter the top ten with sheer luck, as even getting into the top twenty by being lucky was impossible.

    Yao Ji was frustrated, as he had encountered Yuhua Mavis.

    As the Cosmic Sect¡¯s fourth true disciple, even if he knew that he was destined to lose, he still had to do his best. Otherwise, he would not be able to face his sect after returning.

    Of course, as soon as he appeared on the firstyer, he was stunned by a fist.

    With only fifty matches in this round, there were eye-catching battles every few matches.

    After the battle between Yao Ji and Yuhua Mavis ended, Bai Ling appeared, and her opponent was Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Most people were unfamiliar with Y¨­u Ye''er and had no clue who she was.

    Only a small number of people knew that she was from the Y¨­u n and that the Y¨­u n was a part of the Court of Seven Names.

    The Innerverse and Outerverse believed that the Innerverse¡¯s Y¨­u family was a branch of the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u n, but Lu Yin was aware that the Innerverse branch was actually the main branch of the family as they possessed the Y¨­u n¡¯s secret technique.

    Down on the foot of Zenith Mountain, Y¨­u Qin stared at a screen showing Y¨­u Ye''er with aplicated expression. On the bright side, Y¨­u Ye¡¯er was a descendant of the Y¨­u family, but unfortunately, it turned out that the family¡¯s true inheritor was a little girl who only looked like she was eleven or twelve years old.

    The firstyer was directly below the highest point of Zenith Mountain, and it was very close to the peak.

    Y¨­u Ye''er looked up at the peak, remembering the warning that Elder Su had given her.

    There were too many powerhouses in ZENITH, and if Y¨­u Ye¡¯er continued to hide her strength and her secret technique, then it would practically be impossible for her to enter the top ten. Elder Su wanted Y¨­u Ye¡¯er to give up on ZENITH and look at the bigger picture. News of the Y¨­u secret technique could not be revealed to the world as it was information that could not be allowed to spread.

    Although Y¨­u Ye¡¯er was the Y¨­u family¡¯s inheritor, she was also nothing more than a vessel for the n¡¯s secret technique.

    But Y¨­u Ye''er was not willing to ept this oue. She had given up too much for her family, and she was not even allowed to make any decisions regarding her own marriage; why? She wanted to try to climb the highest mountain. She was not seeking the position of Pinnacle Youth, as she simply wanted to enter the top ten. Although it was an extravagant hope, it would be wonderful to end up in the top ten. She really wanted to go all out.

    Across from Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, Bai Lingpletely disregarded Y¨­u Ye''er, as she was nothing more than an Explorer.

    Strange lines entwined towards Y¨­u Ye''er. She still had the appearance of a little girl, and she stared at those lines in a pitiful manner.

    Many people could not bear to watch this battle.

    Down on the secondyer, Liu Shaoqiu frowned. He was betrothed to Y¨­u Ye''er, and although he did not care about it, the girl was truly his fianc¨¦e.

    Liu Shaoqiu clenched his fists when he saw Bai Ling attack.

    In the Innerverse, the Y¨­u family watched. In the Neoverse, near the Netherworld River, many people from the Y¨­u n were also watching the battle.

    The strange lines exploded. Bai Ling''s attack was strong enough to even frighten an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000.

    Many people grew nervous, as they were afraid that that Y¨­u Ye''er would be beaten to death.

    After Bai Ling unleashed her attack, she no longer was concerned with her opponent. But inexplicably, four pirs formed from star energy suddenly surrounded Bai Ling. "Epassing Lockdown Array."

    Bai Ling was surprised; had that little girl not died?

    Four squares formed the base of the Epassing Lockdown Array, and this was one of the Y¨­u n¡¯s inherited battle techniques.

    Bai Ling let out a cold snort, causing more and more strange lines to appear all around the battlefield. As long as sound existed, she could use it. However, the strange lines of her innate gift that were formed from sound could not prate the Epassing Lockdown Array.

    She suddenly felt the power of an Enlighter.

    Bai Ling''s pupils instantly constricted as Y¨­u Ye''er appeared in front of her. The opponent who had previously looked like a twelve year old girl was now an adult woman. This woman was extremely beautiful, and she felt like a ck rose surrounded by thorns. When she raised a hand, star energy formed a sword.

    Bai Ling had no time to react before her arm was pierced through by the sword.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was not an Explorer, but rather an Enlighter. What¡¯s more, she was not the same age as Liu Shaoqiu, as she was actually from the same generation as the Ten Arbiters. She was the Y¨­u n¡¯s true inheritor.

    When Y¨­u Ye''er revealed her true strength, she shocked countless people.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators nkly stared at Y¨­u Ye¡¯er; what had happened to the little girl? They had all been worried about that little girl just now.

    In the Innerverse, at the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue''s face fell. "The Y¨­u Secret Art: Age Concealment. They¡¯ve quietly hidden themselves for so many years."

    In the Neoverse, along the Netherworld River, Y¨­u Kexin, the matriarch of the Y¨­u n, was infuriated. Stupid! Just stupid.

    The Y¨­u n had purposely split up all those years ago to hide their secret technique, but all of their efforts had just been destroyed by Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see Y¨­u Ye''er reveal her secret technique. This was quite interesting; was she that confident in entering the top ten?

    Liu Shaoqiu was in a daze; what had just happened? Y¨­u Ye''er had actually transformed, suddenly revealing a level of strength thatpletely surpassed him. What was going on?

    Liu Tianmu''s eyes went cold; so they had been protecting the Y¨­u n¡¯s main branch all along. Their Sword Sect had been tricked.

    Regardless of the outside world¡¯s reaction, Y¨­u Ye''er had just demonstrated a shocking disy of swordsmanship, and this swordsmanship actually came from Liu Qianjue.

    The Y¨­u n was connected to the Sword Sect by marriage, and thus, they were protected by the Sword Sect. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er had even been personally taught swordsmanship by Liu Qianjue, which was a favor that the Sword Sect had shown to the Y¨­u n.

    The moment that Y¨­u Ye''er''s swordsmanship was revealed, even Bai Ling was caught off guard.

    Although it was not a peerless technique like the Thirteen Swords, Y¨­u Ye''er''s swordsmanship had merged with the Y¨­u family¡¯s shing techniques, making itpletely different from the Sword Sect¡¯s techniques. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er¡¯s sword was strange and unpredictable, but it was also fierce and unusual.

    Bai Ling became extremely angry. She had been deceived! This woman was extremely powerful and incredibly skilled with the sword. Bai Ling could not dodge the attack, so she summoned her imprint, which caused her power level to spike. A strange bell rang out. This was the spiritual force technique that Bai Ling had once used to reduce thousands of people to idiots.

    Y¨­u Ye''er immediately retreated into the Epassing Lockdown Array, and the ringing of the bell could not enter the array.

    Bai Ling''s eyes went wide, and her expression grew cold. She raised a hand, and her voice rang out in various tones as she bombarded the Epassing Lockdown Array.

    Cracks appeared in the array. Although Y¨­u Ye''er was also an Enlighter, the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators were innately suppressed by their peers from the Sixth Maind. Bai Ling¡¯s advantage was even greater than most as she possessed both an imprint and a martial print.

    With a loud noise, the Epassing Lockdown Array shattered.

    A terrifying sound swept out. Bai Ling wanted to vent her hatred by turning Y¨­u Ye''er into an idiot.

    In the Y¨­u family¡¯s territory, a middle-aged woman sighed. The Y¨­u Secret Art had been exposed. Against a true powerhouse, this secret technique could not really affect the oue of a fight, and many people in ZENITH had their own secret techniques. Thus, it was basically impossible for Y¨­u Ye¡¯er to enter the top ten when she could not even deal with a Realmling.

    This woman had to think of a way for the Y¨­u family to return. The Sword Sect would no longer be their safe haven, and they would certainly move against their family.

    On Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Y¨­u Ye''er had exploded with her full strength, but she still was not Bai Ling''s opponent. Logically the battle should be over, and it was possible that Y¨­u Ye¡¯er had already suffered a miserable end. Still, for some reason, Lu Yin had a feeling that Y¨­u Ye¡¯er would not lose so easily.

    He still remembered what he had witnessed all those years ago when he had Possessed that Specter n member. He knew that Y¨­u Ye''er had hidden herself very deeply, and since she was willing to expose her true power here, she should not be defeated that easily.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was taken aback, as Y¨­u Ye''er''s rune lines suddenly skyrocketed.

    On the firstyer, Bai Ling''s voice swept through the battlefield, but it was suddenly blocked by a blood-red lotus.

    Y¨­u Ye''er appeared atop the blood-colored lotus flower. Her whole body was surging with blood energy, and even her clothes had been stained red. She went from looking like a ck rose to a blood-colored rose.

    No one had expected such a shocking scene to appear.

    Even Madam Y¨­u, the leader of Y¨­u family, and Y¨­u Kexin, the Y¨­u matriarch, were both at a loss, as they did not know what Y¨­u Ye''er had just done.1

    No one knew just what battle technique Y¨­u Ye''er had just used on the battlefield within the barrier of light, not even Arch-Elder Zen, as this technique had never appeared before.

    The blood-colored lotus easily blocked Bai Ling''s attack.

    [1] For everyone as confused as me the first time I read this, the Y¨­u n is the group in the Neoverse. The Y¨­u family is the group in/near the Sword Sect. The family in the Innerverse were considered to be traitors to the n, but it was a ruse to hide the main family and their inherited secret technique. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1285: The Strength Of A Palm

    <h4>Chapter 1285: The Strength Of A Palm</h4>

    Y¨­u Ye''er had a ruthless expression as she raised her hand. "Heart-killer Lotus,e into the world."

    As her voice fell, the blood-colored lotus flower beneath her feet grew ethereal before flying out towards Bai Ling.

    Bai Ling''s face revealed her shock. She was dazed, and she lowered her head to see a blood-colored lotus mark appear on her chest. Then, it suddenly disappeared. The very next moment, Bai Ling''s eyes changed, and her face grew pale. The light slowly left her eyes as she gradually copsed to the ground,pletely dead.

    Everyone was silent as they nkly stared at the battlefield.

    Had one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings, Bai Ling, died just like that? She had died without any exnation.

    Shang Qing''s face was solemn as he stared at Bai Ling''s body. That bloody lotus had actually killed her.

    The blood-colored lotus was not any kind of power vessel, but rather Y¨­u Ye''er''s battle technique. She had used it to instantly reverse the tempo of her match and even killed Bai Ling.

    At this moment, Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s actions had left countless people utterly speechless.

    Bai Ling had killed too many people in the Starfall Sea during the war, and she had umted a great number of blood debts. Many people from the Fifth Maind were happy to see her die, but nobody could understand what Y¨­u Ye''er had done.

    The more unknown something was, the more frightening it became.

    Bai Ling, a Realmling, had died so mysteriously. Thus, Y¨­u Ye''er gave everyone the chills, especially when she normally looked like she was only eleven or twelve years old. That somehow only made her even more frightening.

    On the firstyer, Y¨­u Ye''er retracted her hand. She had not expected her killing lotus to be so powerful, but this was better. Her mouth curled into a smile as she stepped onto the blood-red lotus, looking at the other winners while exuding a strange charm. She stared at Shang Qing and the others before looking up at the peak of Zenith Mountain. They would have to fight it out for the title of Pinnacle Youth.

    Lu Yin frowned slightly. Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s battle techniques were by no means ordinary. If he had guessed correctly, then she had to have used a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique just now. It was just like how Nightking Zhenwu had inherited the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s battle techniques, though it seemed that Y¨­u Ye''er had received something even more evil and terrifying.

    Was that your family''s inherited battle techniques? That shouldn''t be the case, as I can¡¯t even defeat Y¨­u Qin that easily. Still, it¡¯s hard to say since Y¨­u Qin is certainly not a true member of the Y¨­u n while Y¨­u Ye''er is their inheritor and the master of their secret technique.

    No matter who it was, at this moment, everyone had just be a million times more cautious of Y¨­u Ye''er.

    In the Neoverse, Y¨­u Kexin stared at her screen with aplicated expression. At this moment, most of her screen was filled with a close up shot of Y¨­u Ye''er.

    She was the Y¨­u n¡¯s true inheritor.

    The Seven Courts advanced and retreated together, but that was entirely because of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. There was still a fiercepetition between the different families.

    Y¨­u Ye''er''s appearance would make the other families uneasy, especially her heart-killing lotus, which would chill any opponent.

    The match between Y¨­u Ye''er and Bai Ling had caused the atmosphere to grow tense. Although no one could understand what had happened at the end of the battle, that was not enough to stop the Fifth Maind from cheering. After all, one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmling¡¯s had just died.

    The people of the Sixth Maind felt dazed and speechless.

    The next battle was between Yun Feifei and Xu Ling.

    Their fight was actually quite riveting, but Y¨­u Ye''er had already stolen the limelight, and many people were still focused on her.

    In the end, Xu Ling won.

    Lu Yin had carefully observed their match. He was aware of Yun Feifei''s strength. She was ranked second among the Cosmic Sect''s inner disciples, but after Yao Ji had be the fourth true disciple, she had moved up and be the first ranked inner disciple. She was certainly not weak, but she could notpare to Xu Ling.

    In the end, she was defeated by a sneak attack from Xu Ling.

    Lu Yin grew curious as to why Yun Feifei had not been able to touch Xu Ling. She was a disciple of the Cosmic Sect, and she primarily focused on cultivating the Cosmic Art. Thus, speed should be pointless against her, though Xu Ling was not particrly fast. Still, her attacks had notnded, which was bizarre.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Wu Da was feeling quite depressed. He had originally believed that he would be able to broadcast all of ZENITH, but he had since discovered that he could not even understand what was happening in the matches.

    The beginning had been quite smooth, as he had simply focused on describing how the five gatekeepers each protected their own pass and calling out those who sessfully passed through the checkpoints and those who failed. Everyone had been watching the same thing, but Wu Da had been a vividmentator and had even inserted some gossip about certain contestants¡¯ feuds and grudges between hismentary. Gossip was wonderful.

    However, when the hundred-person battle royales had started, his broadcast had started running into difficulties. There were simply too manypetitors that Wu Da could not understand, such as Yao Xuan, God Taiyi, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Zhi Yi and Wu Taibai, and many more.

    Finally, when the elimination matches started, he had understood even less of the battles.

    Wu Da¡¯s dream was to report on world-shaking events and deliver news that everyone paid attention to. However, he was at a loss for how he could describe these powerhouses¡¯ battles, and it was because he did not understand anything that was happening.

    When Y¨­u Ye''er''s blood-red lotus flower appeared, he had beenpletely stunned. What was he supposed to say about this?

    Yun Yun was also struggling. She was not as good as Wu Da, as he had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy at the very least. Thus, Wu Da struggled to understand the fights while Yun Yun could not even follow the speed at which the fights were taking ce.

    Most of the people in the universe who were watching the broadcast of ZENITH could not understand the fights, but that did not stop them from cheering the participants on.

    The next match was Cursewind versus Lu Yin.

    The huge blue lion smashed onto the ground and roared defiantly.

    Across from him, Lu Yin had apletely indifferent expression. He had not expected to encounter Cursewind here. It really was a small universe when it came to old enemies. Truthfully, Lu Yin could have stopped the lion from ever making it to the final checkpoint, but he had decided to let the lion pass through and continue on in order to throw him down from higher up the mountain.

    Cursewind was feeling very depressed at the moment, as he wanted nothing to do with Lu Yin.

    Originally, Cursewind had possessed the courage to go up against Lu Yin, but as Lu Yin revealed more and more of his abilities throughout the course of ZENITH, Cursewind¡¯s confidence had gradually vanished. The biggest shock was when he had witnessed Little Arrow Saint¡¯s tragic fate.

    When Cursewind saw the chilling curve of Lu Yin¡¯s smile, wind rushed out of the blue lion¡¯s left eye while fire swept out of his right eye at the same time. The temperature of the battlefield immediately spiked as the air turned red. It looked as though a star had fallen upon Zenith Mountain.

    Even the people at the foot of the mountain were able to feel the immense heat.

    Bone-eroding wind and soul-burning fire¡ªthis was Cursewind¡¯s terrifying innate gift. His strength was almostparable to the Ten Arbiters¡¯, and if he was directlypared, then in terms of star energy and physical strength, the blue lion was very simr to Lan Si.

    In Lu Yin''s vision, the number of rune lines that he saw from Cursewind was very simr to what he had seen from Lan Si.

    Lu Yin subconsciously nced over at Lan Si. Despite facing fierce mes that seemed to burn down the sky itself and soul annihting, bone-eroding winds, Lu Yin did not move. Part of the storm opened up in front of Lu Yin, and a passage connecting Lu Yin straight to Cursewind appeared. This was a result of Lu Yin using a Vacuum Palm. His attack had shot straight through the wind and mes, brutally striking Cursewind.

    Cursewind had already prepared himself to receive Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm, but those preparations werepletely useless. Vacuum Palm was a freakish attack, and his only two options were to either dodge or resist it. Although he wanted to dodge, Cursewindcked the necessary speed, and he also did not have the physical power of Yuhua Mavis.

    There was a loud bang as the huge blue lion''s body was directly struck. A terrifying shockwave exploded from his back, spraying out a cloud of blood that sttered to the ground.

    The storm made of wind and fire sputtered out, revealing Lu Yin, who was stillpletely clean.

    In the distance, Cursewind''s massive body copsed with a bang.

    Many people from the Astral Beast Domain were shocked. Cursewind had been defeated in a single blow, just like what had happened with Little Arrow Saint. This was entirely due to the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. Even if one looked at all of the contestants from ZENITH, just how many people could stand up to such an attack?

    This was not an innate gift or a secret technique. It was just a single palm attack. Lu Yin was demonstrating to countless people what an invincible power was.

    Cursewind was not weak, and he was strong enough to go up against anyone on the same level as the Ten Arbiters. However, Lu Yin had far surpassed that level, and his master had even ordered him to take the title of Pinnacle Youth.

    Off in the distance, Shang Qing stared at Lu Yin''s right hand in surprise. He was rarely surprised, but Lu Yin''s progress really gave the first Honor Chosen an incredible feeling.

    The events that had taken ce in the Mountain and Seas Zone were still vivid in Shang Qing¡¯s memory. Back then, Lu Yin had only managed to receive seven of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punches, but the power that Lu Yin had just revealed greatly exceeded the power of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s seventh punch, and it was possible that not even she coulde away unscathed after receiving Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    It was no wonder why Yuhua Mavis had been tossed aside by Lu Yin, and it was also no wonder why he had been chosen to be a gatekeeper.

    Yuhua Mavis''s eyes sparkled with excitement. This was the opponent that she wanted! If Lu Yin was even stronger, then she could even release her full power without holding anything back. She really wanted to see who could endure more punches between the two of them.

    Cursewind had been seriously injured and was on the verge of death, so his body was directly sent out to the white skeleton next to Zenith Mountain.

    Lu Yin appeared near Shang Qing and the other victors.

    The next match was a battle between two lucky Explorers: one was from the Neoverse and the other was from the Sixth Maind.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, atop the white skeleton, Cursewind was saved.

    "Lc Snow, is that the person you were talking about? The one you called the most powerful human being who managed to win the Tournament of the Strongest? His progress is too fast!"

    "Yes. It¡¯d even be difficult for an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000 to injure Cursewind¡¯s body, but he was defeated in a single palm. If the attack had been aimed slightly to the side, then his organs would have been destroyed, and his death would have been guaranteed. This can actually be considered a lucky oue."

    "His name is Lu Yin, and he is the current master of the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse. Back when the Outerverse was isted from the Innerverse, arge part of why we were unable to breach Ironblood Weave was rted to him. Also, he saved Wang Wen after he was kidnapped by Cursewind."

    "Humanity has always been able to produce incredible geniuses. I hope that he won¡¯t turn out to be the next Progenitor Chen. It would be better for the crown prince to kill him."

    "That¡¯s impossible. A Progenitor hasn¡¯t appeared in countless years."

    "What do you think the purpose of this ZENITH is? A Progenitor will arise sooner orter."

    ¡­

    On Zenith Mountain¡¯s firstyer, not far from Lu Yin, God Taiyi turned to look at him. "Has anyone said that you improve so quickly that you make other people panic?"

    The moment these words were spoken, Qiu Shi, Yuhua Mavis, Y¨­u Qi, Liu Tianmu, and even Shang Qing and Yao Xuan looked over.

    There was a great deal of information about Lu Yin avable, and the most well known detail was that he had only cultivated for a bit less than fourteen years. Shockingly, he had gone from being an ordinary person to his current level in that amount of time.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This is just what it means to be a genius."

    God Taiyi praised Lu Yin. "Indeed, you really are a genius."

    Lu Yin smiled. Was he just showing off? No, this did not count. His goal was to rank first in ZENITH.

    However, even the strength that he had revealed so far was not enough for people to ce him within the top ten. Well, perhaps he would make it into the top ten, but definitely not the top five. Shang Qing was the only contestant who was publicly recognized as a truly matchless powerhouse. There was no way that that would change.

    A winner was finally decided on the battlefield; the Sixth Maind¡¯s Explorer had won.

    Before long, two more people appeared on the battlefield, and shock filled Lu Yin''s face. Wu Taibai had appeared, and opposite him was Fat Bro, one of the Greenmen Duo.

    So far, there had been very few matches in ZENITH where two powerhouses from the Sixth Maind had faced off against each other. Therefore, this match instantly garnered a great deal of attention. Fat Bro was not weak by any means, but he was up against Wu Taibai.

    The Daosource Three Skies were above the heavens for the Sixth Maind¡¯s youths, and this was naturally true of the Greenmen Duo as well.

    When Fat Bro saw Wu Taibai standing across from him, he immediately posed a question. "May I admit defeat?"

    Wu Taibai smiled. "Yes."

    This was the reverence that was given to the Daosource Three Skies: even a surrender had to be allowed. The respect that the Sixth Maind cultivators felt for the Daosource Three Skies was something that had permeated into the very bones of some individuals.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1286: Liquor Heroâ€™s Strength

    <h4>Chapter 1286: Liquor Hero¡¯s Strength</h4>

    After admitting defeat, the fatty turned his head to look at the secondyer, an expression of grief and indignation painting his face. "Skinny Bro, Fat Bro had to step down, so you have to work hard!"

    On the secondyer, the thin man shouted back, "Fat Bro, I¡¯ll work hard!"

    "Skinny Bro, you must lose weight."

    "Fat Bro, you will definitely get fatter."

    "Skinny Bro!"

    "Fat Bro!"

    ¡­

    Zhi Yi looked away, embarrassed, as the corners of her mouth twitched.

    Everyone from the Sixth Maind instinctively wanted to hide their faces, as these two were just too embarrassing. How could things have gotten this far? Most of the Sixth Maind would actually have preferred for the Greenmen Duo to not make it so far into ZENITH.

    Wu Taibai appeared not far from Lu Yin and smiled at him.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "I always felt that your name was very strange."

    Wu Taibai smiled and said, "Yes, that makes sense."

    "What does it mean?" Lu Yin asked casually, as he did not expect Wu Taibai¡¯s name to have any significant meaning.

    Wu Taibai smiled and replied, "You¡¯ll knowter, or possibly never."

    "How could I learn about your private matters?" Lu Yin wondered out loud.

    Wu Taibai stopped talking and turned to look at the battlefield.

    At this moment, a huge shadow covered everyone on the firstyer; Star Devourer had appeared, and his opponent was just some Explorer from the Sixth Maind.

    "I give up." The cultivator from the Sixth Maind did not hesitate at all.

    The next few matches were nothing impressive, at least not until Starsibyl appeared. Her appearance caused many people''s expressions to change, as one of the predicted top ten finalists had appeared.

    Also, Starsibyl''s opponent was Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Upon seeing Nightqueen Yanqing, many people began talking about her, and a great deal of attention was turned to Lu Yin.

    The most sensational thing that Lu Yin had ever done was practically overthrow all of Daynight Flowzone. He had even caused the Daynight n to go into seclusion after the death of Arbiter Zhenwu. Even for ZENITH, Nightqueen Yanqing was the only participant from the Daynight n.

    Amotion broke out even in the Neoverse.

    The Daynight n¡¯s power was not something that was well known only in the Innerverse and Outerverse, as the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse were also familiar with them. The n was a true monster, but they had been suppressed by a lone youth.

    Nightqueen Yanqing appeared with a nk expression. Her entire personality had changed after the events of the Daynight Feast, and she had be a very silent person.

    In fact, aside from the grudges that had long since existed, Lu Yin still felt a bit of admiration for Nightqueen Yanqing. The woman had her own pride and self-respect. Even if she faced countless ridicule, she still dared to face everything straight on. She had behaved like this on Pyrolyte, and she still maintained this behavior even during ZENITH when under the entire universe¡¯s observation. Even on the greatest stage in existence, where youths from two mainds werepeting, Yanqing was still the same as ever.

    The Daynight n had been suppressed, and so, they had been abandoned by all other outside parties. The Xun family, the ze Realm, the sylvan dragon n, the Frostmoon Sect, and many more had once been under the Daynight n¡¯s authority, but they no longer associated with the n.

    Despite these circumstances, Nightqueen Yanqing had still dared to attend ZENITH, and the psychological pressure that she was facing would be insurmountable for any ordinary person.

    On the firstyer, Nightqueen Yanqing and Starsibyl faced each other.

    "I admire you greatly, and you uphold the dignity of the Daynight n," Starsibyl said with admiration in her voice as she stared at Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Starsibyl had met and interacted with far too many people, and there were exceptionally few who could earn her admiration.

    Nightqueen Yanqing''s eyes stared back at Starsibyl before turning purple. Yanqing¡¯s innate gift of purple pupils could petrify everything that she saw.

    Starsibyl¡¯s image gradually disappeared from where she had stood, and Nightqueen Yanqing''s eyes narrowed. Her head snapped up as Starsibylnded while blue lines appeared all over Yanqing''s body, shrouding her entire form in blue stripes. She had activated her seven lined battle force at the same time as her Nightking¡¯s Body.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin was surprised to see that Nightqueen Yanqing had managed to cultivate seven lined battle force, as it was an amazing improvement. Still, it was a pity.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had made great progress. With her seven lined battle force and the Nightking¡¯s Body, she was powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with an heir from an Imprinter¡¯s n from the Sixth Maind. The Daynight n had devoted an impressive amount of resources into improving Yanqing¡¯s strength in hopes of doing well at ZENITH, but unfortunately, she still lost. When it came to going against Starsibyl, let alone Yanqing, even if Nightking Zhenwu was resurrected, he would find it very difficult to win.

    Starsibyl had remained silent for a long time, but she was anything but weak, especially since she had cultivated the Nine Clones Technique. Like Xia Jiuyou, Starsibyl had not merged with all of her clones yet, but her strength was still rather unfathomable.

    In the Daynight n¡¯s ancestralnd, many of the Daynight n members sighed. Would they still be defeated at this stage? Fortunately for them, Zhuo Daynight and Zhanlong Daynight had already been defeated, which meant that Nightqueen Yanqing was the most sessful out of the Daynight n¡¯s youths, even when including the traitors.

    At this moment, less than twenty people were still waiting to take part in their matches. Lu Yin nced around, and sure enough, Wang Yi was the biggest threat out of everyone left.

    During the next two matches, Xin N¨¹ and No. 0007 both won their matches.

    Xin N¨¹ defeated Qing Zhiyu, who was one of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five.

    Qing Zhiyu was a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and hisbat style revolved around dissolving his opponent''s star energy, but unfortunately, he ended up facing Xin N¨¹, who was an Advanced Lockbreaker. Thus, he was doomed from the start of the fight.

    As for No. 0007''s opponent, he faced Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s God Xiaobai. She had also reached the rity realm of Truesight, which amazed Lu Yin. Unfortunately, none of her attacks were able to injure No. 0007 at all. Their fight allowed everyone to see No. 0007¡¯s abilities, which seemed to have militaristic roots. It looked very simple, but that belied the deadly spear techniques.

    Right after God Xiaobai¡¯s fight, Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s Qingguang God had his match. These people who referred to themselves as deities were all famous in the outside world as madmen.

    God Qingguang¡¯s opponent was Liquor Hero.

    Truthfully, of the Ten Arbiters, the least known one was Liquor Hero. Even if War King and Serati Phoenix were unable to participate in ZENITH due to their ages, they still had more of a presence in the universe than Liquor Hero.

    Besides drinking, the woman only drank more. She spent most of her days clinging to a barrel of alcohol, as she was scared of being robbed.

    People stared dumbfoundedly at Liquor Hero when she appeared. She was wearing long clothes and was even holding onto a wine barrel when she appeared on the battlefield.

    God Qingguang frowned. "Woman, I don''t want to do anything, so admit defeat."

    Some distance away, God Taiyimented, "Be careful and don''t underestimate her. She''s an Arbiter you idiot!"

    God Qingguang¡¯s frown grew even more pronounced, and his pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Liquor Hero and weakened her.

    After Liquor Hero¡¯s runes were reduced by an entire level, God Qingguang raised a hand. All kinds of strange weapons manifested in the void before fiercely attacking Liquor Hero.

    The people of Gods¡¯ Origin referred to themselves as gods not because they were able to weaken their enemies, but rather because they were able to create something out of nothing.

    Although Lu Yin also practiced Truesight, he did not understand the technique to create something out of nothing.

    The audience stared on in awe as God Qingguang miraculously conjured numerous weapons into existence. Even though items and power vessels were forbidden in ZENITH, it was useless since these items were all self-created. Thus, they were considered a part of his skill.

    Various weapons surrounded Liquor Hero. They instantly tore the void apart with an overwhelming strength that couldpare to the Lan Si¡¯s earlier Vacuum Palm. This was an attack worthy of Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Liquor Hero hupped and looked up to nce at God Qingguang. Then, there was a thud as the barrel of wine mmed onto the ground. All of the surrounding weapons attacked in unison, but they all strangely targeted the wine barrel before disappearing and leaving nothing behind at all.

    Everyone who saw this felt stunned and confused; what had just happened?

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin''s pupils shrank as he stared at the battlefield in shock; what had he just seen?

    "Creation realm." Close to Lu Yin, Xin N¨¹¡¯s face was solemn.

    On the other side of the firstyer, Bu Kong looked up, his eyes filled with surprise. "The Creation realm of star energy control."

    Qiu Shi''s expression grew serious. Someone at the same age as her had reached the Creation realm of star energy control, but just how had Liquor Hero managed to do such a thing?

    There were many Advanced Lockbreakers watching this fight, and even some Array Masters. However, not a single one of them had suspected that one of the youths had already reached the Creation realm of star energy control. This was unheard of.

    No one had ever considered that one of ZENITH¡¯s participants would have already reached the Creation realm of star energy control; Liquor Hero had surpassed all of her peers.

    Some cultivators pursued the pinnacle of physical strength, others the pinnacle of spiritual force, and still others the pinnacle of a domain. Liquor Hero was striving for the pinnacle of star energy control.

    At this moment, Liquor Hero had not only shocked Lu Yin and the other youths, but also the older powerhouses from both mainds, especially the Lockbreakers. All of them stared at her with shining eyes.

    For her star energy control to reach the Creation realm was proof that Liquor Hero was a natural Lockbreaker, and she would definitely be a peerless Lockbreaker in the future. But what Lockbreaker level had she reached thus far?

    In the Neoverse, Xiu Ming immediately requested for Liquor Hero¡¯s Lockbreaker information to be pulled up, but there were no results. The girl was not a Lockbreaker.

    Xiu Ming stared at his screen; Was she really not a Lockbreaker? What a pity. She had managed to reach the Creation realm of star energy control at such a young age; it was a pity for such a talent to not be a Lockbreaker.

    There were only a few people who managed to understand Liquor Hero¡¯s response, and while most people did not have any idea what had happened, their cluelessness did not stop them from being amazed.

    God Qingguang also fell into this group.

    Creating something out of nothing was the foundation of the self-proimed gods from Gods¡¯ Origin, but this woman had managed to absorb all of God Qingguang¡¯s attacks into a wine barrel. This looked like something beyond the abilities of a god, so just who was this deity?

    Liquor Hero let out another burp. "Do you drink?"

    God Qingguang gulped. "You- how did you do that?"

    Liquor Hero grinned. "I''ll tell you when we drink."

    God Qingguang blinked. "Alright, I''ll drink."

    He was too curious to say no.

    Liquor Hero picked up her barrel and tossed it over. God Qingguang raised a hand to grab it, and God Taiyi shouted from the distance, "Be careful!"

    God Qingguang did not react in time. The wine barrel seemed to weigh hundreds of millions of kilos, and the impact knocked him unconscious.

    Liquor Hero pouted. "If you can¡¯t take it, then you don''t deserve to drink my wine!"

    With that, she staggered over to God Qingguang, clearly intending to retrieve her barrel.

    ZENITH had brought the most talented youths of the entire universe together. No one was willing to give up a chance to enter the top ten, and one hidden powerhouse after another was being revealed here.

    Y¨­u Ye''er had been one, and Liquor Hero was another. Who would have suspected that someone who had been sleeping in her cups throughout the entirepetition was actually superior to all other youths in one aspect? Liquor Hero was undisputedly without equal when it came to controlling star energy.

    After Liquor Hero¡¯s victory, Hui Santong was up next, and his opponent was Xiao Qing.

    This match should have garnered everyone¡¯s attention, but many people were still distracted by the drunkard, preventing them from focusing on the next match.

    As an inheritor from the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family, Hui Santong was considered a contender for the top positions in ZENITH, but he was not Xiao Qing''s match.

    Others were unaware, but Lu Yin knew that Xiao Qing was the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s true Realmling, not Sword Schr.

    Regardless of if it was Hui Santong''s golden meteor battle technique or the Hui secret technique, nothing was strong enough to overpower Xiao Qing''s Azure Silk Swordsmanship.

    Although they had known each other for a long time, Lu Yin had never seen Xiao Qing''s true power due to the limited time they had together.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1287: Supreme Statue

    <h4>Chapter 1287: Supreme Statue</h4>

    When Lu Yin saw Xiao Qing¡¯s Azure Silk Swordsmanship, it was a glimpse as to her true strength. Although Hui Santong did his best to avoid her attacks, he was still defeated by a sword aimed directly at his throat.

    However, there were certain aspects of their battle that seemed rather strange; Hui Santong was just too weak, much like Lan Si when he had been fighting against Yuhua Mavis. They both had been rather powerless.

    The next battle featured the Greenmen Duo¡¯s Skinny Bro, and the moment he appeared on the battlefield, he yelled out, his voice echoing down to Fat Bro. The audience was irritated by his behavior, and Skinny Bro¡¯s opponent was actually another person from the Sixth Maind; Young Master Changbai, whom Lu Yin had fought before.

    Dismay appeared on Young Master Changbai¡¯s face. He was an old acquaintance of the Greenmen Duo, as they were all from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s Brahma Realm. However, one was from the Azure Realm while the other was from the Bright Rainbow Realm.

    Young Master Changbai had always looked down upon the Greenmen Duo, and it wasn¡¯t until ZENITH started that he learned just how powerful the two actually were.

    On the secondyer, Hui Santong was unreconciled with his loss as he looked up at Xiao Qing on the firstyer. He had not lost to Xiao Qing¡¯s swordsmanship, but rather another aspect of the battle. She was not an easy opponent.

    Xiao Qing seemed to feel something, and when she noticed Hui Santong¡¯s stare, she returned a smile to him.

    Hui Santong averted his gaze, looking back over to the battle between Young Master Changbai and the thin man.

    Young Master Changbai used everything he had in this battle: his innate gift, his imprint, his battle techniques, his secret techniques, and everything else. He used his entire arsenal, but he still ended up losing to the skinny man.

    The thin man''s defense was unexpectedly robust, and he used a palm-based battle technique that broke through Young Master Changbai''s innate gift and techniques surprisingly easily.

    The fat man had a simr level of strength, but unfortunately, he had run into Wu Taibai.

    Skinny Bro punched Young Master Changbai in the face, marking his unwilling defeat.

    It seemed that every round of the elimination matches would end with some powerhouses fighting it out. The final match of the first elimination round had been between White Silkworm and Yao Xuan.

    Although their fight had ended quickly, it had still revealed Yao Xuan''s strength.

    For the final match of the second elimination round, it was Toolwielder against Wang Yi.

    Toolwielder was the heir of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Toolcasting family. This family focused on forging weapons, and Toolwielder was the Realmling of the War Martial Realm. He looked down upon all his peers, and he was even able to seize control of other people¡¯s weapons.

    Lu Yin''s biggest impression of the Realmling was that he liked Wendy Yushan.

    The Toolcasting family had once been led by Toolwielder Ancestor, one of the most powerful experts in the Sixth Maind. But during the invasion of the monsters, their ancestor had died, causing the Toolcasting family to fall in prominence and the family to leave everyone¡¯s attention. Still, Toolwielder was a Realmling.

    Toolwielder clenched a fist as he stared across the arena and at Wang Yi. Yao Gu¡¯s tragic fate was still vivid in his mind. What¡¯s more, he had also climbed up the north face of Zenith Mountain, and he had actually been somewhat close to Wang Yi at the beginning of ZENITH.

    However, Toolwielder had not even been able to glimpse Wang Yi¡¯s attack.

    This battle¡¯s conclusion was already foreshadowed and not very dependent on luck.

    Wang Yi''s eyes looked out of focus. Like when he had faced Li Zimo, Wang Yi was just standing there without attacking. No one knew what was going through his mind at this moment.

    It did not take long for Toolwielder to make a move, and his imprint appeared as he did so. He no longer had his ancestor¡¯s imprint. Instead, the imprint was from one of his family¡¯s World Imprinter elders. Within the Toolcaster family, the elder was considered a ninth stage Augmenter.

    A martial imprint also appeared as Toolwielder raised his hand and aimed it at Wang Yi. In an instant, the sky and the earth were torn apart, seemingly as though the starry sky had been cut away.

    Toolwielder had not been able to see how Wang Yi had attacked Yao Gu, so he knew that he would only have one opportunity to attack Wang Yi. If this attack missed, then Toolwielder would suffer a simr fate as Yao Gu.

    Not even a Void Thunderbeast had been able to dodge Wang Yi¡¯s attack, so there was no need to mention Toolwielder.

    Toolwielder¡¯s attack struck out, and on the first, second, and even the thirdyer of Zenith Mountain, many people felt their weapons tremble, as though from the echo of an attack.

    Wendy Yushan stared up at the firstyer. She had first run into Toolwielder in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and at that time, Toolwielder had used Wendy¡¯s sword to kill an enemy. She would never be able to forget that scene; someone else had moved her sword.

    At this moment, the weapon control that Toolwielder wielded was truly amazing.

    On the other side of the battlefield, Wang Yi''s eyes regained their alertness as he watched the person opposite him charge at him while tearing through the void. Wang Yi took a few light steps backwards and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was behind the charging Toolwielder. Toolwielder¡¯s movements grew sluggish until he mmed into the ground. He had already lost.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he observed the fight. Wang Yi¡¯s speed was unprecedented, and it surpassed everyone¡¯s that Lu Yin had seen before. He had moved at a staggering speed, and the power of his attack had also been truly terrifying. Wang Yi had simply severed Toolwielder¡¯s energy channels with one hand.

    Lu Yin had been carefully watching Wang Yi the moment Toolwielder appeared on the battlefield, and he had even used Truesight to see the situation more clearly. It was likely that no more than ten of the contestants had been able to clearly see Wang Yi''s attack.

    He was pretty scary.

    Elsewhere, Wu Taibai stared at Wang Yi with evident surprise in his eyes.

    Shang Qing''s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly appeared a lot more dignified.

    So far, aside from Shang Qing, who was still the unquestionably peerless participant in ZENITH whom no one could defeat, very few people had managed to shock everyone. However, Wang Yi¡¯s speed had managed to do so.

    He had made everyone cautious of him.

    As the second round of the elimination matches drew to a close, an rm was heard, drawing everyone¡¯s attention to the peak.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, a huge statue that was tens of thousands of meters tall suddenly rose up. It had no face and or any distinguishing facial features, but the statue had been crafted in a pose that seemed to suppress all others with a single hand.

    Beneath the statue, ten stairways descended from the area just beneath the mountain¡¯s peak. Those stairs were the only way to ess that area.

    Those ten staircases represented ten people. Only ten people would be able to climb up those stairs to reach the top of the mountain, and those ten would be the ten finalists of ZENITH.

    As for the featureless statue, it had been left for the eventual champion and Pinnacle Youth. Once an ultimate victor was determined, the features of that one person who was truly invincible within their generation throughout the entire universe would appear on that statue.

    Everyone raised their heads to look up at the huge statue with excited eyes.

    Throughout their life, how many opportunities to stand at the peak of the universe would a person have? This sight could only be seen by someone who was truly peerless, and their moment of ascension would be seen by the whole universe.

    At this moment, even Shang Qing felt his blood heat up a bit; after all, it would not be long before that statue assumed his appearance.

    The moment the statue appeared, a new round of betting exploded in the entire universe¡¯s major markets. Everyone started guessing who would be the Pinnacle Youth and the other members of the top ten.

    At the foot of Zenith Mountain, Yao Gu woke and looked up. The statue was very far away from him.

    On the thirdyer, Ce Jiu felt helpless. It was shocking to think that he, an inheritor of the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family and someone who had received the best resources and had evenprehended a secret technique, would not even have the chance to touch that statue.

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth. No matter how hard he tried, he just ended up moving farther and farther from the top.

    Lei N¨¹ was very calm. As the Hall of Honor¡¯s second Honor Chosen, she knew that her defeat had drawn harsh criticism from some people. But the simple truth was that she had been defeated. There was nothing more to say.

    On the secondyer, Xia Luo appeared calm. He looked as though he was doing the same as everyone else and wondering about whose face would appear on that statue.

    Mira''s eyes betrayed herplex emotions. She was determined and had clearly hoped to enter the top ten.

    Nong Zaitian¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared at the statue in a daze. If his face could appear on that statue, it would be amazing. What an honor that would be to his ancestors! Damn that Fifth Maind woman.

    Ling Que''s eyes hid a terrible amount of envy. If the statue could take his appearance, he would never need to pay his cheerleaders, as countless beauties would freely join to cheer him on. What a beautiful scene that would have been.

    Sleeping Prince was sleeping.

    At this moment, there were still fifty contestants fighting in ZENITH. They needed to reduce their numbers to twenty before fighting onest round for the right to climb up the ten staircases.

    However, the solution had already been given, which was a third round of elimination matches. This time, there would be ten, three-person battles. For this round of ZENITH, not only strength was needed, but luck too.

    Luck was an illusory thing. It was ephemeral yet indispensable.

    Lu Yin remembered that someone had once told him that if he entered the top ten of ZENITH, luck was needed to advance further.

    Luck was also a part of the ultimate test.

    Just what sort of chance could make luck this important? Lu Yin was very curious.

    Of the fifty people still standing on the firstyer, some were lucky while others had been amazingly lucky. There was actually a Limiteer among them, which certainly drew some eyes.

    Siggy was the Limiteer¡¯s name. He was from a small ind in the Cosmic Sea. As expected, he had worked very hard on his cultivation, and he was also especially lucky. Even in the harsh environment of the Cosmic Sea, even when his sect had been destroyed, he had still managed to survive and make it to the Innerverse.

    When ZENITH had been announced, Siggy had registered just for the fun of participating. Truthfully, for his cultivation realm, his strength was excellent. If not for ZENITH, he had nned to find some powerhouse at the bottom of the Top 100 Rankings to challenge.

    Siggy had believed that his strength was enough to be famous during ZENITH, but once thepetition started, he had been stunned. What kind of freaks were these people? There were Explorers, Cruisers, Hunters, and even Enlighters running around all over the ce!

    When he saw that, Siggy had felt like his decision to join ZENITH had been a mistake. Siggy had watched as some powerful guy from the Sixth Maind with arrows had flown ahead, only to suffer a miserable fate. That sight had left a mental scar on Siggy. He intended to forfeit thepetition at that stage, but the gatekeeper, Lu Yin, had not made any moves to stop the people when Siggy had approached the checkpoint. He had watched many other people pass through the checkpoint, so he tried it as well and got lucky enough to make it through.

    For someone who had intended to give up on thepetition, nobody had expected him to make it all the way to the firstyer, especially since he was a Limiteer, just a Limiteer!

    Even if Siggy was not able to see it, he could feel countless eyes staring at him, filled with envy, jealousy, and all kinds of emotions.

    He was truly suffering a tremendous amount of pressure given that he was surrounded by veritable monsters.

    The participants were given a day off to rest, and on the next day, the third round of elimination matches began.

    Siggy''s eyes shed, and he appeared on a distant battlefield with someone in front of him. This person looked young, and his eyes were timid, giving off the immediate impression that he would be easy to bully. Siggy felt that his chances of winning were great.

    "He- hello," the young man said.

    Siggy smiled. This person even stuttered, so they had to be easy to deal with.

    However, the appearance of another figure plunged Siggy into the abyss. A Three- three- three-way battle?

    With only fiftypetitors remaining, there would be ten three-person battles and ten two-person matches. Siggy had not expected to be unlucky enough to have been selected for a three-way battle. The cowering stutterer was not Siggy¡¯s only opponent.

    Buuuuurp!

    Siggy looked up to see one of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters: Liquor Hero. It was just like seeing a ghost. How was Siggy supposed to deal with such a monster? He was just a Limiteer! There was no point in fighting against such a powerhouse. How was he supposed to fight Liquor Hero? What a joke!

    Across the arena, the stutterer was simrly stunned. "Li- Li- Liquor Hero?"

    The first match was a three-person battle featuring a stutterer, Siggy, and Liquor Hero.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1288: Regression of the Times

    <h4>Chapter 1288: Regression of the Times</h4>

    Liquor Hero was in the same half-drunk state as always.

    The stutterer¡¯s face showed obvious distress, but he had already reached this point. During thest round, his opponent had been one of the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five, and he had also been in the top ranks of the Top 100 Rankings, but the stutterer had ultimately managed toe out on top. The truth was that the stutterer¡¯s strength was high enough to qualify to participate in the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯spetition and fight for the Astral Tower. A;though his strength was not overwhelming, he did match up to those at the top of the Top 100 Rankings.

    I thought that my luck would continue, but I ended up running into Liquor Hero here. Looking to the side, the stutter grew desperate. Even if he wanted to team up with the third participant to go up against Liquor Hero, it was impossible. Actually, how in the world had a Limiteer reached this stage of ZENITH?

    "I give up!" Sigui reacted immediately. He felt that it was a man¡¯s responsibility to know when it was time to step down and let go.

    The stutterer was speechless. "Me- me- me-¡±

    Before he could even finish what he was trying to say, he already back at his original position on the firstyer while Liquor Hero had appeared at the bottom of one of the staircases leading to the top of Zenith Mountain. Reaching the top of those stairs meant that that person had entered the top ten.

    Against Liquor Hero, there was no shame in admitting defeat.

    The stutterer was in a daze. He had not wanted to admit defeat at all! Even though he had known that he would absolutely lose, he did not have the courage to admit defeat, as his master would beat him to death after ZENITH! The stutterer had wanted to say, ¡®Be serious, and don¡¯t give up!¡¯

    Ku Wei was off to the side, and he gave the stutterer a sympathetic look. "Brother, that was really tough luck to run into Liquor Hero."

    The stutterer looked at Ku Wei. "Ben- ben- ben-"

    Ku Wei grew angry. "You¡¯re stupid! Your whole family is stupid!"

    "It was- it was-," said the stutterer.1

    Ku Wei did not hear the end of the stutterer¡¯s sentence, as he had already appeared on the battlefield. As soon as he appeared, a familiar voice entered his ears. "Hey, two-legged cook, get over here and be a ride for Lord Fish! Lord Fish is in a good mood, so I¡¯ll teach you and guide you until you be a Progenitor."

    Ku Wei turned to look at the source of the voice and instantly found the fish. He reflexively asked, "Do you like chili powder?"

    The fish was infuriated, and he pped his fins about fiercely. "Stupid two-legged beast! Lord Fish was giving you a chance. Hey, two-legged beast, have you changed?"

    The fist stared at Ku Wei and carefully observed him before asking, "Have you gotten bigger?"

    Others were not able to understand this question, but Ku Wei did, and he stared at the fish as though he had seen a ghost. Had this rotten fish actually noticed that he was able to transform into a guardian giant? No, this fish¡¯s eyes were too evil!

    "The face bes bigger and uglier, so don''t do it! You stay away from Lord Fish!" The fish spat in contempt.

    Ku Wei was furious.

    Xi Qi felt like she had been wronged. "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Don''t get angry."

    At this moment, another figure appeared, and Ku Wei and Xi Qi looked over in unison. After a flicker of lightning shed by, the two looked at each other with pale faces.

    Wang Yi! Why was it him?

    In the distance, Lu Yin pursed his lips. Ku Wei was very unlucky with this matchup. The three people were supposed to fight against each other, but they had been matched up against Wang Yi. There was no luck in this match.

    Still, it certainly was not bad for Ku Wei to have reached this point in ZENITH.

    Wang Yi¡¯s appearance had already determined the match, and there was no suspense at all.

    Only the fish was in disagreement. "Hey, two-legged beast, Lord Fish can see that your bones are very strange, so hurry up and serve as a ride for Lord Fish! Lord Fish can teach you how to be a Progenitor when I¡¯m in a good mood."

    Xi Qi quickly covered the fish''s mouth. "Don''t talk! This is ZENITH, there are no punishments for killing somebody, don¡¯t offend them any more.¡±

    Ku Wei carefully distanced himself away from Xi Qi. That rotten fish could say anything, and Ku Wei was scared of being dragged down along with it.

    Wait, why not just surrender? Ku Wei''s eyes lit up. Against Wang Yi, it did not matter even if Ku Wei transformed into a guardian giant, as he would definitely lose. Since that was the case, he might as well just quickly surrender. He had already seen what had happened to Yao Gu and Toolwielder.

    "I give up," Xi Qi said simply. She was terrified the fish would continue spouting nonsense.

    The fish was furious and kept pping its fins.

    Ku Wei also quickly spoke up. "I admit defeat."

    Wang Yi appeared right below one of the staircases near the top of Zenith Mountain.

    Soon, three more figures appeared on the battlefield: there were two Explorers, one from the Sixth Maind and the other from the Neoverse, and the Greenmen Duo¡¯s Skinny Bro.

    Upon seeing the matchup of this three-way battle, Lu Yin became convinced that the pairings were not being randomly assigned.

    Of the fifty people who had made it all the way to the firstyer, more than ten of them were clearly much weaker than the others. Almost all of these people had relied upon luck to reach this point. From the participants of the two three-person battles that had just taken ce, the four people who had been eliminated were among those ten weaker individuals. There were dozens of people who could be paired up, so these matchings were intentionally eliminating certain people.

    In this third battle, the thin man from the Greenmen Duo easily eliminated the other two, though the thin man himself was not a real powerhouse either.

    The match quickly ended, and next, Shang Qing appeared on the battlefield.

    As soon as Shang Qing appeared, the rest of the contestants¡¯ eyes all showed a bit of stress. No one would have a good time if they had to face off against Shang Qing. Even if Lu Yin was confident that he had the strength to fight against Shang Qing, it would cost Lu Yin dearly to face Shang Qing at this time.

    The massive Star Devourer also appeared in the field, as he was Shang Qing¡¯s opponent.

    This was another three-way battle, and the final participant was Xie Xiaoxian.

    As soon as Xie Xiaoxian appeared, she wanted to cry, but there were no tears.

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Xie Xiaoxian had been the first person to witness the true power of the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s ancestral qi. In that ce, up on the golden stage, Shang Qing had transformed two qi strands into copies of Progenitor Chen, and Xie Xiaoxian would never forget the aura of invincibility that had washed over her at that time. Shang Qing was an Enlighter, as were the copies he had summoned. But even if he had been a Hunter, those qi strands were not something that Xia Xiaoxian could deal with.

    For Progenitor Chen, crossing realms to battle could not have been any easier, as any genius in the universe was basically nothing more than a regr person before Progenitor Chen.

    Xie Xiaoxian started to consider whether or not she should immediately admit defeat. On the other side, Star Devourer''s huge body had already begun pressing upon Shang Qing.

    When he had arrived at the fifth checkpoint, Star Devourer had made the smart decision to not provoke Shang Qing, instead shrinking down in order to pass by. Even if Star Devourer looked down upon humans, there was no need to recklessly go up against someone who could use Progenitors like hired muscle. However, at this stage of ZENITH, it was impossible not to fight.

    Star Devourer had the appearance of a creature that was a cross between a wolf and a tiger with six eyes on his forehead. Every time an eye opened, his power would increase explosively.

    Shang Qing easily evaded the massive creature as a strand of qi shot out to attack Star Devourer.

    Star Devourer easily shattered the strand of qi. Although there was no way to permanently deal with the qi strands, as they quickly reformed after being shattered, for the moment, the qi was of no threat to Star Devourer.

    Shang Qing frowned slightly as Star Devourer¡¯s massive tail whipped down from above. The movement of the tail caused the void to warp in its wake, and the power of this attack was no less than what Yuhua Mavis could unleash.

    Yuhua Mavis represented the pinnacle of human strength while Star Devourer represented the pinnacle of the astral beasts¡¯ strength.

    A human¡¯s physiology was inherently limited, but Star Devourer¡¯s was not. He was even able to swallow entires.

    Shang Qing evaded the attack, and the huge tail smacked into the ground, shattering the earth where it fell. Xie Xiaoxian was forced back multiple steps by just the shockwave, and she stared on in horror. The strength of this creature reminded her of Corpse Beast.

    When she had seen Corpse Beast¡¯s strength after undergoing a third corpse king transformation, the creature¡¯s physical power had been astounding. However, she had a feeling that the power she was currently seeing from Star Devourer might not be any less than what Corpse Beast had been capable of back then.

    Star Devourer roared as he suddenly opened his fifth eye. His right paw rose up to p down at Shang Qing.

    From where he watched, Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. The power of this attack was infinitely close to what Corpse Beast had unleashed, and it was even at the level of Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength. This was something that far surpassed Yuhua Mavis¡¯s physical power.

    Yuhua Mavis had a serious expression on her face. Star Devourer deserved his species¡¯ reputation as being the strongest of all astral beasts. Only five eyes had been opened, but he had already surpassed her strength. Still, that was just physical strength, and a Mavis did not use power as crudely as Star Devourers.

    As she was thinking of such things, Yuhua Mavis nced over at Lu Yin. His Vacuum Palm was not something that Star Devourer could measure up to even now.

    Strength was a form of power, but it greatly depended on how strength was exerted.

    Xie Xiaoxian could not interfere in this battle, and she kept her distance. However, Star Devourer did not make any moves against the girl, focusing entirely on Shang Qing.

    The strand of ancestral qi was useless against Star Devourer, and everyone watching started to grow nervous; it was time for Progenitor Chen to appear.

    It did not take long before Shang Qing rose high into the sky. The strand of qi that had been attacking Star Devourer began to transform until it gradually took on the form of a human.

    Star Devourer was not stupid. Although his brain was not anything special, he was very sensitive to danger. As soon as he saw the qi begin to transform, he raised a paw and attacked it.

    There was a loud bang as the ground trembled and deep w prints appeared in the ground.

    Countless people nervously stared at their screens.

    Star Devourer stared at the ground, and his originally indifferent gaze suddenly turned to one of pain. Blood spurted out as the glint of a knife shed from up above, shing through Star Devourer¡¯s right paw. A figure then leaped into view: it was Progenitor Chen.

    Star Devourer roared in pain, and his huge tail rampaged in all directions.

    High in the sky, Shang Qing¡¯s expression remained as tranquil and indifferent as ever. Two strands of qi swirled around him, giving him the appearance of a god.

    Below, the Progenitor Chen formed from the strand of qi attacked Star Devourer with a knife, though there was no hint of any battle technique being used. However, there were also no extraneous movements. Each time the knife shed by, the figure of the summoned human would disappear, though the knight light would remain behind.

    Star Devourer¡¯s huge tail was attacked and cut in half. No matter how powerful the creature was, his strength was useless against Progenitor Chen.

    In the distance, Lu Yin gradually clenched his right hand: Progenitor Chen, this was Progenitor Chen. In the past, atop the golden stage, no one had been able to do anything to Corpse Beast at all, but as soon as a strand of qi had transformed into Progenitor Chen, the figure had blocked Corpse Beast with a knife, eventually slicing off Beast¡¯s arm.

    Corpse Beast was not some powerhouse from the younger generation, and the Neohuman Alliance had no youths who were powerful enough to undergo a third corpse king transformation, let alone integrate with death energy.

    Yuhua Mavis, Xia Jiuyou, and the others would not be inferior even if they werepared to the most talented youths throughout history. However, all of thembined had still failed to defeat Beast, which showed how remarkable Progenitor Chen was for defeating the corpse king with nothing but a knife.

    That was the power of Progenitor Chen, the invincible Progenitor Chen.

    At this moment, no matter how powerful Star Devourer might be, he was like a child before Progenitor Chen. The giant creature¡¯s right paw and tail had been immediately wounded, forcing Star Devourer into a position where he no longer dared to attack.

    Only the people who were physically present could fully appreciate the horror of Star Devourer. He released a boundless pressure that caused people to copse, but the people watching ZENITH through the broadcast screens could not feel any of the pressure and could only see Shang Qing''s invincibility.

    Outside the Zenith Mountain, atop the white skeleton, someonemented, "That¡¯s humanity¡¯s top Progenitor. No matter what point in time it is, Progenitor Chen was invincible among his peers. Who can defeat a Progenitor in the same cultivation realm as them?"

    "Unless another Progenitor takes action."

    "That¡¯s useless. ording to the legends, when the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind were at war, Progenitor Chen used his Nine Clones Technique to face off against nine other Progenitors. He was truly invincible."

    "That''s why this human is recognized as the only one eligible to take the title of Pinnacle Youth, not unless someone else can surpass the power of Progenitor Chen when he possessed their cultivation realm."

    "He has more than one clone of Progenitor Chen."

    These words left all of the other beasts silent.

    Star Devourer was a unique lifeform that possessed incredible physical strength and fed on entires. He had the greatest physical strength out of everyone participating in ZENITH. He was immovable, but even he waspletely powerless against Progenitor Chen.

    On the firstyer, Xie Xiaoxian swallowed as she stared up at Progenitor Chen in fear. As she watched this figure wield a knife, her eyes lit up. This was the invincible Progenitor Chen, so how sad must the people born in the same era as him have been?

    [1] These two really don''t work to well in English. The first is him trying to say "Ben Dan," which is "stupid." The second one is him trying to say "It was always the case." He''s just making fun of Ku Wei. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1289: How Many Punches?

    <h4>Chapter 1289: How Many Punches?</h4>

    The figure of Progenitor Chen did not use any impressive battle techniques, as its simple knife attacks prevented Star Devourer from making any moves. One person with one knife was invincible.

    Star Devour¡¯s five open eyes stared at Progenitor Chen, and then, finally, he opened his sixth eye. In that instant, a strange power swept out in all directions. In the distance, the expressions of Zhi Yi, Bu Kong, Wu Taibai, and the other people from the Sixth Maind all suddenly changed; why were they feeling this?

    Anyone from the Sixth Maind was born with an innate suppression over all the cultivators from the Fifth Maind. There was no way to remove or ovee this suppression. However, at this time, they were feeling that same sort of suppression from Star Devourer. Even though the creature was from the Fifth Maind, he actually was able to give them an oppressive feeling. Just what was going on?

    When all six of Star Devourer¡¯s eyes opened, the sky and ground both trembled. A power visible to the naked eye rippled out in an arc around the creature. As Star Devourer roared to the sky, all of Zenith Mountain shook. A matchless power spread throughout the entire mountain, and it even cracked the nearbys. One after another, older powerhouses appeared to block this energy, and they all looked shocked.

    This was the first time that any sort of attack or energy had spread out of Zenith Mountain and into the surrounding area. Star Devourer had revealed his full power, and he truly did possess an invincible strength, with no one able to match up to the beast¡¯s raw physical prowess.

    It had reached the pinnacle in this aspect.

    At this moment, even Shang Qing was shocked, as this power was not something that humans could possess.

    The knife shed, abruptly cutting Star Devourer¡¯s roar short. All six of the beast¡¯s eyes blinked before his body mmed into the ground. The illusionary Progenitor Chen stood high in the sky with his de pointed directly away from Zenith Mountain, and everyone who saw the de felt chills run down their spines.

    Progenitor Chen then shed at Star Devourer with the knife.

    Blood flowed down the neck of Star Devourer, dyeing the ground red, as the huge body quickly shrunk down.

    Star Devourer had lost.

    From where he was standing some distance away, Lu Yin''s eye twitched. At this moment, Lu Yin could not even see the knife, as his vision had been overwhelmed by the terrifying number of rune lines that had shed before Star Devourer fell.

    This was Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, as Star Devourer had never even had an opportunity to unleash his full strength.

    Progenitor Chen was invincible. That was how he had been recorded down in history, and the Sixth Maind had not even dared to record his existence.

    Everyone went silent.

    When Yuhua Mavis and others had fought atop the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone, they believed that they had seen Progenitor Chen''s full abilities there, but the Progenitor Chen that they had seen had never felt any pressure. Thus, they had not seen his true power at all.

    At that time, Shang Qing had fallen for Silver¡¯s n and had been nearly kidnapped, which was proof of the power of Silver¡¯s pet, Corpse Beast, as even Progenitor Chen had been unable to react in time.

    In terms of physical strength, Star Devourer was truly invincible, but in terms of brute force, he still could not match up to Corpse Beast.

    Star Devourer had not been given the opportunity to use his strength. What did it matter for if his strength was matchless? It was all useless since he could not stop Progenitor Chen''s sword.

    Yao Xuan''s eye twitched as he stared at Progenitor Chen, who gradually transformed back into a strand of qi. The crown prince then looked at Shang Qing and contemted how he would face this opponent.

    No matter how arrogant Yao Xuan was, no one dared to im that they could match up to Progenitor Chen when at the same level of cultivation, which made Shang Qing an unsolvable problem.

    Perhaps it would be better to directly attack Shang Qing himself, but Shang Qing was not someone who would go down easily either. After all, he was the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen.

    At this moment, everyone realized that Shang Qing had only been heralded as unbeatable because of the Tri-Yang Technique¡ªno one knew anything at all about his other abilities. His possible innate gift, secret techniques, his physical strength, and everything else was allpletely unknown. He was practically aplete mystery.

    This realization horrified the remaining contestants.

    When they looked at Shang Qing again, the three strands of qi swirling around him really did give him an otherworldly appearance.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. If he wanted to defeat Shang Qing, then he would have to defeat a clone of Progenitor Chen that had the same cultivation realm as Shang Qing. That was the greatest challenge, Progenitor Chen.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En smiled. This was the Hall of Honor¡¯s greatest technique. Regardless of if the opponent was from the Sixth Maind or anywhere else, the Hall of Honor was fully confident that whoever cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique would be invincible within the same realm. Even if this invincibility was derived from another¡¯s strength, so what? The user would still be invincible.

    The most humiliated person at this moment was Xie Xiaoxian. Many people stared at her. Star Devourer had already lost after facing Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing''s eyes moved over, and a strand of qi finally moved away from his body.

    Xie Xiaoxian felt helpless and quickly spoke up. "I admit defeat."

    No oneughed. This was only right, as a decisive surrender would speed up the matches.

    No one could me Xie Xiaoxian either, as it was better to admit defeat when facing Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing appeared at the bottom of another stairway, separated from both Liquor Hero and Wang Yi.

    Many people''s expressions changed. Perhaps they could win their matches now, since they would not have to face any of these three people. This thought made many people grow hopeful of their own matches.

    A nervous looking woman appeared on the battlefield. She was only an Explorer, and she was from the Cosmic Sea. Across from her, Xia Jiuyou appeared.

    When she saw Xia Jiuyou, the woman''s face went pale. Xia Jiuyou was an absolute powerhouse who was expected to end up in the top five of all of ZENITH. Although the predicted leaderboards were not necessarily urate, she was not able to face anyone who qualified to potentially enter the top ten.

    The woman was helpless, as it seemed that her luck had run out.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, a man appeared. Many people were interested in this person. He was called No. 0007, which was a very strange name. Also, he was certainly not weak.

    Lu Yin was particrly interested in this man, as anyone who could defeat Zhuo Daynight would arouse Lu Yin¡¯s interest.

    Zhuo Daynight had even been able to affect Nightking Zhenwu with her Night''s End, Daybreak when she had been much weaker than her current state. Despite that, No. 0007 had actually managed to defeat Zhuo Daynight as a Hunter, the same realm that Nightking Zhenwu had been in. No. 0007 was not from the Sixth Maind or the Neoverse, which was something that greatly interested Lu Yin.

    Naturally, Xia Jiuyou was also concerned about No. 0007. This person gave off an aura of iron and blood. At first nce, he was a soldier. His eyes were devoid of emotion, and when he looked at anyone, it was as though he was staring at an enemy.

    He held a spear in his hand, which was the standard weapon for many armies.

    Many people had noticed that No. 0007 was a soldier, as even his name sounded like it had been assigned to him by the military. However, how had a soldier managed to enter ZENITH and make it so far into the tournament? Also, he was clearly very young, so what kind of army could train such a person?

    Xia Jiuyou thought no more about the matter. He nced at his two opponents before raising a hand and releasing a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    The unprepared woman was struck head on, and she froze. Her vitality began to drain away.

    No. 0007¡¯s eyes lingered on Xia Jiuyou for a moment before he leaped forward and stabbed at Xia Jiuyou with his spear. No. 0007 charged forward all on his own, but he carried the feeling of being apanied by thousands of other soldiers and horses. With his spear in hand, it felt like thousands of soldiersmitted to fighting to the death were charging forward.

    Xia Jiuyou did not move. His innate gift of echo released a second Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. The palm hit No. 0007 without any issue, but No. 0007''s expression remained unchanged. Even if he had been struck, rendering half of his body frozen and numb, his spear still moved forward.

    His expression never wavered in the slightest, and his weapon remained steady.

    From his distant vantage point, Lu Yin came to vaguely understand how Zhuo Daynight had been defeated. This No. 0007 was not strong, and he was actually greatly inferior to Nightking Zhenwu. At best, this soldier¡¯s strength approached the level of strength of the Ten Arbiters, but the strength of his will was something rare. Although Nightking Zhenwu had been superior to most of the other Arbiters, it was possible that No. 0007 had surpassed the dead Nightking in this aspect.

    A soldier who saw death as his home would possess an unshakable will, even when lost in illusion.

    Coupled with a higher cultivation than Zhuo Daynight, it was perfectly normal for her to have lost to this man.

    But it was a pity that No. 0007 was up against Xia Jiuyou, as his will was only able to hold out long enough to ensure a victory in a fight against those with the same cultivation. It waspletely useless against a stronger powerhouse.

    The spear stopped less than a centimeter away from Xia Jiuyou, frozen, as No. 0007 had beenpletely frozen.

    Since he had already won, Xia Jiuyou did not kill his opponents, and he canceled the effects of his palm attacks that had struck No. 0007 and the woman, saving their lives.

    "Where are you from?" Xia Jiuyou asked as he looked at No. 0007.

    No. 0007 appeared on the lower level of the mountain without ever saying a word.

    Xia Jiuyou appeared at the bottom of a stairway.

    Progenitor Chen had been the invincible Progenitor of the past, and Xia Jiuyou was the inheritor of Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendent n. Thus, the strength of this youth who had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique did not rouse any surprise among the spectators, especially since his opponents had not been strong.

    Lu Yin was just about to look around to see who would next appear on the battlefield when he suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the arena.

    It was his turn.

    Many people were shocked to see Lu Yin appear, and many had expressions of awe while others panicked, afraid they would be matched up with Lu Yin.

    A short man appeared in front of Lu Yin, and the two looked at each other.

    The man¡¯s hand shot into the air. ¡°I give up!"

    Lu Yin was speechless; the other participant had not even appeared yet! This guy had to hold the record for fastest forfeiture in ZENITH.

    "Bro, what''s the problem?" someone said.

    The short man''s expression was ugly. "I personally saw it when that guy from the Sixth Maind was beaten to death by a palm strike. I- I don''t want to die!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high, and he grew serious, as well as a bit impressed. When Tong Zhan had attacked Lu Yin, this short man had also been there. Clearly, he had suffered psychological damage after seeing Tong Zhan¡¯s death up close.

    As long as they were conscientious about it, cultivators were capable of remembering things from long ago.

    The short man had already conceded when the third contestant appeared to the side. The battle was initially supposed to be between three people, but it had be a one-on-one now.

    A green brilliance appeared as green grass swayed over the ground. This scenery was all too familiar. Yuhua Mavis had appeared.

    Upon seeing that Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was Yuhua Mavis, whether it was on Zenith Mountain, outside of it, or in front of the screens across the universe, countless people straightened up and paid attention. A fight between two true powerhouses was about to begin.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, but then he smiled. He had not expected to meet Yuhua Mavis so soon, though he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

    In the past, he had been struck down from the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone by Yuhua Mavis¡¯s seventh punch. At that time, he had felt helpless and unwilling to ept his situation. When he had directlypared his strength with hers, he had lost. After bing a Hunter, one of Lu Yin¡¯s greatest desires was to go up against the woman once again, and if she attacked him with seven punches, then he would return every single one of them.

    Across from him, Yuhua Mavis had also not expected to meet Lu Yin so soon, but it was exactly what she wanted. She had been very disgruntled when Lu Yin had tossed her through the checkpoint, but now, they were face to face.

    "Do you remember what you said before ZENITH?" Yuhua Mavis asked, staring at Lu Yin in a serious manner as excitement and fighting intent filled her eyes.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curved up. "I remember."

    "How many punches are you going to let me face? Or are you confident in taking on my punches?" Yuhua Mavis provoked.

    Everyone stared at the battlefield, and many people swallowed nervously.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1290: Infinite Power

    <h4>Chapter 1290: Infinite Power</h4>

    Lulu Mavis was nervous. Both of the people currently in the arena were quite close to her, but she naturally hoped that Sister Yuhua would win, though she also hoped that Lu Yin would not lose too badly.

    Lulu belonged to the Mavis family, and she was aware of the horror of the Treeheart Descendent. Lu Yin definitely did not fully understand what having infinite power meant. He would certainly lose, but Lulu nheless hoped that it would not be too bad for him.

    In the Neoverse, the Mavis family lived on the back of their massive ancestral tortoise. At this moment, many of the members of the Mavis family had gathered around a screen. "Sister Yuhua¡¯s fighting! She¡¯ll let them see what real power is."

    "Those monsters from the Astral Beast Domain are only able to use brute force, which is why our Mavis family is the representative of strength."

    "Sister Yuhua isn¡¯t just powerful¡ªshe¡¯s also our Treeheart Descendant."

    "Lu Yin isn¡¯t weak either. Supposedly, he took on seven of Sister Yuhua''s punches in the Mountain and Seas Zone. He is actually very powerful for a human, but unfortunately, he¡¯s unlucky enough to meet Sister Yuhua once again. He¡¯s done for in ZENITH."

    "Sister Yuhua,e on! Show your true strength and let humans know what it means to be strong!"

    ¡­

    Most of those who knew about the Mavis family were Neoverse powers.

    When they saw that Lu Yin''s opponent was Yuhua Mavis, none of them believed that he stood any chance, even if he had been given the role of gatekeeper. So what if he had managed to take out Little Arrow Saint with a single attack? The Mavis family was absolutely terrifying, and this was well known.

    On Eversky Ind, Highsage Grandmaster had a calm appearance. This was the true beginning of ZENITH.

    In the Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen smiled as he watched on. Little guy, let me see what sort of strength you have.

    On Zenith Mountain, on the firstyer, Lu Yin faced off against Yuhua Mavis. He raised all of his fingers, before lowering three. "Seven punches."

    Yuhua Mavis arched a brow. "Are you intending to go up against me for another seven punches?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I hope that you can take all seven of my punches."

    Yuhua Mavis''s expression fell. "Okay, seven punches. Let''s see how powerful you really are."

    When they had fought atop the golden stage in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Lu Yin had managed to match up to four of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punches with pure strength, but thest three had forced him to also use battle force and the Oveying Stacks Path. In reality, he had only matched four of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punches, and clearly, she had not put her full strength into any of those punches either.

    If Yuhua Mavis had unleashed her full strength with her first punch, then there would have been no chance of Lu Yin enduring such an attack.

    At present, Lu Yin had no intention of exploding forth with his full strength either, and he lightly stepped forward and threw a punch at Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis''s gaze grew sharp, and she lifted a fist. This was a conversation of strength.

    Boom!

    There was a deafening noise as the void shattered and the ground broke apart around the two. Both of them plummeted into the hole at the same time.

    At the foot of Zenith Mountain, people could feel ripples of power spreading out that tore open countless space cracks. This was a truly shocking sight.

    This sh not only stunned people present at and around Zenith Mountain, but also the countless people watching the live broadcast.

    Even if they had not traveled to watch ZENITH in person, they were still able to feel the terrifying power of this sh.

    This was only the first punch, but it already contained more power than the seventh punch that Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis had exchanged in the Mountain and Seas Zone. What¡¯s more, this was also just the starting line.

    Back then, Yuhua Mavis had punched Lu Yin, and each subsequent attack had been a bit stronger than Lu Yin¡¯s. She had been able to suppress him without seriously injuring him, which showed her excellent control over her own strength.

    However, Lu Yin did not bother with any of that. Although he did not divert any of his fatesand, he had thrown the strongest punch that his physical body was capable of, as he believed that Yuhua Mavis could handle it.

    The power of this one punch was domineering and terrifying.

    The firstyer of Zenith Mountain cracked.

    Yuhua Mavis''s right fist was red where it had collided with Lu Yin''s.

    Lu Yin smiled casually. "Here¡¯s the second punch. Let¡¯s keep going."

    As his voice fell, he diverted his fatesand. At this moment, all of the fatesand that had merged together and gathered around his heart was released, and a terrifying power filled the air as the twobatants rushed towards each other and their fists shed.

    The same scene as before took ce once again. The peak of Zenith Mountain trembled, and shockwaves swept the area, tearing through the void and leaving spatial cracks in its wake. There was the sound of a thunderous explosion, which terrified many people.

    Yuhua Mavis took a few steps back and shook her right hand right as the aftershock from their sh mmed into the other contestants still on the firstyer.

    The other youths were separated from the battlefield by a barrier that the shockwaves mmed into. Although it did not shatter, the force of the shockwaves still shook the youths¡¯ hearts as it mmed through the air.

    Several Explorers immediately began to bleed from their seven orifices, as they were unable to endure even these remnant shockwaves.

    People stared at Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis as though they were looking at monsters.

    Lu Yin raised his right fist. This was his current strength. After breaking through to the Hunter realm, his strength had increased tremendously. He had even been strong enough to go toe to toe with Corpse Beast after a third corpse king transformation, which was something that Yuhua Mavis and the others had not been able to do.

    "If this is all the power you have, then I¡¯ll be disappointed," Lu Yin looked at Yuhua Mavis and gently prodded her.

    Who in the entire universe could say such a thing to a member of the Mavis family? Even if one looked through all of history, there had been very, very few. Even powerful Progenitors knew better than to underestimate the power of the Mavis family.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Qin Mavis'' face fell. "It has been a long time since my Mavis family has borne a Treeheart Descendant, and she is truly being underestimated."

    Not far away, Mu En''s expression changed; it was true. Yuhua Mavis was a Treeheart Descendant of the Mavis family, which meant that she was not the same as a regr member of the Mavis family. She possessed another source of power.

    The Mavis family possessed a battle technique known as Infinite Power. Most of the universe believed that the Mavis family used this technique to raise their strength to new heights in battle, and while it was true that the technique could be used in such a manner, that was not its original purpose. It had not been created for the regr members of the Mavis family, but rather for their Treeheart Descendants, and it still belonged to the Treeheart Descendants.

    On the firstyer, Yuhua Mavis took a deep breath and moved her hand. There were traces of blood on her fist, her blood. When they had beenparing strength just now, she had used her full power, just like when she had fought against Corpse Beast. She had unleashed the greatest strength that a human could possess.

    However, Yuhua Mavis was not an ordinary human. She was the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendant, born from their ancestral tree. She was part of humanity, but she was also not quite human.

    "Actually, that corpse king from the Neohuman Alliance was really lucky," Yuhua Mavis calmly stated.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What do you mean?"

    Yuhua Mavis looked at Lu Yin. "The Mavis family has a battle technique known as Infinite Power."

    Lu Yin was puzzled; he was familiar with this battle technique. "When you used that technique against Corpse Beast, it looked like you were the one who lost. It''s useless to boost your strength with that technique."

    Yuhua Mavis wiped away the blood from her right fist. "That''s why I said that that corpse king was lucky."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Her meaning was too obvious; she had not actually used the battle technique at that time.

    "No matter if it¡¯s in the Neoverse or throughout all of history, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants have truly used Infinite Power very few times, and there are almost no records of it. After all, it is seldom necessary or even helpful when a Treeheart Descendant is the one making a move.

    ¡°Lu Yin, you deserve to go down in history since you¡¯re the first human in modern times capable of facing Infinite Power. Here¡¯s a reminder¡ªdon¡¯t treat me like a human from now on.¡± Yuhua Mavis looked calm, and her face had taken on a very soft and pious expression as she spoke.

    An rm suddenly went off in Lu Yin''s heart as he stared at Yuhua Mavis. He suddenly remembered the Ghost Monkey¡¯s words: the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart descendants had almost never lost throughout history, and the Mavis family was absolutely extraordinary.

    The Ghost Monkey had been created by Progenitor Wushang, which lent credence to the power of the Mavis family.

    The Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants were truly invincible.

    If he wished, Lu Yin could take action immediately, and he was capable of using his domain or spiritual force to attack Yuhua Mavis, which would leave her unable to use her so-called ¡°Infinite Power¡± battle technique. However, he did not do this. His intention was to suppress the Mavis family in a battle of strength.

    Yuhua Mavis pressed her hands together as though in prayer.

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his back when he saw this posture.

    It was easy to be intimidated by anyone who made such a gesture. Who knows what they were praying to? But praying meant that they were able to borrow some form of power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strongest impression of such behavior came from his fight against Nightking Zhenwu. At that time, the members of the Fireplume Tribe had behaved in this manner as well, and they had seeded in breaking Zhenwu¡¯s innate gift.

    Yuhua Mavis''s body shone with a green light as branches and leaves grew from the soles of her feet, lifting her up high. There were only green leaves and no flowers, but these leaves were even more beautiful and alluring than flowers.

    The branches and leaves twined about each other as Yuhua Mavis moved high into the sky. She lit up the entirety of Zenith Mountain, as well as the entire local region of space. The light even illuminated many of the people watching from the countless screens.

    This sight left everyone amazed. Yuhua Mavis looked like an elf in a tree, beautiful and distinct. Even by just seeing her on a screen, countless people felt as though Yuhua Mavis had cleansed their hearts.

    Yuhua Mavis was a beautiful woman. She walked through the air with bare feet while nts bloomed wherever she went, and at this moment, she appeared to bepletely unblemished. Lu Yin stared at her for a moment, as he felt that the moment he made a move, he would destroy the beauty of the moment and be a sinner .

    Suddenly, Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes opened, and she looked around. The glowing green leaves that illuminated the sky gradually shrank and condensed onto her forehead to form an image of green leaves that shone with a faint green light. Yuhua Mavis thennded on the ground and looked at Lu Yin. Her eyes were strange, and her expression was as though she was looking at a mere ant.

    "It''s been a long time," Yuhua Mavis said lightly.

    When he saw Yuhua Mavis in this state from his distant position, Shang Qing''s expression grew serious. As the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, he was privy to a great deal of information about the universe¡¯s history, and that included information about the Mavis family. Infinite Power was a specialized battle technique that had been created specifically for the Treeheart Descendants, and once the technique was used, they were no longer human.

    If Yuhua Mavis had previously been considered a human who represented the pinnacle of physical human strength, then she could no longer be considered human. Shang Qing did not know what she actually was at this moment, only that this condition had been mentioned few times in the historical records.

    Of all of the contestants in ZENITH, the participant who had been truly unmatched concerning physical strength was Star Devourer. When he opened all six eyes, the sky and the ground had both trembled, and even the area beyond Zenith Mountain had been affected. Yuhua Mavis clearly was not able to exert the same level of power, but neither could Lu Yin, who was facing her.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1291: A Recognized Monster

    <h4>Chapter 1291: A Recognized Monster</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at Yuhua Mavis and saw the terrifying number of rune lines that had appeared around her. At this moment, Yuhua Mavis was far stronger than a second ago. So, was he not supposed to treat her as a human anymore? How interesting! As such thoughts shed through his mind, he charged forward. "Third punch."

    Yuhua Mavis looked up. She was expressionless as she lifted her right fist and threw out a punch of her own.

    It was nothing fancy, and it just looked like a simple punch, but to Lu Yin''s eyes, this punch contained a terrifying power. He took a deep breath, unleashed the strength of his entire body, and attacked.

    Boom!

    The sound of the impact created a visible shockwave that left destruction behind it in all directions. Many of the remaining contestants on the firstyer went pale as they stared at the approaching devastation in horror. The sound alone nearly stopped some people¡¯s hearts.

    On the second and thirdyers, and even at the foot of the mountain, some people lost consciousness from the mere sound of the two¡¯s sh.

    Although the shockwave did not tear the void open, the force traveled through the void and into outer space beyond Zenith Mountain, causing manys to tremble.

    This was pure, simple, unadulterated, physical power, the same way Star Devourer¡¯s physical power had affected the universe beyond Zenith Mountain.

    The difference was that just a single breath from Star Devourer had been enough to affect the outside world while Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis werepeting to see who was stronger. When it came to brute strength, neither couldpare to Star Devourer.

    After this punch, neither of the two retreated from the other even though the air around them had been sted away, kicking up the dust and instantly reducing the stones beneath them to powder. Although no expression could be seen on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s face, she waspletely shocked inside.

    She really had not expected Lu Yin to be able to match her strength. Even when she used Infinite Power, which was basically a cheat code given by her birthright as the Treeheart Descendant, he had still managed to keep up with her. Just how did he train?!

    Also, she acknowledged that her cultivation was higher than Lu Yin¡¯s. If he was also an Enlighter, then Yuhua Mavis definitely would have lost this contest of strength.

    There were no words, but two bodies pulled back at the same time before rushing towards each other once again. This was the fourth punch.

    For this punch, Lu Yin no longer relied purely on his physical strength. He had not expected Yuhua Mavis to have such a powerful battle technique hidden up her sleeves, and she was not even fully human at this point. It would be impossible for Lu Yin to win with nothing but physical strength, though Yuhua Mavis had already been forced to use more than her physical power.

    Their contest of pure strength had ended at the third punch. So, for the fourth punch, purple-red lines appeared over Lu Yin''s body as his nine lined battle force appeared.

    Across from him, the outline of the green leaf on Yuhua Mavis'' forehead shone as branches and leaves once again twined across the surface of her body.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. The Yuhua Mavis in front of him was not just Yuhua Mavis, as he could vaguely see a towering tree with hanging branches, as though it was trying to protect her. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was not Yuhua Mavis, but the tree.

    He wasn¡¯t supposed to see her as human?

    Lu Yin¡¯s clenched fist began to vibrate. This was not obvious, and most people were not able to see anything, but Yuhua Mavis could tell that he was using Oveying Stacks. Lu Yin was attacking with both Oveying Stacks and battle force.

    Still, it did not matter. For this punch, Yuhua Mavis was truly using the Infinite Power battle technique.

    Boom!

    The sound of this collision was louder than all the previous ones, but the people on the firstyer of the mountain had prepared themselves this time. Many of them protected their ears as they watched the battle in astonishment.

    Many of the people watching ZENITH through the livestream were startled, as this punch¡¯s shockwave had formed what looked like a tidal wave. Neither of the youths took a step back, and it appeared as though they were equal once again. However, there were a few people who were able to see that this punch had only just begun.

    Yuhua Mavis had blocked the physical power and battle force within Lu Yin''s punch, and Lu Yin had simrly blocked the strength of Infinite Power within Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch.

    But the next moment, Lu Yin''s stacks strength exploded, and one eruption after another exploded forth into an attack that pressed Yuhua Mavis hard. The image of the green leaves on her forehead gleamed even brighter, and she began to look more and more like a tree in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. That tree slowly manifested, though it looked like an image behind her.

    Wait, that¡¯s what it was¡ªan imprint! Lu Yin stared at the sacred tree behind Yuhua Mavis in shock. That was an imprint, right? This one was different from what the Sixth Maind cultivators used, as they received imprints from a powerhouse while Yuhua Mavis had received an imprint from a tree.

    Could trees give imprints too?

    Lu Yin was not certain that it was entirely correct to call this an imprint. It was possible that this image was not an imprint, but it did look very simr. This was the true face of the Mavis family¡¯s Infinite Power.

    The oveying stacks of his attack erupted one stack at a time. As each stack erupted, a loud noise shook the sky, and the twobatants sank a bit more into the ground. The sky had already been torn apart by their fourth punch, but the stacks from Lu Yin¡¯s attack extended the extent of the damage.

    A thunderous roar sted everyone''s ears, and the sky darkened.

    On the firstyer, many people want to escape. What the hell was happening? Were these two really human? This strength was not something that any of them could evene close to matching, and they were trembling from just the aftershocks.

    At the foot of Zenith Mountain, countless people looked up and watched as the void was pushed away, causing ripples to propagate out that soon became waves. They roiled forth inyers, continuously tearing the void apart.

    Countless people were within the range of the two¡¯s battle, and they could not even breathe.

    One after another, elder powerhouses showed themselves and stared down at Zenith Mountain.

    No matter if they were from the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind, every single one of these elders had a solemn expression. Although their cultivation far exceeded the two fighting youths, it was absolutely impossible for them topare to these two¡¯s physical might.

    Click!

    The void tore apart before being restored, only to tear apart once again in an infinite cycle.

    The fourth punchsted for a full ten seconds. While their contest continued, the two sank into the ground. Lu Yin had used a full 250 stacks, and Yuhua managed to endure 200 of them. After that, she had taken a step back before more of the power of Lu Yin¡¯s stacks erupted. She had been forced to retreat one step after another until she backed up dozens of steps, forced back by the power of Lu Yin¡¯s punch. Finally, she waspletely blown away, flying through the air as the final bit of power from Lu Yin¡¯s punch threw her off into the distance .

    One punch hadsted for ten seconds, and when it was finally over, Yuhua Mavis had been knocked a hundred meters back. Her face was pale, and she was panting heavily.

    Lu Yin slowly flew into the air and returned to the battlefield. His right fist was red. He had not expected Yuhua Mavis to endure nearly all 250 stacks. That had been a full 250 stacks, and not even the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist, who was known for his expertise in the Oveying Stacks Path, was capable of unleashing such an attack. Even if a person had no other power, just being capable of unleashing 250 stacks would be enough for them to be one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Out of everyone in ZENITH, there were definitely fewer than ten people who could receive the punch that Lu Yin had just thrown.

    If Lu Yin had been up against Lan Si, then the Arbiter would not have been able to even save his own life from this attack.

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Blood dripped down from Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fist. She had been injured, and her right hand had beenpletely shattered. Bones could be seen piercing through her skin, and it had to be excruciatingly painful. Still,pared to the physical pain, it would hurt Yuhua Mavis even more to lose to Lu Yin in a contest of strength.

    She had even revealed her true strength, but she had still lost.

    This kid was an absolute monster.

    The members of the Mavis family had been referred to as monsters for a long time, and the Treeheart Descendants had been referred to as monsters even by the inheritors of the Neoverse¡¯s other top powers. But never had a Treeheart Descendant referred to one of their peers as a monster, and not even Shang Qing qualified. After all, Shang Qing¡¯s invincibility stemmed from Progenitor Chen, which meant that Progenitor Chen was the invincible power, not Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin was the first person that Yuhua Mavis had ever recognized as a monster, and this punch had fully convinced her of his strength.

    Zenith Mountain had fallen silent, as everyone could see that Yuhua Mavis had lost.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Qin Mavis looked absolutely terrible. The legend of the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants¡¯ invincibility had been shattered. Qin Mavis wanted to ask someone what kind of freak Lu Yin was¡ªwas it even possible for a human to achieve such a ridiculous level of strength?

    Mu En was shocked. "This oue is very unexpected."

    Star Devourer woke up. The attack from Progenitor Chen''s knife had not killed the beast, only badly injured him.

    He had seen thest punch, and it had sparked a strong desire to fight within him. He wanted to face someone andpete with them in strength, but unfortunately, Star Devourer had already lost.

    These two humans were definitely inferior to him when it came to brute force, and Star Devourer was confident that he would be able to overpower them with pure strength, but the way that they utilized their strength was amazing. One had been as motionless as a mountain while the other had stacked his strength.

    "Four punches. Lu Yin, we¡¯vepared our strength, and you¡¯ve won," Yuhua Mavis said. Her face was stillpletely indifferent, and her eyes were cold as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin unclenched his right hand and wiggled his fingers. This woman was so cruel! His hand was about to shatter! "Are four punches enough?"

    Yuhua Mavis indifferently replied, "Before ZENITH started, you said that you wanted to see how many of your punches I could take, and the answer is four. Defeat is defeat, but I¡¯ve only lost to you in strength, and my Mavis family possesses more than raw power."

    Lu Yin''s expression froze. "Then let''s keep going. I''m very curious about the legendary innate gift that Mavises have at controlling others¡ªthe Rhythm of Life."

    The emblem of green leaves on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s forehead gradually disappeared, and they transformed into rays of green light that wrapped around her right hand. At a speed visible to the naked eye, her shattered hand was fully restored.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered with fear. Was this healing? The Mavis family really did have ess to everything.

    He suddenly remembered something that he had seen at the warfront long ago when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Outerverse. Yuehua Mavis had only been an Enlighter with a power level of 290,000, but she had swallowed a fruit and held back Yan Sheng, who had been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprinters. That aplishment had left a deep impression on Lu Yin as well as a strong sense of caution towards the power and foundation of the Mavis family.

    Before, he had thought that the Mavis family¡¯s so-called Infinite Power would have the same effect as when Yuehua Mavis had swallowed that fruit, but the two turned out to bepletely different.

    Just how many techniques did the Mavis family have?

    Green grass appeared on the ground that grew out to form massive fists that fiercely attacked Lu Yin one after another. At the same time, more of the green grass wrapped around his bare feet.

    As Yuhua Mavis had said, she would use other means to fight now.

    She had lost in their contest of strength, but she did not want to lose this match.

    Lu Yin''s figure flickered as he constantly avoided the green fists. He nced over at Yuhua Mavis, wanting to see what other options she had. However, even though he was keeping an eye on her, he remained guarded against her innate gift, purposefully not looking into her eyes.

    Someone had once said that one could not look into the eyes of someone from the Mavis family when fighting against them, as that would be an opportunity for their innate gift of control.

    Lu Yin was right to be wary, as Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes had already shed with a pale green color. However, after Lu Yin had mentioned the Rhythm of Life, Yuhua Mavis had never expected to be able to control Lu Yin in a typical fashion.

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated his opponent too much. She was the Mavis family¡¯s Treehear Descendant, not a regr member of the Mavis family.

    Green fists mmed down one after another, each radiating a green light. Lu Yin easily dodged these attacks even as he moved his fingers. He intended to end this match with the full power of his Vacuum Palm, but it was difficult to block all of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s attacks.

    However, Lu Yin had not realized that everything in his sight had already turned green. From the very beginning, the battlefield had been green, and that color hade from Yuhua Mavis.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1292: Making A Reputation

    <h4>Chapter 1292: Making A Reputation</h4>

    When the pair of green eyes appeared, Lu Yin became sluggish for a moment. This was the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift of control.

    Not everyone could be controlled by a member of the Mavis family, and this was also true of Yuhua Mavis. She had managed to briefly seize control of the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Unseen Light and almost caused him to injure the White Knight, but she had not been able to exert enough control to aplish that goal. At the present moment, the sky and ground had both turned green from her power, and her eyes had filled Lu Yin¡¯s vision for a moment, and at that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes zed over.

    Yuhua Mavis raised both of her hands, and the grass grew frantically as it formed dozens of huge green fists that smashed at Lu Yin. This was Yuhua Mavis¡¯s only chance.

    Dozens of fists fell down.

    Ku Wei shouted, "Seventh Bro, be careful!"

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s eyes grew sharp.

    Wang Yi looked on solemnly.

    Shang Qing watched carefully.

    Countless people watched the broadcast on their screens with wide eyes, especially the people from the Great Eastern Alliance, or even more so, the people of Earth. They were all holding their breaths at this moment and nervously watching the battle unfold.

    The instant the green fists struck, Lu Yin''s eyes returned to normal, and he tightly clenched his right fist before throwing a punch at the sky. His nine lined battle force shot into the sky, and numerous stacks shattered the green fists. Lu Yin then tore through the void as he charged at Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis'' pupils instantly constricted, but she had no time to respond. All she could do was try to counter with her own fists, but her green sleeves were shredded apart while she was sted away, vomiting blood as she fell down the mountain.

    The situation had changed too quickly, and most people had not had any time to even react. By the time they had processed the events, everything was already over.

    Yuhua Mavis fell to the foot of Zenith Mountain, but without any serious injuries.

    Lu Yin had won.

    Zenith Mountain fell silent for a moment before many people began to cheer. They were all from the Great Eastern Alliance, and they were cheering for their leader.

    "Seventh Bro, you''re so awesome!" Ku Wei shouted. He was extremely excited at this moment. "You bastards dared topete with my Seventh Bro? Do you dare? Even the Mavis family has been defeated, and yet you bastards still aren¡¯t groveling and submitting to him."

    Not far away, Ling Gong stared at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. Yuhua Mavis had revealed an overwhelming physical strength, and she definitely qualified to be one of the ten finalists. There had been a few people who had dared to im that Yuhua Mavis would end up taking the title of Pinnacle Youth, but she had actually just lost. And not just that¡ªshe had lost to a person who had been too intimidated to even try to run away from Ling Gong the first time they had met.

    How strong had Lu Yin be? What he had just revealed in that fight definitely was not his full power.

    Shang Qing smiled. After all, no matter how physically strong Lu Yin was, he would never present a threat to Shang Qing. Rather, this fight meant that there was now a chance that two of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen would enter the top ten, which would be very glorious for the Fifth Maind.

    Wang Yi looked at Lu Yin, and for the first time, he showed a bit of interest.

    Yao Xuan frowned. The task that the astral beast participants had been assigned seemed to be far more difficult than anticipated.

    Bu Kong was stunned. He had been stuck in his first impression of Lu Yin from the battle in the Cosmic Sea. Back then, Lu Yin had been nothing more than a trickster, but now, he had be powerful! It was no wonder why he had been qualified to be a gatekeeper.

    Zhi Yi''s fingers twitched uncontrobly. The situation was bing very tricky. Lu Yin had previously shown that he could ignore Vitality Qi. When that wasbined with the monster-like strength that he had just demonstrated, Zhi Yi would have a very difficult time defeating Lu Yin.

    On the secondyer, Gu Xiao¡¯er grew proud. "That¡¯s our friend! You get it, old man?"

    At the foot of Zenith Mountain, Coco cheered loudly, "Big Brother Lu won! He won!"

    There was aplicated expression on Lulu Mavis¡¯s face; even Sister Yuhua had lost?

    Long ago, a few people had left Earth at the same time. Back then, Lu Yin had been the weakest among them, but he had already be the strongest, and by a huge margin at that. When they had left Earth back then, Sister Yuhua had stood at a height that Lu Yin could not have even imagined, but she had just lost to him.

    Who could have imagined that such a day would arrive.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s loss not only shocked the universe, but it also caused many of the gambling houses throughout the universe to go bankrupt, especially the ones that had opened up short-term bets.

    Before the match between Yuhua Mavis and Lu Yin, many bookmakers had happily ced odds for short-term bets on who would win or lose, how long Lu Yin would be able tost, and other statistics. However, very few people had believed that Lu Yin was capable of winning.

    The main reason was because the Mavis family had been a great power in the universe for far too long. Even if Lu Yin had been a gatekeeper and had tossed Yuhua Mavis through the checkpoint, it had not been nearly enough to ovee eons of intimidation.

    Given the battle¡¯s final results, many bookmakers would go bankrupt, and many people had also just made a fortune.

    Above the firstyer, Lu Yinju looked down at Yuhua Mavis, who had just fallen to the bottom of the mountain. He lifted his head and let out a long breath. He had won.

    Basking in victory, he thought back to his time in the Mountain and Seas Zone. At that time, Lu Yin had been defeated by seven punches from Yuhua Mavis, and Lu Yin had realized that Yuhua Mavis had not used her full strength against him¡ªmost likely because of his rtionship with Lulu. Instead, she had somewhat guided Lu Yin with those punches.

    The frustration, helplessness, and unwillingness that he had experienced at that time had all been let go.

    Lu Yin was predicted to end up in thirteenth ce in ZENITH ording to the most epted leaderboard despite him being a gatekeeper. He had given others the impression that this had not bothered him, but how could that be true? Now, he had personally destroyed that forecast of finalists as he had defeated Yuhua Mavis, who had been expected toe in sixth ce.

    He had defeated Yuhua Mavis, one of the most powerful experts within the current younger generation. He had established a fearsome reputation for himself.

    Lu Yin disappeared, and he next appeared above the firstyer of Zenith Mountain, at the bottom of one of the ten staircases. From this position, he was able to see the remaining contestants on the firstyer as well as the other victors of the current round: Liquor Hero, Wang Yi, and Shang Qing.

    Xia Jiuyou stared at Lu Yin, his fear had been proven urate. Lu Yin was indeed one of the most powerful participants in ZENITH.

    Xia Jiuyou was very familiar with Yuhua Mavis, and when it came tobat strength, he firmly believed that she was more powerful than even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. Lu Yin had defeated Yuhua Mavis, which meant that he was a threat inferior only to Shang Qing.

    At the foot of Zenith Mountain, Yuhua Mavis coughed up blood once again. She looked up, bitter at her unexpected defeat.

    Historically, the Mavis family¡¯s Treeheart Descendants had almost never failed, and only during the times of the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Chen had the Treeheart Descendants been overshadowed.

    However, the current era had Lu Yin.

    Yuhua Mavis suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on the firstyer of the mountain, back in her original position.

    All around her were people with strange expressions. Yuhua Mavis had revealed a level of power that they could not even understand, but she had still lost. This had terrified many of the remaining contestants.

    Xiao Tao was one such frightened person. She had only made it to the firstyer through sheer luck, and after thest battle, she felt that it would be better to be smart and simply give up the moment she ran into a true expert. Besides, there was no shame in such actions. After all, she was just an Explorer, so if she ran into one of the Daosource Three Skies, she could give up since they were both from the Sixth Maind.

    As this thought passed through her mind, Xiao Tao nced over at Yuhua Mavis. This woman was amazingly strong, and yet she had just been forced to the point of vomiting blood. Xiao Tao could not even endure the sound from the impact of those fists as they had truly been terrible. Fortunately, Xiao Tao had not been forced to go up against Yuhua Mavis.

    The more Xiao Tao thought about things, the luckier she felt. She patted her chest, feeling relieved. And then she suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

    Had she been stupidly looking around when it was her turn?

    When Lu Yin saw Xiao Tao appear in the arena, he was further convinced that while this current round appeared to be random matches, they were actually being deliberately organized to eliminate those who had reached this stage through luck. Cool Sis was one of those lucky few.

    Just as Lu Yin thought of Cool Sis, she also appeared on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    The battlefield held Cool Sis, Xiao Tao, and Y¨­u Ye''er.

    There were three women in this match.

    Upon seeing Y¨­u Ye''er, Xiao Tao''s face wentpletely white; how could she be up against this woman?

    During thest round of ZENITH, Y¨­u Ye''er had killed Bai Ling with a blood-colored lotus, and Xiao Tao would never forget that scene. She was from the Grand Martial Realm, and Bai Ling had been that realm¡¯s Realmling. Xiao Tao¡¯s own Realmling had been killed, and the sky had fallen for Xiao Tao.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was the person who Xiao Tao feared the most in all of ZENITH. She had not expected to run into her, and she was too afraid to do anything: her opponent was Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er had not reverted back to her former appearance of a child. Instead, she maintained her mature look that had a noble and indifferent mien akin to a blooming ck rose.

    "I- I give up," Xiao Tao said in a trembling voice, afraid to even look at Y¨­u Ye''er.

    No one was surprised at this, as they were all able to see Xiao Tao''s cultivation.

    Everyone looked at Cool Sis; would she also admit defeat?

    Cool Sis had no intention of just giving up, and she kept a cautious eye on Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Cool Sis was actually much more well known than Y¨­u Ye''er. When Y¨­u Ye''er had been a youth, she had not even been able to enter the Top 100 Rankings.

    Who could have imagined that Y¨­u Ye''er had been hiding herself this entire time and that she was actually as strong as the Ten Arbiters. Her abilities had been revealed when she had killed Realmling Bai Ling.

    This woman had hidden herself very well.

    At the bottom of one of the staircases, Lu Yin frowned. Cool Sis was not Y¨­u Ye''er''s match as Y¨­u Ye''er was no longer restricted by the need to hide the Y¨­u Secret Art. She had revealed her considerable power, particrly that blood-colored lotus that not even Lu Yin had been able to see through.

    "You can admit defeat," Y¨­u Ye''er stated coldly.

    Cool Sis''s expression grew even colder. Her innate gift was icy crystallization. ¡°Let¡¯s fight."

    After she spoke, ice crystals covered the nearby contestants, and Y¨­u Ye''er''s Epassing Lockdown Array also appeared.

    Lu Yin watched the two women start fighting in the arena. Both the icy crystallization innate gift and the Epassing Lockdown Array were quite impressive. He did not know when Cool Sis had be a Hunter, but Y¨­u Ye''er''s strength was much more terrifying.

    It did not take long for Cool Sis to be trapped within the Epassing Lockdown Array.

    Even Bai Ling had been trapped by this array, so Cool Sis had not stood a chance.

    Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Cool Sis was about to lose. Although she was not weak and was even qualified to challenge the Ten Arbiters after bing a Hunter, she had not yet reached the level where she could match up to Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Lu Yin watched Cool Sis from the bottom of a staircase. Others were ignorant, but Lu Yin knew that Cool Sis had a special battle technique that was extremely powerful. It had even made Lu Yin¡¯s heart race when he had first seen it due to him being threatened by it. This technique could raise Cool Sis¡¯s power to another level.

    There was nothing that Cool Sis could do after she was trapped within the Epassing Lockdown Array. Y¨­u Ye''er was just about to win when Cool Sis¡¯s eyes suddenly changed. Her pupils went white, and an indescribable sensation spread out from her as a strange image that looked like a vast field of ice appeared behind her.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed; this was it.

    "Iceform Sutra." Cool Sis looked up. The terrible cold from the ice field froze the Epassing Lockdown Array. From where she was standing, Y¨­u Ye''er was stunned to see that Cool Sis had managed to break through her array. Y¨­u Ye''er suddenly realized that Cool Sis was not weak, and Y¨­u Ye''er had no intention of wasting any more time. A blood-colored light shone as a blood-colored lotus appeared beneath Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s feet. "Heart-killer Lotus,e to the world."

    Everyone''s expressions changed. They all remembered Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯sst fight with Bai Ling. Y¨­u Ye''er had clearly been at a disadvantage, but the moment the Killing Heart Lotus had appeared, Bai Ling had died to a single attack, instantly reversing the tides of battle and securing a victory. Everyone felt envious about this blood-colored lotus .

    Shang Qing, Wang Yi, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and others were all staring at the blood-colored lotus at this moment.

    God Taiyi''s pupils transformed. He saw such a terrifying number of rune lines, to the point where not even he dared try to go up against this lotus. What sort of phantasmal battle technique was this?

    At the bottom of a staircase, Lu Yin''s expression changed the moment he saw the lotus appear. Cool Sis could not stop this.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1293: Down The Liquor

    <h4>Chapter 1293: Down The Liquor</h4>

    The Heart-Killing Lotus beneath Y¨­u Ye''er''s feet turned ethereal and suddenly shot straight for Cool Sis. As it passed, the frozen air and the Epassing Lockdown Array both shattered.

    Cool Sis watched as the Killing Heart Lotus made its appearance. She was helpless, and the image of the vast ice field that had appeared behind her copsed.

    Suddenly, a loud shout shook Zenith Mountain. "Y¨­u Ye''er!"

    The voice startled many people, and they all looked up at the area with the ten staircases at the person who had just shouted: Lu Yin.

    Y¨­u Ye''er was startled, and she instinctively stopped the Killing Heart Lotus before turning to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s face was stern as he stared at Y¨­u Ye''er with cold eyes. His eyesmunicated a strong warning. He was telling Y¨­u Ye''er to not kill Cool Sis. Cool Sis was the captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Fifth Squadron, which meant that she was Lu Yin¡¯s underling.

    Cool Sis was drenched with sweat. The moment the Killing Heart Lotus had moved towards her, she felt as if she had seen hell. She had never been that close to death before.

    Y¨­u Ye''er and Lu Yin stared at each other withplicated eyes. She didn''t know what to think, but many thoughts ran through her mind at that moment. Finally, her Heart-killing Lotus disappeared. "You can give up."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Y¨­u Ye''er had given him face.

    Across from Y¨­u Ye''er, Cool Sis felt helpless, and she said, ¡°I give up."

    Y¨­u Ye''er looked up at Lu Yin again, and Lu Yin''s eyes had softened a great deal. "Thank you."

    Y¨­u Ye''er did not speak as she disappeared. When she reappeared, she was at the bottom of a staircase that was not far from Lu Yin.

    On the firstyer, Ku Wei kept pping his chest. His face was still rather pale. "That scared the shit out of Brother Wei!"

    Ku Wei had not been the only one startled by Lu Yin''s sudden shout, and even the fish had been scared.

    "That¡¯s too much! Too much, too much I say! Lord Fish is furious! You nearly scared Lord Fish back to the river! You¡¯re dead, two-legged beast! I¡¯ll teach you a lesson sooner orter!"

    As he shouted, the fish kept pping his fins about, constantly smacking Xi Qi. "Stop pping me! it hurts."

    Nearby, Lightson was also very upset, and he red at Lu Yin with narrow eyes. He had also been badly startled. His heart was still racing, as that shout had been so sudden that he had not expected it at all.

    If not for the fact that Lightson could do nothing to Lu Yin, he would definitely start cursing the bastard.

    Ling Gong''s expression was also very bad. She had been startled so badly that her helmet had almost fallen off. She would get revenge against Lu Yin sooner orter and scare him to death in return.

    On the battlefield, Bu Kong suddenly appeared.

    Many of the remaining contestants¡¯ faces grew ugly, and they became nervous. This was Bu Kong, the person ranked second on the public predictions list. He was widely acknowledged as one of the most powerful people in ZENITH.

    Wu Dan appeared in the arena.

    Lu Yin was somewhat shaken when he saw Wu Dan appear. This genius from the Lockbreaker World had mastered a sourcebox array at a very young age. Although Qiu Shi and Bu Kong had also both mastered their own sourcebox arrays as well, Lu Yin had always felt that neither of them were really serious about lockbreaking.

    Of course, this was just Lu Yin¡¯s feeling. The news that some youths hadprehended sourcebox arrays had shocked the universe when it was released. Still, Wu Dan had absolutely nothing aside from lockbreaking.

    Lu Yin still remembered what Wu Dan had said in the Lockbreaker world; he had sworn to show the entire universe the truth about how Lockbreakers fought.

    This was also a three-person battle, and the third participant was a Cruiser from the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind cultivator knew that he was in the same arena as one of the Daosource Three Skies, and he immediately attacked Wu Dan without any thoughts of ZENITH at all.

    Wu Dan''s gaze grew sharp, and he lifted a hand before pping out at the Sixth Maind Cruiser.

    Although the person from the Sixth Maind was only a Cruiser, thebination of his imprint and Power Transfer Secret Technique meant that his strength couldpare to Cool Sis¡¯s before she used her Iceform Sutra. In other words, he was strong enough to in the top three of the Top 100 Rankings.

    However, that Cruiser was instantly defeated by a single palm from Wu Dan. The unsuspecting Cruiser did not see anything approach him and simply copsed to the ground. The only surprising thing was that there was no star energy left within his body.

    This scene shocked many people. Wu Dan was not even a Hunter yet, so hisbat strength should not be much better than a Sixth Maind Cruiser with an imprint and Power Transfer. But while the attack that he had just used looked like a soft and weak palm, the results had been shocking.

    On the battlefield, Bu Kong looked up at Wu Dan in surprise. "Interesting. That was a star energy attack."

    Not many people were able to understand Bu Kong¡¯sment, but they could tell that Wu Dan had done something through his mastery of star energy control.

    Wu Dan''s star energy control was also in the Worldliness realm, just like Bu Kong, Lu Yin, Xin N¨¹, and Qiu Shi. Still, even if they were all in the same realm of control, the way that they used that control varied from person to person.

    Obviously, Wu Dan had better control of star energy than the others. At the very least, this was what Lu Yin believed; he had understood what had happened when Bu Kong had waved a hand and dispersed the star energy from Lei N¨¹¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin knew the secret behind this, but the others did not.

    When people saw that Wu Dan''s palm had managed to disperse a Cruiser¡¯s star energy, they felt as if they had seen a repeat of that previous event.

    The only one who was not very concerned was Liquor Hero; her control of star energy far surpassed everyone else¡¯s in ZENITH.

    "You¡¯re one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, and you¡¯re also an Advanced Lockbreaker," Wu Dan said solemnly.

    Bu Kong stared at Wu Dan. "You are too, and you¡¯ve also mastered a sourcebox array."

    Wu Dan answered with some fear in his voice, "I can disperse that person¡¯s star energy, but I can¡¯t deal with someone like Lei N¨¹. I still can¡¯tpare to you in terms of my star energy control."

    Bu Kong¡¯s brows rose up. He was aware of what he had done to Lei N¨¹, and it had not been through his control of star energy. "In that case, will you give up?"

    Wu Dan answered in a serious tone, "I won''t admit defeat. I want to see the distance between me and you andpare our star energy control. I know that I¡¯m not as good as you, but this is how I fight."

    Bu Kong frowned;pare their control of star energy? How could he possiblypare to this guy?

    At the bottom of a staircase, Lu Yin smiled. He had learned from Xia Luo that Bu Kong had relied on his mastery of a sourcebox array to disperse his opponents¡¯ star energy, and that array was the only reason why Bu Kong had been able to do that to Lei N¨¹. Bu Kong¡¯s control of star energy was not as impressive as it appeared to be, but that false veneer had stunned Wu Dan.

    When it came to their control over star energy, it was possible that Bu Kong could notpare to Wu Dan.

    "I don''t have time topete with you, so either admit defeat or I¡¯ll attack and force you to give up." Bu Kong''s voice was cold and threatening.

    Wu Dan''s expression turned ugly. "You¡¯re a Lockbreaker, and this is how Lockbreakerspete. Since you¡¯re not willing to ept the challenge, then do you not care about your identity as a Lockbreaker?"

    "Bullshit!" Bu Kong disappeared for a moment, and when he reappeared, he was right in front of Wu Dan. Without any hesitation, he attacked Wu Dan¡¯s chest with the full strength of an Enlighter.

    Star energy gathered in front of Wu Dan, though some of the star energy refused to move. Still, it was not enough to make up for the difference in strength, and Wu Dan spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew through the air, shouting. As his voice fell, the ground beneath Bu Kong erupted with an iparable explosion of star energy.

    Everyone was wondering when Wu Dan had set this up.

    Lu Yin was surprised at this sight, as this had clearly been caused by a sourcebox array, but like everyone, he had no idea when Wu Dan had set it up. Lu Yin had never noticed a thing.

    All sourcebox arrays contained extraordinary power, and this was naturally true of Wu Dan''s Earth Starburst as well.

    This array was not as simple as it appeared to be, and only someone facing the array like Bu Kong would understand the power of this particr sourcebox array.

    Star energy had exploded. The universe was full of ambient star energy, and this Earth Starburst practically caused all of the star energy in an area to explode. Once the array was triggered, a series of explosions would detonate in one ring after another, and the total power unleashed would far exceed the initial explosion.

    The power of this Earth Starburst easily surpassed a power level of 300,000.

    Zenith Mountain itself shook.

    In terms of ZENITH¡¯s participants, the only people who could unleash an attack with a power level of over 300,000 while still a Hunter were Lu Yin and Wu Dan.

    Lu Yin relied on his physical strength to unleash such a powerful attack while Wu Dan relied on a sourcebox array that he had surreptitiously set up without anyone noticing.

    On the battlefield, Bu Kong felt rather embarrassed, and his face fell. He had actually been outschemed. This Wu Dan must have set up the sourcebox array while they were talking, as he had had no other time to set up a sourcebox array. What a bastard.

    This was the first time that Bu Kong had been embarrassed during ZENITH.

    However, Wu Dan had already copsed. He could not stand up to another one of Bu Kong¡¯s attacks, and a single strike from Bu Kong had been enough to defeat Wu Dan.

    Still, even though being defeated by a single attack made Wu Dan look rather weak, he had seeded in humiliating Bu Kong.

    This was how Lockbreakers fought. A single slip-up could lead to aplete loss. Using a single sourcebox array at the right time could reverse the entire situation, and it all depended on what array was used and if anyone could discover it.

    Wu Dan had shown everyone how Lockbreakers fought. Although the fight had been short with only one exchange, it had been enough. He had done as he had said and shown the universe the power of Lockbreakers.

    In the current universe, what Hunter possessed the strength to humiliate Bu Kong? That was precisely what Wu Dan had aplished. Although he was rather arrogant, his strength could not be underestimated.

    Lu Yin looked at Wu Dan and remembered when they had first met in the Lockbreaker World. That battle had opened Lu Yin¡¯s eyes; he certainly did not possess the ability to set up a sourcebox array without anyone noticing. It had to be acknowledged that there were several other Advanced Lockbreakers in ZENITH, but when it came to sheer lockbreaking ability, it was likely that no one measured up to Wu Dan!

    This thought led Lu Yin to nce over at Liquor Hero, but unfortunately, even though she was an unparalleled genius at controlling star energy, managing to reach the Creation realm of star energy control, she was not a Lockbreaker. Actually, this was quite puzzling.

    Bu Kong appeared beneath another staircase with an ugly expression on his face. He was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and he was confident that he wouldpete for the title of Pinnacle Youth, but he had just been humiliated by a Hunter. The worst part was that Bu Kong himself was an Advanced Lockbreaker who had also mastered a sourcebox array. Despite that, he had not noticed anything when Wu Dan had set up an array. This was extremely embarrassing.

    "What are you looking at?" Bu Kong shouted fiercely as he stared at Skinny Bro some ways away.

    The thin man was rather intimidated as he asked. "Do you want clothes?"

    "Leave me alone!" Bu Kong shouted.

    At that moment, a barrel of wine smashed over from the opposite direction, and Bu Kong reflexively grabbed it before turning to look at Liquor Hero. She waved at him. "Take a drink and refresh your body."

    Bu Kong snorted coldly and threw the wine barrel away.

    Liquor Hero''s face fell, and she stared nkly at Bu Kong. "Little brother, do you really dare to keep this sister''s wine barrel from me? This sister will remember you."

    Bu Kong snorted again. Although Liquor Hero¡¯s star energy control had reached the Creation realm, Bu Kong did not care about her. Even though star energy was the foundation of cultivation, it was not the only thing that one needed. Bu Kong already had the means to deal with this woman. He moved on to Lu Yin. "I forgot to ask, but why is Zhi Yi so concerned about you?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he retorted, "I''ll tell you when you grab that barrel of wine and take a drink."

    "Hahaha! Little Brother, this sister likes you! Do you want a drink?" Liquor Heroughed. At this moment, she greatly admired Lu Yin.

    Bu Kong was infuriated and humiliated, so he simply stopped talking and looked at the battlefield.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1294: Creation

    <h4>Chapter 1294: Creation</h4>

    At this moment, another batch of people had already appeared in the arena. One was a Cruiser from the Neoverse, another was the Void Wanderer from the Astral Beast Domain, and thest was Burial Garden¡¯s Y¨­u Qi.

    Before, during thepetition for the Astral Tower in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Y¨­u Qi had been one of the five predetermined to be one of the Cosmic Five. Unfortunately, he had been defeated by Lu Yin and the Ghost Monkey. Y¨­u Qi was extremely strong, and there were certain, practically unbeatable, aspects to him that made him a very difficult opponent.

    What had impressed Lu Yin the most about Y¨­u Qi was his ability to turn immaterial, much like the illusory Progenitor Chen that Shang Qing was able to summon. Also, Y¨­u Qi had an illusory ck me as well as his innate gift. His innate gift allowed him to emte even the Thirteen Swords, which was an amazing ability. It would only be more terrifying in the future, and it was possible that, eventually, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s innate gift would allow him to emte a massive attack that could instantly reverse the tides of battle.

    The Cruiser from the Neoverse saw that his opponent was Y¨­u Qi, and his face instantly nched.

    Y¨­u Qi whistled, the sound deste and sad. It melded into his illusory ck mes, but most people could not even see him, which made the scene even more terrifying.

    Despite not having his warhorse at the moment, Y¨­u Qi made for a fearful sight.

    His spear, war g, illusory ck mes, and eerie whistle all merged together to create a frightening ambience. To most people, this looked like a living horror movie.

    "I give up." The Neoverse Cruiser instantly surrendered. He knew of Burial Garden¡¯s reputation.

    On the other side, while the Void Wanderer, Xu Ling, felt cautious, it was not afraid. It had survived through several difficult opponents, and it was impossible for anyone to even touch it. With this thought, Xu Ling¡¯s figure flickered and vanished into the void.

    This was not an unfamiliar scene to anyone present, as the entire universe had seen this ability before.

    Many people instantly groaned.

    Xu Ling¡¯s fights were some of the longest in all of the one-on-one matches in ZENITH. Some people did not want to watch this battle, as it might not end for three days.

    However, what happened exceeded everyone''s expectations, and even Yao Xuan was stunned.

    Y¨­u Qi stretched out a hand and instantly grabbed a hold of Xu Ling.

    Xu Ling was at a loss. What happened? Where am I?

    The Void Wanderer was not the only one taken aback. Everyone was simrly stunned, especially those who had lost to the creature like Yun Feifei, Mira, and others.

    Many people had lost to Xu Ling throughout the course of ZENITH. It had made it to this stage by surviving through both the hundred and fifty person battle royales. Thus, in total, it had faced more than a hundred people by now.

    None of these people had been able to stop Xu Ling from escaping into the void, and they had beenpletely helpless against the Void Wanderer.

    Who would have known that Xu Ling would be directly picked up by Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s illusory ck mes spread out to cover Xu Ling¡¯s body, and the creature was frightened out of its mind. ¡°I give up! I give up!"

    This beast was absolutely terrified of death, more so than normal.

    Y¨­u Qi threw Xu Ling away. The creature¡¯s body quickly faded from vision as Y¨­u Qi appeared at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

    Xu Ling copsed to the ground, panting heavily. It looked up at Y¨­u Qi as though it were looking at a ghost. Just what had happened? How could Xu Ling¡¯s perfect ability bepletely useless against this guy?

    At the bottom of a different staircase, Lu Yin grew thoughtful, and everyone else who was familiar with Y¨­u Qi seemed to have thought of something.

    Y¨­u Qi himself was able to turn immaterial, so was this ability simr to Xu Ling¡¯s? Y¨­u Qi had been able to grab the Void Wanderer, which seemed to indicate that their methods for avoiding physical attacks were the same.

    This was not as simple as moving into the void, and Lu Yin was sure that there was more to it than the Y¨­u n being an inheritor of Progenitor Chen¡¯s techniques.

    Xu Ling was not a powerful fighter, and it had gotten this far in ZENITH by levying the advantages of its species¡¯ innate ability. If it had gone against someone else rather than Y¨­u Qi, then it might have been possible for the creature to make it even further up the mountain and into the final rounds.

    Its fighting method was very strange.

    Fifty people had made it to the firstyer, and there were to be ten three-person battles, and ten two-person battles.

    The next match would be thest of the three-way battles.

    Fan Shun appeared first on the battlefield. He was from the Sixth Maind and was the Realmling of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s Brahman Realm. Next, Bai Qian appeared. She was wearing a veil and wielding a longsword as she moved with grace and a fluid demeanor, though there was also an impression that strangers could not approach her.

    Bai Qian was quite eye-catching, as some women were naturally more appealing.

    Although her face was covered by a veil, half of her face was still exposed, which was enough for people to dream about.

    Many people watching the livestream became excited, and they all stared at Bai Qian with fervent eyes.

    On the firstyer, in a certain corner, Starsibyl''s eyes shed as she looked at Bai Qian. There was a long history between the two of them. Then, Starsibyl looked over at Lu Yin, who was at the bottom of a staircase. It was impossible to know what was going through Starsibyl¡¯s mind.

    Right after that, the third person of the tenth battle appeared: Jin He.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell when he saw Jin He. This person was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy. If not for the people from Gods¡¯ Origin interfering with their chase after Jin He in the Mountain and Seas Zone, then Jin He might not have left that ce alive. Of course, it was also possible that he had hidden some of his strength.

    After fighting against Lu Yin, Jin He had not shown himself again in the Mountain and Seas Zone, not even when the fight had broken out atop the golden stage.

    Lu Yin had been keeping a close eye on Jin He, but unfortunately, he had not climbed up the eastern face of the mountain. If he had, he would have suffered a simr fate as Little Arrow Saint.

    Nearby, God Taiyi''s face also fell. To Gods¡¯ Origin, Jin He, along with all the other members of one of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s major crews, were all traitors who had to be captured.

    God Qingguang, God Xiaobai, and the others all gritted their teeth as well. "This traitor dares to show himself so openly."

    "It¡¯ll be good if he died."

    On the firstyer, the corners of Jin He¡¯s mouth pulled up into a smile. His long hair fell to his shoulders, and his narrow eyes contained a yful glint as he looked at his two opponents.

    Bai Qian was nothing to be concerned about, as she was just a Cruiser. Jin He had already broken through to the Enlighter realm, and even if he had not, a Cruiser did not qualify to challenge him. No, Jin He was paying the most attention to Fan Shun.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings possessed the same level of strength as the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. Although there had been numerous victories and losses on both sides, the War King had once killed a Realmling in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    And during ZENITH, Lu Yin had killed another.

    After thinking of this, the smile on Jin He''s face grewrger. His look towards Fan Shun changed as though he was staring at prey.

    There was a bang, and a white sword light shed through the air as an extreme cold froze the void. Bai Qian shot forward and shed at Fan Shun with her sword.

    She and Jin He were both from the Fifth Maind, so Fan Shun was their natural enemy.

    Fan Shun quickly fell back. With his cultivation, he had no need to worry about Bai Qian, and he actually did not even need to pay much attention to any attack that she threw at him. However, Fan Shun was wary of Jin He. Those long, narrow eyes sent chills into the Realmling¡¯s heart, and he instinctively used his innate gift.

    A towering tree appeared and blocked Bai Qian''s sword while simultaneously blocking Jin He''s eyes.

    At the bottom of a flight of stairs, Lu Yin felt odd; why was it a tree again? Yuhua Mavis had turned into a tree, and Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield took the form of a tree as well.

    Bai Qian shed at the tree with her sword, causing half of the tree to freeze over. The branches suddenly came alive and wrapped around her. In response, she flipped her sword around, but she was unable to cut any of the branches. Thus, she decisively retreated and surrendered.

    She was nothing but a Cruiser, so how was she supposed topete against an Enlighter realm Realmling from the Sixth Maind?

    Fan Shun had never treated her as an opponent, and his true opponent in this battle was Jin He.

    The tree grew even taller as a part of it began to wrap around Jin He while the other part began to produce treants that charged forward, stomping across the battlefield.

    Every single one of the treants had thebat power of an Enlighter. Fan Shun¡¯s innate gift seemed to produce them endlessly, as more than ten appeared every single second.

    Countless people watching the broadcast felt their scalps go numb. There were not many Enlighters even across the entire universe.

    Jin He was also taken aback, and he looked at Fan Shun with renewed interest. Branches twined above his head, all of them from therge tree.

    Jin He''s pupils transformed into runes, and his gaze swept across therge tree as well as the attacking treants. Then, he leaped forward and sped past more than a dozen of the treants, causing all of them to instantly copse.

    Fan Shun''s pupils shrank; what had just happened?

    He had not participated in the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind, and thus, he knew almost nothing about Gods¡¯ Origin, let alone the miraculous power of Truesight.

    At this moment, he only knew that his innate gift had been weakened, and it had drastically weakened all at once.

    On the firstyer, God Taiyi frowned. Jin He¡¯s cultivation of Truesight was in no way inferior to his own, which showed how amazing Jin He¡¯s talent for Truesight was.

    Jin He shot towards Fan Shun and raised his hand. A blue bead appeared out of nowhere, and Jin He hurled it straight at Fan Shun.

    Fan Shun was taken aback. An item? This definitely looked like a power vessel, and Fan Shun shot back with his own attack. A cloud of blue light annihted the void where he had just been standing, but he could not figure out what it was.

    Fan Shun shouted, "You¡¯re cheating!"

    Jin He sneered and replied, "I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Fan Shun looked over at the rest of the contestants, but to his surprise, nobody seemed shocked by what had just happened. His heart sank. Just what had this person done? Creation?

    At this moment, Zhi Yi called out, "Just go with it. He didn''t cheat."

    Fan Shun stopped thinking about the possibility that Jin He had cheated. Before him, Jin He smiled as he created all kinds of strange weapons that rushed forward to attack Fan Shun. In response, Fan Shun kept jumping around to avoid being beaten. These weapons seemed to be power vessels, which terrified him.

    He slightly regretted not joining in on the invasion of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, as if he had, then he would not be so clueless about this opponent.

    Still, none of that mattered. Even if his opponent could create weapons or even power vessels out of nothing, he could not win against Fan Shun. After his thoughts reached this point, the Realmling¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and he ced his hands on the ground. "Forest World."

    As he spoke, massive treants rose up from the ground, and beneath Jin He''s feet, even more treants appeared. He jumped up, but his calf was caught by the branches, and he was unable to break himself free. The branches were tough beyond imagination.

    The treants appeared from all directions, and their branches covered the sky as the entire battlefield was instantly turned into a forest. At the same time, the intertwined branches covering the sky formed a huge hand that grabbed Jin He, pressing down upon him like the sky itself.

    Jin He was surrounded by branches in all directions, and they had even formed a hand above his head that blocked out the sun and the sky. Everyone watching this through the livestream felt a sense of desperation.

    This was the strength of the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling.

    Jin He''s eyes shot wide open, and his narrow eyes suddenly radiated a bone-chilling coldness. Ripples visible to the naked eye undted as they spread out. A portion of every branch touched by the ripples¡¯ rune lines were erased, and eventually the branches were shattered by Jin He''s star energy.

    He jumped up high even as the massive hand above his head pressed down.

    With a bang, Jin He was mmed into the ground. This time, the endless number of branches formed a cage that stabbed deep into the ground in an attempt to trap him.

    Lu Yin shook his head. This was useless. Jin He and God Taiyi were both extremely skilled in using Truesight, and they were both able to form an all-directional defensiveyer around their entire body. The moment any attack met that barrier, it would be greatly weakened.

    Fan Shun''s branches had the tenacity and power to entangle an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, but when they touched Jin He, their power level fell to no more than 200,000.

    A power level of just 200,000 was nothing more than an annoyance to Jin He. It was almost as if he was not being attacked.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1295: Knowing Or Not

    <h4>Chapter 1295: Knowing Or Not</h4>

    Fan Shun did not know what Truesight was, but he could feel its effects through the branches of the treants. He suddenly realized that Jin He was still able to resist and that his branches were continuously and endlessly shattering.

    The treants continuously shattered, but more of them simply rose up from the ground.

    The Sixth Mainders were all familiar with Bu Kong¡¯s ability, Dpose, but Jin He seemed to be doing theplete opposite. They all believed that Fan Shun still held the upper hand, and only those people who were familiar with Gods¡¯ Origin and Truesight understood the difference in what Jin He was doing. Jin He was not losing. The longer the battle took, the worse Fan Shun¡¯s loss would be.

    One hour, two hours, three hours.

    Sweat poured down from Fan Shun''s forehead. He still kept producing more treants in an attempt to trap Jin He, but all of his efforts were useless.

    Jin He sat quietly beneath the ground, and all of the branches shattered the moment they tried to pass through the ripples.

    Finally, after half a day, Fan Shun stopped his attacks and gasped for air. Although he had been using his innate gift, he needed to support it with star energy, and he had wasted quite a bit of star energy in his attempts.

    The countless people watching the broadcast were all staring at the ground, from which Jin He suddenly flew up and into the air.

    Countless people from the Fifth Maind cheered.

    In contrast, in the Upper Realm, the people from the Sixth Maind were dead silent as they stared at Jin He like a monster. He had been attacked by the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling for so long. But despite that, he appeared to be perfectly fine!

    Jin He raised his head to look at Fan Shun. "It''s over."

    After that, a sword slowly appeared in Jin He¡¯s hand, and the people of the Sixth Maind grew sluggish as they witnessed creation.

    There was a bang as sword qi swept out, only to be blocked by a massive tree. Jin He swept past the big tree and stabbed out at Fan Shun.

    A huge treant appeared behind Fan Shun and wrapped itself around the Realmling. Then, it pped its hands together in an attempt to kill Jin He. However, Jin He used Truesight to weaken the treant before stabbing his sword at Fan Shun¡¯s heart. The de easily pierced the Realmling¡¯s body, and blood fell from the sword.

    Jin He had not used any impressive swordsmanship¡ªjust Truesight, a sword, and an excellent judgment of the situation.

    "I know that you¡¯re from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory and that you have the Secret Technique of Resurrection. However, how many swords can you survive?" Jin He smiled as his sword slowly disappeared, only for another one to appear in his hand. He stabbed out once again.

    Fan Shun''s injured heart had visibly recovered, but he was quickly stabbed through by another sword. Although it was possible to evade this attack, Fan Shun did not do so. Instead, he raised a hand and grabbed Jin He¡¯s arm. The treant behind the Realmling then pped its hands together once again. More arms appeared on the treant. There were ten, then a hundred, then a thousand. All of the arms swung at Jin He.

    Jin He shattered the wooden arms, but he could not destroy Fan Shun''s arm. Fan Shun''s hand then transformed into wood as his power level rose higher and higher. Thorns emerged from the void and tried to stab Jin He.

    Jin He quickly fell back, but he was still a step too slow. His abdomen was pierced through by several of the sharp thorns, and a trickle of blood dripped out. Jin He was ruthless even to himself; he created a power vessel from nothing and attacked Fan Shun from close range. Blood stained the battlefield red.

    This brutal fight left many people at a loss for words.

    The giant tree disappeared from the battlefield as Fan Shun clutched at his heart while breathing heavily. He used the Secret Technique of Resurrection once again in order to assuage his injuries.

    Meanwhile, Jin He stood back up and nced down at his abdomen. He frowned, as he had actually been badly injured. He had underestimated the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling.

    It was not without reason that people had said that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings stood on par with the Ten Arbiters.

    Fan Shun stared at Jin He as he pped the ground with a hand once more, causing giant treants to reappear. Fan Shun wanted to end things here.

    Jin He¡¯s eyes went wide, and he charged at Fan Shun while coldly asking, "Your heart, is it feeling alright?"

    Fan Shun was caught off guard, unable to understand Jin He''s question, but suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and he looked down towards his heart. His heartbeat was actually slowing down.

    "What did you do?" Fan Shun shouted sharply.

    The corners of Jin He''s mouth curled up. "So, do you want to die?"

    Fan Shun''s face went pale. "What the hell did you do?"

    Fan Shun was not alone in his confusion, as most of the people watching did not know what Jin He had done either. Even Liu Tianmu, who was also one of the Ten Arbiers, did not understand what had happened, and the same went for Unseen Light and Ling Gong.

    Jin He was very mysterious. He had managed to be an Arbiter through his ability to use Truesight, but that was all anyone really knew about him.

    Lu Yin stared at Fan Shun''s heart and saw that the number of runes there were continuously decreasing. If all of the runes in his heartpletely disappeared, then Fan Shun''s heart would be rendered useless, resulting in his death.

    What had Jin He done? Had it been rted to those two swords?

    As the end of ZENITH drew closer, the participants would start to reveal their hidden strength, as no one wanted to lose. This was true for Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, Liquor Hero, Bu Kong, and even Jin He, who was still fighting. No one would be able to keep their strength hidden, but even if they revealed themselves, would the others understand what was happening? That was another question entirely.

    Jin He smiled and made a gesture. "Don''t talk too much, and be careful about your heart, as it could burst at any moment."

    Fan Shun gritted his teeth and endured the physical pain and mental anguish of dying at any moment as he stared at Jin He.

    Jin He raised his hand, and another sword appeared in his hand that he swept out with. The sword qi cut through the void to arrive in front of Fan Shun.

    Everyone felt their hearts lurch as they stared at Fan Shun.

    This was especially true of Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and the others from the Sixth Maind. Fan Shun was one of their Realmlings, and it would be humiliating for a Realmling to lose to an Arbiter like Jin He.

    As the sword qi drew closer, all Fan Shun''s bangs were chopped off. He quickly jumped up, and the sword qi swept past him to tear apart the ground.

    Jin He was surprised. "You still have enough strength to escape? You must really want to die."

    After that, Jin He rushed forward with a raised hand, ready to attack again. This next sword was much faster than the previous ones. Jin He had estimated that Fan Shun would not be able to deal with this attack, and any attempt at evading would make his heart give out.

    However, Jin He was surprised once more, as Fan Shun managed to sessfully evade once again. At the same time, more giant treants appeared one after another, surrounding the twobatants as their branches covered the sky and formed massive green hands that fell down.

    Jin He was surprised, and he stared at Fan Shun''s heart; how could this be? Suddenly, Jin He¡¯s pupils shrank. As he stared at Fan Shun¡¯s heart, Jin He saw quite a number of rune lines. These rune lines were not whatposed the heart itself. Rather, a tremendous number of rune lines had recently appeared. Just what had Fan Shun done to his own heart?

    The branches of the trees covering the sky wrapped around Jin He. Fan Shun¡¯s face was pale, and the strength of his heart kept falling. Fortunately, his innate gift was that of wood, and he had used his innate gift to support his heart, though it did cause him an excruciating amount of pain. He was not sure if this would be enough to defeat Jin He, so Fan Shun quickly used the Secret Technique of Resurrection. At the same time, an image appeared behind the Realmling.

    Fan Shun was the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realming, so his imprint should either be the same as Shi Zhongjian¡¯s, the three-inch old man, or Little Arrow Saint¡¯s, the wild archer. However, when Fan Shun¡¯s imprint appeared, it caught many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators off guard.

    This imprint was that of an old man who looked immortal. He had a kind appearance and soft eyes, which made him look like a banished immortal.

    No matter if they were youths or elders from the Fifth Maind, everyone was shaken at this moment, and many people cursed, as this was another Empyrean Imprinter.

    No one here was foolish enough to believe that Fan Shun, the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling, would ept an imprint from anyone inferior to an Empyrean Imprinter.

    Why did the Sixth Maind have so many top powerhouses?

    There are already three in the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory!

    That was an imprint from an Empyrean Imprinter! That was not some random cabbage that you could pick up!

    In a certain area of the firstyer, Zhi Yi solemnly stared at the imprint behind Fan Shun. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had three Progenitors, four Empyreans, and ten Cosmic Imprinters. This imprint was of one of the four Empyrean Imprinters: Herb Immortal.

    One could not be one of the four Empyreans just by surpassing the Cosmic Imprinters, and Herb Immortal was precisely one of those four Empyreans.

    When Herb Immortal¡¯s image appeared, Fan Shun''splexion improved greatly, but then he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood as a strange air spread across the battlefield. He had just used Power Transfer. Fan Shun clearly wanted to end Jin He with one attack.

    Jin He kept dodging the giant treant¡¯s attacks. When he saw that Fan Shun''s strength had increased yet again, it gave Jin He quite the headache. As expected of a Realmling who was supposed to stand on par with the Ten Arbiters¡ªthis would not be an easy victory.

    The ground broke apart, and a towering tree rose out of the ground to form an even more massive tree that covered the entire firstyer. It was much taller than any of the ten staircases, and it was almost level with the statue at the peak of the mountain. Then, Fan Shun looked down at Jin He and pressed down with a hand.

    On all threeyers, as well as at the foot of the mountain, many of the contestants were stunned and felt as though they were about to be crushed to death.

    Even Lu Yin and the others were shrouded by this giant. This particr tree had appeared due to Fan Shun pushing his innate gift to the limit, and at this moment, his power level surpassed Jin He. Or at the very least, Fan Shun had more rune lines for those who could see them.

    Other than the increase in strength, Lu Yin had a feeling that the giant treant was more than just a powerfulbat weapon.

    Down on the battlefield, Jin He''s eyes kept flickering. He was covered by the giant treant¡¯s shadow, and he looked like an ant facing the sky.

    Fan Shun stared at Jin He. This had to be the finishing blow.

    Jin He''s pupils flickered wildly, and his runes themselves began to change.

    God Taiyi stared at Jin He from a distance. The two of them should have reached around the same level of mastery of Truesight. What¡¯s more, if Jin He had any chance of seizing a victory in these straits, then Truesight was the only thing that he could use to flip the situation around.

    Lu Yin was also staring intently at Jin He. He was very concerned about whether this enemy of his would be defeated by the giant treant or pull out a win. Lu Yin actually preferred for Jin He to win, as Lu Yin wanted to have the chance of facing Jin He in the next round.

    The giant treant pped down with a hand. Jin He''s pupils that had been flickering frantically suddenly stopped. Two lines of bloody tears flowed from the corners of his eyes. He no longer dodged or fought back; he just stood there.

    The giant treant¡¯s hand flew down.

    Many people jumped out of their seats.

    Even Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, because Jin He really was not trying to evade the attack despite how powerful this attack clearly was.

    At this moment, no matter who they were, everyone was confused; why was Jin He not escaping?

    Fan Shun was also at a loss; why was his opponent not hiding? Did he perhaps want to die?

    Only God Taiyi had an ugly expression on his face.

    There were different realms of mastery of Truesight. The first was Awakening, which allowed a person to see runes. The next realm was rity, which allowed a person to erase a portion of an opponent¡¯s runes to weaken them. The next level was Knowing,1 which controlled whether or not a person, thing, or ce could influence the universe.

    The simplest exnation for this ability would be that it ensured that one thing or ce in the universe would not be affected by another. If thetter had the ability to affect the former, then thetter¡¯s ability would be weakened and possibly evenpletely erased.

    This was fundamentally different from erasing an object¡¯s runes to weaken it overall. Instead of weakening the object by manipting the individual runes, this new method was based entirely off of one¡¯s mastery of Truesight.

    The palm of the giant treant appeared to be extremely powerful, but when it reached Jin He, it simply breezed right through him without having any effect on him at all.

    [1] This has been updated in past chapters as well. Was previously the Perception realm, and has been changed to the Knowing realm. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1296: Incredible Methods

    <h4>Chapter 1296: Incredible Methods</h4>

    Jin He simply stood there, but the palm of the giant treant was not even able to disturb the dust on the ground.

    This sight confused everyone watching.

    Fan Shun''s expression changed, and he lost his voice. "Impossible."

    Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and the others were simrly stunned.

    Wang Yi frowned, and a hint of amazement could be seen in the depths of his eyes. This technique had been created by the amazing and brilliant Rune Progenitor, and even in Wang Yi¡¯s eyes, this was a truly magical technique.

    God Taiyi''s face was gloomy. As expected, Jin He had used thend that he stood upon as a reference to deny the giant treant the ability to affect thend. The strength of the giant was thus reduced to a Limiteer, and with that strength it had no ability to affect the area it stood on. The strength of a Limiteer practically meant nothing at all to Jin He as well.

    God Taiyi himself had also reached the Knowing realm of Truesight, and he was also able to use certain things as references. But he wasn¡¯t able to match Jin He¡¯s ability to reduce the Treant to a wooden stick.

    However, it seemed that Jin He¡¯s mastery of Truesight had exceeded God Taiyi¡¯s own.

    At the bottom of another staircase, Lu Yin''s face was solemn. Jin He had clearly used the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight, but what sort of method was this particr technique? It was so, so amazing as well as so, so terrifying.

    No one understood what they had just seen.

    Bloody tears were still leaking out of the corners of Jin He''s eyes, as activating this ability had also hurt him badly, but that did not matter. A longsword slowly appeared in his hand, and then his figure shed as the sword stabbed at Fan Shun.

    Fan Shun struggled to avoid the sword, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he fell to the ground. He had lost.

    Jin He stood more than ten meters away from Fan Shun, where he wiped away the bloody tears from his face. He then smiled. "This was a very difficult fight to win."

    No one dared to underestimate Jin He anymore. Even if Bu Kong were in front of Jin He, at this moment, he would have fear in his eyes as he looked at Jin He. This person''s methods were very strange and unpredictable. People feared the unknown. Even if the others were confident that they could defeat Jin He, and even if they were much, much stronger than him, they still would not dare to underestimate him.

    Just thatst magical technique alone was enough to give Jin He a chance to turn any defeat into victory.

    Jin He appeared at where the ten staircases all started, at the bottom of thest staircase. At this moment, the three-person battles had ended. The winners had moved up Zenith Mountain while the losers had stayed behind.

    There were already people at each of the ten staircases, which meant that the second half of this round would have the winners appear at the bottom of the staircases as well, whereupon the pairings for the next round would be determined.

    Out of everyone currently at the bottom of the stairs, everyone wanted to be matched with the thin man the most. This man had been amazingly lucky so far, but it would only get him this far, and he would not be able to proceed any further.

    Seeing ten winners already standing at the stairs put a great deal of pressure on the contestants still waiting for their matches as nine of the ten winners were incredibly powerful.

    Even the seemingly weak Y¨­u Ye''er possessed an unfathomable attack with her blood-colored lotus.

    Still, regardless of how unprepared the people were, ZENITH continued on with the next match.

    Lightson appeared on the battlefield along with Unseen Light.

    From his vantage point beneath the stairs, Lu Yin was left speechless. Lightson and Unseen Light were opponents? What a terrible joke!

    Lightson was not familiar with Unseen Light, as Lightson had always been in the Light World.

    "Hey, Light Ball! That guy in front of you really looks down at you!" Ku Wei shouted, hoping to incite a bit more chaos.

    Lightson was puzzled and confused. What was he trying to say?

    "That guy up there with you is called Unseen Light" Xie Xiaoxian shouted.

    Lightson stared nkly at Unseen Light; was that really his name? But having said that, this person¡¯s eyes were truly provocative, and Lightson did find it revolting.

    Lightson¡¯s battle technique, Light Burst, was an attack that deprived his opponents of their sight, but this Unseen Light was not even looking at him. Thus, he was basically fighting with only one arm.

    Lightson''s expression turned ugly, especially when he realized his opponent was an Enlighter. Lightson had actually heard of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters before, and he vaguely remembered that one had the name ¡°Unseen Light.¡± Had he really ended up meeting that person?

    The light around him gathered into a long spear that shot forward to stab at Unseen Light.

    Lightson was quite strong, and he had been confident enough to challenge Lu Yin before ZENITH started. Although Lu Yin had won, Lightson was certainly strong enough to challenge the Ten Arbiters.

    Unfortunately, a challenge was just that, and there was an insurmountable gap between Lightson and Unseen Light. Even if he went up against another Arbiter, such as Lan Si, Lightson still would have had no chance of winning.

    Unseen Light had already anticipated Lightson¡¯s attack.

    Lightson felt aggravated beyond belief throughout the entire battle. His attacks seemed to be transparent to Unseen Light, and although Lightson wanted to deprive his opponent of his sight, there was nothing there to take! The entire match was as revolting to Lightson as swallowing a fly.

    As for Unseen Light, he was perfectly calm throughout the entire fight, and soon, he appeared at the bottom of a staircase. He had been paired up against Jin He.

    Many people were stunned to see that Unseen Light had been paired up against Jin He under the same staircase.

    Their match had been determined.

    There were two people but only one staircase. Whoever came out on top and made it up the stairs would be one of ZENITH¡¯s ten finalists.

    At the bottom of the staircase, Jin He saw Unseen Light, and he was also startled to the point of helplessness. "Seven of the Ten Arbiters made it to the top twenty, and we¡¯re finally going to start infighting."

    His words suddenly reminded all those listening that, yes, all the eligible members of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters were participating in ZENITH. Serati Phoenix and War King were both too old, and Lan Si had lost to Yuhua Mavis, but all of the other Arbiters had made it to this stage.

    Also, the Arbiters¡¯ sole loss had not been to some random nobody. Although it was a pity that Lan Si had lost, his opponent had been Yuhua Mavis. There was almost no one who would dare to im to be confident of victory against her. Thus, it could only be said that Lan Si had been unlucky.

    The Innerverse was already exploding in celebration. Every time one of the Ten Arbiters continued moving up Zenith Mountain, everyone in the Innerverse grew excited because the Ten Arbiters represented the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    It was a pity that the round to determine the top ten finalists of ZENITH required infighting between some of the Arbiters.

    For the next battle, Wen Sansi appeared on the field, and his opponent was some Explorer.

    The moment the Explorer saw Wen Sansi, he simply copsed. An Enlighter! His opponent was an Enlighter! At their age, anyone who had managed to be an Enlighter was an absolute monster.

    The cultivator simply conceded.

    Everyone looked up at the staircases, wanting to see who Wen Sansi would be matched up against.

    Mira, Michelle, and everyone from the Wen family prayed that Wen Sansi would appear beneath the same staircase as the thin man. Even if Wen Sansi was not paired with the thin man, it would still be fine if he was matched against Y¨­u Ye''er. Both of them seemed to be somewhat easier to deal with.

    However, things did not work out as they hoped, as Wen Sansi appeared next to Wang Yi. Wen Sansi¡¯s opponent barring his way to the top ten of ZENITH was Wang Yi.

    Many people went pale upon seeing that the Arbiter would fight against Wang Yi.

    Up to this point in thepetition, Wen Sansi had not faced any exceptionally strong opponents, but Wang Yi had toppled one master after another. What¡¯s more, all of his opponents had lost in mere seconds. The indescribable shock of seeing Wang Yi defeat Yao Gu was still fresh in people¡¯s memories.

    ZENITH¡¯s most iconic fights had already gone viral on thework, and they were the scenes of Wang Yi killing Yao Gu practically instantaneously, Lu Yin fighting against Yuhua Mavis, and Shang Qing¡¯s battle with Star Devourer.

    When people saw that Wen Sansi would be up against Wang Yi, despite their confidence in the Arbiter¡¯s barrier, they were still nervous.

    Wen Sansi rxed. Not a single one of the people fighting to enter the finals would be an easy opponent, and he had already prepared himself for all eventualities, which included facing Wang Yi or Shang Qing.

    Wang Yi remained the same as ever. Even if his opponent was a top powerhouse, Wang Yi¡¯s expression had never changed. Not even when the person was someone expected to enter the top ten.

    The two-person battles seemed less exciting than the three-person matches, and the next battle also ended quickly with Zhi Yiing out victorious. Her opponent had been just a Cruiser from the Sixth Maind, who had given up immediately. Many people cursed because they wanted to see a bloody fight, not the oppressive reputation of the Daosource Three Skies that crushed all the other Sixth Maind cultivators¡¯petitiveness.

    When the next match started, people just stared at the screens; where were the contestants?

    At this moment, only one contestant had appeared on the battlefield. His name was Ze Cu, and he stood there quietly since there was no one in front of him.

    Everyone was stunned. Was there a problem with this match?

    Up where the stairs started, Lu Yin stared at the arena and saw two clusters of rune lines; one belonged to Ze Cu while the other belonged to an invisible bug that was standing across the battlefield from Ze Cu.

    That bug was the carrion bug, Bai Mai.

    ording to legend, carrion bugs were extremely rare and were born from the bodies of ancient Progenitors. They were essentially parasites, and although their background sounded absolutely disgusting, there were very few species that could parasitize Progenitors.

    There was a bit ofmon knowledge in the Astral Beast Domain that said that the carrion bugs were not parasites, but rather descendants of parasites.

    They were born from the dead Progenitors, and in the eyes of many astral beasts in the Astral Beast Domain, carrion bugs were the same as a Progenitor¡¯s offspring.

    It was precisely because of this belief that, despite the very few numbers of carrion bugs, their species was still ranked second on the Celestial Beast List, second only to the Celestial Demons.

    Ever since ZENITH had started, this particr carrion bug had remained quite lowkey, though it had managed to attract quite a bit of attention at times, such as when it had defeated Hua Xiao or Lilyrose. Lu Yin had also paid some attention to the bug, but he was not able to see how it attacked, as it was simply too fast.

    ***

    In the Cosmic Sea, at Gaia¡¯s Swamp, a pig quickly walked through the prison while making a loud rumbling noise. It identally bumped into something and wailed, "What kind of blind idiot dares to hit Lord Piggy? Do you want me to rece your chains?"

    This was Lord Piggy, one of the deputy wardens of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lord Piggy had a red head, and he suddenly grinned and looked up, only to see a massive toe in front of him. He had bumped into the toe.

    Upon seeing the toe, Lord Piggy''s expression instantly changed, and his tone turned ttering and shameless. "So it was one of Lord Warden¡¯s precious toes! Little Pig was disrespectful and actually touched Lord Prison Lord''s precious toe! Damn it, Piglet! Damn!"

    "Shut up! It¡¯s time for our elite to fight!" the warden''s loud voice roared and shook all of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lord Piggy instantly shut up.

    At the same time, the three thousand chains of Gaia¡¯s Swamp shook, and all of the imprisoned criminals looked up at the screen.

    "Show this warden how Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s elites win, hahahaha!" the warden''s loud voice echoed.

    Lord Piggy pulled his head back. "Master Warden, please keep your voice down. Some of the prisoners can''t endure it."

    "That¡¯s none of my business."

    "Master Cha''s father is not in good health."

    "Cough, what? Damn it, you cheer for me then."

    Within Gaia''s Swamp, the only fun that the three thousand prisoners were allowed to have was to watch whatever the warden watched on his gadget, whether it was news, a TV series, or at the moment, ZENITH.

    One set of eyes after another focused on the screen to watch the youthspete. Some were filled with cruelty or jokes, and others held a teasing light.

    Among them, there was a man with long hair wrapped up in a shawl. The man¡¯s body was dirty, but he focused on the screen between filthy locks of hair. His eyes were bright. "So that little guy¡¯s there? He¡¯s grown a lot to reach this point."

    The man was Shui Chuanxiao .

    In the blink of an eye, he had already been imprisoned in Gaia''s Swamp for ten years.

    His sentence was for 10,000 years, so he would certainly die in this prison.

    ***

    On Zenith Mountain, Ze Cu stared at the little bug before him with cautious eyes.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1297: Baring Fangs

    <h4>Chapter 1297: Baring Fangs</h4>

    Ze Cu had been born in Gaia''s Swamp, and he had seen all kinds of evil people before, as well as all kinds of torture methods. Among them was one that included bugs.

    Ze Cu had his own means of dealing with bugs.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, he took off the dark chain around his waist and smashed it onto the ground to create a soft sound. He then wrapped the chain around his hand and began walking towards Bai Mai.

    Bai Mai was a bug that was only the size of a fingernail, and when Ze Cu approached it, the carrion bug seemed to be disturbed and released a slight trembling sound.

    On one part of the firstyer, Yao Xuan lookedpletely unconcerned, with seemingly no worries about Bai Mai at all.

    If not for the fact that there were simply too few carrion bugs, then the Celestial Demons might not have been able to im the top position on the Celestial Beast List, which would overturn the structure of the entire Astral Beast Domain.

    When Ze Cu approached within ten meters away from Bai Mai, the chain around his hand suddenly started to disturb the void,pletely locking it down. At the same time, Ze Cu opened his mouth and let out a roar with the sound wave taking on the shape of a strange, fierce beast that filled the sky and moved to attack Bai Mai. This was Ze Cu¡¯s innate gift; he was able to transform sound, and this ability had frightened many of the criminals locked up in Gaia''s Swamp.

    At this moment, in Gaia''s Swamp, arge number of criminals gritted their teeth. Their cultivation far surpassed this youth from Gaia''s Swamp, but they were all bound in metal chains and imprisoned within Gaia''s Swamp. Thus, they did not dare to resist and had to suffer various punishments every day.

    When they saw the roar transform into a vicious beast on Zenith Mountain, all the criminals had mixed feelings.

    There were some prisoners who simply did not care. They were able topletely ignore certain punishments, and the vicious creature formed from sound was just an innate gift of a tiny Hunter.

    However, no matter who, all people liked to see those they were familiar with appear in important ces such as Zenith Mountain. Thus, the mood within the prison was full of ups and downs. The prisoners here all truly wished for Ze Cu¡¯s victory, as that would delight the warden, and perhaps that would allow them to avoid punishment for a bit of time.

    The beast created from the roar looked like a descending ghost. This was Ze Cu¡¯s method of dealing with bugs. He knew that while bugs were small, some bugs were incredibly powerful. Bai Mai was right in front of Ze Cu, but he did not even consider that the carrion bug was actually obediently waiting for Ze Cu to attack.

    However what happened waspletely beyond Ze Cu''s expectations, and many onlookers were simrly stunned as well. Bai Mai did not move at all and simply allowed the metal chain to fall upon it as the beast formed from sound also struck it. The bug did not move at all.

    Ze Cu¡¯s heart fell, and the dark chains formed a that attempted to trap Bai Mai. This was a battle technique from Gaia''s Swamp. No matter how big or small they were, any and all creatures would be captured within this. It was required for every single one of Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s prison guards to master this battle technique, and when they all worked together, the technique became even more powerful.

    The chain sessfully captured Bai Mai, but then the bug opened its mouth and started to bite down. There was a click as the chain broke apart. Then, the crack spread throughout the entire chain, causing it to shatter.

    Ze Cu''s pupils instantly constricted to pinpoints; how was this possible? This chain was from Gaia''s Swamp! Although it was not some rare treasure, it was still incredibly durable, and yet it had been bitten through in a single chomp.

    Yao Xuan''s eyes showed his ridicule. These bugs were even able to eat the body of a Progenitor; what was a mere chainpared to that?

    Bai Mai twitched and then slowly flew towards Ze Cu.

    Ze Cun opened his mouth and roared. Once again, the sound grew corporeal and turned into a vicious beast. It looked truly terrifying, and it frightened many people watching the broadcast.

    This was one of the prison guards from Gaia''s Swamp.

    However, the beast of sound was useless against Bai Mai, and Bai Mai faced no difficulty at all as it passed through the beast and bit at Ze Cu.

    Ze Cu''s scalp went numb, and the apparently small bug suddenly grew massively in his sight. Those sharp teeth would devour his entire body and grind him to tiny pieces. No matter how he resisted, it would all be useless.

    "I give up." Ze Cu was one of Gaia''s Swamp¡¯s prison guards. He had a firm will and had seen numerous terrible people. Thus, he was able to step back and admit defeat.

    Bai Mainded on Ze Cu¡¯s shoulder and released a small sound.

    Ze Cu did not dare to move. When the tiny bug touched him, Ze Cu felt as though death itself was touching him, and his entire body was frozen still.

    Fortunately, Bai Mai vanished shortly after, and Ze Cu returned to where he had been standing before the battle.

    Countless people reflexively looked up at where the staircases started, but Bai Mai was too small to be seen right away.

    Soon, a wine barrel appeared on the screens across the universe. Liquor Hero appeared with a belch, and Bai Mai was seen nearby.

    Bai Mai would face Liquor Hero in the round to decide the top ten.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Mai. The bug seemed like a fairly troublesome opponent.

    Liquor Hero burped and looked at Bai Mai in a daze. She grinned. "Snack."1

    Many people were speechless.

    Bai Mai trembled slightly, not speaking even once. It was unclear if it knew how to speak or was too disgusted to speak.

    Soon, two new figures appeared on the battlefield.

    Everyone¡¯s expression changed a bit when they saw who had appeared for the next match, as this would be an exciting one. It was Qiu Shi versus Shi Zhongjian.

    One was the top disciple of the Fifth Maind''s Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect while the other was the Realmling of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Rock Realm.

    Qiu Shi also had another title: one of the Cosmic Five.

    Although the contest for the Cosmic Five had always been nothing but a show set up countless years ago to attack the Neohuman Alliance, the title of the Cosmic Five had be deeply entrenched in the hearts of many people.

    Even before this match, Qiu Shi had been favored by many to end up as one of the final five of ZENITH. At one point, she had dealt with both Starsibyl and Wen Sansi without any help.

    Qiu Shi, the All Rounder Fairy, was a true powerhouse of the Fifth Maind¡¯s younger generation.

    On the other hand, Shi Zhongjian was a Realmling from the Sixth Maind, and he was second only to Daosource Three Skies, which made him someone who inspired countless people.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. Shi Zhongjian was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin, but he was actually quite unfamiliar with Qiu Shi. Rather, it could be said that he was both familiar and unfamiliar with her. The All Rounder Fairy was simply too mysterious; no matter if it was the contest for the Cosmic Five in the Mountain and Seas Zone or the battle in the Cosmic Sea when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin felt as if Qiu Shi had never put forth her full efforts. She was supposed to excel in four different areas, but no one seemed to know what all four of her strengths were.

    There was no speaking, and the battle immediately began.

    Shi Zhongjian¡¯s sword qi swept towards Qiu Shi, and an endless amount of sword qi fell down like raindrops from up above. He was giving his all from the very beginning of the match due to how strong of an opponent Qiu Shi was.

    Shi Zhongjian and Qiu Shi were not strangers, as they had fought in the Cosmic Sea before.

    Hundreds of stars revolved around Qiu Shi''s body, and Shi Zhongjian¡¯s attack swept through the stars and at Qiu Shi. Right at that moment, the stars exploded, and Qiu Shi raised a hand: Cosmic Palm.

    Stars appeared around her hand before exploding. Shi Zhongjian¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he shot back in retreat. However, the stars had already surrounded him, and each one erupted with a violent explosion that warped the void before tearing itpletely apart. The void was continuously shredded to pieces, and ck spatial cracks spread across the battlefield before spreading even further and eventually covering all of Zenith Mountain.

    Shi Zhongjian wielded an enormous stone sword, and he easily endured the force of the exploding stars. But even though he was able to block the damage, the sheer force of the explosions forced him back, step by step.

    Qiu Shi lightly stepped about and passed by many stars. She then raised a hand, causing the stars to congregate towards her hand before forming a sword: Celestial Sword.

    Shi Zhongjian''s eyes went wide open when he saw Qiu Shi counter his Heaven Splitter technique.

    There was a bang as four iparably huge spatial cracks appeared along Zenith Mountain, severing the entire sky. The sh between the Celestial Sword and Heaven Splitter was a sh between the two strongest sword attacks seen during ZENITH so far, and the power far surpassed what Jin He had aplished with his sword.

    If Jin He had possessed such powerful sword techniques, then he likely would have defeated Fan Shun much faster.

    However, everyone had different talents. Although Jin He was not a skilled swordsman, he had Truesight. And while Qiu Shi and Shi Zhongjian had far superior sword skills, they did not have the magical power of Truesight.

    Upon seeing Qiu Shi counterattack with a sword skill, Liu Tianmu¡¯s eye twitched from where she was watching. This was a fight that she wanted to be a part of.

    Four impossibly huge spatial cracks kept spreading out, and Shi Zhongjian was forced down to the ground. His impact sent stones flying, many of which were shattered and reduced to dust.

    An imprint appeared behind Shi Zhongjian, and it was that of a three-inch-tall old man. The next moment, powerful qi created a whirlwind that rose up from the ground, and it forced Qiu Shi back. Once again, her sword shed out, and once again, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Celestial Sword shed against Heaven Splitter. However, this time, the impact far surpassed the previous one, as Shi Zhongjian¡¯s imprint had greatly increased his attack¡¯s power.

    The Celestial Sword was truly a technique worthy of the Cosmic Sect, as it proved to be a powerful deterrent against Shi Zhongjian. Whenever cultivators at the same realm from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds fought, the Fifth Mainders would always suffer from an innate sense of suppression. But in this battle, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Qiu Shi was able to overpower the Sixth Maind¡¯s Shi Zhongjian, and her Celestial Sword waspletely crushing his Heaven Splitter, which was wonderful to see.

    Unfortunately, the people from the Sixth Maind possessed too many ways to fight.

    Heaven Splitter was the technique that had allowed Shi Zhongjian to firmly secure and retain his position as a Realmling. With his imprint active, Qiu Shi was no longer able to overpower Shi Zhongjian¡¯s attacks, as her Celestial Sword was not powerful enough to do that. However, her Celestial Sword was also a part of the Cosmic Art, which was one of the best cultivation techniques in the universe.

    As Qiu Shi watched Shi Zhongjian¡¯s Heaven Splitter descend, her body dashed about like a fish in the water. She swept past the sword qi, and she was soon less than a meter away from Shi Zhongjian. The Realmling¡¯s pupils shrank, as this was not good. This woman was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and she had excellent control over star energy. She was already able to see through his swordsmanship.

    His sword skills relied on pure power to overwhelm the Celestial Sword, but Qiu Shi had instead seen through Shi Zhongjian¡¯s Heaven Splitter.

    Shi Zhongjian tried to retreat, but his efforts were in vain. Thus, he was forced to sh his sword at Qiu Shi. Her eyes shed upon seeing this. She turned around, put her back to the Realmling, and threw out a palm attack, but she attacked an empty region.

    Countless people watching the battle were confused and could not understand her actions.

    From his ce at the bottom of a flight of stairs, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. This was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique: Star Transference.

    Shi Zhongjian was momentarily at a loss. When they hadst fought in the Cosmic Sea, Qiu Shi had never used a secret technique, so the youths from the Sixth Maind had no idea that she possessed one despite deliberately investigating their peers from the Fifth Maind before ZENITH started. Unfortunately, they had not been able to find out much.

    The Neoverse was a very mysterious ce to the Innerverse, Outerverse, and the Cosmic Sea. So, there was no need to even mention them knowing about something like the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique.

    Shi Zhongjian suddenly appeared in Qiu Shi¡¯s position, and his sword attack failed. Qiu Shi''s palm should have struck an empty ce, but with this sudden change, her palm was directly pressed against Shi Zhongjian¡¯s back. He trembled and spat out a mouthful of blood. His expression changed drastically, and his right foot stepped forward in an effort to stabilize himself after suffering an injury.

    He whirled around and shed at Qiu Shi with his stone sword, but a pure white hand moved to stop the hilt of the sword while it moved through the air. The palm flipped over, and Qiu Shi used her hand as a de that attacked Shi Zhongjian. The attack rose up from below him, and there was a bang. Shi Zhongjian trembled as he flew through the air.

    Shi Zhongjian leaped up to grab his stone sword, but Qiu Shi simply casually waved a hand, causing Shi Zhongjian¡¯s star energy to grow unstable. He had been affected by Qiu Shi''s star energy control that was at the Worldliness realm. The Realmling failed to grab his sword, and suddenly, sword qi shot out as blood was spilled.

    Shi Zhongjian¡¯s belly had been cut open, and his whole body was thrown thousands of meters into the distance, where he heavily struck the ground. He lookedpletely miserable.

    [1] This is specifically a term for snacks eaten while drinking alcohol. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1298: Lu Yin And Liu Tianmu

    <h4>Chapter 1298: Lu Yin And Liu Tianmu</h4>

    The people watching the fight all fell silent, as most of the audience were unable to understand what had just happened.

    In the distance, Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and the others all watched Qiu Shi with solemn expressions. This woman was truly not simple, and in an instant, Shi Zhongjian had been severely injured to the point where he could not even hold his weapon any longer.

    A swordsman who had lost his weapon had already beenpletely defeated.

    Beneath one staircase, Lu Yin carefully observed Qiu Shi. Her performance in this fight had startled him. The All Rounder Fairy had finally shown some of her fangs, and the first person to suffer from it was Shi Zhongjian.

    Shi Zhongjian certainly was not weak, as his Heaven Splitter technique and imprint had allowed him to overpower the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Celestial Sword. Despite that, he had still suffered a miserable defeat.

    Qiu Shi was one of the Cosmic Five. If Lu Yin had not been born, then either Qiu Shi or Yuhua Mavis would have been the Human Domain¡¯s second gatekeeper. Qiu Shi was certainly strong enough to be one of ZENITH¡¯s top ten, even if the public lists had ranked her ninth.

    There was a soft bang as Shi Zhongjian smashed into the ground.

    Qiu Shi calmly looked at Shi Zhongjian. Her expression did not change in the slightest, and it seemed as though the battle had not even affected her at all.

    Some ways away, Shi Zhongjian stood up; his belly was still bleeding nonstop. He immediately used the Secret Technique of Resurrection, which brought his injury under control. He then lifted his head to look at Qiu Shi. His eyes betrayed his reluctance, but he did not attack again. There was no need, as the difference in their strength had been made all too clear.

    He had not expected this woman to have hidden her power so deeply.

    When ZENITH first began, Qiu Shi had not revealed such strength.

    After crushing Shi Zhongjian with overwhelming strength, Qiu Shi soon appeared at the bottom of another staircase.

    All of the other finalists had been watching Qiu Shi with fear-filled eyes, but the moment her opponent was revealed, those eyes were filled with sympathy or schadenfreude as she had been paired up with Shang Qing.

    No one had expected Qiu Shi to be matched up against Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin was simrly stunned; was this okay?

    Even an idiot could tell that these two were more than qualified to end up within ZENITH¡¯s top ten, and this was apetition being hosted by the Human Domain¡¯s Hall of Honor. So, why had Qiu Shi encountered Shang Qing before the final rounds? Were they deliberately trying to keep her out of the top ten? Had the Cosmic Sect offended the Hall of Honor somehow?

    Anyone with a brain could see that there was a problem. There were only two possibilities for why Qiu Shi had ended up being paired with Shang Qing. The first was that her Cosmic Sect had offended the Hall of Honor and been abandoned. The second was that ZENITH was truly a fairpetition to determine the top ten. It was also possible that there was still a chance for those who lost their battles.

    Lu Yin knew that the Sixth Maind had three Progenitors that had pressured the Hall of Honor into giving the Sixth Maind the entire Outerverse. Additionally, there were clearly major benefits that would be given to the top ten and the powers behind them, and there would naturally be people from each maind who would be sacrificed. However, Qiu Shi should not be one of those sacrificial pawns. The Cosmic Sect was an absolute behemoth.

    Instead, Lu Yin believed that it was not that simple to decide the top ten as what people expected.

    Lu Yin grew more serious the more he stared at Qiu Shi. He saw that her expression remained calm, and it was even possible that she had known that this would happen long before.

    Inexplicably, Lu Yin became terribly upset; ZENITH was not actually a fairpetition. Everyone who had reached a high stage in the contest through luck had been eliminated during the current round, and it was clear that someone was controlling the situation from behind the curtain. The fact that they had paired Qiu Shi up with Shang Qing looked more like the actions of a thief with a guilty conscience and something done to make the universe see ZENITH as a fairpetition.

    What had been true of thepetition for the Astral Tower in the Mountain and Seas Zone was actually also true of ZENITH. Everything had been set up beforehand, and Lu Yin had actually been deliberately paired with Yuhua Mavis. Perhaps the people behind the scenes had expected Lu Yin to lose.

    Lu Yin suddenly froze. This time, he would not repeat what he had done during the final stage of thepetition in the Mountain and Seas Zone. He lifted his head to look up at the statue. Most likely, the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors saw the statue as already having the face of Shang Qing or one of the Daosource Three Skies, as those options would be the best for the two powers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew cold. How interesting would it be to force out a result that these powers were not expecting? He could only imagine the expressions on those powerhouses if such a thing urred.

    Not only had Qiu Shi and Shi Zhongjian participated in a contest between the top youths of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but they had also participated in a contest of swordsmanship.

    When it came to swordsmanship, whether it was the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind, there was one power that could not be ignored: the Sword Sect.

    Liu Tianmu''s figure appeared in the arena.

    Upon seeing Liu Tianmu appear, even Shang Qing''s face became more somber.

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Liu Tianmu had been the only person who had managed to injure Shang Qing. There was no way to counter her Thirteenth Sword, and the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords had a well-deserved reputation for being an utterly peerless sword technique.

    Liu Tianmu''s opponent was a Cruiser from the Sixth Maind.

    Many people felt regretful upon seeing Liu Tianmu¡¯s opponent; the battle was already known, and there was no need to fight.

    Shang Qing looked aside, as this match was just a waste of time.

    Anyone who knew Liu Tianmu knew that this battle was a waste of time, but the Sixth Maind cultivator grew excited. He had purposefully broken through to the Cruiser realm because of ZENITH, and although he could notpare to the heirs of an imprinter¡¯s family, he was still quite powerful. Between his strength and some good luck, he had made it this far into ZENITH.

    However, he had just been paired with someone actually famous. The Cruiser did not expect to win. After all, Liu Tianmu was expected to enter the top ten. However, he did intend to hold out for as long as possible in order to be famous himself, and he felt that it would be best to present an attitude of weing death while fighting for his Sixth Maind. Perhaps he would be seen positively and be epted as a Progenitor¡¯s disciple.

    The more the Cruiser thought about this, the more excited he became as he looked at Liu Tianmu. He then lifted a hand. There was a smile on his face, though he did his best to appear humble and amiable. If Liu Tianmu fell in love with him at first sight, then things would be even better!

    "Next-" He just barely started to speak when there was a sh of sword qi, and he copsed in the middle of speaking. Liu Tianmu had never even looked at the Cruiser.

    Many of the people from the Sixth Maind who were watching ZENITH had ugly expressions. This was just too embarrassing. Why did he have to utter so much rubbish? If he had acted immediately, then he could have at least unleashed some attacks. This is just too shameful.

    Liu Tianmu disappeared from the battlefield and reappeared at the bottom of a staircase.

    Countless people were stunned for a moment, but then they burst into cheers. Whether they were from the Sixth Maind, the Fifth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, or the Technocracy, everyone began cheering. This was because Liu Tianmu''s opponent was Lu Yin.

    Ever since ZENITH had started, Lu Yin had been one of the most active and visible contestants. He had defeated many powerful opponents, and his fights were usually the most fun to watch.

    He was soon going to be Liu Tianmu''s opponent, which was even more exciting.

    In the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect, many of the disciples grew excited. "Elder Sister, beat him!¡±

    "Beat him! That bastard dares to go against our Innerverse! Use the Thirteen Swords to cut him down!"

    "Senior Sister is invincible!"

    "Senior Sister, I love you!"

    ¡­

    In the Outerverse, countless people from the Great Eastern Alliance were also excited. "Alliance Leader is invincible! Ovee the Thirteen Swords!"

    "Destroy the legend of the Thirteen Swords! Alliance Leader is the strongest!"

    "Alliance Leader, I love you!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu. They were both members of the Ten Arbiters, as well as some of the most famous youths in the entire Fifth Maind, and they were about to go head-to-head.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, beneath a staircase, Lu Yin gave Liu Tianmu a strange look. "I didn''t expect to face you in the next round."

    Liu Tianmu appeared calm as she looked back at Lu Yin. "I''ve been looking forward to this for a long time."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ve admired Thirteen Swords for a long time as well."

    Below, Liu Shaoqiu''s eyes betrayed hisplicated emotions. Lu Yin had originally been Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s rival. He still remembered the Astral Combat Tournament from when they had both been in the Astral Combat Academy. There, he had spread the fame of the Thirteen Swords, only to ultimately be defeated by Lu Yin. Now, Lu Yin was about to fight against Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s senior sister. Could Lu Yin stand up to the invincible Thirteen Swords? There was no way to counter or defend against the Thirteenth Sword. Their battle would be wonderful.

    At this point, there were only four matches left in the round.

    Other than a trembling Cruiser, the other contestants were all Hunters or Enlighters, and one of them was even one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Many people looked at the firstyer and felt sympathy for the lone Cruiser.

    However, that person was also quite impressive since he had managed to stay in ZENITH for so long.

    Countless people stared at the battlefield through the livestream, and soon, another figure appeared.

    It was Yao Xuan, the crown prince of the Celestial Beast Empire. He belonged to one of the most powerful legendary species in the Astral Beast Domain, and he had also been one of ZENITH¡¯s gatekeepers.

    Everyone grew excited when they saw that Yao Xuan would be in the next match. Every human, from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, were very curious about the Celestial Demons, as there were many legends surrounding this race.

    They were born at the Hunter realm, and they ate spiritual force. It was also rumored that the spiritual force that a Celestial Demon devoured could never be recovered. The race was extremely powerful and very mysterious.

    The Hall of Honor was the supreme ruler of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, and the Celestial Demons were the masters of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Beast Domain. Basically, Yao Xuan held the same status in the Astral Beast Domain as Shang Qing in the Human Domain.

    Yao Xuan was handsome, and there was always a smile on his face. He looked no different from a human, and he had attracted quite a few female fans who had been cheering for him during the tournament even though these new fans were human.

    If it was a matter of looks, then Yao Xuan was undoubtedly the most beautiful man in all of ZENITH.

    His opponent was Xin N¨¹.

    Upon seeing that Xin N¨¹ would be facing off against Yao Xuan, Lu Yin''s expression grew much more somber. She most likely would not get away with just light wounds in this battle.

    Xin N¨¹ still appearedpletely indifferent to everything. Besides Lu Yin, she held the same indifferent attitude towards everyone.

    Yao Xuan''s eyes lit up when he looked at Xin N¨¹. Then, he turned to look at Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sharpened. When he had been acting as a gatekeeper, he had taken action against Shang Qing once to allow Xin N¨¹ through the final checkpoint. Although the others did not know, Yao Xuan was fully aware that Lu Yin was the one who had taken action at that moment, and it was also why he had looked over at Lu Yin after seeing Xin N¨¹ in the arena.

    Celestial Demons fed on spiritual force, and not even the Daynight n couldpare to the beasts in terms of control over spiritual force. Xin N¨¹ was in danger.

    Xin N¨¹ was also aware that she was in danger. She had faced many opponents before and was very conscientious. Although the Rock Realm¡¯s Realmling was actually Shi Zhongjian, she was no weaker than him and had fought countless battles before.

    Facing Yao Xuan, Xin Nu felt a creepy sensation that left her certain that she was not this person¡¯s match.

    "That person was able to save you once, so let''s see if he can save you a second time," Yao Xuan said. He elegantly gestured with a sign of invitation as he said, ¡°You can make the first move."

    Xin N¨¹ did not reply politely, and she lifted a foot to cross the void. She immediately appeared in front of Yao Xuan and struck out with an attack.

    Yao Xuan stood still, and Xin N¨¹¡¯s palm pierced his body. Her face showed surprise, but there was still a smile on Yao Xuan¡¯s face.

    Beneath one of the staircases, Shang Qing''s face grew solemn. "The body of the Celestial Demons isposed of spiritual force, and they can choose to manifest this body into a physical being ording to their will."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard; there were actually such creatures?

    In ZENITH, both Y¨­u Qi and Xu Ling had possessed bodies that could simply ignore an enemy''s attacks, but those two did so by traveling through the void and still had an actual, physical body. That was why Y¨­u Qi could grab Xu Ling and instantly defeat the beast.

    However, there was no other participant like Yao Xuan, as there was no other participant thatcked a physical form.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1299: Celestial Demonâ€™s Howl

    <h4>Chapter 1299: Celestial Demon¡¯s Howl</h4>

    "If there¡¯s no real body, then what are we looking at?" Zhi Yi could not help but ask. She knew almost nothing about the Astral Beast Domain. The Sixth Maind was also home to many powerful astral beasts, but none of them couldpare to the Celestial Demons in terms of power. The truth was that none of them came even close to that species, and all of the beasts had already been subdued.

    Shang Qing casually replied, "Materialized spiritual force."

    Zhi Yi was stunned; could spirit force actually be materialized? This level of spiritual force waspletely iprehensible for her current level. It was said that powerful imprinters were capable of doing such things, and this knowledge caused Zhi Yi to stare at Yao Xuan in shock. The innate abilities of this creature were too enviable. It would be amazing to have such an ability.

    Given Yao Xuan¡¯s amount of spiritual force and the fact that his body was made of materialized spiritual force, all of Xin N¨¹''s attacks werepletely useless against him. That was, unless she used spiritual force to attack him directly.

    However, her spiritual force was not strong enough for that.

    It could be said that with Yao Xuan as her opponent, Xin N¨¹ had no chance of victory. Even if she was an Advanced Lockbreaker, not even her Worldliness realm of star energy control could help her, as Yao Xuan did not even use star energy.

    Xin N¨¹''s continuous attacks were useless, so finally, she used a secret technique: Reversal Cycle.

    Yao Xuan instantly dodged aside, and Xin N¨¹''s eyes narrowed. This could work. A secret technique was something created by a Progenitor, and if even that was useless, then it could only be said that the Celestial Demons were too powerful.

    After thinking this far, Xin N¨¹ decided to change tactics and wait for an opportunity tounch a sneak attack with her secret technique.

    Suddenly, Yao Xuan flew into the air, and his entire body took the shape of a huge phantom celestial monsterposed of spiritual force, and manifested into a physical form which covered the entire battlefield, and a sharp, howling noise shot towards Xin N¨¹.

    The sound was not loud, but it was very sharp. However, most people were not focused on the sound, but rather on its effects. The piercing howl swept through all of Zenith Mountain, causing many people to twitch before instantly fainted. It was as though they had seen a massive celestial monster crush them to death; their world had gone ck, and everything in their vision had gone dark. This celestial monster was the overlord.

    No matter if it was the people at the bottom of Zenith Mountain, on the threeyers, or up at the bottom of the stairs, even Shang Qing was affected by the sound and spiritual force. Jin He''s body shook, and even Liu Tianmu trembled.

    All of Zenith Mountain seemed to be in the hand of a massive demon, and everything on the mountain was ravaged.

    The monster and its darkness became the master of the moment.

    The starry sky was twisted around by the howl, and many spacecraft instantly exploded.

    Up to this moment, Yao Xuan had not done anything very impressive during ZENITH, but with this one move, everyone was horrified, and they all recognized the terror of the Celestial Demons.

    In the arena, Xin N¨¹''s face went pale. She crouched down to the ground, almost fainting. She was the closest person to Yao Xuan, and the howl had nearly overwhelmed her nerves. She was suffering from shock and was trembling, but this was not fear. It was simply her body¡¯s instinctive reaction.

    The howl onlysted for a moment, and the very next instant, Yao Xuan appeared up in the sky with his normal appearance. There was a smile on his face, and he looked quite graceful with the visage that had enchanted countless women.

    He thennded on the ground and looked at Xin N¨¹, who was half squatting on the ground. She was clearly struggling to notpletely copse. He then turned to look up at Lu Yin, and after a nce, Yao Xuan raised his hand and directed it at Xin N¨¹ as a cold flicker shed across his eyes.

    Up by the staircases, Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open, and his body turned slightly. ¡°Night Advent."

    Down on the battlefield, Yao Xuan''s eyes lit up as everything around him went ck. Lu Yin''s Night Advent fell and disappeared in an instant.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed; his spiritual force had been devoured by Yao Xuan, and the spiritual force that a Celestial Demon ate could never be recovered unless he recultivated it again. In other words, Lu Yin would not be able to recover the spiritual force that he had just expended. If his previous spiritual force had been at ten, then he was now down to seven. His only option was to recultivate that lost spiritual force, as natural recovery was impossible.

    He had suffered a terrible loss.

    This instantaneous confrontation between the two was noticed by many people. Although ZENITH had separated everyone, there were still ways for the participants to influence other matches.

    This was ZENITH, and it was impossible to know if one would live or die. The entire goal was to determine the top ten, and if someone was influenced by outside forces during their battle, then it was counted as a loss with the loser simply not being qualified to enter the top ten.

    Lu Yin was able to attack Yao Xuan, but Yao Xuan had also just attacked every single person in ZENITH.

    In the arena, Yao Xuan lowered his hands after forcing Lu Yin to eat a loss. Yao Xuan had already tested Lu Yin''s spiritual force, and although it was strong enough that Lu Yin even possessed techniques that allowed him to affect Shang Qing, it was nothing much to Yao Xuan. He had presented a threat, and it had allowed him to devour a portion of Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, which was delicious!

    "I give up," Xin N¨¹ directly said. She had also noticed the back and forth between Lu Yin and Yao Xuan, and she stared at Yao Xuan with cold eyes.

    Yao Xuan looked at her and spoke with a smile, "What¡¯s your rtionship with him?"

    Xin N¨¹ did not answer. Lu Yin had suffered a loss for her sake, and she would find a way to get revenge for this on her own.

    Thebatants disappeared, and Xin N¨¹ returned to where she had been on the firstyer. Yao Xuan also disappeared, and everyone looked up at the stairs to see who he would be paired with.

    Once Yao Xuan appeared, many people heaved sighs of relief, though there were also some people with ugly expressions. Most of those people were from the Innerverse¡¯s Y¨­u family and the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u n.

    Yao Xuan''s opponent was naturally Y¨­u Ye''er.

    Y¨­u Ye''er had not expected Yao Xuan to be matched with her. Against this Celestial Demon, she had no idea how to fight, even with her Killing Heart Lotus.

    Yao Xuan looked at Y¨­u Ye''er and smiled.

    Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she looked up at the statue. She would not easily give up, as she had to enter the top ten. Otherwise, she would have revealed everything without gaining any benefits.

    For the next match, Ling Gong and God Taiyi appeared on the battlefield at the same time.

    Upon seeing the next two contestants, everyone was shocked yet again; this was going to be another good show.

    This battle would be between one of the Neoverse¡¯s top youths and the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. This sort of match was the most appealing to watch.

    The Innerverse had always been unhappy about being suppressed by the Neoverse, but the Neoverse could not bepared to the Innerverse.

    However, in a previous battle, Yuhua Mavis had lost to Lu Yin, and Lightson had lost to Unseen Light. Both Lu Yin and Unseen Light were Arbiters. Thus, many people from the Neoverse held their breath; if one more of the Ten Arbiters managed to win over their peer from the Neoverse, then how would the Neoverse be able to retain their superiority over the Innerverse in the future?

    God Taiyi was the top inheritor of Gods¡¯ Origin. He referred to himself as a god, and this arrogance would not allow him to suffer any defeat.

    "Go on, Gods¡¯ Origins! Beat the Ten Arbiters!" many people in the Neoverse shouted at their screens.

    "Although they¡¯re lunatics, they still belong to our Neoverse. He should be able to deal with some barbarian from the Innerverse in seconds."

    "How does your head work? Don¡¯t you feel like that Arbiter from the Innerverse is more like a god? Look, that one is dressed in white."

    "Gigilo."

    "Crazy guy, kill that gigolo."

    ¡­

    On the secondyer, Ling Que shouted up the mountain, "Kill that madman! If you lose, you can¡¯t go home! Not if you can''t even beat a madman!"

    His voice was so loud that Ling Gong seemed to hear him all the way up on the battlefield as she turned around to re at her brother.

    Ling Que¡¯s neck immediately shrank back.

    God Taiyi used almost exactly the same fighting method as Jin He, and various weapons immediately appeared that attacked Ling Gong. She responded by taking out a long spear to open up a path forward, trying to close the distance between her and God Taiyi. However, he had simply created too many weapons, and each one contained an impressive strength. Ling Gong could not get close, and her spear could not exert its full power either.

    Before long, a bell tolled as the Skycastle descended.

    When the people watching the broadcast saw Ling Gong¡¯s innate gift, many of them copsed; this ce was truly fit for a god to live!

    In the Neoverse, many people from Gods¡¯ Origin were dumbfounded. They had always referred to themselves as gods, but at this moment, that Skycastle looked more godly¡ªit was a floating pce!

    "She¡¯s rather professional," a Gods¡¯ Origin cultivator muttered to himself.

    The Skycastle was not just visually impressive, as it also possessed an amazing power; it was able to suppress everything. All of the various weapons that God Taiyi had created were easily suppressed by Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle. Ling Gong stood valiantly above her Skycastle, her spear aimed below her. She then thrust the spear forward, attacking God Taiyi.

    His eyes narrowed. He had seen this innate gift more than once before. In the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone, this Skycastle had been cut in half by Xia Jiuyou. It was not that there was no way to deal with this Skycastle, but rather that God Taiyi was not strong enough to do so directly. He targeted the Skycastle¡¯s runes and began to weaken it.

    The Skycastle¡¯s runes were reduced, but not Ling Gong¡¯s. Her spear fell down, piercing through the void and tearing space itself apart as it traveled towards God Taiyi.

    Ripples appeared in front of God Taiyi''s body, looking exactly like the technique that Jin He had used earlier. This technique relied on Truesight, but it was something that Lu Yin was incapable of using.

    The spear struck the ripples, and its number of rune lines dropped sharply. God Taiyi grabbed the tip of the spear with one hand, but he did not break the spear. Instead, he pulled Ling Gong closer, along with her spear.

    This ability had allowed Jin He to iste his opponent¡¯s attack, but God Taiyi wanted to use this moment to decide the battle. If Ling Gong was pulled into the ripples, then her strength would drop precipitously.

    There was bang as the Skycastle¡¯s bell rang, and numerous phantoms appeared within the structure. They looked like celestial generals and soldiers that were preparing to kill God Taiyi.

    God Taiyi''s pupils shrank; was this allowed? What the hell was happening?

    Helpless, he released Ling Gong and quickly pulled back to avoid being touched by her Skycastle, but Ling Gong did not give up. She simply rushed into the ripples.

    God Taiyi was surprised, but then he became overjoyed. As long as the White Knight touched the ripples, God Taiyi¡¯s victory was assured.

    When he saw Ling Gong actually touch the ripples and her number of rune lines drop significantly, God Taiyi grabbed her spear, allowing the tip of Ling Gong''s spear to stab into his palm. Suddenly and inexplicably, strange circles appeared all around them. This was something that God Taiyi created. All of the circles were interconnected, and Ling Gong was instantly trapped within them, and even the trajectory of her spear was altered.

    God Taiyi sneered. "It''s over."

    As he spoke, the rings glowed and released one thunderous bombardment after another.

    The tremendous noise spread past Zenith Mountain and spread out into space.

    In the end, the sky was torn apart, and a ck hole was formed. The power level of this attack easily exceeded 350,000.

    After Ling Gong¡¯s strength was weakened by God Taiyi, it was impossible for her to stop this attack. God Taiyi would win.

    However, a sudden and severe pain in his abdomen left him in disbelief. He whirled around, only to see another Ling Gong standing behind him.

    The Lingling n was one of the strongest families in the Innerverse. In addition to them each having an innate gift that allowed them to absorb the innate gifts of others and thenbine those innate gifts into one, they also possessed a miraculous battle technique: the Soulsplitting Technique.

    One became two, and two became three. With the Soulsplitting Technique, one could multiply their power level by three by splitting into three identical people who could fight.

    Ling Gong had never used this technique in the Mountain and Seas Zone, so God Taiyi had no idea that this terrifying technique even existed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1300: Unable to Divine

    <h4>Chapter 1300: Unable to Divine</h4>

    At the bottom of a flight of stairs, Lu Yin sighed. Both God Taiyi and Ling Gong were his friends, but unfortunately, one of them had to be eliminated here.

    If he was being realistic, Lu Yin was more confident in God Taiyi¡¯s chances of victory. The power that Jin He had revealed earlier had even made Lu Yin feel slightly apprehensive. He was still unable to understand how Jin He had countered Fan Shun¡¯s strongest attack, but it was possible that God Taiyi could do the same. Sadly, God Taiyi had underestimated Ling Gong. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ White Knight was not someone who would be taken down so easily.

    God Taiyi clenched the spear, and fresh blood flowed down the length of the weapon. A saber appeared in his hand, and he made a clean sh. At the same time, two bloody tears streamed down from the corner of his eyes, leaving scarlet lines behind.

    Ling Gong red at him coldly. She had seen this person talking with Lu Yin outside of Zenith Mountain, and she had originally intended to not kill him because of his rtionship with Lu Yin. However, at this moment, she was not able to stick to that n. As her thoughts reached this point, her spear spun around before pulling back and stabbing in a different direction. The weapon moved wlessly, and the spear was aimed at God Taiyi¡¯s chest. If it sessfullynded, then even if he did not die from the wound, he would still suffer severe injuries.

    Ling Gong held back in her attack, still giving God Taiyi a way out: if he retracted his saber, then he would have time to avoid her spear.

    However, God Taiyi did not do that. Instead, he showed a creepy smile.

    Ling Gong¡¯s heart sank as she suddenly remembered the fight between Jin He and Fan Shun; things actually were not looking good for her.

    The spear struck God Taiyi, but it instantly shattered whereas God Taiyi¡¯s saber struck true and shed across both of Ling Gong¡¯s shoulders, leaving behind arge wound that gushed out blood.

    This sudden turn of events left everyone confused.

    At the bottom of the stairs, Jin He¡¯s eyes lit up; that was the Knowing stage. As expected, that rascal had reached that stage as well.

    Lu Yin shot a look towards them. Just as he had thought, God Taiyi had used the exact same technique as when Jin He had countered Fan Shun¡¯s strongest attack. Ling Gong¡¯s spear hadpletely shattered, and this could have only been done by the power of an advanced stage of Truesight.

    Truesight was a miraculous technique. Lu Yin made a mental note to pay Gods¡¯ Origin a visit in the future so that he could cultivate Truesight further as well.

    God Taiyi lost his footing and fell a couple of steps back. Blood gushed from the wound on his abdomen without letting up, and he locked his eyes onto Ling Gong, who was standing before him. She had suffered more serious injuries than him. Although he knew that she was Lu Yin¡¯s friend, God Taiyi had no other option at this time; he could not give up on ZENITH. Still, he had held back during hisst attack. Otherwise, his de would have slit Ling Gong¡¯s throat, killing her without a doubt.

    God Taiyi almost neverid his hands on women, but sadly, this was ZENITH.

    Countless people across the Innerverse tensed up, but on the other hand, the people of the Neoverse broke out in cheers, especially in Gods¡¯ Origin. ¡°You all saw that, right? That¡¯s the power of a god! All of your attacks are futile.¡±

    ¡°This is the power of the Knowing realm! There¡¯s no way God Taiyi would ever be weaker than that traitor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to watching God Taiyi eradicate that traitor.¡±

    ¡­

    In the Innerverse, the Lingling n had gone silent. The members of the n watching the battle were not worried in the least. With the Lingling n¡¯s Soulsplitting Technique, a person was able to split themselves into three.

    On the firstyer of Zenith Mountain, Ling Gong¡¯s severely damaged body disappeared.

    God Taiyi¡¯s expression instantly changed. This did not bode well for him. The members of the Lingling n were able to use the Soulsplitting Technique to split themselves into three copies, and that meant trouble for him. God Taiyi whirled around to look at the Skycastle; it had not vanished. At the same time, Ling Gong slowly emerged and hefted her spear.

    God Taiyi was frustrated. He had already been badly injured, and he stood no chance of victory in a situation where Ling Gong waspletely unharmed. Although the Knowing Realm of Truesight was formidable, the price to use it even once was far too much. His eyesight was already beginning to blur, and Jin He should be suffering from the same symptoms at this time. Ling Gong would surely prepare some defensive measures before facing God Taiyi once again.

    Bells rang and echoed throughout the massive Skycastle. Ling Gong held her spear in one hand as she faced God Taiyi head on.

    With no other choice, God Taiyi said, ¡°I admit defeat.¡±

    The words tore at his heart. His journey in ZENITH hade to an end.

    Appalled by the oue, the viewers from the Neoverse all screamed their lungs out.

    This was especially true in Gods'' Origin. The people there had been so excited just a moment ago, and the sudden change in the battle situation was so drastic that everyone was left speechless.

    In contrast, the Innerverse became wildly excited; their Ten Arbiters had already secured six of the top twenty ces in ZENITH. That meant that more than half of the Arbiters had ced highly. What did that mean? It meant that, even if the famously invincible Ten Arbiters had stepped onto the greatest stage in the entire universe, they were still invincible!

    Everyone watched the screens and focused on the bottom of the stairs, eager to discover just who would be Ling Gong¡¯s opponent to enter the top ten.

    Ling Gong vanished and quickly reappeared. What greeted her was a pair of piercingly cold eyes that belonged to none other than Xia Jiuyou.

    Her opponent to enter the top ten was Xia Jiuyou.

    Throughout the Innerverse, many peoples¡¯ hearts fell. Who could have guessed that Ling Gong would face Xia Jiuyou?

    These people were unaware of the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but they did know that Xia Jiuyou had been predicted to end up in fifth ce whereas Ling Gong was not even expected to enter the top ten. To most people, this showed that Ling Gong was absolutely no match for Xia Jiuyou.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart also fell when he saw that Ling Gong''s opponent was Xia Jiuyou. Even though Lu Yin had managed to suppress Xia Jiuyou before the start of ZENITH, that did not actually mean anything. No one knew just how powerful the Nine Clones Secret Technique actually was, and Lu Yin refused to believe that the technique merely allowed a person to quickly raise their cultivation just by assimting the clones. If that were all that it did, Progenitor Chen would not have been invincible during his time.

    Xia Jiuyou was one of ZENITH¡¯s most enigmatic participants, and Lu Yin had always felt this way about the other youth.

    Still, things were not too bad. If Lu Yin wanted to better understand the Nine Clones Technique, then there was another person whom he could observe: Starsibyl.

    At that same moment, Starsibyl happened to appear on the battlefield. Her opponent was Wu Taibai.

    In the current universe, only two people had managed toprehend the Nine Clones Technique: Xia Jiuyou and Starsibyl.

    Xia Jiuyou was a descendant of Progenitor Chen, so everyone was able to ept himprehending Progenitor Chen¡¯s secret technique. However, no one could understand just how Starsibyl had managed to learn the technique as well.

    However, that did not matter at this moment. Her opponent was Wu Taibai, one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. If she wanted to secure a victory, then she would definitely have to bring her true strength to bear.

    Starsibyl was widely renowned not only in the Innerverse, but also in the Neoverse and the Sixth Maind. Everyone was curious as to what Starsibyl would reveal at this time.

    On the battlefield, Wu Taibai behaved in a refined and well-mannered manner, simr to when he had first met Lu Yin. He looked like a graceful noble heir.

    Across from him, Starsibyl stared at Wu Taibai, her eyes shing.

    The corners of Wu Taibai¡¯s lips curled into a small smile. ¡°Did you manage to divine something?¡±

    Starsibyl¡¯s brows furrowed, and she looked at Wu Taibai with a growing confusion that quickly became pure bewilderment. What was going on? Why wasn¡¯t she able to divine anything about this person at all?

    That could not be right; how could that be? She was sure that she had been able to do so before.

    Of the Daosource Three Skies, Bu Kong and Zhi Yi were the most famous, but as another member of the Daosource Three Skies, Wu Taibai had not exactly been overlooked by everyone else either.

    Starsibyl had conducted a divination a long time ago, even before ZENITH, and she had been able to divine matters concerning Wu Taibai at that time. From what she could sense, he was very strong, but he stillgged the slightest bit behind Bu Kong. Thus, she had not paid much attention to Wu Taibai.

    However, now that she was facing him directly, she was not able to divine anything, nothing at all. It was as if she was facing Lu Yin or Wang Yi.

    What in the world was going on?

    Wu Taibai casually unfolded a fan. ¡°You¡¯re attempting to gain a clear divination, right? From what I¡¯ve heard, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Starsibyl Sect possesses a divination ability that is capable of predicting an enemy¡¯s key decisions. That, with their battle technique, Calctions of the Abacus, allows one topletely predict their enemy¡¯s next move. I¡¯m really looking forward to seeing it, and I¡¯m excited to witness your divinations.¡±

    Many people were focused on their screens at this moment, and many of them were watching for Starsibyl. They were all looking forward to her performance. The art of divination was something thatmon people did not believe in, but the fact that the Starsibyl Sect had retained a prominent influence on the universe for an incredibly long time showed that the sect was not made up of chatans.

    One of Starsibyl¡¯s most famous divinations was when she had determined that the Sea King had stolen all of the pyrolyte, which Wen Sansi had requested her to look into.

    Starsibyl¡¯s battles had been constantly studied, but people could not unravel precisely how she conducted her divinations.

    Unseen Light was also able to predict his opponents¡¯ moves, but that was something that he aplished by observing his opponents¡¯ habits, breathing pattern, battle techniques, and other details. Everything was calcted on the battlefield itself, not through any sort of divination. It would be impossible for Unseen Light to predict which step someone would take next if it was not in the midst of a battle.

    On the other hand, this was something that Starsibyl could do.

    She was even able to predict where her opponents would attack before the battle had even started. That was true divination.

    Being able to predict an enemy¡¯s critical decisions was a fighting method that countless individuals dreamed of being able to use. For many people, watching Starsibyl¡¯s fights was a form of enjoyment.

    However, at this moment, Starsibyl was not in the mood to be treated as a spectacle by others. Her face was slowly turning pale. Although Wu Taibai seemed to behave very courteously as he stood across from her, she found him more terrifying than anybody else at this moment.

    He was not someone to be challenged.

    Nearly ten minutes went by in this manner. Wu Taibai was not in the slightest bit of a rush, and he simply continued to fan himself.

    Starsibyl let out a deep breath and stared at Wu Taibai in confusion.

    Wu Taibai was surprised. ¡°Are you done? Then I¡¯ll attack now. Your divination should be able to let you know where I¡¯ll be attacking from.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I admit defeat,¡± Starsibyl said resolutely.

    Wu Taibai was taken aback. ¡°You admit defeat?¡±

    He was not alone, as everyone else was shocked as well. It waspletely illogical for a powerhouse who had trained in the Nine Clones Secret Technique and who possessed the power of divination to admit defeat before a battle even began.

    At the base of a staircase, Lu Yin frowned, rather disappointed.

    He had some guesses of his own concerning Wu Taibai¡¯s strength, so he had already suspected that Starsibyl would not be able to handle Wu Taibai. However, Lu Yin had never expected her to be so firm and not even put up a fight. Lu Yin was now unable to see the true power of the Nine Clones Technique. What a pity.

    Still, Starsibyl¡¯s actions could be considered an alternative method of divination, since she had at least calcted the oue.

    Being able to predict oues was not always guaranteed to be a good thing. If Starsibyl did not possess the power of divination, then she might have tried to fight it out against Wu Taibai.

    Off in the distance, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes narrowed as he warily stared at Wu Taibai.

    Xia Jiuyou was very familiar with Starsibyl, and for her to simply admit defeat before the fight even started meant that this member of the Daosource Three Skies had to be far more formidable than what Xia Jiuyou had initially believed. Perhaps Wu Taibai was just as strong as Bu Kong and Zhi Yi.

    Wu Taibai¡¯s silhouette vanished, and when he reappeared, he was at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Not too far away from him stood Y¨­u Qi.

    Upon seeing that Wu Taibai would be fighting against Y¨­u Qi next, an uproar broke out within the crowd.

    However, this reaction was still not as impressive aspared to when Qiu Shi had been matched against Shang Qing.

    Y¨­u Qi himself showed no reaction.

    Instead, Wu Taibai was the one who was very interested in Y¨­u Qi. As soon as he appeared, he scanned Y¨­u Qi from head to toe. ¡°So, this is the inheritor of Progenitor Chen¡¯s power.¡±

    There were only two people left on the firstyer who had not fought yet. One was a Cruiser while the other was Xiao Qing. Thest battle of this round would be fought between them.

    There was only one person at the bottom of the stairs who had not been matched against an opponent so far: Bu Kong.

    The crowd stared up at Xiao Qing in pity, as she was sure to win the battle in this round. However, after this victory, she would have to face Bu Kong to fight for a position in the top ten. She was truly unlucky.

    Bu Kong was one of the Daosource Three Skies, and Xiao Qing was someone who was also from the Sixth Maind. Just like when Skinny Bro had been matched up against Zhi Yi, these fights were basically a free ticket for the Daosource Three Skies to continue on to the next round. This caused a great deal of dissatisfaction from the Fifth Maind, and many people all over thework cursed aloud.

    Xiao Qing looked calm. As the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s true Realmling, it would be a piece of cake to defeat a Cruiser.

    At the bottom of the stairs, Xiao Qing suddenly appeared and shed a smile at Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong¡¯s brows furrowed, as he was unfamiliar with Xiao Qing. Still, he did not pay much attention to her smile. In the Sixth Maind, other than Wu Taibai and Zhi Yi, everyone else in his generation was too insignificant to warrant any of his attention. The gap between the Daosource Three Skies and the Realmlings one rank below them was actually quite massive.

    As of this moment, thepetition on the firstyer had concluded, and the top twenty of ZENITH had been decided.

    Below the massive statue at the peak of the ZENITH Mountain, the ten flights of stairs became the focus of the entire universe. By sessfully climbing up the stairs and reaching the peak of Zenith Mountain, one would be a part of ZENITH¡¯s prestigious top ten, and they would have the opportunity to change their fate.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1301:The Thirteen Swords

    <h4>Chapter 1301:The Thirteen Swords</h4>

    Two participants stood at the bottom of each flight of stairs, representing thest set of matches before the top ten were determined.

    Jin He vs. Unseen Light. Wen Sansi vs. Wang Yi. Skinny Bro vs. Zhi Yi. Liquor Hero vs. Bai Mai. Shang Qing vs. Qiu Shi. Liu Tianmu vs. Lu Yin. Yao Xuan vs. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er. Ling Gong vs. Xia Jiuyou. Y¨­u Qi vs. Wu Taibai. Xiao Qing vs. Bu Kong.

    There were ten flights of stairs, which represented ten battles. The winners of each match would earn the glory of entering the top ten of ZENITH.

    The audience had originally expected the next ten battles to be conducted consecutively like the previous round. However, the barriers of light at the bottom of the stairs disappeared at the same time, and everyone was shocked to see that all ten flights of stairs were now essible. Everyone would be allowed to proceed up the steps at the same time, which meant that these ten battles would ur simultaneously.

    Instantaneously, the screen in the sky separated into ten different screens in order to disy all ten matches at the same time.

    After an unknown amount of time, the barriers at the bottom of all ten flights of stairs disappeared, signaling that the path to the peak of Zenith Mountain had been opened. The participants could choose to climb up the stairs right away, or they could wait for a day, two days, three days, or even more. During the previous battles, no one had been able to do anything when Wang Yi and Li Zimo had waited multiple days before actually making a move. Thus, the currentpetitors would be even more entitled to taking their time.

    From where he stood at the bottom of the stairs, Lu Yin lifted his head, and his eyes traced through the length of the stairs before him. Since all the stairs were essible at the same time, then did the organizers want to speed up the contest to determine the ten finalists?

    If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was correct, then the top ten might not be determined as straightforwardly as people expected. Matters might not be as simple as reaching the peak of the mountain.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to subconsciously look over at Qiu Shi, only to see her indifferent expression. She did not even nce at the stairs.

    At this moment, one of the ten screens up in the sky projecting the battles had already started projecting the scenes of a fight. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er made the first move, and she had trapped Yao Xuan within her Epassing Lockdown Array. Then, blood-red lotus flowers bloomed beneath her feet as she raised a hand, causing the flower¡¯s intangible shadows to shoot through the void, straight at Yao Xuan.

    With Yao Xuan as her opponent, Y¨­u Ye¡¯er immediately unleashed her strongest attack. She only had one shot. Her spiritual force, which even she knew was mediocre at best, would not be able to defend her from Yao Xuan¡¯s abilities. Earlier on, Yao Xuan¡¯s howl had nearly caused her to cough up blood.

    This was the first showdown in the stair-climbing round, and it caught the entire audience¡¯s attention.

    Even Lu Yin was closely watching the two.

    Even though he was trapped within the Epassing Lockdown Array, Yao Xuan was not at all concerned about Y¨­u Ye¡¯er. Choosing to fight him even when his spiritual force had not fully recharged was still seeking death, as he could attack with his body¡¯s intangible form.

    However, as the shadows of the Heart-killer Lotus drew closer, Yao Xuan suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. He instinctively dispersed his body into palm-sized celestial monsters that flew apart in random directions.

    The shadows of the blood-red lotuses lost their target and vanished the very next instant.

    Y¨­u Ye¡¯er was utterly disappointed, as her attempt had failed.

    Therge group of palm-sized celestial monsters gradually drew back together and reformed into Yao Xuan. He had an upset look, as he had not expected Y¨­u Ye¡¯er to be able to force him to shift out of his original form. His body was an embodiment of spiritual force itself, so reasonably speaking, he should not have felt threatened by her attack.

    Although the Heart-killer Lotus¡¯s shadows had vanished, Yao Xuan did not notice that the blood-colored strings remained in the air and that they were dissipating very slowly.

    As his body reformed, the celestial monsters also brought those blood-colored strings along as they merged into his body.

    No one noticed this matter, aside from some people like Lu Yin and God Taiyi who had cultivated Truesight. They were able to see some foreign runes being incorporated into Yao Xuan¡¯s body.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force surged, just like when he had faced off against Xin N¨¹. It only took his howl one moment to envelop all of ZENITH mountain and immediately destroy the Epassing Lockdown Array. Then, its full offensive might fell down upon Y¨­u Ye¡¯er.

    You You¡¯er grew pale. She gritted her teeth as blood flowed from her ears. She was desperately trying to stop herself from passing out due to the vertigo assaulting her. Then, a wave of her hand caused Yao Xuan¡¯s expression to change to shock. A rosy, bloody color began to cover his body. This color did note from his own blood, as his body held no blood, only spiritual force. Rather, the rosy color of his skin was due to the numerous microscopic crimson lotus flowers that were currently blooming within his body.

    The blood-colored strings that had fused with Yao Xuan had be crimson lotus flowers that were now erupting from his body. Although he was not killed in one shot like Bai Ling, Yao Xuan was suffering terrible damage to his spiritual force that forced him to retreat a hundred meters.

    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Y¨­u Ye¡¯er set up the Epassing Lockdown Array once more. She then raised a hand, materializing a sword of star energy that she used to sh at Yao Xuan.

    Yao Xuan waspletely enraged. He could not ept that she had managed to injure him. What¡¯s more, this was the first time that he had ever been injured. His eyes focused on the sight of You Ye''er elerating towards him, the tip of her de just about to pierce him.

    "You''re asking to die!" As he spoke, Yao Xuan''s pupils constricted to pinpoints. A soundless, invisible energy began warping the void, causing the air itself to seem to be bursting at the seams. The impact of this attack sent Y¨­u Ye''er flying.

    She spit out blood while still in mid air, and all traces of blood faded from her body as she fell from the top of the mountain andnded at its foot. Her broken figure looked extremely tragic.

    In the Innerverse, Y¨­u n felt bewildered as they all stared intensely at the base of Zenith Mountain where Y¨­u Ye''er had fallen while Madam Y¨­u''s face went as white as a ghost. Y¨­u Ye''er¡¯s power far surpassed that of any other n inheritor throughout the Y¨­u n¡¯s entire history, and she alone had already surpassed the value of what her marriage would bring to the n. She couldn''t die!

    Everyone had witnessed Y¨­u Ye''er''s power, but Yao Xuan''s strength was far more frightening. There was practically no way to counter his ability since his spiritual force was invincible.

    Y¨­u Ye''er''s defeat meant that the first contestant to enter the top ten had appeared. It was Yao Xuan, the crown prince of the Celestial Beast Empire.

    Yao Xuan''s victory had not been as effortless as what people saw it to be. Those blood-red lotuses had actually damaged him quite badly and caused him to grow wary. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er had actually managed to injure him, and her battle technique had deeply disturbed him. He had truly wanted to kill her, so regardless of the consequences, it would be worth it as long as she was dead.

    Although Yao Xuan had fought countless battles in the Human Domain for many years, he had never encountered a battle technique as disturbing as Y¨­u Ye¡¯er¡¯s. Just who had created it?

    The fight between Yao Xuan and You Ye''er might have felt short, but another battle had actually finished even more quickly. It was the battle between the Greenmen Duo¡¯s Skinny Bro and Zhi Yi.

    The moment the barriers blocking the ten flights of stairs had disappeared, revealing the path towards the mountain¡¯s peak, Skinny Bro had surrendered. Although he looked like an idiot, he was not actually one. There was absolutely no room to even consider fighting when his opponent was one of the Daosource Three Skies. Fat Bro had also immediately admitted defeat when he had been matched up against Wu Taibai.

    For the moment, Lu Yin could not afford to shift his attention anywhere else, as Liu Tianmu had already drawn her sword.

    The screens across the universe were split into ten sections, and one of those sections was focused on the fight between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu.

    When Liu Tianmu drew her sword, at least half the poption of the entire universe shifted their gaze and watched her.

    Liu Tianmu, an inheritor of the Thirteen Swords and the strongest heir of the Sword Sect, was also rumored to be one of the most formidable members of the Ten Arbiters. Her making a move not only shocked the Innerverse and Outerverse, but also the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and even the Sixth Maind.

    Additionally, innumerable viewers from the Neoverse were closely watching her every action. After all, she was the only powerhouse who had managed to injure Shang Qing during the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone.

    However, Lu Yin had built up an even greater reputation for himself, as his fight with Yuhua Mavis had pushed him to an even higher level.

    As far as many were concerned, Lu Yin was already one of the true top powerhouses. If another forecast of the top ten was arranged, then Lu Yin would definitely be listed within the top six.

    A battle between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu. The former represented the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance while thetter represented the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect. Their fight was truly symbolic of the rivalry between the Great Eastern Alliance and the various major powers of the Innerverse.

    Almost everyone from the Innerverse was intently watching this particr battle.

    More than half of the peoplepeting to enter the peak of Zenith Mountain were also staring at the two.

    ¡°This is not the first time that you¡¯ve faced the Thirteen Swords, but my version of the Thirteen Swords is different from Shaoqiu¡¯s.¡± Liu Tianmu then raised her sword while looking straight at Lu Yin. Her sword shone clear, and its light illuminated the mountain peak.

    Lu Yin looked up and replied, ¡°I know. The Thirteen Swords may be one skill, but it differs depending on the individual.¡±

    Liu Tianmu tightly clenched the hilt of her sword. ¡°In the past, I watched when you participated in the Tournament of the Strongest, but you¡¯re already standing right before me now. Be careful, as herees the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword.¡±

    The moment thest word left her lips, her sword shed down at a diagonal angle. The Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword could intimidate even ghosts and spirits with just one attack.

    This familiar scene seemed to take Lu Yin back in time to when he had still been at the Astral Combat Tournament, which was where he had first encountered Liu Shaoqiu and the Thirteen Swords. It had been a long time since Lu Yin had felt this excited where his entire being was vibrating, down to his cells.

    Yuhua Mavis had made him experience the sensation of a draining power while Liu Tianmu gave Lu Yin a sense of a fierce danger. This was a veryforting feeling to him.

    ng!

    A deafening noise was heard, and a shockwave spread out throughout the battlefield, tearing the void apart as a deafening howl entered everyone¡¯s ears. Liu Tianmu¡¯s First Sword had been flicked aside by Lu Yin¡¯s middle finger. Right after that, her domain shot past him, and a shrill noise was heard from above as she released the Second Sword.

    Lu Yin flicked this attack away as well, stating, ¡°It¡¯s pointless.¡±

    As he spoke, he raised a hand and lightly tapped out with yet another finger. This released an immense amount of force and a shockwave that tore back through the void. This violent shockwave was headed straight at Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu shed her sword sideways to redirect the shockwave before her domain suddenly shrank down. The swordsman as one with the sword, the sword as one with domain, the swordsman as one with domain, and finally, the swordsman, sword, and domain all as one.

    This was the Fifth Sword.

    Like a sword that had been summoned from beyond the heavens, this de instantly teleported right in front of Lu Yin. He could only see a single longsword, and the tip of this de became the center of attention for the entire audience.

    The Thirteen Swords was not something that an average person could witness throughout their entire lifetime.

    At that moment, the veil of mystery that shrouded the Thirteen Swords had finally been pulled back before the entire universe.

    The only way that one could truly understand just how incredibly terrifying the Fifth Sword was was to be personally attacked by the sword.

    Some distance away, Yao Xuan, Shang Qing, and Bu Kong all stepped forth to observe this battle.

    The corners of Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°Now this is more interesting.¡±

    As he spoke, he unsealed the fatesand within his body and released arge portion of his physical strength. Just like before, he gently tapped at the approaching sword with a single finger, but this time, the sword tip bent from the impact. Lu Yin then opened his palm and proceeded to sh at Liu Tianmu by using his hand as a de.

    This time, the power of Lu Yin¡¯s attack was certainly not inferior to the second punch that he had thrown against Yuhua Mavis. She had been able to block that punch, which had been thrown with Lu Yin¡¯s entire body and physical strength. However, Liu Tianmu was different, and she certainly would not be able to defend herself against this attack.

    However, the Thirteen Swords was not just an offensive technique.

    The Sixth Sword was a defensive sword stance.

    The side of Lu Yin¡¯s palm had struck out, but it did not actually reach Liu Tianmu. His attack was perfectly countered by her Sixth Sword, but even though she had saved herself from being directly struck, Liu Tianmu was still sent flying by the enormous force behind Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    He clenched a fist and threw another powerful punch into the air, crushing the void and leaving behind ck spatial cracks. The vibrations shaking the air had even started affecting the other participants, causing them to feel suffocated and have some difficulties breathing. The force of this punch wasparable to the third punch that he hadunched at Yuhua Mavis.

    Liu Tianmu forced her body to the side, rotating the sword as she moved. Its de reflected rays of light that lit up everyone nearby, and it even shone upon the statue at the top of Zenith Mountain. The light was so bright that it blurred the images on the screens.

    Tenth Sword: Star yer.

    Speckles of starlight decorated the battleground as Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword qi rose exponentially. It felt like an eternity; the Tenth Sword was beautiful and ethereal, but also deadly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch was forcibly dissipated by the sword qi, and the Cutting Star streaked towards Lu Yin while shredding the void.

    Nine lined battle force, represented by purple-red lines covering Lu Yin¡¯s entire body, surged forth as he threw out another powerful punch. This attack eliminated the Cutting Star and still had leftover power that coursed through the air towards Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu looked calm, and she swirled her sword once more. ¡°Eleventh Sword: Core Splitter.¡±

    Across from her, Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched slightly. He had witnessed the Eleventh Sword before when Y¨­u Qi had used the power of someone named Liu Guai to attack Lu Yin with the Eleventh Sword. Back then, against the Eleventh Sword, Lu Yin had only been able to dodge aside with all his power, and even that had only been possible with a secret technique. He would have been done for if he had been even a momentte in fleeing.

    Lan Si himself had been taken down by the Eleventh Sword as well.

    Lu Yin was facing the Eleventh Sword once again, but he was still unable to see through it and counter it. Still, everything would be fine, as he did not believe that the Eleventh Sword could overpower him.

    Core Splitter swept through the air, bypassing the concept of distance to appear right in front of Lu Yin. He frowned; the Eleventh Sword had actually managed to ignore the pressure from his fists; just where had this attacke from?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1302: The Thirteenth Sword

    <h4>Chapter 1302: The Thirteenth Sword</h4>

    Lu Yin was not alone in his confusion, as not even Shang Qing could fathom where the sword attack hade from. All the first Honor Chosen knew was that there were only two things that one could do against such an attack: avoid it in advance or resist it head on.

    Yao Xuan eximed in surprise when he saw the Eleventh Sword. The Sword Sect really did live up to its reputation as the ¡°King of Swords.¡± Nowhere in the Neoverse or the Astral Beast Domain did anyone else possess sword techniques that couldpare to the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators were thoroughly shocked, as they had not expected the Fifth Maind to contain a sword technique of such caliber.

    Wang Yi¡¯s expression turned to one of awe. Origin¡¯s Crack, Origin¡¯s Crack¡­ So this is what it looks like. How interesting¡­

    In the past, Lu Yin would have utterly been powerless against this Eleventh Sword, and he could have only tried to dodge it preemptively. However, at this moment, that waspletely unnecessary.

    Once an individual¡¯s strength reached a certain level, forces that had once been unbearable would instead be ordinary. Even though Lu Yin still did not understand this sword technique, its power did not pose enough of a threat for him to bother dodging.

    He raised a hand, and the purple-red lines above his hand from his nine lined battle force glowed brightly. With a single swift motion, he grabbed at the Eleventh Sword¡¯s sword qi and unleashed his Oveying Stacks Path with a full 150 stacks. Under the terrified eyes of countless spectators, Lu Yin let out a low grunt as he hurled the Eleventh Sword¡¯s sword qi towards the distant Xia Jiuyou.

    Farther away, another battle had erupted at the bottom of another flight of stairs. The fight between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu no longer upied the undivided attention of the entire audience.

    The match between Ling Gong and Xia Jiuyou had started at the same time as Lu Yin¡¯s fight.

    However, Ling Gong had been acting subdued and on the backfoot. Back in the Mountains and Seas Zone, Xia Jiuyou had sliced her Skycastle apart with nothing but his Triple de Will, and he had already seen all of Ling Gong¡¯s methods at that time. Her Skycastle, Soulsplitting Technique, and spear techniques had all been factored into Xia Jiuyou¡¯s calctions, and he had strategically suppressed her strengths right from the start.

    Even if Ling Gong wanted to aim for mutual destruction by utilizing a clone from her Soulsplitting Technique, it would be futile.

    Just when Xia Jiuyou was about to defeat Ling Gong with one more Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, the Eleventh Sword came flying at him from a distance, causing chills to run down his back. He hurriedly turned around and raised a hand to use the Triple de Will to block the approaching sword qi. Despite that, his body was still sent flying a few thousands of meters away after being struck by the Eleventh Sword, and even his wrist went numb.

    He red, furious, at where the sword qi hade from, and incidentally made eye contact with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at Xia Jiuyou with cold eyes before simply ignoring him.

    He had purposely sent the attack over that way. Even if Lu Yin was caught up in his fight with Liu Tianmu, he still had enough leeway to pay attention to his surroundings.

    He had seen that Ling Gong was being overpowered by Xia Jiuyou, so the Eleventh Sword had been Lu Yin¡¯s gift to Xia Jiuyou. Sadly, that was not enough to help her turn the tides, and Ling Gong was bound to be defeated.

    Ling Gong also caught sight of Lu Yin¡¯s move and snorted at him before focusing back on her fight against Xia Jiuyou. This fight was definitely not in her favor, and more importantly, no one had managed to see through anything at all regarding Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique, which was the scariest part.

    The fact that Lu Yin had taken the time to mess with Xia Jiuyou not only pissed off Xia Jiuyou, but it alsopletely enraged Liu Tianmu. Realizing that Lu Yin had the capacity to watch others¡¯ fights while fighting against her was a huge p to Liu Tianmu¡¯s face. Lu Yin was clearly looking down on her.

    After barely dodging the shockwave from Lu Yin¡¯s fist by using the Sixth Sword, Liu Tianmu felt a numbness ovee half of her body, but Lu Yin still seemedpletely unaffected. In a surge of rage, Liu Tianmu unhesitatingly unleashed the Twelfth Sword.

    The Eleventh Sword was known as Origin¡¯s Crack while the Twelfth Sword was called Fathomless. Like the Eleventh Sword, this attack could not be read either, and it also disregarded any sort of distance. However, it was nearly a hundred times more powerful than the Eleventh Sword.

    Lu Yin could definitely use one of the secret techniques that he hadprehended to shift himself away and avoid the attack, especially given his current strength. However, he did not do so.

    Everyone had their own favored style of fighting. Lu Yin had experienced a great deal throughout his cultivation journey and when he had first heard of the Thirteen Swords. At the present moment, he was facing Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteen Swords, and his battle experience was iparable to the past. Lu Yin had learned from his countless experiences and brushes with death, and he was not one to hide. Rather, he directly faced his obstacles.

    He was going to ovee the Thirteen Swords head on.

    The instant the Twelfth Sword appeared, a warning immediately rang out in Lu Yin''s heart. He reflexively covered his entire body with his nine lined battle force and gathered his full strength before unleashing a palm strike with 250 Stacks. He was using Vacuum Palm, and it was about to sh with the Twelfth Sword: Fathomless, which had suddenly appeared from nowhere.

    Sparks lit up and shot out everywhere. These specks of light filled the entire void in their battlefield, as every single spark was capable of tearing through the void. The power of these sparks, along with a powerful shockwave, swept through all of Zenith Mountain.

    No one could determine just how powerful the shockwave from this sh of battle techniques would be, nor did they know where the sparks of sword qi hade from. At this moment, all anyone knew was that they were also about to be caught up in the aftermath of the battle between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu.

    These sparks of sword qi light fell upon Jin He¡¯s and Unseen Light¡¯s battlefield, and both of them hurriedly avoided all of the sparks.

    Wen Sansi erected a barrier around himself as he warily observed from the distance.

    The three streams of qi swirling about Shang Qing''s body protected him from the force of the shockwave and the sparks of sword qi, but he still had a look of shock as he gazed at where everything hade. During the battle in the Mountains and Seas Zone, not even he had been able to react quickly enough to counter the Twelfth Sword, but Lu Yin was actually able to directly face off against such an attack.

    On the firstyer, Ku Wei''s face nched from fear, and he constantly moved to dodge the sparks.

    The fish on Xi Qi¡¯s head began angrily swearing.

    Yuhua Mavis stood in ce, as the shockwave from the violent sh of attacks could not affect her. This was Lu Yin''s strongest attack, Vacuum Palm, and she was already familiar with its power.

    Little Arrow Saint had almost been killed by just one of Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palms, and not even the Secret Technique of Resurrection had been enough to save him. That showed just how powerful Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm was, not to mention after it was reinforced with his battle force and improved with even more stacks. On top of everything, he was confronting the twelfth of the Thirteen Swords: Fathomless.

    The feeds shown on the broadcasts were all distorted. In the Innerverse, away from Zenith Mountain, Liu Qianjue¡¯s face was solemn. Elder Li sat beside the Sword Sect¡¯s master and eximed, "Within the younger generation, there is basically no one else who can take a full on attack from the Twelfth Sword. That Lu Yin really is a monster."

    Elder Lianxin spoke up as well. "Throughout the history of the Sword Sect, there has also never been anyone who was able toprehend the Twelfth Sword at such a young age. It would appear that all of these formidable characters are making their appearance in the current era."

    Liu Qianjue sentimentallymented, "The times have changed. I remember being more than a hundred years old before I managed to cultivate the Twelfth Sword."

    "If Liu Tianmu had been born a generation earlier, then the Sword Sect surely would''ve been able to enter the Neoverse," Elder Li said indignantly.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. The Sword Sect had shone the brightest in its entire history during the current age, after the passing of Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor. If Liu Tianmu had not been born in this era, then she might not have be this powerful, as there had been no formcast models before this.

    "I''m just hoping that Tianmu''s Thirteenth Sword can ovee Lu Yin," Elder Lianxin added on.

    Hundreds of thousands of Sword Sect disciples nervously watched the battle; the Thirteen Swords was their highest goal, and it could not fail.

    In the Outerverse, Madam Nn maintained a calm face, though her eyes revealed a bit of conflict. What she had dreaded had still ended up urring; Lu Yin was facing off against the Thirteen Swords.

    The Thirteen Swords had held its title as an unconquerable technique for far too long, and many had already be numb to its invincibility. However, seeing Lu Yin sh head on with the Twelfth Sword had reignited hope within the hearts of many. Perhaps he would be the one to shatter the legend of the Thirteen Swords.

    There were even some cultivators from the Innerverse who hoped for the Thirteen Sword¡¯s legend to be demolished during ZENITH.

    Liu Shaoqiu also wore aplicated expression as he stood atop Zenith Mountain.

    Beneath a flight of stairs, the Twelfth Sword was shattered, though the force of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm had also beenpletely dissipated.

    Lu Yin had initially believed that just his Vacuum Palm would be enough topletely crush the Twelfth Sword, but it was a shame that it was just barely enough to cancel it out.

    Across from Lu Yin, Liu Tianmu¡¯s face became a bit paler. For Lu Yin to directly sh with the Twelfth Sword was something that not even Shang Qing had been able to do in the past.

    Even Shang Qing had been wounded by the Twelfth Sword since he had been unable to endure and fully counter it, but Lu Yin had just smashed the Twelfth Sword apart with brute force. One needed more than just overwhelming strength to do this, as an impable timing was also crucial.

    Other than their raw power, the most enigmatic and puzzling aspects of the Eleventh and Twelfth Swords was their ability to transcend space. These attacks were not moves that could be dodged by just anyone.

    The fact that Lu Yin had been able to directly shatter the Twelfth Sword with a head on attack meant that his physical strength had surpassed the power of her Twelfth Sword. There was only one way left for Liu Tianmu to defeat this person: the Thirteenth Sword.

    However, the chances of that sword seeding were highly dependent on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was capable of unleashing more than one Vacuum Palm, and he was even able to use that technique at any time at all, which implied that he was capable of defeating Liu Tianmu whenever he chose, as it was impossible for Liu Tianmu to endure the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    It had to be acknowledged that there was almost no participant in all of ZENITH who coulde out unscathed after being hit by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    That was something that many were keeping in mind, including Liu Tianmu herself.

    Still, she calmly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin intently stared back, wondering whether or not he should allow Liu Tianmu the chance to unleash the Thirteenth Sword.

    If he was honest, even if he wanted to ovee the Thirteen Swords head on, facing the Thirteenth Sword was still a little intimidating. The Thirteenth Sword waspletely different from the Twelfth or Eleventh Swords, as there was no way to block it. Even Shang Qing had been seriously damaged by the Thirteenth Sword after suffering a direct hit.

    Distance was also not an issue for the Thirteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin was also unable to weaken the Thirteenth Sword by using Truesight to erase some of the attack¡¯s runes.

    The reason why Lu Yin had been able to fight against Yuhua Mavis head on was because he was able to observe her strength, and therefore, he was able to weaken it. However, the Thirteenth Sword was different.

    Liu Tianmu was certainly inferior to Yuhua Mavis when it came to absolute power, but the Thirteenth Sword was truly iprehensible, and that was its most terrifying aspect. Even if Shang Qing had released the full power of his Tri-Yang Technique, at best, he could only forcibly defend himself against the Thirteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin had not needed to erase any of Liu Tianmu¡¯s rune lines when he was receiving the Twelfth Sword, but for the Thirteenth Sword, even if he wanted to, he was not capable of doing so. It was an extremely infuriating technique.

    Lu Yin needed to secure the position of ZENITH¡¯s champion. His master had ordered him to do so, so he had to win. It would be bad if he ended up injured due to taking a direct hit from the Thirteenth Sword, and he would also suffer a terrible loss if he was expelled as Mister Mu¡¯s disciple due to his arrogance.

    One shoring of the Thirteenth Sword was its long preparation time. Shang Qing had given Liu Tianmu the time that she needed when the two had faced off, but if Lu Yin was unwilling to do the same, then a single palm was all he needed to end this match. He could surely enter ZENITH¡¯s top ten without getting so much as a scratch.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eye caught sight of Shang Qing. Shang Qing was climbing up the stairs one step at a time, but Qiu Shi did not make any move to stop him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned slightly grim. He was right¡ªZENITH¡¯s ten finalists would not be decided so easily. Qiu Shi¡¯s behavior indicated that she knew that she still had a chance since she was not showing any signs of fighting against Shang Qing. This most likely meant that she could challenge another one of the contenders for the top ten even as the loser of her own match.

    Shang Qing seemed to feel Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. His eyes exuded a sense of arrogance that was mixed with a feeling of both indifference and contempt.

    Did it matter if Lu Yin had defeated Yuhua Mavis? Did it matter if Lu Yin had overpowered the Twelfth Sword? Shang Qing could not care less about such things.

    He was the only candidate who deserved to step onto the peak of Zenith Mountain. Even powerhouses like Bu Kong would have to bow down before Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin frowned as he met Shang Qing¡¯s eyes; what a disgusting expression. With this thought, Lu Yin turned to look back at Liu Tianmu, and he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your Thirteenth Sword?¡±

    The moment he uttered these words, the countless spectators instantly went silent. The Thirteenth Sword wasing.

    The only people who had actually witnessed the Thirteenth Sword for themselves were those who hadpeted for the Cosmic Five in the Mountains and Seas Zone. They were also the only ones who knew that Liu Tianmu was capable of using the Thirteenth Sword even though they were unable to see through it or even slightly understand it.

    Even Shang Qing, who was hailed as invincible within his generation, had been injured by the Thirteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin was not the only one who was quick-witted, as everyone else had realized the same thing when they saw Qiu Shi¡¯s behavior towards Shang Qing. They were all hoping to see Liu Tianmu unleash the Thirteenth Sword so that they could quickly see the Thirteen Swords¡¯ trump card.

    Liu Tianmu shut both eyes and cleared her mind of any extraneous thoughts. Her dedication to the sword was all that she had held onto; that dedication was her emotion. The Thirteenth Sword was the sword known as Emotion.

    Mortal lives were characterized by familial ties, love, and friendship, but Liu Tianmu had never experienced any of that. She did, however, possess her own emotions, which only revealed themselves in her dedication for the sword.

    A sword could be forged as long as emotion existed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1303: Is It Over?

    <h4>Chapter 1303: Is It Over?</h4>

    In the Mountains and Seas Zone, Liu Tianmu had barely managed to materialize the Thirteenth Sword: Emotion, but even then, she had still severely injured Shang Qing. A year had passed since that time, and she hadprehended much more regarding the Thirteenth Sword.

    The moment she opened her eyes, a light breeze swept out from the tip of her sword. It blew towards Lu Yin, Zenith Mountain, and everyone else as well.

    Anyone who was touched by this breeze experienced a strange sensation. It was as if their bodies werepletely vulnerable beneath Liu Tianmu''s sword, as if her sword was hanging just above their heads.

    Shang Qing paused on his way up the staircase and looked towards Liu Tianmu with a heavy expression.

    He was the only person here who had endured a blow from the Thirteenth Sword, but even after all this time, he still had no idea how he could resist such an attack. The only solution that he could think of was to prevent Liu Tianmu from ever having the chance to unleash the Thirteenth Sword.

    However, since the Thirteenth Sword had already been sessfully unleashed, it was toote for Lu Yin to stop it even if he wanted to. Liu Tianmu could make the swords that everyone sensed descend upon their targets at any time.

    This battle would be decided entirely on whether or not Lu Yin could endure while beneath Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword.

    Shang Qing had been able to use his Tri-Yang Technique to do so, which also meant that he himself had not needed to move. However, what about Lu Yin? If he was badly injured by this attack, then how could he climb any farther in ZENITH? That would be a great pity.

    Lu Yin stared intently at Liu Tianmu''s face, and his pupils transformed into runes. He immediately began erasing some of her attack¡¯s runes, but his efforts were futile. Given his current mastery of Truesight, he was not able to weaken the Thirteenth Sword, though if Jin He or God Taiyi were the ones attempting to do so, they might be sessful.

    The Thirteenth Sword was already poised and in position. The moment the light breeze brushed past his cheeks, Lu Yin had known that he would not be able to stop this attack. Truesight was unable to weaken it, and the Yu Secret Art also could not divert it. He was not even confident that the Ce secret technique could dodge it.

    If the Thirteenth Sword was not a truly unavoidable skill, then it would have never earned its legendary reputation of being invincible.

    Did he regret pushing this matter? Maybe, but maybe not. He knew that he would have to face this attack sooner orter. Even if Liu Tianmu had not unleashed her Thirteenth Sword during ZENITH, Lu Yin believed that he would still have to confront it some time in the future.

    However, Lu Yin was far superior to Shang Qing in one aspect: physical strength. If Shang Qing had been able to recover after taking a strike from the Thirteenth Sword, then Lu Yin would most likely be able to do so as well, though hisbat power would definitely be affected.

    With this thought, Lu Yin dropped his head and looked at his heart¡¯s location. Maybe it was time to make use of that. He should have already mastered that power, but even now, he had not been able to do so.

    Countless people watched as Liu Tianmu''s sword fell; the Thirteenth Sword had already been executed. Liu Tianmu stumbled. She lost all strength in her legs and nearly copsed onto the ground.

    During the battles in the Mountains and Seas Zone, she had immediately copsed after unleashing the Thirteenth Sword, no longer possessing the strength to continue on. At the present moment, she was holding out much better than that time.

    Then what about Lu Yin?

    Once that thought urred, innumerable eyes turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Shang Qing had a grim expression. He himself had once suffered an attack from the Thirteenth Sword. He knew that it was invisible and unavoidable, so he was just waiting to see the full extent of Lu Yin¡¯s injuries.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin, and even Lu Yin himself began examining his own body. Was it over? Had the Thirteenth Sword already struck? Seriously? Then why had he not felt anything at all?

    Lu Yin panicked and felt his neck before running his hands all over his arms. He could not find any injuries. His entire body waspletely unscathed. Bewildered, he looked at Liu Tianmu inplete confusion.

    Liu Tianmu met his gaze with a simrly confused expression. She was certain that her sword had struck true, one hundred percent certain. The Thirteenth Sword had undoubtedly stabbed Lu Yin through the heart, so what in the world was going on? A victim of her sword was not showing even the slightest reaction to her attack. Was his heart really fine?

    The two of them stared at each other in utter bewilderment; one was certain that she had delivered a fatal blow while the other was fully aware that he was unharmed. What a paradoxical situation.

    ¡°You¡­ was that yourst attack?¡± Lu Yin asked in an uncertain tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ fine?¡± Liu Tianmu waspletely puzzled.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Did you really attack just then?¡±

    ¡°Are you really alright?¡± Liu Tianmu also repeated her own question. From the day that she had been born to the present moment, she had always stood on top. In the Sword Sect, she was known as the First Senior Sister, the one who hadprehended the Thirteen Swords and the one with a peerless talent. To the outside universe, she was one of the Ten Arbiters that held the lives of countless people in the palm of her hand. She was a figure to be revered.

    Never once had she felt as lost as at this particr moment. Even when she had witnessed the true nature of the Tri-Yang Technique in the Mountains and Seas Zone, she had not been this disturbed. She literally lost all self-control at this moment, as Lu Yin¡¯s perfect condition after receiving her attack overturned everything that she knew and understood.

    Even if Liu Tianmu¡¯s beliefs had been overturned, there was no need to mention how others were handling this oue even more badly.

    ¡°The Thirteenth Sword already struck? That can¡¯t be.¡±

    ¡°It did! Arbiter Mu said so herself.¡±

    ¡°But how can Lu Yin be perfectly fine? His shirt isn¡¯t even wrinkled! This doesn¡¯t follow any sort of logic or reasoning!¡±

    ¡°Bro, are you seriously talking to me about logic right now?¡±

    ¡­

    On Swords Peak, Liu Qianjue was alsopletely bewildered. He was certain that Liu Tianmu had delivered the Thirteenth Sword, so why had nothing happened to Lu Yin?

    This situation left everyone dumbfounded.

    Shang Qing stared closely at Lu Yin; was he really alright?

    God Taiyi waspletely certain that Lu Yin was fine, as the bastard¡¯s runes had not changed in the slightest.

    Within the deafening silence, Lu Yin stared at Liu Tianmu and asked, ¡°Where did you strike me?¡±

    ¡°Your heart, on the left side,¡± Liu Tianmu replied with a heavy tone.

    As soon as he heard that she had targeted his heart, the first thing that Lu Yin thought of was the ck and white mist. Had the Thirteenth Sword attacked the ck and white mist? He probed the area around his heart but did not feel anything. The Thirteenth Sword must have been swallowed by the mist!

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Liu Tianmu eximed in disbelief. Even in ancient times, this situation had never urred with the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords. In the past, when one of their sect masters had been devoured by a Cosmic Hou, the Thirteenth Sword had still managed to inflict serious damage upon the creature. It was unthinkable that a human could receive the Thirteenth Sword and emerge unscathed while a unique creature like a Cosmic Hou had been injured.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and dered, ¡°Your time in ZENITH is done.¡±

    After speaking, he unleashed a Vacuum Palm. Liu Tianmu was easily knocked off of the mountain¡¯s peak, falling down to the firstyer.

    Lu Yin had not used his full strength, as that would have certainly killed Liu Tianmu. He did not want to make things ugly between him and the Sword Sect.

    However, no matter what, Liu Tianmu was sure to be in bad shape.

    After defeating Liu Tianmu, Lu Yin deliberately turned and looked up at Shang Qing. He shed Shang Qing a smile before starting to move up the stairs himself, heading straight for the peak of the mountain.

    Shang Qing briefly locked eyes with Lu Yin, and he could not stop himself from revealing a hint of utter shock. Even when Lu Yin had defeated Yuhua Mavis, Shang Qing had not been blown away. But seeing Lu Yin conquer the Thirteen Swords had truly amazed the first Honor Chosen. Although there were no limits to Lu Yin¡¯s power, Lu Yin would still never be a match for Shang Qing no matter how strong he became.

    Shang Qing¡¯s unshakeable confidence and contempt for his peers still remained the same.

    Elsewhere, another fight was just about to end as well. This one was between Wen Sansi and Wang Yi.

    Wen Sansi had been predicted to ce twelfth in the final rankings, which was higher than Lu Yin¡¯s predicted cing. Wen Sansi¡¯s higher rating was almost entirely attributed to his innate gift of an imprable barrier, but that very same barrier had just been destroyed by Wang Yi.

    Following a soft noise, Wang Yi zipped past Wen Sansi and shattered the barrier into pieces. Wang Yi just left a singlement with Wen Sansi. "That¡¯s a pretty impressive defense."

    From the start of ZENITH to the present moment, Wang Yi had never spoken a single word. However, Wen Sansi''s barrier had gotten Wang Yi to speak.

    Mira, Michelle, and the Wen family in the Innerverse were all shocked to see the barrier shatter, because this meant that Wen Sansi had been defeated.

    Wang Yi did notunch any follow-up attacks, simply proceeding to walk up the stairs.

    Wen Sansi did not move. He simply turned his head to stare at Wang Yi, the depths of his eyes containing a certain astonishment that had never existed before. He had witnessed a one-of-a-kind battle technique that had given him an inexplicable feeling, as if he deserved his defeat. Just like his surname, Wang (King) Yi was the king of cultivators.1 His battle techniques had reached a level that Wen Sansi knew he could never touch.

    Even though Lu Yin had assisted Ling Gong once during her fight, she still ended up losing to Xia Jiuyou.

    Thebination of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm and innate gift of echo was enough for him to defeat Ling Gong. She still remembered how, during the battle in the Mountains and Seas Zone, her Skycastle had been sliced in two by Xia Jiuyou''s Triple de Will. During this most recent battle, Xia Jiuyou had continuously revealed bit after bit of his terrifying strength. The power of his Y¨­u Reinforced Palm was many times stronger than what he had unleashed in the Mountains and Seas Zone.

    He had merged with all of his clones aside from Xia Luo, and at present, it seemed that Xia Jiuyou was gradually revealing an aura of invincibility that could even threaten Shang Qing.

    Ling Gong felt helpless. Blood continued to drip down her left leg and flow behind her as her ruined Skycastle slowly faded from view. ¡°The Lingling n is known for being able to take andbine ten innate gifts into an unrivaled innate gift, but it takes a lifetime to cultivate just any one of these innate gifts. Such abined innate gift is advantageous against regr cultivators, but when matched up with someone like Xia Jiuyou, it¡¯s no use.¡±

    She was not disheartened, for the key to the Lingling n¡¯s innate gift was in the merging itself.

    The further her cultivation advanced, the stronger her innate gift would be. Ling Gong had known for a long time what her future path would be, and one day, her innate gift would not merely summon a Skycastle. Rather, it would be a grand Skycastle Fortress, or even the mythical Skyrealm spoken of by mortals.

    The powerhouses like Wang Yi, Zhi Yi, Shang Qing, Lu Yin, Yao Xuan, and Xia Jiuyou all made their way up the flights of stairs one after another. There were only eight people left who were still desperately fighting.

    While Lu Yin was making his way up towards the mountain''s peak, he suddenly felt a chill at his back. He turned around and saw a streak of sword qi approaching him. The Eleventh Sword?

    Lu Yin instinctively raised a hand and grabbed the Eleventh Sword before hurling it over at Xia Jiuyou. Then, he looked into the distance, where Y¨­u Qi was standing with those ever present illusory ck mes still wrapped around his entire body. There was a book above the war g that he always carried, and the pages of the book were slowly flipping around.

    The Eleventh Sword hade from Y¨­u Qi, as he had once again borrowed a battle technique from another person.

    Wu Taibai seemed highly amused by the entire situation.

    Xia Jiuyou was in a foul mood at the moment, and the fact that Lu Yin had reflexively hurled the Eleventh Sword at him clearly showed that Lu Yin viewed him as an enemy. Most likely, there wouldn¡¯t be anymore one-on-onepetitions once ten people reached the mountaintop. Rather, it looked like it would be a battle royal. Even though Xia Jiuyou had the Nine Clones Technique that made him powerful enough to face anyone, it did not mean that he wanted to be someone¡¯s target.

    And yet, Lu Yin was already focused on Xia Jiuyou while he could do nothing about it, which was why Xia Jiuyou felt oddly frustrated.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re actually able to borrow other people¡¯s battle techniques? You just used the Eleventh Sword, so can you call out the Thirteenth Sword too? I¡¯d like to see what it¡¯s like,¡± said an intrigued Wu Taibai.

    Y¨­u Qi looked both sullen and gloomy. He stared straight at Wu Taibai while the book above his head continued to flip through its pages and he clutched the spear in his hand.

    Y¨­u Qi had traded blows with Wu Taibai several times already, but he had not gained any ground on him. Instead, Y¨­u Qi actually felt a faint sense of oppression each time they shed, as though his ability to be immaterial was being restrained.

    ¡°You can keep pulling out other people¡¯s battle techniques. I won¡¯t stop you,¡± Wu Taibai offered.

    The ck mes shrouding Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body sharply expanded, and the war g disappeared. He then transformed into the only patch of darkness between the sky and the ground while specks of darkness formed a night sky above the spear that suddenly shot at Wu Taibai.

    This was Burial Garden¡¯s secret technique: Will. This technique drastically increased Y¨­u Qi¡¯s attack power.

    Wu Taibai was surprised, and he raised a hand while also releasing a martial print that struck the tip of the spear.

    There was a ng, and Wu Taibai was sent flying back, shocking him. He had not expected Y¨­u Qi to be able to force him back.

    The book above Y¨­u Qi¡¯s head flipped through more pages while he called out, ¡°There was once a powerhouse who lived in ancient times, and his honorable name was Liu Guai.¡±

    After Y¨­u Qi finished speaking, there was a whistling sound as the Eleventh Sword was summoned again. Simultaneously, Y¨­u Qi seemed topletely merge with his spear. The patch of darkness surrounding the spear left all those who saw it numb, and all of Zenith Mountain went pitch ck.

    The power of this spear attack far surpassed the power that Y¨­u Qi had shown when he had fought against Lu Yin in the Mountains and Seas Zone. If Y¨­u Qi had possessed an attack this powerful back then, then Lu Yin would have beenpletely unable to block it.

    Wu Taibai made no attempt to avoid this attack. Instead, he raised his right palm as the image of the Progenitor of Combat appeared behind him. A terrifying pressure descended upon all of Zenith Mountain,pelling countless people to almost drop to their knees out of fear. The Progenitor of Combat was a domineering character, and he had created a secret technique known as the Mountains and Rivers Imprint. Using this secret technique was almost equivalent to bringing out the entire Sixth Maind and smashing it onto Y¨­u Qi. This secret technique was another attack that disregarded space and distance, which made it extremely simr to the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Eleventh and Twelfth Swords. However, the key difference was that Wu Taibai was the one using this attack, which made it much stronger than Liu Tianmu¡¯s Twelfth Sword.

    [1] The character for "Wang" means "king." ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1304: Hidden Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 1304: Hidden Innate Gift</h4>

    The Mountains and Seas Imprint shed against the tip of Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear. The specks of darkness rapidly expanded and gradually covered the entire area, even spreading towards the Mountains and Sea Imprint.

    Right behind the shockwave caused by this impact, the ck specks crashed down towards the foot of Zenith Mountain like meteors, causing countless people to scream as they fled in terror.

    Y¨­u Qi¡¯s spear had already cracked, but he still did not give up. Instead, he once again borrowed the Eleventh Sword andunched it at Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai was essentially facing a joint attack from Liu Tianmu and Y¨­u Qi right now. Right before the Eleventh Sword was about to strike him, he raised his right hand and curled all five fingers. Just like Lu Yin, Wu Taibai grabbed ahold of the Eleventh Sword and threw it at Xia Jiuyou.

    The crowd was stunned; it was understandable that Lu Yin had been able to grab the Eleventh Sword, as he possessed a physical strength that even surpassed Yuhua Mavis¡¯s. However, how had Wu Taibai managed to do the same? And more importantly, why did he also throw the attack at Xia Jiuyou?

    Xia Jiuyou was speechless, and he hurriedly avoided the iing attack. He then stared at Wu Taibai; did this fellow also have some sort of grudge against him?

    Wu Taibai was actually not overly concerned with where he had thrown the Eleventh Sword. In the next instant, he tore through the void, disappearing briefly before reappearing right before Y¨­u Qi. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. Y¨­u Qi¡¯s ability to turn immaterial was still a pain to deal with, so Lu Yin wanted to see what Wu Taibai would do next.

    While this thought ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, his pupils transformed into runes as he carefully observed Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai shed over in front of Y¨­u Qi, and with a swipe of his hand, Y¨­u Qi¡¯s left arm was severed and fell to the ground and was engulfed by the ck mes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. He had noticed some runes gathering in Wu Taibai¡¯s palm, but what exactly had he just done?

    No one had managed to see through Wu Taibai¡¯s actions with the sole exception of one person: Wang Yi.

    Wang Yi stared at the scene in shock. He had not expected to witness a skill of such caliber in this ce. So that¡¯s what the ¡°Tai¡± in ¡°Wu Taibai¡± means.

    Y¨­u Qi had been defeated, surprising everyone who was familiar with Burial Garden.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind erupted in cheers. They did not care how it happened, and they were happy as long as their Daosource Three Skies won.

    Wu Taibai¡¯s victory over Y¨­u Qi drew a lot of attention, but just a moment before that, at the same time as when Wang Yi shattered Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier, a fraction of the universe¡¯s audience shifted their attention over to a certain girl¡ªXiao Qing. Once they did so, they never looked away again. More and more people started to watch her battle, and it was entirely because she had managed to severely injure Bu Kong.

    Not even Lu Yin had noticed that Xiao Qing had wounded Bu Kong, as he had only noticed Xiao Qing¡¯s battle after Wu Taibai secured victory. Lu Yin had been so focused on Wu Taibai¡¯s match that he hadpletely forgotten about Xiao Qing.

    Xiao Qing was the true Realmling of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Sage Martial Realm, and her opponent was Bu Kong, one of the Daosource Three Skies.

    Most people had assumed that their match was pointless, like the one between the Greenmen Duo¡¯s Skinny Bro and Zhi Yi. However, for this battle, even the people from the Sixth Maind believed it to be meaningless as one of the two contestants clearly held the upper hand.

    At the bottom of a staircase, blood dripped down from Bu Kong¡¯s lips. He stared at the woman across from him in disbelief. She was actually capable of hurting him.

    After the match between Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu, Shang Qing had continued making his way up towards the mountain¡¯s peak. It was believed to be a matter of fact that Bu Kong would also make his way up the stairs, but here he was, being held back by Xiao Qing.

    It was perfectly normal for the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings to challenge the Daosource Three Skies. Even though the Daosource Three Skies were a highly dignified trio, that did not mean that no one had ever dared to challenge them before. It was only one after another bloody battle that the Daosource Three Skies had constructed their remarkable reputation.

    Bu Kong had not been concerned about his match with Xiao Qing, but he was suddenly forced to rethink this matter.

    Boundless star energy descended, and Xiao Qingughed cheekily. ¡°If you¡¯re still thinking of injecting a sourcebox array into my body, it¡¯s useless against me.¡±

    As she spoke, she twirled some strands of her hair around a finger on her right hand. Then, when she raised her hand, dozens of hair strands flew out at Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong¡¯s expression stiffened; this was the same technique that had managed to injure him earlier. Although they looked like ordinary strands of hair, each and every strand contained a martial print.

    It was simply extraordinary.

    Martial prints had been created by the Progenitor of Combat, and they were meant to act as a shortcut for cultivators from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory to raise their strength. Like the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory¡¯s bloodlines or the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s secret techniques, every cultivator from the Progenitor of Combat Territory cultivated a martial print. It wasmon sense that every person was only allowed to cultivate a single martial print.

    In contrast, Xiao Qing had melded a martial print omtp each strand of her hair, causing the power behind each strand of hair to rise immensely. Any single strand of her hair was enough to make the other Realmlings cower in fear, and when dozens of hair strands were fired out at once, then even the formidable Bu Kong would be caught by surprise. The impact had caused him to cough up blood.

    More importantly, Xiao Qing had discovered Bu Kong¡¯s secret method of dispersing a person¡¯s star energy.

    The sourcebox array that he hadprehended was called Bind. As its name suggested, it could keep anyone within the array fixed in ce. Like what had happened during the fight in the Cosmic Sea, this sourcebox array could defeat arge number of powerhouses at the same time, and as hisprehension of the array deepened, Bu Kong had stopped using it to stun all his enemies within a specific area. Instead, he injected it straight into his target''s body to freeze their star energy, which then caused it to disperse.

    That was how he had dispersed Lei N¨¹¡¯s star energy reserves in one go.

    When it came to mastery of star energy, Bu Kong actually could notpare to Wu Dan, but Bu Kong was more sessful in battles than Wu Dan. This sourcebox array was the secret behind Bu Kong¡¯s sess, but Xiao Qing had managed topletely see through it.

    Lu Yin stopped in ce on the stairs. He no longer continued walking up the stairs, instead turning to focus on Xiao Qing.

    She had actually been able to understand the secret behind how Bu Kong had dispersed his enemy''s star energy? Lu Yin had only learned of this matter from Xia Luo, as Lu Yin had not been able to figure it out for himself by just observing Bu Kong. Surprisingly enough, Xiao Qing had seen through it. A person like her could only be described as someone who was incredibly meticulous.

    While seeing Bu Kong constantly avoid Xiao Qing''s attacks, Lu Yin''s expression turned solemn, and he was reminded of when they had all been searching around the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins together. Back then, he had already known that Mr. Bai and Xiao Qing were not average people despite his limited interactions with them.

    Two of the final twenty contestants in ZENITH actually turned out to be the same people: Wu Taibai of the Daosource Three Skies and a Realmling from the Sage Martial Realm.

    The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more convinced he became that Wu Taibai and Xiao Qing had actually already known about each other¡¯s identities the moment they had traded blows after passing through that door! That blow had not been as simple as it seemed.

    One strand of hair after another went flying out towards Bu Kong. He raised his hand in an attempt to dpose Xiao Qing¡¯s innate gift, but he instead ended up being restrained by the martial prints. Every single strand of Xiao Qing¡¯s hair contained a martial print, which was unbelievable. Even the Progenitor of Combat would have been shocked to see this!

    Bu Kong was certain that, other than the Progenitor of Combat, the person with the deepest understanding of martial prints was the woman right before him. Even the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Imprinters had never heard of anyone being able to utilize martial prints to such a level, and it was possible that not even Wu Taibai was able to do so.

    Outside the barrier formed by the ckhole that isted the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Combat looked towards Zenith Mountain, and shock shed through his eyes.

    Wu Taibai was his own disciple, but at this moment, the Progenitor was deeply impressed by Xiao Qing. This girl was using the martial prints that the Progenitor had created with such skill that she did not need anything else to suppress a disciple of the Progenitor of Secret Arts to the point where he was not even able to counterattack.

    At that same moment, the Progenitor of Secret Arts was also observing the battles on Zenith Mountain. His expression remained unchanged even when he saw Bu Kong being suppressed. No one knew what the Progenitor was thinking about.

    nd expressions painted the faces of countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind. Who would have dreamed that a Realmling would be able to force one of the Daosource Three Skies to the point of doing nothing but dodging? This was a battle to be recorded down in history.

    Bu Kong finally reached the point where he was sick of the constant attacks. As dozens of hair strands pierced through the void and were just about to strike him, he raised a hand. ¡°Time Reversal Technique.¡±

    Xiao Qing had used martial prints to prevent Bu Kong from using his innate gift or dispersing her star energy, along with many other possible actions. She had far too much hair, and each and every hair strand contained a martial print. Nobody could withstand such an assault.

    After the Time Reversal Technique was unleashed, the strands of hair that should have struck Bu Kong suddenly vanished. He repeatedly attacked the void with one hand, building up multipleyers of star energy. Before long, the entire battlefield had been encapsted in star energy. Who cared if people knew exactly how he was dispersing his opponents¡¯ star energy? It was still pointless as long as they were unable to defend themselves against it.

    Xiao Qing closely observed her surroundings. She was a Lockbreaker herself, and although she had neither be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker nor cultivated her star energy control to the Worldliness realm, she was still able to see through star energy.

    By spreading his star energy everywhere, Bu Kong hoped to sneak his sourcebox array into her body and then forcibly disperse her star energy that way. Xiao Qing would not be able to stop such a move, so she randomly tapped a strand of her hair, which transformed into a sword. That was the Azure Silk Swordsmanship.

    There was a whoosh as a gush of sword qi shed a horizontal line across the air. It cut through theyers of star energy and headed straight for Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong lifted a hand, intending to destroy her technique with his innate gift once more.

    Although Bu Kong¡¯s ability to use his innate gift of undoing was being suppressed by Xiao Qing¡¯s martial print, it was also fair to say that Xiao Qing¡¯s Qing Strand Sword was simultaneously being suppressed by Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift.

    An endless amount of star energy covered Xiao Qing¡¯s eyes in an instant¡ªthe star energy inside her body was already out of control.

    Bu Kong sneered. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡±

    He waved a hand to finish things.

    Xiao Qing¡¯s eyes went wide in indignation, and she charged towards Bu Kong. Her star energy suddenly leaked out from her body, creating visible ripples that floated off into the distance. It even sent a slight vibration through Zenith Mountain.

    At that moment, Xiao Qing was only about five meters away from Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong turned around with a look of contempt on his face as he waved his palm towards Xiao Qing. ¡°Time Reversal Technique.¡±

    Without any star energy, Xiao Qing was no different from a lowly ant before Bu Kong, and he could easily kill her with a p.

    Xiao Qing came within three meters, two meters, and then one meter of Bu Kong. All of a sudden, a feeling of rm rang out within Bu Kong. Right in front of him, he saw Xiao Qing and her long hair flying through the air. The tips of countless hair strands were ruthlessly shooting towards Bu Kong. His pupils constricted, and he saw innumerable martial prints fill his vision. If this attack struck true, he would certainly suffer a tragic oue.

    Bu Kong instinctively summoned the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ imprint behind him, and its majestic aura enveloped the battlefield, forcing all of the Xiao Qing¡¯s hair strands to stop for a moment. That one moment was all that Bu Kong needed to escape.

    Sadly, he was unable to get away.

    A moment was a considerable amount of time for Bu Kong, but even if his speed was not taken into ount, he had already set up a Fixed Stakes sourcebox array in the area. Thus, even if he did not manage to escape, Xiao Qing would still be immobilized.

    However, for all of Bu Kong¡¯s calctions, he had still missed one important detail: Xiao Qing¡¯s innate gift of slowing.

    Ever since her numerous hair strands had struck Bu Kong, Xiao Qing had already nted her innate gift, and she was easily able to control when it activated.

    In that instant, the power of her innate gift of slowing materialized, and Bu Kong¡¯s movements suddenly became unimaginably slow, and all he could do was helplessly stare at the countless strands of hair that were about to pierce through his body. As soon as they made contact with him, the martial prints detonated, and the terrifying force blew Bu Kong off of the mountain peak, where he fell all the way down to its base.

    No one had expected Bu Kong to be defeated by a cultivator from the Sixth Maind, even if she was the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Realmling.

    There were three territories and nine realms in the Sixth Maind, and of the nine major realms, the Sage Martial Realm had always stood amongst the top three when it came to their Realmling¡¯s power. That had applied to Sword Schr in the past, and even more so for Xiao Qing, who had defeated Sword Schr. Her level of skill was so formidable that she could even make the Daosource Three Skies think twice before acting.

    It did not matter if Bu Kong¡¯s fall to the bottom of the mountain had been because of his owncency; this was Zenith Mountain, and there was no room for second chances.

    Having cast Bu Kong off the mountain, Xiao Qing was the victor of this fight.

    Bu Kong violently crashed into the foot of the mountain and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His clothes were all torn and tattered, and his body was in such great pain that it felt as though he had been ripped apart.

    He had been struck by as many martial imprints as Xiao Qing¡¯s strands of hair.

    After being attacked by such arge number of martial prints, and especially when the cultivatorunching them was a Realmling from the Sage Martial Realm, meant that the attack¡¯s final impact had been powerful enough to tear apart even the Little Arrow Saint¡¯s stacked arrow attack.

    Even if Bu Kong had been able to hold out and heal himself with the Secret Technique of Resurrection, he would not be able to get back to the top of the mountain anytime soon. He needed at least half a day¡¯s worth of time to recover.

    Bu Kong looked up at Xiao Qing. He had been defeated. To think that he had truly been defeated. Even now, he could not believe that he had lost, especially since he had never even been able to use the Power Transfer Secret Technique. That woman had truly hidden a lot up her sleeves, and anybody would meet a tragic end the first time they encountered her innate gift.

    It was great. Everything was just fine. Even if she became the champion, Bu Kong nned to make her payter once they returned to the Upper Realm.

    Xiao Qing let out a sigh of relief at the bottom of the stairs and then smiled. She had actually managed to beat Bu Kong, though partly through ambush. She had never revealed her innate gift until this battle, and she was finally seeing the fruits of herbor.

    From this point on, however, it would be a bit more difficult for her to seize victory by using her innate gift like this.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1305: The Final Ten

    <h4>Chapter 1305: The Final Ten</h4>

    Xiao Qing raised her head and looked up at the few who already stood at the top of their own flight of stairs. None of them was someone who should be trifled with, were they?

    Lu Yin shot an intense stare at Xiao Qing from the top of the stairs. He could notprehend just how she had been able to control that many martial prints. Furthermore, Lu Yin knew that Bu Kong¡¯s slowed movements at the end of their battle had to have had something to do with Xiao Qing. Had that been her innate gift? Or had that been a battle technique?

    Regardless, the majority of the audience had not yet registered the fact that Bu Kong had been defeated.

    The effects of thest battle rippled down and affected the variousrge bookmakers, and many of them just simply disappeared with their money.

    The crowd of cultivators from the Sixth Maind were too shocked to even speak. One of the Daosource Three Skies had been defeated, and it was like someone had taken away their shelter from a storm.

    Wu Taibai smiled at Xiao Qing and said, ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    Xiao Qing thanked him and looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°Do me a favor, will you? Let me stay on the stairs a bit longer.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a smallugh and shifted his focus over to Zhi Yi.

    That one of Daosource Three Skies red at Xiao Qing with true hostility. As the Daosource Three Skies, she, Bu Kong, and Wu Taibai were not only fighting for the opportunity that would be received by winning ZENITH, but were also paving the way for the Sixth Maind to overpower the Fifth Maind in the future. Bu Kong¡¯s strength was without question, but the fact that he had been defeated by Xiao Qing through her ambush tactics had destroyed their initial ns.

    This woman had managed to defeat Bu Kong by sneak attacks, but her strength would prove inadequate if she tried to match up to the others.

    Trouble was brewing.

    Far away, under another flight of stairs, Jin He and Unseen Light were fighting.

    Both of them were part of the Ten Arbiters, so seeing them together was something that was both familiar and new. Their battle had garnered a great deal of attention from people.

    However, many were even more curious about the match between Bai Mai and Liquor Hero, where things were truly rather creepy.

    Liquor Hero had used a drop of wine to sessfully trap Bai Mai.

    As a bug that had fed off of the corpses of Progenitor level powerhouses, Bai Mai was able to eat anything, and nothing could stop it. Even Yao Xuan was wary of Bai Mai due to the carrion bug¡¯s ability to eat even spiritual force.

    Yao Xuan was fully confident that anyone matched up against Bai Mai would have a hard time.

    Not only did Bai Mai possess a mouth with teeth that could eat through everything, it also had unparalleled defense. From how Yao Xuan saw things, Bai Mai¡¯s physical defenses were certainlyparable to Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier.

    The crown prince had once traded blows with Bai Mai before heading to ZENITH, and Bai Mai had been difficult to beat; extremely difficult. Yao Xuan¡¯s greatest struggle had been injuring Bai Mai, and that beetle the size of a fingernail had been a troublesome opponent even for him.

    However, Bai Mai had just been trapped by a single drop of wine.

    Liquor Hero was blurry-eyed as she snickered while Bai Mai frantically scurried about within the drop of wine like it had gone crazy. Drops of wine would appear in whichever direction it tried to flee, and slowly, the drop of wine that encased it formed something like a maze suspended in the air. No matter how Bai Mai tried to find its way out, its efforts were futile. All its scurrying did not help it find an exit.

    Others stared in awe, but the ones who were able to trulyprehend what they were seeing felt chills instead.

    That was Creation-level maniption of star energy. Though Bai Mai appeared to be trapped inside a droplet of wine, it was experiencing something that was more like being in another world altogether. It was an utterly terrifying scene that seemed to disturb even Shang Qing.

    It was not that Liquor Hero¡¯s abilities surpassed Shang Qing¡¯s, but that her control of star energy was absolutely freakish. She was doing something that should not be possible for any youth, and Liquor Hero was guaranteed to far outstrip any other contestant¡¯s control of star energy, and that included Shang Qing.

    If Bai Mai were given more time, its ability to consume everything would surely allow it to break out of the drop of wine, but naturally, Liquor Hero did not give the carrion bug the time it needed. Through Liquor Hero¡¯s deliberate guidance, Bai Mai gradually descended Zenith Mountain, and eventually arrived at the foot of the mountain. By the time the drop of wine was fully consumed, the insect had already been defeated.

    Liquor Hero had not used force to defeat Bai Mai, but instead had simply led it onto the path of defeat. Bai Mai had be a puppet that Liquor Hero had controlled.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s expression turned cold. To think that such a method existed that countered Bai Mai. The bug had just been too unlucky, for if its opponent had not been Liquor Hero, but someone else, then it likely would not have suffered such an embarrassing loss. Even if had faced Shang Qing, Bai Mai would have had more opportunities to disy its power.

    s, bugs were bugs, and bugs were brainless.

    Liquor Hero was still in a drunken haze as she staggered towards the stairs.

    At this moment, the only pair still fighting to determine a victor was Unseen Light and Jin He.

    Unseen Light¡¯s attacks from his forcefield were weakened by Jin He¡¯s Truesight, and earlier in their fight, and Unseen Light¡¯s ck Coffin Secret Technique had also not managed to cause even the slightest bit of harm to Jin He.

    Jin He had unleashed his strongest attack that he had used to defeat Fan Shun while using Truesight to diminish the power of the ck Coffin until it reached the point it could simply be ignored.

    Secret techniques were created by Progenitors, and the ck Coffin hade from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Ancestor ck. It was an incredibly strong and deadly secret technique, and yet this formidable secret technique had been reduced to nothing by Truesight.

    There were ranks among Progenitors as well, and Ancestor ck had barely been considered a Progenitor level powerhouse from the Sixth Maind, and he might not even have been as powerful as the current three Progenitors. Truesight, however, was something that hade from the Rune Progenitor, who had been a truly terrifying powerhouse whom history had not dared record. His remnant spiritual force had been what had counter-attacked the Sixth Maind during their invasion, and had forced the Sixth Maind to recognize the terror that such a peerless legend had risen from the Fifth Maind.

    ording to what many knew, the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Chen had been allies, and Ancestor ck had died at the hands of Progenitor Chen.

    Once Truesight reached the Perception stage, it was able topletely disregard the ck Coffin Secret Technique, and also rendered all of Unseen Light¡¯s methods futile. On the other side, Jin He was still able to produce more weapons and power vessels to use to attack.

    Still, it was still extremely hard for Jin He to seize victory because Unseen Light¡¯s predictive abilities left Jin He unsure of where to focus his attacks. This was the reason why the two were still at a stalemate despite fighting for so long.

    One was up against the nigh-unbeatable Truesight, while the other did not know where to attack since the opponent could predict attacks.

    Jin He tried to close the distance between him and Unseen Light, but failed despite he greatest efforts.

    When fighting against Fan Shun, Jin He had exposed some of his strength, and even if the audience was not able to understand what he had done, Unseen Light knew better than to allow Jin He to get close no matter what.

    ¡°You¡¯re so cautious,¡± Jin Heined while keeping his eyes on Unseen Light. Jin He¡¯s long hair fell across his shoulders and flowed with the wind.

    Unseen Light had opened his eyes and his domain had enveloped all of Zenith Mountain. Above their heads, an enormous forcefield had taken the form of Unseen Light himself and was attacking Jin He with a move of Unseen Light¡¯s hand.

    Jin He frowned. ¡°That¡¯s pointless.¡±

    As he spoke, ripples appeared before him, and the attack from the forcefield was immediately weakened the moment it came in contact with the ripples.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain was useless against Jin He, but still Unseen Light did not give up. He continuedunching one attack after another with the intention of wearing Jin He out. Jin He had been injured during his earlier match with Fan Shun, and so a battle of endurance would not be to his advantage.

    Lu Yin and the rest stopped watching the ongoing battle, as they all already knew just how strong the two Arbiters were.

    Zhi Yi was the first person to reach the mountain peak. Arge statue stood tall in the distance. She looked up at it and wondered whose face would appear on this statue in the end.

    At that moment, Shang Qing appeared from another direction. He stood quietly in ce also stared at the statue. Despite his typical calm disposition, he was also eager to see the statue take his image.

    Before long, Yao Xuan, Lu Yin, and a few others slowly gathered at the peak. They all silently stood at the top of their stairs. At this moment, nine people had reached the top of Zenith Mountain.

    There was only one spot remaining. The moment the fight between Unseen Light and Jin He was decided would be the moment that the top ten of ZENITH would be finalized.

    There was no ce to hide at the top of the mountain, and the nine people at the peak could fight anyone they wished, unlike before. This also meant that the battle within the top ten could end up as either one-on-one fights, or an open battle.

    There was a whoosh as arge barrel of wine was thrown at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin caught it and Liquor Hero shot him a grin. ¡°Drink up.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°You¡¯re still drinking at a time like this? You¡¯re already in ZENITH¡¯s top ten!¡±

    Without giving any indication of caring, Liquor Hero simply tilted her head back and chugged down her wine.

    Yao Xuan gave a lightugh. ¡°Getting drunk isn¡¯t too bad; at least you won¡¯t be able to feel pain anymore.¡±

    Liquor Hero lowered her wine barrel and looked at Yao Xuan as she chuckled. ¡°Little bro, you know your stuff. What¡¯s up? Do you also have a past you can¡¯t let go of?¡±

    Yao Xuan furrowed his brows; this woman hadpletely misunderstood him. He had been referring to the pain that was felt after being punched by someone. Why did he always end up being misunderstood?

    Wu Taibai looked at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Brother Lu, what did the Thirteenth Sword feel like?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that that person wasn¡¯t able to borrow the power of the Thirteenth Sword,¡± Wu Taibai said regretfully.

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. ¡°You still might be able to experience it yourself.¡±

    Wu Taibai was caught by surprise. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Deaf-mute Bro, are you looking to take the champion¡¯s seat? I can help you,¡± Xiao Qing offered as she shed Lu Yin a radiant smile.

    Multiple people turned their heads when they heard what she had just said. Zhi Yi frowned and she coldly stared at Xiao Qing. ¡°No one will think you¡¯re a mute even if you keep your mouth shut.¡±

    Xiao Qing antagonized the other woman, ¡°Why? Is that something you¡¯re unhappy about? Looks like the Daosource Three Skies aren¡¯t that much after all.¡±

    Zhi Yi grew furious.

    Xiao Qing turned over towards Wu Taibai and said, ¡°Mr. Bai, I was not referring to you. I could never beat you.¡±

    Wu Taibai smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We Daosource Three Skies also fought our way up, and if we lose, we get pulled out.¡±

    Lu Yin approached Xia Jiuyou. ¡°How many clones have you merged?¡±

    Everyone who heard Lu Yin¡¯s question paid attention.

    Xia Jiuyou indifferently replied, ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Lu Yin pressed, ¡°Can¡¯t be that Xia Luo¡¯s the only one left, right?¡±

    Xia Jiuyou looked Lu Yin dead in the eye and said, ¡°You only shared a brief friendship when ssmates with Xia Luo. The true reason you¡¯re stopping me from merging with him is because you¡¯re afraid of the full power of the merged nine clones.¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s voice was heard from the distance, ¡°I would love for all nine clones to be merged as one so I could witness the invincible technique of ancient Progenitor Chen. But sadly, you fall far from Progenitor Chen¡¯s standards.¡±

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°I¡¯m still enough to deal with the likes of you.¡±

    ¡°Such confidence. It seems like the Nine Clones are really amazingly formidable. Why don¡¯t we just take this guy down first?¡± Xiao Qing smiled brilliantly.

    Xia Jiuyou red at her, barely resisting the urge to stab her. She was tantly sowing discord.

    Lu Yin was of the same mind. ¡°I agree. The Nine Clones Technique is a formidable battle technique created by Progenitor Chen. Who knows what type of special power nine clones generate after they¡¯re all merged into one. Don¡¯t let that guy steal the championship from use without us even realizing it.¡±

    ¡°Leave him to me,¡± Shang Qing said calmly.

    Xiao Qing pouted. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one we should target first!¡±

    Yao Xuan had been keeping his eyes on Lu Yin this entire time, as he had not forgotten Skymender¡¯s mission.

    Lu Yin had also been wary of Yao Xuan from the very beginning. The fellow had a troublesome character and would surely target Lu Yin.

    As the group chatted with each other, Unseen Light and Jin He¡¯s match finally ended.

    In the end, Jin He lost. The damage he had suffered from fighting Fan Shun had been considerable, so he was not able to defeat Unseen Light after their fight became an endurancepetition.

    Step by step, Unseen Light made his way up the stairs and arrived at the peak of the mountain. At this moment, the top ten of ZENITH had been decided, and they were: Unseen Light, Wang Yi, Zhi Yi, Liquor Hero, Shang Qing, Lu Yin, Yao Xuan, Xia Jiuyou, Wu Taibai, and Xiao Qing. Four of the individuals who had most famously been predicted to end up among the final ten had been defeated before reaching the final stage. They were Bu Kong, Yuhua Mavis, Bai Mai, and Qiu Shi.

    The predicted rankings were quite impressive since they had managed to urately predict six of the ten finalists.

    At this time, the Innerverse was particrly excited, because of the final ten in ZENITH, three were members of the Ten Arbiters. Two people from the Innerverse had managed to make it to the top ten, and also two of the Sixth Maind¡¯s legendary Daosource Three Skies had reached the final stage, while only one contestant from the Astral Beast Domain and one from the Technocracy hadsted to the end.

    When looking at the numbers, just as many people from the Innerverse had reached ZENITH¡¯s finals as from the Sixth Maind; how could the Innerverse not be thrilled?

    The Ten Arbiters essentially represented the Innerverse.

    If it were not for the earlier round of thepetition when four of the Ten Arbiters had been matched up against each other, there surely would have been more of the Ten Arbiters among the top ten.

 Chapter 1306: Lighting The Joss Stick

    <h4>Chapter 1306: Lighting The Joss Stick</h4>

    In the entire universe, across both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, countless people had their eyes focused on one broadcast. The various screens above the mountain had merged into one, and there was only one scene being shown. It was the peak of Zenith Mountain, the ce directly beneath the giant statue.

    At this moment, the za symbolized the most elite stage in the entire universe.

    This was a stage that not even the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Liu Tianmu and Ling Gong, or one of the Daosource Three Skies, had managed to step onto.

    Everyone was so nervous that they held their breaths. The top ten of ZENITH had been decided, so now, the Pinnacle Youth would be determined. Whose face would be branded on that statue?

    Ordinary people were simply nning to enjoy the exciting battles as they watched the ten finalists duke it out. However, the high rollers were biting their nails since the oue of this final round would determine their fate.

    The fact that Lu Yin had entered the top ten had already bankrupted an entire group of gamblers, and the same had happened when Bu Kong had been defeated. The gambling scene of ZENITH had already led to quite a number of murders outside of thepetition itself.

    The results of ZENITH were tied to many people¡¯s fates.

    Everyone expected the next round to be thepetition that determined ZENITH¡¯s final champion, and guesses were flying everywhere as to what form this round would take.

    However, against everyone¡¯s expectations, a joss stick suddenly appeared above the peak of the mountain, and at the same time, another one appeared behind the ten finalists. The joss sticks ignited and started giving off smoke.

    The audience was confused.

    ¡°Those who remain at the top of Zenith Mountain after the joss sticks have finished burning will be crowned the top ten.¡± A loud voice resonated throughout Zenith Mountain, the same voice that had been heard at the start of ZENITH. At this moment, people were hearing the voice for the second time.

    At that moment, no matter if they were at the foot of the mountain, at the bottom of the stairs, or on the first, second, or thirdyers, everyone understood what the voice meant: this was another chance for them to charge up to the mountain¡¯s peak and rece the ten who were already there.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He had already known that it would not be this simple to be one of the top ten. ZENITH¡¯s top ten would all receive some sort of fate-altering reward, and clearly, that reward would not be easily given. Without an extreme level of strength and luck, one would not be able to go against their fate. Thus, they should not even dream of grabbing hold of this opportunity without the ability.

    This simply meant that ZENITH¡¯s top ten would not be determined simply by slowly fighting to the peak of the mountain.

    ZENITH¡¯s top ten had to possess true power that separated them from all others. In earlier rounds of thepetition, luck had yed a factor as well. For example, if Bai Mai had not faced Liquor Hero, but rather someone else, then the top ten might have been different. ZENITH¡¯s top ten had to be invincible.

    The time that it took a joss stick to burn? That was neither too long nor too short an amount of time.

    If one looked down from the peak of the mountain, then all the people across the mountainside were aiming to rece those at the top, but the most dangerous opponents were those already at the peak. No one at the peak was forbidden from making a move against their peers on the mountaintop.

    The za at the top of the mountain wasrge, and each of the ten had taken their own section.

    All ten of them were able to see the excitement and anticipation in the eyes of those down below, but not all of them were targets of those further down the mountain. For instance, Shang Qing was someone who no one dared to challenge or even look at, and the same was true of Wang Yi, Yao Xuan, and Lu Yin.

    There were a few youths who had already shown that they possessed unfathomable power.

    Shang Qing was the most intimidating of all, as just the name ¡°Progenitor Chen" was enough to scare the crowd into silence.

    Lu Yin was the person who had shown the most exciting performance so far; both Yuhua Mavis and Liu Tianmu had been extremely strong opponents, but Lu Yin had still managed to defeat them. Surely no one still dared to challenge him after his string of impressive victories.

    Qiu Shi struck first. She had made no attempt to fight against Shang Qing when they had been paired up at the bottom of the staircase. Instead, she had been waiting for this moment. After all, she was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s top disciple; how could she just give up without a fight?

    Her target was Zhi Yi. Qiu Shi immediately attacked this member of the Daosource Three Skies.

    On the firstyer, Star Devourer opened his eyes and growled angrily at the sky before ferociously dashing up.

    Yuhua Mavis also looked up at the mountain peak. She had no intention of abandoning the opportunity that would be given to ZENITH¡¯s top ten. With this thought, she leaped up and charged up the mountainside. Her eyes were locked onto Wu Taibai. She had seen him do the same as Lu Yin and grab the Eleventh Sword. Watching him throw that attack to the side had piqued her interest.

    On the secondyer, Toolwielder began his dash towards the top as well. He felt indignant over his defeat at Wang Yi¡¯s hands.

    As for the thirdyer, Lan Si made his move, as well as White Silkworm.

    Not everyone had the courage to challenge the ten who had already reached the peak of the mountain, and only a handful were daring enough to do so.

    At the foot of the mountain, Bu Kong looked up to re at Xiao Qing. How dare that sly wench ambush him!

    Elsewhere at the bottom of the mountain, Bai Mai had finally finished consuming the drop of wine, and he started flying straight at the mountaintop with a buzzing noise.

    Qiu Shi was the first person to make a move against a participant on the mountain peak, and her target was Zhi Yi.

    No matter what former grudges might have existed in the past, at this moment, the entire universe was watching Zenith Mountain, and certain matters had already been made clear: Qiu Shi would choose either the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Yao Xuan or one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies as her target.

    Zhi Yi was not surprised that she had been targeted, though she was not certain why the three Progenitors would allow ZENITH to be held in this system that was clearly disadvantageous for the Sixth Maind. Regardless, there was nothing that she could do about it at the moment.

    As 932 stars emerged and revolved around Qiu Shi¡¯s body, they gradually surrounded the entire mountaintop. Not only Zhi Yi, but Lu Yin and Shang Qing were also within range of the stars.

    Zhi Yi did not hold anything back either. She released her Vitality Qi in a surge that swept across the peak of the mountain.

    As Vitality Qi and the Cosmic Art shed atop the mountain peak, the collision dragged in the others who had not been involved in the fight.

    Unseen Light, Xia Jiuyou, Xiao Qing, Liquor Hero, and Wu Taibai all retreated one after another.

    At that moment, Shang Qing raised a hand and sent out a stream of qi at Xia Jiuyou. Shang Qing had mentioned earlier that he wished to see the true power of the Nine Clones Secret Technique for himself, and he had meant it.

    Xia Jiuyou raised his de and unleashed a powerful sh that tore the qi stream apart. However, the stream of qi quickly reformed and continued on shooting towards Xia Jiuyou.

    Below them, Yuhua Mavis was still climbing up the mountain. When she got close enough, she cocked her right arm back and threw a powerful punch in Wu Taibai¡¯s direction, her attack causing the entire mountain to tremble.

    Wu Taibai instantly moved to evade the attack instead of taking it head-on.

    The shockwave of Yuhua Mavis'' punch brushed past Wu Taibai and continued on towards Qiu Shi and Zhi Yi, who were already caught up in a heated battle. Fearing Yuhua Mavis¡¯s power, both women quickly dodged the shockwave.

    A terrifying roar was ahead across all of Zenith Mountain. It was Star Devourer. Judging from his drastically smaller size, it was clear that his fight against Shang Qing had left behindsting damage. Combined with when Star Devourer had been struck by Bu Kong''s Time Reversal Technique, it seemed that Star Devourer hade to understand the disadvantages of a massive body.

    Star Devourer opened four of his eyes, and arge amount of power emerged before forming a tornado that raged towards Lu Yin. Apparently, Star Devourer had taken interest in Lu Yin long ago.

    Lu Yin frowned. After defeating strong powerhouses like Yuhua Mavis and Liu Tianmu, he had not expected anyone outside of the ten who had reached the mountaintop with him to have the courage to move against him.

    He was surprised by the power in Star Devourer¡¯s attack. As expected of the most physically powerful creature of the Astral Beast Domain, even Lu Yin felt that his strength paled inparison. The power that the beast wielded after opening four eyes was practically the same as what Lu Yin could use after unsealing all of his fatesand. However, the beast was still able to grow exponentially stronger by opening his fifth and sixth eyes.

    It wasmon sense to counter an opponent¡¯s shorings with one¡¯s strengths, which was how Shang Qing had easily defeated Star Devourer. He had not used power, but rather a terrifying technique that had summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone. The power of that de technique was enough to make a person¡¯s scalp go numb, as it represented the invincibility of Progenitor Chen.

    Lu Yin was aware of his own skills, and he knew that he did not have an invincible technique like Shang Qing¡¯s. However, Lu Yin also had no intention of trying to overpower Star Devourer. With Star Devourer¡¯s violent attacks approaching, Lu Yin chose to retreat.

    To engage in a contest of strength with an astral beast was nothing glorious, but losing would be absolutely embarrassing.

    Lu Yin managed to avoid the tornado formed from Star Devourer¡¯s power, and it raged into the distance, affecting almost half of the youths atop the mountain as it passed.

    Zhi Yi was furious. First, she had almost been struck by the shockwave from Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch, and now, this dumb beast was about to ruin things for her.

    Liquor Hero was caught up in the chaos as well. She sprinkled out some drops of wine, which absorbed the tornado that was passing by. The whole thing looked truly magical.

    With a loud bang, the mountaintop cracked open. Star Devourer opened his fifth eye and roared at the sky once again as he swung his enormous tail at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and instantly attacked Star Devourer¡¯s body with a Vacuum Palm. For creatures that were shaped like wolves, the abdomen was usually the softest part. Thus, one hit should send Star Devourer off of the mountain and below the stairs.

    Lu Yin felt a pair of cold eyes re at him from behind, causing him to immediately abandon all thoughts of attacking. He felt a de approaching him, and it was from Xia Jiuyou. Before Lu Yin could recover and take a defensive position, his vision had changed, and he was greeted with a sword attack from Zhi Yiposed of her Vitality Qi. Lu Yin cursed under his breath; he had swapped positions with Qiu Shi due to her Star Transference secret technique.

    Zhi Yi had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear, but it did not matter, as both Lu Yin and Qiu Shi were Zhi Yi¡¯s enemies. Actually, Lu Yin was an even better target for her.

    Upon seeing the approaching sword attack formed from Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, Lu Yin raised a hand. It was immediately shrouded with lines of nine lined battle force. Then, with a nking sound, he forcefully received the sword attack head-on with his arm, the impact cracking the ground beneath his feet. He then threw a Vacuum Palm at Zhi Yi with his right hand

    The Vacuum Palm struck the Sky Dipper barrier that covered her body, and the attack sent Zhi Yi flying off of the mountain. Her organs had been deeply stirred by the attack, and she was overwhelmed with shock. What a terrifyingly powerful attack!

    Not many people in all of ZENITH could disregard Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. Even though Zhi Yi had managed to protect her body with Sky Dipper, his Vacuum Palm still was not something that she was capable of simply enduring.

    When Qiu Shi swapped positions with Lu Yin, she appeared right where Lu Yin had been standing. She had timed it very carefully, making sure to use her secret technique right after Star Devourer was subdued by Lu Yin. At that moment, Qiu Shi had immediately swapped ces in order to take the upper hand in her fight while also getting revenge on Lu Yin for dragging her down back in the Mountains and Seas Zone¡¯s tablet world. A woman¡¯s vengeance was something that could fester for a long time.

    However, she had underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s bad reputation. Right after Star Devourer was defeated, Qiu Shi was attacked by Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force when she took Lu Yin¡¯s ce.

    Yao Xuan had fully intended to attack Lu Yin. However, he had not expected Qiu Shi to suddenly swap ces and take the spiritual force attack in Lu Yin¡¯s stead.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force could be acknowledged as the strongest in all of ZENITH, and although Qiu Shi did not exactly have weak defenses towards spiritual force, she still almost lost her footing from the attack that came out of nowhere, and her face went pale.

    Off in the distance, Yao Xuan felt slightly confused; what had happened to his target?

    Qiu Shi looked up to stare at Yao Xuan. The surrounding stars gathered to form the Celestial Sword, and she began to resolutely attack Yao Xuan.

    Yao Xuan thought that Qiu Shi was aiming her sword at him, and that was indeed what she was doing. However, the instance before the Celestial Sword struck, Qiu Shi once again used Star Transference to swap ces with Lu Yin. A moment ago, Lu Yin had sent Zhi Yi flying with a Vacuum Palm, and now, he had returned to his original position.

    He was extremely upset, as he felt like he was being manipted like a puppet.

    Speaking of which, that Star Transference secret technique was too convenient.

    The round had only just begun, but the intense battles that had erupted everywherepletely terrified the audience watching the livestream. Almost simultaneously, they saw the strongest physical attack, the strongest spiritual force, the Cosmic Art, Vitality Qi, secret techniques, and even more. Even if Enlighters from the older generations joined in this battle, they might not be able to hold their ground against these young monsters.

    Those who had chosen not to fight, such as Unseen Light or Xiao Qing, also scrambled to get out of the messes that they kept being dragged into.

    Beneath the statue, the faint image of a celestial demon appeared above the mountain peak and released a horrifying scream at Lu Yin. Yao Xuan was once again trying to attack Lu Yin, and the spiritual force attack covered all of Zenith Mountain.

    Lu Yin had seen Yao Xuan¡¯s attacks before, and he had always been on guard against the Celestial Demon¡¯s spiritual force attacks. The moment the image of the celestial demon appeared behind Yao Xuan, Lu Yin had already set up the Inception Array. This sourcebox array protected a person¡¯s spiritual force and kept it as sturdy as a boulder.

    When Yao Xuan had defeated Xin N¨¹ by using his Celestial Demon¡¯s Howl, not only had he crushed her, but the attack¡¯s peripheral effects had also injured arge number of other people. No one was capable of disregarding Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force.

    A ripple of waves instantly spread through the area. It was materialized spiritual force, and the sight of it stunned even Mu En and the other senior powerhouses. The Celestial Demons were truly terrifying.

    The battle atop the mountain instantly stopped. Qiu Shi¡¯s stars, Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi, and Yuhua Mavis¡¯ punch that had just been about to be thrown all froze in ce. Everyone was suffering from the effects of Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force eruption.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1307: Fairness?

    <h4>Chapter 1307: Fairness?</h4>

    This was the power of the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Crown Prince. Yao Xuan was capable of stopping everyone¡¯s attacks for a moment all by himself.

    However, Lu Yin had not been affected by Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force. His Inception Array along with his own strong spiritual force allowed Lu Yin topletely disregard Yao Xuan¡¯s Celestial Demon¡¯s Howl. In a sh, Lu Yin vanished and reappeared right in front of Yao Xuan. Under Yao Xuan¡¯s shocked gaze, Lu Yin stretched out a hand. He was not going to unleash his Vacuum Palm this time; Yao Xuan was a creature of pure spiritual force, so a Vacuum Palm would not have any effect on him. Instead, Lu Yin wanted to get closer to Yao Xuan¡¯s body and verify some thoughts that he had. Lu Yin did not believe that Yao Xuan was actually able to attack without a physical form.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand went straight through Yao Xuan¡¯s body, and the moment he made contact with the crown prince¡¯s body, even Lu Yin¡¯s Inception Array started quaking. Piercing his hand through Yao Xuan¡¯s body was no different from being attacked by a massive amount of spiritual force, and it nearly caused the Inception Array to crumble.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s pupils instantly constricted, and he stared at Lu Yin, who was no more than half a meter away, in surprise. How was it possible for a human to defend themselves from his spiritual force attack?

    Yao Xuan believed that he had already rated Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force quite highly, but it appeared that the Celestial Demon had still underestimated the human.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand went right through Yao Xuan, but it was of no use. Next, Lu Yin looked up and used Daynight Praise.

    An immeasurable amount of spiritual force assaulted Yao Xuan, causing his vision to change to the familiar sight of the Celestial Beast Empire. Yao Xuan saw all of the astral beasts respectfully kneeling before him in a limitless crowd. Somewhere far away, an incredibly enormous astral beast quietly slept; was that Progenitor Wushang?

    All of a sudden, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s eyes opened, and his ws struck down. It looked as though he wanted to tear Yao Xuan to shreds.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he said, ¡°I remember now. This is one of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques. To think you, Lu Yin, have managed to cultivate one of the Daynight n¡¯s techniques.¡±

    As he spoke, Yao Xuan¡¯s body vanished. Right after that, arge celestial demon appeared in the air and let out a prolonged howl that filled the sky. The vision of the Celestial Beast Empire, the countless massive beasts, and even the sight of Progenitor Wushang disappeared at this moment.

    Lu Yin retreated multiple steps back across the mountain peak, and his face went pale due to the failure of Daynight Praise. He had managed to drag Yao Xuan into an illusion, but the crown prince¡¯s spiritual force was simply far too strong, and he had eradicated Lu Yin¡¯s battle technique. In other words, Lu Yin had gained nothing from his attack at all.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had been at the same level as Yao Xuan¡¯s, then Daynight Praise would have been enough to severely injure the crown prince or maybe even finish him off.

    It was not that Daynight Praise wascking as a battle technique, but rather that Lu Yin¡¯s insufficient spiritual force had given Yao Xuan an opportunity to extricate himself from the technique.

    Yao Xuan had broken out of Daynight Praise, but it had not been easy for him either. He had used up arge amount of his own spiritual force.

    As the crown prince stared at Lu Yin, Yao Xuan¡¯s face betrayed his wariness. ¡°If you¡¯ve even managed to learn the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques, then you really are the most talented of all humans.¡±

    After speaking, he opened his mouth once more to unleash his Howl.

    Spiritual force rippled out in waves that spread through the area. Lu Yin continued to protect himself with the Inception Array, but the others were not so lucky.

    The most unfortunate person was Zhi Yi. She had ended up being dragged into everyone else¡¯s battles. Meanwhile, Qiu Shi quickly evaded the attack. Speed was meaningless against cultivators of the Cosmic Art; Qiu Shi had almost instantly evaded Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack.

    A countless number of people beyond the mountain were shocked senseless when they saw the chaotic battle that had broken out atop the mountain top. Any one of the attacks that had been unleashed was easily able to eliminate the powerhouses that many in the audience admired and held great hopes for.

    Anyone able to persevere through this chaotic brawl and secure their position among the top ten would have thoroughly convinced everyone watching ZENITH. Those few would be the true top ten.

    ZENITH was not an ivory tower, just like the battle for the Astral Tower. This was a ce where the future leaders of the universe would be decided, and the victors would be true powerhouses forged through blood and hellfire.

    Yao Xuan continued to stare at Lu Yin in confusion and shock; that man had once again blocked his spiritual force attack. He had never expected any one of his peers to be able to fend off his spiritual force, much less a human. Yao Xuan¡¯s beliefs had beenpletely overturned at this moment.

    Another unlucky person was Toolwielder. The moment he had reached the top of the mountain, he had immediately moved tounch an attack against Unseen Light. Toolwielder had been injured so badly by Wang Yi¡¯s attack that the Realmling had almost been forced to drop out of ZENITH. Still, no matter what it took, he still wanted another try at entering the top ten.

    However, Toolwielder had run into Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual attack right when he reached the peak. By coincidentally passing by behind Lu Yin, Toolwielder had essentially be a target for Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack, with the same focus as Lu Yin. Thus, Toolwielder had simply copsed.

    After Toolwielder passed out, a dark shadow enveloped the peak of the mountain. Star Devourer had appeared once again, and this time, all six of his eyes were open. His immense strength was so absurd that the surrounding space was warped, and countless spatial tears spread out into the void in all directions, affecting everyone nearby.

    Zhi Yi and Qiu Shi both moved to avoid Star Devourer¡¯s destructive power.

    The giant astral beast raised both of his front legs high, preparing to aggressively stomp at Lu Yin. Lu Yin was incredibly annoyed, and his eyes ckened as he unleashed Daynight Praise once again.

    The scenery changed before Star Devourer¡¯s eyes, and he suddenly saw one after another appear. Excited, he dashed towards them to devour them. However, thes ended up transforming into numerous Star Devourers that were farrger than him, and they all charged forward with bared fangs.

    This was the first time that Star Devourer had ever felt fear, but he had no time to fully reflect on this new emotion, because at that same moment, his body was being torn to pieces. His blood formed a river that flowed through outer space.

    Star Devourer let out a pained cry. The leg that had been just about to stomp down on Lu Yin did notnd, and the giant astral beast¡¯s body wobbled before copsing to the ground.

    Oh no, Yao Xuan thought to himself. He lifted a hand, and arge amount of spiritual force materialized in front of Lu Yin before immediately exploding. ¡°Force Explosion,¡± Yao Xuan muttered under his breath.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, but just as he was about to move away, he felt all of his strength suddenly leave his legs. His vision began to spin, and the Inception Array shattered. Lu Yin felt dizzy, and he almost lost his footing. Arge celestial demonappeared behind Yao Xuan once again, and it released its shrill Howl to resonate across the entire mountain peak.

    Lu Yin turned around with cold eyes. His body suddenly vanished as he used his Teleportation Formation. When he reappeared, he was next to Zhi Yi and Qiu Shi, where the Celestial Sword was shing with Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi.

    Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack rang across the mountain peak once more.

    In response, the Progenitor of Bloodline¡¯s imprint appeared behind Zhi Yi, and her Sky Dipper moved to block the spiritual force attack. Across from her, Qiu Shi disappeared and traded ces with Yao Xuan in order to escape from the Howl.

    Lu Yin¡¯s icy gaze scanned the bottom of the steps leading to the za at the top of the mountain. He had been about to evade Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force attack with the Ce Secret Technique, but his runes had weakened at the most crucial moment. Jin He had ambushed Lu Yin.

    Seeing Lu Yin looking at him, Jin He was all smiles, and he just mouthed two words. ¡°Take care.¡±

    Suffering a sneak attack in the middle of such a chaotic mess, not to mention one that had weakened him, had essentially forced Lu Yin into the abyss.

    Lu Yin had always wanted to find an opportunity to deal with Jin He. His one chance so far had slipped through his fingers in the Mountains and Seas Zone, but he intended to get rid of this problematic guy once and for all here.

    Yao Xuan had traded ces with Qiu Shi, and he had ended up being struck by his own spiritual force attack. However, that was not an issue for him. Rather, the fact that Qiu Shi had swapped positions with him had pissed him off.

    However, Yao Xuan still saw Lu Yin as his most important target. Lu Yin had been marked as a special target by Skymender himself, and all the astral beasts had a mission to eliminate Lu Yin. Even if Yao Xuan was the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, he had no desire to disobey Skymender¡¯s order.

    Suddenly, countless strands of hair stabbed through the void from the side. Tiny martial imprints were branded into each strand of hair as they shot across the mountaintop.

    Yao Xuan frowned, and he twisted to the side to avoid the attack. There were far too many strands of hair. Xiao Qing hadunched this attack at Starsibyl. However, Starsibyl¡¯s divination had allowed her to evade the entire attack before it had even beenunched. Thus, the hair strands had missed their target, instead raining down upon the other contestants.

    When Lu Yin saw Yao Xuan avoid the strands of Xiao Qing¡¯s hair, an idea sprouted in his mind. Logically speaking, since Yao Xuan was an embodiment of spiritual force, he should have been able to remain in ce and allow the hair to pass through him. So why had he deliberately avoided them?

    If Yao Xuan had only moved aside once, then it could have been attributed to instinct, but seeing him repeatedly dodge meant something else entirely.

    Bu Kong had finally arrived at the top of the mountain, and he red straight at Xiao Qing with bloodshot eyes. Xiao Qing simply shrugged and told Starsibyl, ¡°Someone tougher¡¯s shown up, so you should go and find another opponent.¡±

    Starsibyl also saw Bu Kong, and apprehension shed across her eyes.

    The moment he arrived, Bu Kong summoned the imprint of the Progenitor of Secret Arts and raised a hand to use the Time Reversal Technique. A horrifying aura filled the entire area, even causing the fierce collisions between Vitality Qi and the Cosmic Sect¡¯s various techniques to destabilize.

    No one had expected such an intense fight to break out atop the mountain.

    Star Devourer once more reached the top, which caused Lu Yin to arch a brow. Surprisingly, the creature was still able to move after being struck by Daynight Praise. It was no wonder why the beast was a unique lifeform; he was incredibly resilient.

    Having learnt his lesson, Star Devourer had be far more cautious of Lu Yin, and unlike his usual silence, he spoke to Lu Yin. ¡°Human, fight me with your strength!¡±

    Just as Lu Yin was about to respond, a towering tree appeared some distance away. Its shadow enveloped the entire mountaintop, and it even sheltered the massive statue. But the next moment, the tree disappeared, and an emblem of green leaves appeared on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s forehead. This was the Mavis family¡¯s battle technique: Infinite Power.

    With a pang, Yuhua Mavis punched at Wu Taibai, acting particrly aggressively.

    Wu Taibai had activated his secret technique the moment Yuhua Mavis threw her punch out. An incrediblyrge power crashed down upon Wu Taibai¡¯s Mountains and Rivers Imprint, creatingrge waves of clouds that rolled out in all four directions. The impact between the two attacks was about to explode across the mountain¡¯s peak, and the effects would even spread outside of Zenith Mountain.

    The variouss surrounding Zenith Mountain started to turn unstable, and some of the spacecraft even directly disintegrated.

    At the bottom of Zenith Mountain, the surge of power formed a falling wave that caused everyone beneath the Explorer realm to instantly cough up blood.

    If Yuhua Mavis and Lu Yin had fought with pure physical strength, then Wu Taibai fought with his battle techniques. Infinite Power was a battle technique that constantly sucked in star energy and ravaged the area around the user without restraint. It dragged everyone else who had been in the middle of their own battles atop the mountain into its effect.

    Lu Yin waved his right hand through the air. He was very familiar with this particr power, but unfortunately, it was weaker than his own. Compared to Star Devourer, the strength of this technique was actually an entire level weaker.

    Star Devourer¡¯s body size had shrunk even more, and he was now no more than a few meters tall. He was still aggressive as ever, and he charged towards Lu Yin with all six eyes open. The sky and the ground both trembled as a surge of energy came from Infinite Power. Star Devourer¡¯s matchless strength was indeed superior to Yuhua Mavis¡¯s.

    However, Lu Yin did not n on fighting against Star Devourer with just strength. Although Star Devourer was very fast, his speed was not so overwhelming that Lu Yin could not dodge.

    After Lu Yin easily evaded Star Devourer¡¯s attack, Howl swept over the entire mountaintop once again.

    This howl echoed across Zenith Mountain, forcing arge number of people to cover their ears as they groaned from the pain. The spiritual force attack even diffused out of the mountain itself and into outer space.

    Enlighters from everywhere appeared to block the attack.

    However, when an elder with a power level of 400,000 spat out blood after being struck by the spiritual force attack, the other Enlighters all went pale.

    This was just a fierce battle among youths, but would an Envoy actually have to step up to take the coteral damage from their attacks?

    Yao Xuan, Yuhua Mavis, Star Devourer, Wu Taibai, and Lu Yin were all powerhouses who possessed the power to affect participants on other parts of the mountain, and they were the ones who had truly stirred up ZENITH.

    Jin He no longer had any time to try tounch sneak attacks against Lu Yin, as God Taiyi was busily hunting Jin He down. God¡¯s Origin had sworn to eliminate all traitors.

    Unseen Light had also made a move, and he was targeting Zhi Yi. The animosity between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds ran deep. Thus, all the Fifth Maind cultivators like Unseen Light were looking to eliminate all of the Sixth Maind cultivators from ZENITH.

    In the Upper Realm, in the western region of Chaos Flowzone, countless people from the Sixth Maind expressed their rage.

    ¡°They¡¯re actually ganging up on us! Those people from the Fifth Maind are truly shameless! They don¡¯t dare to take on our Daosource Three Skies in a one-on-one.¡±

    ¡°What would the three Progenitors think of this? We ask the Three Progenitors to step forward and keep the Fifth Maind in check.¡±

    ¡°We ask the Three Progenitors to keep the Fifth Maind in check.¡±

    ¡­

    Zhi Yi was not the only one being besieged. People had also ganged up on Lu Yin and Xiao Qing, who was facing a joint attack from Starsibyl and Bu Kong. Xiao Qing was in imminent danger, and were it not for Starsibyl taking Bu Kong¡¯s grudge against Xiao Qing into consideration, then Xiao Qing would have been eliminated right then and there.

    In the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen scoffed with aplicated expression. ¡°A joint attack is unfair? Howughable! Being ganged up on ismonce in this sort ofpetition. Only those who possess the ability to break out of such a siege qualifies to fight for Destiny. Otherwise, they¡¯ll only face a tragic end.¡±

    This was a logic that many did not understand; only those like Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, and the Three Progenitors would.

 Chapter 1308: Channeling Diagram

    <h4>Chapter 1308: Channeling Diagram</h4>

    Cultivation was not a game. It was fighting against heaven for one¡¯s life, and there was no such thing as fairness.

    The brawl at the top of the mountain at the end of ZENITH was truly the essence of the entire event. Only by standing out during this chaotic battle could anyone truly qualify to seize the opportunity being offered to them. This was an opportunity to possibly be a Progenitor, and even the three Progenitors coveted such a chance.

    Star Devourer rushed over, but Lu Yin just avoided the beast again. Infuriated, Star Devourer turned his head and continued to charge Lu Yin. Meanwhile, Yao Xuan stared at Lu Yin andunched another Pitch Whistle spiritual force attack. He could not believe that Lu Yin''s spiritual force had managed tost this long.

    Lu Yin constantly recited the Stonewall Scriptures as he tried to find a way to defeat Yao Xuan. It was impossible to attack the crown prince with spiritual force, as his body was made up of pure spiritual force. It would be very difficult to win in that manner. Lu Yin needed to find a way to leverage his physical strength, but Yao Xuan could nearlypare to Yuhua Mavis in terms of strength, which made things even more difficult

    Out of everyone in ZENITH, in Lu Yin''s opinion, the most difficult opponents of all were Shang Qing, Wu Taibai, Yuhua Mavis, Qiu Shi, Yao Xuan, and possibly Wang Yi.

    The Celestial Demon¡¯s very body was made of spiritual force, which made him incredibly difficult to defeat.

    Yao Xuan was also feeling helpless at this moment. Although he still had plenty of energy, he could notunch infinite attacks. He did not know how long Lu Yin couldst for, but after Lu Yin was defeated, it would be quite difficult for him to deal with all the others.

    If they were at war, then Lu Yin would definitely deal with other people first, such as Zhi Yi and Wu Taibai. However, ZENITH was apetition, and Yao Xuan was a huge obstacle to him taking the championship.

    Roar!

    Star Devourer let out a roar as he crashed into Lu Yin again. But this merely annoyed Lu Yin. He lifted a hand and released a Vacuum Palm that was reinforced with nine lined battle force.

    All six of Star Devourer¡¯s eyes snapped wide open as he attacked.

    With a bang, the mountaintop cracked, a terrible force tore through the void, and it rippled past Zenith Mountain. It visibly split space in half in the surrounding area.

    At the top of the mountain, Bu Kong and the others were sted back by the power.

    Unseen Light, Liquor Hero, Zhi Yi, Qiu Shi, and the others all pulled back. Under the suppression of this power, they all felt breathless.

    Wang Yi stared at Lu Yin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

    The top of Zenith Mountain looked like it was trembling, and Lu Yin set a hand upon Star Devourer''s forehead. One human and one astral beast sank deep into the ground, constantly releasing their physical strength.

    Star Devourer grew excited. "Human, you¡¯re really impressive."

    Even as he spoke, his power continued to rise.

    Lu Yin''s expression froze, and his pupils transformed into runes as he erased a portion of Star Devourer''s runes. This confused Star Devourer, but he just increased his strength once more. At the same time, Yao Xuan''s spiritual force incessantly attacked Lu Yin, preventing Lu Yin from using Daynight Praises to deal with Star Devourer. Yao Xuan simply wanted to have Star Devourer fight Lu Yin to the death.

    Lu Yin was tenacious, had an amazing domain, and also wielded overwhelming physical power. When his sourcebox array and secret techniques were also thrown into the mix, even Yao Xuan found Lu Yin to be an exceptionally difficult opponent. Thus, he intended to cooperate with Star Devourer to take Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin moved his right foot, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath him as he tried to move himself with the Ce secret art.

    However, Lu Yin had not noticed Xia Jiuyou approaching him. "Xia Secret Art: Nullify."

    The Xia family''s secret technique was able to dissolve all secret techniques, and it was extremely oppressive. During the battle in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Xia Jiuyou had used this secret technique to deal with Lei Nu''s Discipline, and at this moment, he had stopped Lu Yin''s secret technique .

    Lu Yin had many enemies, and at the top of Zenith Mountain, those who hoped for Lu Yin¡¯s death were not only Yao Xuan, Zhi Yi, and the others that hated the Human Domain. There was also Xia Jiuyou. Only by eliminating Lu Yin would Xia Jiuyou find it easier to merge with Xia Luo.

    Xia Jiuyou felt no hatred for Lu Yin; he was merely a ruthless person who intended to eradicate all obstacles in his path.

    The perfect timing of the Xia family''s secret technique shocked Lu Yin. His Ce family secret technique disappeared, and he was unable to evade the attack as he had nned. A hand shot through the air and mmed into Lu Yin''s chest.

    Everything had happened in an instant, and there was no time for Lu Yin to even try to raise his own strength, and neither did he have a chance to use the Teleportation Formation, as he could not arrange it fast enough.

    All six of Star Devourer¡¯s eyes were red, and even a domain could not stop the beast.

    The countless people in the Great Eastern Alliance who were watching the broadcast grew nervous.

    All of the people on Earth prayed.

    Outside of Zenith Mountain, the senior powerhouses emerged one by one, all of them focused on the disy above the mountain.

    In the Cosmic Sea, Highsage Leon roared, "Xia family!"

    In the Neoverse, in an Azure Mansion, Ming Yan''s face went pale.

    In Aeternus Nation, the Ghost Monkey¡¯s mouth fell open. Seventh Bro.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin¡¯s domain was only able to dy Star Devourer for a moment, but during that moment, a thought shed through Lu Yin''s mind. Star energy emanated from his body, and it quickly moved to form a sourcebox array: the Channeling Diagram.

    The Channeling Diagram used sourceboxes as nodes to set up a world of star energy. The stronger the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone, therger the array would be. Additionally, the one who set up the array would be the master of the world that they had created, and they would be able to see through every single movement of star energy within this world.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the Channeling Diagram had been given to him by Astral-10¡¯s Trialmaster to help him during his time as a gatekeeper. However, when Lu Yin had instinctively used his domain to resist Star Devourer¡¯s attack, Lu Yin had noticed that the external force hadpressed his domain to the point of shattering. Since the Channeling Diagram was able to set up a world where Lu Yin was able to freely manipte his star energy, then why wouldn¡¯t he be able to simrly manipte an opponent¡¯s power?

    Star Devouver''s six eyes were all red. With just a bit more, he would finally kill this human. Star Devourer was not very intelligent, but he did ce Skymender¡¯s orders as high priorities. Thus, all six eyes were staring hard at Lu Yin¡¯s right arm¡ªStar Devourer had to capture Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast.

    Suddenly, Star Devourer felt like something was very wrong; his strength was growing stronger and stronger, but Lu Yin''s expression was quickly returning to normal.

    The Channeling Diagram appeared around Lu Yin, and star energy formed channels that continuously dispersed Star Devourer¡¯s strength. First there was one channel, then a hundred, and then a thousand as the numbers of channels kept climbing.

    The channels of star energy redirected the force of the iing attack, turning into countless channels of energy streams that flew out in all directions, guided by the star energy under Lu Yin¡¯s control.

    From a distance, the power of Star Devourer¡¯s attack was being scattered into countless channels in front of Lu Yin before disappearing.

    The channels suddenly pierced through Yao Xuan, startling him.

    Additionally, a channel shot towards Zhi Yi, pushing her back along with her Sky Dipper.

    A channel also shot towards Qiu Shi, and she raised a hand in response. Her Celestial Sword fell down and tore through the channel, but that released a massive force that forced her several steps back.

    A channel also shot towards Yuhua Mavis, and she raised her hand to directly confront the channel. Upon contact, her hand flinched, and visible ripples of power spread out. Yuhua Mavis was surprised; what was this power?

    Xiao Qing, Wu Taibai, Bu Kong, Shang Qing, Xia Jiuyou, and everyone else¡ªeveryone was being attacked by the power being redirected by Lu Yin¡¯s Channeling Diagram. This was not his original intention, as he had just wanted to deal with Star Devourer¡¯s attack, and Lu Yin had not even thought about who might end up being affected.

    The people at the top of the mountain were still alright, but a dozen channels also fell down to the firstyer, where Ku Wei screamed, "RUN!¡±

    Xi Qi''s face went pale, and the fish on top of her head kept pping its fins. "Swim away! Swim away!"

    The Little Leaf King raised a hand and caused the star energy to transform into leaves. The surface of the channel approaching him transformed into green leaves, but the power of Star Devourer contained within it still mmed into the Little Leaf King and smashed him down the mountain in a miserable manner.

    Jin He, God Taiyi, Nightqueen Yanqing, Hui Santong, and many more suffered from being struck by the channels.

    On the second and thirdyers, the same scene yed out. Dozens of channels had even reached the foot of Zenith Mountain.

    A Star Devourer truly did have infinite strength. Even as time passed, countless channels continued to spread out as Lu Yin ceaselessly diverted the power of the astral beast¡¯s attack in every direction.

    At this moment, Lu Yin understood the true power of the Channeling Diagram. No sourcebox array was simple. Lu Yin was very curious about the Trialmaster¡¯s strength. Lu Yin only had a basic understanding of this array, and yet he was able to divert Star Devourer¡¯s limitless strength. Thus, what was the Trialmaster capable of doing?

    A figure appeared in the distance and raised a hand before a palm shot forward. It was a Vacuum Palm. Lan Si had arrived.

    Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm hit Star Devourer''s abdomen, and the attack moved the beast back tens of meters.

    Seizing this opportunity, Lu Yin dissolved the rest of Star Devourer¡¯s attack.

    After that, Lu Yin turned and stared straight at Xia Jiuyou. Lu Yin¡¯s hand moved, and Xia Jiuyou''s pupils instantly shrank. He fled even as a knife appeared in front of his body. There was a ringing sound as Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm broke the knife, sted Xia Jiuyou hundreds of meters back, and forced a mouthful of blood out of him as he flew away.

    Not everyone had Star Devourer¡¯s physical strength, and Xia Jiuyou did not have nearly enough physical power to receive one of Lu Yin¡¯s full-powered Vacuum Palms. In fact, it was already amazing that Xia Jiuyou had managed to endure it at all.

    Star Devourer roared and turned to look at Lan Si. The beast raised his right paw and smashed it down. A hurricane-like force roared out and struck Lan Si.

    The Arbiter raised a hand and released a series of Vacuum Palms in response, which dissolved Star Devourer¡¯s attack.

    Lan Si had lost to Yuhua Mavis, and it had looked like a miserable defeat. However, it was really a matter of who Lan Si waspared to. When it came tobat strength, although Lan Si had fallen far behind Lu Yin and Unseen Light, Lan Si was still a top powerhouse. Thus, he was capable of challenging Star Devourer, though it was indeed impossible for the Arbiter to actually win.

    He was Lan Si, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Divine Fist. He was not some nobody.

    Buzz!

    The fingernail-sized Bai Mai mmed into Lu Yin at this moment. It was the smallestpetitor in ZENITH, and it was impossible for ordinary people to even see it.

    However, Lu Yin had been paying attention to the bug all along. When Bai Mai had made its move, its massive number of rune lines had been as dazzling as a torch in the night to Lu Yin.

    As Bai Mai approached, Lu Yin pped a hand through the air, sending Bai Mai flying.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s attack was useless. Although the force of his Vacuum Palm could send Bai Mai flying, it could not harm the bug.

    Buzz!

    The sound approached him once again.

    Yao Xuan''s eyes narrowed. Bai Mai was a carrion bug, and it was truly frustrating to be targeted by such a creature.

    Lu Yin also realized that this type of bug was very difficult to fight against, as even his Vacuum Palm was ineffective. What the hell? It was no wonder why this creature was able to parasitize even Progenitors.

    But fortunately, even carrion bugs had a nemesis.

    Lu Yin looked over at Liquor Hero. "Do me a favor and take care of this bug."

    Liquor Hero''s face was red, as she was drunk. However, after hearing Lu Yin''s request, she raised a hand and threw out a droplet of wine at Bai Mai.

    Yao Xuan''s expression changed. Bai Mai could not be destroyed, and it was very difficult to defeat him, but Liquor Hero could easily trap Bai Mai with her Creation realm star energy control. She was the only one who perfectly countered Bai Mai out of everyone. She was Bai Mai¡¯s only nemesis among the people present.

    This turn of events prompted Yao Xuan to immediately bombard Liquor Hero with a spiritual force attack, but Lu Yin appeared in front of her with the Ce Secret Art. He stared at Yao Xuan intently. Neither of them could focus on striving for the championship at this time, so they both focused on taking the other down.

    Daynight Praises.

    In a starry sky, countless astral beasts knelt down in front of Yao Xuan, and he became the lord of the Celestial Beast Empire. Off in the distance, massive beasts that stretched across the entire sky could be seen.

    "So you still want to use the Daynight n¡¯s illusions to try to deal with me." Yao Xuan sneered as he watched a massive beast before him raised a paw and smashed it down. The crown prince responded by opening his mouth and letting out a violent howl.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1309: Lu Yin VS. Wang Yi

    <h4>Chapter 1309: Lu Yin VS. Wang Yi</h4>

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin and Yao Xuan stood across from each other. Both of them had started fighting with their spiritual force.

    When Yao Xuan made his move, Lu Yin¡¯s Inception Array appeared, and he also started reciting all of the Stonewall Scriptures within his mind. As he did so, the scriptures seemed to appear behind him like an illusion, as if it were something from beyond the sky. What¡¯s more, it prevented Yao Xuan from breaking through Lu Yin¡¯s Daynight Praises.

    The giant beast within the illusion smacked Yao Xuan towards a with a paw. The crown prince was smashed through the center of the and into outer space on the other side.

    Yao Xuan was horrified; how was this possible? He had clearly broken free from this technique just a few moments ago.

    His eyes red, and his body disappeared as he took the illusory form of a huge celestial demon. He then opened his mouth and emitted a terrifying sound that destroyed the countless astral beasts before him. At this moment, Progenitor Wushang was Yao Xuan¡¯s enemy.

    Progenitor Wushang¡¯s paw fell down once again, the Stonewall Scriptures still filling the area.

    Yao Xuan was sent flying once again, and his injuries grew even worse.

    Atop Zenith Mountain, Yao Xuan¡¯s face went pale, and his body grew unstable. He almost copsed while his entire body became somewhat transparent.

    Inside of his transparent body, one could see a very small celestial demon. It was around asrge as a dust mote, and it was quietly curled up in an out of the way location. It was very cute with its pocket-sized body. But at this moment, a trace of blood had appeared at the corner of the celestial demon¡¯s mouth.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, a rumbling sound spread out from atop the white skeleton. ¡°The prince had been injured! How can that be? That human is actually able to injure the crown prince with his spirit force!¡±

    ¡°That human has already defeated Tian Hou, and he has produced many miracles.¡±

    ¡°He must be eliminated. Otherwise, he will be a great enemy for our Celestial Beast Empire.¡±

    ¡­

    There was a bang as a shockwave shook the entire mountain top. Lu Yin and Yao Xuan simultaneously moved back, and as Yao Xuan retreated several meters, his body became more and more transparent, and his face grew ever more pale.

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, pulled more than ten meters back. His mind had gone fuzzy, and blood was oozing from his ears.

    The shockwave swept across the entire mountaintop, and everyone shook their heads. All the battles had momentarily paused, as everyone had been affected by the powerful sh of spiritual force attacks.

    This reckless confrontation had injured both Lu Yin and Yao Xuan, but the Celestial Demon had ultimatelye out on top. Both his techniques and power regarding spiritual force were superior to Lu Yin¡¯s, leaving Lu Yin unable to measure up.

    ¡°You want to defeat me, but that¡¯s impossible. Let¡¯s see how you block this next attack,¡± Yao Xuan sneered as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Spiritual force isn¡¯t the only thing that can block your attacks, so go for it.¡±

    Yao Xuan was stunned, and he was uncertain if Lu Yin was speaking the truth or merely bluffing. Yao Xuan still remembered the voices that he had heard while within the illusion, and those voices had scared him to his soul.

    All of the other battles had been disrupted by Lu Yin and Yao Xuan¡¯s fight. Then, Wang Yi, who had not made a single move so far, suddenly shot forward and pierced through Yao Xuan¡¯s body. Despite being made from materialized spiritual force, Yao Xuan still coughed up blood that spilled onto the ground.

    He had been severely injured by Wang Yi¡¯s attack, and his body had actually been torn open. However, Wang Yi¡¯s target had not been Yao Xuan, but rather Lu Yin.

    Nearly a month had passed since the start of ZENITH, and during that entire time, Wang Yi had barely spoken a single word. No matter who he fought, he had beenpletely indifferent and ignored everything. Many of his opponents had not been unknown people, like Toolwielder, Yao Gu, and Wen Sansi. They were all famous throughout the universe, but they had all been defeated by Wang Yi. This was the first time that he had taken the initiative to attack, and it was also the first time that he looked excited.

    The moment Wang Yi moved, the entire universe shifted their attention to him. He was the most mysterious existence in all of ZENITH. The Technocracy itself was synonymous with mystery, and Wang Yi¡¯s strength made him even more riveting.

    He had never been the first to attack, but when he finally did so, Yao Xuan had been instantly injured.

    When Wang Yi moved, an unprecedented sense of danger filled Lu Yin¡¯s mind. His scalp went numb. Without thinking, his nine lined battle force immediately covered his body, his pupils transformed into runes, and 726 revolving stars suddenly appeared around him. All the while, he quickly moved back.

    The facts proved that Lu Yin had made the right decision, as Wang Yi directly appeared in front of Lu Yin the next moment. The stars revolved around Lu Yin, making everything visible, but even then, Lu Yin was still only able to see a blur. Only with both the Cosmic Art and Truesight was he barely able to avoid the attack. Then, Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose up to release a Vacuum Palm.

    Wang Yi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Interesting, Bear Stalwart.¡±

    Boom!

    Two palms collided. The air churned, and the sky above Zenith Mountain shattered. This shockwave was no weaker than the one resulting from Lu Yin¡¯s sh with Star Devourer.

    Lu Yin was shocked; this person was actually able to block his full powered Vacuum Palm!?

    The corners of Wang Yi¡¯s mouth curved up. ¡°When ites to strength, you are not the strongest human.¡±

    After that, he turned his body to the side and bent his right arm before letting out a low growl. ¡°Four Arts: Bear Stalwart.¡±

    There was a bang as another explosion rang out, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. His pupils flickered as he hurriedly weakened the runes of Wang Yi¡¯s attack. This was an upgraded Vacuum Palm.

    An even stronger shockwave swept out, epassing the entire mountaintop. It was much stronger than before.

    An iparable suppression fell upon the peak of the mountain. Everyone looked up, and many people¡¯s mouths fell open. The sky had shattered¡ªthisst collision had shattered the entire sky.

    Nearby, Star Devourer was getting excited. This was the kind of battle that he dreamed of¡ªpure strength.

    On the other side, Yuhua Mavis¡¯ pupils shrank; how was there actually another human who had the physical strength to match Lu Yin¡¯s? This person was surnamed Wang?

    Across from Yuhua Mavis, Wu Taibai gave Wang Yi a strange look. As expected, Wang Yi had used the Four Arts. He was from the Wang family.

    Wang Yi smiled. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good, so don¡¯t die.¡±

    He then raised his left hand. His five fingers made a strange gesture that resulted in many vague marks reminiscent of a spider web covering Lu Yin. ¡°Four Arts: Pearl.¡±

    In an instant, all of Lu Yin¡¯s strength disappeared. His scalp went numb; his power was gone? But before he could form another thought, his body was mmed into the ground by Wang Yi¡¯s right hand while Lu Yin released his star energy to form a Channeling Diagram.

    Countless channels appeared and shattered the ground before scattering off in all directions, looking like a series of exploding fireworks. The channels fell down from the top of Zenith Mountain, and many contestants hurriedly avoided them, terrified.

    Lu Yin had assumed that, afterprehending the Channeling Diagram, all physical power would be practically useless against him, but he had been wrong. The reason why his Channeling Diagram could divert Star Devourer¡¯s power was because Lu Yin had a nearly equal amount of strength, which allowed him to endure. But this time, his strength had mysteriously vanished all at once, and although his Channeling Diagram had appeared, it only managed tost for an instant before being overwhelmed by Wang Yi¡¯s incredible power.

    Wang Yi pressed a palm against Lu Yin¡¯s chest. ¡°All done? Let¡¯s go again.¡±

    The loss of strength had momentarily disoriented Lu Yin, but he had more than just physical strength at his disposal. For example, there was Daynight Praises.

    Wang Yi was dragged into an unavoidable illusion, but just a momentter, he freed himself. Still, that moment was enough for Lu Yin to escape with the Ce secret technique, allowing him to move thousands of meters away.

    Wang Yi slowly stood back up and nced at his right hand before looking back over at Lu Yin. He then dered, ¡°You really are worth beating.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. With his current strength, he was confident that he could even challenge the ancient Progenitors with the same cultivation realm as him, which was why he was willing to go up against Shang Qing. Despite that, Wang Yi had repeatedly overpowered Lu Yin in just a few brief moments. Wang Yi had unimaginable speed and strength, and he also had some sort of ability that could banish all of Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength¡ªthat unexinable ability was not something that Lu Yin could cope with.

    Lu Yin¡¯s instincts had been right; Wang Yi really was one of the most powerful participants in ZENITH, and he was definitely far more dangerous than Yao Xuan.

    When his strength returned, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He had been afraid that it would take a long time for his strength to return, which would force him into a passive stance against Wang Yi.

    The two had only fought for a moment, but that exchange had already shocked everyone, including the top powerhouses like Yuhua Mavis and Shang Qing.

    They were both aware of Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but they had just watched Lu Yin bepletely suppressed by Wang Yi. The terror of this mysterious person was only being revealed at this moment. More importantly, Wang Yi had also just pierced through Yao Xuan¡¯s body and severely injured the Celestial Demon.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious. How did you cultivate to this level in this universe?¡± Wang Yi asked as he stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This universe? ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    Wang Yi did not borate. ¡°Be careful. I¡¯m about to attack again.¡±

    After that, his body suddenly disappeared. This was not because he had shifted into the void, but rather because his speed was too fast. This was a pure speed that was even faster than a spacecraft.

    The feeling from before returned. An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved away. This time, he did not even try to get a clear look of Wang Yi¡¯s movements. Last time, he had barely been able to see a blur, and that had been with both the Cosmic Art and Truesight.

    Lu Yin was already very fast, but he had never tried to use the Ce Secret Art so quickly before. He pushed himself to move even faster than when he had fought against Y¨­u Qi and his Eleventh Sword. Despite Lu Yin¡¯s speed, he was still caught by Wang Yi¡¯s right hand. Lu Yin¡¯s body appeared a hundred meters away in an empty section of the za. Right after that, the space beyond Zenith Mountain that was in front of Wang Yi¡¯s attack suddenly split open, and the spatial tear swallowed many spaceships.

    Several Enlighters fled in terror, but even they failed to escape.

    Wang Yi¡¯s attack had reaped many lives.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Star Devourer was unlucky enough to have been struck by the attack. His body was halfway bisected, and his blood painted the mountaintop.

    A bloody aura spread out as everyone else suddenly stopped fighting and turned around to look at Wang Yi in amazement.

    Wang Yi let out a breath. He looked at Lu Yin, and the corners of his mouth curved up as a hint of bloodlust entered his eyes.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate at all and immediately retaliated with a Vacuum Palm.

    Wang Yi¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and the Vacuum Palm swept past his body before releasing its power against Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s attack had missed.

    Vacuum Palm was known to be an invisible attack, and even a top expert like Xia Jiuyou would struggle to detect it, making it nearly impossible to evade. Despite that, Wang Yi had easily dodged it. Then, he reappeared right in front of Lu Yin. ¡°Four Arts: Celestial de.¡±

    After he spoke, his entire body twisted in an unnatural manner, and his attack suddenly shifted. For no reason, he suddenly attacked in the direction of Zhi Yi and Qiu Shi.

    Zhi Yi¡¯s Sky Dipper was instantly torn through, and her body was cut in half. Qiu Shi was also not in a good shape. She had instinctively used Star Transference to swap ces with Wen Sansi, but Wang Yi¡¯s Celestial de had still opened up a huge, bloody, hole in her abdomen. Wen Sansi was even unluckier, as he had suddenly appeared right in front of the de. But fortunately for him, in order to resist the attack that Lu Yin had diverted with his Channeling Diagram, Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier had already been up.

    Although Wang Yi¡¯s Celestial de sliced through the barrier, it was still stalled for a moment, allowing Wen Sansi to dodge aside.

    The Celestial de also sliced through the sky above Zenith Mountain, and just like before, the space above the mountain was shattered.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, many of the spacecraft pulled back, no longer daring to be as close to the mountain as before. They felt that the battle there had made the surrounding area incredibly dangerous.

    Everyone remained silent. Every time Wang Yi made a move, he seemed to be able to stun everyone speechless.

    With a simple wave of his hand, he had split Zhi Yi in two, severely wounded Qiu Shi, and shattered Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier. Wang Yi¡¯s attack power was far beyond what most people could evenprehend.

    Countless people were shocked; just how much of a freak was this person? Was he really a youth?

 Chapter 1310: The Invincible Progenitor Chen

    <h4>Chapter 1310: The Invincible Progenitor Chen</h4>

    Wang Yi''s matchless attacks shocked everyone, but he had also been struck by Lu Yin¡¯s counter, which had sted him a thousand meters away. As he slowed down, there was a clear palmprint on his abdomen¡ªhe had been struck by a Vacuum Palm.

    Wang Yi''s face remained calm as he looked at Lu Yin. "A sourcebox array."

    All of the fingers on one of Lu Yin''s hands were bent at awkward angles. He had set up a Teleportation Formation around him in anticipation of Wang Yi¡¯s attack. With the array, Lu Yin had wanted to teleport Wang Yi away, but Lu Yin had not expected Wang Yi to twist his body in such a bizarre manner during his attack. That strange movement had actually avoided the sourcebox array¡¯s power, allowing Wang Yi tounch a smooth attack.

    The Teleportation Formation had even seeded in shifting the Giant Emperor away, but it had not managed to move Wang Yi at all. Fortunately for Lu Yin, the Teleportation Formation had managed to divert Wang Yi¡¯s attack.

    A shockwave swept across the top of Zenith Mountain, carrying a light scent of blood as it passed by everyone.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance. There, he saw Qiu Shi holding her stomach as it dripped blood, Wen Sansi''s pale face and shattered barrier, as well as Zhi Yi, who had been split in half.

    One of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, their peerless young powerhouses, had been cut in two. Her renowned Sky Dipper had not managed to stop the attack for even an instant.

    Everyone in Upper Realm in the western region of Chaos Flowzone were stunned speechless as they stared at their screens. They had just seen Zhi Yi be cut in two, and her blood was spilling out, forming a stream. Had one of their Daosource Three Skies actually died?

    No one dared to believe that Sky Zhi had died so miserably.

    Off in the distance, Shang Qing''s eyes shone with a glint that had never appeared before.

    Wu Taibai frowned; as expected of a member of the Wang family.

    Bu Kong, Xiao Qing, and the others from the Sixth Maind were all stunned. They understood Zhi Yi''s strength the best, but she had actually been cut in two here.

    In the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen was focused on a screen and staring intently at Wang Yi. "Wang. One of the primeval surnames, but is this a coincidence or not? Is he really from that family?"

    At this moment, Zhi Yi, who should have been dead after being bisected, suddenly reformed her body, and her wound recovered while countless people watched on in horror.

    If not for her pale face and the puddle of blood still on the ground, no one would have believed that she had just been lying on the ground in two pieces just a moment ago.

    Zhi Yi''s face showed how upset she was as she stared at Wang Yi. If not for her having absorbed a specific bloodline from the Progenitor of Bloodlines and mastering a secret technique that allowed a person to be reborn from a drop of blood, she would have died just now. This Wang Yi had actually shattered her Sky Dipper with a single attack, and this overwhelming power left Zhi Yi trembling in fear.

    Upon seeing Zhi Yi recover, many people from the Sixth Maind heaved sighs of relief; how could one of the Daosource Three Skies die so easily?

    Wang Yi did not care at all about Zhi Yi, as he only had eyes for Lu Yin. "Not bad, but unfortunately, that¡¯s still not worthy of your surname."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "You know about the Lu surname?"

    The corners of Wang Yi''s mouth curved up. "I''ll tell you if you beat me, but unfortunately, that¡¯ll never happen."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, as this bar felt ridiculously high.

    Wang Yi had managed to pierce through Yao Xuan''s body, and he had also instantly broken out of Daynight Praise. This proved that his spiritual force was amazing, and Lu Yin had already seen Wang Yi¡¯s unbelievable strength and speed. In fact, he had just endured a full powered Vacuum Palm, which proved that his physical power was truly unmatched.

    Wang Yi was truly a very difficult opponent, but more terrifyingly, he might not have even revealed his full strength yet.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm had not beenpletely ineffective. Lu Yin could clearly see Wang Yi¡¯s rune lines, and they had noticeably decreased after he was hit. Vacuum Palm was a truly powerful attack, and even a unique lifeform like Star Devourer had been injured by it.

    As long as his Vacuum Palm was effective, Lu Yin had hope of victory. This was because, above his Vacuum Palm, he still had his Seventh Bro Finger.

    Although Wang Yi''s attack power had shocked everyone, the results of his attack were also terrifying, as his attack had not ended the battle.

    The match between Yuhua Mavis and Wu Taibai was also in full swing at this moment.

    Bu Kong no longer targeted Xiao Qing. After all, they were both from the Sixth Maind, and their grudges had to be temporarily set aside.

    Instead, Bu Kong set Qiu Shi as his target. Just a moment ago, Wang Yi had struck Qiu Shi with an attack, which gave him an opportunity to eliminate Qiu Shi.

    Meanwhile, Unseen Light continued to attack Zhi Yi.

    Lan Si was still holding Star Devourer back.

    Starsibyl was facing Xiao Qing on her own.

    Down on the firstyer, Jin He was being attacked by God Taiyi.

    Liquor Hero had trapped Bai Mai.

    Lu Yin made the first move this time, and he struck out at Wang Yi with another Vacuum Palm, but Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was simply too fast. Wang Yi instantly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he also waved his hand horizontally. His Heavenly Saber rendered all defenses useless, as it had even instantly shattered Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier.

    Wang Yi possessed the physical power to defeat Corpse Beast even after the corpse king underwent a third transformation.

    As for Wang Yi''s speed, Lu Yin could only rely on the Teleportation Formation to deal with it. Lu Yin knew that the Cosmic Sect had already noticed that he had used their Teleportation Formation, and that would cause more troubles for him in the future.

    Although the Teleportation Formation could not move Wang Yi himself, it still was not something that he could simply ignore. His Heavenly Saber fell down once again. This time, he cut down at the firstyer and Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu immediately countered, and the Twelfth Sword struck the Heavenly Saber. Her sword qi was torn apart, but she evaded the attack and looked up, her shock clear on her face. It was no wonder how this person had managed to cut Zhi Yi in two.

    Four Arts: Bear Stalwart against the Vacuum Palm.

    There was a bang, and it was followed by several more collisions. Wang Yi was hit by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, but he had already prepared himself to take it. His right hand wielded a Heavenly Saber while his left hand released a Four Arts: Bear Stalwart. Zenith Mountain shook, and massive cracks starting at the peak ran down the mountain. Countless people felt their scalps go numb.

    The battle between Wang Yi and Lu Yin was definitely the highlight of the day.

    Perhaps their fight was stimting everyone else, but Wu Taibai''s eyes were also full of bloodlust. An invisible force boiled on the surface of his body as he reached out and grabbed Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fist with a single hand. She stared at him with horrified eyes as he lifted her up and smashed her down onto the firstyer.

    Yuhua Mavis had not expected Wu Taibai to also have such terrifying physical strength. First, there had been Lu Yin, then Wang Yi, and now, it was Wu Taibai. When had it been so easy for humans to raise their physical strength to such levels?

    The Mountains and Rivers Imprint crossed the top of the mountain and then mmed into Yuhua Mavis.

    In response, an enormous divine tree appeared behind Yuhua Mavis, and she gritted her teeth, roared fiercely, and threw out a punch.

    Wu Taibai''s eyes snapped wide open. He jumped up and used his Mountains and Rivers Imprint with a single hand to counter Yuhua Mavis¡¯s punch.

    The entire firstyer rumbled before cracking. Yuhua Mavis¡¯s strength was eroded away by an unspeakable and overwhelming power. After a moment, her right sleeve tore open, blood spilled out, and then her body mmed into the ground with a loud bang.

    At this moment, a shockwave blew past the two of them, and Wu Taibai turned to look elsewhere. As he turned around, he saw Liu Tianmu attacking him. She actually wanted to attack Wang Yi, but right as sheunched her attack, Wu Taibai had overpowered Yuhua Mavis. Thus, Liu Tianmu had changed targets.

    As he felt the sword qi from the Thirteenth Sword, Wu Taibai''s whole body filled with excitement. He waspletely different from the elegant young Mr. Bai that Lu Yin had first seen. Wu Taibai¡¯s entire demeanor suddenly changed.

    Wu Taibai stared at Liu Tianmu. Come! The Thirteenth Sword!

    The hilt of Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword moved, and the Thirteenth Sword was released.

    Many people stared at Wu Taibai, as he was the third person to be attacked by the Thirteenth Sword.

    Blood dripped down from the corners of Wu Taibai''s mouth, and he lowered his head. He had been injured. It felt strange that he had been injured, but this was the power of the Thirteenth Sword.

    Liu Tianmu fell down. She had reached her limit, as unleashing two Thirteenth Swords had been too much for her to handle. Exhausted, she finally copsed to the ground.

    Wu Taibai wiped away the blood dripping down the corner of his mouth, but he did not look over at Liu Tianmu. The Thirteenth Sword was very powerful, but unfortunately, Liu Tianmu had not raised it to a high enough level yet. Instead, Wu Taibai turned his attention to the fight between Lu Yin and Wang Yi, which was very exciting.

    Beneath the surface of the ground, Yuhua Mavis struggled to move her body. Helpless, she looked at Wu Taibai and observed the energy flowing off of his body. This special energy had suddenly appeared and caused his strength to transform. There was a terrible power hiding within him.

    Upon thinking this, Yuhua Mavis jumped up.

    Wu Taibai had returned to the peak of Zenith Mountain before Yuhua Mavis returned, but she was following close behind ho,.

    Wu Taibai frowned. Although this woman could not break through his Divine Martial Armor, she was not weak by any means. The members of the Mavis family also had an innate gift that allowed them to control others, and it would not be easy for him to defeat Yuhua Mavis quickly.

    I didn¡¯t expect this ce to gather so many powerhouses. This isn¡¯t much different from this season¡¯s Yuanlun Festival. I made the right choice toe here, as this ce is the start of everything. This is where the oldest inheritances originate from, and although those inheritances have been cut off, there are always traces left.

    Wang Yi, Lu Yin, Yao Xuan, Wu Taibai, and the other powerhouses revealing their strength had caused everyone to forget about one person: Shang Qing. He had been universally recognized as the most powerful participant in ZENITH, but he had been passive for too long during this brawl.

    But Shang Qing had never intended to keep a low profile. When he first arrived at the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had challenged all of the experts that he had encountered, determined to prove the invincibility of his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi. Then, he had been appointed as the gatekeeper of the central checkpoint. No matter who had appeared in ZENITH¡ªwhether it was the Daosource Three Skies, the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, unique lifeforms like Star Devourer, or even Lu Yin, Qiu Shi, Yuhua Mavis, and previously unknown experts¡ªno one had managed to enter Shang Qing¡¯s eyes.

    He had been standing quietly at the top of the mountain for too long.

    At that moment, Xia Jiuyou cried out, ¡°Ancestor!¡± as his de shed with a light that lit up the mountain top while blood fell. A massive gash had appeared on Xia Jiuyou¡¯s body as he mmed into a staircase. With that, the light disappeared and reappeared in front of Unseen Light. The Arbiter was able to predict attacks through his forcefield, but there had to be something that he could read before he could make a prediction. This de''s attack had appeared without any precursor, and thus, it was impossible to predict. Unseen Light barely had any time to release his forcefield as the attack reached him. As a result, Unseen Light was smashed back down to the first level just like Xia Jiuyou.

    The knife shed once again, and this time, the attack appeared in front of Zhi Yi. Her expression changed drastically, and danger filled her mind as she felt an intense sense of danger. The Progenitor of Bloodline¡¯s imprint appeared, and for the first time in ZENITH, Zhi Yi used her innate gift of Scarlet Pupils even as her Vitality Qi appeared to defend her against the knife.

    Blood dripped to the ground. Zhi Yi was also cut and smashed down to the firstyer by the knife, and another corner of the mountain was sliced away.

    Right after that, the light of the knife appeared before Liquor Hero. Xia Jiuyou, Unseen Light, and Zhi Yi. It only took a single moment for everyone to be attacked, and by the time the knife arrived at Liquor Hero, only three seconds had passed since the illusory Progenitor Chen had appeared with the knife.

    Liquor Hero raised her hand, and a drop of wine appeared in front of her. The glint of the knife dimmed slightly, but she was still struck. The blow nearly severed Liquor Hero¡¯s arm, and she fell back a hundred meters, though she did not fall down to the firstyer.

    The next person targeted by the knife was Qiu Shi, but Qiu Shi and Wang Yi suddenly switched ces at thest moment. Wang Yi had not expected to suddenly appear in front of the knife, but he simply raised a hand in response. "Four Arts: Celestial de."

    There was a bang as two iparably sharp attacks sliced through the void. After shing, they continued traveling with an unprecedented momentum, shooting out past Zenith Mountain. Apanying the sh of these two attacks was a terrible pressure. Toolwielder struggled, and Xiao Qing was forced down the mountain top and to the firstyer.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1311: Arrival Of A Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 1311: Arrival Of A Progenitor</h4>

    Wang Yi''s right hand trembled, and his face betrayed his surprise; was this the strength that Progenitor Chen had possessed at this cultivation realm? There was a trace of blood on Wang Yi¡¯s arm, and he had obviously been injured.

    However, Wang Yi was also the only person who had managed to take an attack from the summoned Progenitor Chen without taking even a single step back.

    The knife disappeared before reappearing before Lu Yin next. At this time, everyone saw what was happening; Shang Qing was attacking everyone. He wanted topletely clear the mountaintop of all people. Those who did not qualify would not be allowed to stay on top of the mountain. This realization exploded and shocked the entire universe.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he instantly disappeared. However, the knife actually shot through the void to continue attacking, as though it were forcing Lu Yin to face the challenge.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and pointed out with a finger: Seventh Bro Finger.

    Nine lined battle force shrouded the finger, his domainpressed his spiritual force and physical strength into the finger, and the Oveying Stacks Path amplified the power. Simultaneously, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he erased a portion of the runes in the approaching attack. This was his Seventh Bro Finger. It was Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack, and it was his only attack that surpassed his Vacuum Palm in power.

    Wang Yi¡¯s eyebrows rose when he saw the Seventh Bro Finger; had Lu Yin actually been keeping something hidden during their fight?

    There was a bang as Lu Yin¡¯s finger struck the knife. Behind the knife, the image of an illusory Progenitor Chen appeared. If Wang Yi had been the first to block this knife, then Lu Yin was the first to reveal the true nature of this attack.

    These knife attacks had not been randomly thrown out by the summoned Progenitor Chen, as they were actually the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will. The will had not been released; rather, it had been condensed onto the knife itself, which meant that each attack carried the power of the third Triple de Will. This was basically the maximum power that the summoned Progenitor Chen could release in any given attack.

    This attack was somewhat simr to Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, as it used the concept ofyered power. As long as the body could withstand the force of the attack, it could be used at will.

    Progenitor Chen had gone beyond the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, as he was able to condense the technique onto a de and continuously attack without limits.

    The knife disappeared, only to next appear in front of Qiu Shi. She needed to endure the attack. Otherwise the knife would not give up chasing after her.

    Qiu Shi could also sense this, and she silently cursed Shang Qing for being a madman. She gathered stars into her hands and used the Celestial Sword together with the Teleportation Formation.

    There was a deafening bang, and a shockwave spread out to all sides, tearing the void apart. The knife attack had cut through the Celestial Sword, but Qiu Shi was able to dodge the attack by using the Teleportation Formation, which also caught the knife.

    Off in the distance, Bu Kong''s expression changed. This was not good¡ªit was about to be his turn! The imprint of the Progenitor of Secret Arts appeared behind Bu Kong.

    The knife shed down, and a bleeding wound appeared on Bu Kong¡¯s palm, but the knife did not force Bu Kong down the mountain.

    Bu Kong and Zhi Yi were both members of the Daosource Three Skies, and they were both pinnacle experts. If not for the fact that Wang Yi''s earlier attack had bisected Zhi Yi and enflicted terrible wounds upon her, she would not have lost to the summoned Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    This knife had been Shang Qing¡¯s test for everyone. If they were able to endure, then they qualified to remain at the top of the mountain. If they failed, they would be cast down.

    Shang Qing had lost his patience with the chaotic battle, as he felt that such a brawl was lowering the dignity that ZENITH deserved. Everyone present at this moment was a true expert.

    The light of the knife shed down once again, appearing in front of Yuhua Mavis this time. She raised her right arm, which was wrapped about with green leaves, and the emblem of leaves also appeared on her forehead as she threw a punch out.

    There was a bang, and the light from the knife fell back. Yuhua Mavis had also blocked the attack, but her fist had been cut by the de, leaving a clear injury behind.

    The next target was Wu Taibai. When the light of the de appeared, Wu Taibai raised a hand and grabbed it.

    Upon seeing this, everyone else¡¯s expressions changed dramatically. Even Wang Yi had been injured by this attack, so how could Wu Taibai have the courage to grab it? He was either ignorant or confident.

    Wu Taibai was also one of the Daosource Three Skies, and no one believed him to be foolish. Thus, the only remaining option was that he was supremely confident.

    A clicking sound filled the air as Wu Taibai grabbed the knife light. The energy shrouding his body spiked, but he did not even retreat by half a step. He looked over at Shang Qing. "Give me this knife, and I''ll pay you back."

    After that, he raised his left hand. "Mountains and Rivers Imprint."

    This secret technique ignored space and distance to appear right above Shang Qing''s head. His expression remained indifferent, but a trace of excitement had appeared in the depths of his eyes.

    The Mountains and Rivers Imprint was a secret technique from the Progenitor of Combat. It was naturally not an easy attack to deal with. A strand of qi was immediately shattered by the Mountains and Rivers Imprint, but the secret technique also disappeared.

    The knife light disappeared from Wu Taibai¡¯s hand. At this moment, the only ones atop the mountain who had not been attacked by Shang Qing¡¯s summoned Progenitor Chen were Yao Xuan, Star Devourer, Lan Si, Bai Mai, and Starsibyl.

    Lan Si was the most straightforward, and he directly jumped down.

    Starsibyl also jumped down from the peak. She knew that she could not deal with that knife, and she had no interest in dying.

    Although Star Devourer struggled to use his brain, he could remember that he had already been defeated by the summoned Progenitor Chen. Thus, there was no need to think any further as the beast fled down to the firstyer with his tail between his legs.

    The light from the knife shed at Bai Mai, and the corpse bug was sent flying. No one knew whether it had been injured, but regardless, it was gone.

    Finally, only Yao Xuan remained. The crown prince¡¯s body was still very weak and translucent. Although he wasposed of pure materialized spiritual force, when the knife light appeared before him, Yao Xuan fled, and the attack passed by him. Yao Xuan had no desire to take on such a risk, as this was an attack from Progenitor Chen, a powerhouse on the same level as Progenitor Wushang. Suffering an attack from someone at that level was terrifying to even think about.

    Yao Xuan had already had a difficult fight with Lu Yin, and he also suffered a terrible attack from Wang Yi. Thus, he desperately needed some time to recover.

    The attack did not hurt Yao Xuan, though he also left the mountaintop and descended the stairs.

    At this moment, only eight people remained at the peak of Zenith Mountain: Shang Qing, Wang Yi, Qiu Shi, Liquor Hero, Lu Yin, Wu Taibai, Yuhua Mavis, and Bu Kong.

    The summoned Progenitor Chen stood in the center, holding a long sword that had been formed by star energy. The summon looked around itself.

    Meanwhile, Shang Qing was half-floating in the air. A strand of qi swirled around him, and another summoned Progenitor Chen was standing beside him.

    Shang Qing alone had managed to clear up the top of Zenith Mountain, knocking down every unqualified person.

    "This is a bit better, but there are still quite a few people," Shang Qing casuallymented. He was ready to fight. "I hope that you can force out my third stream of qi."

    Bu Kong''s palm had already recovered, as he had used the Secret Technique of Resurrection. "You really deserve to be beaten! Aren''t you worried that we¡¯ll just team up and beat you up?"

    Shang Qing''s mouth curled into a smile. "Why else would I attack all of you?"

    Bu Kong''s face showed his astonishment; this was too crazy!

    As a future leader of the Sixth Maind, Bu Kong already believed himself to be incredibly arrogant. At the beginning of ZENITH, he had also used his power to eliminate many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses. However, he had not expected this freak to be even more arrogant than him.

    Countless people throughout the universe were in an uproar, as everyone could sense Shang Qing''s eagerness to fight with his full power. He was truly antagonizing everyone present. Was he really not afraid of copsing under the pressure? After all, everyone left on the za had survived a knife attack from Progenitor Chen!

    Wu Taibai smiled. It was impossible to reach the pinnacle by relying on battle techniques. Every battle technique had been created by a person, and the foundation of everything was people.

    Did Shang Qing actually believe that he could be a Progenitor by relying on this Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique? This was simply him using Progenitor Chen¡¯s strength, not Shang Qing¡¯s personal power.

    Suddenly, Wu Taibai remembered something, and he looked over at Shang Qing. No, if Wu Taibai could figure this out, then how could the others not do the same? Shang Qing was the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, and he had been given limitless resources as well as aparable education. Was it actually possible for him to be so naive?

    What was Shang Qing actually trying to do?

    Lu Yin was surprised to discover that Shang Qing was incredibly arrogant, though not to the point where he ignored all of his peers. Was there anyone present who did not have the strength to go up against Shang Qing? Back in the Mountain and Seas Zone, Liu Tianmu¡¯s Thirteenth Sword had injured Shang Qing, and everyone else present still had their own trump cards. If everyone teamed up, then even if Progenitor Chen himself returned, he might not be able to win. What was Shang Qing trying to do here?

    In the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Do you really want to break through the barrier of Tri-Yang Technique? You can never be a Progenitor by relying on a peerless technique. So, you intend to use everyone else to drive you to the brink of death so that you can break through and rise back up. You also want to enjoy this fight, and even if you don¡¯t stand a chance, this is your obsession. The Tri-Yang Technique created you, but it has also destroyed you.¡±

    Shang Qing had always been lonely. The Neoverse was where the Fifth Maind¡¯s best geniuses congregated, but because he cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique, Shang Qing had never been able to find a rival. Even in the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had never revealed the full power of his technique. Corpse Beast had been slightly entertaining, but not for long.

    At this moment, the true strength of Progenitor Chen had appeared in the form of the summoned image that used the ancestral qi. If Shang Qing had used this much power in the Mountain and Seas Zone, then no one would have dared to make a move. However, this was Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, not Shang Qing¡¯s.

    As he had said, it was too boring. He had not expected ZENITH to draw out so many powerhouses. The Daosource Three Skies had not disappointed Shang Qing, and he was able to freely summon Progenitor Chen. With the way that things were progressing, if everyone ganged up on him, then he really would be forced to use his third strand of ancestral qi. These fights would be too boring otherwise.

    At this moment, out of the eight remaining people, the sticks of incense behind Shang Qing, Wang Yi, Qiu Shi, Liquor Hero, and Lu Yin had already burned out. Wu Taibai had briefly left the peak of the mountain partway through the massive battle, and during that time, his incense had recovered slightly. Thus, he had the same amount of time left as Yuhua Mavis. Bu Kong had the most time remaining.

    Only five of them were truly in ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    However, that did not really matter at the moment. Shang Qing wanted to fight against everyone at once. Wang Yi stared at Lu Yin while Wu Taibai stared at Xia Jiuyou, who had fallen to the bottom of the stairs. This was a free-for-all, and no one could be certain what would happen in the end.

    Just as Shang Qing was about to continue the fight, an overbearing pressure spread across the universe and pressed down upon Zenith Mountain.

    For a moment, the entire Fifth Maind seemed to tremble. Outside of Zenith Mountain, Mu En and the others all looked up at once.

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen and others leaped to their feet; the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat had moved. Just what was he doing?

    Not only did the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses find this matter strange, but the Sixth Maind cultivators also felt the same, as they could not understand why the Progenitor of Combat had suddenly arrived.

    Wu Taibai looked up. Master?

    The power of a Progenitor was truly unfathomable, and it waspletely awe inspiring.

    Lu Yin did not dare to recite the Stonewall Scriptures at this moment. As soon as he was enveloped by the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s power, Lu Yin¡¯s body seemed to freeze, and he waspletely unable to move.

    At this moment, Shang Qing, who had been about to take action, was simrly unable to move. Everyone just stood where they were, waiting for the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s power to recede.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1312: The Fourth Aspect (of Qiu Shi)

    <h4>Chapter 1312: The Fourth Aspect (of Qiu Shi)</h4>

    Before long, the infinite pressure disappeared. The Progenitor of Combat left.

    Everyone was confused, but then a voice rang out. It was the same voice that had been heard at the start of ZENITH. "Xia Jiuyou and Yao Xuan are added to ZENITH¡¯s top ten. The final ten have been decided. Strive for the peak."

    Everyone was caught off guard. A brawl had clearly been about to explode just a moment ago, so why had the rules suddenly changed?

    This was clearly connected to the Progenitor of Combat. But just what was the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s intention? For him, ZENITH was nothing more than a child¡¯s game, and it was actually a bit demeaning for him to interfere in such apetition.

    In the Starfall Sea, near the ckhole acting as a barrier, the Progenitor of Secret Arts asked, "You don''t want to allow that little guy who¡¯s cultivated the Tri-Yang Technique to win?"

    The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s voice responded, "If one cultivates the Tri-Yang Technique and rises up from a moment of life or death, then they will eventually be a Progenitor, and no one can stop them at that point."

    "Those monsters are still out there, and it would be better to have one more Progenitor," the Progenitor of Secret Arts retorted.

    Progenitor of Combat snorted coldly. "Others can be Progenitors, but that child cannot. That Tri-Yang Technique is enough for him to be the second Progenitor Chen. Don''t forget, Progenitor Chen killed many Progenitors in the past. If this child seeds, then where will that leave us? The grudge between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds will never be resolved."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "Even if he does seed, that¡¯s simply a matter for now. He is still far from bing a Progenitor."

    "If there is even the slightest possibility of it happening, I have to stop any chances of the Fifth Maind giving rise to another Progenitor Chen." The Progenitor of Combat was stubborn in his hatred of the Fifth Maind. When the Sixth Maind had invaded, he had been the only one of the three Progenitors to make a move. He could not wait to destroy the Fifth Maind, and if not for that person, then he would have already let the monsters past the barrier.

    Even Wu Taibai had been able to sense Shang Qing''s intentions, so how could a Progenitor not see the same?

    Although the Progenitor of Combat knew that there was practically no chance of anyone bing a Progenitor, as he had said, if Shang Qing did reach that realm, then even all three of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors together would not be able to stand up to Shang Qing. They were still suppressed by Progenitor Chen even now. How cruel.

    That youth was willing to face death in order to be reborn, and the Progenitors had seen through his ambition. Because of that, the Progenitor of Combat had felt the need to suppress Shang Qing¡¯s spirit. The Fifth Maind could be allowed to birth new Progenitors, but not Shang Qing or anyone else who cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts sighed; the Progenitor of Combat''s obsession was too strong.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked over at Zenith Mountain. "After he reaches that ce, the child can still face death in order to be reborn."

    The Progenitor of Combat coldly replied, "That¡¯s simply walking to his death. It will be impossible for him to survive."

    The Progenitor of Combat had intervened, and no one could change the new rules of ZENITH. After all, he was an invincible Progenitor, and even Arch-Elder Zen and the other top powerhouses could do nothing but listen to him.

    Shang Qing clenched his fists, unwilling to ept this change. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and it had been forever since he had met someone who could press him to the limit.

    He did not know if he would be able to break through that barrier after being pushed to his limits, but even if it cost him his life, he wanted to give it a try. But now, he would not even get a chance.

    He raised his head. With the new rules, he was paired up with Liquor Hero.

    Across from Shang Qing, Liquor Hero took a sip of her wine and belched. When she saw that her opponent was Shang Qing, she abandoned all thoughts of victory. That Tri-Yang Technique was too monstrous.

    Lu Yin looked at Bu Kong, and at the same time, Bu Kong noticed that they two of them had been paired up.

    As for the others, Xia Jiuyou was matched with Qiu Shi, Yao Xuan with Wu Taibai, and Wang Yi with Yuhua Mavis.

    ZENITH had returned to a one-on-one format once again, but this sudden change was just too sudden and confusing for many people.

    It was a pity that the audience would never realize that the top ten were actuallypeting for an opportunity. But within that opportunity, they would encounter even more dangerous situations than the chaotic battle that had just broken out. The Hall of Honor intended to give the youths a taste of the despair that was toe, but those efforts had been destroyed by the Progenitor of Combat.

    The people throughout the universe who were watching the broadcast grew excited when they heard the change. Although the massive battle royale had been exciting, it was impossible to see everything that was happening at once. But with these one-on-one fights, they would be able to see everything, and these fights would also be fair.

    One-on-one matches were indeed fair, but that sort of fairness was not what the Hall of Honor wanted these youths to experience.

    Xia Jiuyou climbed up the mountaintop. He and Yao Xuan had both been thrown down to the bottom of the stairs. Despite that, they both possessed a strength that was clearly greater than any of the other contestants in ZENITH, which was why they had been added back to the top ten. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s opponent was Qiu Shi.

    Qiu Shi would normally be a very difficult opponent, but her fight against Zhi Yi had been a costly one, and she had also been injured by both Wang Yi and Shang Qing. Her current state could notpare to her normal power, and she was still bleeding even now.

    Although Xia Jiuyou had been knocked off the mountaintop by the figure of Progenitor Chen that Shang Qing had summoned, Xia Jiuyou did not seem to have suffered much, though his face was still a little pale.

    From a distance, Lu Yin gave Xia Jiuyou a strange look; this guy''s rune lines had not decreased at all, which was strange. Too strange.

    Even stranger, when Lu Yin looked at Qiu Shi, her rune lines were increasing. However, she was clearly injured, so why the hell was she still growing stronger? Her current rune lines were even greater in number than when she had fought against Zhi Yi.

    Lu Yin felt rather confused.

    God Taiyi, Jin He, and everyone else who practiced Truesight was feeling the same confusion. They repeatedly looked back and forth between Xia Jiuyou and Qiu Shi.

    932 stars revolved around Qiu Shi before sheshed out with a Cosmic Palm. At the same moment, Xia Jiuyou raised a hand: Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    The stars exploded, and the air froze from the cold. The Cosmic Palm shed against the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. There was a bang, and the two youths retreated at the same time. However, another Y¨­u Reinforced Palm appeared behind Qiu Shi while she moved back. Xia Jiuyou had used his innate gift of echo with amazing skill, causing a second Y¨­u Reinforced Palm to appear at the same time that he had attacked with the first. Qiu Shi was facing two Y¨­u Reinforced Palms at once.

    This was the same method that Xia Jiuyou had used to defeat Lei N¨¹ in the Mountain and Seas Zone, but unfortunately for him, his tricks had already been revealed to everyone long ago.

    Stars appeared around Qiu Shi''s body once again, and she whirled around as she shed out with a Celestial Sword. Her sword cut through the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, but a distance away, Xia Jiuyou switched to the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will. The first and second des wereunched at almost the same time, and Qiu Shi easily evaded them both. Just as the third de was about to appear, Qiu Shi''s eyes narrowed, and the stars shifted.

    Xia Jiuyou was prepared for this, and he quickly used the Xia Secret Art: Nullify. This oppressive secret technique instantly destroyed Qiu Shi¡¯s Star Transference. Then, the third de flew out.

    The Xia family''s Triple de Will was truly terrifying. In the past, this technique had split apart Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle, and it posed a threat to nearly all of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s peers. Even the strand of ancestral qi that had transformed into Progenitor Chen had used this technique to clear off the top of Zenith Mountain. This technique had been the foundation of Shang Qing¡¯s test; whoever had managed to endure the attack was allowed to stay.

    Against Xia Jiuyou''s third de, Qiu Shi once again used her Celestial Sword, sweeping out with her de.

    Stars exploded, and Qiu Shi spat out a mouthful of blood. She had been hit by the third de and injured as a result.

    Many people felt confused when they saw this. Qiu Shi hadprehended the Teleportation Formation sourcebox array, which meant that she should have been able to evade the attack. So, why had she been hit?

    Xia Jiuyou also felt that this was strange. He had actually wanted tounch a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm at Qiu Shi after she dodged the third de of his Triple de Will. He had not expected her to be struck by his attack, let alone suffer a direct hit. Even if she had not been injured before, this attack would have certainly injured her, so why had she allowed the attack to connect?

    Lu Yin stared at Qiu Shi and watched as her rune lines continued to increase. Suddenly, a thought shed through his mind like lightning: innate gift. Qiu Shi must have finally used her innate gift.

    Qiu Shi was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and of her four strengths, Lu Yin was only aware of her cultivation and battle techniques from the Cosmic Sect. The Celestial Sword was one part of that, and it was very impressive. She had alsoprehended a sourcebox array, which was another aspect of strength. Thus, the fourth aspect was very likely to be an innate gift, and Lu Yin expected it to be a very strange innate gift.

    As he watched Qiu Shi continuously cough up blood, Lu Yin wondered just what kind of innate gift she had. The worse her injuries were, the more her rune lines increased, indicating her strength was skyrocketing.

    Xia Jiuyou was not able to see these runes, but he was able to sense some sort of change oveing Qiu Shi. Her injuries seemed to be getting worse, but the sense of danger was only intensifying.

    With this thought, he immediately attacked again with the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    Across from him, Qiu Shi violently spat out more blood. In Lu Yin''s eyes, her runes had soared, finally surpassing those of Wang Yi, Wu Taibai, and the other elites.

    Suddenly, she disappeared¡ªTeleportation Formation. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s pupils shrank. He did not know why, but at this moment, he felt as though the grim reaper was staring directly at him.

    Qiu Shi appeared in front of Xia Jiuyou. She made no effort to dodge the Triple de Will, simply raising a hand and attacking with her Celestial Sword.

    The Triple de Will should have sliced through her Celestial Sword, but a terrifying aura appeared when the two met, and her sword actually shed through the Triple de Will instead. Qiu Shi¡¯s strike was swift, and it instantly stabbed into Xia Jiuyou''s neck. Blood spilled out and dripped down the edge of the sword as it fell down onto the mountaintop.

    Everyone fell silent; Qiu Shi had just killed Xia Jiuyou with a single sword attack.

    Countless people watching the livestream were stunned.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Xia Meng emerged with a pale face. She angrily shouted, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    She raced towards Zenith Mountain, but she was blocked by someone: the Chief Justice of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court.

    The Chief Justice was someone who had always been shrouded in mystery, and no one had ever seen him clearly.

    At this moment, even Xia Meng, an expert with a power level of more than 900,000, was not able to clearly see her opponent. She angrily roared, "Get out of the way!"

    The Chief Justice¡¯s figure was unclear and hidden in darkness. Xia Meng''s vision changed wildly, and her expression softened as a bell softly rang out. She came to an odd stop, but she no longer appeared crazed with anger.

    "This is ZENITH. Don¡¯t overstep yourself," called out the voice of the Chief Justice. His voice had a power that could capture people''s hearts.

    Xia Meng''s body trembled as she shook off the influence of the bell. Her expression turned sad, and she looked at the peak of Zenith Mountain with great resentment. She red straight at Qiu Shi, fists clenched. "Cosmic Sect!"

    In the Neoverse, the Xia family patriarch, Xia Yi, had gone pale. How could Xia Jiuyou have been stabbed by a sword that easily? He cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique! That was Progenitor Chen¡¯s invincible technique!

    No one was able to believe that Xia Jiuyou, who had been ranked fifth in the top ten leaderboard, had just been stabbed to death by a sword.

    On Zenith Mountain¡¯s secondyer, Xia Luo had a gloomy expression on his face. Dead? No, no. The Nine Clones Technique was being underestimated too much. It was not that easy to kill someone who had cultivated that technique. Otherwise, the technique would have never been hailed as an invincible technique.

    Aside from Xia Luo, Wu Taibai''s eyes also held a hidden understanding. Dead? Of course not.

    Qiu Shi let go, and her Celestial Sword transformed back into stars that revolved around her once again.

    She coughed and spat out another mouthful of blood. She was known as the All Rounder Fairy, and her fourth aspect of power was her innate gift: Blood Wave. The more she bled, the more her strength would increase, reaching terrifying levels at the end. She was already quite powerful, so she had intended to use her innate gift against Shang Qing or someone else at that level, but Xia Jiuyou had forced her into a corner.

    Although Blood Wave was able to raise Qiu Shi¡¯s power level, there was a steep cost. She had also been seriously injured.

    Xia Jiuyou fell to the ground.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1313: Peerless Battle Technique

    <h4>Chapter 1313: Peerless Battle Technique</h4>

    Qiu Shi let out a long breath. She had killed the Xia family¡¯s scion. This would create a powerful enmity between her Cosmic Sect and the Xia family, but there was no other way. The Cosmic Sect had long since coveted the Xia family¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Jiuyou from the distance, watching as his runes disappeared. Was Xia Jiuyou really dead? The Nine Clones Secret Technique had been Progenitor Chen¡¯s invincible battle technique, so was it really possible that it did nothing else aside from raising the user¡¯s cultivation realm?

    Suddenly, Xia Jiuyou, who had been lying dead on the ground, opened his eyes. His rune lines instantly recovered as he stood up and pped at Qiu Shi with a palm.

    Qiu Shi waspletely unable to react, and the palm attack squarely hit her in the back, sending her flying. After that, another Y¨­u Reinforced Palm fell down from above, but at thest moment, Qiu Shi used Star Transference. However, this time, it did not seed. Xia Jiuyou had used the Xia Secret Art: Nullify once again. Qiu Shi twisted her body, and her shoulder was struck by the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. It smashed her to the ground and froze her.

    This sudden reverse shocked everyone once again.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s throat had been pierced through by a sword, and the Celestial Sword¡¯s sword qi must have ravaged his body. So, how could he still be alive? He even looked as if he had never been injured¡ªeven the paleness present on his face earlier had disappeared. What the hell had happened?

    Lu Yin frowned¡ªthis had to be rted to the Nine Clones Secret Technique. This was too freakish.

    Shang Qing¡¯s expression grew serious; was this the true power of the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    Xia Jiuyou wiggled his fingers and nced around. The true power of his Nine Clones Secret Technique had finally been exposed. There were nine clones, and each clone that he merged with provided him with an extra life. When he died, one of those lives would be consumed, but he would not truly die.

    Sessfully cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique allowed one¡¯s cultivation realm to rise much faster, and it also allowed one to master a wide variety of battle techniques, as the techniques and skills of every clone could be used by him after merging. Still, the greatest benefit was having nine lives.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique did not improve one¡¯s talent or make them invincible. But then, how could having nine lives be enough to guarantee victory?

    The reason why Progenitor Chen¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique had been heralded as invincible was because all of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had been unbelievably powerful. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s clones could notpare at all, as his strongest clones were Xia Tian and Xia Jiuyou himself.

    Still, the technique was already terrifying to other people.

    A while ago, Mu En and the others had mentioned that the Nine Clones Secret Technique became more terrifying as one progressed further. This was because each clone encountered their own opportunities and practiced their own techniques. After merging together, their overall quality would rise sharply¡ªthis was the true power of the technique.

    There was a bang as the ice shattered. Qiu Shi emerged in a panic, gasping for air as she stared at Xia Jiuyou while blood dripped down the corner of her mouth.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. He had revealed his Nine Clones Secret Technique¡¯s ability, and just like Shang Qing, Xia Jiuyou had be everyone¡¯s enemy. It was a pity that he had not merged with Xia Luo as well, as he would have improved even further. What a pity.

    ¡°Can¡¯t ept it?¡± Xia Jiuyou said.

    Qiu Shi felt helpless. She had been thoroughly defeated, but she could not ept it as she was still in a state of shock at witnessing the horror of the Nine Clones Secret Technique. This technique was truly worthy of being one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s invincible skills. It was quite possible that no one aside from Shang Qing was capable of defeating Xia Jiuyou.

    As he looked at Xia Jiuyou, Lu Yin remembered Nightking Zhenwu. Lu Yin had already fought against an opponent with multiple lives.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Xia Meng was stunned to discover that not even she had been privy to the true secrets of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    The Chief Justice, however, was not surprised. The Hall of Honor was the master of the entire Fifth Maind, and all of them knew cryptic secrets far beyond the Xia family¡¯s ken, even if the Nine Clones Secret Technique was passed down in the Xia family.

    Qiu Shi had been defeated, but she was still one of the top ten.

    The next match was Yao Xuan versus Wu Taibai.

    Yao Xuan had expended too much energy during the battle royale, and he had also been severely injured by both Wang Yi and Shang Qing, causing his entire body to turn somewhat transparent. In contrast, Wu Taibai had managed to physically overpower even Yuhua Mavis, which meant that Yao Xuan¡¯s only chance of victory was his spiritual force. He could only hope that Wu Taibai did not also have the means to ovee his spiritual force.

    Yao Xuan faced Wu Taibai and raised a hand. The void visibly twisted as a sphere of spiritual force appeared right in front of Wu Taibai¡¯s eyes. ¡°Force Explosion.¡±

    Bang!

    Earlier, during the chaotic free-for-all, Yao Xuan had unleashed a powerful spiritual energy explosion that had affected everyone. It had even caused many people further down the mountain to faint and copse¡ªvery few people could endure this attack.

    Wu Taibai did not react, and he allowed the Force Explosion to explode right in front of him without making any moves.

    However, the other nearby cultivators were affected, and even Shang Qing was shocked. Yao Xuan had the greatest spiritual force out of everyone in ZENITH, and no one couldpare to him in this aspect.

    Because of his severe injuries and desire to not drag this fight out, Yao Xuan had not held back in the slightest. This was the most powerful attack that he was capable of unleashing at the moment. Even Lu Yin had to rely on his Inception Array to stabilize his spiritual force while the others, like Yuhua Mavis, Liquor Hero, Xia Jiuyou, and the rest, went pale¡ªthey had only been affected by the aftershocks.

    As for Wu Taibai, who had taken the attack head on and up close, nothing happened to him at all. Thepleteck of reaction left Yao Xuan dumbfounded.

    How could this be?

    Lu Yin was simrly shocked; how could this be? How had Wu Taibai ignored Yao Xuan¡¯s attack?! This should not be possible. Lu Yin had already known that Wu Taibai was powerful, but Yao Xuan was a powerhouse who had reached the finals of ZENITH, so the gap between them should not be thisrge!

    Elsewhere, Wang Yi was staring intently at Wu Taibai. He had never heard of people from that ce who could ignore spiritual force attacks. This spiritual force attack had not been weak, so could Wu Taibai have possibly already reached that level?

    Wu Taibai lifted a hand. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯re facing me.¡±

    After he spoke, a strange energy rolled out from his body. All five fingers moved, and the Mountains and Rivers Imprint was unleashed.

    There was a bang as his attack smashed Yao Xuan down to the foot of the mountain. The same sensation struck Yao Xuan once again; it was just like when Wang Yi had stabbed him through and inflicted his worst injury yet. But Wu Taibai¡¯s secret technique struck Yao Xuan even harder. He spat out blood, and his body transformed into countless tiny bats that flew out.

    One by one, the bats flew back to the top of the mountain. Wu Taibai looked at the swarm of bats, specifically staring at one of them. He curled his fingers and then flicked them out.

    A small but powerful wind sted out. Its rune lines were enough to even make Lu Yin feel fear, and the attack shot through the void, leaving behind a ck channel in its wake as it shuttled towards the bat.

    All of the other bats disappeared, and the one that Wu Taibai had targeted had fearful eyes as it suddenly transformed into a human figure that looked exactly like Yao Xuan. However, this Yao Xuan was no longer made of materialized spiritual force. This was his true body.

    Yao Xuan attacked with a technique that Lu Yin was very familiar with¡ªSkybeast w.

    The sound of an ancient beast¡¯s roar echoed through time and space, and a massive, illusory w descended. It swept aside the strange energy emanating from Wu Taibai¡¯s body as the w fell.

    Wu Taibai smiled casually. ¡°That¡¯s right, spiritual force is useless against me.¡±

    With that, he raised a leg and kicked out at the descending image of the w.

    Lu Yin was stunned as he watched the fight nearby; wasn¡¯t that the Skybeast w? How had Yao Xuan learned this technique? Not to mention, this attack was far more powerful than what Lu Yin was capable of using.

    Everyone in the universe believed that the Celestial Demons¡¯ bodies were formed from spiritual force, but in reality, they also had physical bodies. Their usual state was merely a form of external protection that essentially rendered them immune to physical attacks, but once their body of spiritual force armor had been broken, they had to fight with their physical bodies.

    Yao Xuan had been severely injured by the clone of Progenitor Chen that Shang Qing had summoned along with Wang Yi¡¯s attack.

    Wu Taibai had simply ignored Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force. Thus, the crown prince could only fight with his body.

    Wu Taibai was the first opponent who had managed to force Yao Xuan to bring out his physical body.

    Up till now, the fighting had been extremely fierce, but Yao Xuan had never once been forced to reveal his physical form to fight.

    Lu Yin had not expected that the opponent he had been fighting against all this time had only been using half of his strength. Yao Xuan deserved his title as crown prince of the Celestial Beast Empire.

    Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai rushed towards each other at the same time, and the resulting impact created a shockwave that tore the ground apart. Yao Xuan¡¯s true body was that of a bat, but his physical strength was notcking in the least, and he stopped several of Wu Taibai¡¯s attacks. However, the member of the Daosource Three Skies possessed a physical strength that had even suppressed Yuhua Mavis, and Yao Xuan vomited blood after being struck by Wu Taibai¡¯s strange energy. In the end, the crown prince could not endure the punishment, and he retreated.

    Yao Xuan gasped for air, but then he suddenly turned his head to stare at Star Devourer, who had fallen down to the firstyer below the stairs. The massive astral beast seemed to be unconscious, but Star Devourer¡¯s back suddenly went cold. Something was staring at him, but there was clearly nothing. What was going on?

    ¡°Secret Technique: Assimtion,¡± Yao Xuan growled, and Wu Taibai suddenly appeared before him.

    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Wu Taibai said as he raised his hand. The mountains and rivers fell, but Yao Xuan suddenly let out a tremendous roar as he raised his right fist to throw a punch.

    At this moment, the void shook, and twilight drummed the morning bell<sup>1</sup> as Zenith Mountain trembled. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank; how was this possible? Yao Xuan¡¯s punch contained an unfathomable power unlike anything before. Wu Taibai¡¯s Mountains and Rivers Imprint was shattered by Yao Xuan¡¯s one punch, and Wu Taibai¡¯s entire body was thrown back a thousand meters. If not for his secret technique taking the brunt of the blow, this punch would have left Wu Taibai in terrible shape.

    Wu Taibai was shocked. Where had this strengthe from?

    Yao Xuan stepped forward with his right foot before rushing forward to punch Wu Taibai again. Wu Taibai frowned, and he also took a step forward. This time, he spun to dissipate the force of Yao Xuan¡¯s punch while also lifting his right arm to strike at Yao Xuan with an elbow. The punch barely missed Wu Taibai¡¯s head by a centimeter, as Wu Taibai had shifted Yao Xuan¡¯s extended arm with his elbow and thrown the punch off course. Wu Taibai followed up with a kick, and a martial print could be seen on the bottom of the foot that he used to attack. The kick sent the Celestial Demon flying.

    Yao Xuan was not kicked far away, and he spun his body around to charge at Wu Taibai once again.

    No one had thought that Yao Xuan could erupt with such a formidable physical strength. He was clearly no weaker than Lu Yin, Yuhua Mavis, Wang Yi, or any of the others. If anything, he had somewhat surpassed them¡ªotherwise, it would have been impossible for him to shatter Wu Taibai¡¯s secret technique with a single punch. This level of physical power had only been shown by Star Devourer throughout all of ZENITH.

    Star Devourers were the most physically gifted of all unique lifeforms.

    No one could understand just what Yao Xuan had just done.

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen looked serious. As the master of the Hall of Honor, he had experienced things beyond the imagination of ordinary people. At this moment, his gadget beeped with an alert, and the Highsage Grandmaster appeared on the disy with a solemn expression on his face.

    Arch-Elder Zen calmly looked at his gadget.

    Highsage Grandmaster solemnly asked, ¡°Did you see it?¡±.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°Progenitor Wushang¡¯s legendary secret technique. If one can sessfully cultivate it, then they can transform into any astral beast with full control over its innate abilities.¡±

    ¡°Yao Xuan assimted the physical power of that Star Devourer in order to overpower Wu Taibai. I did not expect Progenitor Wushang¡¯s secret technique to reappear here. I thought that his entire inheritance had already disappeared,¡± Highsage Grandmastermented.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared in the direction of the Astral Beast Domain. Disappeared? He had never thought that that rumor was true. After all, there was a certain individual in the Astral Beast Domain, and nothing could be hidden from him.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Wu Taibaiunched a fierce assault on Yao Xuan with his martial print and strange energy. There were many people who could no longer even understand the battle.

    [1] Another Chinese expression. A daily call to religious life with the morning bells and evening drums; timely exhortations to virtue and purity. A evtion/keenly aware of something. In this particr case the vibrations shook everyone to their core. ?

 Chapter 1314: Completely Suppressed

    <h4>Chapter 1314: Completely Suppressed</h4>

    Yao Xuan felt incredibly grateful towards Skymender. The crown prince had not originally known this secret technique, but after ZENITH¡¯s announcement, Skymender had helped Yao Xuanprehend this secret technique. Mastering this secret technique had made Yao Xuan even more arrogant because of its power.

    However, Skymender¡¯s words still resounded in Yao Xuan¡¯s mind: ¡°During ZENITH, you are guaranteed to encounter an opponent who you will be unable to defeat no matter how hard you fight. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard. Rather, focus on bringing back Lu Yin¡¯s tamed beast if at all possible. This is the most important thing. Also, yes, you will enter the top ten.¡±

    Yao Xuan did not dare to forget the mission that Skymender had given him. Unless he was able to fight against Lu Yin, Yao Xuan had no desire to go all out against any other opponent. However, Wu Taibai was too tough of an opponent, and without winning, Yao Xuan would not be able to encounter Lu Yin again.

    It was a pity that ZENITH¡¯s rules had changed. Otherwise, Yao Xuan definitely would have stayed focused on Lu Yin throughout the battle royale. Instead, the crown prince had to first ovee Wu Taibai before he could face Lu Yin.

    Yao Xuan had assimted Star Devourer¡¯s physical strength through a secret technique, which meant that his physical strength had risen to a levelparable to Yuhua Mavis¡¯s. If Yao Xuan was fighting against anyone else, then he could rely on thebination of his physical strength and spiritual force to deliver an impossible to dodge attack, but Wu Taibai was somehow able to simply ignore spiritual force. What¡¯s more, his physical strength was not much different than Yuhua Mavis¡¯s either.

    Star Devourer was physically powerful, but he struggled to fully utilize his amazing strength. Yao Xuan, on the other hand, was able to use this strength, so he couldpare to Yuhua Mavis. However, Wu Taibai had been able to suppress even Yuhua Mavis.

    Yao Xuan had not forgotten about this detail. When the strange energy reappeared on Wu Taibai¡¯s body, Yao Xuan¡¯s expression changed greatly, as he had remembered how Wu Taibai had used this bizarre power to smash Yuhua Mavis into the ground during the massive brawl. Yao Xuan could not be reckless here. His eyes danced about and thennded on Xu Ling, who was down on the firstyer. ¡°Secret Technique: Assimtion.¡±

    With a howl, Yao Xuan stepped into the void and traveled through it in the exact same manner as Xu Ling.

    Countless people watching the broadcast were dumbfounded. They did not know that Yao Xuan had just used a secret technique. Rather, all they could tell was that, in this fight, Yao Xuan had revealed an incredible physical strength as well as a bizarre ability, and this sudden change terrified people.

    The others on top of the mountain all frowned. This Yao Xuan was a very difficult opponent. He deserved to be one of the top ten finalists in ZENITH, and he truly stood out.

    The surface of Wu Taibai¡¯s body looked like it was boiling now. He stared at Yao Xuan¡¯s illusory figure and thenughed. ¡°That¡¯s useless!¡±

    He then raised his hand, ¡°Mountains and Rivers Imprint.¡±

    He then used the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s secret technique, as well as the strange energy covering his body. Earlier, the strange energy, the Divine Martial Armor, had overpowered Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force and forced him to reveal his physical body. And now, that same technique had once again sted Yao Xuan back into the physical realm.

    Yao Xuan was hit by the Mountains and Rivers Imprint. The impact caused him to cough up blood as his body flew out of the void and he fell down a staircase.

    Yao Xuan had thought that by assimting Xu Ling¡¯s innate ability, he would be able to simply ignore Wu Taibai¡¯s attack, but Mountains and Rivers Imprint had still struck him true without any issue. Whether it was the secret technique or the strange energy, Yao Xuan had been seriously injured.

    Almost no one understood the current battle, not even Lu Yin.

    Even now, Lu Yin did not understand how Xu Ling traveled through the void, and when Lu Yin had fought against Y¨­u Qi, he had only managed to attack him by relying on the Ghost Monkey¡¯s shadow. Without that, Lu Yin would have never been able tond a single attack on Y¨­u Qi.

    Xu Ling¡¯s innate ability seemed to be almost exactly the same as Y¨­u Qi¡¯s. Their ability to phase into the void had nothing to do with strength, as it was actually another form of existence. No matter how strong Lu Yin became, without the proper means, he would never be able to strike an opponent in that state. However, Wu Taibai was able to easily attack them.

    Even when Wu Taibai¡¯s attack had wounded Yao Xuan in his pure spiritual force form, Lu Yin knew that it had to have something to do with the strange energy surrounding Wu Taibai¡¯s body. Just what kind of battle technique was he using?

    Wang Yi looked at Wu Taibai with cold eyes, but he did not seem the slightest bit surprised.

    Yao Xuan was actually frighteningly powerful. He had unmatched spiritual force, Star Devourer¡¯s physical strength, and Xu Ling¡¯s ability to travel through the void. Any one of these abilities would be a huge obstacle on their own, and they allowed Yao Xuan to fight against any one of the top ten. Unfortunately, he had been matched up against Wu Taibai, and Yao Xuan felt as though he was being overpowered through brute force.

    At the bottom of the stairs, Yao Xuan clutched at his chest. The skin there was burning. He had been too careless. Mountains and Rivers Imprint was actually still able to attack him, though not even Yao Xuan really understood what was happening.

    The fights between the top ten did not disappoint the audience. Regardless of if it was the match between Qiu Shi and Xia Jiuyou or the one between Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai. All four fighters had revealed a terrifying strength that far surpassed that of anyone else in ZENITH.

    The third match started right away.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s turn, and as he walked out, so too did Bu Kong.

    Countless people throughout the universe became excited. One of the next contestants was Lu Yin. He was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, the Hall of Honor¡¯s fourth Honor Chosen, and one of the five gatekeepers during the first portion of ZENITH. His first battle had garnered everyone¡¯s attention.

    On the other side, Bu Kong was one of the Daosource Three Skies, which meant that he was being groomed to be one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s future leaders. He had always looked down upon the Fifth Maind, but since ZENITH had started, one powerhouse after another had appeared. Their unique strengths had forcefully suppressed Bu Kong¡¯s arrogance, especially Shang Qing. His strands of ancestral qi were actually able to transform into copies of Progenitor Chen, and the knife-wielding copy had made Bu Kong feel true terror. He was actually willing to work with others to take Shang Qing down.

    Shang Qing had already been acknowledged as the most powerful person in ZENITH.

    In addition to Shang Qing, Qiu Shi, Yuhua Mavis, Liquor Hero, and Xia Jiuyou were all exceptionally powerful, and they had hidden themselves deeply. There was also Lu Yin, who had fought many eye catching battles. Everyone had revealed their hidden power, and Bu Kong was well aware of their strengths. However, knowledge was one thing¡ªbeing able to handle such opponents was something else entirely.

    Earlier, Bu Kong had been caught up in the battle between Lu Yin, Yao Xuan, and Star Devourer, and he had clearly sensed Lu Yin¡¯s terrifying strength. This would not be an easy fight.

    ZENITH had tempered the arrogance of the Daosource Three Skies.

    In the Upper Realm, countless Sixth Maind cultivators were just as nervous as Bu Kong. If it were before the start of ZENITH, none of them would have been nervous, but ZENITH had revealed too many monsters. Lu Yin was a freak even among monsters, and everyone had to acknowledge his strength.

    The two youths stepped onto the za without saying a word. Bu Kong instantly summoned his imprint of the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and a terrifying aura arrogantly swept through the sky and spread beyond Zenith Mountain.

    In response, Lu Yin raised a hand and threw out a Vacuum Palm.

    This attack was already within Bu Kong¡¯s expectations. Vacuum Palm had be Lu Yin¡¯s signature attack. It looked like a simple attack, but it was very difficult to track. This was why Bu Kong had instantly brought out his imprint of the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    The Vacuum Palm shot out, and Bu Kong raised his own hand: ¡°Dpose.¡±

    The Vacuum Palm tore through the void, but it quickly disintegrated in front of Bu Kong. The first stack of the Oveying Stacks Path erupted, only to disappear. It vanished faster than ever.

    Lu Yin then raised his head: Daynight Praises.

    The cultivators from the Sixth Maind tended to have very strong spiritual forces because of their imprints, but despite that, Bu Kong was still dragged into an illusion. This was something that not even Yao Xuan had been able to avoid.

    Bu Kong looked out to see endless cultivators kneeling down before him throughout space. He held his head high, and his heart began surging. He was master of all those before him, and directly in front, he saw both Zhi Yi and Wu Taibai kneeling. Yes, this was the feeling. This was what one of the Daosource Three Skies deserved. Who else besides Bu Kong could be a god? He was the sky above all else in the Sixth Maind and the future master of the Daosource Sect. He was a future Progenitor.

    Suddenly, an iparably massive figure appeared in space. Their figure practically filled Bu Kong¡¯s entire vision, and this person looked down at him from high above. It was Lu Yin.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, Bu Kong¡¯s pupils shrank, and he suddenly came to his senses. No, this was an illusion.

    In the illusion, the towering Lu Yin lowered his head to look at Bu Kong before raising a hand and shing out with his hand as a de. Skybreaker tore the sky open.

    Behind Bu Kong, the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ imprint could be seen. ¡°A little trick like this isn¡¯t enough to deal with me!¡±

    There was a bang, and Bu Kong was sted through outer space. He shattered an entire after being sted through its core. Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose up once more. Skybreaker fell down again.

    As the hand descended and the attack shot towards Bu Kong¡¯s body, his face grew pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°Power Transfer!¡±

    As his voice fell, a grand and awe-inspiring aura entered the universe. It originated from the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and when it appeared, the illusion was broken.

    At the peak of Zenith Mountain, Bu Kong spat out a mouthful of blood as he almost copsed. The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ imprint was still behind him, and he burned his blood to activate Power Transfer again. He gritted his teeth and red at Lu Yin, growling, ¡°You must want to die.¡±

    After speaking, Bu Kong waved out his hand and pressed down.

    Lu Yin raised his hand as well, still using Vacuum Palm. Everyone was familiar with this technique, but not everyone could deal with it. Even if they were able to block it, they still had to pay a steep price.

    Bu Kong was struck head on by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and a palm print pressed deep into his body. He coughed up blood once more, but by taking a Vacuum Palm, Bu Kong¡¯s star energy had surrounded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed. He could feel that something malicious had infiltrated the star energy within his body. This was a sourcebox array. Bu Kong had used this method to slip his star energy into Lei N¨¹¡¯s body and then use a sourcebox array to forcefully disperse her star energy. At this moment, Bu Kong wanted to use the same method to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He, Bu Kong, the air, and even all star energy became chess pieces. Everything that could be seen or felt had be a chess piece, which naturally included Bu Kong¡¯s sourcebox array.

    When Lu Yin moved, this time, it was not his body that shifted, but rather the star energy that had invaded his body. He removed the sourcebox array from his body.

    Bu Kong waved a hand, and the sourcebox array unleashed its power, but it was only able to dispel the star energy around Lu Yin¡¯s body. Bu Kong could not believe this. What had just happened?

    Lu Yin raised a hand yet again, still the Vacuum Palm.

    There was a bang as Bu Kong shot back a thousand meters and crumpled to his knees.

    Everyone stared on nkly. The ever-arrogant Bu Kong, one of the Daosource Three Skies, was beingpletely destroyed by Lu Yin without any ability to resist.

    In the Upper Realm, the Sixth Maind cultivators were barely able to breathe. They felt the agony of some sort of suppressed pain.

    Beyond the barrier formed by the ck hole that had cut through the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Secret Arts shook his head. Bu Kong¡¯s advantages were very clear; he had mastered a variety of secret techniques and was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. However, he alsocked any sort ofpetitiveness. He had not trained his physical strength, and neither had he tried to improve his spiritual force. His speed was not very impressive either, and he did not even have a strong defense. Bu Kong had always looked invincible, but that was simply because no one had ever been able to reveal his weaknesses. In this battle, all of those weaknesses were being pulled out into the open.

    In truth, Bu Kong should have realized this when Xiao Qing had knocked him down the mountain, but there was no way for him to fix these shorings in this brief amount of time.

    Bu Kong had been deceived by his title as one of the Daosource Three Skies. He had pursued things that he felt would give him god-like abilities, such as Reversal Cycle, Power Transfer, andprehending a sourcebox array. These abilities were what most people could never ovee, but unfortunately for Bu Kong, the moment someone was able to ovee his skills, he would instantly be at a disadvantage.

    He was the youngest, though also the most talented, of the Daosource Three Skies. However, he was also the one of the Daosource Three Skies who had the most visible weaknesses.

 Chapter 1315: Top Five

    <h4>Chapter 1315: Top Five</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Bu Kong kneeling on the ground before him and grew quite emotional. Lu Yin remembered the battle in the Cosmic Sea when he had first seen Bu Kong. The man had personally defeated many powerhouses all alone, and his arrogance had astonished all who saw him. At the present moment, that same person was feeling humiliated for being beaten like a dog.

    The Sixth Mainder was speechless, and he could only stare off into space in disappointment with himself.

    Zhi Yi had already been eliminated from ZENITH without even qualifying for the top ten. Was it Bu Kong¡¯s turn to fail? At least he had entered the top ten.

    Bu Kong dropped his head. He saw the palm print on his body from Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, but the mark quickly disappeared. The Secret Technique of Resurrection allowed him to physically recover in an instant.

    Bu Kong breathed heavily as he stared at the ground, dazed. Sweat dripped down from his forehead.

    Why was this happening? Despite everything at Bu Kong¡¯s disposal, he could not handle Lu Yin. Reversal Cycle was not able to touch Lu Yin, the sourcebox array had failed, imprints did not suppress him, while Bu Kong¡¯s innate gift of dposition was not able to even touch Lu Yin.

    Why? When Bu Kong had first seen Lu Yin, he had been a piece of trash who had not even been able to step onto the Champions¡¯ Stage to fight, yet Bu Kong was not even able to fight back anymore.

    Why? Why?

    Bu Kong''s eyes grew bloodshot, and blue veins erupted across his body. A bit of blood leaked out from this skin, dyeing his whole body red.

    Across from him, Lu Yin arched a brow and reflexively threw out a Vacuum Palm.

    The blood covering Bu Kong¡¯s body suddenly disappeared. He was using the secret technique Power Transfer once again, but while thest time he had used it it had merely shattered the illusion of Daynight Praises, this time the power of the Progenitor of Secret Arts was clearly disyed, and it enveloped all of Zenith Mountain in its splendor. This was not much different from when the Progenitor of Combat had visited. Bu Kong was desperate. Even if this would leave him unable to continue any further in thepetition, he was determined to defeat Lu Yin.

    The Vacuum Palm struck Bu Kong''s chest and knocked him back a few steps. Just like before, the attack left a deep palm imprint, but the injury was instantly healed with the Secret Technique of Resurrection. Bu Kong lightly tapped out and suddenly appeared right next to Lu Yin and attacked with Reversal Cycle.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard; how had Bu Kong¡¯s speed increased so much? Also, at this moment, his runes far outnumbered anything he had shown before. The close proximity and speed made Lu Yin feel a sense of danger.

    Stars appeared and revolved around Lu Yin. Bu Kong was very fast, but he could notpare with Wang Yi. Cosmic Art made Bu Kong¡¯s attack fully visible to Lu Yin, and he dogged to the side while counter-attacking with a Vacuum Palm. At that moment, the Vacuum Palm froze in the air, and so did Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. It was a sourcebox array.

    Qiu Shi and the others had also been frozen during the battle atop the Champions'' Stage in the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin''s strength meant that it was not easy for Bu Kong to lock him down, but at the moment, Bu Kong had burned his blood to use a secret technique that summoned a trace of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ power, and Bu Kong¡¯s strength had risen so much that Lu Yin was stunned at the change.

    Bu Kong attacked with another Reversal Cycle. As soon as this attack connected, Lu Yin would be reverted to childhood, and then it would be absolutely impossible for him to avoid Bu Kong¡¯s follow-up attack.

    Countless people grew nervous, and Ming Yan''splexion changed drastically in an Azure Mansion where she was watching.

    All across Zenith Mountain, Wendy Yushan, Zhuo Daynight, and others also had their expressions change greatly.

    In the Upper realm, the people from the Sixth Maind cheered as they watched nervously. This moment would determine the oue of this fight.

    Bu Kong was using a sourcebox array to seize control of Lu Yin''s body, star energy, and even his domain, but it did not seize control of his spiritual force.

    Daynight Praises.

    This was not a new attack, but it was certainly useful.

    Bu Kong was forcibly dragged back into an illusion.

    Night¡¯s End, Daybreak had been a peerless technique during its era and had allowed the Dayking to dominate his peers. So what if a person knew it was an illusion? They would still be dragged into it.

    Daynight Praises was a union of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and the First Nightking¡¯s Skybreaker. This was the true top technique of the Daynight n. Not even members of the Daynight n had managed toprehend this technique, so naturally the rest of the universe werepletely ignorant of how this technique worked, with the exception of Yao Xuan.

    Yao Xuan was the only one who could confront Daynight Praises head-on, as he possessed terrifying spiritual force. However, Lu Yin was facing Bu Kong. The Daosource Three Skies had already broken through this technique once before by using Power Transfer, but he had not expected that he would be dragged back into such an illusion given his current, boosted strength.

    He once again saw outer space, as well as countless people kneeling before him. Bu Kong¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he looked up. The massive figure of Lu Yin appeared, and he raised a massive hand and struck out with a palm.

    Bu Kong was enraged and his star energy surged. "Break for me!"

    Bu Kong¡¯s boosted strength was enough for him to instantly shatter the illusion of Daynight Praises. Lu Yin had never expected to actually injure Bu Kong with the technique, but had merely wanted to steal a moment¡¯s time.

    By the time Bu Kong shattered the illusion, Lu Yin had also removed the sourcebox array. Not only that, Lu Yin¡¯s hand was up and a finger was pointed straight ahead: Seventh Bro Finger.

    There was blood at the corner of Bu Kong''s mouth, and he raised his hand one more time to unleash a palm attack. He was still attacking with Reversal Cycle. Even if Bu Kong was suffering from serious injuries, he would still beat Lu Yin back to his childhood. As long as Lu Yin was reverted back to his childhood, no matter how badly injured Bu Kong ended up, he would be able to win.

    Everyone watched as the Reversal Cycle approached the finger attack.

    Bu Kong stared fiercely and forced out more power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he finished his attack.

    Bu Kong''s body suddenly shifted half a meter to the side, and his attack missed. He had been hit by Lu Yin''s Teleportation Formation.

    Bu Kong had managed to arrange a sourcebox array during the fight, but Lu Yin was capable of the same thing, and he had set up a Teleportation Formation.

    At this critical moment, Bu Kong had been moved half a meter, and his Reversal Cycle was wasted. On the other hand, Lu Yin had already been prepared for this moment, and his finger shifted directions and pierced Bu Kong''s shoulder, spilling blood Bu Kong''s face went gray and his pupils went unfocused as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief.

    From the beginning to the end, he had had no hope of winning and had been suppressed throughout the entire battle.

    Why? He was a Daosource Three Skies, so why had he lost? This should not have happened.

    Lu Yin withdrew his hand and shook it a few times. He could not stop himself from falling to the ground, his whole body trembling from the exertion of his best technique.

    Lu Yin looked at Bu Kong in a condescending manner. The moment Lu Yin had be a Hunter, he had already joined the most powerful of his peers in the entire universe. Yao Xuan had matchless spiritual force and could not be touched. Star Devourer had invincible physical strength. Wang Yi had iparable speed and could not be touched. Shang Qing had the Tri-Yang technique that allowed him to summon Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, and he was also untouchable.

    Lu Yin had defeated Yuhua Mavis and Liu Tianmu, but that had only been when he had used his normal strength.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his gaze swept by Shang Qing, Wang Yi, and Wu Taibai. These people had all hidden their strength very well, and they possessed unfathomable power, but so what?

    Lu Yin was the same.

    Bu Kong had lost, and lost miserably.

    Three matches had finished among the top ten. Qiu Shi had killed Xia Jiuyou, which had exposed the secret of Xia Jiuyou''s Nine Clones Technique. Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai''s had revealed Wu Taibai''s strange energy that was invulnerable. He was even able to attack those who traveled through the void, which made many people wary.

    However, in Bu Kong and Lu Yin¡¯s fight, nothing new had been revealed, as both of them used everything they had used in earlier battles.

    However, Qiu Shi and other experts from the Cosmic Sect had noticed that Lu Yin had used their Teleportation Formation, though Lu Yin had not intended to hide it.

    ZENITH was being broadcast live, so naturally it was being watched by countless people everywhere, and everything was being re-watched and studied. Lu Yin¡¯s use of the sourcebox array would absolutely be discovered.

    Lu Yin also did not have the courage to even consider how he would exin such usage to the Cosmic Sect. At this moment, the most important thing was to fight for the championship.

    Bu Kong''s defeat caused the Sixth Mainders to lose their voices. As of this moment, out of all of the Daosource Three Skies, only Wu Taibai could stillpete for the title of Pinnacle Youth.

    Who would have thought that the most low-key of the three, Wu Taibai, would be the most powerful of the Daosource Three Skies?

    For the fourth match, Wang Yi faced off against Yuhua Mavis.

    There is no suspense at all regarding this particr match. Though Yuhua Mavis was very strong, both Lu Yin and Wang Yi held the advantage when it came to physical strength, and besides that, it was impossible to win this match with strength alone.

    The only chance Yuhua Mavis had of stealing victory was with her innate gift of controlling others.

    Unfortunately for her, Wang Yi never even gave her a chance. He used his speed that made it so that no one could clearly see him, and he easily knocked Yuhua Mavis off of the mountaintop.

    There was no suspense in thest match of this round, either. It was a fight between Liquor Hero and Shang Qing, but Liquor Hero did not want to even fight, so she just gave up.

    At this moment, ZENITH¡¯s top five had been determined:Xia Jiuyou, Wu Taibai, Lu Yin, Wang Yi, and Shang Qing.

    ording to the rules of this tournament portion of ZENITH, Wang Yi would be the only one without an opponent for the next round.

    Lu Yin''s opponent was Xia Jiuyou, and Shang Qing would face Wu Taibai.

    The champion of all of ZENITH would be one of these five people.

    They were only given one day of rest, and the next day, the five youths stood quietly atop the mountain.

    Lu Yin looked over at Xia Jiuyou, and at that moment, Xia Jiuyou just happened to nce over at Lu Yin.

    "How many lives do you have?" Lu Yin casually asked.

    Xia Jiuyou''s eyes flickered. Hidden deep within them, there was a powerful fear.

    When Lu Yin had reached the peak of Zenith Mountain, he had fought battles far more challenging that what Xia Jiuyou had encountered, and yet Lu Yin appeared to bepletely free of all injuries. During the chaotic battle royale, Xia Jiuyou had even attacked Lu Yin once, and that attempt had been a failure. Xia Jiuyou had to admit that when it came to power, Lu Yin outssed him. The only advantage Xia Jiuyou held was his multiple lives in a life-and-death struggle.

    On the other hand, Wu Taibai was feeling rather helpless, and when he looked at Shang Qing, he became very ufortable.

    When Wu Taibai saw Wang Yi, he smiled. "Don''t look at me like that. Even though you¡¯ve got a bye this round, you¡¯ll definitely be in the next match, and you¡¯ll still end up facing him."

    "That doesn''t matter," Wang Yi replied indifferently.

    Wu Taibaiughed. "I know that what you really want is to fight Progenitor Chen. After all, that¡¯s Progenitor Chen, and you¡¯re from-"

    Before Wu Taibai could finish, Wang Yi interrupted, "I want to fight Xia Jiuyou even more."

    Wu Taibai''s eyes narrowed. "That idea is too dangerous, and it¡¯s best to drop it. There are consequences to that that you can¡¯t handle."

    Wang Yi looked over at Xia Jiuyou. "Humans¡¯ greatest secret is hidden in their blood. There are still people in this universe who have managed to inherit the Nine Clones Technique, which is something you didn''t expect."

    "What I didn''t expect was that he isn¡¯t the only one to have cultivated the Nine Clones Technique."

    Wu Taibai subconsciously nced down at the firstyer and looked at Starsibyl, though he did not say anything.

    Wang Yi no longer spoke either.

    Instead, he looked at Lu Yin. That person was the most important goal of this trip. Lu. Even in that ce, this surname had disappeared. This youth had such an amazing talent; could he be a member of that family? If that was true, it would be too terrifying, and it would create ripples of shockwaves that would lead to unimaginable disasters that would sweep aside everything that humans knew.

    From ancient times to the present, there had never been apetition on the scale of ZENITH, and never a day had passed by this slowly. The entire universe was waiting in anticipation.

    Many businesses had even suspended their operations. The Outerverse¡¯s seventy-two weaves had stopped in their tracks, as had the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse. Trade had been suspended in almost all regions as people waited to see the results of ZENITH.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1316: Xia Jiuyou VS Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 1316: Xia Jiuyou VS Lu Yin</h4>

    The Innerverse has Ten Arbiters, the Neoverse had the Cosmic Five, the Sixth Maind has Daosource Three Skies, and the Astral Beast Domain had Skymender¡¯s List. One by one, talented geniuses had been born, and all of them in the current era werepeting, so naturally, everyone wanted to know who was the strongest.

    The moment that a face appeared upon the towering statue, the name of the Pinnacle Youth would be known.

    The day had been very long, but it had passed exceptionally quickly for Lu Yin.

    He had a short rest, and the day finished. ZENITH then continued.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the za, and across from him, Xia Jiuyou appeared.

    Seeing Lu Yin, Xia Jiuyou took a deep breath. At this point in thepetition, everyone knew everyone else¡¯s abilities, and nothing had been kept hidden. The biggest question everyone still had was what form Shang Qing¡¯s third strand of ancestral qi would take when he summoned a Progenitor.

    As far as Xia Jiuyou was concerned, Lu Yin was nearly as mysterious as Shang Qing.

    Xia Jiuyou knew Lu Yin. When the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated from each other, Lu Yin had managed to unite the Outerverse. He was ruthless in his methods, and also extremely thorough. At times, some of his actions would look to be impulsive, but there was always a purpose behind them.

    Xia Jiuyou actually believed that Lu Yin had kept some things hidden, even at this stage in ZENITH. If Xia Jiuyou wanted to have any hope of victory, he could not allow Lu Yin the time needed to use any such hidden measures.

    ¡°If I die, Xia Luo will as well,¡± Xia Jiuyou suddenly stated, startling Lu Yin with his words. Seizing this opportunity, Xia Jiuyou lifted his hands and attacked. Y¨­u Reinforced Palm, but not just one. This was more like a series of ps.

    Xia Jiuyou was using his innate gift of echo, as he hoped to not allow Lu Yin any time to react at all.

    The overwhelming Y¨­u Reinforced Palms shot through the void, raining down on Lu Yin from all directions.

    Lu Yin did not use a secret technique to evade. Xia Jiuyou had mastered the Xia family¡¯s secret technique, and Nullify could destroy any other secret technique. Seeing the iing Y¨­u Reinforced Palms, Lu Yin released his domain, and his forcefield condensed to form a massive tree.

    The Y¨­u Reinforced Palms mmed into the forcefield in the shape of a tree, and each palm dissolved the moment it drew close to Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin had not used his forcefield since his time as one of ZENITH¡¯s five gatekeepers. His use of it at this moment surprised everyone watching.

    Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield was not much worse than Unseen Light¡¯s.

    Unseen Light had reached the top of Zenith Mountain only by using his forcefield, and it had allowed him to evenpete for the position of one of the top ten. Lu Yin¡¯s forcefield was powerful enough to block the full power of the Y¨­u Reinforced Palms.

    In the distance, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, and the others watching were surprised; Lu Yin had really not yed this hand yet?

    Unseen Light looked up, as he had felt something.

    Even when facing Yuhua Mavis, Liu Tianmu, Yao Xuan, or even Bu Kong, Lu Yin had never needed to use his forcefield. It was not an overwhelmingly powerful ability at this stage, but it was still good enough to block the Y¨­u Reinforced Palms, and it worked surprisingly well.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s face turned ugly. The purpose of his Y¨­u Reinforced Palms had not been to defeat Lu Yin, but to leave a mark on him, just like when he had fought Lei Nu¡¯s back in the Mountain and Seas Zone. After she had been struck, Xia Jiuyou had been able to attack freely.

    He had not expected Lu Yin to perfectly defend against the palms with a forcefield.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain was very strong, but it was not enough to pose a threat to Xia Jiuyou, but it had been enough to stop his attacks, so he reluctantly formed a knife from star energy. The Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    Suddenly, a Vacuum Palm flew out, reinforced by nine lined battle force. Xia Jiuyou was horrified, and his knife flew forward, only to shatter. The Vacuum Palm mmed into his body, forcing him back as he spat out blood. Stars suddenly appeared and began to move; the Cosmic Art

    Xia Jiuyou went pale, and he screamed at the sky. The sound waves amplified each other due to his innate talent of echo. At this moment, the stars exploded.

    Zenith Mountain shook, and smoke and dust obscured everything.

    Xia Jiuyou had just broken free of the Cosmic Art, only to have to deal with another Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin was not giving his opponent any breaks. This attack was so powerful that it prated Xia Jiuyou¡¯s abdomen and forced him to the edge of death.

    Xia Jiuyou coughed up blood and looked up as Lu Yin walked out in front of him. ¡°I said, how many lives do you have?¡±

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Xia Meng was getting anxious, but she waspletely helpless. There was too much of a gap between Xia Jiuyou and Lu Yin. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s attacks were too weak, and his defenses were not enough.

    Xia Jiuyou had also realized this, but Lu Yin¡¯s palm fell once again, and Xia Jiuyou¡¯s forehead cracked. He fell to the ground, dead.

    Lu Yinju stared down at Xia Jiuyou.

    Elsewhere on Zenith Mountain, Xia Luo grew nervous; Xia Jiuyou could not die.

    Everyone stared at Xia Jiuyou as heid on the ground. He was clearly dead, yet his eyes soon opened and he quickly said, ¡°I give up.¡±

    Lu Yin was calm, as there had been no surprises to this match at all.

    Off in the distance, Wu Taibai frowned as he stared at Xia Jiuyou. Wu Taibai could not understand just what Xia Jiuyou was thinking.

    Xia Jiuyou had no choice. He was unwilling to give up, but he could not win. Even if he wanted to risk his life, he still needed the power to force a life and death battle.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm alone was enough to send him to the finals of ZENITH. There were very few people who could block this attack, and people like Little Arrow Saint had been defeated by a single attack, and even Wang Yi had been injured by it. It was pretty good that Xia Jiuyou had managed to endure multiple attacks.

    The next round would have Shang Qing facing Wu Taibai.

    All of the people from the Sixth Maind grew nervous as they stared at their screens. No matter how much confidence they ced in their Daosource Three Skies, there was still a great deal of pressure since Wu Taibai was going up against Shang Qing.

    Both before and during ZENITH, no matter who had appeared or what sort of power they had revealed, Shang Qing had always been the only person recognized as being unmatched. He had also been the one to end the battle royale that had determined the top ten.

    He had summoned Progenitor Chen from a strand of ancestral qi, and that summon had attacked everyone. Shang Qing had even pushed for everyone to team up against him, and no matter if it was his strength or arrogance, he made people extremely nervous.

    Wu Taibai and Shang Qing faced each other, and three strands of qi swirled around Shang Qing. He floated in the air, looking like a deity. His entire demeanor made his opponents appear inferior.

    Although Shang Qing was just one person, he was able to summon three Progenitors to fight his battles, and this was why he was regarded as being invincible.

    Who was arrogant enough to im that they couldpare to Progenitors with the same level of cultivation, let alone three? On top of that, Shang Qing summoned Progenitor Chen, who had always been regarded as invincible.

    Wu Taibai¡¯s only chance at victory was to defeat Shang Qing himself, which is what he intended to do.

    As the illusory form of Progenitor Chen was summoned, Wu Taibai raised his hand. ¡°Mountains and Rivers Imprint.¡±

    The qi moved in front of Shang Qing, protecting him. The mountains and rivers struck a strand of qi and shattered it. People had seen this before. At that time, Shang Qing had transformed the qin into the illusory form of Progenitor Chen, who had then proceeded to smash the mountains and rivers.

    The secret technique of the Mountains and Rivers Imprint was able to ignore space. It had been created by Progenitor of Combat, and it was powerful enough to shatter the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s qi strands. However, those strands of qi were able to buy Shang Qing one second, and that one second was enough.

    At this time, the summoned Progenitor Chen attacked Wu Taibai with a de, and the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will condensed onto the knife. One step allowed Progenitor Chen to traverse the space. This was the same attack that had eliminated Unseen Light and the others to decide ZENITH¡¯s top ten. No one dared to be careless when facing Progenitor Chen.

    However, the same scene repeated. Last time, Wu Taibai had just taken on the attack, and this time was no different.

    A strange energy boiled off of Wu Taibai¡¯s body, and he raised a hand. There was a bang, and Progenitor Chen was firmly caught by Wu Taibai. He did not take even a single step back, unlike before. Progenitor Chen wielded a sharp knife, and the color suddenly changed and grew dark.

    From where he was watching in the distance, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s pupils shrank. Was this the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm? No, Progenitor Chen was integrating Y¨­u Reinforced Palm into the Triple de Will. The techniques could actually be used like this?

    Wu Taibai had also not expected to see such a scene. His hand quickly froze, and his expression changed a bit. He moved his hand to shake off the knife, and he then struck Progenitor Chen with a palm.

    Wu Taibai was able to hit Progenitor Chen, but the summoned Progenitor could also cut Wu Taibai.

    This was an exchange of injuries, and though it looked like Wu Taibai had attacked his opponent, he had actually lost out in this exchange.

    He reluctantly retreated. Progenitor Chen moved about in the air with light steps. He was not moving quickly, yet every step he took pressed Wu Taibai in a direction he would rather avoid.

    The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint appeared, and a horrifying aura swept out as Wu Taibai again attacked Progenitor Chen with the Mountains and Rivers Imprint.

    The summoned Progenitor¡¯s de shone bright as he smashed the seals of mountains and rivers. The air in the area became icy cold.

    In the Starfall Sea, very close to the barrier formed by the stretched out ckhole, the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were all solemn as they stared at Zenith Mountain.

    That was Progenitor Chen. It was Progenitor Chen when he had recently be an Enlighter, and yet he was able to force Wu Taibai to retreat one step after another, and not even the seal of mountains and rivers had done anything.

    Progenitor Chen had always possessed invincible strength, and who can stand against him?

    Who would dare im they were able to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm? The three Progenitors certainlycked that courage. After all, Progenitor Chen had ughtered more than one Progenitor, and had even seeded with only a single clone.

    Lu Yin watched Wu Taibai as he was forced back, step by step, by the summoned Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai looked more serious than Lu Yin had ever seen him.

    This was the power of Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai was powerful enough to suppress even Yuhua Mavis after utilizing his strange energy. His Mountains and Rivers Imprint secret technique ignored any sort of distance and possessed unparalleled attack power.

    Wait, Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed and he spun around to look at Shang Qing. Nine clones in one?

    The two strands of ancestral qi swirling around had previously transformed into two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, so could those clones possibly merge?

    Lu Yin¡¯s face changed even further as he stared at Shang Qing. If Lu Yin was right, this technique was far too terrifying. No wonder Shang Qing had always believed himself to be invincible. His opponents were not fighting him, but Progenitor Chen when he had been an Enlighter. Even if the summoned Progenitor Chen was missing cultivation, he was still Progenitor Chen.

    The ground split open as Progenitor Chen attacked with his knife, severing the sky itself, as well as space beyond Zenith Mountain.

    Everyone was focused on the broadcast of this fight. Wu Taibai was being suppressed too much.

    Wu Taibai¡¯s face remained calm. Although Progenitor Chen had been invincible during his own era and no one had been able to challenge him, Wu Taibai was indeed strong enough to challenge Progenitor Chen with the same cultivation. It would be incredibly difficult to win, but this match was not about defeating Progenitor Chen, but rather the man who stood some distance away, looking like a deity.

    Shang Qing watched Wu Taibai with indifferent eyes. Wu Taibai¡¯s strength was well within Shang Qing¡¯s expectations, and he was even able to fight against Progenitor Chen. Wu Taibai could be recognized as peerless within his generation, but unfortunately, once Shang Qing appeared, all others needed to step down.

    Shang Qing was feeling incredibly bored. If not for the change in the rules, everyone would have teamed up to fight him, and they might have even been able to force him to send out his third stream of qi and force him through his bottleneck in cultivation and breakthrough with the Tri-Yang Technique.

    In the end, the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was nothing more than a battle technique. Shang Qing wanted to be a Progenitor, and he had to rely on himself in order to achieve that. He did not want to simply be the Hall of Honor¡¯s invincible minion.

    The de attacked once again, and the summoned Progenitor Chen forced Wu Taibai to the edge of the mountaintop.

    Wu Taibai took a deep breath and nced to the side where Wang Yi was watching.

    Wu Taibai felt helpless. He had not expected to be pushed so far. The light of the knife was in front of him. This summoned Progenitor Chen was not sapient, but continuously attacked. The void around the two fighters had been frozen by Progenitor Chen¡¯s integration of the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm into his attacks.

    Wu Taibai lifted his right hand to shield his face.

    People watching werepletely confused; what was Wu Taibai doing? Did he not have the courage to watch the iing attack?

    Wang Yi¡¯s eyebrows rose. It¡¯sing.

 Chapter 1317: Joining Forces

    <h4>Chapter 1317: Joining Forces</h4>

    Wu Taibai had used the strange energy that boiled forth from his body to defeat Yuhua Mavis. That energy was something that no one understood, and at this moment, it had instantly converged over his hand, and then it was released. This waspletely different from anything Wu Taibai had done before.

    In the distance, Lu Yin''splexion changed. The number of runes he saw from Wu Taibai had skyrocketed, and thebination of this strange energy and the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint had caused Wu Taibai¡¯s runes to instantly surpass even those of the summoned Progenitor Chen.

    When the sh of the knife fell, Wu Taibai waved his hand. The knife¡¯s light was torn apart, and Wu Taibai then leaped forward and pressed his hand against Progenitor Chen¡¯s shoulder, instantly forcing the summon to the ground. Wu Taibai then vanished, and when he reappeared, he was already right in front of Shang Qing and very close.

    Shang Qing was shocked.

    Wu Taibai attacked with a hand, and neither of the strands of qi swirling around Shang Qing were able to stop this attack. They were both shattered, and the hand moved closer to Shang Qing, and he could sense its approach.

    The power of this palm attack gave Shang Qing a sense of danger he had not felt since Liu Tianmu had attacked with the Thirteenth Sword.

    Wu Taibai''s palm descended rapidly, so fast that no one was able to even react. However, just as the attack was about to connect, it started moving away, further and further.

    Wu Taibai felt his back go cold.

    This was the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique: Banishment.

    Even though Wu Taibai had pushed past the summoned Progenitor Chen, as well as two strands of qi that had been protecting Shang Qing, he had still ultimately been thrown back by the secret technique Banishment.

    This secret technique was not able to force Wu Taibai back very far, and he instantly attacked again while still in the air. This time he attacked with the seal of mountains and rivers. However, the secret technique was still not able to even touch Shang Qing. This time, the summoned Progenitor Chen shed his knife at Wu Taibai, though the knife was not able to injure Wu Taibai since it was stopped by the strange energy that surrounded his body.

    Wu Taibainded on the ground, and Progenitor Chen shed out again with his knife. Wu Taibai raised his leg to block the de, but his body was forced back yet again. He looked over at the increasingly distant Shang Qing with some degree of helplessness. "I admit defeat."

    Although many people had already expected such a result, it still left them stunned.

    Shang Qing had won once more. He had held first ce in all of the leaderboards, and had always been regarded as being the most powerful contestant in ZENITH. At this time, he was just one step away from realizing that position.

    Wu Taibai was far from weak, and he had even overpowered the summoned Progenitor Chen for a bit, which was something that no one else had managed to aplish. Despite that, he had not been able to even threaten Shang Qing and had finally given up.

    Shang Qing frowned. Finally, he had felt a bit of pressure from Wu Taibai, and that sense of danger had not appeared for a very long time. Shang Qing enjoyed that feeling, and he desperately needed to feel such a sense of crisis.

    At this thought, he turned to look at Wang Yi and Lu Yin. "You two, let''s go all at once."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. There were only three people left in ZENITH: him, Wang Yi, and Shang Qing. Lu Yin had thought that one more person would have a bye for the next round.

    "Don''t hesitate, Deaf-mute Bro! No one can match him in a one-on-one," Wu Taibai called out, sounding rather helpless.

    Wang Yi stepped forward and looked at the distant Shang Qing. Even at this point in time, Wang Yi still found it unbelievable that anyone in this universe had managed to cultivate such power. Shang Qing was capable of fighting against four opponents on his own. Still, it could not really be considered true strength, as he was merely relying on the invincible power of Progenitor Chen.

    Wang Yi looked over at Lu Yin, who was not far away. Wang Yi actually wanted to fight him, but a three-way battle was not a bad idea.

    Lu Yin also walked out from the side of the za. The true opponent to ovee was Shang Qing, as it seemed highly unlikely for Lu Yin to be able topete for the title of Pinnacle Youth with the strength he had revealed so far.

    However, would the rules allow an open battle? Shang Qing had already wanted to face everyone at once, but he had been blocked.

    However, no one said anything against the proposal even after waiting for a while.

    Both the Hall of Honor and the three Progenitors believed this to be the final match!

    Wu Taibai had not been able to defeat Shang Qing, but many people felt that not even the two youths working together would be enough to defeat Shang Qing.

    As Lu Yin had already guessed, the Hall of Honor was already prepared to celebrate. Their first Honor Chosen was about to be the Pinnacle Youth of the entire universe, and this was more than enough to excite everyone in the Hall of Honor.

    "Seventh Bro,e on! Get him!" Ku Wei shouted.

    "Beat him, Lu Yin! Beat him!" White shouted while jumping up and down.

    Ling Gong, Lan Si, and more. Everyone was focused on this battle, as it really was the end of ZENITH.

    Shang Qing''s mouth curled up into a smile. "I hope you can make me face a challenge."

    After that, he waved a hand and a second strand of qi transformed into another illusory Progenitor Chen.

    A knife shed as one of the summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s moved to attack Wang Yi with a de.

    Wang Yi instantly disappeared. He was clearly the fastest person in all of ZENITH. Even Lu Yin had barely been able to see even a blur after using Cosmic Art and Truesight. Progenitor Chen was also unable to track Wang Yi, so the knife targeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not dare rx when facing Progenitor Chen¡¯s de. The summoned Progenitor was not using the basic Triple de Will, but had already integrated the power of the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm as well. This had created an aura from the knife that froze the entire area.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he erased a portion of the runes from the encroaching attack. Simultaneously, his hand rose to release a Vacuum Palm. The edge of the de was diverted a bit, and Lu Yin shifted to the side and looked over at Shang Qing.

    Wang Yi not only passed by the Progenitor Chen with the knife, but also the second one that had been summoned as well, and he had already appeared right in front of Shang Qing. "Four Arts: Bear Stalwart."

    A massive explosion erupted, and it radiated a terrifying destructive power. This attack was not much more dangerous than when Wu Taibai had attacked Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing saw the fall of the Hall of Honor and an unfathomable attack approaching. Arch-Elder Zen was dead, along with everyone Shang Qing was familiar with, as well as many strangers. His body was racked with pain, and someone suddenly appeared in front of Shang Qing; it was Lu Yin, and he attacked with a single palm. Not good! It¡¯s an illusion.

    Cough

    Shang Qing spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been dragged into Daynight Praises and been attacked by Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force while his body had been attacked by Wang Yi. Although a Banishment had thrown Wang Yi back, his attack had still managed tond on Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing took a few steps back, and blood could be seen at the corner of his mouth. He looked over at Lu Yin, who happened to be staring back. "That spiritual force illusion that hit me in the checkpoint was from you?¡±

    Lu Yin did not have the freedom to respond. The summoned Progenitor Chens were both attacking, and each wave of a knife seemed to block Lu Yin¡¯s movements. He had already been using the Cosmic Art to track the knife, as otherwise he would have already been cut.

    Shang Qing had been injured for the first time since the start of ZENITH.

    Many of the people watching the livestream grew excited. This was an amazing fight.

    Shang Qing had three strands of qi, and they protected him and were enough to deal with all challengers without him needing to do a thing. However, he had finally been injured, which meant that he was not truly invincible.

    The illusory Progenitor Chen charged towards Wang Yi, slipping into the void. This was an invisible attack, but it still gave people the chills.

    Wang Yi attacked with another Four Arts: Bear Stalwart, but instantly pierced through the illusory Progenitor Chen. His attack could notnd. Wang Yi¡¯s eyes flickered, and he suddenly disappeared. He did not bother trying to deal with the illusory Progenitor Chen, but attacked Shang Qing. Suddenly, Wang Yi froze and blood appeared at the corners of his lips. He had just been struck by the secret technique Discipline by Shang Qing. The more injured the user, the more damaging this secret technique.

    The illusory Progenitor Chen emerged from behind Wang Yi with a raised hand. He pointed forward, and a ck light appeared at his fingertips that distorted the void and even began to suck up the light.

    Wang Yi spread apart the fingers of his left hand as he turned to face the illusory Progenitor Chen. "Four Arts: Pearl."

    The illusory Progenitor Chen swept his finger to the side, and blood fell. Wang Yi had overwhelming physical strength, and even Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm was only able to leave marks without causing any actual damage. Yet the illusory Progenitor Chen had broken through Wang Yi¡¯s defenses with just a single finger. Suddenly, Wang Yi disappeared, and a cut appeared on the illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s stomach. The summoned Progenitor dissolved into the qi that had formed him, only to reform a momentter without any wounds whatsoever. Everyone who saw this felt their scalps go numb.

    Shang Qing was watching from the distance, and he was shocked to see that Progenitor Chen¡¯s ability to turn immaterial had been ovee. There was no other way for Wang Yi to have left a wound on the summoned Progenitor.

    Wang Yi was the first person to injure the summoned Progenitor Chen, and at this moment, everyone had seen that the Progenitor Chen summoned by the Tri-Yang Technique had been injured. However, it had not been blood that had leaked from the wound, but ancestral qi. This qi did not dissipate or disappear, and was still part of the whole. This meant that the Tri-Yan Technique could not be broken, as the summoned Progenitors could simply reform after being destroyed.

    Lu Yin had also seen this exchange, and his face fell. Progenitor Chen was formed from ancestral qi, and though he had no form of sapience, the fact that he could not be injured or killed fullypensated for theck of wisdom.

    The only way to defeat Shang Qing was to defeat Shang Qing himself and force him into a situation where he was unable to use the Tri-Yang Technique.

    In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Beast had been the one to expose the truth of the Tri-Yang Technique, and during the final battle of ZENITH, Wang Yi had revealed another terrifying characteristic of the invincible technique.

    Even Wang Yi felt his heart sink as he understood the true horror of this skill.

    Four Arts: Pearl was able to seal anything an opponent might possess. Wang Yi had used this to seal Lu Yin''s physical strength, which had left Lu Yin unable to use his Vacuum Palm, as his strength had fallen tremendously for a period of time. Just a moment ago, Wang Yi sealed this ability to seal the illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s ability to be immaterial in order to injure the summoned Progenitor. However, it was all useless. Even if Wang Yi was able to injure one of the summons, they could simply be instantly re-summoned.

    Shang Qing quietly stood alone with a single strand of qi swirling about him. He looked like some sort of ethereal god as he watched Lu Yin and Wang Yi. These two were definitely the most outstanding youths in ZENITH, but unfortunately, they were not able to match up to Shang Qing.

    The more information that was revealed about the Tri-Yang Technique, the more helpless people facing it felt.

    At this moment, even the people in the Great Eastern Alliance did not believe that Lu Yin could win.

    Lu Yin again evaded the knife and raised a hand. It was another Vacuum Palm sent to Shang Qing.

    The strand of qi circling Shang Qing tried to stop the iing attack, but was shattered by the Vacuum Palm. However, Lu Yin¡¯s attack was still stalled for a moment, and Shang Qing was able to dodge.

    At this moment, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he moved himself.

    The knife-wielding Progenitor Chen that Lu Yin was facing was Progenitor Chen from the time he had been an Enlighter, so he could not possibly have created the Xia Secret Art. That also meant that Progenitor Chen could not Nullify Lu Yin¡¯s secret technique.

    Lu Yin appeared behind Shang Qing and pointed a finger forward. It was the Seventh Bro Finger.

    The two strands of qi had already been shattered, and only one remained to protect Shang Qing. Everyone hoped that Lu Yin would be able to force Shang Qing to use his third strand of qi so that they could see who would be summoned.

    In the distance, Wang Yi watched as Lu Yin attacked with a finger, and frowned. This attack looked familiar.

    Wu Taibai also saw the attack, and he stared at Lu Yin''s Seventh Bro Finger.

    The finger shattered the void as it approached Shang Qing¡¯s back. Shang Qing lifted a hand and attacked behind himself. Secret technique: Banishment.

    Lu Yin flew back and flipped over,pletely out of control of himself. He had been sent straight towards the knife-wielding Progenitor Chen was, and the knife moved for Lu Yin¡¯s back.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1318: Unknown Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 1318: Unknown Innate Gift</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth suddenly curled into a smile. Shang Qing¡¯s body abruptly moved to appear right behind Lu Yin. This waspletely outside of Shang Qing¡¯s control. When Lu Yin had nearly connected with his Seventh Bro Finger, he had also arranged a Teleportation Formation in anticipation of this moment.

    Shang Qing was now behind Lu Yin, directly standing in the path of the knife from the summoned Progenitor Chen that had been aimed at Lu Yin. At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s Seventh Bro Finger switched directions and once again flew at Shang Qing.

    There were attacks both in front and behind Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin had mastered a wide variety of battle techniques, secret techniques, and sourcebox arrays. There were infinite options avable to him during his fights.

    Shang Qing was caught off guard, as he had not noticed anything when Lu Yin had set up the sourcebox array. By the time he had reacted, it was already toote. Against these simultaneous attacks, Shang Qing reacted in a manner that no one expected¡ªhe turned to face Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin had also not expected such a reaction. Rather, Lu Yin had assumed that Shang Qing would use his third strand of ancestral qi to block Lu Yin¡¯s Seventh Bro Finger. After all, the summoned Progenitor Chen could simply be reverted back to a strand of qi, so Shang Qing did not really face any threat from that direction.

    Did he want to use the secret technique Discipline? This was the only possibility that Lu Yin could think of.

    However, Lu Yin was not afraid of that possibility, and his Seventh Bro Finger boldly continued forward to strike Shang Qing¡¯s body.

    An invisible shockwave shot out in all directions, and Shang Qing froze for a moment. Behind him, the knife-wielding Progenitor Chen reverted back to a strand of ancestral qi before instantly reforming. The knife fell down from above Shang Qing¡¯s head and targeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned; had his Seventh Bro Finger done nothing to Shang Qing at all? How was this possible?

    There was a bang as Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand moved in front of him to block the knife. The tremendous force behind the knife jostled Lu Yin¡¯s body and forced his fatesand back into his body, but the summoned Progenitor Chen relentlessly continued attacking with the knife.

    Lu Yin was still absorbed in the mysterious oue of his attack. Shang Qing had clearly been struck by his Seventh Bro Finger, and yet he had emergedpletely unharmed. How? Even if it had been Star Devourer, Yuhua Mavis, Wang Yi, or Wu Taibai, each and every one of them physically powerful, they would have been able toe out without any injuries at all. This attackbined oveying stacks, battle force, and spiritual force into a single,pressed attack. This was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack.

    This finger was even powerful enough to shatter the summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s knife attack, so why could it not cause even the slightest bit of damage to Shang Qing? Did Shang Qing himself possess more strength than everyone else?

    Lu Yin was not alone, as everyone was stunned, and even Wu Taibai¡¯s face fell. He could not understand this either.

    Wang Yi once again evaded the illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s finger attack. He was also staring at Shang Qing. Wang Yi¡¯s eyes flickered, but he still could not understand what had happened.

    Originally, everyone had assumed that Shang Qing would rely on the power of Progenitor Chen, regardless of how powerful Shang Qing himself was. They had just discovered that this assumption was wrong.

    None of the eliminated contestants were confident in being able to escape from Lu Yin¡¯s finger attack, but Shang Qing had actually endured one without taking any damage. This destroyed their preconceptions.

    Had Shang Qing really reached an untouchable level? Wang Yi and Wu Taibai were both stunned. Could anyone under this starry sky truly reach that level? No. If Shang Qing had actually reached that level, then he would not have been injured before.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he shifted himself a thousand meters away before staring at Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing remained standing in the air, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re very good.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. The Seventh Bro Finger was Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack, as it was thebination of everything that he possessed. Despite that, it was useless against Shang Qing. How?

    Lu Yin perfectly remembered what he had felt when he had hit Shang Qing. There had not been any strong resistance, and Lu Yin had also been sure that Shang Qing¡¯s rune lines had not been enough to block his Seventh Bro Finger. So why had he emergedpletely unscathed?

    Lu Yin was certain that hisbination attack had managed to force out some sort of ability that Shang Qing had managed to hide deeply, but Lu Yin simply did not understand what it was.

    On Zenith Mountain, all of the eliminated contestants were rendered speechless.

    Ku Wei also had no words, as this was simply too freakish. Seventh Bro¡¯s attack had been useless, so how could the fight continue? It was no wonder why Wu Taibai had directly given up.

    The power that Shang Qing had revealed up til now was enough to leave people absolutely horrified. He had the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, the two secret techniques that he had mastered, and the ability to defend against Lu Yin¡¯s Seventh Bro Finger. This clearly made him the most difficult opponent in all of ZENITH by arge margin.

    The Cosmic Art was considered to be the nemesis of speed, but the secret technique Banishment was speed¡¯s true nemesis. No matter how fast Wang Yi moved, he would always be knocked back.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve reached your limits, so let¡¯s end this.¡± Shang Qing¡¯s words were overflowing with an indescribable sense of disappointment. Both of the summoned Progenitor Chens retreated to stand in front of Shang Qing. Then, as everyone watched in awe and stupefaction, the two merged.

    Off in the distance, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s body trembled. This was the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Down below, Xia Luo¡¯s eye twitched as he watched the two clones of Progenitor Chen fuse together. After endless years, their generation was the one to actually witness the fusion of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones.

    Everyone felt chills run down their backs. Each of the clones on their own had been strong enough to fight evenly against Lu Yin and Wang Yi, and after the two merged, the people watching the battle could no longer see any path to victory.

    Even Wang Yi¡¯s heart fell. He could not even guess at how strong Progenitor Chen would be after merging.

    Lu Yin had a strange expression on his face as he watched the clones merge. Lu Yin had used a secret technique against one of the summoned clones because he had believed that Progenitor Chen had not yet created the Xia Secret Technique when he had just been an Enlighter. That was why Lu Yin had beenfortable carrying out such an attack. However, there was also no way that Progenitor Chen could have created the Nine Clones Secret Technique when he had been a mere Enlighter. This also meant that the Nine Clones Secret Technique had not actually been created by Progenitor Chen!

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin realized that he was right. When Lu Yin had been in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and had seen the Progenitor¡¯s memories, Progenitor Chen had already had nine clones at the Enlighter realm. This meant that the ancient Progenitor had learned the technique, not created it.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique was understood to have been inherited from Progenitor Chen through the Xia family or possibly coincidentally awakened through Xia Jiuyou¡¯s blood. This was just like how Zhuo Daynight hadprehended Night¡¯s End, Daybreak, and it was clearly possible.

    However, even if that possibility was true for Xia Jiuyou, then what about Starsibyl? Where had she learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    All these thoughts went through Lu Yin¡¯s mind in an instant, and as the implications ran wild, the clones finished merging.

    An overwhelming illusory me spread across the ground as it covered the sky and blocked out the sun.

    Lu Yin and Wang Yi both immediately shot into the sky filled with illusory mes in all directions as the fused summoned Progenitor Chen stepped into sight. It was holding a de formed from star energy, and it stared at the two youths. There was clearly no intelligence within those eyes, but that gaze still chilled their hearts.

    Wang Yi clenched a fist and disappeared.

    At the same time, Lu Yin heard Wang Yi say, ¡°Take care of Shang Qing.¡±

    Wang Yi held no hope of defeating Progenitor Chen after the two clones merged. That was Progenitor Chen, and he had always been invincible within his own realm. There was no possibility of him losing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he stared at Shang Qing: Daynight Praises.

    The speed of both Daynight Praises and Wang Yi¡¯s movement formed the most effective means of attacking Shang Qing, and this was the only way to injure him.

    However, the two had still underestimated the fused Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force tried to envelop Shang Qing and drag him into an illusion, but Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force attack was actually cut short by Progenitor Chen, and Wang Yi was simrly stopped. The fused Progenitor Chen attacked with a de that emerged from the void, and the de shed as it appeared right in front of Wang Yi with a horizontal sh.

    Wang Yi¡¯s pupils shrank, and he immediately released an attack: Four Arts: Bear Stalwart.

    There was a deafening bang as a shockwave spread out. The pressure shattered the ground and struck everyone around the arena as well as those at the bottom of the flights of stairs, those on the firstyer, the secondyer, the thirdyer, and even the foot of Zenith Mountain.

    At this moment, the entire mountain shook, and huge cracks spread down from the peak.

    In outer space, outside Zenith Mountain, countless spatial cracks also appeared as a result of this collision.

    For the first time, one of Wang Yi¡¯s Four Arts had been suppressed. The fused Progenitor Chen¡¯s de sliced Wang Yi¡¯s hand open, and he started to bleed. This de also contained an unstoppable cold, and it quickly invaded through the wound in Wang Yi¡¯s palm and froze his blood.

    Wang Yi¡¯s face went pale, and he quickly stepped back. The knife did not pull back, and it continued to sh forward. Suddenly, the de shifted, and it aimed at the sky. The entire sky was torn open, and the spatial tear extended off into the distance. It was impossible to tell how far it had gone.

    Lu Yin had made his move, the Yu Secret Art diverting the de. Numerous Vacuum Palms shot out, each of them branded with nine lined battle force and the greatest power that Lu Yin was capable of unleashing.

    The fused Progenitor Chen raised a hand, and a long knife spun in its hand. The battle force was sucked into the spinning de as the flurry of Vacuum Palms approached it, striking down the knife de. The fused Progenitor Chen was forced back a few steps, and one Vacuum Palm after another rained down upon it. The Vacuum Palms managed to push Progenitor Chen back, but that was all that happened.

    On the other side, Wang Yi disappeared as he moved to directly attack Shang Qing.

    The de in the fused Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm suddenly stopped spinning, and the long de mmed into the ground. The very next moment, wisps of knife qi rained down, targeting both Wang Yi and Lu Yin. The audience felt their scalps go numb, as these attacks were clearly able to seriously wound the two youths.

    Lu Yin hurriedly evaded the attack, but it enveloped the entire mountaintop. Some distance away, Wang Yi had managed to move within a single meter of Shang Qing, but he was also forced to start dodging the rain of knife qi.

    The moment Wang Yi turned to retreat, he spread his fingers and attacked the fused Progenitor Chen. Four Arts: Pearl.

    The summoned Progenitor raised its knife and shed down in response. This time, there was no sh from the de, as Wang Yi had caused the summoned Progenitor Chen to lose control of its knife.

    Shang Qing was surprised that Wang Yi was still able to seal the fused Progenitor Chen. Wang Yi used battle techniques that had never been seen before, though they seemed to have been inherited from ancient times.

    The fact that the summoned Progenitor Chen had lost its knife meant that a great deal of the threat facing Wang Yi and Lu Yin had disappeared.

    One of the two raced for Shang Qing as fast as possible while the other suddenly appeared behind Shang Qing with a sourcebox array. Both of them attacked at the same time.

    Despite the approaching nking attacks, Shang Qing still did not move. Illusory mes rose up from below, separating him from his two opponents as the summoned Progenitor Chen suddenly appeared and attacked with a hand. Although it had lost its knife, it had not yet used the power of the illusory Progenitor Chen after merging.

    Earlier, Wang Yi had sealed off the illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s ability to turn immaterial, but he had also just sealed the summon¡¯s de. Thus, the immaterial ability appeared once again.

    Lu Yin struck the me with a palm, and a palm print distorted the me. He then changed his hand position to a pointing finger, attacking with his Seventh Bro Finger once again. Lu Yin did not believe that Shang Qing could ignore this attack for a second time.

    On the opposite side, Wang Yi shed against the summoned Progenitor Chen with a Four Arts: Bear Stalwart, but the massive power of his attack was absorbed. Wang Yi was knocked back, leaving himpletely shocked.

    This was a fight against Progenitor Chen, and he certainly deserved his reputation as being invincible within his own cultivation realm. Progenitor Chen had long since been famous even beyond this world, and it was known that he had been the absolute strongest.

    This was the power of a Progenitor.

    Any Progenitor would be seen as invincible among their peers, and Progenitor Chen had been seen as invincible even among Progenitors.

    Before ZENITH had even started, even the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors had been forced to admit that Shang Qing was the only youth capable of receiving the title of Pinnacle Youth, and it was entirely because he was able to summon Progenitor Chen.

    At this moment, Shang Qing was about to earn the title of Pinnacle Youth.

    Lu Yin pierced through the illusory mes with a finger, and for the second time, his attack hit Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin experienced the same sensation as before, and Shang Qing even had the same expression.

    The illusory summoned Progenitor Chen phased through Shang Qing, his hand stretched out to grab Lu Yin. A dark light shed at the fused Progenitor Chen¡¯s hand, and the sight of it made Lu Yin go cold. His pupils flickered as he erased some runes from Progenitor Chen, and at the same time, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet as he shifted himself.

 Chapter 1319: The Third Stream Of Ancestral Qi

    <h4>Chapter 1319: The Third Stream Of Ancestral Qi</h4>

    At the same time that Lu Yin moved himself, he also moved Shang Qing over in front of Wang Yi by using a Teleportation Formation.

    Although the two youths had never worked together or even met before, at this moment, their cooperation was wless. Wang Yi swept by, and attacked with Four Arts: Celestial de.

    After that, a shocking thing recurred: Shang Qing was againpletely uninjured.

    Wang Yi could not believe what he saw. Suddenly, Shang Qing was sted back. An invisible palm attack had struck: Vacuum Palm.

    Shang Qing wasunched 100 meters back, flipping over and finallynding in a half-crouch on the ground. Blood could be seen at the corners of his lips, and a deep palm print could be seen on his torso.

    Just what was going on?

    Everyone watching was confused. Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attack and Wang Yi¡¯s Celestial de had both been useless, so why had a Vacuum Palm managed to hurt Shang Qing?

    Lu Yin let out a breath and gave a smile. ¡°So I was right; you¡¯ve been using an innate gift. Even though I don¡¯t know exactly what it is, it is impossible for you to deal with attacks from both of us at the same time. Your innate gift can make you immune to one of our attacks at a time, but not both of us, right?¡±

    Wang Yi also stared at Shang Qing.

    The summoned Progentor Chen stood quietly in front of Shang Qing as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°As expected of one of my Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen. Yes, you¡¯re very close.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp; this person was very difficult.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as everyone was having the same thought.

    Since ZENITH had first begun, Shang Qing had revealed one ability after another. Each sessive revtion had boggled people¡¯s minds. Shang Qing¡¯s innate gift had only been uncovered from teamwork between Lu Yin and Wang Yi. Also, the most important detail was that Shang Qing had still not summoned a Progenitor from the third strand of ancestral qi that swirled around him. This was truly terrifying.

    Wang Yi clenched a fist. To think that this starry sky had actually given birth to such a monster.

    Shang Qing stared at Lu Yin, and then looked over at Wang Yi. ¡°You can hurt me by teaming up, and this is also thest fight. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll let you see the full andplete power of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.¡±

    Everyone staring at the broadcast felt speechless; Shang Qing had still been holding back?

    Below, Ku Wei was speechless. ¡°Seventh Bro, just forget it.¡±

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En was feeling quite satisfied. This was the strength of the invincible powerhouse that the Hall of Honor had been carefully raising. With the power Tri-Yang Technique, Shang Qing would always be invincible among his peers no matter what level he climbed to.

    No, not only that, Progenitor Chen had been an invincible Progenitor whose power had been unmatched in both the ancient and modern times. Still, they had no idea just how strong Progenitor Chen had been when he had been a Semi-Progenitor. It was possible that at that time, he had already beenparable to an ordinary Progenitor. It was true that while even the idea of someone being a Realmbreaker at such a level was inconceivable, it was not entirely impossible when one considered Progenitor Chen.

    If this turned out to be true, then the moment that Shang Qing became a Semi-Progenitor, he would have the power of a full Progenitor and would be the Fifth Maind¡¯s first powerhouse to reach that level of strength since the fall of their Daosource Sect. If Shang Qing became Progenitor, his strength might actually surpass that of Progenitor Chen in the past.

    Everyone stared at Shang Qing, even ancient powerhouses felt a touch of pity for Lu Yin and his peers at this moment. Many of them were talented and powerful enough to dominate an entire era, but the current era would never belong to any of them. This was to be Shang Qing¡¯s era. It would belong to the Tri-Yang Technique, which essentially meant that this era belonged to Progenitor Chen.

    The youths were to be pitied for when they had been born.

    Atop Zenith Mountain, thest strand of ancestral qi moved away from Shang Qing¡¯s body, and it began to take on the form of a person. Everyone in the universe was staring carefully as the figure began to form. There were no gods, but watching this scene made people feel as though this person held heaven and earth in the palm of their hands.

    The man who appeared was handsome, and had a bit of a schr¡¯s demeanor. He stood there with his hands behind his back, and it felt as though he had suffered from the vicissitudes of life.

    The moment this man appeared, on another part of Zenith Mountain, Hui Santong¡¯s pupils shrank sharply. At the exact same time, in the territory of the Seven Courts, within Nature¡¯s Manifestation, Hui Zhi, the Hui family¡¯s patriarch, lost his voice. ¡°Patriarch?¡±

    In the Technocracy, in the middle of a magnificent city za, Hui Kong shot to his feet in excitement. ¡°Ancestor?¡±

    Shang Qing¡¯s third strand of ancestral qi had taken on the form of Progenitor Hui, the one who had created a scheme that had transcended history and time in order to protect humanity.

    Progenitor Hui, the person who had founded the Technocracy, one of the three powers of the current Fifth Maind. No one knew why Progenitor Hui had formed the Technocracy, not even his descendants, the Hui family, who still lived in the Neoverse.

    The greatest impression that most people had of Progenitor Hui was the Technocracy, and the other was of the Root of Intelligence. However, that was in the past. At the moment, the greatest impression that the top powers of both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds had of Progenitor Hui was how he had plotted against the Sixth Maind in a scheme that spanned eons.

    If one asked who the Sixth Maind hated the most at present, it was none other than Progenitor Hui. If not for Progenitor Hui, the Fifth Continent would have been invaded by monsters and destroyed instead of the Sixth Maind.

    Progenitor Hui had managed to peer down the long river of time and forcefully divert a disaster for the Fifth Maind over to the Sixth, and had even made all of the arrangements in a time that had long been forgotten.

    Throughout human history, Progenitor Chen was known as being invincible and possessing strength unparalleled throughout time. The Rune Progenitor had created a unique civilization that history had not dared to record or remember. However, Progenitor Hui had looked far into the future andid ns to unfold long after he was gone.

    It was hard to determine who was the stronger or weaker among these three Progenitors, but it was undeniable that the Progenitor who everyone admired and respected the most was Progenitor Hui, as he had saved all of humanity within the Fifth Maind.

    No one had expected Shang Qing¡¯s third strand of ancestral qi to take the form of Progenitor Hui. After all, despite the fact that Progenitor Hui hadid ns that spanned eons, no one had any information concerning hisbat strength.

    Wang Yi stared at the summoned Progenitor Hui with eyes full of fear. A powerful person was not one to be feared, but rather the person who was both powerful and intelligent. Even though this Progenitor Hui had been formed by a strand of ancestral qi and had no intelligence, Wang Yi was not sure why, but this third summon terrified him. He felt as though this person could see straight through him.

    Lu Yin had the same feeling. If the summoned clones of Progenitor Chen had been a powerful body, then the arrival of Progenitor Hui felt like a soul had been added to that body. Also, Lu Yiin had ess to some information that others did not know: Progenitor Hui had been a Lockbreaker.

    What Lu Yin had seen on the Royal Frost Continent had exined a lot, and Lu Yin knew that Progenitor Hui had been a powerful Lockbreaker, but that did not say anything at all about how powerful Progenitor Hui had been when he had been an Enlighter.

    Progenitor Hui¡¯s appearance left the mountaintop silent for a while, and not even Wang Yi had the courage to seize the initiative, and instead took a defensive stance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twiteched before and smacked a hand forward.

    There was a bang, and half of Progenitor Hui¡¯s body was destroyed and reverted back into a strand of qi.

    Lu Yin was stunned, Huh? Did that actually work?

    Wang Yi was also stunned; had that attack actually hit?

    Everyone else felt simrly stunned at what they had just seen, as this looked far too easy!

    The qi swirled around for a moment before merging back to reform the rest of Progenitor Hui¡¯s body. The summoned Progenitor Hui looked up, and then moved his hands and feet as he took a step. After that, the peak of Zenith Mountain started surging. There was a sense that the area was being disturbed by something, and the void in the entire area warped.

    Lu Yin was shocked. As he watched, the star energy of the entire peak, no¡ªthe entire mountain¡ªstarted moving. It was not only the void and the ambient star energy, but also star crystals and the star energy within people¡¯s bodies that started moving.

    Lu Yin had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, but even he was not able to control the star energy within someone¡¯s body.

    Wang Yi felt the same surprise, and his face had gone pale. This was Progenitor Hui.

    At the bottom of a staircase, Liquor Hero set down her wine and looked up. She was not particrly concerned about ZENITH, but at this moment, she had be serious as she stared at Progenitor Hui. Liquor Hero had reached the Creation realm of star energy control, and yet even her star energy was being influenced at this moment.

    Since even Liquor Hero was being affected, clearly when Progenitor Hui had been an Enlighter, his control of star energy had surpassed even Liquor Hero. That was truly terrifying.

    Many people suddenly thought of something; thus far, Lu Yin and Wang Yi had only been facing two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, and though they were terrifyingly powerful, they did not represent the full strength of Progenitor Chen. On the other hand, Progenitor Hui had been just as renowned as Progenitor Chen, though apparently a bit weaker. However, was it truly possible that Progenitor Hui could not evenpare to two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones? For Progenitor Hui to have been on the same level as Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui had to be able to at least stand up to the united nine clones of Progenitor Chen.

    This meant that the summoned Progenitor Hui facing Lu Yin and Wang Yi represented the full power of a Progenitor when he had been an Enlighter.

    This thought sent a chill through both youths¡¯ hearts.

    Progenitor Hui made a move. Unlike Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui approached only Lu Yin, and then circled around.

    An astral chessboard had already appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, but he held back from using the secret technique, as Progenitor Hui had still not attacked, leaving Lu Yin a bit confused.

    Wang Yi¡¯s figure shed, and he again charged at Shang Qing at top speed, only to be blocked by Progenitor Chen.

    Lu Yin attacked Progenitor Hui, and bombarded him with Vacuum Palms. Lu Yin wanted to force the summon back to being a stream of ancestral qi, as Progenitor Hui left Lu Yin feeling a bit panicked.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s attacks did notnd as easily as they had before, and Progenitor Hui disappeared.

    Lu Yin felt a chill on the back of his head and he whipped his head around. Lu Yin saw Progenitor Hui behind him; staring at him. Those empty eyes left Lu Yin feeling horrified. When had Progenitor Hui shown up there? The astral chessboard was still under Lu Yin, and he moved.

    There was a bang. Lu Yin was not able to move away. The void twisted around him and isted him from the rest of the universe. He had been trapped.

    Lu Yin was incredulous. He had just tried to use a secret technique to dodge, but had failed. That was a secret technique, so why had it not worked?

    Progenitor Hui disappeared once again, and he moved about the top of the mountain without attacking Lu Yin or Wang Yi. It looked like he was just wandering about.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and attacked the twisted void with a palm. His hand sank deep into the void, but he could not break the barrier.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and his pupils transformed into runes as he looked around. He suddenly saw a sourcebox array, and he was trapped within it. This was what had managed to stop his secret technique.

    In the Neoverse, in the Lockbreaker World, Xiu Ming¡¯s expression was solemn. ¡°One of the thirty-six arrays from True Insight: As If Closed.¡±

    For a long time, no one knew who had created True Insight, with the sole exception of a few people like Xiu Ming. They knew that True Insight hade from Progenitor Hui¡¯s time, as he had been the one to create True Insight.

    Originally, True Insight had had seventy-two pages, though only thirty-six pages remained. The other half of the book had been lost in the passage of time.

    There were only thirty-six pages remaining, and a good portion of them had been stolen during the original war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. The Sixth Maind also had copies of True Insight, but even the copies used the same contents as the original copy.

    It could be said that Progenitor Hui was the ancestor of all modern Lockbreakers, as they had all benefited from his aplishments. All of the most powerful Lockbreakers in recent times had also been inspired to one degree or another by True Insight.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe for even a moment that Progenitor Hui had managed to create an original sourcebox array when he had been just an Enlighter. When Xiu Ming had seen Progenitor Hui use a sourcebox array from the pages of True Insight, he believed the same as Lu Yin, and assumed that Progenitor Hui had not been the creator of this particr array. Even Progenitors received legacies from their ancestors.

 Chapter 1320: A Battle of Despair

    <h4>Chapter 1320: A Battle of Despair</h4>

    As If Closed was clearly a legacy from an earlier time than even Progenitor Hui.

    Progenitor Hui was doing much more than just arranging a sourcebox array.

    When the summoned Progenitor Hui appeared before Wang Yi, Lu Yin saw that the Progenitor was also moving with the assistance of another sourcebox array. This sourcebox array felt familiar to Lu Yin, and it gave Progenitor Hui the impression of being a constant wanderer.

    Lu Yin stood atop Zenith Mountain, and his expression suddenly changed. This was not good! , This was the same space transfer array that Shaman God had used before.

    As long as a person had the correct coordinates, they would be able to travel a vast distance through space. Progenitor Hui had just been wandering about the mountaintop, but he had also been setting the coordinates.

    Some distance away, Wang Yi had no intention of fighting against the merged Progenitor Chen, and instead focused on attacking Shang Qing. However, as soon as Wang Yi drew close, the summoned Progenitor Hui blocked him.

    Wang Yi was horrified; how could this be possible? Could Progenitor Hui actually be faster than even Wang Yi?

    Wang Yi reflexively attacked with a Four Arts: Bear Stalwart.

    Progenitor Hui disappeared, and then instantly reappeared behind Wang Yi, but Wang Yi did not notice anything. He picked up his feet to flee, but the star energy within his body turned chaotic, which left him unstable and unable to use any of his battle techniques. At this same time, Progenitor Chen shot straight through Progenitor Hui and attacked Wang Yi''s back.

    A dark light prated and invaded Wang Yi¡¯s body. It was apanied by a freezing energy that came from the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm.

    Wang Yi could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. This blood was actually ck, and it formed a frozen ball that fell through the air.

    Wang Yi fled, but Progenitor Hui stuck to Wang Yi like a shadow and constantly disturbed Wang Yi¡¯s star energy.

    Wang Yi was frustrated and feltpletely powerless. He was facing someone who obviously was the same age and had received the same sort of opportunities, and so Wang Yi had expected to feel so helpless under this particr universe.

    Wu Taibai was watching from the distance, and he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s all useless. Even if that person was facing Progenitor Hui, they might not win. It¡¯s likely that the odds of their defeat are as high as 90%, even with a Progenitor Hui who has no intelligence."

    Shang Qing coldly watched everything. Was this the end? This was rather disappointing!

    Wang Yi retreated to the edge of the mountain. There was blood at the corner of his mouth, he reluctantly said, "I give up."

    Although this was expected, Shang Qing still could not stop himself from feeling disappointed. He had known from the beginning that this would be the result. No one could defeat him. In this era, there was no one who could match up to him.

    Everyone watching the livestream was able to hear the helplessness in Wang Yi''s words, but what else could he have done? Not to mention the fact that both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui were on that battlefield, Shang Qing himself was even able to simply ignore attacks due to his unknown innate gift.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was still sealed.

    Everyone switched their focus to Lu Yin, who Progenitor Hui had trapped. At this moment, Lu Yin was thest person stillpeting.

    The twisted void around Lu Yin gradually calmed down. Progenitor Hui had released the array.

    Shang Qing stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯ve done well, and you even met my expectations. No, you¡¯ve truly exceeded expectations. From now on, you are the second Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor, and you are second only to me."

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En nodded. Shang Qing was worthy of being raised up by the Hall of Honor, and he had extensive knowledge. At this moment, elevating Lu Yin to the position of second Honor Chosen would help the Hall of Honor and Shang Qing to win over people''s hearts. After all, Lu Yin was the master of the entire Outerverse.

    In an invisible region of space, the Chief Justice was hidden within the dark, but he was silently staring at the top of Zenith Mountain and Lu Yin. There was a strange look in the Chief Justice¡¯s eyes.

    Everyone watching the broadcast began to look away. ZENITH was over.

    In the Outerverse, although the people of the Great Eastern Alliance had been supporting Lu Yin, no one believed that Lu Yin had the power to challenge Shang Qing. That young man was too much of a freak.

    Madam Nn was drinking a red wine and helplessly shook her head, You¡¯ve reached your limit, but unfortunately, you encountered a truly iprehensible person.

    Near the barrier in the Starfall Sea that formed a barrier, the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Secret Arts looked away. ZENITH was over. Their Sixth Maind had had Bu Kong and Wu Taibai enter the top ten, which were eptable results.

    The Progenitor of Combat continued to stare at Zenith Mountain. He was staring at Shang Qing, as this youth was guaranteed to eventually be the most powerful expert in the Fifth Maind.

    When he thought back to the invincible strength of Progenitor Chen, fear and a killing intent grew even stronger in the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s eyes.

    Everyone thought that ZENITH was over, except for one person: Lu Yin. He believed he could continue. At least, he wanted to say that he had done his very best.

    "Second Honor Chosen? Number two doesn¡¯t sound too good to me, so I want to try; can I be the first Honor Chosen?" Lu Yin stared back at Shang Qing, and the fighting spirit in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes never diminished in the slightest.

    Lu Yin''s words echoed through the universe via the live broadcast, and everyone nkly stared at him.

    "This guy¡¯s an idiot! He couldn¡¯t win by teaming up, but he still wants to try on his own?¡±

    "He was just trapped and couldn''t even move, but now he wants to fight?"

    "I¡¯m betting he just wants to show off."

    ¡­

    All across Zenith Mountain, Lan Si, Yuhua Mavis, Wu Taibai, Ling Gong, and more. Everyone who heard Lu Yin''s words was stunned; did he still want to fight?

    Wang Yi stared nkly at Lu Yin, frowning. Shang Qing had made even Wang Yi feel powerless, yet this person still wanted to fight?

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En frowned. Lu Yin was a bit ignorant, but it was impossible for him to defeat Shang Qing. If Lu Yin persisted, he would only humiliate himself, unfortunately.

    In the invisible region of space, the Chief Justice¡¯s cold and stern eyes suddenly revealed a smile. Anyone who knew him would find this to be unbelievable, as the Chief Justice had neverughed.

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zenughed; Let''s fight! Fight if you want! Not matter which of you wins or loses, you both represent my Hall of Honor and the Fifth Maind!

    On Eversky Ind, Highsage Grandmaster praised Lu Yin, "Good child. Even if you are beaten to death, you can''t simply admit defeat. Not bad."

    In the Cosmic Sect, Sect Master Yuan Qiong stared at a screen. He was very impressed with Lu Yin, and he wanted this child to be part of his Cosmic Sect. Yuan Qiong had watched how Lu Yin had made his way through ZENITH. He had defeated Yuhua Mavis, and then both Liu Tianmu and Xia Jiuyou. Each and every one had been a true powerhouse within their generation, and yet Lu Yin had been the one to continue past all others. Yuan Qion hade to appreciate Lu Yin more and more throughout thispetition, but unfortunately, Lu Yin was not from the Cosmic Sect.

    However, where did the child learn their Teleportation Formation?

    "You want to fight me?" Shang Qing''s eyes were deep and he shook his head. "It''s useless."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I want to try."

    As he spoke, an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and it spread out across the entire mountaintop. Lu Yin waved a hand and moved.

    He moved Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui, and even Shang Qing. Lu Yin raised his hand once more: Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin had shifted Shang Qing over in front of where the Vacuum Palm would appear, but Progenitor Hui appeared in front of Shang Qing with a raised hand of his own.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Progenitor Hui had reached the Creation realm of star energy control, while Lu Yin had merely reached the Worldliness realm. Progenitor Hui transformed the Vacuum Palm into star energy, in much the same way that Liquor Hero had absorbed God Qingguang¡¯s weapons into a barrel of wine. For those who had reached the Creation realm, Worldliness was nothing much.

    The Creation realm of star control could almost be considered simr to a secret technique or a sourcebox array, as one could transform something rotten into something miraculous, and could epass all things, bothrge and small.

    Lu Yin''s body disappeared in a sh, and the light of Progenitor Chen''s de fell where Lu Yin had just stood. Wang Yi¡¯s defeat had unsealed Progenitor Chen¡¯s abilities that had been sealed. This de sliced through the void, and the tear traveled all of the way to the firstyer.

    Many of the eliminated contestants were stunned, and God Taiyi did not hesitate to use Truesight to weaken the power of the attack as it approached the firstyer and cut the area of the mountain in two.

    All of the other contestants went speechless as they saw Progenitor Chen¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared behind Shang Qing, but simultaneously, Progenitor Hui also appeared. He had continued to wander about the mountaintop and had calcted countless coordinates, which allowed him to instantly appear anywhere.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and Vacuum Palm rained out continuously as Lu Yin casually waved his hand about.

    Progenitor Hui raised his hand to absorb the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, only to discover that the Vacuum Palm had already disappeared. Lu Yin had secretly diverted his Vacuum Palm with the Yu Secret Art, and it struck Shang Qing head on.

    Shang Qing was caught off guard by this attack. It had been too sudden, and Shang Qing had never expected Lu Yin to be able to even touch him, so the Vacuum Palm mmed into apletely unprepared Shang Qing, and it left him bleeding.

    Progenitor Chen moved between Shang Qing and Progenitor Hui, and shed out with a de. Lu Yin quickly evaded the attack, the void twisted all around him, and the sourcebox array As If Closed trapped Lu Yin in ce.

    The de light swept through the air, straight for Lu Yin''s abdomen. It struck, and blood flowed from therge wound, dripping onto the mountain after staining Lu Yin¡¯s clothes.

    Shang Qing coughed and looked at Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Chen lifted his de once more, and then brought it down in a chop.

    Lu Yin could not break the sourcebox array, so he could only go up against the attack. He diverted all of his fatesand, and it appeared in front of him and blocked the de, only to be instantly shattered and sent back into Lu Yin''s body.

    The de light continued to fall, and Lu Yin gritted his teeth: Channeling Diagram.

    There was a bang as the Channeling Diagram diverted the sharp edge of the de into countless channels that spread out in all directions. Suddenly, a dark light appeared right before Lu Yin''s eyes, and it almost enveloped him. It was apanied by an icy cold that felt just like what Lu Yin had felt from that knight who had ridden a warhorse through space and terrified Lu Yin.

    Countless people grew tense as they watched, and Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder was torn open by Progenitor Chen¡¯s de. The wound traveled down to his chest, and blood sshed for several meters from the diagonal cut.

    Puff

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood that turned to ice as it fell. Lu Yin had been severely wounded by the de, and had simultaneously been struck by the dark light. He was not able to endure, and he crumpled to the ground.

    In an Azure Mansion, Ming Yan''s face went pale, and her hair instantly turned white. She stared at Shang Qing with murder in her eyes.

    On Zenith Mountain, Zhuo Daynight, Wendy Yushan, and others closed their eyes in unison. Lu Yin had lost.

    Yuhua Mavis, Wu Taibai. and a few others shook their heads. No one was capable of defeating a Progenitor within the same realm, and even if someone dreamed of one day bing a Progenitor themselves, there was no path to victory when facing both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui.

    Shang Qing was only one person, but he wielded the power of two Progenitors, and this was a truly unfathomable power.

    Mira was feelingplicated emotions. She had been the one to lead Lu Yin out into the universe, and she had watched him as he climbed, step by step, to reach his current strength. However, he had just been defeated by Shang Qing.

    Wang Yi frowned as he looked at Lu Yin where hey on the ground. It was impossible to know if Lu Yin was dead or alive, but it seemed that he was not from that family, as if he were, it was impossible for Lu Yin not to use that innate gift. With those innate gifts, Lu Yin might be able to win.

    Wang Yi shook his head. He had thought that Lu Yin had confidence to be able to challenge Shang Qing, but it turned out to be nothing more than empty bravado.

    Zhi Yi, Bu Kong, and others stared at Lu Yin. Their eyes showed how jealous they were of Shang Qing and how thrilled they were at Lu Yin¡¯s defeat. If he died, that would be fine, as his death would mean one less threatening opponent from the Fifth Maind.

    Even if they were the Daosource Three Skies, they still had to admit that Lu Yin had surpassed them in terms of absolute strength.

    Countless people stared at Lu Yin, each of them filled with all kinds ofplicated emotions.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1321: God of Death Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 1321: God of Death Transformation</h4>

    Outside Zenith Mountain, in the invisible void, the Chief Justice¡¯s eyes narrowed; was this the end?

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Shang Qing held his head high. He had been injured, but he still felt very disappointed. No one was capable of forcing him into a life-and-death crisis, and no one could help him break through the barrier of the Tri-Yang Technique.

    Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui both transformed back into strands of qi that swirled around Shang Qing¡¯s body, making him look like a deity as he stood in the sky. This was the same appearance that he had had at the beginning of ZENITH, but now, he was the first and only Pinnacle Youth.

    He looked up at the statue. The originally featureless face would soon take on his appearance. To him, invincibility was simply a process. Shang Qing¡¯s goal was to be a Progenitor, not just be peerless within his realm. Unfortunately, no one could defeat him.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En was feeling very satisfied. This was Shang Qing, and ZENITH was over. They had seeded. Of the top ten, six were from the Human Domain, one was a Celestial Demon from the Astral Beast Domain, one was Wang Yi from the Technocracy, and two were youths from the Sixth Maind. These results were perfectly eptable to the Hall of Honor.

    The most satisfying detail was Shang Qing¡¯s fights. No matter who he had gone up against, he had basically crushed all of his opponents. That was it. Although the purpose of ZENITH was to select the top ten, there was also the intention of raising the Human Domain¡¯s morale and allowing the universe to see the strength and invincibility of the Hall of Honor.

    This result had been expected.

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, the twisted void disappeared from around Lu Yin as the sourcebox array was lifted, unsealing Lu Yin.

    Shang Qing looked away from the statue and back at Lu Yin. In thest attack, Shang Qing had held back, as otherwise, he would have killed Lu Yin.

    Eh? Shang Qing snapped back to look at Lu Yin once again. This time, a ck and white mist had appeared from somewhere and was wrapping itself around Lu Yin¡¯s body, though Shang Qing had no idea when it had appeared.

    Shang Qing was not the only one, as everyone was seeing the same thing, and they were all staring at the top of the mountain in confusion.

    What the hell was this? A ck and white cocoon?

    Everyone throughout the universe was staring at their screens and focusing on the ck and white cocoon that had appeared. What in the world was that?

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Mu En''s eyes narrowed. That, that was death energy!

    In the Neoverse, Highsage Grandmaster became solemn. ck and white?

    In the Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen waspletely focused on the ck and white cocoon. Even with his level of self-restraint, he was rather stunned at the moment.

    God Taiyi, Jin He, God Qingguang, and the others who could use Truesight were all staring at the ck and white cocoon in utter disbelief. In their vision, Lu Yin¡¯s number of rune lines were spiking without showing any signs of stopping or slowing down.

    Jin He had a grudge against Lu Yin, and upon seeing this situation, he could not hold himself back anymore. He created numerous weapons andunched every single one of them at the dual-colored cocoon. Jin He believed that Lu Yin was currently undergoing some sort of transformation and that it had to be interrupted.

    The various weapons bombarded the ck and white cocoon without any hesitation, but they were simply absorbed into the ck before eventually shattering.

    Jin He was horrified at what he saw. "Hurry up! He''s metamorphosing!"

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Shang Qing stared at the ck and white cocoon. His eyes showed a rare light of excitement and fighting intent as his mouth pulled up into a smile. Two strands of ancestral qi left his body and transformed into summons of Progenitor Chen that then merged together. "So this is what gave you the courage to challenge me. Is this power? Then give it a shot. I hope that you can push me past my limits!"

    His voice cut off, and the ck and white cocoon in the distance broke open. A figure slowly stood up from it.

    High in the sky, the ck color rose up, looking like a crashing wave that spread out through space before moving off into the distance.

    Throughout the region, everyone and everything that was touched by this ck energy felt a chill run through their hearts, even the Envoys whose power levels approached a million. They felt as if a terrifying power was present within this energy. It was not that Lu Yin was a threat himself, but rather this energy that was terrifying.

    However, at this moment, no one cared about the ck energy, as everyone was staring at their screens in disbelief.

    Even the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were staring at Zenith Mountain in disbelief.

    At the top of the mountain, Lu Yin quietly rose to his feet. At this moment, his appearance had changed drastically, and he even looked like apletely different person.

    Long hair hung down to his waist. His upper body was naked, though ck energy continued to swirl around him like a spinning neb, encircling his body like a chain. Iprehensible dark red veins ran across his entire body as white energy formed a shield on his left arm while his right hand held a massive scythe. The ck energy gathered behind him like a cloud, and a faint pair of eyes were ever so visible in the cloud, its expression screaming of death and ruthlessness.

    The broken ck and white cocoon gradually transformed into more ck energy, which slowly moved to wrap around Lu Yin and form a ck cloak.

    Lu Yin looked up. His eyes werepletely ck, and he looked like god of death as he stared at Shang Qing.

    At this moment, everyone in the entire universe lost their voices as they nkly stared on.

    Further down the mountain, ck was stunned. Her eyes were wide. ¡°Okay, okay¡­ So, so handsome."

    White shouted, "So handsome! Handsome Bro!"

    Ling Gong was shocked. Even she had to admit that, at this moment, Lu Yin truly looked very handsome.

    Ku Wei was horrified as he stared at Lu Yin with fear and excitement. "Se- Seventh Bro, you¡¯re all grown up!¡±

    Wen Sansi, Unseen Light, and more stared at Lu Yin for a moment in shock; what was this? Was this his innate gift?

    Lu Yin had never revealed his innate gift before, so naturally, this was most people¡¯s guess.

    Mira''s scalp went numb. She had once seen Lu Yin''s innate gift before, and it was supposed to be something rted to healing, so what was this? Did he have dual innate gifts?

    Wang Yi was shocked as well. What? Why do I feel like I''ve heard of this before but can''t seem to remember?

    Wu Taibai stared hard at Lu Yin. He also felt that he had heard about something simr about Lu Yin¡¯s current state, but he was also unable to remember.

    Jin He nkly stared at Lu Yin. At this moment, the number of rune lines that Jin He could see on Lu Yin left the Arbiter terrified. It was not an overwhelming sense of terror, but rather a deep, cold fear rted to how much this number of runes could affect the universe. Jin He had chills all over.

    He was one of the Ten Arbiters, and he had cultivated Truesight, the inheritance of the Rune Civilization, to the Knowing realm. How could Jin He be afraid of anyone? That should be impossible.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes, those pure ck eyes, stared at Jin He, and Lu Yin slowly raised the scythe in his right hand.

    Jin He''s pupils instantly constricted. This was bad! Jin He¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he immediately used the full power of Truesight¡¯s Knowing realm.

    The Knowing realm of Truesight allowed the user to use something as a point of reference. Then, any attack could be rendered ineffective against the point of reference. Jin He¡¯s current point of reference was himself. ZENITH was apetition. Thus, although Lu Yin had suddenly moved before anybody could react, Jin He just needed to endure one attack. Then, the Hall of Honor would definitely intervene.

    Lu Yin lowered his arm and scythe. Jin He and Lu Yin stared at each other. As Jin He looked at those pure ck eyes, he was struck by a boundless fear. As the scythe fell down, blood leaked out from Jin He¡¯s seven orifices. A diagonal wound had somehow appeared across his body, from which blood sprayed out and flowed across the ground.

    Jin He¡¯s head slowly dropped down, and he saw the massive, bleeding wound across his chest; how had this happened?

    One of the Ten Arbiters, Jin He, had been instantly beheaded by Lu Yin with his strange scythe.

    The countless people watching were stunned as their scalps went numb. The person closest to Jin He had been God Taiyi, as he had been fighting against Jin He earlier. At this moment, God Taiyi¡¯s entire body trembled as he looked at Lu Yin with fear and disbelief.

    Jin He¡¯s mastery of Truesight had been even greater God Taiyi¡¯s, and yet Jin He had been instantly beheaded and killed. This meant that even the powerful defensive techniques of Truesight had been useless against Lu Yin. Just what had Lu Yin done?

    At the top of the mountain, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; just like that, Jin He was dead?

    Lu Yin tightly clenched the handle of his scythe. This power was truly terrifying, to the point where he did not even want to use it.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time using this power. In the Royal Frost Continent, he had tried to use this energy in his Timestop Space, but it had beenpletely beyond his control. This power was uncontroble and tyrannical, but fortunately, he had retained enough rationality to force himself out of that particr state at that time.

    His second attempt had been after Mister Mu had appeared and ordered Lu Yin to take first ce in ZENITH. This was the power that Mister Mu had seen, and so, Lu Yin had been left with no choice but to try to use this power. Without it, he had no confidence in being able to defeat hispetition.

    His second attempt had not been a singr attempt, but rather multiple attempts in his Timestop Space. Eventually, he had finally managed to suppress his raging emotions slightly, which allowed his rationality to take control.

    In the past, he had tried to use this power within the istion and protection of his Timestop Space, but at this moment, Lu Yin waspletely exposed to the entire universe. However, he was very satisfied with his state of mind, as his rationality was able to suppress the urges of massacre and tyranny. He named this the God of Death Transformation

    "Is this your ultimate strength? I hope that you can surprise me," Shang Qing said.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and looked over at Shang Qing. "This is thest battle, so let¡¯s finish this."

    Lu Yin spoke in a tone that was colder than anything he had ever used before. It was as though he waspletely devoid of all emotions. His voice carried the chill of winter, and it was enough to send a shudder through all who heard it.

    Shang Qing''s eyes betrayed his excitement. "Okay."

    He then waved a hand, prompting the fused Progenitor Chen to lift its de and attack Lu Yin. This attack far surpassed what had been directed at anyone else. If it had been used just a few moments before, then even if Lu Yin retaliated with his Seventh Bro Finger, he still would have been beaten back.

    However, at the present moment, Lu Yin had a strange look as he stared at the summoned Progenitor Chen''s approaching de¡ªthis attack did not seem that strong.

    As this thought finished, Lu Yin raised his left arm, along with the white energy that had be a shield, to block the de.

    The summoned Progenitor Chen shed down with his de, and a tremendous bang rang across the entire mountainside. The entire mountaintop sank down, and the remnant de qi spread throughout the rest of Zenith Mountain. After that, a dim light shot high into the sky, and the faint mes from the de were immediately vanquished.

    Everyone stared at the top of the mountain. What was happening up there?

    At the mountain peak, Lu Yin was still standing firm, as the summoned Progenitor Chen''s de had been ineffective against him.

    Across from Lu Yin, Shang Qing''s pupils shrank, and for the first time, he turned a bit pale. He instinctively used his third strand of ancestral qi and brought out Progenitor Hui.

    Lu Yin raised his right arm and shed across with his scythe, looking like a god of death. The summoned Progenitor Chen instantly retreated as it counterattacked with its de. There was another tremendous bang, and the summoned Progenitor Chen was sted almost a kilometer away. The shockwave from the attack shredded the void in its passage.

    Lu Yin raised his scythe and shed at Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing felt the same sensation as Jin He¡ªit was a chill that he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life.

    He possessed a power simr to users of Truesight who had reached the Knowing realm, or individuals who could traverse the void to turn immaterial and ignore attacks from even the most powerful experts.

    However, after seeing Jin He''s fate, Shang Qing did not dare to take this attack head on with just his innate gift. The summoned Progenitor Hui appeared and then disappeared, taking Shang Qing with him.

    The void shattered as the area was swallowed in darkness. The ck energy spread out, looking like a spider web that was corroding the void itself.

    Everyone waspletely dumbfounded; did Lu Yin actually have the upper hand now?

    The summoned Progenitor Chen rushed over from a distance and once again attacked with its de. The invincible de qi was useless against Lu Yin, and he simply lifted his scythe and shed out to meet the iing de.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1322: All Together

    <h4>Chapter 1322: All Together</h4>

    There was a loud bang, and a spatial tear spread out from the point of impact. The shockwave spread out in all directions, causing cracks in the void that radiated far beyond Zenith Mountain and affected all of the nearbys.

    The fused Progenitor Chen was cut and forced back by Lu Yin¡¯s scythe; half of its body had been wounded.

    At this moment, the summoned Progenitor Hui appeared behind Lu Yin, and the sourcebox array As If Closed sealed him in.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were still dark and cold as he observed the twisted void that enveloped him. This array had previously trapped him and prevented him from escaping. As a result, he had been terribly injured by the fused Progenitor Chen.

    However, would this sourcebox array still be able to do that?

    The ck cloud of energy behind Lu Yin churned about like a neb, and it resisted the array before finally shattering it.

    The summoned Progenitor Hui spun one of its hands around and pulled at the ck energy, trying to take control of it with its Creation realm of star energy control. Lu Yin whirled around and attacked with his scythe, but the summoned Progenitor Hui simply disappeared. The attack shed through the void, continuing on past Zenith Mountain.

    Everyone down below the mountain looked up and stared nkly at the shattered void high above them. The power of this attack left their scalps numb.

    Progenitor Hui and Progenitor Chen had indeed been truly powerful, but Lu Yin was not facing Progenitors that had been suppressed to the Enlighter realm, but rather Enlighters who had eventually be Progenitors.

    It was not impossible to win against these two powerhouses who were still his peers.

    In his current state, Lu Yin was suppressing the Progenitors.

    Shang Qing had not expected that both the fused Progenitor Chen and the summoned Progenitor Hui would suffer a loss. After all, they had both suppressed Lu Yin individually and as a team just a few moments ago. Shang Qing fell back, shuddering with excitement.

    Lu Yin''s pitch ck eyes swept the area. Then, he raised the scythe high and shed it down.

    The summoned Progenitor Hui reappeared right next to Shang Qing and brought the youth away, once again traveling through the shattered void.

    No one had expected the invincible Shang Qing to suddenly be overpowered by Lu Yin, or more importantly, for both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui to be suppressed. It was indescribably incredible for someone to suppress both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui!

    If one looked through both the past and present, who was confident in defeating both of these two powerhouses?

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen stood up as he stared at his screen, his face incredibly solemn. Back when he had been fighting for that opportunity, he remembered that he had heard of a ck and white energy in that ce. Along with it had been mention of a scythe and ck eyes that seemed dead yet still held a spark of life. This was the power of one of the most ancient Progenitors: the God of Death.

    Highsage Grandmaster also remembered those same details, and his expression kept changing. This power should have disappeared long ago, so how had someone in this age actually inherited the power of the God of Death?

    In Aeternus Nation, Silver stared at his screen with a powerful excitement in his eyes. This was the power that his Specter n had been searching for for countless years! Anyone who could receive this power would be the king of the Specter n. Captain, please take care of me in the future!

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, the fused Progenitor Chen was forced back yet again. A portion of his body was sliced off, and it transformed back into a strand of ancestral qi that merged back into the summon¡¯s body. On the other side, the summoned Progenitor Hui tried his best to disturb Lu Yin''s star energy, but Lu Yin was not using any star energy at this moment, rendering the summon¡¯s efforts futile.

    Shang Qing finally made a move at this point. This was his first time taking action; up to now, he had relied solely on the summons of Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui to do all of the fighting for him, and the two had been able to suppress all of his opponents until they had no room to maneuver.

    Someone finally noticed something truly terrifying; Lu Yin had not moved a single step ever since he had transformed. He had not needed to dodge or evade, as none of the attacks had been powerful enough to threaten him.

    The summoned Progenitor Hui reappeared behind Lu Yin while at the same time, Shang Qing made his move. "Secret Technique: Banishment.¡±

    Lu Yin''s massive scythe mmed onto the ground, and the ck energy behind him surged up from below, bing a torrent that blocked Shang Qing¡¯s secret technique. Upon seeing this, Shang Qing was shocked to the core; how was Lu Yin able to block a secret technique?

    Shang Qing did not know that Lu Yin was using the power of the God of Death. That person had been an ancient Progenitor, and Lu Yin was currently using the battle techniques of one of humanity''s most ancient powerhouses.

    Lu Yin reached out with his left hand, moving out to grab Shang Qing. Shang Qing hurriedly evaded, but a chill ran across his spine as he looked into Lu Yin¡¯s pure ck eyes. A moment of panic filled him as Lu Yin¡¯s right hand dropped down, shing the scythe down upon Shang Qing¡¯s body.

    The sh tore open an arc in the void, and the summoned Progenitor Hui appeared to take Shang Qing away, but there was no ce they could go that was out of Lu Yin¡¯s scythe¡¯s attack range.

    The summoned Progenitor Hui was instantly cut open by the attack, and it reverted to a strand of qi. At the same time, Shang Qing had suffered a nasty cut across his abdomen that blood poured out of.

    Shang Qing''s face went pale. Secret Technique: Discipline.

    The same wound appeared on Lu Yin''s waist. This was the power of Discipline. If Shang Qing was injured, then Lu Yin would suffer the same injury.

    However, no blood spilled out from Lu Yin¡¯s wound, only more ck energy. It swirled around Lu Yin¡¯s body before the wound healed itself¡ªeven the cloak around Lu Yin¡¯s waist recovered to its previous state.

    Despite theck of blood, Lu Yin still felt the pain, and the pain seemed to aggravate his violent urges. His pure ck eyes sparkled as the enormous scythe in his hand mmed the ground while he addressed all of Zenith Mountain. He raised a hand and crooked a finger. ¡°All of you,e.¡±

    Throughout ZENITH, Lu Yin had not been very arrogant, but he was barely able to control himself in this current state. After being injured, his violent urges had taken over, and it had reached a point where he either needed to end his current state, or sate his urges. However, if Lu Yin did not use this ck and white power, he would not be able to win.

    Shang Qing alone was not enough to satisfy Lu Yin¡¯s current urges, so he needed to provoke everyone.

    Wang Yi attacked without any hesitation. His body disappeared in a sh. "Four Arts: Celestial de."

    Lu Yin flicked his left arm, causing the white shield to turn and block the Celestial de. The impact of the scythe forced Wang Yi back a hundred meters.

    This horrified Wang Yi; had his speed been suppressed?

    On the other side, Wu Taibai covered his face with a hand as the strange energy boiling over from his body gathered above the palm of his hand and then shot out towards Lu Yin.

    At the same time, Xia Jiuyou''s Triple de Will and Qiu Shi''s Celestial Sword both attacked at the same time.

    Everyone at the top of Zenith Mountain were among the most powerful members of their generation, and they were all very decisive. Since Lu Yin was antagonizing them, they did not hesitate.

    It was clear that every attack was extremely powerful, and both the Triple de Will and the Celestial Sword were amazing attacks from ZENITH¡¯s top ten finalists. But despite their obvious power, nothing was able to break through the ck energy protecting Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Wu Taibainded back on the ground and threw a punch. This was the punch that had once suppressed Yuhua Mavis.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and grabbed at Wu Taibai. The invisible energy covering Wu Taibai''s body was immediately entangled by the ck energy before being broken through, oneyer at a time.

    No one was more surprised by this than Wu Taibai, though Wang Yi was almost as stunned.

    There was a bang as Wu Taibai was thrown away.

    The summoned Progenitor Chen stabbed at Lu Yin¡¯s head, but Lu Yin simply raised his left arm again. There was another bang, and the resulting impact released a shockwave that left both Xia Jiuyou and Qiu Shi trembling at the bottom of the stairs.

    There was a howl as Yao Xuan attacked. As his terrifying spiritual force crashed down, it felt as if the sky itself was copsing.

    However, and the eyes formed from the ck energy shed and the spiritual force attack disappeared as soon as it approached Lu Yin. Both star energy and spiritual force were useless against the energy that Lu Yin was currently using.

    Yao Xuan gritted his teeth. Whether or not he would be able toplete Skymender¡¯s mission all depended on this battle. At this point in ZENITH, it was clear that no one individual couldpare to Lu Yin, so Yao Xuan looked down below the ten staircases. ¡°Attack.¡±

    With a roar, Star Devourer returned to his normal massive size, and he raised a paw up high before smashing it down.

    When it came to pure strength, there was no one in ZENITH who couldpare to Star Devourer. Even in Lu Yin¡¯s current condition, Star Devourer was still confident that he would win in a battle of pure strength.

    Lu Yin was still standing in the same ce as Star Devourer¡¯s massive shadow covered Lu Yin, the enormous astral beast towering high above. In response, Lu Yin grabbed the ck energy surrounding him, causing it to be something like a chain in his left hand, which he then flung out and wrapped around Star Devourer. Lu Yin was using the ck energy to bind the astral beast.

    Suddenly, the void around Lu Yin was cut off, and he was surrounded by darkness. This was another secret technique: ck Coffin. Unseen Light had attacked.

    The next moment, the coffin sprouted spikes.

    Everyone stared to see what had happened to Lu Yin.

    However, after the ck coffin disappeared, it revealed Lu Yin,pletely unscathed.

    Unseen Light felt bitter; could even secret techniques not do anything to Lu Yin anymore?

    Bai Mai turned towards Lu Yin with an open mouth, and the corpse bug bit at the ck energy.

    As a species that could even parasitize Progenitors, Bai Mai was able to bite through anything, and its only weakness was being trapped, which was why Liquor Hero¡¯s wine had been the bug¡¯s nemesis.

    However, when Bai Mai bit the ck energy, its mouth froze. While it was stunned, Lu Yin grabbed the bug with a hand before exerting pure strength and crushing Bai Mai.

    Yao Xuan''s pupils constricted sharply; how was this possible?

    Xu Ling had wanted to sneak attack Lu Yin, but the moment the Void Wanderer saw what happened to Bai Mai, he panicked and turned to flee.

    Bu Kong attacked with a Reversal Cycle, and his palm shot towards Lu Yin.

    However, before Bu Kong¡¯s palm could touch Lu Yin, the ck chain shot out of the void, wrapped around him, and tossed him aside just like Star Devourer.

    An image of green leaves appeared on Yuhua Mavis¡¯s forehead, and at the same time, God Taiyi stared at Lu Yin from a distance and erased a portion of Lu Yin¡¯s runes.

    Yuhua Mavis released her punch.

    Lu Yin''s left hand shot out, and Yuhua Mavis was forced back down to the firstyer of Zenith Mountain.

    Wu Taibai and Wang Yi both looked at each other. "I didn''t expect that we would need to team up while in this starry sky."

    Wang Yi felt helpless as well. "It¡¯s just that neither of us can win on our own. This guy is just too much of a monster, and he can evenpare to those people."

    Wu Taibaiughed. "I have to admire him for forcing out such apliment from a descendant of the distinguished Wang family."

    Wang Yi did not bother with any further nonsense, and he charged at Lu Yin. "Four Arts: Bear Stalwart."

    On the other side, Wu Taibai also rushed out with the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint behind him. The overpowering aura swept out, and a martial print even appeared on the back of Wu Taibai¡¯s hand as he punched out.

    These two fists represented two unparalleled powers as they smashed into the ground and shuttled through the void.

    Lu Yin''s right hand shed across horizontally, and he sighed as dazzling rays of light shone out. The edge of his scythe destroyed the void, and the attack shot out into the space beyond Zenith Mountain.

    Fortunately, the Chief Justice arrived in time. Otherwise, this attack would have simply annihted everyone in that one direction.

    Wang Yi and Wu Taibai had both been forced back by a single attack, and they were even injured in the exchange. Blood fell, and all of their fingers on their attacking hands were mangled. They looked quite miserable.

    A breeze blew by, and Lu Yin''s eyes flickered¡ªthe Thirteenth Sword.

    Liu Tianmu had made her move. Once again, she was using the Thirteenth Sword: Emotion. The attack bypassed the ck energy and directly attacked Lu Yin himself.

    But just like before, the Thirteenth Sword was useless against Lu Yin.

    Liu Tianmu went pale; was it still useless?

    Starsibyl was shocked. There was no need for her to even attempt a divination, as Lu Yin still had not moved a single step!

    Even when everyone worked together, they could not get Lu Yin to move a single step. What kind of power was he using? How was it so overwhelming?

    Ku Wei and the others had gotten so excited that they were about to faint.

    ck and White kept jumping up and down while shouting about how handsome Lu Yin had be.

    Above Xi Qi''s head, the fish was actually silent as it stared at Lu Yin with a strange expression. This, what was this? It felt so familiar. What the hell was going on?

    No one could articte the shock and chill that they felt from seeing Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    The strength that he had revealed at this moment was truly iprehensible, and everyone was even more shocked than when Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui had appeared and revealed their power.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1323: Absolutely Invincible

    <h4>Chapter 1323: Absolutely Invincible</h4>

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen sighed emotionally. The power of the ancient Progenitors was beyond imagination. They were the source of all power, but how had this child inherited such a power? He had a primeval surname, so could he havee from that ce?

    Suddenly, the old man''s expression changed¡ªthis was not good! If Lu Yin had revealed such a level of strength, then there was no way that the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors would allow him to live, especially that Progenitor of Combat. This thought caused Arch-Elder Zen to immediately move out, as he had to ensure Lu Yin''s safety.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s thoughts were urate. At this moment, the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s eyes were filled with a murderous light. The God of Death! That¡¯s the power of the God of Death!

    This power should not exist, as it should have been erased from history long ago. And yet, the Fifth Maind actually had someone who had inherited this lost power. This could not be allowed. Never! Once this child became a Progenitor, who could possibly be his opponent? Not the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, and not even the invincible Progenitor Chen or the Rune Progenitor who had created the Rune Civilizations would be Lu Yin¡¯s opponent.

    Since Lu Yin had received the power of the God of Death, it meant that there was a very high probability that he would be a Progenitor in the future. No, he could never be allowed to do so.

    The more he thought, the stronger the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s killing intent became.

    Both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Secret Arts knew what was about to happen, but neither of them did anything to stop it.

    The hatred between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds ran too deep and had existed for far too long. They could allow the Fifth Maind to have one or two Progenitors to help them fight against those monsters. However, the three powerhouses would never allow a Progenitor to rise in the Fifth Maind who had the potential to overwhelm them.

    If the person who had received the power of the God of Death became a Progenitor, then the consequences would be catastrophic, and the threat facing the Sixth Maind would no longer be just those monsters.

    The Progenitor of Combat wanted to make a move, and he could not stop himself from doing so. His power moved to spread across the Fifth Maind once more. However, as soon as he began to move, he was stopped by a figure.

    ¡­

    At the top of Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin had be everyone¡¯s target, but no one could force him to move even a single step.

    He simply stood there and allowed all attacks to approach him. There was the Thirteenth Sword that had shocked the entire universe, all kinds of secret techniques, battle techniques, speed, and more. It seemed that everything was useless against him.

    After Lu Yin swept out with another terrible scythe attack, Wu Taibai, Wang Yi, and all of the others were knocked down from the top of the mountain.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had finally managed to satisfy his violent impulses, and a hole had appeared in the cloak that hung around his waist. His strength was running out.

    Lu Yin knew this, and he turned to stare at Shang Qing with his scythe raised high.

    Shang Qing clenched his fists. He was not obsessed with the title of Pinnacle Youth, and he merely hoped that Lu Yin would be able to help him break past his own limits. However, Shang Qing did not harbor much hope anymore, as he was still unable to break through that barrier. Even if Lu Yin forced things to a life-and-death crisis, it would not be enough to force Shang Qing past that barrier.

    Helpless, Shang Qing opened his mouth and said, "I give up."

    After his words rang out, Zenith Mountain fell silent, and everyone nkly stared at Lu Yin. Before this final match, who would have guessed that Lu Yin would be the final contender? He was the champion and was incontestably the most powerful youth in all of ZENITH.

    At this moment, the entire universe was focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his head and let out a long breath. The ck energy gradually converged, and the scythe in his right hand slowly dissipated. The white energy on his left arm also disappeared, and the cloud of ck energy that had gathered behind him and formed the eyes and chains disappeared as well. Even the cloak around Lu Yin¡¯s waist dissipated.

    His hair that had grown out to reach his waist also slowly receded to its original length, and his dark eyes regained their pupils.

    Countless people watched as Lu Yin returned to his original appearance. The bleeding woundscerating his body were so severe that he trembled and almost copsed.

    Using the death energy had made Lu Yin invincible, but it had not reversed time, and his previous injuries had not disappeared. This included the gash on Lu Yin¡¯s waist that he had received from Shang Qing¡¯s Discipline.

    Lu Yin forced his head up and looked at Shang Qing. Lu Yin had to admit that he could not have defeated Shang Qing without using his ck and white energy. Without that power, no one would have been Shang Qing¡¯s opponent.

    Back in the Mountain and Seas Zone, when the Tri-Yang Technique had been revealed, its power had shocked everyone. At the conclusion of ZENITH, people were exponentially more shocked, but that emotion had been shifted over to Lu Yin.

    No matter how difficult an opponent like Shang Qing might have been, the power that Lu Yin had revealed had been too stunning.

    Lu Yin had not relied on the power of old Progenitors such as Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Hui. Instead, one person had defeated both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui¡ªno, one person hadpletely overpowered them both.

    The Progenitor realm was the final realm of cultivation. Everyone looked up to the power of the Progenitor realm and believed in the invincibility of the Progenitors from the bottom of their hearts. And yet, Lu Yin had just shattered that belief. He was just too powerful.

    Invincibility was a trait that could only be recognized after one became a Progenitor, but Lu Yin had already received such an acknowledgement.

    Hundreds of rivers all returned to the sea, and throughout the boundless universe, just how many arrogant elites and talented youths were there? Despite that, everyone¡¯s glory and power had beenpletely eclipsed by Lu Yin¡¯s.

    He had fought with his own strength, himself alone against all of the top experts in ZENITH, and created his legend within the tournament. He had revealed enough strength to be recorded down in the annals of history and be a legend for both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    At this moment, everyone had a feeling that the current era would take the name of Lu, even if Lu Yin had not yet be a Progenitor. He already gave everyone the feeling that he was invincible.

    The huge statue trembled as it was carved away by an invisible power. Soon, it took on Lu Yin''s appearance, and Zenith Mountain¡¯s energy surged. All the energy that had fallen down the mountain at the beginning of thepetition roared as it rushed upwards from the base of the mountain, finally exploding in the sky where it shone.

    Everyone stared up at the statue.

    Something moved within Lu Yin''s heart, and he jumped up atop the statue. No one stopped him, as no one qualified to do so.

    From here, he looked down upon everyone, all the top experts of his generation that hailed from all parts of the universe. He had surpassed all of them.

    An unsuppressable surge of arrogance filled Lu Yin¡¯s chest. Without understanding why, Lu Yin stretched out a hand and took the exact same pose as the mountain, as though he was pressing down upon all of Zenith Mountain with a single hand, holding everyone down.

    Down below, the expressions of Shang Qing, Wang Yi, Wu Taibai, Bu Kong, Wen Sansi, and all of the others changed slightly. This was utter suppression. Lu Yin was dering that he would suppress their era.

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile, and his battle force instinctively appeared with purple battle force and red lines shrouded his body. He was currently suppressing everything before him and moving to dominate his entire generation. Then, a thin thread of gold suddenly appeared within the red lines.

    This golden color had appeared once before when Lu Yin had stepped atop the Night Watch Pagoda and witnessed the same view that the First Nightking had seen.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s achievements had far surpassed those of the First Nightking. Not only did he stand above his peers of the Innerverse and Outerverse, but he had also surpassed his peers from the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, the Astral Beast Domain, and even the Sixth Maind. He had even surpassed historical powerhouses when they had been his age, as he had defeated summons of both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui.

    At this moment, that thread of gold could no longer be suppressed, and it quickly spread out to rece the red lines in his battle force.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he immediately hid his battle force. The people watching merely saw a sh of gold, and they did not understand what had just happened.

    However, Wu Taibai''s pupils shrank; had he really just seen that? Impossible!

    Wang Yi also stared hard at Lu Yin. He had seen that brief flicker of golden light as well, and he reflexively nced over at Wu Taibai, who happened to look at him at the same time. The two seemed to share amon suspicion.

    As Lu Yin stood on the head of the statue, he channeled his battle force over his palm to take a look at it. It was no longer nine lined battle force, as there were now golden lines in his battle force. His battle force had undergone some sort of transformation.

    When Lu Yin had first started cultivating battle force, the Sandmaster had exined that battle force depended on both ambition and stubbornness. Cultivating battle force required one to ovee their limits, reach for the sky, and then tear through it.

    The more domineering a person was, the greater theirprehension of battle force would be.

    Lu Yin had just surpassed all living creatures, and it had allowed him to unconsciously break through his nine lined battle force to reach a level that he could not even understand. Lu Yin had never seen or heard of anyone in the Fifth Maind with golden battle force.

    Battle force had nothing to do with one¡¯s cultivation. Even a top powerhouse like Yuan Shi who had a power level of more than a million did not necessarily have the arrogance to look down upon all living beings, and it was also possible that such a powerhouse was either unable or unwilling to cultivate battle force.

    Everyone had their own path of cultivation that fit them best, and it was even possible for a regr person to unconsciously cultivate battle force.

    Lu Yin tended to use the most suitable power at the most suitable time.

    People were still watching the screens throughout the universe. The Outerverse had exploded in celebration, and the entire Great Eastern Alliance was cheering. On Earth, in Zhenyuxing, everyone shouted excitedly as they celebrated Lu Yin''s victory.

    ZENITH had not been an easy tournament. All of the top finalists had revealed powers that ordinary people could not even understand, but in the end, Lu Yin had still defeated them all.

    "Seventh Bro, you¡¯re all grown up!" Ku Wei shouted excitedly. He remembered the bet that they had made on Lu Yin. Back then, Lu Yin had been given ten to one odds of entering the top three, and they had ced multiple 100 million star essence bets on him. Just how much had they just won? Even though Ku Wei came from a wealthy n, he still felt a bit dazed by such a sum.

    Coco, ck, White, Xi Qi, and many others were absolutely thrilled.

    The fish kept smacking his fins against Xi Qi¡¯s head. "Look! Lord Fish just gave him some minor pointers, and he immediately became invincible! Hurry up and call down that two-legged beast down! Lord Fish will give him another opportunity to be my ride. Hurry up! "

    Xi Qi held her head, as the pping was hurting her more and more.

    Kayze, An Shaohua, and several others stared up with reverence in their eyes. No one knew how far Lu Yin would go in the future, but they were determined to follow him to the end.

    Even Yue Xianzi, Sister Leng, and many others looked at Lu Yin with respect in their eyes. From this moment forward, Lu Yin would be a symbol of the Fifth Maind. No one would have the courage to do anything to him, and the Hall of Honor would do its best to protect both him and his Great Eastern Alliance.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er waved his hand in the air. "That¡¯s my brother! Big Brother,e here! Over here!"

    Ling Que wiped his forehead. "Forget it. I¡¯ll ept it even if you be my brother-inw, you can definitely get that woman to submit."

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Wu Da was going crazy as he released his articles and stories. He had been following Lu Yin¡¯s actions in ZENITH from beginning to end. Every attack and move that Lu Yin had made had been recorded and analyzed in detail, so Wu Da was definitely going to be famous from this.

    On a certain, Xuan Jiu stared at his screen. "Well, it seems that I¡¯ll have to be the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial advisor then, haha."

    In the Innerverse, Liu Qianjue and the other masters of the eight great flowzones were still in a stunned daze. Lu Yin had won and be the champion. Who would dare make a move against his Great Eastern Alliance now?

    Before ZENITH, who could have imagined that Lu Yin would be the ultimate victor? This felt like something from a fantasy story.

    The Innerverse powers had plotted extensively before ZENITH, all of them trying to find a way to deal with Lu Yin without aggravating the powers supporting him. However, they had never even considered that they would have to deal with a Lu Yin who had won ZENITH, though this was also partly because there was no way to deal with such a Lu Yin.

    The Hall of Honor would do absolutely everything in its power to protect Lu Yin, and the Great Eastern Alliance would naturally be protected by extension. Anybody who moved against Lu Yin or the Great Eastern Alliance would instantly be an enemy of the Hall of Honor, as Lu Yin was now the most important person in the entire universe for them.

    Also, they could not forget that Lu Yin would be given an unimaginable opportunity as a prize for winning ZENITH, and it was supposed to be enough to potentially help him be a Progenitor. No one would dare to move against Lu Yin unless they were guaranteed topletely destroy him, as they could no longer afford to offend him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1324: Top Prize

    <h4>Chapter 1324: Top Prize</h4>

    Liu Qianjue''s mouth had gone dry. He had lived for many years, but this was the first time he had ever met a young man that was this difficult to deal with.

    Beside the Sword Sect¡¯s leader, Elder Lianxin sighed. "What a pity. It would have been great if he had joined our Sword Sect back then."

    Upon hearing these words, Liu Qianjue''s eyes lit up as a certain thought entered his mind.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had taken first ce in ZENITH, which greatly impacted the entire universe. He was not some random independent cultivator, but rather someone with many other powers behind him. It could be said that, by him taking first ce, each and every organization rted to him would experience fundamental changes.

    Lu Yin had previously just been a mere youth, but no one would dare to treat him as such any longer.

    It had to be remembered that Lu Yin was still just a Hunter. When he became an Enlighter, his strength would undergo yet another transformation, and he might even be able to challenge Envoys at that time. The more that various people thought about Lu Yin¡¯s future, the more terrified they felt.

    No matter what the outside universe¡¯s reaction to Lu Yin¡¯s victory was, at this moment, everyone else had been removed from Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin was the only person permitted to remain behind.

    The Chief Justice then appeared and announced to the entire universe that ZENITH¡¯s top ten had been determined to be Lu Yin, Shang Qing, Qiu Shi, Xia Jiuyou, Bu Kong, Yao Xuan, Wu Taibai, Yuhua Mavis, Wang Yi, and Liquor Hero.

    Every one of them then received a notice from the Chief Justice, telling them to visit the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone within a certain amount of time. When the time came, the Hall of Honor would take them to the ce where they would receive their opportunity.

    Lu Yin''s heart moved; was their unimaginable opportunity in the Neoverse? After thinking about it, it seemed right. After all, that was where the remnants of the Fifth Maindy.

    "Child, feel Zenith Mountain!" The Chief Justice''s voice entered Lu Yin''s ears. Lu Yin felt confused. Feel the mountain? What was that supposed to mean?

    Without any further exnation, his perspective suddenly shifted, and the scenery changedpletely. He saw stars orbiting before him, and there was also a spacecraft off in the distance that was norger than an ant. He even saw the Chief Justice, though he could not see the man¡¯s face. Whose perspective was this? The statue¡¯s?

    Lu Yin lowered his head to look at the statue beneath his feet in surprise. He had been correct¡ªhis current perspective was that of the statue¡¯s, but how was this possible? It was just a statue, so how was this possible?

    At the same time, in the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone, several people were visiting Arch-Elder Zen. These powerhouses had worked together in front of the Stellr Tempest to stop the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s ckless God, and at this moment, all of these elders had gathered in front of Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Arch-Elder Zen, do you really intend to give Zenith Mountain to that child? It should be given to Shang Qing,¡± an old man protested.

    Arch-Elder Zen remained calm. "The reward designated for the ultimate victor of ZENITH is Zenith Mountain. Do you wish to discredit my Hall of Honor?"

    "You can change the prize. Zenith Mountain is incredibly important. I have raised Shang Qing within the Hall of Honor, so I am willing to see him receive the mountain. But this Lu Yin-¡±

    The elder hesitated a moment, but someone else picked up where he left off. ¡°This child has an unknown, dark power. He even somehow escaped from the Neohuman Alliance after being captured by them, which ispletely unbelievable.

    "This child is apparently using death energy, and as long as he has death energy, he can be easily controlled by the Specter n. Arch-Elder Zen, please reconsider," the elder pressed.

    Arch-Elder Zen let out a long breath as he stared at the gathered elders. "Do you think that, given the state he entered during the finale, the Specter n can actually control him?¡±

    The gathered elders looked at each other before looking back at Arch-Elder Zen in confusion.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "I¡¯m not sure, but have you all heard of the legends of the God of Death before?"

    ¡­

    In the Innerverse¡¯s Chaos Flowzone, Lu Yin was feeling confused; how was it possible for his perspective to ovep with that of the statue at the top of Zenith Mountain? It was a statue that was made of stone. It was not a person, and he also had not Possessed it through his die.

    Lu Yin¡¯s perspective shifted once again, seeing through the statue¡¯s eyes. He unconsciously swayed, and Zenith Mountain shook with his movement. He was able to control Zenith Mountain.

    A tiny dot then appeared in front of him. It was the Chief Justice, who was still shrouded in darkness.

    Seeing that the Chief Justice had appeared, Lu Yin quickly switched back to his own body¡¯s perspective and slowly greeted the older man. "Junior Lu Yin greets the Chief Justice."

    "The top ten have been confirmed, but there is a special prize reserved for the champion of ZENITH¡ªthe Hall of Honor is awarding you with this Zenith Mountain," the Chief Justice exined.

    When Lu Yin had first switched to the statue¡¯s perspective, he had already guessed that this would happen. "Might I trouble Senior and ask what is so special about Zenith Mountain?¡±

    The Chief Justice tly answered, "Zenith Mountain is one of the most precious treasures that my Hall of Honor has. It is incredibly durable, can turnrge or small, and can also be activated with the user¡¯s star energy to protect them from external damage. The more star energy used, the better and stronger the protection will be. In theory, it can protect a person from an attack with a power level of one million."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "One- one million?"

    He immediately became short of breath. This mountain was actually a priceless treasure that could block attacks with a power level of one million. This was unbelievable. It was no wonder why Zenith Mountain would be considered as one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s most precious treasures reserved as a prize for the champion of ZENITH.

    Lu Yin looked down with excitement before squatting down and lovingly stroking the statue. This thing was truly a treasure.

    He had automatically ignored the Chief Justice¡¯sment about how the degree of protection that the mountain provided was directly proportional to the amount of star energy used.

    Zenith Mountain had been the battleground for ZENITH, but no matter how powerful or what methods the youths used to attack the mountain, they had only managed to damage its surface. The deepest damage was when Lu Yin had unleashed an attack with death energy in his transformed state. And yet, when the size of the entire mountain was taken into ount, even this was barely a scratch on the surface of Zenith Mountain.

    Since the mountain could change size and turnrge or small, it meant that, not only would Lu Yin be able to use it for his own protection, but he could also smash people with the mountain.

    "Shrink Zenith Mountain and take it with you," the Chief Justice said as he watched Lu Yin stroke the statue.

    Lu Yin saluted the Chief Justice once again. He could tell that this mysterious Chief Justice always seemed to take good care of him. Despite having only met the powerhouse twice, Lu Yin had a strong impression of the man¡¯s kindness.

    Then, Lu Yin switched his perspective back to the statue and began to gradually figure out how to control Zenith Mountain.

    After all, this mountain was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s most treasured possessions, and the elders had not actually wanted to give it to Lu Yin as they did not want the mountain to fall into an outsider¡¯s hands.

    It was not easy to gain control of the mountain.

    After several days, Lu Yin was still only able to shrink Zenith Mountain down to the size of a, though that was still toorge for him to move. ording to what Lu Yin had learned from the Chief Justice, he needed to shrink the mountain down until it was small enough to be stored in a cosmic ring, which was not something that Lu Yin could aplish in just a few days.

    However, because of the Chief Justice¡¯s words, Lu Yin did not dare to leave before he could shrink the mountain down to the necessary size.

    Helpless, Lu Yin could only continue with his attempts.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, the other contestants all left one after another. Many people wanted to say goodbye to Lu Yin, but they were all unable to reach him.

    Xia Luo left soon after ZENITH ended, as he was afraid of being targeted by the Xia family.

    Many people had participated in ZENITH, and each one had their own grudges and problems. Naturally, Xia Luo needed to leave as early as possible in order to take advantage of the chaos.

    The Mavis family also left shortly. Yuhua Mavis had entered the top ten, but she had ultimately lost to both Wu Taibai and Lu Yin in battles of strength, and she was not happy with these results.

    ck and White were also taken away, while Qian Zou hitched a ride with Eversky Ind.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er also left, but before leaving, he let everyone know that he was friends with Lu Yin.

    Everyone eventually left, and after half a month, the once bustling region of space now only had a Zenith Mountain that was the size of a spacecraft. The reporters who had covered the event were now banned and blocked from recording anything, so people were only able to witness the change to Zenith Mountain with their own eyes.

    It was magical to watch as the massive Zenith Mountain that had once been sorge that multiple stars ands had revolved around it be so tiny. Even an idiot could tell that this mountain was valuable, and it was clearly a priceless treasure.

    At this time, all of the irrelevant people had been driven away by people from Chaosgod Mountain and the Great Eastern Alliance.

    After a few more days, Lu Yin finally managed to shrink Zenith Mountain to the point where he could fit it in his cosmic ring. He then looked around but had no idea when the Chief Justice had left.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity, as he really wanted to get closer to the Chief Justice.

    Outer space was quite dark, and all he could see were people from his Great Eastern Alliance, and further away, some people from Chaosgod Mountain.

    "Congrattions to Alliance Leader Lu! Invincible throughout the universe!" Thousands of people from the Great Eastern Alliance congratted Lu Yin in unison, and the sound spread everywhere.

    "Congrattions to Alliance Leader Lu for bing the Pinnacle Youth! Invincible throughout the universe!"

    "Congrattions to Alliance Leader Lu for bing the Pinnacle Youth! Invincible throughout the universe!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin waved a hand to stop them as he looked around. "Let¡¯s head back to the Great Eastern Alliance."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader."

    Before Lu Yin left, Cang Zhou, the master of Chaosgod Mountain, went to speak with Lu Yin. This time, he was very emotional. "This old man only managed to reach the Cruiser realm when I was your age. I am truly iprable to you¡±

    Lu Yin and Cang Zhou faced each other, and Lu Yin responded to the words with a smile. "Senior is the real winner for being able to reach your current level."

    Cang Zhou smiled and replied, "There¡¯s a deeper intention behind your words."

    Lu Yin shrugged in response. "There are many people who seem to believe that I, Lu Yin, have already made such great aplishments that I will only be a myth the moment I die."

    Cang Zhou looked at Lu Yin. "Die? It''s not good to say such things. Even if this old man harbors any ill intention towards you, it won¡¯t be easy to execute them now when you¡¯ve grown this much."

    "Senior is too kind with your words. This junior knows my strength, and I haven¡¯t reached the level where I can challenge an Envoy yet, let alone a top powerhouse like yourself," Lu Yin said.

    Cang Zhou frowned. "It''s not good to beat around the bush, and since I¡¯m an old man, I¡¯ll just be direct."

    As he spoke, Cang Zhou stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "How far do you intend to spread your Great Easter Alliance?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharper as he stared at Cang Zhou in silence.

    Cang Zhou¡¯s brows rose up. "Can you not answer, or is it that you don¡¯t even know yourself? Let''s change the question then¡ªwhat do you want from this universe?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior is looking up towards this junior too much. With my current strength, how could I even qualify to speak about matters on the scale of the entire universe?¡±

    Cang Zhou shook his head and sighed. "It¡¯s true that others are indeed unqualified. Not even Shang Qing, the Hall of Honor¡¯s first Honor Chosen, would qualify. However, you are different. You have the strength, ambition, opportunity, and talent, and you¡¯re now also invincible within your generation. Winning ZENITH has also won you the full support of the Hall of Honor, and this chance that you have won may give you a chance to be a Progenitor in the future.

    "A possible future Progenitor is someone who will draw everyone¡¯s attention, even if you are only a Hunter at the moment. Your current strength is no longer all that you are."

    After hearing Cang Zhou''s words, Lu Yin knew that if he did not respond correctly at this time, he might end up being forsaken by everyone in the future. After all, a potential Progenitor was not the same as a true Progenitor. No one wanted their own interests to be threatened, even if it was by some powerful Progenitor.

    Even ants knew how to resist, but Lu Yin was still far from reaching the level where he could view these people as ants.

    All people worried for their own futures, and Cang Zhou was simply testing the waters. If Lu Yin had the ambition to unite both the Outerverse and the Innerverse, then he would definitely have to eventually face the Innerverse¡¯s hostility. No matter how much support the Hall of Honor gave Lu Yin, the Innerverse powers could only be forced so far.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1325: Attempt

    <h4>Chapter 1325: Attempt</h4>

    The Hall of Honor was the master of the Fifth Maind, but not its ruler.

    Even they could not rule the Fifth Maind all on their own.

    At this moment, Cang Zhou represented not only his Chaosgod Mountain, but also the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and the other major forces of the Innerverse.

    After thinking about his response for some time, Lu Yin smiled and said, "Senior, this junior can only say that, to my friends, I will be righteous, but for my enemies, I will leave nothing."

    Cang Zhou¡¯s gaze grew heavier. "Speak clearly, as this old man is rather uncultured."

    "This junior will not take the initiative to provoke anyone. Is this good enough?" Lu Yin said.

    Cang Zhou frowned. "Yes."

    Clearly, he was not convinced.

    Lu Yin smiled and continued to exin. "The Outerverse only managed to unite in order to resist the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. This junior hoped to protect the Outerverse, and Senior should be aware that I did not alter the Outerverse much. Rather, I simply dealt with those who tried to block my path.

    ¡°As for the Innerverse, the ze Realm had been an enemy since long ago, and the so-called ¡®Purge¡¯ was something plotted by the ze Realm. In that case, wouldn¡¯t it have been too cowardly for me to not deal with such an obvious threat?¡±

    "You truly have no intentions for the Innerverse?" Cang Zhou asked.

    Lu Yin answered honestly, "Yes, I do."

    Cang Zhou¡¯s brows rose high.

    Lu Yin sighed and exined again. "The Outerverse has been given over to the Sixth Maind, so this junior hopes to find somewhere in the Innerverse for the people of the Outerverse to live."

    Cang Zhou was not surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s response. ¡°The Hall of Honor must already be considering this matter, so there¡¯s no reason for you to be too concerned."

    Lu Yin nodded. "True, but ever since this junior first started on the path of cultivation, many people have tried to stop me or make things difficult for me, especially the Daynight n. This junior has had to protect myself many times, so please don¡¯t misunderstand me, Senior."

    Cang Zhou felt that Lu Yin¡¯s exnation was a bit weak, but he also could not deny Lu Yin¡¯s words. He was unable to force Lu Yin to admit that he wanted to unite the Innerverse, so what else could the old man say?

    Lu Yin''s words had also somewhat reassured Cang Zhou. It was true that the ze Realm and the Daynight n had both been bitter enemies of Lu Yin, and it did make sense to deal with such threats.

    Inexplicably, Cang Zhou suddenlyughed. He had realized that he was actually nervous. The child in front of him was just a Hunter, and even if there was a chance of him bing a Progenitor in the future, that day was too far off. The Innerverse was massive, so how could Lu Yin hope to unify such arge area? Even the Hall of Honor had never seeded, and the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse would naturally never allow such a thing to happen.

    The more Cang Zhou thought about his fears, the more absurd they appeared to be. Thus, heughed at himself. His thoughts had been disturbed by Lu Yin winning first ce in ZENITH, and even more so by the reactions of Liu Qianjue and the other leaders of the Innerverse. They had all looked down on Lu Yin too much, but it was true that he was still a child.

    Lu Yin looked up, his eyes bright and his smile honest. Cang Zhou suddenly said, "I did ask one question that you didn''t answer: what do you want from this universe?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, smiled brightly, and then replied, "This junior likes money. The more, the better."

    Cang Zhou was stunned. He had considered many possible different answers, but this one had never even entered his mind. However, he did remember reading a report on Lu Yin that imed that Lu Yin loved money and had an insatiable greed. Could it be true? Was this the way to woo him?

    Lu Yin raised his head as he thought some more. "I remember that Starsibyl once asked this junior the question, ¡®What is the path to strength?"

    Cang Zhou''s eyes lit up. He had also been asked this question in the past, as there had been many generations of Starsibyls. Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s statement, Cang Zhou grew very curious. ¡°What was your answer?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "One can be strong by earning more money. That was my answer at the time."

    Cang Zhou pursed his lips, clearly caught off guard.

    When Starsibyl had asked Lu Yin her question, other than the two of them, only Hai Dashao and the Sea King had heard Lu Yin¡¯s answer.

    At that time, Hai Dashao had been embarrassed by Lu Yin¡¯s response, so he had not said anything about it to anyone. As for the Sea King, he had naturally kept the matter to himself. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s words had never leaked out.

    Cang Zhou felt that something was strange, and there was a different look in his eyes as he observed Lu Yin.

    In the past, this child had confronted and threatened a group of the leaders of the Innerverse¡¯s top powers to the point where they had been forced to temporarily suspend the Purge. At that time, Cang Zhou had greatly admired Lu Yin. That conversation had also been the greatest source of Lu Yin¡¯s unease after ZENITH, as it had actually prompted this entire conversation. However, how was Cang Zhou supposed to rectify the discrepancy between the domineering Lu Yin that he had met before and this money grubber before him?

    How could the dignified master of Chaosgod Mountain be associated with mere money?

    Although the Purge had been intended to break up the Great Eastern Alliance so that the Innerverse could resume profiting off of the Outerverse, and Chaosgod Mountain would naturally receive a portion of those profits, Cang Zhou had nevercked for resources. After all, he had never been personally involved with the finances, but at this moment, he was actually having a conversation with a junior about money. After all, Lu Yin was a child whom Cang Zhou had been about to offer a gift to.

    Cang Zhou was leftpletely speechless.

    "Cough, this old man has something that I need to do, so I¡¯ll head out first," Cang Zhou said awkwardly. It was clear that he did not know how to react to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin bade his farewells. "Take care, Senior."

    Cang Zhou left, and Lu Yin stared at the old man¡¯s back. The smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face gradually disappeared. Although he had secured first ce at ZENITH, making the top powers of the Innerverse too scared to act out against the Great Eastern Alliance, it was impossible for Lu Yin to push any further. After all, anything more would intrude on the Innerverse¡¯s territory.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance pushed any further, he would be targeted by the entire Innerverse, as well as the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, and even the Sixth Maind.

    Most of the people from the Great Eastern Alliance had already left now, and only Wendy Yushan and a few other people stayed behind to follow Lu Yin back to the ze Realm.

    This was Wendy Yushan¡¯s first time actually visiting the ze Realm.

    When Lu Yin boarded the spacecraft, Ku Wei hurriedly offered his congrattions. "Seventh Bro, you¡¯re just too powerful! You¡¯re invincible! Seventh Bro is invincible. Invincible!"

    Lu Yin casually pulled away, as he did not have the energy to deal with Ku Wei at the moment.

    As Lu Yin continued forward, Dwayne Daynight slowly greeted him. ¡°Congrattions, Alliance Leader."

    Lu Yin nodded and then looked at Wendy Yushan and Zhuo Daynight, but neither of the two women had much to say.

    Lu Yin felt that the atmosphere had turned slightly awkward.

    "Seventh Bro, just now, there was some guy called Wu Da who wanted to interview you, but I just kicked him out. Who the hell does he think he is? A mere Explorer wants to interview Seventh Bro? How ridiculous!" As Lu Yin¡¯s loyal follower and official sycophant, Ku Wei immediately felt the need to show his usefulness.

    "Also, there was someone else called Zi Jing who called, but I drove her away as well," Ku Wei continued to brag.

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment, and then he focused cold and angry eyes onto Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei instantly panicked. "What? What''s wrong?"

    "Zi Jing is the boss of CyNet," Lu Yin casually exined.

    Ku Wei¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡±

    "Where is she?" Lu Yin already had a headache, but he really wanted to work with CyNet.

    Ku Wei''s mouth twitched. "We should just go. Before kicking her out, I told her that if Seventh Bro was free in the future, you¡¯d go see her at her ce."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Don''t casually offend so many people in the future, or else I¡¯ll keep you chained up on Zenyu Star."

    Ku Wei immediately promised to behave in the future.

    Everyone then left, as Lu Yin wanted to visit Xia Luo and some others.

    "Where''s the betting money? How did things go? Did you already get the payout?" Lu Yin still remembered the 100 million star essence that he had bet on him entering the top three of ZENITH. This was a very important subject to him.

    As soon as he heard Lu Yin¡¯s question, Ku Wei''s face turned ugly. "About that, the bookkeeper can''t be reached."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows shot up. "What did you just say? Why not? They¡¯re a huge bookkeeper with countless clients. Everyone had to have been watching them, so how did they manage to get away?¡±

    Ku Wei exined, "Everyone left behind was left to die. They¡¯ve already been questioned, but they don¡¯t know anything, and there¡¯s no money left despite how big the bookkeeper was.¡±

    As he spoke, Ku Wei felt increasingly uneasy.

    They had just lost 100 million star essence. No, it was actually a billion. That was a massive amount even for a superpower like the Seven Courts.

    Lu Yin''s face turned cold and terrifying.

    Ku Wei became even more frightened. "Seven- Seventh Bro, are you alright?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes were filled with a cold murderous light. They expected him to just walk away from a loss of a billion star essence? How could he ept that? Fortunately, Lu Yin had others supporting him, and although he was not sure how much he would be able to recover, he would definitely track down this bookkeeper. No matter who it was, they would not be able to flee from him.

    Lu Yin was fully confident that, even if the power behind the bookkeeper was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers like Bu Laoweng, Lu Yin would be able to force them to cough up his money. He might even make them double what they owed him.

    The vessel was headed for the ze Realm. ZENITH had finished, and Lu Yin had be a legend.

    He had defeated all of the other finalists on his own after enduring countless attacks, numerous secret techniques andbat skills. In the end, he had won. There was not even a question as to whether or not Lu Yin deserved his victory, and ZENITH would be an event that would be remembered and relived for countless years.

    ***

    In a spacecraft filled with all kinds of equipment, everybody aboard the vessel was busy, and there were numerous screens ying videos on a loop. Each and every video was of Lu Yin''sst battle.

    "Hurry up! We need to get the jump on everyone else and edit all of Lu Yin''s fights so we can share them on thework first!"

    "Hurry up! Everyone else is rushing as well, so we need to hurry."

    Suddenly, the original video of Lu Yin¡¯s final battle disappeared from the screen, and all that was left behind was a code of numbers that everyone was familiar with. This meant that this content had been banned from being posted on thework.

    "What''s going on? Where''s the video? Come on, where¡¯s the connection? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    "Brother, it''s not good. The video¡¯s been banned by CyNet."

    "What''s that supposed to mean?¡±

    "It means that all of the videos of Lu Yin¡¯s fights have been banned."

    "It¡¯s not just Lu Yin. The content around all of ZENITH¡¯s top ten¡¯s battles has all been banned."

    "Hurry up and make copies of the videos."

    "It''s useless. With CyNet¡¯s abilities, no matter where we post the videos, the moment we connect to thework, all the content will be scrubbed away. There¡¯s no point."

    "Why?¡±

    "What happened?"

    ¡­

    This same scene reurred all across the universe. No matter where they were, as long as they connected to thework, the videos of ZENITH¡¯s top ten would be removed.

    These top ten youths represented the future of the entire universe, and it was expected that each one of them would be top powerhouses. Since that was the case, how could videos of their fights be allowed to casually circte through thework?

    This had actually been agreed upon even before the start of ZENITH.

    No one wanted to be incessantly researched and studied. Everyone in ZENITH had their own enemies, and who was to say that those enemies would not be able to find weaknesses by studying the videos from ZENITH?

    Even Lu Yin was unwilling to be subjected to such intense study, even if his strength was something that was iprehensible to others.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vessel steadily continued on through outer space.

    Wendy Yushan checked on Lu Yin''s wound. "It''s fine."

    Lu Yin replied, "I used some medicine to treat the injury after ZENITH ended, and quite a bit of time has already passed."

    "Well, the energy left in that wound must be very painful," Wendy Yushan said.

    Lu Yin shrugged. He had been cut by the summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s knife, and the wound had been filled with its energy in the same manner as how Shang Rong had left his own energy in Ling Gong¡¯s wound years ago.

    The best way to deal with such residual energy was through lockbreaking, which was how Lu Yin had helped Ling Gong when she had been injured. However, in Lu Yin¡¯s case, Wendy was helping him heal the wound. Her innate gift was healing, and the results were readily apparent.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1326: Rewind

    <h4>Chapter 1326: Rewind</h4>

    "By the way, I''m curious. How did you break through Zhi Yi''s Vitality Qi?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan stayed silent for a while, but just when she was about to answer, Lu Yin interrupted her. "Looks like I guessed right. You have a power that you¡¯ve kept hidden, but that shouldn¡¯t have been enough for you to challenge Zhi Yi, so don''t bother telling me."

    Wendy Yushan looked at Lu Yin and said, "Rewind."

    Lu Yin was confused. "What about rewinding?"

    Wendy Yushan sat down across from Lu Yin, her long hair hanging down in cascades. She was a natural and graceful beauty, and at this moment, she was not holding her sword. "My innate gift is called Rewind."

    "It isn¡¯t healing?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Wendy Yushan exined, "Rewinding, as in going back in time."

    Lu Yin''s face changed, as this reply stunned him. "Going back in time? You can rewind time?"

    Wendy Yushan remained calm. "In front of other people, I¡¯ve always called my innate gift one of healing, but in truth, I¡¯m not actually healing people. Rather, I¡¯m simply rewinding time at the location of a wound to before the injury was received."

    Lu Yin could not believe what he was hearing. Time was a great mystery of the universe. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current status, he still had never heard of anyone being able to control time. When Mister Mu or ckless God had appeared before Lu Yin, it felt like they had frozen time itself, but Lu Yin was not certain if that was what actually happened. They could have frozen time, or they could have frozen everything around themselves.

    And yet, right in front of Lu Yin, there was Wendy Yushan. This was someone whom he was very familiar with, and yet she was iming to be able to control time!? What a joke.

    "Really?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Wendy Yushan was a very cold person, and she was like this to everyone. However, she did add something to her exnation for Lu Yin. ¡°As long as I¡¯m not dealing with an item, I can use this innate gift somewhat freely, so it works best for healing and less so fighting. I also can¡¯t use it to look back into people¡¯s past. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to do so in the future, but I can¡¯t for the time being."

    Lu Yin suddenly understood. It was no wonder why she had been able to ignore Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi¡ªall Wendy had needed to do was reverse time slightly for everything in front of her sword. Then, there would be no need for her to break through the Vitality Qi, as she had not actually touched the barrier at all, though to everyone watching, it would look as if Wendy had shattered Zhi Yi¡¯s Star Dipper.

    Her innate gift was rted to time.

    Lu Yin just stared at Wendy Yushan inplete shock. What she had just told him was even more shocking than when he had learned about her family¡¯s secret technique. If word of her innate gift leaked out, the attention she would receive from the universe to her might just be as much as Lu Yin had..

    "Besides me, who else knows about your innate gift?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan nced back at him. "No one."

    "Where''s your father?" Lu Yin could not resist asking.

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. "Do you really think that he¡¯s still alive?"

    Lu Yin did not answer, and Wendy also remained silent.

    Lu Yin suddenly smelled a refreshing fragrance. When he looked at Wendy Yushan''s slender figure, her long ck hair, and her beautiful face, he was suddenly struck by an inexplicable impulse. At this moment, he did not know why he felt a special attraction towards Wendy¡­

    Suddenly, a voice broke the silence, ¡°Seventh Bro, we¡¯ve entered Ascension Flowzone, and the Xun family has sent you an invitation to meet with them and talk."

    Ku Wei interrupted the atmosphere, and that strange impulse instantly vanished.

    He nced over at Wendy Yushan, and she was still staring at him, making Lu Yin feel somewhat guilty. "Well, I''ll head out now."

    Wendy Yushan nodded. "Be careful¡ªthe Xun family might not have good intentions."

    "Don''t worry, I already know," Lu Yin said. He then left the vessel.

    In front of his spacecraft, Lu Yin saw a massive ship that was many timesrger than his own. Thisrge ship was not made of metal, but rather wood. In fact, it looked like a toy that had been blown up to absurd proportions and then sent out into outer space. This was the Xun family¡¯s spacecraft.

    The Xun family''s Gear Construction Technique was well-known throughout the universe. Theirbat style was also the foundation for their lifestyle, and even their spacecraft and architecture were based off of this Gear Construction Technique.

    The Xun family wielded a great deal of influence in the universe, and many different organizations had used the family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique toplete certain tasks. Specifically, when it came to exploring ancient tombs or other simr tasks, the Xun family could be quite useful.

    Needless to say, the Xun family had always held some degree of enmity with Lu Yin, especially when he had been stuck in the Outerverse. At that time, the Xun family had forced Lu Yin to reveal some things to Elder Lohar.

    In the middle of outer space, a group gathered to meet Lu Yin. Their leader was an ordinary looking, middle-aged man with an elegant temperament. He approached Lu Yin with a smile and said, "Alliance Leader Lu, I am Xun Baitao, patriarch of the Xun family. I hereby invite Alliance Leader Lu into my home for a talk".

    Lu Yin stared at Xun Baitao. He was Xun Jiong''s father, and the two looked very simr.

    Lu Yin then looked past Xun Baitao and saw Xun Jiong behind his father. Xun Jiong was pale, and he seemed to have been seriously injured.

    He had also participated in ZENITH, and he had been eliminated by Liu Tianmu''s Fifth Sword, which had taken Xun Jiong¡¯s left arm, but fortunately left him with his life.

    "Patriarch Xun, it would seem that there is nothing for your Xun family to say to me," Lu Yin bluntly replied.

    Lu Yin''s words infuriated an old man standing behind Xun Baitao. "Alliance Leader Lu, this is Ascension Flowzone. My Xun family is the ruler of this flowzone, and we have invited Alliance Leader Lu to a meeting. You are being too arrogant by not offering us any respect."

    Xun Baitao immediately reprimanded the old man. "Xun Ye, silence."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped over to the old man, and his expression grew sharp. ¡°I¡¯m speaking with your patriarch, and yet you dare to interrupt?"

    After Lu Yin spoke, the elder was suddenly ovee by a space of darkness, and his mind was dazed. He was unable to stop himself from coughing up blood and copsing.

    Xun Baitao quickly moved in front of Xun Ye. "Alliance Leader Lu, if you have something to say, then please be merciful and tell us."

    Lu Yin had used Night Advent just now, and even though the elder was an Enlighter, he could not resist Lu Yin attack. After all, the old man¡¯s power level was only a bit more than 200,000, and his strength could notpare to any of the youths who had entered ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    Xun Jiong stared at Lu Yin in horror, and fear reached the very bottom depths of his heart.

    Lu Yin did not continue attacking, and he retracted his spiritual force. His intentions had just been to teach the old man a lesson, not seriously attack him. After all, if Lu Yin had wanted to, then he could have simply used Daynight Praises to kill the old man.

    The old man was panting heavily, and he looked like a fish that had been taken out of water.

    As an elder of the Xun family, he had always focused his efforts on cultivating the family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique, and he had never paid much attention to the outside world. Even during ZENITH, although he had watched it in amazement, he hadcked any sort of real understanding of the top ten¡¯s power.

    Due to the elder¡¯s excellent rtionship with Xun Jiong, he had heard about the previous grievances between Lu Yin and Xun Jiong, as well as between Lu Yin and the entire Xun family. Thus, the old man had wanted to teach Lu Yin a lesson, but instead, the elder had been the one to be taught one.

    Xun Ye, a strong Enlighter with a power level that exceeded 200,000, had almost instantly died to a child before he could even move. He expected that he would never forget the terror of this moment for the rest of his life.

    Was this the strength of the younger generation? Xun Ye felt that he was getting quite old, as even a child was able to terrify him now.

    Xun Jiong responded in a straightforward manner, and he remained silent as he lowered his head, not daring to even look at Lu Yin.

    Xun Baitao quickly apologized to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for showing kindness. Elder Xun Ye has been studying the Gear Construction Technique in istion for a long time, and so he is quite uninformed of the outside world. Please don''t be angry, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin''s expression softened a bit. As far as he was concerned, Xun Ye was just a random nobody. Yes, he might be an Enlighter, but to Lu Yin, even Enlighters were nobodies who did not matter.

    "Patriarch Xun, what is it that you want bying here? It''s clearly not to just catch up. As I said, there is nothing that needs to be discussed with your Xun family," Lu Yin spoke indifferently. Given his current status, there was no need for him to show the Xun family any respect.

    Xun Baitao smiled apologetically. "In the past, there was a bit of a misunderstanding between my son, Xun Jiong, and Alliance Leader Lu. My Xun family has arranged a banquet, and I would like to invite Alliance Leader Lu to attend so that I can congratte you and personally apologize."

    As his father spoke, Xun Jiong walked forward and knelt without any hint of hesitation. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this one was a small man with no eyes, and I beg for Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s forgiveness."

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked back up at Xun Baitao. In Xun Baitao''s eyes, all Lu Yin could see was kindness and a trace of hope.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status and glorious future, it was perfectly normal for any organization to try to curry favor with him at this time. Even Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s Cang Zhou had tried to get closer to Lu Yin and had spoken to him as an equal. However, the Xun family was different, as they were traitors to the entire Fifth Maind.

    "I also ask that Alliance Leader Lu allow us to honor you, as my Xun family is very grateful." Xun Baitao slowly bowed to Lu Yin.

    As the Xun family¡¯s patriarch, Xun Baitao himself was a powerhouse with a power level of more than 400,000. That was not a level that just anyone could reach.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Very well. Patriarch Xun, please lead the way."

    Xun Baitao was overjoyed. "Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me."

    "Very well.¡±

    The Xun family had already set up a banquet, and it would either be on their main or in the wooden vessel in front of Lu Yin. Xun Baitao exined that the ship was the Xun family¡¯s pride and that only their most distinguished guests were allowed to enter it.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained calm. While a slight smile could be seen on his face, Xun Baitao was far more enthusiastic. The Xun family waited on Lu Yin hand and foot, and it did not take long for them to arrive at the banquet hall.

    Aboard Lu Yin''s own ship, Ku Wei muttered to himself about how Seventh Bro had not taken him along to the banquet. Along with that line of thought, Ku Wei went pale that he would not be able to perform for Lu Yin.

    Wendy Yushan frowned as she looked at the Xun family''s vessel off in the distance. She was fully aware of the enmity between Lu Yin and the Xun family, though she did not know what Lu Yin was thinking about at this moment.

    The Xun family''s Gear Construction Technique was famous throughout the universe, and Lu Yin was very curious about it.

    When Xun Baitao heard this, he immediately called for some of the family¡¯s youths topete and put on a performance that would fulfill all of Lu Yin''s desires. At the same time, the patriarch arranged for two beautiful women to sit next to Lu Yin. If he wished to eat, then all he had to do was open his mouth¡ªnothing else was necessary.

    Lu Yin was really not used to such extravagant treatment.

    "Patriarch Xun, given the Xun family''s children''s excellent control over the Gear Construction Technique, it should not be difficult for them to improve their star energy control. I¡¯m curious, who has developed the most profound star energy control in the history of your Xun family? What realm did they achieve?"

    Xun Baitao replied, "Alliance Leader Lu is exaggerating. My Xun family has indeedbined star energy into different forms and has alsoe up with various methods to use it. However, these methods rely on ingenuity, and they are actually a non-standard form of star energy control. The person who achieved the greatest level of star energy control was an elder from 7,000 years ago, and he managed to reach the Worldliness realm of control, which is basically the limit."

    "Oh? Is it that difficult to reach the Creation realm of star energy control?" Lu Yin was genuinely curious, as he did not have much experience in improving his star energy control. After all, improving his control to that level required a certain amount of luck as well asprehension.

    During ZENITH, Liquor Hero¡¯s fights had opened Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The way in which she had absorbed everything into her world of star energy had looked like a god¡¯s ability, and watching her had aroused a sense of envy in Lu Yin. It would be wonderful if he could also improve his star energy control to the Creation realm.

    Xun Baitao sighed. "Creation, that is a truly legendary realm. Reaching that level has nothing to do with strength, asprehension, talent, and luck are each indispensable without measure. My Xun family has never received such a blessing. Even if you search through the entire universe, there should not be more than five people who have reached that realm of star energy control, and in the younger generation, only Liquor Hero has aplished such a miracle. If a member of my Xun family managed to reach that level, then we would be able to soar to greater heights in power as a family and not be limited to just Ascension Flowzone.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1327: Means

    <h4>Chapter 1327: Means</h4>

    Upon hearing Xun Baitao''s words, Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "The Xun family doesn''t want to be restricted to Ascension Flowzone?"

    Xun Baitao was caught off guard, and he let out a dryugh. "Haha, everyone wants to step further, as that¡¯s simply human nature."

    "Yes, it is indeed human nature," Lu Yin agreed with a smile.

    At the side, one of the women arranged by Xun Baitao leaned closer and pressed her body up against Lu Yin, practically setting herself in his arms.

    Lu Yin could no longer ept the situation, and he had the two women move back. They were both disappointed, and as they left, they both looked at Lu Yin with smoldering eyes.

    The banquet enjoyed quite a harmonious atmosphere. Lu Yin was quite curious about the Xun family¡¯s Gear Construction Technique, the Xun family itself, and even Ascension Flowzone. So, Xun Baitao answered his every question.

    After a while, Xun Jiong approached Lu Yin and respectfully greeted him. "This little brother was reckless, and I offended Alliance Leader Lu. I beg for Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s forgiveness, and this little brother will punish himself with three cups of wine."1

    Lu Yin suddenly stopped the youth and said with a smile, "Brother Xun doesn''t need to do this. I, Lu Yin, am not one to hold a grudge, and our disagreement was written off long ago."

    Xun Jiong felt grateful. He had lost his left arm to Liu Tianmu''s Fifth Sword, and he would not be able to exert his full strength for some time in this weakened state.

    Lu Yin then said, "Brother Xun must have done this to make me, Lu Yin, look stingy. Since Brother Xun wants to drink, then I¡¯ll apany you." After speaking, Lu Yin poured a ss of wine.

    Xun Jiong quickly said, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    After that, he drank the wine in his own ss.

    Lu Yin also downed his entire ss.

    When he saw Lu Yin finish his drink, the smile on Xun Baitao''s face grew even brighter. "Alliance Leader Lu is magnanimous, and I, Xun Baitao, will also offer a toast to Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin could not refuse the toast.

    After several more cups, Lu Yin shook his head and suddenly had to grab the table with his hands to support himself, and he vigorously shook his head.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s condition, Xun Baitao and Xun Jiong exchanged an odd look.

    Resentment shed through Xun Jiong''s eyes, and he nodded before slowly leaving the room.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, is something the matter?" Xun Baitao asked, concern filling his voice.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Patriarch Xun, what kind of wine is this? It actually got me drunk?"

    Xun Baitao smiled and replied, "It''s a wonderful wine that my Xun family specially prepared for Alliance Leader Lu. Do you like it?"

    Lu Yin looked at Xun Baitao with confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

    Xun Baitaoughed, and everyone else at the banquet, including Elder Xun Ye and all of the other Xun family members,ughed as well.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s a question that I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you¡ªdo you happen to remember Xun Qianye?" Xun Baitao asked.

    Lu Yin vigorously shook his head again. "The Xun family member that I killed?"

    Xun Baitao''s eyes narrowed. "Yes. Do you happen to know why he attacked you? What did you learn from him?"

    Lu Yin and Xun Baitao stared at each other. "How should I know?"

    "For example, a piece of paper that you found in the gun? Perhaps a list¡­" Xun Baitao spoke slowly, his voicepletely cold. After he finished speaking, he released his full aura of a power level that exceeded 400,000. It spread out from the flying spacecraft and enveloped a great deal of the surrounding space.

    In the distance, Dwayne Daynight and the others'' expressions changed. "There are Enlighters locking down space in this region."

    Wendy Yushan clenched her fists as she stared at the Xun family¡¯s vessel.

    The others looked somewhat panicked, as this terrifying strength had locked down space and the void, leaving them powerless. This was not someone whom they could go against.

    Members of the Xun family appeared all around Lu Yin¡¯s ship, surrounding everyone still on board.

    Inside the Xun family¡¯s vessel, Lu Yin lowered his head. "List? What list?"

    Xun Baitao moved closer to Lu Yin and raised a hand that reached for Lu Yin. "So you still want to pretend."

    Just as he arrived in front of Lu Yin, Xun Baitao¡¯s vision changed, and he was standing in a ce that he had longed and ached for ever since seeing: Honor Mountain.

    It was the heart of the Hall of Honor, and it was also where all of the Hall of Honor¡¯s top powerhouses could be found within the Honor Zone.

    When Xun Baitao had first visited the Honor Zone, he had been an ant that anyone could crush with a step, even if he had already been the Xun family¡¯s patriarch. However, at this moment, he had be a member of Honor Mountain. No¡ªhe was the master, and there were nine people lined up before him, all of them kneeling. They were the nine overseers, and they all looked up at him. In the distance, Xu Baitao could see the top powers of the universe all crawling beneath his feet. He was the master of Honor Mountain, the master of the entire universe.

    Xun Baitao grew short of breath before bursting out intoughter. He, Xun Baitao, had seeded! Finally seeded! After receiving the support of the Technocracy, he had then climbed up the branch offered by the Sixth Maind to be the highest power in the entire Fifth Maind. His Xun family had dominated the entire Neoverse. As for the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, and the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect and Daynight n, they all were at his mercy.

    His crazedughter echoed throughout the entire Honor Zone.

    Suddenly, the top of his head cracked open. A hand hade down and pped him into the ground. His body smashed through an entire world and then crashed into the surface of the Honor Zone.

    Xun Baitao spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes practically bulged out of his head as he stared at the iparably massive hand crushing down upon him from above.

    He mounted his strongest resistance, and the nearby star energy gathered into a strange weapon that tried to counter the massive hand. This was Xun Baitao¡¯s strongest attack, and as far as he was concerned, even an Envoy would have to take note of this attack. However, his resistance was useless, and the hand smashed him deep underground once again. One p after another fell down.

    Puff.

    Within the Xun family¡¯s ship, Xun Baitao''s hand was only a few centimeters away from Lu Yin, but he could no longer move.

    The Xun family members watching were all horrified; what was happening?

    Lu Yin''s eyes were cold. He rose to his feet, and his hand moved slightly. Nearby, Xun Ye was about to shoot to his feet, but he was sted into the hull of the ship and out into outer space. His body had been crushed, as it was impossible for him to survive Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Arge hole had opened in the side of the spacecraft, and the vacuum of outer space sucked out all of the tables, chairs, and benches that had been used for the banquet.

    All of the Xun family members stared at Lu Yin in horror. Their faces became pale, and their expressions grew hopeless.

    In front of Lu Yin, Xun Baitao coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his vision became more and more blurred. He was currently enduring the full force of Daynight Praises, and after being struck by Skybreaker dozens of times, the damage was appearing on his physical body.

    Although Xun Baitao had a power level that surpassed 400,000, his spiritual force was actually weaker than that of Qiu Shi and the others who had been in ZENITH¡¯s final rounds. A single Daynight Praise was enough to destroy him.

    This was the strength of a genius. This was the difference between someone raised with resources and an ordinary person.

    Even if Xu Baitao¡¯s power level exceeded 400,000, his ws were still too obvious.

    Qiu Shi, Xia Jiuyou, and the other finalists in ZENITH were actually much weaker than Xun Baitao, but those elites had no obvious ws. For example, there was Qiu Shi. While her physical strength was drastically inferior to Star Devourer and Yuhua Mavis¡¯s, Qiu Shi was notpletely unable to resist the other two.

    Also, while Liquor Hero¡¯s spiritual force could notpare to Yao Xuan, Lu Yin, and the others, she would not be this easily stunned or even seriously injured by their spiritual force attacks.

    But Xun Baitao was different. While he did have the power of his superior cultivation realm, his weaknesses were all too apparent. If he had participated in ZENITH, he would have struggled to enter the top ten. Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force, Yuhua Mavis¡¯s physical prowess, or Xia Jiuyou¡¯s Triple de Will would all have been enough tond a fatal blow on this patriarch.

    The universe¡¯s top ten youths each possessed abat power that would even surprise Envoys.

    Lu Yin looked down at Xun Baitao as the patriarch gritted his teeth and lifted his head to stare back at Lu Yin. "You aren''t poisoned?"

    Lu Yin''s mouth stretched into a smile. "What gave you the confidence to be so certain that I was poisoned?"

    Xun Baitao''s face went pale, and he slowly stood up. "How is that possible? Wait, were you ready for us? Who betrayed us?"

    Lu Yin felt amused. "It seems that your confidencey in your own ability to poison me. Tell me, do you remember my fight against Nightking Zhenwu? He also poisoned me, and he did so in a manner that was impossible to avoid. Since I suffered a loss at that time, how could I allow myself to suffer such a thing ever again?¡±

    Xun Baitao became desperate; he had poisoned the two women that he had sent to Lu Yin, and as long as they touched Lu Yin, he was sure to be poisoned. Also, as an extra precaution, Lu Yin¡¯s seat had also been poisoned. It should have been impossible for Lu Yin to avoid the poison, and yet he had pulled it off. ¡°How did you know that we would use poison?¡±

    "Without poison, how else would you be able to handle me?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xun Baitao suddenly attacked. Star energy gathered at his hand in a strange arrangement, and he attacked Lu Yin with a palm. Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and his pupils transformed into runes, weakening the approaching attack. At the same time, Lu Yin raised a hand: Vacuum Palm.

    Boom!

    There was a tremendous explosion, and the entire ship was torn apart. All of the nearby members of the Xun family were caught up in the shockwave, turning to dust. Xun Baitao demonstrated the strength of an expert with a power level of more than 400,000, but he could only resist the Vacuum Palm. Truesight weakened Xun Baitao¡¯s attacks to a power level of less than 400,000 while each of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms contained a power level of more than 300,000.

    The two palms collided, and Xun Baitao tried to use the power of Lu Yin¡¯s attack to escape. As for the rest of the members of the Xun family, he did not even about them¡ªnot even his own son, Xun Jiong. Lu Yin sneered; Xun Baitao was truly a ruthless person. After a moment¡¯s thought, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet. Space became the board while Lu Yin, the ship itself, and Xun Baitao all became chess pieces. Lu Yin then moved the chess piece that was Xun Baitao.

    The patriarch¡¯s vision changed yet again as he appeared right in front of Lu Yin. The worst thing was that Xun Baitao¡¯s back was facing Lu Yin.

    The patriarch could not react to the speed of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and his back erupted with pain. His bones instantly shattered, and his body bent into an unnatural U shape.

    From the rest of the surrounding area, beams of light sted at Lu Yin as the Xun family¡¯s battleships attacked him.

    Lu Yin let out a cold snort as he unleashed his domain. It spread throughout the entire region, dispersing all of the iing attacks. Lu Yin¡¯s massive domain was powerful enough to defeat normal Enlighters, so there was no need to mention these battleships.

    Wendy Yushan, Ku Wei, and the others all appeared in space and began attacking the surrounding vessels one by one. They were in Ascension Flowzone, which was the Xun family¡¯s territory, but the family did not have that many powerhouses, and none of them could stand up to Ku Wei and the others.

    Lu Yin did not even bother dealing with such trash. Instead, he shed over in front of Xun Baitao.

    Another Vacuum Palm smashed Xun Baitao deep into a nearby barren. His body pierced through the gray rocks of the lifeless before descending the magma beneath the surface.

    Xun Baitao copsed, unable to move.

    Lu Yin approached. "When the banquet started and you didn''t mention Xun Qianye or that list, I already knew that there was a problem. You risked it all to kill me just because of a list that I might only know about. This is an impossible task with the powers that are behind me. You should be very clear about your Xun family¡¯s strength. Even if this n had seeded, your family would no longer have any ce within the Fifth Maind, and you would be hunted down throughout the entire universe for all eternity until you werepletely exterminated. So, why even bother?¡±

    Xun Baitao kept coughing up blood as he stared at Lu Yin with unwillingness filling his eyes.

    [1] Cultural thing. People drink as a form of penalty/punishment for saying the wrong things or beingte to the party etc. He''s saying he''ll drink to apologize. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1328: Income

    <h4>Chapter 1328: Ie</h4>

    "Were you willing to assassinate me even with the risk of beingpletely annihted? Who gave you the reassurance to do such a thing? They must have been able to promise your Xun family guaranteed safety and the chance to reach heights that you¡¯ve never touched before, so who was it?" Lu Yin took another drink as he stared at Xun Baitao.

    "If you don''t tell me, I¡¯ll immediately erase your entire Xun family."

    Xun Baitao smiled miserably. "If I tell you, will you not attack my Xun family? Lu Yin, I know you very well. Ever since the Innerverse and Outerverse reconnected,the entire family knows about the matter with Xun Qianye, and I knew that you would target us one day. This matter was dyed because you needed to make preparations but I knew that, as soon as you made your preparations, we would not be able to escape.

    "And now that we¡¯ve failed to kill you, you will definitely destroy my Xun family. There¡¯s no other oue."

    Lu Yin lightlymented, "As long as you tell me who ordered my death, I can leave a remnant of your Xun family behind so that your name will at least continue on."

    Xun Baitaoughed loudly. "Do I need that from you? The moment I decided to try dealing with you, I made all of those preparations. I haven¡¯t lived until now just through sheer luck."

    Lu Yin frowned. "So you don¡¯t want to live?"

    Xun Baitao shook his head, helpless. "Everyone wants to live, but that¡¯s not in my future."

    "You sought refuge from the Technocracy to raise your family to new heights?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xun Baitao closed his eyes. "So was what I saw when I attacked you your creation? Lu Yin, you¡¯re quite clever, and I never even saw how you managed to avoid the poison. However, the brighter you shine, the more people will start targeting you. Sooner orter, you will follow down the same path as my Xun family.¡±

    After he spoke, Xun Baitao¡¯s stomach began to swell.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This was not good¡ªthe Enlighter was blowing himself up!

    There was a massive explosion, and the entire shattered.

    Off in the distance, Wendy Yushan and others looked over with worry-filled eyes.

    Lu Yin stood in space, an ugly expression on his face. He had actually intended to take Xun Baitao''s cosmic ring, and he had not expected the man to directly blow himself up. Even the patriarch¡¯s flesh and blood were gone.

    Who had ordered the Xun family to take out Lu Yin?

    It wasmon knowledge that the Xun family had a grudge against Lu Yin and that he was eager to take action against them as well. So who was confident enough to go against the Great Eastern Alliance, Leon¡¯s Armada, and even the Hall of Honor, who all stood behind Lu Yin?

    Wait, the Hall of Honor?

    Lu Yin''s mind shed, and he suddenly remembered something as he looked to the west.

    Xun Baitao had died, and all of the nearby ships belonging to the Xun family had been destroyed, but Xun Jiong had been captured by Lu Yin¡¯s people.

    Back inside his vessel, Lu Yin calmly sat down with Ku Wei behind him. In front of them, Xun Jiong was kneeling on the floor with a pale face and his head hung in terror. He was even shaking.

    Wasn¡¯t Lu Yin poisoned? How can he be okay? Xun Jiong had believed that the matter had already been settled, but reality had turned outpletely different from expected.

    "Pick up your head," Lu Yin slowly said.

    Xun Jiong trembled.

    "Look up! Didn¡¯t you hear what the Alliance Leader said?" Ku Wei shouted.

    Lu Yin was startled.

    Xun Jiong¡¯s shaking became worse, though he was still intimidated into raising up his head, and he hesitatingly met Lu Yin''s calm, cold eyes.

    "Who ordered your Xun family to attack me? Or, let me rephrase the question, which VIPs has your Xun family recently hosted?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xun Jiong was terrified. "No, no, no, I don''t know! I don''t know anything! My father asked me to invite you to an apology banquet! That¡¯s all that I knew about any of this."

    Lu Yinughed. "You didn''t know that I would be poisoned?"

    Xun Jiong opened his mouth, intending to lie, but upon seeing Lu Yin''s cold eyes and smiling face, Xun Jiongughed inplete despair. "Father¡­ Father told me about that, but I don''t know who ordered it. I thought that this was all because of that list, and I really don¡¯t know about anything beyond that."

    Lu Yin stared at Xun Jiong and saw nothing in Xun Jiong''s eyes aside from fear and despair.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Hand over all of the Xun family¡¯s resources and possessions."

    "So can I- I- I live?" Xun Jiong asked in a trembling voice.

    Ku Wei shouted, "You still want to negotiate terms?"

    Xun Jiong shuddered, terrified, but he gritted his teeth and looked at Lu Yin with a determined expression. "I¡¯ll give you everything that the Xun family has, but you have to promise not to kill me."

    "How bold!" Ku Wei shouted once again. He had fully adopted his self-appointed role as the fox with the tiger¡¯s power.1

    Lu Yin raised a hand to put a stop to Ku Wei ranting. "Yes, I won''t kill you."

    Xun Jiong gasped. "I¡¯m not talking about just you, but also everyone following you or rted to you."

    Lu Yin''s face fell.

    Xun Jiong hurriedly continued, saying, "I¡¯m the only one who can ess all of my family¡¯s resources. We have more than 200 million star essence, as well as various power vessels and natural treasures. I only have one condition: no one from your side is allowed to take action against me, and that includes hiring hitmen."

    Lu Yin was surprised; the Xun family had more wealth than the ze Realm?

    However, after thinking about it for a moment, that made sense. The ze Realm had been one of the three major powers of zing Mist Flowzone, and they had many disciples and costly expenses. On the other hand, the Xun family needed to spend less, and they also sold many items that they made with their Gear Construction Technique. Their ie would not be any worse than the ze Realm¡¯s. Thus, with these lower expenses, the Xun family¡¯s wealth would naturally surpass that of the ze Realm.

    200 million star essence! This was a huge fortune.

    At this time, news came in that Xun Jiong''s brother, another direct descendant of the Xun family, had died. This was not rted to Lu Yin''s actions, but rather an unexinable death.

    Something stirred in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, and he turned to look at Xun Jiong. "Were you the one to kill your brother?¡±

    Xun Jiong released a heavy breath as he nodded. "I saw Elder Xun Ye die, and so I took care of it then."

    "So you personally killed your brother just to make sure that you would be the only one who could ess the Xun family¡¯s resources? Then, you would be the most important bargaining chip during negotiations," Lu Yin drylymented.

    Ku Wei was surprised; this guy was smart and incredibly ruthless. Why was it hard to see that?

    Xun Jiong did not deny anything, as Lu Yin had spoken the truth.

    Lu Yinmented, "I didn''t see it earlier, but you¡¯re actually pretty smart, and you are certainly vicious enough. Alright, I¡¯ll agree to your conditions, but I have a condition of my own."

    Xun Jiong looked forward to hearing Lu Yin¡¯s condition, as he was not afraid of anything that Lu Yin could propose. As long as the conditions were given, it would be an assurance that Xun Jiong could survive.

    "You can''t stay in the Fifth Maind. I''ll give you a chance to survive and achieve somethingmendable: go to the Upper Realm and survive. If you can find someone from the Xun family, I can even let you back into the Fifth Maind and will even support you. Then, you can rebuild the Xun family," Lu Yin said.

    Xun Jiong felt confused. "What Xun family?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Your father, Xun Baitao, sent out members of your Xun family before trying to deal with me, just to ensure that your family¡¯s lineage would not die out. You didn¡¯t know about this?¡±

    Xun Jiong''s expression changed drastically, and a deep-seated hatred appeared in his eyes. He had truly not known about this, but this meant that his father had been willing to allow him, Xun Jiong, to die while ensuring that the others survived. As of this moment, the hatred Xun Jiong had for Xun Baitao, was more than his hatred for Lu Yin. This was just how some people were¡ªselfish without limit, always thinking for themselves. His hatred grew from Xun Baitao to all the members of the Xun family who were being protected

    Xun Jiong knew that his father must have sent out an illegitimate child, but he also realized that this meant that an illegitimate child was more valuable than Xun Jiong¡¯s own life. Hatred clouded the youth¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin felt very satisfied with what he saw in Xun Jiong''s eyes, and he waved a hand. "Go and gather those resources. Then, you can head out. Remember, if you are able to aplish something worthwhile, I¡¯ll support you in rebuilding your Xun family, and you will even be allowed to follow under mymand."

    Xun Jiong quickly replied, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. I understand. I will definitely find the members of my Xun family who were sent out. Alliance Leader Lu can rest assured."

    After Xun Jiong finished speaking, he was led away by Cool Sis.

    Lu Yin stared at Xun Jiong''s back as he left, but he did not harbor much hope. Still, it was better than nothing, and Xun Jiong was like a mad dog. Thus, it was not actually a bad thing to send out such a creature out to attack others.

    The Xun family had colluded with the Technocracy, and they had even been supported by the Sixth Maind. Thus, the Sixth Maind seemed to be the most likely culprit for sending down the orders for Lu Yin¡¯s assassination. Only the Sixth Maind was unafraid of the Hall of Honor.

    During ZENITH, the Progenitor of Combat had personally intervened in thepetition to stop Shang Qing from fighting against everyone else all at once. That had allowed Lu Yin to see the Progenitor of Combat''s fear and hatred towards the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin would not be at all surprised if the Sixth Maind was confirmed to have ordered the Xun family to assassinate him.

    Lu Yin was just hoping that the Progenitor of Combat had not given the order himself. If that was the case, then the next one to be sent after Lu Yin would not be a power on the level of the Xun family, but rather an Envoy realm powerhouse at the very least.

    The cruelty of the universe could be seen every second. As Lu Yin¡¯s vessel continued on its way to zing Mist Flowzone, it was backlit by the Xun family¡¯s hom. Cracks appeared across the as it was destroyed, along with the entire family.

    Xun Jiong then took the Xun family¡¯s entire wealth and delivered it to Lu Yin. As he had said before, the amount of star essence in the family¡¯s possession had been 200 million. As for the rest of the family¡¯s valuables, they had been stored in a cosmic ring, and they would be sold along with the treasures that Lu Yin had gained from the ze Realm.

    The whole universe was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s love of money, but no one had ever seen how he spent his wealth. All that was known was that Lu Yin acted as though he never had enough funds.

    After suddenlying across such arge influx of money, Lu Yin was in a wonderful mood, and Ku Wei was feeling greatly relieved.

    Ku Wei was not sure why Lu Yin was not in any sort of hurry, but it made Ku Wei feel quite nervous. After seeing Lu Yine across such arge amount of money, Ku Wei felt that he could finally let out a sigh of relief.

    "Seventh Bro, why did you let that kid go? That wasn¡¯t good. You need to keep him in order to get your revenge," Ku Wei mentioned.

    Lu Yin stared out into space. "Someone from the Xun family escaped, and he can find them for us. He doesn¡¯t care about blood or family, and he even killed his little brother. He only cares about himself, and he hopes to be the next patriarch of the Xun family, especially if he can rebuild his family, as that would be enough for him to leave his name in history. That¡¯s a temptation that he can¡¯t resist."

    "Seventh Bro is so wise! This means that he can find the mastermind behind the Xun family¡¯s assassination attempt. Seventh Bro is so smart¡ªyou take one step to move three steps forward!" Ku Wei immediately began to wildly tter Lu Yin.

    The destruction of the Xun family was not some minor bit of news for the Innerverse. When major powers discovered that Lu Yin was the one behind it, they all fell silent.

    Even the powerful families that had been close to the Xun family would not dare to try touching Lu Yin''s head at this point in time.

    However, Lu Yin did not want to give off the impression that he had be tyrannical, unreasonable, and cruel. Thus, he had Xun Jiong cooperate and provide a recording of the evidence before the youth left, and Lu Yin used that recording as an exnation.

    Anyone who climbed too high could easily suffer from being targeted by everyone. Lu Yin preferred to silently gather a fortune, but unfortunately, this was never possible for him. Still, he would rather not be everyone¡¯s universal enemy.

    Even in the Innerverse, the Xun family was not considered weak, and their destruction could easily cause people to panic. Providing the public with a reason why he had moved against the family was enough to appease many people, and it also help prevent various parties from looking to make trouble for the Great Eastern Alliance

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped a notification; Huan Sha was calling him to share some recent good news with him.

    Lu Yin had taken first ce in ZENITH, and he had proved his invincibility within the younger generation. He was truly peerless. The seventy-two territories of the Outerverse had been congratting each other, and they had sent Lu Yin congrattory gifts with the total valueing out to be more than 30 million star essence.

    [1] This is an idiom thates from a story OMA shared:

    A tiger caught a fox while it was searching food in the forest. When the tiger was just about to eat it, the fox suddenly spoke, ¡°Mr. Tiger, no hurries. Please listen to me. I was sent by Heaven to rule the animals. By eating me, you will vite themand of Heaven. ¡± The tiger was half in belief and half in doubt. The fox then continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, just follow me to see whether the animals are afraid of me.¡± The tiger thought it was better to give it a try, so it followed the fox through the forest.

    Two spotted deer immediately ran away on seeing them; Rabbits and sheep also disappeared at once when they say the fox and the tiger; Even the wild boar and bear hid. The tiger didn¡¯t realize that it was him that the beasts were really afraid of and let go of the fox.

    This idiom (ºü¼Ù»¢Íþ) is a story about "The Fox Assuming the Majesty of the Tiger." It is used to refer to those who bully or frighten others by relying on other people¡¯s power.

    So Ku Wei was just borrowing Lu Yin''s authority to assert his position. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1329: A Sudden Attack

    <h4>Chapter 1329: A Sudden Attack</h4>

    Lu Yin was feeling quite satisfied right now. After all, the Outerverse normally used star crystals, and thirty million star essence was the equivalent of a truly astronomical number of star crystals. This was a massive gift from the major powers of the Outerverse.

    Right after the call with Huan Sha, Lu Yin received a call from Wei Rong that had more good news for Lu Yin. The Innerverse¡¯s flowzones had also sent their congrattions to Lu Yin for winning ZENITH¡ªtheir gifts totaled more than fifty million in star essence.

    Lu Yin ended up short of breath when he heard this news. He had suddenly received nearly a hundred million star essence, which was an unimaginable amount. Even if one of the eight great flowzones received this amount, it would still be considered an astronomical sum.

    This was also just what the smaller flowzones had sent him, as the eight great flowzones had been even more generous, sending Lu Yin another 200 million star essence themselves.

    Lu Yin was not happy about this. He could see what was happening. The Innerverse was trying to buy him off. No matter how much a single person could spend, there would always be a limit, and although Lu Yin was known for his covetous nature, he had never been known to spend almost anything. These people were being quite clever.

    Since Lu Yin liked money, they intended to feed him with wealth until he was fully sated. Besides, Lu Yin never spent his money, so sending him such gifts was clearly better than sending him power vessels or battle techniques that could directly increase his strength. What would he do with so much money? Decorate his house with it?

    To these people, the most important detail was that Lu Yin never spent his money. Thus, if anything happened to him in the future, the money would still be there, which meant that these people were essentially treating Lu Yin as an alternative bank.

    Sending Lu Yin gifts was like opening a savings ount.

    Wang Wen smiled brightly, but he behaved very humbly. "As far as those people are concerned, this money isn¡¯t enough for them to get excited about, but if it¡¯s able to satisfy you for a bit, then in their minds, it¡¯s money well spent."

    Lu Yin knew that Wang Wen wasughing at him, but how could anyone know how Lu Yin used money?

    No matter what people thought of him, it was better if Lu Yin was treated as a piggy bank. The more money he had, the faster his strength would rise.

    If any of these people discovered that Lu Yin¡¯s power was directly rted to money, he believed that every single one of them would regret their gift even on their deathbeds.

    "Get rid of that smile. I¡¯ve got my own uses for this money," Lu Yin said in a breathless voice.

    Wang Wen smiled and replied, "It doesn''t matter. It¡¯s never bad to have more money."

    Lu Yin instantly grew vignt. "What do you want? I won''t even give you a penny of my money."

    Wang Wen was momentarily stunned, and he looked at Lu Yin oddly. "You don''t really have some weird fetish like everyone is saying, do you?"

    Lu Yin did not bother exining himself. "Before ZENITH, you said that arrangements were being made. How are things going?"

    At this sudden change of topic, Wang Wen felt rather helpless. "All of my arrangements were based on you cing in the top three, but then you went and won the whole damn thing. The spotlight¡¯spletely on you right now, so the ns have to be adjusted."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up. "Before ZENITH, I remember that you were very confident in me and that everything was being set up on the basis of me taking first."

    "That was just us talking. You have to realize that your goal of bing the champion was just too unreal. So¡­¡± Wang Wen was feeling rather embarrassed and a little humiliated. This was the first time that he had been so off in a prediction. Although it was a good thing that Lu Yin had won, Wang Wen¡¯s expectations had been crushed.

    Who would have thought that Lu Yin would actually ce first in ZENITH?

    "Right now, you¡¯re too conspicuous. The entire universe is staring at you, so I n to have the Great Eastern Alliance withdraw from zing Mist Flowzone as a demonstration of our good will. Then, we will slowly infiltrate the Innerverse from another direction without waging war. We¡¯ll use a different means rather than having the entire universe focus on us,¡± Wang Wen exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What does that means?"

    "I¡¯ve already sent out Qiong Xi''er."

    "Economical means?"

    "Do you remember Brightstar Corp.? I remember you once speaking to a woman from there, and she exined to you how therge corporations in the Innerverse are run and how they arepletely different from Outerversepanies. No matter how rich these Outerversepanies might be, they are still only considered plebeian. They are wealth-gathering tools for the Innerverse forces, and they have no independent rights. In the Innerverse, corporations attract the least attention, which means that they are the most easily infiltrated.¡±

    Lu Yin remembered that Leng Yan had mentioned that Brightstar Corp. was indeed one of the Innerverse¡¯s toppanies, and it was a subsidiary of some massive consortium at that. Apany¡¯s status in the Innerverse could notpare to the status that the four conglomerates enjoyed in the Outerverse, and it was all because these Innerversepanies were not allowed to have any powerhouses of their own.

    The money that thesepanies earned had to be handed over to the forces behind them, which meant that the Innerverse corporations were miserable existences firmly under the control of others.

    Lu Yin had only mentioned this matter to Wang Wen once, and he had not expected Wang Wen to make a note of it and eventually use it as a starting point for their invasion of the Innerverse.

    At the mention of Qiong Xi¡¯er, Lu Yin remembered how, when the Tyrannical Weave had finally connected to the rest of the Outerverse during the period of time when the Outerverse and Innerverse had been isted, Qiong Xi¡¯er had demonstrated her expertise for gathering wealth. Lu Yin suddenly gained confidence in this n.

    Qiong Xi''er, Wang Wen, and Wei Rong were more than qualified to do business with the Innerverse, and if the Great Eastern Alliance pulled out of zing Mist Flowzone, then many of the major Innerverse powers would rx. Even the sylvan dragon n and Ross Empire would lose their motivation for continuing their enmity with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "If the Great Eastern Alliance pulls out of zing Mist Flowzone, then where will we go? Retreat back to the Outerverse?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen shook his head. "I finally got into the Innerverse, so how can I just leave? There¡¯s a small flowzone between Venom Flowzone and zing Mist Flowzone known as the Fennel Flowzone. This ce is referred to as the gateway to Venom Flowzone, and basically all the cultivators who want to enter Venom Flowzone to find poisonous insects or anything else need to pass through the Fennel Flowzone. So even though it¡¯s small, it¡¯s quite busy.

    "That ce can be the territory of our Great Eastern Alliance. After all, it¡¯s rtively small and unattractive, and you can also return to zing Mist Flowzone at any time from there. It¡¯s in a position that nks zing Mist Flowzone with the Outerverse. Also, it¡¯s easily defendable with Venom Flowzone at its rear. If anything happens, it would be very difficult for anyone to defeat Fennel Flowzone, as everything that happens there is at the whim of Venom Flowzone.¡±

    "Will Venom Flowzone give us Fennel Flowzone that easily?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen smiled and exined, "Regardless of where the Flowzone is located, our Great Eastern Alliance is nowhere close to being able to threaten that ce, and it¡¯s even more impossible for us to stop their people from leaving. As far as they¡¯re concerned, we¡¯re the best gatekeepers that they could hope for.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately understood that this scheme was trying to take advantage of Venom Flowzone''s power in order to intimidate the Sword Sect and the other top Innerverse powers.

    However, while the rest of the universe would see things this way, it was not necessarily true. The real purpose behind this n was to gradually allow the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s influence to infiltrate the Innerverse and create opportunities for Qiong Xi''er.

    The entire n was just a distraction.

    "In terms of the economical n, where are you nning to start? That massive consortium?" Lu Yin asked. At this moment, his screen warped and disappeared¡ªthe signal had been cut off. Lu Yin was surprised, as this gadget had been specially given to him by CyNet, and it was supposed to have an impable reception. It was not anywhere close to being in the same category as a regr gadget, so how could it lose signal?

    Suddenly, the entire ship trembled. Lu Yin frowned and looked out into space. His pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks, and his face went pale.

    Outside, outer space hadpletely shattered, and it looked as though they had entered an entirely different pocket of space. As Lu Yin looked out into the fractured sky, he saw a familiar sight that made his scalp go numb: a doll. This was one of Shaman God¡¯s dolls.

    Upon seeing Shaman God''s doll, Lu Yin felt as though he had fallen into the abyss. As if he had taken a step over the edge of a cliff.

    He immediately put on his universal armor and yelled out, "RUN!"

    After shouting, he emerged from the ship with the walnut-shaped power vessel that he had received from Yuan Shi. He also took out the sourcebox array, Deste Array, that Highsage Grandmaster had given him. Lu Yin stared fearfully at Shaman God''s doll.

    Back inside the spacecraft, the others had no idea what had happened, except for Ku Wei. When he looked out and saw Shaman God''s doll, he was also ovee with despair.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll floated in space, a strange smile on its face. All of the surrounding space had been locked down along with Lu Yin¡¯s ship, and the ship was unable to move.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. This was the end. He had no chance. This person was one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods. Each of them was an ultimate powerhouse who stood at the pinnacle of the universe. How could Lu Yin attack such a person? As for Mister Mu, how could he appear? Lu Yin no longer had a jade talisman, and without one, he had no way to call for Mister Mu.

    At this moment, numerous thoughts raced through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he stared at Shaman God''s doll. Lu Yin¡¯s back was soaked with sweat.

    Lu Yin had many options and backups for a myriad of situations, but he would always be a struggling ant if he went against this person. What could this old monster¡¯s power level be? A million? That had to be the minimum. At the very least, Lu Yin was confident that Yuan Shi could not challenge this monster.

    Who could save him? Who?

    The visible universe grew much brighter, and the shattered space around them seemed to open up like dark clouds parting as a beam of light shone down on Shaman God¡¯s doll. He looked like the harbinger of death.

    A strangeughter echoed out that made every living thing tremble. There were all kinds of creatures hiding in outer space. No matter if they were a person, astral beast, insect, or some massive space creature, they all cowered in fear and despair as they were ovee with terror.

    "Gaga, little guy, it''s time to go home. We¡¯re heading back to Aeternus. That¡¯s where you belong, so let¡¯s go, gaga," Shaman God had a strange smile as he looked down at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Old monster, if you take me, the Hall of Honor will definitely do their best to save me and your Aeternus will be destroyed."

    "Gaga, if the Hall of Honor was able to destroy Aeternus, then they would have done so long ago. Kid, are you trying to threaten me?" Shaman God¡¯s voice turned ice cold.

    Lu Yin stared at Shaman God¡¯s doll while continuously calling out to Mister Mu in his heart.

    "What are you trying to do by kidnapping me? I''m just a Hunter, and not worthy enough for one of the mighty Seven Skygods to act personally and capture me." Lu Yin asked. He was just stalling for time.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, and Lu Yin shivered as he looked back at them. "Let''s go home. You¡¯re invaluable for our research. After all, you¡¯ve inherited that power."

    Lu Yin desperately wanted to use the walnut-shaped power vessel, but he quickly discovered that he could not move a muscle. He was utterly helpless when faced with one of the Seven Skygods.

    He felt even more powerless than a normal person would when facing a cultivator.

    Inside the spaceship, no one could move, and they could only helplessly watch on as Lu Yin was taken away.

    Suddenly, there was a loud shout, and the shattered region of space trembled. A startled look appeared on Shaman God¡¯s doll, and it immediately raised a hand to grab Lu Yin, but an old man suddenly appeared before Lu Yin. The old man looked up.

    ¡°Still ying your tricks,¡± he said as he raised a hand. "Thousand Rivers Return to Sea."

    This was the secret technique of Eversky Ind, Thousand Rivers Return to Sea. It was able to transform an enemy''s attack back into star energy and erase the power of the attack.

    Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Grandmaster was the person in front of Lu Yin.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll looked furious. "The little kiddo from back then now has the courage to step up?¡±

    "Old ghost, you should just die!" Highsage Grandmaster shouted back.

    An overpowering force was unleashed, and Lu Yin was mmed back into his spaceship. His internal organs were jostled, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. When he looked back up, he could only see that the entire universe seemed to be shaking. The gxy and even the flowzone that they were in were under the effects of their sh, and Lu Yin could not tell how far the influence of these two had spread.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1330: Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1330: Meeting</h4>

    At this moment, Lu Yin and everyone else were all insignificant ants.

    Lu Yin had ced first in ZENITH, but he was still nothing more than an insect before this overwhelming power.

    Wendy Yushan and others tightly grabbed onto the spaceship to keep it from copsing.

    After a while, the universe grew calm once again.

    Everyone looked out of the vessel in shock, and Ku Wei gulped nervously. Highsage Grandmaster has to win. He has to! Otherwise, everything¡¯s over.

    Space outside the ship had fallenpletely silent, but all of the nearby stars had shattered into ckholes. It was an incredible scene to witness.

    Lu Yin was panting heavily. His pupils transformed into runes as he scanned the area.

    "So you''re not afraid of going blind." A voice spoke up from behind everyone, startling Ku Wei so badly that he almost had a heart attack.

    Lu Yin whirled around, only to see that it was Highsage Grandmaster. Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and then quickly asked, "Senior Highsage Grandmaster, where is Shaman God?"

    Highsage Grandmaster straightened out his clothes. "He left. That old monster is quite a difficult opponent."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief.

    Everyone else did the same.

    "Senior Grandmaster is incredibly powerful! Invincible in the universe!" Ku Wei reflexively started ttering the old man. It had be an instinct for him by this point.

    Lu Yin bowed to the old man. "Thank you, Senior Grandmaster, for your help."

    Lu Yin had been truly desperate when Shaman God¡¯s doll appeared.

    Highsage Grandmaster just waved a hand. "You''re wee. I''ve dealt with this kind of thing before."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "You¡¯ve already seen this before?"

    Highsage Grandmaster did not say much in response, and instead warned Lu Yin. "You¡¯re not the only one to be targeted. All of the other kids who entered the top ten are also being attacked by the Neohuman Alliance. It¡¯s impossible for them to leave you alone since you¡¯ve won this opportunity, so this old man will be staying nearby to protect you for a while."

    Hearing Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s words filled Lu Yin with relief. With this ancient powerhouse present, Lu Yin had no reason to be afraid of Shaman God.

    So, was everyone else being attacked too? It appeared that the opportunity that they had won was truly precious, as it was even enough to make the Neohuman Alliance afraid.

    For the Neohuman Alliance to be so scared as to send out the Seven Skygods and for the Hall of Honor to use people like Highsage Grandmaster as bodyguards, it seemed that the rumors had been urate this time. The opportunity awarded to ZENITH¡¯s top ten was indeed rted to the Progenitor realm.

    Nobody from the Fifth Maind had be a Progenitor ever since the ancient war with the Sixth Maind. The Hall of Honor was desperate to gain a Progenitor, as such a powerhouse was their only hope of surviving.

    Just as Highsage Grandmaster had said, when Shaman God had attacked Lu Yin, the other top ten members were also being attacked.

    In the sky above the Cosmic Sea, a corpse king stood with a foot in two different regions of the sea, but the water of the Cosmic Sea did not even reach the creature¡¯s knees. Every time it moved, the entire Cosmic Sea churned.

    The Cosmic Sea was home to numerous bizarre weather patterns, and there were also four great pirate crews. However, none of that could pose any threat to this corpse king as it was one of the Seven Skygods.

    Across from Corpse God stood Qinmei Mavis with Yuhua Mavis behind her. Qinmei Mavis¡¯s face was pale. She had not expected to encounter one of the Seven Skygods on their way back to the Neoverse. This corpse king was not something that she could challenge. She could not even look up at the creature.

    Corpse God raised a hand and reached out for Yuhua Mavis, his scarlet eyes like two dark red suns as his hand overshadowed the sky of the Cosmic Sea.

    "Corpse God, stop!" There was a stern shout as the entire region turned green. A massive pair of eyes looked back at Corpse God¡¯s scarlet eyes, causing the dark red and green colors topete for dominance.

    Qinmei Mavis and others were delighted and surprised. "Elder Lingzhi."

    "Little girl, in that year, I didn¡¯t kill. Now, you¡¯re strong. Come stop me, try," Corpse God haltingly said. He spoke in the same broken and confusing manner as all corpse kings.

    Lingzhi Mavis was the oldest of the Mavis family¡¯s elite powerhouses, and she was even one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors. However, she still looked like a young woman.

    "Old freak, why don''t you all just die?" Lingzhi Mavis fiercely shouted back. Everyone in the Mavis family was the same; no matter how gentle they might outwardly appear to be, everyst one of them was hot-blooded.

    Boom!

    The Cosmic Sea roared, and shockwaves overturned the sea.

    In the distance, the battleships belonging to Leon¡¯s Armada swayed and almost capsized due to the surging waves.

    Even Highsage Leon himself was helpless at this time. They had just returned from the Innerverse, and they had not even settled in yet when this fight had suddenly broken out. There was no ce for Highsage Leon in this fight, and he did not dare to get himself involved.

    When a true top powerhouse appeared, even the four pirate crews were useless.

    In the Neoverse, the group from the Cosmic Sect was also attacked, and another one of the Seven Skygods targeted them: Undying God. Fortunately, the Cosmic Sect also had one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors among their elders, and that elder managed to save Qiu Shi.

    The Hall of Honor had actually expected the Seven Skygods to focus their attacks on the Fifth Maind¡¯s youths who had entered ZENITH¡¯s top ten, but they had guessed incorrectly.

    The Hall of Honor soon received a message that shocked them all: one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, Bu Kong, had died.

    This news shocked both the Sixth and Fifth Mainds.

    Bu Kong had been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, and thus, he had naturally been well protected as the disciple of one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Three Progenitors, the Progenitor of Secret Arts. Despite that, the Neohuman Alliance had still managed to kill Bu Kong.

    The Hall of Honor could only imagine the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ rage at this moment.

    No one had expected the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods to attack anyone from the Sixth Maind. After all, the Neohuman Alliance had even cooperated with the Sixth Maind in the past.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts had clearly not considered such a possibility urring, and so, Bu Kong had tragically died.

    When Lu Yin heard this news, he fell silent.

    No matter if Bu Kong had been a friend or foe, it was a fact that Bu Kong had been one of the most talented humans in the entire universe. He had mastered numerous secret techniques and evenprehended a sourcebox array. It would be difficult to imagine what heights he would have reached in the future, but he had died here.

    However, although Lu Yin felt a bit sad at hearing Bu Kong¡¯s passing, he did not feel much regret.

    Despite his own nonchnce, Lu Yin could imagine the anger of the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    "Not only was Bu Kong killed, but Wu Taibai was also attacked and seriously injured. It¡¯s unknown if Wang Yi is dead or alive," Highsage Grandmaster continued in a rather despondent tone.

    Lu Yin frowned. "So the Neohuman Alliance deliberately sent the Seven Skygods to attack us first in order to lower the Sixth Maind¡¯s vignce. Their real target was always the Sixth Maind."

    Highsage Grandmaster shook his head. "Their true target is all of humanity, not a particr maind. After all these years, we have grasped a good understanding of the Neohuman Alliance. We already knew that they would target you and Qiu Shi, but neither of those attacks were likely to seed, as a few of us old ones would definitely be protecting you. Given the situation, they were only able to focus on the Sixth Maind."

    "So they¡¯ll just pick us off one by one, huh?" Lu Yin asked.

    Highsage Grandmaster nodded, but he stared off into space with aplicated expression. ¡°Only by joining forces can you have any real hope, and that hope lessens with every death. Fortunately, there are many talented youths in your generation, and even if Bu Kong has been lost, the Sixth Maind can rece him with Zhi Yi.¡±

    "What about Wang Yi?" Lu Yin asked.

    Highsage Grandmaster shook his head. "I don''t know if he¡¯s dead or not. If he can¡¯t make it to the Neoverse by the appointed time, then he can only be reced."

    After Lu Yin heard this exnation, he suddenly looked over at Highsage Grandmaster. This was not good. If both he and Highsage Grandmaster could think of such possibilities, then how could it have not urred to the Neohuman Alliance?

    The current younger generation was shining too brightly, and it had caused the Hall of Honor to ignore the possibility that other people would also be attacked. It had to be admitted that, while Y¨­u Qi, Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, and Starsibyl had not qualified to enter ZENITH¡¯s top ten, they had not lost by much. All of them were fully qualified to rece Wang Yi or any of the others in this opportunity topete to change their destiny.

    The Neohuman Alliance might have already made a move.

    However, the situation regarding the others had little to do with Lu Yin, and he did not have the luxury to worry about others.

    Before long, another call came through, and Lu Yin immediately epted. An absolutely stunning woman appeared on his screen. She was Fei Liu, the captain of one of the seven crews under Leon¡¯s Armada. Lu Yin had met this captain once before, and he had been told to call her Sister Fei.

    "Little Lu, I still can''t find out who was behind that bookkeeper," Sister Fei said.

    Lu Yin''s heart fell. "How much of the payout was left behind?"

    "I got there in time to find almost 360 million star essence still there," Sister Fei said.

    After ZENITH started, Lu Yin had called Leon¡¯s Armada and asked Highsage Leon to send someone to find thergest bookkeeper for him to ce his bets. He had specifically gone through Leon¡¯s Armada, as he had been afraid that the bookkeeper would take off without paying if Lu Yin won his bet.

    His worries had proven true, and Leon¡¯s Armada had moved quickly. They had located the bookkeeper during ZENITH, and Sister Fei had personally kept an eye on them.

    However, they had still been one step behind. The bookkeeper had already transferred the majority of the funds, and if Sister Fei had not acted as quickly as she had, then not even 300 million star essence would have been left over.

    "Sister Fei, can you really not find out who¡¯s behind that bookkeeper?" Lu Yin was not willing to ept this loss. He had bet 100 million star essence on himself at ten to one odds, which meant that he should have won a billion star essence. However, all he had ended up with was 300 million left. On top of that, he could not even im the entire 300 million, as Leon¡¯s Armada had been the one to locate the money, which meant that they were entitled to at least half and likely more.

    There were still many ounts to settle. Besides that, Leon¡¯s Armada was a band of pirates, and Highsage Leon himself was the Pirate King.

    Sister Fei rolled her eyes. "I want to find them even more than you. Do you think that you¡¯re the only one who ced bets with them? A lot of people have lost their money."

    Lu Yin frowned. The reason why this bookkeeper had been regarded as thergest and most trustworthy was that the gambling funds had been directly deposited into the Mavis Bank, and a full one billion star essence had been borrowed from the Mavis Bank.

    This billion star essence had been what the bookkeeper had used as a guarantee to reassure people into cing bets. As long as anyone had proof of their bet and winnings, they would be able to collect their winnings straight from the Mavis Bank itself. It was very simple.

    Since the betting had been done in such an open manner, there was essentially no risk of reneging. However, nobody had expected Lu Yin to bet so much and even win. He had actually won a billion star essence! Thus, the loan was only enough to pay just him back, and there were many others who also needed to be paid. The bookkeeper had taken a terrible loss, and they had naturally not been willing to ept it.

    Without Lu Yin''s wager, the billion star essence would have been more than plenty to pay off all of the other winners. Even after paying off the interest on the Mavis Bank loan, the bookkeeper would have been sitting on a few hundred million or more in profit without any issue.

    But Lu Yin had won.

    The people behind the bookkeeper had simply fled. As for the billion star essence held by the Mavis Bank, no one was able to touch it without proof of their wagers from the bookkeeper. The bookkeeper had to pay the bank yearly interest on the loan, but the wagers that they had collected were enough to pay the interest fees for countless years.

    The unlucky ones were those who had ced bets and won, as all of their money was gone without their initial bet being paid back. More importantly, no one knew who was behind the bookkeeper.

    Lu Yin called Lulu Mavis, hoping to use his rtionship with her to get ess to some of the Mavis Bank¡¯s internal records, but he was quickly told that that was impossible. The Mavis Bank had to maintain their clients¡¯ confidentiality no matter what. Besides, the Mavis Bank had not suffered a loss in this situation, as they would still collect annual interest on that billion star essence loan, which was a substantial amount of money.

    Having to eat the loss of hundreds of millions of star essence, Lu Yin felt frustrated to the point where he wanted to vomit blood.

    All the money that Lu Yin had earned over these many years could not amount to what he had lost in this incident. No¡ªhe had to find out who had stolen from him. No matter what it took, he would get his billion star essence back, even if he had to take it from the Mavis Bank itself. Lu Yin would not ept anything less.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1331: Treasure Of The Ages

    <h4>Chapter 1331: Treasure Of The Ages</h4>

    "You should know that it¡¯s impossible to gain ess to the Mavis Bank¡¯s records. Even if it weren¡¯t you, their own n members have no such rights either. If anything was leaked, there would be catastrophic consequences for them to bear. No one can afford to risk such a thing, as they would have to bear the full force of the Mavis family¡¯s wrath,¡± Sister Fei warned Lu Yin. After all, he was asking about information that would affect the credibility of the Mavis Bank, and that was something worth far more than just a billion star essence.

    Lu Yin nodded helplessly. "I know. Thank you, Sister Fei."

    Sister Fei nodded. "You¡¯ve gambled 100 million star essence, and you¡¯ll get it back with even a small profit. You aren¡¯t suffering any loss, so don''t worry about it."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was actually being encouraged to let something go by a pirate. "I understand, Sister Fei."

    After hanging up, Ku Wei spoke up from behind Lu Yin, still unwilling to ept things. "Seventh Bro, are you just going to let those bastards run away with your money? They should know that anyone who dares to steal from you will die!"

    "Who do you think would qualify to borrow a billion star essence from the Mavis Bank in a single loan?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Wei shook his head. "There are too many people. Just to start off, there are the leaders of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, people in the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, and even the Hall of Honor. Even you, Seventh Bro. Given your current status, you could definitely get such a loan. It¡¯s actually pretty easy to take a loan of a billion star essence from the Mavis Bank."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten about this option. It was true, he could indeed take out a loan himself. Perhaps he should try it sometime when he found himself short on funds.

    Of the 360 million star essence recovered from the bookkeeper, Sister Fei took 160 million back to the Cosmic Sea for Leon¡¯s Armada while the other 200 million was given over to Lu Yin and directly sent back to the ze Realm.

    As of this moment, Lu Yin''s total assets amounted to 700 million star essence, 100 million of which was from his initial bet.

    700 million star essence was more than what Lu Yin had ever possessed before. It was so, so much money, and he was extremely wealthy! No, he had to keep a low profile and not act ostentatiously.

    When he thought about how he had almost lost 900 million star essence, his heart twitched.

    It was a rtively short trip from the ze Realm to Ascension Flowzone, though it was necessary to pass through Venom Flowzone. Lu Yin specifically ordered the ship to pass through Fennel Flowzone so that he could take a look before arriving in zing Mist Flowzone.

    At this moment, zing Mist Flowzone waspletely different from before. Without the arrogant ze Realm disciples present, the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire had subconsciously joined forces and erected a line of defense along the ze Realm¡¯s southern side to stop the Great Eastern Alliance from attacking them.

    Leon¡¯s Armada had already returned to the Cosmic Sea, and Lu Yin was unable to do anything to the two powers of zing Mist Flowzone, as he was still unable to stand up to their two Envoys.

    However, the other two parties also did not dare to do anything to Lu Yin either.

    Lu Yin had be the champion of ZENITH, and after that, the Hall of Honor had immediately warned everyone against targeting him, which was one of the reasons why Highsage Leon had been reassured enough to return to the Cosmic Sea.

    Highsage Grandmaster had also disappeared. Lu Yin had wanted to host the old man, but Highsage Grandmaster had not remained in contact, and Lu Yin had no idea where the old man had gone. However, Lu Yin was confident that, if he met another mishap, Highsage Grandmaster would definitely reappear.

    Shortly after returning to the ze Realm, Lu Yin was talking with Wei Rong about withdrawing from zing Mist Flowzone when he received a call from someone familiar. He was genuinely surprised by who was reaching out to him: Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin had not expected her to suddenly contact him.

    Starsibyl¡¯s performance during ZENITH had been quite good, and honestly, Lu Yin had been surprised. In his mind, Starsibyl had be a potential threat.

    "Brother Lu, do you have a moment? Why don¡¯t you visit the Starsibyl Sect?" The moment Starsibyl saw Lu Yin¡¯s face, she instantly offered him an invitation.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "The Starsibyl Sect?"

    Starsibyl smiled. "The Starsibyl Sect officially invites Brother Lu for a visit."

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Lu Yin stood in outer space with his hands sped behind his back as he pondered things.

    After receiving an invitation from the Starsibyl Sect, he had naturally gone for a visit.

    Everyone in the universe who knew of the Starsibyl Sect would be cautious of them. After all, even normal people would not underestimate a fortune-teller, as this was something that involved the realm of the future, and Lu Yin was no different.

    He had not originally believed in their divination abilities, but then Starsibyl had somehow correctly deduced that the Sea King had stolen a huge batch of the pyrolyte. No one had had any clues, and only the Starsibyl Sect had been able to uncover the truth.

    Starsibyl¡¯s divination abilities were also astounding in battle. Lu Yin could not understand her battle technique known as Calctions of the Abacus, and he was quite curious about it. He actually had a powerful urge to debunk their so-called ¡°divination.¡±

    That was something that ordinary people believed in! However, if it was impossible to understand their methods and one ended up actually believing in divination, then one would absolutely be more cautious towards a power like the Starsibyl Sect. In fact, one would even develop a sense of awe towards them.

    The Starsibyl Sect was located in the Innerverse¡¯s Little Millenium Flowzone, and Little Millenium Flowzoney between Venom Flowzone, First Flowzone, and Daynight Flowzone. This was an intersection between three of the Innerverse¡¯s major powers.

    Little Millenium Flowzone was a bit different from all the other small flowzones, as it was unknown whether the ce had been deliberately arranged by someone or had simply naturally formed. The entire flowzone had 108 tributary astral rivers that wrapped around the flowzone inyers, making it look like it was covered by a vortex. If one drew a map, it would actually look like a bullseye.

    At the center of the 108 tributary astral rivers was the Starsibyl Sect. The stars within Little Millenium Flowzone were surrounded by the tributaries, and theyy in a pattern that seemed natural, but also unnatural.

    The moment Lu Yin entered Little Millenium Flowzone, it was clear that these astral river tributaries were perfectly normal, but for some reason, Lu Yin felt that they had been arranged in some strange meaning.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. He had already entered Little Millenium Flowzone, and he was very close to the Starsibyl Sect now.

    During his trip, Lu Yin had also received a call from the Y¨­u family, which was a group that he had never met before. They were a part of the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u n.

    All of Lu Yin¡¯s recent calls hade from unexpected people, and the Y¨­u family had contacted him because they wished to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin had never even considered such a thing. The Y¨­u family was a well-known group within the Innerverse, and they were backed by the powerful Sword Sect. In fact, their family members had even married into the Sword Sect several times, but now, the family actually wanted to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "The Sword Sect has alreadye to suspect that my Y¨­u family never truly parted ways with the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u n, and so, their attitude towards us haspletely changed. I ask Alliance Leader Lu to allow our Y¨­u family to join your Great Eastern Alliance.

    "My Y¨­u family has truly broken away from the Court of Seven Names, and we only wish to live peaceful lives, but the Sword Sect won¡¯t allow us such peace. Revealing the Y¨­u Secret Art has triggered their jealousy and envy, and they clearly want to obtain our secret technique from us.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I swear that my Y¨­u family has no intention of returning to the Y¨­u n, nor will I ever betray the Great Eastern Alliance. Even though the Sword Sect''s attitude has changed greatly, my Y¨­u family does not truly wish to part ways with them, but we hope that someone can offer us protection and peace.

    "I chose the Great Eastern Alliance because, rather than being a single powerful group or family, it is an alliance with varied interests. This does not present any threat to my isted family. Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s future is limitless, and you can even rely on the Hall of Honor, as well as Leon¡¯s Armada, Elder Yuan Shi, and many others. My Y¨­u family no longer trusts anyone, but we do hope that you can protect the few of us.¡±

    ¡­

    These had been Madam Y¨­u¡¯s words. She was the leader of the Y¨­u family, and she had been the one to speak to Lu Yin.

    During ZENITH, Y¨­u Ye''er had exposed her family¡¯s secret technique as well as her battle technique, Heart-Killer Lotus. This had basically been a public announcement that the Y¨­u family was actually the main branch of the Y¨­u n.

    Madam Y¨­u had spoken in a righteous manner, and she had imed that the Y¨­u family would never return to the Y¨­u n. If Lu Yin had not witnessed certain events for himself through his die¡¯s six pips: Possession, he might have truly believed the woman. After all, it wasmon sense that the Y¨­u family should not have broken away from the Y¨­u n, and even if they had broken away, the Y¨­u family should be the ones in power within the Seven Courts, as they were the ones in possession of the n¡¯s secret technique. Reality did not line up withmon sense.

    Lu Yin did not know the real reason behind why the Y¨­u family had broken away from the rest of the family, but there was definitely no schism within the n, which triggered Lu Yin¡¯s vignce.

    What did the Y¨­u family want from this proposal? Although the Seven Courts was indeed one of the Three Dark Hands, they werepletely different from the Neohuman Alliance and were not a public enemy of the entire Human Domain. There should be no problem for the Y¨­u family to protect itself, and this presented a hidden problem.

    Yes, it was indeed an issue. Lu Yin''s expression grew stony. The Y¨­u family was concealing something, and they were doing so from both him and the Sword Sect.

    That was the worst scenario. It was impossible to know what the Y¨­u family was hiding where not even the Seven Courts was able to protect them. Lu Yin was not arrogant enough to believe that the Great Eastern Alliance was on the same level as the Seven Courts. The Y¨­u n alone was a terrifying power that was in no way at all weaker than the Nightking n.

    Madam Y¨­u was still waiting for a response from Lu Yin. After thinking things over again and again, he had no ns to call the woman back.

    Their hidden family had made it clear that they expected him to protect them.

    Elsewhere, in First Flowzone, countless people with stern faces knelt on the ground beneath a gray sky. All of them looked extremely solemn.

    Arge g with the Y¨­u character written on it fluttered above them.

    This was the Y¨­u family. The leader of the family, Madam Y¨­u, appeared calm, but the anxiety in her eyes could not be fully hidden. Behind her, Y¨­u Ye''er stood with her head hung low and her facepletely pale.

    "Did you really learn that battle technique from the secret technique?" Madam Y¨­u asked in a low voice.

    Y¨­u Ye''er did not dare to hide anything. "Yes. Your daughter identally discovered it while using the secret technique, and your daughter began to practice it ever since. Truly, your daughter never tested the technique before, and ZENITH was the first time she ever used it."

    Madam Y¨­u''s chest heaved up and down. There was excitement in her eyes but also fear. Y¨­u Ye''er did not know why her Y¨­u family had separated from the Y¨­u n. The Y¨­u Secret Art was not only a secret technique, but also a treasure¡ªa treasure that had been hidden for years.

    No one knew the truth of the Y¨­u Secret Art, but those who cultivated the Y¨­u Secret Art could unintentionally acquire ancient battle techniques, cultivation arts, or even secret techniques. These things had all been created by ancestral Progenitor realm powerhouses who had long since disappeared into the river of time.

    It was very likely that these various battle techniques had been hidden within the Y¨­u Secret Art by their ancestor, and this secret was precisely why the Y¨­u family had broken away from the rest of their n. This secret had leaked out, and it was impossible to say who knew of this matter, but one thing was clear; the Y¨­u family had long been targeted by people trying to get to the secret of their Y¨­u Secret Art.

    A sense of impending crisis had been written into the very blood of every child belonging to the Y¨­u family. This sensation of being constantly watched had existed for eons, and it could be traced all the way back to the ancient war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    It was for this reason that, after considering the matter many times, the Y¨­u family had decided to break away from the Y¨­u n and hide the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    The Y¨­u family was naturally not without their own means of protection, and in addition to the hidden protection of the Y¨­u n that was constantly nearby, the Y¨­u family had also found a guardian in the Sword Sect, which served as the family¡¯s protector. The Sword Sect was in no way weaker than any of the families of the Seven Courts, and it was definitely qualified to protect the Y¨­u family.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1332: Starsibyl Planet

    <h4>Chapter 1332: Starsibyl</h4>

    Everything had been going fine, but then Y¨­u Ye''er had revealed the Y¨­u Secret Art during ZENITH, which hadpletely disrupted the Y¨­u family''s ns. Even the Sword Sect had begun to suspect that the Y¨­u family was hiding some ulterior motive. After all, even an idiot could tell that someone who had mastered the Y¨­u Secret Art was from the main family of the Y¨­u n. Why would the n¡¯s main family break away? Even if that was true, how could the Y¨­u n have ever allowed the Y¨­u Secret Art to be taken away without making any attempts to recover it?

    None of this made any sense, and so, it was impossible for the Y¨­u family to retain the Sword Sect¡¯s protection. Madam Y¨­u, or rather, the entire Y¨­u family, had chosen to instead rely on the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant Lu Yin.

    "Why do we want to join the Great Eastern Alliance?" Y¨­u Ye''er could not help herself from asking.

    Madam Y¨­u felt helpless. "Exposing the Y¨­u Secret Art is no different from announcing that we are the main branch of the Y¨­u n; who in the Innerverse would still dare to ept us? The Sword Sect or the Wen family might have the courage to do so, but they also have other goals. The Great Eastern Alliance is an amalgamation of many different interests, and Lu Yin is the champion of ZENITH, which has garnered him a great deal of support from the Hall of Honor. He must also be supported by many hidden powerhouses who are still unknown¡ªotherwise, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to have reached his current level as he would have died long ago.

    "Relying on him is our best choice at the moment."

    Y¨­u Ye''er stared at Madam Y¨­u. "We can just return to the Y¨­u n."

    Madam Y¨­u gave a bitter smile. "Don¡¯t you get the feeling that you are being watched there?"

    Y¨­u Ye''er shuddered, and her face went pale as she nodded.

    "The Y¨­u family has been under surveince for many years. The sense of crisis that one feels due to this has be a torture afflicting every child of the Y¨­u family. We separated from the Y¨­u n in order to protect both the Y¨­u Secret Art as well as the other members of the Y¨­u n," Madam Y¨­u exined.

    Y¨­u Ye''er understood that, if the Y¨­u n had been able to protect themselves, they would never have split apart. The Seven Courts appeared to be united, but each family had their own goals and motivations. The Y¨­u n could not rely on any of the other families from the Seven Courts, but could they actually rely on Lu Yin?

    Madam Y¨­u was not actually looking at Lu Yin, but rather at the hidden powerhouse that everyone believed was supporting Lu Yin from the shadows. Only the existence of such an expert could exin how Lu Yin had managed to cultivate such an invincible power.

    Of course, Madam Y¨­u had certain expectations of Lu Yin as well, but that was forter. In the future, Lu Yin might actually manage to be a Progenitor.

    However, there was one other important detail to consider; Lu Yin was not an altruistic person, and he might covet the Y¨­u Secret Art himself in the future. However, for the moment, the Y¨­u family had no choice but to rely on Lu Yin in order to get out of their current predicament with the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect¡¯s attitude towards the Y¨­u family had changed too much, and Madam Y¨­u was certain that it was just a matter of time before the Sword Sect took action.

    ***

    After Lu Yin crossed the astral rivers tributaries, the Starsibyl Sect entered his sight. It was located on a that was not particrly bright or even very beautiful, but this had given birth to a unique sect. That was simply known as Starsibyl, and the Starsibyl Sect was located on the itself.

    The Starsibyl Sect had very few members. In fact, the sect consisted of a mysterious powerhouse, six Starsibyl girls, and 108 attendants who served the Starsibyl Sect. This was the entire sect: a powerhouse, the Starsibyl girls, and the mysterious servants.

    It was impossible to imagine that the Starsibyl Sect, which was famous throughout the entire universe, had such little strength, but this was the truth.

    However, the Starsibyl Sect had managed to stand tall in the universe for countless years with such power, and even the behemoths in the Neoverse did not dare to underestimate this sect.

    Also, there was Xuan Jiu. While he had been cast out by the Starsibyl Sect, he could still be considered to be affiliated with them.

    Finally, Lu Yin crossed thest of the astral river tributaries, and the Starsibyl Sect was right in front of him. A person in space stood in front of his ship, staring at it. This person was beautiful and picturesque, and not even the darkness of outer space could cast a shadow on her. She was Starsibyl.

    Lu Yin''s expression deepened. He had arrived at the Starsibyl Sect.

    ***

    Just as Lu Yin arrived at the Starsibyl Sect, out in the Outerverse, on the Prairie me Continent where East San Dios was located, a man with an ordinary appearance who would likely be forgotten as soon as one saw him reached out to Nightking Yuanjing.

    "You can¡¯t find any clues? We did not expect you to find him in San Dios, but does he not even have any friends or rtives? We must find him¡ªhe has one of our Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stones, as well as the secret regarding how he was even able to get close enough to steal the inheritance stone.¡± Nightking Yuanjing said sharply.

    The ordinary-looking man respectfully answered, "Yes, Elder. This disciple will continue to search."

    This man was from the Daynight n, and he had been sent out to find Liu Shaoge. Because Liu Shaoge had managed to steal the Daynight n¡¯s inheritance stone and also managed to climb high up on the n¡¯s stone que in their ancestral grounds, he had stoked the hatred of the entire Daynight n.

    Lu Yin had overturned the Daynight Flowzone and had taken the top position on their stone que. Although they hated it, they were convinced of Lu Yin¡¯s qualifications. After all, Lu Yin was the master of the Outerverse, and he was peerless within his generation. On the other hand, who was Liu Shaoge? As far as the Daynight n was concerned, Liu Shaoge was nothing but an ant, and this ant had dared to step on their head, so it had to be destroyed.

    Unfortunately, they could not find Liu Shaoge anywhere.

    The investigator thought for a while before looking to the north. Liu Shaoge was too cautious of a person. Despite spending so many years in the Outerverse, he did not have a single friend, and he had never gotten close to any women. What¡¯s more, he left no clues behind anywhere. However, that known as Earth might have some clues.

    In the Innerverse, in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, one of the guardian elders stood up beneath the stone que. Zuocheng Daynight was also looking to the north as he stepped out.

    ***

    In another part of the Innerverse, in Little Millennium Flowzone, Lu Yin was greeted by Starsibyl as they moved to Starsibyl. Up close, the was extremely beautiful, and it was almost entirely devoid of modern amenities. No matter if Lu Yin considered the¡¯s gravity, environment, soil, or sky, it all gave him the feeling that he was back on Earth.

    All in all, it was a perfectly ordinary in the universe.

    "Brother Lu hase to visit our Starsibyl Sect, which is truly a blessing for us," Starsibyl said with a smile. Very few people had the opportunity to see Starsibyl, but she was known to be one of the most beautiful women in the universe. Although half of her face was covered when she smiled, the upper half of her face was still stunning.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from taking a second nce. "You''re very kind. It¡¯s a blessing for me, Lu Yin, to be invited to be a guest of your Starsibyl Sect. There are few people in the universe who are qualified to be invited by the Starsibyl Sect, and even if they make it to Little Millennium Flowzone, they still might not be allowed to visit."

    Lu Yin was being honest. When he had first entered Little Millennium Flowzone, he had seen numerous ships cruising around outside the various astral river tributaries. From a simple nce, it was easy to see that they all wanted to enter, but none had received permission.

    Starsibyl replied, "There is no other way. Although I want my Starsibyl Sect to improve the universe and for us to make new friends, we are only so few, and divination is not easy. Everyone wishes to know about the past, the future, and their own fate, but the truth is that knowing is not always beneficial.¡±

    "How so?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl thought for a moment before answering. "The future is very difficult to change, and destiny only extends for a few days. If I had told Brother Lu that you were guaranteed to win ZENITH, would you have trained even harder to the point of risking death in order to raise your strength? Or would you have epted such a prediction as fact and peacefully waited for the moment of victory to prove my prediction true? Which would you choose?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, but then heughed. "If it were me, I¡¯d go with the first option."

    Starsibyl nodded. "Brother Lu doesn''t trust the divination abilities of my Starsibyl Sect, and you have never done so from the very beginning. However, the people outside are all eager to hear from us, and some of them have been waiting out there for ten years, a hundred years, or even a thousand years just for us to tell them the future. Tell me, Brother Lu, which option would they choose?"

    Lu Yin said, "They would not seize the initiative on their own or fight for anything. Rather, they would just wait to see the predictione true."

    "However, doing so conflicts with destiny. Even if you are destined to win first ce, you still have to get there by risking your life in order to improve your strength. Doing so or not doing so changes destiny, and whether it¡¯s for better or worse is impossible to know," Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yinughed. "You are Starsibyl, and yet you don¡¯t want everyone in the universe to trust you or just ept your predictions? What you just said could shatter your entire image."

    Starsibyl smiled and said, "On the contrary, after hearing my words, doesn''t Brother Lu believe in divination even more?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled at this observation, but he merely smiled and no longer pursued this particr topic.

    Starsibyl was not only home to the people of the Starsibyl Sect, but also to ordinary mortal countries, though they were all still in the technological period of cold weapons.

    Lu Yin and Starsibyl looked down from the sky and watched a mortal war. Seeing this made for a very addictive feeling. To these people, Lu Yin was no different from a god. A massive country had fielded millions of troops on the battlefield, but Lu Yin was capable of changing the entire situation in but an instant.

    Starsibyl said nothing, but Lu Yin soon stopped watching, and she followed suit.

    After a moment, Lu Yin said, "Let''s go."

    Starsibyl led the way, and before long, the two arrived at a huge waterfall. The waterfall formed a boundary, and after passing through, they entered another world.

    The Starsibyl Sect was notrge, and its buildings were all very simple. They even looked like they had been casually built, as there were simple thatched cottages among the buildings. However, there was another detail that stood out to Lu Yin: there were exactly 108 houses.

    There were 108 astral river tributaries surrounding Little Millenium Flowzone, and the Starsibyl Sect had 108 mysterious servants. On Starsibyl, could there be 108 countries as well? Was there a reason behind this number?

    "Brother Lu, please. Master has been waiting a long time," Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin''s face grew solemn. "Please, lead the way."

    After passing by the houses, Starsibyl continued to lead the way until they arrived outside the innermost building, which was one of the thatched cottages. "Master, I have brought our guest."

    Lu Yin calmly stepped into the thatched cottage.

    This is not his first time visiting such a primitive thatched hut. The ancient Yu elder had also lived in a simr hut. All of the remnants of the Yu family had gone into hiding, living in a ce that was quite simr to the Starsibyl Sect. Also, Lu Yin had seen many thatched homes in Subzero City on the Royal Frost Continent.

    This style of house represented the passing of the years.

    Lu Yin entered, but he saw no one. Instead, there was a strange, illusory figure that slowly formed before him.

    Lu Yin stared at the image in surprise. Was this a screen? No, that was wrong.

    The image quickly formed into the shape of a middle-aged man with a gentle appearance and a jade-likeplexion. His clothes were all white with starry patterns on the cloth. He was smiling, and his eyes were bright and full of wisdom. His entire demeanor gave off the impression of an even temperament and a person with elegant manners.

    This feeling was simr to the Progenitor Hui that had been summoned by Shang Qing¡¯s ancestral qi, but this man was also different from Progenitor Hui.

    Progenitor Hui had possessed a temperament that had been refined through warfare while this middle-aged man seemed to have been refined through academics.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s been a long time," the middle-aged man greeted Lu Yin. The man¡¯s voice sounded veryfortable.

    Lu Yin looked back at the middle-aged man. "The Starsibyl Sect invited me as their guest, but the host is not appearing before me."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1333: One Attacks, Another Defends

    <h4>Chapter 1333: One Attacks, Another Defends</h4>

    The middle-aged man answered with a smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, please forgive me. This is just how I am whenever I meet anyone, even if it''s an elder."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "How should I address Senior?"

    The middle-aged man raised a hand as he continued to smile. He then wrote a single character in the air: Zhu.

    Lu Yin felt bewildered. "Zhu? Senior Zhu?"

    The middle-aged man nodded. "Yes."

    Lu Yin felt that this was strange, as zhu was also the word for pig.

    "The words are not the same, as they are different homonyms. One is an object while the other is a creature," the middle-aged man exined with a smile.

    Lu Yin felt horrified. He had only had the thought, not saying a single thing. "Can you see what¡¯s in my mind?"

    The man justughed. "That¡¯s just a normal reaction, as everyone has the same thought. It¡¯s nothingplicated."

    Lu Yin looked at the man strangely. "I¡¯m not sure as to the reason why Senior invited this junior to visit. Is there some bit of advice that you would give me?"

    The man grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin. "You took first ce in ZENITH and are the top of the entire younger generation. Everyone would want to meet such a person."

    "Is it really so simple?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The man replied, "I lead the Starsibyl Sect, and I wish to establish a good rtionship with Alliance Leader Lu, and possibly even give you some advice. In the future, I may receive your help in turn."

    "What kind of advice?" Lu Yin had grown curious.

    The middle-aged man''s eyes flickered, and Lu Yin could tell that the man was performing a divination, so he calmly waited.

    Starsibyl¡¯s divinations could not calcte Lu Yin. Xuan Jiu had once done a divination for Lu Yin, but it had caused the old man to shed tears and blood, and the old man had even sworn that he would never do another divination for Lu Yin. Thus, Lu Yin was interested in seeing the abilities of the master of the Starsibyl Sect.

    "I can see traces of Heaven¡¯s Enigma on you, Alliance Leader Lu. It appears that my ipetent junior brother has made trouble for you," the manmented.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You can see that? Wait, you said Heaven¡¯s Enigma. Are you saying that Xuan Jiu really cultivated Heaven¡¯s Enigma?¡±

    The man nodded. "Naturally."

    Lu Yin blinked, unexpectedly happy. So it turned out that Xuan Jiu really did practice Heaven¡¯s Enigma, just as he imed. Everyone had believed that the old man was just bragging, and not even Lu Yin had expected this to be true.

    At this realization, Lu Yin suddenly felt that having Xuan Jiu as the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial advisor would not be a bad idea.

    "Is there anything in particr that Alliance Leader Lu wishes to know? The only thing that my Starsibyl Sect can offer is divination," the middle-aged man suggested.

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin answered, "Family. Can you tell me where my family is?"

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew nervous. After seeing what had happened to Xuan Jiu when he performed a divination for him, Lu Yin felt ufortable. A touch of sadness filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, as the thing that scared him most was the possible answers to this question.

    After a while, the man''s body suddenly bent over and twisted. His originally elegant appearance changed to something rather anxious, and his face revealed a bit of disbelief.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank, and he clenched his hands into fists.

    The middle-aged man shifted his eyes back to Lu Yin and lowered his head. His eyes were still flickering.

    "How''s it going? Have you been able to see anything yet?" Lu Yin quickly asked.

    The man looked up and stared into Lu Yin''s gaze with a strange expression. This was different from the sadness and sympathy that Xuan Jiu had shown for Lu Yin. The sect master looked at Lu Yin with¡ªhow to describe it? Lu Yin could not actually interpret what his expression meant.

    "I can''t give you any answers rted to your past, Alliance Leader Lu," the man said.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Why? Can''t you see it?"

    The middle-aged man looked away, thinking about something.

    Lu Yin continued to stare.

    After a while, the man responded, "This is not as simple as performing a divination, as your past has been buried."

    The man then raised his hand and drew an image in the air¡ªit was a finger.

    Upon seeing the finger, Lu Yin''s pupils instantly constricted; this was the finger from his dreams!

    Immediately afterwards, the middle-aged man drew another image. This time, he drew the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    "One attacks, and another defenses. As long as Alliance Leader Lu can uncover these two truths, you will be able to uncover your own past, though it will be very difficult. Someone managed to cover up your past, and even I can¡¯t see through it. This may involve an innate gift rted to time, as that is the only thing that can cover the flow of time.¡±

    At this moment, the sect leader looked at Lu Yin with a very serious expression. ¡°There is only one piece of advice that I can give to Alliance Leader Lu: this uingpetition for opportunities of destiny must seed, and you cannot fail."

    Lu Yin watched as the drawings in the air disappeared. He then turned to look at the middle-aged man once again. "What about divination regarding others?"

    "No." The man just shook his head.

    Lu Yin did not believe that it was not possible, but he could not force someone to speak. This man had drawn an image of the finger that had appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s dreams, and this had given Lu Yin a new understanding of divination.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage was Lu Yin¡¯s second innate gift, and it had to be rted to his bloodline. It made sense that, if he managed to uncover the truth regarding the Champions¡¯ Stage, he would also be able to uncover his past. Lu Yin had alreadye to this conclusion long ago.

    The finger in his dreams also seemed to have something to do with the Daynight n, and Lu Yin wondered if he should revisit the Daynight n.

    "Thank you for performing a divination, Senior. Lu Yin is very grateful," Lu Yin said.

    The man looked at Lu Yin. "Remember my advice¡ªthis opportunity must be obtained, and it is also the key to unlocking the mystery of your past."

    "What is the opportunity?" Lu Yin asked. Even though he had ced first in ZENITH, no one had been willing to exin what exactly Lu Yin and the others had beenpeting for.

    The man shook his head. "It can¡¯t be spoken of in advance, and since it can¡¯t be mentioned, then just wait."

    Lu Yin asked one more question, "That finger, what did Senior see?"

    The man shook his head. "It''s already gone."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "If that¡¯s the case, then this junior will take my leave. In the future, if there is anything that you need, this junior will not refuse you."

    The man nodded and watched as Lu Yin left.

    After Lu Yin left the hut, the man frowned. "So that ce is actually involved with him. No wonder the girl¡¯s divinations can¡¯t see anything about him. This child has a difficult path to walk, harder than anyone else. He needs to climb up from the very bottom despite his supreme status, but that path is even more difficult than Progenitor Chen¡¯s. Ah¡­¡±

    Even after walking away, Lu Yin was still absorbed in the conversation that he had just had.

    "Brother Lu, how are you doing?" Starsibyl asked.

    Lu Yin looked at her and replied, "That¡¯s quite the magic trick."

    Starsibyl did not know if Lu Yin was speaking honestly or not, so she simply changed the subject. "Brother Lu, it''s rare for us to have visitors, so how about trying some of our Starsibyl Sect¡¯s special dishes?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "I¡¯d be happy to."

    He had note to this ce just because he had been invited. Rather, he actually had an important task to perform, which was to ask the Starsibyl Sect to find out what the power behind the bookkeeper. Lu Yin was still incredibly upset over this matter. What did 900 million star essence mean? That was more than thebined wealth of the ze Realm and the Xun family!

    For Lu Yin, this was enough money to allow him to improve a mountain of power vessels and items, and he would not have to worry about gathering any more funds for a long time. Thus, how could he give up on getting his money back?

    At Starsibyl¡¯s invitation, Lu Yin enjoyed the sect¡¯s food and spent the day seeing the sect. The following day, he asked Starsibyl to use her divination to find out which hidden power had scammed him.

    Starsibyl grew rather embarrassed.

    Lu Yin said, "I know that it''s not a simple matter to ask a Starsibyl for a divination, so please tell me what conditions need to be met."

    Starsibyl answered, "It''s not that we don¡¯t want to do this, but rather that revealing certain things can easily offend certain people."

    Lu Yin replied, "Naturally it all depends on whether or not it¡¯s worth it, and I won¡¯t press you. You can do your divination, and if it turns out to be someone who you really don''t want to offend, then it¡¯s fine for you to just not tell me. I¡¯ll keep investigating on my own in that case."

    Starsibyl sighed. "Alliance Leader Lu, please wait a moment." After speaking, she went away.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce and waited for more than half an hour for Starsibyl to return.

    Lu Yin was anxious to hear the results.

    Starsibyl was serious when she returned. "The name of the person who borrowed the billion star essence from the Mavis Bank is Nan Yuan."

    "Nan Yuan?" Lu Yin thought that something was odd, as this was a very familiar name.

    Starsibyl casually exined, "One of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, Nan Yuan."

    Lu Yin then remembered. Yes, Nan Yuan was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers. It was no wonder why the Mavis Bank had approved a billion star essence loan, as Nan Yuan was actually backed by the Seven Courts. More specifically, the Xia family.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers represented various interests, and two of them were even from the Innerverse: one from the Sword Sect and the other from the Daynight n. Two others were from the Cosmic Sea, of which one of them was Xin Jiao. As for the other five, they were all from the Neoverse, and one of those five was Nan Yuan.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be involved with another one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, but it seemed that he was fated to have a rtionship with them.

    "Brother Lu, Overseer Nan Yuan is different from Bu Laoweng. Bu Laoweng represented many powers, but there was no true power protecting him. Overseer Nan Yuan is supported by the Seven Courts, and if you try to proceed, then things will likely be much more difficult than before," Starsibyl exined, hoping that Lu Yin would give up.

    Lu Yin was also aware that Nan Yuan served the Seven Courts¡¯ interests.

    The Seven Courts did not have arge number of powerhouses, and Xie Xiaoxian, Ku Lei, Hui Santong, and most of their other youths had performed quite poorly in ZENITH, but that did not mean that they could be casually provoked. Every single one of the families had their own secret technique, which was something that not even the Daynight n or the Sword Sect possessed. The Seven Courts¡¯ foundation was unimaginable to Lu Yin.

    With the strength supporting Lu Yin, he had been able to suppress Daynight Flowzone, but if he tried to go up against the Seven Courts, he would not even know how he died.

    Lu Yin was self-aware and was not arrogant enough to ignore the Seven Courts.

    However, the crux of the issue was 900 million star essence, and he was not willing to simply give up on that.

    Starsibyl did not bother Lu Yin anymore. He spent a long time thinking, but he still could note up with any way to take his 900 million star essence back from Overseer Nan Yuan. This was a very difficult issue, and even if the truth was revealed, Overseer Nan Yuan was certain to have a way out prepared.

    Since he could not think of what to do for the time being, Lu Yin could only say goodbye to Starsibyl.

    She then told him, "If Brother Lu is not in a hurry, there is one more reason why I invited Brother Lu here."

    Lu Yin wondered out loud, "What would that be?"

    Starsibyl and Lu Yin looked at each other. "Brother Lu, do you know of the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed, and he stared at Starsibyl in shock over what she had just said. Of course he had heard of the Hidden Earth Society, as they were the mysterious organization hidden within Jupiter that had never had any contact with the outside world. Once someone left that ce, they would never be able to return to that ce inside Jupiter. They were a mysterious organization that had carried out its mission after Earth¡¯s civilization was destroyed each cycle.

    Lu Yin had first heard of this name and about the organization from Huo Qingshan, and the man had known of the organization because he had actuallye from the Hidden Earth Society himself. That had been Lu Yin¡¯s introduction to the organization and also how he had learned a bit about Earth¡¯s mysterious history.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1334: Aid Requested From The Hidden Earth Society

    <h4>Chapter 1334: Aid Requested From The Hidden Earth Society</h4>

    Lu Yin had already wanted to return to Jupiter to investigate the ce. After all, there was a mysterious organization hidden in his own backyard, and he had to gain some understanding of it. This was an organization that was rted to primeval surnames, and he might be able to find out information about his past.

    However, Lu Yin had never imagined that he would hear of Hidden Earth Society far away from home in Little Millennium Flowzone, let alone from Starsibyl.

    "What are you talking about?" Lu Yin asked as he stared closely at Starsibyl, trying to see something in her eyes.

    Starsibyl invited Lu Yin to apany her. "Brother Lu, let me show you someone."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Thoughts raced through his mind as he followed Starsibyl.

    Before long, he saw a house, and there was a man inside sipping a cup of tea, and it was obvious that the man was in a rush, and there was also an unexinable bit of panic deep in the man¡¯s eyes.

    Starsibyl led Lu Yin into the house.

    When the man saw the two youths, and especially Lu Yin, his eyes lit up. "Are you Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin stared back at the man. "Who are you?"

    The man swallowed, and his voice was hoarse when he replied, "My name is Chiting, Zhang Chiting, and I¡¯m a member of the Hidden Earth Society."

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows. He briefly nced at Starsibyl, but then continued to focus on the man. "Why should I trust you?"

    "Huo Qingshan, extinction cycle," Zhang Chiting said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

    Even though he was seeing Lu Yin right in front of him, Zhang Chiting still did not believe it. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lu Yin raised a hand to interrupt. He looked at Starsibyl. "Is the Starsibyl Sect somehow rted to the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Starsibyl said, "That¡¯s not really important, as I just happened to stumble across it. You two should take your time talking.¡±

    With that, she left the house.

    Lu Yin looked back at Zhang Chiting. "How much does the Starsibyl Sect know about the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Zhang Chiting shook his head. "Not much. Earth has been wiped out numerous times over the years, but each time a few elites would be taken away to Jupiter or some distant part of the universe. I¡¯ve been trying to find a way to get in touch with the Starsibyl Sect, as I wanted to have them divinate the true reason to why Earth periodically gets wiped out, but I don¡¯t dare share all of the information."

    "So you¡¯re part of the reason I''m here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Chiting nodded. "The Starsibyl Sect is really powerful, and they figured out that I have a connection to you, so I arranged a meeting for us."

    Lu Yin did not understand the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s n. In the end, the Hidden Earth Society was only something that concerned Earth, so why would the Starsibyl Sect even care? They might not, and it was possible that they were actually concerned with the Primeval Surnames Alliance.

    "Does the Starsibyl Sect know about Jupiter?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Chiting shook his head. "I never said anything. Jupiter is the greatest secret of our Hidden Earth Society, so unless it¡¯s someone from Earth or with a primeval surname, we won¡¯t say anything at all about it."

    At this time, Lu Yin finally believed that Zhang Chiting really was from the Hidden Earth Society, though there was no guarantee the man was still a member. After all, the society had existed for countless years, so who knew if there were any traitors.

    However, even if there were traitors, what could they betray? What was there that could be coveted? What could other powers use to lure out members of the Hidden Earth Society into betraying their organization?

    The seemingly mysterious Hidden Earth Society was nothing but an empty shell.

    Despite the passing of so many years, Jupiter had not been explored. This alone was enough to prove that the outside universe was not concerned with the Hidden Earth Society, and maybe Starsibyl only let Zhang Chiting speak with Lu Yin in order to help foster a good rtionship. Maybe things were not asplicated as Lu Yin was assuming, and there was nothing of value to the Hidden Earth Society for major powers.

    It was likely that only Lu Yin and the people from the Hidden Earth Society actually paid any attention to the organizations.

    "Why did you ask to see me? I''m not a member of the Hidden Earth Society," Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Chiting replied, "I know, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. There¡¯s no one other than you who can help Earth." He hesitated a moment before continuing in a more somber tone, "It won''t be long before Earth is wiped out again."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. Huo Qingshan had exined that Earth was periodically wiped out, and then civilization would start from the beginning.

    "Why do you say that? It hasn''t been that long since thest time Earth¡¯s civilization was wiped," Lu Yin wondered.

    Zhang Chiting showed a bitter smile. "The amount of time for Earth to be wiped out varies each time, as it¡¯s not the amount of time that matters, but how far Earth develops. Your appearance has brought about a civilization of cultivation on Earth, and many geniuses have appeared, which means that Earth is about to be exterminated again.¡±

    Huo Qingshan had also told Lu Yin this. He had remembered, but Huo Qingshan had also mentioned that Earth was not the only ce that would be affected. "Besides Earth, Huo Qingshan told me that other ces with primeval surnames will also be wiped out."

    Zhang Chiting shook his head and shared something that truly surprised Lu Yin, "What happens to those other primeval surnames is different from what happens to Earth, because those ces are dealt with by the Hidden Earth Society.¡±

    Zhang Chiting''s words stunned Lu Yin. "You¡¯re the ones who eliminate them?¡±

    Zhang Chiting nodded and exined in a lower tone, "Because of what happens to Earth every so often, the Hidden Earth Society takes talented youths away from Earth to cultivate. You should already be aware of how many geniuses appear n Earth; every time that there are resources and opportunities, the chances of a powerhouse rising from Earth is much greater than other ces.¡±

    Lu Yin was already aware of this. Zhang Dingtian possessed aparable level of strength to Liu Shaoqiu. The first true Earthling to leave Earth, Bai Qian, had already be a Cruiser and had participated in ZENITH. As for Bai Xua and Xu San, they were both quite talented as well. Lu Yin had no idea where Seruzen had gone, but he should also be quite strong, unless he had already died. Lu Yin honestly felt that given Seruzen¡¯s determination, he would likely not perform any worse than Zhang Dingtian.

    As for the second group of cultivators to leave Earth, Fu Xiaoshu and the others who had already left Earth had been improving very rapidly, and they were already at the same level as the Yu Academy¡¯s Hall Masters, and some of them had already traveled beyond Frostwave Weave in order to train. Lu Yin had also recently received a report that another group of cultivators had joined the Yu Academy from Earth, and the number matched the first group.

    Any cultivator with an innate gift was automatically qualified to join the Universe Youth Council. Innate gifts were regarded as incredibly important throughout the universe, and having one immediately put a cultivator ahead of their peers.

    All of Frostwave did not have as many cultivators with innate gifts as Earth did on its own.

    Earth was a very strange ce.

    "Every member of the Hidden Earth Society who leaves Earth to cultivate easily bes a Hunter, and even if resources are scarce, all they need is time. I, Zhang Chiting, have cultivated for 327 years and have be a Hunter, and I also have an innate gift. Many other experts in the Hidden Earth Society have also be Hunters, and we even have some who are Enlighters,¡± Zhang Chiting said.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the man from continuing. If it was back when Lu Yin had first left Earth, he would have been eager to get in touch with this hidden organization in order to take advantage of their power, but Lu Yin no longer needed to do so. If he did, there was no way that the Hidden Earth Society would have reached out to Lu Yin for help. ¡°There¡¯s no need to exin too much to me."

    Zhang Chiting felt Lu Yin''s distance, and helplessly said, "Earth¡¯s civilization is periodically eradicated, which is far too strange. Although we hope for a powerhouse to step up to save Earth, we are also well aware that the universe is a cruel ce where even Earth¡¯s tragedy of a cyclical annihtion is not worth pitying. Even if we receive help, Earth might just end up as a greater power¡¯s ve, and the Hidden Earth Society doesn¡¯t dare take such a risk."

    "So you ughtered other primeval surnames in order to hide what happens to Earth?" Lu Yin spoke his guess.

    Zhang Chiting replied, "There¡¯s no way. Earth¡¯s situation cannot be exposed, and the only way to muddy the water is to drag in other primeval surnames to form the impression that there is a group who hate and target people with primeval surnames."

    Lu Yin was amazed. This waspletely ruthless, but no wonder the Hidden Earth Society had not been exposed despite so many years. They had the strength and skill, and were also ruthless and incredibly cautious.

    "Everything had been going very smoothly. We were intending to slowly umte resources and raise up talented cultivators so that we would one day give rise to a powerhouse who surpasses the Envoy realm with a power level of more than a million. Since Earthlings have exceptional talent andprehension, this was not a mere dream. However, we never expected you to appear andpletely disrupt our rhythm." Zhang Chiting smiled bitterly.

    "Your appearance has elerated when Earth¡¯s cultivation civilization appeared, which in turn speeds up its destruction."

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. "You really didn''t reveal the matter of Earth?"

    Zhang Chiting looked confused. "Why are you asking that?"

    Lu Yin looked at the other man. "If details regarding Earth weren¡¯t exposed, then why were people from top powers like the Mavis family, the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family, the Neohuman Alliance, and Specter n, and Starsibyl on Earth?"

    Zhang Chiting frowned. "That¡¯s actually something that we¡¯ve been trying to investigate. To outsiders, Earth looks like nothing more than a very ordinary, and it is incredible that it managed to rouse the attention of the Great Yu Empire, not to mention someone from the Mavis family. We still haven¡¯t found out why anyone from the Seven Courts showed up, and though Earth first drew attention because of someone from the Daynight n, that should not have been enough to attract the attention of anyone from the Mavis family."

    Lu Yin stared at Zhang Chiting, but was unable to see if the man was lying.

    "What in the world is on Jupiter?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Chiting shook his head. "I don''t know. Anyone who goes in, neveres out. All of us who are active in the universe never went there."

    This was the same as what Huo Qingshan had told Lu Yin. It seemed that if Lu Yin wanted to learn more about Jupiter, he would have to investigate himself.

    Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had both been sucked into Jupiter.

    "What are you hoping to get from me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Chiting answered, "Earth¡¯s entered its countdown towards extermination. ording to our spection, the current civilization will bepletely wiped out in about a hundred years. We want to use you to ask Yuan Shi to step forward and find out the truth regarding Earth¡¯s periodic exterminations."

    Lu Yin knew that Yuan Shi was well known. He was an expert who had a power level of over a million, and he had disciples spread all across the universe. The Hidden Earth Society had no fear that such a powerhouse would want to do anything to them at all.

    Zhang Chiting looked at Lu Yin with an anxious and eager expression. He knew that Lu Yin was not originally from Earth, but Lu Yin had still spent a couple of years on the, and had also been the reason that Earth had entered an age of cultivation sooner than expected. Lu Yin had shown great kindness to the. The Hidden Earth Society had no fear of revealing things to Lu Yin. For starters, Starsibyl had done a divination, and second, with Lu Yin present, there was no need to worry about anyone enving Earth.

    However, Zhang Chiting also felt somewhat bitter. His organization had worked for countless years, and yet their aplishments could notpare with what Lu Yin had done in just over a decade of cultivating. It was really true that a single genius couldpletely change the game.

    Lu Yin said, "I can ask Yuan Shi to visit Earth and check things, and if he is unable to do so, I can ask other experts of simr strength. However, I will only do so after I investigate myself."

    "Investigate what?" Zhang Chiting asked, taken aback.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he replied with one word: Jupiter.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1335: Back To The Academy

    <h4>Chapter 1335: Back To The Academy</h4>

    Lu Yin had wanted to investigate Jupiter for a long time, but during hisst and only attempt, he had been unable to enter. He had not had any time since then, but he believed that he currently possessed the strength to do so.

    As for the Hidden Earth Society, no matter how powerful their powerhouses might be, they could not be stronger than an Envoy. In other words, Lu Yin¡¯s full battle strength was enough to surpass the entire Hidden Earth Society.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin left the Starsibyl Sect and boarded his vessel to head back to zing Mist Flowzone. He had already decided to return to Earth as soon as possible.

    However, before that, there was someone else who he needed to contact. After thinking of this, Lu Yin essed his gadget and connected to thework to call Xia Luo.

    Soon, Xia Luo''s appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen. "Xia Jiuyou is desperate to merge with you. So, can you have Xia Jiuyou merge with you instead?"

    Lu Yin asked this question the moment he saw Xia Luo.

    Lu Yin was truly unwilling to be suppressed by the Xia family and allow them to take away his 900 million star essence. That was 900 million! 900 million was more than enough to raise his strength to an entirely different level.

    Xia Luo had not expected to hear such a question as soon as Lu Yin saw him. "Of course. As long as his consciousness is a bit muddled when we merge, my consciousness will certainly be dominant. Why do you ask? Do you want to help me?"

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "Since you¡¯ll eventually merge with Xia Jiuyou sooner orter, I don''t want to lose a friend. Besides, the Xia family owes me a debt: 900 million star essence."

    Xia Luo was stunned. "900 million? That much?"

    "During ZENITH, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, Nan Yuan, the one under the Xia family¡¯s protection, borrowed a billion star essence from the Mavis Bank as a foundation to set up thergest bookkeeping organization in ZENITH. Now, that billion star essence can¡¯t be touched without a proof of wager from him, and I¡¯ve suffered a loss that cuts deep."

    Xia Luo smiled gently. "Gambling¡¯s risky, and it¡¯s very important to quit."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "That''s for the future, but for now, I want to get back the 900 million that I lost."

    "You want me to merge with Xia Jiuyou, take his ce as the Xia family¡¯s inheritor, and then order Nanyuan to give you the money that¡¯s being held in the Mavis Bank?" Xia Luo figured everything out almost instantly.

    Lu Yin said, "It¡¯s a win-win situation! I¡¯ll help you absorb Xia Jiuyou, so why don¡¯t you help me get back the money that was taken from me?"

    Xia Luoughed. "I like your idea, and I¡¯m willing to try. Money can¡¯tpare to a life, not to mention that that¡¯s not even my money. However, unfortunately, this will be extremely difficult to pull off. After ZENITH, all of the top ten finalists were attacked, and you should have been as well. It¡¯s even said that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bu Kong was killed. Xia Jiuyou has many guardians around him, and it¡¯s impossible for them to let him do anything alone that has even the slightest bit of risk. In this situation, how do you want me to merge with him? Do you want me to ask for a one-on-one match with him?¡±

    Lu Yin grew serious as he looked at Xia Luo. "That¡¯s your business. Given what I know about you, you can definitely find a way to pull this off. If you can¡¯t, then don¡¯t bother. I¡¯m not the one who¡¯ll be merging with him."

    Xia Luoughed. "You''re still the same, not having changed at all! You''re afraid of neither the sky nor the earth, but you''re shrewd no matter where you go. Even when you blocked the Daynight n from the Three Realms Six Daos in the Astral Academy, you were still able to stay safe. Given your current strength, I believe that you can take care of yourself now.¡±

    Lu Yin said, "I really can protect myself. Even if this goes sideways and Xia Jiuyou is the one that absorbs you, I¡¯ll be fine. Regardless, that¡¯s on me. You really don¡¯t have any options right now."

    Xia Luo shrugged. "Fine. You¡¯ve already thought this through, but, unfortunately, the most crucial step is what you¡¯re leaving to me. The Xia family has a powerhouse dedicated to protecting Xia Jiuyou. Her name is Xia Meng, and in the Xia family, her status is even higher than the patriarch¡¯s. Her power level has almost reached a million, and she won¡¯t be easy to deal with."

    Lu Yin did not respond. If even Xia Luo was unable toe up with a n, then there was nothing that Lu Yin could do. He might have to put off getting back his 900 million star essence for a while longer.

    "Brother Lu, it''s time for you to go back to the Astral Combat Academy. It¡¯s been so long, and you still haven''t graduated yet." Xia Luo smiled and looked very happy.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and then he also smiled. "Yeah, it''s time to go home to Astral-10.¡±

    "Given Brother Lu''s ability, there are definitely some people who are concerned about your whereabouts," Xia Luomented.

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Like the Y¨­u family, right? Will they tell the Xia family my location?"

    "Absolutely. The Seven Courts work together to protect Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but there¡¯s both hatred andpetition between the families. Still, they unite on the most important matters, and right now, the most important matter for the Seven Courts is Xia Jiuyou," Xia Luo replied.

    "Alright then, let¡¯s have some fun," Lu Yin said slowly.

    Xia Luo''s eyes shed. He did not understand what Lu Yin meant, but that did not matter. Xia Luo had already dealt with the most difficult issue, and Lu Yin would handle the rest.

    After hanging up, Lu Yin reprogrammed his ship and started moving towards Erudite Flowzone, which was where Astral-10 was currently located.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget rang out an alert soon after.

    Lu Yin immediately checked, and his eyes lit up; he was being called by the Y¨­u family. He had considered calling them himself, not expecting them to be this anxious.

    Madam Y¨­u appeared on the screen, and although her face looked calm, it was possible to detect a hint of feminine weakness and helplessness. "Alliance Leader Lu, have you considered my proposal? Might my Y¨­u family be allowed to join your Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Madam Y¨­u, it''s not that I don¡¯t want to ept, but rather, if we ept your Y¨­u family, we will offend the Sword Sect. You¡¯re familiar with the rtionship between my Great Eastern Alliance and the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. Doing this might make it impossible for us to move even an inch into the Innerverse."

    Madam Y¨­u hurriedly replied, "No matter if you ept my Y¨­u family or not, the Sword Sect will not just watch on as the Great Eastern Alliance moves into the Innerverse. They have already considered various ns, some of which even include my Y¨­u family. Among the options that they have considered is assassinating you, Alliance Leader Lu. This is just one of the Sword Sect¡¯s current ns, and it¡¯s simply impossible for your Great Eastern Alliance to get along with the Sword Sect. You¡¯re simply ipatible."

    Lu Yin still felt troubled.

    Madam Y¨­u pursed her lips. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Y¨­u family is willing to offer tribute every year, and I just ask for Alliance Leader to protect the weak women of my Y¨­u family and take my family in. The one would bepletely grateful."

    After speaking, she bowed at the waist to Lu Yin.

    The dignified leader of the Y¨­u family was bowing to him, and Lu Yin was able to see the woman¡¯s anxiety and hurry. This became more obvious the more Lu Yin put off her request to join the Great Eastern Alliance, and it made him confident that the woman intended to use him as a shield. "Madam Y¨­u, there are some things that we can¡¯t discuss through a call. How about this¡ªwhy don¡¯t you and I meet in person to discuss this matter. Would that work?"

    Madam Y¨­u''s eyes lit up. "Alliance Leader Lu is asking to meet in order to discuss this matter in detail? Well, I¡¯m not certain as to where we should meet then?"

    Lu Yin replied, "We absolutely need to select a location that ispletely safe, and you¡¯ve just mentioned that the Sword Sect has even made ns to assassinate me, so clearly, First Flowzone is not a possibility. In that case, how about meeting in the Outerverse, in Southside Weave?¡±

    "Southside Weave?" Madam Y¨­u was taken aback; Lu Yin wanted to meet that far away?

    "Yuan Shi stays in Southside Weave," Lu Yin said.

    Madam Y¨­u immediately understood. Yuan Shi had long protected Lu Yin, which everyone knew. Meeting near that ancient powerhouse meant that LuYin would have no fear of being attacked. However, this was clearly a precaution not only aimed at avoiding an attack from the Sword Sect, but also on guard against the Y¨­u family, not to mention the Neohuman Alliance.

    However, none of Lu Yin¡¯s cautiousness dissuaded Madam Y¨­u. She was determined to join the Great Eastern Alliance, and it made no difference where they met. "Very well, I¡¯ll set out immediately. Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll see you in Southside Weave."

    "I¡¯ll see you there," Lu Yin affirmed.

    Lu Yin ended the call and turned to look towards the Outerverse and Southside Weave. Madam Y¨­u, I hope you have a smooth journey.

    ¡­

    In Little Millennium Flowzone¡¯s Starsibyl Sect, Starsibyl stood in front of some beads. "Will he be able to find anything out?"

    "I hope so. The extinction cycle is very intriguing."

    "I can''t perform any divinations on him."

    "Of course you can''t. No, it¡¯s more that you can¡¯t see through time, and although his background is veryplicated, it''s also very powerful."

    "Powerful?"

    "Don''t worry about him for the time being. He will have a tremendous impact on this universe in the future, but we will have to examine that after he undergoes this uing opportunity. At this time, even if I try to deduce the future, everything is blurry."

    Starsibyl''s eyes flickered. Not even she knew what exactly she was thinking.

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, on the sword-shaped maind that belonged to the Xia family, Xia Jiuyou gritted his teeth as sweat dripped down his forehead. It had already soaked the ground beneath him, and his veins were bulging out all across his body. There was a low roar as the star energy from his body erupted before violently scattering, leaving him panting heavily.

    Xia Meng emerged from the void and looked down at Xia Jiuyou. "How is it? Can you recover?"

    Xia Jiuyou was breathing heavily, and he hung his head. "I can''t recover. I¡¯ll have to re-cultivate a clone."

    Xia Meng said, "It¡¯s toote to do that."

    "I know, but if I go there, I¡¯ll have the time." Xia Jiuyou answered in a deep voice.

    Xia Meng was caught off guard. "You want to leave the clone there?"

    Xia Jiuyou did not reply, but his eyes flickered. Thergest disadvantage of the Nine Clones Secret Technique was that every single clone had their own independent personality. If the user did not have excellent control over the technique, it was easy to suffer mishaps like Xia Luo. However, this disadvantage was also the technique¡¯s greatest strength. Could a clone stay there? It might be possible. If Xia Jiuyou was able to stay in that ce by himself, then he would have never revealed it to anyone.

    "Where is Xia Luo?" Xia Jiuyou asked, clenching his fists, "As long as I can absorb him, rather than my strength decreasing, I¡¯ll actually be stronger than I was during ZENITH. His control of star energy is too impressive, and it could drastically improve mybat power."

    Xia Meng said, "I just received word that he has returned to Astral-10."

    Xia Jiuyou was not surprised. Xia Luo had previously hid in Astral-10 as well. "I¡¯m going to go to Astral-10 to merge with him.¡±

    "No. It''s too dangerous to go out at this time. The Neohuman Alliance will definitely attack," Xia Meng said.

    Xia Jiuyou looked up at Xia Meng. "If I don''t integrate with him, then what meaning will this opportunity hold for me? I will have no hope of getting anything."

    Xia Meng frowned.

    Xia Jiu continued in a solemn tone, saying, "I am the hope of the Xia family, but I don¡¯t stand a chance with my current strength. Gaining nothing from this opportunity will mean that the Xia family and the Seven Courts will both gain nothing as well."

    "Astral-10 is not the right ce. I won¡¯t be allowed in that ce," Xia Meng exined.

    Xia Jiuyou retorted, "You won¡¯t be allowed in, but I will. I can go as an exchange student from the Hall of Honor, and I won¡¯t even need to reveal my true identity."

    Xia Meng hesitated.

    "Don''t worry. No one expects me to go anywhere right now, and besides, I¡¯ll have you protecting me. Even without you, Elder Meng, I still have a defensive treasure, which is strong enough to even protect me from an Envoy¡¯s attack. There won¡¯t be any problem, so just let Nan Yuan know to contact me immediately about visiting Astral-10," Xia Jiuyou said.

    Xia Meng was still hesitating.

    Xia Jiuyou shouted, "Elder Meng, I can''t just let this opportunity go! The Xia family needs to give birth to a powerful Progenitor! Someone who canpare to Progenitor Chen!"

    Xia Meng''s body twitched at the thought of Progenitor Chen. He had been a domineering, invincible, and unparalleled powerhouse. "You can go, but you must ensure one person¡¯s location first."

    "Who?"

    "Lu Yin."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1336: Boundless

    <h4>Chapter 1336: Boundless</h4>

    "Why Lu Yin?"

    Xia Meng solemnly exined, saying, "Lu Yin is the only one who can both suppress you and also enter and leave Astral-10 at will. If he teams up with Xia Luo, then what will you do?"

    Xia Jiuyou fell silent. No matter how unwilling he might be to admit it, if he came across Lu Yin, then Xia Jiuyou would be absolutely powerless to resist.

    It did not take long for Xia Meng''s eyes to light up. "Lu Yin has gone to Southside Weave!"

    "How do you know that?" Xia Jiuyou wondered.

    Xia Meng said, "The Y¨­u n coincidentally received this information."

    The Y¨­u n? Xia Jiuyou instantly thought of the woman with the Heart-killer Lotus technique that he had seen during ZENITH. "What''s the deal with the Y¨­u n? Is there some connection between the Y¨­u family and the Y¨­u n?"

    "I don''t know the specifics. After all, the Y¨­u n has always been mysterious. Regardless, Lu Yin''s whereabouts have already been confirmed. Are you really heading to Astral-10?" Xia Meng asked.

    Xia Jiuyou firmly replied, "I must go."

    "I will report this matter to Elder Ji then," Xia Meng said.

    Xia Jiuyou nodded. Elder Ji was the most powerful member of the Xia family, and he was also one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors. Xia Ji was the true head of the Xia n.

    "How strange. Elder Ji is not responding. He was still secretly protecting a youth earlier," Xia Meng muttered to herself.

    Xia Jiuyou said, "Perhaps Elder Ji has just returned to seclusion since he was in seclusion for many years before this. Let''s just go. We can¡¯t let Xia Luo run away. He knows that I won¡¯t let him go either."

    Xia Meng nodded. "Alright."

    After Xia Meng left with Xia Jiuyou, an old man appeared where they had been standing. This man had deep eyes that seemed to have seen through the vicissitudes of life. He stood ramrod straight, his aura like a sharp de that had been sealed for a long time. He was a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡­

    Astral-10 had experienced glory and catastrophe in the past, and at the moment, it was climbing high once more.

    Their resurgence had started when they had performed the best during the Astral Combat Tournament. Then, Lu Yin, one of their students, had won the Tournament of the Strongest, which had allowed Astral-10 to return to the Innerverse. All of Lu Yin¡¯s subsequent aplishments made Astral-10 shine even brighter.

    Astral-10 no longer had a small number of students, but rather thousands of them, just like all the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy.

    The most obvious difference was the number of teleportation stones guarded by the mentors. When Lu Yin had first joined the academy, Astral-10 had only had one teleportation stone. After that, Lu Yin had managed to win three more, making for four stones in total. Subsequently, Xia Luo, Lulu Mavis, and the others had all won teleportation stones on their own, ultimately gathering more than ten for Astral-10.

    There were constantly students entering the teleportation battles.

    On one particr day, the Trialmaster was loudly reporting the students¡¯ records as they exited their battles when his expression suddenly changed as he looked up.

    The Rainmaster, the Sandmaster, the Starmaster, and Old Cai all looked up. Lu Yin was back.

    Over the years, some of Astral-10¡¯s alumni had returned from time to time, but Lu Yin had been the only one who could draw all of the mentors¡¯ attention. Without Lu Yin, the current Astral-10 would not exist.

    The ten branches of the Astral Combat Academy were ranked in order of merit, and technically, Astral-10 should have been known as Astral-1.

    Lu Yin''s spacecraft docked outside of Astral-10. As he stood in outer space and looked down, he was reminded that Astral-10, along with all the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy, was actually a battleship. It was unknown when they had been created, but the vessels wererge enough to even carry stars. They were massive battleships.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Outerverse, Astral-9 had been attacked by a World Imprinter, and the results had shocked Lu Yin. As Lu Yin looked at Astral-10, he was simrly stunned. Astral-10 was unbelievable; this battleship was farrger than Astral-9.

    Before, Lu Yin had been unable to clearly see the size of the entire academy, and so he had not been able to understand it. At this moment, he could see it clearly, and he stared at the entirety of Astral-10. In fact, he was even able to make out the word ¡°Boundless,¡± which had almost been scrubbed away by the passage of time.

    This battleship was called Boundless.

    Lu Yin did not approach Astral-10 with his true appearance, as doing so would definitely reach Xia Jiuyou¡¯s ears, ensuring that he would never dare to approach the academy.

    There were several students on duty in Astral-10¡¯s space station, so Lu Yin calmly walked over and showed them his credentials as an Astral-10 student.

    "Huh? What¡¯s this?" The inspector was actually a cute girl, and she stared at Lu Yin''s gadget in surprise.

    Behind her, a young man approached them. "Xiao Xuan, what''s the matter?"

    The girl, Xiao Xuan, pointed at the gadget before looking back up at Lu Yin in shock. "Senior, his student ID is very strange."

    The man was also surprised when he saw the ID number. When he looked back up at Lu Yin, his eyes were filled with excitement. "You- you were one of the Legend Ones?"

    Lu Yin blinked, utterly confused. "What legend?"

    Xiao Xuan was surprised. "Legend One? Senior, are you saying that this student ID is from the Legend One era?"

    The man nodded, and the rest of the students on duty gathered around. "Yes, it''s a student ID from the legendary first ss."

    "That¡¯s Arbiter Lu''s year!"

    "What Arbiter Lu? It should be Champion Lu."

    "I think Arbiter Lu sounds better."

    After hearing the two students¡¯ discussion, Lu Yin quickly understood that his ss had be known as Legend One. His ss was the one that had pulled Astral-10 out of its declining trend and set it onto a path towards prosperity. For many people, even more importantly, Lu Yin had been in the ss.

    "Senior, you and Arbiter Lu were in the same ss. Have you met him before? Have you spoken to him?"

    "Senior, isn''t Arbiter Lu very good?"

    "Senior, when will Champion Lue back? Can you call him?"

    ¡­

    Seeing all of the expectant eyes of the students in front of him, Lu Yin found the entire situation very refreshing.

    Throughout the years, Lu Yin had aplished too many things, and he had been both praised and envied by countless people. The people who ttered him were as numerous as the stars, but they could notpare to the adoring eyes of his juniors standing before him. Even with all the experiences that Lu Yin had gone through, he still felt a bit proud at this moment. Quite proud, actually.

    Coming to Astral-10 made Lu Yin realize just how much he had grownpared to ten years ago. He was currently being described as a legend!

    The only fly in the ointment was that he had not brought Ku Wei along, which was a pity.

    Lu Yin coughed, and his eyes narrowed. Night Advent.

    All the students suddenly felt as though their brains had been shaken, and they froze in ce.

    Lu Yin had not used much strength, only knocking the students unconscious so that he would not attract too much attention.

    "I''m sorry," Lu Yin said quietly. He then passed by the many students to enter Astral-10, finding himself in a ce that was both familiar and unfamiliar. This was the starting point of his cultivation path.

    After Lu Yin left the space station, the students stirred and felt like they had woken up from a dream.

    "Huh, wasn¡¯t there someone here?"

    "Who?"

    "That senior from Legend One just now."

    "Yeah, I remember. What happened to him?"

    Just like when he had first arrived at Astral-10, Lu Yin first went to the Rain Observatory.

    The Rain Observatory had not changed at all. The bluestone tforms were still being washed by the rain all year long. As the rain fell from the sky, it created rivers on the ground and painted both the ground and the sky a beautiful dark blue. The only sound that one could hear was the soft pitter-patter of raindrops as they fell onto the bs of bluestone.

    Lu Yin looked around at the rainforest. Massive trees spread out beneath his feet while rain continued to sprinkle down from above. He stretched out a hand and caught one of the raindrops with his palm, its coolness soothing.

    There were students in groups of twos and threes off in the distance. They were eitherprehending something, or trying to write their names with star energy before sending it out into the rain.

    Lu Yin had done the exact same things when he had first arrived.

    Standing atop the Rain Observatory allowed one to start cleansing their star energy and start grasping the essence of controlling and moving it. Hopefully, one would enter the realm of changes and then slowly approach the level ofprehending a domain, though there were simply far too few people who couldprehend a domain.

    Lu Yin still remembered that this ce had something called the Rain List. His name was actually on the Rain List, though the person ranked first was someone named Shao Chen.

    The Rainmaster appeared out of the rain in front of Lu Yin, the older man¡¯s eyes still filled with the vicissitudes of time.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to see through the mentors¡¯ strength. And to his surprise, he still could not see through the Rainmaster¡¯s strength. He had thought that he would be able to see through Astral-10¡¯s mentors by now, but it was still beyond him.

    "Student Lu Yin greets the Rainmaster." Lu Yin bowed slowly and took on a respectful tone.

    The Rainmaster observed Lu Yin and became quite emotional. ¡°The little guy from back then has already be so powerful. In a blink of an eye, more than ten years have already passed."

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s this student''s fault that I have never had a chance toe back to see mentor."

    The Rainmaster looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression, and then he revealed a rare smile. "The Worldliness realm of star control. Not bad, and truly very good. For you toe back at this time, do you intend to graduate?"

    Lu Yin answered, "I¡¯ll graduate if you allow me the chance."

    The Rainmaster just smiled without saying anything. Then, he slowly disappeared.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked out into the distance. He saw that there were a set of ruins beyond the Rain Observatory. This ce was actually above the deck of a massive battleship, and the Rain Observatory was simply thendscape outside of a cabin.

    After leaving the Rain Observatory, Lu Yin visited the Sand Ocean next. He saw many students buried in the sand, trying toprehend battle force.

    Lu Yin remembered when the Sandmaster dragged him along toprehend sh Step. The stronger one¡¯s physical body, the faster one was able to move. This concept had been instilled into Lu Yin by the Sandmaster, and the mentor had also helped Lu Yin understand how to cultivate battle force.

    A figure whistled through the air before crashnding in front of Lu Yin. Out of reflex, Lu Yin raised a hand to catch the person. It was a man who looked a bit childish with a stubborn expression on his face. He nced at Lu Yin, said thank you, and then raced away.

    The Sandmaster appeared next to Lu Yin. ¡°Ever since you left, no talented students have emerged from Astral-10."

    Lu Yin greeted the man. "Student Lu Yin greets the Sandmaster."

    The Sandmaster waved a hand. "Don''t speak like that."

    After speaking, he looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression. The longer the man looked, the more amazed he became. "Kid, it¡¯s amazing that you were able to cultivate battle force up to nine lines."

    Lu Yin humbly replied, "I was given a good foundation."

    His battle force was actually no longer just nine lined battle force, as it had reached some higher level that Lu Yin did not understand. As for the Sandmaster and the Rainmaster, it was impossible for them to fully see through Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, and all that they could go off of was the strength that Lu Yin had revealed during ZENITH.

    "Haha! Well said! Remember to say that publicly in the future. This Sand Ocean is too calm." The Sandmasterughed.

    Lu Yin was surprised. When he had been in Astral-10, the Sandmaster had not wanted people to train their battle force, but now he was saying the opposite. It seemed that the man could also be a good teacher.

    "Sandmaster, this student has had a question in his heart for a long time, and I wonder if I can ask you," Lu Yin said.

    The Sandmaster replied, "Ask."

    Lu Yin spoke of his curiosity, "What is beyond nine lined battle force?"

    The Sandmaster¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Lu Yin. A smile slowly spread across his face. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got a lot of ambition. Aren¡¯t you satisfied with the level that you¡¯ve reached?"

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed as he said, "It''s still a bit weak."

    The Sandmaster nodded. "If not for that iprehensible power that you possess, there¡¯s no way you could have beat the Hall of Honor¡¯s Shang Qing. At best, you would have been at the same level of strength as Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Hui, but there¡¯s no way you could have beaten both of them by yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent. It was true. Without the death energy, he would not have been able to defeat Shang Qing. Even if he had joined up with Wang Yi and Wu Taibai, they still might have lost, as Shang Qing was not weak even without his summons.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1337: Trading Pointers

    <h4>Chapter 1337: Trading Pointers</h4>

    The Sandmaster turned to look off into the distance. "Above nine lined battle force is another realm, but I don¡¯t know much about that level. How can I describe it¡­? That sort of power is restricted."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Restricted?"

    The Sandmaster sighed. "Yes. Although it¡¯s truly difficult to cultivate battle force to nine lines, and there aren¡¯t many people in the universe who have managed to do so, you¡¯re not even the only youth who¡¯s managed to seed. Unfortunately, the path beyond that level is broken."

    "What do you mean ¡®broken?¡¯ Battle force is internal cultivation, so how could the path possibly be broken?¡± Lu Yin kept pressing.

    The Sandmaster shook his head. "I don''t know. Can you tell me why my Fifth Maind hasn''t raised a Progenitor since the ancient war?"

    "Our sky was covered. The Sixth Maind covered the sky of the Fifth Maind," Lu Yin answered out of reflex.

    The Sandmaster sneered. "What is the ¡®sky?¡¯ Where is that so-called ¡®sky?¡¯ How was it covered? What does it mean to cover it up? Do you know?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He had actually not thought about this matter at all, but after hearing the Sandmaster¡¯s questions, Lu Yin had some of his own. What was the sky? ording to ancient beliefs, the sky was above the earth, and the infinite space that they looked up and seen had been the sky. However, they were currently talking about the universe itself. In that context, what was the sky? Was it just the infinite universe? Still, the Sixth Maind had covered the Fifth Maind, but why had they done so? Had that really changed something that disallowed the Fifth Maind from giving birth to any Progenitors?

    Battle force suffered from the same problem. The path of cultivating battle force had been broken, but who had done such a thing? Why did this broken path stop people from being able to improve their battle force? There were no answers, or at least, the Sandmaster had no answers.

    However, Lu yin¡¯s path was not broken. He looked down at his palm and was almost unable to resist showing the Sandmaster his golden battle force.

    "Alright, don''t worry about such matters. Why have youe back? To graduate?" the Sandmaster asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I came by to have a look. I was passing by."

    The Sandmaster smiled, as he did not believe Lu Yin at all. The mentor raised a foot and disappeared, moving even faster than Wang Yi.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Astral-10''s mentors really were not simple at all.

    But after thinking about it, Astral-9 had been able to defend themselves from a World Imprinter when the Sixth Maind had invaded, and Astral-10 had actually managed to kill some of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses.

    Lu Yin left the Sand Ocean and went to visit the Stargazing Deck next. He greeted the Starmaster from a distance and then moved on to the teleportation stones were kept to meet with the Trialmaster.

    "Student Lu Yin greets the Trialmaster," Lu Yin respectfully greeted the man.

    The Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin. "What? What did you say?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. When he had first arrived at the Astral Combat Academy, all of the students had believed that the Trialmaster was borderline deaf, but in truth, the Trialmaster merely pretended to be hard of hearing as he found it quite funny. "This student greets mentor."

    The Trialmaster coughed. "Hello."

    Lu Yin thanked the older man. "Thank you for the Channeling Diagram sourcebox array that you sent me. It was very helpful to this student."

    "What?" The Trialmaster looked puzzled, and he tipped his head to the side to lean his ear closer.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, but then he shouted, "Thank you for giving me the Channeling Diagram, Trialmaster."

    The Trialmaster put his hand to his ear. "What did you say? You can''t use it? I won''t teach it to you."

    Lu Yin finally understood that the old man did not want to talk to Lu Yin. Still, as a junior, Lu Yin had no choice but to be polite. ¡°Thank you, Trialmaster. This student will take his leave then."

    The Trialmaster lowered his hand and waved Lu Yin off. He could not have been any more clear.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. This was nowhere close to the attitude that the Trialmaster had shown when he had called Lu Yin in the ze Realm. At that time, the old man had been kind. Whatever. Lu Yin turned around and left.

    As the Trialmaster looked at Lu Yin''s back, his turbid eyes brightened a great deal and filled with admiration.

    Any teacher who had a student like Lu Yin would feel both proud and depressed.

    The main reason why the Trialmaster had given Lu Yin the Channeling Diagram was because Lu Yin had been one of Astral-10¡¯s students. The other reason was because of Xiu Ming''s connection. The old man had not wanted to abandon such a talented Lockbreaker.

    Still, the Trialmaster had not expected the Channeling Diagram to do Lu Yin any good for the time being. He certainly had not expected to see the child use the Channeling Diagram to divert a physical attackunched by the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Star Devourer and then a full powered attack from the Technocracy¡¯s Wang Yi.

    The Trialmaster had felt somewhat helpless after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of the Channeling Diagram. There was no need for the Trialmaster to try to teach Lu Yin anything at all. The kid was just too talented.

    The Trialmaster did not even want to talk to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced over at the teleportation stones and blinked. If not for the absurd difference in strength, he really would have wanted to go over and have some fun.

    After leaving the area with the teleportation stones, Lu Yin went to Astral-10¡¯s treasury and saw Old Cai.

    What impressed Lu Yin the most about Old Cai were the old man¡¯s Money Bombs, which had helped Lu Yin a great deal.

    The old man was very enthusiastic upon seeing Lu Yin. As soon as Lu Yin arrived, Old Cai shooed the other students away in order to personally greet Lu Yin. ¡°Why, isn¡¯t it Alliance Leader Lu of the Great Eastern Alliance? What wind brought you here? Come,e,e in! Would you like some tea?"

    Seeing an expression on Old Cai''s face as though he had just seen a fat sheep approach, Lu Yin instantly grew wary. He waved a hand and caused tens of thousands of star essence to appear. He smiled at the old treasurer. "Old Cai, this is a donation from this student to Astral-10."

    Old Cai''s eyes lit up, and he tucked away the star essence at a speed that Lu Yin had never seen before. Then, Old Cai coughed and put on an act of scolding Lu Yin. ¡°Child, it would have sufficed for you to just visit your alma mater. There¡¯s really no need for presents. Won¡¯t this just put a distance between us?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "This is how students should act."

    Tens of thousands of star essence was quite arge sum, but not in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He was at Astral-10 in order to get 900 million star essence, and the academy¡¯s mentors had to be coaxed into helping. Old Cai was clearly the easiest to coerce.

    "Tell me, what matter has brought you back at this time? You aren¡¯t stupid enough to graduate, right?" Old Cai spoke without holding anything back.

    Lu Yin had nothing to hide from Old Cai. The old man was shrewd, and Lu Yin would not be able to get away with a lie even if he wanted to. "Of course I don''t want to graduate. Astral-10 is Lu Yin''s home."

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. "Do you think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s in your head, kid? If you never graduate, then Astral-10 will always be behind you."

    Lu Yin snickered.

    Old Caiughed. "Don¡¯t go thinking that you¡¯re all that clever¡ªyou¡¯ll have to support the Astral Combat Academy in the future, and you won¡¯t be able to shirk away from this."

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "That¡¯s my duty."

    He had not actually taken Old Cai''s words to heart. After all, the old man had not mentioned Astral-10, but rather the entire Astral Combat Academy.

    "Tell me, what matter forced you toe back this time, and with such arge gift as well?" Old Cai asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. "This student has encountered some trouble, and I may need the school¡¯s help to take care of things."

    Old Cai¡¯s eyes instantly went wide. "The Neohuman Alliance?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not this time."

    Old Cai let out a sigh of relief. "I¡¯ll be honest. Since you¡¯ve managed to survive this long, kid, you must have some protection from the Hall of Honor. Who is it? One of the seven?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Old Cai felt confused. "Since you have one of the seven Semi-Progenitors protecting you, then why have you run here for help?"

    At this moment, Xia Luo suddenly arrived from a ways away. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of this student¡¯s business."

    No matter if it was Lu Yin or Xia Luo, it was impossible for them to simply use the Astral Combat Academy. It was their alma mater, not a tool. Certain things needed to be rified in advance. Otherwise, there would be issues if something happened to the Astral Combat Academy.

    Lu Yin nced over as soon as Xia Luo arrived.

    Old Cai''s eyes shed, and he blurted out, "Xia Jiuyou?"

    The two nodded.

    The old man took a deep breath and stared at the two former students. "Boys, you want to use my Astral Combat Academy to hold back the Xia family¡¯s experts in order to let him absorb Xia Jiuyou, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The old man showed his teeth. "Kid, do you realize that, in order to protect the top ten from the Neohuman Alliance, the Human Domain¡¯s most powerful experts have been sent out? Xia Jiuyou is no exception. In addition to the powerhouses from the Xia family, the Hall of Honor also sent their most powerful experts to guard him from the shadows. Such a person is at least able to stall a Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Yin really had not known about this.

    Xia Luo smiled and said, "We students already assumed that the top ten would not be allowed to have any idents since the opportunity that they¡¯re receiving is rted to the Progenitor realm."

    "And yet you still dare to scheme against Xia Jiuyou?" Old Cai shouted.

    Xia Luo shrugged. "Neither the Xia family¡¯s experts nor the hidden guardians from the Hall of Honor are allowed to enter the Astral Combat Academy. Besides, if you don''t help with this, this student will be absorbed sooner orter."

    Xia Luo¡¯s words were spoken in a casual andid back tone, but they spoke of sadness and a bleak future.

    Old Cai''s eyes flickered, and he observed Xia Luo with serious eyes.

    Of Lu Yin''s ss, everyone had eventually left Astral-10 with the exception of Xia Luo. Currently, he was an alternative mentor.

    Lu Yin was the pride of all of Astral-10¡¯s mentors, and the pride of the entire Astral Combat Academy, but Xia Luo received the most concern and affection from the mentors out of all the students.

    Old Cai was very unwilling to allow Xia Luo to simply disappear.

    Xia Luo said, "Old Cai, we students simply wish to make the attempt. If the academy is not able to stop them, then we won¡¯t make any trouble for the academy."

    "What are you talking about? It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re one of his clones or not¡ªyou¡¯re a student of my Astral-10. There¡¯s no reason for a teacher to just watch his students die." Old Cai was not happy with the situation.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Old Cai."

    Old Cai frowned. "The Xia family is no ordinary power. They¡¯ve probably sent that olddy, Xia Meng, to protect Xia Jiuyou. If it¡¯s her, we have no way to handle her. It looks like we¡¯ll need to ask the mad headmaster, and I don''t know¡­"

    Old Cai started muttering to himself, so Lu Yin and Xia Luo bade their goodbyes and left the treasury.

    "I hope that your personality can be the dominant one. If not, this all will have been for nothing," Lu Yin mentioned to Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo smiled and said, "Fate is something that is predestined, and there¡¯s nothing that I can do. Still, even if my consciousness is absorbed, I will still have an effect on Xia Jiuyou, which means that he won¡¯t be as hostile towards you in the future."

    Lu Yin answered sullenly, "I¡¯m more concerned about my 900 million star essence."

    Xia Luoughed. "It''s not easy to love money as much as you."

    ¡­

    Half a month soon passed. During these two weeks, the Neohuman Alliance did notunch many attacks or assassination attempts. The Hall of Honor had already shown their response, and the Sixth Maind had suffered heavy losses. However, the Sixth Maind was extremely arrogant, and there were rumors that the Progenitor of Secret Arts had moved out to search for the Neohuman Alliance and that he had already destroyed tens of thousands of their strongholds. Still, this did not cause much overall damage to the Neohuman Alliance.

    Aeternus, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters, was located in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse, and not even the Progenitor of Secret Arts possessed enough power to shake the Neoverse by himself.

    On one particr day, a young man named Xia He arrived at Astral-10 from space. He was registered to study at Astral-10 as part of an exchange program.

    Xia He''s qualifications had been directly confirmed by the Hall of Honor, and he had even been approved of by Nanyuan, one of the nine overseers. Even if the Astral Combat Academy held a special status, it could not ignore the Hall of Honor.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1338: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 1338: Ambush</h4>

    Xia Meng stood in outer space as he looked down at Astral-10. The massive, once battleship that had a glorious history had been reduced to being nothing more than an academy.

    Xia Jiuyou entered Astral-10 while Xia Meng stood guard outside.

    Inside Astral-10, someone had already started watching Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou entered Astral-10, but he did not meet with any of the mentors. Instead, he immediately grabbed a student and sent them to find Xia Luo.

    "Teacher Xia Luo? He¡¯s not easy to find. He¡¯s from the legendary ss, and he¡¯s not actually one of Astral-10¡¯s mentors. Thus, he only gives guidance when he feels like it and he can¡¯t be found in any specific area," the student exined.

    Xia Jiuyou smiled and said, "Then do you know where he can usually be found? My name is Xia He, and I''m Xia Luo''s brother."

    The student thought for a moment. "Maybe in the ruins. Over the past two weeks, Teacher Xia Luo has been frequently going to the ruins, though I don¡¯t know what he''s been going there for."

    Xia He thanked the student and turned towards the ruins. Ruins? This is even better than expected. Now, there won¡¯t be anyone to bother us.

    Xia Jiuyou moved out.

    Astral-10 had once been destroyed by the crazy headmaster. The ruins were just one part of the battleship¡¯s deck. Every broken nk was no different from a mountain, each one forever burning and emitting a scorched smell.

    Xia Jiuyou approached the ruins step by step, asionally passing by a few students. He simply avoided the students and continued on his way.

    A day passed, and the mes grewrger andrger until there was a sea of fire in all directions. This ce was far too deep in the ruins for Astral-10¡¯s students, as the heat of the mes was unendurably dangerous for them.

    Xia Jiuyou raised a hand, and his star energy transformed into a stream of air that spread out in all directions. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked to his left¡ªhe had felt a fluctuation of star energy in that direction.

    Before long, someone passed by outside of the mes. Xia Jiuyou looked at that person, and his eyes lit up. It was Xia Luo.

    When Xia Luo saw Xia Jiuyou within the mes, his expression changed drastically. "Why are you here at Astral-10?"

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s mouth stretched up into a smile, but his eyes were aggressive. "It was very hard to find you, but let''s see who can help you this time."

    Xia Luo turned and fled without saying another word.

    Xia Jiuyou raised a hand and attacked with a Y¨­u Reinforced Palm. The attack burst through the sea of fire and froze arge area. Then, Xia Jiuyou¡¯s innate gift of echo caused a second Y¨­u Reinforced Palm to appear that blocked Xia Luo¡¯s path, but Xia Luo quickly evaded that attack.

    "Xia Luo, you can''t escape, as you¡¯re destined to merge with me! After all, you were originally split off from me!" Xia Jiuyou shouted as the star energy over his hand formed a knife. Then, he lifted a hand to unleash the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    During ZENITH, the manner in which the summoned Progenitor Chen had used the Triple de Will had inspired Xia Jiuyou into improving his use of the technique himself. He had actually managed to condense the aura of the technique, and while this did not increase the power of his attacks, the Triple de Will was no longer a technique that had a limited number of uses.

    The closer he came to Xia Luo, the stronger Xia Jiuyou¡¯s de became.

    Xia Luo felt death quickly approaching him. Xia Jiuyou''s Y¨­u Reinforced Palm reappeared in front of Xia Luo, and he raised a hand to dissolve the attack¡¯s star energy, but a knife suddenly appeared behind him and sliced at him. Xia Luo copsed to the ground.

    The terrifying shockwave tore through the sea of fire and shredded the ground.

    A group of more than a dozen students cautiously approached the edge of the sea of fire. They had used various items to protect themselves from the mes in order to explore the ruins.

    Any student that joined Astral-10 wanted to explore the ruins and find ancient treasures. This group had made it the furthest in, and among them was the girl, Xiao Xuan.

    "Will we burn to death? Teacher said that this ce is very dangerous." Xiao Xuan was afraid, and her face was very pale despite being baked by the roasting heat of the mes. She looked incredibly white.

    A boy next to her whispered, "What are you afraid of? Teacher Xia Luo should be close by, and these mes are spreading so slowly that they can''t even hurt us."

    "That''s right, Xiao Xuan, don''t be afraid. I heard that this ce used to house all of Astral-10¡¯s ancient battle techniques. If we find any copies, we can take them."

    Xiao Xuan muttered to herself, "I don''t know if the Legendary Ones ever came here to look for things."

    "They must have. That year, there was Arbiter Lu, Lulu Mavis, and Teacher Xia Luo," the male studentmented.

    Suddenly, the mes were blown apart, and a terrifying power tore through the void and erupted behind several of the students. They turned out to be incredibly lucky because the force of this shockwave had been enough to wipe all of them all out.

    After they stared at the cracks in the ground for a moment and the spatial tears that had yet to recover, the students turned to look at where the attack hade from in a sluggish and terrified manner. They instantly saw Xia Jiuyou''s sharp and icy eyes, as well as Xia Luo.

    "Teacher Xia Luo!" Xiao Xuan could not stop herself from shouting, though her mouth was immediately covered by her ssmates who were next to her. The entire group stared into the distance.

    Xia Luo evaded a de and saw the students off in the distance. Xia Jiuyou also saw them, but continued to raise his de and then brought it down. "Xia Luo, don''t resist."

    Xia Luo shouted, "Stop!" and he walked forward to meet the de.

    Xia Jiuyou sneered, "Stupid."

    As he spoke, he flipped his de around and used the back of the de to strike Xia Luo''s forehead.

    Xia Jiuyounded on the ground and looked down at Xia Luo, who had already passed out. "As soft-hearted as a little girl."

    He then reached down with a hand, and Xia Luo¡¯s body slowly became transparent before gradually disappearing.

    Xia Jiuyou''s eyes were filled with ecstasy; he had seeded and had finally absorbed Xia Luo! A surge of power erupted from Xia Jiuyou¡¯s body, and he tipped back his head and roared. Suddenly, everything he saw changed. By mastering how to condense the Triple de Will, he had achieved the same level of attack power as Progenitor Chen had shown during ZENITH.

    After absorbing Xia Luo, both Xia Jiuyou¡¯s battle strength and control of star energy had risen an entire level, and even more importantly, he had gained one more life. Only with this level of strength would he stand a chance at fighting for the uing opportunity, and he had to win that chance.

    No matter who he faced, Lu Yin, Wang Yi, Shang Qing, or Wu Taibai, no one could stop Xia Jiuyou.

    He had an even grander n hidden deep in his heart, and it was a n that could only be carried out by cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Finally, everything was perfect.

    Just as Xia Jiuyou was ready to leave, the mes in front of him changed. They suddenly transformed into a ghost-like Xia Luo who charged at Xia Jiuyou.

    Xia Jiuyou''s expression changed dramatically. "You? What¡¯s going on? You should be gone."

    The mes twisted, and then changed from Xia Luo to Lu Yin, then to Shang Qing, Wu Taibai. They transformed into Xia Jiuyou''s enemies, old friends, and even his rtives.

    Xia Jiuyou''s face went pale and his breathing grew unsteady. What had just happened? What was going on?

    There was a bang, and Xia Jiuyou felt like his brain was struck. He started bleeding from his seven orifices, and the massive shock caused his vision to blur. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood as his body mmed down into the mes.

    No, this is all an illusion, Lu Yin! Xia Jiuyou''s eyes opened up. "Lu Yin, I know it''s you!"

    The first person to pop into his mind was Lu Yin, as only Lu Yin would cooperate with Xia Luo to ambush Xia Jiuyou while he was in Astral-10 and also had the ability to force Xia Jiuyou into an illusion.

    Outside of Astral-10, the same moment Xia Jiuyou was injured, Xia Meng''s eyes went wide, and she moved out and tried to enter Astral-10.

    However, there were invisible forces that isted Astral-10, and there were also the academy¡¯s mentors. The Sandmaster, the Rainmaster, the Starmaster, and Old Cai all appeared one by one.

    Xia Meng¡¯s body trembled as she looked at the people before her. "You¡¯re looking to die! You actually dare to act against my Xia family?"

    The Trialmaster raised his hand, and the Channeling Diagram appeared in front of the mentors.

    It dispersed the power of Xia Meng''s attack, but she had a power level of more than 900,000. Even if the Trialmaster was able to disperse the attack a bit, it was not enough to stop the attackpletely. All of the mentors worked together, only to still be injured by Xia Meng''s attack. "Out of my way!"

    At this moment, a franticughter arose from within the academy. "You provoked the war! Hahahaha! You provoked the war, and you¡¯ll suffer the consequences all by your own, hahahaha! Suffer the consequences¡­"

    Xia Meng''s expression changed. This insane voice shot through her mind like a sharp de and gave her a splitting headache. "Astral-10¡¯s mad headmaster."

    The mentors looked at each other and then returned to Astral-10.

    Xia Meng gritted her teeth and rushed towards Astral-10 once more. Down below, in the Rain Observatory, the crazy headmaster sensed something. He raised his head, once againpletely mad.

    "War, war¡ª," he shouted. He did not know what he was doing. He went from watching the rain from a tform, into space. The void changed in his passing, and space lookedpletely different, as though a differentyer of the universe had been revealed.

    An iparable attack appeared in Xia Meng''s vision.

    Xia Meng roared, "You old madman!"

    She raised her hand, and there was a bang.

    Fluctuations of invisible energy spread from Astral-10, sweeping out in all directions. At this moment, all of Erudite Flowzone trembled, and the tributary astral rivers were all pushed back.

    All of the cultivators on the Wen family¡¯s homeworld felt shocked when they sensed this terrifying power.

    The Wen patriarch, Wen Zizai, dropped the broom he had been holding. The power he was sensing hadpletely erased his mood to sweep. He went pale and turned to look towards Astral-10. What had happened?

    In the ruins of Astral-10, outside of the mes, Xiao Xuan and others all saw a strange sight.

    They had first had a de attack brush by them, and then they had seen the man who called himself Xia He attack Xia Luo. He had then gone still before starting tough maniacally, sounding just like the crazy headmaster. They had no idea where the attack hade from that had struck the crazed man, but then he had shouted out ¡®Lu Yin.¡¯

    Lu Yin was a legend for the students of Astral-10. He was the reason that Astral-10 had managed to escape its period of decline and enter a time of prosperity. This ce had once been known as the first of the ten branches of the Astral Combat Academy, and all of the student had joined Astral-10 because of Lu Yin.

    Arbiter Lu Yin, are you here?

    Xia Jiuyou was smashed into the mes by Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm. He vomited up blood, feeling agony throughout his internal organs. However, he had also escaped the illusion, but then his vision went ck once again. Night Advent had fallen.

    Xia Jiuyou''s pupils shrank sharply, and he rushed forward, trying to escape Lu Yin''s spiritual force attack. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s spiritual force could notpare to Lu Yin''s.

    It was easy to escape Night Advent, and Xia Jiuyou leaped out of the mes. There was blood dripping from his mouth. He saw the students who were watching from a distance, and his eyes shed with a fierce light as he raised a hand to grab for one of them.

    He easily grabbed a girl by her neck. "Lu Yin, I''ll kill her if you attack again!"

    "Who are you going to kill?" A familiar voice spoke from in front of Xia Jiuyou, and he looked at the girl, only to see that she had be his father, Xia Yi.

    Xia Jiuyou¡¯s scalp went numb. This was not good! He was in another illusion.

    There was another bang, and a sharp pain erupted from his head. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm hadnded square on Xia Jiuyou¡¯s head and Xis Jiuyou¡¯s feebly let go of his grip. His pupils dted, and his vision blurred and started to grow dark. He could no longer tell the difference between reality and illusion.

    The gap was too big. Xia Jiuyou was never even able to see Lu Yin, and he had been on the back foot throughout their entire exchange.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1339: Merging

    <h4>Chapter 1339: Merging</h4>

    There was another bang, and Lu Yin appeared above Xia Jiuyou''s head. He pped down a palm, and Xia Jiuyou coughed up more blood. This attack had taken most of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s life.

    The Nine Clones Technique gave the user nine lives, but Lu Yin had no intention of killing Xia Jiuyou, as that would not help anything. If Lu Yin wanted to, he could instantly eliminate Xia Jiuyou, but killing Xia Jiuyou was not the goal.

    Xia Jiuyou copsed halfway to his knees. His arms trembled, and he could barely support his own body. He maintained only the tiniest bit of his consciousness. He knew what Lu Yin was wanting to do, he was trying to knock Xia Jiuyou out cold to allow Xia Luo to absorb Xia Jiuyou instead of the reverse. Xia Jiuyou would rather die than be absorbed by Xia Luo.

    "Brother Jiuyou, your hand¡¯s broken." In his half-conscious state, Xia Jiuyou saw a child approaching. It was his younger brother, his own brother. He looked so cute, and he looked at Xia Jiuyou with so much admiration in his eyes.

    Another child appeared, this one with the same appearance as Xia Jiuyou himself. It was Xia Jiuyou when he had been a child.

    "A wound on your hand? Here, let Brother give it a small huff and puff and the pain will go away."

    "Thank you, Brother."

    A girl walked up behind Xia Jiuyou. "Brother, let''s go! Let¡¯s sneak out to y! I heard that people outside call us one of the Three Dark Hands! That¡¯s so funny."

    Xia Jiuyou blinked at her like a child. "The Three Dark Hands? What¡¯s that mean?"

    "It means we¡¯re great, so how about we go bully people?"

    "No, you olddy! Stop bullying people!"

    "Hey, who turned you kind?"

    "Brother Jiuyou, it¡¯s very difficult to practice the Y¨­u Reinforced Palm."

    "Brother Jiuyou, I''m hungry."

    "Brother, my sister wants to y with you."

    "Aren¡¯t you Big Brother Jiuyou? You¡¯re really amazing!"

    "Brother Jiuyou is amazing!"

    In a blink of an eye, the entire situation had changed. "Big Brother Jiuyou, kill me! The Xia family will only allow you to live."

    "Brother Jiuyou, I don''t want to die, but I want you to live, so say goodbye."

    "Brother, remember me and live, no matter what."

    Xia Jiuyou''s eyes grew bloodshot as scenes from his past appeared. He was ovee with anguish. The memories of his brother and sister caused him to copse, and tearsbined with blood before falling from the corner of his eyes.

    Ever since he had been old enough to understand, the Xia family had instilled in Xia Jiuyou to win by any means necessary. This was the reason why Xia Jiuyou had killed his brother, his sister, and everyone he had held dear, following his father''s orders one step at a time.

    Sessfully cultivating the Nine Clones Technique had not only been a means for Xia Jiuyou to be stronger, but also a method to split his personality.

    Each clone had broken away, one by one, and each one of the clones had taken away a portion of his empathy. In the end, Xia Jiuyou, who had been left alone, had been left with nothing but ruthlessness, deceit, and¡ªweariness.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Jiuyou as the young man shed blood and tears. Xia Jiuyou¡¯s pupils were unfocused and he was almost unconscious, so why were his eyes filled with so much pain and sadness at this moment?

    Xia Luo approached and stood in front of Xia Jiuyou. "Xia Jiuyou is someone who is ruthless and unscrupulous. He is trying to be as invincible and powerful as Progenitor Chen, and if it¡¯s something that will help him be stronger, he will ignore the rules, hide, and allow people to humiliate him. However, he is also very tired, and deep down in his heart, there is still a trace of his obsession with dying, which has been there since he was a child.

    "To absorb him and rece him as the Xia family¡¯s inheritor means that I am also taking on his obsession, as well as his pain."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed his eyes, and he thought of Ming Yan. Her white-haired personality had taken on all of Ming Yan''s pain and sorrow, and it turned out that Xia Jiuyou''s situation was exactly the same as hers.

    "Truthfully, you also truly want to set down your burden. I will take it for you, so you can rest easy," Xia Luo stared into Xia Jiuyou''s eyes as he spoke slowly. He spoke like he was hypnotizing Xia Jiuyou, but also like he was making a promise.

    Thest trace of Xia Jiuyou self-consciousnesspletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin turned around and walked away.

    Only Xia Luo and Xia Jiuyou stayed behind.

    Even at the end, Lu Yin had never known Xia Jiuyou.

    Everyone has a side to themselves that others did not know. In the Mountain and Seas Zone, Xia Jiuyou had suffered multiple defeats after he had appeared, and he had been mocked by others. At that time, who had known that everything had been in his control. He hadter stepped onto the golden tform and proven himself to be one of the strongest people in the entire younger generation. He was brilliant, but he had sabotaged himself in a bid to win ZENITH.

    Xia Jiuou had many faces, but it appeared that they had all been created by his own internal traumas.

    Lu Yin remembered Jin He and Tong Zhan, both of whom he had personally killed. They had been his enemies, but had there also been an unknown side to them?

    With a wry smile, Lu Yin lifted his head and let out a long sigh. He still over-thought things. This was the way of the universe. As long as there was life, there was a reason for existence and there would be an obsession to live. Lu Yin was no different, and this led topetition.

    In a universe ruled by survival of the fittest, kindness was the least valuablemodity that existed. The only thing that a person could hope to preserve was a line they would not cross no matter what.

    Off in the distance, Xiao Xuan and the others were nkly staring at Lu Yin as he approached. Lu Yin had returned to his normal appearance, and his face belonged to a person who had been obsessed over by Xiao Xuan and the others. Their idol was in front of them.

    "Lu- Arbiter Lu!" Xiao Xuan squeaked in surprise.

    All of the other students were also excitedly staring at Lu Yin. "Senior!"

    "Arbiter Lu."

    "Champion Lu."

    Lu Yin was met by a simr scene to before. Thest time, he had not been able to face the students, and this time he felt a little embarrassed. However, he had also just attacked someone, and he was feeling a bit down about it.

    "Why are you here? This ce is very dangerous," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Xuan was so excited that stars shone in her eyes. "Senior, you¡¯re back? When? Did youe back to graduate?"

    "Senior, I heard that you entered the Rain List right from the beginning, right? That¡¯s so hard!"

    "Senior, is it lonely being such a powerhouse?"

    "Senior, what was that power you used during thest fight of ZENITH? You were so handsome, and so charming."

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth were pulled up, and he looked over at the girl who asked thest question. She had a great eye. "Cough, This ce is very dangerous, so don''t try to go any further and worry the mentors."

    "Senior, when did you get back?" Xiao Xuan asked.

    "A few days ago."

    "We''ve been working up in the space station, but we didn¡¯t see you. Ah, I remember now, you were the senior from Legend 1!" Xiao Xuan eximed, startling Lu Yin.

    He did not deny her conclusion. "I needed to do something aftering back, so it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t say."

    On the other side, a boy asked, "Senior, could you guide us? Teach us how to leave our name on the Rain List? We¡¯ve stayed in the Rain Observatory for a whole year, yet we can¡¯t even see the Rain List."

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "In addition to trying to simply control star energy, there¡¯s also the aspect ofprehension, which is understanding it. I¡¯ll leave you with this: hold a wild flower in your hands and in doing so, the world."1

    "Hold a wild flower in your hands and in doing so, the world?" These young students were all confused. This simple phrase had given them enough to think on for a lifetime.

    The truth was that Lu Yin did not understand this phrase himself. Although he had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, he fell far behind Liquor Hero. She was a peerless talent who had truly understood the meaning of one flower, one world. She had used a single drop of wine to trap Bai Mai, and the bug had been unable to escape. Liquor Hero¡¯s Creation realm of star energy control had also allowed her to simply absorb the various weapons that God Qingguang had created with Truesight. Liquor Hero¡¯s star energy control was simply exquisite.

    If possible, Lu Yin wanted to speak with her about how she had reached such an enigmatic realm of star energy control.

    One girl was very excited, and she squeezed herself in front of Lu Yin. Her face was flushed and her eyes were full of admiration. "Senior, during ZENITH¡¯sst fight when you singled out all of the top ten, why did that power make you so handsome? What kind of power is it?"

    Everyone wanted to know what sort of power Lu Yin had used, and Lu Yin was absolutely certain if not for his own level of strength, there would be countless people from all parts of the universe who would want to capture him in order to find out about that power.

    That energy had given Lu Yin the strength to overwhelm all of ZENITH¡¯s top ten, even with powerhouses like Shang Qing. Not only that, Lu Yin had crushed all of the others. Such a power was truly monstrous, and even Lu Yin himself felt it was horrifying, especially since it was difficult to control.

    "That power is something that I only managed to obtain by chance, and it would be difficult to use it again." Lu Yin did not want to share much information.

    ¡­

    Still, it was pleasant to chat with his juniors. All of them were full of energy and curiosity towards the universe. They had a strong desire for adventure flowing from their hearts, though they had no idea what awaited them once they entered the universe.

    Even with Lu Yin''s talent and strength, he had nearly died multiple times, and he had truly died several times more.

    The universe was a cruel ce, and thepetition within an academy, or the oppression felt from a powerful family was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, and was truly nothing in the greater universe.

    Confronted with a dozen pairs of eyes, each full of hope for the future, Lu Yin smiled gently. "Remember what Senior told you: no matter what you experience in the future, never give up hope, not even when facing unimaginable giants. There is a silver lining to everything in the universe, and maybe you¡¯ll catch it, and maybe you won¡¯t, but if you ever give up, it simply means an early end. Also,¡± At this point his smile grew a bit bigger. ¡°Astral-10 is our home, so never forget our home.¡±

    "Yes, Senior," everyone replied, each of them staring at Lu Yin with excitement and admiration. They had only briefly interacted with Lu Yin, but it had still greatly increased their respect for him.

    "Alright, head on back. In the future, to go so deep into the ruins. It¡¯s dangerous." Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the students.

    "Goodbye, Senior!" All of these students implicitly believed Lu Yin''s words, and decisively acted on them. In the blink of an eye, they were all gone, though their eyes were filled with reluctance.

    Soon, Xia Luo walked out of the mes behind Lu Yin with a smile on his face.

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at Xia Luo.

    Neither of the two spoke, and instead they just looked at each other.

    After a while, Xia Luo asked, "Brother Lu, why are you acting so hesitant?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Your gaze feels unfamiliar to me."

    Xia Luo spread his hands. "It¡¯s not that, but this is how merging works. Xia Jiuyou hasn¡¯t disappeared, but rather our minds have merged. His feelings, as well as some of his attachments, have affected me. Still, I am the dominant one."

    "So, are you the second Xia Jiuyou?" Lu Yin smiled.

    Xia Luo smiled. "You can say that. Let''s go. Elder Xia Meng is in a hurry."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Outside of Astral-10, up in space, Xia Meng''s face had be exceptionally gloomy, and she was quietly waiting.

    She had not made any moves after the crazy headmaster had appeared. She had not been able to get into Astral-10, and her efforts had been futile. Hidden in the dark, the powerhouse sent by the Hall of Honor to protect Xia Jiuyou also remained still.

    Several of Astral-10¡¯s mentors were vigntly keeping an eye on Xia Meng.

    Old Cai was anxious. He did not know what had happened to Lu Yin and the others, and everyone was still worried about Xia Luo. After years together, Xia Luo was like a child in their hearts. They had never said anything, but their actions had spoken for them. Even with their strength, if it had not been for Xia Luo¡¯s sake, not one of the mentors would have risked going up against Xia Meng, even with their strength.

    Fortunately, Xia Meng was too powerful, and she had drawn the attention of the crazy headmaster. Otherwise, Xia Meng would have broken into Astral-10.

    [1] Thises from the William ke poem A Grain of Sand:

    To see a world in a grain of sand,

    And a heaven in a wild flower,

    Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

    And eternity in an hour. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1340: Leaving A Name On Boundless

    <h4>Chapter 1340: Leaving A Name On Boundless</h4>

    Space distorted as Xia Luo and Lu Yin emerged.

    The tension drained out of the eyes of the Trialmaster and the other mentors, as this meant that Xia Luo won.

    Across from the mentors, Xia Meng stared at Xia Luo withplex emotions filling her eyes. She did not know how to view Xia Luo; was he Xia Jiuyou¡¯s murderer? Or was he Xia Jiuyou himself? No one could understand Xia Meng''s feelings at this time.

    She had been very protective of Xia Jiuyou for a long time. During his youth, Xia Jiuyou had been kind and innocent, and Xia Ming had be attached to him then. This was why, despite risking offending the patriarch, Xia Yi, she had hidden away the Nine Clones Secret Technique for Xia Jiuyou. However, in the end, the dominant personality was not Xia Jiuyou.

    She clenched her fists tightly as she stared at Xia Luo, whose face was very simr to Xia Jiuyou¡¯s.

    Xia Luo stepped forward and approached Xia Meng. He looked up at her. "Auntie Meng."

    Xia Meng''s body went stiff from shock. This was how Xia Jiuyou had referred to her the first time he had seen her. This was also the name that had caused Xia Meng to view Xia Jiuyou as practically her own son. However, as Xia Jiuyou had grown older and started cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, his personality hadpletely changed. He had be more ruthless and more practiced at deceit. Eventually, he no longer called her so familiarly anymore.

    After so many years, she had not expected to hear this name again.

    "You¡­" Xia Meng''s fingers trembled as she stared at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo smiled. "Auntie Meng, let''s go home."

    She stared at Xia Luo nkly, and it was as if she was seeing the kind and innocent child version of Xia Jiuyou. "O- okay. Okay, let¡¯s go home."

    Xia Luo turned back to look at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, you¡¯ll soon receive what was promised to you.¡±

    He then revealed a bright smile. ¡°I¡¯ll soon see you at that ce."

    Lu Yin knew that Xia Luo was talking about the ce that they would soon be sent to where they would fight for an opportunity. It seemed that Xia Luo knew something.

    It was only then that Xia Meng noticed Lu Yin, and her eyes burned with a killing intent that made Lu Yin''s scalp tingle.

    He frowned, but he was not actually worried. The Highsage Grandmaster was keeping an eye on Lu Yin at all times, and it would be incredibly bizarre for Xia Meng to take action against Lu Yin at this time.

    Xia Luo quickly spoke up. "Auntie Meng, he¡¯s my friend."

    Xia Meng stared at Lu Yin, not knowing what to do. Should she get revenge? Xia Meng herself did not understand what she was feeling at this moment.

    Lu Yin greeted Xia Meng. "Senior, Xia Jiuyou was Xia Luo, and Xia Luo is still Xia Jiuyou. With Xia Jiuyou''s mind, he would not have been able to proceed far with the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but Xia Luo is different. He¡¯s more like the Xia Jiuyou you remember, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Xia Meng released her hand and snorted. "Junior, sometimes it¡¯s bad to be too clever, and you would do well to keep a low profile in that ce. There are some ces where you can¡¯t act freely. If you do end up in trouble, don¡¯t drag down Xia Jiu- Xia Luo."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no need for senior to worry."

    "Hmph!" Xia Meng was still very upset with Lu Yin, but there was nothing that she could do about him, so she simply left with Xia Luo.

    Before leaving, Xia Luo bowed to Astral-10 and all of the mentors. "This student wille back. Please take care, mentors."

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Luo¡¯s back as he left. More than anything, Lu Yin was looking forward to the 900 million star essence, as that was a massive sum of money. It was enough to stir anyone¡¯s greed, enough to even entice one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    Lu Yin turned to face the Trialmaster and the other mentors and bowed low as well. "We students brought disaster to the academy. Thank you, mentors, for helping us."

    The Rainmaster, the Starmaster, the Sandmaster, and the Trialmaster all just nced at Lu Yin before returning to Astral-10. Old Cai made a certain gesture that Lu Yin was very familiar with, and Lu Yin instantly understood. "Don¡¯t worry, Old Cai. This student understands.¡±

    With that, Old Cai was satisfied.

    As the rest of the mentors left, Lu Yin suddenly saw a pair of murky eyes that had seen countless years pass by. These eyes were at Astral-10¡¯s Rain Observatory, and they belonged to the crazy headmaster.

    More than ten years had passed since Lu Yin had entered Astral-10, but Lu Yin and the crazy headmaster had barely ever spoken to each other. In fact, Lu Yin had actually never seen the headmaster in a normal state of mind, though the headmaster had helped Lu Yin a great deal.

    The headmaster had helped Lu Yin break through to the Melder realm and had also helped him deduce the ninth star of the Cosmic Art. And recently, the headmaster had held Xia Meng back.

    Although the crazy headmaster had never taught Lu Yin anything, Lu Yin still had a great deal of respect for the old man.

    Before the Astral Combat Tournament, there had been rumors that the crazy headmaster had spoken to Astral-10¡¯s mentors and asked them to teach the students, which had led to everyone rapidly improving. Astral-10¡¯s mentors were not true instructors, but rather the crazy headmaster¡¯s caretakers.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s status and strength improved, he had be able to more clearly see the events of the past.

    For example, Lu Yin was certain that, at this moment, the headmaster was not insane, but rather in his proper state of mind.

    Lu Yin slowly descended onto Astral-10 and approached the Rain Observatory.

    Rain softly fell onto the tforms, and Lu Yin swept past the giant trees until he eventually stopped close to the headmaster. He then moved closer one step at a time, until he finally stopped less than three meters away from the crazy headmaster, at which point Lu Yin slowly bowed. "Student Lu Yin greets the headmaster and thanks the headmaster for his help."

    The crazy headmaster did not answer. His clothes were messy, his hair looked like a ho''s nest, his face was filthy, and there were no shoes on his feet, making it impossible to know what he had stepped in. All in all, he looked like a beggar.

    Lu Yin did not stand up, and he remained in a bowing position as he respectfully saluted the old man.

    One hour. Two hours. Three hours. Finally, a full five hours passed. The headmaster had not moved at all during this time, and neither had Lu Yin.

    "Have you graduated yet?" the headmaster asked. His voice sounded deste.

    Lu Yin said, "This student still has not yet graduated."

    The headmaster lifted his head. "Then you¡¯re still a part of the academy, and helping you is something that we should do."

    Lu Yin was grateful. "All of us students are grateful for the headmaster¡¯s help. We created problems for Astral-10, and I deeply apologize for this."

    "There¡¯s no need to apologize. As long as you are able to leave your name here at Astral-10 and be a guest instructor for Astral-10, everything is fine." the headmaster said.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A guest instructor? Like Xia Luo?"

    "No, that¡¯s different. He did not leave his name on the academy. As for you, your name will be carved on Boundless. In the future, no matter what happens, if Boundless is around, so will you. If it¡¯s destroyed, then you will perish before it does." The mad headmaster turned around and spoke in a somber tone as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Boundless was the name of the battleship that had be Astral-10.

    Lu Yin felt an inexplicable solemness. At this moment, it felt like he was participating in some kind of ceremony.

    Boundless, Boundless, Boundless. Lu Yin did not dare to immediately answer. "Might I ask headmaster, where did this Boundlesse from? Where is it going? Is there a destination?¡±

    The mad headmaster¡¯s expression suddenly turned pious. "It is going from the Daosource Sect to the enemy''s location. There is no final destination, as can there be an final end to humanity? Even if there is, there is no end for Boundless. She must carry mankind¡¯s hope. She bears the seed of inheritance. This is Boundless''s destiny."

    Lu Yin''s eyes nced about. "Seed of inheritance? Isn''t this a battleship?"

    The headmaster''s eyes suddenly went wide, and a terrifying pressure fell upon Lu Yin. All that Lu Yin could sense was that something had suddenly changed, and it felt as if the universe had instantly been destroyed. The mounting pressure almost forced Lu Yin to kneel down.

    "Boundless¡¯s mission is not one of war, but rather of delivering an inheritance. Only an inheritance can bring hope that can be passed down." The headmaster once again looked insane as he spoke, but then he smiled. "Hahahaha! The war that you caused was brought on by yourself and was self-inflicted. Eat the bitter fruit! Hahahaha, you caused the war." As he spoke, the crazy headmaster fled and almost instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin had not expected his question to trigger the headmaster¡¯s insanity, and he was stunned.

    The Rainmaster appeared nearby. ¡°Don''t worry about it. That¡¯s how he always is, and he won¡¯t be himself for several days."

    Lu Yin was curious. "Mentor, isn''t Boundless a battleship? Why did it end up as an academy? The headmaster seems to be very serious about this ship¡¯s role."

    The Rainmaster answered in a heavy voice, saying, "What he values is not the academy, nor the so-called glory of being headmaster, but rather the word ¡®Boundless.¡¯¡±

    "Boundless?" Lu Yin muttered to himself.

    The Rainmaster stared off into the distance. "I am also fulfilling my responsibilities as a mentor because I have no boundaries. No matter how this warship is regarded, the truth is that it used to be a gship. It was not just a gship for a war, but rather one for all of mankind. It was the guiding light for mankind, and the inheritance that it carries is the hope of mankind. No one can bring shame to Boundless."

    "What did the headmaster mean by an inheritance?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Rainmaster replied, "That involves too much. For now, you just need to train hard, and I will exin this matter to youter. If the headmaster asked you to stay here in Astral-10, don''t bother for the time being. Once you be an Envoy and understand the truth of Boundless, then you can decide whether or not you want to leave your name here. However, once you leave your name, the burden will be greater than what you can currently bear.¡±

    Lu Yin became really curious. No matter what, the Astral Combat Academy was just an academy, or perhaps a battleship that was a relic from ancient times. Could it actually carry an even greater burden than the Hall of Honor? That should be impossible, but the Rainmaster''s words indicated that Lu Yin did not yet qualify to leave his name down on it. He was peerless within his generation, the pinnacle talent who could mobilize the protection of Semi-Progenitors, but he still was not qualified to leave his name on the ship.

    There were too many secrets in the universe.

    As for leaving his name, Lu Yin had initially been a bit torn over the decision, but with this additional information, it became even worse. All he wanted to do was settle his own matters.

    In the Neoverse, on the sword-shaped maind that was the Xia family¡¯s home, Xia Yi, the Xia patriarch, officially announced that the Xia family¡¯s inheritor had be Xia Luo. At the same time, Xia Yi requested that the Hall of Honor allow Xia Luo to rece Xia Jiuyou as one of ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    No matter if it was Xia Jiuyou or Xia Luo, they could both be regarded as an avatar of the main body. After Xia Jiuyou merged into Xia Luo, his strength climbed higher than ever before, so there was no reason for the Hall of Honor to refuse this request.

    However, many people could not understand the concept of Xia Jiuyou merging with Xia Luo, and Xia Yi''s attitude was even more confusing to them because he truly did not seem to care.

    Though, if one considered this matter closely, Xia Jiuyou and Xia Luo were both Xia Yi¡¯s sons, and no one could change this fact. In the depths of Xia Yi''s heart, he had actually hoped for Xia Luo to rece Xia Jiuyou because Xia Jiuyou actually harbored a deep hatred towards him, his father.

    Inside the Xia family¡¯s headquarters, Patriarch Xia Yi slowly bowed down to an old man standing in front of him. This old man was Xia Ji, one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors. He was the Xia family¡¯s top powerhouse.

    "Xia Yi, you have no way to teach your son. Do you understand your guilt?" Xia Ji spoke in a t tone, but when Xia Yi heard it, he shuddered even though he was responsible for the deaths of several members of the Xia family with no one being more ruthless than him.

    "This junior is indeed guilty," Xia Yi immediately admitted to his error.

    Xia Ji sighed. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique could have made Xia Jiuyou a perfect powerhouse. One is divided into nine, and each goes their own way. This method can even make up for the ws in one¡¯s character. It''s a pity that you educated that child through steel and blood. You allowed that child to use the Nine Clones Secret Technique as a means of separating his grief, which infinitely magnified the w of the technique. This made it so that he had no way to exert the true strength of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    "The Nine Clones Secret Technique has now been repeatedly defeated by others of the same generation, which is truly humiliating to Progenitor Chen."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1341: Cultivation Method

    <h4>Chapter 1341: Cultivation Method</h4>

    Upon hearing Xia Ji''s words, Xia Yi felt horrified. "This junior understands what he did wrong. This junior truly did not know that the child was cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

    Xia Ji turned back around to stare at Xia Yi. "You don''t even know what methods your son is training in? It''s absurd for you to be a father. Whether as a father or as the patriarch, you are unqualified."

    Xia Yi shuddered and quickly kneeled down. "I ask ancestor to give me a chance. This junior will never repeat such a mistake again."

    Xia Ji shook his head and stared out into space. "That Xia Luo is not bad. Jiuyou had a wed heart, but this Xia Luo¡¯s character actually makes up for that w. Also, he has a good rtionship with that Lu Yin, so he won''t be alone when fighting for opportunities in that ce."

    Xia Yi lowered his head and figured out what had happened. When Xia Meng had taken Jiuyou away, the ancestor must have known about it but had not intervened. He had preferred for Jiuyou to be absorbed by Xia Luo.

    In the eyes of the ancestor, there was no difference between Xia Jiuyou and Xia Luo. Both of them were inheritors of the Xia family, and Xia Luo was far more suitable for the role than Xia Jiuyou.

    "Get up. For the time being, even if you do relinquish your position as patriarch, there is no one who can rece you. It''s a pity that the Xia family has degraded from one generation to the next. Once I die, the Xia family won''t even be able to retain its position as the leader of the Seven Courts," Xia Ji said.

    Xia Yi let out a sigh of relief and stood up. "Ancestor, there are too many geniuses within the next generation. The Tri-Yang Technique has appeared, and it is able to summon both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui. There¡¯s also the Sixth Maind, as well as the Astral Beast Domain. Also, there¡¯s that child whose power I can¡¯t even understand, Lu Yin. Even though the Nine Clones Secret Technique is impressive, how would ancestor have done things differently?¡±

    Xia Ji indifferentlymented, "If you had known from the beginning that the child was cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, you could have helped him. You could have asked some of your old friends to train individual clones, and then once they merged together, his strength would have utterly transformed. Now-¡± Xia Ji felt helpless even by thinking about it. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss thister."

    After he finished speaking, thest battle of ZENITH appeared in Xia Ji¡¯s mind, as well as Lu Yin''s strange transformation. The Xia ancestor felt as if he had heard of a simr transformation before, but where?

    At this moment, Xia Yi''s gadget beeped and alerted him to a notification. He looked down, surprised; was it Jiuyou? No, it should be Xia Luo.

    Xia Ji also saw the call, but he remained silent.

    Xia Yi answered the call, asking, "What''s the matter?"

    Xia Luo''s voice came through from the other end, "I need to trouble my father to have Nan Yuan return the billion star essence that¡¯s currently stored in the Mavis Bank to Lu Yin."

    "A billion?" Xia Yi¡¯s brows shot up. This was an amount that even he, the patriarch of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family, could not ignore: a billion star essence.

    "This is something that this child promised Lu Yin as thanks for his assistance, and I cannot break my promise." Xia Luo''s voice was soft, but there was no hint of worry that Xia Yi would refuse the request.

    After merging with Xia Jiuyou, even if Xia Luo had be the dominant personality, he was still subconsciously influenced by Xia Jiuyou''s thoughts and memories. Xia Luo was also Xia Jiuyou. Thus, Xia Jiuyou had not truly disappeared, and there was a very strong impression of Xia Yi left in Xia Luo¡¯s mind.

    At this moment, Xia Yi would never refuse any of Xia Luo¡¯s requests because he was currently the Xia family¡¯s only direct descendant.

    Xia Yi would not be willing to antagonize Xia Luo for a billion star essence.

    Xia Luo''s instinct proved right. A billion star essence was indeed arge amount, but it was not enough to push Xia Yi to disagree with Xia Luo. He did not want to see Xia Luo be a second Xia Jiuyou. "Very well, I understand. I will tell Nan Yuan."

    "Thank you, Father." Xia Luo smiled and ended the call.

    Far away, Xia Meng was feeling very ufortable. She felt extreme disgust towards Lu Yin. He had defeated Xia Jiuyou during ZENITH and had also caused Xia Jiuyou to disappear. Although Xia Luo was the actual mastermind behind everything and was right in front of her, who had allowed Xia Luo to seed? Xia Meng had already transferred all of her anger onto Lu Yin and then doubled it.

    It was unfortunate that there was no way to move against Lu Yin, as if there were, Xia Meng definitely would have already taken action. Even if she did not kill him, she would definitely teach him a lesson.

    "Stay away from that Lu Yin in the future. With only a nce, I already know that he¡¯s no good. It¡¯s a waste of time to be a cultivator and yet not focus on cultivating. Instead, he focuses on schemes and tricks and even rose up to be the master of the Outerverse. That¡¯s the kind of person who will bring disaster onto himself sooner orter," Xia Meng spoke in a cold tone.

    Xia Luo smiled. "I understand, Auntie Meng."

    Every time Xia Luo spoke to her in this manner, Xia Meng''s heart would helplessly soften, and her eyes would fill with adoration. It was as if she was looking at the young Xia Jiuyou again.

    Lu Yin also left Astral-10. Before leaving, he left a million star essence with Old Cai. This was no longer an exorbitant amount in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and Astral-10 had once been so broke that they had had to rely on sponsors just to own spacecrafts.

    Old Cai was quite satisfied.

    As soon as he left Astral-10, Lu Yin received an invitation from the Wen family, asking him to visit and speak with them.

    He turned down the invitation, as there was no need for him to visit the Wen family at this moment¡ªLu Yin had other priorities.

    His ship shot towards zing Mist Flowzone.

    One dayter, he heard a notification from his gadget. It was a message informing him that he had received a guarantee from Nan Yuan that he would transfer a billion star essence to him through the Mavis Bank.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. A billion? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be 900 million? Lu Yin had told Xia Luo that he was owed 900 million star essence, so he had not expected to be given a full one billion. Xia Luo was too generous.

    An endless amount of money might not be very useful to others, but for Lu Yin, it was an immediate shortcut that he could use to improve his strength.

    As soon as he received the message, Lu Yin directed his ship to the nearest Mavis Bank. Just in case, he intended to immediately withdraw the money.

    It would be unrealistic to withdraw one billion star essence from a single branch of the Mavis Bank. Even if the Mavis Bank was incredibly wealthy, it was impossible for all its branches to have so much star essence. Forget one branch, even tenbined would not have that much.

    Lu Yin was left with no choice but to slowly withdraw his funds from one branch at a time. In the end, he withdrew the final bit of his billion star essence from the thirteenth branch that he visited. After that, he arrived at zing Mist Flowzone.

    Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring. At the moment, his liquid assets amounted to 1.712 billion star essence; what a terrible number! Right now, Lu Yin did not merely stand on the same level as other wealthy individuals as he held an amount of wealth that even the masters of the eight great flowzones would have trouble putting together.

    If there was a list of the most wealthy, then Lu Yin felt that he would likely be on it.

    After getting so much money, it was time for Lu Yin to upgrade his items.

    Back in the ze Realm, Lu Yin ignored everything and immediately went into seclusion.

    In the Outerverse, in Shenwu Continent¡¯s imperial pce, there were two groups of people facing off against each other. One wasposed of natives from Shenwu Continent who were protecting the imperial pce while the other group wasposed of people from the Great Yu Empire who had been stationed on Shenwu Continent. Things were turning ugly.

    "I¡¯ll tell you again¡ªget out of our way! We must see the empress today!" a woman shouted. She was a Hunter, and her power caused the pce to start crumbling.

    Across from her, the faces of the people from Shenwu Continent grew pale. None of them were Martial Gods and were thus unable topare to this woman. If not for the face that the woman was giving to the empress by not forcing matters, there was no way that they would have been able to block her path.

    Bei Hong walked up to the pce, looked at the Hunter, and then looked back at the imperial pce. "Get out of the way. The empress hasn''t shown herself for a long time, and if this continues, then no one will be able to control the situation."

    Upon hearing this, the pce guards helplessly stepped back.

    The Hunter rushed to the imperial study, but she found no traces of Ming Yan. All she found was a trembling maid.

    The Hunter¡¯s face went pale. It was over, the empress was not there. How had she gotten out? Unless one was an Explorer and had a Hunter open a path for them, there was no way to leave Shenwu Continent.

    This was the main reason why the Hunter had never been concerned about Ming Yan not showing herself, but the worst possible situation had urred.

    Bei Hong also had not expected for Ming Yan to leave Shenwu Continent.

    The Hunter stared at Bei Hong. "If His Highness finds out about this, we will all die."

    Bei Hong solemnly replied, "I know, which is why I can''t tell His Highness. Send someone to get in touch with the space station outside right now to see if the empress was picked up. If not, it means that she must not have left Shenwu Continent. We need to figure this out right away."

    The Hunter nodded. She had started to panic, so she could only listen to Bei Hong.

    Bei Hong''s heart kept sinking further and further. He thought of Ming Zhaoshu''s death and how Ming Yan had been held hostage at that time, which had led to her being poisoned and almost dying. Were any of the people rted to that incident still alive? Could they have taken action against Ming Yan? That would be bad.

    They would not be able to keep this matter hidden for long.

    In the ze Realm, in Lu Yin¡¯s secluded room, he raised a hand, and his die appeared, slowly rotating. He tapped it and rolled six pips: Possession.

    There was no limit to how much star essence could be consumed with Possession, so as soon as Lu Yin appeared in the strange space with the orbs of light, he instinctively searched for the brightest light and immediately merged with it.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, he appeared in the middle of a battlefield in outer space. Pain racked his body, and Lu Yin looked down to see that his body had already been hacked to pieces. There was a figure in front of him with a pair of scarlet eyes that had slitted pupils. They were cold, ruthless eyes devoid of all life. The figure reached out with a hand to grab at Lu Yin.

    He reflexively wanted to use the Ce Secret Art to evade, but this was not his body, so he could not use such a revealing technique. The attacker¡¯s hand stabbed into Lu Yin¡¯s neck, and blood dripped down the back of his hand and off the fingertips. The blood quickly formed a stream.

    Lu Yin had not expected to Possess an Enlighter with a power level of more than 300,000 only to immediately die. There were too many other dead bodies floating around in outer space, and the entire area was painted red.

    His eyes went dark, and Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body. His eyes snapped open, his pupils mere pinpricks. He had just died.

    Once again, he had experienced the sensation of dying. It was a feeling that everyone could only experience once, but Lu Yin had experienced it multiple times.

    Suddenly, the ck and white mist in his heart throbbed. It then slowly churned, as if pulling at something, before actually growing slightly.

    During thest fight of ZENITH, Lu Yin had used the power of this ck and white mist to transform. After that fight, the dual-colored mist had be much thinner, being reduced to around half of what it had originally been. Lu Yin felt that if he transformed once more, the ck and white mist might disappear entirely.

    Lu Yin had been worrying about this power disappearing, and he had wanted to find some ce that naturally had death energy, but how could such a ce be easy to find? He had never thought that this mist could be replenished by experiencing death himself. Even though it had only been a small amount, he had learned something very useful: it was not entirely necessary to absorb only dead energy.

    Lu Yin did not know if he should be happy or depressed, as experiencing death was a horrible sensation. He had only deliberately killed himself during a Possession when confronting Ling Que as ast resort while this most recent death had been due to him failing to react in time. Even just the idea of purposely experiencing death was enough to cause him to panic slightly.

    However, there was no other way. If Lu Yin wanted to keep the power of his death energy transformation, then this was just what he had to do.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1342: True Universe

    <h4>Chapter 1342: True Universe</h4>

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had finally found a method to replenish the energy that powered his death transformation, but it seemed that it really was necessary for him to experience death in order to increase this energy.

    Also, where had he just been? Lu Yin thought for a while, but he could note up with an answer. He restored his die and rolled it again. Wait, how much star essence had he just used? This could be a very serious problem. Lu Yin took a quick look and let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had only used a bit more than 50 million star essence, which was an eptable amount. He could take it.

    He continued rolling. This time, he got a one: Pilfer. A gadget appeared, but it was just an ordinary model, which was useless. After throwing it to the side, he continued.

    He rolled another one: Pilfer, and another gadget popped out. Lu Yin was speechless as he looked at it. It was stillpletely worthless, but was he only going to get useless things this time? Still, it was better than the woman¡¯s underwear that had appeared that one time.

    Again.

    Luckily this time, Lu Yin rolled three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin watched as the two screens of light appeared. This was the result that he had wanted the most.

    Lu Yin immediately tossed his universal armor onto the top screen before frantically throwing out star essence.

    This universal armor had already been upgraded ten times, and thest upgrade had taken more than fourteen million star essence.

    The star essence continued to disappear into the light screens. After consuming nearly thirty million star essence, the universal armor finally fell through the bottom screen. It had been upgraded eleven times now. Lu Yin was not concerned by the amount he spent, and he continued.

    For the twelfth upgrade, Lu Yin used almost sixty million star essence.

    The next one would take nearly ny million star essence, which started to concern Lu Yin a bit, but he nheless continued.

    However, his efforts were useless. The screens did not ept the star essence. The universal armor could not be upgraded anymore, as this was the limit of its materials.

    Lu Yin stared at the armor¡¯s impressive number of rune lines. It had now reached a level where it could stand up to an attack that had a power level of at least 700,000, which meant that Lu Yin would be safe against Envoys with power levels of 700,000 if he wore this armor.

    He felt a little sad as he stared at the armor, as it would have been nice to upgrade it a few more times.

    Although the armor¡¯s rune lines represented a power level of about 700,000, it would not be able to easily resist an attack from an Envoy with such a power level.

    However, he would need to gather better materials and then either recast the armor or fuse those materials into his current one to improve his defensive abilities.

    If he decided to recast the universal armor, then all the money that he had dumped on upgrading it would be gone. No, it would be better to pass this armor on to someone else, either Wendy Yushan or Ming Yan.

    The next thing that Lu Yin intended to upgrade was some gemspring water.

    He had actually wanted to Enhance some gemspring water for a long time. He had upgraded some when he had first gotten it. When he used the upgraded drops, his star energy control had been immediately increased to the Divine Gaze realm. He did not know how far the gemspring water could be upgraded, but he hoped to use it to clearly observe the universe, as the universe was very mysterious. There was a saying that the end of the microscopic was the macroscopic, and he was looking forward to seeing this.

    He still had eighteen drops of gemspring water left, and of them, he had upgraded five drops fourteen times so far. So, he took out a drop and began to throw outrge amounts of star essence.

    It had only taken 560,000 star essence to upgrade a drop fourteen times. To the current Lu Yin, that amount of money was negligible. It was only 560,000 star essence after all.

    Fifteen. Sixteen. Seventeen.

    Each time the gemspring water was upgraded, it grew more transparent, giving Lu Yin a strange feeling. When he stared at the upgraded gemspring water, he felt like he was looking at another world through a keyhole.

    In the eyes of ordinary people, the world within the drops of gemspring water looked truly magical, but Lu Yin had already reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control. In other words, he was able to observe the microscopic realm of star energy.

    Eighteen. Neen. Finally, after twenty times, the gemspring water could no longer be improved anymore.

    As he looked at the practically invisible drop of gemspring water, Lu Yin took a deep breath. Even if he did not ce the drop in his eyes, he was still able to feel the drop¡¯s coolness. As he peered through the gemspring water, Lu Yin was able to see a different universe, oneyer after another. This was different from what he was normally capable of seeing, or even what humans were normally capable of seeing.

    This was a sight that could only be seen with the upgraded gemspring water.

    Lu Yin carefully picked up the drop. He thought for a while and then put the drop in his eyes. He had wanted to try this for a while, as there was no way that this would harm him.

    As the gemspring water fell into his eyes, his mind cleared, and his thoughts emptied away. When he opened his eyes, they were bright and clear, like a clear spring. All of his surroundings were reflected in his eyes.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s visionpletely changed. In addition to where he was physically located, he also saw another space. This strange area was hidden behind the void and was invisible to the naked eye.

    He saw dust floating about and incredibly tiny creatures moving around. This scene waspletely different from what he was capable of seeing with his naked eyes. Was it possible that he was seeing the true universe that he had heard so much about?

    Fights between Envoys could not even be seen by ordinary people, and it was said that Envoys fought each other in the true universe. Thus, what Lu Yin was currently looking at might be that true universe. Did this mean that he would be able to observe a fight between Envoys in this state?

    He looked around, but the universe that he saw looked bleak. He looked out into space, but the other universe had no sources of light or any sort ofrger creatures. It was a universe with only microscopic details.

    After about a minute of observation, the gemspring water lost effect, and the new universe that Lu Yin had been observing was no longer visible.

    He rubbed his eyes, but there were no aftereffects. If his guess was right, then this really would allow him to observe a battle between Envoys, which meant that he would no longer be forced into a passive stance against Envoys in the future.

    His universal armor was able to protect him from attacks that exceeded power levels of 600,000, but Lu Yin had no desire to just be a punching bag. Normally, he could not even see when an Envoy attacked him, but now, he had the means to do so.

    Back when Lu Yin had faced off against Leader Hong, the man had luckily been injured by the Frost Emperor, making Leader Hong unwilling to risk using his full power as an Envoy. Otherwise, no matter what means Lu Yin might have had at his disposal, he would have simply died.

    Lu Yin could not help but be grateful for his own foresight.

    Even an average Envoy was not someone that Lu Yin could deal with. Even after he became an Enlighter, or even after he reached a power level of 300,000 or 400,000, he still might not be able to cross realms and challenge Envoys. That was the power of a different level, and it had to do with the transformation of human life from the macroscopic to the microscopic.

    Lu Yin stared at the rest of the gemspring water with fervent eyes. This thing was far too useful, but it also was incredibly expensive to upgrade. The single drop that he had just used had cost about 40 million star essence to make, which was truly too much, especially since the effect onlysted for about a minute.

    Lu Yin sighed. Still, it was impossible for others to see the true universe, so even if it was expensive, its effect was absolutely worth 40 million star essence. That was how much seeing an Envoy¡¯s battle was worth.

    There were four drops of pre-upgraded gemspring water remaining, so Lu Yin immediately upgraded all of them to the limit, which cost him a total of 140 million star essence. In the blink of an eye, more than 100 million star essence had disappeared.

    There were still thirteen drops of unenhanced gemspring water. After gritting his teeth, Lu Yin upgraded every singlest one of them to the limit. His future opponents would not be limited to just the Enlighter realm.

    The thirteen drops of gemspring water cost him a total of 520 million star essence to upgrade.

    Before Lu Yin''s recent windfall, he would have never even considered spending this much money on just gemspring water. He had spent nearly 700 million star essence, which was terrifying.

    He had originally had 1.7 billion star essence, but after rolling six pips: Possession, upgrading his universal armor, and also upgrading the gemspring water, Lu Yun only had a bit more than 850 million star essence left. His left eye began to twitch; this was just too expensive.

    Lu Yin once again felt like he was still poor, and he once again envied the Mavis family.

    Before rolling his die, he had been proud of his wealth, but at the moment, it was time to restrain himself again.

    He urgently needed to upgrade some powerful attacking weapons. He had quite a few candidates power vessels, such as the walnut-shaped power vessel, the Arrow of Valiance, the poisons, the Deste Array sourcebox array, the orb treasure that he had stolen form Madam Lan, the giant mechanical right arm, and the Sealed Cannons. However, the only thing that could really be Enhanced seemed to be the Karmic me.

    The walnut-shaped power vessel could not be upgraded, and while the poisons could be upgraded a few times, there was no way they would ever reach the level where they could threaten an Envoy.

    The mechanical right arm and the Sealed Cannons were both limited by their materials, and they could not be upgraded any further either.

    He looked at the Karmic me, and although he could upgrade it, was there any reason to do so? Lu Yin did not know the Karmic me Sword battle technique, and he had not trained in any of the ze Realm¡¯s best techniques either. It was unrealistic for Lu Yin to use the power of this me.

    Lu Yin felt a bit stressed. It would be wonderful if he could get an offensive weapon that he could improve indefinitely.

    Actually, he also had the Skyze Stone, which could be upgraded, but Lu Yin did not dare to do so. He had no idea if the fire dragon might reappear, and he still needed to use the stone to cultivate. Thus, he did not want to risk losing the stone.

    As for the fire dragon, that was of no use to Lu Yin.

    His time in seclusion did notst very long, mostly because he had not rolled a four and entered the Timestop Space. Lu Yin also had no interest in prolonging his seclusion.

    He had rapidly improved his cultivation realm in preparation of ZENITH, and as long as the Skyze Stone managed to absorb mes and heat, Lu Yin would be able to quickly raise his cultivation, but there was no need to hurry such a thing.

    What he desperately needed right now was a means of attack that he could upgrade without limit.

    As soon as he emerged from his secluded room, he checked his gadget and saw that many people had tried to call him. Out of everyone, Madam Y¨­u had been the most persistent.

    He immediately called her back.

    She soon appeared on his screen, clearly angry. She red at Lu Yin, and her anger leaked into her voice as well. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, is it fun to pull pranks?¡±

    Lu Yin apologetically answered, "I''m truly sorry for my dy, Madam Y¨­u. I¡¯ll head straight for Southside Weave, so why don¡¯t we still have our meeting?¡±

    Madam Y¨­u''s chest heaved from her fury. Lu Yin was ignoring what she actually meant. He had deliberately told her they would meet in Southside Weave so that she would pass on that information to the Xia family. That was the main reason why Xia Jiuyou had been willing to go to Astral-10. Without the information from Madam Y¨­u, Xia Jiuyou would not have suffered that ident.

    Although no one med her, she had been used by Lu Yin, and the Xia family would not treat her kindly in the future.

    Also, she could not even mention this matter to Lu Yin, as doing so was equivalent to informing him that she was still in touch with the Seven Courts. Also, what would she say? That she had given away his whereabouts to them?

    The more she thought about the situation, the more aggrieved Madam Y¨­u felt. She had lived for many years, and she had always kept in contact with the Seven Courts while being watched by the Sword Sect without being discovered. She had never suffered such a frustrating experience in her entire life.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin''s apologetic expression, Madam Y¨­u¡¯s expression changed. She was not able to even begin to hazard a guess as to whether or not Lu Yin had deliberately used her to pass along the information. It actually was possible that he had not remembered their appointment and that he had simply gotten caught up with other events and been dyed. She could not read this youth at all.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1343: Source

    <h4>Chapter 1343: Source</h4>

    "It would be best if Alliance Leader Lu is willing to meet with us. My family is waiting in Southside Weave for you." Madam Y¨­u felt helpless.

    Lu Yin nodded, but then he suddenly remembered something. "No."

    Madam Y¨­u could not help asking, "Alliance Leader Lu, what''s the problem?"

    Lu Yin looked at Madam Y¨­u and exined in evident embarrassment, "My apologies, Madam Y¨­u, but I can''t go to Southside Weave."

    Madam Y¨­u was infuriated, and she red at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, while it¡¯s true that my Y¨­u family wishes to join your Great Eastern Alliance, we are not without some measure of strength. We are not wagging our tails and looking for your pity as we seek refuge. I would ask Alliance Leader Lu to not insult my Y¨­u family!"

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Madam Y¨­u, you misunderstand. It''s not that I, Lu Yin, don''t want to meet with Madam Y¨­u, but rather that someone has forbidden me from going."

    "Who?" Madam Y¨­u gritted her teeth. At this moment, she felt that Lu Yin was quite despicable, and she suddenly understood why so many people wanted to kill him.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Highsage Grandmaster."

    Madam Y¨­u was taken aback. "Who?"

    Lu Yin answered in a serious tone, "Senior Highsage Grandmaster."

    Madam Y¨­u was stunned. Of course she knew of Highsage Grandmaster. He was one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, a true top-tier powerhouse. Even the elders of her Y¨­u n had to respect such an existence. Why was Highsage Grandmaster not allowing Lu Yin to meet with her? What did this mean? Had Highsage Grandmaster be hostile towards the Seven Courts? Or could it be that he was aware of the Y¨­u family¡¯s true circumstances?

    "Why?" Madam Y¨­u asked out of reflex, despite being somewhat nervous.

    Lu Yin exined, "The top ten finalists from ZENITH have encountered mishaps one after another. Bu Kong¡¯s dead, Wang Yi¡¯s disappeared, and Wu Taibai was seriously injured. Now, even Xia Jiuyou is gone. Highsage Grandmaster does not wish to let this junior go out at this time, and he intends for me to wait here until it is time to go to the Neoverse."

    Madam Y¨­u no longer knew how to respond to Lu Yin. The first three incidents that he had mentioned had happened right when ZENITH had finished, and Xia Jiuyou had fallen at the hands of the bastard currently talking to Madam Y¨­u. Despite that, he was insinuating that the Neohuman Alliance was the responsible party.

    Madam Y¨­u no longer wanted to meet with Lu Yin. Instead, she wanted to attack him with a knife.

    Lu Yin also knew that he was in the wrong. He coughed. "I¡¯m sorry, Madam Y¨­u. Highsage Grandmaster is calling to speak with me.¡±

    He then quickly ended the call, though he did feel a bit guilty.

    Because of Madam Y¨­u, Lu Yin had just fabricated an order on Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s behalf.

    Back in the Y¨­u family, Madam Y¨­u almost swore out of anger. She had an excellent temper, but she had never suffered such a massive insult since birth! She had actually been repeatedly toyed with by a junior.

    Y¨­u Ye''er stared at Madam Y¨­u''s angry face and whispered, "Lu Yin has no sincerity at all. We shouldn¡¯t rely on him."

    "No. In the current universe, he¡¯s the only person who can save us," Madam Y¨­u said. Despite being incredibly angry, she still had not lost her sense of reason.

    Y¨­u Ye''er also knew that this was the truth. "But his attitude makes it clear that he doesn''t want to ept our Y¨­u family into his alliance."

    Madam Y¨­u took a deep breath and calmed herself. Her eyes grew deeper. "He will ept it. As long as the Great Eastern Alliance continues on its current path, he will eventually reach First Flowzone. He will eventually have to face us. He is just procrastinating right now. He wants to know our true motivation, and it''s also possible that he¡¯s guessed that we haven''t broken away from the Seven Courts."

    "He¡¯s guessed that?!" Y¨­u Ye''er was surprised.

    Madam Y¨­u was not certain, but this was simply the only possibility that could exin Lu Yin''s attitude. However, if Lu Yin had guessed the truth, then she was being used by Lu Yin. What a bastard.

    Lu Yin really did not want to get involved with the Y¨­u family. He did not know why they were attempting to ally themselves with him. After all, they had already split away from the Seven Courts, and despite leaving with the Y¨­u Secret Art, they had married themselves to the Sword Sect. The entire matter was too strange, and Lu Yin did not want to rush things and bring a cmity upon himself.

    Not much time had passed since the Great Eastern Alliance had upied the ze Realm, and during this time, hostilities with the sylvan dragons and the Ross Empire had never dimmed.

    The next step was for the Great Eastern Alliance to withdraw from zing Mist Flowzone, and Wei Rong was already making preparations for them to enter Little Millennium Flowzone. As long as they managed to upy Little Millennium Flowzone, the Great Eastern Alliance would immediately leave zing Mist Flowzone and abandon it, leaving it to the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire as a sign of goodwill. As for who would ultimately im control of zing Mist Flowzone, that would depend entirely on the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons.

    Lu Yin did not care about them at all. He was getting what he wanted, so they could fight away after he left. Little Millennium Flowzone would eventually be his regardless.

    Thus, Lu Yin was no longer concerned with zing Mist Flowzone. After speaking with Wang Wen for a bit, Lu Yin returned to the Outerverse, taking the Champions¡¯ Stage with him. It was time for him to visit Earth and investigate the situation there, but he needed to stop by Zenyu Star first. After all, that was his home.

    No matter who ended up controlling zing Mist Flowzone, the Astral River Ark had to remain under the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s control. This was something that Lu Yin had stipted.

    At this time, everyone working aboard the Astral River Ark was from the Great Eastern Alliance, and they all saluted Lu Yin when they saw him arrive.

    Lu Yin was returning to the Outerverse in a very public manner.

    At present, the Outerverse was no different from Lu Yin''s backyard. The moment he arrived, the Allied Forces standing guard at the Astral River Ark all docked and saluted, and many cultivators aboard the Ark grew envious.

    Lu Yin did not tarry, and he immediately boarded his ship and towed the Champions¡¯ Stage away, headed towards Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin needed to pass through Darkmist Weave on his way to Zenyu Star from the Astral River, so he deliberately chose a route that would allow him to pass by Mafioso.

    Topmist had already returned to Mafioso from Ironblood Weave.

    When Lu Yin''s spacecraft arrived, the assassination organization¡¯s headquarters on Mafioso was thrown into aplete uproar.

    Mafioso was home to thergest assassination organization in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern region. Additionally, Lu Yin had only been able to form the initial structure of the Great Eastern Alliance inrge part due to the information that he had received from Mafioso.

    Mafioso had also eventually joined the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin¡¯s visit at this time was to learn about Mafioso''s power vessel, the Bloodied Handprint.

    Topmist stared at the young man standing some distance away withplicated emotions in his eyes. Their first meeting was still vivid in Topmist¡¯s mind. He had not seeded in assassinating the youth, and despite being an Enlighter, he would have died if not for his hidden short stature. From that moment forward, Lu Yin¡¯s fame had never once stopped growing and spreading, and he had even managed to unite the entire Outerverse, stretching from Ironblood Weave to the Endless Weave.

    This young man had be the master of the entire Outerverse, and he even possessed the personal strength to force Topmist to look up to him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength meant that he could easily kill Topmist, even without using any items.

    "Topmist greets Alliance Leader Lu." Hidden beneath a ck fog, Topmist spoke up. The ck fog covering his body then dissipated to reveal a man who was only a meter tall.

    Lu Yin looked at Topmist. If not for the fact that the old assassin was so short, Lu Yin¡¯s gunshot would have killed him all those years ago, but that would have led to a future where Lu Yin had nothing.

    "It¡¯s been a long time. You still look good, senior," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Topmist was terrified. He was a timid person who was skilled at preserving his own life. He expressed his attitude as soon as possible, as anything else would have meant that his survival skills were worth nothing. "In front of Alliance Leader Lu, this small one does not dare be called a senior."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively as he stepped forward. He swept past Topmist and continued onto Mafioso.

    Topmist''s pupils shrank. As Lu Yin passed by him, the Enlighter had not been able to sense anything at all, even when Lu Yin moved behind the assassin. If Lu Yin had attacked, Topmost did not believe that he could endure for even a single second, no matter what life-saving treasures he used. Even if Topmist had not used up the Bloodied Handprint, it still would have been impossible to win against Lu Yin.

    The strength that this youth had shown when defeating ZENITH¡¯s top ten had caused the older man to despair.

    Topmist grew even more respectful.

    Mafioso was shrouded in darkness all year round, and it had raised many assassins. Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out. It had be quiterge, and it took him less than a moment to find someone he knew: the bespectacled Mistchild.

    The young woman looked up and saw Lu Yin staring at her, and she was thrilled. She had long since wanted to contact Lu Yin, but he moved around too fast and she was unable to keep up with him. She had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear in front of her on Mafioso.

    Lu Yin had never forgotten about the bespectacled Mistchild. This young woman had helped him a great deal when the Outerverse had first been isted, and although she had her own schemes, her innate gift was quite useful. She was able to ingest poisons to raise her cultivation, and Lu Yin just so happened to have arge number of powerful poisons.

    He still had five bottles of Elder Wu¡¯s poisons, and each of them had been upgraded eight times. They were powerful enough to threaten a powerful Envoy, and one of these poisons had inflicted grave wounds upon Leader Hong.

    However, none of the poisons could be upgraded any further due to the limits of their ingredients.

    He took out a bottle of poison and tossed it to the bespectacled Mistchild.

    The young woman was overjoyed, and she quickly grabbed the bottle. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    Lu Yin smiled, but he did not say much. He intended to leave this girl an opportunity and then see how far she would be able to go in the future. It was possible for her innate gift to surprise even the girl herself.

    Topmist was not surprised to see Lu Yin help the bespectacled Mistchild. There was no way for them to hide their initial interactions from the old assassin, and the young Mistchild had worked with Lu Yin to deal with corrupt government officials while also providing Lu Yin with Mafioso¡¯s gathered intelligence to assist the Great Eastern Alliance. Topmist had learned of these matters long ago.

    Even when looking at all of Mafioso, the bespectacled Mistchild was second only to Topmist, though this was not because of her strength. Rather, it was due to her connection to Lu Yin.

    "Is the Bloodied Handprint still around?" Lu Yin asked while touring Mafioso. The scenery passed by him so quickly that it was not much different from traveling in a spacecraft.

    From behind, Topmist heard Lu Yin¡¯s question and replied, "No. It waspletely used up in Ironblood Weave."

    Of course Lu Yin remembered that fact, as he had forced Topmist to use the power vessel. "Where did that Bloodied Handprinte from?"

    Topmist did not dare to hide anything. "It was our ancestors who discovered the Bloodied Handprint. It had fallen deep into the earth, and the Bloodied Handprint is actually why our ancestors settled on Mafioso. However, no one knows where it originally came from."

    "Are you saying that the Bloodied Handprint was on Mafioso before any of you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Topmist respectfully replied, "Yes."

    Lu Yin thought about this. There were relics on variouss that hailed from ages before thes could ever give birth to biological life. A could survive for billions, tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of years, but what about civilization? Humans fell short of being able topare to a¡¯s history.

    Theses were the ones who had truly lived through the ancient times, watching the birth of humanity, its peak, and then its fall. They had witnessed the powerhouses of ancient civilizations such as Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor. The Bloodied Handprint had only been capable of unleashing attacks with a power level of about 300,000, so it might havee from a powerful ancient expert. Unfortunately, it was no longer worth thinking about.

    Lu Yin left Mafioso.

    In outer space, above the, Topmist watched as Lu Yin''s spaceship left, and the old assassin did not look away until Lu Yin waspletely out of sight.

    Topmist had never thought that the child who had once been an ant that Topmist could kill on a whim would grow to this level of strength.

    In the future universe, who would be the one calling the shots?

    News of Lu Yin''s imminent return to Zenyu Star had already spread, and countless people were anticipating his arrival.

    When his vessel arrived, Zenyu Star, the other nearbys, and all of Frostwave Weave erupted in excitement as everyone shouted Lu Yin''s name. Countlesss had already erected statues of him.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1344: Laying Down

    <h4>Chapter 1344: Laying Down</h4>

    Lu Yin had been the one to bring Frostwave Weave up to its current level. When looking at the entire Outerverse, Frostwave Weave had be the center.

    It was the economic and trade center, the cultural center, and more importantly, the power center.

    Lu Yin had single-handedly established the core of the Outerverse, which had elevated the status of Frostwave Weave¡¯s residents to a higher level than the people of any other weave.

    In the past, everyone had hoped to be a citizen of Millions City and settled in Millions City, but at present, everyone wished to be a citizen of Zenyu Star.

    Prices on the had soared to a level that normal people could not even imagine.

    Lu Yin left the Champions¡¯ Stage above Zenyu Star before making a public appearance, thrilling countless people across the Outerverse.

    Of course, there were also some people who hoped that Lu Yin would be able to help them with their current problems. The most troubling issue facing everyone was that the Outerverse would soon be given over to the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin also wanted to settle this issue, but he had not yet been able toe up with any sort of solution.

    The Sixth Maind was entering the Fifth Maind. This was an inevitability, and no one could stop it. This was not something that Lu Yin could ovee through cleverness or schemes. Typically, the best way forward when faced with an inevitability was to avoid it. As for whether or not Lu Yin wouldter be able to return to the Outerverse would depend entirely on how high he was able to climb.

    However, the Sixth Maind would not be moving to the Outerverse quickly, and the western weaves had already begun to migrate towards the east. Still, this was a very long process.

    On Zenyu Star, Lu Yin summoned the Great Yu Empire¡¯s top officials.

    He held a meeting with the Lu Ministry of Staff, the Lu Ministry of Defense, the Imperial Court''s Cab, and also with the full imperial court. After all of that, he met with Bei Qing, the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons, and more. He made his presence well known during this time.

    In King Zishan''s pce, Lu Yin took a sip of a disgustingly viscous green drink, though he was clearly looking forward to it.

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "Not bad."

    Zhao Ran was happy with the approval.

    "By the way, Zhao Ran, have you ever heard of Zi Jing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhao Ran blinked in confusion, and then shook her head. Lu Yin did not press the matter.

    Kayze¡¯s voice reached Lu Yin, ¡°Your Highness, Dwayne Daynight is asking to see you."

    "Please,e in!" Lu Yin called out loudly.

    Lu Yin had practically toppled Daynight Flowzone, and at the same time, he had rescued the Dayking¡¯s descendants. All of the Dayking n had moved onto a rather close to Zenyu Star. Since Lu Yin had returned to the Outerverse, naturally people from the Dayking n wished to meet with him, despite his youth. They had arrived quickly.

    Zhuo Daynight did not visit, though Lu Yin did not know why.

    Before long, Dwayne Daynight left King Zishan''s pce. He had enjoyed a conversation with Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had promised to continue to help and shelter the Dayking n. In return, the Dayking n would offer Lu Yin as much support as possible. It was an agreement of mutual exchange.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was growingrger andrger, and it had begun to attract more than just the Outerverse¡¯s powers. Many organizations from the Innerverse also want to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    There were many people who asked to see Lu Yin, but Lu Yin did not see all of them, and was selective with his meetings.

    When evening fell, he went to the fifth princess¡¯s estate.

    Wendy Yushan had been waiting for Lu Yin. "It''s bing harder and harder to see you."

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "I¡¯m tired. You don¡¯t show yourself at all."

    Wendy Yushan calmly replied, "None of this has anything to do with me."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I hope you will eventually take over the Great Yu Empire. After all, this empire was founded by your Yu family."

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. "the Great Yu Empire¡¯s people won¡¯t agree to that."

    Wendy Yushan did not feel good about the words she spoke. Although she did not particrly care about the Great Yu Empire, let alone any sort of associated political power, the Great Yu Empire had indeed been created by her family, and yet she was forced to rely on an outsider. Even if this outsider was willing to return the empire to her, she would never be able to reim the Yu surname for as long as she lived, which was a bit depressing as it revealed the ipetence of her family.

    Lu Yin also had no desire to continue this topic of conversation. It was rather heavy.

    In fact, everyone in the Great Yu Empire hoped for Lu Yin to stop being the royal regent and to be the emperor, but unfortunately for all of them, he had no such intentions for the time being.

    "How is Elder Su?" Lu Yin asked. He was asking about the ce where the remnants of the Yu family had secluded themself, and the Yu ancestor Su Lao, who kept himself in cryostasis at all times.

    Wendy Yushan said, "I just went for a visit, but he was still in stasis."

    Lu Yin snorted and then went silent.

    He left after staying with Wendy for a long time, and he moved on to the pub that was beneath King Zishan¡¯s pce. It was a very non-descript ce, but it gave him an inexplicable peace of mind.

    The pub was very dark, so there was no need for Lu Yin to hide his appearance, as others were not able to see him clearly.

    He could not even remember how many times he had been to this bar to have a drink.

    The entire ce was still the same; warm wine served with various snacks. It was a veryfortable ce.

    There was amotion at a bar in the distance, but the pub owner had remained quite shrewd, and he had refused to sell thend no matter how much he had been offered for the ce. He was determined not to sell.

    Soon, Lu Yin heard footsteps behind him. A thin figure walked over and sat down at the table next to Lu Yin¡¯s. They called out in a bleak and hoarse voice, "Boss, bring me a pot of wine."

    Lu Yin stopped drinking. This voice had sent him ten years into the past. He slowly turned his head around to see the pale, thin face through the dim light of the pub. It was her, Jenny Auna.

    Lu Yin had not expected to meet her in this ce.

    The originally high-spirited girl had be extremely haggard. It was as if her entire personality had changed.

    If Lu Yin had to choose which woman he had been the most cruel to, it would have to be Jenny Auna. Not only had he ruined her wedding, he had also forced her into a position where she could never escape the shadows of her past. She had be a source of shame for the Auna family, and she carried a heavy burden.

    It was hard for a person to stand up and continue after enduring such a situation for so long, and yet that was what Jenny Auna had done.

    Lu Yin stared at Jenny Auna for a moment. He could not untangle his own emotions; did he regret his actions? No, he did not. If he had acted differently, the humiliation would have ruined him. Jenny was a pitiful woman, but also despicable.

    However, after so many years, Lu Yin''s feelings towards the woman had blurred. The hatred he had first felt for her had long since faded, and only pity remained.

    Jenny Auna took a sip of wine. She had identally discovered this pub. It was hidden, dark, and did not have a great view, but just above her head sat that person''s home.

    Jenny had not felt any hatred for Lu Yin for a long time. They were just people with different positions.

    Lu Yin set his ss down and looked at Jenny Auna¡¯s eyes. They were calm. Very calm. This woman hade through her ordeal, but it had also totally changed her. She was not the Jenny Auna of the past.

    Jenny noticed someone staring at her, and she lifted her head and looked over at Lu Yin. Her entire body trembled. Her hands shook so bad that her wine ss fell to the table.

    Lu Yin lowered his head and poured a ss of wine that he handed to her.

    She epted it. "Thank you."

    Watching her drink, Lu Yin suddenly remembered her words from the past:

    ¡®All I want to do is to marry the person I love. Is that wrong?¡¯

    ''I like Yan Feng, so what¡¯s wrong with that? The only wrong that happened is that my family promised me to you. Can you really say that you like me, Lu Yin? I can tell that you¡¯ve never liked me. That ring never represented love; it was just a promise between you and the Auna family. In your eyes, I¡¯m just a tool for a political marriage.''

    What¡¯s wrong with me marrying someone I love? I never wanted to hurt anyone!¡¯

    ''I never wanted to hurt you.¡¯

    Each word she had spoken had revealed her desire to chase after love and freedom. Was that wrong? Lu Yin had asked himself this question many times, and the answer he hade up with had always been ¡®no¡¯. She had only wanted to pursue happiness, and yet had ended up suffering.

    "I''m sorry," Lu Yin said quietly.

    At the next table, Jenny Auna''s body went rigid with shock. Tears sprung up at the corners of her eyes. She set down her ss, stood up, and left.

    Lu Yin watched her leave with a heavy heart. Everyone had to pay for the mistakes of their youth.

    He sighed and took another sip of wine before leaving. The wine had be tasteless.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin set off for Earth. He had already aplished all he had hoped for during his time on Zenyu Star. One thing he had wanted to do was get close to Da Lei again in order to find out what was wrong with Liuying Zishan by viewing Da Lei¡¯s memories. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had learned nothing.

    Lu Yin had never forgotten about the strange matter with Liuying Zishen. There were still some hidden dangers on Zenyu Star, but he was not able to uncover anything this time, and he could not stay on Zenyu Star forever.

    He also checked with Ban Jiu about getting a better universal armor, but it seemed that if he wanted one, he would have to go to the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin traveled from Zenyu Star to Earth, and his vessel was very fast, so it did not take long before a beautiful blue appeared in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. It was surrounded by others in its sr system, and out of all of them, Jupiter stood out to Lu Yin the most.

    Looking at Earth, Lu Yin remembered his old friends. Along the way, Lu Yin had nearly forgotten about one person: Liu Shaoge. How could Lu Yin ever forget him?

    Remembering Liu Shaoge, Lu Yin called Barley.

    Barley was still Lu Yin''s eyes and ears in East San Dios. He had been the first person in that ce to follow Lu Yin, and he had an innate gift that allowed him to read the vibrations in the air to gather more information than normal.

    Barley had not been contacted by Lu Yin for a long time, and the difference in the two¡¯s statuses were getting worse and worse. When Lu Yin had be one of the Ten Arbiters, Barley had lost oll courage to contact Lu Yin. He had never expected to suddenly be contacted by Lu Yin.

    "Ar- Ar- Arbiter Lu!" Barley appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s screen and bowed low.

    Lu Yin was the strongest of the Ten Arbiters, and not only that, he was the strongest youth in the entire human race, even including the Sixth Maind. Barley¡¯s admiration for Lu Yin had reached indescribable levels.

    If Lu Yin had not been looking at Earth and suddenly remembered Liu Shaoge, he would have essentially forgotten about Barley. "Barley, how¡¯s Liu Shaoge?"

    Barley felt terrified by this question, but answered, "He¡¯s no longer in East San Dios. He left before ZENITH started."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Do you know where he went?"

    Barley shook his head, feeling nervous. Lu Yin had ordered Barley to keep an eye on Liu Shaoge, but how was that supposed to work? Barley had wanted to report that Liu Shaoge had gone missing, but he had not dared reach out to Lu Yin. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin considered the matter, but did not me Barley for not being able to keep watch on Liu Shaoge. It had been an impossible task given Barley''s strength.

    Liu Shaoge left before ZENITH? Had he been part of ZENITH? There had been so many people participating that it had been impossible to notice every single person.

    "Is there anything unusual about East San Dios?" Lu Yin asked.

    Barley thought about this question carefully. "Yes. There was a powerful aura that came to East San Dios before ZENITH, but the powerhouse never showed themselves."

    "A powerful aura?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Barley remembered for a moment. ¡°They should have been an Enlighter."

    "Could they just have been passing by?"

    "Not likely. Their aura was deliberately kept hidden, and I only was able to sense the person¡¯s strength through the vibration in the air. Not even their power level could be detected by other means."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1345: Luo Shenâ€™s Dance Performance

    <h4>Chapter 1345: Luo Shen¡¯s Dance Performance</h4>

    Lu Yin frowned; why would an Enlighter have gone to East San Dios? That ce only held the Outerverse Youth Council, which meant little to nothing to an Enlighter. Also, since Lu Yin had been absent at the time, the only person in all of East San Dios to possibly hold enough value for an Enlighter to visit would have been Liu Shaoge. After all, Liu Shaoge had ties with the Daynight n.

    Could it have been someone from the Daynight n?

    Lu Yin could not figure anything out.

    Lu Yin hung up. There was no news from East San Dios. Liu Shaoge had gone missing, but Lu Yin was not overly concerned.

    In the past, Liu Shaoge had triggered Lu Yin¡¯s anger and hatred, but Lu Yin had risen to a level too far above Liu Shaoge. At present, Liu Shaoge was too far beneath Lu Yin to warrant any notice. Even Bai Qian did not qualify to draw Lu Yin¡¯s attention, so there was no need to even mention Liu Shaoge.

    He had only asked about him out of curiosity, and nothing more.

    He felt a slight vibration as the spacecraft docked with Earth¡¯s space station.

    Lu Yin casually stepped out, disappearing from the ship andpletely evading all detection from the space station. He traveled straight to the surface, and appeared in Jinlin City.

    Earth had continued to change more and more, and more and more cultivators had started to appear. Given the fact that Earth was considered Lu Yin''s home and had been where he had first started cultivating, many people traveled from all over to visit Earth.

    If not for Earth¡¯s small size, it would have rivaled Zenyu Star itself. Naturally, prices on the were exorbitant, but fortunately for the locals, that was only rtive to prices that foreigners were ustomed to, and expenses had remained the same for the locals.

    Skyscrapers pierced through the clouds. Aircraft roamed the sky, and cultivators tried to slip down to the from time to time, but were all intercepted by patrolling troops. Jinlin City looked like a technological exhibit.

    No one could believe that just a bit more than ten years had passed since this ce had been left in ruins and looking like something straight out of the apocalypse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out and he quickly found Zhou Shan.

    Only a few of the people Lu Yin knew from his time on Earth were still on the. Bai Xua and a few others had disappeared into Jupiter, so Lu Yin was only able to find Zhou Shan and a few others upon his arrival on Earth.

    However, the gap between them had grown by leaps and bounds, and it was no longer something that could be ignored.

    As the honorary director of Jinlin¡¯s military academy, Zhou Shan held a very high status. He had also been one of China¡¯s Seven Sages during Earth¡¯s apocalypse. Despite the fact that he was weak and had never even managed to be an Explorer, no one could rattle Zhou Shan¡¯s status, and this was because he was friends with Lu Yin.

    In arge office with slightly quaint decorations, there was a middle-aged man looking down at some documents. On the wall behind him, where normally a picture or bit of calligraphy would hang, there is an ax, and it gave the entire office a bit of a chill.

    There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

    A young woman entered and respectfully said, "Director, the students¡¯ seats have been arranged. The coordinator for the dance party had been very respectful towards our school. Our students will all sit in the middle and will not be mixed in with other people."

    "Alright, that''s good. Arrange for a few more teachers as chaperones. We can¡¯t allow the students to have any idents," the middle-aged man said.

    The young woman stepped back out of the office.

    The man had continued to examine his documents the entire time and had never once looked up at the woman.

    "At first nce, you really do really look like the academy¡¯s director. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be an honorary director? Is there really a need for you to work?" A voice entered the middle-aged man''s ears, and his expression instantly changed dramatically; someone had gotten close without him noticing?

    The man looked up and saw someone sitting on a nearby sofa, and instantly the man¡¯s expression turned to one of delight. "You¡¯re back?"

    "Director Zhou, you¡¯re bing more and more respectable." Lu Yin smiled. He sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, lookingpletely rxed.

    Zhou Shanughed loudly. He stood up and stretched his waist.

    "Dealing with this crap is more of a pain than killing an enemy on the battlefield." As he spoke, he pointed to the ax on the wall. "Look, it''s all rusted."

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "There¡¯s no longer any chance for you to kill your enemy since your opponents are only those students."

    Zhou Shan smiled wryly. "I might not do too well if I did go up against the students."

    This was true. After all, Zhou Shan had never received any kind of formal training, and some of the students might not actually lose to him. As time passed, more and more people had started traveling to visit Earth, and Zhou Shan''s strength was not enough to even stir up dust for some of the visitors.

    "But fortunately, with you behind me, no one dares do anything to me, and that alone takes care of a hundred different matters, haha" Zhou Shan said with a smile.

    At this moment, the door to the office was suddenly pushed open, and a little girl in her early teens walked in. "Dad, when will the people from the Yu Academy get here? I¡¯m going to take that test, and you can''t stop me!"

    Zhou Shan grew embarrassed and he quickly pulled the girl over. "Don''t be rude! Come over and say hi to Uncle Lu."

    The girl blinked her eyes in confusion as she stared at Lu Yin, but then her eyes lit up and her little face flushed with excitement. "Lu- Lu- Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin found her reaction funny.

    Zhou Shan snorted. "What ¡®Lu Yin¡¯? That¡¯s not what I told you. Call him Uncle Lu."

    The girl excitedly turned to look at her father. "Dad, really weren¡¯t bragging! You really do know Lu Yin."

    "Call him Uncle Lu." Zhou Shan patted her on the head.

    Lu Yin said, "You¡¯ve got a very cute little girl. Your name should be Xixi. I¡¯ve seen you before."

    This girl was Zhou Shan''s daughter Zhou Xixi.

    "You- you¡¯ve seen me before?" Zhou Xixi became even more excited. At this time, was there anyone who didn¡¯t worship Lu Yin? Many Earthlings actually regarded him as a god.

    Lu Yin nodded and answered with a smile, "Not only have I seen you, I even held you as a baby, and I even gave you your formcast model."

    Zhou Xixi became so excited she did not even know what to say.

    Zhou Shan smiled wryly. "It¡¯s too bad. You''re just a girl who doesn''t understand what she¡¯s told."

    Lu Yinughed. "I never expected you to grow so big in the blink of an eye! Just a few more years and you¡¯ll be getting married, haha."

    Zhou Xixi quickly retorted, "I don''t want to get married! I want to go to the Yu Academy and travel through the universe."

    Zhou Shan felt a headachee over him.

    Lu Yin leaned forward and stared at Zhou Xixi. "Why do you want to go into space?"

    Zhou Xixi clenched her little fists. "I want to fight with you, Uncle Lu! You¡¯re always alone whenever you fight, and you look too lonely."

    Lu Yin was startled; he was lonely?

    Zhou Shan fiercely twisted Zhou Xixi''s ear. "Be quiet! You can¡¯t say things like that to him. Alright now, head on out. I need to talk with Uncle Lu for a bit."

    Zhou Xixi rolled her eyes. "Come on, like Uncle Lu care at all about your stuff? It''s not a big deal."

    Zhou Shan was speechless.

    ¡­

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin walked out of the Jinlin Military Academy,ughing. Was he lonely? After thinking about it, the girl had been right. Most of the times that Lu Yin had fought, he had been alone. The world of adults wasplicated, while children saw a world that was pure, and they could sometimes see things more clearly. Lu Yin had not expected a child to pinpoint his situation.

    He felt helpless, as there was no other way. No matter what decision a person made, they would have to suffer the consequences. What was there to do about it? Loneliness was something that had to be endured.

    Lu Yin remembered Ming Yan, and he lifted his hand to activate his gadget, but right then he saw an impressive number of runes sh by.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped over to the right. sses were in session, so there was nobody around. A single nce was enough for Lu Yin to notice an old man walking by, and he looked at the old man more closely.

    Judging by the mans runes, he was at least an Enlighter. Earth had actually drawn Enlighters?

    Lu Yin suppressed his breath and slowly followed the old man.

    The old man did not notice Lu Yin¡¯s presence and continued to walk around the Jinlin Military Academy. Students walked out of their ssrooms in an orderly manner, and the old man silently followed them.

    Lu Yin frowned; all of the students were out? Wasn¡¯t this time for sses to be in session?

    The old man was an Enlighter, and yet he just followed behinds the group of students, and Lu Yin casually followed behind the old man

    The group of students quickly boarded arge transport vehicle that belonged to the school. The military cleared a path in front of the students as the vehicle made its way to thergest stadium that stood in the center of Jinlin.

    The old man followed on foot. Each step he took carried him a kilometer. He walked very slowly, but seemed to step through space.

    Lu Yin traveled in the same manner, but no one on Earth saw this scene.

    Zhou Shan sat next to his daughter on the transport.

    "Xixi, remember, that incident with Uncle Lu can¡¯t be made public," Zhou Shan warned.

    Zhou Xixi said, "I understand, I''m not a child, you know?"

    "Pay more attention to this!" Zhou Shan said in an angry tone.

    "Dad, why did Luo Shene to Earth to dance? They can¡¯t be offering her much for her appearance, so she¡¯s definitely not doing it for the money."

    "Do you think that money is the only thing that motivates people? Earth is a ce that is a bit too unique in the universe, because this is your Uncle Lu''s home. Everyone wants to move here in order to develop a rtionship with your Uncle Lu. Some people want money. Some people want a name."

    "So, you¡¯re saying Luo Shen¡¯s pretty smart."

    Zhou Shan looked to the front. His eyes holdingplicated emotions, Luo Shen? He had met her once, and he knew of the rtionship between her and Bai Xue. What was more, Zhou Shan was also aware of Luo Shen¡¯s feelings for Lu Yin. The woman was not doing this performance for fame, but purely because Earth was Lu Yin¡¯s home, and she wanted to be closer to him.

    In Zhou Shan¡¯s eyes, Luo Shen was no different from a real goddess. She was so bright and beautiful and eye-catching, but unfortunately, Lu Yin''s status was too high. He could have any woman he wished, and Zhou Shan did not see , and he could have any woman he wanted. Zhou Shan could not see a good end to Luo Shen waiting.

    Luo Shen was the most dazzling star in the Outerverse at the moment, and a performance from her was able to cause a sensation in any weave, not to mention Earth.

    Earth was too small, and the Jinlin stadium was so small that most people were not able to get tickets. Those who were able to buy tickets were either the Outerverse¡¯s wealthy individuals, or people with a special status. Also, nearly half of the stadium had been set aside for Jinlin Military Academy¡¯s students, and the students had not needed to buy any tickets. This performance was not intended to generate a profit.

    Luo Shen had held many simr performances on Earth. She was truly persistent.

    The old man followed the students all the way to the stadium, and then easily entered the building.

    Lu Yin looked at the picture of Luo Shen in surprise. Why was she on Earth? She was going to dance? Was there anyone on Earth who could even afford a ticket? Was there any venue appropriate for such a performance?

    Lu Yin was not unaware that every single one of Luo Shen¡¯s performances in the Outerverse would attract a minimum of hundreds of millions of people to attend. Even on Zenyu Star, her performance would draw hundreds of thousands of people. There should not be anyone on Earth who could even afford a ticket to one of Luo Shen¡¯s performances, and yet even students were walking into this stadium.

    As these thoughts ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he easily entered the stadium, always keeping an eye on the old man.

    Across the stadium, there was a young man who was wearing a hat and who had a straw in his mouth. He strolled into the stadium and stared up at the huge image of Luo Shen. He muttered something indistinct, "She really is beautiful. As expected of the brightest star in the Outerverse. Father, your son will bring you back a beautiful daughter-inw."

    The stadium was soon overcrowded, and the atmosphere reached its peak the moment that Luo Shen finally appeared. Everyone cheered.

    She was an Outerverse idol, and her dances were able to brighten up the entire universe.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1346: Jiang Chen

    <h4>Chapter 1346: Jiang Chen</h4>

    Within the crowded stadium, Zuocheng Daynight asionally nced around. For a while, he had felt someone staring at him, but he had a sense of being both hidden and exposed, which made him uncertain.

    Common sense said that he was an Enlighter with a power level of 360,000, and so there should be no one in such a remote ce capable of observing him without being noticed, so where was this feeling of being stared ate from?

    He was currently searching for Liu Shaoge. Even before ZENITH had started, the Daynight n had sent someone out to the Outerverse to look for Liu Shaoge, but they had not been able to find him, so Zuocheng Daynight had been forced to personally go out. The Daynight n¡¯s stone of inheritance was too important to the n, and they could not afford to lose it.

    However, the Outerverse belonged to Lu Yin. Even if Zuocheng Daynight had a power level of more than 300,000, he still did not have the courage to reveal himself in the Outerverse. At this time, he had simply been observing the Jinlin Military Academy to see if Liu Shaoge could be found, but unfortunately, that had not been the case.

    Earth was Liu Shaoge''s hometown, and Zuocheng Daynight firmly believed that Liu Shaoge would eventually return to the, and it should be soon.

    Zuocheng Daynight had decided to remain on Earth to wait for Liu Shaoge.

    He was not able to scan the entire with his star energy, so all he could do was go to popted regions and check it over in a wait-and-see manner.

    The feeling of being watched reappeared, and Zuocheng Daynight''s eyes narrowed. Someone was staring at him. He looked around. Who could it be? He was certain that a powerhouse had appeared.

    "Hey, make some room, please. Make some room." The young man in the hat finally squeezed himself in next to Zuocheng Daynight.

    Zuocheng Daynight''s eyes narrowed and shed with a killing intent.

    The young man set a hand on Zuocheng Daynight''s shoulder, and Zuocheng Daynight clenched a fist and said, "Brother, let go."

    The young man shoved Zuocheng Daynight, but the man did not budge at all. The young man looked at Zuocheng Daynight in surprise. "You¡¯re still chasing after celebrities at your age? Enough should be enough."

    Zuocheng Daynight took a step back.

    The young man smiled brightly. "Thank you."

    He then continued to squeeze his way forward, still with a straw in his mouth.

    Zuocheng Daynight frowned as he watched the young man''s back disappear into the crowd. He then nced around again, but could not find anyone observing him.

    He had stood guard at the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral monument for too long, and he had forgotten how to be vignt. Zuocheng Daynight dismissed all hesitation, and he turned around and left the stadium, and then even left Earth.

    Suddenly, the feeling of having eyes on him returned ten times stronger than before. Zuocheng Daynight whirled around and saw a young man enter his sight. It was Lu Yin.

    Zuocheng Daynight''s pupils instantly shrank the moment he saw Lu Yin, but they only shrank for a moment before returning to normal. Zuocheng Daynight was in disguise, so it was impossible to know that he was from Daynight n. On top of that, he had not fought against Lu Yin during the battle on Nightking, so this should be their first meeting, and Lu Yin should not know the Enlighter.

    "Where is Senior from?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Zuocheng Daynight.

    Zuocheng Daynight''s eyes remained as cid as possible as he smiled. "This old man wanders about the universe. I don¡¯t call any specific ce home."

    "Well, why Senior visit Earth?" Lu Yin continued to press.

    Zuocheng Daynight smiled and replied, "I was just passing by. I heard that Luo Shen was performing a dance, so I thought to take a look as I passed through."

    "Then why follow the students?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zuocheng Daynight''s eyes shed. "I hope to find an excellent child who qualifies to receive my inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin snorted. "This junior feels that his talent is pretty good, so how about you give me your inheritance? This junior is willing to support Senior."

    Zuocheng Daynightughed. "Little Brother must be joking; I can''t even see your strength despite being an old man. Don¡¯t tease the elderly."

    Lu Yin''s face sank. "I don''t want anyone to make trouble on Earth. Senior is an unknown expert, and you also were following students. How can I feelfortable letting you simply leave?¡±

    Zuocheng Daynight frowned. "Isn''t Little Brother being a bit too tyrannical? This old man was just passing by Earth and harmed no one. I followed those students hoping to find a disciple. There¡¯s been no malice, and yet because of my actions, Little Brother wants to take action against an old man? Are outsiders not even allowed to visit Earth?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Zuocheng Daynight. "Anyone who clearly states where they¡¯re from is allowed to enter. Old man, you most likely did not enter the through eptable methods."

    Zuocheng Daynight''s eyes flickered as he looked at Lu Yin. After a while, the old man nodded. "It seems that Little Brother has no intention of letting this old man leave in peace. In that case, you can check things."

    Tension left Lu Yin''s eyes, and he smiled. "Senior, I¡¯ll have to inconvenience you.."

    Zuocheng Daynight returned to Earth while Lu Yin kept an eye on the man. Lu Yin wanted to find out where this old man was from, as he did not know why the old man had been on Earth. It was possible that he had just wanted to find a disciple. After all, there were simply too many independent cultivators who roamed the universe. Still, it was very easy for an independent Enlighter to find a disciple, and this im had aroused most of Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions.

    Still, so long as the Enlighter meant no harm to Earth, Lu Yin would not do anything to the old man.

    Zuocheng Daynightnded back on Earth, his feet touching down on the stadium in Jinlin City. Luo Shen¡¯s performance had continued.

    Suddenly, star energy erupted and the Enlighter shot through the void to enter the stadium.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide; this old man was looking to die! The only reason Lu Yin had been willing to let the old man return to Earth had been because he was an Enlighter with a power level of only a bit more than 300,000. Lu Yin had his Vacuum Palm and Daynight Praises, and so he had no fear of the old man fleeing into space.

    Zuocheng Daynight appeared in the stadium and took another step to appear directly in front of Luo Shen. Neither Luo Shen nor anyone in the entire audience reacted to the old man¡¯s appearance.

    Zuocheng Daynight had watched Lu Yin¡¯s battles during ZENITH, and so he was very cautious of the youth, so he took the initiative and unleashed Night Advent.

    Lu Yin was shocked; this old man was from the Daynight n? Lu Yin had already seen from the man¡¯s runes that his power level exceeded 300,000. This was not good.

    Zuocheng Daynight''s spiritual force was strong enough for Daynight Praises to not be very effective. He would certainly be dragged into the illusion, but given hisbat power, and especially the time he had spent meditating and training the Daynight n¡¯s beneath the n¡¯s stone tablet, so his spiritual force was incredibly sturdy, and was not much weaker than Yao Xuan''s.

    A split second after being dragged into the illusion, Zuocheng Daynight broke out of it. The rest of the world had only taken a single greath, but a long time had passed within the illusion, and Zuocheng Daynight had been attacked several times by Skybreaker. His brain had been jostled, and blood spilled from his seven orifices. Fortunately, he had seeded in breaking out of the illusion, as he had not expected Lu Yin''s spiritual force to be so terrifying. That attack had to have been the Nightking n¡¯s Skybreaker. Then Zuocheng Daynight remembered a legend about how the Dayking and the First Nightking had worked together to unleash a battle technique that no one had managed to cultivate after their deaths.

    It was no longer a surprise that Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had been powerful enough for him to fight against Yao Xuan. Zhocheng Daynight was an elder of the Daynight n; someone who specialized in spiritual force and who had long stood guard at the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral tablet, and yet he had barely been able endure Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force attack. Out of the entire Daynight n, there was not a single person beneath the Envoy realm who would be able to ignore Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force.

    A single breath had been enough for Zuocheng Daynight to grab a hold of Luo Shen, and, by the same token, a breath was also enough time for Lu Yin. His hand moved, and a Vacuum Palm shot through the void and struck Zuocheng Daynight on his back.

    His physique was not sturdy enough to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and even if this attack had not been reinforced with nine lined battle force, it was still too much for Zuocheng Daynight. He pulled out a power vessel, and it helped him withstand Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. The old man¡¯s hand stretched out once more to grab Luo Shen, and his fingers were only a few centimeters away from her.

    Lu Yin was confident in his own strength, and he believed that he had the situation under control. Zuocheng Daynight was an exceptionally cunning man, and he had prepared himself for Lu Yin¡¯s various techniques, which had given the Daynight elder and path to survival. As long as he managed to catch Luo Shen, he would be able to force Lu Yin into letting him go, and he would be able to return to Daynight Flowzone.

    The old man had not expected a young man like Lu Yin to be so terrifyingly powerful. Even if Zuocheng Daynight had taken extreme precautions against Lu Yin, he had still been severely injured. His spiritual force had been shaken, rattling his brain, and he was bleeding from his seven orifices. His body had been cracked from being struck by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, but fortunately, Zuocheng Daynight had finally seeded. This woman was his lifeline.

    As his hand drew closer and closer, Zuocheng Daynight saw Luo Shen''s terrified eyes.

    Behind him, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s, and just as he was about to move Luo Shen, a young man wearing a hat and with a straw in his mouth walked out next to the dancer. Lu Yin had not seen any movement, but Zuocheng Daynight¡¯s hand touched the young man, and the sound of lightning exploded. The lightning tore through the void, and shot into space from the stadium. Up in outer space, the force exploded repeatedly, tearing throughyers of space.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. He has seen arge number of lightning-based battle techniques, or cultivators who had innate gifts of lighting, but the power of this lighting was the most terrifying that Lu Yin had ever seen. The number of runes that he saw absolutely exceeded a power level of 400,000, and Lu Yin felt a sense of danger from it.

    There was a smile tugging at the corners of the young man¡¯s mouth. He was handsome, and his hat was cocked off to the side as he used lightning to seize control of the void.

    Zuocheng Daynight had been very close to Luo Shen, extremely close, but the moment the young man appeared, it was as though Zuocheng Daynight had been moved to the horizon.

    When the lightning disappeared, Zuocheng Daynight''s whole body was revealed to be charred ck. He copsed to the ground. He had been zapped to a piece of charcoal.

    The young man flicked the straw in his mouth and turned to face Luo Shen. He gave her what he thought was a charming smile. "I''m Jiang Chen. It''s nice to meet you, cutey."

    Luo Shen''s body disappeared, as Lu Yin had used the Ce Secret Art to move her to his side.

    Luo Shen was pleasantly surprised to see Lu Yin. "Your Highness!"

    Lu Yin nodded to her, but looked at the young man named Jiang Chen.

    Jiang Chen also looked at Lu Yin. There was a smile that touched the corner of his mouth. He had bright eyes, as well as a domineering yet quiet temperament. He stood there in a rxed manner that was quite reassuring, and his entire demeanor reminded Lu Yin of when he had first met Wu Taibai. This person seemed casual and carefree, but whenpared to Wu Taibai, Lu Yin felt that this person was even more mysterious.

    Lu Yin did not know how to describe what he was feeling.

    Regardless, he did not feel hate for this person.

    "I saw you before. Thatpetition was really exciting." Jiang Chen smiled happily as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin carefully appraised Jiang Chen. "Thank you. Where are you from?"

    "Earth," Jiang Chen instantly answered, though apparently he felt this was wrong right after speaking. ¡°Well, not far from Earth."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. This did not sound right. This person had clearly said that he was from Earth, but it was impossible for Earth to give birth to such a powerhouse, unless¡­ Hidden Earth Society.

    Could Jiang Chen be from the Hidden Earth Society? That seemed likely.

    Jiang Chen jumped off the stage. The lights shone down on him, while also illuminating Zuocheng Daynight, who had turned to charcoal.

    "This isn¡¯t any ce to talk, so let''s go somewhere else," Lu Yin told Jiang Chen.

    Jiang Chen did not particrly care, but he looked at Luo Shen with bright eyes and asked expectantly, "All together?"

    Luo Shen softly replied, "I want to end my dance."

    Jiang Chen was left disappointed.

    Lu Yin said, "She¡¯lle with us after her dance, so let''s find a ce to talk for now."

    Jiang Chen waved his hand. "It doesn''t matter."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1347: Black Street

    <h4>Chapter 1347: ck Street</h4>

    Zuocheng Daynight¡¯s appearance had stopped the dance performance for a bit, but everything quickly returned to normal.

    This was not the first time such an incident had urred on Earth, and although Luo Shen had met with danger before, it was always taken care of.

    Lu Yin had hidden his features as soon as he had appeared in the stadium. Since no one could see him clearly, there was nomotion for him.

    ***

    There were not many people in a leisurely cafe, as everyone was closer to the stadium. Although it was impossible for most people to enter the stadium to watch Luo Shen¡¯s dance, there was a screen outside the stadium that was streaming the entire performance.

    Gentle music filled the cafe.

    Jiang Chen took the straw out of his mouth and twirled it around his fingers. He looked out at the distant screen outside the stadium showing Luo Shen dancing. It was impossible to know his thoughts.

    Sitting across from him, Lu Yin asked, "Do you like Luo Shen a lot?"

    Jiang Chen replied in a casual manner, "It¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just that I need to find a wife. My mom¡¯s really putting the pressure on me."

    "So you want to marry her?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Chen shifted his gaze away from the screen and looked at Lu Yin. "Maybe. Why? You have someone you want to introduce me to?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless, and he did not know how to continue the conversation.

    Jiang Chen took a sip of coffee. "Speaking of which, it must feel good to drink coffee while looking at your own statue and seeing so many people kneeling down and praying."

    Lu Yin looked into the distance where a huge statue stood. It shot high up into the clouds. It was a statue of him. Many cities on Earth had simr statues, as had manys throughout Frostwave Weave.

    It actually felt quite strange to see people bow to his statue, and it always gave Lu Yin the illusion that he had died.

    "Your lighting is very powerful. Is it an innate gift?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Chen stirred his coffee. "Ah, that''s right, I have a rather powerful dad, but you¡¯re pretty good yourself. Especially your transformation during thest battle of ZENITH." As he spoke, Jiang Chen looked at Lu Yin with bright eyes. "You looked really cool during that transformation; how did you cultivate that?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t really know. It just worked out that way."

    Jiang Chen clearly did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s words, but he did not bring up many questions rted to battle techniques.

    He suddenly remembered something. "Hey, have you ever seen a rabbit that has a lightning power?"

    Lu Yin was startled. "Have you seen it?"

    Jiang Chen pursed his lips. "I asked you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I saw it once. It was a long time ago on Savage Ape. That rabbit just showed up and instantly stomped a giant ape to death. Itter appeared in Ironblood Weave, and it stepped on Elder Lohar."

    Jiang Chen rubbed his chin. "That damn rabbit can really run. Still, it won¡¯t go too far from Earth."

    "Are you looking for that rabbit?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Jiang Chen nodded. "Yes. Make sure you let me know if you hear anything about it. I¡¯ll be staying on Earth for now."

    Lu Yin asked, "Are you staying on Earth to wait for that rabbit?"

    Jiang Chen snorted. "That¡¯s most of it. That rabbit has to be caught, or else it will cause trouble everywhere."

    "Then why stay on Earth? Maybe the rabbit already ran away."

    "Impossible. That damn rabbit won''t roam too far from Earth. At most it will roam about the Outerverse, but it won¡¯t leave home."

    "What kind of power level does that rabbit have?"

    Jiang Chen thought for a while. "I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" Lu Yin felt this was odd. Jiang Chen did not know such a fundamental detail, and yet still dared to try to catch the rabbit.

    Jiang Chen was frustrated. "There are countless parallel dimensions in the universe, and time can pass differently in them. It¡¯s possible that the rabbit entered a pocket dimension and stayed there for 18,000 years, or maybe it hasn¡¯t improved at all. Who knows."

    "It¡¯s not that easy to enter a parallel space, right?" Lu Yin did not believe this to be true.

    Jiang Chen wagged a finger. "That''s for you. That rabbit once fought against my father, and it¡¯s able to travel through parallel dimensions. This is why it has to be caught, as otherwise it will be a scourge in the future."

    That rabbit already is a scourge for Elder Lohar, Lu Yin said to himself.

    "Brother Jiang, do you know anything about Jupiter?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he staring into Jiang Chen''s eyes.

    Jiang Chen felt confused. "Jupiter?"

    He tipped his head back to look up at the sky and past it into space. He looked at the massive. "That¡¯s just an ordinary. Why do you care about it?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. "That¡¯s not a normal; I can¡¯t enter it."

    Lu Yin had been suspicious that Jiang Chen was a member of the Hidden Earth Society, and so he had brought up Jupiter to test Jian Chen.

    Jiang Chen instantly became interested. "Not even you can get in there? You''re not messing with me? It''s just a."

    Lu Yin frowned. There was nothing unusual about Jiang Chen¡¯s reaction, and it seemed that he really did not know anything. Was it possible that he really had no connection with the Hidden Earth Society?

    "I really can''t get in that. Brother Jiang, would you like to go check it out with me? We still have a bit before Luo Shen¡¯s dance ends," Lu Yin offered.

    Jiang Chen nodded. "Okay. It was getting boring anyway. Let¡¯s go have some fun."

    Lu Yin took a deep look at Jiang Chen. Either this person really did have nothing to do with the Hidden Earth Society, or his acting skills were too good.

    No matter which it was, this was not someone Lu Yin could just ignore. He was young, but his strength was terrifying.

    The two quickly left Earth and stepped into space, making their way towards the observation station orbiting Jupiter.

    ***

    There was a piece of forgottennd in the Neoverse that was called Dark World. It was also known as ck Street. This ce was the Neoverse¡¯sndfill. Every day, untold amounts of trash was sent to this ce. Some would be recycled, while the rest would be processed. The garbage delivered to this ce not only consisted of trash from everyday life and cultivation, but also included living creatures, such as humans and astral beasts.

    ck Street was rarely brought up in the Neoverse, as though even the mention of the ce was gross. It was filled with the underbelly of the Neoverse, and the people who lived in this ce were all in hiding.

    There was a light and a dark to all things, and the southern border of the Neoverse was the darkest region of the Neoverse. This was where the Seven Courts could be found, as well as ck Street. There were many people who were not willing to see the shadows cast by the light, but this was a ce that was a refuge for the dark side of the universe.

    When people tossed their trash, many no longer thought of it, but trash often held bits of information.

    In ck Street, there were people who specialized in processing the information that could be gleaned from refuse, and they easily extracted information that was useful to them.

    Although the ce was a dump, because of the recycling efforts and the information gathered from the refuse, ck Street was not a small ce. The truth was that many people were very cautious of ck Street.

    Azure Mansion was one of ck Street¡¯s businesses.

    It was ironic that a business that attracted the major powers of the Neoverse and which gathered beautiful women was actually something that came from a dump.

    The master of ck Street was actually Bu Laoweng, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers.

    Many people were concerned about Bu Laoweng, as many organizations had their interests represented by this old man, and their interests were also tied in with ck Street.

    At this particr moment, Bu Laoweng was lying on the ground and his entire body was trembling. His skin had be loose, and his hair was going gray. There was a terrible fear and remorse in his eyes.

    Tian Shaoy to the old man¡¯s side. The young man looked to be in aa, but it was impossible to know if he was dead or alive.

    Thump, thump, thump

    Bu Laoweng picked up his head, and something caught his eye. It was a beautiful woman. She had white hair, and she was staring at the old man with cold eyes. "It¡¯s been a long time, Mr. Overseer."

    Bu Laoweng stared at the woman. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, "You gave me Vitality Poison!"

    The woman was Ming Yan, and she was currently the white-haired personality. "Mr. Overseer knows it very well."

    Bu Laoweng did not respond, and instead just stared at the woman for a moment before angrily shouting, "Why is the Neohuman Alliance treating me like this? I¡¯ve always been loyal to the Neohuman Alliance, and I even risked my life to find the location of that ce and have left my name on Aeterna! I''m yours! You shouldn''t attack me!"

    The white-haired Ming Yan stared down at Bu Laoweng from high above. Tian Shao¡¯s protector had been the one who had brought Bu Laoweng to Ming Yan and had poisoned him. The Vitality Poison was something that surpassed power level, and even Tian Shao¡¯s guardian who had a power level of more than 400,000 had been poisoned, so there was no need to mention Bu Laoweng.

    At first, all that Ming Yan had wanted was to gain control of ck Street and then offer it to Lu Yin. She had not expected to uncover something so important: Bu Laoweng was actually a member of the Neohuman Alliance, a traitor to the Hall of Honor. He was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, and held such a high position that even experts with power levels of more than a million had to show him respect.

    The value of Ming Yan¡¯s gift was growing greater and greater. She was greatly anticipating giving it to Lu Yin. She could not even imagine his reaction.

    However, she also felt a sense of urgency. Bu Laoweng was part of the Neohuman Alliance, which meant that he was able to contact the Neohuman Alliance. Vitality Poison was something that had been made by the Neohuman Alliance.

    The more she thought about this, the more urgency she felt. Ming Yan stared at Bu Laoweng with cold eyes, then slowly said, "I was ordered to take control of ck Street. You have be worthless."

    Bu Laoweng gasped and stared at Ming Yan. "I don''t believe it! I¡¯m an overseer of the Hall of Honor; how can that be worthless?"

    Ming Yan replied coldly, "You¡¯ve already lost to Lu Yin, so what value could you hold? Your hypocrisy has already been exposed, so you won''t receive any useful information in the future."

    "I don''t believe you! I want to speak with Aeternus! Give me back my gadget! I want to speak with Mr. Feng." Bu Laoweng struggled to move.

    Ming Yan''s eyes shed, but she took out the man¡¯s gadget and threw it to him.

    Bu Laoweng quickly activated the device and essed a secretwork. Suddenly, his gadget was seized back by Ming Yan.

    Ming Yan stared at the what Bu Laoweng had essed. Out of the various people he had previously called, there was one who was the so-called Mr. Feng.

    "What are you doing?" Bu Laoweng roared. "I have information to share with Mr. Feng. As long as he hears what I have to say, he will definitely save me! I¡¯m still valuable! Let me call Mr. Feng!"

    Ming Yan frowned and stared at the names of the people the overseer had contacted. There was a note attached to each and every name. Among them, Mr. Feng was listed as the housekeeper, while the others had their own notes. Almost all of them were the names of ces she had never heard of, but her eyes narrowed when she saw one name: Aru. The note attached to this name was ¡®Jupiter.¡¯

    Jupiter, Jupiter, This was a name she had heard before. One time when Lu Yin had been speaking to her he had mentioned a ce called Earth, and he had also mentioned others in the same system. One of thoses had been named Jupiter. This might be a coincidence, as Jupiter was not too rare of a name for a in the universe.

    She pointed to Aru''s name and carefully said, "How dare you contact him?"

    Bu Laoweng''s eyes grew stern. "That was at Mr. Feng¡¯s order. Once Lu Yin returns to Earth, he-"

    He suddenly stopped speaking and stared at Ming Yan. The old man suddenly shouted, ¡°You¡¯re not from the Neohuman Alliance!¡±

    Ming Yan had already confirmed that this Jupiter was the same Jupiter that was close to Earth, and this meant that there were people from the Neohuman Alliance there. This was bad. She had to inform Lu Yin immediately.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    And that''s the end of another book. The next is one of my favorites yet, so hope you all enjoy it as well.

    - Neshi

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1348: Vanish

    <h4>Chapter 1348: Vanish</h4>

    "Who the hell are you? Why do you have the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Vitality Poison?" Bu Laoweng shouted hoarsely.

    Ming Yan knocked the old man out and immediately called Lu Yin. She already knew his contact information, but since she had always been on Shenwu Continent, she had never been able to call him since no signals could get out of the sealed continent. Fortunately, Bu Laoweng''s gadget was one of the special models. Otherwise, even if he had received certain information, he would never have been able to call people in the Innerverse and Outerverse. Lu Yin should be in one of those two regions at this time.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, outside Earth, Lu Yin and Jiang Chen were standing in the observation station that orbited Jupiter. They were staring at the massive in front of them.

    "You really can''t get in?" Jiang Chen asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I tried before. Why don''t you try?"

    Jiang Chen pouted. "You go first."

    He was not stupid. Who knew if this would be dangerous? Besides, his father had taught him to be cautious.

    Lu Yin looked at Jian Chen. It really did seem like this person knew nothing of Jupiter. Could he really not be from the Hidden Earth Society?

    As they stared at Jupiter, Lu Yin summoned the station master.

    The station master was a bit of a brute, but he was still a Hunter. His name is Aru. "Aru greets his Highness."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh as he nced at Aru. This man seemed to be slightly familiar. Lu Yin asked, "Has anyone recently approached Jupiter?"

    Aru replied in a respectful tone, "No."

    Lu Yin stared at Jupiter with deep eyes. At this moment, his gadget beeped that there was an iing call. He looked down and saw it was a call request from an unfamiliar ID. He wanted to refuse the call, but after thinking for a moment, people who could reach him personally were not ordinary people, so he picked it up.

    The voice of the white-haired Ming Yan instantly erupted from the gadget: "Lu Yin, there¡¯s a man on Jupiter near Earth whose name is Aru. He belongs to the Neohuman Alliance."

    Lu Yin heard her words, as did Jiang Chen who was next to him, as well as Aru, who had been respectfully standing behind the two youths.

    No one had expected such a coincidence, so at this moment, all three people heard Ming Yan¡¯s message.

    Aru''s eyes suddenly turned dead, and he lifted his head to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s mind raced like lightning. He looked at Aru, and suddenly remembered that he had previously used the name Barudar, and he had been the station master of the Gema Space Station.

    When Lu Yin had first made his way to the Great Yu Empire from Earth, the ship he had been on had stopped by Gema Space Station. Station Master Baruda had spoken with Sigmund Mathers, and thatmunication had led to Sigmund being used of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance as soon as the ship had arrived at Zenyu Star. The charges had been specifically made because Barudar had fled with twenty-six corpse kings.

    Lu Yin had not expected to meet Barudar at this ce.

    Reflexively, Lu Yin caused an astral chessboard to appear beneath his feet, and Lu Yin and Jiang Chen were both moved as Barudar attacked. Suddenly, a strange and creepy doll entered Lu Yin¡¯s vision. His pupils instantly constricted; that was Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    Instantly, all of Lu Yin¡¯s perception changed. His vision was suddenly based from the back of his hand, and he was smelling from his legs. All of his body¡¯s senses had been rearranged. Fortunately, the Ce Secret Art had already activated, and Lu Yin had moved himself and Jiang Chen away from the space station.

    At Lu Yin¡¯s side, lightning erupted from Jiang Chen''s body, as he was feeling a terrible sense of danger. Barudar''s power level spiked several times. It reached the Enlighter level, and then continued on to 300,000, 400,000, and even 500,000. His eyes saw Lu Yin and only Lu Yin. This youth was a must-kill target for the Neohuman Alliance.

    Based on the distance between Lu Yin and Barudar, as well as Barudar''s power level, they were basically touching. Also, Barudar was not relying on his own strength, but on Shaman God¡¯s after the doll had appeared from a transportation sourcebox array.

    Barudar attacked Lu Yin.

    Even if Highsage Grandmaster made a move, it would be impossible to save Lu Yin in the time it would take the attack tond.

    Lu Yin''s five senses had been mixed up, and he was unable to do a thing.

    Jiang Chen shot lightning into his sword and moved to intercept Barudar¡¯s attack.

    Neither Barudar nor Shaman God had expected Jiang Chen to have the courage to step forward. He was an ant who was not worth considering. Barudar pointed at the new obstacle to remove it, but the attack failed. Jiang Chen simply disappeared, and truly disappeared.

    Lu Yin''s hearing shifted to the soles of his feet, and thest words he heard from Jiang Chen were: "Friend, take care of yourself."

    Shaman God¡¯s attack hadpletely missed, leaving him stunned. Jiang Chen had actually disappeared from Shaman God¡¯s sight, which was something that not even an Envoy could do.

    While Shaman God was still in a stunned state, Highsage Grandmaster appeared. His power was magnificent, and he attacked Shaman God.

    Terrible shockwaves swept out, and the void was destroyed as the universe visibly copsed. This was the power of Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin was swept out by the shockwaves, but fortunately, Highsage Grandmaster had blocked most of the force. Lu Yin was simply pushed away, though he happened to be pushed towards Jupiter.

    Seeing Highsage Grandmaster take action, Lu Yin knew that he was saved. This had been very dangerous. If not for Ming Yan''s message, he would not have shifted away from the sudden attack in time, and at that distance, it would absolutely have killed him.

    Lu Yin stabilized himself and stared off into the distance where Highsage Grandmaster had appeared. There was no longer any problem.

    Suddenly, an overwhelming force started sucking Lu Yin backwards. He turned his head and saw the huge image of Jupiter. His body was suddenly swallowed by Jupiter without any resistance.

    Both Highsage Grandmaster and Shaman God were stunned by this sudden development, and Highsage Grandmaster instinctively reached out to grab Lu Yin, but just as he was approaching Jupiter, he felt an indescribable sense of danger and managed to stop himself in time.

    Shaman God had a strange smirk. His doll disappeared, and Barudar''s body simply exploded into cosmic dust.

    Lu Yin had disappeared into Jupiter. Before he had disappeared, thest thing he thought of was Mister Mu. Lu Yin had won ZENITH, but Mister Mu had still not given Lu Yin his reward!

    When Arch-Elder Zen heard this news, he unexpectedly asked Highsage Grandmaster to return, and then locked down the area surrounding Jupiter and blocked all news concerning Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ce as one of the top ten of ZENITH was given to Liu Tianmu. Starsibyl, who had been given the opportunity to rece Wang Yi had refused. For some reason, the Technocracy had never sent anyone to rece Wang Yi, and ultimately the Hall of Honor had decided to choose a recement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s disappearance carried untold ripple effects. He was tied into far too much that spread too far. The most obvious example was the Great Eastern Alliance, and Lu Yin also had many enemies.

    With Lu Yin around, nobody could make a move, but with him gone, everyone would covet what he had.

    The clearest example were the powers that led the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. All of them had long been eyeing the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin had simply been sucked into Jupiter, which was just a. It stood to reason that Lu Yin should not have suffered any mishap. After all, he could easily destroy such a. However, the Hall of Honor¡¯s response to Lu Yin¡¯s disappearance showed that he would not reappear, as there was no other reason for them to have moved so quickly to fill his slot among the top ten of ZENITH.

    Such actions could only mean one thing: Lu Yin would not return, and not even Highsage Grandmaster had been able to protect him.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire began to amass their forces.

    They would not touch Lu Yin''s friends or rtives, as Lu Yin had been supported by Leon¡¯s Armada and Yuan Shi. Making such a move would create trouble for the two top powers in zing Mist Flowzone. On the other hand, they absolutely had to break apart the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Outerverse had seventy-two weaves, and the powers that controlled the major weaves had all begun to panic.

    However, just as someone was about to make the first move, news was released from the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court. The Chief Justice had dered that war could not be dered in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, and that the current equilibrium should be maintained. Any actions of war would be treated as an act of war against the Interster Supreme Court itself.

    This news shook the entire universe.

    The Interster Supreme Court was a judicial body, and it had never once interfered in disputes in the Innerverse or the Outerverse. It was inconceivable that it would make such an unprecedented move just to protect all that Lu Yin had amassed.

    Lu Yin had already been supported by a number of top powers. Yuan Shi¡¯s existence alone was enough to deter the Innerverse powers from ever touching Lu Yin''s family and friends. However, the Interster Supreme Court had also stepped forward for him, and this left the ruling powers of both the Innerverse and Outerverse utterly speechless. If Lu Yin was already gone, just how was he able to continue to exert such tremendous influence? Just what was the rtionship between Lu Yin and the Chief Justice?

    Forget anyone else, not even Lu Yin himself knew why the Chief Justice would give Lu Yin so much support. These actions actually vited the rules of the Interster Supreme Court.

    The Judicial Commissioner the Calm of Despair looked for the Chief Justice to ask about this matter, but it was useless. The Chief Justice was determined to protect everything that Lu Yin possessed.

    However, Lu Yin knew about none of this, as he was unconscious.

    ¡­

    Blue water stretched out of sight, and strange seabirds asionally flew through the sky while letting out soft cries.

    There was a ship on the sea that was sailing in a particr direction. This ship was notrge, and when the sea churned, it was revealed that the ship was covered in scars. It looked as though it had survived a battle, and some of the damage was still fresh.

    There was a sturdily built, middle-aged man on the deck, and he was looking into the distance. He had deep set eyes, and he was clearly thinking about something. His fingers were unconsciously tapping on the ship. An old man walked up behind the man on the deck. The old man looked terrified, and his eyes revealed sadness, as well as confusion about the future. "-ou, Mr. Shou, can you really do this? If these matters are exposed, there is no chance of you and I surviving."

    The middle-aged man turned to stare at the old man. "What are you afraid of? You should have died with your Lord a few days ago, but I saved you. I¡¯ve already thought of everything."

    The old man shuddered and turned to look back at the cabin. "But- but what if that young man wakes up? Will he be willing?"

    The man surnamed Shou sneered. "He¡¯ll be a son-inw to the main branch of Upper Realm¡¯s White Dragon n; what is there to refuse? I¡¯m just waiting for him to wake up."

    The old man could not stop his body from trembling. He sighed and lifted his head.

    This was a strange ce. There was an endless sky overhead with stars shining. Beyond the stars there was a vague outline. That outline was a highernd, where the more noble people lived. Everyone called it Upper Realm.

    If one looked around the sea, it was possible to see rainbows far away, though they were still connected to the ground and the sky. In one particr direction, there was a blurry image that seemed to be some kind of wall that blocked a person¡¯s sight. This strange world was the Perennial World.

    It was impossible to know how long it took, but eventually, Lu Yin heard an indistinct human voice, "Go. The kid¡¯s moving. Go tell Mr. Shou."

    "Mr. Shou! The kid moved."

    "Be careful with your words! He is Young Master Long Qi."

    "Yes, yes, yes, Young Master Long Qi. Young Master Long Qi just moved."

    "I was attacked a few days ago, and the child was seriously injured. Fortunately, he survived. Everyone remember this for me: even in your dreams, you can only even think of him as the seventh son of Long Qi."

    "Yes, Mr. Shou."

    Soon, the voices disappeared, and Lu Yin no longer heard anything.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1349: Strange Place

    <h4>Chapter 1349: Strange ce</h4>

    Day and night passed in this ce.

    At night, this sea was full of danger. The ship was notrge, and from time to time, massive marine creatures would pass by, putting the ship at risk of being overturned every time. Mr. Shou stood alone at the ship¡¯s bow and drove away the powerful marine creatures.

    Inside the cabin, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened. He stood up, his mind still in the time when the Neohuman Alliance was attacking. He was still with Barudar, Jiang Chen, Shaman God, and Highsage Grandmaster. He was at Jupiter. Jupiter was behind him. He had been attacked by Jupiter, and sucked away. Wait, where was he?

    A hand reached out in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and his hand shot up to grab the arm. He twisted it violently, causing a squeak to be heard, followed by a scream, "Let go! Kid, let go! Help, Mr. Shou! Mr. Shou!"

    "Shut up." Lu Yin slowly sank back down and pressed the man against the floor.

    The door opened, and Lu Yin looked up to see a group of people rush in. His eyes focused at the back of the crowd onto a sturdily-built middle-aged man. This person was not weak. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes and he observed the man. Eh? No runes? Wait, there were no runes to be seen from anybody; was this inside Jupiter? Even if it was, why were there no runes?

    The Rune Progenitor¡¯s power had covered the entire Fifth Maind, so unless Lu Yin was no longer in the Fifth Maind, where was he?

    "All of you, stand down," Mr. Shou said. Everyone else stepped back.

    The man who Lu Yin had pinned to the floor was gritting his teeth in pain.

    Mr. Shou looked at Lu Yin and smiled as he spoke, "Little brother, you fell into the Middle Ocean, and we saved you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he loosened his hand. He looked down at his own body, and saw that he had very little star energy left, and his channels for circting his star energy were all blocked, though not injured. He could not tell why this was the case. He also saw that his own body looked to have been badly injured, and some of the wounds looked like vicious cuts.

    It appeared that he had been badly wounded, and the injuries also all looked to be quite painful, but everyone was nothing but minor injuries to Lu Yin. Fortunately, he still had his cosmic ring, and so long as he used some of the medication he had in there, he would be able to recover within just a few days. As for his blocked channels, that was not a major concern either.

    With his cosmic ring, Lu Yin was able to pull out his universal armor at any moment, so he would have no problem protecting himself.

    At this thought, he rxed a great deal.

    "Sorry", he said as hepletely freed the man.

    The man quickly got to his feet. He stared at Lu Yin in fear as he backed out of the cabin.

    There was also an old man who had entered the room with Mr. Shou.

    Lu Yin looked at the men. "This junior thanks you both for saving him."

    Mr. Shou replied with a smile, "You''re wee. Our meeting was fate. I am Shou Sheng, and I am an explorer who belongs to the Root."

    Lu Yin said, "I''m-"

    He had been just about to reveal his real name, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he said, "I''m Ah Qi, an independent cultivator."

    Shou Sheng''s eyes shed and he smiled. "Brother Qi is an independent cultivator? You do not look like it. Although I cannot see your cultivation, your physical strength is quite good, and cannotpare to most independent cultivators."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "I stumbled upon some natural treasures.¡±

    Shou Sheng smiled. "I know the struggle of independent cultivators. Brother Qi, rest well. I won''t bother you any longer."

    Lu Yin really wanted to know where he was, but he was not stupid, so there was no way he would ask such a question. While Shou Sheng seemed straightforward and rather honest, Lu Yin felt something treacherous from the man, and it raised Lu Yin¡¯s vignce. "Thank you Mr. Shou.¡±

    Shou Sheng nodded and then led the old man away.

    Not once during the entire episode had the old man spoken.

    After leaving the cabin, the old man expressed his anxiousness, "Mr. Shou, why didn''t you tell him? We''ll arrive soon, and if he doesn''t agree then, isn¡¯t it certain that we¡¯ll all die?¡±

    Shou Sheng shook his head. "I had no intention of saying anything right now. The youth is evasive in his answers, and he hides from questions. It¡¯s impossible to know where he actually came from."

    "And yet you dare allow him to pretend to be my young master?" The old man was extremely worried.

    Shou Sheng¡¯s eyes snapped over to the old man. ¡°And what if I don¡¯t? Can you continue to live on in the Middle Realm? If that happens, not only will I not get paid, but I might also be hunted down by the White Dragon n. Neither of us can afford to take responsibility for this matter.¡±

    "Then what if everything gets ruined at that time?" The old man was terrified.

    Shou Sheng sneered. "Then that''s just his business, as you and I will already be long gone. We take him to his destination, you get a lot of money, and then I will offer you a special price and you will hire me to take you to safety in a ce where you can rest in your old age."

    The old man swallowed, still nervous, but there was nothing he could say.

    "Don''t worry, that vial of blood has already been injected into him. The White Dragon n¡¯s blood is plenty to suppress his own. When the timees, the presence of the White Dragon n¡¯s blood will be enough to let him pass through their exam. Don''t worry, the powerhouses of the White Dragon n will be around when this kid shows up, he¡¯ll be forced to cooperate even if he doesn¡¯t want to. If not, he dies, and nobody wants to die. So, what do you think?" Shou Sheng looked at the old man.

    The old man shuddered. "Yes, yes."

    Lu Yin had wandered about the universe for more than a decade, and he was no longer an inexperienced child. He did not have a good feeling about Shou Sheng, and so Lu Yin intended to leave the ship as soon as possible.

    The next day, Lu Yin exited the cabin, and then saw the endless sea. There was a wall in the distance that seemed to block off another world, and rainbows that connect the sky to the ground. Everything above his head seemed blurry. Where was this ce?

    During his ten-plus years as a cultivator who had roamed the universe, Lu Yin had seen many strange ces. Despite that, this ce still managed to surprise him.

    He heard footsteps from behind, and Shou Sheng walked up. Lu Yin did not reveal any unfamiliarity with where he was, and simply took a deep breath and stretched his arms.

    "Brother Qi''s body is recovering quickly." Shou Shengughed heartily as he stepped up to Lu Yin''s side.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "I have thick skin. Mr. Shou, where are we headed?"

    Shou Sheng said casually, "Not too far away."

    Lu Yin nodded. They were in the middle of a vast sea, so he did not want to be impulsive and simply leave. It would be best to have solid ground beneath his feet before fleeing, though with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, let alone the middle of the sea, he would be fine surviving in the middle of space. Still, this was an unknown ce, and he did not want to take too many risks.

    He looked up and saw thend up above. This ce seemed to be a hidden region, and there was actually ground up above the stars and the sun. Could he be inside of Jupiter?

    Shou Sheng noticed that Lu Yin was staying rather quiet, and so the middle-aged man stayed rtively quiet himself. After calcting the time, he realized it was almost time.

    Lu Yin returned to the cabin and waited for nightfall. Inside the cabin, Lu Yin lifted his hand and brought out his die. He first needed to allow his body to recover, and that thought caused him to set aside his cosmic ring. After that, he immediately rolled the die.

    It spun slowly before suddenly stopping. Luckily, it was four pips: Timestop. Lu Yin grabbed his cosmic ring as the scenery changed before his eyes and he entered the Timestop Space.

    After entering the space, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He opened his cosmic ring and took out an ancient medication he had upgraded. He had twelve such pills, and he had upgraded them all to the point that their rune linespared to an Enlighter, and three had been further upgraded until they matched the runes of an Enlighter with a power level of close to 300,000.

    Lu Yin''sbat power was strong enough for him to overpower Enlighters with power levels of more than 400,000, but he himself was still just a Hunter, so these pills were perfect for him.

    There was also the pill he had been given by the elders of the Cosmic Sect which was useful for even Envoys, but that pill was too precious, as well as unnecessary.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin swallowed a pill. It did not really matter if it worked or not.

    The medicinal herbs entered his body, and were quite effective. The wounds covering his body began to recover at a visible rate, and his internal injuries also began to quickly heal.

    However, his blocked channels did not improve, and Lu Yin could not determine how they had been blocked.

    He was not in a hurry, as he could stay in this space for a long time and cultivate.

    He then began to silently recite the full Stonewall Scriptures, even as he was practicing his other battle techniques.

    A month soon passed in the space, and Lu Yin¡¯s blocked channels had recovered a great deal. He quickly absorbed some energy from some star essence in order to restore his body¡¯s reserves.

    Two months. Three months. Eventually, five months. Lu Yin''s star energy reserves had been fully restored, and he let out a long breath. As long as was able to recover, he would be able to protect himself.

    With the defensive strength of his universal armor, he should be safe even in such an unknown ce.

    The scenery again changed before him, and Lu Yin returned to the ship¡¯s cabin.

    He had spent five months in the Timestop Space, but only a moment had passed in the outside world.

    Lu Yin deliberately restrained his breath and suppressed his star energy, as he did not was his recovery to be noticed by others.

    As the sky brightened, Lu Yin walked out of the cabin ready to leave the ship as soon as it reached the shore.

    As soon as he emerged, he looked up and saw it was very dark off in the distance. It looked like the precursor of an approaching storm.

    Shou Sheng''s expression was solemn, as well as rather unsightly.

    There were other people on deck, though all of them looked apprehensive and frightened.

    When the old man saw Lu Yin walking out of the cabin, he quickly said, "Little- Little Brother, you should return to the cabin. There¡¯s danger approaching."

    Lu Yin did not ask any questions, as he was afraid that any questions he had would reveal hisck ofmon knowledge and cause him to be seen through. He turned around and returned to the cabin.

    Soon, an inexplicable sense of danger struck him, and made his scalp go numb. The fact that the Stonewall Scriptures had failed to inform him of approaching danger as he was ustomed to. Without it, he was actually much less vignt towards the outside world.

    He lifted his hand. The ambient star energy was actually trembling. This was not something that most people could see, but Lu Yin¡¯s control of star energy had reached the Worldliness realm, and he was able to see that star energy was actually breaking down, and the process of the reaction was elerating.

    Some power was approaching, and this power left Lu Yin''s back go cold. He immediately put on his universal armor.

    The ck sky off in the distance was rapidly approaching, and a roar echoed through the sky and sea. The sound caused the sea to churn, and the stars to fade as a violent hurricane swept across the sea. The ship bobbed up and down, nearly capsizing.

    Shou Sheng became desperate. This storm had the strength of an Envoy, while he was merely an Enlighter. He was utterly powerless before an Envoy.

    Four massive eyes suddenly appeared in the pitch-ck sky. mes shed, and then a monster fanned our wings of mes that evaporated the sea as the creature slowly descended.

    The creature was an iparably massive two-headed behemoth. It was no smaller than the size that Star Devourer had assumed when ZENITH had first started. The monstrous beast held its two heads high as its two huge wed feet flickered through the air as it floated in the sky.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. This beast had the power of an Envoy. He reflexively wanted to measure the beast¡¯s power level, only to realize that his gadget was gone.

    The air was shuddering, and the sea was boiling. Countless dead fish floated atop the waves, and terrifyingly hot mes covered the sky within an instant, and the entire sky turned red.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. The power of this beast was no less than Leader Hong had been at his peak. Just where was this ce? Was it possible to run into an Envoy so easily?

    Wait, since this creature had the strength of an Envoy, the power it had already released should have torn through the void. A thought shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he waved a hand out. By Lu Yin¡¯s reasoning, he should have easily torn open the void with such a movement, but his hand simply waved through the air and did not affect the void in the slightest.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1350: Long Qi Of The White Dragon Clan

    <h4>Chapter 1350: Long Qi Of The White Dragon n</h4>

    Space was much more durable in this location than in the Fifth Maind, as despite Lu Yin¡¯s power, he was unable to tear through the void.

    As far as that beast with the strength of an Envoy was concerned, their ship was smaller than even an ant.

    Shou Sheng and the others looked on in despair, hoping that the monster would not attack them.

    There was another violent roar, and the sea flipped. Shou Sheng hurriedly quickly moved to stabilize the vessel, and he then looked up. The creature¡¯s head had descended, its mouth open and ready to swallow the entire ship.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and he instinctively wanted to escape.

    Suddenly, there was an angry shout, "Beast! Get back!"

    The dark sky was sliced apart, and the sun again shone down on the ship¡¯s deck. At this moment, Lu Yin had one foot over the side of the ship, but after hearing the stern shout, he pulled his leg back and turned to see the massive and powerful beast wailing. Itnded in the sea with a ssh and slowly sank. Its eyes showed its anguish, but even the wings of mes it had spread across the sky were extinguished.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This person was an Envoy, but who had they moved out for?

    Up in the sky stood a burly man more than two meters tall. His head was lowered, and he was looking down at the ship.

    Shou Sheng and others hurriedly showed their respects, "Thank you for your benevolence."

    The man''s body disappeared in a sh, and when he reappeared, he was already on the ship. Behind him, one could still see the huge monster that looked amazingly intimidating.

    Lu Yin had returned to the cabin and he watched from there.

    The Envoy¡¯s eyes swept past Shou Sheng and others before focusing on the old man. The Envoy looked straight at the old man, and his eyes grew much softer. "You¡¯re from the Dalian Mountain branch, correct?"

    The old man trembled and he hurriedly kneeled. "Elder sees true. This one is the butler of the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian Mountain Branch in the Middle Realm ."

    The Envoy asked, "Did someone bring him?"

    The old man was clearly frightened, and he saw Shou Sheng''s face go pale from the corner of his eyes, but the old man solemnly replied, "We- we brought him, but the Young Master was attacked during our voyage. He was injured, and is currently resting in the cabin."

    The Envoy was overjoyed. "He¡¯s not dead?"

    The old man shuddered. "No, he is not dead."

    The Envoy was clearly excited, and he looked towards the cabin.

    Lu Yin has already removed his universal armor, as he did not want to attract any attention. However, how was this Envoy looking at Lu Yin? If any problem arose, Lu Yin would have to flee, despite the possibility of danger in the sea.

    After a while, the Envoy left, though the massive beast did not. Instead, the creature moved beneath the ship, and then picked the vessel up and flew away.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Since the beast was present, how would he manage to escape? His universal armor was able to protect him from attacks of a certain level, but it would certainly not allow him to escape from an Envoy who decided to track him.

    There was a knock at the door. Lu Yin grew nervous. "Pleasee in."

    Shou Sheng and the old man both entered. One had a smile on his face, the other fear.

    "Little brother, how¡¯s your body recovering? You weren¡¯t scared just now, were you?" Shou Sheng smiled happily as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin reluctantly smiled back. "No. By the way, I¡¯m not sure what just happened? Where are we going?"

    He no longer cared about exposing himself, so he openly asked his question.

    Shou Sheng smiled and replied, "We¡¯re headed to the White Dragon n''s Middle Realm¡¯s base."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. By Shou Sheng¡¯s response, it seemed like this White Dragon n had to be famous and something that he should know about, so Lu Yin did not dare ask anything about the n. "I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on here, but could you let this junior leave? There are things I need to do."

    Shou Sheng looked at Lu Yin with a strange smile. "Little brother, there¡¯s no longer any need for secret¡¯s as your chance is here."

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, but his eyes grew cold at hearing such inexplicable wordse from a stranger¡¯s mouth. This was not reassuring. "What does that mean?"

    Shou Sheng nced over at the old man.

    The old man helplessly replied, "That lord just now that Little Brother saw, he¡¯s an elder from the White Dragon n. A super powerhouse, and the beast beneath us is his mount."

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "So what? What does that have to do with me?".

    "Some time ago, the White Dragon n sent out an announcement to all branches that men from the mortal tribes must report back to White Mountain. We are from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branches, but we were attacked during our journey, and our scion perished. For the moment, Little Brother, you are part of my White Dragon n: the scion of the Dalian Mountain Branch, Long Qi," the old man slowly exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared at the old man in confusion.

    Shou Sheng continued, "The White Dragon n has strict rules; any who fail to report within the specified time will be punished extremely severely. If the scion dies, the entire escort will be charged with the crime of insufficient protection, which is a serious crime."

    "So that¡¯s why you want me to impersonate this person?" Lu Yin felt strange.

    Shou Sheng nodded.

    The old man also slowly nodded. "Little Brother, your appearance is quite simr to my son''s. The only picture remaining of my son is from when he was a child, and it had been left back with the n. Little Brother¡¯s appearance is simr enough to deceive people."

    "Actually, that¡¯s already been confirmed. The elder from the White Dragon n nced at you earlier, and he epted your appearance. All that¡¯s left is to enjoy your fortune. Little Brother, this is the White Dragon n! You¡¯re to be a member of the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian Mountain branch! Your status will undergo earth-shaking changes! From today on, you are no longer an independent cultivator, but a member of the White Dragon n! They are one of the four most powerful forces of the Upper Realm, and also one of the ruling ns," Shou Sheng excitedly exined, his voice clearly full of envy.

    Lu Yin sneered. "You guys are truly naive. I¡¯m an outsider, and yet you want me to pass the White Dragon n¡¯s inspection and be a member of their n? And this is supposed to work by just having a simr appearance?"

    Shou Sheng quietly replied, "Of course there¡¯s more to it than that. We¡¯ve injected blood from the deceased scion into you. The blood of the White Dragon n, even a branch family, is something that your own blood can neverpare to. You already have the blood of the White Dragon n inside your body, and your own blood has already been assimted into it. This is enough to fool anyone. Little Brother, don''t you want to join the White Dragon n?"

    Ridicule shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This person had to be an idiot. It would be the greatest joke if it was that simple to fool the White Dragon n.

    Shou Sheng''s mouth curled into a smile. "Little Brother doesn''t seem very willing to do this, but unfortunately, there is no other way. The White Dragon n¡¯s elder has already determined your identity. Even if you don¡¯t want to do this, you should have already heard of the White Dragon n¡¯s methods."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew ugly as he stared at Shou Sheng. "Aren''t you worried I¡¯ll be exposed and that we¡¯ll all die together?"

    The old man suddenly looked even more frightened.

    Shou Sheng''s eyes turned grim and he no longer put on any sort of act. "Failing to protect a scion of the White Dragon n is a truly serious offense, and the punishment is bad enough to make me want to die a hundred times over. Regardless, none of this matters; do you think you can beat me, Little Brother?¡±

    Lu Yin went silent. Yes, Lu Yin would definitely be able to beat this man, but it also sounded like the White Dragon n was a power in this ce that wasparable to the Cosmic Sect in the Neoverse. This meant that there was no way or time for Lu Yin to escape.

    That was the thing, there was no time. If Lu Yin could pass off as the dead scion for a bit, it would allow this Shou Sheng to escape, and then Lu Yin¡¯s own life and death would have nothing to do with this Enlighter.

    Aftering to understand Shou Sheng''s intentions, Lu Yin readied himself to fight. He would make his escape right away. It would be better to try to face an Enlighter realm beast that try to escape from this White Dragon n. That White Dragon n elder would be much more difficult to deal with than this beast. Also, Lu Yin had the Deste Array from Highsage Grandmaster, as well as the walnut-shaped power vessel. Those would be enough for him to deal with a beast.

    As for Shou Sheng, Lu Yin had no intention to hold himself back at all.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and just when he was about to attack, the ship swayed and Shou Sheng stood up. "We¡¯ve arrived."

    Lu Yin''s heart fell; he was already toote. The Envoy level beast had been too fast, and they had almost instantly arrived at their destination. The White Dragon n elder and the n¡¯s other top powerhouses must also be in this ce, and it would be impossible for Lu Yin to escape.

    "Young Master, please." Shou Sheng addressed Lu Yin in a very respectful manner and gestured for the younger man to move out first.

    The old man stood up, trembling. "Young Master, please."

    Lu Yin was helpless. There was no way to escape this situation. As for the option of exining the truth of the matter to the White Dragon n, others would need to believe him, and he would not pin his hopes on the kindness of the White Dragon n.

    In the end, he could only take things a step at a time! If things did not end up working out, then his only option would be to resist. It was not that he waspletely helpless, but more a matter of whether or not it was worth fighting his situation.

    Lu Yin stepped off of the ship and onto the back of the massive beast. He felt somewhat uneasy at the fact that there was a creature beneath his feet with the power of an Envoy.

    Roar

    The beast let out a loud roar, and the ground beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet shook, and he was startled into almost putting on his universal armor.

    Next to him, the group with Shou Sheng was also frightened and everyone went pale.

    They hadnded on a mountain, though Lu Yin could not see how far it extended. Regardless, it was truly enormous.

    In the distance, there were floating mountain peaks, and white waterfalls that hung upside down. Strange giant beasts asionally passed by through the sky, and there were also fish flying up there.

    When Lu Yin and the others appeared, a terrifying aura swept over them. Lu Yin roughly estimated that there were no less than ten Enlighters in this ce, as well as the Envoy-realm beast and the White Dragon n elder. The power of the people in this ce would not lose out to Nightking.

    Lu Yin was somewhat terrified; just what was this ce? There were so many incredible powerhouses that there was no way that this was inside of Jupiter. There was no way that all of these people were part of the Primeval Surnames Alliance!

    They hadnded on one of the floating mountains. From a distance, it looked like it was nothing but a mountain, but its size wasparable to Earth itself. It was clearly just a mountain, yet it floated in the sky like a star.

    This was like in the Honor Zone.

    Only the hidden worlds in the Honor Zone containeds.

    There was another roar from behind them, and Shou Sheng and the others went pale once more. They asionally turned to look back, as they were all terrified the creature would swallow all of them.

    Some distance away, there was a group of cultivators all dressed in white uniforms neatly lined up. At first nce, they looked like an army. Every one of the cultivators was an Explorer, and they each held a long spear and were looking straight ahead.

    Further away, thendscape was covered with one building after another. The view was a beautiful as a painting on a scroll.

    Lu Yin and the others were led along by an attractive woman, and they saw an iparably gigantic python-like structure, and they soon saw that it really did look like a white giant python that had been created with an open mouth that was stretched to devour the universe.

    The closer Lu Yin came to the building, the heavier his heart felt. He did not know why, but this ce gave him a strong sense of deja vu. At the same time, he also felt an indescribable sense of coercion. Although that coercion was very weak, he still felt it. The pressure from this coercion far surpassed what he had felt from the Envoy-level beast.

    They entered the building shaped like a python through the mouth, and they arrived at what looked like an ancestral hall. It had a solemn atmosphere, and the color scheme waspletely dominated by white. The walls were etched with lifelike carvings that looked like dragon scales and python scales. Lu Yin could feel that all of the powerhouses had been gathered in this ce, and it seemed to be the stomach of the building that looked like a python.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1351: Celestial Frost Sect

    <h4>Chapter 1351: Celestial Frost Sect</h4>

    The old man from the Dalian Mountain branch of the White Dragon n excitedly looked around the hall. "This is the main branch¡¯s ancestral hall! I never thought that this old servant would one day be able to visit this ce. I can die without regrets now!"

    Shou Sheng looked around with fervent eyes. This was the White Dragon n''s main hall, and every single one of the White Dragon n¡¯s powerhouses had passed through here¡ªall of those powerful people had left traces of their passing. This ce had recorded the passing of experts and the years.

    Shou Sheng had not expected to ever receive the opportunity to see this ce for himself.

    Shou Sheng and others did not even dare to breathe; how many people in the entire Perennial World were able to visit this ce?

    They felt gazes all around them that made them tremble, even Shou Sheng with his power level that exceeded 400,000. This was because there was more than a single Envoy in this ce.

    Lu Yin looked around. Everyone was staring at him, but he waspletely unconcerned. Since he was here, then he would rx. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to a specific woman standing across the hall from him. Her looks were in no way inferior to Wendy Yushan¡¯s.

    This woman had an elegant appearance and gentle demeanor with long blue hair that hung to her waist, and limpid eyes like autumn water with amber-like irises. They were absolutely stunning, and it was possible to see everything reflected in those eyes. They were gentle, but there was also a certain sharpness to them, especially when she looked at Lu Yin. It made him feel as though he was being measured, but for some reason, it just left him feeling disgusted.

    The woman''s style of clothes was also different from those around her.

    Shou Sheng, the White Dragon n elder that Lu Yin had seen before, and all the other people in the hall dressed in a rather ancient style of clothing. In contrast, the woman had casual clothes on. That,bined with her sea-blue hair, meant that Lu Yin could have mistaken her for a college student if not for her strength.

    There were tall boots on her feet, and a single nce was enough to see that they had been specially made, as they bore the same pattern as the carvings on the hall¡¯s white walls.

    When one looked at this woman, they would feel a gust of wind blowing at him, carrying with it a subtle but intoxicating fragrance.

    Lu Yin observed the woman, and in turn, she observed him as well.

    Lu Yin did not have an outstanding physical appearance, and he could only be considered average. This much was clear to the woman, but his strength left her a bit surprised¡ªhe was actually a Hunter. Although this was not good enough topare to their top talents, it was still quite impressive.

    She had not expected a mere branch family to produce such a talented scion, but it was still fine. After all, he was still someone from the White Dragon n. It was normal for an elite talent to asionally sprout up even in a branch family.

    "Is he a part of the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian Mountain Branch?" a disruptive voice called out.

    Everyone looked over to see an old man in a cyan robe staring at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s expression did not look very good, and it could even be said that his eyes concealed killing intent.

    Lu Yin frowned, but he said nothing.

    Shou Sheng spoke up. "Yes, he-"

    Before he could finish speaking, the old man in the cyan robe snapped his eyes wide open and sharply rebuked, "Is there a reason why you interrupted when I am speaking?"

    As he spoke, a finger pierced the void and shot towards Shou Sheng.

    Shou Sheng had not expected the old man to attack while he was still speaking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank when he saw the finger approach. His mind was filled with shock¡ªthis was the finger from his dreams! Wait no, that was not quite right. There was a slight difference between that and the finger in his dreams, but the feeling that it gave off was a perfect match.

    The White Dragon n elder looked up. No movement could be seen, but the power of the finger mysteriously dissipated. "Elder Qing Xing, the matter of whether or not he is from the White Dragon n is something that I have already confirmed with the n. This matter has nothing to do with your Celestial Frost Sect."

    Elder Qing Xing snorted coldly. "He¡¯s nothing but a mere ant, and if he dies, he dies. Since when has Brother Long Kui had such a good heart?"

    The White Dragon n elder replied in a deep voice, saying, "I brought them here, and that should mean something."

    "Humph."

    From the first moment when Elder Qing Xing had moved to when the White Dragon n elder had stopped the man, the woman observing Lu Yin had never once shifted her expression. She had simply stared at Lu Yin the whole time.

    She had watched Lu Yin stand still before that finger attack. Her pupils shrank, and her brow furrowed a bit. This person was too timid despite being a Hunter. He had not even dared to move despite the attack not being aimed at him. This meant that he did not have any of the required determination for cultivators, and this was enough to judge his future aplishments.

    She felt a bit sad, but there was no reason to expect the dignified princess of the White Dragon n tomit herself to such a person.

    The White Dragon n elder also nced at Lu Yin with a simr dissatisfaction; the youth was just too timid.

    Lu Yin had no time to worry about what the others were thinking of him. He was staring at Elder Qing Xing, thinking about that finger, and also thinking about those three words: the Celestial Frost Sect.

    If this old man was from the Celestial Frost Sect, then did that mean that the finger from Lu Yin¡¯s dreams also came from the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Celestial Frost Sect. Celestial Frost¡­ When Lu Yin had gone to the Daynight Flowzone, he had saved a mother and her daughter, and he had heard them mention the name ¡°Celestial Frost.¡± Additionally, he had also learned about how the Daynight Flowzone had once been called the Celestial Frost Flowzone in ancient times. Was that the Celestial Frost Sect? That should be the case, as anything else would be too much of a coincidence. Celestial Frost was not amon name.

    However, if what Lu Yin was thinking was true, then he was not in the Fifth Maind, as the Celestial Frost Sect had disappeared long ago. So, where was he? What did this ce have to do with his own past, and what was his connection to the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Lu Yin no longer wanted to leave. He wanted to uncover the answers to these questions, and it appeared that the White Dragon n was the most convenient starting point for him.

    Apparently, the Celestial Frost Sect also needed to be respectful towards the White Dragon n, which indicated that both forces had a very high status.

    As long as Lu Yin managed to find a way to hide the truth from the White Dragon n and sessfully rece the Dalian Mountain branch¡¯s Long Qi, he would be more eager to join the White Dragon n than even Shou Sheng and the others.

    "Elder Long Kui, is he Long Qi?" the blue-haired woman asked. She had a very pleasant voice that made people feel quitefortable. It was like listening to a clear stream.

    Elder Long Kui respectfully answered, "Yes, he is Long Qi. He carries the blood of my White Dragon n."

    "No matter what, that will still need to be verified," the woman said.

    Long Kui agreed. "Very well, allow me to do so then."

    The woman shook her head. "He is to be my husband in the future, so I will personally verify this matter."

    Lu Yin was still caught up in thinking about the finger from his dreams when he suddenly heard this unbelievable statement. Husband? Husband? Husband?! What the hell?

    He reflexively looked over at Shou Sheng.

    Shou Sheng''s eye twitched, but he still pretended to be calm. He had not mentioned the matter of bing the main family¡¯s son-inw because this temptation was impossible for anyone to resist. No, Shou Sheng was preupied with the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s blood was about to be tested.

    Shou Sheng believed that he had done his work wlessly. When Lu Yin had been in aa, Shou Sheng had worked with the old man to inject Long Qi¡¯s blood into Lu Yin¡¯s body. The blood of the White Dragon n could suppress the blood of any regr person. Although it would notst for very long, it should be good enough for Lu Yin to pass this test. As for what would be revealedter, that had nothing to do with Shou Sheng, as he would be long gone by that time.

    The old man trembled, and his trepidation grew more and more intense. All he could do was pray that the youth would pass the test.

    Elder Qing Xing of the Celestial Frost Sect did not stop the test. The truth was that there was no need to stop anything at this stage. Although the Celestial Frost Sect was able to oppress the White Dragon n, they could not press too much. Their sect had already eliminated many of the White Dragon n¡¯s branches¡¯ scions, but the White Dragon n had been lucky enough to have one arrive alive. The moment this youth had stepped onto White Dragon Mountain, everything had been decided.

    By verifying the scion¡¯s identity, Elder Qing Xing felt that the White Dragon n was mocking his Celestial Frost Sect.

    Elder Qing Xing no longer cared about what was happening here anymore. Instead, he was thinking about how he would exin the matters after returning. After paying such a high price and running the risk of offending the White Dragon n by killing off the various branch families¡¯ scions, their efforts had still failed. The cost had been a bit too steep.

    No one believed that Lu Yin was an imposter, because no one had considered that Shou Sheng would be courageous enough to dare to have someone impersonate a scion, let alone find someone who looked practically identical to Long Qi. It was impossible to hide matters from powerhouses like those in the great hall, but Lu Yin really did happen to look a great deal like Long Qi. It could only be said to be god¡¯s will.

    The woman came to Lu Yin, and suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted over. Lu Yin subconsciously took a deep breath, and it smelled good.

    Lu Yin''s action made the woman frown, staring at him with a sharp look in his eyes, he smiled apologetically.

    The woman stared at Lu Yin for a while, and the whole time, her heart fell further and further. Ever since ancient times, the women of the White Dragon n had never married outside the n, but had always intermarried with elites of the n, and naturally, she was naturally the same. However, there were too few men in her generation, or else she would already have been married. She was also still too young, as otherwise the Celestial Frost Sect would have forced her into marrying someone from their sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect wanted to have her marry one of theirs not because of love, but because of their desire for the White Dragon Rolls Over technique. Everyone knew that this woman would never let the Celestial Frost Sect seed.

    The White Dragon n did not want to ruin the young woman¡¯s reputation by marrying her to someone from the Celestial Frost Sect. The only option was for her to choose someone from one of the branch families to marry. None of the branch families would dare disobey an order from the main family, but who could have expected the Celestial Frost Sect to be so ruthless? They had sent someone to attack the branch families, and clearly were no longer concerned about inciting the White Dragon n¡¯s enmity.

    This had roused even more fear within the White Dragon n. Since the young woman hade to power, the Celestial Frost Sect had gradually started to surpass the top forces and was no longer able to be restrained. Even the White Dragon n, one of the four ruling powers, was not willing to start a war with the Celestial Frost Sect at this time. Even after their branch families were attacked, the n could only feign ignorance.

    Fortunately, finally one branch scion survived and had been brought to the main family.

    If the young woman did not want to marry someone from the Celestial Frost Sect, her only option was to marry the only remaining branch scion. She was left with no choice.

    Everyone was waiting for the woman to verify Lu Yin''s identity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp and he prepared himself to don his universal armor in an instant and try to escape.

    ¡°Your blood.¡± The woman took out something that looked like an inkstone as she asked Lu Yin to drop some blood on the stone.

    He pricked his finger, and a drop of blood fell to the inkstone. There was no response from the stone after being touched by his blood, and the woman¡¯s expression instantly changed. In the back of the room, Elder Qing Xing was still thinking about how to exin matters after returning to his sect, and was not at all concerned with the test.

    The woman''s eyes flickered, and she stared daggers at Lu Yin. His heart sank; this was not good. He had failed. He clenched his fists, ready to put on his universal armor at any moment.

    At this instant, the woman pricked her own finger, and a drop of her blood fell onto the inkstone. The inkstone glowed, and then the white glow rose into the air where it formed a python that wandered the void before finally dissipating.

    Elder Qing Xing saw the python, but felt no surprise. Still, his eyes grew even colder.

    The woman indifferently announced, "There is no problem with his identity."

    Ater she spoke, she nced at Lu Yin with a strong warning clear in her eyes.

    Lu Yin stayed silent and did not speak. His identity was false. The woman had tested him, but had then helped him conceal the lie. This clearly had something to do with the Celestial Frost Sect elder. It seemed that Lu Yin¡¯s false identity was something very useful to the White Dragon n, though it would only be of use if it was true. Even if he was an imposter, he had to be acknowledged as true.

    This was interesting.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1352: Lu Yin And Long Xi

    <h4>Chapter 1352: Lu Yin And Long Xi</h4>

    Throughout the entire test, only the young woman and Lu Yin had been the only ones to see the inkstone. No one else had seen it, as their sight had been blocked by the woman.

    Elsewhere in the room, Shou Sheng let out a sigh of relief. They had passed. They were fine. All they needed to do was wait for the reward.

    No one noticed that the woman¡¯s White Dragon blood had fused with Lu Yin''s blood atop the inkstone, and then the White Dragon blood in Lu Yin¡¯s droplet of blood had dposed and been devoured. It was almost as if it had never existed.

    This was a very domineering action. This was the suppression of blood.

    The White Dragon n was one of the four rulers of Higher Realm, and could be seen as the overlords of the masters of this ce but nobody even considered the possibility that the main branch¡¯s bloodline had just been devouredpletely. This would be unimaginable for anyone to be this suppressed.

    This was also why the verification test had failed. Shou Sheng had assumed that the blood of the White Dragon n would be powerful enough to dominate Lu Yin''s blood. If that were true, then during the verification process, the White Dragon n¡¯s blood would definitely show some effect. However, Shou Sheng could not have known that the moment that Long Qi¡¯s blood had entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, it had been broken down and swallowed.

    "Elder Qing Xing, Long Qi and I are getting married tonight, and we will soon visit and pay our respects to the Python Ancestor. Would you care to stay and have a drink?" The woman looked at the old man from the Celestial Frost Sect and smiled at him.

    There was an ugly expression on Elder Qing Xing¡¯s face as he looked at the young woman. "Princess Long Xi, you better consider this matter carefully. It¡¯s possible that you White Dragon n will be doomed in the future because of your decision."

    "What arrogance, Qing Xing! The White Dragon n is one of the ruling ns and is not something you control. Even Bai Shaohong is only a junior, and he is not qualified to decide the future of the White Dragon n!" Long Kui shouted as he red at Elder Qing Xing.

    Elder Qing Xing waved his hand away. "Just wait and see; this matter is not the end. Bai Shaozu''s anger is not something you can withstand."

    After speaking, the elder paused and turned around to look at Long Kui and the others. He pointed upwards. "That person''s wrath is not something you can withstand, and not even your White Dragon n will be able to endure it."

    After that, he left.

    The expression in Long Xi''s eyes changed. Elder Qing Xing''s words, especially his final gesture, had caused a certain figure to appear in her mind. It was the figure of a being who surpassed all living creatures and was worshiped by all races. They had a beautiful face that seemed like something from a dream. They were obviously a woman, yet she looked down on the entire universe and had no peers. She was able to suppress all of existence with one hand. It was easy to know who the elder had been referring to.

    Long Kui''s face had gone pale. He was obviously thinking about something, and the depths of his eyes held powerful fear.

    "Xiao Qian, take Long Qi somewhere to rest," Long Xi ordered.

    The woman who had led Lu Yin and the others to the main hall was Xiao Qian. She gestured for Lu Yin to follow her. Lu Yin nced over at Shou Sheng, wanting to inform the man that his n had failed, but it was not possible with so many people present.

    Looking at the happiness in Shou Sheng''s eyes amused Lu Yin. The Enlighter probably would not even know how he died. Forget it. That man no longer had anything to do with Lu Yin.

    Before long, Xiao Qian led Lu Yin to an antique-styled bamboo house. The house had been built above a pond, and it was possible to see fish swimming about the pond through the gaps in the pieces of bamboo. The house was surrounded by mountain cliffs, and there were waterfalls off in the distance.

    "Uncle, please rest here for a while," Xiao Qian spoke coldly without even looking at Lu Yin. She then turned around and walked outside the hut and stood there quietly.

    Lu Yin sat down and rubbed his cosmic ring while considering his next moves.

    It was obvious that the finger in his dreams hade from the Celestial Frost Sect. Had the woman in his dreams who crushed everything with a single finger alsoe from this ce? That possibility reminded Lu Yin of the war between the Outerverse and the Sixth Maind. At that time, that finger had crossed an infinite distance, intent on crushing him. If not for the jade talisman Lu Yin had received from Mister Mu, he would have died at that moment.

    Since that woman had been able to traverse the universe with her attack and targeted the Outerverse, then this ce had to have some kind of connection to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had already be quite certain that he was not inside Jupiter. This could be determined just by the distances he had observed. The floating mountain he was on at this time was about the size of Earth. As for the possibility that everything was inside a hidden world in the Honor Zone, Lu Yin found that to be even more unbelievable.

    This ce was not Jupiter, and yet Lu Yin had been sucked into Jupiter. Did that mean that Jupiter was basically a tunnel to this ce?

    If that was the case, were Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue also in this region? Then that meant that the Primeval Surnames Alliance was also in this ce.

    Lu Yin would be able to find clues rted to his own past in this ce.

    Joining the White Dragon n would make it easier for Lu Yin to investigate his past and get in touch with the Celestial Frost Sect. However, his first problem was that he did not want to get married.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere on the mountain, Shou Sheng was excited about receiving his reward. The White Dragon n was a top power, and any reward they gave out would beparable to everything he had umted thus far in his life. He just needed to leave quickly and stay far away. Long Qi¡¯s blood would support the deception for a few days, but after that, it would be clear that Lu Yin was not a member of the White Dragon n, and everything would end at that time.

    Shou Sheng needed to hide before that happened.

    The old man from the Dalian Mountain branch of the White Dragon n followed behind Shou Shang. The old man was pale and followed the younger man like he was sleepwalking.

    Shou Sheng nced back at the old man. "Why do you look like that? We can¡¯t reveal any ws! Hurry up!"

    The old man smirked and his face showed his despair as he looked at Shou Sheng. "Do you really think you hid anything?"

    Shou Sheng was startled by the question. "What do you mean?"

    The old man closed his eyes. "If you had been sessful I would not have been sent back. After all, I¡¯ve served them in the Dalian Mountain branch of the n for many years, and the White Dragon n would not be so callous. Do you understand?"

    Shou Sheng''s expression instantly changed.

    However, at just this moment, the Envoy level beast stood up in a manner that seemed like it was stretching.

    Shou Sheng did not dare to even breathe. Suddenly, the beast raised its paw, and they were enveloped by a huge shadow.

    "No¡ª!" Shou Sheng roared. The monster''s paw fell, and Shou Sheng, the old man, and everyone else in their group were smashed to puddles of blood.

    Long Xi saw all of this. This group had offered her hope of not needing to marry the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Shaohong, but attempting to deceive her and her White Dragon n deserved death. There was no pity for their deaths.

    ¡­

    Back inside the bamboo house, Lu Yin had be bored. The fish beneath his feet would jump out of the water from time to time, and they would ssh the water up to drip on his feet.

    "Princess," Xiao Qian respectfully greeted Long Xi.

    When Long Xi arrived, she looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes. "Xiao Qian, you can leave now."

    "Yes, Princess."

    Lu Yin and Long Xi looked at each other. Both of them had calm eyes.

    Long Xi''s words were blunt, but her tone of voice was very pleasant. "You actually aren¡¯t as timid as I thought. How dare you deceive my White Dragon n?"

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, "Princess please check this matter thoroughly. This matter has nothing to do with me. I was injured and found floating on the Middle Ocean. Shou Sheng rescued me, but then forced me to rece Long Qi. I actually refused, but, as you know, I was unable to resist.¡±

    Long Xi naturally understood how easy it was for her White Dragon n to be able to uncover such a deception. ¡°Regardless, you tried to impersonate a member of the White Dragon n, and that deserves death."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Okay, then please grant me my death."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin, and a strange feeling flickered in her heart. When Elder Qing Xing had attacked earlier, this person had been so terrified that he had not even been able to react, so why was he so arrogant at this moment? "It seems that you¡¯ve resolved yourself. I won¡¯t kill you for now. You have a bit of intelligence.¡±

    "That¡¯s more than I expected," Lu Yin replied.

    Long Xi''s long blue hair fluttered with the breeze and brushed against the back of Lu Yin''s hand.

    Long Xi¡¯s cold eyes stared at Lu Yin. "I might not be able to kill you, but that doesn''t mean I can''t punish you. I can burn your body with fire, or have you stabbed by a thousand knives. What kind of pain would you choose to endure?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow and looked down at the fish swimming beneath his feet. "Princess, right now I''m like these fish; I can''t escape, and you can do whatever you want to me. I''ll listen to you, but just don''t punish me. I''m afraid of pain more than I¡¯m afraid of death."

    Long Xi''s eyes shed as she looked at Lu Yin''s calm face. For some reason, she felt a bit upset. Normally, such a person could not earn her attention. Even someone talented and who had risen up to be a Hunter was not worth her notice.

    There were many rare and precious treasures in the universe, and there were many youths who managed to cultivate to the level of a Hunter. Even just within the White Dragon n, more than one of their youths had be a Hunter, and several had even be Enlighters.

    She should not have her emotions affected when talking to such an average person. All she should need do was give orders, yet the calmer Lu Yin became, the more upset Long Xi became. It felt as though this person was not taking her seriously, especially attitude and her tone of voice. Actually, it felt more like this young man was the one being aloof. "Are you very arrogant?"

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment, and then felt confused. "What would I have to be proud of?"

    Long Xi''s voice grew cold. "You must know that I will take advantage of your existence to get through certain difficulties, and also that I will never marry anyone else in my life, so you must believe that you will be my husband and that there is no danger. That is why you have dropped all respect when speaking to me."

    Lu Yin was taken aback; there was supposed to be respect? He did not understand; was there something wrong with his attitude?

    "Little man wins."1 Long Xi spoke four words as she stared at Lu Yin. She suddenly raised her hand and five strange token-shaped pieces of metal began to revolve around Lu Yin''s body. His face changed, and he took several quick steps as he tried to get away from pieces. However, he found that he was trapped in ce, and the space where he stood had been isted. He struck out with 150 Stacks. This was a level of strength that should be considered impressive for a Hunter while not being too eye-catching.

    He struck a piece of metal, but was not able to make it even tremble the slightest bit.

    What he was facing felt very simr to when he had been trapped within Progenitor Hui¡¯s sourcebox array. However, this was a battle technique, while the other had been a sourcebox array.

    "Don''t think that being a bit clever will allow you to act however you want. This is the White Dragon n. Even if I don''t kill you, I still have countless ways to ensure that you suffer without dying," Long Xi coldly stated before turning to leave. "We will be married tonight, so before that, reflect on things and recognize your attitude."

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "We¡¯re going to get married? I''m not ready yet!"

    Long Xi ignored him. The White Dragon n was a lofty existence that had no need to pay any attention to such a small person.

    After Long Xi left, Xiao Qian returned. She looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes before staying outside of the hut. She never said a word.

    "Hey, Sister! Can you help to break out of this?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Xiao Qian ignored Lu Yin while calmly gazing at a distant waterfall.

    Lu Yin shouted several times. Helpless, he let out a sigh; what had he done wrong? He had a bad attitude? It seems that the little princess was quite concerned about his attitude. Since the White Dragon n was arrogant, did that mean that he had to act humble?

    Lu Yin felt rather helpless, as he did not know the correct answer.

    The five token-shaped pieces of metal spun as they revolved around his body. Lu Yin nced at Xiao Qian before lifting a hand and targeting one of the pieces of metal with an attack that carried 200 Stacks. Regardless, he still could not cause the metal to even tremble.

    This was beyond belief. 220 Stacks. 230 Stacks. Even when he used 250 Stacks, he still could not affect the little piece of metal.

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. The power of this technique wasparable to that of Progenitor Hui¡¯s As If Closed sourcebox array. The princess seemed to have recently be an Enlighter, but her strength wasparable to ZENITH¡¯s finalists. This ce seemed to be on a higher level that the Fifth Maind; it was so easy to find such a talented girl, and almost as soon as Lu Yin had arrived, he had encountered several Envoys.

    [1] A small person in Chinese usually refers to a petty person, a vile person etc.: a small man intoxicated by sess. Lu Yin''s just happy for the minor win. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1353: Promotion

    <h4>Chapter 1353: Promotion</h4>

    The pieces of metal were not easy to break, and Lu Yin was not willing to use his Vacuum Palm. No matter how powerful the princess was, there was no way that this technique was as powerful as Progenitor Hui¡¯s sourcebox array. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm might be able to shatter this trap, but there would be more problems after breaking free, and Lu Yin did not want to make himself too conspicuous.

    It would be better for him to appear to be a normal Hunter. At least for the moment, Lu Yin was in no danger.

    It was a pity that he was not able to see runes in this ce, as if he could, he would be able to more urately determine the princess¡¯s strength and the power hidden within the White Dragon Mountain, and then he would be able to more calmly deal with things.

    The sky quickly grew dark, and unending red clouds covered the top of the mountain. Above even that, there was an endless sky filled with countless stars that shone down. Above that was the Higher Realm that Shou Sheng and others had mentioned.

    Onendmass was right beneath a secondndmass, but with a star-filled region of space in between. This was an amazing ce.

    After a few hours, it becamepletely dark, and Long Xi returned to the bamboo hut.

    The moment he saw Long Xi, Lu Yin stered a smile onto his face and put forth his best at appearing humble. "Ahem, Princess, you were right, and I showed you a bad attitude. I won''t do so in the future."

    Long Xi frowned. For some reason, she still felt that there was a problem with this guy''s attitude. She did not feel any true respect towards her White Dragon n, or towards her as the princess of the White Dragon n. Still, it was time, and she did not want to put things off. "Keep an eye on your attitude. Don¡¯t say anything, and just follow me."

    "Yes, princess," Lu Yin replied quietly.

    Long Xi''s expression seemed a little better, and though Lu Yin still did not like the situation, he would have opportunities in the future, so he would slowly adjust.

    Lu Yin did not want to get married, but he was under the White Dragon n¡¯s roof, and he could not fight them here. They were one of the four ruling powers of this ce, and though it was not easy to ept, there were absolutely people in this ce with power levels that exceeded a million. Lu Yin did not want to die quite yet, so he needed to gain an understanding of things for himself.

    Lu Yin expected it to be an upbeat and lively wedding, considering it was for the White Dragon n¡¯s princess. He had certainly not expected the ceremony to be nothing more than worshiping the ancestors. The event took ce in the great hall, and Long Xi did not even change her clothes. This was too rushed! Out of all of the n¡¯s elders, only Elder Long Kui even showed up, though it was unclear how many eyes were watching the wedding that Lu Yin could not see.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask questions. After all, this was his first wedding.

    However, when he saw Long Xi''s cold expression, he wisely decided to stay quiet.

    At this moment, he was thinking that the most important detail of the evening might be the bridal chamber for the wedding night. The civilization in this ce leaned towards ancient practices, so new couples were expected to consummate their marriage. This made Lu Yin very uneasy, as not even he and Ming Yan had reached this step.

    As soon as he thought of Ming Yan, Lu Yin felt guilty. He did not know what had happened to her, or where she was, or why she had managed toe across Aru''s information.

    "This is just the ceremony. There are three stages to a wedding in my White Dragon n. The first is to worship the ancestors, and the second step is to pay homage to the Python Ancestor. Thest step is to register the wedding in the genealogy, and at that moment, the marriage is real, and then guests will be invited from all over. As the princess of the White Dragon n, I will naturally be married in the Higher Realm," Long Xi spoke lightly as she exined things to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin then understood that this night was not a real marriage, but just a ceremony that would force the Celestial Frost Sect to give up.

    "Even if we have not yetpleted the third stage, I am already your wife." Long Xi looked at Lu Yin in a serious manner. Lu Yin was able to see his own reflection in her eyes.

    "From now on, although you and I won''t be officially married, we will still be considered husband and wife. If I use you to get through this difficult situation, I won¡¯t let you down. In my life, I, Long Xi, will only be your wife." Long Xi spoke in an indifferent manner, almost as if she was talking about something that had nothing at all to do with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt somewhat depressed. He looked at Long Xi and saw sadness filling her eyes, as well as a bit of despair. What was going on? Does the woman have a sweetheart?

    "Do you know why I¡¯m willing to marry you?" Long Xi looked at Lu Yin and asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "To get through some problems?"

    Long Xi''s eyes darkened. "Because, you also have seven in your name."

    After finishing speaking, she extinguished the candles. "Please keep your distance from me."

    Lu Yin looked at Long Xi''s back. This woman was so beautiful, but she also seemed rather bleak. She had to already have a sweetheart.

    Lu Yin was spending his wedding night in the bridal chamber and standing guard over a beautiful woman, but he could not do anything. The situation left him speechless. Life really was unpredictable.

    The stars shone down, their spots of light looking like something from a picture as their silvery light entered the room.

    Lu Yin was resting and behaving himself when a familiar fragrance entered his nose. He opened his eyes and saw Long Xi standing over by the window with her back to him.

    Her sea-blue hair fell down her back. Long Xi turned her head to look at Lu Yin. Her eyes were so bright and beautiful in the light of the night. She raised a hand and pricked one of her delicate fingertips. There was a soft roar as a drop of blood shot towards Lu Yin.

    He was confused, but Long Xi gently exined, "That¡¯s my blood essence. If you absorb it, your true identity won¡¯t be revealed, and it can also improve your strength."

    Hearing that his strength could rise from this, Lu Yin did not refuse it. Blood essence was not a poison, so he allowed his body to absorb the blood essence.

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin for an intense moment before turning to leave the room. Although she did not like the person, he would be her husband, so she would help him as much as possible. Also, with how high she needed to climb, she needed to make sure that he remained able to match up to her.

    For a woman, her husband would be the most important person. No matter what Long Xi felt about Lu Yin, deep down she was slowly epting the man.

    Lu Yin has no time to be concerned with what Long Xi was thinking at the moment. From the moment that the blood essence was absorbed into his body, his blood began to boil. This was not blood from an ordinary member of the White Dragon n, but the purest blood essence of their princess. After this blood essence had entered his body, and an indescribable power had descended, and a giant python had mysteriously appeared behind Lu Yin that extended into the ground and into the sky.

    The python was like a phantom in a photo. After it appeared behind Lu Yin, it slowly grew.

    Outside the room, Long Xi was not surprised at this development. Her blood essence was able to release the power of the Python Ancestor, which meant that it was powerful enough to raise a person¡¯s cultivation. As for how much the person would improve, that all depended on how much they could personally endure.

    The Python Ancestor''s power was not something that an ordinary body could withstand.

    Everything that happened was watched by Elder Qing Xing from outside White Mountain. Elder Qing Xing was furious, as he had clearly watched Long Xi hand over her blood essence to that youth. For the White Dragon n, this was no different from a bride losing her virginity on her wedding night. This meant that the moment that the phantom python had appeared, Long Xi was no longer a girl, but a woman.

    Everything that the Celestial Frost Sect had schemed had failed, and Elder Qing Xing left the mountain with a livid expression on his face.

    Long Xi watched for a long time as the vision of the Python Ancestor''s grew bigger and bigger. Her eyes grew sad. She already knew what this meant. That person would disappear forever. No, that was not right. He had already disappeared and could never return.

    The vision of the giant python piercing the ground and the sky appeared fast, and then disappeared just as fast.

    In the distance, Long Kui sighed, and the Envoy level beast beneath his feet that was buried in the ground trembled. The power of the Python Ancestor frightened the beast to the point that it did not dare even look at the vision.

    Inside the bridal chamber, the vision of the Python Ancestor did not disappear, but transformed into a stream of qi that shot into Lu Yin''s body. This qi reced the star energy cycling through his channels. In the blink of an eye, Lu Yinpleted his 14th cycle as a Hunter. Also, the energy did not stop, but continued for another cycle.

    The power of the Python Ancestor entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, and his body was subjected to a terrifying pressure. He closed his eyes and saw a massive python that he could barely see the end of. The more he looked at it, the more confident he was that he could not see the end. The pressure on his body increased.

    The 15th cycle finished, and Lu Yin''s body tensed up. His veins popped up across his body, and a trace of blood broke through his skin and stained the floor of the room red.

    Another blink of an eye, and the 16th cycle finished. Lu Yin¡¯s skin cracked, and it seemed as though he was unable to bear the pressure any longer.

    Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar echoed in his head. This was the Python Ancestor''s roar. Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood and ced his right hand on the ground to hold himself up. The power of the Python Ancestor disappeared from within his body.

    Lu Yin stared at the blood stains on the floor, a bit incredulous at what had just happened.

    He cultivated so hard while in the Fifth Maind. He had done his best to improve his cultivation and had endured the agony of refining his body with mes. Yet in this ce, he actually managed toplete three cycles with just a drop of blood essence. This was just too fast.

    A power that was able to help someone improve their cultivation was something that belonged to Progenitors. There were Progenitors in this ce, and unless Lu Yin was wrong, that huge python he had seen had the power of a Progenitor.

    A python had reached the level of a Progenitor? Along those lines, the White Dragon n was able to use the Python Ancestor''s power, so were they descendants of the Python Ancestor?

    The Fifth Maind had no Progenitors, and though the Sixth Maind had three Progenitors, Lu Yin had never seen them. He had only ever sensed their immense power. However, if he was making aparison, it felt like the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat was not as strong as this Python Ancestor. The power he had felt from the two waspletely different.

    The White Dragon n had this Python Ancestor, and were able to utilize the power of python. Since the Celestial Frost Sect was able to suppress the White Dragon n, they had to have their own Progenitor.

    This was rather horrifying. There were four ruling powers in the Higher Realm, so did that mean that there were at least four Progenitors in this ce? And that none of them were any weaker than the Python Ancestor?

    The more he thought about it, the more terrified Lu Yin became. This ce vastly outstripped the Fifth Maind, and likely even the Sixth Maind. Just where was he?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the incident that had led to the Innerverse and Outerverse being cut off from each other: the Sea King had broken through the Upper Three Gates. Could this ce be what was behind the Upper Three Gates?

    Lu Yin heard footsteps, and Long Xi walked into the room. She looked at Lu Yin with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

    Lu Yin stood up and coughed twice. "Thank you."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "How did you do?"

    Lu Yin answered, "I¡¯vepleted the 16th cycle as a Hunter."

    It seemed strange that this ce referred to cultivation realms in the same manner as the Fifth Maind, but it led Lu Yin to be even more confident that this ce had ties to the Fifth Maind.

    Long Xi frowned. "That¡¯s all your body could handle?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and gave an honest response.

    Long Xi was disappointed. The blood of the White Dragon n¡¯s princess was potent enough to elevate a new Hunter to the peak of the realm unless their physical strength wascking too much.

    This person had only improved his cultivation a small amount, but his body had not been able to bear any more. This was a pretty bad result.

    There were some people who could use this challenge to leapfrog a realm, while others were not able to win even when given the strongest tools. From Long Xi¡¯s point of view, Lu Yin obviously was one of thetter.

    "Pay more attention to cultivating your physical strength in the future. Improving your cultivation realm is not the only thing to focus on," Long Xi said lightly.

    She assumed that Lu Yin''s early training had focused entirely on improving his cultivation realm, but then she remembered the attack with 150 Stacks that he had unleashed earlier in the day. The Oveying Stacks Path required a great deal of physical strength.

    This thought led her to look at Lu Yin strangely. If his physical strength was not poor, then why had he improved so little from her blood essence?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1354: White Mountain Library

    <h4>Chapter 1354: White Mountain Library</h4>

    Lu Yin himself was very satisfied with his results. He needed to absorb a muchrger amount of star energy than other cultivators toplete each cycle, so he considered it to be quite good for him to be able toplete all the way to his 16th cycle in one go.

    However, Lu Yin did not exin anything about this to Long Xi.

    This night would change their rtionship from two strangers to a husband and wife, and more optimistically, a couple.

    A few days passed in peace. From the night that he hadpleted his 16th cycle, Lu Yin had been constantly replenishing his body¡¯s star energy reserves. The power of the Python Ancestor had raised his cultivation, but he still needed to fill his newly expanded reserves with star energy.

    Long Xi was very generous and she had simply given Lu Yin 200,000 star essence, though this was not much, from her perspective as the princess of the White Dragon n. An ordinary person''s 16th cycle would take about 30,000 star essence at the very most, and she had given Lu Yin 200,000, which should be enough for Lu Yin to cultivate all the way until he was an Enlighter.

    "In the future, I¡¯ll give you some resources every month. As the son-inw of my White Dragon n¡¯s main family, you can¡¯t be too weak." Long Xi''s words still echoed in Lu Yin''s ears. He looked at his brand-new cosmic ring. It was an empty ring that was another gift from Long Xi. In a dismissive tone, she had asked Lu Yin to rece his cosmic ring with one that she assumed to be much bigger.

    Lu Yin could not understand where the girl got her confidence; the ring she had given him did not have even a tenth of the space as the ring he had been using. And as for the star essence, how would there be any left? 200,000 star essence had not been enough for him toplete a full cycle even when he had been a Cruiser. Afterpleting his 16th cycle, he needed 5.3 million star essence toplete his next cycle.

    Saying such a thing out loud would scare that girl stupid. Not even her White Dragon n¡¯s top elites would need so much toplete their 16th cycle!

    Lu Yin stared up at the cky. He saw-sized mountains that had waterfalls hanging off of them, and he asionally saw massive creatures wander about.

    Every mountain in this ce was inhabited, and would have no less than a billion of people living on it. Some of the mountains had even developed civilizations that had taken alternate paths. Some wished to leave their mountain world and go to a higher world, but they did not know what awaited them after leaving their mountains. They would be destined to be enved by the White Dragon n.

    The saddest thing in a person¡¯s life was to work hard to reach the end, only to find that they had only reached the very beginning.

    Lu Yin had not seen anyone for these few days, and the only one who hade around had been Xiao Qian, but unfortunately Lu Yin, Xiao Qian did not pay almost any attention to him.

    "Someone is here, so let''s go back," Xiao Qian said as a group of people walked by some distance away.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "What¡¯s this about? I can¡¯t even see people? Can I not go out either?¡±

    Xiao Qian pursed her lips. She wanted to say that what he said was right, but he was still the n¡¯s son-inw, even if he was a useless one, and she could not afford to show any arrogance. "The princess has a life, and you cannot see outsiders."

    Lu Yin sighed. Forget it. There was no need to cause problems before he was familiar with this ce, so he followed Xiao Qian to leave the area.

    The group of people had spotted Lu Yin from a distance and they immediately moved to chase him.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw a young man leading the group. There was mockery and killing intent in the eyes that were staring at Lu Yin.

    Xiao Qian''s expression instantly changed. "Please, let''s go!"

    It was a pity that she was already toote. The young man leading the group was extremely fast and was moving quickly. He walked directly in front of Lu Yin and Xiao Qian by using some strange footwork and forced them to stop. "Look at who it is? He¡¯s not from our White Dragon n. Could this be Princess Long Xi¡¯s husband? Haha!"

    Xiao Qian''s expression grew ugly. "Young Master Zhang, my mistress¡¯s husband is returning, so please do not block us."

    The young man focused his sharp eyes onto Xiao Qian. "Is there any reason for you, some cheap servant, to speak up when I¡¯m speaking?"

    Xiao Qian frowned. "I wouldn¡¯t dare, but the princess ordered me to take my mistress¡¯s husband

    back."

    The young man sneered and looked back at Lu Yin in a teasing manner. "Do you want to go back?"

    At this time, the group of people who had been chasing after them somewhat surrounded Lu Yin and Xiao Qian.

    Lu Yin casually answered, "Yes."

    The young manughed, and the rest of the group of people alsoughed.

    Lu Yin frowned. where did such a neuropathic groupe from?

    "Did you hear that? Our darling son-inw is going home." The young manughed.

    The rest of his group alsoughed heartily.

    Xiao Qian''s face went pale. "Young Master Zhang, please don¡¯t block our path."

    Lu Yin did not say a single word. There was no one in this group of people who could pose any sort of threat to him. Even if Young Master Zhang who was right in front of him was a peak Hunter, Lu Yin was not concerned at all. Listening to the conversation, he was quickly able to understand his current situation.

    Young Master Zhangpletely ignored Xiao Qian and looked at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re from the Dalian Mountain branch, right? After burning incense and praying to our ancestors, you miraculously were able to enter the main line of the n, but remember that you are nothing but a useless son-inw! See youter. The next time you see me, you have to greet me first and then get lost from my sight immediately, you hear me?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed; this kid needed to be beaten.

    At this moment, a voice was heard from the distance, "Long Zhang, who are you wanting to salute? Would you like this princess to salute you as well?"

    Long Xi was speaking from a distance.

    When Long Zhang and the others heard the princess¡¯s voice, their expressions all changed and they turned around.

    Long Xi then showed herself, and everyone in the group was stunned by her beautiful appearance. Long Zhang was actually a bit obsessed with the princess, and the stronger his obsession grew, the stronger his jealousy and hatred for Lu Yin. How could such a piece of trash end up with Princess Long Xi? She was a treasure of the Higher Realm! Even if her appearance was not taken into ount, just her status as princess of the White Dragon n was enough to drive everyone crazy.

    Even the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Shaozu had wanted to win her, yet she had ended up with a piece of trash.

    "Princess" Xiao Qian saluted.

    When Long Xi arrived, she nced over at Lu Yin. Her expression turned nd, and she looked back at Long Zhang. "You are bing more and more presumptuous."

    Long Zhang sneered, "Princess, maybe you¡¯re too close to see it, but a piece of trash from a branch family is simply an insult to you."

    "I gave you a chance back then," Long Xi casually retorted.

    Long Zhang''s expression instantly changed, and he felt both regret and hatred from the bottom of his heart. He had long dreamed of getting Long Xi, but there were people behind him who were aware of the situation, so how could he dare respond?

    "What are you doing here?" Long Xi asked.

    Long Zhang said, "I wanted to congratte the princess on her marriage, and I also wished to ask the n¡¯s new son-inw for advice."

    Long Xi''s voice grew colder. "There¡¯s no need. Go back."

    "Princess-" Long Zhang did not give up.

    Long Xi''s eyes turned cial and she suddenlyshed out. Five of the token-shaped pieces of metal instantly trapped Long Zhang, shocking him. "White Dragon Surveying the Sky?"

    After he spoke, Long Xi¡¯s hand shot past the revolving pieces of metal tond on Long Zhang''s chest. He vomited blood and tumbled through the sky before crashing into the mountain.

    The people in his group rushed over to help him.

    Long Xi looked down at him. "This was just a lesson. If you dare to antagonize my husband in the future, I will decide your life and death."

    After finishing speaking, she turned to look at Lu Yin. "Go back."

    Lu Yin shuddered; what a fierce woman.

    Xiao Qian¡¯s anger had been relieved, so she smiled and gestured for Lu Yin to follow her. "Let¡¯s go, please?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and followed behind Long Xi as they left the mountain.

    Down at the foot of the mountain, the metal that had trapped Long Zhang disappeared. He angrily pped the ground, his eyes filled with anger and killing intent. Still, he did not dare say a word. Long Xi''s status was far above his, and she could kill him.

    He knew the woman well, and she would do it.

    "¡¯Let''s go, please¡¯? How long will he live?" Long Zhang whispered. He red off into the distance before leading his group away.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin returned to the bamboo hut. He liked the area, and no one disturbed him since it was very remote.

    Long Xi nced at him. "This sort of thing will happen more often in the future. If you don''t want to be bullied by others, just train hard."

    Lu Yin snorted, but then looked at Long Xi with curiosity. "What was that battle technique you used just now?"

    Long Xi exined, "White Dragon Surveying the Sky. Even when facing an opponent far above my cultivation level, I can still trap them and leave them unable to resist. This is an inherited technique of my White Dragon n."

    "Long Zhang can''t use it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi shook her head. "Not everyone is able to learn it, and not everyone qualifies to even try. He is not a member of the main family, so at best he can train the Roving White Dragon."

    Lu Yin grew interested. "Roving White Dragon? Is it good? Could I learn it? What about White Dragon Surveying the Sky."

    Long Xi stared off into the distance. "You can try to learn it, but it would be difficult for you toprehend. Long Zhang took more than ten years toprehend the Roving White Dragon, and if you wish to train in the technique as well, you will need at least ten years."

    "So it can be learned without the blood of the White Dragon n," Lu Yin happily observed.

    Long Xi frowned and red at Lu Yin. "Remember, never say those words again! The blood essence I gave you is enough to prevent you from being seen through for a while."

    Lu Yin quickly agreed. The woman had a bad temper.

    Long Xi was in an irritable mood. The truth was that Long Zhang had provoked Lu Yin before she had interfered. She had shown up, but had not revealed herself, and so she had seen Lu Yin¡¯s submissive attitude and his reluctance to speak up against Long Zhang.

    It was possible that she had hoped to see Lu Yin bravely resist and not merely put on a bold front when with her. That was how a man should behave, and he was the man who would be with her for the rest of her life.

    Unfortunately, she ended up disappointed. This man was afraid of others. He had only dared to speak up a few words, and only against her. Such a man would never be useful.

    "There will be more people in the area soon, so don''t go out," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin did not object. "It''s too boring being here all alone, so get some books for me to read."

    Long Xi grew sullen. "Don¡¯t you know how to cultivate?"

    What could Lu Yin say? Cultivate? He had never stopped improving, but would he dare to actually cultivate in a ce like this? All he could do was recite the full Stonewall Scriptures. He did not dare release his domain or his spiritual force, as either one would expose him and incite an investigation.

    "Have Xiao Qian take you to the library. For the time being, stay there and don''t go out until I let you know." The longer Long Xi looked at Lu Yin, the more upset she became, so she simply turned around and left without looking back.

    Although this person was just a recement chosen in order to allow her to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect, she also hoped that her recement would be ambitious. Unfortunately, he was proving more and more of a disappointment.

    ¡­

    After receiving Long Xi''s order, Xiao Qian led Lu Yin to White Mountain Library.

    Human civilization was always inseparable from inheritances, and if there was inheritance, there would have to be a collection of writing. No matter if one were an ordinary person or one of the four ruling powers like the White Dragon n, the more books they managed to gather, the better.

    White Mountain Library was massive. "There are at least hundreds of millions of books in this bookstore. Is this enough for you to read?" Xiao Qian asked in a monotone.

    Seeing the ce and hoping to read until he was satisfied, Lu Yin merely nced at the girl. "Thank you."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1355: Legend

    <h4>Chapter 1355: Legend</h4>

    There were more than ten cultivators standing guarding at the n¡¯s library, and one of them was even a Hunter.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin approaching them, the Hunter opened the door without a word.

    Lu Yin entered the library alone. The entire building was dozens of stories tall, and it looked like an entire city. There were hundreds of millions of books scattered all over, and there were also some dedicated librarians.

    Besides Lu Yin and the librarians, there was also a smattering of other people reading inside the building.

    Lu Yin nced around, seemingly randomly selected the book closest to him, and flipped through it.

    At the top of one of White Mountain¡¯s peaks, Long Kui was looking down. He saw that Lu Yin was reading only the mostmon of biographies, not the training manuals of martial techniques. It was a pity that the princess really did not have good luck.

    Lu Yin was unaware that Long Kui was watching, though it did not matter, as Lu Yin had already guessed that there had to be someone observing him. He had purposefully not picked up a book about this universe. Instead, he had chosen a biography because these kinds of books would still give him an introduction to this strange newnd.

    Slowly, Lu Yin began to gain an understanding of where he had ended up.

    He learned that he was in a ce known as the Perennial World. Also, the wall off in the distance that blocked off his sight was actually an iparably huge tree that everyone called the Mother Tree. This entire universe, including the Middle Realm where Lu Yin hadnded, as well as thendmass above his head, was all held up by this Mother Tree. Below, down at the base of the tree, was the most dangerous ce in this universe, and it was known as the Lower Realm.

    Lu Yin also realized that every realm was huge. Although he was able to see the Mother Tree, that was only because of the Mother Tree¡¯s sheer size, which allowed it to act as a barrier that blocked off a portion of the universe. Lu Yin was also able to see what was known as the Bifrost, which was a rainbow bridge that spanned the three realms.

    Even an Envoy needed a great deal of time to traverse an entire realm. If Lu Yin¡¯sparisons were urate, then the Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and Lower Realm were no smaller than the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse. In fact, they might even berger as each realm also had a cosmos above them.

    Lu Yin also learned that the rainbow off in the distance was the path that connected the three realms, and he also learned that there was a huge python that had wrapped itself around the Mother Tree several times. This universe had always had Progenitors since ancient times, and the human civilization had also received inheritances from these powerhouses and established themselves around the Mother Tree in order to survive. The python was deep in slumber most of the time, but it would asionally rouse from its sleep.

    Lu Yin also found out that, at the top of the Mother Tree, there was the legendary Dominion Realm. There were several powerful Progenitors in that realm, as well as a huge eagle. The eagle apparently came from a simr era as the Python Ancestor, and it had been alive since the dawn of human civilization. The eagle spent most of its time sleeping, but it was treated more as a legend than anything else, and many ordinary people were not even aware of the creature¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin had already known that this universe also used power level to measure strength, and the metric was no different from what he was familiar with in the Fifth Maind. The difference was that the Fifth Maind used gadgets to measure power levels while thisnd usedmunication crystals.

    He also learned that there were many people in this universe with the surname Liu, Wang, Xia, Bai, and Nong. The four ruling powers were the White Dragon n, the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, and the Wang family.

    The family of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s master was surnamed Bai, and the Xia family oversaw Shenwu''s Sky.

    The Middle Realm had the Seed Garden that was overseen by the Nong family, and the Sword Monument was guarded by the Liu family.

    However, there was no Lu family. None. Not anywhere. Why? Lu was also a primeval surname, so why was there no Lu family?

    Lu Yin read through many biographies, only to find that there truly was no family with the surname Lu. It was as if the surname had never even existed.

    That should not be the case; how could the Lu surname not even exist? Was it that the Lu surname had only ever existed during ancient times? No, that was not the case. The Fifth Maind clearly recognized the surname Lu as one of the primeval surnames, so why did it not exist in this ce?

    This was too strange. Lu Yin continued to flip through more biographies, but he still could not find any mention of the Lu surname.

    Closing a book, Lu Yin fell into deep thought.

    This universe seemed to show great respect to the primeval surnames while the Fifth Maind was hostile towards those same surnames. There had to be a connection.

    Could this universe be the Fifth Maind¡¯s enemy?

    There were many things that Lu Yin was unable to understand, but he needed to stop reading. He had already gone through many books, and this did not match his typicallyzy behavior. However, the more abnormal things appeared to be, the more cautious he became.

    He began to feel that this universe was far more dangerous than the Fifth and Sixth Maindsbined. This was because there were an unknown number of Progenitors in this ce, and there were also arge number of powerhouses who had not reached that level of strength yet.

    This ce was quite dangerous.

    He became curious; just how old was the Python Ancestor? How many times could it wrap around the Mother Tree? Did that mean that the ancient python was so long that its body could run through all seventy two of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves? That was unimaginable.

    Just this thought gave Lu Yin a wave of dizziness, and he shook his head and walked out of the library. Just as he was about to leave, the Hunter guard raised his weapon to Lu Yin and ordered, "Go back."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What do you mean?"

    The guard stiffly answered, "Miss Xiao Qian told us before leaving that uncle should not leave the library."

    Lu Yin froze for a moment. "Is this Princess Long Xi¡¯s order?"

    The guard did not respond.

    Lu Yin was furious. He did not want to act out too much, but he could not allow a mere guard to order him around. It would be suspicious if Lu Yin was too weak-willed.

    After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin reached out, grabbed the spear with a hand, and sent 150 Stacks through the weapon in the form of vibrations.

    Although the guard was a cultivator who was a part of the White Dragon n, he was not a member of the White Dragon n as he was just an ordinary cultivator who had been recruited by the n. How could an ordinary Hunter endure 150 Stacks from Lu Yin? The Oveying Stacks Path had been enough to bring Lu Yin to firmly within the top ten of ZENITH, and not even Enlighters with power levels in the 200,000 could stand up to this attack.

    In the past, Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm had been powerful enough to deal with Enlighters whose power levels had been at 300,000.

    The long spear trembled as 150 stacks traveled along its length, shaking the guard backwards. The hand that he had used to hold the spear was injured, and his wrist was twisted into a position that left him with no choice but to release his weapon. He stared at Lu Yin in awe.

    Lu Yin grabbed the long spear and thrust it forward with a hand. The spear shot through the void, and a fierce shockwave swept out, forcing all of the nearby cultivators back and causing them to vomit blood. The Hunter quickly reached out to grab the spear, but the overwhelming force behind the weapon threw the man back thousands of meters, where he smashed into the ground at the same time as the spear.

    Everything had happened in a mere instant, and no one inside the library had even been able to react.

    The nearby guards were all shocked, and they looked at Lu Yin in surprise. They had not expected this new son-inw who was rumored to be a weakling to have such a powerful side. This strength was strong enough to challenge an Enlighter, right? Who had said that he was a piece of trash!?

    Lu Yin walked out of the library with his hands sped behind his back. His eyes swept over to the Hunter in the distance. "Can I now leave?"

    The Hunter was still frightened. He stood up, blood still at the corner of his mouth, and he quickly kneeled. "This one was reckless. Thank you, young master, for being merciful."

    "Thank you, young master, for your kindness." The surrounding cultivators all saluted Lu Yin in unison.

    Inside the library, many people were looking outside at Lu Yin''s back. No one had expected this youth who had been so immersed in his reading to also have a tough side.

    In the distance, Long Kui''s cold and stony expression softened slightly; the youth still had a bit of a spine. Weak cultivation could be made up for, but without courage, the princess¡¯s future life would be too miserable.

    Xiao Qian arrived at this time, and she looked at the guards kneeling down to Lu Yin in surprise. "Young master, what happened?"

    Lu Yin shot a cold look towards the maid. "Did you order them to disallow me from leaving the library?"

    Xiao Qian shook her head. "I told the guards to ask you to wait for me if you wanted to leave so that you could leave with me. There were no specific orders given to keep you here."

    Finally, Xiao Qian understood what had happened, and she shot a cold look at the nearby guards.

    Recently, many people on White Mountain had been secretly mocking Lu Yin and iming that he was weak, ipetent, and that he would bepletely submissive for the rest of his life.

    Xiao Qian was also quite surprised at what had happened, as she had also believed Lu Yin to be a weak and impuissant person who could only be bullied. She had not expected him to stand up for himself.

    "Young Master, this lowly one will tell the princess of this matter, and the princess will handle this," Xiao Qian said, her tone much improved from before.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Young master, please go with me. The princess has received an invitation, and the Junior Progenitor wishes to see you," Xiao Qian said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. Junior Progenitor¡ªthis was a term that he finally understood. It was a term reserved for a select few people who were young powerhouses recognized by the Perennial World as having the potential to be Progenitors. These youths were also the ones who received the lion¡¯s share of the Mother Tree¡¯s resources. This was why they were called Junior Progenitors.

    The particr youth who was longing for Long Xi was Bai Shaohong, the Junior Progenitor of the Celestial Frost Sect. The White Dragon n also had their own Junior Progenitor, Long Tian. He was Long Xi''s brother.

    Lu Yin was now meeting his older brother-inw.

    In this Perennial World, the Mother Trees also aged. Just like how ordinary trees were measured by their annual rings, the Mother Trees also had their own growth rings. But rather than years, these rings measured epochs, and each epoch would grant the Mother Trees another ring. The current era was known as Yuanlun, and there was a day known as the Yuanlun Festival. It was called that because it was the day that all of the Perennial World would determine the youths who were candidates for the title of Junior Progenitor.

    Junior Progenitors were not determined every year, every hundred years, every thousand years, or even every 10,000 years. The only way to receive this title was to win thepetition of a Yuanlun Festival. As for why this was the case, there were no specific reasons recorded in any of the books, but it seemed likely to be rted to the Mother Trees.

    A Junior Progenitor would receive unimaginable resources.

    The current era¡¯s Yuanlun Festival had ended a long time ago, so there was no way for Lu Yin topete even if he wanted to, as the timing had not worked out.

    Before long, Lu Yin saw Long Xi. There was a young man standing in front of her with a handsome mien, his face so perfect that it looked as though someone had sculpted it. There was also a bit of a resemnce to Long Xi.

    The man had obviously just been in a fight; his clothes were tattered, and he sported several visible wounds. However, the man was nothing but a projected image, and he was not truly present. Lu Yin could not determine a person¡¯s strength from such a projection.

    He subconsciously nced at Long Xi''s wrist. In the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, people used gadgets, but in the Perennial World, people used a t round stone that looked very ordinary. Lu Yin had noticed them before, but only after reading through the biographies had he learned that these things were calledmunication crystals and that they functioned simrly to a gadget. However, these stones were actually even more convenient than gadgets because there was no need for awork, and distance also did not affect them.

    These stones were unique to the Perennial World, but Lu Yin did not know where they came from. If possible, he hoped to take some back to the Fifth Maind.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1356: Seed Garden

    <h4>Chapter 1356: Seed Garden</h4>

    The moment Lu Yin appeared, the man''s eyes never left Lu Yin¡¯s. This person was the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, one of the four Junior Progenitors chosen during the Perennial World¡¯s Yuanlun Festival: Long Tian.

    "Long Qi greets big brother." Lu Yin respectfully bowed. The person in front of him was an important man.

    Long Tian looked at Lu Yin. His eyes were indifferent, and there was not even the slightest fluctuation in his expression, though his voice was even more blunt and ufortable. "Call me Junior Progenitor."

    Long Xi could not stop herself from speaking up, "Big brother, he is my husband."

    Long Tian frowned and looked over at Long Xi. "He¡¯s trash who doesn¡¯t qualify to speak to me in such a manner."

    Long Xi''s eyes instantly grew colder. "Does big brother also see me as trash?"

    "He¡¯s nothing more than a recement to help you hold off Bai Shaohong. Given time, I could find many others just as qualified," Long Tian coldly stated.

    "And yet, before he showed up, big brother never mentioned any of that. Bai Shaohong even ughtered my White Dragon n¡¯s branch families, but big brother still never said a thing," Long Xi¡¯s voice was also cold.

    Long Tian sighed. "I''ve been focused on cultivating. You know that I rarely pay attention to such things."

    Long Xi stared at Long Tian. "If that¡¯s the case, then you don¡¯t need to worry about it in the future. He won''t call you big brother because you two won''t meet in the future. I believe that big brother feels that my husband is not qualified to look upon you."

    Long Tian snorted. "Xiao Xi, you keep getting worse and worse about assuming things."

    Long Xi looked up and said, "Big brother, please show some respect towards my husband. Your attitude determines the attitude of the entire White Dragon n, and I don''t want him to live in ridicule and eventually fall into depression."

    Lu Yin looked at Long Xi''s back and was inexplicably moved. He knew that, regardless of who was against him, Long Xi would still protect him in this manner. Lu Yin had rarely been protected by a woman in this manner, but it felt quite nice.

    Long Tian and Long Xi stared at each other for a moment, and then Long Tian helplessly said, "Alright, he can call me big brother, and I¡¯ll also tell people to not be rude to him."

    "Is there anything else that you need, big brother?" Long Xi asked.

    Long Tian grew serious. "As you know, the four of us will soon head to the Dominion Realm to explore it, which is a reward for the Junior Progenitors. Each one of us is allowed to take a few people along. I would like you to go with me."

    Long Xi was surprised. "Based on what¡¯s happened in the past, Junior Progenitors have rarely ever taken people with them when they go to explore the Dominion Realm."

    "That''s because others are not able to reach the necessary level, and exploring the Dominion Realm is too important. That ce contains many inheritances from ancient times, so naturally, the stronger the people in the exploration group, the better. You can''t think of kinship at such a time. During the other Yuanlun festivals when the Junior Progenitors explored the Dominion Realm, trespassers would sneak in from the Forsaken Land, and they were not weak. I need help from people who are absolutely reliable, and you are strong enough," Long Tian exined. He did not try to hide anything from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heard everything. Forsaken Land? Trespassers?

    Long Xi started thinking.

    Long Tian continued exining, saying, "In the past, the Junior Progenitors were overwhelmingly more powerful than the other members of their generation after the Yuanlun Festival. Thus, all opportunities were seized by them alone. This was also why they traveled alone and did not work with others. However, our generation has several talented people, and you are one of them, just like the Wang family and Shenwu''s Sky. There should not be any trespassers from the Forsaken Land, so what we need to be the most concerned about are actually attacks from the other Junior Progenitors. I would like you to help me so that I don¡¯t have to worry about being attacked from behind."

    Long Xi asked, "Don''t you have a good rtionship with Bai Shaohong? Why would you be afraid of being attacked?"

    Long Tian frowned. "Big brother was wrong about the situation with Bai Shaohong. Additionally, anything obtained from the Dominion Realm is too important, as it might even be something from an ancient Progenitor. Just think about the power of those old Progenitors! The current Progenitors can¡¯t evene close toparing to those ancient powerhouses, and by our measure, those ancient Progenitors were powerful enough to be called gods. Obtaining the right inheritance could allow our White Dragon n to rise up and surpass the Celestial Frost Sect, which would also allow you to be free."

    Long Xi''s eyes shifted. "Alright, but I have a condition."

    "Say it," Long Tian said.

    Long Xi looked over at Lu Yin, and then told Long Tian, "I want you to arrange for him to enter Humility''s Gate to give him a way out."

    Long Tian arched a brow. ¡°Are you worried about dying on this path to climbing to greater heights and that no one will take care of him?"

    Long Xi was silent.

    Long Tian grew embarrassed. "I can''t make decisions for Humility''s Gate. You should already know that they have their own means of handling things. There¡¯s also a Progenitor behind that system."

    "That''s why I asked you to find a way to send him there. No one can find trouble with him if he enters Humility''s Gate," Long Xi said.

    Long Tian felt helpless, and he gritted his teeth.

    "Okay." After saying that, he carefully appraised Lu Yin. "Try to improve your cultivation. Although Humility''s Gate is a good ce to spend your time mooching your life away, if you¡¯re ever discovered, things will end badly."

    With that, the projection of the man disappeared.

    Long Xi let out a pent up breath, and Lu Yin finally noticed that her fists had been clenched the entire time. Only now had the young woman rxed her fists.

    What did her reaction mean? This reaction should have been what one showed to an enemy, but wasn¡¯t that her older brother?

    "Enter Humility''s Gate to keep yourself safe. Before we go to the Dominion Realm, I will do my best to help you gain some merit so that you can retire to Humility''s Gate. With a status as a retired member of Humility''s Gate, no one will dare to touch you. This is my way of repaying you. If I survive ande back, then it¡¯ll be fine. But if I don¡¯t¡­¡± Long Xi looked at Lu Yin and solemnly continued, saying, "Then you should leave the White Dragon n and live a quiet life. If that happens, never go to the Higher Realm."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. The atmosphere had be incredibly serious. "Why should I retire to Humility''s Gate?"

    Long Xi''s eyes narrowed. "You can¡¯t think of Humility''s Gate as a ce for the rich and powerful to be coddled. People like that die every year. Humility''s Gate is only able to remain independent and stand on the same level as the four ruling powers because they are supported by a Progenitor who does so for their own reasons. Every year, countless traitors of the Perennial World are hunted down and killed all across the Perennial World, and Humility''s Gate is responsible for all of those deaths. Most of what you hear about Humility''s Gate is not urate, so don¡¯t even think about trying to mess around in there.¡±

    Lu Yin snorted. From what he was hearing, it sounded like Humility''s Gate held a simr position in the Perennial World to the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court. However, Humility''s Gate sounded much more powerful than the Interster Supreme Court.

    There were three steps to getting married into the White Dragon n. Long Xi, as the White Dragon n¡¯s princess, held a high position. She had gotten married, and even though everyone knew that she had done so purely to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect, getting married was still getting married. Thus, many people continued to stop by in order to congratte her. However, most of them were not allowed to see Long Xi.

    One day, Lu Yin was once again reading in the library. Xiao Qian approached him and asked him to join Long Xi as she received some distinguished guests.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and his guess was that the guests were from one of the four ruling powers, as no one else would be able to receive such respect from Long Xi. But something was off, as receiving congrattions from those four powers was supposed to be the finale of the event. Then, Lu Yin was supposed to follow Long Xi up to the Higher Realm, where his name would be officially added to the family¡¯s genealogy as a member of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. The four forces should only offer their congrattions after that final step. It was still too early.

    Before Lu Yin arrived at a guest room, he heard the pleasant sound of Long Xi''s voice, as well as a man''sughter.

    Lu Yin grew upset. Although he had not truly married Long Xi, hearing his wife-to-be enjoy the presence of another man would make anyone upset, especially since Long Xi was always so restrained even when in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin entered the sitting room and nced at the man who had instantly drawn his attention. This person was really, really weird.

    Lu Yin had seen many people during his life: beautiful people, ugly people, handsome people, pretentious people, and even impossibly attractive people like Yao Xuan. However, he had never seen someone like this person before.

    It was not that there was anything wrong with the man¡¯s appearance, but rather that his clothes were clearly those of a farmer.

    The moment he saw Lu Yin enter the room, the man stood up with a bright smile on his face. "Brother Long Qi, my name is Nong Lie."

    Lu Yin nodded and blinked. The man in front of him, Nong Lie, was dressed simply and inly. His clothes looked quite ordinary, and they were of even worse quality than some ordinary businessmen¡¯s. The man¡¯s hands were also covered with calluses that seemed toe from farm work. There was a white cloth wrapped around his head, and even stranger still, his pants were rolled up, and there was mud on his feet.

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. This was his first time seeing such a person. How could he describe him? Down to earth. That was it¡ªdown to earth.

    "Someone is greeting you." Long Xi''s clearly disgruntled voice entered Lu Yin''s ears.

    Lu Yin finally reacted and smiled as he said, "I¡¯m Long Qi. Hello, Brother Nong Lie."

    Nong Lie''s1 eyes lit up. "Brother Long Qi is from the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian branch, and you should have had a pretty good life. I¡¯ve heard that there are wild beasts around Dalian Mountain. Does brother farm back at home?"

    Lu Yin choked on his words for a moment. Farming? That was a very unfamiliar concept to him.

    "Brother Lie, let¡¯s sit back down to talk," Long Xi said.

    Nong Lie patted his head. "Look at me! This is my first time meeting Brother Long Qi, and I¡¯ve forgotten my manners! Come, Brother Long Qi, sit down. You''re wee to join us."

    Lu Yin nodded, speechless. Just whose house was this? Also, when had they met each other? Lu Yin had never farmed any bit ofnd! However, he had destroyed quite a lot¡­

    "Brother Lie rarely has the time to visit. I wonder, what happened to Sanniang?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Sanniang, what a nice name.2

    Nong Lie exined, "My sister is still farming. When Brother Long Qi¡¯s name is engraved into the White Dragon n¡¯s main family tree, my sister will definitely go to congratte you two."

    Long Xi nodded. "It''s been several years since Ist saw her. I miss Sanniang very much."

    "Haha, little princess, you¡¯re in the Middle Realm now. If you have the time, then go and visit the Seed Garden. Sanniang also misses you greatly. It''s not that she doesn''t want toe visit you, but¡­ you know the reason," Nong Lie said.

    Long Xi nodded and stayed silent.

    Long Lie shifted his eyes to look at Lu Yin. "Brother Long Qi, what are your typical pastimes?"

    Lu Yin felt a bit strange, as this man¡¯s manner of address was far too familiar. "Reading."

    Nong Lie''s eyes lit up. "Reading? You have such elegant taste in your hobbies! I thought that you¡¯d be cultivating all year round, brother. Cultivating is way too boring, and it''s better to farm. Of course, reading¡¯s good too, haha."

    Lu Yin was really curious what this person meant when he said ¡®farming.¡¯ Could he actually be speaking literally? "Brother Nong Lie''s words ring true."

    After hearing Lu Yin''s agreement, Nong Lieughed even more. At this moment, his rolled up pants shifted, and a round creature that looked like a palm-sized peach jumped out. It had eyes and a mouth, and it let out a loud noise despite its size. It was very cute.

    "Little guy, don''t stir up any trouble. Get back," Nong Lie quietly grunted.

    Lu Yin looked at the creature in surprise. What was this thing? An astral beast?

    Yiyiyi, the little thing let out a cry as it looked at Lu Yin with evident curiosity, surprising Nong Lie. "You like Brother Long Qi?"

    "Yiyi," the little thing cried out again before jumping at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin caught it by reflex, only to discover the thing weighed nothing. He then looked at Nong Lie curiously. "What is this thing?"

    [1] This "Nong" means farmer. So this guy is Farmer Lie. ?

    [2] Her name literally means "third mom," but the name gives offs a very edgy bossy women kind of feeling, like those mysterious female inn keepers in a dangerous ce. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1357: Shenwuâ€™s Sky

    <h4>Chapter 1357: Shenwu''s Sky</h4>

    "This little guy is a type of fruit, a Guo. They aren¡¯t too useful, but they can help us find good mountains with running water and bountifulnd for farming," Nong Lie exined as he gave Lu Yin a measured look. He then said to the Guo, "Hurry up and get back here, little guy. Damn, I just can''t control you."

    The creature reluctantly looked at Lu Yin and let out another yiyiyi before jumping back into Nong Lie''s pants and hiding once again. It was not at all put off by the mud on the pants.

    Long Xi said, "Seed Garden is full of strange creatures from the universe. Seed Garden has seeds of all things, and the variety of creatures there are as numerous as the stars."

    Nong Lie smiled as he said, "It''s not that exaggerated. There are just some small things rted to farming there. The earth is the foundation of all life, haha."

    After that, his expression changed, and he looked at Long Xi in a serious manner, "Have you heard? The Wang family¡¯s second child was injured."

    Long Xi was surprised. "Wang Yi?"

    "Yes. I don''t know what happened. He returned some time ago and was seriously injured. He shouldn¡¯t have been back for another ten years, but now, he needs to be treated and will miss going to the Dominion Realm. The whole Wang family is upset, and Wang Su is furious," Nong Lie said.

    Long Xi indifferentlymented, "None of that has anything to do with us. Wang Yi isn¡¯t weak, and he is incredibly fast. Out of all his peers, only one of the Junior Progenitors can seriously injure him. An older powerhouse should have moved against him. It looks like someone is targeting the Wang family."

    "Maybe. I hope that they don''te after me. My humble family only likes farming, and I don''t like doing unnecessary things," Nong Lie said.

    "The Wang family¡­"

    ¡­

    Long Xi and Nong Lie continued talking, but Lu Yin was facing an internal bit of chaos: so Wang Yi had actuallye out of this ce. His Wang family was one of the four ruling powers of the Higher Realm. It was no wonder why no one in the Fifth Maind had known who he was despite him possessing such amazing strength.

    Wang Yi had managed to travel to the Fifth Maind, so what about the other three rulers of the Higher Realm? Were they able to do the same? Wang Yi had represented the Technocracy to participate in ZENITH, so did that mean that the Technocracy had some path that was connected to this universe?

    The Technocracy had always been mysterious. As far as Lu Yin knew, the Sixth Maind had seized control of half of the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain, but this ce clearly surpassed the Sixth Maind. Did that mean that the other half of the Master Brain was controlled by this universe? It was very possible that it was controlled by the Wang family.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that the Technocracy had also sent people to participate in the Tournament of the Strongest, and among them had been a woman named Yun who had been extremely powerful. He still remembered the look in her eyes; it was as if she had looked down upon all other beings in existence. She could have actually been from the Wang family as well!

    The Technocracy had clearly been established by Progenitor Hui, so why had the Sixth Maind and this ce managed to seize control of the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain? Why was the Technocracy always at war with the Fifth Maind? These questions were impossible for Lu Yin to figure out at this time.

    Nong Lie hade to congratte the couple, and he left a gift behind when he left.

    Lu Yin did not touch the gift, as Long Xi put everything away.

    "Don''t underestimate the Nong family. Even whenpared to the four ruling forces, the Nong family does not fall far behind," Long Xi told Lu Yin before asking him to continue his reading.

    Lu Yin actually had no interest in reading more books. He had already learned a great deal about the Perennial World, and he would not uncover any further secrets from reading books.

    Long Xi sent Xiao Qian to organize the wedding gifts that had already been received while Lu Yin went to a mountain peak on his own. There, he proceeded to another peak and just continued wandering about.

    His range of activities had been limited by Long Xi, but ording to what she had told Lu Yin, each mountain was the equivalent of a in the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin was wee to wander about them as he wished. There were countless countries, wars, and even civilizations that had progressed along alternate paths.

    Lu Yin had no interest in seeing such things. He was the master of all seventy two weaves of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse; what sort of civilization had he not already seen before? Once a person reached a certain level, it would be impossible for them to fall to a lower level unless forcefully struck down.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was covered by a shadow from up above. He looked up to see the Envoy level beast that was Elder Long Kui¡¯s mount.

    The giant beast sneezed when it saw Lu Yin.

    Although it had only sneezed, it changed the world around Lu Yin. He raced and barely managed to sessfully avoid the sneeze.

    The massive creature had two heads and fourrge eyes, and it stared at Lu Yin while showing a bit of interest, but then it sneezed again. These sneezes did not affect a huge area, so Lu Yin was able to evade the danger. He looked up at the beast in frustration; the creature was doing this on purpose.

    The beast was gaining more and more interest in Lu Yin, but he did not know why. The creature clearly had the strength of an Envoy, but it had the temperament of a child and was just toying with Lu Yin. Against its strength, he was not able to get away. All he had wanted to do was take a walk.

    If not for his wariness of the White Dragon n, Lu Yin would have already taken out and used his walnut-shaped power vessel on the beast.

    "Naughty animal! Back down!" Long Kui appeared, and his loud voice covered the mountain and rattled Lu Yin''s head.

    The giant creature felt aggrieved, and it let out a low roar as it nced at Lu Yin with reluctant eyes before taking off.

    Elder Long Kui stood high in the sky as he looked down at Lu Yin. "Let''s get you back to the library. Don''t wander about, as there are some ces that would put you in mortal danger, and I don''t want my White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw to die in his own territory. That would be humiliating if word ever leaked out."

    After that, the elder also left.

    Lu Yin had never been looked down upon in such a manner, and his mood settled into a bit of a depression.

    One day, he would be able to fight against a Junior Progenitor.

    A few dayster, another important person came to visit and congratte the new couple. This time, the person actually was from one of the four top powers; they were a member of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Xia family.

    When the Xia family visited, Lu Yin naturally went to entertain them with Long Xi.

    This time, the guests were not received in a sitting room, but rather on awn outside of the sitting room. This was because the Xia family had brought a quite special gift, a three-meter long spear. The entire shaft was silvery-white and had dragon scale patterns etched into it. The sections between the scales were dark red, and they looked like blood vessels between the scales. The weapon had been stabbed into the ground with the sharp de pointed at the sky. Its sharpness actually prevented the clouds far overhead from gathering up.

    Lu Yin saw the spear from far away. It was only three meters long, but to him, it seemed to be supporting the very sky. This long spear was a peerless weapon.

    The spear had been inserted into the ground, and Long Xi stared at it with zing eyes. This spear was known as Dragon Blood. It had been forged from the heaviest type of metal in the Perennial World and soaked in the blood of the White Dragon n¡¯s Progenitor. A pile of this metal would weigh as much as an entire, and not even an Enlighter could hold this spear. More importantly, even if a person possessed the physical strength to lift this spear, they still needed to endure the oppression given off by the spear, which was the pressure of a Progenitor.

    During an ancient war, this weapon had been lost, but it had been since found by Shenwu''s Sky and sent to the White Dragon n as a gift.

    Long Xi had never thought that Shenwu''s Sky would be so generous as to offer the Dragon Blood Spear as a gift.

    The group from Shenwu''s Sky stood nearby, looking calm. At the center of their group was a young girl with a delicate and beautiful face. There was a little smile on her face, and she seemed to be proud as she looked at Long Xi. This girl was wearing a green dress and delicate boots that asionally moved around as she tapped her foot. She looked very excited.

    When Lu Yin arrived, everyone turned to look at him.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin with aplicated light in her eyes. She seemed somewhat helpless, but also slightly hopeful.

    It was worth taking note of her expression. Especially at this time, people had been looking everywhere to make trouble for Lu Yin. However, it seemed that they were not targeting him this time.

    "This is a genius of Shenwu¡¯s younger Tian generation,1 Xia Taili. She¡¯s the younger sister of Xia Shenfei, Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor," Long Xi said as an introduction. She then looked back at Xia Taili. "This is Long Qi."

    Xia Taili looked at Long Qi and smiled at him. She looked very cute, but when her eyes twinkled, there was a touch of a cunning light to them. "Hello, brother-inw."

    Brother-inw? Lu Yin was taken aback for a moment, but then he smiled. "Hello."

    Xia Taili smiled at him in a very happy manner.

    "There are rumors that my brother-inw is incredibly strong and managed to conquer the White Dragon princess. Could you show me?" she asked as she pointed at the silver spear. ¡°That spear is named Dragon Blood Replica, and it is a gift for brother-inw¡¯s wedding. I¡¯ll have to ask brother-inw to carry it out himself."

    Long Xi was puzzled. "Dragon Blood Replica? Not Dragon Blood?"

    Xia Taili stuck her tongue out. "Sister must have misunderstood. This weapon was made as an imitation of Dragon Blood. One of my Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s seniors saw the peerless Dragon Blood a long time ago and was envious of the weapon. So, he purposely copied it, though his replica is not as powerful as the original Dragon Blood. Still, this Dragon Blood Replica is very powerful and is perfectly suited for the White Dragon n¡¯s use."

    Long Xi was disappointed, but she observed the spear even more closely. Even she had believed this weapon to be the original, and it should be impossible to make such a precise replica. There was only one exnation: the true Dragon Blood spear was definitely in Shenwu''s Sky.

    Xia Taili looked at Lu Yin and smiled brightly. "How about it, brother-inw? Let this sister see your strength."

    Lu Yin arched a brow; why was everyone looking to create trouble for him? Was Bai Shaohong really that influential?

    He looked over at Long Xi. She frowned at him and answered Xia Taili for him. "Long Qi has recently been injured and hasn''t quite recovered yet. Let''s talk about thister."

    Xia Taili''s expression suddenly transformed, and she looked upset as she stared at Long Xi. "Royal sister, much time has passed, and given the White Dragon n¡¯s medical expertise, brother-inw should have recovered long ago. This gift was specially brought for him, so if brother-inw doesn''t take it, then I¡¯ll be unable to answer to my seniors."

    Long Xi''s face grew ugly. "When did Shenwu''s Sky get so close to the Celestial Frost Sect? I can¡¯t believe that you¡¯re actually helping him."

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "Sister, don''t misunderstand things¡ªthis has nothing to do with Bai Shaohong. Rather, my eldest brother has always admired you. Now that sister has married someone else, it¡¯s natural for a younger sister like me to deliver a wedding gift."

    Lu Yin instantly understood that this girl was trying to humiliate him for her brother. Lu Yin could not help but look over at Long Xi. His wife-in-name was truly charming, and everyone desired her. He had a lot of rivals!

    Long Xi frowned. "We no longer wish to ept this gift."

    Xia Taili¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "Sister, it''s not like that¡ªthis is just a gift. You can¡¯t possibly be worried that my brother-inw can¡¯t pick it up, right ? Ah, nevermind, that must be it."

    After speaking, Xia Taili brought out a sword and stabbed it into the ground. She then looked over at Lu Yin and smiled. "Brother-inw, can you pick up this sword? It''s quite light."

    Long Xi was furious. "You!"

    Lu Yin suddenly stepped forward. He smiled at Long Xi and then looked over at Xia Taili. "Is Xia Shenfei your big brother?"

    Xia Taili nodded proudly.

    Lu Yin shrugged. His mouth then slowly curled into a smile. "Your Junior Progenitor doesn¡¯t amount to much after all. He¡¯s chasing after my wife."

    Absolute silence met his words.

    Long Xi waspletely stunned.

    Xia Taili stared nkly at Lu Yin. "You- what did you just say?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no need to repeat good things a second time.¡±

    After that, he stretched out a hand and grabbed the Dragon Blood Replica. There was a low grumble as the ground trembled. Suddenly, a dazzling white light pierced the sky and shot into the starry space high above. Lu Yin raised the Dragon Blood Replica with a single hand and spun it around twice before stabbing the tip at Xia Taili.

    Everyone from the Xia family shouted, "You dare-!"

    "How brazen!"

    [1] Nice little note from OMA:

    Typically, in Chinese names, where there are three words in a name, the first is the surname/family name.The second is the generation name. Everyone born in the same generation are grouped together by this name. This typically applies to boys only, but in this case, to a girl as well. Finally, the third is your own personal word/name. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1358: Roving White Dragon

    <h4>Chapter 1358: Roving White Dragon</h4>

    Xia Taili saw the speartip approaching, but she did not move. In the end, the de stopped less than ten centimeters away from the girl. Lu Yin tightly held onto the Dragon Blood Replica. ¡°This is a good weapon. I like it. It¡¯s too bad that it¡¯s just a replica."

    After speaking, he used a bit of strength to drive the spear into the ground in front of Xia Taili so that the shaft pierced the ground. ¡°Little sister, I¡¯ll take it."

    "Audacious!" A person standing behind Xia Taili was furious. He was a middle-aged man who possessed astounding power, and his anger caused the sky to shake.

    Long Kui suddenly appeared and simply looked at the middle-aged man.

    Long Xi stepped forward to stand in front of Lu Yin. She just looked at Xia Taili.

    Xia Taili took a long look at Lu Yin before turning towards Long Xi and smiling sweetly. "Sister, congrattions! You¡¯ve found a good husband, but this brother-inw is a little petty."

    "I like petty men," Long Xi replied indifferently.

    Xia Taili blinked, but her smile quickly returned. "You two are a perfect match then. My big brother is too powerful, so he¡¯s not really a good fit for you."

    After speaking, she leaned a bit to the side, causing her long hair to fall, and she waved goodbye to Lu Yin. "Brother-inw, I¡¯m very happy with today¡¯s result. I¡¯ll see youter!"

    After that, the girl left with the rest of the people from Shenwu''s Sky.

    After watching Xia Taili and the others leave, Lu Yin turned around and was about to leave himself, as he felt that he was in trouble.

    Long Xi spoke up. "Where are you going?"

    "Back to reading," Lu Yin replied quickly.

    Long Xi stared at him and then said, "That wasn¡¯t bad."

    After that, she left.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He had expected her to get angry with him. Given Lu Yin¡¯s temperament, he typically would have taught Xia Taili a lesson, but he was not in the Fifth Maind anymore. Thus, he had restrained himself. He had actually acted a bit impulsively, and he had been worried that Long Xi would take the wider perspective and me him for ruining things, but fortunately, she was open to his reaction.

    For the first time, Long Kui looked at Lu Yin with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

    Neither of the two had considered Lu Yin''s strength. After all, he had merely picked up Dragon Blood Replica. If he was capable of using the real weapon, then that would be truly impressive.

    Still, although Lu Yin had only picked up the Dragon Blood Replica, the scene of him twirling it around had created a few waves in Long Xi¡¯s heart. The man had actually stood up for her, which made her see him in a slightly better light.

    Because of that, not long after Lu Yin¡¯s scene with the Dragon Blood Replica, Long Xi called for him to leave the library once again. He looked at her with doubt in his eyes, so she told him, ¡°As the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, you qualify to learn one of the n¡¯s inherited battle techniques."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "An inherited technique? Which one? The trapped person thing?"

    "That''s called White Dragon Surveying the Sky, and it is incredibly difficult to learn. I''ll teach you the Roving White Dragon," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. Although he was a bit interested in new movement andbat skills, White Dragon Surveying the Sky was the technique that had piqued his interest the most. Lu Yin was already very fast, and even if he was unable to use his pure physical strength to match Wang Yi''s speed, Lu Yin was still much faster than most cultivators. As for powerful battle techniques, he had no interest. After all, he even had secret techniques.

    "You don''t like the Roving White Dragon?" Long Xi asked indifferently.

    Lu Yin quickly smiled and said, "Of course that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s also one of the White Dragon n¡¯s inherited techniques."

    "My n." Long Xi''s tone grew sharp, and she stared at Lu Yin. "Try that again."

    Lu Yin choked before repeating, "Of course that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s also one of my n¡¯s inherited techniques."

    Long Xi''s beautiful amber-colored eyes were locked onto Lu Yin. "Remember not to make such a mistake again in the future. Next time, I¡¯ll ground you for a day for each such mistakes you make."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; this woman¡¯s temper was too awful for her to be a wife.

    Long Xi had no idea about Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, and she led him to the top of a mountain. The mountain was huge, around the size of a, and a civilization had established themselves on it. However, Lu Yin and Long Xi arrived at a ce that was just out of reach of the mountain¡¯s nations.

    There was a huge waterfall pouring down from the peak, and it was impossible to see the bottom from the peak of the mountain, and the end of either side was also out of sight. So much water fell down from here that it was enough to drown a.

    "Roving White Dragon imitates the Python Ancestor''s movements when swimming. It requires one to observe the changes of the earth, and it is one of the fastest footwork techniques in the Perennial World. If youprehend this technique in depth, then you can step into the stellr energy universe," Long Xi said seriously.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The stellr energy universe?"

    Long Xi simply exined, "That''s the level of the universe that only powerhouses in the Envoy realm or above can enter. It¡¯s impossible for normal people to enter that ce without bing Envoys."

    She then grew more serious as she looked at Lu Yin. "My eldest brother, Long Tian, is just barely able to use Roving White Dragon to enter the stellr energy universe for a moment, which is another level of mastery."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed a bit. He naturally knew of the stellr energy universe, as he had been told that that was the true universe where Envoys had their battles. That universe was not something he could touch. At most, he was able to see it with his upgraded gemspring water. Of course, that was still when he was in a normal state. As for when he underwent the death energy transformation, he did not know as he had never had the opportunity to check it.

    However, he was certain that not a single person who had entered ZENITH¡¯s top ten was able to break into the stellr energy universe, but apparently, Long Tian was able to do so. Just this bit of information alone indicated that he was a step above even ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    The strength of the four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors were greater than ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    As Lu Yin thought about this, the level of power actually seemed to be about the same. Lu Yin had won first ce in ZENITH by transforming with death energy, and the people who had been right below him in the rankings had been Shang Qing, Wang Yi, and Wu Taibai. Wang Yi was just below the level of a Junior Progenitor in this ce, which meant that, at worst, a Junior Progenitor was as strong as Shang Qing or stronger.

    Lu Yin was making random guesses at this point, and Long Xi grabbed his shoulder with a hand. She told him, "Pay close attention.¡±

    She then started to move her feet. Instantly, Lu Yin¡¯s vision began to twist strangely. The scenery around them did not change. Rather, Lu Yin had been taken along by Long Xi when she had taken a step using Roving White Dragon.

    The technique was not just fast, as there was a specific path that coincided with the mountains and rivers, making their speed increase more and more. They gradually reached Lu Yin¡¯s top speed that he could achieve using his physical strength, but then they continued to elerate.

    Lu Yin was surprised; they were moving at a speed that was no worse than Wang Yi¡¯s. This woman was definitely powerful enough topare to ZENITH¡¯s top ten.

    Given Long Xi''s speed, it did not take them long to make a fullp around the mountain.

    The people living in the various countries across the mountain werepletely unaware of the two¡¯s passing.

    Shortly after their trip, atop the waterfall, Lu Yin eximed, "How does your speedpare to the Wang family¡¯s second son?"

    "You mean Wang Yi?" Long Xi wondered.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Do you know him?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "How could we know each other? It¡¯s just that Nong Lie made it sound like that person is very powerful, so it seemed like a goodparison."

    Long Xi considered the question for a while. "It¡¯s close."

    Lu Yin snorted. He remembered Wang Yi''s speed, and the man had stunned all of ZENITH with it.

    "Were you able to feel it?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "What?"

    Long Xi frowned. "Roving White Dragon."

    Lu Yin blinked. "You only let me feel it once. I¡¯m not some kind of genius at techniques."

    Long Xi stared at him and then looked at Lu Yin''s hair. Suddenly, she grabbed Lu Yin again. He expected her to take him for another run around to experience the technique, but instead, she roughly pushed him down the waterfall. "Go watch how the fish swim up the waterfall."

    Lu Yin fell straight into the waterfall, nearly swearing as he fell. The woman was twisted. Even if she wanted him to start from the base of the waterfall, there was no need to throw him off. What was she even thinking? If he did not have some skills, then she would have already murdered her husband!

    While still in mid air, Lu Yin stabilized his body. The impact from the falling water was enough to crush a Limiteer into a puddle of blood, but it presented no threat at all to a Hunter.

    Lu Yin eventually found a stone outcropping and stood on it. He looked up but only saw the waterfall. Long Xi was nowhere to be seen.

    She was clearly unfit to be a wife.

    Lu Yin did not have any strong desire to learn Roving White Dragon. Long Xi had mentioned that Long Zhang had taken more than ten years toprehend the technique, and since that person had taken so long, Lu Yin was in no hurry.

    Still, even though he was not in any rush, did Lu Yin have anything to work on besides Roving White Dragon? He thought for a while, but he felt quite helpless. Eh, forget it. He would just practice Roving White Dragon!

    The swimming fish rushed up the waterfall, but they did not go straight up. Instead, they swam along the weakest flows of the waterfall. Obviously, this was how the Python Ancestor had also swum.

    Lu Yin watched a fish off in the distance as it attempted to rush upwards. Several days passed, and Lu Yin was tempted to toss the fish up the waterfall at this point. He began to calm his mind by mentally reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    A few dayster, Long Xi observed Lu Yin from a distance. Long Kui was standing next to her.

    "While his talent for cultivating may not be great, his diligence is still quite eptable," Long Kui said.

    Long Xi did not speak and silently left soon afterwards.

    More than ten days passed, and Lu Yin continued observing the fish. He had actually gained a bit of understanding, and he struggled to understand how Long Zhang had needed more than ten years toprehend this technique. Regardless, Lu Yin now had some understanding of the technique himself, and Long Xi had also carried him along to feel it for himself. He was reying that experience over and over in his mind, and even without using the Cosmic Art, he was able to understand how Long Xi had used her star energy in Roving White Dragon.

    It was now time for him to try the technique out himself!

    "How is it? Were you able to feel anything?" Long Xi showed up and asked in a cold voice.

    Lu Yin blinked. "A lot."

    Long Xi frowned, clearly not happy with this response.

    Lu Yin was taken aback; what did this mean? He had simply told her that he understood a lot in order to let her know that he had gained some insights. Her attitude made no sense.

    "If you can''tprehend it, then you can''t do it. Lying about it only demonstrates vanity and arrogance," Long Xi coldly reprimanded Lu Yin. Any of the small amount of sympathy that she had previously shown Lu Yin had disappeared.

    Lu Yin opened his mouth, but he did not even know how to exin himself. Was he wrong forprehending the technique so quickly? Did he need to apologize for excelling or being smart?

    "My White Dragon n has peerless spear techniques, but there is no fixed style. Every branch of the n has a deep understanding of spear skills. There are no tricks to this, and while you need to be skilled at the spear, you should not merely strive for a passing level of mastery. You need to be able to do at least this much," Long Xi said, sounding upset.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know how to use a spear."

    "Then learn! It takes at least ten years to learn Roving White Dragon, but it takes a lifetime to learn the spear!" Long Xi shouted.

    Lu Yin felt that Long Xi must have been taught in this same manner as a child.

    Suddenly, a thought came to him, and he tentatively asked, "This n has invincible spear techniques, so what about the Celestial Frost Sect? What areas do they excel in?"

    Long Xi''s brows furrowed even deeper. She was quite upset, as she felt like Lu Yin was mocking her. "That has nothing to do with you. I¡¯ll be taking you to visit the Python Ancestor in three days."

    She then left with a cold snort.

    Lu Yin really wanted to know more about the finger attack that he had seen. The biographies and other books that he had read had never mentioned anything about that finger attack, but it should be the Cold Immortal Sect''s battle technique, which meant that it was not allowed to be casually recorded down.

    Lu Yin found it a pity that Long Xi did not get along with him. Her temper was getting worse and worse, and she would eventually need to reign it in.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1359: Bifrost

    <h4>Chapter 1359: Bifrost</h4>

    Three days soon passed, and Lu Yin finally left White Mountain. He was apanied by Long Xi and they rode on the Envoy level beast that was Elder Long Kui¡¯s mount. He called the beast Gui.

    The Envoy level creature was quite fast, and it traveled high in the sky. It took only the blink of an eye for White Mountain to disappear.

    ording to Long Xi, they were making their way to the Lower Realm; Lu Yin was to pay homage to the Python Ancestor.

    Every member of the main family of the White Dragon n needed to pay homage to the Python Ancestor.

    Lu Yin was both nervous and a bit excited at the thought of seeing the massive Progenitor python that wasrge enough to wrap itself around a Mother Tree. It was a Progenitor! Lu Yin was about to see his first Progenitor.

    They quickly passed by various mountains, and even with the speed that the Envoy level beast traveled at, Lu Yin was still able to see as they moved along. In the Fifth Maind, all creatures would retreat when an Envoy appeared, but in this strange universe, they asionally heard provocative roars.

    There was nock of beasts with the strength of an Envoy in this universe. Lu Yin shuddered whenever he heard a challenge, as he was dreading the aspect of them encountering a creature with a power level of more than a million that could simply swallow them all.

    The Middle Realm was quiterge, and not even the speed of Gui was enough for them to quickly reach the Bifrost.

    There was an invisible barrier on the back of Gui that protected Lu Yin and the others from the pressure of the wind due to their incredible speed. Lu Yin touched the creature¡¯s back, and when he saw that Long Xi and the others were not paying attention to him, he smacked the creature. It had very thick skin.

    He smacked it again, harder, and the force of his strike crushed a scale, causing Lu Yin to immediately stop, as he was worried about a crushed scale being discovered.

    However, his worries were baseless. Gui was an astral beast, and its defenses were not something that a human couldpare to. In the past, Lu Yin had once forced back Emperor Luo with a Vacuum Palm, and had also injured Leader Hong, but it would be impossible to injure Gui, especially when Lu Yin was merely smacking a scale.

    The beast did not even notice Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to go down to the Lower Realm, so we can only go to see the Python Ancestor. No one else will protect you, so stay close behind me,.¡± Long Xi casually ordered from where she sat in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin snorted. They were getting closer and closer to the rainbow in front of them. White Mountain was not that far from the Bifrost, but it was still a vast distance. The Nong family¡¯s Seed Garden was actually further away.

    There were still times that Lu Yin could not fathom how a tree could be so big; this Mother Tree was holding up a realmparable to the size of the entire Outerverse. He simply could not imagine a python that could wrap itself around such arge tree. This universe was destroying hismon sense.

    Something even more antagonistic of hismon sense soon appeared: he set foot on a rainbow.

    The Bifrost could be traversed like solid ground, and there were actually buildings, armies, and even rivers on top of it. The rivers were colorful, and were the exact same color as the rainbow beneath them.

    Was this a rainbow? Or a bridge?

    The Bifrost was enormous, though the full width of the bridge could be seen from White Mountain. It ran through all three Realms from top to bottom. Even if the entire White Mountain was moved, it would still be nothing next to the Bifrost. In this ce, Shenwu¡¯s Sky was supposed to be in charge.

    The red light beneath his feet felt as soft as sand, which surprised Lu Yin, though he did not show it.

    The colors of the rainbow were each moving and flowing, so there was no need for Lu Yin to move on his own. There were seven colors?¡ªred, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple?¡ªand they flowed in alternating directions. Red flowed downwards towards the Lower Realm, while orange flowed in the opposite direction towards the Higher Realm. Each of the colors moved extremely fast.

    Lu Yin and Long Xi were far from being the only people traveling to the Lower Realm, and there were many more people from the Middle Realm going in the same direction. Most of the people were part of expedition teams, but they did not dare to approach Lu Yin and his group.

    From the books he had read, Lu Yin knew that the Lower Realm was one of the most dangerous ces in this entire universe. As far as most people were concerned, the Lower Realm was among the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, and the ce was full of terrifying creatures. These creatures survived by attacking the Mother Tree. Even the Mother Tree could be destroyed, not to mention the people who lived on the Mother Tree.

    The Python Ancestor also lived in the Lower Realm.

    The red stripe of the Bifrost was flowing towards the Lower Realm, so Lu Yin and his group settled down. There was no one else around them, and the closest person was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. This ce was too big.

    Right as Lu Yin and his party began heading towards the Lower Realm, other groups of people stepped onto the Bifrost, and Lu Yin¡¯s image appeared in their minds. He was their target for assassination.

    There was no ce in the universe darker than the Lower Realm, and since the White Dragon n members could not be protected by others when they visited the Python Ancestor, this was the best time to target such a person.

    As the Rainbow Bridge gradually brought them closer to the Lower Realm, Lu Yin gradually saw the endless underground. This was the Lower Realm. The entire ce was slightly moist, and had a strangely rich scent.

    When he looked into the distance, he could see clouds down below, and even further down a vague outline of thend that made up the Lower Realm.

    When they arrived at the Lower Realm, Lu Yin¡¯s breath suddenly caught. He sounded startled, as if he had been shocked by something.

    Long Xi asked Lu Yin, ¡°Have you been to the Lower Realm before?¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how to answer her without his origins being discovered.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal for you not to havee here, so there¡¯s no need to hide things,¡± Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin coughed, but said nothing.

    ¡°The Lower Realm is extremely dangerous and is home to all kinds of creatures. The only thing these beasts live for is to destroy the roots and the trunk of the Mother Tree. Everything grows by absorbing nutrients, and the Mother Tree is no exception. You can regard these creatures as the enemies of the Mother Tree, and by that token, and also the enemy of humanity. The enemy of our enemy,¡± Long Xi said. After a pause, she continued, ¡°ording to what is known, an unknown number of these creatures are born every year, and also every year, members of my White Dragon n die here in the Lower Realm. None of the four top powers are an exception to this.

    ¡°As for the expedition teams that travel to the Lower Realm, their death toll can¡¯t even be calcted. Some of these people get hired by the Root Organization, while otherse to make their fortune or to explore to find valuable items, such as rare natural resources.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that since the Mother Tree absorbed nutrients, the Mother Tree¡¯s roots in the Lower Realm had to be in the ce that held the most nutrients. As these nutrients were absorbed and carried upwards, natural treasures were formed.

    Everything had a positive and negative aspect. The Mother Tree absorbed nutrients from the universe itself in order to survive, but the universe could not allow a Mother Tree to absorb said nutrients without restraint. Thus, there had to be creatures that tried to destroy the Mother Tree and acted as parasites.

    Everything in this universe seemed to have been carefully organized.

    ¡°There are many different areas in the Lower Realm, and it is actually muchrger than the Middle Realm or the Higher Realm. We¡¯re headed for the third region, which is where the Python Ancestor¡¯s head is located. Because the Python Ancestor¡¯s head is there, that region isn¡¯t particrly dangerous. Still, neither of us will have Elder Long Kui and Gui¡¯s protection, so we will need to be very careful. Over the years, many people have died in the third region,¡± Long Xi said.

    If Lu Yin was not able to investigate the connection between the Celestial Frost Sect and the finger from his dreams, then it seemed this ce in the Lower Realm would be the best ce for him to visit outside of the White Dragon n.

    The red flowed down on the Bifrost, and Lu Yin stretched out a hand into the clouds and let the cool mist drift over his hand.

    Off in the distance, there was a stream of air that strangely started approaching the group, and it carried a strength that shook everything in the air and on the ground. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed a bit, as this was a powerful attack.

    Gui raised a wed paw and shed out, tearing through the gust of air. There was a roar from the distance, and a massive head rose up in that ce. It was connected to a long neck. It looked at them from far away with savage eyes as it opened its mouth to roar.

    Gui was furious that a beast that did not even have the power of an Envoy would dare provoke them. This creature did not have as many heads as Gui, but it was arrogant. It prepared to roar once again as a show of its power. Suddenly, another beast appeared next to the first one. It sported a head that was ten times the size of the first beast¡¯s head, and when it fully lifted its neck, it stretched past the clouds and was almost level with Lu Yin and the others. It then roared at them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire back instantly went ice cold. He judged that this second beast surpassed the strength of Gui, and was immensely powerful. Was this the Lower Realm?

    Gui was clearly stunned for a moment, then he cowardly dropped his two heads down and wailed.

    Long Kui¡¯s mouth twitched. This was humiliating.

    At this time, another, evenrger head rose up high. This creature was even bigger and taller than the second giant beast that had popped up.

    Long Kui was stunned. There were three heads raised high and staring at their group. All of them felt a chill surge over them.

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded; was this a family of three? Did that actually happen?

    Long Xi had a horrible expression on her face. They were encountering beasts with this level of power the moment they entered the Lower Realm. This was not the same as previous trips.

    Gui fell down, fully revealing what a coward he was.

    Fortunately, the family of three beasts did not attack the small group. The smallest of the three beasts happily roared, looking quite proud of itself, but it was then smacked down by thergest beast. The smaller creature roared anxiously. If these three massive beasts were not sorge, but more the size of pets, they would look like a cute family.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. They were okay. They were fine. Lu Yin nced at Gui. He had expected the creature to be old and powerful, and had never considered that the beast would be such a coward. Gui could only be pushed around.

    Long Kui coughed. ¡°Princess, be careful. The Lower Realm changes each year, and sometimes even daily. As soon as you finish visiting the Python Ancestor, leave without lingering around. Even if you see something strange, don¡¯t rush to seize it. It¡¯s easy to lose your life down here.¡±

    Long Xi nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    Lu Yin began to feel that his thoughts had been a bit naive. He had believed that descending to visit the Lower Realm would provide him with his best chance to escape the White Dragon n, but it would be too easy to lose his life in this ce if he was not careful.

    The Bifrost did not actually stop at the Lower Realm, but Lu Yin and the others got off of the bridge. At this time, Gui was behaving more in line with his true nature, as he did not dare create too much of amotion. He quietly led the humans away from the Bifrost, and his huge body slowlynded in a forest that stood next to the Bifrost.

    Long Kui said, ¡°Princess, we can only take yo this far. Be careful the rest of the way.¡±

    Long Xi nodded. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    After speaking, she turned to Lu Yin and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded to Long Kui before stepping onto the rotten leaves on the ground and following after Long Xi. ¡°Do you know the way?¡±

    ¡°The White Dragon n is very familiar with the third region, and even if one of us hasn¡¯t visited the ce before, all of us have the mappletely memorized,¡± Long Xi said.

    ¡°How big is the third region?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi took a moment to consider the question. ¡°About as big as going from White Mountain to the Bifrost.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. That was too big. To cover that much distance, they would need to fly for several days, even if they moved at the same speed as Gui. If the two of them were to travel that distance, they would need at least about ten days, and that was also flying through the sky without meeting any obstructions.

    However, flying through the sky in this ce was basically asking for death.

    Lu Yin and Long Xi walked along as Long Kui quietly remained in ce and watched them leave.

    Half a dayter, another group of people arrived. They were led by a muscr man who carried an enormous iron weapon that was ten meters long. He led more than ten people and they all made their way towards the third region.

 Chapter 1360: Lower Realm

    <h4>Chapter 1360: Lower Realm</h4>

    When the new party saw Long Kui and Gui, they respectfully greeted the two in a way that was respectful towards a powerhouse.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Long Kui ordered.

    The group all froze, and the thick man at the front looked at Long Kui in a suspicious manner before saluting the Envoy again. ¡°What is Senior¡¯s order?¡±

    Long Kui stared at the man. ¡°Stay here.¡±

    The man was stunned. ¡°Has this junior done anything wrong?¡±

    Long Kui indifferently replied, ¡°If I want you to say, then you stay. The rest can do as they wish.¡±

    The man¡¯s face grew ugly. ¡°Senior, my expedition team epted a task and we need to travel to the third region in order toplete it. Without this junior, they won¡¯t be able to seed.¡±

    ¡°That has nothing to do with me. Quit the nonsense,¡± Long Kui said.

    The man felt helpless. He was only an Enlighter that was approaching the threshold of bing an Envoy, but there was still a vast power gap between him and a true Envoy, especially one like Long Kui. Long Kui could instantly destroy the man.

    ¡°Can this junior ask after Senior¡¯s identity in order to give an exnation to our employer?¡± the man reluctantly asked.

    Long Kui closed his eyes. ¡°White Dragon n.¡±

    The man was shocked, and the group behind him actually began to tremble and their eyes filled with fear.

    ¡°So Senior is from one of the four ruling powers. I apologize for this junior¡¯s ineptitude, as I did not recognize Senior¡¯s identity. Since Senior had given an order, this junior does not dare disobey.¡± He then turned to speak to the group behind him. ¡°I must stay here, so go into the third region to search. If you are not able to find it, I will exin the situation to our employer.¡±

    The group discussed the matter and eventually decided to continue on into the third region. It was not easy to get to the Lower Realm, and not everyone was able to make the journey. It was not easy to travel on the Rainbow Bridge. Also, there was a generous reward for the task they had been given, so they were not willing to simply give up. It did not take long for the group to start making their way into the third region.

    Long Kui did not stop the group. The only reason he had stopped the one man was because he was almost at the level of an Envoy, which would certainly make things difficult for Long Xi, or even threaten her.

    Long Kui was not afraid that Long Xi would be attacked, but that Lu Yin would be attacked and would be killed. It would be very difficult for them to find a recement for Lu Yin.

    The Celestial Frost Sect is not a righteous power, and this was something that Long Kui could do. He had stayed in this ce in order to stop people. It did not actually matter if they were intending to attack Lu Yin or not, Long Kui intended to stop the threats.

    However, there was more than one way to enter the third region, and Long Kui was only able to stop the stronger people who tried to enter from this direction. There was nothing he could do about the other entrances.

    From ancient times to the present, the White Dragon n had built itself up to be one of the four ruling powers. They had not reached this level through protecting their members, but instead by allowing all of their people to experience life-and-death crises. If Lu Yin actually did die, there was simply nothing that Long Kui could do about it.

    There were countless bones from the dead buried across the Lower Realm. It was possible for anyone to die in this ce without knowing how or why. It was one of the cruelest ces in the Perennial World.

    At the same time, up in the Middle Realm, there was a city that was kept aloft by an unknown force. It floated high in the sky, swaying slowly. There was a chain made out of strange looking links that surrounded the city. This ce was a flying prison named the Nest. It was a ce that imprisoned only the worst criminals.

    The Nest was a ce that was threatened with death at all times. Some unknown force kept the entire ce from plummeting to the ground, but it did not stop attacks from living beings. Thus, from time to time, huge creatures would rush into the prison and eat some prisoners. It was both a prison and a buffet for many creatures.

    This was the cruelest prison.

    No one kept a register of prisoners in this ce, because people died every day, and every day, more people would be brought in.

    At this moment, the void twisted in a certain corner of the Nest before tearing open. If anyone saw this, they would be terrified, as the only beings who could tear through the void in the Middle Realm were Envoys or stronger powerhouses. In order for someone to be able to tear the void without being discovered by others, they would need to be much stronger than an Envoy. It was not that there were no powerhouses in the Nest, but that all use of force was prohibited in this ce.

    A figure fell from the void andnded on the floor. Due to the wind from the storm that struck this ce all year round, the earth had be desated long ago. The figure supported themselves with one hand on the ground and stood up. Where was this ce?

    At this time, a man approached, trembling from terror. The figure looked over at the man, and the man looked back at the figure. The man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank and he pointed behind the figure.

    The figure turned his head to see a huge bird-shaped beast shooting towards them with its talons open to grab at the two people.

    There were three streams of qi that swirled about the figure, and they shot out in a violent manner and forced the bird-shaped monster back.

    The bird-shaped monster only had a strength roughly equal to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000, which was not enough to present any sort of threat to the figure, so the beast had no choice but to retreat. A short distance away, the man let out a sigh of relief as he stared at the figure, and took particr notice of the three streams of qi swirling about the figure and giving them an otherworldly look.

    This figure was Shang Qing.

    As he tried to remember everything that Arch-Elder Zen had said, Shang Qing stared off into the distance. Was this the legendary ce thaty beyond the Upper Three Gates? The ce where Origin Matter was found? Origin Matter was crucial to having a chance at bing a Progenitor, and the only way to obtain it was to join one of the Junior Progenitor¡¯s teams after the Yuanlun Festival and follow them to a ce known as the Dominion Realm. That ce was supposed to have countless vestiges that had beenid waste.

    This was the reward that was given to the top finalists of ZENITH. This was the opportunity that they had fought for. In this ce, Shang Qing was a trespasser and the enemy of everyone. If he was discovered, he would instantly be a target.

    Throughout the history of the Fifth Maind, many peerless talents had been sneaked into this ce, but very few had sessfully returned.

    Was he close to a Junior Progenitor? Shang Qing began thinking about how to proceed.

    An unknown distance away, there was a dazzlingly beautiful field of wheat. If looked at from high above, a person would be able to see that there were various patterns in the field, and it looked like a child¡¯s painting. Qiu Shi fell into this field, but caught herself at thest moment. She looked up and saw the vague impression of the Higher Realm high overhead. She also saw the stars above the sky. This was the ce beyond the Upper Three Gates. She needed to find a certain Junior Progenitor.

    There was the Zhongping Sea in the Middle Realm, and there was a strange underwater city beneath the Middle Sea. Xia Luo fell into this underwater city.

    Each of ZENITH¡¯s top ten fell into the Middle Realm. This was the only ce they could be sent, as the Lower Realm was too dangerous, and it would be too easy for them to be discovered if they were sent to the Higher Realm.

    Liu Tianmu stood quietly within some ruins. Her head was down and she was looking at the broken ground. She was looking at damage that had been made with a sword. She squatted down and touched her fingers to the sword mark. Her fingertips trembled the slightest bit from excitement as she sensed the terrifying sword intent. It was possible that the sword behind this mark actually surpassed the Thirteen Swords.

    Far up above, a long ways away, there was a massive stone tablet.

    Yuhua Mavis appeared in a river. It was not a normal river, but a strange river that was in the shape of a ring. It circled around stars and seemed to actually connect with a specific star. This was the river where Yuhua Mavis appeared, and it was filled with nations, ships, and cities.

    Yao Xuan appeared on the Rainbow Bridge itself and looked down at the yellow light beneath his feet. He was a bit confused. What the hell was this? Color? He was not standing on the ground, nor out in space. He was standing on yellow, and yet he saw an unimpressive city nearby.

    While the Middle Realm had various powerful families, there were not very many Envoys in the Realm. Some of the powerful families were subordinate to the four ruling ns, while others had attached themselves to the Nong or Liu families, and a few remained independent.

    The Bei family was one such family. They did not rely on anyone. They were a huge family that upied a vast region and were able to survive on their own because of their Envoy.

    Simr to the cultures that existed on White Mountain, the Bei family also had ponds. There was a civilization in each pond. Some of these civilizations had developed a system of cultivation, and asionally some people would arise from those ponds after achieving a certain level of strength, and they would discover that they were just ants living in a pond of the Bei family.1

    In some ponds, scientific and technological civilizations would develop, and some of the technological cultures would develop so quickly that they designed spacecraft and would break out of their pond.

    Wu Taibai appeared within one such pond where the civilization had been built around science and technology.

    Zhi Yi appeared on a magical ind. This ind was not one of earth or stone, but of food. Despite the time that Zhi Yi had spent cultivating and the countless bizarre sights she had seen throughout the universe, she had never thought that she would one day appear on an ind made of food.

    Liquor Hero arrived on a barrennd. She did not appear in the Middle Realm, because she was able to look up and see the Middle Realm. She had arrived on a in the space between the Lower Realm and the Middle Realm. This was empty because the civilization had been destroyed by war.

    Thest person to be given a position among ZENITH¡¯s top ten was Unseen Light. The Hall of Honor had initially wanted to give the final slot to Starsibyl, but she had refused the opportunity, and so they had needed to find a recement for her as well.

    Unseen Light arrived in a dark part of the Middle Realm that waspletely uninhabited. He fully unleashed his domain, but was not able to find a single person. He had appeared in the middle of a no-man¡¯snd.

    At this same time, Lu Yin had no idea that ZENITH¡¯s top ten had arrived in the same universe as him. He had arrived one step ahead of the others, but he was feeling terribly depressed and offended at this moment.

    ¡°Stay away and don¡¯t get out of that circle!¡± He heard Long Xi¡¯s voice from a distance. She was currently fighting a frog-like beast that had eight legs, but Lu Yin had been ordered to stay within a small ring.

    The ring was a power vessel that isted the void to protect Lu Yin.

    In the Perennial World, only Envoys or stronger powerhouses were capable of isting space. This power vessel had been given to Long Xi to protect her, but instead it protected Lu Yin while Long Xi fought off monsters on her own.

    The beast that looked like an eight-legged frog was not easy for her to deal with. Its body was colorful, and a nce was enough to tell that it was very poisonous. Also, it released strange screams that affected even Lu Yin, and his spiritual force was strong enough that he had been able to fight against Yao Xuan. These screams also disturbed Long Xi. She raised a hand and tried to use White Dragon Surveying the Sky to trap the creature, but its venom was so potent that it was able to overwhelm the battle technique and it struck Long Xi.

    She moved about and avoided the monster¡¯s attack, but the beast did not try to attack her again. Instead, it stared at Lu Yin and opened its mouth before spitting out colorful venom.

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his back, and he was tempted to put on his universal armor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get out of the ring!¡± Long Xi was terrified that Lu Yin would be scared of the attack and would try to escape, so she again reminded him to stay put.

    Lu Yin did not move, and the venom mmed into the ring. The void warped, but nothing touched Lu Yin.

    He heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, this creature¡¯s most powerful attacks did not exceed a power level of 400,000, and that was not enough to break through the ring.

    However, the beast was quite strange. It took a long time for Long Xi to kill it. The beast was soft, but also tough. Not even Long Xi¡¯s spear was able to stab into the creature, but finally she was able to stab it inside the mouth and kill it.

    She was breathing heavily as she put away her spear, and the ring automatically returned to her cosmic ring.

    Lu Yin approached and offered her a bottle of water.

    Long Xi indifferently said, ¡°No.¡±

    [1] This is not particrly clear, so OMA provided a bit of an exnation. Many Chinese authors treat a ¡°pond¡± as a representation of the known world/universe. In this case it¡¯s literal. The Bei family is essentially rearing isted civilizations in a sort ofboratory setting. ?

 Chapter 1361: White Dragon Rolls Over

    <h4>Chapter 1361: White Dragon Rolls Over</h4>

    Lu Yin really wanted to tell Long Xi that he did not need to be protected, but in the end he remained silent. If he revealed too much strength, it would arouse suspicion. However, Lu Yin was most curious about the White Dragon n¡¯s secret technique. After all, it was impossible for one of the four ruling powers to not have a secret technique.

    He shifted his attention to look at the eight-legged frog-like beast. This was something that could be easily run into in the Lower Realm. If this ce was thrown into the Fifth Maind, would Lu Yin¡¯s home universe be ughtered?

    "Let''s go," Long Xi said. She was already searching for their path forward and walking.

    Lu Yin followed closely behind.

    A day passed, and they were attacked again. This time, it was by bugs that emerged from the ground and tried to burrow into Lu Yin''s feet. He was so startled that he quickly evaded the bugs, but Long Xi killed them instantly. However, as soon as the two saw how many bugs there were in the ground, they simply fled. There were just too many.

    From Lu Yin''s perspective, the towering trees in the Lower Realm were not even trees at all, but were roots. After traveling for several days, the pair encountered various beasts, and were attacked no fewer than ten times. Lu Yin saw a huge white head off in the distance that practically filled the entire sky. It was the Python Ancestor''s head.

    He could not even see the entire thing. Most of the head was above the clouds, so only a small portion was visible. Despite that, what Lu Yin could see was just toorge. It was like an entirendmass that was hanging upside down up in the sky.

    Lu Yin grew a bit sluggish. No wonder the white python was able to wrap around the Mother Tree! Even after staring, Lu Yin could not see the end of the head. He was just looking at the python¡¯s head, and it was already so massive.

    Upon seeing the Python Ancestor''s head, Long Xi''s eyes grew excited while also revealing the respect she held for the python with the strength of a Progenitor. She slowly bowed, and Lu Yin quickly followed suit.

    "the Python Ancestor should be the most powerful existence in the Lower Realm," Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi''s tone revealed a rarely heard excitement and amazement, "That¡¯s only natural. Without the Python Ancestor, the creatures here in the Lower Realm would surge into the Middle Realm. the Python Ancestor suppresses the entire Lower Realm all by himself."

    "Aside from the Python Ancestor, what¡¯s the most powerful creature down here in the Lower Realm?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Long Xi thought for a moment. "I don''t know. I¡¯ve heard that thousands of years ago there were creatures at the Semi-Progenitor level that were killed, and there was some sort of catastrophe even further back when everyone who entered the Lower Realm died. And an even longer time before that, there was supposedly a fish in the Lower Realm¡¯s ocean that was big enough topare to the Python Ancestor. History recorded the creature as an Arkfish.¡±

    "A despicable fish?"1 Lu Yin had immediately thought of Lord Fish who rode on Xi Qi''s head.

    Long Xi nced over. "They called the fish Arkfish because it was simply too big and was on the same level as the Python Ancestor and the eagle in the Dominion Realm. However, there are only legends about that fish, and there there are no real records or facts to even prove that it existed and was real."

    Lu Yin sighed. "The Lower Realm is really amazing."

    "There are many people who wish it was not so amazing, especially the root organization," Long Xi said.

    The root organization had been established by the four ruling powers, and it specialized in eliminating creatures in the Lower Realm that were more harmful to the Mother Tree. The organization was well respected, and though the mortality rate was very high, the rewards given out were equally high. Lu Yin remembered hearing Shou Sheng mention being part of the root organization.

    Shou Sheng had preferred trying to find a way to have Lu Yin impersonate Long Qi and deceive the White Dragon n than return to the Lower Realm. That showed Shou Sheng¡¯s fear of the ce.

    Step by step they made their way towards the Python Ancestor''s head. As time passed and they survived various life or death challenges, Long Xi''s attitude towards Lu Yin improved tremendously.

    Lu Yin had never experienced being protected by a woman, and it felt pretty good, even if he was feeling extremely frustrated.

    The third region was extremely expansive. The two people walked for several days, yet the Python Ancestor''s head never seemed to get closer. This was partially because they did not dare travel too quickly.

    Whenever they had tried to pick up their speed, they had released fluctuations of star energy which had caused some beasts to attack them. By moving slower, they had significantly reduced the frequency of the attacks they faced.

    Suddenly, Long Xi froze and nced behind them out of the corner of her eye. "Someone¡¯s there.¡±

    Lu Yin had noticed the same a step ahead of Long Xi. He had not been using his domain, but had noticed the person¡¯s presence from the ambient star energy.

    Long Xi did not have as delicate control of star energy as Lu Yin. Lu Yin had been able to notice the presence of others through the fluctuations in the ambient star energy, and they had actually been followed for a long time.

    The two stopped and waited.

    The following party also stopped and did not move any closer.

    Lu Yin frowned. This did not feel right.

    Long Xi took out the power vessel ring and threw it around Lu Yin. "Don''t step out of that."

    Lu Yin was left speechless as he watched Long Xi return the direction they hade from. It did not take long for her to return, but when she did, her eyes were colder than before and there was a drop of blood on her cheek that did not belong to her.

    "Were they trying to kill me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi lightly replied, "Let''s go."

    She did not want to say anything more, so Lu Yin did not press the matter. The truth was that there was no need for him to even ask; no one would go to the Lower Realm to try to assassinate Long Xi, so clearly Lu Yin was the target. Had the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor still not given up?

    Long Xi had already married Lu Yin and had given him her blood essence. For members of the White Dragon n, that exchange had consummated their marriage, and the rest did not matter. This meant that either Bai Shaohong really liked Long Xi, or this assassination attempt was part of arger plot and the Junior Progenitor was not concerned about his reputation.

    Lu Yin recalled what Long Xi had mentioned before about the White Dragon Rolls Over.

    "What is the White Dragon Rolls Over?" Lu Yin asked. Suddenly, he felt his heart tightened. Maybe Long Xi had mentioned this before because not only was it not a secret, but was actuallymon knowledge.

    Long Xi paused for a moment and gave Lu Yin a strange look.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but said nothing.

    "You aren¡¯t from my White Dragon n, so I don¡¯t know if this ismon knowledge," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin released a sigh of relief. While Lu Yin had been epted as the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw with Long Qi¡¯s identity, Long Xi knew that Lu Yin was not actually Long Qi. Despite that, there were times when she would unconsciously treat him as though he actually was the person he was impersonating. It seemed that while this White Dragon Rolls Over was notmon knowledge throughout the Perennial World, it was something that everyone in the White Dragon n or the four ruling powers all knew of.

    "The Python Ancestor is also the white dragon, so when the white dragon rolls over, the Python Ancestor is rolling over," Long Xi simply exined.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "So why is the Celestial Frost Sect wanting to cause the Python Ancestor to roll over?"

    Long Xi looked up at the enormous python. "Because when the Python Ancestor rolls over, he might push against the Higher Realm."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "This is nothing you need to be too clear about. Bai Shaohong wants me in order to gain control of the mighty power of my White Dragon n¡¯s ability to roll the white dragon over. He will do anything it takes to deal with you and aplish this, and the only thing that could possibly cause him to hesitate is Humility''s Gate. Aside from them, not my White Dragon n, Shenwu''s Sky, or the Wang n could make him do more than briefly hesitate. The ruling powers have our own rules that dictate things for us, while Humility''s Gate is an independent and outside force," Long Xi said.

    "So that¡¯s why you asked your older brother to find a way to let me join Humility''s Gate?" Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi said, "After you join Humility''s Gate, keep a low profile and don''t reveal your identity. Bai Shaohong''s ability means that he can also get people into Humility''s Gate, but even if he wants to use that to deal with you, he still needs to follow Humility''s Gate¡¯s rules. This is irond. This means that as long as you don¡¯tmit any serious offences, people have nothing on you. You will have to stay that way for just half a year. After half a year,my brother will arrange for you to retire from the service to Humility¡¯s Gate, and then it will be much more difficult for Bai Shaohong to try to deal with you."

    Lu Yin sighed. "That sounds exhausting."

    Long Xi looked over at him. "Your entire life changed the moment you agreed to pretend to be Long Qi, so either do what I say or die."

    After that, she continued forward alone.

    Why did your temper re up again? Lu Yin was rather exasperated.

    "Given Bai Shaohong''s resources and abilities, there has to be more than one group of people that were sent," Long Xi said as she tossed the ring-shaped power vessel over to Lu Yin. "Keep yourself protected."

    Just as Long Xi predicted, they were attacked by many people as they continued. There were both hidden ambushes and open attacks. The attackers not only came from the third region, but from other regions as well. They did not know what Bai Shaohong had offered as a reward for Lu Yin¡¯s death, but the attackers were desperate whenever they attacked.

    Lu Yin was able to understand Bai Shaohong''s influence.

    If they were back in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin would simrly be able to send countless people to assassinate Bai Shaohong. What was Lu Yin¡¯s status in the Fifth Maind? It was very simr to Bai Shaohong''s status in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin felt that their uing days would be busy.

    Long Xi dealt with groups of attackers with her spear. Blood dripped from the tip of her spear, and three people surrounding her stared at her in horror. They nced over at Lu Yin inside the ring. It was clear they were unwilling to ept a loss. They growled and attacked as one.

    Long Xi''s spear danced about in an unpredictable manner, and a single attack sent her spear through the necks of all three people. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were able to see that she had not actually attacked once, but three times. He was able to see when she had retracted the spear, but not the moment that she had unleashed the attacks.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s spear skills were invincible, and this time of traveling together had shown this to Lu Yin. Long Xi¡¯s attack power with her spear was in no way inferior to Wang Yi''s Four Arts.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the ring and looked around. They had been surrounded by fifteen people, but Long Xi had eliminated all of them by herself. However, she had also suffered an injury this time; her thigh had been cut. Still, the injury had not affected her in the slightest and she had easily won.

    Long Xi began walking forward once again without even speaking. It was as though she had be used to this routine.

    Lu Yin quickly followed after her, but suddenly an rm went off in his heart and he reflexively unleashed his domain, though he limited it to only expanding to a meter away from his body. An old woman who had been killed during the previous battle suddenly appeared and lifted her arm. There was nothing in her hand, but Lu Yin''s domain was able to tell him that he had been attacked by something. He quickly moved his feet to evade the attack.

    Long Xi had not expected someone to still be alive, but her spear almost instantly shot forward. The spear also entered Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and the young woman turned to look at him in surprise, as she had not expected his domain to be so powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain was about as strong as Unseen Light¡¯s, and while Lu Yin could not rely on his domain to predict attacks, the defense offered by Lu Yin¡¯s domain did notg behind Unseen Light¡¯s domain. Long Xi¡¯s spear thrust had been an extremely powerful attack, but the moment the weapon entered Lu Yin¡¯s domain, she felt as though her weapon had been trapped within a quagmire, and the same was true of the old woman''s attack as well.

    Lu Yin suddenly retracted his domain, and Long Xi''s spear struck the invisible weapon, causing sparks to shoot out in all directions.

    Lu Yin was still unable to even see the old woman''s weapon, but he was able to sense it through his mastery of star energy and could tell that she had attacked with an invisible thread.

    The old woman flickered and rushed forward parallel to Lu Yin. Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose up; if someone did not know what the woman¡¯s weapon was, it would look like she was trying to escape. However, to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, this old woman clearly wanted to use her thread to cut off his head. Even Long Xi believed the woman was trying to escape. This was a very insidious means of attacking.

    Lu Yin immediately took out the ring-shaped power vessel, and the old woman''s silk thread struck the barrier from the ring, but the power vessel warped the void and the thread was unable to continue forward.

    The old woman''s eyes shed and she immediately moved to retreat.

    Long Xi''s knees went weak and her arms grew heavy; if not for Lu Yin taking out the power vessel in time, he would already be dead. Long Xi could not allow this old woman to escape, as she did not have the confidence to face this opponent at the same time as fighting the beasts of the Lower Realm. Besides, Long Xi already knew that the old woman was one of the assassins sent for Lu Yin, and the two of them could not afford to be careless.

    [1] A y on words. "Ark" and "despicable" are homonyms in Chinese. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1362: Realmless

    <h4>Chapter 1362: Realmless</h4>

    ¡°Stay inside the ring and don¡¯te out!¡± Long Xi ordered Lu Yin in a low voice before moving to chase after the old woman. The speed of the Roving White Dragon allowed Long Xi to move faster than even the old woman, and she quickly caught up.

    Lu Yin looked at where Long Xi had just passed and sighed. ¡°Get up. Stop pretending.¡±

    There was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen. Lu Yin nced at the dozen-plus corpses lying on the ground and focused on a certain man. Lu Yin then stepped out of the ring and walked over to look down at the man.

    The man¡¯s eyes suddenly opened and he stood up, staring at Lu Yin in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? How did I know you were alive, and why would I dare step out of the ring?¡± Lu Yin smiled slightly.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. A bloodthirsty killing intent shed in the depths of his eyes, but then he simply turned around and left. It was decisive and instant. The man was an Enlighter, while Lu Yin was only a Hunter. Lu Yin had even left the protection of the power vessel, and yet the man had not even tried to attack Lu Yin.

    This surprised Lu Yin. This man was a true-blue professional assassin. Only a very experienced assassin could be so decisive. If such a man missed a single attack, they would flee thousands of miles. If they felt the smallest of doubts, they would not take action. Lu Yin had clearly frightened the man by leaving the ring.

    Lu Yin shook his head, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He moved, but not himself. Instead, Lu Yin moved the man to stand right in front of himself. As the man stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief, Lu Yin raised his hand and flicked a finger. The wind from his finger was an attack that instantly pierced the man¡¯s body.

    The man had never dreamed that Lu Yin might possess such terrifying strength. It was at a level where the man had not even had a chance to put up any resistance.

    Lu Yin tossed the corpse back to where the man hadin when he had pretended to be dead, and then Lu Yin simply returned to the power vessel to wait for Long Xi.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had killed anyone in this universe. He had not expected it to be from such an unsatisfying fight.

    A long whileter, Long Xi returned. When she saw that Lu Yin was safe and sound, she was relieved, and she looked over at the corpses.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart twitched. ¡°Everything go smoothly?¡±

    Long Xi said coldly, ¡°She was a Realmless.¡±

    A Realmless? Lu Yin was afraid that this was something else that wasmon sense in this ce, so he did not dare ask anything further.

    Long Xi looked the corpses over one by one. Lu Yin was afraid that she would notice the one man¡¯s different cause of death, so he walked out of the ring.

    Long Xi suddenly shouted at him, ¡°Don¡¯t step out!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    Long Xi¡¯s expression grew sharp and she looked around once more before letting out a sigh of relief; these people were all dead.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you know about Realmless?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as he considered how best to answer. Should he know about this? Be ignorant of it?

    However, if he went by Long Xi¡¯s tone, this seemed to be something that he should not know about, so he shook his head.

    ¡°Realmless is thergest assassin organization in the Perennial World. That old woman from just now was a Realmless assassin. There¡¯s no telling where she originally came from, but she¡¯s good at suppressing her lifesigns by using a unique method. She has never missed an attack. I didn¡¯t expect Bai Shaohong to hire an assassin from Realmless to deal with you. We underestimated the Celestial Frost Sect and their desire to get the White Dragon to roll over.¡± Long Xi¡¯s expression was ugly, and she was gritting her teeth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Since this attack failed, they¡¯ll send someone else.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin was unhappy with her reaction. ¡°I¡¯m being targeted because of you. You could at least be nicer about it.¡±

    Long Xi just stared at him. ¡°That power vessel I gave you will keep you safe. Realmless¡¯s assassins aren¡¯t easy to deal with, so if any troublees, immediately use that.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but was not happy. A power vessel could not guarantee his life. Just hearing about the Realmless assassins let him know that they would not be easy to deal with. He was still only a Hunter. ¡°Does Realmless have any Envoys?¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°More than one.¡±

    Lu Yin gulped. This was not a good thing to hear.

    ¡°You¡¯re the White Dragon n¡¯s princess, and it can be said that I¡¯m also a member of the White Dragon n. Is Realmless really so arrogant? They dare to brazenly attack me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi threw out a surprise, ¡°Realmless¡¯s assassins killed the Celestial Frost Sect Master.¡±

    Well, that shut Lu Yin up. These people dared to target even the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s master, let alone a mere son-inw like Lu Yin. This led Lu Yin to believe that for the right price, Realmless might have the courage to target anyone.

    Thest wave of attackers might have all been Realmless assassins. Over the next few days, the two travelers did not encounter any more assants aside from the Lower Realm¡¯s beasts. There were times when they saw other people, but both parties would grow wary of the other and no fights broke out.

    ¡°Your domain is quite impressive. Few of your peers canpare to you,¡± Long Xi said as she looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already known that Long Xi would bring this up. ¡°I have a bit of talent for it, but I¡¯ve already reached my limit from my talent, and I don¡¯t know how to cultivate my domain.¡±

    Long Xi said, ¡°A domain has various uses, but the mostmon use is to use it to form a protective armor, special sort of domain-based attack, or using it to predict opponents¡¯ attacks. Once a person reaches a higher level of mastery, they can form spirits, or even control space like a god. I don¡¯t actually know much about the methods to cultivate a domain either, but once we return, I¡¯ll ask the elders to guide you. If it turns out that you really do have a talent for a domain, then your future won¡¯t be negligible.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up; forming a spirit from a domain? Controling space like a god? These were possibilities that he had never even heard of before, as there was no such level of mastery back in the Fifth Maind. If there were, he would have learned of it. As for the Sixth Maind, they felt that domains were a lesser path of cultivation, and thus mostly ignored it.

    The Fifth Maind was missing details and certain aspects of the different cultivation paths, whereas the Sixth Maind had simply taken an alternative path. This universe seemed to be simr to the Fifth Maind with their cultivation paths, but was a higher level than the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin could steal the information from this ce!

    Nearly half a month passed from the time they had first arrived in the Lower Realm. The two were resting when a figure suddenly rushed towards them from behind.

    Long Xi had remained on guard. Lu Yin did not say a word, and simply retreated into the power vessel.

    A person who they had previously met raced up to them. They had run into the man¡¯s expedition team a few days ago, but the two groups had passed each other by without speaking.

    ¡°RUN! Run away! Terror ants areing this way!¡± The man shouted in horror. He shot right by Lu Yin and Long Xi and continued on without slowing.

    Long Xi¡¯s expression changed the moment she heard the man¡¯s words. She looked back at where the man hade from, and she vaguely heard a rustling sound. She felt a wave of cold rush over her entire body as a wave of ck appeared.

    She paled and moved to Lu Yin¡¯s side before immediately taking off with the Roving White Dragon.

    The scenery shed by them and rapidly fell behind. There was a flock of strange birds overhead that were also racing away, and they flew in all directions. Down on the ground, beasts fled away whilepletely ignoring the fleeing humans.

    Long Xi quickly shot by the person who had warned them, ignoring his ugly expression.

    ¡°What are terror ants?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi answered in a low growl, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Lu Yin looked behind and saw that the ck mass was drawing closer and closer. It was moving far too fast, and it was absolutely massive. Even more importantly, behind the ck mass, thendscape waspletely empty. There were no trees- no, that was not right. The Mother Tree¡¯s roots were all gone. Everything had been removed and nothing had been left behind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed and he released his domain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess around! Those are terror ants! They can tear through domains and spiritual force, and not even that ring I gave you can stop them since they can even tear their way through the void!¡± Long Xi scolded.

    Lu Yin instantly stopped what he had been doing. By this time he was able to distinguish that the ck mass approaching them was not a singr entity, but rather a ball that was formed from countless ck ants. The ball was rolling in their direction at an incredible speed, and not even grass remained after the ball passed through an area.

    They had seen many creatures that seemed simr to these ants, but this was the first time that Long Xi had shown any sort of fear.

    Before too long, the ants caught up to the man who had warned Lu Yin and Long Xi about the ants. There was a scream, and then nothing. The ants had swarmed over him, and not even bones were left behind.

    The horde of terror ants not only traveled in the shape of a ball, but would also reform their horde into various other shapes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. ¡°Hurry up! They¡¯re almost on top of us!¡±

    The ants were moving faster and faster, and Lu Yin subconsciously hugged Long Xi. There was a great deal of contact between their bodies, and though Long Xi stiffened up, she did not stop fleeing.

    Lu Yin was barely able to resist putting on his universal armor, as there was no way the ants would be able to get through that.

    However, suddenly the ants stopped moving and no longer chased the two.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, and Long Xi also stopped fleeing. She was panting as she turned to look behind.

    ¡°Why did they stop?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi pointed up above.

    Lu Yin looked up and his mouth dropped open. They were under the Python Ancestor¡¯s head. They were so close to it that Lu Yin would be able to touch the beast with the strength of a Progenitor if he flew up into the sky.

    No wonder the terror ants did not dare continue chasing them; the Python Ancestor¡¯s breath was able to keep the two safe.

    ¡°What would we have done if they hadn¡¯t stopped for the Python Ancestor?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi said, ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with your crap. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡±

    She then continued forward,pletely ignoring how Lu Yin had embraced her a moment before.

    Lu Yin turned around to take a good look at the ants. Not even the ring-shaped power vessel he had been given would have protected him from the bugs since they were able to pass through the void. An Envoy might be able to survive the ants, but the Lower Realm was truly too dangerous.

    The two people continued on in the direction where the Python Ancestor¡¯s head descended closer to the ground, and two dayster, the Progenitor¡¯s head stopped only a few tens of meters above the ground.

    Lu Yin was capable of touching the Progenitor¡¯s head by just hopping up, but Long Xi stopped him before he could do so.

    They were safe in this ce and this close to the Python Ancestor, as no beast would dare get so close to the Progenitor. However, people were still a possible threat.

    Another day passed, and then Lu Yin finally met the Python Ancestor.

    The moment Lu Yin touched the Python Ancestor, he experienced a sensation he did not know how to describe. It was like a cold that pierced to the bone, but also a vibration that tried to disperse his soul. He did not dare make any sort of move, and he had a vision of the Python Ancestor rising and directing a ruthless re towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin was instantly ovee with terror.

    There was a bang as Lu Yin was knocked back and he struck the ground. The bone-deep cold finally left him.

    Long Xi red at Lu Yin. ¡°I told you not to be rude to the Python Ancestor! Given your strength, you¡¯re lucky that touch didn¡¯t just kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as he sat on the ground for a moment. He rubbed his waist and looked up at the Python Ancestor. Lu Yin could not even see the edge of the python¡¯s head, and all he could see were scales. He felt that this was a sight that he would remember for his entire life. This was his first time encountering a Progenitor realm powerhouse. If he tried to tell people about this, no one in the Fifth Maind would believe him.

    Also, it was truly terrifying that the Python Ancestor was able to live for so long, not to mention that it was able to push the entire Higher Realm away with just a nudge from its body.

    Lu Yin remembered that there was also the enormous eagle up in the Dominion Realm. He really wanted to take a look at that Progenitor as well.

    It had taken them nearly twenty days to arrive at the location where they paid their respects to the Python Ancestor from the entrance of the third region.

    Lu Yin looked up, but was still not able to see the python¡¯s face. All he could see was a portion of the mouth, and even that extended out of his sight due to the unbelievable size.

    Long Xi looked at the Python Ancestor with reverence in her eyes. ¡°This is the only ce we can go.¡±

    Lu Yin really wanted to get a look at the Python Ancestor¡¯s full face. However, it was impossible for Lu Yin to see the Progenitor¡¯s full size, as he could not even see all of a single eye.

 Chapter 1363: The Legend Of Wu Tian

    <h4>Chapter 1363: The Legend Of Wu Tian</h4>

    Long Xi began the White Dragon n¡¯s ritual for visiting their Progenitor.

    Lu Yin did not really understand the point in such things, as the Python Ancestor would not simply open his eyes to admire his worshipers¡¯ power. Lu Yin even had a rather evil suspicion that if the python opened his eyes, he would swallow the two humans. Still, they were too small to even get stuck between the Progenitor¡¯s teeth. Still, the Python Ancestor had been sleeping for a long time, so if he woke and had nothing to eat, he would be hungry!

    Lu Yin felt as though he had discovered some secret truth, and he struggled with himself over whether or not to tell Long Xi.

    After Long Xi finished her ritual, Lu Yin asked her, "Can we go?"

    Long Xi nodded. She looked up at the Python Ancestor with a fire zing in her eyes. "My White Dragon n¡¯s poweres from a gift from the Python Ancestor. If I could one day see him wake up with my own eyes, my life would be worth it."

    "When will the Python Ancestor wake up?" Lu Yin was very curious about this.

    Long Xi''s eyes darkened some, but she did not reply.

    "What about the terror ants? We have to head back the way we came, and we¡¯ll run into them again." A quite serious problem had urred to Lu Yin.

    Long Xi squatted down and touched the dirt beneath them. "the Python Ancestor has slept here for such a long time that even the dirt holds a bit of his energy. Putting this dirt on our bodies will be enough to scare off those terror ants."

    "That sounds too risky," Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi said lightly, "Then stay here.¡±

    She then hesitated and looked at Lu Yin in a more serious manner. ¡°If you decide to stay, I can publicly announce that you experienced some bit of enlightenment from feeling the Python Ancestor¡¯s gift. This will let you avoid a great deal of danger from Bai Shaohong. No Envoy would dare attack randomly in this ce, and anyone who is not an Envoy can¡¯t break through that ring I gave you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as Long Xi continued talking and started treating the matter more seriously. Lu Yin quickly threw some dirt on himself. "I¡¯d still rather go back."

    Long Xi did not say anything further, but she did seem to somewhat regret Lu Yin¡¯s choice.

    Lu Yin was speechless at her response. The woman actually wanted to leave Lu Yin in such a ce! He would not remain in such a haunted location, and if the Python Ancestor ever moved in his sleep, Lu Yin would instantly be crushed.

    They had traveled slowly on their way to pay their respects to the Progenitor, but they moved quickly for the return trip. There were no beasts or people to be seen, and they returned to where they had encountered the terror ants within half a day.

    Lu Yin felt a sense of panic as he stared upon the endless emptiness before him. This was the power of the terror ants; not even a de of grass remained.

    "Those terror ants did a lot of damage to the Mother Tree," Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi was solemn as she replied, "Terror ants are one of the biggest problems for Root. Every year they kill hundreds of colonies of terror ants."

    "Why not ask a more powerful expert to make a move? Don¡¯t the four ruling powers care to help out?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi¡¯s tone grew lighter. "The ant colonies have their strong and weak as well. Their reproductive abilities are unmatched, so they can¡¯t be simply destroyed. Most of the creatures here in the Lower Realm harm the Mother Tree, but there is also an ecosystem down here, and there would likely be catastrophic consequences to wiping out an entire species."

    The terror ants were gone. After they had cleaned out this area, they had moved on to somewhere else.

    There were no nts at all due to the ants, and the two people also encountered almost no beasts, since nearly all creatures had been frightened away by the terror ants¡¯ passing. Their path crossed a well known region of the Lower Realm, so they were able to return all the way back in only three days.

    Back at the entrance to the third region, they saw Gui¡¯s massive body, as well as Elder Long Kui with some of the people he had detained.

    Long Kui felt relief at seeing Long Xi and Lu Yin safely return. Although the two looked somewhat embarrassed, everything was fine as long as they returned after sessfully visiting the Python Ancestor.

    Lu Yin saw a great number of people at the entrance to the third region, and every single one of them was a powerhouse. Lu Yin knew that Long Kui must have stopped these people from entering the third region, as their reasons for entering meant nothing to the White Dragon n, and even less to an Envoy, so Long Kui had stopped all potential threats he had seen, just to be safe.

    "I¡¯ve inconvenienced everyone, but you can now continue on your way," Long Kui said to the people he had held up.

    All of the detainees felt helpless, so they forced out polite responses and entered the third region one after another.

    There was one person within the group who shot a vicious re towards Lu Yin before heading straight into the third region.

    "We¡¯ve forced Elder to wait a long time," Long Xi said.

    Long Kui smiled. "It''s fine."

    From behind, Gui lifted his body and stared at Lu Yin with both heads. It appeared that Lu Yin¡¯s return had made the beast very happy, though Lu Yin always felt that the beast looked at him and saw a toy. Lu Yin felt a bit scared of the beast with the strength of an Envoy, but also knew that such fear was unfounded; the creature was aplete coward, and Lu Yin still had the ring-shaped power vessel.

    A yful light sparked in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes after he saw Gui staring at him. Lu Yin arched a brow and stared at the beast in a stern manner. Then, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to let out a loud roar, which was quickly answered by an even louder roar from off in the distance. Gui was instantly cowed.

    Lu Yin was also taken aback; were there really so many beasts in this ce with the strength of an Envoy?

    Long Kui was helpless. "Let''s go."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin before stepping onto Gui¡¯s back. Lu Yin also leaped up, and the beast quickly unfurled his wings and began to fly towards the Rainbow Bridge. Their time in the Lower Realm was done.

    On the Rainbow Bridge, the red color flowed down, while the bordering orange color slowed up into the sky.

    The Rainbow Bridge was absolutely massive, so it was not a simple matter to pass from the red stripe over to the orange one.

    Lu Yin was very surprised to find that this universe had no spacecraft; even the Astral Combat Academy had their own.

    Still, Lu Yin was an outsider visiting for the first time, and every ce would have their own culture and rules, so Lu Yin did not ask many questions.

    As they sat on Gui¡¯s back, Lu Yin was able to see various groups making their way down to the Lower Realm. Though it was an incredibly dangerous ce, it also held a fatal attraction for many cultivators.

    Lu Yin was looking down at the ground beneath the red stripe of the Rainbow Bridge. The people making their way down to the Lower Realm were naturally able to see Lu Yin¡¯s group flying over their heads and making their way towards the orange stripe.

    Many people felt envious; a nce was enough to know that Gui was a mount with the strength of an Envoy, and such a creature had to belong to a superpower, possibly even one of the four ruling forces.

    Gui shot through the sky, not only traveling parallel with the ground, but also making his way upwards as much as possible.

    Among the people in the red stripe making their way towards the Lower Realm, there were two people who caught Long Kui''s attention.

    Long Xi followed Long Kui''s gaze to see an old man with his hands sped behind his back. The man looked ancient to the point where he might copse at any moment. However, Long Xi¡¯s expression changed the moment she saw the old man. "Master of the Graceful Sword Arts Liu Yijian."

    As she spoke, the old man looked up and saw Long Kui and Long Xi. He nodded to them with a smile.

    Long Kui responded, while Long Xi had Lu Yin stand up and bow to the old man with her.

    A young man stood behind the old man, and he nkly stared at Lu Yin for a moment. A startling amount of stunned disbelief could be seen deep in the young man¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin was no different, as he was startled to see just who it was behind the old man: Zhang Dingtian.

    Lu Yin had never dreamed he would meet Zhang Dingtian in the Perennial World. Though Lu Yin knew that both Zhang Dingtian and Bai Xue had been sucked into Jupiter and he had considered that they had likely entered this universe, he had not expected to meet either of the two, let alone so quickly and so suddenly.

    The two young men were both surprised by each other, but their shocksted only a moment. Long Xi did not notice anything, and Long Kui and the old man were only focused on each other, so no one noticed anything out of the ordinary from Lu Yin or Zhang Dingtian.

    The two acted as though they did not recognize each other.

    Gui shot towards the orange stripe of the bridge.

    Zhang Dingtian averted his gaze. No matter how surprised Lu Yin had been, Zhang Dingtian had been startled far worse. After he and Bai Xue had been sucked into Jupiter and had appeared in this universe, Zhang Dingtian had assumed it would be impossible for him to ever see Lu Yin again, and yet they had seen each other while Zhang Dingtian had been on the Rainbow Bridge.

    "Those were people from White Dragon n. When you see them in the future, watch yourself. The four ruling powers are not to be ignored." The old man in front of Zhang Dingtian gave words of caution to the young man.

    Zhang Dingtian respectfully epted such words. "Understood."

    He had not expected that Lu Yin would actually be mixed in with one of the four ruling powers. Zhang Dingtian had been in the Perennial World for years, and thus he was aware of just how intimidating and powerful those four powers were. They were the masters of this universe! Just how had Lu Yin be entangled with those people? He seemed destined to be the center of attention no matter where he went.

    Still, regardless of anything else, Zhang Dingtian was very happy to have seen Lu Yin again, as they were friends.

    Nothing meant more to a person than meeting a friend when in a foreign country.

    Elsewhere, Long Xi voiced her curiosity, "Who was that standing behind Senior Liu? I don''t think I''ve seen him before."

    Long Kui exined, "The Liu family is very strange. Every generation they have many people who will spend their entire lives guarding their sword monument and who will never leave that ce. No one knows what sort of foundation the Liu family might have, so it¡¯s not unexpected for you not to know him."

    "For him to be able to follow behind Master Yijian, the young man is definitely not weak," Long Xi said.

    Long Kui smiled as he replied, "No matter what, he can''tpare to you, Princess. No matter how extraordinary their sword monument might be, they are not able topare to one of the four ruling powers."

    Long Xi nodded. This was undeniable.

    Lu Yin was left somewhat speechless after hearing their conversation; was everyone with the Liu surname connected to the sword? Back in the Fifth Maind, the Liu family had founded the Sword Sect and were the masters of the universe¡¯s most powerful sword technique: the Thirteen Swords. In the Perennial World, the Liu family had a sword monument, which was enough that even the White Dragon n took note of it.

    "Is their sword monument that amazing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Kui did not respond.

    Long Xi said, "Their sword monument is something from ancient times. It is said that it holds the best sword technique to ever belong to humanity, and that it has always been guarded by the Liu family. No one knows if that legend is true or not, but the Liu family does indeed frequently demonstrate incredible swordsmanship. The Liu family is indisputably the master of the sword in this Perennial World."

    Lu Yin understood. "So the Liu family is quite powerful, but they¡¯re still not able to enter the Higher Realm and reach the level of the four ruling powers? So our White Dragon n is even better."

    Long Kuiughed, as this was a pleasant thing to hear. "That¡¯s naturally the case, as their sword monument was left behind by the ancient Wu Tian, so it is clearly something beyond belief. Wu Tian was the one who set the precedent of human beings using weapons, so how could that monument be only something for swordsmanship? Wu Tian was one of the first of the ancient human Progenitors, so how could something from him be able to easily be passed down all the way until now?"

    Everyone would like to hearpliments, and as soon as Lu Yin praised the White Dragon n, Long Kui had immediately offered up extra information.

    Wu Tian? One of the most ancient Progenitors? There had actually been a powerhouse who had set the precedent for humans to use weapons? That was the ancient past, so was it possible to have been from the same era as the God of Death?

    Long Ximented, "Wu Tian existence alone is already a legend. There are no historical records to support his existence. It¡¯s possible that Wu Tian was a spirit, a symbol, or even the name of a specific era."

    "That is indeed true. There are numerous legends about the ancient Progenitors, but very few can be confirmed. Wu Tian, Destiny, the God of Death, and even the Origin Progenitor who created humanity are all uncertain. The only thing that can be confirmed is Lu-¡± Suddenly, Long Kui cut off his words and would not say anything further.

    Long Xi''s body trembled, but she remained silent.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1364: Humilityâ€™s Gate

    <h4>Chapter 1364: Humility¡¯s Gate</h4>

    Lu Yin felt his heart lurch. Lu? What did it mean? Was Long Kui meaning the surname? Or was that the name of an ancient Progenitor? The old man had mentioned ¡°Lu¡± as something that had been confirmed to be true when mentioning the God of Death and Destiny, but was there really a connection to the Lu surname?

    Lu Yin looked over at Long Kui. The old man was certainly stern enough, and he did not say anything further. Lu Yin felt an itch in his heart that could not be scratched. He really wanted to ask about what Long Kui had just mentioned, but there was no way the old man would say anything further. The only thing that Lu Yin felt certain of was that he could not reveal his surname in this universe. It seemed that the Lu surname was something truly special in this ce.

    In the Fifth Maind, the Lu surname was merely considered to be a primeval surname, no different from the Liu or Bai surnames, but there seemed to be something strange about the Lu surname in this ce.

    Long Xi''smunication crystal vibrated, and an image of Long Tian then appeared. "It¡¯s done. You need to immediately take Long Qi to the Yinshan District and have him report there. He¡¯s officially part of Humility''s Gate, and he¡¯s been assigned the Yinshan District of the Middle Realm."

    Long Xi nodded. "I got it."

    Long Tian stared at Long Xi for a moment. "Make sure you warn him to not cause any trouble and to just stay there for a few months. I¡¯ll figure out some way to get him some achievements so that he can easily retire."

    With that, the image disappeared.

    Long Xi said to Long Kui. "We need to go to the Yinshan District."

    Long Kui grew a bit emotional as hemented, ¡°The Junior Progenitor outdid himself this time. The Nine Gates of the Middle Realm, and specifically the Yinshan District, are the most suitable ces for Long Qi to be sent. That ce is filled with youths who simply eat and while away their time doing nothing. They almost never are given any tasks. Master Zhuo Si is notoriouslyzy and never tries to aplish anything. He might stand at the peak, but only wastrel children are sent to the Yinshan District to be cared for.

    "If Long Qi stays in that ce for a few months and is then able to retire after some kind of achievement, he¡¯ll be set for life and no one will be able to easily target him. He can y around for a few months and then receive Humility''s Gate¡¯s protection. The Junior Progenitor must have paid a steep price."

    While Long Kui said that Long Tian had paid the price, the old man was actually referring to Long Xi. The Envoy was well aware of the situation between the siblings, and there was no way that Long Tian would have done such a thing without receiving something that made it worth his trouble.

    It was actually qhite easy to be stationed in the Yinshan District, but it was extremely difficult for anyone stationed there to gather any achievements. Most of the youths stationed there would aplish nothing, as only members of the four ruling powers had such means.

    Retiring without any achievements would do nothing more than add an extrayer of protection to one¡¯s background that, at best, would make people slightly more cautious. However, retiring with achievements was an entirely different matter, as that would guarantee that a person would be protected by Humility''s Gate.

    Humility''s Gate was notorious for protecting their own. They had many powerhouses, and they wielded great authority. Anyone who received Humility''s Gate¡¯s protection could not easily be touched by anyone.

    In order for Lu Yin to be allowed to join Humility''s Gate and retire with achievements to his name, Long Xi had promised to go with Long Tian to the Dominion Realm, and it was a given that the trip would have people participating die.

    The more that Long Tian was willing to pay for Lu Yin, the more dangerous the trip to the Dominion Realm was guaranteed to be.

    Although they had not spent much time together, Lu Yin felt that Long Xi truly did care about him, and even if Lu Yin was trying to get some advantages from Long Xi, he did not want to see her die. ¡°I don¡¯t need to join Humility''s Gate, so there¡¯s no need for you to go with your big brother to the Dominion Realm¡±

    Long Xi turned to look at Lu Yin after hearing hisment. ¡°You saw what things are like during our trip to the Lower Realm, and you know that there are numerous people who wish to see you die, and they even hired Realmless assassins. If you don¡¯t join Humility''s Gate, you¡¯ll be walking on the edge of death and you could die at any moment.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Life and death are determined by fate, and to be honest, while everyone is afraid of death, I don''t want to sacrifice you to save my life. Besides, you have to know that if you die in the Dominion Realm, me and my family won¡¯t be able to survive, so I¡¯m not overly concerned with my own death."

    Long Kui nced back at Lu Yin; this youth seemed to understand the situation.

    Long Xi stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment, and when she spoke once more, her tone was much softer than before, "Don''t worry; I won''t die."

    Lu Yin said nothing more, as he would not be able to change Long Xi''s decision.

    "When you go to the Yinshan District, be yourself. You don''t have to suck up to anyone, and you don''t have to be cowardly. You will have the identity of an illegitimate son of the Linjiang n''s patriarch, so when you get there, your name will be Linjiang Yi," Long Xi exined.

    "A new name? Why?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Long Xi continued, "The four ruling powers are too big and well known, so if you go to the Yinshan District as a member of the White Dragon n, you will definitely be targeted. Even if it is the Yinshan District which is supposed to be a safe ce for people to send their children, there are otherplications and it would not work out to have you go as a member of the White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin nodded. If he was supposed to be Linjiang Yi, then he would be Linjiang Yi. It was not a bad name, but taking the identity of a bastard was a bit demeaning.

    "Do you know anything about Humility''s Gate?" Long Xi asked suddenly.

    Despite all of her exnations, she had never asked Lu Yin if he knew anything at all about Humility''s Gate.

    This was the sort of question that Lu Yin hated the most, as he had no idea what was consideredmon sense in this universe.

    "I¡¯ll assume you know nothing," Long Xi said as she stared at Lu Yin. He liked her confidence.

    "The four ruling powers founded Humility''s Gate as an organization responsible for eliminating traitors to humanity, so they have been given tremendous authority. They have a total of thirteen gates: four in the Higher Realm and nine in the Middle Realm. The Yinshan District is one of the nine gates in the Middle Realm. In theory, members of each of the gates have to aplish missions on a regr basis and face extreme danger, but the Yinshan District is the exception to that. The Yinshan Mountains are entirely deste and uninhabited. Few humans can even survive there, let alone traitors to humanity. This is why the Yinshan District is the best ce for you to hide in safety,¡± Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask who was the enemy of humanity and how there could be traitors, but it seemed to be a question with an answer that wasmon sense, so he did not dare voice his question, especially since he had not seen any of this information in any of the biographies he had read.

    Also, many of the biographies that Lu Yin had read had been fabricated, so he had only been able to glean the most basic ofmon knowledge, such as the name of this universe and some of its regions.

    As they were speaking, their small group arrived at the orange stripe andnded on the Rainbow Bridge and started making their way back up to the Middle Realm.

    Long Xi gave Lu Yin a cosmic ring, and he looked at it in surprise. ¡°So much money?¡±

    Long Xi was quite generous, inexplicably so, and had given Lu Yin 50 million star essence. This was a veryrge sum, and it was quite strange for her to give so much to Lu Yin.

    "The Yinshan Mountains are deste and abandoned, but the young masters stationed there have built up a paradise for themselves to enjoy. There¡¯s no reason for you to be humiliated when you get there," Long Xi said lightly.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked at Long Xi in a different light. Though the young woman had a fiery temper, she was quite kind and understanding. She did not want to say it outright, but she did not want Lu Yin to be embarrassed by his situation after leaving!

    Long Xi frowned when she nced over at Lu Yin and saw his expression. "Don''t overthink things; I just don''t want you to humiliate my White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; how was this about the White Dragon n? Lu Yin would take the identity of Linjiang Yi after leaving! This girl was not very honest at all, but she certainly was very cute.

    "Act how you should behave and don¡¯t misbehave while you¡¯re there," Long Xi added. She stared at Lu Yin with stern warnings in her eyes.

    Lu Yin understood her meaning as a brothel suddenly appeared in his mind.

    "There is something important to note," Long Kui suddenly spoke up as he directed a stern expression Lu Yin¡¯s way. ¡°Don''t approach Zhuo Si."

    Lu Yin waspletely lost.

    Long Xi also did not understand this warning. "Elder, what do you mean by that?"

    Long Kui turned around and answered in a serious manner, "Zhuo Si has aplicated background, so absolutely do not approach him. In fact, don¡¯t even have anything to do with him, as you¡¯ll end up dealing with various problems if you do."

    Lu Yin quickly responded, "I understand, Elder."

    ¡­

    Gui spread his wings and took off to fly high in the sky and started to make his way away from the Rainbow Bridge.

    Lu Yin turned to look back; the Rainbow Bridge was so massive that entire civilizations had developed upon it. It held entire cities and looked almost like a colorful continent. It actually seemed even better than the Fifth Maind.

    The Yinshan Mountains and White Mountain were not in the same direction from Rainbow Bridge. Given the size of the Middle Realm, even a slight difference of direction could mean an astounding distance between ces.

    Gui was flying towards the Yinshan Mountains.

    After a few days, a strange light off in the distance drew Lu Yin¡¯s eye. It was just a white dot, but it quickly became the most eye-catching thing in the entire sky. Lu Yin stared at the white dot as it gradually grewrger and covered him.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s mind was ovee with a roar. This was not good, he was being attacked by a spiritual force attack. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned sharp, and he let out a small shout.

    Long Kui was startled next to Lu Yin, and he turned to look into the distance. ¡°Bold!¡±

    The Envoy raised a hand and threw out a palm. The attack tore through the void before disappearing, and the white light disappeared after the attack passed by. The Envoy¡¯s attack had shattered space in the area.

    This was not a difficult thing to aplish in the Fifth Maind, but it waspletely different in the Perennial World. Not even a full-powered attack from Lu Yin was able to tear the void, let alonepletely shatter it.

    There would be no way for Lu Yin to survive such an attack from Long Kui without using his universal armor.

    The white light was devoured by the shattered space, and a ck hole formed and spread through the sky, producing a roar that echoed in all directions.

    Sweat dripped from Lu Yin''s forehead and he panted to catch his breath.

    Long Xi used a hand to stabilize the youth. ¡°Are you ok?¡±

    Lu Yin caught his breath and waved a hand. "I¡¯ll be fine."

    Long Kui''s face grew dark and intimidating. "That was a Realmless assassin! They¡¯re the only ones who have numerous assassination techniques that can''t be blocked. I didn¡¯t even notice that attack for a moment."

    Lu Yin felt quite afraid. Realmless was a terrifying organization, and their attempts to kill Lu Yin in the Lower Realm had shown him that they could target people anywhere at all in the Perennial World, but this most recent attack had still been beyond his expectations.

    He had been attracted to the sight of the white light and had extended his spiritual force in line with the attack. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s impressive spiritual force, this attack would have instantly reduced him to being a vegetable.

    Seeing that Realmless had dared to attack Lu Yin while he was with Long Kui, who was an Envoy with a power level of hundreds of thousands, Lu Yin could see the courage that had allowed Realmless to dare to attack even the master of the Celestial Frost Sect, and this caused Lu Yin to be quite nervous of Realmless.

    It was clear that the assassin at this time had not expected Lu Yin to be so strong, but then what would happen the next time?

    The assassination attempt had failed in the Lower Realm, and the current attempt had failed as well, which made Lu Yin at least 90% certain that there would be another attack from Realmless¡¯s assassins.

    His mind had been thrown into disarray. He considered his universal armor, the ring-shaped power vessel Long Xi had given him, the Deste Array, his walnut-shaped power vessel, and more. He had assumed that all of these treasures would be enough to keep him safe, but he realized that he had underestimated this ce.

    The assassin this time had used Lu Yin¡¯s sight as a means of attacking him, so what else was possible? Attacking him through smell? His hearing? What other options were there?

    Realmless was an assassination organization that seemed too possibly have the means to use any method as an attack, and that was a terrifying prospect.

    Long Xi''s face had be extremely ugly. "Where''s the attacker?"

    Long Kui simply said, "Dead."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. He felt a bit of PTSD from this event, and he would not be so willing to allow his eyes to wander so freely in the future.

    "They attacked this time through spiritual force, and while the attacker¡¯s spiritual force was not particrly powerful, they were able to use it delicately enough to attack through vision," Long Kui shared.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin. "They were careless this time with their attack, but they won¡¯t do so again. This attacker wasn¡¯t that strong, but that won¡¯t be the case next time."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1365: Yinshan District

    <h4>Chapter 1365: Yinshan District</h4>

    Long Kui solemnly reassured the two youths, "Don''t worry, I will be on full alert during our trip to the Yinshan Mountains, and such an incident will not happen again. After he joins Humility''s Gate, Realmless will demand a much steeper price tounch any attempts on his life, and it¡¯s possible that not even Bai Shaohong will be willing to pay. Even if the assassination is sessful, once Humility''s Gate investigates, Bai Shaohong might not be able to afford the repercussions, and he is not an unreasonable person."

    Long Xi nodded.

    There was one detail that they were all aware of, but no one mentioned; even if Bai Shaohong did not rely on Realmless, he still had other options for dealing with Lu Yin. Even after Lu Yin joined Humility''s Gate, Bao Shaohong would still have various options avable to him, though they would be greatly restricted.

    Long Xi fell into a bad mood. She was physically and mentally exhausted from fending off one attack after another, and as the frequency of the attacks increased, while it revealed the depths of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s plot against the White Dragon n, it also demonstrated the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disregard for the White Dragon n. What did that mean? It meant that the Celestial Frost Sect believed itself to be strong enough to break the bnce established between the four ruling powers.

    The image of a woman appeared in Long Xi¡¯s mind. She was the woman who had transformed the Celestial Frost Sect. Her name was Bai Xian''er, and she acted as though she was superior to the entire Perennial World.

    The Yinshan Mountains1 were as gloomy as the name indicated, and they were also almostpletely empty. Nobody lived in the area surrounding the mountains, either, because it was not suitable for human habitation. The ground was covered with a swamp that released noxious gasses, and there were creatures born in the swamp that filled the area that prevented outsiders from entering the mountains.

    Humility''s Gate was an organization that was spread wide. They had nine Gates in the Middle Realm, and of them, the Yinshan District was the smallest gate. The only reason there was a gate in the Yinshan District was because it was such arge region that none of the other eight gates could easily cover the region. It was simply toorge of an area for it to be worth another gate overseeing the area.

    The area provided nothing of value, but it was also not reasonable to simply abandon, which led to the current situation in the Yinshan Mountains.

    As far as many people were concerned, the Yinshan District was a ce that had been designed especially for the troublemakers and rambunctious children of powerful families. It was a ce to punish or protect those who needed it.

    There was only a single city in the entire Yinshan District, and it was known as Yinshan City. Contrary to Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, Yinshan City was quite lively. There were not many normal people among the poption, but mostly cultivators. For the residents, the most popr pastimes were eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. Nearly any vice that one enjoyed in the outside world could be found in this ce.

    The entire city was dedicated to making money from the pampered children sent to this remote location, but outsiders were allowed to freely enter and leave the city. Humility''s Gate had their Yinshan District Gate in a wastnd to the west of Yinshan City.

    Gui had already changed his size before approaching the Yinshan Mountains, and he had the appearance of an average beast with the strength of a Hunter, so he did not attract any attention.

    Guinded to the west of Yinshan City, and as Lu Yin jumped down, Long Kui said, "I can only take you this far. Remember, you are now Linjiang Yi. Also, don''t get involved with Zhuo Si."

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin from behind the elder, "Don¡¯t draw attention to yourself and don¡¯t cause any trouble. You¡¯ll be able to go to the Higher Realm with me in no more than half a year, so just stay safe for now."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, I''ll behave."

    Gui soon flew into the air, and after looking at Lu Yin with all four eyes, the beast turned and flew away. Lu Yin had seen pity in the creature¡¯s eyes; the animal really did view Lu Yin as nothing but a toy.

    Lu Yin watched as Gui disappeared from sight, and then stretched and took a deep breath. It felt so good to be free.

    The ground was soft and ck beneath him, and a nce was enough to tell that this was not a good ce.

    Lu Yin followed Long Kui''s advice and made his way towards Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District.

    This ce was within an uninhabited mountain range, but there were some strange creatures living in the mountains. All of them were hideous, and they stayed hidden in the dark all year round.

    Lu Yin spent a long time walking through the mountain range before finally seeing arge structure off in the distance. The buildings had been built around the mountains and looked as though they had been embedded into the mountains. This was the Yinshan District Gate of Humility''s Gate.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain could sense the star energy in front of him violently fluctuating as he approached the Gate. He slowed down and raised a hand; there were people fighting up ahead, nearly a hundred of them.

    Lu Yin picked up his pace.

    He quickly crossed over the cknd and soon saw hundreds of people fighting and screaming outside the Yinshan District Gate. There were also more people further away than the battlefield, and they were pointing at the Yinshan District Gate. There were also other people present who werepletely unconcerned with the fighting, and they acted as if it was perfectly normal.

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look at the Yinshan District Gate. It was one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine Gates in the Middle Realm, and it naturally had Envoy¡¯s and Enlighters with power levels of 300 to 400,000. Lu Yin needed to continue hiding his origins, just as he had when with Long Xi and Long Kui.

    While the battle involving the hundred people down below looked to be fierce, no one died, and not one person used any sort of weapon. Most of the people were only Explorers or below, though there was the odd Cruiser and even Hunter present.

    Space in this universe was incredibly solid, and the ground was simrly tough. Despite the number of people involved in the fight, they were not able to cause much damage. In contrast, if such a fight urred in the Fifth Maind, numerouss would have already been destroyed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attention was drawn to the center of the battlefield where two young men were fighting, and it seemed that their fight would determine the entire battle.

    Lu Yin saw one of the two youths use the Four Arts. He was a fat man with a pale face. He was not ugly, but he was very oily. "Mo Gaohe, today this handsome man will beat you to the ground."

    "Idiot."

    Boom

    There was a loud bang as a shockwave distorted the air and exploded out, pushing everyone and everything a kilometer back. Both of the youths were Hunters.

    The speed at which the man moved made Lu Yin take a second look. Although it could note close toparing to what Wang Yi had revealed, it was still very fastpared to most of Lu Yin¡¯s peers and couldpare to that of Yuhua Mavis and the others who were Enlighters, yet the person Lu Yin was watching was only a Hunter.

    "Four Arts: Bear Stalwart!" The fatty shouted as muscles began to grow across his body. It looked like he had converted all of his fat into muscles.

    Across from the former fatty, Mo Gaohe maintained a dignified appearance. "Wind God - Defence."

    After he spoke, his star energy formed a maelstrom that surrounded his body,plete with lightning and thunder. It blurred the area as it isted the youth.

    The pale, fat youth threw out a punch that struck the storm, and the ground shattered. The shattered attack exploded in all directions, and many people screamed. The storm was clearly too powerful, because the fatty was not able to pull his hand back, and instead he was sucked into the swirling maelstrom. Mo Gaohe sneered as he moved to take advantage of the situation, and a de appeared in his hand as he attacked.

    The fatty gritted his teeth and spread his fingers. "Four Arts: Pearl."

    Mo Gaohe did not know what had been sealed, but his body copsed to the ground. Still, before he fell, his de shot towards the fatty.

    The pale man¡¯s arm was cut by the de, and his blood spilled across the ground. Meanwhile, Mo Gaohe smashed into the ground. His face had turned red.

    "Mo Gaohe, you¡¯re despicable! You¡¯re even using weapons!" the fatty roared as he punched at his opponent.

    Mo Gaohe angrily retorted, "You¡¯re despicable! Fatty, you actually sealed my legs!"

    As Mo Gaohe spoke, he used his hands to retreat since he was unable to move his feet, making his movements quite amusing to see. The fattyughed and mmed a fist into the ground. The ground was shattered, and Mo Gaohe was knocked unconscious.

    At this moment, several of the other people around began to attack the fatty. He roared to the sky and punched an empty part region. The air was warped by the tremendous force of his fist, and it was actually visible to the naked eye. A shockwave erupted in all directions, and it sent the fatty¡¯s attackers flying.

    The fatty looked like a god of war at this moment, and he roused apuse from many people who were watching.

    Mo Gaohe was furious; the Wang family''s Four Arts: Pearl was a disgusting technique. It could seal any sort of ability or strength, and it led to Mo Gaohe¡¯s defeat every time he fought the fatty.

    "Okay, don''t go making trouble for people. Let''s go!" A deafening voice echoed through the area.

    Lu Yin''s heart tightened; that voice hade from the Envoy who was in charge of Humility''s Gate in the Yinshan District. He was Zhuo Si, and he was one of the nine Gate Masters of Humility''s Gate¡¯s gates in the Middle Realm.

    Zhuo Si was the only Envoy at this particr gate.

    The fatty was reluctant, but in the end he did not make any further moves. While Zhuo Si waszy and was unconcerned about most things, people had to listen whenever he did speak up, as that was the least respect due to an Envoy.

    Mo Gaohe was finally able to freely move his legs. He quickly stood up and looked at his torn palms. It was all that fatty¡¯s fault, and it was embarrassing.

    "Mo Gaohe, wasn¡¯t that fun? Hahahaha!" The fattyughed, and a group of people who had gathered behind himughed with him.

    Mo Gaohe let out a cold snort, and his mouth twisted into a smile. ¡°Tell me, Fatty, are you happy? You¡¯re about to be kicked out by the Wang family. The Wang family is one of the four ruling forces, and they¡¯ve always bragged about raising nothing but elites and im that they have no one useless in the family, and yet there¡¯s you."

    The pale fat man¡¯s face fell. "And yet I¡¯m still a hundred times stronger than a bastard like you."

    Mo Gaohe red, and the people who had gathered behind him all red at the fatty and his posse.

    "Captain, someone¡¯s here," someone from behind Mo Gaohemented.

    Mo Gaohe''s eyes lit up and he looked up to see Lu Yin approaching.

    At this same time, the fatty also noticed Lu Yin approaching, but his expression was not very good after seeing Lu Yin.

    Mo Gaohe looked at Lu Yin. "Brother,e down here. You must be new to my Yinshan Mountains."

    Lu Yin leaped down and stood between the two teams. He looked over at Mo Gaohe. "This new one is reporting in. I ask Seniors to take care of me."

    Mo Gaohe smiled. "Well, ording to the rules, you¡¯re now part of my team. Go report to the gate master. Right, what¡¯s your name?"

    "Linjiang Yi," Lu Yin replied.

    Mo Gaohe was stunned at the response; Linjiang?

    On the other side of the field, the fatty¡¯s eyes lit up. "Are you from the Linjiang family?"

    Lu Yin looked at Fatty Bai and smiled. "That¡¯s right."

    "Hahahaha, Mo Gaohe, you idiot! He¡¯s part of the Linjiang family! How¡¯s he going to join your stupid team? Brother,e over here. You¡¯re with us." The fattyughed.

    Mo Gaohe shot a cold look towards Lu Yin before turning and leaving.

    Lu Yin was curious about this exchange, and he walked over to the fatty.

    The fat man was very excited. "Bro, don''t bother holding back. Coming to this ce is like returning home! You¡¯re from the Linjiang n, which means your family is under the White Dragon n. My Wang family has always had a good rtionship with that n, so anyone from the Linjiang family naturally joins my team."

    "Who are the other guys?" Lu Yin asked.

    The fatty replied, "The idiot leading them is called Mo Gaohe. He¡¯s a disciple from the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he turned his head to look back at Mo Gaohe. So that person was actually from the Celestial Frost Sect. Lu Yin had not expected to run into those people again so soon.

    [1] The "yin" used here is the one from yin-yang, so means dark/cold in this context. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1366: Yu Chen

    <h4>Chapter 1366: Yu Chen</h4>

    Regardless of the family or its power, none of them would have a shortage of disruptive youths, as it was impossible for all children to be elites. This was simrly true of the Celestial Frost Sect. Since he had been sent to the Yinshan Mountains, it seemed that Mo Goahe did not have a good reputation in the Celestial Frost Sect. However, it should not be rted to his strength, as he was clearly a Hunter.

    His strength was enough for him to stand among the most powerful of his peers in the Fifth Maind, and he would even have been able to enter ZENITH¡¯s top twenty.

    "Let''s go. I''ll take you to Uncle Si to report in." The fatty enthusiastically patted Lu Yin''s shoulder and started to lead him into the base as the other youths all dispersed as well.

    The Yinshan District base was quite ordinary, and it was far removed from the exquisite and enchanting structures of White Mountain that the White Dragon n used. The base actually looked to be made up of ordinary buildings that had been built into the mountains themselves.

    Lu Yin was led to the highest level to meet Uncle Si, who was in fact the gate master, Zhuo Si.

    Lu Yin hurriedly greeted the older man. "Junior Linjiang Yi greets the gate master."

    From what Long Kui had said, Lu Yin was aware that Zhuo Si was azy person who was not concerned with the responsibilities that he had been given, but Lu Yin had not expected the man to be as indolent as what met his eyes. The Envoy was lying by a window, drinking while enjoying some snacks. The man was pouring himself a drink while holding a book that Lu Yin did not recognize in his other hand. There was a self-satisfied look on the man¡¯s face that was difficult to attribute to a powerhouse. Also, it was clear that he did not care at all about the battle that had involved nearly a hundred people who were under hismand.

    "Uncle Si, this is the newly arrived brother who is reporting in. Starting today, he¡¯ll be one of my underlings under themand of my Wang family!" the fatty shouted loudly.

    Lu Yin looked up and observed Zhuo Si.

    Zhuo Si finished off his ss of wine before turning to look at the fatty and ring at the youth. ¡°What ¡®underling¡¯? What do you take this ce for? This is Humility''s Gate!¡±

    The fatty just sneered, "Yes, yes. Uncle Si, hurry up and check his identity. I want to get my new brother cleaned up."

    Zhuo Si sighed and looked over to observe Lu Yin. "Lift your head."

    Lu Yin looked up and looked back at Zhuo Si.

    The moment he saw Lu Yin''s face, Zhuo Si''s pupils slightly shrank before quickly returning to normal. He waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, fine. From now on he¡¯s part of Humility''s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District."

    An emblem appeared from nowhere in the man¡¯s hand. It was the emblem of Humility''s Gate.

    "Take care of your brother and don''t forget yourst lesson," Zhuo Si said casually.

    The fatty¡¯s eyes grew cold. "Uncle Si, don''t worry. That bastard Mo Gaohe won''t seed again. Next time he tries to mess around, I¡¯ll teach him how to write death."

    Zhuo Si waved a hand, and the fatty pulled Lu Yin back and they walked out of the room.

    After the two youths left, Zhuo Si frowned and stared out the window at the distant clouds. It was impossible to know what was on his mind.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the fatty would lead him to the Yinshan Mountains, but instead Lu Yin was instantly taken to Yinshan City and to a brothel called Inner Scent.

    Everywhere Lu Yin looked he saw people gorging and feasting. There were countless scents in the air, and two exquisite beauties quickly joined Lu Yin. It was a dazzling ce.

    After nearly dying in the morning when traveling with Long Xi, Lu Yin would never have expected to spend his evening in such a ce.

    He swallowed. This ce made him nervous!

    It was readily apparent that the fatty was a frequent patron of Inner Scent. He had brought several of his closepanions to apany him, and ended uppletely forgetting about Lu Yin. When the fatty returned to his senses, he saw that Lu Yin was still drinking where he had been left, but the two women who had been with him had left.

    "Brother, what happened? They didn¡¯t satisfy you? You got some other pastimes? Just let me know. While Yinshan City isn¡¯t a very good ce, it still has everything you could need to eat, drink, and have fun. Tell me what you want to do, and you can find it here." The fatty patted his chest in a reassuring manner, causing the fat on his face to jiggle.

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "I''m tired of ying. I don''t want to y around anymore."

    The fat man was stunned for a moment and he stared at Lu Yin before finally giving him a thumbs up. "That¡¯s absolutely amazing! Hahahaha, brothers, next time you see Mo Gaohe heading out to y, just say that to him; we¡¯ll make him speechless!"

    "Make him speechless!" everyone toasted as they celebrated.

    Lu Yin did not know what they were all so happy about, but the fatty must have believed that Lu Yin was putting on an act, yet that was not the case at all.

    "Brother, just take a few days off whenever you¡¯re tired. There¡¯s no way you don¡¯t want to mess around for a day! You¡¯re not a eunuch." The fatty patted Lu Yin''s shoulder while encouraging him before moving on to talk to someone else.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and looked outside.

    Almost all of the visitors to Yinshan City were cultivators from far away, and quite a number were part of Humility''s Gate: wastrels who had been shipped off by their own powers.

    ording to the fatty, Yinshan City had been founded by previous generations¡¯ wastrels who had been went to the Yinshan Mountains to send them away. They had wanted a ce where they could y however they wished.

    After quite a few hours, the fatty and the others were still not done for the day. They were leading Lu Yin down a street. "Bro, I¡¯m going to show you around Yinshan City."

    "No thanks. I''ll go do some window shopping by myself" Lu Yin said.

    The fatty refused that, "That won''t work. Yinshan City isn¡¯t some ce where you can casually stroll around. My people, Wang Dashuai¡¯s underlings, are limited to the northern part of the city, while Mo Gaohe¡¯s people can¡¯t leave the southern region. Don''t break the rules, as doing so will trigger a fierce fight."

    He suddenly remembered something and gritted his teeth. "A while ago, there was a new guy who didn''t know the rules, and he went to the south and ended up being absolutely humiliated by Mo Gaohe. He left Yinshan District the very next day, and even left Humility''s Gate, all because of that monster Mo Gaohe. Do whatever you want, but don¡¯t cross him."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you, Brother Wang."

    The fatty waved a hand. "Bro, stop being so polite. Your Linjiang family is friends with my Wang family, and even though we haven''t met before, there¡¯s a rtionship with the White Dragon n, so we¡¯ll take good care of you here."

    "Wang Dashuai, haven¡¯t you already done enough to be ashamed of? You¡¯ve already lost any bit of respect you might have had in the Middle Realm.¡± A pleasant female voice spoke up from behind, though the tone was full of scorn.

    The fatty and Lu Yin both turned around to see a beautiful woman close behind. Her eyes gazed at them with contempt and disdain.

    She was beautiful. She wore a bold style of clothing, and she exuded a sense of strength. She had slender legs and dazzlingly white skin.

    The fatty¡¯s expression instantly changed when he saw the woman, and a smile appeared on his face that looked worse than if he had started crying. "Yun- Sister Yun, when did you get back?¡±

    The womanpletely ignored Wang Dashuai while focusing on Lu Yin with a frown. "You new here? Have we met before?"

    The fatty quickly spoke up, "Sister Yun, he¡¯s Linjiang Yi, and he¡¯s from the Linjiang n. He¡¯s a new arrival to my Yinshan District."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. While he was confident that he had never seen her before, he felt an unexinable sense of disgust for her. He had no idea what caused the feeling.

    The woman was surprised. "From the Linjiang family?"

    She turned serious as she looked at Lu Yin. She felt that this person was quite familiar, but she simply could not remember from where.

    Lu Yin smiled and introduced himself, "I¡¯m Linjiang Yi."

    "Have we met?" the woman asked.

    Lu Yin tried to remember. "Maybe, I also feel that you seem familiar."

    The woman was not able to remember where she might have seen Lu Yin, so she turned to stare at the fatty again. "I heard that you fought Mo Gaohe again. Don¡¯t be making trouble! You¡¯re really an eyesore."

    The fatty quickly replied, ¡°No, no. I wasn¡¯t the one making trouble! That guy was trying to cause problems on his own by having evil thoughts about Sister Yun! Isn¡¯t that simply wanting to die? He doesn¡¯t even know where he stands! Other than bai Shaohong, there¡¯s no one in the entire Celestial Frost Sect who¡¯s worthy of you, Sister Yun."

    The woman snorted before moving past the two youths and leaving them behind.

    After she left, the fatty cursed vehemently, "What the hell?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had assumed that the fatty liked the woman, so what was he upset about? This was aplete turn-around.

    "Bro, you need to remember that in the Yinshan Mountains, you can offend anyone except that woman," the fatty warned.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why?"

    The fatty exined, "She¡¯s Wang Yun, and she¡¯s another person from my Wang family. Her background¡¯splicated, but Mo Gaohe came here in order to chase her."

    "So why is she in the Yinshan District?" Lu Yin asked. This seemed a bit strange, as this woman was clearly not a wastrel like the others he had seen.

    The fatty replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the specifics, but I heard she screwed up somehow and was sentenced to serve twenty years in the Yinshan District."

    Twenty years was not a great deal of time for a cultivator, but the fact that the woman had been sent to this ce as a punishment was enough to show that her crime had not been a minor one. However, the punishment that she had received and the time on it also showed that she had a very profound background that was able to have her punishment be much milder than should have been given.

    There was no danger in the Yinshan Mountains, and Yinshan City was simply a resort.

    While Lu Yin was casually touring about Yinshan City and chatting with the fatty, in a dark part of the Middle Realm, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Elder Qing Xing lifted his hand after hismunication crystals vibrated. A pair of dark, narrow eyes appeared in an image.

    "The target has joined Humility''s Gate, so the price has changed. It¡¯s going up five times."

    Elder Qing Xing grew angry. "Your Realmless assassins weren¡¯t able to do their job, and so he had the opportunity to join Humility''s Gate; why should we pay more for your ipetence?"

    "You provided inurate information. The target is not weak, as if he were, he would have died long ago."

    "Don''t you have your own intelligencework?" Elder Qing Xing angrily demanded.

    "If we need to use our own intelligence operatives, then the cost will still end up five times higher than originally quoted. We did not hold you ountable for the bad information we received, and we should have demandedpensation."

    Elder Qing Xing¡¯s voice grew cold, "People im that Realmless is the most trustworthy organization, I can''t see it."

    "Elder Qing Xing, you should watch your words, or else Realmless will give you cause to regret them." The long and narrow eyes grew darker and more intimidating.

    Elder Qing Xing''s eyes flickered. He said, "Give me some time to consider this."

    "Understood.¡± With that, the image disappeared.

    Elder Qing Xing clenched his fists. If not for his Junior Progenitor''s goal, why would he ever be in contact with Realmless? Those vile assassins were capable of doing anything, and dealing with them was ying with fire. Still, he had no choice.

    After thinking for a bit, the elder used hismunication crystals to call someone else, and soon an image appeared of an innocent looking girl. She was clearly nothing more than a girl, yet Elder Qing Xing grew incredibly respectful when he spoke to the girl. ¡°Miss Yu Chen, Realmless is demanding five times the original price. I¡¯m not sure how the young master would like to proceed.¡±

    The girl¡¯s tone was light, "That¡¯s because we gave them faulty information. Realmless is asking an appropriate price. However, since he joined Humility''s Gate, we can no longer eliminate him by using Realmless. If we do, the Junior Progenitor will end up in trouble once Humility''s Gate investigates the matter."

    "Then please advise me, Miss Yu Chen," Elder Qing Xing said.

    The girl replied, "You no longer need to worry about this."

    With that, she ended the call.

    Elder Qing Xing was momentarily stunned, and he stood silently staring at hismunication crystals.

    On the other end of the call, the girl immediately called someone else after hanging up with Elder Qing Xing. She was calling Mo Gaohe.

    Mo Gaohe did not have a low status in the Celestial Frost Sect, but he was also not in a high position. His influence only extended to the sect¡¯s disciples. Despite being a Hunter, his goal in chasing after Wang Yun was to use her to rise to new heights.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1367: Luck

    <h4>Chapter 1367: Luck</h4>

    Bai Shaohong was still only a disciple at the Celestial Frost Sect, but given that he was also a Junior Progenitor, he enjoyed an enormous influence. His maid feltfortable being rude to the sect¡¯s elders, and Mo Gaohe could note close toparing to an elder.

    Mo Gaohe had never expected Miss Yu Chen to ever contact him, and her call left him so excited that he could not even speak.

    ¡°Yu- Miss Yu Chen, if you need anything at all, I¡¯m willing to die to get it done!¡± Mo Gaohe excitedly offered as he stared at the girl with a heated expression. She was the Junior Progenitor¡¯s personal maid, as well as the girl that many people within the Celestial Frost Sect dreamed of.

    She smiled gently at Mo Gaohe. Her entire attitude waspletely different from when she had spoken with Elder Qing Xing. As she smiled, she said, ¡°Senior Brother Mo, I¡¯ve admired what I¡¯ve heard about you for a long time.¡±

    The young man lost his breath as he stared at Yu Chen¡¯s beautiful and innocent looking face. Such a contradiction of her features had left her as the most desirable woman of her generation in the Celestial Frost Sect. ¡°This Mo Gaohe is greatly honored to have Miss Yu Chen calling me.¡±

    Yu Chen continued to smile at him. ¡°Senior Brother Mo, would you be able to do something for me?¡±

    ¡°Please let me know anything you need, Miss Yu Chen,¡± Mo Gaohe loudly stated as he made his position clear.

    Yu Chen¡¯s mouth curled up into a bigger smile. ¡°Linjiang Yi is a new arrival to the Yinshan District. He was previously known as Long Qi¡­¡±

    ¡­

    In a dark and barrennd devoid of all people, there were strange creatures that would asionally rush up from beneath the ground, only to burrow back down once again. There were strange ck birds flying through the sky in flocks as they released piercing cries.

    This wastnd was within the Yinshan Mountains. The mountain range was massive, and this wastnd was only a small part of it.

    The peaceful wastnd was suddenly disrupted by the appearance of a person. It was a young man who had his eyes closed as he walked across the dark, damp ground.

    Suddenly, a massive worm burst up from beneath the ground and shot countless tentacles towards the man. His body seemed to shake, and he easily evaded all of the approaching tentacles. It was as if he was able to predict the worm¡¯s attacks

    The creature let out a strange hiss that created a jagged shockwave that swept towards the man and tore up the ground as it rushed forward.

    This sonic attack was one of the worm¡¯s abilities, but nothing seemed to give the creature an advantage. Its new attack was also useless against the man.

    The man lifted his head a bit and turned to face elsewhere. ¡°Someone¡¯sing.¡±

    The worm shot out countless tentacles once again, and they lunged towards the man, their numbers hiding the sky.

    At this time, a group of people were approaching. They rode atop arge flying beast, and they were led by Mo Gaohe.

    Although the Yinshan District was a ce for wealthy wastrels to be sent, there Humility¡¯s Gate still had tasks that the members had to fulfill, such as patrolling.

    This was the area that Mo Gaohe was responsible for.

    ¡°Captain, look, someone¡¯s over there!¡± one person eximed.

    Mo Gaohe looked down and saw a man with his eyes closed. Eh? His eyes are shut?

    The worm¡¯s tentacles filled the sky, but Mo Gaohe and the others did not have any intention of taking action. They were not altruistic men and women, and they simply wanted to watch the fun.

    The man with closed eyes stood in ce, but then a peerless domain shot out from his body and froze the tentacles in ce before lifting the worm and crushing it.

    A sticky green liquid scattered across the sky, but there was no change to the man¡¯s expression as he remained standing quietly where he was.

    In the sky some distance away, Mo Gaohe¡¯s eyes narrowed. That was a powerful domain, and the man was actually a Hunter.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you here in the Yinshan District?¡± Mo Gaohe asked. The group of more than a dozen people stayed behind him, and they all locked wary eyes onto the man. They had all seen what he had just done, and it left them a bit frightened since he was clearly much stronger than all of them.

    ¡°I want to join Humility¡¯s Gate,¡± the man said.

    Mo Gaohe¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°You can¡¯t just join Humility¡¯s Gate because you want to.¡±

    The man said, ¡°I know, but I want to try.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Where¡¯re you from?¡± Mo Gaohe asked.

    The man turned to face Mo Gaohe as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m called Unseen Light, and I¡¯m an independent cultivator.¡±

    ¡­

    A few hourster, Unseen Light stood with Mo Gaohe near Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District base. ¡°Remember, as long as you help me deal with this, I promise I¡¯ll get you in the Celestial Frost Sect, and then there¡¯ll be no reason for you to join Humility¡¯s Gate.¡±

    Unseen Light kept his eyes tightly sealed shut. ¡°I hope you keep your word.¡±

    Mo Gaohe picked his head up higher. ¡°I¡¯m a disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect, so it¡¯s no problem for me to rmend someone to take an entrance exam. You¡¯re already strong enough to join the sect, and if this task was given by the Junior Progenitor, aplishing it will make him happy and he might even pay attention to you. Countless people hope to get such an opportunity, so you¡¯re pretty lucky. You can think of this as taking one step to reach heaven.¡±

    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Unseen Light smiled.

    Mo Gaohe looked even happier than before. During his earlier call, Miss Yu Chen had told Mo Gaohe what the Junior Progenitor was needing done, but since that fatty knew Mo Gaohe¡¯s people like the back of his own hand, it would be impossible for Mo Gaohe to hide any actions taken by his own people. However, he had luckily met an independent cultivator who was very powerful. This person was absolutely much stronger than that Long Qi who had hidden himself as Linjiang Yi, and Unseen Light was even willing to join the Celestial Frost Sect instead of Humility¡¯s Gate, which was just perfect.

    If not for the fact that Unseen Light was interested in joining the Celestial Frost Sect, Mo Gaohe would have assumed that Miss Yu Chen had sent an assistant toplete the task at hand.

    This person¡¯s arrival had provided the best opportunity for Mo Gaohe toplete the task he had been given.

    As they approached the Yinshan District¡¯s base, Mo Gaohe left Unseen Light alone and led the rest of the team back. Mo Gaohe made sure that all of his subordinates understood they were forbidden from mentioning Unseen Light to anyone, and they were to act as if they had never seen him before.

    Alone, Unseen light looked around at Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District base. He had not expected it to be so simple.

    If he could get the opportunity, he had been told to absolutely follow one of the Junior Progenitors, as the Junior Progenitors were able to lead a person to the Dominion Realm.

    Over the course of countless years, the Fifth Maind had sent numerous people to the Perennial World, but very few had been sessful, as sess was not easy. Too many people had been discovered and executed. It took luck for this endeavor, but Unseen Light had been quite lucky this time.

    As soon as he had entered the Yinshan District, he had headed towards the nearest city and sought the information he needed.. He had found out that there were two powerhouses from Humility¡¯s Gate who were performing missions in this area, so he had nned to look for them and follow them back to Humility¡¯s Gate and join. Then, Unseen Light intended to use this status from Humility¡¯s Gate to approach the Celestial Frost Sect and gain the recognition of the sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor. He had not considered that he might be able to join the Celestial Frost Sect without even needing to enter Humility¡¯s Gate.

    It was very difficult to determine a person¡¯s luck, but Unseen Light felt that his luck had been quite good ever since he had arrived in this universe, at least until he met the target that Mo Gaohe had given him. The person was supposed to be Long Qi who had disguised himself as Linjiang Yi. My luck isn¡¯t that good after all! This guy¡¯s the lucky bastard. Long Qi? Bullshit! That¡¯s Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the man in front of him who imed to be one of the Linjiang n¡¯s distant rtives. What the hell? That¡¯s Unseen Light! How did he get into the Perennial World? Wait, could he have been added to ZENITH¡¯s top ten after I disappeared? If I¡¯m right, then this Perennial World is probably the opportunity that we werepeting for during ZENITH.

    If so, did that mean that the Linjiang family was an insider ced by the Fifth Maind to help out their people in this ce?

    Numerous thoughts shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and the joy of meeting an old acquaintance while in a foreign ce was almost instantly reced by curiosity and spection.

    ¡°Brother Linjiang, he¡¯s iming to be one of your distant rtives, and he asked someone outside the base to bring him to you and that you¡¯d recognize him when you saw him,¡± the pale-faced fatty said.

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°You¡¯re part of my n? How can you prove it?¡±

    Unseen Light silently took out a certificate he had been given by Mo Gaohe. Before Lu Yin even had a chance to read it, the fatty snatched it and carefully examined it before passing it on to Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s no problem.¡±

    Lu Yin seriously checked the document and blinked. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±

    It seemed that the Linjiang n really had been established as a support in the Perennial World for people from the Fifth Maind. This was just like how different powers had established hidden supports in Shenwu Continent.

    ¡°Okay, since he¡¯s someone from your Linjiang n, we¡¯ll let him stay here for now. I¡¯ll check with fourth uncle to see if we can let this guy join Humility¡¯s Gate. The kid was just standing at the door and say hi to everyone he saw, and if I hadn¡¯t found him earlier, he probably would have been dead if Mo Gaohe had been the one to find him.¡± The fatty was quite excited by everything.

    Lu Yin quickly thanked the fatty. This was actually how the man was to all of his people; he would never refuse to help any of them, and there were rumors that it was for that reason that he had been sent to the Yinshan District. His attitude was not suitable for a member of one of the ruling powers.

    After the fatty left, Lu Yin sat down across from Unseen Light.

    ¡°You took my ce in the top ten?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light responded with a question of his own, ¡°You impersonated Long Qi?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You know about Long Qi? It seems like someone is trying to kill me and they just happened to find you. I guess I was wrong. The Linjiang family wasn¡¯t set up by the Fifth Maind. Who put you up to this?¡±

    Unseen Light smiled and said, ¡°Mo Gaohe.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised. ¡°How soon does he want you to deal with me?¡±

    ¡°Huaiyuan is to the south of the Yinshan Mountains, and there is also a Humility¡¯s Gate base there. There¡¯s a family there with the surname Zhu, and they are supposed to be traitors to humanity, part of what¡¯s called spies. Mo Gaohe told me to share this with you as a gift for the main family. The hope was that this gift would be enough to allow me to join the Yinshan District Humility¡¯s Gate.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s supposed to happen with you telling me about the Zhu family? Am I supposed to turn them in?¡±

    ¡°That seems to be it,¡± Unseen Light replied.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°However, if the information about them is wrong, I¡¯ll offend them. Still, they¡¯re a small family and there¡¯s no reason to worry about offending them. But if the information is true, then Mo Gaohe should already know, and the upper levels should absolutely know about it, so why has nothing happened to the family? There must be some reason they haven¡¯t moved against them. They must be leaving the family alone in order to catch a bigger fish.¡±

    Unseen Light smiled lightly. ¡°Huaiyuan.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. The Zhu family was in Huaiyuan to the south of the Yinshan Mountains, and there was also a Humility¡¯s Gate base in that ce. ¡°If Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan really has deliberately left the Zhu family alone to use as a piece of arger y, then I shouldn¡¯t expose it, as doing so would instantly get me in hot water with Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan. However, it would only offend them, and since a traitor to humanity would indeed be caught, there would only be an achievement without any me.¡±

    ¡°There has to be a second step to the n, but I don¡¯t know what it is. He wouldn¡¯t share everything at once, but clearly offending Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan is nothing more than the start. If this n is sessful, you¡¯ll probably end up killed by Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan,¡± Unseen Light suggested.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table; the Huaiyuan Humility¡¯s Gate. He knew that they were led by someone named Guan Tong, who was a ruthless person with many achievements to his name. He was basically the pr opposite of Zhuo Si, but even more importantly, Guan Tong had two brothers: Guan Hai and Guan Yun. Together, they were known as the Three Heroes of Huaiyuan. Guan Tong and Guan Hai were also both Envoys, which made their base one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s strongest in the Middle Realm.

 Chapter 1368: Where Opportunity Lies

    <h4>Chapter 1368: Where Opportunity Lies</h4>

    If he offended Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan, Lu Yin would end up suffering within Humility¡¯s Gate. If Mo Gaohe then pinned a random crime onto Lu Yin, Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan would speak out against him, and then even if Lu Yin did not end up dead, he would still lose his skin.

    Given Mo Gaohe¡¯s ability, it was impossible for him to have any information regarding the Zhu family. This information had to havee from Bai Shaohong, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was in Humility¡¯s Gate, which provided him with a different status that made it so that he could not easily be openly targeted, which made it harder to use Realmless¡¯s assassins. The only way to deal with Lu Yin was by taking advantage of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s rules. If the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw was expelled from Humility¡¯s Gate, it would be a joke for all of the Higher Realm and even the Perennial World. Not only would Lu Yin himself be humiliated, it would also embarrass the White Dragon n.

    Long Xi had sent Lu Yin to Humility¡¯s Gate to protect him, but there were pros and cons to the situation.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to get here a step ahead of the rest of us. Not only that, you¡¯ve already be a member of the White Dragon n,¡± said Unseen Light, clear amazement in his voice. He seldom felt such things, but Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments left Unseen Light feeling quite impressed.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t want to do this. Look at me; I was sent to Humility¡¯s Gate so that people can deal with everything without me. I¡¯m really not in a good position ,and I can easily be killed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re incredibly lucky that Mo Gaohe actually found me. If he had found anyone else, you might have ended up falling into his plot. After all, you¡¯re not really part of the Linjiang n, so there¡¯s no way for you to know if iming to be part of the family is real or fake. You would have to im that the person was real, and that would set you up step by step,¡± Unseen Lightmented.

    Lu Yin nodded. Mo Gaohe had definitely not been the one behind this scheme. Even if he had the cunning toe up with such a plot, he did not have the means and connections. However, Lu Yin was very curious as to what would be next in Mo Gaohe¡¯s n.

    Since Lu Yin had uncovered Mo Gaohe¡¯s scheme, there was no longer any need to worry. No matter what Mo Gaohe wanted to do, there was no way for him to avoid using Unseen Light.

    ¡°So our opportunity is in this universe, but what is the opportunity we¡¯re supposed to get?¡± Lu Yin asked, changing the subject.

    Unseen Light said, ¡°Arch-Elder Zen talked about Origin Matter.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost.

    Unseen Light pointed up above. ¡°This universe was born from a tree, and the Dominion Realm is at the top of this tree. There are countless things there from ancient times, including something called Origin Matter. Supposedly, you have to use Origin Matter to help when you try to break through to the Progenitor realm.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. ¡°So it¡¯s an opportunity for a chance to eventually be a Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°When the Sixth Maind covered the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, Arch-Elder Zen and the others weren¡¯t able to be Progenitors even with Origin Matter. They did have the ability to revert the sky back, but they had been dying that for various reasons. However, the change has already happened, and Arch-Elder Zen and the others sent us here to fight to get a hold of Origin Matter.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart moved; stowaways. He remembered that Long Tian had once mentioned that there had been stowaways from the Forsaken Land who would frequently mix in with the teams that would enter the Dominion Realm, which had been the reason he had wanted to team up with Long Xi, as he knew that she was reliable. It was only because of that matter that Lu Yin had gained the opportunity to enter Humility¡¯s Gate.

    Lu Yin had not considered that he had only been able to join Humility¡¯s Gate because of the actions taken by the Fifth Maind¡¯s stowaways from previous generations.

    ¡°So you want to get close to one of the Junior Progenitors identified during the Yuanlun Festival so that you can join him when he goes to the Dominion Realm?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light was taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°You¡¯re pretty well informed. You uncovered all that already?¡±

    ¡°I overheard that bit by ident,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Unseen Light nodded. ¡°During the Mother Tree¡¯s Yuanlun Festival, the Junior Progenitors are confirmed, and only the Junior Progenitors are qualified to lead teams up to the Dominion Realm. Our Fifth Maind has sneaked people in here since ancient times to have us join the Junior Progenitors¡¯ teams. Our best geniuses, even if they can¡¯t match up to a Junior Progenitor, can still present a challenge to them, and that¡¯s enough strength to qualify for the teams as long as there¡¯s no issue with the person¡¯s identity.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that Long Tian acknowledged Long Xi¡¯s strength, and she was on the same level of strength as Wang Yi and Wu Taibai. That wasparable to ZENITH¡¯s top five, though not enough topare to Lu Yin or Shang Qing. There was not a huge discrepancy in the strength of ZENITH¡¯s top ten, so the power of any one of the ten would be enough to catch the attention of the Junior Progenitors.

    ¡°What about the others?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light shook his head. ¡°We were scattered all over so that we wouldn¡¯t get captured in one go.¡±

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered a serious matter. ¡°Did Wang Yi know you were on the list foring to this ce?¡±

    Unseen Light shook his head. ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t. We only found out about this right before we were sent her. Why? Did Wang Yi also get here early?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s actually from this Perennial World. He¡¯s from the Wang family,¡± Lu Yin solemnly replied.

    Unseen Light¡¯s heart sank; he had not changed his name! Things would be over for him the moment that Wang Yi heard his name.

    ¡°Fortunately, he was seriously injured by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attack, and he¡¯s not expected to show himself for the next ten years. There¡¯s no chance of him going to the Dominion Realm,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Unseen Light let out a sigh of relief. ¡°You should have said that first!¡±

    He had been badly startled by Lu Yin¡¯s information. ¡°However, this means that Wang Yi is able to travel to and from the Fifth Maind, which means that the Wang family has ess to the Fifth Maind. That¡¯s not good.¡±

    ¡°How are you nning to get back?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light gave Lu Yin a location. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to gather there.¡±

    Lu Yin got it. Though he still had a lot of questions, it was impossible for him to get an answer from Unseen Light. ¡°Do you know how the people in this universe refer to the Fifth Maind?¡±

    Unseen Light grew more serious. ¡°The Forsaken Land.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He guessed that the people of the Fifth Maind hated those with primeval surnames because the primeval surnames had abandoned them long ago.

    ¡°You can¡¯t get any help from the Hall of Honor in this ce?¡±

    Unseen Light replied, ¡°The situation¡¯s changed. The Yuanlun Festivals are only held once every era, and do you have any idea how long an era is?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Too much time had passed. While Lu Yin believed that Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors were far from young, it was not a surprise that the Hall of Honor was not able to offer any help in the Perennial World. Too much time had passed, and while it was possible that the Hall of Honor had set up some support systems in the Perennial World, it was just as likely that the forces of this universe had discovered those organizations and were waiting for the stowaways to reach out to them.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help you. How were you nning on using Mo Gaohe to get into the Celestial Frost Sect?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light said, ¡°Man proposes, but heaven disposes. There¡¯s no way I can sell you out. How about you? Don¡¯t you want to go to the Dominion Realm?¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a while. ¡°Even if I want to, I still have to find a way. Right now I¡¯m supposed to be a son-inw who needs to be protected.¡±

    The pale fat man approached Lu Yin from the other side and patted his chest in a self-satisfied manner. ¡°Brother Linjiang, Zhuo Si is feeling very generous! What¡¯s your brother¡¯s name? Cannot?¡±1

    ¡°Unseen Light.¡±

    ¡°Right, Unseen Light. You can join the Yinshan District Humility¡¯s Gate. Bro, you don¡¯t know, but I did my best, and fortunately, my brother¡¯s a captain here in the Yinshan District, and he¡¯s got a bit of influence¡­¡±

    With that, Unseen Light officially joined Humility¡¯s Gate and became part of the fatty¡¯s team, following in Lu Yin¡¯s footsteps.

    Mo Gaohe watched everything from the side, and every time he and the fatty saw each other, they ridiculed each other. He also revealed his contempt for Lu Yin each time they met, but Mo Gaohe essentially ignored Unseen Light and did not even make eye contact. Well, it was impossible to make eye contact with Unseen Light given that his eyes were alwayspletely closed.

    ¡°Hahaha, Mo Gaohe, look at this handsome guy! Isn¡¯t my team growing stronger? Look at your guys; you¡¯ve got two or three who are basically kittens.¡± The fatty was very proud of his recent acquisitions, and he deliberately chose to wait on a path that Mo Gaohe frequently used in order to have the opportunity to mock Mo Gaohe.

    Mo Gaohe sneered. ¡°Damn fatty, don¡¯t get toocent. The happier you are now, the harder you¡¯ll cry soon.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, I¡¯ll justugh, hahahaha! Mo Gaohe, you¡¯re the one who should cry! Hahahaha¡± The fatty showed a brilliant smile.

    Mo Gaohe had no desire to pay any attention to the fatty. Instead, Mo Gaohe was concerned with Lu Yin, or rather Long Qi, the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw. Every time this thought entered Mo Gaohe¡¯s mind, a killing intent would fill his eyes. He was a high ranked disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect who was pursuing Wang Yun to have the chance to rise to a higher position. His ultimate goal was why he had not hesitated at all toe to the isted Yinshan Mountains. Long Qi had married one of the Higher Realm¡¯s most dazzling pearls, which had catapulted him up to the position that Mo Gaohe coveted.

    However, Long Qi¡¯s good days would soone to an end. It would not be long before he and the fat man would both cry. Thinking of this, Mo Gaohe¡¯s mood swung back up, though he was careful to maintain a gloomy expression. ¡°Let¡¯s leave.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± The fatty was stillughing.

    Lu Yin looked at the fatty as though looking at an idiot. This man was nothing more than what he appeared to be. There were no deep plots floating through his mind, and he was as clean as a piece of white paper.

    ¡­

    After Unseen Light joined Humility¡¯s Gate, Lu Yin saw the same events y out as before, and the two of them were led by the fatty into Yinshan City to y around.

    ¡°Cultivators should remain calm and not be disturbed by external things.¡± This was how Unseen Light responded to the fatty¡¯s encouragements to enjoy himself.

    The fatty was not able to see Unseen Light¡¯s eyes, but this guy seemed to be an even better actor than Lu Yin; he kept his eyes closed all the time to pretend to be mysterious.

    Lu Yin was also confused by Unseen Light¡¯s answer, but the guy was quite strange to begin with. In order to cultivate his domain, Unseen Light had lived with his eyes closed for years, which was certainly ruthless enough.

    Half a month has passed, and the fatty was thrilled the entire time. ording to him, the Yinshan District had not seen such peace for a long time. In the past, he and Mo Gaohe would fight every few days, but recently, Mo Gaohe would turn and walk away every time he saw the fatty. This was all because Lu Yin and Unseen Light had joined the fatty¡¯s team, so he had adopted an arrogant attitude in recent days and had spent all of his time entertaining people.

    At night, the dark mountains grew even deeper shadows. All kinds of strange creatures would move about beneath the ground, surfacing only briefly before returning beneath the earth or racing away.

    Unseen Light appeared in a small hollow, and Mo Gaohe also appeared in that same ce after a while. ¡°So Long Qi wasn¡¯t able to find anything suspicious?¡±

    Unseen Light replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s already convinced.¡±

    Mo Gaohe sneered. ¡°Everything about him is fake, so of course he¡¯ll doubt others.¡±

    He hesitated for a moment. ¡°He still doesn¡¯t want to expose the Zhu family?¡±

    Unseen Light shook his head. ¡°He said nothing when I told him about them. Heter said that the White Dragon n wants him to stay quiet for a few months, and then they¡¯ll arrange for him to receive some aplishments in order to be able to retire.¡±

    ¡°He wants to retire with achievements? He must be dreaming! Whatever, if he wants to get some aplishments, then we¡¯ll give them to him,¡± Mo Gaohe mocked.

    An hourter, Unseen Light appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s quarters.

    ¡°He¡¯ll give me aplishments? That¡¯s really what he said?¡± Lu Yin wondered.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    [1] Unseen Light¡¯s name is literally ¡°don¡¯t see/cannot see the light.¡± ?

 Chapter 1369: Top Secret

    <h4>Chapter 1369: Top Secret</h4>

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Even if I offend others by gaining achievements, there¡¯s nothing that anyone can do about it given the fact that I have the White Dragon n behind me. Even the Celestial Frost Sect is a bit cautious of the White Dragon n, so others will be far less likely to try to threaten me. Since this is the case, just what does he mean by trying to help me get some aplishments?¡±

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something, and at the same time, Unseen Light spoke up, "False achievements."

    "Humility''s Gate has tremendous power, but this also means that they have more rules, and there are incredibly strict punishments for breaking those rules. The worst crime is that of falsifying military exploits," Lu Yin said.

    Unseen Light interjected, "First, he intends to have you expose the Zhu family as traitors to offend Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan, and then he wants to report you for falsely instigating a war. There wouldn¡¯t even be any need for the Celestial Frost Sect to take any action, as the three Guan brothers would never let such a thing go, which would throw things back to the White Dragon n. It would be useless for them to try to step forward. The least they would do would be to expel you from the n and leave you to Humility''s Gate."

    Lu Yin felt a chill go down his back. "That¡¯s ruthless. If not for you, if anyone else had tried to push me into this, I would likely have fallen for it. And even if I don¡¯t expose the Zhu family, Mo Gaohe has to have a way to force things onto me by iming that I knew that the Zhu family had betrayed humanity. In that way, I would still offend the three Guan brothers, so no matter what I try, there¡¯s no way out of this trap."

    Unseen Light admired the n. "The people behind this were very thorough, and they linked each stage to the others. Even if things change, they can adapt to the situation to make sure that you can¡¯t get free of their scheme no matter what you do. It¡¯s actually amazing."

    Lu Yin had no motivation to praise others. There was a truly ruthless person hidden in the dark who was plotting against him. Lu Yin had managed to discover it this time purely because of Unseen Light, but what about the next time? With such an borate n, there was no way that they would easily let Lu Yin escape them.

    Who was behind this? Bai Shaohong? Probably not. He was a Junior Progenitor, and thus had no energy to bother with such things. In that case, who was it? Regardless, it had to be someone from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    If Lu Yin wanted to find out, his only option was to start from Mo Gaohe.

    "Try to find out who¡¯s behind Mo Gaohe. I want to know who¡¯s plotting against me," Lu Yin said.

    Unseen Light replied, "That¡¯s going to be very difficult. Mo Gaohe has a sharp mind and a closed mouth, so it won¡¯t be easy to get anything out of him, and he might even see through my efforts. Right now, what we can do is uncover his tricks and disable them while waiting for him to reveal the next stage of the n. Let¡¯s first take care of any possible hidden threats around him before dealing with him in one move.¡±

    Thinking about it, Lu Yin felt that Unseen Light was right. Mo Gaohe was essentially just a medium put forward by his enemies to attack Lu Yin. If this medium was removed, then the enemies could simply send another attack through it anytime they wished. Lu Yin had to have Mo Gaohe removed while making sure that there any no enemies hidden in Yinshan Mountain¡¯s/Mountain District

    The only thing Lu Yin could do at this time was wait around for Mo Gaohe to make his next move.

    Half a month soon went by, and one day, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystals vibrated on his wrist.

    Long Xi had given Lu Yin hismunication crystals so that she would be able to easily contact him.

    Communication crystals were not asmon in the Perennial World as gadgets were in the Fifth Maind, and only a few people had them.

    An image of Long Xi appeared in front of Lu Yin. She was as beautiful as ever; her long, sea-blue hair was enchanting, and her amber eyes revealed a charming demeanor.

    "How have things been going for you?" Long Xi asked. She had been very worried about Lu Yin during the month she had not seen him. This was not because of any sort of affection, they had not known each other for long enough for her to develop any feelings. Instead, Lu Yin was a hidden weakness.

    Lu Yin did not say anything about Mo Gaohe''s scheme, as revealing such things would only cause Long Xi to be more worried. Also, Lu Yin had no way to exin Unseen Light¡¯s identity or their connection. If Long Xi grew too worried, she might even ask Long Tian to make arrangements for Lu Yin to be transferred elsewhere, which would require everything to be done all over again. In the Yinshan District, Lu Yin could at least work with Unseen Light to take advantage of the enemy¡¯s schemes and stay safe from the various plots.

    "It''s been fine, nothing¡¯s happened. I spend all day with Fatty- ahem, Wang Dashuai keeps me safe even when we go to Yinshan City to hang out," Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi frowned. "Stay away from that Captain Wang. His behavior is sloppy and his mind is simple, so he¡¯s easy to take advantage of."

    These words were true, so Lu Yin just nodded. "I understand."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin for a while, thinking about the situation, but without anything more to say about it. ¡°Things have been quiettely, and it seems like Bai Shaohong hasn¡¯t had much sess with his attempts to deal with you, so don¡¯t make any trouble of your own. I¡¯ll push my older brother to get you some military achievements as soon as possible, and then it will be safe for you to retire. Remember, don''t make trouble!"

    "Don''t worry, I''m a very honest person," Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi shot him another sharp nce before ending the call.

    Lu Yin looked outside the room and saw a gloomy sky. The fatty had led his team out on patrol, and it would take them two days toe back. During this time, Lu Yin could not casually wander about as he needed to avoid getting provoked by Mo Gaohe and inadvertently revealing unnecessary information. As he thought for a moment, he felt that it was time to roll his die.

    If he wanted to gain a better understanding of this universe, the most effective method would be to read someone else¡¯s memories. Rolling six pips would be the best way to handle this, and it should not cost too much star essence to Possess someone within this same universe.

    Lu Yin entered a secure room. Everyone¡¯s quarters in the base included a secure room for their cultivation.

    Lu Yin set his cosmic ring aside and took out a few thousand star essence. He lifted his hand and caused his die to appear, slowly rotating.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger, and the dice spun before slowing and stopping at three pips. The two light screens appeared, and Lu Yin pursed his lips. This was not the time to upgrade his items, as he had nothing left to Enhance.

    He used some star energy to restore the die before tapping it again. This time he rolled one pip: Pilfer, and a piece of metal fell out. It was quite hard, but Lu Yin was still able to crush it with his hands. Given this toughness, the metal was enough to stand up to a powerful Hunter. It would make a good weapon for many people, and would probably be considered a great treasure by them, but it waspletely useless for Lu Yin.

    He rolled the die again, and this time his wish was granted. He rolled six pips: Possession. He appeared in a strange, dark space that was filled with orbs of light. Lu Yin instantly made for the ball of light that was closest to him, and he immediately merged with it.

    The next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled as the scenery again changed around him. He appeared high in the sky with a sea of mes spread out beneath his feet. There were countless people in the mes burning in anguish. There was a person next to Lu Yin whose aura was enough to cause Lu Yin¡¯s scalp to tingle. This was the power of an Envoy.

    As memories poured into his mind, Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open and he stared down at his hands. This was miraculously lucky: he had actually possessed Guan Yun!

    A month before, Lu Yin and Unseen Light had discussed Mo Gaohe''s scheme to set Lu Yin up, and it involved the three Guan brothers who led Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in Huaiyuan. Unexpectedly, a month after that discussion, Lu Yin had Possessed Guan Yun''s body. Guan Yun was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000. He was a powerhouse who was close to bing an Envoy, and it was no surprise that he was a suitable target for Lu Yin to Possess, as the two possessed simrbat power.

    The person standing next to Lu Yin was Guan Yun''s second brother Guan Hai. He was an actual Envoy.

    At this moment, the brothers were finishing up a mission, and the people in the mes down below were members of a family that had betrayed humanity. Humility''s Gate had identified the traitors, and so the family had been destroyed.

    As more and more memories poured in, Lu Yin discovered that the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm were the front-side of the Mother Tree, but the back was the greatest battlefield in the Perennial World. The enemy of the Mother Tree was a battlefield where endless monsters that had scarlet irises and slitted pupils poured through from it.

    The Neohuman Alliance! Three words appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He had never considered that the Perennial World¡¯s greatest enemy would be the same monsters he had fought before. Also, the Neohuman Alliance had nted moles in the Perennial World, just as they had done in the Fifth Maind.

    However, unlike the Fifth Maind, in this universe, the monsters remained hidden and did not have a massive force, whereas the Fifth Maind had to suffer the Neohuman Alliance.

    This information told Lu Yin that Humility''s Gate was to the Perennial World what the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court was to the Fifth Maind. Also, this meant that the four ruling powers formed this universe¡¯s match to the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin had joined the Interster Supreme Court.

    More and more memories entered his mind, and Lu Yin learned more and more about the ce he had found himself. Suddenly, he was shocked to discover a secret: Guan Yun himself was actually a Redback! Someone who had been sent by the enemy to infiltrate humanity.

    "Second Bro!" Lu Yin roused himself and looked over at Guan Hai standing next to him.

    Guan Hai pressed, "Second Bro, what''s wrong?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and answered in a hoarse voice, "Nothing."

    Guan Hai frowned. "You must be tired. You¡¯ve done a lot of the work this time around, so after this mission is over, head back to get some rest. Big Bro was looking for you for something."

    "Alright," Lu Yin said.

    Suddenly, the scenery again changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he passed through that strange, dark space before returning to his own body. He opened his eyes, still overwhelmed with shock. However, he still quickly wrote down a list of names. They were all of the names of people Guan Yun had worked with. They had all betrayed humanity.

    Who could have imagined that Guan Yun, one of the three brothers leading Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan, would actually be a Redback? He was someone who openly and boldly eliminated such traitors.

    If Guan Yun was a Redback, then what about Guan Hai and Guan Tong?

    Unfortunately for Lu Yin, he had not pulled out enough star essence for his Possession tost long, as otherwise he would have been able to read more memories. However, even if Lu Yin had freed up more star essence, he might have ended up Possessing someone further away and not have merged with Guan Yun at all.

    Complicated thoughts fly through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He quickly made a record of all of the spies and Redbacks he had learned about from Guan Yun''s memory. Lu Yin stared at the densely packed names and realized there were quite a few. If he turned in this list and the information was confirmed, he would receive tremendous merit, and he might even be summoned to the supervisor of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine bases in the Middle Realm.

    The Middle Realm¡¯s supervisor was a man named Qing Chen, and he was a super-powerhouse. As for what his exact power level was, Lu Yin did not know, but he did know that the man had to at least be stronger than Yuan Shi, and possibly as powerful as the Chief Justice of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Interster Supreme Court.

    The master of the entire Humility''s Gate was rumored to be a Progenitor, though a very paranoid and well-guarded Progenitor.

    In addition to the names that Lu Yin had written down, he had also learned from Guan Yun¡¯s memories the truth of the situation regarding the Zhu family. It was true that there was a traitor within the family who had remained hidden for decades, but the person had not been purposely left there by the Guan brothers. The traitor had only been revealed through a coincidence, but Guan Yun had developed a n to use this traitor for something specific.

    Lu Yin organized his thoughts and took a deep breath. The people behind Mo Gaohe were only aware that the traitor inside the Zhu family had been purposely left there by the three Guan brothers. Due to this, the moment that Lu Yin revealed the presence of the traitor, he would offend those brothers, not to mention a Redback like Guan Yun. The moment that Lu Yin revealed anything, it was likely that Guan Yun would eliminate Lu Yin before he even had a chance to realize he was being targeted.

    This was too ruthless of a n, and if not for Unseen Light, Lu Yin might have fallen right into this trap and ended up as nothing more than a pawn for others¡¯ game.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. The important thing was that he had managed to gain the initiative. If he coulde up with a way to expose the identity of the person behind Mo Gaohe, then everything would be perfect. Lu Yin stared at the overcast dim sky. He had not expected to remain nameless in this universe, but he had also not expected to be embroiled in a never ending war. This was really troublesome.

    The next day, Unseen Light sought out Lu Yin. "Mo Gaohe¡¯s made his move."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1370: Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 1370: Confrontation</h4>

    Lu Yin was actually startled by this information. The memories he had received from Guan Yun had made Lu Yin even more wary of Mo Gaohe''s n. Mo Gaohe and the people behind him did not realize the importance of the Zhu family to Guan Yun.

    "He asked me to take you somewhere," Unseen Light continued.

    "Where?" Lu Yin asked.

    Unseen Light took out a map of the Yinshan Mountains from his cosmic ring and pointed at a certain location. "Here."

    Lu Yin saw that it was in the area that Mo Gaohe was responsible for patrolling, and he was actually out doing just that on this day. It was clear that Mo Gaohe wanted Lu Yin to go there with Unseen Light so that he could end up in a dangerous situation and lose the initiative.

    "What is he wanting to do?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Unseen Light his head. "He wouldn¡¯t say, so I don''t know."

    Lu Yin did not question Unseen Light, but Lu Yin was also not worried. The people of this universe were extremely wary of people from the Fifth Maind infiltrating the Junior Progenitors¡¯ expedition teams. If Unseen Light attempted to betray Lu Yin, they would both go down. The two people¡¯s cooperation had been determined the moment they had recognized each other, which was the only reason Lu Yin was able to trust Unseen Light to such a degree. Even if Unseen Light caused the plot against Lu Yin to fail, Unseen Light would still need to protect himself. This was why he was willing to help Lu Yin, and also why he had said that Lu Yin was so lucky.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin followed Unseen Light to the location that Mo Gaohe had indicated. It was a damp and shadowed crevice that had a strange ck wind asionally blowing through.

    The two stood at the edge of the canyon. "He told me to lead you down to the bottom of the granite wall where there¡¯s a cave."

    "What were you told to say to convince me to follow you?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The location of traitors to humanity."

    Lu Yin nodded. Such information was indeed what he most needed at this time. Long Xi intended to have Lu Yin retire from Humility''s Gate with military achievements. Gaining such aplishments at the moment would allow Lu Yin to retire earlier than expected and allow him a morefortable life.

    The people backing Mo Gaohe had put a tremendous amount of effort into dealing with Lu Yin. "So there should be traitors down there," Lu Yinmented.

    Suddenly, Unseen Light¡¯s expression tensed up. "Mo Gaohe just sent me a message."

    Lu Yin acted ignorant.

    Unseen Light soon spoke up, "He told me to go down there and immediately attack and kill the person down there before giving you the credit."

    Lu Yin understood the n. "And then they¡¯ll have you expose that I faked my aplishments back at the base, and he¡¯ll take that opportunity to reveal that I found a traitor in the Zhu family who I didn¡¯t expose. Then I¡¯ll offend the three Guan brothers, and also have falsified an achievement to Humility''s Gate. Even if I can get away with the achievement, the Guan brothers still won¡¯t let me go.¡±

    There was no reason to hide such spection from Unseen Light.

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin jumped down and followed after Unseen Light.

    As the two entered the canyon, Mo Gaohe and several other people watched from a distance. A smile spread across Mo Gaohe¡¯s face. "Long Qi, just keep going. This day will be your ruin, and you¡¯ll cause the White Dragon n to be a joke within the four ruling powers."

    The canyon was damp, and disgusting and vicious looking bugs would reveal themselves from time to time, only to be taken out by Lu Yin.

    They eventually found the cave, and inside of it there was aatose manying on the ground.

    Lu Yin instantly recognized that the man was the traitor from the Zhu family, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he realized Mo Gaohe''s machinations. He had not expected that the people behind Mo Gaohe would simply capture the traitor just to save themselves some trouble. Also, if this person was not a traitor, then his death would be nothing less than random murder.

    It was not umon for cultivators to die and for no one to be held ountable for their deaths. However, it was easy to make such ims, but there were always exceptions, like the Zhu family. Their family was small, but they wielded great influence.

    Lu Yin stood to the side and did not try to stop anything. It would be better and simpler to simply speed up the implementation of Mo Gaohe''s n.

    Unseen Light killed theatose man with a single attack.

    Right after that, a voice entered the cave from outside, and Lu Yin and Unseen light nced at each other before starting to move out of the cave.

    Mo Gaohe led his group and barged into the cave. They all saw Lu Yin and Unseen Light, as well as the person from the Zhu family whose corpse was still lying on the ground.

    "Linjiang Yi, what are you doing?" Mo Gaohe shouted angrily as the people behind him stared at the two.

    Lu Yin did not get flustered, and he even pretended to be proud of himself. "What are you doing?"

    Mo Gaohe pointed at the corpse on the ground. "You killed him?"

    Lu Yin grew even more proud, but admitted to nothing.

    Mo Gaohe did not actually need Lu Yin to admit to anything. Eliminating a traitor to humanity was amendable feat of war and was an unavoidable task. "Do you know who that is? He¡¯s part of the Zhu family from Huaiyuan. They have a lot of influence in Huaiyuan, and they also have an excellent reputation and a great rtionship with brothers who lead the poor in Huaiyuan. They provide a lot of resources for my Humility''s Gate, and yet you dared kill him! Go get him and arrest him."

    Unseen Light tried to speak up, "The young master killed him because-"

    "Shut up! I''m from the Linjiang family, but I''m also part of Humility''s Gate. Captain Mo wouldn¡¯t dare do anything to me!" Lu Yin shouted loudly, stillmitted to putting on an act in order to hide the real reason the man from the Zhu family had died. This would prevent other members of Humility''s Gate from stealing his aplishment.

    Even if Mo Gaohe had not arranged the current situation, Lu Yin¡¯s behavior would still be considered normal. He had killed a traitor and then waited for Mo Gaohe to take him back to the base to be interrogated. Lu Yin had killed a traitor, but Mo Gaohe might be able to steal credit for Lu Yin¡¯s deed.

    Mo Gaohe secretly sneered; this guy still wanted to hide what he had done? This was actually for the best, as the more Lu Yin hid, the more there was that Lu Yin believed in the truth of his aplishment.

    "Take him away!" Mo Gaohe shouted fiercely.

    Lu Yin was grabbed by two members of Humility''s Gate, and they led him back to the Yinshan District¡¯s base. The corpse was also taken back.

    Unseen Light silently followed behind and everyone returned to the base.

    It did not take long for the Yinshan District¡¯s base to be sent into frenzy. There had been no work of note happening in this ce for eight generations, not to mention a murder case. The people sent to this ce were not expected to aplish anything. Why try to show off? Why take the risk involved in a mission?

    However, on this particr day, Mo Gaohe had captured Linjiang Yi and used him of murdering a member of the Zhu family from Huaiyuan.

    The fatty had rushed back to base the moment he had heard the news, and he yelled at Mo Goahe the moment they saw each other. Mo Gaohe was not willing to take such abuse without response, and the base master Zhuo Si quickly appeared and suppressed everyone.

    Zhuo Si felt a headachee on as he looked at the corpse of the person from the Zhu family. "What''s going on?"

    Mo Gaohe stepped forward and loudly stated, "Gate Master, that person is Zhu Qing. He¡¯s a member of Huaiyuan¡¯s Zhu family. We just discovered him after he was killed by Linjiang Yi, and he had shown no remorse over killing Zhu Qing."

    Mo Gaohe provocatively nced over at the fatty.

    The fatty was getting increasingly nervous. "Si- no, Gate Master, Mo Gaohe must have framed him! I beg the gate master to investigate this matter."

    Lu Yin was still being held by some of Mo Gaohe''s subordinates.

    Zhuo Si nced at Lu Yin and waved a hand. "Come over here and clear things up."

    Lu Yin was released and he stepped forward. However, just as he was about to start to speak, a stern shout came from afar, "Who dares kill someone from the Zhu family?"

    The voice came from far away, yet it instantly arrived. The sound shook the void and warped it in ripples that spread out.

    Everyone was stunned; this was an Envoy.

    Zhuo Si frowned and tapped a finger against the void to calm the roiling space.

    A figure emerged from the void and descended from the sky. In the Perennial World, this was something that only Envoys and above could do.

    The man who had appeared was middle-aged, and he remained standing high in the sky. His appearance was domineering and awe-inspiring, and his eyes swept over the crowd. As his eyes passed, everyone felt as though a knife had raked across their face, which was a horrible sensation. Soon, no one dared to look at the Envoy.

    When Lu Yin saw the man, his eyes narrowed. This man was Guan Tong. Lu Yin had not expected this person to show up. Lu Yin nced over at Mo Gaohe and saw the light of victory and hints of schadenfreude in his eyes.

    It was clearly no ident that Guan Tong had already arrived. Zhu Qing had only just died in the cave, and yet Guan Tong had already arrived. This had clearly been arranged by the people behind Mo Gaohe, and they were intending to throw Lu Yin into the abyss.

    Mo Gaohe secretly praised Miss Yu Chen. She had already made ns to allow Long Qi to admit that he had killed Zhu Qing while believing that he would expose Zhu Qing as a traitor to humanity, but that would instantly offend Guan Tong, the Huaiyuan gate master. On top of that, Mo Gaohe had arranged for Unseen Light to step forward and use Long Qi of stealing credit for Unseen Light¡¯s work. Even if Long Qi had been the one to reveal that Zhu Qing was a traitor, that would not eliminate his crime of falsifying a military achievement.

    This was also when Guan Tong would y a vital role.

    After Long Qi would reveal Zhu Qing as a traitor and offend Guan Tong, Guan Tong would definitely work to magnify any misdeed that Long Qimitted, and Gate Master Zhuo Si would not be able to dismiss Long Qi¡¯s conduct in front of a peer like Guan Tong.

    The crime and achievement would be equal, and the best that Long Qi could hope for would be simply being expelled from Humility''s Gate. After that, Yu Chen had to have further ns, but even if she did not make any moves, Guan Tong would never let Long Qi go free.

    Mo Gaohe was helping Miss Yu Chen, and doing so would also allow him to gain the attention of the Junior Progenitor, while also dealing a severe blow to that damn fatty. This n was perfect.

    As these thoughts swirled through Mo Gaohe¡¯s head, he felt like he was about to explode from suppressing his excitement, and he wanted to let loose. He felt that every decision he had made demonstrated his cunning, and he would definitely be able to appear in front of the Junior Progenitor. Not to mention, the entire incident would greatly improve Mo Gaohe¡¯s position in the Celestial Frost Sect, and there would no longer be any need to try to chase after Wang Yun. As for that damn fatty, Mo Gaohe would have risen to a level untouchable by that fool.

    "Gate Master Zhuo, why did a member of my Huaiyuan¡¯s Zhu family die in your Yinshan Mountains? You must give me an exnation to take back to Huaiyuan!" Guan Tong shouted. His tone of voice was quite bad, and it was clear that he was showing Zhuo Si no respect at all.

    There was no one in any of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine bases of Humility''s Gate who did not know about Zhuo Si. The Yinshan District¡¯s gate master was ay-about, and he presented no threat at all.

    Zhuo Si rubbed his ears and helplessly looked over at Lu Yin. "Tell me what happened."

    Mo Gaohe looked at Lu Yin. Mo Gaohe was raving internally, Admit it! Expose Zhu Qing as a traitor! Be proud of your aplishment! This isn¡¯t just the highlight of your entire life, but also its turning point!

    As everyone stared at Lu Yin, he turned to face Mo Gaohe''s arrogant expression. Lu Yin stretched out a hand and pointed at Mo Gaohe. "He killed that Zhu Qing person."

    Mo Gaohe was stunned, and everyone else present was no different.

    Guan Tong''s sharp eyes flickered over to Mo Gaohe.

    Mo Gaohe was left unable to even respond. This was not how things were supposed to go. What did this have to do with him? There should not be any connection between Mo Gaohe and the dead man.

    "You- what did you say?" Mo Gaohe nkly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered in a serious manner, "You were the one who killed that guy from the Zhu family, and then you left his body in the cave in order to trick me into falsely iming the credit. I, Linjiang Yi, am a righteous and upright person, and I could never pretend to be responsible for someone else''s aplishments!"

    Mo Gaohe nearly vomited blood as he red at Lu Yin. "What bullshit! I''m not your father, so why would I try to give you any sort of credit? And what sort of shit are you spouting? Getting credit for killing someone from the Zhu family?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1371: Expelled

    <h4>Chapter 1371: Expelled</h4>

    After hearing Mo Gaohe''s attempt to muddy the waters, Lu Yin gestured to someone.

    Unseen Light stepped forward and greeted Zhuo Si and Guan Tong, "This small one greets the two gate masters."

    Zhuo Si just casually nodded, while Guan Tong let out a sigh as he stared at Unseen Light. This child had caught Guan Tong off guard. Given his closed eyes, this child had either been born disabled, or he possessed some ability that was stronger than he was able to control at his current level, and so he needed to pay a price in order to suppress his ability to a manageable level. Which of the two applied to this child?

    When Mo Gaohe saw Unseen Light step forward, he was ovee with an ominous premonition.

    "Reporting to the two gate masters, here is the evidence proving that Zhu Qing is a traitor to humanity, and I received it from Captain Mo Gaohe." As Unseen Light spoke, he took out all the evidence that Mo Gaohe originally given to him.

    Mo Gaohe''s eyes grew darker, and he nearly passed out.

    Over next to Zhuo Si, a killing intent appeared in Guan Tong''s eyes, but it was merely a sh. He waved a hand and caused all of the evidence to appear in front of him.

    It was evidence that had been collected by the Celestial Frost Sect, and thus it was above reproach and was absolutely irond.

    Zhuo Si''s expression improved a great deal. "Well, you¡¯re right; Zhu Qing was a traitor."

    After that, he gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Did you already know that he was a traitor?"

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful tone, "I knew."

    "Is that why you mentioned something about false credit?" Zhuo Si asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Yes. Captain Mo Gaohe hates this subordinate for some unknown reason, so he deliberately captured the traitor Zhu Qing from Huaiyuan. He then arranged to have Unseen Light lead me to the traitor and have me pretend to be one to aplish this deed. However, Unseen Light is an honest man, and I also would not stoop to such deceptions."

    Unseen Light interjected, "As soon as Zhu Qing died, Captain Mo Gaohe appeared right outside the cave. Before, he also asked this one to be the one to attack Zhu Qing in order to ensure that this one deserved the credit for killing the traitor, and then this one was supposed to reveal the truth of this matter to the gate master."

    Unseen Light was speaking to intelligent people, and even without his exnation, Mo Gaohe¡¯s n was clearly understood.

    At this moment, the fatty leaped forward. "Right, so Mo Gaohe, you actually went this far and spent so much time and effort just to deal with the threat you feel from this handsome mug?"

    "Get lost!" Mo Gaohe roared at the fatty, though Mo Gaohe¡¯s hate-filled eyes never moved away from Unseen Light. "This is ridiculous! If what you¡¯re saying is true, then why didn¡¯t I just keep the credit for myself? Why would I give you anything at all?"

    Unseen Light straightened up as he answered, "This was the price you agreed to pay for me to deceive Linjiang Yi. You said that you would help me get into Humility''s Gate and gain some achievements."

    Mo Gaohe forced down the need to vomit blood, but unfortunately for him, Unseen Light¡¯s ims sounded reasonable. "Bullshit! I don¡¯t even know you!"

    Unseen Light responded in an earnest tone, "Please carefully look into this; when this one was out in the Yinshan Mountains, I was found by Captain Mo Gaohe. He promised this one that I would be allowed to enter Humility''s Gate in return for a favor, but this one strives for righteousness, and I did not want to be used by Captain Mo."

    Zhuo Si made a strange face; this person was in the Yinshan District base and talking about a righteous heart? This just sounded bizarre.

    "Gate Master Zhuo, congrattions. Your underlings are quite capable. Not only were they able to dig out a traitor from the Zhu family in my Huaiyuan, they also did their best to bring that person here in order to eliminate theirpetition and promote their own bosses. Truly, congrattions." Guan Tong carefully spoke each word, and even an idiot could hear the anger in his voice.

    Mo Gaohe was not able to argue, as what could he even say? Could he say that the Zhu family traitor was a bit of bait that the Guan brothers had left out for many years? Saying such a thing would only hasten his own death.

    Also, Mo Gaohe was being credited for uncovering the traitor in the Zhu family, so he should not be punished too harshly for trying to frame a fellow member of Humility''s Gate. However, Guan Tong had beenpletely offended, and worst of all, Mo Gaohe had not actually done any of what he was being med for! The Celestial Frost Sect, Miss Yu Chen, and the Junior Progenitor had been behind anything, and Mo Gaohe had only followed orders!

    He was just a Celestial Frost Sect disciple who had wanted to marry a woman from a powerful family in order to raise his own status.

    Mo Gaohe''s resentment towards Unseen Light was readily visible on his face, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

    Zhuo Si felt helpless, and he rubbed at his temples. "Having my underlings involved in a internal conflict is not what I wanted to see."

    Guan Tong let out a cold snort and he then fixed a chilling stare onto Mo Gaohe. "Although it ismendable to uncover a traitor, it is a gross crime to frame a fellow member of Humility''s Gate. Such a person does not belong in this ce. Gate Master Zhuo, what do you think?"

    Mo Gaohe''s face went pale as he heard these words. It was all over. Miss Yu Chen had lured Guan Tong over to the Yinshan District in order to guarantee that Long Qi would be kicked out of Humility''s Gate, but unfortunately, Guan Tong had instead focused his anger onto Mo Gaohe.

    "Gate Master, this matter has still not been fully investigated. This one has been wronged! There is no way that I would try to frame a fellow member of Humility''s Gate! I beg the gate master to give me a chance!" Mo Gaohe quickly spoke up to avoid being expelled from the Yinshan Mountains, as if he was thrown out, his life would be over. He would be a pariah in the Celestial Frost Sect, and might even tarnish the reputation of the Celestial Frost Sect. If that happened, only a miserable end would be waiting for him.

    The fatty proudly stated, "Mo Gaohe, you really did so much to try to deal with me! You were so dumb to not report the traitor in the Zhu family as soon as you got the information. That would have given you the credit you needed to overwhelm me, but you were dumb enough to lose the only chance to beat me you¡¯ll ever have in this life!"

    Mo Gaohe was infuriated. "Shut up, fat man! How are you enough for me to bother with? I was trying to deal with Linjiang Yi! Bah, Long Qi!"

    Everyone was startled.

    The fatty waspletely lost. "Who¡¯s Long Qi?"

    Mo Gaohe gritted his teeth and pointed at Lu Yin. "That guy¡¯s not even from the Linjiang n! His name is Long Qi, and he¡¯s the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw who married their princess. He¡¯s the one that everyone in the Higher Realm is jealous of. That Long Qi."

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Even Guan Tong and Zhuo Si were caught off guard. That kid was Long Qi?

    Lu Yin shrugged, as he had already known that he would not be able to keep his identity hidden. As soon as Mo Gaohe knew he had lost, Lu Yin knew that everything woulde out since Mo Gaohe would try to protect himself. Unfortunately, Mo Gaohe was dumb enough to think that revealing the truth about Lu Yin would protect himself, but instead, it would just cause Mo Gaohe to be abandoned by the people who had been supporting him. They might have saved him, but Mo Gaohe had spouted off everything about Lu Yin. There was no need for Mo Gaohe to say anything about who was behind him, as everyone already knew.

    Mo Gaohe had indirectly betrayed Bai Shaohong. It would be a mercy if the Junior Progenitor did not just eliminate Mo Gaohe. He had not saved himself by revealing the information about Lu Yin, but condemned himself instead. He was nothing more than a simple clown.

    However, everyone had finally understood why Mo Gaohe had been so meticulous about trying to deal with Linjiang Yi; Mo Gaohe had actually been targeting the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw. That was someone from one of the four ruling powers, and clearly this was not something that Mo Gaohe hade up with himself, but a scheme that had a certain Junior Progenitor behind it.

    Guan Tong took a long look at Lu Yin, and then left. The Envoy knew he had been used by Bai Shaohong.

    The man was not a fool. Lu Yin had managed to see through Mo Gaohe¡¯s scheme, but while Guan Tong might be considered a powerful expert, he had been treated like a pawn in this game.

    Guan Tong instantly formed a grudge over this incident, and not only towards Bai Shaohong, but also towards Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin had been the cause of everything. Still, the majority of Guan Tong¡¯s resentment was directed towards Bai Shaohong.

    Lu Yin was not concerned about Guan Tong''s resentment. Lu Yin¡¯s identity had been exposed, but he had not made any mistakes, so there was no path for Guan Tong to try to deal with Lu Yin. The Envoy would have to swallow his grudge.

    Zhuo Si had a bizarre expression as he looked at Lu Yin. The gate master seemed a bit confused, but also somewhat excited. Some things had been made clear, while other matters were still unclear.

    After Guan Tong left, everyone''s focus shifted away from Lu Yin and over to Mo Gaohe. Everyone who had been following him stepped back a bit.

    The fatty shook his head and sighed as if he was not able to save his friend.

    Mo Gaohe looked at Zhuo Si with pleading in his eyes. "Un- Uncle Si, it¡¯s me."

    Zhuo Si raised a hand as he looked at Mo Gaohe in a helpless manner. "Little Mo, you and I have been together for several years, and it''s not that Uncle Si doesn¡¯t want to help you, but you¡¯ve vited Humility''s Gate¡¯s rules and framed a family member. This is not a minor crime, and while you have gained some merit by exposing that traitor in the Zhu family, as the gate master, I cannot view this matter as the good and the bad canceling each other out.¡±

    Mo Gaohe''s face grew more and more pale until it looked as though he had no blood left in him at all. His strength fled, and he nearly copsed.

    "The way I see it, after taking into ount all you¡¯ve done here in the Yinshan Mountains over these years, as well as the matter of exposing that traitor, you are allowed to freely walk away from Humility''s Gate. I will need to report the truth of this matter further up, but I feel that this is the best option." Zhuo Si sighed.

    Mo Gaohe swallowed and his hands fell down without any strength left in them. He knew that this was the best option possible, as there would have been no chance of someone like Guan Tong letting Mo Gaohe walk away without first peeling his hide. ¡°Thank you for this great kindness, Base Master."

    Zhuo Si shook his head and waved a hand, dismissing Mo Gaohe.

    Mo Gaohe shot a malicious re at Lu Yin. The hatred in those eyes would not have been washed away even if the Middle Realm¡¯s entire sea was used. It could be said that Unseen Light and Lu Yin had ruined Mo Gaohe¡¯s life, and this was actually true. Mo Gaohe had shouldered teh me, as he had not dared reach out to Miss Yunchen. After all, he had exposed Linjiang Yi as Long Qi, which was basically the same as betraying the Junior Progenitor.

    Mo Gaohe had reacted emotionally, and it was toote for regrets.

    Mo Gaohe left without saying anything further. He made his way out of the Yinshan District in a gloomy manner.

    The only person who said goodbye was the pale fatty.

    ording to the fatty, Mo Gaohe had been an opponent only a single step inferior to the fatty himself.

    Lu Yin looked at the fatty waving goodbye, and then to the distant Mo Gaohe, who was restraining his anger and resentment as he departed in despair. What would this universe hold for him in the future? He was without any backing, and had set up the Celestial Frost Sect as an enemy.

    However, Lu Yin realized that this was actually simr to the situation he himself had faced when he had been suppressed by the Daynight n when he had been in Astral-10.

    Why did he suffer trouble everywhere he went?

    In Yinshan City that night, the fatty, Wang Dashuai, was excitedly entertaining Lu Yin back in the Inner Scent. The fatty had no issues with the fact that Lu Yin had hidden his identity.

    "Bro, I know about you and the situation in the Higher Realm. You managed tond the greatest treasure of the entire Higher Realm! Of course no one¡¯s happy with you! Everyone wants to go after you. Still, what¡¯s with Mo Gaohe? There has to be someone else behind him, which means you still have people after you," the fatty said in his drunken state.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. He had thought that this fatty was a simple man andcking cunning, but he actually saw straight to the heart of things.

    "Princess Long Xi is who all the men in the Higher Realm dream of, and yet a kid like you got her. Honestly, you should thank Bai Shaohong, because if it weren¡¯t for him, there¡¯s no way a kid like you would have ended up with Princess Long Xi," the fattymented.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "Yeah, but I don''t have time to say thank you to him since he''s trying to kill me."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1372: The Situation

    <h4>Chapter 1372: The Situation</h4>

    The fatty patted Lu Yin on the shoulder after hearing hisment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though the White Dragon n can¡¯t quite measure up to the Celestial Frost Sect, they still aren¡¯t able to just get pushed around. After all, which of those powers doesn¡¯t have a Progenitor level powerhouse supporting them? Still, they¡¯re in a hurry because the White Dragon could roll over, just like when the Lu-¡± After speaking that much, the fatty seemed to snap out of a daze, and he nervously nced around before letting out a sigh of relief.

    Lu Yin was confused. "What ¡®Lu¡¯?"

    The fatty instantly motioned to shush Lu Yin. His face, which was flushed from drinking, instantly paled. "Don''t mention that!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. There was clearly no one around them, and yet the fatty was so scared because of a single phrase he had let slip. Could he have mentioned something that was rted to some terrible secret? The White Dragon Rolls Over, and Lu? A ce? Or could it be the Lu family?

    Despite his reluctance to consider such a possibility, Lu Yin was growing more and more certain that he had found a clue. He suddenly remembered what Long Xi had said before: the White Dragon rolling over was enough to push the entire Higher Realm away. But what did that have to do with the Lu family? Was there a connection?

    What the fatty had said made it sound like the entire Higher Realm would be shoved away.

    Lu Yin''s thoughts were in chaos. There was a hazy thought that he was trying to grasp, but he was interrupted by the fatty, "Bro, don''t worry! Zhuo Si doesn¡¯t care about anything in the Yinshan District, so we don¡¯t need to do any dangerous missions, so the Celestial Frost Sect can¡¯t do anything to you. Also, I¡¯m from the Wang family, and don¡¯t have much to do with the Celestial Frost Sect, so I won¡¯t make any trouble for you, so you¡¯ll be safe as long as you stay in the Yinshan District."

    Lu Yin really wanted to ask about what the fatty had just mentioned, but given the fatty¡¯s terror after he had slipped up, it was clear that this was not something that could be brought up.

    "By the way, it¡¯s pretty obvious that no matter how stupid Mo Gaohe might be, he would never use someone to trick you who might team up with you. How did you pull that off?¡± The fatty was quite curious about this, as were most of the other people who had watched the events unfold. After all, no one believed some nonsense like Unseen Light had a righteous heart. That was nothing but bullshit.

    Lu Yin smiled. "He¡¯s an old friend who I hadn¡¯t seen for many years. In the past, I saved his life once."

    "Hahahaha! That idiot Mo Gaohe, he was just too unlucky to find such a person by chance! Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin also found the situation quite amusing. He was not sure if he was lucky, or if Mo Gaohe waspletely unlucky.

    Mo Gaohe''s schemes had been utterly ruthless, and he had only been unlucky.

    The door opened at this time, and Lu Yin and the fatty both looked up to see Wang Yun staring at them with cold eyes.

    Seeing that Wang Yun was the one interrupting them surprised the fatty, but he just grinned. "Sister Yun, why haven''t I seen you for so long? Did you go out?"

    Wang Yun ignored the fatty and focused on only Lu Yin. "I heard that Mo Gaohe got expelled because of you?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "No. It was because of what he had been doing."

    Wang Yun¡¯s voice was cold. "He''s not that stupid. He had an borate scheme he pulled off when he first arrived in the Yinshan District. I heard that you¡¯re actually Long Xi''s husband, Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Wang Yun''s tone grew even worse. "When you see Long Xi next, give her a message for me: I won¡¯t just let what happened go, and I will get revenge."

    With that, she suddenly shut the door and left.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the fatty with a nk expression.

    The fatty helplessly spread his hands "There¡¯s a grudge between them."

    "What kind of grudge?" Lu Yin asked, feeling a bit of a little headache. Mo Gaohe had just been dealt with, only for an even more ruthless person to pop up. Was there any end to it all?

    The fatty carefully ran to the door and peaked out. He sighed after seeing that Wang Yun was really gone, and he returned to his seat. He started whispering to Lu Yin, "Wang Yun used to get bullied by Long Xi all the time when she was a kid. Long Xi painted Wang Yun¡¯s face yellow with shit and took pictures of it."

    Lu Yin felt sluggish. What? Was this real? Why did what he just heard sound contradictory to what he knew? Taking pictures did not sound like something that people would do in the Perennial World, but after a moment¡¯s through, Lu Yin remembered that there were some technological civilizations living on White Mountain. This universe was home to diverse cultures, much like the Fifth Maind, but most were not very useful in the overall picture of things.

    "Long Xi spread that picture everywhere, and Wang Yun hated Long Xi from that moment on," the fatty said with a smirk.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "Wang Yun won''t help the Celestial Frost Sect try to get rid of me because of this, will she?"

    The fatty shook his head. "That won¡¯t happen. Given that you¡¯re caught up in the dispute between the Celestial Frost Sect and the White Dragon n, there¡¯s no way that Wang Yun would dare get involved. She¡¯s not stupid."

    Lu Yin wondered. "How was Long Xi able to bully Wang Yun like? Was there a massive difference in strength? It seems it would have to be pretty big."

    The fatty looked at Lu Yin oddly with confusion filling his eyes.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. This was not good; he had clearly said something wrong.

    "Bro, your White Dragon n is really different from normal people because of your special bloodline, and you people have lifespans that are a hundred times that of a regr human. If you go by just appearance, Long Xi should be about as old as Wang Yun, but the truth is that Long Xi was already about a hundred years old when Wang Yun was born, but because of how slowly she aged, she looked like she was only about five or six years old. Wouldn¡¯t it be normal for her to bully Wang Yun?" the fatty asked.

    Lu Yin had not expected the members of the White Dragon n to possess such a characteristic, and he had not seen anything about it.

    "Bro, you White Dragons really like to brag about your special bloodline when you¡¯re bored." The fatty helplessly shook his head.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and replied with a smile. "I wasn¡¯t trying to show off, I just spoke too quick without thinking."

    The fatty shook his head and seemed quite depressed.

    The next day, Gate Master Zhuo Si called for Lu Yin. Because Lu Yin''s identity as Long Qi had been exposed, he was no longer an ordinary member of Humility''s Gate in the Yinshan District, and so he was given Mo Gaohe¡¯s position and was promoted to one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s captains for the Yinshan Mountains.

    Such a position would not be given out so casually in Humility''s Gate¡¯s other bases, but in the Yinshan District, those with important backgrounds were given the rank of captain.

    Mo Gaohe had been made a captain because of being from the Celestial Frost Sect, and Wang Dashuai had been given the same position because ofing from the Wang family. Given the fact that Lu Yin was from the White Dragon n, it was perfectly normal for him to be given the position of captain as well.

    However, no one moved to follow Lu Yin. The wastrels who had followed Mo Gaohe looked down on Lu Yin, because he was ced in an awkward position. In particr, everyone knew that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Bai Shaohong, was targeting Lu Yin, so who would want to follow him? It was to the point that Unseen Light was the only person to join Lu Yin¡¯s team.

    The fatty felt quite sympathetic towards Lu Yin, but he was also not willing to join Lu Yin¡¯s team. Anyone who followed Lu Yin would be making themselves Bai Shaohong¡¯s enemy, and how many people in the entire Perennial World would willingly do such a thing?

    After Lu Yin became a captain, Long Xi called him, and she did not look happy at all. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you not to make any trouble? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about Mo Gaohe?"

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "I don''t know what he was going to do."

    Long Xi replied sharply, "You didn¡¯t know? Unseen Light betrayed Mo Gaohe for you; don¡¯t try to tell me that¡¯s just a coincidence."

    "Unseen Light is an old friend of mine," Lu Yin exined.

    Long Xi stared at him and finally let out a snort. "Just remember not to get arrogant just because you won this time. Mo Gaohe might be an idiot, but Bai Shaohong is not stupid. Even if he wasn¡¯t able to deal with you the first time, he¡¯ll definitely try a second and a third time. Don¡¯t do anything in the Yinshan District for my sake. Don¡¯t even go on patrol. I¡¯ll call my brother and see about allowing you to retire as soon as possible with some aplishments."

    Lu Yin nodded, and then suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Wang Yun asked me to tell you something. She said that she will definitely get revenge for what happened in the past."

    Long Xi''s expression changed, and she became arrogant and started mocking Wang Yun, "By relying on herself? That little girl still hasn¡¯t changed.¡±

    She then cautioned Lu Yin, ¡°Make sure you stay away from Wang Yun. There¡¯s something wrong with that girl¡¯s brain, and she likes to try to kill herself. She can take care of herself, but if you die in the Yinshan Mountains, your body won¡¯t even be found in a ditch."

    Lu Yin snorted.

    Long Xi ended her call with Lu Yin, and she then immediately called Long Tian to ask her brother to try to arrange Lu Yin retirement to happen as soon as possible.

    Long Tian was a little surprised by the recent events. "I actually underestimated your husband. He was able to escape one of Yu Chen¡¯s schemes."

    Long Xi''s face changed a bit. "The whole plot in the Yinshan Mountains was designed by her?"

    "Who else could have done it? She¡¯s Bai Shaohong¡¯s most beautiful and loyal follower. She¡¯s famous for trapping people in her plots, and Bai Shaohong doesn''t have the desire to try to make ns against your Long Qi," Long Tian exined.

    Long Xi''s face grew solemn. "Long Qi was lucky this time around. The person they wanted to use to trick him turned out to be one of his old friends. He won¡¯t be that lucky next time. That woman rarely screws up when she¡¯s making her ns."

    Long Tian agreed, "I know she¡¯s ruthless, so have him stay in the Yinshan District for no more than one more month. Within this time, I¡¯ll set things up for him to retire as soon as possible. It¡¯s not too realistic to get him out already by Humility''s Gate¡¯s rules, but I¡¯ll pay what¡¯s necessary to see it done."

    Long Xi quietly replied, "I¡¯ll do my best to help you deal with others when we go to the Dominion Realm."

    Long Tian was satisfied with her response. "That''s what I asked for."

    After seeing that Long Tian¡¯s image had disappeared, Long Xi sank into silence. She was aware of how dangerous the Dominion Realm was, and she knew that was less than a 50% survival rate during the expeditions after the previous Yuanlun Festivals. Also, no more than one or two people would actually encounter any sort of opportunity, and it was not rare for even the Junior Progenitors to die during the excursions. Long Xi was not weak, and she had various power vessels that could protect her, but none of that really increased her chances of survival by very much. Everyone who would be allowed into the Dominion Realm would be someone with at least her level of strength.

    Most important was the fact that Long Xi did not have a particrly close rtionship with Long Tian. If they encountered a dangerous situation, Long Tian would take care of himself first and ignore her. However, Long Tian would also act as a deterrent to Bai Shaohong, which would improve her prospects.

    From the outside, Long Xi was the White Dragon n¡¯s princess, and one of the most beautiful women in the Perennial World. However, she was not even allowed to decide upon her own husband or even where she lived. Unbidden, a person appeared in her mind. They had a kind smile and had worshiped Long Xi her entire life. Unfortunately, she would never see that person again.

    Long Xi shook her head and let out a long breath. She stood there, her hair hanging loose and her fists clenched. No one living in this universe would gain anyone¡¯s pity by being weak. All she could do was try to improve her lot in life by improving her strength. Her own, and that of another person.

    Thinking about this, Long Xi lifted her hand back up and called Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin was surprised to receive another call, as Long Xi had just spoken to him. Was she worried about him?

    "Do you know who was the person behind the plot that targeted you?" Long Xi asked Lu Yin. Her gaze was more profound than normal.

    Lu Yin was curious about this matter. "Who was it?"

    Such a perfect n had reminded Lu Yin of Wei Rong, and how he was able to determine battles by how he manipted events in the outside world.

    "Yu Chen. She¡¯s Bai Shaohong''s personal maid. She''s a well-known figure in the Higher Realm," Long Xi said.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1373: Way of Doing Things

    <h4>Chapter 1373: Way of Doing Things</h4>

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A woman?"

    Long Xi''s expression chilled. "Are you looking down on women?"

    "Of course not," Lu Yin quickly backtracked.

    Long Xi¡¯s voice grew cold. "That woman¡¯s cleaned up a lot of messy problems for Bai Shaohong and the Celestial Frost Sect. She possesses a variety of methods, and will act both openly and from the shadows. Whoever she targets rarely manages to escape her plots, even when she goes after seniors in the four ruling powers. People are very cautious of her, and it can even be said that she is the other half of Bai Shaohong¡¯s power."

    Lu Yin frowned. His most hated opponents were those who were like Wei Rong. Even if Lu Yin was powerful enough to utterly crush such an opponent, it was often difficult to win. These people used their brains as their weapons.

    Lu Yin felt that it would be great to have Wei Rong or Wang Wen with him.

    "I¡¯m going to give you one more reminder: don''t go out. That woman has a number of tricks, and she could try to deal with you from directions you can¡¯t even imagine. You were lucky this time, but luck can¡¯tst,¡± Long Xi gave a sharp word of warning. ¡°I¡¯ve pushed my big brother, and he¡¯ll set things up for you to retire from Humility''s Gate with some achievements within this month, which means you need to stay safe for another month. It¡¯s just a month; can you do this?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Long Xi looked at him with a serious expression. "After this month, you¡¯ll be taken to the Higher Realm where you¡¯ll officially be part of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, and then you¡¯ll be safe. That means that this month will be very important, so don¡¯t screw up!"

    With that, the image of Long Xi disappeared.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. The second warning Long Xi had given him had greatly increased his level of caution. If even the White Dragon n¡¯s princess was worried about Yu Chen, then it was clear just how difficult an opponent she was.

    Lu Yin had gained some understanding of Humility''s Gate and its rules during his time with them. He knew that it was nearly impossible for someone to join Humility''s Gate and retire from it within a mere three months, and yet Long Tian was capable of making it happen. Clearly he was needing to pay a steep price.

    As for the person behind the plots made against Lu Yin, her name was Yu Chen, and even a Junior Progenitor was wary of her abilities.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand and gazed up towards the Higher Realm. Yu Chen? Maybe she was up there and looking down at this same time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression slowly changed and he straightened up. When had he be so useless?

    Back when he had first joined Astral-10, he had already offended Nightking Qingye and had been suppressed by the Daynight n. Lu Yin had then used various means to ensure his own survival, and had ultimately trashed Daynight Flowzone. When Lu Yin had first encountered the Daynight n, they were as far above him as the Celestial Frost Sect was to the current him. He had already suppressed such an insurmountable power once, so why was he intimidated by one in this universe?

    He needed to once again climb an unimaginable height, but things were different this time. Lu Yin was the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw, and while it was a rather humiliating position, his status was real. On top of that, he had also be a part of Humility''s Gate, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s starting point in the Perennial World was much better than where he had started in the Fifth Maind.

    "Hiding is not how I, Lu Yin, do things. You¡¯ve led me on enough already," Lu Yin said to himself. If heaven refuses me, then I¡¯ll just strengthen myself and bend the heavens to my will.

    Lu Yin took a list out of his cosmic ring. It was the list of names he hadpiled from the memories he had received from Possessing Guan Yun. Lu Yin settled into quiet contemtion.

    The following day, Lu Yin went to find Unseen Light, who was the only person on Lu Yin¡¯s team. Even though Zhuo Si had assigned others to Lu Yin¡¯s team, the wastrels refused to listen to Lu Yin.

    "What are you doing?" Unseen Light was surprised to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Our interests are currently intertwined. I¡¯m the reason that you lost your chance to join the Celestial Frost Sect, so I¡¯ll give you another opportunity. We¡¯ll definitely struggle, but our aplishments are guaranteed to be reported. The four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors all have connections to Humility''s Gate, and your strength is definitely enough to attract their attention."

    Unseen Light smiled. "It sounds like you want to go big; why? You don¡¯t want to stay passive?"

    Lu Yinughed. "That¡¯s not my style. When was I ever passive In the Fifth Maind?"

    Unseen Light nodded. "True. I know what you¡¯ve aplished, from the time you were in the Astral Combat Academy, to when you became the master of the Outerverse. You¡¯ve always seized the initiative and leveraged your strength, and you¡¯ve managed to aplish many incredible things. I believe you can do the same here."

    "Sounds like you¡¯re pretty interested." Lu Yin smiled.

    Unseen Light smiled lightly. "Why not? My only worry is what you n to do to draw the attention of the Junior Progenitors. How big are you nning to go?"

    Lu Yin considered the matter for a bit. "This should be enough to get the attention of Humility''s Gate¡¯s supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gates."

    Unseen Light just nodded. ¡°Got it."

    Lu Yin had uncovered a great many names from Guan Yun''s memories, and the people were spread throughout Huaiyuan and the surrounding area, and covered almost half of the Middle Realm. Lu Yin was privy to many of Guan Yun¡¯s secrets, and some of them were critically important information. For example, Guan Yun would only ever be called to action at the most critical moment.

    The location of the various traitors was very important.

    Aside from the people in the most important positions, most of the traitors simply helped Guan Yun gather intelligence, resources, or other such trivial matters. There were actually several of the people in Yinshan City.

    Yinshan City was dedicated to entertaining the wastrels who had been sent to Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District. While this seemed to be a rather unimportant role, but minor powers were not able to send their children to Humility''s Gate. There were even descendants of the four ruling powers who had been sent to the Yinshan District. While it might seem useless to keep an eye on such youths, but the information gathered allowed for people to analyze a great number of things.

    Guan Yun had set up five people inside Yinshan City, and he personally oversaw their actions. These people did not know that they were providing information to a Redback, but that was exactly what they were doing.

    One day, in Inner Scent, the fat Wang Dashuai was once again celebrating, as he did nearly every night. His life was quite carefree. On this particr day, Lu Yin entered with Unseen Light and a group of people who had previously followed Mo Gaohe.

    "My, if it isn''t Captain Long? Captain Long, pleasee in." An old woman approached Lu Yin ni a warm manner.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting this woman. She was very familiar with the fatty, and every time he visited her establishment, she would send beautiful women to keep the fattypany.

    "Madam Gui, I¡¯m looking for your Miss Hanxiang," Lu Yin said. This establishment had a tradition of giving the most beautiful girl the title of Miss Hanxiang.1

    Madam Gui smiled and said, "Captain Long, this is quite a coincidence; Miss Hanxiang is currently with Captain Wang, so how about I show you to the two of them?"

    As Lu Yin spoke with the madam, the people who had previously followed Mo Gaohe looked around Inner Scent with bright eyes. In the past, Mo Gaohe and the fatty had always avoided each other, so these people had never been to Inner Scent.

    "Since Captain Wang is also here, I''ll go see him," Lu Yin said before allowing Madam Gui lead the way.

    Madam Gui moved quickly and deliberately. There was no doubt as to where the fatty would be. He had always entertained Lu Yin in Inner Scent, so it was quite expected to find him in this ce.

    Before long, Lu Yin saw a beautiful and shy woman sitting in the fatty¡¯s embrace. She was the star of Inner Scent: Miss Hanxiang.

    The fatty was entertaining a group of people, but he warmly greeted Lu Yin as soon as he arrived. ¡°Bro, you¡¯re here! It¡¯s pretty strange for you toe to Inner Scent on your own. Come on over, sit with me."

    Lu Yin smiled and walked over next to the fatty and said something to him. The fatty¡¯s expression drastically changed, but the girl sitting with him did not react at all.

    All of the nearby people shot to their feet and red at Lu Yin.

    "Captain Long, what are you doing?" Madam Gui was shocked.

    Miss Hanxiang was terrified. "Captain Long, whatever it is you want from Hanxiang, just take it from Hanxiang."

    The fatty finally reacted and he looked at Lu Yin with eyes full of suspicion and questioning.

    Lu Yin whispered, "If I prove to be wrong, your brother will apologize to you."

    The fatty¡¯s eyes flickered, and he looked at Miss Hanxiang.

    Tears leaked from the corners of Miss Hanxiang''s eyes. "Captain Wang, did Hanxiang do something wrong? Why is Captain Long treating Hanxiang like this?"

    Weak women could look incredibly pitiful, and anyone would sympathize with this woman. The people who followed the fatty immediately moved to surround Lu Yin and those with him. "Captain Long, you drove Mo Gaohe away, and now you¡¯re moving against us. This isn¡¯t very nice."

    "Captain Long, you must give me an exnation. Otherwise, even if you are a member of the White Dragon n, I will not let this go."

    "We won¡¯t let this go."

    When Lu Yin had made a move, the people who had previously followed Mo Gaohe all grew excited. They had been enemies with the fatty and his team, so they all started getting excited and shouting loudly when Lu Yin took action.

    The fatty was somber and he raised a hand. ¡°Bro, do you really want to do this?"

    Lu Yin responded in a serious tone, "Brother, when you¡¯re wrong, you have to admit it."

    The fatty nodded and waved his people back. "Let them go."

    "Thank you," Lu Yin said before leaving with his group.

    Many people started talking after Lu Yin left, and most of them imed that Lu Yin did not recognize Wang Dashuai as being the one with the senior position. They wondered about what sorts of sinister schemes Lu Yin might be hatching, and other simr gossip.

    The fatty heard all of this nder, but given his years, he was not petty enough to react. He could not have reached his level of strength if he was stupid. He was simply not stopping Long Qi from taking action, and there was no benefit to going against Long Qi.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s go, and we¡¯lle back tomorrow." The fatty impatiently waved a hand to dismiss the other people.

    Madam Gui hurriedly reached for the fatty and begged him, "Captain Wang, please help Miss Hanxiang! You are my Inner Scent¡¯s VIP, and Miss Hanxiang has always cared for you so much! Everytime that she knew you were here she would abandon the other guests in order to attend you. Please don¡¯t just abandon her."

    The fatty was in a rotten mood, but said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep an eye on her.¡±

    He then left Inner Scent, as he had to watch for himself how things would turn out.

    Long Qi had arrested Miss Hanxiang when she had been with Captain Wang in Inner Scent. Word of this scandal quickly spread across Yinshan City and instigated a great deal of discussion. Many people imed that Long Qi was more ruthless than even Mo Gaohe had been, because at least Mo Gaohe had never dared to barge in on the ces that Wang Dashuai frequented. Long Qi might cause a great disruption in the Yinshan District.

    Gate Master Zhuo Si also heard about the incident, but he did not care about it. He had not even cared when Mo Gaohe and Wang Dashuai had fought each other with hundreds of underlings, let alone such a trivial matter like rumors.

    Although Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District was somewhere to ce rich wastrels, they still had a prison and means of torturing prisoners for interrogations. Actually, given the fact that there were so many children from top powers who had been sent to the Yinshan District and was therefore flush with wealth, the Gate actually had more means of torture than most of Humility''s Gate¡¯s bases, and there were also masters of interrogation.

    Within half an hour, Miss Hanxiang had already revealed everything.

    [1] The brothel''s name is Hanxiang, but means Inner Scent. Miss Inner Scent did not sound like a reasonable name, but she''s basically like Miss (country) in a pageant. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1374: Multiple Arrests

    <h4>Chapter 1374: Multiple Arrests</h4>

    Miss Hanxiang had been trained by someone with the codename ''Grass'' and been brought into an intelligence-gathering organization. Her most important target was Wang Dashuai and the other rich kids. She would do her best to uncover everything the wastrels knew and then report it.

    She had actually gathered some information from Inner Scent, but had not yet had time to report her recent intelligence.

    The fatty waspletely stunned to discover that Long Qi had been right. The fatty had been deceived by others. He was covered with a cold sweat when he read through the interrogation report and saw what Miss Hanxiang had learned from him. While most of it was trivial information, there were some important bits sprinkled in.

    When Miss Hanxiang confessed her guilt and the usations against her were proven true, Gate Master Zhuo Si was no longer able to turn a blind eye, and he attended the interrogation in person.

    The criminal world stayed hidden, and their work was even further in the dark than Humility''s Gate. Such people had both money and connections, which meant that Miss Hanxiang¡¯s interrogation had to be made a priority and given over to the most effective interrogator.

    Uncle Kuai was an old man who was just about to retire. He had joined Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District because there was almost nothing to do and he was about to retire.

    This was how most people had to go about retiring from Humility''s Gate. They would not be able to leave whenever they wished, as Humility''s Gate had rules in ce. This made it all the more clear just how steep a price Long Tian had needed to pay to arrange for Lu Yin retirement in the shortest time possible.

    As far as Uncle Kuai was concerned, the Yinshan District was just a ce to send off a bunch of rich kids. He had thought that he would never need to conduct an interrogation again, and he had been enjoying a leisurely life. However, who would have expected Lu Yin to rise up and bring in a prisoner so quickly after being made captain. Also, he had brought Uncle Kuai a beautiful woman to work on. She tried to keep her mouth closed, but she was too scared and she ended up revealing everything.

    Miss Hanxiang did not possess an overly strong will, but she had also been carefully trained. She actually did not even know who the person was who had trained her.

    Zhuo Si looked at the pale, scared girl who was being interrogated, and the Gate master''s expression changed a bit. ¡°How much information have you put together?"

    Miss Hanxiang was terrified. "No- not much."

    "How long have you been doing this?" Zhuo Si continued.

    Miss Hanxiang shuddered. "Three years."

    In the back, the fatty went pale. He must have revealed practically everything over the course of three years.

    Zhuo Si frowned. "What can you tell me about this person codenamed ¡®Grass¡¯?"

    Miss Hanxiang shook her head. "Nothing. I really don¡¯t know. He was mysterious every time he showed up, and I wasn¡¯t even able to see him clearly."

    Both Zhuo Si and Lu Yinpletely believed this detail, because Miss Hanxian was just an ordinary person and had no cultivation whatsoever.

    Zhuo Si looked over nearby at an old man with bulging muscles and a white beard. This man was Uncle Kuai. "Uncle Kuai, has she already revealed everything?"

    Instead of speaking to Miss Hanxiang, Zhuo Si was asking Uncle Kuai. The gate master trusted Uncle Kuai, and if the old man said no, Zhuo Si would ept it as fact.

    Uncle Kuai regretfully said, "she¡¯s said everything. She¡¯s just a baby who¡¯spletely terrified. Eh, she can¡¯t even scratch this old man¡¯s itch."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Uncle''s skills are itching to be used? Then this junior will find you some more friends."

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, Zhuo Si, the fatty, and Uncle Kuai all turned to look at Lu Yin in surprise. There had never been a single aplishment achieved In the Yinshan Mountains. The ce was a paradise, but Lu Yin obviously had some information.

    The fatty stared nkly at Lu Yin. It was as though he was looking at aplete stranger.

    Zhuo Si stood up and smiled. "It¡¯s good for young people to be motivated, but what do you intend to do?"

    Lu Yin exined himself, "This junior has had a different ability from a young age, and I have an innate gift that allows me to see a slight bit into people. If I spend a bit more time in Yinshan City, I believe I¡¯ll find more people like Miss Hanxiang."

    "You realized that Miss Hanxiang was a traitor right away?" the fatty could not stop himself from asking this question.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, it doesn¡¯t work like that. After all, she''s always been with you."

    The fatty felt humiliated.

    Zhuo Si shrugged. "Linjiang Yi- no, Long Qi, this is certainly an achievement. Do you have any further ns?¡± The Envoy¡¯s eyes suddenly gained added depth as he spoke.

    Lu Yin did not know what Zhuo Si was getting at. Did themander know that Lu Yin was intending to soon retire?

    "Your subordinate just wishes to help Humility''s Gate by uncovering more spies. That¡¯s all I have nned for the moment," Lu Yin replied.

    Zhuo Si nodded. "Watch out. This can be dangerous.¡±

    He then left the interrogation chamber.

    No one cared about Miss Hanxiang, but she also could not be allowed to die, as only living prisoners had any value.

    The fatty chased after Lu Yin after leaving the interrogation chamber, but was clearly hesitating with what he wanted to say.

    Lu Yinughed. "You don¡¯t have to worry. She¡¯s just a minor spy without much value, and whatever she got from you won¡¯t be able to have any real effect on the Wang family. You won¡¯t be in any trouble."

    The fatty sighed. "These traitors are too brazen! Sooner orter, I¡¯ll go behind the Mother Tree to fight those monsters."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. This universe seemed like an overlord, and there were many Progenitors, and yet there was still a battlefield behind the Mother Tree. What did this mean? It was proof that humanity was always on the back foot.

    Also, those monsters were not only targeting the Perennial World, but also the Sixth and Fifth Mainds. It was impossible to know just how powerful this enemy truly was.

    It was possible that the day woulde when the Perennial World would be destroyed, along with the two Mainds. At that time, humanity would lose most of their territory.

    Humility''s Gate had nine bases spread across the Middle Realm, and they had many powerhouses keeping an eye on things everywhere. However, despite all of that, it was not every day that they were able to catch a traitor, let alone a Redback.

    Lu Yin had no idea what sort of things were offered to tempt people on the Mother Tree into betraying humanity and serve the enemy for the rest of their lives, but regardless of who they were or where they were from, all of the traitors would target the powerful people and powers, and this meant that the power in the shadows only ever increased.

    While it was not terribly important to capture a traitor, leaving them alone would only lead to more and more spies, and eventually all of humanity¡¯s secrets would be revealed.

    Lu Yin had been the one to arrest Miss Hanxiang, and although it was an aplishment, it was insignificant in light of all nine of Humility''s Gate¡¯s bases in the Middle Realm. This incident was only really surprising because it happened in the Yinshan District, though most people attributed the matter to luck.

    The next day, Lu Yin returned to Yinshan City and wandered around with Unseen Light and a group of people, and they wandered about the city.

    The city was very lively, and despite the small number of regr people present, there were arge percentage of cultivators, and cultivators were generally wealthy, and most of those in Yinshan City had some sort of background.

    Lu Yin was after a sommelier who was based in a certain bar in Yinshan City. This particr sommelier was very famous throughout Yinshan City, and was known to everyone with a love of wine. Not only did he have vast knowledge of wine, but more importantly, his general knowledge was vast, and he seemed to know everything and have seen everything. He was a wonderful source of information, which meant that even people like Mo Gaohe and the fatty had spoken to him.

    After entering the bar, Lu Yin ordered the ce vacated. The people who had been Mo Gaohe¡¯s underlings reluctantly followed Lu Yin¡¯s orders, and they set upon the patrons like gangsters. Almost instantly, the bar was empty, with the exception of the owner, the sommelier, and some servers.

    Lu Yin sat in front of the sommelier, and Unseen Light stood behind the man.

    The sommelier had a warm expression on his face, and his eyes were soft. It felt as though he could peer into a person¡¯s heart.

    "Captain Long, I''ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time," the man said. He sounded quite rxed.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "I heard that you are very knowledgeable about wine and that you also know a bit about almost everything in this universe. Could you help clear my confusion?"

    "Captain Long, please tell me," the sommelier encouraged with a smile.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table, and after the fifth tap, he looked up. "Sir, do you know what I¡¯m thinking?"

    The sommelier shook his head andughed. "I''m not a god, so how could I know what Captain Long is thinking?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I was thinking that a person who loves wine should also be someone with strong emotions, so why would such a person betray humanity? Those monsters don¡¯t seem to have any emotions."

    The sommelier¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he tried to attack. He had always revealed the strength of an Explorer, but at this moment, he unleashed the power of an Enlighter. However, the moment the man attacked, Unseen Light¡¯s peerless domain locked the man down and left him unable to move at all. The man stared at Unseen Light, but the youth simply crushed the man to the ground before allowing his domain to epass all of Yinshan City.

    Many people in Yinshan City were horrified to feel such a terrifying domain.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "Arrest this idiot."

    The group ofyabouts were all stunned; that was all it took to catch a traitor? It was really that fast?

    It did not matter whether or not the subordinates believed Lu Yin, they would still arrest who he told them to.

    Soon, news of the sommelier''s arrest spread through Yinshan City. Lu Yin had arrested a second person.

    The next day, for the third day in a row, Lu Yin arrested yet another person. This person was a fortune teller, and he focused on offering his services to those in power. He had even predicted the fatty¡¯s marriage.

    On the fourth day, Lu Yin led his team to arrest a small family that lived in Yinshan City. They discovered a great deal of information regarding Humility''s Gate in the Yinshan District, as well as some information about the Huaiyuan base.

    Over the course of four days, Lu Yin had arrested four people and used them of being traitors to humanity. While the sommelier remained silent, everyone else quickly confessed.

    Zhuo Si waspletely stunned; this was just too efficient.

    Uncle Kuai was delighted. While he was about to retire and wanted to rx, it had been so long since he hadst interrogated anyone, and his hands had itched to work again. In particr, the sommelier¡¯s presence was like a drug to the old interrogator.

    On the fifth day, a massive creature that looked like a sheep walked out of Yinshan City, and on its back it carried a girl who was humming a carefree tune.

    Lu Yin, Unseen Light, and a group of people appeared and intercepted the girl.

    Many people from the city gathered to watch.

    When the girl saw Lu Yin blocking her path, a hint of panic shed across her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant and had been almost impossible to notice.

    "So it¡¯s Captain Long, who caught four spies in just four days. What are you intending to do now? You can¡¯t being after me!¡± The girl spoke in a joking tone. She was fearless, because she was someone who served Wang Yun.

    Wang Yun has known this girl from the time she had first arrived in the Yinshan District, and the two had spent years together and had a strong rtionship. Due to the girl¡¯s connection with Wang Yu, no one in the Yinshan District dared to do anything to her, and even the fatty and Mo Gaohe had been very courteous whenever they had seen the girl.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "You¡¯re a smart girl. I, Long Qi, am pretty good at reading people and your appearance is very simr to that of Miss Hanxiang."

    The girl¡¯s expression darkened when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. "Captain Long, are you trying to insult me byparing me to such a woman?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I think you misunderstood me, girl. I meant that you¡¯re also a traitor."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1375: A Favor

    <h4>Chapter 1375: A Favor</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s words created an uproar among the surrounding people, and they all looked at him in shock.

    Even the group of wastrels who had been following behind Lu Yin were stunned. Thest few days had convinced them to follow Lu Yin, but the current situation just seemed like nonsense. After all, this girl was just an ordinary person.

    "Hahaha, Captain Long must be joking! You¡¯re saying I''m a traitor? I''m just an ordinary person who doesn¡¯t even have a cultivation base. How could I have be a traitor? How could I get any sort of information?" The girlughed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°I¡¯m saying that¡¯s exactly what you are.¡±

    With that, he shouted, ¡°Arrest her."

    No one moved. Wang Yun had spent a long time building up her reputation in the Yinshan Mountains, and not one of the wastrels following Lu Yin dared to offend Wang Yun.

    The girl turned arrogant. She had her mount walk right up to Unseen Light, and she waved her hand, telling him to move. Star energy bound her and set her on the ground. Her mount was upset, and it stared at Unseen Light and mmed into him, only to be stopped and frozen in ce by Unseen Light¡¯s domain.

    "Long Qi, you actually dare arrest me? I''m with Sister Yun! You know she won¡¯t let this go! You can¡¯t charge me with being a traitor!" The girl struggled as she shouted at Lu Yin, but he just ignored her and took her away. Everyone left behind instantly started gossiping about what they had just seen.

    Thus far, Lu Yin had arrested all five traitors who had been hidden in Yinshan City. He had found out about them from Guan Yun''s memory, but the sommelier never confessed anything. Also, despite three days of interrogation, the girl insisted on her innocence. That was when Wang Yun returned.

    Wang Yun arrived at the interrogation room with clenched fists. She stared at Lu Yin. She also saw Zhuo Si¡¯s helpless face in the room, as well as Uncle Kuai. The fatty was actually hiding in a corner.

    "If you don''t exin yourself to me, I¡¯ll make you face the consequences." Wang Yun spoke through gritted teeth. Behind her, the girl was bruised, pale, and confused.

    Lu Yin shrugged and turned to look at the interrogator. "Uncle Kuai, has the sommelier confessed yet?"

    Uncle Kuai nodded. "He admitted to the usations. He even told me about his bedwetting when he was a child."

    "How long did he hold out?"

    "Two and a half days."

    Lu Yin gave a sigh of relief and looked back at Wang Yun. "That sommelier is an Enlighter, and he managed to endure Uncle Kuai¡¯s attempts for two and a half days. This woman who you¡¯ve treated as a sister has no cultivation, and yet she¡¯ssted for three days without saying anything."

    Wang Yun was stunned for a moment, but then her expression changed drastically.

    Zhuo Si and the fatty were both shocked.

    Who was Uncle Kuai? He was one of the best interrogators in the Middle Realm. Anyone interrogated by him, even if they were used wrongly, would admit to everything they had ever done. Even an Enlighter was not able to endure Uncle Kuai¡¯s ministrations, so how could an ordinary girl possibly hold out?

    An interrogation was not only a means of extracting a confession, but also included various methods of torture. Even if an ordinary person had a strong determination, their body would not be able to endure such strain. Despite that, this girl hadsted for three days.

    The girl''s face grew even paler when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, she hadpletely ignored this fact.

    Uncle Kuai was proud that no ordinary person could endure for even the time it took to burn a stick of incense, so how could such a personst for three days?

    Wang Yun was not stupid, and she needed to understand the situation, so she turned around and looked at the girl inplete disbelief.

    The girl looked back at Wang Yun with zed eyes as she panted heavily. "Yun- Sister Yun, I¡¯m no- no traitor!"

    Wang Yun clenched her fists tightly. Her chest began to heave violently as she remembered the times she had spent with this girl. Wang Yun had cared for the girl like a little sister and had shared everything. If the girl really was a traitor, then that would spell huge trouble for Wang Yun.

    Even if the girl was not a traitor and she had endured for so long through her extraordinary willpower, so what? It would not mean anything if no one believed it. Everyone would instead believe Long Qi, and Wang Yun would be seen as a fool who had been used.

    At this thought, killing intent flickered in Wang Yun''s eyes.

    The girl saw it and began to struggle violently. "Sister Yun, don''t kill me! It¡¯s not true! I¡¯m not a traitor! Don''t kill me!"

    Lu Yin suddenly moved to stand in front of the girl. He just looked at Wang Yun.

    Everyone could see that Wang Yun was ready to kill.

    Zhuo Si waszy and did not move to stop anything. He did not care if there was one more or one less traitor, and he had no desire to argue with Wang Yun over this matter. The woman had a powerful background.

    The fatty remainedpletely silent and only watched.

    Wang Yun stared at Lu Yin through narrowed eyes.

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Yun for a moment, but then stepped aside.

    Wang Yun¡¯s brows rose.

    Lu Yin smiled gently. "It seems that there might never have been such a person in Yinshan City."

    Wang Yun''s eyes shed.

    The girl felt shocked. "NO! I don''t want to die! Sister Yun, don''t kill me! You have to protect me! I can help you find the other traitors! I can help you-"

    Before the girl even finished speaking, Wang Yun and stabbed a finger forward and pierced the girl''s neck.

    Blood leaked out, and the floor was almost instantly painted red.

    The girl''s eyes grew dull, though still filled with reluctance. She had died while still being interrogated as Lu Yin had watched.

    An unspeakable pain lit Wang Yun''s eyes. She took a deep breath, and then looked over at Lu Yin. "I owe you."

    She then turned and left the room.

    The girl had finally admitted to being a traitor, and Lu Yin had not been wrong. However, he had allowed Wang Yun to handle the girl, which he had done to save Wang Yun some trouble and ridicule. Even if Lu Yin had triggered the entire event, Wang Yun had epted that she owed Lu Yin a favor that she needed to repay.

    Zhuo Si took a long look at Lu Yin. This person¡¯s arrival had certainly changed the Yinshan District, for better or for worse.

    The fatty quickly left the room, as the atmosphere was too heavy.

    In the end, only Lu Yin, Unseen Light, and Uncle Kuai were left in the room.

    Lu Yin smiled at Uncle Kuai. "Thank you, Senior."

    Uncle Kuaiughed. "Don¡¯t worry about it. Lying is also a technique used during interrogations."

    The truth of the matter was that the sommelier had not confessed to anything. Instead, Lu Yin and Uncle Kuai hade up with a n to trick the girl and Wang Yun, and things had turned out well. The girl had admitted to being a traitor, and Wang Yun owed Lu Yin a favor.

    No one was concerned about what the girl had said about being able to point out more traitors. There were too many such spies, and Lu Yin was not short of names. However, a favor from Wang Yun was valued differently.

    Wang Yun had been just about to silence the girl, and yet Zhuo Si and the others had not shown any hint of stopping her. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that her status was higher than the fatty had indicated, because even Zhuo Si was treading lightly around Wang Yun.

    Four traitors had been arrested in quick session in Yinshan City, and it shook all nine of Humility''s Gate¡¯s bases in the Middle Realm. As for the girl, it was as though she had never even existed.

    Although uncovering traitors was not considered as much of an achievement as revealing a Redback, it was still not a negligible aplishment. Humility''s Gate was the group that arrested the greatest number of traitors, and yet they almost never managed to catch any Redbacks. This was because the Redbacks were always hidden much more carefully, and they were also more powerful. They were difficult to uncover.

    Arresting four traitors in a row was enough to cause Long Qi''s name to spread to other Humility''s Gate bases. Although it was not enough to rouse the attention of the Commander, it was still quite a feat.

    The confessions were given, and the evidence waspiled. Humility''s Gate was very efficient at such investigations, and three days after the girl died, Zhuo Si summoned Lu Yin and gave him four merit points. The sommelier had confessed two days before, and as Lu Yin had suggested, it was as though the girl had never existed.

    "Only two months have passed since you joined Humility''s Gate, and yet already you have aplished things worthy of merit points. You¡¯ve received four, which is pretty good. Keep working hard," Zhuo Si said encouragingly.

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "I owe the Gate Master a great deal for the help I received."

    Zhuo Siughed. "You¡¯re too slick. I didn¡¯t have to deal with anything, but the White Dragon n¡¯s main family is really treating you too well. Still, if you¡¯re wanting to retire from Humility''s Gate, four merit points is not enough. It would be best if you could catch a Redback, as anyone who managed to pull that off receives special attention from Humility''s Gate.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. Apparently, Zhuo Si was assuming that Lu Yin had arrested the five people because of information he had received from the White Dragon n. It was best to leave the man to his misunderstanding.

    "This one understands that he must continue to work hard," Lu Yin said.

    Zhuo Si nodded. "You¡¯re getting four merit points for the arrests, and I¡¯m giving you an extra one for what you¡¯ve done for the Yinshan District."

    Lu Yin was grateful. "Thank you, Gate Master."

    With the extra point, Lu Yin had enough merit points to redeem a Medal of Righteousness.

    Just like the Hall of Honor, Humility''s Gate had a system set up to exchange merit points. One of the possible rewards was something called the Medal of Righteousness. It had no practical use, but was more of a title and status.

    Lu Yin had no need of any of the other possible rewards. He had power vessels and money, so he needed neither at the moment. Instead, he was anxious to get a Medal of Righteousness, as it would force Bai Shaohong to be more careful with Lu Yin.

    "Five merit points are enough to exchange them for rewards. What would you like to get? There are no rewards here in the Yinshan District, but I can send for them from the other Humility''s Gate bases, or even straight from the supervisor," Zhuo Si said.

    Lu Yin answered without any hesitation, "A Medal of Righteousness."

    Zhuo Si''s eyes lit up. ¡°Smart."

    He then lifted his hand, and as if he had already been ready for Lu Yin¡¯s response, he held out a medal that had a head vaguely engraved on its face. The gate master handed the medal over to Lu Yi, who took it. "Thank you, Gate Master."

    "A Medal of Righteousness indicates that you have aplished something for Humility''s Gate. Many people like to wear one to show off, but this is like an amulet that can save your life. As long as you have this, people can¡¯t touch you through normal means. Also, above the Medal of Righteousness, there is also the Medal of the Tree. If you get one of those, you can request to meet with the Middle Realm¡¯s supervisor, and will also gain the attention of Humility''s Gate. Anyone who dies with such a medal will have their death investigated by Humility''s Gate, so continue to work hard,¡± Zhuo Si reminded.

    Lu Yin had already known that the Medal of the Tree was essentially the same as gaining eleven Honor Points in the Fifth Maind, as any death would be investigated. Even if a death seemed without any malice, Humility''s Gate would still conduct a thorough investigation. Unfortunately, Lu Yin would need ten of the Medals of Righteousness to redeem a Medal of the Tree.

    This was one of the reasons why Lu Yin had traded for a Medal of Righteousness. Although his goal was still a ways away, it was not a hopeless goal.

    ***

    Huaiyuany to the south of the Yinshan Mountains at the ce where the Yinshan Mountains met the trunk of the Mother Tree.

    The Bifrost was not the only path to travel between the Middle Realm and the Higher Realm, as people could also climb the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. This meant that Huaiyuan had a special location in the Middle Realm. Naturally, Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate was one of the more important of the nine bases in the Middle Realm.

    At this moment, the three Guan brothers were sitting in silence within Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan base.

    There was a sudden bang as Guan Yun threw his cup to the ground. "That damn Long Qi! He took out all of the spies that we carefully trained up despite the difficulties and were all taken out in one go."

    "Shut up!" Guan Tong shouted, ring over at Guan Yun.

    Guan Yun let out a cold snort.

    Guan Hai frowned. "Third Brother, I told you long ago not to say too much. What do those spies have to do with us?"

    Guan Tong red at Guan Yun before looking over at Guan Hai. "How did that Long Qi find out about them? Those people didn¡¯t even know each other, there was no connection between them. The three of us were the only ones who knew about them, and we all found out about their arrests at the same time. This seems impossible."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1376: That Person At The Top

    <h4>Chapter 1376: That Person At The Top</h4>

    Guan Hai frowned. "I heard that Long Qi has an innate gift that allows him to see through people and things."

    "Hmph! That¡¯s absurd! Even if he really does have that kind of an innate gift, it would still be impossible to find all of those people in just five days," Guan Yunined.

    Guan Tong¡¯s eyes narrowed as he remembered the bizarre scene he had seen y out in the Yinshan Mountains. While at first it had looked like Mo Gaohe had simply suffered from bad luck and that his scheme had failed, it was an absolute fact that Long Qi was not simple. Mo Gaohe had been driven out of the Yinshan Mountains.

    Long Qi was not a piece of trash like the rumors imed, but rather was actually a very well hidden talent.

    However, no matter how gifted Long Qi might be, it was still impossible for him to arrest all five traitors who had been in Yinshan City within just.

    How on earth had he done it? Was it possible that the White Dragon n¡¯s main family was taking action?

    Guan Tong was in a terrible mood.

    "Brother, don''t get impatient. Let''s wait to see what Long Qi ns to do next, ok? After all, Yinshan City is in Zhuo Si¡¯s territory, so maybe he was somehow involved," Guan Hai suggested.

    Guan Tong''s expression instantly changed. "Are you saying that maybe Long Qi wasn¡¯t even the one to find those spies and that it was Zhuo Si all along?¡±

    Guan Yun pped his thigh. "That¡¯s got to be it! That old fart Zhuo Si¡¯s been in the Yinshan Mountains for so long that it should be impossible to hide anything from him. It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise for him to uncover such things."

    "Also, while he appears to bezy, it¡¯s really just that he doesn¡¯t want to get involved with the outside world. He¡¯s still a part of humanity, as well as one of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gate masters,¡± Guan Hai continued.

    Guan Tong nodded. "That makes sense. So Zhuo Si borrowed Long Qi''s identity in order to clean out the local traitors, but why did he use Long Qi?"

    "Is there anyone else in the Yinshan District aside from Long Qi who qualifies?" Guan Hai spoke slowly, his eyes showing he was in deep thought.

    Guan Tong was surprised by this. "You¡¯re saying he wants to get closer to the White Dragon n? But the White Dragon n was the reason back then-"

    "Big Brother, what happened back then was dered a taboo for everyone, so there''s no need to mention anything. Since we¡¯ve already guessed that Zhuo Si was behind this current matter, there¡¯s no need to make any moves. Those traitors are gone," Guan Hai interrupted.

    Guan Tong sighed. "Then let¡¯s forget it. Leave him alone."

    "Will Zhuo Si keep moving?" Guan Yun asked.

    Guan Hai sneered. "He needs to have the ability to do something like that. Is it that easy to gain aplishments? Is Humility''s Gate just a decoration?"

    Guan Tong smiled as he spoke, "He was only able to find the traitors in Yinshan City because of how much time he¡¯s spent there. It¡¯s impossible for him to duplicate such a feat elsewhere."

    Guan Yun gave a snorted derisively. "It¡¯s better like this, because otherwise we¡¯d have to take care of him."

    ***

    Elsewhere, Yu Chen was looking over a detailed report she had received that carefully described every step of the n that Mo Gaohe had tried to carry out against Long Qi. She was very familiar with the n, because she had been the one to design it. Mo Gaohe had been nothing but the implementer. Still, the entire scheme had ended in failure.

    Yu Chen had rarely failed to carry out her ns since the time she had started following the Junior Progenitor. This time had been her worst failure, because not only had her n failed, a counter-n had beenunched against her and revealed her as the puppeteer behind Mo Gaohe. This scheme had been an utter failure.

    Yu Chen had never believed in coincidence. She preferred to believe that Lu Yin had deliberately arranged for Mo Gaohe to meet with Unseen Light. Yu Chen was in the habit of seeing the worst possibility.

    "He actually even exchanged for the Medal of Righteousness. He¡¯s certainly not stupid." Yu Chen smiled. She did not actually care about this defeat, as the smarter her opponent, the more more worthwhile their defeat.

    After reading the entire report, Yu Chen lifted her hand and called Guan Tong, the gate master of Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan.

    Given her position as Bai Shaohong''s personal maid, she had ess to information beyond what ordinary people could even imagine. She had ess to almost all of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s intelligence, let alone something like Guan Tong¡¯s contact information. Of course, she had someone helping her, and more than just one. She had hundreds of underlings, and there was one in particr that she relied on a great deal. His surname was Liu.

    Despite having the Liu surname, this person relied on the Celestial Frost Sect. This was a rare urrence, but the man was smart, and he was perfect for Yu Chen to use for certain tasks.

    The three Guan brothers had just finished their discussion, but before they were able to go their own ways, the call from Yu Chen came through.

    "Miss Yu Chen, what''s the matter?" Guan Tong asked calmly as he looked at the image of the beautiful and vicious woman that had appeared in front of him. Guan Hai and Guan Yun remained nearby.

    Guan Yun stared at Yu Chen''s back with heat in his eyes.

    Long Xi was truly the greatest treasure of the Higher Realm, but Yu Chen was certainly not bad. Though her status was indeed lower than Long Xi¡¯s, Yu Chen was far more vicious than Long Xi would ever be capable of.

    There were countless people who longed for this woman, as the stronger the woman, the greater the desire to win her over. Unfortunately, Yu Chen belonged to Bai Shaohong.

    Yu Chen showed an extremely respectful front as she spoke with Guan Tong. After all, she was speaking with an Envoy who was one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine gate masters in the Middle Realm. Guan Tong¡¯s status was iparable to Elder Qing Xing¡¯s. "Gate Master Guan, it''s been a long time since west met. It¡¯s already been five years."

    Guan Tong nodded. "We saw each other when Junior Progenitor Bai met with us brothers."

    Yu Chen smiled and said, "This girl feels honored that you remember such a small person."

    Guan Tong¡¯s eyes narrowed and he started to get quite nervous. Even though he hade to hate Bai Shaohong because of what had happened with Mo Gaohe, the Envoy did not dare growcent with this woman. Sharp wits and overwhelming power were both aspects of strength that were difficult to deal with.

    "I¡¯m not sure what might have happened to cause Miss Yu Chen to call me?" Guan Tong asked.

    Yu Chen smiled and slowly leaned into a bow.

    Guan Tong was caught off guard. "What does Miss Yu Chen mean by this?"

    Yu Chen answered in a somber tone, "Because of Long Qi, Yu Chen willfully used the gate master¡¯s power, so please forgive me."

    After apologizing, she bowed a second time.

    Guan Tong¡¯s grudge faded a bit after seeing Yu Chen¡¯s sincerity. However, he was a powerful cultivator, and he was not stupid. This woman was not someone who would apologize without any reason. "Let¡¯s forget about the past, Miss Yu Chen. If you were calling me just because of that matter, it was not needed."

    Yu Chen shed a smile that lit up the entire area. Seeing it left Guan Yun short of breath. This kind of woman was too impressive.

    "Gate Master, this little one also wanted to take advantage of this time to offer the gate master a deal," Yu Chen said.

    Guan Tong''s eyes shed. "I''m sorry, Miss Yu Chen, but I am just the gate master of Humility''s Gate¡¯s forces in Huaiyuan, and I am focused on rooting out traitors and Redbacks. I have no desire to get involved in other matters."

    Yu Chen smiled and said, "My Junior Progenitor said that if the gate master is willing to help us, he would be willing to help the gate master eventually be the supervisor of all nine bases. Not only that, he will also be able to persuade that person."

    Guan Tong''s eyes instantly went wide, and the nearby Guan Hai and Guan Yun felt overjoyed.

    It did not matter what other people might offer them, but this was a promise from Bai Shaohong. He was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor! However, it was not the offer of Bai Shaohong¡¯s support that excited them so. After all, despite the Junior Progenitor¡¯s talent, he still needed time to grow into his power, so support from a youth was not a guarantee.

    No, what had excited the three brothers was the offer of support from the person who stood behind Bai Shaohong. That person was Bai Shaohong''s older sister, Bai Xian''er. She was someone who truly stood at the top of the universe, and a word from her was enough to change the powers existing in the Perennial World moved. In other words, she was someone who even a Progenitor was cautious of. That was Bai Xian''er, and she was essentially an empress in the Perennial World.

    Only those who were able toe in contact with the top powers of the Perennial World actually understood the horror of Bai Xian''er.

    Summoning forth rain and storms with just a flick of her palm was the best way to describe Bai Xian''er. She did not easily make a move, but the moment she did, there was nothing and no one who would be able to stop her. Even a Progenitor would have to be extremely cautious of her actions.

    If Bai Xian''er was indeed willing to support Guan Tong to be the supervisor of the nine Humility''s Gate bases in the Middle Realm, sess was already decided.

    Guan Tong became short of breath and his eyes flushed red. "Can you really get me that person¡¯s support?"

    Miss Yu Chen smiled. "That will all depend on just how much the gate master is able to aplish. You should already understand what it is that my Junior Progenitor is wanting, and what he wishes to destroy."

    Guan Tong fell into thought.

    Miss Yu Chen was not concerned. ¡°Take your time to think about this, but you will only get one opportunity.¡±

    Her image then vanished.

    Across the room, Guan Yun eagerly spoke up, "Big Brother, what are you waiting for? How many people in this universe want to get close to that person through Junior Progenitor Bai? You¡¯ve just been given that opportunity, so you have to take it!"

    Guan Tong frowned. He was still thinking.

    "Brother, what else is there to even think about? Even the supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine bases has to give that person some respect. If she really does end up willing to support you, who in the entire Middle Realm could possibly fight you for anything? Even in the Higher Realm there aren¡¯t many people who are willing to cross that person. That¡¯s exactly the power of a person standing at the top," Guan Yun anxiously pressed.

    "Third Brother, eldest brother is needing to weigh things out for himself.¡± Guan Hai had calmed down a great deal, and he spoke up to put a stop to what Guan Yun was about to say next.

    Guan Yun quickly behaved himself.

    Guan Tong looked over at Guan Hai. "While it''s definitely important to get that person¡¯s support, you and I won¡¯t be anything more than simple cannon fodder for the skirmishes between the four ruling powers."

    Guan Hai nodded. "If the powerhouse themselves made you such an offer, you would have to ept it unconditionally, but since this came through Bai Shaohong, you were not given a very reliable promise."

    Guan Tong said, "Bai Shaohong is not able to influence that woman. Humility''s Gate¡¯s Middle Realm supervisor is an extremely important post, and it¡¯s really not likely for us to get such a position. It¡¯s almost always filled by someone from the four ruling powers, and it¡¯s a difficult post to win."

    "But Eldest Brother-"

    Guan Yun wanted to say something, but Guan Tong cut him off with a fierce re. "Do you want to die just because of getting dragged into a fight between the four ruling powers? Even if it¡¯s possible to get the support of a top powerhouse, you have to be alive to enjoy it. You have to remember who we are; while it will be easier for us to move the higher we climb, it¡¯s also easier for us to be exposed.¡±

    Guan Yun felt helpless. Everyone in the entire universe wanted to get closer to that person, as the woman was truly like a god. She practically ran the universe! However, a god was a god, and mortals could not approach a god.

    Yu Chen never expected the three Guan brothers tomit their lives to service after just a few words. She was sure that Long Qi would continue to make efforts to gain additional aplishments in order to protect himself, and it was quite possible that his actions would irritate the three Guan brothers, because they acted as though only their Huaiyuan base could gain such merit.

    Yu Chen was able to analyze Long Qi¡¯s personality from just a single incident. He was clearly not willing to be a tortoise, as he would not have taken such actions against Mo Gaohe if he were. In that case, he would have immediately contacted the White Dragon n and left Mo Gaohe for them to deal with.

    Long Qi would continue to arrest more traitors, and the more people he arrested, especially in Huaiyuan¡¯s jurisdiction, the more people would feel that the three Guan brothers were ipetent. It was just a matter of time before the brothers moved against Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1377: Encouragement

    <h4>Chapter 1377: Encouragement</h4>

    Yu Chen thought about things for a moment. In a normal situation, even if the three Guan brothers would be upset with Long Qi, it would take a while, but the White Dragon n would not allow for such time. It seemed quite possible that the White Dragon n had already started to make arrangements for Long Qi to retire from Humility''s Gate.

    After thinking a bit, Yu Chen realized that things had to be elerated.

    Yu Chen had made the right guess. Lu Yin was not satisfied with just the traitors he had arrested in Yinshan City. Those traitors had not been enough to sate Lu Yin¡¯s ambition, and he intended to go much bigger.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin¡¯s team began to take more frequent patrols through the Yinshan Mountains. Fortunately, the recent arrests of the five traitors had made Lu Yin¡¯s underlings take him seriously, as otherwise he would only have been able to patrol with Unseen Light.

    After three days passed, Lu Yin arrested another traitor. This traitor had been found at the border of the Yinshan District and Huaiyuan. While it was considered the border of the two jurisdictions, the ce still technically fell into Huaiyuan¡¯s territory.

    The three Guan brothers were extremely upset when Lu Yin arrested this particr traitor, but there was nothing they could say. Humility''s Gate was split into nine different bases across the Middle Realm, and there was a tacit understanding to not enter other jurisdictions to make arrests, but it was merely an understanding and not a formal rule. Technically, it did not matter where an arrest was made.

    Lu Yin quickly grew more and more active. Just a few more days passed, and he arrested another traitor Huaiyuan, whichpletely enraged the three Guan brothers. Still, Lu Yin did not particrly care, as he was trying toe up with a n to capture Guan Yun. After all, the man was not a traitor, but a Redback.

    Capturing a single Redback would be a greater aplishment than arresting a hundred traitors. Each Redback might nurture dozens or even hundreds of traitors, and each traitor would often be active for many years. Each and every Redback was someone who had been directly groomed by those monsters of the Neohuman Alliance, and not one of them was an ordinary person. Each Redback had lived at least a thousand years, and it was impossible to predict how many people that were able to be turned into traitors during that time.

    Even if Long Tian wanted to give Lu Yin aplishments to allow him to retire, it was impossible for Lu Yin to be given information about a Redback. At best, Long Tian might help Lu Yin arrest a bit more than ten traitors.

    If Lu Yin could arrest a Redback like Guan Yun, it would guarantee Lu Yin being able to get the attention of the supervisor of the nine bases, and likely even meet the powerhouse.

    One day, while Lu Yin was leading his team out on patrol, an Explorer within the team returned after visiting his home. Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystals vibrated as he received a message from the Explorer, and it included a line of text. These stones allowed not onlymunication, but also for people to send images and documents.

    Lu Yin stared at the text. He was surprised to discover it was information about traitors, and more than just one. "Who did you get this from?"

    "I don''t know. It was a direct message," the Explorer said. He addressed Lu Yin in a very casual manner. After all, all of Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates were wastrels, and while they had been convinced of Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities, they were still not very obedient.

    Lu Yin studied the list of names. He was assuming that it was information provided by Long Tian, and so Lu Yin was curious about where these traitors were located.

    What? Every single person on this list was from Huaiyuan. Lu Yin''s eyes shed. This was an interesting development; who would want to elerate the rate at which Lu Yin cleaned up Huaiyuan¡¯s traitors?

    Lu Yin was not sure, but he had already realized that the more traitors he arrested in Huaiyuan, the more he would upset the three Guan brothers, as Lu Yin¡¯s activities would make the brothers appear to be ipetent.

    An important detail was that whoever had provided this information to Lu Yin was privy to secret information, but there was not way that the Guan brothers were unaware of these traitors. In that case, why had the people not been arrested by the brothers? The only possibility was that the people on this new list were just like the traitor from the Zhu family: they were all being used as bait by the brothers to lure out bigger fish.

    Someone clearly wanted Lu Yin to offend the three Guan brothers, and after thinking about it, Lu Yin quickly realized who was behind this: it had to be Yu Chen.

    She had been the one to get this list delivered to Lu Yin so that he would make the arrests himself, which would thoroughly offend the Guan brothers. Also, if Lu Yin did not make the arrests, then he could be charged with other crimes, such as aiding traitors to humanity or some such charge.

    It seemed that Yu Chen was in a hurry. She had likely already guessed that the White Dragon n would make arrangements for Lu Yin to retire from Humility''s Gate, and Yu Chen intended to deal with the issue before Lu Yin retired.

    After considering the matter for a while, Lu Yin led his team back to Humility''s Gate¡¯s base, and he requested a meeting with Zhuo Si.

    Zhuo Si scanned the list that Lu Yin had given him, and then silently set it down and looked up at Lu Yin. "The people on this list aren¡¯t important or powerful, so you clearly are able to deal with them. Why did you bring this to me?"

    Lu Yin puffed out his chest. "Merit given to a single soldier can neverpare with merit given to Yinshan District as a whole."

    Zhuo Si was amused at the response. "Are you saying you want to give credit for these arrests to all of the Yinshan District?"

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Yes."

    Zhuo Si pursed his lips. The man was not an idiot, and who would willingly forfeit achievements so casually. However, it only took a moment¡¯s thought for Zhuo Si to understand Lu Yin¡¯s motivation, and he looked at Lu Yin with an odd light in his eyes. "I find it interesting that someone like you is from the White Dragon n."

    After speaking, Zhuo Si raised a hand to call the fatty with hismunication crystals.

    It took a bit for the fatty to arrive, and he nodded to Lu Yin when he saw his fellow captain present.

    The fatty had been acting the same as ever. Despite Lu Yin¡¯s brilliant performance recently, it had nothing to do with the fatty, and he had focused entirely on indulging himself.

    "Little Wang, how long have you been here in the Yinshan District?" Zhuo Si asked in a kind voice when the fatty arrived. While the fatty gave the appearance of being an idiot, he was actually very shrewd. Zhuo Si¡¯s words instantly made the fatty feel bad, and he reflexively looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin responded with a very warm and friendly smile, and the fatty was able to rx a bit.

    "How long have you been here?" Zhuo Si asked a second time. No matter how famous Zhuo Si was for being ayabout, he was still the Yinshan District¡¯s gate master, as well as an Envoy. Such a person demanded a measure of respect.

    The fatty came to himself and quickly replied, ¡°Well, it''s been a few years."

    Zhuo Si smiled and said, "And yet during these years you haven¡¯t aplished anything. How do you intend to exin yourself when you return home?"

    The fatty gulped and again nced over at Lu Yin. Lu Yin smiled back and looked at the fatty in an encouraging manner.

    The fatty was stunned; what did this mean?

    Zhuo Si''s finger twitched, and the list shot over to the fatty. He took it, and blinked. "Uncle Si? What is this?"

    Zhuo Simanded, "Everyone on that list is to be arrested. They are likely all traitors."

    The fatty¡¯s mouth fell wide open and he pointed at himself. "Me?"

    Zhuo Si nodded, clearly serious.

    The fatty looked over at Lu Yin, who smiled brighter than ever. "Congrattions! You¡¯ll soon gain some merit points!"

    The fatty swallowed and turned back to Zhuo Si. "Can I not go?"

    Zhuo Si''s expression instantly fell. "What? Are you trying to betray humanity?"

    Such an usation was a serious matter. Not to mention the fatty, even the patriarch of the Wang family, one of the four ruling powers, would not be able to freelymit such a crime.

    The fatty was terrified and he almost jumped. "Uncle Si, don''t scare me! I''m a timid person and I can¡¯t help being scared of such a task"

    Zhuo Sizily leaned against the wall. This was the same position he had held the first time Lu Yin had seen the gate master. "Then go get them. I don''t allowyabouts here in the Yinshan Mountains."

    You¡¯re theziest one here! The fatty said to himself. He looked at Lu Yin and licked his lips before smiling. "Bro, why don¡¯t you go make the arrests? You¡¯re already on a roll, so keep going, and maybe you can get a Medal of the Tree."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly turned serious. "Right, it¡¯s best if only I, Long Qi, get merit points. That doesn¡¯t sound good to me."

    The fatty did not believe what he heard, but he had no way to argue. In the end, he was forced to lead his own team to make the arrests.

    Lu Yin did not grow idle during this time. While he refused to target anyone on the list that he had been given, he had no reason to avoid the other traitors he was aware of. All of the names that Lu Yin had learned of from Guan Yun¡¯s memories were verified traitors, and Lu Yin wanted to capture all of the people.

    Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District was famous for being a hideaway for wastrels, so no one had expected for Long Qi to arrest four traitors in a row, let alone the fat andzy Wang Dashuai to subsequently arrest three more traitors. This matter shocked Huaiyuan.

    When the three Guan brothers heard the news, they immediately started cursing. "Those pawns that we purposely left alone to draw people¡¯s attention were all picked up by the Wang family¡¯s idiot! All of that effort to gain greater achievements is gone to waste! Ah." Guan Yun was furious.

    Guan Hai''s also had an ugly expression on his face. "There weren¡¯t many people who knew about those traitors, and everyone who did was an upper-ranking member of Humility''s Gate. Yu Chen must also have known."

    "Second brother, are you saying that Yu Chen gave out information about the people who were just arrested? Why would she help that fatass from the Wang family?" Guan Yun was puzzled.

    Guan Tong snorted coldly. "She isn¡¯t helping that fat Wang, she was trying to help Long Qi. She gave Long Qi the intel in order to set him up against us. Arresting those people ruins our ns, and also makes us look like idiots, so naturally we¡¯ll want to move against Long Qi. However, that kid isn¡¯t an idiot, and he somehow managed to get that fat Wang kid to make the arrests instead.¡±

    "Why are we the ones with the rotten luck again?" Guan Yun was unhappy.

    Guan Tong''s eyes flickered. "It looks like Yu Chen has decided for us, and we¡¯ll need to deal with Long Qi."

    Guan Hai frowned. "If that''s the case, then there''s nothing we can do. We can''t afford to offend Bai Shaohong. Dealing with Long Qi might drag us into a conflict involving the four ruling powers, but that¡¯s still better than beingughed at and being seen as ipetent. The three of us have built up a reputation for ourselves, and we can¡¯t allow that reputation to be ruined by Long Qi. We¡¯re still part of Humility''s Gate, so even if we upset the White Dragon n with our actions, they still can¡¯t casually deal with us. Also, if we¡¯re lucky, you can still get that woman to back you, and that wouldpletely change your current status."

    Guan Tong nodded. If he continued to refuse to make a move, he would offend Bai Shaohong and also see his reputation ruined, while taking action would offend the White Dragon n. Guan Tong quickly weighed the pros and cons. ¡°Tell her we¡¯ll do it.¡±

    To the north of Huaiyuan, there was a massive, ugly brown bird flying high in the sky. It was carrying dozens of people on its back, and in the center of them there was a fat, middle-aged man. He was dressed in brocaded satin, and there were seven or eight cosmic rings on his fingers. He looked quite wealthy.

    However, he also looked quite nervous at the moment, and he was constantly ncing behind. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry up!"

    Suddenly, dozens of people appeared up ahead, lined up to block the bird¡¯s path. They were the cultivators who followed the fatty. The fatty also showed himself, and he arrogantly looked down at the people on the back of the strange bird. ¡°Follow this handsome man quietly, and you won¡¯t have to suffer! Resist, and you¡¯ll wish you were dead!¡±

    The middle-aged fat man became desperate. "It''s over! We were still discovered! It''s all over!"

    "We¡¯re from Humility''s Gate, so don¡¯t act rashly!" the fatty shouted fiercely. The people on the back of the brown bird were so frightened that they did not dare move around. They were all cultivators who had been hired to protect the fat man, but when they heard that Humility''s Gate was after the middle-aged man, they immediately stopped all thoughts of resistance. Humility''s Gate was powerful enough that any resistance just meant a prolonged death, and so no one was willing to go against them.

    The fatty let out a contented sigh. He had never considered that arresting traitors could feel so good! Why had he never known this before?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1378: Yet Another Acquaintance

    <h4>Chapter 1378: Yet Another Acquaintance</h4>

    For several days, there had been constant arrests made of people used of being a traitor, so everyone who saw the fatty¡¯s team was horrified to be confronted by Humility''s Gate. It was an amazing experience for the fatty.

    The fat, middle-aged man grew desperate as he waited to be arrested. Two of the fatty¡¯s followersughed as they seized the man, but suddenly, an overwhelming force erupted and threw them both back.

    The middle-aged man stared nkly at the woman who had moved to stand next to him,pletely stunned.

    The woman¡¯s name was Yu Hua. She had applied for a bodyguard position with the fat man a month before. He had not particrly paid attention to her due to her youth, but had epted her application because of her beauty and he had other intentions for her. The man had never anticipated such a situation. The woman had actually moved to protect him, and even stood up to Humility''s Gate¡¯s forces. This woman was gutsy.

    The fatty stared as his two subordinates flew away, spinning through the air before they mmed into the ground in the distance. His expression quickly changed to one of both anger and excitement. "Alright, I finally get to see someone who¡¯s willing to resist! Alright,¡¯on!"

    As his voice fell, all of the wastrels following the fatty rushed for the strange bird.

    The bird was bothered by the numerous approaching attacks and let out a cry as it began to tremble. The movement almost forced the fat man to fall off of the creature¡¯s back.

    Yu Hua stood steady on the moving back before making her way forward. She tapped the bird gently, and it gave off a snort, but stopped moving.

    The fatty¡¯s underlings swarmed forward, and Yu Hua frowned. Her hands rose, and she started to flick her fingers. Each movement unleashed an amazing force that spread visible ripples through the air. Her attacks fell like raindrops.

    The fatty arched a brow and grinned. "I wasn¡¯t afraid that you would resist, but I am afraid that you won¡¯t put up enough of a fight! This handsome guy is jumping in!¡±

    He flew through the air as he spoke, and he punched at Yu Hua. "Four Arts: Bear Stalwart."

    Yuhua''s expression changed slightly as she was reminded of the incredibly fast and powerful Wang Yi. Yu Hua was actually Yuhua Mavis. When she had appeared in the Perennial World, she had actually first approached Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan. She had used any means necessary to join Humility''s Gate and had finally entered. She had then been sent to protect the fat man. She did not know who he was, only that she had to follow her orders.

    In the same manner as Unseen Light, Yuhua Mavis wanted to get close to a Junior Progenitor by using Humility''s Gate. It was the fastest and most convenient method.

    The fatty was quickly approaching with a punch, and Yuhua Mavis did not dare underestimate the attack. She had watched as Wang Yi had fought against Lu Yin and had seen the Four Arts contend with Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. The two attacks had been evenly matched, and both of them had outssed Yuhua Mavis. However, the fatty attacking Yuhua Mavis at this moment was only a Hunter, so she did not use Infinite Power, and only threw a normal punch.

    Boom

    A tremendous shockwave shot out in all directions. People could see as it spread and faded away oneyer at a time. After a moment, the shockwave transformed into a pressure that pushed everything down.

    The fatty¡¯s entire team had been smashed down to the ground before even understanding what was happening.

    Of course, the brown bird was not able to endure the power released by the two people fighting on its back, and it let out a wail as it began to fall out of the sky.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s single punch was enough to force the fatty back. He could not measure up to her, not with his cultivation, or with his physical strength. Even with the Four Arts, he was still far behind the woman.

    His right arm had been left twisted in an unnatural position.

    The fatty gritted his teeth as he stared at Yuhua Mavis in shock. There was no way for him to win, so he would not attack again.

    Yuhua Mavis forced the strange bird to start flying once again, and she took the fat, middle-aged man with her to the west.

    Fatty would fail his mission if he allowed the target to escape.

    He stared at the fleeing bird, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He lifted a hand and hismunication crystals shook before Lu Yin''s image appeared. "Bro, there¡¯s a traitor who¡¯s fleeing towards you. Help me, Bro! I need you to stop them. Also, don¡¯t fight too hard; you can¡¯t beat these people. Just stall for a bit while I get some reinforcements."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "There was a traitor who managed to fight you off?¡±

    Right after speaking, Lu Yin remembered that the fatty was only a Hunter. Even if he was from the Wang family, he still could onlypare to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000 at best. He would be considered an amazing talent in the Fifth Maind, but in the Perennial World, the fatty was not good enough to even stand out.

    "How strong are the people heading this way?" Lu Yin asked.

    The fatty sounded anxious as he answered, "Don''t ask. It doesn¡¯t matter since you can¡¯t stop them. That woman is freakishly strong, Bro! I¡¯ll get some backup to you. Our Humility''s Gate has nothing but powerhouses everywhere."

    The call ended.

    Lu Yin put down his hand and looked to the east. The people would being from that direction; should he try to buy some time?

    Humility''s Gate had extensive influence. There were people in the Lower Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Higher Realm who had joined Humility''s Gate, whether in secret or openly. Humility''s Gate truly did have many experts.

    However, Lu Yin had his own reservations, and he did not want to have anything to do with the list of traitors that hade from Yu Chen. It was hard to predict what the consequences might be if Lu Yin interfered even a single time.

    I''m sorry, Fatty, but I can''t help you with this.

    If things proceeded along normal lines, Lu Yin would do nothing and would stand to the side and allow the traitor to pass by and escape from the fatty, but Lu Yin had not considered the speed at which the traitor was fleeing.

    Humility''s Gate kept watch over the entire Perennial World and constantly tracked down and killed traitors and Redbacks. Considering this, how could they be slow when it came to pursuit?

    The fatty had not stayed behind, as he was not willing to let the traitor escape.

    Yuhua Mavis had been tasked with keeping the fat, middle-aged man safe, not to deal with Humility''s Gate. Despite all of the promises the man made her, Yuhua Mavis¡¯s responses were always the same: as long as no one attacked, she would not attack.

    Eventually, the two parties flew nearby and saw Lu Yin.

    The fatty saw Lu Yin and his team, and at the same time, Lu Yin saw the fat, middle-aged man riding on the back of a strange, brown bird, as well as Yuhua Mavis standing next to the man. Was this real?

    "Bro, help me to stop them! I¡¯ll share the credit for this with you!" the fatty shouted.

    The middle-aged man was terrified by these words, and he followed the fatty¡¯s eyes to see another group of people on the ground below.

    Yuhua Mavis also looked down, and she instantly saw Lu Yin and Unseen Light. She blinked. Someone I know? Lu Yin¡¯s here? Isn''t he missing? Did he get here early?

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless, and Unseen Light let out a sigh behind Lu Yin. ¡°No matter how big the universe might be, it bes small once you reach a certain level, and you will always run into people you know."

    "Go on. Go y with an old friend." Lu Yin felt helpless. The fatty was staring at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could not help himself from revealing the truth.

    Unseen Light nodded and stepped forward. He unleashed his terrifying domain, and it was like a boulder had been thrown into a calmke; instantly, the entire area seemed to boil, and people had to work to gain control of themselves.

    The domain shot into the sky and changed into a forcefield that took the appearance of Unseen Light. The giant stretched out a hand and grabbed the strange bird.

    The fat man waspletely stunned, and the fatty further back was also shocked. This domain was too overwhelming.

    There were high quality cultivation methods in this universe, yet despite that, there were very few people who could cultivate a domain to the level that Unseen Light had achieved. His strengthpletely shocked everyone.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, as the forcefield that Unseen Light was currently using far surpassed the strength he had used to fight Zhi Yi. If Unseen Light opened his eyes, Lu Yin was not certain what level the man¡¯s domain would reach. It would certainly be impressive, and would definitely surpass the power Unseen Light had revealed during ZENITH.

    He had improved a great deal in a very short amount of time.

    Yuhua Mavis looked up from behind the bird and let out a long breath. She and Unseen Light had already shed several times before, and they were both quite familiar with each other. It was impossible for that fatty to take Yuhua Mavis¡¯s charge away from her, but now there was also Unseen Light, and that was not even mentioning the far more terrifying Lu Yin who had remained on the ground.

    At this thought, Yuhua Mavis leaped off the back of the brown bird and punched at the forcefield.

    There was a tremendous boom, and the sky condensed before exploding. An iparable shockwave swept out in all directions, pushing everyone back. The bird let out a wail as its body was torn apart, and blood rained from the sky.

    As for the fat, middle-aged man, he fell to the ground, and only survived because the fatty intervened at thest moment.

    There was no point to Yuhua Mavis fighting against Unseen Light, so the two quickly pulled back from each other. Yuhua Mavis immediately turned to leave, though she shot a pointed look at Lu Yin before leaving.

    Lu Yin was puzzled, as it had been a very strange expression.

    The fatty grabbed the middle-aged man and approached Lu Yin and Unseen Light. The fatty blow out a long breath and gave Unseen Light a big thumbs up. "Bro, that was amazing! How did you cultivate such a forcefield? You¡¯re a freak to have one so powerful at your age."

    Unseen Light just smiled. "Luck."

    Lu Yin looked down at the fat man. "Who was that woman just now?"

    The fatty suddenly remembered what he should focus on, and he fiercely seized the man¡¯s greasy neck. It was truly disgusting. "Tell us, who is that woman?"

    The middle-aged man was trembling. "I- I don''t know! She¡¯s just a bodyguard I hired."

    The fatty became enraged. "A bodyguard? Are you treating me like an idiot? She¡¯s so young and yet has a level of strength that is practicallyparable to the most talented youths from the four ruling powers. It wasn¡¯t easy for my brother to beat her, so be honest."

    The fat man was about to cry. "I really don''t know! She said her name is Yu Hua, and I really did just hire her as a bodyguard, but I- I also thought she was really beautiful, so that''s I didn¡¯t know she was so powerful¡­"

    "What?" the fatty shouted.

    "I just hired her with the intention of getting her into my bed," the man whispered.

    "Pervert!" the fatty and all of the people behind him shouted in unison.

    A strange expression appeared on Lu Yin''s face. These guys were so prompt with such an answer, and yet these guys were the real perverts!

    The fatty coughed, somewhat embarrassed. He turned and smiled at Lu Yin. "So what do you think, Bro? You helped me out to capture this damn guy, so let¡¯s split the credit 50-50."

    Lu Yin smiled as he declined, "There¡¯s no need. I didn¡¯t really do anything."

    The fatty¡¯s smile grew even happier.

    ¡°Brother Unseen Light, what would you say? 50-50?¡± The fatty turned to address Unseen Light. ¡°Also, can you actually increase the strength of your forcefield beyond that?"

    Unseen Light¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Yes."

    The fatty excitedly pped his hands. ¡°Do you have any interest ining over to the Wang family for a visit? I invite you, on behalf of the Wang family and our Junior Progenitor, Wang Su, to visit our home."

    Unseen Light¡¯s expression did not change, but he immediately thought of Wang Yi. If Unseen Light visited the Wang family¡¯s home, he might run into Wang Yi, and that would be the end of everything.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Why are you going back to the Wang family?"

    The fatty put off giving a real answer. ¡°Let¡¯s head back for now. You don¡¯t need to worry about that. I won¡¯t do anything to your friend; just want to show him a good time.¡±

    He turned back to Unseen Light. ¡°Bro, how ¡®bout it? Come see one of the four ruling powers, the Wang family! Most people will go their whole lives without getting such an invitation, not to mention meeting one of the four Junior Progenitors!¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1379: Wager

    <h4>Chapter 1379: Wager</h4>

    While the fatty did not give a straightforward answer, both Lu Yin and Unseen Light knew that this invitation was rted to the Dominion Realm.

    A person could search everywhere for such an opportunity without ever catching a glimpse of it. Unseen Light¡¯s goal was to catch the attention of a Junior Progenitor through his activities with Humility''s Gate in order to get ess to the Dominion Realm. While the fatty¡¯s invitation was not a guarantee that Unseen Light would be able to follow Wang Su to the Dominion Realm, it was an opportunity to meet Wang Su, which was progress towards Unseen Light¡¯s goal.

    "I¡¯m honored to receive an invitation to the Wang family¡¯s home," Unseen Light epted with a smile. He was just hoping that Lu Yin¡¯sment about Wang Yi needing ten years to recover was true, because meeting Wang Yi would ruin all of Unseen Light¡¯s progress. Unseen Light was just epting a chance, and even if he avoided the Wang family¡¯s home, Wang Yi just needed to hear a name or see Unseen Light in the Dominion Realm to be able to eliminate Unseen Light. In the end, it was better to take the chance.

    The fatty was happy with this development. His family had been in chaos recently after the incident involving Wang Yi¡¯s injuries, and Junior Progenitor Wang Su had grown anxious about finding a recement to apany him to the Dominion Realm, and the fatty had finally found a candidate. ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch with my family as soon as possible, and then take you for a visit. We¡¯ll visit the Higher Realm together pretty soon."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "What about me?"

    The fatty smiled dryly "Bro, what is there to say? You¡¯re the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, so you¡¯ll definitely visit the Wang family, the Xia family, and the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. "

    "Unseen Light¡¯s my brother, and he doesn''t have any support or backing if you take him to the Higher Realm, so you can''t let him suffer," Lu Yin ordered.

    The fatty patted his chest as he reassured Lu Yin, "Don''t worry, your bro¡¯s got this! If he¡¯s lucky, his future prospects will be very impressive. He¡¯ll be treated as my Wang family¡¯s honored guest. Hey, let¡¯s go make a report about this incident back at the main base."

    Elsewhere, Yuhua Mavisnded on the ground and looked into the distance from where she hade. She had not expected to run into Lu Yin while on a bodyguard assignment. Unseen Light would have been fine. They had been part of the same group that had been sent to the Perennial World, though they had been scattered before arrival. However, how could Lu Yin be in this universe? Had he not disappeared? Could he have simply arrived early?

    Not to mention, Lu Yin already had a status that was difficult to deal with, as he was also a part of Humility''s Gate.

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯smunication crystals trembled, and an image appeared in front of her. Guan Hai, the second Guan brother, had called the young woman.

    "This subordinate greets Lord Guan Hai" Yuhua Mavis bowed respectfully.

    Guan Hai frowned. "Did something happen to your assignment?"

    Yuhua Mavis gave her report, "Yes. He was arrested by people from Yinshan District¡¯s Humility''s Gate."

    "You couldn¡¯t protect him?¡± Guan Hai shouted. "With the exception of Zhuo Si, everyone in Humility''s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District is pure trash! You should definitely have been strong enough to get away with the man you were protecting."

    Yuhua Mavis exined, "They showed up with a domain expert. It would have been very difficult for me to beat him, and both of the Yinshan District¡¯s teams were present."

    Guan Hai frowned. "A domain expert? What¡¯s their name?"

    Yuhua Mavis''s eyes shed. She did not know if Unseen Light had used an alias or not. Everyone who had been sent to the Perennial World had their own arrogance, so almost none of them would alter their appearances. As for different names, that was something else entirely. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but he kept his eyes closed the entire time."

    Guan Hai''s eyes shed. "I see. I didn''t expect them to have a master with them.¡±

    At this point, he suddenly remembered something. "Did that Long Qi ever move?"

    Yuhua Mavis shook her head. "The only ones to move were the one from the Wang family and the man with his eyes closed. They were the only ones who fought against your subordinate the entire time, and no one else attacked at all."

    Guan Hai was overjoyed. "Okay, that¡¯s great. You now need to wait at the border between the Yinshan District and Huaiyuan. We¡¯ll be there soon."

    "Yes."

    After ending the call, Guan Hai immediately went to find Guan Tong, and the contents of their discussion were unknown. Right after that, Guan Hai called his youngest brother, Guan Yun, and then all three of the brothers headed out and made their way towards the Yinshan Mountains.

    One dayter, as Zhuo Si was drafting a report regarding the recent arrests, the three Guan brothers arrived with Yuhua Mavis, and their arrival stirred up the Yinshan District¡¯s Humility''s Gate.

    Zhuo Si frowned, and a chill shed through his eyes. Still, he stood and went to meet the brothers.

    Lu Yin soon was summoned and he went to the base¡¯s entrance hall. Unseen Light and the fatty were also both present. Every single person from the Yinshan District base was present, including the fatty¡¯s and Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the lobby, he saw the three Guan brothers, as well as Yuhua Mavis, who stood quietly behind the brothers. Lu Yin frowned; it seemed like these three had some scheme in y. Still, Lu Yin had not done anything wrong that they could use to target him.

    The fatty stared at Yuhua Mavis. He violently rubbed his eyes. Why in the world was that woman present?

    Zhuo Si impatiently spoke up after seeing that Lu Yin and all of the others had arrived, ¡°Gate Master, if you have something to say, then just say it. I¡¯ve been exhausted in these Yinshan Mountains, and I need to rest."

    Guan Tong replied in a cold voice, "So long as we are able to confirm something, we won¡¯t hold up Gate Master Zhuo any more."

    He then rose and turned to stare straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Sure enough, these three were targeting him. His assumed identity really caused him a lot of trouble.

    "Long Qi, you¡¯ve had a very impressive runtely. You¡¯ve had a string of arrests and even managed to obtain a Medal of Righteousness. Congrattions! Truly, congrattions," Guan Tong said, though there was a cold smile on his face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "If you have anything you want to say, then juste out and say it.¡±

    Given his identity as Long Qi, the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw, there was no need for Lu Yin to be overly polite towards Guan Tong, and there was no reason for the Envoy to get upset over the matter. "I¡¯vee to believe that there¡¯s a good chance that there¡¯s something wrong with Long Qi¡¯s various aplishments. How long have you been in the Yinshan District? And yet you arrested numerous traitors one right after another. Also, the person known as Unseen Light captured a traitor who I had deliberately left alone to act as bait in Huaiyuan. We even sent experts to protect him in order to avoid any idents."

    Yuhua Mavis walked forward. "When I was protecting that traitor, the one who thwarted this subordinate¡¯s efforts was Unseen Light. Long Qi never made a move."

    The fatty gritted his teeth after hearing this bit, but it was true. The woman was too strong for the fatty to do anything to her.

    Guan Tong sneered. "It¡¯s clear from this that Unseen Light is extremely strong, but no Long Qi. It appears that he¡¯s been faking his strength to take advantage of things."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. So they were using him of stealing credit yet again. Was that the only crime that members of Humility''s Gate couldmit?

    "Whether or not I¡¯m a fake is something that the gate master will uncover if he allows us to continue." Lu Yin stepped aside.

    Unseen Light stepped forward. "Thank you, Gate Master, for looking out for this one, but this one will need to disappoint the Gate Master. Captain Long did not fake anything with any of the arrests, and he earned all of his merit on his own. This one was only responsible for thest encounter."

    "Well then, Long Qi, tell me: how were you able to arrest so many traitors in just a few short days, most of whom you¡¯ve never even met before?" Guan Tong shouted.

    Zhuo Si suddenly interjected, "Enough!"

    Everyone looked over at the gate master.

    "Gate Master Guan, no matter where Long Qi received the information that led to the arrests he made, it doesn¡¯t break any of Humility''s Gate¡¯s rules. Humility''s Gate only has rules about stealing credit for arrests aplishments, and there is nothing at all stipting that the information can¡¯te from another person. I am happy to offer credit to the person who dug up all of this information, but no one has stepped forward toin, and there have been no issues even with the specific arrest that you wereining about. You have nothing to raise aint about," Zhuo Si said solemnly.

    Guan Yun shouted back angrily, "Zhuo Si, how dare you say that my elder brother has nothing? Who are you?"

    Zhuo Si shot a cold re at Guan Yun. "Annoying."

    The pressure of an Envoy fell, and Guan Yun''s expression changed. Next to him, Guan Hai waved a hand to disperse the pressure from Zhuo Si. "Gate Master Zhuo, my brother meant nothing with that, so please don¡¯t get upset."

    Zhuo Si snorted coldly.

    Guan Tong continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Gate Master Zhuo is right, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if you did get the information from someone else, but if you¡¯ve been gaining your merit points at the cost of sacrificing the efforts of my Humility''s Gate, then that¡¯s a problem.¡± He looked over at Zhuo Si. ¡°Look, the traitor from the Zhu family, and most of the other spies who¡¯ve been found were bait that my Huaiyuan base had left out, and yet you captured all of them. Aside from me and people in Huaiyuan, only some people in the Higher Realm were privy to the status of the people who were arrested."

    Guan Tong looked back at Lu Yin. "There are people from the four ruling ns who are among those with ess to this information in the Higher Realm."

    Guan Yun angrily shouted, "Someone deliberately leaked that list so that a few people could gain some merit points, but it¡¯s at the cost of the efforts of my Huaiyuan Humility''s Gate."

    "Bullshit!" The fatty had be anxious, as he had been the one to lead most of the arrests that were being criticized. "My Wang family will not stand back and ept it if you hope to nder us."

    Guan Tong smiled and said, "Don''t worry, Captain Wang. Though tell me, how did you managed to arrest those traitors? How did you know that any of them were traitors?"

    The fatty was momentarily stunned, and he reflexively looked over at Zhuo Si.

    Guan Tong followed the fatty¡¯s eyes. "Gate Master Zhuo, it looks like you¡¯re the one behind the information. Tell me, how did you identify those people as traitors? Who gave you that intel? Or was it something you checked yourself? If that¡¯s the case, then that¡¯s an amazing coincidence, as most of those people were bait that we in Huaiyuan left out as bait."

    Zhuo Si frowned and went silent for a while.

    "If we guessed correctly, Long Qi was the one who gave you the information, right?" Guan Hai challenged.

    Lu Yin understood that these three had shown themselves in order to reinforce Yu Chen''s n. If Long Qi was the one to hand over the information, then he had to take responsibility for making trouble for the Guan brothers, and that would give them the motivation and right to attack, as Lu Yin had ruined much of their work.

    How was Lu Yin to exin the arrests? Was it possible that Yu Chen had been the one behind the list that Lu Yin had received? Without any evidence, it would create a great deal of trouble if Lu Yin randomly used teh Celestial Frost Sect, and that would give Yu Chen an even better excuse to order an attack.

    However, if Yu Chen had not been the one to have the list of names delivered to Lu Yin, then where had ite from?

    The truth was that Lu Yin had been thinking about this problem for a while. It was true that he had made too many arrests in too short a time. No one would believe that Lu Yin¡¯s sess was from his innate gift unless there was a way for him to prove it.

    Lu Yin said, "Gate Master Tong, this universe is too big, so it¡¯s not surprising that a junior would develop an unknown innate gift that could allow them to see through people and get a rough idea of their current situation. While my innate gift is not perfect, it¡¯s quite urate.¡±

    Lu Yin had also deliberately captured a person who was not a traitor, but the person had been released after a brief interrogation. Lu Yin had made this mistake just in order to deceive the general public.

    Guan Tong stared at Lu Yin, "It seems like you¡¯re very confident in yourself. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not dumb enough to start an argument about such a thing, so how about we make a bet?"

    "What¡¯s the bet?" Lu Yin asked

    A smile spread across Guan Tong¡¯s face. ¡°Chn is a city in Huaiyuan, and there have to be at least a few traitors in that city. If you can find any traitors within ten days of entering that city, I¡¯ll admit that you have an innate gift that allows you to see through people at a nce. The city¡¯s just about as big as Yinshan City, so if you can arrest five traitors in five days here in Yinshan City, then I¡¯ll give you ten days to check things out in Chn City."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1380: Trust Me

    <h4>Chapter 1380: Trust Me</h4>

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin with gloating, sympathy, or someplicated emotion in their gaze.

    Zhuo Si spoke in a solemn tone, "Gate Master, all that you said were nothing more than guesses, and you are stabbing into the dark and won¡¯t be convinced of anything without evidence. Your bet is nothing but a joke. You can leave now."

    Guan Hai interjected, "What was I just listening to then? My eldest brother brought up details that can be used as evidence for disciplinary actions from the Supervisor. We can see if the Supervisor believes you or us."

    Zhuo Si frowned.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Gate Master Zhuo, would it be possible to bring out some evidence?"

    Zhuo Si wondered. "What do you have?"

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin with curiosity. If he could bring out some evidence, would he be able to reverse his situation?

    Guan Tong frowned; there was no way that Yu Chen had revealed herself when exposing the list, as she was not dumb enough to do something like that!

    Everyone watched as Lu Yin approached Zhuo Si one step at a time.

    It did not take long for him to pass Guan Tong, Guan Hai, and finally Guan Yun. He finally stopped five meters away from the brothers.

    Guan Yun''s mocking expression suddenly turned nk, and his entire person seemed to suddenly leave.

    Lu Yin¡¯s die. Six pips: Possession allowed Lu Yin to Possess a person and control their body as his own. Also, if he encountered themter on in life, as long as he was within five meters, he would be able to freely invade their minds, see through their perspective, and read their memories.

    This was where Lu Yin''s confidence came from.

    Lu Yin essed Guan Yun''s memories and began to filter through them, searching for information rted to Chn City. Before long, he returned to himself and stood where he was, lost in deep thought.

    "Long Qi, what would you like to share?" Zhuo Si asked.

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin strangely, as no one understood what he had been doing when he had suddenly stopped walking.

    Lu Yin shook his head and let out a dryugh. "Sorry, Gate Master Zhuo, I didn¡¯t bring what I needed with me. I¡¯ll bring it next time.¡±

    He then turned to face Guan Tong. "So you want to have a bet? You said Chn City, right? Not a problem."

    Everyone felt confused and that Lu Yin''s behavior had no exnation.

    Guan Tong also felt that something was strange, but since Lu Yin had already agreed to the bet, Guan Tong¡¯s goal had been reached. Everything he had done during this trip had been to make sure that Long Qi and his team visited Chn City.

    What no one else knew was that there was a monster in Chn City that came from the Lower Realm. If it was disturbed, it would go into rage and devour everything in sight. This monster had a power level that surpassed that of an Envoy.

    Guan Tong wanted Long Qi to go to Chn City and bother that monster so that it would be triggered, and then it would destroy all of Chn City, and naturally Long Qi as well.

    Even if all of Guan Tong¡¯s usations were proven true, it would only mean a minor punishment for Long Qi, and given the influence of the White Dragon n, it was possible that Long Qi would not even be discharged from Humility''s Gate. Guan Tong had carefully thought everything through. The brothers had all turned to humanity¡¯s enemy, and they had ignored thousands of incidents.

    Eliminating Long Qi and gaining favor with the Celestial Frost Sect was all pros and no cons, so there was no reason not to agree to cooperate.

    Zhuo Si wanted to stop Lu Yin, but the youth had already agreed to the wager. Still, the gate master could not help saying, "Gate Master Tong, you should now take your leave. I have many tasks I need to finish here in the Yinshan Mountains."

    Guan Tong stared at Lu Yin, a smile hidden deep in his eyes. "Long Qi, the traitors could leave at any moment on missions, so when do you intend to head over?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll leave in three days."

    Guan Tong smiled. "Alright, three days. You¡¯ll have ten days¡¯ time. If you can''t find any traitors within those ten days, it will prove that your aplishments thus far were all provided by others and that they were achieved at the expense of Humility''s Gate. Once the Supervisor hears of this and gets angry, no one will even know what happened to you."

    Lu Yin looked up. "I know. However, I have a condition."

    Guan Tong''s expression froze. "What condition?"

    Lu Yin spoke loudly, "I want the city sealed and all three of you brothers present in Chn City as witnesses. Also, I must beg Gate Master Zhuo attend as well to prevent any sort of cheating."

    "What are you suggesting?" Guan Yun shouted angrily.

    Guan Tong stopped his younger brother. "Understood. In three days, the three of us will be waiting for you in Chn City."

    After that, he led Guan Hai, Guan Yun, and Yuhua Mavis and they all left the Yinshan District.

    Zhuo Si looked at Lu Yin in a helpless manner before shaking his head, though he said nothing.

    The fatty looked at Lu Yin with sympathetic eyes.

    After everyone left their own ways, Lu Yin went to meet with Zhuo Si once more.

    "Wasn¡¯t that too impulsive? How can you not know where you got your information?¡± Zhuo Si immediately criticized Lu Yin. The gate master believed that Lu Yin had received all of his information from the White Dragon n and that the traitors who had been arrested who Guan Tong was upset about had been exposed by the Cold Immortal Sect.

    Lu Yin solemnly responded, "Gate Master Si, this isn¡¯t the time to discuss that. This one has uncovered something big."

    Zhuo Si had to ask, "What have you found?"

    Lu Yin carefully weighed his words. ¡°It¡¯s quite likely that the three Guan brothers are Redbacks."

    Zhuo Si''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and his entire expression changedpletely. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin solemnly repeated himself, "The three Guan brothers are very likely Redbacks."

    Zhuo Si¡¯s typicallyziness instantly disappeared and he shouted, ¡°You don¡¯t have any evidence, and this is not something that can be said casually. If word of this leaks out at all, Guan Tong can instantlye after you for ndering a fellow member of Humility''s Gate, and that is a terrible crime."

    Lu Yin replied, "This one has evidence, but I must go to Humility''s Gate''s Huaiyuan Gate to get it. This is why I agreed to Guan Tong¡¯s bet in Chn City."

    "You never nned to go to Chn City in the first ce?" Zhuo Si asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Gate Master Si, please cooperate with me on this. Don''t let the three Guan brothers find out that this one did not go to Chn City. If they can just be dyed for a bit, I can definitely gather the needed evidence in Huaiyuan that will prove that those brothers are Redbacks."

    Zhuo Si considered Lu Yin¡¯s proposal.

    Lu Yin knew what the gate master was worried about; Zhuo Si had to be worried that Lu Yin would take advantage of this opportunity to escape. "Gate Master Si, this subordinate is the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, and I have no way of escaping. It¡¯s better to lose this bet than destroy your reputation."

    Zhuo Si nodded. "Very well. I promise that you can go to the Huaiyuan Gate right now. As for Chn City, I¡¯ll help you stall for five days. That means that you have eight days with the three right now. Is that enough for you to find the evidence?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s enough."

    "Then go and don¡¯t wait." Zhuo Si waved a hand to dismiss Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Gate Master Si."

    After Lu Yin left, Zhuo Si stared off into the distance. When did the White Dragon n¡¯s ability to gather intelligence be so impressive? They were even able to uncover that the three Guan brothers were Redbacks! Thispletely outstripped what the Celestial Frost Sect was capable of uncovering.

    Redbacks were incredibly difficult to uncover, as every single one of them was hidden very well. How could anyone possibly suspect that the respected Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate Master was actually a Redback?

    If the three Guan brothers really did turn out to be Redbacks, it would rock all of Humility''s Gate.

    Would Long Qi be able to find any evidence? The second Guan brother was a very cautious individual, so there should not be any form of evidence. Zhuo Si hoped that the White Dragon n would be able to help Long Qi find any sort of evidence.

    For Long Qi himself, it looked like the White Dragon n treated him as their own blood.

    ***

    Lu Yin felt an instant headache when he looked down and saw hismunication crystals vibrating. It was time.

    Long Xi¡¯s image appeared in the air, and she red straight at Lu Yin. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin blinked and put on an innocent act. "What do you mean? What did I do?"

    Long Xi shouted at him in a fury, "I told you to do nothing and stay inside the Yinshan Mountains, and yet you¡¯ve been constantly arresting traitors! Now even Huaiyuan is involved. Don''t you think you¡¯ve already stirred up enough trouble?"

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Didn¡¯t your brother give me that list of traitors?"

    Long Xi went silent for a long while. She had finally remembered that Long Qi was just a nobody from a minor branch family of the White Dragon n. How could he possibly know about anyone who was a traitor? He had to have been told about the people he had been arresting, and he had assumed that the names hade from Long Xi¡¯s older brother. ¡°Tell me exactly how you learned about the traitors.¡±

    She could not find any way to me Lu Yin for the current situation. No matter what she considered, Lu Yin seemed as innocent and pure in this matter as a little white sheep.

    Lu Yin exined, "There wasn¡¯t anything special about it. I received a list of names straight to mymunication crystals. When I saw it, I thought it was from your big brother, so I went to arrest the people. By the way, I also came up with a good story for how I got the information; I told them I have an innate gift that allows me to see through people."

    Lu Yin pretended to bepletely cooperative.

    Long Xi had a headache and instantly became very cautious. Since her brother had not been the one to give Long Qi the list of traitors, then who was? Were they helping or hurting Long Qi? It was more likely for an unknown person to be trying to harm Long Qi. Could that woman Yu Chen be behind this?

    Long Xi still did not know anything about the bet that Lu Yin had made with the three Guan brothers, as if she did, her attitude would bepletely different and there would be no way that she would believe Lu Yin¡¯s ims.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief at temporarily clearing this hurdle. He feigned surprise. "Hey, don''t tell me that the lists I received weren¡¯t from your brother."

    Long Xi frowned and looked back at Lu Yin. "Don''t worry about this, but I¡¯m going to repeat this again: from now on, don¡¯t leave Yinshan District! Don¡¯t even go to Yinshan City. Got it?"

    "I got it. Don''t worry, I always behave," Lu Yin replied simply.

    Long Xi stared into Lu Yin''s eyes and felt numerous doubts. She had reiterated the danger of Long Qi¡¯s situation multiple times, but her efforts seemed useless. Though he appeared to be sincere, she could see that Lu Yin was pretending. He was like a wild horse that had lost its reins; Lu Yin could not be held back.

    Thinking of this, Long Xi''s tone dropped a bit, "Long Qi, you need to remember that our current situation is veryplicated. The Celestial Frost Sect stands at the top of the four ruling powers, and that is why they act in such a domineering fashion and are able to casually ughter our branch families without any excuse. Bai Shaohong is ruthless, and given that he¡¯s with that woman Yu Chen, your situation right now is something you can¡¯t even imagine. A single wrong step will doom youpletely.

    "I won¡¯t be able to do anything to save you, and even my brother, Long Tian, despite being a a Junior Progenitor, he is very cautious around Bai Shaohong. Actually, he¡¯s even more scared of that woman behind Bai Shaohong. My big brother is someone who dreams of the Dominion Realm, and yet he doesn¡¯t dare fight against Bai Shaohong. This means it¡¯s impossible for my brother to protect you despite his strength. You need to stay quiet in the Yinshan Mountains. No one can touch you there, so don¡¯t do anything, and nothing will happen to you. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I got it. Don¡¯t don''t worry, I won''t cause any trouble."

    Long Xi frowned. It always felt like everything that came out of this guy¡¯s mouth was a lie, but what else could Long Xi say? She could not just tie up Long Qi!

    "You know how serious the situation is right now. If anything happens to you, my White Dragon n will be humiliated, and we won¡¯t be able to me anyone for your death. You need to remember this, for my sake: the Celestial Frost Sect is the most terrifying power in the universe, and they¡¯re going after you. No matter what, don¡¯t leave where you are!" Long Xi''s voice grew harsher as she spoke.

    Lu Yin solemnly reassured Long Xi. "I guarantee that I won¡¯t make any problems."

    Long Xi¡¯s image disappeared, though she did not hang up until after reiterating her points several more times.

    Lu Yin finally lowered his hand. Why did this woman have so little trust in him? Was he really that unreliable?

    As this thought ran through his head, he leaped into the sky and flew away from Humility''s Gate¡¯s base in the Yinshan District and made his way towards Huaiyuan at his fastest speed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1381: Time Needed For Retirement

    <h4>Chapter 1381: Time Needed For Retirement</h4>

    Not long after Lu Yin left the Yinshan District¡¯s Humility''s Gate, the fatty went and found Unseen Light. The fatty¡¯s motivation was very simple, as he did not want Unseen Light to get involved in Lu Yin¡¯s problems. The fatty hoped that Unseen Light would sit tight and wait for an answer from the Wang family and then make a visit to the Wang family to meet with Junior Progenitor Wang Su.

    Unseen Light refused to agree. This was not because he wanted to help Lu Yin, nor because of any sense ofradery among those from the same home, but because Unseen Light would not be able to aplish his own goals without help. If anything happened to Lu Yin, it would be unfortunate for everyone.

    Unseen Light greatly regretted not changing his appearance or his name when he had first arrived, but how could he have known that he would run into Lu Yin in such a ce?

    The Perennial World was massive, and the ten youths had been scattered across the Middle Realm. This alone meant that the first time that any of them met would be in the Dominion Realm or when they prepared to leave for home. As for changing their names or appearance, Arch-Elder Zen had mentioned before they had left that he would not force any decision onto them, but they were the top youths of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, and all of them had built up some degree of arrogance. Changing their names or appearances in the Perennial World could actually affect their future chances of breaking through to the Progenitor realm.

    Given the size of the Perennial World, it was nothing but pure luck that Unseen Light had run into an acquaintance so soon after his arrival.

    There was nothing that Unseen Light could do, but he felt he needed to help even if it was beyond his abilities.

    The fatty gave Unseen Light a thumbs up and praised him, "It¡¯s rare to find someone willing to go so far for their brother! Starting today, you¡¯re also the brother of the Great Captain Wang! Don''t worry, as soon as this matter gets settled, I¡¯ll definitely get you to see the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor and put in a few good words for you. Even if you don¡¯t make the cut, you can still join my family."

    Unseen Light felt curious. ¡°Don¡¯t make the cut for what?"

    The fatty deflected, "Nothing you need to worry about for now. I¡¯ll tell you if things work out, and you¡¯ll definitely die from excitement! It¡¯s a ce that everyone in the Perennial World dreams of."

    Unseen Light lifted his head as though staring off into the distance. The horizon was cut off by the massive trunk of the Mother Tree, and above was a canopy and the Higher Realm. Beyond that was the most important ce in this entire universe. No matter what it cost, Unseen Light would absolutely find a way to get to that ce.

    After Long Xi ended her call with Lu Yin, she immediately reached out to Long Tian. Long Tian also felt that something was not right with the situation. Clearly there was someone interfering in the matter between the White Dragon n and the Celestial Frost Sect. At the moment, things were looking to favor Long Qi. He had earned merit points. However, what was the motivation of the hidden hand? Long Tian could not begin to guess, and he did not have even the slightest clue as to who the third party even was.

    Given his doubts, Long Tian called the supervisor of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine Middle Realm Gates. He wanted to beg for Long Qi to be allowed to retire early.

    Long Tian had initially nned to have Long Qi retire after gaining some merit points, and he hade up with a n to make it happen. However, Long Qi had gained some achievements before Long Tian had even had a chance to start his n. Now, the kid just had to retire from Humility''s Gate.

    You needed to stay with Humility''s Gate for a certain amount of time before you would be allowed to retire. For example, Uncle Kuai was an interrogator and had no background. Someone like him needed to wait until his full time ran out before he would be able to retire. As for Lu Yin, even with Long Tian¡¯s help, he still needed to endure for at least two months before being allowed to retire. He had only been in Humility''s Gate for a bit more than a month, so he still had more than half a month left.

    However, Long Tian could not afford to wait any longer. He was quite familiar with Yu Chen, and there was no way that the woman would give up. Also, there was the mystery person who had been providing Long Qi with the names of traitors. Long Tian could not afford to wait any longer.

    The supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine Humility''s Gate Gates was named Qing Chen. He looked to only be in his early 40s, and he had an aloof demeanor that made him seem above the mundane things. His appearance was nothing that anyone would attribute to a person famous for being a butcher. Still, all those he had killed had been traitors and Redbacks.

    "Junior Long Tian greets Senior Qing Chen." Long Tian was a Junior Progenitor, and he could afford to be arrogant when speaking to almost anyone, but he could not do so to Qing Chen. This was not only because of the man¡¯s position, but also his strength. Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor.

    Qing Chen calmly looked back at Long Tian. It was perfectly normal to refer to a powerhouse like Qing Chen as ¡®senior,¡¯ but it had an extra meaninging from Long Tian. All of the Junior Progenitors were also captains of Humility''s Gate, and so Long Tian¡¯s reference to himself as a junior instead of Qing Chen¡¯s subordinate, which indicated which position he wanted to take when speaking with Qing Chen at this moment. ¡°So it¡¯s Junior Progenitor Long. What happens to be the problem?"

    Long Tian exined in a respectful voice. "My sister recently got married, and my father wishes to invite Senior Qing Chen to go to Dragon Mountain for a gathering. The two of you haven''t seen each other for many years, and my father misses Senior a great deal."

    Qing Chen smiled gently. "Since it¡¯s an invitation from Brother Long, I¡¯ll naturally intend. It¡¯s true we haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time; it¡¯s already been a thousand years."

    Long Tian smiled. "My father often mentions Senior and ims that Senior will definitely be the next person to be a Progenitor and raise the honor of the human race."

    "Haha, like your father would say that about me? I¡¯d be lucky if he didn''t curse me to fail at the next breakthrough."

    "This junior would never lie."

    Qing Chenughed. "You must have something else that you need from me. Speak."

    Long Tian continued in the same respectful tone. "There are three steps that must be taken when someone marries into the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. The first is to worship the ancestors. The second is to worship the Ancestor Python, and the third is to add the person¡¯s name to the main family¡¯s registry. My brother-inw has alreadypleted the first two steps, but not the third. My father hopes to bring my brother-inw to Dragon Mountain to finish the third step.¡±

    Qing Chen''s eyes shed. "Your brother-inw? Long Qi? Yes, he¡¯s in the Yinshan District."

    Long Tian bowed. "This junior begs Senior to allow my brother-inw to retire early so that he can visit Dragon Mountain to finalize their marriage."

    Qing Chen stared at Long Tian. The Junior Progenitor remained bowed and did not move.

    After a while, Qing Chen finally spoke, "Do you know who holds the record for retiring from Humility''s Gate the fastest?"

    Long Tian¡¯s fingers twitched as he replied, ¡°Senior Shu Yuan."

    "Why did he retire?"

    "After he was with Humility''s Gate for one month and twenty-two days, he happened to find a Redback. He fought desperately, and all of his limbs were broken. Still, he managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived, and he then retired due to his serious injuries."

    "So you do know the story. Despite this, you are still asking me to let Long Qi retire early? Do his achievements surpass those of Senior Shu Yuan?"

    Long Tian stayed silent, as this was an impossible hurdle to surpass. No one could retire from Humility''s Gate faster than Shu Yuan, no matter their background. To do otherwise would be disrespectful of the predecessors and the sacrifices that had been made.

    This was also the reason why Long Tian had initially intended to have Long Qi retire from Humility''s Gate after giving six months of service. As long as six months passed, it would be easy to have Long Qi retire. However, doing so in less than two months was nearly impossible. This was why Long Tian had sought out Qiong Chen.

    "Senior, there is no way that Long Qi''s achievements will ever be able to surpass those of Senior Shu Yuan, and my White Dragon n also has no intention of disrespecting Senior Shu Yuan," Long Tian hurriedly spoke up.

    Qing Chen interrupted, "Since that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t bring it up again."

    Long Tian felt helpless. "Senior, please listen to what this junior has to say."

    He then proceeded to tell Qing Chen about the list that Long Qi had been given, as well as the deductions Long Tian had made. Someone was interfering in a matter between the four ruling powers, and in the Middle Realm, only a Semi-Progenitor would dare do such a thing.

    Furthermore, Qing Chen had a feud of his own with the Celestial Frost Sect, so Long Tian had no concerns that Qing Chen might help the Celestial Frost Sect deal with the White Dragon n.

    After hearing Long Tian''s exnation, Qing Chen felt quite surprised. "His aplishments weren¡¯t arranged by your White Dragon n?"

    Everyone had assumed that Lu Yin''s exploits had been given to him by the White Dragon n, and that included even Zhuo Si and the others in Humility''s Gate. Long Tian feltpletely helpless. "My White Dragon n has provided him with no information, and Long Qi himself does not know who gave him the list of names, which is what concerns us the most. This is also why I hope to allow him to retire as soon as possible with his current achievements ande to the Higher Realm. As long as he is in Dragon Mountain, there is no need to fear any idents."

    Qing Chen was taken aback. "There¡¯s actually someone willing to get involved in the matter between your White Dragon n and the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    His first thought was of the Wang family, as there was a child from the Wang family also in the Yinshan Mountains.

    "Senior, I wonder if there is any possibility of my brother-inw retiring early?" Long Tian asked again.

    Qing Chen shook his head. "There¡¯s no way to allow him to retire early, no matter what the situation. Unless he is able to surpass Senior Shu Yuan¡¯s achievements and has a valid reason to retire, he will have to stay with us for at least two months."

    Long Tian''s face turned ugly; Qing Chen was not giving the Junior Progenitor any face at all. This person was old friends with Long Tian¡¯s father, and Long Tian had been wondering why his father had been reluctant to approach his old friend. "Senior has his own priorities, and this junior does not dare press this issue. Given the situation, might I ask Senior to properly look into this matter? My brother-inw is only a Hunter, so he is not powerful. He can easily be used by others, and could die without even knowing what happened."

    Qing Chen agreed. "I will do my best."

    "Thank you, Senior. This junior will go now." Long Tian reluctantly ended the call.

    Qing Chen looked away. He had actually already known of the circumstances in the Yinshan Mountains, and was also aware of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments, but had simply assumed that the White Dragon n was behind everything that Lu Yin had achieved. He had not considered any other possibility. Someone else was actually getting involved?

    Qing Chen''s eyes flickered, and he re-read the report from the Yinshan District regarding the recent events. Once again, Qing Chen felt that something was being overlooked.

    ***

    Elsewhere, Long Tian let out a long breath. Qing Chen refused to give him any face at all. Though Long Tian had already guessed that this would be the result of his call, the old man had still promised to keep an eye on things. As long as Long Qi remained safe, there should be no issue.

    Just as Long Tian was thinking about this, an old servant approached and whispered something to the Junior Progenitor.

    Long Tian grew furious at what he heard. ¡°Bastard! You can¡¯t even take care of yourself, and yet you have the balls to make a bet with the three Guan brothers? You¡¯re just trying to die, aren¡¯t you?"

    The old servant bowed his head, but said nothing.

    Long Tian''s anger raged. He truly wanted nothing more than to rush to the Yinshan District and y Lu Yin¡¯s hide. Long Tian was humiliated by Long Qi¡¯s behavior. The Junior Progenitor had bowed his head and begged for help. Everything had been done in order to convince Long Xi to apany him to the Dominion Realm. Not only did Long Tian not care if Long Qi lived or died, he actually was eager to kill the bastard himself.

    Long Tian was one of the Perennial Realm¡¯s four Junior Progenitors; when had hest undergone such a humiliating ordeal? That bastard kept creating more and more trouble, and the stress was even causing Long Tian¡¯s cultivation to slightly destabilize.

    The more Long Tian considered the current situation, the more out of control he felt. Finally, he angrily ordered, "Go to Red Orchard City and drag that Long Qi back here! If anyone dares to try to stop you, tell them that he has broken the rules of my White Dragon n and is to be punished. After he has been disciplined, we will send him back to the Yinshan District.¡±

    This was the worst option Long Tian had previously considered, as dragging Long Qi away from Humility''s Gate without permission would not only offend Humility''s Gate, it would also humiliate the White Dragon n. Still, Long Tian could not just sit back and allow Long Qi to die. That would be even more humiliating for the n, and it would also mean that Long Xi would not apany Long Tian to the Dominion Realm, and his sister might even be forced to marry Bai Shaohong, which would spell disaster for the entire White Dragon n.

    The Celestial Frost Sect could not be allowed to influence the power of the White Dragon Rolls Over, especially not that woman.

    That could not be allowed, no matter what the price may be.

    Actually, did that old fart Qing Chen already know about this bet? Long Tian''s eyes flickered. The supervisor had to know, and yet the old bastard had not said a thing.

    ***

    Elsewhere, Yu Chen lowered hermunication crystals after speaking with Guan Tong. She could not help admiring the brothers¡¯ ruthlessness, as they wanted to directly eliminate Long Qi.

    No one could me the brothers if Long Qi died to a monster, and besides, Long Qi had already agreed to the wager on his own.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1382: Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 1382: Evidence</h4>

    Even though Long Qi had already epted the wager, Yu Chen still felt that something was off. She considered the matter from Long Qi¡¯s perspective: how would he go about turning this situation into a victory? Despite spending a lot of time thinking about the options, Yu Chen felt that it was impossible for Long Qi toe out on top. After all, no one aside from the three Guan brothers knew of the true reason for them making the bet, as no one knew that there was a monster in Red Orchard City.

    This was an inescapable trap unless Long Qi possessed the strength needed to defeat the monster, but that was impossible. After all, that monster had the strength of an Envoy.

    The Guan brothers had hidden their attack. Long Qi might want to break the game, and he might be able to ask a powerhouse for help, but it would be his loss even if he managed to stay alive.

    No matter what Yu Chen considered, the oue was already determined.

    Yu Chen dismissed her thoughts of Long Qi. The matter was already settled, so she needed to move on to the next important task: recruiting powerhouses to apany the Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm.

    The Young ancestors had to be apanied by those of the same generation, as this was a rule set in ce by Progenitors. Unfortunately, this meant that very few people qualified to join the Junior Progenitors, and there were only two such qualified people in the entire Celestial Frost Sect.

    ***

    Even though the Yinshan District bordered Huaiyuan, the Middle Realm was simply too vast, and it took seven days to travel between the two Humility''s Gate gates, even when a person used a mount.

    A call came in from Long Xi while Lu Yin was traveling, but he did not answer the call. After all, he would just be yelled at if he spoke to the woman.

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin could see rivers that formed rings in the sky that swirled around and connected the ground to the sky. There werendmasses, cities, and even a military in those inds. They were also the site of Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate.

    Even after Lu Yin saw the Huaiyuan Gate, it still took him another half a day to arrive at Humility''s Gate¡¯s local Gate.

    Lu Yin did not get too close to the Huaiyuan Gate, and instead stopped in a distant city. He was already close enough.

    He had never actually considered entering the Gate himself to search for the evidence he needed. After all, it was Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Even if the three Guan brothers were currently absent, Lu Yin would not have an easy time trying to enter the Gate, and he would never be able to ess the ce where the evidence proving the Guan brothers to be Redbacks could be found.

    The three Guan brothers had long been extremely careful. Despite the many years that they had led one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s Gates, they had never been revealed as Redbacks, so they clearly were quite capable.

    Lu Yin was not naive enough to expect that simply gaining ess to Guan Yun''s memories would be sufficient evidence for such an usation.

    However, Lu Yin did not actually need any evidence, as he already had what he needed.

    He raised a hand, and a scarlet eye with a slitted pupil appeared in it. This was the evidence he needed.

    Lu Yin had found out from Guan Yun''s memories that humanity faced the same enemy in the Perennial World as they did in the Fifth Maind. In both ces, humanity faced zombies. Also, there was amon symbol that represented the zombies: a scarlet eye with a slitted pupil.

    Only Redbacks would be given the scarlet eyes. It was proof of their identity, as well as a means tomunicate with humanity¡¯s enemy.

    The Guan brothers had hidden their scarlet eyes in the most protected ce within Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Lu Yin knew exactly where the eyes were, but they were somewhere he could not reach. Fortunately for him, he already had more than one scarlet eye.

    Lu Yin actually had two of the eyes. He had gotten one from Silver back on Earth, while he had picked up the second from Wu Shang, who had tried to kill Ming Yan on Shenwu Continent. Also, Lu Yin had the stone table with the image of the scarlet eye on it. He had plenty for what he needed.

    The three Guan brothers were just too unlucky.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry for the time being. If he immediately pulled out his evidence, even a fool would know there was something wrong with it.

    Was there any chance that the Guan brothers would have anything that could reveal them as Redbacks in an easily essible ce?

    Lu Yin quietly stayed in the city closest to Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate for five days.

    Over in the distant Red Orchard City, Unseen Light kept a fake Lu Yinpany as they wandered around the city. Zhuo Si had helped to keep Lu Yin¡¯s absence hidden, so not even Guan Tong had realized that the Lu Yin they were seeing was fake.

    However, Guan Hai gradually realized that something was wrong. The ''Lu Yin'' he was observing was too calm, and also behaved a bit strange. Not once during his time in Red Orchard City had his facial expressions changed, and that was impossible.

    It was impossible to change subconscious habits. Guan Hai had investigated the ces where Lu Yin had been in the Yinshan Mountains, and found that the person he had investigated waspletely different from the ¡®Lu Yin¡¯ wandering about Red Orchard City.

    The man immediately moved to block ''Lu Yin'' and Unseen Light.

    "You are not Long Qi!" Guan Hai barked as he stared at ''Lu Yin.''

    ''Lu Yin'' remained as calm as ever.

    Unseen Light frowned. This was a problem.

    Zhuo Si suddenly appeared and ced himself in front of ''Lu Yin.'' "Guan Hai, there¡¯s still time before the conclusion of the bet, so what are you doing? Are you trying to take back your wager?¡±

    Guan Hai stared at Zhuo Si and sneered. "That is not Long Qi! You¡¯ve brought out a fake Long Qi for this bet! The real Long Qi might have already escaped long ago."

    Zhuo Si Li shouted back, "Guan Hai, I show your elder brother respect for his position as Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s gate master in Huaiyuan, but I¡¯m losing my patience! Don¡¯t overstep yourself!"

    At this moment, Guan Tong, Guan Yun, and Yuhua Mavis arrived. "Second brother, what''s going on?"

    Guan Hai whispered to Guan Tong.

    Guan Tong smiled and directed his attention to Zhuo Si. "Gate Master Zhuo, there¡¯s no need to bother hiding anything. This fake is a fake and is not the real person. But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t force the matter about the person being real or fake. After all, you¡¯ll have to exin the matter to me when the time runs out.¡±

    Guan Tong actually preferred if Lu Yin had escaped, as that would save him the need to argue the matter with the supervisor of the nine gates. Even though this would not have Long Qi die in Red Orchard City, this option would still fulfill Yu Chen¡¯s goals, so the brothers¡¯ objectives would be achieved.

    As for Red Orchard City, it could remain the brothers¡¯ hidden option. Long Qi running was a better result than they had hoped for, as they would not do anything that might offend the White Dragon n itself.

    Zhuo Si did not lose his calm after it was revealed that Lu Yin was absent. His goal had always been to keep the Guan brothers in Red Orchard City, and he had done just that.

    The Guan brothers had questioned Lu Yin¡¯s ability to find and arrest traitors, and in doing so, they had hoped to lead Long Qi over to Red Orchard City where they could arrange his death. However, Lu Yin had taken advantage of this situation to keep the brothers away in Red Orchard City so that he could move about in Huaiyuan.

    Both sides were trying to out-maneuver each other, but Lu Yin had a distinct advantage. After all, his die¡¯s Possession ability had allowed him to literally get inside his opponent¡¯s mind, which allowed him near omniscience and omnipotence.

    At this time, Lu Yin called Zhuo Si from where he was outside of Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate.

    Zhuo Si looked down as hismunication crystals vibrated, and his eyes lit up as he connected to the call. Lu Yin''s image appeared before everyone. Everything was put out in the open.

    Guan Tong sneered, "Sure enough, this one¡¯s a fake."

    Lu Yin looked over at Guan Tong. "Gate Master Guan, you certainly are cruel enough."

    Guan Tong felt puzzled. "What do you mean by that? You dare show yourself after escaping? If I were in your shoes, I¡¯d stay hidden for the rest of my life and make sure that no one would ever find me."

    Lu Yin looked helpless. "While this junior did have that desire, I had to consider humanity, and so I could not just escape."

    He lifted a hand and brought out a scarlet eye.

    Everyone momentarily felt a cold wind hit their backs as they dumbly stared at the scarlet eye.

    Members of Humility''s Gate were all familiar with this sight, as it was the symbol of humanity¡¯s worst enemy, and was also the sign of a Redback.

    The three Guan brothers were utterly shocked at seeing Lu Yin holding a scarlet eye. Could Long Qi be a Redback? No, that was impossible. If he was a Redback, he would never deliberately reveal himself. However, if Long Qi was not a Redback, then where had he gotten that eye?

    "Gate Master Guan, you three Guan brothers have betrayed mankind! What do you have to say for yourself? This eye was found in Humility''s Gate¡¯s gate here in Huaiyuan!" Lu Yin shouted loudly, and his voice echoed through the area.

    Zhuo Si locked cold eyes onto Guan Tong.

    Guan Tong''s scalp had gone numb. Even if he were beaten to death, he still would never be able to imagine Long Qi iming that the scarlet eye belonged to the brothers. While it was true that they had such scarlet eyes, they were hidden in a ce that could never be found. Guan Hai spoke up and shouted back at Lu Yin, "Long Qi, how dare you try to nder us! My big brother is one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s gate masters, so how could he possibly be a Redback? Are you trying to make a joke of Humility''s Gate¡¯s screening processes?"

    Guan Yun roared, "Long Qi, you¡¯re asking to die!"

    Lu Yin replied in a cold voice, "This insignia was found in Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Gate Master Si, please contact the Middle Realm¡¯s supervisor and arrest those three. Now that there is conclusive evidence, they can¡¯t deny the truth."

    Zhuo Si immediately moved to call Qing Chen.

    The three Guan brothers all looked at each other. They felt confused and torn. They could not figure out what to do. If they did nothing and allowed Zhuo Si to call the supervisor and it was discovered that they were all Redbacks, they would all die. However, was it really irrefutable proof? What if Long Qi was trying to trick them? What if that insignia he held was fake? If they reacted now they would be exposed for real.

    At this time, even the normally calm Guan Hai was in a state ofplete shock and did not know how to respond to this development.

    Though he had hesitated for a moment, Zhuo Si had already contacted Qing Chen and delivered Lu Yin¡¯s information to the supervisor of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine gates in the Middle Realm.

    Qing Chen was bbergasted at the news. He had already known that there was a Redback hidden very deep inside Humility''s Gate, but he had never considered that it might be one of the nine gate masters. His instinctive reaction was that such a thing was impossible, but it was also impossible to lie about such a thing.

    Also, Long Qi had been the one to obtain the evidence, and that made Qing Chen remember the unknown hand that had provided Long Qi with a list of traitors.

    This was news that shocked everyone.

    No matter what, I need to go to the Huaiyuan Gate and investigate this matter for myself. Qing Chen did not hesitate to think further, and he stepped into the void and disappeared.

    Back in Red Orchard City, Zhuo Si dismissed everyone else and remained alone to confront the three Guan brothers. Zhuo Si had a stern expression. ¡°The evidence is concrete, so I will be taking you all in."

    Guan Tong shouted back, "I am Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan gate master! How could I be a Redback? Zhuo Si, how dare you work with that Long Qi to ruin us!"

    The truth was that Zhuo Si was very hesitant at this moment. Given Long Qi¡¯s strength, there was almost no chance of him being able to enter the Huaiyuan Gate to retrieve the needed evidence. However, the White Dragon n was also behind Long Qi, and the White Dragon n would never allow Long Qi to make baseless usations against the three Guan brothers. Such an incident would be a terrible scandal that would humiliate the White Dragon n. In the end, Zhuo Si ced his faith in the White Dragon n, not Long Qi.

    All Redbacks are hidden exceptionally well. Back then, there was a Redback who managed to infiltrate the top of the four ruling powers, so what''s so impossible about you three being Redbacks?" Zhuo Si challenged.

    Guan Tong was furious. "Fine! You¡¯re a survivor of the Lu family, not only did you not hide your sorry asses, you dare use us of being Redbacks. You¡¯re seeking death!¡±

    The Envoy¡¯s body disappeared. Across from him, Zhuo Si¡¯s eyes had filled with killing intent as he heard Guan Tong¡¯s words and remembered the past. Zhuo Si waved a hand and shed straight through the void.

    A massive spatial tear split all of Red Orchard City, and Guan Tong was instantly sted back, stunned. "You..."

    Zhuo Si had revealed a level of strength that had far exceeded Guan Tong¡¯s expectations. Guan Tong was an Envoy with a power level of more than 600,000, but Zhuo Si definitely surpassed a power level of 700,000! Everyone had been certain that Zhuo Si was an Envoy who had just barely surpassed a power level of 500,000.

    "We all underestimated a bastard child like you!¡± Guan Tong shouted, and Guan Hai leaped into the air behind his big brother. The middle brother waved a hand down from up high, and the void condensed into streams, and thepressed space formed an indescribable attack that shot down towards Zhuo Si.

    Zhuo Si dodged.

    The attack smashed into the ground and shattered the earth. The attack continued deep underground, tearing the terrain apart.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1383: Supervisor Of The Nine Gates

    <h4>Chapter 1383: Supervisor Of The Nine Gates</h4>

    Zhuo Si¡¯s palm was covered with a dim luminescence. He stared at Guan Tong, and Zhuo Si¡¯s eyes swept over his opponent¡¯s body before ultimately locking onto Guan Tong¡¯s right shoulder. Guan Tong was horrified; Zhuo Si had actually seen through Guan Tong and found the location of his stellr energy vortex.

    Just when Zhuo Si was about to attack, an unbearable cry was heard from beneath the ground. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and it caused all of the buildings in Red Orchard City to shatter. Countless people covered their ears as they fell to the ground, trembling.

    Everyone looked down.

    Unseen Light frowned, and he felt a sense of cold from beneath his feet. He felt a sense of danger threatening his life.

    Yuhua Mavis shot off into the distance, as she felt like there was a monster beneath her feet.

    As the bizarre cry echoed out, a creature rose into the sky that looked like an earthworm that wasrger than all of Red Orchard City. It formed a ck line that connected the sky to the ground, and it released its strange cry. The sound echoed in all directions, and it pushed at the void and created ripples that spread out.

    The thing was even stronger than Zhuo Si, and it clearly had a power level higher than 700,000. Where had this monstere from?

    The three Guan brothers looked at each other. They had clearly underestimated the monster, as it was much stronger than the three of them.

    The monster¡¯s body twisted and itshed out, reducing half of Red Orchard City to ruins. Zhuo Si quickly took action. If the beast was allowed to continue moving about, the millions of people in Red Orchard City would die without even being buried.

    The monster shrieked at Zhuo Si, and Zhuo Si was forced to retreat. "Guan Tong, if you want to remove all suspicions on you, then you first need to help deal with this monster."

    "Brother, the storage room in the Huaiyuan Gate is not somewhere Long Qi can ess. Even if the entire Gate is destroyed, I am absolutely certain that Long Qi never stepped foot in that ce. That insignia he pulled out isn¡¯t enough to ruin us.¡± Guan Hai had regained his calm, and he quickly reasoned some things out.

    Guan Tong immediately jumped up. "Let¡¯s deal with this monster."

    "Wait, Big Brother!" Guan Hai stopped Guan Tong from moving towards the monster. "You need to get back to our Gate and destroy those things so that the supervisor can¡¯t find anything when he tries to search."

    Guan Tong came to his senses as though waking from a dream. He then turned around and immediately made his way towards Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate.

    Zhuo Si wanted to stop Guan Tong from leaving, but the monster was in his path. Zhuo Si was not able to get past the monster without great difficulties, and then there was also Guan Hai.

    "Gate Master Zhuo, I, Guan Hai, will help you."

    "Guan Tong wants to get rid of the evidence?"

    "You still want to try to frame us? You¡¯re screwed once Supervisor Qing Chen finds out that you and Long Qi tried to ruin us brothers!"

    Zhuo Si¡¯s expression grew solemn, but he still teamed up with Guan Hai to deal with the monster.

    Guan Yun had already retreated far away, as he was not strong enough to be able to have anything to do with a battle at this level. Yuhua Mavis stood behind him, but he could not see anyone from the Yinshan District anywhere in Red Orchard City.

    Guan Tong raced back towards the Huaiyuan Gate.

    At the same time, Supervisor Qing Chen was also making his way towards Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate.

    At this same time, Lu Yin was simply waiting outside the Gate.

    It took several days to travel from Red Orchard City to Huaiyuan with the mounts provided by Humility''s Gate, but Envoys could make the trip in just a few hours. This was because they were able to freely travel through the void.

    Although Guan Tong had been much closer to the Gate, Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, and his speed could notpare to Guan Tong¡¯s. In the end, the supervisor arrived at the Huaiyuan Gate one step ahead of Guan Tong.

    Lu Yin had seen an image of Qing Chen, so he immediately showed himself when Qing Chen arrived.

    This was also Qing Chen¡¯s first time seeing Lu Yin.

    "Long Qi, captain in Humility''s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District, greets the supervisor." Lu Yin gave a respectful bow.

    Everyone stationed inside Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate also noticed Qing Chen arriving, and they all bowed as well. "We greet the supervisor."

    Qing Chen waved a hand and asked the members of Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan to step back. He thennded on the ground and looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. "Are you Long Qi?"

    "Yes, this subordinate is Long Qi," Lu Yin replied.

    Qing Chen looked at the youth. "Show me what you find."

    Lu Yin immediately handed Qing Chen the scarlet eye with the slitted pupil. Because of essing Guan Yun''s memory, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the scarlet vertical eye was the insignia of a Redback in this universe.

    Qing Chen stared at the scarlet eye in his hands, and a matchless killing intent shed through his eyes. This thing was the real deal. It was authentic.

    Guan Tong finally arrived at this moment, and his heart sank when he saw that Qing Chen had already arrived. He quicklynded on the ground and saluted the supervisor, "Huaiyuan Gate Master Guan Tong greets the supervisor."

    Qing Chen stared at the man with cold eyes and lifted the scarlet eye. "Is this yours?"

    Guan Tong replied in a low growl that was filled with his anger, ¡°Supervisor, Long Qi is trying to ruin us! That does not belong to this subordinate."

    Qing Chen looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly exined, "Supervisor, this subordinate managed to find this insignia in this Humility''s Gate Gate in a secret room that no one other than the gate master and his brothers are even aware of. If the supervisor has any doubts, this subordinate can lead you there to see for yourself."

    Guan Tong''s eyes looked dazed and uncertain. He instantly thought of a certain location, but that was impossible. How could this child know about that ce? It was impossible for even the White Dragon n to find it.

    Qing Chen nced at Guan Tong before gently agreeing, "Then lead the way."

    Lu Yin immediately began walking. Qing Chen stayed next to Lu Yin, and Guan Tong followed behind the two.

    Qing Chen was not at all worried that Guan Tong might try to escape, as it was impossible to even dream of escaping from a Semi-Progenitor. Even if it was an expert with a power level of more than a million, they still would not be able to escape Qing Chen.

    Lu Yin was not able to sense Qing Chen''s power, but had already guessed that the supervisor could not be any weaker than Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, and the other Semi-Progenitors he had met. Those people stood at the top of the Fifth Maind, and yet one of their peers only qualified to be the supervisor of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine Gates in the Middle Realm in the Perennial World.

    The Perennial World was stronger than the Fifth Maind, and it was not by just a single level.

    There were some rivers that surrounded Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Each one looked small from a distance, but they connected the earth to the sky, and once they were approached, a person would realize that each of the rivers wasrger than a sea and was filled with inhabited inds, cities, and strange aquatic creatures that lived in the water.

    Anytime the three Guan brothers had needed to discuss matters that could not be overheard, they would go through a passage that was on the other side of one of these inds.

    Once Lu Yin led the two older men to the particr ind, Guan Tong wentpletely pale. Lu Yin entered the water, but Guan Tong was powerless to do anything at all. Unconsciously, his eyes started to dart about.

    Qing Chen was able to see this change, and a terrifying cold light appeared in the depths of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s eyes.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to lead Qing Chen and Guan Tong under the ind to a channel that led up into the ind from the water.

    Guan Tong''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he whirled around, hoping to flee, but was instantly caught by Qing Chen. "Gate Master Tong, where are you wanting to go?"

    Guan Tong had been grabbed hold of like a chicken, and he waspletely unable to resist.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and entered the tunnel that led into the ind. They came upon a rather luxurious building, and on the floor, there was a scarlet eye with a slitted pupil, as well as a great deal of information that Guan Tong had gathered.

    Lu Yin did not even look at the information, but Qing Chen did, and what his saw caused his face to turn ashen. "Alright, I really never expected for one of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gate masters to be a Redback. This is absurd! It¡¯s absolutely ridiculous, and it¡¯s an embarrassment."

    Guan Tong''s legs had gone weak, and his face had turned utterly white. Everything was over. It waspletely finished.

    Qing Chen cleared away all of the evidence. "Let¡¯s go to Red Orchard City."

    With that, he grabbed Guan Tong with one hand and Lu Yin with the other before instantly tearing through the void and disappearing.

    This is not Lu Yin¡¯s first time being carried through the void by a powerhouse who exceeded the realm of an Envoy.

    When Lu Yin next opened his eyes, he was already just outside Red Orchard City. Qing Chen¡¯s speed could notpare with what Guan Tong was capable of, and the distance had been covered in just the blink of an eye.

    Red Orchard City had been reduced to ruins long ago, despite Zhuo Si cooperating with Guan Hai to fight the monster.

    The monster seemed to sense something the moment that Qing Chen arrived, and it dove into the ground in fear.

    Qing Chen frowned. "A mere beast."

    He raised a hand and pressed down. The monster that looked like a giant earthworm released a mournful wail as its body rotted away oneyer at a time until itpletely disappeared.

    Everyone went silent. The moment that a Semi-Progenitor moved, their invincible power left everyone watching breathless.

    Guan Tong was smashed to the ground, his meridianspletely destroyed. Even more importantly, his right shoulder had been shattered. An Envoy¡¯s critical stellr energy vortex had leaked away, and he had been left a cripple.

    Guan Yun shouted ¡°Big Brother!¡± the moment he saw Guan Tong''s miserable appearance, and he rushed over.

    In contrast, Guan Hai made the exact opposite decision, and tried to flee away from the city.

    Unfortunately for Guan Hai, escape was impossible. Qing Chen casually wagged a finger, and Guan Hai¡¯s right leg was severed and his stellr energy vortex was dispersed, just as Guan Tong had suffered.

    Guan Yun was not as lucky as his brothers, and Qing Chen simply smashed the Enlighter and left him as a puddle of blood.

    Lu Yin felt this death was a pity, as he had wanted to raid more of Guan Yun¡¯s memories to see what could be learned about the Lu family. Lu Yin felt that he could have learned a great deal about the Perennial World from Guan Yun¡¯s memories, but unfortunately, that option had already been lost.

    "This one is Zhuo Si, the gate master of Humility''s Gate in the Yinshan District. I greet the Supervisor." Zhuo Si stepped forward and respectfully introduced himself as he bowed. The moment he had seen Guan Tong''s state, Zhuo Si had known that his bet had paid off. The White Dragon n had not let him down.

    All of the other members of Humility''s Gate greeted the supervisor as one.

    Qing Chen nodded, and then nced to see the state of Red Orchard City. He sighed. A monster had appeared, and hundreds of thousands of the city¡¯s residents had died. Such an incident was not umon, for even though there were many powerhouses in the Perennial World, there were also many powerful monsters and the Progenitors could not simply take care of all of them. The environment frequently could not survive the damage it was subjected to.

    Qing Chen had been around for countless years, and he had seen far more tragic sights. This was a small incident.

    A wave of the supervisor¡¯s hand moved Guan Hai over next to Guan Tong. Both of the surviving brothers were in terrible condition.

    Qing Chen spoke in a light tone, "Since everyone is now here, do you have anything else to say?"

    Guan Tong''s face was still ashen. The evidence had been found and verified. There was nothing more to say.

    On the other hand, Guan Hai still could not ept his situation. He red at Lu Yin. "Supervisor, it¡¯s true that us three brothers are all Redbacks. Since this has been discovered, I know we¡¯ll all die, but I can¡¯t just ept this!"

    Qing Chen looked at Guan Hai. "What do you mean?"

    Guan Hai suppressed the pain from his injuries and gritted his teeth to exin. ¡°The insignia that Long Qi gave you does not belong to us three brothers."

    Qing Chen looked over at Lu Yin, as did Zhuo Si and everyone else.

    Lu Yin had not expected Guan Hai would try to drag Lu Yin into trouble even when facing death, but fortunately, Lu Yin had a solution after a thought. Guan Yun was already dead, so Lu Yin did not need to worry about anyone proving him wrong. ¡°You¡¯re right, that insignia didn¡¯t belong to you or your older brother. It belonged to your third brother, Guan Yun."

    "What did you say?" Guan Hai was momentarily stunned, but then grew angry. "You still want to lie about my brother? I have noints about our fate. We turned to the enemy for help; we were blind. Still, I can¡¯t let you frame people! We three brothers are one unit, and we only had the one insignia, so where did the second onee from? We only ever had one!"

    Lu Yin spoke with brimming confidence, "Guan Hai, did you really even know Guan Yun?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1384: Stubborn To The End

    <h4>Chapter 1384: Stubborn To The End</h4>

    "Are you trying to say you knew him better than me?" Guan Hai scoffed.

    Lu Yin smiled and replied, "I don''t know about that, but while Guan Yun seemed rude and rash, he was actually thorough and cautious. He hid the second insignia in-¡± Lu Yin whispered the name of a certain ce.

    Upon hearing the name, Guan Hai acted as though he had been struck by lightning. Lu Yin had mentioned a ce that only the three brothers had ever known about. There was nothing there and it was a useless ce, except for the fact that the brothers had decided to use it as a ce to flee to in the event they were ever discovered as Redbacks. It was their n for the worst future, though they had never even had the opportunity to use the hideaway. They had not thought to hide before everything had been revealed, let alone the possibility of Guan Yun hiding a second insignia in that ce.

    Still, Guan Hai had no choice but to believe Lu Yin, given that he knew of a location that only the three brothers had ever known about.

    Guan Tong closed his eyes. He had had nothing to say at all from the moment the evidence had been discovered.

    "Even if you did manage to find where our third brother hid the insignia, how were you ever able to find the hiding ce in the Gate? It¡¯s impossible you did that on your own." Guan Hai still could not ept his situation, and he just wanted to drag Lu Yin down with him. At this moment, all of Guan Hai¡¯s hatred had been put onto Lu Yin, as there was no way the brothers would have suffered such a miserable downfall without Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed. "You really don''t give up! Alright, since you¡¯re so stubborn, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    He waved a hand. ¡°Come on.¡±

    Yuhua Mavis stepped forward from nearby. She walked over next to Lu Yin and bowed to Qing Chen. "Yu Hua, of the Huaiyuan Humility''s Gate, greets the supervisor."

    Even an idiot would understand that Yuhua Mavis had worked with Lu Yin when they saw this.

    Guan Hai''s eyes went wide as he stared at Yuhua Mavis in disbelief. "Yu Hua, you- you betrayed us?"

    Yuhua Mavis frowned. "I¡¯m a human, so how could I be loyal to Redbacks like you?"

    "Well said," Zhuo Si praised.

    Guan Hai became so enraged that his blood backed up in his heart. He spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly passed out.

    Learning of Yuhua Mavis''s betrayal had made Guan Hai irrational, and so he never even considered how the girl might have found their hidden location. Lu Yin had not actually answered Guan Hai¡¯s question directly, but no one was going to press the issue. Everyone was aware of Long Qi¡¯s aplishments, and they all knew that there was someone supporting him.

    Qing Chen appraised Long Qi. This child had purposely agreed to a bet with the three Guan brothers in order to keep them in Red Orchard City and away from Huaiyuan so that he could retrieve the insignia that Guan Yun had hidden. Long Qi had searched for evidence, and by doing so, he had thrown the three Guan brothers into the abyss. Long Qi had been in control of the entire situation from the start, and he had led the Guan brothers by their noses.

    Such scheming was not bad, but the most important matter was just how had Long Qi managed to discover where Guan Yun had hidden the insignia?

    Qing Chen had his own suspicions, and so did everyone else who was listening; all of them assumed that the White Dragon n was supporting Long Qi. After all, everything he had aplished were matters that only one of the four ruling powers could possibly pull off, such as the White Dragon n.

    As far as everyone was concerned, Lu Yin was nothing more than the White Dragon n¡¯s puppet.

    Was it possible that this was the aplishments that Long Tian intended to give to Long Qi? Qing Chen considered this possibility, but instantly dismissed it. Long Tian had not even seemed to know of Long Qi¡¯s wager with the Guan brothers. Long Tian had only wanted to arrange for his brother-inw to retire from Humility''s Gate a bit quicker, but arranging for Long Qi to capture Redbacks was too much. How could anyone give up credit for such an achievement to this child.

    Qing Chen had too many questions regarding what had happened, but it was not yet time to start digging into things.

    Long Qi had arranged for Redbacks to be captured, which was a massive aplishment. It could even be said that Long Qi had surpassed the record set by Shu Yuan. If Long Tian again addressed the matter of allowing Long Qi to retire from Humility''s Gate, Qing Chen would not be able to refuse.

    Long Qi had gathered a tremendous number of aplishments in the very brief time since he had joined Humility''s Gate. No matter who was behind Long Qi¡¯s achievements, the fact was that everything had been done to the benefit of Humility''s Gate and the entire human race. Qing Chen did not want Long Qi to retire so soon.

    There was an old man off in the distance who was quietly watching events unfold. He was the old servant Long Tian had ordered to retrieve Lu Yin. The old man had borne witness to an incredible scene when he had arrived, and he stared at Lu Yin with pure amazement.

    The old man waspletely confident that the White Dragon n had not been behind anything that Long Qi had aplished, so who had been? Was there another power behind this youth? Was it an unknown yer? The Junior Progenitor was very wary of an unseen hand interfering in matters, as it was impossible to know if this mysterious power was friend or foe.

    Also, even though Long Qi had clearly been helped by an unknown force to uncover the truth about the Guan brothers, it was still true that he had handled the brothers and cooperated with Zhuo Si to get the supervisor involved. These were things that could be redited to Long Qi and no one else. This showed a decent ability, and there was nothing to be ashamed of.

    As the old man was lost in thought, Qing Chen¡¯s eyes swept over to the old servant.

    The servant slowly bowed.

    Qing Chen looked away and focused back on Lu Yin. He praised the youth, "Long Qi, you revealed the three Guan brothers as Redbacks, which is a tremendous benefit for Humility''s Gate. After I go back and consider this matter, you will be given appropriate rewards. For the moment, you can return to the Yinshan Mountains to wait."

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful tone, "This subordinate only wishes to serve Humility''s Gate, and I don¡¯t need any credit. I simply wish to do what I can for Humility''s Gate and resist the foreign enemies."

    Yuhua Mavis rolled her eyes. This guy was still disgusting.

    Zhuo Si pursed his lips. This was going overboard.

    Unseen Light¡¯s brows rose up.

    Qing Chen''s eyes lit up. "You wish to do what you can for Humility''s Gate? You want to help humanity?"

    Lu Yin was ustomed to making such flowery phrases, and so he replied out of reflex, ¡°This subordinate will never give up!"

    "Hahaha, well said! My Humility''s Gate doesn¡¯t have enough motivated youths like you. Well, after I go back and consider the matter, I¡¯ll assign you a new task that will definitely satisfy your desires." With that, Qing Chen immediately left with Guan Tong and Guan Hai.

    Lu Yin felt taken aback; why had Qing Chen looked so happy? Wait, had Lu Yin said something wrong? He thought about it, but his response seemed perfectly normal!

    Zhuo Si gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Long Qi, don''t you want to retire?"

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered his situation; damn, he had forgotten! Long Xi had told Lu Yin that he would be able to retire from Humility''s Gate after making some contributions. While his earlier achievements had likely not been enough to warrant an early retirement, thistest matter had been too much. If Long Tian spoke up, it might even be possible for Lu Yin to immediately retire from Humility''s Gate, but his words to the supervisor had closed that door. Qing Chen would refuse to let Long Qi go from Humility''s Gate no matter what Long Tian said.

    Lu Yin licked his lips. He felt rather speechless; he had spoken too quickly.

    "Serves you right," Yuhua Mavis mocked.

    Unseen Light smiled. "This is interesting."

    Lu Yin was helpless. He suddenly thought of something terrible: he had epted the wager without Long Xi¡¯s knowledge. Once she learned that Lu Yin had managed to block his own retirement, Lu Yin could not even imagine the woman¡¯s anger. Lu Yin thought of Guan Hai and then Mo Gaohe. Had Lu Yin developed a stronger ability to infuriate people?

    "Let''s head back to the Yinshan District. Other people wille to handle things here in Red Orchard City," Zhuo Si said.

    Lu Yin looked over at Yuhua Mavis. "You can¡¯t go back to Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan, so why don¡¯t you go with us to the Yinshan District?"

    Yuhua Mavis nodded. "Okay."

    Unseen Light smiled as hemented, "The Wang family invited me to meet their Junior Progenitor, Wang Su."

    Yuhua Mavis'' eyes shed. "Looks like you¡¯re a step ahead of the rest of us."

    "Not necessarily," Lu Yin interjected. ¡°Fatty invited Unseen Light just because he was strong enough to fight you. If youe back with us, you might get invited as well."

    Yuhua Mavis''s eyes lit up.

    Unseen Light thought for a bit. ¡°That should work; the two of us will be able to take care of each other. It¡¯s said that even the Junior Progenitors are at risk of dying in that ce."

    The trip to the Dominion Realm was the goal of everyone from ZENITH¡¯s top ten. They had alle to the Perennial World to travel to the Dominion Realm in order to find something called Origin Matter.

    This was their most important goal.

    Lu Yin felt that he was the one furthest from the opportunity that everyone was chasing. Everyone else was allowed to reveal the strength in order to reach the Dominion Realm, but what about him?

    No, he had to find a way to reach the Dominion Realm. Strength was still the foundation of everything, and Lu Yin could not forget his roots.

    ¡­

    A great deal of time had passed since thest time such a major event had rocked Humility''s Gate. One of the nine gate masters in the Middle Realm was actually a Redback! This news left countless people feeling like they were hearing a story, despite the information being true.

    This matter was a p in the face to Humility''s Gate in the Middle Realm, as well as the entire organization.

    After it was discovered that the three Guan brothers were Redbacks who had infiltrated Humility''s Gate, the supervisor was absolutely furious and he ordered an internal investigation throughout the entire organization. Everyone, no matter if they were a gate master, a captain, or a grunt, they all needed to be investigated so that the entire Humility''s Gate could be proven clean.

    Naturally, the name Long Qi spread throughout Humility''s Gate.

    ***

    In the Higher Realm, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Yu Chen had cut all lines of contact she had had with the three Guan brothers. After that, she studied the information in front of her, in particr, she went over the details of the events from the moments leading up to the wager being agreed upon, up to when Guan Tong and Guan Hai had been taken away by Qing Chen. .

    The more Yu Chen read, the more wary she became.

    If an ordinary person discovered that the Guan brothers were Redbacks, it would be a challenge to expose them, and yet Long Qi had taken advantage of a bet to reveal the brothers¡¯ true colors. This was not a simple scheme, as there was much more to it that could be readily seen.

    It seemed that Yu Chen would need a long-term n in order to deal with Long Qi.

    However, Long Qi had aplished something massive, and the White Dragon n had clearly not paid a small price for this matter, so Long Qi would soon be able to retire from Humility''s Gate.

    This thought put a bit of a frown on Yu Chen¡¯s face. Things would be quite tricky once Long Qi retired from Humility''s Gate.

    "For the moment, there¡¯s no need to even think about the White Dragon n. The trip to the Dominion Realm is fast approaching, and though there¡¯s no problem with me going, I still need some people who can handle certain matters for me. Find me twopanions as soon as possible." A gentle voice spoke from behind Yu Chen.

    Yu Chen gave a small bow. "Yes, Junior Progenitor."

    ***

    Lu Yin felt a change after returning to the Yinshan District, particrly the way that the people around him looked at him. He could see caution, vignce, envy, and manybinations of emotions that he had never seen before. These people all saw themselves as being ignorant in the past.

    Lu Yin could only imagine how big of amotion this incident would raise within Humility''s Gate, and it was certain that many people would start to put eyes on him.

    The fatty had been waiting outside the Yinshan District Gate for a long time. As soon as Lu Yin and the others returned, the fatty was ready to drag Unseen Light to the Higher Realm, and he was clearly excited.

    "My Junior Progenitor wants to see you, so let¡¯s hurry up!" the fatty said anxiously.

    Unseen Light turned to Lu Yin. "Then I''m leaving."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Finally, the fatty saw Yuhua Mavis, and he asked, "What¡¯s she doing here?"

    Unseen Light smiled. "She¡¯s the one who found where the Guan brothers hid the evidence Brother Long used. That¡¯s also why she can''t go back to Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan."

    The fatty stared at Yuhua Mavis, clearly thinking about something.

    "Brother Wang, should we go?" Unseen Light pressed.

    The fatty asked Yuhua Mavis, "Would you like to go visit the Wang family with me and meet our Junior Progenitor?"

    As he spoke, he quickly turned to Unseen Light, and said, "Brother, don''t worry about her. We need several people, so there¡¯s no risk of her recing you."

    "I don¡¯t mind at all,¡± Unseen Light reassured the fatty.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1385: The Fourteenth Gate

    <h4>Chapter 1385: The Fourteenth Gate</h4>

    Yuhua Mavis felt curious. "What''s this all about?"

    The fatty did not know how to exin the matter. The Dominion Realm was notmon knowledge, and not many people were allowed to know about it. If things did not work out, then Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis might not qualify to know about the Dominion Realm, either.

    "Regardless, the Wang family is one of the four ruling powers, and they would never treat you badly," Lu Yin spoke up.

    Yuhua Mavis nodded.

    The fatty shot a grateful look towards Lu Yin. "Bro, I¡¯m going to take them to the Wang family home, and it¡¯ll be a while before theye back. Bro, you need to work hard while we¡¯re gone! Also, make sure you visit Inner Scent; I¡¯ll cover your tab!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thanks."

    "Haha, who are we?" The fatty was very happy. His Junior Progenitor Wang Su had ordered the entire Wang family to find powerful youths who might qualify to travel with Wang Su to the Dominion Realm, and the fatty had found two at the same time! This would get him a great deal of credit with the Wang Su, so the fatty was thrilled.

    The fatty quickly left the Yinshan Mountains with Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis, and the three made their way towards the Higher Realm.

    Lu Yin returned to his quarters, and waited there quietly.

    Less than half an hour passed when hismunication crystals vibrated. He felt helpless; he had been dreading this unavoidable moment.

    Long Xi¡¯s beautiful image appeared in front of Lu Yin, but her expression was cold and fury filled her eyes. "Anything you want to say?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t have any choice."

    Long Xi chided, "Do you have any idea what you just did? That was ying with fire! You actually had the guts to go up against Humility''s Gate¡¯s gate master for Huaiyuan while still being nothing but a puny Hunter? You had no idea where that information came from, or if it was valid, and yet you still went ahead and epted their bet! Where did you get that confidence from! Don¡¯t you know, if you had failed, it wouldn¡¯t only have been you, but also me, Long Tian, and the entire White Dragon n would have been treated as the biggest joke in the Perennial World!

    "The four ruling powers have never been at peace with each other, and we constantly fight and plot against each other. You almost became my White Dragon n¡¯s greatest weakness¡­"

    Lu Yin rubbed his temples as he listened to Long Xi''s lecture. He had known that the woman would be upset, but he had not expected her to bepletely furious.

    "How dare you not answer when I call! You think you can act however you want just because you picked up a few achievements? Do you expect everyone to just help you? If it weren''t for your status as the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, I can¡¯t even count how many times you would have already died!" Long Xi raged.

    Lu Yin frowned. "If I didn¡¯t have this status, no one would even bother trying to go after me."

    "You promised to ept this identity, and you now have to suffer the consequences! You and I are now one for this life, and will face life and death together. If you want to survive, then listen to me!" Long Xi shouted.

    Lu Yin retorted, "Can you stop Yu Chen woman from moving against me? Could you have stopped the Guan brothers from working against me?"

    "I can keep you alive!" Long Xi shouted sharply. Suddenly, her voice grew much softer, "Enough. I never asked you to earn glory for my White Dragon n, and I don¡¯t ask you to reach any specific level of power. It¡¯s enough as long as you stay alive."

    Lu Yin''s heart trembled. Long Xi''s words made him feel a bit of warmth. How many people were there who simply wanted Lu Yin to survive, no matter what he did or aplished? Lu Yin could feel Long Xi¡¯s honesty that she merely wanted him alive, not to rise to power.

    "I''m sorry," Lu Yin apologized.

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin for a moment, then let out a long breath. "The three Guan brothers had to have known about that monster that was under Red Orchard City, and they tried to lure you there not because they wanted to win any bet, but because they wanted to use that monster to eliminate you. They were willing to sacrifice the lives of millions of people living in Red Orchard City to do so. Do you understand what that means?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Long Xi frowned and solemnly stated, "Humanity."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed.

    Long Xi continued, "Anyone who turns to those monsters has no humanity left, especially Redbacks. Did you think that you could seize the initiative from those Redback brothers? That¡¯s just wrong. They have forsaken their humanity, and thus will do anything to reach their goals. One wrong step on your part would have led to your death, even if your information was true. This is ignoring the fact that you had no way to know whether or not the intel you had received was urate.

    "If you had received the information from Yu Chen, then everything you could possiblye up with would have been for nothing, and not only would you have had your reputation ruined, you would also be dead.

    "I just hope you don''t act so recklessly in the future. Everything you do and say doesn¡¯t only represent you, but also me. You need to remember that I am your wife. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This will always be the case."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    Long Xi had finally finished venting. She chose to believe in Long Qi¡¯s sincerity when she saw his nod, though she was not sure why. Still, the more honest Long Qi was about his mistake, the more ufortable it left Long Xi. He had to retire from Humility''s Gate right away. Long Xi was most worried about where Long Qi had received his information, but it was disturbing to know that there was an unknown yer with unseen motives. Could they simply want to help Long Qi?

    How could that be possible? Long Qi was just a descendant of a branch family of the White Dragon n, so who would be willing to help him so much? If they wanted to help the White Dragon n itself, then why did they not simply reach out to Long Xi or even Long Tian instead?

    An unknown provider of information left Long Xi terribly ufortable.

    "Long Qi, I¡¯m going to say this for thest time: stay at Humility''s Gate¡¯s Yinshan District Gate and don¡¯t leave, not even if Zhuo Si gives you an order! You¡¯ve already done enough to earn the right to retire, and my big brother has already reached out to the supervisor. Just stay there and wait for Elder Long Kui to pick you up and bring you back," Long Xi was solemn as she delivered instructions.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Elder Long Kui¡¯sing to get me?"

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes narrowed. "He¡¯s on his way and will be there soon. You are not allowed to leave that Gate no matter what until Elder Long Kui arrives!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. It looked like Long Xi was scared for Lu Yin, and so she had sent Elder Long Kui to protect him. Even if Lu Yin did not retire from Humility''s Gate, it seemed likely that Elder Long Kui would remain nearby to keep an eye on Lu Yin from outside in order to prevent him from even leaving the Gate!

    Did Long Xi really have so little trust in Lu Yin?

    Wait, what had she just said? Long Tian had already called Supervisor Qing Chen? Lu Yin suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "Cough, um, I¡¯ve got a bit of a stomach ache, so if that¡¯s everything, I¡¯m going to go rest and wait for Elder Long Kui to show up. I¡¯m feeling tired, so don¡¯t bother calling for a bit. I¡¯ll call you soon."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. She clearly felt that something was wrong, and Lu Yin¡¯s innocent expression only aggravated that suspicion, but Long Xi could not pick anything specific out. ¡°If you¡¯re pretending to be honest and sneak out again, then I¡¯ll make sure that you suffer the worst torment and pain imaginable when you get back to White Mountain."

    "Yes, yes, yes!" Lu Yin just wanted to get away from this conversation as quickly as possible.

    Long Xi gave a cold snort before ending the call.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief before purposely tossing hismunication crystals away from him. For some reason, he was scared to see Long Xi again. Her nagging had terrified him.

    At the same time that Lu Yin was talking to Long Xi, Long Tian had gotten in touch with Humility''s Gate¡¯s Middle Realm Supervisor, Qing Chen.

    Long Tian felt confused when he saw Qing Chen''s helpless expression. "What is that supposed to mean? He only wishes to serve Humility''s Gate, and doesn¡¯t need any credit. He simply wishes to do what he can for Humility''s Gate and resist the foreign enemies?"

    Qing Chen nodded and said in an admiring tone, "The White Dragon n deserves its ce as one of the four ruling powers, and yet one of your n members from a branch family is willing to sacrifice himself to protect and serve humanity! This old man really admires suchmitment."

    Long Tian was stunned. "Senior, Long Qi is only a Hunter; how could he be able to do anything? Is there some sort of a misunderstanding?"

    Qing Chen grew solemn. "You underestimate Long Qi too much. He exposed the three Guan brothers as Redbacks and demonstrated his insight and courage. Even moremendable, he¡¯s willing to dedicate his life to serving humanity. He deserves respect and admiration. He¡¯s only been with Humility''s Gate for two months, and yet his aplishments have already surpassed the previous record holder, Shu Yuan."

    Long Tian suddenly interrupted, "With that, this junior believes-"

    "Needless to say, this old man is well aware that such services deserve aparable reward, and I have already reported this matter to the Commander, and he is quite impressed. He has ordered that Long Qi will join the Fourteenth Gate. He said that such talent should not be confined to just one Domain. What do you think?" Qing Chen said.

    Long Tian was shocked. "The Fourteenth Gate?"

    Qing Chen nodded. "That is what the governor intends. Long Qi is a child who has an innate gift of being able to see through people, and so he is perfectly suited to working in the Fourteenth Gate and patrol the Perennial world on behalf of the Commander. What a blessing this is.¡±

    Blessing my ass! That kid has half a damn of talent! Despite Long Tian''s impressive self-restraint, he still nearly swore aloud. Long Qi had received his information from an outside source, which was why Long Tian wanted his brother-inw out of Humility''s Gate. He had not expected such a turn of events to ur.

    The Fourteenth Gate was not like the Yinshan District, Huaiyuan, or any of the other Gates belonging to Humility''s Gate. It was difficult to retire from the Fourteenth Gate, unless, of course, one failed to aplish their assignment and was expelled, and that would be a humiliation.

    Even with Long Tian¡¯s identity as a Junior Progenitor, it was impossible for him to be able to get Long Qi out of the Fourteenth Gate. That kid was nothing but trouble, and far too many problems. It was already toote to do anything.

    "Senior, has Long Qi already joined the Fourteenth Gate? It wouldn¡¯t happen so fast, right?" Long Tian could not believe what he was being told.

    Qing Chen replied, "It¡¯s already been done. Would I lie to you?"

    Long Tian knew that Qing Chen would not lie about such a thing, but that was even more upsetting. ¡°Senior, since this is how things are, I will hang up first."

    Qing Chen nodded. After Long Tian ended the call, a smile slowly appeared on Qing Chen¡¯s face. He did not care how Long Qi had managed to expose the Guan brothers as Redbacks, or where he had gotten his information. Eliminating Redbacks was something that only benefited humanity, no matter where the Redback might be. As for the matter between the Celestial Frost Sect and the White Dragon n, none of that had anything to do with Humility''s Gate.

    Long Qi had already demonstrated that he was qualified to enter the Fourteenth Gate, and since he was also a suitable candidate, it was enough.

    Also, Qing Chen favored Long Qi. The child had been dealing with the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s schemes, and yet had possessed the courage to fight back. This was a sign of a person who was both bold and cautious, and Qing Chen appreciated such people. Also, having Long Qi enter the Fourteenth Gate could be seen as another form of protection for the youth.

    The Commander himself cared for the people in the Fourteenth Gate, and thus anyone who moved against those members of Humility''s Gate would die. As long as Long Qi was able to stay in the Fourteenth Gate, he would have the protection of the Commander, and that would mean that not even the Celestial Frost Sect would be able to touch the child.

    This was also a somewhat selfish move on Qing Chen¡¯s part, but he felt that it could be considered part of Long Qi¡¯s reward.

    Retire and live a rxed life while forever remaining ordinary? It would be better to just die!

    "Child, I hope you don''t let this old man down," Qing Chen muttered to himself.

    ***

    Back in the Yinshan District Gate, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystals vibrated, and he nced at it. Huh? Not a call from Long Xi?

    He connected to the call, and a line of text appeared: ''Long Qi, Humility''s Gate captain in the Yinshan District, has been assigned to the Fourteenth Gate. He is to arrest at least ten traitors each year, and is to protect the Perennial World and the Mother Tree for the sake of the human race. He is ordered to report to the sword monument, and will be assigned further tasks after his arrival.

    ¡®Fourteenth Gate Master, Xiao''

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1386: Observing The Sword Monument

    <h4>Chapter 1386: Observing The Sword Monument</h4>

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. The Fourteenth Gate? What was that?

    Lu Yin knew Humility''s Gate had nine bases in the Middle Realm, and four in the Higher Realm, which meant there were thirteen Gates. However, there was also a fourteenth Gate, which was rather mysterious. The Fourteenth Gate did not have a defined location, but instead the members of this base were given jurisdiction over the entire Perennial World. This group alone caught as many traitors and Redbacks as the other thirteen Gatesbined. The Fourteenth Gate consisted of Humility''s Gate¡¯s most elite and secretive forces.

    Lu Yin had not even considered that he might be transferred over to the Fourteenth Gate.

    Joining the Fourteenth Gate meant that difficult assignments would be given. For starters, the bare minimum required of each person in the Fourteenth Gate was to arrest ten traitors a year. There were rumors that the Fourteenth Gate was responsible for more than 10,000 arrests every year, but no one knew if that was true or not.

    Still, while more was expected from members of the Fourteenth Gate, they were also given incredible authority. They had the authorization to arrest and interrogate anyone in any part of the Perennial World. They were given this authority by the Commander of Humility''s Gate, who had also founded the organization and was regarded as their patriarch.

    Joining the Fourteenth Gate meant receiving the protection of the Progenitor who supported the entire Humility''s Gate. Lu Yin would never need to worry about the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s scheming.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be transferred to the Fourteenth Gate. Apparently his true identity waspletely safe.

    As Lu Yin was thinking about this development, hismunication crystals vibrated again. He nced at it and swallowed hard; Long Xi was calling.

    He questioned for a moment whether or not to answer. This was a dilemma.

    Hismunication crystals vibrated for a long time, and it was clear that Long Xi was not taking no for an answer.

    Lu Yin felt as though he could already see Long Xi''s angry face through the vibratingmunication crystals. No, he could not answer. Absolutely not. The woman was already furious.

    He removed hismunication crystals and threw it aside and let it continue vibrating.

    The entire night passed, and the stone did not vibrate continuously, but there were frequent attempts to reach Lu Yin. The next morning, Lu Yin felt that Long Xi¡¯s anger should have burned low, so when themunication crystals vibrated next, he answered.

    Long Xi¡¯s image appeared.

    Lu Yin stared and blinked at the image. The woman appeared to be quite calm.

    Long Xi quietly stared at Lu Yin. "What else haven¡¯t you told me?"

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What are you talking about?"

    Long Xi carefully chose each word, "When I asked you how you managed to arrest the traitors in Yinshan City, you stayed quiet about the bet you had already made with the Guan brothers. When I asked you about that bet, you kept quiet about speaking with Humility''s Gate¡¯s Middle Realm Supervisor. Now, I¡¯m asking you about what you said to him, and I¡¯m also asking if there¡¯s anything else you¡¯ve been hiding from me?"

    Lu Yin swallowed. "It¡¯s really not like that. I wasn¡¯t trying to hide this from you, but I just haven¡¯t had a chance to say anything yet."

    "Tell me!" Long Xi shouted as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Well, I got transferred over to Humility''s Gate¡¯s Fourteenth Gate, and was also ordered to immediately go see the Sword Monument. Apparently my reward for what I just did is to observe the Sword Monument."

    Long Xi closed her eyes in frustration. It was true, Long Qi really had been sent to the Fourteenth Gate. Long Tian had already told Long Xi about this, but she had not believed it to be true.

    While it was true that Long Qi would be protected while in the Fourteenth Gate, it was not a mountain resort where people were sent to be kept safe out of sight. How had Lu Yin arrested the traitors, and how had he found out about the Guan brothers all being Redbacks? All of this information hade from an unknown source, and once that source disappeared, how would Long Qi be able toplete the tasks he would be given by the Fourteenth Gate? At best, he would be kicked out and treated as a joke.

    However, that was the least of the problems. While the Fourteenth Gate protected its people, such protection came at a price, and the price was steep. Everyone who joined the Fourteenth Gate was known by their true name, and naturally they were constantly watched by countless people. Making a mistake when part of the Fourteenth Gate was not a small matter.

    Long Xi''s heart kept sinking further and further. From the moment she had first heard that Long Qi had joined the Fourteenth Gate, the best ending she could imagine was seeing him kicked out and being treated as a joke, which would reflect upon the White Dragon n, and the entire n would be humiliated. This was even the best oue she could imagine.

    "Do you know about the Sword Monument?" Long Xi had nothing else to say. She greatly regretted sending Long Qi to the Yinshan Mountains. She should have kept him locked away in White Mountain where he could not go anywhere, but it was already toote. She had realized her mistake toote, and everything that Lu Yin had aplished hade from that unknown source of information. Just who was behind everything?

    Lu Yin shook his head and replied honestly, "All I know is what Elder Long Kui told the two of us, so I don''t know any details."

    When Long Xi and Lu Yin had been returning from the Lower Realm, they had seen Zhang Dingtian, and at that time, Elder Long Kui had mentioned the sword monument and the legendary ancient Progenitor, Wu Tian.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin. "There¡¯s no need to worry much about those legends, as there¡¯s no evidence to support them. All you need to know about the Sword Monument is that everyone who faces it has a chance of receiving some sort of inheritance, but that¡¯s merely theoretical. The Liu family has protected the monument for countless years, and yet only a few of their descendants have ever managed to gain anything from the monument. Still, simply due to the sheer number of people who observe the Sword Monument, the number of sesses adds up.

    "There aren¡¯t that many people who are allowed to study the Sword Monument. Even the four ruling powers don¡¯t have many youths who are allowed to study the monument, as a price has to be paid for each person given permission. One of the privileges enjoyed by members of the Fourteenth Gate is to be able to study the Sword Monument. This is something that Humility''s Gate¡¯s governor agreed to with the Liu family, and this is also one of the reasons that many people try to join the Fourteenth Gate.

    "This is a great opportunity for you, and while it¡¯s best if you manage to get something from your time there, don¡¯t get upset if you leave with nothing."

    "Have you gone?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi¡¯s brows rose. "Not yet."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed; not yet? So that meant that Long Xi was able to go, but simply had not done so yet. Long Tian had been willing to help Lu Yin because it meant that Long Xi would join the Junior Progenitor in the Dominion Realm. That meant that Long Tian also was hoping for Long Xi to increase her own strength, and the Sword Monument might have been one of the means he had provided.

    "The Liu family doesn¡¯t have much respect for the four ruling powers, and is even a bit hostile towards us, so I¡¯ve asked Elder Long Kui to apany you to the Sword Monument. After you study the Sword Monument, leave immediately. I¡¯ll find a way for you to get into the Higher Realm and to the peak of Dragon Mountain. Until then, try not to go anywhere, even if the Fourteenth Gate gives you a mission. Make sure you run everything by Elder Long Kui, understand?" Long Xi solemnly cautioned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I got it."

    He showed his most honest face.

    The more Long Xi saw this expression on Long Qi¡¯s face, the more anxious she became. The moment she hung up with Long Qi, Long Xi immediately called Elder Long Kui and begged him to get to the Yinshan Mountains as soon as possible. She was afraid of Lu Yin acting up once again.

    ¡­

    The clouds in the sky shot by. Lu Yin was sitting on Gui¡¯s back behind Elder Long Kui.

    The elder had arrived in the Yinshan District two days before, and had collected Lu Yin without saying a single word. Zhuo Si seemed to already know something about the situation and had not said much.

    Lu Yin had only been in the Yinshan Mountains for two months, and yet the entire ce had been turned upside down during that time. Mo Gaohe had been expelled from Humility''s Gate, and the fatty had returned to the Wang family.

    While it appeared from the outside like Lu Yin had been the one to gain the most from this time, he was actually the most nervous out of everyone.

    Elder Long Kui appeared to be calm, and he escorted Lu Yin in a certain direction.

    Two days passed with Lu Yin not having the courage to speak a single word to the Envoy.

    Previously, Lu Yin had made the journey from White Mountain to the Bifrost, and had passed over a great deal of the Middle Realm, but had not paid attention to it, as they had been traveling too quickly. However, this time he was heading towards the Sword Monument, and they were moving much slower than before, so Lu Yin was able to look around as they flew through the sky. In many regions of the Middle Realm, he saw a great number of wars being fought.

    There would be conflict anywhere there were people, and so war was verymon. However, the number of wars in this part of the Middle Realm in the Perennial World was far more than the number of interster wars Lu Yin had observed in the Fifth Maind.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse had only a few Enlighters, and they averaged less than one per weave. The Innerverse had only a few experts with power levels that exceeded 300,000, and even in the Neoverse, there were not many cultivators with power levels of more than 400,000. It was iparable to this universe.

    In the Middle Realm, almost every war that Lu Yin observed had Enlighters taking part, and many of them had power levels of 300 to 400,000. Fortunately, space in this universe was very stable, and not even Lu Yin was able to tear through the void. If space were any more fragile, this entire ce would have long been destroyed.

    Many wars paused when Gui passed by, and the mount¡¯s passing drew the attention of several powerful experts who were Envoys, and each one of them left Lu Yin''s scalp numb.

    Gui suddenly stopped his flight and looked off into the distance; his two heads pushed against each other, and the creature seemed rather cautious.

    Elder Long Kui still looked calm as he stared at a certain empty ce in the sky.

    Lu Yin felt that something was not quite right. After a moment¡¯s thought, he pulled out his upgraded gemspring water and put a drop in his eyes. His vision expanded, and the universe that he saw changed. He peered into another ce, and in the dim void, he saw countless microscopic creatures, as well as a man looking over from far away with fierce eyes.

    The man was shocked the moment he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly bowed his head. This man was an Envoy, and he was standing in the true universe, which was where Envoy¡¯s fought.

    The man emerged from the void and stared at Gui, Long Kui, and Lu Yin.

    Long Kui calmly observed the man. "Get out of our way."

    Gui roared out a warning in time with Long Kui¡¯s order.

    The man''s expression slightly changed, and he quickly moved to the side. He had only just broken through to the Envoy realm, so there was no way that he would dare pick a fight with Long Kui. The man had no chance of victory.

    It did not take any thought to know that someone had to have a powerful background in order to be able to use a mount with the strength of an Envoy.

    Long Kui did not care about the man. Gui roared at the Envoy once more before quickly and arrogantly continuing on his way.

    The man continued to stare at Lu Yin in shock. How could a mere Hunter have observed an Envoy when they were in the true universe? Could it have been some trick?

    Just as Gui was passing by the Envoy, Long Kui suddenly turned his head to look at a certain point in the sky. The Envoy they were passing also stopped and turned to look at the same point in the sky as Long Kui.

    Lu Yin whirled around to look as well.

    There was a strange pattern in the sky, and the Envoy looked shocked the moment he saw that pattern. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to go to the Star Alliance! I won''t go!"

    Even as he spoke, he stepped forward and disappeared into the void.

    The gemspring water could improve Lu Yin¡¯s sight for only a minute, and so it was still active. Lu Yin was able to see the man flee into the true universe, and also see a massive hand reach down into the void and drag the man into the pattern in the sky. Instantly, the pattern disappeared.

    Lu Yin was stunned, What the hell?

    "Let''s go," Long Kui casually said. Gui continued on his way and fled into the distance at a speed that was iparable to his early speed. It seemed the beast was afraid.

    Lu Yin felt intrigued. "Elder, what was that person talking about? The Star Alliance? What is that?"

    This was something that he had not found any mention of when reviewing Guan Yun¡¯s memories, but Guan Yun had lived for many years, and his memories were like an ocean to Lu Yin¡¯s perception. He had only been able to review a very small portion of the memories, and it would have been impossible to have learned anything at all about Red Orchard City without being able to filter through the memories of those Lu Yin Possessed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1387: Missions and Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 1387: Missions and Rewards</h4>

    Long Kui answered in a light tone, "You¡¯ll find out when you need to, but it¡¯s nothing you¡¯ll ever need to know about."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. That was such bullshit! This old man clearly hated Lu Yin.

    "I told you before to keep some distance from Zhuo Si," Long Kui continued.

    Lu Yin then understood the situation. No wonder this old man had been in such a bad mood since they had met, it was because of this matter. "I didn''t get close to Gate Master Zhuo."

    "Then why was he willing to help you hide that you were never in Red Orchard City? Zhuo Si iszy, and he does not involve himself in the affairs of others, and yet he helped you. Clearly, you two do not have a normal rtionship," Long Kui said.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "I really don''t know him well at all. I only spoke with him a few times even in the Gate. Maybe he wanted to get some contributions?"

    Long Kui sneered. "He wouldn''t want any such thing."

    The elder then stopped talking.

    Lu Yin did not try to speak with Long Kui again. It was clear that Long Kui had no wish to interact with Lu Yin, so Lu Yin intended to keep his distance. Regardless, Long Kui would certainly do his best to protect Lu Yin and prevent any idents.

    Several more days passed. One day, as night was turning to day, a huge stone tablet entered Lu Yin''s vision and drew his full attention.

    While it seemed to be a perfectly ordinary piece of stone, for some reason, when Lu Yin looked at it, he felt as though time began to slow. It was as though he was able to observe the vicissitudes of the ancient past and heard whispers from ancestors long past. This stone tablet was like a monument to the passing of the years that led to the past, present and future.

    "That is the Sword Monument. We¡¯ve arrived," Long Kui said. He was also staring off into the distance, and there wereplicated emotions in his eyes, though he was also quite excited. Every cultivator in the entire Perennial World hoped to be able to observe the Sword Monument and have the opportunity to receive an ancient inheritance. The Sword Monument clearly was an opportunity, but the Liu family made it so that few people ever received the opportunity.

    The moment Lu Yin saw the Sword Monument, hismunication crystals vibrated. He connected to the call, only for a line of text to appear: "Mission target: Liu Ke. Suspected traitor. To be arrested."

    Lu Yin was terrified. He looked around. He had only justid eyes on the Sword Monument, so how did the Fourteenth Gate know he had arrived to give him an assignment?

    Liu Ke was a member of the Liu family. So, Lu Yin had not only been given a reward with this trip, but also a task. No wonder he had been given such a wonderful bit ofpensation.

    Lu Yin started to consider the situation. He had made a habit of trying to think things through more thoroughly, and it had allowed him to resolve many hidden dangers.

    He intended to do the same at this time.

    Everyone in the Perennial World wished to receive the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument, and Lu Yin did not believe that all of the members of the Fourteenth Gate received such an opportunity. Even if Humility''s Gate was supported by a Progenitor, each of the four ruling powers also had Progenitors behind them, and members of the four ruling powers only rarely received the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument.

    However, Lu Yin had been given such an opportunity the moment he had joined the Fourteenth Gate, and this was after he had been tangled up in the conflict between the White Dragon n and the Celestial Frost Sect. This did not seem quite right. Even if it was framed as a reward for exposing the Guan brothers as Redbacks, Lu Yin still felt that something was off.

    Either the Gate Master of the Fourteenth Gate favored the White Dragon n and was deliberately helping Lu Yin, or he had been given this particr task because no one in the Fourteenth Gate was willing to ept it. If the second possibility proved true, things were going to be troublesome.

    If the second possibility was true, then Lu Yin would prefer to miss out on this opportunity than arrest Liu Ke, as it would not be an easy task and it would be easy for him to fail his assignment.

    As Lu Yin was lost in thought, various flying mounts began to asionally pass them by. There were also many people traveling across the ground in the same direction as those flying in the sky. There were even more people kneeling on the ground and murmuring something while facing the direction of the Sword Monument.

    "The Liu family is a massive family that dominates an entire region. They stand second only to the four ruling powers. It is important that you be sincere when observing the Sword Monument. Do not be rude, and do not offend the Liu family," Long Kui reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt a headache sprout; he was supposed to not offend the Liu family? How was that supposed to be possible? The Fourteenth Gate clearly had people in this ce, and Lu Yin had no idea what to expect should he fail his first assignment. If he ended up being kicked out of the Fourteenth Gate, it would be a shame.

    Wait a minute, could this be part of Yu Chen¡¯s scheming? Could the Fourteenth Gate¡¯s Gate Master be setting up Lu Yin? No, that should not be the case. After all, Supervisor Qing Chen had been the one to transfer Lu Yin to the Fourteenth Gate, and after thinking about the situation for a moment, how could Yu Chen be able to reach into the Fourteenth Gate?

    Outsiders were not allowed within a certain distance of the Sword Monument without permission. Only those who received the Liu family¡¯s permission were allowed to approach the shrine, but that did not mean that a person could observe the Sword Monument, as one needed to be within ten meters of the Sword Monument in order to possibly gain anything from it.

    "No one is allowed to draw closer without the Liu family¡¯s permission, and I¡¯m no exception. You will have to proceed from here on your own," Long Kui said. Gui¡¯s massive size had drawn the attention of the Liu family long ago, and time to time powerful auras swept by, and even Lu Yin had felt their presence. There were more than a single Envoy in this location. Given that this was where the Sword Monument stood, it was certain that there were overwhelmingly powerful experts nearby.

    Gui flew in ce high in the sky.

    Lu Yin descended on his own, and smashed into the ground. A line of people spread out before him, forming what looked like a long dragon. This was the security team that was responsible for filtering out the countless people attempting to visit the Sword Monument.

    "Who approaches?" A voice entered Lu Yin''s ears.

    Lu Yin bowed in the direction of the Sword Monument. "Junior Long Qi was ordered to this ce to observe the Sword Monument."

    The voice went silent for a moment, and then answered "Wait."

    The tone of voice did not sound very good.

    Lu Yin frowned. This reaction confirmed what he had suspected; his assignment would not be an easy one toplete. Regardless, he intended to try to observe the Sword Monument first.

    There were countless people lined up to visit the Sword Monument, and where Lu Yin stood, the stone was not even visible. He was actually not even close to the Sword Monument.

    Cultivators who acted as guards asionally passed by, and Lu Yin noticed more than one Enlighter.

    Off in the distance, he could see mountains, rivers, cities, and ins. He stared at thendscape and observed the region. The area directly surrounding the Sword Monument seemed inhospitable for life, and the area not only seemed rather ordinary, it was quite bad. The city in the distance had been abandoned, so where did the Liu family live?

    There were so many people, yet the atmosphere was strangely calm. It felt as though everyone was unwilling to even speak, or was it that they did not feel it appropriate to speak? Were they all so respectful?

    Lu Yin looked back towards the Sword Monument and thought about the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral stone que. These sorts of items generally became the base of a family¡¯s spiritual beliefs. Who would not want such a thing? These items were able to improve the strength of people, as well as bing a source of faith.

    After Lu Yin waited for about an hour, a figure approached from the distance. "Are you Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin turned his to look, and was surprised at who he saw: Zhang Dingtian?

    Zhang Dingtian ran over, and he smiled when he saw Lu Yin. "Are you Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled as he replied, "I am Long Qi. Might I ask who you might be?"

    "I¡¯m Zhang Dingtian. I was told to take Brother Long to observe the Sword Monument," Zhang Dingtian said.

    Many nearby people heard these words, and they looked at Lu Yin with eny. Few outsiders were given the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. Even when people did receive the opportunity, they would have to pay an exorbitant price. Few outsiders from the entire Perennial World were ever able to observe the Sword Monument.

    "In that case, please lead the way, Brother Zhang."

    "Please."

    ¡­

    "The Liu family in the Middle Realm is one of the most powerful families. We don¡¯t have many n members, just a few tens of thousands. All of them can be found around the Sword Monument. Every day they rise and go to sleep while observing the Sword Monument. The arrangement has been maintained in ancient tribal form, so the closer to the Sword Monument to go, the more of the Liu family members you¡¯ll meet." Zhang Dingtian shared information about the area and the family with Lu Yin, who listened quietly.

    "Typically, people are only able to observe the Sword Monument from 100,000 miles away. Can Brother Long see that line over there?" Zhang Dingtian pointed to a distant point on the ground where a seemingly bottomless ravine split the earth.

    "That line divides the inside and the outside, and only those with special permission are allowed within 100,000 miles of the shrine. Once we cross that line, we can speak to each other normally," Zhang Dingtian said.

    Lu Yin looked over. "It¡¯s been a long time, Brother Zhang."

    Zhang Dingtian sighed emotionally. "I never expected to see you here. I¡¯m going to keep calling you Long Qi, as the character that makes your surname is something that can¡¯t be spoken in this universe."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why? It''s just another primeval surname."

    Zhang Dingtian shook his head. "I don''t actually know, either. All I know is that anything to do with that particr surname is connected to some secret of the four ruling powers. All I¡¯ve learned over the years is that that name can¡¯t be spoken, but no one has ever shared the reason with me."

    Lu Yin felt this was regretful. "Where''s Bai Xue?"

    "She headed up to the Higher Realm. Might be in the Celestial Frost Sect," Zhang Dingtian said.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I never thought that Jupiter would be a passageway. I had believed there were a group of people staying in istion inside there."

    "This universe does seem quite isted whenpared with the Human Domain, but do you know what the people here call the universe wee from?" Zhang Dingtian looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s voice dropped low, "The Forsaken Land."

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. "It''s an abandoned ce. You, me, Bai Xue, and everyone who made it into Jupiter in the past are considered trespassers in this universe. I don¡¯t know about whether the Primeval Surname Alliance is here, but I¡¯ve never met anyone from it here."

    Lu Yin said, "Neither have I."

    "It¡¯s pretty obvious that the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family is caught up in the conflict between the four ruling powers. You really can¡¯t stay quiet anywhere you go." Zhang Dingtianughed.

    Lu Yin felt speechless. "What are you up to? How did the Liu family end up epting you?"

    Zhang Dingtian said, "I happened to rescue someone from the Liu family, and then ended up being epted as Master Yijian¡¯s disciple, which gave me a foothold into the Liu family."

    "Don''t you use a saber?1 How did Master Yijian end up epting you as a disciple?"

    "It¡¯s almost the same as a sword."

    "There¡¯s a pretty big difference, no?" Lu Yin did not know how to react.

    Lu Yin felt that Zhang Dingtian seemed much more cheerfulpared to how he had been in the Fifth Maind. It was as if he had set down some of his burdens.

    "How is Earth?" Zhang Dingtian asked.

    Lu Yin said, "It¡¯s really good."

    "That''s good. I¡¯ll never be able to go back." Zhang Dingtian looked up at the Sword Monument with aplicated light in his eyes.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "That might not be the case."

    Zhang Dingtian was caught off guard. "You know how to go back?"

    "Not yet, but I know someone who does," Lu Yin said. Naturally, he was referring to Wang Yi. That man had been able to visit the Fifth Maind to fight in ZENITH, so he naturally had a way to travel back and forth between the two ces. Also, Unseen Light had a way to return home.

    The two men drew closer and closer to the Sword Monument, and Lu Yin and Zhang Dingtian chatted the whole way, and their entire conversation was about the Fifth Maind, as Zhang Dingtian was very interested in what had happened there.

    "Speaking of which, you were actually able to get an opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. There aren¡¯t even many people in the White Dragon n are able to get that chance," Zhang Dingtianmented.

    When this was brought up, Lu Yin felt the need to ask, "Does the Liu family have some sort of grudge with Humility''s Gate?"

    [1] This was an easy mix-up in the earliest chapters, but here it is made clear that Zhang Dingtian uses a saber (1 edged de) rather than a sword (2 edged de). Previous chapters should all have been corrected now. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1388: The Woman With The Liu Surname

    <h4>Chapter 1388: The Woman With The Liu Surname</h4>

    Zhang Dingtian shook his head. "Of course not. Humility¡¯s Gate is a pir of humanity that works to catch traitors to humanity. If anyone¡¯s offended by Humility¡¯s Gate, they must be a traitor."

    Lu Yin was surprised, as when he had first arrived, the voice of the person who had spoken to him was clearly unhappy with him, and Lu Yin thought he had heard disgust.

    "However, there is a bit of resentment towards Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Fourteenth Gate," Zhang Dingtian continued.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Towards the Fourteenth Gate?"

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. "A long time ago, the Fourteenth Gate arrested one of the Liu family¡¯s direct descendants. They were interrogated, but it was finally proven that the man was innocent. However, that man eventuallymitted suicide as he couldn''t endure the humiliation and hatred he suffered. That¡¯s why the entire Liu family hates the Fourteenth Gate."

    When he reached this point in his story, Zhang Dingtian suddenly reacted to something, and he looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "You wouldn''t be¡­?"

    Lu Yin nodded with a wry smile. "I¡¯m from the Fourteenth Gate."

    Zhang Dingtian was speechless. "Now I understand why you¡¯re allowed to observe the Sword Monument; it¡¯s not because you¡¯re from the White Dragon n."

    "Tell me, if I try to arrest someone from the Liu family while I¡¯m here, would I be able to pull it off?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhang Dingtian answered without the slightest hesitation, "That¡¯s impossible. After that incident, the Liu family dered that any family member who was considered suspicious has to be interrogated by the Liu family itself, and not even Humility''s Gate is allowed to interfere. This was said by the Liu family ancestor, and I¡¯m talking about an actual Progenitor,1 not just some ancestor."

    Lu Yin''s heart fell. Sure enough, his assignment was going to be a difficult one. If the Liu family was insisting on conducting any and all interrogations on their family members, it would be better for Humility¡¯s Gate to investigate the matter in secret. There was no way Humility¡¯s Gate would ever trust the results of an interrogation carried out by a person¡¯s own family members.

    Despite what had been said by the Liu family¡¯s Progenitor, even if the Liu Family¡¯s Progenitor had made such a deration because a descendant had been wronged, he was ying dirty. Humility¡¯s Gate had their own Progenitor, and there would be nopromise. Lu Yin¡¯s mission was clearly intended to be a statement that Humility¡¯s Gate still intended to prosecute the members of the Liu family. However, issuing an arrest warrant was one thing, and actually arresting the suspected traitor was an entirely different matter.

    No wonder he had been given such an excessive reward; they had already prepared an insurmountable task for him. Any bit of carelessness on Lu Yin¡¯s part could draw the attention of the Liu family¡¯s ancestors and Progenitor or Progenitors into stepping forward. Just thinking about the possibility was enough for Lu Yin¡¯s scalp to go numb. The Fourteenth Gate would not let Lu Yin bear the wrath of the Liu Family¡¯s Progenitor on his own, would they?

    Lu Yin¡¯s assignment had been given to him by themander of the Fourteenth Gate himself, and Lu Yin was currently assuming the identity of the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. It appeared that the intention of this mission was to use the status of both the White Dragon n, and Humility¡¯s Gate. If Lu Yin did end up sessfully capturing Liu Ke, the entire Liu family would not express hostility towards Lu Yin, as it would not be worth it.

    "Even if you end up failing your mission, you absolutely can¡¯t even suggest arresting anyone from the Liu family, Brother Long. This is for your own good," Zhang Dingtian cautioned.

    Before long, several people stopped Lu Yin and Zhang Dingtian from proceeding forward.

    "You¡¯re Long Qi? You don''t look like much. How did you get with the White Dragon n¡¯s princess? Come with us and let us brothers learn from you," one of the people started mocking Lu Yin as several othersughed.

    Zhang Dingtian took a step forward. "Liu Meng, back down. Mr. Long was invited to observe the Sword Monument, and it was decided upon by the n."

    Liu Meng grew angry. "Zhang Dingtian, who do you think you are? How does some outsider manage to get Master Yijian as their master, let alone someone who uses a saber? I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!"

    His hand moved, and sword light shed as a sword stabbed at Zhang Dingtian.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered when he saw the man¡¯s attack. Just like Zhang Dingtian, this man was a Cruiser. While the man looked like a bandit, he was clearly skilled with the sword, and his attack wasparable to the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Second Sword. The moment the sword left the sheaf, a domain enveloped the area, and the environment subtly changed due to the influence of the domain. This was a level that touched the level of the Fourth Sword.

    Also, this sword attack carried a strange vibration that resonated with other swords. Lu Yin had seen something simr from Toolwielder, the Realmling of the Sixth Maind¡¯s War Martial Realm. This member of the Liu family was clearly not weak, and had a significant level of mastery of the sword.

    Zhang Dingtian''s eyes narrowed, and his right hand grabbed his saber as purple and red lines covered his body: eight lined battle force. There was a nging sound, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. In front of him, half of the sword flew away and stabbed into the ground. The other half remained in Liu Meng¡¯s hand, but blood dripped onto the ground from the hilt of the sword.

    The man¡¯s right arm trembled, and he finally failed to retain a hold of his weapon, and the broken sword fell to the ground. Hispanions stared at Zhang Dingtian in horror.

    Zhang Dingtian slowly sheathed hisrge de, and he also removed his eight lined battle force. ¡°Get out of our way."

    These words roused Liu Meng as though from a dream. He gritted his teeth and red at Zhang Dingtian, clearly unwilling to ept his situation.

    Zhang Dingtian stared back.

    In the end, Liu Meng moved aside, and Zhang Dingtian and Lu Yin continued their walk towards the Sword Monument.

    After the two left, Liu Meng''s clenched right hand slowly opened, but his arm did not stop trembling. His hand had beenpletely shattered. It had only been one attack from that saber, and yet he had not even been able to see as the de had been pulled from its sheath before he had been defeated.

    "Brother Meng, are you alright?" one of the other people asked.

    Liu Meng shouted angrily, "Go away! You¡¯re useless!"

    He then turned and left without even looking at the broken sword he had left on the ground.

    There were a few other people in the nearby area, but none of them dared speak. After they saw Liu Meng leave, they all nced in the direction Lu Yin and Zhang Dingtian had gone with expressions of helplessness.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin praised his friend, "Brother Zhang, your dework has improved from before. That was an impressive quick-draw technique you just used."

    Zhang Dingtian said, "That¡¯s a technique that I got from the Sword Monument. The technique has a total of nine moves, but I¡¯ve only mastered three of them. The quick-draw is the start of the entire technique, as well as one of the moves I managed to learn."

    "There¡¯s a saber technique in the Sword Monument?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Zhang Dingtian smiled. "The Sword Monument is just what the Liu family calls the stone. It doesn¡¯t just have sword techniques, as there are also techniques for bare-handedbat, spears, and even movement techniques. There are rumors that some people have even received sourcebox arrays from the monument. Regardless, it contains all kinds of things."

    Lu Yin grew more and more curious, but then he suddenly remembered what Elder Long Kui had mentioned before about the legends of how the Sword Monument had been left behind by the mythical ancient Progenitor Wu Tian, who had developed weapon useage for humans, and that had been the inheritance he had left in the Sword Monument.

    There was no proof that Progenitor Wu Tian had ever lived, but the Sword Monument had stood for countless years. If one could uncover the monument¡¯s origins, they would likely learn much about the ancient times.

    For half a day, Zhang Dingtian led Lu Yin closer to the Sword Monument, and they finally arrived where the Liu family lived. Just as Zhang Dingtian had said, their living setup was something of a tribalyout, and it looked like a vige.

    The members of the Liu family lived in ordinary houses, and the entire ce looked like a simple vige, but the entire vige held a terrifying sword aura that made Lu Yin''s heart skip a beat.

    Just a nce was enough to know a master lived here. It was clear why Long Kui had not dared enter the Liu family¡¯s territory without permission, as he could easily die.

    Such a family was troublesome to cross, as they were fully united. Lu Yin understood why the Fourteenth Gate had hoped to find an opportunity to deceive the family and catch Liu Ke.

    The vige was arranged around the Sword Monument, but the buildings grew more sporadic and spread out the closer one moved to the Sword Monument. The Liu family¡¯s cultivators were sitting cross-legged on the ground and staring at the Sword Monument. This was where the Liu family trained.

    "Every member of the Liu family is given three opportunities throughout their entire lives to observe the Sword Monument. Usually, the first time is when they are still innocent of things, as the Sword Monument can help them find the most suitable cultivation path for them to follow. Unfortunately, few people gain anything from this first observation.

    "Their second opportunityes when they be an adult, again with the hope that they will receive an inheritance from the Sword Monument. Once again, very few people get anything.

    "The third chance is up to the individual. Some don¡¯t ept their failure to gain anything, and so they observe the Sword Monument twice in a row. Others leave theirst chance for their old age to have a chance to proceed further after they stagnate."

    Zhang Dingtian looked over at Lu Yin. "It doesn¡¯t matter who it is, everyone has a very low chance of receiving anything from observing the Sword Monument. Brother Long, good luck."

    Lu Yin nodded and continued walking forward. He was focused on the Sword Monument. He had to be within ten meters of the Sword Monument in order to have a chance of receiving anything from it, and he still had a ways to go.

    The Liu family had very few members whenpared to other top families, but they were still not a small family. Lu Yin saw many small children as he walked, and all of them were quite talented.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes grew dull and he turned to focus on a woman sitting cross-legged on the ground a thousand meters to his right; Liu Tianmu?

    Zhang Dingtian looked at Lu Yin and fearfully said, "That woman got here about a month ago, and while she has the Liu surname, she¡¯s not a member of the Liu family. There are many people in the Perennial World who have the same surname, and she came from very far away. She¡¯s considered an outsider, but she has amazing talent for the sword, and she managed to draw the attention of the entire family. For now, I can¡¯tpare to her at all."

    Bullshit! That¡¯s Liu Tianmu! Lu Yin said to himself. She was one of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters, and given her status, it was impossible for Zhang Dingtian to be able to easily reach the same level of strength as this woman.

    At best, Zhang Dingtian was a bit stronger than Liu Shaoqiu at the moment. It was enough to put him among the best of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples, but it was impossible for Zhang Dingtian to catch up to Liu Tianmu.

    Zhang Dingtian had never known Liu Tianmu, as the Ten Arbiters¡¯ names had been kept secret. Otherwise, Zhang Dingtian would have shown a different reaction.

    Lu Yin believed that Liu Tianmu had not revealed much of her strength, and nothing of the Thirteen Swords. If she had, she would not have simply drawn a bit of attention. Liu Tianmu was a talent on the same level as Wang Yi, and she couldpare to the cream of the crop even within the Liu family.

    When Lu Yin looked over at Liu Tianmu, she sensed something, and she looked back at Lu Yin, only to be stunned at what she saw.

    Lu Yin saw Liu Tianmu react to seeing him in the exact same fashion as Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis. Even if Liu Tianmu was typically as unruffled as calm water, Lu Yin was able to see a stupefied expression on her face for a moment right near the Sword Monument.

    Lu Yin smiled at her, but did not speak. He simply continued on his way towards the Sword Monument.

    Liu Tianmu decided to look for Lu Yin after he left the Sword Monument. Her mindset had been too disturbed to train. How could Lu Yin be in this ce? Not only that, he had been escorted by Zhang Dingtian himself, which indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s status was something impressive. Just what was going on?

    The Liu family did not protect the Sword Monument as fiercely as the Daynight n protected their ancestral que. The Daynight n perpetually had elders stationed around their stone que, and they looked like living fossils who stood guard over the stone.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw a few scattered youths who all seemed to be focused on the Sword Monument.

    "Brother Long, you¡¯ll only get a chance to receive an inheritance if you are able to advance to within ten meters from the Sword Monument. Please," Zhang Dingtian encouraged.

    Lu Yin looked up at the towering Sword Monument and took a deep breath. He then slowly bowed where he stood. ¡°This junior was given the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. I give my respects to the seniors present who are mediating, and apologize for disturbing the seniors present. I beg for forgiveness upon the intrusion."

    Lu Yin bent low with a pious expression on his face.

    Zhang Dingtian stepped back and quietly watched events unfold.

    There were many of the Liu family¡¯s powerhouses watching, and they softened a bit when they saw Lu Yin¡¯s behavior. While they did not have a favorable opinion of the Fourteenth Gate, Lu Yin was showing respect for the Liu family. This was not bad to see.

    Lu Yin readily admitted that he would frequently put on an act, and his skills had greatly improved. The pious and reverent expression he had revealed when looking at the Sword Monument had not been directed towards the monument itself, but instead Lu Yin had pictured the Mavis Bank, and had thought of the endless resources that the bank represented.

    [1] Something important to note is that the word for "ancestor" is the same as the word for "Progenitor," though the usage is clearly not the same. This allows for confusion sometimes among the characters. ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1389: The Sword Monumentâ€™s Inheritance

    <h4>Chapter 1389: The Sword Monument¡¯s Inheritance</h4>

    Lu Yin hade to the Liu family in order to find the opportunity to capture one of their members, so it was best to start off on the best terms possible in order to avoid the worst ending.

    Lu Yin only rose after enough time had passed for a full incense stick to burn. As he rose, his face appeared solemn, though a fanatic and respectful gleam had appeared in his eyes. He stepped forward and entered within ten meters of the Sword Monument. He then looked up and stared at the Sword Monument.

    Far away, Long Kui was rxing while observing the situation. The moment that Lu Yin locked eyes onto the Sword Monument, Long Kui looked away.

    He assumed that there was no chance of Lu Yin gaining anything from the monument. Looking along the river of time, how many people had managed to gain anything at all from the Sword Monument?

    The Liu family had hundreds of thousands of people, and that was only at present. They had protected the Sword Monument for countless generations, and they had produced countless brilliant talents. Not even Junior Progenitor Long Tian had gained even the slightest bit from the Sword Monument, so it was impossible for Long Qi to seed.

    No one believed that Lu Yin would receive an inheritance. The members of the Liu family all quietly trained around the Sword Monument,pletely ignoring Lu Yin. After all, he was just passing through.

    The only one paying attention to him was Liu Tianmu. She had approached from behind and was quietly watching Lu Yin from a distance. The other people in this ce might not be familiar with Lu Yin, but Liu Tianmu knew him quite well. Lu Yin had a talent that would be considered anywhere he went, and most importantly, he seemed to frequently stumble upon opportunities that others could not even imagine. Liu Tianmu had always felt that Lu Yin would raise amotion anywhere he went.

    The facts ended up proving her suspicions valid, as the Sword Monument began to glow.

    Zhang Dingtian was the first person to notice that the Sword Monument had begun to glow, and his eyes shed. So Lu Yin really had managed to receive an inheritance.

    All of the nearby members of the Liu family stood up and stared at the Sword Monument in shock. It was actually glowing?

    At this time, an old man emerged from the void and looked down at Lu Yin. The elder said in clear praise, ¡°This is the good fortune of my human race."

    Everyone who managed to receive an inheritance from the Sword Monument would create amotion.

    The Sword Monument released a glow that could be seen from millions of miles away, and countless people knelt down to worship.

    Long Kui¡¯s mouth fell open in surprise; the kid had actually received an inheritance? Hell, not even the Junior Progenitor Long Tian had pulled that off!

    Beneath the Sword Monument, Lu Yin was witnessing a strange sight at this time. While his body stood still, his mind seemed to be pulled into the monument. He saw a brilliant, broken region of space. He looked off into the endless distance, and his gaze shattered the void. He saw someone crush the past, present, and future with a single palm. He saw someone lock down a vast region with a formation. He saw a countless number of battle techniques. Each and every single thing that Lu Yin saw was shocking, but finally he saw a ck scythe that shed through the void to fall in front of him.

    He was very familiar with this dark scythe. This was the weapon he had used when using the God of Death¡¯s Transformation. One sh of this scythe had killed Jin He, and had overwhelmed all of the top ten in ZENITH.

    Lu Yin had not imagined that he would see that ck scythe in this ce.

    The scythe was only about 100 meters away from Lu Yin, but even though he wanted to get closer to it, only his mind was present, and he was not able to move.

    Suddenly, a dark figure began to take shape, and it raised a hand to grab the scythe. Ripples began to spread out, and it was impossible to know how far they spread.

    At this same time, ripples began to spread out from the Sword Monument, radiating in all directions.

    Many of the members of the Liu family looked up in shock. "The Sword Monument is actually giving off a phenomenon? Just what did that kid receive?"

    Right after that, the Sword Monument suddenly went dark, as did the entire surroundings. There was a single sh of light, and it looked like someone from eons past had stepped through time and delivered this sh.

    This sh caused countless people to tremble, and it drew the attention of several eyes. The sh fell from the top of the Perennial World and caused a hugemotion.

    After the attack passed by, the dark sky returned to normal. However, what was different from before were the many experts from the Liu family who had appeared around the Sword Monument. In front of all of them was a hunched old man who stared at Lu Yin with a curious expression on his face.

    Everyone from the Liu family stared nkly at Lu Yin''s back; just what had he received? Whatever it was, it had produced a phenomenon, and the phenomenon had altered the skies for a moment.

    Off in the distance, Long Kui gasped. He was no longer belittling Long Qi who was still staring at the Sword Monument. It was clear that the youth was receiving something incredible.

    The area returned to a peaceful state, yet Lu Yin remained standing beneath the Sword Monument, staring at what he was being given.

    Three days passed while he remained in this state.

    For these three days, Lu Yin had watched the figure wield the ck scythe. Not once had the figure repeated a single move. How many movements had Lu Yin seen over the course of three days? He could not even estimate it himself. How could a single weapon have so many techniques?

    Lu Yin was almost in a state of shock. He was not really learning anything from this, and was only observing endless movements with a weapon. It seemed to be a process of instruction that was also an attempt to confirm something.

    In the outside world, people became more and more shocked by Lu Yin.

    There was no particr rule to how long it took to receive an inheritance from the Sword Monument, but most people would return to their senses immediately after receiving an inheritance. For people who were lucky enough to trigger a phenomenon from the Sword Monument, it was rare for them to take even two days to wake.

    Liu Hao was the most talented member of the Liu family in the current generation, and yet he had only been upied by the inheritance for three and a half days. The most shocking youth of the current generation had been the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong, but it was looking like Long Qi might surpass even Bai Shaohong!

    On the fourth day of being lost in the inheritance, Lu Yin noticed that the figure finally stopped wielding the ck scythe. Instead, a sword appeared, which startled Lu Yin. Was there also going to be an inheritance rted to the sword?

    Lu Yin watched as the figure moved through a sword skill. This one clearly did not affect the outside world, yet Lu Yin inexplicably felt that this sword skill was absolutely terrifying, though he could not say why. Suddenly, the sword de broke as Lu Yin watched. A realization shed like lightning through his mind, and he saw that where the sword had broken coincided exactly with where the ck scythe had passed during a certain move. The two images matched together perfectly.

    Could these movements be a reenactment?

    After the sword broke, a dagger appeared in the figure''s hand, and he began to wield it as well. After a period of time, the dagger broke as well. It was then followed by a spear, a halberd, a shield, and various other weapons that Lu Yin had seen and many that he had never seen at all. However, everyst one of them broke. Also, even though each of the weapons broke in a different ce, each break perfectly matched to a move that had been made with the ck scythe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He split his mind to be able to see the movements of the scythe paired with the movements of the other weapons. This confirmed that the two were paired, and that every move matched a specific weapon. The ck scythe could destroy all of these weapons.

    The fourth day ended, and many people went silent around the Sword Monument. The hunched elder at the forefront showed more and more admiration for Lu Yin. "This is humanity¡¯s good luck; a blessing of the ancestors."

    The fifth day started.

    On this day, the figure began to move the scythe about once more. Lu Yin saw the moves clearly this time, and he focused on the scythe. These were simplified moves, and though they were repetitive, there were not many of them.

    Lu Yin had alreadypletely forgotten about everything except for the ck scythe that he was staring at.

    Back in the real world, the hunched elder¡¯s eyes betrayed shock for the first time; five days. This child hadsted more than five days. This surpassed all records held by the current generation. The only one who had managed to evenst for five days had been that woman with incredible talent, and yet this child had surpassed her.

    No one could describe the shock felt by the Liu family. They had watched far too many geniuses visit the Sword Monument, and they had also watched as many of those geniuses had epted an inheritance. If asked, these people would im to not be able to be surprised by anything they saw, and yet they were shocked at this moment, as they were witnessing history.

    Far away, Long Kui¡¯s mouth was wide open as he nkly stared towards the Sword Monument. He was staring at someone who was believed to be a weak and useless young man. Long Kui knew that starting this moment, Long Qi would officially be watched by the great forces of the Mother Tree, all because he had just surpassed that woman¡¯s record. That woman practically ruled the Perennial World, and even the Junior Progenitors had to look up to her.

    A young man approached the Sword Monument. He stepped past Liu Tianmu, and then Zhang Dingtian. He moved up to stand just behind the hunched old man, and he quietly stared at Lu Yin''s back.

    This young man was thin, and he had an average face. The only thing that stood out about him were his eyes, which showed a terrifying persistence. There was a coldness to his entire being, and he seemed somewhat gloomy. However, there was a heavy sword at his waist that shed with the youth¡¯s apparent demeanor. This young man was Liu Hao, and he was the most gifted youth in the Liu family. He had already be an Enlighter, and he was confident enough to challenge even a Junior Progenitor.

    The four ruling powers had their Junior Progenitors, the Liu family had the Sword Monument, and the Nong family had their Seed Garden. There were very few people who were unafraid of the Junior Progenitors, but those who were fearless hoped to eventually challenge one of the Junior Progenitors, despite having already lost during the Yuanlun Festival.

    Though Liu Hao looked calm as he stared at Lu Yin''s back, he was just as shocked at what was happening as everyone else. Liu Hao was someone who looked above the peak. His only targets were those four people, and yet he had just been surpassed by someone whose only im to fame was being the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. This person was supposed to be trash? Impossible. Could a wastrel be able to draw out an inheritance from the Sword Monument for so many days? This youth had even surpassed that woman.

    Liu Hao clenched the hilt of his sword tightly as he stared at Lu Yin with a challenge in his eyes. Liu Hao was very curious about what sort of inheritance Long Qi had received from the Sword Monument.

    Finally, when the sun set on the sixth day and dusk fell, Lu Yin opened his eyes. The Sword Monument returned to normal, and no further phenomenon appeared.

    Lu Yin swayed and almost fell to the ground, but was picked up by a gentle force.

    He turned to see many people staring at him, though the one closest person was an old man who had clearly seen the vicissitudes of time.

    Lu Yin knew that the older a cultivator became, the more unfathomable they would be. He quickly bowed to the old man. "Junior Long Qi greets Senior."

    The rickety old man looked at Lu Yin and smiled as he said, "Child, how do you feel?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Dizzy."

    "Hahaha!" The old manughed. "It would appear that you received an incredible inheritance."

    "That Long Qi, what kind of inheritance did you get? Let us see it!" someone shouted off in the distance.

    "Yeah, let us have a look."

    "Maybe you were unable to learn anything at all?"

    "You were lost for six days! There¡¯s no way you didn¡¯t gain anything! Let us see what you got."

    The old man turned, his eyes sharp. "Quiet!"

    Though he spoke but one word, no one dared to make any more sounds. Instead, a young man walked out. He was young, but was already a Hunter. ¡°Elder Song, this junior wishes to ask Brother Long Qi to trade pointers. Since we are both Hunters, this can¡¯t be seen as bullying. I ask Elder Song for his permission."

    The hunched old man looked back at Lu Yin. "Child, are you willing to ept?"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1390: Unravel

    Chapter 1390: Unravel

    Lu Yin nced over at Zhang Dingtian, and then Liu Tianmu before nodding. "This junior has just received an inheritance, so it would be good to practice it."

    It was necessary to reveal one¡¯s strength in order to dominate the world. No one would entrust an opportunity to a piece of trash. Even if Lu Yin was a Hunter and had a powerful physique, as far as people like Long Xi and Long Tian were concerned, Lu Yin was far less than impressive.

    Lu Yin hoped to gain the attention of a Junior Progenitor before they traveled up to the Dominion Realm, as Lu Yin¡¯s goal was also to visit the Dominion Realm.

    He was not willing to give up on such an opportunity, and while he might need to take some risks, he had just been given an excellent excuse in the form of receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument. This gave him a reason to show that his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

    Everyone was intrigued when they heard that Lu Yin wanted to practice the inheritance he had just received from the Sword Monument, and they all gathered around.

    Soon, Lu Yin stood across from the youth from the Liu family. They were just a short distance away from the Sword Monument.

    "Liu family, Liu Lu."1

    "White Dragon n, Long Qi."

    Liu Lu stared at Lu Yin, and then his right hand slowly moved down to settle on the hilt of his sword. "Brother Long, be careful. While I haven¡¯t received anything from the Sword Monument, I have trained the Burning Heart Sword Intent that has been passed down from an ancestor who inherited it from the Sword Monument. A single sword can summon a me within living creatures. This is a deadly technique.¡±

    Lu Yin stared back at Liu Lu. This person was not putting on any sort of act or trying to intimidate Lu Yin. There was determination in Liu Lu¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin had seen the same in Liu Shaoqiu, Zhang Dingtian, and many people he had encountered throughout his life. These eyes belonged to people who had a one-track mind and who wanted nothing more than to pursue a single path to an extreme. Of course, Lu Yin did not know how dangerous this opponent was.

    "Please," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Lu''s eyes suddenly went wide, and his thumb flicked off of the hilt of his sword. He moved his hand to grab the sword, and then his body suddenly disappeared as he rushed towards Lu Yin at an incredible speed. Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. While using extreme speed could be considered an effective tactic, unfortunately, this was not fast enough to threaten Lu Yin. Liu Lu was much slower than Wang Yi.

    There was a gentle sound as Liu Lu shot through the air with his sword pointed directly at Lu Yin''s shoulder.

    Long Kui frowned from his distant vantage point, but did not move.

    Many members of the Liu family opened their eyes wide. They had heard a little about Long Qi, and they did not believe him to be a match for Liu Lu. Also, they did not want Long Qi to be badly injured. While the Liu family hated the Fourteenth Gate, there was a certain bnce in ce, and they did not want to risk an open confrontation.

    Right when the sword was stabbing at Lu Yin, he moved a hand. For the first time since he had entered the Perennial World, he unleashed a Vacuum Palm.

    The sword was smacked aside, and the hand struck Liu Lu¡¯s chest, sending him flipping through the air as he spat out blood.

    The onlookers went silent. Most of them had not been able to see what Lu Yin had done. There were very few that understood what had just happened.

    "With such a fast palm attack! It also superimposes the power of the attack, and Liu Lu couldn''t see it at all."

    "That¡¯s what he learned from the Sword Monument? That¡¯s amazing."

    ¡­

    Liu Hao¡¯s eyes lit up from where he stood behind the stooped old man. This was a good palm technique, and its power rose as the stacks increased. It was still a bit weak, but it was already practically unbeatable by any Hunters.

    Liu Lu was instantly defeated by this palm attack, and was even badly injured.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, "I¡¯m sorry! This was the first time I used it, so I wasn¡¯t able to understand the power behind it."

    Many of the youths in the Liu family instantly became eager to challenge Lu Yin, but Liu Lu was already their second most talented youth behind Liu Hao, and Liu Lu had been defeated by a single palm, so the rest of them stood no chance.

    "It''s just that Liu Lu''s abilities arecking whenpared to those like you.¡± Liu Hao stepped forward and walked over to take Liu Lu¡¯s ce. ¡°How about I go a round with you? I¡¯m Liu Hao."

    Lu Yin instantly became cautious when he saw Liu Hao. This person was an Enlighter, so Lu Yin needed to be careful of how much strength he revealed.

    Liu Tianmu arched a brow when she saw Liu Hao walk out. She had been hiding her strength since the moment she had arrived at the Liu family, and yet despite her efforts, she had still drawn a great deal of attention. There were many people who hadpared her to Liu Hao, so she had some idea of how strong the man was, even if it was only a vague impression.

    She estimated Liu Hao to be at the same level of strength as Wang Yi, or maybe even Shang Qing. She intended to use Lu Yin to find out just how powerful this Liu Hao really was.

    Liu Hao was the current generation¡¯s representative of the Liu family, and the Liu family grew excited to see him prepared to make a move.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "I¡¯ve heard that Brother Liu is an exceptional expert in our generation. This younger brother has only just epted an inheritance, so how could Ipare to Brother Liu? Please don''t embarrass your younger brother."

    Liu Hao casually retorted, "It¡¯s just a spar, and I won¡¯t hurt you in any way. Actually, if you manage to wound me at all, it¡¯s my loss."

    Lu Yin felt troubled.

    The hunched Elder Song smiled in the distance. ¡°Child, don¡¯t be afraid. This old man promises you won¡¯t be hurt."

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Since Senior has spoken, a junior like me wouldn¡¯t dare refuse. Alright, Brother Liu, let¡¯s go."

    Vacuum Palm was an invisible palm attack that was also incredibly fast. Due to these two aspects, unlike what Lu Yin had expected, Liu Hao was instantly struck by the palm.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had not used a full 250 Stacks, but instead had only used 150 Stacks, which was the same level of physical strength he had revealed to Long Xi. Even though the destructive power of his attack was enough to injure even one of the Ten Arbiters, it was not overpowering to someone like Liu Hao who was already an Enlighter.

    Liu Hao was knocked a few steps back by the palm. He then bent over and picked up a de of grass from the ground, and held it as a recement for his sword. He pressed down onto the ground with his right foot, and disappeared for a moment before appearing right behind Lu Yin.

    It was a bit of an insult to be attacked with a de of grass instead of an actual sword, but Liu Hao''s reputation and status qualified him to do so. There were few people who were able to force him to draw his sword.

    Even if he was using a de of grass in ce of a sword, his skills left Lu Yin¡¯s scalp tingling. Lu Yin could feel a limitless sword intent shrouding the ¡°weapon.¡± Even though he was being attacked by nothing more than a de of grass, Lu Yin felt as if the sharpest sword in the world was attacking him.

    Liu Tianmu''s pupils shrank to pinpricks from where she was watching. She was also capable of using this level of skill with, as the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Tenth Sword was able to achieve the same kind of sword intent. However, Liu Tianmu needed to use a real sword in order to be able to disy such power, while Liu Hao was able to do so with nothing but a piece of grass. It was clear that his sword intent far surpassed Liu Tianmu¡¯s.

    This showed the abilities of the Liu family¡¯s most outstanding descendant.

    In the past, if Lu Yin had been faced with the sword intent of the Thirteen Swords or Liu Hao''s de of grass,he would have needed a powerful counter attack to be able to endure. However, Lu Yin had seen countless movements of that ck scythe when receiving the inheritance from the Sword Monument, and all of them had broken various weapons. Lu Yin seemed to suddenly receive some unexinable enlightenment, and his knowledge of weapons drastically improved by countless levels.

    Liu Hao was using a de of grass in ce of a sword, but it was radiating sword intent in all directions, and Lu Yin could clearly see the flow of the sword. This sort of perception was different from the Cosmic Art. The Cosmic Art allowed a user to see where an attack would go, but Lu Yin did not need to see that detail at this moment. At this moment, Lu Yin was able to determine the trajectory of the attack just by seeing Liu Hao¡¯s hand, and could also sense exactly where the de would stab, as well as how powerful the attack was.

    Lu Yin waspletely certain that if he held the ck scythe at this moment, he would be able to slice through Liu Hao¡¯s ¡°sword.¡± Still, Lu Yin could not reveal too much already.

    The de of grass pierced through the air and approached Lu Yin. Liu Hao duplicated Liu Lu¡¯s attack, and was targeting Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    Numerous thoughts passed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind at this moment. The person whose identity he had assumed was not someone who should be able to see through Liu Hao¡¯s skills, or be able to stop Liu Hao¡¯s attack. From what everyone around knew of Long Qi, this attack would strike his shoulder and would prove Liu Hao¡¯s invincibility. There was no way for Long Qi to ovee this moment with a single inheritance.

    Lu Yin''s thoughts branched out; who had said that he had only epted a single inheritance?

    He thought through all that he knew, and then created a spear out of star energy. His left foot moved a centimeter back, allowing him to just barely evade the de of grass. At the same time, the spear traveled a strange path as it avoided the de of grass and simultaneously forced Liu Hao from advancing any further.

    Lu Yin''s counter had looked to be a magical maneuver, as he had forced Liu Hao to step back.

    Elder Song and other experts from the Liu family were all caught off guard. This was not a matter of a battle technique, but of perception. Long Qi had seen through Liu Hao''s swordsmanship.

    Liu Tianmu was shocked. ording to what she knew, Lu Yin should not have been able to see through Liu Hao¡¯s sword skills, and should have only made some sort of reckless move. Instead, he had used a spear to counter- wait, a spear? Since when did Lu Yin use a spear? The only weapon he had ever been known to use had been that scythe.

    Liu Hao fell a few steps back and stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You just saw through my movements?"

    Lu Yin held the star energy spear in his hands and deliberately panted to make himself look a bit scared. ¡°Brother Liu, didn''t you say you wouldn¡¯t hurt me?"

    Liu Hao replied in a low voice, "I never intended to hurt you, but I need to know, did you just see through my attack?"

    Lu Yin dropped his head and looked to be considering the matter for a while. Finally, he nodded. "I don''t know if I exactly saw through it, but I knew where your attack wouldnd and how strong it was going to be."

    The people hearing this broke out in excitement; Long Qi had seen through Liu Hao¡¯s skills? There was not one person in Liu Hao¡¯s generation who was capable of doing that!

    The Liu family¡¯s older experts all went silent.

    "Have you studied the sword?" Liu Hao asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This little brother saw a great deal of sword movements when I was receiving the inheritance from the Sword Monument, that¡¯s all."

    Clearly, this was enough for Liu Hao to understand that Lu Yin had received more from the Sword Monument than just the palm technique, and Long Qi had also gained knowledge of the sword. Things instantly became understandable. After all, the Sword Monument held countless supreme sword techniques, and if Long Qi earnestly studied what he had received, there was no doubt that he would be to unravel numerous sword techniques. Not to mention, Long Qi was from the White Dragon n, and the people of that n were masters of the spear, and they had a powerful foundation for such arts.

    The more Liu Hao thought about this, the brighter his eyes became. He looked at Lu Yin with eyes that sparkled like a baby¡¯s.

    Lu Yin felt creeped out and became wary. "Brother Liu, what''s wrong?"

    Liu Hao said with excitement, "Brother Long, stay here! You and I can practice with each other! You can unravel my sword skills while I teach you the way of the sword! What do you say?"

    Lu Yin reflexively scanned the area, and as he did so, he noticed that many of the members of the Liu family had be excited. He quickly understood, as they were seeing him as a tool to find the weak point of their sword skills. They wanted to use him to improve their own strength.

    Only an idiot would agree to such an offer.

    Lu Yin refused without any hesitation, "Brother Liu''s swordsmanship is incredible, but this little brother could only possibly see through half of your ability. You must be joking to suggest that I can see through all of your sword skills."

    "Brother Long, my Liu family does not fall far behind even the White Dragon n. If you promise to stay here with us, you will be allowed to observe the Sword Monument whenever you wish!" Liu Hao promised.

    Not even the Liu patriarch qualified to offer such a promise, but even though Liu Hao had delivered such an offer, no one spoke up to counter him, not even Elder Song.

    [1] While he is a "Lu," it is not anywhere close to the same character as Lu Yin''s name. This Lu means "furnace." ?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1391: Multiple Inheritances

    Chapter 1391: Multiple Inheritances

    How could Lu Yin agree to such an offer? He let out a dryugh. ¡°Brother Liu, stop messing around. This little brother couldn¡¯t be that lucky."

    Liu Hao felt a bit of regret. He had already known that there was not much chance of Long Qi agreeing to the offer. After all, Long Qi was from the White Dragon n, which was one of the four ruling powers. No matter what happened, the Liu family was still limited to the Middle Realm.

    "Then let''s keep going. I want to find out what Brother Long is capable of." Liu Hao attacked again. The de of grass moved again, and Liu Hao stepped forward and appeared right in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not want to keep fighting, but Liu Hao would not relent. He wanted to have Lu Yin unravel another sword technique, despite Lu Yin¡¯s refusal. Liu Hao did not want to abandon such a rare opportunity.

    In what felt like the blink of an eye, half an hour had already passed. During this time, Liu Hao had not used any powerful attacks. He had instead only used simple sword moves, and yet Lu Yin was able to see through everyst one of them. Lu Yin wsa not able to see through the attacks, but he undid the moves by just following his instincts, and managed to break the attacks in the simplest manner possible. Inparison, Liu Hao¡¯s attacks seemed rather crude.

    Liu Hao''s eyes gleamed brighter and brighter. Only half an hour had passed, and yet already hisprehension of the sword had improved a bit. Some of what he had previously used could bepletely discarded. This person really was able to see through all of the movements of a sword.

    Off in the distance, Long Kui was in absolute shock. Long Qi had actually managed to endure for half an hour against Liu Hao! This was someone who had the ability to challenge Junior Progenitor Long Tian. Liu Hao¡¯s strength had been second only to the Junior Progenitors during the Yuanlun Festival. He was one of the most powerful members of his generation, and it was possible that he even surpassed Princess Long Xi.

    How could Long Qipete with such a person? Could his strength really have risen so far in such a short amount of time that he couldpare to Princess Long Xi?

    No. Liu Hao was not putting his full efforts into this spar. He was only using basic sword moves, but even that was terrifying. The moment that Long Qi became an Enlighter, he would absolutely beparable to Princess Long Xi.

    Was this child not as pathetic as everyone had believed? Or could it be that the Sword Monument hadpletely transformed Long Qi?

    Long Kui had not forgotten when he had seen Long Qi grab the Dragon Blood Replica on White Mountain. Even though Long Qi had been domineering when wielding that spear, he had no understanding of it as a weapon. At the present moment, Long Qi waspletely different.

    Long Kui figured that it was due to the Sword Monument and felt a need to immediately contact Long Xi.

    It seemed that Liu Hao was bing more excited as the fight progressed, because he was forgetting to suppress his strength, and his attacks were growing stronger and stronger. He had reced the de of grass with his actual sword as a sign of his respect for Long Qi¡¯s skills. Without thinking, Liu Hao used his attack that he used against his most powerful peers, such as Long Tian: Sword Spirit.

    Sword Spirit was a sword technique bestowed by the Sword Monument. It gave a sword a spirit, vitality, and even spirituality like what humans and other beings possessed.

    Jian Yuan gave a sword spirituality.

    Liu Hao¡¯s sword transformed the moment he used this technique. The sword was activated by an Enlighter power within his body, and the sword revealed iparable destructive power. As this sword approached, Lu Yin clearly swept his spear away. It could be seen that the sword technique had been broken, but the spear had also been shattered. Liu Hao¡¯s full strength had been behind that attack that Lu Yin had broken, and the attack seemed to continue through the void towards Lu Yin.

    Many of the Liu family members shouted when they saw this.

    Elder Song frowned. Liu Hao¡¯s sword skills were not able to surpass Long Qi¡¯s insight. This match was over.

    Lu Yin stood still as he watched Liu Hao''s attack approach. He knew that he would not be injured. The Liu family had many Envoys and powerful experts, and any one of them could lock down such an attack in an instant.

    However, Lu Yin felt that he had not yet done enough. The strength that he had revealed so far was not enough to earn the attention of a Junior Progenitor.

    At this thought, Lu Yin raised a hand. The scattered star energy from the shattered spear moved about and set up a Channeling Diagram. He would reveal a third inheritance. Three inheritances from the Sword Monument should be enough to attract the attention of a Junior Progenitor.

    The Liu family¡¯s expert who had been ready to step in suddenly stopped.

    Liu Hao¡¯s attacknded on the Channeling Diagram, and the attack was dispersed and diverted into numerous directions. Fortunately, the dispersed attack was stopped by the Liu family¡¯s powerhouses.

    Lu Yin stood in ce, and the attack struck the top of his head and exploded like a firecracker as the sword qi was scattered. Liu Hao¡¯s sword could not move any further.

    Liu Hao had not released the full strength of his technique as he would have against someone with the same level of cultivation, but it had still been an attack that no ordinary Hunter could have withstood.

    Liu Hao was shocked. He withdrew his sword and stepped back as he stared at the Channeling Diagram that had been formed from the star energy from the shattered spear. He was both surprised and confused. "Is that a sourcebox array?"

    The people around were stunned.

    Lu Yin was gasping for breath; his face pale. "Yes, it¡¯s a sourcebox array."

    "You actuallyprehended a sourcebox array?" One of the Liu family¡¯s elders waspletely incredulous.

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "It was part of the inheritance from the Sword Monument."

    Everyone nearby was utterly speechless; just how much had this kid received? Could this be true? When they considered the fact that Lu Yin had been lost in the Sword Monument for six days, they felt it might be true.

    This Sword Monument had been too generous this time, and had strangely given so much to this person.

    Liu Hao was left speechless, and he looked at the Channeling Diagram oddly. "Have you studied lockbreaking?"

    Receiving a sourcebox array as an inheritance meant nothing if one was not a Lockbreaker, and it should be impossible toprehend a sourcebox array so quickly. They were not the same as battle techniques.

    Lu Yin removed the Channeling Diagram as he nodded. He exined with a voice filled with exhaustion, ¡°I¡¯ve been learning it for a long time. I already have a powerful domain.¡±

    With that, he unleashed his domain to envelop the area.

    Everyone was stunned. Lu Yin had given them multiple surprises this day.

    Liu Hao quietlymented, "This is an impressive domain. The fact that you were able to take thatst sword attack from me shows that you are strong enough to be known throughout the Perennial World. Long Qi, you actually are worthy of Long Xi."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as he did not know how to reply to this.

    "It''s just a pity that your cultivation is too weak. You started toote, and you probably won¡¯t be able to go to the Dominion Realm," Liu Hao said. He continued to stare at Lu Yin. "If you have the chance,e visit my Liu family. The Celestial Frost Sect is ruthless, and they won¡¯t be willing to leave you alone."

    Lu Yin was able to hear Liu Hao''s sincerity. He was someone dedicated to the sword. It seemed that many swordsmen were straightforward. Even if the Sword Sect in the Fifth Maind was at odds with Lu Yin, that was just a matter of conflicting interests. Most of the sect¡¯s disciples were entirely focused on pursuing the sword, and werepletely unconcerned with other matters. The Liu family that stood guard over the Sword Monument seemed to be the same.

    Everyone who had been watching quickly dispersed. Elder Song greatly admired Lu Yin. "Child,e back here when you have the time. We will allow you to observe the Sword Monument once more."

    Lu Yin had not expected the old man to be so generous.

    Elder Song smiled. "Humanity has a deeply rooted respect towards Humility¡¯s Gate. All this old man can do is strive to provide better opportunities for theter generations. You are very impressive."

    Lu Yin felt grateful. "Thank you, Senior."

    He was struggling over what to do about Liu Ke.

    In a normal situation, the Liu family would send someone to show Lu Yin around their territory, and Lu Yin had intended to use that time toe up with some way to proceed with his mission, but it was quite clear that the Liu family had no intention of showing him anywhere at all. Everyone was leaving, even Liu Hao who had been trying to convince Lu Yin to stay.

    Lu Yin looked around. Even though he saw excitement in the eyes of the Liu family members who looked at him, none of them showed any inclination to step forward and act as a host.

    Was this how the family showed their hospitality?

    Seeing that Elder Song was about to leave, Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Senior, please wait."

    Elder Song turned to look at Lu Yin. "Is there anything else?"

    Lu Yin could tell that the old man held a very high position within the Liu family, and he had also treated Lu Yin very well. The old man was even willing to allow Lu Yin to observe the Sword Monument a second time. If Lu Yin wanted toplete his assignment, he would need to rely on this elder.

    This was the first assignment the Fourteenth Gate had given Lu Yin, and he had toplete it. Failure would make his path much more difficult in the future.

    It was obvious from the fact that the Fourteenth Gate had rewarded Lu Yin with the opportunity to observe the Sword Monument that the division of Humility¡¯s Gate had incredible influence.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind continued to race even as he bowed low to Elder Song. ¡°Junior Long Qi is part of the Fourteenth Gate, and I was sent here on a mission, and so I must offend Senior and the entire Liu family."

    Many of the people who had not yet left instantly grew furious when they heard Lu Yin¡¯s statement. "The Fourteenth Gate wants to arrest another person from my Liu family? You¡¯ve got guts! My Liu family¡¯s Progenitor has already stated that none of our people will be taken away again."

    "My Liu family studies the sword. We have no traitors here. Leave!"

    "Boy, get out!"

    Zhang Dingtian had already shared with Lu Yin about how the Liu family resented and even hated the Fourteenth Gate, but Lu Yin had still not expected such a strong reaction.

    Zhang Dingtian was watching from a ways away, and he frowned at this development.

    Liu Tianmu simply turned around and left.

    Despite being assaulted by the hatred from the Liu family, Lu Yin remained respectful and maintained his deep bow.

    A Liu elder standing behind Elder Song shouted, "Leave! My Liu family no longer wees you!"

    "Child, who is the target of your mission?" Elder Song suddenly spoke up, and the moment he spoke, everyone else went silent.

    There was a young man in the crowd whose eyes began to flicker, and he was clearly nervous. He had been the first to shout at Lu Yin, and had also been the most passionate in his hatred.

    "Liu Ke," Lu Yin answered quietly.

    An uproar broke out in the surrounding crowd, and some of them stared at a person among them. They were staring at the person who had yelled the loudest against Lu Yin: Liu Ke.

    Elder Song also turned to look at Lu Yin¡¯s target.

    Liu Ke''s face went pale. He clenched his teeth and his eyes grew bloodshot as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Your Fourteenth Gate still wants to screw over my Liu family! You¡¯re just a dog of the four ruling powers; what did they give you to do this? They want to destroy my Liu family!"

    Many people in the surrounding Liu family picked up on Liu Ke¡¯s words, "That¡¯s right, the Fourteenth Gate is nothing but the four ruling powers¡¯ckey!"

    "Get away from the Sword Monument!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin looked at the young man. "Are you Liu Ke?"

    Liu Ke lifted his head high. "That''s right! You im I¡¯m a traitor; do you have any evidence? If you do, show us."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "After thest incident, everyone is aware of how the Liu family feels about my Fourteenth Gate. Given that bit of history, why would they send me here on a mission? Your ancestors have already stated your family¡¯s position, and yet I was still given this mission. The only possible reason is that you are a traitor. There¡¯s no other option."

    This logic caused many people to consider the situation. They knew that the Liu family had made their position crystal clear, and yet the Fourteenth Gate was adamant about arresting Liu Ke. Either the Fourteenth Gate was targeting the Liu family, or Liu Ke really was a traitor.

    If the Liu family was being targeted, there was no way the Fourteenth Gate would send a mere Hunter for this task. Additionally, they had sent the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. It was obvious that the Fourteenth Gate wanted the Liu family to hesitate to do anything to the person they had sent. This appeared to be in line with getting a job done, not targeting the Liu family.

    Liu Ke became enraged. "This is bullshit! Show proof if you have it."

    "It looks like you have no proof of your innocence," Lu Yin coldly retorted.

    Liu Ke''s eyes turned panicked, but then he sneered. "I never betrayed humanity! I¡¯m not some traitor! Where¡¯s your evidence? Or did you forge some? You must be dreaming if you want to arrest me while within the Liu family¡¯s territory."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. His mission had only been to arrest Liu Ke, and no information or evidence had been provided. While the Fourteenth Gate had to bepletely certain of Liu Ke¡¯s guilt, there was no evidence. If there was, everything would have been quite simple.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1392: Kui Luo

    <h4>Chapter 1392: Kui Luo</h4>

    It was possible to conduct a sessful interrogation as long as Liu Ke was captured, but the Liu family would never allow it.

    Elder Song looked at Lu Yin. "Child, you can¡¯t take him away unless you can prove that he¡¯s a traitor. The ancestors have already made this deration. Still, there¡¯s no reason for you to worry; since the Fourteenth Gate suspects him of being a traitor, my Liu family will not ignore this matter. We have our own methods of interrogation, and if it¡¯s discovered that he is a traitor, he will not be able to escape."

    Liu Ke''s heart fell. He had actually forgotten that even if he did manage to escape the Fourteenth Gate, he would never be able to avoid being interrogated by the Liu family.

    Lu Yin had to speak up. "Senior, there are many different powers in the Perennial World, and there would be nothing for Humility¡¯s Gate to do if everyone was allowed to interrogate their own members like the Liu family requires."

    "Then show us the evidence. Humility''s Gate symbolizes the hope of humanity, and they cannot be allowed to make unfounded usations," Elder Song said gently.

    Lu Yin''s thoughts took a sharp turn as he listened to the discussions of the Liu family members in the surrounding area. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned hard. ¡°Senior, would you allow this junior to be presumptuous enough to speak to Liu Ke?"

    Elder Song nodded.

    Lu Yin looked at Liu Ke and walked towards him one step at a time.

    Liu Ke was not at all worried. He was in the Liu family¡¯s territory, so he was eager to have Long Qi attack. Liu Ke¡¯s eyes were arrogant and antagonistic.

    Lu Yin moved as close to Liu Ke as possible. They were only ten meters apart when Lu Yin was stopped by the members of the Liu family. "Liu Ke, what is your mission?"

    Liu Ke sneered; what an idiot! This person was treating Liu Ke like an idiot. ¡°What mission? I¡¯m just a regr member of the Liu family; what kind of mission could I have?¡±

    The moment he finished speaking, the scenery around him changed. It was no longer Long Qi standing in front of him, but a scarlet-eyed corpse king who was shrouded in darkness. All that Liu Ke could see were the scarlet eyes with the vertical slits. As he looked at the corpse king, the being raised its and and pped down, shattering the world.

    Liu Ke instantly was ovee with despair, and his pupils shrank in a moment. ¡°No! I¡¯m one of you, don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ve gathered enough merit for you! I¡¯ll give you the Liu family and will scheme for the Sword Monument to be handed over !¡±

    The next moment, his surroundings returned to what they had been, and Liu Ke saw Long Ke smiling at him, as well as the expressions of disbelief on the people around him. Finally, he saw murder in Elder Song¡¯s distant eyes.

    Liu Ke still remembered what he had just said, and he red at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes as he screamed, "That was an illusion! You put me in an illusion!"

    He immediately dropped to his knees and spoke to Elder Song. ¡°Elder, Long Qi attacked me! He used an illusion to confuse me. I- Elder, I beg you to act as my senior! Long Qi was the one who controlled what I just said! Elder, please stand up for me! Please!"

    Lu Yin spoke in a loud voice, "All I did was show you an illusion of your death. I never spoke a word, and everything you said came from no one but yourself."

    Lu Yin had just used Night¡¯s End, Daybreak. By itself, it created an illusion that people could not resist, even if they knew they had been forced into an illusion. Liu Ke was nothing more than a Cruiser, so it was impossible for him to resist Lu Yin¡¯s illusion.

    Throwing someone into an illusion could be an effective means of interrogation that Humility¡¯s Gate would sometimes employ, but they were only effective on the simplest of traitors. Liu Ke was a member of the Liu family, which meant he was far from a simple traitor, and most illusions would not work on him. This was why Humility¡¯s Gate had ordered Liu Ke¡¯s capture, as interrogation was the only means avable to extract information from this person.

    It was simply that Lu Yin''s Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was different. This was the most powerful illusion technique in the Fifth and even the Sixth Mainds. With this technique, Lu Yin had managed to convince both Wang Yi and Shang Qing into believing that the illusion affecting them had been real. Even in the Perennial World, Night¡¯s End, Daybreak was a top-tier technique, so there was no way for Liu Ke to resist it.

    Also, it had to be mentioned that Liu Ke had beenpletely unprepared for Lu Yin to attack with an illusion, as otherwise Liu Ke would not have broken so easily.

    "Thank you, Senior, for allowing this junior to take action. You have this junior¡¯s gratitude.¡± Lu Yin bowed to the old man. The moment that Lu Yin had taken action against Liu Ke, several of the Liu family¡¯s powerhouses had moved to stop him, but Elder Song had stopped all of them. The old man greatly admired Lu Yin, but the other thing was that he also wanted to uncover the truth of the matter.

    There was a terrible expression on Elder Song''s face. "That one¡¯s not family, but scum. Our family was not strict enough. Even as he spoke, his sharp eyes swept over Liu Ke, and the Cruiser dropped dead on the spot.

    Lu Yin''s heart lurched. He had expected the Liu family to agree to Liu Ke¡¯s arrest, and had not expected them to settle the matter so decisively. Did this count as himpleting his mission or not?

    Elder Song left, his moodpletely ruined.

    The other nearby members of the Liu family stared at Lu Yin with unfriendly eyes, though no one said much. It had turned out to be true that Liu Ke had been a traitor. There was no denying this. They could not hold this matter against the Fourteenth Gate, as holding a grudge over a traitor would be ridiculous.

    "Brother Long, allow me to see you out," Zhang Dingtian offered.

    Lu Yin nodded. He then turned to face the Sword Monument and bowed to it once again. "Junior has offended this family."

    He then turned and followed Zhang Dingtian along the path they had taken to reach the Sword Monument.

    It was only after they had moved quite far away from the Sword Monument that Zhang Dingtian spoke up, "Actually, Liu Ke wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape from the moment you spoke his name. Your usation guaranteed that the Liu family would have interrogated him.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "I only just joined the Fourteenth Gate! My first assignment shouldn¡¯t have been so difficult."

    Zhang Dingtianmented, "You do realize that you¡¯ll never be allowed to observe the Sword Monument again because of what just happened, right?"

    Lu Yin had already mentally prepared himself for such an oue. Life was full of sacrifices. If this sacrifice allowed him toplete his mission and win the favor of themander of the Fourteenth Gate, it would mean that he would have a much easier time in the future. Also, he had felt that he might have another opportunity far in the future. An easier time in the future far outweighed this opportunity at hand.

    The two did not say much more, and before long, they reached the line marking 100,000 miles away from the Sword Monument. Past this line, there were countless people kneeling in worship. Lu Yin vaguely heardments about people seeing a light from the direction of the Sword Monument.

    After the two proceeded a bit further, Lu Yin saw a massive creature off in the distance, as well as Long Kui, who was already staring at Lu Yin. He turned to Zhang Dingtian. "Brother Zhang, I have to leave now."

    Zhang Dingtian nodded. "Brother Long, I wish you safe travels."

    Lu Yin nodded and watched as Zhang Dingtian returned.

    It was not long before Lu Yin was on Gui¡¯s back as the beast flew into the distance. They were making their way towards White Mountain.

    Lu Yin could not return to the Yinshan District since he had already joined the Fourteenth Gate. The only ce he could return to was White Mountain, even if Long Xi was not there.

    As they flew through the sky, Lu Yin shared what had happened in front of the Sword Monument. Since everything had been witnessed by many people, it would be easy for the White Dragon n to learn of what had happened, so there was no need for Lu Yin to try to hide anything.

    "You actually were able to use an illusion technique that worked on a traitor? Those people are trained to resist spiritual force techniques, especially someone like Liu Ke who had been the only traitor hidden within the Liu family. Illusions from an Enlighter who is on the verge of bing an Envoy wouldn¡¯t have been enough to affect him, so how did you manage to do so?" Long Kui was surprised.

    Lu Yin had already considered what exnation he would give on his way back to Elder Long Kui. He felt a wave of gratitude towards Guan Yun, as the Redback¡¯s memories had let Lu Yin learn about the existence of a certain person within the Perennial World. The person who Guan Yun had most admired had been the legendary Kui Luo, who was a top powerhouse, who also happened to be a pinnacle expert when it came to spiritual force.

    "Has elder investigated for Long Tian how I managed to be a Hunter?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. This seemed to be a change in topic to somethingpletely irrelevant to Lu Yin¡¯s illusion technique.

    Long Kui''s eyes shed, but he did not refuse to answer. "I looked into the matter, but I couldn''t learn anything."

    Lu Yin smiled. "An average member of the White Dragon n from a branch family actually managed to be a Hunter at a young age, and his physical strength is not bad. He also has a domain that canpare to those of some of the geniuses of the main branch of the n. This is logically impossible, right?"

    Long Kui stayed silent.

    "Actually, I received my cultivation technique from a person, and it¡¯s someone I¡¯m sure Elder Long Kui must have heard of before: Kui Luo," Lu Yin said quietly.

    Long Kui was startled badly enough that even Gui froze, and the beast¡¯s two heads turned to stare at Lu Yin in astonishment.

    "Kui Luo? Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?" Long Kui shouted.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo. For some unknown reason, he left a part of his inheritance near Dalian Mountain, and I happened to stumble upon it. The illusion technique that trapped Liu Ke is something that I received from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, as well as my physical training and domain cultivation. Everythinges from what I received from that inheritance. Unfortunately, that inheritance wascking, so I was only able to reach this level.¡±

    Long Kui''s pupils fluctuated between shrinking and dting; Kui Luo! He was one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors in the Perennial World, and his reputation matched his strength.

    He was a powerhouse who specialized in spiritual force attacks and techniques, as well as illusions. It was unknown what the expert had gone through in his youth, but there seemed to be some problems with the powerhouse¡¯s behavior. There were times when he would be ruthless and emotionless, while other times he would act like a child. He had left inheritances that offered battle techniques and cultivation techniques, and they were even able to attract people from the four ruling powers, but these inheritances always ended in death.

    Kui Luo was a legend in the Perennial World, but he was also the poster child for mental instability.

    "You actually inherited something from Kui Luo?" Long Kui was slow to return to his senses.

    Lu Yin nodded. He knew that such a im was nonsense, but there was no one who could prove that it was a lie. The most important thing for this story was the information spread by the four ruling powers. They all acknowledged Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo as mentally unstable, and so everyone actively worked to avoid him. It was considered unlucky to meet this elder, and no one wanted to get involved with him.

    Not even Kui Luo''s own son would ever admit to any sort of connection with the infamous expert. Lu Yin had deliberately revealed that he had received an inheritance from Kui Luo, as it was somewhat unbelievable to people, but he was universally shunned, and his reputation made Lu Yin¡¯s story usible.

    The more shocking this story was for Long Kui, the more likely he would believe it, and the same was true of others as well.

    If Lu Yin had imed to have obtained an inheritance from anyone else, Long Kui would not have believed it. But how could there be such a fantastic coincidence? Even if Long Kui did not believe that Long Qi had received Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, he still had to believe it. It wasmon sense that no one wanted to be associated with Kui Luo.

    Things fell silent between the two men, and Lu Yin was clearly able to sense Long Kui¡¯s strange reaction, though he was not able to determine just how strange it was.

    There was nothing Lu Yin could do about his situation. Once this story spread to other people, they would believe that he had received Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, his reputation would be ruined, but it would still be better than being discovered as a trespasser.

    Also, while Lu Yin imed to have received a bit of Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, he was not iming to be the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s disciple, so it was the worst situation. Besides, the White Dragon n would not allow Lu Yin¡¯s reputation to bepletely destroyed.

    Lu Yin assumed that Long Kui had already reported the events that had yed out at the Sword Monument to Long Xi, and possibly even Long Tian. Lu Yin was just waiting to receive a call from the White Dragon n and the Fourteenth Gate.

    He actually did not even know where to submit a report of what had happened for it to be sent to the Fourteenth Gate.

    A dayter, hismunication crystals vibrated, and Lu Yin looked down to see that Long Xi was calling him, so he answered.

    Her image appeared, and she looked at Lu Yin with a strange expression.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I really didn¡¯t want to say anything about it, but I didn¡¯t have any choice but to reveal it. Can you help me keep this matter a secret?"

    Long Xi frowned. "How much were you able to receive from Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance?"

    Lu Yin helplessly replied, "Only enough to be a Hunter."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1393: Flying Armor Pass

    Chapter 1393: Flying Armor Pass

    Long Xi felt quite the headache. The longer she looked at Long Qi, the worse her headache became. He had originally been a trickster, and he had done nothing but cause her more problems from that moment on. Now, he was revealing that he had a connection to one of the most notorious figures in the entire Perennial World! If word of this ever leaked out, the White Dragon n would be a joke.

    "You have to remember that you can never say anything about this matter to anyone in the future. Not anyone, no matter who they are!" Long Xi shouted.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, I understand. I¡¯ll obey perfectly."

    Long Xi¡¯s head ached even worse when she heard Lu Yin¡¯s response. Every time he had said such words to her, disaster had soon followed. "There are many people who¡¯ve found out about you receiving three inheritances from the Sword Monument, and it¡¯s known that you received an inheritance rted to spiritual force. It came from the Sword Monument, right?"

    Lu Yin blinked. He had wanted to use this excuse before, but had felt that it would be absurd to im to have received so much from the Sword Monument, so he had said nothing about it. ¡°Alright."

    "What about your match with Liu Hao?" Long Xi looked at Lu Yin, her eyes bright. The husband who she had believed to be useless had suddenly radiated a brilliance that had shone over the entire Perennial World. He had spent six days receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument, which was a record that surpassed even that woman. This matter had created waves even in the Higher Realm, and it had made the White Dragon n look wonderful.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "He¡¯s strong. Very powerful."

    "Bullshit!" Long Xi could not keep herself from cussing.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I''m not that bad! If my cultivation was enough, I might be able to match even you."

    Long Xi''s eyes were radiant, which made her amber eyes even more beautiful than normal. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you soon, and I¡¯ll test your strength. If it¡¯s good enough, I can see about getting you to a Junior Progenitor with me."

    Junior Progenitor? Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, while also secretly thrilled. He very much wanted to go to a Junior Progenitor; because there was a vast amount of resources there. They weres that the rulers of the Perennial World had put together to allow those who had received the title of Junior Progenitor to increase their cultivation with the resources there. These Junior Progenitors were allowed to select powerful peers to apany them to the Dominion Realm.

    There were four Junior Progenitors, so there were four Junior Progenitors. Things would be quite lively when the Junior Progenitors selected theirpanions for their different parties. Many youths would fight hard for this chance, despite the grave dangers and low sess rates of the trips to the Dominion Realm.

    "Have you been given another mission by the Fourteenth Gate?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not yet."

    "Let me know as soon as possible when you¡¯re issued any tasks. I¡¯ll remind you again that everything you do not only reflects on you, but also the entire White Dragon n," Long Xi sternly stated as her expressionpletely changed.

    Lu Yin immediately agreed.

    At the same time that Lu Yin was talking with Long Xi, Long Tian was trying his best to contact the Gate Master of the Fourteenth Gate, but unfortunately for Long Tian, the Gate Masterpletely ignored him.

    Long Tian was infuriated. "Even Qing Chen, the supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates isn¡¯t so disrespectful!"

    No matter how many times Long Tian reached out, Xiao would not ept any call.

    A bit after Lu Yin¡¯s call with Long Xi ended, his Channeling Stone vibrated. It was a message from themander of the Fourteenth Gate: ¡°Flying Armored Pass. See Guo Shan.¡±

    There were only six words to inform Lu Yin of his next mission.

    Lu Yin''s face went pale, and he looked up. "Elder, please head towards Flying Armor Pass."

    Long Kui was surprised. "Another mission from the Fourteenth Gate?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The beast immediately changed direction, and Long Kuimented, ¡°It will be about twelve days for us to get to Flying Armor Pass."

    "Is Elder quite familiar with Flying Armor Pass?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Kui replied in a low voice, "Flying Armor Pass is a special ce. Thend there is like a cauldron, and it¡¯s the ce where many powerhouses worship the ancient ancestors. Since there are many Envoys and other experts, it¡¯s also a very chaotic ce that has endured countless tribtions, which means that it¡¯s one of the very few ces in the entire Perennial World where you can find tribtion crystals. You should already know how valuable those crystals are, as even the four ruling powers only have a few tribtion crystals.

    "That''s also why that ce is constantly fought over. Flying Armor Pass has been controlled by the White Dragon n for almost a hundred years, and if the Fourteenth Gate is sending you there, then they probably want to take advantage of your identity in the n."

    Tribtion crystals? Lu Yin knew nothing about these things, as he had never heard anyone mention them, and Guan Yun¡¯s memories had been as vast as a sea, so Lu Yin had only glimpsed a small portion of them. However, he also could not ask anything about these tribtion crystals, as they were apparentlymon knowledge!

    "Things are not that peaceful even within the White Dragon n, and there is also always a bit of friction between the more powerful families within the n. Don¡¯t be reckless when we get to Flying Armor Pass. You have to keep in mind that you are first a member of my White Dragon n, and then a member of the Fourteenth Gate." Long Kui made sure to carefully remind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "I understand."

    Judging by the way the Fourteenth Gate generally handled matters, Lu Yin should receive his reward for exposing Liu Ke once he arrived in Flying Armor Pass. While Lu Yin had not technically seeded in arresting Liu Ke, the traitor had been exposed by Lu Yin, so he should receive credit for the matter. Still, he had no idea what his reward would be.

    Long Kui had no expectations for Lu Yin with this next assignment, but since the Fourteenth Gate had sent him to Flying Armor pass, so what was the meaning behind this? Was there a traitor there? If that was the case, things would be troublesome, as the other rop powers would seize this opportunity to make another y for Flying Armor Pass.

    Realizing this, Long Kui immediately contacted the n. This was a matter that was too big for Long Xi or even Long Tian to handle.

    ***

    Just ten days after Lu Yin had left the Sword Monument, a slender, beautiful woman appeared 100,000 miles away from the Sword Monument, where she waited quietly.

    Zhang Dingtian soon arrived to meet her. "Miss Yu Chen?"

    Yu Chen had arrived in person to visit the Liu family. She had only one objective for this visit: to convince Liu Hao to support Bai Shaohong when he traveled to the Dominion Realm.

    "Brother Zhang, I¡¯ve heard of you for a long time. You joined the Liu family as a sword cultivator, yet eventually epted Master Yijian as your master. Such a change had almost never happened throughout the ages." Yu Chen smiled, her eyes revealing her admiration.

    Everyone, no matter who they were, would feel at ease around Yu Chen, as she had a very rxing temperament.

    "I simply was lucky. Please." Zhang Dingtian gestured for Yu Chen to proceed into the Liu family¡¯s territory, his face somber.

    Only a single day after Yu Chen arrived at the Sword Monument, a representative of the Wang family arrived. They intended to ask Liu Hao to join Wang Su during the trip to the Dominion Realm. Naturally, representatives of the White Dragon n and Shenwu''s Sky also appeared.

    There were many other powerhouses in the same generation as the Junior Progenitors, but there were few who were powerful enough that the Junior Progenitors felt would be able to offer any help in the Dominion Realm. The Liu family was famous for their mastery of the sword, as well as their righteousness. The family had an excellent reputation. Thus, Liu Hao had naturally be a target for the four Junior Progenitors, and was currently being treated as apetition by the four Junior Progenitors.

    Liu Hao confronted Yu Chen face to face. After listening to Yu Chen''s presentation, he casually said, ¡°You should already know how my Liu family feels about the four ruling powers, so what gave you the confidence to approach me for support?"

    Yu Chen smiled and replied, "It¡¯s not about the four ruling powers, or even Junior Progenitor Bai, but for yourself. Brother Liu. Given the Liu family¡¯s ability, they can help you open the bottom meridian point at best, but you probably won¡¯t be able to open the middle meridian point in your fingers , let alone the upper meridian¡¯s wisdom point. However, if Brother Liu is willing to help Junior Progenitor Bai in the Dominion Realm, my Celestial Frost Sect is willing to get you to breakthrough the middle meridian point.¡±

    Liu Hao could not help being impressed. "As expected, the Celestial Frost Sect is incredibly generous. Even after countless years passing, there are still enough resources left to get an outsider like me past the middle m point."

    Yu Chen answered in a helpless tone, "This little sister had also hoped to pass the middle finger, but my cultivation has not improved quickly enough. My Junior Progenitor¡¯s trip to the Dominion Realm is too important, and it¡¯s also rted to opening meridians, so I can only suppress my disappointment and devote thest of the resources over to Brother Liu, if you might be willing?"

    Liu Hao did not answer.

    Yu Chen smiled. "It¡¯s also possible that Shenwu''s Sky, the White Dragon n, or the Wang family could help Brother Liu get past the middle meridian point, but Brother Liu should never forget that the higher levels of this Perennial World are not safe. The most secure path is to follow the strongest, and death always urs in the Dominion Realm."

    Liu Hao frowned. "Is Miss Yu Chen threatening me?"

    Yu Chen smiled. "I wouldn¡¯t dare. I would simply hate to see Brother Liu end up as Junior Progenitor Bai¡¯s enemy. I¡¯m not only sharing the wishes of Junior Progenitor Bai, but also that person¡¯s wishes."

    A trace of fear flickered through Liu Hao''s eyes. He knew who that person was. The image of a certain woman appeared in his mind. She had a matchless elegance, and was also domineering and awe-inspiring. She had already suppressed the current era.

    "Allow me to consider this offer," Liu Hao said.

    Yu Chen smiled. "Of course. I know that Brother Liu will end up making the right choice."

    Yu Chen then bade her goodbyes and left.

    Right after Yu Chen left, the Wang family¡¯s representative arrived to petition Liu Hao¡¯s support. This person was a middle-aged man, and he was one of the Wang family¡¯s elders. He was surprised to see that Yu Chen had made the trip on behalf of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Yu Chen smiled at the man, but simply left without showing any hint of hesitation. In fact, she did not even look towards the Sword Monument.

    A young girl made her way over from far away from the Sword Monument. She was beautiful and energetic. She was Xia Taili, and she had traveled to the Liu family on behalf of Shenwu''s Sky to ask Liu Hao to apany Xia Shenfei to the Dominion Realm.

    The members of the Liu family were renowned for their honest character, and with Liu Hao¡¯s strength, he was able to gain the attention of all four of the ruling powers.

    Yu Chen and Xia Taili moved closer and closer to each other, and they eventually saw the other. However, neither showed any surprise.

    Xia Taili shed a defiant smile towards Yu Chen, while Yu Chen maintained a delicate smile that gave her an elegant and beautiful appearance.

    Xia Taili grew upset at Yu Chen¡¯s response. This woman was someone who even Xia Taili¡¯s brother was infatuated with, despite the fact that the woman was nothing but a maid. "Hey, based on our statuses, you should greet me with a bow!"

    Yu Chen replied quietly, ¡°Very well.¡±

    With that, she truly did bow to Xia Taili. ¡°Maid Yu Chen greets Princess Taili."

    Xia Taili became even more upset. This woman was able to act subservient in such a ready and graceful manner that it felt like Xia Taili was being mocked. ¡°Hmph! I hate this!¡±

    The young girl then picked up her pace as she walked towards the Sword Monument.

    However, just when Xia Taili passed by Yu Chen, Yu Chen¡¯s voice entered the girl¡¯s ears, "How are Big Brother Shenfei¡¯s preparations going for the trip to the Dominion Realm? He has two people from the Tai generational name, and another from the Lin generational name, no?"

    Xia Taili snorted. "You think it¡¯s a done deal that Liu Hao will go with Bai Shaohong? Stop dreaming! Your Celestial Frost Sect was the one to start things back then, so it would be strange for the Liu family to offer you any sort of assistance at all."

    Yu Chen smiled. "There are no absolutes. Liu Hao has to think of what¡¯s best for himself, as well as what¡¯s best for the Liu family. The flow of the universe is impossible to change."

    "What¡¯s supposed to be the flow of the universe? Your Celestial Frost Sect? That¡¯s just narcissism." Xia Taili rolled her eyes. She no longer wanted to banter with Yu Chen, and she was just about to leave, but suddenly a tremendous amount of sword qi shot into the air before dissipating.

    The two women looked over in amazement to see a woman who stood holding a sword. There was a cultivator from the Liu family copsing in front of the woman. It was Liu Lu.

    Liu Lu fell to his knees and looked up at the woman before him. She had challenged him out of nowhere, and then had defeated him with a single move of her sword. She had used an invisible attack to strike directly at his heart. This was the second time he had felt such utter defeat.

    Both Yu Chen and Xia Taili were familiar with Liu Lu, as the Liu family had few members, so their powerhouses were all known. Both of the women were shocked to see that Liu Lu had been defeated in a single move.

    The swordswoman was Liu Tianmu.

    "Where did you learn such a sword technique?" Liu Lu asked in a loud voice. He waspletely confused.

    Liu Tianmu casually replied, "I received it when observing the Sword Monument."

    Liu Lu almost spat out blood, and he could no longer keep a firm grip on his sword.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1394: Powerhouses From Various Factions

    <h4>Chapter 1394: Powerhouses From Various Factions</h4>

    After Liu Tianmu gave her curt exnation, she turned towards Yu Chen and Xia Taili. Sword qi swirled around the two women, and it seemed like Liu Tianmu was about to attack.

    Yu Chen''s eyes shed as she smiled. "Might I ask for Sister¡¯s name?"

    "Liu Tianmu."

    "Do you have any interest in visiting the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor?" Yu Chen asked.

    Xia Taili quickly butted in, "Don''t go to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor! Go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Progenitor! My oldest brother is Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei."

    Yu Chen did not bother arguing with the girl. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s name rang loud throughout the Perennial World, and it was a ce everyone should want to go, so there was no need to push anyone who was uninterested.

    "If Sisteres to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, you might gain the opportunity to travel to the Dominion Realm with our Junior Progenitor and leave with your life. Goodbye then," Yu Chen spoke in a light tone before simply leaving.

    Xia Taili muttered, "Why are you acting nervous like everyone¡¯s staring at you? You don¡¯t have any breasts or butt."

    She then eagerly looked over at Liu Tianmu. "Com¡¯on, Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor! My big brother likes you a lot! Wait, no, it wasn¡¯t supposed to sound like that. It¡¯s not that kind of like. I mean, you get what I was saying?"

    Liu Tianmu was naturally indifferent to most things, so she just nodded. "I got it."

    Xia Taili blinked; she got it? Xia Taili herself had not understood what she had been saying! However, since childhood, Liu Tianmu had possessed a personality that others found difficult to interact with, so Xia Taili did not know how to continue the conversation.

    The Wang family¡¯s elder was already approaching from the other side, and Xia Taili noticed the man. She quickly reminded Liu Tianmu, "Remember, go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor! My brother will definitely choose you."

    When the two werepared, Liu Hao was clearly the better choice over Liu Tianmu. If Liu Hao was willing to join a team, he would immediately be qualified to make the trip to the Dominion Realm, while Liu Tianmu would need to pass through the selection process on a Junior Progenitor.

    Though she had already attracted the attention of the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Liu Tianmu did not feel like she had done enough, so she quickly challenged Liu Lu once more when the Wang family¡¯s elder was passing by. Liu Lu was speechless, but it was also clear that Liu Tianmu wanted to get the attention of the Junior Progenitors. Still, was it impossible for her to challenge someone else? She had already broken his sword.

    Xia Taili soon left the Sword Monument, and she did not seek out Liu Tianmu again before leaving.

    However, Liu Hao soon sought out Liu Tianmu. "Do you want to go to the Dominion Realm?"

    Liu Tianmu casually replied, "That was my n."

    Liu Hao was not surprised. "The Dominion Realm holds humanity¡¯s legacies going back to ancient times, and it¡¯s easy to be lucky enough to stumble upon valuable resources, so I get why you want to go. Have you decided which of the Junior Progenitors you¡¯d like to follow?"

    Liu Tianmu shook her head.

    Liu Hao fell into thought for a bit. "While the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Shaohong seems easy-going, he¡¯spletely ruthless. He keeps his thoughts hidden and is adept at taking advantage of people. Still, he is also stronger than his peers, and no one knows just how strong he is, and he¡¯s supported by his sister who practically runs the Perennial World.

    "Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Xia Shenfei is an honest person, but he also likes to drink. When he drinks too much, he goes nuts and he often can¡¯t distinguish between his enemies and allies. Still, his character is guaranteed.

    "The Wang family Wang Su is a woman as indifferent to people as you. She has no friends, and no one seems to know what she¡¯s thinking.

    "The White Dragon n¡¯s Long Tian is close to Bai Shaohong. He¡¯s a cold person, and doesn¡¯t seem to even care for the members of his own n. He doesn¡¯t show any sort of favoritism to them. Still, he¡¯s more stubborn than Bai Shaohong."

    Liu Tianmu continued to quietly listen, and Liu Hao finally said, "You¡¯re part of my Liu family, and your obsession with pursuing the path of the sword is something etched into your bones. You¡¯re someone chasing after the peak of the sword, but you have no skill when ites to scheming and plotting. In that case, if you want to go to the Dominion Realm, it would be best for you to try to go with Xia Shenfei, and keep Wang Su as your second choice."

    "Understood. Thank you," Liu Tianmu said calmly.

    After Liu Hao was scouted, Seed Garden¡¯s Nong Sanniang, a descendant of the Nong family, also received invitations. The Liu family was known for their persistence, while the Nong family were pure-hearted, so much that it rendered others speechless. There were few people in the Perennial World who were able to understand that farming could also improve the future.

    Even Yu Chen, despite her peerless insight, felt lost when trying tomunicate with Nong Sanniang. No one was able to say something arrogant when standing in the field across from a peasant woman.

    Nong Sanniang was an average-looking woman who, at best, could be referred to as delicate. She was dressedpletely like a peasant woman, and she held a hoe in one hand while digging at the ground with it again, and again, and again.

    Nong Lie stood next to the woman. He had a white cloth over his head that he used to wipe off his sweat when he was tired. He acted like Yu Chen and the other people standing outside of the fieldwere nothing but air.

    "Hey, Sanniang! Why don¡¯t you help my big brother in the Dominion Realm? There are beautiful mountains, water, and fields there that you can farm!" Xia Taili shouted.

    Elsewhere in the field, Guo began jumping up and down much more cheerfully after hearing Xia Taili''s voice, and the strange fruit let out little yiyiyis.

    The same elder from the Wang family was also present. "Our Junior Progenitor wishes to see you once more and travel with you to the Dominion Realm."

    Yu Chen spoke up, "My Celestial Frost Sect is willing to help you open your middle meridian point."

    A blunt offer of benefits was frequently the most attractive.

    Nong Lie straightened up. He looked tired, and his voice sounded exhausted. ¡°"Sister, have you decided? Are you going or not?"

    Nong Sanniang drank a bit of water and moved her hoe to rest on her shoulder before turning to look at the three people at the edge of the field. "I¡¯m going, definitely! I already decided that. As for you, you can go or stay here and help with the farmwork. Ya know, a lot of the greenery here in the Perennial World gets hurt, and that ain¡¯t good for the Mother Tree."

    Yu Chen was getting frustrated. It was rare for her to be unable to manipte a person, but there was nothing she could do with Nong Sanniang. Yu Chen just could not fathom what went through this woman¡¯s mind. From the moment Yu Chen had first met Nong Sanniang, the woman had focused on nothing but farming, but it was impossible to know just what she was farming.

    Xia Taili was intrigued, and her eyes lit up. "Can I farm, too? I''m tired of traveling, and I want to y!"

    Nong Sanniang smiled as she replied, "Farming ain¡¯t no joke, you might sprain a muscle or two."

    "I''m a cultivator!" Xia Taili clenched a fist as she stepped into the field.

    Elsewhere in Seed Garden, there was a field of golden wheat nted in a pattern that formed several diagrams when viewed from afar in the crops. There was a woman in the field struggling to harvest the field, and there were strange creatures that would asionally pop up before running away. It painted a picturesque view, as though something from a scroll. The woman was Qiu Shi.

    ***

    In another part of the Middle Realm, inside the Nest, there was a massive creature with a power level of more than 400,000 that had raised up a wed paw to grab at something. Standing outside was a sinister looking old hag who muttered, ¡°Eat up, eat up. After you¡¯re done feasting you will need to fly for your life.¡± However, there was a sudden stream of qi that wrapped around the creature, and then there was a wail as the beast copsed.

    There was an old woman outside of the Nest, and her expression drastically changed. ¡°My precious!¡±

    She looked up, focusing her anger-filled eyes onto the Nest before charging towards it. ¡°Who did it? You dared to kill my pet? Get out here!¡±

    As soon as she rushed in, she was faced with a pair of cruel and bloodthirsty eyes. The Nest was the worst prison in the Middle Realm, and was treated as a dining table l by countless beasts. The entire ce was filled with sounds that seemed much the same as whatmbs made when they were being ughtered.

    The woman was rushing straight for the top of the Nest.

    This woman was not weak, and she was on the verge of bing an Envoy, but she was not able to break through.

    It was possible to enter the Nest, but impossible to leave.

    "You¡¯re the one behind that attack just? You¡¯re called Shang Qing, right?"

    "This junior is Shang Qing."

    "Come with me. You¡¯re getting a chance, and actually, so am I, hahahaha."

    "Yes, Senior."

    ***

    There was a massive region of the Higher Realm that had a unique terrain. There were mountains and rivers, and the rivers looked like thorns that poked up into the sky. There was no light in the sky in this ce, though there was a hideous monster that seemed to have the form of a dragon bound here. This ce was Shenwu''s Sky.

    There were nine iparably huge chain links between the ground and the sky that surrounded Shenwu''s Sky. Directly above Shenwu¡¯s sky was a ferocious dragon that was bound by chains and its tail was pierced to the ground by a broken de.

    One day, an elegant-looking young man arrived at Shenwu''s Sky. He held an open fan, and was looking up into the sky. ¡°It shocks me each time I see this imprisoned Jiao."

    Several figures approached quickly from the distance, and they surrounded the young man. The man in the middle of the new arrivals quietly said, ¡°Wu Taibai, you dare return after sneaking away? This is no different than betrayal!"

    The elegant-looking young man was Wu Taibai. He was actually the young master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Tian generation, and was equally as famous as Xia Taili. He was someone who stood second only to Xia Shenfei, who was a peerless powerhouse.

    Wu Taibai looked around. "I bring some important news that¡¯s enough to forgive my crimes."

    "Ignore his nonsense! Arrest him and force him to talk-¡±

    Before the man could finish speaking, Wu Taibai smacked the man away. Wu Taibai¡¯s eyes were cold as he folded his fan and put it away. ¡°I am Wu Taibai, and even Xia Shenfei needs to be polite to me! When did trash like you had the audacity to speak to me in this manner!!"

    Wu Taibai¡¯s figure then shed as he continued on towards the interior of Shenwu''s Sky.

    ***

    More and more powerhouses revealed themselves as the time for the Junior Progenitors¡¯ trip to the Dominion Realm approached. All of these people wanted to get the chance to follow a Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm.

    While the Dominion Realm was incredibly dangerous, it also held unmatched opportunities. Many of the great families in the Perennial World had been lifted up by ancestors who had found and won opportunities in the Dominion Realm. If anyone managed to be invited to support the Junior Progenitors, their future would end uppletely changed.

    In order to draw a Junior Progenitor¡¯s attention, a person had to have been famous throughout the Perennial World for a long time, or they had to make their way to a Junior Progenitor and then distinguish themselves from the others attempting the same thing. However only a few people would be selected from among those whopeted on the Junior Progenitors, as the Junior Progenitors would have already decided upon most of their supporters.

    Long Kui kept a close eye on the news from themunication crystal as he sat on Gui¡¯s back. The trip to the Dominion Realm was something that mattered to everyone, and as long as a Junior Progenitor managed to break through the upper meridian¡¯s wisdom point and seed in the Dominion Realm, they would have a high likelihood of bing a Progenitor in the future.

    One of the Junior Progenitors did not have enough people who would apany him to the Dominion Realm. He had already decided upon Princess Long Xi, but there were still two more slots that he did not know how he would fill.

    Lu Yin was also thinking about the Dominion Realm, and was trying toe up with a way to get there.

    Far away, there were gray mountains that together formed the shape of a tripod. Long Kui looked up and quietly said, ¡°We¡¯re about to arrive at Flying Armor Pass, which is where my White Dragon n¡¯s Flying Armor Troops is stationed. They¡¯re led by Long Xian, who holds a grudge against the main family, which is why he¡¯s been stationed here. This is something that outsiders don¡¯t know about, and the Fourteenth Gate shouldn¡¯t be aware of, either. If you want to investigate things here, it would be better for you to do so as an outsider and a stranger than as the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family.

    "Remember, you are a member of the White Dragon n first, and then a member of the Fourteenth Gate."

    This was the second time that Lu Yin was hearing this reminder. The first time, he had basically ignored it, but this time, Lu Yin focused on Long Kui and saw that the Envoy was staring intently at Lu Yin.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1395: Stellular Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 1395: Stellr Tribtion</h4>

    When Lu Yin saw Long Kui''s expression, a thought shed through his mind. The elder was trying to remind Lu Yin to keep an eye closed for the duration of this mission. Even if he uncovered anything, he would need to stay silent about it in order to not ruin the White Dragon n¡¯s reputation. However, this was also not anything that could be said aloud, which was why Long Kui was reminding Lu Yin of his status.

    "Do you understand?" Long Kui pressed.

    Lu Yin replied, "I understand."

    "Are you sure?"

    "Absolutely."

    Long Kui nodded, and his face rxed. This child was not too stupid.

    There were certain things that could not be said, lest they prove true. This was particrly true when it came to Humility''s Gate and traitors. After all, these two organizations concerned the entire human race, and not every ancestor was as much of a misfit as the Liu family¡¯s ancestor.

    One dayter, Gui had flown into the gray mountain range that surrounded Flying Armor Pass. Half a day had already passed from when they had encountered a patrol from the Flying Armor Troops, which had bowed to Long Kui without approaching.

    Gui was flying towards Flying Armor Pass in a normal fashion, when Long Kui shouted, "Stop."

    The giant beast froze, and then looked to the south with a bit of confusion, but that quickly changed to fear.

    Long Kui''s face had already grown solemn. "Let¡¯s go see."

    Gui changed directions and made his way south.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Elder, what''s wrong?"

    "Someone¡¯s undergoing a stellr tribtion," Long Kui said solemnly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, stellr tribtion? This sounded very familiar. Where had he heard it before? Wait, stellr tribtion? Tribtion crystals?

    "Do you know about the stellr tribtion?" Long Kui asked Lu Yin as he looked at the youth oddly.

    Lu Yin answered honestly, "I¡¯ve heard of it, but I don''t actually know anything at all about it."

    The sky suddenly changed far away, and the void warped before a vortex formed over it. It was like a massive monster that released roars in bursts and caused the entire void ro roil.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank as the star energy inside his body began to surge out of his control. Noticing that he could no longer control his own power, Lu Yin¡¯s hands began to tremble.

    "The universe is split into the visible universe, and the true universe. The visible universe is what we all see and live in, while the true universe is more pure. The biggest difference between Envoys and Enlighters is that Envoys have broken free of the visible universe and are able to touch and enter the true universe. The energy in the true universe is called stellr energy, and star energy is what spills over from stellr energy and is then used by people to cultivate. Yes

    "Once one bes an Envoy and is able toe in contact with the true universe, they are able to cultivate with the source of star energy: stellr energy. The true universe¡¯s source of stellr energy is not endless, so Envoys need to use their bodies as a vessel to store the stellr energy that they drag into the visible universe. By drawing a portion of the stellr energy from the true universe, the true universe will have one less portion of it. In order to protect its resources, the true universe will bring upon stellr tribtions to the cultivators who attempt to do so. Its goal is to destroy the vessel carrying the stellr energy.

    "And this is a stellr tribtion," Long Kui exined lightly.

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn of such a thing. So star energy was just energy leaked out from stellr energy? Lu Yin remembered that one time when he had confronted one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters, the powerhouse had simply dissolved Lu Yin¡¯s star energy with stellr energy, which had made anything that Lu Yin could do with star energypletely useless.

    As for the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin saw it as something like the rtionship between the Mother Tree and the monsters in the Lower Realm.

    One side nurtures, while the other destroys. It was a cycle of mutual growth and restraint. In this scenario, cultivators were like the Mother Tree, while the stellr tribtion was like the monsters. The purpose of the two was the same, which was to return the universe to its original state.

    This was how the universe continued the cycle of life.

    Gui stopped after Long Kui finished speaking, as the stellr tribtion in front of them had already fully formed.

    "Isn¡¯t it possible to simply avoid the stellr tribtion?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Kui shook his head. "That¡¯s not possible. The only option is to defend against it. The stellr tribtion senses the stellr energy vortex within a cultivator''s body, and the more stellr energy the vortex contains, the more terrifying the stellr tribtion. Also, the tribtion is able to sense if a powerhouse capable of resisting is nearby, and the power of the tribtion will then increase ordingly. Any stellr energy within range of the tribtion will be attacked, no matter who it belongs to."

    Lu Yin stared into the distance where he saw an old man with an expression of fury on his face as he roared up at the sky. There were numerous people watching the old man, but no one dared approach him.

    "Come on, stellr tribtion,e on! This old man will survive!" the old man roared before taking several weapons out of a cosmic ring. There were various defensive tools, as well as all kinds of strange items.

    The stellr tribtion twisted the void above the man¡¯s head, and the void broke before a swirling stream of energy fell down and struck at the old man.

    The old man went pale and roared in defiance. An impressive amount of star energy shot into the sky, and at the same time, nine lined battle force covered the man¡¯s hand. Combined with the star energy, the old man¡¯s palm strike was so powerful that Lu Yin did a double take. This old man was not a normal Enlighter.

    The stream of qi descending from the void struck the old man¡¯s hand, and the earth and sky exploded. The violent stream of qi shot out in all directions, and simultaneously crushed the old man down to the ground where his blood sttered around him. The vortex over the old man¡¯s head twisted and took a rope-like shape that entered the old man¡¯s body.

    "Each stellr tribtion is different, and no one knows what sort of tribtion they will have to face, but it will always appear in a form that the universe has already seen.¡± Long Kui¡¯s voice was solemn, as every expert who attempted to be an Envoy would have to suffer an stellr tribtion, as there was no escaping this disaster.

    Behind every ten Envoys who sessfully broke through, there might have been a hundred enlighters who were erased by the stellr tribtion.

    The old man shattered his cosmic ring and clutched a treasure that looked like a conch shell in his hand. At the same time, he was frantically trying to swallow a medicinal pill in an attempt to recover a bit.

    The rope-like vortex that had appeared during the stellr tribtion whipped towards the old man and he lifted a hand where a conch shell flew out, with a low echoing noise. The void was pushed back, and the tribtion was forced upwards. It acted in much the same way as the protective ring that Lu Yin had been given, and it had a power level of roughly 500,000.

    The rope-shaped vortex pulsed with the dull sound, and the sound gradually faded. The shape of the vortex then changed once more, and it took the shape of a spear that charged for the old man and stabbed through his body, pinning him to the ground.

    A wail was heard, and a woman cried as she raced for the old man. She looked to be his granddaughter.

    The old man had been pierced through, and could not survive. He bitterly looked over as his granddaughter ran towards him, and said bitterly, "Grandpa spent his whole life for this, yet still ended up dying to the tribtion. Silly child, don''t cultivate any longer. This cultivation path is wrong." After he finished speaking, his body was disintegrated by the spear andpletely disappeared.

    The woman finally arrived, but she was not even able to see her grandfather onest time. She saw nothing but empty space and a shattered cosmic ring on the ground.

    Long Kui shook his head and sighed. "Clearly that man was fully prepared, and he even had a defensive treasure the level of an Envoy to help him pass his tribtion, but unfortunately, his energy was too powerful and he stood too far above regr Enlighters, and so his preparations were not enough to keep him alive.¡±

    After speaking, Long Kui patted Lu Yin on the back. He then turned around and continued towards Flying Armor Pass.

    After Lu Yin heard Long Kui''sment, his back went cold.

    The strength of a stellr tribtion was determined by the amount of star energy within a person¡¯s body? That did not make any sense! Lu Yin had about 200 times the amount of star energy that a normal cultivator possessed, and not even the old man who had failed his tribtion had as much star energy as Lu Yin already possessed, and Lu Yin was still only a Hunter. How much star energy reserves would Lu Yin possess after bing an Enlighter? What about when he was trying to be an Envoy? It would be drastically more than that old man, and likely at least 200 times more.

    Lu Yin thought of the stellr tribtion, and then considered one 200 times more powerful than what he had just witnessed. He gulped. It seemed like the universe itself must hate him.

    "This is where peoplee to pass their stellr tribtions. After a certain amount of time passes, there will be tribtion crystals of different sizes forming in this ce. This is why the Flying Armor Pass has tribtion crystals. These tribtion crystals can help people open the lower meridian point, and the middle meridian point. This should let you understand the importance of Flying Armor Pass, and you have to be cautious while here." Long Kui could not stop himself from giving Lu Yin yet another reminder, which amply demonstrated the importance the man gave to Flying Armor Pass.

    Lu Yin was still caught up thinking about that terrifying tribtion he had just witnessed. A person¡¯s body would be instantly and utterly destroyed after they failed their tribtion.

    Undergoing a stellr tribtion did not only mean that a cultivator would be able to use the true universe¡¯s stellr energy, but also that the true universe would take back the stellr energy from a cultivator¡¯s body, and the two forces would be in constantpetition.

    It was not long before a quaint city appeared in Lu Yin''s vision. It was Flying Armor Pass.

    Gui stopped less than a hundred miles away from Flying Armor Pass. No one was allowed to freely enter the city, not even the White Dragon n¡¯s elders.

    Long Kui carelesslymented, "This is as far as I can take you. After all, you need toplete your mission for the Fourteenth Gate, and it would be inconvenient for me to intervene."

    "Thank you, Elder."

    "Try to stall with this mission. The Junior Progenitor will soon find a way for you to get back to Dragon Mountain in the Higher Realm," Long Kui said.

    Lu Yin nodded before jumping down to the ground.

    The gray dirt was extremely hard, and Lu Yin discovered that it wasparable to the hardness of natural minerals once he stepped on it. It seemed like this ce had been repeatedly refined by countless stellr tribtions.

    The entire gray earth was in the shape of a cauldron with three legs. The ancients had held an unusual obsession with cauldrons, and everything that had a connection to cauldrons was out of the ordinary.

    Lu Yin remembered the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. It had been a very long time since he hadst visited the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. He still wanted to acquire that battle technique that was known to be invincible, but unfortunately, he had no time to return for it.

    Flying Armor Pass was not somewhere that normal people could visit, so it was almost all cultivators in the city.

    The number of people rose the closer Lu Yin drew to the city.

    Thend opened up before him, and Lu Yin saw a majestic city. There were armies flying about patrolling the sky and the surface, as well as guards in the air to protect the city¡¯s gate.

    Even though he could not see runes in this universe, Lu Yin¡¯s control of star energy was able to tell him that Flying Armor Pass held an extraordinary aura, and it reminded him of a sourcebox array.

    This was a ce that was constantly fought over, and so any power that gained control of the city would naturally establish the strongest defenses possible.

    Lu Yin entered Flying Armor Pass, but had no idea as to how to find Guo Shan. However, he believed that Guo Shan must have some means of finding him instead. It would be rather amusing if the mission failed because neither was able to find the other.

    He ordered a few snacks in a restaurant, and then enjoyed them while gazing into the distance. He was able to see that far from Flying Armor Pass there were numerous cultivators digging in the ground, and all of them were holding simr tools. They were some sort of detector, and everyone was searching for tribtion crystals!

    Before long, an average-looking middle-aged man approached Lu Yin. "Little brother, can I sit here?"

    Lu Yin turned to look at the man who was smiling at him. The man had a kind-looking face, but his clothes were rather simple and sloppy. "Please, have a seat."

    The man sat down and looked at Lu Yin before introducing himself with a smile, "I¡¯m Guo Shan."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1396: Rewards

    <h4>Chapter 1396: Rewards</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Guo Shan in front of him, and politely replied, "Long Qi greets Senior."

    Guo Shan smiled. "I wasn¡¯t expecting Little Brother to get here so soon."

    "Should Junior have arrived quite a bitter?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Guo Shan replied, "I¡¯ll tell you this, Junior, every task should be dyed a bit, especially when ites to this Flying Armor Pass. This ce is not like other ces."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I was sent here because of my status."

    Guo Shan did not try to hide anything. "Not bad."

    "What¡¯s the mission?" Lu Yin asked.

    Guo Shan picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites of the food on the table. "Don''t worry too much about that. You have to make sure you¡¯re enjoying life first. I¡¯m someone who eats the sweet foods first, and saves the bitterness forter. Little Brother, youpleted yourst task very well, so let me give you the reward from Humility¡¯s Gate."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Thank you."

    Guo Shanughed. "You don¡¯t hold back at all!"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Humility''s Gate is big, and it has abundant resources, so why should I politely refuse my reward? It¡¯s better to ept such generosity with gratitude."

    Guo Shan smiled. "Yes, but unfortunately you¡¯re wrong about one thing; your reward isn¡¯t resources, but me."

    Lu Yin blinked, his facepletely nk.

    Guo Shan smiled. "Little Brother¡¯s domain is very powerful."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "It''s alright."

    Guo Shan nodded. "You caught it. Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s reward for you is for me to train you how to cultivate your domain."

    Lu Yin was temporarily stunned, as he had not expected this sort of reward. ¡°Could I ask how far Senior can train this junior?"

    Guo Shan thought for a moment. "I¡¯ve reached the spirit manifestation realm myself. No matter how talented you might be, that¡¯s as far as you can cultivate."

    "What is the spiritual transformation realm?"

    "Don''t worry about it. It¡¯s too annoying to talk about something so serious when you first meet someone. I¡¯ll show you around Flying Armor Pass first."

    As for Lu Yin, even if he had entered the city quietly, he had still attracted the attention of the Flying Armor Troops the moment he had arrived in the city.

    At the moment, there was an image of Lu Yin in Long Xian''s office in the Flying Armor Troops¡¯ headquarters.

    Long Xian seemed calm as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s picture, but his son, Long Ding, stood in front of the armymander, and looked decidedly unhappy. "Father, the princess really married this guy?"

    Long Xian answered lightly, "Yes, him. His name is Long Qi."

    "Hmph! What dog-shit luck," Long Ding said.

    Long Xian looked up. "He''s not lucky. We all gave up when the princess announced that she was marrying a branch family."

    Long Ding''s face froze. When Long Xi had called for a husband, everyone had been unwilling to offer up their sons, as they were afraid of the Celestial Frost Sect. Long Ding had no one to me for his loss, but he remained stubborn. "The Celestial Frost Sect won¡¯t give up. He¡¯ll die sooner orter."

    "Don''t underestimate him. Everyone first believed him to be some trash from a branch family, but he¡¯s been with Humility¡¯s Gate for only a few months, and he¡¯s been arresting traitors non-stop, and he even exposed the Huaiyuan gate master as a Redback, which allowed him to be transferred to the Fourteenth Gate. He spent six days receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument, which beats even Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s record, and he exposed a member of the Liu family as a traitor. This brat¡¯s quickly bing a legend," Long Xian exined.

    Long Ding answered in a cold voice, "It''s nothing more than luck. Once your child opens the lower meridian point, I¡¯ll be allowed to the Junior Progenitor and will then win the right to travel with our Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm, where I will find some Origin Matter. I¡¯ll open the middle or even the upper meridian point, and I¡¯ll have a chance to be a Progenitor in the future."

    Long Xian was not happy with Long Ding¡¯s response. While Long Ding had spoken easily, every single thing he had mentioned was a difficult feat to aplish, especially the trip to the Dominion Realm. Even a Junior Progenitor could die in that ce, not to mention someone like Long Ding. However, the trip was also crucial. Even if Long Ding did not manage to get any Origin Matter, he would still return with a closer rtionship with Junior Progenitor Long Tian, and that could only allow his status within the n to climb higher in the future.

    Long Xian considered everything.

    "Father, what did the n say about the mission that Long Qi received that sent him here to our Flying Armor Pass? Is there a traitor or a Redback here?" Long Ding asked.

    Long Xian frowned. "That¡¯s simply impossible. I only have the Flying Armor Troops in Flying Armor Pass, and who qualifies to be a Redback? As for traitors, that¡¯s also impossible."

    After remaining silent for a while, Long Xian waved a hand. "Okay, head out and practice. Since the Fourteenth Gate has sent someone to Flying Armor Pass, it means nothing good for us. You need to open the lower meridian point as soon as possible and reach out to the Junior Progenitor so that you can have a position on his team."

    "Yes, your son will take his leave."

    Inside Flying Armor Pass, Lu Yin and Guo Shan left the restaurant, and then Guan Shan led Lu Yin on a tour of the ancient, majestic city.

    Said to be majestic, in fact, it is not too spectacr. Lu Yin has seen Ye Wangxing, Honor Mountain, and many shocking scenes. This Flying Armor Pass can only be regarded as a city.

    "Don''t underestimate this city. The White Dragon n has their Flying Armor Troops here, as well as a very powerful sourcebox array.

    "Look around. This ce is all dark red, and the city¡¯s been destroyed multiple times since ancient days, and rebuilt just as many times. These are blood stains that are almost a hundred years old, and even though it was only a hundred years ago, it still looks like the entire city was stained with blood. The same thing happened in the past, which shows how cruel the fights for this ce are.

    "Take a look at that brick! It might look like a brick- Eh? Um, sorry, that¡¯s just a brick."

    ¡­

    Guo Shan led Lu Yin around all day and the tour continued into the night. Lu Yin was in no hurry, and even Long Xi suggested that Lu Yin stall for this mission. Also, there was no guarantee that Guo Shan was acting against the mission. Lu Yin just simply did not know.

    While they were walking, Guo Shan suddenly pushed Lu Yin to the side.

    Lu Yin instinctively resisted the push, and even if the push was unexpected, Lu Yin¡¯s incredible physical strength meant that Guo Shan was not able to move Lu Yin very far, and Lu Yin even raised a hand, ready to counterattack with a Vacuum Palm. ¡°Watch out! Assassins."

    Lu Yin moved a little ways away. The people in the area were giving the two men strange looks; one had just pushed the other away. There was something wrong with the two.

    Guo Shan¡¯s face was solemn, and he stared at the ground.

    Lu Yin followed the other man¡¯s gaze, but saw nothing more than a puddle of what looked to be some sort of green mud. "What do you mean there¡¯s an assassin?"

    Guo Shan pointed at the ground. "You know what that is?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. The green was clearly no poison, as if it was, some changes on the earth would be noticed.

    "This thing¡¯s called rindmill. Well, actually, this is called mill, and there¡¯s something else that¡¯s the rind. Each one¡¯s useless alone, but whenbined, they can numb your channels and slow you down. So, even if they¡¯re not fatal, what¡¯s going to happen when your mind and senses slow down," Guo Shan solemnly exined.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and his back went cold. This was a terrifying poison. Lu Yin did not fear being poisoned or a toxin that slowed his body, but this was something that could actually slow his mind. Even if he had a n to victory, it would be useless if his mind was too slow to implement it.

    There were people who would train certain motions until they became reflexes, and they became able to respond to things faster than the average person, but such abilities were useless when faced with this sort of toxin, as it was able to slow both the mind and the body, which meant that any reaction would be dyed no matter what.

    "So this is just mill?" Lu Yin asked.

    Guo Shan nodded and turned to look at Lu Yin with a serious expression. "Someone analyzed your behavior, and set things up for you to step in this mill first, and thenter would arrange for you to step in the rind, which would cause you to unwittingly be poisoned. After that, they would spring the attack and kill you. You¡¯ve been studied, and they¡¯ve already predicted your actions."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "Predicted?"

    Guo Shan nced around. "This assassin must be a domain master. He reflexively used his domain to predict your actions to make sure that you would step into both toxins. Even I didn¡¯t sense anything, which means they¡¯re powerful. They should be one of Realmless¡¯s assassins."

    A strong killing intent shed across Lu Yin''s eyes. Realmless assassins; they were after him again. They had attacked him the first time in the Lower Realm. Long Xi had been led away by one of the assassins, while the second had pretended to be dead and had then tried to sneak attack Lu Yin. Another assassination attempt had urred while they had been traveling, and this was the third attempt on Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    Also, the attacks were bing more bizarre, and it was bing much harder to notice things. It was no wonder Realmless was known as the most powerful assassination organization. Each time an attack failed, they not only sent a stronger assassin, but also one who employed a stranger method of attack.

    Lu Yin had been very careful all along. He no longer casually looked at anything, and yet he had still almost been attacked sessfully.

    However, he also did not understand. He was a member of the Fourteenth Gate, so even if Realmless was willing to target him, who would be bold enough to hire such a hit? Were they not afraid of the Fourteenth Gate¡¯s retaliation?

    Humility¡¯s Gate protected their own, and they frequently would not even observe the need for any evidence when it came to such protection. If a member of Humility¡¯s Gate was being targeted by assassins, Humility¡¯s Gate would absolutely respond.

    Since that was the case, how did Bai Shaohong have the courage to target Lu Yin with Realmless¡¯s assassins? Or was it someone else?

    "Looks like you¡¯ve made a lot of enemies. You can only me yourself for being too brilliant. You¡¯ve be too visible, and now you¡¯re like the rest of us. Normally, nobody will know anything when you expose a Redback, and so you don¡¯t get all the attention." Guo Shan shook his head and said.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Are you saying that a traitor or a Redback hired Realmless to kill me?"

    "Of course. You¡¯re part of the Fourteenth Gate. Our Commander is very protective of his underlings, so who would dare to target any of us? Even if someone wants to deal with you now, they couldn¡¯t do so by hiring an assassin; only a Redback would take that risk. A lot of powerhouses in the Fourteenth Gate have been assassinated," Guo Shan shared.

    "The Commander didn''t go after Realmless? Or track down the traitors and the Redbacks through the attack?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Guo Shan sighed. "Of course he took revenge, and he also destroyed many of Realmless¡¯s bases, but you have to realize that wherever there¡¯s light, there¡¯s also darkness. Even if Realmless is destroyed, another group of assassins will pop up. It¡¯s better to have a single, massive organization like Realmless. The bigger they be, the more cautious they be. They are very diligent about keeping their employers secret, and will not reveal anything even in death.¡±

    Lu Yin understood this. It was impossible for anyone topletely eradicate the darkness. Light and darkness always coexisted. If Realmless was wiped out, there was the potential for multiple organizations to emerge in the Perennial World, and that would lead to chaos.

    There were matters you needed to be cautious of, no matter how high you managed to climb. Lu Yin absolutely believed this to be true.

    "Let''s keep going. I can¡¯t find this assassin, but they won¡¯t have an easy time getting to you with me around. Your strength isn¡¯t enough to draw out the best assassins, and the pay and effort are not proportionate," Guo Shan stated beforeughing. ¡°Now you can see the benefits of being able to predict an enemy¡¯s attacks."

    Lu Yin nodded and respectfully said, "I¡¯ll have to trouble Senior for your guidance."

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1397: Tribulation Crystals

    <h4>Chapter 1397: Tribtion Crystals</h4>

    Somewhere in the Middle Realm, a pair of long, dark, narrow eyes appeared. "Assassination failed. Yourmissions for this job will be returned, or you can pay the price increase."

    "Price increase? Why? Just because you failed to kill him? Isn¡¯t your reputation the most important part of your organization? You failed to deliver on a job, so you just raise the price? Who¡¯s going to work with you in the future?"

    "There were two attempts to kill him before you hired us. Both attempts failed. With this third failure, the price has to go up."

    "Hmph! Sounds like the people who hired you before just gave up. You¡¯re trying to fleece me like a fat sheep."

    "Pay the increase, or give up on this job. Choose." The long, narrow eyes grew darker and darker.

    "Alright, I¡¯ll pay the difference, but you need toplete the job this time. As you know, I wasn¡¯t the one to provide you with the information for this hit, and you set the price on your own."

    ***

    Lu Yin had entered Flying Armor Pass on his own to search for Guo Shan. Meanwhile, Long Kui had Gui shrink down and rest on the Envoy¡¯s shoulder as he entered the city on his own as well. He headed straight for the Flying Armor Troops¡¯ headquarters to meet with Long Xian.

    Long Xian was not surprised to see Long Kui arrive.

    The two sat across from each other, and Long Xian showed quite a bit of enthusiasm towards Long Kui¡¯s visit. "Although we haven¡¯t met for hundreds of years, Elder Long Kui is still the same as ever. You haven¡¯t changed a bit."

    Long Kui gave a small smile. "You and I are both Envoys, and it can take hundreds of years to even flick your fingers, so how could there be any changes? There¡¯s only been enough time for a single round of training. However, this is my first time seeing Young Master Ding."

    Long Ding was standing next to Long Xian, and he bowed respectfully to Long Kui. "Nephew Long Ding greets Elder Long Kui."

    Long Kui nodded, and Gui looked curiously at Long Ding from where it sat, perched on Long Kui¡¯s shoulders.

    "Long Ding, are youfortable here? It looks like Brother Xian has quite a decent life here in Flying Armor Pass." Long Kui''s eyes shed.

    Long Xian smiled, "I don''t dare to make myselffortable here. After all, my White Dragon n fought and won this Flying Armor Pass, and I still vividly remember that battle against the three other parties. Given what my Flying Armor Troops has sacrificed, how could I dare becent?¡±

    Long Kui replied, "Young Master Ding has a decent level of strength. He¡¯s already a Hunter, and it looks like he will soon be able to be an Enlighter. It¡¯s a pity that he wasn¡¯t able to break through sooner. Otherwise, he would have been able to help our Junior Progenitor in the Dominion Realm. It¡¯s really too bad."

    Long Ding was just about to say something in response, but Long Xian spoke up first. "I can only me my child for not having any luck. It¡¯s caused his elders to worry about him."

    Long Kuiughed. "Brother Xian, you should already know why I¡¯m here."

    Long Xian nodded. "The Fourteenth Gate sent someone here to Flying Armor Pass, and they chose to send Long Qi, the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. We¡¯re aware of all this."

    "Don''t be too concerned about Long Qi. However, the important detail is that the Fourteenth Gate is targeting Flying Armor Pass. Brother Xian, is there anything that you have to say?" Long Kui stared at Long Xian. After Long Kui had reported Long Qi¡¯s mission to the n, he had been ordered to act as a judge. If there was any hint that Long Xian was actually a Redback, then Long Kui was to immediately kill him. Long Xian could not be allowed to be taken by the Fourteenth Gate.

    Long Kui did not know whether or not Long Xian was a Redback, which was why he had immediately visited him the first thing after entering the city.

    Long Xian''s eyes grew sharp. "The fact that the Fourteenth Gate sent someone here only proves that they are suspicious about something in my Flying Armor Pass. It does not guarantee that there is a Redback or a traitor here. Why? Has the ne to doubt us? I, Long Xian, am in charge here, and the Flying Armor Troops have never cked off. Also, this city holds nothing that is worth those monsters¡¯ attention. If they do have any interest in this ce, then it could only be for the tribtion crystals. However, has the n noticed any decrease in the number of tribtion crystals sent in?"

    Long Kui quickly raised his hands in a cating manner. "No one in the n has any doubts about Brother Xian, but the Fourteenth Gate¡¯s presence is an ill omen, which is why I just want to remind Brother Xian to be careful."

    "Those who are clean and take care of themselves have no need to be concerned about the Fourteenth Gate," Long Xian replied.

    Long Ding suddenly spoke up. "Nephew is very curious about Brother Long Qi, and I would like to see what sort of person is worthy of our princess. Is there a chance that I could meet him?"

    Long Xian shouted, "Be silent and step down!"

    Long Ding was stubborn. "Father, I merely want to meet Brother Long Qi."

    "Right now, Long Qi is someone from the Fourteenth Gate who¡¯s here to investigate Flying Armor Pass. You can think about this after the investigation is over, but for now, get back to your training!" Long Xian shouted angrily.

    Long Ding was frustrated, but he still turned to bow to Long Kui. "Nephew will take his leave."

    Long Kui smiled and nodded.

    Even after Long Ding left, Long Xian''s anger still did not subside. "I¡¯ve let Elder Long Kui see a joke. That child¡¯s feelings for the princess have not faded at all, which is why he¡¯s so curious about Long Qi. There¡¯s nothing malicious behind it, so please don''t misunderstand him, elder."

    "Hahaha, kids! When is no one jealous? Brother Xian is treating this matter too seriously," Long Kui said with augh.

    Long Xian smiled bitterly. "Let me show elder around Flying Armored Pass. It¡¯s not easy to harvest the tribtion crystals, so I wonder if Elder Long Kui would be interested in seeing the process."

    Long Kui nodded. "Please."

    "Follow me."

    ***

    Tribtion crystals could be mined anywhere outside of Flying Armored Pass, but it was a matter of luck to dig any of them up.

    Lu Yin curiously looked at the people holding some tools. "Can the things that they¡¯re holding detect tribtion crystals?"

    Guo Shan disdainfully responded, "Of course not! Those things are just random tools that some merchants made to take advantage of an opportunity to make huge profits. Those idiots over there believe in their dreams, so they force themselves to believe that it¡¯s a good idea to buy those things on credit to help them find and extract tribtion crystals. There¡¯s also been a bunch of propaganda promoting those things."

    After Guo Shan finished speaking, one of the men behind him holding one of the detectors stared nkly at the man who had just gone off on a rant.

    Guo Shan sneered once again.

    The detector fell from the man''s hands. "This thing¡¯s useless?"

    Guo Shan just rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Don''t bother listening to him. He¡¯s been digging here for hundreds of years but hasn¡¯t been able to find anything, so all he does is vent."

    The man let out a sigh of relief. "I was just going to say, how can it be useless? I already dug a bit up."

    Guo Shan and Lu Yin were both speechless. "You found tribtion crystals?"

    Tribtion crystals were not easy to extract. They were not some kind of ore that stayed in ce, as tribtion crystals moved with the energy that flowed through thend. What¡¯s more, no one could determine any sort of pattern to this flow. There were some that believed that the flow was determined by star energy while others were certain that the flow was connected to the true universe¡¯s stellr energy. Regardless, no one had been able to verify anything.

    Thus, you could not just dig in ce and expect to find tribtion crystals. You needed a tremendous amount of luck.

    An Envoy¡¯s Origin Tribtion would at best produce tribtion crystals the size of a fingernail, and these crystals would even be scattered throughout the soil in arge area. Thus, they were not easy to see or find.

    The man carefully took out a clear bottle that contained a miniscule crystal.

    Guo Shan was shocked. "It''s really a tribtion crystal! You found this? How long did you search for?"

    The man smiled proudly. "Nine years."

    This seemed a bit strange to Lu Yin; the man had spent nine years searching, and yet this was all that he had managed to get? Was it even worth his time?

    "That¡¯s definitely worth it then. You spent nine years digging, and now you can sell it to the White Dragon n and be set for life!" Guo Shan said admiringly.

    The manughed. "That¡¯s what I was thinking!¡±

    He picked his detector back up off the ground. ¡°So, it seems that my family¡¯s detectors actually work!¡±

    "Based on what you said? They definitely work."

    "Yes, they definitely work. I spent nine years digging, but now I don¡¯t need to work for the rest of my life! That¡¯s definitely worth the cost."

    "Those things are definitely worth the price! I¡¯m going to buy another one."

    "I want to buy a tribtion crystal detector!"

    ¡­

    Guo Shan was dumbfounded, and Lu Yin was the same as well. They had actually been tricked into being used for a bit of free advertising. That guy was no idiot.

    The man proudly ced his detector in Guo Shan''s hands. "Thank you!"

    Then, he ran away.

    Guo Shan swallowed. He was a member of the Fourteenth Gate who had been sent to this city to investigate the traitors and Redbacks, and yet he had just been yed like a fool. This was humiliating.

    Lu Yin''s face had also gone red. This was shameful. It was just too humiliating to be tricked in such a manner.

    "I''m gonna kill him." Guo Shan gritted his teeth as he red daggers at the back of the man who had just left.

    Lu Yin just held his head. "Alright, let¡¯s just get out of here. This one¡¯s on us."

    Guo Shan was frustrated, but the man was nothing but an Explorer, and Guo Shan could not bring himself to care about such a weakling.

    This was what it meant to trip in the gutter. This was the darkest day of Guo Shan''s life.

    Long Xian and Long Kui were watching from a distance. They had stumbled upon this scene while exploring the city, and Long Kui''s face twitched. "Let''s go somewhere else."

    Long Xian smiled. "People will try anything in order to find and dig up tribtion crystals, and there are even people who will pray before each attempt. Don¡¯t take any offense to them."

    ¡­

    There were many people who searched around Flying Armor Pass for tribtion crystals. Every day, some would give up, but there were even more who started.

    Guo Shan took Lu Yin to a rtively empty part of the city, got rid of the tail that they had picked up, and then turned to Lu Yin. "Do you know anything about the spirit manifestation realm of a domain?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I''ve heard the name, but I don''t know much about it."

    Guo Shan grew much more serious. "The spirit manifestation realm can be taken literally. You use your mind to grant an inanimate object intelligence by giving it a spirit."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "That¡¯s impossible!"

    Guo Shan continued, "Strictly speaking, it doesn¡¯t really gain intelligence, but it definitely seems like it, and it allows for easier control as well. For example-¡± As he spoke, a stone beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet flew up and struck him with a rather powerful blow.

    The stone that had hit Lu Yin was not being controlled by star energy or a domain, and it truly appeared as though the stone had attacked Lu Yin on its own.

    "Once a domain is cultivated to the spirit manifestation realm, you¡¯ll be able to make your domain into your own world. While this might not seem too useful at first, if you think about it, a battle could instantly change if you¡¯re able to use the ground or the air to sneak attack your opponent. Also, the greatest utility of the spirit manifestation realm is as preparation for developing a domain at the void realm."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed when he heard about the void realm. This was the legendary realm of a domain that was supposed to be the highest realm attainable. "What is the void realm?"

    Guo Shan looked up at the sky and seemed to lose himself in thought. "The void realm is when your domain can interact with the void itself. It allows for instantaneous movement, and it can also tear space itself away. It allows a person to dominate others, as they are even able to strip away an opponent¡¯s attack once their domain has been raised to a high enough level. The most popr way of exining this realm is that it canpare to a secret technique."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This was great news. He had the Yu Secret Art which allowed him to divert attacks that were otherwise impossible to avoid, much like a domain at the void realm. However, it was still a secret technique, which meant that it was impossible to use freely. However, once a domain reached such a godly level, there were no such restrictions.

    If his domain had been cultivated to that level before ZENITH, then Lu Yin would have easily won the entirepetition, even if he had not used the God of Death Transformation. He could have even defeated Shang Qing without breaking a sweat.

    "Don''t think about this too much. It¡¯s not easy to cultivate a void realm domain, and you have to first train to a level where you can predict other people¡¯s attacks," Guo Shan stated.

    "How do I do that?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Actually, your domain has already gone past the level of predicting attacks¡ªyou just haven¡¯t trained your domain properly for that," Guo Shan said. After that, he began to teach Lu Yin how to properly cultivate his domain.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1398: The Battlefield Behind The Mother Tree

    Chapter 1398: The Battlefield Behind The Mother Tree

    Lu Yin''s domain had long since surpassed the level that Unseen Light¡¯s battle spirit had used in the space with the golden ocean. The reason why Lu Yin was still unable to predict his opponents¡¯ attacks was because he had not trained for it.

    "What people refer to as predicting attacks with a domain is not nearly as mysterious as divination, and it¡¯s not even as difficult as most people believe it to be. Of course, I¡¯m saying this assuming that someone has a powerful enough domain and a sufficient level of star energy control¡­" Guo Shan began a full lecture on how to cultivate domains.

    Predicting an opponent¡¯s movements with a domain was simr to trying to see past a veil; it was only difficult until the veil was removed, at which point it became simple.

    Based on what Guo Shan said, Lu Yin needed to let his domain spread across every inch of his surroundings and epass every single detail within his range rather than unleash it as far as possible, which was what he had done previously.

    Previously, he had used his domain to gain control over his surroundings, while this new method was more like treating his domain as a part of his body.

    "This is the way, yes. Spread out your domain so that you canpletely sense all the changes within its scope and have an image of everything around you within your mind. You need this to start guessing and making some spections. There is an order to these things, yes¡­" Guo Shan spoke and guided Lu Yin through his training.

    Lu Yin spent several days training under Guo Shan in this manner. It was impossible to cultivate a domain to the degree where he could predict attacks in one session. Still, Lu Yin had a very powerful domain, and by condensing it as he had been told, he was able to start making some rough predictions, such as which direction the insects on the ground would crawl, or which leg would move next. He was also able to clearly read several books at the same time now.

    Lu Yin had already mastered several secret techniques, such as the Yu Secret Art. Because of this, he was not very excited about the prospect of training his domain to the point where he could predict his opponents¡¯ attacks. His goal was much further away: a domain at the void realm. Being able to use something with the power of a secret technique, but without those limitations was just too appealing.

    Guo Shan stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "Show me where that bird¡¯s going to fly."

    Lu Yin raised his hand and drew a line in the sky with his star energy.

    Guo Shan blinked. "You barely pass the test."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

    Guo Shan waspletely speechless; just who was this kid? Even if an incredibly talented person with a powerful domain tried to properly master the method that he had been teaching to Long Qi, they would need to train for years before they could reach a level of mastery where they could make predictions. For an average person, they would need decades or even centuries to achieve such mastery, and some would never seed at all. Despite all of that, this kid had aplished it in just a few days. Damn¡­

    "You¡¯ve mastered the basic technique behind predicting attacks, so let¡¯s move on to training your domain to the spirit manifestation realm," Guo Shan said.

    Lu Yin was eager. "How far must we cultivate in the spirit manifestation realm before entering the void realm?"

    Guo Shan rolled his eyes. "Don''t get ahead of yourself, kid. I¡¯ve never reached the void realm. Even if you search through the entire Perennial World, the number of domain masters who have reached that level can be counted on one hand, and each and every single one of them is far more powerful than an Envoy. Kid, don¡¯t worry about it until you be an Envoy yourself."

    Lu Yin snorted.

    Guo Shan kept going, as though he had not already made himself clear enough, ¡°Listen, cultivating your domain to the void realm is just one aspect of that level, and the other is one¡¯s physical strength. Do you really think that just reaching the void realm will let you freely strip away the void? While that¡¯s true in theory, that action ces a tremendous amount of stress on a person¡¯s body, so there are very steep physical requirements for one to strip the void away. I¡¯ll be honest, my body hasn¡¯t reached that level."

    Lu Yin nodded. He waspletely confident when it came to any sort of physical strength requirements.

    "Are we going to train here?" Lu Yin asked. Even though he was not in any particr rush, he could not stay in this city indefinitely. He expected the trip to the Dominion Realm to be fast approaching.

    Guo Shan replied, "The mission¡¯s already finished, so we¡¯re on break for now."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "It''s done? Since when?"

    Guo Shan exined, "Our mission is to draw the Flying Armor Troops¡¯ attention, and you did a wonderful job of that."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "So Ipleted the mission the moment I entered Flying Armor Pass. You did that just by taking me around the city."

    Guo Shan nodded. "It¡¯s good to see that you understand, so there¡¯s no need for an exnation."

    Lu Yin looked over at Flying Armor Pass. "It looks like there aren¡¯t any Redbacks or traitors here. Otherwise, this mission wouldn¡¯t have been so peaceful."

    "This is for the best. As long as there are no traitors among humans, there is no need for us to get dragged into any messes. Many members of Humility¡¯s Gate dream of visiting the battlefield behind the Mother Tree," Guo Shan became emotional as he waxed on.

    Lu Yin asked, "Is the battlefield behind the Mother Tree really that brutal?"

    Guo Shan began to recount some details. "It wasn¡¯t at first, and many people even treated it as a training ground, but all of thatpletely changed about a year or two ago. The experienced fighters all died, and Humility¡¯s Gate had to scramble to reorganize. Due to that, the number of Redbacks and traitors has spiked ridiculously, and no matter how many we catch, we can never get them all.¡±

    About a year or two ago? Lu Yin felt his heart skip a beat. Doesn¡¯t that coincide right with when thepetition for the Cosmic Five finished? Yeah, that was when I was captured by the Neohuman Alliance and when the Neoverse changed due to that ckhole barrier popping up to block those monsters. The timing lines up.

    The barrier made by the ckhole had spread from the Neoverse to the Starfall Sea, and it had even touched the Sixth Maind. It was all a part of Progenitor Hui¡¯s n, but what was its connection to the Perennial World?

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as he tried to find some connection, and he finally remembered the Upper Three Gates.

    The barrier formed by the ckhole had cut through the Starfall Sea, which meant that those monsters were also attacking the Starfall Sea, which was where the Upper Three Gates were located. The Sea King had managed to break through the Upper Three Gates, which changed the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky. Since he had managed to break through those gates, the monsters were naturally able to do the same, not to mention how they were the enemies of all of humanity.

    Upon thinking this far, Lu Yin felt that his assumption was correct and that this really was the ce thaty beyond the Upper Three Gates. Furthermore, the monsters had started pouring into this universe through the Upper Three Gates after the changes that had rocked the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. The monsters had gained ess to the back of the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin also felt that there might be a deeper purpose to the presence of the Upper Three Gates. They might not just be a path between the Perennial World and the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, as they might also be connected to those monsters, seeing as the Upper Three Gates had opened to the back of the Mother Tree. With those gates open, the monsters would be able to freely strike at the Fifth and Sixth Mainds through that passage.

    This also made the connection between the Perennial World and the Fifth and Sixth Mainds a bit unclear. The two mainds were regarded as the Forsaken Land, but the Upper Three Gates seemed to have been protecting them.

    Lu Yin became so preupied with this new revtion that he even stopped listening to Guo Shan¡¯s words. The older man had been reminiscing about something, and he seemed to miss his formerrades.

    Many soldiers who fought on the battlefield would have these feelings, and they were admirable emotions to have towards one¡¯s brothers and sisters in arms.

    "The battlefield behind the Mother Tree is getting worse and worse. Honestly, it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t go there, as you¡¯ll just die quickly." Guo Shan¡¯s tone of voice suddenly changed.

    Lu Yin blurted out, "If the Redbacks and traitors disappear, then Humility¡¯s Gate will no longer have a purpose."

    "That¡¯s the best oue," Guo Shan replied seriously.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. That seemed almost correct. While it was best for there to be no Redbacks and for all the traitors to be wiped out, Lu Yin still felt that it was better for Humility''s Gate to exist.

    The Middle Realm was massive. Some ces were illuminated by suns while others had special means of lighting up the sky. Flying Armor Pass was a normal ce, and the stars in the dark night sky shone down upon the city. It was also possible to see the glow of severals far above.

    When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that he had six shadows. He looked up, and he saw six stars lighting up the sky. This meant that tribtion crystals could be mined regardless of if it was day or night.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain stretched out like a stream of water. It formed what looked like countless tentacles that stretched into the sky from the ground, the trees, and even the stones. Suddenly, a ck shadow shed by. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he charged out at where the ck shadow had appeared. Every step that Lu Yin took was exactly the same as the ck figure, and even his posture was identical. This was due to Lu Yin¡¯s newfound ability to predict the future with his domain, and he took the same path as the ck figure and used the exact same movements.

    The eyes hidden behind a mask shed with surprise, but then they turned ruthless as purple and red lines covered the figure. This was nine lined battle force.

    Lu Yin frowned, and Guo Shan appeared next to him. The older man did not say a word as he sted his star energy into the sky. They were in Flying Armor Pass, and the Flying Armor Troops would instantly respond to any battle that broke out.

    However, the star energy dissipated while it was still rising through the air.

    Guo Shan was surprised. "We¡¯re trapped?"

    Suddenly, several more figures appeared in the distance and attacked the older man. He quickly warned Lu Yin, "Take care of yourself."

    Lu Yin had no time to speak as the ck figure had already arrived in front of him, wielding a long knife that they had pulled from their sleeves. The de fell down, reinforced by nine lined battle force.

    The dark figure felt that the knife would be able to injure Lu Yin, but then they recalled that Lu Yin had defeated Liu Lu during his time at the Sword Monument. Thus, they had added battle force to the attack just to be sure.

    The assassin had made the right decision, as Lu Yin instantly released a Vacuum Palm that struck the dark figure. Even though Lu Yin had not used a full force Vacuum Palm, this attack was still more than what a Hunter could withstand. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm had even been able to injure Wang Yi during ZENITH while this assassin was only an average Hunter inparison.

    This palm attack not only shattered the nine lined battle force, but it also bent the knife. The assassin¡¯s pupils shrank, and the knife flickered in a different direction to dissolve the force of the Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin sneered and used the same attack again. "How many palms can you take?"

    The dark figure stood in front of Lu Yin with the knife held in front of their body. There was a bang as a palm imprint appeared on the knife before the assassin was sted hundreds of meters back. The figure was not able to stop themselves from coughing up a mouthful of blood. How could somemon nsman possess such strength?

    On the other side of the small battlefield, Guo Shan was still paying attention to everything. He was just as shocked as the assassin when he saw Long Qi overpower a Hunter with nine lined battle force. It was no wonder why this kid had been sent to the Fourteenth Gate. Guo Shan then remembered what had happened during the first assassination attempt when he had tried to push Long Qi away from the mill and Long Qi had almost counterattacked him. It seemed that that had not been a mere coincidence.

    This kid had hidden a tremendous amount of strength very deeply.

    The assassin¡¯s knife had shattered, and they stood up from where they hadnded and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had turned sharp. "You''re not an assassin from Realmless. Your skills don¡¯t match up."

    The ck figure stared at him for a moment longer before pulling out a spear from their cosmic ring. The weapon was quickly covered with nine lined battle force, and the assassin rushed forward. The person was clearly charging straight ahead, but their body was moving in a strange manner, much like a roving dragon.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1399: Opening The Three Meridian Points

    <h4>Chapter 1399: Opening The Three Meridian Points</h4>

    Was that the Roving White Dragon? Lu Yin was instantly caught off guard¡ªthis person was clearly from the White Dragon n, and he immediately thought of the Flying Armor Troops. The army was the only group that could lock down an area inside Flying Armor Pass, which meant that he was being targeted by someone from the White Dragon n; this was an inside job.

    Given that he was facing someone under Long Xian, Lu Yin needed to be careful to not reveal too much of his strength. With that in mind, he released his domain and tilted his head. The attacker¡¯s spear shot forward towards Lu Yin¡¯s chest, tearing apart the ground as it passed by. Lu Yin was able to clearly see the attack and even predict its trajectory, so he took a simple step back to avoid the attack. The dark figure¡¯s eyes shed with frustration. Then, they stepped forward with their right foot as their breathing suddenly changed. Lu Yin heard a roar.

    "White Dragon Transformation! Watch out!" Guo Shan shouted.

    Lu Yin''s eyes showed his surprise. The White Dragon Transformation was one of the White Dragon n¡¯s inherited techniques, and it allowed the user¡¯s strength to momentarily spike. This attacker was definitely a descendant of the White Dragon n.

    After using the White Dragon Transformation, the dark figure¡¯s strength surged. The spear swept out again, much faster than before, and the person also used the Roving White Dragon. Lu Yin was no longer able to predict the attacker¡¯s movement, but he was still able to evade.

    The ck figure seemed to be in a rush, and they quickly abandoned the spear to attack Lu Yin with a palm. Guo Shan shouted from a distance, "Don''t block it!"

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the advice and responded with a Vacuum Palm of his own. The two attacks shed, and an explosion sted everyone¡¯s ears as the shockwave swept out while the ground broke open and formed a crevice beneath them. Both Lu Yin and the dark figure retreated at the same time, opening up some space between them.

    The ck figure was stunned. Even though they had used the White Dragon Transformation, they still weren¡¯t able to gain the upper hand. Long Qi was not an easy opponent.

    Lu Yin was also surprised that his attacker had managed to withstand a Vacuum Palm that contained nearly 200 Stacks. While Lu Yin had notbined it with any battle force, it still was not an attack that most Hunters could withstand. Actually, even an Enlighter like Unseen Light would not be able to endure that attack.

    This was the power of the White Dragon Transformation. Using it tremendously increased a person¡¯s physical strength.

    "Time''s up!" shouted one of the people fighting with Guo Shan.

    Lu Yin immediately attacked again, once more using a Vacuum Palm. The invisible attack was too fast for the ck figure to react to, and the palm struck them in the chest, knocking them a thousand meters back. The mask was stained with blood, and the figure was clearly enraged that they had been attacked. Despite their fury, the attacker did not continue the assault. The sky cleared, and the restrictions on the area disappeared.

    The dark figure nced at Lu Yin in frustration, but they still turned around and left.

    Lu Yin did not want to let his attackers go, so he instantly pursued them.

    Guo Shan did the same.

    But the dark figure simply used Roving White Dragon and disappeared in the blink of an eye. If they were still in the Fifth Maind, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin¡¯s attacker to escape so easily, but he could not use any secret techniques or reveal too much strength in this ce. Thus, he could only watch the attackers leave.

    Lu Yin looked down at his slightly reddened hand as the color quickly faded away. That person had been very strong; did the White Dragon Transformation really increase a person¡¯s strength that much?

    "How are you? Are you hurt?" Guo Shan asked while looking down at Lu Yin''s hand.

    Lu Yin shook his wrist. There was a bit of pain as it moved around.

    Guo Shan rolled his eyes. "I told you not to fight against them head on. The White Dragon Transformation is one of the White Dragon n¡¯s inherited techniques, and the user¡¯s physical power willpletely change after using this technique. They¡¯ll basically turn into a humanoid monster, but the person who attacked you was clearly not very strong. If it was your future wife who used it, then she would have crippled you with a single hand."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Yeah, that was really impressive."

    "It¡¯s too bad that you¡¯re only from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families. Almost no one who¡¯s not from the main family can learn the White Dragon Transformation. It''s really too bad that your bloodline isn¡¯t pure," Guo Shan said.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "Who the hell attacked me just now?"

    "You want to know?" Guo Shan smiled. "I know how we can find out."

    "How¡¯s that?"

    "Follow me. Whoever stops us was the attacker. Watch." Guo Shan then rushed back towards Flying Armor Pass.

    After a while, the two men entered the city, and Guo Shan loudly said, "I left a mark on that person, so he won¡¯t be able to run away. The mark willst for a quarter of an hour before fading."

    Lu Yin showed his excitement. "Then let¡¯s go! Anyone who dares to attack our Fourteenth Gate is courting death."

    Before the two made it very far, a squad of flying cultivators in armor stopped them. They were led by a bearded, middle-aged man who stared at Lu Yin and Guo Shan. "There was a violent fight just outside the city, and themander has ordered you two to be ced under a half month house arrest. You are both to immediately return to your residence. The other party will be arrested.¡±

    Guo Shan and Lu Yin looked at each other, and Lu Yin stepped forward with his head held high. "I am Long Qi of the White Dragon n. I wish to see themander."

    The bearded man frowned. "Themander is busy with certain affairs and has no time to meet with you at this time."

    "Brother, you aren¡¯t even from the army¡¯s headquarters, so how do you know themander¡¯s busy? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be on break right now?" Guo Shan shot back.

    The bearded man''s eyes froze. "There was a violent fight just outside the city, and themander sent a qualified person to investigate. There is no need for us to report to you."

    He then looked at Long Qi, and his voice lost a bit of strength. ¡°If the young master wishes to meet themander, then I must ask you to return to your residence and wait while I submit a report."

    It would take at least fifteen minutes for this report to be made. Lu Yin already knew that someone under Long Xian had attacked him, but there was no way for it to have been Long Xian himself. The man was not that stupid.

    The attack had happened outside of the city, so how could the army have found out about it so quickly? Also, a house arrest was a stupid excuse, and it had only been done to dy the two from tracking down their attackers.

    "If that''s the case, then let''s go. We don¡¯t want to hinder the Flying Armor Troops from doing their business," Guo Shan said.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Young Master Long has my respect," the middle-aged man said quickly. He personally made a point of watching the two leave before turning to a person beside him. ¡°Go and tell the young master that everything is going well."

    "Yes."

    ¡­

    Back outside the city, Lu Yin felt curious. "Long Xian shouldn¡¯t have been the attacker, so who could it have been?"

    Guo Shanughed. "You don''t even know about the other members of the White Dragon n?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not about Long Xian."

    Guo Shan said, "Long Xian has a son named Long Ding, and he¡¯s the one who attacked you just now. The body shape, battle techniques, and cultivation realm all match up."

    Lu Yin did not know anything about this person. In fact, let alone Lu Yin, even Long Kui had only recently met Long Ding for the first time.

    "Why¡¯d he attack me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Guo Shan gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Don¡¯t try to tell me that you had a happy time in the White Dragon n. Did no one ever target you? No one ever tried to bully you?"

    Lu Yin immediately understood; this person was another fool who had a crush on Long Xi, but was too afraid of Bai Shaohong to do anything. Despite his own fears, Long Ding was jealous of Lu Yin, who had married Long Xi. Lu Yin¡¯s future wife really was too charming.

    "How did you feel when fighting against Long Ding just now?" Guo Shan asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before answering, "He''s very powerful, though I''m talking about after he used the White Dragon Transformation."

    Guo Shan nodded. "Every member of the White Dragon n willpletely transform after using that technique. Long Ding¡¯s strength spiked, but he was still weaker than you. You managed to injure him, but things will change in a few days. He¡¯s definitely going to find another chance to fight you."

    "What kind of change? Oh, are you saying that he¡¯ll break through to the Enlighter realm soon?" Lu Yin asked.

    Guo Shan sneered. "Enlighter? That¡¯s just a small part of it. More importantly, he¡¯ll try to open his lower meridian point."

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Can he open the lower meridian point? How? Does he have that many tribtion crystals?"

    Before, Lu Yin had not known about the meridian points, but then Long Kui had mentioned how tribtion crystals could be used to help a person open their meridian points, first the lower and then the middle. Lu Yin had finally understood the temptation for these crystals.

    The human body had three meridian points: the lower meridian point, the middle, and the upper. These meridian points could not be opened by regr cultivation, not even if one became an Envoy or an expert with a power level of more than a million. Not even a Semi-Progenitor would have these meridian points opened, as they did not affect one¡¯s cultivation.

    However, it was necessary to open these meridian points in order to be a Progenitor.

    The higher one¡¯s cultivation became, the more difficult it was to open these meridian points. Thus, it was best and easiest to open them while still young with the help of tribtion crystals.

    Also, aside from opening up the possibility of bing a Progenitor in the future, each time a meridian point was opened, a person¡¯s strength would rise by leaps and bounds, simr to breaking through to a new cultivation realm.

    Everyone in this universe dreamed of opening their meridian points, but this kind of opportunity could not even be asked for. Not even a major n was guaranteed to gather enough tribtion crystals, and even though the White Dragon n had spent years doing so, they had still only managed to gather enough to allow Long Tian to open the lower and middle meridian points. Not even Long Xi had been able to open a meridian point.

    The reason why Long Tian, Bai Shaohong, Wang Su, and Xia Shenfei had managed to be Junior Progenitors was entirely because they had be peerless within their generation, and they had done so by opening their lower and middle meridian points. Their strength could notpare to that of others.

    It had taken so much for those four to aplish this task, and even the forces behind them had not been able to provide enough tribtion crystals for everything that they needed, so how could this Long Ding manage to open a meridian point?

    "That''s precisely why our Fourteenth Gate is investigating Flying Armor Pass," Guo Shan said solemnly.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are you saying the Fourteenth Gate suspects Long Xian of bing a Redback because of the tribtion crystals?"

    Guo Shan nodded. "Think about it¡ªthe four ruling powers have spent countless years umting resources to allow their Junior Progenitors to open up just two meridians, and maybe one other person to open a single meridian point. So then, just how could this Long Ding have enough tribtion crystals to open a meridian point? How?"

    "Are there any problems with this investigation?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Guo Shan nodded. "The biggest problem is that no one knows where Long Xian got the tribtion crystals. No matter how many years he might have spent skimming off the top from what¡¯s been gathered in Flying Armor Pass, it¡¯s impossible for him to save up enough to open Long Ding¡¯s meridian point, let alone the few years that he¡¯s been themander here. However, our investigation has ruled out the possibility of him being a Redback or a traitor. This whole thing is very strange.

    "Still, since we¡¯ve ruled out the possibility of him being a Redback or a traitor, Humility¡¯s Gate no longer has any jurisdiction to investigate. No matter where his tribtion crystals areing from, it¡¯s got nothing to do with us."

    Lu Yin felt twitchy. The moment that he had learned about the three meridian points, he had understood the importance of tribtion crystals, and he had developed an insatiable greed for them. However, tribtion crystals were different from star essence in that no one would ever sell tribtion crystals.

    "You need to open all three meridian points if you want to be a Progenitor, and it bes harder to open them the older you get and the higher you climb. Even a Semi-Progenitor would find it practically impossible to open a single meridian point, and it¡¯s almost impossible to do so without tribtion crystals. It also takes more and more tribtion crystals to seed as you get older, and even the four ruling powers struggle to gather enough for even their Junior Progenitors. This is why it¡¯s necessary to open the meridian points at as young an age as possible, as otherwise you¡¯ll never have any chance at all of bing a Progenitor," Guo Shan said with clear envy.

    The four Junior Progenitors had all opened their middle meridian points, and the upper meridian could not be opened with tribtion crystals as that one required Origin Matter, which could only be found in the Dominion Realm. This was the motivation behind the Yuanlun Festival, and it was also the entire purpose behind the trips to the Dominion Realm.

    Only after visiting the Dominion Realm was it possible to determine who had the greatest chances of bing a Progenitor in the future.

    This was just one part of why it was so difficult to be a Progenitor.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1400: Tribulation Crystal Pillar

    <h4>Chapter 1400: Tribtion Crystal Pir</h4>

    The next day, the bearded soldier returned to Lu Yin and respectfully said, ¡°Your request for a meeting was delivered to themander, and he is waiting for you at headquarters.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The man then left.

    Lu Yin sighed. It seemed that Long Xian had found out about the incident the day before between Long Ding and Long Qi. But then, why would themander want to meet with him at this time?

    Meeting with Long Xian would drag Lu Yin into the White Dragon n¡¯s internal conflicts. Thus, he immediately contacted Long Xi to avoid any mistakes. He did not want to infuriate her, and her temper was quite poor.

    Long Xi¡¯s image soon appeared. Her amber eyes were as beautiful as ever, but they seemed worried. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You wouldn''t contact me unless you¡¯ve already done something wrong.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This woman really had a horrible impression of him. ¡°Long Ding attacked me yesterday.¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Long Ding? Long Xian¡¯s son?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t injured, right?¡± she asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine, and I even managed to wound him.¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Was that by using the inheritance that you got from the Sword Monument?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Long Xian just invited me to the army¡¯s headquarters. Do you think that I should go?¡±

    Long Xi replied, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±

    She then ended the call.

    Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated a short whileter, and Long Xi¡¯s image reappeared. ¡°Go and meet him. I¡¯ve spoken with Elder Long Kui, and he¡¯s at the army¡¯s headquarters as well.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Long Xian won¡¯t try to do anything to me, right?¡±

    Long Xi reassured him, ¡°He won¡¯t. By the way, take Guo Shan with you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, realizing that Long Xi wanted to drag the Fourteenth Gate into the mess.

    Humility''s Gate was not allowed to get involved in the four ruling powers¡¯ internal conflicts, but many people liked how Humility''s Gate was very protective of its own. Thus, the four ruling powers often did their best to have their juniors enter Humility''s Gate, like what the Junior Progenitors had all done.

    Out of all of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s various gates, the Fourteenth Gate was the most protective of their members.

    If Lu Yin brought Guo Shan along to the army¡¯s headquarters, then Long Xian would be unable to do anything to Lu Yin at all. Even if the armymander did not care about Long Kui, he would still have to be cautious of the Fourteenth Gate. It was a ho¡¯s nest, and kicking it would help no one. The Progenitor behind Humility''s Gate was a massive deterrent to everybody due to his overprotectiveness. However, that overprotectiveness also allowed Humility''s Gate to be more united than a typical organization, letting them develop many powerhouses.

    However, it would not be easy to drag Guo Shan into the mess. The man was not dumb, and he was clearly aware that Long Qi was entangled in the White Dragon n¡¯s internal conflicts, especially after the earlier attack. And now, Long Qi was actually going to the army¡¯s headquarters.

    Unexpectedly, Guo Shan readily agreed to go when Lu Yin invited him. Guo Shan was not going in order to help Lu Yin, but rather because the older man knew that Long Xian was not stupid and that he would not dare to do anything to Long Qi. Yesterday¡¯s attack had failed, and everybody knew who was behind the attack. Since Long Qi was being invited to the army¡¯s headquarters, it indicated that themander was either nning to apologize, or the man was confident that he could save face.

    The only way for the armymander to save face was to have Long Ding openly fight against Long Qi and then win. And the only reason why Long Ding would be confident in his victory was by either bing an Enlighter or by opening his lower meridian point.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone open their lower meridian point, so this¡¯ll be a new experience for me,¡± Guo Shan said.

    Lu Yin was also curious about this matter, as he had never seen it before either.

    The Flying Armor Troops¡¯ headquartersy in the center of Flying Armor Pass. It took up a massive area, and many troops patrolled about, making the area imprable.

    Long Xian personally weed Lu Yin and Guo Shan. Meanwhile, a young man stood behind the armymander, and the youth red viciously at Lu Yin. Although the young man made an attempt to be polite, Lu Yin was already certain that this person was Long Ding.

    ¡°The Fourteenth Gate¡¯s Guo Shan and Long Qi have arrived.¡±

    Displeasure shed through Long Xian¡¯s eyes as he heard Lu Yin¡¯s name, but it disappeared nearly instantly. ¡°Please enter, Master Guo.¡±

    Guo Shan smiled.

    Long Xian then turned to Lu Yin andughed. ¡°So you¡¯re Long Qi, the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family.¡±

    Lu Yin humbly replied, ¡°You¡¯re too kind,mander.¡±

    Long Xian continued to say, ¡°Being able to surpass Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s record at the Sword Monument is quite impressive, and you¡¯re now the person who holds the record for taking the longest to receive an inheritance from the Sword Monument. Your name¡¯s already spread throughout the Higher Realm and even the entire Perennial World.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s reputation in the Perennial World had grown tremendously after he had received that inheritance from the Sword Monument. People had started to ept his talent, and if not for that incident, then his earlier fight against Long Ding would have made Lu Yin¡¯s strength incredibly suspicious to Long Kui, Long Xi, and even Long Tian.

    However, after Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument, nobody would question a sharp increase in his abilities. They would only be jealous.

    Lu Yin humbly replied, ¡°I only learned a few battle techniques, and there¡¯s no way I couldpare with your son. This must be Brother Long Ding.

    Long Ding walked forward and tried his best to put on a friendly appearance. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, Brother Long Qi.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°What you¡¯ve heard are just exaggerations. I can¡¯tpare with someone like you who has actual experience.¡±

    Lu Yin lookedpletely sincere as he spoke, and nobody would have been able to pick up on his sarcasm if not for the previous day¡¯s incident.

    A murderous intent shed through Long Ding¡¯s eyes.

    Long Xian led Lu Yin and Guo Shan into the building. Nobody brought up the incident from yesterday, and the conversation remained casual and the atmosphere friendly.

    Half a dayter, somebody came to report, ¡°Commander, everything is ready.¡±

    Lu Yin and Guo Shan looked at each other. Ready?

    Long Xianughed. ¡°Go and invite Elder Long Kui to watch the ceremony.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Commander.¡±

    Long Ding looked at Lu Yin, clear excitement in his eyes. He was clearly eager for whatever was about to happen.

    Long Xian smiled at Lu Yin and Guo Shan. ¡°What a coincidence that both of you are here today. My son is about to open his first meridian point. Would you like to watch the ceremony?¡±

    Guo Shan acted surprised. ¡°Open his lower meridian point? Commander, are you saying that you have enough tribtion crystals for your son to open his lower meridian point?¡±

    Long Xian replied, ¡°I stumbled upon an unexpected inheritance that belonged to my ancestors and gained some tribtion crystals. Thus, I have just enough for my son to open his lower meridian point. It was just luck.¡±

    Nobody would ever believe such crap, Lu Yin and Guo Shan both thought.

    ¡°Commander, you¡¯re so lucky! There are very few people who are able to open their meridian points, and usually, only one or two people a century from each of the four ruling powers are able to do so. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m lucky enough to watch your son open his meridian point today. Congrattions!¡± Guo Shan eximed.

    Long Xianughed heartily and turned to face Lu Yin. ¡°Long Qi, you¡¯re Princess Long Xi¡¯s husband, so the n will definitely do their best to help you open your lower meridian point as well. You can watch Long Ding go through it today so that you can know what to expect.¡±

    Lu Yin remained polite. ¡°That would be great.¡±

    He then turned towards Long Ding and enviously said, ¡°Congrattions, Brother Long, on this breakthrough.¡±

    Long Ding waved a hand. ¡°It hasn¡¯t even happened yet. Let¡¯s go, Brother Long Qi.¡±

    ¡°After you.¡±

    Many of the Flying Armor Troops¡¯ powerhouses had already gathered in the central courtyard, and all of them were keeping a close eye on the central tform. There was a ten meter tall cylindrical object standing there that had been covered by a sheet of cloth.

    Once Long Xian arrived, he waved a hand and removed the cloth, revealing a giant collection of tribtion crystals.

    Even though he had already known what would happen, Guo Shan was still shocked by what he saw.

    Most people would only ever have a chance to see a tiny amount of tribtion crystals, and each crystal might not even be visible to the naked eye. Despite that, even a tiny amount of tribtion crystals would be enough wealth for anyone to live a good life. It was rare for anyone to see a tribtion crystal the size of a normal rock, let alone a ten meter tall pir of crystal that was a full meter in diameter.

    Lu Yi felt astounded; was this really how much tribtion crystal a person needed to open their lower meridian point? This was insane.

    The man who had found that crystal that was the size of a fingernail could already live out the rest of his life infort from what he would gain from that crystal, and this pir was hundreds of times bigger than the crystal that the man had found.

    Tribtion crystals only formed when Enlighters underwent their stellr tribtion and tried to break through to an Envoy, but how many crystals were produced by each tribtion? It would only be a small amount, and some tribtions did not form any crystals at all. How long would it take to gather this many tribtion crystals?

    How many Envoys were represented by this crystal pir? Lu Yin could not even make an estimate.

    Long Ding¡¯s breathing began to pick up as he looked at the crystal pir with fervent eyes. He had only seen it once before, after which his father had forbidden him from looking at it again. Now, Long Ding was finally able to see it once more.

    This amount of tribtion crystals was enough to drive even the four ruling powers crazy.

    How many tribtion crystals were each of the four ruling powers able to umte during a century? There were enough tribtion crystals here to trigger an actual battle.

    The crystal pir had been formed bybining countless tribtion crystals. It looked like each individual crystal had a unique light, and it was even possible to see lightning flickering within the pir. The gigantic pir looked like something from another world, and it caused space to twist around it and even affected the sky above Flying Armor Pass, causing the true universe to be revealed.

    Long Xian¡¯s palms grew sweaty as he looked around. Many of the powerhouses from the Flying Armor Troops were looking at the pir with burning eyes. Fortunately, they had already activated the Flying Armor Array; otherwise, someone would have likely done something stupid.

    Long Kui also arrived, and he stared at the pir in shock. ¡°This-¡±

    The elder had absolutely no idea that Long Xian possessed so many crystals. Long Kui had merely received an invitation to attend a ceremony, and he had not been informed that it was to open Long Ding¡¯s lower meridian point. Long Kui was an elder of the White Dragon n, but he was still astonished when he arrived in the courtyard.

    Long Xian nced at Long Ding and winked.

    Long Ding leaped up onto the tform and walked towards the crystal pir. Star energy surged around him as he ced both of his hands onto the pir.

    The first step to opening a meridian point was to refine the tribtion crystals into the smallest size possible so that they could absorb it better. The crystals would then help open the lower meridian point that the human body was normally unable to open on its own. What¡¯s more, it was only possible to open a meridian point with the use of tribtion crystals, as they were the only things capable of stabilizing the meridian points and breaking through them.

    Opening a meridian point would improve a person¡¯s ability to circte star energy, as well as double their strength, which was a massive increase.

    The human body was extremelyplex, and opening all three meridian points was the best way to increase one¡¯s strength. Not to mention, it was also a necessary step towards bing a Progenitor.

    Long Kui still had not had a chance to react when Long Ding started refining the pir.

    ¡°Brother Xian, what is this?¡± Long Kui was confused.

    Long Xian smiled. ¡°Elder, weren¡¯t you wondering why the Fourteenth Gate was investigating Flying Armor Pass? I can now tell you that it¡¯s because of this tribtion crystal pir.¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1401: Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 1401: Transformation</h4>

    ¡°How did you manage to acquire so many tribtion crystals, Brother Xian?¡± Long Kui asked. He was still shaken by the sheer amount of tribtion crystals here, but he had finally managed to calm himself. They were in Flying Armor Pass, and both Long Xian and the Flying Armor Array were present. Even without those two, Long Kui would still be condemned by the n if he attempted to seize this treasure from Long Xian.

    Long Xian exined, ¡°I unexpectedly received an inheritance from an elder, and this crystal pir was a part of it.¡±

    Long Kui knew that this was not the full truth, as not even the four ruling powers were able to gather that many tribtion crystals within a century. Just which elder had amassed such a hoard of crystals? Only a Progenitor could be capable of doing such a thing. However, if Long Xian had actually received an inheritance from a Progenitor, then he should be far stronger than what he currently was.

    ¡°The Fourteenth Gate might suspect that these tribtion crystals came from those monsters, so it isn¡¯t surprising that they¡¯re suspicious of me. Fortunately, I¡¯m no traitor. If I were, I would never have allowed you to watch my son open his first meridian point.¡± Long Xian nced at Guo Shan with evident delight on his face.

    Guo Shan had no interest in listening to Long Xian. Instead, he was focused on Long Ding, who had already begun to refine the crystal pir.

    Long Ding spent two full days refining the crystal pir. The pir grew smaller and smaller, and eventually, Long Ding was absorbing nothing more than a glow supported by numerous threads.

    The moment the threads appeared, everybody present¡ªGuo Shan, Lu Yin, the members of the Flying Armor Troops, and even Long Kui and Long Xian¡ªwanted to seize them. It was an instinct that ran through every cultivator.

    ¡°Can I grab that?¡± Lu Yin softly asked Guo Shan.

    Guo Shan was startled. ¡°You¡¯re nuts! We¡¯re in Flying Armor Pass, and the Flying Armor Array is even able to stop Envoys who¡¯ve passed through their third or fourth tribtions. Even Elder Long Kui wouldn¡¯t be able to pull that off, let alone you.¡±

    The man then gave Lu Yin an odd look. What was this kid saying? Grab it? How could he even consider such a thing? Even if he seeded, how would he exin himself to the White Dragon n?

    Guo Shan suddenly felt that Lu Yin might not be as nice as he had previously believed; this was a shocking question to ask.

    Lu Yin had only casually asked this question, as he did not have any real intention of fighting Long Ding for the threads. Since Long Xian was willing to allow his son to absorb the tribtion crystals in public, then he must have made ample preparations. Despite that, if Lu Yin actually went all out, then he might be able to pull it off, given his various treasures.

    As the crystal threads entered Long Ding¡¯s body, he felt an excruciating pain run through his body. He copsed to his knees, and his face went pale. All five fingers of both hands pierced into the tform, shattering it with a bang and sending Long Ding crashing to the ground below.

    Long Xian immediately stepped forward, but Long Ding stopped him. ¡°Father, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Long Xian clenched his fists tightly. He was even more nervous than Long Ding. ¡°You have to seed, Ding¡¯er! You must!¡±

    Long Ding roared from where hey on the ground. His body constantly trembled, and even the sky shook. In pain, he raised a fist and mmed it down, leaving a massive dent in the ground. Then, he suddenly looked up and roared as dragon scales appeared on his skin. It was caused by the White Dragon Transformation.

    Lu Yin walked forward and carefully observed Long Ding. The youth¡¯s breathing had be very irregr, but Lu Yin had a strange feeling that some form of transformation was taking ce.

    ¡°He¡¯s opening his lower meridian point, which means that he¡¯s going to have to suffer the incredible pain thates from breaking past his body¡¯s limits. His body will be changed to be more suitable for cultivation, but there¡¯s a steep price to pay for that change. It¡¯s about to start, and his struggle will begin then.¡± Guo Shan kept his eyes locked on Long Ding.

    Lu Yin had never heard of this detail before. ¡°A struggle?¡±

    Guo Shan muttered, ¡°A normal human body can¡¯t withstand tribtion crystals, so the body has to be reformed and adjusted to the crystals. This is one part of the overall transformation, but the pain from this process is ten times worse than what he¡¯s endured up to now.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a chill. When Guo Shan had mentioned that a body needed to be reformed, it had reminded Lu Yin of formcast models. Whenever Lu Yin had broken through with one of those things, he had to endure the pain of his body being shattered and rebuilt. That transformation was what allowed his body to amodate the increased power that he gained from breaking through. It looked like this process was simr as the body needed to adjust to the tribtion crystals.

    Ah!

    Long Ding vomited blood as cracks appeared on his body. Blood dripped to the ground, and a metallic scent filled the air.

    Long Xian went pale, and he shouted, ¡°Ding¡¯er! You have to get through this! Your life willpletely change after this! Keep going, Ding¡¯er!¡±

    Long Ding responded with a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely get through this!¡±

    Long Kui frowned as he watched the entire process. While he should be happy to see any member of the White Dragon n open a meridian point, he simply could not feel that satisfaction here. Long Xian was notpletely loyal to the main family, and traitors had appeared within the White Dragon n before. If the decision were left to Long Kui, then he would much rather see Long Qi open his lower meridian point instead of Long Ding.

    Where had Long Xian gotten all of these tribtion crystals?

    The transformation and pain were different from when Long Ding had refined the crystal pir, and it did not take as long. Still, it felt like eternity to Long Ding due to the extreme pain.

    After a while, Long Ding was just about to pass out from the pain, but suddenly, his breathing stabilized. His sweat had long since mixed with his blood and pooled in a distant corner.

    He panted heavily as he ripped off his shirt, revealing firm muscles and vanishing dragon scales.

    Long Xian was ted; his son had seeded.

    To be fair, as long as there were enough tribtion crystals, it was perfectly normal to sessfully open a meridian point. The only drawback was the pain caused by the process, and this was also just the lower meridian point. It took even more tribtion crystals to open the middle meridian point, and the pain was far worse as well.

    Long Ding closed his eyes as he slowly stood up.

    The red blood looked bright beneath his feet.

    Lu Yin could feel that Long Ding¡¯s aura had changed, and he felt like apletely different person. Was this the transformation that urred from opening the first meridian point?

    Guo Shan was envious. ¡°No matter how painful it might be, everybody would be willing to try this. This is the only way to even have a hope of bing a Progenitor. ¡°This child will aplish great things in the future.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! Ding¡¯er, as long as youpletely absorb the crystal threads, you¡¯ll stabilize! Hahahaha!¡± Long Xian was ecstatic. Long Ding was definitely much more powerful after opening his meridian point.

    Long Xian immediately contacted Long Tian.

    Long Tian had not expected Long Xian to contact him, as the two rarely interacted. The only reason why Long Xian had contacted the Junior Progenitor earlier was because the Fourteenth Gate had sent people to investigate matters in Flying Armor Pass. Was Long Qi in trouble once again?

    Everyone fell silent when they saw the image of Long Tian appear. Long Ding opened his eyes and proudly looked back at Long Tian.

    Nobody dared to be rude when facing the White Dragon n¡¯s heir. This person had the potential to eventually be a Progenitor. Even Long Kui stood a bit straighter, and Guo Shan also adjusted himself. Long Tian was the heir to one of the four ruling powers, and he also possessed a rather high position within Humility''s Gate.

    ¡°Commander Long Xian, why are you contacting me?¡± Long Tian was curious. He was a member of the main family while Long Xian had a strong rivalry with the main family. Thus, it was very strange for Long Xian to reach out to Long Tian.

    Long Xian respectfully exined, ¡°Young Master, I am sorry for disturbing you. You will soon be heading to the Dominion Realm. Might I ask if you have found any suitablepanions?¡±

    Long Tian smiled. ¡°Commander Long Xian, do you have anyone you wish to rmend?¡±

    ¡°My son, Long Ding.¡±

    Long Tian arched a brow. ¡°Long Ding? I¡¯ve never heard of him.¡±

    Long Xian did not grow upset, and he simply continued. ¡°My son has just opened his lower meridian point and is currently stabilizing his condition. Thus, it¡¯s understandable for you not to have heard of him yet.¡±

    Long Tian was shocked. ¡°What did you say? He¡¯s opened his lower meridian point?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he just finished.¡±

    Long Xian waved Long Ding over. The youth walked over and bowed to Long Tian. ¡°I am Long Ding. It¡¯s my honor to meet you, Young Master.¡±

    Long Tian looked from Long Ding to Long Xian. ¡°How did you find enough tribtion crystals for him to open his meridian point?¡±

    ¡°I received them from an elder.¡±

    Long Tian did not believe this excuse at all. He turned towards Long Ding. ¡°What¡¯s your power level?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still a Hunter, but I will be an Enlighter within the month,¡± Long Ding confidently stated.

    Long Tian was surprised. ¡°You¡¯ll be an Enlighter with an opened meridian point from the White Dragon n. You really do qualify to follow me to the Dominion Realm.¡±

    Long Ding grinned. ¡°Thank you for this opportunity, Young Master.¡±

    Long Tian smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll be helping me as well. As long as you help me find some Origin Matter to open my upper meridian point, I¡¯ll never let you down in the future.¡±

    Long Ding bowed low. ¡°It would be an honor to work for you, young master.¡±

    Long Tian smiled. He actually did not care about any of the grudges between the main family and Long Xian at all, and nor was he concerned about where Long Xian had gotten the tribtion crystals. To Long Tian, the trip to the Dominion Realm was the most important thing. He had always been thinking about who to take with him, so he was thrilled that Long Ding qualified to go. Given that Long Xi would also be going, Long Tian only needed to invite two more people to his team.

    Long Tian then saw Lu Yin out of the corner of his eye. He red at Long Qi and rudely demanded, ¡°What are you doing in Flying Armor Pass? Don¡¯t make trouble for Commander Long Xian.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharper. ¡°They¡¯ve been quite weing.¡±

    Long Tian frowned. ¡°Leave there and get back to White Mountain soon.¡±

    He then turned towards Long Kui. ¡°Elder, take Long Qi back to White Mountain. Don¡¯t allow him to make any trouble.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master,¡± Long Kui said.

    Long Tian turned back to Long Ding and spoke in a kind voice. ¡°You¡¯ll need to work hard. As long as you be an Enlighter, you¡¯ll be able to help me when I go to the Dominion Realm. I¡¯ll be waiting for you on our Junior Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Young Master,¡± Long Ding loudly agreed.

    Long Tian nodded at Long Xian, and his image disappeared.

    Long Ding proudly raised his head high. Everything had been sessful.

    Long Xian sighed; everything had ended up as expected. He had gotten the tribtion crystals a long time ago, and thus, he had made sure that Long Ding remained a Hunter, as it would allow him to open his lower meridian point more easily. Also, he would be much more powerful after bing an Enlighter, and he would be one of the top elites of his generation.

    Guo Shan was jealous. ¡°What a good life!¡±

    Lu Yin was also envious. The cultivation system in the Perennial World was much moreplete than the Fifth Maind¡¯s. After opening a meridian point, Long Ding could alreadypare to Enlighters like Unseen Light. Once Long Ding became an Enlighter himself, he might be just as strong as Wang Yi, which meant that he truly did qualify to travel to the Dominion Realm with Long Tian.

    Everyone else felt shes of envy while Long Ding felt excitement. He felt like he had reached the peak, and he needed a target to feel out his increased strength. Naturally, he turned towards Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Long Qi, I heard that you received an inheritance from the Sword Monument and that you took even longer to receive it than that person from the Celestial Frost Sect. I¡¯ve been feeling quite curious about it. Would you be willing to have a spar?¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1402: Can I Snatch it?

    <h4>Chapter 1402: Can I Snatch it?</h4>

    Long Xian made no attempt to stop the battle as he and his son had already nned things out beforehand. He had wanted Long Ding to break through first and then defeat Long Qi. Only like this would Long Ding get revenge for the earlier incident and simultaneously demonstrate how much his strength had increased.

    Long Kui reflexively tried to stop the matter. ¡°No, we must hurry back to White Mountain.¡±

    Long Xian smiled. ¡°Why are you so nervous, elder? It¡¯s just a spar between two youths to let them test out their strength. Don¡¯t worry, neither of them will go overboard in a friendly spar.¡±

    Long Kui became a bit annoyed. ¡°Brother Xian, Long Qi is the main family¡¯s son-inw, and he can¡¯t fight with any random person.¡±

    Long Xian retorted, ¡°What does it matter, elder, if he is from the main family? The White Dragon n¡¯s main family has raised their reputation through their members¡¯ constant battles. I can¡¯t believe that Long Qi would be timid enough to be scared of a simple spar.¡±

    He then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Long Qi?¡±

    Since Long Xian had already said so much, Lu Yin was essentially being forced to fight against Long Ding, as refusing would embarrass the main family.

    Long Kui was no longer able to stop the matter, and he nced over at Lu Qin. ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself.¡±

    Long Ding¡¯s strength had spiked after opening his lower meridian point. Even though Lu Yin had managed to defeat Liu Lu before, Liu Lu could notpare to Long Ding¡¯s current strength. At this moment, Long Ding was strong enough to even challenge Liu Hao.

    Lu Yin hesitantly walked forward. He looked like Long Ding¡¯s pr opposite.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a spar, Brother Long Ding. Don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re just sparring,¡± Lu Yin emphasized, sounding as though he was scared of getting hurt.

    Long Ding smirked and a cruel glint flickered across his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Long Qi. It¡¯s just a spar.¡±

    A spear appeared in his hand that he pointed at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you ready? I¡¯ll let you have the first move.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately used his Vacuum Palm, and Long Ding struggled to dodge the invisible attack. This was the same attack that had even surprised Wang Yi, and it was hard for Long Ding to evade even though he had opened his lower meridian point. However, he proved very lucky, as Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck his spear. Long Ding was forced a few steps back, and he looked up. ¡°Nice one, Brother Qi.¡±

    He then roared and started moving towards Lu Yin with a strange technique.

    It was the Roving White Dragon.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. Long Ding had be much stronger from before, as shown by his ability to withstand Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm despite Lu Yin using a full 200 Stacks.

    The spear shed, and nine lined battle force appeared on it as Long Ding thrust the spear forward, tearing the air apart. This attack was much stronger than any attackunched during theirst fight, even the ones made after he used the White Dragon Transformation. Lu Yin had used his Vacuum Palm against Long Ding back then as well, which was why he had some understanding of Long Ding¡¯s attack. Also, there was what Lu Yin had learned from the Sword Monument¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain was unable to predict Long Ding¡¯s attacks due to Long Ding¡¯s greatly increased strength. So, Lu Yin kept a careful watch on the spear, and he suddenly dodged once the spear was about to strike. Long Ding sneered¡ªhe had already known that Lu Yin was able to read the trajectory of his weapon, but did that even matter?

    The spear suddenly shifted and moved in the same direction that Lu Yin had dodged in.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain erupted, and the spear slowed down as though it was moving through mud. Lu Yin immediately retaliated with a Vacuum Palm.

    Long Ding roared as scales appeared on his body. He had used the White Dragon Transformation.

    The Vacuum Palm crashed into Long Ding, but it did nothing despite injuring him before.

    Long Ding grabbed his spear, and the shaft smashed against Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, sending him flying backwards.

    Long Ding continued to press the attack, and he leaped towards Lu Yin, still attacking with the spear.

    From the distance, Long Kui shouted, ¡°Stop!¡± and he moved to interfere.

    Long Xian blocked Long Kui¡¯s path. ¡°Elder, there¡¯s no need to worry. It¡¯s just a match. Ding¡¯er won¡¯t go too far.¡±

    Long Kui looked at the battle, furious.

    Long Ding¡¯s spear shot towards Lu Yin¡¯s neck, and it looked like he was about to kill Lu Yin, especially since Long Xian was not even keeping an eye on the two youths. Even if Long Ding did not dare to kill Lu Yin, he could still maim him. Long Xian would not be held responsible for such an ident if he was not watching, and Long Tian would definitely protect Long Ding.

    There was no way that Long Tian would care about what happened to Lu Yin as long as he was not killed.

    Long Ding looked at Lu Yin with cruel eyes. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had learned that Long Qi would marry Long Xi. This attack was not merely revenge for the earlier battle, as Long Ding was also venting his anger. Furthermore, there was another motivation that he had not shared with even his father: Yu Chen had met with Long Ding right before Long Qi had arrived at Flying Armor Pass.

    This attack could be a bridge between Long Ding and Bai Shaohong.

    The trip to the Dominion Realm would be extremely dangerous, and even Young Master Long Tian might die there. Long Ding did not intend to ce all of his hopes of survival on Long Tian. Thus, if he was able to get closer to Bai Shaohong, he would increase his own chances of survival. Long Ding believed that Bai Shaohong would be even more willing to save him than Long Tian because Long Tian was the White Dragon n¡¯s young master.

    This attack could increase Long Ding¡¯s chances of survival in the Dominion Realm, and personally, he also wanted to kill Lu Yin. Thus, this attack waspletely ruthless.

    As the spear moved towards Lu Yin, Guo Shan stepped forward, only to be blocked by somebody else.

    The spear continued to close in on Lu Yin, and he could feel a threat from the spear. Just as the spear was about to strike, the Channeling Diagram appeared. The spear was stopped by thebination of Lu Yin¡¯s domain and the Channeling Diagram, redirecting the force of the spear attack away in all directions and causing the ground to tear apart.

    The Channeling Diagram managed to disperse Long Ding¡¯s attack as well as his battle force. Long Ding was stunned. This was not something that he had seen during theirst battle. Was this a sourcebox array?

    Long Ding had not expected some random person from a branch family to be able toprehend a sourcebox array, let alone be able to use it to withstand his attack.

    Lu Yin took advantage of Long Ding¡¯s shock to spot the weaknesses in Long Ding¡¯s techniques. Without any pause, Lu Yin¡¯s hands moved past the spear, and he repeatedly used Vacuum Palms to attack Long Ding. Long Ding¡¯s eyes went wide as the barrage struck his body and smashed him deep into the ground.

    Although he could withstand one or even two Vacuum Palms after opening his lower meridian point and using the White Dragon Transformation, there was no way he could withstand this many continuous attacks from such a short distance. On top of that, Lu Yin had increased his Vacuum Palm to 220 Stacks, which was much stronger than his previous ones.

    Long Ding had no chance to retaliate, and he was already injured by the fourth attack. His battle force shattered, and his scales faded away. However, Lu Yin hadunched more than ten Vacuum Palms in an instant. Nobody had ever managed to endure this sort of onught aside from Nightking Zhenwu.

    No Hunter was able to withstand ten Vacuum Palms without any sort of injury, and Long Ding was no exception.

    The earth shattered as the force of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks spread throughout the area.

    Long Xian instantly whirled around, furious. ¡°Stop!¡±

    He moved forward to grab Lu Yin, but right at that moment, Long Kui caught Long Xian from behind. ¡°Brother Xian, we shouldn¡¯t interfere. It¡¯s just a spar between youths.¡±

    Suddenly, a strange fluctuation swept over the grounds, and a glowing thread lit up the army¡¯s headquarters. It was a thread of tribtion crystal.

    Long Xian and Long Kui were both stunned when they saw the thread of tribtion crystal. Lu Yin had actually forced the crystal thread out of Long Ding¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was also shocked. He had not known that the crystal thread could be forced back out, but he reflexively grabbed it since it was right in front of him.

    Long Ding bellowed in anger. He had been heavily injured by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms, but he still tried to snatch the crystal thread back from Lu Yin.

    This was a rare opportunity that Lu Yin had not expected to encounter, but now that it had appeared, he would not allow it to pass him by.

    ¡°Long Qi, do you want to die? The Flying Armor Troops won¡¯t let you off!¡± Long Ding threatened.

    Lu Yin immediately took out the ring that Long Xi had given him and stood within its protective circle.

    The ground broke apart, and Long Xian, Long Kui, and the others finally saw the crystal thread in Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    Long Xian was enraged. He tried to grab Lu Yin, but he was stopped by the ring¡¯s barrier. Although he was certainly strong enough to destroy the ring, it would still take him quite some time. On top of that, Long Kui was right beside him, and the elder would not allow Long Xian to continue attacking Long Qi. ¡°Long Qi, put down that crystal thread, and I can pretend that nothing has happened!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, but he did not even bother to look up.

    Long Kui did not know what to say. He had secretly hoped that Lu Yin would be able to absorb the crystal thread and open a meridian point, but now that the opportunity had actually arrived, the elder did not know what to do. How should he handle this? One of the two youths was a captain in the Flying Armor Troops while the other was the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family.

    Long Ding spat out a mouthful of blood. At this moment, everything in his vision was blood red. He red at Lu Yin and ordered in a hoarse voice, ¡°Long Qi, give me back the crystal thread! Give it to me!¡±

    Long Xian roared, ¡°Long Qi, put down that crystal thread! Don¡¯t make a mistake! If you steal from a n member, then the main family won¡¯t let you off!¡±

    He then turned to Long Kui. ¡°Elder, please say something! You¡¯re an elder of the White Dragon n, and you are aware of the rules. Don¡¯t allow Long Qi to make this mistake.¡±

    Long Kui¡¯s lips went dry. He did not know how to react to what he was seeing. The tiniest bit of favoritism that he held in his heart stopped him from speaking up.

    The Flying Armor Troops surrounded the two youths, brimming with a powerful killing intent.

    Guo Shan was shocked. He suddenly remembered Lu Yin¡¯s words. ¡°Can I grab that?¡±

    ¡°Can I grab that?¡±

    ¡°Can I grab that?¡±¡­

    Guo Shan could not believe that the kid had actually managed to grab the thread. What a lunatic!

    Lu Yin stood inside the ring and looked up at Long Kui. ¡°Elder, you need to consider the bigger picture. I¡¯m the main family¡¯s son-inw, so if anything happens to me, you¡¯ll have a hard time answering to Long Xi and the n. Don¡¯t forget how I managed to be the main family¡¯s son-inw.¡±

    Long Kui suddenly remembered the Celestial Frost Sect. Nothing could be allowed to happen to Long Qi, as that would cause Long Xi to be threatened by Bai Shaohong. The Celestial Frost Sect craved the power of the White Dragon, and that was the motivation behind all of their schemes.

    ¡°Themander of the Flying Armor Troops, Long Xian, is suspected to be a traitor! Whoever aids Long Xian will be considered an enemy of Humility¡¯s Gate! I, Long Qi, am from the Fourteenth Gate, and I suspect that Long Xian is a traitor! Who dares to help him?¡± Lu Yin suddenly shouted. He was not actually trying to threaten the members of the Flying Armor Troops, as he knew that that was impossible. They would always follow the orders that they received from the army. Rather, Lu Yin was reminding Guo Shan about his connection to the Fourteenth Gate and that he had both the authority and a valid reason to stand up to Long Xian.

 Chapter 1403: Flying Armor Array

    <h4>Chapter 1403: Flying Armor Array</h4>

    Guo Shan was left speechless by Lu Yin¡¯s words. Their mission had already ended, and Long Xian had even been cleared of all suspicions. Despite that, Lu Yin had still levied such an usation against the man. However, there was one thing that was irrefutable: Lu Yin was from the Fourteenth Gate.

    Because of this, Guo Shan shouted, ¡°Long Xian, you are suspected of being a spy! Humility''s Gate is currently investigating you, so put down your weapons and surrender now!¡±

    Guo Shan felt strange saying such a thing, as Humility''s Gate had never before asked anyone to surrender. They either captured people or simply killed them. Also, Long Xian was not even holding a weapon at the moment.

    Long Xian was outraged, and he immediately attacked Lu Yin. Long Kui instantly stopped the attack, forcing Long Xian backwards. His silhouette started to flicker as he traveled between the true universe and the visible universe.

    Lu Yin immediately began absorbing the thread of tribtion crystal.

    Long Ding shouted, ¡°Long Qi, how dare you!¡±

    Long Xian was also furious. ¡°Long Kui, you¡¯re going too far! This is Flying Armor Pass! Activate the Flying Armor Array!¡±

    The city began to tremble after Long Xian delivered thismand.

    Gui leaped off of Long Kui¡¯s shoulder as its size increased. It bellowed angrily as its two heads looked around the area.

    The Flying Armor Troops were immediately intimidated. They were not capable of defeating an Envoy.

    At this same time, beams of light began to appear around Flying Armor Pass. The beams formed a light cube that quickly surrounded Gui and shrank down, trapping the beast.

    Gui banged against the cube, but it was unable to destroy the cage. All the beast could do was make all of Flying Armor Pass shake.

    Many people tried to flee, but nobody was able to enter or leave Flying Armor Pass after the Flying Armor Array was activated. Thus, they could only watch as Gui tried to escape from the cage of light.

    Inside the military headquarters, Long Xian lifted a hand, causing multiple cubes of light to form and surround Long Kui. The elder looked grim. Flying Armor Pass¡¯s defenses were extremely robust. When Long Xian¡¯s abilities were coupled with the Flying Armor Array, themander was able to stand up to Long Kui and possibly even defeat him.

    Long Kui and Long Xian both used the White Dragon Transformation at the same time. Their bodies were covered in far more dragon scales than what Long Ding had shown, and both Envoys¡¯ pupils became slitted.

    As soon as the cube of light from the Flying Armor Array appeared, a battle technique with five tokens surrounded Long Xian. It was White Dragon Surveying the Sky.

    ¡°Long Kui, are you really going to help that child? I promise that I won¡¯t touch Long Qi at all if you stop fighting, and I¡¯ll even send both of you safely away from Flying Armor Pass. We can all just pretend that nothing ever happened,¡± Long Xian anxiously offered. With the Flying Armor Array activated, nobody was able to leave the area, not even Envoys.

    A spear appeared in Long Kui¡¯s hand. There was no way that he would allow Long Xian to attack Lu Yin, even if Long Xian had no intentions of hurting the youth. As an elder from the main family, Long Kui would be humiliated if he did not do anything while Long Xian attacked the main family¡¯s son-inw.

    ¡°Long Xian, you started this fight! Why didn¡¯t you stop Long Ding from attacking Long Qi so viciously? You caused all of this!¡± Long Kui retorted loudly.

    Long Xian gritted his teeth. ¡°Fine! In that case, don¡¯t me me for not bothering to protect you. Neither of you will be able to escape from Flying Armor Pass, and even if he really does manage to absorb the crystal thread, he will still have to return it!¡±

    A spear also appeared in Long Xian¡¯s hand, and he shattered the White Dragon Surveying the Sky as he thrust the spear at Long Kui.

    Long Kui used his own spear to block the attack.

    The power of the two Envoys shed above Flying Armor Pass. Since Envoys were able to use stellr energy, their stellr energy-based attacks shed and caused the nearby star energy to surge. Countless people lost control of their own body¡¯s star energy.

    Guo Shan looked up. Why have things turned out like this? Weren¡¯t we just invited to watch a ceremony? Wasn¡¯t this just supposed to be a casual spar?

    Oh right, how¡¯s Long Qi? Guo Shan turned to look.

    Lu Yin was still inside the protective ring. He was trembling while absorbing the crystal thread. At the moment, he was experiencing the same agony that Long Ding had recently been forced to endure. However, Lu Yin¡¯s pain was far worse than what Long Ding had suffered, as Lu Yin was much stronger than Long Ding. This level of pain was something that Lu Yin rarely ever encountered since he had started cultivating, and he immediately vomited blood.

    Guo Shan looked up; would Long Kui be able to withstand Long Xian¡¯s attacks? If Long Kui was defeated, then the crystal thread would be forced out of Long Qi. Had the kid even considered that oue? Was there any chance of Long Qi seeding?

    Lu Yin actually had not considered the possibility of failure. Even if Long Kui was defeated, Lu Yin would still sessfully absorb the crystal thread, even if it meant revealing the walnut-shaped power vessel that he had received from Yuan Shi or using the Deste Array that he had received from Highsage Grandmaster. Lu Yin did not care about anything else at this moment aside from opening his first meridian point.

    Long Xian and his son both held grudges towards the n¡¯s main family. Despite that, Long Tian¡¯s attitude towards the two had be much better after he had learned that Long Ding was about to break through. In other words, Long Tian only cared about who could help him, and he waspletely unconcerned about who actually broke through. Since Lu Yin wanted to go to the Dominion Realm, this was actually a precious opportunity for him, and Long Ding could only me himself for starting a fight with Long Qi.

    The crystal thread entered Lu Yin¡¯s body and touched his lower abdomen where his star energy was stored. Lu Yin had never paid attention to that particr location before, and he had not known that this was where his lower meridian point was located. The crystal thread stopped at that point, and then he felt an excruciating pain spread out from that point in this body. It felt as if his body was being torn apart.

    Sweat beaded out from his forehead as his body started cracking apart like Long Ding¡¯s. Blood pooled around his feet as he was forced to suffer the pain while also being wary of Long Xian.

    At this moment, the Flying Armor Troops¡¯ powerhouses all showed up, and they started attacking him. Even though there were no Envoys present, there were still numerous attackers.

    Despite that, all of the attacks were blocked by the protective ring. Lu Yin felt extremely grateful towards Long Xi at this moment.

    The battle between Long Xian and Long Kui heated up, and their power caused Flying Armor Pass to shake. Gui roared nonstop, still trapped by the Flying Armor Array.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. The pain was almost enough to cause him to faint. He knew that he had to stay conscious, as Long Kui might not be able to endure against the Flying Armor Array. If the elder was trapped by the array, then Long Xian would be able to freely attack. Lu Yin preferred to reveal as little of his items as possible, as most of them could only be used once.

    ¡°Long Qi, give me back the crystal thread!¡± Long Ding thrust his spear at Lu Yin, but the attack was easily blocked by the ring. Numerous powerhouses from the Flying Armor Troops were still surrounding the protective ring.

    Lu Yin nced over at Long Ding. Blood dripped down from the corner of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled Long Ding into the ring. Long Ding¡¯s strength had already returned to its previous level, and he waspletely unable to oppose Lu Yin. The Flying Armor Troops¡¯ powerhouses shouted when they saw Lu Yin drag Long Ding into the protective circle, but Lu Yin just ignored them. He looked up and took a deep breath. ¡°Long Xian, take a look at your precious son!¡±

    His powerful shout actually helped to slightly alleviate Lu Yin¡¯s pain.

    High in the sky, Long Xian was still controlling the Flying Armor Array and trying to trap Long Kui while Long Kui retaliated with White Dragon Surveying the Sky. Lu Yin¡¯s yell had drawn both of their attention, and they looked down to see Long Ding being strangled by Lu Yin.

    Long Xian¡¯s face went pale, and he immediately dropped to the ground. He red at Lu Yin. ¡°Long Qi, don¡¯t you dare!¡±

    Long Kui remained high in the sky, but he was staring at Lu Yin in shock. Was this person really the same Long Qi? The Long Qi who had not even dared to dodge an attack from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Elder Qing Xing? Long Kui had never expected Long Qi to have the courage to threaten Long Xian with the life of his own son.

    Lu Yin met Long Xian¡¯s eyes and viciously threatened, ¡°Why would I be scared? If I kill your dear son, what are you going to do with the crystal thread when I return it to you? Do you have another son?¡±

    Long Xian was breathing heavily from his outrage. He was overwhelmed with regret at this moment. He should have been much more cautious of Long Qi. Since Long Qi was daring enough to steal the crystal thread and start a battle inside Flying Armor Pass, there was nothing that he would not be willing to do.

    ¡°Release Long Ding and give me that crystal thread, and I promise that I won¡¯t hurt you. I can even promise to fulfill one request from you. The Flying Armor Troops will also fully support you in the future.¡± Long Xian quickly started making anxious promises.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot? What use do I have for your support? I¡¯m just the main family¡¯s son-inw, not the young master.¡±

    Long Xian roared, ¡°What do you want? Tell me what you want!¡±

    Lu Yin turned even paler as his body continued to crack. Blood was still streaming down from his body, and he was enduring an intense pain that made him want to curse.

    Long Ding was constantly trying to escape as Lu Yin endured the pain of the process. However, Lu Yin¡¯s domain alone was enough to keep Long Ding trapped.

    Lu Yin ignored everything that Long Xian said, as Lu Yin was simply wanting to use the threat against Long Ding¡¯s life to stall for time. As soon as Lu Yin fully absorbed the crystal thread, Long Xian would be unable to do anything to him with Long Kui around.

    Long Kui descended to the ground.

    Long Xian looked over and raised a hand. Hismunication crystal vibrated, and Long Tian¡¯s image quickly appeared. The young man smiled. ¡°Commander Long Xian, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    But once he noticed how disheveled Long Xian was, Long Tian was shocked. The man looked as though he had gone through a war.

    Long Xian immediately exined, ¡°Young master, please save Long Ding! Long Qi¡¯s gone insane! He stole Long Ding¡¯s crystal thread and is threatening me with Long Ding¡¯s life!¡±

    Long Tian turned around and saw Lu Yin attempting to open his lower meridian point, and also that he had captured Long Ding. Long Tian waspletely stunned despite his status as the n¡¯s young master. Just what was going on?

    ¡°Young master, please save Long Ding! Long Ding purposely suppressed his cultivation to ensure that he would be able to sessfully break through and help you during your trip to the Dominion Realm. Please save him and force Long Qi to return the crystal thread. I, Long Xian, swear that Long Ding will definitely be of great help to you when you go to the Dominion Realm. He will even be willing to sacrifice his life for you!¡± Long Ding pleaded in a rough voice. He sounded truly pitiful.

    Long Tian¡¯s gaze flickered as he observed the scene disyed before him. Long Ding? Long Qi? Long Ding? Long Qi? Who should he help here?

    Just like Long Kui, Long Tian also secretly hoped for Long Qi to open his meridian point.

    ¡°Young Master, Long Qi is only a Hunter, and he won¡¯t be able to be an Enlighter anytime soon. Even if he sessfully opens his meridian point, he still won¡¯t be of any help in the Dominion Realm!¡± Long Xian shouted.

    True, this was the most important detail. Long Qi would not be able to help Long Tain no matter how much strength he potentially gained. There was no way he would ever be able to improve faster than Long Tian himself. In the end, Long Tian cared only about himself, and thus, he quickly spoke up. ¡°Long Qi, release Long Ding and return the crystal thread. The White Dragon n has its rules, and it is forbidden to steal from fellow nsmen. Do you want to die?¡±

    Long Xian also shouted, ¡°As long as you release Long Ding and return the crystal thread, I can pretend that nothing has happened today.¡±

    Long Tian was quite satisfied with Long Xian¡¯s attitude. Regardless of everything else, Long Qi was still the main family¡¯s son-inw. Long Tian had promised Long Xi that he would protect Long Qi, and Long Xi was far more important than Long Ding.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1404: Biased

    <h4>Chapter 1404: Biased</h4>

    Lu Yin kept his head low as he endured the pain of opening his lower meridian point. He could not care less about what Long Tian was saying; it was none of his business.

    Long Tian grew annoyed when Lu Yin ignored him. ¡°Long Qi, did you hear me? I said to release Long Ding and return the crystal thread.¡±

    Lu Yin remained focused on his task. He could tell that he would seed soon.

    Long Tian bellowed, ¡°Long Qi, I¡¯m talking to you!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned; this guy was so noisy! If Lu Yin did not need to hide his strength, then he would have already used his God of Death Transformation and attacked Long Tian with his scythe. Lu Yin wanted to see if this Junior Progenitor was able to withstand an attack from his God of Death Transformation.

    ¡°LONG QI!¡± Long Tian roared. He was furious that Long Qi was still ignoring him.

    Long Xian grew tense and clenched his fists. The situation that he had been the most worried about had still urred. Long Qi was so tempted by the crystal thread that he was ignoring the Junior Progenitor.

    Long Tian was about to scream at Lu Yin once again when a melodious female voice was heard. ¡°Brother, why are you so angry?¡±

    Long Tian turned around to see that Long Xi¡¯s image had appeared in front of Long Kui. Her turquoise hair billowed in the wind, and her amber eyes were locked onto Long Tian. She was as beautiful as a painting of a fairy.

    Long Tian suppressed his anger when he saw that Long Xi had appeared. ¡°Long Qi is too arrogant! He¡¯s ignoring my orders.¡±

    Long Xi looked into the hole in the ground. She was already aware of what had happened. This incident had shocked the entire White Dragon n. Long Tian was the only one unaware of the situation, as he had been busy training. Long Xi had not expected Long Xian to contact her brother so quickly.

    When Long Xi had first heard about the battle in Flying Armor Pass and that Long Qi had seized the crystal thread, she had been unexpectedly happy. Every wife would hope for their husband to be powerful, and although it was not kind for Long Qi to steal the crystal thread from Long Ding, gaining a crystal thread wouldpletely change Long Qi¡¯s future if he managed to open his meridian point.

    Long Xi was not the only one happy with this development, as many people from the main family were delighted that Lu Yin had grabbed the crystal thread, though some of them hoped that Long Qi would bring the crystal thread back to the n to help one of the n¡¯s powerhouses open their meridian point. Long Tian¡¯s generation had a few experts besides Long Xi, and some were about to be Enlighters. Even if Long Qi just gave the crystal thread to Long Xi, it would still be good for the n, even though the n had already prepared a crystal pir for her. No matter what, the people of the main family did not want to help Long Xian.

    ¡°Brother, what do you want to tell Long Qi? Tell me,¡± Long Xi said in a cold voice.

    Long Tian¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Tell him to return the crystal thread and release Long Ding.¡±

    Long Xiughed. ¡°Brother, you¡¯re making things difficult for Long Qi.¡±

    Long Tian¡¯s eyes shed.

    ¡°Long Qi is currently opening his meridian point, and his body is undergoing a transformation. There¡¯s no way he can hear you right now due to the pain that he¡¯s experiencing,¡± Long Xi exined.

    Long Tian finally rxed; Long Xi was correct. When Long Tian observed Lu Yin more closely, he saw his deathly pale face and the pool of blood that had formed beneath him. At this moment, Lu Yin was suffering terrible pain, and this was something that Long Tian himself had already experienced. He had managed to endure the pain, but it was possible that Long Qi would fail. There was no way that Long Qi couldpare to Long Tian, so it was entirely possible that Long Qi could not hear anything at this moment.

    Long Xian also epted this exnation and forced himself to calm down.

    Long Tian kept his voice calm. ¡°Sister, after Long Qi is finished with this, tell him to release Long Ding and return the crystal thread.¡±

    Long Xi retorted harshly, ¡°Brother, do you want to force the crystal thread out of Long Qi¡¯s body?¡±

    Long Tian paused, but then he fell silent. He would have to force the crystal thread out of Long Qi¡¯s body in order to return it to Long Ding.

    Long Xian anxiously spoke up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, princess. I won¡¯t be too harsh on your husband, and I will definitelypensate the main family as well. Starting from now, the Flying Armor Troops will fully support the Junior Progenitor, and Long Ding will definitely be of help to you and the Junior Progenitor when you travel to the Dominion Realm.¡±

    Long Xian behaved in a very servile manner, as he was scared that Long Xi would reject this suggestion.

    Long Xi smiled at Long Xian. ¡°You being able to support my brother will all depend on whether or not you are a traitor to humanity.¡±

    Long Xian looked up at her in shock. ¡°Why would you say such a thing, princess?¡±

    Long Xi replied, ¡°The Fourteenth Gate is already investigating you. Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re unaware.¡±

    Long Xian clenched his fists. He knew that Long Xi was trying to help Long Qi. ¡°The Fourteenth Gate is only trying to find out how I managed to obtain so many tribtion crystals. I received all of them from an elder, and I have no connection to the traitors. Moreover, why would those monsters spend so many resources on me? I¡¯m just themander of the Flying Armor Troops. To be realistic, I¡¯m not worth that much effort.¡±

    Long Xi clearly understood what the man meant, and the Fourteenth Gate understood as well. This was why Long Xian was no longer suspected of being a traitor. However, at this moment, the usation was merely an excuse, and it was irrelevant whether or not Long Xian was actually a traitor.

    ¡°The tribtion crystals has allowed you to help Long Ding get closer to my brother, or maybe the crystals could allow Long Ding to ambush my brother when in the Dominion Realm. This price would definitely be worth it if these crystals helped them eliminate a future Progenitor,¡± Long Xi said calmly.

    Long Xian was enraged. ¡°This is nonsense! Even if you are the n¡¯s princess, you can¡¯t nder me in order to support your husband. You will disappoint the people of the White Dragon n, particrly the people from the branch families.¡±

    Long Tian reprimanded his sister, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Sister, that¡¯s too far.¡±

    Long Xi replied, ¡°It¡¯s just spection. But brother, how can you be sure that I¡¯m wrong? You can ask Master Guo. He¡¯s also from the Fourteenth Gate.¡±

    Long Tian turned towards Guo Shan.

    Guo Shan slowly said, ¡°I¡¯m here to investigate Long Xian.¡±

    This was all he said, but everyone heard him agreeing with Long Xi.

    Long Xian almost vomited blood. These bastards were ndering him; he really was not a traitor!

    Long Tian also grew suspicious. He had always been a paranoid, selfish, and narcissistic person. If it was true that Long Xian was a traitor and that he had nned to have Long Ding attack once they were in the Dominion Realm, there was a very real chance of the plot seeding. Long Tian was very arrogant, which made him feel that such betrayal was quite likely.

    Eliminating a future Progenitor for the price of some tribtion crystals was definitely worth the price.

    Long Xian knew that nobody would stand up for him once he saw Long Tian¡¯s expression change. The White Dragon n¡¯s main family and the Fourteenth Gate were both working against him now.

    ¡°Junior Progenitor, I swear that I¡¯ve never made any ns to have Long Ding attack you! I am definitely not a traitor!¡± Long Xian shouted pathetically, still trying to gain Long Tian¡¯s support.

    Guo Shan felt torn. If he said anything at this point in time, it would definitely change the situation for Long Xian and Long Ding, but it was also true that Guo Shan and Long Qi were both from the Fourteenth Gate. Thus, Guo Shan would not help Long Xian. Moreover, Guo Shan had not lied and had not ndered Long Xian. He really had been sent to Flying Armor Pass to investigate Long Xin; it was just that he had not mentioned that the investigation had already finished. There was no need to announce that particr detail as there was no reason to publicize the results of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s investigations. Thus, Guo Shan had done nothing wrong.

    Everyone carefully observed Long Tian as they waited for his decision. He was the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and his decisions affected many people¡¯s lives. Lu Yin was the only person present who waspletely ignoring Long Tian.

    Long Tian finally made a decision. He looked towards the hole in the ground. ¡°Long Qi,e to Dragon Mountain in the Higher Realm with that crystal thread. Commander Long Xian and Long Ding should do the same. We will then conduct an internal investigation within the n. If Commander Long Xian isn¡¯t a traitor, then the crystal thread will be returned to Long Ding, and Long Qi will be punished.¡± He then turned to face Long Xian. ¡°What do you think,mander?¡±

    When Lu Yin heard Long Tian¡¯s decision, he realized how ruthless this person was. Long Xian and Long Ding would bepletely powerless once they were at Dragon Mountain. They were only able to speak up at this moment because of the Flying Armor Array. There was no way the White Dragon n¡¯s main family would ever let the two off after they arrived at Dragon Mountain, and Lu Yin would not be allowed to keep the crystal thread either. In fact, he might even receive a punishment.

    Long Tian¡¯s goal was simple; he wanted to get his hands on the crystal thread and then find the most suitable candidate who would unconditionally support him in the Dominion Realm. Long Tian did not care about Long Xian or his son at all.

    Long Xian¡¯s expression turned grim, and he coldly replied, ¡°Junior Progenitor, Long Ding contacted you the moment he was about to finish opening his meridian point because he has idolized you since childhood, and he truly wishes to help you.¡±

    Long Tian remained calm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you aren¡¯t a traitor, nobody will be able to do anything to you.¡±

    He then turned to face Long Xi. ¡°Sister, what do you think?¡±

    He shot her a pointed look, and she obviously was aware of his intentions. She looked at Lu Yin, who was suffering terribly, and said, ¡°Brother, Long Qi has absorbed the crystal thread and is about to open his meridian point. With his strength, he might actually die if we force the crystal thread out of his body. As an alternative, if we manage to confirm that Commander Long Xian isn¡¯t a traitor, then I, Long Xi, will use the rest of my life to repay his family.¡±

    Guo Shan rolled his eyes. The moment Long Xian and his son arrived at Dragon Mountain, they would have other crimes pinned on them, even if they were not traitors. Guo Shan realized that the White Dragon n¡¯s people were all experts at speaking meaningless words. Who had imed that these people were honest?

    Long Tian frowned. His goal was the crystal thread; what would be the point if Long Qi kept the crystal thread?

    Long Xian sneered. Everyone was trying to take advantage of him. Long Tian, Long Xi, and even the Fourteenth Gate were merely using him. It was pointless for him to rely on any of these people. He took a deep breath and pressed down with a hand. The cube of light that had kept Gui trapped suddenly fell to the ground, trapping Long Kui instead while leaving Gui free in the sky.

    Long Xian then suddenly threw his spear at Lu Yin, as he wanted to kill the youth and seize the crystal thread back, even if it meant betraying the White Dragon n. The moment Ding¡¯er opened his meridian point, the two of them would be wee to join any of the other ruling powers in the Higher Realm. Also, Long Xian himself was an Envoy, so he was not stuck with the White Dragon n.

    Nobody had expected Long Xian to suddenly attack, as doing so meant betraying the White Dragon n. Did he no longer care about Long Ding?

    ¡°Stop!¡± Long Tian shouted.

    Long Kui roared and tried to escape from the Flying Armor Array. Despite his efforts, his physical strength could notpare to Gui¡¯s, even though the human was more powerful overall. Given how long Gui had been trapped for, there was no way the Envoy would be able to escape without spending a great deal of time and effort on it.

    The four eyes on Gui¡¯s two heads went wide as it charged towards Long Xian.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: WQ

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1405: Decisive

    <h4>Chapter 1405: Decisive</h4>

    Long Xian quickly reached the protective ring around Lu Yin. This power vessel was able to withstand an attack from an Envoy who had passed their first tribtion. However, Long Xian had already passed his second tribtion, so he was much more powerful.

    Long Xian was taking a gamble. He was hoping that the ring would not be able to withstand his attack and that Long Qi would either not dare to or not have the ability to kill Long Ding. Since Long Qi was still opening his meridian point, the pain that he was suffering should render him barely conscious.

    Long Xian was a vicious person, which was how he had managed to be themander of the Flying Armor Troops. No matter how desperate he might be, he would still make this choice, even if it ended up with the two of them dying together.

    If Lu Yin were a normal cultivator or the person that Long Xi believed him to be, then being attacked by an Envoy would have flustered badly. Furthermore, he was still busy opening his first meridian point. However, Lu Yin was not Long Qi; he was Lu Yin. He was the master of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, champion of ZENITH, and the person who had trashed Daynight Flowzone.

    Although Long Xian was vicious, Lu Yin was even worse. The moment Long Xian¡¯s spear pierced through the ring¡¯s protective barrier, Lu Yin immediately shoved Long Ding in front of the spear. If Long Xian continued his attack, he would definitely kill his own son.

    Long Xian had considered all of Lu Yin''s possible reactions, and he had assumed that the youth would most likely be frozen with fear. He had not expected Lu Yin to decisively force Long Ding towards the spear within the instant that the spear pierced the ring. Long Xian immediately pulled his spear back and stopped his attack.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to push Long Ding towards Long Xian before shooting up and out of the hole in the ground.

    Long Xian caught Long Ding as the youth fell. Long Ding spat a mouthful of blood onto Long Xian¡¯s face, but Long Xian ignored the blood and instantly pulled out some pills to treat Long Ding.

    Long Ding had been injured heavily, but he still managed to grab Long Xian¡¯s shirt and said, ¡°Father, kill- kill Long Qi! Re- revenge.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get your revenge! I¡¯ll kill Long Qi.¡± Long Xian screamed, ¡°Flying Armor Troops! Protect the young master!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Commander.¡±

    Long Tian¡¯s image had disappeared the moment Long Xian had attacked, as the connection between themunication crystals had been lost. At the same time, Long Xi¡¯s call had been lost when Long Kui had been trapped by the Flying Armor Array.

    They had both seen Long Xian attack, but they had not seen what had happened right afterwards.

    However, Long Kui had witnessed the entire incident. He was shocked, and his impression of Lu Yin changed once again. He had been near certain that Lu Yin would be killed by Long Xian, and he had not thought that Lu Yin would be able to do anything like what he had.

    Gui flew towards the ground, its ws grasping for Long Xian.

    Countless scales covered Long Xian¡¯s body as he used his spear to stop Gui. The beast forced the Envoy beneath the ground, and the man roared, ¡°Get away!¡±

    He called down the stellr energy in the sky above, which caused visible ripples to spread out that forced Gui back. The stellr energy continued on, sweeping across the entire city and stripping everyone of their control over their star energy, even Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was scared. It was too unrealistic for him to fight against an Envoy when he was not even able to properly control his own star energy. Lu Yin had reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, but he still was unable to control the star energy within his body.

    He moved to hide behind Long Kui while keeping a careful eye on Long Xian.

    Long Xian was such a massive threat that Lu Yin even forgot about the pain that he was currently suffering. Long Xian¡¯s killing intent was so strong that it had physically manifested as that surge of stelllr energy.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a chill run down his back and a cold wind envelop his feet. His eyes narrowed; something was wrong. There was an assassin behind him. An Astral Chessboard appeared below his feet, and within his vision, everyone became a chess piece in that moment, including Long Kui, Long Xian, Guo Shan, the Flying Armor Troops, their battle techniques, and even the hidden assassin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin instantly understood his situation, and he saw that a powerful wind was only a few meters away from him. This wind hade from an average looking old man outside the military headquarters. Although this attack would not be enough to kill Lu Yin, the old man had used stellr energy in this attack, which meant that this assassin was an Envoy.

    Realmless kept sending more and more powerful assassins.

    Lu Yin immediately used the Ce Secret Art to move the strong wind towards Long Xian.

    Long Kui had his back to Lu Yin, so he did not see anything.

    However, Long Xian had seen what Lu Yin had done. Was that a secret technique?!

    Even in the Perennial World, secret techniques were very rare. Long Xian did not have any, and neither did Long Ding. Long Kui, Liu Lu, and many others also had no secret techniques.

    For Long Xian, it waspletely unexpected that Lu Yin would know a secret technique.

    It was also out of the expectations of the assassin from Realmless.

    The strong wind swept right past Lu Yin and Long Kui and headed towards Long Xian.

    Long Xian used his spear and blocked the attack out of reflex, but Gui¡¯s attacknded at the same time. Three battle techniques shed, and a crack appeared in the Flying Armor Array. Coincidentally, a crack spread towards Long Ding¡¯s direction, and it split his body in half.

    Long Xian went pale and screamed, ¡°Ding¡¯er¡ª!¡±

    The crack devoured everything nearby, and many of the Flying Armor Troops were shredded.

    Guo Shan anxiously moved without stopping as he tried to escape from the crack.

    The assassin from Realmless was astonished. Lu Yin had actually learned a secret technique, and it was also one that the assassin had never seen before. This assassination attempt had failed like all the others, so the assassin immediately left.

    A crack appeared in the sky, and it caused a fissure to appear in the Flying Armor Array. Long Kui took this chance to escape, grabbing Lu Yin and Guo Shan and putting them on Gui¡¯s back.

    The rift in the Flying Armor Array onlysted for a brief moment before being repaired by the sourcebox array. Long Xian had a tremendous advantage within Flying Armor Pass, and Lu Yin and Guo Shan were nothing more than burdens to Long Kui. Since Long Ding had died, Long Xian would not think twice about betraying the White Dragon n, and nobody knew what he might do.

    As Gui flew away from Flying Armor Pass, Lu Yin heard Long Xian¡¯s vengeful scream. It was clear this man had a huge grudge against him.

    Long Kui raised a hand. Hismunication crystal vibrated, and Long Xi¡¯s image appeared. She looked extremely worried, and she sighed in relief when she saw that Lu Yin was fine. ¡°Elder, protect Long Qi while he opens his lower meridian point.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry, Princess. What should we do about Long Xian?¡± Long Kui asked.

    Long Xi frostily replied, ¡°He betrayed the White Dragon n, so you can deal with him as soon as Long Qi is safe, Elder.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Long Kui nodded.

    Lu Yin finally refocused on the pain that he was still suffering after leaving Flying Armor Pass. Waves of pain and nausea swept over him, but fortunately he had already endured through half of the process.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin with concern, but her voice remained firm. ¡°You must get through this and sessfully open your meridian point. Once you do so, nobody will ever look down on you, and you will be one of my White Dragon n¡¯s pirs. You have to get through this.¡±

    Lu Yin growled, ¡°I will.¡±

    Long Xi closed her eyes and disappeared.

    Gui sped up, and Lu Yin was taken to a hidden area two hours away. There were no people in this area, and Gui¡¯s aura was enough to prevent random beasts from approaching.

    Long Kui and Guo Shan quietly stood some distance away.

    Lu Yin continued enduring the pain. Finally, after some more time passed, the pain disappeared. His body hadpletely adapted to the tribtion crystals, and he had sessfully opened his first meridian point.

    Opening this point gave Lu Yin an indescribable feeling. He could feel that the star energy flowing through his body had subtly changed, but it was only a slight change. Still, it made him much stronger, and he could now shift the form of his star energy more easily. He casually attempted some attacks and noticed some obvious changes in his techniques. Despite that, the changes to his body were the greatest.

    Lu Yin could feel that he had be physically stronger. Before, he had been limited to 250 Stack Vacuum Palms, but he felt that he was now capable of unleashing 300 Stacks. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any Root of Intelligence to make tea, so he would not be able to simte 300 Stacks for the time being. Regardless, this increase in strength would allow his 250 Stack Vacuum Palms to be stronger.

    Given the increase in physical strength, Lu Yin¡¯s speed had also increased, and the flow of star energy within his body had also improved. Lu Yin clenched his fists in excitement. This was a huge improvement to his overall strength. Given his current ability, he would be able to defeat Wang Yi and Wu Taibai, who had beenparable to him during ZENITH. Back then, his attacks had just barely reached the limit that they could endure, but now, he easily exceeded that limit. At this time, given Lu Yin¡¯s various abilities, he would be able to easily defeat either of them. However, this increase in strength was still notparable to the power that he had achieved with the God of Death Transformation.

    If he could achieve that level of power, it would be ideal.

    Opening the first meridian point had practically doubled Long Ding¡¯s strength, but due to Lu Yin¡¯s greater strength, his power had not doubled. Rather, his power would likely double once he opened the middle meridian point, and it might even allow him to reach the same level of strength that he had enjoyed with the God of Death Transformation.

    Blood stained the ground beneath his feet. Lu Yin still felt a touch of fear, and he hoped that he would not have to endure so much pain when opening the next two meridian points. This ordeal had truly been excruciating.

    The crystal thread was still in his first meridian point, and he would need to slowly absorb it.

    Long Ding had been too hasty. If he had waited for the tribtion crystal to be fully absorbed before challenging Lu Yin, then events would have proceeded far differently.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seeded?¡± Long Kui and Guo Shan looked at Lu Yin with zing eyes.

    Lu Yin nodded and clenched his fists. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve be much stronger. It feels like my strength has more than doubled! It would be much easier for me to defeat Long Ding now.¡±

    Neither of the older men were at all surprised.

    Long Kui smiled. ¡°Long Ding was much stronger than you. The stronger the person is, the less pronounced the results of opening a meridian point. However, your improvements should be even more impressive than his. Congrattions.¡±

    Guo Shan turned to look at Long Kui in shock before gazing at Lu Yin with a clear question in his eyes. It looked like the White Dragon n did not know much about Long Qi. How could Long Ding possibly be stronger than this kid? It was theplete opposite!

    Lu Yin cleared his throat and red back at Guo Shan.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve managed to sessfully open your lower meridian point, stay here until you fully absorb the tribtion crystal. Don¡¯t repeat Long Ding¡¯s mistakes,¡± Long Kui said coldly.

    Lu Yin already knew what the elder intended to do. Long Xian now held an intense hatred for the White Dragon n, and Long Kui had to eliminate such an enemy.

    ¡°Gui will stay here and protect you. Conceal your aura and don¡¯t go anywhere until I return.¡± Long Kui then leaped up and disappeared into the true universe as he made his way back to Flying Armor Pass.

    Gui shrank down to the size of a palm and then hopped onto Lu Yin¡¯ shoulder. The beast was Lu Yin¡¯s temporary personal bodyguard.

    Lu Yin turned to Guo Shan. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Guo Shan was taken aback. ¡°For what? I didn¡¯t help you with anything. I only spoke the truth. Don¡¯t randomly thank me, as you¡¯ll get me in trouble.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I know.¡±

 Chapter 1406: A Sinister Plan

    <h4>Chapter 1406: A Sinister n</h4>

    ¡°Alright, I need to go. I didn¡¯t expect this mission to be so eventful, and I should do some self reflection,¡± Guo Shan said helplessly.

    ¡°Do I have another mission?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Guo Shan answered, ¡°You might have had one before what just happened, but now, I¡¯m not so sure.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Yin was confused.

    Guo Shan enviously exined, ¡°You¡¯ve opened your lower meridian point, and you also beat Liu Lu earlier, which means that you might have a chance of going to the Dominion Realm. That¡¯s why you won¡¯t be given any missions unless you¡¯re confirmed to not be going. You should know that no mission is considered more important than someone potentially bing a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. If Humility''s Gate felt that he had a chance, then it meant that there was a good chance that Long Tian would contact him soon.

    Opening his lower meridian point had provided Lu Yin with an excuse to reveal more of his strength. Even though he still couldn¡¯t fully reveal everything, it should be fine for him to appear to be as powerful as Unseen Light. The best time for Lu Yin to demonstrate his increased strength would be after bing an Enlighter.

    It would not be easy for him to be an Enlighter, as he had onlypleted his sixteenth cycle as a Hunter even after using Long Xi¡¯s blood. If he suddenly became an Enlighter within such a short period of time, then Long Xi would be suspicious, and that would get him in trouble.

    More importantly, would he face any obstacles when bing an Enlighter?

    He recalled the issues that he had faced during his previous breakthroughs and felt a bit of panic. Several of his past breakthroughs had been very difficult¡ªwould he face the same situation when breaking through to the Enlighter realm?

    Lu Yin quietly stayed in the forest while Long Kui returned to Flying Armor Pass.

    After Long Kui arrived, he realized that Long Xian had long since disappeared, along with Long Ding¡¯s body. The formermander had left the Flying Armor Troops behind.

    ¡°He fled really quickly, huh,¡± Long Kui muttered to himself. He looked towards the north. Even if Long Xian had run away, Long Kui could still track him down.

    He was going after Long Xian not only because the man was a traitor to the n, but also because of the tribtion crystals.

    The White Dragon n desperately wished to know how Long Xian had acquired so many tribtion crystals, and that was another reason why Long Tian had wanted Long Xian to return to Dragon Mountain. Once Long Xian reached the family¡¯s headquarters, there would be no escaping for him.

    The sky grew dark, and it started raining. The raindrops were light blue, and the drops looked like beams of light falling from the sky. Even though there was not much light, there was enough to illuminate Long Xian¡¯s face.

    Long Xian silently buried Long Ding in the ground with a scarily calm expression. He had nobody to talk to, and he hid his hatred deep within his heart as the rain sshed onto his hand.

    He looked back at where he hade from. Five hours had passed since he had left Flying Armor Pass, which was the moment that Long Kui had taken Long Qi. Long Xian had already known that the White Dragon n would never let him off.

    He was in great danger at this moment, as he had lost the White Dragon n¡¯s protection. There were countless people who wanted to learn where he had gotten that pir of tribtion crystal from.

    He hoped that nobody would be able to find him.

    Homeless, he moved towards the north. Long Xian was making his way to the Middle Ocean, as it covered a huge area, and there were many ces devoid of people. There were even a few ces that had developed along alternative lines of civilization. He was confident that nobody would be able to find him in the Middle Ocean, and he would only return after achieving a power level of at least a million.

    He did not have much interest in joining the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, or the Xia family. All of them would demand that he tell them the origins of the tribtion crystal pir, and that was not something that he could exin.

    An hourter, Long Xian was still fleeing from Flying Armor Pass when the sky in front of him suddenly cracked open. He saw a pair of cruel eyes appear and a hand that tried to grab him. Long Xian had already prepared himself for this, so he was not shocked that somebody would pursue him.

    He took out his spear and thrust it towards the person. Suddenly, five fingers appeared in front of him: ¡°Four Arts: Pearl.¡±

    This person was from the Wang family. Long Xian quickly tried to dodge, but he was already toote; one of his powers was sealed. Scales began to appear on his body, and when the hand struck his chest, his eyes nearly flew out of his head. He spat out a mouthful of blood and flew back, smashing into the ground.

    His physical strength must have been sealed, as he had been easily injured by that blow. Long Xian vomited blood once again as a ck silhouette appeared in front of him.

    The attacker had aparable strength to Long Xian¡¯s, as they had also passed through a second tribtion. However, the attacker had sealed Long Xian¡¯s physical strength, and his attack had seriously injured Long Xian, which left him unable to retaliate.

    The attacker said nothing at all, simply continuing tounch more attacks against Long Xian.

    Long Xian clenched his spear tightly before throwing it forward. The de pierced through the sky¡ªLong Xian was not actually trying to defeat his attacker. Instead, his main goal was to attract more people here.

    Long Xian was confident that, since somebody from the Wang family had appeared, people from Shenwu''s Sky and the Celestial Frost Sect would arrive as well.

    The attacker dodged the spear and immediately used Four Arts: Celestial de when they saw that the sky had been split open by the spear.

    Long Xian narrowly dodged this attack, but the attack¡¯s shockwaves injured his left arm. It also flung him ten meters away, and the attacker leaped after him. However, a finger suddenly appeared and pointed at Long Xian¡¯s attacker.

    The attacker backed off immediately as the finger shattered the entire area.

    Long Xian¡¯s eyes gleamed; this was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Celestial Being Shows the Way. They had shown up after all.

    The two people then started fighting each other, leaving Long Xian in between them. A few other famous powerhouses joined in a bitter, and Long Kui also arrived. He wanted to take Long Xian away, but he was unable to do so with so many powerhouses around.

    Long Xian recovered his strength and leaped into the true universe to escape. However, before he left, he cut off his right hand. It fell to the ground along with a cosmic ring on a finger.

    ¡°What you all want is in that cosmic ring. Nobody will be able to get anything if you chase after me,¡± Long Xian shouted before running away.

    Long Kui wanted to go after the n traitor, but his attention shifted to the cosmic ring. When he thought of the crystal pir, his eyes glittered, and he reached for the cosmic ring at the same time that the other people did.

    Long Xian did not even know who managed to snatch the cosmic ring, as there were still people chasing him. Not everyone had believed him.

    Even though Long Xian was an Envoy, he had already been seriously injured, and the stellr energy vortex in his left arm had been destroyed. This caused him to eventually fall out of the true universe, and several people rushed towards him from behind.

    Long Xian felt bitter. He had been themander of the Flying Armor Troops, and yet, he had still been forced into such a situation. If everything had gone ording to n, then he would currently be under the protection of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, and Long Ding would have been preparing to be an Enlighter. Then, Long Xian¡¯s son would have gone to the Dominion Realm with Long Tian. How had everything gone so horribly wrong? It was all that Long Qi¡¯s fault! Revenge! Long Xian wanted revenge.

    He could not die, as he still had to avenge Ding¡¯er. There was no way Long Xian could die here.

    Multiple people descended in front of him. Everyst one of them wanted to capture him. These people had not spoken a single word, as they did not want to reveal their identities.

    Although Long Xian had been injured, the people chasing after him were not Envoys. If any of them were, he would have been caught while still in the true universe. These people were just Enlighters.

    Long Xian managed to kill a few by putting his full efforts forth. Both his left arm and right hand were injured now, and he panted heavily. He had never suffered such terrible injuries before.

    ¡°Do you think that they came to capture you? That¡¯s wrong. They were only supposed to share your location. Only Envoys can capture you,¡± a soft voice said.

    Long Xian was shocked. There was blood at the corner of his lips, and a pool of blood on the ground. ¡°Who- who¡¯s speaking?¡±

    ¡°Was the tribtion crystal pir that I gave you useful?¡± the voice taunted.

    Long Xian was astonished. ¡°It was you! Are you the one who gave me that cosmic ring with the crystal pir? Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Sigh. You¡¯re so useless. I gave you a crystal pir, yet you let someone else reap the benefit of it.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Long Xian shouted.

    ¡°Are you trying to attract more people? Would that help you?¡±

    Long Xian copsed onto the ground and looked around. ¡°Who- who are you?¡±

    ¡°You already have your answer, and it¡¯s just that you don''t dare to say it aloud. Fine, I¡¯ll tell you: I am the enemy of all humanity. You are a traitor.¡±

    Long Xian grew furious. ¡°No, I¡¯m not! I never promised you anything, and I never helped you to do anything! What do you want? Why did you give me that crystal? What could I even do for you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already helped me. Who do you think spread the word that you had a crystal pir?¡±

    Long Xian gritted his teeth. ¡°It was you! You told Humility''s Gate! Why would you do that?¡±

    ¡°I merely spilled the information to them, and their conclusion was that you weren¡¯t a traitor. You got yourself into your current situation because you and your son were useless. That¡¯s why both of you were destroyed by others, and that¡¯s none of my business. Regardless, I still got the results I wanted, so you¡¯ve seeded at your mission.¡±

    Long Xian felt confused. ¡°What mission?¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, take a guess. Think about what you did.¡±

    Long Xian suddenly remembered the cosmic ring that he had left behind and the item that had been in the cosmic ring along with the tribtion crystal pir. His face went pale. ¡°It¡¯s a trap?¡±

    ¡°Using a pir of tribtion crystal to deal with four Junior Progenitors? Sounds like a good deal, no?¡±

    Long Xian trembled. He was finished. If the item in the cosmic ring was really a trap, then the deaths of the four Junior Progenitors would shock the entire Perennial World, and he would be the universe¡¯s biggest criminal. ¡°Why? Why did you choose me?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you very happy when you received the crystal pir? Are you regretting it now?¡±

    Long Xian closed his eyes. He had still held a glimmer of hope in his heart that he would be able to join the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, or the Wang family in order to get revenge on the White Dragon n. But now, he had nothing. He was going to be humanity¡¯s greatest traitor, and nobody would let him off. There would be no ce for him even in the Middle Ocean.

    ¡°You became a traitor the moment you left that cosmic ring behind. You did a great job on your mission, so why are you ming yourself? Just join us. You don¡¯t have any other choice.¡±

    Long Xian looked up at the sky. He was ovee with bitterness, desperation, and hatred. ¡°So this is how you groom traitors.¡±

    Most people had no desire to betray humanity but were instead forced to do so. Long Xian had been themander of the Flying Armor Troops, and yet he had unknowinglypleted a mission for these monsters.

    ¡°Do you want revenge?¡±

    These four words shed through Long Xian¡¯s mind, and he remembered the scene of Long Ding dying in his arms. He had to get revenge on Long Qi! He wanted to kill Long Qi and destroy the White Dragon n. He was going to get revenge on the four ruling powers. Long Xian had already changed.

    ¡°Humans will eventually die from their greed and hatred, and we will be the ultimate winners. Still, why is he here? That¡¯s quite interesting. Really interesting, hahahaha. Our ns will have to change, humans. Hahahaha!¡±

 Chapter 1407: Reveal

    Chapter 1407: Reveal

    The battle in Flying Armor Pass had even shocked the Higher Realm. Although the individuals participating in the battle were unimportant, they still represented many major forces.

    Flying Armor Pass had always been a ce that the Higher Realm¡¯s four ruling powers all coveted, and Long Xian had unexpectedly obtained enough tribtion crystals to allow Long Ding to open his lower meridian point. Every power desperately wanted to discover where these crystals hade from.

    In the end, Long Xian went missing. However, the people chasing after him had found something that seemed to be a map within the cosmic ring that he had left behind. The four ruling powers naturally split the map into four parts.

    There was chaos within the White Dragon n while everybody spoke about this incident. Many people criticized the main family for being too biased while the main family tried to use Humility¡¯s Gate as an excuse. The argumentsted for several days until the Celestial Frost Sect suggested that the map be pieced together.

    The map was eventually recognized as a sketch of the Dominion Realm, which meant that it most likely led to a massive treasure in the Dominion Realm that was somehow rted to the tribtion crystals that Long Xian had received.

    Lu Yin did not know how the four ruling powers would use the map that they had found, but he was excited as he looked at the man standing before him.

    ¡°If you want to stay in Dragon Mountain for the rest of your life and receive my sister¡¯s protection, then you can reject my offer. I will only ask you this once, and you will only ever have this one chance.¡± The man speaking to Lu Yin was Long Tian. The White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor had looked for Lu Yin, and he was asking Lu Yin to head to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. There, Long Tian would provide the resources for Lu Yin to be an Enlighter, and once Lu Yin seeded, he would be able to join the trip to the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin felt as though this opportunity had fallen into hisp. Although he had faced some struggles when he first arrived in the Perennial World, things were progressing quite smoothly now, and he had managed to achieve almost everything he had wanted.

    ¡°Will Long Xi agree to this?¡± Lu Yin pretended to be nervous as he asked.

    Long Tian frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that. This is the only time I will ask you this, and I will provide you with the resources to help you be an Enlighter. Are you willing to join me on the trip to the Dominion Realm?¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and solemnly replied, ¡°I will definitely help you without any conditions, brother.¡±

    Long Tian hesitated. While Long Qi¡¯s words sounded good, they also feltpletely fake. Long Tian still remembered the matter in Flying Armor Pass; had Lu Yin merely pretended not to hear the Junior Progenitor¡¯smands, or had he truly been unable to hear?

    Long Tian¡¯s gaze softened as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s sincere expression. No, he was certain that this person had been unable to hear at that time. Nobody from a secondary bloodline would dare to defy him. ¡°Fine. Come to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. I¡¯ll get everything ready for you.¡±

    With that, Long Tian¡¯s image disappeared.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky; get everything ready? He would need a massive amount of star crystals to be an Enlighter, but he had also prepared a decent amount himself. Nobody would suspect him if he received Long Tian¡¯s help to be an Enlighter. Since Long Tian was so confident, then it meant that he had probably already prepared arge amount of resources.

    Long Tian had approached Lu Yin because Lu Yin had defeated Long Ding after opening his first meridian point. On top of that, Lu Yin had then gone on to open his own lower meridian point. Thus, when he became an Enlighter, he would definitely be much more powerful than Long Ding could have ever been.

    Lu Yin smiled as he thought about this. The trip to the Dominion Realm would be very interesting. He wondered just how many familiar faces he would see there.

    Long Kui had ordered Lu Yin to remain where he was before returning to Flying Armor Pass. From the information that he had received from Guo Shan, Lu Yin knew that he likely would not be assigned any missions for the time being. Therefore, he decided to just patiently wait for Long Kui to lead him to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    In the Higher Realm, Yu Chen was carefully reading something within the Celestial Frost Sect when a man walked over and respectfully passed her a thick report. ¡°Miss, this is the information regarding the battle in Flying Armor Pass.¡±

    Yu Chen took the documents and slowly flipped through them. The information that she read shocked her. Long Qi had actually managed to defeat Long Ding even after Long Ding opened his first meridian point. Although Long Ding could not be considered an elite within the four ruling powers, he should have still been quite powerful after opening his first meridian point, enough to ce him within the three most powerful people within the Junior Progenitor¡¯s generation. Yu Chen could barely believe that Long Qi had already be so powerful. He had improved far too quickly.

    She grew serious as she scanned the information. The report was very detailed, and it included everything that had happened during the battle, including the conversation between Long Tian and Long Xi.

    After perusing the details, Yu Chen closed the folder. Had Long Qi really been unable to hear Long Tian¡¯s order? This was an important detail. Everything would be fine if Long Qi had been unable to hear Long Tian, but if he had heard the Junior Progenitor and simply ignored him, then that had huge implications. That would mean that Long Qi did not care about even a Junior Progenitor, which also would indicate that everything that had happened that day had been staged by Long Qi.

    Yu Chen was ustomed to considering events from the viewpoint of the worst case scenario. She used such reasoning to reexamine all of the information that she had on Long Qi, especially the incidents where he had tricked Mo Gaohe and the Guan brothers. She was astounded; could Long Qi have possibly arranged everything?

    However, how could he have known that the Guan brothers had all been Redbacks? How had he won Unseen Light over to his side? Had it really been nothing but a coincidence and that they were really old friends? That should not be possible.

    Yu Chen spent an hour reviewing everything that she had received on Long Qi before finally closing the folder with a bang.

    There had to be something more to this person. How could someone who had spent more time receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument than even Bai Xian¡¯er be so weak? How could such a person be willing to marry into the White Dragon n? What¡¯s more, all of Yu Chen¡¯s ns to deal with Lu Yin had failed spectacrly. This could not be a coincidence. She had been tricked by him, somebody who everyone had looked down on.

    Yu Chen carefully studied a picture of Long Qi¡¯s face. It was possible that there was a huge mystery behind this person, and she had to find out the truth.

    She immediately sent out an order. ¡°Tell everyone that Long Qi received an inheritance from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo.¡±

    The man standing behind her was stunned. ¡°We will have to sacrifice a jade butterfly to spread this bit of news.¡±

    Jade butterflies were what Yu Chen called the spies whom she had ced within the various forces, much like how the monsters had their own spies in the form of traitors to humanity.

    ¡°ording to the reports that we¡¯ve received from the jade butterflies, fewer than ten people within the White Dragon n are privy to this secret. Our man could very well be easily exposed,¡± the man emphasized.

    Yu Chen firmly replied, ¡°Then sacrifice him.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes shed. He looked at the image of Long Qi and sneered. This person had been trouble all along, and now, he was causing Yu Chen to sacrifice one of her jade butterflies. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Yu Chen sighed. It had not been easy for her to develop this particr jade butterfly, and she was making a massive sacrifice. However, she strongly believed that there was a tremendous mystery behind Long Qi, and she hated not knowing the truth. She hoped that her guesses were wrong and that Long Qi was nothing more than a lucky person. However, the more she thought about it, the less likely that seemed to be.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re real or fake¡ªI just need you to disappear,¡± Yu Chen said calmly, her eyes cold.

    Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo had been infamous throughout the Perennial World, and many people had had grudges with him. Also, his spiritual force had been very strong, and he had loved to uncover other people¡¯s secrets and expose them. He had also enjoyed revealing other people¡¯s battle techniques, and these pastimes had caused many people to attempt to kill him or otherwise hold grudges against him.

    Kui Luo had uncovered enough secrets to write an entire book, and it was even moreprehensive than Realmless¡¯s intelligence reports. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s greatest achievement had been instigating a battle between two Progenitors.

    Most people suspected him of being a Redback, but there were other people who insisted that that was not true, as he was too high profile. Instead, they imed that he was insane.

    No matter what the man¡¯s sanity was, he was still an enemy of the public who had caused chaos throughout the Perennial World. Before his death, he had arranged for people to reveal all the secrets that he had uncovered, which disgusted many people.

    There were a number of people who could no longer live with their heads held high due to the secrets that Kui Luo had revealed, and they hated Kui Luo to their core.

    Lu Yin was leisurely reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and considering how he would break through to be an Enlighter when hismunication crystal suddenly vibrated and Long Xi¡¯s image appeared. She looked exceptionally grim.

    Lu Yin felt guilty when he saw Long Xi¡¯s face, and he tried to remember if he had screwed anything up. He could not think of anything aside from stealing the crystal thread from Long Xian.

    ¡°Where are you?¡± Long Xi asked coldly.

    Lu Yin pouted. ¡°I¡¯m still here! I haven¡¯t even moved!¡±

    He continued to say, ¡°I haven¡¯t dared to move since you told me to wait here.¡±

    Long Xi looked upset, but she helplessly said, ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere. Elder Long Kui is on his way back from the Middle Ocean for you, and he¡¯ll get there within half a month.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I thought that the elder had just left the Middle Ocean, no? Are you saying that he¡¯ll get here that quickly?¡±

    ¡°The four ruling powers each have their own methods,¡± Long Xi said calmly. She then rubbed her temples as she mulled over something.

    Lu Yin felt curious, but he did not dare to ask any more questions.

    After a while, Long Xi asked, ¡°Who else knew that you received an inheritance from Kui Luo?¡±

    Lu Yin reflexively shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re the only ones I¡¯ve ever told. I never said anything to anyone else.¡±

    ¡°Does Unseen Light know about it?¡± Long Xi was staring intently at Lu Yin. She was the only one who knew that Unseen Light was a close friend of Long Qi¡¯s.

    Lu Yin answered firmly, ¡°He doesn¡¯t know. I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡±

    Unseen Light? He had never even heard of Kui Luo! They were just two trespassers!

    Long Xi sighed. ¡°This matter has been leaked.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. He had chosen to im to have received an inheritance from Kui Luo because he did not want the White Dragon n to investigate his past. Kui Luo had died a long time ago, but he had been everyone¡¯s enemy while he was alive. This was why Lu Yin had not been worried about the White Dragon n finding anything out. He also had no need to worry about the White Dragon n revealing anything, as it would be humiliating if such information was revealed.

    However, Lu Yin had not expected someone to reveal this. He was now in huge trouble, as Kui Luo had offended too many people. Although some of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s enemies were already dead, the ones that were still alive were all ancient, and Lu Yin trembled at the thought of these ancient powerhouses chasing after him.

 Chapter 1408: Hope Restaurant

    Chapter 1408: Hope Restaurant

    ¡°Who let this slip? Is someone trying to kill me? Do you realize that I¡¯ll be targeted by all those ancient people, and maybe even their descendants? And¡­¡± Lu Yin angrily began shouting at Long Xi.

    Long Xi felt guilty, so she quietly waited as Lu Yin yelled. After he finished ranting, she answered, ¡°One of our elder¡¯s nephew let this news slip. He was in charge of the n¡¯s intelligence gathering, and he was quite sharp. Nobody thought that he could be one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s jade butterflies.¡±

    Lu Yin was left confused. ¡°This isn¡¯t something that he would have lightly revealed. He must have known that doing this would expose him.¡±

    Long Xi kept her eyes on Lu Yin. ¡°That¡¯s actually something I need to ask you about. Just what did you do that forced Yu Chen to sacrifice such an important jade butterfly to deal with you?¡±

    Lu Yin gulped. That woman had to be insane! He had not done anything, so why would she give up such an important spy just to deal with him? Something had to be wrong!

    Ruminating, Lu Yin went over his recent actions. He really had not done anything particrly shocking. Back in the Fifth Maind, he had trashed Daynight Flowzone and unified the entire Outerverse;pared to that, he had kept quite a low profile in the Perennial World.

    Long Xi sighed helplessly. ¡°Never mind. Just ignore her. Keep waiting where you are for Elder Long Kui to bring you to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine with me going to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi frowned. ¡°I know that my brother made you a promise. I didn¡¯t want to agree to it at first, but you¡¯re in a rather unique situation right now. There aren¡¯t many ces where you can openly walk about in the Perennial World. Even on Dragon Mountain, there are quite a few people who still hate Kui Luo, so they will not be polite to you here either. The only safe ce for you is on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor as that ce is a reward for the Junior Progenitors due to their potential to be Progenitors in the future. Only members of the same generation can enter thes, and no one else is allowed there. Therefore, once you are on the, the Junior Progenitor is the most powerful individual there, and my brother will protect you.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright. Actually, I don¡¯t really want to go to the Dominion Realm since it sounds so dangerous.¡±

    ¡°I know. As long as you don¡¯t be an Enlighter, my brother won¡¯t force you to go with him.¡± Long Xi was worried that Lu Yin would misunderstand her, so she continued to say, ¡°That¡¯s not because he¡¯s worried about you, but rather because he won¡¯t want to take you since you won¡¯t be able to help him unless you manage to be an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°¡±I understand,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Long Xi reminded him of a few more details before ending the call.

    Lu Yin felt troubled, and he looked up towards the Higher Realm. Yu Chen had made trouble for him, and sooner orter, he would get even with her.

    ***

    Elsewhere in the Middle Realm, Liu Hao stood beside the Sword Monument as Elder Gao walked towards him. ¡°You¡¯vee to a decision?¡±

    Liu Hao nodded and respectfully answered, ¡°Xia Shenfei.¡±

    Elder Gao smiled. ¡°Out of the four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors, Xia Shenfei is one of the better ones.¡±

    Liu Hao replied, ¡°At least I won¡¯t have to worry about being betrayed if I¡¯m with him.¡±

    Elder Gao turned around as Liu Tianmu approached from another direction and bowed.

    ¡°Young one, have you considered who you will support?¡± Elder Gao asked.

    Liu Tianmu replied, ¡°Long Tian.¡±

    Neither Elder Gao nor Liu Hao were surprised. Bai Shaohong was not an option, as there were many powerhouses within the Celestial Frost Sect. Liu Hao could potentially rece one of them, but there was no way that Liu Tianmu would ever be considered an option, especially since no one in this ce had seen her Thirteen Swords. Thus, her only option was to go to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor and try her luck if she wanted to try to visit the Dominion Realm.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯m going to go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor, so I can escort you along the way,¡± Liu Hao offered.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Liu Tianmu calmly epted.

    ***

    Within Seed Garden, Nong Sanniang was rubbing her back out in the field. ¡°Am I getting older? I feel exhausted.¡±

    Nong Lie smirked. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re old.¡±

    Nong Sanniang red at him. ¡°What did you just say? I¡¯ll beat you up!¡±

    Nong Lie grinned. ¡°Who are you going to help, sis?¡±

    Nong Sanniang wiped off her sweat with a towel. As the towel unwrapped from around her head, her long ck hair billowed out with the wind. Although she only had average looks, she had a special aura as she stood in the field with her muddy feet. ¡°I guess Wang Su. We¡¯re both women, so I should help her.¡±

    Nong Lie nodded enthusiastically. ¡°I think that Wang Su¡¯s a good choice as well! The other three are guys, and you¡¯ll just get annoyed if you go with them.¡±

    Nong Sanniang rolled her eyes. ¡°As if I¡¯m that charming.¡±

    A Guo fruit suddenly rushed up from the field and leaped into Nong Sanniang¡¯s arms. It chittered adorably, seemingly attached to her a lot.

    Nong Sanniangughed happily.

    In the distance, Qiu Shi quietly sat on the ground in the middle of a golden wheat field.

    Then, she opened her eyes and leaped into the wheat field. The field suddenly gathered around and began to rapidly grow. Stars revolved around Qiu Shi before converging into the Celestial Sword. She shed her sword towards the wheat field and managed to break some of the nts, allowing her to see beyond the wheat field for a split second before the wheat continued its rapid growth.

    No matter how many shes Qiu Shi unleashed, she was still unable to escape the field. The field even moved with her as she moved around, trapping her within a circr area.

    Qiu Shi had been trapped within this wheat field ever since she had firstnded in the Perennial World. She knew that someone must have intentionally done this, and that person was unwilling to let her go no matter what she said or did.

    Two sprouts of wheat moved past her and disappeared into the wheat field.

    Qiu Shi was confused; what was this ce? There were many weird things here, but they were all very friendly and never fought. How could she escape?

    ***

    A great distance away, there was a city and an army on the unmoving yellow stripe of the Bifrost.

    The Bifrost was controlled by Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Yao Xuan looked up as an enormous creature flew towards him. Itnded, and a middle aged man motioned for Yao Xuan to approach him. ¡°Given your strength, you¡¯ll definitely be able to draw a Junior Progenitor¡¯s attention. When you achieve sess in the future, don¡¯t forget about me.¡±

    Yao Xuan smiled. ¡°I could never forget your help.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, let¡¯s go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor.¡±

    Multiple powerhouses were making their way towards the Junior Progenitors. Although the trip to the Dominion Realm was always dangerous, it was also an opportunity that had to be undertaken if one wanted to be a Progenitor. Even if the people who went on this trip were never able to be a Progenitor themselves, they would still have a good life after getting closer to a Junior Progenitor.

    Even people who were not particrly powerful would head to the Junior Progenitors. Oftentimes, their goal was to get a look at the young powerhouses and make sure that they did not offend them in the future.

    After half a month passed, Lu Yin also started making his way towards a Junior Progenitor. Long Kui felt annoyed when he saw the youth.

    The elder had realized that more and more problems had arisen ever since Long Qi had be engaged to Long Xi. Long Kui had initially believed that Long Qi was a quiet person and that his only task would be to protect the youth. However, many incidents had recently taken ce, and in particr, Long Qi had be a target even for other members of the White Dragon n after his connection to Kui Luo had been revealed.

    People kept asking Long Kui and Princess Long Xi about Long Qi¡¯s secrets. The elder had be quite annoyed by all of the hints that people kept dropping, and people had even started searching for the elder¡¯s mount, Gui.

    The worst part was that some of Long Kui¡¯s old friends had broken things off with him, which made the elder truly understand Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s influence. Long Kui felt disgusted that he was even being associated with Kui Luo, and this had led to his terrible mood.

    Meanwhile, the source of all of Long Kui¡¯s troubles, Long Qi, still appearedpletely calm and rxed, which made the Envoy even more frustrated.

    ¡°Apart from leaving you his inheritance, did Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo leave you any information?¡± Long Kui asked angrily.

    Lu Yin did not understand the question. ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Any secrets?¡±

    Lu Yin immediately shook his head. ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    Long Kui nced at the youth. ¡°Are you sure? A lot of my friends have reached out to me, and even people from the other ruling powers have contacted the White Dragon n, hoping to discover what you know. If he left any secrets to you, then you cannot tell anyone about them. Do you understand?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°Elder, I¡¯m not lying! I only received some old materials and cultivation resources. The battle techniques that I received were just normal ones like the Oveying Stacks Path as well as a few techniques to train my spiritual force. There was nothing else.¡±

    Long Kui stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Our trip to the Junior Progenitor might not be all that smooth. As soon as people find out where we¡¯re headed, a lot of people who want to find you will be after us. Be careful and don¡¯t say anything wrong.¡±

    Lu Yin regretted choosing Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo as the excuse for his strength. However, even if he had not done so, there were no other choices. He would have never been able to exin his extreme physical strength or his extremely powerful spiritual force while being a mere Hunter.

    Despite that, Long Kui was overly worried. The Middle Realm covered a huge area, so it would not be easy for anyone to catch up to them even if they knew where the two were headed to.

    ***

    At this same time, at one end of the Middle Ocean, there was a floating piece ofnd. This was Ind of Hope, and it was connected to all four Junior Progenitors. Anybody who wanted to go to the Junior Progenitors had to go through Ind of Hope and cross one of the bridges connecting thes to the ind.

    There was a huge restaurant on Ind of Hope called Hope Restaurant. It stood directly in front of the bridges that connected Ind of Hope to the four Junior Progenitors, and the unique bridges were all clearly visible from the restaurant, as were thes at the other ends of the bridges.

    As the trip to the Dominion Realm drew closer, groups of visitors of all ages arrived at Hope Restaurant, and not all of them were nning to continue on to the Junior Progenitors. Most of these people only wanted to take a look at who had earned the right to go to the Junior Progenitors while others just hoped to gain a bit of reputation.

    Hope Restaurant was huge and had seven levels, and each level had a radius of 100 kilometers. Despite that, cultivators were easily able to take in the situation of each entire level.

    Although fighting was not forbidden inside Hope Restaurant, the building had not decayed or been destroyed by the fighting because it had been built from the Mother Tree.

    Wood from the Mother Tree could only be destroyed by Semi-Progenitors at the minimum, and even such powerhouses could only cause minimal damage. This was why Hope Restaurant had managed to stay rtively intact, not being destroyed even if battles urred on a daily basis.

    Furthermore, the most special thing about Hope Restaurant was that there were no waiters or chefs. Still, as long as there were customers, various dishes would appear on the tables for them. Nobody knew where the dishes came from despite countless people trying to find out; all efforts had proven fruitless.

 Chapter 1409: Mr. Zui

    Chapter 1409: Mr. Zui

    Apart from Hope Restaurant, the rest of the Ind of Hope was covered in forest growth. There were not that many beasts in the forest, and since many people did not like how crowded Hope Restaurant was, they preferred to wait in the forest until the best time to enter a Junior Progenitor arrived.

    As more cultivators came to the Ind of Hope, more and more conflicts and fights broke out.

    One day, a strange looking creature that resembled a piece of paper arrived on the Ind of Hope and headed towards Hope Restaurant. There was one elder and one youth on the back of this paper creature.

    As the old man looked at the enormous building in front of him, he lifted a hand. The paper creature then folded itself into a piece of paper that fell into the old man¡¯s palm. ¡°This is Hope Restaurant, and it only opens once an era. The Ind of Hope only appears once the Junior Progenitors are determined, and your current goal is to build up your reputation inside Hope Restaurant until you are invited to a Junior Progenitor. Are you confident?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m confident that I can do that. Don¡¯t worry, senior,¡± the young man replied.

    The elder looked at the youth in a kindly manner. ¡°You came from my Nest, and I don¡¯t care about what you may have done in the past. As long as you sessfully enter a Junior Progenitor and travel to the Dominion Realm with a Junior Progenitor, all of your past crimes will be erased. Let¡¯s go¡ªShang Qing¡¯s story will begin here at Hope Restaurant.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Mr. Zui.¡±

    Each of the building¡¯s seven floors were very crowded. Anyone who was able toe here was either an elite or led by a powerhouse. Additionally, the higher the floor level, the more confident the upants were of their own strength, as there were a fixed number of tables inside Hope Restaurant, and that number would never increase.

    Nobody would willingly allow someone to step on their heads.

    Everyone wanted to sit at the top floor of Hope Restaurant, but there was an unspoken rule in the restaurant: only Envoys and the people they brought were allowed on the top floor. Everyone else had to remain on the lower six floors.

    Mr. Zui led Shang Qing to the first floor, and he had no intention of moving onto a higher floor.

    Nest was the Middle Realm¡¯srgest prison, so given their status, they had to keep a low profile.

    Most of the people on the first floor were young elites who hade on their own. People who had arrived with a senior would usually continue on to the higher floors. Still, the people on the first floor would not have been considered very powerful even if they had arrived with a senior.

    The first floor of Hope Restaurant also had the most empty seats.

    The two people sat down at a random table.

    Delicious dishes and alcohol soon appeared on the table.

    Mr. Zui took a deep breath and smiled happily. ¡°This is the smell that I remember! The alcohol here is the best.¡±

    He took arge gulp of the wine.

    Shang Qing was not interested in food or alcohol. Ever since he arrived in the Perennial World, he had kept his three streams of qi gathered at his waist as letting them swirl about his body would have attracted too much attention. Arch-Elder Zen had also advised everyone to keep a low profile before sending them to the Perennial World.

    After spending an hour drinking, Mr. Zui let out a burp. He had clearly drunk far too much, and he muttered to himself, ¡°The Ind of Hope only appears once every era, and there are just too few people who can live for more than an era. Even most of those Envoys have to go into cryostasis to allow themselves to see the next era. Meanwhile, any random asteroid in a gxy canst longer than us humans.¡±

    However, it did not matter how long a random asteroid could exist for; any random Explorer could easily destroy a that had existed for multiple eras while a Limiteer could easily destroy an asteroid. It did not even matter if the asteroid had witnessed the birth of humanity or any other species that might have existed before humans.

    ¡°Wisdom is the root of humankind.¡±

    Shang Qing felt confused. It seemed strange to hear such a thing from a criminal from Nest.

    Mr. Zui took another sip from his ss and sighed. ¡°Some people are just too smart, and their intelligence exceeds human limitations. Because of this, their ideas, ns, and schemes are able to change history.¡± He continued drinking as he rambled on. ¡°Those people are able to change history within just a few decades, and it¡¯s way, way too scary.¡±

    Shang Qing could not understand what Mr. Zui was talking about, and he was actually uninterested in listening to the older man¡¯s thoughts. Shang Qing was more interested in listening into the conversation at the table next to them.

    There was a ratherrge gap between the two tables, but as long as the cultivators did not intentionally stop others from listening in, it was rather easy to overhear conversations.

    ¡°Did you hear about the fight that just happened up on the sixth floor? I heard that quite a few families got involved.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard about it too. Families from the Middle Realm who support Shenwu''s Sky and the Celestial Frost Sect started fighting against each other when the families supporting the Wang family and the White Dragon n suddenly joined in.¡±

    ¡°I heard that it all started because of the Liu family and Seed Garden. Miss Yu Chen, the maid of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, personally went to invite Liu Hao, but he chose to support Shenwu''s Sky instead. Meanwhile, Seed Garden¡¯s Nong Sanniang chose to support the Wang family. Both of those oues upset the people from the Celestial Frost Sect. Yu Chen is many people¡¯s idol, so a lot of people are happy to start a fight for her since she was rejected.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, those people are idiots. None of that is any of their business. No matter how intense the battle might get, Miss Yu Chen would still never take a look at any of them.¡±

    At another table, other people were talking as well. ¡°I heard that Wan Wu went to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. He was sent by the Adventure King.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Adventure King toe to the Middle Realm. He¡¯s the most important person in Root, and he is devoted to cleaning up the Lower Realm. He¡¯s the most knowledgeable person when ites to the Lower Realm.¡±

    ¡°The Adventure King is truly a respectable man, which is why Wan Wu was epted to the White Dragon n Junior Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Wan Wu didn¡¯t go to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor because of the Adventure King. Wan Wu is already an Enlighter, and he¡¯s been training in the Lower Realm. Thus, Junior Progenitor Long Tian will need to rely on him during his trip to the Dominion Realm.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    Shang Qing paused; Wan Wu was a disciple of the Adventure King who had been in the Lower Realm.

    ¡°Oh, someone from Root went up again. Those people are hard to deal with. They¡¯re always down in the Lower Realm, so all of them have a strong killing aura.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, so what if they have a killing aura? The elites of our Middle Realm are all from the four ruling powers or their subordinate powers. If they were from anywhere else, they would have already been removed.¡±

    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t talk about that! Don¡¯t you want to stay alive?¡±

    ¡°Did I say something wrong? The Star Alliance is-¡±

    A stick of bamboo suddenly flew towards the speaker from a distance and pierced through his neck, spilling his blood on the ground.

    The man copsed to the ground, dead.

    Most people turned towards the entrance as an old man walked in. His eyes were vicious, and golden mes covered his body that burned the sky and distorted space. He was clearly an Envoy.

    ¡°He deserved to die for spouting such nonsense.¡± The old man continued on his way to a higher floor without even ncing at anyone on the first floor.

    The people on the first floor all fell silent as they stared at the dead man.

    Everyone knew what they could and could not say if they wanted to survive in the Perennial World. This person must have had a grudge against the four ruling powers. Otherwise, he would have never said something so extreme.

    ¡°That senior is from the Purple-Gold Family, right?¡±

    ¡°Right. The people from the Purple-Gold Family are easily recognized. In that case, Jin Feiyuan should arrive soon.¡±

    ¡°Jin Feiyuan has already been confirmed to be going to the Dominion Realm with the team from Shenwu''s Sky. We¡¯ll be able to see the Purple-Gold Family¡¯s young master.¡±

    Mr. Zui was very drunk at this time, and even the man¡¯s death a moment ago had not drawn a bit of his attention. He finally set his ss down after hearing Jin Feiyuan¡¯s name. ¡°Are you confident that you can defeat him?¡±

    Shang Qing calmly replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about his strength, but I¡¯m pretty confident.¡±

    ¡°If you lose, you¡¯ll be killed,¡± Mr. Zui calmly stated.

    Shang Qing kept quiet.

    In the distance, a purple-gold Undying Bird descended.

    Many people in Hope Restaurant looked over with envious expressions. Those mes were from Jin Feiyuan, a powerhouse who would soon be going to the Dominion Realm with Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    There were four unique bridges in front of Hope Restaurant, and the bridge that looked like a chain led to Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. A young girl, Xia Taili, was standing on that bridge as she looked up. ¡°You¡¯re here! How dare you defy me? I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson.¡±

    The purple-gold Undying Bird flew towards the bridge leading to Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor, but suddenly, it felt an attack approach. The bird looked down and saw Shang Qing, who had walked out of Hope Restaurant. The bird was furious and it dived down.

    Shang Qing looked up. This would be his first battle sinceing to the Perennial World, so he knew that he should not use his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique here.

    Nobody had expected Jin Feiyuan to be attacked. Although the Purple-Gold Family was not as well known as the Liu family or Seed Garden, they were still considered one of the more powerful families in the Middle Realm. They were Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s subordinates, and Jin Feiyuan had even been confirmed as one of the powerhouses who would be going to the Dominion Realm. Thus, nobody had expected anyone to attack him.

    ¡­

    Half an hourter, countless people, including Xia Taili, were staring at the scene before them in a daze.

    Jin Feiyuan had been defeated while the man who had attacked him had not been injured at all. No matter how Jin Feiyuan had attacked, he had not been able to cause the slightest injury to the man.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± the old man who had killed someone with a bamboo stick roared from within Hope Restaurant. He stepped forward and tried to grab Shang Qing. Mr. Zui watched, but he did nothing to help, and Shang Qing remained perfectly calm as well.

    Just as the elder was about to grab hold of Shang Qing, an indescribable force swept towards the older man and forced him a thousand meters back.

    ¡°Since when were you allowed to be so rude on the Ind of Hope!¡± a booming voice echoed through the area. It clearly belonged to a top powerhouse.

    Each Junior Progenitor was protected by a top powerhouse, as each held the resources given to a future Progenitor by the Perennial World. The people protecting theses always included a powerhouse with a power level exceeding a million, two Envoys, and at least ten Enlighters. These people were not forced to protect the, but were rather actually all volunteers.

    They had all either reached their limits regarding cultivation or were reaching the end of their life. Thus, these people¡¯s only choice was to follow a Junior Progenitor in hopes of gaining a new lease on life after the Junior Progenitor became a Progenitor. Therefore, they were extremely loyal to their chosen Junior Progenitors, and they already treated the youths as Progenitors.

    The person who had attacked was the top powerhouse from Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. He had a power level of more than a million, and he had passed through six tribtions.

    The elder from the Purple-Gold Family trembled. ¡°Forgive me, senior! I was too brash. Please forgive me, Junior Progenitor.¡±

 Chapter 1410: Virtue Archives

    Chapter 1410: Virtue Archives

    People from Shenwu''s Sky could only be dealt with by other people from Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. If anyone else tried to make a move against them, that person would be treated as though they were challenging the authority of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Nobody paid any attention to the old man, as they were all busy staring at Shang Qing. Since when had such a powerful individual appeared in the Middle Realm? This youth had managed to defeat Jin Feiyuan without suffering any injuries!

    The purple-gold mes covering Jin Feiyuan had weakened considerably, and he looked very disheveled. He viciously asked, ¡°Who are you? Where do youe from?¡±

    Shang Qing ignored the defeated youth and watched as three women and one man approached him from the Junior Progenitors.

    These people were the representatives of the four Junior Progenitors, and they had been watching everything.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s representative was Yu Chen, Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s was Xia Taili, the White Dragon n¡¯s was Long Xi, and the Wang family¡¯s was, surprisingly, Wang Dashuai.

    Yu Chen, Xia Taili, and Long Xi slowly approached him. Wang Dashuai, however, peeked over at them before suddenly racing towards Shang Qing.

    His actions surprised the onlookers; what was going on?

    Shang Qing also watched Wang Dashuai with curiosity. The three girls were approaching him in an elegant and reserved manner, but this guy looked like he was in a footrace, and his words and actionspletely ruined the atmosphere.

    ¡°Come here, brother! Follow me! I¡¯ll take you to see Wang Su, our family¡¯s Junior Progenitor! She¡¯s a beauty, soe on! Follow me!¡± Wang Dashuai shouted enthusiastically.

    The countless people who heard the fatty¡¯s words were all left speechless; was this guy a salesman?

    Shang Qing looked at the young man in a daze, not knowing how to react. He had been raised in Honor Mountain from a young age, and he had only ever interacted with well mannered people. He had never met anyone as uncouth as Wang Dashuai; even during his time in nest, no hoodlum had ever dared approach him.

    The only person who acted like this that Shang Qing could think of was Lu Yin, who had refused Yuhua Mavis¡¯s request for a fight in the Mountain and Seas Zone. That scene was very memorable to Shang Qing.

    Wang Dashuai¡¯s words and actionspletely disrupted Yu Chen, Long Xi, and Xia Taili¡¯s ns. Their expressions all changed; they would all look stupid if they continued to just slowly approach this new candidate.

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes and leaped in front of Shang Qing. ¡°Hey, the elder from Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor was the one who just helped you. Follow me to Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. My brother will definitely acknowledge your strength.¡±

    ¡°The Purple-Gold Family follows under Shenwu''s Sky. If this person goes to Shenwu''s Sky Junior Progenitor, then nobody knows how the Purple-Gold Family might act during the trip to the Dominion Realm. Or is Shenwu''s Sky willing to abandon Jin Feiyuan for this young man?¡± Yu Chen¡¯s words left Xia Taili speechless.

    The Purple-Gold Family had long since supported Shenwu''s Sky, and abandoning Jin Feiyuan would disappoint the n. However, if they did not abandon him, then just as Yu Chen had said, nobody knew what Jin Feiyuan might do to Shang Qing. This was especially true since the elder from the Purple-Gold family had been the one who had attacked Shang Qing a moment ago, and Shang Qing would understandably feel a bit of animosity towards the n.

    Xia Taili red at the elder from the Purple-Gold family. His attack had put her in a difficult situation. ¡°Jin Feiyuan is Jin Feiyuan, and that old man¡¯s actions can¡¯t represent the entire Purple-Gold Family.¡±

    Yu Chen smiled. ¡°That will depend on what this young man thinks. Look, Jin Feiyuan already isn¡¯t looking at this person in a friendly manner.¡±

    Xia Taili turned to look at Jin Feiyuan.

    Jin Feiyuan immediately dropped his head, but he was not able to hide the hatred within his eyes.

    Xia Taili gritted her teeth; what an idiot!

    Yu Chen¡¯s words left Shenwu''s Sky with absolutely no chance of inviting Shang Qing to their team. Moreover, no matter how enthusiastically Wang Dashuai behaved, Shang Qing would never join the fatty given the drastic difference in their personality.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect has numerous powerhouses, and you have both Dong Shan and Dong He, who are Enlighters, which means that both of them will definitely be sent to the Dominion Realm. In other words, you really only have two slots open for outsiders. Given the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s status in the Perennial World, the number of powerhouses that you¡¯ve already invited certainly surpasses the other three powers¡¯. It will be very difficult to fight for those two spots given the number ofpeting powerhouses,¡± Long Xi calmly stated.

    Yu Chenughed. ¡°I heard that both Wan Wu and Nong Lie are interested in joining Junior Progenitor Long Tian, and both of them are also Enlighters. If we include you, Princess Long Xi, then doesn¡¯t your n only have one slot open for outsiders?¡±

    Long Xi nced over at Yu Chen. ¡°I can give up my slot.¡±

    Yu Chen had nothing to say to that.

    In the end, Shang Qing still chose the Celestial Frost Sect. He had been the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen in the Fifth Maind, and he had been invincible among his peers. If not for Lu Yin, Shang Qing would have be the champion of ZENITH, and he felt that the only ce that suited him in this universe was the Celestial Frost Sect. On top of that, Shang Qing hoped to find out if Bai Shaohong could defeat the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Shang Qing felt that he stood on the same level as the four Junior Progenitors. After all, Shang Qing was not fighting alone, but with the clones of Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui.

    Wang Dashuai whined, ¡°I was so enthusiastic about inviting him, but he still rejected me! Is it because I¡¯m too handsome and he feels inferior? That¡¯s got to be it.¡±

    Long Xi nced towards the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor before returning to the bridge.

    Xia Taili stomped her foot and grumbled to herself. Not only was she upset about the fact that Shang Qing had gone to the Celestial Frost Sect Junior Progenitor, but she was also annoyed that Yu Chen hadpletely overwhelmed her in this verbal battle. Xia Taili had not had a chance to rebut anything that Yu Chen had said.

    Jin Feiyuan stood up and bowed to Xia Taili. ¡°I was too careless this time, but I definitely won¡¯t lose to him in the future.¡±

    Xia Taili turned around and red. ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯ll never be able to defeat him.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan wanted to say something else, but Xia Taili dismissively waved a hand. ¡°Never mind. Just recuperate here and go to meet with my brother after you¡¯ve recovered. Don¡¯t make any more problems for him, ok?¡±

    She then turned around and returned to the bridge.

    Jin Feiyuan felt offended, and another thin stream of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. As he reflected on the battle with Shang Qing, Jin Feiyuan could not understand why his attacks had beenpletely ineffective against his opponent.

    The elder from the Purple-Gold Family approached, his face still pale. ¡°Young Master, let¡¯s return to Hope Restaurant. We will go meet Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor after you¡¯ve recuperated.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan gritted his teeth. ¡°Just you wait! I won¡¯t be defeated so easily!¡±

    He made his way back towards Hope Restaurant.

    At this time, Lu Yin had finally reached the Middle Ocean while riding the back of Gui.

    The Middle Ocean encircled the entire Middle Realm, so it covered an enormous area.

    Due to the incident regarding Long Qi¡¯s connection to Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, Long Kui was worried that people would intercept them along their journey. Fortunately, they had not met anybody, but hismunication crystal kept vibrating as they traveled.

    Lu Yin became very curious as to just how many secrets Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo had discovered over the years; why else was everybody so riled up? There were also certain people who were interested in uncovering others¡¯ secrets.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo already exposed all of the secrets that he uncovered? If so, why are there still so many people trying to find out about the secrets now?¡± Lu Yin asked, curious.

    Long Kui felt annoyed. ¡°He didn¡¯t reveal everything. Before he died, he announced that he had hidden many secrets all over the Perennial World and that they might be discovered at any time. This is why many people have searched for them over the years and endlessly analyzed Kui Luo¡¯s journeys. Despite that, nobody has found anything yet.¡±

    ¡°Could it have just been a scam?¡± Lu Yin guessed.

    Long Kui answered, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that it was a lie. If not, it wouldn¡¯t make sense for there to be absolutely nothing after all these years, especially since some Semi-Progenitors have also searched around.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. He had be very curious about Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, who had created trouble for the entire Perennial World. The man really had been insane. Lu Yin could not understand why anyone would do such a thing, but if the man really had been insane, then he might have just done it all for fun.

    ¡°Huh? Jin Feiyuan lost. It looks like a few more hidden elites just revealed themselves,¡± Long Kuimented.

    ¡°Jin Feiyuan?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Kui exined, ¡°He¡¯s the heir to the Purple-Gold Family. They¡¯re a faction under Shenwu''s Sky, and the n is quite powerful as they have a purple-gold Undying Bird that can be reborn.¡±

    A phoenix? Lu Yin nearly asked aloud.

    ¡°Someone easily defeated Jin Feiyuan, and then they chose to go to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor? It looks like the Celestial Frost Sect really is the most appealing team,¡± Long Kui said. He then continued, adding on, ¡°ording to the princess, you can go to the Junior Progenitor, but you are not to go to the Dominion Realm, as that ce is too dangerous. Furthermore, you might encounter Bai Shaohong in the Dominion Realm, so the princess said that you shouldn¡¯t be an Enlighter no matter what, even if doing so might offend the Junior Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°After you arrive at the Junior Progenitor, people will definitely challenge you because of your connection to Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo. Just ignore them and go straight to the Junior Progenitor, as nobody will be able to do anything to you there.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you can definitely trust me.¡±

    Long Kui paused; those words sounded awfully familiar. He remembered that Long Qi had said the exact same thing before joining Humility''s Gate. However, many incidents had happened after that, and even the supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gates had gotten involved.

    Jin Feiyuan was busy resting on the top floor of Hope Restaurant for several days, and he had already recovered from most of his injuries.

    ¡°Young Master, someone from Virtue Archives is here,¡± the elder from the Purple-Gold Family murmured.

    Jin Feiyuan turned to look at the entrance to the seventh floor.

    A man in a white robe was walking towards them with a book in his hand and a smile on his face. While this man was not very handsome, his disposition somehow put people at ease. His eyes also gave off a strange sense of pressure.

    Only people who were apanied by Envoys were allowed to step onto the seventh floor, but nobody moved to stop this man.

    Many people on the lower floors started talking about the man, ¡°That¡¯s him! Virtue Archives¡¯s Wen Diyi!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see someone from the Virtue Archivese here. I thought that they didn¡¯t get involved in anything concerning the four ruling powers.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t just about the four ruling powers¡ªthis involves the Dominion Realm! Who doesn¡¯t want to be a Progenitor?¡¯

    ¡°But I¡¯ve never heard anything about someone from the Virtue Archives joining a team. I think that this has to be the first time.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan looked at the man who had just stepped onto the seventh floor. He frowned and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the Virtue Archives say that one can be a Progenitor by arriving at the end of learning? Have you realized that they¡¯re mistaken? Is that why you¡¯re nning to go explore the Dominion Realm?¡±

    The man dressed in white stood with his hands sped behind his back and smiled. ¡°The academy¡¯s sage indeed once said that one can be a Progenitor through studying, but is there truly an end to learning? Writings exist when there are humans, so who could ever truly finish studying? Sigh, illiterate people are so scary.¡±

 Chapter 1411: Liu Yi And Fei Hua

    <h4>Chapter 1411: Liu Yi And Fei Hua</h4>

    Jin Feiyuan¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Virtue Archives has never participated in any trips to the Dominion Realm. Seeing as how they¡¯ve sent you here this time, it¡¯s clear that they n to get involved in the four ruling powers¡¯ affairs.¡±

    If other people heard Jin Feiyuan¡¯s words and how he had used Virtue Archives of nning to interfere with the ruling powers, then they would end up in deep trouble. The ruling powers would never let Virtue Archives off for attempting such a thing, and they could simply support a family like the Purple-Gold Family, which would be enough to spell disaster for the Virtue Archives.

    Jin Feiyuan¡¯s words were like poison for the Virtue Archives.

    The man rolled his eyes. ¡°Bullshit.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan was outraged. ¡°Wen Diyi,1 don¡¯t be rude! Aren¡¯t you a schr?¡±

    Wen Diyi sneered. ¡°That¡¯s exactly how a schr should treat a barbarian. What? Do you want to try to beat me? Are you even capable of doing so? I¡¯ve studied to know how to speak to a gentleman, but to a barbarian like you, it¡¯s easier to just fight.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan instantly attacked. He would never be able to defeat Wen Diyi in a battle of words. However, Wen Diyi was not intimidated by the other man in the least. Suddenly, purple-gold mes and many strange characters appeared on the seventh floor of the Hope Restaurant. The battle entered a stalemate for an hour.

    ¡°You¡¯re not bad, Jin Feiyuan. You just got beaten up by someone else, but you still have the strength to fight me. You¡¯re truly an Undying Bird, which makes you the best target to beat up,¡± Wen Diyi taunted.

    Jin Feiyuan was panting heavily. ¡°If you¡¯re really that powerful, then your Virtue Archives should never go to the Dominion Realm.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Wen Diyi sneered.

    Jin Feiyuan snorted.

    ¡°Jin Feiyuan, do you believe me when I say that someone else wille along and beat you up again since you¡¯re such a barbarian?¡± Wen Diyi asked.

    Jin Feiyuan¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You¡¯re the strongest student in the Virtue Archives, so who else could fight me aside from you?¡±

    Wen Diyi shook his head. ¡°Illiterate people are so scary! I¡¯m not just talking about the Virtue Archives. There are a lot of people who don¡¯t like you, and Shang Qing must absolutely hate you for him toe and beat you up like that.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Jin Feiyuan was furious.

    At that moment, a pale fatty rushed into Hope Restaurant and looked at Wen Diyi with an enthusiastic expression on his face.

    Wen Diyi smirked. He had arrived at Ind of Hope a while ago, and he had also seen the fight between Shang Qing and Jin Feiyuan, including the part afterwards when Wang Dashuai had tried to invite Shang Qing to join the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor¡¯s team. Wen Diyi immediately spoke up. ¡°Brother Wang, just wait a moment. I¡¯m not going to rush to go to a Junior Progenitor, and I have also already made up my mind.¡±

    Wang Dashuai asked, ¡°You¡¯ve made up your mind? Who are you going to support? It must be our family, right? Our Junior Progenitor is so beautiful!¡±

    Wen Diyi was speechless.

    ¡°It¡¯s the White Dragon n,¡± Long Xi¡¯s voice rang out.

    Wang Dashuai turned to face the new arrival. ¡°Why?¡±

    Long Xi did not bother speaking to the fatty.

    Wen Diyi helplessly replied, ¡°I really will be going with the White Dragon n. I hope that you can understand, Brother Wang.¡±

    Wang Dashuai blinked in confusion; was there something wrong about how he was inviting people? Or was he just too handsome?

    Yu Chen and Xia Taili did not even bother leaving theirs, as they had already known that there was no way that Wen Diyi would support either the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu''s Sky. The Virtue Archives had always disliked both of these powers.

    Yu Chen¡¯s eyes shed as she looked at Wen Diyi; the Virtue Archives? They should still be a neutral faction, as they would not be able to survive if they took a side.

    Compared to the Fifth Maind, the biggest difference in the Perennial World was the huge gap concerning the power level between cultivators.

    The four ruling powers had raised many elites, and each of them had quite a few Enlighters within the Junior Progenitors¡¯ generation. Outside of the four ruling powers, there was no force in the entirety of the Middle Realm who possessed aparable number of young elites, not even the Liu family or the Nong family at Seed Garden.

    Although the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor was the leader of the Fifth Maind and they had groomed many youths who were the top powerhouses of their generation, there were still powerhouses within the Neoverse and the Innerverse who couldpete with the Honor Chosen. This was something that definitely did not exist in the Perennial World.

    The four ruling powers had to be the strongest.

    This was what Lu Yin had learned after spending a bit of time in the Perennial World. The four ruling powers possessed an overwhelming level of power in this ce.

    After he sessfully crossed the Middle Ocean on Gui¡¯s back, Lu Yin saw a massive ind floating in the sky. That should be the Ind of Hope.

    ¡°Where are the Junior Progenitors? Aren¡¯t they supposed to be connected to the Ind of Hope?¡± Lu Yin asked. Thoses should each be enormous!

    Long Kui looked at the floating ind with a wistful expression. ¡°Only the people on the Ind of Hope are able to see the Junior Progenitors, and both the Ind of Hope and the Junior Progenitors will only appear after the Yuanlun Festival.¡±

    Gui was huge, so he attracted a great deal of attention wherever he went.

    Many people turned to look at the two people as they approached the Ind of Hope. An elder immediately used hismunication crystal to contact somebody when he saw Long Qi and Long Kui.

    Jin Feiyuan was preparing himself to go to Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and he did not want to keep fighting with Wen Diyi. However, his elder from the Purple-Gold Family stopped the youth. ¡°Young Master, Long Qi is here.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan paused, but then he sneered. ¡°So he really came. He¡¯s smart enough, so he should already know that if he just goes straight to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, nobody will be able to make any trouble for him.¡±

    ¡°What should we do about the matter that the patriarch told us to investigate?¡± the elder asked.

    Jin Feiyuan thought for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it for now, in case anybody notices.¡±

    The elder nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The Ind of Hope was veryrge, and Hope Restaurant was also very eye-catching.

    Gui rapidly shrank down until it could perch on Long Kui¡¯s shoulder while Long Kui looked up at Hope Restaurant. He had finally returned to this ce after all this time. He could still recall the first time that he had visited this ce. It had been apletely different time back then, and the leader of this area had also been a different person.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Long Kui made his way towards Hope Restaurant.

    Lu Yin followed closely behind the Envoy.

    Gui¡¯s appearance had shocked everyone in Hope Restaurant, as this was an Envoy-level mount. Everyone was focused on Long Kui and Lu Yin.

    On the first floor of Hope Restaurant, Mr. Zui also nced over at Long Kui and Lu Yin. However, he was not interested in the two and simply continued drinking.

    Lu Yin looked around with wide-eyed curiosity. This was not his first time visiting such a ce. Before entering the Mountain and Seas Zone, he had first visited the Azure Mansion, which wasparable to Hope Restaurant in how they were both ces where people waited for an event to start.

    All of the people in this building hoped to be a Progenitor, but only a few of them would even be allowed to travel to the Junior Progenitors.

    ¡°Only people with enough of a reputation, or those who are able to demonstrate their strength here on the Ind of Hope will be allowed to go to the Junior Progenitors. Hope Restaurant is located right between all the Junior Progenitors, and you can even see the bridges leading to the Junior Progenitors from here. Thus, this is the best ce for people who want to go to the Junior Progenitors,¡± Long Kui exined.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Kui answered, ¡°Princess Long Xi will take you to the Junior Progenitor soon.¡±

    The two soon stepped onto the top floor of the Hope Restaurant, where the atmosphere was very solemn. Only a few people were present, and Lu Yin¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to Jin Feiyuan. This person was too eye-catching, as he was covered in purple-gold mes. This most likely meant that he was the Undying Bird.

    Jin Feiyuan calmly met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    Lu Yin continued looking around at the other people nearby. All of the seniors were Envoys, and the youths apanying the Envoys were all elites.

    Long Kui and Lu Yin sat down at a table next to a window. There, Lu Yin nced out the window and saw four unique bridges. He blinked; were those things really bridges? After a moment of thought, he supposed that they could technically be considered bridges.

    There were four curving paths floating in the sky, and they each stretched towards four enormouss. Those were most likely the Junior Progenitors!

    ¡°Senior Long Kui, do you still remember me?¡± a voice spoke up. The person was a middle aged man who was apanied by a young girl. The girl was looking at Wen Diyi with clear curiosity.

    Long Kui and Lu Yin both turned around at the same time.

    ¡°Are you¡­? Mr. Liu Ye?¡± Long Kui asked hesitantly.

    The middle aged manughed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect senior to actually remember me! It¡¯s an honor.¡±

    Long Kui spoke in a serious tone, ¡°Who in the Middle Realm doesn¡¯t know about Liu Ye and Fei Hua? The story of how the two of you worked together to capture a traitor who had passed through five tribtions is legendary. Your efforts have greatly benefited mankind.¡±

    Mr. Liu Ye shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re too kind, senior. We only managed to dy that culprit until senior Qing Chen arrived. We really did not do very much.¡±

    The man then turned to the young girl beside him. ¡°Step up and greet Senior Long Kui.¡±

    The young girl immediately bowed.

    Jin Feiyuan and the others only noticed the middle aged man at this moment, as they had not paid him much attention before.

    There were too many powerhouses in the Perennial World, and there were even quite a few Envoys. Thus, it was notmon for experts at this level to know each other. However, it was different for Mr. Liu Ye.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were truly legends in the Middle Realm. They were both powerhouses who had passed through three tribtions, and they both had a power level higher than 700,000. And together, they were able to defeat a powerhouse who had passed through five tribtions.

    There were not many powerhouses who had survived five tribtions even in the Perennial World. Thus, this pair was essentially the same as a powerhouse who had survived five tribtions, which meant that even the four ruling powers had to show them respect .

    ¡°I am Hou Qing. I am honored to meet you, senior.¡± The young girl bowed to Long Kui and Lu Yin in a polite manner.

    Long Kui nodded and nced over at Lu Yin. He clearly wanted Lu Yin to greet the girl.

    Lu Yin ignored the older man. Why would he greet this girl? He was no idiot. Lu Yin also knew that Long Kui was unable to force him to do so. After all, Lu Yin had a higher status within the n than the Envoy, and Long Kui was not Long Qi¡¯s direct senior.

    ¡°Hou Qing? That¡¯s a nice name, and your strength is not bad at all.¡± Long Kui smiled. He knew that he could not stand up to thebination of Liu Ye and Fei Hua even if Gui helped him, despite the two being Long Kui¡¯s juniors.

    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, senior. Come back, Hou Qing,¡± Mr. Liu Ye said.

    Hou Qing looked at Lu Yin and smiled before returning to her seat.

    ¡°Senior Long Kui, I have a question for Long Qi, though I am not sure whether or not I can ask him about this,¡± Mr. Liu Ye said.

    Long Kui¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Mr. Liu Ye must be interested in this child¡¯s mentor.¡±

    Mr. Liu Ye solemnly replied, ¡°Yes. My own mentor has always hoped to find out more about Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, so-¡±

    Long Kui raised his hand to stop Mr. Liu Ye. ¡°A lot of people wish to ask Long Qi simr questions, but all of you are looking for the wrong person. Long Qi only received some resources from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, and it was not even a proper inheritance. Thus, there¡¯s no way he could answer your questions.¡±

    Mr. Liu Ye nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    The elder from the Purple-Gold Family, Jin Feiyuan, Wen Diyi, the other Envoys on the top floor, and even the entirety of Hope Restaurant heard Long Kui¡¯s words. Long Kui had intentionally spoken loudly so that everyone would help him spread this news.

    ¡°Since this ising from you, senior, I will believe it,¡± Mr. Liu Ye said politely.

    Lu Yin never once said a single word, and he behaved in a very trustworthy manner, which made Long Kui feel a great deal of relief.

    [1] So this is supposed to be a bit of a joke. Wen Diyi literally means Literacy (Wen) Number 1 / Best (Diyi). So the joke is that the "most literate" person is saying "bullshit." ?

 Chapter 1412: Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 1412: Meeting</h4>

    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m here!¡± someone shouted loudly, startling all the people in Hope Restaurant.

    Wang Dashuai appeared, happily running towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Wang Dashuaiughed. ¡°Both Unseen Light and Yu Hua were invited to my family¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and since I brought two powerhouses over at the same time, our Junior Progenitor said that I¡¯ve got good luck when ites to meeting people. She asked me to wait outside the Junior Progenitor and help her recruit more powerhouses.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless and looked at the fatty with pity. He was going to end up in huge trouble after the trip to the Dominion Realm since the two that he had invited were both trespassers.

    ¡°Bro, why are you here? To have some fun?¡± Wang Dashuai asked.

    Lu Yin was about to answer when a melodious voice rang out. ¡°He¡¯s headed to a Junior Progenitor to help out the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.¡±

    The voice was very melodious, but it left Lu Yin with a very ufortable feeling. He looked into the distance and saw a beautiful girl slowly making her way towards them with a smile on her face.

    Lu Yin calmly said, ¡°Miss Yu Chen.¡±

    Wang Dashuai grew curious. ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve already met her before?¡±

    Yu Chen smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve never met, but we both know of each other.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no mystery, just a lucky guess.¡±

    ¡°It appears that Brother Long Qi cares a great deal about me, seeing as you immediately thought of me,¡± Yu Chen said.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°A bit.¡±

    ¡°Sis, listen to him. Brother-inw cares about other people,¡± Xia Taili said cheekily as she arrived at Hope Restaurant¡¯s top floor with Long Xi beside her.

    Lu Yin turned to face Long Xi.

    On the other hand, Long Xi turned towards Yu Chen. ¡°I also care about you.¡±

    Yu Chen smiled. Her appearance was very innocent, and her smile melted Wang Dashuai¡¯s heart. An attractive woman needed to not only be beautiful, but also knowledgeable and pure. ¡°I care about you as well. Also Brother Long Tian.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that Junior Progenitor Bai will be jealous? That would not look good.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s words shocked everyone nearby.

    Yu Chen, Xia Taili, and Long Xi were all from the four ruling powers while Jin Feiyuan was from the Purple-Gold Family and Wen Diyi was from Virtue Archives. All of these people were cultured and well behaved, and they would never say such a thing. Even someone as uncouth as Wang Dashuai would not dare to say such a thing to Yu Chen, but Long Qi had actually spoken such words in public.

    Yu Chen waspletely stunned, and she red at him with cold eyes.

    Long Xi was simrly stunned.

    Xia Taili covered her mouth in shock; he was tantly taunting Junior Progenitor Bai!

    Lu Yin did not actually care. This was the best way to deal with someone as scheming as Yu Chen. He would not have acted like this if Wei Rong or Wang Wen were with him, but it was clear that Long Xi could notpete with Yu Chen in terms of scheming. Thus, Lu Yin would have to deal with this woman his own way.

    Lu Yin knew that he was not gifted with words or particrly witty, but he did not want to end up being passively led around by Yu Chen in this verbal spat. He was certain that she would say something that would get him in trouble, so he had decided to upset her before that happened.

    ¡°Is this how the White Dragon n raises its people?¡± Yu Chen was annoyed. Nobody had ever spoken to her in such a manner, and it would be a big problem if Bai Shaohong heard about this.

    Long Xi was still stunned. She was the White Dragon n¡¯s well mannered princess.

    The fatty was not surprised, but he also knew that this was not a good time for him to speak up.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°You said it yourself, about how you care about this and that. In that case, what position does Junior Progenitor Bai have in your heart?¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Long Xi red at Lu Yin when she saw Yu Chen¡¯s gaze grow vicious. ¡°Follow me. Brother has been waiting for you for a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Xia Taili blinked; Long Qi was so rude!

    Yu Chen icily said, ¡°Long Qi, the White Dragon n may not have taught you well, but Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo seems to have taught you a lot. It looks like you inherited a great deal from him.¡±

    A lot of people turned to carefully observe Lu Yin after they heard Yu Chen¡¯sment.

    Long Xi¡¯s expression grew dark.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This woman really was vicious. He had tried his best to annoy her, but she had managed to pin everything that he had said onto Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, who had been insane. It should not be possible for someone from the four ruling powers to be so rude unless they had been taught by someone outside of those powers, and Yu Chen had pointed out Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo as the culprit.

    Lu Yin turned back around and looked at Yu Chen with a frosty expression, and his gaze actually made Yu Chen feel somewhat nervous. She had followed Bai Shaohong for a long time, and she had interacted with some of the most powerful people in the entire Perennial World. There were only a few people who could make her feel nervous, but she could feel a simr power from Lu Yin¡¯s gaze as Lady Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s. The pressure that this person gave off was not from his personal strength, but from his very soul.

    This pressure made it hard for Yu Chen to breathe.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not going to fight, right? Don¡¯t fight! I don¡¯t want to get involved as I still need to take care of my handsome face and see my lover. Hahahaha, goodbye!¡± The fatty smiled and fled after winking at Lu Yin.

    His words had managed to divert some of the attention away from Lu Yin. The fatty had intentionally done so to show that the Wang family also had an uncouth person, which made Lu Yin¡¯s rudeness seem more normal.

    Yu Chen frowned. She had not expected the fatty to ruin her n. However, it was still fine, as she had seeded in realighting other people¡¯s suspicions towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Brother is waiting.¡± Long Xi made her way towards the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin looked back at Yu Chen onest time before leaving with Long Xi.

    This had been a showdown among the junior generation. Not a single Envoy, including Long Kui, had interfered.

    Xia Taili¡¯s eyes shed. That had been very interesting! It looked like tensions were rising between the Celestial Frost Sect and the White Dragon n, which would be fun.

    Jin Feiyuan had not dared to speak up during a conflict between the members of the four ruling powers, but after Lu Yin left with Long Xi, Jin Feiyuan walked towards Xia Taili and respectfully asked, ¡°Princess Taili, may I go to the Junior Progenitor?¡±

    Xia Taili was Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s princess, as she was the sister of their Junior Progenitor, Xia Shenfei.

    Xia Taili was in a good mood at the moment. ¡°Alright. Follow me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, princess.¡± Jin Feiyuan was overjoyed.

    Xia Taili turned to Yu Chen and smiled sweetly. ¡°Do you also care about my brother, Xia Shenfei?¡±

    Yu Chen replied, ¡°I respect him.¡±

    Xia Taili pped her hands and eximed, ¡°Good answer.¡±

    She crooked a finger. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Undying Bird.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan was speechless. Other people sounded envious and respectful when mentioning the Undying Bird, but Xia Taili had made it sound like an insult.

    Outside Hope Restaurant, Long Xi led Lu Yin towards the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. During their walk, a flying beast descended in front of her with a middle aged man and a gorgeous young man atop the beast¡¯s back.

    The middle aged man immediately led the young man off of the beast when he saw Long Xi and Lu Yin emerge from Hope Restaurant. He respectfully greeted, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Princess Long Xi. I am Shen Nan, the leader of Xiaguan City on the Bifrost.¡±

    He then signaled at the young man next to him.

    However, the young man did not move an inch, and he simply stared at the duo.

    Shen Nan grew anxious. ¡°Yao Xuan, greet them!¡±

    Yao Xuan stepped forward. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Princess Long Xi. I am Yao Xuan, from Xiaguan City on the Bifrost.¡±

    Long Xi nodded coldly. ¡°The Bifrost belongs to Shenwu''s Sky, so there is no need for you to greet me.¡±

    She then turned and left.

    Lu Yin stared at Yao Xuan in shock; this was too much of a coincidence!

    Yao Xuan was also confused, and he felt as though he had just seen a ghost. Isn¡¯t Lu Yin supposed to be missing? How did he get here? It seems like he¡¯s also be someone quite important here.

    Yao Xuan simply watched Lu Yin walk away with Long Xi.

    Shen Nan sighed before scolding Yao Xuan. ¡°Fortunately, Princess Long Xi was kind enough to not do anything! Given our status, if she wanted to teach us a lesson, Shenwu''s Sky would do nothing to interfere!¡±

    ¡°Is she Princess Long Xi from the White Dragon n? Who was that person next to her?¡± Yao Xuan asked.

    Shen Nan answered, ¡°I think that he should be Long Qi.¡±

    Yao Xuan pouted. Long Qi, Long Qi! How did that bastard join one of the four ruling powers? Not to mention, how did he get such a high position?

    Although Yao Xuan had initially appeared on the Bifrost and stayed there for the majority of his time in the Perennial World, he had still learned about the various incidents that had happened in the Middle Realm, especially major events like Princess Long Xi¡¯s wedding. However, he had never expected that Lu Yin would be the nobody who had married the White Dragon n¡¯s princess.

    Yao Xuan could still remember how Lu Yin had challenged everybody during the end of ZENITH and how the entire Astral Beast Domain had felt relieved when Lu Yin had gone missing. However, nobody had expected that he had actually gone to Perennial World before anyone else. Could it be that the humans had cheated? They must have sent Lu Yin over early without telling anybody!

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This is Hope Restaurant. You¡¯ll need to find an opportunity to show off your strengthter. We can¡¯t go up to the top floor, but you can wander about between the first and sixth floors freely. If nothing works, then you¡¯ll just have to forcefully cross a bridge. There has to be some way for you to get noticed by a Junior Progenitor,¡± Shen Nan advised.

    Yao Xuan nodded.

    They walked into Hope Restaurant and immediately ran into Xia Taili as she was descending with Jin Feiyuan.

    Shen Nan immediately bowed when he saw Xia Taili. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Princess Taili. I am Shen Nan, the leader of Xiaguan City on the Bifrost.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Princess Taili. I am Yao Xuan, from Xiaguan City on the Bifrost.¡±

    Xia Taili casually nced at the two, but she was instantly attracted by Yao Xuan¡¯s looks. This person was just too handsome! Even though Xia Taili had seen many powerhouses in the Perennial World who were good looking, nobody wasparable to this Yao Xuan. He was truly the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, and she was stunned.

    Jin Feiyuan was astonished as well; this guy was way too good looking.

    Shen Nan peeked at Xia Taili and smirked. He actually did not have much confidence in Yao Xuan¡¯s strength, and he had mainly brought the youth to the Ind of Hope because of his appearance. Yao Xuan was prettier than a woman, and Shen Nan¡¯s main goal had been to have the youth meet Xia Taili. Still, Shen Nan had not expected to run into her the moment they reached Hope Restaurant.

    Xia Taili looked at Yao Xuan with interest. ¡°Are you Yao Xuan?¡±

    Yao Xuan smiled in a humble manner. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Yao Xuan.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before. Are you from the Bifrost? Why are you here?¡± Xia Taili asked.

 Chapter 1413: Junior Progenitor Planet

    <h4>Chapter 1413: Junior Progenitor</h4>

    Jin Feiyuan looked rather annoyed from where he was standing behind Xia Taili. This quirky princess had never even had a proper conversation with him! This guy was too annoying.

    Shen Nan continued his introduction, saying, ¡°Princess, Yao Xuan is quite powerful, and I brought him here to meet the Junior Progenitor. If the Junior Progenitor is willing, then Yao Xuan can go with him to the Dominion Realm and help the Junior Progenitor find better resources.¡±

    Xia Taili smiled at Yao Xuan and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re an Enlighter, which isn¡¯t bad as there aren¡¯t many Enlighters in our generation. Your strength qualifies you to at least go and meet with my brother.¡±

    ¡°Young mistress, there are some people who¡¯ve forcefully increased their cultivation in anticipation of this trip, and their strength may not match their cultivation. Such a person would just be a burden to us, so why don¡¯t you allow me to test Yao Xuan first?¡± Jin Feiyuan snappily suggested.

    Xia Taili felt that what he said made sense since the trip to the Dominion Realm was a very important affair. After a moment¡¯s thought, she frowned and said, ¡°Alright, you can test him, but don¡¯t be too hard on him.¡±

    She quickly added, ¡°Don¡¯t hit his face.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan became even more outraged when he heard her condition. Don¡¯t hit his face? That only made Jin Feiyuan want to do it even more.

    Shen Nan worriedly nced at Yao Xuan. He did not want the youth to be injured too badly. Jin Feiyuan was the Purple-Gold Family¡¯s heir, and Shen Nan was worried that Yao Xuan would suffer a crushing defeat.

    However, Yao Xuan himself was quite confident. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s have a match.¡±

    Jin Feiyuan sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t hit your face.¡±

    Shen Nan also warned, ¡°Remember to protect your face.¡±

    Yao Xuan felt ufortable; what was that supposed to mean? He did not want to get through life based on his looks alone.

    Everyone in Hope Restaurant grew curious, as Jin Feiyuan was fighting yet another battle. He had lost miserably in his previous fight, but since this second match had been initiated by him, many people were watching with interest. ¡°That pretty boy¡¯s in big trouble.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s too beautiful to be a man! I¡¯d beat him up too.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very unusual for a man to be that good looking.¡±

    ¡°What a handsome man! He has to be careful about that face.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t hit his face!¡±

    ¡­

    Jin Feiyuan stood across from Yao Xuan with Xia Taili standing a bit further behind him. Jin Feiyuan red viciously at Yao Xuan. Don¡¯t hit his face? Fine then; he would burn that face off!

    Purple-gold mes rose into the sky and covered all of the Ind of Hope.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw the mes, where he also saw Yao Xuan about to fight against Jin Feiyuan. How had those two ended up getting in a fight?

    Lu Yin was curious about Jin Feiyuan¡¯s abilities, as the man was an Enlighter who also carried the heritage of the Undying Bird.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done quite a bit over thest few months,¡± Long Xi said coldly.

    Lu Yin immediately turned back around, looking rather guilty. ¡°A lot of things were forced onto me. I was forced to do a lot of those things.¡±

    Long Xi retorted, ¡°Like that bet that you made with the Guan brothers?¡±

    Lu Yin bit his tongue.

    ¡°Like how you went to Huiyuan Gate to look for evidence?¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    ¡°Like snatching that thread of tribtion crystal?¡±

    Lu Yin reflexively answered, ¡°Actually, I was forced to do that. Long Ting kept attacking me and I identally used too much strength, which forced the crystal thread out of his body. Of course I wouldn¡¯t give it back to him, as who wouldn¡¯t want to open their lower meridian point?¡±

    Long Xi stepped foot onto the white, curved bridge. ¡°Don¡¯t be an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be an Enlighter,¡± Long Xi repeated.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Right, Elder Long Kui already told me about that.¡±

    Long Xi suddenly stopped walking and looked at Lu Yin in apletely serious manner. ¡°I¡¯m not joking this time! The Dominion Realm ispletely different from the Middle Realm. You can¡¯t survive there with just tricks, and you have to do your best just to stay alive. In addition to the dangerous environment, you also have to be careful about the people around you since you won¡¯t know who to trust. My brother will not be concerned about keeping you alive.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t be an Enlighter, there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll take you with him to the Dominion Realm,¡± Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It won¡¯t be easy for me to break through anyways.¡±

    Long Xi turned around and started walking again. ¡°From the past Yuanlun Festivals, we know that a lot of trespassers will most likely appear on the trip to the Dominion Realm. These trespassers are from the Forsaken Land, but they are also very powerful. Some of the Junior Progenitors have even been killed by these trespassers before. The trip to the Dominion Realm is far more dangerous than you believe, so there¡¯s no way that you can go.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡± Lu Yin asked in concern.

    Long Xi felt a bit touched, as she was able to hear Lu Yin¡¯s genuine concern. ¡°I won¡¯t take any risks, and my brother will also protect me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Will there be trespassers this time?¡±

    Long Xi shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s been a very long time since thest Yuanlun Festival, and only the seniors who were a part of the previous festivals would know anything about that. Although the cultivation system in the Forsaken Land is damaged, they also have arge number of inheritances from ancient times. On top of that, it¡¯s a veryrge ce. So, it¡¯s not impossible for some powerful trespassers to appear.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly felt much more cautious. If Long Xi was able to consider all of these details, then Long Tian must have had the same thoughts as well. Thus, Lu Yin would have to be even more careful in order to avoid arousing any suspicion.

    The bridge leading to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor was very long, and even after half an hour, Lu Yin and Long Xi still had not reached the.

    Meanwhile, outside Hope Restaurant, the people who had been watching the fight were in shock. Jin Feiyuan had been defeated once again.

    However, in contrast to his previous battle with Shang Qing, Jin Feiyuan was still able to stand up after this fight. But this time, he had been left unconscious, as Yao Xuan¡¯s spiritual force had forcefully knocked the man out. It did not matter that Jin Feiyuan was an Undying Bird, as his innate gift could not deal with spiritual force.

    ¡°Young master!¡± The elder from the Zijin n immediately rushed straight over to Jin Feiyuan to help him. However, Jin Feiyuan waspletely unconscious, and he was also bleeding profusely.

    The elder red angrily at Yao Xuan. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Xia Taili whirled towards the elder.

    The elder immediately bowed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, princess. I was too upset after seeing the young master¡¯s condition, so I misspoke.¡±

    Xia Taili snorted and looked at Yao Xuan with admiration. ¡°Are you willing to go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor with me?¡±

    Yao Xuan smiled and gently replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to defy your orders, princess.¡±

    Xia Taili smiled happily. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet someone like you.¡±

    She then turned towards Shen Nan. ¡°Good job. My brother will reward you.¡±

    Shen Nan was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, princess. Thank you, young master.¡±

    He looked at Yao Xuan in delight. The older man had never expected Yao Xuan to be so powerful that he could even defeat Jin Feiyuan. Jin Feiyuan was the Purple-Gold family¡¯s heir. Besides people from the four ruling powers, the Liu family, and Seed Garden, nobody would be confident of defeating him. Yao Xuan had truly surprised Shen Nan.

    Yao Xuan smiled, but then he suddenly looked at the top floor of Hope Restaurant and locked eyes with Wen Diyi.

    Wen Diyi was looking straight at Yao Xuan.

    Powerhouses of the same rank seemed to be able to sense each other, and Yao Xuan had immediately sensed Wen Diyi¡¯s gaze. Wen Diyi, meanwhile, had been watching Yao Xuan ever since the events had first started.

    The people in Hope Restaurant were shocked by this oue, and they started gossiping. ¡°Jin Feiyuan is so unlucky! He¡¯s already been defeated by two people. How can the Purple-Gold Family¡¯s heir be so useless?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that he¡¯s useless, but rather that his opponents have been too powerful.¡±

    ¡°This guy¡¯s spiritual force is simply freakish! Not even some older powerhouses canpare to him. With his help, Shenwu¡¯s Sky will do well during this trip.¡±

    Yu Chen had also been warily watching Yao Xuan from the top floor of Hope Restaurant. This person¡¯s spiritual force was strong enough to even knock Jin Feiyuan out cold. This person would be a huge threat to their team.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor waspletely white, just like the color of the python in Lu Yin¡¯s dreams. This white did not represent coldness, and it was simply pure white.

    The mountains, rivers, and buildings on the were all white as well.

    Lu Yin followed Long Xi and leapt up onto the once they reached the end of the bridge.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor was not very big; it was only about the size of the Earth, which was considered quite small whenpared to the countlesss throughout the universe. However, it was Long Tian¡¯s private domain.

    Hmm? Lu Yin suddenly realized something when he stepped onto the. Those twinklings in the distance were star essence!

    ¡°Who dropped star essence on the ground?¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself as he looked at the star essence in the distance.

    Long Xi felt confused at his words. ¡°There¡¯s a senior who has passed through six tribtions permanently staying on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, as well as two Envoys, a senior who has undergone one tribtion, and ten Enlighters. You don¡¯t have to worry while you train here. These seniors will make sure that nobody can spy on you and that nobody will be able to see you when you practice the inheritance that you¡¯ve received from the Sword Monument.

    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Long Xi continued on, ¡°There is countless star essence scattered across the, and anyone who steps onto the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor is allowed to use them however they wish.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Long Xi in utter shock. ¡°What did you just say? Countless star essence? Scattered around the? I can use it however I wish?¡±

    Long Xi nodded. ¡°It''s not actually countless. There¡¯s probably several billion star essence, though I¡¯m not sure exactly how much. Regardless, there¡¯s enough for everyone here to use however they wish, and the quantity seems to remain unchanged even after people use some.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the star essence once again. They really were just scattered around. ¡°I can use them too?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Why else would my brother insist on you breaking through to the Enlighter realm here on the Junior Progenitor? The first matter concerned your safety, but the second is that there are enough star essence here for you to be an Enlighter. No, enough to break through to any cultivation realm,¡± Long Xi exined. Although she was not close to Long Tian, the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor was still the pride of the entire White Dragon n, as the resources in this ce had not only been supplied by the White Dragon n, but also by the entire Perennial World.

    Each Junior Progenitor and its resources were supplied by the entire Perennial World, and they were intended to aid the Junior Progenitors¡¯ cultivation. The resources on theses were not from the White Dragon n alone.

    Lu Yin was left stunned and jealous. He had been the champion of ZENITH! The strongest person in his generation in the entire Fifth Maind! Why had he not received such treatment? He also wanted countless star essence! He wanted more money! Wait, he could also use this star essence however he wanted¡­

 Chapter 1414: Dragon Saliva And Shortcuts

    Chapter 1414: Dragon Saliva And Shortcuts

    Lu Yin gulped the moment he realized that he could use these star essence to do anything he wanted. He immediately thought of using Enhance to upgrade the Karmic me, Zenith Mountain, the Skyze Stone, and even the froststone that he had. A lot of his items were limited due to their inherent materials and could no longer be upgraded as a result. However, there were also some other items that he could not upgrade due to ack of funds. However, that would not be a problem with the resources avable on this.

    ¡°So, I can use as much as I want?¡± Lu Yin tried to be casual as he asked.

    Long Xi answered, ¡°There are trackers on everything on this. It¡¯s fine for you to use things here, but you can¡¯t take anything away, and trying to do so will be discovered.¡±

    Lu Yin had no ns of taking the star essence with him, as he would not be able to take arge amount with him anyways. His only problem at this moment was finding a way to use this star essence without being discovered by Long Tian. Lu Yin could not just use all the star essence from a single area, as people would most likely be suspicious if he used too many star essence.

    It was simr to how people could not repeatedly shear the same sheep.

    Lu Yin followed Long Xi to a beautiful mountain as all of these thoughts raced through his mind. There, they finally met Long Tian.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting Long Tian in person. He had not been able to feel anything when he saw Long Tian through amunication crystal, but Lu Yin was able to feel a hidden aura when he saw the Junior Progenitor¡¯s true self. Long Tian¡¯s aura was like a volcano that was about to erupt. Nobody knew just how powerful this person truly was.

    This was the same feeling that Lu Yin had felt when facing Shang Qing in the Mountain and Seas Zone. Lu Yin had been unable to determine Shang Qing¡¯s full strength no matter what he had done at that time.

    From the moment that Lu Yin had be a Hunter, Long Tian was one of the very few peers who could give Lu Yin such a feeling. He felt that Long Tian was probablyparable or even stronger than Shang Qing when he was using the full power of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Lu Yin had originally believed that the four Junior Progenitors were at bestparable to Shang Qing, as Wang Yi had not been able to defeat Shang Qing during ZENITH. Since Shang Qing had been able to easily suppress Wang Yi, it seemed to indicate that Shang Qing wasparable to the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors. However, when Lu Yin saw Long Tian for himself, he felt that his previous assumptions were most likely wrong.

    Of course, Lu Yin was only considering Shang Qing¡¯s power during ZENITH. As soon as Shang Qing¡¯s cultivation rose, the power of the summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui would also rise. Lu Yin felt chills when he thought about the two summoned Progenitors getting stronger.

    As Lu Yin studied Long Tian, Long Tian was also observing Long Qi.

    ¡°You¡¯ve really surprised me,¡± Long Tian said solemnly. His voice carried an indescribable pressure, but this pressure did not manage to affect Lu Yin at all.

    ¡°You managed to rise tremendously from being just a normal Hunter to someone who¡¯s able to defeat Long Ding.¡±

    Lu Yin answered casually, ¡°I kept a few things hidden.¡±

    ¡°The inheritance from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?¡± Long Tian asked.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Long Tianughed. ¡°Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo had an impressive spiritual force, but you didn¡¯t use that to defeat Long Ding. Everything that you used was received from the Sword Monument. As long as you make good use of those abilities in the future, you¡¯ll be able to be very strong.¡±

    He tossed a small bottle of some kind of liquid over to Lu Yin.

    ¡°This is dragon saliva, and you can use it to increase your physical strength. I¡¯ll send you to a ce where the temperature is high enough to melt star energy so that you can quickly absorb it and be an Enlighter.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned; absorb star energy in an environment with a very high temperature? That was his shortcut! Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that he had been right; he was not the only person who had uncovered this particr shortcut. However, not many people could make use of this cultivating method. The White Dragon n was able to use it since their members were physically very powerful.

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes lit up, as she was aware of just how precious dragon saliva was. It came from the Ancestor Python¡¯s mouth, and it was very hard to gather, as doing so required both luck and skill. ¡°Thank you, Brother.¡±

    Long Tian solemnly replied, ¡°I only gave that to him because he¡¯s already opened his first meridian point. He has good potential. If he didn¡¯t, then I wouldn¡¯t waste such a thing on him. As for you, the n has already prepared a tribtion crystal pir, so you should open your first meridian point soon.¡±

    Long Xi nodded and looked at Lu Yin with open concern. ¡°I¡¯ll stand guard over you while you absorb the dragon saliva.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need your protection. The process isn¡¯t dangerous, just painful. However, since he was able to handle the pain of opening a meridian point, this will be nothing for him,¡± Long Tian said.

    Lu Yin turned to Long Xi. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do my best to be an Enlighter and help you when you go to the Dominion Realm.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have topete with some other people in order to qualify to go to the Dominion Realm,¡± Long Tian coldly stated. He then stepped down with a great deal of force, and the stomp opened a huge crack in the nearby mountain. The fissure suddenly exploded, and a surge of hot air shot into the sky, turning the previously white sky a dark red.

    A shocking amount of heat surged up from the ground and burned down the trees around the mountain. Many ces were reduced to ash.

    Lu Yin looked at the crack and saw ck magma surging within the mountain. The temperature of this ck magma surprised Lu Yin, as it wasparable to what he had encountered in the ze Realm. The power level of this magma had nearly reached 500,000.

    ¡°This is where people from the White Dragon n train their bodies. This ce has the lowest temperature of such ces on this Junior Progenitor, and you can use it to absorb star essence more quickly. I hope that you¡¯ll be an Enlighter before the trip to the Dominion Realm. That way, you might be able to join us,¡± Long Tian continued to exin.

    Long Xi asked anxiously, ¡°Brother, this is the temperature that you use to train! How is Long Qi supposed to endure it?¡±

    Long Tian retorted, ¡°Do you think that dragon saliva is useless? You¡¯ve never used it, but it¡¯s extremely effective in raising a person¡¯s physical strength. If he can¡¯t even withstand this temperature after using it, then he cannot be considered someone from the White Dragon n.¡±

    Long Xi was about to say something more, but Lu Yin interrupted her. ¡°I can definitely handle this.¡±

    Long Tian was satisfied. ¡°Not only can dragon saliva raise one¡¯s physical strength, but it can also stimte your bloodline and allow you to gain the ability to learn the White Dragon Transformation. After bing an Enlighter who can use the White Dragon Transformation, the battle techniques that you¡¯ve gained from the Sword Monument and the spiritual force techniques that you¡¯ve learned from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo will allow you to defeat anyone that you face. At that time, you¡¯ll be able to help me achieve an even higher status within the White Dragon n.¡±

    He shot a meaningful look at Lu Yin before disappearing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharper. Long Tian had disappeared so quickly that Lu Yin had not even been able to sense what had happened. Long Tian was definitely even faster than Wang Yi! This was the power of a Junior Progenitor.

    Wait, what had Long Tian just mentioned? The White Dragon Transformation?

    Lu Yin stared at Long Xi in a daze. ¡°Me? The White Dragon Transformation?

    Long Xi felt annoyed. Since Lu Yin was not actually someone from the White Dragon n, he would never gain the ability to use the White Dragon Transformation. If, after all of this, Long Qi was still unable to learn the White Dragon Transformation, her brother would definitely be suspicious of Long Qi¡¯s bloodline.

    Just thinking about it gave Long Xi a headache.

    ¡°What if Long Tian asks me to use the White Dragon Transformation?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t think about that right now. Just absorb the dragon saliva.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He also did not want to try to deal with this matter at the moment, but he had to keep up the proper act in front of Long Xi. Once he made it to the Dominion Realm, he would be able to act as he wished. Oh wait, he had almost forgotten about his n to find out who that finger from his dreams belonged to, not to mention his own past. Lu Yin¡¯s situation in the Perennial World waspletely different from the other trespassers like Unseen Light and the rest who could simply leave after getting a decent inheritance. Arch-Elder Zen had prepared an escape route for them, but Lu Yin could not simply leave on his own.

    He would still have to be careful!

    ¡°Alright then, thank you.¡± Lu Yin opened the bottle. ¡°Am I supposed to eat this?¡±

    Long Xi felt increasingly frustrated. That was precious dragon saliva, and yet it was being used by an outsider. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. You can either eat it or wipe it on your body. You just need to absorb it.¡±

    Although Long Tian had told her not to protect Long Qi, she still felt very worried about him.

    Lu Yin immediately swallowed the liquid. It did not taste of anything at all, but there was a faint scent.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you that dragon saliva is the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva,¡± Long Xi turned around and casually dropped this bomb.

    Lu Yin nearly vomited, but he suddenly felt an excruciating pain spread out within his body that was followed by a surge of heat. He clenched his fists and leaped towards the magma.

    Long Xi was shocked, and she tried to grab Lu Yin, but he just pushed her hand away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    He jumped straight into the magma.

    Long Xi carefully watched him, as she was scared that Long Qi would be burned to ashes.

    Fortunately, after sinking into the magma, Lu Yin waved as he sank down.

    Long Xi felt relieved.

    Nobody could be allowed to know what would happen when Long Qi used the dragon saliva to raise his strength. Lu Yin did not want Long Xi to realize just how strong he truly was.

    The dragon saliva contained the power of the Ancestor Python, just like the blood essence that Lu Yin had received from Long Xi. However, one improved the user¡¯s physical strength while the other increased their cultivation.

    The Ancestor Python had the strength of a Progenitor and had been alive since ancient times. Nobody knew just how powerful the creature actually was.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was experiencing the python¡¯s true power. A single drop of its saliva was enough to make him physically stronger.

    If he told people in the Fifth Maind about this, they would most likely be stunned. No one there had ever interacted with Progenitors or be stronger due to the help of a Progenitor¡¯s strength, even if it was just a bit of saliva.

    Lu Yin felt grossed out when he remembered that it was actually saliva. Long Xi must have intentionally waited to say that, seeing as she had only mentioned it after Lu Yin had swallowed it.

    The power of the Ancestor Python stimted the cells of Lu Yin¡¯s body. Finally, after half a day, the pain finally subsided. Lu Yin¡¯s body faintly glowed within the magma.

    This was something that only happened once a person¡¯s body reached a certain level of refinement. Before, this had happened to Lu Yin when Mister Mu had helped him raise his physical strength within the hidden space with the golden sea. It had also happened when Lu Yin had broken through. Although he used his fatesand to suppress it, Lu Yin had still reached the peak strength possible for his current cultivation realm.

    Lu Yin had surpassed the limit of a Hunter when it came to pure, physical strength.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and estimated that he should be able to train up to 280 or even 300 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path.

    It became increasingly difficult to practice the Oveying Stacks Path as one progressed, not to mention arge increase like going from 250 stacks to 300 Stacks.

    If Lu Yin could really achieve 300 Stacks, then not even Wang Yi would be able to withstand his attacks. At that point, he would have been able to easily win ZENITH.

    What was truly unbelievable was that the Oveying Stacks Path was Lan Si¡¯s top skill, and yet, Lan Si had achieved fewer than 200 Stacks as a Hunter. On the other hand, Lu Yin had nearly reached 300 Stacks. He just needed someone to help him deduce these stacks, as he did not have any Roots of Intelligence left, preventing him from deducing any more stacks on his own.

 Chapter 1415: Not Very Tasteful

    Chapter 1415: Not Very Tasteful

    Lu Yin leaped out of the magma andnded on the mountain in his tattered clothes.

    Long Xi sighed in relief when she saw Lu Yin hade out safely.

    ¡°How did it go?¡± Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. ¡°My strength increased a lot. I¡¯m now strong enough to defeat Long Ding with a single p if we fought now.¡±

    Long Xi replied calmly, ¡°Absorbing star energy after it turns to liquid from a high temperature is a shortcut used by the White Dragon n and the other ruling powers. Not everybody can use this shortcut, and you were only able to do so because of the dragon saliva. With this, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for you to be an Enlighter.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I definitely won¡¯t be an Enlighter. I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me,¡± Lu Yin responded in a serious manner.

    Long Xi was astonished and she met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°The only thing I can do is trust you. Don¡¯t forget what I said: if you enter the Dominion Realm, everything bes extremely dangerous.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as Long Xi left. He felt helpless. He would not let her down this time. Although he wanted to be an Enlighter, it would be too difficult for him. While others had a much easier time with such breakthroughs, they were much harder for Lu Yin, and so he would not disappoint Long Xi, even if he actually wanted to do so.

    At the moment, it was time for Lu Yin to look for some money. He looked around in excitement. Long Xi had said that the elders protecting the would not be watching him. He hoped that meant that they also were not watching him in secret, as if that was the case, he would need to give them a good exnation.

    Since when was star essence like vegetables that could be picked up everywhere on the ground? Lu Yin was stunned.

    He looked at the star essence around him that covered entire mountains. Just how much star essence was in this ce? It had to be in the billions at least, and this was just a single area of just one of the four Junior Progenitor Mountains. Lu Yin was already able to see that this had at least three other areas with simr amounts of star essence.

    If there were billions of star essence in each area, it meant that the entire held tens of billions of star essence! This was the support given to each of the Junior Progenitors by the Perennial World.

    If the people of this universe were really able to groom a Progenitor by using this amount of star essence, it would absolutely be worth the cost.

    Envoys and above were not able to use star energy, but instead used stellr energy. Thus, to such powerhouses, star essence was nothing more than a bit of low grade materials that were used for cultivation.

    Lu Yin gathered a huge amount of star essence by using his star energy, and he then tossed it all into the magma. Star energy immediately filled the area and liquidated from the high temperature before turning to gas.

    He had to first increase his own abilities, just in case there was anyone watching him. He could only do what he actually wanted after cultivating for some time.

    As Lu Yin gathered the star essence, Long Xi was looking at a pir of tribtion crystals with an astounded expression.

    The entire White Dragon n had spent an entire century collecting the tribtion crystals needed to open Long Tian¡¯s middle meridian point, and this pir was formed from the left over tribtion crystals, and it was only enough for Long Xi to be able to open her lower meridian point. There was nowhere near enough for her to be able to open her middle meridian point.

    Facing this crystal pir, Long Xi finally understood why Lu Yin had been willing to start a war in Flying Armor Pass in order to get a hold of the crystal thread.

    The temptation she felt was simply irresistible.

    Long Tian was standing nearby and calmlymented, ¡°Your strength will greatly improve after opening your lower meridian point. However, a lot of other people going will also go through this process, and the Celestial Frost Sect will probably be able to have multiple people open their meridian points. You should try to avoid those people as much as possible when we¡¯re in the Dominion Realm.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that how you like to do things?¡± Long Xi asked coldly.

    Long Tian frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not scared of Bai Shaohong, but you already know just how cruel his sister, Bai Xian¡¯er, is. You remember how Sister Xing-¡±

    ¡°Enough! Don¡¯t bring up the past!¡± Long Xi shouted.

    Long Tian continued in a helpless manner, ¡°I didn¡¯t want things to be like this, either, but we were too young. We shouldn¡¯t allow the past to continue to affect us.¡±

    Long Xi remained silent.

    ¡°If Long Qi also goes with me to the Dominion Realm, I promise I will do my best to keep you safe. I know that you must have already told him not to be an Enlighter, but you¡¯ve underestimated him. As a member of the White Dragon n, he won¡¯t be willing to hold himself back, and he is definitely going to do his best to join the excursion to the Dominion Realm,¡± Long Tian exined.

    Long Xi looked at her brother. ¡°You gave him dragon saliva and me a pir of tribtion crystals. We¡¯ll both do our best.¡±

    Long Tian frowned when he heard her response. Long Xi¡¯s tone of voice left him feeling ufortable. ¡°You¡¯re my sister. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you.¡±

    He turned around. ¡°Although Wan Wu was taken away by the King of Adventure, Nong Lie and Wen Diyi are both here. Even if Long Qi wants to go to the Dominion Realm, he might not get the chance. The trip to the Dominion Realm is nothing more than the excuse I used to get that dragon saliva from the n. You should understand how much I¡¯ve already done.¡±

    He then walked away and disappeared.

    Long Xi turned to face the crystal pir and took a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡±

    She pressed her hands onto the pir just as Long Ding had done, and started refining the pir. However, she was much faster at the process than Long Ding had been.

    Nong Lie arrived at the bridge leading to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and the Guo fruit poked its head out to look at the surrounding area with curiosity. ¡°Alright, you should go back now. Stop following me. I can¡¯t take you there.¡±

    The Guo did not want to leave, but it still slowly returned towards Ind of Hope where people from the Nong family were waiting for it.

    Wen Diyi was also walking along the bridge in front of Nong Lie. They had both selected to help the White Dragon n.

    Of the four ruling powers, the Celestial Frost Sect was the most aggressive, and though they had many powerhouses under them, they had also offended many different organizations. Shenwu¡¯s Sky was also very aggressive, but Xia Shenfei¡¯s charisma drew people into helping him. Thus, the only two options left were the Wang family and the White Dragon n.

    Sanniang had gone to the Wang family, so Nong Lie could not join the Wang family if he wanted to avoid any issues. Therefore, his only choice was the White Dragon n.

    A man walked out from the forest on Ind of Hope, and the sky suddenly grew dark.

    This person was young and was shrouded in a ck robe that covered his entire body, leaving only his face exposed.

    This young man had handsome features, but he did not look like a real person. His eyes were calm, but there were ck vapors that rose off of his body.

    His appearance caused the sky nearby to turn dark.

    ¡°Crown Prince Gui Qian?¡±1 someone eximed. Everyone in the Hope Restaurant turned towards the forest in surprise.

    ¡°It really is Crown Prince Gui Qian! Someone from Specter Abyss came.¡±

    ¡°No one from Specter Abyss or the Virtue Archives ever dared to show up during the previous Yuanlun Festivals. Many things have changed since that incident, and the four ruling powers clearly can no longer control the entire Perennial World. They¡¯ve overestimated themselves.¡±

    ¡°Since Specter Abyss has shown up, will Specter Progenitor make an appearance?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Do you think the elders from the four ruling powers would ever allow that to happen? Specter Abyss won¡¯t appear that easily.¡±

    On the first floor of the Hope Restaurant, Mr. Zui looked towards the forest with a cold expression and solemnly watched Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    Yu Chen, Xia Taili, and Wang Dashuai were all on the bridges leading towards the Junior Progenitors, but they all stared at Crown Prince Gui Qian in shock.

    Specter Abyss had existed for years and had a history as long as any of the four ruling powers. However, due to their cultivation methods, the rest of the Perennial World was scared of those from Specter Abyss, and they had been suppressed by many forces. This was why they had not revealed themselves for a long time, and nobody had expected someone from the Specter Abyss to appear.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian and his dark aura approached the Hope Restaurant. He then continued on straight towards the bridges and stood in the middle of all four.

    Yu Chen¡¯s eyes flickered and she smiled. ¡°Crown Prince Gui Qian, I have heard of you.¡±

    Xia Taili looked at Crown Prince Gui Qian with curiosity. ¡°How did you get this ck aura? It looks so cool!¡±

    Wang Dashuai just swallowed. He felt that he should not even say anything. Words from the girls could be seen as a wee, but would Wang Dashuai¡¯s words be viewed as a challenge?

    Wang Dashuai felt that it was best to keep a low profile, and had therefore never challenged anybody. He was quite loyal and charismatic, but at this moment, he felt like his charisma was a curse, as Crown Prince Gui Qian kept walking towards the fatty.

    Most people, even from the four ruling powers, were wary of those from Specter Abyss, let alone Wang Dashuai. The ck vapor surrounding the young man and just his surname made Wang Dashuai feel like something from a horror film.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian continued walking towards Wang Dashuai.

    Wang Dashuai eximed, ¡°Hey- hey you! Sto- stop!¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian stopped and calmly stared at Wang Dashuai.

    Wang Dashuai blinked. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian spoke in a loud, but awkward, voice, ¡°Help the Wang family get inheritances in the Dominion Realm.¡±

    Wang Dashuai was stunned and then awkwardlyughed. ¡°No, no thanks! We have enough people.¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian looked up. ¡°Need one more.¡±

    Wang Dashuai waved his hand in an anxious manner. ¡°No, no we don¡¯t.¡±

    Everyone watched the two with great interest.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian again started walking towards Wang Dashuai.

    Wang Dashuai¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Wait, stop! What do you want?¡±

    This time, Crown Prince Gui Qian did not stop, and he continued approaching Wang Dashuai. Wang Dashuai wanted to step back, but was worried about humiliating himself.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian finally stopped right in front of the bridge. He turned towards the Hope Restaurant. He then just stood in ce, not moving.

    Wang Dashuai was only a hundred meters from Crown Prince Gui Qian and could feel a sense of cold and danger emanating from the young man. ¡°Hey, what do you want?¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian did not answer, and just stoically stood in ce.

    Wang Dashuai panicked. This guy was blocking the bridge so that nobody could step onto it. The Wang family already had Yuhua Mavis, Unseen Light, and Nong Sanniang, so they really were missing one more person. If Crown Prince Gui Qian blocked the bridge, nobody would be able to travel to the. Even if the fatty asked Jin Feiyuan for help, that person would still need to get past Crown Prince Gui Qian first.

    However, this was Crown Prince Gui Qian who was trained in Specter Abyss¡¯s mysterious arts. That ce held a status that wasparable to even the four ruling powers. This person wasparable to the four Junior Progenitors, or at least on the same level as Liu Hao and Nong Sanniang; just how many people in the entire Perennial World could defeat him?

    Wang Dashuai did not have the time to think about anything else as the uing trip to the Dominion Realm was most important. He ran towards Crown Prince Gui Qian and helplessly said, ¡°Brother, please don¡¯t stand here! You¡¯re blocking the path, and that¡¯s not very tasteful.¡±

    [1] This was the best we could do with this name, as he is literally the crown prince of Specter Abyss. No name ever appears, just this title, and so making it sound like a name allowed for a better flow. ?

 Chapter 1416: A Mysterious Place

    Chapter 1416: A Mysterious ce

    Crown Prince Gui Qian remained calmly standing where he was.

    Wang Dashuai kept pleading with the young man, but Crown Prince Gui Qian refused to budge at all.

    Wang Dashuai looked towards the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor, hoping that the elders protecting the would chase Crown Prince Gui Qian away. However, there was no movement from the Junior Progenitor.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was powerful, but no one would be willing to allow anyone from Specter Abyss join their team to the Dominion Realm.

    Not even Yu Chen was willing to invite Crown Prince Gui Qian, which showed how wary everyone was of him.

    Wang Dashuai was still pleading with the prince, when suddenly he helplessly said, ¡°Crown Prince Gui Qian, my Junior Progenitor is inviting you to join her.¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian turned around and walked towards the Junior Progenitor. He had remained calm the entire time, as if everything had always been within his control.

    Wang Dashuai gritted his teeth; why had such a person appeared?

    ***

    On the White Dragon Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin was devouring star energy within the magma, and liquified star energy crashed onto him. This liquid star energy transformed into a gas that he absorbed, and the entire time, his whole body was being burned.

    A normal person would be able to break through very quickly as soon as they use this method of cultivating. However, Lu Yin had star energy reserves that were 200 times those of a normal cultivator. Thus, if a normal person would only need a single day to break through, Lu Yin would need 200 days.

    If he took that long to break through, both Long Tian and Long Xi would realize that something was wrong with him.

    Thus, Lu Yin used the Skyze Stone to absorb the heat of the magma while he absorbed star energy into his body.

    He wanted to absorb enough heat to be able to train himself in the Timestop Space, which would shorten the amount of time he would need to break through.

    He had a few million star essence still in his cosmic ring, which should be just enough toplete his next cycle. He did not really want to use his own money since he could use the star essence all over the.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin opened his eyes within the magma. His die appeared. It was time for him toplete his seventeenth cycle so that he could avoid arousing suspicion.

    He ced his cosmic ring right next to him and tapped his die. The diended on Possession, and Lu Yin appeared within the mysterious space. He saw numerous balls of light, and he immediately went to the nearest one. This light was extremely dim, which meant that the person Lu Yin would be Possessing had a lower power level than him. Lu Yin did not have much time to be observing others at this time, as he was afraid of being detected.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and he appeared within a training ground. His body was crouching low to the ground, and blood dripped from his arm. There was a sword pointed right at his throat.

    Lu Yin was speechless; just what was going on? Memories surged into his mind, and his expression grew calm.

    ¡°I already told you that you¡¯re not my opponent. You should give up.¡± The person pointing the sword at Lu Yin sneered. He looked quite impressive as he threatened Lu Yin, and the people watching nearby were all in awe.

    Lu Yin had possessed an elder of a small family that lived under the Bifrost. The elder had been fighting with a rival n over some resources, but had been defeated by the rival n¡¯s heir. However, none of this was overly important to Lu Yin, as he did not care at all about conflicts between small families. On top of that, this elder had only just be an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin was much more interested in the elder¡¯s memories. Since Lu Yin had possessed the man, he decided to immediately try to search for memories regarding the Lu family.

    The person holding the sword looked at the elder with a bit of confusion; why did this elder suddenly seem dazed? However, the heir was not suspicious for long, as it was normal for an elder who had cultivated for more than 100 years to be stunned after being defeated by such a youth.

    ¡°Since you now know the difference between us, you can leave. This mine belongs to my family!¡± the young man shouted arrogantly.

    The elder¡¯s confused expression suddenly grew solemn and he vomited blood. His head exploded and his blood sttered across the young man¡¯s face.

    The young man was stunned; he had not done a single thing! No, this old man¡¯s death would definitely lead to a war between their families.

    The conflicts between such small families had not affect on Lu Yin, and he returned to the dark red magma. His eyes were filled with shock.

    What had just happened right then? He had hoped to find memories regarding the Lu family, but had suddenly felt an excruciating pain in his head the moment he had tried to do so. The more he pushed to ess those memories, the greater the pain. Momentster, the elder who Lu Yin had Possessed had died. Lu Yin had just experienced death yet again, and the death energy in his body slightly increased.

    Why had this happened? Why would memories rted to the Lu family cause that elder to die? Had his memories been sealed by something? However, the elder¡¯s memories had beenplete, and so Lu Yin had managed to glean a lot of those memories during the brief time he had Possessed the elder. The only memories that had been unclear were the ones rted to the Lu family. The only scene Lu Yin had managed to see before the elder had died was of red petals falling from the sky upon the entire Perennial World.

    This had been the only memory Lu Yin had been able to see, and this memory had also been what had caused the elder¡¯s death.

    Lu Yin fell into deep thought. This had to be rted to the Lu family. When the surname Lu had appeared in the elder¡¯s memory and Lu Yiin had attempted to read those memories, Lu Yin had been able to clearly feel the elder¡¯s terror and awe. Something major must have happened in this Perennial World.

    The billowing red petals that had covered the sky had been beautiful, yet also deadly. They were from a flower that Lu Yin had never seen before.

    After a while, Lu Yin looked up. Although he had seen the red petals, he had not managed to learn anything further about the Lu family. Despite that failure, he felt certain that powerful members of the Lu family had once existed in the Perennial World.

    He sighed and suppressed theplex emotions that he was feeling and went to roll his die again. The most important thing now was to raise his cultivation.

    The Possession he had just experienced had used almost ten million star essence, but Lu Yin did not mind since they had been star essence from the.

    He rolled his die again, and itnded on Possession again. How could he have such luck? The scenery again changed before his eyes.

    Lu Yin was experienced in this change, and he knew that the slower he integrated with a light ball, the more star essence that would be used up. Although the star essence did not belong to him, there was no reason for him to Possess someone far away, as they would not be able to help him.

    Lu Yin immediately raced for the brightest ball of light and merged with it.

    Before he could even open his eyes to take a look at his surroundings, he felt something weird about the body he had Possessed.

    After opening his eyes, Lu Yin looked around and immediately saw a pir of tribtion crystals that was a hundred meters tall.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell agape as he stared at the pir in shock. It was a real tribtion crystal pir, and it was enormous.

    This pir was ten timesrger than the one Long Ding had used. Lu Yin had just experienced having his head explode when Possessed the elder a few moments before, and this time he was astonished to see a tribtion crystal pir.

    Lu Yin looked down at his hands and his eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. This body had no vitality or star energy. The organs in the body were empty. This was a corpse, but how could he have Possessed a corpse?

    Wait, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, Where¡¯re the memories?

    This body had no memories.

    Lu Yin looked around. His surroundings were dark. He was not able to see anything clearly, and he also had no memories he could ess. The only thing he could see at this moment was the crystal pir. Hmm? Was that a leaf on top of the pir?

    This was a bizarre situation. There was a hundred meter tall crystal pir and a leaf in a dark and empty space. Lu Yin tried to make the body stand up, but he was unable to control it. This was the first time he had ever not had control during a Possession.

    What was going on?

    His vision changed once again, and Lu Yin was dragged back to the mysterious space. He saw numerous balls of light as he returned to his own body. He looked over and saw that all of the star essence in the magma had been used up.

    He had rolled Possession twice in a row, and he had experienced two bizarre situations, especially when he had Possessed a corpse. That crystal pir he had seen was enormous, and would definitely astonish even the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin sighed; if only he could find that ce again. What a shame he had not been able to control the body.

    Given that he had not been able to control the body, that body clearly had no consciousness. However, he had still been able to Possess it. This indicated that the body was being controlled by someone, just like the machinery ants in the Technocracy he had once Possessed.

    There were too many secrets in the universe. Lu Yin scratched his head regretfully. He looked up and rolled the die once more. He would need to go out to get more star essence afterpleting his seventeenth cycle.

    This roll was also a failure, as itnded on one pip: Pilfer, and the item that fell out was burned to ashes by the magma before Lu Yin could even get a look at it.

    He felt annoyed and tried again.

    The die slowly spun before stopping on Timestop.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. Finally, he would be able to enter the Timestop Space.

    He was no longer anxious after entering the Timestop Space. He increased his time in the space to half a year and pulled out the Skyze Stone. It was time toplete his seventeenth cycle.

    Even though he was capable ofpleting multiple cycles in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin had decided not to do that as it would easily trigger Long Tian¡¯s suspicions.

    Afterpleting his seventeenth cycle, Lu Yin clenched his fists. He had already opened his lower meridian point and had also absorbed dragon saliva, so he was much stronger than he had been during ZENITH. Now, he had alsopleted his seventeenth cycle. With his current strength, he was capable of easily defeating Wang Yi or Wu Taibai without using the God of Death Transformation. He even felt that he could definitelypare to Shang Qing.

    Despite his improvements, it would still be hard for him to defeat Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique, as Shang Qing must have also improved after ZENITH.

    He still had some time left in the Timestop Space, but Lu Yin had already considered what to do with this time. He intended to train with his battle force, as he had not yet tried out his golden battle force.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leaped out of the magma with an explosion. Star energy surged around him; he had clearlypleted his seventeenth cycle.

    He looked around, but there was nobody nearby. He immediately used hismunication crystal to call Long Tian.

    ¡°I¡¯vepleted my seventeenth cycle,¡± Lu Yin reported.

    Long Tian was unfazed. ¡°Keep going.¡±

    The call ended.

    Lu Yin was unbothered by Long Tian¡¯s attitude, but it clearly indicated that a qualified powerhouse had arrived, or else Long Tian would not have been so cold to Lu Yin. Lu Yin could not allow this.

 Chapter 1417: Whatâ€™s That Attitude?

    Chapter 1417: What¡¯s That Attitude?

    Lu Yin did not know what to do about this. Anyone who qualified to be invited by Long Tian to the Junior Progenitor had to be quite powerful.

    Lu Yin wanted to fight the other candidates for the team in order to ensure that none of them would be able to go to the Dominion Realm and that he would end up as the only candidate. However, they were on a Junior Progenitor, and while the elders protecting Long Tian would not spy on the people on the, they would absolutely be alerted the moment a battle broke out.

    Lu Yin had a headache.

    He kept collecting star essence as he contemted his current dilemma. After he was done, he carried a pile of star essence back to the magma.

    A middle aged man watched from the distance and saw what Lu Yin was doing. The man was left speechless, though also envious. Back when he had been cultivating, he had been forced to do his best to acquire resources, even with the help from his family, and yet he had never obtained enough to use them freely.

    ¡°If I had this amount of star essence back then, I would have been able to be an Enlighter twenty years sooner,¡± the middle aged man muttered to himself. He took a picture and sent it to Long Tian.

    Long Tian did not care about Long Qi¡¯s actions. He was even willing to allow Long Qi to take some of the star essence with him away from the. These resources were negligible to the Junior Progenitor. Still, Long Tian was not a kind person, and so he immediately had somebody send the picture to Long Xi.

    At this time, Long Xi was experiencing the excruciating pain of opening her lower meridian point. She finally understood the pain that Long Ting and Lu Yin had both endured.

    She was surprised that Long Qi had been able to withstand such agony. Long Xi felt a trace of pride; her husband was actually not too bad.

    At this moment, hermunication crystal vibrated, and she saw a few pictures that had been sent to her. Her face sank as she looked at the pictures, and she then quickly turned off hermunication crystal. She was so enraged that shepletely forgot about her pain. This was absolutely humiliating! What an embarrassment! She had already told Lu Yin that the resources on the Junior Progenitors were all marked and that he would not be able to take any of them with him away from the, so why had he still taken so much star essence? Someone had even taken a picture of him doing so. Long Xi felt humiliated and all the pride she just felt instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin tossed the pile of star essence into the magma, and the crystals immediately melted and then vaporized into a gas that filled the underground space.

    Lu Yin jumped down to continue cultivating.

    More and more people showed up in the Hope Restaurant, and most of them were only there to join in on the fun. However, there were some people who genuinely wanted to be noticed by the Junior Progenitors, and these people tried to initiate some fights. Despite that, their efforts were futile, as they were only seen as average to the Junior Progenitors.

    One day, the Liu family¡¯s Liu Hao and Liu Tianmu showed up.

    The moment Liu Hao appeared, Yu Chen immediately approached him with a smile. ¡°Brother Liu, I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time.¡±

    Liu Hao was dazed.

    Xia Taili¡¯s voice also rang out, ¡°My goodness, you¡¯re shameless! Brother Liu¡¯s already decided to help my brother, so he¡¯s no longer any of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s concern.¡±

    Yu Chen smiled. ¡°The purpose of this trip to the Dominion Realm is to obtain Origin Matter, which will determine a person¡¯s chances of bing a Progenitor. Joining with the Celestial Frost Sect would give Brother Liu a much higher chance of getting Origin Matter. Brother Liu, even if you aren¡¯t thinking about yourself, you should still think about your Liu family. Your family needs more powerhouses.¡±

    Xia Taili was outraged. ¡°Do you think only the Celestial Frost Sect is able to get Origin Matter? We¡¯re also one of the four ruling powers; do you have an extra leg up or something?¡±

    Yu Chen did not answer, but instead turned to Liu Hao. She had already said her piece, and it was up to Liu Hao to make his own decision.

    Liu Hao said, ¡°I have already given my promise to Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and I won¡¯t break my word.¡±

    Yu Chen shook her head. ¡°A chance of bing a Progenitor is far more important than your own values.¡±

    ¡°How could I ever be a Progenitor if I lie to myself?¡± Liu Hao calmly replied. He turned to Xia Taili. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Xia Taili turned and started towards Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor, absolutely thrilled.

    Yu Chen remained calm and continued smiling. Nobody knew what she might be thinking.

    Liu Hao¡¯s arrival had attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Even though the Liu family could notpare to the four ruling powers, they were still only second to those top organizations, and over the years, they had obtained many battle techniques from the Sword Monument. Liu Hao had even fought with the four Junior Progenitors during the Yuanlun Festival. If not forcking resources, he might have beenparable to the Junior Progenitors themselves.

    This was why Yu Chen had tried to recruit Liu Hao despite knowing that she would be rejected. If Liu Hao was willing to help Bai Shaohong, they would be willing to remove anyone else from the team.

    However, the more outstanding Liu Hao was, the less attention people paid to Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu had arrived with Liu Hao, but everyone had beenpletely focused on Liu Hao, so not many people noticed Liu Tianmu as she started walking towards the White Dragon Junior Progenitor. Not even Yu Chen noticed the woman walk away.

    Liu Tianmu calmly walked towards the.

    At this time, Long Xi was not waiting near the bridge, but instead one of the White Dragon n¡¯s Enlighters was holding the position.

    The White Dragon n had no need to recruit any additional people since they already had Long Xi, Wen Diyi, Nong Lie, as well as Long Jue, who was a young powerhouse within the n who had just recently be an Enlighter, and Lu Yin. Long Tian merely needed to choose one person from three options, as Wen Diyi would definitely join the trip.

    The person with the highest chance of being selected was Nong Lie. Long Tian would also be happy for Long Jue to join the team, as the youth was trustworthy, given that he was also from the White Dragon n. Long Tian had not expected anyone else toe to his, and then Liu Tianmu appeared.

    Long Tian was impressed when he saw Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword skills, and he immediately appeared to meet her.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Liu family?¡± Long Tian asked.

    Liu Tianmu answered in a cold voice, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard of you before?¡± Long Tian continued.

    Liu Tianmu remained calm. ¡°I¡¯m from a side family and only became this powerful after receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Long Tian epted the exnation. He simply assumed that Liu Tianmu had been a normal cultivator who had be a powerhouse after learning a battle technique that she had obtained from the Sword Monument. Although Long Tian did not feel that this woman couldpare to Liu Hao, he still felt confident that she was among the top three most powerful members of her generation in the Liu family.

    ¡°You can start training for now. There¡¯s countless resources avable here, so just let someone know if you need anything,¡± Long Tian politely offered. He was secretly delighted to have someone from the Liu family. This was not only because of the family¡¯s sword skills, but also the family¡¯s strength of character.

    Liu Hao had chosen to go to Shenwu¡¯s Sky because he was close to Xia Shenfei. Since Liu Tianmu had chosen White Dragon n while having no personal ties to anyone on the team, did it mean that the Liu family preferred the White Dragon n?

    As the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Long Tian had to consider multiple details.

    If it was the case that the Liu family was favoring his n, then Long Tian¡¯s choice for thest member of his team had just be much more difficult, as Nong Lie also represented the Nong family.

    However, Long Tian realized another problem; neither Nong Lie nor Liu Tianmu were the strongest of their generation from their respective families. Neither families¡¯ strongest youth had chosen Long Tian, which upset him.

    There were tens of thousands training rooms on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and both Liu Tianmu and Nong Lie were already using these training rooms.

    Lu Yin cultivated for ten more days before absorbing the heat of the magma into the Skyze Stone and entering his die¡¯s Timestop Space. He managed toplete his eighteenth cycle, which meant that he had only one more cycle toplete to reach the peak of the Hunter realm.

    Lu Yin again called Long Tian. ¡°I¡¯ve finished my eighteenth cycle.¡±

    Long Tian was not surprised, as the speed of Long Qi¡¯s progression was normal, however it also indicated that Lu Yin only had average star energy reserves. Once Long Tian thought of that, his hopes for Lu Yin faded away. So what if this person had already opened his lower meridian point? The most important thing would always be one¡¯s strength rather than their luck.

    ¡°Come see me,¡± Long Tian said before ending the call.

    Lu Yin felt annoyed; what sort of attitude was that?

    Although Lu Yin was irritated, he still had to listen to Long Tian, seeing as they were on Long Tian¡¯s. Lu Yin kept a neutral expression on his face as he went to meet Long Tian, though Lu Yin was secretly cursing at his brother-inw the entire time. He found Long Tian waiting under a statue of himself that stood at the center of the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was astounded upon seeing the huge statue; just how narcissistic was this person? Lu Yin could not believe that Long Tian had had a statue of himself built on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. This was so disgusting!

    Long Tian watched as Lu Yin calmly approached.

    Lu Yin continued forward.

    ¡°There¡¯re a few more candidates, aside from Long Xi and Wen Diyi who have been confirmed to be part of the team. I will choose the remaining two from the rest of you,¡± Long Tian exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. Judging by Long Tian¡¯s attitude, Lu Yin did not stand a good chance of being chosen. The people who had arrived on this all had to be quite strong, or else Long Tian would not consider eliminating someone like Lu Yin who had already opened his lower meridian point. Lu Yin had toe up with a n.

    After a while, another man arrived. Lu Yin turned to see a stranger who wore the clothing of the White Dragon n, which meant that this person was from the same n.

    The man bowed respectfully to Long Tian. ¡°Junior Progenitor.¡±

    Long Tian looked at the man with a gentle expression. ¡°Long Jue, good job on bing an Enlighter.¡±

    Long Jue was very enthusiastic. ¡°It would be my honor to die if it would help you, Junior Progenitor.¡±

    Long Tian smiled in satisfaction. ¡°I understand. Take your ce while we wait for the others.¡±

    Long Jue bowed again and calmly looked over at Lu Yin. He then took a few steps to stand about ten meters away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. While he did not know this person, he was able to guess that this Long Jue did not have a high position in the n, seeing how he needed to bow to Long Tian. Lu Yin assumed that this person was not from the main family, and yet there had been no reaction upon seeing Long Qi, who was the main family¡¯s son-inw.

    An Enlighter? It was quite impressive to be an Enlighter at such an age. There were only a few Enlighters in the same generation in the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, yet the White Dragon n alone had three.

    Moments after Long Jue arrived, Nong Lie appeared, still wearing his usual attire.

    Long Tian¡¯s attitude changed drastically as soon as Nong Lie appeared. The Junior Progenitor smiled widely. ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you chose to help me, Brother Lie.¡±

    Nong Lie warmly responded, ¡°Brother Long Tian, the Nong family has always been close to the White Dragon n, so of course I nned to help you. If my sister wasn''t so close to Wang Su, she would be the one here today instead.¡±

    Long Tianughed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s you or Sanniang.¡±

    Nong Lie and Long Tian had a quick chat, and then Nong Lie turned to Lu Yin, still showing simr enthusiasm. ¡°Brother Long Qi, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother Lie, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±

 Chapter 1418: Little Tricks

    Chapter 1418: Little Tricks

    Nong Lie was very happy to see Long Qi again, and he smiled. "My big sister had been wanting to meet you, Brother Long Qi, but she was unlucky and things didn¡¯t work out. She should be able to see you in the Dominion Realm. I¡¯m quite curious about you."

    Lu Yin wondered, "Curious about me?".

    Nong Lieughed. "Of course. You¡¯re the one who managed to surpass even Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s time spent receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument, so there¡¯s no one in the entire Perennial World who¡¯s not curious about you. I heard you opened your lower meridian point? Congrattions."

    Long Jue was listening to Nong Lie''s words from the side, giving Lu Yin a cold stare. What sort of dog-shit luck had allowed a piece of trash like this guy to open his lower meridian point? If Long Jue had been given the same opportunity, there would be no need to hold a selection for who would go to the Dominion Realm, as Long Jue would definitely have been the top choice.

    "It was just luck," Lu Yin said. He had indeed only opened his lower meridian point by stealing the crystal thread, so it was not some glorious achievement.

    Long Tian said, "Wen Diyi¡¯s here."

    The group turned to look into the distance.

    Lu Yin was stunned. What sort of name was that? This was a name with some personality. It should be Wen Wu First, and Wen Wu Second, but this guy¡¯s name was actually Wen Diyi? He must be seeking for a beating.1

    It was not that Lu Yin had not seen Wen Diyi in the Hope Restaurant. Wen Diyi had been quite conspicuous there as well, and he wore a very unique outfit. It was just that the two had not been introduced to each other at that time.

    When Wen Yi arrived, Long Tian''s attitude was just as enthusiastic as before.

    Seeing the interactions between Long Tian and Wen Diyi, Lu Yin quietly asked Nong Lie, "Brother Lie, where¡¯s this Wen Diyi from?"

    Given how Lu Yin¡¯s reputation had recently spread throughout the Perennial World, he was no longer worried about exposing himself by asking questions about things that should bemon knowledge. No one would really question the matter anymore.

    Nong Lie said, "Virtue Archives. That ce is not simple, and they even have a few different secret techniques. Even the four ruling powers are constantly trying to find a way to send their kids there. This guy¡¯s the top student from the Virtue Archives."

    "I¡¯ve heard of it," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Diyi and Long Tian spoke a few polite words to each other, and then Wen Diyi made his way towards Nong Lie and Lu Yin while Long Tian greeted a woman who had approached from the distance. She was Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as he had not expected Liu Tianmu toe to this. It looked like she had already stepped out of the Liu family after surpassing everyone else in Liu Lu''s generation, as there was no other way she would have been able toe to a Junior Progenitor.

    "Brother Long Qi, Brother Wen¡¯s talking to you!" Nong Lie shouted, interrupting Lu Yin''s thoughts.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he turned to see Wen Diyi looking at him with a smile. Lu Yin quickly apologized, "Brother Wen, I''m sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment. I''m very sorry."

    Wen Diyi smiled and said, "It''s fine. I have been paying close attention to Brother Long Qi for quite a while. You¡¯re the only person in all of history to have surpassed the amount of time that Bai Xian¡¯er spent receiving an inheritance from the Sword Monument. That truly impresses me."

    Lu Yin replied in the same humble manner, "It was just luck."

    Wen Diyi was the first to turn around and see Liu Tianmu talking to Long Tian, which surprised him. "She¡¯s someone from the Liu family.¡±

    Nong Lie was surprised to hear this. "Is she the one who¡¯s second only to Liu Hao? Her sword skills should be unmatched. Such a person is very difficult to deal with, but fortunately, we¡¯re on the same team."

    "Don''t forget about Liu Hao," Wen Diyi reminded.

    Nong Lie pouted. "Just ask Long Xi to deal with that guy."

    Even as he spoke, he seemed to feel that he had crossed a line. After all, Long Qi was standing right next to Nong Lie, and it was not very nice to force trouble onto someone¡¯s wife in front of him.

    What else could Nong Lie say? Long Tian had already ended his conversation with Liu Tianmu, and he loudly announced, "The trip to the Dominion Realm will start in half a month. There are five of you here, only two of you can join my team in the Dominion Realm. As for the others, it¡¯s not that you aren¡¯t strong enough, but rather many other factors thate into consideration. I invited you here to get to know each other. Even if you don¡¯t get to join this trip to the Dominion Realm, this is still an opportunity to get to know each other and so please help each other.¡±

    Lu Yin had not expected Long Tian to have such intentions. There were people from the Nong and Liu families, the Virtue Archives, and also Long Jue. No matter who was chosen or rejected, it would make things difficult with the powers behind these people. Long Tian¡¯s words could be considered as respecting each person present, as well as apologizing in advance.

    Wen Diyi and others quickly spoke up to offer polite words in reply.

    Everyone got along with each other, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious. After spending an hour together, everyone went their own way.

    There was a strange expression on Liu Tianmu¡¯s face as she made her way back to her training room. She had always been an indifferent person, but at this moment, she was feeling a bit embarrassed.

    Lu Yin had just taken the opportunity to send her a voice transmission and had asked her to do something. It was something that she had never done before, or even thought of doing. Should she do it, or not? This was a problem.

    After considering the matter for a while, Liu Tianmu finally decided to do what she had been asked. If she did this, her chances of going to the Dominion Realm would rise sharply.

    She had note to the Junior Progenitor to gain face for her family. She hade in order topete for a ce on a team going to the Dominion Realm. This was a goal that deserved her casting aside all dignity and restraint for the being, and Lu Yin had not even asked her to do something against her principles. She had just been asked to keep an eye on a few people and where they went. It was observation, nothing more.

    Lu Yin returned to the dark red magma to resume his own training. He hadpleted his eighteenth cycle, but Long Tian had not even reacted. Clearly, Lu Yin had no chance to join the team that would go to the Dominion Realm, though he also believed that Long Xi had some voice in the matter as well.

    There was still half a month before the excursion to the Dominion Realm would leave, and Lu Yin couldplete his neenth cycle during this time. After his body had been strengthened by the dragon saliva, it had reached the pinnacle possible as a Hunter, so there was no risk of raising his cultivation too fast, even if he did use the shortcut method. However, would he encounter problems when he tried to break through to be an Enlighter?

    Lu Yin felt very conflicted. He finally decided to deal with the breakthrough first. If he seeded, then he would go to the Dominion Realm, but if it was not possible, then he would just have to abandon the opportunity for the time being.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin emerged from the dark magma and headed towards where Liu Tianmu and the others were training in their own training rooms. Lu Yin did not know if any of the hidden powerhouses guarding this were watching him, and though it was a distinct possibility, he did not care. It would be worth any cost he paid if he was able to get to the Dominion World, so why not try everything he could?

    Before long, Lu Yin was looking at the ground. This was a mark that had been left by Liu Tianmu ording to the n Lu Yin had shared. These marks told him where Nong Lie and the others had been training recently. It was possible to determine the location of another star essence reserve on the by where these people chose to train.

    This was what Lu Yin had asked Liu Tianmu to do. Without Liu Tianmu, he truly had no way of knowing where anyone was, as he could not stay and keep an eye on them himself, as he would definitely be discovered by Long Tian. However, Liu Tianmu was different, as she had been given a ce to train close to the other youths.

    Lu Yin¡¯s luck held out. Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, and Long Jue were not able to refuse the offer of so many star essence, and they all chose to use them to recklessly cultivate.

    Lu Yin wiped away the marks and started walking in a certain direction. When he came across a bit of star essence, he sprinkled a bit of Elder Wu¡¯s poison that had been diluted. He then went to the next location and sprinkled more of the poison.

    Elder Wu''s poison had already been Enhanced twelve times by Lu Yin, which meant that it was potent enough to affect even an Envoy, so he had needed to dilute it to ensure that it was not too powerful. Sess of this n all depended on whether or not these people would act ording to his assumptions ande to collect the star essence scattered across the.

    After poisoning the star essence that Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, and Long Jue would take, Lu Yin started acting like he normally did, and he grabbed a bunch of star essence and took them back to the mountain where he trained.

    A middle-aged man pursed his lips and appeared. That brat had actuallye to this ce this time. Did he think there were not enough star essence elsewhere? The man shook his head, but did not send a report to Long Tian. The picture that had been sent to the Junior Progenitor earlier had been enough, and there was no need to repeat such things.

    Lu Yin himself was unaware that he had been caught and photographed grabbing a mountain of star essence before, and that it had made Long Xi angry, while Long Tian had simply seen Lu Yin as a joke. However, that incident had also made Lu Yin not look in any way suspicious as he spread the poison about.

    Nong Lie emerged from a training room and stretched his waist. He was tired, really tired, of cultivating.

    He looked up to see a figure high in the sky taking away arge amount of star essence. It was Long Jue.

    Nong Lie was put in a bad mood. He did not like Long Jue, as he was stupid. It was clear that Long Tian saw Long Jue as an idiot who could be used as cannon fodder. Although the man obeyed everything Long Tian said, the gleam in his eyes could not be hidden. It took only a nce to know that Long Jue was not an honest person.

    Nong Lie suddenly remembered what Lu Yin had done while part of Humility¡¯s Gate. Now this was an interesting person.

    As he looked out at the Junior Progenitor, Nong Lie considered wandering about. After all, this was not a ce that could almost ever be visited.

    Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger. Sword qi swept through the distance, and Nong Lie looked at it. He was surprised to see Liu Tianmu.

    She stood there with her sword in her hand. The weapon¡¯s de shone brightly. It seemed as though the woman had sensed Nonglie''s gaze, and she nced over at him in a provocative manner before turning around and leaving.

    Nong Lie blinked. That sword a moment ago had seemed quite sharp, and it had actually made him feel a sense of danger. However, it was also clear that Liu Tianmu had not used her most powerful sword, which was a bit of a problem. That woman was going to be a big problem.

    The more Nong Lie thought about it, the more difficult it seemed to be to deal with the swordswoman. He knew that Wen Diyi would win a position on the team to the Dominion Realm, which meant that either he or Liu Tianmu would take the final ce on the team. The woman was so powerful that Nong Lie would be quickly defeated if he did not work hard. Unfortunately, there were only a few days left before it would be time to leave. Still, it was best to spend the time training hard, and there was also the chance of achieving some sort of enlightenment.

    With this though, Nong Lie picked up some star essence and returned to training.

    It did not take long for Wen Diyi to also take away a a great deal of star essence and return to training as well.

    Liu Tianmu saw all of this, and she let out a sigh of relief. That Lu Yin had been right. If someone did not want to train, then just give them some motivation. Why did they guy spend so much time on such ns? No wonder he had managed to subjugate the Outerverse, he was too scheming.

    This was Liu Tianmu¡¯s first time participating in such a n. Though she had done many things as one of the Ten Arbiters, most matters had been left to her underlings, and she had seldom stepped in to personally intervene. At this moment, she was needing to do things herself, which was not anything she was used to, but it certainly was effective.

    She did not know how the others were doing.

    After half a day, Long Jue was the first to encounter trouble.

    Long Tian had a gloomy expression on his face as he looked at Long Jue lying on the ground. Behind him stood the elder who had been ordered to capture Lu Yin.

    "Poison? When will he recover?" Long Tian asked quietly.

    The elder replied, "Although this poison is quite potent, it is not actuallyplicated. It can be taken care of in no more than half a day, but-"

    The old man hesitated to continue.

    Long Tian had a bad premonition. "Tell me."

    "While this poison can be easily taken care of, it is very powerful, and so it will temporarily impact his cultivation. It will take at least half a month topletely cleanse his system, and even if we use the n¡¯s best resources, it will still take about ten days," the man exined.

    Long Tian let out a sigh of relief. He had expected that there would be permanent effects from this poison, but since the effects would onlyst for half a month, it did not matter. He had never nned to take Long Jue to the Dominion Realm anyways.

    "Have you looked into this? How was he poisoned?" Long Tian asked.

    [1] As mentioned before, Wen Diyi means Literacy (Wen) + Number 1 / Best (Diyi). This is in tant contrast to a Chinese idiom that says "The best writer" is as a meaningless title as "the second best fighter." This is meaning that a paper graded by three different teachers will receive three different grades, as each will like or not like different aspects of the paper. As for martial arts, no one even cares about whoever is number two. Essentially, despite there being no meaning to being the best writer, Wen Diyi is iming the title. ?

 Chapter 1419: Dominion Realm

    Chapter 1419: Dominion Realm

    An old woman approached and respectfully said, "There are no signs of poison being ced anywhere, and no outsiders have entered the. Either the poison was already there, or the poison waspletely absorbed."

    "Absorb?" Long Tian was stunned, and suddenly remembered something, the star essence. "Find Wen Diyi and Nong Lie immediately."

    As soon as his voice fell, hismunication crystal vibrated. "Junior Progenitor, Wen Diyi and Nong Lie have both been poisoned."

    Long Tian let out a roar of rage and rushed straight over.

    ¡­

    Within the dark red magma, Lu Yin was still absorbing star essence.

    After half a day, Long Tian emerged from a training room with a solemn expression. He had just seen Wen Diyi, and the youth was suffering from the exact same poison as Long Jue, as was Nong Lie as well. Long Tian¡¯s first suspect was Liu Tianmu. She had been the only one with both the motive and ability to leave poison around.

    However, Liu Tianmu had never wandered to the regions where Wen Diyi and the others had grabbed the star essence they had used, so she could not have been the one to do the poisoning. On top of that, there was a trace amount of poison in the star essence in Liu Tianmu''s own training room. While this was not enough topletely clear Liu Tianmu of all suspicion, it also was not enough to prove that she had been the poisoner.

    "If it wasn''t Liu Tianmu, then who could have done it?" Long Qi¡¯s image shed into Long Tian''s mind, but he quickly denied the possibility. That guy was training far away from the rooms where Wen Diyi and the others trained, and there was no way to urately locate the people who had been poisoned. Also, why would Long Qi have poisoned them to begin with? What motivation? To go to the Dominion Realm? Long Qi might not even want to go.

    However, if Liu Tianmu and Long Qi were both excluded, who else was there?

    Long Tian thought of the people around him. This Junior Progenitor had ten Enlighters, two Envoys, plus Long Tian¡¯s own protector who was a powerhouse who had passed through six tribtions. All of these people were suspects. After all, who could guarantee that none of these people had been bribed to make trouble for him by the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, or Shenwu¡¯s Sky?

    Long Tian¡¯s thoughts grewplicated as he continued to consider various possibilities.

    After Long Xi heard of what happened, she also had a very dark expression when she arrived. ¡°Brother, what''s going on?"

    Long Tian solemnly exined, "Someone is opposing me. They¡¯ve already poisoned Nong Lie and the others so that they won¡¯t be able to apany me to the Dominion Realm."

    "Poison? We still have a few days before we go to the Dominion Realm; can the poison be cured by then?" Long Xi asked with a frown.

    Long Tian shook his head. "It will take ten days topletely clear the poison and its effects from their systems even with the n¡¯s best medicines. Even if I¡¯m willing to take them to the Dominion Realm while they¡¯re still poisoned, the powers behind them will never agree."

    Long Xi frowned. "Who hasn''t been poisoned?"

    Long Tian looked at Long Xi. "Long Qi and Liu Tianmu."

    "You don¡¯t suspect Long Qi," Long Xi said.

    Long Tian snorted derisively. "Of course it couldn¡¯t be him."

    "What about Liu Tianmu?"

    "There¡¯s also some evidence that there was also an attempt to poison her, but it didn¡¯t work since she hasn¡¯t cultivated with any of the star essence from the Junior Progenitor."

    Long Xi''s voice dropped/ "Liu Tianmu is the most suspicious."

    Long Tian replied, "I know, but for the moment, only her and Long Qi can join me in the Dominion Realm."

    "Long Qi can''t go," Long Xi immediately shot down that possibility.

    Long Tian stared at her. "Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, even Long Jue can''t go. Aside from Long Qi, who else can I even take? When ites to pure strength, Long Qi might not lose out to Long Jue. I know I told you before that I wouldn¡¯t take him there for your sake, but with how things have turned out, he has to go. Little sister, promise you¡¯ll stay alive."

    Long Xi opened her mouth, but could not argue against her brother¡¯s logic. She had promised to bring Long Qi to the Junior Progenitor, but given the current situation, she really wanted to go back in time and take that back.

    "Little sister, you know the n¡¯s rules. If you are adamant about refusing to allow Long Qi to apany me to the Dominion Realm, how will he eventually be able to gain a foothold inside the n?" Long Tian demanded. "You really want to be your husband¡¯s protector and provider for the rest of his life?"

    Long Xi''s body went stiff, but she still helplessly bowed her head. "I''ll go talk to him."

    "It¡¯s not a discussion. He doesn¡¯t have a choice," Long Tian said firmly.

    "Even if Long Qi goes, what about thest person for the team?" Long Xi asked.

    "Wen Diyi."

    "Isn''t he poisoned? Will the Virtue Archives agree to let him go?"

    "He represents the academy himself."

    The next day, Lu Yin was still cultivating in the dark red magma when a shadow covered his head. He looked up to see an absolute mountain of star essence falling down towards him.

    "Finish your neenth cycle as soon as possible. You will apany the Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm." Lu Yin heard the voice of the middle-aged man, who was feeling very helpless at this moment. Before, he had watched as Long Qi had run around grabbing up star essence, and now the older man was having to do so himself for the youth.

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "I understand!"

    He had seeded. Luckily, he still had time to finish his neenth cycle. He was about to roll his die, but he suddenly stopped. He lifted his head and looked outside.

    Since all of the participants for the team going to the Dominion Realm had been confirmed, it was likely that Lu Yin was currently under observation. Given Long Tian¡¯s personality, even if he had no suspicions of Lu Yin being behind the poisonings, the Junior Progenitor would still send someone to observe Lu Yin just to ensure that everything remained in Long Tian¡¯s control.

    Lu Yin could not roll his die. He only had two days left, so there was no possibility of himpleting his neenth cycle in such a short amount of time, but even if he failed, it would still be better than revealing his innate gift.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin was still absorbing the star essence, and he had not managed toplete his neenth cycle. At this moment, Long Tian''s voice spread across the entire Junior Progenitor, "Come."

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and leaped out of the magma. He then flew to where he had seen the statue before.

    Once he arrived, he saw that Long Tian, Long Xi, Liu Tianmu, and Wen Diyi had all already arrived.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see Wen Diyi. The man had clearly been poisoned, yet he still dared to go to the Dominion Realm.

    Wen Diyi showed no signs of poisoning from a nce. Hisplexion was clear and rosy, if slightly pale.

    "Everyone¡¯s here. Get ready. We¡¯re about to go to the Dominion Realm," Long Tian told them.

    Lu Yin stood next to Long Xi, and he tried to quietly sate his curiosity, "How are we going to get there?"

    Long Xi was in a miserable mood at this moment. She was remembering the video she had been shown of Long Qi grabbing arge amount of star essence, so she snapped back, ¡°The Junior Progenitor will fly straight to the Dominion Realm."

    "Are you serious?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Long Xi frowned. She then threw a circle over to Lu Yin. "Keep this on you. If anything goes wrong, immediately hide yourself within its protection."

    Lu Yin''s previous ring-shaped power vessel had been destroyed by Long Xian. He looked at the ring, speechless. ¡°Your family¡¯s trade is ringmaking?"

    Long Xi shot him a sharp re. Her amber eyes were as beautiful as ever, but also fierce.

    Lu Yin smiled back.

    Long Tian nced over at Lu Yin and Long Xi. The two left him feeling quite frustrated. Those two were clearly of one mind, while he, the older brother, was an outsider. It was dangerous to be an outsider within a team going to the Dominion Realm. Only one of the reasons that Long Tian had not wanted to take Long Qi to the Dominion Realm had been because he did not want to have to protect Long Qi.

    It was impossible for Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie to join the same team, and the same was true for Liu Hao and Liu Tianmu. Having allies together on a team would leave the Junior Progenitor nervous.

    However, Long Tian had no choice. Wen Diyi was able to represent the Virtue Archives and give approval for him to join the excursion to the Dominion Realm, but the Nong family had immediately refused to allow Nong Lie to go. As for Long Jue, it was not a big deal to leave him behind. He had been poisoned, and he had already been weaker than Long Qi.

    "Where''s Nong Lie?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Long Tian coldly replied, "Something came up and he can''te."

    "What about Long Jue?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Long Tian frowned. "That has nothing to do with you."

    Long Xi looked up. "How can that be when we¡¯re all from the same n?"

    Long Tian simply stopped talking.

    Lu Yin was in a good mood. Long Xi was good to him. While she herself would ridicule and mock Lu Yin, she would never allow anyone else to do so.

    As these thoughts were going through Lu Yin¡¯s head, the Junior Progenitor trembled beneath their feet. Lu Yin and others on the were not able to see it from where they stood, but if one was far above the, they would be able to see that the four bridges connecting the Junior Progenitors to Ind of Hope had moved to form a square. Suddenly, the entire square started moving through space, rapidly rising upwards. Countless people on Ind of Hope stared nkly, and as they watched, the Junior Progenitors disappeared.

    The Perennial World had been born from the Mother Tree, and the crown of the tree formed the Dominion Realm. Typically, a tree¡¯s crown would berger than its root system, and this was also true of the Mother Tree. The top-most Realm, the Dominion Realm, wasrger than the Lower Realm at the roots, and alsorger than the Middle and Higher Realms along the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    ording to Lu Yin''s understanding of the Dominion Realm, only Progenitors could survive there. From ancient days to the present, all of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors, both the living and those already dead, had always resided in the Dominion Realm. This was why the Dominion Realm held the greatest legacies and resources of the entire Perennial World, and the most valuable resource was Origin Matter.

    Each powerhouse needed Origin Matter in order to be a Progenitor, and Origin Matter could only be found in the Dominion Realm.

    The Junior Progenitors were connected to each other as they moved towards the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy at a shocking speed. Lu Yin and others were not able to see anything that they passed by, just the blur of space speeding by.

    "When we get to the Dominion Realm, stick close to me and keep that ring in your hand. Don¡¯t put it back in your cosmic ring! That way you¡¯ll be able to activate with a thought, which will help keep you alive. Got it?" Long Xi quietly gave Lu Yin some words of warning. Her eyes were stern at this moment.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, your words will be my actions."

    Long Xi did not know why, but every time she heard reassurances from Long Qi, she became far more ufortable than before. It seemed she had suffered some sort of trauma.

    She red fiercely at Lu Yin. "Just stay with me!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This woman had a fierce temper; he had not even said anything wrong! He had made certain to show a proper attitude, and yet still she was put in a rotten mood.

    The square formed by the Junior Progenitors shot through the void, rising up from near the bottom of the Mother Tree. Finally, the square stopped on one of the Mother Tree¡¯s massive Branches. Just a branch wasrge enough to support all four Junior Progenitors.

    Lu Yin and the others¡¯ eyes flickered. Gradually, their surroundings became clear to them. Lu Yin was able to see clearly. Behind, he could see an endless starry sky, while in front of him and past the statue, he could see a dense tangle of huge branches. Each one looked to be connecting the earth and sky, and they extended far out of sight in both directions.

    The Junior Progenitor suddenly trembled more violently than before. A leaf had fallen, and the enormous shadow of it shrouded half of the Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had never seen such a gigantic tree. Just a leaf wasrge enough to cover a? What sort of scale was this? Also, as he looked at the leaf, he saw that it did not seem to be fully formed, and was likely rtively small.

    "Everyone, this is the Dominion Realm!" Long Tian quietly informed his team as he nced at all of them with a determined expression. "Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With that, he leaped forward and started traveling away from the Junior Progenitor in front of Long Xi, Lu Yin, Liu Tianmu, and Wen Diyi. The youths quickly followed the Junior Progenitor. They were like a line of ants invading a kingdom of giants as they stepped onto a branch.

    A single branch was able to hold the four Junior Progenitors, which showed the size and strength of the tree. Lu Yin was not even able to see the end of the branch. Even when he looked across the branch instead of down its length, he still could not see how far it extended. It was just toorge.

 Chapter 1420: Withered Glory

    Chapter 1420: Withered Glory

    The four Junior Progenitors were firmly atop a single branch, but the branch was sorge that even its cross-section wasrger than the foursbined. Lu Yin estimated that this branch had arger diameter than even Zenyu Star.

    The moment they left the Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin looked over at the other three Junior Progenitors. He could sense there were people leaving each of them as well, but the branches of the Mother Tree were all forked, so it was possible that the people on the other teams would not travel the same path as Long Tian¡¯s team.

    They touched down, and Lu Yin¡¯s feet stepped onto the branch, officially entering the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy. Lu Yin struck the branch, but was unable to damage it in the slightest. It was so hard.

    "This is the Dominion Realm¡¯s Withered Glory region. This region is the entire goal of our excursion, as it¡¯s never been carefully explored. Only Progenitors themselves have taken a rough look at this region. This is a ce that is dangerous even to powerhouses above the Envoy realm, so be careful and don¡¯t drag anyone else down with you," Long Tian said, ncing at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately took out the ring-shaped power vessel, which was essentially telling Long Tian that Lu Yin did not need additional protection.

    Long Tian just nced at his brother-inw before continuing to lead the way deeper into the Dominion Realm.

    "This ce has never been explored? I thought that it was said that there are inheritances from Progenitors here? None of the powerhouses from the four ruling powers ever found anything?" Lu Yin asked Long Xi in a low voice.

    Long Xi indifferently exined, "It¡¯s precisely because it holds inheritances from Progenitors that we can¡¯t fully explore this Dominion Realm. Only powerhouses who have surpassed Semi-Progenitors can enter this ce."

    "So there¡¯s an inheritance, but not one that¡¯s been explored." Lu Yin felt this seemed odd.

    Long Xi frowned. "There are rules from ancient times that no one can break. All you need to do is take care of yourself. You don''t have to worry about anything else."

    After half an hour, the environment they were surrounded by had changed greatly. Lu Yin turned around, only to see that the starry sky had be blocked by the Mother Tree¡¯s branches and leaves. They had not fully entered the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy. They were truly in the Dominion Realm.

    There were several forks in the branches up ahead. Long Tian raised hismunication crystal, and a map-like image appeared. He looked at it, and then continued forward.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see that there was a map, but felt it was rather normal after thinking about it. How could the four ruling powers have been willing to allow their Junior Progenitors to enter apletely unknown danger zone? Some powerhouse must have mapped out the region long ago and left a map for future generations. The map should be guiding them towards Origin Matter.

    There was a click, as though someone had stepped on something. It was a perfectly normal sound that no one would typically even notice, but in this ce, everyone froze.

    They were in the Dominion Realm, and the branches they were walking along were extremely hard, and it was not easy to damage them, so how could there be a crack from a simple footstep?

    There were several more cracking sounds as the topmostyer of the branch cracked in front of the group. Suddenly, a cold wind swept by them as a silver-white light shot towards Long Tian. It passed over his shoulders, and then paused in the air, revealing it to everyone¡¯s sight.

    It was a creature that looked simr to a praying mantis with a body the exact same color as the Mother Tree¡¯s branches.

    The bug swept out a de, and Long Tian avoided the attack. The creature turned about in the air and shed a de at Wen Diyi , who was closest to the bug.

    Wen Diyi raised a hand, and a strange symbol appeared at his fingertips. He pointed at the mantis-like creature and sent it flying.

    This bug was only about as strong as a Cruiser, and Wen Diyi was more than strong enough to utterly crush the creature. However the bug was not crushed by the attack, but instead actually seemed to be transformed by it, as its body swelled up and it becamerger.

    Everyone was surprised, as this was quite the strange reaction.

    The dry body of the mantis-like creature quickly recovered, and it quickly grewrger andrger. Finally, it was as long as a human arm, which was four or five times its original size, and its de was nearly a meter long.

    "Don''t kill it," Long Tian quietly ordered.

    A number of characters appeared a Wen Diyi¡¯s fingers. "Literary Prison."

    After the voice fell, the mantis-like creature was trapped by chains that were formed by characters. It could no longer move.

    Behind several other people, Lu Yin was leftpletely stunned; Literary Prison? This ce also had Literary Prison? Also, judging by Wen Diyi¡¯s posture, it was the exact same technique as the Wen family possessed in the Fifth Maind. What the hell was going on?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the Zijin family¡¯s Undying Bird, which was the same as the Phoenix n in the Fifth Maind, though clearly much stronger. It seemed that many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation systems actually originated from the Perennial World.

    If that was the case, did it mean that the Virtue Archives where Wen Diyi came from possessed knowledge of more of the ancient characters than the Fifth Maind¡¯s Wen family?

    The mantis-like creature had been trapped within the Literary Prison, and was unable to move anything except its eyes. Those were overflowing with ferocity and cruelty.

    Long Tian raised his hand. Star energy gathered at his fingertips before smashing into the bug¡¯s body. The creature then grew a bit bigger once more.

    The people watching felt this thing was bing more and more strange.

    "Can these things absorb star energy?" Long Xi guessed.

    Long Tian''s eyes flickered, and then waved his hand. A surge of pure energy swept through the air before smashing into the mantis-like creature, causing it to yet again be bigger and fiercer.

    "Not just star energy, then. Looks like this thing is able to absorb any form of energy to strengthen itself," Long Xi observed in shock.

    Long Tian looked away with a frown. "It¡¯s possible that only the Celestial Frost Sect has a good understanding of this Withered Glory region."

    Wen Diyi twirled his fan and folded it up. "I have heard from my elders that the Withered Glory region holds the secrets of human aging and immortality. We are in the Withered Glory region, which is where the Progenitor Ku resided. The creatures found in this region might possess the Progenitor Ku¡¯s power."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed; withered¡­1 Ku family¡­ Ku Secret Art¡­ There''s another connection here.

    Suddenly, he turned to look at something in the distance. "Something¡¯sing."

    Long Tian nced over at Liu Tianmu. "Deal with it."

    Liu Tianmu''s sword shed, and the mantis-like creature¡¯s head tumbled off, sliced by the de.

    Even if these creatures were able to absorb all types of energy, there was still a limit to their abilities.

    Liu Tianmu killed the mantis with one swing of her sword, and the movement caused Wen Diyi and Long Xi''s eyes to light up; what a beautiful sword!

    There was arge group of the mantis-like creatures swarming over from the distance. Each of them was the size of a palm, and all of them had dry bodies. They were also approaching very quickly.

    Liu Tianmu moved forward, step by step. Her long sword shed out sideways, the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Tenth Sword: Star yer.

    With one move of her sword, all of the mantis-like creatures were cut. The power of this strike exceeded the bugs¡¯ limit to absorb.

    Wen Diyi spoke his admiration, "Well, with sword skills like that, there aren¡¯t many in our generation who can go up against you."

    Long Tian felt quite satisfied. "As expected of someone from the Liu family."

    Liu Tianmu remained indifferent.

    Long Xi was warily appraising Liu Tianmu. She then whispered to Lu Yin, "Stay away from her."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; were these people really surprised by Liu Tianmu¡¯s Star yer? That should be impossible given the fact that Wu Taibai and Wang Yi had both been able to take on the Thirteenth Sword. Long Xi and Wen Diyi both must also have a simr level of strength. These two had to be putting on an act.

    Withered Glory region had far more than just one species living there. As the team moved further into the region, they encountered more and more strange creatures. Most of the creatures were about as strong as mantises, and Liu Tianmu was easily able to deal with them. However, they also encountered some creatures that were able to survive her sword attacks.

    At one point, the team ran into a flock of dried up creatures that resembled bats. However, they each had two heads, and the second head was at the tip of their tail.

    "Go!" Long Tian shouted fiercely.

    The flock of desated bats flew towards the youths. There was an endless number of the bats, though each was as weak as the mantises. Still, the sheer number of these creatures was enough to make a person¡¯s scalp go numb, and not even Long Tian was willing to recklessly fight these creatures.

    As the team pushed further into the Dominion Realm, they came across more and more rubble on the branches. This rubble seemed to be the dried bark that had been shed by the Mother Tree, but since there was no wind or rain in the entire canopy, the detritus had umted on the branches. Piles of debris appeared that were not as durable as the branches themselves.

    Some of the piles formed hills.

    In order to avoid the bat swarm, Lu Yin and the rest rushed towards a pile of debris, only to run into a massive slitted eye.

    Both parties were startled, and the vertical pupil instantly shrank as a terrifying aura was released. Everyone was horrified. They had not expected to find such a terrifying creature along the branch. This was a giant desated python, and its aura showed that it absolutely surpassed the Enlighter realm.

    It was at this moment that Long Tian''s expression changed. He pulled out a strange power vessel, wanting to quickly retreat.

    However, oddly enough, the snake fled even faster. While Long Tian¡¯s team had been frightened by the snake, they had also startled the python.

    Everyone waspletely stunned.

    "That should have been because of the Ancestor Python¡¯s traces. Princess Long Xi recently went to visit the Ancestor Python," Wen Diyi observed.

    Only after he spoke did everyone remember that Long Xi and Lu Yin had recently gone to pay their respects to the Ancestor Python, and so they still had traces of the ancient snake on themselves. No wonder that snake had been so terrified it had fled.

    Lu Yin silently removed his ring-shaped power vessel and looked outside the pile of debris, all without making any sound.

    The swarm of bats still hovered outside, as they seemed reluctant to enter the debris.

    Long Tian said, "These bats seem to be afraid of the giant pythons, so they won¡¯t dare enter this ce. The giant python fled because of the Ancestor Python¡¯s aura. This is a good enough ce for us to rest."

    Everyone let out a sigh of relief. The Dominion Realm truly was very dangerous. They had only just arrived, and already they had run into a giant python with the strength of an Envoy. If not for a healthy bit of luck, none of them might have escaped this encounter.

    The bats did not leave the area outside the pile of debris for two days. They constantly circled the youths¡¯ hiding ce.

    Lu Yin took a guess, "This couldn¡¯t be their nest, right? They are constantly be in this area, which means they¡¯ll never leave."

    "What a killjoy," Long Xiined.

    Wen Diyi helplessly spoke up, "Brother Long Qi just spoke what I¡¯ve been thinking. It looks like we¡¯ll need to fight through these bats if we want to leave this ce."

    Long Tian suddenly spoke up, "Long Qi, use your domain to scout the nearby area."

    Wen Diyi lit up. "That¡¯s right! That giant python didn¡¯t dare stick around after sensing the Ancestor Python¡¯s aura, and it never came back. Clearly, it¡¯s able to travel through this debris, and we can do the same, so long as we don¡¯t run into anything too powerful."

    Long Xi also looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Okay."

    With that, he unleashed his domain and slowly spread it out.

    After receiving some training from Guo Shan, Lu Yin had be quite proficient at using his domain, and it spread into the distance like mercury spilled on the ground.

    Sensing Lu Yin¡¯s domain, Wen Diyi was quite impressed. "Brother Long Qi, you really hid your strength! This domain has almost reached the realm of spiritual manifestation. Once you reach the void realm, you¡¯ll be famous throughout the entire Perennial World."

    Lu Yin shot an odd look at Wen Diyi. This guyplimented everyone. "I¡¯m still a long ways from reaching the spiritual manifestation stage, so I don¡¯t dare to even consider the realm of empty gods."

    Wen Diyi smiled. "One of my seniors at the Virtue Archives has cultivated his domain to the realm of emptiness. If Brother Long Qi is willing, you cane visit my Virtue Archives and study."

    Both Long Tian and Long Xi shot Wen Diyi looks of surprise. They had not expected this person to seize the initiative to invite Long Qi to the academy.

    [1] Important note: Ku = withered, so all of the "withered" in this section and this part of the Dominion Realm, are "Ku." It worked to leave it as a surname, but not as a description. ?

 Chapter 1421: Reverse Growth

    Chapter 1421: Reverse Growth

    The Virtue Archives held a special position in the Perennial World. Even the four ruling powers hoped to send their youths to study in that ce, but that was easier said than done. Much like the opportunities to observe the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument, studying in the Virtue Archives was but a dream for many people.

    Although the Virtue Archives tried to maintain a close rtionship with the White Dragon n, it was just to remain on opposite sides to the Celestial Frost Sect. Well, the rtionship between the Archives and the White Dragon n was better described as mutual eptance rather than being actually close.

    "Alright, after we finish our trip in the Dominion Realm, Long Qi will go to the Virtue Archives to study. At that time, I¡¯ll have to ask Brother Wen to help him quite a bit," Long Xi smiled as she spoke softly.

    Wen Diyi replied, "It can be done."

    Although Wen Diyi had only offered him an affirmative to the possibility, Long Xi''s attitude towards him obviously became much better, and Long Tian also grew more enthusiastic. Long Tian did not believe that Wen Diyi actually ced any value onto Long Qi. After all, to Long Tian, Long Qi was nothing but the family¡¯s son-inw, and was not particrly important.

    Long Tian felt that Wen Diyi had only offered Long Qi an invitation to attend Virtue Archives as a way of showing favor to the White Dragon n. Sure enough, it had been the right choice to allow Wen Diyi to join the team to the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin spread out his domain to probe the paths ahead of them. They moved forward underground, still following Long Tian¡¯s map towards a certain direction.

    Elsewhere, Bai Shaohong and his party were also attacked by desated creatures.

    The Withered Glory region was absolutely massive. After all, it used to be the domain of Progenitor Ku.

    "The sect has long wanted to explore this region, but was dyed," a man said casually. Given his gentle demeanor, he did not seem like anyone exceptional. When he spoke, his eyebrows moved slightly, which was quite enchanting. This man was Bai Shaohong, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Four people walked behind Bai Shaohong; three men and one woman. Shang Qing was among them. The other two men looked perfectly identical, and clearly were twins. There was also a beautiful woman who had a refined air to her. However, given the fact that she was part of Bai Shaohong¡¯s team in the Dominion Realm, she was clearly not an ordinary person.

    "I heard that the Celestial Frost Sect has a secret technique that was inherited from Progenitor Ku. I was hoping toe to the Withered Glory region. It seems like Junior Progenitor Bai quite familiar with this ce," the graceful woman said with a smile. She seemed quite pleasant.

    Bai Shaohong answered with a smile, "It was only a matter of luck that allowed me to receive Progenitor Ku¡¯s secret technique. I don¡¯t actually know much about this Withered Glory region. Still, we can be considered to be at least a step ahead of the other three teams."

    As he spoke, they faced off against a horde of countless creatures.

    One of the twins stepped out from behind Bai Shaohong, though it was not clear what he was doing. The withered creatures became confused, and then eventually stopped attacking and scattered.

    Shang Qing was surprised.

    The woman praised, "If I saw that correctly, Brother Dongshan just used an inheritance from Progenitor Ku."

    Bai Shaohong smiled. "Let''s go. We¡¯ll visit the Voidsoul Pce first."

    "We won¡¯t go where the map was leading us? That¡¯s where everyone else is headed," the woman wondered.

    Bai Shaohong''s mouth curved into a smile. "There¡¯s no rush. No one can take what belongs to me."

    Some distance away, there was another group of people traveling a certain direction. They were led by an elegant woman who seemed particrly refined. She was wearing nothing more than ordinary clothes, but it was impossible to hide her noble bearing. The woman was not especially beautiful, and was quite ordinary, but anyone who saw her a few times would be fascinated.

    There were people who imed that a woman¡¯s appearance was not the most important thing, but her demeanor. This woman possessed an unparalleled temperament.

    In the Dominion Realm, it would be difficult to hide her skin that was whiter than snow. This woman was Wang Su, the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Behind Wang Su stood Yuhua Mavis, Unseen Light, Nong Sanniang, and Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    At this moment, this team was also being attacked by desated creatures. Unseen Light¡¯s utility with his domain far surpassed what Lu Yin was capable of, and Unseen Light was using it to protect the team from the attacks of countless creatures. However, a massive creature that looked like a mountain suddenly appeared, and Unseen Light¡¯s domain was not able to restrain this beast.

    Nong Sanniang then took action. She somehow turned the fallen bark that littered the Mother Tree¡¯s branch and had umted over countless years into farnd, and the fields trapped all of the dry creatures within thousands of miles.

    Wang Su looked around with a small frown. "Reverse growth. The power of Progenitor Ku is more troublesome than expected."

    Nong Sanniang sighed. "There are rumors that Progenitor Ku unlocked the secret behind aging and immortality, which allowed him to be able to wither people to death, or grant them immortality. These creatures should have died long ago, but they were bound by the power of the dead Progenitor Ku."

    "If that¡¯s the case, sounds like Progenitor Ku was a bit like those monsters," Crown Prince Gui Qian said, his voice low and gloomy.

    Wang Su turned to look at Crown Prince Gui Qian. "Don''t speak such sphemy. The power of a Progenitor is something that cannot be understood, and your words could very well have just sentenced us to death in this ce."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian looked up at Wang Su. "Progenitors aren¡¯t that mysterious. Your Wang family has a Progenitor, and so does my Specter Abyss. A Progenitor is still a human, so it¡¯s impossible for them to know about everything, let alone a dead Progenitor."

    Wang Su indifferently replied, "That just shows that you don¡¯t know enough about that level of power."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian then stayed silent.

    Nong Sanniang took the white towel off of her head to clean her face. She then wiped down her arms in a very carefree manner. "Let''s go. Lead us to where the map guides us first, and then we can discuss Origin Matter."

    The excursion teams from the White Dragon n, the Celestial Frost Sect, and the Wang family had all been attacked by desated beasts, and the team from Shenwu¡¯s Sky was no exception. However, it was clear that the team from Shenwu¡¯s Sky was having a more difficult time of things, because Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei was actually sleeping.

    Xia Taili¡¯s face was flushed with anger as she red at a man who was being carried overhead by star energy. "Damn it, Brother, you stink! When are you not drunk? I can¡¯t believe that your actually drunk at a time like this. Just wait, when we get back, I¡¯ll make sure to tell Grandpa and see you confined for punishment. You actually got me hurt, idiot!"

    Behind Xia Taili, Yao Xuan had a strange expression on his face. This was not actually because of the sleeping Xia Shenfei, but because of Wu Taibai.

    Yao Xuan had never dreamed that Wu Taibai was actually an elite of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s ¡®Tai¡¯ generation. When Yao Xuan had seen Wu Taibai on the Shenwu Junior Progenitor Star, he had first been rather happy, as he had thought that the two of them could join forces to deal with the other people on the team, but he had quickly learned that Wu Taibai was originally from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, which hadpletely stunned him.

    Yao Xuan was someone who always put on a calm demeanor. He was the crown prince of the Celestial Demon Empire, and he had learned to not lose his cool, and that was the essence of his way of imperial rule. However, he waspletely stupefied at that point where he had learned the truth of Wu Taibai.

    What left Yao Xuan even more confused was that Wu Taibai had not exposed him as a trespasser, which was quite interesting.

    When Wu Taibai had first seen Yao Xuan, he had shown no signs of surprise and had acted as though he was meeting aplete stranger.

    Apart from these three people, there was one more person on the team from Shenwu¡¯s Sky: Liu Hao. The four of them carried Xia Shenfei along in a very embarrassing manner. Behind them were endless numbers of the desated creatures.

    ¡­

    Long Tian and his party proceeded smoothly for two days, using Lu Yin''s domain to scout ahead. Finally, they were again attacked by creatures. These creatures were flies that grew from the skin in the piles of dead matter. On an individual basis, these flies were much weaker than the bats the youths had encountered before, but they had truly overwhelming numbers. They couldpare to the terror ants Lu Yin had seen in the Lower Realm, and the swarm took on different shapes. The entire team was terrified, and they fled back to the surface of the branch.

    They looked around once they emerged, and they found weapons stabbed into the branch of the Mother Tree, as well as countless bones. Long Xi was surprised. "A battlefield?"

    They had emerged right in the middle of the ancient battlefield, and they saw corpsesying on the ground far into the distance.

    Moving any of the bones caused them to turn to dust, and the white bones disintegrated, as did the clothes and even the weapons. It was clear that this ce was ancient.

    "In ancient times, powerhouses were always on the frontlines when fighting against those monsters. This Withered Glory region where Progenitor Ku lived was at the edge of the Dominion Realm, and they constantly had to fight off the monsters¡¯ attacks. Half of those on the ground are human, while the other half are those monsters," Wen Diyi emotionally exined. He sounded as though he was reminiscing about the ancient times.

    Long Xi quietly responded, "Without the protection of our Progenitors, we humans would never have reached our current status."

    "What''s that?" Lu Yin saw a stone tablet that stood some distance away, so he moved towards it.

    Long Tian had already moved close, and he read the writing on the tablet: "The Voidsoul Army which was under Progenitor Ku. The entire army died here, and someone erected this monument to pay homage to them."

    Lu Yin was shocked. A powerful Progenitor had led this army, and yet all of the troops had perished. The Progenitor had most likely had met a bad ending as well.

    When Wen Diyi saw the stone tablet, he suddenly thought of something, and he touched the monument, causing it to turn to dust.

    Long Tian and the others did not react. While they did not know what Wen Diyi was thinking, they felt they should follow along.

    Elsewhere, at the edge of the battlefield, Wang Su and her team were also looking at the weapons that had been stabbed into the branch, as well as the bones that turned to dust when touched. All of them looked very somber.

    "An ancient battlefield. There should be something that was left behind here," Crown Prince Gui Qianmented.

    Wang Su casually replied, "During the ancient times, humanity was at an absolute disadvantage. Humanity lost far more of those ancient battles than we won, and even when we did triumph, only less than one person in 10,000 would survive. Despite that, we still managed to defeat those monsters. Any idea why?"

    Nong Sanniang sighed. "Because they brought their enemies down with them."

    Unseen Light and Yuhua Mavis did not understand what was being discussed.

    Wang Su continued, "Once humans realized that they were doomed to lose to the war, they developed a tactic of mutual destruction. Even if they couldn¡¯t win, they could still force a draw. This sacrifice is how we were able to continuously defend this Perennial World and how descendents like us came into being. If we ever chance across these battlefields, avoidance is the the best choice for us.¡±

    "Let''s avoid this ce. If anyone identally enters this battlefield, the trap will be triggered that will guarantee mutual destruction; no one will be willing to retreat when that happens," Nong Sanniang said.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian had no objections. Nobody would turn away from any opportunity avable in this ce, so he did not doubt the Junior Progenitor¡¯s words as being true.

    However, just after their retreat was agreed upon, an invisible energy shot into the sky no more than a hundred meters away from the team. Where the energy touched down, the branch was quickly withering, and the barrier that had appeared started moving towards the youths, as though the barrier was shrinking.

    Wang Su was shocked. "Attack!"

    They all attacked in unison, but were unable to break through the invisible barrier. Yuhua Mavis threw a punch, but the force of her fist was eroded by the force that made up the barrier, and even her bones were exposed. This startled her, and she quickly retreated.

    "Don''t be reckless. This is the power of Progenitor Ku. Run!" Wang Su shouted as she started rushing deeper into the battlefield.

    Nong Sanniang was furious. "Someone must have reached the center of this battlefield! Are they an idiot? This is going to hurt us."

    Unseen Light felt that he was just too unlucky. They had only been a hundred meters away from where the barrier had appeared, and they had intended to leave, but now they were trapped instead.

    Was there any way to survive the power of a Progenitor?

    Although the humans who had fought monsters during the ancient times had been brave and had rather died together than suffer defeat, these youths were not monsters, nor did they want to die.

 Chapter 1422: Obligations Of A Brother-in-law

    Chapter 1422: Obligations Of A Brother-inw

    On the other side, someone else had gotten caught up in the appearance of the barrier: Xia Taili.

    Xia Taili was at a loss as she stared at Liu Hao and Yao Xuan who were outside the barrier formed by the invisible, and also at Xia Shenfei, who was still drunk and floating in the air. What the hell?

    She immediately attacked the barrier, but was not able to ovee such a strong barrier.

    Yao Xuan, Liu Hao, and Wu Taibai immediately moved to try to rescue Xia Taili, but all their efforts were useless. They could only watch as Xia Taili was forced towards the center of the battlefield by the barrier.

    Bai Shaohong and his party had also been close to the battlefield, but Bai Shaohong was cautious by nature, so he had stopped his team the moment that he had realized that there was an ancient battlefield up ahead, so his team did not get involved.

    "I don''t know which unfortunate person stepped foot in the center of the battlefield and triggered the trap that ensures mutual destruction," the elegant woman on the team said with a smile.

    Bai Shaohong stared towards the center of the battlefield. It would be best if all three of the other teams were involved in this.

    At the center of the battlefield, Long Tian''s group saw the barrier sweeping towards them from the distance, and their expressions all drastically changed.

    "That should be the power that made it so that no one left this battlefield alive and that everyone from both sides died," Wen Diyi said solemnly.

    "Attack!" Long Tian shouted as a long spear appeared in his hand. He thrust it forward in a strange curve. At the same time, Long Xi also pulled out a long spear and stabbed forward.

    While Lu Yin could see that Long Xi and Long Tian were both using long spears, he could tell that there was a slight difference between them. The difference could be felt the moment they each simply grabbed hold of their spear. Lu Yin had observed countless sword and spear techniques from the Sword Monument, and he felt more from the way Long Tian held the spear than he did from Long Xi.

    At the side, Liu Tianmu immediately attacked, using the Eleventh Sword.

    Wen Diyi attacked as well, and ancient characters appeared on top of each other over his hand before shooting forward with tremendous power.

    Lu Yin did not remain idle, and he attacked with Vacuum Palms.

    There were five people, and five attacks struck as one at a single point, but they were simply unable to do anything to the approaching barrier.

    Long Xi grabbed Lu Yin and stepped back.

    Long Tian''s face grew ugly as the barrier formed from the invisible energy shot towards his team.

    "Leave now!" Long Tian said in a deep voice before turning and making his way towards the center of the battlefield.

    "Everyone, there¡¯s no need for any of us to hide our strength right now. We need to work together, and if we don''t break this barrier, none of us will be able to live," Long Tian continued.

    Lu Yin suddenly shouted, "Someone¡¯sing!¡±

    He had left his domain out this entire time, and he had just felt a powerful individual enter the edge of his range.

    At this moment, another person meant more help, so Long Tian immediately led everyone towards where Lu Yin indicated.

    At the edge of Lu Yin''s domain, Wang Su and her team were also racing towards Lu Yin and the others.

    Unseen Lightmented, "The domain we just entered belongs to Long Qi, so it was the White Dragon n¡¯s team that triggered this."

    Nong Sanniang gritted her teeth. "What a bunch of idiots!"

    Wang Su''s face remained calm. It did not take long for the two teams to meet each other.

    Lu Yin and Unseen Light both looked in another direction at the same time. "There¡¯s someone else."

    Everyone''s expression changed once again. Had all of the teams that had entered the Dominion Realm gotten caught in this trap? This was the worst luck.

    Nong Sanniang gloated, "I hope it''s those guys from the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Though no one liked to admit it, it was true that the Celestial Frost Sect stood at the top of the four ruling powers, and Bai Shaohong¡¯s team was absolutely the most powerful of the four teams.

    It would be perfect if Bai Shaohong and his team were also inside this barrier, as their chances of survival would rise drastically.

    Unfortunately, Xia Taili was the only person that approached.

    "Which idiot got me involved in this mess?" Xia Taili''s face was full of indignation.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. She was already trying to ce me without even knowing the situation. They had emerged from inside the branch to find themselves in the middle of the battlefield. They had certainly not taken a typical path.

    "Hey, was it you? Something wrong with your eyes?" Xia Taili stared at Unseen Light. "Are you ashamed to open your eyes?"

    Unseen Light casually replied, "I¡¯ve always been like this, though it¡¯s led to more than a few misunderstandings."

    "Alright, cut the nonsense. We have eleven people here, so we all need to attack with power vessels. I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t break through this barrier," Wang Su said.

    Long Tian solemnly agreed, "Don''t hide anything and use your strongest power vessel."

    "This power once destroyed an entire ancient battlefield. If the barrier maintained that same strength even now, we¡¯d have no chance. But things tend to decay over time, and this barrier should be much weaker than before, so if we attack together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to break it," Wen Diyi said firmly.

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes, "Thank you for the exnation! You''re so smart."

    Wen Diyi was left speechless.

    Lu Yin nced at Xia Taili. This girl really had a vicious tongue. It reminded him of Hai Qiqi.

    "Come on, attack!" Long Tian shouted as he took out arge seal from his cosmic ring. The moment the big seal appeared, the void twisted, and everyone felt as though they had just been struck by a heavy hammer.

    This was a power vessel that surpassed the strength of even an Envoy. No one knew just how powerful it truly was.

    Wang Su also took out a power vessel, and it caused the earth and sky to ripple.

    Long Xi, Wen Diyi, Xia Taili, and everyone else took out various power vessels, and Lu Yin brought out the ring that Long Xi had given him. He nned to throw it.

    "That''s for defense," Long Xi snorted.

    There was no time to think, and all of the power vessels were used at the same time to attack a single point on the barrier.

    The next moment, the void was torn apart, and an indescribable shockwave tore through the Withered Glory region. It turned into an iparable storm that swept out in all directions.

    Lu Yin was blown away before he could even see what was happening. He reflexively put on his universal armor. It was an item that could endure attacks with power levels of nearly 700,00, and it was much stronger than the ring-shaped power vessel that Lu Yin had been given.

    After being protected by his universal armor, Lu Yin opened his eyes. However, all he could see was the shattered void. Each crack looked like it would give birth to a massive beast, and they spread out in all directions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was hurtling through the air, and he did not even know which direction he was heading.

    Looking up, Lu Yin was able to see a ck spot appear, and his expression changed. It was a woman.

    His first thought was of Long Xi, and so he instantly stored his universal armor.

    Wha--

    There was a scream as Xia Taili came crashing down, on a collision course with Lu Yin. He quickly dodged. He saw that Xia Taili¡¯s body was wrapped up within a power vessel that looked like aquatic nts.

    She smashed into the ground with enough force to smash away all of the bark that had built up. The power vessel protecting her was very durable, and it prevented Xia Taili from being smashed to a pulp.

    Xia Tai Li rubbed her head.

    "It hurts! It hurts," she said. She looked up and saw Lu Yin. The two just stared at each other for a moment. ¡°Pull me up."

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand, and Xia Taili grabbed it and stood up. She stored her power vessel, and then just stared at Lu Yin. "Are you a man? I don¡¯t know what you were thinking, but where¡¯s the impressive man who pointed a spear at me back then? Gone already?"

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "The force behind you was too much, and I wasn¡¯t able to catch you."

    Xia Taili snorted coldly. She dusted off her clothes and looked around. "Where are we?"

    Lu Yin also looked around. "We shouldn¡¯t be too far from the battlefield, but we¡¯ve been separated from others."

    "Thank you! I needed that reminder." Xia Taili blurted out sarcastically.

    Lu Yin could understand what Wen Diyi''s had felt, but he stayed silent.

    "Okay, since we''ve been separated from the others, let''s each go find our own teams,¡± Xia Taili suggested as she looked in a particr direction. ¡°Later.¡±

    She started to leave

    Lu Yin spoke up, "The Dominion Realm is very dangerous, and many people die here after each Yuanlun Festival. It¡¯s not safe for you to go on your own, so I¡¯ll go with you."

    "No need. I''ll find my big brother," Xia Taili said.

    Lu Yin insisted, "We¡¯re both from one of the four ruling powers, but you¡¯re still a girl, and it¡¯s not safe to be alone here. I¡¯ll protect you."

    Xia Taili''s face twitched and she stared at Lu Yin. "I said, no."

    "You call me brother-inw," Lu Yin said seriously with a sincere expression on his face.

    Xia Taili gritted her teeth. "No! I said no! Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m saying?"

    At this time, they felt a tremor from off in the distance. They looked at each other, and their expressions changed as they had seen a group of strange, desated creatures rushing towards them. In front of the creatures was a person. Was that Wen Diyi?

    Wen Diyi saw Lu Yin and Xia Taili, and shouted loudly, "Run! It''s dangerous."

    Without any further nonsense, Lu Yin and Xia Taili both instinctively turned and fled away from the approaching horde. However, they quickly realized that the creatures were not only behind Wen Diyi, but were also in front of them. The creatures were actually everywhere. They were surrounded.

    "We fell into a nest" Xia Taili''s face turned ugly.

    Lu Yin had fully released his domain, searching in all directions. Suddenly, he pointed to the right. ¡°That way! Hurry!¡±

    He then raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm into the horde of desated creatures surrounding them.

    The Vacuum Palm smashed a withered creature, but when it struck a second one, the creature¡¯s withered sections recovered a great deal, and it also grew muchrger. The most troublesome thing about the creatures in this ce was that every attack against them had to exceed a certain limit, as if it did not, the creatures would simply be stronger.

    The power vessel that looked like aquatic nts wrapped around Xia Taili''s body once again. She shot forward in a brazen manner and attacked the desated creatures while releasing a growl.

    More of the dried out creatures rushed over from the distance, and some of the desated bats appeared overhead.

    Lu Yin frowned. They were in big trouble.

    Wen Diyi arrived, but he led anotherrge group of the creatures. "Hurry up and run, or else these things will exhaust us to death!¡±

    More of the terrifying creatures appeared every moment.

    Xia Taili was furious. "I was able to see that without yourments. Can you just stop talking?"

    Wen Diyi felt helpless, "I didn¡¯t want this, either."

    Countless dried creatures surged over from all directions. They were surrounded by a massive number of the wed creatures, and there was a swarm of the bats overhead which had a second head at the tip of their tails. All of them lookedpletely terrifying.

    Xia Taili''s power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt swept out all directions, but many of the creatures that were struck were simply empowered. Wen Diyi¡¯s power vessel was a fan, and each time he swung the fan, a bone-eroding wind was released. Each attack was far more powerful than what he had revealed during the previous fight. The cursed wind released by the fan frequently eliminated the creatures¡¯ flesh and blood, but other creatures were strengthened by the attacks.

    Lu Yin also brought out an item, the giant mechanical right arm that he had Enhanced six times long ago at the cost of a million star essence. The strength of this arm approached that of an Envoy.

    The truth was that this arm had be useless to Lu Yin, as his own physical strength was already able to threaten an Envoy, which meant that he was already more powerful than the mechanical right arm. He could at most muster a power level of 400,000, which was simr to Long Jue¡¯s. However, in order to have a reason to be able to reveal such a level of strength, Lu Yin used the mechanical arm to sweep away arge swathe of the creatures.

 Chapter 1423: Rogue

    Chapter 1423: Rogue

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s mechanical arm was able to attack arge area, it was still weaker than Xia Taili¡¯s power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt or Wen Diyi''s fan. Each of their attacks only strengthened one or two of the creatures, while each of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks reinforced four or five of the withered creatures.

    There was a bang, and Wen Diyi evaded. Where he had just stood, a massive withered creature roared. Its strength had already reached the level of an Enlighter.

    Wen Diyi raised his hand and swept out with his fan. The bone-eroding wind blew forward and dissipated the creature''s flesh and blood.

    "Brother Long Qi, don''t use that weapon. If we need to, we¡¯ll fight them one at a time, as at least that way we won¡¯t be strengthening them," Wen Diyi loudly suggested. As he spoke, he swept his fan towards the sky to prevent the bats from approaching.

    Lu Yin put away the massive mechanical arm and instead started attacking with a Vacuum Palm. This method was much slower, but he would not strengthen many of the desated creatures.

    After half a day, all three were exhausted, yet there were still many of the dry creatures still around. Overhead, the bats had moved close together, and it almost looked like they were fused together to form a massive bat that attacked the youths from above.

    Wen Diyi was startled, and he raised a hand. Golden colored ancient characters took the form or a Literary Prison to trap the bat. After that, anotheryer of characters appeared, followed by a third, a fourth, and finally a seventhyer.

    "Seventh-fold Literary Prison?" Xia Taili was surprised. "You actually managed to reach the seventh level of mastery?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard; there was actually this much more to Literary Prison?

    Wen Diyi looked exhausted, and he was breathing heavily. "I¡¯ve pushed too far, so you¡¯ll have to take over for a bit."

    Xia Taili was confused.

    Wen Diyi exined, "Keep us safe with defense artifacts for now, or else these endless creatures will overwhelm us with their numbers. We can¡¯t kill all of them."

    Xia Taili thought that this seemed to be the right strategy, and her strange power vessel wrapped around her body with what looked like aquatic nts. She then smiled at Wen Diyi. "Thanks for the reminder. I have to say, the people from Virtue Archives are certainly smart."

    Seeing Xia Taili''s smile, Lu Yin had a premonition of something bad.

    Wen Diyi was stunned. "What about us?"

    Xia Taili shrugged. "Good luck to you both! After all, we¡¯re in the Dominion Realm, and we¡¯re all onpeting teams to begin with.¡±

    Her smile grew even brighter. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have been thinking that I would actually help you."

    After speaking, she turned to look at Lu Yin and smiled at him. "Brother-inw, you should bring out that energy you showed when you thrust that spear at me. These monsters should be enough for you to y with for a while."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; thrust? This was a very awkward way of phrasing things.

    He looked over at Wen Diyi, who was also looking at Lu Yin, clearly feeling rather helpless.

    "Later brothers." Xia Taili smiled and waved. She was protected by her power vessel, and she intended to use its strength to break out of the encirclement. She would likely be fine, as long as she did not stumble upon any creature that was too powerful.

    Wen Diyi spoke up, "Princess Taili, speaking on behalf of the Virtue Archives, we are willing to ept people from the Xia family to study at the academy. I wonder if this might be enough to trade for protection with your power vessel?"

    Xia Taili turned to look at Wen Diyi with bright eyes, and the aquatic nts surrounding her shifted open a bit. "Come on in! You must be joking; why would we need to make a trade to keep each other safe? By the way, how many people are we talking about?"

    Wen Diyi sighed. "Given my position, I can offer three ces."

    "Five." Xia Taili opened a hand.

    Wen Diyi thought about it, but then agreed.

    Just as he was about to enter the protection of the aquatic nts, Lu Yin charged in first, though Xia Taili did not even respond for a moment. Lu Yin had moved extremely fast, though that did not concern Xia Taili at all. She stared at Lu Yin nkly before bing angry. "Who let you in? Get out!"

    Lu Yin responded in a serious manner, "You call me brother-inw, so I should protect you. The Dominion Realm is too dangerous to travel alone."

    This was the exact same thing he had said when the two of them had first fallen onto the branch. At that time, Xia Taili had wanted to get rid of Long Qing, as she had a map to guide her, but Lu Yin had seen through her intentions and had made sure to keep her close. Now, he was doing the same thing again.

    Xia Taili was upset, her face flushed from anger. "You bastard! Get out! Get away from me!"

    Lu Yin remained stoic. "I won''t leave you alone."

    "If you don''t get back out, I''ll attack!" Xia Taili screamed.

    Lu Yin silently took out the ring-shaped power vessel as well as the mechanical arm. "Don''t worry. I won''t leave you alone."

    Xia Taili waspletely speechless. How could a person have such thick-skin? She felt certain she could beat this person. After all, she was one of the two top powerhouses of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Taizi generation. Still, Long Qi had the qualifications to travel to the Dominion Realm, and attacking him might risk damaging the protection of her power vessels. This person seemed to have quite a few items of his own, and Xia Taili had her own limits of what she was willing to do.

    At this moment, Wen Diyi silently entered into the protection of the power vessel, and merely nced over at Long Qi. How had Wen Diyi not noticed how thick-skinned this person was?

    Wen Diyi let out a sigh for the five ces in the Virtue Archives that he had just traded, feeling as though he had taken a loss.

    "Can you be any more shameless?" Xia Taili red at Lu Yin. They were still surrounded by an endless number of desated creatures that were frantically attacking the three youths while also letting out roars of frustration. The power vessel that looked like aquatic nts blocked all of the iing attacks.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained as solemn as ever. "Sister Taili, don''t worry, since you call me brother-inw, your brother-inw will never leave you."

    Xia Taili was feeling terrible regret at this moment; why had she ever called this guy brother-inw? She had only randomly said it when she had gone to White Dragon Mountain to deliver some gifts. She had clearly been speaking sarcastically, but this bastard heard whatever he wanted.

    Besides that. Long Qi had actually been rude to her at that time! She felt like she finally understood just what it meant to be truly shameless. Inexplicably, she thought of her older brother, Xia Shenfei. If the two ever spoke to each other, it would be nothing but spouting off nonsense the entire time.

    "A person like you is truly unworthy of Sister Long Xi. Everyone else would be willing to die in a righteous manner and would pave a road of blood with their very lives. But what about you? You¡¯re just shameless?" Xia Taili sneered, still not willing to give up. She was hoping to wake up some sort of legendary bravery within this young man.

    However, Lu Yin was someone whopletelycked dignity, and he just stared off into the distance in a very serious manner. "Don''t worry, brother-inw will protect you."

    Wen Diyi wanted to give the two a moment.

    Xia Taili finally gave up. She controlled her power vessel to slowly move the three of them away from the horde of desated creatures. Xia Taili really wanted to try to get something out of this. "I can take you, what can you give?"

    Lu Yin did not even look over. "Don''t worry, your brother-inw will protect you."

    "You, bastard!" Xia Taili was finally unable to put up with him, and she cursed before looking away from Long qi.

    Wen Diyi nced at Xia Taili with sympathy, but then he was suddenly drawn to to look at a ck spot off in the distance. Was that Crown Prince Gui Qian?

    Wen Diyi was not the only one to notice the distant person, Lu Yin had noticed the man a long time ago, which had also been why he had continued to stare in that direction. However, the longer Lu Yin looked, the more solemn he became. A strong surprise rose in the depths of his eyes.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was off In the distance, shrouded in a ck mist. There were bones spread across the ground, and they transformed into weapons that looked like spider legs. These weapons were frantically ughtering the withered creatures all around. asionally, the ck mist would also wrap around the bones of these creatures and consume their energy. He never stopped killing and replenishing his energy, he was like a killing machine.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian had also seen Lu Yin and the other two. More bones stood up from the ground, and then suddenly jumped up and shot through the sky before smashing down violently in front of Lu Yin and the others.

    When Crown Prince Gui Qian appeared, the ck and white mist in Lu Yin''s heart started roiling, and he immediately dropped his head to hide the shock he felt. The ck energy that this Crown Prince Gui Qian was using was death energy. This person was a member of the Specter n!

    The Specter n also had members in the Perennial World? Also, he had clearly just used the same battle technique that Xie Xiaoxian had one used that created an armor from bones and had reinforced the bones with death energy.

    In the Fifth Maind, the Xies had practically destroyed the Specter n, and they had been left with no choice but to turn to the Neohuman Alliance. Since this Crown Prince Gui Qian was able to use the Xie n¡¯s technique, it seemed he was a member of the Xie n. However, that n did not use death energy. Xie Xiaoxian had once used the bones of a member of the Specter n, but had not been able to use death energy. This Crown Prince Gui Qian was able to use both death energy and the Xie n¡¯s technique. The only possibility was that Crown Prince Gui Qian was a member of the Specter n, and that the Xie n had suffered an unfortunate fate in the Perennial World.

    "Take me with you," Prince Gui Qian demanded in a low voice.

    Xia Taili became upset. "Why? You¡¯re that important?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian stared at Xia Taili, then, without saying a word, the bones behind him suddenly attacked.

    Xia Taili quickly blocked the attack with her power vessel, and she shouted angrily, "You¡¯re crazy! Why are you attacking us?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s eyes grew red. "If you don''t take me with you, we¡¯ll all die here together."

    As he spoke, he took a dark bone out from his cosmic ring and he forced it into his body. The dark mist roiled, darkening the entire surroundings. "Choose, or you can just kill me before leaving."

    "You¡¯re nuts!" Xia Taili was furious, and she turned to look at Wen Diyi. "Attack!"

    Wen Diyi felt helpless. "It¡¯s not easy for someone to qualify toe to the Dominion Realm, and it¡¯s not worth fighting him."

    Xia Taili grew furious. "Are you saying that you feel threatened by him?"

    Lu Yin spoke up, "It¡¯s better than dying here."

    "Shut up! You don''t have the right to speak, bastard!" Xia Taili scolded Lu Yin. She then red at Crown Prince Gui Qian and told him in a surly manner, "Get in."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian moved into the protection of the power vessel without any hesitation. He then only spoke two words: "Thank you."

    Xia Taili was very unhappy at this moment. It was her power vessel, and she had been the one to seize the initiative to escape, so how had things turned out like this?

    Wen Diyi was once again left at a loss; why did neither of the other two have to pay any price to enter the protection of the power vessel? He was still too naive.

    The four youths continued on within the protection of the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt. They moved very slowly, as they were surrounded by countless creatures, and the power vessel had to push its way forward. Wen Diyi and Crown Prince Gui Qian took turns cleaning up the creatures.

    After a day of travel, the surrounding horde seemed to have decreased a bit.

    "We¡¯re finally out," Lu Yin said emotionally.

    Xia Taili shot him a sharp look. "Useless man! Three big men with me, and yet all of them expected to be protected by a woman! You¡¯re all useless! Just useless!"

    Lu Yin pretended not to hear anything.

    Wen Diyi felt helpless. "I paid for your help."

    "So that makes you useful?" Xia Taili was rude, as she was upset with everyone.

    Wen Diyi no longer spoke.

    Before long, they were able to see the outlines of buildings off in the distance. Xia Taili''s eyes lit up. "What¡¯s that?"

    Wen Diyi looked at the buildings and replied in a solemn tone, "That should be the Voidsoul Pce."

    Xia Taili was surprised. "The Voidsoul Pce? Where Progenitor Ku used to live?"

    Wen Diyi nodded. "There are rumors that this Voidsoul Pce holds an inheritance from the Progenitor, but the historical records im that he died suddenly and had no time to leave an inheritance, so the truth is that no one knows what¡¯s in there."

 Chapter 1424: Lost Families

    Chapter 1424: Lost Families

    "Let''s go! Let¡¯s head in there!" Xia Taili became very excited when she heard that they were looking at the Voidsoul Pce. After that, she looked over at the three men with her. ¡°Listen to me: I saved all of your lives, so you aren¡¯t allowed to vye with me for the treasures. Got it?"

    Wen Diyi pursed his lips.

    Lu Yin looked off into the distance.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian just snorted derisively, which infuriated Xia Taili so badly that she nearly tried to kick the man out of the protection of her power vessel.

    A bit in front of the group of four, but still outside the Voidsoul Pce, stood Yuhua Mavis. She had been thrown to this ce. She had been lucky and had not encountered any of the dry creatures. It was also possible that all of the creatures had been lured away by Lu Yin and the others in his group, but regardless, Yuhua Mavis had encountered no difficulties on her way to the Voidsoul Pce.

    Yuhua Mavis did not know anything about the Voidsoul Pce, but it was clearly odd toe across a building in the Dominion Realm.

    She was quite amazed as she looked up at the front of the Voidsoul Pce. She was not impressed by the building itself, but by the cultivators who had been reduced to nothing more than bleached bones. It looked very simr to the ancient battlefield she had previouslye across. The building itself had fallen into ruin, and it was impossible to see any of its original grandeur.

    Yuhua Mavis lifted a foot and began walking towards the Voidsoul Pce. Coincidentally, she saw two people in front of her also approaching the pce. They were Long Tian and Long Xi, and they had also been sted close to the pce by the explosion, just like Yuhua Mavis.

    Long Xi''s face was pale. She wanted to search for Long Qi, but the Dominion Realm was vast, so where should she even start searching?

    Her only hope was the Voidsoul Pce, as everyone who saw it would definitely try to search it.

    Yuhua Mavis had not expected toe across Long Tian and Long Xi, and the siblings were also surprised to see Yuhua Mavis. Almost instantly. Long Tian¡¯s eyes filled with killing intent. "She¡¯s part of the Wang family¡¯s team! Let¡¯s get rid of her."

    He vanished. His speed was so fast that Yuhua Mavis was not able to see anything at all.

    A while ago, Long Xi had told Lu Yin that once a person reached a high enough level of mastery of the White Dragon n¡¯s Roving White Dragon, they would be able to briefly enter the true universe that only Envoys could normally touch. At this moment, Long Tian was using such speed to attack Yuhua Mavis, and the Junior Progenitor far surpassed the speed she had previously seen Wang Yi use.

    Yuhua Mavis had already estimated the power of the Junior Progenitors after meeting Wang Su. Now that Yuhua Mavis was personally facing Long Tian¡¯s unbridled killing intent, she felt a suffocating pressure suddenly fall upon her. This felt just like when she had faced off against Lu Lu after he had transformed.

    She did not hesitate even a moment to raise her hand, and she instantly threw out a dozen punches. It did not matter if she was unable to see her opponent.

    Long Tian knew that since Yuhua Mavis qualified to travel to the Dominion Realm that she was strong enough to be acknowledged by Wang Su. Still, Long Tian had not expected the woman to be so powerful. Her attacks were powerful enough that Long Tian assumed that she was using the Wang family''s Four Arts.

    When Long Tian next appeared, one of Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fists smashed into him. However, he did not try to go up against the punch, but instead twirled his body through an impressive arch while forming a spear out of his star energy. The spear took the blow, and it bent the spear shaft. Long Tian then threw the spear straight at Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis lifted a leg and kicked the weapon. There was a loud bang, and a powerful shockwave swept out in all directions, reducing the ancient rubble littering the front of the Voidsoul Pce to dust.

    When it came to pure physical strength, there was almost no one in the same generation, aside from Lu Yin, who couldpare to Yuhua Mavis, unless the person used a special technique, like how Wang Yi had used his family¡¯s Four Arts. However, Long Tian was different from Wang Yi. Long Tian had already opened up two meridian points, while Yuhua Mavis had not opened any. Opening two meridian points had allowed for an amazing increase in strength, and Long Tian was able to force Yuhua Mavis back with a single strike.

    She waspletely stunned. She had not underestimated Long Tian, and she had delivered her most powerful kick, and yet she had still been forced back.

    Long Tian¡¯s spear shot forward. His eyes were locked onto Yuhua Mavis. He had also been surprised by their previous exchange. This woman was much stronger than he had assumed.

    If anyone from the Fifth Maind were present, they would have been able to warn Long Tian to never look at anyone from the Mavis family straight in the eye.

    As Long Tian stared at Yuhua Mavis, he knew that he would never be able to kill this woman.

    An emerald green light appeared, and Long Tian momentarily fell into confusion. However, Yuhua Mavis did not take this opportunity to take any action. Both whenpeting for the position of the Cosmic Five or ZENITH, she had fought people who were able to almost instantly recover from her Rhythm of Life, and she expected Long Tian to be faster than anyone she had ever faced. This was why she refrained from rushing towards the Voidsoul Pce.

    The moment she took a single, barefooted step, Long Tian had already awakened. He looked at Yuhua Mavis in surprise. "You might have an innate gift that allows you to control people, but you still can¡¯t run!¡±

    As he spoke, he waved a hand. "White Dragon Surveying the Sky."

    Five coi-like tokens appeared and trapped Yuhua Mavis. Long Tian¡¯s spear twirled before stabbing forward. The spear tip twisted the void, and nearly tore through it. This attack had reached the absolute limit of what an Enlighter could be capable of. Long Tian wanted to deal with this woman as soon as possible and avoid Wang Su arriving and stepping in.

    Anyone who was capable of controlling him, even if it was only for an instant, could not be allowed to remain alive.

    Long Xi quietly watched from a distance. She did not move, and merely stared at her older brother. Unless his opponent was another Junior Progenitor, there was no way they would be able to stay alive. This fight was already over.

    Long Tian¡¯s attack would determine Yuhua Mavis¡¯s fate. She could not block this spear, nor could she evade.

    She stared at Long Tian and his spear, and then opened her mouth and swallowed a fruit. The very next moment, a terrifying aura descended, and an emblem of a green leaf appeared on her forehead. She waved a hand and broke through the White Dragon Surveying the Sky that had trapped her, and even tore through the void.

    She had blocked Long Tian''s attack. "The strength of an Envoy?"

    Yuhua Mavis grabbed hold of the tip of the spear and violently smashed it. The head of the spear shattered, and the force continued on, causing the rest of the spear to shatter. After that, she released a punch. The enormous power was caused by a towering giant tree that had appeared behind her. It looked like an imprint.

    Long Tian saw the phantom of the giant tree appear behind Yuhua Mavis, and he then looked at the emblem of the green leaf that had appeared on her forehead. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he blurted out, "Mavis! You¡¯re part of the Mavis family from the First Maind!"

    Boom

    Yuhua Mavis punched Long Tian up into the air, and the tremendous force of her fist shattered the void, which sted Long Tian back down to the ground.

    Long Xi was still watching In the distance, and though she was surprised at what she saw, she still did not move.

    Yuhua Mavis stared at the ground, and then jumped up and let out another punch as she stared at Long Tian. His eyes opened, but his vision had gone red. He waspletely shocked, and he disappeared. However, Yuhua Mavis was able to see his movements this time, as she was able to see the true universe where Long Tian was racing towards her. She pulled back her right arm, and let loose another punch.

    Long Tian''s feet suddenly stopped, and small dragon scales suddenly appeared over his body.

    There was another loud bang, and Long Tian was smashed back once again. Yuhua Mavis had already swallowed a fruit from the Mavis family, and for the moment, she could use the strength of an Envoy, just as Yuehua Mavis had done when facing Yan Cheng during the defense of the Outerverse.

    Given that he was up against someone with the power of an Envoy, it was impossible for Long Tian to win, even if he had already used the White Dragon Transformation.

    There was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away, and then suddenly smiled. "The Mavis family. The ancient families like yours certainly have some pretty powerful relics, but how useful can they be? Tell me, how long can you sustain this power?"

    Yuhua Mavis coughed, and blood leaked from her mouth. She turned pale. Even though she possessed the strength of an Envoy for the moment, she was still not able to kill Long Tian. He had actually never even taken this fight seriously, as he had never used a single power vessel.

    "How long can you keep this up?" Long Tian took out a real spear that shone brightly. This weapon was clearly a rare treasure, and he had be serious. The spear shot forward, and the power of the spear thrustbined with the strength of the power vessel to produce something that horrified Yuhua Mavis. She erupted with her full strength and turned to rush into Voidsoul Pce without any hesitation. There was no reason to fight, as she could not win.

    Long Tian shouted, "You can''t escape!"

    Yuhua Mavis was still able to utilize the strength of an Envoy, which made it so that not even Long Tian could catch up to her.

    Long Xi approached from behind Long Tian. "Someone from the Mavis family?"

    Long Tian snorted. "When the First Maind was destroyed, the Mavis family was the only survivors. The n has a propensity towards protecting themselves."

    "I¡¯ve never heard of a Mavis family anywhere in the Perennial World," Long Xi pressed.

    Long Tian sneered. "She¡¯s a trespasser."

    "From the Forsaken Land?" Long Xi was surprised.

    Long Tian responded in a quiet voice, "The Mavis family chose to note to the Perennial World, but instead remained in the Forsaken Land. Only that ce has any members of the Mavis family. This means that there are trespassers in our ranks. Her name shouldn¡¯t be Yu Hua, but Yuhua Mavis."

    "If this Yuhua Mavis is here, then there must be other trespassers. We¡¯ll need to see what other rats are here."

    At this moment, Long Tian suddenly remembered a particr incident, and he turned to look at Long Xi. "Wasn¡¯t she the woman who helped Long Qi find out about where those Guan brothers had hid the evidence of being Redbacks?"

    Long Xi had also thought of this, and she nodded.

    "What¡¯s her connection with Long Qi?" Long Tian''s voice sounded a bit off and rather cold.

    Long Xi stared back at her brother. "You can¡¯t think that there¡¯s a trespasser from within one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families."

    Long Tian looked back towards the Voidsoul Pce. "Even if there¡¯s no connection, we still need to find that woman quickly and silence her as soon as possible. Otherwise, once Long Qi gets dragged into this mess, no one will be able to save him."

    "Don''t worry, Long Qi doesn''t know that woman. During that incident with the Guan brothers, it was because that woman didn¡¯t like what was happening, so she gave Long Qi the location, not because she wanted to contact him" Long Xi exined.

    Long Tian let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good. My White Dragon n can never give the Celestial Frost Sect any reasons for them to act against us."

    With that, he continued on towards the Voidsoul Pce.

    Long Xi''s eyes flickered. While Long Tian had no doubts concerning Long Qi, that was because Long Tian fully believed that Long Qi was a true member of the White Dragon n. Only Long Xi knew that her husband-to-be was a fake. She tended to forget that the real Long Qi was gone. In fact, Long Xi had never even thought to ask the fake Long Qi for his real name. Did he actually have anything to do with Yuhua Mavis?

    The more that Long Xi considered everything that Long Qi had done, the more off things felt. How could anyone from a branch family have the courage to disobey an order from the main family? What secrets did the fake Long Qi have?

    Long Xi¡¯s mood grewplex. Due to her rtionship with Long Qi, she wanted to stop thinking about this subject, but the more she thought about things, the more suspicious she became .

    "Come on. We need to catch up with that woman from the Mavis family," Long Tian urged.

    Long Xi quickly chased after her brother while taking in a deep breath. No matter whether or not there was a problem with her Long Qi, she could not say anything to anyone. If it turned out that there really was something wrong with the fake Long Qi, then she would just have to deal with it herself.

    The Voidsoul Pce¡¯s gates were not hidden. The gates were a hundred meters tall, and had been formed out of unknown materials. Despite the ages that had passed, the gates had not beenpletely destroyed, just like the rest of the building.

    Progenitors were capable of destroying moons,s, and even stars with just a nce. Their destructive force were extremely powerful, so any building that had held a Progenitor would naturally bepletely extraordinary.

    Yuhua Mavis rushed into the Voidsoul Pce, and saw nothing but thick dust. As soon as she entered, a wind swept up all of the dust throughout the entire Voidsoul Pce. It was much like throwing a boulder into a calmke.

    She took no more than a nce around before choosing a direction to flee. At the same time that she moved, she also let out attacks into all of the other corridors that she could have entered, as she intended to hide her path.

 Chapter 1425: Voidsoul Umbrella

    Chapter 1425: Voidsoul Umbre

    After Long Tian and Long Xi entered the Voidsoul Pce, they saw the dust that filled the air, and werepletely unable to find any trace of Yuhua Mavis.

    Just when they were about to start searching in a certain direction, there was a loud noise from within the depths of Voidsoul Pce, and cracks appeared on the floor. Long Tian''s eyes lit up, and he rushed in the direction of the noise they had heard. Suddenly, a pair of scarlet eyes with vertical slits appeared as a figure emerged and locked eyes with the Junior Progenitor.

    Long Tian was startled, and he shifted his body to the side. The dried out corpse king in front of him violently smashed the area Long Tian had just stood, and then moved to try to grab Long Tian.

    Long Tian snorted. "I didn''t expect there to still be monsters here after so many years."

    As he spoke, his spear pierced the corpse king''s body and shattered the corpse king.

    At the same time, the vibrations from the depths of Voidsoul Pce stopped.

    Long Tian guessed that Yuhua Mavis had also encountered a corpse king. "Let¡¯s chase after her."

    Suddenly, the Voidsoul Pce vibrated again, though not from a battle. It felt as though the entire Voidsoul Pce had be alive, and it trembled as rays of light rose from the floor. They formed a streamer that hung outside the pce, and it eventually took the shape of an umbre that slowly rotated.

    Outside the pce, still far away, Xia Taili and the others with her were drawn to the huge umbre.

    Wen Diyi¡¯s eyes grew excited. "That should be the Voidsoul Umbre that Progenitor Ku made! Rumors im that every one of those umbres possess the power of Progenitor Ku, and can bring a person back to life! Each one is also strong enough to resist an attack from a Semi-Progenitor. These were the Voidsoul Army¡¯s most powerful weapons."

    "Resurrection? Something that exaggerated?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Wen Diyi replied, "Progenitor Ku uncovered the secret of aging and immortality. While the legends might have exaggerated the facts a bit, Progenitor Ku still had obtainedplete mastery over the mysteries of human life. His understanding surpassed mere medical knowledge and nearly stepped into the realm of a secret technique."

    "Go!" Xia Taili was very excited, and she put away her power vessel, despite the number of desate creatures that were still surrounding the youths. She put all of her energy into racing towards the Voidsoul Pce.

    Lu Yin and the others raced forward as well.

    Suddenly, the Voidsoul Pce changed. The Voidsoul Umbre had already appeared, so this clearly indicated that someone had already entered the pce.

    Another group of people appeared from another direction. This was the team led by Bai Shaohong. This group had not gotten entangled with the fiasco with the ancient battlefield, and they had been steadily continuing on towards the Voidsoul Pce this entire time. However, they still arrived a step behind. Ling Tong and some others had been sted very close to the Voidsoul Pce, and Bai Shaohong was able to see that the Voidsoul Umbre had already been activated.

    He was in a hurry, so his team elerated towards the Voidsoul Pce.

    Eventually, the two parties met each other a hundred miles outside of the Voidsoul Pce.

    Xia Taili and the others had not expected to encounter Bai Shaohong and his team. When the Junior Progenitor saw Xia Taili and the others, he immediately attacked them. A palm passed through the void tond right in front of Wen Diyi.

    No one had thought that Bai Shaohong would instantly attack without a word. Several people did not even have time to react. Wen Diyi was struck by the palm, and he vomited blood as he flew away. The moment hended, his palm hit the ground, and a golden light shed.

    Lu Yin froze and stared at Bai Shaohong. This person was ruthless.

    "Go! Capture Xia Taili and keep her alive, but kill the other three," Bai Shaohong ordered in a deep voice. He waspletely ignoring the Virtue Archives that was behind Wen Diyi, as well as Specter Abyss that was behind Crown Prince Gui Qian. There was no need for him to be afraid of such powers.

    Wen Diyi''s chest was in agony. There was a deep imprint on his body from the attack that had struck him. The palm had not been a purely physical attack, but had held power that was able to drain a person¡¯s vitality and cause a body to be drained of energy while also trembling uncontrobly.

    However, Wen Diyi was no weakling. Even if he had been severely injured, he had still used Literary Prison the moment he had struck the ground. When Bai Shaohong moved tounch a second attack, he discovered that he was already trapped and had been locked within a seven-fold Literary Prison.

    Bai Shaohong had not expected Wen Diyi to be able to react so quickly, and the Junior Progenitor was trapped for the moment. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    The twins behind Bai Shaohong both attacked at this moment. Lu Yin brought out his ring-shaped power vessel and entered it. Xia Taili used her power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt in an attempt to bind Bai Shaohong and his team. However, though Xia Taili had a power vessel, so did Bai Shaohong. A white smoke appeared and trapped the aquatic nt and the other power vessels.

    "Yun Tingting?" Xia Taili was surprised.

    The woman named Yun Tingting looked at Xia Taili. "We won''t hurt you, so just stop."

    The twin brothers, Dong Shan and Dong He, both attacked Crown Prince Gui Qian as one. The surface of the prince¡¯s body changed, and bones erupted to block the attacks.

    Shang Qing attacked Lu Yin. Though the two knew each other, Shang Qing''s attack was stillpletely ruthless, though it was blocked by the ring.

    Xia Taili and the others were forced onto the back foot from the moment they first encountered Bai Shaohong and his team.

    Wen Diyi saw the killing intent in Bai Shaohong''s eyes, and forced himself to endure his injuries in order to use his Literary Prison once more. Bai Shaohong had already shattered threeyers of the first Literary Prison.

    Yun Tingting¡¯s white smoke was very mysterious. The moment Lu Yin saw it, he immediately thought of Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    "Let''s capture them. They might have some value alive." Shang Qing said as he mercilessly attacked Lu Yin.

    Bai Shaohong looked over towards Shang Qing and Lu Yin. Actually, he looked only at Lu Yin. The Junior Progenitor¡¯s eyes grew even colder. "He has to die."

    Lu Yin frowned. The moment that Bai Shaohong had nced over at Lu Yin, the fifthyer of the Literary Prison had shattered. This showed that Bai Shaohong desired Lu Yin¡¯s death over everyone else¡¯s. It was possible that the instantaneous attack against Lu Yin¡¯s group had been because of him, but if that was the case, why had the first attack not targeted Lu Yin?

    As Lu Yin was thinking about this, Xia Taili used a strange attack to lock the woman Yun Tingting, and the woman was literally locked; her arms were bound by a lock.

    "Xia Secret Art: Lock?" Yun Tingting was caught off guard.

    What kind of secret technique is that? Lu Yin felt this was an odd technique.

    There was a bang. Crown Prince Gui Qian was knocked back by the twins, but the prince was unharmed. He had managed to protect himself with a power vessel. With that, he rushed towards the Voidsoul Pce without any hesitation.

    Wen Diyi coughed up some blood, and another Literary Prison wrapped multipleyers around Bai Shaohong. However, when Crown Prince Gui Qian tried to make his escape, the Literary Prison copsed. Bai Shaohong did not care about Wen Diyi, but was instead staring at Crown Prince Gui Qian. "People from Specter Abyss should die."

    He then raised a hand high and pointed a finger. As he did, the void froze.

    This was something that could be considered normal in the Fifth Maind, as any Enlighter, or even a Hunter, could freeze the void. But they were in the Perennial World, and in this ce, only an Envoy was strong enough to effect the void, and yet Bai Shaohong had just done so.

    The sight of Bai Shaohong''s finger attack stunned Lu Yin. This was the same finger as the one in his dreams. While the dream finger did not freeze the void with a cold air, the feeling this attack gave off was identical to what Lu Yin had seen on White Mountain when he had first arrived in the Perennial World. This was the same finger that Elder Qing Xing had used. He had been an elder from the Celestial Frost Sect, and it looked like this finger attack really dide from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s finger fell. It pierced the void and moved to crush Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    The prince turned around, and his eyes suddenly turned golden. "You underestimate me, Bai Shaohong! You actually believed that I¡¯m not your opponent!"

    As the prince spoke, his death energy condensed to also form a finger that pointed back at Bai Shaohong.

    Two fingers appeared in the sky; one ck, the other one white. They shed, and one finger froze, while the other melted. The impact split the sky from the ground.

    Everyone felt a bone-chilling cold that waspletely terrifying.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes narrowed. "Arrogant!"

    Even as he spoke, his finger grewrger, and it began to freeze the death energy itself as the finger pressed towards Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    The prince gritted his teeth. He had only opened his lower meridian point, while Bai Shaohong had also opened his middle meridian point. This was vital, because without this extra edge, there was no way for the finger of death energy to be overpowered by the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s finger. ¡°Xie Secret Art: Universal Appropriation."

    A voice rang out, and the lock that trapped Yun Tingting suddenly appeared in the hands of Crown Prince Gui Qian before locking onto Bai Shaohong. The moment Bai Shaohong was trapped, his eyes snapped wide open. "Cloud Fall."

    The finger and even the sky itself turned into a cloud that descended and covered the ground. The cloud rolled forward to envelop everyone present.

    Lu Yin felt a cold cover his entire body, and then ice began to creep up his body from his feet. He looked down, incredulous. Even though he was standing inside the protection of the ring, he was still being frozen. This had to be a secret technique.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was also frozen. He had locked Bai Shaohong, but had also been trapped by Bai Shaohong''s secret technique in return.

    Xia Taili and Wen Diyi were the same, and only Yun Tingting and others from Bai Shaohong¡¯s team were unaffected.

    Shang Qing nced over at Bai Shaohong with fear. This was a terrifying secret technique. A secret technique that targeted an entire group, like this one, was the most difficult to deal with. There was no way to block this attack, given the power of the finger, and the only way to break free was through pure force.

    As expected of one of the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors. Shang Qing was no match for such a person with just his own strength, and his only option would be to use the Tri-Yang Technique.

    "Kill them!" Bai Shaohong shouted.

    The twins instantly attacked Crown Prince Gui Qian. The prince was just about to use a power vessel, but suddenly the ground itself changed and everything was divided into orderly squares. It looked like farnd, and everyone was restrained by it.

    Everyone knew that Nong Sanniang had arrived the moment they saw the farnd, as only that family of farmers had such strange battle techniques.

    "Things here are so exciting, so how could I miss out?" Nong Sanniang quickly showed herself, and her eyes swept over everyone present before finally locking onto Bai Shaohong. "Bai Shaozu, you¡¯re wanting to kill Crown Prince Gui Qian, but he is helping Wang Su, who¡¯s on her way. Can you give me some face?¡±

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes grew cold. "Attack!"

    The moment he gave the order, the twins attacked, one with his right palm, the other with his left. They worked together to form a g out of their star energy. The g fell from the sky and shrouded Crown Prince Gui Qian. This was the twins¡¯ joint attack, and it was called Mountain and Sea Banner, and it was powerful enough to subdue even the most powerful members of their generation.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s expression changed, and bones erupted from across his body to shatter the ice that had trapped him. At the same time, a glowing gray skeleton appeared and rose into the sky to contend with the Mountain and Sea Banner.

    Simultaneously, Bai Shaohong managed to break free of the secret technique that had locked him, and he raised a hand to attack Crown Prince Gui Qian through the void. Nong Sanniang frowned, and her star energy took the form of a hoe. She crudely hefted the hoe and swung it at Bai Shaohong. "Nong Family¡¯s Martial Technique: Plowing the Land."

    She let out a loud shout, and thousands of images appeared that seemed to ovep upon the hoe from across time and space. This single hoe seemed to represent the hard work of countless people, and it swung out against Bai Shaohong¡¯s palm attack.

    There was a massive boom, and a terrifying shockwave sted out that was visible to the naked eye.

    Bai Shaohong and Nong Sanniang both were forced to step back.

    At this moment, another tremble came from the distant Voidsoul Pce, and then a powerful suction erupted from it. It pulled up Bai Shaohong and others into the Voidsoul Pce. One by one, all of them were grabbed, and Lu Yin was no exception.

    For a moment, everything was peaceful. There was no trace of battle, and even the marks that their battle had left on the ground had been covered up.

 Chapter 1426: Efficiency

    Chapter 1426: Efficiency

    In a certain corner of the Voidsoul Pce, a figure flew in from outside and smashed against a pir so hard that an indent of the person¡¯s body was left in the pir.

    This figure was wearing a suit of armor, and it immediately stood up after falling to the floor. The figure started moving away from where they hadnded, all the while studying the surrounding area.

    Naturally, this figure was Lu Yin. When he had first seen Bai Shaohong and Nong Sanniang fighting, he had not expected to get dragged in, but he had still put on his universal armor. He had a very strong survival instinct.

    He was not inside the Voidsoul Pce! The fighting outside must have grown too loud and triggered a reaction from the pce, which was why they had been sucked in.

    Lu Yin heard a low roar from a corner. The sound startled him, and he turned to look, only to see a pair of scarlet eyes with vertical pupils.

    The Voidsoul Pce was enveloped by the huge Voidsoul Umbre, but it was possible to see tiny red dots appearing on the umbre. There were ces where these dots were densely packed, and they slowly moved. Once everyone had been sucked into the pce, one particr little red dot started to disappear.

    Bai Shaohong stood in another corner of the Voidsoul Pce. Every step he took left deep footprints on the floor. He was also faced with a red-eyed corpse king, but the Junior Progenitor just raised a hand and mercilessly pped down, smashing the corpse king''s head.

    The moment the corpse king died, one of the red dots on the Voidsoul Umbre disappeared. Also, Bai Shaohong was able to sense the umbre¡¯s energy, and it felt like he was able to control the umbre.

    He thought of something, and suddenly his body was pulled, and he disappeared. When he next appeared, he was in another part of the pce. He did not know where he was, just that there was another corpse king in front of him. This corpse king was about as strong as the first one he had faced, and was only a mere Explorer. He easily killed this corpse king as well, and he then felt a bit more of the Voidsoul Umbre¡¯s energy.

    He understood. The Voidsoul Umbre had detected the energy from his battle with Nong Sanniang, and had then dragged everyone nearby into the Voidsoul Pce to clear out the remaining corpse kings. The reward for whoever destroyed the most corpse kings would be the Voidsoul Umbre itself. There were many corpse kings to destroy, but the final winner would gain control of the Voidsoul Umbre.

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s eyes lit up at this thought. His demeanor grew confident and arrogant; the umbre had to go to him.

    The Voidsoul Pce was huge. After all, Progenitor Ku had lived in it with his Voidsoul Army. Many corpse kings had stayed in the ce since ancient times, but given the size of the ce, it was difficult to encounter any of the corpse kings, let alone the other people on the Junior Progenitors¡¯ teams.

    Long Tian retracted his hand and looked up. Even though he could not see the Voidsoul Umbre, he was able to feel it more strongly as time went on. At the same time, he was also able to sense other energies appearing, trying topete with him for control of the Voidsoul Umbre. Unfortunately for those other people, he had already killed far more corpse kings than any of them.

    As another corpse king fell to the ground in front of Long Tian, his body disappeared, only to reappear a ways away. He sensed a powerful aura, and he reflexively used the White Dragon Transformation and took out a strange power vessel. He thrust his spear forward, but the shaft was grabbed by a corpse king. The creature had a physical strength that was practically on par with an Envoy.

    Corpse kings had an innate advantage when fighting humans. The creatures felt no pain, had no desire for life or fear of death, they had incredibly robust bodies, and were able to freely use their innate gifts. Once they started cultivating, they would be able to improve leaps and bounds. It was because of these advantages that the humans lost most of their battles against them, and they could only employ the strategy of self destruction to eliminate these monstrosities.

    Even if Long Tian was a Junior Progenitor and was able to defeat anyone beneath the Envoy realm, he would still struggle terribly to fight against a corpse king that was on the verge of reaching the strength of an Envoy.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin hade to the same realization as the two Junior Progenitors from the moment he had killed his first corpse king. He had sensed the energy of the Voidsoul Umbre and had realized that the umbre was intending to use the youths¡¯ power to clean out the Voidsoul Pce.

    Ancient Progenitors were incredible. Even after they died, they left behind a power that still tried to deal with the monsters.

    A Vacuum Palm shot out, striking a corpse king, Lu Yin clenched his fist; it was time for him to finally release his full strength, as he wanted to be the one to get the Voidsoul Umbre that held the power of resurrection.

    The power of a Vacuum Palmy in its speed and power. Lu Yin killed another corpse king and quickly appeared in another location. Every time he saw a corpse king, he would attack it with a Vacuum Palm. His strength far exceeded what it had been during ZENITH, and he had alsopleted his neenth cycle as a Hunter and had even opened his lower meridian point. If he had possessed such strength during ZENITH, Wang Yi would not have been able to endure one of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms.

    His domain had been fully unleashed, and he was liberally attacking with his Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin was actually clearing out the corpse kings faster than Bai Shaohong or Long Tian, at least until he came across a corpse king that was approaching the strength of a Envoy.

    With a bang, the full-powered Vacuum Palm was only able to knock the corpse king back 100 meters. The attack was not able to cause any sort of severe damage to the beast.

    The corpse king looked at Lu Yin with its scarlet eyes and then charged towards the youth.

    After the passing of countless years, even if the corpse king had once possessed any semnce of sapience, the creature was nothing but instinct at this moment, which made it the perfect target for Lu Yin to attack, as no matter how strong the corpse king was, without intelligence, it could only serve for target practice.

    However, the beast¡¯s body was too tough. Lu Yin repeatedly attacked with countless Vacuum Palms, but only was able to leave some marks on the corpse king¡¯s body and was unable to prate the creature¡¯s defenses. It would take a great deal of time for him to whittle this corpse king down and defeat it.

    Lu Yin was able to feel the Voidsoul Umbre¡¯s energy growing stronger and stronger. He frowned. After a moment¡¯s thought, his die appeared. It was time to Enhance some items.

    As soon as he tapped it, the die began to rotate. Four pips: Timestop.

    The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he appeared within the gray space. He immediately began to roll his die again.

    As long as he was able to enter the Timestop Space, he was guaranteed to be able to roll a three, so first rolling a four was the best result.

    Lu Yin rolled the die five times, and finally, on his sixth attempt, he rolled a three.

    As soon as he saw the two screens of light, Lu Yin threw out the orb that he had stolen from Madam Lan.

    When Lu Yin had attacked the ze Realm, Madam Lan tried to use this orb to annihte Lu Yin¡¯s forces, but he had stolen it from her with the Yu Secret Art. The orb held a powerful me, and when he had seen its runes, he had almost matched up to those of an Enlighter. At this moment, Lu Yin hoped to Enhance the orb so that he could use the me it held to kill the corpse king much faster.

    After throwing out the orb, Lu Yin began to feed the screens with star essence.

    While the me within the orb could be used as a weapon, if Lu Yin was not careful with it, he could also hurt himself. He did not want to go overboard, so he only enhanced the orb three times.

    The third upgrade cost him nearly 8 million star essence. Lu Yin could feel the surging temperature of the me within when he held the orb. The heat of this me far surpassed the dark magma he had used to train on the Junior Progenitor. The orb contained a temperature that was beyond what Lu Yin could endure at this time, though he felt he would be able to do so after bing an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin checked his remaining time, and then soon calmed himself down and began to silently recite theplete Stonewall Scriptures.

    Finally, the scenery changed, and Lu Yin returned to the real universe. No matter how much time he spent in that gray and white Timestop Space, no more than a second had passed in the real universe. Still, a second was a significant amount of time for a powerful cultivator, and the corpse king was already close to Lu Yin. It pped out a hand and sent Lu Yin flying.

    Luckily, Lu Yin was unharmed, as he was still wearing his universal armor. If he had not, the monster¡¯s attack would have easily caused him heavy injuries.

    The corpse king charged Lu Yin once again, but this time Lu Yin raised the upgraded orb and attacked the corpse king with it. Only a small amount of the contained mes were released, and yet still the corpse king was reduced to ashes the moment it came in touch with the mes.

    Lu Yin felt a bit hot as he held the orb. He was guessing that the mes the orb held couldpare to an attack from an expert with a power level of 600,000, while the corpse king had merely been close to the power of an Envoy.

    If the corpse king had managed to undergo a corpse king transformation, things might have turned out different, as the mes might not have been enough to destroy such a creature.

    Lu Yin disappeared, and when he reappeared he was close to another corpse king. Each sessive corpse king was slightly stronger than the previous, and Lu Yin¡¯s current opponent was another corpse king that had a level of strength that almost reached that of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin just incinerated the creature with the mes within the orb without saying a single word.

    One victory, two, three. Lu Yin did not know how many corpse kings were within the Voidsoul Pce, but he did know that the mes within his orb were starting to run out, though he was also gaining more and more control over the Voidsoul Umbre, and he had already surpassed everyone else.

    Bai Shaohong was able to feel that someone else was ughtering the corpse kings even faster than he, despite the fact that he had already used a power vessel. Each sessive corpse king was progressively more powerful, and even though Bai Shaohong was using a power vessel, he still needed at least 15 minutes to defeat each corpse king. How could anyone be even faster than him? Could it be that the others had only encountered weaker corpse kings?

    That should not be the case, as the Voidsoul Umbre was not a person and it had no intelligence, so there should not be any sort of difference in the treatment of the different people. The strength of the corpse king a person would be sent to face was rted to the number of corpse kings a person had already killed, as well as their speed. The faster a person killed the corpse kings and the more corpse kings a person defeated, the stronger the corpse king they would be paired with. Given this pattern, there was no way for anyone to be faster than Bai Shaohong unless they had a more powerful power vessel than he.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes flickered. Not just anyone was able to use such power vessels. The stronger the power vessel, the greater the burden ced on the user. Otherwise, given the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s support, Bai Shaohong would have been able to use power vessels with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor without any scruples and breeze his way through everything.

    Who could it be? Long Tian? Wang Su? Xia Shenfei?

    At this moment, Long Tian was also trying to guess who was progressing so rapidly. Long Tian had entered the pce earlier than the others, and yet someone had killed more corpse kings than Long Tian. How could anyone defeat these beasts so fast? Could they only have been facing corpse kings with the strength of an Explorer? That should not be the case!

    Given the situation, Long Tian had no choice after giving the matter a bit of thought. He brought out another power vessel.

    Both Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had started to use their strongest power vessels. For a time, the Voidsoul Pce shook without stopping, and the red dots sprinkled across the Voidsoul Umbre started disappearing faster and faster. Three people continued to fight for first ce, and the top position kept rotating between them, and everyone else was left just watching the fun.

    Two dayster, thest corpse king was destroyed. With that, the orb in Lu Yin''s hand finally shattered, as the me inside had been utterly exhausted.

    At the same time, his perspective shifted, and Lu Yin was suddenly looking at the entire Voidsoul Pce. He saw a ce where tribtion crystals were stored. Excitement filled his eyes; could that be the inheritance Progenitor Ku had left behind?

    After only a moment, Lu Yin¡¯s perspective returned to his body, but he already knew where Progenitor Ku¡¯s inheritance was stored.

    Lu Yin was not the only one to be given this information, as Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had seen the same scene. All three had seen the same location, and all three had already made the same decision to grab the inheritance.

    At this moment, it was a speed race. However, it did not matter how fast Bai Shaohong or Long Tian might be, as they could notpete with Lu Yin. This was simply because Lu Yin was already extremely close to where the inheritance had been hidden.

    After only a quarter of an hour, Lu Yin had found the inconspicuous secret room. He had seen Wen Diyi on the way while rushing towards the inheritance at top speed. Lu Yin had badly startled Wen Diyi, as he had assumed that another corpse king had appeared.

    Lu Yin grabbed the tribtion crystals the moment he entered the hidden room. There was also a box on either side of where the crystals had sat, and Lu Yin instantly appeared in front of one and stored it in his cosmic ring. By this time, Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had both arrived outside the room, and only a wall separated them from Lu Yin. Normally, Lu Yin would be trapped and sealed within the room, but he had the Ce secret technique.

 Chapter 1427: Long-lost Weapon

    Chapter 1427: Long-lost Weapon

    Lu Yin nced at the second box. He had the time to grab it, but decided to leave it behind. As his right foot moved to take a step, an astral chessboard appeared beneath him, as he was about to use the Ce Secret Art.

    Once this chessboard appeared, everything became a chess piece. Lu Yin, Bai Shaohong, Long Tian, even the walls, the stones on the ground, and the air became chess pieces. This was the power of a secret technique.

    Activating the secret technique, Lu Yin moved.

    He shifted himself far away, and made sure that he avoided Bai Shaohong and Long Tian¡¯s line of sight. The very next moment, the two Junior Progenitors rushed into the hidden room from two different directions, and they both instantly saw the box that had been left behind.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes narrowed. He pressed a hand down. "Cloud Fall."

    This was another secret technique, and it covered everything within 100 miles. Clouds fell, and Lu Yin looked up. Bai Shaohong''s reaction speed shocked Lu Yin, and he raced away. Still, it was impossible for Lu Yin to instantly escape, as he was still within the secret technique¡¯s effective range.

    Clouds descended, and Lu Yin was frozen as they passed over his body.

    Bai Shaohong waved a hand, and a surge of star energy swept through the hidden room, smashing the walls and pirs as it sted out in the direction Lu Yin had fled. As soon as all obstacles were removed, the two Junior Progenitors would be able to see who had stolen from them.

    Lu Yin could never allow such a thing to happen. The cold was so powerful that there was no way that he would be able to escape in time, so he was left with no choice but to take something out of his cosmic ring that he then threw towards the two Junior Progenitors. It was one of the sh-bombs that he had not used in a long time. This one had been made from materials from the Technocracy that Lu Yin had received from Brother Hui, and Lu Yin had then Enhanced the sh-bomb until it was strong enough to effect even Enlighters with power levels of nearly 300,000.

    Bai Shaohong and Long Tian were each far more powerful than such an Enlighter, but the sh-bomb was still powerful enough to cause them to momentarily lose their sight, and that moment was all that Lu Yin needed.

    The sh-bomb exploded, and a dazzling light instantly illuminated the entire region of the Voidsoul Pce.

    Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had never dreamed that anyone would employ such a diversion, particrly Bai Shaohong, who had already guessed that someone had taken part of the inheritance from the room a single step ahead of him. His secret technique Cloud Fall should have left anyonepletely trapped, and after that, Bai Shaohong had attacked in the direction of the escaping person. However, his attack did not meet a person, but a sh-bomb, and it had left him almost entirely blind for a moment.

    Lu Yin used a hand to smash the ice from the Cloud Fall secret Technique that had trapped him, and he used the Ce Secret Art once more to escape far away.

    When Bai Shaohong was next able to view his surroundings, Lu Yin had already escaped far away.

    He could scarcely believe that someone had used such a method, and he showed a rare disy of anger. "Who? Who would use such a despicable method? Who was it?"

    After this, he turned around, only to see the final box in Long Tian''s hands.

    If that box had not been left behind, the two youths absolutely would have chased after the thief who had fled, but one box had been left behind, and they both wanted it.

    While rumors imed that Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had an inseparable rtionship, only the two of them were aware that their rtionship was nothing more than a matter of trading benefits.

    Bai Shaohong was from the Celestial Frost Sect, which was the leader of the four ruling powers. Due to this status, he was able to easily suppress the other three Junior Progenitors.

    As for Long Tian, he had a cold personality and was ruthless in his dealings, which meant that he was also disliked by Xia Shenfei and Wang Su. This meant that Long Tian and Bai Shaohong had been left with no choice but to present the impression that they had an excellent rtionship to keep the other two Junior Progenitors from growing too bold.

    However, at this moment, there was no one to see the two of them.

    "Brother Long, do you have any guess as to who that person was just now?" Bai Shaohong asked, calming himself down from his momentary rage.

    Long Tian refrained from storing the box in his cosmic ring. If he did so, Bai Shaohong would have to be a perfect saint in order to happily give up on the remaining prize. The most important detail at this moment was whether or not the contents of the box were worth fighting over. Bai Shaohong made Long Tian nervous, and the White Dragon n was wary of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    If Bai Shaohong had been the one to grab the box, he would never have hesitated to keep it.

    "Brother Bai was not able to get a clear look?" Long Tian asked back.

    Bai Shaohong''s voice grew cold. "That person might have used sneaky methods, but they are still quite strong. Not only were they able to break free of my Cloud Fall secret technique, they were also able to escape both of our sights. It had to have been a secret technique, but neither of us were able to get a clear look at the technique. It might have told us who that was.¡±

    "Anyone who¡¯s able to visit the Dominion Realm is a powerhouse, so it¡¯s not unusual for anyone here to have a secret technique. However, there¡¯s something else that I would like to remind Brother Bai about." Long Tian''s voice dropped low and his expression turned serious. "There are trespassers mixed in with our numbers."

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes suddenly went wide. "Are you certain?"

    "Of course. I already ran into someone from the Mavis family," Long Tian said.

    Bai Shaohong sneered. "I guess there¡¯ll always be trespassers. The Mavis family? They¡¯ve sneaked in here before, and now they¡¯ve shown up once again."

    "I remember that there¡¯s also someone on your team with a murky background. Have you thoroughly vetted them?" Long Tian asked.

    Bai Shaohong replied, "That person¡¯s from Nest, so Brother Long doesn''t need to worry about him at all. However, I''m quite curious about what''s in the box. Can Brother Long open it up?"

    Long Tian clenched his spear. "Things here always belong to those who manage to grab them."

    "And I can grab that." Bai Shaohong lifted his head and disappeared in a sh. At the same time, Long moved with the Roving White Dragon. The two started a fight in the confines of the small hidden room that others would not be able to clearly track. Spatial cracks appeared and spread out.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin turned back before letting out a sigh of relief. He was not being chased. Sure enough, it had been the correct choice to leave a box behind. Otherwise, he would have been chased by two Junior Progenitors, and he might not have been able to make a clean escape.

    His gains from this venture were not small. He had grabbed a pir of tribtion crystals that was about the same size as the one that Long Ding had used to open his lower meridian point, and Lu Yin would be able to use it towards opening his own second meridian point. Also, there was the box he had grabbed.

    Remembering it, Lu Yin pulled out the box and opened it. He saw what looked to be a piece of jade inside, and he reached in and pulled it out. Instantly, his mind was flooded with information. His body went stiff, and he nearly copsed. Fortunately, he was able to recover in time to catch himself. He moved his right foot forward and stabilized his body.

    The piece of jade in his hand shattered into pieces.

    Lu Yin stood there, his eyes flickering. He closed his eyes to go over what had just happened before opening them once more.

    Unexpectedly, the piece of jade had held Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique. This particr technique was called Extremes Must Be Reversed. Rather than a battle technique, it seemed more like a cultivation method. More urately, it was a method of treating one¡¯s body.

    With this Extremes Must Be Reversed, once a person reaches their peak strength, they would be ovee with weakness, while when they be weak, they would suddenly be strengthened.

    Practicing this method would cause a person to bepletely dried up, just like the desated creatures in this part of the dominion realm, and the person would only be able to recover their strength after being attacked. However, they would also be able to voluntarily enter a dried up state once more, and this process was intended to be repeated in a manner that would allow a person to umte their strength.

    This was the battle technique that Progenitor Ku had left behind, and it was an amazing technique. Not only could a person dry themselves up, but they would also be capable of doing the same to others, which would allow them to rebuild the ancient Voidsoul Army that Wen Diyi had mentioned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not determine how powerful this technique had been in the hands of Progenitor Ku, but Lu Yin did know that this was not a technique that he could use.

    By bing desated, a person would be left unable to do anything. This was a technique that was highly suitable for those freaks who focused exclusively on cultivating, such as the fanatical cultivators who constantly remained in seclusion. When thinking of such people, Lu Yin instantly thought of Seruzen, who had left his right arm held up high for twenty years. That man had been left dried up and deformed long ago, and his entire body had be bronzed and skinny, looking much like a mummy. Seruzen was the ideal person to use this sort of technique.

    Lu Yin felt rather helpless; if only he had grabbed the other box instead.

    Throughout the entire ordeal, while Lu Yin believed himself to be alone, someone had been observing everything: Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    While Crown Prince Gui Qian had not killed as many corpse kings as Lu Yin or the other two, he had still ughtered enough to be shown the entirety of the Voidsoul Pce by the Voidsoul Umbre, and he had also seen the location of the secret room. He had watched as Lu Yin had taken the tribtion crystals and one of the two boxes. The two Junior Progenitors had not seen anything, but Crown Prince Gui Qian had seen Lu Yin act the thief.

    At this moment, Crown Prince Gui Qian was searching for Lu Yin.

    All of the corpse kings in the Voidsoul Pce had already been wiped out. The Voidsoul Umbre seemed to havepleted its mission, and it had begun to slowly shrink before it ultimately fell and broke through the roof of the Voidsoul Pce and dropped to the floor. Close to where it fell, the twins who were on Bai Shaohong¡¯s team were startled, as they had not expected to see the Voidsoul Umbre fall.

    The two looked at each other. They both instantly wanted to grab the umbre. After all, a major motivation to visiting the Voidsoul Pce was precisely this power vessel.

    However, just as Dong Shan was about to grab the Voidsoul Umbre, a stream of qi wrapped around the Voidsoul Umbre and pulled it away.

    The twin brothers looked up into the distance where they saw Shang Qing holding the Voidsoul Umbre in a hand. He looked quite calm.

    "Shang Qing, give it back to us!" Dong Shan shouted fiercely. Behind him, Dong He simply charged forward. The twins had already been upset at Shang Qing¡¯s presence on the team, as without him, there would have been one more person from the Celestial Frost Sect with them.

    Dong He never even considered being polite to Shang Qing. "Wind God sh."

    A violent attack swept forward to cut Shang Qing in half. This was part of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God battle technique. The sect¡¯s forte was unarmedbat.

    Shang Qing had shown no hint of surprise when facing the Four Arts, or the Wind God sh. As far as he was concerned, neither of the twins couldpare to Wang Yi¡¯s strength during ZENITH.

    The Wind God sh was a dangerous attack, and it shot straight for Shang Qing, but he easily evaded it. Dong He suddenly appeared behind Shang Qing, moving at the same speed as the previous attack. He struck a palm at Shang Qing. Both of the twins had already opened their lower meridian point, so neither of them couldpare to an ordinary Enlighter, so they both considered themselves to be at least one level superior to Shang Qing.

    However, the palm attack was useless against Shang Qing. He let the palm strike his chest, and then looked up at Dong He. A stream of qi shot forward and struck Dong He''s right shoulder, forcing him back while breaking his shoulder.

    Dong Shan jumped forward. Shock filled his eyes, and Shang Qing raised a hand. The same stream of qi short forward, but Dong Shan just waved a hand. "Yu Secret Art. Void Transfer."

    The stream of qi was diverted elsewhere.

    Shang Qing was stunned; the Yu Secret Art? If Shang Qing remembered correctly, that was Lu Yin''s secret technique, and yet the Celestial Frost Sect also had the Yu family¡¯s secret technique.

    There was another Wind God sh, this time from Dong Shan, and at the same time, Dong He pointed a finger forward to release a Celestial Being Shows the Way. The twins were teaming up to fight Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing''s expression remained as calm as ever. These twins wanted to join forces? During ZENITH, Lu Yin and Wang Yi had teamed up to deal with Shang Qing. Shang Qing would never fear being ganged up on, but things were a bit difficult at this moment, as he could not use the full power of the Tri-Yang Technique.

    Suddenly, he remembered something, and he pulled out the Voidsoul Umbre. He swung it forward like a stick, and it instantly shattered the Wind God sh and the Celestial Being Shows the Way. A shockwave erupted from the impact, and it sted Dong Shan and Dong He back a thousand meters. Both brothers coughed up blood.

    The two were furious that their opponent had just used the Voidsoul Umbre against them.

    Shang Qing was pleasantly surprised. He did not know how to use the true power of the Voidsoul Umbre, but the item itself was naturally powerful, and it could allow him to easily defeat the twins.

 Chapter 1428: Already Enough

    Chapter 1428: Already Enough

    "Shang Qing, our Junior Progenitor intended to get that Voidsoul Umbre, and yet you dare take it?" Dong Shan roared in anger.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "Before we arrived in the Dominion Realm, Junior Progenitor Bai told us that treasures will go to whoever manages to get them, so why would he intend to rob me?"

    "How bold! How dare you nder our Junior Progenitor? It sounds like you don¡¯t want to continue in this universe!" Dong He shouted fiercely.

    Shang Qing remained silent. He had never even considered staying in the Perennial World.

    "Shang Qing, give us that Voidsoul Umbre right now, and we can act as though nothing ever happened." Dong Shan spoke in a somewhat softer and persuasive tone.

    Shang Qing put the Voidsoul Umbre away again. "Sorry; can''t do that."

    Dong Shan gritted his teeth. "Do you think you can really defeat the two of us with that Voidsoul Umbre? While the Voidsoul Umbre is a power vessel with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, it¡¯s not something that ordinary people can use. Forget you, not even a junior Progenitor could use that thing¡¯s full might!. Until you be strong enough to use it properly, the best you can hope to do is use the natural strength of the power vessel like what you just did, and how long do you think you can keep that up?"

    "Not to mention, we also have our own power vessels," Dong He threatened.

    Shang Qing¡¯s eyes grew sharper. Dong Shan was right, the Voidsoul Umbre could, at best, be used like a stick by Shang Qing. It was absolutely impossible for him to reveal its full power. How could he ever manage to control a Progenitor¡¯s power? However, did Shang Qing really need the Voidsoul Umbre in order to defeat the twins?

    After a moment¡¯s thought, a murderous light filled Shang Qing''s eyes, and a stream of qi moved beneath his feet, as he had subconsciously desired to fly and reveal the godly image he was ustomed to.

    At this moment, a figure rushed out from a side of the room and punched one of the twins after the other. The brothers had not expected to be attacked so suddenly, and though they had hurried to raise some form of defenses, the attacker was too strong, and they were both knocked unconscious and sent flying in different directions.

    Shang Qing was taken aback; Yuhua Mavis?

    Indeed, the attacker had been Yuhua Mavis. The moment the power of the Voidsoul Umbre had disappeared, she had no longer had the courage to remain in the pce, and she had immediately moved to escape. As she had been leaving, she had stumbled upon the fight between Shang Qing and the twins.

    Yuhua Mavis nced at Shang Qing, and took special note of the Voidsoul Umbre in his hand, but then she simply ran off.

    By the time the twins had recovered enough to fight back, both people were gone.

    "Who attacked us?" Dong Shan was furious.

    At this time, the Voidsoul Pce began to rumble more and more violently. Walls and stone pirs began to copse, and the ceilingpletely shattered so that everyone was able to look up at the branches of the Mother Tree that covered the sky. They looked like countless mainds high in the sky.

    Everyone raced to avoid being buried in the copsing Voidsoul Pce.

    Lu Yin was also trying his best to avoid the ce where Bai Shaohong and Long Tian were fighting each other as he rushed out of the Voidsoul Pce.

    There was a terrible bang as the Voidsoul Pcepletely copsed. In one corner, Bai Shaohong and Long Tian¡¯s battle tore through the void, and a spatial tear opened up above everyone, stunning many of the youths.

    "Stop!" Long Xi shouted loudly as she raise her hand. Bai Shaohong was instantly trapped within the restraints of White Dragon Surveying the Sky, but at the same time, Yun Tingting attacked with her white smoke to trap Long Tian.

    The twins raced over to stand at Bai Shaohong''s side, while Lu Yin instinctively hurried over towards Long Tian. There was a clear delineation of the two sides.

    The Voidsoul Pce had already copsed, so everyone was exposed, including Xia Taili, Crown Prince Gui Qian, Nong Sanniang, and Wen Diyi.

    Bai Shaohong shattered the White Dragon Surveying the Sky, while Long Tian also broke free of the smoke. The two sides stood staring at each other.

    "Brother Bai, any battle between us won¡¯t end quickly." Long Tian smiled gently. He looked to maintain a friendly atmosphere.

    A smirk also appeared on Bai Shaohong''s face, and his eyesy on the box. "There¡¯s no use talking, as strength decides the oue. Sooner orter, one of us will be dered the winner, but we shouldn¡¯t fall out because of it."

    "So, how about we end things here today?" Long Tian asked. The White Dragon n stood in a different position from the Celestial Frost Sect. Even if Long Tian was rather unpopr because of his personality, he would not purposely aggravate most people. It simply looked like he was on conflicting sides with Bai Shaohong at this moment, but Long Tian knew that he needed to consider their rtionship as a view of the bigger picture.

    Bai Shaohong sped his hands behind his back. "This battle will eventually be decided, whether it¡¯s today or tomorrow. It¡¯s just a matter of whether or not it''s worth fighting."

    Long Tian¡¯s eyes narrowed. He held up the box and simply opened it up.

    Everyone stared at the box. This box held a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and no one could ignore such a thing.

    "The Ku Secret Art? A secret technique?" Long Xi eximed.

    Long Tian''s eyes revealed his surprise; the box held a secret technique.

    Across from Long Tian, Bai Shaohong felt disappointed. The Celestial Frost Sect already had the Ku Secret Art, so they had no desire for this treasure. In fact, Dong Shan hadprehended the Ku Secret Art. However, while this technique held no value for the Celestial Frost Sect, it was invaluable to other organizations. It was impossible to simply ignore whoever gained this secret technique.

    "Brother Bai, what do you say?" Long Tian asked.

    Dong Shan stepped up from behind Bai Shaohong and quietly said, "Junior Progenitor, if you allow the White Dragon n to gain this secret technique, we will have even more trouble dealing with them in the future. No matter what, this is still a secret technique."

    Bai Shaohong silently looked around. Everyone watched, even Xia Taili, who had already escaped the area. Everyone stayed silent at this moment. If Xia Shenfei had been present, he would have had a say in matters, but at the moment, Xia Shenfei did not even know where he was. He was still passed out, which left him unqualified to negotiate anything with Bai Shaohong, no matter how badly Xia Shenfei might desire the secret technique.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian seemed to be staring at the Ku Secret Art that Long Tian held, but the truth was that his focus was constantly on Long Qi. With the exception of the crown prince, no one was aware that Lu Yin had been the one to get to the inheritance first. Gui Qian had watched as Lu Yin had stolen the crystal pir and the first box, though he had not seen what had happened after that.

    He had assumed that Long Qi would be caught by Bai Shaohong and Long Tian, and had never considered that Long Qi might have the ability to escape from two Junior Progenitors while carrying a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and at the moment, Long Qi was hiding in in sight by mingling with everyone else. The man who Long Xi had been forced to marry due to pressure from the Celestial Frost Sect was the person who had hidden his strength most deeply out of everyone present.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian had no confidence of pulling off such a stunt himself and remaining perfectly hidden. There was no way this Long Qi was as simple as people believed.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes finallynded on Lu Yin, and his eyes shed with a cold light. He then looked over at Long Xi and showed a faint smile. "It¡¯s been a long time."

    Long Xi frowned. "My elder brother asked you something."

    Bai Shaohong smiled. "What would you like me to do? I''ll do whatever you say."

    The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere grew rather awkward.

    Xia Taili''s eyes lit up, and she reflexively looked over at Lu Yin, full of schadenfreude. Now that Lu Yin¡¯s wife was being teased, she wanted to see how this thick-skinned bastard would react.

    Almost everyone present was familiar with the matter between Bai Shaohong and Long Xi, so everyone went silent after he spoke.

    Long Tian instinctively nced over at Lu Yin.

    Long Xi stared back. "Junior Progenitor Bai, please show some respect."

    Bai Shaohong smiled. "I¡¯m speaking to you, so why should I need to worry about such a thing? After all, you¡¯ll be mine sooner orter."

    Everyone held their breath; this was even more tant than what had been said before.

    Xia Tali''s eyes lit up; this was so exciting! She had not expected to watch such a show!

    Behind Bai Shaohong, the woman named Yun Tingting looked at Lu Yin with curiosity. If this person was a man, there was no way he would be able to endure such humiliation!

    Shang Qing nced at Lu Yin in a strange manner; this guy was really unlucky.

    "Enough! Bai Shaohong, stop your nonsense." Long Xi had be so angry that she was not able to help herself from ncing over at Lu Yin. While she and Long Qi had been forced together by circumstances and were not yet even officially wed, he was the first thought on her mind after Bai Shaohong had said such a thing. However, unless a man was made of wood, how could any husband endure such an insult?

    Long Tian appeared to be calm and did not react in any way.

    One after another, everyone looked over at Lu Yin like he was wearing a brilliant green hat. In particr, Xia Taili¡¯s eyes were positively shining.

    Lu Yin was thoroughly upset at this moment. Did he like Long Xi? They had not spent enough time together to form any real feelings, but regardless, Long Xi was to be Lu Yin¡¯s wife, and it was unbearable to hear another manpletely disregard him in such a manner as to im Lu Yin¡¯s wife as his own while in front of Lu Yin.

    This was no longer a matter of Bai Shaohong merely ignoring offering Lu Yin any bit of respect, this was no different than Bai Shaohong stomping his feet all over Lu Yin¡¯s reputation, as well aspletely ignoring him.

    With that, Lu Yin moved forward. Long Xi¡¯s brows rose high, and she stared at Lu Yin and shouted at him, "What are you doing? Get back!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes were ice cold at this moment. "What did you say?"

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin''s cruel eyes. She did not know why, but at this moment, her heart suddenly softened. She knew what Long Qi was enduring at this moment, but even if it was a situation that was impossible to endure, he still had to do so.

    Long Xi then urged Lu Yin in a quiet, pleading tone, "Step back. He¡¯s deliberately trying to provoke you, so step back, as that is the only way you can help me right now."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. This was the first time Long Xi had ever spoken to Lu Yin in such a tone. Lu Yin had gained some understanding of Long Xi, and he knew that she was under incredible pressure from Bai Shaohong, as he was attempting to cause a conflict for any reason.

    Lu Yin suppressed his frustrations within his heart. He had almost raised a hand to attack Bai Shaohong with a Vacuum Palm, but after seeing Long Xi''s pleading eyes, Lu Yin endured his humiliation. If he made a move at this time and exposed his strength, he would be revealing that there were trespassers in the Dominion Realm, and then his only choice would be to leave. After all, Lu Yin was confident in escaping even if Long Tian and Bai Shaohong teamed up to chase after him. However, what would happen to Long Xi if he did that? The woman had a cold face, but a kind heart, and she had always treated Lu Yin very well. She would be forced to bear the consequences of Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin did not have the confidence of being able to fully resolve the situation at this time, and he could not allow Long Xi to pay the price.

    Seeing Lu Yin stop, Bai Shaohong sneered.

    Long Tian said, "Alright, Brother Bai, there¡¯s no need to say anything unnecessary. My sister is already married, and she has no future with you.

    ¡°Now, what do you n on doing about this matter?"

    Bai Shaohong nced at Lu Yin with tant contempt before looking back at Long Tian. "Long Xi has already spoken. While she was not clear with her words, I understand her intention. Given the situation, this can be treated as my gift to the White Dragon n."

    "Junior Progenitor!" Dong Shan could not stop himself from speaking up, but was stopped from saying anything further by Bai Shaohong.

    Long Tian was surprised, but nodded. He was a pragmatist who did not care about the process, only the results. "Thank you, Brother Bai."

    Bai Shaohong smiled and looked back towards Long Xi. "Are you happy?"

    Long Xi ignored Bai Shaohongpletely and walked over next to Lu Yin. "Did you forget what I told you when wepleted the first step of getting married?"

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Long Xi spoke quietly, "I told you that I don¡¯t need you to be powerful or famous, just to stay safe. After we leave this Dominion Realm, I will do my best to protect you. I only hope that you will be able to endure, because Bai Shaohong will do his best to provoke you. Keep yourself under control so that we can go back to Dragon Mountain where we will be safe."

    Lu Yin looked at the exhaustion on Long Xi''s face. He helplessly sighed. "I understand."

    Long Xi let out a sigh of relief, though in her heart, she was not able to ignore a feeling of loss. No woman would want her man to be forced to bow his head to others, but what more could she ask for? This was already the limit. Long Qi had given a much better performance than what she had ever expected. This was already enough. While he could notpare to a Junior Progenitor, it was enough.

 Chapter 1429: Extreme Strength

    Chapter 1429: Extreme Strength

    Xia Taili felt deep regret when she saw Long Qi holding back. "They didn¡¯t fight, how unfortunate. Still, how long can a man hold back?"

    She did not speak quietly, and everyone was able to hear her.

    Lu Yin raised his head to look at her.

    She defiantly red back, pretending to be contemptuous.

    Lu Yin rarely felt such anger. He looked over at Bai Shaohong, and at just that moment, Bai Shaohong looked at Lu Yin. The two stared at each other, each unable to hide their murderous intentions towards the other.

    "Eleven people are here; where¡¯s that woman?" Long Tian''s voice broke the silence as he nced around.

    Bai Shaohong averted his eyes from Lu Yin and loudly asked, "There was a woman with impressive physical strength. Who saw her before?"

    Dong Shan and Dong He nced at each other. "Junior Progenitor, when we were fighting with Shang Qing, we were attacked by a woman who fled before the Voidsoul Pce finished copsing."

    "She was certainly quick to escape¡­ Everyone, you need to remember that there¡¯s a trespasser from the Mavis family who made it here," Long Tian coldly stated.

    Everyone was caught off guard, and Lu Yin and Shang Qing reflexively nced at each other; Yuhua Mavis had already been exposed.

    Bai Shaohong frowned and looked at the twins. "What fight?"

    Dong Shan pointed at Shang Qing and sternly announced, "He snatched the Voidsoul Umbre."

    Everyone looked over at Shang Qing. So he had been the one who had managed to grab the Voidsoul Umbre.

    The Voidsoul Umbre was a treasure that had been left in the Voidsoul Pce by Progenitor Ku. It was a power vessel with the strength of at least a Semi-Progenitor, and it was invaluable. Everyone had entered the pce in hopes of obtaining the umbre. ording to legends, Progenitor Ku had mastered the mysteries of aging and immortality, and the Voidsoul Umbre held the power of resurrection when one could wield its full power.

    Shang Qing looked back at everyone withplete indifference. It was impossible to see even the slightest hint of nervousness.

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s eyes shed as he looked at Shang Qing. "The rules of this ce say that treasures belong to whomever grabs them.¡±

    He then looked at Long Tian and the others. "Shang Qing managed to pick up the Voidsoul Umbre, so no one should have any intentions of stealing it."

    Long Tian casually replied, "Right now, I want to find that mouse."

    Bai Shaohong turned to look at Xia Taili. "Where''s Brother Shenfei? Has he not yet arrived? Or is he here but has stayed hidden?"

    Xia Taili arched a brow. "Bai Shaohong, what do you mean?"

    Bai Shaohong indifferently replied, "While we were in the Voidsoul Pce, a rat slipped away from and stole some things before we were able to get a look. Judging by their strength, it could only have been either Brother Shenfei or Wang Su."

    "Are you looking down on us?" Xia Taili gritted her teeth, and she adapted a posture that shouted that she was ready to do anything at any moment.

    Lu Yin was left speechless; there was something wrong with her head! This was not the point!

    "What else was part of the inheritance aside from that box?" Nong Sanniang was surprised at this reveal.

    Bai Shaohong looked over at her. "Where''s Wang Su?"

    Nong Sanniang pointed in a particr direction. "I saw her sted that way."

    Seeing the direction, the expressions of Bai Shaohong, Long Tian, and Xia Taili all changed at the same time, and a hint of urgency flickered in their eyes.

    Wang Su had been sent in the direction of the destination indicated on the map. There was something in that direction, and Wang Su could not be allowed to seize it.

    Bai Shaohong and Long Tian both looked at each other. "Looks like things are about to speed up."

    Long Tian nodded. Suddenly, he attacked. He waved a hand, and five coin-shaped tokens flew out to surround Nong Sanniang and trap her within the White Dragon Surveying the Sky.

    Nobody had expected Long Tian to attack so suddenly.

    At the same time, Bai Shaohong did not dy, either. He stabbed a finger forward, and attacked Crown Prince Gui Qian with a Celestial Being Shows the Way. A ck mist erupted from the prince. ¡°I knew you couldn¡¯t be trusted!"

    As he spoke, bones emerged from his back and spread out, shing with Bai Shaohong''s Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    "Attack! Take care of Crown Prince Gui Qian and Nong Sanniang!" Long Tian shouted fiercely as he spun his spear around before thrusting it straight at Nong Sanniang.

    The two Junior Progenitors want to eliminate these two people.

    Nong Sanniang frowned. "We¡¯ll leave first."

    As she spoke, an iparably massive hoe appeared in her hand. She swung it and it smashed down.

    It was readily apparent that the hoe was a power vessel, and it was also clearly much stronger than the one she had used before. Not only did the hoe shatter the White Dragon Surveying the Sky, it also smashed into Long Tian¡¯s spear.

    Long Tian was not able to retract his spear in time, and it was pushed back by the hoe.

    Nong Sanniang wanted to escape, but it would not be easy. As soon as she tried to flee, Long Tian pursued. ¡°Sanniang, given our friendship, I won¡¯t hurt you. If Bai Shaohong came after you, things would be different for you."

    Nong Sanniang snorted. "The four ruling powers are all the same, and there can be no friendship with them!"

    She continued to wave her hoe about even as she spoke. "Plowing the Land!"

    The hoe mmed down as she released a loud shout.

    The void was torn open. It was obvious that the hoe was a power vessel with a strength that surpassed an Envoy, and it had a powerful recoil. Not only did the attack notnd on Long Tian, Nong Sanniang herself was injured by the recoil.

    Long Tian waved his hand once again, and Nong Sanniang was again trapped within the White Dragon Surveying the Sky.

    On the other side, Bai Shaohong was even more fierce as he attacked Crown Prince Gui Qian. Celestial Being Shows the Ways rained down, shattering the bones that the prince brought out.

    Dong Shan and Dong He joined forces and used the Mountain and Sea Banner to fiercely attack the prince as well.

    Xia Taili suddenly made a move as well. Her power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt moved and quickly incapacitated and trapped Dong Shan and Dong He, removing them from the battlefield. At the same time, Xia Taili used her secret technique to ce a lock onto Bai Shaohong for the second time.

    Bai Shaohong indifferently nced over at Xia Taili. "You¡¯re just asking to die right now."

    Xia Taili sneered. "You think I¡¯m an idiot? As soon as you deal with them, you¡¯lle after me!¡±

    The moment she finished speaking, smoke shot up from her feet and wrapped around her like a chain. Xia Taili frowned. "Yun Tingting, you really stepped in it this time!"

    Yun Tingting responded with a smile. "You attacked Junior Progenitor Bai, so I have to move against you. Sorry."

    "You must really think that my Taizi generation is nothing but a joke!" As she spoke, her right had covered her face while a stream of energy gathered over her hand. She adopted a unique posture.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had seen this pose before, as both Wu Taibai and Shang Qing had used it during ZENITH.

    "Divine Martial Armor." Xia Taili''s aura instantly changed drastically, and she gave off the feeling of a goddess of war. She waved a hand and tore through the smoke. She aimed a hand at Yun Tingting, and the energy shot forward.

    Yun Tingting''s expression changed. She wanted to retreat, but found that the energy that made up the Divine Martial Armor had congealed the area, and she felt as though she was trapped in a swamp. There was no way for her to retreat.

    The attack struck Yun Tingting, but Xia Taili did not seem at all happy about it. Instead, she grew even more upset than before. "Just another avatar! Yun Tingting, you¡¯re too sneaky!"

    At this moment, another stream of qi shot through the air, but his one was attacking Xia Taili.

    The girl was startled, and she waved a hand to send out the energy of her Divine Martial Armor to sh with the stream of qi. The attacking qi was easily shattered, but it quickly recovered. Shang Qing had attacked.

    Xia Taili furiously red at Shang Qing.

    Bai Shaohong ignored the other battle. He broke the secret technique that had trapped him by breaking the lock. He did not know when Crown Prince Gui Qian had moved in front of him, but the prince locked his strange eyes onto the Junior Progenitor, and Bai Shaohong''s pupils shrank in an instant. An image of a ghost appeared in his mind, and an inexplicable, boundless fear filled him.

    Lu Yin watched the battle between Bai Shaohong and the Crown Prince Gui Qian. The moment that the prince had locked his eyes onto Bai Shaohong, Lu Yin had already known that the Specter n¡¯s eye technique had been used.

    Even if Lu Yin believed that Bai Shaohong would end up overpowering the prince, he did not expect the Junior Progenitor to have an easy time of shaking off the Specter n¡¯s eye technique. Yet the prince was the one to break first, and he let out a wail. The fear left Bai Shaohong¡¯s eyes, and they grew sharp and bright once more. "Who gave you the courage to use an eye technique on me?"

    As he spoke, he ced a hand against the prince''s chest. There was a loud bang, and Crown Prince Gui Qian spat out blood and he was sent tumbling through the air.

    Bai Shaohong did not stop his attack. It was unknown if it was intentional, or if he was not thinking clearly at the moment. Regardless, his right hand rose and his index finger pointed at the void. It seemed as though the void had been frozen. The finger then swept to the side. It stopped after moving about half a meter, and then suddenly moved in the opposite direction back to where it had started.

    For a moment, everyone just felt an ufortable sensation from the surrounding space growing unstable.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed and his back grew cold.

    He watched as Bai Shaohong attacked again with his finger. The second attack ovepped with the first attack, and a ck line appeared between the two points that had been the starting and stopping points of the two attacks. In the blink of an eye, the line grew. It sliced through space and Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s body.

    This attack shed through the void. This was not the same as how the void normally broke, but a very clean an precise cut through space. The slice continued a long ways, and unless it was used against an Envoy, resistance would be pointless and the attack would simply wipe out everyone in its path.

    Long Tian, Xia Taili, and everyone else froze as they saw this scene. They were ovee with astonishment and fear at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ultimate technique: Void Rip.

    This was an attack that truly could open the day.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was sliced apart by the attack, and his body fell to the ground that was quickly dyed red.

    Everyone went silent. There was fear in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at Bai Shaohong, as this attack was truly too powerful.

    Bai Shaohong pulled his hand back and turned his head to look at Long Tian. Already there was a smile on Bai Shaohong¡¯s lips.

    Long Tian''s eyes grew sharp. This had been a demonstration made for him, and since that was the case, he could not afford to be underestimated.

    In front of Long Tian, Nong Sanniang''s face was still painted with her shock. Long Tian told her, "Sanniang, for the sake of our families¡¯ friendship, I won¡¯t kill you. However, I will stop you from participating in the next fight."

    After he finished speaking, he spread apart the fingers of a hand, and then curled them as though grabbing something.

    Nong Sanniang went pale and she fled.

    Long Tian''s hand transformed into what looked like a dragon''s ws. The ws twisted the void like a curtain that Long Tian then grabbed hold of.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell wide open as he stared at this scene in disbelief; Long Tian had just grabbed hold of space itself?

    Long Tian flicked a hand to hurl the void he had grabbed hold of towards Nong Sanniang. She spun around and counter attacked with her hoe-shaped power vessel, but she was not able to touch the void. The void was invisible, but it struck her stomach. Nong Sanniang spat out blood as she flew through the air. While she was still in mid-air, Long Tian waved his hand again, and the invisible void mmed into Nong Sanniang¡¯s back, sending her spinning through the air.

    She was mercilessly beaten like a sandbag.

    Lu Yin was badly startled; how could Long Tian possess an innate power of space?

    Everyone else was simrly shocked speechless, including even Bai Shaohong. He had already known that Long Tian possessed a hidden innate gift, but Bai Shaohong had never expected it to be an innate gift of space.

    Can an innate gift of space be mastered in such a way? No, Big Sister said that space and time are the most mysterious powers, so how could Long Tian master an innate gift of space? If it¡¯s not space, then what is it?

    Bai Shaohong refused to believe that Long Tian had mastered an innate gift of space.

    Nong Sanniang miserably crumpled to the ground. She was still coughing up blood as she looked up at Long Tian in shock. "You- space?"

 Chapter 1430: Faking Death

    Chapter 1430: Faking Death

    Long Tian looked down at Nong Sanniang and replied, "Don''t resist. I know that the Nong family¡¯s secret technique is difficult to deal with, and also that you¡¯re very talented, but the attack just now seriously injured you. Even if you manage to escape, you still won¡¯t be able to participate in the next battle."

    Nong Sanniang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth as she stared up at Long Tian. "I just want to know if the person who defeated me has an innate gift of space."

    Even disregarding Nong Sanniang, everyone else wanted to know as well.

    A smile appeared on Long Tian''s face. "Yes."

    Everyone was shocked; so he really did have an innate gift of space.

    Lu Yin frowned; Long Tian had an innate gift of space? That was truly unique.

    Long Xi''s expression remained calm. There was actually a trace of ridicule in the depths of her eyes, but no one noticed it.

    Bai Shaohong''s expression changedpletely as he looked at Long Tian. "No wonder you didn¡¯t reveal your innate gift during the Yuanlun Festival. It turns out to be something so terrifying."

    Long Tian looked back at Bai Shaohong. "I''m sorry Brother Bai, but my innate gift is rather difficult to master, and it¡¯s easy to kill my opponents if I¡¯m not careful."

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s gaze grew sharp.

    "Also, Brother Bai, your innate gift still hasn¡¯t been revealed," Long Tian continued.

    Bai Shaohong smiled. "It¡¯s nothing worth even mentioning."

    "Really?" Long Tian also smiled. An innate gift that was not worth mentioning? Only an idiot would believe such a im.

    Nong Sanniang no longer had any ns to resist, and Crown Prince Gui Qian had already been killed. At the moment, Xia Taili was the only person who was not part of the two teams that were fully present.

    Everyone turned to look at Xia Taili.

    Xia Taili¡¯s hair was in disarray, and the Divine Martial Armor had disappeared from her body. It looked like she had epted her fate. ¡°This is too much. There are too many people here to go against."

    Long Tian smiled as he said, "Don''t worry, we won''t hurt you."

    He raised a hand and the White Dragon Survey¡¯s the Sky trapped the girl. With that, Long Tian turned to look at Wen Diyi.

    Wen Diyi attacked, and the seven-fold Literary Prison appeared and wrapped around the White Dragon Surveying the Sky.

    After that, smoke appeared as Yun Tingting raised her hand. The cloud of smoke shot forward and enveloped the Literary Prison.

    Three different trapping techniques had been used topletely block Xia Taili.

    Xia Taili''s power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt was able to defend and protect her, but it had no attacking power that could ovee the techniques that had locked her in ce.

    Long Xi walked over to Xia Taili and extended her hand. "Give it to me."

    Xia Taili blinked and acted ignorant. "What?"

    Long Xi casually replied, "Give me your cosmic ring."

    Xia Taili eximed, "You want to steal my cosmic ring? You must be dreaming! This is too much! Since when did the White Dragon n be a bunch of thieves? Long Xi, you''ve really fallen! You taught you to do this?"

    Long Xi remained perfectly calm. "Cosmic ring."

    Xia Taili angrily retorted, "Long Xi, don''t forget that you¡¯re a princess! How can you act like a bandit? What does the White Dragon n get out of this? You¡¯re still trying to bully me! I¡¯m just a weak girl, and I don¡¯t have anything good in there. Just go away! Go away!"

    Long Xi just stared at the other girl. "I¡¯ll give it to Xia Shenfei, so just give me your cosmic ring."

    Everyone was staring at Xia Taili. No one could know if she had any power vessels in her cosmic ring that could attack and break through the trapping techniques that bound her.

    The truth was that she did have such a thing. She had believed that these people had forgotten about such a possibility, and had not expected Long Xi to be so cautious. Xia Taili gritted her teeth and red at Long Xi. "Just you wait! I won''t give up! I¡¯ll remember this!"

    She then turned to re at Lu Yin. "And you, you shameless bastard! You dared to take advantage of me, and I¡¯ll tell my big brother what happened."

    Everyone turned to stare nkly at Lu Yin; he had taken advantage of the girl?

    Even Long Xi was frozen for a moment, and she instinctively turned to look at Lu Yin. Her eyes gradually grew colder and sharper.

    Lu Yin felt somewhat speechless. "Please don¡¯t confuse things. Didn¡¯t I just make use of your power vessel to escape the creatures that were chasing us? Brother Wen can vouch for me."

    Wen Diyi spoke up, "That¡¯s right, don''t try to cause any misunderstandings."

    Everyone¡¯s attention reverted back to Xia Taili. What a pity that this was the case. Things would have been more interesting with such a scandal.

    Long Xi''s expression was far more unhappy when she turned back to look at Xia Taili. "Hurry up and give me your cosmic ring."

    Xia Tai snorted. "Just wait! A whole group of people are bullying me; my big brother won''t let this go!"

    With that, she finally removed her cosmic ring and threw it on the ground before stomping on it with both of her feet.

    Long Xi made a random gesture and collected the cosmic ring. She then turned around and walked away without even taking another look at Xia Taili.

    Long Tian nced at Xia Taili and Nong Sanniang onest time before taking the lead and leaving the area.

    Bai Shaohong and his team also started off in the same direction.

    Before long, both teams were gone.

    Xia Taili just kept cursing and muttering to herself.

    Close by, Nong Sanniang had also been trapped within a White Dragon Surveying the Sky and a Literary Prison. The difference between the two girls was that Nong Sanniang had been badly injured and needed to treat herself.

    "Don''t be upset. From their position, this was the right move to make, and we were just unlucky," Nong Sanniang said in a helpless manner. She was very open about the situation. "At least it¡¯s better than death."

    When this was said, Xia Taili subconsciously looked over at Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s corpse. That guy had been truly unlucky.

    Huh? No, Xia Taili noticed something as she stared at the. "Sanniang, look. Isn''t the blood from corpse a bit too red?"

    Nong Sanniang turned to look as well, and her expression changed. Sure enough, the blood was too red. While it was true that blood was red, it would gradually darken after leaving a body, and would no longer remain a bright red.

    "Crown Prince Gui Qian, get out here! You aren¡¯t dead!" Nong Sanniang shouted loudly.

    Xia Taili felt horrified. The prince had managed to be cut in half, and yet had not died? This really lived up to Specter Abyss¡¯s reputation.

    Suddenly, the severed corpse of Crown Prince Gui Qian thaty some distance away moved, and the two pieces started moving closer to each other. Finally, as the two women stared in horror, the two pieces merged together, and Crown Prince Gui Qian''s closed eyes opened. His gaze was steady.

    What?

    Xia Taili screamed as though she had just seen a ghost.

    Nong Sanniang''s face also went pale. "So, you really weren¡¯t dead."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian moved his arm. "It''s easy to fake death."

    "Bullshit!" Nong Sanniang said angrily. She would also have wanted to y dead, but she did not have the ability to pull it off.

    "You- how did you pull that off? Bai Shaohong isn¡¯t stupid." Xia Taili felt like everything was off kilter, as if she was looking at a ghost.

    Gui Qian casually replied, "My body was just cut in two. It wasn¡¯t a big deal."

    Xia Taili and Nong Sanniang went silent. Not a big deal? If it was that easy to fake death, then no one would ever die.

    Bai Shaohong''s attack had not only cut the prince¡¯s body in two, it had also severed space itself. Even if someone wanted to reconnect the two severed pieces, it would be impossible. It was no different from the concept of someone being burned to ashes and then hoping to be resurrected. Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s aplishment was equal to such an impossibility.

    It could only be said that everyone had underestimated the power of Specter Abyss. Everyone had long feared Specter Abyss, and even the four ruling powers had suppressed that organization. The younger generation had not understood that sense of fear before, but at this moment, the two women were able to understand a bit. Even Bai Shaohong had been deceived by Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s act.

    "Alright, now we need to make a deal." Crown Prince Gui Qian looked at Xia Taili. "I know you have a map of where everyone¡¯s heading. Give it to me, and I¡¯ll promise you one thing."

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "You must be an idiot. You want to follow them?"

    He lightly responded, "I¡¯d have to be dreaming to want to follow two Junior Progenitors without being discovered."

    "d to hear you know that much," Xia Taili retorted.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian grew more serious. "I promise you that I will help Xia Shenfei at the destination they¡¯re all headed for. This is what I will promise."

    Xia Taili felt moved. At this moment, Bai Shaohong''s team wasplete. While Long Tian was missing someone from his team, there was no guarantee that the missing person would rejoin them. On the other hand, Wang Su''s team was missing two people, and Xia Taili¡¯s older brother''s team was missing one person. If Crown Prince Gui Qian helped her big brother, it would be no different from Wang Su''s team missing three members, while Xia Taili¡¯s brother¡¯s team would beplete. He would hold aplete advantage.

    Nong Sanniang frowned. "Crown Prince Gui Qian, Wang Su brought you here. If you¡¯re willing to betray others so easily, who will ever be willing to trust Specter Abyss in the future?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian waspletely indifferent. "I forced Wang Su to bring me here. That¡¯s the only reason she didn¡¯t bring someone else. Besides, what happens in the future has nothing to do with me."

    Nong Sanniang continued to press, "Since you¡¯re willing to betray Wang Su right now, what guarantee can you offer that you¡¯ll help Xia Shenfei in the fight after getting the map?"

    Xia Taili grew wary. "That¡¯s right."

    The prince looked up. "Even if I don''t help Xia Shenfei, I¡¯ll still be seen as an enemy by Bai Shaohong and Long Tian. The enemy of an enemy is a friend."

    Xia Taili started considering the matter.

    The prince waited quietly.

    After a while, Xia Taili gritted her teeth and gave the map to the prince. She had not kept the map in her cosmic ring, but in her hand. ¡°Remember, you promised me that you¡¯ll help my brother. Even if you aren¡¯t able to help my brother, you still have to act against Bai Shaohong. Show them they messed up."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian agreed, "Don''t worry, Bai Shaohong already killed me once."

    With that, he started following the map and headed in the same direction as Long Tian and the others.

    As she stared at Crown Prince Gui Qian''s disappearing back, Nong Sanniang asked, "Do you actually believe him?"

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "Only an Idiot would believe him. Still, he¡¯ll definitely cause some trouble for Bai Shaohong, and that¡¯s good enough."

    Nong Sanniang nodded.

    Bai Shaohong had not considered that Crown Prince Gui Qian could resurrect himself from such an injury. Actually, the prince¡¯s primary target after he had recovered was not Bai Shaohong, but Lu Yin. The prince had not revealed what he had seen Long Qi do in the pce, not even when everyone had attacked him. He wanted to deal with this matter on his own.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was also in a bit of trouble because Yuhua Mavis had been exposed as a trespasser.

    When Long Tian asked about Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Yuhua Mavis, all that Lu Yin could say was that he did not know the woman. As for the help he had received from Yuhua Mavis with exposing the Guan brothers as Redbacks, Lu Yin was forced to swallow a bitter fruit.

    This was all Guan Hai''s fault, as even when he had been dying, he had tried to drag Lu Yin down as well.

    "Brother, what are you trying to say?" Long Xi asked coldly.

    Long Tian¡¯s team had already traveled a ways towards their destination, and Long Tian had started talking as they traveled. "I just don''t want the White Dragon n to end up getting involved because of that woman. You should already know how despicable those trespassers from the Forsaken Land are. If not for them, the Perennial World would likely have a few more Progenitors."

    Long Xi frowned. "This isn¡¯t the time to talk about this."

    Long Tian stared at Lu Yin for a moment before redirecting his attention forward.

    Lu Yin felt guilty, and he subconsciously nced over at Long Xi, who happened to be looking at him at the same time as well.

    Long Tian was unaware, but Long Xi knew that Lu Yin was not actually from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families. However, she had not once asked Lu Yin about his origins, not even when they had first met.

    Long Xi was the princess of the White Dragon n, which meant that she was part of the four ruling powers, and thus held a respected status. This was why she had never cared about Lu Yin¡¯s background, as an ordinary cultivator was not worth her attention. Her reaction had beenpletely normal.

    However, Lu Yin was fully confident that she would conduct a thorough investigation into his background as soon as they returned from the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin had acted in a brazen manner from when he had joined Humility''s Gate. He had arrested traitors and Redbacks, which were aplishments that ordinary people could not pull off. There had been too many coincidences for it to just be a matter of luck.

    Lu Yin might not be able to escape Long Xi¡¯s interrogations after returning from the Dominion Realm, and that gave him a headache.

    Even at this moment, Long Xi was staring at Lu Yin with aplicated expression that held a hint of wariness.

 Chapter 1431: Revealed

    Chapter 1431: Revealed

    Somewhere not too far away, Bai Shaohong''s team was not calm. The Dong twins had already be cautious of Shang Qing, and Bai Shaohong was no different. The Junior Progenitor had even secretly asked Yun Tingting to keep an eye on Shang Qing.

    Shang Qing remained as calm as ever. So what if they were wary of him? He was their enemy, and they would discover the truth sooner orter.

    At least for the moment, Bai Shaohong would not attack.

    This was all thanks to Long Tian, who had revealed his innate gift of space, which had left Bai Shaohong feeling quite envious.

    A bit in front of the two teams, Liu Tianmu and Unseen Light had met. They had both been sent flying in this direction, and had finally met each other.

    "Ten people were sent here, but only a few of us managed to get into the Dominion Realm. No wonder Arch-Elder Zen told us that not everything could be forced," Unseen Lightmented.

    Liu Tianmu looked around. Suddenly, a massive desated creature pupped up from beneath her feet. It burst upwards like an earthworm, only to be chopped to pieces by her sword.

    "The biggest thing right now is that we got separated from our teams, and now I don¡¯t even have a chance to participate,." Unseen Lightined.

    Liu Tianmu was a cold person, and typically did not say much. "If you don''t know where to go, then just wait."

    There were many of the dry creatures in this ce, and a group of them would periodically rush over to attack the humans.

    After half a day, Unseen Light frowned. "It''s been an hour, but no more of the withered creatures have attacked. Something¡¯s not right."

    He then unleashed his domain to envelope the surrounding area. The domain continued to expand, but then suddenly, Unseen Light¡¯s expression froze. "There are a bunch of the dried up creatures moving over to the right. What happened over there?"

    Liu Tianmu stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    It didn''t take long for the two youths to find the dry creatures. All of them were traveling further to the right, as though summoned by something.

    Before long, they saw a great number of corpses of the desated creatures, and the bodies trailed off to the south. The ground was riddled with marks of battle and the piles of dead bark. Of the various marks, the ones from a sword were the most concerning to Liu Tianmu.

    Her eyes shed. "These are marks from Liu Hao''s sword, so the team from Shenwu¡¯s Sky should be heading south."

    Up a long ways ahead of the two, arge number of the withered creatures were roaring. Xia Shenfei was still drunk and floating through the air. He was followed by Wu Taibai and Yao Xuan, and the three were traveling south.

    As they traveled, they ughtered countless dry creatures, but finally, they were approaching the location indicated on the map.

    Since Xia Shenfei was still unconscious, Xia Taili was not the only member of this team with a map. Wu Taibai had also been given a map in order to avoid any idents.

    At this moment, Xia Taili was missing, and Wu Taibai''s map was the only thing guiding them towards their destination.

    An attack from a Divine Martial Armor shot out, and it shattered a massive dry creature. Wu Taibai dropped his hand. There were corpses everywhere, and all of the creatures that had caught up to their team had been wiped out.

    Yao Xuan gasped and turned to look at Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai looked over as well. "Brother Yao Xuan is powerful. It¡¯s rare toe across a peer with your strength."

    Yao Xuan frowned. This person was deliberately pretending not to recognize Yao Xuan, which was very strange. Wu Taibai was clearly someone from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, yet did not seem to care about the fact that Yao Xuan was a trespasser.

    "Brother Wu''s Divine Martial Armor is also very impressive," Yao Xuan said.

    After the two exchanged polite nothings, Yao Xuan fell silent and they group continued southwards.

    Further ahead of them, there was a bumpy section of the branch that happened at a Y in the branch. The terrain in this region was rugged, and the bumps formed what seemed to be gentle mountains. The sky was also hidden by thick leaves, which gave the region a bleak appearance.

    A slender woman stood in a high ce in his region, and she was staring off into the distance. She was Wang Su.

    When the barrier in the ancient battlefield had been shattered, the resulting explosion had sted Wang Su all the way to this point, which ced her far ahead of all of the others.

    She looked at her map, and her eyes shed. "It''s here."

    She jumped down.

    The maps that everyone was using were guiding people to just past the rough section at the Y in the branch. Wang Su had already noticed the entrance. She did not know what her destination was, but she entered into the depths of the branch, which was where the maps had been guiding everyone.

    Suddenly, Wang Su jumped back out of the hole that appeared in the fork in the branch. She moved to the side while still in mid-air, and a green liquid appeared where she had just been, and it continued shooting far into the distance.

    She turned to see a caterpir the size of a hill. It looked like a caterpir that would typically be norger than a finger that would live and wriggle across a tree. However, this was a caterpir that lived on the Mother Tree, and it was the size of a small mountain. Its massive ck eyes were locked onto Wang Su. The bug opened its mouth and spat out more of the green liquid.

    This green liquid was able to warp the void and corrode even the air.

    Wang Su frowned. A terrible disgust filled her eyes.

    The void twisted and a sharp wind flickered through the area. The caterpir¡¯s body was cut, and it started violently thrashing, which only seemed to gross Wang Su out even more. She unleashed a star energy attack from her palm, and it sted out before her and annihted the bug. Only after it waspletely gone did she let out a sigh of relief.

    No matter who they were, anyone would be disturbed to encounter such a gross bug, let alone one that was so big.

    When she looked down, she was able to see that the caterpir had not been alone. More of the bugs had sensed her from the distance, and they had all started wriggling towards her. They would soon surround her.

    Wang Su''s eyes went cold. Her pupils fluctuated between dting and shrinking, and then, suddenly, invisible waves erupted from her body and radiated out in all directions, sweeping over the bugs.

    The caterpirs all stared at her in a clearly frightened manner, and then they all turned and left. It was as though they had seen something terrible.

    After all the bugs were all gone, Wang Su felt relieved. They were truly revolting.

    She lowered her head to look into the hole in the branch, and then jumped in without any hesitation. She was entering the location that was indicated on her map.

    One dayter, Xia Shenfei¡¯s team arrived at the same fork in the branch.

    There was a thud as Xia Shenfei fell to the ground. His head mmed into the ground, and he woke up with a scream.

    "Who? Who hit me?" Xia Shenfei jumped up, clearly angry. His face was flushed, and though his eyes were open, they still danced about. It was clear that he was still drunk.

    His body was unstable, and if onepared him to Bai Shaohong or Long Tian, Xia Shenfei seemed like a rather normal cultivator.

    However, no one would dare underestimate Xia Shenfei. He was Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s most outstanding youth, and he had seeded in cultivating a technique that no one had managed to master for thousands of years. He had also mastered secret techniques and had a strange innate gift. No one actually knew just how strong the young man was, as even when he had fought during the Yuanlun Festival, the four who had qualified to be the Junior Progenitors had merely tied with each other.

    Wu Taibai felt rather helpless when he saw Xia Shenfei in this state. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived."

    Xia Shenfei blinked and stared nkly at Wu Taibai. "Hey, what''s going on? Wait, Wu Taibai? When did you get back? Didn''t you betray us?"

    Wu Taibai replied, "We''ve arrived at the ce in the Dominion Realm that was indicated on the map."

    He raised a hand, and water formed that then sshed into Xia Shenfei''s face.

    Xia Shenfei was drenched by the cold water, and it finally woke him up. He vigorously shook his head and looked back at Wu Taibai before looking over at Liu Hao and Yao Xuan. After that, he immediately asked, "Where''s my sister?"

    "I don''t know where she fell," Wu Taibai replied.

    Xia Shenfei instantly grew furious and he grabbed the front of Wu Taibai''s shirt. "You dropped my sister? That¡¯s how you treat my sister."

    Liu Hao stood next to Wu Taibai, and he drew his sword and stopped Xia Shenfei. There was a pulse of star energy, and Xia Shenfei was shaken back a few steps, and even nearly fell. "We ran into an ancient battlefield, and when there was an explosion in that ce, everyone was thrown in different directions, and we were separated.¡±

    Xia Shenfei massaged his temples. "I really can''t drink so much of that Baihuaxing wine. It had a strange look that seemed more like poison, and drinking it even felt like drinking poison. I¡¯ve even got a hangover."

    Yao Xuan shot an odd look at Xia Shenfei. This was not a matter of having a hangover. From the moment that Yao Xuan had first stepped foot onto the Junior Progenitor, this guy had been drunk most of the time. He had only been sober a few times, and he seemedpletely unreliable.

    "We lost my sister? What about the others? Where''s that bastard Bai Shaohong? Also, where¡¯s that old man Long Tian and that ice cube, Wang Su?" Xia Shenfei asked.

    Liu Hao replied, "I don''t know, and I don''t need to know."

    Xia Shenfei rubbed his temples once again. "Then, who are those two people following us? You should know."

    The faces of Wu Taibai and the other two all changed as they whirled around; someone was following them?

    A distance back, Liu Tianmu and Unseen Light¡¯s hearts stopped. The next moment, Xia Shenfei lifted his head. It seemed as though he peered through the void itself, and his eyes locked onto the two youths.

    "I''ve been seen," Unseen Light said quietly.

    As soon he finished speaking, sword qi swept through the air in front of the two. Liu Hao had attacked.

    Liu Tianmu moved forward. She held her sword and counter-attacked. She used the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword.

    The two sword qis shed and canceled each other out. The collision erupted and a shockwave sted out in all directions.

    At this moment, arge amount of a green liquid fell down from above, targeting Xia Shenfei and his team, as well as Liu Tianmu.

    Xia Shenfei looked up to see a mountain-sized bug with its mouth open. "That¡¯s disgusting."

    As he spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist and released a punch. Divine Martial Armor appeared over his body and the energy shot out. It pierced through the green liquid and also through the bug. The massive body shattered, but it just caused more of the green liquid to rain down.

    Unseen Light quickly blocked the liquid with his domain, and at the same time, Yao Xuan also swept it away with his spiritual force. In the end, no one was covered by the green liquid.

    Liu Hao charged towards Liu Tianmu and ordered, "Pull back."

    Liu Tianmu looked up at him. "I''ve long since wanted to trade pointers with the Liu family¡¯s most talented descendant."

    When she spoke, the two were already less than 100 meters apart.

    Liu Hao''s swordsmanship was strange, though it did carry a sturdy strength and an impressive level of skill. His sword stabbed out, and the attack caused people to feel like someone was stabbing their back. Liu Tianmu instantly responded with the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Tenth Sword: Star yer.

    There was a bang as the two des smashed into each other. Sword qi swept out for thousands of miles, and it tore through the piles of bark that had umted atop the branch. Each strand of sword qi sliced through with a sharpness that would cause anyone¡¯s scalp to go numb, Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai, who were watching. The two had to retreat in the face of this overwhelming sword qi.

    This was not because they were scared, but rather because standing up to the shockwave was not worth the effort needed.

    Xia Shenfei eximed, "What an amazing girl! Right, those two seem to know each other."

    No one replied. Wu Taibai and Yao Xuan did not know what Liu Tianmu had decided to call herself in the Perennial World, so they could not freelyment on this matter.

    Liu Hao had also wanted to fight Liu Tianmu for a long time, but this was not the proper moment. "You and I are representing the Liu family in the Dominion Realm. Do you really want to fight me?"

    Liu Tianmu''s de swayed against Liu Hao''s sword qi. Human and sword became one; sword and domain merged, and then human and domain became one. This was the Fourth Sword, and it swept out sideways.

    Liu Hao''s eyes lit up. He had not yet used any sort of powerful sword technique, yet he had still been able to shatter Liu Tianmu¡¯s Fourth Sword, and had shed through the Tenth Sword. When it came to swordsmanship, he outssed Liu Tianmu.

    "You shouldn''t have blocked my attack," Liu Tianmu said solemnly.

    Liu Hao shouted, "This opportunity belongs to only the four Junior Progenitors! Anyone who stands in their way is an enemy! You can¡¯t change this. If you go down there, you¡¯ll die. Pull back!"

    Behind Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light had not yet made any moves. It was clear that there were four people in the other party, yet only Liu Hao had been sent to deal with Unseen Light and Liu Tianmu. If Unseen Light took part, then he might instigate the other three with Liu Hao to join the fight.

 Chapter 1432: Origin

    Chapter 1432: Origin

    Unfortunately, things did not proceed as Unseen Light had predicted; Xia Shenfei stepped in. "It''s just a hangover, so I should work it off a bit."

    After thisment, his expressionpletely changed, and his originally yful expression changed to one of indifference that was full of murderous intent. ¡°Don''t me me if you die.¡±

    The moment Xia Shenfei attacked, there was a tremendous boom. Unseen Light suppressed the entire region with his domain without any hesitation. The terrifying domain far surpassed anything his peers were capable of, and the full force of it caused the ground to tremble, and the cast off bark that had piled up on the branch moved as though it were alive. The items flew through the sky and burrowed through the ground. This was the spiritual manifestation realm of a domain.

    Xia Shenfei easily scattered all attacks that drew close to him. He bent his middle finger and gently flicked a finger. The energy of his Divine Martial Armor had been concentrated between his fingers, and it shot out and pierced through the void towards Unseen Light.

    Suddenly, Unseen Light opened his eyes, and his domain enveloped everyone within. Everything around him, even Xia Shenfei, was pressed to the ground, and Unseen Light took this time to evade the energy from the finger flick.

    Even Xia Shenfei needed to be cautious once Unseen Light released the full power of his domain. Liu Hao gave Unseen Light an appraising look, while also wondering just how this person had ended up traveling with Liu Tianmu.

    When Xia Shenfei reappeared, he was surrounded by ck. It was as though the space around him had been isted, and he seemed cut off on all sides. This was the ck Coffin Secret Art.

    As spikes emerged from the ck coffin, Liu Hao forced Liu Tianmu back with his sword. The swordsman was quite surprised to see such a strange secret technique.

    Behind, Wu Taibai frowned. The secret was out.

    Blood could be seen on the ck coffin¡¯s spikes, and everyone stared at it.

    Unseen Light felt uncertain that his ck Coffin had severely injured Xia Shenfei. Could it be so easy to injure a Junior Progenitor?

    "An unknown secret technique. In that case, you must be a trespasser." Xia Shenfei''s voice was heard from behind Unseen Light, and his scalp went numb. The terrible danger he felt at this moment caused Unseen Light to reveal his never before seen innate gift, and a ck ball appeared in front of him.

    Xia Shenfei swung a hand at Unseen Light¡¯s forehead, but the moment the hand drew close, the Divine Martial Armor covering the hand suddenly reversed directions. It was being drawn the ck ball. This ball had an attractive force; it was gravity.

    Although Unseen Light had reacted very quickly and had even revealed his innate gift of gravity, Xia Shenfei''s attack still managed tond on Unseen Light¡¯s shoulder, and it sent him flying back.

    A 100 meter mark was left on the ground from Unseen Light¡¯s feet as he struggled to stop himself. He felt an excruciating pain from his left shoulder. He looked at Xia Shenfei. "How could that be?"

    Unseen Light was not alone, as Liu Tianmu and Yao Xuan were both shocked as well.

    Wu Taibai let out a long breath. "Shenwu''s Sky''s greatest inheritance: the Nine Clones Technique."

    Yao Xuan¡¯s pupils shrank the moment he heard this. "What did you say? Nine Clones Technique?"

    The gravity ball disappeared from in front of Xia Shenfei. He turned to look at Yao Xuan with eyebrows raised in surprise. "You don''t know about that? Looks like you¡¯re another trespasser."

    Unseen Light stared at Xia Shenfei. "Wasn¡¯t the Nine Clones Technique created by Progenitor Chen?"

    Xia Shenfei''s mouth curled into a smile. "Progenitor Chen? Oh, that¡¯s right. Yes, my Xia family did have a Progenitor Chen whose name was Xia Shang. He was an amazing and brilliant powerhouse, but unfortunately, he volunteered to stay in the Forsaken Land. You think he was the one who created the Nine Clone¡¯s Technique? Of course not! It¡¯s a unique skill that belongs to my Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    At this point, the Junior Progenitor turned to look at Wu Taibai. "You solve that little pale one, and I''ll deal with the blind man."

    He then turned and looked at Liu Tianmu in an odd manner. "You were found with the blind man, so are you also a trespasser?"

    This was the same question Liu Hao wanted to ask, though he had already guessed the answer.

    Liu Tianmu did not reply, but instead just raised her sword and pointed it at Liu Hao. "Come."

    Liu Hao shook his head and regretfullymented, "I really thought that a genius had appeared in a branch family. I never thought you would be from the Forsaken Land. What a pity."

    "If people from the Forsaken Land are able to defeat elites like you, just what do you think the Abandoned Land really is?" Yao Xuan defiantly challenged.

    Across from him, Wu Taibai raised a hand and replied, "First, you actually have to be able to beat us."

    Xia Shenfei felt helpless. "This is such a pain! Every time we visit the Dominion Realm, rats like you sneak in."

    Unseen Light had revealed a truly top-tier level of strength. He would be able to stand his ground against any opponent, especially after revealing his innate gift. He was actually able to stand up to Xia Shenfei, who was a Junior Progenitor who had already opened his middle meridian point.

    Unseen Light¡¯s innate gift of gravity not only attracted physical objects like a¡¯s gravity, but could also attract battle techniques.

    Xia Shenfei looked at the ck balls of gravity that were around him. He was truly stunned. ¡°This is an incredibly innate gift.¡±

    The decaying bark beneath his feet climbed up his legs and tried to bury him once more.

    The energy that made up Xia Shenfei''s Divine Martial Armor formed giant hands that grabbed at the gravity balls. The balls were then turned around and directed towards Unseen Light, but he was no longer there. Instead, there was a ck Coffin. However, Xia Shenfei was not trapped this time, as he twisted his body to avoid the secret technique.

    Just as Unseen Light was about to attack again, another Xia Shenfei appeared from behind. At this moment, the power of the Nine Clones Secret Technique began to be revealed. Xia Shenfei was able to give a showing of a much greater level of power than Xia Jiuyou had managed, as each and every clone was terrifyingly powerful, and they were each able to be freely merged or separated.

    There was a bang as Xia Shenfeinded a palm on Unseen Light¡¯s back, causing him to m into the ground. A Xia Shenfeinded in front of Unseen Light with a smile, and his hand rose up. The power of his Divine Martial Armor was enough to shatter Unseen Light.

    Suddenly, the air in front of the Junior Progenitor warped, and he only was able to hear a shout. There was a terrifying burst of energy as Yao Xuan used Force Explosion, and it rattled Xia Shenfei¡¯s brain. He was no longer able to see Unseen Light, and Unseen Light took advantage of the distraction to smash one of his gravity balls into Xia Shenfei''s stomach. The sword qi from Liu Hao and Liu Tianmu¡¯s attacks, as well as Wu Taibai''s Divine Martial Armor and Yao Xuan''s spiritual force had all been absorbed into the gravity ball.

    All of these attacks shot towards Xia Shenfei.

    Xia Shenfei continuously retreated. He stared down at the gravity ball at his stomach, as well as the attacks surrounding him. He shook his head. "Why?"

    His armor twisted and gradually cracked. Eventually, the invisible Divine Martial Armor that covered his entire body transformed into an armor that seemed to be made up of immaterial qi, and it instantly shattered the gravity ball.

    Xia Shenfei raised a hand. There was no movement to be seen, but the moment his eyesnded on Unseen Light and Yao Xuan, they were both sent flying, and they both spat out blood at the same time.

    Liu Tianmu stared on in surprise.

    Liu Hao''s eyes trembled. "Shenwu Transformation. Shenwu''s Sky is the most outstanding inherited technique. No one has been able to train in this technique for thousands of years. It¡¯s a technique that stands above the Divine Martial Armor. I¡¯ve finally seen its return."

    After using the Shenwu Transformation, Xia Shenfei himself hadpletely changed. He raised a hand and flicked his fingers, one at Unseen Light and one at Yao Xuan.

    This was the difference between them. Xia Shenfei was a Junior Progenitor. He was someone who had already opened his middle meridian point and who had received the greatest inheritances avable in the Perennial World. Just like Bai Shaohong''s Void Rip or Long Tian''s innate gift of space, this was a technique that could instantly decide a battle. The only people who could stand against such a powerhouse was another Junior Progenitor.

    Liu Tianmu let out a long breath. While Liu Hao was still stunned, Liu Tianmu lifted her sword and looked at Xia Shenfei. Then, she closed her eyes.

    Xia Shenfei did not notice Liu Tianmu¡¯s odd behavior, as he was watching Unseen Light and Yao Xuan struggle to rise off in the distance.

    "Who does this overwhelming power remind you of?" Yao Xuan let out a sigh as he stared at Xia Shenfei in the distance.

    A figure who looked like a god of death suddenly appeared in Unseen Light¡¯s mind. During ZENITH¡¯s final battle, one person had revealed a power that had overwhelmed all of the other finalists at the same time. It had been truly appalling strength. It was possible that only that person in all of the Fifth Maind possessed the strength capable of defeating a Junior Progenitor!

    The streams of qi that covered Xia Shenfei''s body transformed from the Divine Martial Armor and tore at the void. In this condition, Xia Shenfei had the confidence to face even an Envoy. "There¡¯s no way for anyone in the Forsaken Land to open any meridian points, which is a failure of their cultivation methods. You¡¯ve reached an impressive level of strength, and you can stand on the same level as those just beneath us, but unfortunately for you, it¡¯s quite unrealistic for you to hope to be able to take anything away while we are watching, or to steal anything from us."

    Yao Xuan was also helpless. He had just used a Force Explosion, which was his most powerful attack, and yet it had not had almost any effect on Xia Shenfei. That man was terrifying. As for Yao Xuan¡¯s incorporeal body that was supposed to be immune to physical damage, that was just nonsense when facing such an expert. During ZENITH, even Wang Yi had managed to defeat Yao Xuan¡¯s body with a single attack, which had beenpletely humiliating.

    "Since you¡¯vee here, then you must have prepared yourself for death. In that case, I¡¯ll send you on your way." Xia Shenfei looked solemn. His legs bent, but just as he was about to attack, he felt an inexplicable vibration in his heart.

    At this moment, Liu Tianmu had swung her sword. She had used the Thirteenth Sword; if there was emotion, then it could be used as a sword.

    Liu Hao did not actually care about Liu Tianmu at this moment. He was simply focused on watching the Shenwu Transformation, which had given Liu Tianmu an opportunity to use this particr attack.

    The Thirteenth Sword waspletely invisible and traceless, and it could not be avoided. Long ago, Liu Tianmu had used this attack to give Shang Qing his first injury in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and Wu Taibai had also suffered from it. He had managed to overpower even Yuhua Mavis after using the Divine Martial Armor, and yet the Thirteenth Sword had left him injured. The only person who had been unaffected by this sword was Lu Yin.

    During those previous attacks, Liu Tianmu had not hadplete mastery of the Thirteenth Sword, but after using it several times, her mastery had reached a level where she no longer injured herself when attacking her opponent. The Thirteenth Sword surpassed all the previous swords.

    Liu Hao''s swordsmanship might have surpassed Liu Tianmu¡¯s, but he was not able to stop this particr attack.

    Sword qi took the form of wind, and when Xia Shenfei felt the breeze, the Thirteenth Sword had already finished.

    Where did the Thirteen Swordse from? Not even the Sword Sect knew. The only thing that was known was that the Thirteen Swords was the pinnacle sword technique in the Fifth Maind, and it had allowed the Liu family to be the king of the sword.

    Wu Taibai had had a certain thought after being attacked by the Thirteenth Sword during ZENITH: ¡®The Thirteenth Sword did indeed live up to its name, no wonder there were also rumors of it there.¡¯

    ¡®There¡¯ had been referring to the Perennial World.

    In the past, though Liu Tianmu had used the Thirteen Swords, she had not used anything above the Tenth Sword. Since she had not revealed anything that was enough to defeat Liu Hao, her techniques had not aroused much attention. However, the moment she used the Thirteenth Sword, her technique was exposed.

    Xia Shenfei lifted a hand and wiped the corner of his mouth. He saw red on his hand. It was blood. He had been injured.

    He looked up and gave Liu Tianmu an odd look. He had actually been injured, and it was by someone of his own generation who had not even opened her lower meridian point. She was even from the Forsaken Land. This was really exciting!

    Liu Hao stared in shock and finally blurted out, "The Thirteen Swords."

    He turned to stare at Liu Tianmu. "I had wondered why your swordsmanship was giving me a feeling of deja vu. You are using the Thirteen Swords that my Liu family lost. This technique originally came from the Forsaken Land."

    Although Liu Tianmu had already achieved some level of mastery of the Thirteenth Sword, she was still not able to use it freely, and her body had been left in a slightly weakened state. "The Liu family¡¯s lost technique?"

 Chapter 1433: A Familiar Place

    Chapter 1433: A Familiar ce

    Liu Hao solemnly exined, "The Thirteen Swords came from the Sword Monument. A long time ago, one of my Liu family¡¯s elders disappeared. He was the only person to this day to have received the Thirteen Swords, and that inheritance disappeared with him. I never would have thought that that elder might have gone to the Forsaken Land. You¡¯re actually his descendant."

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes grew sharper after she heard Liu Hao¡¯s story.

    "Give me the Thirteen Swords, and I can keep you alive. After all, you¡¯re also a member of my Liu family," Liu Hao spoke sharply. While his eyes were hot, they did not shine with greed. He pursued the peak of the sword, and thus the Thirteen Swords held a strong attraction for him.

    "Liu Hao, back down!" Xia Shenfei''s voice sounded a little strange.

    Liu Hao frowned and turned to look at Xia Shenfei. He saw the excitement in Xia Shenfei''s eyes, and an indescribable look on the Junior Progenitor¡¯s face. Liu Hao¡¯s expression changed a bit. This was not good, and there was going to be trouble; Xia Shenfei was stepping into the fight.

    "Brother Xia, this woman is a descendant from my Liu family, so please, stay your hand," Liu Hao asked.

    Xia Shenfei smiled, though he still looked very excited. "I¡¯ll leave her alive. Step back, I want to y this game."

    Liu Hao was left feeling helpless. He understood Xia Shenfei, and while the Junior Progenitor usually behaved in a veryid back manner, he could not be provoked. Once that happened, things would end badly even for those closest to Xia Shenfei. This thought ran through Liu Hao¡¯s head and he jumped back and retreated to the edge of the hole in the branch.

    Whether other youths wished to admit it or not, they were always a step behind the Junior Progenitors. It was a difference like heaven and earth.

    The gap between the victors and runners up in Yuanlun Festival was too big to ovee.

    Huh? Suddenly, Liu Hao noticed something strange. There were bugs in the hold in the branch that they had been directed to by the map, and all of the bugs had already been smashed. Seeing this, Liu Hao jumped down.

    At this moment, Xia Shenfei attacked. He stepped forward and appeared right in front of Liu Tianmu, covering an impressive distance. His hand was raised to attack. Liu Tianmu retaliated with the Twelfth Sword, but it was instantly overpowered by Xia Shenfei. A Force Explosion and a gravity ball both appeared at the same time, but Xia Shenfei instantly destroyed both of them with his Divine Martial Armor. One attack forced Liu Tianmu back, while also repelling Yao Xuan and Unseen Light.

    Suddenly, Xia Shenfei felt a sense of danger from behind, and he spun around and released a kick. The kick shattered the approaching Mountains and Rivers Imprint. The Junior Progenitor looked up, and in the distance, he saw Wu Taibai covering his face with a hand. He was already using the Divine Martial Armor.

    Xia Shenfei grinned. "Is this worth it? You betrayed Shenwu¡¯s Sky! Did you really believe that uncovering a few secrets would wipe that clean? I was the one who suggested bringing you to the Dominion Realm so that I could eliminate you for the n."

    Wu Taibai''s body was covered with the Divine Martial Armor. He stared back at Xia Shenfei. "I know that. However, are you sure you can handle me? Fighting four of us on your own is enough to cause even you to struggle."

    Xia Shenfei frowned. "It will be quite difficult."

    "Don''t forget, Bai Shaohong, Long Tian, and Wang Su are all just as strong as you. What¡¯s more important, settling things here, or getting the Origin Matter?" Wu Taibai pressed.

    Xia Shenfeiughed. "Wu Taibai, Wu Taibai, when have you ever seen me, Xia Shenfei, acting timid? Since I decided to get rid of you, you shouldn¡¯t even dream of leaving the Dominion Realm alive."

    "Brother Xia, someone already went in!" Liu Hao shouted from the hole in the branch. "It looks like it was Wang Su."

    Xia Shenfei''s facepletely changed, and he raced into the hole without any hint of hesitation. He abandoned the entire battle.

    Yao Xuan was stunned, What does this mean? Didn''t he just say that he had to take care of us? He really changed his mind that fast?

    On the other hand, Wu Taibai was not surprised. This was Xia Shenfei¡¯s personality, and nothing he said could be trusted. He spoke of grandiose righteousness as if it was the most important thing, but it was all nothing but an act. "Let''s get going then! We won''t get anything if we fall behind."

    Xia Shenfei rushed into the hole, and he then continued to follow the map¡¯s directions. Once he reached the bottom, he found traces of someone digging.

    "It¡¯s impossible to leave such marks on the wood of the Mother Tree without having the power of at least a Semi-Progenitor," Liu Haomented quietly as he stared into the rough and winding path ahead of him.

    Xia Shenfei frowned. "Stay here and stall those four rats."

    "I can''t block them," Liu Hao replied bluntly. He was confident in his own strength, and believed himself to be more powerful than the other four, but he also saw that it was impossible for him to stop them on his own.

    Xia Shenfei rolled his eyes. "Just stall them for a bit while I go on ahead and see what the deal here is."

    "If I can''t stop them, I¡¯ll retreat," Liu Hao stated in apletely serious manner.

    Xia Shenfei was left speechless. While the members of the Liu family focused on the sword and appeared to be simple-minded, the truth was that each and every one of them was no better than a thief. This was what ran through the Junior Progenitor¡¯s mind as he stepped onto the winding path through the tunnel.

    Still, Xia Shenfei could no longer concern himself with such things, as he needed topletely focus on getting his hands on the Origin Matter. As for what he had said a bit earlier, had he said anything at all?

    Before long, his eyes went wide as he stepped into arge opening that should still have been within the branch. Up ahead, he saw a massive pir of tribtion crystals, and on top of it was a leaf. On the ground beside the pir sat Wang Su in a cross-legged position.

    ¡­

    Three dayster, Long Tian and his team arrived at the fork in the branch. Bai Shaohong¡¯s team arrived at the same time.

    As he looked around, Long Tian was surprised. "Someone got here earlier."

    Bai Shaohong examined the marks on the branch. "There¡¯s traces of the Liu family''s sword qi here."

    "Also Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Divine Martial Armor," Long Tian remarked.

    Everyone approached the edge of the hole in the branch and looked down. Cold air blew up from the depths, and it looks very gloomy.

    Long Xi nced over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and released his domain and spread it to the bottom of the hole. He found it very strange that while the Perennial World possessed methods to cultivate a domain, very few people did so. For example, both Long Tian and Bai Shaohong had no domain at all. It was very odd.

    His domain spread all the way to the bottom of the pit. "Someone fought there, and it was a very intense battle."

    Bai Shaohong jumped down, and everyone followed without hesitation.

    As they fell, they saw numerous bugs that had been smashed to pieces.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes went wide. "Wang Su."

    "Xia Shenfei should also be here," Long Tian said.

    Bai Shaohong smiled gently. "Looks like we''re toote. The two of them had quite a lively fight."

    "Wang Su''s only remaining team member is that guy with his eyes closed, so how can she stand up to Xia Shenfei¡¯s team?" Long Tian wondered.

    No one could provide an answer.

    The two teams soon reached the bottom of the hole. As they looked around at the marks left behind on the walls and ground from a fierce fight, none of them had much to say.

    "Brother Long, we¡¯re clearlyte. While there might be some corpses inside, they may not possess anything that we want," Bai Shaohong spoke casually. He did not sound very disappointed. This location had not originally been part of the n. Each of the four ruling powers had chosen their own ces to explore, and there was a high probability of finding Origin Matter in those ces.

    Long Tian and Bai Shaohong nced at each other. "What do you want?"

    Bai Shaohong smiled lightly. "Let¡¯s team up and rob them?"

    Long Tian nodded in agreement. "Of course."

    Bai Shaohong nced back at Long Xi. "It is my honor to be able to join forces with the White Dragon n. In the future, our rtionship will grow even closer."

    Lu Yin frowned. As they had traveled, this man had never stopped talking like this, and he had kept up his provocations towards Lu Yin. It was truly revolting.

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Shaohong, but the Junior Progenitor did not even nce at Lu Yin. He was focused entirely on Long Xi and was utterly ignoring Lu Yin. Lu Yin had not once responded to the various barbs, and he stayed silent this time as well. People saw him as nothing but a coward.

    Long Xi''s expression remained the same: utterly calm.

    Long Tian gently said, "Let''s go. We can talk about thatter."

    Bai Shaohong nodded with a smile. The two Junior Progenitors took the lead, and everyone quickly entered the meandering tunnel.

    Long Xi dragged Lu Yin to the back of the group. Over on Bai Shaohong''s team, Shang Qing had intended to take the rearguard, but Yun Tingting kept her position, and Shang Qing was forced into the middle of the group.

    Gradually, the wandering tunnel grew wider andrger. They had reached the center of the branch.

    It was hard to believe that there were so many people inside a branch and wandering around and exploring its interior.

    They soon saw a faint light in the distance. Bai Shaohong and Long Tian looked at each other and picked up their pace. They turned a corner, and the tunnel opened uppletely. The first thing that everyone saw was a massive pir of tribtion crystals and a green leaf. They then quickly noticed Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and others all sitting cross-legged on the ground.

    Lu Yin turned the corner and saw the strange scene. His mouth fell open and he stared nkly, This- this- isn¡¯t this the ce I saw when I rolled six pips and Possessed the corpse? Is this really a coincidence?

    Despite matter how strange the scene was that the group had stumbled upon, no one could match the turmoil currently churning in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. He had not expected to end up in this ce. He looked around, and sure enough, there was a mummified corpse some distance behind the crystal pir. That was it. That was the corpse he had Possessed and that he had not been able to move or control.

    This was an incredible coincidence. He averted his eyes and suppressed the shock that had hit him, and he managed to prevent anyone from seeing his shock. He looked around once more. This pir of tribtion crystals was veryrge, and it dwarfed the pir that Long Ding had used to open his lower meridian point. It was believed that this pir would be enough for someone to open their middle meridian point. However, despite other people being present, they were all seated cross-legged on two sides of the pir. Lu Yin saw Unseen Light and Liu Tianmu among their numbers.

    Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and the others did not move. They all remained sitting cross-legged on the ground. They all seemed peaceful, and there was no indication of any sort of fight in this chamber. It was very odd.

    Neither Bai Shaohong nor Long Tian dared to act rashly after seeing the situation.

    Seven people were sitting cross-legged on the ground: Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, and Liu Hao. They represented three teams, and the damage that had been left on the pit on the other side of the tunnel leading to this chamber had clearlye from these people, and yet this chamber lookedpletely peaceful.

    Lu Yin looked at the seven people sitting on the ground, and his eyes shed. This was not good; Unseen Light had already been exposed.

    Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and Liu Hao were sitting cross-legged on the left side of the pir, while Unseen Light, Wu Taibai, Yao Xuan, and Liu Tianmu sat on the right side. There was a clear delineation between the two sides, yet Yao Xuan and Wu Taibai had both been on the team from Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Thus, the only exnation for the pattern was that the trespassers had been exposed.

    Lu Yin sighed to himself. It looked like it really would be impossible for him to remain hidden until the end. The moment that these people woke, they would not hide the truth, and even if none of them awoke, it was impossible for Shang Qing to remain hidden and notpete for the Origin Matter, as it was the entire purpose behind infiltrating the Perennial World.

    At this thought, Lu Yin looked at Long Xi in an apologetic manner. He had endured everything while traveling to his ce because he did not want to cause Long Xi more suffering. However, it looked like there was no path to escape at this point.

    Bai Shaohong gazed at Dong Shan, indicating for him to act, and Dong Shan shouted, "Junior Progenitor Xia!"

    No one reacted. It seemed that Xia Shenfei had not even heard anything.

    Dong Shan frowned and shouted again, "Junior Progenitor Wang!"

    Wang Su also did not move. It was as though she had not heard anything.

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s gaze grew sharp. He looked around the chamber, and then focused on Lu Yin. "Use your domain to examine this ce."

    Lu Yin ignored him, too.

 Chapter 1434: Free For All

    Chapter 1434: Free For All

    Bai Shaohong stared at Lu Yin. "I told you to release you domain."

    Long Tian also looked at Lu Yin. "Check it out."

    Long Xi stepped in, "You want it, then check it yourself."

    Bai Shaohong said, "Since you decided toe here, you don¡¯t get to just stand to the side."

    "Are you retarded? Check it out for yourself! You must think you¡¯re important," Lu Yin rudely mocked. Since he already knew that he would eventually be exposed, there was no need for him to keep restraining himself.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in shock. No one had expected him to chew out Bai Shaohong after opening his mouth. Bai Shaohong had certainly not expected it.

    As they had been traveling, he had repeatedly tried to aggravate Long Qi, yet the youth had always remained silent. So why was he speaking up at this time?

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Was he no longer able to endure? No, it was not that. He was actually trying to trigger an attack from Bai Shaohong.

    Things were very strange in this chamber. Xia Shenfei, Wang Su, and Liu Tianmu were all present, and they represented three different teams, yet they were quietly sitting together at this moment. It should be impossible for a fight to not break out in this ce, yet it was still peaceful. The only possible exnation was that something unexpected urred as soon as any form of violence broke out.

    Since that was the case, what was there to be afraid of? Lu Yin would just let Bai Shaohong make the first move.

    Bai Shaohong was not stupid, and he quickly understood the situation, as did everyone else.

    Yun Tingting stared at Bai Shaohong with great interest. Just what would the Junior Progenitor do after being insulted in such a manner? Would he attack? Did he dare?

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes shed with a killing intent. "Watch what you say."

    "Fuck off!" Lu Yin snapped back rudely. He intended topletely alleviate all of the stress and frustration that had umted while traveling.

    Long Xi nced over at Long Qi. She remembered how he had spoken to Yu Chen in front of the Hope Restaurant. He had expressed absolutely no manners at all, and had been very rude. However, it was still true that this sort of behavior was the most effective way to deal with someone who had always been pampered, like Bai Shaohong.

    Bai Shaohong''s expression grew dark, but he refrained from taking action as he was too worried about the repercussions.

    Long Tian frowned as he looked at Lu Yin. "Even if youe from a branch family and want to be blunt, you still can¡¯t be so crass. Once we return to Dragon Mountain, you will recite the n rules. If you behave in such a disrespectful manner again in the future, you will be severely punished."

    Lu Yin looked over at Long Tian and smiled. Then, suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he shouted, "You can fuck off too! What a load of bullshit!"

    "What did you say?" Long Tian was enraged. He had not expected Lu Yin to retort to even him.

    Long Xi hurriedly pulled Lu Yin back. "Don''t say another word."

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes grew cold. "Brother Long, have the White Dragon n¡¯s rules been lost? If my Celestial Frost Sect had such a person enter the sect, they would absolutely be put through excruciating pain."

    Long Xi snapped back, "Your Celestial Frost Sect does not have the qualifications to step into the affairs of my White Dragon n."

    Long Tian had already lost his patience. "Little sister, enough is enough."

    Long Xi fell silent.

    Long Tian shot a cold re at Lu Yin. "I thought you were a piece of jade that I would be able to sculpt, but I see now that someone from a branch family will never measure up and will always remain worthless."

    He then turned to Bai Shaohong and continued in a more gentle tone, "Brother Bai, there¡¯s no need to pay attention to such a person. We simply need to find out how to wake up Brother Xia and then we can find out what happened."

    Bai Shaohong nced at Lu Yin once more, but then ignored him. Instead, he turned to focus on Xia Shenfei and the others. He frowned.

    Shang Qing looked at Lu Yin smiling, and then shook his head with the same smile on his face.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes; what was that supposed to mean?

    Bai Shaohong and Long Tian studied the seated figures for a while, but no one dared to randomly attack. Finally, Bai Shaohong raised a hand and took out some sourceboxes from his cosmic ring. He then used them to set up a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing nced at each other. Neither of them had expected Bai Shaohong to be an Array Master.

    Sourcebox arrays simted the effects of a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone, and setting one up would not affect the surroundings.

    Lu Yin watched as Bai Shaohong arranged the sourcebox array, but even if Lu Yin had alreadyprehended several sourcebox arrays, it was still impossible for him to understand the purpose of Bai Shaohong''s sourcebox array.

    It did not take long for the array to bepleted. Long Tian then attacked it and pushed the sourcebox array into the open chamber. Everyone grew wary, but no abnormalities could be detected. Then, the sourcebox array slowly fell to the ground and disappeared. The fluctuations from the sourcebox spread out to eventually envelope the entire chamber.

    A beam of light shot out of the ground straight into the air. This was the start of the activation of this array. It was not overly powerful, but it had an impressive range.

    Beams of light then began to shoot out with increasing frequency. One of the beamsnded on Wang Su and pushed her from where she was seated. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked over at Bai Shaohong and others. She shouted, "Destroy the corpse! We¡¯re in the Forgotten Ruins."

    While Lu Yin and Shang Qing were unaware of what the Forgotten Ruins were, both Bai Shaohong and Long Tian went pale from fright when they heard Wang Su¡¯s words. They both immediately attacked the dried up corpse that sat behind the crystal pir.

    The corpse was not durable, and since Bai Shaohong and Long Tian had joined forces, the mummy was instantly smashed to pieces. The moment that urred, Xia Shenfei and the others all opened their eyes. Confusion flickered through their eyes, but they quickly recovered themselves and stood up.

    Xia Shenfei instantly charged towards the pir of tribtion crystals, clearly hoping to snatch the green leaf that sat atop of it. Wang Su was not slow to react, either, and the two youths raced for the pir at the same time and shed at the base of the pir.

    As soon as they saw the other two moving, Bai Shaohong and Long Tian charged forward as well.

    "Attack! Get the Origin Matter!" someone shouted, and everyone else instantly started racing for the pir.

    In no time at all, a battle that could shake the entire Perennial World erupted within the chamber at the center of one of the Mother Tree¡¯s branches. The people participating in this fight were the most outstanding members of their generation, and they each fought with a dogged determination within the chamber.

    Long Xi shoved Lu Yin back and sternly ordered him, "Stay here! Where¡¯s your ring?"

    Lu Yin immediately took out the ring-shaped power vessel he had been given.

    "Stay safe!" Long Xi ordered before racing away and making her way towards the pir.

    All four Junior Progenitors were fighting around the pir of tribtion crystals, and each move that any of them made tore the void open, which forced everyone else to keep pulling back.

    This was a battle between Junior Progenitors, and the oue would not be easily decided.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain covered the pir, but it was instantly torn apart by Xia Shenfei''s Divine Martial Armor. Xia Shenfei loudly ordered, "Take care of the trespassers! It¡¯s all four of them."

    Wu Taibai raised his hand and pointed straight at Dong Shan and Dong He. "Those are them! They¡¯re the trespassers, to attack them!"

    Bai Shaohong was instantly enraged at hearing this usation. "Don''t you try to nder me!"

    He then pointed at Xia Shenfei. "You dare make such usations against my people?"

    Xia Shenfei was speechless. He waved a hand and scattered bits of his Divine Martial Armor while pointing at Liu Tianmu and the others. "I was talking about those four!"

    Long Tian nced over and saw that Xia Shenfei had also pointed out Liu Tianmu. Long Tian¡¯s eyes shed, but he ignored the matter and fought to get closer to the crystal pir. He even entered the true universe with the Roving White Dragon to get closer, but Wang Su managed to use the Four Arts to aplish the same thing, and she shed with Long Tian in the true universe at the top of the crystal pir.

    A powerful shockwave sted out, twisting the void as it passed until it finally tore space apart.

    The spatial tear extended towards Lu Yin as he stared at it, and he quickly grabbed the ring-shaped power vessel and used it to protect himself.

    Long Xi felt relieved when she saw this.

    Liu Hao attacked Liu Tianmu with a sword. Dong Shan and Dong He fought against Unseen Light and Yao Xuan, respectively. Long Xi and Wu Taibai fought each other, while Yun Tingting turned into several different figures, and she tried to approach the pir from every direction, only to be stopped by Wen Diyi.

    For the moment, everyone was very busy, and none of them were concerned about Lu Yin and Shang Qing.

    The four Junior Progenitors all mutually restrained each other, so Bai Shaohong shouted at Shang Qing, "Grab the Origin Matter!"

    Shang Qing rushed forward. He no longer tried to keep anything hidden, and three streams of qi swirled around him, giving him an ethereal look that stunned many people.

    Long Tian could not bear the situation any longer, and he looked back at Lu Yin. "Go grab it! If you get the Origin Matter, everything else will be forgotten, and I can even give you a position in the n second only to me!"

    Long Xi pushed back Wu Taibai''s Divine Martial Armor and shouted over at Lu Yin, "Don''t move! This has nothing to do with you!"

    Long Tian grew furious. "Long Xi, don''t try to hold us back! Long Qi, grab it! I promise you will no longer have to worry about anything for the rest of your life."

    Long Xi gritted her teeth, but no longer tried to stop Lu Yin. She knew just how important Origin Matter was. If Long Tian could be a Progenitor with this Origin Matter, the White Dragon n would be able to shake free of the suppression they suffered from the Celestial Frost Sect. This was more important than anything else.

    At this moment, everyone else was upied with an opponent, so the only possibility for the White Dragon n to grab the Origin Matter was Long Qi, but that depended on whether or not he could defeat Shang Qing.

    Bai Shaohong was fully confident in Shang Qing. "Shang Qing, as long as you grab the Origin Matter, I, Bai Shaohong, will make you an elder in my Celestial Frost Sect, and you will look down on the entire Perennial World."

    Shang Qing looked inspired by this offer. "Rest assured, I¡¯ll definitely get it."

    Lu Yin stepped out of the protection of his ring. "I¡¯ll get it!"

    The two rushed towards the pir at the same time.

    Wang Su and Xia Shenfei both wanted to stop the two, but they were both held back by Bai Shaohong and Long Tian. Everyone else also had their own opponents, so everyone could only watch.

    Suddenly, Dong He¡¯s eyes shed. He had been fighting against Yao Xuan, but his hand moved. ¡°Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer¡±

    The green leaf atop the pir disappeared, only to appear in Dong He¡¯s hand.

    Bai Shaohong''s mouth curled into a smile. He had seeded! With Shang Qing¡¯s help? No. Bai Shaohong had never ced any confidence in Shang Qing. Instead, he had believed in Dong He, and the Junior Progenitor had ensured that everyone was focused on Shang Qing and Long Qi in order to provide an opportunity for Dong He to take action with the Yu Secret Art. After all, it was the best secret technique when it came to stealing things.

    No one had expected Dong He to have such an ability at his disposal. Long Tian was extremely frustrated. He had already known that Dong He hadprehended that secret technique, but had not realized that it could be used in such a way. The moment the Origin Matter entered Dong He¡¯s cosmic ring, it would be difficult to seize the Origin Matter. Long Tian not only wanted Dong He¡¯s ring, but also his blood.

    Yao Xuan had been careless, and Dong He had snatched the leaf by using the Yu Secret Art right under Yao Xuan¡¯s nose. He reflexively wanted to grab it, but he was already toote.

    Dong He was feeling very proud of himself, and he was about to store the Origin Matter, but suddenly, the leaf was gone! Dong He blinked; where had the leaf gone?

    A short distance away, the leaf appeared in Lu Yin''s hands.

    Everyone stared at him, stunned.

    "The Yu Secret Art?" Dong He felt speechless.

    Bai Shaohong''s pupils shrank. What was this? The Yu Secret Art?

    Long Tian, Long Xi, Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and everyone else had not believed that anyone else would know that same secret technique, let alone Long Qi.

    Lu Yin coughed. Everyone was staring at him, and it made him feel a bit guilty!

    "Long Qi, put it away!" Long Tian was ecstatic, believing the leaf to already be his.

    Bai Shaohong shouted angrily, "How dare you!!"

    He immediately tried to attack Long Qi, but Long Tian stopped him.

    Lu Yin wanted to quickly put away the leaf, but he did not notice that a ck mist had appeared on the ground at some point in time. The moment when the leaf was about to be put away, the mist shot upwards and took the form of Crown Prince Gui Qian. His golden eyes locked onto Lu Yin, and bones emerged from his back and pped the leaf away. It fluttered to the ground, and was then snatched away by the ck mist.

    Lu Yin had never considered that Crown Prince Gui Qian might have still been hidden, and he med the Perennial World for the fact that he could not see any runes. If runes existed in this universe, Lu Yin would have seen the prince.

    Still, Lu Yin felt amazed at the prince¡¯s abilities that he had managed to keep hidden.

 Chapter 1435: Trespasser?

    "Crown Prince Gui Qian, you¡¯re seeking death!" Long Tian roared, his eyes filled with a killing rage.

    The prince looked at Long Tian in a mocking manner. "Junior Progenitor Long, you are really an idiot. The person who slipped away from you in the Voidsoul Pce was Long Qi."

    Long Tian was caughtpletely off guard. "What did you say?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian sneered. His body then cracked and reverted back to a ck mist, and he turned to flee out of the chamber while dragging the leaf with him.

    He had just wanted to stir things up so that no one would be able to chase him.

    Out of reflex, Lu Yin attacked with a Vacuum Palm. The attack smashed through the ck mist and struck the ground.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was using a bizarre technique, and his body had already vanished as he tried to escape. However, he was suddenly trapped by four beams of light that appeared from the void. Off in the distance, Wang Su¡¯s eyes held a terrifying light as she used the secret technique Confinement.

    The ck mist that was Crown Prince Gui Qian roiled, and the churning caused the void to warp. He erupted with his full strength at this moment. He had already opened his lower meridian point, and he managed to break free of Wang Su''s secret technique by utilizing death energy, and he rushed outside.

    "You¡¯re looking to die!" Long Tian growled in a low voice. He made a grabbing motion with his right hand and reached for the void some distance away. A palm appeared from the void in front of Crown Prince Gui Qian, and it shot through the void and smashed into the prince¡¯s death energy.

    Death energy was strange, but Long Tian''s innate gift was not a simple one. Crown Prince Gui Qian was forced back.

    Lu Yin was fully aware of how most people feared death energy from the bottom of their hearts. It was strange and difficult to predict, and it was impossible to counter through normal means. If not for this, Crown Prince Gui Qian would never have the confidence to escape. However, he had been too confident.

    Four of the people present were Junior Progenitors. They represented the four ruling powers that reigned over the entire Perennial World. Each one of them had abilities to prevent the prince from immediately escaping.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian instantly regretted this choice. He should not have revealed himself so early.

    Shang Qing disappeared, and he suddenly reappeared in front of Crown Prince Gui Qian. He grabbed for the leaf with a hand, but Crown Prince Gui Qian just sneered. He was being attacked by the four Junior Progenitors, so he had no intention of hanging on to the leaf. He threw it towards Unseen Light and the others. ¡°Here, trespassers, for you!"

    Dong He immediately used the Yu Secret Art, but Yao Xuan was not slow to react this time. Just as Dong He was about to make his move, he was bombarded with spiritual force that nearly knocked him unconscious. At this moment, Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art himself, and he managed to grab the leaf once more.

    Long Tian''s eyes lit up. "Long Qi, take that leaf away! I¡¯ll act as though nothing ever happened in the Voidsoul Pce!"

    Lu Yin held the leaf and looked at it oddly. What was this? Wasn¡¯t this the same thing that Mister Mu had used to strengthen Lu Yin¡¯s body to the limit in the hidden dimension with the golden ocean? Only that had been a branch, and Lu Yin held a leaf at the moment. Was this really Origin Matter?

    Bao Shaohong¡¯s mind raced, and then he suddenly asked, "Brother Long, have you investigated the members of your n?"

    These words startled many people, and even Wang Su and Xia Shenfei were taken aback.

    Long Tian''s eyes grew frosty. "Brother Bai, what is that supposed to mean? Are you saying I don¡¯t know my own nsmen? Even if you want to get the Origin Matter, you should still have some limits. This is unbing of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor."

    Bai Shaohong stared at Lu Yin in a serious manner. "Yu Chen once tried to deal with Long Qi when he was with Humility¡¯s Gate. At that time, he was the one who helped Long Qi turn the situation around."

    As he spoke, Bai Shaohong pointed at Unseen Light

    Long Tian''s expression changed. Anger could be seen, as well as killing intent, and yet there was no surprise. Long Tian was no fool, and he had already started to grow suspicious when Yuhua Mavis had been exposed as a trespasser. In the past, when Long Qi had revealed the three Guan brothers as Redbacks, he had received help from Yuhua Mavis, yet had imed to have no connection to her. There was no understanding as to why she would have helped Long Qi move against the Guan brothers.

    The excuse Long Qi had given had been barely eptable.

    However, the moment that Crown Prince Gui Qian had revealed that Long Qi had been the one to snatch away a portion of the inheritance in the Voidsoul Pce, Long Tian had be almostpletely certain that Long Qi was a trespasser, though he could not figure out how Long Qi had managed to deceive the White Dragon n and entered the Dominion Realm. While Long Qi had married Long Xi, it was impossible for a member of a branch family to improve so quickly, even if they had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument and received an inheritance from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo.

    After all, each of the four Junior Progenitors had received an inheritance from a full Progenitor.

    Long Tian had not said anything in order to trap Long Qi. After all, Long Qi was the one in possession of the leaf. Long Tian had not expected Bai Shaohong to expose the matter.

    The fight for the Origin Matter suddenly took a turn. Everyone stared at the leaf in Lu Yin¡¯s hand as they ran Bai Shaohong¡¯s words through their minds; could this person really be a trespasser?

    Long Xi''s face went pale as she stared at Lu Yin. Her amber eyes were filled with shock and disappointment.

    Lu Yin still wanted to try to defend himself, "Bai Shaohong, so you just know who¡¯s a trespasser and who isn¡¯t? Junior Progenitor Wang was the one who brought Yuhua Mavis and Unseen Light, while Junior Progenitor Xia brought Yao Xuan. Why are you targeting me? Because I¡¯m from the White Dragon n? The princess can attest to the fact that she personally tested my bloodline."

    Everyone turned to look at Long Xi.

    Lu Yin also turned to look at her, but at the same time, he put the leaf into his cosmic ring.

    Bai Shaohong immediately shouted, "TAKE IT OUT!"

    As he shouted, star energy shot out and formed a palm that attacked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took out the ring-shaped power vessel, and it blocked Bai Shaohong''s palm. Lu Yin loudly retorted, "Bai Shaohong, are you trying to rob us? Long Tian, such simple words turned you stupid! Idiot! Block him!"

    Long Tian came to as though waking from a dream, and he stabbed his spear at Bai Shaohong, though it waspletely a reflex.

    Bai Shaohong shouted, "Shang Qing, catch Long Qi!"

    With that, the ground trembled and a beam of light struck Lu Yin and the entirety of the power vessel protecting him. This was the sourcebox array that had been used to rouse Wang Su and others. This was Bai Shaohong''s backup.

    This sourcebox array was powerful, and it was able to affect others as well, and it put them at a disadvantage for a moment. In particr, Liu Tianmu was affected, as she was still in a weakened state from using the Thirteenth Sword earlier. She was unable to resist Liu Hao''s swordsmanship, especially his Sword Spirit. The sword pierced her shoulder and pinned her to the wall.

    Dong Shan and Dong He joined forces to fight back Unseen Light and Yao Xuan by using their Mountain and Sea Banner.

    Since Lu Yin had managed to seize the leaf, Wang Su and Xia Shenfei were no longer entangled with each other, and the two rushed at Lu Yin from different directions.

    Yao Xuan nced over at Liu Tianmu and saw that she was in danger. He then saw Wang Su and Xia Shenfei who were both rushing for Lu Yin, and he yelled, "If you don''t do something, we¡¯re all going to die!"

    Yao Xuan did not care about Liu Tianmu, but only by joining forces would any of them have a chance to leave the Perennial World.

    Yao Xuan''s words forced many people to instinctively look at Lu Yin; was this directed at him?

    Lu Yin stayed within the protection of the power vessel. He looked perfectly innocent.

    Wang Su and Xia Shenfei were quickly approaching him, and further back, Long Tian was still holding Bai Shaohong back, but anxiety could be seen in Long Tian¡¯s eyes.

    The ring-shaped power vessel was not enough to stop a Junior Progenitor. After all, such a thing had been given to Lu Yin, so which of the Junior Progenitors would not have a special power vessel?

    Lu Yin watched as the two Junior Progenitors drew closer. In the distance, Long Xi turned pale. ¡°RUN!"

    Wang Su stretched a hand out. She held a small knife in her hand, and it glinted with a strange light. It pierced through the protection of Lu Yin¡¯s power vessel, and the knife and the ring both shattered. Wang Su¡¯s hand was about to grab Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and he moved his fingers. Suddenly, a slight flicker of a de appeared behind Lu Yin, and a knife attacked Wang Su. It was the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will. Progenitor Chen had been summoned.

    Wang Su had not expected anyone else to appear. The flickering de caused her feel a sense of danger. She instinctively used the Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Lu Yin moved to the side by using the Ce Secret Art. Crown Prince Gui Qian had already exposed Lu Yin¡¯s power, and while Lu Yin did not know how the prince had found out, the fact of the matter was that there was no longer any need to hide things.

    The summoned Progenitor Chen held a knife and shed it at Wang Su once more.

    At this same time, another Progenitor Chen appeared, flickering between reality and illusion, and he threw a palm attack at Xia Shenfei.

    Xia Shenfei was able to clearly see the face of the summoned Progenitor Chen, and his pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. "Ancestor Xia Shang?"

    Wang Su heard his words, and was shocked. "What did you just say?"

    The illusory Progenitor Chen smashed a hand into Xia Shenfei, who took a few steps back. The Junior Progenitor blurted out, "That''s my Xia family¡¯s ancestor, Xia Shang."

    "Progenitor Chen from back then?" Wang Su was shocked, and her scalp went numb.

    There were still Progenitors in the Perennial World, and more than just one. It was a ce with far more inheritances than the Fifth Maind, and yet the invincible Progenitor Chen of the past had also been able to shock the people of this universe.

    The horror of Progenitor Chen had not been just limited to the Fifth Maind. The Sixth Maind had not dared to even record him in their history, and the Perennial World had always held the Progenitor in high esteem. He had been a genius, the likes of which had not been seen again throughout countless years. His story was the history of the Xia family. He had been the strongest Progenitor to ever live.

    No one could have imagined that they would be forced to face off against Progenitor Chen in the Dominion Realm.

    Xia Shenfei lifted his head and looked some distance away, where he saw Shang Qing¡¯s calm expression. Thest stream of qi was still swirling around Shang Qing''s body. "Is it you?"

    Shang Qing floated in the air. He looked like an immortal. At this moment, the true power of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique showed itself. He was Shang Qing, a supreme talent who had been cultivated by the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor. If Lu Yin had not been born, Shang Qing would have stood above all of his peers in the Fifth Maind. He held a status simr to that of the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors, or possibly even higher. After all, there was no one in the Fifth Maind who could measure up to Shang Qing.

    During ZENITH, Shang Qing alone had been enough to face off against Lu Yin, Wu Taibai, and Wang Yi. All three of them had to admit that Shang Qing had the strength topare to a Junior Progenitor. Once he managed to open his three meridian points, the power of the Progenitor Chen clones and Progenitor Hui that Shang Qing would be able to summon would be even more terrifying, as Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui had both definitely opened all three of their meridian points.

    How powerful had Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui been when they had opened all three of their meridian points? Just the thought was enough to send someone into a cold sweat.

    Although the four Junior Progenitors had been given that title, it did not mean that they were guaranteed to be Progenitors in the future, nor that they were invincible within their realm, as Progenitor Chen had been.

    No one doubted that Progenitor Chen had been invincible among his peers.

    Unfortunately, the clones of Progenitor Chen that Shang Qing was able to summon had no intelligence, which was the greatest w of the Tri-Yang Technique.

    There was a boom, and Wang Su was forced a step back. She stared at the Progenitor Chen that held a dagger. Wang Su felt extremely envious at this moment. She was facing the historical and invincible Progenitor Chen of the past. ording to records, Progenitor Chen had been a terrifying existence who had possessed nine clones that had each be a Progenitor on their own. He had killed multiple Progenitors, and had been one of the most impressive powerhouses in history.

    The illusory Progenitor Chen continued attacking Xia Shenfei, and the Junior Progenitor¡¯s expressionpletely changed, and his body started trembling from rage. He red at Shang Qing. "What the hell did you do? How dare you insult my ancestor!"

    His body shed and split into nine clones, and each and every one of them was shrouded with the Divine Martial Armor as they charged at Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin''s back went cold when he saw this; nine clones? Just as he had assumed, Progenitor Chen had not been the one to create the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Instead, it was something that hade from this universe.

 Chapter 1436: Attack

    Chapter 1436: Attack

    Shang Qing had not expected Xia Shenfei to possess the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Even more shockingly, the clones could apparently be separated even after they had all merged together. This revtion shattered Shang Qing¡¯smon sense. He felt helpless, and hisst stream of ancestral qi moved away from his body and took on the form of Progenitor Hui.

    Xia Shenfei had assumed that thest strand of qi would also be one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, and he had not expected to see a stranger appear.

    The moment Progenitor Hui appeared, the summon started dashing around the battlefield. At the same time, Shang Qing moved to dodge the attacks of Xia Shenfei''s clones.

    Xia Shenfei staggered from the overpowering rage that was consuming him, and his own strength naturally fell a bit as well. He was protecting himself from the clone of Progenitor Chen as well as Shang Qing, so he had not expected to suddenly be attacked by Bai Shaohong.

    Bai Shaohong used a single finger to touch the void, and it caused a ck line to appear. "Void Rip."

    The ck line tore through the void and cut across Xia Shenfei''s back. He turned around to stare at Bai Shaohong in shock.

    Long Tian was also surprised. He had originally believed that Bai Shaohong was directing the Void Rip at him.

    Wang Su frowned. Bai Shaohong was too despicable. This sort of surprise attack waspletely unscrupulous.

    As far as Bai Shaohong was concerned, no matter how impressive Shang Qing¡¯s strength might be, he was still nothing more than a trespasser from the Forsaken Land. Thus, he could never possess the strength to match up to a Junior Progenitor. Bai Shaohong only saw the other Junior Progenitors as his peers.

    At this moment, Xia Shenfei was still too upset.

    Shang Qing had not expected Bai Shaohong to suddenly sneak attack Xia Shenfei. He shot a nce over at Bai Shaohong. This person was like a poisonous snake that could turn on people without warning.

    Lu Yin also kept a wary eye on Bai Shaohong. This guy had no bottom line.

    "Long Qi, behind you!" Long Xi yelled. Lu Yin instantly dodged, but smoke appeared and took on the form of a rope that wrapped around him. Yun Tingting was attacking him.

    Lu Yin smashed out with his hand, and while he was able to disperse the smoke, it quickly reformed.

    The smoke had appeared in more than one direction, and it had actuallypletely surrounded him. In fact, it was even beneath his feet.

    Long Tian shouted, "Wen Diyi, stop her!"

    At this moment, Wen Diyi was busy fighting with another Yun Tingting. He truly did want to stop the woman, but he had already been badly injured, and his injuries had not had a chance to heal yet. On top of that, Yun Tingting had a strange power that allowed her to create multiple clones. However, each of these clones were formed from smoke, and they were known as Smoke Incarnations. With this technique, Yun Tingting was able to form ten clones.

    Yun Tingting continued fighting with Wen Diyi even while she was attacking Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin was not an easy opponent, and he gradually revealed a level of strength that left Yun Tingting helpless.

    Wang Su forced back a summoned clone of Progenitor Chen by using Four Arts: Celestial de. She coldly stated, "Origin Matter is the most important thing here! If trespassers manage to steal it from us, that would be too humiliating. We need to deal with them first."

    "I agree." Bai Shaohong was the first to agree.

    Wang Su dodged another knife attack from Progenitor Chen, and she nced at Bai Shaohong. "Bai Shaohong, let''s work together for now. However, if you act against us again, then I, Wang Su, swear that you will pay for such a betrayal."

    At this same time, Xia Shenfei was busy evading the illusory Progenitor Chen¡¯s attacks. Even though Xia Shenfei did not want to ept it, he understood the priorities at this moment. ¡°I agree."

    Long Tian stepped back and stopped fighting with Bai Shaohong. "I also agree."

    Shang Qing frowned. This was bad. The worst possible oue had urred. The four Junior Progenitors were uniting, and no one could oppose them. Shang Qing turned and winked at Lu Yin, indicating that they needed to find a way to escape.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. He suddenly spoke up. "Brother Long Tian, don''t worry! The Origin Matter is with me, and I¡¯ll make sure to get it safely back to Dragon Mountain so that you can open your upper meridian point."

    Lu Yin''s statement was extremely irritating to Bai Shaohong¡¯s ears. He pointed at Lu Yin. "He has to turn over the Origin Matter first! He could also be a trespasser, and we have to deal with all of them first!"

    "No, I won¡¯t agree to that," Long Tian said.

    Bai Shaohong loudly protested, "Long Qi is most likely a trespasser! He¡¯s just pretending! Can''t you see that?"

    Just as Wang Su was about to interject, Shang Qing attacked her. The summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s knife became even more ferocious, and Wang Su was forced to hold back what she had been about to say.

    Long Tian did not actually care about whether or not Lu Yin was a trespasser. After all, Long Tian waspletely selfish and self centered. As long as he was able to get the Origin Matter, it did not matter even if Long Qi was a trespasser. Besides, there was no evidence supporting the im that Long Qi was a trespasser.

    The four Junior Progenitors were able to restrain each other, which meant that Long Tian had to protect Long Qi in order to be the one to ultimately take away the Origin Matter. Even if it eventually came out that Long Qi was a trespasser, his life or death would have nothing to do with Long Tian.

    "Bai Shaohong, you just want to steal the Origin Matter! That¡¯s why you¡¯re trying to nder me as a trespasser!" Lu Yin loudly shouted out an usation.

    Bai Shaohong was enraged, and a killing glint flickered through his eyes. "You must want to die."

    In a corner of the chamber, Crown Prince Gui Qian suddenly attacked. He had been silent and passive this entire time, and even now, he still did not attack anyone. Instead, he was targeting the pir of tribtion crystal. He quickly stashed the huge pir in his cosmic ring and fled without any hesitation.

    Everyone''s attention had been on Lu Yin, and no one had expected Crown Prince Gui Qian to suddenly steal the tribtion pir. By the time anyone was able to react, the prince had already returned to his previous corner and was busy escaping.

    Lu Yin did not ignore Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s efforts. If not for the prince, Lu Yin would have never been exposed. Thus, when the prince stole the crystal pir, Lu Yin had not made any move to stop the prince. Only after the prince had returned to the corner of the chamber and was about to flee did Lu Yin use his secret technique: Astral Chessboard.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was just about to dash around the corner, but he suddenly noticed that the scenery before him had changed. He was now in the center of the chamber while Lu Yin had taken the prince¡¯s previous position. Then, Lu Yin quickly fled.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian had failed to escape for a second time.

    Lu Yin sped up and raced away. As long as he was able to escape with the Origin Matter, the four Junior Progenitors would definitely chase after him, which would be the safest option for Unseen Light and the others.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had been too optimistic. Crown Prince Gui Qian had not been able to escape, and neither could Lu Yin. With four Junior Progenitors present, no one could even dream of escaping, even if they did have secret techniques.

    Lu Yin rushed out of the chamber at his fastest speed, only to find that his path had somehow been reversed and that he was actually returning to the chamber.

    What had just happened?

    "Brother Long, if you¡¯re in too much of a rush, then it¡¯ll be easy to run into a wall." A voice entered Lu Yin¡¯s ear, and he turned to see Xia Shenfei. What had he done?

    Lu Yin was just looking at one of Xia Shenfei¡¯s clones. This clone had attacked Shang Qing before, but because of Bai Shaohong''s sneak attack, Xia Shenfei had not rbined with all of his clones. Instead, he had kept one of them on standby to act as a guard. While Xia Shenfei seemed like an emotional person, he was actually even more wiley than anyone else. Crown Prince Gui Qian had imed that Long Qi had managed to escape from Long Tian and Bai Shaohong, so Xia Shenfei had been waiting for just this moment.

    Since Long Qi had been able to escape once before, it was likely that he would attempt to do so a second time, and Xia Shenfei intended to seize that opportunity.

    The oue could be considered ideal. Long Qi had almost escaped with the use of a secret technique, but fortunately, Xia Shenfei had been prepared.

    "Give it to me." Xia Shenfei''s body was covered with the Divine Martial Armor, and he grabbed at Lu Yin.

    In the distance, Long Tian, Bai Shaohong, and Wang Su all wanted to take action, but there were people blocking them. In particr, Bai Shaohong was held back, as Xia Shenfei''s main body was blocking him.

    A Junior Progenitor, or even just a clone of one, was not something that an ordinary cultivator could face.

    At this time, the summoned Progenitor Hui appeared at Lu Yin''s side. The summoned Progenitor grabbed Lu Yin and instantly disappeared. The two passed right by Xia Shenfei and continued to race out of the chamber.

    This was the clone of Progenitor Hui¡¯s power. It would dash about the battlefield to ce countless spatial coordinates, which would then allow it to freely move about as it wished.

    During ZENITH, Shang Qing had infuriated many people with this ability.

    Progenitor Hui carried Lu Yin and rushed away. However, the void suddenly distorted in front of them, and it looked as though it had been grabbed. Lu Yin secretly cursed. This was not good, as Long Tian had attacked him. He had an innate gift of space, so distance meant nothing to him. Even if the summon blocked this attack and allowed Lu Yin to escape from the branch, he would still be attacked.

    "Let him go!" Long Tian shouted. He pulled his right hand back, and the void in front of the summoned Progenitor Hui shifted as his attacknded. Half of the summon¡¯s body was shattered by this attack. Long Tian had deliberately avoided Long Qi with his attack, as he actually wanted Long Qi to escape. If the Origin Matter was in Long Qi¡¯s possession, then the White Dragon n would have every right to im it. As for the possibility of Long Qi using the Origin Matter to open his own upper meridian point, there was no fear of that happening as it was simply impossible.

    Long Tian had assumed that Progenitor Hui had been kidnapping Long Qi, which was why he had attacked and scattered the summoned Progenitor Hui, momentarily dying the summon. This dy had allowed Xia Shenfei to catch up to Lu Yin once more.

    Long Tian continued to attack. He tried to use his innate gift to lock down Xia Shenfei, but his efforts were being rebuffed by Bai Shaohong, who was interfering with Long Tian''s attacks. Bai Shaohong then looked over at Xia Shenfei. "Brother Xia, catch Long Qi! We¡¯ll have a fairpetition afterwards."

    "Okay!" Xia Shenfei shouted back. Once he was past the corner, he raised a hand and grabbed at Lu Yin. His hand was covered by his Divine Martial Armor, ensuring that Lu Yin would not be able to resist.

    Long Xi''s expression changed drastically. "Long Qi, RUN!"

    Unseen Light was still fighting against Dong Shan. He opened his eyes and helplessly said, ¡°It''s time to make a move, Champ."

    Across from Unseen Light, Dong Shan was confused, as he could not understand what Unseen Light meant.

    Yao Xuan, Liu Tianmu, Shang Qing, and Wu Taibai all simultaneously looked over at the corner, each of them anticipating a shocking scene. They were waiting to see the Lu Yin who had challenged and triumphed over everyone during ZENITH.

    Xia Shenfei lowered his hand. He was just about to seize Lu Yin when Lu Yin let out a breath and looked up. "Is this fun?"

    As soon as these words left his mouth, a golden light appeared and shrouded Lu Yin¡¯s body. He raised his own hand and reached out for Xia Shenfei''s. Xia Shenfei felt the power behind Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and his expression changed. ¡°Is this-?"

    There was a bang, and Xia Shenfei''s clone was suddenly forced up against the wall by Lu Yin. "It''s over."

    Lu Yin instantly released a Vacuum Palm with a full 250 Stacks behind it, as well as his golden battle force. Lu Yin¡¯s hand continued to press forward, tearing through Xia Shenfei''s clone.

    Everyone stared on, dumbfounded; how was this possible? That was Xia Shenfei, a Junior Progenitor! While Lu Yin had only been up against a clone, that clone had still been around as strong as Wang Yi and others at that level. And yet, Lu Yin¡¯s hand had gone straight through the body!

    In the distance, Xia Shenfei¡¯s true body spat out a mouthful of blood, as another clone had been holes punched through his body.

    He stared at Lu Yin in utter shock. "Ten lined battle force? You actually managed to cultivate ten lined battle force!"

    Bai Shaohong and the others were simrly shocked. It was not difficult for such people to cultivate battle force, but reaching ten lined battle force was apletely different story, as that required an unparalleled ambition. Only after achieving ten lined battle force could one be considered to have be unparalleled.

    The four Junior Progenitors had never focused on cultivating a domain or battle force, as they had all received various inheritances and had enough to focus on in terms of training. They had never imagined that Lu Yin would have actually achieved ten lined battle force.

    Ten lined battle force wasparable to the Divine Martial Armor!

    Suddenly, Lu Yin no longer wished to escape. He was fully capable of doing so at this moment, but why should he do so? He had already been exposed, so he would just fight it out. There was also a conjecture that he needed to confirm in this ce, as it could only be done in this ce.

    Long Xi stared nkly at Lu Yin, who was shrouded in a golden light. It was now confirmed that Long Qi was a trespasser, but that was not a surprise.

    Only a trespasser could have hidden such strength.

    Long Tian wore an extremely grim expression on his face. The son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family actually turned out to actually be a trespasser! Once word of this spread, it would be the ultimate humiliation.

 Chapter 1437: Zenith

    Chapter 1437: Zenith

    Bai Shaohong lifted his head high. He was very, very happy that Long Qi had turned out to be a trespasser, as it meant that his marriage to Long Xi did not count.

    Shang Qing looked at Lu Yin. "You aren¡¯t leaving?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "I can leave whenever I want, so there¡¯s no rush."

    Wang Su arched a brow as she looked at Lu Yin. "If you don''t leave right now, then you can forget about ever leaving."

    She then lifted a hand and opened it, pointing all five fingers towards Lu Yin. He recognized this move as a technique that had deeply impressed him before. Four Arts: Pearl was able to seal any technique or ability that a person possessed.

    Lu Yin disappeared in a sh and attacked Wang Su with a Vacuum Palm.

    Wang Su quickly dodged aside, but Lu Yin was much stronger than he had been during ZENITH, and his cultivation had also risen greatly. He had strengthened his body with dragon saliva, and he had even opened his lower meridian point. As such, his Vacuum Palm had be both faster and stronger, and it far surpassed what Wang Yi had endured during ZENITH. That level of strength would not have been able to pierce through the body of one of Xia Shenfei''s clones.

    Wang Su wanted to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but she was a little too slow. The palm mmed into her shoulder, and it knocked her several meters back. A palm print appeared on her shoulder.

    Wang Su was surprised, especially since she was no longer able to fully lift her arm. This had been a very powerful attack.

    Yun Tingting wanted to sneak attack Lu Yin, but she was hit by another Vacuum Palm. She was also not as lucky as Wang Su, and Yun Tingting spat out blood as her body smashed into a wall.

    Bai Shaohong pointed out with a finger to unleash Void Rip.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Shaohong. "You¡¯re really an eyesore. You absolutely deserve to be beaten."

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and Vacuum Palms shot out without end.

    Lu Yin¡¯s battle force had reached ten lines, and the increased power that it gave his Vacuum Palms left Shang Qing and the others speechless. If Lu Yin had possessed such strength during ZENITH, then he might not have even needed to use the God of Death Transformation in his fight against Shang Qing.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was still in a normal condition, but his level of strength wasparable to Shang Qing¡¯s. This meant that Lu Yin was as powerful as a Junior Progenitor because after revealing the full power of his Tri-Yang Technique, Shang Qing had been able to hold down a Junior Progenitor all on his own.

    The Vacuum Palm had been reinforced with the golden battle force, and when that power was amplified by Lu Yin''s physical strength, not only was it able to break through Bai Shaohong''s Void Rip, but it also continued on towards Bai Shaohong and Long Tian, who were nearby.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes grew cold. "What arrogance."

    As he spoke, he raised a hand and struck out with a palm of his own: Gap Between Heaven and Human.

    Boom!

    The violent collision sent out a wave of ripples. Bai Shaohong was an Enlighter who had already opened his middle meridian point, overwhelming Lu Yin in both cultivation and physical strength. However, Lu Yin¡¯s physical power had been reinforced by golden battle force, so his Vacuum Palm was simply too powerful, and it actually overpowered Bai Shaohong¡¯s attack.

    Bai Shaohong could not believe this result; had he actually been overpowered? How could this have happened?!

    Long Tian disappeared, and he raced towards Lu Yin with the Roving White Dragon. A spear shot out, and the attack pierced through the void.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were locked onto the speartip. At this moment, the images that he had witnessed from the Sword Monument reappeared in his mind, and his brain began to race. His hand shot up and shifted the speartip by a tiny bit while simultaneously striking the weakest part of the spear with a palm. Long Tian nearly lost his grip on the spear, and he felt the same shock that had just assaulted Bai Shaohong. Long Tian instantly used the White Dragon¡¯s Transformation, causing his physical might to rise as he fiercely attacked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly disappeared. He had used the Teleportation Formation.

    Long Tian stabbed the air with his spear, and his body twisted. He was still using the Roving White Dragon. His mastery of the technique allowed him to briefly enter the true universe, and hepletely vanished.

    Nearby, Bai Shaohong also stepped into the true universe by utilizing his unparalleled strength.

    This was the strength of the Junior Progenitors. Even if Shang Qing or Lu Yin were strong enough to stand on the same level as the Junior Progenitors, the two were still inferior when it came to overall ability.

    The tip of the spear stabbed at Lu Yin from an invisible location. He sensed the danger and evaded, but his arm was still torn, and blood dripped out. He felt an impending crisis, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, causing him to move with the secret technique.

    Lu Yin had intended to move to a location that was not close to anyone, but he suddenly realized that he had moved in the wrong direction. He instantly thought of Xia Shenfei, as the Junior Progenitor had already demonstrated a simr ability, and he continued to cause Lu Yin to make mistakes.

    Wang Su seemed to be cooperating with Xia Shenfei, and the moment Lu Yin reappeared, he was met by Four Arts: Pearl.

    Both Bai Shaohong and Long Tian appeared, charging at Lu Yin at the same time. Fortunately, at the same time, the summoned Progenitor Chen with the knife and Progenitor Hui¡¯s As If Closed sourcebox array appeared. One shed at Bai Shaohong¡¯s back while the other trapped Long Tian to give Lu Yin a moment to recover.

    Lu Yin looked over at Shang Qing. "Do you want to target the Junior Progenitors with me? It¡¯ll be faster and easier."

    "Alright," Shang Qing agreed. The illusory Progenitor Chen immediately merged with the body of the knife wielding clone of Progenitor Chen. At this moment, the summoned Progenitor Chen''s strength became far higher than before, and it forced Bai Shaohong to retreat.

    Shang Qing had summoned Progenitor Chen. No matter how strong Bai Shaohong might be, he would never be able topare to Progenitor Chen within the same cultivation realm. If not for the fact that Bai Shaohong was cautious and the summoned Progenitor had no intelligence, Bai Shaohong might not have even been able to put up a fight.

    This was the terrifying part of the Tri-Yang Technique; even if Shang Qing¡¯s cultivation only rose by a small amount, the strength of his summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui would rise by a terrifying amount.

    Wang Yi and Wu Taibai had both experienced what it felt like to face off against the Progenitor.

    Although the summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui were able to stop Bai Shaohong and Long Tian, Wang Su had not been stopped.

    She confronted Lu Yin. With a movement of her fingers, the void cracked open. Four ck ropes took form from the void, and they bound Lu Yin''s hands and feet. This was the Wang Secret Art: Confinement.

    "I already told you that there¡¯s no escape." Wang Su did not immediately attack, but her attitudepletely changed. Invisible fluctuations radiated out from her in all directions.

    Bai Shaohong was closest to her, and his expression instantly changed. ¡°Stop!"

    But his words were useless. The invisible waves continued to spread out from Wang Su in all directions, and they enveloped everyone.

    Shang Qing was the only one present who felt danger at this moment, and the summoned Progenitor Hui appeared to move Shang Qing away.

    Shang Qing frowned as he saw the ripples roll over everyone. What was going on?

    Wang Su lifted her head. At this moment, she looked like a goddess who reigned above the nine heavens. She gave off an image of invincibility and caused fear to sprout in everyone''s heart.

    At this moment, even Bai Shaohong, Long Tian, and Xia Shenfei had the conscious desire to worship the young woman. They were still unable to take any action against her.

    The same was also true of Lu Yin. He had been bound by the four ck ropes and rendered immobile. He could not break free. However, even more importantly, he did not want to break free. He watched as Wang Su slowly walked closer, and the urge to kneel filled Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    This was the Wang Secret Art: Supremacy, and the secret technique elevated the user in the eyes of those observing them, giving everyone the desire to worship the user of the secret technique.

    In a battle, even the slightest bit of hesitation could be enough to turn the tides. Thus, the ability to make an opponent to bow their head in submission was something that even Bai Shaohong and other Junior Progenitors were terrified of.

    Wang Su approached Lu Yin one step at a time. She had used Supremacy, so she was not afraid of him escaping. After all, at this moment, he did not even possess the desire to escape. As far as Wang Su was concerned, at this moment, Lu Yin only wanted to prostrate himself and submit to her. This was the source of Wang Su''s self-confidence. This was the strength of the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin watched as Wang Su approached. He watched as she lifted a hand to grab him. This was the same scene that he had seen before, though at that time, it had been Xia Shenfei reaching for Lu Yin, and at this moment, it was Wang Su.

    "Do all of you Junior Progenitors feel like you¡¯re superior and above all others?" Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly changed as he opened his mouth.

    Wang Su''s expression changed drastically; this was impossible.

    Lu Yin growled and snapped the ropes. He then grabbed at Wang Su, using the exact same motion that Xia Shenfei had used before.

    Wang Su stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and her pupils somehow changed and Lu Yin felt a jolt to his brain as he was attacked by spiritual force. His eyes went wide from the shock, and he resisted the attack.

    There was an explosion, and the void between Wang Su and Lu Yin erupted. The two briefly attacked the other with spiritual force and then simultaneously retreated. As they stepped back, the effects of Supremacy also disappeared.

    At this instance, a ball appeared between Wang Su and Lu Yin. When Lu Yin saw it, he silently cursed and immediately fled.

    Xia Shenfei also saw the ball. "RUN!"

    There was a bang, and Wang Su was sted by a violent eruption of spiritual force. This was Yao Xuan''s attack, Force Explosion.

    He had taken advantage of the fight between Wang Su and Lu Yin''s, only attacking at the exact moment that the secret technique had ended. The results were quite good, as Wang Su had been injured badly enough for blood to leak out from her mouth.

    In addition to Xia Shenfei, another Junior Progenitor had also been injured.

    Lu Yin had also been shaken by the explosion, and he was stunned for a moment. Yao Xuan, that idiot! He must have done that on purpose.

    Xia Shenfei looked at Wang Su''s injury. He then licked his lips and dryly asked, "Has anyone ever told you that you shouldn¡¯t offend a woman?"

    Many people turned to look at Wang Su out of reflex.

    She quietly stood there in ce. Her face looked calm, but her head was bowed, and she started to give off a strange aura.

    The moment that Bai Shaohong and Long Tian saw Wang Su in this state, they no longer took any actions at all. Xia Shenfei actually looked at Lu Yin in a sympathetic manner before looking at Yao Xuan and the others. "The actual reason why Junior Progenitors are given such a title is because there is a fundamental difference between us and you. This is something that only we were aware of, but now, you¡¯ll get to see it for yourselves.¡±

    The void trembled after he finished speaking. Wang Su¡¯s head rose. Her body was filled with so much star energy that it actually became visible to the naked eye. It formed a beam that shot high into the sky, and an invisible pressure fell upon the surrounding area. After that, a phantom appeared behind Wang Su that gradually became more and more clear.

    Lu Yin and the others grew somber. From the moment that Wang Su had raised her head, a bad premonition had filled all of their hearts. They had realized that the treatment that the Junior Progenitors received in the Perennial World was simply too favorable. They were called Junior Progenitors as a way of indicating that they were future Progenitors still in their youth. Such a realm was an impossible mystery in the Fifth Maind. Even though Lu Yin had be the champion of ZENITH, he had never received such biased treatment despite having a much greater chance of bing a Progenitor whenpared to his peers.

    In the Perennial World, each Junior Progenitor not only became a member of Humility¡¯s Gate, but they were also automatically given the role of an officer in the organization. On top of that, they would each be given a Junior Progenitor as well as resources from the entire universe. This preferential treatment was extremely out of the ordinary.

    Thus far, despite the impressive strength that Bai Shaohong and the others had revealed that ced them far above their peers, none of them had shown anything that could be considered worthy of the title ¡°Junior Progenitor.¡± However, the moment Wang Su raised her head, revealing the phantom behind her, the title ¡°Junior Progenitor¡± rang out in the minds of Lu Yin and the others. Xia Shenfei''s words also echoed in their minds; they were about to experience the difference between a Junior Progenitor and the others of the same generation.

    Lu Yin silently threw out a Vacuum Palm. It shot through the air towards Wang Su. Lu Yin did not care about titles and such. He was fully confident that his strength had reached the pinnacle of his generation. Even if the Junior Progenitors still had some hidden cards, Lu Yin believed that he was on the same level as them. Besides, was it even possible to avoid a fight? Thus, he had to fight.

    The Vacuum Palm shot through the air, aimed straight at Wang Su''s eyes. She lifted a hand and pped at Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    The deafening bang exploded in everyone¡¯s ears, and the powerful shockwave sted the ground t.

    Wang Su had directly received Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin was surprised. His physical strength and cultivation had greatly improved after he had arrived in the Perennial World, and when those improvements werebined with his ten lined battle force, his Vacuum Palms should have been able to severely injure someone at Wang Yi¡¯s strength. Previously, Wang Su had been knocked back by a single Vacuum Palm, but Lu Yin¡¯s attack had suddenly be useless.

 Chapter 1438: Reappearance Of Invincibility

    Chapter 1438: Reappearance Of Invincibility

    The phantom image behind Wang Su was quite clear. It was a hand, and it was even possible to make out the palm lines on it. Its light illuminated Wang Su, giving her a divine appearance.

    The moment that Lu Yin saw this, he thought of the imprints that he had seen before. Could the Perennial World also use imprints? No, an imprint was an imprint of a powerhouse while this image was of nothing more than a hand.

    Liu Tianmu and the others were all shocked. The moment the image of the hand appeared, Wang Su hadpletely changed. She had easily blocked Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, which showed that her strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.

    Across the chamber, Liu Hao eximed, "The Lu family¡¯s visualization method was divided among the four ruling powers, and this was what brought about the four Junior Progenitors. Is this the power of visualization?"

    As soon as Liu Tianmu heard this, she looked at Lu Yin. The Lu family?

    Long Tian and the others fell back. Wang Su had already brought out the power exclusive to the Junior Progenitors, so this entire farce should finally be about to end. They just needed to wait for Long Qi to be defeated so that they could grab the Origin Matter.

    Long Xi''s face went pale. She had previously seen and felt for herself the visualization method, and she fully believed in the invincibility of the Junior Progenitors. Even though she had already opened her lower meridian point, even if she was given enough tribtion crystals to open her middle meridian point, putting her at the same cultivation level as the Junior Progenitors, it would be useless. Even cultivation was meaningless before this power. Only the Junior Progenitors were able to practice the visualization method out of everyone in the four ruling powers. There were only a few cultivators in the entire Perennial World who were able to use the visualization method as this power had belonged exclusively to the Lu family.

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Su for a moment. There was a phantom behind the woman, not an imprint. This was the same sort of power as the phantom tree that had appeared behind Yuhua Mavis.

    Suddenly, Wang Su''s body disappeared. Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. This was not good! She had moved so quickly that she had entered the true universe. Without even thinking, Lu Yin pulled out the gemspring water that he had Enhanced, and he dripped it into his eyes. At the same time, he fell back. Once he opened his eyes, he saw Wang Su¡¯s icy gaze to his right. He pretended not to see her as she passed by him, moved behind him, and waved a hand. Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Lu Yin instantly set up and used a Teleportation Formation to move behind Wang Su where he lifted his hands and threw out multiple attacks. Wang Su had not expected Lu Yin to actually be able to track her movements. Surprised, she whirled around and swatted out multiple counter attacks.

    Bang bang bang¡­

    Dozens of explosions rang out as two palms collided. The void tore apart, and the shockwaves from the impacts surpassed a power level of 500,000.

    Long Xi stared on in shock. Was Long Qi actually strong enough topare to the Junior Progenitors?

    There was another bang as their hands struck each other once more. Then, Lu Yin and Wang Su both retreated at the same time. They were both panting.

    Wang Su was also astonished. She had already used the visualization method, so why was she still unable to suppress this person? He was absolutely as powerful as a Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin''s palms ached. This woman''s hands were extremely strong, and she was direct with her attacks too. He did not understand just what had boosted her strength so much, but the force that had met each of his Vacuum Palms had been anything but weak. Fortunately, she had not been able to overpower him.

    This battle reminded Lu Yin of when he had first fought against Wang Yi. The two of them had been nearly identical in physical strength, and it was difficult to quickly determine a winner in such a battle.

    At this moment, there was one rule that everyone was following: no one used any items when fighting against those of the same level. After all, who did not want to overwhelm a group of their own peers?

    Lu Yin had revealed enough strength while fighting against Wang Su, and Long Tian''s expression had grown extremely ugly. He had been tricked. Long Qi had obviously possessed this level of strength from the very beginning, and he had definitely beenughing at Long Tian from the beginning. How hateful!

    Bai Shaohong also grew more somber as things progressed, as he was gradually realizing the level of strength that these trespassers from the Forsaken Land possessed. As he thought about this, he looked over at Shang Qing. He was another trespasser with an impressive level of strength. After another era, the situation was looking worse and worse. Things would have to be dealt with after returning.

    Shang Qing''s eyes narrowed. Even though he and Lu Yin were keeping two of the Junior Progenitors upied, there were still two more, and they were more than enough to deal with Yao Xuan and others. Given the current situation, escape was impossible.

    "Wang Su, hurry up and make a decision!" Bai Shaohong suddenly rushed over and pressed down a hand. It was the secret technique: Cloud Fall.

    Wang Su did not stop Bai Shaohong, as this was not the time for a fair fight.

    Two Junior Progenitors had joined forces against him, causing Lu Yin to frown. This had just be incredibly troublesome.

    Shang Qing quickly waved a hand, and his summoned Progenitor Chen charged forward, only to be blocked by Long Tian. Long Tian was not only able to block Progenitor Chen, but he also managed to attack Shang Qing. The attack came from the true universe, but Shang Qing did not have any upgraded gemspring water. Thus, he was not able to see Long Tian¡¯s attacks that came from the true universe. However, the summoned Progenitor Hui was able to take Shang Qing away, and as they moved away, Long Tian was attacked by the As If Closed sourcebox array.

    However, it was not that easy for Shang Qing to escape, as Xia Shenfei also attacked him. "Are you still trying to hold both of us back?"

    His body was covered with the Divine Martial Armor, and Shang Qing dodged again with the help of Progenitor Hui. However, this attack had targeted arge area, so there was no way for Shang Qing topletely avoid it. He was struck by the attack, and he coughed up blood.

    The summoned Progenitor Chen shed a knife at Xia Shenfei from behind, and Xia Shenfei turned around and raised a hand. "Secret Technique: Reverse."

    With a shout from Xia Shenfei, the summoned Progenitor Chen was actually forced back. At the same time, Long Tian broke free of the As If Closed sourcebox array by using the White Dragon Transformation. His spear pierced through the summoned Progenitor Chen¡¯s body and reverted the summon back to a strand of ancestral qi.

    Shang Qing coughed up more blood. He could keep one of the Junior Progenitors upied but not two.

    A short distance away, Lu Yin had also gotten in trouble. Bai Shaohong''s Cloud Fall secret technique had not trapped Lu Yin, but that had never been Bai Shaohong¡¯s intention. After Lu Yin evaded the secret technique, Bai Shaohong instantly attacked again. He pointed into the void. ¡°Void Rip."

    The ck line appeared and sliced through the void.

    Lu Yin paled. This was a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, which meant that his Yu Secret Art would be useless against it. He wanted to use the Teleportation Formation to escape, but he had already revealed many of his abilities against Wang Su. So, Wang Su disrupted Lu Yin¡¯s ability to use the Teleportation Formation with a burst of star energy, and Lu Yin had also just used a secret technique. He would have to take this attack head on.

    Bai Shaohong was absolutely confident that Void Rip would be enough to cut Long Qi in half as long as he did not use a power vessel, but Bai Shaohong was even prepared for that possibility.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and caused a Channeling Diagram to appear. The Void Rip cut across the sourcebox array, but the Channeling Diagram was able to divert star energy attacks, domains, battle techniques, and even stranger attacks. After the sourcebox array appeared, Lu Yin brought out his fatesand, but it was quickly cut through and returned to Lu Yin¡¯s body. Both of his defensive measures only managed to buy Lu Yin an extra second of time, but this second was enough to allow Lu Yin to escape with the Ce Secret Art. His destination was right next to Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    The prince had not been very far from Lu Yin, and he had been staring, stunned, at everything that was urring. Even a person as morose as him would curse at this moment, because he had also been attacked by Void Rip outside of the Voidsoul Pce. He had been cut in two by this technique, and he could still remember the sensation. Now, was he facing it again?

    Just as Crown Prince Gui Qian was about to take out a power vessel to protect himself, Lu Yin appeared in front of him. He pressed a hand down upon the prince¡¯s shoulder and said, "I¡¯m going to use your death energy."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was stunned. "What did you just say?"

    Right then, the death energy within the prince¡¯s body started rushing out towards Lu Yin. It raced away from the prince faster and faster as Lu Yin absorbed it.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was dumbfounded. Besides Specter Abyss, who else was capable of using death energy? Death energy was not amon power, but somehow, this person was able to absorb it. On top of that, the moment that Lu Yin had touched the prince, he had felt as though he was being suppressed and even outssed.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian then became certain that he had heard Long Qi correctly; Lu Yin had indeed said that he would use the prince¡¯s death energy as the prince¡¯s death energy was no longer under his control and was currently being yanked away.

    This matter toppled the prince¡¯s entire worldview. There was not supposed to be anyone outside of Specter Abyss who used death energy, and even within Specter Abyss, there was no one in the prince¡¯s generation who was able to steal his death energy. In fact, even disregarding his peers, it would be highly unlikely that an Envoy from Specter Abyss could sessfully steal Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s death energy.

    Despite all of that, Long Qi was pulling it off. What the hell? Crown Prince Gui Qian was utterly stunned.

    Lu Yin had not escaped earlier, and the entire reason for that was because, when he had first been attacked by Crown Prince Gui Qian, Lu Yin had clearly felt himself absorbing a bit of the prince¡¯s death energy. Thus, he wanted to see if it was possible to absorb death energy from another person.

    As it turned out, it was indeed possible.

    Lu Yin continued to absorb the prince¡¯s death energy even as the Void Rip drew closer and closer. Within Lu Yin¡¯s heart, the ck and white mist had grown greatly sincest time, and it had begun to churn with this additional influx of death energy. It quickly spread throughout Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Shang Qing and the others stared on in amazement as a ck and white cocoon suddenly encased Lu Yin¡¯s body. Right after that, the Void Rip struck the cocoon, but it did not break it. However, the Void Rip also did not disappear. It looked as though it had be stuck in ce.

    After two seconds, the ck and white cocoon cracked open and revealed apletely transformed Lu Yin.

    His eyes had be pure ck, and his hair hung all the way down to his waist. His upper body was half-naked, and there was also a ck mist wrapping around him. It swirled about like a neb before forming a chain that circled his body that was now marked with mysterious looking dark red veins. There was also a white mist wrapped around his left arm that had formed a shield while in his right hand, he held a massive scythe. More of the ck mist rose up behind him, and eyes asionally could be seen within it. This was the God of Death Transformation.

    When Shang Qing and the others saw Lu Yin¡¯s transformation, their scalps went numb. During ZENITH¡¯sst battle, they had all been ovee with despair after Lu Yin entered this state, and they were struck by the same feeling once again. During ZENITH, all of the top ten had fought Lu Yin at the same time, but theirbined efforts had not been able to defeat Lu Yin after he had transformed. In fact, they had not even been able to make him take a single step.

    This was the true pinnacle strength of the Fifth Maind.

    Given how shocked Shang Qing and others were upon seeing this transformation for the second time, there was no need to even mention Bai Shaohong and the others from the Perennial World. At this moment, they were all struck stupid and were staring at Lu Yin, dumbfounded.

    Wang Su was also staring at Lu Yin. This appearance looked so familiar. She felt like she had seen or heard of it somewhere before.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his solid ck eyes locked onto Bai Shaohong. The Junior Progenitor felt his heart tremble. An inexplicable sense of fear filled his body, and it felt as if he was being looked down upon by some indescribable existence.

    At this moment, the one feeling the most turbulent emotions was none other than Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    He felt like his brain was about to explode the moment Lu Yin revealed his God of Death Transformation. No one was more familiar with this image that Specter Abyss. This was the appearance of the God of Death.

    The God of Death had not been a mere myth. Although that was what everyone else believed, Specter Abyss knew that the ancient Progenitor had truly existed and that he had been an utterly invincible powerhouse who had surpassed everything that humanity currently understood about the ancient Progenitors. Not even the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers possessed inheritancesparable to the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. In fact, only the Lu family that had once ruled this universe had possessed aparable inheritance.

    And yet, the God of Death¡¯s inheritance had appeared on a trespasser from the Forsaken Land¡¯s Fifth Maind. This represented the pinnacle that Specter Abyss had always sought, yet never gotten close to reaching. Crown Prince Gui Qian had never expected the inheritance to actually appear here on this person.

 Chapter 1439: God Of Death

    Chapter 1439: God Of Death

    As soon as the ck and white cocoon shattered, the Void Rip arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s face. He lifted his left arm, and the shield formed by the white mist blocked the Void Rip. Lu Yin''s eyes shed. This was an absolutely terrifying attack, as even at this moment, he still felt a bit of pressure from it, though it was only a small bit. After all, it was a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique and was something that not even the Yu Secret Art could divert.

    Lu Yin snorted and shifted his left arm to throw the Void Rip back.

    Bai Shaohong''s pupils instantly shrank; how was this even possible? How could his Void Rip be forcibly blocked by one of his peers?

    As they looked at Lu Yin at this moment, Long Tian and the others felt a chill strike their hearts. They felt as though they were facing a god of death.

    Lu Yin clenched his scythe and shed it at Bai Shaohong. "Let me return it to you."

    Bai Shaohong faced the scythe¡¯s attack head on, and an unconscious sense of danger prompted him to use his full strength. Just like what had happened with Wang Su, a phantom appeared behind Bai Shaohong, though his was of a small pond.

    As the phantom image of the small pond appeared, Bai Shaohong raised a hand and pointed a finger: Celestial Being Shows the Way. At the same time, the water in the small pond was rapidly consumed.

    Suddenly, an extreme cold appeared. This was the true Celestial Being Shows the Way of the Celestial Frost Sect. The power of this single finger was able to pierce through the void.

    Lu Yin''s scythe directly smashed against the Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    A terrifying shockwave swept out and shattered space. Lu Yin had expected his attack to injure Bai Shaohong, but Lu Yin had still underestimated the Junior Progenitor who was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most talented youth. Lu Yin¡¯s sh was actually blocked by his Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    However, a great deal of the water in the image of the pond behind Bai Shaohong had been consumed as a result.

    "How many times can you block my attack?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice. He raised his scythe once more and shed it down. This attack not only targeted Bai Shaohong, but also Wang Su. Lu Yin actually wanted to face off against two Junior Progenitors at the same time.

    Bai Shaohong could not believe that a mere trespasser from the Forsaken Land actually possessed greater strength than even him. "I¡¯ll block him¡ªyou attack!"

    Wang Su did not hesitate, and her body shot into the true universe. The effects of the upgraded gemspring water had already faded, so Lu Yin was no longer able to see into the true universe, but did he even need to?

    ck ropes formed from the void itself appeared all around Lu Yin. This was the Wang Secret Art: Forbidden.

    Lu Yin raised his left hand, grabbed the nebulous ck chain wrapped around his body, and swung it in a circle around himself.

    The Forbidden secret technique shattered, and Wang Su emerged from the true universe. The phantom hand behind her solidified, and she attacked Lu Yin with a hand, which meant that two palms were falling upon Lu Yin at the same time.

    However, the palm attack froze the moment it entered the ck mist swirling around Lu Yin.

    Wang Su was startled; how was this even possible?

    Lu Yin turned around and attacked with his scythe again. Wang Su waved her left hand to use Four Arts: Celestial de. But there was a bang, and the Celestial de shattered while the scythe continued on its path without slowing. Wang Su¡¯s body rippled. Secret Art: Supremacy.

    The power of this secret technique was unbearable, and it even left Bai Shaohong fearful.

    Lu Yin avoided the suppression of the secret art by reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. The secret technique had actually caught him off guard, so he was momentarily affected by it. While it only affected him for less than a moment, it was still enough time for Wang Su to quickly retreat.

    Lu Yin looked up at her and attacked once more with his scythe. Blood sshed down. Wang Su had been cut.

    Bai Shaohong appeared from behind him. "Void Rip."

    This was another method of using Void Rip, and it was even more powerful than the attacks Bai Shaohong had used before. He was using the visualization method at this moment, which had boosted his strength even further. Even Lu Yin had to be careful of this attack.

    It sliced through the void in an entire area.

    Shang Qing, Yao Xuan, and the others all warily watched Lu Yin in his God of Death Transformation. They remembered that this state altered Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, and he tended to be more ruthless than normal. Thus, they were afraid of being dragged into his fights.

    When Lu Yin retaliated with his scythe, Shang Qing and the others instantly and unhesitatingly retreated. Their actions proved to be the right one, as it was clear that they would have been swept up in his attack.

    Faced with a sh from the ck scythe and a Void Rip that sliced through the void, Long Tian''s expression dramatically changed, and the phantom of a giant python appeared behind him. This was also the power of visualization. At the same time, Xia Shenfei manifested the phantom of a long knife behind his back. All four of the Junior Progenitors had unleashed their full strength.

    However, all four of the Junior Progenitors were forced to defend against Lu Yin¡¯s scythe, and all of their followers either ducked low or were protected by a Junior Progenitor. Dong He was the only one without anyone to protect him, and he did not have a chance to duck either. The scythe swept by, and his head toppled off, dead.

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes went wide. Dong He was the most talented junior in the entire Celestial Frost Sect after Bai Shaohong himself, but he had just died. "Long Qi, you¡¯ll pay for that with your life!"

    Lu Yin did not see what Bai Shaohong did after that, but Lu Yin suddenly saw Nightking Zhenwu. He looked perfectly real, and he wasughing wildly. "Lu Yin, you can''t defeat me! You can never defeat me! Look at yourself! Look at your people! I will destroy every single one of them one at a time! This is the fate of those who cross me and my Daynight n."

    Suddenly, Ming Yan appeared. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Big Brother Lu, Father¡¯s dead! I don''t want to get you involved, so just let me go."

    As she spoke, she swallowed the Vitality Poison that she was holding in her hands.

    The blood drained from Lu Yin''s face. "Don''t¡ª"

    He stepped forward to try to stop Ming Yan from swallowing the Vitality Poison, but even though she was only a few steps away, she might as well have been on the other side of the world. He would never be able to reach her in time, and he could only watch as she drank the Vitality Poison and died.

    His chest was wracked with severe pain, and he heard someone else roaring. His mind raced, and Ming Yan disappeared from before his eyes. He was once again able to see his surroundings clearly. Unseen Light was shouting at Lu Yin, and in front of him stood the summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui. They were blocking Xia Shenfei and Long Tian. When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that blood was dripping down his chest. Had he been injured?

    Yao Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. His Force Explosion had sessfully roused Lu Yin. Then, Yao Xuan stared at Bai Shaohong in horror. The Celestial Demon prince did not know what the man had done, but Lu Yin had fallen into an illusion. No, there had not been any spiritual force ripples, so it could not have been an illusion. Regardless, Lu Yin had been directly struck by a Void Rip without erecting any sort of defense, and he had acted as though he had lost his mind.

    Bai Shaohong once again pointed a finger at the void as he stared at Lu Yin. "You can''t escape!"

    The blood stopped falling from Lu Yin''s chest. He did not know what Bai Shaohong had done, but since there had not been any spiritual force involved, it had to be an innate gift or a secret technique. The Celestial Frost Sect had as many inheritances as the countless stars in the sky. Lu Yin gained a new wariness of Bai Shaohong.

    Void Rip appeared in front of Bai Shaohong, and the ck line moved towards Lu Yin. At this moment, the Junior Progenitor locked his eyes onto Lu Yin once more. Since he had seeded once, then he could do so a second time. This technique was unavoidable, and it forced them to either see the person they hated the most or the person they loved the most. Regardless, the person would be dragged into a dream.

    Lu Yin let out a breath and started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures within his mind. Any time he encountered strange attacks like this, the Stonewall Scriptures were able to protect him from most of them.

    Another scene entered Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This time, it was a finger falling towards him, and a boundless rage overcame him. He nearly shouted, ¡°Presumptuous!¡±

    He heard Unseen Light and the others shouting at him from nearby. Yao Xuan did not know who would be injured if he attacked again, which was the only reason why he refrained from using Force Explosion a second time.

    Just as the Void Rip drew close, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly shot open, and his scythe shed out once more. The Void Rip was split in twain, and as Bai Shaohong watched on in utter shock, the scythe swung down once again. Bai Shaohong was not able to dodge this time, and a terrible wound appeared on his body, starting at his neck and continuing all the way down to his legs. Blood poured out.

    "Junior Progenitor¡ª" Dong Shan roared in rage and rushed towards Bai Shaohong, but Lu Yin did not stop, and he continued to unleash attacks that contained unparalleled power.

    However, thest attack was blocked by a long spear. It was Long Tian. A phantom of the Ancestor Python had appeared behind him, and the white scales from the White Dragon¡¯s Transformation had appeared all over his body in a dense pattern. He stared at Lu Yin with eyes that burned with heat while also being icy cold. "Now that I¡¯ve had a moment to think, that¡¯s the appearance of the God of Death. Now, Long Qi, return to the n with me, and I will ensure that you will be allowed to be a core member of the n."

    "Idiot," Lu Yin replied. The scythe pressed down harder, and the spear cracked. At the same time, Lu Yin grabbed the nebulous ck chain with his left hand and swung it at Long Tian.

    The Junior Progenitor lifted a hand and grabbed the chain, which was something that Lu Yin certainly had not expected. Long Tian managed to not only grab a hold of the chain, but he also wrested control of it away from Lu Yin for a moment. This was the first time that such a thing had ever happened, and Lu Yin looked at Long Tian in astonishment.

    Long Tian''s eyes grew cold. "You look down on us too much."

    At this moment, Long Xi''s voice entered Lu Yin''s ear, "My big brother''s innate gift is not control of space, but rather that of seizing. He can grab anything, even space."

    Lu Yin was stunned; such a strange innate gift existed?

    The nebulous chain had been grabbed by Long Tian, so Lu Yin swung out his scythe once more. At that moment, Xia Shenfei appeared behind Lu Yin. "Reverse."

    Lu Yin¡¯s posture instantly reverted to before he had attacked. He felt frustrated that he had been hit by the same trick once again.

    Xia Shenfei waved a hand, and star energy wrapped around Lu Yin. It was clear that this was not an attack, but Long Tian was so scared of the technique that he instantly retreated.

    Lu Yin instinctively felt that something was wrong, and then he heard Long Xi''s voice yet again. "Xia Shenfei''s innate gift is the ability to rey the past. He can bring back any pain that you¡¯ve already experienced, both physical and mental."

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb at this exnation. Each of these people had a more bizarre innate gift than the next! This was the power of the Junior Progenitors, and it was no wonder why it was impossible for any of their peers to catch up to them. These four were all freaks.

    Xia Shenfei had surrounded Lu Yin with star energy, and he was about to use his innate gift. There was no way for Lu Yin to evade, so instead, he pulled someone in to help him handle the situation.

    Blood sttered in front of him, and a huge gash appeared on Lu Yin''s chest. This was the exact same wound that he had suffered after being trapped in the As If Closed sourcebox array during ZENITH. The summoned Progenitor Chen had cut Lu Yin with a knife, and after that, Shang Qing had assumed that the match was over. However, that was the moment that Lu Yin had activated his God of Death Transformation.

    However, the reappearance of this wound during the present battle was due to Xia Shenfei.

    A wound also appeared on Shang Qing from his past. It was the wound that he had suffered from Liu Tianmu''s Thirteenth Sword. Shang Qing very rarely suffered any injuries, and the Thirteenth Sword had been the most impressive technique so far.

    "Discipline!" Lu Yin snorted quietly.

    Shang Qing was taken aback, as he did not know how he had just been injured. He assumed that Liu Tianmu must have suddenly attacked him. Still, after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s order, Shang Qing reflexively used the secret technique: Discipline.

    Discipline was the most hated of the Hall of Honor¡¯s techniques, as it was able to perfectly return a wound back to the attacker.

    Xia Shenfei was utterly confused; why had Lu Yin suddenly pulled Shang Qing over? What was the point of having two people be injured? Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he could not stop himself from coughing up blood. Had he been injured? When had that happened?

    The injury felt very familiar. Was it that woman¡¯s Thirteenth Sword?

    Xia Shenfei turned to stare at Liu Tianmu, only to see that she was currently upied with Liu Tianmu with no chance of getting involved in any other battles. But then, how had he been injured?

    "Don''t leave me to fight all four at once! You can keep one of them busy," Lu Yin scolded Shang Qing. Suddenly, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet.

 Chapter 1440: Spoils of Victory

    Chapter 1440: Spoils of Victory

    Lu Yin moved directly behind Long Tian. "I''ve been wanting to tell you this, but you spout off a lot of bullshit!"

    He swung his scythe, and Long Tian raised a hand to grab the weapon, only to realize that he had been entangled by Lu Yin¡¯s ck chain. The chain was not a physical item, but rather solidified death energy. The moment Lu Yin appeared, Long Tian had already been locked down.

    There was a loud squeal as the scythe tore through half of Long Tian¡¯s body. Blood fell to the ground, and Long Tian¡¯s pupils dted as his body was hurled to the ground in the distance. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. This person waspletely terrifying.

    Long Tian remembered everything that he had said to Long Qi in the past. This guy had clearly been ying with him from the beginning.

    Long Xi''s face had also gone pale, though there was clear disbelief on her face as well. It wasmon knowledge that Junior Progenitors were invincible within the Perennial World. Each one was nurtured and groomed by the entire universe, and everyone looked up to or even worshiped them. And yet, Long Tian had just been badly wounded by a casual attack from Long Qi. How was such power possible? What was Long Qi¡¯s true identity? This was a truly peerless individual.

    Lu Yin nced over at Long Xi. If not for her sake, he might have killed Long Tian with thest attack. Then, Lu Yin looked towards Bai Shaohong and raised his scythe high.

    Chills ran down Bai Shaohong''s back. He had not expected Long Qi to actually be able to overpower each and every single one of them. This was an impossible level of strength, and Long Qi had shattered Bai Shaohong¡¯smon sense.

    Bai Shaohong was not the only one with such a reaction, as Shang Qing and the others from the Fifth Maind were simrly stunned. The strength that Lu Yin had revealed during ZENITH was enough for him to take on a single Junior Progenitor, but he had not been strong enough to utterly crush one. But now, his battle force had risen to ten lines, and his overall strength had risen extremely sharply in the amount of time that had passed. Also, Lu Yin had taken the dragon saliva, improved his cultivation by multiple cycles, and even opened his lower meridian point. Thisst point, in particr, had led to an incredible increase in Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, and it was the main reason why he was able to overwhelm the Junior Progenitors.

    As the scythe fell, Bai Shaohong raised a hand, pointed a finger, and released a Celestial Being Shows the Way. The water in the phantom pond behind him waspletely drained now, but this also meant that this was the most powerful Celestial Being Shows the Way yet. A shower of blood fell down in front of him. He had just been seriously injured.

    The Celestial Being Shows the Way overpowered all of Lu Yin''s battle techniques, but Bai Shaohong had forgotten that Lu Yin had been a match for a Junior Progenitor even before using his God of Death Transformation. Lu Yin¡¯s left hand had moved to release a Vacuum Palm at the same time.

    The Celestial Being Shows the Way broke through and continued on towards Lu Yin, but his Vacuum Palm was even faster, and it shot towards Bai Shaohong. This attack not only targeted Bai Shaohong, but also Xia Shenfei, Wang Su, and Long Tian. The Vacuum Palm that the transformed Lu Yin unleashed was enough to force all of them to vomit blood as they retreated. In particr, Bai Shaohong had just been badly injured by the scythe, and he had little chances of surviving if this attack struck him.

    Helpless, he resorted to using a power vessel that barely managed to block the Vacuum Palm. At the same time, he shouted, "Don''t hold back! Deal with them with power vessels!"

    Lu Yin had revealed a level of strength that was just too overwhelming. Even a powerful and arrogant person like Bai Shaohong was forced to use power vessels to gain any advantage, which was no different from admitting that he was inferior. This would cause psychological damage to him regardless of the oue of the fight.

    This was also true for Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and Long Tian. Lu Yin¡¯s strength after undergoing the God of Death Transformation was terrifying beyond anything they could ever have imagined.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a Channeling Diagram appeared to block the Celestial Being Shows the Way. After the attack shattered the sourcebox array, it was no longer a threat to Lu Yin. At this moment, he was preupied with Bai Shaohong''s power vessel, as well as the precious power vessels the others would take out.

    Shang Qing and the others all felt their hearts sink. The time hade to fight with power vessels, which meant that the fight would be determined by the various backgrounds supporting the youths. How could anyone from the Fifth Maind have a background that couldpare to one of the four ruling powers of the Perennial World?

    Upon hearing that the fight would shift into one of power vessels, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. The death energy that he had absorbed from Crown Prince Gui Qian had been almostpletely exhausted, and it would be better to use power vessels at this point. That was apetition that Lu Yin did not fear. He did not believe that Bai Shaohong and others could possibly produce more power vessels than him, and if all else failed, he could just suppress them with Zenith Mountain.

    Everyone had be preupied with the Origin Matter, and while they had been fighting to the death, they had all forgotten that the chamber they were in was actually a trap. Given that it was a trap that the ancients had set with tribtion crystals and Origin Matter as the lure, how could the trap have been disarmed that easily?

    When the four Junior Progenitors had all started using the visualization method, no one had noticed that the previously smashed apart dried up corpse had been oddly restored to its previous state. When Bai Shaohong took out a power vessel and prepared to end the entire fight, the sourcebox array that he had ced on the ground of the chamber was suddenly broken.

    Lu Yin was the first to notice that something was wrong. After all, he was an Array Master. He hadprehended multiple sourcebox arrays, and he had also reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control. All this allowed him to sense something strange.

    However, it was already toote. The corpse opened its eyes, and everyone suddenly froze. Confusion could be seen in everyone¡¯s eyes, and they all moved to sit down on the ground, cross-legged. They moved like they were being manipted, but everyone had also calmed down.

    "The Forgotten Ruins are no longer shielded. Hurry up, break free, and escape!" Wang Su struggled to speak. Only she, Bai Shaohong, and a few others were barely able to retain a sliver of their consciousness. They all wanted to escape, but they were clearly all struggling to do so. The same was also true of Shang Qing and the others. Just like what Lu Yin had seen when he entered the chamber, everyone calmly sat down on the ground, and there was no further movement.

    Lu Yin was reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, and it allowed him to retain a fraction more of his mental faculties than Wang Su and the others. Temporarily stabilized, Lu Yin looked over towards the dried out corpse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was within five meters of the corpse. He looked at the body, and then his consciousness Possessed the corpse. For his main body, the God of Death Transformation ended, and he returned to his normal state.

    Rolling six pips on his die allowed him to Possess people at random, but once he had Possessed someone, as long as he was within five meters of their body, he could Possess them again. This was a part of Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift.

    He was capable of moving towards the exit of the room with the Ce Secret Art, which would allow him to escape from the Forgotten Ruins that Wang Su had mentioned. However, if he left, then what would happen to the others? In particr, Long Xi was his wife in name, and that alone was enough for him to subconsciously not want to abandon her.

    Since he had managed to Possess the corpse, he had the confidence to leave the chamber whenever he wished.

    Instead, the question was how he could take everyone else out? Lu Yin had Possessed the corpse, so he tried to move his hands. This time, he was able to move the body. He was thrilled, as this was just perfect.

    First, he had to take care of himself. He controlled the corpse into a standing position and ced his own body on the corpse¡¯s back. He then moved towards Wang Su, who was the closest to him. He suddenly grew wary for a moment. This was a trap, which meant that there should not be anyone or anything waiting around to attack them. If there were, then the trap would be redundant, as any invaders could simply be directly dealt with.

    After thinking things through, Lu Yin unconsciously tried to cough, only to discover that the corpse he had Possessed was incapable of coughing.

    He felt a bit apologetic, but they were enemies. They would never leave this ce, so there was no need for them to keep anything for themselves. Lu Yin tried tofort himself even as he removed Wang Su¡¯s cosmic ring and pricked her finger to draw a drop of blood. He then started to clean out her cosmic ring. As he looked through the ring, he became iparably excited, as it was time to collect his loot.

    While he was certainly capable of rescuing everyone present, most of these people would never feel any gratitude for his efforts. At the very least, Lu Yin knew for certain that Bai Shaohong and Long Tian would never do so, and neither would that creepy Crown Prince Gui Qian. Lu Yin would not risk his own life to save these people, but he also could not simply eliminate these people. This trap had been set by humanity¡¯s ancient enemy, and killing the Junior Progenitors would be no different than giving those monsters a helping hand.

    He could not save them, but neither could he eliminate them. All he could do was leave things as they were, and also take a bit of a reward for not harming them.

    Lu Yin had expected to find a great deal of star essence in Wang Su¡¯s cosmic ring, but the contents left him disappointed. At most, there were a few tens of millions of star essence. It might be enough to help others, but it was far too little to mean much to Lu Yin.

    In addition to the star essence, Lu Yin also found many personal items in the cosmic ring, and while such things did not interest him, he still nced through everything. Eh? A hairpin caught his eye. He frowned and took it out to examine it. After a look, he became excited as this was a lockbreaking tool. How odd; why was there a lockbreaking tool in the shape of a hairpin?

    Since he had almost missed a treasure, Lu Yin casuallyid it on the ground and continued going through the cosmic ring. Next, he found some white paper. What? Why would anyone store nk paper in a cosmic ring? It had to be something special. He also removed that and set it on the ground before continuing to look through the ring. In the end, he also found a small knife that was very simr to the one that had destroyed his ring-shaped power vessel, though it was a bit different.

    The only power vessel in the entire cosmic ring was only the small knife. Clearly, it was an invaluable power vessel, and there was no need to think otherwise. Lu Yin knew that this power vessel was not simple, so he removed it from the ring, only for the de¡¯s sharpness to nearly cut him when he looked at it. It was quite powerful and valuable.

    Lu Yin took the knife away without hesitation. Next, he moved on to Dong He. This person was already dead, so Lu Yin walked the dried out corpse over to the fresh one and removed Dong He¡¯s cosmic ring. He used a bit of Dong He¡¯s blood to sweep the ring clean.

    This ring also only had a few pieces of star essence. In addition to that, Lu Yin just found some medicinal herbs and a few power vessels, though there was nothing very good. There were also some nk sheets of paper. What was this? Lu Yin found a bottle that held a red powder. There was a single word written on it: ¡°chili.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Chili? Was this real or fake? Who carried chili powder with them?

    Then, Lu Yin remembered Silver. That guy had imed to be a gourmet, and he had always carried some condiments with him. It looked like Dong He was the same.

    Lu Yin took the bottle out of instinct. No matter how small a mosquito was, the flesh of a mosquito was still meat.

    Lu Yin continued to sweep through the various cosmic rings. Still, he only targeted his enemies, skipping people like Unseen Light. He would not kill them. However, Lu Yin still found it somewhat regretful.

    From Yun Tingting, he took some healing pills and rather useless power vessels. Also, he found some smoke. This smoke was truly incredible, and it was most likely Yun Tingting¡¯sst resort. However, Lu Yin showed no hesitation and simply took it away.

    He found nothing in Wen Diyi¡¯s ring aside from a pile of books and some ink.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This guy even carried ink! What a nerd! However, when Lu Yin remembered how Wen Diyi had always treated him well, Lu Yin skipped the man. After all, he did not even have anything worth stealing.

    Lu Yin nced around and saw that Crown Prince Gui Qian was next. This person had already provided Lu Yin with a great deal of help, as without the prince, Lu Yin would not have had enough ck and white mist in his chest to sustain his transformation for as long as he had. Still, the prince had also been the one to expose Lu Yin. If not for this person, Lu Yin would have been able to maintain his cover as Long Qi, though not for much longer. Still, it had not been easy to expose Lu Yin as a trespasser.

    Lu Yin felt a mixture of gratitude and anger as he looked at Crown Prince Gui Qian. He shamelessly took the massive pir of tribtion crystals, and Lu Yin also cleaned out the prince¡¯s star essence and other various treasures. Out of everything, the item that intrigued Lu Yin the most was the skeleton of some giant beast. Lu Yin felt suppressed the moment the skeleton was removed from the cosmic ring, so he quickly stored it away once again. Those bones were not simple.

    When Lu Yin got to Xia Shenfei, he still felt rather resentful. Xia Shenfei¡¯s secret technique was so infuriating that many people had grown to hate him, as it was a truly shameless technique.

    Xia Shenfei''s cosmic ring was stuffed full of wine, which instantly made Lu Yin think of Liquor Hero. The two were a perfect match.

 Chapter 1441: My Surname Is Lu

    Apart from the alcohol in the cosmic ring, there was also something that looked like a puppet that caught Lu Yin''s attention. He studied it quite seriously, and his face was solemn. This was most likely Xia Shenfei''s most powerful treasure, as the puppet gave Lu Yin a great feeling of danger.

    It was naturally taken.

    Next was Long Tian. Lu Yin violently smacked Long Tian¡¯s forehead and then simply took away his cosmic ring along with everything inside of it.

    It held numerous items, but most of them were useless. The only thing that actually interested Lu Yin was a spear that had some strange, green, gtinous substance on it. Only the gods knew what it was, but Lu Yin took it anyways. Before moving on, he smacked Long Tian one more time.

    Oops, almost forgot. Lu Yin nced over at Long Xi. He had almost forgotten that Long Xi was carrying Xia Taili''s cosmic ring, as she had not yet had the opportunity to return it to Xia Shenfei. Lu Yin fished it out, and after opening it, he found the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt within it. Not bad.

    Finally, Lu Yin moved on to Bai Shaohong, who was the leader of the four Junior Progenitors.

    Talking to this person was not as simple as just searching through his cosmic rings.

    Finally done, Lu Yin returned his consciousness to his own body, and for an instant, he felt the confusion and suppression press down upon his mind once more. He quickly started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, and the pressure immediately pulled back. Free to move, he quickly released four Vacuum Palms in a row to shatter Bai Shaohong''s limbs. A fifth attack struck his chest, causing Bai Shaohong to spit out a mouthful of blood. He barely woke up for a moment, and he saw Lu Yin''s attack. However, the haze of the Forgotten Ruins quickly overcame him once again.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath, and his consciousness switched back to the dry corpse. He then dragged Bai Shaohong out of range of the trap while also carrying his own body.

    Bai Shaohong woke up as soon as he was out of range of the Forgotten Ruins. Years of training his mind caused him to instantly try to flee, but Lu Yin had already crippled Bai Shaohong¡¯s arms and legs and severely injured him. Bai Shaohong was so badly wounded that he nearly copsed the moment he tried to move.

    Lu Yin had already shifted his consciousness back to his own body. He watched as Bai Shaohong''s body swayed once before grabbing the man with a hand. All four of the Junior Progenitors seemed to like to do this to people, so Lu Yin would reciprocate.

    Bai Shaohong was now conscious, so he clearly saw Lu Yin''s hand shot towards him. He instinctively tried to resist, but he was too injured.

    Lu Yin grabbed Bai Shaohong''s neck while fiddling with his cosmic ring with his other hand. "Are you looking for this?"

    Bai Shaohong stared at Lu Yin as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He still could not believe what had happened. "How are you fine? How did you escape from the Forgotten Ruins?"

    "What are the Forgotten Ruins?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shaohong sneered, "The Forsaken Land really is forsaken. You don¡¯t even know about the Forgotten Ruins."

    Lu Yin frowned, and his left knee mmed into Bai Shaohong''s stomach. Star energy appeared above the Junior Progenitor¡¯s body and formed a finger, but the finger dissipated at almost the same moment that it appeared. Even though Bai Shaohong had also reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, it was impossible for him to resist Lu Yin due to how injured he currently was.

    Lu Yin''s knee struck Bai Shaohong''s stomach, and he bent over, coughing violently. Along with his coughs came out blood.

    Pitiless, Lu Yin looked down at the Junior Progenitor.

    Bai Shaohong swayed. Finally, he was unable to endure the pain, and he copsed to the ground as his limbs bled from the exertion of the attempted violent movements. He gritted his teeth as he red at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes. "Do you even know what you¡¯re doing? How dare you say anything! You¡¯re nothing but an ant from the Forsaken Land! If I take action, do you realize that my Celestial Frost Sect can wipe out your entire Forsaken Land at any time? The only reason why you people have been allowed to continue to exist is nothing but pity!

    "I can ask the Progenitors to take action against the Forsaken Land whenever I wish to destroy everything you know."

    Lu Yin quietly stared at Bai Shaohong. "Are you threatening me? If I¡¯m worried about what you¡¯re saying, then I can just kill you."

    Bai Shaohong''s eyes grew wide. "You wouldn¡¯t dare."

    Lu Yin thought that this was too funny. Long Tian and Bai Shaohong were the same kind of person. Long Tian actedpletely self-righteously and always looked down on Lu Yin while acting as if he was the ultimate authority. Bai Shaohong behaved in the exact same manner. Apparently, this was just the attitudes of the Junior Progenitors that had been elevated to the highest level by the entire Perennial World. The entire universe even contributed to their cultivation resources.

    While Lu Yin had never spoken with Wang Su or Xia Shenfei, he was quite confident that, even if those two were not as open about their arrogance, it was still something that had been engraved into their very bones. In particr, these four had a sense of natural superiority over those from the Forsaken Land.

    "The moment I die, the Celestial Frost Sect will instantly know, and they will naturallye to the conclusion that I died at the hands of you trespassers. That¡¯s because no one else in this entire universe would dare to offend my Celestial Frost Sect by killing me! Only you pitiful people from the Forsaken Land would ever dare do such a thing. But know that if you really do dare to kill me, the Forsaken Land will be a true hell!" Bai Shaohong threatened loudly.

    Lu Yin squatted down and looked Bai Shaohong straight in the eyes. "Then tell me. If the Perennial World¡ªno, I¡¯m sorry. If your Celestial Frost Sect wishes to attack the Forsaken Land, do you have a way to get there?"

    Bai Shaohong stared back at Lu Yin. "I know that you''re trying to mess with me, but I¡¯ll still tell you. Your strength should put you at the top of your generation in the Forsaken Land, so you should already know about the Three Gates. After passing through the Three Gates, on one side is our universe and on the other is your Forsaken Land."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as this was rather surprising. Was Bai Shaohong actually that stupid? Or was he just pretending and trying to bluff Lu Yin?

    After passing through the Upper Three Gates from the Perennial World¡¯s side, one would not be in the Fifth Maind, but rather the territory of the monsters. Once they opened the Upper Three Gates¡ªwait, no. The Upper Three Gates had already been opened. Otherwise, the battlefield behind the Mother Tree would not have be as fierce as Guo Shan had mentioned.

    Bai Shaohong had to be bluffing. But even then, that did not seem right. Bai Shaohong was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and thus, his status. So, what would he think that Lu Yin did not know that the Upper Three Gates had been opened by those monsters? Why would Bai Shaohong say such things?

    Could it be that the actual location of Upper Three Gates was a secret? Bai Shaohong might merely know of their existence, but not where they were actually located. He was just bluffing.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. Earlier, Guo Shan had said that the battle behind the Mother Tree had be fierce, but he had not mentioned the existence of the Upper Three Gates. Rather, Lu Yin was the one who had guessed at their location.

    That actually made sense, if his thinking was correct. If everyone in the Perennial World knew where the Upper Three Gates were located, then the Fifth Maind would not have been so peaceful for so many years. The people of the Perennial World had already left the Fifth Maind and abandoned it. As far as this world was concerned, the Fifth Maind was a forbiddennd.

    In that case, the question was, just how had Wang Yi traveled to the Fifth Maind? He had represented the Technocracy during ZENITH, which meant that the Wang family had a secret passageway that led to the Fifth Maind. Bai Shaohong would not try to bluff Lu Yin by threatening that the Celestial Frost Sect would pass through the Upper Three Gates if the sect had an alternative means of entering the Fifth Maind.

    Numerous thoughts shed through Lu Yin''s mind. Across from him, Bai Shaohong felt that he had seeded in intimidating Lu Yin, so he let out a sigh of relief and coldly stated, "Although you¡¯ve injured me, you can still save me from the Forgotten Ruins. I¡¯ll just act like nothing here ever happened, and I can even help you with your identity as a trespasser. Compared to the Forsaken Land, I expect that you¡¯re more than willing to stay in the Perennial World and join the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin felt that this was hrious. Bai Shaohong was not stupid, but he was actually trying to intimidate Lu Yin while simultaneously trying to recruit him!

    Not even someone like Bai Shaohong knew the location of the Upper Three Gates, which showed just how wary the Perennial World was of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. How easy would it be for Lu Yin to turn this threat around on Bai Shaohong? The Junior Progenitor¡¯s words had made Lu Yin suddenly realize the seriousness of being a trespasser.

    "You still haven''t told me what the Forgotten Ruins are," Lu Yin pressed.

    Bai Shaohong frowned. "I just told you that I can give you a new identity. Get me out of here, and not only will I get you into the Celestial Frost Sect, but I¡¯ll also make sure that you be a core disciple. It won¡¯t be impossible for you to be a Progenitor one day. I don¡¯t even need to get any Origin Matter during this trip. In truth, my Celestial Frost Sect already has some, but it¡¯s better if a person tries to get it for themselves. Still, it doesn¡¯t really matter if I get it or not. This is the strength of my Celestial Frost Sect."

    "I''m going to ask you one more time: what are the Forgotten Ruins?" Lu Yin ignored everything that Bai Shaohong had just spouted off and focused on his question.

    Bai Shaohong grew angry and shouted back, "Long Qi, do you really want to end up as my enemy? Do you even understand how terrifying my Celestial Frost Sect actually is?"

    Lu Yin suddenly moved and grabbed Bai Shaohong''s hair. This supremely talented young man, who had once been handsome and extraordinary, was nothing more than a stray dog at this moment. "My name isn¡¯t Long Qi. My surname is Lu."

    Bai Shaohong''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks, as though he had just heard the worst thing in the world. He stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "What did you just say? You- you- your surname is Lu?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "What? Does my name make you that ufortable?"

    All of the blood drained from Bai Shaohong''s face. He suddenly looked more panicked than ever as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Impossible! You¡¯re a descendant of the Lu family? How¡¯s this even possible? You can''t be from that Lu family."

    After a moment¡¯s thought, he said, "You¡¯re from the Forsaken Land. You just have the Lu surname, but you have no connection to that Lu family."

    "I am from that Lu family, as how else would I be able to reach this level of strength? I¡¯vee back," Lu Yin said in a nostalgic voice as he stared off into the distance. It was as though he was reminiscing.

    Bai Shaohong roared, "That¡¯s impossible! The Lu family was exiled! Everyone with the Lu bloodline was exiled back then, so even if there are some remnants, they¡¯re nothing more than the Lu family¡¯s disciples. There¡¯s no way that anyone truly surnamed Lu is still around! You¡¯re a fake! You¡¯re lying!"

    As Lu Yin observed Bai Shaohong''s reaction, it was clear that this information had greatly disturbed the Junior Progenitor. Could the Lu family really be that terrifying?

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, and he shouted back, "If I wasn''t from the Lu family, how could I possibly have defeated you?"

    "It¡¯s impossible! Even your Progenitors were exiled! None of them were missed! None of them!" Bai Shaohong screamed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    "I''m standing right here, so why should it be impossible? Do you really believe that your methods were wless? Your exile ended up being ineffective," Lu Yin scolded, his eyes growing red.

    Bai Shaohong was hysterical now. "The White Dragon rolled over and shoved the entire Lu family towards those monsters! All of the members of the Lu family were there, as it was done on the day of their festival! Their celebration became their funeral! The four ruling powers joined forces against the Lu family, so how could any of them have returned? Not a single member of the Lu family was spared! Everyst one of them was exiled! You can''t possibly be from the Lu family!"

    Lu Yin felt shaken. While he had made some guesses before, at this moment, everything was finallyid bare, and he had some difficulty breathing. The Lu family really was from this universe. However, apparently, they had been defeated by the four ruling powers, and the White Dragon Rolls Over had shoved them towards the monsters? They called it exile. How was that exile?

    "I''m from the Lu family, and I''m back. The Lu family has returned," Lu Yin coldly announced.

    Bai Shaohong''s veins were bulging out across his entire body, and his hands were clenched into fists. Although Lu Yin had crippled Bai Shaohong, he briefly managed to regain control of himself with this surge of adrenaline, and he grabbed Lu Yin''s clothes. "You¡¯re lying! If you really are from the Lu family, then prove it!"

 Chapter 1442: Life Experience

    Chapter 1442: Life Experience

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he raised a hand, bringing out his Champions¡¯ Stage and letting it slowly rotate in ce. It was possible to see the image of the Giant Emperor on it, looking almost as though it was still alive.

    When Bai Shaohong saw the Champions¡¯ Stage, he was stunned stiff, as though he had been struck by lightning.

    "So? Is this enough to prove my identity?" Lu Yin asked in a cold voice. This particr innate gift was the most solid proof of his past. Despite all of his guesses and deductions, he had nothing that connected him to the exiled Lu family aside from the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Lu Yin hoped to use Bai Shaohong to reaffirm his connection to the Lu family, and also to find out exactly what had happened in the past. While the chances of learning this information from the Junior Progenitor were very slim, Lu Yin would not give up as long as there was even the slightest possibility of sess.

    Bai Shaohong was struck dumb the moment he saw the Champions¡¯ Stage. Slowly, he managed to tear his gaze away from it and back at Lu Yin. It was as though Bai Shaohong was actually looking at Lu Yin for the first time.

    His eyes held conflicting emotions, including disbelief, nostalgia, a great deal of resentment, jealousy, and¡­ fear.

    "I know who you are! Hahahaha, you¡¯re back! You really are back, hahahaha!" Bai Shaohongughed like a madman as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin seized him by the cor. "Then tell me who I am!"

    Bai Shaohongughed. "I''m not stupid. You¡¯ve lost all your memories, and you know nothing about the Lu family! You don''t know where you came from, who¡¯s waiting for you, or even who your enemy is, hahahaha! You don¡¯t know anything! You¡¯re so pathetic. Do you know why you were even able to survive? It¡¯s simply because your fate is the most tragic, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as he stared into Bai Shaohong''s eyes. "I don''t feel like my life is that tragic. You¡¯re in my grasp afterall."

    "As expected, you¡¯re actually able to fight back. Still, it¡¯s all useless. Everything has already been determined, and you can¡¯t change things no matter what you do! You¡¯re even a trespasser now! It looks like you¡¯ve received a lot of support from those bugs in the Forsaken Land, but so what? So what even if you amass the entire Forsaken Land to attack this universe? You can''t even go up against the Celestial Frost Sect alone! You can''t go against my sister, just like your siblings!" After he finished speaking, Bai Shaohong suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was torn apart. He hadmitted suicide.

    Lu Yin had not expected Bai Shaohong to kill himself. Wordless, he let go of the corpse and watched as Bai Shaohong''s body fell to the ground.

    Bai Shaohong had been the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, and he had been beyond arrogant and conceited. Although he had done his best to stay alive, even sacrificing his dignity to do so, he had decisivelymitted suicide at that moment. It just went to show how much of an effect Lu Yin¡¯s identity had had on the Junior Progenitor.

    Only when confronting someone they considered to be of an equal or higher status would such a person ever debase themselves. It was amon trait among those at the top.

    From Bai Shaohong''s perspective, Lu Yin had previously been nothing more than an ant from the Forsaken Land. Even if Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the God of Death, he still had not qualified to enter Bai Shaohong¡¯s sight. Whenever he looked at Lu Yin, Bai Shaohong only ever saw one thing: treasure. He had wanted to take everything from Lu Yin: the Origin Matter, his secret techniques, and even the God of Death¡¯s inheritance.

    However, everything had taken a 180 after Lu Yin had revealed his Champions¡¯ Stage. Bai Shaohong had let go of his arrogance and sense of invincibility. He had abandoned his threats and forgone any hopes of finding a peaceful solution. Their rtive statuses had reversed, which was why Bai Shaohong¡¯s eyes had been filled with more fear than resentment, and that was also why he had chosen tomit suicide.

    The moment Bai Shaohong heard Lu Yin¡¯s surname, he had already known that there was no way to survive, and thus, suicide was hisst decision to make. Bai Shaohong had not wanted to die at Lu Yin''s hands.

    Standing beside the Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin''s face had frozen stiff as he stared at Bai Shaohong¡¯s corpse.

    "By my name, I appoint you as my champion." A chilly voice fell, and an image of Bai Shaohong was branded onto the Champions¡¯ Stage with life-like details.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Shaohong''s corpse as the recent words repeatedly echoed in his mind.

    Lu Yin had only revealed his surname to confirm things about his past. He had indeed managed to confirm where he came from and gained a lot of information, but there was still so much more to uncover.

    The Lu family, the four ruling powers, and the White Dragon Rolls Over. These details were only the tip of the iceberg, and there was a great deal more hidden from him.

    Bai Shaohong had said that the day of the Lu family¡¯s exile had been the same day as their festival. Apparently, the entire Lu family had only gathered because of this festival, which had presented the rare opportunity to cast all of them out at once. In that case, why had there been a festival? Who had been behind everything and caused the four ruling powers to join forces? There had to be a mastermind, as how else could the four ruling powers have joined forces so easily? Even if the White Dragon had rolled over, how had that managed to push the entire Lu family away? The Lu family had been powerful enough to force the four ruling powers to join forces, which meant that they had definitely been more powerful than any one of the four ruling powers.

    Could the Lu family havecked the strength to fight back? What about everyone else? For example, what role had the Liu family and Seed Garden yed during those events? Why had Bai Shaohong been so certain that Lu Yin suffered from amnesia? Was the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back that inhibited his various breakthroughs somehow connected to all of this?

    There was just too much that Lu Yin still had to find out. More importantly, who was his family¡¯s enemy? Who was the hand in the dark that had directed the events leading to the Lu family¡¯s exile?

    There were still too many secrets hidden from Lu Yin in the Perennial World.

    After thinking about matters for a long time, Lu Yin finally released a pent up breath. He engraved all that he had learned into his memory and then looked at the cosmic ring. It was pointless to get caught up in the mysteries that he was pursuing right now, as he could only continue investigating after he left the Dominion Realm. At this moment, he had to focus on all the possible rewards that he could harvest.

    Lu Yin found tens of millions of star essence in Bai Shaohong''s cosmic ring, and when that wasbined with everything else, it meant that Lu Yin had about 300 million star essence on him. It was quite a bit, but not a massive amount.

    As he looked at a fruit that was stored in a box made of some strange crystal, Lu Yin felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but he could not remember from where. Had hee across this type of fruit before? If he had seen it before, then that memory seemed to have been sealed away.

    Lu Yin put away the fruit, and next, he looked at a flower. It was red, delicate, and truly beautiful. Suddenly, Lu Yin went stiff with shock; he had seen this flower before as well.

    Earlier, after rolling six pips on his die, he had Possessed an Enlighter and tried to find out any memories rted to the Lu family. As he had done so, the Enlighter¡¯s head had exploded, and thest image that Lu Yin had managed to glimpse from the man¡¯s memories was of a shower of precisely these red flowers drifting down from the sky.

    Lu Yin stared at the delicate red flower. He had no idea why Bai Shaohong had this flower, but Lu Yin intended to keep it. Finally, after sorting through Bai Shaohong¡¯s various power vessels, Lu Yin came across a square metal te that had four lines on it. It was a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin was quite certain that he was looking at a sourcebox array, and the lines on this piece of metal seemed rather familiar to him. He felt that it was rted to a certain battle technique.

    Had someone managed to ce Void Rip into a sourcebox array?

    If so, then that person was an incredibly skilled Array Master. Just looking at the te left Lu Yin feeling fearful. He was lucky that Bai Shaohong had not tried to use this sourcebox array, as Lu Yin might not have been able to withstand this attack. Clearly, it would not have given him any time to prepare his defenses.

    Lu Yin ced the cosmic ring back onto the finger of Bai Shaohong''s corpse and then started sorting through everything that he had looted from the other various people.

    He had gained about 300 million star essence, but his most valuable gains were the pir of tribtion crystals, the Origin Matter, the knife and hairpin that he had taken from Wang Su, the long spear with a strange green gtinous substance attached to it that he had taken from Long Tian, the puppet that he had found on Xia Shenfei, and the sourcebox array from Bai Shaohong. Also, he had found the four Junior Progenitors¡¯ tokens along with various other odd knick knacks and items.

    He had found more than 200 sheets of nk white paper. He could not figure out what the paper was for, but he had found it on Bai Shaohong and some of the others.

    After sorting through everything, Lu Yin¡¯s mood greatly improved. During this trip to the Dominion Realm, he had made out exceptionally well. He had grabbed the pir of tribtion crystal in the Voidsoul Pce as well as Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique. He was not certain of the abilities of this puppet that he had taken from Xia Shenfei, but if it worked well, it might be able to rece his universal armor.

    Lu Yin merged his consciousness back into the withered corpse and carried his own body out on its back. He then dragged Bai Shaohong back within the Forgotten Ruins and set him in the same position as all of the others so that no one would be able to tell that he had already died. Lu Yin then looked for Unseen Light and the others and dragged them over to the chamber¡¯s exit one at a time.

    Unseen Light, Wu Taibai, Shang Qing, and Liu Tianmu were all taken out. Then, Lu Yin stared at Yao Xuan; should this person be taken out as well? Lu Yin struggled momentarily, but he ultimately decided to take out the prince of the Celestial Beast Empire. After all, during the earlier fight, Yao Xuan had used his Force Explosion to rouse Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness, which had prevented him from suffering far worse injuries.

    Five people were dragged to the edge of the Forgotten Ruins and then left there. Almost done, Lu Yin set the withered corpse to the side, reverted his consciousness back to his own body, and then dragged all five people out of the Forgotten Ruins in one go.

    The moment the five left the range of the Forgotten Ruins, they instantly woke up and reflexively retreated.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "You¡¯re safe now."

    All five youths had put a certain amount of distance between themselves before looking at each other and then at Long Tian and the others still trapped within the Forgotten Ruins. Finally, they focused their attention back onto Lu Yin.

    "You weren¡¯t affected by the Forgotten Ruins?" Wu Taibai was surprised.

    Lu Yin looked at Wu Taibai. "You¡¯re from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, so why did you help us?"

    Yao Xuan also spoke up. "I was surprised by that as well. What did Xia Shenfei mean when he said that you betrayed Shenwu¡¯s Sky?"

    Wu Taibai shrugged. "I didn¡¯t betray them¡ªI just have a different goal. You¡¯ve already seen for yourselves how the people of the Perennial World look down upon the Fifth Maind, but I don¡¯t agree with their viewpoint. The Fifth Maind holds certain inheritances that this ce is missing, and they can only be found there. Shenwu¡¯s Sky also has certain inheritances that are only reserved for Xia Shenfei''s junior brother, so I just left."

    "Is that really all there is to it?" Lu Yin did not believe this exnation.

    Wu Taibai retorted, "What do you think?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "How did you get to the Sixth Maind and be the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s disciple?"

    Wu Taibai leaned against the wall of the chamber. "Brother Lu, are you interrogating me? Don''t forget¡ªI helped you out just now, and I¡¯ve never done anything to harm you from the very beginning."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Bai Shaohong had not known about the location of the Upper Three Gates, so there was no way that Wu Taibai could know. In that case, how had he entered the Fifth Maind? No it should be the Sixth Maind?

    The Fifth and Sixth Mainds. The Technocracy. The Wang family. Lu Yin seemed to gain some understanding, but this was Wu Taibai¡¯s business. "What are the Forgotten Ruins?"

    Everyone else was simrly curious, and they could not suppress their desire to know the answer.

    Wu Taibai nced around at everyone. When he answered, there was fear in his voice. ¡°The Wang family has a certain battle technique that¡¯s known as Forgotten Ruins. As the name suggests, it¡¯s a technique that can make a person forget everything, even their physical selves. The result of mastering this technique is the Forgotten Ruins, as the technique can be focused onto a specific ce, though it needs someone to trigger the activation.¡±

    He looked over at the nearby corpse. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, that corpse is the key to these ruins."

    Unseen Light and a few others had already noticed the corpse, and it was fairly obvious that Lu Yin was able to control the corpse, which was quite bizarre.

 Chapter 1443: Hidden World

    Chapter 1443: Hidden World

    Lu Yin did not try to hide what he had done. "I once practiced a form of puppet maniption, which allowed me to control this corpse."

    He then turned to Wu Taibai. "Are you saying that, as long as that corpse is destroyed, the Forgotten Ruins will disappear?"

    Wu Taibai sighed. "That¡¯s what¡¯s happened in the past, but you have to remember that this is a trap and that all of us followed a map to get here. That map came from Long Xian, so Long Xian must be a Redback, which means that those monsters must also be here. If a trap is that easily destroyed, then can it still be considered a trap?

    "Besides, destroying the corpse is a part of the trap, and it appears that the trap activated after the four Junior Progenitors all used their visualization method. Or maybe it was triggered after the power level in the battle crossed a certain limit."

    Everyone quietly listened on.

    "I suspect that, even if I smash that corpse apart now, not only will it not save them, but it might even kill them," Wu Taibai said in a serious manner. "This is what those monsters like to do the most: force us into killing our own youths. Still, all of this is just my spection."

    Everyone had to admit that Wu Taibai''s guesses seemed highly probable.

    It was absolutely not easy for humanity¡¯s enemies, those monsters, to set a trap in the Dominion Realm. If their trap that had taken such a great amount of effort was easily destroyed, then it would be pointless.

    Given that a trap had been set up, the monsters clearly hadplete confidence in trapping the four Junior Progenitors, even if a true Progenitor moved to save the youths.

    The Perennial World had ced their hopes entirely on the Junior Progenitors, hence their title. As for the monsters, they would be willing to do nearly anything if it allowed them to eliminate a future Progenitor. It was also possible that this trap had not even been set with the youths in mind.

    Humanity had been at a disadvantage in the war against the monsters for countless years, and even the Dominion Realm had been invaded many times. No one knew just how many traps had been left behind. Alternatively, could the monsters be hoping that someone would make a trip to save the youths? Had the trap not been fully activated yet? It was impossible to know.

    "Should we go?" Unseen Light asked.

    Everyone looked over at Lu Yin. He had rescued them all, and he was also the most powerful. Thus, he had the most say in this situation.

    Lu Yin looked over at Long Xi who was still within range of the Forgotten Ruins. He could not just abandon this woman.

    Even after Lu Yin had beenpletely exposed as a trespasser, Long Xi had still given him critical information during a battle, which was beyond anything that she owed Lu Yin.

    The moment she warned Lu Yin, she had imed a ce in his heart. While he could certainly just leave her here in the trap, Lu Yin was not willing to do so. However, if he rescued her, then what guarantee was there that she would not expose them all as trespassers? What should he do? It was one thing to have certain feelings for a person, but could that ovee the brutal truth of the situation? As a part of the Perennial World, could Long Xi actually let them go as trespassers from the Forsaken Land? Even if she could overlook that status for Lu Yin, what about everyone else? She definitely would not allow the others to continue roaming around freely.

    Lu Yin was not confident that Long Xi could be trusted with their status, and releasing her would be gambling with everyone''s lives.

    Yao Xuan was cautious. "Lu Yin, you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of saving that woman! We can¡¯t all die here with you."

    Unseen Light spoke up. "Our situation is not stable. It might be possible for you to save her in the future."

    Lu Yin frowned as he silently stared at Long Xi.

    Shang Qing nced over at Lu Yin. "If you want to save her, then you have the option to do so. Don¡¯t you have a hidden world? Just put her there."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "A hidden world? How could I have something like that?"

    Shang Qing casually replied, "Zenith Mountain."

    "That''s a hidden world?" Lu Yin was stumped.

    Everyone else was simrly surprised, as they were all very familiar with Zenith Mountain, but was that mountain really a hidden world?

    Shang Qing exined, "Zenith Mountain was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s greatest treasures, and it was always a hidden world. It can growrge or small, and it can also be used to attack or defend. At first, the Hall of Honor wanted to give it to me, but that would not have looked right. That was why they made it the prize for ZENITH¡¯s champion, which is why it was given over to you."

    Lu Yin felt awkward. "So are you saying that it¡¯s something that I stole from you?"

    Shang Qing looked back at Lu Yin and replied, "No. You earned it through your own strength, though there have been many arguments within the Hall of Honor. Still, Arch-Elder Zen is the hall¡¯s master, and he awarded you with Zenith Mountain. It¡¯s a hidden world that can hold life that can still be stored in a cosmic ring."

    After speaking, the three streams of ancestral qi swirled back around Shang Qing, giving him an ethereal appearance. Anyone who saw him would want to beat him up.

    Lu Yin impatiently took out Zenith Mountain and ced it on the ground. It looked like a simple rock.

    Everyone stared at it, and they could all see where they had been fighting on the mountain, though they all felt irritated by the statue of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged on the ground. "I''m going to control the withered corpse, so please step back."

    Everyone gave him odd looks before stepping back.

    Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to the withered corpse, and it stood up.

    Everyone was amazed. Was this real life? It was not that they had not encountered puppetry techniques before, but rather that they had never expected such a thing to be so useful at this moment.

    However, even with a puppetry technique, how had Lu Yin himself been immune to the Forgotten Ruins? The people who were present were not stupid, and they all knew that Lu Yin had some secrets, but who among them did not? Unseen Light had not revealed his innate gift even during ZENITH. Thus, no one questioned Lu Yin on the matter.

    The corpse approached Lu Yin¡¯s body, ced it on the corpse¡¯s back, and then reentered the Forgotten Ruins. After all, Lu Yin¡¯s body could never be more than five meters away from the corpse.

    The corpse picked up Long Xi, set her on the edge of the trap¡¯s range, silently returned to a corner, and then Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to his own body.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and pulled Long Xi out of the Forgotten Ruins.

    She opened her eyes and warily looked around. When she saw all the people who were still trapped within the Forgotten Ruins, she turned to look at Lu Yin with a torn expression. "Did you save me?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Everyone else stayed silent and kept their distance.

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. Suddenly, a spear appeared in her hand, and she raised it high. "You and I are enemies!"

    "Then why did you warn me?" Lu Yin countered.

    Long Xi clenched the spear shaft. "I warned you as a final show of affection. From now on, there is nothing more between the two of us."

    Lu Yin sighed in a helpless manner. "Do you really believe that they¡¯ll just let you go?"

    He looked over at Unseen Light and the others.

    Long Xi''s expression froze. "Then just try to stop me!"

    She instantly used the Roving White Dragon and disappeared with a single step. Lu Yin also disappeared, blocking Long Xi¡¯s path. She reflexively used White Dragon Surveying the Sky, and she was a bit stronger than Wang Yi when he had participated in ZENITH. After all, she had already opened her lower meridian point. Still, that meant nothing against Lu Yin.

    This was the first time that the two had faced each other in a serious manner, and it was also Long Xi¡¯s first time truly experiencing Lu Yin¡¯s terror.

    Lu Yin had been trapped by the White Dragon Surveying the Sky several times in the past, but it could not hold him at this moment. He appeared behind Long Xi by using a Teleportation Formation and stretched out a hand to grab her as golden battle force twined around his hand.

    Long Xi spun around as dragon scales covered her body in a dense pattern: the White Dragon Transformation. She thrust her spear forward, showing no mercy.

    Lu Yin calmly raised a hand and grabbed the shaft of the spear. A shockwave spread out from the two and sted their surroundings to shreds.

    Long Xi was unable to move, which shocked her even more. "You-"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You are much weaker than me.¡±

    He then unleashed 250 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path through the spear. Long Xi was unable to keep her hold on the spear, and she instantly dropped it. The moment it fell down, she released a punch, but Lu Yin just leaned his head to the side, sweeping the spear shaft away while simultaneously striking Long Xi in the shoulder. Her body swayed to the side, and her fist missed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s domain was only deployed to a few meters around him, but it made Long Xi feel as though she was mired in mud. With this opportunity, Lu Yin grabbed Long Xi''s shoulder and dragged her towards Zenith Mountain.

    The scenery changed before their eyes, and Long Xi suddenly saw the massive, towering form of Zenith Mountain, as well as the statue of Lu Yin far above.

    She retreated back dozens of meters, and as she stood across from Lu Yin, she sharply used, "Is this your real strength? Have you beenughing at me this whole time?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "No, I''m actually quite afraid of you."

    Long Xi gritted her teeth. "Where are we?"

    "This is a hidden world, so don''t even think about trying to escape from this ce unless you can shatter the entire world," Lu Yin said. As he spoke, he began throwing out massive amounts of star essence.

    Zenith Mountain used star energy to fuel its protective barrier. The more star energy that was used, the stronger its protection. Theoretically, it could even defend against the attacks of an expert with a power level of a million.

    Lu Yin had no idea how much star essence it would take to reach that limit, but to be safe, he immediately threw out 100 million star essence.

    Zenith Mountain quickly changed in response. The inside of the mountain filled with energy, and as that happened, a transparent barrierpletely surrounding the mountain appeared.

    Long Xi jumped up and punched at the barrier.

    Lu Yin simply watched.

    After sting the barrier apart, Long Xi raced away from Zenith Mountain to return to the chamber.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open, and he quickly chased after her while cursing to himself. Zenith Mountain looked powerful, but it seemed to be nothing but a false facade. He had assumed that it would at least be able to defend itself against an Envoy, and he had not expected the initial barrier to be so weak. He would have to spend more money.

    As Lu Yin left Zenith Mountain, Long Xi red at him with cold eyes. She raised a hand, and her star energy formed a rope that she threw at Long Tian. She was trying to save him from the Forgotten Ruins. However, the moment her rope entered the range of the Forgotten Ruins, Long Xi was overwhelmed with confusion and sat down cross-legged once more.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. If it was that easy to save people from this trap, then he would not have needed to carry everyone out one at a time. He grabbed Long Xi and returned to Zenith Mountain.

    Long Xi recovered as soon as she entered Zenith Mountain. When she looked around, she quickly realized that she was back in this ce.

    Lu Yin could not believe what had just happened, so he threw out 200 million star essence onto the mountain this time.

    He had spent more than 116 million star essence upgrading his universal armor until it could protect him from attacks with power levels of almost 700,000. Zenith Mountain was so huge that even 100 million star essence had beenpletely useless. Thus, Lu Yin threw out another 200 million more, making for a total of 300 million star essence.

    Long Xi jumped up to attack the barrier again.

    The barrier was much tougher this time, and although Long Xi was able to crack the barrier with a single punch, she was unable to escape this time.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. This still was not enough. He threw out another 200 million star essence, practically bleeding from the cost that he was paying to save Long Xi. If it were anyone other than her, then he would not have nearly spent so much star essence on Zenith Mountain; this was a pitiful return on his money.

    Long Xi threw out another punch. This time, she failed to break the barrier, which surprised her. She began to frantically attack the barrier while using variousbat techniques, even the White Dragon techniques, but everything was useless. Although the barrier trembled violently, it held firm.

    Long Xi was unwilling to ept captivity, so she used a power vessel.

    As soon as he saw the girl¡¯s crazed appearance, Lu Yin silently threw out another 100 million star essence. He had already gone numb to this expenditure, as so far, he had spent 600 million star essence on this mountain for her. This was getting rather expensive.

 Chapter 1444: Can You Act?

    Chapter 1444: Can You Act?

    Long Xi red at Lu Yin, furious. "What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I want to save you from that trap, but I¡¯m also afraid that you¡¯ll ruin things for us. So, for now, you¡¯ll have to stay in this great world. Don''t worry, I¡¯ll let you go as soon as it''s safe."

    Long Xi was enraged. "Let me out! I''d rather be back in the Forgotten Ruins!"

    "That¡¯s just stupid since that trap was set by those monsters. You''ll most likely end up dead." Lu Yin was very upset. After all, he had just spent 600 million star essence in an instant to imprison Long Xi. It was not worth the expense. No, he would have to get some more value from this expenditure.

    "By the way, you''ll be bored if you stay here all alone, right? I''ll go and get you some friends," Lu Yin told Long Xi before leaving.

    Long Xi around at the deserted Zenith Mountain, her face flushed with anger. Her mind was filled with all the moments that she had spent with Long Qi in the past and how he must have beenughing at her this entire time. The most infuriating bit was how earnest he had sounded when speaking to her. If possible, she would tear his mouth off without any bit of hesitation.

    Soon, a man was thrown onto the mountain: Wen Diyi. He fell to the ground and then stood back up with a nk expression on his face.

    "Princess Long Xi? Where are we?" Wen Diyi was confused.

    Long Xi took a breath before indifferently responding, "We¡¯re in a great world that belongs to Long Qi."

    Wen Diyi was stunned. "Long Qi captured us?"

    Long Xi was already in a terrible mood, so she just ignored Wen Diyi.

    After that, Yun Tingting was sent to the mountain, followed by Liu Hao, and finally, Crown Prince Gui Qian. In the end, Lu Yin rescued everyone from the Forgotten Ruins except for the four Junior Progenitors and Dong Shan.

    He could not afford to take Long Tian and others with him, as if he did, there was no way he would be able to endure the investigation that the four ruling powers would carry out. His only chance was if the four were left trapped within the Forgotten Ruins since this trap had nothing to do with Lu Yin. On the other hand, people like Wen Diyi did not matter. The universe was so vast that no one could possibly know where such people went.

    "Everyone, stay here and rx. I¡¯ll save all of you," Lu Yin''s voice filled the mountain.

    Long Xi was furious, and she ground her teeth.

    Wen Yi and others quickly tried to say something, but Lu Yin simply ignored them all.

    Outside of Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin was feeling quite satisfied as he put the mountain back into his cosmic ring. Now, the expenditure had been worth it.

    Yun Tingting''s smoke was very simr to what Smoke Eater Peaks possessed, though Yun Tingting¡¯s was even more advanced. Liu Hao was the Liu family¡¯s most talented youth. Wen Diyi had mastered a more advanced form of the Literary Prison, and Crown Prince Gui Qian was from the Specter n. It would be useful to take all of these people back to the Fifth Maind, and it would definitely more thanpensate him for the 600 million star essence that he had spent on Zenith Mountain¡¯s barrier. Lu Yin would never voluntarily suffer a loss.

    After seeing Lu Yin throw Wen Diyi and the others onto Zenith Mountain one by one, Yao Xuan and others were no longer able to sit still.

    "Brother Lu, are you nning on taking them back with you?" Unseen Light asked.

    Lu Yin seriously answered, "They¡¯re old friends, so I can¡¯t bear to see them suffer here, especially when I can take them away."

    Damn! He can spout off bullshit so easily! Yao Xuan secretly cursed. His handsome face betrayed his dissatisfaction at this moment, though he did not dare to reveal too much. After all, Lu Yin was much stronger than Yao Xuan. Not to mention how Lu Yin could just outright kill Yao Xuan, but he could also toss the prince back into the Forgotten Ruins, which would be the end for Yao Xuan.

    "If these people disappear, then the people of the Perennial World will definitely investigate the matter. Both the Liu family and the White Dragon n won¡¯t give up that easily," Liu Tianmumented.

    Lu Yin replied, "Given the size of the universe, it¡¯s impossible to know where these people end up."

    "So only the four of them fought with the Junior Progenitors? Who would ever believe such a coincidence?" Yao Xuan couldn''t help but point out.

    Lu Yin nced at him like he was looking at an idiot. "Aren¡¯t there still the rest of us?"

    Everyone was stunned; what did that mean?

    "Everyone, can you act?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Nong Sanniang and Xia Taili arrived at the fork in the branch. They had been trapped for several days, but finally, after Nong Sanniang''s injuries healed, the two women had worked together to escape.

    It was impossible for Long Tian and others to keep the two women trapped for too long.

    "Is that it?" Nong Sanniang asked.

    Xia Taili nodded as she looked around. "I can see traces of battle everywhere, but I don''t know what happened to everyone."

    She was worried about Xia Shenfei, so Xia Taili jumped down and headed into the hole.

    Nong Sanniang followed close behind.

    The two soon arrived at the bottom, where they found Liu Tianmu with a sword piercing through her belly and stabbing her body to a wall. The blood from her wound had already dried and turned ck, giving her a miserable look. She had been stabbed by Wu Taibai, but he was not in a good state himself. Half of his body was strangely twisted around, and it took no more than a nce to see that he had been badly injured and fallen into aa.

    This scene made Xia Taili go pale, and she hurriedly moved forward to check, only to be relieved to discover that Wu Taibai was not dead.

    Nong Sanniang spoke up, "This woman isn¡¯t dead either."

    Xia Taili quickly roused Wu Taibai. He coughed, and blood spurted from his mouth. He slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see Xia Taili. "I''m not dead?"

    Xia Taili anxiously asked, "What happened? Where''s my brother?"

    Wu Taibai shook his head. "I don''t know. At that time, I injured that woman, but my consciousness grew hazy for a moment. It feels like I forgot about something because, when I next opened my eyes, I saw you."

    Xia Taili felt puzzled, and she looked over at Nong Sanniang.

    Nong Sanniang also woke Liu Tianmu up. She looked like she was in a terrible state, and there were numerous sword wounds crisscrossing her body. She was lucky that the wounds had not killed her.

    She tried to resist the moment she opened her eyes, but Nong Sannian easily held Liu Tianmu down. "What happened here? I remember that you were with the White Dragon n¡¯s team. Where¡¯s Long Tian?"

    Liu Tianmu solemnly answered, "I don''t know. I fainted after being stabbed, and when I next opened my eyes, I saw you."

    Xia Taili and Nong Sanniang looked at each other and quickly moved further in.

    Wu Taibai nced over at Liu Tianmu before struggling to his feet. They both pretended to be cautious of each other as they followed Xia Taili through the tunnel.

    After a while, they came across Unseen Light, and they saw that his blood-stained body had fallen to the ground.

    Nong Sanniang hurried forward to investigate, but Unseen Light had not died yet either.

    Unseen Light also apparently only remembered fighting, and he was as ignorant as the other two about what had happened afterwards.

    Xia Taili grew increasingly anxious. As they walked further in, they eventually found Shang Qing, Yao Xuan, and Lu Yin. Everyone was in terrible condition, but there was one thing that never changed: everyone was still alive.

    This did not seem right. How could there be no deaths after such a terrible fight?

    Finally, the Forgotten Ruins entered their sight, and Xia Taili saw Xia Shenfei sitting cross-legged on the ground, as well as Long Tian, Wang Su, Bai Shaohong, and Dong Shan. She also saw Dong He''s corpse.

    Nong Sanniang''s expression grew solemn. "Don''t be hasty."

    "What the hell is going on here?" Xia Taili felt puzzled as she studied everyone sitting on the ground.

    Everyone felt confused.

    Unseen Light spoke up. "During the battle, I heard certain words like ¡®Forgotten something¡¯."

    "The Forgotten Ruins?"

    "The Forgotten Ruins?!" Xia Taili and Nong Sanniang both shouted at the same time, their faces already pale.

    Unseen Light replied, "I¡¯m not sure."

    Nong Sanniang''s face grew solemn. "That¡¯s probably what you heard. If I¡¯m remembering correctly, this is indeed what happens when peoplee across the Forgotten Ruins. Its no wonder why you all instantly fell to the ground during the fighting. No matter how violent the battle is, the moment the effect of the Forgotten Ruins is activated, you¡¯ll forget about everything and be like the living dead."

    Lu Yin secretly praised Nong Sanniang. If he did not know that this woman came from the Nong family, he would have assumed that she was another trespasser. Her exnation had been practically perfect.

    "What about Long Xi and the others?" Xia Taili asked Lu Yin as she turned to look at him.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "We lost track of each other a long time ago. On the way here, we were attacked by a massive horde of withered creatures, and Long Xi and a few others were separated from us."

    Xia Taili frowned. Long Xi and the other missing ones did not have the map to this ce, so they would not be able to find this ce. However, why was Crown Prince Gui Qian not present?

    "How do we save them?" Lu Yin asked, afraid that Xia Taili would overthink things and uncover some holes in the story.

    Lu Yin¡¯s interruption caused Xia Taili to lose her train of thought as her anxiety over saving Xia Shenfei and the others grew.

    However, the Forgotten Ruins were something that she had only heard a little about, and she had no idea how to dismantle the trap.

    Xia Taili tried to use her star energy to drag Xia Shenfei out of the Forgotten Ruins, only to suffer the same fate as Long Xi.

    Nong Sanniang solemnly said, "The Forgotten Ruins aren¡¯t easy to break free of, and it¡¯s beyond us. All we can do is ask for help."

    Xia Taili felt helpless. "We¡¯ll have to head back to the Junior Progenitors to ask the elders to help out with this."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. For the first time ever, he was actually hoping that those monsters would be stronger so that this trap would not be shattered that easily. Otherwise, all of the trespassers would end up suffering.

    "I''m actually rather curious. The Forgotten Ruins are the symbol of the Wang family''s mastery of All Is Forgotten, so why is one here? Could the Wang family have set up this trap?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    He had considered asking this question a long time ago, but he had been sidetracked before. Thus, he had only mentioned it at this time.

    Nong Sanniang answered, "This has to do with the Wang family¡¯s past. If you want to know more about this, you¡¯ll need to ask the elders of your White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin choked for a moment and simply stopped talking afterwards.

    Typically, the excursion into the Dominion Realm did not end that quickly, but the situation had be very serious, and the four Junior Progenitors had clearly miscalcted. Thus, everyone needed to immediately return to the Junior Progenitors to ask for backup.

    Before they left, everyone discussed whether or not they needed to leave behind someone to guard the ce.

    "There are trespassers among us, and no one knows what those people might do! Also, if this trap was somehow set by those monsters, then they might still have another card hidden up their sleeves. Thus, we have to leave someone to protect them," Xia Taili said.

    Everyone nced around at each other. They were all visibly wary and untrusting of each other.

    After seeing everyone¡¯s reactions, Xia Taili did not know how to proceed. She did not know if there were any trespassers among those present. Since someone from the Mavis family had managed to get into the Dominion Realm, then there had to be others as well. It would be a huge problem if any of the trespassers were left behind as guards.

    In truth, the best person to leave behind was Nong Sanniang, but she had been seriously injured, and she also needed to speak to the elders herself. With no other resort, Xia Taili finally turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Upon seeing Xia Taili looking at him, Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, and he coughed a few times, hacking up blood. Everyone else was even worse off than him.

    Xia Taili felt helpless. "Leave behind a power vessel to protect them."

    "My power vessel was destroyed," Lu Yin said. He pointed over at Shang Qing. "He did it."

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes and helplessly said, "I didn''t tell you to leave one."

    The more desperate the situation was, the less this person could be counted upon.

    In the end, no one knew what Xia Taili left behind for protection. Based on her reassured expression, Lu Yin believed that the power vessel should even be able to fend off Envoys, but where had ite from? Xia Taili had lost her cosmic ring.

    Lu Yin had ignored something important; all of these elites were skilled at deception, so the more important items might not have been stored in their cosmic rings. After all, cosmic rings were rather obvious targets, and it would be safer to store truly valuable items elsewhere. As soon as Lu Yin thought of this, he felt his heart lurch, and he once again saw all of the people sitting within the Forgotten Ruins. They must still have some good things left on themselves that he had not taken away. How terrible! Unfortunately, it was already toote.

 Chapter 1445: Return

    Chapter 1445: Return

    While following the maps, they had encountered numerous withered creatures, so as the youths returned to the Junior Progenitors, they decided to join forces. During this return trip, they even discussed their formation so that they could rush back to the Junior Progenitors as quickly as possible.

    The fact that all four Junior Progenitors had been trapped was a disaster for the Perennial World. It was essentially a fracture in the continuity of inheritances, which could not be allowed.

    Lu Yin forced a withered creature back with a single palm attack. However, not only was the creature not killed, but it actually became even stronger. Behind him, Xia Taili felt frustrated. "Why are you so useless?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "Really? I''m injured right now!"

    "Get to the middle and don''t get in the way!" Xia Taili was in a particrly irritable mood at the moment, so she yelled harshly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin casually returned to the middle of the group. He looked quite rxed as everyone else protected him.

    Xia Taili gritted her teeth. If not for the fact that she needed this wastrel to confirm her story and prevent the White Dragon n from not believing her, she would never have brought Long Qi along.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin eximed, "Yuhua!"

    Xia Taili was startled, and she looked at where Lu Yin indicated. Off in the distance, a withered creature was attacking another person: Yuhua Mavis.

    "Trespasser!" Xia Taili shouted fiercely as she raised a hand and attacked with a palm. The energy of her Divine Martial Armor forced many of the creatures back as it shot towards Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis frowned and responded with a punch, causing a powerful force to sh with the Divine Martial Armor. Xia Taili¡¯s attack was shattered, and Yuhua Mavis fled in another direction.

    Xia Taili quickly gave chase, and simultaneously, Yao Xuan, Lu Yin, Shang Qing, and Unseen Light also pursued her.

    Yuhua Mavis had not expected that five people would break off from the group to pursue after her.

    Xia Taili had not wanted anyone else to join her in her pursuit, and she looked over at Lu Yin in surprise. "What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin looked solemn, and he quietly said something to Xia Taili. His words startled her, and she seemed to instinctively not believe Lu Yin.

    Xia Taili looked up and saw that Yuhua Mavis was getting further and further away, so Xia Taili raised a hand. A lock appeared on Yuhua Mavis. It was the Xia Secret Art: Lock.

    Yuhua Mavis would not be able to break free from the technique in a short amount of time since Xia Taili was about as strong as Wang Yi.

    Xia Taili immediately attacked with another palm, clearly intending to smash Yuhua Mavis¡¯s head apart with her Divine Martial Armor.

    Suddenly, a ball appeared in front of Xia Taili. "Force Explosion."

    She quickly pulled back, and the void trembled as an impressive amount of spiritual force swept out in all directions, affecting Xia Taili¡¯s consciousness.

    She looked back up, only to see that Unseen Light had just saved Yuhua Mavis.

    "You really are trespassers!" Xia Taili snapped.

    Shang Qing attacked, and three streams of ancestral qi shot towards Yao Xuan and Unseen Light.

    The three people counterattacked, which shattered the streams of qi. Lu Yin also attacked, and his Vacuum Palm managed to injure Unseen Light. Yao Xuan coldly stated, ¡°There¡¯s no need to chase after us. You¡¯ll never see us again.¡±

    With that, he threw something out of his cosmic ring.

    Lu Yin, Xia Taili, and Shang Qing quickly fell back as the void tore open in front of them. A power vessel with a strength that surpassed an Envoy¡¯s had been used, and it produced a shockwave that swept everyone up into its chaos. The attack then struck the ground and opened up a fissure in the branch.

    Once things grew peaceful once again, Yuhua Mavis and the other two had already disappeared.

    Xia Taili frowned as she stared into the distance. They had run away. Had that attack been a power vessel?

    She heard Lu Yin cough as he approached. "I didn''t expect all of them to be trespassers."

    Xia Taili turned to re at him. "If you suspected it, then why didn''t you tell me before?"

    Lu Yin acted helpless. "I wasn¡¯t sure. I grew suspicious because I happened to notice that Unseen Light didn¡¯t make any moves against Yuhua in the Voidsoul Pce."

    "He¡¯s an old friend of yours, which is also why you stayed quiet," Xia Taili countered.

    Lu Yin sighed. "These trespassers are too powerful. Now that I think about it, they probably befriended me on purpose in order to hide their identities."

    Shang Qing approached. "Let''s go."

    Xia Taili looked around once more, but then she helplessly returned to the group.

    Behind Xia Taili''s back, Lu Yin and Shang Qing nced at each other before following the young woman.

    They hade up with this n a long time ago. Since Yuhua Mavis had already been exposed, it was highly unlikely for just a single trespasser to have infiltrated the teams traveling to the Dominion Realm. After returning to the Junior Progenitors, even if the elders were preupied by the fact that the four Junior Progenitors had been trapped, they would still pay attention to all of the youths, and each one would be thoroughly investigated.

    Out of everyone, Unseen Light and Yao Xuan were the two with unverifiable backgrounds, so the two had simply hidden themselves in Lu Yin¡¯s Zenith Mountain along with Yuhua Mavis.

    Lu Yin had the identity of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family¡¯s son-inw, and he had even passed the n¡¯s blood test.

    Shang Qing came from Nest, but no one knew all of the prisoners from there. Some people were even born in that ce, so it was impossible to confirm anything.

    Wu Taibai was from Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    As for Liu Tianmu, she was an actual member of the Liu family. The Liu family in the Fifth Maind had originally been a branch of the family in the Perennial World, and even the Thirteen Swords hade from this universe. Thus, Liu Tianmu had also passed a blood test. Lu Yin still remembered the asion when Liu Tianmu had shown a rare hint of emotion when exining this matter to him. ¡°Do you think that the Liu family is full of idiots? That you can just join by iming to have the Liu surname?¡¯

    Exposing Unseen Light and Yao Xuan as trespassers not only made things easier for everyone else and helped remove any suspicion of the remaining people being trespassers, but it also allowed the three people to be safely taken away from the Dominion Realm. In short, this move killed two birds with one stone.

    After all, the trespassers all knew each other and would want to work together. What person would think that there were still more trespassers?

    Long Xi had told Lu Yin that in the past, during the excursions into the Dominion Realm, it was normal for all of the trespassers to die. At best, only one or two had escaped, which was considered incredibly lucky. No one had ever thought that Lu Yin¡¯s presence would allow everyone to return safely. Not even a Progenitor would consider this possibility.

    The truth was that the trespassers¡¯ greatest source of support was the nature of the four ruling powers. They were not united, as if the Perennial World was ruled by a single power, it would be much more difficult for trespassers to sneak in and out.

    The return trip was much faster than the trip out of the Junior Progenitors. After only a few days of travel had passed, everyone saw thes appear up ahead.

    Xia Taili let out a sigh of relief and quickly shouted, "Senior Jun!"

    "I am not allowed to set foot in the Dominion Realm. Please return to the Junior Progenitor first."

    Xia Taili breathed heavily before leading everyone to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    As the entire group arrived on the, the void twisted before them, and an old man emerged. "Taili, what happened? Where is our Junior Progenitor?"

    Xia Taili quickly shared everything that had happened with the old man.

    The old man was shocked, and he immediately contacted Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    While he was doing that, three more people appeared in front of the youths.

    Altogether, there were three men and one woman, and all of them were quite old. These four were the strongest powerhouses among the guardians of the Junior Progenitors, and all of them had survived six tribtions. By the Fifth Maind¡¯s standards, these four¡¯s power level had all exceeded a million, and they were allparable to Yuan Shi.

    It was because of these people¡¯s ages that they had no hope of proceeding any further in terms of cultivation, and that was also why they had been forced to rely upon the Junior Progenitors. They could only hope that the youths would eventually be Progenitors who would then help the elders¡¯ cultivation take another step further.

    While these four were all quite old, their ambition was still undiminished.

    The moment they heard that the Junior Progenitors had been trapped in the Forgotten Ruins, several people panicked.

    Lu Yin looked back towards the Dominion Realm. At the moment, it was impossible to determine what fate had in store for them. He also thought of the location that Unseen Light had mentioned where all of the trespassers were supposed to go to for someone to take them back to the Fifth Maind. However, would they even be able to reach that ce?

    Throughout the Fifth Maind¡¯s history, many people had been sent to the Perennial World to grab Origin Matter and fight for the opportunity to be a Progenitor. However, very few had ever seeded. Each person sent to the Perennial World was among the Fifth Maind¡¯s most gifted youths, and none of them would be any worse than Yuhua Mavis.

    When it came to survival, luck mattered more than strength.

    At this point in time, everything was a matter of fate.

    Before long, a terrifying aura descended, causing Lu Yin and the others to all look up at the same time. An unfathomable power had entered the Dominion Realm. This person should be a Semi-Progenitor.

    Soon after, another terrifying aura fell upon them.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. No one knew what these elders were capable of. Lu Yin silently uttered a prayer, hoping to give those monsters a bit of strength. While this was wrong, Lu Yin nheless did not want to die.

    A day passed, and then two. Before long, five days had passed. Everyone was still quietly waiting on Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. Not one person spoke, not even the ancient powerhouses.

    Finally, after ten days passed, they received word from the four ruling powers. The first thing that happened afterwards was that everyone was separated and questioned individually about what had happened during their time in the Dominion Realm.

    Regarding the two days that it had taken Xia Taili and Nong Sanniang to catch up to everyone else at the trap, everyone had already discussed their stories.

    With Unseen Light and Yao Xuan being removed, everyone else had a strong background. While there might be a few missing or twisted details, it would not be anything that truly mattered.

    At this point, the only thing that the four ruling powers were concerned about was whether or not there were still any trespassers hidden within the excursion teams. As for the four trapped Junior Progenitors, that had nothing to do with Lu Yin and the others. It had already been determined that it was impossible to extract the four from the Forgotten Ruins, and it was quite obvious that the trap had been set by those monsters.

    As for finding Long Xi and others, no traces could be found. No matter how the various powerhouses searched, they were unable to find anything. Thus, there was no need to say anything further about that matter either.

    "It¡¯s quite clear that this ce is truly a Forgotten Ruins, but not an ordinary one. Something further must be hidden there. If we forcibly take them away, we might trigger something."

    "Bai Laogui, I want to speak with your grandchild and the other children."

    "Long Laogui, what are your thoughts?"

    "Hmph, no."

    "Then don¡¯t spout off nonsense. Your heir is also trapped in that ce, so give the matter some more thought."

    "Alright, stop wasting time!" an old woman shouted to the others.

    The two fell quiet.

    "This particr Forgotten Ruins is incredibly old, and it should have been left behind from the ancient war. This trap wasid down when Progenitor Ku was still alive."

    "True. If one is able to set up this sort of trap, then it means that they have no fear of rescue. Let¡¯s wait for our Progenitors toe out. It shouldn''t take long."

    "That¡¯s such a cowardly n. It doesn¡¯t sound like what Xia Yingxiong said." An old white man smiled.

    Long Laogui2 also had a strange smile. "You¡¯re the hero."1

    "Shut up, you two! Let''s put this matter aside for the moment. What about those children? Long Laogui, I heard that you lost another one of your n¡¯s children."

    "Hmph, there is no guarantee of survival when exploring the Dominion Realm."

    "You aren¡¯t human," Bai Laogui3 said.

    Long Laogui grew furious. "Old Bai, do you want to fight?"

    "Enough!" the old woman shouted yet again. Suddenly, her voice dropped. "Aside from our four ruling powers, Virtue Archives, Specter Abyss, the Yun n, and the Liu family all have people missing. Those monsters were able to set one trap, so it¡¯s not impossible for them to have set up a second one as well. However, it seems like the missing people suffered from bad luck more than anything, and we need to consider how we¡¯ll exin this matter to those organizations."

    "There¡¯s no need to exin a thing. Such a result is expected when exploring the Dominion Realm. Even the four Junior Progenitors were trapped, so what can anyone else say?" Bai Laogui replied.

    "There were three ants from the Forsaken Land who managed to sneak in, so we still need to make sure there aren¡¯t any others hidden among us," the old woman said.

    "That¡¯s not very likely. It¡¯s already pretty good that they were able to sneak three people into the teams," Xia Yingxiong said.

    "Ahem, the Forgotten Ruins are something created by your family. Do you not have any thoughts on this?" Bai Laogui asked.

    The old woman replied, "You don''t know what happened to my Wang family back then."

    Everyone stopped talking.

    [1] Yingxiong means hero, so the guy''s teasing his old friend. ?

    [2] Long Laogui = "old monster" Long. Old people being friendly to each other by calling each other names. ?

    [3] Bai Laogui = "old ghost" Bai. Very simr to Long Laogui. ?

 Chapter 1446: Continuous Possession

    Chapter 1446: Continuous Possession

    Finally, Xia Yingxiong spoke up, "We elders can only fight and kill. Academic work like this should be left to the kids."

    "Has anyone found Xian''er yet?" the old woman asked.

    Bai Laogui answered, "No. My younger brother is stuck for the moment, but once hees out, he will not be unmoved by this matter."

    "When she makes a move, everything will be taken care of, so why bother wasting time thinking about it?" Long Laoguimented.

    The old woman replied, "The Progenitors¡¯ support is the biggest thing, but even the Progenitors have their own difficulties. They cannot move at will. For now, we should await the Progenitors¡¯ instructions. We shouldn¡¯t expect those monsters to unite us through this. As for Long Xian, kill him on sight. Long Laogui, I assume that you have no problem with this."

    Long Laogui solemnly responded, "Of course not. My White Dragon n has already lost enough face from this."

    "So then, we are decided."

    ¡­

    On the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu stood beneath the statue of Long Tian. They felt the ground tremble as bridges reconnected the fours to each other before thes started moving back towards the Middle Realm.

    The current excursion to the Dominion Realm had ended.

    As for Lu Yin, he felt it was a pity. Only he had gotten any Origin Matter, and no one else had grabbed any.

    Long Xi had mentioned that while it was always a challenge to find Origin Matter in the Dominion Realm, each excursion found several pieces rather than just one. All that could be said was that the excursion had been cut short due to those monsters¡¯ trap.

    The monsters had used Long Xian to leak a map that had lured everyone to a trap. It was a chilling n. Even if the four Junior Progenitors were eventually rescued, they would be barred from continuing to explore the Dominion Realm unless they were willing to break the rules. Doing so would be no different from crossing the Progenitors¡¯ wishes, which would have a profound impact on their future. The four ruling powers would have to decide whether such an excursion was worth it or not.

    If Lu Yin had a choice, then he would break the rules even if he was told no by the four ruling powers.

    All of the youths were kept under strict guard on one of the Junior Progenitors, just as Lu Yin and the others had expected.

    While there was nothing suspicious about any of the remaining youths, it was impossible for the four ruling powers to simply believe their reports. Thus, this observational period was both expected and epted.

    This was as far as the n that they had made went. Next, everyone had to find a way to return on their own.

    As for Lu Yin, he needed to stall for time. He did not know how much the investigations would reveal, but if Wang Yi stepped forward, everything would be discovered.

    Lu Yin wanted to escape ahead of the others and get to the rendezvous point that Unseen Light had shared with him first.

    Although the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor was not that big, Lu Yin still did not know where to go. In the end, he simply returned to the dark ck magma where he had trained earlier.

    After remembering his gains from the Dominion Realm, Lu Yin let out a long breath. If he wanted to, he could open up his middle meridian point at any time. After all, he had two pirs of tribtion crystals: one big and one small. However, that led to a ratherrge problem: he had no way of exining how he had opened his middle meridian point when it was inevitably noticed. Lu Yin slowed his racing heart more and more.

    He did not know if anyone was watching him, so Lu Yin released his domain, and eventually, he noticed a middle-aged man.

    The middle-aged man noticed Lu Yin''s domain, and he gently told Lu Yin, "Elder Long Kui ordered me to tell you that he will escort you to the top of Dragon Mountain in the Higher Realm."

    The older man then closed his eyes and simply quietly stood in ce.

    Lu Yin retracted his domain and frowned. With Long Xi gone, the White Dragon n would not hold the same attitude towards Lu Yin that they had before. It was good for him to keep this in mind, as there were some members of the White Dragon n who wanted to get rid of Lu Yin, as his current status was a bit embarrassing to the n.

    No, he could not follow Long Kui to Dragon Mountain. If he reached the mountain, he could forget about leaving the ce alive.

    After having this thought, Lu Yin raised his head and brought out his die. There was no one in the Perennial World who could help him aside from Humility¡¯s Gate, but if Lu Yin stepped foot onto Dragon Mountain, Humility¡¯s Gate would no longer be able to provide him with any assistance. Therefore, he had to find a way to let Humility¡¯s Gate assign him a mission.

    It was impossible to get in contact with the outside world from any of the Junior Progenitors, so Lu Yin¡¯s only hope was to roll a six with his die.

    Lu Yin had once tried to roll six pips with only a small amount of star essence nearby, and it had allowed him to Possess Guan Yun, who had been rtively close. With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, no matter who he Possessed, it would be beneficial to him..

    The middle-aged man was acting with restraint, and so he was not actively monitoring Lu Yin. This was his only chance.

    Lu Yin retrieved a bit of star essence from outside, but not much. He then set his cosmic ring aside, raised a hand, brought out his die, and tapped it. The die started to slowly spin around before ultimately stopping at five pips: Gift Copy.

    This was useless, so Lu Yin rolled the die again.

    His second trynded on one pip, and a piece of star crystal fell out. Lu Yin was left speechless, but he used the piece of star crystal to restore his die and roll again.

    His third rollnded on two pips: ckhole Disassembly. This was also useless, so he rolled the die for a fourth time, only to get a five.

    Lu Yin frowned and took a deep breath before saying a silent prayer and rolling the die a final time. It stopped on three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin blinked as he stared at the two light screens before waving a hand to disperse them.

    Even though the middle-aged man was not actively monitoring Lu Yin, it did not mean that Lu Yin was willing to upgrade his items out in the open. What if he was discovered? It would have been fine if he rolled six pips, as he would simply appear to be training.

    Originally, Lu Yin was limited to only rolling his die five times before he was forced to rest for ten days. Even though his cultivation had improved drastically since he had first awakened his first innate gift, this limit had not changed.

    During the next ten days, Lu Yin behaved normally as he melted star essence over the magma and quickly absorbed it.

    While he did this, the middle-aged man asionally swept through the area with his star energy, but he was unconcerned after seeing that Lu Yin was simply cultivating.

    Lu Yin felt afraid. It seemed that the various organizations were still concerned about the youths. But even if they had doubts and suspicions, nothing serious hade to light. It was normal for people to die while exploring the Dominion Realm, and any survivors could only be considered to be lucky.

    After ten days, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die again.

    This time, he was lucky. His very first roll was six pips, and he watched as the scenery around him change to that strange, dark space. There, he saw an array of orbs of light appear. He immediately merged with the closest orb, and he soon felt lightheaded. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was being held by a pair of jade-white arms.

    Lu Yin was stunned; what the hell?

    "Let''s just rest for a while. That old man won''t being back anytime soon since he went to the Ind of Hope to curry favor with the Junior Progenitor." The owner of the jade arms was a beautiful woman who was curled up like a kitten within Lu Yin''s arms. Lu Yin had Possessed someone named Zhu Xian, and he was holding another man¡¯s wife.

    Memories continued to pour in as Lu Yin stared at the beautiful woman he was holding with a strange expression.

    This person was from a branch of the Xia family in the Middle Realm. The branch patriarch, Xia Ru, was a powerhouse almost as strong an Envoy. Thus, he had traveled to the Ind of Hope to offer hispliments to Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei. Lu Yin had Possessed Xia Ru''s sworn brother, and the woman that he was holding was actually Xia Ru''s wife.

    This matter was nothing much. Rather, even more bizarrely, Zhu Xian had actually been ced within the Xia family by the Celestial Frost Sect. He was a traitor who had also started an affair with the wife of another family¡¯s patriarch. Xia Ru himself greatly respected Zhu Xian and hoped that the man would be an Envoy, which was why Xia Ru intended to allow Zhu Xian to observe the tribtion when he attempted to be an Envoy.

    There was nothing straightforward about this matter. What a mess! Lu Yin felt a headache.

    As Lu Yin held her, Madam Xia opened her eyes and looked at Zhu Xian with a smile. "You look so silly right now! Why? We¡¯ve been doing this for so long, so why are you still afraid? You already have this branch family under your control, and if not for Xia Ru''s identity, you would already be its master."

    As she spoke, she leaned closer and closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew flustered as he saw Madam Xia approaching him, so he quickly ended the Possession. He returned to the dark space and then back to his own body. He opened his eyes and let out a long breath. That had been very tempting.

    For some reason, Madam Xia had reminded Lu Yin of Madam Nn. However, Madam Xia could notpare to Madam Nn¡¯s natural seductiveness.

    Lu Yin shook his head vigorously and put no more thought to the matter. He lifted his head and brought the die back out to roll it again. Zhu Xian clearly had not been of any help.

    The second roll ended on four pips.

    Once again, Lu Yin¡¯s vision changed, and he appeared in the Timestop Space.

    As long as he entered this ce, he would be able to get whatever roll he needed, but Lu Yin did not have enough star essence to Enhance any items at this time. He also did not want to cultivate with his own resources, as he wanted to stabilize his cultivation while embezzling some star essence into his own cosmic ring. At the moment, he needed to slow down his rate of improvement.

    Still, he could study the Origin Matter.

    Lu Yin took out the leaf. He looked at it all over, but it did not look like anything special. However, he could not tear it apart with his strength.

    He also tried using star energy, but that also gave no response. After thinking for a bit, Lu Yin dripped a bit of his blood onto the leaf, but there was still no response. This thing was quite strange.

    This was supposed to help a person open their upper meridian point, so how could there be no response at all?

    Did a person have to first open their middle meridian point before the Origin Matter would have any response?

    Lu Yin studied the leaf for a few days, but he could not discover anything at all. After three days passed, he left the Timestop Space. He actually did not see any reason why this Origin Matter was not fake! He felt like this was actually very likely since it had been used in a trap set by those monsters. They might have used a fake that was even able to deceive the Junior Progenitors.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth at the thought that he had been tricked.

    He secretly cursed before continuing to roll his die.

    On the fifth roll, itnded on six pips again, and Lu Yin reentered that dark space. Without any hesitation, he chose a bright orb of light and merged with it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly snapped open, but before he could get a clear look at anything, the body that he had Possessed was seized by a massive tentacle. He instinctively wanted to resist, but the body that he had Possessed could not use the Ce Secret Art.

    Lu Yin felt stunned, and his body was dragged into the ground. What the hell was going on? He saw that he was not the only creature being dragged away by the tentacles; were those things all around him terror ants?

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and his whole body trembled. He had actually fallen into a terror ant colony. No, the terror ants were also being grabbed by the tentacles.

    A foul stench assaulted his nostrils, and Lu Yin turned to see an unforgettable scene. There was a round mouth that looked like a ck abyss, and it was sucking him in along with a horde of countless terror ants. This was an anteater!

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness went nk. The body that he had Possessed had died.

    His consciousness returned to his body. Inside his chest, the ck and white mist trembled and increased by a small bit. Lu Yin did not even notice it, as he was busy remembering what he had just witnessed.

    He must have been in the Lower Realm, as terror ants could only be found in that ce.

    Terror ants were the natural enemy of countless creatures in the Lower Realm, and when Lu Yin had traveled to the Lower Realm with Long Xi, they had both possessed power vessels that could protect them from Envoys. But even then, they could only flee when faced with a horde of terror ants.

    And yet, those same terror ants were nothing but the food of that terrifying anteater. What level of strength did that creature possess? It had to have a power level of at least a million, or perhaps it was evenparable to a Semi-Progenitor!

 Chapter 1447: Seven-Stage Formcast Model

    Chapter 1447: Seven-Stage Formcast Model

    After experiencing another death, Lu Yin felt even more dread towards the Lower Realm. There were truly countless terrifying monsters down there. It was no wonder why Root was unable topletely eliminate all of them.

    After rolling his die five times, Lu Yin had to rest for another ten days, and he spent his time absorbing more star energy.

    Twenty days had passed since he had returned to the Junior Progenitor, and during these twenty days, the middle-aged man had swept through the area three times with his star energy. The third sweep had taken ce nearly nine days after the first two. It looked like he was bing a bitx.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current progress, it was expected that he would need some more time to finish his neenth cycle as a Hunter, but Lu Yin was in no hurry.

    After ten more days, he continued rolling his die.

    This time, he failed to roll a single six, or even a four, which he felt was rather unfortunate.

    Lu Yin left the underground area with the dark magma to spend some time rxing. He then dragged a great deal of star essence back to the magma while also secretly putting a great deal into his cosmic ring. He would not always have ess to such unlimited resources.

    "All of the resources here are marked, so you can''t take them away with you." Lu Yin had deliberately passed by the middle-aged man in order to gauge the man¡¯s reaction, which was when the man had made thisment.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I know."

    With that, the man simply ignored Lu Yin.

    Most of the powerhouses who were willing to follow a Junior Progenitor were either approaching the end of their lives or had reached their limits when it came to cultivating. Besides them, there was another group of people that followed a Junior Progenitor, which were those who needed protection from their enemies because theycked the necessary strength. Thisst category was clearly the one that the middle-aged man fell into.

    Lu Yin threw a great deal of star essence into the dark magma before continuing to absorb it while reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    The Stonewall Scriptures had always been very mysterious to Lu Yin, and it was something that he did not dare to reveal to the outside world. Still, whenever he encountered something mysterious or strange, he would frequently recite the scriptures.

    In truth, Lu Yin had always tried to investigate the identity of the old man whom he had met on Driftcharge, but unfortunately, there was no way to proceed.

    Lu Yin feared forgetting the Stonewall Scriptures, so he recited them repeatedly and tookfort in them.

    Ten more days passed. During this time, no one approached the Junior Progenitor. Liu Tianmu also spent her time peacefully cultivating.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and brought out his die. He took a deep breath and silently sent up a prayer that he would roll a six, as that was his only way to survive.

    His finger tapped the die, and it slowly spun around before finally stopping: six pips.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open. What was this? Was it the way that he had rolled the die? Had he been doing things wrong this whole time? Was he supposed to pray before rolling the die?

    He had almost no time at all to consider the matter before his consciousness appeared in the dark space. Like usual, he quickly found a bright orb and merged with it.

    Lu Yin Possessed another body, but he did not immediately open his eyes. The first thing that he noticed was the overwhelming, bone deep pain.

    He quickly opened his eyes to see that he was in a dark cell. A short old man stood in front of him with a strange grin on his face as water dripped in the corner with an incredibly regr rhythm.

    Lu Yin blinked. What was this? Was he being interrogated?

    "Looks like it¡¯s still not enough. We¡¯ll just have to continue." The short old man had an odd smile. Lu Yin did not know what had just happened, but he was immediately struck by the bone-deep pain once more. This pain was actually a bit worse than when Lu Yin had opened his lower meridian point, and it felt as though his entire body was being crushed and then rebuilt.

    ¡°Lu Yin¡± quickly spoke up. "I¡¯ll talk."

    The little old man was clearly startled, and his eyes shed. "What?"

    The pain disappeared, and Lu Yin and the little old man stared at each other. What was Lu Yin supposed to say? What did this body know?

    Finally, memories flooded into Lu Yin¡¯s mind. After two seconds, he understood his current situation. He had Possessed an Envoy named Ren Qing. Additionally, the reason why he had been able to Possess an Envoy was because the man¡¯s stellr energy vortex had been destroyed, greatly weakening him. Given the man¡¯s current situation, any random Enlighter with a power level of just 400,000 would be able to easily defeat the man, and this weakness was also why Lu Yin had been able to Possess an Envoy.

    However, this matter was not important. Rather, Ren Qing was a Redback, and he happened to be the only Redback that Guan Hai had been in contact with.

    After Lu Yin had exposed the Guan brothers as Redbacks, Guan Tong and Guan Hai had been taken away by Qing Chen. They had thenmitted suicide before they could be interrogated and more Redbacks uncovered. Since they had been discovered, there was no way they would be allowed to live. The brothers had been extremely decisive, which was also why they had be the leaders of Huaiyuan¡¯s Humility¡¯s Gate. In the past, Qing Chen had appreciated the brothers¡¯ decisiveness, but after their capture, that same trait infuriated him.

    Fortunately, Humility¡¯s Gate had already investigated who the brothers had been in contact with and who they had been grooming to be traitors to humanity. Nothing was initially found, but Qing Chen was quite clever, and he had pretended to discover something and made some false arrests. Out of those who had been targeted in this manner, only Ren Qing had been found to be a Redback. When people had gone to arrest him, he had fought back with too much vigor, eventually resulting in him being specifically targeted by Qing Chen and then brought to this ce.

    Right after capturing Ren Qing, Qing Chen had immediately destroyed the Envoy¡¯s stellr energy vortex to prevent the Redback from also killing himself. However, Qing Chen had overestimated Ren Qing; he did not have the same determination as the Guan Brothers, and he had quickly broken down during the interrogation.

    However, due to how quickly the man had caved in the interrogation, Qing Chen did not believe what Ren Qing Said, and neither had the old interrogator. Thus, the torture had never stopped.

    Regardless, Ren Qing had been absolutely miserable and was treated as a tragic reminder for the rest. Lu Yin actually felt some sympathy for the man, as Lu Yin knew that the man¡¯s confessions were all true.

    "I know that you¡¯re still trying to keep some important information hidden, but just say it. If you don''t want to suffer, then talk to me. If you don¡¯t, I won¡¯t let you have an easy death, and I¡¯ll use the rest of my life to slowly torture you until you live a hundred lifetimes of suffering. Keeping this up for ten years is nothing." The little old man had a strange voice, and when that wasbined with the gloomy atmosphere of the room, it made for a truly frightening delivery.

    Cultivators were greatly superior to ordinary people when it came to both body and will, but the methods used to interrogate cultivators also far exceeded anything that would ever be used on ordinary people. Cultivators needed to be interrogated with special techniques, but with those techniques, cultivators could break just like ordinary people.

    Lu Yin had already skimmed through many of Ren Qing¡¯s memories, and Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Ren Qing had nothing to hide, let alone tell the interrogator. The only secrets that Ren Qing had been told were rted to the efforts put towards recruiting him, and his recruiter had been a Redback. However, Ren Qing had only ever heard a voice and had never seen anyone, though he had already told the interrogator all of this.

    "Why are you still trying to hide things?" The little old man''s eyes grew cold, and his voice took on a terrifying timbre.

    ''Lu Yin'' sighed. "I already told you."

    The interrogator¡¯s eyes sharpened as he stared at ''Lu Yin.''

    The body that Lu Yin had Possessed was too weak at this moment, and he could not stop himself from panting and was even coughing up blood. He stammered, "Whe- when I heard that the Guan brothers were Redbacks, I- I purposely called them. To- to pass them- no, to meet- meet them in the hidden ce. I saw- I saw-¡±

    Lu Yin deliberately paused, and the little old man shouted, "What did you see?"

    Lu Yin weakly continued, "I saw that they had recorded something down. It- it should be about how- how to train Redbacks. The- the characteristics of their target. I- I saw this."

    The little old man stepped forward and eagerly asked, "Where is that recording? We searched their territory and found nothing!"

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "The things that we recorded on have booby traps ced inside them. How can they be taken away that easily? The first person who touches it might be able to see the things that were being recorded, but at the same time, because the recordings were seen, they¡¯ll be destroyed¡­"

    The little old man grabbed Lu Yin''s chin and demanded, "What else are you hiding? Say it now!"

    Lu Yin screamed, "I¡¯m not hiding anything! This wasn¡¯t anything important, and I just remembered it!"

    "This is the most important thing! You-" That was all that Lu Yin heard before his consciousness snapped back to the dark space and returned to his own body.

    Lu Yin opened his own eyes, secretly rejoicing that his luck had been good this time. He had Possessed Ren Qing''s body, and he had also cast a line. As for whether or not he managed to catch any fish, that would all depend on luck. Still, he had not dared to say anything more.

    He continued rolling his die.

    Next, he rolled a four: Timestop, which thrilled him. This was the perfect moment for him to Enhance his items. He believed that he had picked up at least one or two billion star essence, and he did not even know how many items he would be able to Enhance with his current funds.

    The first thing on his list to Enhance was his formcast model. His previous formcast model had been consumed when he had be a Hunter, and although he hadter Enhanced another one to a six-stage formcast model, he had found that hecked the funds to upgrade it to a seven-stage one.

    He needed to upgrade his six-stage formcast model to a seven-stage model. During hisst attempt, he had estimated that he would need hundreds of millions of star essence toplete the upgrade, and although he had not had enough star essence before, he felt that he currently had plenty.

    Once again, he rolled his die.

    As long as he was in the Timestop Space, he was guaranteed to eventually roll three pips.

    Eventually, when Lu Yin rolled his die for the sixth time, he finally got what he wanted.

    He grew incredibly excited as he looked at the two light screens.

    The fact was that formcast models were a special creation unique to the Fifth Maind, and it allowed their youths¡¯ cultivation speed to match that of those with much greater resources, like those from the Sixth Maind or the Perennial World. Lu Yin¡¯s peers in those ces did not use formcast models, but rather torrential overflow.

    Lu Yin had never heard of anyone having a seven-stage formcast model or experiencing having their body remade seven times, and he had no idea if it would do anything special.

    Regardless, he wanted to give it a try. He would only find out after trying, and there would be no downside to improving further.

    It was time to go big. Lu Yin''s eyes zed with excitement as he threw out the star essence that he had gathered from the Junior Progenitor and watched as the formcast model descended through the two light screens until it finally fell out from the bottom.

    Lu Yin looked at it, but it seemed no different from before it had been Enhanced. As he held it in his hands, Lu Yin let out a sigh. This upgrade had been incredibly expensive.

    The formcast model did not look much different from before, so after a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin looked back at the two light screens; could he Enhance the formcast model yet again? Lu Yin was very curious, so he immediately set the formcast model back on the upper screen and threw out a million star essence.

    He stared at the formcast model. Had it moved? No, it did not seem to have moved at all.

    Lu Yin felt a little disappointed when he saw that apparently the formcast model could apparently no longer be upgraded. Still, he also felt a bit lucky. After all, even if it could be upgraded to eight stages, would he be able to gather enough star essence?

    It had cost him more than eight million star essence to upgrade a formcast model to six stages, and it had cost hundreds of millions of star essence to get a seven-stage formcast model. Based on this rate, the next upgrade might take trillions of star essence, or perhaps even more.

    Where could he ever get so much money? Even if he stripped the entire White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor bare, it would likely not be enough, though there might be enough if he stripped all four of the Junior Progenitors bare.

    While the possibility of Enhancing his formcast model yet again excited him, Lu Yin focused on looking through his cosmic ring while considering which item would be best to Enhance.

    Naturally, the next thing he tried to Enhance was the Origin Matter. Lu Yin might not know what it was, but there was no hesitation as he threw the leaf out onto the upper screen of light. However, Lu Yin was disappointed to see that the leaf did not move at all. It could not be Enhanced.

    Next, he moved on to the strange power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt.

 Chapter 1448: Mass Upgrade

    Chapter 1448: Mass Upgrade

    Lu Yin stared at the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt. He had taken this from Xia Taili, and he had been quite impressed by its strength and utility. After all, he had been bold enough to take advantage of its protection.

    This was the one. Lu Yin ced the power vessel on the upper light screen and then quickly threw out a great deal of star essence.

    There was also the knife that he had taken from Wang Su, the puppet from Xia Shenfei, the Karmic me, and the froststone. Anything and everything that could be Enhanced was repeatedly upgraded. Still, some, like the froststone, could be Enhanced without limit, and he only upgraded those peculiar items a few times. He would continue in the future if he had the opportunity. After all, he was in no rush.

    Lu Yin used up all of the star essence that he had picked up from the Junior Progenitor to Enhance his items, which was a tremendous expenditure. Still, the expenditure had allowed Lu Yin to be armed to the teeth at the cost of nearly two billion star essence. This outrageous sum would shock anyone, and even wealthy powers like the four ruling powers could not wantonly spend their resources in this manner.

    Lu Yin quietly estimated that he had most likely used more of the Junior Progenitor¡¯s resources than all four of the Junior Progenitorsbined. No, he had probably used more resources than all of the people who trained on thesbined, which he found very impressive.

    Although the amount of money that he had just used left Lu Yin feeling slightly dizzy, he continued to roll his die.

    ***

    Half a dayter, on a mountain in a certain region of the Middle Realm slightly to the south of the center and close to the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk was the ce where Qing Chen resided and cultivated.

    The little old man had delivered a report regarding Ren Qing¡¯s interrogation to Qing Chen, and it made Qing Chen grow serious. "Send Cai Shu to me."

    Before long, an elegant-looking, middle-aged man approached Qing Chen and slowly bowed. "Master."

    This man was Cai Shu, Qing Chen''s eldest disciple. He was also the person who oversaw the administration of Qing Chen Mountain and the Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates in Qing Chen¡¯s stead. In other words, he was the supervisor¡¯s right hand.

    Qing Chen tossed over the report from the interrogation.

    Cai Shu looked it over with clear surprise. "So he still had additional information to share. This disciple thought that he had already given up everything."

    Qing Chen replied, "This information has nothing to do with him. Rather, he most likely was not able to endure the interrogation any longer, so he tried to remember anything helpful. What are your ns regarding this?"

    Cai Shu grew solemn. "The Guan brothers¡¯ records are very important. Those monsters have long since used various identities to hide among us humans. Since someone was able to recruit the Guan brothers as Redbacks, their recruiter must have a very high status. This goes for both sides; this individual must have a high status among both us humans as well as those monsters."

    Qing Chen nodded, but then he frowned. "There is something very strange about this situation. Ren Qing clearly gave us this information, but then he seemed to regret saying it and even refused to admit that the information ever came from him."

    Cai Shu also felt puzzled. "Why would he do that? He¡¯s already shared everything he knows, so why would he refuse to tell us this information?"

    "I don''t know. It¡¯s certainly a mystery. Regardless, we can¡¯t let him die, though we also need to continue interrogating him. What are your thoughts about these records?" Qing Chen asked.

    Cai Shu replied, "Long Qi was the one who exposed the Guan brothers as Redbacks, and he was also the one who uncovered the evidence proving his usation. We could ask him to help us with this."

    Qing Chen shook his head. "Ren Qing said that the records were stored in the Guan brothers¡¯ secret base. I checked that ce myself, and there¡¯s no way Long Qi could have essed that ce."

    "Master, since Ren Qing mentioned the records but nothing was found in the Guan brothers¡¯ hidden location within the Huaiyuan Gate, then does that mean that those records were destroyed long ago? After all, Ren Qing never saw them," Cai Shu guessed.

    Qing Chen nodded helplessly. "That¡¯s certainly possible. If that¡¯s the case, then this information is worthless."

    "There¡¯s another possibility," Cai Shu suddenly said, his eyes shing. "The evidence that Long Qi used to back his im that the Guan brothers were Redbacks was something that he took from Guan Yun¡¯s hiding ce. Since Guan Yun secretly hid one piece of evidence, then is it possible that it wasn¡¯t just that? Could he have also hidden those records?"

    Qing Chen''s eyes snapped wide open. "Contact the White Dragon n right now. I, Qing Chen, as Supervisor of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s nine Middle Realm Gates, order Long Qi toe to Qing Chen Mountain in order to assist with this investigation."

    "Understood."

    ***

    On the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin lowered his hand. He had rolled his die two more times after Enhancing everything in his cosmic ring, but he had failed to roll Possession both times. He had even prayed before the rolls, but it had not helped. Still, he did not feel frustrated. During this cultivation session, he had already achieved his goal, and right now, he would only use Possession to dredge up further information regarding the Lu family, so this string of failures was eptable.

    When he thought of the Lu family, Lu Yin¡¯s heart grew heavy.

    The four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family in order to usurp their position, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s enemies were the four strongest powers in the entire Perennial World. Each and every one of them had powerful Progenitors, which was terrifying. Any one of the four could casually destroy the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin could still hear echoes of Bai Shaohong''s words from right before his death. One sentence in particr had bothered Lu Yin: ¡®So what if you amass the entire Forsaken Land to attack this universe? You can''t even go up against the Celestial Frost Sect alone!''

    Bai Shaohong¡¯s confidence had been based on the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitors, as well as the powerhouses who were second only to the Progenitors.

    However, the Fifth Maind was not a simple ce either. The Forsaken Land that the Perennial World ignored had the inheritances of Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui, the Rune Progenitor, as well as those of the first four mainds. Lu Yin did not believe that the Fifth Maind could not stand up to the Celestial Frost Sect with those hidden inheritances, so he wanted to at least try.

    He had already be the master of the Outerverse, so he might as well be the master of the entire Fifth Maind.

    As this thought ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he tapped his die for the third time. It slowly spun before eventually stopping. Six pips. Lu Yin waspletely shocked. This was too unexpected. He had actually managed to roll Possession two times out of his five rolls.

    His consciousness returned to that dark space. Since Lu Yin had just Possessed Ren Qing''s body earlier, he did not have much star essence remaining. Thus, Lu Yin immediately merged with the closest orb of light. It was not exceptionally bright, but it also was not that dim.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, only to see the snow-white neck of a girl whose back was facing him. He was also able to see what the young woman was doing.

    Yu Chen? Lu Yin was stunned. Isn''t she Yu Chen?

    Countless memories poured into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and his face twitched.

    Yu Chen turned around and asked, "What''s wrong?"

    "It''s nothing," Lu Yin replied as he slowly bowed to her.

    Yu Chen did not think much of the matter, and she returned to her current task. This was why she had missed the moment when the eyes of the old man behind her flickered with confusion, bewilderment, excitement, worry, and every other sort of emotion.

    By the time Yu Chen turned around again, the old man was back to normal, as Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness had already returned to his own body. After all, he was currently very short on star essence.

    At the moment, Yu Chen was on the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, which was not far from the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. The close range of the Possession was enough to demonstrate just how few star essence Lu Yin had left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened wide. There was an incredible amount of worry welling from deep within his eyes. The old man that he had Possessed was Yu Chen''s guardian. This man had protected her since childhood, and he was the person that she trusted most. The information that Lu Yin had gleaned from the old man¡¯s memories was certainly enough to thrill him, but a certain person had also appeared within those memories: Liu Shaoge.

    Lu Yin had never considered that he might run into Liu Shaoge in the Perennial World, but that person had somehow appeared close to Yu Chen. This was unbelievable. How had Liu Shaoge managed to get to the Perennial World? How had he joined the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Had he also gone through Jupiter? This was the only reasonable exnation, but if Liu Shaoge had also entered via Jupiter, then another question naturally came up: had his journey been made intentionally, or by ident? If it had been an ident, then everything was fine, but if it had been intentional, then that changed everything. That meant that Liu Shaoge had previously known about the Perennial World, or at least about the Primeval Surnames Alliance as well as the existence of the Hidden Earth Society.

    If Liu Shaoge knew about the Perennial World, then what about Bai Qian? What about the rest of the Hidden Earth Society?

    Lu Yin frowned. Discovering Liu Shaoge''s presence in this universe hadpletely disrupted Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts. He had nearly forgotten about Liu Shaoge, and his most recent impression was that the Daynight n had sent an Enlighter to Earth to chase after Liu Shaoge. Clearly, Liu Shaoge had been improving this entire time, as he had managed to enter the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin was certain that Liu Shaoge had already seen Lu Yin¡¯s information, but he clearly had not mentioned anything to Yu Chen. Why?

    Lu Yin could not see through Liu Shaoge¡¯s motivations.

    ording to Lu Yin''s impression, Liu Shaoge was a despicable person who would do anything to achieve his own goals. In that sense, Liu Shaoge was actually quite simr to Lu Yin, but there was a crucial difference in that Liu Shaoge had no bottom line. Liu Shaoge had not yet exposed Lu Yin, but that did not mean that the same would be true in the future. It was possible that Liu Shaoge was simply waiting for the proper opportunity, one that would allow him to expose Lu Yin and ascend into the sky.

    Of course, the most important detail was that if Liu Shaoge exposed Lu Yin, Liu Shaoge would also lose all of his protection.

    The Perennial World was very antagonistic towards trespassers. Bai Shaohong had offered to vouch for Lu Yin¡¯s status, but Lu Yin had not trusted the Junior Progenitor. The moment Liu Shaoge exposed Lu Yin as a trespasser, all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts would be worthless. It was not simply a case where trespassers could sell out their own people and their life would turn around, as otherwise some of the previous trespassers would have done so long ago.

    There was no way that such a method would work. Liu Shaoge would not expose Lu Yin, and it was precisely for this reason. Unless, of course, Liu Shaoge could also return the moment that he exposed Lu Yin.

    For the moment, Lu Yin set aside his concerns over Liu Shaoge¡¯s presence. Liu Shaoge had done everything he could just to enter the Celestial Frost Sect and get close to Yu Chen. It was impossible for him to sacrifice all of that effort just to take Lu Yin down.

    Liu Shaoge assumed that he was watching Lu Yin from the dark, but unexpectedly, Lu Yin had preemptively discovered Liu Shaoge¡¯s presence. Now it was time to see who could outy the other!

    Suddenly, Lu Yin wanted to know what was happening in the Fifth Maind and the Outerverse.

    Although Unseen Light had shared some recent news, Lu Yin was still worried.

    Lu Yin wondered if it was possible, given enough star essence, to use his die¡¯s Possession to send his consciousness back to the Fifth Maind and Possess someone there. This possibility intrigued Lu Yin, so he jumped up and left the pool of dark magma. He deliberately avoided the middle-aged man as he collected anotherrge amount of star essence. Although he did not have any more items to Enhance, Lu Yin could never have enough star essence. However, he could not hide this star essence in his cosmic ring, and it was already clear that there was a great deal of star essence missing from the Junior Progenitor. Trying to hide the star essence would just draw the attention of the various powerhouses, so it was best to simply use the star essence while it was avable.

    Lu Yin could not hide his actions from the middle-aged man. The man frowned, but he did not say anything. As he had already mentioned, all of the resources on the Junior Progenitor had trackers on them, so nothing could be freely taken away.

    Although the middle-aged man knew this, it was still rather distressing to see Lu Yin throw so much star essence into the dark magma, and the man could not stop himself from speaking up once more. "You can''t take any resources away from this ce, and your cosmic ring can¡¯t even hold that much."

    Lu Yin gave the man a polite smile and then continued on his way.

    The man frowned and snorted derisively before falling silent. Although he had decided to follow Junior Progenitor Long Tian, this man was not originally from the White Dragon n. Even if Lu Yin''s status within the n had fallen due to Long Xi''s disappearance, Long Qi was still a member of the White Dragon n himself. The man knew that he could not touch even a branch member of the White Dragon n, which forced him to just ignore the matter. Besides, Long Qi would definitely be punished once the Junior Progenitor returned.

 Chapter 1449: San Liangâ€™s Ambitions

    Chapter 1449: San Liang¡¯s Ambitions

    Liu Tianmu emerged from the training room where she had been cultivating for more than a month. During the period of time, her injuries had healed a great deal. Out of everyone who had traveled to the Dominion Realm, Liu Tianmu had suffered the worst injuries.

    I wonder how Lu Yin is doing or if he has any way to return home.

    Before sending them to the Perennial World, Arch-Elder Zen had told the youths to not force the matter if they were unable to obtain any Origin Matter. It was more important for them to return alive.

    They would be safe as long as they could reach the rendezvous point, but how were they supposed to leave the Junior Progenitor?

    As she was thinking of these things, she was covered by arge shadow.

    Liu Tianmu looked up, only to be stunned. She saw Lu Yin pass by above her while carrying a literal mountain of star essence. He shot her a smile when he saw her.

    Liu Tianmu blinked, feeling rather stunned. What was this all about?

    The middle-aged man had also seen what Lu Yin was doing, but he refused to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin threw the star essence into the dark magma, which created a boom. Of course, he kept the star essence separate from the magma; if the star essence was vaporized, he would be forced to gather more.

    As Lu Yin stared at the mountain of star essence that likely numbered in the hundreds of millions, he wondered if it would be enough. He would not be able to take any more from where he had grabbed this batch, and it was bing increasingly obvious that many ces on the were missing piles of star essence, which would likely rouse people¡¯s suspicions.

    He just needed to rx for a few days before attempting to break through.

    Lu Yin took out the Skyze Stone and began absorbing the star energy that was constantly vaporized by the dark magma.

    After a few days, his die recovered, and Lu Yin went back to rolling. His luck was good, as he immediately rolled a four.

    He appeared in the Timestop Space and quickly took out the Skyze Stone. It was time for him to finish his neenth cycle as a Hunter.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, the middle-aged man opened his eyes and looked towards Lu Yin''s location. Just what was that kid doing with so much star essence? The man could not help but be curious, and he swept his senses through the area around Lu Yin and his star essence. As the man scanned the area, Lu Yin seemed to sense the man, and he looked over.

    The middle-aged man was surprised; he had broken through? When a Hunterpleted their neenth cycle, it meant that they had reached the peak of the Hunter realm and were only a single step away from bing an Enlighter.

    The man felt that this was a pity. If Long Qi had reached this level before going to the Dominion Realm, the Junior Progenitor would have had a much better attitude towards Long Qi. Unfortunately, even if Long Qi had be an Enlighter, he would not have been able to help the Junior Progenitor.

    As for the star essence that Lu Yin had gathered, it was all still there, untouched. The middle-aged man frowned. He had no idea what Long Qi intended to do with it.

    Lu Yin was able to sense that his observer was unable to restrain himself from investigating, a smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. While the watcher could not resist periodically checking on Lu Yin, there would be a period of a few days where he did not observe Lu Yin in between.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and tested his strength as a Hunter with neenpleted cycles. Completing another cycle had not really changed Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and raising his cultivation had basically only increased his star energy reserves. Normal Hunters likely experienced a more noticeable increase in strength, but the change was not very substantial for Lu Yin. He would only experience a substantial change in his strength after he broke through to the Enlighter realm.

    However, it was impossible for him to break through to the Enlighter realm here.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh as he stared at all the star essence that he had gathered. He lifted his hand and brought out his die. He hoped to roll a six here.

    While his n was reasonable, he was unlucky, and none of his four remaining rolls managed tond on Possession, forcing him to wait for another ten days.

    At this moment, in the Middle Realm, Long Kui had received orders from the n to escort Long Qi to Dragon Mountain in the Higher Realm.

    Long Kui was feeling rather depressed at the moment. He had been forced to babysit Long Qi ever since his first appearance despite his status as an elder of the White Dragon n. The more he thought about his situation, the more upset Long Kui became.

    After another ten days, Long Kui approached the Ind of Hope, which was very close to the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    At the same time, Lu Yin looked up at his die that had appeared before him. He tapped it, and it slowly spun beforending on six pips.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed at this roll.

    His consciousness appeared within the dark space again. This time, Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he shot through the darkness. The further he traveled, the more likely he was to Possess someone from the Fifth Maind.

    After traveling for a quarter of an hour, he finally chose an orb of light to merge with before the entire mountain of star essence was consumed.

    ¡­

    My name is San Liang. I am very ambitious. There is a goal that I have had since I was a child: I want to be superior to others. Others cultivate, and so I do. Others focus their minds solely on cultivating, but I am different. I also study.

    Psychology is a very interesting subject, especially since many cultivators have developed their strength to great heights but retained a simple mind. It is easy to read such people¡¯s bodynguage, and thus, even if I have the same cultivation as them, I am able to easily overpower them. My status now vastly outstrips my power level, which barely exceeds 400,000. I am frequently in touch with the nine overseers, and I help them withmon tasks.

    My goal is to eventually be an overseer.

    This position used to be far out of my reach, as only those with sufficient backing can ever gain such a position, but something happened a while ago on Honor Mountain, and there is now an opening for an overseer. This is my opportunity.

    However, it will not be easy to be an overseer with so manypetitors. Ick for nothing except a powerful backer. What should I do?

    Lu Yin opened his eyes as memories poured in. The first thing that filled his mind were these words that were deeply etched into his host¡¯s mind, as though a constant reminder for the man to not forget.

    Lu Yin had indeed reached the Fifth Maind. This was wonderful! He quickly brushed aside the chaotic memories and searched for information regarding the Outerverse.

    After a while, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, after he had disappeared, Arch-Elder Zen, the chief justice, and Eversky Ind had all made it crystal clear that no one was to touch the Outerverse without their express permission. Lu Yin had not been missing for very long, so nothing had happened to the Outerverse in this time.

    However, there was some big news.

    Two major incidents had urred in the Neoverse.

    First, the Progenitor of Secret Arts had forced his way into the Neoverse, uncovered Aeternus Nation, and then used his might as a Progenitor to destroy the ce, which had stunned the entire universe. However, the Progenitor had also been injured during this attack. Many people believed that he had been injured by the remnant power left behind by one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s dead Progenitors, just like what had befallen the Progenitor of Combat. However, there were others who believed that the Neohuman Alliance actually possessed the power to injure a Progenitor.

    Regardless, the truth of the matter was something that people outside of the top-most powers did not have ess to.

    The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods had killed Bu Kong, and the Progenitor of Secret Arts had retaliated by eliminating many of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strongholds throughout the Sixth Maind. The matter had died down after that, and everyone had believed the matter to be settled. No one had expected the Progenitor to actually be biding his time, waiting to take action once he uncovered the location of Aeternus Nation. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters that the Fifth Maind had never been able to find had been utterly destroyed.

    While Progenitors had immeasurable power, most could not endure ridicule. The scheme carried out by the Progenitor of Secret Arts had been truly extraordinary.

    Lu Yin felt that the Progenitor of Secret Arts had been too reckless. If the ckhole barrier had been broken by the Progenitor¡¯s actions, then both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds would have been doomed.

    The other major incident was no less of a disaster for the Fifth Maind: one of the Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, Lingzhi Mavis, had died.

    She had not been killed, but had rather died while trying to break through to be a Progenitor.

    This incident had incited a massivemotion throughout the Fifth Maind, and the ripples even spread to the Sixth Maind.

    This was the first time that a Semi-Progenitor from the Fifth Maind had died due to failing to be a Progenitor since the ancient war.

    How could it possibly be easy to be a Progenitor? Despite that, Lingzhi Mavis had dared to try before anyone else, which demonstrated her confidence. Her failure was a true pity.

    Lu Yin found this San Liang to be quite interesting. The more memories that Lu Yin looked through, the more impressed he was by the man¡¯s talent. San Liang was also impressed by certain people, and Highsage Wudi was San Liang¡¯s hero. That man possessed the courage and daring to attack Honor Mountain itself, which had destroyed everything that San Liang had held to be true.

    San Liang wanted to be an overseer, and due to this goal, he had never stopped studying psychology, even while cultivating. But one strange thing was that, despite his tremendous efforts, no one had ever tried to support San Liang.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He stretched out a hand, left Wang Wen¡¯s contact information right in front of San Liang, and then ended the Possession.

    San Liang''s body trembled, and he looked around. Strange, why did he feel as if he had been stunned for a moment? He was just about to leave when his face suddenly and drastically changed after seeing the note that Lu Yin had left behind. San Liang turned pale. How had someone gotten this close to him without him sensing anything at all? It was a terrifying thought.

    San Liang nced at his gadget. A minute had passed, but he had not noticed any time passing at all. This struck him with a sense of horror. He was on Honor Mountain, but someone had made a casual move against him. This person had to possess an unimaginable level of strength. If they had wanted to do something, anything to San Liang, then wouldn¡¯t it have been all too easy?

    San Liang stared at the contract information before him for quite some time, as he was hesitating. Finally, he gritted his teeth. No matter if this was a blessing or a curse, he had to face it.

    He then quickly picked up his gadget and called the number that he had been given, only to discover that he could not connect. The person he was trying to call was out of range. Helpless, San Liang made his way towards CyNet World, as that was the only ce where he could call someone regardless of where they were located in the Fifth Maind.

    ***

    On the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to his own body. He rolled his shoulders to stretch his muscles as he looked around. Then, his expression changed a bit. The mountain of star essence that he had previously gathered hadpletely vanished. Even if he had not voluntarily ended his Possession, it still would have ended as the star essence had already been used up.

    That was ridiculous! How much time had he spent? He had only Possessed San Liang for around a minute, which had meant that Lu Yin had only been able to review a few bits and pieces of the man¡¯s memories and leave behind Wang Wen¡¯s contact information. And yet, that brief amount of time had consumed a vast amount of star essence. If he wanted to continue a long distance Possession for an extended amount of time, it would cost him billions of star essence if not more. There was not enough even on the entire Junior Progenitor to attempt such a thing.

    At this moment, star energy swept through the area. "Long Qi, Elder Long Kui wishes to see you."

    Lu Yin heard the middle-aged man''s voice, and it was quickly followed by, "Hey! Where did all the star essence go?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and leaped out of the dark magma. He merely nced at the shocked man who was standing some distance away before continuing on towards the statue of Long Tian.

    Soon, Lu Yin was behind Long Kui on Gui¡¯s back, and they were flying towards the Middle Ocean. As for the middle-aged man, he had gone to report to the powerhouse guarding the Junior Progenitor. Yi He was a super expert who had survived six tribtions, and he was an expert that the Fifth Maind would evaluate as having a power level of over a million.

    "All of the star essence that he took is gone?" Elder Yi He was surprised.

    The observer had an ugly face. "Yes, it''s all gone."

    Elder Yi He justughed. "It looks like that child found some way to eliminate the trackers. Just forget about it and don''t worry about him."

    As far as such powerhouses were concerned, star essence was nothing more than resources for low-level cultivators to use, and it was of absolutely no value. In contrast, the observer treated the star essence as an incredible amount of wealth. If he had been able to ess such excessive funds, he would have long since be an Envoy.

    The middle-aged man was quite unhappy with the situation. He was not reluctant, but rather jealous. Still, since Long Qi was a member of the White Dragon n, he had probably nevercked for star essence. The man could only sigh and return to his own training as he waited for his chosen Junior Progenitor to return.

 Chapter 1450: Qing Chen Mountain

    Chapter 1450: Qing Chen Mountain

    As for Lu Yin, he desperately wished to make off with all of the star essence on the Junior Progenitor, but he knew that that was impossible, at least for the moment. He could not afford to incite any trouble over star essence. Also, it did not really matter. As long as Long Tian and the other Junior Progenitors remained trapped in the Dominion Realm, their Junior Progenitors would not disappear. There would eventually be an opportunity for him to take it all, so Lu Yin had to walk away for the time being.

    They passed over Hope Restaurant and the Ind of Hope, arriving above the Middle Ocean in a blink of an eye.

    "How did you get separated from the princess?" Long Kui asked. Lu Yin had already heard this same question repeatedly.

    When he spoke of Long Xi, Lu Yin acted sad, though he also made sure to insert a hint of anxiety. "It was because there were just too many of those withered creatures. Not only did they not die when attacked, but they also became even more powerful with each of our attacks. All of us were struck and scattered."

    Long Kui frowned. This was the same story that the White Dragon n had already heard. During the two months that it had taken the Junior Progenitors to return, in addition to rescuing Long Tian, the n had also spent their efforts on tracking down Long Xi. However, the Dominion Realm was no ordinary ce. A Semi-Progenitor had searched around while being more cautious than anyone else, but still, nothing had been found.

    Lu Yin saw what Long Kui wanted to ask, so he quickly spoke up. "Elder, what will the n do to me?"

    He showed a very nervous expression that was full of hesitation and confusion towards his future.

    Upon seeing the youth¡¯s expression, Long Kui lost all interest in pursuing his questioning. Out of everyone, Long Qi was thest one who wanted something to befall Long Xi. If anything happened to Long Xi, then Long Qi would have absolutely no leeway at all within the White Dragon n. Beyond that, it would also be much easier for anyone with a grudge to move against Lu Yin.

    The White Dragon n had never doubted Long Qi. No matter how anyone viewed the situation, Lu Yin was thest person who wanted something bad to happen to Long Xi. Lu Yin was even less of a subject than Long Tian.

    "Don''t worry. Nothing has been confirmed regarding the princess, which is good news. It¡¯s possible that the princess will return soon," Long Kui said. He had a much better attitude towards Long Qi than before, though that might have only been out of pity. After all, Long Kui was well aware that the general White Dragon n did not have a positive attitude towards Long Qi. The life that awaited him at Dragon Mountain was not a good one.

    Lu Yin sighed and stared off into the distance. "She can¡¯t have suffered any idents!"

    Before long, the void tore open in front of the duo, looking like a fissure in the sky.

    Gui quickly stopped and warily observed the crack.

    Long Kui maintained a dignified expression, as there was an Envoy blocking their path.

    Two people, a man and a woman, emerged and calmly stared at Long Kui.

    When Long Kui saw who was approaching them, his expression grew ugly. "So it¡¯s Mr. Liu Ye and Sister Fei Hua. Might the two of you tell me why you are stopping us?"

    Lu Yin observed the man and a woman in front of him with curiosity. The man was Mr. Liu Ye, whom Lu Yin had met in Hope Restaurant earlier. The woman had an average face, but an amazing figure. Her face left people feeling rather ufortable, as her cheekbones were rather high, and she also had thin lips, which gave her a mean appearance.

    These two worked as the Liu Ye Fei Hua Duo, and they were quite famous in the Perennial World. Even Long Kui felt rather intimidated, as he did not even need to guess to know why these two had appeared: Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo.

    Mr. Liu Ye stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face as he spoke. ¡°Senior, these juniors were waiting for you here, and I sincerely hope that senior understands. There is a certain question that I would like to ask little brother Long Qi."

    Long Kui frowned. "Mr. Liu Ye, I respect you and your contributions to Humility¡¯s Gate, as you once greatly helped with the arrest of a Redback, greatly contributing to humanity. I¡¯m not offended that you¡¯ve stopped me, but I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ve already told you that Long Qi only received some resources from Semi-Progenitor Kui, not an actual inheritance. You believed this when speaking with us in Hope Restaurant, but you and Sister Fei Hua are now blocking our path. Isn''t this simply pping yourself in the face? Could it be that your previous words in Hope Restaurant no longer matter?"

    Mr. Liu Ye did not respond, and instead, Sister Fei Hua stepped out from behind him and moved forward. "Senior Long Kui, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s pressing for the matter at this time, as I don¡¯t believe this kid¡¯s bullshit."

    Long Kui frowned. The woman was very rude.

    Mr. Liu Ye spoke slowly. "Fei Hua, watch your words."

    Sister Fei Hua snorted and turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Boy, don''t be afraid of acting like a man. Although Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo was someone who was hated by almost everyone, he never hid his matters and was bold to act. Since you¡¯ve received his inheritance, you shouldn¡¯t embarrass him."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. How had Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo been merely bold to act? That had been his entire intention! If he had not acted in such a manner, then how would he have been able to carry out his insane hobby? "Senior, this junior really did only find some resources. For example, if you lost your wallet while out walking and I picked it up, would I then inherit all your martial techniques? All I picked up from his scattered inheritance was just a pittance.¡±

    Sister Fei Hua stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t believe you."

    Lu Yin opened his mouth, but he had nothing to say.

    Long Kui roared, "Sister Fei Hua, if Long Qi says that he has no information, then he doesn''t know! If anyone asks him, even the Supervisor of the Nine Gates or the master of the four ruling powers, he still would not somehow gain knowledge that he does not have! Now get out of our way, or else my White Dragon n will take this as you moving against us."

    Sister Fei Hua gritted her teeth and red at Lu Yin. "That matter ate at my master''s heart! Even if my master is gone, I will get an answer for him! Boy, where did you get your inheritance?"

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. He was worried that people would poke into his story, and the more he was investigated, the more holes that would appear. ¡°Senior, this junior really doesn¡¯t know anything. Your questions are useless, and an interrogation would give you even less."

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, Long Kui became enraged. These people still wanted to question Long Qi?

    Gui let out a tremendous roar, and Long Kui''s spear appeared in his hand, pointing straight at the two people blocking his path. "Are you trying to antagonize my White Dragon n?"

    Mr. Liu Ye quickly stepped forward to stand in front of Sister Fei Hua. He apologized to Long Kui. "Senior, we juniors have been rude, but this matter ate at our master, and he eventually died because of this matter, making us lose ourposure. Please forgive us, Senior."

    After speaking, Liu Ye looked over at Lu Yin with a heavy gaze. "Little brother, it seems that you really are ignorant of this matter. We have offended you."

    After speaking Liu Ye stretched out a hand and threw a fully bloomed flower towards Lu Yin.

    Long Kui was caught off guard, and so he did not move to stop the flower.

    Lu Yin grabbed the flower, curious as to what it was.

    "This is a power vessel that belongs to the two of us, and it¡¯s something we have used together for a long time. It is a gift for Little Brother for the insult that you have suffered today."

    Sister Fei Hua was still unwilling to retreat, but she no longer blocked the path forward.

    Long Kui replied in a low voice, "Thank you."

    With that, he pushed hard, and they quickly left.

    Sister Fei Hua gritted her teeth, and after seeing Long Kui¡¯s massive mount disappear, she finally spoke up. ¡°Why did we let them go? That kid probably won¡¯t be allowed out after he arrives at Dragon Mountain, and we won¡¯t be able to question him no matter what."

    Mr. Liu Ye replied, "That''s why I gave him our power vessel. If he neveres out, then he¡¯s not the one who knows. However, if he does appear, then I¡¯ll instantly know his location. You saw how things are right now. Even if he does know, he will never say anything. Such knowledge would cause countless people in this universe to make trouble for him. That¡¯s why Long Kui will never allow the child to admit to anything, even if it meanspletely falling out with us.¡±

    "Then we should just fight! Are we still afraid to go up against Long Kui? It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal for us to be full members of Humility¡¯s Gate," Sister Fei Hua countered.

    Mr. Liu Ye shook his head. "There''s no need to destroy our rtionship with the White Dragon n. We just need to wait for a bit. As long as that kid leaves Dragon Mountain, we''ll have our chance."

    Some distance away, Lu Yin was curiously studying the power vessel. It was powerful, and it definitely could notpare to amon power vessel. Lu Yin could feel a hidden power inside it.

    "That''s the Flying Blossom Willow Leaf Duo''s power vessel.1 That married couple made it together, and even throughout the entire Perennial World, it would still be considered a powerful defensive item. They rarely give those away, so you¡¯ve actually profited pretty well from this," Long Kuimented.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "What exactly are they trying to ask me about?"

    Long Kui''s eyes flickered, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. "Do you really want to know?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "Nope."

    "Then don''t even ask. Just don¡¯t ask about anyone¡¯s questions that they want to ask you," Long Kui¡¯s tone turned sour.

    Lu Yin asked, "Are we heading to the Higher Realm now?"

    Long Kui did not respond.

    The elder¡¯s attitude had changed yet again. Old man, I¡¯ll settle things with you sooner orter.

    Lu Yin stared out at the Middle Ocean. Why had no fish nibbled at the bait that he had put out? If he really did go to Dragon Mountain, it would be very difficult for him to ever leave. Had his bait not been good enough?

    Lu Yin grew more and more anxious when he saw that they were about to leave the Middle Ocean.

    On one particr day, Long Kui¡¯smunication crystal trembled. Lu Yin looked over, but he did not know who the elder was speaking to. However, Lu Yin did hear a vague mention of Qing Chen Mountain, which thrilled him, as it meant that his n had worked.

    Long Kui lowered hismunication crystal and spent a moment in silent contemtion. After that, he patted Gui¡¯s back, and the beast turned around and headed towards another part of the Middle Realm.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why¡¯d you change direction?"

    This time, Long Kui replied, "We¡¯re heading to Qing Chen Mountain."

    Lu Yin felt a bit lost.

    Long Kui exined, "Qing Chen Mountain is where Senior Qing Chen, the Supervisor of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine Humility¡¯s Gate, lives. Senior Qing Chen has asked you to assist with an investigation rted to some matters from the Guan brothers¡¯ arrest."

    Lu Yin felt perplexed. "Weren¡¯t Guan Tong and Guan Hai taken away by Senior Qing Chen? What else could they want me to do?"

    Long Kui shook his head. "This is Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s affair, so I don¡¯t know. Think about what you know, and help Senior Qing Chen deal with this matter as quickly as possible. I will wait for you outside of Qing Chen Mountain."

    "Oh," Lu Yin replied as a smile appeared on his face. Wait for me? Don¡¯t wait. You¡¯ll have to wait for the rest of your life!

    There was absolutely no way that Lu Yin would ever go to Dragon Mountain.

    Even though Lu Yin did want to visit the Higher Realm and investigate what had happened to the Lu family in the past, he did not have the ability to do so. If he traveled to the Higher Realm, he would just be imprisoned within the White Dragon n.

    After twelve days passed, Lu Yin saw Qing Chen Mountain appear off in the distance.

    Qing Chen lived on Qing Chen Mountain. The mountain not only housed numerous powerhouses from Humility¡¯s Gate, but it was also home to Qing Chen''s disciples.

    One such disciple led Lu Yin up the mountain. As for Long Kui, he really was left outside Qing Chen Mountain, unable to proceed any further.

    Long Kui would avoid getting involved with certain matters when it came to Humility¡¯s Gate. He understood his position.

    At the top of Qing Chen Mountain, Lu Yin saw Qing Chen, the nine gates¡¯ supervisor. Lu Yin quickly stepped forward and offered a bow. "The Fourteenth Gate¡¯s Long Qi greets the Supervisor."

    Qing Chen nodded with satisfaction. He was the one who had sent Lu Yin to the Fourteenth Gate. Qing Chen did not care about the four ruling powers¡¯ internal conflicts, and neither did he care about the hidden intelligence provider behind Long Qi. Instead, Qing Chen only cared about one thing: Long Qi was able to find traitors and Redbacks for Humility¡¯s Gate, and that was enough.

    "Long Qi, it''s good that you were able to return safely. I heard that the Dominion Realm is very dangerous, and that there were trespassers involved this time," Qing Chen softly greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "Yes, those trespassers from the Forsaken Land were too cunning, and not even the Junior Progenitors managed to discover them."

    Qing Chen sighed. "There have also been trespassers in the past. Forget it, I don''t want to talk about this anymore. Do you know why you were brought here?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    [1] Liu Ye = Willow Leaf. Fei Hua = Flying Blossom. This entire arc has a lot of names that sound like they''re from a wuxia novel, and that includes both people and the techniques used. ?

 Chapter 1451: Unease

    <h4>Chapter 1451: Unease</h4>

    Qing Chen nced at Cai Shu, who was standing next to him. Only then did Lu Yin notice the elegant, middle-aged man standing slightly behind Qing Chen.

    Cai Shu smiled and introduced himself. "I am Cai Shu, the supervisor¡¯s eldest disciple."

    Lu Yin bowed again. "Junior Long Qi greets Senior Cai Shu."

    Cai Shu nodded. "I summoned you here at this time because an interrogator¡¯s report mentioned the Guan brothers. Specifically¡­"

    Lu Yin naturally knew the reason why he had been called, as he had been the one to leak the information.

    After Cai Shu finished his exnation, Lu Yin frowned as he put on an appearance of carefully recalling the past.

    Qing Chen was in no hurry, so he simply waited. This was a very important matter as they could not afford to abandon any potential clues rted to uncovering more Redbacks, not to mention when it concerned the recruiter who had persuaded the three Guan brothers to turn traitor. Their recruiter had to be someone with a very impressive status, and all of humanity would benefit from exposing such a person.

    Lu Yin carefully went through his memories, and as he did so, his expression kept changing. After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, he said, "This junior remembers that there was a te with something recorded on it, but it crumbled to powder after I merely nced at it. So, I can¡¯t really remember what was on it."

    Cai Shu¡¯s expression grew incredibly serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, you must remember what was on that te. This is very important, and you can''t be careless."

    Qing Chen also spoke up, "As long as you can provide useful information, you will receive a great deal of merit."

    Lu Yin replied with a determined voice, "This junior will try his best."

    Qing Chen and Cai Shu both felt satisfied with Lu Yin''s attitude.

    However, even after two days passed, Lu Yin still was not able to remember anything.

    Lu Yin looked at Cai Shu and hesitantly said, "Senior, it''s not that this junior does not want to focus on this matter, but rather, I am struggling with restlessness and find myself unable to concentrate."

    Cai Shu''s eyes flickered. "What is distracting you?"

    Lu Yin shared his bitter circumstances, "After Princess Long Xi disappeared, the n''s attitude towards this junior has changed drastically. Once I arrive at Dragon Mountain, I won¡¯t have a good ending. This is worrying me quite a lot, and I am finding it very difficult to concentrate on my current task."

    Cai Shu understood; the kid was presenting his conditions. The older man smiled. "Since that¡¯s the situation, then I will inform Master of your matter and see if Master can help calm things down."

    Lu Yin apologized, "I''ve troubled both seniors."

    Cai Shu was not upset, as everyone needed to look out for their own well being. Rather, Cai Shu would have been far more surprised if Lu Yin was a truly selfless person. It was more normal for a person to try to gain something for their efforts.

    People who did not bring up conditions for their efforts were either truly altruistic or had bigger ns they were carrying out. Of the two, Cai Shu preferred to believe that people were of thetter type, and given his work with Humility''s Gate, he was only able to trust those who sought benefits, as they were generally more reliable.

    "He doesn¡¯t want to go to Dragon Mountain?" Qing Chen frowned. "That is difficult to help with. While he is indeed a member of the Fourteenth Gate, he is also a part of the White Dragon n. From the n¡¯s viewpoint, they want their n members to return to their ancestral home, and they can use nearly any excuse to bring back their n members. I can¡¯t really interfere with that, even with my position within Humility''s Gate.¡±

    "That is, not unless Long Qi is continuously given missions. The White Dragon n cannot force him away before he haspleted a mission, and if that¡¯s the situation, then Humility''s Gate can negotiate with the White Dragon n," Cai Shu offered.

    Qing Chen sighed. "It looks like I''m going to need to reach out to Xiao."

    Qing Chen revealed a bitter smile. "Long Tian reached out to me three times in the past because of this child, and now I¡¯m being forced to reach out to others for him as well. I¡¯ll also need to speak with the White Dragon n. Negotiations really are the most troublesome kind of matters."

    ***

    Far above, in the Higher Realm, at the top of the massive Dragon Mountain, the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch, Long Ke, had a miserable expression on his face. During the excursion to the Dominion Realm, Long Tian had been trapped while Long Xi had disappeared. This was a terrible blow to the n.

    This was a matter of the n¡¯s main family weakening, and it had prompted many ns members to scour through their ancient records. If the main family had no heir, then the current main family could be switched out for another family within the n, which was something that Long Ke would never allow to pass.

    Still, things had not reached the worst possibility yet. Long Tian had only been trapped, so there was still hope of rescuing him. As long as the Progenitors made a move, there was no need to mention if the four trapped Junior Progenitors would be saved or not, as there was nothing that could not be aplished if the four ruling powers joined forces.

    This matter was actually the reason why Long Ke had been silent for a while. After all, if Long Tian disappeared in the same manner as Long Xi, Long Ke¡¯s position as patriarch would be ced in jeopardy.

    At this moment, someone arrived to deliver a report. "Elder Quan has requested to meet with you."

    Long Ke''s expression twisted even more. Long Quan was the patriarch of thergest branch family within the White Dragon n, and he was also Long Ke¡¯s most powerfulpetitor, which was why Long Ke had always done his best to suppress Long Quan¡¯s branch family. After the main family had suffered this devastating setback, Long Quan had been seeking an audience with Long Ke for three days straight, and Long Ke was very clear on Long Quan¡¯s intentions. If it were possible, Long Ke would have dealt with this rival long ago, but unfortunately, the Long Quan branch family was not weak.

    "Long Quan greets the n patriarch." An old man with a somber face slowly bent to bow to Long Ke.

    Long Ke was a middle-aged man, and he looked quite simr to Long Tian. At a nce, Long Ke looked like a middle-aged version of Long Tian. The man was always serious and did not hide his arrogance.

    "Elder Quan, what matter has brought you here today?" Long Ke asked lightly.

    Long Quan looked up. "I¡¯m here because I wanted to ask the n patriarch about the trapped Junior Progenitor. How is the investigation going?"

    Long Ke red at the old man with cold eyes. "Is the n patriarch required to report everything to you, Elder Quan?"

    Long Quan did not grow angry. He had been suppressed for many years, and he had long since grown ustomed to Long Ke''s attitude. "I know that the n patriarch is handling the matter, but there are many people who are questioning the event, and they have asked me about a particr matter. On the eve of the excursion to the Dominion Realm, Long Jue, Nong Lie, and Wen Diyi were all poisoned at the same time. That forced our Junior Progenitor to take Long Qi to the Dominion Realm. If Nong Lie or Long Jue had gone instead, the oue might have been different.

    "On top of that, Princess Long Xi may have been separated from the group and vanished because she was forced to protect Long Qi. The nsmen are demanding an exnation."

    Long Ke''s eyes narrowed. "We are investigating the poisoning, and everything that you¡¯ve mentioned regarding Long Qi is nothing more than spection.¡±

    "Also, several days ago, Qing Chen Mountain¡¯s Cai Shu contacted the n patriarch and requested for Long Qi to visit Qing Chen Mountain in order to assist in an investigation. Is there any news as to when Long Qi will return to the n? Many of the n members wish to see the main family¡¯s son-inw," Long Quan pressed.

    Long Ke stared at Long Quan. The branch families wanted to start with Long Qi in their moves to suppress the entire main family. They were not willing to wait!

    "Long Qi has already arrived at Qing Chen Mountain, and he wille to Dragon Mountain shortly," Long Ke replied.

    Long Quan smiled. "That''s good. I merely had to ask due to the numerous curious people, so please don''t get upset."

    At this moment, Long Ke¡¯smunication crystal vibrated. He nced at Long Quan, and the branch family patriarch retreated in a knowing manner and even turned around. Once his face was out of sight, a smile broke out on Long Quan¡¯s face. The main family? What a joke! They had ascended to their current position from being a mere branch family. Since they were able to climb up, then why could another branch family not do the same?

    Long Qi was the opening to the main family¡¯s weakness. The branch families had already crafted a series of events aimed towards using Long Qi to weaken the main family. The youth himself did not actually matter; rather, it was his position and identity.

    Long Tian was trapped, and Long Xi had disappeared. The gods themselves were helping the branch families! Long Quan nearlyughed aloud at this thought.

    "Elder Quan, wait a moment," Long Ke suddenly said.

    Long Quan was caught off guard, and he turned around. "Might I ask what else the n patriarch might need from me?"

    Long Ke stared at Long Quan for a moment before suddenly smiling. "Long Qi won''t be returning anytime soon."

    Long Quan''s expression changed. "What does the n patriarch mean? Even if the princess has disappeared, Long Qi is the main family¡¯s son-inw, and he should return to Dragon Mountain so that he can be protected by the n."

    Long Ke replied, "It''s not that I don''t wish for the child to return, but rather that Long Qi was given a mission by the Fourteenth Gate, and this mission is to assist Qing Chen Mountain to thoroughly investigate the matter regarding the Guan brothers who were revealed to be Redbacks."

    Long Quan''s eyes went wide. "Weren¡¯t those brothers already proven to be Redbacks? All three of them are already dead, so what else is there to investigate?"

    Long Ke was helpless to give an answer. "You will have to ask Senior Qing Chen, but the fact stands that Long Qi is also a member of the Fourteenth Gate. Since he has been given a mission, he naturally must focus on said mission, as it is rted to humanity¡¯s security and betterment. Elder Quan has to agree."

    Long Quan''s expression twisted terribly; he had to agree? Of course he disagreed! Several branch families had alreadye up with countless means of using Long Qi as an excuse to suppress the main family. But if that child did not return, then nothing could be done! Long Quan wanted to immediately contact Qing Chen Mountain about this joke, but instead, he suddenly looked up at Long Ke before abandoning the thought.

    Humility¡¯s Gate was not a part of the White Dragon n, and Long Quan had no right to speak to them. His position within the White Dragon n was not high enough for him to attempt such a thing.

    "It doesn''t matter. His mission can¡¯t continue indefinitely, and he will definitelye back eventually. Patriarch, please ensure Long Qi¡¯s protection. After all, he is the main family¡¯s son-inw, so we can¡¯t allow any idents to befall him during his mission," Long Quan said in a depressed tone. This was not a threat, but a genuine request. Long Qi could not be allowed to have any idents, as the branch families needed him to live in order to move against the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. Everything would be futile if Long Qi died.

    Long Ke smiled gently. "Don''t worry about that matter, elder. Please return."

    Long Quan did not even offer any goodbyes as he simply turned around and left. His expression was somber and terrifying.

    This had to have been Long Ke''s idea. He had actually managed to mobilize the gate and arrange for Long Qi to stay at Qing Chen Mountain. If Long Tian did not return, then it was practically guaranteed that Long Ke would work hard to keep Long Qi on Qing Chen Mountain. It would actually be a challenge to get Long Qi away from Qing Chen Mountain.

    Long Ke stared at Long Quan¡¯s back as the old man left, and the n patriarch¡¯s eyes flickered. He had considered leaving Long Qi at the Junior Progenitor, but he had never thought about sending Long Qi to Qing Chen Mountain. That was an even better option.

    It would be much better if Long Qi just stayed at Qing Chen Mountain until Long Tian returned.

    As soon as he thought of Long Tian and Long Xi, Long Ke''s mood fell once more.

    In the Middle Realm, on Qing Chen Mountain, Lu Yin looked at the task that he had just been sent via hismunication crystal. Secretly, Lu Yin was thrilled. ''Stay on Qing Chen Mountain to assist with the investigation - Xiao.''

    Just these few words were enough to decide Lu Yin''s fate. He would stay.

    Outside Qing Chen Mountain, Long Kui left. He waspletely stunned. What just happened? Wasn¡¯t it just supposed to be a few days? Why was it extended indefinitely?

    Gui was even more depressed. It quite liked Lu Yin, but it would not see the youth again anytime soon.

    Cai Shu then appeared in front of Lu Yin. There was a smile on the older man¡¯s face. "Long Qi, the White Dragon n has agreed to allow you to stay on my Qing Chen Mountain to assist with this investigation. There¡¯s no need for you to leave until after the investigation is over. I just wanted to let you know this."

    He continued looking at Lu Yin. "How long do you wish to stay?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before replying, "I would like to wait for the Junior Progenitors to return from the Dominion Realm."

    "Understood," Cai Shu replied. "In that case, try to remember as much information as possible. I hope that you can remember something soon."

    Cai Shu had promised that, even if Lu Yin immediately revealed everything that he knew, Lu Yin would still be allowed to stay on the mountain until Long Tian returned from the Dominion Realm. There was no need for him to hide any information in order to stall for more time.

 Chapter 1452: Acting Gate Master

    Chapter 1452: Acting Gate Master

    Lu Yin knew that he could not stall for long. Gaining refuge on Qing Chen Mountain was only his first step, but what should be his second? The Perennial World had Progenitors, and it was impossible to know when Long Tian and the other Junior Progenitors would be rescued. Ideally, Lu Yin wanted to find out what had happened to the Lu family before Long Tian and the others were rescued and then head to the rendezvous point that Unseen Light had shared with him so that he could return to the Fifth Maind.

    Neither of Lu Yin¡¯s two goals would be easily aplished, and both of them were predicated on his ability to openly leave Qing Chen Mountain.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin gradually revealed certain secrets about who Guan Yun had groomed into traitors. Lu Yin had only ever arrested a few of the traitors, so most of them were still roaming around.

    While Cai Shu was not fully satisfied by the gradual release of information, there were still some effects.

    After ten days, Qing Chen himself visited Lu Yin. There was an indifferent expression on the old man¡¯s face. "Long Qi, while the information you have provided us has all been valuable, you know what I hope to obtain. What did you see regarding the Guan brothers¡¯ recruitment?"

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "Senior, it''s not that this junior doesn''t want to tell you, but rather that what I saw was too vague, and it waspletely useless."

    Cai Shu stepped out from behind Qing Chen to say, "That doesn''t matter. Just tell us. We¡¯ll listen."

    "Actually, this junior has been thinking about the matter for many days, and I eventually remembered some things, but Guan Yun¡¯s records did not list names, not even code names, of the people who recruited and trained him and his brothers."

    Qing Chen¡¯s expression fell at this news. He had reached out to Xiao on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf and had also negotiated with the White Dragon n. Although those matters had gone smoothly, Qing Chen himself was a Semi-Progenitor. He had also promised to allow the youth to stay on Qing Chen Mountain. No matter how Qing Chen viewed the matter, it made him upset. While he appreciated Long Qi, the old man did not like being used by a child, and at this moment, Qing Chen felt that he had been taken advantage of.

    "However, their recruiter has a specific characteristic." Lu Yin carefully observed Qing Chen before looking over at Cai Shu. Lu Yin swallowed. He could not worry too much about this anymore, so he just had to give them something. Besides, no one would be able to prove or disprove his information. With this thought, Lu Yin coughed and solemnly continued. "That is, they were not recruited by a person, but rather by a doll."

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched as he spoke. He was describing Shaman God¡¯s appearance. Shaman God was one of the Seven Skygods in the Fifth Maind, and he was also on the side of those monsters. People would only ever be able to confirm the existence of such a person, as it was impossible to prove that no such person existed among the monsters.

    Lu Yin had thought that Qing Chen might not believe him, or that the old man would express some doubts. The worst result would be if Qing Chen thought that Lu Yin was lying, but the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s actual reactionpletely shocked Lu Yin. Qing Chen¡¯s expressionpletely changed.

    "What did you say? A doll? What kind of doll?!" Qing Chen eagerly pressed as he stared straight into Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Lu Yin was startled. What was with this reaction?

    "Come on, what kind of doll was it? Where did you see it?" Qing Chen shouted.

    Lu Yin blinked as he looked back at Qing Chen. "There were no specifics described. Guan Yun¡¯s records only had four words as a description: ¡®confuses the five senses.¡¯"

    Qing Chen''s expression changed once again as he looked away from Lu Yin and stared off into the distance.

    Cai Shu had a solemn expression and he pressed Lu Yin further, "What else was there?"

    Lu Yin had already prepared a bit of nonsense as he hoped to take a more prominent role with this matter. It would actually be best if he was sent out to investigate. However, Qing Chen''s reaction stopped Lu Yin dead in his tracks as the old man shook his head. "Anything further doesn¡¯t matter."

    Cai Shu was somber as he looked at Qing Chen. "Master, that¡¯s Shaman God."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat, though he did not dare to reveal anything. Still, his heart began to pound loudly.

    Shaman God? The Perennial World also had a Shaman God? Was this just a coincidence, or could they possibly be the same person?

    Lu Yin had only shared a very simple lie, and yet it had already dragged in Shaman God? How did these people know about Shaman God?

    Qing Chen and Cai Shu left after that, so Lu Yin was not able to listen in on any of their subsequent conversation. He had really wanted to learn more.

    ***

    After the two men left Lu Yin, Qing Chen recalled, "The Seven Skygods are humanity¡¯s greatest enemy, and they have always been one of our greatest threats. They have been my Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s eternal enemy from ancient times to now, though we have never been able to do anything against them."

    "The Seven Skygods are hiding among us, but no one knows who could be one of the Seven Skygods. As for their names, very few people know them. There¡¯s no way Long Qi could possibly know of Shaman God, but since he mentioned ¡®confuses the five senses,¡¯ he clearly saw Guan Yun¡¯s records,¡± Cai Shu said.

    Qing Chen nodded. "Given the status that the Guan brothers held, it¡¯s not unreasonable for them to have been recruited by one of the Seven Skygods. Huaiyuan has a unique location, and Guan Tong was one of the nine Gate Masters of the Middle Realm. Only one of the Seven Skygods would have the ability to turn such a person. But now, I¡¯m worried about whether or not there are still Redbacks within the Thirteen Gates."

    Cai Shu replied, "It¡¯s hard to uncover a Redback. If not for Long Qi, we would have been hard pressed to even consider the possibility of the Guan brothers being Redbacks. Master, just who is Long Qi¡¯s source of intelligence that they were even able to uncover the Guan brothers?"

    Qing Chen said, "I¡¯ve secretly looked into it, but found nothing."

    "Could it be?" Cai Shu hesitated, but then he shook his head once more. "No, that¡¯s not possible. There would have been no meaning in sacrificing the Guan brothers in order to groom Long Qi. Still, Long Xian left behind that map that led the Junior Progenitors to a trap, and if they were stuck there because of Long Qi, then losing the four Junior Progenitors would be well worth the price of sacrificing the Guan brothers. If all of this ys out, it¡¯s not impossible for Long Qi to be a Redback."

    Qing Chen nced over at Cai Shu. "You suspect Long Qi?"

    Cai Shu replied, "Not even Master is able to find out who provided Long Qi with his information. Something that abnormal is suspicious."

    Qing Chenughed. "He can''t be a Redback."

    Cai Shu grew curious. "Why?"

    Qing Chen''s eyes shed angrily. "Because Huaiyuan is just too important. That ce is the site of the Cloud Shuttle, and it keeps a great deal of ugliness that the four ruling powers would prefer kept out of sight hidden. Shaman God clearly groomed and recruited the Guan brothers because of their position, and through them, it would be much easier to turn more traitors. Another reason is because of that ugliness.¡±

    Cai Shu felt lost. "Ugliness?"

    Qing Chen did not offer much of an exnation. "The Guan brothers were more important than what you know. Even if sacrificing them allowed all four Junior Progenitors to be dealt with, it still would not be worth it. This is something that I know for certain."

    Cai Shu did not respond. While he was privy to a great deal of information because of his position, and even though he knew about the Seven Skygods, his master had never said much regarding the four ruling powers other than to warn Cai Shu to stay away from them.

    "What do you n to do now, Master?" Cai Shu asked.

    Qing Chen looked towards Huaiyuan. "Long Qi interacted with Guan Yun¡¯s scarlet eye insignia."

    Cai Shu''s body went stiff. "Do you mean to¡­?"

    ¡­

    One dayter, Lu Yin was staring off into the distance. It was impossible to discern his thoughts.

    Cai Shu approached with a smile.

    Lu Yin was put on edge the moment he saw Cai Shu¡¯s smile. He had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.

    "Long Qi, is your stay at Qing Chen Mountain stillfortable after spending some time with us?" Cai Shu asked. He was still smiling and had a very kindly expression.

    Lu Yin''s mind raced. What was this man implying? What was the right answer? This man¡¯s smile was so creepy!

    "Long Qi?" Cai Shu pressed.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Well, it¡¯s not bad."

    Cai Shu smiled. "That''s good¡ªnot bad. By the way, I remember that you don''t want to return to Dragon Mountain."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. All of a sudden, he actually did want to go to Dragon Mountain, and it was because Cai Shu¡¯s behavior was making him very ufortable. Still, in the end, Lu Yin replied, "I don''t want to go there for the moment, but didn¡¯t Senior promise that I could stay here until the Junior Progenitor returns? Do I need to go to Dragon Mountain?"

    Cai Shu nodded. "I did say that, but even if the Junior Progenitor returns, there¡¯s no need for you to return to Dragon Mountain. Princess Long Xi is missing, so your life there will be very difficult. That¡¯s why Master found another way out for you. This is a reward for your meritorious service. You probably already know that the information you gave us was very important. Not only did youplete the mission that you were given by the Fourteenth Gate, but you also provided us with a very valuable clue."

    Lu Yin blinked. The first thought that entered his head was his previous reward of an opportunity to observe the Sword Monument. That had been both a mission and a reward, so Lu Yin quickly refused Cai Shu¡¯s offer. "Thank you, senior, but this junior has no desire to receive any rewards. Humility''s Gate has already helped me enough, and this junior merely wishes to serve mankind. The task in and of itself is enough."

    Cai Shu smiled and said, "It''s not good to not reward efforts. If you aren¡¯t given proper rewards for your efforts, then it will demoralize many other people."

    "No, that definitely won¡¯t happen since this junior is the one refusing the reward," Lu Yin quickly protested.

    Cai Shu patted a hand onto Lu Yin''s shoulder before emotionally stating, "If everyone had a mindset like yours, how would there still be any traitors or Redbacks? It¡¯s a pity, but Master once swore that he would never be a Progenitor as long as any traitors or Redbacks still exist. Long Qi, you must have the same ambition as Master."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and wanted to puke. Swore not to be a Progenitor? More like he couldn¡¯t.

    Who would not want to achieve such power? Besides, by bing a Progenitor, it would be even easier to fight against those monsters. Lu Yin had never expected Qing Chen to have made such a bold statement. It was no wonder why he had be Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Middle Realm Supervisor.

    "Alright, there''s no need to refuse. Master¡¯s reward is for you to take over the position of acting Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Long Qi, you¡¯re like a carp leaping over the dragon¡¯s gate! You¡¯re going to leap from being a nobody in the Fourteenth Gate to being the acting Gate Master of the Huaiyuan Gate! This is the first time that anyone below the realm of an Envoy has been given the position of a Gate Master!¡±

    Lu Yin felt like his brain was about to explode! Acting Gate Master of one of the nine gates in the Middle Realm? This- this was too high of a leap!

    Lu Yin had been a member of Humility¡¯s Gate for a while, and he had gained a clear understanding of the organization. One of the most basic requirements to be a Gate Master was to be an Envoy. However, Lu Yin was only a Hunter. This was too inadequate! He was too far below the level needed to be a Gate Master.

    Even though Lu Yin was only being given the position of an acting Gate Master, the effective authority was the same. The only key difference was that Lu Yin could be removed from the position at any moment.

    Cai Shu was still offering his congrattions, but Lu Yin could not hear a thing. Huaiyuan Gate, acting Gate Master. Lu Yin had been stunned by this sudden news, and he felt certain that he was being used as bait for a trap.

    Just why would Qing Chen give Lu Yin such a position?

    Despite spending some time thinking about the matter, Lu Yin could not understand Qing Chen''s purpose. Still, Lu Yin did know one thing: Huaiyuan Gate would be incredibly upset with him. After all, Lu Yin was the reason why the rest of Humility¡¯s Gate looked down upon Huaiyuan Gate. They had been led by a Redback and had be a joke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb just by thinking about what would happen if he traveled to Huaiyuan Gate.

    "Senior Cai Shu, this junior is too young! How could I possibly be given the position of Huaiyuan¡¯s acting Gate Master? Not to mention leading the gate, but how could I even qualify to be a captain at the gate?" Lu Yin immediately refused.

 Chapter 1453: Nine Gates

    Chapter 1453: Nine Gates

    Cai Shuughed at Lu Yin¡¯s protest. "Young man, you already have quite a bit of experience. Are you sure that you only joined Humility''s Gate a few months ago? You¡¯ve already amassed several achievements in your name, not to mention all the information that you¡¯ve provided over thest few days. You¡¯ve stunned the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gates, and you seem to truly not know how famous you¡¯ve be. Why, you were even the one to expose the Guan brothers. Your greatest strength is your ability to read into people¡¯s behavior.

    "What is Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s goal? It is not to fight or conduct war, but rather to capture traitors and Redbacks. Those who excel at such activities will climb the ranks. Look at Zhuo Si. He has not captured a single Redback from the moment he joined, so how did he be a Gate Master? It was entirely due to his strength. However, you¡¯re being promoted because of your ability to uncover people¡¯s secrets."

    Lu Yin silently swore. This person was spouting such bullshit and ttering him. Only an idiot would be deceived by such words. It was insulting.

    "Senior, this junior might as well be direct. Since I was the one to expose the Guan brothers as Redbacks, I will definitely encounter a great deal of resentment from everyone based out of Huaiyuan Gate. I¡¯m afraid that no one will listen to me and that there will be problems because of this.¡±

    Cai Shu dismissively waved a hand. "Don''t worry about that. Since Master has appointed you as acting Gate Master, he naturally won¡¯t allow you to go there empty-handed. If there¡¯s anyone you¡¯re already familiar with, just say their name, and Master will find a way to reassign them to you. There will be powerhouses to protect you, so act with boldness."

    Lu Yin opened his mouth, wanting to protest further.

    Cai Shu patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder with a hand, and he used enough force to nearly break Lu Yin. After all, Cai Shu was an Envoy. "Long Qi, don''t forget about the oath you made just before joining the Fourteenth Gate. Master told me all about it¡ª''I don¡¯t need any credit. I simply wish to do what I can for Humility''s Gate and resist the foreign enemies.'' Those were your words, right?"

    Lu Yin was left truly speechless.

    "You stated that you would never give up, correct?" Cai Shu continued to press further.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    "Because of this, Master has given you this opportunity in order to see how far you can go after gaining the position of acting Gate Master. Try to rx and take on the job without any fear or hesitation," Cai Shuhao said. He had a refined appearance, so his arrogant act looked rather odd given his appearance.

    Lu Yin wanted to cry, but there were no tears to spill. Why did it feel like he had tricked himself? Had he gone too far?

    "By the way, Master has already convened the council of the nine Gate Master. Use these next few days to prepare a list of people that will be going to Huaiyuan Gate. It¡¯s always more easy on the mind knowing that you¡¯re using your own people." After delivering the news, Cai Shu left.

    Lu Yin facepalmed. This was a problem. If he ended up bing the acting Gate Master, he would also be constantly monitored by the supervisor. There had to be a reason behind this, and as Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, he felt that it had to be connected to him mentioning Shaman God.

    This thought became a sh of inspiration; Qing Chen¡ªno, Xiao, wanted Lu Yin to act as bait to catch Shaman God!

    Why did he believe that Lu Yin could draw out Shaman God?

    Even after carefully reviewing everything that had happened and everything that he had said, Lu Yin was still puzzled.

    It would be terrible if Lu Yin really had been hung up as bait to lure out Shaman God. Also, the guardian that Qing Chen was assigning to Lu Yin was not likely to be anyone terribly impressive. So should Lu Yin just leave as soon as possible?

    Even though this was a different path than what he had nned, the end result would still be the same. Once he was in Huaiyuan, he would not be far from the rendezvous point that Unseen Light had shared with him. As for investigating the Lu family¡¯s exile, that would have to wait. Lu Yin could return here through Jupiter, and it would much be easier to investigateter.

    This thought allowed Lu Yin to finally rx. He would just slip away, and then he would no longer need to worry about anything.

    After thinking for a while, Lu Yinpiled a list of names of whom he wished to join him at Huaiyuan Gate for Cai Shu. The first person that he listed was Dashuai Wang. After all, the two of them had worked together before. Also, this could be considered as a way for Lu Yin to offer him some help, as the fatty must have been having a pretty bad time of thingstely.

    The second name was Liu Tianmu. The third was Xia Taili, and the fourth was Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin wanted to help Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu return to the Fifth Maind while Xia Taili and the fatty were just covers.

    If everything went well, Lu Yin would soon return to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin felt rather exhausted. There were incredible powerhouses in the Perennial World, and he had much more freedom in the Fifth Maind. The Outerverse did not have that many Enlighters, and there were very few Envoys even in the Innerverse. Only in the Neoverse did experts abound, but even then, the power vessels that Lu Yin had recently gathered should be more than enough to keep him safe.

    In the Perennial World, it was easy to stumble upon Envoys even in the Middle Realm. There was no need to even mention the Higher Realm, as even powerhouses on Long Kui¡¯s level were nothing more than errand boys there.

    As for the Lower Realm, Lu Yin still remembered the giant anteater that he had seen, as well as the Ancestor Python, both of which left him feeling chilled.

    Finally, there was the Dominion Realm, and several Progenitors were living there.

    Lu Yin had to go back. He had made up his mind, and he had put his return as his top priority.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin turned in the list of names, which indicated that he had epted the assignment. With his eptance, Qing Chen appeared.

    "This junior greets senior." Lu Yin bowed the moment he saw Qing Chen. Although Lu Yin was quite upset at the prospect of being used as bait, he still maintained a properly respectful attitude.

    Qing Chen spoke gently. "Long Qi, Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters hold very important positions. Do you know how many people dream of being given this job, even in the Higher Realm or within the four ruling powers? This old man is taking a risk in giving you this position, so even if you don¡¯t want it, you can¡¯t let this old man down."

    Lu Yin grinned. "Yes! This junior will do his best to live up to senior¡¯s expectations."

    Qing Chen felt satisfied. "Your cultivation is not impressive, and most of the missions given to Humility¡¯s Gate are more dangerous than what you can handle with your strength. Thus, this old man has decided to have Cai Shu follow you in order to keep you safe."

    Lu Yin looked up, anxious. This old man clearly wanted to monitor Lu Yin. "Senior, this junior is confident in my abilities to protect myself. I have many rare power vessels that Long Xi gave me, and each one of them is enough to withstand an Envoy¡¯s attacks."

    Qing Chenughed. "So what? If you can do nothing but block attacks, then there¡¯s no reason for me to send you to take up the mantle of acting Gate Master. This old man wants to capture Redbacks and arrest traitors, not startle away some scavengers. Are you confident in defeating an Envoy? For example, you¡¯ve already run into Guan Tong and Guan Hai. If this old man had not traveled to Huaiyuan, then Guan Tong would have killed you."

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. While he was currently capable of beating Guan Tong senseless, he could not say this out loud. Still, he had to try his best. ¡°Senior, this junior is not used to being followed."

    Qing Chen smiled. "I know that you are gifted when ites to observing people and uncovering their secrets. You naturally have many secrets that you cannot allow others to discover. Don¡¯t worry. Cai Shu will not be directly observing you, and he will keep his distance. As long as there is no danger, he won¡¯t even appear, and he will also never interfere with whatever actions you take as the acting Gate Master. While he is also a part of Humility''s Gate, his position is actually much lower than what yours will be. Thus, he will not qualify to interfere with your decisions. You can rx."

    After hearing this, Lu Yin had no means to resist. ¡°So Senior has already taken care of everything."

    Qing Chen sighed. "Do you know why you were chosen to take over Huaiyuan Gate?"

    Don¡¯t bullshit me. It¡¯s just because there was an opening! But Lu Yin verbally replied, "After considering it, I believe it¡¯s because Huaiyuan Gate currentlycks a Gate Master."

    Qing Chenughed. "It''s because Huaiyuan Gate is far too important for the Gate Master to be casually appointed."

    Lu Yin was lost.

    Qing Chen earnestly exined, saying, "After Guan Tong was arrested, the very next day, a Gate Master requested to be transferred to Huaiyuan. Even though Huaiyuan Gate lost three powerhouses in one sweep, this person still wanted the Gate Master position more than you can even imagine. This is because the Cloud Shuttle is in Huaiyuan.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately searched through his memory for anything that he could recall about some Cloud Shuttle, but nothing came up. While he had Possessed several people in the Perennial World and had gleaned a bit of information about the Cloud Shuttle, he had not paid any attention to what he had learned.

    "The Cloud Shuttle connects the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm. While the Bifrost does the same thing, there are important differences between the two. If there are any Redbacks or traitors within Humility¡¯s Gate, then they will most likely be among the ranks of the elders who have great aplishments. This old man trusts you twice as much as them," Qing Chen solemnly exined.

    Lu Yin gave a respectful answer. "This junior understands."

    "Over thest few days, you have provided a great deal of information, and several traitors have been arrested. Taking into ount your previous rewards, you have been awarded a total of six merit points. Don''t feel that it''s not enough. After all, your other rewards were not nothing either," Qing Chen said, "As long as you are Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s acting Gate Master, your merit points will increase more and more."

    Lu Yin was not overly concerned with gaining merit points. In the beginning, he had solely gained merit points in order to exchange them for a Medal of Righteousness, and eventually, a Medal of the Tree. If he had one of those, then he would receive Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s protection even after retiring. However, it had be difficult for him to actually retire, as he had been assigned to be the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. As a bonus, if a Gate Master retired, they would not even need an Order of the Tree¡¯s protection, as no one would dare to move against such a person without legitimate cause.

    One dayter, Qing Chen convened the council of the Nine Gates, and Lu Yin officially met the Gate Masters. With the exception of the empty seat belonging to Huaiyuan Gate and Zhuo Si from the Yinshan District, Lu Yin was unfamiliar with the other seven Gate Masters, though he did know that all of them were powerhouses who exceeded normal Envoys.

    "This is the new acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate, Long Qi," Qing Chen introduced.

    There were eightmunication crystals before Lu Yin, and he could see the images of the eight Gate Masters.

    "Junior Long Qi greets his seniors," Lu Yin politely greeted the eight. He demonstrated a very humble attitude, and his face was somber, though it also had a trace of anxiety and expectations. Just a nce was enough to see an expectant youth who was full of ambition, though also very honest.

    "Hehe, kid, do you know that there has never been a Gate Master whose realm was only that of a Hunter in the entire history of Humility¡¯s Gate?" Lu Yin¡¯s mouth went dry. The woman who had just addressed him was too seductive.

    If Madam Nn was the type of woman who could naturally and effortlessly seduce any human, then this woman was the type who put on a flirtatious act. Still, she was incredibly appealing.

    And that was doubly so for the outfit that she was wearing. Lu Yin quickly nced at it, as it waspletely indecent.

    "This junior knows that he is unqualified, so I hope to be able to learn a great deal from you seniors. I also hope that you seniors will offer me your advice. This junior would be grateful to all of you," Lu Yin spoke in a very respectful tone.

    The woman chuckled again, and her red lips opened. "If you have the time,e to the Bifrost to y with this sister. I¡¯ll wait to give you advice when you visit me, though I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t be able to handle it."

    Lu Yin''s face froze for a brief moment then heughed hoarsely.

    The woman was delighted.

    Zhuo Si had been staring nkly at Lu Yin the entire time. This kid was the new Gate Master? This was too much to be a joke. How had the kid pulled this off? No matter how Zhuo Si wracked his brain, he could note up with an answer.

    Lu Yin turned towards Zhuo Si and smiled. "Uncle Si, we meet again."

    Zhuo Si nodded and carefully observed Lu Yin. "Work hard."

    Lu Yin nodded back. "Understood."

 Chapter 1454: Gate Master?

    Chapter 1454: Gate Master?

    The rest of the Gate Masters had nothing to say to Lu Yin as Qing Chen must have already quelled all of their anger over Lu Yin¡¯s appointment before Lu Yin joined the meeting. Otherwise, how could they ept a youth who was only a Hunter as an acting Gate Master?

    "Alright, Long Qi, we¡¯re running out of time. Cai Shu is waiting for you outside, and he¡¯ll take you to Huaiyuan Gate. From now on, you are the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. These seniors will teach you about your job and responsibilities in the future. I hope that you will work quickly towards getting the ¡®acting¡¯ title off as soon as possible... Understand?" Qing Chen said solemnly.

    Lu Yin put on a solemn expression as he slowly bowed. "This junior will live up to Senior¡¯s expectations."

    He paused for a moment before continuing, saying, "This subordinate will definitely live up to the Supervisor¡¯s expectations."

    With that, Lu Yin was dismissed by Qing Chen.

    After Lu Yin left, an old man spoke up. "Master, is there any use to this? Humility¡¯s Gate was established to seek out the Seven Skygods, but even after so many years, they are still alive and well. Can that kid really draw out Shaman God?"

    Qing Chen sighed. "If he has touched Guan Yun''s scarlet eye, then yes. Shaman God will be able to sense the child¡¯s energy, and Huaiyuan''s location is unique. Shaman God definitely will not give up."

    "Given Shaman God¡¯s abilities, even Cai Shu cannot offer any form of protection for the child," another person pointed out.

    "I know."

    Everything had already been discussed with Qing Chen, but Qing Chen''s attitude had remained firm.

    Zhuo Si''s eyes shed. Using Long Qi as bait to lure out Shaman God was too simple. That individual was one of the Seven Skygods, and no one had managed to understand the full power of any of the Skygods so far. They treated Humility¡¯s Gate as nothing more than a joke.

    Zhuo Si looked in the direction that Lu Yin had gone off in. That child was in grave danger. He was being set up as a road sign, and there was no way that Shaman God would miss it.

    Outside Qing Chen Mountain, Lu Yin met with Cai Shu.

    Cai Shu smiled. "Starting now, I¡¯ll be acting as your bodyguard."

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "Senior, please don¡¯t mock this junior."

    Cai Shu smiled. "It¡¯s not a joke. You¡¯ve been given the position of a Gate Master, which means that you now publicly represent Humility¡¯s Gate. Given your new status, we cannot afford to let any idents befall you. Let''s go to Huaiyuan."

    After speaking, the older man took a piece of white paper out of his cosmic ring and began to fold it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose upon seeing the paper, as he had collected more than 200 sheets of that paper from the cosmic rings of Long Tian and the others in the Dominion Realm. However, Lu Yin had never figured out what the paper was used for.

    He watched as Cai Shu slowly folded the white paper, eventually forming a boat that was several meters long. The Envoy then stepped onto the paper boat and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Come on, let¡¯s go."

    Lu Yin felt that this was amazing. Logically, a palm-sized piece of paper should fold into something even smaller, so how had the finished product be bigger? This was amazing.

    Given the number of sheets of paper that he had taken from Long Tian and the others, Lu Yin felt that these papers were not that valuable. Instead, they seemed to be amonly avable item. Thus, Lu Yin did not ask any questions.

    The white boat folded from paper flew up into the sky and started flying towards Huaiyuan. The speed of the boat was quite impressive, as it was not much slower than traveling on Gui¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring. The papers that he had taken seemed to be the Perennial World¡¯s spacecraft equivalent, though the papers were much more convenient.

    "Senior, how did it go with the people on the list that I prepared?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Shu replied, "Except for Xia Taili, there are no problems with anyone else."

    "Xia Taili won¡¯t be able toe?" Lu Yin was actually secretly delighted, as he had only included the girl¡¯s name as a cover for inviting the others.

    Cai Shu exined, "She is the Xia family¡¯s princess, and their Junior Progenitor is currently trapped in the Dominion Realm. Naturally, under these circumstances, the Xia family won¡¯t allow anything to happen to Xia Taili. So, their arrangements will entirely determine whether or not she is able to join you at Huaiyuan Gate."

    Lu Yin made a show of being disappointed. "We worked quite well together in the Dominion Realm, so it would be unfortunate if she isn¡¯t able toe."

    Cai Shu nced at Lu Yin with a glint in his eye. "Is that the only reason?"

    "Of course."

    Cai Shu shook his head. "There¡¯s no reason to hide your motivations from me. I know that you want her to go with you because of her status as Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s princess. That¡¯s not a bad idea. If she¡¯s working with you, then that would make many things easier for you. However, I feel that I need to remind you that you should not even consider trying to take advantage of her. Xia Taili is not stupid, and Shenwu''s Sky won¡¯t allow you to use her since you are the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. You need to be careful."

    Lu Yin blinked. This actually made sense, though he had never thought about it before. Inviting Xia Taili had only been a cover for him to invite other people. As for why Lu Yin had invited Xia Taili over Wu Taibai from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, it was because Lu Yin felt a true friendship with Wu Taibai. Clearly, he originated from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but Wu Taibai had betrayed his own people. He had taken the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat as his master, showing that Wu Taibai had even managed to impress a Progenitor. Also, Wu Taibai had made a point of not using his imprint even when fighting in the Forgotten Ruins. He had concealed many things about himself.

    The more secrets such a person held, the less trustworthy they became. Wu Taibai was not as good a choice as Xia Taili.

    However, would Xia Taili be willing to work with Lu Yin? He licked his lips. It was possible, but certainly not likely.

    ***

    While Lu Yin and Cai Shu were traveling towards Huaiyuan, Wang Dashuai had been imprisoned upon the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor. He was left tied up beneath the bridge between the Junior Progenitor and the Ind of Hope. The fatty was stuck there, though he asionally let out yells.

    "I didn''t do it on purpose! Help me, Junior Progenitor! Please,e back soon¡­" Wang Dashuai¡¯s screams were unbearable for many people, but naturally, even more people gloated over his miserable fate.

    Some nobody from the Wang family had suddenly managed to find two powerhouses to apany the family¡¯s Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm. Wang Dashuai had believed that he had ascended to the sky with a single leap since he had provided his Junior Progenitor with experts. When he had stood side to side with Yu Chen, Xia Taili, and Long Xi, that moment had been the highlight of Wang Dashuai''s life. As he stood at the end of the bridge and acted arrogantly towards the various young masters, he had felt famous .

    However, fate liked to y jokes. While eagerly awaiting his Junior Progenitor¡¯s return, the fatty had discovered that Unseen Light and Yu Hua were both trespassers. Wang Dashuai had felt like his brain had exploded, and by the time he hade to his senses, he had been tied to the bottom of the bridge.

    "I really didn¡¯t know¡ª! Help¡ª!" the fatty screamed.

    Some distance away, Nong Sanniang rolled her eyes and sighed. It was useless to call for help. It was quite interesting that this guy had managed to recruit two trespassers. If the fatty¡¯s background was not readily known, no one would have believed that he was not a trespasser himself.

    Life really did have its ups and downs.

    There were many experts in Hope Restaurant who had been turned away by Wang Dashuai, and they all cheered, excited that they had not gone to the Dominion Realm.

    After the fatty screamed for a bit, a powerhouse appeared from the Junior Progenitor and dragged Wang Dashuai up. The expert coldly delivered a new batch of orders. ¡°The n has sent out a new order for you. You are to go to Huaiyuan Gate and report in. From now on, you are a member of Huaiyuan Gate."

    Wang Dashuai was still in a state of shock, so he waspletely confused when he heard these orders. ¡°Huaiyuan Gate?"

    He first thought of the Guan brothers and assumed they had been acquitted. He knew it! Long Qi was definitely unreliable. After all, Guan Tong had been a Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate, so how could he possibly be a Redback? The fatty was just suffering one tragedy after another. He was being sent to Huaiyuan Gate after fighting against their Gate Master.

    Also, that Unseen Light was supposed to be Long Qi¡¯s old friend, and although Yu Hua had been from Huaiyuan Gate, she supposedly had some connection to Long Qi. That Long Qi was aplete bastard! Wang Dashuai had treated that person like a brother, but he had been thrown into a pit in return. The universe was full of such bottomless holes. There was no loyalty left in the universe.

    "I don''t want to go! I don''t want to go!" Wang Dashuai immediately shouted. He was actually ready to tie himself back up and jump off of the bridge. He would rather be left hanging here than go to Huaiyuan Gate. Any mission he took there could easily be hisst.

    "You don''t have a choice. Get lost!" The man who had delivered Wang Dashuai¡¯s orders picked him up and tossed him away. Someone from Humility''s Gate had already arrived to pick up Wang Dashuai.

    ***

    On Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Xia Taili was caughtpletely off guard by the news. "What? I¡¯m being assigned to Huaiyuan Gate? Says who? Am I sick? Why should I go?"

    An old woman stood before Xia Taili and smiled at the girl before respectfully exining, "Long Qi was appointed as the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. He said that he wanted to take a few of his old acquaintances with him as helpers. He mentioned your name, princess. Of course, you don¡¯t have to go if you don¡¯t wish to."

    Xia Taili''s mouth fell open, and she waspletely bbergasted. "Long Qi? Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s acting Gate Master? Long Qi?"

    "Yes, it¡¯s Long Qi," the old woman affirmed.

    Xia Taili was left speechless. "Long Qi? The son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family? That Long Qi?"

    The old woman nodded.

    "Isn''t he just a Hunter? What kind of Gate Master is he supposed to be? Who even gave him such a position? Are you sure that you heard right? Shouldn¡¯t he be the gatekeeper, not the Gate Master?" Xia Taili asked in a strange voice.

    The old woman coughed awkwardly. "There¡¯s nothing wrong with my hearing. Long Qi has been appointed as the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate."

    Xia Taili felt as though she was trapped in a dream. She had believed that, now that Long Xi had gone missing, Long Qi would be rendered helpless and forced to fight against other members of the White Dragon n while also suffering retaliation from the members of the Celestial Frost Sect. She had never expected to hear that he had somehow be the acting Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan! Damn, was it really that easy to gain such a position?

    At best, even the four Junior Progenitors could only gain the position of amander within Humility¡¯s Gate, which was a far cry from the position of Gate Master. To put it bluntly, Long Qi had been givenmand over an entire region of the Middle Realm and was in charge of the lives and deaths of countless people. He could even frame almost anyone he wished!

    Xia Taili''s eyes lit up. Framed, retaliation. Framed¡­

    Various ideas flitted through her mind, and she grew more excited the more she thought about the matter. She had not yet participated in such exciting matters. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go to Huaiyuan Gate."

    The old woman was surprised. "You¡¯re actually going? You have no obligation to do so. No one can force you to go."

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "Long Qi is an old friend of this princess, so how can I not help after being asked by a friend? That¡¯s just immoral! Hurry up and take me to Huaiyuan."

    The old woman quickly acquiesced.

    ***

    On the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor, Shang Qing was facing a sect elder and answering the elder¡¯s questions one by one.

    Shang Qing had been subjected to this manner of questioning every two days since he had returned to the Junior Progenitor. This was entirely because he came from Nest, and anyone who came from that prison was looked down upon by others. Everyone had acted politely before the excursion to the Dominion Realm because Bai Shaohong needed Shang Qing¡¯s assistance, but now that the Junior Progenitor had been trapped, everyone¡¯s attitudes had taken aplete turn.

    "When the Junior Progenitor was fighting people in the Forgotten Ruins, why didn¡¯t you help?" The elder of the Celestial Frost Sect looked serious, and he even radiated a bit of killing intent.

    "I had an opponent of my own, a man called Yao Xuan. He was trying to kill me, and his attacks were powerful," Shang Qing replied in a tone that was neither servile nor arrogant.

    "You didn''t know that your attacker was a trespasser at the time?"

    "I didn¡¯t know."

    "You didn¡¯t question it?"

    "No."

    "What did the young master tell you?"

    "He did not give out anymands, as each of us had our own opponent."

    "How did Dong He die?"

    "I didn¡¯t see."

    ¡­

    Questions were continuously asked, and Shang Qing steadily answered them all.

    He has already been interviewed by several powerhouses from the Celestial Frost Sect. After all, it was impossible topletely verify Shang Qing¡¯s background since he hade from Nest.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1455: Return to Huaiyuan

    Chapter 1455: Return to Huaiyuan

    The elders grew more suspicious the more they were unable to learn anything at all. Still, there was an undeniable detail; if Shang Qing was on the same side as Yao Xuan, then Shang Qing should have left with Unseen Light. If he was a trespasser, he would have no reason to stay behind since the excursion to the Dominion Realm had already ended.

    It was for this reason that no one actually believed Shang Qing to be a trespasser. Their repeated questions were only to satisfy the desires of some important people within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    After a while, the elder stopped his interrogation. He stared at Shang Qing, and the old man¡¯s face rxed. "Have you heard of Humility¡¯s Gate?"

    Shang Qing was caught off guard. This was the first time anyone had asked him this question. "I¡¯ve heard of it."

    "You are to travel to Huaiyuan Gate to assist the Gate¡¯s acting Gate Master, Long Qi. Of course, you also have the option of staying on the Junior Progenitor and awaiting the Junior Progenitor¡¯s return," the elder stated.

    Shang Qing''s expression remained unchanged, but his heart was in turmoil. Acting Gate Master Long Qi? Isn''t that just Lu Yin? What happened? Hasn¡¯t it only been a few days? He¡¯s already keeping Princess Long Xi captive on Zenith Mountain, which means that she¡¯s effectively disappeared. Yet nothing happened to him, instead he became an acting Gate Master? Really?

    Shang Qing was not naive. He had been raised and trained by the Hall of Honor since his childhood, so he was very well informed. But even he had no idea how Lu Yin had pulled off such a thing. Shang Qing was confident that Lu Yin had no true connection to the White Dragon n, but Shang Qing had grown a bit suspicious of the authenticity of Lu Yin''s identity.

    Seeing Shang Qing go unresponsive, the elder believed that the youth was unwilling to go, so the elder solemnly said, "The sect¡¯s decision has been made.¡±

    Shang Qing was momentarily stunned by this information, and he could not help but ask, "Why? I wish to wait for the Junior Progenitor to return. He promised to give me a high position within the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Shang Qing¡¯s response cleared away any residual doubt that the elder might have held towards the youth. The elder¡¯s expression grew much gentler, and he felt like he was looking at one of his sect¡¯s youths as he looked at Shang Qing. "We already know how you feel about our Junior Progenitor, but even if he returns, he would still ask you to go to Huaiyuan. You should know how the Junior Progenitor feels about Long Qi. Didn¡¯t Miss Yu Chen tell you?"

    Shang Qing shook his head.

    The elder patiently exined, saying, "The Junior Progenitor has long admired Long Xi, the White Dragon n¡¯s princess. However, she ended up marrying Long Qi, which made Long Qi a thorn in the eyes of our Junior Progenitor. If you can eliminate Long Qi for our Junior Progenitor, he will be very happy upon his return."

    Shang Qing''s eyes lit up, and he was clearly very excited.

    Just as the elder was about to continue sharing additional information, Yu Chen arrived. She respectfully asked, "Elder Xi Zi, could you give me a moment with Brother Shang Qing?"

    It was only at that moment that Shang Qing learned that the elder was named Xi Zi. Shang Qing was not very clear about the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s internal situation, but based on Yu Chen¡¯s behavior, it seemed that Elder Xi Zi had to be someone very important within the sect. Most elders were very respectful towards Yu Chen, but Elder Xi Zi waspletely indifferent.

    Elder Xi Zi nodded, but he did not move.

    Yu Chen was not bothered. She moved behind Elder Xi Zi and then focused on Shang Qing. "Brother Shang Qing, do you and Long Qi know each other?"

    "We saw each other in the Dominion Realm."

    "Did you be friends?" Yu Chen pressed.

    Shang Qing thought for a while. "I saved him during our return."

    Yu Chen frowned. "Why did you never mention this before?"

    Shang Qing frowned. "Why would I? We had to fight against the withered creatures together, and none of us would have returned without us all working together."

    Yu Chen''s eyes shed. "Did Long Qi say anything to you?"

    Shang Qing shook his head.

    Yu Chen fell deep into thought for a bit, but then she smiled at Shang Qing. "What do you think of our Junior Progenitor?"

    Shang Qing''s eyes instantly snapped wide open. "I want to join the Celestial Frost Sect!"

    Across from the youth, Elder Xi Zi showed a gentle smile, and his eyes grew increasingly softer. This child clearly held the Celestial Frost Sect as his goal, and his eyes clearly indicated his admiration and longing. The only issue was that he had been born into a lowly situation, but such a past could always be erased.

    Yu Chen asked several more questions, but Shang Qing did not immediately have any answers, so he had to think through his responses.

    However, this reaction helped to eliminate any doubts that Yu Chen had held, and finally, she only had onest question left: "Brother Shang Qing, Elder Xi Zi just told you that our Junior Progenitor would be delighted upon returning if you had already eliminated Long Qi for him. Would you be willing to do so?"

    Shang Qing felt confused. ¡°Since Long Qi is set against our Junior Progenitor, then why do you want me to go to Huaiyuan Gate? If you cane up with this n, then he should have as well."

    Yu Chen smiled gently. "No matter what reason he might have for his request, you can still go there and report his actions to me. Then, I can tell you how to proceed."

    Shang Qing nodded. "I understand."

    Before long, Shang Qing was taken away from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Yu Chen stared towards the Middle Ocean. It seemed like she was still able to see Shang Qing¡¯s back.

    "You don''t believe him?" Elder Xi Zi asked.

    Yu Chen respectfully replied, "In a normal situation, there should be no reason for Long Qi to seek out anyone from my Celestial Frost Sect, or anyone with even a close rtionship to us."

    "Then why are you sending him?" Elder Xi Zi was surprised at this decision.

    Yu Chen frowned. "I don''t know about this situation. The only exnation that I cane up with is that Long Qi is not worried about us using Shang Qing against him. Either the two of them already knew each other from before, or the events in the Dominion Realm forced their interests to coincide."

    "If that''s true, then sending Shang Qing there is useless," Elder Xi Zi pointed out.

    Yu Chen smiled. "Even an enemy holds value."

    Elder Xi Zi nced at Yu Chen in surprise. "Do you believe that Shang Qing is our enemy?"

    Yu Chen did not deny it. She was used to assuming the worst possible oue. However, as she had said, it did not matter even if Shang Qing did help Long Qi. She was fully confident that she would still be able to gather useful information from whatever Shang Qing decided to share, and then she would also be the one to ultimately deal with Long Qi. A tool did not need to be aware of its role in order to be useful. Even the ignorant could be properly used.

    Liu Tianmu also received notice from where she was staying on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor. She immediately set out towards Huaiyuan Gate in order to assist acting Gate Master Long Qi.

    Liu Tianmu had been stunned when she first received the request for assistance. She was also unable to understand how Lu Yin had aplished such a feat. Personally, she had been trying toe up with a n to leave the Junior Progenitor when Lu Yin had offered her an easy path out. He really could go anywhere.

    Huaiyuan Gate was one of the Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates. It was also the Gate that was the most antagonistic towards Lu Yin.

    After all, Lu Yin had lived in the Yinshan District for a period of time, and he had treated Huaiyuan as a field where he harvested merit points. In the end, he had revealed everything that he had learned from Guan Yun¡¯s memories, but that also meant that, in the short term, Lu Yin had no more leads on how to gather merit points at Huaiyuan Gate.

    However, he also had not spent any time contemting such a thing. Was there any reason to earn more merit points? Rather, Lu Yin wanted to slip away. He wanted to gather everyone together so that they could escape to the rendezvous point at the right moment.

    Lu Yin looked up at Cai Shu who was up in front. At the moment, Cai Shu was Lu Yin¡¯s greatest obstacle.

    "We¡¯re getting close to Huaiyuan Gate," Cai Shu reported.

    Lu Yin looked past the older man and saw a strange sight off in the distance.

    Huaiyuan Gate was surrounded by rings of rivers that flowed in space above the Middle Realm, and they were all flowing vertically. The rivers were held in the sky by some mysterious force, and each one contained inds and various creatures. Naturally, Huaiyuan Gate could also be found within the rivers.

    Huaiyuan Gate was the strongest of the Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates. This was because there were two Envoys stationed at the Gate while the other eight Gates only had a single Envoy each.

    This was also why Guan Tong had been able to be the Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate to begin with.

    But with the recent events, Huaiyuan Gate had fallen from being the strongest of the Nine Gates to being the weakest. Lu Yin did not even need to guess to know that the people currently stationed at Huaiyuan Gate had to all be furious at him at the moment. They had been waiting for a new Gate Master, but it was impossible for any of them to expect a Hunter realm child to arrive.

    That was the truth of the matter for most people in Humility''s Gate. A Hunter was essentially a rookie, and were unqualified to be captains, let alone Gate Masters.

    The moment he saw Huaiyuan Gate, Lu Yin felt hismunication crystal vibrate, startling him. He was actually receiving a mission from the Fourteenth Gate. Specifically, it was a mission from Gate Master Xiao withmand over some of the Fourteenth Gate¡¯s personnel, and it was for Lu Yin to act with discretion.

    Was Lu Yin still a part of the Fourteenth Gate? He felt confused.

    Given that Lu Yin had received a mission and support from Xiao, Lu Yin decided that he should continue to consider himself as a member of the Fourteenth Gate!

    Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s headquarters was situated above the intersection of the rings of rivers, and the base actually upied half of one river. It was on an ind that floated within the middle of the river, and it was isted from the water by a massive bubble. There were nearly a thousand cultivators living in the Gate, and other than people who wanted to speak with a recruiter or turn in a rmendation, everyone else needed to climb up to the Gate from the bottom.

    The river was home to many creatures, and there were many very powerful ones. This represented the status of the Gate.

    All of the cultivators based out of Huaiyuan Gate were present to greet Lu Yin when he arrived. No matter how much disdain they might feel for a child at the Hunter realm, they did not dare to show any form of disrespect given Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s strict rules.

    Lu Yin looked up and watched the water flowing above the giant air bubble. He could hear the calming sound of gurgling water, and asionally, a massive creature would drift by. It was quite a rxing vista, though it was a truly odd sight. At this thought, Lu Yin looked around to see thousands of pairs of eyes staring at him. He smiled at them. ¡°I am Long Qi, the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate, appointed to this role by the Middle Realm¡¯s Supervisor."

    "We greet the Gate Master!" Thousands of cultivators bowed as one. Out of everyone present, there were nearly ten Enlighters, and the rest were Hunters, Cruisers, and Explorers.

    Any one of the people before Lu Yin could act arrogantly in the outside world, as they all represented Humility''s Gate, which no one dared to cross. But at this moment, they all bowed to Lu Yin.

    Even an ordinary person would feel rather smug in such a situation, even if they tried their best to resist it. After all, Lu Yin was only a Hunter. However, this demonstration meant nothing to Lu Yin. He was the master of the Outerverse who oversaw seventy two weaves. There were not many sights that he had not already seen. After all, he had already seen the Daynight Flowzone be trashed before him, so there was no need to mention the army arranged in front of Lu Yin at this moment.

    With the Guan brothers absent, Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s most powerful member was an Enlighter with a power level slightly above 400,000. However, the man was a weakling in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. After all, any of his peers that had gone to the Dominion Realm could defeat every single person in Huaiyuan Gate.

    Still, this was only the power of a single Gate, and there were nine Gates in just the Middle Realm. Normally, that also meant that there were at least nine Envoys in the Middle Realm, as well as Qing Chen, who was a Semi-Progenitor. This was a massive force within the Middle Realm, and not even Daynight Flowzone coulde close toparing to it.

    After a few polite words, Lu Yin dismissed everyone back to their normal responsibilities.

    The most powerful cultivator present approached Lu Yin and respectfully introduced himself. "Your subordinate, Chen Xiazi,1 greets the Gate Master. May I show the Gate Master around the base and turn over all authority to you?"

    [1] Chen Xiazi literally means "Chen the blind." ?

 Chapter 1456: Cloud Shuttle

    Chapter 1456: Cloud Shuttle

    "Chen Xiazi?" Lu Yin asked in an odd tone. "Can you not see?"

    Chen Xiazi replied, "These eyes can see, but this heart cannot."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes before putting on a stoic facade. "Be a bit more clear."

    "I failed to see that the Guan brothers were Redbacks. All of us here in Huaiyuan Gate are guilty," Chen Xiazi said in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That had nothing to do with you. If Redbacks were so easy to recognize, then we would not need to hunt them down. Alright, let¡¯s get to work."

    "Yes, this subordinate will hand over the authority of this gate now," Chen Xiazi said.

    The people of Huaiyuan Gate were not as difficult to deal with as Lu Yin had expected. Apparently, he had overthought the situation. No matter how upset they might be with the situation, they all kept their frustrations close to heart and were ready to perfectly execute all of Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    This was in line with the epted behavior of Humility''s Gate, and it could even be considered as part of the rules.

    Water flowed through space, and light fell down from a sun high above. In other words, this ce also experienced time normally.

    The nights in Huaiyuan Gate were exceptionally beautiful. The dim light refracted through the flowing water beforending on the ind within the river, which created a hazy and beautiful scenery.

    During this time, Lu Yin observed everything in and around Huaiyuan Gate. He sighed emotionally at the realization that he was currently the acting Gate Master.

    Huh? While checking Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s intelligencework, Lu Yin discovered that there was a jade butterfly among their members.

    Yu Chen had created and trained the jade butterflies to act as her moles and spies within various powers throughout the Perennial World. Coincidentally, Lu Yin had once Possessed the old man that was Yu Chen¡¯s guardian, and during that time, Lu Yin had learned the identities and contact information of many jade butterflies. At this moment, he had just stumbled upon one of them.

    Yu Chen was a vicious tactician, and she had actually even sent her jade butterflies to infiltrate Humility¡¯s Gate. Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of the gate in the Yinshan District. If that ce had not been filled with spoiled andzy silkpants, then Yu Chen would have most likely sent her jade butterflies over there as well. Lu Yin had been lucky that he had been initially sent to that particr gate. Any other option would have most likely resulted in Yu Chen out maneuvering him long ago.

    Cai Shu nced over at Lu Yin from the distance, but then he closed his eyes and rxed. Just as Qing Chen had told Lu Yin, Cai Shu would not interfere in any of Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s affairs or any decision that Lu Yin made. The Envoy was nothing but a bodyguard at this time.

    Or rather, he was an observer.

    Lu Yin contemted how he could lose his shadow, and just like that, a new, peaceful life for Lu Yin began.

    Over the following days, Lu Yin wandered about the headquarters, bing familiar with the ce and his new subordinates. The truth was that Lu Yin was already very familiar with the headquarters itself. He had not essed Guan Yun''s memories for nothing.

    After several days, Lu Yin saw a group of people being taken away by Chen Xiazi. After being asked about it, Chen Xiazi said, "There are traitors within that group, but there¡¯s no way to know who it might be. Thus, we have to interrogate them one by one."

    Lu Yin nced at the people. "How are you so certain that there¡¯s a traitor among them?"

    "A nearby lord had a son with an exceptional innate gift that recently disappeared, and these are all the people who were in contact with the child. Unless rescued, the child will be either killed or taken away and raised as a traitor," Chen Xiazi exined.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "He has an impressive innate gift?"

    "He has an innate gift of melting. He can melt anything that he touches."

    Lu Yin nodded and waved a hand, allowing the group to be taken away.

    Humility''s Gate had their own interrogation methods, and Lu Yin saw no need to get personally involved in that process. He was nothing but a passerby, and he did not actually see himself as the Huaiyuan Gate Master. How could such an inexperienced person possibly be a Gate Master? Not to mention, he even had a guardian watching over him.

    Lu Yin was nothing more than bait.

    When Liu Tianmu arrived, her face was as expressionless as ever. She did not even smile when greeting Lu Yin, though Lu Yin was very happy to see her.

    "I wonder, Tianmu, how old are you?" Lu Yin was bored, so he made some small talk with her whilezily leaning against a wall and watching the water flow by overhead.

    Liu Tianmu was standing next to him and indifferently replied, "Older than you."

    "You shouldn¡¯t be a part of the younger generation anymore," Lu Yin continued.

    Liu Tianmu denied nothing.

    Almost none of the youths who had entered the Perennial World were still considered a part of the younger generation in the Fifth Maind.

    "When are you going to get married? You''re not too young for that anymore," Lu Yin asked. His boredom was only growing.

    Liu Tianmu frowned. "That has nothing to do with you."

    "That''s why I asked." Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Liu Tianmu simply stopped speaking.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was not actually asking these questions randomly. Rather, he was trying to lower Cai Shu¡¯s vignce. After all, the more the powerhouse rxed, the less attention he would pay to the youths. Negligence would give them the opportunity to slip away. Unfortunately, Liu Tianmu would not cooperate. The woman really was too stiff.

    "Smile once in a while, or else you¡¯ll never get married," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Tianmu stayed silent. She was toozy to even pay any attention to Lu Yin.

    Soon, a second person arrived: Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin grew much morefortable once he saw Shang Qing. Just as in the past, every time Lu Yin saw Shang Qing, he had three streams of ancestral qi swirling about him.

    "Yu Chen asked me a lot of questions before I left. She clearly doesn¡¯t trust me." These were the first words out of Shang Qing¡¯s mouth when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Of course. I asked for someone who has close connections to the Celestial Frost Sect toe. Of course she won¡¯t trust you."

    "And yet you still asked for me. You¡¯re not afraid of them looking into things?" Shang Qing grew increasingly confused.

    Lu Yin said, "I have a n. Yu Chen will definitely contact you, so just make a normal report to her. It won¡¯t matter."

    Shang Qing nodded. He then proceeded to silently stand in ce, just like Liu Tianmu. The situation once again returned to a very boring atmosphere.

    This situation did not improve in any way until Wang Dashuai arrived.

    "Bro- Bro- My bro-" Wang Dashuai was almost moved to tears the moment he saw Lu Yin. He acted like Lu Yin was his long-lost brother,pletely forgetting about how he had cursed Lu Yin during his punishment on the Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin watched the pale-faced fatty rush towards him and wanted to evade as he was embarrassed by the entire situation. But this moment of hesitation allowed the fatty to embrace Lu Yin. "Bro! You don''t know how your brother¡¯s suffered recently! The elders were upset, and they even tortured me! They left me hanging under the bridge so that everyone wouldugh at me! I¡¯ve lost all respect, and I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll ever be able to show my face in public again. Bro, you¡¯re still loyal enough to ask me toe over here. Without you, I¡¯d be done for¡­"

    Wang Dashuai was truly weeping and venting as he clung to Lu Yin. All of the fatty¡¯s emotions had erupted after seeing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. While he had already known that the fatty would suffer after introducing two trespassers to his Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin had also yed a part in Wang Dashuai¡¯s previous situation. "Okay, Brother Wang, it''s all over now. You can find some peace here at Huaiyuan Gate. Your brother will take care of you," Lu Yinforted.

    The fatty felt overwhelmed when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he squeezed Lu Yin even harder. "Bro, you¡¯re the loyalest! I really read you right! Bro, you¡¯re the best!"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes, though he actually felt even more guilty. He did not have any intentions of saving Wang Dashuai by requesting him be transferred over to Huaiyuan Gate, as the fatty was merely a red herring for Qing Chen and the others. Lu Yin¡¯s goal was actually to slip away from Cai Shu.

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin let out a cough, and he sympathetically patted the fatty on the back.

    "Bro, no matter where you go in the future, your brother will go with you! We¡¯ll share the same blessings and tribtions!" Wang Dashuai loudly dered. His words and behavior made some of the people passing by momentarily stunned.

    Liu Tianmu was nearby, and she nced at Wang Dashuai. There was a hint of unspoken empathy in the depths of her eyes. She rarely sympathized with anyone, but Wang Dashuai¡¯s situation resonated with her. This fatty had been truly unfortunate to encounter Lu Yin.

    Shang Qing had the same reaction, and the longer he observed the fatty, the more Shang Qing empathized with the man.

    Wang Dashuai¡¯s arrival at Huaiyuan Gate stirred up a lot of excitement for Lu Yin. The fatty applied all of his skills, and within a mere two days, he had already be acquainted with most of the people in Huaiyuan Gate. While many people resented Lu Yin¡¯s presence, they had nothing against the fatty. His enthusiasm and excitement to get to know people caused them to let their guard down, and Captain Wang quickly reported to Lu Yin on the current situation within the gate through his interactions with all the members.

    "Bro, the Cloud Shuttle is the most important thing here. It connects the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm. Anyone in the Middle Realm who wants to visit the Higher Realm needs to use the Cloud Shuttle, as the Bifrost is really too far away, you know? Every year, the Smokecloud Sect has to contribute a great deal of resources to Huaiyuan Gate," the fatty whispered in a report to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Contribute resources? Why?"

    Wang Dashuai nced around, but only Liu Tianmu and Shang Qing were nearby. The fatty sneakily answered, "I don''t know about all the details, but I¡¯ve heard that there are some things that can¡¯t be revealed in the Middle Realm that have to be taken up to the Higher Realm along the Cloud Shuttle. Since Huaiyuan Gate has the right to inspect everything that passes through, it seems that the Smokecloud Sect is naturally concerned that Huaiyuan Gate will cause trouble for them, which is why they make such impressive contributions each year."

    "How much?" Lu Yin had grown interested.

    The fatty shook his head. "I don''t know, but ording to my estimates, it shouldn¡¯t be any less than hundreds of millions of star essence."

    Lu Yin was surprised. That much? Hundreds of millions of star essence every year? That was insane! And this was only for Huaiyuan Gate, which meant the majority of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s resources went to themselves and the four ruling powers. This indicated that the Smokecloud Sect received an annual ie of billions of star essence from the transports that they delivered up the Cloud Shuttle.

    "Also, that¡¯s just star essence. That stuff¡¯s useless for Envoys, and curios were also donated for the Guan brothers to use each year. Because of this, Huaiyuan Gate rarely inspects anything going up the Cloud Shuttle, " the fatty eagerly finished his exnation.

    Curios? Lu Yin knew that Envoys cultivated differently from those lower realm cultivators. Weaker cultivators needed to absorb star energy and circte it through their bodies while Envoys used stellr energy, which could only be absorbed from the true universe. However, just like during a stellr tribtion, anyone trying to cultivate stellr energy in the true universe would be attacked by the true universe, which meant that Envoys had to employ extreme caution while cultivating. This risk meant that they could easily suffer bacshes.

    Many Envoys would use various methods to hide their energy, speed up their rate of absorbing stellr energy, or use certain means to resist the true universe¡¯s retaliation. Anything that Envoys could use to assist their cultivation was collectively referred to as curios.

    Also, there were certain power vessels that Envoys could use to help them resist the bacsh from the true universe, which meant that some power vessels could also be referred to as curios. It was not a term for a specific type of item, but rather a broad category of things that Envoys used to assist themselves in increasing their strength.

    "Bro, you¡¯re the newly appointed acting Gate Master, and it¡¯s also about time for the Smokecloud Sect to visit and negotiate their donations for the year." The fatty looked excited.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated. The Smokecloud Sect was a powerful force in the Middle Realm. They were not as powerful as the Liu family or Seed Garden¡¯s Nong family, but the Smokecloud Sect was certainly not weak either. Yun Tingting, who had helped Bai Shaohong, hade from the Smokecloud Sect.

    "Are we supposed to just go talk to them like this? That¡¯s not a good idea," Lu Yin murmured.

    The fatty suggested, "Why don¡¯t we go see the Cloud Shuttle first then?"

    That sounded reasonable, and Lu Yin shot an admiring nce towards Wang Dashuai. The fatty had a quick mind. Although he was saying that they should go see the Cloud Shuttle, Wang Dashuai was actually suggesting that they look for some trouble, though he knew better than to say such a thing out loud.

 Chapter 1457: Intimidation

    Chapter 1457: Intimidation

    The biggest difference between Lu Yin and the Guan brothers was that Lu Yin had no fear of stirring up trouble. The more chaotic the better. If he was being treated as a bait he should have the resolve of being a bait. Even if things went south, he believed that Qing Chen would clean up the mess behind him. If they couldn¡¯t be resolved, all the better. He would seek an opportunity to be absolved from this role.The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more resolved he became.

    "So? Are we going?" Wang Dashuai looked like he was suppressing an even greater sense of anticipation than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said, "We just need to wait for one more person."

    "Who?"

    Lu Yin looked up. "Her."

    The fatty looked up to see Xia Taili slowly making her way towards them with a smile on her lips. The fatty was taken aback. ¡°Her? Why¡¯s she here?"

    Lu Yin was also feeling ufortable, as he had not expected Xia Taili to actually ept his request. She was someone who had been left with nothing to do but wait on the Junior Progenitor for Xia Shenfei, so she certainly had the time to go to Huaiyuan Gate.

    "Brother-inw, you still remembered your rtives after climbing higher, and you didn¡¯t forget your little sister. Thank you." Xia Taili smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled back. "I didn''t expect you to actuallye."

    Xia Taili smiled happily. "Of course! I was free, and I¡¯ve always been quite interested in Humility''s Gate. Also, brother-inw just became the Gate Master here, which is fascinating. What¡¯s wrong? Do you not have any targets to arrest? You can always just arrest someone first and then interrogate themter.¡±

    Lu Yin saw Xia Taili¡¯s eyes glowing with excitement, and his own eyes flickered. "That¡¯s true. Come with me."

    Xia Taili''s eyes lit up even brighter. "Really? Alright, let''s go! Don¡¯t even think about letting the target escape."

    The fatty stayed right on Lu Yin¡¯s heels.

    Liu Tianmu and Shang Qing were also nearby, and they simrly moved to follow after Lu Yin.

    Cai Shu watched as the group of youths all left the headquarters. They were headed towards the Cloud Shuttle, so the Envoy quickly followed after them. As he looked up at the Mother Tree, he remembered his master¡¯sment about a terrible darkness that hid in Huaiyuan; just what was this darkness?

    Huaiyuan¡¯s unique location meant that itpletely surrounded the Cloud Shuttle, sitting directly beneath the entrance to the Mother Tree¡¯s Higher Realm.

    No matter who they were, if they wished to use the Cloud Shuttle to enter the Higher Realm, they had to travel to Huaiyuan. This also meant that Huaiyuan Gate had the authority to arrest and interrogate anyone passing through, which was the number one reason why the Smokecloud Sect always donated to Humility¡¯s Gate every year.

    The Cloud Continent was andmass formed from a strange smoke. asionally, a bit of the smoke would break free and drift up to the Higher Realm. There were thousands of these rising clouds at any given moment, and each one could carry anywhere from dozens of people to hundreds.

    Countless people were lined up beneath this Cloud Shuttle, each of them waiting to board a drifting cloud and ascend to the Higher Realm. In addition, there were far, far more doing their best to submit an application so that they could also ascend.

    Although the four ruling powers were based in the Higher Realm, that did not mean that they were the only forces in that ce. There were numerous cities that needed servants to carry out tasks along with mysterious mountains and unfathomable oceans. People had an instinctive desire to explore, and the four ruling powers upied less than half of the Higher Realm, and other people lived in the rest of the realm.

    Also, there were many people who wanted to join one of the four ruling powers or learn from them.

    As far as the people of the Middle Realm were concerned, reaching the Higher Realm was a glorious achievement in and of itself. They were willing to pay a steep price, and that was an important source of the Smokecloud Sect''s ie.

    Lu Yin and his party moved closer and closer to the Cloud Shuttle. Half of it floated in the air while the other half was connected to the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. This meant that as they moved closer to the Cloud Shuttle, they were also moving closer to the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin felt an involuntary shudder. Every time he saw the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, it looked like it connected the sky to the ground. Just how could a tree be sorge? It was absurd! Even if he looked to the side, it was impossible to see the trunk¡¯s edge. It had formed a wall that was the border of the Middle Realm.

    On the other side of the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk was a massive battlefield.

    The trunk protected the Middle Realm from that battlefield.

    "Are we targeting someone near the Cloud Shuttle?" Xia Taili was getting more and more excited. She certainly knew of the Cloud Shuttle.

    As Lu Yin observed the busy Cloud Shuttle and the numerous disciples from the Smokecloud Sect who were standing guard there, he nodded.

    "So we are going after someone from the Smokecloud Sect!" Xia Taili''s eyes had lit up brightly. She looked quite eager to proceed.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Were you hoping to go after someone from the Smokecloud Sect?"

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "No. I¡¯m just asking."

    Lu Yin felt that Xia Taili¡¯s attitude was a bit strange. He looked over at Wang Dashuai, who was simrly confused.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin and his group slowly walked towards one of the clouds in front of the line. Everyone in the queue looked at them curiously.

    When it was this close to the Cloud Shuttle, the line was very quiet and somber. It cost a substantial price to enter the Higher Realm, and everyone had to pay. No one wanted to be disqualified due to any sort of mistake, and Lu Yin and his group had appeared rather abruptly.

    They quickly drew the attention of the members of the Smokecloud Sect.

    The Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples were typically arrogant and acted above everyone as they shouted at the people lined up, but the attitude of Lu Yin and those with him had caught the disciples t footed. They did not quite know how to react.

    This confusion allowed Lu Yin and those with him to peacefully step foot onto the cloud.

    Lu Yin looked at the Smokecloud Sect disciples who were still some distance away. He asked, "So, no one¡¯s concerned about us?"

    Xia Taili lifted her head arrogantly. "They must have recognized me."

    Shang Qing said lightly, "They¡¯re calling our bluff."

    "Is that the case?" Lu Yin muttered to himself. He lifted his hand and pointed towards a disciple with a mustache. "You,e here."

    There was a rule that most cultivators knew before arriving at the Cloud Shuttle, which was that the price to pay was not to ascend to the Higher Realm, but rather to receive the qualification to enter the Cloud Continent, so the question was, who was going to take you to the Cloud Continent?

    It was easy to find the Cloud Continent, but one was not able to ascend however they pleased. A person would first need to wait in line, then wait to be told which specific cloud they could use to ascend, and then finally be appointed a guide who would control the cloud. These guides charged a fee, and payment was to be made to the custodian of the Cloud Shuttle, and those payments were made to the Smokecloud Sect.

    There were thousands of rising clouds in the Cloud Shuttle¡¯s area, and they could be merged together or dispersed depending on what was needed. Everything was arranged ording to a schedule, and anyone hoping to go to the Higher Realm needed to follow the schedule and cloud that they were assigned to.

    Scheduling was veryplicated, or at least it seemed to be, and there was also the fee paid to Cloud Continent¡¯s guides. Even after qualifying to enter the Higher Realm, if the guide¡¯s fee was not paid, a person could only wait, as they would never be scheduled.

    Not everyone was willing to pay the guides¡¯ fees. There were some people who were absolutely confident that they could enter the Higher Realm without paying the guides¡¯ fee, and they were content to wait several months. However, after being forced to wait for more than a year with no end in sight, everyone eventually caved and paid the fee to enter the Higher Realm.

    Given these examples, most people were aware that the guides¡¯ fee was absolutely necessary.

    "Second Master, what are those people doing? They don''t seem to be getting in line." A younger disciple standing behind the disciple with the mustache whispered to the older disciple with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

    The mustached disciple slowly sipped his drink. "The only reason why someone woulde in here and act so brazenly is if they have an impressive background. Don''t worry about them."

    "What if it''s just an act?"

    "Then they¡¯ll be out of luck," the older disciple angrily retorted.

    Right after that, the younger disciple stepped forward, approached the group of people who were led by the youth pointing his finger, and allowed the group through.

    The mustached disciple blinked; was this person insane? He was the Cloud Shuttle¡¯s chief dispatcher. While this was not a high position, it was still one with great influence. In particr, he had a powerful backer within the Smokecloud Sect. Despite all of that, this person who had barged into the Cloud Shuttle seemed to bepletely unconcerned by such things.

    The mustached disciple was not stupid, and he was actually quite sharp, which was how he had managed to be the chief dispatcher. After quickly analyzing the situation, he realized that regardless of who this youth was, he was not someone who the mustached disciple could afford to offend. Thus, he straightened out his clothes and walked over.

    "Young Master, what are your orders?" The mustached disciple approached Lu Yin with a warm smile. He looked like the ideal customer service worker.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Such behavior made it difficult to try to stir up trouble. Weren¡¯t there rumors that the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples were crazy? The Cloud Shuttle was the Perennial World¡¯s version of the Astral River Ark, and those who controlled such a ferry system would invariably enjoy a higher status and grow arrogant. What was going on? This guy should be full of himself.

    "Get the person in charge of this piece over here for me," Lu Yin casually demanded. He was assuming that the mustached man¡¯s position was just too low. As soon as someone with an appropriate position appeared, they would definitely show a different attitude.

    The mustached disciple showed an even more modest smile. "This little one is the chief dispatcher of the Cloud Shuttle. I wonder, what might Young Master need?"

    "You? Isn''t the chief dispatcher that kid, Yun Yang¡¯s, lover?" Wang Dashuai stuck his head forward and asked a strange question.

    The mustached disciple¡¯s expression changed the moment he saw Wang Dashuai. "You? You¡¯re here again?"

    Lu Yin looked back at Wang Dashuai. The fatty¡¯s reaction at this moment was a bit strange. He seemed worried and as if he was dreading something. Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered how the fatty had talked about the Cloud Shuttle, and it seemed as if the fatty was trying to use Lu Yin to exact some vengeance.

    At this moment, a cloud descended at the side, and an angry voice called out, ¡°Is that Fatty Wang? How dare youe to my Cloud Shuttle!"

    Lu Yin and the others looked over to see a young man yelling at them. He was quite handsome, but his face was very pale. It was readily apparent that his body had been ravaged of all color, and it almost seemed like his eyes were simply floating in the sky and looking down at them.

    The mustached disciple quickly stepped forward when he saw the young man and respectfully greeted him. "Young Master."

    Wang Dashuai shouted, "Grandson Yun! Your fat master¡¯s here, so what''s the problem?"

    The young man sneered as he looked at Wang Dashuai. "There¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m just telling you that this ce is a dead end for you."

    "Are you a toilet bowl? If you said the route is stuck, it¡¯s stuck?"

    "Fatty Wang, you better watch your words! This is the Cloud Shuttle, which is my Smokecloud Sect¡¯s domain. Just watch me throw you out!"

    "You wouldn¡¯t dare! I¡¯m from the Wang family!"

    "Hmph, you think that I don¡¯t know that? You brought trespassers to your very own Junior Progenitor¡¯s team, and the Wang family is about to disown you! I¡¯ll just give them a head start."

    "Try it!"

    "I won¡¯t just try!"

    ¡­

    Xia Taili was excited, and her fists were clenched tight. She looked like she wanted to run over and join the fight.

    Lu Yin nudged her. "Who is ¡®that kid¡¯?"

    Xia Taili excitedly replied, "He¡¯s the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s young master, Yun Yang. He¡¯s also Yun Tingting''s cousin. His status in the sect is very high, and he¡¯s known as the little overlord of the the Cloud Shuttle. The fatty fought with him before, and their fight got both the Wang family and the Smokecloud Sect involved, which was why the fatty was dispatched to the Yinshan District."

    Lu Yin had guessed right. It was no wonder why the fatty had wanted toe here to make trouble at the Cloud Shuttle; he wanted to settle an old grudge. The little overlord of the Cloud Shuttle? That was an arrogant enough title.

 Chapter 1458: Polarization

    Chapter 1458: Prization

    "Get over here! Get rid of this fat corpse and his posse for me!" Yun Yang shouted. He had not nced at Lu Yin and the others even once, as he had only been staring at Wang Dashauai this entire time.

    Wang Dashuai sneered. "Grandson Yun, do you really have the guts to throw out Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s new Gate Master?"

    The fatty then stepped aside.

    Yun Yang''s gaze slipped past Wang Dashuai, and he finally looked at Lu Yin and the several other people. "What are you talking about? The Gate Master? Guan Tong? He¡¯s dead. He was a Redback, and he¡¯s dead. You¡¯re trying to trick me, you fat corpse."

    Wang Dashuai stayed silent, though he did have a sneer on his face as he stared at Yun Yang.

    While Lu Yin was not happy that the fatty had used him in such a manner, he indeed wanted to cause some trouble. Wang Dashuai had assumed that Lu Yin wanted to put his foot down in a way that would force the Smokecloud Sect to offer Humility¡¯s Gate more donations, but all Lu Yin wanted was the chance to slip away.

    The best way for Lu Yin to make his escape was to find someone who could keep Cai Shu upied. The bigger the mess, the higher Lu Yin¡¯s chances of escape. The Smokecloud Sect seemed like the perfect target, especially when little overlord Yun Yang showed himself.

    However, before Lu Yin could speak, Yun Yang''s expression changed the moment he saw Xia Taili. "Princess Taili? Why are you with Fatty Wang?"

    Lu Yin abruptly choked on the words that he had just been about to speak.

    Xia Taili waved a hand. "I¡¯m just passing by, so don''t worry about me. Just do whatever you want, as it has nothing to do with me."

    Despite her words, Yun Yang grew nervous.

    Xia Taili was not the same as Wang Dashuai. She was the princess of Shenwu''s Sky as well as Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei¡¯s little sister. Let alone Yun Yang, even if the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master were present, he still would not behave too casually towards Xia Taili.

    Yun Yang red at Wang Dashuai, but then he quickly smiled at Xia Taili. "Since Princess Taili is here, I won''t disturb the princess with a bad atmosphere. I''ll let the fat man go for now."

    Wang Dashuai grew increasingly more rxed, and he sneered in an antagonistic manner that looked extremely rude.

    Xia Taili frowned. "He¡¯s got nothing to do with me, so just do whatever you want."

    She was eager to watch a fight, as she was hoping to see some fun. Unfortunately, regardless of her protests, there was no possibility of Yun Yang causing any more trouble. He was not stupid.

    Xia Taili grew disappointed.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and looked at Yun Yang. "Are you the person in charge of the Cloud Continent?"

    Yun Yang frowned. He shot a nce towards the fatty, but then he noticed that the fatty was actually following this person, as was Xia Taili, which scared Yun Yang. "Might I ask who you are, your Excellency?"

    "Huaiyuan Gate Master Long Qi," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Yun Yang was caught off guard. "You¡¯re Long Qi? The Long Qi who¡¯s the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family?"

    "That¡¯s me." Lu Yin stared at Yun Yang.

    Yun Yang stared back at Lu Yin, still not quite believing the situation. "When did you be the Huaiyuan Gate Master?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "It looks like your status isn¡¯t sufficient, if you haven¡¯t even been informed of this."

    Yun Yang frowned. "Historically, every single one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters has been an Envoy. How could you possibly be a Gate Master, let alone the Huaiyuan Gate Master? You actually dare to pretend to be a Gate Master?"

    "Idiot! Not even someone trying to die would pretend to be a Gate Master! With your stupidity, how were you ever put in charge of the Cloud Shuttle?" Wang Dashuai jumped forward and mocked Yun Yang.

    Yun Yang felt that this was a valid point after a moment¡¯s thought. He whispered something to his followers, looked at Lu Yin, and then casually asked, "Even if you are the new Huaiyuan Gate Master, I still don¡¯t know why a Gate Master would visit my Cloud Shuttle. Do you want to visit the Higher Realm?¡±

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and looked as if he was inspecting something.

    Yun Yang''s expression froze. "Is Huaiyuan Gate Master saying that my Smokecloud Sect has a traitor?"

    Lu Yinughed. "The Smokecloud Sect has more than a mere traitor."

    "That¡¯s nonsense! You dare to nder my Smokecloud Sect?" Yun Yang shouted angrily.

    Lu Yin calmly looked back at the youth. "If there are any, I¡¯ll know after an investigation. As the Huaiyuan Gate Master, I have the authority to investigate the Cloud Shuttle, as well as the Smokecloud Sect."

    Yun Yang clenched his fists and red at Lu Yin. He then looked at Wang Dashuai¡¯s gloating face. Yun Yang took a deep breath and then sneered. "It looks like we have an unwee visitor today. Long Qi, I would like to remind you to not allow yourself to be used by others. While it¡¯s not that you are not authorized to inspect, there are certain ces that you should be careful of inspecting, as there are some consequences that you cannot bear. It would be best for you to first check with your seniors to see if you can even investigate my Smokecloud Sect.¡±

    "Are you threatening me?" Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold.

    Yun Yang sneered. "It¡¯s just a reminder. You don¡¯t want to be a Gate Master who¡¯s reced after just a few days, as that would be too embarrassing. That wouldn¡¯t only humiliate you, but it would also humiliate the White Dragon n."

    "You don¡¯t qualify to give me such reminders," Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    Yun Yang''s expression grew sharper.

    Lu Yin looked elsewhere, where an old man was approaching them.

    Yun Yang quickly stepped forward when he saw the old man. "Third Elder-"

    The old man raised a hand to stop Yun Yang before he said anything and then addressed Lu Yin with a smile. "The Smokecloud Sect¡¯s third elder greets the Huaiyuan Gate Master."

    Lu Yin nodded, though his hands remained sped behind his back. "Those are easy words to say."

    Yun Yang was displeased with Lu Yin''s attitude, but the old man was unperturbed. "Gate Master Long hase today, and I assume it¡¯s to familiarize yourself with the Cloud Shuttle. This old man happened to be free, so should I take Gate Master Long on a tour? If there is anything that you wish to see or any questions you may have, then please just speak. This old man knows everything about this ce."

    Lu Yin felt helpless; he had run into a peacemaker. Such old people were the most difficult people to deal with, as they made it impossible to kick up any trouble.

    While it looked like the day¡¯s issues would stop at this point, the elder was still being respectful enough. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble the third elder to show us around."

    "It would be this old man¡¯s honor," the old man said with a smile as he gestured invitingly.

    Wang Dashuai felt disappointed, and Xia Taili was even more frustrated, but neither of them had any idea that Lu Yin was the most upset one over this development. There was no possibility of stirring things up or making a bigger mess out of a minor conflict. At the very least, he would try and leave a poor impression on the other party, so that things would proceed smoothly in the future.

    However, the old man showed such a pleasant attitude that Lu Yin would only embarrass himself if he continued trying to make a mess. What¡¯s more, he felt that it would be highly unlikely for him to encounter Yun Yang the next time he came to visit the Cloud Shuttle. They were being careful so that the rookie Gate Master did not stir up too much trouble.

    The Smokecloud Sect was able to endure despite the existence of the four ruling powers, so it was clearly governed by intelligent people.

    Each of the floating clouds could carry at least dozens of people, and there were alsorger clouds that were able to ferry hundreds or even thousands of people. The floating clouds spread into the distance, and there were countless people queued up to board them.

    Lu Yin felt the urge to visit the Higher Realm as he looked at all of these people lining up.

    He truly did want to visit the Higher Realm, but given his current situation, he could not make such a journey casually.

    The third elder led the youths along, and they made their way from west to east. Whenever Lu Yin asked anything about the Smokecloud Sect, the third elder would immediately have the person in question answer Lu Yin¡¯s question. No matter how small or petty the question was, the elder¡¯s attitude remained perfectly respectful to the point where it was impossible to pick out any faults.

    Lu Yin felt helpless, and he nced over at the fatty, hinting for Wang Dashuai to find a means to start a conflict.

    The fatty had a headache himself. He red defiantly at Yun Yang, but Yun Yang restrained himself andpletely ignored the fatty, which left Wang Dashuai utterly helpless.

    "Third Elder, is everyone who wishes to enter the Higher Realm required to have their possessions inspected?" Lu Yin watched as a cultivator in the distance handed his cosmic ring over to a Smokecloud Sect disciple and then drip a bit of blood onto the ring. The disciple then emptied the ring and asked the cultivator some questions.

    Elder Yun San smiled as he replied, "Yes. The four ruling powers are based in the Higher Realm, so no dangerous objects are allowed in."

    "What is considered a dangerous item? Cultivators typically carry weapons. Wouldn¡¯t a weapon be considered a dangerous item?" Lu Yin asked.

    The third elder exined, "No weapons or power vessels are allowed to be taken to the Higher Realm. If you want a weapon, then you must buy one after arrival, unless special permission is granted to a traveler. This is all done to ensure the safety of the Higher Realm¡¯s youths. There are specific rules in ce, and all of the weapons in the Higher Realm are manufactured by the four ruling powers. Those weapons are all registered, so every weapon can be tracked back to its origin."

    "It¡¯s also quite normal for a cultivator to form a weapon from their star energy, so how would that be tracked?" Lu Yin continued his line of questioning.

    The third elder exined, "Naturally, it¡¯s impossible to trace such a weapon to its source. For the time being, all we can do is restrict the entry of outside weapons. There are many situations that we cannot affect. Still, we are improving our methods as time passes. There are rumors that the four ruling powers are working on developing some means of tracing the origins of star energy attacks, and once they are sessful, any cultivator who enters the Higher Realm will leave behind traces when using their star energy."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn, as this news defied all that he knew to be true!

    For cultivators, fighting, absorbing star energy, releasing star energy, and creating a weapon out of star energy in self-defense were allmon urrences. And yet, the four ruling powers were restricting cultivators in order to protect their own youths. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, this was not merely a means of protecting their youths, but rather a means of creating a greater disparity.

    The four ruling powers were the most powerful organizations in the Perennial World, and their youths were naturally far more powerful than the other youths of the Middle Realm. There was no need for the four ruling powers¡¯ youths to be protected through this method, so this was more of a means to highlight the status of the four ruling powers. The four ruling powers were the elite, and everyone else was considered lower ss.

    Lu Yin did not know who had formted this n, but if it was carried out, then it would lead to the formation of a strict caste system in the Perennial World. This would make cultivators who were not a part of the four ruling powers be more and more intimidated by the four ruling powers¡¯ cultivators. The further things progressed, the less anyone would dare to resist.

    "Would you happen to know who¡¯s behind this rule that prohibits weapons from entering the Higher Realm?" Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Yun San looked up and admiringly said, "Lady Bai Xian''er."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he looked over at Shang Qing. They both saw contemtion in each other''s eyes.

    After quietly observing the inspections for a while, Lu Yin still found the matter of people turning over their cosmic rings for inspection to be quite bizarre. Personally, Lu Yin would rather not visit the Higher Realm than turn over his cosmic ring for someone else to inspect it. On top of that, there was also the matter of not being allowed to bring any weapons or power vessels.

    Some of the people being inspected appeared indifferent, others looked angry, and even others were cative. The reactions to the inspections ran the gamut. There were also some weapons that were confiscated, and while some cultivators wanted to resist, they were all intimidated by the Smokecloud Sect. Thus, they could only swallow their objections.

    None of the confiscated weapons would be returned.

    "Hey, that person was taken aside and skipped being searched," the fattymented in surprise.

    Lu Yin had noticed the same thing. There was an arrogant-looking middle-aged man. Not only had he been separated during the inspection, but he had also skipped the queue and been led straight to the front by the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples.

    "Hehe, he¡¯s an old friend of my Smokecloud Sect. Huaiyuan Gate Master should understand that procedures can be made convenient for certain people," the third elder said with a smile.

 Chapter 1459: Stellular Liquid

    Chapter 1459: Stellr Liquid

    Lu Yin smiled. While the third elder¡¯s attitude seemed casual, his pupils had actually fluctuated when watching the arrogant middle-aged man pass through the inspection. It seemed that the man was someone important, but he did not seem to be anyone important enough to warrant such a reaction from the third elder. It was either the person who had caused the reaction, or, more likely, it was the what the man carried in his cosmic ring.

    At this thought, Lu Yin moved out and made his way towards the man.

    The third elder was shocked at Lu Yin¡¯s actions, and he quickly moved to block Lu Yin¡¯s path. "Gate Master Long, I¡¯m not sure where you are wanting to go, but perhaps this old man can help you?"

    Lu Yin took some quick steps to bypass the third elder. The older man wanted to stop the youth, but was not able to do so. By the time he had reacted, Lu Yin had already moved past the elder, which shocked the old man, though it was not entirely unexpected. After all, Long Qi had qualified to enter the Dominion Realm.

    Anyone who qualified to visit the Dominion Realm was one of the most powerful youths in the entire Perennial World.

    "Gate Master Long!" The elder shouted loudly, but Lu Yin was already in front of the middle-aged man. Many of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples surrounded Lu Yin and watched him with wary eyes.

    Liu Tianmu''s sword left its sheathed. Sword qi lingered in the void and chilled all of the disciples. Even if ignoring the disciples, even the third elder felt his scalp tingle. Yun Yang swallowed what he had been about to say when Liu Tianmu''s sword qi trembled. This qi was so terrifying that he felt as though he could be destroyed at the swordswoman¡¯s whim.

    The middle-aged man waspletely unconcerned with Lu Yin. The man merely indifferently nced at Lu Yin before preparing to take his things and leave.

    Lu Yin set a hand on the man''s arm. "Brother, wait."

    The man frowned and looked at Lu Yin with an expression of frustration. "What''s the problem?"

    The third elder finally arrived and he quickly spoke to Lu Yin, "Gate Master Long, what are you doing? Please don''t disrupt the work of my Smokecloud Sect."

    Surprise filled the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes when he heard Lu Yin referred to as Gate Master Long. Gate Master was not amon title, nor one casually used by a Smokecloud Sect elder. Realizing the situation, the man¡¯s expression softened a bit.

    Lu Yin smiled. "What is Elder so worried about? I''m just curious about how you inspect people''s belongings, so I wanted to try for myself."

    The third elder replied, "That''s easy enough. If Gate Master Long will just wait a moment, this old man will set something up and you can perform inspections on as many people as you wish."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Wait for what? Isn''t this one already ready?"

    As Lu Yin spoke, he turned to look at the piles of belongings that hade from the middle-aged man''s cosmic ring.

    The third elder¡¯s expression changed drastically. "Gatemaster Long, this gentleman is one of my Smokecloud Sect¡¯s distinguished guests, so please stay your hand. My Smokecloud Sect would be most grateful, and I will prepare a generous gift for youter. Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters are able to gain many riches."

    The people of the Smokecloud Sect were not stupid. They had already guessed at the motivation behind Lu Yin¡¯s visit.

    Wang Dashuai felt satisfied, as this had been specifically his purpose in leading Lu Yin into visiting the Cloud Shuttle, and it looked like he had achieved his goal.

    However, no one was able to guess at Lu Yin''s real motivation. The more that the third elder showed that he did not want Lu Yin to search the middle-aged man¡¯s possessions, the more intrigued Lu Yin became. "Don¡¯t worry, Elder. No matter what¡¯s found, it has nothing to do with me. I just want to take a look."

    The third elder¡¯s face went pale, and suddenly he lifted his hand and reached for the hand that Lu Yin had ced on the middle-aged man''s arm.

    However, the moment the elder moved, Liu Tianmu reacted, and the tip of her sword pointed straight at the elder¡¯s throat.

    The third elder was not weak, and his smoke was actually able to block the sword qi for a moment, which allowed him to touch Lu Yin''s wrist.

    Liu Tianmu''s eyes grew sharp, and she spun her sword: Fourth Sword. The third elder Yun was horrified, and he immediately retreated, as he was not capable of standing up to this attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand never moved from the middle-aged man''s arm.

    The man did not panic, and he simply looked at Lu Yin. "Young man, there are certain things that are better to not know about."

    Xia Taili''s eyes lit up. "Hey, what¡¯re you hiding? Are you that afraid of being discovered? This princess must see what you have before you can leave."

    The man frowned and red at Xia Taili. He spoke quietly, "Youngdy, don''t make a mistake."

    He did not know who Xia Taili was.

    Xia Taili¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Oh, you actually dare threaten this princess! You¡¯re finished! Your whole family is finished! Move for this princess!"

    The third elder gritted his teeth and he suddenly attacked. His smoke formed chains that bound everyone, and at the same time, the Smokecloud Sect disciples surrounding them attacked Lu Yin and Xia Taili.

    The moment the elder made a move against Xia Taili, Lu Yin knew he had caught a big fish. There had to be something extremely important in the pile of items to be inspected.

    The middle-aged man also took action. He had a simr level of strength as the third elder, and his arms trembled to allow his body to break free of the smoke. He immediately attacked with powerful battle techniques that targeted the nearby area.

    What was he using? Wind God sh? That was one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s techniques.

    Lu Yin had not expected this person to be someone from the Celestial Frost Sect. The arm that was holding the man trembled, and a terrifying power of the Oveying Stacks Path fell upon the man with the weight of a mountain and crushed him to the ground, instantly obliterating his Wind God sh.

    Liu Tianmu attacked with her sword and cut through the third elder¡¯s smoke. Still, some of the smoke approached the items that had been inspected and tried to sweep them away.

    At that moment, a stream of qi shot forward and forced back the third elder¡¯s smoke.

    The elder was shocked, and he turned to look at Shang Qing in surprise. The Smokecloud Sect¡¯s smoke was not something that could be dealt with so easily, so just who was this youth?

    Everything happened in less than a second, and when everything was resolved, Xia Taili was already at the pile of the middle-aged man¡¯s belongings.

    The man¡¯s expression changedpletely, and he shouted in fury, "I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t make a mistake! You¡¯re only going to cause a great deal of trouble, and no one will be able to save you."

    A terrifying aura suddenly fell upon the area and suppressed everyone. Lu Yin was no stranger to this sensation; it was from an Envoy. A true master of the Smokecloud Sect had arrived, but they were toote. The Envoy emerged from the void and approached the group, but before he could approach, Lu Yin released a Vacuum Palm into the pile of possessions and smashed it.

    Xia Taili was forced to take a step back from the Vacuum Palm¡¯s shockwave, and she turned to re at Lu Yin.

    The middle-aged man turned to look, amazed that his belongings had been smashed. Suddenly, the void twisted and even started to break. The man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank; this was not good! It had leaked.

    The void suddenly shattered, and an expert who stood about two meters tall stepped out. His terrifying aura left everyone in shock.

    Cai Shu instantly appeared and stood in front of Lu Yin.

    The man ignored Lu Yin and the others and instead focused on the pile of shattered belongings. His face was pale, and he raised his hand to do something, but Lu Yin instantly attacked with another Vacuum Palm. This attack targeted the man who had just appeared. Lu Yin had ultimately decided to attack an Envoy.

    Even though Lu Yin had not used his battle force, just 250 Stacks was still powerful enough for an Envoy to pay attention to the attack. The expert sensed the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm, and he struggled to react in time. His arm was struck, and he was forced back two steps. He red at Lu Yin.

    The Envoy had not expected a youth to take action even after he, an Envoy, had appeared.

    At this moment, the void around the pile of destroyed belongings fractured, and a liquid appeared and leaked into the void through the cracks. The cracks did not actually lead to the void like normal, but instead led to the true universe. This liquid was being absorbed by the true universe.

    Many people saw this, and Cai Shu was among them. His expression instantly changed as he recalled certain things, and his pupils constricted.

    "Stellr liquid?" Xia Taili blurted out, her face white.

    The middle-aged man had simrly gone pale; it was over! Everything was over.

    The third elder¡¯s body trembled, and he nearly fainted.

    The Smokecould Sect¡¯s Envoy who had appeared swept his hand out, twisting the void and blocking others¡¯ sight of what was happening. At the same time, he seized the remaining liquid. The spatial crack leading to the true universe suddenly opened wider, and a sharp ray shot out towards the Envoy. It hit his hand, and three of his fingers were broken. Instinctively, he retracted his hand and thest of the liquid was sucked into the true universe and the crack disappeared.

    The Envoy seethed with rage, and he turned to re at Lu Yin and the others while radiating killing intent.

    Xia Taili''s face was still pale. She had watched the entire scene in shock. She looked like someone had struck her.

    Lu Yin knew that what he had just witnessed was not a simple matter, but he was not afraid of the Envoy¡¯s anger and rage.

    "Uncle Kuang, they-" The third elder started speaking, but was cut off when the Envoy raised his bleeding hand. The powerhouse ignored his injury, and then turned and left without saying a single word.

    Cai Shu made no attempt to stop the man. He was still staring at the pile of broken items. The depths of his eyes betrayed turbulent thoughts.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Envoy to leave so readily. Lu Yin had attacked the powerhouse, and yet the man had said nothing. It seemed as though the Envoy could not wait to escape the ce.

    The third elder was missing his perpetual smile, and instead looked like he was mourning his dead mother.

    Yun Yang waspletely confused, and he had not understood anything that had happened.

    As for the middle-aged man, his reaction was even worse than the third elder¡¯s. The man was on the ground, seemingly paralyzed. For being a powerful Enlighter, he looked pathetic.

    Lu Yin expected the man to say something, yet he remained silent. In fact, the man did not even look at anyone as he numbly walked towards where the clouds rose into the sky.

    Everything had been truly bizarre.

    Lu Yin turned to look back at Xia Taili, who was staring at the pile of broken items in the same manner as Cai Shu.

    Lu Yin was feeling incredibly curious; just what was that liquid? Was it some sort of power vessel that was able to twist space and open a path to the true universe? Suddenly, Lu Yin remember pyrolyte and how its appearance had thrown the Innerverse and Outerverse into chaos. This liquid seemed to be simr to pyrolyte!

    "I remembered, stellr liquid-" Wang Dashuai suddenly said, sounding as though he was rather incredulous.

    Cai Shu shouted, "Shut up!"

    Wang Dashuai¡¯s mouth snapped shut. His face became as white as Xia Taili¡¯s, and he also stared nkly at the pile of rubble on the ground.

    Lu Yin nudged the fatty. "Stellr liquid? What¡¯s that?"

    The fatty¡¯s expression twisted, and he quietly replied, ¡°Go back to get an exnation, but it¡¯s a a big problem. We might have kicked a ho''s nest."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Cai Shu looked over at Lu Yin and quietly said, "Hurry back to headquarters and forget about this. Don¡¯t say anything about it to anyone."

    Lu Yin agreed, "Don''t worry, we¡¯ll behave."

    Cai Shu nodded. "Go."

    Their arrival had created a shock, but no one paid any attention to their departure. It seemed as though no one from the Smokecloud Sect, including the third elder, even saw Lu Yin and the other youths leave. No one moved to touch the broken items. The entire situation seemed to be the start of trouble, but it was also all very eerie and peaceful.

    Lu Yin suppressed his curiosity and did not ask any questions while they returned to Huaiyuan Gate.

 Chapter 1460: Nutrients

    Chapter 1460: Nutrients

    Cai Shu stayed a bit behind Lu Yin and the other youths. He raised his hand, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, he decided to call Qing Chen.

    "Master, your disciple has discovered stellr liquid." Cai Shu immediately brought up what had happened.

    Qing Chen showed no surprise. "The Cloud Shuttle."

    Cai Shu frowned. "Is it the four ruling powers?"

    Qing Chen sighed. "Times have changed. In the past, everyone was suppressed by the Lu family, and thus no one dared to cause any harm to the Mother Tree. But now¡­"

    As the old man spoke, his expression grew moreplicated.

    Cai Shu gritted his teeth. "The Mother Tree forms the very foundation of our existence. Humanity is able to thrive and even resist the monsters only by relying on the Mother Tree! Yet despite that, they actually work to harm the Mother Tree like those parasites in the Lower Realm in order to absorb stellr liquid. They are destroying humanity¡¯s foundation! Why? Will no one stop them?"

    Qing Chen solemnly exined, "The Mother Tree has the power to block those monsters, and some people believe that they can take that power for themselves and be capable of destroying the monsters."

    "How could that be possible?" Cai Shu was furious.

    Qing Chen shook his head. "No one knows whether or not it''s possible, but it is still a possibility. Humans have always been on the back foot, even with the Mother Tree¡¯s protection. Who can say if such a situation can be replicated in the future?"

    Cai Shu fell silent.

    Qing Chen asked, "How did you discover this?"

    Cai Shu shared everything that had happened, and then asked, "Was this what you were meaning when you mentioned a darkness here?"

    Qing Chen sighed. "From what you just told me, the stellr liquid that was discovered should belong to the Celestial Frost Sect, which is unfortunate. While no one will openly move against Long Qi over this matter, it will certainly cause problems, and some people will likely move against him in secret, and there could even be some fanatics. You will need to protect Long Qi, and I will need to negotiate with the Celestial Frost Sect."

    "What of Long Qi?" Cai Shu asked.

    Qing Chen had a headache. This matter seemed very strange. "How was he able to pinpoint that person? It¡¯s impossible to perceive stellr liquid, as not even the true universe can detect it."

    "It was just a coincidence." Cai Shu was actually not confident in his answer.

    Qing Chen frowned. "He''s deliberately making trouble. Give him a stern warning not to mess with the Cloud Shuttle. Even though he¡¯s bait to lure out Shaman God, I don¡¯t wish anything to happen to him. However, with stellr liquid involved, he¡¯ll be an enemy of the four ruling powers, and if that happens, no one will be able to protect him."

    "Your disciple understands." Cai Shu¡¯¡¯s mood fell further.

    Qing Chen looked back at Cai Shu andforted his disciple. "Master realizes that you can¡¯t unravel this matter, and stellr liquid has been a matter of debate since ancient times. In the past, the Lu family¡¯s suppression protected the Mother Tree, but the situation has changed to what we see now."

    "Master, don''t worry. Your disciple knows what to do," Cai Shu raised his head and spoke with determination.

    Qing Chen nodded and his image disappeared.

    Cai Shu lowered his hand and looked up towards the Higher Realm that was far overhead. Were they really doing the right thing? If they were wrong, humanity would be doomed. At this moment, Cai Shu also understood the importance of the Guan brothers, as well as why the Supervisor had been so confident that Lu Yin would enter Shaman God¡¯s sights after being made acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. This was not only because the youth had grabbed the scarlet eye that had belonged to Guan Yun, but more importantly, because he had been put in charge of Huaiyuan Gate.

    The position was incredibly appealing to the Seven Skygods, and location was the focal point of an operation that had the potential to topple the entire Perennial World.

    Back at Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s headquarters, Lu Yin was just about to ask Wang Dashuai about stellr liquid, when Cai Shu suddenly appeared. "What is it that you wish to know? I''ll tell you."

    With that, the others all left.

    Naturally, Xia Taili did not stay behind. It was clear that she had been badly effected by the incident.

    "What is stellr liquid?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Shu sat right down on the ground without any pretenses. He patted the ground next to him.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see Cai Shu had such a casual side, but still sat beside the Envoy without giving the matter much thought.

    "Do you know how difficult it is to continue cultivating after bing an Envoy?" Cai Shu asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. He was not an Envoy himself, and no one had mentioned anything to him.

    Cai Shu smiled bitterly. "An Envoy cultivates with stellr energy, and stellr energy must be absorbed from within the true universe. You should already know about stellr tribtions and how a person will be targeted and attacked by the true universe after absorbing stellr energy. A struggle forms between an Envoy and the true universe, and this struggle is a natural development.

    "Any Envoy who cultivates within the true universe can easily be attacked by that universe if they absorb too much stellr energy or try to absorb the energy too quickly. This is why many Envoys search for things that can hide their presence."

    "I know, those are curios," Lu Yin said.

    Cai Shu nodded. "Curios are difficult to acquire, and not every Envoy has one. In theory, as long as a cultivator receives no bacsh from the true universe, they can quickly cultivate, as it is easy to absorb stellr energy. Thus, they could rapidly cultivate through six tribtions, or even seven to be a top powerhouse. However, while this is nothing but a dream for most Envoys, it is achievable for certain people."

    "Stellr liquid," Lu Yin blurted.

    Cai Shu smiled. "Yes, stellr liquid. If an Envoy absorbs stellr liquid, they no longer need to sorry about receiving any sort of of retaliation from the true universe. As long as the stellr liquid is not exposed, it can be absorbed no different from star essence, and it provides a shortcut for Envoys¡¯ cultivation. However, stellr liquid is not something that can be synthesized or even something that forms naturally. There is only one ce in the entire Perennial World where it can be found.¡±

    Cai Shu¡¯s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. ¡°The Mother Tree."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "The Mother Tree?"

    Cai Shu let out a long breath. "The Mother Tree roots herself into the universe itself, but not only the visible universe. It is also rooted in the true universe, and the Mother Tree absorbs stellr energy from that universe. Has anyone mentioned to you how the creatures in the Lower Realm came into being?"

    Lu Yin instantly understood. Long Xi had told him long ago that the Mother Tree absorbed nutrients from the universe itself, and that the creatures of the Lower Realm tried to devour and destroy the Mother Tree. This was due to the fact that the universe had both positive and negative aspects, and this was also why Root had been established and sent various adventure teams to the Lower Realm: to protect the Mother Tree.

    Given this information, it seemed like the nutrients the Mother Tree absorbed was stellr energy, and the nutrients were distributed throughout the Mother Tree in the form of stellr liquid.

    "The creatures in the Lower Realm attempt to destroy the Mother Tree and do their best to prevent the Mother Tree from transporting stellr liquid up to nourish the trunk and upper reaches of the Mother Tree. Humanity has worked to destroy those creatures and protect the Mother Tree, but now, humanity itself is working to destroy the Mother Tree in order to absorb the Mother Tree¡¯s stellr liquid. Is there any difference between us and those parasites?" Cai Shu growled out more of the exnation while his expression grew ugly.

    "Our Perennial World has long had an uncrossable line, which is that no matter how difficult cultivation bes, we must never touch stellr liquid. This is a basic rule that has been in ce for countless years, and it is a bottom line that no cultivator has cared to cross. It¡¯s an untouchable taboo, but-" Cai Shu hesitated, as he did not know how to continue.

    Lu Yin immediately understood that there were people who had crossed humanity¡¯s bottom line, and they were actually the four ruling powers.

    He understood why there had been such a strong reaction the moment that the stellr liquid had been exposed. It represented humanity¡¯s greatest taboo. Absorbing stellr liquid might benefit some individuals or groups by allowing them to grow stronger, but it also risks destroying humanity¡¯s very foundation in the Mother Tree, which could lead to humanity¡¯s extinction. Such selfishness was inexcusable.

    One could only imagine how big of an impact such news would cause once it leaked out. This incident had the potential to shake the entire Perennial World.

    "Do you now understand how dangerous your actions today were?" Cai Shu solemnly asked .

    Lu Yin nodded. "We can¡¯t allow those people to destroy the Mother Tree?"

    Cai Shu shot a look of surprise at Lu Yin. He had not expected to hear that reaction. After all, Cai Shu saw Lu Yin as a member of the four ruling powers. "No one can stop them, not even my master."

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    "My master will find a way to suppress the incident from today, but in the future, stellr liquid cannot be touched, as doing so will cause you to be the universal enemy of all of the four ruling powers, and once that happens, no one will be able to save you," After speaking thest bit of warning, Cai Shu left.

    The information Lu Yin heard lit a fire in his heart, and his eyes zed brightly. Be a universal enemy of the four ruling powers? That was a really big deal! Lu Yin grinned after considering the possibility.

    The four ruling powers were already his enemies, so exposing this incident would not only stop the destruction of the Mother Tree, it could also achieve Lu Yin¡¯s own goal. Wasn¡¯t this just perfect?

    Cai Shu could never have dreamed that the more serious his warning, the more hyped Lu Yin became.

    The very next day, Lu Yin returned once again to the Cloud Shuttle.

    While Cai Shu was curious as to why Lu Yin returned to the Cloud Shuttle, the Envoy did not think much of it. He had already been very clear with the youth and made it known that when it came to stellr liquid, even Humility¡¯s Gate would feign ignorance and would have nothing to do with stellr liquid. A moment¡¯s carelessness could make them the enemy of the four ruling powers, and thus Cai Shu did not believe that Lu Yin would be brazen enough to go anywhere near stellr liquid again. The Envoy believed that Lu Yin was putting up a front of being fearless with this trip to Cloud Shuttle.

    While Lu Yin was informed about stellr liquid from Cai Shu, Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu learned about the situation through Wang Dahuai.

    Returning to the Cloud Shuttle again left the fatty feeling rather uneasy. "Um¡­ Bro, what are we doing here today?"

    Lu Yin stated matter-of-factly, "The Smokecloud Sect did not provide any gifts."

    The fatty coughed. "Well, didn''t that third elder say yesterday that he would send it and that we should go back and wait?¡±

    The possibility of getting involved with stellr liquid terrified Wang Dashuai.

    Only a Perennial World native like the fatty could truly understand the seriousness of having this matter of stellr liquid being exposed. Forget the fatty, not even Xia Taili could walk away unscathed.

    Xia Taili also spoke up, though she rolled her eyes. "Thisdder is boring."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "After walking around the Cloud Shuttle yesterday, I''m pretty sure there''s a traitor here."

    The fatty and Xia Taili were both surprised. "A traitor?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "We need to determine the truth."

    The fatty felt a bit skeptical, but he then remembered Long Qi¡¯s results in the Yinshan District, which caused the fatty to give some credence to Lu Yin¡¯s im.

    Xia Taili was suffering from a headache; how could it be so easy to find a traitor to humanity? The night before, she had received a warning from her n that she was not to return to the Cloud Shuttle. After all, she had been partly responsible for the stellr liquid being exposed. Even if she was a mischievous child, she felt it was too much to immediately return to the Cloud Shuttle.

    As Xia Taili looked at Lu Yin''s back, she suddenly felt that he was too bold. If he was anyone else, even if it waspletely certain that there was a traitor at the Cloud Shuttle, no one else would return right away in order to show the four ruling powers that there was no intention of provoking them.

    How was it that this guy was so different from what the rumors imed? How was this the attitude that a son-inw should have? If Long Xi had not disappeared, Long Qi would have been scolded to death.

    After arriving at the Cloud Shuttle, Lu Yin was surprised to see Yun Yang. The youth had not been transferred out, though the third elder had disappeared.

    When Yun Yang saw Lu Yin and his group, his face grew as ugly as if he had been forced to eat dead flies. Hepletely ignored the group and turned around to leave.

 Chapter 1461: Bringer Of Misfortune

    Chapter 1461: Bringer Of Misfortune

    Lu Yin instantly stopped Yun Yang. The youth frowned and wanted to pick up his speed in order to leave, but Lu Yin was faster and he blocked Yun Yang¡¯s path.

    There were Smokecloud disciples all around, and they red at Lu Yin with wary eyes. Wang Dashuai was terrified; why was Long Qi trying to create more trouble at this time?

    Off in the distance, Cai Shu was simrly stunned. Causing more trouble at this time would be asking for too many problems. Cai Shu was certain that the four ruling powers were all focused on the Cloud Shuttle at this moment to ensure that no news regarding the stellr liquid leaked out. Long Qi could not act so stupidly!

    "What are you doing?" Yun Yang gritted his teeth as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin acted curious. "Why are you running?"

    Yun Yang whispered, "The third elder is already dead, so if you don''t want to die, get out of my way."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Is this because of the stellr liquid?"

    Hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, Yun Yang instantly nched. He had only been allowed to stay at the Cloud Shuttle because of his knowledge of the previous day¡¯s matter. In the past, the third elder had been the one to handle everything rted to stellr liquid, but the recent incident had caused the Celestial Frost Sect to suffer horrible losses, and so the elder had been executed. In order to prevent anyone else from learning of the stellr liquid, Yun Yang had been selected as a recement for the elder. After all, Yun Yang already had knowledge of the stellr liquid, and he was also part of the Smokecloud Sect.

    The truth was that Yun Yang did not want the job, but he had no choice in the matter. If he refused the task, he would die.

    At this moment, Yun Yang was much like a bird who had been scared by a bow. He could not wait to escape anyone who so much as mentioned stellr liquid, as he was absolutely certain that he would be the first one to die if anything went wrong.

    "Even if you want to die, don''t take me with you! How could you say those words?" Yun Yang quietly raged as he reflexively nced around. He could not help but have the other Smokecloud Sect disciples pull back a bit further.

    "What words? Stellr liquid?" Lu Yin was being entertained by the youth¡¯s terror, though Lu Yin also realized the seriousness of the matter. One of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s elders had suddenly died, and it was all because stellr liquid had been found.

    Yun Yang ground his teeth until he almost crushed them. "Long Qi, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Nothing much. I¡¯m just curious why you''re running."

    Yun Yang fell silent and simply stared at Lu Yin. Yun Yang was scared of this new Gate Master, and clearly Long Qi had loose lips. Did he really not understand the seriousness of the matter?

    Lu Yin did not continue frightening Yun Yang, and instead Lu Yin continued to tour about the Cloud Shuttle while apanied by the fatty and a few other people. Though Yun Yang had wanted to run and hide, he had remembered something that had caused him to go pale, and then he trailed after Lu Yin like a thief while keeping his distance.

    After a while, the Smokecloud Sect Envoy re-appeared. He said a few words to Yun Yang before fixing a vignt watch onto Lu Yin and his group.

    A respected Envoy was forced to simply watch Lu Yin and several more youths for an entire day until they finally left the Cloud Shuttle.

    However, the very next day, Lu Yin arrived again, and he resumed wandering about the Cloud Shuttle.

    Yun Yang and the Envoy maintained their vigil for another entire day.

    The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day. Every single day for an entire week, Lu Yin spent visiting the Cloud Shuttle. Xia Taili had grown impatient long ago, or perhaps it was due to the warning she had received from her n, but she did not apany Lu Yin. The fatty simrly wanted to avoid the Cloud Shuttle, but Lu Yin forced Wang Dashui along. Yun Yang absolutely hated Lu Yin, but every time that the new Gate Master appeared, Yun Yang would watch him like he was a thief.

    The Smokecloud Sect¡¯s Envoy had also grown frustrated. He was an Envoy, and he was not supposed to be a bodyguard, but every time that Lu Yin appeared, the Envoy had to watch from a distance, which was quite ufortable.

    Yun Yang wanted to grab Lu Yin and beat him and ask why he kept returning to the Cloud Shuttle.

    Cai Shu also wanted to ask Lu Yin why he was so focused on the Cloud Shuttle, but Lu Yin was still the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. No one had the authority to interfere with Lu Yin¡¯s activities. Not even Qing Chen or the other Middle Realm Gate Masters possessed such authority.

    One seventh day, while Lu Yin was still at the Cloud Shuttle. Wang Dashuai had already be numb to the situation. "Bro, where¡¯s that traitor you mentioned?"

    Lu Yin instantly grew serious. "I''ve been observing them for more than ten days. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll have results soon."

    The fatty just rolled his eyes. He had lost faith in Lu Yin. In the Yinshan District, Long Qi had managed to immediately arrest multiple traitors after barelyying eyes on them. At this time, Yun Yang had grown so nervous that he had pulled back even further while watching Lu Yin. Just why did Lu Yin need more than ten days to observe a traitor?

    The fatty guessed that Lu Yin was returning every day because there had been no show of support by way of donations from the Smokecloud Sect. Actually, the fatty was starting to wonder why the Smokecloud Sect was so oblivious as to ignore the tribute they owed Humility¡¯s Gate. Had it gotten lost?

    Wang Dashuai had no choice but to give Yun Yang a reminder.

    However, Yun Yang was helpless. His sect master was in istion, and nothing had been decided before that. This was a matter that the sect master had to personally decide. Yun Yang had tried to exin the situation to Lu Yin, but the new Gate Master had not understood the situation, which left Yun Yang in a helpless position.

    Lu Yin leaped andnded on a cloud tform. The fatty and the others followed. They had all be numb to Lu Yin¡¯s recent behavior. Off in the distance, Yun Yang''s heart skipped a beat. He reflexively nced over at the Envoy the Smokecloud Sect had sent, Uncle Kuang.

    Uncle Kuang squinted, and unconsciously, his fingers twitched.

    Lu Yin calmly moved along. It looked like he was simply intending to move on to the next cloud, which he had been doing for more than ten days.

    However, this time Lu Yin stopped in front of a certain man on the cloud tform. He smiled at the man.

    Uncle Kuang was watching, and he instantly felt that this was not good. He immediately attacked, but it looked like Long Qi was already prepared, as he had taken out the power vessel he had received from Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    This was a defensive power vessel that had been given to Lu Yin. The ring-shaped power vessel had been destroyed in the Dominion Realm, so this new power vessel had arrived at a convenient time.

    Just as the name of the power vessel suggested, a phantom willow leaf appeared when the power vessel was activated and would swirl around the user¡¯s body. At the same time, a beautiful flower would bloom on the willow leaf.

    Uncle Kuang shattered the void with a hand to grab the man in front of Lu Yin, but the Envoy was blocked by Lu Yin¡¯s power vessel, and the powerhouse was left unable to move even an inch.

    Cai Shu was not able to react in time to this sudden change due to his distance. He could not understand why Uncle Kuang had attacked so suddenly, but Cai Shu could also not understand how Long Qi had managed to react so quickly with putting up a defensive power vessel.

    Although the power vessel managed to block Uncle Kuang¡¯s attack, the shockwave still impacted the surrounding area, and it pushed back Shang Qing and the others while simultaneously breaking apart the cloud beneath their feet.

    Lu Yin grabbed the man in front of him, though the man instinctively resisted. However, the man was only an Enlighter, so how could he overpower Lu Yin? The man ended up being easily captured.

    Cai Shu emerged from the void and stood in front of Lu Yin. At the same time, Uncle Kuang also appeared, and the Envoy stared at Lu Yin with bloodshot eyes. "Let him go."

    Cai Shu gave Lu Yin a suspicious look. The older man had a bad premonition.

    Lu Yin kept a tight hold of his captive. "I''m sorry, did you just tell me to release this traitor?"

    Uncle Kuang shouted, "He¡¯s a distinguished guest of my Smokecloud Sect! What do you mean a traitor?"

    At this moment, Yun Yang arrived. His face was pale. "Long Qi, let him go! Let him go!"

    Lu Yin red at the other youth. "This person has been very suspicious, and I¡¯m quite sure he¡¯s a traitor. What is the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s intentions by stopping me from arresting people?"

    The air around Uncle Kuang''s body warped. The man was clearly about to explode.

    Yun Yang turned his focus over to Cai Shu. "This man is the same as the person who was found ten days ago! Please release him!"

    Cai Shu was shocked; this man was another mule for stellr liquid! Cai Shu looked at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, release him. Don¡¯t move on this person."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, something¡¯s off about this person."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he squeezed his hands and exerted a bit of strength to force the man to the ground. Pain overcame the man, and he roared, "Boy, let me go! You¡¯re courting death!"

    Lu Yin pped the man, stunning him dizzy and leaving him barely conscious.

    Uncle Kuang grew anxious. "Junior, you really are asking to die!"

    Cai Shu''s face twitched, as even he was growing a bit nervous. "Long Qi, this really is someone we can¡¯t touch. Have you already forgotten what I said?"

    Wang Dashuai was in the back, and he was absolutely terrified. It was happening again! He desperately wanted to return to the Junior Progenitor, even if it did mean that he would be hung from the bridge again. Even that was better than death! How was it that Long Qi kept targeting people transporting stellr liquid? This was chasing death!

    Shang Qing''s eyes shed. They were close.

    Lu Yin frowned and nced back at Cai Shu in surprise. "Senior, do you mean that this person is also transporting-¡±

    ¡°Long Qi!¡± Yun Yang and Uncle Kuang both shouted as one to prevent Lu Yin from saying anything further.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Is that really the case? I have an innate gift that allows me to see through people, and I¡¯m positive that there¡¯s something wrong with this guy."

    Uncle Kuang quickly said, "That''s all it is! Please don''t make a mistake, and just let him go."

    Lu Yin looked over at Yun Yang. The youth was about to cry. "Long Qi, let him go! No one wants to die, so just go with what you¡¯ve been told."

    Lu Yin looked back at Cai Shu once more, and the older man nodded.

    Lu Yin let out a breath and rxed his grip. ¡°Well, looks like he really is just delivering-¡±

    ¡°LONG QI!¡± everyone shouted once again.

    Lu Yin rubbed his ears and kicked the man away. "Alright! I really didn''t know the deal."

    He paused, and then looked at Yun Yang and the others'' flushed faces. He spread out his hands in an innocent manner. ¡°My mistake."

    Yun Yang and Uncle Kuang both heaved sighs of relief. Luckily, Long Qi was not stupid and he was not pursuing the matter of transporting stellr liquid. He had immediately released the mule upon realization of what was happening, which was only right. Only an idiot would search for stellr liquid. They had been worrying about nothing for these ten days, and the transporters would be fine in the future, as Long Qi did not dare move against them.

    Cai Shu also felt relieved, though he was staring at Lu Yin in surprise. How had this kid known that there was something off about that particr person?

    After the incident several days before, all of the inspections for the transporters had been conducted out of sight, in order to ensure that nothing was seen by ident. However Lu Yin had a domain. While his domain was not able to pass through the visual barriers that were used to hide the inspections, Lu Yin was still able to observe people with his domain.

    In the past, he had rolled a six on his die and had Possessed someone from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Honor Mountain. The man¡¯s name was San Liang, and he was a talented individual who had also studied psychology for many years, which had allowed him to be quite urate when reading bodynguage. Lu Yin had gleaned a great deal of memories from the man, and had gained a bit of understanding of the man¡¯s methods.

    His domain had allowed him to observe the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples, and he had noticed how respectful they had been to this man. While it had not been very obvious, they had not been able to hide their subtle behavior from Lu Yin, who had used their behavior to confirm that something was off about the man he had targeted.

    There had certainly been a degree of luck to the whole thing, but there had been no risk. After all, no one would say anything if Lu Yin had been wrong, but since he had been correct, it had be a big deal when he had won his bet.

    Lu Yin released the man, which left everyone happy. The fatty patted his chest and finally rxed.

    Lu Yin had kicked the man away, which enraged the man to the point that he whirled around, ready to cuss Lu Yin out. However, the man was stopped by Uncle Kuang. The Envoy said something quietly, and it caused the man¡¯s expression to instantly change. He then immediately turned and made his way towards another cloud tform. He had clearly been frightened.

 Chapter 1462: Purpose

    Chapter 1462: Purpose

    Cai Shu secretly shook his head at the scene Lu Yin had just created. The four ruling powers silently cooperated when it came to stellr liquid. The first person Lu Yin had caught had been from the Celestial Frost Sect, but Cai Shu did not know which power the second man hade from. Still, the two men had known of each other, which meant they were both from one of the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin had found another stellr liquid mule, and though he had quickly released the man, the incident had terrified many people, and even the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master had been scared out of seclusion.

    The first thing the sect master did after leaving istion was invite Lu Yin into the Smokecloud Sect for a talk.

    Yun Yang was truly relieved at this news, for as long as his sect master stepped forward, there was no way that Long Qi would return to the Cloud Shuttle.

    Lu Yin was also happy to meet the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master, as this would lead others to believe that he frequented the Cloud Shuttle for so many days just to have the Smokecloud Sect bribe him.

    The Smokecloud Sect was second only to the Liu family within the Middle Realm. They were a powerful organization that stood on the same level as the Nong family. They stood guard over the Cloud Shuttle for the four ruling powers. Legends imed that the Smokecloud Sect came from a powerful Progenitor, but no one knew if the legend was true or not.

    The Smokecloud Sect was based on a mountain that floated in the sky to the west of the Cloud Shuttle. There was no soil on this mountain, only smoke. This was the magical smoke that was the foundation of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples techniques.

    The moment Lu Yin saw the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s mountain, he could not help but wonder if it was the same as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Smoke-Eater Peaks, as the two groups seemed to have amon heritage.

    Actually, Lu Yin felt that many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s powers had inheritances from the Perennial World, and all of them seemed to be quite advanced. For example, he had witnessed powers simr to the Liu family, the Wen family, the Phoenix n, and more.

    Wang Dashuai and the others did not enter the Smokecloud Sect with Lu Yin, and he met with the sect master, Yun Mubai, alone.

    Yun Mubai was the first ruler of an entire region who Lu Yin had met in the Perennial World.

    The man seemed to give off the same feeling as Cai Shu, though Yun Mubai had an even more refined demeanor. However, Lu Yin felt a bit of familiarity from first sight, as the sect leader looked a great deal like Yun Tingting.

    Yun Mubai smiled when he saw Lu Yin and said, "Gate Master Long Qi, I¡¯ve heard about you for quite a while."

    Lu Yin smiled. He did not betray any of the fierceness he had disyed when arresting people at the Cloud Shuttle. "Sect Master Yun, this junior has long admired your reputation."

    "Gate Master Long Qi is the first person since the founding of Humility¡¯s Gate to be a Gate Master before bing an Envoy. To be honest, I did not quite believe the news when I first heard it, but I¡¯ve sincee to ept it. It appears that the Supervisor has an exceptional eye for talent, as Gate Master Long Qi aplished something the moment you arrived in Huaiyuan," Yun Mubaimented.

    As he spoke, a young girl entered the room to serve tea to Yun Mubai and Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a tea cup. "Sect Master Yun is mistaken. This junior did not aplish anything, but on the contrary, I nearly created a disaster."

    Yun Mubai acted surprised. "A disaster? Is Gate Master Long talking about the stellr liquid?"

    Lu Yin had not expected Yun Mubai to be so blunt, as he boldly brought up the subject before the serving girl could even leave. She heard the sect master¡¯s words and lookedpletely shocked.

    Suddenly, the girl''s expression changed and smoke rose from her head before she crumpled to the ground.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank and he turned to stare at Yun Mubai. "You killed her?"

    Yun Mubai smiled casually as he slowly sipped his tea. "Since she heard what I said, shouldn''t she die?"

    Lu Yin had encountered many ruthless people since he had first started cultivating, but he had note across many who were capable of killing people while talking andughing. While Yun Mubai looked elegant and refined, he was actually an incredibly cruel man.

    Yun Mubai was surprised at Lu Yin''s reaction. "Is Gate Master Long Qi very surprised? Words spoken between people such as you and I are not things that a mere servant can hear, and since she did hear, she had to pay the price, no?"

    Lu Yin nced at the girl¡¯s corpse and felt incredible disgust for Yun Mubai. This sect master left Lu Yin feeling very ufortable, though also a bit guilty. If not for Lu Yin, the girl would not have died. Yun Mubai had killed the girl as a warning to Lu Yin.

    "Sect Master Yun is decisive, and you deserve your position overseeing an entire sect," Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    Yun Mubaiughed. "People are also divided into different sses. There¡¯s no need for Gate Master Long to care about the lives and deaths of such ants.

    ¡°Getting back to what we were discussing, what does the Gate Master Long think about stellr liquid?"

    Lu Yin looked at the sect master with cold eyes. "Sect Master Yun, what do you want me to consider?"

    Yun Mubai set his teacup down and grew serious as he focusedpletely on Lu Yin. "Gate Master Long is from the White Dragon n. While you are merely a member of a branch family, you still possess a superior bloodline. You should understand the rules of survival in this universe. While the stellr liquid is a taboo and forbidden to be extracted, there isn¡¯t anyone above the four ruling powers. What are your thoughts?"

    Lu Yin replied casually, "The stellr liquid has nothing to do with me. I''m only concerned with catching traitors."

    Yun Mubai retorted, "I only oversee the Cloud Shuttle, and I have nothing to hide."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Is this the attitude that Sect Master Yun revealed when speaking with Guan Tong?"

    A slight frown appeared on Yun Mubai¡¯s face, and he tossed Lu Yin a cosmic ring. Lu Yin nced at it and found it held nearly 50 million star essence. "I¡¯m aware that Gate Master Long needs cultivation resources and this is of utmost priority to cultivators such as yourself. It¡¯s our gift to wee the new Gate Master to Huaiyuan Gate, and a simr gift will arrive every year. I just wish that Gate Master Long Qi will understand that there are no spies nor Redbacks at the Cloud Shuttle¡±

    Lu Yin rubbed the cosmic ring he had just been given. In the past, such a gift would have delighted him, but what Lu Yin had just witnessed had soured his mood and he felt disgusted by Yun Mubai.

    "If there are any traitors, we will know after investigating, but Sect Master Yun has no need to worry; I, Long Qi, will not disrupt the normal operations of the Cloud Shuttle." Lu Yin had lost any interest in speaking further with Yun Mubai. Lu Yin stood and prepared to leave. The expression on the girl¡¯s face as she died would not leave his mind.

    Yun Mubai watched Lu Yin in a rxed manner. "Gate Master Long, I¡¯m not sure, but might you have met a certain girl while in the Dominion Realm?"

    Lu Yin froze and turned around. "Yun Tingting?"

    Yun Mubai nodded.

    "I met her and we fought, but then we were separated."

    This was something that Yun Mubai must have been told long before. "Are Yun Tingting and Princess Long Xi together?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know. It was too dangerous at that time, and even Junior Progenitor Long Tian wasn¡¯t able to keep Long Xi close. I was not able to pay any attention to the others. Sect Master Yun should ask the Celestial Frost Sect, not me."

    With that, Lu Yin left.

    Yun Mubai stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back as the youth left. No particr emotion could be seen on his face, and the truth was that he was not at all concerned about Long Qi. The first incident had been nothing but an ident, while the second had truly been a coincidence. It was possible that Long Qi had an innate gift for observing things, but it did not matter at all so long as he did not disrupt the transport of the stellr liquid.

    Since the youth had been given a gift, there was no chance that he would continue to frequently visit the Cloud Shuttle. After all, he was just a child. Thinking of this caused the sect master to nce over at the corpse of the serving girl. He then left the room, still unconcerned.

    Indeed, Lu Yin did not return to the Cloud Shuttle for two days after receiving the gift from Yun Mubai, which greatly relieved Yun Yang. Every time Long Qi visited, Yun Yang would watch the new Gate Master all day, and it was exhausting.

    During this time, Shang Qing received a call from Yu Chen.

    "So, the rumors are true. No wonder my senior has been in a bad mood for thest two days and all of the disciples have been punished. While losing the stellr liquid is a minor matter, this incident had caused us to lose a great deal of face." Yu Chenughed.

    Shang Qing watched Yu Chen and quietly listened to everything she said.

    "As far as you know, did Long Qi know about the stellr liquid before finding it?" Yu Chen asked.

    Shang Qing shook his head. "He didn¡¯t even know what it was."

    "Then why was he trying to stir up trouble with the Smokecloud Sect?" Yu Chen was surprised, and a bit of doubt appeared in Shang Qing''s eyes.

    Shang Qing replied, "The excuse he gave was that he was searching for traitors, but he was really there for resources. When the Guan brothers ran Huaiyuan Gate, the Smokecloud Sect offered them a great deal of cultivation resources every year. However, the sect showed no response when Long Qi became the Gate Master, and Wang Dashuai gave a bit of a nudge, so Long Qi went along with it."

    Yu Chen smiled. "So Wang Dashuai was behind it. He was sent to the Yinshan District because of a fight he had with Yun Yang, so it¡¯s certainly possible for him to instigate some trouble. Stil¡­"

    ording to Yu Chen¡¯s understanding of Long Qi, he was no longer just a son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, but was something much more. He was a truly capable person who had managed to overturn her predictions and schemes time after time. How could such a person be so easily provoked?

    However, she had no exnation for what had happened aside from what Shang Qing shared. Not even Yu Chen would consider that Lu Yin was simply using the Smokecloud Sect to purposely create a massive incident that would keep Cai Shu busy so that Lu Yin could escape with Shang Qing and the others.

    While Yu Chen would never be able to find Lu Yin¡¯s true motivation, she was still able to read through his actions and see that he had not merely acted in order to procure resources. If it was just for resources, why would he have nearly captured a second mule? What was the exnation for that? Yu Chen did not believe in coincidences, so she did not even consider such a possibility. With that view of the situation, it meant that Long Qi was truly too bold. How would such actions do anything other than make things worse? If that was the case¡­ Yu Chen''s eyes shed.

    "I¡¯ll give you information concerning a few other people for you to pass on to Long Qi. All of the people will be mules transporting more stellr liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect. As for your source, go ahead and tell him you received the information from me," Yu Chen said.

    Shang Qing was caught off guard. "Tell him I got the information from you?"

    Yu Chen nodded. "Make sure he¡¯s clear on that bit."

    She then passed on the information regarding the people over to Shang Qing and quickly ended the call.

    After Yu Chen¡¯s image disappeared, Shang Qing went to find Lu Yin.

    "So these are all people who will be transporting stellr liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect? Yu Chen told you?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Shang Qing replied, "She also told me to make sure that you knew the information came from her."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. That woman had a terrifying mind, and she had already seen that Lu Yin wanted to exacerbate the current situation. That was why she had sent him a few more targets. However, the people she had given information on could not be transporting stellr liquid for the Celestial Frost Sect, but must be working for one or another of the other four ruling powers.

    Yu Chen wanted to see how Long Qi handled this situation, and so she had inserted her own schemes into the equation.

    Lu Yin frowned. He felt like his actions had been seen through, but that did not actually matter. As soon as things blew up, he would leave. Even if he one day returned to the Perennial World, he would use a different identity. Long Qi would vanish, so preserving his identity was useless.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin was worried about Qing Chen who stood behind Cai Shu, Lu Yin would have long since left with Shang Qing and the others. He would certainly not have waited so long.

    "When will these people be arriving at the Cloud Shuttle?" Lu Yin asked.

    "In two months" Shang Qing replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then we wait for two months."

    Two months soon passed. During this time, Lu yin did nothing at all. Almost all traitors in Huaiyuan had already been caught. Normally, the Gate Master would work on the Gate¡¯s intelligencework and assist various investigations, but Lu Yin did nothing at all. The members of Huaiyuan Gate grew increasingly upset with their acting Gate Master.

 Chapter 1463: Jade Butterfly Conspiracy

    Chapter 1463: Jade Butterfly Conspiracy

    For two months, Lu Yin did not visit the Cloud Shuttle even once, which provided the Smokecloud Sectpletely relieved. Also, the White Dragon n had also contributed to alleviating the sect¡¯s anxiety, as they had sent a n elder named Long Quan, who sought out Lu Yin and warned him to avoid anything to do with stellr liquid.

    Lu Yin acted very honest and well behaved in front of Elder Long Quan, which left the elder without much to say to the disruptive youth.

    Xia Taili left Huaiyuan, as she had be bored. There was no one in Huaiyuan who was worth bullying. That was the excuse she gave for leaving, but Lu Yin suspected that the princess left because of the stellr liquid. The girl just wanted to y, and things had be too serious.

    The day after Xia Taili left, the jade butterfly hidden within Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s intelligence organization who Lu Yin had been keeping an eye on finally made a move. The person sent out a message that they believed to be a secret that no one knew about. In fact, not even Lu Yin would have known about the jade butterfly without having Possessed Yu Chen¡¯s guardian.

    The message that was sent out roused Lu Yin to action from his lethargy. It was time to move.

    The next day, Lu Yin led Wang Dashuai, Shang Qing, and Liu Tianmu from Huaiyuan Gate and they made their way towards the Cloud Shuttle.

    Some distance behind, Cai Shu was surprised that Long Qi was returning to the Cloud Shuttle. The Envoy had believed that Yun Mubai had gotten through to Long Qi.

    When Lu Yin and the others arrived beneath the Cloud Shuttle, Yun Yang heard of the acting Gate Master¡¯s arrival, and it caused Yun Tan¡¯s expression to instantly change. He hurried out to meet Lu Yin.

    "What is Gate Master Long doing here again?" Yun Yang asked as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

    Uncle Kuang also appeared the moment he received the news. Lu Yin had left a deep impression on the Smokecloud Sect.

    Wang Dashuai sneered when he saw Yun Yang''s nervous appearance, but Yun Yangpletely ignored the fatty. Yun Yang was aware that another shipment of stellr liquid was due to pass through, and the timing of Lu Yin''s left Yun Yang very uneasy.

    Lu Yin looked around. "It''s been quite a while, so I just wanted toe take a look."

    Yun Yang responded in dismay. He took a few steps forward and quietly asked, "Gate Master Long, might you have forgotten why my sect master said to you? Or did you forget that corpse?"

    Yun Yang¡¯s words reminded Lu Yin of the serving girl who Yun Mubai had killed during their meeting, and Lu Yin''s excitement instantly chilled. He turned to direct rather frigid eyes towards Yun Yang. ¡°Are you threatening me?"

    Yun Yang sneered. "Gate Master Long should consider this matter clearly! There are certain things that you can¡¯t interfere with, and does Gate Master Long really think that it¡¯s impossible for you to meet the same fate as that girl?"

    Suddenly, the air was torn apart as a terrible sword de stabbed past Lu Yin''s ear and was thrust towards Yun Yang. He had not expected anyone to attack him with a sword, and he did not have any time to react. Actually, not even an Envoy like Uncle Kuang was able to react in time.

    By the time anyone was able to process what had just happened, they found that Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword was out, and its tip was less than a millimeter away from Yun Yang''s neck. The slightest move would send Yun Yang¡¯s head and body to two different ces.

    Yun Yang stared at the sword in awe. He could sense an authentic killing intent and knew that he was standing at the precipice of life and death.

    Uncle Kuang grew furious. He stepped forward and raised a hand to attack the swordswoman. However, Lu Yin simultaneously raised his own hand and unleashed a Vacuum Palm. The two attacks hit the sword at the same moment, and the sword was the epicenter of a shockwave that twisted the void before sting out with terrifying power.

    Liu Tianmu''s sword grew a bit unsteady, and its edge trembled.

    Uncle Kuang and Lu Yin both retreated at the same time.

    Yun Yang''s body was blown back by the shockwave. He felt a certain tightness in his chest, and he almost vomited blood.

    Uncle Kuang stared at Lu Yin in amazement. This child actually possessed enough physical strength to force an Envoy to retreat?

    Lu Yin shook his hand to dissipate the residual force. He stared straight back at Uncle Kuang with cold eyes. Lu Yin had previously used a Vacuum Palm to for another Envoy, Emperor Luo, back. Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation and physical strength had both greatly improved since that time, and he had reached the point where he had be able topare to an Envoy¡¯s strength.

    If Lu Yin had actually used his golden battle force on his attack, the Envoy would not merely have been forced back a bit.

    Lu Yin could notpare to the true strength of an Envoy, as there was too great of a discrepancy between his strength and that of an Envoy. However, Uncle Kuang had attacked without preparation, which had led to his suffering when faced with Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    Liu Tianmu retracted her sword and turned to stare coldly at Uncle Kuang.

    Uncle Kuang stared at Lu Yin alone. "Gate Master Long, that was impressive."

    Lu Yin coldly retorted, "Is threatening all that Smokecloud Sect teaches its disciples? I am the Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate, and yet one of your sect¡¯s disciples actually dared to threaten me with death. If I report this matter back to Supervisor Qing Chen, I believe the old man will uphold justice."

    Uncle Kuang red at Yun Yang with cold eyes.

    Yun Yang quickly spoke up, "Gate Master Long, don''t spout nonsense! I never said that."

    "If you didn¡¯t say that, the Supervisor will know after asking your sect Master Yun. Just wait," Lu Yin loudly stated.

    Yun Yang grew flustered. If he proved to be the reason that the Supervisor of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s nine Middle Realm Gates stepped forward, there would be no way to escape punishment. The third elder¡¯s death had motivated Yun Yang to be somewhat meek, and he had no desire to create any problems.

    Out of desperation, he took a deep breath and quickly apologized, "Gate Master Long, please forgive this little brother for his inconsiderate words. This little one had no intention of causing any offense."

    Wang Dashuai felt a wave of relief. He had also been forced back by the shockwave from the colliding attacks, and the fatty had been stunned by Lu Yin''s strength. Still, for the moment, it felt incredible for the fatty to see Yun Yang bowing his head.

    Lu Yin stared at Yun Yang, and quickly calmed down. "I''m not an unreasonable person. Given the apology, I see no reason to pursue this matter. Don''t worry, I''m not here to cause any trouble. I just want to take a look before moving on."

    You wouldn¡¯t fool a ghost! Yun Yang inwardly cursed. Still, he did not know why Long Qi hade to the Cloud Shuttle. He could not believe that the acting Gate Master had ns rted to more stellr liquid, as he did not believe Long Qi to be bold enough to do such a reckless thing. In the end, so long as Long Qi did not pursue anything rted to stellr liquid, there was nothing worth notice at the base of the Cloud Shuttle.

    "You have my thanks, Gate Master Long," Yun Yang said.

    Uncle Kuang stared at Lu Yin with pure amazement. "I see the truth of the White Dragon n¡¯s notable physical strength. Gate Master Long did not even use the White Dragon Transformation, and yet you have such impressive strength. Honestly, there are not many Envoys who canpare to your strength."

    Lu Yin casually replied, "You¡¯re overthinking things. I simply absorbed some dragon saliva."

    "Dragon saliva?" Uncle Kuang, Yun Yang, and Wang Dashuai all eximed at once as they stared at Lu Yin with pure jealousy. Dragon saliva was not something they were ignorant about. They knew it was one of the White Dragon n¡¯s treasures that they took from the Ancestor Python''s own body. Absorbing it allowed a person¡¯s physical strength to rise sharply.

    "No wonder. No wonder." Uncle Kuang felt that he understood, and he mentally reviewed what he knew of Long Qi¡¯s past. The Envoy had first heard that the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw was a timid and ipetent person, but it had not taken long to hear that Long Qi received an inheritance from the Sword Monument that surpassed even Bai Xian''er¡¯s. There had been more and more rumors concerning this youth after that, and facing Long Qi directly had given Uncle Kuang a more intuitive understanding of this youth¡¯s abilities.

    Also, it seemed that Long Qi had not even revealed his full strength yet. After all, he had received a portion of Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, and that powerhouse had been most skilled at using his spiritual force.

    Yun Yang was shocked at Lu Yin¡¯s exnation, and he stopped lurking about Lu Yin like a haunting ghost, and instead simply watched the Gate Master from a distance, just to be safe.

    Lu Yin continued to wander about below the Cloud Shuttle, and he quickly found his target, who was one of Yu Chen¡¯s jade butterflies. This particr jade butterfly had a hidden identity.

    The Cloud Shuttle connected the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm, and in addition to transporting people, goods, materials, and many other types of cargo were transported. The vast majority of items could be transported within cosmic rings, but there were still many other goods that could not be transported in such a manner due to excessive volume. For example, Lu Yin saw a great deal of raw ore loaded up on the cloud tforms, as well as living creatures.

    The Smokecloud Sect was typically very strict when it came to items that could not be stored in a cosmic ring, though there were exceptions. There were a few people who enjoyed the same privileges as the mules who carried stellr liquid.

    Lu Yin watched as a lively young girl ordered some of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples to carry piles of goods over to a cloud tform, and no one inspected any of the goods.

    Yun Yang saw Lu Yin focus on the girl and her goods, but did not feel anything, but the deputy chief dispatcher¡¯s expression changed, and he quickly winked at someone who started the cloud tform moving as soon as thest of the goods were loaded. The tform started to rapidly rise up along the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk on its way to the Higher Realm.

    Lu Yin smiled gently, and then his body disappeared.

    Yun Yang''s eye twitched, and his heart sank when he saw Lu Yin move. He had a premonition that what would happen next would not be anything good.

    Lu Yin appeared atop the cloud tform, and he used a bit of strength to shatter the cloud.

    "What are you doing?" The young woman grew furious, and she raised a hand to point a finger towards Lu Yin and attack with the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s battle technique, Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    Lu Yin did not move. Suddenly, a stream of qi twined about the girl¡¯s arm and smashed her arm into her own stomach. The impact bent her almost double, and she nearly voided her stomach.

    Shang Qing had moved. Both he and Liu Tianmu had followed Lu Yin up to the cloud tform.

    Yun Yang raced over, and as he flew over, he received a report through the voice transmission that caused his expression to change drastically. He called out, "Gate Master Long, please be merciful."

    From further away, Uncle Kuang reflexively attacked Lu Yin. The brat was making trouble once again. However, Cai Shu was not slow to react this time, and he instantly blocked Uncle Kuang¡¯s attack.

    More of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples appeared one after another and they surrounded Lu Yin and others.

    The young woman grew so anxious that sweat dripped from her as she stared at her pile of goods in a panic.

    Lu Yin quietly stood next to the pile. Yun Yang hurried over and quickly asked, "Gate Master Long, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yin nced around before pointing at the girl. "She¡¯s traitor."

    The girl grew furious. "That¡¯s bullshit! I¡¯m a Celestial Frost Sect disciple and I follow the Junior Progenitor! How could I be a traitor? You have guts!"

    Yun Yang gritted his teeth. "Gate Master Long, what evidence do you have?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Since when does Humility¡¯s Gate need evidence to arrest someone? Still, since you¡¯ve asked, I''ll show you."

    Lu Yin then waved a hand and lifted the pile of materials. Once everything was moved, everyone saw what had been hidden: children.

    No one could have imagined that children had been hidden beneath a pile of goods, and they were each no more than five years old, and theyy unconscious on the ground.

    Everyone who was lined up in the area to use the Cloud Shuttle were shocked at this sight.

    Yun Yang''s face fell further than ever.

    The young woman¡¯s body swayed; it was over! Everything was over!

    Cai Shu''s expression also changed, and he red at Yun Yang with a frosty expression.

    Uncle Kuang was also stunned for a moment. He had not expected to find a child being smuggled up to the Higher Realm. No one had said anything to the Envoy.

 Chapter 1464: Attack

    Chapter 1464: Attack

    No matter where one went or what time period it was, dark and hidden things would ur. There would always be certain people who would want to train loyal puppets who would always be loyal. Such servants naturally had to be trained and brainwashed from a young age.

    The children who had been discovered were to be Yu Chen''s future jade butterflies, and they were being taken to the Celestial Frost Sect for group training. After they grew up, they would be sent out into the world to be Yu Chen''s information gatherers.

    The young woman¡¯s face grew pale. "What happened? I don''t know! I don''t know! Someone framed me."

    Lu Yin spoke coldly, "Over two months ago, I received information from Huaiyuan gate that a nearby lord¡¯s son inexplicably disappeared. The child had a unique innate gift, and the lord searched for more than two months for his child, yet found nothing. His child was taken away to be raised as a traitor to humanity, and one of these children is likely that lord¡¯s son.¡±

    Everyone nearby went silent, and many quietly activated theirmunication crystals in order to call someone.

    "Yun Yang, you just tried to stop me; are you colluding with traitors?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Yun Yang was startled, but he quickly replied, "No! I only asked you to let that woman go because she¡¯s one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was cold. "You know, you kept an eye on me this entire time, and it looks like you were afraid that I would find this traitor, and Uncle Kuang is the same. Humility¡¯s Gate will need to investigate you."

    Yun Yang was stunned. Even an idiot would know why he had been keeping an eye on Long Qi, so how could this Gate Master make such a im? Wasn¡¯t this defamation? At this thought, Yun Yang immediately tried to defend himself.

    Uncle Kuang''s face flushed with rage, but he could do nothing. Long Qi had found reasonable evidence, and there was no denying the existence of the children, so there was no argument to be made.

    This matter quickly reached Yun Mubai, the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master. He frowned at the news. "This was discovered, but it has nothing to do with us. The Celestial Frost Sect was unable to keep their matters hidden, but there¡¯s no need for us to worry about it."

    As long as the matter did not involve stellr liquid, the sect master did not care. Yu Chen had no authority over Yun Mubai.

    Two months had passed without any movements on Long Qi¡¯s part, yet the moment he had moved, a traitor had been arrested. This news immediately spread throughout the Middle Realm, and also through the Higher Realm.

    When Qing Chen heard of what had happened, he was as surprised as anyone. Had Long Qi discovered this matter by himself? Or did he have other sources of intelligence?

    Long Qi had not visited the Cloud Shuttle for two months, so there was no way that he could have uncovered the traitor by himself, which meant that he had a source of information. Could it be the same unknown party who had helped the youth before?

    Qing Chen did not know if the children had truly been captured by a traitor, but that did not even matter. There was no way that Long Qi had been wrong to save the children.

    At this moment, Yu Chen was the person who was the most upset. It had been a great deal of trouble to capture those children, and every single one of them had an innate gift. They would have been of immense help to her after they had grown, and they would have be the sharpest of hidden knives that her Junior Progenitor wielded. And yet, all of those possibilities had been destroyed by Long Qi. Even more importantly, those children were not only intended to serve her, but also that person. Yu Chen could not bear the responsibility for this incident.

    That night, Yu Chen called her jade butterfly in Huaiyuan Gate. The mole was tasked with finding a way to silence the girl who had been arrested so as not to implicate Yu Chen in the mess.

    Kidnapping people''s children and training them into loyal puppets was a terrible thing, and even if Yu Chen was a member of the Celestial Frost Sect and had no reason to fear the people who had been crossed, it was still a risk she did not want to take.

    Unfortunately, the jade butterfly failed at the assigned task. The young woman who had been arrested could not be found anywhere.

    As for the children, they were returned to their homes. Word of Long Qi¡¯s virtue spread, and countless people thanked and praised him.

    Lu Yin had casuallypleted this matter, and it was merely a warm up for the big things he had nned next.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin once again led Liu Tianmu, Shang Qing, and the fatty back to the Cloud Shuttle.

    Yun Yang felt like his head was going to explode when he saw Lu Yin. Yun Yang wanted to step forward to stop the Gate Master, but the most recent incident had left an impression on Yun Yang, and so he instead asked if anyone important was scheduled to ascend to the Higher Realm on this particr day.

    How could Yun Yang know that Lu Yin was only targeting people as he observed them.

    Yun Yang felt helpless. All he could do was watch Lu Yin from a distance. Not even Uncle Kuang dared get close, as he feared Long Qi¡¯s potential usations.

    Several days before, Lu Yin had made an usation, and it had ended up with Yun Yang and Uncle Kuang being incarcerated for two days while they were investigated. Fortunately, they had suffered no real losses, though they had lost a great deal of face after being used of assisting a traitor.

    Regardless, both people had been keeping an eye on Lu Yin, as they had both been afraid that Lu Yin would once again expose the transport of stellr liquid. They had gained confidence that Long Qi knew what boundaries to not cross, so they felt there was no need to keep too close of an eye on the Gate Master.

    Wang Dashuai felt triumphant. He had originally been worried about getting caught up in the matter with the stellr liquid, but with Long Qi no longer getting involved with such a mess, the fatty felt that he could walk sideways throughout the Cloud Shuttle.

    During the two days that Yun Yang was held in Huaiyuan Gate to be investigated, the fatty had made quite a name for himself.

    "Are you ready? Whether or not we can leave this universe alive will all depend on today," Lu Yin secretly spoke to Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu.

    Shang Qing looked up above. "I feel it¡¯s a pity that I haven''t even seen the Higher Realm."

    Liu Tianmu also looked up. "True."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "We might have another chance in the future."

    The two turned to look at him in shock; there might still be an opportunity?

    Lu Yin did not explicitly state that he would make sure to return to the Perennial World, but he had not yet unraveled the full mystery regarding the Lu family. Still, he was confident that the four ruling powers were his family¡¯s enemies. He was also eager to try attacking the Perennial World with the full strength of the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had several people safe on Zenith Mountain, but unfortunately, he had no idea where Xia Luo or Qiu Shi were as neither of them had ever appeared. It looked like they were both destined to remain in the Perennial World.

    Before long, a disciple approached Yun Yang and whispered something.

    Yun Yang instantly grew solemn. "Are they here?"

    "Come, they¡¯ve alreadynded on a cloud tform," the disciple said.

    "Where''s Long Qi?"

    "He hasn¡¯t reacted."

    Yun Yang let out a sigh of relief. He looked over at a young man with a sallowplexion. Lu Yin and his little group had already passed by the man, but they were not far away.

    "By the way, one more person will be arriving soon," the disciple reported.

    Yun Yang frowned. "Why are there two at the same time?"

    "It¡¯s just a coincidence. It happens sometimes, and we¡¯ve even had three appear at the same time before," the disciplemented.

    Yun Yang waved a hand dismissively. "Don''t make any show of inspecting them and just get them to leave as soon as possible. The god of misfortune is here, and if he notices anything off.. Well, I just don¡¯t want to deal with such crap again."

    "Understood."

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin and hispanions had stopped walking and seemed to be talking.

    There was a middle-aged man who was personally received by the chief dispatcher, and he was quickly sent to a cloud tform that was near to the one where the sallow-faced young man was waiting.

    Everything had been observed by Lu Yin. He shot Shang Qing a nce. "Do it."

    The moment the words were spoken, Lu Yin, Shang Qing, and Liu Tianmu all charged forward at the same time, racing towards the middle-aged man and the sallow-faced youth.

    Off in the distance, Yun Yang''s expression changed. He had been carefully watching Lu Yin this entire time. Shit, here we go again! "Uncle Kuang!"

    The void twisted over Yun Yang¡¯s head, and Uncle Kuang appeared like an angry lion. He attacked Lu Yin with one hand, and this time the Envoy did not hold anything back. However, Lu Yin had already expected this, and he again used the power vessel he had received Liu Ye and Fei Hua to defend himself.

    Uncle Kuang''s attack was blocked by the power vessel, and Lu Yin sessfully captured the sallow-faced young man. At the same time, Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu captured the middle-aged man.

    Cai Shu''s eye twitched; the brat was acting up again! Long Qi was making it perfectly clear that he would not make peace with the Cloud Shuttle. Cai Shu had no choice but to move to stand between Uncle Kuang and Lu Yin and the other youths.

    Uncle Kuang red at Cai Shu and quietly warned, "It¡¯s stellr liquid. Let them go."

    Cai Shu''s expression changed, and he turned to look at Lu Yin before quietly saying, "Let''s go."

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing moved together, protected by the power vessel. They both looked at Cai Shu. "Senior, these two could be traitors."

    Yun Yang arrived, and he asked the disciples of Smokecloud Sect to keep back everyone on the nearby cloud tforms. He then softly threatened, "Long Qi, these two are transporting stellr liquid. Release them."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Your Smokecloud Sect really is colluding with traitors! I¡¯m starting to think that Yun Mubai is a Redback. How else would you be connected to a traitor?"

    "Long Qi, don''t try to nder people! Release these two, or else you won¡¯t be able to handle the consequences," Yun Yang spoke quickly, as he could not shake the memory of the third elder¡¯s fate. Yun Yang had no wish to die.

    The young man who had been captured was terrified, but the middle-aged man was calmer. "We are indeed transporting stellr liquid."

    Lu Yin smacked the middle-aged man back with a p to the face. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes zed, and Yun Yang''s heart sank at the sight. This bastard was determined.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned with Uncle Kuang or Yun Yang, and instead turned to Cai Shu. "Senior, trust me, these two are definitely traitors. There¡¯s something wrong with the Smokecloud Sect."

    Cai Shu frowned, and his determination wavered. Naturally, no one wanted to be enemies with the four ruling powers. Long Qi already knew about stellr liquid, so it was impossible for him to deliberately cause trouble. The youth had remained quiet for two months, and he had done so for the sake of the four ruling powers. Since that was the case, why was Long Qi going after the stellr liquid mules at this time? This did not make any sense.

    The only logical reason was that the two people really were traitors and that the Smokecloud Sect harbored a Redback.

    Cai Shu recalled Long Qi¡¯s impressive record when it came to uncovering traitors, particrly the young woman who had been recently arrested. The more the Envoy thought, the more convinced he was of Lu Yin¡¯s words. Cai Shu suddenly looked at Uncle Kuang with suspicion.

    Uncle Kuang spoke up in a deep voice, "They really are transporting stellr liquid."

    He then turned to Lu Yin. "Junior, what do you want to do? Don''t make a mistake and end up as an enemy of the four ruling powers. Even one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters can die."

    "Long Qi, release them and I''ll prove they¡¯re transporting stellr liquid," Yun Yang urged.

    Lu Yin answered coldly, "They¡¯ll run the moment they are released. We¡¯re in the Smokecloud Sect, so who is capable of proving things to me? You¡¯re iming that they¡¯re transporting stellr liquid? That¡¯s how your Smokecloud Sect works. You use the excuse of transporting stellr liquid to get traitors into the Higher Realm. I¡¯ve already received the information concerning your methods."

    Cai Shu''s eyes shed; Long Qi had received information? Was this also from the unknown informant?

    Cai Shu became even more convinced of Lu Yin''s words, as the youth had inadvertently revealed that someone was helping him. There was no way that Long Qi was wrong. Cai Shu grew wary as he stared at Uncle Kuang. "Stand down now. I¡¯ll report this matter to the Supervisor and he will decide what¡¯s to be done."

    Uncle Kuang and Yun Yang nced at each other and immediately contacted Yun Mubai.

    The entire Smokecloud Sect was thrown into chaos.

    Cai Shu quickly called Qing Chen.

 Chapter 1465: Forceful Accusations

    Chapter 1465: Forceful usations

    Lu Yin was not worried about Qing Chen. Even if Qing Chen asked Lu Yin to release these two, Lu Yin had no intention of obeying. Lu Yin was determined to frame these two and make it look like the Smokecloud Sect was protecting traitors.

    Yun Mubai was enraged the moment he received word of what was happening. His anger shook the Smokecloud Sect.

    The four ruling powers also received news at the same time.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to again arrest someone transporting stellr liquid, and this time he had arrested a person from the Wang family and another from the White Dragon n.

    Yun Mubai arrived at the Cloud Shuttle to see a confrontation between the two sides.

    He angrily shouted, "Long Qi, release them!"

    Lu Yin grew wary, and he told Cai Shu, "Senior, he must be Redback running things! Stop him for me!"

    Cai Shu naturally believed Lu Yin due to a variety of reasons. It was known that Long Qi was supported by a mysterious informant, and the three Guan brothers had indeed been Redbacks.

    His gaze towards Yun Mubai changed.

    The most worrying thing was that Cai Shu was not able to contact his master and did not know where his master was at the moment.

    "Cai Shu, do you want to be a public enemy? Release those two! They¡¯re transporting stellr liquid!" Yun Mubai shouted, a clear threat in his voice.

    Lu Yin loudly responded, "The stellr liquid they¡¯re carrying is fake! This is how your Smokecloud Sect works to get traitors into the Higher Realm."

    "Long Qi, what do you want? Do you want to be an enemy of all four ruling powers?" Yun Mubai was furious. He red at Lu Yin with eyes that radiated an unprecedented killing intent.

    The previous loss of stellr liquid had caused the death of the third elder, but Yun Mubai had also been put under a great deal of pressure. At this moment, there was the risk of losing two shipments of stellr liquid. He could not afford any further idents.

    "Stop pretending, Yun Mubai! I think you¡¯re the top Redback involved in this! You murdered a person right in front of me two months ago, and it¡¯s clear that you¡¯re familiar with such acts as you showed no emotions at all to your actions. That¡¯s the same behavior as those who caused the destruction of Red Orchard City! No one will believe that you aren¡¯t Redback!," Lu Yin shouted.

    Yun Mubai was furious. He had killed a chicken to scare the monkeys, yet it wasing back to bite him.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated, but he tantly ignored it.

    Yun Mubai gritted his teeth. "Your elders from the White Dragon n are trying to call you to tell you what these two people are doing."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Even if I offend my own n, I, Long Qi, will never let a traitor go! These two are traitors, I''m certain of it."

    Yun Mubai was truly left speechless, and he failed to make any sense of Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Cai Shu spoke up, "We¡¯ll take these two to Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s headquarters. There we¡¯ll be able to confirm if they really are only transporting stellr liquid."

    This was the option that had the lowest possibility of causing anyplications, yet Yun Mubai rejected the offer the moment Cai Shu spoke. Transporting stellr liquid was incredibly important, and if the stellr liquid was taken back to Humility''s Gate, no one could know what would happen. Even more importantly was the possibility of there being more Redbacks in Humility¡¯s Gate, and if such a person leaked news of the stellr energy, it would deal a massive blow to the four ruling powers.

    This was most important, as the status of the four ruling powers could not be touched, thus, there could be no problems when it came to transporting stellr liquid.

    Suddenly, Yun Mubai¡¯smunication crystal vibrated, and he nced down to see a simple message: grab them.

    He knew who had sent him the message. Since they had sent such a message, it meant that they were already prepared. Given that person''s status, there was nothing that Humility''s Gate could do.

    This realization prompted Yun Mubai to be decisive. He formed a massive palm out of smoke, and it dropped down to envelop Lu Yin and others. The star energy throughout the entire base of the Cloud Shuttle was instantly suppressed, and that included the star energy within Lu Yin''s own body, as it became unstable and uncontroble.

    Lu Yin shouted, "You want to take them back? You really are a Redback!"

    Cai Shu counter attacked. "Yun Mubai, stop!"

    Cai Shu was a powerhouse who had survived three stellr tribtions, but neither Yun Mubai nor Lu Yin knew just how strong the man was. Still, Yun Mubai was not weak himself, seeing how he was bold enough to try to grab two people from Cai Shu.

    The void instantly shattered, and the willow leaves covered with beautiful flowers swirling around Lu Yin instantly trembled. Everyone saw the void shattering around them. Cai Shu and Yun Mubai stood at the edge of the spatial cracks. Smoke drifted and a palm image shot forward. It was a startling attack.

    Uncle Kuang roared, and his arms suddenly bulged to look like the arms of a giant ape. He released a punch that broke through the void. While Lu Yin¡¯s power vessel was durable enough to block an Envoy¡¯s attack, it was still a lifeless object, and after three attacks, cracks appeared on the power vessel.

    Wang Dashuai, Yun Yang, and the other youths had all been sted away by the violent shockwaves.

    Liu Tianmu attacked with her sword. Twelfth Sword: Fathomless.

    There was a bang. The Twelfth Sword was formless and invisible, though it was not as unavoidable as the Thirteenth Sword. Still, Fathomless was an incredibly sharp attack, and it actually caused Uncle Kuang to pay attention to it.

    Still, in the end, Liu Tianmu¡¯s Twelfth Sword used star energy, so the moment the sword technique was unleashed, the star energy within Liu Tianmu''s body was disrupted, and she became unable to stabilize it. Her sword missed.

    Uncle Kuang''s fists continued to rain down on the swirling willow leaves and flowers, until finally the power vessel failed. The next moment, Uncle Kuang saw an umbre fill his vision. It was the Voidsoul Umbre which Shang Qing had obtained from the Voidsoul Pce.

    Shang Qingcked the strength to unleash the full power of the Spirit Void Umbre, but it was still a power vessel on the level of a Semi-Progenitor, and it was not something that an Envoy could break. Uncle Kuang¡¯s fist struck the umbre and the force of the attack pushed Lu Yin and the others back.

    Shang Qing groaned, as he had been slightly injured.

    Liu Tianmu looked up. Her sword moved again. She released the Thirteenth Sword.

    Uncle Kuang stepped forward and was about to chase after the youths, only to suddenly have a look of shock appear on his face. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. He examined his heart in disbelief. He had actually been injured? How was that possible?

    Liu Tianmu''s face grew pale.

    Lu Yin quietly urged, "Go!"

    He then grabbed the other two and took off to the east.

    Uncle Kuang gritted his teeth and used both hands to tear open the void before entering it. Darkness loomed over everyone''s heads as they were all suppressed by a terrifying aura.

    Lu Yin frowned. Envoys were basically cheats. Stellr energy was a ruthless energy, and itpletely suppressed star energy. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s control of star energy had reached the Worldliness realm, it was still not enough for him to be able to control his own star energy when influenced by an Envoy. There was no need to even mention Shang Qing or Liu Tianmu. While they were powerful enough to be able to attack or even wound an Envoy, they both suffered too much of a disadvantage when facing an Envoy.

    Uncle Kuang might not be as strong as Leader Hong had been at his peak, but Lu Yin had fought against Leader Hong when he had been injured and had been left unable to use stellr energy, which was an Envoy¡¯s greatest advantage. Despite Leader Hong¡¯s weakness at the time, Lu Yin had still almost lost the fight. While it was possible that Liu Tianmu and Shang Qing might be capable of a simr level of power that Lu Yin had demonstrated against Leader Hong, neither of the two was capable of disying their full power at this moment.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had already predicted this particr situation. He had purposely asked Shang Qing to use the Voidsould Umbre to block Uncle Kuang, and he had used this opportunity to call the Fourteenth Gate Master, which was something the Fourteenth Gate Master had authorized Lu Yin to do.

    There was a tremendous boom as Uncle Kuang emerged from the void and dropped down upon the youths with a fierce attack.

    Shang Qing blocked the attack with the Voidsould Umbre, and he was barely able to resist using his Tri-Yang Technique.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt appeared over his arm before wrapping around Uncle Kuang. The Envoy did not care about the nt, and he tried to immediately destroy it, but Lu Yin had already Enhanced the power vessel, and it was tougher than when Xia Taili had used it. Uncle Kuangcked the strength to destroy the power vessel, and his legs were bound by the power vessel and he was thrown back.

    Many of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples were nearby, and they all attacked. Many of them were Enlighters.

    Liu Tianmu shed out with her sword, and no one dared to stand up to her de.

    Smoke appeared from all directions. It rose from the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s mountain, and it formed a cage that trapped Lu Yin and others.

    Feeling he had no choice, Lu Yin took out his walnut-shaped power vessel. "Everyone, get behind me!"

    He then lifted the small power vessel.

    Uncle Kuang saw Lu Yin¡¯s actions from the distance, and while the Envoy did not know what the walnut-looking power vessel was, it made his scalp tingle the moment he saw the power vessel. Uncle Kuang had cultivated for many years, and he had developed an instinctive sense of danger, which prompted him to flee without any hesitation.

    The walnut-shaped power vessel erupted, and the void condensed before exploding.

    Beneath the Cloud Shuttle, the ground broke apart and the void shattered. The spatial cracks spread all the way to the Mother Tree and epassed everything nearby.

    Countless people screamed as they tried to escape.

    Even Cai Shu and Yun Mubai were stunned, as neither had expected for Long Qi to possess such a terrifying power vessel.

    The walnut-shaped power vessel had cut off Uncle Kuang¡¯s path to pursuing the youths, and Lu Yin and Shang Qing fled at top speed to the east.

    When the effects of the power vessel finally dissipated, Lu Yin and the other two were long gone.

    Yun Mubai was furious. "Follow me! We have to get those people back!"

    "Yun Mubai, are you really a Redback?" Cai Shu red at his opponent.

    Yun Mubai gritted his teeth and red at Cai Shu, still raging. "I''m not! You¡¯re falsely using me of this!"

    Cai Shu¡¯smunication crystal suddenly trembled. Qing Chen was calling.

    Cai Shu instantly answered the call. "Master! Long Qi caught two traitors, but the Smokecloud Sect is trying to protect them."

    Qing Chen was startled. "The Smokecloud Sect is protecting traitors?"

    Across from Cai Shu, Yun Mubai roared, "Senior Qing Chen, those two people are transporting stellr liquid for the Wang family and the White Dragon n! Neither of them are traitors, but nothing can happen to them!"

    Cai Shu interjected. "Long Qi received this information from his informant! The child is certain that there is a Redback in the Smokecloud Sect and he arrested those two as traitors. He also imed that the Smokecloud Sect is using a front of transporting stellr liquid as an excuse to send traitors up to the Higher Realm."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous!" Yun Mubai roared. He was going crazy, as it felt like the entirety of Humility''s Gate was ganging up against him.

    This was such a headache! How could everything have happened? Shaman God had not tried to make a move on Long Qi, and instead, one problem after another had popped up until Qing Chen was no longer certain what was happening. He only had one option. ¡°Don''t let anything happen to Long Qi and capture the two traitors."

    "They¡¯re not traitors!" Yun Mubai roared.

    Cai Shu answered, "Yes, Master. Your disciple is holding Yun Mubai back."

    Yun Mubai was ready to cough up blood. If Supervisor Qing Chen''s words proved true, Yun Mubai would really end up suffering. He had never expected that a prominent sect master like himself would one day be falsely used of such a thing.

    The Smokecloud Sect had not always been the guardian of the Cloud Shuttle, and they had gained the role through the support of the four ruling powers.

    After Lu Yin had used the walnut-shaped power vessel to break free of the Smokecloud Sect, the sect¡¯s entire forces, including their hidden powerhouses, moved out to form a that epassed heaven and earth to ensure that Lu Yin was surrounded and trapped.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin and hispanions to escape no matter which direction they fled. They were in a location that was the gateway to the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin had expected for the Cloud Shuttle to have terrifying defenses, but he had not expected for there to be two Envoys. In addition to Uncle Kuang, there was also a fierce-looking woman.

    The void tore open and the woman appeared. She held a bizarre weapon that transformed into countless snakes that bit at the youths from every direction.

    Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu attacked as one, and fortunately, the small snakes were only weapons, not power vessels, and they were easily destroyed.

    However, the female Envoy suddenly appeared from the belly of one of the small snakes, and she lifted a hand that formed a w and she grabbed for Liu Tianmu.

 Chapter 1466: Meeting Place

    Chapter 1466: Meeting ce

    Liu Tianmu tried to force the female Envoy back with her sword, but the Envoy dissolved Liu Tianmu¡¯s star energy the moment the attack touched her. That showed the absolute suppression that stellr energy had over star energy.

    There was a bang. Liu Tianmu was struck in the abdomen, and blood sttered to the ground.

    Lu Yin used a hand to shove Liu Tianmu behind himself while raising his other hand to release a Vacuum Palm.

    The female Envoy raised a wed hand to block the Vacuum Palm. There was a violent crash, and the void shattered. Lu Yin was forced back a few steps, but the woman was also forced back.

    She was shocked. A Hunter could actually force an Envoy back?

    Just as she was about to resume her attack, the ground beneath her feet took on a life of its own and pushed her up. At the same time, countless sharp swords filled the air around her.

    The Envoy snorted derisively, and her bizarre weapon swept out, knocking away all of the attacks. At that moment, a horrifying domain spread out, and the pressure made the woman feel as though the sky was falling.

    The woman let out a low shout as she broke free of the ground and disappeared. She had entered the true universe.

    When she reappeared, she was right in front of Shang Qing, the sallow-faced young man, and the middle-aged man. She attacked Shang Qing, who raised the Voidsoul Umbre to block the Envoy¡¯s attack.

    Her hand pped against the umbre, but she was the one who was forced back.

    The woman was an Envoy, but she was far from possessing enough strength to overpower a power vessel that was as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Long Qi, it really is you!" There was a loud shout as Guo Shan appeared. He was the one who had momentarily blocked the Envoy with his domain.

    Uncle Kuang and a vast number of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples gave chase from behind Lu Yin and the others.

    Lu Yin had no time to catch up with Guo Shan. "Hurry up and block those people! They''re trying to rescue these traitors!"

    Guo Shan was left speechless. "Is the Smokecloud Sect trying to rebel?!"

    Several more figures appeared in the area, each of them a member of the Fourteenth Gate. They worked together to stop the Smokecloud Sect disciples from advancing, but there was no one who could stop Uncle Kuang.

    At this moment, Lu Yin no longer wished to hide anything. He was being attacked by two Envoys, so he returned to a method that he had not used in a long time. The power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt appeared the moment the Envoy emerged from the void and bound the man¡¯s legs. Uncle Kuang roared in annoyance. Even though Lu Yin had Enhanced the power vessel several times, it was still just a power vessel, and it was being controlled by a Hunter. It was impossible for it to defeat Uncle Kuang.

    However, Lu Yin had never intended to use that power vessel to defeat an Envoy. The instance the Envoy was restricted by the power vessel, Lu Yin pulled out the sourcebox array that he had taken from Bai Shaohong¡ªthe open sky formation.

    It was an original treasure formation which had been incorporated into the Celestial Frost Sect''s ultimatebat technique: Void Rip.

    Lu Yin instantly attacked, and two dots connected to form a ck line that swept out. The sight of this attack terrified Uncle Kuang, and for the first time in this battle, he pulled out his own power vessel for protection. However, Lu Yin used the Yu Secret Art to shift the power vessel the slightest bit away. It was just enough for the Void Rip to bypass the power vessel and sh through Uncle Kuang''s neck.

    No one nearby saw what happened. Uncle Kuang¡¯s attack had disrupted the nearby star energy, and it had also distorted the void. All anyone saw was a vague image of Lu Yin and Uncle Kuang fighting, but there were no details to be seen.

    The moment Uncle Kuang died, the star energy in the area returned to normal, which allowed everyone to see the fresh corpse.

    Elsewhere, Shang Qing had summoned Progenitor Hui to stall the female Envoy by taking advantage of Progenitor Hui¡¯s As If Closed sourcebox array. However, their fight did not drag out. Shang Qing could only use star energy, and the same was true of the Progenitor Hui that he had summoned. His star energy was quickly dissipated, and the Envoy set a hand on Shang Qing''s chest. However, she quickly discovered that Shang Qing was unharmed.

    "Impossible!" The woman was startled.

    Shang Qing raised a hand. "Banishment."

    The secret technique instantly forced the woman a thousand meters back. At the same time, Lu Yin killed Uncle Kuang and rejoined the other youths.

    The woman saw Uncle Kuang¡¯s corpse, and her pupils shrank. She turned to stare at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. How in the world had a Hunter managed to kill an Envoy?

    Uncle Kuang''s death left the woman terrified of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin seized this opportunity to lead his group further east.

    He had already known that his actions would kick up quite a fuss, but the full reaction had exceeded all expectations. Lu Yin had touched upon the four ruling powers¡¯ bottom line, and even worse, some of the people within the four powers already held grudges against Long Qi.

    An old woman had descended from the Higher Realm the moment she had learned that Lu Yin had arrested two mules.

    Simultaneously, many other powerhouses descended upon the Middle Realm, and all of them were Envoys. Lu Yin had shaken the four ruling powers themselves.

    At the White Dragon n¡¯s Dragon Mountain, Patriarch Long Ke¡¯s expression was terrible. There was an old man in front of the patriarch, and the old man said, ¡°A son-inw from a mere branch family dares to disobey the main family? This is simply outrageous."

    "Long Qi doesn''t know that one of the people transporting the stellr liquid is from my White Dragon n," Long Ke said cautiously.

    The old man shouted back, "Yun Mubai already told him!"

    Long Ke replied, "He is certain that those two are traitors. There should be a reason for this."

    "Hmph! Patriarch, why would he dare to not even answer this elder''s call? He clearly has no respect for his elders. If we suffer a loss of stellr liquid because of him, then who can take responsibility? Even more importantly, the loss won¡¯te from outside the n! We¡¯ll be seen as a joke," Long Quan sneered.

    "That old woman, Wang Si, has already headed out. There¡¯s no way that child will be able to survive. You know her temper¡ªno one can change her mind. I just hope that we won¡¯t suffer a loss of stellr liquid. If that is lost, then that old woman will definitely ce the loss on our heads ande here to collect." The old man shook his head in a helpless manner.

    Long Ke¡¯s expression grew even worse after hearing about Wang Si.

    The four ruling powers had dispatched top experts to the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm, but they had other means of traveling between the realms and did not need to use the Cloud Shuttle like others. In short, they were able to travel much faster.

    Everyone became absolutely certain that Lu Yin and his group would soon be trapped by the four ruling powers¡¯ experts and that the youths would suffer a miserable end.

    However, Lu Yin was of a different mind. Uncle Kuang¡¯s death had made the female Envoy scared of Lu Yin, and she did not dare to push the youth too far.

    The woman had been surprised to see that Long Qi hadprehended a secret technique, but it was only a mild surprise. After all, Lu Yin came from the White Dragon n, and naturally, such a powerful organization was capable of retaining one or two secret techniques.

    While it was impossible for Lu Yin to escape from the Envoy¡¯s senses with the Ce Secret Art, he was still rapidly approaching the rendezvous point that Unseen Light had mentioned. Lu Yin estimated that he only needed another half hour to arrive.

    "Are you sure that we¡¯ll be able to return from there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shang Qing was confident. "Absolutely."

    "If we can''t go back, then we''ll be in huge trouble," Lu Yin solemnly warned. He had used his walnut-shaped power vessel, the Ce Secret Art, and a sourcebox array to kill Uncle Kuang. Lu Yin could not return, as he had no way to exin any of this.

    Cai Shu and Yun Mubai were still stuck in a stalemate below the Cloud Shuttle. After almost thirty minutes passed, Qing Chen finally arrived. A wave of his hand forced Yun Mubai back, and the sect master did not dare to move again after seeing Qing Chen.

    "Where are the ones being arrested?" Qing Chen asked as he looked at Cai Shu.

    Cai Shu was somber. "They were headed east, but I don¡¯t know if they were captured. People from the Fourteenth Gate are doing their best to stop the Smokecloud Sect."

    Qing Chen red at Yun Mubai with frosty eyes. He was just about to head east himself, but he suddenly stopped and turned to look in a certain direction. The void twisted before Qing Chen¡¯s eyes, and an old woman emerged.

    Yun Mubai was thrilled when he saw the old woman. "Senior."

    The old woman was Wang Si, a Semi-Progenitor from the Wang family. She was also the person who had ordered Yun Mubai to grab the two mules.

    "Where are they?" Wang Si stared at Yun Mubai with a stern expression.

    Yun Mubai¡¯s face twisted as he answered, "They headed east."

    Wang Si sneered. "A son-inw from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families dares to be an enemy of the four ruling powers? Where did he gain such courage?"

    "Elder Wang, it¡¯s been a long time," Qing Chen said.

    Wang Si had already noticed Qing Chen, and she had meant for him to hear everything that she had said. "Qing Chen, your Humility¡¯s Gate is growing more and more audacious. People even dare to stick their fingers into something like this."

    "My Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander established this organization to find and arrest traitors. Why do you want to stop one of my people?" Qing Chen asked.

    Wang Si sneered. "Don¡¯t try to trick this old woman. Neither of those two are traitors."

    Qing Chen frowned. Wang Si¡¯s appearance had already led him to this assumption. If either of the transporters were traitors, then the Wang family would have never sent out this elder. Without arresting a real traitor, it was possible that the mess that Long Qi had created would make it impossible to keep the youth alive.

    Even though Qing Chen and Wang Si were both Semi-Progenitors, Qing Chen was well aware of Wang Si''s strength. Everyone in the four ruling powers was wary of this old woman, and she had the direct backing of a Progenitor. People could not afford to offend such a powerhouse.

    "Alright, let¡¯s head out. This old woman needs to see how a mouse grew so bold as to mess with my business." With that, Wang Si headed east.

    Qing Chen let out a silent sigh while making his way east as well.

    At this time, Lu Yin finally arrived at the rendezvous point with Shang Qing. It was beneath a perfectly normal mountain. This was the ce that Unseen Light had told Lu Yin would take them back to the Fifth Maind.

    "It''s right beneath that mountain," Shang Qing said. They were finally going back home. This trip to the Perennial World had been a long one.

    Lu Yin turned around, and he saw the female Envoy staring at them. She was the only one who had managed to catch up.

    He felt that he should thank her for not blocking their path too much. She had merely stared at Lu Yin and the others. If she had wanted to make things difficult, then it would have taken them double the time to arrive at the rendezvous location.

    It was not that the woman did not want to stop Lu Yin and the other youths, but rather that she was afraid of them. She was a bit weaker than Uncle Kuang, and even he had died. Thus, she felt that she stood no chance at all.

    She was not someone who sought out danger and adventure, which was why she had remained at a ce like Cloud Shuttle. If she was different, then she would have joined the Star Alliance long ago.

    The best that she could do was keep her distance while keeping an eye on Lu Yin and the others.

    "It''s time to go back." Lu Yin sighed emotionally. He was not worried about Cai Shu, but Qing Chen was someone else to consider. The Supervisor was a Semi-Progenitor, and although Arch-Elder Zen and the others who had sent the youths to the Perennial World were also Semi-Progenitors, Lu Yin was still very nervous. As for the female Envoy, Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned.

    He turned to Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu and led them towards the mountain.

    Suddenly, the small group stopped, and everyone¡¯s expressions changed.

    None of them could determine when a smiling old man had appeared in front of them.

    It was nothing strange to run into other people on a mountain like the one that they were on, but this old man stared at the youths with a smile that made them all feel incredibly ufortable.

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing nced at each other. They both intended to simply ignore the man and leave.

    The old man opened his mouth and spoke with a smile. "Children, where are you headed? This old man is very familiar with this ce, so I can guide you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°There¡¯s no need to go out of your way, old man. We know where we¡¯re headed and can find it ourselves."

    "Go alone? That won''t do. This old man¡¯s favorite pastime is helping others. Come now, tell me, where are you headed? This old man will lead you to it." The old man had a strange smile, and the atmosphere only grew more ufortable as time passed.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1467: Reversal

    Chapter 1467: Reversal

    Lu Yin frowned. Then, without any hesitation, he attacked with a Vacuum Palm. However, even though the old man did not make even the slightest bit of movement, the Vacuum Palm vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he stared at the old man in fear.

    The old man observed Lu Yin''s hand with a bit of surprise. "What a powerful physique. Also, a good use of the Oveying Stacks Path. Kid, were you just trying to beat little old me? That''s no good! You should respect the old and cherish the young."

    Lu Yin wiggled his fingers. He could not afford to get entangled with this man, as the pursuers would catch up soon. The old man was standing in front of the youths, and Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was useless. Clearly, this man was an Envoy, and not an ordinary one at that. He was obviously stronger than Uncle Kuang, as there was no other way for him to have simply ignored Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm.

    At this thought, Lu Yin took out the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt, and it wrapped around the old man. "Let''s work together to deal with him."

    One of Shang Qing¡¯s qi streams shot forwards, and Liu Tianmu instantly used the Thirteenth Sword. She had actually been readying herself all this time.

    The old man continued to just stand there as he had been without moving in the slightest. The ancestral qi and the power vessel were unable to approach the old man, and Liu Tianmu''s Thirteenth Sword had no effect.

    All three were horrified, as this was not a normal reaction!

    The old man turned to look at Liu Tianmu and raised his eyebrows. "So, its the Liu family¡¯s lost Thirteen Swords, and that was even the unavoidable Thirteenth Sword. It really is the pinnacle sword technique. Not bad. Not bad."

    Lu Yin asked quietly, "Who might senior be? Why have you stopped us?"

    The old man showed the same strange smile as before. "This old man just heard what you were talking about. You¡¯re trying to return to that ce, right?"

    Lu Yin''s heart sank.

    "Haha, return? Return where? Kid, can you tell this old man where you¡¯re headed?" the old man asked with tant interest.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp. "Senior, you cane with us, if you like."

    The old man shook his head. "You¡¯re a sneaky brat, trying to pull one over on an old man like me. Unfortunately for you, this old man has no interest in returning to where you came from. I simply heard that you were headed back there and that you were about to seed, so I came to this ce to stop you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed with killing intent. "Was senior sent by the four ruling powers?"

    The old man sneered, "What are those four ruling powers? Do they qualify to give this old man orders? The worse off they are, the happier I am."

    "If that¡¯s the case, then I can tell you that they will be hurt the most if senior lets us go," Lu Yin suggested.

    The old man smiled and shook his head. "There¡¯s something else that I forgot to mention. This old man not only enjoys seeing the four ruling powers suffer, but I also enjoy watching everyone suffer. The more ufortable people are, the happier this old man bes! Hahahaha."

    Lu Yin did not say another word. Instead, he took out the sourcebox array and released a Void Rip. A ck line appeared between two points before shooting towards the old man. At the same time, the power vessel that Lu Yin had received from Xia Taili entangled the old man. Lu Yin did not want to waste any more time here.

    The old man was caught off guard. "The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Void Rip? Kid, how do you have this? This old man is getting more and more curious about you."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpricks. He had believed that Void Rip would be able to force the old man to move, especially after he was bound by the power vessel. In fact, Lu Yin had intended to kill the old man, and he had not expected the attack to bepletely useless.

    "Stop struggling. That umbre is the only thing you have that¡¯s worth my attention. Everything else you have is worthless," the old man said with a yawn.

    Lu Yin''s heart lurched and he blurted out, "Are you a Semi-Progenitor?"

    The strange smile returned to the old man¡¯s face. "You''re sharp."

    Lu Yin and the other two lost all hope. It was over for them. This man was a Semi-Progenitor. A Semi-Progenitor! Even if Arch-Elder Zen were present, while he could fight a Semi-Progenitor, it would be impossible for him to easily escape. Everything was over.

    Who could have expected that their path would be blocked by a Semi-Progenitor? This was a terrible joke.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Well, this is just life."

    He was already plotting a means of exining everything that he had revealed earlier.

    Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu both had ugly expressions, but they knew that it was impossible to escape. Everything was open and clear in front of them, but the old man who stood there was blocking their path like an insurmountable mountain.

    When the old man noticed that Lu Yin and the others had stopped resisting, he murmured something about ¡®boring.¡¯ Suddenly, his eye twitched. He looked back at the woman who had been shadowing Lu Yin and the others. "People from the four ruling powers? How annoying."

    The woman then strangely disappeared. It was as though she had been swallowed by the void.

    Lu Yin and the others lost theirst trace of hope when they saw this. They possessed no means of escaping from an Envoy, and yet this old man had eliminated their threat like she was nothing. They were not capable of doing anything to this old man.

    "What is senior thinking?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man¡¯s strange smile returned, and his lips moved. However, Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu were not able to hear anything, only Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth slowly fell open from disbelief. "Really?"

    The old man¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. "Believe whatever you want. Do you even have a choice?"

    Lu Yin''s expression changed as he pondered what to do.

    "Come on, kid. Life or death, it¡¯s up to you," the old man urged before disappearing.

    The next moment, two people appeared in the sky. Despite their sudden appearance, the void remained calm. They were Qing Chen and Wang Si.

    The two Semi-Progenitors had arrived, and the pressure that they exuded caused space itself to roil from the unbearable force. The mountains and the ground beneath them along with the stars above all trembled from the terrifying auras.

    Lu Yin and the other two put on their best behavior when facing the two Semi-Progenitors. They immediately released the two captives, though they remained unconscious and were simply shoved to the side.

    Wang Si looked down at Lu Yin¡¯s trio, though most of her attention remained on Lu Yin. She had fierce eyes, but they also contained a yful glint. She had not taken action in a long time, and it was very unexpected that some measly Hunter had forced her out again.

    "Long Qi, tell me what happened.¡± Qing Chen made sure to speak before Wang Si, as there was a possibility that the old woman would not even give Lu Yin a chance to speak for himself. Qing Chen was familiar with Wang Si¡¯s personality, and it was not impossible for her to immediately attack.

    The entire Perennial World knew how ruthless this old woman was.

    Lu Yin moved a few steps forward and respectfully asked, "Lord Supervisor, where is Yun Mubai, the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master?"

    Qing Chen replied, "He¡¯s still back at the Cloud Shuttle."

    "Could you have hime here? Your subordinate would like to confront him in person."

    Wang Si was taken aback, and she looked at Lu Yin oddly. "Confront him? About what? Those two are nothing more than mules for smuggling stellr liquid, and yet you used them as hostages to escape to a ce like this. To what end? I¡¯m quite curious."

    Lu Yin answered in a respectful tone, "This junior¡¯s purpose was quite simple. I stirred things up at Cloud Shuttle and drew out the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s powerhouses in order to give Captain Wang the opportunity to search for evidence."

    Wang Si asked, "Evidence of what?"

    She had be truly curious. She had thought that Long Qi waspletely wrong, and she had intended to simply kill him, but it was starting to look like she had been wrong.

    Lu Yin quietly answered, "Yun Mubai is a Redback."

    Wang Si was shocked.

    Qing Chen trembled. "What did you just say? Yun Mubai is a Redback?"

    Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu both stared at Lu Yin, speechless. That usation had been unfounded nder thrown out in order to make a mess of things at the Cloud Shuttle. Just how was Lu Yin nning to turn that usation into reality?

    "If you two seniors don''t believe this, then you can go to Smokecloud Sect. Captain Wang should have found the evidence by now," Lu Yin solemnly suggested.

    Qing Chen and Wang Si nced at each other. "Okay, let''s all go."

    With that, Qing Chen brought the youths with him, and everyone made their way back to the Smokecloud Sect.

    ***

    Elsewhere, Wang Dashuai was looking around at the unfamiliar setting. He felt incredibly confused.

    Lu Yin had suddenly kicked the hos¡¯ nest at the Cloud Shuttle and incited a veritable war. Battles had immediately erupted around the fatty, and he had been sted away, his ears ringing. He had then hid himself, and he had not expected to suddenly arrive in such a ce. There were currency cards and numerous power vessels abound. The few things that he was able to identify were truly amazing treasures.

    What the hell? Who had brought himself to this ce?

    He looked around but could not find the exit. He was in a hurry to leave. But in his rush, he found a scarlet eye with a vertical pupil. This belonged to a Redback, as no one else would ever touch such a thing!

    Wang Dashuai tried everything that he could think of to escape, but it was all futile. All he could do was wait. Someone had sent him to this ce, so someone would definitelye back for him. The fatty was quite confident in this. Still, with the scarlet eye present, the fatty hoped that no one was trying to frame him! If they were, he would not take it lying down.

    After he waited for a while, the entire ce vibrated, and then the ceiling of the location was suddenly removed, allowing the fatty to see cloud and mist outside. Isn''t this the Smokecloud Sect?

    After a moment, the fatty saw Lu Yin, Qing Chen, and Wang Si.

    "Wa- Wa- Elder?" the fatty eximed.

    "Captain Wang, did you find any evidence of Yun Mubai¡¯s collusion with the monster?" Lu Yin spoke up, and his voice startled the fatty.

    Yun Mubai colluded with monsters? He¡¯s a Redback? The fatty suddenly realized that he was inside the Smokecloud Sect, which caused him to jump. He reflexively pointed to something some distance away. ¡°Look, I found something."

    Qing Chen and the others all saw the scarlet eye with a vertical pupil off in the distance, as well as a pile of power vessels.

    The entire Smokecloud Sect was shaken. Many of the disciples saw the scarlet eye with the vertical pupil, and it terrified them. There really was a Redback in their Smokecloud Sect.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. This was what that old man had mentioned to Lu Yin. Lu Yin had never considered that Yun Mubai could really be a Redback.

    Lu Yin had originally made a baseless usation without considering the possibility of it being true. It was no wonder why Yun Mubai had reacted so strongly to the usation.

    Lu Yin felt grateful towards the old man, who had transferred Wang Dashuai to this hidden ce.

    Yun Mubai and Cai Shu arrived at this moment, and they both saw the exposed scarlet eye. Yun Mubai immediately turned to flee, but he suffered the exact same fate as Guan Tong. It was impossible for the sect master to escape.

    Qing Chen had never expected Huaiyuan to hide so many Redbacks. First, there were the three Guan brothers, and now, there was Yun Mubai. The supervisor did not even dare to imagine how long these people had been Redbacks for or how much damage they could have done to humanity if Long Qi had not exposed them.

    Yun Mubai''s face had gone pale, and he did not say a single word in his own defense. Everything had happened so suddenly that the sect master had not had even the slightest bit of time to understand what had happened. Who could have predicted such a move from Lu Yin when not even Lu Yin himself had known?

    Qing Chen looked over at Lu Yin. "How did you discover that he¡¯s a Redback? How did you uncover that location?"

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful tone, "Doesn¡¯t the supervisor understand this underling¡¯s abilities?"

    Qing Chen understood that Long Qi had received another piece of information from that unknown source. With this, Qing Chen¡¯s appreciation for Long Qi rose even more. This child had connections to hidden information that not even Humility''s Gate could find. Who was behind this child?

    Wang Si had never expected such a reversal. She had assumed that Long Qi was spouting bullshit, and she had never expected the youth to actually uncover a Redback. "Kid, you purposely used those two mules of being traitors just to empty out the Smokecloud Sect?"

    "Yes. This junior seized those two and fled the Smokecloud Sect with them in order to avoid Yun Mubai¡¯s suspicions to give Captain Wang the opportunity to take action.¡±

    The fatty had a nk look on his face, but since Long Qi was dishing outpliments, the fatty dly epted them.

 Chapter 1468: Pretty Far

    Chapter 1468: Pretty Far

    Wang Si nced over at Wang Dashuai, rather impressed with the fat young man. This was the same youth who had sent two trespassers to join Wang Su''s team in the Dominion Realm. "Your achievements and mistakes are now equal."

    The fatty grew excited. "Thank you, elder!"

    He actually did not feel the need to gain further achievements¡ªhe just wanted to rectify his previous mistakes. Previously, Wang Dashuai had truly believed his life to be over.

    Huaiyuan was located in a very important location, and the Smokecloud Sect had been ced in charge of overseeing the path that led to the four ruling powers in the Higher Realm, as well as transporting contraband such as stellr liquid for the four behemoths.

    If any of the recent incidents were exposed, then it would be a massive blow to the four ruling powers. While nothing that had happened was enough to jeopardize their actual power, the events were certainly enough to damage people¡¯s opinions of the Perennial World¡¯s overlords.

    Throughout everything that had happened, the people transporting the stellr liquid had been the most unfortunate. They had believed that they could bewless since they had been acting on behalf of the four ruling powers, but after the recent unforeseen events, many of the couriers had grown nervous and were feeling rather traumatic.

    Despite the methods that Lu Yin had used, and the fact that he had risked the four ruling powers¡¯ interests, he had still managed to uncover Yun Mubai as a Redback, which was an incredible achievement. Not even Wang Si could hold Lu Yin¡¯s actions against him.

    The Smokecloud Sect suffered terribly from the incident, and they were forced to ask their Semi-Progenitor to step out and take charge of the sect.

    There were very few groups throughout the entire Middle Realm who had Semi-Progenitor powerhouses, but the Smokecloud Sect was one of them.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to worry about any sort of aftermath. The moment that Yun Mubai was verified to be a Redback, countless cheers and words of amazement were sent to him. Countless people in both the Middle Realm and the Higher Realm began to admire Long Qi. A person did not need to look around to know that there were very few people who would risk bing an enemy of all four ruling powers. The slightest mistake would spell death.

    This was not something that could be pulled off with mere courage.

    Still, the matter had not ended there without any questions. Thinking about the situation would reveal better methods of exposing Yun Mubai as a Redback, but since the results spoke for themselves, it was difficult for anyone to question what had happened for the time being.

    There were many people who were puzzled by the walnut-shaped power vessel that Lu Yin had used, as well as how he had managed to kill Uncle Kuang, and that was not even mentioning the secret technique that he had used. Still, it was not yet time to ask such questions.

    Lu Yin told Qing Chen that he was tired and wished to return to rest, and Lu Yin even coughed up a bit of blood. Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu had both been injured, as had Wang Dashuai.

    Qing Chen quickly tasked Cai Shu protecting Long Qi and then sent them back to Huaiyuan Gate while forbidding anyone from disturbing the young Gate Master.

    After Lu Yin returned to the headquarters, many members of Humility''s Gate who were stationed there looked at him with admiration. Their eyes zed with respect and fanaticism.

    Within the crowd, Lu Yin spotted the old man who had stopped Lu Yin and the others from returning to the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This old man clearly was not just watching them, and he had definitely been observing Lu Yin for quite some time. If that were not the case, it would be impossible for the old man to be in Huaiyuan Gate.

    After dismissing the crowd, Lu Yin fell into a bad mood. He had just used his walnut-shaped power vessel, exposed the fact that he had a secret technique, revealed the aquatic nt-shaped power vessel, and even more cards. He hadpletely offended the Smokecloud Sect, and he had not even managed to return to the Fifth Maind. This incident had been aplete failure.

    Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu both returned to their own quarters to rest in peace. Wang Dashuai had been silent the entire time, but after entering the headquarters, he asked, "How did I end up in the Smokecloud Sect?"

    He was not stupid and wanted to know this detail.

    Lu Yin answered in a serious tone, "I arranged for someone to put you there."

    The fatty frowned. "Then why didn''t you give me some heads up? Also, since you were able to get someone to find that ce, why even bother sending me there?"

    Lu Yin was at a loss. "Because you¡¯re a part of the Wang family, and the Wang family is one of the four ruling powers."

    The fat young man blinked. He put on a front of understanding despite his continued ignorance. Lu Yin¡¯s gaze indicated that he should already understand this, so Wang Dashuai did not want to pursue it any further.

    After the fatty also left to rest, Lu Yin returned to his personal quarters. He sat down, exhausted, but then a voice called out from behind, ¡°That was a big aplishment."

    Lu Yin knew who was speaking, and he did not even turn around. Instead, he casually asked, ¡°What might senior¡¯s name be? What is it that you want?"

    "I¡¯m just old and bored, and I enjoy watching kids struggle."

    "What does that mean?" Lu Yin frowned.

    "I¡¯m an old man, and I want to see how high you can climb given my experience and resources."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Senior wants to help me?"

    "You¡¯re starting to get it, hehe."

    Lu Yinughed. "Why?"

    "When you get old, you just want to watch kids run around struggling. You¡¯re still young, so you don¡¯t understand, but when you get old and infirm like me, your mentality changes."

    Only a fool would believe such nonsense. Who would offer free help without some sort of reason?

    "Kid, stop thinking so much. This old man won''t hurt you."

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. He really wanted to beat this old man up. If not for this person, Lu Yin and the others would have already returned to the Fifth Maind. ¡°Senior, this junior has no need for your help."

    "Did this old man ask if you needed help? Help is what I do! Whether or not you¡¯re willing to ept my help, what does that have to do with me?"

    Lu Yin turned around to re at the old man. "What is it that you want? You just randomly want to help me? What¡¯s in it for you?"

    The side of the old man''s mouth bent upwards, and he leaned forward. A mysterious sense of gloom filled the air. "Kid, this old man is quite curious about you. Where were you trying to return to earlier?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he fell silent.

    "Hmmm¡­ Should this old man go and talk about this with Qing Chen? Regardless, we haven¡¯t seen each other for many years." The old man¡¯s strange smile returned.

    Lu Yin looked away. "Senior can do as he wishes."

    "You really don''t believe this old man. Alright, I really will go see Qing Chen," The old man threatened.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained calm and still.

    The old man let out a deepugh, and he rolled his eyes like a rogue. "You guessed right! But this old man still hasn¡¯t yed around enough, and I don¡¯t want to be done already."

    Lu Yin looked over at the old man. "Might I ask for senior''s name?"

    "Don''t want to say," the old manzily replied.

    "Might I ask where seniores from?"

    "Don¡¯t want to say."

    "Might I ask senior-"

    "Alright, stop it with the questions. This old man¡¯s not going to say anything. I just found you interesting ¡®cause you¡¯ve got guts. No one¡¯s been bold enough to cross the four ruling powers for many years. People look at stellr liquid like its a ghost, but a kid like you used that stellr liquid to scare others again and again. That¡¯s not something that you generally see." The old man chuckled again and then disappeared.

    Lu Yin frowned. The old man had pressed Lu Yin and the others about ¡°where¡± they were returning to several times now; did the old man know or not? If he did not know, then why would he use it as a threat? However, if he did know, then why would he help Lu Yin?

    The old man was a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and yet he had remained hidden while helping Lu Yin, even keeping his identity hidden. Everything made Lu Yin feel like this old man was very dangerous, but there was no way Lu Yin could get rid of the old man.

    Waiting was all that Lu Yin could do. He could only wait for another opportunity to slip away. However, things had changed, and Lu Yin now needed to lose both Cai Shu and the old man.

    Lu Yin¡¯s headache grew worse and worse as he thought about the old man. He had a feeling that he would not be able to break free from the old man for the rest of his life.

    Lu Yin just hoped that the four ruling powers would take a bit longer to rescue Long Tian and the others so that Lu Yin and hispanions would not be exposed prematurely.

    As the old man had said, throughout so many years, how many would dare to be the enemy of the four ruling powers?

    While the situation was resolved his efficiency and decisiveness in exposing another Redback shook the entire Perennial World. The very next day, some people abandoned their organizations, hoping to enter Huaiyuan Gate and be one of Long Qi¡¯s subordinates. This continued on the third day, the fourth day, and the fifth day¡­

    Every single day, more people came, and Long Qi¡¯s reputation grew greater and greater.

    Lu Yin himself did not know how his reputation was spreading. It felt like someone was deliberately using him as a poster child of a fearless person who was not intimidated by even the four ruling powers if it meant capturing a Redback and eliminating a threat to humanity. When Lu Yin heard what outsiders said about him, he was shocked at his own greatness.

    Still, it was not bad to be known for being unafraid of the four ruling powers.

    There were many among the new arrivals who hailed from families and powers that had been suppressed by the four ruling powers, and they all saw Long Qi as an emotional pir of support. He had be something of a hero who stood up to the four ruling powers and refused to be intimidated by them.

    Lu Yin was left speechless at this public reaction. After all, in this universe, his identity was that of the White Dragon n¡¯s Long Qi.

    Many people arrived at Huaiyuan Gate to enlist, and Lu Yin also received invitations to visit many other different organizations. They pleaded with him to investigate whether or not they had any traitors or Redbacks within their ranks. Among those who invited Lu Yin were the Liu family, Seed Garden¡¯s Nong family, and even the Purple-Gold family, Virtue Archives, powers from the Bifrost, and more.

    Lu Yin did not even consider visiting any of those ces. All he wanted to do was find a way to escape as soon as possible.

    For the Smokecloud Sect, the aftermath of the incident was much moreplicated, as they were the guardians of the path that connected to the four ruling powers in the Higher Realm. How many people had learned about stellr liquid being smuggled to the Higher Realm, and how many were involved? Every single person in the sect had to be individually investigated in order to ensure that no word of the matter leaked to the public.

    One day, Lu Yin was looking at the dozens of new cultivators who had joined Huaiyuan Gate. All of them had joined because of him. They looked at him with eyes filled with zing excitement and adoration.

    Lu Yin met the people before handing them over for Chen Xiazi to settle arrangements.

    Alone, Lu Yin looked up at the water flowing above the headquarters. He let out a sigh. How could he return home? Given his current circumstances, Lu Yin did not even dare to take out Zenith Mountain to meet with Unseen Light or any of the others. Lu Yin did not even know if there had been fights on the mountain.

    Suddenly, the color of the water changed. It became gray and then froze. Everything else in the area went gray and still as well. It was as though time and space had all been frozen.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed, and his head snapped around to see Mister Mu calmly staring at him.

    Lu Yin had never dreamed of seeing Mister Mu in the Perennial World, but Lu Yin¡¯s master was right in front of him, appearing like a ghost. Mister Mu was just as mysterious as he had been in the Fifth Maind.

    It had to be acknowledged that Huaiyuan Gate was not King Zishan¡¯s pce. Cai Shu was guarding Lu Yin, and there was also the Semi-Progenitor old man, but everyone had been locked in ce. Well, ording to Lu Yin¡¯s extremely limited understanding, it seemed as though time and space themselves had been locked in ce.

    "Ma- Master?" Lu Yin eximed as he looked at Mister Mu with great excitement. Lu Yin ran over to his master, eager to embrace the older man.

    Mister Mu gave Lu Yin a t stare. "You ran pretty far; I almost couldn¡¯t find you."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. How could traveling to another universe be a matter of simply finding someone?

    "Master, why did youe to this universe?" Lu Yin asked, feeling quite curious.

    Mister Mu casually replied, "If I want to visit, then I¡¯ll do so."

    Lu Yin did not know how to reply. His master saw things from a perspective that was too difficult for Lu Yin toprehend.

    "You did well by taking first ce during ZENITH. What would you like as a reward?" Mister Mu spoke calmly and did not betray the slightest hint of curiosity as to why Lu Yin was in the Perennial World.

    "Master, are you here to reward me?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

 Chapter 1469: Enlighter Realm Breakthrough

    Chapter 1469: Enlighter Realm Breakthrough

    Mister Mu''s eyes betrayed a hint of admiration. "You were warned that you would be dismissed as my disciple if you didn¡¯t take first ce in ZENITH, which was a very harsh penalty. However, your reward for winning is correspondingly generous."

    Mister Mu then raised a hand and offered a Root of Intelligence towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Master, do you have a lot of these Roots of Intelligence?"

    "I like my tea," Mister Mu replied. "Have you considered what you would like as your reward?"

    Lu Yin thought for a bit, and then answered in a serious voice, "Your disciple wishes to break through to the Enlighter realm."

    Mister Mu showed no surprise. "Very well."

    Lu Yin felt a bit hesitant. "Master, your disciple may have some trouble with this breakthrough. There might be some obstacles."

    "Try," said Mister Mu. He was as calm as always.

    Without understanding why, Lu Yin grew confident and nodded in excitement.

    "Wait." Mister Mu took out another item. "First, open all three of your meridian points. You¡¯ve already opened your lower meridian point, so the middle and upper points still need to be opened."

    Lu Yin stared at the huge pir of tribtion crystals that stood in front of him in stupefaction. Mister Mu possessed such a thing? This was much, muchrger than the pir that Long Ding had used to open his lower meridian point, and it was actually evenrger than the pir that Lu Yin had obtained in the Dominion Realm.

    "You should already know what it means to open the three meridian points since you¡¯ve already opened your lower meridian point. Use these tribtion crystals to open your middle meridian point," Mister Mu ordered.

    "What about the upper meridian point?" Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu with high expectations.

    Mister Mu raised a hand, and a branch appeared. This was not the leaf that Lu Yin had picked up in the Dominion Realm, but Lu Yin was no stranger to this branch. It was the same one that he had used to raise his physical strength to the limit in the Limiteer realm. He had then been given fatesand to suppress his strength.

    "Is this- Is this branch Origin Matter?" Lu Yin felt shocked as he took the branch in a daze.

    Mister Mu answered indifferently, "Indeed it is."

    "Is- Is this for your disciple?" Lu Yin became extremely excited. He had already picked up an Origin Matter, though he suspected that what he had picked up might be fake. Still, it might be real. As far as Origin Matter was concerned, the more the better.

    Mister Mu observed Lu Yin with an odd expression.

    Lu Yin started to get nervous.

    "You¡¯ll have to find Origin Matter on your own. I can send you to the Dominion Realm," Mister Mu said as he took the branch back.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. Still, it was not unexpected. He felt that it was impossible to receive Origin Matter from Mister Mu. Even though the four ruling powers had Origin Matter in reserve, they had still sent their Junior Progenitors to risk their lives in the Dominion Realm to search for it on their own.

    "First, worry about opening your middle meridian point," Mister Mu stated.

    Lu Yin grew excited. "Yes, Master."

    He had actually gotten his hands on two tribtion crystal pirs while in the Dominion Realm. One hade from the Voidsoul Pce, and it could be used to open a person¡¯s lower meridian point as it was about the same size as the pir that Long Ding had used to open his lower meridian point. The second pir was the one in the Forgotten Ruins, and it had been a part of the trap that the monsters had set for the Junior Progenitors. In the end, it had fallen into Lu Yin¡¯s possession. The second pir was muchrger than Lu Yin¡¯s first and was nearly asrge as the pir that Mister Mu had just offered Lu Yin. These pirs could be used to open the middle meridian point.

    Since Mister Mu had given Lu Yin a crystal pir, the two that Lu Yin had found on his own could be saved.

    The truth was that, at this moment, Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu as a Progenitor. He had shown that he was able topletely ignore a Semi-Progenitor, and he had also taken out an amount of tribtion crystals that even the four ruling powers would struggle to take out. What could Mister Mu be if he was not a Progenitor? Lu Yin¡¯s understanding had expanded drastically while in the Perennial World.

    However, Mister Mu was not aware of everything, and he did not know that Lu Yin had already picked up not only tribtion crystal pirs, but also Origin Matter.

    Lu Yin had not yet opened all of his meridian points because he was afraid of being discovered, but there was no risk of that happening with Mister Mu present. Lu Yin could just return home with his master.

    Such random thoughts drifted through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he ced both of his hands upon the crystal pir and began to refine it.

    Given Lu Yin''s strength, he refined the tribtion crystals much faster than Long Ding had.

    Lu Yin had no way of knowing how long he spent refining the tribtion crystals. He might have taken a few hours or even a few days. Regardless, he eventually absorbed the entirety of the tribtion crystal pir into his body. Everywhere, his skin tore open, and blood flowed down to his feet, painting them red.

    Mister Mu quietly stood nearby. It was impossible to know what the man was thinking, and he did not even look at Lu Yin.

    There was a deep roar as a powerful surge of energy shot into the sky. Lu Yin had seeded in opening his middle meridian point, and he had stepped onto the same qualifying level as the Junior Progenitors. As of this moment, Lu Yin was certain that he possessed the strength to defeat any of the Junior Progenitors without relying on his God of Death Transformation, even if the Junior Progenitors did use the visualization method.

    "Now you should immediately break through to the Enlighter realm," Mister Mu said.

    Lu Yin asked, "What about the upper meridian point?"

    "You can open that even after you be an Enlighter," Mister Mu replied.

    "Wouldn¡¯t it be better to open it before a breakthrough?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Mister Mu stared at Lu Yin. "If you want Origin Matter, then you¡¯ll need to find it yourself. You chose bing an Enlighter as your reward."

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and brought out the leaf that he had found.

    Mister Mu stared at it, stunned for a moment. There was a rare expression of surprise on his face and umon satisfaction in his eyes. "Open your upper meridian point now then. Treat the Origin Matter like the tribtion crystals, and absorb it into your body. This step is called rooting."

    He then grew a bit more serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "You did pretty well."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the Origin Matter that he had picked up was not fake. After a second thought, he realized that that actually made sense. After all, how could the Junior Progenitors have been deceived by a fake? Also, Lu Yin had tried to absorb the leaf before opening his middle meridian point, and at that time, it had beenpletely unresponsive.

    Lu Yin had just been praised by Mister Mu, and Lu Yin realized that he had never received anypliment from his master before. Thus, this bit of praise went to Lu Yin¡¯s head. ¡°Master, your disciple was able to defeat all of this universe¡¯s four Junior Progenitors.¡±

    Lu Yin was like a child fishing for praise from his elders.

    A tiny smile that Lu Yin had never seen before appeared on Mister Mu¡¯s face. ¡°Junior Progenitors? That¡¯s nothing more than self-deception."

    Lu Yin then began to absorb the Origin Matter as his master watched on.

    Unexpectedly, this process involved no pain. The leaf simply and smoothly opened up Lu Yin¡¯s upper meridian point, but then, the leaf remained in the meridian point and acted as though it was taking root. The only difference that Lu Yin noticed was that a certain glow had appeared on his body. This was not the light that appeared once a cultivator¡¯s physical strength reached the limit for their realm. Instead, it was some kind of surging vitality that could not be described.

    The entire process was very short.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and stared at his hands in an odd manner. Were there any changes? There was nothing to be found. His body felt exactly like it had after he had opened his middle meridian point, though there seemed to be some sort of subtle difference.

    Suddenly, the void tore apart, and so did Lu Yin''s stomach. He did not have any chance to even react, as Mister Mu had attacked.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He could not understand why Mister Mu would suddenly injure his own disciple. However, the next moment, something truly bizarre urred; the wound on Lu Yin''s stomach healed within only a few seconds. The only sign of injury was the hole in his clothes, as there was not even a scar to be seen on his body. It was as if Lu Yin had never even been injured.

    "Master, what happened?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Mister Mu exined, "This is what happens after you open the upper meridian point. There is now a seedling in your body that will give you endless vitality, and that will be the beginning of all changes."

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    "Cultivators who have opened all three of their meridian points arepletely different from anyone who has not done so. There can be Realmbreakers in every realm except for the Progenitor realm. A Semi-Progenitor can never stand up to a Progenitor. Only a Progenitor can face another Progenitor. You now possess the qualifications to be a Progenitor." Mister Mu gave a simple exnation.

    Lu Yin grew excited. His injury had healed in an instant. How was this any different from repeatedly using the Ku Secret Art? Who would be able to defeat him in the future? As long as he faced someone within the same cultivation realm, Lu Yin could not think of anyone who qualified to be his opponent.

    Lu Yin wanted to return to the Dominion Realm and revisit the Forgotten Ruins so that he could have a rematch with all of the Junior Progenitors. No, Lu Yin wanted to face off against an Envoy!

    There was a fundamental change when one became an Envoy, and it resulted in a massive power spike. It could be seen in the simple fact that Enlighters could not enter the true universe. However, despite this massive handicap, Lu Yin was confident that he could challenge an Envoy with his newfound strength.

    The transformation provided by opening all three meridian points was too incredible, and Lu Yin was currently over the moon.

    It would have been perfect if he had managed to reach such a level of strength during ZENITH. He would have been able to defeat all of his opponents with nothing more than a single finger, and there would have been no need to use the God of Death Transformation at all. Lu Yin would have crushed all opposition.

    "At this moment, you have finally stepped upon the threshold of cultivation. No one who does not qualify to be a Progenitor is even qualified to cultivate," Mister Mumented lightly.

    Lu Yin asked, "Master, can your disciple attempt to breakthrough to the Enlighter realm?"

    Mister Mu nodded. "Do it."

    Lu Yin sucked in a deep breath. This day could be considered the culmination of all of his efforts and preparations. With a thought, he brought out his Skyze Stone and used it to liquify a massive amount of star essence that he pulled out. He began to absorb the star energy and circted it through his body. He had already be a peak Hunter, and he was only a single step away from touching the threshold of the Enlighter realm.

    It was only one step, and it was an easy one to take. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and the formcast model within his body dissolved and merged with his body. He had never even heard of a person using a formcast model when reaching the Enlighter realm, and Lu Yin believed himself to be the first.

    Mister Mu was surprised.

    The formcast model melted and merged with Lu Yin¡¯s body as star energy surged like water past a broken dam. Lu Yin could hear the pounding star energy, and he felt the pain of his body being smashed apart. This pain was even slightly worse than what Lu Yin had suffered when opening his middle meridian point.

    Mister Mu silently watched as Lu Yin took the step to be an Enlighter. Energy eruptions leaked out, but the star energy was all quickly absorbed back into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    It did not take Lu Yin long toplete a cycle, and at that point, he had technically broken through to the Enlighter realm.

    This breakthrough did not trigger Lu Yin¡¯s seal, and the entire process was smooth, much smoother than Lu Yin had expected. However, the momentum from his breakthrough did not abate.

    Enlighters cultivated like Hunters, but there was a reason why bing an Enlighter was considered a watershed moment in one¡¯s cultivation journey. It was because a human¡¯s body would undergo a fundamental change during the breakthrough. Besides that, the cultivation method remained unchanged, and Enlighters also absorbed star energy toplete cycles.

    An average cultivator¡¯s power level would increase by 10,000 at the end of each cycle, and thus, they needed toplete fifty cycles to be an Envoy. Enlighters, unlike Hunters, had undergone a bodily transformation, and this fundamentally changed how quickly a person could absorb star energy. Despite this, most cultivators still failed to ever reach the threshold of the Envoy realm, let alone break through.

    Each of the Ten Arbiters had been capable of bing Enlighters long ago, and the reason why they had all dyed their breakthroughs to establish a deeper foundation. The deeper their foundation was, the greater the change after bing an Enlighter.

    After Unseen Light and others had broken through to the Enlighter realm, they had immediatelypleted twenty four cycles, which meant that they hadpleted three cycles in one push. After Shang Qing had be an Enlighter, he hadpleted twenty seven cycles. As for the four Junior Progenitors, each of them had instantlypleted thirty cycles, which meant that they had essentially leaped up to a power level of 300,000 from their breakthroughs.

 Chapter 1470: Return By Yourself

    Chapter 1470: Return By Yourself

    After Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough, he started absorbing star energy faster than ever, and he soonpleted his twenty first cycle, followed by his twenty second, then twenty third¡­ After he finished his twenty fourth cycle, the star energy from the star essence he was using had been depleted, and the Skyze Stone¡¯s raging mes had also disappeared.

    Mister Mu''s eyes shifted to show a hint of curiosity and anticipation. He waved a hand, and a massive amount of star essence fell out. At the same time, the star energy in the nearby area started to melt, even without the Skyze Stone. Lu Yin continued to absorb the vaporized star essence, and his speed far exceeded what he had been capable of with the Skyze Stone.

    Lu Yin was unaware of what was happening around him, as he waspletely focused on his cultivation, and he simply continued to absorb star energy faster and faster.

    Twenty five cycles, twenty six, twenty nine¡­ He eventuallypleted his thirtieth cycle, and ultimately, his thirty second cycle.

    After his breakthrough, Lu Yin managed toplete far more cycles as an Enlighter than an ordinary cultivator, and he had even surpassed the four Junior Progenitors.

    This was the strength of his foundation.

    Not even Mister Mu had expected Lu Yin to have established such a terrifying foundation.

    There was actually no one, not even Lu Yin, who knew that Lu Yin had absorbed Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood while in the powerhouse¡¯s mausoleum. More recently, Lu Yin had opened all three meridian points, tempered his body with dragon saliva, absorbed Origin Matter, and used a seven-stage formcast model. Lu Yin¡¯s foundation exceeded all others, and now, after his breakthrough, his cultivation also surpassed all of his peers. He had truly reached the peak.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and stood up. He felt the surging star energy moving through in his body. It was astonishing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves far exceeded those of his peers even when he had only been a Hunter, and those reserves had just drastically increased. Lu Yin had about ten times more star energy than his peers, but that also meant that he required ten times the resources to cultivate.

    Why was there such a massive difference?

    "Master? Did your disciple absorb all of the star essence that I took out?" Lu Yin was shocked to see that there was no star essence remaining on the ground.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin before ordering, "Take out all of the star essence that you have in your cosmic ring."

    Lu Yin reacted without hesitation, and star essence quickly piled into hills on the ground. Mister Mu took all of it.

    Lu Yin was stunned. What did this mean?

    "After bing an Enlighter, you managed toplete your thirty second cycle, and by doing so, you absorbed the star energy of 600 million star essence," Mister Mu casually exined.

    Lu Yin then understood that his master was settling a debt. All of the star essence that Lu Yin had absorbed after his breakthrough had been provided by Mister Mu, and now that the breakthrough had ended, Mister Mu was settling the bill.

    At the same time, Lu Yin felt rather speechless. Was this really fine? He might have more than 600 million star essence stored within his body, but he was broke once again.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask for his money back, but after looking at Mister Mu, the thought died. After all, just the Root of Intelligence alone was worth more than the star essence that Lu Yin had lost.

    "Master, are we going back now?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Back where?" Mister Mu asked.

    Lu Yin spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, "Back to the Fifth Maind."

    Mister Mu lifted a hand and touched Lu Yin''s forehead. Lu Yin did not know what his master was doing, but there was no change to his body, so he felt rather confused.

    "I just hid your cultivation so that no one will be able to clearly see your strength," Mister Mu informed Lu Yin.

    A bad premonition overcame Lu Yin, and he let out a dryugh. ¡°Master, what do you mean by that?"

    "You came here alone, so you need to find your way back alone."

    What? Lu Yin was stunned. "Master, your disciple can''t go back there! There¡¯s a shameless Semi-Progenitor keeping an eye on me, and your disciple can¡¯t get rid of him!"

    Mister Mu said nothing more, and his body vanished in an instant. Everything around Lu Yin returned to normal, except for the appearance of a single jade talisman.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at his vacant surroundings. Mister Mu had just ignored him!

    The jade talisman quietly fell to the ground. Lu Yin reluctantly picked it up with a sigh. Fortunately, Mister Mu had left one of these talismans behind, which meant that Lu Yin would be able to call his master. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have nothing to rely on.

    Also, Mister Mu had hidden Lu Yin¡¯s true cultivation, which was a very good thing. It would keep him from being too conspicuous.

    "Hey Bro, are you out of seclusion?" The fat Wang Dashuai approached from a distance and seemed surprised to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was startled. Out? Wait¡­ Lu Yin remembered something and asked in a casual tone, ¡°How long has it been since we got back?"

    The fatty thought for a moment. ¡°More than a month."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Apparently, Mister Mu had not frozen time, and things had proceeded normally. However, Lu Yin had been taken to a strange space that had isted him from everyone, which had given everyone a false impression of what he had been doing. This was as shocking a revtion as when Mister Mu had frozen time; it was an ability that Lu Yin could not understand at all.

    After all, there was still a Semi-Progenitor in Huaiyuan Gate.

    "Has anything happened while I was busy?" Lu Yin asked.

    The fatty considered the question. "The White Dragon n¡¯s Elder Long Kui stopped by once, but he left after hearing that you were in seclusion. There were also a few others who were looking for you¡­ Right, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were among them."

    Lu Yin frowned. It looked like those two did not want to leave him alone.

    "Also, some of the elders from my Wang family asked me to speak to you. They want to talk to you," Wang Dashuai continued to say. "Also, Supervisor Qing Chen wants to speak with you. Actually, a bunch of people want to see you, but the White Dragon n has been the most active."

    "What about the Celestial Frost Sect?" Lu Yin asked. He had uncovered a jade butterfly, and that Yu Chen definitely would not let this matter go.

    The fatty shook his head. "No one from the Celestial Frost Sect has looked for you. Also, the Smokecloud Sect has recovered, and they¡¯re back to guarding the Cloud Shuttle. The four ruling powers sent down a bunch of powerhouses, and apparently, there are Envoys running things now. All of the old monsters have moved out."

    Everything that Lu Yin heard were updates that he had expected.

    After speaking with Wang Dashuai, Lu Yin immediately went to go find Shang Qing and ask him what had happened with Yu Chen.

    Unfortunately, Shang Qing had not had any contact with Yu Chen while Lu Yin had been gone. "She never trusted me in the first ce. After you arrested those people, she preferred exposing the jade butterfly that she had hidden in Huaiyuan Gate than approach me about the issue."

    Lu Yin had been the one to arrest the girl, so it was impossible for anyone to release her unless they were from Huaiyuan Gate.

    "Why do I feel like there¡¯s something different about you?" Shang Qing showed a bit of surprise as he studied Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It¡¯s not much of a difference. I just became an Enlighter."

    Shang Qing showed no surprise, as Lu Yin was overdue for this breakthrough despite already being the most powerful of their generation. ¡°So it was a breakthrough? Congrattions."

    Lu Yin smiled. Mister Mu had hidden Lu Yin¡¯s exact cultivation, but not the fact that he was an Enlighter. He could let people know that he was an Enlighter. After all, he had just been in seclusion, so it would be no surprise for anyone to discover that he had used the time to be an Enlighter.

    This breakthrough was also an excuse for Lu Yin to reveal even more strength than he had before.

    Next, Lu Yin went to find Cai Shu, only to learn that Qing Chen had headed to the Higher Realm and would contact Lu Yin after returning to the Middle Realm.

    That night, the old Semi-Progenitor approached Lu Yin. "Hey kid, do you want to get some more credit with Humility''s Gate?"

    "Not interested." Lu Yin was very blunt with his response. After repeatedly dealing with this old man, Lu Yin had lost most of his fear. Plus, with the support of Mister Mu, Lu Yin was fearless, as he now had a way out.

    "Kid, how can you act like such an old man when you¡¯re still so young? Don¡¯t you want to be famous in this universe? To make the four ruling powers jealous of you? Don¡¯t you want to be a powerhouse? In the future, your descendents could be the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. Let me tell you this¡ªthe n¡¯s current main family took their position from another family. Before that, they were just another branch family," the old man said temptingly.

    Lu Yin felt a jolt. He had nearly forgotten that he needed to investigate what had happened to the Lu family. Since he was unable to return to the Fifth Maind, it would be a good time to start probing into the matter now.

    Also, when it came to getting information about the Lu family, this old man was likely the best ce to start. He was a Semi-Progenitor, so there should be no restrictions ced on his mind!

    "Senior, what¡¯s your goal?" Lu Yin said.

    The old manzily answered, "Like I said, I¡¯m just looking to have fun. This old man has lived for too long, and I¡¯ve learned many things that most people are ignorant about. I can share all of this information with you."

    Lu Yin and the old man stared at each other. "So what? Why are you using a junior like me for these things? This junior does not appreciate being used, but I¡¯m willing to cooperate."

    "Hahahaha, kid, you think too much! You don¡¯t qualify to cooperate with this old man! Many people have tried to get in touch with you recently, but all of them want to ask you questions. There¡¯s no one else who¡¯s willing to tell you anything. Do you want to know about the past? You should already know that not even Humility¡¯s Gate was able to find out anything about Yun Mubai being a Redback. You also already know that if there was even the faintest suspicion, Qing Chen would not let the matter rest until it was resolved. Do you want that kind of man keeping tabs on you at all times?" The old manughed.

    "If Senior Qing Chen truly asks, then this junior will have to tell him the truth," Lu Yin said somberly.

    The old man made a point of not caring. "Alright, fine. Before you ran into this old man, where were you trying to take those two stellr liquid mules? What were you up to?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. He really could not determine whether or not this old man knew that he was from the Fifth Maind.

    "This junior doesn''t understand what Senior is asking," Lu Yin said.

    The old man stretched his waist. "If you don''t understand, then you don''t get it."

    The old man then spread his fingers open to reveal a delicate jade pendant in his hand. "If you ever end up in a position where you don¡¯t know how to deal with Qing Chen, just show him this thing, and he¡¯ll understand."

    After that, the man slowly walked away.

    Lu Yin stared at the jade pendant. He was bing more and more confused by the old man. There had to be some sort of motivation behind the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s actions, but why had the man still not said anything? Was he afraid of exposing his identity? Or had things not yet progressed to the point where the old man could reveal his purpose?

    The old man was only increasing Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments within Humility¡¯s Gate, so clearly, the old man¡¯s ultimate purpose was connected to Humility''s Gate.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. He believed that the old man had already moved far away, so Lu Yin closed his eyes and slowly let his domain spread through the air.

    His breakthrough to the Enlighter realm had brought about changes to his domain as well, and he had instantly reached the spirit manifestation realm in his domain. This improvement did not offer much assistance in battle, but it did make Lu Yin¡¯s domain much more sensitive, which meant that it was easier for him to perceive powerhouses like Cai Shu and the old man.

    Naturally, such people were also able to sense Lu Yin''s domain, but they did not react to it. It was quite convenient for Lu Yin to use it to monitor the two.

    Lu Yin saw that neither powerhouse was focused on him, so he set aside his cosmic ring. It was time to roll his die.

    He found a hidden ce, raised his hand, and brought out his die. He immediately tapped it, and it slowly spun around beforending on four pips. Lu Yin was delighted at how easily he had gotten his desired roll, and he instantly snatched up his cosmic ring as the scenery changed before his eyes, and he appeared within the Timestop Space.

    The first thing that he did was extend his time in the Timestop Space. Unfortunately, given that he was practically out of star essence, his only option was to extract a bit of his internal reserves in order to extend his time.

    Once that was done, he took out the Root of Intelligence. It was time toprehend more of the Oveying Stacks Path. The Vacuum Palm was still Lu Yin¡¯s most effective attack method.

 Chapter 1471: The Lu Surname

    Chapter 1471: The Lu Surname

    As Lu Yin thought about making some tea with the Root of Intelligence, he suddenly imagined how perfect his life would be if his die were able to duplicate items. Wouldn¡¯t that mean an endless supply of Roots of Intelligence?

    While feeling a bit of both desire and anticipation, Lu Yin took a sip of the tea made from the Root of Intelligence.

    He only had enough to make three sips of tea, just likest time.

    Right after taking a sip of tea, Lu Yin raised his hand and struck out with a palm to begin deducing more of the Oveying Stacks Path.

    While he hadprehended 250 Stacks so far, his strength had far exceeded that level.

    260, 270, 280, and then 290 Stacks. The first sip of tea allowed Lu Yin toprehend up to 290 Stacks.

    The further one progressed along the Oveying Stacks Path, the more difficult it was to proceed. Lu Yin felt a bit of regret, but he was not surprised. After a moment¡¯s thought, he took another sip and continued.

    The second sip of the tea allowed him to deduce up to 320 Stacks, but he found that he still had not reached the limits of his physical strength.

    Lu Yin had only be a peak Hunter after entering the Perennial World. There, he had opened his lower meridian point and also tempered his body with dragon saliva. In the Hunter realm, Lu Yin estimated that his body could endure the stress of up to 300 Stacks. But after his breakthrough to the Enlighter realm, his physical strength had risen once more, and that was even ignoring the increase granted by the opening of his middle and upper meridian points.

    After everything was taken into ount, especially the increased strength from opening all three meridian points, Lu Yin did not actually know how strong his body had be. Regardless, he was at least confident that he could shatter the void with a punch. If Lu Yin had to fight Uncle Kuang again, a single punch would be enough to make the Envoy doubt his very existence.

    The third sip of the tea made with the Root of Intelligence only allowed Lu Yin to deduce up to 350 Stacks, a total of a hundred more stacks than his previous limit. This was not a minor increase, and the strength of his attacks would be iparable to before.

    After reaching 350 Stacks, Lu Yin felt a bit of an ache in his arm, which indicated that he had reached his current limits. The Root of Intelligence had been enough for him to reach his new physical limits once more.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and looked down at this hand while a smile spread across his face. 350 Stacks was a scary thought. If he had possessed this level of strength before, he could have breezed through all of ZENITH and even the Forgotten Ruins without ever needing to use his God of Death Transformation. He was now capable of casually beating all of the Junior Progenitors!

    250 Stacks had been enough to make the Junior Progenitors jealous, but they had still been able to disregard his Vacuum Palm after utilizing their visualization method. However, 350 Stacks was something that they could not ignore no matter how much they boosted their strength.

    Lu Yin could not wait to test his new strength out.

    He realized that he still had some extra time in the Timestop Space. He remembered that the Ghost Monkey had been able to appear in this space, so what about the people on Zenith Mountain?

    As soon as he thought about it, Lu Yin brought Zenith Mountain out of his cosmic ring and examined it.

    Eight people had been ced on the mountain, and Lu Yin could see that none of them were that close to each other. There was no evidence of fighting, but everyone was clearly wary of the others.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and entered the mountain. The first person he went to find was Long Xi.

    When she saw Lu Yin approach, Long Xi¡¯s eyebrows shot up. Her amber eyes instantly changed from calm to rage. She used the White Dragon¡¯s Transformation and instantly attacked.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. He flicked a finger, and there was a bang as Long Xi¡¯s spear shattered while his star energy suppressed the residual force of Long Xi¡¯s attack. She retreated a few steps and stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You- your strength?"

    Lu Yin felt proud of himself. This was not something that he often exhibited in front of others, but he had an urge to show off a bit in front of Long Xi. "What do you think? Isn¡¯t it amazing?"

    Long Xi was in shock. Although the person in front of her had been strong enough to confront the Junior Progenitors head on and even defeat them in a one-on-one battle in the Dominion Realm, his strength had only been on the same level as a Junior Progenitor before his strange transformation. However, at this moment, a casual response from him had shattered her spear, dispersed her attack, and even suppressed her follow-up attack.

    This was something that was even beyond her big brother. Clearly, this person had improved tremendously.

    "You¡¯re an Enlighter now?" Long Xi said solemnly.

    Lu Yin smiled. "More than just that. I¡¯ve opened all three of my meridian points."

    Long Xi frowned. She took several deep breaths but stayed silent.

    Lu Yin stared back at Long Xi. "You don''t even want to know what happens after you open the third meridian point?"

    "That has nothing to do with me," Long Xi replied indifferently.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. This was a very boring reaction.

    "How¡¯s my big brother?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "He¡¯s still stuck, but he¡¯s fine."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯ll only release us after you get back to the Forsaken Land."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I can''t keep you trapped forever, but also, if I can¡¯t go back, I can¡¯t let you out. But don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re my wife, so I¡¯ll alwayse to keep youpany."

    Long Xi became upset. "I am Long Qi''s wife. I have no connection to you."

    "I am Long Qi," Lu Yin retorted.

    Long Xi snapped back, "No, you''re not."

    "Yes, I am."

    "No."

    "Yes."

    Long Xi red at Lu Yin. He actually shivered out of instinct, as he felt rather guilty. He had been intimidated by Long Xi in the past, and such guilt had be a conditioned response.

    "Who the hell are you?" Long Xi finally asked. She had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Unseen Light and the others didn¡¯t say anything?"

    Long Xi fell silent.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Apparently, none of the people on Zenith Mountain had interacted after he had sent them here. Well, to be fair, Long Xi and the others could be considered prisoners, and that would not change just from interacting with Unseen Light, so anymunication was actually quite meaningless. ¡°My name is Lu Yin. I¡¯m the master of the Outerverse in the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin? Long Xi was shocked, and she gazed at Lu Yin in surprise. "Your surname is Lu?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for not asking me my name in the beginning, as that would have been a big problem."

    Long Xi studied Lu Yin, especially focusing on his face. Suddenly, his image ovepped with that of another person who was also surnamed Lu. The Lu surname¡­ Could this be the same person? Long Xi had noticed a resemnce in the beginning, and this person could be him.

    After observing Lu Yin for a long while, a wry smile suddenly appeared on Long Xi¡¯s face. How could Lu Yin be that person? He was already dead. He could never return.

    While the Lu surname had been purged from the Perennial World, there should be many people with that surname in the Forsaken Land. Complicated emotions flickered through Long Xi¡¯s eyes; it would be wonderful if he came back.

    Suddenly, beams of golden light appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and they quickly formedyers of light that wrapped around Lu Yin. They formed sevenyers of ancient characters, and at the same time, smoke fell upon Lu Yin and formed chains that wrapped around the Literary Prison. Wen Diyi and Yun Tingting had appeared and were working together to trap Lu Yin.

    "Princess Long Xi, hurry up and use White Dragon Surveying the Sky!" Yun Tingting shouted.

    Long Xi did not move a muscle. In the past, she absolutely would have attacked, but was there any point at all given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength? They were even trapped within his treasure, so anything that they did was useless. Also, Lu Yin¡¯s true surname had eliminated Long Xi¡¯s desire to attack.

    "PRINCESS LONG XI!" Yun Tingting shouted fiercely.

    Lu Yinughed. He merely clenched both of his fists, and there was a bang as the Seven-Layered Literary Prison shattered while the smoke was torn apart. Lu Yin casually swept the smoke away as though clearing away a piece of torn paper.

    Some distance away, Wen Diyi and Yun Tingting were both startled. How was this even possible? Not even a Junior Progenitor could break free from theirbo that easily. Bai Shaohong had once been sealed within a Seven-Layered Literary Prison, and it had taken him a bit of time to break free.

    "Alright, knock it off. Your attacks are useless against me," Lu Yin said as he looked over at Wen Diyi and Yun Tingting.

    Both of their expressions changed, and they helplessly nced at each other.

    "Long Qi, you don''t want to take us to the Forsaken Land," Yun Tingting warned. She looked like a gentle girl with a mild personality, but her words were sharp.

    Lu Yinughed. "We¡¯re already in the Forsaken Land!"

    "What?" Yun Tingting''s face went pale as she red at Lu Yin in fury.

    Wen Diyi grew bitter. "I¡¯ve entered the Forsaken Land. I¡¯ll never be able to return in this life."

    Lu Yin felt rather curious. "Brother Wen, what is your impression of the Forsaken Land?"

    Wen Diyi replied, "It¡¯s a ce with no resources. There are diverse cultures and civilizations, but their cultivation is broken. It¡¯s an outside territory that belongs to the Perennial World, but it has been forsaken since it¡¯s a cultivation wastnd."

    Lu Yin looked over at Yun Tingting.

    Yun Tingting had fallen into a foul mood. "It¡¯s a ce for people to sit around and stare at the sky."

    Finally, Lu Yin turned to Long Xi, but shepletely ignored him.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Actually, the Forsaken Land is a ce formed from the fusion of five mainds, and it has numerous inheritances."

    "It doesn¡¯t matter. Their cultivation system is broken, so it¡¯s pointless no matter how many inheritances they may have," Wen Diyi replied.

    Lu Yin stared at him. "Then what about me?"

    The people were all stunned.

    Lu Yin smiled casually. "Think about it. Is the Forsaken Land really the ce that you¡¯ve described? A cultivation wastnd? I, Lu Yin, stand above all of my peers in the Fifth Maind. I have the highest level of cultivation of anyone in our generation in the Forsaken Land as well as here in the Perennial World. I have already opened all three of my meridian points. In the future, I¡¯ll be a Progenitor. This is one of the cultivators from what you refer to as the ¡®Forsaken Land.¡¯ The Fifth maind has had many Semi-Progenitors, and even Origin Matter. In the future, we will give rise to more Progenitors, and even your Perennial World might not be able to defeat us in time."

    After speaking, Lu Yin remembered what Bai Shaohong had said, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew hard. ¡°Maybe, you will end up being suppressed by us."

    After that, Lu Yin disappeared.

    Frozen in ce, Wen Diyi shouted, "His surname is Lu?"

    Yun Tingting''s expression changed, and she turned to look at Long Xi. "Did you know that his surname was Lu before this?"

    Long Xi answered softly, "I just found out, too."

    Wen Diyi¡¯s expression grewplicated. While this person had the Lu surname, he could not be from that Lu family. They had already been exiled, and there were no survivors. The Forsaken Land most likely had many people with the Lu surname.

    Wen Diyi shook his head. He could not help but think how great it would be if this Lu Yin was from that Lu family.

    Lu Yin did not leave Zenith Mountain, but rather went to find Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    The prince was capable of making the environment dark and gloomy wherever he went. Lu Yin looked and saw ck air above his head, and even the stones had turned ck. It was rather odd.

    "Come out. This is my world, so I know exactly where you are," Lu Yin spoke in a casual tone.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian emerged from the shadows. His strange eyes focused on Lu Yin, and he spoke with a hoarse voice. "Are we in the Forsaken Land?"

    "No," Lu Yin said.

    The prince stared at Lu Yin. "How did you manage to cultivate that power?"

    Lu Yin countered, "Do you have to absorb your death energy, or are you able to produce it yourself?"

    The prince stayed silent.

    "You don''t want to answer?" Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold.

    "You have received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance," Crown Prince Gui Qian said. His strange eyes turned golden, and chills ran down Lu Yin''s back. Suddenly, the ck and white mist within his heart twitched, and the prince¡¯s body became shrouded with death energy. There was a pull, and the death energy was consumed by Lu Yin.

    The prince was startled, and he immediately backed up while keeping wary eyes locked onto Lu Yin. There was disbelief and fear hidden deep within his eyes, as well as a strong reluctance.

    Lu Yin moved forward step by step.

 Chapter 1472: Sparring

    Chapter 1472: Sparring

    Crown Prince Gui Qian stepped back once more. "What the hell do you want?"

    "I already asked you a question. Do you absorb your death energy from somewhere else, or do you make it yourself?" Lu Yin asked coldly.

    The prince gritted his teeth. "You have to absorb it. No one can make death energy."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Then where did you absorb it?"

    "Specter Abyss," the prince replied.

    "And outside of Specter Abyss? Is there no other ce in this universe where you can find death energy?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian gave Lu Yin a very odd look. "Seeing as how you¡¯re the God of Death¡¯s heir, and since he was the only person who was ever able to produce death energy, why are you asking me this?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Producing death energy? He was not able to do such a thing.

    "The God of Death is the source of all death energy. It¡¯s not something that naturally exists in the universe, and my n just relies on the death energy that already exists. We¡¯re certainly not the masters of the energy," the prince exined.

    Lu Yin remembered the Fifth Maind¡¯s Specter n, and the same was true of them. The Specter n could transform ordinary cultivators and allow them to absorb death energy. In theory, anyone could absorb death energy, but they would lose control of themselves. The Specter n had been around for eons, and their descendants had grown more and more ustomed to death energy until they became a unique race. The same seemed to be true of the Perennial World¡¯s Specter Abyss.

    It was even possible that Specter Abyss was the Specter n.

    "You should go to Specter Abyss, as you could be the master of Specter Abyss," the prince suddenly suggested. There was a frenzied look in his eyes that made it look like he had just understood something and was getting more and more excited about it.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do you think that I''m stupid? If I go to Specter Abyss, my life or death will be determined by you."

    The prince quickly responded, "You can¡¯t just obtain the God of Death¡¯s inheritance through cultivation. No one can seize that inheritance from you. Since you are the God of Death¡¯s heir, you are the master of my Specter Abyss. We¡¯re the only ones who can help in your cultivation. In the future, you will be a Progenitor just like the God of Death, who was the from the most ancient era of Progenitors. That person was truly an invincible powerhouse, so my Specter Abyss will do our best to help you."

    Lu Yin did not believe this im.

    "Long Qi, believe me! Specter Abyss will truly help you!" the prince urged.

    Lu Yin stared at him. "First, you were wary of me, but now, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯ll do everything possible to help me. Do you really think that I¡¯d believe such a change?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian grew solemn. "I was merely unwilling to see the God of Death¡¯s inheritance that my family has been chasing after for countless years be picked up by an outsider like you. However, the God of Death¡¯s inheritance can¡¯t be stolen. You¡¯re the one who received this chance to be the God of Death¡¯s heir, so there is only one path open to my Specter Abyss: help you be a Progenitor. Once that happens, there will be no one in the entire universe who will be your opponent."

    "I''m a trespasser from the Forsaken Land," Lu Yin argued.

    The prince replied in a loud voice, "My Specter Abyss is feared by everyone in the Perennial World! The four ruling powers suppress us and prevent us from appearing in the open. We are constantly being watched by many Progenitors. Even if we have our own Progenitor, that person is not able to make a move. You¡¯re the only person¡ªthe only one!¡ªwho can lead us out into the open. What of the Forsaken Land? What does that have to do with us? Actually, to a certain extent, we share amon enemy: the four ruling powers.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not believe Crown Prince Gui Qian, and Lu Yin was actually wondering why this person felt that they could trick him with such an unreliable face.

    However, what the prince had said about the God of Death¡¯s inheritance had caused Lu Yin to believe that his God of Death transformation was not truly the God of Death¡¯s inheritance!

    If only the God of Death could create death energy, then what about the death energy that Lu Yin had managed to create by himself? Lu Yin did not continue the conversation with the prince, as he wanted to mull over this new information.

    Instead, Lu Yin went to see Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua Mavis looked up at Lu Yin. "Are we back?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I can¡¯t go back for now since I''m being watched."

    "Were you exposed?" Yuhua Mavis was surprised.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know, but basically, I¡¯ve got some strange old man keeping an eye on me."

    Yuhua Mavis gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Why¡¯d youe looking for me?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯ve broken through and be an Enlighter, and I also opened all three meridian points. I wanted to test things out with you."

    Yuhua Mavis¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You want to fight?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. "Are you certain?"

    Yuhua Mavis snorted derisively, and grass spread out from beneath her feet. It grew quickly and then formed countless fists that fell.

    Lu Yin showed a slight smile. "You should take this seriously. Even I don''t know how strong I¡¯ve be."

    He then waved his hand, and a powerful wind swept out. It sliced through the void and shattered all of the grass fists.

    In front of Lu Yin, Yuhua Mavis threw out a punch. Her eyes had grown heated, and she actually looked desperate. She was feeling quite offended. Lu Yin had be an Enlighter, and he had therefore sought her out to test his strength. He was using her as a scale to measure himself, which felt like he was looking down upon her. Her reflexive reaction had been to retaliate with her full strength.

    Lu Yin raised a hand. He did not use a Vacuum Palm, or even the Oveying Stacks Path. Rather, he merely responded with pure and simple physical strength.

    There was a tremendous boom, and the void twisted as a shockwave spread out. Lu Yin had grabbed a hold of Yuhua¡¯s fist, just as he had done during ZENITH. The difference was that, previously, Lu Yin had also needed to throw Yuhua Mavis after catching her fist, and that was no longer necessary.

    He had firmly grabbed her fist, and she was unable to break free of him. She stomped a bare foot against Lu Yin''s chest in an attempt to pull her fist back in vain. Without any other choice, she gritted her teeth, emitted a green light that formed branches and leaves that covered her entire body, and finally, formed a leaf emblem on her forehead. She had used Infinite Power. The image of a tree appeared behind her body.

    Yuhua Mavis let out a sigh and stomped a bare foot against Lu Yin¡¯s body once more in another attempt to break free. Lu Yin felt the strength of her kick, and ten lined battle force slowly spread across his arms.

    Yuhua Mavis was still unable to break free, and her knee snapped up to strike Lu Yin in the face. He blocked her attack with his left hand and then flicked her knee with a finger. This tiny attack caused Yuhua Mavis¡¯s leg to go numb, and her movements faltered. Lu Yin took advantage of this opportunity to open his hand, and Yuhua Mavis copsed to the ground.

    She stood there, panting heavily as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. When had the gap between them grown so exaggerated?

    During ZENITH, Yuhua Mavis had managed to fight off Lu Yin¡¯s 250 Stack Vacuum Palms by using Infinite Power. Lu Yin¡¯s improvement since then had been simply absurd.

    Even if Lu Yin had not be an Enlighter or opened his three meridian points, his golden battle force alone was enough to create a distinct gap in their power. His breakthrough had amplified that difference to a frightening degree.

    The gap between Lu Yin and Yuhua Mavis had be too wide for her to ovee.

    She was no longer able to put up a defense that could resist his punches, and she could not even endure a single strike. If Lu Yin used 350 Stacks, it would shatter Yuhua Mavis to pieces.

    "Monster." This was the only response that even Yuhua Mavis coulde up with at this moment.

    Lu Yin looked down at his right hand. "You¡¯re really strong."

    Yuhua Mavis frowned. "Are you mocking me?"

    Lu Yin smiled dryly. "Admiring."

    "That¡¯s not what it sounds like," Yuhua Mavis replied, "If we haven¡¯t returned yet, then I¡¯m going to go train."

    Lu Yin felt somewhat torn. He had actually approached Yuhua Mavis with an ulterior motive, which was to take out a loan. She was still a member of the Mavis family, so she should naturally be quite wealthy. However, she seemed quite upset and offended due to his actions just now.

    Lu Yin let out an awkward cough. "Then I''ll stop by to see you next time."

    Yuhua Mavis turned away from Lu Yin, not even wanting to look at him. If she was honest, their brief spar had been quite a blow to her confidence.

    After Lu Yin left, Unseen Light appeared. "That really is a massive gap. Now, even if he doesn¡¯t use that transformation, he could still beat any of the Junior Progenitors."

    Yuhua Mavis casually replied, "Just don¡¯t include him in anyparisons."

    Unseen Light felt that that was only natural. He was rather shocked at Lu Yin¡¯s newfound strength.

    Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain away and brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage. His second innate gift was something that he rarely used, as he could not use it in front of others, especially in the Perennial World.

    Bai Shaohong had instantly confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s identity the moment he had seen the Champions¡¯ Stage. That had made Lu Yin quite confident that this innate gift was the symbol of the Lu family. If he revealed the stage, he would shock the entire universe.

    "With my name, I summon a Champion," Lu Yin whispered. His star energy was sucked out of his body, and Bai Shaohong appeared in front of Lu Yin. The Junior Progenitor quietly stood there, looking exactly the same as he had before his death. However, he possessed no intelligence, and his body was formed from Lu Yin¡¯s star energy. Still, the Champion possessed the same strength as the deceased Junior Progenitor.

    "Go!" Lu Yin ordered. Bai Shaohong¡¯s head snapped up, and he pointed a finger: Celestial Being Shows the Way. Lu Yin also raised a hand, and he flicked a finger. The wind from Lu Yin¡¯s finger shattered Bai Shaohong¡¯s attack, and in response, the Champion pressed a hand down. Clouds appeared in the sky and fell towards the ground. Secret Technique: Cloud Fall.

    Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves plummeted when the secret technique was used. After all, every attack that Bai Shaohong used was powered by Lu Yin¡¯s own star energy.

    The Cloud Fall Secret Technique froze Lu Yin, and the phantom image of the celestial pond appeared behind Bai Shaohong.

    The Champion attacked with another finger attack, but this one waspletely different from the previous one. Lu Yin watched as the water level in the phantom pond dropped at a noticeable rate.

    As that urred, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy dropped.

    Facing a Celestial Being Shows the Way that was reinforced with Bai Shaohong''s visualization method, Lu Yin lifted a hand and retaliated with a Vacuum Palm.

    There was a snort as Bai Shaohong''s finger shattered. The damage spread to his arm, and it eventually spread across half of his body. Even if Lu Yin had been against the original Junior Progenitor, this attack would have been enough to seriously injure Bai Shaohong.

    In this instance, Bai Shaohong looked up and stared at Lu Yin. Lu Yin suddenly saw Ming Yan looking at him with sad eyes. Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and Bai Shaohong took that moment to unleash a Void Rip.

    A ck line swept forward. Lu Yin recited the Stonewall Scriptures to break free of Bai Shaohong''s innate gift, and he threw out another attack, still using the Vacuum Palm.

    During their previous confrontation, Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm had not been powerful enough to overwhelm Bai Shaohong¡¯s Void Rip, but at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s attack twisted the Void Rip before finally tearing it apart. The shockwave proceeded forward and destroyed what was left of Bai Shaohong¡¯s body.

    Complete suppression. That was Lu Yin¡¯s new evaluation of himself against a Junior Progenitor. Even though Lu Yin had only faced a Bai Shaohong who had been summoned by the Champions¡¯ Stage that had no intelligence, there was still a very noticeable gap in strength. Lu Yin believed that he would be able topletely suppress the Junior Progenitor now.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s new level of strength.

    The summoned Champion and the battle had consumed almost a tenth of Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves.

    He did some math. If a full powered Bai Shaohong that used his innate gift, secret techniques, battle techniques, and all his other abilities only drained about a tenth of Lu Yin¡¯s resources, then Lu Yin could simultaneously summon the Giant Emperor and even more.

    Also, this was only taking into ount Lu Yin¡¯s current star energy reserves. As they increased, he would be able to summon more and more Champions.

    It had to be acknowledged that Bai Shaohong had not been an ordinary cultivator. He had actually been second only to Lu Yin within their generation. While Lu Yin did not know how much star energy it would take to summon an Envoy, he had his suspicions. Thus, he felt that he should find an Envoy to be his next Champion.

 Chapter 1473: Unknown Informant

    Chapter 1473: Unknown Informant

    As he looked at his Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin suddenly understood why the Lu family had been the original masters of the Perennial World. If all the members of this family had possessed this particr innate gift, then they would have been terrifying beyond belief. A single family member would have been able to stand against an entire force.

    The scenery changed around Lu Yin, and he returned to reality. He let out a long breath. After this session in the Timestop Space, he had gained a much better understanding of his current strength.

    It appeared that it was no longer reasonable for him topete with his peers.

    Two days passed by in rtive peace, though people continued to apply to join Huaiyuan Gate. Naturally, this led to an improvement of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s forces.

    After these two days, Cai Shu went to go find Lu Yin. "My master has asked that you return to Qing Chen Mountain to assist in the investigation regarding Yun Mubai''s status as a Redback."

    Lu Yin asked, "The Supervisor¡¯s returned?"

    Cai Shuen just snorted before taking out a piece of white paper that he began to fold. Just like when Lu Yin had traveled to Huaiyuan, Cai Shu escorted Lu Yin back to Qing Chen Mountain.

    It might have been because of the level of urgency, but the return trip was noticeably faster than their previous journey.

    Ahead of him, Lu Yin saw the tall mountain. There were countless people trying their best to climb the mountain, hoping to be able to enter Qing Chen¡¯s door.

    Lu Yin had been in a simr situation when he had first left the Great Yu Empire to participate in Astral-10¡¯s entrance exam. Upon arriving at the location of the exam, Lu Yin had been amazed by the number of participants who hade from the Vastdearth Sect, local fments, and even nearby weaves. Countless talented youths had gathered there, and at the time, Lu Yin had seen the best that the Outerverse had to offer.

    It had been a beautiful moment, as no one hated standing at the top.

    "Is the entrance exam for Qing Chen Mountain difficult?" Lu Yin asked, feeling quite curious. This was because not only were there many youths participating, but also quite a few older cultivators.

    Cai Shu smiled. "It all depends on the person. For you, the exam couldn¡¯t be easier, but for others, they¡¯ll never be able to pass the test throughout their entire lives."

    Lu Yin looked down in time just to see an old man vomit blood and fall. His failure was quite tragic.

    "Actually, most of the people you see here are from the Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates. The best way to enter Master¡¯s forces is by obtaining merit points within Humility¡¯s Gate. The other option is to gain Master¡¯s attention through nothing but raw talent. However, those with sufficient talent are usually more interested in joining one of the four ruling powers," Cai Shu said.

    Before long, Lu Yin again saw Qing Chen, to whom he hurriedly bowed. "Your subordinate, Long Qi, Huaiyuan Gate Master, greets Lord Supervisor."

    Qing Chen turned around and smiled at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, you¡¯ve had a breakthrough and be an Enlighter. Very good. Your strength has taken a new leap forward."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Thank you for your praise."

    Qing Chen nodded. "I went to go visit the four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin''s expression remained the same as he waited for Qing Chen''s next words.

    "Regarding your actions during this recent incident, while the results yed out well and no one will cause trouble for you because of them, you were still too reckless in this matter. If word of stellr fluid being transported were to be leaked, there would be disastrous consequences. Did you ever consider how to deal with such a situation? If people had not listened to you and had tried to strike you down immediately, I might not have been able to stop them," Qing Chen exined in a low voice.

    Lu Yin''s eyes remained firm. "Your subordinate did not think about such things. After learning that Yun Mubai was a Redback, all I thought about was how to catch him. Every Redback is a terrible threat to mankind."

    Qing Chen smiled gently. "I know your thoughts, as without such motivations, I would have never made an exception to allow you to be the Huaiyuan Gate Master. However, this incident still needs to be exined to the four ruling powers. It¡¯s not that your actions were wrong, but rather the process you took. That was the reason why I needed to give an exnation. Without it, someone might have eventually dragged out this incident to create a fuss.¡±

    Lu Yin understood what Qing Chen meant. It also was possible that the four ruling powers had not even requested an exnation, but rather that Qing Chen had wanted to offer one.

    A mere Hunter hadprehended secret techniques and also possessed power vessels that were dangerous to Envoys, and more than one at that, a youth who had the courage to make threats with stellr liquid to scheme against the sect master of the Smokecloud Sect¡ªordinary cultivators were not capable of such things. In addition to all that, the question in most people¡¯s minds was about how Long Qi had even known that Yun Mubai was a Redback.

    Previously, Lu Yin hade up with multiple possible answers, but he had never been able to frame a reasonable response. Since Qing Chen had called Lu Yin to Qing Chen Mountain, Lu Yin could not afford to make a mistake with this matter. An unknown source of information was no longer enough to justify his information.

    In the end, Lu Yin had no choice but to trust the old man. That Semi-Progenitor had no reason to harm a youth like Lu Yin. Yun Mubai being a Redback had been an extremely close-kept secret, but the old man had been willing to reveal such a secret to protect Lu Yin from the four ruling powers. If this matter continued to be a problem, then hopefully, the jade pendant that Lu Yin had would be enough to save him.

    Qing Chen stared at Lu Yin. He had to get a clear answer from this child.

    The Supervisor would not have cared if Lu Yin¡¯s source of information had only helped him to capture a few traitors or some unimportant Redbacks, or even the asional important Redback. However, the Sect Master of the Smokecloud Sect had been exposed this time. This changed everything. This person was a Redback who had been hidden even more deeply than the three Guan brothers, especially since the Smokecloud Sect was backed by the four ruling powers.

    It could even be said that Yun Mubai had enjoyed a higher status in the universe than the Guan brothers, but the critical point was that he had been much more important than the Guan brothers. Yun Yun Mubai had definitely been one of the most important Redbacks in the Perennial World.

    Qing Chen had to find out what information source could gather information that was this well hidden so that he could give an exnation to others within Humility¡¯s Gate, and also to the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. This was a difficult matter.

    Qing Chen asked softly, ¡°Is it so difficult to exin?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "The Supervisor has given an order, so this subordinate must obey."

    After speaking, he took out the jade pendant and nervously handed it over to Qing Chen.

    Qing Chen took the piece of jade and examined it. Suddenly, the pendant cracked and opened up a path to the true universe. The image of an old man and an emblem appeared, and Qing Chen''s expression drastically changed in an instant. "A token from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?"

    Lu Yin was shocked. What? This pendant was from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo? Wait, could that old man actually be Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?

    No, wasn¡¯t Kui Luo already dead? Could that old man actually be a disciple or descendant of Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo? But that still did not seem quite right. After all, the old man was a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was quite confused for a while.

    On the other hand, Qing Chen was not confused at all. He stared as the jade pendant broke apart, entered the true universe, and revealed the emblem. That emblem represented Realmless.

    "You¡¯ve been getting your information from Realmless?" Qing Chen said in surprise.

    Lu Yin stayed silent, as he did not know how to answer. Was there a connection between Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo and Realmless?

    "Was Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo a part of Realmless?" Qing Chen asked again.

    Lu Yin still had no idea how to answer, and he secretly cursed that old man for not saying anything.

    However, Qing Chen did not press Lu Yin any further. He saw how the youth hung his head, and the Supervisor assumed that the young man did not dare to admit anything. Qing Chen¡¯s tone of voice grew softer as he said, "Don''t worry. While Realmless is an assassination organization and there is hatred between us and them, we are not mortal enemies. Thus, co-existence is not impossible. You used a token of Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo to extract information from Realmless, which is no crime."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Your subordinate understands."

    Qing Chen sighed. "I never even considered the possibility that Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo might be connected to Realmless, but you were able to get information from them with his token. It would appear that he does not lead Realmless, so it makes sense that you were not able to get too much information from them in the beginning. Redbacks actually usually hire Realmless to assassinate members of my Humility¡¯s Gate, and there are signs of Redbacks within Realmless as well, but we¡¯re lucky to get any information at all about those matters. You are truly fortunate to have gained Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, though it will also bring you much trouble."

    Lu Yin had no desire to continue talking about Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, as Lu Yin was afraid of having his secrets revealed. "Supervisor, if Realmless is able to find Redbacks, then why don¡¯t we just investigate Realmless?"

    Qing Chen felt helpless. "This is something that we have tried to do several times, but Realmless is too secretive. Investigating Realmless is just as difficult as uncovering a Redback. Even after so many years of going over things again and again, it is impossible for us topletely eliminate Realmless. Also, the rtionship between Realmless and the four ruling powers is a bit murky, but the takeaway is that you don¡¯t need to worry much about this.¡±

    Lu Yin spoke up in an angry voice, "Instead of helping humanity work together to defend ourselves, are there actually people in the four ruling powers who work with Realmless? That¡¯s shameful! Those people should be eliminated."

    "Careful," Qing Chen solemnly warned. He looked at Lu Yin''s face that was filled with anger and sadness. "I understand that you¡¯re angry, but there are certain matters that I cannot deal with, so just don¡¯t dwell on it."

    Qing Chen then gave the jade pendant back to Lu Yin while saying, ¡°All you need to do is continue harvesting information from Realmless and expose more Redbacks and traitors for Humility''s Gate. That is enough."

    Lu Yin replied respectfully, "Your subordinate hears his orders."

    Qing Chen let out a sigh of thanks. "While many people will hate you for receiving Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance, and even though you¡¯ve also created a lot of trouble yourself, you have actually gained much from these difficulties, and you have removed many problems for me. I will report this matter to Lord Commander. Long Qi, continue to do well and gain merit, but don¡¯t do anything too outrageous. I cannot help you with the four ruling powers, but you can call me directly if anything happens in the future."

    Lu Yin felt encouraged. "Yes, Supervisor."

    Qing Chen was satisfied. The longer he observed Long Qi, the more satisfied he was with the youth. Everyone who joined Humility¡¯s Gate desired to serve mankind, but often, there were many schemes, and many people were not able to resist certain temptations. Not everyone had Long Qi¡¯s fearlessness.

    Most people, even if they discovered that Yun Mubai was a Redback, wouldck the courage to expose him? Many might even convince themselves that the truth was a lie instead of risking the wrath of the four ruling powers.

    Long Qi was a rare person who was fearless. Qing Chen did not want anything untoward to happen to this child, if possible, but he was also the best option to lure out Shaman God.

    "Long Qi, you must remember to always be careful and to not leave Cai Shu''s protection. I hope that you will not always just be an acting Gate Master, but a true Gate Master in the future. In fact, I even hope for you to take over for me and be the Nine Gates¡¯ Supervisor. Do you understand?¡±

    Qing Chen was speaking from the heart. Lu Yin felt the old man¡¯s sincerity and bowed low. "Your subordinate understands."

    "Very well. Return and get some rest for the time being. Remember, call me directly if anythinges up." Qing Chen patted Lu Yin on the shoulder, which was a very intimate gesture towards a youth. Qing Chen had alreadye to regard Long Qi as one of his own. Qing Chen was actually struggling to endure, as he wanted to ept Long Qi as his own disciple, but he had to wait. After all, Long Qi was still the White Dragon n¡¯s son-inw, which made this a very delicate situation.

    As they returned to Huaiyuan Gate, Lu Yin noticed that Cai Shu''s attitude towards him had changed.

    The Envoy had always been kind to Lu Yin while maintaining a certain distance. This was normal behavior, as they two had not known each other for very long. However, Lu Yin found that this natural distance had now disappeared.

    The most obvious example was that Cai Shu was expressing his personal feelings regarding how the four ruling powers harvested and used stellr liquid.

 Chapter 1474: Dispute

    Chapter 1474: Dispute

    "There have been many debates in the past regarding stellr liquid. Some people believe that it is not only the Mother Tree¡¯s nutrients, but also a shortcut specially provided to humanity to allow us to speed up our cultivation rate. Any Envoy can quickly and easily raise their cultivation level with stellr liquid, and all they need to ovee are their tribtions. However, more people believe that we should rely on ourselves to improve our cultivation and that stellr liquid should not be touched. They im that if too much of it is gathered and used, it will cause the Mother Tree to wither.¡±

    "These two opposing sides have argued over this topic for many, many years, and supporters of both sides still exist now. However, in the past, the Lu family ruled the Perennial World, and their opinion was that stellr liquid could not be touched. No matter how convincing the arguments for the usage of stellr liquid might be, they were all useless. With the Lu family forbidding the use of stellr liquid, no one could touch it and all who did were executed, even Progenitors.¡±

    "However, with the Lu family¡¯s exile, the debate has ended. This is because those who support the use of stellr liquid have started secretly using it. There¡¯s no need for them to argue, as they only need to act on their desires¡­" Cai Shu slowly exined the history and controversy concerning stellr liquid.

    Lu Yin listened in silence. It sounded like most of the people who promoted the use of stellr liquid were a part of the four ruling powers.

    "If the Lu family still reigned, then the four ruling powers would not dare to touch stellr liquid even if their courage was increased a hundredfold," Cai Shumented emotionally.

    It was clear from his tone of voice that Cai Shu was of the opinion that stellr liquid should not be touched or used as it risked destroying the Mother Tree itself.

    "If humans destroy the Mother Tree due to their use of stellr liquid, how is there any difference between us and those parasites in the Lower Realm?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Shu agreed. "Yes. You, Master, and I, as well as most people in this universe, and even the exiled Lu family, all feel this way. The Mother Tree is the foundation of our very universe and humanity itself, but the four ruling powers are killing the Mother Tree by harvesting stellr liquid. They have no right to destroy the very foundation of our existence."

    "And yet, there is no one who can stop them from doing so." Lu Yin smiled wryly.

    Cai Shu fell silent. Then, he replied in aplicated tone, "Actually, there are people who cultivate with stellr liquid simply because theyck strength. They have no desire to kill the Mother Tree. Instead, they simply want to be stronger in order to fight against those monsters. Cultivating with stellr liquid in order to fight off those monsters or relying on the Mother Tree to fight them off are ultimately the two different paths that are at the base of all of these arguments."

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Was the Lu family from back then very powerful?"

    Cai Shu was shocked by the question, and he replied in a somber voice, "One person is as strong as a nation; one person can lord over all¡ªthis is a description of the Lu family. All of the family¡¯s direct descendants deserved this reputation, as the Lu family alone was able to suppress the entire Perennial World, which possessed a level of strength that shocked those monsters."

    "If that¡¯s the case, then why did the four ruling powers exile the Lu family? How did they even pull it off? And why?" Lu Yin was impatient for answers.

    Cai Shu shook his head. "It¡¯s impossible to predict people¡¯s hearts and ambitions, and no one can see through others. Also, the Lu family was always too arrogant."

    After that, the Envoy would say no more.

    Lu Yin did not ask any more questions, as he was afraid that further questions would betray his identity.

    While Cai Shu had not been too open with his words, Lu Yin was still able to sense that the Envoy supported the Lu family. However, the current political climate meant that anyone with a connection to the Lu family would be carefully watched, and no one dared to say too much.

    One person is as strong as a nation; one person can lord over all. Lu Yin hade from another universe, but he had never heard such a phrase used to describe anyone. For this phrase to have beenmon, then just how amazing had the Lu family been? It was clear that this was referencing the Champions'' Stage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lost memories were definitely rted to the Perennial World and the Lu family.

    He clenched his fists tightly. He had to uncover the truth of what had happened back then, as well as who had been the hand in the shadows directing the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    Upon returning to Huaiyuan Gate, there were already people waiting to meet with Lu Yin, even Envoys.

    If Lu Yin had met such people before he had be an Enlighter, he would have been eager to gain such a subordinate, and he definitely would have taken the time to meet with the Envoy, but he no longer felt such pressure. Unless this Envoy was someone with the strength of Long Kui, there was no need to meet with them. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status, would anyone dare to be offended by such rudeness?

    Whenever powerhouses met Lu Yin, they all only wanted to ask him about Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo. But now, Lu Yin had be the curious one. Thus, as soon as Lu Yin returned, he went to find the old man.

    "So? Did things go well?" the old man asked with a smile. He looked very happy.

    Lu Yin replied with a question, "Who is senior? You wouldn¡¯t be Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo himself, right?"

    The old man rolled his eyes. "That guy¡¯s dead. How could anyone stay alive after offending the entire Perennial World?"

    "Then what¡¯s with this jade pendant?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The old man replied. "It''s just a token. Use it."

    "Is senior is someone from Realmless?" Lu Yin stared intently at the old man.

    The old man justughed. "If I was a part of Realmless, you would¡¯ve died a long time ago, kid."

    Lu Yin frowned. What else could he ask?

    The old man interrupted Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts. "Alright, that¡¯s enough questions. This old man¡¯s not even going to answer anything else you ask, I¡¯ll just tell you what I need to when I need to."

    The old man then wrote a name in the air. "Go find this person. He¡¯s a traitor."

    "No."

    The old man gave a strange smile. "You don¡¯t want to go? Okay. Then this old man will go and tell this person that he¡¯s been exposed so that he can escape as soon as possible. Then, there will be rumors of how Gate Master Long allowed a traitor to escape. Maybe he was careless? Could there have been two? Or even three? Qing Chen will definitelye find you at that time, and those who are after you due to your connection to Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo will also find ways to make trouble, not to mention the four ruling powers.

    "Humility''s Gate always rewards those who aplish great deeds, but they also harshly punish anyone who leaks information."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. "How many hidden people could senior know of?"

    "Not too many. Maybe a dozen to twenty."

    Lu Yin was quite surprised, and he blurted out, "You¡¯re not a Redback yourself, right?"

    This was the only exnation he could think of, as how else could this old man know about so many traitors? The other option was that the old man was part of Realmless.

    The old man just rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re just guessing. This old man has been in this universe for so many years. Is it really strange that I managed to find a few traitors with my strength as a Semi-Progenitor? Do you have any idea just how many traitors Qing Chen exposes every year? At least thirty. Do you have any idea just how many traitors there are in this universe?"

    At this moment, the old man suddenly grew serious. "No fewer than a couple thousand."

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched.

    "You know that humanity is in a tough situation. Those monsters are as intelligent as humans if not more, and they have many underhanded means as well. They¡¯re willing to brazenly raise Redbacks and traitors. Honestly, telling you that there are a couple thousand is just the most conservative estimate. After humanity loses to those monsters, I don¡¯t have a clue how many Redbacks and traitors will reveal themselves. Why else do you think Humility''s Gate possesses so much power and is even bold enough to challenge the four ruling powers? Why are there so many powerful Progenitors supporting this organization?¡± the old man challenged.

    Lu Yin remembered the Neohuman Alliance. The Perennial World was not that bad. Redbacks and traitors hid themselves here, as they would absolutely be killed as soon as they were found. However, in the Fifth Maind, those monsters had built up the Neohuman Alliance due to the number of Redbacks and traitors that they had recruited. Not even the Hall of Honor was able to stop the Neohuman Alliance, which was the saddest thing.

    Even though the entire universe treated the Neohuman Alliance as an enemy, and any that were discovered were killed, what did it matter? The Neohuman Alliance still stood strong. Aeturnus Nation might have been destroyed by the Progenitor of Secret Arts, but Lu Yin was fully confident that the Neohuman Alliance would build another Aeturnus Nation soon. It was even possible that they had more than one to begin with.

    "Supervisor Qing Chen arrests no less than thirty traitors a year?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man nodded.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, you¡¯ve been wasting your years if you¡¯ve only exposed a dozen to twenty."

    The old man choked. "This old man is humble! Don¡¯t you understand modesty?"

    "So does senior only want this junior to gain achievements with Humility¡¯s Gate for now?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man arched a brow. "You don''t have to do it¡ªyou can just give it a try. It¡¯s not a big deal, and this old man will just find someone else. As for you, hehe, you can just wait around for Qing Chen to start questioning you. Without this old man¡¯s help, I wonder how you¡¯ll exin yourself to him next time."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He thought for a bit, and then took a step to leave. ¡°It¡¯s time to arrest a traitor."

    "Good luck! By the way, don''t try to be sneaky and run back to that ce where you can return. This old man¡¯s watching you, haha!" The old man smiled, clearly proud of himself.

    Lu Yin no longer cared about the old man¡¯s motivations. There was no downside to arresting traitors, and even if it did turn out to be a problem, Lu Yin could always just summon his master to settle the situation. For this next bit of time, Lu Yin intended to investigate what had happened to the Lu family, but there was something even more important to do; Lu Yin was broke again! And while he was arresting traitors, it should not be too difficult to make some money along the way!

    ***

    Closeby Huaiyuan, and a bit to the east, was a ce called Blue Moon.

    The Middle Realm was massive, and Humility¡¯s Gate had divided the Middle Realm into nine regions overseen by the Nine Gates, but in reality, there was no exclusive jurisdiction within the Middle Realm.

    In the Blue Moon District, there was a family surnamed Shangling.

    On one particr day, a new person had risen to the top of the Shangling n, and the new matriarch was a young woman named Shangling Wan.

    It was normally impossible for such a young woman to be the n matriarch, but the previous patriarch had died while fighting against other families for resources. Thus, Shangling Wan had been forced to take over for the deceased patriarch; otherwise, others would seize the position.

    Shangling Wan was a young woman, and she was not even a Cruiser yet. She could not be considered an elite within her own generation, let alone strong enough to run her n.

    Naturally, she was harassed by the n elders the very day that she took the position of matriarch.

    Shangling Wan had a very ordinary appearance, and she looked like she was nothing more than the daughter of a rich household. This would be fine for a normal family, but it made her look unconvincing as the new matriarch.

    "Matriarch, you and Xiao Tian were childhood sweethearts, and you¡¯ve maintained a good rtionship since then. It''s not cheapening yourself should you choose to marry him," pressed one elder, Elder He.

    Near the elder, there was a pale-faced young man. He had wandering eyes and eyebrows that were even more delicate than a woman¡¯s, which gave him a rather effeminate appearance. His clothes were red, and he was wearing a pair of red boots that were quite eye-catching. His name was He Tian, and he was He Lao¡¯s grandson. The young man was looking at Shangling Wan with a fervent gaze.

    There were countless women, and he had chased skirts ever since he was a child. He did not feel anything for Shangling Wan, but that had all changed after she became the n¡¯s matriarch. He never had savored the taste of a matriarch before.

    He Tian smiled as he heard He Lao¡¯s words, and he spoke up. "Sister Wan, don''t worry. If you marry me, I will treat you well."

    Elder He smiled at her, and then his eyes swept over the others gathered around. The Shangling n¡¯s elders were all present. Under Elder He¡¯s watchful eye, none of the elders dared to say a word. After all, he had the highestbat power of the Shangling n, and it was akin to controlling the entire family.

 Chapter 1475: You Are A Traitor

    Chapter 1475: You Are A Traitor

    Shangling Wan''s expression turned ugly and she turned to look at He Tian. he was already staring at her with eyes that zed with excitement.

    Shangling Wan frowned, and her expression fell. Naturally, she knew about He Tian. If she did marry him, her life would be over. However, if she did not marry him, he would never let her go. This matter would determine whether or not she would be able to maintain control of the Shangling n.

    The more she thought about her situation, the sadder she became and the more helpless she felt. Finally, she closed her eyes and agreed, ¡°Alright."

    Elder He¡¯s smile grew even more radiant.

    He Tian became so excited that he was almost unable to resist taking Shangling Wan away immediately. The matriarch of a n; how exciting!

    Suddenly, the sky trembled. Visible shockwaves swept through the area, and the entire Shangling n felt an overwhelming pressure. For a moment, all of them lost control of the star energy within their bodies. Some people tried to enforce their own control, but they ended up nearly vomiting blood.

    Everyone grew pale. It felt as though the sky itself was copsing upon them.

    The only thing that Shangling Wan felt was infinite fear. Her fingers went white, and she subconsciously nced over at Elder He, only to see that the elder was in the same condition as Shangling Wan. The old man looked terrified.

    The very next instant, the pressure vanished.

    Shangling Wan was soaked through with sweat and she was breathing heavily.

    Elder He let out a sigh of relief and unclenched his fingers. "Everyone, don''t worry. It was just an Envoy passing by. Such a powerhouse won¡¯t cause any trouble for our Shangling n."

    Hearing Elder He¡¯s words allowed everyone to rx.

    "Are you He Yu?" A voice spoke up, startling everyone. They all spun around to stare at the corner where the voice hade from, and they saw a young man sitting there, watching the n¡¯s gathering.

    Shangling Wan was frightened; when had this young man arrived?

    Elder He stared at the young man in shock. Fortunately, the old man¡¯s many years of experience allowed him to react quickly. His mind raced as he slowly stood up. He showed the slightest hint of a smile as he spoke in a respectful tone, "This little one is He Yu. Might I know what young master requires?"

    Others stood up when Elder He rose to his feet. All of them continued to stare at the young man with fear and trepidation.

    This young man was, of course, Lu Yin. The name he had received from the old man had been He Yu.

    "So this is the Shangling n? Looks like the information was right. Take him away," Lu Yin casually ordered.

    Two members of Humility¡¯s Gate entered the door of the room. Both of them were Explorers who had joined Huaiyuan Gate because they idolized Long Qi.

    Dozens of people from Humility¡¯s Gate had surrounded the Shangling n¡¯s residence, and their appearance caused the n members to start to panic.

    Elder He''s expression changed, and he quickly spoke up, "I don''t know how this little old man might have offended the young master? I beg the young master to make my offense known."

    Lu Yin just looked up and responded in a light tone, ¡°You¡¯re a traitor."

    Everyone in the Shangling n was shocked by these words, and Shangling Wan grew pale as she turned to look at Elder He.

    Elder He''s heart sank. He immediately began to argue, "Young master, you can¡¯t be so vicious with your words. Little Yu''er has been part of the Shangling n for hundreds of years, and I have never betrayed humanity. That¡¯s not to mention that Little Yu''er is only an elder of the Shangling n. Even if I wanted to be a traitor, I don¡¯t have the means to do so, as I hold no value. The young master is too naive to try to use this im to use me. Humility''s Gate won¡¯t allow such an usation to pass without evidence."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he suddenly attacked by flicking his finger. The wind from his finger warped the void before striking Elder He straight in the chest. The attack pierced his body and sprayed his blood onto the ground. Elder He''s pupils instantly shrank. He was incapacitated by the first attack! He had been prepared, and yet had not been able to make even a single move before the youth had easily beaten him.

    "I am Long Qi, acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate." Lu Yin stood, his eyes suddenly solemn. "Does my Humility¡¯s Gate need evidence to take action? Take him away."

    Elder He spat out blood and shouted in a hoarse voice, "You¡¯re from Huaiyuan Gate! You have nothing to do with this ce! Gate Master Liu of the Blue Moon Gate won¡¯t let you get away with this."

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the old man. As Elder He¡¯s voice grew more and more distant, Lu Yin turned his attention to Shangling Wan, only to be rather surprised. "Are you the Shangling n¡¯s matriarch?"

    Shangling Wan had not said a single word throughout everything that had happened, as she had not had the courage to do so. The moment that Lu Yin spoke to the young woman, she hurried to bow and replied respectfully, "Yes. This small one is Shangling Wan, matriarch of the Shangling n."

    "At such a young age?" Lu Yin frowned. He had wanted to make some money from this incident, but the matriarch was such a young woman, and also only a Cruiser. It would be inhumane to try to get any money from her.

    A bit disappointed, Lu Yin turned to leave.

    "Young Master, please wait a moment," Shangling Wan suddenly spoke up.

    Lu Yin stopped, rather puzzled.

    Shangling Wan then asked everyone else to leave.

    He Tian started to panic, and he spoke to Shangling Wan, "Matriarch, my grandfather-"

    "Get out!" Shangling Wan shouted.

    He Tian trembled, but did not dare say another word. He had always relied on his grandfather¡¯s strength and position to be able to act and didn''t dare to say more. He has always relied on his grandfather''s power to act without any restraint. He Tian was talented, but he was also known as a little tyrant within the Shangling n. With his grandfather arrested, his support had disappeared. He could already imagine what the future held for him.

    Lu Yin looked at Shangling Wan with interest as he sat back down.

    Shangling Wan asked in a respectful tone, "Young Master, is Elder He really a traitor?"

    "You¡¯re also wanting me to show evidence?" Lu Yin replied.

    Shangling Wan quickly denied the possibility, "I would not dare. It¡¯s only that Elder He is my Shangling n¡¯s most powerful expert, and his existence is what prevents the nearby families from being bold enough to attack us. My father was killed in a surprise attack due to Elder He¡¯s temporary absence. If I also end up being killed, my Shangling n will likely not be able to survive."

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone remained light, "None of this has anything to do with me."

    Shangling Wan continued to speak respectfully, "Young master has made great contributions to humanity by capturing traitors, and this is naturally the most important thing. My Shangling n has nothing to do with this, so all we can do is donate some resources to express our feelings.

    "Could you wait for a moment, young master?"

    Lu Yin grew emotional. Could things really work out so well? Freely offered resources? After thinking for a moment, he tipped back his head and closed his eyes to rest.

    Shangling Wan''s eyes lit up, and she quickly moved out to gather some resources.

    She soon returned to see Lu Yin still resting and let out a sigh of relief. She ced ten cosmic rings on the table. "Thank you, Young Master, for capturing traitors and Redbacks to protect mankind. These gifts show the good will of my Shangling n. I hope these please the young master."

    Lu Yin nced at what had been delivered and saw that he had been given a few hundred million star essence, which was an impressive sum. He remembered that the ze Realm had only possessed aparable amount of resources, while the Shangling n did not even have any Envoys. The two could notpare in power, and gathering so much money had likely forced the n into poverty.

    "The Shangling n has a good heart. Not bad. Not bad," Lu Yin praised. "I will be sure to tell you what happens."

    Shangling Wan remained constantly very respectful. "This is nothing much, but might it be possible for my Shangling n to publicly im to have discovered something wrong with Elder He and that we took the initiative to contact Young Master toe and arrest him?"

    Lu Yin stared at Shangling Wan in amazement. This woman was very smart. She was intending to use Lu Yin¡¯s name to intimidate the family members, which would be much more effective than Elder He¡¯s presence. People would understand that the Shangling n had discovered something wrong, and yet instead of contacting the local Blue Moon Gate, they had reached out to the distant Huaiyuan Gate? There could only be one reason for doing so: the Shangling family had an acquaintance within Huaiyuan Gate, or at least someone that they were familiar with.

    The deterrence of this understanding would be powerful enough that not one of the neighboring ns would dare offend the Shangling n.

    Offering up a few hundred million star essence to ensure the n¡¯s safety was certainly a cost-effective investment.

    While their matriarch was a very young woman, the Shangling n was still a family of cultivators, and they were not stupid and had some level of ability. The resources avable to such a family could notpare to what ordinary people could ess.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I like dealing with smart people. Yes, but don¡¯t say too much, or else you¡¯ll face even greater trouble."

    With that said, Lu Yin¡¯s body disappeared.

    Lu Yin himself was no threat, but if Shangling Wan made too much of the matter, outsiders might think that there was a close connection between the two, and that would be dangerous for the young woman. Many people would move to make trouble for the Shangling n, and none would be individuals the n could stand up to.

    Seeing the empty table, Shangling Wan blew out a long breath and smiled. With this, she would have enough time to develop her family, or at the very least, preserve her n. She no longer needed to marry that beast He Tian and suffer from Elder He¡¯s oppression. This had truly been her lucky day.

    There were times that a single thought could trigger a great number of events. If Shangling Wan had not specifically asked Lu Yin to wait, her Shangling n would never have been able to endure the outside forces, and the neighboring families would have devoured the n. Resources could be regathered, but there would be nothing left at all if the n disappeared.

    The Shangling n alone had been able to give Lu Yin hundreds of millions of star essence, which left Lu Yin looking forward to his next arrests.

    However, he was also aware that the n had emptied their pockets to the point of exhausting all savings, and only by doing so had they managed to deliver such a sum. He would likely not be able to gain an equivalent amount from the next traitors he arrested, though it would all depend on whether the traitors belonged torge families or not.

    While not many people in the outside world learned of Lu Yin¡¯s most recent activities, those within Humility''s Gate all knew that he had arrested another traitor.

    As Lu Yin made his way back to Huaiyuan Gate with Elder He, a man emerged from the void and blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin stepped forward as soon as he saw who was before him. "So it¡¯s Gate Master Liu. We meet again."

    Lu Yin had been stopped by Liu Zhan, the Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Blue Moon Gate. This man was an Envoy, as well as a member of the Liu family which guarded the Sword Monument.

    Liu Zhan was a serious person, and he had not said a single word when first meeting Lu Yin when Lu Yin had been on Qing Chen Mountain.

    "Gate Master Long, are you certain this person is a traitor?" Liu Zhan looked past Lu Yin at the captive Elder He.

    Elder He spoke up in a hoarse voice and yelled, "Gate Master Liu, I''m being framed! This person has no evidence against me! I''m really being framed! I''m not a traitor."

    Lu Yin responded in a serious manner, "Absolutely certain."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous!" Elder He screamed.

    Liu Zhan stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t actually care whether or not he¡¯s a traitor, but Gate Master Long, if you¡¯re making an arrest outside of your jurisdiction, shouldn¡¯t you at least speak to me first?"

    Lu Yin immediately apologized, "I was inconsiderate and rash. If I move to arrest someone in your territory again, I¡¯ll make sure to speak to you first."

    Liu Zhan nodded and then stepped into the true universe and left.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised; he left just like that? Lu Yin had believed that Liu Zhan had appeared to make things difficult for Lu Yin, and the young man had even been ready to call Qing Chen, but Lu Yin had never expected the Envoy to leave so quickly. He had just wanted to state a simple request?

    Elder He was stunned. To his knowledge, Lu Yin had crossed into another district to arrest the old man, which was something that should have offended Liu Zhan. The two should have fought each other both publicly and through hidden means, and Elder He could have benefited from such a conflict. It was frowned upon to arrest someone in another¡¯s district, especially without evidence, right?

    Suddenly, Elder He remembered how the outside world viewed Humility''s Gate: extremely protective of their own. That was it, protective of their own. Elder He started to grow desperate when he realized that these people did not care about him at all.

 Chapter 1476: Seed Garden

    Chapter 1476: Seed Garden

    Lu Yin had quite a good impression of Liu Zhan. Was everyone in the Liu family like this Gate Master? Did they all focus entirely on pursuing their goals and ignore plots and schemes?

    Elder He was taken back to Huaiyuan Gate, and he confessed to everything within less than a day.

    It really had been pointless for him to remain within the Shangling n, but the Mother Tree was home to too many traitors and Redbacks. The moment something big happened, such hidden dangers would prove quite troublesome.

    Lu Yin had arrested Elder He, and everything went smoothly.

    The old man again found Lu Yin, and gave him another name. Lu Yin took a day to rest, and then went out to arrest the traitor.

    Five days passed, and Lu Yin escorted another traitor to Huaiyuan Gate. This person had also been found within the Blue Moon District, but Lu Yin had given a warning to Liu Zhan, though the Gate Master had not given any response beyond a polite hello.

    From the family of the second traitor, Lu Yin received more than 30 million star essence, which was not very much. This time he had been given the money to deliberately not announce the traitor¡¯s affiliation. It would be possible for people to find out through an investigation, the Humility¡¯s Gate would not publicize the matter, which saved the family¡¯s reputation.

    The old man immediately gave Lu Yin another name upon his return, and Lu Yin continued to arrest one traitor after another. Over the course of a month, Lu Yin arrested more than ten traitors, and all of them were from near Huaiyuan Gate. Lu Yin¡¯s sess created quite a stir within Humility¡¯s Gate, but no one pressed the matter of how Lu Yin had learned of the traitors, and Qing Chen helped suppress people¡¯s curiosity.

    At the same time, Qing Chen encouraged Lu Yin and reminded Cai Shu to protect the youth.

    After arresting so many traitors, Lu Yin had managed to collect more than 400 million star essence, which was not bad at all.

    "Hey kid, I heard that you¡¯ve been epting people''s money, that right?" One night, as light shone through the water above Huaiyuan Gate and illuminated Huaiyuan Gate beautifully, the old man arrived in Lu Yin¡¯s quarters. There was a strange gleam in the old man¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin remainedpletely calm. "That¡¯s not wrong. I do want money."

    The old man carefully observed Lu Yin, amazed at this youth. "You should be the first member of Humility¡¯s Gate from the time of it¡¯s founding to use arrests to collect money. Qing Chen hasn¡¯t said anything?"

    "Not that I know," Lu Yin said. He gave the old man an odd look. "How did you find out about that?"

    The old man drew himself up proudly. "There¡¯s nothing that this universe can hide from this old man! Still, are you that broke?"

    Lu Yin nodded seriously. "I need a lot."

    "Why do you need so much money?" The old man had be very curious.

    Lu Yin fell silent. He caught himself making more and more mistakes when speaking to this old man. There was no way that the old man would be able to guess that Lu Yin needed star essence for his innate gift, but still, Lu Yin preferred the safety of silence.

    "Fine, don¡¯t tell this old man. I found a big arrest for you: Seed Garden, at the Nong family¡¯s ancestral home," the old manmented.

    Lu Yin was shocked. "There¡¯s a traitor within the Nong family?"

    The old man smiled. "There¡¯s more than one."

    Lu Yin became excited. This would be a really big deal. The Nong family was a power that was second only to the four ruling powers.

    "Tell me," Lu Yin said.

    The old man waspletely unconcerned, and simply gave Lu Yin four names, which left Lu Yin speechless. "There¡¯re actually four traitors within the Nong family?"

    The old man replied, "That¡¯s pretty normal. Don¡¯t you think that the Nong family is pretty weird?"

    Lu Yin remembered the strange clothes that Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie had worn, as well as their odd behavior. Even their battle techniques had revealed an incredibly entric background.

    "The Nong family is unique in the Perennial World, and no one dares to go up against them. Even the four ruling powers will make sure to show respect to the Nong family, and their entricities have even given rise to Progenitors. There are many people who are curious about the family, both openly and secretly. Many experts have been sent to investigate the Nong family, and even those monsters have sent people. Having four traitors within their numbers is actually pretty good. It wasn¡¯t that long ago that the Nong family discovered more than ten traitors on their own," the old man exined.

    Lu Yin understood. The Nong family was viewed as a treasure, and they lured in countless people into their territory to investigate them.

    "Both the Nong family and the Liu family try to deal with traitors on their own and avoid the need for Humility¡¯s Gate to interfere. You had to expose a traitor within the Liu n in order toplete a mission for the Fourteenth Gate, but did you actually arrest that person?" the old man continued.

    Lu Yin knew that the old man was referring to Liu Ke. After Liu Ke had been exposed, he had been instantly killed by the Liu n¡¯s elders, which had made it impossible for Lu Yin to arrest the traitor.

    "Reputation is everything for such organizations, so even if they do find a traitor, they¡¯ll deal with the mess internally in order to prevent outsiders from learning of their dirtyundry. This should let you understand how big a deal these arrests will be," the old man stated proudly.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Nong Lie once invited me to visit Seed Garden, and I received another invitation after exposing Yun Mubai. Looks like it''s time for a visit."

    The old man suddenly grew serious. "Don''t waste your time while visiting Seed Garden. This old man¡¯s going to remind you again that there are many people who want to uncover the Nong family¡¯s secrets, and that should show you how important Seed Garden is. Keep an eye on things, and you just might find out why they¡¯re so important, haha."

    The old man then left.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Could the old man have been waiting for Lu Yin to go to Seed Garden? No, that should not be the case, as the old man would then have pushed Lu Yin in that direction earlier. He would not have waited so long.

    Regardless, Lu Yin needed to pay a visit to the Nong family.

    Seed Garden was not like the small families that Lu Yin had visited before to make arrests. After deciding to go to Seed Garden, Lu Yin immediately contacted the Nong family. When Lu Yin had first been invited, he had been given Nong Lie¡¯s contact information. It was more convenient since they were both from the same generation.

    Lu Yin spoke with Nong Lie, and the very next day, he led Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, and Wang Dashuai towards Seed Garden while escorted by Cai Shu.

    Seed Gardeny further away from Huaiyuan Gate than Qing Chen Mountain, so it took the youths nearly five days of travel toplete the journey.

    During their travel, Lu Yin again say Liu Ye and Fei Hua, which left him rather speechless. He did not know what the two wanted to ask him, but they were certainly persistent. Lu Yin ignored the two powerhouses, and it was clear that they were wary of his identity, as they did not approach.

    Lu Yin realized it was bing more and more difficult for him to return to the Fifth Maind. On top of Cai Shu, Lu Yin also had Liu Ye and Fei Hua watching him, not to mention some weirdo Semi-Progenitor. Lu Yin came down with a migraine. It was starting to feel like he would need to rely on Mister Mu in order to return.

    Before visiting, Lu Yin had held various assumptions about Seed Garden. It had naturally been impossible for him to guess that the name came from the environment. The name sounded like arge garden or nursery.

    However, upon arrival, Lu Yin felt that he had been too naive. Seed garden really was a farm.

    He came upon a vast stretch of farnd that spread out into the distance. There were many people working thend, but every single one of them was a cultivator.

    He saw fish ponds off in the distance, and his eyes were even able to catch the sight of distant wheat fields. Seed Garden really was a farm.

    "Each time I see Seed Garden, I feel rxed and happy." The fatty let out a sigh. He sounded as though he was feeling quiteplicated emotions.

    "You¡¯ve been here before?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Dashuai replied, "I have followed my Junior Progenitor here once a bit before the Yuanlun Festival. Sanniang has a good rtionship with our Junior Progenitor, and she invited Wang Su to nt her own nts."

    "nt her own nt?" Lu Yin felt confused.

    The fatty exined, "Seed Garden¡¯s cultivators hold fast to a theory of the earth. They believe that every creature that is born from the earth should cultivate, work, rest, and even eat through their ownbors. They im that this allows a person to return close to the source.

    ¡°While it sounds quite reasonable, no one believes the theory except for Seed Garden¡¯s people. Still, Seed Garden has a Progenitor. Progenitors are umon, and countless people chase after the goal of bing one for their entire lives chasing after the opportunities necessary to be a Progenitor. While people don¡¯t ept Seed Garden¡¯s beliefs, no one can deny that they have a Progenitor.

    "Seed Garden¡¯s approved guests are allowed to nt their own nts here, and that nt will have its own energy. It¡¯s said that you can feel the earth¡¯s source through that nt, which can allow a person to get closer to the Progenitor realm. The Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor has her own nt here, as do the other Junior Progenitors. Since you¡¯ve been given an invitation, I bet you¡¯ll also be given the same opportunity."

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such information. He was already close to the ground, so he moved down andnded on the soil. He looked around at the cultivators working in all of the nearby fields. It was clear that all of these people believed in the theory that Seed Garden promoted.

    Nong Lie approached from the distance. He was alone, covered in sweat, and carrying a hoe.

    Typically, this was a very rude way to greet an invited guest, but everyone was aware of Seed Garden¡¯s peculiarities, so no one was offended.

    "Brother Long Qi, you¡¯re here, haha! I knew you¡¯de visit my Seed Garden." Nong Lie appeared to be quite excited.

    Lu Yin felt a bit guilty facing Nong Lie. After all, Lu Yin had poisoned Nong Lie on the Junior Progenitor. "Brother Nong Lie, it¡¯s been quite a while."

    Nong Lie smiled. "Even though we haven¡¯t seen each other, I¡¯ve heard quite a bit about you, Brother Long Qi. You¡¯ve arrested so many traitors recently, which is amazing. You have Nong Lie¡¯s admiration, haha."

    Lu Yin and Nong Lie exchanged a few more niceties before Nong Lie escorted the youths into Seed Garden.

    Seed Garden was a ce that was not concerned with etiquette as much as other powers. They had their own etiquette, which amounted to any respected guest being allowed to enter the fields.

    Lu Yin soon stood in a field, holding a hoe with a nk look on his face. Behind him, Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, and Wang Dashuai all held hoes as well. All of them were being treated with respect.

    There were many cultivators all across Seed Garden who were fastidiously tilling the ground. There was a flock of birds flying through the sky, ying and releasing pleasant cries. It was a harmonious scene.

    "Com¡¯on, Brother Long Qi! I''ll teach you!" Nong Lie raised his hoe and mmed it violently into the ground. A small section of the field was loosened up.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard when he mmed his own hoe into the ground. It was so hard! It did not appear like Lu Yin used as much strength as Nong Lie, yet arge section of the field was loosened up.

    Nong Lie was surprised. "Brother Long Qi is really strong. It shows that you absorbed dragon saliva and opened your lower meridian point. That was amazing."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had actually not even used a fifth of his true strength.

    "Is Brother Long Qi surprised by how my Nong family treats our guests?" Nong Lie asked with a smile. He nced over at Shang Qing and the others. He did not underestimate Shang Qing in particr. Nong Lie understood how difficult it must have been for Shang Qing to overpower all of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s youths in order to earn a spot on the team that entered the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin gripped his hoe. "It''s rather unique."

    Nong Lie smiled. "Cultivating is like plowing the field; there¡¯s no end to it. Even after you¡¯ve finished preparing an entire field, there will be another one off in the distance, and then yet another one after that. Cultivating through farming is not as rigid as other methods. This way of doing things can bring us closer to thend while also opening our minds.¡±

 Chapter 1477: Lotus Vine Tree And A Blade Of Grass

    Chapter 1477: Lotus Vine Tree And A de Of Grass

    Lu Yin thought for a while on Nong Lie¡¯s words. They seemed to be urate. "The members of the Nong family have always been cheerful, at least as far as I have seen."

    "Haha! Alright, just swing the hoe twice. If you''re interested, you cane back here after you visit the rest of Seed Garden. There''s no time limit." Nong Lie smiled. He removed the white cloth that covered his hair and wiped the sweat from his face and shoulders. He was sweating profusely.

    Shang Qing calmly lowered his hoe, doing so without even wrinkling his clothes. Liu Tianmu had a calm expression, and she held the hoe as if it were a sword.

    The fatty leaned over to Nong Lie. His eyes were sparkling and he had a big smile on his face. ¡°Bro, can I get my own nt to raise here?"

    Nong Lie shrugged. "I¡¯m sorry, but only Brother Long Qi is allowed to do that. He was the one who was invited."

    At this point, Nong Lie returned his attention to Lu Yin. "Brother Long Qi, do you want to nt your own nt?"

    Lu Yin saw the fatty throw him a wink, and Lu Yin smiled and nodded to Nong Lie. "Thank you, Brother Nong Lie."

    "Let''s go. I''ll show you around Seed Garden," Nong Lie offered with a smile.

    Seed Garden was massive, and the atmosphere everywhere seemed idyllic. Many people lived on the farms, and most of them were actually ordinary people. Thend that they passed over was not something that should be cultivated by ordinary people.

    "The normal people havend that they can tend, while the cultivators havend that they can care for. The two types ofnd do not border each other," Nong Lie exined.

    There was a gathering of strange creatures nearby that looked at Lu Yin and the others with evident curiosity.

    Lu Yin grew more curious once he noticed the creatures. There was a walking tree root that had grass on its head while also having eyes and noses. Another was a walking fish, while another had its back turned to them. It had one of its branches shaped as teapot and was pouring tea out from it.

    Lu Yin was not the only one taken aback at the sight, as Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu were also stunned.

    Wang Dashuai whispered, "There are too many different weird creatures in Seed Garden. I don¡¯t know how they¡¯re raised."

    Nong Lie spoke up, "My Seed Garden epts all living things, no matter if they are creatures or nts. All are wee toe and settle in Seed Garden. Over time, many strange creatures havee to call this ce home. Many of the creatures here would be treated as toys or pets in the outside world, and they would have no freedom. This ce is their paradise."

    Lu Yin vaguely understood the meaning of the name of the ce: Seed Garden. This was a ce that epted the seeds of all things. Suddenly, he remembered Astral-10, and Boundless. The mad headmaster had once told Lu Yin that Boundless held the responsibility of delivering an inheritance and to preserve seeds. Seed Garden seemed to carry a simr purpose.

    The passed by many more farms, and Nong Lie led them past fields of flowers and ponds full of fish, and many other sights that normal practitioners were not able to see.

    "Up in front is the wheat field. Look, isn''t it beautiful?" Nong Lie introduced.

    Lu Yin and the others looked up ahead, and sure enough, there were endless waves of golden ears of wheat that were very beautiful. The golden waves formed and rippled from the blowing wind.

    "We can only look at the wheat field from a distance. Do your best to not get close," Nong Lie warned.

    "Why?" the fatty asked out of reflex.

    Nong Lie exined, "Strange circles often appear in the wheat field, and if you enter one, you can be trapped and find it difficult to escape. I got trapped in one once as a child, and I had to ask my elders to get me out."

    Weird circles? Lu Yin looked into the depths of the wheat field, Are there really things like that? Huh? Who¡¯s that?

    Lu Yin found himself staring at a familiar back. There was a woman who was facing away from Lu Yin and the others, but her body was surrounded by stars: Cosmic Art.

    "So why is someone out there?" Wang Dashuai had also seen the woman, and he had to ask for rification.

    Nong Lie shrugged. "Someone was unlucky enough to get trapped. My family¡¯s elders have repeatedly warned people to avoid the wheat field, so they¡¯ll leave her there for a while as a punishment."

    Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu also noticed the woman stuck in the wheat field, and they also saw that she used Cosmic Art, which left them speechless for a while.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Qiu Shi was truly unlucky. He believed that she must have fallen into one of the wheat field¡¯s strange circles when she had first entered the Perennial World, and she had not yet been able to leave. It was actually quite funny..

    Lu Yin had no intention of trying to save Qiu Shi, as he did not have much influence in the Nong family.

    "Once past the wheat field, there¡¯s a separate garden, which is where the nts Brother Wang mentioned are found. That is the ce where you can grow your own nt. Brother Long, here." Nong Lie handed Lu Yin a seed. "This all-growing seed can give birth to a million different species of nt, and each person grows a different nt, just as each person themselves is different. Some people have grown trees shaped like a decagon that are tough and tall. Some people have grown nts that can be used as medicinal materials and that are also a beautiful sight by themselves. Others have grown tall, lush trees that tower above all others. Who knows what Brother Long will grow."

    Lu Yin took the seed. All-growing seed? Each person grows a different nt?

    They gradually moved away from the wheat field and approached the inner region of Seed Garden. Not everyone was allowed ess to this region of Seed Garden. There were Seed Garden powerhouses keeping watch over the area, and Lu Yin even noticed two Envoys.

    The fact that two Envoys stood guard over a ce amply demonstrated the importance Seed Garden attached to this particr ce.

    "Junior family member Nong Lie is to take Long Qi into Seed Garden. Please allow us to pass." Nong Lie bowed in a respectful manner outside the region. He did not dare act presumptuously in this ce.

    One of the Envoy guards replied, Permission granted."

    Nong Lie bowed a second time, and then gestured to Lu Yin for them to enter. Nong Lie then turned towards Shang Qing and the others. "Please wait here. Only invited individuals are allowed to enter this section of Seed Garden."

    Wang Dashuai was a bit upset. "I really want to go in and look around. There are nts in there that were nted by Progenitors!"

    Nong Lie smiled. "You have a chance to enter in the future.¡±

    He then entered the garden with Lu Yin.

    Seed Garden covered a vast area, and it was divided into many regions.

    "Each nt will be arranged with other simr nts after it sprouts, and my Nong family will arrange a separate sourcebox array for each nt. This is also a matter of our respect towards those who nt each of these seeds," said Nong Lie.

    "Seed Garden has been around for so many years that this isted region must be massive," Lu Yinmented as he looked around with great interest.

    "That''s actually not the case. After all, each nt is a different size. There are some that are veryrge, but others that are very small. Also, some nts will be transnted elsewhere after their cultivator passes away," Nong Lie exined.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "What is that?" He saw a small bit of grass that swayed in the breeze. It only covered a very small area, but there was a certain radiance around it that clearly belonged to a sourcebox array.

    Nong Lie replied, "Fox-Ear Grass. It¡¯s a verymon and very resilient nt. This one was nted by a well-respected teacher from the Virtue Archives. Although that teacher had died right after bing an Envoy, he had a respectable character, which was why my Nong family invited here to nt a seed.¡±

    Lu Yin grunted in response and quickly pointed elsewhere. ¡°What¡¯s that?"

    "That''s Blotter. It¡¯s a noble flower. It will stain the soil around it white, and it will not integrate with the rest of the world. That one was nted by a senior from here in the Middle Realm who survived three tribtions. Like this Bai Tuo, he left no stains on the world."

    "What about that?"

    "That¡¯s a radish tree. It¡¯s very aggressive and domineering nt. It was nted by a senior who fought on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. That senior fought for thousands of years and contributed greatly to the survival of this universe. I respect him as much as my Nong family."

    ¡­

    As they walked along, Lu Yin saw countless nts, and he would asionally ask about them. Nong Lie knew about all of them. He could tell Lu Yin who had nted each seed and what they had done to earn the Nong family¡¯s respect. Strength was not enough to give one the qualifications to nt a seed in this ce.

    "For example, there¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor by the name of Bai Laogui from the Celestial Frost Sect. He¡¯s visited Seed Garden multiple times, always hoping to be able to nt his own nt here in Seed Garden, yet he has always been turned down by my family. He has a personality that my family does not respect at all." Nong Lie showed incredible self-confidence; he had just insulted a Semi-Progenitor, and one from the Celestial Frost Sect at that. This demonstrated the confidence of the Nong family.

    Lu Yin sighed in admiration. They walked further along and reached a ce with no nts aside from arge tree that stood some distance away.

    This tree was thergest nt Lu Yin had seen since entering this section of Seed Garden, and he was surprised to see it. "Who nted that?"

    Nong Lie''s expression fell. He stared at the giant tree with indescribable resentment and helplessness filling his eyes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity increased. "Brother Nong Lie?"

    Nong Lie blew out a long breath. "Bai Xian''er."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Bai Xian''er. It was this name again. Other people referred to her as an overlord. She was seen as a legendary figure, but Lu Yin did not actually know much about her. He had heard a lot about her, and yet had not really heard anything at all. Anytime that people mentioned Bai Xian¡¯er, no matter if it was good or bad, there was always a certain, invariable reaction: awe.

    The woman filled countless people in the Perennial World with absolute awe.

    Even in Nong Lie¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin could see awe and powerlessness.

    "Brother Long Qi, what do you see?" Nong Lie asked.

    "A big tree."

    Nong Lie pointed towards the top of the tree.

    Lu Yin looked up in surprise and saw that there was a lotus flower at the very top of the tree. No, it did not seem to be a lotus, but maybe a vine? Something else? "Brother Nong Lie, what is that?"

    "It¡¯s a lotus vine. It¡¯s an extremely domineering nt. From the moment that these seeds were developed and nted, not one person ever managed to grow this kind of nt until Bai Xian''er. She¡¯s the only person ever. Look around. Do you see even a single other nt within several miles?" Nong Lie asked .

    Lu Yin took a look, but sure enough, there were no nts of any kind near the massive tree. This was atplete odds with the standard scenery Lu Yin had witnessed in Seed Garden thus far.

    "The tree in front of us with the lotus vines is known as a lotus vine tree. The tree is already very oppressive on its own, as it absorbs all of the nutrients from the nearby soil. As for the lotus vine, it wraps around the big tree and suppresses the tree while absorbing the tree¡¯s nutrients. It¡¯s one phase after another of pure and unfettered domination. The meaning is readily apparent, and this is what Bai Xian''er nted. This nt has the exact same character as her," Nong Lie said solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked up ahead. This nt could actually be viewed as the master of Seed Garden. This vine had actually cultivated a massive tree, only to then absorb the nutrients gathered by the tree. This sort of behavior reminded Lu Yin of poisonous snakes. No, this was even more insidious than a venomous serpent. This was horrifyingly domineering.

    "Brother Nong Lie doesn''t seem to care much for Bai Xian''er. Doesn¡¯t she deserve our respect?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Lie sneered. "Her? She¡¯s nothing but a clown sitting up on the clouds."

    "Why was she allowed to nt a seed here in Seed Garden? Does the Nong family respect her so much?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Nong Lie shook his head. "Don''t mention her anymore, Brother Long Qi. Let¡¯s keep going."

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more questions, but did not want to force the matter due to Nong Lie¡¯s reaction.

    They walked past the lotus vine, and just as Nong Lie had said, there were no other nts for miles. Eh? No, was that a de of grass? Lu Yin was surprised to find that there really was a tiny bit of perfectly ordinary grass that looked exactly the same as what people carelessly trod upon as they walked.

 Chapter 1478: Thriving

    Chapter 1478: Thriving

    Lu Yin froze for a moment after catching sight of that de of grass. A fragmented memory came to surface immediately; it was a pair of hands that stretched out to nt one of the seeds and watered it. After that, a beautiful, pale hand reached out to hand that pair of hands a piece of silk handkerchief. The cloth was rather exquisite with images of clouds on it.

    Lu Yin suddenly snapped back to the present; what had that been? An illusion? No. A memory? Lu Yin carefully reviewed what he had just seen, but he could find nothing at all from before or after that brief image.

    "Brother Long Qi, what''s wrong?" Nong Lie asked.

    Lu Yin pointed at the small bit of grass. "What is that?"

    Nong Lie''s expression changed a bit. "That¡¯s another nt that was grown by an invited guest."

    "Who?" Lu Yin asked, as he stared at Nong Lie.

    Nong Lie shook his head. "I can''t say. That matter is taboo for my Nong family."

    Lu Yin turned back and continued staring at the de of grass. It looked perfectly ordinary, and if it were ced anywhere else, it would never attract the slightest attention. However, given it¡¯s location in Seed Garden¡¯s selective garden and growing close to the tree lotus vine, there was something special about this grass.

    "Why can the grass survive so close to the tree lotus vine?" Lu Yin asked, as this seemed strange.

    Nong Lie¡¯s smile turned bitter. "Don''t ask me. I don''t know. Anyways, after Bai Xian''er nted that tree lotus vine, all of the nearby nts withered, even the ones that were nted by powerful Progenitors. The only exception was that bit of grass which has shown no problems and has actually thrived."

    "Thrived?" Lu Yin blinked. The de of grass was no bigger than a person¡¯s palm; how could that be considered thriving?

    "Before the tree lotus vine started growing, the de of grass was no bigger than a finger and it didn''t grow beyond that. After the tree lotus vine sprouted and forcibly absorbed all of the nutrients from the soil, that¡¯s when the grass started to grow. I guess I should say that it¡¯s stealing the lotus vine¡¯s nutrients from the tree," Nong Lie spoke in an odd tone.

    Lu Yin found the entire situation rather amusing; a bit of what appeared to be the mostmon sort of grass was stealing nutrients from the overbearing tree lotus vine. This was an interesting situation.

    Lu Yin felt that the image he had just seen was from his own lost memories, so could he have been the one to nt that bit of grass? Lu Yin pondered for a bit before speaking up, "Brother Nong Lie, can someone nt a second seed if they¡¯ve already nted one before?"

    Nong Lie smiled as he answered, "No one¡¯s allowed to nt a second seed, and doing so would have no meaning since a second seed would sprout the exact same nt as the first seed."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, and his eyes flickered as he nodded.

    "Brother Long Qi, let''s go. We¡¯re close to the ce where you can grow your nt," Nong Lie encouraged.

    Lu Yin nodded again and followed Nong Lie¡¯s lead.

    They did not travel very far when Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Brother Nong Lie, do you happen to know where Chi Shui is?"

    Nong Lie was caught off guard. "Brother Long Qi knows Chi Shui?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course. He¡¯s the reason I¡¯m here."

    After a moment of confusion, Nong Lie seemed to remember something. His face grew sullen as he stared at Lu Yin. "You aren¡¯t here because of our invitation, but because of a mission."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I first wanted to nt a seed before bringing this matter up, but I¡¯m afraid Chi Shui will escape once he receives word that I¡¯m here, so I don¡¯t see another choice."

    "Chi Shui is a traitor?" Nong Lie was shocked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Both Chi Shui and Master Shi are traitors."

    "Impossible! Master Shi has been part of my Seed Garden for hundreds of years. All he cares about is spending every day teaching others how to till the soil. He¡¯s never done anything else, and he¡¯s never even left Seed Garden! How could he be a traitor?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Whether this is true or not, you¡¯ll know for yourself shortly. However, I, Long Qi, am almost never wrong about those I arrest."

    Nong Lie and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment, and then Nong Lie quickly called someone.

    After a moment, he looked back at Lu Yin. "Father wants to see you. He¡¯s in a field with Master Shi."

    Lu Yin nodded. The two youths did not continue walking through the isted garden, and Lu Yin deliberately avoided nting a seed, as he was afraid that the image of nting the grass that he had seen had been his own memory. There would be big problems if his seed grew that same grass.

    It looked like Lu Yin would need to investigate on his own to discover who had nted that de of grass, and he might even uncover his own identity.

    Lu Yin had yet to gain any understanding of his true identity, so he suppressed his anxiousness and followed Nong Lie out of the garden.

    "Bro, what did you grow?" Wang Dashuai spoke up as soon as he saw Lu Yin, as the fatty was very curious.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was somber. "Need to finish some business first."

    "Business? What business?" The fatty felt rather lost. He had not known that this trip to Seed Garden had actually had the goal of arresting traitors.

    Shang Qing put his hand on his shoulder and told him not to say more.

    Nong Lie had been very enthusiastic when Lu Yin had first arrived, but that excitement was gone as the group returned to the fields. Nong Lie had been informed of a traitor to humanity within his own family, and Long Qi had arrived to arrest the traitors using his position as one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters. It would be odd for Nong Lie to be in a good mood. After all, he seemed to have some bit of a rtionship with Master Shi.

    There was a rough looking man who looked to be in his middle years outside of the fields. His back was to the youths as he was staring out at the farnd. Nong Lie saw the old man and hurried forward. "Father."

    The man turned around and gazed upon Lu Yin and the other youths, but ultimately, his eyesnded upon Lu Yin.

    "Junior Long Qi greets Senior," Lu Yin respectfully addressed the older man without saying anything about being a Gate Master from Humility''s Gate.

    This man was the master of Seed Garden: Nong Ya. He stared at Lu Yin with unconcealed admiration, though he also seemed rather somber. "You¡¯ve recently be quite famous."

    Lu Yin grew more serious as well. "I¡¯ve merely arrested a few traitors."

    Nong Ya remained serious. "The three Guan brothers and Yun Mubai were all exposed by you. Their arrests were a great boon to both Humility''s Gate and humanity, especially for those of us who do not fear the four ruling powers¡¯ oppression. In fact, your invitation to Seed Garden originated from me."

    "Thank you, Senior, for your care."

    Nong Ya sounded torn as he continued, "I believe your im that Chi Shui is a traitor, but as for Master Shi, is he really a traitor?"

    "That''s correct."

    "Father, that¡¯s impossible!" Nong Lie spoke up. Nong Ya raised a hand to stop his son, and then turned to look at an old man who was diligently tilling a field. "That man is Master Shi. He has never cked during his hundreds of years with my Nong family. Lie''er and Sanniang cannot stand the thought of him being interrogated, so if you are able to prove he¡¯s a traitor, just do it."

    Nong Lie turned his eyes that betrayed hisplicated emotions onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin observed the old man in the distance. If Lu Yin were to be honest, the moment he saw this old man working the field, he felt like he should use the Semi-Progenitor of deceit. How could such a diligent old man who had spent his life tilling the earth be a traitor? It seemed impossible to believe, and Lu Yin could understand Nong Lie¡¯s reaction.

    It was clear that Nong Ya held Master Shi in high esteem, and Lu Yin would not be allowed to take the old man away. This was the same as what had urred with Liu Ke, and Lu Yin had no intention of trying to take Master Shi away.

    "What is Master Shi¡¯s cultivation?" Lu Yin asked.

    "About the same as Lie''er¡¯s," Nong Ya replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. This should be easy enough.

    The zing sun illuminated the fields, and elders diligently cared for the crops. It was a harmonious scene.

    Suddenly, the sky changed. A massive scarlet eye with a slitted pupil covered all of Seed Garden, and the ce instantly copsed. The farms and the wheat field were reduced to ashes at a visible rate.

    Master Shi lifted his head and stared up at the scarlet eye in horror; was this?

    "Children of my Nong family! Listen to me and obey! Take away the core of Seed Farm! Our ancestors have already sacrificed themselves, but the core of this ce cannot be lost!¡± Nong Ya rushed towards the scarlet eye, only to be instantly consumed. The ground nearby shattered, and zombies poured out of the void and attacked Seed Garden. The blood of Seed Garden¡¯s powerhouses soon painted the sky.

    Master Shi quickly found a ce to hide, but Nong Lie suddenly approached from behind the old man. Half of Nong Lie¡¯s body had already been destroyed, and he grabbed hold of Master Shi¡¯s clothes in a miserable manner and gave the older man a cosmic ring. "Take this to the Liu family! Run away! Flee!"

    Nong Lie¡¯s voice fell silent, and another pair of slitted, scarlet eyes suddenly appeared. The figure tore Nong Lie to pieces and then seized Master Shi.

    Master Shi''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he quickly shouted, "I¡¯m one of you! I¡¯m one of you! I¡¯m a traitor who hid within the Nong family!"

    Instantly, his vision changed once again, and the blood-sttered sky became clear and clean. The shattered earth returned to normal, and a frog-like creature was underfoot and releasing a cry as the wind blew by. Master Shi¡¯s back was drenched with sweat, and his head snapped around to see Nong Ya and the others staring at him with cial res.

    At that moment, Master Shi remembered everything that had just happened. Had that been an illusion? He had been set up!

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, this junior will take away this person."

    At Lu Yin¡¯s words, Shang Qing deliberately walked towards Master Shi.

    Nong Lie''s face betrayed his utter disappointment. He had refused to believe that Master Shi could be a traitor.

    Master Shi quickly spoke up, "Patriarch, someone put me under an illusion just now! I only spoke out of self-protection! I was ordered to protect the core of Seed Garden."

    Nong Ya and the others were all taken aback; what was the core of Seed Garden?

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had made the core up, as it did not exist. It had merely been used to distract Master Shi, and the name sounded important.

    "Father, what¡¯s Seed Garden¡¯s core?" Nong Lie wondered.

    Nong Ya shot a strange look towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Take him away."

    "Wait a minute," Nong Ya said. Shang Qing paused and turned back to look.

    Lu Yin arched a brow and turned towards Nong Ya. "What do you mean, Senior?"

    Nong Ya and Lu Yin both stared at each other. "Gate Master Long, could we talk a moment?"

    Lu Yin had been waiting for this moment. "Given Senior¡¯s position, I don¡¯t dare refuse."

    "Patriarch, I¡¯m being framed! I''ve been with Seed Garden for hundreds of years! I''m one of you, Patriarch," Master Shi shouted, but no one paid any attention to him. "Little Lie! Little Lie, I''m being framed! It¡¯s me, Master Shi! Please help me. Talk to me, Little Lie."

    Nong Lie frowned and looked at Master Shi. The youth wanted to say something, but could not bring himself to say it.

    Nong Ya led Lu Yin to a small gully on the other side of the field. He looked down into the crystal clear water that ran through the gully and spoke in a solemn tone, "Everyone wishes for my Nong family to be open and aboveboard, easy to see through like the water here. If we really were that way, we cannot survive till this money."

    Lu Yin said, "Senior, say whatever it is you need to say."

    Nong Ya nodded. "Very well, I¡¯ll be blunt: you can¡¯t take Master Shi or Chi Shui away, nor can you even make public the matter of exposing traitors within my Nong family."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, you¡¯re making things difficult for me. I¡¯m not here on a mission from Huaiyuan Gate, but on behalf of the Fourteenth Gate."

    Nong Ya said, "I don''t care who you¡¯re representing. Gate Master Long, it doesn¡¯t make much difference to you whether you arrest one more or one less traitor, but could it be that you¡¯re trying to use this matter to suppress my Nong family?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior certainly regards a junior like me very highly. Ignoring the fact that this junior has no motivation to suppress the Nong family, how could I suppress your family by arresting a few traitors?"

 Chapter 1479: Big Faced Tree

    Chapter 1479: Big Faced Tree

    "There are certain things that only need a small trigger. Do you know how many people are waiting to prey on my Seed Garden? All four of the ruling powers. None of them are easy to deal with, especially the Celestial Frost Sect. They¡¯ve long wanted to move against my Nong family. Over the years, my Seed Garden has done its best to clean house internally, and I do not want to give the Celestial Frost Sect, or any other outsider, any excuse to intervene in my Seed Garden¡¯s matters," Nong Ya exined.

    Lu Yin felt surprised. "Isn¡¯t Seed Garden in the same situation as the Liu family and the Virtue Archives? If the Celestial Frost Sect tries to do anything to the Nong family, won¡¯t they have to worry about the other three ruling powers making a move? There¡¯s still the White Dragon n, the Wang family, and Shenwu''s Sky to keep the Celestial Frost Sect in check."

    Nong Ya looked at Lu Yin with a bit of surprise. "I had thought that all you were thinking about was catching traitors, but your words show that you have a very clear picture of the situation in the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin scolded himself for saying more than Long Qi should know. "I¡¯ve just heard the rumors."

    "Have you ever heard the phrase, slowly warm the water to boil a frog? The Celestial Frost Sect is slowly warming the water to boil this universe, and no one can escape. They will use any excuse, no matter how small it might be. My Nong family is doing our best to avoid giving them any excuses at all," Nong Ya said.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You¡¯re still putting this junior in a very awkward position. How am I supposed to exin myself to the Fourteenth Gate?"

    Nong Ya replied, "When it came to Liu Ke, the Fourteenth Gate never said that you did notplete the mission, and the same will be true of my Seed Garden. Of course, topensate you for the trouble, you can offer your conditions."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Senior, in addition to Master Shi and Chi Shui, there are two other traitors in your Nong family."

    Nong Ya instantly grew furious. "Are you certain?"

    Lu Yin nodded as he looked at Nong Ya. "It¡¯s not easy to oversee Senior''s family."

    Nong Ya let out a long breath. "The Nong family epts people of all backgrounds, so it¡¯s not unusual for spies to sneak in. We never let down our guard, but we¡¯ll also never be able to find all the traitors."

    Lu Yin remained silent and did not provide the other two names.

    Nong Ya was no fool. "Gate Master Long, cultivation is a struggle, and so if you need assistance from my Nong family, please feel free to speak up. My Nong family has an endless duty to provide for those who protect us."

    "Senior, now you¡¯re being too courteous," Lu Yin stated politely.

    "Gate Master Long is one of the most exceptionally outstanding young elites I¡¯ve ever met. Helping to supply you with resources is no different than helping the human race. Naturally, our help will assist in the efforts to defend against those monsters. If you ever need anything at all, please just say it. You are always wee here."

    Lu Yin coughed. "Since that''s how it is, this junior will speak up."

    Nong Ya heaved a sigh of relief. He was unafraid of any request Lu Yin might make, but was terrified that the youth might insist on arresting a traitor, as that would lead to countless problems. "Please go ahead."

    ¡­

    After Lu Yin and Nong Ya returned to everyone else, the perceptive fatty noticed that Nong Ya did not have a pleasant expression on his face, while Lu Yin seemed to be delighted.

    Of course Lu Yin was happy. The four traitors in Seed Garden had just gained him 600 million star essence. That was 600 million star essence! While it might not be arge amount for the Nong family, and was pitifulpared to the resources on a Junior Progenitor, everything was rtive, and 600 million star essence was truly arge sum.

    "Lie''er, entertain Gate Master Long," Nong Ya ordered in a deep voice before leaving. He shot Lu Yin onest nce with an odd glint in his eyes before disappearing.

    It was incredibly rare for one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters, not to mention someone from a branch family of one of the four ruling powers, to be so concerned with material wealth. Nong Ya could not understand Long Qi¡¯s motivation for asking for so much money. Was the youth broke?

    Due to the matter regarding Master Shi, Nong Lie had little interest in his duties as a host, and he did not bring up the possibility of returning to the isted garden in order to allow Lu Yin to nt a seed, though there was no mention of Lu Yin returning the seed he had been given.

    Their subsequent tour of Seed Garden felt ratherckluster, but Lu Yin did not care. He had already achieved his goal for the visit, and it could even be said that he had exceeded his goals. Since he had seen that small patch of grass, his next goal was to learn about the person who had nted the grass, as well as uncover precisely what had happened to the Lu family in the past.

    "Hey, is that Sanniang?" Wang Dashuai eximed.

    Everyone turned and saw the Nong Sanniang and another woman traveling through the sky off in the distance.

    Lu Yin went bug-eyed when he saw who was apanying Nong Sanniang; was that Bai Xue?

    He had never dreamed he might meet her in Seed Garden.

    Long ago, both Bai Xue and Zhang Dingtian had disappeared into Jupiter. Later, Lu Yin had met Zhang Dingtian at the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument. At that time, Zhang Dingtian had mentioned that he believed Bai Xue had traveled to the Higher Realm, and that she had likely joined the Celestial Frost Sect. So, why was Lu Yin seeing her in Seed Garden?

    Bai Xue did not see Lu Yin. She apanied Nong Sanniang, and the two women eventually disappeared.

    "Brother Nong Lie, where are Sanniang and that other woman going?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    "They¡¯re going to see Big Face Tree."

    "Big face tree?" Most of the people present had no idea what Nong Lie was talking about.

    He exined, "There¡¯s a tree in Seed Garden that¡¯s lived for a very long time. It also has a fat face, so we call it Big Face Tree. Our ancestral records dictate that every junior of the Nong family has to frequently visit Big Face Tree to chat with it and keep itpany."

    "Can we go take a look?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Lie nodded. "Sure. Let''s go."

    Big Face Tree stood in a distant location, and they had to cross almost half of Seed Garden. After half an hour of travel, Lu Yin and the others saw the so-called Big Face Tree, and it truly was a tree with a fat face.

    There was a forest within Seed Garden that ran up against the bottom of a wet cliff, and the forest met a river. Big Face Tree stood at the bottom of the cliff, and the group found Nong Sanniang and Bai Xue there with their backs to the new arrivals.

    Big Face Tree was big, but other than that it looked just like any ordinary tree. There was nothing surprising about the tree.

    Nong Lie stopped a few kilometers away from Big Face Tree, a strange expression on his face. "Go on ahead and see. If you can¡¯t endure, just leave. It¡¯s not a problem."

    The visitors were all stunned, and Wang Dashuai grew a bit nervous. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going any further? Is it going to attack us?"

    "Of course not. It''s just that Big Face Tree might have lived too long, and it¡ªhow should I put this?¡ªit nags."

    The fatty let out a sigh of relief. "What¡¯s the big deal? It''s just nagging. This brother is the best at chatting with old people!"

    After bragging, he was the first to step forward. Lu Yin followed close behind, and Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu quickly joined as well.

    Nong Lie watched as the small group walked towards Big Face Tree. There was a glint of anticipation and schadenfreude in his eyes.

    Just when Lu Yin and the others drew close to Big Face Tree, Nong Sanniang turned. There was an expression of pain on her face. She was surprised to see Lu Yin and the others, but she did not say a word and instead quickly walked away.

    The fatty called out a greeting, "Sanniang, what are you up to?"

    Nong Sanniang''s face was pale. She looked like she had just survived a battle that had resulted in her crushing defeat.

    Seeing Nong Sanniang¡¯s face left Wang Dashuai furious, and he stopped walking towards Big Face Tree. He instinctively looked over at Lu Yin. His intention was clear; he intended for Lu Yin to go first.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as he walked up behind the fatty. "Go."

    "You go, Bro," the fatty countered with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled. He looked truly benevolent. Then, he shoved the fatty towards Big Face Tree.

    At this same moment, it appeared that Bai Xue was unable to endure some sort of torture, and she also turned to leave, and she almost ran into Wang Dashuai. She was as eager to flee the area as Nong Sanniang, but she suddenly saw Lu Yin, and shock became written all over her face. Just like Zhang Dingtian, Liu Tianmu, and others, Bai Xue was absolutely stunned to see Lu Yin in the Perennial World.

    However, some unseen agony roused her from her stupor, and she fled, chasing after Nong Sanniang.

    Wang Dashuai was pushed all the way over to Big Face Tree, and there he saw two eyes, a nose, and a mouth on the tree. Most notable were two fat cheeks that bulged and looked very fat. Was this Big Face Tree?

    "Hey, another neer¡¯s showed up! Hey kid, how¡¯s it going?" the tree said. His mouth continued to move nonstop, but only the fatty heard anything at all. Lu Yin and the others heard nothing.

    When Big Face Tree spoke, the fatty felt like someone had taken a hammer to his head. Every syble felt like an explosion within his brain. Just a single sentence was enough for Wang Dashuai to nearly pass out, and yet the tree just kept talking. ¡°This kid¡¯s face isn¡¯t looking too well. Is he feeling sick? Alright, Uncle Tree will teach you an exercise. You-"

    As the tree spoke, the fatty grew dizzy and he started bleeding from his seven orifices.

    Lu Yin was startled to see this change, and he grabbed the fatty and threw him away from the tree. Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu had both been behind Lu Yin, and they fled at top speed, leaving Lu Yin on his own.

    Big Face Tree turned both eyes over to Lu Yin. Lu Yin happened to already be looking at the tree, so the two locked eyes. The tree smiled. "You¡¯re here again."

    Lu Yin had been just about to leave when he heard those words. He froze and turned to look at Big Face Tree in shock. "Do you know me?"

    Big Face Tree grinned. It actually had teeth! Although they were very yellow, it still cracked a big, toothy smile. "Don''t underestimate Uncle Tree! While Uncle Tree¡¯s lived for a long time, he still has a good memory! I remember it wasn¡¯t like this thest time you came to see me."

    Lu Yin was instantly able to feel what Wang Dashuai had experienced. Every word Big Face Tree spoke felt like it was shattering Lu Yin¡¯s brain and felt like lightning erupting inside his head. It was no wonder the fatty had passed out and Nong Sanniang and Bai Xue had reacted in such a strange manner; none of them had been able to endure the tree¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin estimated that Nong Sanniang was able to hear a few sentences at best, while Bai Xue might have only heard one or two. As for Wang Dashuai, he should be about the same as Bai Xue, or possibly had endured a bit more.

    "In that case, do you remember my name?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Face Tree¡¯s eyes darted about. It was clearly thinking hard.

    Lu Yin stared at the tree.

    The tree then looked up at Lu Yin and smiled as it replied, "Little one."

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    "Little one, after thest time we spoke, Uncle Tree still missed you for a while. You¡¯re one of the few who¡¯s able to chat for a bit with Uncle Tree. Same with that girl who came with you that one time. What about her? It''s been a long time since Ist saw her. She was really beautiful..." Big Face Tree spoke, but did not finish.

    Lu Yin wanted to stop the tree from speaking, but instead just listened to it. Lu Yin exhausted all of his strength, and then tried to use the Inception Array. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not facing a spiritual force attack, so the sourcebox array proved pointless.

    "Let''s get down to business. Thest time we spoke about the Third Maind¡¯s war, right? I remember mentioning something about a little guy named Ce Wangtian. That kid is incredible! He¡¯s the poster child for shamelessness, and he can certainly im to be the master of his generation. He¡¯s especially shameless when ites to ying chess and withdrawing his moves. He had even created a secret technique for it...

    "That old monster who destroyed the Third Maind shouldn''t have noticed that Ce Wangtian slipped away. Who knows where that little brat had gone, but how could Uncle Tree not know? He had to have gone to Immemorial Citadel. Everyone tried their best..."

    After the Third Maind was mentioned, Lu Yin could no longer digest anything else that Big Face Tree said.It took all of Lu Yin¡¯s mental strength to avoid passing out and remaining conscious. As he did every time he encountered a bizarre situation, Lu Yin quickly decided to recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

 Chapter 1480: History

    Chapter 1480: History

    Big Face Tree continued speaking, but only to itself as Lu Yin waspletely focused on reciting the Stonewall Scriptures and was unable to hear anything the tree said.

    Off in the distance, Nong Lie and others were stunned. "How can hest so long? Even my father wasn¡¯t able to endure so long."

    Nong Sanniang was truly shocked. Long Qi kept delivering more surprises. In the past, Wang Su had managed to endure five sentences. Bai Shaohong had also visited, but he had notsted for more than a few sentences. And yet Long Qi had already managed to endure for several minutes. This was beyond a matter of several words or sentences. How was he doing it?

    Bai Xue¡¯s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin''s back; Why is he here? Don¡¯t mention your surname!

    "Uncle Shu told you..." Lu Yin suddenly let out a low growl as an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He used the Ce Secret Art to move himself, and escaped.

    Back where Lu Yin had disappeared, Big Face Tree was shocked, and its mouth dropped open. "Shameless rascal! Kid, you¡¯ve fallen."

    Lu Yin moved right next to Nong Lie and the others with the Ce Secret Art. This was the first time that Nong Lie and the others had seen this secret technique, and it shocked all of them.

    Lu Yin supported himself with his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. He looked up at Big Face Tree off in the distance with eyes full of fear. Every word that tree had spoken had carried a shocking power. Having a conversation with the tree had felt like confronting death itself. It had been terrible.

    However, Lu Yin had a vague impression of hearing something about the Third Maind. Had that just been a delusion?

    "How are you feeling?" Nong Lie asked. He was feeling a bit better after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune. After all, with Master Shi being exposed as a traitor, Nong Lie¡¯s mood had soured. It was clear at this moment that he was feeling much better.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "You knew before we got here."

    "Didn¡¯t you want toe and see Big Face Tree? My Nong family¡¯s ancestors teach us that every disciple should asionally chat with Big Face Tree. I spoke with it just a few days ago, so you can see your suffering won¡¯tst," Nong Lie said with a smile.

    Shang Qing grew curious. "What just happened?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "Go find out for yourself."

    Shang Qing stopped talking. Try it himself? He was no idiot. Liu Tianmu did not even ask any questions after seeing what had happened to Wang Dashuai, not to mention that not even Lu Yin had been able to endure whatever the two had just suffered.

    "Very few people can walk away from Big Face Tree their first time speaking with it, and even fewer can spend that much time chatting with it. You really surprised us, Long Qi." Nong Sanniang mentioned as she walked over while looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Maybe it''s because I was born with bad ears."

    Nong Sanniang smiled. There was no way she would believe such an excuse.

    Lu Yin looked over at Bai Xue. "Who¡¯s this?"

    "My name is Bai Xue, and I¡¯m the one in Seed Garden who¡¯s responsible for taking care of Big Face Tree." Bai Xue answered with a small smile. Her voice was gentle, and she had always been a beautiful woman. Back on Earth, Zhou Shan had admired her beauty, and at this moment, when she smiled, she radiated a pure type of beauty.

    Shang Qing stared at Bai Xue. He had seen many, many beauties, arge number of whom looked quite simr to Bai Xue. Even Starsibyl was objectively more beautiful than Bai Xue, and yet, for some unknown reason, Shang Qing found Bai Xue inexplicably beautiful at this moment, Her pure nature was very attractive to him.

    "Bai Xue? Are you part of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family?" Lu Yin acted surprised.

    Nong Lie was the one to respond, "Of course not. There are many people in the Middle Realm with the Bai surname, just as there are many with the Liu and Xia surnames. Bai Xue is just a regr cultivator. My Nong family coincidentally rescued her, and she¡¯s since stayed to care for Big Face Tree."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I see."

    "Long Qi, I heard you came here to arrest a traitor?" Nong Sanniang interjected.

    Nong Lie''s expression instantly soured. "Sister, I''ll tell you about thatter."

    He then turned to Lu Yin. "Let''s keep going. My Seed Garden is quite vast."

    Lu Yin refused, "No. I still have tasks that need to be done, and so I need to get back to Huaiyuan Gate."

    Nong Lie nodded, but did not try to convince Lu Yin to stay. "Since that¡¯s the case, I''ll see you off."

    Nong Sanniang watched as Lu Yin and his group left, and then turned to look back at Big Face Tree. She was still stuck on the scene of Lu Yin chatting with the tree. If one could spend so long with the tree, what kind of information would they be able to receive?

    "Sanniang, who¡¯s that Long Qi?" Bai Xue asked.

    Nong Sanniang exined, "He¡¯s the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. He seems harmless at first, but he hides his strength very well. He¡¯s already exposed more than just one Redback, and he¡¯s bold enough to stand up to even the four ruling powers and risk bing their enemy. He¡¯s-"

    At this point, Sanniang hesitated to consider her words. "He¡¯s a very kind man, and since he qualified to be invited to visit Seed Garden, he¡¯s also allowed to grow a nt from his own seed.

    "Actually, I don''t know what nt sprouted from his seed. I''ll ask Nong Lie in a bit."

    Bai Xue stared off into the distance with a strange look in her eyes. The son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family? Him? He was part of the White Dragon n? That was absolutely incredible.

    Lu Yin saw Cai Shu as soon as he exited Seed Garden. Cai Shu had not apanied Lu Yin inside despite Nong Lie extending the invitation.

    "Supervisor Qing Chen asked Senior to keep me safe," Lu Yin joked.

    Cai Shu smiled gently. "If something went wrong in Seed Garden, my presence would not matter at all. What happened in there?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I didn''t nt a seed. I forgot about it."

    "You forgot?" Cai Shu was stunned. How was this even an answer?

    Wang Dashuai finally woke up, and he rubbed his temples and ears. "It hurts! What''s wrong with me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You spoke with Big Face Tree."

    The fatty then remembered, and his face went pale. He was quite frightened by the memory. "That thing¡¯s terrifying! It¡¯s a tree that can kill people by talking to them! Why is it that there are so many freakish creatures in Seed Garden?"

    "Big Face Tree? You saw Big Face Tree?" Cai Shu asked.

    The fatty replied, "I saw it, and I heard a few words, but I can¡¯t remember what was said."

    Cai Shuughed. "Few people dare speak with that old tree."

    "How long has that tree existed?" Lu Yin felt curious about this detail, as he had clearly heard the tree mention the Third Maind and Ce Wangtian.

    Cai Shu thought for a while. "Master said that the old tree was already there when the Daosource Sect was first established."

    Lu Yin grew horrified; the Daosource Sect? That was truly, amazingly old.

    "The Daosource Sect? Was that the former ruler?" Shang Qing asked. It was unusual for him to break his silence.

    Cai Shu nodded as he stared straight ahead. "That¡¯s right, it was a former ruler. Back then, when the Daosource Sect still existed, so did the Lu family and the ancestors of the four ruling powers. There were those who fell, and others who were born, but at the peak, they formed the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat; the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? That had been the peak power of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect! Did that mean that the Perennial World had once been connected to the Fifth Maind? Or, could it be that the Perennial World was born from the Fifth Maind?

    Regardlesss, there were Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and people guessed that there had been nine powerful Progenitors. At the present moment, in the Perennial World, the four ruling powers all had their own Progenitors, as did the Liu family, the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and there was also the Commander of Humility''s Gate. The number of Progenitors between the ancient past and the present seemed quite simr, so why was Cai Shu waxing nostalgic? Could there be another secret to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    "Wait, the Daosource Sect was the ruler? I thought it was that family?" the fatty spoke up.

    Cai Shu exined, "You¡¯re talking about the Lu family. The Lu family was indeed the ruler of the Perennial World, but during ancient times, the branches of the Daosource Sect ruled over all of the Mainds. How the two had shared the rule they had... Just forget it. These are matters that are too ancient. I¡¯ve also heard Master say something about it, but not even Master knows too much about such ancient history, so don¡¯t get too caught up on such things."

    ¡­

    "Senior Cai Shu, we shouldn¡¯t be too far from Twin Mansion right now, right?" Lu Yin suddenly asked during their trip back to Huaiyuan Gate.

    "That¡¯s right, we¡¯re not far. Do you need something there?"

    "There¡¯s a traitor there," Lu Yin replied.

    Cai Shu stopped being surprised. Lu Yin had already arrested a great number of traitors in a short amount of time, and the Envoy had grown numb to such revtions.

    The traitor in Twin Mansion was another person who¡¯s identity had been revealed to Lu Yin by the old man. The Semi-Progenitor had asked Lu Yin to arrest this specific traitor on the way back from Seed Garden. This traitor had only been mentioned in an off-handed manner by the old man.

    If people in Humility¡¯s Gate were told about a traitor in such a casual manner, they would curse the informant.

    Twin Mansion was a small ce, and much like the Shangling family, Lu Yin had no interest in making the arrest himself. His rewards from Seed Garden had left him uninterested in such a small ce, so after arriving, Lu Yin told Wang Dashuai the traitor¡¯s name. With that, the fatty, Shang Qing, and Liu Tianmu took action.

    At this time, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated, and Lu Yin answered the call. He saw the image of a middle-aged man appear. Lu Yin was shocked to see this particr man; was this really Long Ke? He was the patriarch of the White Dragon n!

    It was a huge honor to have the patriarch of one of the four ruling powers take the initiative to call someone.

    Lu Yin quickly bowed. "Long Qi greets the patriarch."

    Long Ke''s eyes swept the area and fell upon Cai Shu.

    Cai Shu nodded politely and moved away.

    "Long Qi, what should you call me given your rtionship to Long Xi?" Long Ke said in a low voice.

    Lu Yin quickly changed his term of address, "Father-inw."

    Long Ke snorted. "You¡¯ve been quite busytely."

    "It¡¯s my duty to arrest traitors."

    "In the past, in order to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback, you threatened to arrest people who were transporting stellr liquid. Of the two people you arrested, one of them was working for my White Dragon n," Long Ke casually mentioned.

    This felt like settling matters from the previous debacle, but why had it been dyed for so long?

    Lu Yin maintained a respectful tone, "I ask father-inw to deliver his judgment."

    Long Ke showed a slight smile. "Is it a crime to arrest a Redback?"

    "Thank you, father-inw." Lu Yin acted relieved.

    "You just visited Seed Garden?" Long Ke asked.

    "Yes."

    "The Nong family. How many traitors were hiding there?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, and though he had promised Nong Ya that he would say nothing, it was clear that Long Ke already knew about the matter. "Four."

    Long Ke showed no surprise. "The Nong family has epted too many outsiders, so it¡¯s nothing unexpected for them to have four traitors in their midst. In that case, what about my White Dragon n? Are we hiding any traitors?"

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Father-inw, what¡¯s this about? What are you talking about?"

    Long Ke and Lu Yin stared at each other, and the patriarch spoke earnestly, "I represent the White Dragon n. Do we have any traitors or Redback among us?"

    Lu Yin felt taken aback. What did this mean? Was Long Ke going to feed Lu Yin information like that old man and allow Lu Yin to umte more achievements?

    "There must be at least one Redback within my White Dragon n. Long Qi, given your source of information and your innate gift to see through people, do you believe Elder Long Quan to be a Redback?" Long Ke continued.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, and he quickly understood; the patriarch wanted to frame someone.

    He had already heard long ago of a discord between the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families and the main family. Of the dissidents, Long Quan¡¯s branch family was the most prominent. Long Ke was clearly hoping to use Lu Yin¡¯s recently gained reputation to frame Long Quan and eradicate that particr branch family.

    From the time Lu Yin had first joined Humility''s Gate, he had directly and indirectly been responsible for the arrests of dozens of traitors, as well as the three Guan brothers and Yun Mubai, all of whom had been famous and held elite statuses within the Middle Realm. Long Qi was already known to be someone who did not fear the four ruling powers, as his efforts to expose Yun Mubai had led countless people to approach Long Qi or follow him, and he had even received a formal invitation from the Nong family.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was quite famous for arresting Redbacks and traitors, and Long Ke wanted to capitalize on Lu Yin¡¯s momentum and finish the matter of Long Quan¡¯s branch family.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head hung low. This was a vicious method to employ on anyone, and Long Ke wanted to do this to someone from the same n. Lu Yin believed that Long Ke must have alreadypiled some evidence before even reaching out. Once this evidence was revealed, Long Quan would have nowhere to run.

    Lu Yin had used a nted scarlet eye insignia when he had used the Guan brothers of being Redbacks, but that had been under the premise that he had already known that they were Redbacks. On the other hand, Long Ke was deliberately framing someone. This was apletely ruthless move.

 Chapter 1481: Heavy Feelings

    Chapter 1481: Heavy Feelings

    "Long Qi, tell me, is Long Quan a Redback?" Long Ke asked again. He stared at Lu Yin with zing eyes.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. "Father-inw, this-"

    Long Ke interrupted in a low, insistent voice, "When you were doing your best to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback, Elder Long Quan repeatedly tried to stop you. Have you had your doubts about him since then?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless; Long Ke had even found motivation for Lu Yin to move against the elder.

    "You suspected Elder Long Quan from that moment, and you used your intelligence sources that support you to look into matters until you finally discovered proof that Elder Long Quan is a Redback. Correct or no?" Long Ke asked loudly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharper. Was this the right choice, or not? This was a dilemma. Lu Yin did not actually care at all about whether Long Quan lived or died; the elder was either Lu Yin¡¯s friend or his enemy, but the same was true of everyone in the White Dragon n. Even though Lu Yin had yet to uncover the truth of the past, the White Dragon Rolls Over had exiled the Lu family. This was indisputable. There was also the fact that Long Xi''s family had not originally been the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, but had overthrown the main family because of a major incident, and the most obvious event was the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    Long Ke had taken the position of patriarch of the White Dragon n by way of exiling the Lu family. This meant that Long Ke was more of an enemy to Lu Yin than a friend.

    While everyone in the n was his enemy and Lu Yin did not particrly care about what means he used to deal with them, it was still too early to get involved in the White Dragon n¡¯s internal disputes.

    When Lu Yin had arrested the mule transporting the stellr liquid, Elder Long Quan had eagerly spoken up for the transporters release, which indicated that the stellr liquid was most likely going to be used by Elder Long Quan¡¯s backer, who was at least a Semi-Progenitor. An elder in the White Dragon n had to have a Semi-Progenitor behind them, and that meant that it would not be easy to frame Long Quan. If anything happened, Lu Yin would take the me, as it would be impossible to pin anything onto Long Ke.

    "Long Qi, I asked you a question!" Long Ke shouted.

    Cai Shu looked over from where he had retreated. He was not able to hear anything that Long Ke said, but the Envoy was able to discern that Lu Yin was being ced under a great deal of pressure. Cai Shu looked at the image of Long Ke in disgust. The four ruling powers were utterly revolting.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and spoke somberly, "At the moment, there is no evidence suggesting that Elder Long Quan is a Redback."

    Long Ke frowned and his eyes grew cold. "Well then, regardless of whether or not you¡¯ve found any evidence, just tell me simply: do you believe Elder Long Quan is a Redback?"

    Lu Yin frowned. It was quite ufortable to be hounded in this manner. Lu Yin was the acting Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate in Huaiyuan. While Long Ke had told Lu Yin to address him as father-inw, the older man¡¯s tone was no different than scolding a grandson. The more Lu Yin thought about his situation, the more upset he became with it.

    Suddenly, Twin Mansion copsed and sword qi shot into the sky. Lu Yin spun to look. Liu Tianmu had attacked? Twin Mansion was resisting the arrest of a traitor?

    The sword qi tore through the sky and ripped through the earth to reveal underground cells. Lu Yin saw that they held numerous girls imprisoned, and they all looked up. Seeing the outside, hope overtook the despair on their faces.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank. There was a certain face he saw among the girls, and he instantly ended the call and vanished.

    Cai Shu was startled by the sudden change, and he looked down to see that Lu Yin had appeared within the shattered underground section of Twin Mansion, right next to a group of the female prisoners. "Luo Shen?"

    The girls who had been imprisoned beneath Twin Mansion were trembling as they looked up. Lu Yin had suddenly appeared, which had left them even more frightened. However, after he spoke, one woman quivered, and then looked up. Her eyes flushed red when she saw Lu Yin, and she tried to speak, only to be cut off by Lu Yin, "I am Long Qi, Luo Shen."

    The woman was Luo Shen, and she had been held prisoner beneath Twin Mansion.

    Lu Yin had truly never expected to find Luo Shen in the Perennial World. He had not been nearly so surprised to meet Bai Xue in Seed Garden, but how was Luo Shen in this universe?

    Luo Shen was instantly ecstatic when she saw Lu Yin, and she leaped into his arms.

    Lu Yin held Luo Shen and felt the warmth of her body. Many questions burned deep in his heart, but he knew that this was not the time to ask them.

    "You need to remember that my name is Long Qi," Lu Yin reminded her. He looked down, only to see that Luo Shen had already fallen asleep.

    Liu Tianmu appeared above Lu Yin. Her sword was in her hand as she looked down at Lu Yin. "Twin Mansion has been destroyed."

    "Reason?" Lu Yin asked as he walked out of the cell while holding Luo Shen.

    "They had lost their humanity," Liu Tianmu casually replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. He had seen that the eyes of the girls imprisoned in the underground cells had been full of despair, and one could only imagine what Twin Mansion had done to them.

    Shang Qing then approached. "All of these women were going to be sold, and some of them were even intended to be used for experiments."

    Lu Yin choked back the words he had been about to say. ¡°No need for too many details. It¡¯s has already been destroyed."

    Shang Qing appeared calm, but given his status as the first Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor, naturally he had witnessed something like this before.

    Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled again. Long Ke was likely calling back.

    Lu Yin did not answer the call. The White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch wanted to oppress Lu Yin, but given Lu Yin¡¯s current reputation and status, it would not be easy for even Long Ke to do anything.

    "Hey, who¡¯s that? You know her, Bro?" Wang Dashuai approached and was instantly curious about the girl.

    Lu Yin answered, "She¡¯s an old friend."

    Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu nced at each other; old friend? Another person from the Fifth Maind?

    "By the way, where are the resources that belonged to Twin Mansion?" Lu Yin asked after suddenly remembering.

    Cai Shu was the one to answer, "Since Twin Mansion has been destroyed, their resources cannot be touched, as doing so would cause people to believe that we moved for their wealth."

    This was unfortunate for Lu Yin. "Then let¡¯s head back."

    He then set Luo Shen on the transport made from the folded white paper.

    Twin Mansion¡¯s destruction was a minor matter for the Middle Realm as a whole, and it only affected the local region, not a widespread area. Thus, no one questioned the matter at all.

    The next day, after they all returned to Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s headquarters, Luo Shen awoke. She had beenpletely exhausted, and she had also lost weight.

    Lu Yin had stood guard over her.

    The moment she saw Lu Yin, tears sprang up in her eyes. "I thought it was a dream! I never expected it would actually be you."

    As Lu Yin looked at Luo Shen, he felt his heart squeezed. He softly asked, "Why are you here?"

    Luo Shen pursed her chapped lips, which caused blood to ooze from them. Lu Yin quickly wiped it away.

    "I- I- You disappeared into Jupiter, so I tried to find you," Luo Shen whispered.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "You were able to get close to Jupiter?"

    Luo Shen shook her head. "Not at first, but I returned every day. Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence that I ended up here."

    Lu Yin''s heart trembled as he looked at Luo Shen¡¯s nervous expression. However, he did not know how to feel when he saw the unrestrained delight in her eyes when she saw him. In the past, this woman had blocked an attack intended for Lu Yin, and she had then gone to Earth to wait for his return. She had even chased him to the Perennial World, which weighed heavily on Lu Yin.

    Both of them stayed silent for a while.

    Luo Shen looked at Lu Yin and saw theplicated emotions flickering through his eyes. She quickly said, "I- I didn¡¯t mean anything further! I just wanted to know that you were safe. Don¡¯t overthink things."

    Her words amused Lu Yin, and he stretched out a hand to rub Luo Shen''s head. "I didn''t think much of it. Rest well, and you have to remember, I¡¯m Long Qi."

    Luo Shen nodded, suddenly serious. "I remember."

    Lu Yin knew that this woman would remember every word he said to her. She looked at him with a gaze that made it clear that she would remember for the rest of her life. This expression troubled Lu Yin quite badly.

    "Rest well," Lu Yin said before turning and leaving the room.

    After Lu Yin left, Luo Shen buried her head in the nkets and wept for joy. Finally, she had found him. He was still alive! This was wonderful!

    After leaving Luo Shen¡¯s room and returning to his own quarters, Lu Yin felt rather drained. Luo Shen¡¯s feelings would make other people happy, but they weighed heavily on Lu Yin. Too heavily.

    "Sigh, women," Lu Yin heard the old man''s voice.

    The sound startled Lu Yin, who was already in a bad mood. "Couldn¡¯t you knock or something?"

    The old man showed his strange smile. "Kid, are you exhausted because of a woman?"

    Lu Yin subconsciously nodded, but then suddenly felt that there was something slightly off about the old man¡¯s words, though Lu Yin could not quite find what was wrong.

    Seeing the old man¡¯s strange smile, Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew more casual. "If you have something to say, just say it. I¡¯m not in the mood for word games."

    The old man stretched. "That girl reminds this old man of years gone by. Youth¡­ Can¡¯t get it back."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "You eventually have to admit that you¡¯re old. What do you miss about your youth?"

    The old man sighed emotionally. "Kid, you¡¯ll understand when you get old that once you¡¯re old, memories are your greatest joy."

    Lu Yin looked outside the room.

    "You want some news about another Redback?" The next time the old man opened his mouth, he said something that startled Lu Yin.

    Redbacks and traitors were twopletely different things, and arresting even a hundred traitors could not equal the credit received for exposing a single Redback.

    Lu Yin stared at the old man. "You have more information about Redbacks?"

    The old man proudly replied, "Of course! Kid, this next Redback will be enough for your reputation to rise once again, and might even get you a meeting with the Commander of Humility''s Gate."

    Lu Yin started thinking about the implications.

    "Aren''t you excited?" The old man was caught off guard at Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin quietly answered, "It''s not good for a tall tree to attract too much wind."

    The old man rolled his eyes. "Who told you that you need to be the one to expose this Redback? Sell the info to Qing Chen."

    Lu Yin was taken aback at this suggestion. "Sell it?"

    The old man smiled. "You can call it a sale, but it¡¯s really just exchanging resources. You tell Qing Chen that you¡¯ll give him the information about this Redback in exchange for whatever resources or information you want. It¡¯s just a transaction."

    Lu Yin was swayed. This seemed like a good option. If he arrested another Redback, those monsters would likely see him as a thorn in their side, and Lu Yin had no desire to have to constantly be on guard against assassins. Not to mention, those monsters were sneaky and unpredictable. Lu Yin still wanted to survive long enough to return to the Fifth Maind.

    This option of selling the information to Humility¡¯s Gate and allowing them to arrest the Redback would not only allow Lu Yin to remain hidden, he would also be able to receive whatever resources he wanted, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

    Some people needed reputation in order to have their status rise, but Lu Yin had no need for such things while in the Perennial World.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with excitement and he looked at the old man and gave the man a rare smile. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Senior to share his information."

    The old manughed. "Kid, you¡¯re too much of a ke! This old man shows you a clear path, and you instantly change your entire attitude."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This really was a clear path forward. He would sell the information to Humility¡¯s gate anytime he received such information in the future, and besides, he did not need to continue with this method. A billion star essence could tidehim over for a while.

    The old man snickered at Lu Yin, but then he quickly grew serious. "This Redback won¡¯t be as easy to catch as the others, and even this old man needs to confirm some things. Tell Qing Chen that there are traitors in the Crimson Garden, but you need to confirm some information first. You¡¯ll need to find a certain person in the Crimson Garden, and with that information, this old man will be able to determine the location of the Redback."

    Lu Yin had to ask, "The Crimson Garden?"

    "It¡¯s a weird ce up in the Higher Realm. Most people never even hear of it. Qing Chen can get you there," the old man exined.

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed. "So it¡¯s a hassle?"

    The old man did not know how to respond. "It''s not as much of a hassle as it is to expose a Redback! This old man can tell you that this Redback is even more important than Yun Mubai. As long as you confirm the target, this achievement will allow you to be able to walk sideways in the Higher Realm. Humility''s Gate will absolutely be your greatest backer, and the credit from this will be enough to get your name recorded in history."

    Lu Yin considered the matter for a bit longer. "Will Supervisor Qing Chen be willing to take me to the Crimson Garden?"

    "Without a doubt," the old man affirmed. He then created an image in the air of a person. ¡°Make sure that this person is in the Crimson Garden, and this old man will be able to confirm the identity of the Redback."

    The old man did not see it as he was focused on his drawing in the air, but as he sketched out a figure, Lu Yin¡¯s face changed in an amazing manner.

    Recently, Lu Yin had survived several disasters, and had also met with Bai Xue and Luo Shen, and each encounter had been startling. However, nothing couldpare to the shock that this picture caused to Lu Yin. Wasn¡¯t it a picture of the grandpa from Driftcharge?

 Chapter 1482: The Crimson Garden

    Chapter 1482: The Crimson Garden

    Lu Yin''s pupils fluctuated. The shock he felt was indescribable. The grandpa from Driftcharge had some connection to this universe? And Lu Yin was finding out about it from a Semi-Progenitor! What was happening? How were the two connected? Lu Yin had initially believed that old man had been from the Neoverse. After all, that grandpa had asked Lu Yin to take the Stonewall Scriptures and a series of numbers to deliver to someone in the Neoverse.

    How could that grandpa have anything to do with the Perennial World?

    The old man turned to face Lu Yin. "Will you remember it? This is the person."

    Lu Yin dropped his head the moment the old man turned around. ¡°I¡¯ll remember."

    The old man frowned and pressed Lu Yin in a somber tone, "Did you look! It¡¯s critical that you clearly remember this man¡¯s image."

    "I¡¯ll remember." He then lifted his head, as his expression had returned to normal. "Who is this person?"

    The old man responded in an indifferent manner, "No one you need to worry about. If you see him in the Crimson Garden, don''t say anything, don''t ask anything, just get back here and let me know."

    "Where''s the traitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man rolled his eyes. "How can I simply find a traitor every time I make a move? Qing Chen already understands this."

    Lu Yin nodded. The image in the air gradually faded, and the old man reconfirmed. "Do you remember the face clearly?"

    Lu Yin said, "Perfectly."

    "Draw it for me," the old man ordered.

    Lu Yin suspected that this old Semi-Progenitor had been deliberately raising Li Yin''s prestige within Humility¡¯s Gate for precisely this task. If the old man had drawn someone else¡¯s image, Lu Yin might not have worked with the old man, but since Lu Yin had seen the image of the grandpa from Driftcharge, things were different. Lu Yin wanted to satisfy his own curiosity and uncover that grandpa¡¯s real identity.

    Lu Yin believed that he had only survived for so long and reached his current heights because of that grandpa he had met on Driftcharge. Without the Arcane Art - Fatal Revival and the Stonewall Scriptures, Lu Yin would have died long ago.

    The old man clearly did not have much trust in Lu Yin, but because he was worried that Lu Yin would grow suspicious, the old man refrained from saying anything more.

    "When should I reach out to Supervisor Qing Chen?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man replied, "Keep that girlpany for a few days before moving out."

    Luo Shen was doing much better the following day. Humility¡¯s Gate had no shortage of medications, as well as natural treasures to promote health and energy. Lu Yin had prepared quite a few for Luo Shen, though she only took a small amount.

    Lu Yin felt his heart ridden with guilt as he looked at Luo Shen¡¯s bowed head as she smiled and happily ate.

    Lu Yin did find Luo Shen to be a beautiful woman, and she was also the biggest celebrity in the Outerverse who was even qualified to be the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s spokesperson. However, beauty would always be regarded highly, and Lu Yin could not help himself from appreciating beauty when he saw it.

    As for Luo Shen, Lu Yin did not have particrly strong feelings for her, but he found it difficult to reject her. She had sacrificed a great deal for him, and had even been willing to give up her life to save him.

    "Your High¡­," Luo Shen was about to shout, but then she remembered something. "Brother Long, could you look away from me?"

    Her request startled Lu Yin. "I¡¯m sorry."

    He had been lost in his thoughts, and had subconsciously been staring at Luo Shen without even realizing it. Naturally, it was embarrassing to be stared at while eating.

    Luo Shen smiled. "Thank you."

    Lu Yin turned to look outside.

    It did not take long for Luo Shen to speak up again, "I finished."

    Lu Yin looked back to see that the table still held a great deal of delicious food, so he encouraged her, "Eat some more. Your body needs to restore itself."

    Luo Shen replied, "Alright."

    She sat back down to continue eating. It took quite a while for her to finish all of the food, as she did so slowly and each move was graceful.

    "Let me show you around," Lu Yin offered.

    Luo Shen nodded. It seemed as though she would not refuse anything that Lu Yin suggested.

    He led her around, and she did not resist, as she was happy to follow Lu Yin anywhere he went.

    "How long did you visit Jupiter?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Shen thought for a moment. "I started going right after you disappeared."

    Lu Yin secretly let out a sigh. "When did you get to this universe?"

    "A few days ago. I was captured the moment I arrived." Luo Shen still felt a little traumatized.

    "You aren¡¯t hurt?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Shen shook her head. "My body¡¯s rather weak, but I didn¡¯t suffer any injuries."

    The two fell silent. Lu Yin was not used to escorting a woman in this manner. If he was with Ming Yan, he would be very happy, but she was his lover. The current atmosphere was too heavy.

    "Brother Long, I really don''t need anything at all. All I wanted was to see for myself that you¡¯re alive and well," Luo Shen whispered. Her voice was soft, but her tone was firm.

    "Thank you." After a moment¡¯s silence, this was all Lu Yin could say.

    They were then approached by a group of people, who were led by Wang Dashuai. He acted like a little tyrant in Huaiyuan Gate.

    The fatty saw Lu Yin and Luo Shen, and he quickly trotted over to them. "Bro, I caught a traitor!"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A traitor? Where?"

    The fatty pointed at a squad that stood off in the distance. They surrounded and held captive a man who looked to have despaired.

    "That brat tried to sneak into our headquarters! I saw through him with a nce!" the fatty reported.

    The man whined, "I¡¯m being falsely used! I just wanted to take a shortcut to join Humility''s Gate. I¡¯m not a traitor!"

    "Shut up! If you wanted to join Humility''s Gate, why not just take the assessment? There¡¯s no reason to try to be sneaky, and a single look is enough to know you¡¯re up to no good!" Wang Dashuai shouted.

    Just then, he paid attention to Luo Shen, and suddenly licked his lips and smiled. "What¡¯s this? Bro¡¯s out with this sister?"

    Luo Shen''s face flushed red.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. Things were bing embarrassing, and yet this bastard kept pushing things. ¡°Go take care of your own affairs and don¡¯t cause any trouble."

    "I got it. I got it. Haha!" The fattyughed loudly before leading the squad away in a very imposing manner.

    After a while, Chen Xiazi sought out Lu Yin to report that the Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s headquarters was short on funds. Lu Yin then remembered that the Huaiyuan Gate had always surpassed the other Gates in the Middle Realm due to donations from Yun Mubai. With the former sect master''s arrest, the amount of funds entering Huaiyuan Gate had plummeted.

    Though it grieved him to do so, Lu Yin gave Chen Xiazi 20 million star essence. Chen Xiazi then left satisfied with the oue.

    Lu Yin''s heart bled, but it did not matter. It was impossible to be a Gate Master without a bit of sacrifice.

    After that, Lu Yin and Luo Shen ran into Liu Tianmu training with her sword, and she also saw Lu Yin and Luo Shen. Liu Tianmu stared at Luo Shen, but then returned to training.

    Luo Shen stared at Liu Tianmu with clear envy. "That woman¡¯s amazing."

    "You had to have heard of her before. That¡¯s Liu Tianmu," Lu Yin stated.

    For a moment, Luo Shen was puzzled, but then she suddenly connected the dots. Her face went pale. "Arbiter Liu Tianmu?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Luo Shen was shocked. "Why is she here?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I''ll exin this to youter, but you need to remember that I¡¯m the only one here who you can trust. In addition to Liu Tianmu, there¡¯s someone else here as well: Shang Qing. I¡¯ll take you to see him as well."

    It turned out there was no need for them to look, as Shang Qing was looking for Lu Yin.

    "He¡¯s Shang Qing. You should¡¯ve seen him during ZENITH," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Shen stared at Shang Qing. "I think I remember."

    Shang Qing was unconcerned about the two¡¯s words, and instead asked, "Do you have a way to get in touch with that Bai Xue?"

    Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard; Bai Xue?

    Luo Shen blurted out, "Bai Xue?"

    Shang Qing doubtfully nced at Luo Shen. "You know her?"

    Luo Shen was startled by the question, and she nced at Lu Yin before quickly shaking her head.

    Shang Qing''s eyes flickered and he looked back at Lu Yin. "Looks like my intuition was right; you do know that Bai Xue."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why do you want to get in touch with her?"

    Shang Qing waspletely frank. "I like her, so I want to take her back."

    With all of the surprises that Lu Yin had suffered over the recent days, he felt nothing at Shang Qing¡¯s revtion.

    "Why is Sister Bai Xue here?" Luo Shen asked in surprise. She was rather happy, as she was good friends with Bai Xue.

    Lu Yin answered, "She was sucked in, just like you and me."

    "No wonder I haven''t been able to get ahold of Sister Bai Xue," Luo Shen said. She then looked back at Shang Qing.

    "You like Sister Bai Xue?" Luo Shen asked, very interested. Like most girls, she was very interested in such things.

    Shang Qing stared at Luo Shen. "You know Bai Xue well?"

    Luo Shen pursed his lips and smiled. "Very well."

    ¡°Help me get to know her.¡± Shang Qing soundedpletely serious.

    Lu Yin had no idea how to react. ¡°We¡¯ll look for a chance, but for right now, we¡¯re all in danger, and we don¡¯t even know if we¡¯ll be able to get back alive."

    Shang Qing frowned. "I have seen many women, and I even had to deal with the Hall of Honor trying to set me up, but I¡¯ve never felt from any other woman what I feel from that Bai Xue. She gives me a pure and natural feeling."

    "It¡¯s all in your head," Lu Yin snapped.

    Shang Qing remainedpletely somber and serious. "I''m not joking, though of course I don''t mean to force anything. However, if it¡¯s possible, keep this in mind, as I hope to take Bai Xue back to the Fifth Maind."

    Shang Qing then turned and left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head ached. Why did everyone around him have such extreme personalities?

    "Brother Long, he seems like a good and reliable person. Sister Bai Xue should like him," Luo Shen stated with a chuckle.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "I don''t have time to y matchmaker! I¡¯ll take them both if I can, but I probably won¡¯t be able to take Bai Xue back."

    Luo Shen grew dejected. "Aren¡¯t there any options given your abilities, Brother Long?"

    "What do you think I am?" Lu Yin asked. Shang Qing''s intrusion had shattered the awkward silence between the two, and Lu Yin was slowly speaking more casually, which helped him to rx a bit.

    Lu Yin spent two days keeping Luo Shenpany. He showed her around and enjoyed seeing Luo Shen¡¯s happy smile, as it helped to ease his sense of guilt.

    On the third day, Lu Yin reached out to contact Qing Chen. "There¡¯s a traitor in the Crimson Garden."

    Qing Chen had been in a good mood, and had taken the opportunity to rx with a bit of tea, but his expression changed the moment he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, and the old man nearly spat out his tea. "What did you say? Say that again!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. It appeared that this Crimson Garden was incredibly important. Qing Chen had not reacted so strongly even when hearing that Yun Mubai was a Redback. By this it was clear that this Crimson Garden was far more important than the Cloud Shuttle.

    "There¡¯s a traitor in the Crimson Garden," Lu Yin solemnly repeated.

    Qing Chen''s face grew solemn. "Information from Realmless?"

    Lu Yin neither admitted nor denied anything.

    Qing Chen frowned. "Name?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t have a name. The information I received only says that there¡¯s a traitor there, and I have to personally check things to determine who the traitor is."

    This information did not surprise Qing Chen. "That makes sense. Not even Realmless can infiltrate the Crimson Garden. Finding out that there¡¯s a traitor there is already the limit of what they can do.¡±

    He looked up at Lu Yin. "How do you want to check things?"

    Lu Yin replied in an earnest tone, "I really do have an innate gift that allows me to see through people, but I need information to help my ability. With the information I¡¯ve received, I¡¯ll definitely be able to find the traitor in the Crimson Garden."

    Qing Chen clearly did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s words. He himself was a Semi-Progenitor, and he was skilled at uncovering traitors. However, this matter was too important. "Wait a minute."

    He immediately hung up.

 Chapter 1483: Authority

    Chapter 1483: Authority

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at the Higher Realm. If things proceeded ording to n, he would soon visit that ce, the Higher Realm. The ce where the rulers of the Perennial World lived. He wondered what he would see up there.

    Lu Yin waited for more than an hour before hismunication crystal vibrated and an image of Qing Chen reappeared. The Middle Realm¡¯s Supervisor looked somber. "I will take you to the Crimson Garden to search for the traitor and let you make your judgment there. I will apany you throughout the entire process, and we will search together."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Okay."

    "I''m going to head right over to pick you up and take you to the Higher Realm." Suddenly, the image disappeared.

    Lu Yin casually said, "Supervisor Qing Chen is on his way. Are you certain that you won¡¯t be discovered?"

    The old man emerged. "Of course not. He¡¯s no better than me, so as long as he just stays here, he won''t be able to find him."

    Lu Yin picked up his feet and walked away.

    "Little guy, make sure you look at everyone in the Crimson Garden. Don¡¯t miss a single person," the old man solemnly ordered.

    Lu Yin turned around and shot a teasing look at the old man. ¡°Old man, your actions arepletely different from before. Aren¡¯t you worried that I¡¯ll start to think that you¡¯re particrly invested in this matter?"

    The old man¡¯s strange smile made aeback. "This old man knows how smart you are, so maybe you can answer a question for me: is it fun in the Forsaken Land?"

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. Sure enough, this old man knew that they were from the Forsaken Land.

    "We¡¯re conducting business, and both of us are aware of this. As long as you earnestly help me resolve this matter, this old man will never mention your personal affairs," the old man promised.

    Lu Yin frowned. "The person you¡¯re looking for might not be in the Crimson Garden, so don''t me me if I can¡¯t find him."

    "This old man already knows how many people there are in the Crimson Garden, as well as some of their characteristics. You¡¯ll just need to answer a few questions when you get back, and if you answer properly, this old man will know that you¡¯re serious about helping me. Who could ever imagine that the most brilliant genius in Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s history, an acting Gate Master, is actually a trespasser from the Forsaken Land? If I remember correctly, you went to the Dominion Realm with the four Junior Progenitors, and a group of people disappeared there. Do you really believe that the four ruling powers think that those people disappeared? That they have nothing to do with you? That they believe that the four Junior Progenitors being trapped there has nothing to do with you?" the old man asked with his odd smile.

    Lu Yin instantly grewpletely focused. This old guy was rather brazen with his guesses. The group of missing people were actually all in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring right now. "Don''t worry, senior, I¡¯llplete this task properly."

    "Don''t worry, kid. I promise that uncovering this Redback will make you one of the most important people in this universe," the old man promised.

    Lu Yin did not believe the old man¡¯s words, but he had no choice but to follow along. At least up until now, the old man had shown no indication of wanting to harm Lu Yin, and Lu Yin also wanted to know the identity of that grandpa from Driftcharge.

    While most people in the Perennial World were clearly hostile to trespassers, there were others who truly did not care. Wu Taibai was one such example, and the Semi-Progenitor in front of Lu Yin seemed like he was in hiding as well. Clearly, this was not the same opinion that the primary powers of the Perennial World held, but Lu Yin chose to believe that this old man truly did not care about Lu Yin being a trespasser.

    If the absolute worst happened, Lu Yin could always use his trump card: Master Summoning. Lu Yin was actually looking forward to seeing Mister Mu''s strength.

    Lu Yin said goodbye to Luo Shen and walked out of Huaiyuan Gate. Qing Chen soon arrived, as he had been traveling at top speed. He then quickly escorted Lu Yin over to Cloud Shuttle.

    Lu Yin had not returned to Cloud Shuttle since Yun Mubai¡¯s arrest, so his arrival drew a great deal of attention from the Smokecloud Sect disciples. They all looked at Lu Yin while hidingplicated emotions. They did not know whether to feel hatred or gratitude towards this person.

    Lu Yin and Qing Chen soon arrived on a cloud tform that was drifting up from the ground. Lu Yin looked down and saw the ground grow smaller and smaller. He then looked upwards towards the Higher Realm.

    "Is this your first time going to the Higher Realm?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin grunted. "Yeah. Isn¡¯t it a bit of an embarrassment that this is my first time there despite being a member of the White Dragon n?"

    Qing Chenughed. "Those who have humble origins will grow unbelievably arrogant once given the opportunity. The four ruling powers are a perfect example, as they all used to be based in the Middle Realm."

    Lu Yinmented, "I heard that the four ruling powers worked together to exile the Lu family and rece them as the rulers of the Perennial World."

    Qing Chen quickly said, "Don''t think about the Lu family, or else the restrictions within your mind will activate. Those restrictions are from a sourcebox array that was set up by the Progenitors of all four ruling powers, and it affects the entire Perennial World. Not even Envoys can remember the Lu family, so even if you reach that level, I still won¡¯t be able to say much about the Lu family.¡±

    "Understood," Lu Yin replied. This finally exined why the man whom he had Possessed had died from his head exploding when he had tried to glean information regarding the Lu family. It had been because of this sourcebox array that the Progenitors from the four ruling powers had cooperated to arrange. They had clearly been determined to eliminate everything in the Perennial World that was rted to the Lu family in order toplete their takeover.

    "You don''t seem to be worried about the four ruling powers. Is it because of your status as a branch family member?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Maybe. They¡¯re all the way up there, and to them, I¡¯m no different from a regr person."

    Qing Chen sighed. "Long Ke, the patriarch of the White Dragon n, has the typical attitude of a ruler. On top of that, you¡¯re from a branch family and are only the main family¡¯s son-inw. There¡¯s no disputing this, so don¡¯t get angry with him. Just be patient and find the Redback in the Crimson Garden. I will then personally apany you to Dragon Mountain in order to apologize to him. In the end, your rootsy with the White Dragon n, and you will need their support in the future."

    Lu Yin understood and was not surprised by Qing Chen¡¯s words. After failing to get through to Lu Yin, Long Ke must have contacted Qing Chen.

    "My deepest thanks, supervisor, but your subordinate only wants to remain with Humility''s Gate. If I visit Dragon Mountain, it will be hard for me to ever leave," Lu Yin said.

    Qing Chen smiled casually. "You underestimate my Humility¡¯s Gate. You are Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s acting Gate Master, and you have aplished great things. Even themander¡¯s eye is on you. While it¡¯s true that the White Dragon n is one of the four ruling powers that looks down upon all others, the truth has always been and always will be that the Progenitors are the true masters of the universe. Themander is a Progenitor, and when he speaks, not even the White Dragon n¡¯s Progenitor will refuse to give him face. You¡¯re nothing more than a son-inw, and you¡¯re not worth two Progenitors fighting over.

    "As far as the White Dragon n is concerned, you are nothing more than a son-inw. On the other hand, to my Humility''s Gate, you are a man of great value. Themander will step forward for you, and the White Dragon n is already aware of the situation. Thus, they will not embarrass you."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. He absolutely did not want to go to Dragon Mountain, especially since he was afraid that they would want to verify his bloodline, which would lead to no end of trouble. However, after seeing Qing Chen''s response, there was no way the supervisor would not take Lu Yin to see the White Dragon n.

    Qing Chen¡¯s intention was to do this for Long Qi¡¯s own sake, as the supervisor knew that, even if Long Qi stayed with Humility¡¯s Gate in the future, he could notpletely cut off ties from his own n. Qing Chen was trying to resolve the distance between Lu Yin and the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. However, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Long Ke would not react as Qing Chen expected, as the patriarch had already mentioned that he wanted Lu Yin to frame Elder Long Quan.

    As Lu Yin was thinking about this matter, he was shrouded by a shadow from above. They were getting closer and closer to the Higher Realm.

    The closer one was to the Higher Realm, the more suffocating the pressure that they would suffer. This pressure was given off by the entire Higher Realm.

    It felt like the pressure represented the difficulty of ants trying to ascend to the Higher Realm. This pressure seemed to carry authority, repression, and supremacy.

    Lu Yin looked up once more to stare at the unreachable base of the Higher Realm. Suddenly, a strange thought popped into his head: what would it be like to shatter thisndmass?

    There was a whistle as a gust of wind swept by the two men. It was not weak, and even a Hunter might not be able to endure this gust. However, it had no effect whatsoever on Lu Yin and Qing Chen.

    Everything grew dark, and they began to pass by the rock formations that made up the base of the Higher Realm. Before long, they passed through the whole section, and a ray of light entered their eyes.

    Lu Yin had finally entered the Higher Realm.

    Against expectations, the Higher Realm was not bright, but rather quite dark. There was no sun, and the bit of light that he did see shone across the ground from an infinite distance away.

    "The Higher Realm has no light source. The light from above is blocked by the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy that covers the entire Dominion Realm, and there are no stars between the Higher Realm and the Dominion Realm. Finally, the four ruling powers do not allow anyone else to establish stars above their territory, and everyone else can only ept these rules within the Higher Realm. This is why the only distant sources of light that we see is from one of the ruling powers, as they are the only ones allowed to have a source of light here in the Higher Realm.¡±

    Lu Yin found this quite entertaining. This was the ultimate abuse of authority.

    The cloud tform came to a stop, and Lu Yin and Qing Chen stepped off. Lu Yin had officially stepped onto the Higher Realm. Off in the distance, he saw a burst of stellr energy sweep by, but it instantly retreated after detecting Qing Chen¡¯s aura.

    Due to being a part of Humility¡¯s Gate, as well as because he was apanying Qing Chen, Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring was not inspected. Normally, everyone who entered the Higher Realm had to let their cosmic ring be inspected, as no weapons were allowed to enter the Higher Realm.

    Qing Chen ced a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and guided him into a tear in the void and made their way towards the Crimson Garden.

    Since they were traveling through the void, Lu Yin was unable to ask any questions.

    The Higher Realm was massive, though most of it was under the control of the four ruling powers, and there were not many public areas.

    As Qing Chen and Lu Yin traveled through the void, they encountered no fewer than five bursts of stellr energy, and one was even enough to force Qing Chen to stop and speak to someone.

    "You¡¯re able to endure the pressure of the true universe much better than I expected," Qing Chen suddenlymented.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. He hadpletely missed the fact that Qing Chen had entered the true universe through the tear in the void. It was practically impossible for most Enlighters to even touch the true universe, let alone show no effect after such a long exposure.

    "The members of the White Dragon n really do have impressive physiques," Qing Chen said with a sigh before saying no more about it.

    One dayter, the two stopped.

    "Qing Chen, the Supervisor of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Middle Realm¡¯s Nine Gates and Huaiyuan Gate¡¯s Gate Master ask to enter the Crimson Garden," Qing Chen opened his mouth and spoke to an empty region in front of the duo.

    Lu Yin stared at the area before them. There was nothing but empty space. Was this the Crimson Garden? If that was the case, then it meant that there was a pocket dimension here, just like the 3,000 hidden worlds on Honor Mountain.

    Up in the sky, a delicate and beautiful flower appeared from the void, appearing out of nowhere.

    Lu Yin stared at the beautiful bright red flower in surprise. This was the same type of flower that had appeared in thest image that he had seen in the Possessed Enlighter¡¯s mind when searching for information regarding the Lu family. It was also the same flower that Lu Yin had discovered in Bai Shaohong''s cosmic ring. Was this flower from the Crimson Garden?

    Qing Chen watched as the red flower appeared, and fear manifested in his eyes. He reached up to touch the flower with a finger, and the two people instantly disappeared, along with the flower. It was as though the flower had never even existed.

    Lu Yin had long since be ustomed to sudden changes in scenery, so when he regained his senses, he immediately looked around. However, a startled expression instantly appeared on his face when he saw the Crimson Garden.

    He saw delicate red flowers falling everywhere in the sky. It seemed like it was raining flowers endlessly, just like what he had seen in the memory of the man that he had Possessed long ago. The red flowers filled the world, each one delicate and beautiful.

    He saw even more of the red flowers blooming on the ground. There were burbling streams off in the distance, and there were more flowers floating in the water. They covered the paths in bamboo forests that were quiet and secluded, and all of the distant mountains were covered in red. The entire world was red. This was the Crimson Garden.

    No one could be seen, as the ce was empty.

 Chapter 1484: A Madmans Obsession

    Chapter 1484: A Madman''s Obsession

    Qing Chen¡¯s hands trembled the moment the two entered the Crimson Garden. It looked as though he had suddenly remembered something, and fear filled his eyes. "This is the Crimson Garden. You must remember that you cannot ever publicize that you¡¯ve been here, and you cannot even tell anyone about this ce."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Is this ce that important?"

    Qing Chen answered quietly, "This ce is more important than you can possibly imagine."

    "Why is no one here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen replied, "If no one¡¯s here, then we¡¯ll just look for them. I¡¯ll take you to see everyone here, but if you find the Redback, say nothing. It¡¯s practically impossible for a traitor to be hiding in this ce."

    Lu Yin nodded and fell silent, and Qing Chen did not say anything further either. He led Lu Yin along a flowing stream.

    If Qing Chen were reced with a woman, the scenery that they passed through would be the most beautiful ce imaginable for a date. However, despite such a scenic backdrop, the fear in Qing Chen¡¯s eyes only grew stronger with each passing moment, and the same was also true of Lu Yin. This ce was lovely to look at, but he was trying to suppress a rising sense of panic.

    Red flowers rained from the sky, almost as if they were trying to bury the two men.

    After a brief time walking, Lu Yin¡¯s ears twitched, and he looked in front of them. The soil was moving there, and he instantly raised his guard.

    Qing Chen¡¯s gaze instantly focused on that patch of dirt as he stared at the ground in front of them.

    Suddenly, the soil erupted, and a figure rushed towards the two men.

    Qing Chen waved his hand, shattering the void as the attack swept towards the charging figure.

    The attack passed through the void and struck the figure, sting it into the distance and drawing a strange cry from it.

    Lu Yin only then saw that the figure was actually a man, though his hair was unkempt, and he lookedpletely insane. There was a red flower in his mouth.

    There was a bang as the man fell into the stream, and he then shouted, ¡°How bold! You dare to sneak into this old ancestor''s territory? Are you seeking death? If this old ancestor wanted to attack, you would be sttered across the gate."

    Qing Chen and Lu Yin stared at the stream, and the insane-looking man gave them a strange smile as hey t in the water. He did not move, though it was clear that Qing Chen''s attack had not hurt the man at all. The water flowed around the man, and he stared at Qing Chen. The man then approached the two. His eyes grew bloodshot, and he looked even more mindless than before. ¡°Are you still not kneeling and bowing after seeing this old ancestor? Once I get angry, you will have no path towards survival."

    Lu Yin was stunned.

    Qing Chen solemnly said, "The Crimson Garden is a prison. This is where the Perennial World keeps our most powerful madmen imprisoned."

    The old man had never told Lu Yin exactly what the Crimson Garden was. Lu Yin had asked, but the old man had never given any response. Also, Qing Chen had never mentioned the matter while they were traveling, so this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time discovering the purpose of the Crimson Garden: it was a unique prison that was used to incarcerate lunatics.

    "Who are these madmen?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen replied, "You''ll find outter."

    The older man then proceeded on his way.

    Lu Yin and the madman looked at each other. The man¡¯s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin, and Lu Yin was able to see the man quite clearly through the ripples in the water. The man was sitting in the stream as though he was sitting on a glorious throne. The man was clearly insane, but there was also a readily apparent dignity to him.

    "You dare trespass on this master¡¯s property! I will eradicate your entire family!" the crazy old man shouted, but that was all he did, as he did not move an inch.

    The man under the water continued grinning as he muttered something.

    "Copy this scripture a hundred times: don''t be naughty. Don''t look at the ancestors¡­" The soft voice grew more and more faint. Lu Yin could not stop himself from turning and ncing at the crazy old man at the bottom of the stream onest time.

    "Don''t worry. While these people all have their own obsessions, all of them arepletely mad," Qing Chen tried to reassure Lu Yin.

    Before they were able to walk too far, they felt a slight vibration in the ground. Off in the distance, they saw a fat old woman squatting on the ground. They could not see what she was doing.

    As the two men walked closer, they were able to see clearly.

    The fat old woman¡¯s arms were close to the ground, and she acted as though she was digging for something even though she didn¡¯t have a tool. Most of the flesh on her arms had actually already rotted away, and in many ces, one could see her bones.

    "Don''t worry, it''s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I¡¯ll make them all for you! Haha."

    "Don''t worry, it''s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I¡¯ll make them all for you! Haha."

    "Don''t worry, it''s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I¡¯ll make them all for you! Haha."

    ¡­

    The plump old woman kept repeating the same words over and over as though they were etched into her very soul.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman''s dposing arms. For some reason, this sight roused a deep sense of sadness and difort from the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s heart. He stopped looking at the old woman and resumed walking with Qing Chen.

    As they continued moving around, they passed by one mad prisoner after another. They met a little girl who ran by them whileughing heartily. She turned around to speak to someone who was not there and then resumed running, repeating this series of actions endlessly.

    They saw a boy who muttered to himself while ying a game all alone. The boy¡¯s words were coherent, and he seemed to be in a situation where he could not meet someone¡¯s expectations, and was also afraid to fight back even when beaten.

    After crossing over the mountains drowned in red, Lu Yin found that there was still arger region off in the distance.

    Lu Yin saw one lunatic after another. However, he felt that these people did not seem to be insane, but more that they were trapped within a specific illusion and were unable to free themselves.

    "How is it? Have you seen what you¡¯re looking for?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not yet."

    Qing Chen seemed calm. He was unable to see anything off, so he did not actually expect Lu Yin to find anything here. He had only brought Lu Yin to this ce because of a bit of hope.

    "How many crazy people are in here?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin grunted.

    Suddenly, they heard a shout, "Young master! Young master, you¡¯ve returned! Young master, this old ve has missed you so much! Young master¡­"

    Lu Yin and Qing Chen turned their heads to look somewhere, and they saw a man with messy hair and crazed eyes rushing towards them. This man was as skinny as a bamboo pole.

    Lu Yin and the man stared at each other, and Lu Yin felt almostpletely certain that this man was staring straight at him. Young master?

    Qing Chen attacked. A wave of his hand shattered the void and threw the prisoner back.

    However, the man waspletely uninjured afternding, and he immediately charged straight back towards the two men, still shouting wildly for his young master.

    "There''s no one else. Let''s go," Qing Chen said. After he spoke, he set a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and they vanished.

    Before they left, Lu Yin looked back at the skinny man. The man was growing increasingly agitated, as though he was trying to break free. He never stopped shouting, "Young master! Young master, you¡¯ve finally returned! Young master, this old ve has missed you so much! Young master¡­"

    The scene around the two changed, and they returned to the empty ce where they had stood before entering the Crimson Garden.

    "Did you not find anything?" Qing Chen asked as he stared at Lu Yin with hope in his eyes.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Your subordinate is ipetent. I was unable to find anything."

    Qing Chen¡¯s voice dropped low, "I don''t me you. Not even I could find any issues. Let''s go. I¡¯ll take you to Dragon Mountain."

    Lu Yin knew that this trip to Dragon Mountain was unavoidable, and it would be almost impossible to exin why he continuously avoided going. There were certain shackles of thought that not even cultivators could break free of. In the end, Lu Yin had the identity of someone from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families, and it was impossible for him to break free from the White Dragon n, let alone convince others that he wanted to leave the n.

    The sky above the Higher Realm remained dark, as only the territories that belonged to the four ruling powers were allowed to be illuminated.

    As they journeyed to Dragon Mountain, Qing Chen offered Lu Yin a bit of information regarding the Higher Realm, including topics like the White Dragon n¡¯s Dragon Mountain. The bottom of the mountain illuminated the territory, and light actually radiated from the entire mountain. In addition, the mountain was surrounded bykes, and the glowing mountain in the sky reflected off of thekes, making for a stunningly beautiful sight.

    No one knew where the light at the bottom of the mountain came from, though some people believed that there was a massive sourcebox array set up on the bottom of Dragon Mountain.

    As for the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s lightsource, their territory was illuminated by white clouds. The sky above the Celestial Frost Sect was blue, and the clouds were white. What¡¯s more, each cloud glowed in a soft and pleasant light that was amazing to behold.

    Once again, no one knew why the clouds glowed. However, there was one important detail: the light from the clouds possessed healing properties that not only healed the body, but also gave people a peaceful and ineffable sensation.

    As for the Wang family, all of them lived atop a severed hand. Since ancient times, countless people had sought to uncover the severed hand¡¯s origins, but no one ever found any clues.

    The severed hand was massive enough to support the entire Wang family, and it also meant that the Wang family lived at the highest altitude of all four ruling powers; their home was in the clouds.

    There was a sphere above the severed hand that gave off light. This sphere was not a celestial body like a star, but rather more of some kind of a manifestation of some power.

    When the severed hand was mentioned, Lu Yin suddenly remembered the severed hand that had appeared when Wang Su had utilized the visualization method. Had that been the hand that Lu Yin had just been told about?

    The light source for Shenwu''s Sky was the most bizarre, as it was actually an imprisoned Jiao.1 Shenwu¡¯s Sky had imprisoned a dragon, and the beast glowed bright enough to illuminate Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s entire territory.

    These were the four ruling powers, and each of them possessed their own light source. As for the rest of the Higher Realm, while any powerhouse of sufficient strength was capable of dragging a star up to the Higher Realm to illuminate a region, such an act was forbidden. The four ruling powers dominated the Higher Realm, and no other stars were allowed.

    "My Humility¡¯s Gate holds a special position. Because of themander¡¯s existence, the four ruling powers are forced to tolerate many things, but our special position mainlyes from the four ruling powers¡¯ fear of themander, as well as their hatred of traitors and Redbacks. This forced them to give Humility¡¯s Gate its special status. If you think that your achievements for Humility¡¯s Gate can make you untouchable to the four ruling powers, you need to know that that¡¯s wrong," Qing Chen said lightly.

    "However, there is mutual tolerance between us. You can simply ignore the four ruling powers¡¯ elite disciples, their elders, and even their Junior Progenitors. However, you absolutely cannot ignore their patriarchs and Semi-Progenitors. Understand?"

    Lu Yin could sense that Qing Chen was truly trying to help him, so he nodded. "Yes, supervisor."

    Qing Chen sighed. He then led Lu Yin away, and they traveled along beneath the dim sky and made their way towards Dragon Mountain. As they traveled, the light grew brighter and brighter.

    It was quite normal to see remnant fluctuations of a cultivator¡¯s star energy as they traveled over the ground. It was readily evident that the Higher Realm was not at peace, as the battles that the two had encountered were truly fierce.

    All of a sudden, there was a loud noise that shook the void itself and shattered space up in the sky. When Lu Yin looked to the south, he saw that the sky had changed.

    Where the sky should have been dark and peaceful, there was instead a pair of scarlet eyes with slitted pupils. The eyes were cold and dead, and the owner of that pair of eyes stared menacingly at what seemed to be another dead being, the Perennial World.

    Qing Chen also saw what had appeared. Compared to those eyes, even the Higher Realm did not seem thatrge.

    The scarlet eyes looked down at the Higher Realm, and countless people saw them. The eyes instantly caused a wave of endless fear to sweep out, and many people¡¯s scalps went numb.

    Lu Yin felt a chill crawl down his back, and the fear that overcame him made him tremble uncontrobly. Those eyes gave him a feeling of utter despair.

    [1] This is specifically a Chinese dragon, but this term works better than calling it a Chinese dragon when it''s essentially in another universe. ?

 Chapter 1485: Mutation

    Chapter 1485: Mutation

    A moment after the slitted scarlet eyes appeared, a massive triangr shadow also appeared in the sky, to the south. Another triangle appeared after that, and then another until there were five rotating triangles. Each one was several timesrger than the pair of scarlet eyes, and it looked as though the Higher Realm was equipped with gears that were slowly turning. Each time a triangle turned a side, the entire Higher Realm trembled. Lu Yin could tell that each triangle was unbelievablyrge, and all five together was almostparable to the Higher Realm itself in size.

    "The array¡¯s been activated! This isn¡¯t good." Qing Chen gritted his teeth and grabbed Lu Yin. The two then disappeared. Lu Yin had never seen such fear on Qing Chen¡¯s face before, and he noticed that the supervisor was not alone in his horror. There was also a nearby Envoy, though Lu Yin and Qing Chen quickly left that cultivator far behind.

    Qing Chen traveled as fast as he could, searching for a certain ce. Once he found what he was looking for, he pressed a hand down, shattered the earth, and tore open the void. The hole grewrger and deeper until Lu Yin could not even see how far down the hole went. After Qing Chen was done, Lu Yin saw that the supervisor had revealed a huge, square tform; it was a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin had no time to be surprised, and Qing Chen quickly spoke up. ¡°We need to replenish the stellr energy that powers the base of this sourcebox array. If anyone appears and tries to destroy this tform, then we need to do whatever it takes to stop them."

    He then leaped down into the hole and sat down cross-legged on the square tform. A wave of stellr energy swept out, but it quickly disappeared into the sourcebox.

    An old man appeared at this moment, and he moved down to the tform without even ncing at Lu Yin. This man sat down cross-legged, the same as Qing Chen, and started pouring his stellr energy into the square tform beneath the ground.

    Soon after, two women appeared. They were both stunningly beautiful, and they had bewitching eyebrows and faces that could captivate a person at only a nce. However, both of the women looked very serious at this moment. One of the two nced at Lu Yin, said something to the other woman, and then leapt down to the square tform to pour her stellr energy into the sourcebox array as well.

    The remaining woman looked worried as she stared at the five triangles to the south, as well as the pair of slitted scarlet eyes. Trepidation filled the woman¡¯s eyes.

    After a moment, she looked towards Lu Yin with a bit of curiosity. But that was all she did. She remained floating high in the sky, silent.

    Lu Yin said nothing as well. He could sense that the situation was dire. The square tform in the ground and the triangles in the sky to the south were apparently the Perennial World¡¯srgest sourcebox array, and it had been specifically designed to ward off those monsters. The appearance of the scarlet eyes had triggered the sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin felt that the owner of those scarlet eyes had to be a powerful Progenitor. Could the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors stop this attack?

    Another Envoy arrived. This powerhouse was leading arge number of people, and all of them were riding atop vessels formed from folded paper. Theynded on the ground, clearly nervous. None of them dared to even look towards the scarlet eyes off in the distance, and worry was readily apparent on all of their faces.

    Qing Chen, the old man, the beautiful woman, and the man who arrivedst all sat down on the tform. Qing Chen was far more powerful than the other four Envoys, and although all of them were pouring their stellr energy into the tform as quickly as they could, no one couldpare to Qing Chen¡¯s contribution. Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, and Lu Yin could not even imagine how terrifyingly powerful the old man truly was.

    Soon, an entire day passed, but the pair of slitted, scarlet eyes remained floating overhead. They were cold, dead, andpletely devoid of all emotions. On the other hand, the five triangles had started turning faster and faster. They worked together to release a strange force that constantly pushed the scarlet eyes back.

    Lu Yin guessed that this effect was due to the efforts of the stellr energy provided by Qing Chen and the others.

    At this time, another man arrived, and he also charged straight for the square tform. The beautiful woman who had arrived the day before instantly reacted. She shouted, ¡°Stop him!¡± as she raised a hand. A multi-colored handkerchief swirled and shed out at the man, but he easily grabbed it with a sneer before directly throwing the piece of cloth back at the woman.

    The woman was stunned. The handkerchief had been thrown at her with so much strength that she could not dodge aside. She stared on in horror as it drew closer, but then, a powerful st of air came from the side and blew the piece of cloth to bits. At the same time, another gust of wind attacked the man from the same direction that the previous gust hade from.

    The man frowned and took out a sword from his cosmic ring. However, the iing st shattered his sword when he retaliated, and that didn¡¯t even diminish the iing attack¡¯s power. The attack struck the man straight in his chest, passed through his body, and struck the void, causing ripples to appear.

    The beautiful woman was left stunned, and when she turned to look at where the attacks hade from, there was only Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pulled his finger back. That had been all that he had used. The man was an Enlighter with a power level of around 300,000 while the woman was not even a Hunter. Naturally, she had been unable to stop the man¡¯s attack. However, the man¡¯s strength was negligible to Lu Yin, and he had not even been able to stop a finger flick from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already revealed to many people that he had recently be an Enlighter, so the strength that he had revealed was eptable, though still shocking to the woman who had been saved. Lu Yin¡¯s strength also stunned the group of people who had arrived withst Envoy.

    The man''s body fell to the ground.

    The beautiful woman gritted her teeth as she flew over to Lu Yin. "I¡¯m Luo Fan.1 Thank you for saving me."

    Lu Yin was taken aback by her manner of speech. He had assumed that a woman with such heavy and vibrant makeup would speak in a more overbearing manner, or at least be simr to Madam Nn. He had not expected her to have such a soft voice. "Long Qi."

    It was the woman¡¯s turn to be surprised. "The White Dragon n?"

    "A branch family."

    The woman snorted. Worry still clouded her eyes. "Master and the others are still passing stellr energy into the sourcebox array to hold the monsters back, but this means that more and more traitors hidden in the Perennial World will try to destroy the bases of the array. I¡¯ll have to trouble Big Brother Long Qi to help us hold them back."

    Lu Yin nodded, as this exined why Qing Chen had asked him to stand guard.

    "How long will this take?" Lu Yin asked. He regretted his question the moment he spoke it, as how could this woman have any idea?

    Sure enough, she shook her head and stayed silent.

    Lu Yin heard some people in the crowd below speaking. "Isn''t she Mistress Luo Fan from Misty Rain Pavilions? Why is she here?"

    "She came with her master, of course. Didn¡¯t you see Mu Yu?"

    "I was wondering why she looked so familiar."

    "Have you been to Misty Rain Pavilions?"

    "¡­I¡¯ve heard about it."

    ¡­

    A courtesan? That was not amon upation. Lu Yin looked at Luo Fan again, this time with more interest. Aside from the heavy makeup, the woman had a truly refined appearance. What a pity.

    Naturally, Luo Fan said nothing, and she simply stared down at the square tform with worried eyes.

    "Head on down. I¡¯ll stand guard," Lu Yin offered. The woman was not even a Hunter, so she really was not able to help defend the tform. She would only get in the way.

    Luo Fan blushed. "Thank you."

    She then dropped down to the ground.

    After half an hour, another traitor appeared, trying to destroy the tform, but this person was an Enlighter with a power level of just over 200,000. Lu Yin destroyed the cultivator with a wave of his hand.

    Over the next few days, several more traitors appeared, but none of them possessed any real strength.

    However, on the fourth day, a blue fish showed up, and its appearance caused Luo Fan to have a very strong reaction. "Big Brother Long Qi, be careful! That¡¯s Lan Gui! He¡¯s on the cusp of bing an Envoy!"

    When the other people on the ground heard the name "Lan Gui," they were all terrified. This person clearly did not have a good reputation.

    Lu Yin kept a wary eye on the fish.

    Suddenly, the fish began to transform, and it took the form of a man covered with scales. He looked down at Luo Fan with a grin. "Girl, what are you talking about? Do you think that I¡¯m a traitor? What a joke!"

    Luo Fan''s face grew pale.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened as he stared at the neer. Did this person¡¯s innate gift allow him to transform into a fish? Suddenly, he had shbacks of the fish that rode on top of Xi Qi''s head.

    "What are you looking at? I''m here to protect you guys. I¡¯ll gouge out the eyes of whoever dares to look again!" Lan Gui shouted threats at Lu Yin, who was still staring at the neer.

    Lu Yin''s eyes remained calm. He was clearly unafraid.

    Lan Gui was caught off guard, and his eyes turned ferocious. ¡°Kid, aren''t you afraid? I¡¯m Lan Gui! I¡¯ve killed countless people and been repeatedly kicked out of the Higher Realm."

    "What''s that got to do with me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Gui¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. ¡°Boy, you¡¯re cutting it close. Watch out, or else I¡¯ll kill you."

    Luo Fan quickly sent a message over to Lu Yin. "Big Brother Long Qi, don''t provoke this person! He¡¯s insane, and while you might think that being a part of the White Dragon n would stop him from killing you, he has absolutely destroyed some of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples, though he stopped right before killing them. The sect never retaliated, merely posting a mission for their disciples for them to deal with the matter themselves. Despite that, nothing¡¯s happened to him yet."

    "How is that possible? Their Junior Progenitor didn''t move?" Lu Yin was so surprised that he had to ask Luo Fan this. Even if there were no other Celestial Frost Sect disciples who could defeat this person, there were always power vessels, and that was not even mentioning Yu Chen. If that woman made a move, she would only need a few minutes toy out a scheme to deal with Lan Gui, let alone if a Junior Progenitor moved against him.

    Luo Fan exined, "Whenever the Junior Progenitor tried to do anything, this person would just escape. He¡¯s very slippery and difficult to pin down."

    "Boy, I''m talking to you!" Lan Gui shouted angrily. It looked like he was about to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look at the ground, and at the same time, Lan Gui''s expression changed as he also switched his focus towards the ground. He smiled. "There¡¯s a mouse."

    With that, he transformed back into a fish and disappeared.

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he stepped forward himself. Before he had be an Enlighter and opened his upper meridian point, he had needed to use gemspring water to see into the true universe, but that was no longer the case.

    The Junior Progenitors were able to briefly enter the true universe with their extreme speed, and Lu Yin was capable of the same now.

    As soon as he moved, his vision changed. He no longer saw just the universe that normal people saw, but also the true universe. He saw that the blue fish was swimming rapidly through the true universe, making its way to the ground.

    This sight exined why the youths of the four ruling powers had not been able to catch Lan Gui. As it turned out, his innate gift allowed him to travel freely through the true universe. This was a truly impressive innate gift.

    Lan Gui shot through the true universe and quickly reached the ground, where he smashed into someone. This person was wearing a mask that hid their face. The void twisted around this person, and they were obviously using a power vessel.

    Lu Yin did not even react to this sight; there were simply too many power vessels in the Perennial World.

    Lan Gui tried to hit the person hard enough to knock them out of the true universe. As long as this person had not ascended past the Enlighter realm, there should be no way for them to avoid his attack.

    However, the blue fish that Lan Gui had transformed into ended up being caught. The masked man easily grabbed Lan Gui. "Get lost."

    The man then squeezed, and cracks covered the body of the blue fish. Lu Yin¡¯s expression drastically changed. This was not good¡ªthey were an Envoy! Lu Yin instantly threw out a Vacuum Palm.

    Just when the masked man was about to crush Lan Gui to pieces, a sense of danger filled his head, and he instantly retreated. The Vacuum Palm brushed past the man¡¯s head and mmed into the ground. Lan Gui¡¯s fish form was caught up in the aftermath of the attack, and it knocked him around. He eventually transformed back into a human and coughed up blood. His face was pale, and he sank to the ground.

    Luo Fan and the others were startled by this sight; what had just happened?

    Back in the true universe, the masked man looked up and saw Lu Yin. Lu Yin took out some gemspring water and dripped it into his eyes so that he would be able to observe the true universe even without moving.

    [1] This name means "descended + mortal," which is simr to a fairy. ?

 Chapter 1486: Ceaseless Impetus

    Chapter 1486: Ceaseless Impetus

    With the gemspring water in his eyes, Lu Yin looked at the masked man.

    The masked man frowned. "If you want to seek death, then I¡¯ll oblige you."

    After saying that, he opened his hand and bent his fingers into ws. The void shattered, and a bizarre, eagle-like creature shot out of the void and raced towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and released a 350 Stacks Vacuum Palm.

    Bang bang bang¡­

    The void ruptured, and shockwaves spread out in all directions, strong enough to distort space and tear the void open.

    The masked man waspletely shocked; how was this possible? A mere Enlighter had just blocked his battle technique!

    Lu Yin lowered his hand. This was no good. This opponent was too difficult. Long Qi should not be strong enough to go toe to toe against an Envoy.

    With this thought, Lu Yin stepped back, pulled out the giant mechanical arm, and put it on. He lookedpletely bizarre as he charged the masked man. "Die, traitor!"

    The masked man frowned. He could not understand why, but he felt danger surrounding him from all directions. It felt like a terrifying powerhouse was attacking him, but his opponent was just an Enlighter. When the man recalled that this Enlighter had just blocked his battle technique with some sort of stockpiling palm technique, he became even more nervous. No, first he had to destroy the power supply of the sourcebox array to prevent those people from giving the array any more stellr energy.

    There was an explosion as Lu Yin smashed the giant arm into the ground. The ground shattered, and the violent shockwave blew Luo Fan and the others away.

    Lan Gui was also sted away, and he cursed this freak of an Enlighter as he uncontrobly flew through the air and vomited up another mouthful of blood. He was nearly done in by this attack.

    Beneath the ground, the masked man secretly cursed Lu Yin as well. The giant right arm had a strength that matched a power level of 500,000, which was the power level of an Envoy. Normally, this would not pose any threat to the masked man, but this Enlighter was already able to block his attacks with a palm, and now, the Enlighter was using a powerful weapon. Things had just be quite troublesome.

    Lu Yin took advantage of the moment when the others were being swept away by the shockwave of his attack and the masked man was focused on dodging the attack; an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved.

    The masked man simply fell back. He wanted to get around Lu Yin in order to attack the square tform. Suddenly, his back turned cold. He whipped around and saw a raised hand. There was no star energy to be sensed, but there was golden battle force twined around a hand as it struck out with another Vacuum Palm.

    The masked man''s pupils instantly shrank to dots at the sight of the golden battle force. He reflexively dodged the attack. He believed that he had dodged, but he had never dreamed that Lu Yin would suddenly shift locations.

    The Vacuum Palm went in the same direction as before, but Lu Yin¡¯s body had changed locations. He had shifted himself to be directly behind the masked man with the Teleportation Formation. There were no obstacles as the Vacuum Palm struck the man¡¯s back, and he spat out blood. This was unbelievable; an Envoy had just been injured by an Enlighter.

    Severe pain spread through his body, and the masked man could feel that the bones in his back had cracked. He could not stay in this ce any longer.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, as he had not expected an Envoy to be so willing to run away.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet once more as he shifted himself. He intended to keep the masked man from escaping.

    Suddenly, the five triangles far to the south that were rotating like gears sped up. The terrifying slitted scarlet eyes blinked and then shattered. The Higher Realm itself trembled, and countless people turned to look.

    The sky soon returned to normal. The scarlet eyes had disappeared, as had the five triangles. Only the dim sky could be seen now.

    Lu Yin made a mistake with the Ce Secret Art. By the time he was able to pursue the masked man once more, the man had already fled.

    Lu Yin felt some regret, but he was also rather excited. This was the first time that he had fought against a full strength Envoy. Even with the natural suppression that stellr energy had over star energy, Lu Yin found that he was able to deal with ordinary envoys with his golden battle force and his improved Vacuum Palms.

    Luo Fan and the others had not been able to clearly see Lu Yin¡¯s battle, but Lan Gui had.

    Lan Gui struggled to rise due to his limbs being twisted into unnatural shapes. It was clear that he had nearly beenpletely crushed to death by the masked man.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance as the sky recovered. He then looked down at the square tform. Qing Chen opened his eyes, but he did not move. It was not an easy process to feed stellr energy into the sourcebox array.

    Eventually, Lu Yin looked over at Lan Gui.

    Lan Gui''s expression instantly changed. He pursed his lips, "About that, this sen-"

    He had been about to refer to himself as a senior, but then, the scene of Lu Yin¡¯s attack against the Envoy suddenly shed into his mind, and Lan Gui lost his boldness. He felt that this youth had to be someone from one of the four ruling powers, so Lan Gui changed what he had been about to say. ¡°I''m leaving now. Thank you for saving me."

    Lu Yin quietly watched as Lan Gui left and made no attempt to stop the man from leaving. While Lan Gui might pose a terrible challenge to others, Lu Yin had a very simple solution: one Vacuum Palm.

    People had been scattered in all directions from the shockwave of Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and there were many injuries among them, some of them quite serious. Luo Fan had received a scratch on her arm, and she struggled to stand up. She saw Lu Yin standing some distance away with a dignified appearance. Had he just forced an Envoy to retreat?

    Everything had already returned to normal, and the sky off in the distance had grown dim. The only sources of lights were those from the four ruling powers¡¯ territories.

    Lu Yin descended to the ground close to the tform, and Luo Fan approached him. "Where''s thest attacker?"

    "Lan Gui fought him off," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Fan was surprised. Had Lan Gui really fought thatst attacker off? But she had clearly seen Lan Gui spit out a mouthful of blood and then be smashed into the ground. She gave Lu Yin a careful, appraising look, but she did not press the issue.

    It was not long before Qing Chen rose up from the tform. Lu Yin immediately approached the old man. ¡°Supervisor, traitors indeed attacked, but all of them were forced back."

    Qing Chen replied, "I know. You¡¯ve worked hard."

    He then stared off into the distance. There was still a solemn expression on his face, and it was clear that not all of his concerns had been alleviated.

    The Envoys left the tform one after another, and after they all moved away, Qing Chen took action to force the tform back down into the earth and restore the ground on top of it.

    "So it was Senior Qing Chen with us. Mu Yu greets senior."

    "We greet senior."

    All of the Envoys quickly bowed to Qing Chen.

    Qing Chen spoke in a low voice, "I would also like to thank all of you for supporting the array."

    "We protected this ce, as we should," the old man stated.

    The beautiful woman turned to look at Lu Yin. "Senior, who is that?"

    Qing Chen then introduced the Envoys to Lu Yin. They had not expected to meet a member of the White Dragon n in this ce.

    Even though these powerhouses had all been focused on sending stellr energy into the sourcebox array and had been unable to make any moves, all of them had been able to observe everything that had happened nearby. The strength that Lu Yin had shown over thest few days had been truly surprising to all of them.

    In particr, even though they had seen Long Qi use a power vessel, he had still defeated an Envoy. On top of that, they had also seen that he had mastered a secret technique, which was not an easy aplishment.

    Mu Yu smiled at Lu Yin. "Little brother, if you ever have a chance to visit Misty Rain Pavilions, I will make sure that you enjoy your visit."

    Luo Fan stood behind her master, and the younger woman blushed and hung her head, though she said nothing.

    Even though there were several Envoys present, they did not all know each other. After all, there were a great number of Envoys in the Perennial World, and there were certain groups who were very wary of each other.

    Before long, Lu Yin¡¯s journey to Dragon Mountain with Qing Chen resumed.

    "Supervisor, what happened back there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen answered in a deep voice, "The situation of the battlefield at the back of the Mother Tree is not going well, and the Progenitors of the Perennial World failed to block all of the enemy Progenitors¡¯ attacks, causing a crack to appear in the Perennial World."

    "They weren¡¯t able to stop a Progenitor?" Lu Yin felt incredibly concerned.

    Qing Chen continued, "For a long time, our world has been at a disadvantage in the battle against those monsters. Whenever they fully dedicate themselves to an assault, it¡¯s difficult for us to defend against them all. This is why, a long time ago, a massive sourcebox array was set up behind the Mother Tree: Ceaseless Impetus. The base of the array is five massive triangr continents.

    "If those monsters want to destroy the array, they have to climb up the triangr continents from the bottom. For us, we have an easy time defending the triangles against the ordinary monsters, but there are those with power that exceeds that of Envoys, and even those as strong as Semi-Progenitors. As for their Progenitors, either our own Progenitors will take action, or the array formed from the five triangr bases will work together to block the attack.

    "The array probably failed to block this attack because the nodes are missing."

    Lu Yin felt surprised at this. "The array¡¯s nodes? What are those?"

    Qing Chen¡¯s face twisted as he answered, "People."

    Lu Yin was shocked.

    "The array master and the nodes form the most important parts of the sourcebox array. Each one of them is a Semi-Progenitor, but if even one of them is missing, the array¡¯s defensive capabilities be greatly reduced, or even disappear," exined Qing Chen.

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly and drastically changed¡ªSemi-Progenitors? Could it be?

    "The Semi-Progenitors who went up to the Dominion Realm to rescue the Junior Progenitors, are they the nodes?" Lu Yin blurted out.

    Qing Chen nodded. "Nice thinking."

    Lu Yin suddenly understood why the monsters had trapped the Junior Progenitors instead of simply killing them. This was the reason.

    Semi-Progenitors would have to be sent out to rescue the Junior Progenitors, but no matter how many Semi-Progenitors there were in the Perennial World, ten were needed to maintain the defensive sourcebox array, so how many more could there still be? Additionally, it was impossible for any of the four ruling powers to trust a Semi-Progenitor from another ruling power to rescue their own Junior Progenitor, which furtherplicated the matter. A choice had been put before the four ruling powers: abandon the Junior Progenitors or leave the sourcebox array unattended in order to rescue the four youths.

    It was clear that the four ruling powers saw the lives of their Junior Progenitors as more important than maintaining a fully operational defensive sourcebox array.

    "Many years have passed without any incidents affecting the sourcebox array, but the war behind the Mother Tree has also never been as intense as it is now. This is a recent change, and the four ruling powers did not expect the nodes¡¯ absence to trigger such an issue. All that can be said is that the enemy nned well." Qing Chen frowned.

    Lu Yin felt a chill grip his heart. Starting with the map of the Dominion Realm that Long Xian had leaked, to trapping the Junior Progenitors, to the most recent attack on the Perennial World¡¯s defensive sourcebox array¡ªthis plot had shaken the entire Perennial World. Each step of the enemy¡¯s n was intricately linked to the next, and not once had humanity taken a step that strayed from their enemy¡¯s expectations. This level of scheming and deep understanding of humanity was absolutely terrifying.

    On top of that, this was just one active plot. The presence of other traitors and Redbacks had caused people to panic and had forced the Perennial World to gather many powerhouses to form Humility¡¯s Gate. This further upied the Perennial World¡¯s powerhouses and divided them. The most horrifying part of this scheme was that no one could be sure who was a Redback.

    Lu Yin looked to the south. All of a sudden, he had a feeling that the entire Perennial Word was held in ce by a massive hand, just like how Lan Gui had been seized by the masked man, unable to break free, as death inched closer and closer.

    "Are the Progenitors of this universe weaker than those monsters¡¯ Progenitors?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Qing Chen stiffened from shock. "Of course not! My Perennial World has its own Progenitors, as do the four ruling powers. Which of them is not an invincible powerhouse? We have had more than just one or two peerless experts who rose up in the past, and the original Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were overwhelmingly brilliant."

    At this point, Qing Chen fell silent, and he stopped talking. After all, he was referring to the original Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Back then, there had been Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui, and the Rune Progenitor. ording to what Lu Yin knew, each one of them had been a peerless powerhouse who had dominated the entire universe, and the Sixth Maind had even denied their existence. Progenitor Hui had even been able to make ns that spanned countless years. Could the Perennial World¡¯s current Progenitors evene close toparing to the Progenitors of that era?

    Lu Yin suspected that the Progenitors of the Perennial World likely possessed a simr level of strength as the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors. However, all three of them together might not be capable of defeating even a single one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones.

    Humanity is regressing. Lu Yin had this sudden thought.

 Chapter 1487: Dragon Mountain

    Chapter 1487: Dragon Mountain

    As they traveled, Qing Chen remained rtively silent, clearly contemting something.

    After a few days, the sky had be bright, and when one looked up, it was like looking into a mirror. fish were swimming, aquatic nts were waving, and there were various beautiful scenes in the mirror. Down below them was ake. Thiske surrounded Dragon Mountain, and the light in this region of the Higher Realm originated from Dragon Mountain itself, where it was reflected by theke to illuminate the sky.

    Theke was absolutely massive. Just like White Mountain in the Middle Realm, a mountain in this ce also represented a civilization. Lu Yin could sees slowly rotating about theke, and there were civilizations on theses as well.

    The White Dragon n did not have many members, and there were certainly not enough to support their status as one of the four ruling powers. This naturally meant that most cultivators affiliated with the White Dragon n were recruited ones, not actual n members. These outside cultivators all hailed from the civilizeds that orbited near Dragon Mountain. The civilizations on thes were basically ves, and as soon as a talented cultivator appeared on one of them, they would be immediately taken to the White Dragon n and removed from their home.

    In front of Lu Yin and Qing Chen was Dragon Mountain, and it was a truly majestic sight.

    Someone immediately greeted the two as Lu Yin and Qing Chen approached. This person was an Envoy, but not a member of the White Dragon n. They were an outside cultivator.

    The two crossed over theke and then stepped onto Dragon Mountain itself. The rocks on the mountain were white, and the trees, flowers, and nts here all radiated a soft halo that gave everything a beautiful and holy appearance. It was clear that this was not Qing Chen¡¯s first time visiting, and the elder respectfully said, "The patriarch asked me to lead Senior Qing Chen to Heart-Cleansing Building. He mentioned that senior appreciates the serenity there."

    Qing Chen remembered his past visit. "I visited this ce ten years ago, and I spoke with Long Laogui in Heart-Cleansing Building. I didn''t expect Patriarch Long Ke to remember that visit. Lead the way."

    Lu Yin quietly followed behind as they passed by many mountain peaks. He saw various cultivators, and they in turn saw Lu Yin and Qing Chen.

    Everyone who saw them knew who Lu Yin was. He had be a legend to them.

    Many people had considered plots that targeted the n¡¯s main family by humiliating Lu Yin, but things had changed due to the situation on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    "That kid has incredible luck. Elder Quan was just sent to the battlefield, which means that he can¡¯t deal with this kid. Otherwise, he could forget about ever leaving this mountain," a young manmented in a bitter tone as he stared at Lu Yin''s back.

    Someone behind the young man also spoke up. "It won''t take long for the main family to make a move. Long Tian¡¯s been trapped, and Long Xi disappeared. Things are working out well, and the main family has no heirs left. How could they possibly think that they can rely on just a son-inw? Everything¡¯s going to change after Elder Quan gets back."

    "What if that kid sneaks away?"

    "We make sure he stays around."

    "I¡¯m going to go make a call.¡±

    ¡­

    The giantke surrounded Dragon Mountain on all sides. Theke¡¯s water not only surrounded the mountain, but it also flowed into the mountain and down its sides in beautiful streams.

    Heart-Cleansing Building was a bamboo house that had been constructed in the middle of one of the streams.

    When Lu Yin saw the building, he felt that it was quite familiar. It actually looked very simr to the bamboo house above the pond where Long Xi had once imprisoned him on White Mountain. Yes, the two were very simr.

    Long Ke was present to greet Qing Chen when he arrived. "Senior Qing Chen, wee to Dragon Mountain."

    Qing Chen smiled. "Ten years ago, Long Laogui and I discussed the path of cultivation in this ce, so I am not unfamiliar with Dragon Mountain. How is Long Laogui?"

    Long Ke answered in a solemn tone, "He has already rushed to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree."

    Qing Chen nodded. "On our way here, I saw that the White Dragon n has sent out many batches of support troops. Is the situation on the battlefield that bad?¡±

    As the leader of one of the four ruling powers, even though Long Ke could notpare to Qing Chen¡¯s personal strength and cultivation, the patriarch was much more informed of the situation on the battlefield. It was true that Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, but in the end, he was just a member of Humility¡¯s Gate who was responsible for finding Redbacks. In other words, he had nothing to do with the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    "It''s not great. To my understanding, each of the four ruling powers has received orders from their Progenitors, which has led to nearly half of our powerhouses being deployed to the battlefield. A great number of experts in the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm have been drafted to fight." Long Ke looked as though he was weighed down by a heavy burden.

    Qing Chen frowned. "It''s worse than I had imagined."

    "Many years have passed without any idents befalling the sourcebox array¡¯s nodes. Those monstersid out their ns very carefully this time," Long Ke said solemnly.

    The two older men did nothing to hide their conversation from Lu Yin. As he listened to their words, Lu Yin was reminded of when the Outerverse had faced an invasion from the Sixth Maind and how he had been drafted at that time. In the end, the only reason why Lu Yin had managed to survive the invasion was because he had called Mister Mu toe help him. The Perennial World was currently facing a truly desperate situation, but were their Progenitors strong enough to turn things around?

    Lu Yin thought of Mister Mu and then shook his head. Even those ancient Progenitors were unable to stop the monsters¡¯ invasion, so there was no need to mention Mister Mu alone.

    "Senior, let''s move away from that topic. The addition of so many powerhouses has stabilized the battlefield enough. This junior has prepared some White Dragon Brew, which is Senior¡¯s favorite. Please enjoy a cup," Long Ke said with a smile.

    Qing Chen nodded. "Long Qi, join us."

    For the first time, Long Ke looked straight at Lu Yin. The patriarch¡¯s eyes were cold and arrogant.

    Lu Yin bowed to Long Ke. "Long Qi greets father-inw."

    Long Ke responded with a smile that was not a smile. "Yourmunication crystal isn¡¯t broken, is it?"

    Lu Yin had ignored Long Ke¡¯s calls, which hadpletely offended Long Ke. Qing Chen had brought Lu Yin to Dragon Mountain specifically to apologize for this matter.

    Lu Yin bowed low. "It was just repaired."

    Long Ke was taken aback. He had expected Long Qi to offer a sincere apology, or at least offer a decent excuse. Who could have expected that the kid would just hang himself out to dry? Was amunication crystal that easy to break? And even if one did break, was it impossible to find another one? Also, Long Ke¡¯smunication crystal would have detected it if he was trying to call a broken target. Long Qi waspletely shameless.

    "Yourmunication crystal broke?" Long Ke¡¯s eyebrows rose high.

    Lu Yin answered in apletely serious tone. "It was bad. I¡¯m not sure exactly what happened, but it was only just repaired, so everything¡¯s fine now."

    Qing Chen was simrly left speechless. This was an absolutely terrible excuse, though it was technically a reason for Long Qi to ignore Long Ke¡¯s calls. Qing Chen noticed the patriarch¡¯s expression growing uglier by the second, so he quickly spoke up. "Let¡¯s head into Heart-Cleansing Building to drink the White Dragon Brew first. It¡¯s been ten years since I¡¯ve had any, and I have to admit that I¡¯ve missed it.¡±

    A stiff smile appeared on Long Ke¡¯s face. "Senior, please."

    He then shot a cold re at Lu Yin.

    Long Ke was the patriarch of the White Dragon n, which meant that he was one of the most respected individuals in the entire Perennial World. When had he ever been openly mocked by a junior in such a manner? If Long Qi had been anyone else, Long Ke would have pped the youth dead. Long Ke would take it seriously even if Long Xi was the one making a fool of him, and she definitely would have been punished. However, Long Ke did not know how to respond to Long Qi.

    Lu Yin was one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Gate Masters. While Long Ke could technically give Long Qi a harsh punishment, it would be rude towards Qing Chen. However, Long Ke was unwilling to not punish his son-inw at all. After all, this kid seemed to bepletely fearless even when facing his n¡¯s patriarch. It looked as though Long Qi did not give any weight to his identity as a member of the White Dragon n.

    How could that be? In the past, the n¡¯s main family had sent Long Xian to Flying Armor Pass and then further scattered the other branch family members. It could even be said that that particr branch family had been destroyed. Despite such harsh treatment, Long Xian had never left the White Dragon n and had remained in Flying Armor Pass. It was impossible for any member of the n to consider leaving unless they had truly been pushed past the point of no return.

    So why did Long Qi not care about his identity as a member of the White Dragon n at all?

    Long Ke¡¯splicated thoughts ran rampant as the three arrived at Heart-Cleansing Building.

    Lu Yin naturally stood behind Qing Chen, as no ce had been arranged for him to sit.

    Qing Chen chatted with Long Ke for a while before the atmosphere grew more pleasant. "My Humility¡¯s Gate has been around for so many years, and yet a child of your White Dragon n is the first Hunter to ever be given the position of Gate Master. Patriarch Long Ke, your White Dragon n has raised a true genius. Congrattions."

    Long Ke nced at Lu Yin before smiling at Qing Chen. "There¡¯s no need for that. It was just a fluke, nothing more."

    Qing Chen nced back at Lu Yin beforementing, "Some time ago, yourmunication crystal broke, and Patriarch Long Ke was unable to contact you. You should have found a way to reach out to Patriarch Long Ke on your own instead of just focusing on nothing but catching traitors. Step forward and offer Patriarch Ke the apology that he deserves."

    Qing Chen felt helpless. The truth was that he had not intended to say anything like this, but he had no choice but to follow up on the excuse that Long Qi had mentioned earlier, that the youth¡¯smunication crystal had broken and only recently been repaired. Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, and he rarely spoke such tant nonsense, but he had been forced into it by Lu Yin.

    Long Ke smiled casually and picked up his wine ss to take a sip.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and stepped forward to bow to Long Ke. "Your youthful son-inw was inconsiderate, and I thought of nothing but catching traitors, which caused father-inw to worry."

    Before Long Ke had a chance to speak, Qing Chen scolded Lu Yin. "It''s certainly good to arrest traitors, but not to the exclusion of all else. Patriarch Long Ke was very worried about you."

    "I understand," Lu Yin replied.

    Qing Chen felt satisfied. "Good. Make sure tomunicate with your father-inw more frequently in the future."

    Lu Yin agreed.

    Long Ke was at a loss for words; he had not even spoken yet!

    "Long Qi, I want to speak to you about Long Xi." Long Ke set his wine ss down. He then looked at Qing Chen and apologized. "Senior, I would like to ask to speak with Long Qi alone."

    Qing Chen smiled. "If the two of you have anything that you need to talk about, please take your time. Don¡¯t worry about me, as I¡¯ll simply be enjoying the White Dragon Brew."

    "Thank you, senior." Long Ke then looked at Lu Yin and stepped out of the room to leave Heart-Cleansing Building.

    Lu Yin helplessly followed.

    Long Ke stood atop a mountain a hundred miles away from Heart-Cleansing Building. The patriarch sped his hands behind his back and waited for Lu Yin to arrive.

    Long Ke turned around and locked his cold gaze onto Lu Yin. "You have guts! Over all these years, you are the first who has ever dared to ignore me! Not even Elder Long Quan would dare to reject my call."

    Lu Yin stopped acting and retorted in a calm tone, ¡°I, Long Qi, am from a branch family, and the main family has never once shown me any care, not since childhood. If the patriarch wishes to oppress me with the main family¡¯s authority, then you are targeting the wrong person."

    Long Ke¡¯s voice was stern, "If you were not a member of the White Dragon n, then you would have already died countless times. The only reason why the Dalian Mountain branch family was not dealt with by the surrounding families was because they were still a part of the White Dragon n. Without being a part of the White Dragon n, how could you have married Long Xi? How would you have been able to join Humility''s Gate? Do you really dare to im that you¡¯ve received nothing from the main family?"

    Lu Yin countered, "All of that was only because I was of value."

    Long Ke nodded. "In the past, you had value, but, Long Xi has disappeared, and you went from being useful to being a sharp de for Long Quan¡¯s branch family to wield and suppress my main family with. If I had not promised Senior Qing Chen to allow you to stay at Qing Chen Mountain, what would have be of you by now? Your fate would have been miserable.

    "You should be d that you are deemed useful. Do you think that a puny Enlighter like you could possibly have qualified to see me otherwise? That you deserve to have Elder Qing Chen escort you here to apologize? He finds you useful, as do I. I have given you a chance, Long Qi. Don''t make a mistake."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sharpened. ¡°Senior Qing Chen values me, Long Qi, for my ability to capture traitors and Redbacks. That forms the very foundation of my existence in Humility¡¯s Gate. If I agree to frame Elder Long Quan for you, I will instantly lose my ce in Humility¡¯s Gate the moment the matter is exposed. Therefore, I will also lose all value for the n patriarch."

    They had both spoken their minds. The people of the Perennial World had a certain mindset, and they would not betray their family unless absolutely necessary, especially anyone who was a part of the four ruling powers. However, Lu Yin had no suchpulsion. He had long since viewed the four ruling powers as his enemy anyways.

    Humility''s Gate formed the very foundation of his support. This was something that he was very clear on.

 Chapter 1488: Anteater

    Chapter 1488: Anteater

    Long Ke fell silent for a while. "It would seem that you will never listen to my requests."

    Lu Yin replied, "I, Long Qi, have no intention of rebelling against the n patriarch. If Elder Long Quan truly is a Redback, then it is imperative that he be arrested."

    Long Ke''s eyes flickered with a dark and terrifying light, but he did not speak.

    At this time, Lu Yin''smunication crystal vibrated. He raised his hand to see a line of text: ¡®Support the second array base to clean up terror ants and capture a traitor: Xiao.''

    At this moment, Qing Chen tore through the void and appeared. He looked serious as he gazed at Lu Yin. ¡°Long Qi, follow me to the second array base and report to their battlefield now."

    Long Ke frowned. "Senior Qing Chen, is Long Qi required to go to the battlefield?"

    "This is a mission from Humility¡¯s Gate, so I¡¯m unable to answer you."

    Lu Yin frowned. He had already participated on more than one massive battlefield. First, there was Ironblood Weave, and thenter, there was both Endless Weave and the Cosmic Sea. Such battlefields were ces where the slightest bit of carelessness could lead to death, and yet, the Perennial World¡¯s battlefield surpassed all of the others that Lu Yin had seen, as even Progenitors fought there. Lu Yin had no desire to die for the Perennial World, or at least not yet.

    "Supervisor, I am the Huaiyuan Gate Master, and it doesn¡¯t seem proper for a Gate Master to personally fight on the battlefield," Lu Yin said. He was hoping to be able to refuse to go.

    Qing Chen answered solemnly, "Your mission came directly from the Commander."

    Lu Yin was shocked and despaired. This was a problem. If themander had personally ordered Lu Yin to go to the battlefield, then he had to obey no matter how badly he wanted to refuse.

    Long Ke was just as shocked as Lu Yin. He had never expected the Humility''s Gate¡¯s Commander to personally send out orders regarding Long Qi. Long Ke was forced to reevaluate Long Qi¡¯s reputation and value, as he had managed to attract the attention of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander.

    Such qualifications instantly caused Lu Yin¡¯s value to skyrocket in the eyes of Long Ke. Taking this development into consideration, the patriarch pulled a white jar out of his cosmic ring and tossed it over to Lu Yin. ¡°This is the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood. It can save your life at a critical moment."

    Lu Yin was shocked as he took it.

    Qing Chen sent a measured look towards Long Ke and then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Your mission cannot be dyed. We must go.¡±

    He then turned to Long Ke. "Thank you for your hospitality. When this mission isplete, I will bring Long Qi back to Dragon Mountain to finish your interrupted conversation."

    Long Ke smiled. "Completing the mission is important. Senior Qing Chen, take care."

    Qing Chen nodded and set a hand on Lu Yin''s shoulder before taking him through a tear in the void and leaving.

    Before Lu Yin left, he locked eyes with Long Ke. Lu Yin saw an endless darkness in the patriarch¡¯s eyes as well as a glimmer of hope. It was clear to Lu Yin that Long Ke would not easily abandon him. The patriarch was determined to find a way to use Long Qi to deal with the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families.

    Lu Yin did not care about the main or branch families of the White Dragon n, as they were all enemies to him. However, the existence of the branch families served as a counter to the n¡¯s main family, and that could only be a good thing for someone like Lu Yin who viewed the entire n as an enemy.

    Soon after Lu Yin was taken away by Qing Chen, a group of youths from the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families approached Heart-Cleansing Building. Their goal was to keep Long Qi on Dragon Mountain, but they quickly learned that he had already left.

    Dragon Mountain gradually fell behind them, and Qing Chen emerged from the void with Lu Yin. The older man took a piece of white paper out of his cosmic ring. He did not fold it, but simply stepped onto the paper with Lu Yin, and they flew away.

    "Monsters have attacked the Mother Tree. In addition to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree and destroying the defensive sourcebox array, there¡¯s another way to destroy the Mother Tree. Do you know which creature in the Lower World causes the most harm to the Mother Tree?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Long Xi told me that it¡¯s the terror ants.¡±

    Qing Chen nodded. "Terror ants originate from those monsters. They researched a race of terrifying ants and did everything they could to send what they had developed into my Mother Tree¡¯s Perennial World. During the most recent battle, those monsters also sent countless terror ants onto the battlefield, and they are even more threatening than the ones in the Lower Realm. Long Ke mentioned how many powerhouses have been drafted to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. In truth, they were gathered to deal with these new terror ants.

    "Terror ants aren¡¯t the only threat that you¡¯ll face on the battlefield. There will be quite a few traitors among those who were drafted to deal with the terror ants, and they will do their best to smuggle the ants off of the battlefield and into the Lower Realm. These new terror ants reproduce at a terrifying rate, and they could cause incalcble amounts of damage to the Mother Tree. This is why you¡¯ve been tasked with cleaning up the terror ants, though your real task is to find the traitors and remove them.

    "You won¡¯t be alone, as the Middle Realm¡¯s nine Gate Masters and the other five Gate Masters have also been sent to the battlefield, as well as arge number of other Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s members. You must make sure that not a single terror ant slips through to the Perennial World from the battlefield."

    Lu Yin frowned. He now understood why he was being sent to the battlefield; everyone was aware of his ability to track down traitors. While Qing Chen was aware that this was due to the information sources that Lu Yin had ess to, it was a given that the Commander was aware of this as well. Thus, it would be very difficult to avoid sending Long Qi to the battlefield along with everyone else who was being sent.

    "If traitors return from the battlefield, can¡¯t they be inspected one by one to ensure that they don¡¯t bring in any terror ants?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen¡¯s voice fell low as he answered, "Do you know how those traitors hide the terror ants to smuggle them?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    "They raise them within their own bodies," Qing Chen dropped heavy words.

    Lu Yin felt horrified. "They raise the ants inside their bodies?"

    "They don¡¯t have to transport adult ants. They could transfer eggs, blood, or even a piece of one of these new terror ants¡¯ bodies. A single one of those items can be reverse-engineered through various methods to unleash this new strain of terror ant upon the Perennial World. It¡¯s basically impossible to search everyone heading down to the Lower Realm or prevent this issue from spreading once they return to the Perennial World," Qing Chen exined.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "It¡¯s going to be very hard to capture all of the traitors."

    Qing Chen replied, "This is the only way out of this mess. I will also be on the battlefield, and I will work to capture as many traitors as possible."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the anteater that he had seen devouring the terror ants when he had Possessed a person in the Lower Realm. "Isn¡¯t there a beast in the Lower Realm that eats the terror ants?¡±

    "There is one type of beast, but unfortunately, they are too weak. Those beasts would definitely die if they came across arge number of terror ants," Qing Chenmented.

    Lu Yin thought for a while and then drew an image of the anteater in the air. "Is this it?"

    Qing Chen stared at the image and then asked, "What kind of creature is that?"

    "You haven''t seen this sort of creature before?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Qing Chen shook his head. He then suddenly thought of something, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Have you seen this beast before? Did you say that it feeds on terror ants?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Qing Chen quickly asked, "Where did you see it?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "When Long Xi led me to visit the Ancestor Python, we encountered a terrifying swarm of terror ants. While we were fleeing for our lives, I happened to see it. I don¡¯t know exactly where it was, and I can¡¯t tell you without going there."

    Qing Chen grew serious. "Are you certain that this creature can devour an entire swarm of terror ants?"

    Lu Yin remembered what he had seen during his Possession. It had truly been an endless swarm of terror ants, and the anteater had definitely devoured them. "Absolutely."

    Qing Chen fell deep into thought. No one would better understand the implications for the Perennial World if they found a natural predator of the terror ants.

    Lu Yin had a general idea of how important this task was, so he felt that if he could bring the use of the anteater to light, his value would rise even higher than ever before.

    "When you saw this creature, how did you escape?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin exined, "It was eating the ants, so it didn''t notice us. It might not have even been interested in us."

    "In what manner did it devour the ants?"

    "Its mouth. It had a massive, tube-like mouth.¡±

    ¡­

    Qing Chen asked many questions, but Lu Yin really had seen the anteater, albeit from someone else¡¯s body. He did not tell any lies either; it was true that the creature lived in the Lower Realm, and this was why Lu Yin was not afraid of any of Qing Chen¡¯s inquiries.

    Also, Qing Chen had no suspicions that Lu Yin might be lying. He had never heard of such a creature before, and if someone was making up a creature, it would be best to at least use one that had been seen before. Besides, Qing Chen could not even think of any motivation for Lu Yin to lie.

    "Would you be able to find the creature if you went back along your original route?" Qing Chen pressed.

    Lu Yin considered the question, but then he shook his head. "I¡¯m not sure."

    Qing Chen thought for a while and then called someone as they continued to ride the paper to the south.

    After a while, Qing Chen asked another question, "Was the creature you saw alone or a part of a herd of some sort?"

    "It was all alone," Lu Yin said.

    Qing Chen sighed. "That¡¯s unfortunate. It would be nice if they were herd creatures. These beasts can be seen as the terror ants¡¯ natural predator as they seem to exist to devour the ants. Unlike our human efforts to clean up the terror ants, these creatures might be able topletely eliminate the danger of the terror ants, which would be a massive boon for us.

    "Still, if we can manage to find the creature, we might be able to breed the terror ants¡¯ natural enemy. You mentioned that the creature¡¯s mouth was able to restrain the ants.¡± Suddenly, Qing Chen changed topics as he spoke to Lu Yin. ¡°Long Qi, you provided information that has been used to capture many traitors, as well as the proof that showed that Yun Mubai was a Redback. You have also arrested multiple traitors on your own. Humility¡¯s Gate will award you with eighteen merit points for your achievements, and each of my Humility''s Gate¡¯s merit points can be traded for ten battlefield merit points. This means that you currently have 180 battlefield merit points.

    "When you arrive at the second array base, trade those points for defensive treasures. If you are short on battlefield merit points, then you can use Humility¡¯s Gate merit points you have just gained, which is an advance on the reward that for uncovering information on the terror ants."

    This news delighted Lu Yin. "What kind of treasure could I get for 180 battlefield merit points?"

    "You can browse through the list when you get there, but try to get something a bit better to protect yourself. Themander personally ordered you to go to the battlefield, and such an order cannot be easily changed. Otherwise, I would immediately take you to the Lower Realm to search for the creature that you saw before."

    Lu Yin had no desire to search for the creature. After all, how could he possibly know where it was? "Can I only pick one item?"

    Qing Chen was momentarily stunned. This child was rather greedy. "You can only pick one, but try to get the best one."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, Supervisor. I¡¯ll be careful with my choice."

    Qing Chen nodded and said nothing more.

    Lu Yin was extremely eager to get to the second array base and choose a good treasure. ¡°Supervisor, I¡¯m just curious, but is it possible to overdraw one¡¯s merit points?¡±

    Lu Yin had suddenly thought of this potentially serious problem. How would he be able to pick out anything truly good if people before him had already chosen them?

    Qing Chen said, "Of course not. At least, not without special circumstances."

    Lu Yin snorted. His current situation was indeed quite special. He had identified a creature that was likely to be the terror ants¡¯ natural predator, and if that information was verified, it would have a huge impact on the Perennial World. However, the possibility of confirming such information was too remote to counteract themander¡¯s orders. If that were not the case, then people would just make up random stories to escape from the battlefield. Commands could not be casually altered no matter what.

    Still, Lu Yin had made himself important enough that Humility¡¯s Gate cared about his survival. Thus, they clearly intended to provide him with something that would keep him safe on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin had heard Long Ke mention how many people had been drafted to the battlefield, but Lu Yin had not noticed anything so far. However, as they continued on their journey, he noticed many other people who were all traveling south. Some were alone, others were in groups, and others still were in crowds of hundreds or even thousands. However, all of them had somber expressions. They had been drafted.

 Chapter 1489: Second Array Base

    Chapter 1489: Second Array Base

    They were traveling through the Higher Realm, and the four ruling powers were the only major organizations. Despite that, there were still so many people moving over. Lu Yin could only imagine how many cultivators from the Middle Realm must have been drafted to the battlefield.

    The entire Perennial World had been mobilized.

    After several days of traveling at top speed, the two of them finally reached the southernmost region of the Mother Tree. The legendary Tree Realm.

    The Tree Realm was a ce that had been set up by the four ruling powers, and it separated the battlefield from the Higher, Middle, Lower Realms. This region prevented people outside the battlefield from seeing it in all its cruel and grisly glory.

    Although the battlefield was far away, cultivators were able to have a far stronger impact the higher their cultivation base was. Especially the five bases of the sourcebox array which were able to be utilized at any location no matter the distance.

    The Tree Realm not only worked to block the sight of the battlefield, but it also prevented people from stepping onto the battlefield without permission.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, still led by Qing Chen, and they entered the Tree Realm to reach the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. What met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was something that far surpassed what he should have seen after taking a single step.

    This one step was no different than the difference between heaven and earth.

    Lu Yin saw a massive array base that stretched far out of sight, rotating like a. It was surrounded by sulfur, as well as chaotic star energy and other mixed energies. The whole ce reeked of death and blood.

    The heavy metallic scent flooded his senses in all directions, but there was no fighting in sight. Lu Yin could not even see the battlefield.

    "We are now behind the Mother Tree. This is the most brutal battlefield in the entire Perennial World. We are standing on the second array base, and the actual battlefield is beneath it. There¡¯s andmass between the Middle and Lower Realms, and it¡¯s home to countless monsters. They constantly appear on thatndmass and climb up the array base, but only monsters that have a strength that surpasses an Envoy¡¯s are able to tear through the void and directly attack the array base," Qing Chen exined.

    "Do you see thoses off in the distance? Each one of them contains countless monsters, and there are always cultivators fighting against those monsters. Every so often, a will explode, which is another means of destroying the monsters."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Was he really standing on the second array base? Pat the base, he saw manys floating in space, and when he looked down, he saw countless monsters climbing up.

    Lu Yin could practically feel the monsters¡¯ killing intent.

    Suddenly, he felt a vibration in the soles of his feet and a terrifying sensation on his back. Lu Yin felt as though a giant beast had awoken, and he felt an irresistible force activate as a deafening noise swept through him.

    "The second array base has been activated, and the battle down below is not in our favor. Whenever the array bases are activated, it consumes a tremendous amount of resources." Qing Chen looked solemn at this moment.

    There were many other cultivators nearby, and they emerged from the Tree Realm and stared out at the battlefield. Most cultivators would go their entire lives without ever seeing this ce, and all those who stepped onto the battlefield were elites.

    Despite that, there were some people who panicked the moment they saw the array base begin killing the monsters. It was enough to leave anyone panicked.

    "Long Qi, go report to the general of the second array base on your own. There¡¯s a teleportation device up ahead, and it can send you straight there. I need to go elsewhere to offer my support." Qing Chen left as soon as he gave Lu Yin his orders.

    Closeby, a middle-aged man said, "Brothers, it''s time for us to aplish great things. We are already on the battlefield! Report!"

    There was a group of people behind the man, and they let out loud shouts. Their eyes were all filled with bloodlust as they charged towards the battlefront.

    Most of the people in the group were only Limiteers, and even their leader was only a Cruiser. And yet, in this ce, no one wouldugh at them. Limiteers, Cruisers, Hunters, and Enlighters, all of them stood together on this battlefield, and all of them were nothing more than ants. Luck would determine their survival.

    Lu Yin moved quickly and made his way towards the teleportation device.

    He looked very young, and his age attracted a great deal of attention. A short man approached Lu Yin and whispered, ¡°Bro, for you to be so young, you¡¯ve got to be from a big family, right?"

    Lu Yin nced at the man. He was only an Explorer. "No."

    The short man smiled. "Regardless if you are or not, and no matter what your strength is, once you step foot onto this battlefield, you have to join a group for protection, and that¡¯s especially true for people with no backgrounds like us. If we all help each other, we stand a greater chance of surviving."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "How can we help each other?"

    The short man''s eyes lit up, and he carefully exined, "The five array bases form the five great battlefields. On these battlefields, even the strongest powerhouses will die within days without luck. There are people who form spontaneous teams to help and support each other in order to survive.¡±

    "Aren¡¯t there groups formed upon deployment orders? Why would you say that people are spontaneously forming teams?" Lu Yin felt rather surprised, as this was a new concept to him.

    The short man answered quietly, "Obeying the deployment orders is the only path to survival. However, more and more cultivators arrive here every day. How can we follow our orders so simply and blindly? This is why there¡¯s a bit of flexibility within the orders, and that allows teams to be spontaneously formed. For example, people from the four ruling powers, like the Celestial Frost Sect, will form a team with their fellow disciples, as will those from Shenwu''s Sky. But what about those of us with no background? I¡¯m a part of the Red Alliance. If you want to join us, brother, then our leader will apply to ourmanding officer to get you transferred to our squadron, and we¡¯ll work together to fight back against the enemy."

    Lu Yin had not thought that such an option would exist, but he realized that it was perfectly normal after thinking about it. Normally, in order to prevent factions from forming and internallypeting, it was important for a military organization to break apart people from the same organization, but there was no need for such caution on this battlefield. In this ce, it was better to allow for cultivators to form teams and unite on their own. Cooperation allowed the defenders to more easily kill the monsters and survive. As for the formation of factions, that was entirely dependent on whether or not a team could survive. Also, the four ruling powers would always stand at the top of the Perennial World, so the alliances that formed on the battlefield were irrelevant.

    "How ¡®bout it, Brother? Join the Red Alliance. Our leader has a power level that¡¯s approaching an Envoy¡¯s, and he¡¯s one of the strongest under Colonel Chun¡¯smand. With our leader¡¯s protection, you¡¯ll be able to stay safe since you¡¯re an Enlighter," the short man spoke enticingly.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Chun Ling?"

    The man exined, "The array bases each have a general and a node, both of whom are Semi-Progenitors. Beneath the general, there are six colonels who answer directly to their general, and they are each assigned to the array base. As for us, we are under themand of Chun Ling, who¡¯s an expert who¡¯s survived four stellr tribtions."

    As the man spoke, a bit of red energy spurted out from the ground. Lu Yin frowned, as this energy contained a powerful and bloody aura.

    The shot man looked over at the eruption, and terror filled his eyes. He even unconsciously began to tremble.

    Lu Yin patted the man¡¯s shoulder with a hand, which startled the man. "Thank you, brother, but I can''t join your Red Alliance. I¡¯ve been sent here to deal with the terror ants."

    The man shrugged his shoulders, and he sympathetically said, "Brother, if you¡¯re here to deal with the terror ants, then you need to be careful. The battlefield above the array bases is rtively safe, but you might need to deal with monsters that climb up the Mother Tree to get to the terror ants. That¡¯s very dangerous, so I wish you a safe return."

    Lu Yin smiled and continued on towards the teleportation device.

    What he found was a teleportation device that could transfer hundreds of people straight to headquarters at a time.

    Lu Yin had previously wondered why there were no teleportation devices in this Perennial World, so he had not expected to see one on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    Things changed rapidly on a battlefield, so it was somewhat normal to have a teleportation device there.

    The void twisted, and Lu Yin felt as though his body was being torn apart. Once he was able to see his surroundings once again, he was far away from the Tree Realm. A exploded above his head, and a terrible pressure wave swept out that caused many of the people who had just been teleported to dodge aside.

    Lu Yin had not expected to immediately be greeted by such a crazy situation upon arriving. The cultivators around him had already be numb to such things, and they did not even look at the new arrivals.

    "Step up and report in!" There was a loud shout as a nearby cultivator who was infinitely close to the Envoy realm stared at the new arrivals and pointed to his right side where they were to report in.

    Lu Yin had been assigned to erradicate terror ants, but his true task was to eliminate traitors. His status was special, so he had no need to report in with the rank and fold. Rather, he was to report directly to the general of the second array base: Xia Yan.

    Meteorites fell down from overhead, which were fragments of the shattered. Each meteorite was quiterge, and Limiteers had to be careful to avoid them.

    Lu Yin was wondering how he could contact Xia Yan when a terrifyingly strong wind swept by his head. He did not even have time to react before the gust shattered all of the meteorites to dust.

    ¡°Get me out!" There was a loud shout as the void was torn open, and the tear revealed arge group of monsters led by a corpse king with scarlet eyes and vertical pupils.

    A piercing rm sounded, and the powerhouses of the base emerged one after another, all of them attacking the tear in the void.

    Inside the tear, the corpse king that was the vanguard looked up, and its scarlet eyes began to change. They immediately turned red, and an indescribably powerful aura swept through the area, shattering the void even further. The spatial cracks reached all the way to the general.

    The general was standing high in the sky. He was a middle-aged man who stood tall and had a dignified face. "Red eyes transformation. It''s no wonder why they dared to attack my base. Still, they¡¯re just courting death."

    The red-eyed corpse king at the forefront of the monsters grinned. "Revolt against my Aeternus! Kill!"

    As the creature¡¯s voice fell, the two figures collided within the void. All that Lu Yin felt was a sharp pain in his brain, and he almost started bleeding from his seven orifices. Since Lu Yin had been reduced to such a state, many of the people around him had already fainted.

    The battle between the red-eyed corpse king and the middle-aged man shattered the void, and the pressure from their sh was truly horrifying. This was a battle between two beings whose power levels surpassed a million.

    Lu Yin looked up to see arge number of corpse kings pouring out of the void. These creatures were humanity¡¯s greatest enemy.

    Lu Yin often pondered a question: it was very difficult for a corpse king to be born, and yet there were so many corpse kings in this world. Why? Why were there so many corpse kings that they were able to assault the Perennial World and the Mother Tree? The only possible answer was that there was an evenrger Aeternus Kingdom than the one that Lu Yin had visited outside of the Perennial World that specialized in rearing corpse kings.

    The powerhouses apanying the general charged forward one after another, and several of them were powerhouses who surpassed Envoys while the rest were Enlighters at the very least.

    Within the group of corpse kings, there were several who were capable of transforming, and all of the rest had the strength of an Enlighter.

    There was a loud bang as the red-eyed corpse king and the middle-aged man broke through the void and into the true universe.

    "What are you doing? Kill!" Close to Lu Yin, an old man shouted fiercely as he charged into the sky, only to be instantly smashed back to the ground by a corpse king. Given theirbat strength and the fact that they felt no fear of death, corpse kings naturally had the upper hand more often than not when fighting against humans.

    Lu Yin''s gaze grew sharp, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He moved.

    The old man stared at a corpse king with gray eyes. It smashed its wed hand down, and the old manmented his death. Suddenly, his vision changed, and he appeared in a different ce. He looked around, and he saw a young man standing beneath the gray-eyed corpse king. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    Lu Yin had a single hand stretched out that he was using to hold the corpse king.

 Chapter 1490: Headquarters

    Chapter 1490: Headquarters

    How many people would dare to go head-to-head against a transformed corpse king? This was something that only Lu Yin was capable of doing. When he had first be a Hunter, he had fought against Corpse Beast, who had possessed the strength of an Enlighter, undergone a red-eyes corpse king transformation, and then boosted even further by death energy. Lu Yin¡¯s current strengthpletely eclipsed his previous limits, and this was his first time using it against a corpse king.

    The gray-eyed corpse king struck Lu Yin''s palm with one fist. The creature used its full strength to try to break past Lu Yin¡¯s hand, but Lu Yin¡¯s face remained calm, and his hand did not even twitch. Even the corpse king felt confused.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open, and he pressed his hand forward. There was a snap, and the corpse king¡¯s arm burst apart.

    The old man was stunned by what he saw, and it was as though everything that he had known to be true was instantly shattered. How could a human have enough strength to overwhelm a corpse king?

    Lu Yin clenched his right hand into a fist and threw a punch at the corpse king''s stomach. At best, this creature had a power level of 400,000, which was something that Lu Yin had been capable of facing when he was just a Hunter. There was no need to even mention his current strength.

    There was a snap as Lu Yin struck the corpse king and smashed its head in. Lu Yin pulled his hand back and opened his fingers. He calmly turned to face another corpse king off in the distance and unleashed a Vacuum Palm.

    There was a boom, and the corpse king shattered. The cultivator who had been fighting against that corpse king turned to stare at Lu Yin in horror; that palm attack had saved his life.

    "There¡¯s no need for thanks," Lu Yin said. He looked up in time to see a woman smashed out of the true universe, and she crashed into the ground in front of him. Half of her body had been crushed, and she waspletely helpless.

    The void twisted, and a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy emerged. Its slitted, scarlet eyes locked onto Lu Yin, and the corpse king flew towards the ground while letting out a ferocious roar. It moved so quickly that Lu Yin could not even clearly see the creature¡¯s movement, and it clearly had an innate gift rted to speed.

    This was the greatest advantage that corpse kings had over humans. Each one could obtain innate gifts by consuming natural treasures, such as energy crystals. This was something that was beyond a human¡¯s capabilities.

    Lu Yin was not able to track the corpse king¡¯s speed, and he reflexively put on his universal armor. He was unwilling to take any risks.

    A powerful blownded on Lu Yin¡¯s back, and it pressed him to the ground. The corpse king continued its assault, and without the universal armor, Lu Yin would have been severely injured, even if his strength wasparable to the creature¡¯s. After all, this corpse king¡¯s strength wasparable to an Envoy¡¯s. Still, any injury that Lu Yin suffered would quickly heal since he had already opened his upper meridian point.

    The void was sliced open some distance away, and sword qi fell down as a powerful Envoy moved out to rescue Lu Yin.

    The corpse king waved a hand to disperse the sword qi, but its body disappeared.

    Lu Yin gasped heavily and stepped forward. He saw a man some distance away. The man was wielding a sword, but he was only able to defend, as the corpse king was too fast for him.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and it spread out to envelop the corpse king, the swordsman, and the nearby battlefield. Lu Yin then surprised everyone by moving the corpse king, after which he grabbed ahold of the creature with both hands. ¡°ATTACK!"

    The swordsman was startled, but he managed to react very quickly.

    The corpse king tried to break free of Lu Yin¡¯s grip, but Lu Yin possessed an unbelievable level of physical strength, and his golden battle force twined around his universal armor and lit up the corpse king¡¯s face, illuminating its hideous and terrifying features.

    The sword edge sliced into the corpse king¡¯s neck, and the creature roared defiantly at the sky. It raised a leg and kicked at Lu Yin, but the youth simply mirrored the motion. There was a bang, and then the corpse king''s right leg twisted in an unnatural direction.

    The swordsman was absolutely stunned. It was already incredible for an Enlighter to physically overpower a corpse king, but thatst kick had been anything but slow. The corpse king¡¯s neck was sliced apart in the next moment, and the swordsman shed out once more. Half of the corpse king''s head was cut off, and what remained dangled from the neck. It was a truly horrifying scene.

    Lu Yin released his grip and struck forward with both hands to let loose dual Vacuum Palms.

    Thisst attack sent the corpse king flying and tore its body apart. It was already past the point of being dead.

    The swordsman turned to look at Lu Yin and eximed, "Who are you?"

    "We¡¯ll talkter," Lu Yin quietly replied before rushing away. No fewer than a hundred corpse kings were participating in this raid on the second base of the sourcebox array, and while this was not a massive number, many cultivators had already died tragic deaths. None of the attacking corpse kings were weak.

    The swordsman watched as Lu Yin left, admiration in his eyes. The man then hefted his sword and moved out in another direction.

    The battlefield could be a wonderful ce. While there were many life-and-death crises, there were also strong and weak opponents. No one was concerned by the strength of their opponent; only the strong were respected. While Lu Yin was only an Enlighter, he was strong enough to earn the swordsman¡¯s respect despite the man being an Envoy.

    Lu Yin ughtered five corpse kings one after another, but this drew the attention of a green-eyed corpse king. More than ten people had already fallen to this transformed corpse king, and one had actually been an Envoy.

    Envoys were difficult to encounter back in the Fifth Maind, and even though the Perennial World had many Envoys, it was still hard toe across a group of Envoys. Despite that, it was verymon to see such a thing on the battlefield, and it was evenmon to see an Envoy die.

    In addition to the dead Envoy, there were numerous dead Enlighters beneath the green-eyed corpse king¡¯s feet. The short man who had tried to recruit Lu Yin to his team upon Lu Yin¡¯s entry to the battlefield would actually despair if he saw one of those dead Enlighters, as that man had once been the Red Alliance Leader.

    A shout swept through the region as the green-eyed corpse king rushed towards Lu Yin. This corpse king was as strong as an Envoy, and it had even undergone a green-eyed corpse king transformation. This creature was one of the strongest corpse kings to assault the base at this time.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a terrible sense of danger, and he was worried that his universal armor would not be able to withstand the iing attack. As he tried to think of a way to deal with the approaching corpse king, a cone-shaped sourcebox emerged from the ground and floated in the air. Suddenly, the cone turned towards the corpse king and shot forward, piercing through the corpse king. Simultaneously, at least ten more such cone-shaped sourceboxes appeared nearby, and they all shot forward, piercing through one corpse king after another.

    They were a part of the sourcebox array that protected the headquarters of the second array base.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He was on a battlefield, and there was no need for him to finish the fight on his own.

    The green-eyed corpse king was struck by one of the cone-shaped sourceboxes, and it was forced back more than ten steps. After that, it was struck by another sourcebox. In just a few seconds, the corpse king had taken no less than twenty attacks. Most of the corpse kings that were participating in this attack had instantly died to the barrage of attacks from the sourceboxes, and even corpse kings with the strength of an Envoy could not endure it.

    At this moment, another corpse king¡¯s body swelled. It grew to two meters, three meters, five meters, ten meters, until it finally reached a height of 100 meters and emanated a terrifying aura.

    The cone-shaped sourceboxes frantically attacked it, but the body of this particr corpse king was like a swamp. The attacks were useless while the corpse king possessed a level of strength that left everyone trembling.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing a corpse king of such titanic proportions, as he had already encountered one on Shenwu Continent.

    The enormous corpse king raised a hand and pped a palm down, shattering the ground. The impact of the hand left hundreds of cultivators as nothing more than stters of blood.

    The giant then raised its head and brought down its other hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking death!¡± A person arrived from the distance and raised his own hand in retaliation. He emerged from the void andnded on the tree, smashing into the enormous corpse king and knocking it down. After that, countless trees that connected the ground to the sky fell down, smashing into the corpse king.

    "Colonel Chun¡¯s arrived!" someone excitedly shouted.

    Lu Yin looked over; was that the colonel of this region?

    There was a sudden sh of brilliant light, and sword qi shot out from the distance. It brushed past Lu Yin¡¯s cheek and shot past him as the swordsman from before shouted, ¡°Watch out!"

    Lu Yin turned to see that the sword qi hadnded on the green-eyed corpse king¡¯s body. However, the attack did nothing more than make the corpse king pause for a moment, after which it began to frantically attack Lu Yin.

    There was a puff, and the attack failed. Lu Yin had been prepared the moment the sword qi swept by. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and the corpse king¡¯s attack missed. Then, Lu Yin appeared behind the green-eyed corpse king, and his golden battle force shone out as he attacked with a full powered 350 Stacks Vacuum Palm.

    There was a tremendous bang as the green-eyed corpse king was knocked back by the Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin seized this opportunity to unleash a torrent of Vacuum Palms, each one striking the green-eyed corpse king true. The void shattered, and no one dared to approach the area.

    Even the swordsman¡¯s sword qi was torn apart by the shockwaves created by the barrage of Vacuum Palms.

    The green-eyed corpse king¡¯s body started to crack, but it was still a corpse king that had transformed, and it was even a hundred times stronger than before. On top of that, it originally possessed the strength of an Envoy, so Lu Yin¡¯s dozens of Vacuum Palms could not kill the creature.

    The green-eyed corpse king stood back up. Although it had not been killed, it had been badly injured, and not in a way that a mere Enlighter could do.

    Off in the distance, the enormous corpse king suddenly broke free from the trees that had trapped it, and the trees were thrown in all directions.

    The green-eyed corpse king proved to be terribly unlucky, as it was instantly struck by one of the trees. Lu Yin''s eyes focused as he stared at the green-eyed corpse king¡¯s worst injury. He took out the small knife that he had taken from Wang Su and stabbed it into the corpse king¡¯s wound. The knife easily prated the creature and instantly killed it.

    At the same instance that the corpse king died, Lu Yin returned the knife to his cosmic ring, making sure that no one ever saw it.

    The swordsman still some distance away was horrified; the youth had just killed a corpse king that had undergone a green-eyes transformation that was at the Envoy realm! Who was this kid?

    The battlefield that had broken out at the local headquarters was smashed apart beyond recognition by the endless rain of falling trees. The cone-shaped sourceboxes were still deep inside the body of the massive corpse king, but they could not be activated, which left Master Chun temporarily helpless.

    At this moment, a long spear appeared out of nowhere, and it stabbed into the giant corpse king¡¯s head before continuing to pierce down into the creature¡¯s body, pinning it to the ground. Cracks radiated out from the point where the spear had stabbed into the ground.

    Lu Yin raced to dodge aside. One of the cracks in the ground raced beneath his feet, and it radiated a terrible energy that he did not dare toe into contact with. The energy felt very familiar, and it had to belong to someone from the White Dragon n.

    The spear had instantly in the giant, and its body copsed to the ground. An old man emerged from the void and approached the spear. He stretched out a hand, grabbed the spear, and then took a light step to reenter the true universe.

    Lu Yin took out some gemspring water from his cosmic ring and used it.

    He was able to peer into the true universe, and there, he saw the red-eyed corpse king that had led the assault fighting against the middle-aged man. The corpse king was being pressured and beaten back by the middle-aged man, but it also recovered very quickly. The creature¡¯s physical strength was too overpowering, and asionally, it was able tounch a fearsome counterattack.

    Lu Yin had guessed correctly; the middle-aged man was Xia Yan, the general of the second array base. The red-eyed corpse king was currently going toe-to-toe against Semi-Progenitor Xia Yan. If one judged the two in terms of absolute strength, Xia Yan far surpassed his opponent, but he found it truly difficult to kill the creature.

    The old man who had killed the giant corpse king reentered the true universe and stabbed at the red-eyed corpse king.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision returned to normal, and he was no longer able to see the true universe. Still, it did not matter. That old man was confident enough to interfere in Xia Yan''s battle, which meant that he should also be a Semi-Progenitor powerhouse. From what Lu Yin had seen, the old man was most likely a Semi-Progenitor from the White Dragon n. Lu Yin had heard Qing Chen mention such a person, and his name seemed to be Long Laogui.

    The sky suddenly exploded, and a figure plummeted from out of nowhere. It spat out blood, and half of its body had been crushed. It was the red-eyed corpse king. It was quickly followed by another figure who thrusted a spear forward, rendering the corpse king no more.

    The dim sky of the battlefield turned red, and then an indescribable darkness blocked the red light. This darkness was a hand, and it smashed through a to grab hold of the red-eyed corpse king.

 Chapter 1491: Another Team

    Chapter 1491: Another Team

    The falling hand contained a peerless pressure. Due to its iparable size, everyone felt like it would easily smash the entire headquarters to pieces. It was even possible to see every single pore on the hand due to its size.

    Xia Yan shouted fiercely, "Long Laogui, RUN!"

    The old man wielding the spear moved back without any hesitation. He grabbed the corpse king that had undergone a red-eyes transformation and then moved to flee.

    The ground trembled, and the second base¡¯s sourcebox array activated. Spatial cracks filled the entire area, blocking off everyone¡¯s line of sight. What did the second base of the massive sourcebox array do? Massive amounts of blood spurted out of the hand, though it still maintained a tight grip on the corpse king as it tried to pull it back.

    The ground of the entire headquarters was painted red.

    The battle had ended, and with the exception of Lu Yin, who was a new arrival, no one seemed terribly surprised.

    One by one, the cultivators moved to clean up the battlefield in an orderly manner. They burned the bodies of the corpse kings and cleared the ground, making sure that none of the corpse kings¡¯ poisonous blood was left behind.

    Lu Yin put his universal armor away. When the swordsman noticed Lu Yin, he hurried over. "I am Liu Jing. Might I ask for this brother''s name?"

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Junior Ah Qi greets Senior."

    Liu Jing was taken aback, but Lu Yin clearly did not want to reveal his surname, and the Envoy did not particrly care either. Many others were the same. Some had joined the battlefield in order to gain aplishments, and there were all sorts of different people in this ce. Such details did not matter on the battlefield. If one stepped foot onto the battlefield, it proved that they had already passed a background check.

    "Brother Ah Qi, there¡¯s no need to call me senior. Rather, I¡¯ll feel like you¡¯re looking down on me. Just call me Big Brother Liu since I''m older than you." Liu Jing smiled. He wanted to be friends with Lu Yin. Although he was an Envoy, Liu Jing was not confident that he could defeat this talented young Enlighter.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Big Brother Liu, thank you for your help just now."

    "I also want to thank you, Brother Ah Qi. Is this Brother Ah Qi¡¯s first time at the second array base?" Liu Jing asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes. Actually, this is my first time stepping onto this battlefield."

    Liu Jing sighed. "The Tree Realm was broken through some time ago when a Progenitor realm corpse king took action. Even though he was forced to retreat, he left behind a great number of terror ants. Brother Ah Qi must be here to deal with those ants."

    Lu Yin replied in a helpless tone, "That¡¯s precisely it. I wouldn¡¯t havee to the battlefield if not for that."

    Liu Jing nodded. "This battlefield is brutal, so Brother Ah Qi, you have to take care of yourself. Even though dealing with the ants means that you won¡¯t fight on the battlefield itself, that task still isn¡¯t any safer than the battlefield. In fact, it can even be considered to be more dangerous, as you¡¯ll need to deal with more than just the terror ants. They¡¯re being protected by powerful corpse kings and traitors."

    This resonated with what Lu Yin had heard from the short man when he had first stepped onto the battlefield. Qing Chen had even ordered Lu Yin to pick out the best defensive treasure, which made it quite clear how perilous clearing out the terror ants was.

    That thought reminded Lu Yin¡ªhe still needed to redeem that defensive treasure.

    "Does Brother Liu hail from the Sword Monument¡¯s Liu family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Jing looked around at the people who were busy as he answered, "Yeah, though I haven''t been back there in many years. The family¡¯s probably already forgotten about me."

    "How long has Big Brother Liu been here for?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Liu Jing smiled. "I am staying here at the second array base voluntarily. This ce always needs to be protected, and there¡¯s the general, the array itself, the various colonels, and us. All together, we add a bit of power to the second array base."

    Lu Yin admired this kind of person.

    There was a boom off in the distance as the huge corpse king''s body exploded. Its blood sshed onto many cultivators, and they quickly received treatment to prevent them from being corroded by the toxic blood.

    The cone-shaped sourceboxes also fell out one by one, though they had dimmed a great deal.

    Liu Jing frowned. "That sourcebox array was destroyed, which is a problem. We¡¯ll need to look for that bunch of Array Masters again, but all of them are so arrogant, and we¡¯ll have to pay a steep price to get them to move."

    Lu Yin was curious about this. "I heard that the Lockbreakers¡¯ Headquarters voluntarily set up a base here on the battlefield and that they are highly respected for their efforts."

    Liu Jing sneered. "Sure, it''s ¡®voluntary.¡¯ They¡¯re saying that because they don¡¯t have a choice in this matter . They can¡¯t wait to leave the battlefield as soon as they can."

    As he spoke, he looked over at a group of people clustered nearby. ¡°Look, those are the Lockbreakers from headquarters."

    Lu Yin saw that the people in the indicated group were dressed in a manner that waspletely at odds with the overall battlefield. Every single person seemed to consider themselves a superior creature, and they reeked of arrogance in both their speech and manners. They even had servants waiting upon them.

    Seeing such people socializing on a battlefield where someone could die at any moment was truly disharmonious with everything else.

    "Those are the Lockbreakers that their headquarters sent to be stationed here on the second array base. Do you see that man in the middle of the group?" Liu Jing asked.

    Lu Yin looked. "Which one?"

    There was actually a group of people in the middle of the crowd. Everyone at the center was a man, and the only women near them looked to be attendants, which seemed rather odd.

    Liu Jing said, "The one pinching his fingers in a dainty fashion."

    Lu Yin blinked and noticed that there really was a middle-aged man who had three raised fingers from pinching his middle finger and thumb together.

    "That¡¯s Master Zan. He¡¯s an Array Master. While he¡¯s not that powerful of a cultivator, he¡¯s an excellent Lockbreaker. He must havee out to repair the sourcebox this time, though I can¡¯t even imagine how much the general will have to pay for this," Liu Jing Shen remarked.

    "Doesn¡¯t it make sense to just repair the sourcebox array? Why does the general have to pay a price for it?¡± Lu Yin found thisment quite strange.

    Liu Jing shook his head. "While that¡¯s true in theory, these people take their time and do things slowly if they don¡¯t receive sufficientpensation. For the sake of the headquarters itself, the general ispelled to pay them to get the array repaired as soon as possible."

    Lu Yin frowned. "If they don¡¯t get the array repaired, they¡¯ll be in danger themselves the next time a corpse king attacks."

    "They¡¯re able to keep themselves safe, and no one knows just how many sourcebox arrays are protecting their own residence here." It was quite clear that Liu Jing did not like the Lockbreakers.

    Lu Yin curiously studied the cone-shaped sourceboxes. He was actually able to repair the array himself, and given the number of sourcebox arrays that he had alreadyprehended, he could actually be considered a Senior Array Master, which was a rank above this Master Zan. However, Lu Yin had only just stepped onto the battlefield, and he could not be too shy right now. This second headquarters was located at the back of the battlefield, and it would be a problem if Lu Yin became entangled with these Lockbreakers.

    "Brother Ah Qi, I''m going to go see the general. You can report in on your own. Good luck," Liu Jing said after ncing down at hismunication crystal.

    Lu Yin replied, "Brother Liu, can you take me to see the general? I actually need to report directly to him."

    Liu Jing was momentarily taken aback, but then he said, "That makes sense. Given your strength, you qualify to directly report to the general. Let''s go. I''ll take you to the general''s office."

    The second array base¡¯s general¡¯s office was underground, or rather, it was within the array base itself. Liu Jing led Lu Yin down to the ground, past the ever-vignt cultivators in front of them, who quickly allowed Liu Jing to pass.

    As they descended, they passed by at least several thousand guards.

    The underground office was well lit. Lu Yin looked around, but he was not observing the path to the general¡¯s office. Instead, he was studying the internal structure of the sourcebox array.

    This sourcebox array was known as Ceaseless Impetus. After descending underground, Lu Yin realized that this formation might not be as simple as a mere sourcebox array. Lu Yin seemed to be looking at a fusion of multiple methods, which even included technology, into an indescribable defense with a sourcebox array as its foundation that protected humanity.

    Lu Yin did not know who had designed and set up this sourcebox array, but their understanding of this subject did not seem to be any worse than Progenitor Hui¡¯s.

    Wait! Lu Yin suddenly thought of a certain possibility¡ªcould Progenitor Hui have possibly been the Array Master behind this?

    Progenitor Hui was known to be the greatest Lockbreaker toe from the Fifth Maind. He was famous for designing seventy two sourcebox arrays, as well as establishing the Technocracy. Both of these legacies shared simrities with this particr sourcebox array.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s mind wandered over certain possibilities, Liu Jing led the youth along. They soon met up with General Xia Yan, who was the middle-aged man that had fought against the red-eyed corpse king. Beside Xian Yan was the two people who had eliminated the huge corpse king: Long Laogui and Master Chun.

    "Liu Jing greets the general."

    "Ah Qi greets the general."

    Lu Yin did not know what Xia Yan had been discussing with the other old men, as Master Chun had stopped talking as soon as he had noticed that Liu Jing was requesting to speak to Xia Yan. The general¡¯s brows rose when he looked at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Liu Jing, give us a moment.¡±

    Liu Jing obeyed and slowly withdrew.

    "Chun, you as well," Xia Yan said.

    Master Chun was surprised by this request, and he nced at Lu Yin before slowly leaving.

    After the two left, Xia Yan appraised Lu Yin in a serious manner. "Are you Long Qi?"

    The old man next to Xia Yan stared at Lu Yin with a sudden interest.

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful manner, "This subordinate is indeed Long Qi. I greet the general."

    Xia Yan nodded. "I know your purpose here, as well as your importance."

    He then took something that appeared to be a token out of his cosmic ring, and he tossed it over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin epted it.

    "This is a colonel pass, and my second array base has five colonels. Normally, this rank is only given duringbat in the battlefield, as it carries no authority outside ofbat. From this moment forth, you are one of those colonels," Xia Yan stated.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had not expected to receive this much support from Xia Yan, let alone be a colonel immediately upon his arrival. "General, this subordinate is new to the battlefield, and I might not qualify for such a position."

    Lu Yin did not want to be tied to the battlefield, as he intended to return to the Fifth Maind afterpleting his current mission.

    Xia Yan solemnly answered, "I saw how you performed during thisst battle, and you directly caused the deaths of two corpse kings at the Envoy level. If not for you, Liu Jing would also have died. Given your personal strength, along with your power vessel, you truly do qualify to be one of the colonels, so there¡¯s no need to try to argue."

    Lu Yin was left in a helpless position. "Understood. This subordinate will obey your orders."

    Xia Yan said no more, and instead, he turned his attention to something else down below. This time, the old man beside him spoke up. ¡°Long Qi, do you know who this old man is?"

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "Long Qi greets the elder."

    The old man smiled gently. "Elder? It would appear that you do recognize me. Did Qing Chen mention me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "The Supervisor merely mentioned Elder Laogui¡¯s name, and this junior felt the n¡¯s energy from Senior¡¯s attack earlier. That allowed me to recognize Senior."

    The old man nodded. "I''ve also heard of you. You showed no timidness down at Cloud Shuttle. Do you know that the goods were originally intended for me? Long Quan called you, but you ignored his call. That was quite bold."

    "Long Laogui, head on back to discuss your family''s affairs. This is the office of the second array base¡¯s general. If the several of you had not left without authorization, the array base would have been able to activate in time, and we would not be in our current situation," Xia Yan solemnly stated.

    Long Laogui smiled in a carefree manner. It was as if the general¡¯sment did not concern him at all.

    Xia Yan then turned to look at Lu Yin once more. "You¡¯re dismissed for now. Liu Jing will arrange a team for you to use to clear out the ants in a bit. At that point, you can also decide whether to reveal your true identity or not. I¡¯ll leave it up to you."

    Lu Yin bowed. "Understood. Your subordinate will take his leave."

    With that, Lu Yin slowly left the office without looking back at Long Laogui.

 Chapter 1492: Cloudguard Robes

    Chapter 1492: Cloudguard Robes

    After Lu Yin left, Xia Yan turned to look at Long Laogui. "That child is ruthless when he needs to be, and he has also done great things for Humility¡¯s Gate. He¡¯s been given an important task to fulfill at this ce. You went too far."

    Long Laogui replied in a strange tone, "I was just educating a junior."

    "No one in this ce is your junior. His name is Ah Qi, and he is the sixth colonel of my second array base." Xia Yan was very dissatisfied with the old man¡¯s response.

    Long Laogui frowned as he stared at Xia Yan. "Your background and mine have nothing to do with each other. You¡¯re a part of the Xia family while I am from the White Dragon n. You have no business speaking about my n¡¯s affairs."

    "This is the office of the second array base¡¯s general!" Xia Yan shouted back.

    Long Laogui was unconcerned. "So what?"

    Xia Yan seethed with rage, but there was nothing that he could do. The Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array had five bases, and the four ruling powers had been put in control of those bases. The controller of the array and themander-in-chief were from different families, to preventplete authority over it. However, if a general ended up in conflict with the core of the array, it would lead to many problems.

    Xia Yan did not want to get embroiled in an argument with Long Laogui regarding this matter, so the General remained silent.

    ***

    After leaving the general¡¯s office, Lu Yin''s expression became much darker. He had clearly sensed that Long Laogui was unhappy with him. If Lu Yin was actually from the Perennial World, then he would do his best to make reparations to mend his rtionship with both Long Laogui and Long Ke, but unfortunately he was not from this ce.

    So what if the old man was a Semi-Progenitor? Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status and position, not even a Semi-Progenitor could do anything to him unless he made some sort of terrible mistake.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was time for him to find the best defensive treasure avable. Every array base headquarters had a ce to exchange one¡¯s battlefield merit points, though Lu Yin had to search for a while before finally finding it.

    The exchange center was not far from the headquarters itself. The building was a simple earthen hut, and it looked exactly like the headquarters building itself. While these buildings had a simple appearance, they were actually very durable, which was why the building had endured through the recent battle.

    There were many people exchanging their battlefield merit points away. As Lu Yin walked into the building, he saw that each and every person had theirmunication crystal out. As long as a person activated theirmunication crystal, they would be able to see the list of items and the number of battlefield merit points that each option cost.

    There were exotic treasures, battle techniques, materials, star essence, and many other things that could be traded. Lu Yin quickly nced through the list, but even after spending some time, he never reached its bottom. He saw various exotic treasures, a great number of defensive treasures, and no less than a thousand different battle techniques.

    While the battlefield behind the Mother Tree was a dangerous ce, with luck and time, it could also be a ce to greatly improve one¡¯s strength.

    There was no shortage of resources in this ce. There were high temperature mes, variouss, and even the great sourcebox array. There were also areas where a person could leave the battlefield and even take a person away with them. If it was imaginable, it could be found on this list.

    Lu Yin scanned the list and focused on the power vessels.

    Power vessels were not ordinary items, as they contained other people¡¯s power that had been ced within the power vessels while they were being made. While Lu Yin had seen many people with power vessels, all of those people had been from the four ruling powers, the Liu family, the Nong family, or some other great power that stood on that level. This made power vessels seemmon, but in truth, most ordinary cultivators, even those who were close to the Envoy realm, had no power vessels.

    The best treasure that Lu Yin saw that he could use battlefield merit points to exchange for was actually a box. As Lu Yin looked at the description, he was left speechless. Who was so bored as to make a box into a power vessel?

    This box was called Little Haven, and the power vessel¡¯s description imed that it was able to endure attacks from Envoys that had survived two stellr tribtions. This was impressive, but it was not enough for Lu Yin¡¯s needs.

    Lu Yin had his die, and its Enhance option allowed him to upgrade all kinds of treasures and power vessels to freakish levels. Even if Lu Yin had nothing else, his universal armor had greater defensive abilities than this box.

    Lu Yin shook his head. It was a pity that the listed power vessels were not a good option, so he simply switched over to the list of regr equipment.

    Power vessels were made to contain a cultivator¡¯s power or innate gift while regr items were made from moremon materials and no special effects. Still, some of these normal items were no worse than power vessels, and some could even be better. For example, Lu Yin had once watched a machine from the Technocracy fight against Brother Hui Kong, and there was also Lu Yin¡¯s own universal armor and mechanical right arm. None of those items were considered power vessels.

    The list of regr equipment far exceeded the list of power vessels, and Lu Yin instantly found the item that cost the most battlefield merit points. It was a piece of mundane clothing that was called Cloudguard Robes. The material was extremely rare, and this clothing contained multiple sourcebox arrays, which allowed it to defend against various attacks. This clothing was able to withstand attacks from powerhouses that had survived five stellr tribtions.

    Five tribtions¡­ That was an expert with a power level of more than 900,000. This clothing far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s best defensive item. However, the number of battlefield merit points needed to trade for this item was ordingly sky-high.

    Lu Yin nced at the price, and the number caused his eye to twitch. This was something that was supposed to be purchased by experts with power levels of at least 800,000 or 900,000, though it was more likely to be bought by someone with a power level of more than a million. However, such powerhouses did not need the protection of the Cloudguard Robes, and no one else had enough battlefield merit points to even consider it.

    The price was so high that no one had ever managed to buy it, even after all these years.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had found what he wanted, but how was he supposed to get it? He looked around the building.

    Next to him, he saw a woman who was about to exchange for an item. She raised a hand, tapped on the introductory text on hermunication crystal, and entered in her contact information. After that, she simply left.

    Lu Yin copied the woman. He entered the contact information for hismunication crystal, left the building, and then followed after the woman.

    The woman only took a few steps before noticing that Lu Yin was following her. She whirled around and stared at him. "Why are you following me?"

    The woman had average looks, and she was only an Explorer. On this battlefield, she could not even count as cannon fodder. Still, her eyes contained a stubborn and unyielding determination, as well as a certain wariness.

    Lu Yin immediately apologized, "I¡¯m sorry, but this is my first time trading for something, and I don¡¯t know where to go to pick it up."

    The woman''s eyes rxed a bit. "Head towards the General''s office and then turn right. You can pick up your exchange there."

    "Thank you." Lu Yin smiled.

    The woman did not move. Instead, she remained in ce as she watched Lu Yin left. Only once he was out of sight did she let out a sigh of relief and slowly leave as well.

    Everyone on this battlefield was constantly wary. Their enemy was not only those monsters, but also internal traitors. After a long time, everyone on the battlefield had grown numb to the situation.

    Lu Yin entered the headquarters again. Since he was not being escorted by Liu Jing, someone immediately stepped forward to ask what Lu Yin wanted. Lu Yin had reported directly to Xia Yan himself, so there was no visible way to verify his identity with the guards. Such unvetted people were typically not allowed to enter the headquarters, so Lu Yin was left with no other choice. He reluctantly took out hismander token, which startled many people. Only with that token was Lu Yin allowed to enter.

    To the right?

    Lu Yin made his way to the right after entering the headquarters, and he saw that someone happened to being out from the path ahead of him. Lu Yin walked in, and he was surprised to see Liu Jing.

    Liu Jing had not expected to see Lu Yin visiting this ce, so he was surprised to see the youth. "Ah Qi, what are you doing here?"

    "Trading for some things."

    "Do you have merit points?" Liu Jing was caught off guard.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    There was a grim looking old woman next to Liu Jing, and she suddenly locked onto Lu Yin. ¡°Trading for what?¡±

    As the woman spoke, hermunication crystal information was offered to Lu Yin, and he entered his contact information. Instantly, the Cloudguard Robes appeared on the disy.

    The old woman and Liu Jingjing were both shocked, and they looked up at Lu Yin as though seeing a ghost.

    "You want to trade for the Cloudguard Robes?" the old woman asked in shock.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yep. The Cloudguard Robes."

    "Where did you get enough battlefield merit points? Are you trying to pull something?" The old woman became angry.

    Liu Jing quickly spoke up, "Ah Qi, the Cloudguard Robes cost too many merit points. Do you even have enough?"

    Lu Yin exined, "I asked Senior Qing Chen about that, and he told me that this junior would be able to make a purchase with his merit points."

    Both people had heard of Qing Chen before, and this surprised the old woman even more than before. With this new information, she raced to investigate. Liu Jing gave Lu Yin a measured stare; this kid was actually able to borrow battlefield merit points from Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Supervisor of the Middle Realm Gates. This youth was bing more and more of a mystery.

    "Yes, you are indeed allowed to make a purchase by using Qing Chen''s merit points," the old woman said in shock. She suddenly addressed Lu Yin in an entirely different manner, bing very respectful.

    Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that he was a powerhouse on the same level as General Xia Yan and Long Laogui. Given Qing Chen¡¯s position as Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Supervisor, he had an exorbitant number of merit points, and it was certainly enough to trade for the Cloudguard Robes. Still, the most important detail was that this youth was allowed to use the supervisor¡¯s merit points.

    Even the most elite heirs of the four ruling powers could not use their seniors¡¯ points. All those who were given such a privilege were extremely important, and they would at the very least have some great influence on the overall battlefield¡¯s situation. However, this youth was clearly quite young, and yet he was qualified to borrow a senior¡¯s merit points. This was not a normal person.

    "Can this junior trade for the Cloudguard Robes?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old woman grew embarrassed. "There are indeed enough merit points for the trade, but the Cloudguard Robes are a bit of a problem."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression hardened. He refused to believe that this woman would make things difficult for him. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?"

    The old woman patiently exined, "The Cloudguard Robes were already reserved by someone, and they even received approval from the first array base¡¯s general, General Bai Chi. Items like this are notmon at any of the five array bases, and Master Bai Chi already agreed to let someone else reserve the Cloudguard Robes. And naturally, it¡¯s not easy for me to go around Master Bai Chi."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are there no other options?¡±

    The next best equipment avable was only capable of defending against the attacks of an Envoy who had survived two stellr tribtions, and that could notpare to even Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor.

    The old woman grew increasingly embarrassed. "Unless Lord Bai Chi agrees to your exchange, or unless the other Generals agree, only the person who reserved the Cloudguard Robes can collect them, even if they don¡¯t have enough merit points yet."

    Liu Jing spoke up in a low voice. "The fact remains that exchanging for goods has always been done with one¡¯s avable merit points. Reserving an item before having the required points is not something that is allowed."

    The old woman replied with clear irritation in her tone, "You aren¡¯t able to decide whether the rules get bent or not. Ites down to the fact that, unless the General himself speaks up, that trade can¡¯t happen here.¡±

    She then looked at Lu Yin and continued on in a softer tone. ¡°Little brother, don''t make things hard for this old woman. Even if that senior gave you the merit points, there are still certain things that you can¡¯t trade for. This old woman doesn¡¯t have ess to everything that¡¯s listed."

    Lu Yin understood that the old woman had been put in a difficult position. Who would dare to trade something after a General had ordered it to be reserved?

    "Young man, it¡¯d be best if you chose something else," the old woman suggested. She felt that this was an unfortunate situation. The Cloudguard Robes were immensely valuable, and this youth had even been given permission to use Lord Qing Chen¡¯s merit points despite his youth. Whoever got to wear it will be extremely safe on the battlefield. It was really a pity.

    Liu Jing frowned. "If our General speaks up, can the trade be made?"

    "Naturally. General Xia Yan¡¯s status is not inferior to General Bai Chi¡¯s. If Xia Yan speaks up, no one would dare refuse him."

    Liu Jing looked over at Lu Yin. "Ah Qi, why don''t you talk to the General? Maybe he¡¯ll be willing to speak up for you."

    Lu Yin hesitated. He was not someone from the Xia family, and Xia Yan might not be willing to offend Bai Chi for Lu Yin¡¯s sake. Also, after hearing the name ¡°Bai Chi,¡± Lu Yin instantly associated the person with the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "I''ll think about it," Lu Yin replied, though he did not leave the room. The old woman allowed Lu Yin to see the list of items that could be traded, as she was happy to try to make things a bit easier for Lu Yin by allowing him to browse the list at his leisure.

    She then turned towards Liu Jing and said, "You can go. You can¡¯t receive anything without merit points."

    Liu Jing''s face twisted. "You¡¯re also someone based out of the second array base. Do you really want to just watch on as our people are ughtered by those monsters?"

 Chapter 1493: Sourcebox Cones

    Chapter 1493: Sourcebox Cones

    The old woman snapped back, "Liu Jing, don''t try to put that on me! I¡¯ll die the moment this headquarters falls, but rules are rules, and I won¡¯t break them. There are four more array bases in addition to this second array base, and if exceptions are made for each one, then all the resources will soon disappear.¡±

    "But right now we need to repair the sourcebox array, and no one knows when the next attack wille. The battle underneath the five array bases has never stopped, and those monsters are definitely doing their best to destroy the array, especially since the sourcebox array has been damaged now. The general even mentioned that the giant corpse king might have been specifically sent to take out the defensive sourcebox array," Liu Jing said urgently.

    The old woman grew impatient. "No matter what, I won¡¯t break the rules."

    Lu Yin looked up at her. "General Bai Chi reserved the Cloudguard Robes for someone before they had enough merit points. Isn¡¯t that already breaking the rules?"

    The old woman¡¯s face turned ugly, but she fell silent.

    Liu Jing solemnly stated, "Alright, I see that my words are useless. In that case, I¡¯ll have to ask the general to speak to you himself."

    With that, he nodded to Lu Yin and made to leave.

    Lu Yin quickly chased after the Envoy. "Brother Liu, what happened?"

    Liu Jing feltpletely helpless. "Master Zan and the other Lockbreakers have demandedpensation for repairing the sourcebox array. Over the years, many arrays here at headquarters and beneath the array bases have broken down, requiring the Array Masters¡¯ help to repair them, and we¡¯ve pretty much used up everything that we can get for what we¡¯ve already paid them. The general''s merit points have all been traded away for items that have been handed over to Master Zan at various times, so now all I can do is overdraft merit points in order to trade for the items we need, but that woman won¡¯t allow it."

    Lu Yin felt a bit dazed. "That old woman won¡¯t give even face to the general?"

    Liu Jing¡¯s voice grew bitter. "I can''t actually me her. Overdrafting merit points to trade for items is a huge taboo, and if such a thing is discovered without a legitimate excuse, it could easily make many people upset. After all, aren¡¯t you upset that you can''t get the Cloudguard Robes? If that sort of disgruntlement spreads throughout all of the troops, the consequences would be unimaginable.¡±

    Lu Yin understood what Liu Jing was saying. "Bai Chi was able to reserve the Cloudguard Robes, so why can''t General Xia Yan do the same?"

    Liu Jing exined, "Reserving an item and overdrafting merit points are twopletely different things. Even if General Bai Chi wanted to overdraft his merit points to purchase an item, it would not be easy to do so. At this point, all I can do is report back to General Xia Yan and ask him to deal with this matter himself."

    "Actually, there¡¯s no need to find Master Zan to repair the sourcebox array," Lu Yin suddenly said.

    Liu Jing kept walking for a moment before looking over at Lu Yin in confusion. "What do you mean? Who else can repair the sourcebox array?"

    Lu Yin pointed to himself. "I can give it a go."

    Liu Jing was stunned. "You?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ve actually already mastered a few sourcebox arrays, so technically, I can be considered an Array Master."

    Liu Jing was instantly overjoyed. "You¡¯veprehended a sourcebox array? Are you serious?"

    Lu Yin smiled gently, raised a hand, and caused the Channeling Diagram to appear. "Give it a try, Brother Liu."

    Liu Jing waved his hand, which instantly destabilized the Channeling Diagram. Lu Yin had actually forgotten that Liu Jing was an Envoy, which meant that he normally used stellr energy. Lu Yin had set up the array with star energy, so naturally, the Envoy¡¯s attack had easily destabilized the sourcebox array. Still, Liu Jing was delighted. He was unconcerned with the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s array, only that it was an authentic sourcebox array.

    "Brother Ah Qi, let''s go! I''ll show you the array, and if you really can repair the cone-shaped sourceboxes¡¯ array, you¡¯ll have done a great service to my second array base, and the general will be thrilled." Liu Jing was overjoyed, and Lu Yin followed behind the giddy Envoy.

    They eventually arrived at the location where the giant corpse king¡¯s body had exploded. The two of them were about a hundred meters away from the site, and across from them was the group of well-dressed Lockbreakers. There were also two women with the Lockbreakers who were feeding them some fruit in a yful manner. Despite everyone else¡¯s irritation, no one dared to speak up against the Lockbreakers¡¯ behavior.

    Lu Yin felt that they were going too far. These Lockbreakers from the Perennial World were behavingpletely at odds with how they were expected to.

    "Brother Ah Qi, first check to see if you can repair it, but don¡¯t say anything yet," Liu Jing said in a very quiet voice.

    Lu Yin nodded. He naturally had no intention of saying anything. Even in the Fifth Maind, the Lockbreakers Society had been notoriously short-sighted. His actions at this moment could even be seen as him stealing an opportunity from another Lockbreaker to work with sourceboxes or set up a sourcebox array, which was an unforgivable offense in the Fifth Maind unless one received permission. Lu Yin expected this to be the standard practice in the Perennial World as well.

    Liu Jing deliberately kept his distance, as he was worried that he would be discovered by Master Zan''s group.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin stared in front of him. The area had already been isted, and he saw a total of twelve cone-shaped sourceboxes that had been cattered across the ground. They asionally trembled while also giving off a powerful danger field that randomly tore the void apart, which was why people were too afraid to move any closer.

    These particr sourceboxes could be arranged into an amazingly powerful sourcebox array because of how they allplemented each other. To repair this array, Lu Yin needed to sort out the various sourceboxes and then rearrange them back to their original formation. He did not need to set up a new array, so this should not be too difficult.

    Star energy filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He had rarely done this after arriving in the Perennial World. There were no runes in this universe, so it was normally useless for Lu Yin to do this. However, it still helped him see these sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields more clearly. He also released his domain, bit by bit, until it tentatively made contact with the cone-shaped sourceboxes. He even went as far as dripping a bit of gemspring water into his eyes.

    The cone-shaped sourceboxes were powerful enough to even wound Envoys, which meant that their danger field had entered the true universe. If Lu Yin attempted to interact with the sourceboxes without using any gemspring water, he would have to constantly move about and enter the true universe, which would draw far too much attention.

    Each drop of gemspring water was enough to let Lu Yin observe the true universe for a minute. There were thirteen drops left, so Lu Yin would have to carefully ration them out.

    Fortunately, the parts of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields that had spread into the true universe were not veryplicated, so Lu Yin was able to understand the situation after just observing the danger fields twice.

    Lu Yin slowly walked around the area that had been isted by the cone-shaped sourceboxes¡¯ presence. After enough time for a stick of incense to burn passed, Lu Yin finally drew the attention of Master Zan and the other Lockbreakers.

    A young man moved to block Lu Yin''s path. Then, the young man stared at Lu Yin and asked, "What are you doing?"

    "Just wandering around."

    The young man shouted, "Stay away! The sourcebox array that¡¯s here could activate at any time! Do you want to die? We don''t!"

    Lu Yin nodded and answered in a sincere tone. "Got it. I¡¯ll leave."

    The young man snorted and returned to his group.

    However, Lu Yin continued to circle around the sourceboxes.

    Master Zan nced back at Lu Yin and frowned. "Xiao Li, why hasn''t he left yet? Can you not even handle this?"

    The young man named Xiao Li blushed. "Master, your disciple will go teach him a lesson."

    Master Zan grew annoyed. "We¡¯re on the battlefield. Who can you teach a lesson with your strength as a Limiteer? Just go send him away."

    Xiao Li let out a sigh of relief as he hurried back to Lu Yin, though his face had twisted into an ugly expression that was terrible to see.

    He moved in front of Lu Yin, once again blocking Lu Yin¡¯s path. Xiao Li red at Lu Yin. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to leave? Why are you still here?"

    Lu Yin answered in a light tone, "I''m sorry. I''m a bit lost, but I¡¯ll leave now."

    Xiao Li snorted derisively while trying to make his expression more intimidating. He deliberately leaned closer and threatened, ¡°Kid, Master Zan¡¯s the one who wants you to get away from the array! Don¡¯t pretend to be stupid! With a single word from Master Zan, there won¡¯t be any way for you to survive here on the second array base. Get it?"

    "I gotcha, don''t worry. I¡¯ll behave myself. I don¡¯t want to cause any trouble," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Li snorted once more. He felt that Lu Yin did not have a bad attitude, so Xiao Li softened his tone. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    He then took one more look at Lu Yin¡¯s back and returned to hisrades.

    However, after enough time for another incense stick to burn passed, Xiao Li nkly stared on as Lu Yin made anotherp around the blocked off region. The young man went stiff from surprise.

    "Xiao Li, are you really this incapable? This is yourst chance. If that person doesn¡¯t leave, then don¡¯t bothering back.¡± By now, Master Zan was furious. This person was willing to challenge his authority! Several people in the group nced around with odd expressions; were there really still people in the second array base who refused to give Master Zan proper respect? At the same time, the people here also looked at Xiao Li with empathy. This person really had no luck at all.

    Xiao Li rushed back over to Lu Yin and blocked Lu Yin¡¯s path. The young man was in a rage, and he shouted in a deep voice, ¡°You¡¯re screwing with me!"

    Lu Yin looked at the young man blocking his path. "Sorry, who are you?"

    Lu Yin genuinely did not care about the person blocking his path. He had been entirely focused on studying the sourcebox array, so his responses to Xiao Li had all been reflexive and unconscious.

    Xiao Li was absolutely furious, and he wanted to do nothing more than to beat someone, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he likely not be able to defeat this person. ¡°Get out of here! Master Zan has told you to get lost, you hear me? If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll go get the general, and then you can kiss your future goodbye! Kid, it would be better to die than face such a future."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Quit messing around and trying to disturb me while I repair the sourcebox array."

    Xiao Liughed from his rage. "What did you say? Repair the sourcebox array? Do you want to say that again?"

    "Let''s see." Lu Yin raised a foot and took a step forward. A strong wind pushed Xiao Li back, and Lu Yin moved past the young man. Lu Yin looked over and shot a confident smile at the anxious Liu Jing. Then, Lu Yin stepped into the area that had been isted off by the sourcebox array.

    Master Zan shot to his feet from where he was watching nearby. His expression changed drastically. "Stop!"

    Xiao Li had no idea what to do as he watched Lu Yin enter the sourcebox array. The young man¡¯s eyes were filled with terror, and he was deeply scared that the sourcebox array would be suddenly triggered and that he would die.

    Liu Jing felt his heart tremble. Was Ah Qi already going in? Was the young man really that impulsive? Liu Jing had expected Lu Yin to first discuss the situation and even meet with the general so that they could confirm Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. And only after all that would they finally speak to Master Zan. But what was happening? Had the kid just barged straight in?

    No matter what twists and turns he needed to take to get there, Lu Yin was absolutely confident in his ability to repair this sourcebox array. Even though it was a veryplicated array, he only needed to reset the array that had been disrupted by the enormous corpse king. There was no need to redo the entire array.

    If Lu Yin waspletely honest, this sourcebox array was beyond his abilities to arrange at this point in time. To do so, he would need to study it for at least a year or two. In the end, this array was capable of ughtering Envoys, and it could even influence the true universe. However, if it was just a matter of realigning the danger fields, then that was still within Lu Yin¡¯s means.

    Outside the array, Master Zan nervously watched on. Just like Xiao Li, Master Zan was terrified that the sourcebox array would be identally triggered, wiping all of them out just like that group of corpse kings. Not even the corpse kings with the strength of an Envoy had been able to endure more than a few strikes from this array.

    There was no one present who was more nervous than Master Zan, and that was because he was the only one who understood just how dangerous the situation at this moment was.

    Just a few seconds went by, but Master Zan already felt like years had passed. His clothes were already soaked from his cold sweat.

    The Array Master quickly noticed that the array had not been triggered, and Lu Yin was even avoiding the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. Master Zan felt tremendous relief; this person was not a normal person, but rather a Lockbreaker.

    However, this revtion made Master Zan even more upset than ever. ¡°Who is that? Find out! Make sure you discover who he is. We need to speak to the general! I demand an exnation!"

    This sourcebox array was something that concerned the entire military stationed at the second array base, and Xia Yan and Long Laogui both realized what had happened the moment that Lu Yin entered the array. They both tore through the void, and somber expressions appeared on their faces when they emerged.

    Master Zan rushed over as soon as he saw that Xia Yan had arrived. The Array Master suppressed his anger and whispered, "General, who is that person? I can¡¯t believe that he had the guts to enter the sourcebox array without permission! If he triggers it, everyone nearby will die!"

 Chapter 1494: Talent

    Chapter 1494: Talent

    Liu Jing quickly arrived, his face pale. "General."

    Xia Yan solemnly asked, "Who allowed him in there?"

    Liu Jing was absolutely terrified. "It was this subordinate. Ah Qi hasprehended a sourcebox array, and this subordinate brought him here to examine the array. But I never even dreamed that he would walk straight in!"

    Master Zan spoke up, furious, "Liu Jing, do you think that this array can be repaired by just anyone who¡¯sprehended a sourcebox array? My master, Master Deng Guo, arranged this array! To repair it, I¡¯ve studied it for a decade! How old is that child? Do you really think that he can repair it? Let me tell you, everything will be fine as long as he doesn¡¯t trigger the array, but the moment that happens, this array will most likely be far moreplicated than before, and it will cost double to repair it.¡±

    Xia Yan¡¯s expression hardened, and he nced over at Master Zan.

    The Array Master suddenly felt a chill go down his back, and he stopped talking. He had been able to demand excessive amounts ofpensation in an unscrupulous manner due to his status as an Array Master and the fact that his master was a Realm Array Master, but more importantly, it was because of General Xia Yan¡¯s tolerance. If he became angry, Master Zan knew he might not be able to endure it.

    Liu Jing anxiously stared into the array of cone-shaped sourceboxes.

    Long Laogui had a strange expression on his face. He had actually been ignorant that there was an Array Master among his own n¡¯s juniors.

    "Immediately clear the surrounding area," Xia Yan ordered. Even though he was not a Lockbreaker himself, he still understood howplex sourcebox arrays were. It was impossible for even an experienced Lockbreaker to repair an unknown sourcebox array without first studying it for several years. This was why Xia Yan had continued to tolerate Master Zan, as he was the only person aside from Master Deng Guo who was capable of repairing the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array.

    The general knew that he would have to once again increase thepensation that he gave to the Lockbreakers, which caused him to frown. That was even the best possible oue, as the worst was the sourcebox array being severely damaged or Long Qi dying, which would spell no end of problems.

    "Master Zan, please reach out to Master Deng Guo and ask him toe here," Xia Yan said.

    Master Zan''s face twisted. "General, my Master protects the array base, so it¡¯s not convenient for him to move out."

    "Master Zan, please reach out to Master Deng Guo and ask him toe here." Xia Yan repeated his request, but with an iron tone this time.

    Master Zan gritted his teeth. Still, he did not dare disobey themand of the general of the second array base. He raised his hand and used hismunication crystal to call his master.

    ***

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he was able to see every detail of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. His star energy control had already reached the Worldliness realm, and his domain was touching upon the spiritual manifestation realm. On top of that, he had also received Gu Yue¡¯s journal that documented his understanding of sourcebox arrays. So, after just half an hour, Lu Yin had a clear picture of what needed to be done, and he started his repairs.

    "Don''t move!" Master Zan immediately tried to stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin reacted as though he could not hear the outside world, and his star energy transformed into several delicate silk threads that shot out. Theytched onto five of the cone-shaped sourceboxes that he moved simultaneously. He shifted their positions, but his maniption calmed the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields. After that, Lu Yin moved again.

    After another half an hour passed, Master Zan stared at Lu Yin in utter shock. By now, all of the cone-shaped sourceboxes were standing upright, and everything appeared to be perfectly calm. Even people who were not Lockbreakers could see that the damaged array was in much better visual shape than it had been before.

    Master Zan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s rxed face. The older Array Master felt as though his entire understanding of the world was being overturned. How could this be possible? How could this person repair the sourcebox array by just shifting and turning the sourceboxes around? What did that say of Master Zan¡¯s years of study?

    Xiao Li was also stunned; how could this person remain so rxed? Not even Master Zan was capable of being so calm.

    Xia Yan and Long Laogui nced at each other. Neither of them was able to hide the hint of joy from appearing in their eyes. They then both looked back at Lu Yin as though seeing a precious treasure.

    It was at this moment that the void distorted, and an old man slowly emerged. He had a ruddyplexion and gray hair, but despite his evident age, he appeared to be very energetic.

    At the old man¡¯s appearance, even Xia Yan and Long Laogui stepped forward to greet the man. This new arrival was Master Deng Guo, a Realm Array Master. He was also an Envoy who had survived three stellr tribtions; thebination of his cultivation and sourcebox arrays meant that even a powerhouse who had survived five tribtions might not be able to take on this old man.

    "Master," Master Zan nervously greeted the old man.

    Master Deng Guo sped his hands behind his back and turned to examine Lu Yin, who was still in the middle of the sourcebox array. The Realm Array Master admired the youth. "He is very young, but his understanding of Lockbreaking is unique. He¡¯s reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, and on top of that, he¡¯s supplementing it with his domain and other items. Even when this old man was his age, I could note close to his abilities. general, can you tell this old man who that child is?"

    Xia Yan opened his mouth, but no sound came from it. Instead, he sent a sound transmission to Master Deng Guo alone.

    Master Deng Guo was surprised by the information. "That¡¯s quite a coincidence. Those people only know how to arrest people. What a pity that a Lockbreaker ended up within their numbers.¡±

    The old man then looked over at Long Laogui with a smile. "Congrattions."

    Long Laogui eagerly asked, "Does Master Deng Guo intend to ept another disciple?"

    Master Zan''s expression instantly changed.

    However, Master Deng Guo had a different reaction to the question. He seemed to consider it, and he thoughtfully looked back at Lu Yin. "This child has a unique sensitivity for lockbreaking, as without that, it would be impossible for him to understand this sourcebox array so quickly. He absolutely qualifies to be this old man¡¯s disciple."

    Long Laoguiughed. No matter whatplications might exist in their rtionship, Long Qi was still a member of the White Dragon n, which meant that his prospects reflected upon the n. The interest of a Realm Array Master was enough topletely change Long Laogui¡¯s feelings towards Long Qi. If this child received instructions from Master Deng Guo, then he would not be treated as an ordinary member of the White Dragon n.

    "Master, that kid is too bold and reckless! He rushed straight into the sourcebox array! If he had triggered it, he could have killed many people," Master Zan quickly spoke up, hoping to dissuade his master from epting Lu Yin as a disciple. What status would Master Zan be left with if that happened?

    Master Zan knew that Master Deng Guo hated reckless people the most.

    Master Deng Guo responded in a casual tone, "If you had done the same, it would have been reckless. However, he did it out of confidence."

    Master Zan hung his head, his face twisting into an even uglier expression. When he next looked up at Lu Yin, the Array Master¡¯s eyes contained a terrible chill.

    Inside the sourcebox array, Lu Yin was unaware of what was happening outside. Instead, he waspletely focused on fixing the sourceboxes¡¯ chaotic danger fields. Finally, after two hours or work, all the cone-shaped sourceboxes automatically buried themselves back into the ground. The array had been restored to its original state.

    Xia Yan''s eyes finally rxed, and he looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. He had never expected Qing Chen to send such a talented person here. If not for the mission that he had been given by Humility¡¯s Gate, Xia Yan would have wanted to keep Long Qi behind at headquarters and stop him from risking his life. It was not worth it to let someone this talented fight on the battlefield.

    Long Laogui stared at Lu Yin with gentle eyes that seemed to radiate encouragement.

    When Lu Yin saw the old man, he had to wonder if the man had turned silly.

    Out of everyone present, Liu Jing was the happiest. Brother Ah Qi had lived up to his expectations and actually repaired the sourcebox array! Liu Jing was blown away.

    Xia Yan nced over at Liu Jing. The Envoy quickly said something to Lu Yin, and the youth stepped forward. "Subordinate Ah Qi greets General Xia, Senior Long, and Master Deng Guo."

    Xia Yan felt satisfied. "Ah Qi, have you repaired the sourcebox array?"

    "Yes, this subordinate was able to see that the sourcebox array was damaged, and I was bold enough to attempt to repair it. I ask for the general to deliver my punishment."

    "Haha, you repaired the sourcebox array, so what is there to punish? Not only is there nothing to punish, but you also deserve credit for your aplishment." Xia Yan was very happy at this moment.

    Long Laogui was still smiling, and he asked, "Ah Qi, have you heard of Master Deng Guo before?"

    Of course I haven''t heard of him, Lu Yin internally thought, though he did not dare to say such a thing out loud. Instead, he replied with a voice that was full of admiration and respect, as well as a hint of longing. "I''ve heard that Master Deng Guo is one of the most respected senior Lockbreakers. He is like a mountain that this junior aspires towards as a goal.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s reasoning was that, since this man was referred to as a master and was also standing in front of Master Zan, he clearly was not an ordinary Lockbreaker.

    Master Deng Guo was quite happy with Lu Yin¡¯s response, and he spoke up, "Is your name Ah Qi?"

    Lu Yin quickly offered the old man a respectful bow. "Yes."

    Master Deng Guo nodded. "How many sourcebox arrays have youprehended?"

    "Two," Lu Yin answered. Back at the Sword Monument, he had only revealed the Channeling Diagram, but during ater battle, he had also revealed the Teleportation Formation. He still had not revealed the Inception Array, so there was no need to mention it. He would only reveal that one in a terrifying situation.

    Master Zan was shocked. How had this child actually mastered two sourcebox arrays?

    Master Deng Guo was also stunned. "Could you demonstrate them for me to see?"

    Lu Yin nodded and raised a hand to bring out the Channeling Diagram.

    Master Deng Guo studied it and was amazed. "Ingenious. It takes advantage of a sourcebox¡¯s danger field to create a dispersion array to redirect an enemy''s attack. While this sourcebox array is not particrlyplicated, its usefulness in a battle is easily seen."

    Lu Yin then used the Teleportation Formation.

    This time, Master Deng Guo was taken aback. "So it¡¯s actually this sourcebox array!? Where did you learn this?"

    "This junior obtained both of my sourcebox arrays from the Sword Monument,¡± Lu Yin replied. He became a bit nervous after Master Deng Guo actually recognized the Teleportation Formation.

    Master Deng Guo muttered, "The Sword Monument holds it as well? I do remember hearing that sourcebox arrays can be obtained from the Sword Monument."

    After a moment, he refocused on Lu Yin. "Ah Qi, do you have a Lockbreaker master?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He was being honest, as he did not have a Lockbreaker master, and he also did not want one. After all, he did not see the need. If he really needed to find an expert who could guide his lockbreaking path, then Highsage Grandmaster was the most suitable option. However, only the disciples of Eversky Ind could receive such guidance from Highsage Grandmaster, and Lu Yin did not have that status. Mister Mu was Lu Yin¡¯s sole master, and he would not ept any other person as his master.

    Master Deng Guo smiled. "In that case, are you willing to learn from this old man? Of course, you cannot immediately be a disciple. This old man will need to first evaluate your personality. If you prove suitable, then this old man will ept you as one of my disciples. How about it?"

    Long Laogui was overjoyed. This was already a done deal!

    Lu Yin was unconcerned with Master Deng Guo and his offer, but he needed to maintain his alias, so his expression became sincere. ¡°This junior will work hard to be master''s disciple as soon as possible."

    Master Deng Guo was happy with this response, though Master Zan went pale and silently ground his teeth.

    Master Deng Guo left a short whileter, and he took Master Zan with him.

    Long Laogui spoke highly encouraging words to Lu Yin, and he acted much more amiable towards the youth now. He made it clear that he hadpletely forgotten about the matter of what Lu Yin had done at the Cloud Shuttle.

    Lu Yin could only act grateful towards the old man.

    One by one, everyone left, and Xia Yan took his leave as well. Before leaving, he reminded Lu Yin to get a better protective item. Without any hesitation, Lu Yin leaped at the opportunity. "General, this subordinate had a question regarding that. Might I be able to ask the general for help?"

    Xia Yan casually replied, "What''s the matter? We¡¯ll take care of it."

    He was still thrilled to not have been exploited by Master Zan, as he had suffered a huge loss over the years due to the sourcebox array¡¯s repair cost. Naturally, Lu Yin had instantly be indispensable.

    Lu Yin exined, "This subordinates wished to trade for the Cloudguard Robes, but they were reserved by General Bai Chi. Thus, this subordinate would like to ask the general for help."

    Xia Yan frowned. "Reserved? Is that Bai Chi is trying to set something aside for his family again? Come with me."

    With that, Xia Yan led Lu Yin to the bottom of the headquarters to speak with the old woman again.

 Chapter 1495: Bai Zhen

    Chapter 1495: Bai Zhen

    "I greet the general." The old woman bowed as soon as she noticed Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan straightforwardly said, "Exchange the Cloudguard Robes for him."

    The old woman showed no hesitation. "Yes, General."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Xia Yan was also a general, and when it came to this matter that was already bending the rules, he stood on the same level as Bai Chi. While Bai Chi could order the logistical team to set an item aside, Xia Yan was just as capable of ordering them to carry out the trade properly, as long as there were enough merit points, of course.

    After the old woman finalized the exchange, she reported in a respectful tone, "General, the Cloudguard Robes have been sessfully redeemed for, though it will take up to a day for it to be delivered."

    Xia Yan grunted in response and then turned towards Lu Yin. "You¡¯ll only have to wait a day. I¡¯ll have Liu Jing hold off on putting your team together until then."

    "Thank you, General." Lu Yin felt quite grateful.

    Xia Yan smiled. "I¡¯m the one who should be saying thank you. If not for you, Master Zan would have acted even more arrogant than before. I really thought that there were no options aside from using him."

    Since the general was mentioning a matter of conflict between himself and another Lockbreaker, it would not be appropriate for Lu Yin to make anyments.

    "Master Deng Guo is a Realm Array Master, and he is an excellent Array Master even within the context of the entire Lockbreaker association. He is only beneath the Array Grandmasters, so if you are able to be his disciple, then you will gain a powerful voice within your own White Dragon n. Not to mention your n, but Lockbreakers are umon throughout the entire Perennial World," Xia Yan casually mentioned before turning away from Lu Yin and walking out of the old woman¡¯s room.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Yan¡¯s back as the man left. He honestly felt grateful towards the middle-aged man. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s background was in the White Dragon n, the General was upright in his dealings with Lu Yin. The four ruling powers did not have amicable rtionships, but Lu Yin could clearly sense that Xia Yan prioritized the second array base above all else.

    The battlefield nevercked for upright characters who could recognise the true enemy on the battlefield. And most of these people could be only found in such battlefields. Regardless of how arrogant Lockbreakers like Master Zan might be, the man was at least still present on the battlefield, which was something that Lu Yin could respect. Because of that, Lu Yin did not hold much of a grudge against Master Zan.

    At this moment, all Lu Yin needed to do was wait for the Cloudguard Robes to arrive. He looked up at the sky, feeling rather eager.

    ***

    Each of the five array bases were shaped like a massive, upside-down cone, and the inclined portions leading to the top were absolutely massive. When the endless hordes of corpse kings attempted to assault the array bases, they were forced to either tear through the void to directly attack the headquarters or climb up the slopes. The inclined portions of the inverted cones were practically upside-down continents, and the inside of the cone was actually the center of its respective array base, which meant that they couldunch an endless number of attacks to ughter the climbing corpse kings.

    It was the existence of these array bases and their uniqueyout that had prevented the monsters from directly assaulting the Perennial World even after so many years.

    A few corpse kings climbed upwards along an inverted cone while an endlessndmass extended above their heads. Suddenly, a massive gear rolled down the slope, followed by many more. As it fell, the first one easily tore through one of the corpse kings, which had possessed the strength of a Hunter, just like itspanions. Despite their strength, all of them were destroyed by the various falling gears, but this was amonce sight here.

    Each array base was capable of releasing countless gears, bothrge and small. The smaller ones easily shredded apart monsters that had the strength of Cruisers or Hunters while therger gears were able to tear through corpse kings that had the strength of Enlighters or even Envoys.

    After the gears tore through a few corpse kings, a nearby pair of eyes opened. They were underneath an overhanging cliff, and if one looked closely, they would see a tinge of cruelty and excitement lighting up the eyes. "Almost done. I just need to run that again. If I eliminate a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy, I¡¯ll have enough to trade for the Cloudguard Robes, and as long as I get those, my chances of surviving here will increase by at least tenfold. As long as my luck isn¡¯t too bad, I¡¯ll absolutely be able toplete his test and inherit that family¡¯s core battle techniques. With that, I¡¯ll be able to erase my past identity and rise up within the Celestial Frost Sect! I¡¯ll be famous throughout the universe! Soon. Just a little bit more."

    Several hours passed. During this time, a few people passed by, and the asional corpse king wandered by as well. The corpse kings were all destroyed by the gears, and Bai Zhen had no opening to attack.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and a pair of scarlet eyes with slitted pupils simultaneously opened some distance away. The creature was moving incredibly fast, but a gear suddenly appeared and smashed into the corpse king. In response, the quickly moving creature diverted the gear with an upraised hand.

    Bai Zhen''s eyes lit up. This corpse king had the strength of an Envoy! He leaped forward and raised his hand to attack, using a technique that looked like the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Gap Between Heaven and Human.

    However, unlike the true Gap Between Heaven and Human of the Celestial Frost Sect, this palm attack contained an indescribable energy that even caused the nearby void to wither. A spatial crack appeared in the attack¡¯s wake, quickly expanding.

    The corpse king roared and waved a hand, shing down with a ckened wed appendage that was clearly highly toxic.

    There was a bang, and the void shattered, forcing both Bai Zhen and the corpse king to retreat. The corpse king''s arm had been broken and twisted unnaturally. As for Bai Zhen, ck spots had appeared on his hand. He had been poisoned.

    He let out a cold snort and stretched out a hand with his palm facing downwards. A momentter, a vortex appeared above the slope of the array base that gradually grewrger. During this time, the Envoy-level corpse king¡¯s twisted arm recovered, and it charged forward once more. At that moment, the center of the vortex condensed into a gray, needle-like object that then shot forward and pierced through Bai Zhen¡¯s palm. The toxin that had been spreading through his hand was instantly drawn out and dispersed into the void.

    Bai Zhen waved his hand, causing another needle to appear and shoot towards the corpse king.

    The corpse king''s pupils fluctuated, and it swung its hands in an attempt to deflect the needle, but its efforts werepletely useless. The needle easily pierced through the corpse king¡¯s forehead, and at the same time, a huge gear appeared above the creature¡¯s head, crushing and obliterating half of its body. Bai Zhen had made his move in unison with the falling gear, and he smashed the creature off by smashing its head to pieces with a palm.

    He lifted his head, breathing heavily. He had seeded. The battlefield merit points that he would get for killing thisst corpse king would be just enough for him to trade for the Cloudguard Robes.

    Satisfied, he looked up at the vortex overhead. He felt endlessly grateful that he had done his best to learn this particr battle technique, as it had saved his life multiple times.

    It was time to return. He looked back and saw a group of corpse kings making their way upwards, but Bai Zhen had no interest in taking action against them. His only desire at this moment was to survive the battlefield and pass that person¡¯s test. As for the war itself, he waspletely unconcerned about its oue.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, he moved closer to thendmass of the slope and then slowly merged into it. There was a transmission device that went directly to the general''s office, but only humans could use this device. If a corpse king ever attempted to use such a thing, they would be instantly destroyed by a gear.

    In the first array base¡¯s headquarters, Bai Zhen erupted in anger. "What did you say? The Cloudguard Robes are gone? Where are they?"

    There was a young-looking woman in front of him, and she fearfully answered, ¡°Someone already redeemed it."

    "Who? The general reserved it for me! Who took it?" Bai Zhen roared.

    The woman meekly answered, "Master Xia Yan, the general of the second array base. He approved of the exchange of merit points for the Cloudguard Robes."

    Bai Zhen gritted his teeth as veins bulged across his forehead. He had desperately fought on the slope for so long to get those Cloudguard Robes, and he had even made a promise to Bai Chi. But in the end, the Cloudguard Robes had still slipped out of his grasp.

    "It happened just yesterday," the woman softly muttered. Her words reignited Bai Zhen''s anger, and he charged straight into General Bai Chi¡¯s office.

    Bai Chi was also from the Celestial Frost Sect, and he was the general of the first array base. Compared to Xia Yan, Bai Chi was a bit more slender, but he also had a gloomier demeanor. "Xia Yan redeemed the Cloudguard Robes? That¡¯s impossible. He doesn¡¯t have enough merit points for that. The Lockbreakers who work with him drain him dry every time. Don¡¯t worry about this. I¡¯ll look into it."

    On the other side of the room, Bai Zhen respectfully stood in ce and waited.

    After a while, Bai Chi lowered hismunication crystal and sank deep into thought.

    Bai Zhen could not help himself. "Sir?"

    Bai Chi looked up. "Long Qi redeemed the Cloudguard Robes."

    "Long Qi? Someone from the White Dragon n?" Bai Zhen frowned.

    Bai Chi exined, "He¡¯s not just a member of the White Dragon n, but also a Middle Realm Gate Master from Humility¡¯s Gate. What¡¯s more, yesterday, he helped Xia Yan by repairing the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array, and in doing so, he received the favor of Master Deng Guo, who¡¯s a Realm Array Master, and is likely to be his disciple in the future. In addition to that, Xia Yan also spoke up and demanded that Long Qi be able to redeem the Cloudguard Robes. This kid has a special status, and even though I asked for that item to be reserved for you, no one could have done anything about this."

    Bai Zhen responded in a low voice, "Even if he fixed the sourcebox array, he¡¯s still just a Gate Master from Humility¡¯s Gate. There¡¯s no way that he had enough merit points to redeem the Cloudguard Robes. Most of my own merit points came from back when-¡±

    Bai Chi raised a hand to stop Bai Zhen from saying anything more. ¡°Nothing can be mentioned about that time. That matter is forbidden, or have you forgotten?"

    Bai Zhen''s expression changed a bit. "Yes, I remember."

    Bai Chi continued to exin, saying, "Long Qi''s merit points were supplied by Qing Chen, which allowed him to use more merit points than what he personally possesses. As I said, the kid has a truly special status for Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Supervisor to regard him so highly."

    Bai Chi¡¯s patience was on full disy at this moment. After all, he was the general of the first array base, and yet he was thoroughly exining things to Bai Zhen.

    But Bai Zhen refused to ept the situation. "Sir, you promised me! I¡¯ve been fighting on this battlefield for all these years just to buy the Lu Cloud Clothing."

    Bai Chi asked, "What is the most difficult criterion on that person''s test?"

    Bai Zhen gritted his teeth. "Survive on a battlefield slope for twenty years."

    "How long do you still have to go?" Bai Chi asked.

    "Eleven years."

    Bai Chi responded, "Surviving for nine years is pretty impressive. Even I wouldn¡¯t be confident in my abilities to survive on the slope for nine years. There are many powerhouses among the monsters."

    The more Bai Chi spoke, the more pain Bai Zhen felt. There were still eleven years left, but how would he spend them? During thest nine years, he had been hiding like a mouse, constantly afraid that he would attract the attention of an extremely powerful corpse king. He had also worked hard towards umting enough battlefield merit points to redeem the Cloudguard Robes. He firmly believed that no one had lived a more difficult life than him during these past few years.

    "Sir, could you allow me to contact Long Qi? I would like to speak to him," Bai Zhen solemnly asked.

    Bai Chi shook his head. "You know what the rtionship between our Celestial Frost Sect and the White Dragon n is like. If possible, I definitely would have wanted you to receive the Cloudguard Robes, but this Long Qi is being watched over by Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Supervisor, and now, even Xia Yan and Long Laogui are paying attention to him. While I would love to take the Cloudguard Robes from him, that¡¯s not very likely. After all, he traded for it even after I reserved it for you, so clearly he¡¯s unconcerned about me."

    "Then I-" Bai Zhen was truly upset, but he had no idea what to even say.

    Bai Chi''s eyes shed. "Well, I still have an item with me here. While it¡¯s not as good as the Cloudguard Robes, it¡¯s not much worse.¡±

    He then took out a delicate and beautiful red flower.

    Bai Zhen was stunned the moment he saw the flower, and his entire body shuddered. He felt as though he was once again seeing that scene of red flowers blooming and the petals raining from the sky. It was a scene that represented both beauty and death. As if dying in a dream, though the family that had once dominated everything had since disappeared.

 Chapter 1496: Hidden Needle

    Chapter 1496: Hidden Needle

    Upon seeing Bai Zhen''s expression, a smile crept across Bai Chi''s face. "How will this do? You should already know about the power of the Fay Blossom, right?"

    Bai Zhen was terrified at first, but after registering Bai Chi''s words, he became incredibly excited, and he even started panting. "Really? Really?"

    Bai Chi smiled. "Of course. However, this thing is not on the exchange list, and I have no need of your merit points. And naturally, I can¡¯t give you a Fay Blossom for free. So, how will you repay me?"

    Bai Zhen struggled to tear his eyes away from the Fay Blossom to look back at Bai Chi. "What would you like?"

    Bai Chi smiled gently as he put the Fay Blossom away. "Check the exchange list. Maybe you¡¯ll find a better defensive treasure listed."

    Bai Zhen spoke in a rushed manner, "Sir, just tell me what you want."

    Although the Fay Blossom was not a defensive object, they were actually even more useful than one, and they were far more valuable than the Cloudguard Robes. If Bai Zhen were able to choose between the Cloudguard Robes and the flower, he would absolutely choose the Fay Blossom without any hesitation.

    The moment that Bai Chi had taken out the Fay Blossom, Bai Zhen had already known that the general had been prepared. Regardless of whether or not the Cloudguard Robes had been avable, the Fay Blossom would have appeared. This was a choice, and it was not one that Bai Chi was offering, but rather that old man.

    Bai Chi thought for a while as he stared at Bai Zhen. "Honestly, I don''t actually know what I need from you, but you should already know. If not, I would never have a Fay Blossom in my possession."

    Bai Zhen''s eyes shed, and he seemed to be struggling with something.

    Bai Chi was in no hurry, so he simply waited.

    After a long time, Bai Zhen finally said in a solemn manner, "Hidden Needle."

    Bai Chi had to ask, "What?"

    Bai Zhen stared at Bai Chi in an earnest manner and slowly repeated, ¡°Hid-den Ne-edle."

    Bai Chi was stunned. "The Lu family''s Hidden Needle? You have it?"

    Bai Zhen nodded.

    Bai Chi looked Bai Zhen up and down. "How did you learn the Hidden Needle? That technique is unique to the Lu family, and they never let it leak out. You were just a mere retainer, so how were you able to learn that skill?"

    Bai Zhen sneered. "Retainer? That¡¯s just a matter of who I follow. The person I follow is extremely powerful.¡±

    Bai Chi¡¯s expression sharpened, and he nodded. "That''s not bad. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to survive on the slopednd for nine years. With the Hidden Needle, forget nine years¡ªeven surviving for twenty years might not be impossible. It¡¯s no wonder why you were given that test."

    Bai Zhen shook his head. "He doesn¡¯t even know that I learned the Hidden Needle when he gave me my test. He simply doesn¡¯t want to see anything that¡¯s even slightly rted to the Lu family, but I will definitely survive and get everything that I want."

    Bai Chi smiled. "The Hidden Needle is a wonderful skill." He then raised his hand, causing the Fay Blossom to reappear and slowly float over to Bai Zhen. "It''s yours."

    Bai Zhen received the Fay Blossom with aplicated expression. Was it really worthwhile to trade the Hidden Needle for a Fay Blossom? The technique could be considered a lost art, and Bai Zhen had no idea if anyone from the Lu family was even still alive. However, he would not change his mind even if it was for 10,000 Fay Blossoms. After all, the Celestial Frost Sect would never allow anyone to learn the technique ever again. Even if he dared to teach someone, who would dare to learn it?

    It did not actually matter anymore; the Lu family was gone. Bai Zhen quickly shook away any remaining thoughts and looked up. Bai Chi''s eyes were glistening as he waited to learn the Hidden Needle.

    ***

    Over on the second array base, Lu Yin received the Cloudguard Robes. When he opened the package and felt the material, his first reaction was that it was too tough. This item was able to endure attacks from powerhouses who had survived five stellr tribtions! More importantly, it contained more than a single sourcebox array within it.

    Lu Yin found this rather unbelievable; who could have set up a sourcebox array that fit within a mere set of clothing?

    Lu Yin had seen many enormous sourcebox arrays, the first being the one that protected Shenwu Continent. Later, there had been the one in the Lockbreaker World, and there was also the Ceaseless Impetus that he was currently standing upon. All of them were beyond massive. However, the Lu Cloud Clothing in his hands contained the smallest sourcebox array that he had seen so far.

    Big and small were two extremes. It was very difficult for something to be thergest, but it was also extremely difficult for something to be the smallest.

    If someone else redeemed the Cloudguard Robes, it might be nothing more than a piece of defensive equipment, but this item had apletely different level of value in Lu Yin¡¯s hands. It was possible he could glean something important from it.

    Lu Yin had specifically asked where the Cloudguard Robes hade from, but no one knew, not even General Xia Yan. All that the general had known was that the clothes had been identally left behind on the battlefield.

    With the Cloudguard Robes sessfully delivered, Xia Yan reached out to Liu Jing and told the Envoy to set up Lu Yin¡¯s terror ant team.

    Lu Yin¡¯s team consisted of more than 3,000 people, and that was just his group. Before his team set out, another group of cultivators from the second array base had already traveled to the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk to start clearing out the terror ants, and more people would be sent in the future as well.

    There were both powerful and weak cultivators within the 3,000-plus members of Lu Yin¡¯s team. Most of them were older ones, as it was not easy to find youths that could step onto the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, as most of themcked the required strength.

    However, there was not a single Envoy within Lu Yin¡¯s team, though there were several Enlighters on the cusp of bing an Envoy. On the other end, the weakest members were mere Explorers.

    Just this single team of 3,000 people alone is enough to sweep through the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, Lu Yin thought to himself. Despite the strength of his team, Lu Yin¡¯s people were only tasked with clearing out ants in the Perennial World.

    These 3,000 people were not a singr, cohesive team. Rather, they had been divided into multiple squads by Liu Jing. Each squad consisted of around ten people, and Lu Yin had been assigned to a squad of fifteen people, which included five Enlighters. Liu Jing had personally assigned all of the squad members. Lu Yin¡¯s squad captain was an old man who was also the most powerful expert within the 3,000 strong team. He was infinitely close to the Envoy realm.

    "The squads have been assigned, and the captains have each been given the coordinates of the locations that you are responsible for clearing. Overall, you are to clear the section of the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk thatys closest to the second array base. Remember, you won¡¯t only face terror ants, but also monsters hidden within the ants as well as traitors. Be careful," Liu Jing said. He briefly nced over towards Lu Yin, and then waved the army over towards the teleportation device, their destination the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    The array base¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus was connected to the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, and it also extended away from the enormous tree. Thus, it was possible to reach the trunk by just traveling along the second array base¡¯s array formation.

    While it was technically the trunk of the Mother Tree, from their perspective, it was actually a brown continent, no different from the branches that Lu Yin had seen up in the Dominion Realm. The primary difference was that, in the Dominion Realm, there had been countless piles of discarded bark on the branches, while the trunk had countless countless of corpses from both humans and corpse kings.

    The corpse kings were constantly assaulting the Perennial World, endlessly trying to climb up to the array bases from one direction and climbing up the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk from the other direction.

    As everyone emerged from the teleportation device, they looked around in curiosity. In addition to the cultivators standing guard over the teleportation device, there was also a temporary headquarters some distance away.

    To the north, they could see the Mother Tree¡¯s massive trunk, as well as countless cultivators awaiting battle. This ce was a frontline of the battlefield.

    The team began to split up upon arriving, each squad making its way to the region that they had been assigned to.

    Everyone had been given their own task. Explorers were required to eliminate a certain quota of ants, and Hunters had a different quota to meet. It was impossible for anyone to leave withoutpleting their individual task, and it would also be impossible for them to find a ce to hide and rx.

    Lu Yin''s squad moved along the tree trunk under the lead of the old man who was their captain. Meanwhile, several other teams stopped nearby to discuss something.

    The old man also stopped. He looked at Lu Yin and the others before solemnly saying, "This old man is Shen Hai, and I was appointed as your captain. Even though the general ordered me to take this position, I still have to ask, are there any objections?"

    Lu Yin and the others stayed silent.

    The old man continued on in a satisfied tone, saying, "Since there are no objections, then this old man will take on the responsibility of being captain. We are on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. This old man has been here once before."

    Everyone was surprised by this reveal, and one of the middle-aged women asked, "Senior, you¡¯ve fought on the battlefield before?"

    Shen Hai nodded. "That¡¯s correct. I came here when I first became an Enlighter. I spent several years fighting here, and I was lucky enough to return alive. My name was left behind on the battlefield¡¯s records, and I was drafted just like most of you were. Most of us were recruited because of our strength, though there might be other reasons as well. However, this old man doesn¡¯t care about any of that. To make things brief, I¡¯ll warn you all once¡ªobey everything that I say, and I¡¯ll do my best to get you all out of here alive.

    "This battlefield is too big, and internal conflicts aren¡¯t umon."

    The squad stayed silent.

    The middle-aged woman finally spoke up in a respectful tone. "We will obey everything that senior says."

    Shen Hai was satisfied by her response, and his eyes swept over everyone else¡¯s faces. Most of the people in the squad were clearly nervous and scared, which was normal. After all, this was the first time that they had stepped onto this great battlefield, so this was normal. Eh? The old man focused on Lu Yin. Why is this child so rxed?

    Lu Yin was not exactly rxed, though his attitude could easily be interpreted as such. He had numerous precious items, especially the Cloudguard Robes, which made him feel safe, thus putting him in clear contrast to his squad mates.

    Shen Hai frowned and carefully studied Lu Yin. This sort of ignorant person was Shen Hai¡¯s greatest fear on the battlefield. These people usually became overly courageous and arrogant after gaining a meager bit of cultivation. This youth was a very young Enlighter, and he was clearly highly talented, but that always came with the arrogance of the high heavens. This kind of person was the most difficult to order around, and to put it inly, extremely selfish.¡±

    With this thought, the old man looked back at the middle-aged woman and indicated for her to look over at Lu Yin and pay attention.

    The woman nced at Lu Yin, and just like the old man, she was also unhappy with what she saw. Lu Yin stood out like a bright beacon within their squad, and he really did look careless.

    Lu Yin was currently considering how he was supposed to uncover traitors. Were there any in his squad? He did not know, but he also had no ns to stay with this team the whole time. Rather, he intended to move on after making sure that there were no hidden traitors. Lu Yin had noticed Shen Hai¡¯s reaction, but he did not care.

    Shen Hai quickly led the squad to where the second array base connected to the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. Everyone looked down, but they were unable to see the bottom. If they jumped down, they might end up in the New World.

    The New World was the main battlefield behind the Mother Tree, and it was also where one could find countless corpse kings. These creatures were always trying to climb up from the New World and reach the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, or the sloping inclines of the five array bases. The New World was number one on humanity¡¯s list of ces to conquer, as capturing the New World would mean that they hadpletely driven those monsters out of the Perennial World. It was actually for this reason that it had been called the New World.

    "Let''s go. Everyone, remember to follow orders!" Shen Hai shouted sharply. His aura as he stared straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained calm. He suppressed his rxed attitude and followed the rest of the squad as they jumped down andnded on the trunk. Once again, Lu Yin was entering a new world.

    ¡­

    Overhead, there was an endless brownndmass, and down below was the same. This was the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    Half a month had passed since the squad had arrived, and during this time, Shen Hai had led his people across the trunk and cleared away millions of terror ants. Still, they had only cleared away a minuscule portion of the ants, and there were so many left that they could not even be counted.

    Fortunately, they had not encountered any corpse kings so far.

 Chapter 1497: Humanoid Stellular Tribulation

    Chapter 1497: Humanoid Stellr Tribtion

    One day, the squad of people were resting atop a piece of bark sticking out from the trunk of the Mother Tree. While it was nothing more than bark, it was stillrge enough to support an entire city.

    Lu Yin leaned against the bark as he looked around. From this vantage point, he could see a dark starry sky, and overhead, there was the slope of the huge array base that was also

    the most intense battlefield.

    "Ah Qi, how many terror ants have you taken care of so far?" Shen Hai asked as he approached Lu Yin with a smile on his face.

    Initially, the old man had hated Lu Yin''s carefree attitude, but after spending some time clearing out the terror ants on the trunk, Shen Hai had graduallye to learn that Lu Yin was always prudent with his actions and never behaved recklessly. On top of that, the youth obeyed orders, and possessed an amazing strength. All in all, the old man hadpletely changed his attitude towards Lu Yin, and there was now even a bit of respect.

    Lu Yin smiled. "A million. I still have a long way to go before reaching my quota."

    Shen Hai nodded as he emotionally replied, "True, that¡¯s very far away. With our current speed, we¡¯ll need to spend at least a year toplete our given task, but that¡¯s not too bad. It¡¯s better to be sent here to clear out terror ants than have to fight the monsters on the battlefield. When I was fighting up there, I watched with my own eyes as an Envoy fought against a corpse king, only to be randomly smashed to pieces by an unknown power.

    "We¡¯re much better off here. All we need is time to deal with these terror ants. As long as we don¡¯t run into arge group of corpse kings, we shouldn¡¯t face any real danger."

    Lu Yin replied, "Actually, I feel like we¡¯ve been going quite fast. I wonder how the other squads are doing."

    Shen Hai smiled. "They can''tpare to us. We¡¯ll be able to finish in no more than a year."

    "Wee here one batch after another, but I have no idea when these terror ants will be cleared out," Lu Yinmented.

    Shen Hai helplessly answered, "They¡¯ll never bepletely cleaned up. Those monsters keep improving their ways of releasing the bugs. On top of that, there will always be traitors sneaking more ants past the Tree Realm. Honestly, what we¡¯re doing right now ispletely pointless. I have no idea what Humility¡¯s Gate is doing."

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    Half an hourter, the squad set off once again. This time, they happened to encounter a swarm of terror ants. Terror ants were able to devour spiritual force and domains. Individually, their strength was negligible, but they were always grouped up in a swarm.

    The moment the squad saw the terror ant swarm, every single member instantly attacked after setting theirmunications crystals to record them ughtering the ants.

    Thus far, they had only encountered smaller terror ant swarms. The one that Lu Yin had run into in the Lower Realm with Long Xi had been quiterge, at least ten timesrger than the swarms that the squad had encountered on the trunk so far. Back then, Lu Yin and Long Xi had been left with no choice but to flee from the ants.

    Right after they finished eliminating all of the ants in the swarm, Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed drastically. Out of habit, his domain was always active in order to help them avoid any nearby people, and he had spread it out across a vast distance in all directions.

    He had just detected arge group.

    "Run! There¡¯s arge number of corpse kingsing!" Lu Yin shouted fiercely.

    Shen Hai was shocked, but he showed no hesitation in ordering the squad to flee in the direction that Lu Yin had indicated.

    At the same moment that Lu Yin had sensed the corpse kings, they had also sensed him and his squad. Thus, they immediately gave chase.

    While the group of corpse kings was ofparable strength to Lu Yin¡¯s squad, the corpse kings had not exerted themselves while Lu Yin¡¯s group had just finished wiping out a swarm of terror ants. In this situation, the humans were already tired and could not run very far before they were forced to turn around and confront the corpse kings.

    Shen Hai immediately engaged a corpse king whose strength was infinitely close to that of an Envoy while the rest of the corpse kings fell upon the other squad members. Lu Yin was forced to reveal his strength, and he attacked with more than ten Vacuum Palms in a row, eliminating a corpse king with each attack. Even Shen Hai was shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s true strength.

    The corpse king fighting against Shen Hai turned its scarlet eyes onto Lu Yin and immediately shot past the old man. It raised a hand and punched at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin merely waved a hand and instantly crushed the corpse king¡¯s head, killing it.

    The other people in the squad were all horrified, and they stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Shen Hai was just as stunned as everyone else. He had never even considered the possibility that Lu Yin might be keeping such a terrifying level of strength hidden. Not to mention, the youth was still just an Enlighter. Shen Hai¡¯s cultivation far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Half of the corpse king¡¯s body was still intact, so Lu Yin raised a hand to unleash another Vacuum Palm. As he did so, the middle-aged woman in the squad suddenly attacked him from nearby, but Lu Yin lifted his hand and fluidly caught an arrow. It had been a powerful attack, but Lu Yin had easily stopped it, and now, he turned to stare at the middle-aged woman.

    The middle-aged woman went pale before turning and trying to flee. However, it was useless. Lu Yin raised a hand andunched an attack that struck the woman¡¯s back, killing her.

    Shen Hai shouted, "She¡¯s a traitor! She¡¯s definitely a traitor."

    Lu Yin replied, "And she¡¯s already dead."

    Shen Haiined, "That¡¯s a pity. You can always turn in a traitor for a great deal of merit points no matter where you are. You shouldn¡¯t have killed her."

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. He had been sent here to capture or execute traitors, and he would still receive credit for his kills.

    Thest few corpse kings were quickly dealt with, as Lu Yin took action. Besides the middle-aged woman who was already dead, none of the other members of the squad were traitors.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was too fast, and his domain had enveloped the entire area. Whenever someone was in danger, Lu Yin would always be there to save them with a Vacuum Palm. It could even be said that he had managed to save all of them.

    After the battle, everyone looked at Lu Yin in apletely different manner. They could guess that Lu Yin had to be someone with an unimaginable background.

    Shen Hai still remembered Lu Yin''s behavior when the squad had first been put together. It was no wonder why the youth had been so rxed back then. Not only was he powerful in his own right, but he definitely also had very powerful items. It looked like they would have no trouble clearing out the ants to fulfill their quotas.

    Lu Yin had revealed his strength, which left the others much more confident in their squad¡¯s ability to fulfill their terror ant quota. However, that was only because they did not know that Lu Yin would be leaving soon.

    In the second array base¡¯s headquarters, in Xia Yan¡¯s office, themand token vibrated. Themand token was the general¡¯s symbol, but it also let the generalmunicate with their colonels so that reports could be submitted even during a heated battle.

    Xia Yan nced down, only to be surprised. "Already killed a traitor? His efficiency isn¡¯t too bad."

    With that, he resumed his work.

    Several days passed by in the blink of an eye. Shen Hai continued to lead the squad to search out and eliminate terror ants. Even though Lu Yin had revealed his terrifyingbat power, he did not make the others feel superfluous, challenge Shen Hai¡¯smand, or even intervene in decisions. Shen Hai became more and more satisfied with the youth, and he could not help but want to introduce his granddaughter to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt quite helpless with no other option but to refuse several times. However, Lu Yin was very interested in Shen Hai¡¯s cultivation realm. This was not because the old man was incredibly strong, but rather because he only needed to take one final step to be an Envoy. The problem was, Shen Hai did not dare to attempt thatst step.

    "I won¡¯t say that I don''t dare to make the attempt, but rather that I am just a bit scared," Shen Hai admitted.

    Lu Yinughed despite how tragic his words were. ¡°Scared of the stellr tribtion?"

    Shen Hai nodded. "Everyone fears the stellr tribtion. Disciples from big families like you are stronger than your peers, but because of that impressive talent, elites like you absorb more star energy and have greater reserves, which means that your stellr tribtions will be far more terrifying. Ordinary cultivators have smaller star energy reserves, so our tribtions are not as bad. Still, we receive fewer resources and are rtively weak.

    "The power of the tribtion is directly proportional to one¡¯s star energy reserves, so for stellr tribtions, all are equal regardless of their status."

    Lu Yin asked, "Senior, are you not confident in being able to survive your stellr tribtion?"

    Shen Hai nodded in response. "I have no confidence at all. The tribtions do not have a fixed form. Someone once imed that the true universe has its own awareness and that the stellr tribtions are actually an expression of battles that people have once fought in the true universe. They may have used sword qi, a battle technique, or an innate gift. This essentially means that facing a tribtion is equivalent to fighting against an Envoy, and how can we, as Enlighters, survive such a fight?

    "However-" As he spoke, Shen Hai¡¯s voice filled with anticipation. ¡°As long as one survives their stellr tribtion, their lifespan and strength will rise sharply, which is what everyone desires."

    "There might not be a lot of Envoys around, but there will always be at least some who are able to survive their tribtion," Lu Yin stated.

    Shen Hai nodded. "True. A single Envoy may rise out of a hundred Enlighters. That is the generally epted ratio."

    Lu Yin had not expected Shen Hai to speak so much about the topic due to his fear of the stellr tribtion. "There¡¯s a legend that, many years ago, there was a senior who passed his tribtion, and he did so by opening his mouth and roaring so loudly that he sted the tribtion away.

    "There was another senior who passed his tribtion by waving his hand and willing it away, but I don¡¯t know how that worked.¡±

    "The most shocking legend that I¡¯ve ever heard of is an ount that I read about in a certain ancient record. Long ago, an ancient powerhouse attempted to survive his stellr tribtion, but do you know what form his tribtion took?" Shen Hai stared at Lu Yin as he asked this question.

    Lu Yin shook his head, though he was very curious.

    Shen Hai stated, "It was a person. The tribtion took on the form of a person."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Tribtions can have humanoid forms?"

    Shen Hai nodded as he stared straight ahead. "ording to what I read, that particr senior might have been too powerful, making the true universe feel as though there was no attack that could destroy the man. So instead, the true universe simted ancient powerhouses to fight against that senior, and their battle was earth-shattering. Arge region was destroyed, and no one knew how much of the void was shattered. Still, in the end, that senior failed and was taken out by the humanoid stellr tribtion."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned sharp.

    Shen Hai sighed from his various emotions. "That senior was incredibly talented. ording to the records, there was a horrifying amount of star energy within his body, and it was at least a hundred times that of what normal cultivators possessed. The true universe was too enraged by the man¡¯s existence, and thus, it strove to eradicate him."

    Lu Yin gulped. A star energy reserve a hundred times that of an average cultivator¡¯s? That was it? Then what about him? Lu Yin had at least two hundred times the amount of star energy as an average cultivator. If this story was true, then how could Lu Yin survive?

    The more Lu Yin heard, the greater his panic became. He squinted as he stared at Shen Hai; was this old man trying to intimidate him? Was Shen Hai so scared of his own tribtion that he liked making others afraid so that he would not be alone? That had to be it.

    "Unfortunately, a little while ago, an old friend of mine failed his stellr tribtion in Flying Armor Pass. Ah¡­" Shen Hai sighed as he remembered.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. "Someone who recently failed a stellr tribtion in Flying Armor Pass? Was that person an old friend of yours?"

    Shen Hai was taken aback. "Brother Qi, you saw that as well?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "What a coincidence. I was also there, and I pity his granddaughter." Shen Hai then looked back at Lu Yin, the old man¡¯s eyes even more emotional than before. "Brother Ah Qi, this old man''s granddaughter is both beautiful and very well-behaved. Let''s talk. I can promise that you¡¯ll struggle to find another woman as virtuous as her. She is simply a model of what makes a good wife and mother."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "But I like seductive types."

    Shen Hai choked on his words and stopped talking.

    The next day, as the squad searched for more terror ants, they came across arge number of corpses, and there were both ant and humans among the bodies.

    "It''s another squad that was sent to the trunk at the same time as us," someonemented.

    Shen Hai''s face twisted as he squatted down to examine the wounds on one of the human corpses. The longer he stared at it, the darker his expression became.

    Lu Yin spoke up quietly, "These wounds came from humans."

    "It''s another traitor," Shen Hai confirmed.

 Chapter 1498: Tracking

    Chapter 1498: Tracking

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze focused as he nced around. A traitor must have killed this squad and then fled with some of the surviving terror ants, making them a hidden danger. To make things even worse, Lu Yin could tell that the void had been recently destabilized, and the local energy fluctuations were suppressing his star energy. In other words, this person was an Envoy.

    This traitor was actually an Envoy.

    In fact, this person might not just be a traitor, as they could potentially be a full Redback.

    Shen Hai¡¯s hand snapped back, and blood appeared on his fingertips. He quickly warned everyone, ¡°None of you should touch the wounds on the corpses. There¡¯s a powerful remnant energy left on them.¡±

    The old man stood up, his face solemn as he looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s an Envoy.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded as he stared off towards an angle to his right. ¡°We should go that way to give chase.¡±

    Shen Hai frowned. ¡°Give chase? Brother Qi, we¡¯re talking about an Envoy here.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I know. As long as we can find a trace of the traitor and confirm their identity, we can then report back to the general. There¡¯s no need for us to personally arrest this traitor.¡±

    Shen Hai shook his head. ¡°How could it be that easy to confirm an Envoy¡¯s identity? You¡¯ll be noticed before you even get close, and you¡¯ll never be able to catch sight of them. This situation does need to be reported, but the fact that the enemy is an Envoy means that this is out of our scope. Our task is to eliminate the terror ants.¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a while. ¡°That¡¯s true. In that case, you all keep going, and I¡¯ll track down the traitor myself.¡±

    Shen Hai¡¯s expression changed, and the other squad members¡¯ faces grew ugly. ¡°Ah Qi, the general appointed me as the captain of the squad, and you can¡¯t leave your squad without proper authorization.¡±

    After seeing the tragic fate that had befallen the other squad, how could Lu Yin¡¯spanions and Shen Hai possibly allow Lu Yin to leave?

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Brother Qi, we also want to arrest the traitor, but we have to clear out the terror ants. Dealing with traitors is Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s job, and it has nothing to do with us. It¡¯s possible that Humility¡¯s Gate is already chasing after that traitor,¡± someone suggested.

    Everyone else in the squad agreed, as no one wanted Lu Yin to leave.

    Lu Yin firmly stated, ¡°I have to go.¡±

    Shen Hai clenched his fists. ¡°Ah Qi, I¡¯m the one who was appointed captain by the general. If you dare to leave without authorization, I¡¯ll have to report this matter to the general.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell as he looked hard at Shen Hai.

    For a moment, Shen Hai and Lu Yin stared at each other. Switching to a softer tone, the old man continued trying to persuade the youth, ¡°People need to see the limits of their own strength. You¡¯re only an Enlighter while this traitor¡¯s an Envoy. No one will hold it against you if you don¡¯t try to track them down. Let¡¯s go. Trying to chase after the traitor will likely lead to nothing, so why bother? There are already methods in ce for dealing with traitors, and they have nothing to do with us. We just need to focus on the bugs, and we¡¯ll be able to return in no more than a year.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t go.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gently replied, ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m not one of those methods to deal with the traitors?¡±

    Shen Hai¡¯s expression suddenly changed. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±

    Lu Yin looked around. ¡°I¡¯m heading out. Everyone, take care.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Shen Hai quickly stopped Lu Yin. He then turned to the rest of the squad. ¡°I¡¯m going to go with him. What about the rest of you?¡±

    The other squad members nced at each other, somewhat hesitant.

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°Why the change of mind?¡±

    Shen Hai felt helpless. ¡°This old man has been training for my entire life. I already know thatpanionship is more important than raising one¡¯s strength. With you, we might be able to survive. But without you, we¡¯ll all be dead if we encounter another group of corpse kings like before. If that¡¯s the case, then all we can do is follow you and help you chase after the traitor.¡±

    Everyone else felt that the old man¡¯s reasoning was quite sound.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin and his squad were following the remnant energy fluctuations that led diagonally and upwards to the right. They soon ran into a group of people who were surrounded by terror ants.

    The various squads had been sent here to clean up the terror ants, but it was not unusual for a team to be surrounded and devoured instead.

    Shen Hai led their squad to take action, but it took them more than half an hour to eliminate all of the terror ants.

    The captain of the rescued squad was named Cheng Ji. He was another powerhouse whose strength wasparable to Shen Hai¡¯s, and his weapon of choice was a bizarre scimitar. The ants had devoured a few members of his squad, not even leaving bones behind. Even after being saved, the rest of the captain¡¯s squad mates were still numb from fear.

    ¡°Thank you, Captain Shen, for your help,¡± Cheng Ji said gratefully.

    Shen Hai replied, ¡°How long were you trapped for?¡±

    As the old man spoke, he looked at the scimitar. This de did not match the wounds that the ughtered squad had suffered.

    Cheng Ji sighed. ¡°We were stuck here for two full hours. If not for Captain Shen and the rest of you showing up, we would have all been finished off by now.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept over the squad. The traitor was not among them. Rather, they had just happened to be in the path of the fleeing traitor. Had that person deliberately passed by this squad? If so, that meant that the traitor was incredibly cautious. Just on the off chance that they were being pursued, they had purposefully passed by a squad. It was even possible that they had led the terror ants to the squad just to further dy any potential pursuers.

    They were chasing after a traitor, who was trained in deception and subterfuge. There were many valid reasons as to why humanity had never been able to eliminate all of the traitors and Redbacks despite so many years of efforts; their targets were simply too shrewd and cautious.

    Due to the Cheng Ji and the others¡¯ fight against the the terror ants, the remnant energy trail in the void had been dispersed, which meant that Lu Yin and the others were no longer able to continue tracking the traitor. They had no choice but to give up.

    Shen Hai let out a sigh of relief. If possible, he had absolutely no desire to chase after an Envoy, so he felt immensely grateful towards Cheng Ji and his squad. With this thought in mind, Shen Hai felt that Cheng Ji had suddenly be much more pleasant.

    Nearly half of Cheng Ji¡¯s squad had been wiped out, so they had no other option but to join Shen Hai¡¯s squad. The old man did not refuse, as this also made their squad stronger.

    Lu Yin was unwilling to abandon his task, and so he suggested that the squad continue on in the direction that they had been traveling. Shen Hai had no objection to the proposal.

    Cheng Ji nced over at Lu Yin in surprise. It was very obvious that therger squad had a great deal of respect for this youth.

    Everyone continued traveling in the same direction as before, and after two days of travel, they encountered another squad that was surrounded by terror ants. Once again, Shen Hai and others immediately attacked.

    Lu Yin acted the same as before. Before meeting up with Cheng Ji¡¯s team, he had asked everyone to keep his strength a secret, and during these battles, he also used clumsy moves to deliberately conceal his strength, which made everyone believe that Shen Hai was the strongest squad member.

    It did not take long for them to rescue the second squad from the terror ants, but their captain had already sacrificed himself, and there were less than five surviving members.

    After another day, the growing squad ran into yet another squad that was surrounded by bugs.

    This did not feel right. These squads were tasked with eliminating terror ants, and they were not supposed to be fleeing from them. While it was expected for one or two squads to run intorge swarms of terror ants and be devoured, running into three consecutive squads all facing the same crisis clearly indicated that something was wrong.

    ¡°They chased after us from below. There were too many of them, and we couldn¡¯t recklessly fight them with fewer than a thousand people,¡± the third squad captain exined. While Cheng Ji looked middle-aged, this third captain was older and was actually from Shen Hai¡¯s generation.

    There were also certain people who deliberately made themselves look older so as to not be looked down upon.

    ¡°Are there are a lot of terror ants down there?¡± Shen Hai had a bad premonition.

    Someone from the second squad spoke up. ¡°We ran into the terror ants from just above, but they chased us all the way down here.¡±

    Lu Yin still remembered the dead squad they had first met. Those ants had seemed to be making their way upwards. With this thought in mind, Lu Yin looked over at Shen Hai, and the old man¡¯s heart sank. ¡°We need to go. We need to head upwards on a diagonal to the left.¡±

    Something urred to Cheng Ji as well, and he agreed with the captain of the third squad. Soon, a group of more than thirty people made their way upwards on a left-leaning angle.

    After three days, they ran into a dense swarm of countless terror ants.

    When he saw the ants up ahead, Shen Hai bitterly said, ¡°You were right. We¡¯ve been surrounded by the ants. They¡¯ve set up a massive encirclement, and all of our teams were trapped inside.¡±

    Cheng Ji gritted his teeth. ¡°There has to be an ant queen. There¡¯s no other way the terror ants could be so coordinated with their movements as to actively surround us.¡±

    ¡°It would be great if we found the queen. Without her, these terror ants will naturally disperse. However, who could find the queen within all this?¡± Shen Haimented quietly while instinctively looking over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared up ahead. ¡°We need to temporarily retreat and avoid making contact with the terror ants. Then, we can contact the general to request help and also discuss our options. There might be other squads that can help us, and we¡¯ll only be able to break out after gathering enough people.¡±

    Shen Hai felt helpless, but this was truly their only option. Everyone had the same thought as they quietly retreated, and all of their faces were pale.

    They were well aware that they would not be able to remain safe for much longer. The ants¡¯ encirclement would continue to tighten. Quite soon, not only would they face an endless horde of terror ants in one direction, but they would also be surrounded on all sides. Thus, the sooner they tried to break out of the encirclement, the fewer ants they would have to face.

    Everyone fell into despair as they saw the ck line off in the distance slowly draw closer.

    This was not a situation that they could settle quickly. If it was that easy to deal with terror ants, then they would have never posed a risk to the Mother Tree.

    With his domain, Lu Yin noticed another person. Lu Yin turned to look, and he saw a panic-stricken man who was about the same age as him running for his life.

    Lu Yin had seen very few youths his age on this battlefield so far. In general, those as young as him on the battlefield had either been forced toe or had done so to gain experience.

    The other people also noticed the man, but none of them were surprised. This person was most likely another survivor from some other team.

    Shen Hai carefully observed the fleeing man, but the youth was not an Envoy. In fact, the man was not even an Enlighter. Shen Hai felt relieved, because he was still concerned about the Envoy traitor that they had been chasing.

    ¡°The gods are merciful! I¡¯ve finally found other people! This is great! I¡¯m saved!¡± The young man was ecstatic, and excitement was written all over his face. His eyes were even framed with red.

    One person in therge squad unhappily muttered, ¡°We¡¯re all about to die, so why are you so excited?¡±

    The young man ran over, but when he heard the person¡¯s words, he blinked in confusion. ¡°No way! How could such arge squad die?¡±

    Cheng Ji quickly grew impatient. ¡°Focus on what¡¯s important. Are you alone?¡±

    The young man nodded as he mournfully exined, ¡°Everyone in my squad died. There were just too many terror ants! If not for my innate gift, I would have died as well.¡±

    Therge group of people quickly retreated a sufficient distance, and some of them did not want to pull back any further.

    ¡°We should keep going. We might find more people,¡± Shen Hai pushed.

    Cheng Ji frowned. ¡°We can¡¯t go any further. The further we go in, the less space we¡¯ll have to maneuver, and the more terror ants we¡¯ll be forced to face.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really a pity that we can¡¯t find the queen ant. If we could, it would be better to fight to the death than just wait here to die.¡±

    As things became more desperate, people would be more restless. However, the person who remained the most rxed throughout the whole ordeal was Lu Yin. Even if he was directly thrown into the middle of the terrifying terror ant swarm, none of them would be able to wound him in the slightest.

    ¡°Well, are you going to go look for the queen ant? I know where she is,¡± said the young man who had been thest to join the group. As he stepped out from within the crowd, he cautiously raised his hand.

    Everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he studied the young man.

    Cheng Ji dragged the young man out front. ¡°Do you really know where the ant queen is?¡±

    The young man nodded. His neck ached from Cheng Ji¡¯s tight grip as he yelped, ¡°Let go! Let go! You¡¯re about to strangle me to death!¡±

    Cheng Ji quickly rxed his hand, and the young man gasped for air as everyone stared at him.

 Chapter 1499: Hua Family Beast Masters

    Chapter 1499: Hua Family Beast Masters

    "How do you know where the queen ant is?" Shen Hai asked.

    The man gasped for air before responding, "I- My name is Hua Beibei. I used to be from the Hua family."

    Everyone felt confused. It quickly became clear that no one had heard of the Hua family before.

    Only Shen Hai and Cheng Ji, the older generation of powerhouses, seemed to have heard of it. "The Beast Masters? That Hua family?"

    Hua Beibei nodded and responded, "Yes."

    Lu Yin asked, "Have you heard of it?"

    Shen Haidao replied, "The Hua family is a family that specializes in hunting mutated beasts, and they are also quite skilled at controlling such creatures. They rose to power in the Lower Realm, and they are the foremost experts of the beasts in the Lower Realm. However, for some reasons that I¡¯m unaware of, the Hua family rapidly declined decades ago. After that, it was said that the entire family joined the Celestial Frost Sect."

    "Are you from the Celestial Frost Sect?" Cheng Ji asked as he stared at Hua Beibei.

    The young man nodded. "Yes. I¡¯m a part of the Celestial Frost Sect, as well as a member of the Hua family. Since you already know about my Hua family, then you should trust what I say."

    Shen Hai nodded towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was staring at Hua Beibei. "So then, where is the ant queen?"

    Hua Beibei pointed back in the direction that he had just fled from. Or, to be more precise, the direction of where he had hidden himself. "There."

    Cheng Ji arched a brow. "Were you hiding with the ant queen?"

    Hua Beibei pursed his lips. "I was a little ways away from the queen."

    "Why didn''t you say so earlier? We would have turned back!" Cheng Ji angrily demanded.

    Hua Beibei felt quite offended. "You were already saying that a lot of people would die, so I assumed that you didn¡¯t want to try to deal with the queen. That¡¯s why I didn''t say anything, and no one asked either."

    Many people had to stifle their retorts and restrain themselves from beating up the youth.

    Lu Yin felt that this matter was rather odd.

    "Let''s go and look for the ant queen. Hua Beibei, stay close to me, and I¡¯ll keep you safe," Cheng Ji said.

    Hua Beibei shook his head. There was a bit of fear in his eyes as he looked at Cheng Ji. Then, he quickly ran over to Lu Yin''s side and begged Lu Yin, "Big brother, please protect me!"

    Cheng Ji felt the need to ask, "Do you two know each other?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and turned to Hua Beibei. "Why are you asking me?"

    Hua Beibei licked his lips. "My Hua family members are able to sense Beastmasters with just a nce because we¡¯re a family of hunters. Big brother, you¡¯re definitely this squad¡¯s Beastmaster."

    Shen Hai felt truly amazed as he stared at Hua Beibei, as the young man¡¯s response had done a great deal to convince the old man.

    Cheng Ji was taken aback, and he looked back at Lu Yin before ncing over at Shen Hai. When Cheng Ji saw Shen Hai''s reaction, Cheng Ji was finally convinced. It seemed that the youth was a hidden powerhouse, and that aligned with Cheng Ji¡¯s earlier suspicions that stemmed from how much respect Lu Yin¡¯s original squad had shown him.

    "Let''s go. The terror ants are closing in, and their numbers are only going to keep increasing. We need to deal with the queen as soon as possible," Lu Yin said. He did not want to keep dallying any longer.

    At Lu Yin¡¯sment, Shen Hai and the others from Lu Yin¡¯s original squad naturally followed him. Cheng Ji and others had no objections, so the entire group raced back in the direction that Hua Beibei had fled from, and they quickly drew closer to the terror ants¡¯ encirclement.

    The humans quickly started attacking the countless terror ants that appeared in all directions as they needed to be eliminated.

    Cheng Ji asked Shen Hai, "When will the general¡¯s reinforcements arrive?"

    Shen Hai shook his head. "They won¡¯t get here anytime soon. Even if they do show up, we¡¯ll still have to first clear a path through these terror ants. We can only rely on ourselves."

    "Where¡¯s this Ah Qi from?" Cheng Ji asked.

    Shen Hai replied, "I have no idea."

    Cheng Ji stopped asking questions. Instead, he raised his hand and focused on swinging his scimitar and decapitating the terror ants.

    "Mommy!" Hua Beibei shrieked as arge number of terror ants burst up from beneath his feet.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed a Vacuum Palm that smashed the cluster of terror ants to pieces. ¡°Don¡¯t be so jumpy."

    Hua Beibei felt rebuffed. "I¡¯m scared¡­"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. How could someone like this be a part of the Celestial Frost Sect?

    "Did your squad run into the queen ant?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hua Beibei replied, "We didn¡¯t see it. My squad didn¡¯t have the strength to get that far."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked ahead. He had already spread his domain out, and there were more and more terror ants popping up around him. The ants, in turn, had sensed Lu Yin¡¯s domain and begun devouring it. The sensation was incredibly unpleasant for Lu Yin.

    He raised a hand and let loose a continuous rain of attacks, emptying the region in front of him. Cheng Ji and the others who had not witnessed his full strength before were all momentarily stunned. This sort of palm attack was simply too powerful for a mere Enlighter to be wielding this casually.

    "Mommy, that¡¯s scary!" Hua Beibei eximed again, startling Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked further ahead and saw that countless terror ants had started to gather together into singr mass, much like what he had witnessed in the Lower Realm. A sphere of terror ants like that was enough to even threaten an Envoy, and the sight caused everyone to go pale.

    "Let¡¯s go, we can break through together!" Shen Hai shouted fiercely as he attacked together with Cheng Ji. However, the swarm of terror ants shifted about, dodging their attacks. They moved as though they shared a single consciousness.

    Lu Yin''s eyes darted about. "The ant queen is close."

    He leaped forward, and then his body flickered. The next time someone saw him, he was already in front of the mass of terror ants, and everyone stared in horror as he continued rushing towards the ants.

    Hua Beibei''s pupils shrank; what was this? Did this person want to die?

    Lu Yin charged straight into the horde. String hissing and snapping sounds came from all directions, making for a terrifying environment. Lu Yin could clearly see the ants¡¯ sharp pincers snap at him, and even though he was aware that they could not harm him, it was still very disturbing. His immediate reaction was to wrap his golden battle force around his hand and attack in all directions.

    The sphere of terror ants was sted apart, and Vacuum Palms destroyed most of the ants.

    Even if the queen ant was able to help the other ants coordinate and direct them to dodge attacks, such efforts were useless against Lu Yin. He continued charging straight forward, and none of the ants could evade due to the speed of his attacks, and so, the sphere copsed.

    "Keep going!" Lu Yin looked back at Hua Beibei.

    Hua Beibei grew excited. "Ex , Expert! You are really a Beastmaster!"

    Lu Yin was irritated at this impromptu title. You¡¯re a beast master! Your whole family''s a beast master!

    There were more terror ants the closer the group drew to the queen ant, but the ants werepletely unable to stop Lu Yin regardless of how many terror ants appeared. He was like an arrow for his other group members, and the entire squad fiercely charged towards the queen ant. Despite the presence of the terror ants all around, no one could take a single step back.

    Eventually, people began to be picked off by the countless ants snapping at them. Not even Lu Yin could take care of everyone, and even Shen Hai lost an arm to the swarm, not to mention the others.

    "Master, the queen ant is hiding under the pile of bark just in front of you. Be careful!" Hua Beibei instructed. The young man looked very nervous. There were only two paths before them: either disperse the ants by killing their queen, or dying by being devoured.

    Lu Yin''s domain extended to probe beneath the pile of bark, and he saw the queen ant there. This terror ant was dozens of timesrger than the ordinary terror ants, and she was evenrger than a person. A pair of antennae nervously twitching about as the creature seemed to be trying to detect something. When Lu Yin¡¯s domain touched the queen, her antennae rose, and she emitted an odd chirping sound. Suddenly, countless terror ants swarmed over from all directions, clearly intending to protect the queen ant.

    Lu Yin used his golden battle force without any restraint. He opened a hand and released a full powered, 350 Stacks Vacuum Palm that was strengthened by his golden battle force.

    There was a boom as the void warped and cracked. Shen Hai and the others were all frightened by this attack, as Lu Yin had released an attack that was more powerful than what even some Envoys could achieve.

    Naturally, Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was not something that the terror ants or the queen ant could withstand, but the attack failed. It had been slightly diverted by a scimitar, the weapon that belonged to Cheng Ji.

    Seeing his attack foiled, Lu Yin felt that it was both expected and unexpected, as Cheng Ji had revealed himself as the Envoy realm traitor who had been killing squads and hiding terror ants.

    There was a scream, and Cheng Ji¡¯s entire squad suddenly attacked all of the other people. Shen Hai was enraged, and he shouted, "All of you are traitors!

    Cheng Ji stood some distance away, up in front of the queen ant. Strangely, the surrounding terror antspletely ignored the human¡¯s existence. The Envoy stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re incredibly powerful for your age. I never expected a genius like you to show up, but unfortunately, you¡¯ll never get the chance to mature."

    Lu Yin and Cheng Ji stared at each other. "How did you hide your cultivation realm from the general?"

    Cheng Ji sneered. "Aren¡¯t you more surprised by our numbers?"

    "What is there to be surprised about? You killed everyone in your squad who wouldn¡¯t follow you, and those who chose to be traitors survived. It¡¯s normal for such people to work together and deceive others," Lu Yin stated as though such a thing was merely a matter of course.

    Cheng Ji nodded and clenched the scimitar in his hand. "That¡¯s right, they made the right choice. I can give you the same opportunity as well¡ªkill Shen Hai and his squad and be a traitor under me. I can even let you live a better life than the one you¡¯ve lived so far. How does that sound?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I''m still curious about how you managed to keep yourself hidden from the general."

    Cheng Jiughed. "That¡¯s simple enough; I just drained everyst bit of stellr energy from my body, absorbed a bit of star energy, and then used some special equipment. Normally, no Envoy would ever deplete their stellr energy due to how hard it is to gather and cultivate it, but that doesn¡¯t matter to me. I¡¯ll even abandon my cultivation if need be, as my mission is too important! Who would ever suspect someone who uses star energy of being an Envoy? It will take me a long time to recover, but I¡¯m still strong enough to deal with you."

    Lu Yin understood that there were thousands of cultivators here who were not at the Envoy realm. What¡¯s more, this person had used treasures to hide his strength while also reverting to using star energy instead of stellr energy. Who would check for such odd items? There were just too many people on the battlefield, and it would not be difficult for an Envoy to sneak through if they were willing to employ these methods.

    It was precisely to deal with these kinds of experts that Humility''s Gate had dispatched so many powerhouses to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    "I¡¯ll only say it a second time: kill Shen Hai and the others, and I¡¯ll ept you as a traitor,¡± Cheng Ji said while looking past Lu Yin and focusing on Shen Hai and the rest of the squad.

    Shen Hai and the others were busy fighting against both the terror ants and the traitors who were following Cheng Ji. Everyone heard Cheng Ji''s words, and they were all anxiously waiting to hear Lu Yin''s response.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I suffer from a certain weakness: stubbornness. If I had wanted to be a traitor, I would have done so long ago, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t have waited until now. Besides, I can promise that, if I ever be a traitor, I¡¯d receive a position far above yours."

    Lu Yin sounded like he was joking, but after speaking, he raised his hand and threw out another Vacuum Palm.

    There was a bang before Cheng Ji could even react. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm struck his de again, but the weapon was not able to endure the force of a second attack, and it shattered. The Vacuum Palm continued on, mming into Cheng Ji and knocking him backwards into the queen ant along with the shards of the scimitar.

    The queen nervously wriggled her massive body.

    Blood trickled from Cheng Ji¡¯s mouth as he stared at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!"

    With that, the Envoy stepped forward and entered the true universe.

    Envoys enjoyed more than just the advantage of suppressing the star energy of everyone with a lower cultivation realm. Another important advantage was that cultivators at the Envoy realm and above could freely enter the true universe. In other words, they couldunch their attacks while remaining untouchable to Enlighters and other cultivators who could not even see the true universe.

    However, Lu Yin was different. When Cheng Ji entered the true universe, Lu Yin raised his foot and stepped forward as well. His surroundings shimmered as he entered the true universe at the same time as Cheng Ji.

 Chapter 1500: The Second Array Base

    Chapter 1500: The Second Array Base

    From the true universe, Shen Hai and the others looked like a group of automatons moving in slow motion. Lu Yin could deal with all of them however he wished. This was the superiority enjoyed by Envoys, and this feeling was inexplicable to those who could not enter the true universe for themselves.

    Cheng Ji nkly stared at Lu Yin after seeing the youth enter the true universe in a casual manner. ¡°You- how is this possible?¡±

    A small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s lips. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Envoy, but I killed a powerhouse of your level when I was still a Hunter.¡±

    After speaking, Lu Yin attacked with another Vacuum Palm. It was a very powerful and fast technique, and no other attack could fulfill Lu Yin¡¯s needs like his Vacuum Palm.

    Cheng Ji reflexively dodged the attack, but the Vacuum Palm was just too fast, and he ended up being struck in the shoulder. Still in shock, he pulled out another scimitar from his cosmic ring, and as he flourished the de, the natural suppression of stellr energy appeared. Lu Yin¡¯s star energy was destabilized, but despite that, he still ignored Cheng Ji¡¯s attack and pushed his way forward.

    With a bang, Cheng Ji¡¯s sh was dispersed by the Cloudguard Robes. The Envoy stared at Lu Yin in horror, feeling as though he was looking at a monster in the shape of a human. The Envoy was suddenly reminded of Hua Beibei¡¯s words: Lu Yin was the Beastmaster out of everyone in the group.

    Lu Yin rushed straight at Cheng Ji and attacked with another palm strike. The pain caused Cheng Ji to grit his teeth, and his expression instantly changed. His pupils fluctuated, and he unleashed a powerful spiritual force attack at Lu Yin. Lu Yin felt his mind jostle for a moment, but that was all. Cheng Ji, on the other hand, was stunned. What had just happened?

    Lu Yin grabbed ahold of Cheng Ji with a hand, and said, ¡°Even I feel bad for you. All of your attacks are useless against me.¡±

    With that, Lu Yin squeezed hard and crushed Cheng Ji¡¯s shoulder. The Envoy let out a cry of pain and swung his scimitar at Lu Yin in an attempt to defend himself. However, all of his efforts were pointless, and Lu Yin kicked the older man out of the true universe and into the back of the queen ant.

    Shen Hai and the others had already dealt with the traitors following Cheng Ji, but they were just as confused as Cheng Ji; how was Lu Yin able to enter the true universe and fight against an Envoy? Could the youth also be an Envoy?

    While such thoughts swirled through Shen Hai¡¯s mind, Cheng Ji suddenly reappeared, and they watched on in shock as he crashed into the queen ant¡¯s back in a pathetic manner. The impact caused the Envoy to crush the queen ant¡¯s body, and she hissed in pain.

    Lu Yin then emerged from the true universe, staring down at Cheng Ji from the sky.

    An Envoy¡¯s advantages meant nothing to Lu Yin. If they rendered him, an Enlighter, unable to use star energy? Lu Yin would just use the Vacuum Palm anyways. If they entered the intangible true universe? Lu Yin could still see them. If they used an overwhelming spiritual force attack that could instantly kill an Enlighter? Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force wasparable to that of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin seemed to be the bane of Cheng Ji¡¯s existence. No matter what tactics Cheng Ji employed, he waspletely helpless against Lu Yin.

    Cheng Ji despaired. He was an almighty Envoy while the other party was nothing more than an Enlighter! How could there be such arge gap in strength between them?

    ¡°Just who are you?¡± Cheng Ji stammered out between mouthfuls of blood. After eventually finishing the question, the Envoy coughed up even more blood. Lu Yin had really not held anything back when kicking the Envoy.

    Lu Yin just stared at Cheng Ji. ¡°Just tell me, are there any more traitors?¡±

    Cheng Ji replied with a bitter smile, ¡°You think I¡¯ll actually tell you? What a joke!¡±

    Lu Yin raised a finger and gave a light tap. The force from his finger tore open the void with a power that surpassed an Envoy¡¯s attack. Just one finger was enough for Lu Yin to deal with a peak Enlighter like Shen Hai.

    Lu Yin¡¯s simple finger tap shattered both of Cheng Ji¡¯s legs.

    ¡°Still not talking?¡± Lu Yin continued his interrogation.

    Behind Cheng Ji, the queen ant shrieked in pain, and all of the nearby ants converged upon the area in a frenzy, desperate to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned at the sight and tapped his finger again. The force easily tore a hole through the queen ant¡¯s body, ending her life.

    As soon as the queen ant died, all of the other ants in the area entered a frenzy and began devouring everything in their vision. Some turned towards Shen Hai and the squad while others turned to leave.

    Shen Hai let out a sigh of relief. They had actually managed to survive.

    Cheng Ji stared at Lu Yin with growing intensity. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re an ordinary cultivator. You- you¡¯re from one of the four ruling powers!¡±

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin in puzzlement.

    Lu Yin locked eyes with Cheng Ji before raising a hand and attacking once more. With that, Cheng Ji¡¯s life ended.

    Cheng Ji had been no different from Guan Tong and the other Redbacks; none of them would ever reveal anything. Even if Cheng Ji had not been an actual Redback, he had still been an incredibly important traitor.

    ¡°Hey Beastmaster, that was amazing! As expected of the Beastmaster,¡± Hua Beibei gushed, though his tone of voice sounded like he was scolding someone.

    Lu Yin nced over at the surviving squad members and asked, ¡°Have all of you forgotten about our mission?¡±

    It was only then that everyone remembered what they were supposed to be doing, and they all hurriedly began eradicating the nearby terror ants.

    Lu Yin spent this time submitting a report regarding Cheng Ji to Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan quickly sent a reply: ¡®Immediately make your way to the second forward basecamp. You are allowed to reveal your status as a colonel, and you can recruit any cultivator you wish in order to form your own troops.¡¯

    The second forward basecamp?

    Lu Yin called Shen Hai over and asked, ¡°What sort of ce is the second forward basecamp?¡±

    Shen Hai was surprised by the question. ¡°That¡¯s the lowest part of the second array base. It¡¯s actually located between the New World and the second array base, and it¡¯s usually overseen by a colonel. They¡¯ll protect that ce from the attacking monsters. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Is that ce very important?¡±

    ¡°Extremely. It¡¯s one of the most intense locations on the entire battlefield, and ording to rumors, it¡¯s overseen by someone known as Colonel Zuo, who¡¯s also recognized as the local general¡¯s second-inmand.¡±

    Lu Yin then softly ordered, ¡°Everybody, follow me to the second forward basecamp. They need backup.¡±

    Everyone else¡¯s faces disyedplete shock when Lu Yin gave out amand. Being sent to the second forward basecamp was not a mission as simple as clearing out terror ants. This new mission meant actively fighting on the main battlefield.

    A few people instantly voiced their objections, ¡°Brother Qi, we were given a mission to eliminate terror ants, not fight on the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have no desire to go to the second forward basecamp.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡­

    Even Shen Hai spoke up, "Ah Qi, we all understand your passion for helping humanity on this battlefield and your desire to do your part in supporting the defense. However, our task is only to clear out the terror ants. We will all be instantly annihted the moment we step onto the battlefield. We¡¯d be scattered like ash, and we wouldn¡¯t even be able to offer any kind of help."

    No one was willing to travel to the forward basecamp because staying on the trunk of the Mother Tree meant that there was at least a 60% chance of returning alive. However, if they stepped onto the active battlefield, their chances of surviving and returning would drop to under one percent. Going there was equivalent to going to their graves.

    Lu Yin understood hispanions¡¯ feelings, as no one wanted to race towards their own deaths, and even he was no different. Unfortunately, not moving to the second forward basecamp after receiving Xia Yan¡¯s orders would be tant insubordination. Xia Yan knew just how important Lu Yin was, but despite that, the general had still sent Lu Yin to reinforce the defenders of the second forward basecamp. This clearly indicated just how dire the situation was on the battlefield.

    This was the chief battlefield of the war between humans and the monsters. There was no one who could stay safe from the conflict.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw the hesitation, fear, helplessness, confusion, and nervousness in every eye. He sighed and thought, I''m sorry, everyone. "I, Ah Qi, use my rank as a colonel to draft everyone present to move out as reinforcements for the second forward basecamp.¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, he took out the colonel token that he had received from Xia Yan.

    Everyone stared at the token in stunned silence as a whirlwind of emotions raged through their hearts. To think that they had been with a colonel this entire time.

    Only powerhouses who had survived through multiple stellr tribtions could hope to earn the rank of a colonel on the battlefield. This rank was only below the generals of the five array bases, and each colonel held the authority to give outmands on the active battlefield. Even a single nce at the battlefield was enough for anyone to see that all of the colonels were incredible experts, and no one would ever dream that a mere Enlighter could be given such a rank.

    Shen Hai was left in aplete daze. The colonel token was genuine.

    Lu Yin proceeded to share the orders that he had received from Xia Yan with everyone, and he then repeated, ¡°We will now move out for the second forward basecamp.¡±

    Everyone stayed silent and remained rooted in ce.

    ¡°Do you really want to defy direct orders?¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    One person was no longer able to suppress their frustrations, and they shouted, ¡°The only reason why we came to the battlefield was to deal with the terror ants! It¡¯s absurd to demand us to step onto the actual battlefield! We were lied to!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯re not going! We were given a mission to clear out the terror ants. We absolutely refuse to reinforce the second forward basecamp.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going!¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp and a deathly chill entered his voice. ¡°You¡¯ll be executed for refusing the general¡¯s orders.¡±

    Everyone visibly paled.

    Hua Beibei licked his lips and nced around. It was time for him to make his escape. He had no desire to step foot onto the actual battlefield, as that was nothing less than a death wish.

    Shen Hai sighed. ¡°Everyone, while there is a high probability of all of us dying after we step foot onto the battlefield, any of us who survives will havepletely different lives in the future. On the other hand, you all know what fate awaits anyone who refuses to obey direct orders. Even if Ah Qi doesn¡¯t kill you himself, you¡¯ll suffer an even worse fate when you return to the second array base¡¯s headquarters. Even if you make it back to the Perennial World, what sort of life do you imagine will await you there?¡±

    Everyone clenched tight fists. Those who did not fear death had already joined the battlefield, and the fact that these people had opted to take a mission on the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk was proof of their fear of the battlefield. Despite that, they were currently being forced to enter the battlefield.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°This is thest time that I¡¯ll repeat myself: follow me to assist the second forward basecamp. Those who defy orders will be immediately killed, and none will be spared.¡±

    Everybody felt a shiver travel down their spines. ¡°Understood, Colonel.¡±

    Lu Yin caught a glimpse of Hua Beibei¡¯s shadow out of the corner of his eye. Unexpectedly, the rascal was actually trying to slip away. Lu Yin nced sideways at Shen Hai.

    The old man looked over at Hua Beibei and shook his head before immediately dragging the young man back.

    ¡°Ex- Expert- Oh, no, I mean, Beastmaster Bro! Beastmaster Bro, I¡¯ve helped out a great deal by helping you guys find the queen ant, which saved everyone! Please let me go! I don¡¯t want to go to the battlefield! I¡¯m begging you!¡± Hua Beibei wailed miserably.

    Lu Yin respondedpletely indifferently, ¡°Those who don¡¯t obey will die.¡±

    Hua Beibei argued, ¡°But I¡¯m from the Celestial Frost Sect!¡±

    ¡°Disobedience means death.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voicecked all emotions. He had met many people like this Hua Beibei before, and Ku Wei was a perfect example. It was best to simply not engage with these kinds of people.

    Hua Beibei was terrified to the point where he no longer dared to utter a single word.

    It would not be hard for them to find the second forward basecamp, as all they needed to do was travel to the bottom of the second array base.

    Lu Yin led his squad back to the second array base. As they traveled, they ran into some terror ant swarms, but all of them were eliminated as the squad passed through. However, they did not make any detours to specifically clear away more terror ants, as the request for reinforcements had specified that there could be no dys.

    Regardless of how fast they wanted to arrive, it was impossible for them to quickly travel to the second forward basecamp from where they had been clearing ants on the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    After a day of travel, Lu Yin and the others ran into another group of people that was clearly a product of several squads merging together. Their captain was about as powerful as Shen Hai, and they were all thrilled to run into Lu Yin and his troops. The new group suggested uniting together and clearing out the terror ants as a single unit. While this would make it take much longer toplete their quotas of terror ants, it was also much safer.

    È»¶øÄÇÈºÈËÔÚµÀ³öÕâ¸öÌáÒéºó£¬¿´µ½µÄÊÇÉòº£µÈÈËÍ¬ÇéµÄÄ¿¹â¡£

    s, right when the suggestion was made, Shen Hai and the others following Lu Yin shot the members of the second group looks of sympathy.

    Lu Yin pulled out his colonel token and instantly announced, ¡°By order of the general of the second array base, I¡¯m conscripting all of you to reinforce the second forward basecamp.¡±

    The second group instantly became upset and they adamantly refused to obey the orders. Their captain, whose strength wasparable to Shen Hai¡¯s, also refused to obey. None of these people had ever seen Lu Yin¡¯s strength before, so they were not nearly as polite as Shen Hai and the others. There were even some people who questioned the authenticity of Lu Yin¡¯s colonel token simply because they felt that it was impossible for an Enlighter to be a colonel.

    Lu Yin did not utter a word in retort; instead, he struck down the dissidents with a few Vacuum Palms. He intended to force some manners into them through a demonstration of strength.

    With that done, no one dared to disobey the orders. Lu Yin was consistent with his policy that ¡®those who refuse to obey will die,¡¯ and his inflexibility scared people since they all felt threatened by the youth.

    Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s troops grew, and they continued onward towards the second forward basecamp. As they traveled, they continued to clear out the terror ants, and they also forcefully conscripted whatever cultivators they ran into, causing their numbers to further swell.

    Directly beneath Lu Yin and his troops, there was a metallic in formedpletely from strange and hard metals. Everyone there had to walk across the metal ground.

    This metallic in was actually the second forward basecamp that they were heading towards.

 Chapter 1501: Marquis Green Bamboo

    Chapter 1501: Marquis Green Bamboo

    At this moment, there were countless corpse kings fighting against humans at the second forward basecamp. The battlefield took ce across the entire metallic in, and gashes dotted thend.

    In the dark space high above the battlefield,s were constantly being destroyed, and Envoys had entered the true universe andunched their attacks from there.

    There was a transportation device at the second forward basecamp that let reinforcements from the second array base¡¯s headquarters immediately arrive, but unfortunately, it had been damaged. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for Xia Yan to order everyone to reinforce the second forward basecamp.

    In addition to the transportation device, the local defensive sourcebox array had also been damaged, which was the reason why a group of Lockbreakers had been gathered at the battlefield to try to repair it.

    Reinforcements poured in from outside the second forward basecamp one after another.

    A stream of cultivators traveled down from the upper regions of the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk to reinforce the defenders at the basecamp, but at the same time, countless terror ants formed massive swarms that made their way up the trunk from the lower reaches.

    There was an explosive sound as a bloody energy swept towards the Lockbreakers who were attempting to repair the sourcebox array. In response, an Envoy immediately stepped forward to shield them from the attack. Despite his already injured state, the Envoy forcefully suppressed them to protect the Lockbreakers. As a result, the attack caused a web of cracks to appear over half of his body as he crashed to the ground.

    The group of Lockbreakers that was standing rather close to the Envoy all turned as white as a sheet of paper.

    "Master Song, we can''t hold out for any longer!" one of the Lockbreakers cried out anxiously.

    The Lockbreaker standing at the front was dressed simrly to Master Zan, as he was also wearing very luxurious clothing. But right now, the man¡¯s face was deathly pale, andrge beads of sweat were rolling down his face from his forehead as he stared intently at the damaged sourcebox array.

    After the Lockbreaker frantically called out another warning, Master Song became even more anxious.

    The void above his head tore open, and another corpse king charged out. Its body was covered in a powerful blood-red energy. As soon as it appeared, it let out a guttural growl as it smashed its arms down, sending out a wave of bloody energy that fell on the Lockbreakers like meteorites.

    The group of Lockbreakers all felt their legs tremble. Even though they had been stationed at the battlefield¡¯s front lines for quite some time, this was still the worst disaster that the second forward basecamp had ever gone through. None of the Lockbreakers were able to escape from this attack, and they could only helplessly watch on as the smell of death approached.

    All of a sudden, the bloody energy was sliced apart by a sharp qi that swept out from the void. A massive sh hade in from the distance at the attacking corpse king.

    The corpse king raised its hand, grabbed the approaching attack, and then crushed it. At the same time, numerous other attacks rained down on the corpse king from all directions, clearly originating from the true universe, and they shredded the corpse king to nothing.

    The void warped and multiple people began to emerge. All of them had somber expressions, and they all started immediately attacking.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Star Alliance! The reinforcements from Star Alliance are here!¡± the Lockbreakers cheered.

    Master Song¡¯s breath was ragged as he shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted! Continue repairing the sourcebox array.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Song.¡±

    Above the battlefield and in the sky, there stood a massive banner. A man suddenly appeared next to the banner and unfurled it, causing an invisible wave of energy to sweep out and envelop the entire second forward basecamp. Everyone who epted this power fell into a sudden rage that incited them to attack without restraint or fear of death.

    The man was Colonel Zuo, and this banner was his innate gift. It was known as amander¡¯s talent, and it was best suited for warfare.

    A pair of scarlet eyes opened before Colonel Zuo, and their mere opening unleashed a terrible power that caused explosions to ripple throughout the void. At the same time, a corpse king appeared and attempted to tear the banner apart.

    Colonel Zuo scoffed in response as Divine Martial Armor covered his body. After unfurling his banner, he easily forced the corpse king back while observing the situation on the battlefield down below. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that the reinforcements from Star Alliance had arrived.

    Star Alliance¡¯s arrival meant that the situation would temporarily stabilize. In other words, all they needed to do for now was wait for their general to arrive.

    Because of the second forward basecamp¡¯s teleportation device, they were never supposed to have been able to be forced into such a dire emergency. However, who could have predicted that a Progenitor-level corpse king would suddenly make a move and tear through the Tree Realm or that its actions would damage the teleportation device while also unleashing an untold number of terror ants. Not even Colonel Zuo had immediately noticed what had happened.

    By the time that he had realized that the teleportation device had been damaged, it had already been toote.

    At this time, Colonel Zuo was just hoping that no Semi-Progenitor level corpse kings would show up.

    Just as the man was making his wishes, a massive wave of energy swept by him. Colonel Zuo¡¯s pupils shrank as he stared off into the distance. There, he saw a bamboo branch appear. It was jade green and vibrant, brimming with vitality.

    While such a sight should have soothed the heart, in Colonel Zuo''s eyes, this verdant bamboo was as intimidating as meeting the grim reaper. This bamboo meant that Marquis Green Bamboo had arrived.

    Humanity had been resisting the monsters¡¯ invasions for untold years, and just as the monsters knew a great deal about humanity, humanity had also gathered a great deal of information regarding the monsters.

    All of these monsters were corpse kings, and they referred to themselves as Aeternal, worshipers of the One True God. From what they had seen so far, the mysterious Seven Skygods, whose cultivation realms was unknown to all, stood directly beneath the One True God. Some said that the Seven Skygods were Semi-Progenitors, while others im that they were true Progenitors. However, what was certain was that, below the Seven God Skies, were the Twelve Marquises.

    Each of the Twelve Marquises were Semi-Progenitors, and they were humanity¡¯s most formidable enemies on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    As for the Progenitor level corpse king that had appeared before, no human was confident in identifying the creature¡¯s identity, so it might or might not have been one of the Seven Skygods.

    However, at this moment, the Marquis Green Bamboo of the Twelve Marquises had shown himself.

    Each of the Twelve Marquises were Semi-Progenitors, and only human Semi-Progenitors were capable of standing up to a corpse king with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor.

    As soon as Marquis Green Bamboo appeared, Colonel Zuo immediately activated the only Semi-Progenitor power vessel that existed at the second forward basecamp: the broken sword.

    But at the same time, countless shoots of bamboo rose up from the ground across the second forward basecamp. They impaled many cultivators, and they even stabbed through many of the corpse kings. It was clear that the attack waspletely indiscriminatory.

    Ironically, the green bamboo shoots, which should represent life and vitality, brought only death to the battlefield.

    The shoots of jade green bamboo were soon painted in ruby red blood. Thousands of new holes had appeared in the second forward base camp¡¯s metal battleground even though Enlighters found it difficult to scratch the metal.

    Master Song stared at a shoot of bamboo that had sprouted less than a meter in front of him in horror. He had almost been impaled. Behind him, nearly half of the Lockbreakers supporting him had been pierced through bamboo shoots, instantly dying.

    Rivulets of fresh blood flowed beneath Master Song¡¯s feet and then merged to form a river. The Lockbreaker fiercely ground his teeth as he suppressed his fear in order to continue repairing the sourcebox array.

    Marquis Green Bamboo had only released a single attack, but just when he was about to unleash a second one, the broken sword power vessel that Colonel Zuo had activated suddenly released a sharp killing intent. The energy caused the void to warp, and itpletely isted the second forward basecamp from Marquis Green Bamboo. The broken sword was pointed directly at the marquis, and it seemed to be suggesting that it would unleash a terrifying lightning attack if the marquis attempted any further attacks.

    Marquis Green Bamboo was still a corpse king even if he had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. However, he did not look much different from a human, and he could even be regarded as handsome. His hair was elegantly tied back, and a few stray strands fell down at his temples, only entuating his gracefulness. He had a gentile mien, and the bamboo flute in his hand only enhanced his sophisticated aura. Even his scarlet eyes that were an identifying feature for all corpse kings seemed to be much more alive than usual, though there was also a streak of green in both eyes. This additional color made the marquis look less dead whenpared to ordinary corpse kings, and it also carried a mocking gaze.

    ¡°I can feel traces of a familiar sword intent from that broken de. That must be one of the swords used by one of the nine clones back when Xia Shang was just a Semi-Progenitor, am I correct?¡± Marquis Green Bamboo asked. He twirled the bamboo flute about in his hand before cing it behind his back and smiling at Colonel Zuo, who was standing some tens of thousands of meters in front of the corpse king.

    Colonel Zuo¡¯s palms had already begun to sweat. When faced with a Semi-Progenitor, they could only rely on another Semi-Progenitor for protection. However, the creature in front of the second forward base was an ancient figure who had been alive during the era when the Perennial World had been split. Even if Marquis Green Bamboo had not reached the strength of a Progenitor, the foundation that he had umted along with his formidable status that had solidified with time were not things that even Colonel Zuo¡¯smander, Commander Xia Yan, could match, let alone Colonel Zuo.

    Against this being, everyone else was a junior, and oftentimes by many generations. Even the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors might not be as old as this marquis.

    ¡°This is indeed the sword that Progenitor Chen used in the past,¡± Colonel Zuo replied quietly, his eyes staring vigntly at Marquis Green Bamboo.

    The marquisughed, and his scarlet eyes sparkled with intelligence. ¡°You humans are really very interesting! Back when Xia Shang was cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, the Daosource Sect severely condemned him for the crime of defiance because one of his clones was a being from another race. They even sent out troops to arrest him. But after he defeated his invincible peers and even some powerhouses who were his seniors, you all celebrated his sesses. Humans are such contradictory creatures.¡±

    Colonel Zuo kept his banner held behind his back while never taking his eyes off of Marquis Green Bamboo. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened in the past. All I know is that my predecessors must have had a reason for their actions. Only monsters like you act without purpose, only following your own desires.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Don¡¯t you humans also long for freedom? Nine out of ten people wish to gain immortality, which means that it¡¯s also a basic desire of you humans,¡± Marquis Green Bamboomented with a light smile.

    Colonel Zuo scoffed, ¡°If gaining immortality means bing a monster like you, then what¡¯s the point? We¡¯d be better off dead.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re only saying that because you don¡¯t have any chance of gaining immortality,¡± Marquis Green Bamboo replied in a mild manner. Even as he spoke, he lifted his hand. In it was a transparent crystal bottle that contained a liquid. ¡°This is the immortality drug, believe it or not. Once this thing enters the Perennial World, you humans will eagerly wage wars against each other just to get your hands on it.¡±

    Colonel Zuo frowned slightly. While he wanted to refute the marquis, he could not say anything. All humans had some level of greed, which was normal, but that greed was also what these monsters had used to suppress humanity for so long.

    Marquis Green Bamboo put the crystal bottle back away and then mockingly said, ¡°Haha, that wasn¡¯t actually the immortality drug. How could such a thing be created so easily? That was nothing more than a poison, though even a single drop of it is enough to destroy half of the world.¡±

    ¡°Vitality poison?¡± Colonel Zuo asked.

    Marquis Green Bamboo merely silently smiled in response. He then looked back down at the battlefield below them and asked, ¡°How much longer do you think the second forward basecamp can hold out for? How long can that broken sword keep me back for? Forget this broken sword¡ªeven the knife that one of Xia Shang¡¯s nine clones used back then might not be enough to defeat me.¡±

    ¡°Just try it!¡± challenged Colonel Zuo in a deep voice. ¡°Since we¡¯re already on the battlefield, we naturally have no expectations of leaving alive. Humans may be greedy, but we are also determined. You monsters can use our greed against us, but our determination will always fight against you in the same manner.¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s lips curled up into a smile. He no longer said anything else, but he also refrained from attacking. It appeared that he was actually quite wary of the broken sword.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s reputation of invincibility had stood unchallenged for eons, and since even an ancient powerhouse like Marquis Green Bamboo was wary of Progenitor Chen¡¯s broken sword, it made it clear just how terrifying Progenitor Chen had been in the past.

    Colonel Zuo wielded the broken sword as a means of stalling Marquis Green Bamboo for the time being. Elsewhere on the second forward basecamp, the other defenders were still engaged in all-outbat with the corpse kings. Outside of the broken sword¡¯s range, cultivators fought across the unending battlefield, and corpse kings continued to to appear without any end.

    The battle had entered a stalemate for the moment, and this tenuous bnce persisted for three days. It was then that Lu Yin and his reinforcements arrived at the second forward basecamp.

    While traveling, Lu Yin had conscripted two more groups, which meant that he had led more than fifty people to the basecamp. While this was a negligible number from the perspective of the battlefield, it was also thergest number of people that Lu Yin could have gathered while traveling.

    This battlefield¡¯s scale was far beyond anything that Lu Yin could ever imagine. He had initially thought that the battlefield behind the Mother Tree would beparable to the one in Endless Weave when he had helped defend against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. It was only when he actually arrived at the second forward basecamp that Lu Yin realized that all of his previous battles could not even be considered skirmishes.

    The battlefront in Endless Weave had featured no more than ten Envoys while the strongest powerhouses had been Yuan Shi and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cosmic Imprinter. But on this battlefield, just humanity¡¯s side alone had more than ten Envoys, and he could see that the same was true for the monsters¡¯ forces as well. In the sky above, there was even a stand-off between a Semi-Progenitor level power vessel and a Semi-Progenitor corpse king.

    Envoys were nothing more than cannon fodder on a battlefield where Semi-Progenitors were fighting.

    Lu Yin¡¯s troops were scattered by the chaos of the battlefield the moment they arrived while Lu Yin himself immediately destroyed more than ten corpse kings with a flurry of Vacuum Palms. However, his actions instantly drew the attention of a more formidable opponent.

 Chapter 1502: Going All Out

    Chapter 1502: Going All Out

    With two corpse kings at the cusp of reaching the Envoy level targeting him, Lu Yin wasted no time in taking out the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt. After binding the two creatures, heshed out with a barrage of palm strikes that pierced through both corpse kings¡¯ bodies, destroying them, and then continuing on to almost hit a nearby human Enlighter.

    The Enlighter was horrified, and he stared at Lu Yin in a daze. He could not fathom how Lu Yin could unleash such a terrifying attack at such a young age.

    Lu Yin was like a lion that had suddenly leaped into the midst of a flock of sheep. If there were no Envoy-level enemies to stand up to him, there was no one who could stop him. All alone, he cleared out an entire region, which caused arge number of people to stare at him in awe.

    Meanwhile, Hua Beibei had nearly reached the point of tears. He stuck close behind Lu Yin, constantly begging the other youth to protect him. However, Lu Yin held back nothing in his attacks, which terrified Hua Beibei with the possibility that the showy moves would only attract even more formidable enemies.

    ¡°Master! Master, please slow down! Take it easy! There¡¯ll still be a lot of enemies left over, so don¡¯t be so eager to kill everything.¡± Hua Beibei tried to hold Lu Yin back.

    Lu Yin grew annoyed by the prattle, so he picked Hua Beibei up and tossed him to the side.

    Lu Yin¡¯s conspicuous entrance did indeed manage to garner the attention of a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy, and not just an ordinary Envoy at that. In terms of humanity¡¯s power measurements, this corpse king had the power of an Envoy who had survived two stellr tribtions, which meant that it wasparable to an expert with a power level of more than 600,000.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by a sudden attack from this corpse king¡¯s massive warhammer, and the terrible impact was enough to leave Lu Yin dizzy. Luckily, he was wearing the protective Cloudguard Robes, so this full-powered attack from a corpse king with a power level of more than 600,000 left Lu Yin virtually unharmed.

    This corpse king was three meters tall, and it emotionlessly raised its warhammer and smashed it down at Lu Yin again.

    The warhammer was five meters long, and while it looked unbnced and crude, the attack was shockingly fast. The sneak attack had caught Lu Yinpletely by surprise since the corpse king hadunched it from the true universe.

    However, as the warhammer fell down, it suddenly disappeared. This corpse king was simply too fast, and it had already returned to the true universe, attacking Lu Yin from there. In response, he lightly stepped out and also entered the true universe, only to be immediately met with an attack from the huge warhammer. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he moved.

    The warhammer smashed down into the ground. The impact shattered the nearby void, and small spatial tears spread throughout the area like flickering sparks as a shockwave rippled out.

    Manybatants were struck by the shockwave, and its sheer force left many feeling disorientated. Even Master Song and the other Lockbreakers who were trying to repair the sourcebox array some distance away were affected, and they involuntarily turned to look towards the source of the shockwave.

    Lu Yin appeared behind the tall corpse king and retaliated with his own full-powered attack: a 350 Stacks Vacuum Palm reinforced with his golden battle force.

    Bang!

    Lu Yin¡¯s strike caused a half-inch deep palm print to appear on the corpse king¡¯s body, but that was all. The creature immediately whirled around and mmed its warhammer into Lu Yin. The youth attempted to block the blow by raising his arms, but he was still sent flying like a pebble, and he violently crashed into a piece of metal in a random section of the second forward basecamp. The metal structure was struck so fiercely that it cracked.

    The structure that Lu Yin had crashed into was actually a part of the teleportation device. A group of people had been studying the damaged device, scratching their heads to try toe up with a means of repairing it, when Lu Yin had suddenly flown over andpletely destroyed the structure entirely before they coulde up with any ideas.

    The group turned to look over where Lu Yin had been sent flying from, and there, they saw the three-meter-tall corpse king raise its warhammer high into the air before violently mming it down once again. The void waspletely shattered, and a massive spatial crack snaked through space at them, devouring everything that was nearby.

    The team that had been attempting to repair the teleportation device were frozen from fear, as they all knew that they were doomed.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin leaped forward with a hand raised as he set up a Channeling Diagram.

    Golden battle force twined around his arms, and the Channeling Diagram appeared before him, protecting him. The warhammer¡¯s attack mmed down, only to be dissipated by the Channeling Diagram, which redirected the force in all other directions. Throughout the sky and the ground nearby, the void fractured into spiderweb-like spatial tears.

    Lu Yin had his back to the teleportation device as he stared intently at the corpse king. This creature was a true monster if it could even disregard his full-powered Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin thought that Long Kui might not be able to directly receive a full-force Vacuum Palm, and yet this corpse kind had done so despite technically being weaker than Long Kui. The creature¡¯s robust physique had allowed it to ignore the attack, as that was the only exnation.

    Wait, if this corpse king had such an impressive body, then did that mean that this creature was capable of undergoing a corpse king transformation?

    Right as this possibility urred to Lu Yin, the color of the tall corpse king¡¯s eyes changed from scarlet to gray. Lu Yin watched as the void around the creature¡¯s body broke apart, no longer able to contain the corpse king¡¯s passive strength, and spatial tears appeared around it. An unfathomably powerful physical strength had appeared on the battlefield. The corpse king let out a loud growl, and the soundwaves of its angry roar shattered the void as they traveled towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb, and he finally experienced for himself just how frustrating it was to face off against an opponent with an overwhelmingly superior physical body. He finally realized how painful it had been for his old opponents to go against his own freakish physique. The Channeling Diagram was unable to resist the soundwaves, and Lu Yin was pushed back bit by bit.

    Someone standing behind him shouted in a panic, ¡°Bro, you have to hold out! This is the teleportation device, and if it¡¯spletely destroyed, we¡¯re all done for!¡±

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯d like to hold out too!¡±

    He nced behind him and saw that the group of people who were attempting to repair the teleportation device were all just Explorers. With no other choice, Lu Yin used the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt to trap the corpse king and restrict all of its attacks to a smaller area.

    Lu Yin had Enhanced the power vessel to the point where it was capable of defending against attacks from experts with a power level of about 700,000. However, the corpse king¡¯s strength had definitely surpassed a power level of 700,000 after transforming. Even though he had no other choice, Lu Yin was questioning whether or not his power vessel would be able to hold out.

    As the creature growled, the corpse king ruthlessly mmed its warhammer down at the power vessel, cracking it open. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted, and he brought out the dagger that he had taken from Wang Su. Finding an opening, he stabbed the dagger into the corpse king¡¯s body through the crack that had opened up in the defensive power vessel before dragging the knife to the side, shing open nearly half of the corpse king¡¯s body.

    The dagger was capable of unleashing attacks that possessed a power level of around 800,000, which made it the most powerful offensive power vessel in Lu Yin¡¯s inventory. Despite the corpse king¡¯s powerful physical strength, and its boost from transforming, it still was unable to resist the power of the knife.

    Lu Yin raised the dagger once more and stabbed at the corpse king¡¯s neck. The creature kicked at Lu Yin in response, which caused the youth to shoot an angry re at the beast as he clenched a fist and punched out with a full 350 Stacks and his battle force to counter the corpse king¡¯s kick.

    There was a deafening boom, and the ground itself shattered. Lu Yin was knocked back more than ten meters by the collision, and he crashed into the metal remnants of the teleportation device again. Lu Yin¡¯s head was left spinning by the forces. If not for the presence of the teleportation device, he would have never been willing to directly face off against such a powerful corpse king.

    Everyone around Lu Yin who witnessed the exchange was leftpletely stunned. The fact that an Enlighter was able to go against a corpse king of that level was unimaginable to them all. This battle had destroyed everyone¡¯s worldview.

    The knife had sliced open half of the corpse king¡¯s body, and it red fiercely at Lu Yin. the creature then charged towards Lu Yin once again,pletely devoid of any sense of pain or fear of death.

    Lu Yin threw the dagger at the corpse king in an attempt to wound the creature again, but the corpse king was notpletely brainless, and it deflected the dagger to the side with its warhammer. All of a sudden, Lu Yin waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art, diverting the dagger to brutally stab the corpse king right in the side of its neck. The creature released an angry growl as it grabbed the dagger. But by then, an astral chessboard had already appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he instantly moved behind the corpse king, which allowed Lu Yin to grab the knife¡¯s hilt at the same moment as the corpse king.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the movement of the corpse king¡¯s hand reaching for the dagger slowed down countless times over because of the effect of the inheritance that he had received from the Sword Monument. At this moment, Lu Yin was able to see through the corpse king¡¯s every move, as well as its strength. Stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and many of them suddenly exploded beneath the corpse king¡¯s hand, momentarily dying its movement. Lu Yin took advantage of this timing to grab the dagger first and shove it deeper into the corpse king¡¯s neck.

    Almost the full length of the knife de had been stabbed into the neck by now. The corpse king reached back with its other hand at Lu Yin, but the youth had already fled with the Teleportation Formation. Lu Yin then took advantage of the situation to smash a Vacuum Palm into the corpse king¡¯s forehead, smacking it back a few steps.

    This flurry of attacks had badly wounded the corpse king, but just as Lu Yin went to attack again, the corpse king tilted back its head and roared at the sky as its eyes changed color yet again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open wide. No- no way! Was it really still able to transform?

    He watched on in shock as the corpse king¡¯s eyes turned green. Once the transformation finished, the creature¡¯s strength would increase by another tenfold. Lu Yin was certain that, at that point, nothing he did could do anything to the transformed corpse king. Even his knife, his Deste Array sourcebox, and everything else would do absolutely nothing to this corpse king. Its bodypletely exceeded the level of any of Lu Yin¡¯s power vessels.

    Afterpleting this second transformation, the corpse king¡¯s strength would be a hundred times greater than its original strength, which had already beenparable to an Envoy¡¯s.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart ached as he pulled out the sourcebox array with the Void Rip battle technique that he had taken from Bai Shaohong. There were four Void Rip attacks sealed within it, and two of them had already been used, which meant that Lu Yin only had two attacks remaining.

    He treated this sourcebox as his prized possession. Using something so distinct on this battlefield was very risky as this attack was easily recognizable. And yet, Lu Yin had no other choice. He nced around, feeling a bit guilty, but then he aimed the sourcebox array straight at the corpse king. Two dots were connected by a ck line that was the Void Rip, and the line shot forward.

    The corpse king was still holding onto its warhammer, and its terrifying aura seemed to stir up the winds and the clouds. It finished its Green Eyes Transformation, but then all of its movements suddenly ceased, and its head fell to the ground.

    The Void Rip battle technique was not as powerful as the dagger that Lu Yin had used earlier, but the corpse king had already been badly wounded by Lu Yin¡¯s knife, which allowed Void Rip to neatly end the creature¡¯s life along with the battle.

    Lu Yin waved his hand the moment the attack passed by the corpse king, using the Yu Secret Art to divert what remained of the Void Rip towards the ground, as he was worried that someone would notice what he had just used.

    Up in the sky, Colonel Zuo was still having his standoff with Marquis Green Bamboo when the localmander suddenly felt the horrifying aura of the tall corpse king as it underwent its Green Eyes Transformation. Themander¡¯s face paled, and he looked down to check what was happening. Though, he looked down just in time to see the corpse king lose its head. Even more shockingly, in front of the corpse was a young Enlighter.

    Colonel Zuo felt utterly stunned; what in the world had just happened?

    No one had the time to exin anything to themander due to the chaotic battlefield that changed every moment. Even Envoys had to be careful on the battlefield. Everyone had their own opponents, and the rest of the battlefield was nothing more than a massive blur, making it hard to understand what was happening anywhere. The team attempting to repair the teleportation device had long since fled from the area to avoid the aftershocks of Lu Yin¡¯s battle against the corpse king.

    Lu Yin took some time to recover his ragged breath as he stared at the still standing body of the corpse king. The body was headless, and fresh blood flowed down from the severed neck. A terrifying aura still emanated from the dead body.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a terrible pity that corpse kings did not carry cosmic rings. Otherwise, he would be able to gain a huge harvest from killing such a powerful corpse king.

    This single battle had cost him a great deal, as he had lost both the power vessel that looked like an aquatic nt, as well as one of his remaining Void Rips.

    The three meter tall corpse king had disyed a terrifying strength, but regardless of the creature¡¯s power, its battle against Lu Yin had only upied a minuscule corner of the battlefield. A single person¡¯s victory would not end this ughterfest.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to run into another corpse king, though his new opponent did not have the strength of an Envoy, but rather that of an Enlighter. This change gave Lu Yin some time to recover, and he took his time while fighting to recuperate a bit. After all, an Enlighter level opponent was much easier to deal with.

    There were many Enlighters among humanity¡¯s powerhouses on the battlefield, but while such experts could be found everywhere, it was hard to find any who could take a break while fighting against an Enlighter level corpse king.

    In the sky, Colonel Zuo kept the broken sword pointed straight towards Marquis Green Bamboo, not allowing his guard to drop for even an instance.

    Across from themander, Marquis Green Bamboo did not have even the slightest bit of anxiousness on his face. In fact, he even took out a scroll to read and began talking to his opponent. ¡°The greatest wealth that humans possess is actually wisdom. That¡¯s the aspect of humanity that I admire the most. You all are able to use your wisdom to create anything. If not for that, the weak bodies of you humans would have led to all of you being eliminated long ago.¡±

    Colonel Zuo frowned. Two days had already passed, so why had the general not arrived yet? On top of that, it felt very odd to see Marquis Green Bamboo behaving in such a rxed manner. Could the enemy be nning to break through the second forward basecamp before the general could even arrive?

    On the ground below, the sourcebox array had already been repaired, and it began to ughter the corpse kings on a massive scale. However, the destruction onlysted for half a day, as a giant corpse king appeared and blocked the sourcebox array from continuing its rampaging.

    Lu Yin stared at the almost hundred meter tall corpse king standing in the distance. This reminded him of the corpse king that had managed to break into the second formation base¡¯s headquarters. Were these oversized corpse kings specially created to deal with sourcebox arrays?

    The second forward basecamp¡¯s defensive sourcebox array used a red light to ughter enemies indiscriminately, and when the red light swept the battlefield, it had managed to exterminate nearly a third of the corpse kings. However, the moment the enormous corpse king appeared, the red light faded when it made contact with the creature.

    In an effort to test out his thoughts, Lu Yinunched a Vacuum Palm at the oversized corpse king, only to see that the creature showed no reaction at all.

    Lu Yin silently retreated. The giant creature was even more formidable than the Envoy level corpse king that he had recently dealt with. Even if he unleashed everything in his entire arsenal, he most likely still would not leave even a scratch on the massive creature. Lu Yin felt that he would be more useful by moving away than inviting trouble by trying to fight the thing.

 Chapter 1503: Aurelian Force

    Chapter 1503: Aurelian Force

    A war would not end just because of a single human or corpse king¡¯s life or death. Someone else would need to find a way to handle the giant corpse king.

    There was a tremendous boom that shook the ground so badly that the metal surface everyone was fighting on started to split apart, and Lu Yin lost his footing. Off in the distance, an Envoy was crushed into a bloody pulp by the massive corpse king, and the remnants of the powerhouse fell out of the true universe.

    This person was the second Envoy to be killed, their death caused the blood to drain from Lu Yin¡¯s face. Not only had the enormous corpse king stopped the sourcebox array from functioning, but it was also eliminating Envoys at the same time. Up above, at the second array base¡¯s headquarters, Colonel Chun had kept one of the giant corpse king¡¯s upied, and Long Laogui had helped finish it off. But at the second forward base camp, Colonel Zuo was the only person present who was capable of handling the giant creatures, but he was already preupied with Marquis Green Bamboo. Thus, Long Laogui was not present to offer his help.

    Nobody else else on the battlefield could do anything, as none of them could be the enormous corpse king¡¯s opponent.

    Hua Beibei ran over nearby Lu Yin. ¡°Expert! Please save me!¡±

    Lu Yin turned around and waved a hand, instantly killing the corpse king that had been chasing after Hua Beibei.

    Hua Beibei looked extremely pathetic at this moment. One of his arms was broken, and his upper body was also stained with blood. He wailed, ¡°Expert, I¡¯m so d that I found you! If not for you, I¡¯d already be dead! These monsters are terrifying!¡±

    Lu Yin had only saved the youth because it had been convenient to do so.

    Deep in thought, Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed tightly as he continued to stare at the massive corpse king that had already single-handedly dealt with two Envoys.

    Hua Beibei¡¯s vision followed Lu Yin¡¯s line of sight, and the youth¡¯s face immediately went pale. He fearfully shouted, ¡°Expert, you can¡¯t possibly be thinking of fighting that thing! Don¡¯t even think about it! Let me tell you, an experienced senior who survived four tribtions from the Celestial Frost Sect died at the hands of one of those giant corpse kings here on this great battlefield. That creature is not something that you can handle! Only someone like Colonel Zuo can fight against that thing head on.¡±

    Just as Hua Beibei finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that this young man before him was another colonel.

    ¡°I meant someone with Colonel Zuo¡¯s strength.¡± Hua Beibei quickly modified his earlierment.

    ¡°Two Envoys from the Star Alliance have already been killed by that thing,¡± Lu Yin solemnlymented.

    Hua Beibei sighed. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that we can do to help. Without a top powerhouse stepping in, we have to leave that monster to the Star Alliance to handle. They¡¯re the only ones on this battlefield who don¡¯t fear death.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s focus sharpened. He remembered the first time that he had heard of the Star Alliance; back then, he had been traveling to the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument with Long Kui. The two of them had watched an unwilling man be dragged away to join the Star Alliance. Lu Yin had beenpletely ignorant of the details about the Star Alliance.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s status and reputation had risen, and he had also interacted with more powerhouses, and he had slowly started to learn a bit more about the Star Alliance.

    The Star Alliance was actually the Envoy Alliance, which meant that only Envoys were eligible to join them. These Envoys were not from any of the influential powers such as the four ruling powers, the Liu family, or the Nong family. Instead, all of the Envoys in this alliance were people who hadmitted major crimes and needed to atone for their actions.

    It was no easy feat to cultivate to the Envoy realm, and even the four ruling powers could not bear executing such powerhouses for their crimes. Thus, the Star Alliance had been established as a punishment for criminals at the Envoy realm to be a sharp de wielded on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. It was a team from Star Alliance that Hua Beibei had referred to as being unafraid of death.

    It was precisely because of the Star Alliance¡¯s assistance that the second forward basecamp had been able to endure for so long. Envoys from the alliance could be found everywhere on the battlefield.

    As far as outsiders knew, Star Alliance was formed from Envoys who hadmitted crimes, and only a few people were aware that, while there were indeed criminals in Star Alliance, the vast majority of the Envoys in the alliance were conscripted into the alliance merely because they were not loyal to the four ruling powers.

    The four ruling powers ruled the Perennial World, not just the Higher Realm. The Middle and Lower Realms were also under their control, and independent Envoys were seen as individuals who could potentially rebel against the four ruling powers. Thus, such people were either killed or conscripted. The slow disappearance of such dissenting voices contributed to the ever increasing authority that the four ruling powers enjoyed within the Perennial World.

    The Envoy that had been kidnapped while Lu Yin was making his way to the Sword Monument had been one of the cultivators who had refused to surrender to the four ruling powers. His family¡¯s influence might have been destroyed, or his family might have been granted peace by him joining the Star Alliance. Lu Yin was unaware of which possibility was true, but he knew that the Star Alliance was not a symbol of the Perennial World¡¯s glory, but rather of their sorrow.

    However, the Star Alliance was also a nightmare for these monsters.

    After seeing another Envoy sent flying through the sky by the enormous corpse king, a determined expression appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face, and with a few quick steps, he disappeared. Hua Beibei was knocked backwards by the shockwave kicked up by Lu Yin¡¯s impressive speed, and the cowardly young man helplessly stared off into the distance; that young expert had still decided to go help; how righteous!

    Lu Yin was not someone who enjoyed chasing after death, and he had only made his move with the full awareness of the fact that he possessed the Cloudguard Robes, the Ce Secret Art, and the Teleportation Formation. On top of that, he had only decided to take action after observing the giant corpse king for quite a while and confirming that he would not be killed by the creature. Given his abilities, Lu Yin would fight whenever he was able to. This was humanity¡¯s main battlefield, and they could not afford to retreat even a single step.

    Both of the massive corpse king¡¯s legs were entangled with the red light of the sourcebox array, and the energy had left deep cuts on the creature¡¯s legs. A man stood before the mountainous corpse king, and he roared in fury as he wielded a sword, unleashing countless shes with his de. Some of the attacks were illusory, but others were real.

    The enormous corpse king raised its arms to block the approaching attacks, and then it retaliated by sending a powerful p towards the swordsman. It was at this moment that Lu Yin appeared right in front of the giant corpse king, and he released multiple Vacuum Palms with an upraised hand.

    Dozens of palms struck the massive corpse king on the forehead. Despite the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms could not harm the creature, the impact of so many attacks to its head still surprised the corpse king.

    There was another, elderly Envoy underfoot, and the old man suddenly attacked. The man¡¯s body flushed red as mes enveloped him that consumed even the void. These mes then began to spread from the man and creep up the corpse king¡¯s leg.

    The corpse king looked down and took a single step away, but this movement aggravated the wounds on its legs since the motion only increased the amount of contact with the sourcebox array¡¯s red energy. The mes immediately leaped at the blood leaking from the creature¡¯s wounds, though the corpse king did not seem to care.

    The Envoy quickly fled after seeing his efforts aplish nothing.

    As for Lu Yin, he caught a glimpse of the corpse king¡¯s palm mming towards him. He first thought that he would be able to evade the creature¡¯s attacks with the Ce Secret Art, but he btedly realized that he had sorely underestimated the abilities of the giant corpse king. As its palm swung towards Lu Yin, the void destabilized, which made it impossible for Lu Yin to even trigger the Ce Secret Art.

    It was universally understood that any entity that possessed the strength of an Envoy would never be an easy opponent, and despite seeing the massive corpse king kill two Envoys, Lu Yin had still believed that he would be able to utilize the Ce Secret Art to stall the creature for a period of time. He had truly been too naive.

    Unable to do anything, Lu Yin took a full hit from the corpse king¡¯s p, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew through the air. He tried to twist his body around, but he found that he could not even move a single muscle. The power of the corpse king¡¯s attack was so overwhelming that Lu Yin had beenpletely immobilized. With no other option, Lu Yin repeatedly tried to use the Ce Secret Art, and just as he was about to hit the ground, he managed to use the Ce Secret Art to create a bit of a buffering distance between himself and the metal ground. Even though not all of the force was dispersed, it was still much better than smashing into the ground at full speed.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet and coughed out yet more blood as he looked up. His injuries were quite bad, and not even the Cloudguard Robes had been able to fully protect him from these injuries. If not for the fact that the me-controlling Envoy had attacked at the same time, the corpse king¡¯s attack against Lu Yin would have carried much more power.

    Somewhere near Lu Yin, a middle-aged man stepped out from the void. Behind him, there was a dead corpse king.

    That man had witnessed everything earlier, and he remained focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly swallowed some pills with medicinal effects as he tried to catch his breath, and at that moment, a colony of terror ants started running rampant across the battlefield. In response, Lu Yin raised a hand to clear out some of the ants as he fiercely red at the giant corpse king in the distance, racking his brain toe up with some means of dealing with the creature.

    While still in deep thought, Lu Yin felt a piercing gaze from someone who had been focused on him for quite some time. He turned to look at this person, and he found a middle-aged man with messy hair and ungroomed stubble. There was a listless expression on the man¡¯s face, and he looked quite dispirited and like a vagrant. This man had been staring at Lu Yin nonstop the moment the youth crashed to the ground, and the man¡¯s eyes had never shifted away.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s eyes, and the eyes that had originally seemed empty and soulless abruptly changed after the two made eye contact. The man looked shocked at first and then agitated before the dull and ssy expression ultimately returned. A gamut of emotions had run across the man¡¯s face in a single moment.

    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Lu Yin asked cautiously, as it was certainly not impossible for Redbacks to reveal themselves in the middle ofbat on this battlefield.

    The man continued to stare at Lu Yin. He had initially been looking at Lu Yin¡¯s back, but he had finally gotten a clear look at Lu Yin¡¯s face after the young man had turned around. All that the older man could think of was how Lu Yin greatly resembled his young master. The middle-aged man had not expected to run across someone with that face ever again.

    Sadly, the young man was not his young master, but rather someone who just looked somewhat simr to him, nothing more.

    ¡°Hey, brat, why did you charge towards that thing? Don¡¯t you fear death?¡± The man spoke with a jaded voice and used a casual tone that revealed his loneliness and disheartened state.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Should I run away out of fear?¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes glimmered as he continued to stare at Lu Yin. Suddenly, the man smiled. His smile was happy, carefree, and unrestrained. When this smile appeared, the nearby corpse kings and terror ants all dropped dead. The man had not used stellr energy, nor a battle technique. Instead, he had used something that Lu Yin was quite familiar with: battle force. However, the battle force that the man had used was colorless.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. His domain let him sense just how formidable this man¡¯s battle force was. He did not have the means to describe it, but it felt like a hibernating beast had just bared its fangs. The moment Lu Yin¡¯s domain made contact with the man¡¯s battle force, Lu Yin had felt as if his entire being had been exposed to a beast¡¯s open maw.

    ¡°Just now, you used ten-lined battle force, right?¡± the man asked as he shifted his head to look at the giant corpse king.

    Lu Yin denied nothing, as he had indeed supported his Vacuum Palms with battle force when attacking the massive corpse king.

    ¡°Little brat, watch closely. This is what battle force looks like after you surpass ten lines. This is aurelian force.¡± The moment the middle-aged man spoke, the air at the man¡¯s feet began to move despite there being no wind. The current even brushed against the void, as though endless waves werepping at it. As the distorted portion of the void spread out, every human, corpse king, and terror ant enveloped within the invisible energy¡¯s range instantly froze in ce, and fear appeared on their faces.

    Off in the distance, the Envoy-realm swordsman who was facing off against the enormous corpse king looked over in surprise the moment he came in contact with the ripples in the void. The swordsman looked over at the middle-aged man who was the source of everything and said, ¡°Brother Zhou, is that really necessary? Just wait a bit more. We¡¯ll manage somehow.¡±

    The swordsman had sharp eyes, and his aura shot through the sky. Even the broken sword seemed to resonate with the man as it trembled for a moment, which caught Colonel Zuo¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Even if the main family were here, they would still support my decision, regardless of whether it''s right and wrong. We are on humanity¡¯s battlefield, and even an Enlighter realm kid is willing to put his life on the line. As for me, Zhou Tang, I cannot do any worse as that would bring shame to the main family as I was once given the surname of ¡®Lu.¡¯¡± As the man spoke, a terrifying aura swept out to the horizon. It spread out in all directions and passed through both the sky and the ground. The man who was the source of it all looked like a peerless ruler. While his battle force was invisible to the eye, it burned and melted the void.

    Countless people were stunned when they sensed the horrifying aura.

    ¡°That- that¡¯s aurelian force! The highest level of battle force!¡± a pale-faced individual eximed. Although his face had drained of blood, his eyes zed with excitement. He was also someone who used battle force, which meant that his desire to achieve aurelian force was the same as a domain cultivator hoping to reach the void realm. Encountering one¡¯s goal would give them the impulse of wanting to bow down to it.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at the middle-aged man while sensing the terrifying power that filled the surroundings. Was this what battle force felt like once it surpassed the golden battle force level? The unparalleled level of control and iprehensible authority that emanated from it was the very essence of battle force, but what upied Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts at the moment was not the man¡¯s battle force, but his words. The man had stated that while his name was Zhou Tang, he had once been given the surname ¡°Lu,¡± which meant that this man was from the Lu family! He had even referred to the Lu family as the main family.

    Far above Lu Yin, Colonel Zuo brow finally unfurrowed. With that man¡¯s presence, humanity should be secure for the time being.

    Across from Colonel Zuo, Marquis Green Bamboo remarked in surprise, ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t an ex-retainer of the Lu family. To think that a group of traitors still needs to rely on the power of the Lu family¡¯s ex-retainer. You humans truly are pathetic. If you hadn¡¯t exiled the Lu family back then, then you wouldn¡¯t be struggling so badly now.¡±

    Colonel Zuo did not respond to the jab, but no one from the Perennial World would carelessly speak on that particr topic, especially anyone from the four ruling powers, as it was a dark mark on their collective history.

 Chapter 1504: The Lu Familyâ€™s Ex-Retainer

    Chapter 1504: The Lu Family¡¯s Ex-Retainer

    The entirety of the second forward basecamp was shocked by Zhou Tang¡¯s aurelian force. Even the giant corpse king was surprised by the threatening aura.

    Zhou Tang¡¯s appearance of a vagabond had beenpletely shattered, and a domineering and peerless aura emanated from him. He approached the massive corpse king step by step and said, ¡°Aurelian force creates a region of control within the void. Its all-consuming energy is invincible.¡±

    It seemed as though the man was speaking to himself, though it was also possible that he was speaking to Lu Yin. After making this statement, he suddenly charged the enormous corpse king, his passage causing the void to tremble. At that moment, Lu Yin clearly sensed that the void itself was assisting the older man. The void had somehow submitted to Zhou Tang.

    The giant corpse king released a low growl as it threw a punch at Zhou Tang. However, the man responded with his own punch in kind.

    The incredible resulting bang of the two attacks¡¯ impact rang throughout the entire battlefield. Everyone felt fuzzy, and some people almost fainted from the jarring sound. The void had been torn in two, and there was an incredibly eye-catching spatial tear that seemed to stretch out forever like a bolt of lightning.

    Lu Yin kept his eyes glued to Zhou Tang and managed to see the man st a hole through the enormous corpse king¡¯s fist and to the creature¡¯s elbow. Cracks spread out across almost half of the corpse king¡¯s body. However, Zhou Tang himself spat out a bit of blood as well, and there was more blood dripping from his body. It was clear that he had suffered the more severe injuries. Regardless, someone whose strength was greatly inferior to the corpse king¡¯s had been able to seriously damage the creature through brute force and aurelian force.

    The massive corpse king spun around and mmed a palm towards Zhou Tang. Just when Lu Yin was about to make a move, Zhou Tang lowered his head, and his left arm shed upwards through the air. His action caused a wild whirlwind to blow upwards towards the monstrous corpse king. The ground shattered where the wind passed over, and the second half of the corpse king¡¯s body cracked before crumbling apart.

    Fresh blood sttered everywhere, painting both the ins and Zhou Tang red.

    Lu Yin promised himself that he would never forget what he had just witnessed for the rest of his life. He had just seen a man who was practically indomitable, a man who possessed a peerless authority.

    This man¡¯s presence and bearing demanded respect.

    Battle force was the embodiment of ambition. Those who cultivated battle force had to enjoy fighting itself and also possessing a powerful ambition and spirit, which was what battle force constituted from. This ambition and spirit had toe from within the cultivator themselves, but it could also be rooted in their faith in humanity or their own personal ambitions. This ephemeral force was capable of both attacking or defending, and it allowed a person to ovee their limits, tear through the sky, and break through the void. And in addition, to Lu Yin, it was invincibility itself.

    Just when everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Zhou Tang, a current of energy struck out from behind Marquis Green Bamboo. It was the Divine Martial Armor¡¯s energy.

    Marquis Green Bamboo whipped around, his eyes piercingly sharp. ¡°Xia Yan, as a general, don¡¯t you find it embarrassing to ambush someone?¡±

    While speaking, the marquis raised a hand and caused the Divine Martial Armor¡¯s energy to suddenly vanish. Right after that, Marquis Green Bamboo and Xia Yan both disappeared.

    Colonel Zuo let out a sigh of relief; the general had finally arrived, and the battlefield would stabilize. ¡°Immediately repair the sourcebox array and then start repairing the teleportation device.¡±

    After speaking, he looked over towards Zhou Tang.

    Zhou Tang¡¯s head was still hung low, which caused Colonel Zuo to frown. That man had overused his aurelian force, which meant that he would no longer be of any use on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin hastened over to Zhou Tang, but there was someone else who moved even quicker. It was the Envoy swordsman.

    As Lu Yin was making his way towards Zhou Tang, he suddenly heard a voice call out, ¡°Long Qi, immediately move to the teleportation device. No dys can be risked. Hurry!¡±

    It was Xia Yan¡¯s voice. Lu Yin looked around and saw that quite a few people were rushing towards the teleportation device. Why had Xia Yan asked him to do the same?

    High above everyone else, Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s figure appeared before almost instantly disappearing once more. He then said, ¡°Xia Yan, how dare a junior like you challenge me? Can someone like you measure up to the countless years of experience that I have umted?¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯reparing years, then not even the Xia family¡¯s ancestors canpare to you, but do you dare topare yourself to those living in the Dominion Realm?¡± Xia Yan refuted.

    ¡°I may not be able topare to Progenitors, but you? You pose no threat to me. The second array base¡¯s headquarters isn¡¯t doing so well right now either, is it?¡± Marquis Green Bamboo said casually. He appeared to bepletely rxed.

    Despite the calm conversation being held by the two men, the void exploding around them was proof of the exact opposite. They were actually standing at the center of the most intense portion of the entire battlefield, and even Colonel Zuo was afraid to move closer.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re nning, but so what? Just try me,¡± Xia Yan growled in challenge.

    Above the metallic ins of the second forward basecamp, the broken sword suddenly began to tremble as it synchronized with the void. Another Xia Yan appeared. He was using the Xia family¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Lu Yin caught a glimpse of that moment.

    Xia Yan¡¯s clone scanned the battlefield from above, and he saw Lu Yin still standing in ce, so he loudly shouted, ¡°Go NOW!¡±

    Lu Yin looked over towards Zhou Tang, only to realize that the two men were still standing in ce. Had Xia Yan not given the two powerhouses the same orders as everyone else?

    ¡°Brother Zhou, was that really necessary?¡± the Envoy swordsman let out a sigh.

    Zhou Tang coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to speak. ¡°I will not¡­ embarrass¡­ the¡­ Lu family.¡±

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved. He had to take Zhou Tang away.

    At that same moment, another pair of scarlet eyes opened beyond the void. Their appearance sent chills running down Colonel Zuo¡¯s spine. ¡°General! It¡¯s Marquis Midday.¡±

    Xia Yan was shocked. He maintained a tight grip on the hilt of the broken sword and nced down at Lu Yin onest time. After that, he discarded all hesitation and shed the broken de across the metallic ins, only avoiding the teleportation device¡¯s location. After the sword sliced through the entire metal in, it subsequently trembled before falling down towards the New World below.

    By the time Lu Yin managed to reach Zhou Tang¡¯s side with the Ce Secret Art, the second forward basecamp was already falling. He lifted his head to look at Xia Yan, only to see Xia Yan entering the void along with the broken sword. At that sight, the Envoy swordsman turned as white as a sheet of paper. ¡°This is bad. We¡¯ve been abandoned.¡±

    The second forward basecamp fell down extremely quickly. There were multiple Envoys who wanted to enter the void to escape and return to the teleportation device, but all such attempts failed; another giant corpse king showed up and stopped everyone.

    Since everyone had been abandoned, it was considered impossible for any of them to return.

    The second forward basecamp plummeted and began to fracture as Lu Yin subconsciously held onto Zhou Tang. The Envoy was already injured, so Lu Yin could not allow the man to be swept away by the raging winds.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the swordsman asked as he stared at Lu Yin. The youth was tight holding onto Zhou Tang as they fell.

    Zhou Tang raised his head to look at Lu Yin, and he studied Lu Yin with tired eyes.

    Lu Yin answered quietly, ¡°There¡¯s no point speaking about such things right now. Rather, where are we falling to?¡±

    ¡°The New World,¡± Zhou Tang answered in a hoarse voice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. ¡°The New World? There should be humans there, right?¡±

    Closeby, a corpse king charged forward to attack Lu Yin, but the Envoy swordsman shed it in half without even looking as he replied, ¡°You should be thinking about how you can keep yourself alive. There¡¯s no way there are any humans where we¡¯re headed, just corpse kings. We¡¯re all already dead.¡±

    Lu Yin went pale, and he then squeezed his cosmic ring. Master, please give me strength!

    Given the strength of the cultivators fighting on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, the impact from theirnding would not be enough to harm them much. However, just as the swordsman had said, the true threat that they would face was not from the fall or the impact, but rather from the endless number of corpse kings that would surround them .

    After quite a while, there was a deafening thud as the ground cracked apart. They had crashed into the lowerndmass, and the impact sent shockwaves rippling out in every direction and destroying countless creatures.

    Even though the cultivators who defending the second forward basecamp would not be injured from thendmass striking the New World, there had still been corpse kings and terror ants with them as they had fell down.

    Such creatures had no fear of death since they could not even understand the concept of pain. Even as the second forward basecamp cracked and shattered into pieces, the monsters continued attacking, and they managed to kill quite a number of humans at that moment.

    Fortunately, when Xia Yan''s clone had sliced through the second forward basecamp with the broken sword, he had specifically sliced through the void as well, killing off all of the Envoy level corpse kings with his own strength as a Semi-Progenitor. That had at least allowed the experts from the Star Alliance to regain control of the situation during the fall.

    The Envoy realm swordsman and the nearby Star Alliance members all attacked as one, and they eliminated all of the corpse kings and ants that had fallen with them within the time that it took half a stick of incense to burn.

    Lu Yin took advantage of the opportunity when the Envoys were ughtering the corpse kings to look around. He saw an endless maroon mountain range,s revolving around the mountains, boiling red seawater, and odd gases that gave him a sense of danger.

    Was this the New World?

    The universe was a cruel ce, and it was not easy for ordinary humans to find hospitables. The New World was clearly not a ce meant for humans to live. Lu Yin was even able to sense that toxins permeated the air that were so strong that ordinary humans could not survive for more than a second.

    "Is this the rumored New World? It''s over. We''re all done for. We''re going to die," an male Enlighter whispered to himself in a corner. His face had gonepletely pale, and his eyes radiated thick fear.

    Elsewhere, many people were trying to climb up the crumbled ruins of the second forward basecamp. They were surrounded by nothing but deste, maroon mountain ranges, while up above them stood the enormous second array base. Even though the second array base was sorge that it was connected to the Mother Tree, all that they could see from their vantage point down below was a mere shadow.

    "There are rumors that the New World is those monsters¡¯ yground. They¡¯ve built cities here, and they¡¯ve modeled the whole ce after the Perennial World itself. This is the enemy¡¯s forward basecamp,¡± someone blurted in terror.

    His words stirred up even more fear amongst everyone.

    Lu Yin extended his domain to his limits, and his expression soon stiffened.

    ¡°Defend!¡± he warned.

    There were countless corpse kings closing in on them from all directions. What the Envoy swordsman had mentioned turned out to be true; they really had fallen into a ce where they were surrounded by corpse kings.

    The battle did not let up for even a moment for the human forces, as corpse kings streamed towards them in an endless horde andunched all-out attacks against the humans.

    An estimated tens of thousands of people had fallen with the second forward basecamp, and a few Envoys had already dealt with the corpse kings and ants that had fallen with them. Everyone else gathered into a defensive formation that protected them from all directions so that they could resist the attacks from the endless corpse kings.

    Golden battle force twined around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and after he raised his hand, he emptied out arge area of corpse kings with a Vacuum Palm. The power of his Vacuum Palm was iparable to his other attacks.

    The corpse kings that raced towards the humans could notpare to the monsters that had assaulted the second forward basecamp, but that was only if onepared the monsters¡¯ average strength. The asional Envoy level corpse king still showed up from time to time, and those monsters were dealt with by the powerhouses from the Star Alliance.

    The wounded all fell back to the center of the circle to be protected by the others, and that was where Zhou Tang had been left. He had not moved a single muscle after they had fallen to the New World. He would not be able to recover any time soon after overexhausting his battle force earlier.

    Seeing countless pairs of scarlet eyes staring straight at him caused Lu Yin''s scalp to go numb from fear. Stars revolved around him, and then 726 stars exploded towards the corpse kings. Lu Yin perfectly defended the area that he had been given, and he did not allow even a single corpse king to pass by. The young man actually did better than many of the Envoys from the Star Alliance.

    One dayter, countless corpses filled thend around them, and the circle of humans that had fallen down with Lu Yin had shrunk by a noticeable amount. Many of theirrades had died, which had left them with no choice but to fall back and shrink their circle.

    There was a loud swoosh, and countless stone pirs shot up from beneath the ground. Lu Yin stepped forward with a foot, and he stomped down to shatter the ground. Fissures cracked open in the ground and spread far away. As that happened, he raised a hand to attack with a Vacuum Palm once again. He managed to clear out arge number of corpse kings this way.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s expression tensed, and he turned to look some distance away, where he saw a cultivator who had been defending another area, just like Lu Yin. The man was attacking the corpse kings with his full strength even though half of his body was missing. Before long, another cultivator took the man¡¯s ce to join the bloodbath.

    "Fall back!" shouted an Envoy. Right after he shouted, the void began to churn, and a blood-red w scratched down the entire length of the powerhouse¡¯s arm, and two other humans instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to retreat, watching as yet another group of people died during their desperate fight.

 Chapter 1505: New World

    Chapter 1505: New World

    A second day passed, then a third, and then a fourth. People constantly perished, and the defenders¡¯ numbers dwindled from their initial tens of thousands of cultivators to barely two thousand. Despite that, there seemed to be no end to the corpse kings flooding in towards the defenders from all directions.

    Lu Yin could not understand just where all of these corpse kings wereing from. He thought back to what he had seen in Aeternus Nation, and he felt that the corpse kings that he was currently fighting against must have been modified, as there was no other way to ount for such numbers.

    A corpse king could truly live forever, and with the passage of countless years, Lu Yin did not dare to even imagine just how many corpse kings had to exist.

    Lu Yin retreated to the middle of the defensive circle, allowing others to take his ce. He had already been fighting for five consecutive days, and he was beyond exhausted.

    There was a ng, and a long sword fell down from the void, and stabbed into the ground, where it stood firm. The Envoy swordsman had appeared, and he sat down in exhaustion and stared off into the distance with a look of despair on his face.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯sing to save us, are they?¡± asked Lu Yin.

    The swordsman nced at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Long Qi,¡± replied Lu Yin. At this time, there was no longer a need for him to hide his fake identity.

    ¡°I¡¯m Che Zhan,¡±1 the swordsman replied.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled for a moment. Che Zhan?2

    ¡°Everyone in the Star Alliance hates the four ruling powers. My Che family was once a family in the Middle Realm, but because we expressed our dissatisfaction with the four ruling powers at some point in time, our family was exiled to this battlefield. As for me, since I was the only Envoy in the Che family, I was forced to join the Star Alliance. Honestly, I despise all of the four ruling powers to the point of disgust,¡± Che Zhan exined.

    Lu Yin stayed silent.

    ¡°However, you¡¯re different.¡± Che Zhan openly smiled as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I saw you turn back even when so many others were running towards the teleportation device after hearing General Xia Yan¡¯s order. You¡¯re someone from the White Dragon n, and you have such an amazing talent that there¡¯s no way you didn¡¯t receive the evacuation orders. However, you turned back for us. What was going through your mind at that moment?¡±

    Che Zhan was very curious.

    Lu Yin looked past Che Zhan and towards Zhou Tang, who was peacefully leaning against a stone wall. ¡°I wanted to save him.¡±

    Che Zhan was unfazed by this response. ¡°I can see that much, but why?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered uncertainly, and he did not answer.

    Zhou Tang looked over towards the two who were talking and stared straight at Lu Yin.

    ¡°He¡¯s a former retainer of the Lu family, but as for you, you¡¯re from the White Dragon n,¡± Che Zhan pressed, clearly confused.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Not everyone from the four ruling powers is bad.¡±

    Che Zhanughed and looked over at Zhou Tang, who was alsoughing. For someone who had been so incredibly dispirited when Lu Yin had first seen him, Zhou Tang was able to show his carefree side even after having unleashed the matchless force of his aurelian force. His smile wasforting, and it soothed everyone else¡¯s hearts.

    At that moment, someone in the distance shouted, ¡°Hey, Che-fellow! What the hell are youughing at? I¡¯m about to be done in here!¡±

    Che Zhan stretched out his hand to grab the hilt of his sword, and he stood up as he said, ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming. What¡¯re you rushing me for? We¡¯re all going to die sooner orter no matter what.¡±

    He then turned to look back at Lu Yin. You really are different from the others in the four ruling powers.¡±

    With that, he leaped forward and yelled, ¡°Your old man¡¯sing!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled softly. Of course he was different; he was not actually a part of the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin shifted his focus back to Zhou Tang, and asked with open curiosity, ¡°Is aurelian force the highest level of battle force?¡±

    Zhou Tang had a rather peaceful expression on his face. ¡°Do I look like someone who¡¯s reached the peak?¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. Sure enough, Zhou Tang¡¯s battle force could notpare to the strength of someone who had survived five tribtions, and that was even after the man had surpassed his limits. He could notpare to Semi-Progenitors, and there were still Progenitors above those powerhouses.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you,¡± Zhou Tangmented as he met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, ¡°The acting Gate Master of Humility¡¯s Gate. You¡¯ve made quite the name for yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯ve also offended quite a few people.¡±

    ¡°Why were you so intent on saving me?¡± Zhou Tang asked.

    Lu Yin casually responded, ¡°We¡¯re about to die, so why bother asking such a question?¡±Zhou Tang furrowed his brow. Just as he was about to ask another question, he observed Lu Yin¡¯s face and sawplicated emotions as well as something else hiding deep in the youth¡¯s eyes. The kid was right; there was no meaning in asking that question at this moment, and it was fine to not receive an answer. At the very least, Zhou Tang had been able to see the shadow of his young master in this Long Qi.

    Lu Yin had not expected Zhou Tang topletely drop his questions, especially since Lu Yin had not even put any thought into his attempt to brush the Envoy¡¯s question off. With Zhou Tang dropping his own questions, how was Lu Yin supposed to ask about matters concerning the Lu family?

    ¡°Retreat! Move back!¡± Someone shouted at the top of his lungs from afar. The defensive circle formed by the defending humans shrank yet again. Everyone¡¯s faces betrayed the despair that they were feeling, and many even looked at their deadrades with envy, as they had been spared the agony of such despair.

    Lu Yin stood up and prepared to move. He was among the most powerful fighters remaining, and if he utilized his full strength, he would most likely be the most powerful person present until Zhou Tang recovered his strength.

    ¡°Are there really no humans in the New World?¡± Lu Yin asked as he nced at Zhou Tang.

    Zhou Tang solemnly replied, ¡°There are. There is one troop of humans who publicly asserts their presence as the City Wall down here. They are the Perennial World¡¯s foothold in the New World, and they are also humanity¡¯s hope of reiming the New World. The city is the reason why the New World has notpletely fallen to the monsters yet.¡±

    Lu Yin looked away; was there really only one army? In that case, then where were the Upper Three Gates? He had been absolutely certain that it stood in the New World.

    Unfortunately, even if Lu Yin learned of the Upper Three Gates¡¯s exact location, there was no way he could use them to return. More monsters were still waiting on the other side of the Upper Three Gates, and in numbers sufficient enough topletely overrun the Sixth Maind.

    Ten days passed, and Lu Yin and the others continued to retreat. Only a few hundred fortunate survivors remained, and they were still surrounded by countless corpse kings.

    If this situation persisted, all of them would die in less than half a month.

    Lu Yin stared at the innumerable corpse kings that were still charging towards them from the distance. It looked like he was plotting something.

    At this moment, Che Zhan¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Everyone, follow me.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look at the Envoy, and Che Zhan continued, ¡°All of you, hide underground!¡±

    Everyone in the group had be numb and were merely awaiting their deaths, so no one paid any attention to the man.

    Che Zhan roared louder, ¡°Even if you¡¯re about to die, it¡¯s better to kill more monsters before you go! Do it for the sake of the Perennial World, your family, and your friends! You guys are all cultivators¡ªdon¡¯t you have a backbone?¡±

    His words roused the spirits of the survivors even though it was not anything that was even close to a motivational speech. However, in such desperate times, these words were what people needed to hear.

    With the help of two Star Alliance Envoys blocking the corpse kings, the survivors slowly made their way underground.

    Zhou Tang descended as well.

    Che Zhan moved over next to Lu Yin and said, ¡°We¡¯ve already talked things over, and everyone will take turns guarding the entrance to the underground section. For people who own power vessels, they¡¯ll be more effective against the monsters if they¡¯re used in a coordinated manner rather than aimed in various directions.¡±

    The man looked straight at Lu Yin and as his eyes filled with a murderous intent, dered, ¡°Even if we¡¯re going to die, we¡¯ll be dragging down more of those monsters along with us!¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll stand guard first, so you head on in.¡±

    With Che Zhan and a few others standing guard, Lu Yin moved underground.

    Although they referred to their destination as underground, they were actually entering a crack that had formed when the metal ins of the second forward basecamp had crashed into the New World. That particr piece of metal had been incredibly tough, and even Enlighters would struggle to leave a scratch on it.

    After more than half a month of fighting in the New World, the humans had only encountered three corpse kings with the strength of an Envoy. The average strength of the monsters in the New World was much lower than those that had attacked the second forward base camp, which meant that the survivors were practically safe so long as they stayed underground.

    Everyone was exhausted beyond their limits, and no one had any energy to make conversation. Each of them leaned against the walls while gasping for breath.

    After Che Zhan entered the fissure, another man moved out to take over defending the entrance and was instantly confronted by countless corpse kings.

    ¡°I know that all of us are destined to die here, but if there somehow happen to be a lucky few who make it through this alive and even see the day when the New World is reimed by humanity, please erect a memorial here. As I await that day, I¡¯ll fight to my death right here!¡± The man who stood at the entrance yelled loudly while facing the mass of corpse kings.

    Lu Yin did not know the man¡¯s name, and he had only heard someone else address the man as Brother Hong. He was another Envoy from the Star Alliance.

    There were seven Envoys from the Star Alliance who had fallen down with the second forward basecamp, including Zhou Tang. At the moment, five of them were still alive.

    Zhou Tang, Che Zhan, Brother Hong, an old woman who everyone called Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains, and a well-mannered middle-aged man whom everyone called Mr. Guo. They were the five surviving Envoys.

    Brother Hong took something out of his cosmic ring and used it on the countless corpse kings standing outside the crevice where they had taken refuge. A terrifying shockwave exploded out, and the ground trembled for at least an hour.

    Lu Yin nced outside to see what was happening. The power vessel that Brother Hong had used clearly had not been stronger than the walnut-shaped power vessels that Lu Yin had used in the past, but it hadsted for a much longer amount of time.

    There was a shing sound, and Brother¡¯s Hong abdomen was suddenly pierced through by a strange weapon. Che Zhan immediately shot forward, and he pushed Brother Hong back inside while moving to stand outside the entrance.

    It was Che Zhan¡¯s turn to stand guard.

    Brother Hong had eliminated an endless number of corpse kings, and Che Zhan was responsible for clearing out the remnants after Brother Hong had aplished his part. After both of them were done, the number of corpse kings near the crevice would drop significantly, and Che Zhan would be able to stand guard for a longer period of time. He would only use his own power vessel after the corpse kings had gathered again in sufficient numbers before attacking.

    Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains took her turn after Che Zhan.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes in order to rest. This was thest time that he would be able to rest peacefully. Once the Envoys used up the rest of their power vessels, they would be faced with an unending horde of corpse kings.

    Perhaps it was time to summon Mister Mu. If Lu Yin left this ce, then it he might also be able to take some people away with him.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Shenwu¡¯s Sky, I wouldn¡¯t be sitting here waiting for death. Just because I had a few disagreements with some of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s disciples, I was forcefully drafted to this battlefield. Seriously, what the fuck!¡± Someone spoke up and began an unrestrained rant that involved profuse cursing. Since the man was about to die, he intended to voice all of his suppressed grievances, especially those that he had not dared to speak of in the past.

    Someone else quickly responded, ¡°I pissed off the Wang family regarding the ownership of some resources. I should¡¯ve just given it up! To think that I was so greedy as to fight them over some resources! I was so full of myself. It''s no wonder why those assholes said that I would never even get the chance to get revenge against them.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. The Wang family was stealing resources, as were all of the four ruling powers. My entire body was searched when I visited the Higher Realm, and on what grounds? Why are they allowed to do that? How is the Higher Realm any different from the Middle Realm in the past? Ever since the four ruling powers took control of the Higher Realm, they¡¯vee to see themselves as a level above the rest of us, but have they ever reached the same level as the Lu family? Not even the Lu family was so arrogant!¡± another person grumbled in a foul tone.

    ¡°To hell with the four ruling powers! Just how many people on this battlefield were forced to this ce by those people? My entire family was exiled here, and all of them are most likely dead by now.¡± Someone else continued to air further grudges, and his eyes flushed red as he spoke of his grievances.

    Those who had managed to survive for so long were not ordinary cultivators. At a nce, even the weakest among them was a Hunter at the very least. All of them were capable of suppressing their energy well, and all of them were able to keep themselves alive. There were also Envoys and Enlighters among them, and while everyone was wallowing in despair at the prospect of an unending battle, they had maintained their determination throughout all this. Still, with death just a step away, who could continue putting up a stoic facade while remembering their family and their life?

    Both men and women spoke up. At this veryst moment of their lives, nothing else mattered any longer. There were some who muttered to themselves, others who mourned, and even a few who cursed their hearts out while releasing all of the emotions that they had bottled up so far.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let me get out of this ce alive, or else I¡¯ll surely crush the four ruling powers!¡± The man who had spoken up first suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs.

    Immediately following that, another person echoed the first man¡¯s sentiment. ¡°Brother, count me in! I¡¯ll exterminate the Wang family!¡±

    ¡°Count me in as well! All I did was peep at a female disciple from the Celestial Frost Sect while she was bathing, and yet they actually tossed me here to this battlefield for it! I¡¯m going to ughter the Celestial Frost Sect!¡±

    Many people suddenly fell silent at that, as this person¡¯s motivation for revenge was quite vulgar.

    [1] Boring name. Means Carriage + Fight. ?

    [2] Just a y on words. Lu Yin is hearing Che Zhan = Rest + Stop. ?

 Chapter 1506: Desolate

    Chapter 1506: Deste

    ¡°Count me in, even though I wasn¡¯t thrown here by the four ruling powers. The Purple-Gold family were the ones who did this to me, and those stupid colored birds are basically a part of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.¡±

    ¡°I came here of my own free will, but I can¡¯t stand for it seeing the tactics that the four ruling powers employ any more than all of you. All of us here arerades, and if we get out of here one day, I¡¯ll help you guys.¡±

    ¡°Haha, we¡¯ll stomp on the four ruling powers if we manage to get out of this alive! We¡¯re gonna take on the masters of this Perennial World!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, how heroic, Brother.¡±

    ¡°Heroic indeed.¡±

    ¡­

    Even Che Zhan ended up getting excited along with everyone else. ¡°Well said! Everyone sitting here, along with all those who already sacrificed themselves, are brothers and sisters no matter what! When there are joys, we share. And when there is suffering, we will brave through it together.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we be sworn siblings and pledge to live and die as one?¡± someone suggested.

    ¡°What the heck? Is there even a need for that? We¡¯re already facing a life and death situation together! Brothers, speak your desires if you have any. Any who survive will help you aplish them after making it out of here.¡±

    ¡°I want to overthrow the Wang family!¡±

    ¡°I want to turn Shenwu¡¯s Sky upside down!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to roast those colored birds!¡±

    ¡°I want to peep at a hundred bathing girls in the Celestial Frost Sect!¡±

    ¡­

    Since they were enjoying what were essentially thest moments of their lives, there were some people who became numb to their fate while others grew iparably excited. Their agitation only grew as they voiced their suppressed desires.

    Lu Yin stood up, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He then moved the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains inside of the crevice as he took her ce to stand guard at the entrance. He turned around and smiled at everyone. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll all survive.¡±

    The crowd was universally stunned. Even though they had been speaking with such heated emotions just a moment ago, none of them had ever thought that their ambitious wishes could be anything more than a pipe dream.

    ¡°Right, my name is Long Qi, so remember to keep me out of things when you guys overthrow the four ruling powers.¡± After speaking, Lu Yin took out the Deste Array sourcebox array. It was finally time to put this thing to good use.

    What exactly did ¡°deste¡± mean? When Lu Yin had first descended into the New World, he had seen the maroon mountains, the redke, and an endless number of corpse kings. These features did not make the ce deste, for true destion was lifelessness. It was something that was even deprived of colors.

    After the Deste Array was activated, for an untold distance, in all directions, the surroundings were enveloped by the power of the sourcebox array, and the region was transformed into a barrennd. The ground that had originally been maroon and stained red by blood suddenly turned gray as it cracked to form a dry and destend.

    As for the corpse kings, all of them hadpletely vanished.

    No one here could surpass Lu Yin in terms of sourcebox arrays. Highsage Grandmaster had given him the Deste Array, and it was capable of unleashing an attack that surpassed the all out attack of an expert with a power level of more than 800,000. Additionally, because it was a sourcebox, it covered an incredibly vast area, and its destruction was also across that entire area, which even surpassed what Zhou Tang was capable of with his aurelian force.

    Lu Yin had just released the most terrifying sourcebox array that he had ever witnessed.

    ¡°Look, the monsters are gone,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Everyone stared outside in a daze. It¡­ it was true. They were really gone.

    Che Zhan blinked his eyes multiple times. ¡°Kid, if you had such an impressive sourcebox array this whole time, why didn¡¯t you bring it out earlier?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°This sourcebox array attacks in all directions, so if I¡¯d used it earlier, all of you would have died. If you hadn¡¯t suggested for us to hide underground, this sourcebox array would have never been a realistic option.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± Che Zhan agreed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was aching at this moment. Ever since he had stepped foot on this battlefield behind the Mother Tree, he had gone through his treasured items at an unprecedented rate. He had been constantly using them without any opportunity to restore his inventory, which was a disturbing feeling.

    Mr. Guo, who had rarely spoken thus far, said, ¡°It¡¯s no use. There are corpse kings everywhere, so even if one horde is dealt with, another will soon show up.¡±

    ¡°At least we have a chance to catch our breath for a bit,¡± said Brother Hong solemnly.

    Everyone else also heaved sighs of relief, and they stopped carelessly venting their suppressed emotions like before. Even the Envoys were just too exhausted; what they needed more than anything at this moment was rest.

    ¡°Mr. Guo, when will more of the corpse kings arrive?¡± Zhou Tang asked.

    Mr. Guo shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It will take time for the corpse kings to gather up again. These corpse kings aren¡¯t just brainless monsters¡ªthey¡¯re actually being controlled by experts, and to those powerhouses, we¡¯re nothing but a flock of sheep awaiting ughter. They can toy with us however they want.¡±

    His words sounded cruel, but they were also very true.

    ¡°Little brother, it¡¯s my turn.¡± Mr. Guo stood and walked to the entrance.

    ¡°All I did was use a sourcebox array just now, and I didn¡¯t suffer any injuries. I can keep going.¡±

    Mr. Guo gave Lu Yin a small smile, and the older man looked at the youth in admiration. ¡°Head on in and rest. You¡¯ve done enough. After all, you¡¯ve barely rested since everything started. Let us old people stand ourst watch.¡±

    ¡°Long Qi,e on back and take a break. Mr. Guo never goes back on his word,¡± Che Zhan told Lu Yin.

    Feeling quite grateful, Lu Yin said, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    After he returned to the underground crevice, Lu Yin was met with Che Zhan¡¯s envious eyes. ¡°Just as expected of someone from one of the four ruling powers. To think that you had a sourcebox array of such power!¡±

    ¡°I was given that by Humility¡¯s Gate,¡± Lu Yin responded.

    Che Zhan was shocked. ¡°Humility¡¯s Gate? You¡¯re a part of Humility¡¯s Gate?¡±

    ¡°Long Qi, the acting Gate Master of Huiyuan Gate. He¡¯s the same person who exposed the former Gate Masters, the Guan brothers, as Redbacks. He also exposed the sect master of the Smokecloud Sect, Yun Mubai. You did all of that, right?¡± Everyone was shocked at Brother Hong¡¯s sudden list of Lu Yin¡¯s exploits.

    If the four ruling powers were universally hated for their schemes and overbearing methods, then Humility¡¯s Gate stood at the other end of the spectrum, receiving the admiration of countless people. In particr, after all the years that Humility¡¯s Gate had spent arresting traitors and Redbacks, Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s contributions to the human race could not be overlooked, even if they did asionally arrest people without just cause. The Perennial World would be suffering much more without Humility¡¯s Gate.

    Lu Yin modestly replied, ¡°I just got lucky.¡±

    Che Zhan eximed, ¡°I remember now! I once heard that the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family helped raise up Humility¡¯s Gate, and he even risked bing an enemy of all four ruling powers to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback. That matter kicked up a huge uproar within the four ruling powers, and it even caused them to send down a Semi-Progenitor to capture the kid. So all of that was you?¡±

    Lu Yin just responded with a small smile.

    ¡°You dare to do things that others don¡¯t, which deserves respect,¡± Brother Hong said loudly.

    The Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains looked at Lu Yin in a very serious manner as she said, ¡°You have my respect as well. The Cloud Shuttle isn¡¯t a ce that anybody is allowed to mess with, and the Smokecloud Sect is even more protected. Against such a monster, it¡¯d be easy for anyone to die the moment they let their guard down. It¡¯s quite impressive that you were able to aplish such feats given the unfavorable situation that you were ced in.¡±

    The man who had been the first to yell about wanting to overthrow Shenwu¡¯s Sky also praised Lu Yin, ¡°Bro, you have my respect. I¡¯m nothing but talk, but you¡¯ve actually made a statement with your actions.¡±

    ¡°We respect you.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly looked bitter. ¡°It¡¯s because of that that I¡¯m about to be expelled from the White Dragon n.¡±

    As he spoke, his attitude changed a bit. ¡°But nevermind that. It¡¯s just the White Dragon n. I, Long Qi, can still live a good life as a part of Humility¡¯s Gate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! The four ruling powers are despicable. You¡¯re better off away from them.¡±

    ¡°Actually, the four ruling powers¡¯ women are quite beautiful¡­¡±

    ¡°Scram to the other side, you pervert.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Long Qi, I remember your name now! You¡¯re Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s heir!¡± someone eximed, sounding like they had just remembered something.

    Everyone initially felt confused, but after a bit, they all remembered the connection that had been publicized, and they stared at Lu Yin in surprise, and their piercing stares gave him feel a great deal of pressure.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as he had believed that everyone had forgotten about that matter.

    ¡°You¡¯re the heir of that mania- No, I mean, of Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?¡± Che Zhan asked Lu Yin, clearly stunned.

    Even Mr. Guo turned around to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips andughed dryly. ¡°Haha¡­ I just found some resources that he left behind. I could never be considered his heir. Absolutely not.¡±

    Che Zhan pped a palm onto Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Brother, you must have a lot of things to worry about on your mind, right?¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, feeling defeated. He had never wanted to be connected to Kui Luo, and he had never expected that this random excuse that he had made up to exin his strength would be such an important matter.

    ¡°Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo was our generation¡¯s role model,¡± one cultivator stated.

    ¡°Scram, pervert,¡± someone else scolded.

    Lu Yin leaned against the wall, exhausted. Before all this, most of the people in this crevice had not known each other, but after spending so much time fighting for their lives together, they had all be familiar with each other. Whoever had said that the battlefield was a ce where people united had certainly understood some things.

    If only Lu Yin could take all of these people back to the Fifth Maind¡­ Everyst one of them was a powerhouse. Wait¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Why couldn¡¯t he do just that? After all, he had Zenith Mountain!

    This was a possibility that Lu Yin had not considered before, but after considering the possibility, he started to get excited at the prospects.

    As he carefully observed hispanions, it was clear that each and every person present had survived an endless ughter on the unending battlefield, and they were all people who had emerged from the hellfire of bloodshed. They were resilient, not prone to despair, and most importantly, they alsopletely hated the four ruling powers. Also, each person respected Lu Yin from the bottom of their heart. All in all, these people were nothing less than perfect allies who had fallen from the sky.

    The more Lu Yin considered this n, the more excited he became, and he started thinking about how he could take everyone away with him.

    ¡°How do you cultivate aurelian force?¡± Lu Yin asked half a dayter, staring at Zhou Tang¡¯s eyes.

    Zhou Tang replied, ¡°Once your spirit has reached the needed level, everything else will fall in ce.¡±

    You don¡¯t say? Even Lu Yin already knew that much.

    The truth was that Lu Yin was much more eager to ask Zhou Tang about the Lu family, but since he was trying to take everyone away with him, there were certain details that were best kept secret for the moment.

    Instead, bored, Lu Yin asked, ¡°What¡¯s Mr. Guo like?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a teacher,¡± Che Zhan replied instantly, though the answer left Lu Yin confused.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Che Zhan exined, ¡°Just like I said, he¡¯s a teacher. Hees from the All-Dao family.¡±

    ¡°The All-Dao family?¡± Lu Yin had never heard of them.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s confusion, Che Zhan grew curious. ¡°You don¡¯t know about the All-Dao family?¡±

    It seemed that the family¡¯s existence wasmon knowledge, and if Lu Yin had recently arrived in the Perennial World, he would make sure to cover up his ignorance, but his facade was no longer needed.

    He shook his head and bluntly replied, ¡°No.¡±

    Che Zhan found this to be odd, but he nheless still tried to exin. ¡°The All-Dao family was one of the few families that was subordinate to the Lu family, and in the past, they had a territory in the Higher Realm. Sadly, after the Lu family¡¯s exile, arge portion of the All-Dao family also disappeared. Now, only a small number of them are still around, and Mr. Guo is a teacher from the All-Dao family.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, understanding that there was another former retainer of the Lu family in this group. Who knew how many of the Lu family¡¯s former retainers still lived in the Perennial World? If Lu Yin were to reveal his true identity, there was no telling how many people would search him out, or even die while seeking him.

    Unless he was absolutely certain that things would stabilize after such an announcement, he absolutely could not reveal his identity. Doing so would only implicate and harm more innocent people.

    Two days passed, and there were still no signs of movement in the area around them. Finally, on the third day, Mr. Guo called out, ¡°They¡¯reing.¡±

    He spoke calmly, as though he had been expecting this moment.

    Everyone could feel tremors reverberating through the ground as something moved closer. Curious, they all moved to peer outside. Were the monsters arriving? It seemed like they were standing at the threshold of death.

    Lu Yin also moved to look outside. Since he had already decided that he would take everyone back to the Fifth Maind, he felt that he ought to do more to help them. His previous efforts were not enough.

    Unexpectedly, the countless corpse kings did not instantly charge straight towards the humans. Instead, they stopped a few hundred meters away.

    For the monsters, a few hundred meters could be covered in an instant.

    Mr. Guo¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re cautious of our powerful vessels. How clever.¡±

    Brother Hong quietly said, ¡°Even those monsters aren¡¯t willing to expend the resources necessary to continuously wear us down like they were doing before. Our power vessels must have caused too much damage to them, and so they¡¯re now going to send out some real powerhouses in order to deal with us.¡±

    Mr. Guo suddenly snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t jinx us!¡±

    Brother Hong¡¯s eye twitched as a corpse king appeared in the distance, followed by a second one. Soon, a fifth appeared. All five of these corpse kings had the strength of an Envoy, and one of them let out a loud growl before aggressively charging towards the humans. Faster than the blink of an eye, the creature appeared in front of Mr. Guo. Its body was covered with a brown sheen that seemed to be some sort of barrier as it brutally smashed itself into Mr. Guo.

    Mr. Guo¡¯s expression remained the same as before, though a wooden ruler had appeared in his hand and spun around his fingers, smacking the corpse king back. At that moment, the void twisted, and an incredible power tore through space, sending both Mr. Guo and the corpse king into the true universe.

    The others were unable to clearly see what had happened, as only powerhouses with the strength of an Envoy or beyond were able to observe a battle in the true universe.

    Lu Yin dripped a bit of gemspring water into his eyes in order to watch, though he did not have much of it left. As soon as he looked at where the twobatants were fighting within the true universe, Lu Yin saw Mr. Guo subdue the corpse king.

 Chapter 1507: Flaming Ink Secret Technique

    Chapter 1507: ming Ink Secret Technique

    From what Lu Yin had seen thus far, Mr. Guo was the second strongest expert among the Star Alliance Envoys, and he only stood beneath Zhou Tang. The older man¡¯s ability to suppress star energy indicated that he was someone who had survived through three stellr tribtions, which meant that his power level was higher than 700,000. On the other hand, the corpse king that had attacked only had a power level of around 500,000. Even though the creature was immune to pain and fearless of death, it was still no match for Mr. Guo.

    In just a moment, both of the corpse king¡¯s arms had been severed by Mr. Guo¡¯s wooden ruler.

    Even Lu Yin felt shocked when he saw the wooden ruler take action. As expected of a teacher, even his weapon was something special.

    The corpse king was clearly losing, so another corpse king immediately dashed forward to join the fight. Both of the corpse kings worked together to fight against Mr. Guo. The second corpse king was even stronger than the first, but more importantly, it was able to undergo a corpse king Transformation.

    As the creature¡¯s eyes turned gray, its fist struck out, and the impact not only cracked the metal remnants that had fallen to the New World, but it also shattered Mr. Guo¡¯s wooden ruler.

    Zhou Tang clenched his fists. ¡°Mr. Guo¡¯s forte isn¡¯t battle. Have him use a power vessel.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Guo, use the power vessel!¡± Che Zhan yelled.

    Mr. Guo¡¯s face was flushed red all over, and his blood was racing through his veins. He had clearly been injured, and the loss of his wooden ruler meant that he no longer had a suitable weapon to use. Even condensing a weapon from stellr energy would not be effective against two corpse kings at once. The Envoy was at a disadvantage, and he was being cornered by two corpse kings.

    Brother Hong and Che Zhan both stood up at the same time, ready to help.

    Mr. Guo bellowed, ¡°Since I¡¯m going to die anyway, I¡¯ll take one of them with me! Leave me my pride intact. I will not bring shame to the Thousand Paths family, and especially not to the Lu family!¡±

    Brother Hong and Che Zhan both froze midstep. They gritted their teeth, but there was nothing that they could do aside from watch the fight.

    Mr. Guo was forced back by a p from the gray-eyed corpse king. Not only was this gray-eyed corpse king physically powerful, but it also possessed an odd innate gift that made it extremely difficult for Mr. Guo to defend himself. With a sudden wave of a hand, Mr. Guo threw out a ssh of a ck liquid.

    Poison? Lu Yin was caught off guard, as poison did not seem to match Mr. Guo¡¯s refined bearing.

    ¡°ming Ink Secret Technique.¡± Mr. Guo¡¯s face turned grim.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the ck liquid. ck ink? Was the liquid actually ink? He suddenly thought of Wen Diyi. Lu Yin had found a massive amount of ink in the young man¡¯s cosmic ring in the Dominion Realm; did it have something to do with this secret technique?

    Mr. Guo¡¯s ink clung to the bodies of the two corpse kings and seeped into their flesh. The man became incredibly solemn, and he appeared to age as his appearance grew ordinary. Lu Yin vaguely saw the ink being guided by something, and it seemed to form words. Someone was writing within the void by using the two corpse kings as brushes.

    ¡°Life resembles ink, as both vanish when burned,¡± Mr. Guo said as blood dripped from his lips. In front of him, the gray-eyed corpse king struck the Envoy¡¯s chest, sending the man falling back multiple steps. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked at the two corpse kings before him. The ink was burning their bodies, as though he had just finished a calligraphy session.

    After the mes burned through the ink, the corpse kings¡¯ bodies began to burn as well. Their physical bodies that were supposedly invincible began disintegrating into nothingness along with the ink that was burning away.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, the ming Ink¡­ Secret Technique? Was this secret technique from the Wen family? Or did ite from Virtue Archives?

    Mr. Guo¡¯s face had gone pale, and he knelt down on the ground with one knee. He panted heavily, and there was a vivid palm print on his chest where he had been hit by the corpse king. The imprint was bone-deep, and it was obvious that the man had sustained serious injuries.

    Brother Hong rushed forward, eager to trade ces, only to be stopped by Mr. Guo¡¯s raised hand. ¡°I still have the power vessel.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s enough! Stop pushing yourself! Its clear that these monsters don¡¯t want to suffer any unnecessary losses. The next one that they¡¯ll send is guaranteed to be even more powerful, and it definitely won¡¯t give you an opportunity to use a power vessel!¡± Brother Hong tried to convince hisrade.

    Mr. Guo coughed up even more blood.

    Che Zhan walked over. ¡°Brother Hong, let me handle this.¡±

    Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains also stood up. ¡°I can join this fight too.¡±

    At that moment, another corpse king suddenly raced towards the humans. It stared at them with scarlet eyes, and its gaze drove a spike of fear into everyone¡¯s hearts. It was another corpse king with the strength of an Envoy, but this one¡¯s strength could kick up the winds and scatter the clouds. It was noticeably stronger than the previous two corpse kings.

    Zhou Tang stood. ¡°Let me deal with this one.¡±

    ¡°Half of your foot is already in the grave. Save your efforts,¡± Mr. Guo coughed even as he refused help.

    ¡°You¡¯re not doing much better yourself,¡± Zhou Tang retorted in a mild tone. Unlike his dispirited state when Lu Yin had first seen the man, he seemed rather encouraged now. ¡°Since we¡¯re going to die anyways, I might as well die on a battlefield. Not for the four ruling powers, but for the Perennial World itself!¡±

    The third corpse king had already arrived, and Brother Hong and the others were ready to take action. However, the silhouette of another person suddenly shed in front of them. The figure raised a hand to attack the corpse king while the corpse king raised its own arm to retaliate.

    Bang!

    Violent shockwaves rippled out in all directions, forcing Mr. Guo and the others back into the underground crevice. However, the shockwaves exploded right at the entrance and shot upwards before tearing through the void. At the same time, the ground vibrated from the impact.

    Everyone snapped their heads around to stare at the entrance in shock. Lu Yin was holding the corpse king back.

    Even though Lu Yin had managed to block the corpse king, the corpse king¡¯s powerful counter had also forced him a few steps back. Even though he had the strength to face an Envoy, anyone who had survived a few tribtions would be beyond his current means to confront. Each step in cultivation taken after the Envoy realm was an obstacle that was practically impossible for a normal person to ovee. It was clear to Lu Yin that this corpse king would be a very difficult opponent to defeat at his current level. As for the three meter tall corpse king from before, that one had been an even more impossible task.

    ¡°Since we¡¯ll all be dying anyway, you old farts should take a break,¡± Lu Yin said while ying it cool. He acted like he was having an easy time with the corpse king, and he stood at the entrance to the crevice, blocking off all of the corpse kings.

    Mr. Guo and the rest were moved by the youth¡¯s bravery. None of them feared death, but that still did not mean that they were willing to charge towards it. They had been forced into joining the Star Alliance whereas this Long Qi was someone from the White Dragon n with a high position within Humility¡¯s Gate. Despite his lofty status, he was still courageous enough to stand in front of them and face death without considering his bright future and lofty background. Even Zhou Tang was impressed by the youth¡¯s level of determination and bravery.

    Needless to say, the others were even more awed.

    At that moment, Lu Yin resembled an impassable mountain in their eyes. With such a person standing in front of them and protecting them, they would be safe as long as the mountain stood tall.

    Zhou Tang stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back. This young man was starting to resemble his young master more and more, especially his demeanor.

    Lu Yin stood at the opening to the underground space, and he felt a sharp pain from his hand. shing with the corpse king a moment ago had certainly left him injured. Even with the Cloudguard Robes¡¯ protection, the force from striking the corpse king¡¯s hand had extraordinarily been painful. The corpse king was not just physically tough, as it had also used an innate gift or some strange battle technique that was definitely not a corpse king transformation.

    Across from Lu Yin, the corpse king did not seem to be in no hurry to make a move. Instead, it stood in ce, as though considering something.

    All corpse kings had some degree of intelligence, but humans tended to forget that fact because they would be distracted by the corpse kings¡¯ fearlessness and their disregard for death. The word ¡°intelligence¡± could be seen in every corner of the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. It was not only left behind to remind humans to fight smartly, but also as a reminder that their enemies were intelligent creatures as well and that it would never do to underestimate such creatures.

    Lu Yin himself had certainly never underestimated corpse kings, as he found their means of raising Redbacks something truly mysterious.

    After a while, the corpse king¡¯s hand suddenly rose, which caused Lu Yin to instantly grow wary.

    The corpse king spread its hand open, and a dark gold light shed out right under Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Somehow, the corpse king¡¯s palm attacks were being transformed into a metallic material of some kind, and everyone was able to clearly see the lines in the creature¡¯s palms that it threw at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched a bit. It was no wonder why that corpse king¡¯s first attack had been able to injure him; the creature had an innate gift. However, why had the corpse king openly demonstrated its innate gift for Lu Yin to see?

    There was a whoosh as the corpse king made a move. It once again attacked with both hands at the same time. The full force of its metallic palms stirred up a wave of panic in everyone watching Lu Yin from behind. Aside from Zhou Tang, no one else present could face such a powerful attack head on.

    Golden battle force wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s body as he also lifted his hand to release a full 350 Stacks Vacuum Palm.

    Bang!

    Bang!!

    Bang!!!

    The two opponents¡¯ hands shed multiple times, creating a deafening noise and powerful sound waves each time that caused many of the people underground to spit out blood. Lu Yin, who was the one physically shing against the corpse king, felt a terrible amount of pressure as well. He felt like he was trying to hold up the copsing sky for everyone else. Fortunately, he had already opened his upper meridian point, so even if the vibrations injured him, he was able to quickly heal up.

    However, he was stilling out on the losing end of each exchange.

    There was another loud bang, as the corpse king had exerted even more force in its attack, and Lu Yin had not been able to keep up with the strength of his Vacuum Palm. This gave the corpse king an opportunity to hit Lu Yin in the chest before he could mount any sort of a defense. His chest trembled under the Cloudguard Robes, and he coughed up blood, giving him the appearance of a fallen warrior as he gritted his teeth. Clearly, directly countering the corpse king¡¯s attacks was not going to work in Lu Yin¡¯s favor. Corpse kings already had innately robust bodies, and they were also unable to feel any pain.

    While Lu Yin was considering his situation, he quickly set up a Channeling Diagram, which diverted the power of the corpse king¡¯s strikes away in all directions, sting the nearby region. Each channel of force tore the void open, as each bit of diverted force couldpare to a normal Envoy¡¯s attack. One of the channels diverting the power of the corpse king¡¯s attacks shot straight into the underground crevice, and Che Zhan had to quickly take action and use his sword to mitigate the channeled force. The channel was cut apart, but the sword also cracked. Che Zhan was forced back multiple steps from the force of the impact, and he turned pale.

    Che Zhan was an Envoy himself, and yet he had been forced so far back. The others were not able to even imagine what sort of insane damage Lu Yin was facing aboveground.

    The Channeling Diagram was unable to endure forever, and a palm strike eventually shattered the sourcebox array. Lu Yin then stepped forward and used the Teleportation Formation to appear behind the corpse king, where the youth mmed a palm into the back of the creature¡¯s head.

    The corpse king¡¯s body disappeared, as it had entered the true universe. At the same time, Lu Yin quickly stepped into the true universe himself, and all the colors around him shifted. Only Mr. Guo and the other Envoys were able to observe Lu Yin and his opponent, and none of the others could see anything.

    Within the true universe, the star energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body waspletely suppressed. There was no longer any way for him to use the Teleportation Formation, the Channeling Diagram, or even the Cosmic Art. Any attacks that used star energy were alsopletely useless here. However, for the corpse king, the advantage that its innate gift provided became even more pronounced.

    Lu Yin was helpless. He formed a scythe with his star energy and shed at the corpse king from an odd angle.

    He had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument that allowed him to defeat tens of thousands of opponents. With a scythe in hand, Lu Yin was naturally shrouded with an aura of invincibility.

    From where he was standing underground, Mr. Guo was taken aback. A scythe? It was rare to encounter someone who used such a weapon, but he felt like he had heard of such a thing before.

    As he held the scythe, Lu Yin¡¯s golden battle force surged, and he shed at the corpse king¡¯s chest, tearing open a long wound. Unbothered, the creature retaliated with a palm strike at Lu Yin¡¯s head. Lu Yin calmly spun the scythe around and used it to defend himself from the attack. He then used the scythe to push the corpse king¡¯s hand away as he spun the de back towards the corpse king, shing at it in a circr motion. The corpse king¡¯s neck was sliced open by the constantly spinning de.

    The corpse king stepped forward, fearless of the scythe. This time, it attacked with both hands, aiming straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stepped back and left the true universe. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, but the corpse king suddenly appeared before him as well. Lu Yin¡¯s expression froze, and he used the Ce Secret Art¡¯s astral chessboard to move away.

    Lu Yin appeared right behind the corpse king once again, which caused the corpse king¡¯s two-handed strike to miss. The void parted like a curtain before the corpse king¡¯s fists, and Lu Yin seized the opportunity to slice his scythe across the corpse king¡¯s neck once again. However, this time, Lu Yin heard a crisp metallic ng as his dended. A bronze sheen shone from the back of the corpse king¡¯s neck, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he tried to think of some means to counter the corpse king¡¯s innate gift, but he failed toe up with anything.

    The corpse king spun around and kicked out, sending Lu Yin flying. He also lost his grip on his scythe as he smashed into the ground with tremendous force.

    The wound that Lu Yin had left on the corpse king¡¯s chest earlier was gradually recovering, which was due to the incredible physiques enjoyed by the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin propped himself up from the ground with an arm and struggled to pick himself up as he wiped away some blood that leaked out from a corner of his mouth. If not for the protection of the Cloudguard Robes, he would have already been terribly injured by this corpse king.

    The sprout of a tree that nestled in Lu Yin¡¯s upper meridian point constantly released endless vitality from its leaves, elerating Lu Yin¡¯s recovery.

    His mind raced as he mentally went over all of the abilities that he possessed. Domain? Useless. Runes? They did not even exist in the Perennial World. The Nightking¡¯s Sky Breaker? Trying to attack a corpse king with spiritual force attack was a joke. The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation? This things had the power of an Envoy, so Lu Yin wasn¡¯t even sure if this technique was capable of unleashing a threatening attack. The Champions¡¯ Stage? Neither the summonable Giant Emperor nor Bai Shaohong were a match for this corpse king. In that case, Lu Yin¡¯s only option was the God of Death Transformation.

    But would the God of Death Transformation be enough to defeat this corpse king? It was possible, but Lu Yin did not have much death energy remaining.

    He would need help from his items in order to unleash that technique.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1508: Whiteless God

    Chapter 1508: Whiteless God

    Back in the underground crevice, Mr. Guo hoarsely said, ¡°He won¡¯t be able to hold out for much longer. That one¡¯s too much for the kid to handle. He can¡¯t ovee that thing¡¯s strength.¡±

    ¡°Although you¡¯re right, I have to mention that Long Qi is an absolute demon himself,¡± Che Zhanmented.

    ¡°He has to be using a power vessel, most likely a very impressive defensive one. There¡¯s no other way he could possibly block any of the corpse king¡¯s attacks,¡± Brother Hong responded.

    Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains eximed in surprise, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the Four Junior Progenitors, and not even they possess this level of strength. None of them would be able to stand up to a corpse king like this for so long. The biggest difference between them and this Long Qi is his ability to stay in the true universe. The Four Junior Progenitors are able to enter it briefly before being forced out, but Long Qi doesn¡¯t seem to have any trouble staying there.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already surpassed the Four Junior Progenitors. What a joke! To think that a son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family would actually be able to surpass the n¡¯s direct descendant and sessor,¡± Brother Hong mocked.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. He hasn¡¯t even used the White Dragon Transformation yet, has he?¡± Che Zhan asked. He looked to be deep in thought.

    Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains, Mr. Guo, and the others were all stunned by this observation. Sure enough, the White Dragon n¡¯s most distinctive skill was one that boosted the user¡¯s physical abilities, the White Dragon Transformation. It enhanced a person¡¯s strength, and once it was used, it might not be impossible for Long Qi to be able to ovee the corpse king¡¯s advantages.

    ¡°Within the White Dragon n, only direct descendants are allowed to learn the White Dragon Transformation. He can¡¯t use it.¡± Zhou Tang sighed sadly.

    The others felt the same way. If Long Qi was able to use the White Dragon Transformation, he would have done so long ago.

    ¡°The kids nowadays are truly terrifying,¡± Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains mused to herself.

    All of the Envoys had been surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, so there was no need to mention the other people present, as they had all been stunned stiff from the very beginning of Lu Yin¡¯s battle. Lu Yin had revealed a battle prowess that far exceeded anything these people had ever heard of, and he was destroying what they had always epted to be true.

    At the same time, Marquis Green Bamboo was quietly standing above the distant second forward basecamp that had been sliced in two. From where he stood, he was observing the faroff scene of Lu Yin fighting against the corpse king in a one-on-one. The ancient powerhouse was shocked, and he eximed, ¡°Such talent, how horrifying! If this child fully matures, who will be able to stop him?¡±

    Two figures were standing behind Marquis Green Bamboo. Even though they made sure to suppress their energy and conceal their presence, the fact that they were allowed to stand behind Marquis Green Bamboo proved that they were true powerhouses.

    One of the figures was a corpse king with zing scarlet eyes while the other figure was that of a human.

    ¡°My lord, that man is Long Qi, a son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. He¡¯s visited the Dominion Realm, and he was also the one who exposed the Guan brothers and Yun Mubai, which ruined all of our ns,¡± the human said in a voice that showed the utmost respect for Marquis Green Bamboo as the human stood behind the ancient corpse king.

    Marquis Green Bamboo smiled casually. ¡°He¡¯s truly gifted. If he were to be a part of Aeternus, his future aplishments would surely not be inferior to my own. I¡¯d really like to y with him, but sadly, I¡¯ll have to wait for another opportunity.¡±

    After speaking, he waved a hand and ordered the two figures. ¡°Leave.¡±

    The corpse king standing behind Marquis Green Bamboo left without any hesitation, but the human hesitated momentarily. ¡°My lord, what of this Long Qi?¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo replied in a nearly emotionless voice. ¡°Does that have anything to do with you?¡±

    That man quickly bowed low and apologized, ¡°I¡¯ve overstepped myself as your subordinate. I¡¯ll immediately take my leave.¡±

    Thus, the man left.

    After both figures left, Marquis Green Bamboo spoke again, ¡°Is this Long Qi really that important? Is he really worthy of youing here yourself to interfere with the oue of the battle? I even spared Xia Yan because of him, but who knows if the child will soon die.¡±

    The void behind Marquis Green Bamboo twisted, and then a creepy-looking doll appeared. Surprisingly, it was a doll of Shaman God. ¡°You¡¯re underestimating him. He won¡¯t die so easily.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m forsaking the stakes of this battle at your orders,¡± Marquis Green Bamboo stated with a furrowed brow.

    The doll of Shaman Godughed in a disturbing manner. ¡°I¡¯ll owe you one then! I¡¯ll be sure to remember that.¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s tense forehead rxed. ¡°So what exactly is this Long Qi¡¯s background?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know at the moment, but that boy is the key to us cracking the Perennial World wide open,¡± Shaman God¡¯s doll replied in a scratchy voice.

    Marquis Green Bamboo was shocked. ¡°Him? A mere Enlighter?¡±

    ¡°If we convert him into our nation, his rank will even surpass your own. Can you believe that?¡± Shaman God doll¡¯s response was a thought-provoking question.

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he began twirl his bamboo flute between his fingers in disbelief. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about that in the future. We just have to take things one step at a time, as we¡¯re in no hurry.¡± After Shaman God¡¯s doll left those words behind, its voice grew softer and more distant.

    After Shaman God¡¯s doll disappeared, Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s eyes lit up, and a sh of pain flickered through his eyes. He dropped to the ground, kneeling on one knee. He was suddenly short of breath as well, and he gasped. ¡°Who? Long Qi? I understand. Please rest assured that you can leave things to me.¡±

    After speaking, his eyes returned to normal. He looked up and stared into the distance in utter shock. He had just been contacted by Whiteless God, and this Skygod had also reached out to Marquis Green Bamboo because of Long Qi.

    Of the Seven Skygods, Ancient God was publicly epted as the strongest, but the most mysterious one was, without a doubt, Whiteless God. They controlled all of ¡°Aeterna.¡± From the very beginning, Whiteless God had been heard of, but no one had ever seen them, not even the Twelve Marquises. Whiteless God was directly in charge of the True God, so despite never having revealed themselves, both humanity and Aeternus were greatly influenced by this Skygod.

    No one dared to offend Whiteless God. Ever since Marquis Green Bamboo had first attained his rank of marquis, he had never been in direct contact with Whiteless God. This was his first time, and it was actually because of Long Qi.

    Whiteless God¡¯s orders were simple: Marquis Green Bamboo could not allow Long Qi to die. No matter what, the youth had to return to the Perennial World alive.

    Shaman God and Whiteless God had both stepped forward because of Long Qi. As he thought back on the conversation that he had held with Shaman God a moment before, Marquis Green Bamboo stared into the distance again. This time, his expression was much more solemn than before. Just who exactly was Long Qi? Could he be a member of ¡°Aeterna?¡±

    Unaware that his mere existence had badly shocked Marquis Green Bamboo, Lu Yin took out the knife that he had taken from Wang Su. He had delivered terrible wounds to his previous opponents with this knife in the past, and it had helped him several times. At this moment, he was hoping that it would help him out again.

    The corpse king¡¯s attacks remained powerful and aggressive, and each one contained an impressive destructive power. Lu Yin stopped taking each attack head on, instead attempting to divert each attack¡¯s force. He did so sessfully, which left the creature frustrated. Despite that, the corpse king did not reveal any human emotions such as anxiety, and it simply continued to barrage Lu Yin, each sessive attacking faster than the previous one. In addition, the creature constantly phased in and out of the true universe.

    Lu Yin pulled back, and right after he moved, a powerful palm attack from the corpse king smashed down right in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The ground was shattered, and after that, the corpse king vanished for a moment before reappearing. The stalemate of their battle continued for almost half a day.

    Underground, all of the humans grew restless as they waited.

    The New World had no night; instead, it was eternally shrouded in dusk.

    Corpse kings did not tire, but humans were not the same. Every human had a limit to their energy.

    The crowd hiding underground were all worried that Lu Yin would not be able to endure, but they were also too afraid to try to help him, as any actions on their part might provoke the countless other corpse kings ambling about nearby.

    The void warped in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and the corpse king reappeared. A bronze palm careened towards the youth along a brutal path. Lu Yin hurriedly dodged aside; he had begun prioritizing his speed in order to continue dodging the corpse king¡¯s attacks, as he could no longer use the Teleportation Formation or the Ce Secret Art. The corpse king was using stellr energy to quell all the star energy in the visible universe, which prevented Lu Yin from using his star energy at all.

    It felt like the battle was ying on repeat, but this time, there was a difference, and that was that Lu Yin had left his knife on the ground. When the corpse king¡¯s attack fell down, it missed Lu Yin, and Lu Yin shot towards the knife while simultaneously dodging the corpse king¡¯s attack. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes zed with excitement, and he waved his hand to use the Yu Secret Art.

    The corpse king distorted space with stellr energy, which impacted Lu Yin¡¯s techniques. This was also why Lu Yin had not attempted to use the Yu Secret Art before, but things had changed. Lu Yin had already seen through the corpse king¡¯s various attacks, and the youth had also calcted exactly where the corpse king would step with each foot, as well as where its body would lean to as it lunged.

    At that moment, there was no more than ten meters between the knife and the corpse king¡¯s neck. Lu Yin had purposely dropped the knife on the ground earlier in their fight while narrowly avoiding an attack. The corpse king had not noticed the incident, and it had assumed that Lu Yin had simply lost his grip on the knife.

    At that same moment, Lu Yin grabbed the opening that the short ten meters presented, and he used the Yu Secret Art to shift the knife and stab it straight into the corpse king¡¯s neck.

    He could only use the Yu Secret Art once, as the corpse king would definitely use stellr energy to disrupt the star energy needed for the secret technique if he used it a second time. The corpse king roared from the impact of the knife that had been mmed into its neck. The knife had been upgraded until it was capable of unleashing an attack with a power level of 800,000, which was not something that the corpse king could endure. The knife had pierced through its neck and ruined it. Lu Yin also seized the moment to raise his hand and release an unending wave of Vacuum Palms.

    The corpse king lifted its hands to block Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, but with its neck badly injured by the knife, the creature¡¯s control of stellr energy had been greatly affected. This let Lu Yin move behind the corpse king with a Teleportation Formation, where he continued to bombard it with more Vacuum Palms.

    Golden battle force and 350 Stacks: each Vacuum Palm was released with full force. There was a bang as the corpse king¡¯s head flew from its shoulders. In the end, Lu Yin had finally defeated the corpse king.

    Everyone was more than stunned from where they were watching within the crevice. How had Long Qi defeated such a powerful enemy?

    Zhou Tang gasped in shock. The longer he looked at Lu Yin, the more the old man felt that Lu Yin resembled his young master. The youth¡¯s incredible talent, indomitable spirit, and fighting talent were all too simr.

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily, and his entire body ached. Fortunately, he had been smart enough to make sure to redeem the Cloudguard Robes, as he would have already been smashed to a pulp if he had been relying on his universal armor.

    ncing at the knife on the ground, Lu Yin also felt ecstatic at the decision that he had made back in the Forgotten Ruins. Once again, his decision almost felt like foresight.

    Far, far away, Marquis Green Bamboo gasped in shock as well. Even though Lu Yin had relied on power vessels, being able to kill a corpse king so much more powerful than himself was a truly remarkable aplishment. Upon thinking of this, the marquis immediately ordered, ¡°Continue.¡±

    Countless corpse kings surrounded the humans hiding underground, but another lone Envoy level corpse king stepped forward. This one did not rush forward like the previous corpse kings had. Instead, it walked forward with slow, deliberate steps. Each time its foot touched the ground, a deep footprint was left behind. It was clear that this corpse king was very heavy.

    Lu Yin grew solemn, but then he heard Che Zhan¡¯s voice echo from behind, ¡°Long Qi, it¡¯s our turn.¡±

    Che Zhan emerged from the underground entrance as he spoke.

    Lu Yin blocked the Envoy from continuing forward. ¡°You can support me in this fight. Attack when I¡¯m unable to continue. Don¡¯t forget¡ª this corpse king is just one of many.¡±

    Che Zhan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back in confusion. ¡°You still want to keep fighting?¡±

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. ¡°Dying in battle is the most honorable ending.¡±

    Che Zhan burst outughing. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll support you from the side then.¡±

    After speaking, the man took out his sword from his cosmic ring, stabbed it into the ground near the entrance, and then sat down cross-legged on the ground with every muscle of his body tensed and ready to fight.

    The corpse king continued to approach from the distance with slow steps. While this corpse king seemed to be around the same size as an ordinary human, it was extraordinarily fat. Its dead, scarlet eyes were lined with dark yellow rings, and every breath it took was deep and powerful. Just its breath distorted the void in front of it.

    This was yet another corpse king that possessed a powerful innate gift.

    Lu Yin bent his arms and looked up to release a Vacuum Palm.

    There was a boom as the Vacuum Palm ruthlessly struck the corpse king¡¯s left arm even as it was lifting its left arm to block the blow. The impact did nothing more than cause the corpse king to tremble slightly. Then, it continued to slowly make its way towards Lu Yin as though nothing had happened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. A key factor in his victory over the previous corpse king was because he had been able to indirectly fight against it by relying on his Vacuum Palm. In other words, they had both been fighting an offensive battle, and he had fought fire with fire. However, this new corpse king was clearly a defensive fighter, which meant that it was an opponent that couldpletely disregard Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms.

    Lu Yin attacked again, and this time, golden battle force wrapped around his entire body, and he used the maximum number of stacks that he was capable of unleashing. Lu Yin even activated the Void Rip sourcebox array andunched both attacks in unison.

    The corpse king¡¯s movements stalled, and it slowed down, but it neverpletely stopped moving. None of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks had any real effect.

    Looking at the corpse king, it was clear that this creature was thicker. Even though it was about the same height as a human, it was decidedly quite round.

    As soon as the fat corpse king arrived at a point around a thousand meters away from Lu Yin, it stepped through the void and entered the true universe.

 Chapter 1509: Battle Wit

    Chapter 1509: Battle Wit

    Lu Yin simrly disappeared and entered the true universe. He was instantly greeted by the sight of the fat corpse king charging straight at him, who spread its arms open wide and embraced Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment; what the hell was happening? He quickly grabbed his knife and tried to stab the corpse king¡¯s neck.

    To his surprise, the rotund corpse king did not even try to evade his attack, and it simply continued to tightly squeeze Lu Yin in its embrace, allowing Lu Yin to drive his knife de deep into the neck. But shockingly, not even a trickle of blood seeped out from the wound. Although the knife had clearly stabbed into the corpse king, something seemed off. It almost felt as though something had devoured the knife de instead.

    At this moment, the fat corpse king¡¯s arms squeezed down on Lu Yin¡¯s waist even tighter than before, and a tremendous amount of pressure began constricting Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    There was an audible click, and an immense pain radiated out from Lu Yin¡¯s waist. He was almost in disbelief at how unbelievably strong this heavy corpse king was. The damage was even getting past his Cloudguard Robes, which were tough enough to defend against attacks with a power level of more than 900,000. However, the corpse king was emitting powerful vibrations as it squeezed Lu Yin, and it was clearly much more difficult for the clothes to block than a normal attack.

    Lu Yin was suffering from excruciating pain, so heshed out with a leg, aiming his knee at the corpse king¡¯s stomach. He wanted tond a powerful blow with the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Although the fat corpse king was very strong, Lu Yin was far from weak, and his kick managed to force the corpse king back. Still, it waspletely unfazed, and it simply charged right back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision shifted as he exited from the true universe. An astral chessboard appeared beneath him, and he prepared to shift himself away. Unfortunately, right when his body was about to vanish, the corpse king grabbed his arm and pulled him in, forcefully canceling the Ce Secret Art.

    Lu Yin shed at the corpse king, unleashing an aggressive offensive that managed to slice open the corpse king¡¯s neck once more, but all of his efforts proved to be futile. The corpse king¡¯s thick neck seemed to contain an endless amount of fat that just absorbed all of the knife¡¯s potential damage. Wait, absorb?

    Lu Yin stared intently at the fat corpse king; could this thing have reached the Creation realm of star energy control?

    Liquor Hero was the only person Lu Yin knew whose star energy control had reached the Creation realm. With nothing more than a drop of alcohol, she could absorb the force of any iing attacks, and she had even trapped a carrion bug, forcing it to wander through an endless maze of alcohol. Her techniques were some of the most brutal ones that Lu Yin had witnessed during ZENITH. With her in mind, Lu Yin felt there were simrities between how this corpse king absorbed his knife¡¯s attacks and how Liquor Hero had handled that carrion bug.

    Liquor Hero had absorbed damage with her alcohol, but the fat corpse king was apparently able to do the same with the excessive amount of fat within its body.

    This fat corpse king must have been a peerless expert among its peers when it had still been alive. Reaching the Creation realm of star energy control was something that provided one with an incredible advantage, even after one became an Envoy.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that this fight was going to be quite difficult, as he was essentially facing off against an Envoy level Liquor Hero.

    Liquor Hero was a rare talent within her generation, and she certainly would not be an easy opponent at the Envoy rea;,. Thus far, Lu Yin had only faced opponents whose had thebat strength of an ordinary Envoy powerhouse. No matter how high their strength became, these Envoys were still just average among their peers, and they could not evene close to touching Liquor Hero¡¯s dazzling brilliance.

    The fat corpse king did not have much variety or tricks in its attacks; rather, it just focused on one singr goal: crushing its opponents with a bearhug. Still, the creature was practically immune to any and all attacks.

    Lu Yin retreated again and again, but the corpse king kept pace throughout his movements. Both opponents repeatedly entered and fled the true universe, and Lu Yin was suppressed the whole time as the corpse king steadily advanced.

    Che Zhan¡¯s fingers twitched. He wanted to attack, but would he even be able to help? The swordsman was not sure how he himself could deal with the fat corpse king. Long Qi was in a different situation, as he was able to use secret techniques and power vessels to stay safe, but Che Zhan? If he stepped forward, he would only be rushing towards his death.

    The corpse king managed to smack Lu Yin¡¯s arm, and the impact traveled through his body and almost knocked him over. As he recovered, he saw the corpse king, lunging forward in front of him, trying yet again to enwrap Lu Yin in a bear hug.

    This was the first time in Lu Yin¡¯s life that he had encountered such a bizarre strategy, but it was incredibly difficult to counter, as none of Lu Yin¡¯s regr attacks were having any effect. Lu Yin started mentally running through everything that he had in his cosmic ring, just to see if he had anything that could help him seize an advantage in this battle.

    This was not a battle that Lu Yin could win through brute strength. He had to either break through the corpse king¡¯s defenses by unleashing an overwhelmingly powerful attack or find some way to bypass the obstacle.

    Lu Yin stared at the corpse king, his eyes glued to the creature¡¯s neck and body fat. Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He had thought of something.

    During ZENITH, that carrion bug had done everything it could toe up with a way to escape from the drop of alcohol. That droplet had been able topletely trap the insect because it hadcked the strength to ovee star energy when it was manipted by someone who had reached the Creation realm of star energy control. However, what if the bug had been strong enough to overpower the star energy? Would that mean that it would not have remained trapped within the drop of alcohol?

    The corpse king¡¯s fat was all inside its body, so the moment Lu Yin managed tond an attack that broke through theyer of fat, he would be directly attacking the corpse king¡¯s real body.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand, and an oddly shaped crystal appeared. It was the Karmic me.

    Don¡¯t you like absorbing attacks? Then take this Karmic me! Lu Yin ced the crystal atop his knife and charged towards the corpse king in an aggressive manner. He stabbed the knife forward while using the Yu Secret Art, which sent the knife flying straight towards the corpse king¡¯s body.

    The corpse king had no reason to even take note of such an attack, so it simply allowed the knife to pierce its body. Quickly, the Karmic mes surged forth, and red shes emerged before quickly disappearing.

    Lu Yin waved his hand a second time, and the knife reappeared in it, still with the odd crystal attached. The Karmic mes within the crystal could be used three times, which meant that he only had two more uses left.

    He looked up and eagerly observed the fat corpse. The Karmic mes had already been enhanced six times, and they were nowparable to an attack with a battle power of more than 700,000. Lu Yin was waiting to see if the mes could prate the fat corpse king¡¯s defenses that came from its Creation realm of star energy control.

    For a moment, the fat corpse king stood still, but then it began to shriek. Its body turned red from the mes raging within its body. Soon, the mespletely engulfed the creature.

    Far away, Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he quietly watched the fat corpse king burn to ashes.

    Even if he felt disheartened at losing the fat corpse king, the marquis would rather choose to do nothing than disobey an order from one of the Seven Skygods. This thought urred to him as he shifted his focus back to Lu Yin¡¯s face. This Long Qi had already exterminated two of the corpse kings that Marquis Green Bamboo valued the most.

    If not for his orders from two of the Seven Skygods, how could he have allowed his corpse kings to be taken down so easily? Since you want to earn achievements on the battlefield, then I¡¯ll give you more deeds to aplish.

    In the distant underground crevice, Mr. Guo and the others stared in shock as the Karmic mes burned and devoured the corpse king. They were able to see the creature¡¯s face even through the me¡¯s vibrant red color.

    Just how many more power vessels did Long Qi own?

    First, he had used a sourcebox array that had eliminated all of the nearby corpse kings in a single move. Then, there was the defensive armor he was wearing as clothes, plus the knife that he continued to wield. Finally, he had just used a burst of overwhelmingly powerful mes. On top of all that wealth, the youth had alsoprehended secret techniques. It was such a shame that such a talented youth was doomed to die in the New World with all of them.

    Once this child matured and grew, in the future, it seemed practically guaranteed that he would reach the level of a Semi-Progenitor at the very least. Truly, what a pity.

    The mes enveloped the fat corpse king, but then they also spread to the surroundings.

    Everyone in the underground area looked on in horror; were those mes going to reach them too? Even that terrifying corpse king had been consumed by the mes, so there was clearly no possibility of any of them surviving if they were caught by those mes.

    Lu Yin pulled out his Skyze Stone and absorbed the remnant mes before they spread any further.

    Almost instantly, all the remaining Karmic mes were sucked into the Skyze Stone, which let the other humans heave sighs of relief. Their backs were drenched with sweat from both the fear and the heat.

    That was two. Lu Yin had single-handedly eliminated two corpse kings that had the strength of an Envoy now. This was even more impressive when one considered the fact that neither of the two corpse kings had been an easy opponent.

    Lu Yin tried to catch his breath. While the second corpse king had rtively easier to deal withpared to the first, neither had been weak. Rather, Lu Yin had simply found the proper counter to the second corpse king.

    A dead end was not always hopeless, and once a solution was discovered, it could open the possibility of walking away.

    ¡°Brother Long Qi, it¡¯s my turn,¡± Che Zhan said.

    Lu Yin turned around with a smile that was rather infectious. ¡°Just wait a bit more¡ªI can keep going. Did you already forget what I just said?¡±

    Che Zhan stared at the child with eyes filled with deep admiration. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait.¡±

    Everyone in the underground space stared at Lu Yin with growing respect, and there were quite a few whose expressions were filled with actual worship. If they survived this ordeal, then all of them would swear to repay the youth for the unbelievable assistance that he had given them.

    The endless horde of corpse kings standing outside the crevice did not move. It seemed that they were all waiting for something.

    Only a limited number of corpse kings with the strength of an Envoy could be deployed, so the monsters needed to wait before sending out another powerhouse to fight.

    One dayter, another corpse king stepped forward. Yet again, it had the strength of an Envoy. This one did not seem to be as powerful as the earlier ones, though it was much, much faster. It immediately rushed at Lu Yin, and he was repeatedly attacked for half a day without even a single opportunity to fight back. In particr, with the corpse king¡¯s stellr energy disrupting his star energy, Lu Yin was not able to use his Teleportation Formation or the Ce Secret Art even once.

    Lu Yin had fought countless battles throughout his life, and there had been many fights where he had faced overpowering enemies where the situation had seemedpletely hopeless. His current battle felt like that as well. In this battle, he was left with no choice but to pull out the spear with the sticky green substance that he had taken from Long Tian. He had tested this weapon out in the Timestop Space, and he had found that the sticky green substance on the spear had an extremely high viscosity. Lu Yin had no idea how it had been used in the past, but at the moment, it was the perfect weapon for his needs.

    There was a bang, and Lu Yin saw stars after taking yet another kick from the corpse king. Despite being protected by the Cloudguard Robes, the neverending barrage of attacks sent a constant flow of destructive vibrations into his body that bypassed his armor, and he had reached the point of no longer being able to endure. Still, every time the corpse king entered the true universe, Lu Yin would follow it even though it moved so quickly that he could not keep track of it. Everyone behind Lu Yin was feeling the same sense of despair that had descended upon him.

    After coughing up a mouthful of blood, the spear appeared in his hand. He resolutely stabbed it into the ground, and the sticky green substance began to flow down the spear shaft and towards Lu Yin¡¯s feet. The substance soon covered the area for a hundred meters in all directions even as it continued to spread further out.

    There was another bang, this time from the corpse king striking Lu Yin in the stomach. Lu Yin was still unable to catch so much as a glimpse of the corpse king¡¯s retreating figure as the creature was traveling through the void. Not once had the corpse king actually set foot on the ground. Lu Yin took a deep breath and began silently calcting and nning.

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Bang!

    ¡­

    Che Zhan gritted his teeth as he stood next to the entrance to the underground space. He was staring intently in an attempt to also track the corpse king¡¯s movements. The swordsman¡¯s hair stood on end. Of the surviving humans, only Long Qi was able to face off against this corpse king, as the youth possessed many defensive power vessels that not even Envoys could break through. If anyone else was pitted against this corpse king, the battle would have reached a conclusion long ago.

    Zhou Tang¡¯s eyes danced about constantly. It was clear that the powerhouse was able to see where the corpse king moved, but it would be no help for him to say anything to Lu Yin, as the youth¡¯s reflexes would not be able to keep up with his thoughts.

    Many other people closed their eyes, as they could not bear to watch the horrible fight.

    It was truly difficult to watch Lu Yin¡¯s miserable situation and injured appearance. He was being beaten one-sidedly, and he was even bleeding from all seven orifices of his head. But while he looked critically injured, in reality, he had actually not suffered that many injuries. Even when the destructive vibrations wounded him, his increased vitality due to his opened upper meridian point allowed him to almost instantly recover. This meant that Lu Yin was suffering more from frustration than physical injuries.

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Bang!

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and he held the spear in front of him sideways in a defensive stance. The sticky green substance had already spread throughout the entire area. There was a bang as the corpse king punched Lu Yin once more, but this time, the creature was not able to flee as quickly as before. Its fist had gotten stuck in the sticky green substance that covered the entire area.

    Humans and other creatures were intelligent, but that intelligence also came with the formation of habits. This was simrly true for the corpse king that had been attacking Lu Yin this whole time. It had been striking at Lu Yin for half a day, and it had developed a habitual attack pattern during this process. Each blow came in somewhat regr intervals, and Lu Yin had managed to calcte the precise timing tounch his counterattack. This was much like how he had pre-positioned his knife in order to deal with the first corpse king.

    Strength alone was not enough to determine victory in a fight; intelligence could also be a gamechanger.

    With the sticky green substance binding its fist, the corpse king tried to flee. However, while its speed had only been somewhat affected, it was nheless unable to flee at its normal speed. More importantly, the sticky green substance now trailed after the corpse king wherever it went, and there was no way for the corpse king to remove it. This meant that Lu Yin no longer struggled to track the corpse king, as all he needed to do was look for the sticky green substance that was attached to the creature.

    Considering the corpse king¡¯s incredible speed, it most likely had rtively poor defenses.

    Lu Yin held the spear in his hand and started attacking as he tracked the strange green substance. He used his domain to predict his opponent¡¯s attacks and managed to stab the spear into the corpse king¡¯s thigh. The spear trembled, and he punched at the corpse king with a full 350 Stacks, causing the creature to let out a low growl. His attack had utterly destroyed half of the corpse king¡¯s leg, and Lu Yin took advantage of this opening to sh out sideways with his knife.

 Chapter 1510: Inheritance of Ancient Progenitors

    Chapter 1510: Inheritance of Ancient Progenitors

    The corpse king leaned back with unbelievable speed, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s knife sh missed. However, the corpse king only managed to save its upper body. Its thigh had still been ruined, which would undoubtedly affect its speed. An array of stars revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he tensed his muscles to let him to move top speed while simultaneously predicting all iing attacks with his domain. He was changing the fight into one a test of offense and defense by engaging with the corpse king in a tiny space of only a single meter across.

    All that anyone else underground could see were two figures constantly flickering about. Lu Yin¡¯s arm asionally disappeared as he entered the true universe, and the same happened to the corpse king¡¯s upper body. What followed was a scene that was very disturbing to watch, though it also evoked a strange harmony.

    Even though the corpse king¡¯s movements had been slowed down and restricted , it would still be difficult for Lu Yin to kill the creature. Out of desperation, Lu Yin began to aim his attacks at the corpse king¡¯s lower body. Let¡¯s see how fast it can run with both legs crippled!

    Observing the situation from afar, Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s brow knitted in frustration. Just where did this Long Qi get so many power vessels? Not many items were able to trap this speedy corpse king, and not even the Four Junior Progenitors might own this many power vessels!

    At this same time, the marquis felt a bit of heartache, for he could tell that his speedy corpse king was doomed to eventually perish. At the moment, the marquis was contemting whether or not he should send another corpse king to fight Lu Yin.

    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s using more and more of his items now, gagagaga,¡± Shaman God¡¯s doll spoke up again.

    Marquis Green Bamboo somberly replied, ¡°To help that person umte battlefield achievements, I¡¯ve already suffered considerable losses. All of those he defeated were true powerhouses, and it won¡¯t be easy to create simr ones again.¡±

    ¡°Rest assured, it will all be worth it in the end. The day we reap the rewards, your contributions will definitely be taken into ount. It will be your greatest honor to have participated in this grand mission, and you¡¯ll even be granted the opportunity to witness the most exciting scene in the universe. I assure you of that, gaga,¡± Shaman God¡¯s dollughed creepily.

    Marquis Green Bamboo sighed. ¡°I hope you¡¯re right.¡±

    Shaman God¡¯s doll stared off into the distance while floating in the air. ¡°It will soon be time for us to exchange greetings.¡±

    At this time, the one person the two were watching had finally managed to kill the speedy corpse king after a half-day-long endurance match that had drained bothbatants of all their energy.

    After seeing the corpse king¡¯s broken neck and that its breath had halted, Lu Yin copsed to the ground. He was exhausted¡ªno, he was beyond exhausted after attacking and defending at top speed for half a day without any rest. No human could keep up with such strain. Forget half a day, as even an hour of that was more than what most people could handle.

    As soon as Lu Yin rxed, his entire body was wracked with pain so bad that he felt as though his muscles were about to liquify.

    Che Zhan stared at Lu Yin in awe. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s time for you toe rest?¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at the shadow of the second forward basecamp. He then said, ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m trying to find my own end here. Sitting here and waiting for death is a terrible thing.¡±

    Che Zhanughed heartily. ¡°I could say the same for the rest of us, hahaha!¡±

    Brother Hong¡¯s voice echoed out of the underground area, ¡°You defeated three Envoy level corpse kings consecutively¡­ When word of this gets out, the mighty name of Long Qi will ring throughout the entire Perennial World. Unfortunately, that will never happen if you die down here in the New World. What a shame.¡±

    ¡°A true shame.¡± Matriarch of the Eastern Mountain sighed regretfully.

    Mr. Guo spoke up, ¡°Let me write a book tomemorate your great achievements, Long Qi. In the future, if the New World is ever reimed by humans, it¡¯s possible that someone will find it.¡±

    Che Zhan was left speechless. ¡°How unusual. Mr. Guo¡¯s making jokes! I didn¡¯t even know you could do that.¡±

    Mr. Guo¡¯s expression remainedpletely serious as he replied, ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡±

    Che Zhan¡¯s lips twitched into a smirk.

    Finding joy in sorrow was the perfect description of what they were doing at this moment. Waiting for an inevitable death and beingpletely hopeless was enough to drive any human insane. It was at such moments that humanity would be stripped down to its rawest form.

    Lu Yin quickly nced around the underground space to see where everyone had situated themselves. All of these people were hispanions, and no matter what ulterior motives he might have, he still wanted to help everyone escape and survive as long as possible.

    The speedy corpse king¡¯s death had raised an rm throughout the corpse king horde surrounding the humans. Neither the horde, nor another powerhouse stepped forward, and the standoff persisted for two days. Still, no corpse king appeared.

    Some peopleined underground, ¡°Why aren¡¯t theying to fight? I¡¯m practically eager to die.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m so bored.¡±

    ¡°Death must be a relief. The people who already died are so lucky.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your turn wille sooner orter, hahahaha.¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leaned against the wall of the underground space and looked at the shadow of the second forward basecamp once again. As he heard the people around him joking and making ironic remarks about chasing death, many thoughts shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind: this Perennial World, the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, and even the first four mainds that had already been destroyed, the Lu family, Aeternus, and more. The universe was unimaginably vast, so could there be an even more horrifying civilization than Aeternus?

    How had Aeternuse into being? How had the first ever corpse king been born? Surely it could not have been man-made¡­

    The longer Lu Yin contemted such thoughts, the more exhausted he became. Everything he saw in the sky up above had gone ck.

    Hmm? ck? Lu Yin shot to his feet while looking around in shock. Somewhere close by, Che Zhan continued to clean his sword while remaining vignt. Further away underground, Zhou Tang was leaning against the wall and resting while the others carried on their various conversations. However, everyone had turned ck.

    Down at his feet, Lu Yin saw that his own shadow had started to twist and turn, and then he saw a doll floating in the void. It appeared right in front of Lu Yin, and it stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes with disturbing eyes that were full of ridicule and mockery.

    Lu Yin felt shivers run down his spine. Shaman God¡¯s doll?

    Lu Yin instantly wanted to take out the jade talisman that he had received from Mister Mu, only to discover that he had beenpletely immobilized. Nearby, had Che Zhan¡¯s body grownrger? No, that was not the case, it was just that Lu Yin¡¯s sense of sight had shifted to his hand. The scent of blood suddenly became much stronger, but that was because his sense of smell had shifted down to his leg. All five of his senses had be tangled up, which was proof that Shaman God¡¯s doll was truly before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up in a daze. He stared at Shaman God¡¯s doll as an inexplicable sense of hopelessness well up from within.

    The moment that Qing Chen had mentioned Shaman God in the past, Lu Yin had felt that it was absurd; how could Shaman God be in the Perennial World? And yet, at this moment, Lu Yin was face to face with Shaman God¡¯s doll. In fact, they were less than a meter apart.

    ¡°Gaga, brat, we meet again!¡± the doll said in the same strange scratchy voice that Lu Yin remembered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. It really was the same Shaman God from the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin had still been holding onto a bit of hope that the Shaman God in the Perennial World was not the same as the one from the Fifth Maind. Even if both possessed the same abilities and titles, it would be fine, as long as the two were not actually the same being. Unfortunately, in the end, Lu Yin¡¯s hopes had been shattered. Lu Yin was truly facing the same Shaman God from the Fifth Maind, who was the being that had taken the Ghost Monkey as a pet.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time! Don¡¯t you have a greeting saved up for me? I didn¡¯t do anything to keep you from speaking, and none of the others can hear you or see what¡¯s going on,¡± Shaman God¡¯s doll spoke in a sarcastic tone as it shed a creepy smirk.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. His voice sounded hoarse as he asked, ¡°What are you doing here in the Perennial World?¡±

    Shaman God¡¯s doll cackled. ¡°I should be the one asking you that! So, how ¡®bout you? What are you doing here in this part of the universe?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly, but doing so blinded him since his vision wasing out of his hands at the moment. He asked, ¡°Are you Seven Skygods able to freely travel between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind?¡±

    ¡°Of course! There¡¯s nothing Aeternus can¡¯t do,¡± Shaman God bragged.

    Lu Yin¡¯s emotions were in chaos. He was unable to ept the sudden appearance of Shaman God¡¯s doll in the Perennial World. What made Lu Yin even more distraught was the fact that he had no way to retrieve his jade talisman, which meant that he had no way to reach out to Mister Mu. His current helpless situation caused Lu Yin to despair, as he did not have the strength to escape from this predicament.

    ¡°Brat, honestly, over my countless years of living, I¡¯ve seen many cultivators with exceptional innate gifts, but you¡¯ve proven yourself to be the most unique of all! To think that you actually managed to take advantage of the Specter n¡¯s death energy to inherit the mes of the God of Death! If you really do be a Progenitor one day, it¡¯s possible that no one in the entire universe will be your opponent aside from the True God. That¡¯s why I intend to uproot you while you¡¯re still just a sprout right now.¡± Shaman God''s doll covered the short distance separating it from Lu Yin. There were less than ten centimeters separating the two now.

    For Lu Yin, ten centimeters was incredibly close, butpared to Shaman God''s doll, ten centimeters was about half of the length of the doll¡¯s body. It raised a finger and pointed it at Lu Yin¡¯s forehead.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks. His eyes remained glued to the finger, and he began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. However, this time, not even the Stonewall Scriptures were of any use. Lu Yin¡¯s body remained immobilized, and he could do nothing aside from helplessly stare as the finger of Shaman God''s doll drew closer and closer. Then, the finger stopped when it was less than a millimeter away from touching him. The doll cackled. ¡°Gagagaga, brat, are you scared?¡±

    Lu Yin red back. ¡°You old freak, what is it that you n to do?¡±

    ¡°Gaga, it¡¯s certainly not pleasant to feel death¡¯s approach, is it?¡± the doll asked.

    Lu Yin stayed silent and stared at Shaman God''s doll.

    ¡°Dying is too simple, as everything¡¯s over once you die. Living, however, is the most difficult option avable, and yet you humans all hope to keep living. So, what¡¯s your choice? Life or death?¡± Shaman God casually spoke as it questioned Lu Yin. The voice contained an eerie note timbre.

    Lu Yin scoffed, ¡°Stupid, of course I¡¯d choose to live.¡±

    Given the circumstances, it was useless for him to beg for mercy, and revealing any sign of dread or fear was equally useless.

    Shaman God''s doll took a step back as it responded, ¡°Do you want to live? Well, that makes things much easier then! Join Aeternus! Do that, and not only will you receive an undying and imperishable body, but you¡¯ll also be able to sessfully cultivate the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. Once you eventually surpass us Seven Skygods, it will be nothing but child¡¯s y for you to dominate the entire universe. I¡¯m offering you the path of illumination.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°The path of illumination? A puppet like you dares to speak of illumination? What a joke! Do you really not have any idea what you look like? For the word ¡®illumination¡¯ toe out of your mouth, of all people, only fools would believe you.¡±

    Shaman God was not upset by Lu Yin¡¯s outburst. ¡°Brat, being rude will do nothing to help your situation, though it might cause you to suffer far worse hardships and torture that you would otherwise.¡±

    This was precisely the reaction that Lu Yin had wanted his words to have. He was not afraid of torture. If that happened, he might be able to find an opportunity to make a move. What Lu Yin feared the most was Shaman God immediately eliminating him without giving him the chance to resist.

    Lu Yin retorted, ¡°Thest time you tortured me, it allowed me to cultivate the power that opened up the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. Torture me again, and what do you think the odds of me cultivating the power of Wu Tian are? I hope that you didn¡¯t forget that I also received an inheritance from him from the Sword Monument.¡±

    Shaman God''s doll showed a bit of surprise. ¡°You¡¯re right, I did forget about that. You¡¯ve evene into contact with Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance, which is truly miraculous. To think that you¡¯ve epted three of the Ancient Progenitors¡¯ inheritances, gaga! Why don¡¯t I capture you right now and make you undergo the corpse king transformation? That¡¯s the True God¡¯s Inheritance, and with that, you¡¯d have four of the Ancient Progenitors¡¯ inheritances!¡±

    Lu Yin arched a questioning brow, The Ancient Progenitors¡¯ inheritance? Four? What¡¯s this all about?

    The God of Death was one of the four, and although there was no confirmation that Wu Tian had even existed, Shaman God¡¯s words made it sound like it waspletely certain that the ancient powerhouse had once existed. Did that mean that Wu Tian had really lived? Did that also mean that the True God, which was Aeturnus¡¯s most powerful corpse king, was also an Ancient Progenitor? Even if that was all true, it only added up to three Ancient Progenitors. In that case, who was the fourth one?

    Right, fatesand! Xiao Shi had once mentioned before that fatesand had been created by Destiny. If Destiny truly existed, then they must have also been an Ancient Progenitor! However, many people possessed fatesand, so could such a thing still be considered an inheritance from an Ancient Progenitor? Of course, Lu Yin did possess a great deal more fatesand than most others.

    ¡°Gaga! Brat, are you scared now?¡± Shaman God mocked Lu Yin once more.

    Lu Yin stared straight at the doll and tauntingly asked, ¡°Are you blind? In what way do I look frightened?¡±

    Shaman God''s doll released another disturbingugh. ¡°Your rudeness never fails. Anytime you humans are trapped in a desperate situation, there are some who will do whatever they possibly can in order to save themselves. You, on the other hand, even though you are most certainly afraid, your attitude goes the opposite direction. It¡¯s quite amusing.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Cut the crap. What exactly do you want?¡±

    The doll circled Lu Yin and whispered, ¡°The Lu family¡¯s heir, tsk tsk.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a finger twitch. This was the worst possible situation: Shaman God knew about his surname! ¡°The Lu family¡¯s heir? Does having the surname Lu automatically make me the heir of the Lu family?¡±

    Lu Yin tried testing the waters.

    ¡°Gaga, trying to hide the truth? Given your talent for cultivation and your innate gift, is there anyone who¡¯d believe you if you imed to not be the Lu family¡¯s heir?¡± Shaman God''s dollughed and spoke with its same scratchy voice.

 Chapter 1511: Choice

    Chapter 1511: Choice

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed; what Shaman God had just said was all too true. How could an ordinary human ever reach the level of strength that Lu Yin possessed? Among the various powerhouses who had apanied the Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm, had there been even one who had note from an influential family or organization? Even if someone had note from an influential background, at the very least, they had to have encountered some sort of unbelievable opportunity.

    But what about Lu Yin? His level of talent far surpassed that of any of the four Junior Progenitors, which was practically impossible for a nobody. On top of that, Lu Yin had the ¡°Lu¡± surname. If his true name was ever revealed, the four ruling powers would never believe that Lu Yin was not a part of the Lu family.

    ¡°It actually doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you are truly from the Lu family. More importantly, once the four ruling powers announce that you are, the entire universe will take their word for it,¡± Shaman God continued. The doll leaned closer once again until its face was almost touching Lu Yin¡¯s. The doll continued, saying, ¡°And even more importantly, we all watched everything when you fought against Leader Hong back then. Tsk tsk, summoning the Giant Emperor with the Champions¡¯ Stage? Truly remarkable!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly turned grim. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. No one saw that battle.¡±

    Shaman God''s doll cackled. ¡°The Perennial World has its Redbacks, so what makes you think that the Fifth Maind doesn¡¯t as well?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell. He had indeed failed to take such a thing into ount. The Fifth Maind most likely suffered from both the Neohuman Alliance and Redbacks. For example, there had been Zi Rong, who had cultivated the corpse king¡¯s transformation technique long ago.

    ¡°The heir of the Lu family appearing in the Perennial World? Kakakaka! The four ruling powers are sure to erupt with rage when they learn of this! The Higher Realm and Middle Realm will both start boiling as well. The most intense battle in history will explode between the Lu family¡¯s former retainers and the four ruling powers¡¯ supporters. Just the thought of it gets me all excited! Brat, keep on living. You actually have to stay alive, because you¡¯re the only catalyst that can trigger all of this chaos.¡± Shaman God''s doll burst outughing.

    Lu Yin scoffed. ¡°Even if my identity is revealed, I won¡¯t be the four ruling powers¡¯ enemy.¡±

    ¡°Really? Judging by what you did back in the Fifth Maind, you¡¯re clearly not a big-hearted person. But even if you¡¯re willing to, do you really think that the four ruling powers will let you off? Will their supporters leave you alone? Above all, will the one behind the scheme of the Lu family¡¯s exile forgive you?¡± Shaman God shot out three questions at Lu Yin in one go, leaving the youth with nothing to say in reply.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s identity was exposed, there was no question that he would be the greatest enemy of the entire Perennial World, and he would definitely be cklisted as a peerless viin. The four ruling powers were guaranteed to do at least that much. Regardless, Lu Yin would not abandon his goal of avenging his Lu family, which meant that he would ultimately take on the roles of the four ruling powers¡¯ enemy.

    Lu Yin stared at Shaman God''s doll. ¡°You n to have me be the trigger to a war between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind and pave a path for you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! This n sounds amazing, doesn¡¯t it? Kaka,¡± Shaman God replied, sounding quite proud.

    Lu Yin scoffed, ¡°Stop dreaming! I¡¯ll never help you guys.¡±

    ¡°Of course not! You¡¯ll only ever be acting in self-defense, and that¡¯s all there is to it. Unless you die, the four ruling powers will never let you or the Fifth Maind go. Well, brat, you can always opt for suicide!¡± Shaman God mocked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. This plot waspletely exposed and transparent, which also made it the most difficult kind of trap to deal with. Even though he, the target, knew his enemy¡¯s schemes quite clearly, he had no choice but to follow along.

    Since ancient times, humanity¡¯s greatest enemy had always been Aeternus. During the entire time, humanity had always been on the losing side against Aeternus, and the primary reason for that was that Aeternus thoroughly understood humanity. There was no way Lu Yin would sacrifice himself, and neither would the four ruling powers ever be willing to show him mercy. The hatred between the two stemmed from the fact that the two were on opposing sides, and their hatred would only growrger and deeper.

    The moment that Shaman God had discovered that Lu Yin had appeared in the Perennial World, he had already nned everything out.

    ¡°To be honest, back then, I didn¡¯t want to kill you when ZENITH ended, and I only wanted to bring you over here to the Perennial World. Unfortunately, my ns were ruined by that old Highsage Grandmaster. And yet, you came here anyways, and you¡¯ve even created a name for yourself here that echoes throughout the entire Perennial World. I would say that my n is proceeding quite smoothly, kaka.¡± Shaman God''s dollughed without restraint.

    Lu Yin quietly asked, ¡°What happened to the Lu family?¡±

    The doll suddenly stoppedughing, and it looked at Lu Yin with a somber expression. ¡°Why should I tell you?¡±

    Lu Yin ridiculed the doll in turn. ¡°Even if you¡¯re only using me as a pawn, you should still throw me some scraps now and again.¡±

    Shaman God considered the matter for a bit before answering, ¡°I can tell you, and on top of that, I¡¯ll even swear on my title as one of the Seven Skygods that the Lu family is most likely still alive.¡±

    A flicker of excitement lit in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and his heartbeat started to pick up.

    ¡°The Lu family was banished towards Aeternus. Still, the four ruling powers aren¡¯t a bunch of fools, and they never actually nned on destroying the Lu family from the very beginning, though neither were they capable of doing so. Instead, their goal was to have the Lu family fight Aeternus to their dying breath, essentially using the family¡¯s lives to light a torch and ignite the final mes of a war. However, the members of the Lu family weren¡¯t dumb enough to simply submit to what fate had delivered to them. Instead, they hid themselves in other dimensions, which made it very difficult for even us Aeternus to find them. As of this day, no one knows just which dimensions the Lu family is hiding in,¡± Shaman God exined.

    ¡°Parallel universes?¡± Lu Yin asked eagerly.

    The doll replied, ¡°Correct. It¡¯s just that there are far too many parallel universes in existence, and even we would struggle to track them all down. They could have even died after running into a much stronger civilization, or they could still be alive and well. Who knows?¡±

    Lu Yin grunted. His first thought at this revtion was of Jiang Chen, who Lu Yin had met on Earth. In order to find a lightning rabbit, the man had been searching through multiple parallel universes. He somehow seemed to be able to easily travel between such universes, and also conduct searches in the ones that he visited. Lu Yin had no idea how Jiang Chen was able to do that.

    ¡°Whether or not the Lu family still lives is just your business. Maybe after you defeat the four ruling powers in the future, you¡¯ll also be able to find your family, kaka. Brat, the Lu family also has high hopes for you, which can be seen by how they willingly epted their exile. They¡¯ve ced all of their hopes on you, and I¡¯m eager to see if you¡¯re willing to bear the burden of humanity¡¯s might by sacrificing yourself or if you¡¯ll choose to pave the way for my Aeternus by challenging the four ruling powers in order to bring the Lu family back to their rightful ce. The final choice rests with you.¡± Shaman God posed a terrible question.

    Lu Yin stared at Shaman God''s doll and continued to try ruffling the Skygod¡¯s feathers. ¡°You monsters have no intelligence or emotions, which must be why you all love to test the limits of human emotions, right? How pathetic. You guys will never be able toprehend familial connections and love. After all, the more you try to test humanity, the more it just proves your own failings. You really are all just monstrous brutes.¡±

    Shaman God¡¯s doll screeched with its strangeugh. ¡°And so what, brat? I¡¯m still waiting for your decision. If you don¡¯t want to die, then go repair the sourcebox array at the second forward basecamp within two days. That sourcebox array waspletely destroyed when arge portion of the second forward basecamp fell down. I¡¯ll even help you with it.¡±

    After speaking, the doll raised a hand and pointed in a very specific direction. ¡°Run that way, and you¡¯ll meet someone who¡¯ll help you.

    ¡°Until next time, brat! I look forward to seeing your growth, kakakaka.¡± Shaman God''s voice slowly faded into the distance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s surroundings returned to normal, and he soon heard Che Zhan¡¯s voice right next to his ear. ¡°Brother Long Qi, what about what I just asked you?¡±

    Lu Yin was confused, and he asked in a daze, ¡°What was the question?¡±

    Che Zhan rolled his eyes. ¡°Princess Long Xi! Aren¡¯t you the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family? I¡¯ve heard that Princess Long Xi is the most radiant pearl of all of the four ruling powers. So how is she? Is she really as gorgeous as the rumors im?¡±

    Lu Yin replied with a slightly forced smile, ¡°She¡¯s not bad.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Che Zhan. Let Brother Long Qi rest and don¡¯t disturb him anymore,¡± Brother Hong chided the swordsman.

    Lu Yin looked away as Long Xi¡¯s face appeared in his head, followed by Ming Yan, Wendy Yushan, Zhuo Daynight, and Madam Nn. The list also continued past them. Ku Wei, Yan Yan, and Cai Jianqiang. The faces of everyone who was familiar and dear to Lu Yin shed through his mind one by one. He thought of the Fifth Maind, the Outerverse, and the tiny that had always put him at ease: Earth.

    The universe was such an exciting and vibrant ce, so how could he willingly throw his life away? There was no way he could do that.

    Even if he stood up against the four ruling powers, he would not die! Instead, he would bring the Lu family back to where they belonged, and he would also destroy Shaman God''s ns. However, there was still so much he needed to do.

    No matter how impossible a task ruining Shaman God''s schemes might appear to be, Wang Wen and Wei Rong could be trusted to put up a challenge. In particr, Wei Rong excelled at all sorts of nefarious plots and machinations. There had to be some way to disrupt the Skygod¡¯s scheme.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s question was no longer about whether he would return, but rather how he would be able to return with everyone who was currently with him.

    Still, it would not do to underestimate the corpse kings¡¯ intelligence. The driving reason behind the four Junior Progenitors being trapped was Long Xian. Even if Lu Yin had not snatched the tribtion crystal thread back then, the monsters would have still found some way of ruining the man and forcing him into leaking that map of the Dominion Realm. That n had been long in the works. With that thought, Lu Yin grew curious as to what had be of Long Xian. If he was still alive, then there was no doubt that he had already be a traitor.

    Long Xian would not have had any other choice. Other than that man, it was impossible to know just how many others had been coerced by the monsters through various despicable methods, forced to tread paths that would have never been traveled otherwise. Lu Yin had just be one of those desperate people.

    Humanity would undoubtedly meet a terrible end if they underestimated the intelligence of these monsters. They had lived for far too long, and they were extremely skilled in setting calcting andplex traps.

    Lu Yin felt his head ache. He was not afraid of running into an enemy whose strength was beyond his ability to fathom, but he did fear intelligent enemies, especially ones who had lived for countless years.

    After two days, another corpse king with the strength of an Envoy arrived to wee death. From Lu Yin¡¯s new perspective, all of these corpse kings had actually been sent to die to him, as he had realized that Shaman God was actually helping him gather achievements on the battlefield. Not only did Shaman God need to ensure that Lu Yin lived and returned to the Perennial World, but Lu Yin¡¯s status also had to climb, as that was the best way for him to receive the attention of the four ruling powers. In essence, Shaman God''s n was for a single result, which was that the moment Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind, all four of the ruling powers would also make their way to the Fifth Maind due to their wariness of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity. If that happened, Shaman God¡¯s n would be a sess.

    Given his knowledge of Shaman God¡¯s ns, Lu Yin believed himself to be the most secure person on the entire battlefield. The monsters actually wanted him to survive far more than Xia Yan or any of the humans did.

    ¡°This is already the fourth Envoy level corpse king! Brother Long Qi, you¡¯vepletely shattered everything I¡¯ve ever known about cultivation,¡± said a dumbstruck Che Zhan.

    Even though the corpse king had been sent to die, that did not mean that it had been weak by any means. Lu Yin had still been struck hard enough where the vibrations from each impact had caused him to cough up blood, though such injuries recovered almost immediately.

    After hearing Che Zhan¡¯s words, Lu Yin also felt like he had actually gone overboard. Throughout all history, how many cultivators had been capable of defeating multiple corpse kings at the Envoy level while being nothing more than an Enlighter who hadpleted thirty two cycles themselves?

    Both Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor had likely been capable of doing so, but no one inferior to Progenitors in their younger years would have been capable of such a feat. Lu Yin was very confident about that guess, since he also understood his strength after opening all three of his meridian points.

    ¡°I remember that, when the second forward basecamp began to fall, the defensive sourcebox array there seemed to fall down along with us,¡± Lu Yin suddenlymented, and his words roused the attention of everyone in the underground space.

    Mr. Guo tried to rify Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Lu Yin seriously replied, ¡°If that sourcebox array is repaired, then would there be a possibility for us to use its power to escape from this ce? There¡¯s an army here in the New World, right? Since that army is capable of staying here and defending an outpost, they¡¯re clearly quite capable. If we work with them, we just might be able to get back up to the second forward basecamp.¡±

    People¡¯s eyes lit up with hope. All of them had already abandoned all thoughts of survival, and they had almostpletely embraced their fated deaths. However, who would be truly willing to die? If there was even the slightest chance of survival, any of them would seize it in a heartbeat.

    However, Mr. Guo¡¯s next words instantly returned everyone to the hell that was reality. ¡°That¡¯s no use. The sourcebox array that protected the second forward basecamp is called Red Beam. It¡¯s very powerful and can defend against the attacks of powerhouses who have survived five and even six stellr tribtions. However, it was destroyed when the assault on the basecamp first started, and only a Lockbreaker who¡¯s surpassed the Senior Array Master level like Master Song could possibly repair it.

    ¡°Even the second array base¡¯s Master Zan wouldn¡¯t be able to repair this sourcebox array. Leaving aside the fact that there we don¡¯t even have a Senior Array Master, let alone a Realm Array Master, but even if we did, that person would still need a lot of time toprehend the Red Beam before they could repair it. We¡¯ll never be able to endure for the time required to do that.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes dulled.

 Chapter 1512: The Hope of Humanity

    Chapter 1512: The Hope of Humanity

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°Regardless of whether it works or not, I still have to at least try. Before this, I managed to fix the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array when everyone believed it to be impossible, including Master Zan and even Master Deng Guo. Despite that, I still seeded. I want to give this array a try as well. It was already fixed once during thatst battle that took ce at the second forward basecamp.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an Array Master?¡± Mr. Guo waspletely shocked, and even Zhou Tang and the others had not expected Lu Yin to say this. He had already demonstrated abat prowess that defied allmon sense, so who could have imagined that he was also an Array Master on top of everything else?

    ¡°Oh, right. Your movements during your fight with thatst corpse king were based off of a sourcebox array, weren¡¯t they?¡± Che Zhen, who stood nearest to Lu Yin, eximed in understanding.

    Lu Yin just nodded.

    ¡°Can we really get back alive?¡± someone asked, suddenly overflowing with hope. No one wished to die, and the mere prospect was painful to consider despite how all of Lu Yin¡¯srades had been forced to face such prospects head on.

    His eyes resolute, Lu Yin was the one to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we have to at least try.¡±

    Mr. Guo voiced his hesitation. ¡°Master Song and his disciples were able to sessfully repair the sourcebox array before that portion of the second forward basecamp was abandoned, but it all broke down again. Given the state of the second forward basecamp¡¯s remnants after it fell down here, the sourcebox array is likely even more damaged than before, and there¡¯s also a possibility that some of the sourceboxes arepletely missing.¡±

    ¡°I still have to try,¡± Lu Yin said decisively.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Brother Long Qi, give it a try.¡±

    ¡°Brother Long Qi, we¡¯re counting on you! It¡¯s at least better than waiting here to die.¡±

    ¡°Brother Long Qi, if we really do make it back alive, I¡¯ll spend the rest of my life repaying you for this peerless favor.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Long Qi, you go do whatever you need to. Leave this ce to us,¡± Brother Hong spoke up as he nced over at Mr. Guo and the others.

    Mr. Guo nodded. ¡°Give it a try.¡±

    Che Zhanughed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you consider this possibility earlier, Brother Long Qi? Go, the sourcebox array isn¡¯t far.¡±

    Lu Yin pulled out the knife that he had taken from Xia Shenfei as well as his universal armor before throwing both items over to Che Zhan, who caught them with surprise on his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die before I get back,¡± Lu Yin ordered. With that said, he immediately turned and left.

    Che Zhan held the two items that he had just been given in a daze. He looked rather confused. These two things were practically invaluable, and more importantly, they represented life in the New World.

    Che Zhan looked over at Zhou Tang.

    A smile creeped across Zhou Tang¡¯s lips. ¡°Do as he says.¡±

    Mr. Guo could not help himself from singing Lu Yin¡¯s praises. ¡°That boy has got spirit, righteousness, plots, but most importantly, a burning determination that never dies. If he survives this adversity, he¡¯s sure to take the universe by storm in the future. If I manage to return alive, I have to witness the day his power allows him to rule over the universe.¡±

    Even though no one else verbally expressed their thoughts, the glint in their eyes was enough. Their feelings were all on the same wavelength. Lu Yin¡¯s actions had impressed them far too much, and it had reached the point where they struggled to put words to their emotions. Additionally, all of them had entrusted their lives to Lu Yin, so the favor and gratitude that they felt towards him was overpowering.

    In contrast, Lu Yin felt quite rxed as he made his way towards the sourcebox array. The New World had be somewhat like his backyard garden. With Shaman God protecting him, who would dare toy a hand on him?

    As he scanned his surroundings, Lu Yin confirmed which direction he needed to take. He could sense the danger field of a sourcebox, which made him certain that the sourcebox arrayy in that direction. Was it the defensive sourcebox array? Yet another new sourcebox array, though who knew just how much Shaman God had helped in its repairs.

    The defensive sourcebox array emitted a red light that consumed everything with its power. Once the sourcebox array was activated, earth, sky, and even the void would be enveloped by red beams, and anyone who made contact with them would instantly die. For the monsters, the red beams were fiercely hated, as countless corpse kings had died to this sourcebox array. If possible, Shaman God definitely did not want this array to be fixed, but if that did not happen, then how could Lu Yin and the others join the human army stationed in the New World?

    Without working together with that army, how could Lu Yin¡¯s group escape? The sourcebox array was their only hope.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings as he carefully approached the danger zone. What he found was not a sourcebox array that had been broken and shattered, but rather a deactivated array. Shaman God had actually left Lu Yin with a fully repaired sourcebox array.

    Although the array had already been fixed, it would still take Lu Yin some time to activate it and learn how to smoothly operate it. Understanding such things took time, so this was where his die woulde into y. All Lu Yin had to do was remember the structure of the sourcebox array¡¯s danger fields before entering the Timestop Space and continuing his research.

    A great distance away, Marquis Green Bamboo was observing Lu Yin as the youth investigated the sourcebox array. The marquis¡¯s scarlet eyes that were touched with a green hue showed his clear distaste for this entire matter. To think that a human was allowed to run about so freely in the New World to the extent where he was even given as much time as needed toprehend a sourcebox array. On top of all of that, the youth was trying toprehend a sourcebox array that had been specifically designed to deal with corpse kings. Marquis Green Bamboo waspletely disgusted by what he was forced to witness and allow.

    To make things worse, that sourcebox array had actually been repaired by one of the Seven Skygods themself! No one would ever believe such a thing if word of it ever leaked. Even the marquis himself could not help but think that if someone ever tried to use Long Qi because of this matter of cooperation, there would not be a single person in the entire Perennial World who would believe it!

    The marquis grew more and more upset, and his finger twitched as he sent out another corpse king with the strength of an Envoy to attack Lu Yin¡¯spanions that had been left back in the underground space.

    At this moment, Che Zhan was the person on guard against the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin looked up and back in the direction that he hade from; were the battles resuming back at the underground crevice? The monsters really had no intention of allowing him to rest for even a moment. If he did not move quickly, then Che Zhan and the others would face terrible danger. After all, Shaman God waspletely unconcerned with the fates of the other humans. Still, Lu Yin had left them with his universal armor and the dagger, so they should be able to endure for some time given their strength.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the sourcebox array for several days without stopping even once. With that time, he managed to memorize the arrangement of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields. It was veryplicated, but fortunately, he had alreadyprehended several other sourcebox arrays along with the defensive sourcebox array up at the second array base, all of which helped him with his current efforts. Without his previous experiences, Lu Yin would have beenpletely lost.

    He settled down on the ground in a cross-legged position as the void twisted around him. With a raised hand, the Champions'' Stage appeared. Right after that, Lu Yin¡¯s die appeared within the Champions'' Stage. With the Champions¡¯ Stage blocking all lines of sight, not even Shaman God would be able to see Lu Yin¡¯s die. Also, even if Shaman God was not currently watching Lu Yin, it was not bad to be a bit more cautious.

    Even though Shaman God was not actively observing Lu Yin, Marquis Green Bamboo had not once looked away.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin manifest the Champions'' Stage, Marquis Green Bamboo felt shocked; so this kid was someone from the Lu family? The marquis¡¯s mind raced, and he quickly understood Shaman God¡¯s current plot. So that was how things were. The boy was from the Lu family. In that case, it was no wonder why Shaman God had said that this person could incite chaos throughout the entire Perennial World. How could the four ruling powers possibly sit back and do nothing when a direct descendant of the Lu family reappeared? How could the Lu family¡¯s former retainers be willing to abandon their struggle?

    Marquis Green Bamboo gasped. ¡°Who would¡¯ve thought that a member of the Lu family still lived. Every single person from the Lu family presents a threat, but with this single direct descendant who just happens to have an even more impressive natural talent, he really is the perfect pawn for stirring up matters within the Perennial World.¡±

    As the marquis was contemting everything that he had just realized, he never noticed the die hidden by the Champions'' Stage.

    Lu Yin stretched out a finger and tapped the die, making it spin in the air. One pip: Pilfer. Lu Yin¡¯s lips pursed when he saw that nothing at all appeared, but he quickly restored the die and rolled it again.

    His second roll was a sess, as itnded on four pips: Timestop.

    The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he entered a gray and white space where he formally began his research on the sourcebox array.

    ¡­

    Some timeter, the scenery changed yet again, and Lu Yin reappeared in the New World. In the outside world, only a moment had passed, so Marquis Green Bamboo had not noticed anything at all.

    For Semi-Progenitors, a second was a very long time, but if they were not paying particr attention, it could also be a negligible amount of time. The marquis had been considering Lu Yin¡¯s identity and the future chaos that would erupt in the Perennial World. Thus, he had not noticed anything about Lu Yin changing within that second.

    Still, Lu Yin would not be particrly concerned even if someone did notice. While his innate gift was incredible if he exined it to someone, it was practically impossible for anyone to understand the truth from simple visual observation. Lu Yin had even entered the Timestop Space during hisst battle on Earth to recover from his injuries. Mira had actually seen what had happened, but had merely assumed that Lu Yin possessed some kind of healing-rted innate gift.

    The gap between Lu Yin¡¯s strength and Mira¡¯s back then was quite simr to the gap in strength between Lu Yin and Marquis Green Bamboo at the present time. In both cases, an insurmountable difference of strength separated the two.

    Elsewhere, Che Zhan was struggling to fight off the corpse king. The swordsman was no match for the monster, and if not for the universal armor¡¯s impressive defenses, the Envoy would have long since died. Halfway through the battle, Brother Hong reced Che Zhan, and then Matriarch of the Eastern Mountain took a turn, followed by Mr. Guo. Each of them took turns fighting against the corpse king. In the end, they managed to hold out for several days under a terrible struggle,sting until Lu Yin¡¯s return.

    The moment that Lu Yin appeared, in a huge surprise, the corpse king fled, which caused Che Zhan and the others to stare in stupefaction.

    ¡°Even monsters can be scared?¡± someone asked in shock. Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin oddly. Truly, this youth was continuously shattering everything that they had known to be true in the past.

    ¡°Long Qi, how are things with the sourcebox array?¡± Brother Hong asked.

    Everyone nervously stared at Lu Yin. They struggled to even breathe, as what they were waiting to hear would determine their lives or deaths.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then smiled. ¡°It worked.¡±

    Every single person present was stunned, and some were actually unable to believe Lu Yin¡¯s response. The silence stretched out.

    Zhou Tang stared at Lu Yin in utter shock before finally eximing, ¡°You managed to fix that sourcebox in just a few days?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Thanks to the efforts put in by Master Song and the others, the sourcebox array was already repaired, and it was actually barely damaged. They were only forced to abandon the sourcebox array because a massive portion of the second forward basecamp fell down here, but fortunately, the fall and the impact didn¡¯t damage it much further. I was lucky enough to figure out how to make the minor repairs that were necessary without much trouble. I was really lucky.¡±

    Everyone let out sighs of relief. Lu Yin¡¯s exnation made sense. After processing this news, everyone started to get excited, as they had just received a new lease on life. Their eyes were filled with gratitude and respect as they stared at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Now we can use that sourcebox array as we search for the Ever-Victorious Army,¡± Mr. Guo said, rxing a bit.

    The Ever-Victorious Army was humanity¡¯s only army in the New World. Everyone here knew that the army was just a group of cultivators, but they were legends in the Perennial World. There were rumors that imed that there was a human city in the New World, and that it was an eternal symbol of human hope. This city was known as New City, and the troops stationed there were often referred to as the Ever-Victorious Army. However, in truth those who actually knew the Ever-Victorious Army would only ever consider them by another name: the Forsaken Soldiers. The ¡°army¡± was nothing but a ragtag group of soldiers who had been left behind.

    No one would ever ask to be deployed to the New World of their own volition, as it was essentially a death sentence. The Forsaken Soldiers were no different than the Star Alliance, and all of the soldiers had been sent to the New World as a part of their penal punishment. Very few willingly took such a post, and the vast majority of the soldiers were people who had offended the four ruling powers in some way or another.

    ¡°In which direction will we find the Ever-Victorious Army?¡± Brother Hong asked as he looked over at Mr. Guo.

    ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Mr. Guo replied.

    Zhou Tang raised a hand and pointed towards the east. ¡°That way.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Che Zhan asked in confusion.

    Zhou Tang looked up, regret evident on his face. ¡°If we Star Alliance members didn¡¯t die here, we would have eventually been sent there as well.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°Are the Lu family¡¯s former retainers stationed there?¡±

    Zhou Tang met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Some of them.¡±

    An irrepressible fury ignited within Lu Yin¡¯s heart. The Lu family had been exiled by those four groups, and then the family¡¯s former retainers had been forced to either join the Star Alliance or the Forsaken Soldiers, not to mention those that had likely been directly sentenced to death. The four ruling powers were more than vicious, so how could he not ache for revenge against them?

    However, no one could see through Lu Yin¡¯s calm facade to his raging emotions. He simply said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll look for the Ever-Victorious Army as I can control the sourcebox array.¡±

    Everyone grew excited at the prospect of this journey. Dying in battle was much better than sitting around and waiting to die.

    Far away, Marquis Green Bamboo remained silent as he watched Lu Yin and the others leave the underground crevice and move towards the sourcebox array. He already knew what would happen soon, so he immediately ordered, ¡°Eliminate those people.¡±

    The moment thismand was given, the horde of corpse kings surrounding the underground space suddenly charged towards Lu Yin and all of the others.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned grim, and he shouted, ¡°Go! Get inside the array!¡±

 Chapter 1513: Rescue Mission

    Chapter 1513: Rescue Mission

    Before long, right when the horde of corpse kings were about to attack Lu Yin and the others, the humans stepped into Red Beam. As soon as they did so, the void warped, and the sourcebox array came to life, rising to connect the ground to the sky as it started emanating beams of red light in all directions. The moment the beams of red light made contact with the monsters, countless corpse kings were reduced to ashes. With the Red Beam¡¯s omnidirectional offense, it soon carved out a space free from the encroaching monsters. The sourcebox array was ten times more efficient at directly killing the corpse kings than the humans.

    Lu Yin looked tense as he scanned the horizon. Red Beam was arranged with seven sourceboxes. Lu Yin had Che Zhan, Brother Hong, Matriarch of the Eastern Mountain, and Mr. Guo each take charge of a sourcebox. Then, he gave control of the remaining three to Enlighters who were on the cusp of bing Envoys.

    ¡°From now on, everybody needs to listen to mymands. I¡¯ll instruct you guys on how to move around, but you need to keep in mind that the moment you make a single wrong move, the array might attack us as well,¡± Lu Yin warned in a solemn voice.

    Che Zhan and the rest all looked stern. ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Che Zhan, take the vanguard. Matriarch of the Eastern Mountain, go to the right, twenty steps away from Che Zhan. Ten steps past her¡ªBrother Hong, stay right where you are¡­¡± Lu Yin began giving out directions one after one. Everyone attentively listened to hismands, which helped maintain the full power of the Red Beam and wipe out the corpse kings in all directions. This allowed them to slowly make their way forward in the direction that Zhou Tang had indicated.

    From a distance, they looked like a giant red sphere slowly moving across the ground, and any corpse king that touched the red light was immediately vaporized. This Red Beam sourcebox array had once protected the second forward basecamp, so such extraordinary power was actually to be expected.

    Marquis Green Bamboo gasped in shock; even if the array had been fully repaired by Shaman God, Lu Yin was truly gifted as a peerless Lockbreaker since he had learned how to control and utilize the array within just a few days. His skills were truly jaw-dropping.

    Once the various elements of a sourcebox array were set in ce, it was difficult to shift it around. If someone wanted to relocate an array, they had to have a thorough understanding of the sourcebox array down to everyst detail. Even Master Song had not mastered this array to that level. The truth was that Lu Yin would have been simrly incapable of mastering the sourcebox array if he hadn¡¯t retreated into the Timestop Space and dedicated an entire year to thoroughly researching it.

    What Lu Yin had pulled off was enough to overwhelm even a Semi-Progenitor like Marquis Green Bamboo.

    Nobody asked how far they were from the Forsaken Soldiers, or more likely, nobody dared to ask. There might be a great distance to cover, or they might be quite close. All the survivors needed was a strand of hope to cling onto, a hope that they would never have if they were forced to sit and wait to die in the underground crevice.

    As the group walked over within the protection of the powerful attacks of the sourcebox array, the crumbled ruins of the second forward basecamp drifted further and further away while the shadow up above slowly faded from view. They were going off on a journey across the New World.

    The unending horde of corpse kings continued to surround them, and there was no end in sight. There were also times when corpse kings with the strength of Envoys would attempt to forcefully break into the sourcebox array to destroy the array. But to counter these attempts, the three Enlighters carrying the sourceboxes had been ced in the center of the array while Che Zhan and the other Envoys were in the outer positions. This allowed the humans to hold out even against corpse kings with the strength of regr Envoys.

    Soon, more than half a day had passed. The sky remained the same dusky color, but the sunset red beams of the sourcebox array were a stark contrast, making for a breathtaking and never-before-seen sight in the New World.

    The ground began to violently tremble. A hundred meter tall giant corpse king had appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched a bit when he saw the enormous corpse king. Things were no longer looking so good for them. Those oversized corpse kings were specially made to counter sourcebox arrays. These giant corpse kings could absorb sourceboxes into their bodies, damaging the arrays. This was how the defensive sourcebox arrays at both the second array base and the second forward basecamp had been destroyed. Back then, Zhou Tang had been forced to use his aurelian force to eliminate the giant corpse king attacking the second forward basecamp, and that move had overexerted him and severely injured his body.

    Sensing that the situation was quickly growing beyond their means to handle, Lu Yin cursed Shaman God in his heart. If the Skygod really intended for Lu Yin to survive to the end, then why did that doll have to act so seriously and make things so difficult for him?

    The beams of the sourcebox array continuously etched away at the massive corpse king while the giant stretched out a hand in an attempt to grab the people inside the array. However, the beams of light severed its fingers this time. This giant corpse king was much weaker than the one that had attacked the second forward basecamp, though itsparative weakness did not stop it from pping its palm down onto the humans turtled under the array.

    Just when Lu Yin was about to unleash hisst Void Rip, he felt a fluctuation sweep by the nearby space. The void twisted as though it was being burned, and it started to copse onto itself. This was a familiar feeling; was it aurelian force?

    ¡°Leave that one to me,¡± Zhou Tang said as he stepped forward.

    Che Zhan grinned. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s recovered.¡±

    Zhou Tang stared up at the giant corpse king, waiting for the wounded hand to strike down. At a precise moment, the Envoy lifted his hand and threw a palm attack at the giant corpse king. The attack cleanly sliced off the corpse king¡¯s entire arm. Without any hesitation, Zhou Tang leaped forward and shot out of Red Beam. Another Envoy level corpse king suddenly appeared beside the man, but Zhou Tang just grabbed it as he raised his hand.

    When fighting against corpse kings, there was almost no one who could be like Zhou Tang, who could crush them with his strength.

    The grabbed corpse king growled in fury and unleashed an unknown sonic attack with its snarls. This attack actually managed to distort the void, but Zhou Tang¡¯s aurelian force just shattered the void entirely as he sent the Envoy level corpse king flying with a fierce p. In front of Zhou Tang, the giant corpse king¡¯s fist was just about to strike the Envoy. Zhou Tang¡¯s eyes went wide in surprise, but he was invincible when he used his aurelian force.

    There was an incredible boom as the giant corpse king¡¯s punch struck Zhou Tang¡¯s body, but Zhou Tang continued to stand tall in the void, towering above his opponent. He was not pushed back even a single step. Then, he raised a hand and shed it upwards along the corpse king''s body. Just as he had done to the corpse king that had attacked the second forward basecamp, this giant corpse king was also sliced in two, instantly dying.

    Zhou Tang suddenly coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood as his drained body fell back into the sourcebox array.

    "Take care of him!" Lu Yin yelled in a deep voice. He was finally able to sigh in relief after seeing that the giant corpse king had been taken care of. Unless a corpse king with the strength of a five stellr tribtion Envoy appeared, the corpse kings would not be able to ovee the soucebox array, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯spanions would be able to live. What¡¯s more, Shaman God definitely would not allow such powerhouses to make a move against Lu Yin, as if that happened, how could Lu Yin reasonably be expected to survive? Shaman God''s entire n would end up failing if such a thing happened.

    Marquis Green Bamboo continued to observe everything from a distance, and he was almost unable to stop himself from making a move. Someone who had managed to cultivate battle force to aurelian force was worthy of the marquis personally taking action. If such a person could be defeated and then transformed into a corpse king, that would truly be perfect.

    Sadly, the marquis was not allowed to do anything.

    "Brother Hong, move seven steps back and watch out for the iing sneak attacks from the corpse kings! Che Zhan, stop looking around!" Lu Yin chided.

    Che Zhan was startled. He had caught sight of an oddly shaped corpse king, and it had drawn his attention. Even after Lu Yin''s scolding, the Envoy still felt a bit anxious about what he had seen.

    During the entire time that Red Beam moved forward, Lu Yin was constantly busy eliminating incredibly powerful enemies and repairing the array that was giving hope and life to everyone with him. The fact that Lu Yin had to constantly give orders to adjust the array also conditioned the various powerhouses to execute Lu Yin¡¯s orders as though they were edicts from god. In some way, it was as though they were all his subordinates.

    No one realized it, not even Lu Yin himself, but he had started tomand hisrades as though they were members of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The second forward basecamp had long since disappeared from sight, though the second array base above them did not show much of a change. No matter how far they traveled, the second array base remained in the same ce in the sky, much like an unmoving sun.

    "There''s a city up ahead!" someone yelled excitedly.

    Everyone else eagerly looked ahead, and bit by bit, the outline of a city appeared.

    Lu Yin turned to look as well; had they arrived?

    ¡°That¡¯s not where the Forsaken Soldiers are stationed. This city belongs to the monsters,¡± Mr. Guo glumly informed everyone.

    Everybody¡¯s hearts sank. They stared off into the distance, and sure enough, countless corpse kings were charging out of the city and towards them.

    ¡°What do we do now? Do we need to go around the city?¡± someone asked.

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin, waiting for him to make a decision.

    Lu Yin turned to Mr. Guo and asked, ¡°Does this city have any sourcebox arrays?¡±

    Mr. Guo shook his head. ¡°Not one of this size. The monsters wouldn¡¯t bother setting up a sourcebox array within a city unless it has great importance. This doesn''t qualify.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression chilled. Even if there was an array within this city, Shaman God would never allow it to be activated. At that thought, Lu Yin loudly yelled, ¡°Then we continue charging straight through! We don¡¯t have time to make any detours. If another giant corpse king shows up, none of us will be able to deal with it.¡±

    Everyone gritted their teeth as they ferociously red at the distant city. ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡­

    From a distant location, Marquis Green Bamboo was dumbfounded at the scene he was witnessing. The humans wanted to charge straight into the city? Though, it didn¡¯t matter, as such cities were unimportant!

    The closer the humans moved to the city, the more corpse kings that appeared. Regardless, the monsters were not able to stand up to the killing power of the sourcebox array¡¯s red beams. Even if these corpse kings had no fear of death, they were not willing to sacrifice themselves for nothing either. Besides, they actually possessed some intelligence of their own.

    Finally, the humans managed to force their way into the city while under the array¡¯s protection.

    For the vast majority of the survivors, this was their first time seeing a city inhabited by monsters, and they were naturally intrigued and curious about it.

    The city was not much different from a human city, and the biggest differencey in the architectural styles. Still,pared to a human city, the corpse kings¡¯ city felt decidedly more disturbing. There was not a single living creature within the entire city. In fact, the city felt more like a stic disy that had been set up to store corpse kings.

    Rather than a city, it felt much more suitable to call it¡­ a coffin.

    Houses, buildings, and even the ground below them had all beenpletely destroyed by Red Beam. The survivors had not once slowed in their journey to the east. Lu Yin and the others plowed their way straight through the city center without pause, and their passage essentially split the city in two with the power of their array. The red beams even scoured away the topyer of the ground.

    They did not sacrifice even a single person due to the array¡¯s protection, which was perfectly in line with Lu Yin¡¯s greatest hopes.

    After leaving the city, they were greeted by the sight of an endless space. However, there were several massives overhead that spiraled around and crashed down towards the survivors.

    While crushing humans with stars might sound like a domineering move, it was actually rather useless.

    The red beams of light pierced through the sky and shattered the stars, which tore open the void and produced spatial cracks that spread out in all directions.

    ¡°Those guys behind us, aren¡¯t they human?¡± someone hesitantly asked within Red Beam.

    Many heads turned to look behind them, and they quickly saw what that person had been referring to. A human figure was emerging from beneath the city that they had split in two. This person was moving slowly, and instead of charging straight towards the Red Beam like the corpse kings, this figure was trying to avoid the corpse kings. Before long, more and more humans rose out from underground.

    Lu Yin stopped them from moving forward and turned back to look. He saw a pair of lost and desperate eyes. That person really was a human.

    ¡°They¡¯re humans!¡± Che Zhan shouted in surprise.

    Mr. Guo exined, ¡°This is one of the ways in which Aeternus births new corpse kings. They forcibly transform humans, which produces corpse kings from ordinary humans.¡±

    Lu Yin had once visited Aeternus Nation, and although he had never seen a human be converted into a corpse king, he had certainly seen humans be treated as food, and he had also witnessed their efforts to integrate death energy into both humans and corpse kings to remodel them. Thus, this sight was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin, though it still impacted him emotionally. To think that they would stumble upon humans in this New World that was swarming with nothing but corpse kings. How helpless, miserable, and defeated must these people feel? They all stared at Lu Yin and the others with hope and begging expressions.

    After the people rose out from under the ground one by one, they began to crowd together out of fear, and the nearby corpse kings quickly surrounded them.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Che Zhan asked, looking at Zhou Tang.

    Zhou Tang silently stared at Lu Yin.

    One by one, everyone else eventually turned to look at Lu Yin as well. All of them had already begun to view him as their leader.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and said, ¡°We save them.¡±

    Even though none of them wanted to die, and although their search for the Forsaken Soldiers was theirst hope of survival, they were also not yet at the point where they could abandon helpless humans who clearly needed their help to be saved from a horrible death. Even if everyone was aware that trying to save these humans who had appeared would most likely draw the attention of powerful enemies, they still wanted to try. There was an ingrained sense of duty that was an intrinsic part of their human nature.

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s decision, the other survivors heaved sighs of relief before crying out in fury, ¡°Save them!¡±

    Red Beam turned around and moved back towards the city.

    Outside the city, more humans endlessly rushed out from underground. The fact that they were on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree meant that they were also all cultivators who had fought against corpse kings before. However, they had been weakened by Aeternus¡¯ efforts to remodel their bodies, and there were some who might have even been forced to kill their ownpanions after a sessful transformation.

 Chapter 1514: A Large-Scale Assault

    Chapter 1514: A Large-Scale Assault

    It was not difficult to convert regr humans into corpse kings. After so many years of research and testing, Aeternus had many methods avable to them, and what they employed in the underground spaces beneath their cities was corrosion. They corrupted these captured humans with the overwhelming energy given off by a mass of corpse kings, which would gradually permanently transform the humans.

    Some who were unable to resist the corrosion were already no longer human, though there were also quite a few others who had managed to endure. There were also some humans who had likely only recently arrived and thus had not yet transformed. These were the people whom Lu Yin and the others wanted to save.

    Normally, they would not go out of their way to rescue these captured humans who were being forcefully transformed, but since they had coincidentally run across them, the ragtag group of survivors had no intention of leaving the other humans behind to fend for themselves.

    Watching from afar, Marquis Green Bamboo was a bit surprised. These people still want to save others when they were already in such a dire situation themselves? Were humans hypocrites, or just stupid?

    Corpse kings littered thendscape everywhere outside the city, and most of the people who had escaped from underground were terrified, anxious, and quickly fell to despair. There were a few who fought against the corpse kings with everything that they had. One in particr shouted, ¡°Brothers, I came here knowing that I¡¯d die, but now, even just killing one of these monsters is a step forward for us! Stepping onto this battlefield already sealed our fates, so what is there to fear?¡±

    ¡°Kill the monsters! Kill them!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll drag at least one of them to hell with me if I¡¯m going to die!¡±

    ¡­

    The sourcebox array continued to fire its red beams in all directions like a giant red monster as it returned to the city and killed all of the surrounding corpse kings.

    ¡°Get in, QUICKLY!¡± Lu Yin yelled at the top of his lungs to the people who had climbed out of the underground pit.

    Lu Yin and his group had been noticed by the humans long ago, though they had not expected any assistance. Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, everyone shot into the Red Beam without a second thought.

    ¡°Thank you for helping us, brothers,¡± said a well-built man with a pale face. His aura was flickering and unstable, and he was only an Enlighter at best. However, he was the strongest of the humans who had climbed up from beneath the city.

    ¡°How many more people are still underground and still human?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°At least a million more.¡±

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. ¡°So many? Where did they alle from?¡±

    The man bitterly answered, ¡°Some of them were taken from the battlefield, but we have no idea where the vast majority of them came from. Regardless, there are many people trapped in there, though we weren¡¯t able tomunicate with each other. The biggest reason why we know that they¡¯re not from the battlefield is because of their numbers. The fighting on the battlefield is simply too intense, and far more people are killed than those who are captured. There¡¯s no way so many people could possibly be captured. On top of that, their clothing is different from what we use.¡±

    Lu Yin grew a little worried at that information. He nced at the hole that led underground and ordered, ¡°Che Zhan, Brother Hong, Matriarch of the Eastern Mountain, let¡¯s move.¡±

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s orders, several people immediately began moving, and the red beams shot out once more. This time, many of them fired at the ground, tearing apart the ground beneath the city, as well as a concrete b. The full underground situation was fully exposed.

    As the ground crumbled and copsed, humans, corpse kings, monsters-in-the-making, and even corpses were revealed.

    After the ground crumbled, the entire city started to copse as well. Corpse kings all around the Red Beam started charging towards it as though they had gone insane, but all of their efforts were fruitless. None of the monsters were able to even leave a scratch on the Red Beam.

    There was a grim expression on Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s face as he watched these events unfold. He had never expected Lu Yin and the others to choose to save everyone. The marquis¡¯s eyes narrowed in displeasure. This was not how the situation was supposed to y out! Those captured humans should have be back-up corpse kings that would be into the Perennial World as weapons!

    As he thought of the immeasurable losses that they were suffering, Marquis Green Bamboo contacted Shaman God. The Skygod¡¯s response was simple. ¡°Let him do whatever he wants. You should have already figured out his identity, which also means that you must have also realized the importance of letting him gain many achievements in this war.¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s eyes zed with indignation, but he could only lower his hand and continue to silently watch. A shadow appeared behind him. It was a corpse king, one that was extremely strong and wasparable to a powerhouse that had survived five stellr tribtions. If this creature were sent into the city, then Lu Yin and the others would have no chance of surviving. Unfortunately, the marquis was unable to do anything besides watch on as the city was destroyed and the captured humans were rescued.

    Marquis Green Bamboo and the corpse king behind him were not the only ones paying attention. The New World was supposed to be the monster¡¯s main base, from which they would invade the Perennial World. Thus, all of the Twelve Marquises had a vested interest in the current events. Any one of them could easily make a move and deal with the sourcebox array without any effort, but they had no choice but to simply watch on as the Red Beam left the city.

    The number of people inside the sourcebox array had risen to close to a million after they saved every human who had not transformed, and the size of the Red Beam had increased considerably. If the rescued people truly had not been captured from the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, then the most likely possibility was that they hade from¡­ parallel universes.

    Lu Yin had never considered the fact that people from parallel universes could be captured and brought to this ce as well. At this thought, his hair stood on end. There were an infinite number of parallel universes, and the same could be said of the humans living in those universes. If the monsters actually had the ability to capture people from parallel universes, then it no wonder why there were an endless number of corpse kings.

    Mr. Guo voiced his confusion. ¡°All of the Twelve Marquises are on this battlefield, and yet they¡¯re letting us be. I honestly thought that the ruckus we kicked up this time would have caused our deaths.¡±

    Lu Yin countered, ¡°Just doing this much can¡¯t be considered a bigmotion. Just how big do you think the entire New World is? We¡¯re only crawling across a tiny corner of it at best.¡±

    Mr. Guoughed. ¡°You¡¯re right. There are countless cities throughout the New World, and destroying one is not necessarily enough to attract their attention.¡±

    Still, they hadpletely destroyed a city, which was an aplishment that had never been done before in the New World. It would be nearly impossible for such a thing to not be noticed.

    It was only a matter of time before formidable enemies sought them out.

    Lu Yin looked around, wondering if Shaman God was spying on them or listening to any of the questions that were being brought up. That creepy doll had to being up with a way to resolve such doubts, right? Otherwise, sessfully rescuing so many humans with nothing more than the help of the sourcebox array and then meeting up with the Forsaken Soldiers would not be a believable story.

    Throughout history, there had been many examples of Redbacks gaining impressive achievements on the battlefield.

    Off in the distance, Marquis Green Bamboo looked up at the second array base. ¡°It¡¯s time tounch arge-scale assault. This should be the excuse for why we¡¯ve been too busy to pay attention to the New World, right?¡±

    Shaman God voice replied, ¡°Gaga, all of the Twelve Marquises are to join in on the assault! We start now!¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo smiled bitterly. All of this was just because of Long Qi. Aeternus and humanity were about to engage in a battle that would embroil the entire battlefield behind the Mother Tree. Never before had anyone ever been given such peerless treatment. Not even the top ranked Redbacks were worth such efforts. Long Qi, I hope that you don¡¯t let Aeternus down.

    There were some situations where the truth was bound to be exposed. If Lu Yin were a Redback, and if Aeternus went out of its way to help him rack up achievements in the war and also remove any suspicious details, then such things would eventuallye to light. However, Lu Yin was not a Redback, and that was an absolute fact. Regardless, Aeternus was clever enough to work with Redbacks who did not even know that they were Redbacks!

    One dayter, the second array base high above them activated. Its unbelievably massive gears began to turn, which drew the attention of the entire New World, even that of Lu Yin and those with him.

    ¡°The second array base has been activated! A massive attack is about to beunched!¡± Mr. Guo eximed.

    At that moment, a vibration echoed out that caused the ground of the New World to crack, and the trembles could be felt from far, far away.

    ¡°It¡¯s the other array bases!¡± Che Zhan yelled in shock.

    Instantly solemn, Brother Hong said, ¡°One, two, three, four. Together with the second array base, all five of the array bases have all been activated. A fight like never before is about to start.¡±

    Zhou Tang looked up and stared at the second array base with a serious expression. ¡°A battle that involves all five of the array bases that has even forced all of them to be activated¡­ Could a Semi-Progenitor powerhouse have made a move? No, if it were a Semi-Progenitor, it would be impossible to conceal such a battle¡¯s fluctuations. Even here, we would feel it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why they ignored us. We¡¯re nothing more than insignificant antspared to a battle of this scale.¡± Mr. Guo sighed in relief.

    Lu Yin suddenly roared, ¡°Everyone, ignore the battle above us! We¡¯ll seize this opportunity to keep rushing forward to meet up with the Forsaken Soldiers!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Che Zhan shouted energetically.

    ¡°We need to use this opportunity in order to live! Charge!¡±

    ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡­

    The battle involving all five array bases wouldst for a long time, at least ording to Mr. Guo. It would not be easy for a victor to emerge from such arge-scale battle.

    Five dayster, Lu Yin and the others were still making their way towards the east with the Red Beam. As they traveled, they came across yet another city.

    It was of aparable size to the city that they had crashed through before.

    The Red Beam tore the city apart and broke the ground open. Everyone witnessed the same scene take ce as before: people were being transformed into corpse kings underground. There was a considerable number of humans beneath this city, close to two million humans who had not yet been converted.

    The Red Beam grew evenrger as it epted two million more people. At this moment, Lu Yin was traveling with more than three million people. Unfortunately, only a small number of rescued humans were able to exert any of their strength. In fact, only about 100,000 people were in fighting condition.

    Marquis Green Bamboo was notified about the second city being destroyed, but he was currently at the second array base¡¯s headquarters, and once again, he was fighting against Xia Yan.

    ¡°Abandon the second array base, General Xia! You¡¯re courageous, but unfortunately, you¡¯ve also sent many to their graves. You forsook all of those people.¡± Marquis Green Bambooughed gently while speaking to Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan clenched the hilt of his longsword tightly, his expression pained. He would not have cared if other people had been abandoned, not even the Envoys from Star Alliance, let alone anyone from the four ruling powers. However, Long Qi had been among those who had fallen down to the New World.

    Not only was Long Qi Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate Master, but he was also the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. He had gained Master Deng Guo¡¯s favor, and he had also earned the recognition of Long Laogui. The White Dragon n hade to pay particr attention to the youth as well, and as Long Qi had be so important that he was second only to their Junior Progenitor Long Tian, which meant that abandoning the youth had caused Xia Yan a great deal of stress recently.

    Humility¡¯s Gate, the White Dragon n, and Master Deng Guo. Pressure from all these different powers had left Xia Yan rather wan and sallow, and he had degraded to the point where fighting in this major battle was quite difficult for him to handle.

    ¡°You look rather pale. Why don¡¯t you go and take a break?¡± Marquis Green Bamboo teased.

    Xia Yan answered quietly, ¡°Dealing with you? That¡¯s just a small problem to resolve.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! Junior, you¡¯re as conceited as ever. You humans really love bolstering your self-confidence, but is it actually of any use?¡± Marquis Green Bamboo burst outughing as he spoke. After he finished speaking, countless green bamboo shoots burst out of the void and surrounded the two opponents. In response, Xia Yan lifted his sword and cut through the void with a clean swing of his sword.

    Down below, countless corpse kings were swarming at the headquarters, and many of the giant corpse kings began tounch their own attacks. The defensive sourcebox array was once again broken, which caused Master Zan¡¯s face to gradually grow pale as he quickly tried to repair it. Colonel Chun had already died during this attack. This siege hadsted for five days so far, and there was no end in sight.

    Battle raged elsewhere besides the second array base as the other four array bases were also facing attacks from the other members of the Twelve Marquises.

    Far below, on the sloped incline of the first array base, Bai Zhen was panting desperately. There were three corpse kings around him, and each one of them was just as strong as he was. He had no idea where all these corpse kings hade from.

    There was a boom as the corpse king behind him attacked. The creature entered the true universe and unleashed a powerful punch at Bai Zhen¡¯s shoulder. He spun round and mmed a palm into the corpse king, using the Gap Between Heaven and Human. The corpse king fell back, but then a terrifying blood-red energy descended from above Bai Zhen, about to envelop Bai Zhen and reduce him to mere bones. This red energy was the corpse king¡¯s innate gift.

    Bai Zhen¡¯s body was brutishly swatted in the direction facing the New World, but he managed to stabilize his body in midair at thest second. Seeing that all three corpse kings were about to attack him once again, his face turned grim. He whipped out a delicate red flower from his cosmic ring; it was the Fay Blossom.

    The moment the Fay Blossom appeared, all three of the corpse kings suddenly started moving slower. They did not seem to realize what had happened to themselves, but Bai Zhen seized the opportunity to retaliate.

    Two hourster, Bai Zhen was hiding in a corner and trying to quickly recover. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and half his body looked like it was about to copse. Still, with the help of the Fay Blossom, he had managed to kill all three of the corpse kings.

    ¡°Oh Fay Blossom, what a terrifying power you have.¡± Bai Zhen murmured as he stared at the delicate red flower he held in his hand. However, his eyes contained a deep fear.

    Although the New World was Aeternus¡¯s territory and humans essentially had no ce there, it did not mean that humanity waspletely ignorant about what happened in the New World.

    Humans had always had various ways to observe what happened down in the New World.

 Chapter 1515: Xiang City And The Forsaken Soldiers

    Chapter 1515: Xiang City And The Forsaken Soldiers

    Lu Yin and the others had managed to gradually get closer to the Forsaken Soldiers with the help of the sourcebox array. Even after they bulldozed their way through the second city, they still did not attract the attention of any of the powerhouses stationed on the array bases in the sky above them because every single one of the five array bases was suffering from arge-scale assault from the monsters. However, when Lu Yin and his group approached a third city ten dayster, whether it was Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises or the various generals of the array bases, someone would definitely notice themotion being kicked up in the New World down below.

    This was not only because the third city was absolutely massive, but also because it was at a strategic location, which caused all five of the array bases to focus on the city no matter what else happened. Also, this was the city thaty closest to the Forsaken Soldiers, which made it the single most watched location in the entire New World.

    Atop the second array base, Xia Yan had only just returned to the headquarters. He asked inplete disbelief, ¡°What did you just say? Long Qi and the others are still alive?¡±

    Liu Jing stood across from the general and enthusiastically replied, ¡°Yes, General! ording to a report from a reconnaissance team, they have spotted the Red Beam.¡±

    Xia Yan¡¯s eyes positively glowed from joy. The Red Beamwas the sourcebox array from the second forward basecamp that only Master Song had been capable of repairing. However, when the second forward basecamp had been abandoned and fallen down to the New World, Master Song had followed him back to headquarters and had not fallen down with the sourcebox array. In that case, who else possessed the ability to repair the sourcebox array?

    The only possibility was Long Qi. He had managed to repair the second array base headquarter¡¯s defensive sourcebox array, so it was notpletely inconceivable for him to have done the same for Red beam.

    ¡°How many of them are still alive?¡± Xia Yan asked.

    Liu Jing shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the details, but I¡¯ve heard that the estimate of survivors is a few millions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. There weren¡¯t even that many that fell down to the New World with the second forward basecamp. Where did a few millione from?¡± Xia Yan instantly refuted the report.

    Liu Jing replied, ¡°From the intel that we¡¯ve gathered, the red sourcebox array is currently somewhere close to Xiang City, and if our guesses on their startpoint and path are correct, then Long Qi and the other survivors must have already passed by two cities. Both cities most likely had humans who had not yet been converted into corpse kings.¡±

    Xia Yan gasped.

    Liu Jing anxiously asked, ¡°General, should we go down to rescue them?¡±

    Xia Yan looked up and sighed. ¡°How can we rescue them? All five of the array bases are entrenched in an ongoing battle, and even if that weren¡¯t the case, it¡¯s basically impossible to save anyone from the New World.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Before Liu Jing could say anything, Long Laogui arrived. The old powerhouse appeared to be in quite a sorry state, and he had clearly fought against some formidable opponents of his own. Despite his exhausted condition, he immediately said, ¡°Xia Yan, Long Qi is still alive, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Xia Yan replied, ¡°Red beam is still active, and it¡¯s currently full of millions of people as they make their way towards the Forsaken Soldiers. As for whether or not Long Qi is still alive, we can¡¯t confirm anything yet.¡±

    Long Laogui sullenly retorted, ¡°Other than Long Qi, who else down there has the ability to repair that sourcebox array? We need to get him back up here!¡±

    Xia Yan was put in an awkward position. It was not that he did not want to save Long Qi, but rather that he was unable to do so. However, if news that Long Qi was still alive had already spread, which was likely why Long Laogui had raced over to headquarters to ask about it, then Qing Chen was most likely already on his way over as well.

    Just as Xia Yan thought of Qing Chen, themunication crystal on his wrist started vibrating. Xia Yan let out a sigh before answering.

    ¡°General Xia, if possible, I ask you to please save Long Qi. However, if this is truly asking for the impossible, then Humility¡¯s Gate will not force the matter. The war takes precedence,¡± Qing Chen said openly, clearly with no intention of making things difficult for Xia Yan.

    This amply demonstrated the difference between Humility¡¯s Gate and the White Dragon n. Long Laogui hoped to use Lu Yin to improve the n¡¯s rtionship with Master Deng Guo, as doing so would be a great benefit to the White Dragon n. In order to achieve that goal, the old man would not mind lowering himself. In contrast, while Qing Chen was obviously more personally concerned about Long Qi¡¯s fate, he would not jeopardize the battlefield to save Long Qi either.

    Xia Yan fell deep into thought. Even if he was an experiencedmander on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, this battle was still a difficult obstacle to ovee. Long Qi was undeniably extremely important, but that was not because of his position as a member of the White Dragon n. Rather, it was because he had aplished so many things for humanity while working with Humility¡¯s Gate. If word leaked out that they did not intend to send reinforcements down to rescue him, everyone would suffer a major blow of morale. However, the worst part of it all was that the youth could not be saved even if Xia Yan was willing to try.

    ¡°General, Long Qi and the others are already approaching Xiang City.¡± Liu Jing quickly updated Xia Yan after receiving thetest reports from the reconnaissance team.

    Xia Yan was caught off guard, and he immediately said, ¡°Contact the Forsaken Soldiers! Tell them tounch an attack on Xiang City and to prepare to receive Long Qi and the others.¡±

    As soon as he finished delivering that order, Xia Yan raised his hand and contacted the generals of the other four array bases. ¡°Everyone, I believe you have already caught wind of the events progressing down in the New World. It is time for us to take action and hold down the Twelve Marquises.¡±

    Xiang City was Aeternus¡¯s northernmost city, and further north of the city, the Forsaken Soldiers could be found.

    Xiang City was one of the few major cities that Aeternus controlled, and countless corpse kings lived within the city. The strongest of all of them was Marquis Xiang of the Twelve Marquises, and the city had been named after him.

    Xiang City had been established for the sole sake of countering the Forsaken Soldiers, and it was also the primary reason why the Forsaken Soldiers were unable to venture deeper into the New World.

    The space between Xiang City and the Forsaken Soldiers served as the most active battlefield out of anywhere on the entire New World.

    As far as those in the Perennial World were concerned, and also ording to what was recorded in the history books, there was a human city known as New City that stood in the New World. The Ever-Victorious Army which allowed nothing to stand in their way was based out of New City. That army was supposed to be humanity¡¯s sharpest de in advancing through the New World, but in reality, it waspletely different frommon knowledge.

    There was no Ever-Victorious Army, and nor was there even a New City. The only ones in the New World were the Forsaken Soldiers who faced a continual siege from atop the Stacking Mountain Range.

    The Stacking Mountain Range, where the Forsaken Soldiers were based out of, was actually connected to the Perennial World. It was considerably higher in elevation than the New World, and that was exactly why they were known as the Stacking Mountain Range. The closer one moved to the Mother Tree, the higher the ground was. This made the location easier to defend, though it was also difficult to attack from. The mountain¡¯s existence as a rather impregnable fortress was the sole reason why the Forsaken Soldiers had been able to survive for so long.

    One day, a pair of eyes opened within the Stacking Mountain Range. They looked over towards Xiang City, and their owner asked, ¡°Receive? It looks like some big-shot fell down here with us. They were quite lucky to survive, and they¡¯ve even made it all the way to Xiang City. Liu Hua, wanna attack together?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. All twelve of the marquises have gone up to attack the five array bases, and they¡¯re being held down up there. At the moment, Xiang City doesn¡¯t have any Semi-Progenitors, so you can handle things there on your own,¡± an echoing voice replied.

    ¡°Xiang City has a sourcebox array, and it won¡¯t be easy to take down. You should consider this carefully. This mission came straight from a general, so there has to be some kind of VIP in the group that we¡¯re supposed to greet. It has to be someone from one of the four ruling powers, and if anything happens to them, your sentence here might actually get extended.¡±

    After a short pause, the same voice answered in a reluctant tone, ¡°Fine. Who would have thought that this day woulde for me? I, Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua, actually have to y escort for some VIPs. What a joke!¡±

    ¡°This person got all the way here from where the second forward basecamp fell down and is even willing to force their way through Xiang City. These are people worthy of being rescued.¡±

    As the man spoke, many people emerged from within the Stacking Mountain Range and started making their way down towards Xiang City.

    From the south of Xiang City, Red beam was drawing closer and closer to the city.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn as he looked at the massive city standing tall and proud off in the distance. Hemented, ¡°There should be a sourcebox array there.¡±

    The city that they were looking at was easily over ten timesrger than the previous two cities that they had run into. It was practically impossible for such a metropolis to not contain a sourcebox array.

    In a serious tone, Mr. Guo replied, ¡°That¡¯s Xiang City. As long as we make it past here, we''ll be at the Stacking Mountain Range where the Forsaken Soldiers are based out of. Getting past here means sess.¡±

    The crowd grew excited. They had ovee their fated doom, and now, a chance at survival was before them. They could almost see their futureid out for them, and all they needed to do was grasp it.

    ¡°However, this will also be our greatest obstacle to surpass. Xiang City exists in order to defend against the Forsaken Soldiers, and Marquis Xiang, one of the Twelve Marquises, is the master of this city. He¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor level powerhouse,¡± Mr. Guo¡¯s somber voice spoke up once more.

    Everyone felt their hair stand on end at his words. A Semi-Progenitor? Such an expert was absolutely unsurpassable for them. They had no way of standing up to such an opponent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Seeing how big the battle raging overhead is, it¡¯s likely that Marquis Xiang isn¡¯t in Xiang City.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that that¡¯s true,¡± Mr. Guo replied.

    Innumerable corpse kings had already moved to surround the humans, approaching from the city up ahead. They clearly intended to exterminate the humans, but every single one of the monsters was destroyed by a red beam of light.

    If possible, Lu Yin and the rest would have preferred to take a detour around Xiang City, but the city stood right below the Stacking Mountain Range. No matter what they wanted to do, they had to push through the city for even a possibility of meeting up with the Forsaken Soldiers.

    From Xiang City¡¯s geographic location, Lu Yin was able to see that the Forsaken Soldiers held absolutely no power in the New World. Xiang City was essentially intended to block humanity¡¯s route to the rest of the New World, and that was the only reason for its location.

    The red sphere continued to approach Xiang City, but all of a sudden, the ground began quaking. An enormous corpse king rose up and began charging towards Lu Yin and the others.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, and Zhou Tang stepped forward from behind the youth. The Envoy¡¯s aurelian force seeped through the void, covering hundreds of miles and incinerating the void. Zhou Tang leaped and began his dash towards the giant corpse king.

    ¡°Mr. Guo, retreat one thousand meters. Che Zhan, move forward¡­¡± Lu Yin continued to give orders to the people carrying the sourceboxes. A red beam fired at the ground, and in the blink of an eye, the ground had been sted through, revealing whaty beneath. As expected, they found humans in the process of being transformed just like all the other cities.

    Several million people moved along inside the sourcebox array, and they prepared to strike Xiang City head on.

    Suddenly, something inside the city itself changed. A conical sourcebox array smashed into Zhou Tang, forcing him to cough up blood as he was sent flying from the impact. The man had not even made it close to the massive corpse king before he was sent flying.

    Lu Yin and the others stared in shock. Was that the same sourcebox array as what protected the second array base?

    It turned out that Xiang City really did contain a sourcebox array, and it was even identical to the second array base¡¯s defense system.

    An ugly expression appeared on Mr. Guo¡¯s face. ¡°After endless years of war, these monsters have managed toprehend that sourcebox array and have even set it up in Xiang City.¡±

    The giant corpse king continued charging towards the crowd of humans, one step at a time. But also blocking their path forward was the sourcebox array. Even with the power of the red sphere around them, Lu Yin and the others would not be able to brute force their way through. Additionally, the humans emerging from the underground space were being ughtered by the city¡¯s sourcebox array.

    Reaching Xiang City turned out to be a dead end for Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    Lu Yin cursed Shaman God for such negligence; could that puppet have forgotten to switch off the sourcebox array?

    With the sourcebox array blocking their path, how could they ever manage to force their way through the city?

    Just as despair started to well up within the survivors, the void off in the distance began to twist and churn. Everyone was struck by an inexplicable feeling that made them all feel as though they had passed through to the other side of the world. The sourcebox array¡¯s cones smashed into the ground, and right after that, a strange power suppressed the sourcebox array, stopping it from functioning. This did not happen to just one of the array¡¯s cones, but rather all of them at the same time.

    An elderly man emerged from the void and looked at Lu Yin and the rest of them in awe.

    Lu Yin and the others soon noticed the elderly man, and the first thing that came to their minds was that this person was a Semi-Progenitor. Only a Semi-Progenitor could possess such a terrifying level of strength that could iste an entire region of the world.

    ¡°This one is Ji Feng, and I havee forth to assist all of you in reaching the territory of the Forsaken Soldiers.¡± As the elderly man spoke, the giant corpse king opened itsrge mouth behind the elderly human.

    Though no one saw the old man do anything at all, the massive body of the corpse king that had been charging towards them suddenly froze as strange noises came out from within its body. Suddenly, its body exploded, and its entrails sttered across the ground.

    The surviving humans all let out shouts of joy; a Semi-Progenitor had appeared, which meant that they were saved!

    To the north of Xiang City, cultivators raced into the city one after another and began fighting against the corpse kings. Every single human was a member of the Forsaken Soldiers.

    The Forsaken Soldiers had never managed to gain anything fromunching a battle against Xiang City through all these years, but at this moment, Marquis Xiang was absent, which meant there was no Semi-Progenitor guarding the city. On the other hand, the Forsaken Soldiers had two Semi-Progenitors on their side. So while one of them dealt with the sourcebox array, the other smashed through the city, almost instantly crushing the corpse kings inside.

    Only a Semi-Progenitor could possibly defend against such arge-scale attack, and with the absence of one, Xiang City essentially had no means of retaliating.

    After seeing Xiang City¡¯s forces swiftly copse, the Forsaken Soldiers did not show any desire to advance further and continue on a crusade. Instead, they slowly withdrew from Xiang City behind their two Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin was confused by their actions. He was nearlypletely certain that no more powerful enemies would appear in this ce, and yet, the Forsaken Soldiers were stopping their attack and ignoring such a rare opportunity. It almost felt as if an agreement had been made in the past, as the entire situation felt very odd.

    However, the destruction of Xiang City also caused a vast number of cultivators to escape from their fate of being transformed into corpse kings beneath the city. Xiang City was incredibly vast, and the number of captured humans naturally scaled ording to the city¡¯s size. An estimated six million people or more were rescued. The red sphere was inevitably forced to expand yet again, but luckily, nearly 10 million cultivators were eventually able to pass through Xiang City under the protection of the two Semi-Progenitors.

    Everyone entered the Stacking Mountain Range. They had managed to escape from Xiang City, which was a ce described in the legends of the Perennial World, and all of the survivors followed behind the Forsaken Soldiers.

 Chapter 1516: The Stacking Mountain Range

    Chapter 1516: The Stacking Mountain Range

    More than 10 million people had escaped from the monsters, which was an impressive scene to witness. However, even more impressive was Xiang City¡¯s crippling defeat. The Forsaken Soldiers had never managed to achieve such a thing before, and this military victory was sure to be carved down in history.

    Due to the overwhelming number of refugees, it was quite a hassle to settle everyone in, and it took several days for the situation to stabilize.

    The Stacking Mountain Range was extensive, and there were more than 20 million Forsaken Soldiers stationed within the mountains. This was thergest army that Lu Yin had ever seen. Well, it would be difficult to call them an army, as cultivators did not easily ept the rigid discipline and structure that an army required.

    As he looked out at the Forsaken Soldiers surrounding him, all that Lu Yin could see was their desire to survive. They did not possess the unyielding spirit and toughness that was usually found in soldiers.

    As Mr. Guo had mentioned before, the Forsaken Soldiers were mostly criminals who had been exiled from the Perennial World and sent down to the New World. These people did not follow formal regtions, and each one had their own means of survival.

    ¡°Brother Long Qi, Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng wishes to see you,¡± Brother Hong approached to inform Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded and followed Brother Hong to the highest peak of the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Because most of the members of the Forsaken Soldiers stationed in the Stacking Mountain Range were condemned criminals, the ¡°survival of the fittest¡± theory manifested in a primitive and instinctive manner in this ce. The closer to the peak a person lived, the safer they would be. On the other hand, the nearer one lived to Xiang City, the more danger they would face.

    The weak could only stay in the lower regions, where they were constantly at risk of being ughtered by corpse kings while the strong were able to protect themselves.

    As a Semi-Progenitor, it was natural for Ji Feng to live at the very peak of the Stacking Mountain Range.

    ¡°Brother Hong, what kind of person is Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Brother Hong replied, ¡°I can¡¯t say that I know him myself, but since he became a Semi-Progenitor, he must have lived for far too long. He¡¯s certainly not from our era, though Mr. Guo might know something about him.¡±

    However, Mr. Guo was nowhere to be found.

    After the survivors had arrived at the Stacking Mountain Range, everyone had been separated. This was not because of infighting, but rather because the Forsaken Soldiers had deliberately separated the refugees. They had done so to investigate if there were any traitors within them. This was actually normal protocol.

    As they approached the peak of the Stacking Mountain Range, the suppressive aura of a Semi-Progenitor became more pronounced. After all, there were two Semi-Progenitors present.

    Located just beneath the Semi-Progenitors were arge number of Envoys.

    Lu Yin had seen no fewer than ten Envoys during the attack on Xiang City, and all of them had been more ferocious and unapproachable than any Envoy he had seen before.

    Even though their numbers were mostlyposed of criminals and they were unable to take a single step beyond the Stacking Mountain Range, the Forsaken Soldiers could still be considered to be one of the most elite armies in existence, and they were even capable of taking on the array bases.

    Before long, Lu Yin arrived at Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng¡¯s ce. Sure enough, he was the old man who had saved Lu Yin and the others at Xiang City.

    ¡°Junior Long Qi pays his respects to Senior Ji Feng.¡± Lu Yin quickly bowed and greeted the expert with evident gratitude and delight.

    Brother Hong did not enter the room, as all of the Envoys like him had already met Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng, and they were the ones who had exined the recent series of events to Ji Feng, whose curiosity regarding Lu Yin had been stoked. Thus, the old man had wanted to meet Lu Yin.

    As he stared at Lu Yin, Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng eximed, ¡°You¡¯ve only just cultivated to the Enlighter realm!? Where did you get the power necessary to save Zhou Tang and the others? How in the world did you aplish such a thing?¡±

    Lu Yin replied in a respectful tone, ¡°Everything simply stemmed from my desire to continue living.¡±

    Ji Feng nodded and gave the youth a slight smile. ¡°You don¡¯t im credit for yourself, and you¡¯re honest with your words. Not bad at all, child.¡±

    Lu Yin felt taken aback. Why did every old fart call him ¡®child?¡¯ It was really grating on the ears.

    ¡°If not for Senior¡¯s timely rescue at that critical moment, we would have had no chance of surviving at all. This junior once again wishes to express his deepest gratitude to Senior Ji,¡± Lu Yin said as he bowed low.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was moved, and he sighed. ¡°To be able to force your way here to the Stacking Mountain Range from where you all fell while also destroying two cities, risking discovery, and even saving more than three million people¡­ Child, your behavior is verymendable. There aren¡¯t many like you within all of humanity. I heard that you even repaired the sourcebox array, no? Are you an Array Master?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I haveprehended two sourcebox arrays, but because I have been unable to unlock many sourceboxes, I still can¡¯t be considered a true Array Master yet.¡±

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng smiled gently. ¡°Being able toprehend sourcebox arrays is enough to qualify you as an Array Master. There are many Lockbreakers out there who have managed to reach the required level but are unable toprehend a sourcebox array, leaving them forever stranded as five star Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers. Your talent is truly extraordinary. It¡¯s no wonder why General Xia Yan insisted that we rescue you.¡±

    It was only then that Lu Yin understood that the Forsaken Soldiers¡¯rge-scale assault on Xiang City was something that had been ordered by Xia Yan.

    ¡°The terrain of the Stacking Mountain Range is quite precipitous, which means that itplements our defenses quite well and makes this a strategic location that is well-protected, but as a result, it is difficult tounch attacks from here. This ce is rtively safe, so if you wait here for General Xia Yan¡¯s reinforcements, you¡¯ll most likely be able to return to the second array base quite soon,¡± Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng said.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Senior, what of Senior Zhou Tang and the others?¡±

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng exined, ¡°They might be forced to stay here and be a part of the Forsaken Soldiers, or they might be allowed to return to the Star Alliance. We¡¯ll have to see how things go.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we return on our own?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Ji Fengughed. ¡°Naturally, we aren¡¯t able to do so on our own. You can think of this ce as the Lower Realm of the Mother Tree. So if we want to return to the second array base, we¡¯d have to climb up the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. Even ignoring the vast distance that we would need to cover, there¡¯s no way that Marquis Xiang would ever allow anyone to leave this ce so easily. He periodically attacks the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk without fail. This causes the death rate of those trying to climb up the trunk to the second array base to be over 90%. That is, unless they are apanied by a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡°Also, we have to stay here and protect this ce, and we are not allowed to leave. Essentially, the only way for you to escape from this ce is for the higher-ups to make a decision to send out reinforcements to help you ascend.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed. ¡°I understand.¡±

    Semi-Progenitor looked at Lu Yin with sympathy. ¡°For you to receive so much attention from General Xia Yan, it means that you are a person worthy of his admiration with or without your identity as a part of the White Dragon n. Child, continue doing your best to live.¡±

    Lu Yin bowed once more. ¡°Thank you, Senior Ji, for your guidance.¡±

    After Lu Yin left Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng¡¯s room, Brother Hong spoke up when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°The people that we saved are only able to settle down at the foot of the mountain for now. It¡¯s very close to Xiang City, but they won¡¯t be allowed any higher up the mountains.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°There¡¯s no helping it. Those are the rules of this ce, and we have no right to break them.¡±

    Brother Hong continued on with a solemn expression. ¡°Once the corpse kings push over here, those people will most likely struggle to survive.¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how to respond. After all, this ce was still a battlefield, and anyone could die here. He had no way to further help the people whom he had rescued. Saving them from the underground chambers where they had been trapped was already the best that he could do for them given his own circumstances.

    High above, the second array base had shifted slightly from its original position, and even further away, the vague silhouette of another array base had appeared.

    Lu Yin started living inside the Stacking Mountain Range. While he was some distance below the peak, he was still quite close. He had earned this location, and while some people would show up to stir up trouble now and again, they were all easily dealt with by Che Zhan.

    In the blink of an eye, they had already spent ten days at the Stacking Mountain Range. The battle that had beenunched against all five of the array bases continued without ebbing.

    On the tenth day, numerous ck dots could be seen descending from up above. When Lu Yin saw them, he waspletely surprised. Were those¡­ humans?

    Plop plop plop¡­

    The Forsaken Soldiers did not act like the falling humans were an unfamiliar sight, because all of the soldiers assigned to the Forsaken Soldiers had arrived in this manner. There were no teleportation devices in the Stacking Mountain Range, and as long as a cultivator had reached the Limiteer realm, they would not die no matter what height they fell from.

    Tens of thousands of people descended together at once, and all of them grimaced in pain when they crashed onto the ground. Despite their pain, they were all fine.

    As the cultivators fell down onto the Stacking Mountain Range, they were separated from each other as they had fallen in different ces.

    Lu Yin saw at least ten people crash to the ground right in front of him, and each of them cursed under their breath.

    Dozens of people stood up and started examining their surroundings. A burly, four meter tall man pushed aside the people surrounding him and rudely shouted, "Scram! Don''t you dare to block me!"

    The others who had fallen with the man within the same area did not respond kindly to his rudeness, and they all gave him frosty res or bloodthirsty stares. However, no one retaliated, as they were wary of the tall man¡¯s impressive strength.

    Humans lived everywhere throughout the massive Perennial World. For example, the peak of White Mountain was akin to the size of arge. All types of people lived in different ces of the Perennial World. Even in the Fifth Maind, there were even giants and humans who had evolved to have scales. The four meter tall man was actually quite close to what wasmonly referred to as a giant.

    That man looked around before finally focusing on Lu Yin. The man asked in a nd manner, ¡°Hey man, is this New City? Where¡¯s the actual city?¡±

    Lu Yin stared back at him and inquired, "Were you all sent down here to serve out sentences?"

    "I''m the one asking the questions here!" The man leaped at Lu Yin in one swift motion and raised his hand to grab Lu Yin. The man was violent and had a terrible temper, and a single look was enough to see that he was not a pleasant person. He looked just like a criminal who had been banished.

    The other people who had fallen down with the tall man all started moving back out of fear of getting caught up in a possible fight. When they had been locked up together on the second array base, this giant had already been a tyrant, and the rumors imed that his crimes were numerous. When the monsters hadunched their attack, everyone had gotten caught up in the defensive efforts, so nobody had time to watch the prisoners. Due to that, they had been simply and conveniently thrown down to join the Forsaken Soldiers.

    The man''s hand smashed down from above, and with his four meter tall height, he was more than capable of picking Lu Yin up with a single hand.

    That man''s palm fell towards Lu Yin, but just when he was about to grab the youth, Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked a single finger, striking the giant''s palm. The tall man¡¯s hand suddenly stopped falling, and the ground beneath his feet began to shatter without anything even touching it. The giant¡¯s pupils shrank from his absolute shock as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief.

    Lu Yin stretched out his hand and grabbed the giant by his finger. "Be polite."

    With that, Lu Yin squeezed down, which caused the man to cry out in pain. His finger had just been broken, and the man fell to the ground, where he caught himself on a knee. Before he could even realize what was happening, his entire body was lifted from the ground and thrown down to the foot of the mountains.

    At the same time, many other people were also being thrown to the foot of the mountain from both above and below Lu Yin. These criminals had been sent to join the Forsaken Soldiers, mostly for being dismissive of any sort ofw or authority. Arriving at the Stacking Mountain Range would always be a humbling experience for them.

    The rest of the people who had fallen were still cowering a short ways away, and they were all staring at Lu Yin in terror.

    "Get the hell out of here right now," Lu Yin said emotionlessly.

    All of the people quickly fled without daring to say so much as a word.

    Most of the people who had fallen ended up getting pped in the face by the harsh new reality of things in the New World, but there were also a few powerhouses who had been sentenced as well. There was an Envoy who had been sent down to the New World, and he fought an impressive battle with one of the Forsaken Soldiers¡¯ powerhouses. Unfortunately, the neer was still forced to move down the mountain after a defeat. Even Envoys were forced to abide by the rules of the mountains, as this was just how the Forsaken Soldiers ran things.

    The following day, one of the Envoys who had been forced down the mountain began climbing up the Mother Tree, intending to return to the second array base. His mind was filled with nothing but himself, and such self-serving people were unqualified to join the Star Alliance, which was the precise reason why he had been ultimately sentenced to the Forsaken Soldiers.

    No one stopped the man from climbing up the trunk. Everyone allowed the man to do as he pleased.

    The Envoy was still immersed in his own delight, thinking that everyone was leaving him alone, possibly because none of the Forsaken Soldiers'' powerhouses wished to fight him directly. He believed that he was actually lucky enough to escape.

    Before long, a massive humanoid figure appeared in the direction of Xiang City, and it looked straight at the Envoy who was scaling the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. The Envoy caught sight of the figure, and stared on nkly. The man¡¯s eyes turned lifeless, as though his soul had been sucked away. After that, his body wentpletely numb, before an explosion erupted in his mind, causing his head itself to explode. He died instantly.

    Lu Yin and the others watching were all dumbfounded; had an Envoy really died just like that?

    "What a pity. Marquis Xiang is back. It looks like that man had rotten luck. The assault on the array bases has likely ended," Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng''s voice echoed and resonated throughout the entire Stacking Mountain Range.

    Those who had intended to climb up the Mother Tree from the New World in the same manner as the now-dead Envoy no longer dared to even move a muscle. If even an Envoy had been killed, then how could small cultivators like them handle an attack from one of the Twelve Marquises?

    It was no wonder why nobody had tried to stop him from climbing up the trunk: doing so meant facing a terrible risk.

 Chapter 1517: Young Master Tu

    Chapter 1517: Young Master Tu

    An Envoy¡¯s death served as a wonderful deterrent. All of the cultivators who had been recently sentenced instantly became more serious, and they quickly started thinking of a way to move up the mountain.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was sitting cross-legged in his room, slowly absorbing star energy. Hisst breakthrough had taken him all the way to the thirty second cycle of the Enlighter realm. At this moment, he was working towards his thirty third cycle. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, regr cultivation was just too slow, and it actually felt like a waste of time. It would be more useful to spend his time cultivating his battle force.

    Upon thinking of battle force, Lu Yin immediately recalled Zhou Tang''s aurelian force.

    Cultivating battle force required spirit. Lu Yin had surpassed nine lined battle force and reached ten lines because of his invincibility during ZENITH. At that moment, he had surpassed all of his peers in his generation. At present, if Lu Yin wanted to improve his battle force even further and turn it into aurelian force, he needed to have the ambition of one who ruled the entire world.

    He did not know when that would happen.

    Cultivating battle force required courage whereas cultivating a domain required cultivation and moreprehension. He had already reached the realm of being able to predict attacks and had even reached the spiritual manifestation realm. Next was the void god realm, though that realm was rather vague and inexplicable.

    Wen Diyi had mentioned that there was a domain master at Virtue Archives who had reached the void realm of domains, so perhaps Lu Yin should visit them when he had the time. At the very least, he might be able to discover the threshold needed to touch upon the cusp of the void realm.

    At the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack was his Vacuum Palm, followed by his spiritual force technique that he had learned from the Nightking n. Also, he had his Champions¡¯ Stage and die innate gifts, as well as the God of Death Transformation. He actually had many other techniques, including the Cosmic Art, the Ninesuns Cauldrons Transformation, and the dream finger. He actually had so many techniques that he was not able to properly practice them all.

    After returning to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin really needed to return to the Cosmic Sect and learn theplete Cosmic Art. While the technique might not be able to reach the same level as what the Perennial Realm¡¯s four ruling powers used, the Cosmic Art was still very useful.

    What he regretted the most was the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. He had never been able to go back to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and finish learning it. The legendarybat skill was said to be invincible. After returning to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin felt that he absolutely had to absorb all the energy from the remaining cauldrons.

    Lu Yin mentally reviewed every technique he had learned. While it did not take a great deal of time to do so, it was also not brief either. Lu Yin had picked up too many techniques.

    As he sat in contemtion, a stream of water trickled by and continued down the mountain. Lu Yin noticed the color and temperature of the stream. Is that urine?

    He immediately became angry, and his domain swept across the mountainside. Soon, he found a young man up and a bit off to the side from his location. This person had a de of grass in his mouth and was leisurely¡­ urinating. Even though it was notnding on Lu Yin or even touching where he was sitting, it still felt disgusting.

    The young man noticed Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and he looked up and frowned. "Who is it? How daring! You dare to peek at this master as he pees? I¡¯ll show you if you want to see!"

    Lu Yin''s expression froze. The void trembled, and spatial cracks spread out from the shouting man. The man became enraged as he spat out the grass from his mouth, fixed his pants, and clenched his teeth. "Which one of you bastards dares to attack this Master Tu? Show yourself to Master Tu! Your father will absolutely beat you until you apologize!"

    The young man shouted in a very loud voice, and he drew many people¡¯s attention, most of whom lived further down the mountain. The ce where the youth resided was close to the top of the mountains, but more importantly, he was not an Envoy.

    Lu Yin stepped forward with an ugly expression on his face as he stared at the man. "You¡¯ll eat the words that you just said."

    When the man saw Lu Yin, he was right about to scold the youth, but then, a stunned look suddenly appeared on his face, and he nkly stared at Lu Yin. "Bo- Boss?"

    Lu Yin frowned.

    The man quickly shook his head and vigorously rubbed his eyes. "No. Even though you look like him, you¡¯re not the boss. The boss isn¡¯t as despicable as you! No, that¡¯s not right¡ªthe boss is more despicable than you. Kid, who are you? You dare to attack Master Tu? Do you even know what Master Tu¡¯s status in this ce is? Go ask. Do as Master Tu tells you."

    Lu Yin stepped forward and approached the man. "I hope that you remember your own words."

    After speaking, Lu Yin immediately started fuming. He did not know why, but he had felt a strong urge to beat up this man after just a look at him.

    The man looked a bit older than Lu Yin, and he was clearly not from the same generation as Lu Yin. Although the man had an average body and face, his eyes gleamed so brightly that Lu Yin felt an overwhelming urge to punch the man right in the eyes.

    The punch stopped less than ten centimeters from the man¡¯s face; a palm had appeared to block Lu Yin''s fist.

    An indifferent-looking middle-aged man had appeared, and he stared at Lu Yin. Surprise flickered through the man¡¯s eyes, but he still curled his fingers and roughly grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s fist. Lu Yin frowned, and his arm trembled as he unleashed 350 Stacks, which propagated forward. The middle-aged man in front of Lu Yin was caught off guard as the void twisted and a spatial tear appeared. Both of their arms disappeared due to the excessive strength that they were using, and it had caused their arms to enter the true universe.

    There was a bang, and Lu Yin retreated by more than ten steps. He was barely able to remain standing, and he looked up at the middle-aged man in shock. This person was very strong.

    The middle-aged man also stared back at Lu Yin in surprise. "Are you new here?"

    Before Lu Yin could even reply, the young man shouted, "Uncle He, beat him! This bastard had the audacity to attack me! Beat him up!"

    Uncle He nced back at the young man. "Don''t stir up needless trouble. This person is not simple, and not even I can break through the armor that he¡¯s wearing."

    The young man was taken aback. "It¡¯s that powerful?"

    Lu Yin said to the middle-aged man, "You should know what the person behind you did. I want him to apologize to me."

    The middle-aged man replied in a light tone, "Little brother, in the Stacking Mountain Range, you can die at any moment. If you care about every small matter, then you¡¯ll never be able to rx. Can you let this go for my sake?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, I''ll show senior some respect."

    "Wait, you may not care, but this Master Tu still does!" The young man butted in.

    Uncle He frowned and looked back at the young man. "I already told you to not make any trouble. No one this high up is an easy opponent."

    The young man snorted derisively. "Then I¡¯ll let it pass since we¡¯re all going to die anyway. However, don¡¯t you think that this kid looks like a certain someone?"

    Uncle He''s expression grewplicated. "That person is gone and will never be seen again."

    "I know. That¡¯s why seeing this kid made me want to beat him up." The young man gritted his teeth. Pain shed across his eyes, and something seemed to be throbbing in his forehead, clearly causing him an unbelievable amount of pain. He clenched his fists and red at Lu Yin before shouting out, "Kid, if you¡¯re confident, get rid of your items and let¡¯s have a fair fight. One-on-one! If you dare back out you¡¯re the ¡®grandson.¡¯"

    Uncle He instantly blew up at the young man. "Don''t make trouble! You can''t beat him! Your cultivation has been ruined, and you can¡¯t even stand up to the most average of Enlighters anymore.¡±

    But when Uncle He saw the throbbing object in the young man¡¯s forehead, the middle-aged man was startled, and his expression instantly changed. He sullenly said, "I¡¯ll support your choice."

    The young man trembled from the pain of the object in his head, but he continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Kid, do you dare?"

    Lu Yin had be amused, and he removed the Cloudguard Robes. "Alright, I''ll give you a chance."

    There was a boom, and Lu Yin punched at the young man, who fell to the ground. Lu Yin was taken aback; this person was too weak! With such skills, how could he have the courage to challenge anyone? How was he able to live so high up the mountains?

    After being punched, not only did the young man not get angry, but he actuallyughed. "Again!"

    Boom!

    "Again!"

    Boom!

    One punch after another¡ªLu Yin lost count of how many attacks he threw out. But the more the young man was struck, the happier he became, and the bulge on his forehead slowly shrank down. During this entire time, Lu Yin remained on guard for any surprises.

    A long timeter, the young man was finally unable to regain his feet. Blood spilled from his mouth, and his face had swollen up like a pig head. However, the bulging part of his head hadpletely disappeared.

    Uncle He stepped forward and bent down to give the young man some medicine before leaving. The older man never spoke another word.

    "Again¡­ Again if you can! I''m not afraid of you! Don''t think that I''ll ever call you boss¡­" the young man muttered something unintelligible to Lu Yin, and his voice eventually faded away.

    Lu Yin thought that the entire incident was quite odd, and he felt rather confused by what had just happened. Just what was going on?

    Elsewhere, Uncle He lowered the young man down into a resting ce. The older man then sighed. "You¡¯re very happy today."

    The younger man grinned. He had clearly been badly beaten, but he was delighted beyond words at the moment.

    "You have persevered through many years of mental torture. Don''t give up! Next time the pain returns, go back to him and treat him as if he¡¯s that person. Even if he beats you up, you¡¯ll still be very happy." Uncle He sighed before slowly walking away.

    The next day, Lu Yin was once again resting when a stream of liquid rained down from up above him on the mountain. This time, the stream was much closer to him.

    When Lu Yin walked up, he saw the young man who called himself Master Tu with a big grin. The man¡¯s injuries had alreadypletely healed, and he looked quite lively.

    "Do you want to die?" Lu Yin asked in a cold voice.

    Young Master Tu snorted in response. "I won''t fight you today, so let''s be reasonable."

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled up into a smile. "Sorry, but don''t talk such shit. Or at the very least, keep it to yourself until after you¡¯ve been beaten."

    Even as he spoke, Lu Yin approached Young Master Tu and released a punch. Once again, his attack was stopped by Uncle He.

    Lu Yin was annoyed by the obstruction. "Senior, he is clearly looking to cause trouble for me. Yesterday, I let things go out of respect for you, but I¡¯ll have to ask you to step aside today."

    Uncle He felt helpless. "Little Brother, please forgive me, but I can''t ignore this matter."

    Lu Yin was so angry that he startedughing. "It would seem that the seniors are determined to interfere with the juniors. Since that¡¯s the case, this junior will have to do what he needs to."

    As he finished speaking, Lu Yin intended to use the spherical red sourcebox array. He could not believe what these two people were trying to pull over him, but he would not allow himself to be stepped on in the Stacking Mountain Range.

    "Hey, don''t be rash! Be reasonable! We¡¯re all intelligent people, so don''t screw around," Master Tu quickly tried to calm Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin stared at the young man. "First let me kick his ass, and then we can talk about things."

    Young Master Tu¡¯s eyes flitted about. "Wait- wait a month, and then I''ll fight you."

    Lu Yin frowned and gave Young Master Tu an odd look before looking back at Uncle He. These two people gave him a very odd feeling, but neither of them seemed to hold any malice towards them. Sure, they were infuriating, but his irritation stemmed more from disgust than anything else. "What the hell are you talking about? What do you want?"

    "Just to talk." Young Master Tu smiled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. "I don''t have any time to waste."

    Young Master Tu sneered, and then pulled at his pants. He looked as if he was about to start urinating again, so Lu Yin immediatelyshed out with a Vacuum Palm. But Uncle He was constantly on his guard towards Lu Yin, so the older man attacked in the same instant that the Vacuum Palm was released, and Lu Yin¡¯s attack was not able to touch Young Master Tu.

    "Little brother, we really just want to talk. We have no bad intentions, and he will definitely fight you in a month. A month or not¡ªdoes it really matter when you two fight?" Uncle He quickly spoke up.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He felt like he was punching air at this moment. If he tried to fight, then he would not be able to defeat this Uncle He. Escape? The Stacking Mountain Range was only so big, so unless Lu Yin hid behind the Semi-Progenitor, he would not be able to hide, and there was no way a Semi-Progenitor would get involved in this trifling matter. Lu Yin was still considering using the Red Beam array to deal with Uncle He; otherwise, he would just be letting others walk all over him.

    "What is it that you want to talk about?" Lu Yin asked emotionlessly as he calmly stared at Master Tu.

 Chapter 1518: Seven Heroes

    Chapter 1518: Seven Heroes

    Young Master Tu was a proud individual, but as he looked at Lu Yin''s face and powerful build, it was as though Young Master Tu was looking at a dreame to life after so many years. Even though he was certain that what he saw was nothing more than a simrity, he could not stop himself from asking, ¡°What¡¯s your name? Where are you from?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. "I¡¯m Long Qi, and I¡¯m from the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian Mountain branch family."

    "You¡¯re from the White Dragon n?" Young Master Tu was stunned for a moment, but then his expression quickly became unsightly.

    Uncle He''s expression also twisted.

    The smug expression that had just filled Young Master Tu''s eyes changed to a gloomy expression, and he even radiated a bit of killing intent as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°The White Dragon n? You don¡¯t deserve to look like that."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands balled up into fists. "What did you just say?"

    Uncle He''s attitude had also changed, and he gazed at Lu Yin with cold eyes that zed with hostility.

    It was at this time that Brother Hong, Che Zhan, Mr. Guo, and the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains all arrived. Yesterday, they had noticed that Lu Yin had kicked up a fuss, but none of them had cared after seeing Lu Yin beating someone up. However, they had noticed that the troublemaker had returned once more, and there were very few individuals who qualified to live this far up the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Young Master Tu stared at Lu Yin''s face for a moment before letting out a cold snort. "Disgusting! One day, I¡¯ll peel that face off of you.¡±

    He turned and left without looking back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold, and he looked at Uncle He. "What does that mean?"

    Uncle He replied in an indifferent tone, "Excuse me."

    He left.

    Che Zhan felt that the entire exchange was odd. "Who are those two?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know, but they¡¯re crazy."

    "Was that Senior He?" Mr. Guo hesitantly asked as he stared at the back of the departing Uncle He.

    Several people looked over at Mr. Guo. "You know him?"

    Lu Yin answered Mr. Guo, "He¡¯s called Uncle He."

    Mr. Guo grew quite excited. "It really is Senior He!"

    "You know him?" Che Zhan grew curious.

    Mr. Guo exined, "He¡¯s a member of the Qiming family."

    "The Qiming family?" Che Zhan, Brother Hong, and the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains all shouted.

    Lu Yin waspletely clueless. "Who¡¯re the Qiming family?"

    "You don''t know?" Everyone showed even greater surprise at Lu Yin¡¯s ignorance.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I grew up in Dalian Mountain and stayed there my entire childhood, never leaving. The first time I left there was when Long Xi announced that the n was searching for a son-inw."

    Mr. Guo stared at Lu Yin. "Brother Long Qi, you have a great deal of respect towards Zhou Tang, and also towards the Lu family?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as he solemnly replied, "Very much so."

    Mr. Guo nodded and then exined in an emotional voice, "In the past, the Lu family ruled the Higher Realm while the current four ruling powers were restricted to the Middle Realm. However, the Lu family did not live alone in the Higher Realm, as their vassals lived there with them. There was the All-Dao family and also the Qiming family. That person is a powerhouse from the Qiming family, and if he is that young man¡¯s guardian, he must be someone very important to their family."

    Lu Yin felt shocked; those two were from the Qiming family?

    He had heard that some of the Lu family¡¯s retainers had been recruited into the Forsaken Soldiers before he had arrived at the Stacking Mountain Range. However, he was worried that a Semi-Progenitor was watching him, so he had not actively sought out such people. Naturally, he had not expected two such people to actually have been so close to him this entire time. So those two were former vassals of the Lu family? It was no wonder why Young Master Tu¡¯s attitude had changed so drastically after learning that Lu Yin was a part of the White Dragon n.

    At that moment, Lu Yin''s attitude towards the two changed in a fundamental way, and he unconsciously turned to stare at the two who had just left.

    Those two were followers of his own family.

    "Brother Long Qi, do you know what that young man¡¯s name is?" Mr. Guo asked.

    "Uncle He called him Young Master Tu."

    Mr. Guo felt shocked. ¡°Unbelievable! Qiming Tu?"

    Brother Hong was equally surprised. "The Qiming family¡¯s talented young master from back then?"

    "How is that even possible? Are you sure that you heard right? Did Uncle He really call him Young Master Tu?" Mr. Guo reconfirmed as he stared at Lu Yin in tant disbelief.

    Lu Yin replied, "That''s right, Young Master Tu."

    The Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains murmured, "Is he really Qiming Tu? How is that possible? Even though this old woman seldom wanders out, even I¡¯ve heard of the Seven Heroes of the Higher Realm, as they were famous throughout the entire universe. If not for Qiming Tu being too young, his cultivation would not have been any worse than theirs, and he could have almost been considered an eighth hero. He was even acknowledged by the Lu family¡¯s young master."

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger suddenly twitched. Seven Heroes? The image of a paper contract appeared in his mind. On the paper were the palm prints of seven sworn siblings, and the faint trace of their oaths with each other.

    ¡®Third Bro, you¡¯re the smallest, so from now on, you¡¯re Seventh Bro. Come, talk to your elders!¡¯

    ¡°Big Sis, Second Bro, Third Bro, Fourth Sis, Fifth Bro, Sixth Sis, hello.¡¯

    ¡®Good, Little Seven. Whoever bullies you from now, we¡¯ll all help you get revenge.¡¯

    ¡®You¡¯ll be called Little Seven from now.¡¯

    ¡®Little Seven, are you happy? You have so many older siblings watching over you, so nobody will dare to bully you.¡¯

    ¡®Your elder siblings will take care of you.¡¯

    Little Seven, your elder siblings will take care of you. Lu Yin''s head suddenly exploded with pain. Blurred appearances emerged in his mind, giving him a splitting headache that forced him to his knees. As the pain intensified, he was assailed by sorrow that seeped out of his heart, and his eyes flushed crimson.

    The people around Lu Yin were all startled by his sudden reaction. "Brother Long Qi, what''s wrong?"

    "Brother Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin put a hand on the ground to support himself as he gasped for breath. Sweat poured from his forehead, and his vision blurred. However, those fervent oaths still echoed in his ears.

    He took some time to recover.

    Mr. Guo checked Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "Do you have an injury that hasn¡¯t healed?"

    Lu Yin sucked in a breath. "I¡¯ll be okay. It¡¯s an old issue."

    Mr. Guo was solemn as he replied, "If you¡¯re suffering from a problem, then you should treat it as soon as possible. Given your cultivation, if you are suffering from that much pain, then something is terribly wrong."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, I know the reason behind it."

    He then changed topics. "Who are the Seven Heroes?"

    In a very deliberate and obvious manner, not a single one of the people present answered Lu Yin¡¯s question.

    Che Zhan patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "Brother Long Qi, there are certain things that can¡¯t be spoken. There are eyes observing us in the dark, and speaking some names would invite terrible disasters."

    He then left after dropping this warning.

    Mr. Guo, Brother Hong, and the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains also slowly took their leave.

    However, Mr. Guo departed in a different direction from the rest; he went after Uncle He.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere, Young Master Tu had a miserable expression on his face, and he kept muttering curses about something.

    Uncle He followed behind the younger man.

    Young Master Tu''s expression turned grim. "It¡¯s all because of him. Just why does someone from the White Dragon n look like that? That ugly mug can only belong to one person! So why does he have the same face? Why?!"

    Uncle He looked at his ward. "At best, he only has a quarter of simrity."

    "That¡¯s not good enough! Let alone a quarter, even a hundredth is too much!" Young Master Tu roared in anger.

    Uncle He sighed.

    A voice came from outside their quarters. "The All-Dao family¡¯s Guo Hai is honored to see Senior He."

    Young Master Tu and Uncle He were startled for a moment, but then they suddenly shot to their feet while staring at each other. The All-Dao family?

    Uncle He casually walked over to the entrance, but when he saw Mr. Guo waiting outside, Uncle He frowned. "Weren¡¯t you one of the people standing next to that kid from the White Dragon n?"

    Mr. Guo respectfully responded, "Mr. Guo Hai, a teacher from the All-Dao family, greets Senior He. We met once before, at the Food Paradise."

    Uncle He stared at Mr. Guo for a moment before suddenly making a connection. "I remember now. When the Food Paradise was built, you and I both contributed to it. I did see you there."

    "Food Paradise? The Lu family¡¯s ind of food? I went there frequently," Young Master Tu interjected. After speaking, he stared at Mr. Guo with cold eyes. "Since you¡¯re a member of the All-Dao family, why were you speaking with one of the White Dragon n? Did you betray us?"

    Uncle He stared at Mr. Guo in a simr manner. It was not impossible for some of the Lu family¡¯s former vassals to have betrayed the exiled family or have been recruited by the four ruling powers. However, if this Mr. Guo was one of those people, Uncle He would have no reservations in killing the person. After all, they were the Forsaken Soldiers, and people here were expected to die, so no one would be concerned about such deaths.

    Mr. Guo stared at Master Tu, clearly excited. "You really are the Qiming family¡¯s Master Qiming Tu! Only he could have frequently visited the Food Paradise."

    Young Master Tu grew impatient. "Answer my question! Why are you spending time with that kid from the White Dragon n?"

    "Come in and exin," Uncle He said quietly.

    Mr. Guo followed the two men in.

    After half an hour passed, Young Master Tu was shocked. "Such a person still exists? In order to expose a Redback, he didn¡¯t hesitate to offend the four ruling powers, and he was even chased after by a few Semi-Progenitors?"

    Mr. Guo smiled. "Long Qi is just that sort of person. He greatly respects the Lu family, and he fell down to the New World because of Zhou Tang. He actually hates the four ruling powers¡¯ control, and he was the one who saved all of us. If not for him, we would have all died."

    Uncle He was taken aback. "The child has already built up quite the legend."

    "I don''t believe it! The four ruling powers are all traitors! How old is Long Qi? He¡¯s never seen the majesty of the Lu family, and his childhood education would have included nothing about the Lu family at all. How could such a person possibly feel anything for the Lu family at all?" Young Master Tu angrily retorted.

    Uncle He looked at his ward. "You forget the fourth hero."

    Young Master Tu''s body went stiff, and he gradually calmed himself down. ¡°Four- Fourth Sister is different."

    Mr. Guo¡¯s voice was thick with emotion, "Every group has both good and bad people¡ªLight and darkness have always coexisted. We have watched Long Qi for a long time, and we have determined that he is different from the current four ruling powers. If it were not so, we would have never gotten close to him."

    As he spoke, the man¡¯s smile grew bitter. "Besides, given our identities, why would the White Dragon n even bother with us at all? All of the people who mattered disappeared with the Lu family long ago. We¡¯re nothing but relics of the past, nothing more."

    Uncle He turned his head as he recalled the past. ¡°Sometimes, I wish that I had gone with the Lu family instead of staying in this Perennial World to be humiliated by people."

    Young Master Tu''s expression grew gloomy, and he slowly walked out of the room.

    Mr. Guo had grown curious. "How could such a thing have happened to Young Master Tu? Back then, his talent was enough to shock the universe as well. It was said that when he grew older, he would be the eighth hero. What happened?"

    Uncle He grew mncholic. "His cultivation was destroyed."

    Mr. Guo''s pupils instantly constricted. "Who did that?"

    Uncle He clenched his hands into fists. "Who else?"

    Mr. Guo punched the ground with a fist. He was a man with a refined bearing and a teacher, but at the mention of that person, he could not suppress his anger. "If possible, I really wish that I could kill her with my own hands."

    Uncle He''s clenched fists were actually trembling. "Not only did my young master lose his cultivation, but he also suffers from a form of mental torture every month. It¡¯s enough to even drive an Envoy crazy, but the young master has persevered despite enduring such agony every month. He¡¯s living an existence that is more painful than death. There are times when I truly wish to help the young master by ending his life, but the young master wishes to continue living. Only by doing so can he possibly wait for them to return. The young master has always held onto this hope."

    Mr. Guo closed his eyes to hide the pain buried deep within his eyes. "Honestly, is there any hope?"

    Uncle He solemnly replied, "By staying alive, there is always the future. If you die, there is nothing left."

    Mr. Guo¡¯s eyes opened back up as he let out a sigh. "I hope so."

    Mr. Guo left soon after. He had received a message from someone, and he raced away.

 Chapter 1519: Lu Bastard

    Chapter 1519: Lu Bastard

    Uncle He watched Mr. Guo''s back as the man left with aplicated expression. "Waiting for death is actually a greater agony than just dying, but there is also greater hope. How many of the Lu family''s former retainers are also waiting with the same hope? Who can endure?"

    Two dayster, Mr. Guo approached Lu Yin. "Brother Long Qi, thank you so much. If not for you, I would have never been able to speak with a senior from my family."

    Lu Yin was curious. "A senior from which family?"

    Mr. Guo exined, "I am the teacher from the All-Dao family, and there are still some seniors from my family who are around."

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that Mr. Guo was another person from one of the Lu family¡¯s vassal ns who had been sent to the New World.

    "Mr. Guo, it¡¯s not really a good thing to find members of your family here. After all, this is the New World," Lu Yin reminded the older man.

    Mr. Guo sighed. "I had thought that everyone was already dead, so it¡¯s enough to know that there are others who are still alive."

    Lu Yin could tell that Mr. Guo had been suppressing some issues deep in his heart for too long. He needed to vent his burdens to someone, and Lu Yin just happened to be the person present to listen.

    Although the older man took a while to speak, Lu Yin came to understand that the Forsaken Soldiers were home to more than just one or two people from the Lu family¡¯s former vassal families. There were many people from the All-Dao family and the Qiming family present, but few of them had the strength to live far up the mountains.

    The two Semi-Progenitors did not care about such things. Many other members of the Forsaken Soldiers had been sentenced here aftermitting a serious crime or after offending one of the four ruling powers, and such people had no connection to the Lu family¡¯s former vassal families at all. However, the former retainers actually represented the most powerful group within the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Lu Yin also learned that the Forsaken Soldiers had another powerhouse just beneath that of the two Semi-Progenitor was someone known as Big Sister Luo Sha, and she was actually someone who did note from the Perennial World. No one knew precisely where she was from, only that she hailed from a parallel universe.

    As for why such a person had been sent to the Forsaken Soldiers, Mr. Guo had not investigated, and his senior did not know either.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin emerged from his quarters. When he looked up, he saw a bored Young Master Tubai off in the distance. Once again, there was a casual de of grass in his mouth, and he looked both rxed and irritating.

    When Young Master Tu noticed Lu Yin, he let out a snort and deliberately turned to face another direction.

    Lu Yin was left speechless, but he really wanted to beat this person within an inch of death.

    Lu Yin leaped up so that he could look down at the Folded Mountains.

    Young Master Tumented, "That''s right, living is too painful, and it¡¯s better to just die. The higher you fly, the easier it¡¯ll be for those monsters to see you. Then they¡¯ll focus you down ore out to y with you."

    Lu Yin returned to the ground. "Thanks for the reminder."

    "Remind your grandpa!" Young Master Tu instantly became upset, and he turned around to leave.

    Lu Yin frowned; that guy really liked to mouth off.

    Lu Yin spent some time studying a sourcebox array. The Stacking Mountain Range were also protected by a sourcebox array, though it had been damaged beyond the point of functioning for a long time. However, it also happened to be a sourcebox array that Lu Yin was familiar with: it was the same array of cones that also protected the second array base¡¯s headquarters.

    This array had also been used by the second array base¡¯s headquarters, Xiang City, and even the Stacking Mountain Range. It seemed that this array was quite popr. However, Lu Yin remembered that Master Zan had imed to be the only person who could repair this sourcebox array even though that was clearly nonsense.

    Lu Yin wanted to repair this sourcebox array. After all, he had nothing to do at the moment, and fixing the sourcebox array would be rendering a great service to the Forsaken Soldiers.

    After a while, Lu Yin raised his head to look up. He had no idea when the massive assault on the five array bases would let up, but once the fighting stopped, he was confident that Xia Yan would send someone down to the New World to collect Lu Yin. Thus, his time here in the Stacking Mountain Range was limited.

    The sourcebox array protecting the Stacking Mountain Range was about the same size as the array protecting the second array base¡¯s headquarters, and both were powerful enough to threaten Envoys, even powerhouses who had survived several stellr tribtions.

    However, the array that Lu Yin was examining had suffered much more damage than the sourcebox array that he had repaired before. Several of the sourceboxes were out of ce, but no one cared about them. Naturally, no one was foolish enough to step anywhere close to the sourceboxes or the damaged array.

    Lu Yin moved closer to one of the cone-shaped sourceboxes, but when he was still thousands of meters away, several cultivators noticed him, and one of them warned him. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t wander around over there. That thing can¡¯t distinguish between enemy and ally."

    Lu Yin looked at sourcebox. "No one has any ns of repairing it? With this sourcebox array functioning, the Stacking Mountain Range will be much safer."

    "Fix it my ass! How would any Lockbreaker be willing toe down here? We haven¡¯t had any Lockbreakerse here for years. Just stay away from it," someonemented.

    Lu Yin stared at the cone-shaped sourcebox. Even though all of the sourceboxes in this array were shaped like cones, each one produced a different danger field.

    No two sourceboxes in the entire universe were identical, which meant that no two danger fields were identical either. Naturally, this also meant that no two sourcebox arrays were the same, but the same array could still be set up with different sourceboxes through adjustments and modifications, though that also meant that the power of each array would vary.

    Lu Yin questioned whether or not he was capable of arranging this sourcebox array in the optimal setup, but even if that was impossible, he should still at least be able to repair it.

    Higher up the mountain, Young Master Tu was looking down and watching as Lu Yin moved into the sourcebox array. ¡°That kid really is an Array Master. He repaired the spherical red sourcebox array before, and now he wants to repair this one."

    Although there were not many people near the sourcebox array, Lu Yin¡¯s actions nheless attracted a great deal of attention.

    Even Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng and Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua took notice.

    Semi-Progenitors were true powerhouses, but that did not mean that they could be Lockbreakers much less Array Masters. The two of them also wished for the mountains¡¯ defensive sourcebox array to be repaired, but they had zero expectations that an Array Master would descend down to the New World to help them.

    Any Array Master was an invaluable treasure for humanity, and even if such a personmitted a heinous crime, they still would not be sent down to the Forsaken Soldiers.

    No one caused any problems for Lu Yin after seeing that he was able to enter the array without triggering it. Many people even started to hope that he would be able to repair the array.

    As for Che Zhan and the others, they had great confidence in Lu Yin.

    Up above, the assault on the array bases continued unabated, and corpses asionally fell down to the New World.

    Lu Yin had already found all of the sourceboxes, so he was currently studying them and spending his days rearranging and adjusting them.

    In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

    The fighting on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree never paused. Part of it was that it was not easy to put an end to arge-scale battle like the one that had beenunched on the array bases.

    Lu Yin had no idea when things would let up.

    Marquis Xiang once again left Xiang City to rejoin the war efforts, though it was possible for him to return at any moment. After all, Xiang City was a vital geographic location.

    Lu Yin spent his time repairing the sourcebox array, and as he worked, Young Master Tu spent his time spouting nonsense at the side. He did not particrly like Lu Yin, but Young Master Tu continued to stare at Lu Yin and try goading him into beating him up. After ten days, Lu Yin obliged the man.

    "Come on, can¡¯t you even fight?!" Young Master Tu taunted. There was something inside his head bulging out, and it caused him excruciating agony, and it even caused him to suffer from visions. In particr, whenever he looked at Lu Yin, Young Master Tu seemed to see that person from the past.

    "Whoever wins will call the other grandson! I can call you boss, but I want to be the eighth hero! I want to travel throughout the Perennial World¡­" Young Master Tu shouted, his eyes bloodshot as he was already delusional. He was suffering from a torture that no one could endure. And it was all to guarantee that he would stay alive.

    With a single punch from Lu Yin, Young Master Tu was smashed into the ground. Lu Yin calmly bent over, grabbed Young Master Tu¡¯s shoulder, and whispered, "Who am I?"

    Young Master Tu¡¯s nose had been smushed, and his face was swollen, though Lu Yin was not as ruthless asst time. After Mr. Guo informed him of Young Master Tu¡¯s situation and learning that Young Master Tu was from one of the Lu family¡¯s vassal families, Lu Yin was some sympathy for the youth. Thus, Lu Yin struck out with still powerful, but not ruthless attacks to relieve Young Master Tu¡¯s mental pain with some physical pain. Still, it was clear that Young Master Tu was seeing someone else in Lu Yin and that he would much rather be beaten by that other person. This was what was helping Young Master Tu through his ordeal. "Lu- Lu- Boss Lu."

    "My name," Lu Yin eagerly asked. However, he saw Uncle He approaching them.

    Young Master Tu hoarsely answered, "Lu- Lu Bastard."

    Lu Yin was left speechless; he should have beaten this person far harder!

    After arriving, Uncle He took Young Master Tu with a nod to Lu Yin. "I''m sorry."

    With just those words, the older man picked up Young Master Tu and left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood was ruined. It was clear that Young Master Tu had been an old friend of Lu Yin¡¯s back when he had been the seventh sibling and that Lu Yin had called himself Young Master Tu¡¯s boss. Young Master Tu would also rather endure this mental torture every month as he waited for the Lu family to return. This was honorable, and it also demonstrated incredible loyalty. Such behavior reminded Lu Yin of Luo Shen. Being the target of such honor and loyalty was a heavy weight.

    It had be clear to Lu Yin that many of the Lu family¡¯s former retainers had survived. How many of them were still waiting for Lu Yin? Waiting for the Lu family?

    Lu Yin looked up at the second array base, and his eyes seemed to pierce through it to the rest of the Perennial World and up to the four ruling powers in the Higher Realm. Lu Yin also wanted to bring the Lu family back, as well as all of their surviving vassal powers.

    "Just wait. I will return this pain to the four ruling powers a hundredfold times over," Lu Yin muttered to himself. He shook off the heavy emotions weighing his heart down and returned to studying the sourcebox array.

    The very next day, Young Master Tu returned, though he was in the same miserable state that he had been in the day before. He asionally sneered or taunted Lu Yin, and the moment that Lu Yin showed any sign of difort, Young Master Tu seized the opportunity to schedule another duel for the following month.

    "Brother Long Qi, don''t be too rough," Mr. Guo cautioned. He was afraid that Lu Yin would end up killing Young Master Tu.

    Lu Yin asked, "What was his previous cultivation?"

    Mr. Guo brushed the question off in a regretful tone. "Why bring up such matters from the past?"

    "Is there no way for him to recover?" Lu Yin asked. His voice was casual, but his eyes were serious.

    Mr. Guo shook his head. "There''s no way. I actually don¡¯t even know how to ruin someone¡¯s cultivation, let alone restore it. It¡¯s possible that a Progenitor might have the means."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    He was about to finish repairing the sourcebox array.

    A few dayster, a loud vibration echoed out overhead, and the gears on the second array base that had been turning throughout the entire assault slowly stopped turning. Everyone in the Stacking Mountain Range looked up. The assault had ended.

    The all-out attack had notsted for long, but there had been terrible casualties on both sides. Corpses had rained from the sky without end, including both humans and corpse kings.

    Young Master Tu looked up. "If Ceaseless Impetus ever breaks in the future, I don''t know who will be capable of fixing it."

    Lu Yin nced over. This person really did have a way of bringing up the worst possibilities.

    With the assault on the array bases over, Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng spoke up and spread his voice throughout the Stacking Mountain Range. "Everyone needs to prepare themselves. With the battle above us over, the war will soon return to us. We can be attacked at any moment."

    Lu Yin quickly resumed working on the sourcebox array.

    The following day, just as the Semi-Progenitor had warned, the fighting returned to the Forsaken Soldiers. Countless corpse kings poured out of Xiang City and charged towards the Stacking Mountain Range.

    A disturbing and massive figure stood above Xiang City as it stared at the distant Stacking Mountain Range.

    Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua stepped forward, and all three figures entered the true universe. Lu Yin sped up, and he also entered the true universe to watch the battle. He still had almost no understanding of the power that Semi-Progenitors wielded.

    Countless corpse kings had reached the foot of the mountains. Of the nearly 10 million people who had been rescued by Lu Yin and the others, most had already recovered, and they formed defensive lines at the front and did not back down. They had resisted the corpse kings at this ce for countless years, and it was littered with dry bones by now.

    Lu Yin saw Big Sis Luo Sha in the true universe. She was an ordinary-looking woman, though her appearance was very young. Currently, she was moving straight at Xiang City with her robust body, but she was shrouded by a dark cloud that made her look like a ghost. Every so often, strange cries could be heard from the dark cloud, which was very disturbing.

 Chapter 1520: Knows One

    Chapter 1520: Knows One

    Lu Yin also noticed the person that Mr. Guo had mentioned earlier had taken action, a senior from the All-Dao family. This man was named Wan Sen, and he was a powerhouse who had survived his fourth tribtion. When the battle started, he had immediately made a move to confront a massive corpse king.

    Zhou Tang had also recovered by this time. Lu Yin had not seen the man in a while, but as the corpse king attack force approached, the void warped as though a fire was boiling it. Zhou Tang¡¯s aurelian force spread out and covered hundreds of kilometers in an invincible manner.

    Zhou Tang''s cultivation was not as impressive as Wan Sen¡¯s, not to mention Sister Luo Hua. However, Zhou Tang was the most powerful when he used his aurelian force. His invincible battle force made him the most conspicuous individual on the entire battlefield, and he instantly drew the attention of several corpse kings that had the strength of Envoys. One was even as powerful as an Envoy who had survived five tribtions, and the creature instantly sent Zhou Tang flying.

    Fortunately, Zhou Tang was strong and did not die.

    Wan Sen moved to block off that particr corpse king. Even though the Envoy¡¯s cultivationgged behind by a stage, his battle techniques were anything but weak. Even Lu Yin could tell that the man¡¯s techniques seemed to be of higher quality than many of the four ruling powers¡¯. With his abilities, Wen San sessfully stopped the corpse king.

    "Hey, are you just going to hide in there and not fight? Come out and fight me! Whoever wins calls the other grandson!" Young Master Tu taunted Lu Yin as he jumped about.

    Lu Yin frowned and pressed a hand to the ground. Suddenly, the sourcebox array formed from the cone-shaped sourceboxes flew into the air. He was done.

    With a single thought, the array spread out and enveloped the entire battlefield that had engulfed the mountain range. Countless corpse kings were pierced through by the cone-shaped sourceboxes, even the one fighting Wan Sen. The five corpse kings with the strength of Envoys were all struck as well, and they were forced back several steps.

    Many of the corpse kings looked up to see that Lu Yin was the one controlling the sourcebox array.

    One of the Envoy-level corpse kings roared as wings appeared behind its back and pped as a strange blue me lit up from within the void. This was the creature¡¯s innate gift.

    Lu Yin tossed Young Master Tu to the side before turning to face the blue me that was shooting through the air. He had his Cloudguard Robes on, so this blue me waspletely unable to harm Lu Yin at all. Once the corpse king was in range, Lu Yin raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm.

    The attack forced back this corpse king that had the strength of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin leaped towards the location of the spherical red sourcebox array. His current n was to use both sourcebox arrays in unison. That way, his opponents would be forced to push into two offensive sourcebox arrays at the same time.

    The winged, Envoy level corpse king was incredibly fast, and it caught up to Lu Yin in the blink of an eye as it swung a hand at him.

    Even though this corpse king was not as fast as the one that Lu Yin had fought against before, it was not far behind. Zhou Tang, Mr. Guo, and the other Envoys were all unable to help Lu Yin, as were the other Envoys among the Forsaken Soldiers; none of them could catch up to this corpse king.

    Lu Yin was in danger, but he had already decided to take a risk. He activated a Teleportation Formation just as the winged corpse king¡¯s ws tore through the void and shed down at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pulled out the long spear that he had taken from Long Tian, and he quickly covered the spear shaft with its sticky green substance. This was the same method that Lu Yin had used to defeat the previous, even faster corpse king, and if it had worked against that opponent, then why not employ it against this one?

    A powerful blow hit Lu Yin from the side before he could even respond. He was smashed down to the ground by the winged corpse king, and the creature pursued its target to the ground. In retaliation to the previous attack, Lu Yin lifted the spear and stabbed out with its tip aimed overhead.

    Right after Lu Yin lifted his spear, the winged corpse king appeared and smashed Lu Yin into the mountain side.

    Some distance away, Young Master Tu was startled by what he saw. "Uncle He, go help."

    Closeby, Uncle He was about to step in when he suddenly noticed that the green goo on the ground was wrapped around the corpse king¡¯s arm. Meanwhile, an unscathed Lu Yin was pulled out by the corpse king.

    Uncle He was surprised, but Young Master Tu was even more startled. He suddenly remembered what Uncle He had mentioned about this kid having amazing equipment.

    The winged corpse king was fast but not particrly powerful, and it waspletely unable to break free of the sticky green substance. Lu Yin seized this opportunity to drag the corpse king back to the sourcebox array with the cone-shaped sourceboxes. The corpse king desperately fought back and savagely roared. There were less than three meters separating its scarlet irises from Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The cold and silent stare was frightening.

    There was finally a bang. A cone from the sourcebox array left behind a hole in the chest of the corpse king, tearing it apart.

    Lu Yin put his spear away and then continued making his way towards the Red Beam

    Before long, red beams of light swept across the entire mountain range, ughtering even more corpse kings.

    Once the two sourcebox arrays started attacking, the flood of corpse kings from Xiang City werepletely restrained.

    Even Marquis Xiang¡¯s attention was drawn to the arrays, and he was furious by what he saw. "Is that kid new here?"

    Across from the corpse king, Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua warily nced at each other. Even though there were Semi-Progenitors on both sides of the battle, they were not on the same level. The two humans had only cultivated for a fraction of the time that the corpse king had existed for, and Marquis Xiang was as old as some Progenitors. Also, corpse kings generally held the advantage against opponents with the same level of cultivation, and the two Semi Progenitors could only handle Marquis Xiang when they joined forces.

    "You justunched an all-out attack on the array bases, and now you¡¯re attacking the Stacking Mountain Range. You really are full of energy," Semi-Progenitor Ji Fengmented.

    Marquis Xiang sneered back. "We have no need for something like energy. That¡¯s something that only you humans have. Energy, aging, pain and emotions. These are the things that will lead to your defeat."

    "Which of your eyes sees us as defeated? If not for the fact that there have been a lot more of you monsters in recent years, the battlefield would still be in the same state as before. Honestly, you should be embarrassed," Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua mocked.

    Marquis Xiang nced at the two Semi-Progenitors. "You two can work together to defeat me, but what part of that is worthy of pride? It won¡¯t be long before I manage to break your inner world. Do you intend to stay here or run away like those fear-shriveled turtles from before? Will you flee to the Perennial World? Well? Hahahaha!"

    Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua nced at each other, their expressions growing more and more vignt.

    "That''s it! Why don''t we take you back and convert you? That will give us two more experts." Marquis Xiang suddenly changed the conversation, but then he looked up. "Come on out. What are you waiting for?"

    Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua were both startled, and their heads were forced away from each other as shoots of green bamboo appeared out of the ground and stabbed into the sky. The attack came out of nowhere, and in an instance, almost a million people had died. Their blood pooled together to form a river of blood.

    High up the Stacking Mountain Range, Lu Yin trembled; had Marquis Green Bamboo been waiting in ambush this entire time? Why would he show up now?

    The Stacking Mountain Range only had two Semi-Progenitors, and they had always needed to work together to restrain Marquis Xiang. With Marquis Green Bamboo added to the battlefield, the situation had instantly reversed.

    Sister Luo Hua grew pale as she stared at Marquis Green Bamboo. This was not an expert whom she could handle.

    Uncle He and Zhou Tang were simrly able to do nothing more than simply watch.

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s eyes wandered across the Folded Mountains, though they briefly paused on Lu Yin. Suddenly, the marquis attacked the sourcebox array with the cones. A massive bamboo shoot sprouted in the void and struck the array at full force.

    A Semi-Progenitor was powerful enough to easily destroy such a sourcebox array, and the strength of this particr array was not enough to make the corpse king personally move.

    However, just as the massive, green bamboo was about to strike, a palm shot up from underground and grabbed a hold of the bamboo. It squeezed, and the bamboo cracked.

    Everyone was stunned; was there someone underground?

    Marquis Green Bamboo''s eyes narrowed, and he pressed down with a hand. Rays of light radiated from the green bamboo, and it instantly recovered before continuing to barrel down towards the sourcebox array.

    The hand maintained a firm grip on the bamboo. "Marquis Green Bamboo, I have not seen you for many years, but are you still using this same method?"

    The voice boomed with power, and its owner seemed to be someoneone in his twilight years, and yet his tone overflowed with confidence and arrogance.

    Marquis Green Bamboo was actually shocked to hear this particr voice, but then heughed. "The Lu family was exiled, and I was actually wondering what had happened to my old friends from back then. I never expected you to be here, Wan Zhiyi."

    All across the Stacking Mountain Range, Mr. Guo, Zhou Tang, and the others were all stupefied; Wan Zhiyi? That was the name of the All-Dao family¡¯s grand elder!

    The various Envoys were not the only ones shocked, as Wan Sen and the other members of the All-Dao family who had been banished to the Forsaken Soldiers had also been ignorant to the fact that their family¡¯s grand elder had been underground. Wan Sen started trembling from anger.

    How majestic had the All-Dao family¡¯s grand elder been when the Lu family had still been around!? Even the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors had needed to show respect to Wan Zhiyi back then. He had been allowed to freelye and go from the Lu family¡¯s territory, and yet he had actually been exiled underground, beneath the Folded Mountains, stepped upon by everyone who tread upon the mountains. How humiliating!

    Young Master Tu''s eyes turned bloodshot. The All-Dao family had an inseparable rtionship with the Qiming family. Overflowing with rage, Young Master Tu muttered to himself, "Grandpa Zhiyi? Grandpa Zhiyi? Is that you?"

    Hidden in the void, Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua had been unaware that anyone had been beneath the mountain range. These arrangements had been made back when the Lu family had still been in power before their exile. The two Semi-Progenitors had been told that there was a powerhouse supporting the Forsaken Soldiers, but despite the many years that had passed, they had never seen or spoken to anyone. They had never considered that the All-Dao family¡¯s grand elder, Wan Zhiyi, would be their secret support in the dark. This old man had long been famous throughout the Perennial World.

    "I really can''t understand it. Just why are they keeping you old retainers alive? The Lu family will never be able to return. They¡¯ve been destroyed! You should have gone with your master back then."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold as he stared at Marquis Green Bamboo.

    "My master¡¯s family will not die so easily, and they will return sooner orter. For now, begone," the ancient voice ordered. The hand rising out of the ground opened and pped at Marquis Green Bamboo with an open palm that contained an indescribable power. It was clearly just a single p, but anyone who saw it would feel as if they had seen ten thousand strikes.

    One silhouette after another passed through the void. They surpassed the ages as they came until they became a barrage of palm prints that shot towards Marquis Green Bamboo one after another.

    The marquis¡¯s scarlet eyes changed dramatically, and his body transformed into a shoot of green bamboo that shone brightly as the ten thousand palm strikes smashed against the bamboo in the void.

    The next moment, space itself tore open. Everyone felt a terrible pressure beat down upon their heads, and this was because beyond the spatial tear was not the void, nor anything else. However, a terrible pressure descended upon the entire mountain range, as well as Xiang City. Countless individuals vomited blood and passed out.

    Even Lu Yin found himself lying on the ground due to the pressure of the collision. He was unable to exert the slightest bit of control over the star energy in his body right now. With great effort, Lu Yin looked up, but all that he could see was a cracked green bamboo shoot retreating. After that, Marquis Xiang also retreated, along with the countless corpse kings. All of the monsters left the Stacking Mountain Range and returned to Xiang City.

    As Lu Yin looked around, he saw that more than half of the humans upying the Folded Mountains had fainted.

    Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Huanded on the ground and bowed towards the ground. "Thank you for your help, senior."

    Wan Zhiyi did not reply. All that he had done was thrust a hand out of the ground, and yet that had been enough to repel Marquis Green Bamboo.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was absolutely shocked. He thought back to the glory that the All-Dao family had enjoyed in the past. They had truly been qualified to reside in the Higher Realm alongside the Lu family. If one discounted the Progenitors, then the All-Dao family had been strong enough to equal even the current four ruling powers.

    Back then, the person in the All-Dao family who had been the closest to the Progenitor realm had been the family¡¯s grand elder. There had been some rumors that Wan Zhiyi might be able to break into the Progenitor realm, but he hadter suffered a drastic setback.

    At this moment, that great powerhouse was actually trapped and imprisoned beneath the Stacking Mountain Range, which was truly a pitiful end.

    Wan Sen, Mr. Guo, and the other descendants of the All-Dao family who had been exiled to the Stacking Mountain Range all knelt down. "We greet the Grand Elder."

    "We greet the Grand Elder."

    "Junior Wan Sen is honored to see the Grand Elder."

    ¡­

    There was no response at all, and it seemed as though Wan Zhiyi had entered a deep slumber. No matter how Wan Sen shouted, there was not a single word of response.

 Chapter 1521: Crisis

    Chapter 1521: Crisis

    Lu Yin stared at the ground with aplicated expression. There was yet another former retainer of the Lu family here.

    "Grandpa Zhiyi, it¡¯s Xiao Tu! Grandpa Zhiyi!" Young Master Tu was also shouting, his eyes bright red. Still, there was no response from Wan Zhiyi at all.

    Uncle He sighed. "Every move that Old Senior makes is carefully watched."

    Young Master Tu roared, "Those traitors! The Lu family will return sooner orter and destroy them, and yet they dare to imprison Grandpa Zhiyi?! Traitors! Traitor!!!"

    Uncle He felt helpless. He released a long breath and looked to the other side, where he just happened to see Lu Yin, and the older man¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin knew that Uncle He was still worried about how he was a part of the White Dragon n. Thus, Lu Yin merely nodded and left.

    Three dayster, as he was resting, Lu Yin heard a voice from outside his quarters. "Are you Brother Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and walked out. As he emerged, he saw a ferocious-looking bald man. Lu Yin instantly recognized the man: Baldy Tooth. This man was one of the Forsaken Soldiers¡¯ few Envoys. He was a powerhouse who lived close to where Lu Yin had taken up residence.

    "I am junior Long Qi. Might I ask what senior needs with me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Baldy Tooth stared at Lu Yin for a moment before solemnly stating, "Let''s talk inside."

    Lu Yin nodded and moved aside to allow Baldy Tooth in.

    "Brother Long Qi, I¡¯ve been a part of the Forsaken Soldiers for a long time, and I¡¯ve developed some understanding of this ce. I¡¯d like to find out, which side would you like to join?" Baldy Tooth asked.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Which side?"

    Baldy Tooth was serious as he replied, "Respectable people don¡¯t hide their words, and it¡¯s unbing of Brother Long Qi to y stupid."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I¡¯m sorry, but I really don''t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Baldy Tooth frowned and stared at Lu Yin for a while before finally continuing, exining, "There are different factions within the Forsaken Soldiers. For example, the Lu family¡¯s former retainers form one faction, which includes people such as the Qiming family and the All-Dao family. Big Sis Luo Sha is nearly as powerful an expert as the two Semi-Progenitors here, and she leads another faction. As for us, we are here because we offended some people in the Perennial World and were sentenced to this ce because of it. Naturally, we have formed yet another faction. So, does Long Qi brothers understand now?"

    Lu Yin lowered his eyes. "The remnants of the Lu family¡¯s vassals?"

    Baldy Tooth replied, "That¡¯s right. That Young Master Tu who¡¯s been harassing you is from that faction, and you must be frustrated with him. However, it¡¯s important for you to know that those former vassals aren¡¯t easy to mess with, though you shouldn¡¯t even consider trying to join them. For starters, they only ept their own people, but even besides that, if you get close to those people, things won¡¯t be good for you after you return to the Perennial World. You definitely won¡¯t meet a good end in that case."

    "Do you feel disgusted by the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked in turn.

    Baldy Tooth snorted. "All who have ruled this Perennial World are revolting!¡±

    After getting to this point, Baldy Tooth started to get impatient. ¡°"Tell me, do you want to join us? Don''t forget, during that battle just three days ago, there were more than 100 casualties. It¡¯s normal for 10,000 people to die during each battle, and I even saw that one of the corpse kings went after you. I wanted to help, but you dealt with it by yourself. Still, that was only due to some luck. The fighting¡¯s just going to get worse from here on out, and how long can you count on your luck tost?

    "Join us so that we can help each other. That way, we¡¯ll have a better chance of surviving, right?"

    Lu Yin stared at the Baldy Tooth with an odd expression. "Do you know where I¡¯m from?"

    Baldy Tooth sneered, "Don''t bother trying to use your White Dragon n to scare me! That¡¯s useless here. The only way to leave this ce is after the two Semi-Progenitors coordinate an exchange, and you¡¯re no exception to that! Others from the four ruling powers have alsoe here, but all of them died. So, don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll get any special treatment while you¡¯re here."

    The man¡¯s words clearly showed that he knew nothing about Long Qi at all and that most of the people in the Forsaken Soldiers did not even know that the reason why the Semi-Progenitors had taken the initiative to attack Xiang City was to save Lu Yin. This man¡¯s faction wasposed of the Perennial World¡¯s worst criminals, and it was clear that Young Master Tu and his faction despised the convicts, and Big Sis Luo Sha likely felt the same. The two Semi-Progenitors would not bother paying any attention to this faction of criminals, which was probably why they believed themselves to be impressive.

    Baldy Tooth had likely seen Lu Yin repairing the sourcebox array, and that was his motivation behind approaching Lu Yin.

    "You should go. I have no interest in joining your faction." Lu Yin was clear on the type of people in this particr faction, and thus, there was no need to continue the conversation.

    Baldy Tooth frowned and switched tactics to threats. "Long Qi, you¡¯re with the Forsaken Soldiers now! You won¡¯t be treated like someone from the White Dragon n anymore, and not even the two Semi-Progenitors can afford to keep you safe. Our faction is the most numerous and reliable on the battlefield, so you should think this through carefully."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "You can see yourself out."

    Baldy Tooth let out another snort. "After a few more battles, you¡¯lle to understand! Let me remind you that we won¡¯t bother risking anything to save you before you join us, so find your own way to survive!"

    With that, the man turned and left, clearly in a bad mood.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. Just as he was about to return to his rest, from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of liquid trickling down the side of the mountain, and his own mood suddenly fell. That bastard was back.

    "That was fun! You¡¯re pretty cool," Young Master Tu shouted from higher up the mountain.

    Lu Yin had a terrible expression on his face when he walked up. "When do you want to get beaten up?"

    Young Master Tu pursed his lips. "I saw Baldy Tooth leaving your ce. You better not join up with that trash."

    "That¡¯s got nothing to do with you," Lu Yin replied.

    Young Master Tu rolled his eyes. "You know what, go ahead and beg me! I can ask Grandpa Zhiyi to keep you safe. You were already able to see just how powerful Grandpa Zhiyi is!"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is that old senior protecting you?"

    Young Master Tu coughed. "Of course! Why else would I call him Grandpa if he didn¡¯t care for me?"

    "Go ahead and ask him now, see if he agrees or not," Lu Yin angrily challenged. It was instantly clear that Young Master Tu was lying.

    Young Master Tu gritted his teeth. "Kid, you don¡¯t know how to ept kindness! Hurry up and beg me!"

    Lu Yin really saw expectation in Young Master Tu¡¯s eyes. This person frequently mistook Lu Yin for someone else, and he also tried his best to get Lu Yin to act more submissively as though he were trying to cater to a subtle wish. It was almost as though Young Master Tu wanted Lu Yin to bow his head because Young Master Tu had once wanted that other person to bow his head; but in both cases, he had never seeded. If Lu Yin was not mistaken, he was actually that very same person.

    "Go ahead and ask that old senior toe out and discuss this matter," Lu Yin pressed.

    After that, he went back to his ce on the mountain.

    Young Master Tu grew anxious. "Kid, it looks like you don''t believe me! You better beg me soon, or else you won¡¯t be so lucky during the next battle! I was actually the one who spoke to Grandpa Zhiyist time, and that¡¯s why he made a move! Kid, did you hear¡­"

    Out of everyone on the Stacking Mountain Range, the most pitiful person was the one who lived below Lu Yin. Whenever Young Master Tu let water flow, it trickled down and fell onto Lu Yin¡¯s lower neighbor, right in the main entrance to his quarters. He wanted to speak up, but he did not have the courage to do so. He also wanted to move, but he was very hesitant about trying to move anywhere else on the mountain. Despite his frustrations, the man could do nothing but silently curse to himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood had been ruined as he did not know what Shaman God was up to. Ever since the all-out assault on the array bases had ended, Marquis Green Bamboo had been keeping a constant eye on the Forsaken Soldiers, and he had even been sending corpse kings to attack them. After a few more days, the battle intensified and started growing worse.

    Lu Yin activated both of the sourcebox arrays and started ughtering corpse kings, staining the entire Stacking Mountain Range red with blood. As Lu Yin focused on his task, he was attacked by three Envoy corpse kings. If not for Uncle He and Zhou Tang protecting him, Lu Yin would have suffered miserably.

    However, even if the human Envoys were able to stop their corpse king counterparts, they were not able to do anything when Marquis Green Bamboo made a move.

    No one expected Marquis Green Bamboo to suddenly attack a youth, but green bamboo shoots shot out from the void, appearing from nowhere and sting into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Had Shaman God died? One of the Twelve Marquises had actually attacked Lu Yin!

    Lu Yin felt death approaching, and he prepared himself to summon Mister Mu. However, an old man suddenly grabbed Marquis Green Bamboo. The old man''s hand looked like it belonged to a skeleton, as it waspletely devoid of flesh and blood, though the man was still underground.

    Lu Yin immediately knew that this old man was Wan Zhiyi, the All-Dao family¡¯s grand elder.

    Puff!

    Lu Yin crumpled to the ground as he spat out blood. Young Master Tu raced over to catch Lu Yin. "Hey! You''re not dead, right?"

    Lu Yin''s chest was covered with blood. He had not taken any reactionary measures or retaliated when Marquis Green Bamboo had attacked, as anything that Lu Yin could do would be worthless against a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    "I can''t die." Lu Yin coughed up more blood before quickly swallowing a medicinal pill. His breathing was ragged.

    If not for Wan Zhiyi appearing, Lu Yin would have been pierced through by Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s attack. Even if Lu Yin had not died, he would have been seriously injured. Still, it was far more likely for him to have died. If a Progenitor attacked, just the shockwave alone would be enough to annihte Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    If not for the Cloudguard Robes, the strike from the shoot of green bamboo might have killed Lu Yin without even needing to get close to him.

    It was unfortunate that the attack hadpletely destroyed Lu Yin¡¯s Cloudguard Robes.

    "You aren¡¯t dead? Just how tenacious are you?" Young Master Tu was shocked to see that Lu Yin was still alive, and the young master¡¯s voice took on an odd tone.

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled, but his body was constantly fed with fresh vitality, and his injuries quickly recovered.

    Without Lu Yin to control it, the spherical red sourcebox array had grown weak, though the array with the cone-shaped sourceboxes was fine, as it was able to operate automatically.

    Up above Lu Yin, Wan Zhiyi''s expression was solemn. However, due to the fact that the ancient powerhouse was nothing but skin and bones, it was quite difficult to read his expression. "I¡¯m surprised to see that one of the Twelve Marquises, Marquis Green Bamboo, actually made a move against a mere Enlighter realm junior."

    Marquis Green Bamboo smiled casually. "Junior? That¡¯s simply how you humans view things rted to the passage of time. To me, he¡¯s someone who became an Array Master at a young age. The fact that he¡¯s able to kill Envoy level corpse kings while still at the Enlighter realm means that he presents a grave threat to my people, and he even has equipment that allowed him to survive an attack from me. Judging by how you humans do things, he is no mere junior, and he is certainly qualified for me to move against him.

    "Besides, I keep having the feeling that he looks familiar, and I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before."

    Wan Zhiyi nced back at Lu Yin, and his eyes hesitated on Lu Yin''s face before he looked back at Marquis Green Bamboo. "Does this old man look familiar to you?"

    Marquis Green Bambooughed. He continued to act in a calm and refined manner. "You look nothing like you did before. You were once full of spirit and energy, but now, you''re about to die. The Lu family is gone, and there¡¯s you people¡¯s lives hold no value. You should just go die."

    After speaking, the marquis disappeared.

    A zing killing intent suddenly filled Wan Zhiyi¡¯s eyes, and he also disappeared.

    Even though Lu Yin was able to observe the true universe, he could not see the battle between the two.

    "Grandpa Zhiyi will definitely win! Grandpa Zhiyi is the most powerful of the Semi-Progenitors. He¡¯s only a single step away from bing a Progenitor! If not for the fate that befell the Lu family, my Perennial World would be protected by one more Progenitor," Young Master Tu said quietly.

    Lu Yin held his chest as he recuperated. His injuries had recovered quickly, and thanks to the Cloudguard Robes, the shockwave of the marquis¡¯s attack had not entered Lu Yin¡¯s body. Without the armor, Lu Yin would have suffered badly. Upon realizing this, he did not hesitate to put on his universal armor, and only after that was he able to rx a bit.

    Young Master Tu stared nkly at Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor. "What is that?"

    Lu Yin answered quietly. "It¡¯s a defensive armor. Can¡¯t you tell?"

    Young Master Tu was surprised. "Will that even help?"

    It was at this moment that several corpse kings attacked the two men; two had the strength of Enlighters while three were as strong as Hunters. Lu Yin used his Vacuum Palm and blew all five of the corpse kings away.

    Uncle He appeared at that moment. "It''s not safe here. Let''s go."

    With that, he grabbed Young Master Tu and started heading for the top of the Folded Mountains.

 Chapter 1522: Oath

    Chapter 1522: Oath

    Uncle He did not take Lu Yin with him as he was only focused on protecting Young Master Tu.

    Lu Yin remained where he was, surrounded by corpse kings. Still, given the defense of his universal armor, as long as no corpse king that was equal to an Envoy who had passed three tribtions appeared, Lu Yin would not be in any danger. There were only a few experts whose power levels exceeded 700,000.

    However, that did not mean that Lu Yin was entirely safe. He quickly broke free of the encirclement and entered the Red Beam. It was only then that he was safe.

    The battle continued on for several days, though no one knew how the battle between Marquis Green Bamboo and Wan Zhiyi was progressing. Neither of them had shown themselves after that day, but judging from their previous exchange, Wan Zhiyi should hold the advantage.

    The Twelve Marquises were all Semi-Progenitors who had existed since ancient times. Although this sounded impressive, if any one of them was capable of bing a Progenitor, then they would have done so long ago and not remained as Semi-Progenitors.

    The longer such beings lived for, the more they proved themselves incapable of bing Progenitors. In contrast, Wan Zhiyi had nearly broken into the Progenitor realm before, so there was a wide discrepancy between the two Semi-Progenitors.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng had teamed up with Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua to fight against Marquis Xiang while Wan Zhiyi and Marquis Green Bamboo were supposed to be evenly matched. This led to a deadlocked battlefield, but when Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua fell, the entire situation suddenly changed.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance where he saw Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua''s hair turn white. It was as though she had aged an entire lifetime in an instant. The familiar sight startled Lu Yin; was that Vitality Poison?

    The void distorted around Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua''s body, blocking off Lu Yin¡¯s vision. It was as though the powerhouse had been isted in a separate world. Still, even though Lu Yin was not able to see her clearly, he could sense that she was quickly weakening.

    "Marquis Xiang, you actually used poison?!" Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng shouted angrily.

    Marquis Xiang indifferently replied, "As I said, this will destroy your inner world. How long can Liu Hua endure for? Her inner world is rapidly degrading, and once it disappears, so will she."

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was both angry and scared, and he did not even dare toe into close contact with Marquis Xiang again.

    As he waited for the battle to continue, Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng quickly retreated. Just what kind of poison could affect Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua so badly that it was able to corrode her inner world? If Ji Feng was poisoned, then he would suffer the same fate.

    Wan Zhiyi also saw what had happened, and it made him furious. "You have developed your Vitality Poison this far?"

    Marquis Green Bamboo smiled. "This isn¡¯t even its final limit. Once the Vitality Poison is able to easily destroy inner worlds, the Perennial World will be done for. Tell me, do you think that this poison will work on the Mother Tree?"

    Wan Zhiyi felt a chill run down his back. Even a Semi-Progenitor was already nearly unable to resist this poison. If the monsters continued to develop it, while it might never be able to pose a threat to Progenitors, it would eventually be able to destroy the Mother Tree.

    Once that happened, the Perennial World would suffer an unprecedented disaster.

    "Palm of Thousand Skies." Wan Zhiyi let out a roar while, across from him, Marquis Green Bamboo raised his bamboo stick and thrust it forward.

    The void continuously detonated, and even the true universe started warping from their battle. Not even Envoys could observe the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was forced back step by step. The moment that he fell, the Forsaken Soldiers would be eradicated.

    This was the most desperate disaster that the Forsaken Soldiers had ever encountered.

    Suddenly, Marquis Xiang appeared and smashed the sourcebox array with the cones. The attack damaged the entire sourcebox array and ruined it again.

    This was the power of a marquis. Each one was powerful enough to casually destroy a powerful Envoy.

    At that moment, Marquis Xiang turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp tingle so badly that it felt like it was going to explode; what were Shaman God¡¯s intentions? Had that doll died? First, Marquis Green Bamboo had attacked Lu Yin, and now, Marquis Xiang seemed to be about to do the same. It looked like there was no path towards survival.

    Lu Yin took out his jade talisman, ready to crush it, when an overwhelming aura suddenly fell upon him from above. It was like he had been weed into a new world, and the energy dragged Lu Yin back. He looked up, thrilled. ¡°Supervisor!¡±

    Qing Chen had arrived, and his timing was perfect, as he had just managed to save Lu Yin.

    Qing Chen had a grim expression on his face. He tossed Lu Yin to the top of the Stacking Mountain Range. ¡°Protect yourself."

    With that, the supervisor stepped forward and charged at Marquis Xiang.

    Marquis Xiang was caught off guard. "Another Semi-Progenitor? How troublesome."

    With that, he simply left.

    Marquis Green Bamboo had also noticed Qing Chen¡¯s arrival. "Wan Zhiyi, I won''t y with you any more today. If four Semi-Progenitors are standing guard over the Forsaken Soldiers, then who is protecting your array bases? Hahahaha!"

    Marquis Green Bamboo then also left.

    Wan Zhiyi stared at Marquis Green Bamboo''s retreating back with a sense of awe.

    After Marquis Xiang and Marquis Green Bamboo both pulled back, the countless corpse kings immediately started fleeing.

    Lu Yin stood atop the mountains, and he let out a sigh of relief as he watched the developments across the battlefield. This battle had been too dangerous, and he had almost died. If not for Qing Chen¡¯s timely arrival, Lu Yin would have been forced to summon Mister Mu.

    The four Semi-Progenitors allnded on the ground, and Qing Chen gazed at Wan Zhiyi with an expression of absolute shock. "Wan- Senior Wan?"

    Wan Zhiyi turned and saw Qing Chen. The older man¡¯s face was cadaverous to the point where he no longer seemed human.

    Qing Chen quickly stepped forward and bowed low. "Junior Qing Chen greets Senior Wan."

    Wan Zhiyi stared at Qing Chen before responding in a hoarse voice, "It¡¯s been a long time."

    Qing Chen looked at Wan Zhiyi with anger written all over his face. "Did they imprison senior underground?"

    Wan Zhiyi did not reply, but his body sank to the ground and then disappeared.

    "Senior Wan!"

    Qing Chen shouted, and tried to chase after the old man, but a voice rose from the ground. "Go back. Act as though you have seen nothing."

    Qing Chen stood in the void in a daze, his eyes riddled with conflicting emotions.

    The All-Dao family¡¯s grand elder had been heralded as a legendary, all-powerful figure who had been poised to be a Progenitor. Seeing how far the ancient powerhouse had fallen, Qing Chen felt sad and regretful, as well as powerless.

    The four ruling powers sat up in the Higher Realm, and they suppressed everyone and everything in the Middle Realm and below. There were no exceptions.

    Qing Chen¡¯s timely arrival was the only reason why the humans had been allowed a respite in the battle, though naturally, Qing Chen had arrived to take Lu Yin away.

    Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua sat on the ground in a cross-legged position. The void isted her body, but she also seemed to be cut off from the true universe. This was a concept that Lu Yin was unable to understand, though he did know that the woman was suffering from Vitality Poison.

    Qing Chennded nearby, and his brows furrowed as he looked at Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua.

    Ji Feng sealed the Semi-Progenitor off and ordered everyone back before turning to speak to Qing Chen. "The Aeternus has developed their poison to the point where it even poses a threat to Semi-Progenitors. They are still working to improve it and it¡¯s only a matter of time until it can threaten even Progenitors, as they have already reached the point where their poison can enter and corrode a powerhouse¡¯s inner world."

    Qing Chen quietly replied, ¡°I¡¯ll report these matters to the Progenitors."

    "Liu Hua has been reduced to this state, and I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be able to survive. The current situation is not looking good."

    Qing Chen looked at Ji Feng. "Make a report to General Xia Yan. Someone will be dispatched to rece Liu Hua. I will stay here with the Forsaken Soldiers until reinforcements arrive."

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng heaved a sigh of relief. "That''s good."

    Liu Hua waspletely isted, so no one knew what was happening to her.

    After the battle concluded, Lu Yin also met with Qing Chen.

    Qing Chen was not in a good mood when Lu Yin saw the older man. Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua had been poisoned, and Qing Chen had also seen Wan Zhiyi¡¯s circumstances, which left the supervisor with conflicted emotions.

    "You''ve done well. When I learned that you had fallen to the New World, everyone believed that you had died, even me," Qing Chen¡¯s voice was full of emotion, as he felt truly lucky.

    Lu Yin replied, "Your subordinate also thought that we were all dead. I did not expect to discover the Red Beamy or that it would be repairable. But because of the all-out assault on the five array bases, the New World did not have any strong enemies there, allowing me to travel to the Forsaken Soldiers."

    Qing Chen was very solemn. "Just now, during thisst battle, Marquis Green Bamboo and the other marquis both attacked you. This is not a safe ce for you. Once the recement Semi-Progenitor arrives, I¡¯ll take you away from here. With what you¡¯ve aplished on the battlefield, you can request to leave this battlefield."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Supervisor, after we fell down to the New World, your subordinate was only able to survive by relying and cooperating with a group of people. Can they also leave this ce?"

    Qing Chen asked, "Are you talking about Zhou Tang and the others with him?"

    "Do you know Zhou Tang?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. Even though Zhou Tang and the others were all powerful Envoys, Qing Chen should not know about them, right? After all, Qing Chen, Ji Feng, and Liu Hua were all lofty Semi-Progenitors.

    Qing Chen grew more somber. "Their status is special. They belong to the Star Alliance and the Forsaken Soldiers. Since they¡¯vee to this ce, the rules are clear. They cannot leave."

    Lu Yin anxiously protested, "But they provided invaluable assistance to this subordinate! Without them, your subordinate would have never been able to survive and reach this ce."

    Qing Chen did not respond, but instead looked behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned and saw Zhou Tang, Mr. Guo, and the others. The two men were not far away, and Qing Chen and Lu Yin had done nothing to hide their conversation, so the Envoys had heard everything.

    Che Zhan spoke with a smile, "Brother Long Qi, it''s enough for you to feel this way."

    Mr. Guo nodded and grew emotional. "It has been an honor to have gotten to know Brother Long Qi during my time in the Star Alliance."

    "All of us are honored," Brother Hong said seriously.

    The Mother of the Eastern Mountains smiled. "I don''t want to go back. Staying here is better."

    Finally, Lu Yin looked at Zhou Tang.

    Zhou Tang still had an unkempt appearance, but the gaze in his eyes had be much sharperpared to when Lu Yin had first seen the man. "Remember, the most important thing in cultivating battle force is your spirit. As you climb higher in this universe, your battle force will eventually break through. There are people who say that cultivating battle force serves no purpose since there are no records of a battle force user bing a Progenitor, but I don¡¯t believe this."

    Even though Zhou Tang did not explicitly say so, Lu Yin clearly understood that the man would also remain at the Folded Mountain Range.

    Lu Yin earnestly replied to hispanions, "I am also honored to have known all of you."

    "It''s too early for such talk. Brother Long Qi, you will still have to remain here at the Folded Mountains for a while longer." Che Zhanughed.

    Several people bowed to Qing Chen before returning to their own quarters.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood was ruined. He had desperately wanted to take hisrades away, and not only them, but he also wanted to take away all the members of the All-Dao family and the Qiming family. He truly wanted to rescue them, but this was not the proper time. He could only hope that they would be able to survive and wait for the day when he was able to fight his way back to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin swore that he would absolutely return to this battlefield and that he would also bring about the return of the Lu family. When the day that he summoned the Lu family¡¯s surviving vassals came, it would also be the day when he stepped onto the peak of the Perennial World.

    Only after arriving at the New World had Qing Chen discovered that the All-Dao family and Qiming family had been exiled to the Forsaken Soldiers. The Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Supervisor met with Uncle He, Young Master Tu, and Wan Sen. Even though they had not met each other before, they were all familiar with each other, and their meeting incited many emotions.

    "Hey, are you really leaving?" Young Master Tu was feeling bored, so he prodded Lu Yin while lying on the mountain.

    "Of course."

    Young Master Tu looked up at the vague, but massive, shadow of the array base high above the sky above them. He did not know what to think.

    Lu Yin looked at Young Master Tu and smiled. "Before I leave, do you want me to kick your ass again?"

    Young Master Tu grinned. "You look like an asshole, and you also speak like one."

    "So yes." Lu Yin raised a hand.

    Young Master Tu quickly moved away. "Don''t mess around! I''m not dealing with any pain right now, so no, I don''t want to fight you. Give me a few days to rx."

    Young Master Tu had only sought Lu Yin to beat him up when suffering from mental torture. He had treated Lu Yin as though he were someone else when Young Master Tu drowned in his memories and was incapacitated by the pain. At the moment, Young Master Tu was not suffering from any mental torture, so naturally, he had no desire to suffer in vain.

 Chapter 1523: What Has He Done?

    Chapter 1523: What Has He Done?

    Complicated emotions assailed Lu Yin as he stared at Young Master Tu. "The mental torture that you suffer from must be very painful."

    Young Master Tu acted confused. "What mental torture?"

    Lu Yin looked out at the massive form of Xiang City off in the distance. "I already know about it. You suffer from it once every month. Who did it to you?"

    Young Master Tu''s face twisted, and he left without looking back. It was clear that he had no desire to speak about such things.

    Lu Yin continued to say, "Just live. Hope can only exist as long as you¡¯re alive. You¡¯ve endured for so many years, so you can endure a while longer. Maybe you¡¯ll be able tost until you see your hope realized."

    Young Master Tu snapped his head around, and Lu Yin saw that Young Master Tu¡¯s eyes were zing red. ¡°Live? You say that word so easily! Do you even know what sort of torture I, Master Tu, have suffered? If not for those specific words that were spoken, death would be my greatest relief! I¡¯ve wished for death more than once before. Every month, every day, every hour. Even as I speak with you, I want to die. You don''t understand anything, you traitor! You¡¯re all traitors¡­"

    Young Master Tu screamed like he had gone insane.

    Lu Yin simply faced Young Master Tu and said nothing. He allowed Young Master Tu to go crazy as the youth vented and cursed. Words were spoken that had never been said to Uncle He or any other person. Only Lu Yin heard these words. It was because even though there was no connection between Lu Yin and that person, they looked quite simr, and years of mental torture would leave anyone susceptible to hallucinations, no matter who they were.

    "The pain pierced all the way down, deep into my bone marrow! It causes splitting headaches! My cultivation was destroyed! In the past, I, Master Tu was known as a peerless genius who was qualified to be the eighth hero¡­

    "If not for the Lu family, you would already be dead! Why did you betray them? What did you gain? Why have you tortured me? Why did you destroy my cultivation¡­"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin merely listened in silence as Young Master Tu vented his pain. He listened as the manid bare all that he had hidden deep in his heart for so many years.

    Young Master Tu finally calmed down after half an hour. Heid back down on the mountainside and stared up at the vague outline of the array base with dull eyes.

    Lu Yin finally said, "You will definitely endure."

    Then, he left.

    Lu Yin spoke these words not only to Young Master Tu, but also to everyone from the Star Alliance.

    He could not reveal himself at this time. Even if these people were all absolutely loyal to the Lu family, he still would not say anything for the time being. The Lu family had been cast out of the Perennial World by the four ruling powers, and if Lu Yin revealed his true identity, then these people likely would be in danger themselves. Even though he was the Qiming family¡¯s young master, Young Master Tu had been unaware of Wan Zhiyi¡¯s presence beneath the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Also, Wan Zhiyi had not spoken with Young Master Tu at all, which convinced Lu Yin that he was not able to reconcile with each other for the moment.

    He could not take such a risk. He could only re-summon these people when the time was right.

    On the other side, Young Master Tu ignored Lu Yin; could he actually endure? How difficult would that be? The four ruling powers had gained absolute control over the Perennial World, and unless the full force of the Lu family returned, no one could shake the status quo.

    Several dayster, a new Semi-Progenitor arrived to rece Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua, which meant that Qing Chen was finally free to leave.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng also hoped to leave the New World, but he was not able to do so. Thus, he remained at the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Qing Chen took not only Lu Yin with him, but also Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua and another group of people who had been among the cultivators who had fallen to the New World along with Lu Yin. Other than Zhou Tang and the few Envoys from the Star Alliance, the others were all taken up. Even with those people leaving, there were still many people with a great deal of time remaining in their sentence with the Forsaken Soldiers. As for the tens of millions of people who had been rescued from the New World¡¯s cities, none of them were taken away. Such people could not be allowed to leave for the time being despite their fervent wishes.

    Lu Yin often considered the difference between a Semi-Progenitor and an expert whose power level had exceeded a million. When he remembered being isted from the void, he only felt confused.

    Qing Chen led tens of thousands of people up towards the second array base, and the tens of thousands of people were carried upwards in what amounted to bags. Even if Marquis Xiang attacked from the distance, he would not be able to affect them one bit.

    This was why only Semi-Progenitors were able to take people away from the Folded Mountains.

    ¡­

    "Subordinate Long Qi greets the general." Up on the second array base, Lu Yin held out hismander token as he saluted Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan was overjoyed upon seeing Long Qu, and he stepped forward to personally help Lu Yin stand up. "It''s good you¡¯re alive! It''s great!"

    "Not only is he alive, but he¡¯s alive and well after shaking things up in the back for those monsters." Long Laogui smiled and stared at Lu Yin with admiration as he spoke.

    Qing Chen''s face remained calm, but pride filled his eyes. Lu Yin had aplished plenty to make them all feel proud.

    Xia Yan was exactly the same. He smiled. "Long Qi, tell me how you survived. Not to mention you, but even if I fell to the New World, I¡¯m not sure that I would have been able to live long enough to return."

    Lu Yin remained humble as he exined, "This subordinate was lucky, as there were severalrades who worked to live and die as one¡­¡±

    There was constantly fighting on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, and no one had time for foolishness. Despite the seriousness of the location, Xia Yan and others all listened carefully to Lu Yin¡¯s story, as not even Qing Chen was privy to all the details of what had urred on the New World.

    Lu Yin talked about the corpse kings he had faced one by one. Of course, he did not mention how he had defeated them all on his own, and he made the story sound more reasonable by saying that he had joined forces with Mr. Guo and others.

    He also spoke of what had happened while clearing out the terror ants, and how he had been attacked by Marquis Green Bamboo. Even Xia Yan was shocked to hear that particr detail.

    Long Laogui''s face remained solemn, though he actually felt fear at some portions of Lu Yin¡¯s report.

    "If the Twelve Marquises are actually concerned about you, then you can''t remain on this battlefield," Long Laogui solemnlymented. At this moment, Lu Yin absolutely deserved the old man¡¯s attention, not only because of his talent for cultivation and his rtionship with Humility¡¯s Gate, but also because he was an extremely talented Lockbreaker.

    He had only needed a brief amount of time to study and gain control of the spherical red sourcebox array. Such lockbreaking talent was enough to shake up the Lockbreakers¡¯ Headquarters. As soon as Master Deng Guo learned about Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments, he would undoubtedly ept Long Qi as a disciple. In fact, given Lu Yin¡¯s talent, why was Master Deng Guo the limit? What about even more aplished Lockbreakers?

    Long Laogui suddenly thought of a certain person, the legendary Grandmasters! If Long Qi could be such a person''s disciple, then everything would change. Long Laogui¡¯s eyes zed bright as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin noticed the old man¡¯s gaze, and it sent chills down his spine; just what was the old man thinking about?

    Xia Yan spoke up. "That¡¯s true. Unless a person is a Semi-Progenitor themselves, anyone who is a target of the Twelve Marquises must temporarily retreat from the battlefield. That¡¯s not even taking into ount the fact that Long Qi has already aplished more than enough to allow him to withdraw from this battlefield."

    Lu Yin was overjoyed; of course he wanted to leave! The battlefield behind the Mother Tree was the primary battlefield of the entire human race. He knew that he would eventually return, but his current strength was not enough to do anything.

    "Long Qi, do you want to leave?" Xia Yan stared at Lu Yin as he asked this question. The general of the second array base felt great admiration for Lu Yin. Even if Xia Yan was a part of the Xia family while Lu Yin was from the White Dragon n, such a difference did not prevent Xia Yan from admiring the young man. There were some people who were truly impressive.

    Lu Yin answered in a respectful tone, "If possible, this subordinate would like to continue contributing to humanity¡¯s efforts on this battlefield and eliminate more of those monsters."

    Qing Chen arched a brow; those words sounded very familiar. He could not help but nce over at Lu Yin, as the youth was spouting off such familiar words again.

    Even though it was a bit of an obvious act, there were certain people who simply wanted to hear such words being spoken, and Xia Yan was one such person. As a general on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, he had dedicated his entire existence to the war efforts. Thus, he naturally wished for the entire Perennial World to enter the battlefield and fight to protect humanity. Lu Yin¡¯s words were very reassuring to Xia Yan. "Don''t worry about that. You will have many more opportunities in the future, and I will bring you back after you have escaped the Twelve Marquises¡¯ attention."

    Lu Yin stretched out his hand to return hismander¡¯s token.

    Xia Yan took the token and stared at Lu Yin. "The Cloudguard Robes were destroyed, but thanks to them, you were kept alive. We would have never seen you again if you had not used them."

    Lu Yin also felt that he had been quite lucky. "If not for the Cloudguard Robes, I would have had no chance of surviving Marquis Green Bamboo''s attack."

    "At first, all of your aplishments on the battlefield were to be put towards paying back for the Cloudguard Robes, but Supervisor Qing Chen has spoken up and stated that he has outright settled the debt of the Cloudguard Robes with his own merit points. This means that everything that you have aplished when clearing out the terror ants and were active in the New World have earned you additional merit points. Long Qi, would you like to trade in your merit points now, or some time in the future?" Xia Yan asked.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. "I¡¯ll go redeem them now."

    Xia Yan nodded. "Go and do so."

    Lu Yin respectfully took his leave, and by leaving Xia Yan¡¯s office, he had effectively withdrawn from the battlefield itself.

    Xia Yan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back as the youth left, and he sighed. "If I had the choice, I would rather have this Long Qi here with me than any of the Junior Progenitors."

    Long Laogui was taken aback. "Do you believe that the Junior Progenitors are inferiorpared to Long Qi?"

    Xia Yan answered in a serious tone, "When ites to their abilities on the battlefield itself, there¡¯s noparison."

    Long Laogui could not argue, as Xia Yan had not spoken incorrectly. Long Qi had repaired the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array as well as the spherical red sourcebox array, and just these two aplishments were beyond what the Junior Progenitors were capable of doing. Even if Long Tian was also a Lockbreaker, his talent in the field could notpare to Long Qi¡¯s. At best, the four Junior Progenitors could contribute about as much to the battlefield as a typical Envoy. Long Qi, on the other hand, could fill a role that allowed him to influence the battlefield as a whole.

    "It''s a pity that he¡¯s not a part of my Xia family." Xia Yan sighed before looking down at something.

    Upon hearing the general¡¯s words, Long Laogui felt proud. Even if Long Tian had been trapped in the Dominion Realm, the White Dragon n still had talented youths who were capable of standing out and making the n proud. No matter what it took, Long Laogui had to make Long Qi more dependent and loyal to the White Dragon n. As for the rift between Long Ke¡¯s main family and Long Quan¡¯s side family, such things were beneath Long Laogui¡¯s notice. All he cared about was Long Qi.

    Up in the Higher Realm, at Dragon Mountain, Long Ke had a strange expression on his face; just what had Long Qi done this time? Ever since that child had stepped onto the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, Long Ke had received many messages from the family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors one after another, each one asking the n patriarch to find a way to keep the youth safe. After a few months of silence, Long Ke had received yet another message, and this time, the tone of the message has indicated that if Long Qi seemed far important than his title as the family¡¯s patriarch.

    What has he done?

    The truth was that Long Ke was not the only one asking this question, as even Xia Yan wanted to know what Lu Yin had done. This was because the old woman in charge of the battlefield merit points had contacted Xia Yan and asked him to visit the exchange center.

    Long Laogui naturally followed Xia Yan.

    At the exchange station, Liu Jing was once again present, and he saw Lu Yin. Like before, Lu Yin had created a bit of trouble when attempting to redeem his merit points. Even though it was not a grave matter, the array base¡¯s general had been asked to intervene again. Was that not a bit much? Liu Jing had been on the battlefield for many years, but he had never seen anyone require the general¡¯s intervention when trading in their merit points.

    Qing Chen was also present, though he made no move to interfere, and he simply observed as things unfolded. On the battlefield, Qing Chen was not the supervisor of Humility¡¯s Gate, but rather just another Semi-Progenitor.

    "Since it¡¯s listed, then I can trade for it. Why do I have to go through so much trouble every time I want to exchange my points?" Lu Yin was not convinced by what he had been told, and he stared at an entry on the interface as heined to the olddy.

    The woman felt helpless. "Little brother, you really can¡¯t trade for that item. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s been reserved, but that we¡¯re out of stock."

    "Are you kidding me? You would list something that you don¡¯t even have avable?" Lu Yin angrily demanded.

    The old woman was growing anxious, as she could not provide a clear exnation.

    Finally, Xia Yan arrived. "What''s going on?"

    When the old woman saw Xia Yan, she immediately bowed. "I greet the general."

    Xia Yan did not have a very friendly expression on his face as he stared at the old woman. "What¡¯s the matter? Has something else been reserved? Why is there so much trouble every time he tries to redeem something?"

 Chapter 1524: Leave

    Chapter 1524: Leave

    The old woman was taken aback, as even the general was asking questions now. "General, it''s not that this old woman is unwilling to make the exchange, but rather, there¡¯s just no stock left."

    "No stock? What do you mean? How can we not have something that¡¯s listed on the exchange interface?" Xia Yan demanded.

    The old woman tried to exin, "The particr items was already exchanged for, but right when the exchange urred, the massive attack on all five array bases wasunched, and the people who made the purchase perished during the attack. Still, they purchased the items, so the general of the fifth array base ordered the deceased¡¯s family to be contacted and the items to be given to them. Their family has not arrived to collect the deceased¡¯s rewards yet, so the items remain listed in the exchange interface. Still, I cannot trade them to this junior, and this junior¡¯s achievements are far from sufficient for him to exchange his points for a Root of Intelligence."

    Lu Yin had actually wanted to exchange his battlefield merit points for Root of Intelligence. He had never expected to see it in the Perennial World.

    "I''ll get it for you," Qing Chen offered. He had umted too many battlefield merit points over the years, and he still had plenty left even after trading some for the Cloudguard Robes. Not to mention, he intended to take Long Qi down to the Lower Realm to hunt down the anteaters after this. Once those creatures were found, all of the merit points that Long Qi had borrowed would be returned to Qing Chen. On top of that, at this moment, Qing Chen was more than happy to offer some additional merit points to Long Qi.

    Lu Yin questioned the story that the old woman had woven for them. "Can you prove it?"

    He truly did not trust her.

    The old woman was put in a difficult position.

    Xia Yan spoke up, "I¡¯ll reach out to Wang Jue, the fifth array base¡¯s general."

    Lu Yin waited.

    After a while, Xia Yan lowered hismunication crystal and stated, ¡°It¡¯s all true."

    Lu Yin regretted that there was nothing he could do, but he could not steal from a family who had just lost a loved one.

    "What did you want to trade for?" Long Laogui was curious.

    "A Root of Intelligence."

    "A Root of Intelligence?" Everyone present was surprised.

    The truth was that Lu Yin himself had been shocked to see a Root of Intelligence listed in the exchange interface. He had never thought that he would be able to find a Root of Intelligence in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin exined, "Actually, this junior did not intend to use the Root of Intelligence for myself, but rather to help me find the terror ants¡¯ natural predator."

    Qing Chen''s eyes flickered. "You want to use a Root of Intelligence to remember what you saw back then?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It happened during my first trip to the Lower Realm, and I only vaguely remember the route that we took. In particr, given the circumstances, I really do not clearly remember the creature that I saw devouring the terror ants, so I would like to stimte my memory with a Root of Intelligence to try to uncover some additional clues."

    This was not something that could be dismissed. Originally, Qing Chen had no desire to pay any attention to what Lu Yin intended to exchange his battlefield merit points for, but given these circumstances, Qing Chen looked over at Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan said, "Long Qi, if this is your goal, then I¡¯ll do my best to help you get what you need."

    He raised his hand to ess hismunication crystal, but he really did not know who to contact for this matter.

    Lu Yin quickly objected, "Commander, please don''t disturb the family of the person who died."

    Xia Yan smiled. "Don''t worry. I have no intentions of touching that particr Root of Intelligence unless the family themselves take the initiative to offer it to you themselves. No one will trouble them. Do you think that that¡¯s the only Root of Intelligence here?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up; were there other Roots of Intelligence in this Perennial World? Did that mean that Progenitor Hui had descendants in the Perennial World?

    Xia Yan was not the only person making calls, as even Long Laogui had started contacting people.

    After a while, Xia Yan said, "I¡¯ve already spoken to someone, and they still have a Root of Intelligence, so I can get that one for you."

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "Thank you, General Xia Yan."

    "However, the current owner has their own conditions, which is that he wants to have a face-to-face conversation with you. He is currently on the third array base, and he can be here in two days," Xia Yan stated.

    "Then we will wait here," Qing Chen said.

    Two days soon passed, and Lu Yin saw the person who possessed a Root of Intelligence. Unexpectedly, he was a young man who walked with a limp.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as Qing Chen, and Long Laogui were all surprised as well. They all knew about the Root of Intelligence¡¯s background and that each one was a treasure that had been left behind by Progenitor Hui. When observing the entire battlefield, every item that was exchanged for merit points was a valuable treasure, and those who traded for them were all powerhouses. Thus, who could have expected that the owner of this Root of Intelligence was such a person, especially since he was nothing more than an Explorer.

    "Xiao- Xiao Can greets the general and his seniors," the young man bowed respectfully as he greeted the powerhouses. He was pale and clearly either malnourished or suffering from a terrible injury. His looks were quitemon, but his eyes were alert and wary, almost paranoid.

    Xia Yan softly asked, "The Root of Intelligence was from you?"

    Xiao Can respectfully answered, "Yes."

    "Do you have more?" Xia Yan pressed.

    Xiao Can replied, "I have another one. It is a family heirloom that was left by our ancestors."

    Even though Xia Yan felt a bit curious about who Xiao Can¡¯s ancestors were and why this youth had a Root of Intelligence, it was not proper to pry into such matters.

    Xiao Can looked up. "Might I ask who needs the Root of Intelligence?"

    "Me," Lu Yin said. He was staring at Xiao Can, hoping to see some of the Hui family¡¯s features on the young man¡¯s face, but Lu Yin ended up disappointed. This Xiao Can looked nothing like Progenitor Hui¡¯s descendants, though a great deal of time had passed, and it was perfectly normal for such visible traits to fade away.

    Xiao Can bowed to Lu Yin. "My lord, the Root of Intelligence is a treasure that has been passed down my family, and my lord should be aware of such an item¡¯s value. To begin with, I used one root to pay for the protection of the third array base¡¯s general, and I was personally promised that my safety would be ensured regarding any matter rted to this second one."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no need for you to say such things. No one will force you to hand over your Root of Intelligence. We were told that you have some conditions that you would like to put forward."

    Xiao Can smirked. "Yes, yes. My conditions are very simple: I want to leave this battlefield."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high, while Xia Yan¡¯s gaze narrowed in on the youth. "How long have you been on this battlefield for?"

    "Three years."

    "Three years is a long time. How many merit points have you umted?" Xia Yan continued his questions.

    Xiao Can''s face grew even paler. "No- I have no merit points."

    Xia Yan''s voice lost its friendly tone. "So, by paying a Root of Intelligence, you bought three years of safety and hid behind the third array base¡¯s general?"

    "It''s five years. I traded it for five years of safety," Xiao Can corrected. He carefully observed Xia Yan before continuing to exin, saying, "After five years have passed and the agreed upon time has expired, this subordinate intends to use another Root of Intelligence to trade for enough merit points to leave this battlefield. If my lord wants this Root of Intelligence, then naturally, my condition is to allow this subordinate to leave the battlefield."

    Lu Yin was unable to agree to such a condition, so he looked over at Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan replied, "With the merit points that can be gained for offering up a Root of Intelligence, one person can be allowed to leave this battlefield, though they must be verified to not be a traitor."

    "No, I''m definitely not a traitor, and you can confirm that." Xiao Can was overjoyed. He had believed that he would need to wait another two years before being able to aplish his goal. He had intended to spend five years and two Roots of Intelligence to leave the battlefield, so the current conditions were much better. Someone was offering him battlefield merit points for his root, which was a better alternative to selling it.

    Far too many people wished to leave the battlefield, and Xiao Can was just another such person. Compared to Xiao Can, the Root of Intelligence held far greater value.

    Lu Yin looked at Qing Chen, who nodded.

    "Alright, I''ll use my merit points to get you off of this battlefield," Lu Yin agreed.

    Xiao Can was ecstatic. "Thank you, sir!"

    With the transaction finalized, Qing Chen was finally able to take Lu Yin and Xiao Can away from the battlefield. Lu Yin knew that he would be taken straight to the Lower Realm to hunt for the anteaters, which also meant that he would not be able to return to Huaiyuan Gate for the time being.

    Also, he could not use the Root of Intelligence on the battlefield, as an attack could beunched at any moment.

    "This subordinate thanks the general for watching over him while on the battlefield. Some day in the future, this subordinate will definitely return to the battlefield to defend humanity from our ancient enemies." Before leaving, Lu Yin solemnly bowed to Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan sighed. "That day is not far away, and you''d better return as an Envoy. I look forward to when that happens."

    Lu Yin was somber as he answered, "Understood."

    He then turned to face Long Laogui and respectfully bowed to the old man. "This junior bids senior farewell."

    Long Laogui nodded. "While you are in the Lower Realm, I will return to the Higher Realm. I have already told Long Ke to enter your name into the main family¡¯s genealogy."

    "This junior understands."

    Although Lu Yin had only spent a few months at the second array base, he had gone through a lot. He had nearly died, and he had also learned a great deal more about his Lu family, not to mention the Qiming family, the All-Dao family, and even his own past. He had been found by Shaman God, which was temporarily benefiting him, as Shaman God would certainly work to make sure that Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind, as that wouldplete Shaman God¡¯s scheme.

    Lu Yin felt that he would be safe not only in the Perennial World, but also after he returned to the Fifth Maind, as the Neohuman Alliance would watch over him. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s safety was a part of a plot to undermine the entire human race, he still had to follow along with it for the time being.

    He believed that he would absolutely find an opportunity to ruin Shaman God¡¯s scheme, and so, he would continue waiting for that moment.

    Before long, Lu Yin and Xiao Can moved out of the strip of dust and reached the edge of the Tree Realm after using a teleportation device. Then saw many cultivators exiting the Tree Realm, each one nervous or excited as they made their way towards the various array bases. Most people looked at the departing individuals with admiration, as it was clear that these people had earned the privilege to leave.

    After arriving at the border of the Tree Realm, both Lu Yin and Xiao Can were checked to see if they were attempting to sneak any terror ants into the Perennial World. Even Qing Chen was forced to undergo an inspection as there were no exceptions. The individual standing guard over the Tree Realm was another Semi-Progenitor.

    There were many Semi-Progenitors in the Perennial World, and the enemies possessed more Semi-Progenitors than the Twelve Marquises. It was just that only Semi-Progenitors who had reached a certain level of power qualified to be one of those elite twelve.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas; was it possible that they were only awarded to Progenitors who had achieved a specific level of strength as well?

    The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas did not necessarily represent nine Progenitors. Rather, they represented Progenitors who had achieved a certain level of power. During that glorious era in the past, had there only been nine?

    The more Lu Yin thought about this possibility, the more likely he felt that it was true. After all, he had already learned about seven Progenitors in the Perennial World, not to mention the Ancestor Python and the legendary eagle up above the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy. That made for nine Progenitor-level powerhouses, but was it that easy to reach the same heights that humanity had reached during their golden era? That was impossible, and Cai Shu would not have be so emotional about such a thing unless there was a vast discrepancy.

    "Let¡¯s leave." Lu Yin suddenly heard Qing Chen¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin looked back towards the battlefield. When he had first arrived, he had been assaulted by the pungent smell of blood, watched a distant shatter, and seen the ground crack and then reform due to an overwhelming power. At that time, Lu Yin had not known if he would be able to leave this ce alive.

    Xiao Can could not wait to return to the Perennial World, and his face betrayed the excitement and joy he felt at the prospect of enjoying the rest of his life.

    As the three men stepped out of the Tree Realm, they entered an empty space with a vast distance between the ground below and the sky above.

    When they looked up, they saw that the sky was dim, as the light here was blocked off by the branches of the Mother Tree. Still, this ce was much brighter than the battlefield, and the air smelled fresh.

    Before leaving the battlefield, Lu Yin and Xiao Can had reached an agreement, but Lu Yin still looked over at Xiao Can. "If you still have any more Roots of Intelligence that you can sell me, we can easily negotiate the price."

    Xiao Can smiled dryly. "No, that¡¯s impossible. I only ever had two roots. Otherwise, I would have long since left the battlefield by turning in a Root of Intelligence."

    This was certainly true, and it had already been confirmed that Xiao Can only had two Roots of Intelligence, but were those really his only two roots?

    Regardless, there was nothing that Lu Yin could do to force the matter. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll leave matters here. Take care, brother."

    Xiao Can nodded. "We¡¯ll part ways here, so I¡¯ll be saying goodbye."

    He then turned and bowed to Qing Chen and Lu Yin before moving to leave.

    "Wait," Lu Yin suddenly called out.

    Qing Chen looked over at the youth.

    Xiao Cun hesitated and turned around. He nervously stared at Lu Yin, and asked with a dry voice, "My lord, is there anything else that you needed?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled gently and gave Xiao Can the information of hismunication crystal. "If you end up in any trouble in the future, go ahead and give me a call. After all, we can be consideredrade-in-arms, so you¡¯re wee to reach out for help."

    Xiao Can quickly recorded the information down. "Thank you, my lord. In that case, may I take my leave now?"

    Lu Yin made a dismissive gesture, and Xiao Can quickly left.

 Chapter 1525: Creation Realm

    Chapter 1525: Creation Realm

    Qing Chenmented, "A Root of Intelligence is an amazing thing. As far as most people are concerned, these roots are even more valuable than the Cloudguard Robes you had before. That youth is not the only person in this Perennial World to have a Root of Intelligence, and it¡¯s possible that the four ruling powers have some as well."

    Lu Yin was feeling quite curious. "The Roots of Intelligence came from Progenitor Hui, and did the Progenitor leave much behind? If so, then why aren¡¯t any of Progenitor Hui''s descendants around?"

    Qing Chen took out a nk sheet of paper and had Lu Yin sit on it. They started moving towards the east. ¡°Just like Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui also went to the Forsaken Land."

    "The Forsaken Land? What is it? I''ve heard it being mentioned many times, especially regarding the various trespassers who sneak into the Dominion Realm. It was said that they all came from the Forsaken Land, and I also heard that there¡¯s something missing from the cultivation methods that they practice there," Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen replied, "It''s true that the Forsaken Land¡¯s resources have been exhausted, and Progenitors can not rise from that ce."

    "In that case, why did Progenitor Hui go to the Forsaken Land?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen shook his head. "I don''t know. No one even knows if Progenitor Hui is alive or dead."

    At this point, the old man clearly wanted to switch topics. ¡°When we arrive at the Bifrost, try to remember as much as possible about what you saw with the Root of Intelligence. Then, we¡¯ll try to find that anteater creature that you saw."

    "Understood, supervisor." Lu Yin asked no further questions, as being too curious could be a bad thing.

    Qing Chen made the paper fly extremely quickly, and Lu Yin was not even able to observe their surroundings as they flew. Lu Yin suspected that they were moving even faster than his travel speed in the true universe.

    Soon, a rainbow appeared up ahead of them. They had already reached the Bifrost.

    The Bifrost constantly emitted a soft and beautiful light, but it was not bright enough to be a light source. After all, the only ces in the entire Higher Realm that were allowed to be sources of light were the regions that the four ruling powers directly controlled.

    Even though the Bifrost only illuminated a tiny corner of the Higher Realm, it was still enough to support a city. The city was quite populous, and given the Bifrost¡¯s light, there were even some people from the four ruling powers who resided there. Just like the Cloud Shuttle, anyone who reached the Higher Realm via the Bifrost also had to submit to an inspection.

    Qing Chen had no interest in entering the city, so hended close to the Bifrost and directly asked Lu Yin to use the Root of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin had already used a Root of Intelligence several times before, but this was the first time that he had ever used one while being observed by someone else, and the attention caused him to be quite ufortable.

    The Root of Intelligence was usually enough for him to make three mouthfuls of tea.

    This tea was enough for even Qing Chen to feel a touch of envy.

    With the first sip, Lu Yin''s mind became clear and focused, and even his eyesight drastically improved. He immediately tried to recall the memories from when he had Possessed the person in the Lower Realm.

    During that particr Possession, Lu Yin had been overwhelmed by fear, and all that he had noticed were the countless terror ants being devoured along with him. He had not paid any attention to the surrounding area, but since he had seen it once, the memory was still in his mind. As long as he could clearly recall the details of those moments, he would be able to uncover some hints towards tracking down the anteater.

    Truthfully, Lu Yin was not entirely confident in this attempt, but he was certain that the anteater existed, so he had to at least try.

    Also, Qing Chen would not me Lu Yin even if he failed.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes, and his mind drifted back in time to when he had Possessed the man in the Lower Realm. A massive mouth had been devouring everything, and there had been countless terror ants all around him being captured by tentacles and pulled into its mouth. There had also been a powerful stench.

    Lu Yin froze the scene in his mind, and tried to remember everything in as much vivid detail as possible. He quickly raised his hand and drew a picture in the air. He drew nts, thendscape, and also what he had seen of the anteater¡¯s body.

    Qing Chen stared at what Lu Yin had drawn, especially a specific nt. That nt and all of the nearby terror ants were captured by tentacles and were in the process of being dragged into the creature¡¯s mouth. Lu Yin would not have noticed that nt when he had first seen it, but with the assistance of the Root of Intelligence, he was able to remember these details withplete uracy. Even though he had no idea what the nt was, and although it might just be amonce species of grass, he still faithfully recreated everything that he saw in his memory.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw that he had drawn arge and intricate image in the air before him.

    Qing Chen quietly said, "The sixth region."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "How can you be so certain?"

    Qing Chen stared at a particr piece of vegetation in the picture. "That¡¯s a Qingcang leaf, and it belongs to a nt that only grows in the sixth region. Long ago, a creature with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor appeared in the sixth region, and it was known as the Qingcang. After it was killed, its blood watered thend, resulting in the birth of the Qingcang leaf."

    After this exnation, Qing Chen grew curious. "You apanied Long Xi to the Lower Realm to visit the Ancestor Python, so why did you two enter the sixth region?"

    Lu Yin replied, "When we were attacked and pursued by Realmless¡¯s assassins, we fled and didn¡¯t even know where we ended up."

    Qing Chen stared at Lu Yin for a long while. The sixth region was a vast distance away from the third region. Even if the two youths had been chased and hunted for some time, it would not have been easy for them to reach the sixth region. The Lower Realm was a dangerous ce, and it was filled with perilous regions with many powerful creatures. Humans were nothing more than ants in that ce.

    Qing Chen did not press the matter or voice his questions, as he thought that the discrepancy in Lu Yin¡¯s story was connected to Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo. Was it possible that the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inheritance had been hidden in the Lower Realm? That was not impossible, as no one knew where Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo had perished.

    Everyone had their own secrets, so Qing Chen stayed silent, which gave Lu Yin tremendous relief. He actually did not know how he could lie about this matter, so all that he could do was y dumb.

    "There are still two sips left of the tea from the Root of Intelligence. Hurry up and drink them," Qing Chen encouraged as he moved a short ways away.

    Lu Yin felt grateful, and he looked at the tea he was holding before taking another sip. He had already considered what he should attempt toprehend with this Root of Intelligence, and he had decided on his star energy control.

    When Lu Yin considered all of the battle techniques he had learned, the Vacuum Palm was currently his most powerful attack. As for the Cosmic Art, he had mastered the technique up to the level that he had received, and he needed to gain the next portion of the technique before he could advance further. Battle force was not something that the Root of Intelligence could help him with as it required ambition and spirit to improve. As for his domain, he did not even know where to begin training towards the void realm. Without any idea of how to proceed, not even the smartest person would be able to make any progress.

    The only thing that Lu Yin could improve with the tea from the Root of Intelligence was his star energy control.

    During his time on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, Lu Yin had repaired the sourcebox array with the cone-shaped sourceboxes, and he had also controlled the Red Beam. Both of those events had provided incredible support to the battlefield, and improving his star energy control would not only help Lu Yin with his lockbreaking, but it would also directly increase hisbat strength. Mastering sourcebox arrays and lockbreaking was a field of study with no end, and seeing the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array had left a huge impact on Lu Yin. That massive sourcebox array was able to protect the entire human race.

    Even if Lu Yin was given 10,000 years to study it, it would still be impossible for Lu Yin to understand the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array. First, he needed to improve himself, both by expanding his own experience and by improving his star energy control.

    The Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array had essentially reignited Lu Yin¡¯s enthusiasm for lockbreaking. He hoped that he would one day personally design a sourcebox array that benefited the entire human race.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had encountered a corpse king that had reached the Creation realm of star energy control while fighting against the gauntlet of various corpse kings at the Envoy level in the New World. That specific encounter had given Lu Yin a vital clue. Additionally, he had also seen Liquor Hero utilize her incredible star energy control, and Lu Yin intended to use the tea brewed from the Root of Intelligence to understand the two instances he had seen such high level star energy control.

    A flower was a world in and of itself. The limit of the microscopic was the macroscopic. No one knew just how vast the universe truly was. It was possible that the infinite universe that everyone knew was nothing more than a grain of sand. The Creation realm of star energy control was based on this concept. Star energy was a world in and of itself, and thus, it was able to create something on the macroscopic level. This was the Creation realm of star energy control.

    One day, two days, three days. Soon, seven days had passed.

    The tea made from a Root of Intelligence could only affect a person for a brief amount of time, but the epiphany that they gained from the tea couldst for much longer, and people often needed to slowlyprehend what they had learned.

    Some distance away, Qing Chen noticed Lu Yin raise his hand. Star energy appeared, and it transformed into water droplets. The air trembled, and slow ripples spread out. Suddenly, like the tolling of a bell, Qing Chen was startled to realize that Long Qi was actually deepening hisprehension of star energy control.

    The youth had already reached the Worldliness realm of star energy control, and he had also been exposed to the concepts of the microscopic and the macroscopic, but the real test was reaching the Creation realm of star energy control.

    If Long Qi seeded in this attempt, then his abilities and potential as a Lockbreaker would rise even higher in the future.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, sipped thest mouthful of the tea without any hesitation, and then continued hisprehension session.

    Soon, ten more days passed, and finally, Lu fully Yinprehended the Creation realm of star energy control with the assistance of the tea brewed from the Root of Intelligence. He had spent half a month doing so, but Qing Chen had not disturbed Lu Yin at all. Such opportunities were rare.

    Qing Chen nced over, and his eyes shed; he was able to see that the drops of water at Lu Yin¡¯s fingertips were formed from star energy. As the old man watched, the void warped around the droplets, only for the droplets to transform into a leaf that suddenly disappeared before reappearing again. Was this the Creation realm of star energy control?

    Qing Chen stared at Lu Yin. Even though the old man was a Semi-Progenitor, he was still amazed by the youth¡¯s talent. If this child fully matured in the future, he might be able to be a Progenitor. All hecked was the opening of three of his meridian points.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes again and stared at his fingertips in surprise. He had actually achieved the Creation realm of star energy control. This new sensation was truly wonderful, and his surroundings looked different.

    In the past, he had seen star energy as a type of energy, but at this moment, in his eyes, star energy had taken on a life of its own. It contained a world, a universe, and he felt confident that he was also capable of creating a maze that could trap that carrion bug.

    If this world of star energy could be magnified countless times, then was it possible for it to be a world that could be inhabited by humans?

    He felt that this was a viable path of cultivation.

    No, star energy was nothing more than a single type of energy, which meant that it could not be a world in which living creatures could survive. Living creatures needed too manyplex factors to survive, and it was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s imagination.

    Star energy control was nothing more than a means to improve his attacks and his lockbreaking.

    However, what if he absorbed everything a person needed to live into his star energy, could a world be created then? The idea seemed ridiculous, and yet, Lu Yin felt that it was feasible.

    "The mystical Creation realm of star energy control¡­ Once you tell Master Deng Guo that you¡¯ve reached this realm, he will instantly ept you as a disciple without any hesitation," said Qing Chen admiringly.

    Lu Yin smiled. "This was a rather random incident, but it¡¯s taken a lot of time. Supervisor, should we continue on to the sixth region?"

    Qing Chen nodded and led Lu Yin to the Bifrost.

    It did not take long for the two of them to step onto a band of the Bifrost that was moving down towards the Lower Realm, and the two officially left the Higher Realm.

    The Bifrost wasrge, and the two were not the only ones on their way to the Lower Realm at this time. However, they were very far away from any other group that was making the same journey.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second time descending down the Bifrost, and he could still remember the confusion and curiosity that had gued him during his first journey.

 Chapter 1526: Grandmaster Gu Yan

    Chapter 1526: Grandmaster Gu Yan

    Slowly, the Higher Realm¡¯sndmass drifted out of sight, and Lu Yin once again saw the sky overhead along with a sea of stars. These were the stars that floated between the Middle Realm and the Higher Realm.

    The Middle Realm sat below the stars, and below that was the Lower Realm.

    As Lu Yin and Qing Chen made their way down towards the Lower Realm, Long Laogui left the second array base on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. He was currently making his way to a luxurious location.

    This ce was still located on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, but it was surrounded by darkness. It asionally trembled, but neither the darkness nor the tremors took away from this ce¡¯s luxury.

    The ground was paved with star essence, and the walls were papered with the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. The lights were actually a sourcebox array while the zed tiles were formed from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ice-cold pond water. There were fish swimming about, but each fish had the strength of a Hunter. Every single aspect of this ce exuded decadence, and such extravagance left Long Laogui ufortable.

    This was the home of Array Grandmaster Gu Yan. There were countless Array Masters in the Perennial World, but only a select few had managed to reach the level of Array Grandmaster. All such people were peerless existences, and of the few known Array Grandmasters, this person was the first who hade to Long Laogui¡¯s mind.

    "Please, you are a distinguished guest. Please help yourself to some tea." A beautiful maid brought out a tea set, and as Long Laogui helplessly watched on, the woman slowly went through a traditional tea ceremony. It took a full half hour, and each movement that she made demonstrated the essence of tea. She was not merely preparing tea, she was demonstrating a form of culture.

    Long Laogui epted the tea. He was a Semi-Progenitor, and there was almost nothing that he had not seen before. But despite his extensive experience, visiting this particr ce always made him feel ufortable.

    There was star essence under their feet. While such a thing was useless to powerhouses at their level, star essence was still a valuable resource.

    When Long Laogui nced at the table, he saw a delicate set of dim sum that seemed to glow. Each one was very beautiful.

    "Brother Long, what wind has carried you here?" A soft,zy voice spoke up. Long Laogui lowered his teacup, stood, and then turned to look behind a screen.

    A man emerged. He had an elegant face and gray hair, though not a single wrinkle could be found on his face. His eyes reflected his years, but they also carried a yful twinkle. Sourcebox arrays revolved around his body, each one carrying an unfathomable energy.

    His clothing, if Long Laogui had correctly recognized it, was made from the hide of a very rare creature from the Lower Realm that was known as a Qilong. The creature¡¯s hide was known to be ethereal like air yet also extremely tough. The man¡¯s boots were made from Zaw, another rare creature that was so fast that even Semi-Progenitors found it difficult to catch them. One could only imagine what boots made from the creature could do for a person¡¯s speed.

    Long Laogui merely nced at the man¡¯s outfit before determining that, if a Hunter somehow got a hold of it, they would be able to purchase enough resources to not worry about anything while cultivating all the way to the Semi-Progenitor realm. This was not even taking the man¡¯s jade pendant and cosmic ring into ount, both of which were too luxurious.

    Even if he just stands there, it¡¯s still enough for him to make a Semi-Progenitor feel helpless! Long Laogui thought.

    "Grandmaster Gu Yan, it''s been a long time. How are you doing?" Long Laogui politely greeted the man while remaining standing.

    The man did not look old, and yet he had lived for much longer than even Long Laogui. The man casually sat down and waved a hand. "Sit and let¡¯s talk."

    Long Laogui nodded and sat back down.

    "Recently, things have not been good. Those monsters have broken into the Tree Realm, and they want me to repair it!" Grandmaster Gu Yanined. He suddenly touched the cushion that he was sitting on and shouted, ¡°Xiao Cui! Xiao Cui! Change this cushion made of of Meharn¡¯s skin. It''s be deformed after being sat on for so long."

    Long Laogui subconsciously nced at the cushion that Grandmaster Gu Yan was sitting on, and sure enough, it was indeed made from Meharn skin.

    Meharn was another creature from the Lower Realm, and they lived in herds. A single adult Meharn was stronger than an Envoy that had passed three tribtions, but that was only enough to make a single cushion. Just how many Meharn¡¯s had this old man killed? Changing such a cushion periodically was simply far too extravagant.

    The maid who had prepared the tea hurried out and helped Grandmaster Gu Yan change the cushion before backing out of the room.

    "Cough cough." Grandmaster Gu Yan coughed twice as he adjusted his buttocks. "Better."

    He then looked over at Long Laogui. "Brother Long, what were you saying just now?"

    Long Laogui smiled. "It¡¯s nothing important. I was merely remarking that I have not seen you in a long time. There are some people who are concerned about Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s health. Theymented that the Tree Realm was only recently repaired, and that old man Gu Yan must be tired and should rest."

    Long Laogui then pulled a book out of his cosmic ring and handed it to his host.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan took it, only to be surprised by what he saw. ¡°It¡¯s actually a collection of works from the original Daosource Sect. While it¡¯s not as good as a version written in ancient characters, it¡¯s still very precious. Even during the Daosource Sect¡¯s peak era, such books rarely appeared. Brother Long, what is this all about?"

    Long Laogui answered with a smile, "It''s just a toy that I intended to give to Grandmaster Gu Yan to y with."

    Grandmaster Gu Yanughed and epted the book without any reservations. "Repairing the Tree Realm is indeed quite exhausting, and I really do need to readjust my condition. Thank you, Brother Long."

    Long Laogui¡¯s smile grew evenrger after seeing Grandmaster Gu Yan ept the gift. "As long as Grandmaster Gu Yan is in good health, all of humanity will be blessed."

    "Hahahaha, I haven''t seen you in so many years, and yet Brother Long has be more and more polite. Don''t worry, I''m in excellent health! Does Brother Long have any other matters? If you don¡¯t, I''ll study the sourcebox array and try to add a bit more to each section of the defenses," Grandmaster Gu Yan said.

    Long Laogui¡¯s brows furrowed; was this person trying to chase him out already? Previously, he had heard that this old man was stingy beyond belief and that the grandmaster would never make a move before receiving some sort of benefit, though he had not expected these rumors to actually be true. "Grandmaster Gu Yan, I haven''t seen you for many years. I have to admit, I¡¯m not sure about how many apprentices you¡¯ve epted so far."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan rolled his eyes. "How many apprentices? Too many. Let me think¡ªone, two, three¡­"

    Long Laogui was rendered speechless. The old man clearly had no apprentices at all! The one disciple that he had originally epted had disappeared, and after that, the man had never epted another one. With this, Grandmaster Gu Yan could be considered both stingy and shameless.

    "Brother Long, it''s really hard to count them all. It¡¯s a bit too much for the moment, and I''m quite tired," Grandmaster Gu Yan said in a helpless tone.

    Long Laogui smiled. "Since you already have too many apprentices, then you might as well ept one more, right?"

    Grandmaster Gu Yan waved a hand. "I can''t ept any more. I just can¡¯t. Each and every apprentice is a piece of my heart and soul! I have to work hard to teach them, you know, and lockbreaking is such a vast discipline that it¡¯s truly difficult to guide an apprentice. Taking even one more would leave me beyond exhausted. I already care for the Tree Realm, Ceaseless Impetus, and all the sourcebox arrays for the array bases. How can I possibly ept even more responsibility? I can¡¯t clone myself after all."

    Just as Long Laogui was about to continue, Grandmaster Gu Yan shouted again, "Xiao Cui! Xiao Cui! The cushion is crooked! Get me another one!"

    Xiao Cui entered the room with a new cushion.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan sat back down, but he was still ufortable in his seat. "No, no. It''s still crooked. Don¡¯t we have anything new?"

    Xiao Cui shook her head. "No, weck the resources."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan'' put on a twisted expression. "Weck the resources? That¡¯s no good! If there are no cushions, then how can I sit? How can I calmlyprehend a sourcebox array or cultivate? How am I to teach my disciples? All of them alreadycking and need more guidance from me! I need to go to the Lower Realm right now and catch a few Meharns to bring up. I really can¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t even find a suitable cushion!"

    Right after finishing his rant, the old man turned to look at Long Laogui. "Brother Long, just sit here and wait for me to catch a few Meharns so that I can find a suitable cushion. We¡¯ll talk after I can sit down."

    After that, the man simply disappeared.

    Long Laogui had not even been given the opportunity to speak, and his expression grew ugly. That shameless old man! Did he just run away? Bastard.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan had really just epted Long Laogui¡¯s gift and then run off, leaving Long Laogui behind. Really, how shameless! It was no wonder why the old man had such a bad reputation or why none of the other Array Grandmasters wanted anything to do with the old man; he was just too shameless.

    Long Laogui was furious. He had never felt such rage after bing a Semi-Progenitor, and he almost wanted to smash the old man¡¯s home apart. But after a moment¡¯s thought, Long Laogui still had his own scruples, and so he left with a sigh. Grandmaster Gu Yan was not an option.

    After Long Laogui left, Grandmaster Gu Yan reappeared in the exact same ce that he had disappeared from. Long Laogui had simply not been able to sense the old man.

    "How lovely. You want me to teach someone from your White Dragon n how to lockbreak? Keep on dreaming! Pah." Grandmaster Gu Yan might have an elegant appearance, but his words were crude, and he even spat on the floor. "Xiao Cui, if that guy everes back here again, add something to his tea."

    "Add what?" Xiao Cui asked in confusion.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan grinned and pointed at the floor.

    Xiao Cui looked at the phlegm that had been spat out. "Understood."

    The next day, Long Laogui returned. He did not want to return, but he had already given out his gift yet received nothing in return. Thus he was extremely resentful.

    Xiao Cui silently poured a cup of tea and then prepared to conduct the full tea ceremony, but Long Laogui stopped her. "There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll just drink this."

    Xiao Cui blinked. She felt like her eyes were able to see through the tea cup to what it held. She saw an honest man in front of her, and she struggled with how to react or what to say.

    "Where''s Grandmaster Gu Yan?" Long Laogui asked.

    Xiao Cui replied, "He took the Bifrost down to the Lower Realm to hunt some Meharns. He imed that the cushion was too ufortable to use."

    Long Laogui did not believe such a story. "Did he really go down to the Lower Realm?"

    "Yes, that¡¯s where he went." Xiao Cui had a sincere expression, and it became increasingly honest as she watched Long Laogui take a sip of tea. Such an expression felt off to Long Laogui, and he could sense that something was wrong.

    "What are you looking at?"

    Xiao Cui pursed her lips. "Grandmaster Gu Yan asked me to entertain you. What would you like to eat?"

    "There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll just wait for him here," Long Laogui answered in an odd tone, his mood quickly souring.

    Xiao Cui grunted and slowly retreated to a corner of the room. As she did so, she watched Long Laogui drink his tea; there was no way it tasted very good.

    Just a hundred meters away from Long Laogui, Grandmaster Gu Yan rolled his eyes. That old fart came back again! It¡¯s just a broken old book. Should I give it back? No, that¡¯s impossible. Forget it, I¡¯ll just go down to the Lower Realm for real. It is about time for me to catch a few Meharns to y with anyways. It¡¯s always good to have a few extra cushions prepared.

    The old man¡¯s body actually disappeared.

    ***

    After arriving in the Lower Realm once again, Lu Yin stepped onto the massive roots of the Mother Tree and stared off into the distance towards a few powerful roars from creatures who were greeting their uninvited guests.

    "This is the sixth region. Each region has different creatures, though there are terror ants everywhere," Qing Chen exined.

    A huge shadow covered the two men, prompting Lu Yin to look up and see a thousand meter neck stretched above them and a head far above them staring at the two humans. Given the length of the neck, the creature had to be at least several thousand meters long. It was truly massive.

    Qing Chen looked up as well, and he red at the beast.

    The creature was startled, and it immediately pulled back.

    Even in the Lower Realm, a Semi-Progenitor stood at the absolute peak of the food chain.

 Chapter 1527: Adventure King

    As he followed behind Qing Chen, Lu Yin saw nothing dangerous as they proceeded along. All of the creatures could sense the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor from Qing Chen, and they all actively moved to avoid him.

    The Ancestor Python''s body was wrapped around the Mother Tree, and it could be seen from any point in the entire Lower Realm. The third region was the closest to the python¡¯s head, but the sixth region had a view of the snake¡¯s massive body, as it covered both the sky and the sun.

    "Will your presence be enough to wake up the Ancestor Python?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he stared upwards with fear in his eyes.

    "Not normally."

    "Can my White Dragon n really cause the Ancestor Python to roll over?" Lu Yin asked another question.

    Qing Chen stayed silent for a while. "Yes."

    He thought for a while, and then continued, saying, "The White Dragon n¡¯s predecessors received their cultivation technique from the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood, and that was the start of their path of invincibility that led to their current position among the four ruling powers. The White Dragon n has an intrinsic connection to the Ancestor Python."

    "The Ancestor Python won¡¯t attack those monsters?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Qing Chen shook his head. "Neither the Ancestor Python nor the eagle in the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy will take any such initiative."

    In this manner of question and answer, Lu Yin managed to learn a great deal from Qing Chen. The Semi-Progenitor did not try to hide anything, though there were also some details that he did not know. For example, when Lu Yin asked how long the Ancestor Python had lived for, Qing Chen had no answer, only that the snake had been around for a long, long time. Lu Yin also asked if the eagle had ever taken flight, and he also asked about the legend of Wu Tian. Even though Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, he was ignorant of many of these matters that came from such a distant past.

    "Even though I have also lived for a long time, I barely know anything about the period when the Daosource Sect was active, and you are asking about matters that are even more ancient than that. These events actually took ce before the Daosource Sect even existed, so I can¡¯t tell you about them. Even the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors might not know about such matters,¡± Qing Chen exined helplessly.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "This subordinate is just curious."

    "You don¡¯t need to know about such things. Wu Tian is just a legend, just like the God of Death, Destiny, and others. Those legends represent what people believe to be true of the ancient times, but they are more like beliefs. For example, Specter Abyss has a perceived image of the God of Death, and that particr image has spread over the entire Perennial Realm, which has led to many people believing that the God of Death truly lived. However, from Specter Abyss¡¯s first founding to now, no one has ever discovered the God of Death¡¯s inheritance.

    "Specter Abyss has powerful elders, but even they have not found the God of Death¡¯s inheritance yet, which proves that the God of Death is nothing more than a fable. To be blunt, I don¡¯t believe such a person ever lived. There are other people within the four ruling powers who do believe in it and are searching for that inheritance, but most people don¡¯t believe it to be real," Qing Chen exined.

    Lu Yin disyed a sincere expression. "This subordinate doesn¡¯t believe it either."

    Qing Chen sighed and approvingly stated, "That''s the right way. Cultivate yourself and don¡¯t chase after such illusory power."

    There was a bang as two powerful forces collided. The shockwave smashed the void apart, allowing Lu Yin to see the true universe.

    The higher Lu Yin climbed, the higher the status of those he came in contact with. When he had been a Limiteer, he had rarely seen any Enlighters. Simrly, after bing a Hunter, he had rarely seen Envoys. At the moment, with Lu Yin being an Enlighter, he was frequently meeting Envoys. This was not because there were fewer Enlighters, but rather because cultivators of that strength generally avoided him.

    It did not take long for Qing Chen to escort Lu Yin to the site of the battle. There, they found two massive beasts fighting. One looked like an elephant that was 1,000 meters tall and 1,000 meters long, causing every one of its steps to shatter the earth. The elephant-like creature was fighting against a four-headed snake with a ridiculously long body that Lu Yin could not even see the end of.

    Each one of these creatures were as strong as an Envoy who had survived multiple stellr tribtions.

    "There¡¯s someone else here," Qing Chen cautioned Lu Yin as he looked to the right. There, they saw two people. When Qing Chen saw the two, they also noticed Qing Chen. None of them bothered trying to conceal their presence.

    "Adventure King?" Qing Chen was surprised, but only a bit.

    Lu Yin looked over. Adventure King? This was a name that Lu Yin had heard of before. ording to the rumors, Adventure King seldom visited the Middle or Higher Realms, and he almost always stayed in the Lower Realm. People imed that he enjoyed adventure, wanted to live an exciting life, and also desired to clear out the Mother Tree¡¯s parasites. He was the most important person in Root, and he was also one of the organization¡¯s top powerhouses.

    Adventure King turned to face Qing Chen and bowed from across the distance. The man then looked past Qing Chen and noticed Lu Yin. At that moment, Adventure King¡¯s pupils shrank; what was going on?

    Lu Yin was also able to get a clear look of Adventure King. He was an absolutely ordinary looking man who was short and skinny, only about 1.6 meters in height. Lu Yin also had a feeling that if his eyes were closed and this person was standing right in front of him, he would not be able to notice Adventure King¡¯s presence at all.

    A young man was standing beside Adventure King, and unless Lu Yin was mistaken, this youth should be Wan Wu.

    When Lu Yin had first reached the Junior Progenitor, he had apanied Long Tian to meet the top talents of their generation before the lineup for the Dominion Realm had been decided upon. However, Wan Wu had left due to some other incident. If he had not left, he would have been poisoned just like all the others who had stayed.

    The battle between the two giant beasts soon ended; the elephant was defeated by the enormous snake. The serpent wrapped itself around its opponent and strangled the elephant-like beast to death. Before dying, the creature let out a terrible roar as it tried to break free, but its efforts were fruitless.

    However, the snake was not in a good condition either, as half of its body had been trampled and smashed.

    Adventure King led Wan Wu over to Qing Chen. "Senior, it¡¯s been a long time."

    Qing Chen smiled. "Given the fact that you are always in the Lower Realm, it''s hard for us to meet."

    Adventurer King calmly replied, "An opportunity will always appear.¡±

    As he spoke, his eyes shifted over to Lu Yin. "And who is this?"

    "This is Long Qi, and he is the Huaiyuan Gate Master," Qing Chen introduced Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin politely greeted the older man, "I¡¯m honored to meet Senior Adventure King."

    "You¡¯re Long Qi? The same Long Qi who went to the Dominion Realm with Long Tian?" Wan Wu asked in surprise from behind Adventure King.

    Lu Yin looked over at Wan Wu and smiled. "And you are Wan Wu."

    Wan Wu nodded.

    "Brother Wan was forced to leave the Junior Progenitor at that time. Otherwise, you would have been the one to visit the Dominion Realm with Junior Progenitor Long Tian," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Wan Wu shook his head. "That¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯tpare to you."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Why would Brother Wan say that?"

    Wan Wu waspletely serious as he exined, "I can feel your breath, and it¡¯s very powerful. You are much stronger than me, and even-"

    He wanted to say that Long Qi had even surpassed Long Tian, but thinking of the Junior Progenitor had reminded Wan Wu about the White Dragon Transformation and that other, more mysterious power of visualization. Wan Wu had never seen Long Tian¡¯s full strength, so theparison with Long Qi was left unsaid.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. People who fought against vicious beasts all the time were very sensitive to their opponents¡¯ breath, and they often paid attention to such things. Mister Mu had hidden Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation so that not even Semi-Progenitors could sense his power, but that did not mean that it waspletely impossible to discern Lu Yin¡¯s true strength. There would always be people with special innate gifts or abilities, such as Hua Beibei whom Lu Yin had encountered when clearing out the terror ants. That youth had been able to easily determine the ¡°beast king,¡± or the most powerful individual, in a group.

    It seemed like such people were not terribly umon.

    "Someone from the White Dragon n?" Adventure King frowned, and his attitude changed subtly.

    Behind the little group, the giant snake finished strangling the elephant, and it finally noticed Qing Chen and the others. The beast began devouring the elephant as it stared at the humans with its vertical pupils while letting out a blood-curdling hiss.

    Adventure King turned his head and quietly said, "This junior is here to deal with this giant snake. Does senior have anything to say?"

    Qing Chen replied, "We¡¯re merely passing by, so do as you please."

    He then turned to Lu Yin. "Let''s go."

    Lu Yin nodded and followed as Qing Chen led the way.

    Shortly after leaving, Lu Yin felt the ground tremble, and he turned around. The snake had most likely perished.

    "Supervisor, Adventure King always stays in the Lower Realm, so he should be very familiar with this ce. Why didn¡¯t you ask him to help you find the anteater?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen answered in a low voice, "This is a very important matter, and I cannot easily trust other people. After all, you exposed the three Guan brothers and Yun Mubai as Redbacks, so who can be certain that Adventure King is not one as well?"

    Lu Yin nodded. The monsters had nted Redbacks within humanity not only because Redbacks and traitors were able to sabotage humanity, but also because their mere existence led to an air of distrust, which was a very serious problem.

    Originally, Qing Chen had made Lu Yin the acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate in order to lure out Shaman God, but the supervisor had not asked any questions regarding Shaman God at all, which clearly indicated that he no longer expected Lu Yin to be able to draw out one of the Seven Skygods.

    The two spent more than ten days searching through the sixth region, and they found the nt that Lu Yin had drawn in the image of his memory, but they did not find any anteaters.

    Given Qing Chen''s cultivation, he was able to constantly scan a wide region, but he was unable to find the anteater.

    "Could it have left this region?" Lu Yin guessed.

    Qing Chen felt helpless. "It''s certainly possible."

    The Lower Realm seemed boundless, as its area wasrger than the Middle and the Higher Realmsbined, which made it very difficult to find a single beast.

    "Supervisor, if the creature really does eat terror ants, then if we find more ants, maybe we can find the creature as well," Lu Yin shared a sudden thought.

    Qing Chen''s eyes lit up. "That¡¯s certainly possible."

    However, he then grew quite embarrassed. "There are a tremendous number of terror ants in the Lower Realm, and they can be found almost anywhere. It will still be very difficult to find your beast using this method of chasing after the terror ants."

    Lu Yin also felt rather helpless.

    "All we can do is try, and if this doesn¡¯t work either, then we can only issue a bounty to Root to have them search for the anteater. Still, doing that might expose our intentions to the enemy," Qing Chen said.

    Lu Yin also felt like they were running out of options. They had already searched through every part of the sixth region where the Qingcang leaves could be found.

    It was rather easy to find terror ants, and only two dayster, Qing Chen and Lu Yin found a ball formed by a horrifying number of terror ant. The bugs were ruthless killing machines in the Lower Realm, and even the average Envoy would be forced to retreat in the face of so many terror ants.

    Wherever the ball of bugs passed through, nothing living was left behind.

    The two followed the ball of ants for two entire days. During this time, they ran into several cultivators. Everyone who ran into the ball of ants assumed that they had met their death, but all of them ended up being lucky enough to be saved by Qing Chen.

    On their third day of chasing behind the ball of ants, the ball suddenly vanished. Qing Chen¡¯s expression changed, and Lu Yin hurried forward. To their shock, the ball of terror ants had fallen into a gap between the Mother Tree¡¯s roots.

    While it was technically a gap, it was actually a vast canyon from the perspective of a human, and they could not even see the bottom.

    "Supervisor, did all of the ants fall down there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen nodded. "Let''s go after them."

    With that, he grabbed Lu Yin and leaped down.

    Lu Yin felt a bit flustered; who knew whaty beneath the surface of the Lower Realm? They were descending into the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, and any number of strange creatures could reside in this ce. Even the Ancestor Python was present, and Lu Yin was worried that they would run into something that not even Qing Chen could handle.

    It was dark below the surface, and there was not even the smallest hint of light.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was a cultivator, which meant that he could still observe his surroundings quite clearly.

    Each one of the Mother Tree¡¯s roots was no different from an entire maind to Lu Yin. No matter how far down they traveled, all that Lu Yin could see was roots, various creatures, insects, and the cracks on the root.

    As they continued traveling further down, Lu Yin started to wonder if they might fall out of the Perennial World and into the location where the Mother Tree had rooted itself in the universe.

 Chapter 1528: Humanoid Sourcebox

    Chapter 1528: Humanoid Sourcebox

    Suddenly, the sound of rushing wind rose up from deep underground. At the same time, Lu Yin felt as though his body had been suddenly moved. A gust of wind whistled by in front of him, shooting upwards and slicing apart everything that it passed by.

    He felt his scalp go numb; he had been right. That gust of wind had even torn through the void, and it had definitely been more powerful than an attack from a normal Envoy. In fact, it might have even beenparable to an attack from an Envoy who had passed through three stellr tribtions, which meant that it was equivalent to an attack with a power level of more than 700,000. Even if Lu Yin was wearing his universal armor, it most likely would not be able to protect him from a direct hit from that gust of wind.

    "Supervisor, what was that?" Lu Yin was quite upset.

    Qing Chen stood in ce in the air as he solemnly replied, "The danger field of a sourcebox."

    Lu Yin looked down, and his eyes focused. "Is there a sourcebox down below?"

    "Those terror ants were killed by this sourcebox¡¯s danger zone. There is a truly impressive sourcebox array down there," Qing Chen replied.

    "It really is a sourcebox," Lu Yin solemnly stated.

    Qing Chen waved a hand, and Lu Yin once again felt as though he had been isted from the world. Another st of wind whistled by, and like before, it failed to harm him in the least. This was the strength of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The two people eventually reached the bottom of the gap between the two tree roots, and they were greeted by a shocking scene.

    They found a sourcebox. A humanoid sourcebox!

    The instance that heid eyes on the humanoid sourcebox, Lu Yin felt something jog his memory. Humanoid sourcebox, humanoid sourcebox¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure that someone mentioned something about this before. Right! Xiao Shi! Back then, he said that if I ever found a humanoid sourcebox, to not unlock it.

    There was only humanoid sourcebox in sight, but it radiated a very powerful danger field.

    Qing Chennded and looked at the figure. "Look at it."

    Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, and he had also reached the Creation realm of star energy control. Even though Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, he had no talent or understanding of lockbreaking.

    The older man protected Lu Yin as he observed the humanoid sourcebox.

    This humanoid sourcebox was just as tall as an average person, but because it was a sealed sourcebox, Lu Yin could not see the person¡¯s appearance, or even sense any hint of life.

    For some reason, Lu Yin grew very ufortable as he looked at the humanoid sourcebox.

    "How strange. How can there be a humanoid-shaped sourcebox? This person has been sealed for far too long for them to be a sourcebox. Can you unlock it?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This one is very difficult, and I can''t do anything about this sourcebox¡¯s danger field. If you want this sourcebox to be unlocked, then you will need a Lockbreaker with the strength of an Envoy at the very least."

    "If there really was someone inside, he would have died long ago and certainly before we open this sourcebox," Qing Chenmented.

    Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "I don''t know if anyone has ever unlocked a living creature, but this is my first timeing across a sealed person.¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, his star energy spread out like a stream of water. Star energy could be used to suppress star energy, and Lu Yin wanted to use his star energy to observe the sourcebox in greater detail.

    "Zizi, so you¡¯ve actually reached the Creation realm of star energy control? Kid, you¡¯re very impressive," another voice called out, and it startled not only Lu Yin, but also Qing Chen.

    Both of them whipped around and looked behind them. Neither of them had any idea when, but two people had arrived and were standing behind them. One of the new arrivals was an old man with an elegant appearance and gray hair, though no wrinkles on his face. The other looked like a bodyguard, and he maintained a solemn expression.

    "Grandmaster Gu Yan?" Qing Chen was surprised.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Grandmaster? This was a truly special title. As for Array Masters, Lu Yin had only ever met one Array Grandmaster in the Fifth Maind, and that had been Highsage Grandmaster. Was this old man in front of him another Array Grandmaster?

    "I didn''t expect to run into an old friend down here. Qing Chen, what are you doing running around down here instead of hunting down Redbacks in the Middle Realm?" Grandmaster Gu Yan observed Qing Chen as he asked a question.

    Qing Chen exined, "Long Qi previously saw some creatures down here that might be the terror ants¡¯ natural predator, so I¡¯m here to look for them. Why is Grandmaster Gu Yan here?"

    Grandmaster Gu Yan smiled. "I need to grab some Meharns since the cushion that I was sitting on was ufortable."

    Qing Chen was confused by this answer, and it was clearly deliberately vague.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan did not exin himself, and instead, he started studying the humanoid sourcebox, amazed at what he saw. "So there really is a humanoid sourcebox. There are records in ancient books that im that anything in the universe can be sealed into a sourcebox¡ªliving or dead makes no difference. Any creature can also be sealed up to be a sourcebox, but this is the first time that I¡¯ve seen such a thing."

    After speaking, he turned to look at Lu Yin and smiled, "Hey kid, why don¡¯t you give me this sourcebox?"

    Lockbreakers had their own rules, and one of them was that whoever discovered a sourcebox would be its owner, as well as the owner of whatever might be exposed after unlocking the sourcebox. This humanoid sourcebox had clearly been discovered by Lu Yin first.

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "This junior can''t unlock this sourcebox, so I¡¯ll have to bother senior."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan replied with a smile. "Is your name Long Qi?"

    Lu Yin bowed. "This junior is indeed Long Qi. I am honored to speak with Grandmaster Gu Yan."

    "No need to be so polite, kid. Are you from the White Dragon n?" Grandmaster Gu Yan asked.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan expressed his admiration, "The White Dragon n can also give rise to a Lockbreaker? It¡¯s truly incredible that you¡¯ve managed to reach the Creation realm of star energy control at such a young age."

    Qing Chen''s eyes shifted. "Not only has Long Qi reached the Creation realm, but he¡¯s also managed toprehend several sourcebox arrays. He once repaired the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array in a very brief amount of time, and heter mastered the spherical red soucebox array that fell down to the New World. That second achievement gave him the opportunity to save millions of people."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan arched a brow, and then sinctly replied, "I don''t believe it."

    Qing Chen nced over at Lu Yin and winked.

    Lu Yin immediately understood that this was an opportunity to gain an apprenticeship, which made him a bit excited. While he had not been interested in studying under Master Deng Guo, an Array Grandmaster was apletely different matter. This person was a true Array Grandmaster, and based on Qing Chen¡¯s reactions, Grandmaster Gu Yan might actually be more than that. After all, he had moved so close to them without letting a Semi-Progenitor like Qing Chen notice.

    This thought gave Lu Yin the motivation to try to seize this opportunity.

    When Highsage Grandmaster had asked to ept Lu Yin as a disciple, the powerhouse had not only wanted to ept a lockbreaking disciple, but also a full disciple of Eversky Ind. However, Lu Yin already had Mister Mu as his master, so it had naturally been impossible to ept such a proposal.

    However, this person was different. If Lu Yin epted this Grandmaster Gu Yan as a lockbreaking master, there would be no conflict.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan also observed Lu Yin with a tiny hint of curiosity hiding in his eyes.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and started manipting his star energy. After reaching the Creation realm of star energy control, it had be much easier for him to set up a sourcebox array with his star energy.

    "Channeling Diagram." Lu Yin raised his hand to demonstrate the Channeling Diagram that he had just arranged.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was quite surprised. "It really is a sourcebox array."

    Lu Yin waved his hand to disperse the Channeling Diagram and then quickly set up a Teleportation Formation, which caused his body to suddenly disappear.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was even more amazed by this sight, and he grew serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, right? Despite your youth, you really have mastered two sourcebox arrays. It would seem that you really did repair those two sourcebox arrays on the battlefield."

    Qing Chen asked, "How would I lie to you, Grandmaster Gu Yan?"

    Grandmaster Gu Yan just rolled his eyes. People will use any trick imaginable in order to get me to ept a disciple, and lying is nothing more than another trick."

    Qing Chen coughed.

    Lu Yin nced at the older man, as he really did have such motivations.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan carefully and somberly observed Lu Yin. "You are extraordinarily talented. Truly, it¡¯s most impressive. To be honest, you certainly qualify to be my apprentice based on your skills, but you¡¯re from the White Dragon n."

    Qing Chen quickly spoke up. "Grandmaster Gu Yan, Long Qi is a Gate Master from my Humility''s Gate, and he has already gained themander¡¯s attention. He even risked bing an enemy of the four ruling powers to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback. All of this can be verified."

    "Really?" Grandmaster Gu Yan was quite surprised, and he smiled as he stared at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll let you make a choice then: one, be the disciple of me, Grandmaster Gu Yan, but renounce the White Dragon n. Two, you can keep your status as a member of the White Dragon n, but you must return to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree with me. Much like other Lockbreakers, I intend to live out the rest of my life on that battlefield. What is your choice?"

    Qing Chen stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin thought for a while, and then he respectfully answered, "While this junior was indeed born in a branch family of the White Dragon n, I have never once received even the slightest favor from the White Dragon n since childhood. I have no desire or attachment to the status of being a member of the White Dragon n and the four ruling powers. However, this junior is also married to Princess Long Xi, and I cannot forget this matter. While I can live out the rest of my life without relying on the White Dragon n, I am still unable to abandon my identity as a son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family.

    "As for returning to the battlefield for the rest of my days, this junior would prefer to stay in the Middle Realm to capture Redbacks, as that provides greater assistance to humanity than ughtering thousands of enemies on the battlefield."

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s words, Grandmaster Gu Yan''s expression went nk. He then moved past Lu Yin and started walking towards the humanoid sourcebox one step at a time.

    Qing Chen frowned; had he failed? It was said that this Grandmaster Gu Yan was too stubborn and had a terrible dislike of the four ruling powers. Even after encountering a youth as talented as Long Qi, this old man still did not care. If he had been any other Array Grandmaster, Long Qi would already have been epted as an apprentice.

    What a pity.

    However, Lu Yin had given the only answer that was possible. Given his alias as Long Qi, how could he possibly leave the White Dragon n without giving them a single word? If he returned to the Perennial World after leaving, he would definitely use a new face for his second trip.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan stored the humanoid sourcebox away, and then turned around and stared at Qing Chen. "Don''t go randomly searching for your creature. There¡¯s a method to searching for every creature, no matter how strong they may be. After all, they are just beasts. Go to Root to ask, or post a bounty."

    "And what about Long Qi?" Qing Chen asked.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan looked at Lu Yin. "My conditions remain unchanged. If you decide to change your mind and are willing to live on the battlefield, then you cane find me and be Grandmaster Gu Yan''s disciple."

    After he finished speaking, he tossed a ring the size of a palm to Lu Yin. "Take this aspensation for the humanoid sourcebox. That thing contains an attack as powerful as my own. Don¡¯t use it unless you are in dire peril, as it can only be used once. If not even that can save you, then it can only be said that you are doomed."

    "Er Gouzi, let¡¯s go." With that, Grandmaster Gu Yan and his guard left.

    Lu Yin looked at therge ring of hands. This was quite the windfall.

    He had originally wanted to tell Grandmaster Gu Yan that a humanoid sourcebox should not be casually opened, but after thinking about how the man was an Array Grandmaster, even a humanoid sourcebox should not pose a threat to such a powerhouse.

    Qing Chenmented, "What a pity. If you could have epted Grandmaster Gu Yan as your master, you would have enjoyed a limitless future."

    Lu Yin smiled. "This subordinate would never be able to answer to Long Xi if I made such a choice, and I have no desire to remain on the battlefield forever. I would much rather capture traitors in the Middle Realm."

    Qing Chen still felt sorry for Lu Yin, but he did not say anything further about the matter. As for allowing Lu Yin to remain on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, Qing Chen felt that such a future was also a pity. There was no shortage of people on that battlefield who possessed Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and he would be much more effective in continuing his efforts in the Middle Realm.

    After emerging from underground, Qing Chen led Lu Yin back along the path that they had taken, as Qing Chen intended to find Adventure King.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan had been right when he had said that there were methods for finding every creature, no matter how powerful it might be. For such a matter, Root was clearly the most qualified for the job.

    Finding Adventure King proved much easier than finding the anteater, and Qing Chen quickly got in touch with a few people.

 Chapter 1529: Humilityâ€™s Gateâ€™s Commander Apprenticeship

    Chapter 1529: Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander Apprenticeship

    "Senior, you want to find arge number of terror ants?" Adventure King was caught off guard as he had never expected to hear that Qing Chen was targeting terror ants.

    Qing Chen spoke grimly. "I believe that you must have heard about the situation on the rear battlefield. At this moment, themander believes that the enemy has snuck a new type of terror ant into the Perennial World, and there is already a suspect. Once they appear in the Lower Realm, we can simply arrest them, but we cannot do so elsewhere due to their special identity and the fact that we have no evidence yet."

    Adventure King was surprised once again. "Senior, if even you need to provide evidence to arrest this person, then they clearly have an important status.¡±

    He then took out a bit of powder from his cosmic ring and handed it over to Qing Chen. "This powder emits a tempting scent that can lure in terror ants from a great distance. I pray that it serves you well, Senior.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly reached out and took the powder.

    "Thank you." Qing Chen was truly grateful.

    Shortly after that, Qing Chen spread some of the powder into the air, letting it drift away with the breeze. After that, the old man brought Lu Yin into the true universe.

    Even though terror ants could be found scattered throughout all parts of the Lower Realm, they were not truly everywhere. It was simply that they had no geographical preference.

    Also, it was impossible for this powder¡¯s scent to instantly spread across arge region.

    Lu Yin and Qing Chen used powder to lure the ants in, but it still took two days for the first wave to arrive.

    They were not luring terror ants in order to kill them, but rather to draw out the anteater.

    Qing Chen drew in the terror ants with the powder and then led the ants around as live bait, though he mostly ¡°fished¡± in the sixth region.

    As he did this, he managed to draw the attention of other powerful beasts, but all of them were either scared off by the terror ants or Qing Chen himself.

    The longer they spent leading the ants around, the more terror ants that they drew out. At first, there had merely been a ball of ants, but they had since taken on the shape of a giant.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Supervisor, can¡¯t a Semi-Progenitor use this method to easily eliminate all of the terror ants?"

    "This method can only lure out regr terror ants, not their queens," Qing Chen exined.

    Lu Yin then remembered how, when he had been on the rear battlefield, his squad and several others had been surrounded by terror ants under the control of a queen ant. The methods and control the queen ants were capable of were frightening.

    "Every year, Root eliminates countless terror aants, and it is believed that even if this method were used more often, it would not affect the total number of terror ants," Qing Chen solemnly informed Lu Yin. The old man looked back at the giant formed from the countless terror ants. He could not help but feel the urge to eliminate all of these ants.

    "Let''s go on to the fifth district," Qing Chen said. They had already passed through the entire sixth region, returning back to where they had first found the Qingcang leaf. However, there were no traces of the anteater at all.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Suddenly, Qing Chen froze and stared at the ground. It seemed that he had discovered something.

    Lu Yin reflexively released his domain and searched in all directions, but he could find nothing at all.

    The next moment, the ground beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet trembled, and Qing Chen grabbed Lu Yin and shot high into the sky, even entering the true universe. The moment the scent of the powder disappeared, the ants quickly started to disperse.

    "Supervisor¡­" Lu Yin was feeling quite anxious.

    Qing Chen had bepletely serious. "Quiet."

    Lu Yin saw the ground where they had just been standing shift and then erupted. The movement shook the earth and the sky, and it also revealed a massive, circr mouth.

    It was the anteater.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks upon seeing the creature again. Yes, this was the same anteater that he had seen before. It had actually always been in the sixth region, but neither Lu Yin nor Qing Chen had noticed anything.

    When Qing Chen saw the anteater, he became even more serious and extremely wary.

    The anteater''s mouth shifted to aim behind Lu Yin and Qing Chen as it started to violently feed. The suction force was so powerful that it twisted the void, and Lu Yin was nearly yanked away even though he was hiding in the true universe and being protected by Qing Chen. This anteater¡¯s strength was simr to the level of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The endless amout of terror ants that had been drawn out by Qing Chen were pulled towards the anteater, and not a single one of them was able to escape.

    The beast had tiny eyes for its massive size, though they were still enormous from Qing Chen and Lu Yin¡¯s perspective.

    The mouth shifted once more, and this time, it was aimed at the two humans.

    The moment the creature shifted, Qing Chen''s eyes changed, and he grabbed Lu Yin. The old man was about to flee with Lu Yin when an indescribable pulling forcetched onto the two of them from the anteater¡¯s mouth. The void parted like a curtain, and everything was sucked into the mouth. Massive spatial tears spread out in all directions, and an endless darkness descended upon the area. The true universe had been exposed.

    The sky above the entire sixth region changed.

    Lu Yin was unable to resist the suction force being exerted upon his body, but Qing Chen kept a tight grip on the youth. The Semi-Progenitor then raised a hand, bringing out a drop of water that he threw towards the anteater.

    The clear drop of water did not enter the anteater''s mouth, and it instead swept over the beast¡¯s body. The original calm and clear water grew turbid, and as it did so, the anteater¡¯s devouring force weakened significantly.

    Qing Chen raised his hand once more and threw out several more drops of water.

    The anteater shifted its body and lifted it up high before smashing down a paw that shattered the void and enveloped the entire sky.

    Qing Chen did not know what to do. All that Lu Yin could hear was a deafening roar. Blood seeped out of his ears, and then everything ceased.

    He was so close to a battle between Semi-Progenitors, but he was unable to see it, hear it, or even understand what was happening.

    After an unknown amount of time passed, Lu Yin slowly opened his eyes to see the Middle Realm high above in the sky. Once he registered stars flickering overhead, he leaped to his feet and looked around.

    He was still in the Lower Realm, and there were Qingcang leaves swaying in the breeze nearby. However, thend had beenpletely transformed.

    "Wake up!" Lu Yin heard Qing Chen''s voice from nearby.

    Lu Yin turned to look as he rubbed his head. "Supervisor, what happened?"

    Qing Chen sounded quite exhausted as he exined, "We found the anteater, but it had the strength of a very powerful Semi-Progenitor."

    "Then where is the anteater?" Lu Yin nced around.

    Qing Chen replied, "It was taken away."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Supervisor, were you able to capture it?"

    Qing Chen shook his head. "That anteater was no easy opponent. At best, I could fight against such a beast, but capturing it would be impossible for me.¡±

    "Themander came? A Progenitor moved?" Lu Yin lost his voice.

    Qing Chen nodded and smiled at Lu Yin. "Themander indeed came to capture the anteater. Long Qi, themander has shown great appreciation for you. Have you ever considered epting a master?"

    Lu Yin blinked; what was all this talk about him bing a disciple? First, there was Master Deng Guo, then Grandmaster Gu Yan, and now even Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander. Each one was progressively more impressive than thest, but Lu Yin already had Mister Mu.

    Qing Chen thought that Lu Yin¡¯s silence was his answer, so the old man continued, "Themander intends to ept you as his disciple. What do you think about that?"

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. "Supervisor, this- this subordinate doesn¡¯t know."

    "Haha! What is there to not know? Do you not want to be the disciple of a powerful Progenitor?" Qing Chen asked with a smile. He had always admired Lu Yin, though the old man¡¯s admiration had originallye from seeing Lu Yin as possible bait to lure out Shaman God at the risk of the youth¡¯s life. However, the more Qing Chen got to know Lu Yin, the more he admired the youth.

    Bing themander¡¯s disciple wouldpletely change Lu Yin¡¯s status, and he would be in no way inferior to the four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors. Qing Chen was delighted for Lu Yin, as it naturally seemed impossible for Lu Yin to refuse.

    Could Lu Yin refuse? Of course he could not do such a thing overtly, as doing so would invalidate everything that he had built up within Humility¡¯s Gate. Lu Yin¡¯s intention was to leave the Perennial World, but he had no desire to make Long Qi a pariah in the Perennial World either. The best option would be to have Long Qi quietly disappear after aplishing an impressive achievement, and in that way, fade into legend.

    "Master, is this subordinate even qualified?" Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    Qing Chen smiled. "Themander already said that you are qualified, so you are. Alright, let¡¯s go. The anteater has already been found, and the merit points that you borrowed to trade for the Root of Intelligence have been paid back with this aplishment, and you will still have more rewards after returning to Humility''s Gate."

    "Where are we going now?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Back to Huaiyuan Gate while you wait for the news from themander. After all, you are also the son-inw of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, so in order for anyone to ept you as a disciple, negotiations must be conducted with the White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin nodded, hoping that the negotiation would fail.

    ***

    At the same time, on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, Long Laogui met Master Deng Guo shortly after returning to the second array base from his meeting with Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    Master Deng Guo looked at Long Laogui and then started eagerly searching for Lu Yin.

    Originally, Long Laogui had hoped that Lu Yin could be Master Deng Guo¡¯s apprentice, as Array Masters held a very respected status. In particr, this would allow Long Qi to fill a much-needed vacuum, as the White Dragon n had no Lockbreakers. However, as time had passed and Long Qi had improved, Long Laogui had no longer been satisfied with a simple Array Master. Instead, he hoped to find a Realm Array Master to be Long Qi¡¯s teacher. Due to this, Long Laogui had simply replied to Master Deng Guo with, "Long Qi had been targeted by the Twelve Marquises, so he was forced to leave the battlefield. By now, he should have already returned to the Middle Realm with Qing Chen."

    Master Deng Guo politely replied, "I wish to ept Long Qi as my disciple, but what view does the White Dragon n have on this matter?"

    The muscles on Long Laogui¡¯s cheek twitched. If this offer had been made just a short while ago, he would have been thrilled, and he would even have happily changed his attitude towards Long Qi. However, at this point in time, Long Laogui was hoping that Grandmaster Gu Yan would ept Lu Yin as his apprentice, which made Master Deng Guo somewhat undesirable. However, Long Laogui could not be too blunt, and he could not possibly directly refuse. "Is Master Deng Guo able to leave this battlefield? It is unlikely for Long Qi to return here for the foreseeable future."

    Master Deng Guo answered with a smile, "I have already considered that matter, and I can have Long Qi stay at the Lockbreakers¡¯ Headquarters and teach him there for a period of time. He will therefore be able to remain in the Middle Realm. After all, he is still a Gate Master with Humility¡¯s Gate, and this would also exempt him from being forced to stay on this battlefield like the other Lockbreakers.¡±

    Long Laogui acted very happy. "This is the best option."

    Master Lantern smiled as he nodded.

    "However, might I ask why Master Deng Guo is suddenly so anxious to ept Long Qi as an apprentice?" Long Laogui asked in an odd tone.

    Master Deng Guo continued to smile. "Despite his young age, he has managed to master two sourcebox arrays. Beyond that, he has also managed to quickly study and repair a new sourcebox array and shown an impressive ability to control the spherical red sourcebox array. He is such a genius that, let alone me, any master Lockbreaker would happily ept such an apprentice.¡±

    This was actually the precise reason why Long Laogui had decided to work to get Long Qi an apprenticeship with an Array Grandmaster. As the old saying went, you only looked for an Array Master if an Array Grandmaster didn¡¯t work out. As for Master Deng Guo, unfortunately, the more anxiously he wanted to ept Long Qi as an apprentice, the more obvious it was to anyone watching that Long Qi¡¯s talent was extremely impressive. Long Laogui could not afford to let the White Dragon n¡¯s first genius Lockbreaker in countless years be ruined by an inferior teacher.

    "Master Deng Guo, please wait a bit. Long Qi is currentlypleting a mission with Qing Chen, and even I do not know the details. Once his mission is finished, he will immediately be sent back here to the battlefield to pay his respects toMaster Deng Guo as his teacher," Long Laogui replied with a smile. He did not refuse the offer, as it was best to have a back-up for unforeseen events.

    Master Deng Guo did not notice any difference in Long Laogui¡¯s behavior. "Very well. In that case, I¡¯ll return and wait for now. Don''t worry, I, Deng Guo, will definitely raise an exemry Lockbreaker for the White Dragon n!"

    Long Laogui¡¯s smile grew even more dazzling. "Thank you, Master Deng Guo."

    "It¡¯s no problem at all."

 Chapter 1530: Cloakstone

    Chapter 1530: Cloakstone

    After Master Deng Guo left, Long Laogui raised his hand to quickly contact someone. After a while, hismunication crystal vibrated, but no image appeared. Instead, there was an eye, one that was murky and aged.

    Long Laogui slowly bowed as soon as he saw this eye. "I greet the ancestor."

    Long Laogui had called the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestor, who was known as Progenitor Long. This man was one of the top powerhouses in the entire Perennial World. The four ruling powers represented the four most powerful organizations in the Perennial World, and Progenitor Long was a pir of one of the four ruling powers. The progenitors of the four ruling powers restricted each other, but they also supported each other in order to protect humanity. Progenitor Long was essentially one of the four ruling powers.

    The ancient, murky eye turned to look at Long Laogui. "What''s the matter?"

    The voice was not loud, but it caused the void to tremble. It was full of unfathomable dignity, and for Long Laogui, the entire world bowed down before this eye.

    "Ancestor, a descendant of our family known as Long Qi has shown a peerless talent for lockbreaking. Master Deng Guo, an Array Master, is eager to ept the youth as his apprentice. This junior has searched for an Array Grandmaster to guide the youth, but Grandmaster Gu Yan is odd and refuses to speak about this matter. So, this junior has attempted to find other Array Grandmasters, but I have no no way to proceed," Long Laogui respectfully informed the ancestor.

    Progenitor Long was surprised by the news. "This is about Long Qi once again?"

    Long Laogui was shocked to hear this question. "Has the ancestor already heard of him?"

    The four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors were different from Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander. Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments while working for Humility¡¯s Gate warranted the Commander¡¯s attention, but the Progenitors of the four ruling powers stayed in the Dominion Realm at all times to hold back Aeturnus¡¯s Progenitors. Progenitor Long normally did not interfere in the lower realms¡¯ affairs. Even when the Junior Progenitors had been trapped, the Progenitors had ignored it. Long Laogui could not think of anything that Long Qi could have done to attract Progenitor Long''s attention.

    "Old Xie called me wanting to ept Long Qi as his disciple, and so he asked me for my opinion," Progenitor Long stated.

    Long Laogui was absolutely shocked. "Humility''s Gate¡¯s Commander wishes to ept Long Qi as a disciple? Ancestor, what does this mean?"

    Progenitor Long remained silent for a while. "Let me check."

    Long Laogui¡¯s mind was in chaos at this moment; Long Qi was a lockbreaking genius, a giftedbatant, and even skilled at finding and exposing traitors and Redbacks. Long Qi was simply talented in every aspect, which was terrifying. In a certain manner, he even surpassed the four Junior Progenitors.

    After some time passed, Progenitor Long''s voice returned, and this time, it was full of excitement. "Contact Long Ke and send out invitations to the rest of the world! I will contact Old Xie¡ªthe child will be a disciple and a member of the main family on the same day. We must invite all four of the ruling powers, the Middle Realm¡¯s Nong family, Virtue Archives, and people from the Lockbreakers¡¯ Headquarters. Let everyone see that my White Dragon n is on the rise! The four Junior Progenitors may be trapped, but my White Dragon n will not flounder! Even though the girl who was once known as our n¡¯s hope died, geniuses can still rise from my White Dragon n! We still have talents who can draw the attention and admiration of Progenitors! We will overwhelm all of the other powerful forces."

    Long Laogui bowed low. "Yes, Ancestor."

    The murky eye disappeared, and once it did so, Long Laogui immediately contacted Long Ke. Since he had received a direct order from their ancestor, Long Laogui did not dare to dy for even a moment.

    Long Ke was simrly shocked by what he was told. "We are to distribute the invitations that widely?"

    Long Laogui somberly answered, "Yes. Send out invitations everywhere. We are to inform the entire Perennial World that my White Dragon n has a genius at fighting, cultivating, and most importantly, lockbreaking. This youth is the son-inw of your, Long Ke¡¯s, main family of the White Dragon n. This son-inw is to be epted as a disciple, and he will also enter the genealogy of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family. This is to be a day to symbolize the rise of my White Dragon n."

    Long Ke answered respectfully, "I understand."

    Long Laogui grew solemn. "Long Ke, you should know how your family rose to power¡ªit happened by wading through the blood of countless nsmen. You stepped through the blood that was considered the symbol of hope for a generation of my White Dragon n, and her death caused the ancestor¡¯s heart to ache. Our ancestor has just made arge move on his own, and this might cure his heartache. It is possible that this Long Qi could surpass even her and end up bing a true symbol of hope for my White Dragon n."

    Long Ke¡¯s fingers twitched. "I understand. Elder needn¡¯t worry."

    Long Laogui nodded and ended the call.

    Up above Dragon Mountain, Long Ke lowered his arm. The image of a certain woman appeared in his mind. She had been the daughter of the main lineage, as well as one of the seven heroes of the Perennial World. She had been expected to raise the status of the White Dragon n above the Celestial Frost Sect, surpassing all of the other organizations in the Middle Realm. She had excelled in lockbreaking, cultivation, and fighting.

    Her talent had shaken the entire Perennial World, and her cultivation speed had been truly astounding. Even more shocking had been her talent for lockbreaking. She had truly been a daughter blessed by the heavens, and Progenitor Long had frequently spent time with her, instructing her. However, in the end, she had died during the cmitous event.

    Her death had broken Progenitor Long''s heart, and that was also why, when Long Tian had be a Junior Progenitor, Progenitor Long had not particrly cared. After all, Long Tian was simply far toocking whenpared to that woman.

    However, Long Qi¡¯s appearance had given Progenitor Long hope that someone from his n might be able topare to that woman, but was Long Qi really that talented?

    The more gifted Long Qi was, the greater suppression he had on Long Quan¡¯s branch family. There was no longer even a need for Long Ke to nder Long Quan, as Long Qi¡¯s rise was the same as the n¡¯s main family¡¯s rise. As long as Long Tian safely returned, the main family¡¯s position would be as stable as Mount Tai.

    With this thought in mind, Long Ke quickly called Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was following Qing Chen back towards the Bifrost in order to return to the Huaiyuan Gate in the Middle Realm, where he would await news from the Commander.

    "Supervisor, this subordinate would like to ask, how did that anteater hide from us? We searched that particr ce at the very start," Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Chen took something out of his cosmic ring. "Because of this."

    Lu Yin looked at what the old man held, and the youth¡¯s mouth dropped open. Cloak- cloakstone?! Isn¡¯t this the same cloakstone that Aegis¡¯s top assassins used?

    "Supervisor, what is this?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Qing Chen exined, "This is a curio, though I¡¯m guessing that you haven¡¯t seen one before now. That¡¯s quite normal, as only Envoys are able to use these things. This particr item allows Envoys to hide in the true universe and absorb stellr energy. However, I never expected a mere beast to take advantage of such an item. Curios are able topletely hide a person¡¯s aura so that they are utterly undetectable."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched; was this really a curio? It was true that Aegis¡¯s assassins used cloakstones and that it even concealed their runes from being detected. In the Fifth Maind, runes could be seen in both the true universe and the visible universe, so if cloakstone could hide a person from even a Progenitor¡¯s remnant power, then why could they not conceal an Envoy¡¯s aura?

    Why had Lu Yin not thought of this sooner?

    Lu Yin grew excited. He had indeed heard of curios before, and he knew that they were a rare and precious thing, and yet, Aegis seemed to have quite a few, to the point where they were even generous enough to give some to their Explorer realm assassins.

    Lu Yin gulped; did this mean that he actually had ess to an absolute fortune?

    Qing Chen did not notice Lu Yin''s expression change, and he continued to exin a bit more about curios to the youth.

    Lu Yin managed to eventually calm himself down. He coughed, took particr note to remember the word ¡®curio,¡¯ and then promptly changed the subject. "Supervisor, what kind of person is the Commander?"

    Qing Chen smiled. "What sort of person do you believe is behind all of Humility''s Gate?"

    "Someone who can kill decisively, though is also upright, righteous, and also tactful."

    Qing Chen showed a small smile. "You cannot describe a Progenitor in this manner."

    Lu Yin blinked.

    "The Commander is very protective and overbearing."

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this description was too simple!

    "It¡¯s not appropriate to speak of Progenitors. Once you meet the Commander, you wille to understand what sort of person he is, as the Commander intends to ept you as his disciple. You¡¯ll meet him soon," Qing Chen said.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The two continued on towards the Bifrost. As they traveled, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated, and Long Ke¡¯s image appeared.

    After seeing that Long Ke was the one calling, Lu Yin had initially wanted to ignore the call with every fiber of his being, but he still needed to at least try to make an appearance of effort. "Son-inw greets father-inw."

    Long Ke had a smile on his face, and he was clearly in a good mood. He nodded to Lu Yin, and politely greeted Qing Chen when he saw the Semi-Progenitor. "Senior Qing Chen is also present, though I see that you are still troubled with keeping Long Qi safe."

    Qing Chen replied, "It''s fine. You can talk."

    He moved to leave.

    Long Ke interrupted, "Senior, there¡¯s no need to step away. This concerns your Humility''s Gate."

    Qing Chen stopped and turned to look at Long Ke.

    Long Ke redirected his attention to Lu Yin and solemnly stated, "Long Qi, you have received the luck of the heavens¡ªHumility''s Gate¡¯s Commander wishes to ept you as his disciple. Prepare yourself and hurry back to Dragon Mountain as soon as possible. My White Dragon n has already sent out invitations, and we have invited many of our friends and allies to attend your ceremony. This will celebrate not only your discipleship, but also your eptance into the n¡¯s main family."

    Lu Yin was stunned; he had not expected the Commander to have moved so quickly. Even Qing Chen was startled by the news.

    "Commander has already spoken to Progenitor Long?" Qing Chen asked.

    Long Ke nodded. "Everything is being done at the orders of the ancestor. Long Qi, both our ancestor and Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander have both shown their appreciation for you, and even Master Deng Guo wishes to ept you as his apprentice. However, there¡¯s no need to worry about him. We will do our utmost to find an Array Grandmaster to guide you, but for now, hurry back to Dragon Mountain to quietly await the discipleship ceremony in safety.¡±

    Lu Yin felt torn at this moment, though he could not reveal a single thing. He had to act very happy, and he put on a mask of delight. ¡°Understood! This Long Qi will rush to Dragon Mountain as soon as possible."

    Long Ke was satisfied with this answer, and he turned to look at Qing Chen. "Long Qi has always troubled you, Senior. Starting today, the rtionship between my White Dragon n and your Humility¡¯s Gate will be much closer. Senior, you should visit my Dragon Mountain more often, and you can enjoy some White Dragon Brew while you wait. It¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve visited, haha.¡±

    Qing Chen smiled back at the n patriarch. "This change is only natural."

    After ending the call, Qing Chen patted Lu Yin on the shoulder and excitedly told him, "In the past, if I could have worshiped a powerful Progenitor as my master, I might have opened my three meridian points by now. I do regret that."

    Lu Yin looked over at Qing Chen and said, "Even if you haven¡¯t opened your three meridian points, it''s still not impossible to be a Progenitor. There is always hope."

    Qing Chen revealed a bitter smile. "There¡¯s no need for you to try tofort me, little one. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll take you to Dragon Mountain."

    ¡­

    After the passage of more than a year, the Forgotten Ruins in the Dominion Realm finally weed a Progenitor.

    Two Semi-Progenitors had been standing guard outside the Forgotten Ruins this entire time. After the four Junior Progenitors were trapped inside, the four ruling powers had done their best to save the youths, but even Semi-Progenitors would almost instantly forgot everything when they came in contact with the Forgotten Ruins. They only had barely enough time to escape, and it would take a Progenitor to rescue the four youths.

    "Progenitor Ku¡¯s tactic mutual destruction to eliminate enemies caused a great deal of damage to Aeternus back then, and that¡¯s also why Aeternus did their best to ce traps in the Withered Glory region. This trap is designed for Semi-Progenitors, and the Wang family''s Forgotten Ruins continue to be powerful enough to lure in powerhouses. This ce itself was forgotten after the passage of so much time, and it is no longer able to pose a lethal threat to Semi-Progenitors.¡±

    "There should have been a Semi-Progenitor powerhouse working in tandem with this trap. Even if it was not a powerhouse on the same level as the Twelve Marquises, it should have been someone at almost that level in order for this trap to pose a threat to a Semi-Progenitor."

    A soft voice was heard just outside the Forgotten Ruins.

    The two Semi-Progenitors standing guard quickly bowed. "Thank you, Ancestor, for your guidance. We understand."

 Chapter 1531: Death Of A Junior Progenitor

    Chapter 1531: Death Of A Junior Progenitor

    Right after speaking, the two Semi-Progenitors froze as a feeling of panic seeped from their hearts. They had been enveloped by a power that covered the entire world.

    This power could easily destroy them at a whim, and they would not be able to retaliate in the slightest. This was the power of a Progenitor.

    Neither of the Semi-Progenitors knew which Progenitor had moved out at this time. All of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors were stationed far away, as they normally stayed on the far side of the Dominion Realm in order to stop Aeternus from entering the Perennial World. The human Progenitors could not risk letting Aeternus know that one of them had left, so they would let any of the humans know either, due to the threat of Redbacks leaking such information.

    The Forgotten Ruins trembled, and Wang Su, Xia Shenfei, and Long Tian all instantly opened their eyes as one, their minds already clear.

    "Leave now!"manded the Progenitor.

    Just as the three youths were about to leave, the void tore open with a loud bang. All that anyone heard was the Progenitor shouting, "How dare you enter so deeply into the Withered Glory Region?"

    "Since we set this trap, how can we allow you to destroy it so easily?"

    "How long do you think you can stop us for?"

    "That all depends on how many people you humans can send to rescue these youths. Between the Dominion Realm, and the five array bases. Just how many of your powerhouses can you spare for this? Hahahaha!"

    The human Progenitor had encountered powerful enemies in the form of Aeternus¡¯s own Progenitors, which meant that this attempt to rescue Wang Su and the other Junior Progenitors had failed. However, at this exact moment, the two Semi-Progenitors who had been standing guard over the Forgotten Ruins did not care about rescuing the Junior Progenitors, and neither were they concerned about the Progenitors¡¯ battle. As the fight raged on around them, the two Semi-Progenitors were simply staring at Bai Shaohong. He was lying ck on the ground.

    The two powerhouses turned to stare at each other in shock before looking back at Bai Shaohong. They stared a bit longer and then finally caught their breath. "This- he¡¯s dead!"

    "This is going to shake the entire Perennial World."

    At the top of the Higher Realm, at a ce where the earth met the sky, there was a sect that had been built around an icy pond. This mountaintop sect had an ethereal appearance that made it look like and of fantasy, and the white clouds in the sky above radiated a soft light that illuminated the world below. The light given off by each cloud wasfortable and made people feel rxed and at peace. Below the pond, there were more mountains, as well as clearkes of water. Somes revolved around the mountains, but not a single one of them rose above the peaks.

    This was the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The word ¡°frost¡± in the sect¡¯s name represented the icy pond while the word ¡°celestial¡± represented not only the sect itself, but also the goal of every single member of the sect. Celestials lived in a realm above mortals, and they were untouchable. Mortals could only look up to such beings.

    No matter what sort of image the Celestial Frost Sect had in the outside world, the atmosphere within the mountain sect always remained peaceful, though this peace was rudely disrupted by the intrusion of some news.

    Bai Shaohong was both the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor and also Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s little brother. His death rattled the entire Celestial Frost Sect, and the ripples of this matter spread out and shook the entire Higher Realm before rippling out and sending tremors throughout the entire Perennial World.

    "Are you absolutely certain that Shaohong is actually dead?" Inside the sect¡¯s main hall, a deep voice came from a middle-aged man. This man was Bai Teng, who was the current sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Yes, Sect Master. His death has been confirmed."

    Bai Teng''s eyes grew cold. "Lock down the news to stop it from reaching the Middle Realm. Reach out to the Xia family, the White Dragon n, and the Nong family immediately and have everyone who was a part of the expedition to the Dominion Realm¡¯s Withered Glory region be sent to my Celestial Frost Sect for questioning."

    "Sect Master, Xia Taili is the Xia family¡¯s princess, and Wu Taibai, the White Dragon n¡¯s Long Qi, and the Nong family¡¯s Nong Sanniang are all direct descendants of their respective powers. No one will agree to allow my Celestial Frost Sect to take and question such people."

    Bai Teng¡¯s voice dropped low. "Then find a way to capture them, especially the people from the Xia family. When they first left the Withered Glory region, no one mentioned that Shaohong had died. Shaohong was the strongest of the Junior Progenitors, so how could no one have noticed his death? The person most likely to have been able to keep everyone else silent is the Xia family¡¯s princess, Xia Taili."

    "Understood. I''ll initiate negotiations immediately."

    Bai Teng quickly received responses from the Xia family, the White Dragon n, and the Nong family. All of them refused the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s demands while simultaneously sending their condolences. The messages were full of regret for Bai Shaohong''s death, but everyone also firmly stated that they would not allow their children to be interrogated by the Celestial Frost Sect.

    In particr, Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s response was worded particrly harshly.

    Bai Teng was not surprised by the uniform reactions. "Was there anyone else who joined the excursion?"

    "There were six people who returned from the Dominion Realm: Xia Taili, Wu Taibai, Nong Sanniang, Shang Qing, Long Qi, and Liu Tianmu. Of them, if we disregard Xia Taili, Wu Taibai, Nong Sanniang, and Long Qi, there are only Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu. At the moment, both of them are at Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate in the Middle Realm. We started negotiations with Humility''s Gate, but they would not allow any of their people to be sent and questioned by our Celestial Frost Sect."

    "Then capture all of them," Bai Teng sharply demanded.

    "Sect Master? Just capture them openly?"

    Bai Teng hesitated. His character meant that he typically went with the direct approach and simply grabbed those that he wanted to question, but these particr targets were youths from the other four ruling powers, as well as the Nong family and Humility''s Gate. Not a single one of these forces were easy to deal with, and while the Celestial Frost Sect was overbearing and capable of overwhelming any individual power, they could not deal with all of these powers at once. This was beyond the sect¡¯s ability.

    At that moment, someone informed the sect master that Yu Chen wished to see him.

    "Yu Chen greets the sect master." Yu Chen was dressed in in clothes as she presented herself before Bai Teng. Her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot as she bowed to Bai Teng.

    Bai Teng sighed. "Why are you here instead of mourning over Shaohong¡¯s death at his funeral?"

    Yu Chen lifted her head and replied firmly, "This disciple must uncover the murderer who killed our Junior Progenitor."

    "Do you have any clues?" Bai Teng asked.

    Yu Chen quietly answered, "Long Qi is the most suspicious person."

    Bai Teng was taken aback at this statement. "Long Qi?"

    Yu Chen shared everything that she knew regarding Long Qi, especially her schemes that she had implemented against Long Qi and how they had all failed. She listed everything that she knew, bit by bit. "Sect Master, Long Qi is definitely not as simple as he appears to be at first nce. He should have been finished back in the Yinshan District, but instead, he steadily climbed to a glorious status step by step. He is now a Gate Master within Humility''s Gate, and he has even received the attention of theirmander. That powerhouse wishes to ept Long Qi as a disciple, and the White Dragon n even intends to add his name to their main family¡¯s genealogy.¡±

    "These are not aplishments that some mere son-inw can pull off. His performance has been too perfect. He has already caught up to the four Junior Progenitors despite all of them starting off at a much higher level. His talent for lockbreaking has even drawn the attention of an Array Master. As for hisbat ability, he has evenly fought against Envoys and is said to have an innate gift that allows him to see through people with a nce. He has been even more sessful than Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen at rooting out Redbacks.

    "Everything about this Long Qi is perfect, but the more perfect something is, the more likely it is nothing more than an illusion."

    "But wasn¡¯t Long Qi only a Hunter when he apanied the Junior Progenitors to the Dominion Realm? He couldn''t have possibly been a Junior Progenitor''s opponent, right?" someone asked.

    Yu Chen gaze grew more focused. "If he apanied the Junior Progenitors to the Dominion Realm with his current strength, then would he be able to stand up to the Junior Progenitors?"

    "Of course he could. Not only has he be an Enlighter, but he has also fought on the rear battlefield," someone replied.

    Yu Chen retorted, "Then who can guarantee that he did not hide his strength or cultivation when they made the trip?"

    Bai Teng immediately ordered, "Go negotiate with the White Dragon n again. Long Qi must be questioned."

    Yu Chen quickly spoke up, "Sect Master, the White Dragon n is already sending out invitations to everyone precisely because of Long Qi. He has be their new poster child. Even if it starts a war, they will never willingly deliver Long Qi to my Celestial Frost Sect."

    "So what?" Bai Teng''s expression grew ferocious. "Is my Celestial Frost Sect still afraid of that failure of a White Dragon n?"

    Yu Chen frowned. Although Bai Teng had been promoted to be the current sect master, he was still both too impulsive and too powerful. Even though she could still control him, it took a great deal of time and effort. "Sect Master, since starting a war would be the worst possible oue, why not just capture Long Qi?"

    Bai Teng''s eyes lit up. "That''s true! I¡¯ll immediately send someone to capture Long Qi."

    Yu Chen respectfully interjected once again. "This disciple will ask her jade butterflies to closely monitor both Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu while also confirming Long Qi¡¯s whereabouts."

    Yu Chen trained her jade butterflies in the Jade Valley, and that was also where Yu Chen hatched all of her ns.

    Upon returning to the Jade Valley, Yu Chen once again reviewed all of the information that she had on Lu Yin. Her face was extremely gloomy. She had always asked her people to separate out Long Qi¡¯s information for ease of ess, and it became extremely helpful at this moment.

    Her heart told her that Long Qi was indeed Bai Shaohong¡¯s murderer.

    "Junior Progenitor, don''t worry. Yu Chen will definitely catch Long Qi and expose your true murderer!" Yu Chen muttered to herself.

    Liu Shaoge approached from behind, and he handed Yu Chen another stack of information.

    She nced up at Liu Shaoge. "From now on, please keep an eye on Huaiyuan Gate, and also stay in contact with my jade butterfly there. If Long Qi appears at Huaiyuan Gate, inform me as soon as possible."

    "Understood." Liu Shaoge remained very respectful. Yu Chen had always been satisfied with this person, as he was both intelligent and thorough with his work.

    After Yu Chen left, Liu Shaoge nced at the gathered information. A smile spread across his face. Honestly, rumors and stories crop up wherever you go. But this time, this is big trouble for you¡­

    The Celestial Frost Sect desired to capture Lu Yin more than anything, and it was absolutely impossible for him to escape. I¡¯ll have one less friend in the future¡­

    Lu Yin once again stepped onto the Bifrost in order to travel up to the Higher Realm. He was still unaware that Bai Shaohong¡¯s death had been discovered, and he was also unaware that Yu Chen had painted him as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s number one suspect in the case of the Junior Progenitor¡¯s death.

    That is, he was ignorant until the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch, Long Ke, called him.

    "Bai Shaohong is dead?" Not only Lu Yin, but even Qing Chen was shocked to hear this news.

    Long Ke was somber as he stared at Lu Yin. "You really didn¡¯t know?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, I didn¡¯t. The Four Junior Progenitors were fighting inside the Forgotten Ruins, and I didn¡¯t see anyone grab the Origin Matter, much less their battle."

    Long Ke frowned. It actually made sense that Long Qi had not been able to see the Junior Progenitors¡¯ fight, as all four of them had been capable of briefly entering the true universe while Long Qi had only been a Hunter when he had gone to the Dominion Realm.

    "Regardless, due to Bai Shaohong''s death, the Celestial Frost Sect is demanding that everyone who visited the Dominion Realm ept their questioning. However, that is not something that we can agree to," Long Ke stated. At this moment, he turned to look at Qing Chen. "I wish to ask to trouble senior to escort Long Qi to my Dragon Mountain. I expect that the Celestial Frost Sect will act against him, and this is also why my n has already sent people to meet you on the way, Senior."

    Qing Chen grew solemn. "There is no need to worry. I will safely deliver Long Qi to Dragon Mountain."

    "Thank you, Senior," Long Ke respectfully showed his gratitude.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he lowered his arm. He had not expected Bai Shaohong¡¯s death to be discovered so soon, and this would make his life quite difficult. The Celestial Frost Sect would gnaw on this matter like a mad dog.

    "Let''s go. We will need to pick up our pace. We can¡¯t give the Celestial Frost Sect any time to act," Qing Chen solemnly stated. He was also feeling the crisis facing them.

    It was at this time that Cai Shu called Qing Chen to report that the Celestial Frost Sect had demanded that Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu be sent to the Celestial Frost Sect for questioning.

    "Refuse," Qing Chen replied.

    "This disciple has already done so, but the Celestial Frost Sect is not letting up. Bai Shaohong death is something that they will not leave alone until they are satisfied with their investigation," Cai Shu stated.

 Chapter 1532: Just Like That?

    Chapter 1532: Just Like That?

    After hearing Cai Shu''s expectations, Qing Chen responded, "I will report this matter to themander. Those two are a part of our organization now, and we look after our own. Bai Shaohong''s death has nothing to do with them, as the two of them could not have possibly dealt with Bai Shaohong given his strength. The only possibility is that he died to someone at the Envoy level. He most likely died to the other three Junior Progenitors, and the Celestial Frost Sect will eventually figure this out. Until then, do not allow anyone to take Shang Qing or Liu Tianmu away."

    "Yes, Master."

    At the same moment, Lu Yin received a message from Shang Qing, though it was straight to the point. ¡®The Celestial Frost Sect ns on simply capturing you.¡¯

    Qing Chen did not see this simple text message.

    Lu Yin closed the message. Before visiting the Crimson Garden, he had shared the information regarding the jade butterfly hidden within Huaiyuan Gate with Shang Qing, and that was how Shang Qing had learned about the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ns just now.

    The jade butterfly had been sent a message stating that Long Qi was to be captured, and it seemed that Yu Chen was behind this.

    At this thought, Lu Yin turned to Qing Chen. "Supervisor, can you take me to Huaiyuan Gate first?"

    "We are already pressed for time as it is¡ªwe need to arrive at Dragon Mountain before the Celestial Frost Sect can set anything up."

    Lu Yinmented, "I''m afraid that it''s already toote. If the Celestial Frost Sect decides to insist on arresting this subordinate, then all they have to do is send someone to wait at the other end of the Bifrost."

    Qing Chen fell silent.

    "Supervisor, the jade pendant that this subordinate uses to contact Realmless is still at Huaiyuan Gate. This subordinate may not be able to leave Dragon Mountain for a while, but that cannot mean that Redbacks are able to go free,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Qing Chen thought for a while. "Alright, we¡¯ll change our route then."

    Even as he spoke, he stared at Lu Yin. "Remember, from this point forward, don''t share your location with anyone, and do your best to not let anyone know where you are after we get to Huaiyuan Gate."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Shortly after that exchange, Lu Yin sent Shang Qing a message, asking him and Liu Tianmu to wait in Lu Yin¡¯s quarters, find the old man, and have him hide himself from Qing Chen.

    After a few days, Qing Chen and Lu Yin arrived at Huaiyuan Gate.

    As he stared at the rings of water flowing in the distance, Lu Yin knew that it would be difficult for him to return to this ce again in the future.

    With Bai Shaohong''s death being revealed, it would not be long before the Junior Progenitors were rescued. To be fair, they had already been trapped for more than a year.

    Lu Yin needed to leave, but rather than go to Dragon Mountain, he needed to return to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin stepped into his quarters while Qing Chen waited outside, both to prevent anyone else from discovering Lu Yin''s location and also meet with Cai Shu.

    Inside Lu Yin¡¯s quarters, Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, Luo Shen, and the old man were all waiting for him. The only friend that Lu Yin had in Huaiyuan Gate whom he had no intentions of taking back to the Fifth Maind was Wang Dashuai.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived, the old man isted Shang Qing and the other two in another space and stared at Lu Yin. "Did you find him?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    The old man¡¯s gaze grew sharp, "What did the person in the stream say?"

    ¡°¡®You dare trespass on this master¡¯s property! I will eradicate your entire family!¡¯¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The old man continued, "There¡¯s an old woman who uses her arm as a knife. What did she say?"

    ¡°¡®Don''t worry, it''s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I¡¯ll make them all for you! Haha.''¡± Lu Yin knew the answer once again.

    The old man appeared shocked, and he continued asking more questions regarding all of the crazy people incarcerated in the Crimson Garden. Lu Yin answered each question in turn, not making a single mistake even once.

    The old man closed his eyes and bitterly asked, "Are you really not there?"

    Lu Yin looked at the old man. "Is that person really that important? Didn''t you say that you would be able to confirm the identity of a Redback if you could confirm that that person was there? But you don¡¯t seem particrly concerned about Redbacks, do you?"

    The old man did not pay even the slightest bit of attention to Lu Yin. Instead, he looked up and stared outside. "It seems like you''re in big trouble."

    Lu Yin said, "I want to go back."

    The old man sneered. "I can temporarily block Qing Chen''s perception of us, but it¡¯s impossible for you to escape from under his nose."

    "You can attack and keep him upied," Lu Yin said.

    The old manughed. "Kid, why do you think that this old man will help you at all?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I know that getting into the Crimson Garden is your ultimate goal and that you want to find that person. However, you think that I¡¯m useless to you if that person isn¡¯t in the Crimson Garden.

    "However, have you considered this matter carefully? I¡¯m on my way to Dragon Mountain to be themander¡¯s disciple. He¡¯s a Progenitor, which means that my future is limitless."

    "You¡¯re just going to escape to the Fifth Maind, so why would you ept a master?" The old man rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "I will return in the future."

    "Then we¡¯ll talk then." The old man¡¯s mood had been ruined. "Alright, it¡¯s time to go. Later, kid."

    Lu Yin looked up at the old man. "What if I know where he is?"

    The old man was startled, and he turned back to stare at Lu Yin. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin solemnly repeated himself, "I know where that person is."

    The old man stared at Lu Yin, and his eyes slowly filled with an unprecedented killing intent. "Kid, you¡¯re just asking to die now."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew more focused. "You don''t believe me?"

    "I''ve been searching for that old man for so many years, but there¡¯s been absolutely no news at all. And now you¡¯re telling me that you know where he is after seeing his picture just once? You must think that this old man is a fool! You must think that because of the information I gave you about the traitors and Yun Mubai being a Redback that this old man is also a Redback. I told you before, and I¡¯ll give you onest warning¡ªdon¡¯t try to y smart with me!" the old man said sharply.

    "He gave me the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival and forced me to memorize a series of numbers," Lu Yin said.

    The old man had been just about to leave, but he instantly froze. He suddenly whirled around, seized Lu Yin, and anxiously demanded, "What did you just say? He made you memorize a series of numbers?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Not just numbers, but also words that were engraved on a wall. I fainted after memorizing just a few words."

    The old man started trembling, and he stared at Lu Yin with excited eyes. "Repeat it to me!"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "If you can''t handle it, you¡¯ll pass out from hearing it."

    "A few words are enough!" the old man eagerly retorted.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "It starts with, ¡®To be good atmunicating.¡¯¡±

    The old man''s pupils shrank to pinpoints; this was wrong. It doesn¡¯t start with ¡°To be good atmunicating.¡± That¡¯s actually in the middle. Still, even though he messed up the order, he still knows the words. He¡¯s right, it is him! It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him! He¡¯s the only one who knows!

    "Where is he?" the old man nervously asked.

    "He was in the Forsaken Land."

    The old man frowned, clearly not believing Lu Yin at all.

    Lu Yin said, "You know where I¡¯m from, and you¡¯ve been searching through the Perennial World for so many years. If he was here, then how could you have not found him by now? Also, how could I know those words? He was in the Forsaken Land. In that ce, there was an abandoned region with a with many beasts living on it. On that, there was a cave, and on the wall was everything that he wrote down.¡±

    "Where is he now?" the old man hastily asked.

    "Dead," Lu Yin said.

    "Impossible!" The old man refused to believe it.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "He really died. When I saw him, he wasn¡¯t even able to defeat an Explorer, and since his grandson wasn¡¯t able to protect him, he died."

    The old man''s eyes flickered and he lowered his hand while muttering to himself, "Grandson? Grandson? Does he even have a grandson?"

    Lu Yin nced outside his quarters, nervous that Qing Chen would return. He quickly said, "Listen, when we get attacked at the Cloud Shuttle, I¡¯ll find a way to escape to the rendezvous point. You need to find a way to get there with me in order to go to the Forsaken Land. You¡¯ll never find that man on your own."

    At that moment, Lu Yin pulled out Zenith Mountain. Without a single word, he sent Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, and Luo Shen into the mountain.

    The old man stared at Lu Yin. "Alright, we¡¯ll go to the Forsaken Land together, but you have to take me to that old man and help me find him. If you don¡¯t, there is no one who can save you! There are no Progenitors in the Forsaken Land, which means that this old man is invincible there."

    "Alright, I get it." Lu Yin was ready to agree to anything at this moment.

    The old man left to avoid Qing Chen.

    Soon after, Qing Chen arrived and waited just outside Lu Yin¡¯s quarters.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and stared at the jade pendant in a daze.

    Qing Chen found this to be a bit strange, but he did not enter Lu Yin¡¯s quarters.

    After a while, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated, and he answered the call. Liu Shaoge was the one who appeared.

    "Long time no see, old friend," Lu Yin said with a faint smile.

    Liu Shaoge stared at Lu Yin. He held the information about jade butterflies in his hand. Hidden within the information was a message that read, ¡®After parting at East San Dios, I hoped to get in touch, please contact me.'' Lu Yin had sent this message to Liu Shaoge via Shang Qing, and it was Lu Yin¡¯s only means of reaching out to Liu Shaoge. Lu Yin just hoped that Liu Shaoge would be able to see it, though it did not matter if someone else found the message, as it would mean nothing to anyone other than Liu Shaoge.

    When he saw this message, Liu Shaoge felt as if he had just seen a ghost. He had thought that he was hiding in the dark and holding the initiative, able to betray Lu Yin at any moment and even in control of Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    No matter how brilliantly Lu Yin shone, or even if he took a Progenitor as his master, the moment that Liu Shaoge opened his mouth, Lu Yin would bepletely finished. From the very beginning and all along, Liu Shaoge had felt a strong sense of superiority.

    However, finding this message drove Liu Shaoge into the abyss; Lu Yin actually knew about Liu Shaoge¡¯s existence here! When had he been exposed? How did Lu Yin discover that Liu Shaoge was in the Jade Valley? Liu Shaoge had no answers, but he felt chilled the moment he saw the message. He recalled the chaos that Lu Yin had incited in the Fifth Maind, and the chills grew even worse.

    "It really has been a long time," Liu Shaoge eximed, "How did you find me?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up into a smile. ¡°If I want to find something, then naturally, I¡¯ll be able to. I¡¯ve been able to uncover Redbacks, so there¡¯s no need to even mention you."

    Liu Shaogeughed. "I¡¯m much harder to find than a Redback."

    "Not necessarily. You must remember, the two of us have known each other for many years," Lu Yin retorted.

    Liu Shaoge appeared to be calm. "Since you sought me out, I that assume you want to know the movements of the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ll give you up first if I¡¯m caught."

    Liu Shaoge arched a brow. "Just like that?"

    "Just like that." Lu Yin smiled.

    Liu Shaoge was anything but happy, though he did not show it. "The Celestial Frost Sect sent out a Semi-Progenitor as well as two Envoys who¡¯ve passed their fifth tribtion. They¡¯re waiting for you on the path to Dragon Mountain. What¡¯s more, they have a Fay Blossom with them."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He knew of Fay Blossoms, as he had heard of them before. "I need you to take some intel and let them know that I¡¯ve returned to Huaiyuan Gate."

    Liu Shaoge''s eyes flickered. "I know what to do. Are you sure that you want to go to Dragon Mountain?"

    "Of course. Gaining a Progenitor as a master is worth the risk," Lu Yin replied.

    Liu Shaoge smiled and ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand. Go to Dragon Mountain? No one would be able to betray his location in the future, as not even Liu Shaoge would know where he was going. The reason why Lu Yin had reached out to Liu Shaoge had been a precaution, but Lu Yin was not overly concerned, as he still had his final resort: Mister Mu.

    Mister Mu should be able to take Lu Yin out of the Perennial World, though Lu Yin also remembered what Mister Mu had said. He needed to find his own way back. Surely Master did not abandon me!

 Chapter 1533: Intel

    Chapter 1533: Intel

    As soon as Lu Yin emerged from his quarters, Qing Chen asked, ¡°Who did you contact?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Realmless is able to intercept the jade butterflies¡¯ reports, so this subordinate exposed my location to the jade butterflies."

    Qing Chen was startled. "Why?"

    Lu Yin exined, "If the Celestial Frost Sect wishes to capture this subordinate, then I¡¯ll be attacked while on the way to Dragon Mountain. Regardless of if we take the Bifrost or the Cloud Shuttle, we will still have to pass through a ce where they cany an ambush. This subordinate knows that Yu Chen is quite clever."

    Qing Chen did not have much to say in response. "Realmless¡¯s information is very precise."

    The old man waspletely unconcerned about any potential ambush that the Celestial Frost Sect mightunch.

    Lu Yin grew uneasy. "Supervisor, if the Celestial Frost Sect sends someone to intercept us, will we really be able to safely reach Dragon Mountain?"

    Qing Chen''s eyes grew hard. "Yes."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This was not the answer that he had been expecting. Qing Chen seemed very confident even when their opponent was the Celestial Frost Sect. What trump card did the old man have hidden? Regardless, it was clear that he did not care about any possible attacks.

    This was bad.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered what had happened when they had been in the Lower Realm. When they had encountered a truly dangerous situation, the Commander had suddenly appeared. Was it possible that Qing Chen''s confidence was because the Commander would intervene?

    For a moment, Lu Yin grew a bit flustered. Mister Mu was able to instantly traverse an endless distance by passing through the void. the Commander was a powerful Progenitor, and there was no way he would be any slower than Mister Mu. If the Commander showed up, then even if Mister Mu also arrived, Lu Yin¡¯s master might not be able to take him away. Even though Lu Yin suspected that Mister Mu might also be a Progenitor, that only ced him on par with the Commander.

    While Lu Yin would have Mister Mu, they would be up against the Commander and Qing Chen. Even if Lu Yin worked together with Mister Mu, escape was not 100% guaranteed.

    Complicated thoughts filled his mind as Lu Yin followed Qing Chen towards the Cloud Shuttle. His sess or failure would all be determined in the next few moments.

    ***

    Inside Huaiyuan Gate, Wang Dashuai was proudly ordering about a team of people. "That guy has to be a traitor! Com¡¯on, search his house."

    "Yes."

    "Where''s Shang Qing? Where did he go?" The fatty suddenly felt as though something was missing, and asked where Shang Qing was.

    "I haven¡¯t seen him."

    "What about Liu Tianmu?"

    "I couldn¡¯t find her."

    "No matter. Search the house and capture the traitor!"

    ***

    Far away was the Sword Monument. Many people were lined up, waiting to view and pay their respects to the Sword Monument while the members of the Liu family were spread throughout the nearby area. asionally, flickers of sword qi could be seen throughout the entire region.

    There was a hunched old man beneath the Sword Monument. When he stepped out, there was an invitation card in his hand.

    Even thoughmunication crystals meant that people couldmunicate from anywhere in the Perennial World, paper invitations were still frequently used. These invitations were typically made in an antique style, and they couldst for many years.

    "The White Dragon n¡¯s Long Qi will worship Humility''s Gate¡¯s Commander as his master? This is truly a momentous asion," the old manmented in surprise. He still remembered the youth who had visited the Sword Monument with a respectful attitude, though that youth also had a stubborn streak that prevented him from being cowed by others. It felt like it had only been the blink of an eye, but that child had already climbed to such heights. This was simply too fast.

    Behind the old man, Liu Yijian, who was the master of the Graceful Sword Arts,mented, "Not even when Long Tian became one of the four Junior Progenitors during the Yuanlun Festival did the White Dragon n show such enthusiasm."

    "Long Qi is no longer just a member of the White Dragon n, as he has also received the favor of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander. Long Zu must see the child as a second Long Xing," the old man quietly replied.

    Liu Yijian remembered. "Even if Long Qi is truly talented, he will never be able to reach Long Xing¡¯s level. Her and my Liu family''s Little Pebble were members of the Seven Heroes of the past. They excelled inbat, cultivation, and lockbreaking. They truly stood above all of their peers."

    "Which of those Seven Heroes back then did not stand head and shoulders above all their peers? Not a single one of them was in any way inferior to Bai Xian''er. The appearance of the Seven Heroes was the most glorious disy of their era, and they represented the rise of humanity. However, such glory ultimately came to an end and became nothing more than a stepping stone for Bai Xian¡¯er." The old man sighed.

    "It''s really a pity. Even our old Progenitor said that the Seven Heroes might have been able to replicate the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Daosource Sect¡¯s peak." Liu Yijian''s voice dropped low. This was not only because he regretted the loss of the Seven Heroes, but also because he regretted the loss of the most outstanding descendant that the Liu family had ever seen.

    The old man''s hunch slowly straightened out. "It''s time to take a trip. With the White Dragon n sending out invitations so widely, it would be a disgrace to not attend, and that child, Long Qi, is also not bad. I¡¯d like to see how much he¡¯s grown to have be worthy of a Progenitor¡¯s guidance."

    ***

    In another distant location, Seed Garden also received an invitation. Their patriarch, Nong Ya, looked at the name of Long Qi on the invitation, and he grew somewhat nervous. Previously, he had been ckmailed by the youth, and the patriarch still did not know how to treat the youth. The cost had been a small amount of resources for the Nong family, but they had still been ckmailed. This Long Qi was far from being as honest as he appeared to be.

    As Nong Ya read the invitation¡¯s description of Long Qi that the White Dragon n had put together, he became increasingly ufortable. A righteous heart that would rather die than surrender? A genius Lockbreaker?

    "Father, how do you intend to reply to the White Dragon n?" Nong Sanniang asked.

    Nong Lie was also present.

    Nong Ya replied, "Since we¡¯ve received the invitation, I have no choice but to go. I¡¯ll have to attend in person."

    At this point, he turned to look at Nong Sanniang. "With Bai Shaohong''s death, the Celestial Frost Sect will go after everyone who returned from the Dominion Realm alive. This means that you will also be under their focus. Do not leave Seed Garden for now. That way, the Celestial Frost Sect will not be able to do anything."

    Nong Sanniang nodded. "I understand."

    "Father, may I go with you?" Nong Lie was eager to try his luck.

    Nong Ya considered the request for a moment. "Yes."

    ***

    Not many of the forces in the Middle Realm were powerful enough to qualify to receive invitations from the White Dragon n. The Liu family and the Seed Garden were two such powers, and the only other organization that truly stood on the same level as them was the Virtue Archives. After those three, the next most-powerful organizations were the Purple-Gold family, the Smokecloud Sect, and the four ruling powers¡¯ other subordinate organizations. All of these powers received invitations as well.

    In the Lower Realm, Root received an invitation. Even though the organization remained bound to the Lower Realm and had no influence on the rest of the Perennial World, they were greatly respected by everyone. They were known as the Mother Tree¡¯s protectors, and they constantly rid the tree of parasites. They quietly protected humanity¡¯s home, and as far as most people were concerned, Root deserved the same respect as the people fighting on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.

    After all, the Lower Realm was not much safer than the rear battlefield.

    However, no one knew whether or not Root would send a representative all the way to the Higher Realm to attend the ceremony at Dragon Mountain. Even if they did not, none of the four ruling powers would make much trouble for Root. The people in that organization would defend their dignity to death, as this was Root¡¯s credo. While there were some members who feared death, most did not.

    ***

    As for the Higher Realm, the Wang family also became ufortable as they read the invitation that they had received. To begin with, the Celestial Frost Sect had stood slightly above the other four ruling powers while the other three had stood equal to each other. The fact that the White Dragon n had now given birth to such an extraordinary genius who was gifted in every aspect was something uneptable to the Wang family. However, they had no choice but to ept it, and they also had to send someone to attend the ceremony.

    "Would you like to have Wang Yi go? His injuries should be nearly healed by now," a member of the Wang family suggested, but Wang Si instantly shot this down.

    "Why would you want to let him out? To shame us? I have seen that Long Qi before, and his courage is extraordinary. Now, he¡¯s going to worship a powerful Progenitor as his master, and he is also apparently a gifted Lockbreaker. This is someone who practically stands on the same level as Wang Su and the other Junior Progenitors. Wang Yi cannotpare to this person."

    "Then what does Elder intend?"

    "Old Shen will be the one to go. Also, Yun¡¯er''s punishment is about to end, so have her join Old Shen."

    "Yes, Elder."

    ***

    At Shenwu''s Sky, the imprisoned jiao was shining. Anyone who visited Shenwu''s Sky for the first time would be shocked to see the imprisoned dragon, and they would be even more amazed by the massive de that pinned the dragon to the ground.

    Shenwu''s Sky was a domineering power. In particr, their Nine Clones Secret Technique was seen as being practically invincible as long as one was able toprehend it.

    On one particr day, Xia Taili waszing about when she received a message: Long Qi will be entered into the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, as well as epted as the disciple of the Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander. Moreover, he has been viewed favorably by many gifted Lockbreakers. He has entered heaven with this single step, and the White Dragon n is sending out invitations to attend the ceremony. Taili, get ready. You will be apanying me.

    The message had been sent by Xia Xing, the master of Shenwu''s Sky, who was also Xia Shenfei and Xia Taili¡¯s father.

    Xia Taili lowered her arm, shocked. "That guy is actually going to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple? Doesn¡¯t that mean that he¡¯ll be on the same level as big brother? Why?"

    She thought back to when she had first met Long Qi. At that time, the youth had dared to point a spear at her throat. Up in the Higher Realm, he had shamelessly threatened her into protecting him. The more she thought about their past interactions, the more upset she became.

    This could not be allowed. She had to expose his true nature! He was not a man¡ªhe was an absolute bastard!

    Xia Taili ground her teeth as she thought of a way to embarrass Lu Yin. She absolutely had to humiliate him in front of the Progenitors.

    Elsewhere in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Wu Taibai received the news as well, though he would not apany Xia Xing to Dragon Mountain as he was currently being punished.

    In Shenwu''s Sky, the younger disciples were separated into four different groups¡ªnamely, there was the Shen generation, the Tai generation, the Lin generation, and then the rest of the disciples. Only the top geniuses could be a part of the named groups while everyone else, regardless of their numbers, would only ever be considered an ordinary disciple.

    Wu Taibai was an elite of the Tai generation, the same as Xia Taili. They were both considered to be second only to Xia Shenfei, who was a part of the Sheni generation. However, Wu Taibai had long since disregarded the rules of Shenwu''s Sky and frequently ventured out on his own adventures. He had left for many years, only returning the previous one. While he should have been punished for his unexcused absence, he had returned with news that atoned for his mistakes.

    In actuality, Wu Taibai had not been qualified to go to the Dominion Realm with Xia Shenfei, but the Junior Progenitor himself had requested it. However, Xia Shenfei had been trapped, and so Wu Taibai had been imprisoned and was currently suffering the n¡¯s punishment.

    Such punishment would be absolute torture for anyone, and cultivators who were subjected to this particr sentence would scream in despair. There were even some who were unable to endure the punishment and sought to end themselves. In contrast, Wu Taibai remained very calm, especially after he heard the news about Lu Yin, which actually caused him tough.

    "The ce of the true inheritances will soon begin to demonstrate its power! This Perennial World will never be able to match that ce¡¯s foundation. All of the greatest powers that can be pursued can only be found there! The God of Death is only the most tant example, but that is nothing more than the beginning! One day, the skies will reverse, and this ce will be trampled underfoot." Wu Taibai lifted his head to look out at the imprisoned dragon beyond the purgatory mes roasting him. "Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui, and even the Rune Progenitor¡ªwhy did all of them go to that ce? Because that ce is the only ce with true inheritances!"

    ***

    At the Celestial Frost Sect, Liu Shaoge handed Yu Chen a report.

    Yu Chen nced at it, and her expression instantly changed. "This report came from the jade butterfly at Huaiyuan Gate?"

    "Yes. The jade butterfly discovered that Long Qi deliberately returned to Huaiyuan Gate, though his purpose there remains unknown," Liu Shaoge replied.

    Yu Chen looked up, her eyes focused and radiating sharp intellect. "Do you think that Qing Chen couldn¡¯t mask his presence with Long Qi when he returned to Huaiyuan Gate?"

    Liu Shaoge respectfully replied, "No."

    "So then how did this jade butterfly discover Long Qi¡¯s presence?" Yu Chen asked rhetorically.

    Liu Shaoge answered, "Long Qi most likely intended for it to happen."

    Yu Chen revealed a slight smile. "Keep talking."

 Chapter 1534: Esteemed Name

    Chapter 1534: Esteemed Name

    Under Yu Chen¡¯s encouragement, Liu Shaoge continued his line of thought, saying, "During Long Qi¡¯s attempted arrest of the two stellr energy mules when they were caught at the Cloud Shuttle, the jade butterfly hiding in Huaiyuan Gate should have been exposed. However, that never happened¡ªshe was not found or arrested. I believe that your jade butterfly was exposed at that time but left alone in order to be used as a pawn to mislead us."

    Liu Shaoge looked at Yu Chen before continuing. "Right now, Long Qi used her to send us a message: he¡¯s altered his route and intends to ascend via the Cloud Shuttle."

    "No matter which route they take to get to Dragon Mountain, our people will still find them," Yu Chen said to herself.

    Liu Shaoge replied in a solemn tone, "Perhaps that is what he wants us to think."

    Yu Chen frowned. Liu Shaoge''s suggestions had reminded her of what had happened to her scheme targeting Long Qi in the Yinshan District. Long Qi excelled at plotting and scheming, and his thoughts and designs absolutely exceeded Yu Chen¡¯s current grasp of the situation. She refocused onto Liu Shaoge. "What are your thoughts?"

    Liu Shaoge shook his head. "This subordinate does not understand the situation."

    Yu Chen''s eyes grew focused. "He- he wants to take a detour."

    Liu Shaoge grew puzzled.

    Yu Chen spoke in a low voice, "The Bifrost, Cloud Shuttle, and Dragon Mountain can only be essed by passing through certain ces, and our people can lie in ambush at any one of those locations. However, what if they take a detour?"

    "What do you mean? Are you suggesting that Long Qi has deliberately leaked false information to draw our attention? In that case, he might still take the Bifrost, but then make a detour on his way to Dragon Mountain?" Liu Shaoge was surprised.

    Yu Chen replied, "That must be his idea. He is someone whose schemes have multipleyers, and he is using both the Bifrost and the Cloud Shuttle to blind us in order to mask his true intentions."

    After her thoughts reached this point, Yu Chen immediately contacted Sect Master Bai Teng and asked him to have the personying in ambush for Long Qi to change locations.

    "Even if he wants to take a detour, his destination is Dragon Mountain, and that will not change." Yu Chen stared at a map of the region in the Higher Realm that surrounded Dragon Mountain and instantly chose a new ambush site.

    Liu Shaoge expressed his concerns, "But if Long Qi doesn¡¯t take a detour, then won¡¯t that mean that we will fail?"

    "That¡¯s impossible. Given his cleverness, he will definitely take a detour," Yu Chen said with conviction.

    If Lu Yin had heard Yu Chen, he would be amazed. If he had not known about Liu Shaoge¡¯s presence and taken advantage of it, or if Lu Yin had not intended to make his way to the rendezvous point to return to the Fifth Maind, then it was highly possible that he would indeed take a detour. He would have used that n to confuse his enemies, as returning to Huaiyuan Gate would hint that he was nning to use the Cloud Shuttle to ascend to the Higher Realm, and he was too smart to rx and use the Bifrost. In that case, he would choose to take neither option.

    Taking a detour was indeed the best choice that Lu Yin could make, but such thoughts did not enter into Lu Yin¡¯s calctions at all. After all, he had no intention of returning to the Higher Realm at all.

    He had onlyid out these ns on the off chance that he did end up having to go to the Higher Realm. That way, he would at least avoid being captured by the Celestial Frost Sect, as that would spell his doom.

    While the entire Perennial World was roiling from the news and impact of the White Dragon n¡¯s invitations, Qing Chen had already led Lu Yin to the Cloud Continent.

    Lu Yin started to grow nervous as he stared at the massive trunk of the Mother Tree off in the distance.

    Qing Chen grabbed hold of Lu Yin, and they next appeared on a cloud tform.

    "Supervisor, can''t you just fly up?" Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    Qing Chen exined, "No one other than the members of the four ruling powers are allowed to use alternative means to travel between the Middle Realm and the Higher Realm unless they have received special permission."

    So it was yet another means of control. Lu Yin nced around; why had the old man not shown himself yet? Could Lu Yin count on the old man?

    Right as Lu Yin was thinking of the old man, the void beneath the Cloud Shuttle burst apart, causing countless people who had been waiting in line and many of the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s disciples to instantly faint. Even Lu Yin felt like his head was about to be crushed apart, and he almost vomited blood as his body swayed slightly.

    Qing Chen''s expression drastically changed. "Not good!"

    Even as he spoke, he grabbed Lu Yin, tore into the void, and fled upwards towards the Higher Realm.

    "You still want to run?" A loud voice shattered the void once more, and it waspressed into an overwhelming power that quickly reached Qing Chen. Shockingly, it was powerful enough to leave him dazed.

    Qing Chen''s pupils instantly shrank; this person was a true master.

    "Who are you?" Qing Chen shouted. An invisible power erupted out of his body and isted him from the surrounding space. Then, an additional power exploded from his arm and pushed Lu Yin to the east.

    Qing Chen roared in anger as he counterattacked.

    A shocking battle erupted beneath the Cloud Shuttle. It was a battle between two Semi-Progenitors, and it shattered the sky as chaos unfolded for an untold distance.

    Lu Yin was dazed by the battle, and he was left panting as he cursed the old man for being too ruthless in his attacks. If Lu Yin had not immediately started reciting the Stonewall Scriptures, he would have most likely lost consciousness.

    As he looked at the fric battle taking ce, he saw the true universe asionally being torn open, but Lu Yin made no attempt to stop anything. The old man had revealed his power, and he was moving forward as nned¡ªLu Yin will be sent directly towards the rendezvous point.

    The air whistled as Lu Yin flew closer and closer to the rendezvous point. As long as he reached that ce and met up with the old man, they would be able to instantly return to the Fifth Maind. He was close, so close!

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was stopped and surrounded by smoke.

    A cloud of smoke appeared up ahead of him as an unknown old man revealed himself and calmly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils instantly constricted the moment he saw this old man. Based on the pressure and the fact that he had managed to erase the power of the old man who had sent Lu Yin flying towards the rendezvous point, this person had to be yet another Semi-Progenitor! Why were so many Semi-Progenitors showing up?

    "Your expression is quite odd; shouldn''t you be thanking this old man for saving your life?" the unknown old man asked as he casually observed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing was ragged, and his arms felt heavy as he raised them up to offer the old man a respectful bow. "Junior Long Qi thanks this senior for saving his life."

    The old man stared at Lu Yin for a bit before redirecting his attention towards the distance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched, and he made up his mind to crush the jade talisman to summon Mister Mu.

    "The Commander should be on his way," the old man suddenly stated, his voice startling Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was slow to respond. "The Commander wille?"

    The old man looked back at Lu Yin. "Even if he doesn¡¯t, it¡¯s still impossible for anything to happen to you. Don¡¯t worry, Kui Luo can''t take you. Or is it that want to be taken away by him?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by this. "Kui Luo? Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo?"

    The old man casually replied, "Do you not know who that is? He is powerful enough to affect even Qing Chen and I. In the entire Perennial World, the only Semi-Progenitor capable of doing that is Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo."

    The jade pendant that the old man had given Lu Yin had instantly been recognized by Qing Chen as something that belonged to Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo. Initially, Lu Yin had assumed that the old man was Kui Luo himself, but the old man had denied it and said that he had merely borrowed Kui Luo¡¯s token. And yet, Lu Yin was now suddenly being told that the old man really was Kui Luo?

    Lu Yin feltpletely helpless. It was even possible that the old man had targeted him the moment he had imed to have stumbled upon part of Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance.

    At this moment, the biggest question was whether or not he should summon Mister Mu. Qing Chen had been extremely confident that Lu Yin would safely arrive at Dragon Mountain, and even the unknown old man in front of Lu Yin was telling him that the Commander was about to arrive in person. Even if Mister Mu was also a Progenitor, that did not mean that he could take Lu Yin away from the Perennial World. After all, the Perennial World had multiple Progenitors, and if the Commander was able to make a move, then the other human Progenitors of the Perennial World might also be able to do the same. On top of that, unless Lu Yin¡¯s guess waspletely wrong, then the old man in front of him was the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor.

    If Lu Yin summoned Mister Mu, then it would expose Lu Yin¡¯s true identity as a trespasser, and he might not even be saved.

    Lu Yin felt torn by the choicesid before him. If he summoned his master, Lu Yin was worried that Mister Mu might be injured by Humility Gate¡¯s Commander. It was even possible that the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors would move to lock Mister Mu down and trap him. Lu Yin felt more conflicted the more he thought.

    He really wanted to speak to Mister Mu and ask him if he was able to take Lu Yin away from the Perennial World. However, Lu Yin could not risk such a thing.

    Even as Lu Yin hesitated, the energy from the Semi-Progenitors fighting in the distance disappeared. The old man who had suddenly attacked vanished, and Qing Chen reappeared in front of Lu Yin, though he looked a bit embarrassed. He had finally defeated the old man.

    "Yun Wang?" Qing Chen was quite surprised to see the old man with Lu Yin.

    Yun Wang looked back at Qing Chen. "It¡¯s been a long time since west met, Supervisor of the Nine Gates."

    "You didn''t step out to see me even when Yun Mubai was proven to be Redback, and you just returned to the Smokecloud Sect. Why did you make a move just now?" Qing Chen asked.

    Yun Wang shook his head. "Kui Luo has reappeared, and I want to ask him something. Unfortunately, no one can hold him down."

    Qing Chen¡¯s voice dropped low, "Kui Luo is one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors in the Perennial World. Even while being encircled and being suppressed by all of the Semi-Progenitors of the entire Perennial World, he still managed to survive. Just the two of us together won¡¯t be able to stop him."

    He then looked at Lu Yin and said, "You are Kui Luo''s goal, Long Qi."

    Lu Yin no longer had any intention of summoning Mister Mu. He was not confident that doing so would help, and he could only proceed one step at a time at this point. "I don''t know what Kui Luo wants."

    Yun Wang carefully studied Lu Yin, but he said nothing.

    "Word of this battle with Kui Luo will soon reach the Higher Realm, so we need to increase our speed." Qing Chen did not have any time to chat with Yun Wang, and he quickly left with Lu Yin.

    Yun Wang had aplicated expression on his face as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back while the youth left.

    Yun Mubai was the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s sect master who had been personally chosen by Yun Wang, and yet the man had actually turned out to be a Redback. Long Qi was the one who had exposed Yun Mubai¡¯s true identity, and that matter left Yun Wang feeling both grateful and rather disgruntled. The same was true of the entire Smokecloud Sect; they all felt grateful towards Lu Yin for exposing Yun Mubai, but they also despised the youth for the same deed.

    Qing Chen had mentioned Kui Luo¡¯s identity, and Yun Wang had also recognized the old man. Thus, others would recognize him as well.

    When Qing Chennded on the Cloud Continent, word that Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo still lived had already spread throughout the entire Perennial World.

    Very quickly, a Cloud Shuttle approached the Higher Realm.

    Lu Yin was still thinking about the old man when Qing Chen spoke up. "Long Qi, it is not easy to gain a Progenitor as a master, and even if the Commander wishes to ept you as a disciple, others may not be willing to ept such a thing. After all, bing a Progenitor¡¯s disciple will ce you on the same level as the four Junior Progenitors."

    Lu Yin respectfully acknowledged Qung Chen¡¯s caution. "This subordinate is aware."

    Qing Chen continued, saying, "Remember, even though the Commander leads Humility¡¯s Gate and is decisive in his actions, he greatly prefers intelligent people who are unswayed by emotions such as joy and anger, and he does not have much respect for reckless individuals. Your performance thus far has been admirable, so keep it up. Even when others try to interfere in your affairs, remember this matter."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this bit of news delighted him. He had actually been trying toe up with a valid excuse to prevent him from epting the Commander as his master, and Qing Chen had just given him one. So the Commander did not like reckless individuals? Lu Yin remembered that there were quite a few people in the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families who were eager to make trouble for him, as well as the entire Celestial Frost Sect.

    Qing Chen nodded, as he quite admired Lu Yin''s attitude. Even if the youth was eager to worship a powerful Progenitor as his master and step onto the peak of the White Dragon n, Long Qi would not be arrogant and allow his status to go to his head. Such people were rare.

    However, Lu Yin was actually brainstorming ways to incite chaos. As he thought about it, he felt that he was not very adept at it

    "By the way, you still don''t know the Commander¡¯s name, right?" Qing Chen asked.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "No, I don''t."

    Qing Chen slowly said, "The Commander¡¯s name is Mu Xie."

 Chapter 1535: Mention Of The Hidden Earth Society

    Chapter 1535: Mention Of The Hidden Earth Society

    An explosion rang out within Lu Yin''s mind. Mu- Mu- Mu Xie?

    He looked up, incredulous. "Mu?"

    Qing Chen was not paying attention to Lu Yin, so he did not notice Lu Yin¡¯s abnormal reaction. Instead, he was simply looking up above. His eyes seemed to pierce through space to observe the Higher Realm as well as the even further away Dominion Realm and the individuals up there. "Yes, themander¡¯s surname is Mu, and his full name is Mu Xie. You must remember that, afterpleting your apprenticeship ceremony, you will be referring to him as Master Mu."

    Lu Yin¡¯s head dropped low as he processed an absurd possibility; could themander actually be Mister Mu?

    Was that even possible?

    Lu Yin was utterly stunned. When observing the entire history of the Perennial World, the Fifth Maind, and the Sixth Maind, how many Progenitors could there be? On top of that, Mu was a unique surname, and at the very least, Lu Yin had never heard of a Progenitor with that particr surname before. If Mister Mu was indeed a Progenitor as Lu Yin suspected, then it was highly likely that he was this Mu Xie.

    Mister Mu and Mu Xie; could they be the same person? Lu Yin waspletely confused.

    Even as Qing Chen led Lu Yin up to the Higher Realm, the youth still did not react to anything. His mind waspletely upied by the name ¡°Mu Xie.¡±

    ***

    At the Celestial Frost Sect, in Jade Valley, Yu Chen slowly clenched her fists. She had miscalcted. She had made a mistake. Long Qi actually had ascended through the Cloud Shuttle, and he had not taken a detour.

    Word of the battle beneath the Cloud Shuttle that had broken out between Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo and Qing Chen had already spread to the Celestial Frost Sect, so Yu Chen was aware that she had made a mistake.

    She had overestimated Long Qi. No, she had studied all sorts of information regarding Long Qi. She had not overestimated him, definitely not; rather, she had underestimated him. Long Qi had actually taken all of Yu Chen¡¯s own scheming and thoughts into consideration beforeing up with the best method possible to counter her ns. He had already factored her into his ns, and that was why he had taken the Cloud Shuttle.

    Was he that certain that the Celestial Frost Sect would send someone to capture him?

    Liu Shaoge stood behind Yu Chen, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There were certain times when people were too smart for their own good.

    Yu Chen''s mistake had not only allowed Lu Yin to safely arrive at Dragon Mountain, but it would also lead to a disaster for herself.

    In the past, when Bai Shaohong had still been around, Yu Chen had relied upon the Junior Progenitor to stand at the top of the Celestial Frost Sect. Back then, even Envoys like Elder Qing Xing had needed to show their respect to Yu Chen. However, now that Bai Shaohong was dead, Yu Chen¡¯s status within the Celestial Frost Sect would plummet.

    The Higher Realm did not host many events. The Yuanlun Festival was the only major event to ur within recent decades, though the ceremony at Dragon Mountain was quickly bing the next major event in the Higher Realm.

    After all, the ceremony not only involved the White Dragon n, but also those who had been invited to attend. Already, more than two Semi-Progenitors had gotten involved, and because of the information regarding Long Qi that the White Dragon n had released, it was possible that Array Masters or even Array Grandmasters might take some precious time away from the rear battlefield to attend the ceremony.

    The Perennial World only had a few Lockbreakers, and that was inrge part because the Lockbreaker Headquarters had been established on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. In order for someone to be a Lockbreaker, they had to step onto the battlefield, and there were few people who were bold enough to do so in the entire Perennial World.

    However, despite the low number of Lockbreakers, there were actually quite a few powerful Lockbreakers.

    With the exception of the White Dragon n, the other members of the four ruling powers all had their own powerful Lockbreakers, which had long since been a point of frustration for the White Dragon n.

    Lu Yin''s talent for lockbreaking was something that couldpensate for a weakness that the n sorelycked.

    While the n did have some Lockbreakers and even a few Array Masters, the White Dragon n had a terribleck of truly talented Lockbreakers.

    Up in the Higher Realm, the dark sky felt slightly suffocating, and light could only be found within the four ruling powers territories.

    The closer Lu Yin and Qing Chen drew to Dragon Mountain, the more people who were traveling in the same direction. They filled the sky, and they even covered the ground.

    The White Dragon n had sent out invitations to only the most powerful forces of the Middle Realm, but these invitations had been sent to every organization in the Higher Realm, especially to those thaty close to Dragon Mountain. Every force that was subordinate to the White Dragon n had to offer their congrattions.

    There were many ces in the Higher Realm that relied upon the four ruling powers, but there were no independent forces, as the four ruling powers did not allow independent organizations to exist in the Higher Realm. Everyone had to be underneath the four ruling powers.

    A massive figure appeared in front of Lu Yin, which attracted attention from countless people below.

    The cultivators from the various regions of the Higher Realm all looked up and watched as Lu Yin and Qing Chen stepped onto the back of a massive creature that then disappeared towards Dragon Mountain.

    "That young man¡¯s Long Qi."

    "He has to be. For Elder Long Kui to personallye out to meet someone, he could only be Long Qi."

    "I know that one of those people was Senior Qing Chen, the Supervisor of the Nine Gates, which means that the young man must be Long Qi."

    "What a level he¡¯s reached at such a young age! As soon as he is epted as themander¡¯s disciple, he¡¯ll be equal to the four Junior Progenitors! I¡¯m so jealous!"

    "What are you jealous of? The Celestial Frost Sect ispletely focused on him, and I even heard that Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong¡¯s death is somehow connected to Long Qi."

    "Don''t spout such nonsense! Those are nothing more than mere suspicions, and everyone who returned from the Dominion Realm is a suspect. How could Long Qi have had anything to do with the Junior Progenitor¡¯s death when he was nothing more than a Hunter at the time?"

    "But he¡¯s already an Array Master!"

    The person who had been defending Long Qi suddenly fell silent. It was true that a sourcebox array was enough to turn trash into treasure, and no one was surprised that these methods were able to protect humanity from their enemies. Thus, as far as most people were concerned, Lu Yin being an Array Master was the primary reason why the Celestial Frost Sect was so suspicious of him.

    Before long, a group appeared in the sky. Each person in the group stood atop a broken de as they made their way towards Dragon Mountain. Each individual radiated a powerful killing intent.

    "Someone from Shenwu''s Sky has arrived early! It looks like they are treating this ceremony as something very important."

    In the crowd below, there was a grandfather grandson pair who watched on in envy.

    "Grandpa, when I grow up, I¡¯ll also be famous in the Higher Realm, just like Long Qi!" the little boy said. He looked to be no more than eleven or twelve years old, and his face zed with excitement even as his eyes radiated his desires.

    The old man looked down at the boy and said, "Yes, you will."

    He looked back up and let out a sigh of relief.

    "Grandpa, will the bad guys catch us?" the boy asked.

    The old man answered, "No, don''t worry. We¡¯re at Dragon Mountain, and they wouldn¡¯t dare to do so here."

    "Oh."

    ¡­

    For the second time in his life, Lu Yin visited Dragon Mountain. His first time at the mountain had been quite a low-key affair, and very few people had been aware of it. However, this time, Lu Yin¡¯s arrival was very high-profile.

    When Long Kui met Lu Yin this time, the n elder¡¯s attitude waspletely different from before.

    With each new meeting, Long Kui had a different impression of the youth, and once again, Long Kui felt like something had changed between hisst meeting with Long Qi.

    As he considered Long Qi¡¯s various aplishments, Long Kui could not help himself from ncing back at the youth; just how had this kid changed so much? Less than two years ago, Long Kui had heard of Long Qi for the first time, but now, the youth had aplished feats that others would brag about for their entire lives. Even now, Long Qi had gained the favor of a Progenitor.

    Was this youth really the same son-inw of the n¡¯s main family who had not even been courageous enough to dodge Elder Qing Xing''s attack in the past?

    Lu Yin stood tall, but he did not say a single word to Long Kui. After arriving at Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin did not immediately meet with Long Ke, but rather continued on towards the depths of the mountain.

    "Senior Qing Chen, the n has already prepared a ce for you to rest. The patriarch has instructed that you are allowed to enter and leave any ce on Dragon Mountain however you wish," Long Kui respectfully informed Qing Chen.

    Qing Chen smiled. "Please extend my thanks to Patriarch Long Ke. All I need is a bit of your White Dragon Brew, haha!"

    Long Kui returned the smile with one of his own. "That¡¯s only natural."

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin, "Long Qi, the patriarch has ordered that you are to worship the ancestors in ten days. At that time, the four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, and the other powers of the Middle Realm will observe the ceremony. Prepare yourself. You should have already learned everything necessary for this ceremony, so make sure that you do not embarrass my White Dragon n. Until that time, you will reside at Hidden Dragon Lake."

    "Yes, Elder." Lu Yin maintained the same attitude as before, and he showed no trace of arrogance.

    Long Kui nodded. He first led Lu Yin to Hidden Dragon Lake and then led Qing Chen to his quarters.

    There was no need for Qing Chen to worry about Lu Yin¡¯s safety after arriving at Dragon Mountain. If an incident urred at this ce, Qing Chen¡¯s presence would make no difference whatsoever.

    Hidden Dragon Lake was located within Dragon Mountain, which contained thousands ofkes. While Hidden Dragon Lake was not thergest, it was certainly quite famous. This was because all of the n¡¯s direct descendants would live at theke for a time, which meant that residing at Hidden Dragon Lake indicated that one was ascending to heaven. Long Tian had also once lived at thiske, as had Long Xi.

    Since Lu Yin was staying at Hidden Dragon Lake, it showed that his status would be in no way inferior to those two in the future.

    Even though theke was, inparison to the entire Dragon Mountain, small and was only one of thousands ofkes, theke itself was by no means cramped. There weres revolving above theke as though it was aplete universe, and there was even an independent civilization.

    Lu Yin stood on an ind in theke as he stared at its bottom. There, he saws shining, as well as the developing civilization on thoses. This sort of scene was simply toomon in the Perennial World, and it could be seen everywhere.

    In the Fifth Maind, it was not normal for powers to cultivate independent civilizations, and the closestparison were hidden worlds, but those worlds¡¯ inhabitants lived there voluntarily.

    Lu Yin quietly stayed at the ind in Hidden Dragon Lake for several days, and once he confirmed that no one was watching him, he quickly isted himself and started rolling his die.

    Long Kui had said before that Lu Yin should already be fully informed of everything that he needed to know about worshiping the ancestors, but in order to actually prepare himself, Lu Yin would have to ask Long Xi about the ceremonies and any particr forms of etiquette.

    The die spun before slowly stopping on six pips.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. So much time had passed since he hadst rolled his die that it was perfectly normal to roll a six on his first try. Fortunately, he had set aside his cosmic ring after taking out a bit of star essence. This had long since be a habit so as to avoid consuming too much money with an unanticipated roll.

    After appearing in the strange space, Lu Yin randomly merged with an orb of light that was not too bright, and the scenery around him changed. He quickly saw a grandfather with his grandchild.

    The person that Lu Yin had Possessed actually intended to kill the two people.

    "My Lei family has decided to leave Dragon Seek City, so we will no longer fight with you. Why do you wish to kill all of us? Do you really believe that the White Dragon n will allow a single force to emerge and dominate Dragon Seek City? Just assume control of a small town," the old man screamed and clutched his grandchild as he waited to be killed.

    The little boy shivered in terror.

    Lu Yin blinked and was about to end the Possession. He had no interest in such a small-scale skirmish between two families.

    "You may have destroyed my Lei family, but it won''t be long before someone else destroys you! I can tell you that there is an organization behind me known as the Hidden Earth Society. Even though it is not well-known, it wields great influence and even has members within the four ruling powers," the old man warned. Blood leaked from his mouth, and madness could be seen rising in his eyes.

    Lu Yin had intended to simply end his Possession, but he froze and stared at the old man in shock¡ªthe Hidden Earth Society? This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard this name since entering the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin had already searched for the Hidden Earth Society or the Primeval Surname Alliance many times, but he had never found a single trace of either organization, either in books, records, or by speaking to people.

    "Hidden Earth Society? Never heard of it," Lu Yin answered deliberately.

    The old man gritted his teeth and threatened, "You couldn¡¯t have possibly heard of our Hidden Earth Society! We don¡¯t allow outsiders to join, nor do we expose ourselves, but our unique rtionship makes us a tight-knit group. We have many experts, and we are everywhere. Let alone within the Dragon Seek City, we can even get revenge on you if you hide in Dragon Mountain! Do not make a mistake."

 Chapter 1536: Is It Complicated?

    Chapter 1536: Is It Complicated?

    "Why should I believe you?" Lu Yin asked in a cold voice.

    Suddenly, his mind went into a daze. He had no time to think, but the person that he had Possessed had to die. Otherwise, the grandfather and his grandson would die.

    Lu Yin had already returned to the strange space with the glowing orbs.

    As the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, his consciousness returned to Hidden Dragon Lake.

    His eyes flickered. So it turned out that the Hidden Earth Society did indeed exist in the Perennial World as well. However, Lu Yin did not know how much of the old man¡¯s words had been truths or lies. It was possible that the man had exaggerated some details in order to survive, but the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s existence had been confirmed. The rtionship between the members was also a very close one, as the members hade from Earth, which was in the Forsaken Land.

    It was much like the rtionship between Lu Yin and Liu Shaoge; no matter what the rtionship between them might be, neither could reveal the other¡¯s truth, as doing so would ce both of them at risk.

    As far as the Perennial World was concerned, everyone from the Forsaken Land had to be captured and killed.

    If the Hidden Earth Society truly did exist, then its members had to be extremely secretive.

    Lu Yin wanted to find the old man and his grandson so that he could ask the old man for some concrete details, but it was not time for that. From the memories that Lu Yin had gleaned from this most recent Possession, he knew that the old man and his grandson were currently outside of Dragon Mountain and waiting to enter in order to offer their congrattions. The old man was known as Lei Wu, and he was also the patriarch of the Lei family from Dragon Seek City. It would not be difficult to find the old man.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath; at longst, he had finally found a clue regarding the Hidden Earth Society. As long as he found the society and the Primeval Surname Alliance, he would be able to start solving mysteries of his past one by one.

    At the moment, the most important thing to do was to speak to Long Xi.

    At this thought, Lu Yin rolled his die again. But he had run out of luck, as he rolled three pips: Enhance. There was nothing that he needed to upgrade at the moment, and he also could not actively and openly do so on Dragon Mountain.

    For his third roll, the diended on four pips. Lu Yin snatched up his cosmic ring as the scenery changed before his eyes, and he appeared within the Timestop Space.

    As soon as he entered, he pulled out Zenith Mountain and entered.

    Things had be quite lively on Zenith Mountain, as eleven people currently lived there; five were from the Perennial World and six were from the Fifth Maind.

    Before going to find Long Xi, Lu Yin made it a point to find Luo Shen first. He found her happily dancing and practicing in a secluded location on her own. The woman was happy as long as she was with Lu Yin, no matter where that was or how frequently she met with Lu Yin¡ªnone of that mattered. She just wanted to be at Lu Yin''s side, which made Lu Yin feel somewhat guilty towards Luo Shen.

    He found that Long Xi was also much calmer than when they hadst met. Her eyes went t when Lu Yin appeared. "Are we in the Forsaken Land?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Almost."

    Long Xi said nothing.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and coughed. "Actually, I have a question for you: do you know the proper etiquette to worship the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestors?"

    Long Xi was caught off guard. "Worshiping the ancestors? You want to worship the n¡¯s ancestors?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "For what reason?" Long Xi asked in an odd tone.

    Lu Yin licked his lips. "Actually, they¡¯re going to be my ancestors as well. My name¡¯s going to be officially added to the main family¡¯s genealogy."

    Long Xi stared nkly at Lu Yin, feeling rather incredulous at his ims. "You? Why? I''m missing, so how can the main family ept you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "They¡¯ve already epted me, and everything is just about to happen."

    "What did you do? You¡¯re not even a member of my White Dragon n to begin with! Your surname is Lu-" Long Xi no longer sounded calm. Instead, she sounded torn as she rambled quietly.

    Lu Yin decided to tell Long Xi the truth, so he shared how he was about to be epted as Humility Gate¡¯s Commander¡¯s disciple, as well as what had happened on the rear battlefield. "So that¡¯s why the White Dragon n doesn¡¯t just want to add my name to the main family¡ªthey also want to find me a good Lockbreaker teacher. They want me to excel as an Array Master and have me be the pride of the White Dragon n."

    The longer Long Xi stared at Lu Yin, the more unbelievable she felt his story was. Could this really be happening? She was not particrly surprised that her n had not managed to uncover Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, but for them to add this particr outsider to the n¡¯s main family, especially since his surname was Lu, was a terrible joke.

    "So, what¡¯s the proper etiquette for worshiping the ancestors? Can you teach me?" Lu Yin carefully asked.

    Long Xi red at him. "You¡¯re an outsider! Why would you think I would help you be a member of the main family? Why should I teach you anything?"

    Lu Yin had already known that she would say this. "I¡¯m your husband."

    "You are not."

    "Yes."

    ¡°No."

    Why did this exchange feel so familiar? Lu Yin felt helpless. "Let''s make things clear: I am already on Dragon Mountain right now, and I¡¯ll worship the ancestors in just a few more days. As soon as they discover that I¡¯m not from the White Dragon n, they¡¯ll definitely kill me. If I die, all of you will be trapped in here forever because no one even knows that Zenith Mountain exists. No one realizes that I have a hidden world, and that¡¯s not even considering how Zenith Mountain is always stored in my cosmic ring.

    "If anyone knew that this ce existed, you would have already been rescued, but no one knows you¡¯re here. How many years do you think you would remain trapped in here for? How many years can you endure?"

    "Are you threatening me?" Long Xi red at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I already know that you''re not afraid of death, but the day I worship the ancestors is also the day I worship themander as my master."

    Lu Yin then pulled out one of the invitations that the White Dragon n had distributed and tossed it over to Long Xi. "See for yourself. On that day, the four ruling powers, as well as people from the Middle Realm, and even the Lower Realm, will attend to witness the ceremony. You could even say that this will affect the entire Perennial World. If my identity is exposed at that moment, regardless of whether or not I die, the White Dragon n will bepletely humiliated, especially since you, Long Xi, were the one to confirm my identity. Do you think that anyone will believe that you, The White Dragon n¡¯s princess, made a mistake when verifying me as a n member?

    "Everyone will believe that you did it on purpose and that you pushed the entire White Dragon n into the abyss. This shame will gue the White Dragon n for countless years, and it will even be recorded down in history. Even more problematic is that, if my identity is exposed, it wille out that I am from the Forsaken Land. That is not something that can be allowed, so how will the White Dragon n exin things? The White Dragon n will be left with no choice but to assume responsibility for the four Junior Progenitors being trapped and all that hase about from that.

    "On top of that, I¡¯m about to be themander¡¯s disciple, which means that the White Dragon n will also have to weather themander¡¯s wrath. A day that the White Dragon n intended to brag to the entire Perennial World will instead be a nightmare that will haunt the n for countless years toe."

    Lu Yin carefully enunciated each word, and Long Xi listened quietly. When Lu Yin finally finished, she looked up at him. "Are you finished?"

    "That¡¯s it," Lu Yin replied.

    Long Xi''s eyes were emotionless. "If you are discovered, then you¡¯re dead, and so are we since we¡¯ll be trapped in here. If we¡¯re going to die, then what do the affairs of the living have to do with me?"

    Lu Yin blinked; what was this logic that she was using?

    "When Bai Shaohong wanted to force me to marry him, there was no one in the entire White Dragon n who was willing to marry me. All that my big brother Long Tian was concerned with regarding me was getting everything he needed, and even my father, Long Ke, never showed me much affection. Yet here I am, condemned to death, and yet, I am still supposed to bear the responsibilities of the n. Not interested," Long Xi dered.

    Lu Yin was helpless, and he could not fully process what he had just heard.

    Long Xi closed her eyes, no longer wanting to speak with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Even if you don¡¯t care about anyone else, you should still think about yourself, right? I promise that I¡¯ll release you as soon as I get back to the Forsaken Land, and I¡¯ll also tell you how to return."

    Long Xi was unfazed and kept her eyes closed.

    "After all, it''s just a couple-"

    The next time Lu Yin spoke, Long Xi cut him off, "Shut up."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Well, don''t you hate Bai Shaohong? In that case, how about an equal trade? I¡¯ll just kill him for you."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "By yourself?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose, and he started to grow ufortable. Long Xi had spoken as though Lu Yin could not measure up to any other man. He immediately took out the Void Rip sourcebox array that he had taken from Bai Shaohong. "Look for yourself. While you all were sitting in the Forgotten Ruins, I dealt with him. I just didn¡¯t say anything."

    Long Xi sprang to her feet to observe the sourcebox array. She started to question the matter, but she was not fully convinced.

    Lu Yin took out the fruit that he had taken, as it was something else that he had found in Bai Shaohong''s cosmic ring. "There was also this."

    "The Celestial Frost Fruit?" Long Xi was surprised, but then she said, "People can get those if they¡¯re willing to pay enough."

    Lu Yin finally pulled out the delicate red flower. "What about this? This was also in Bai Shaohong¡¯s cosmic ring."

    Seeing the red flower left Long Xi truly shocked. "A Fay Blossom?"

    She turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. "You really killed Bai Shaohong?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Actually, if you went out right now, you¡¯d hear about it. The Celestial Frost Sect already knows that he¡¯s dead, and they¡¯re doing their best to capture me so that they can question me. If I get exposed, it won¡¯t just be the White Dragon n¡ªthe Celestial Frost Sect also won¡¯t drop this, so-" He gazed at Long Xi with a sincere expression. "I¡¯m asking you to help me just this once."

    Long Xi stared at the Fay Blossom, her emotions in chaos. These flowers were not something that just anyone could get and yet Lu Yin possessed both a Fay Blossom and a Celestial Frost Fruit. She was already almostpletely convinced.

    After hearing Lu Yin''s exnation, she turned to look at him, her emotions in turmoil. "Why did you kill Bai Shaohong?"

    Lu Yin answered firmly, "I had to kill him since he bullied you."

    Would Long Xi believe this? Of course not, but it still sounded nice.

    "After all, we''re married," Lu Yin finished.

    Long Xi let out another sigh. "Shut up."

    She found such words grating on the ears. Lu Yin said nothing further, but Long Xi had already developed a headache.

    "You could always just find a way to escape from Dragon Mountain," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin bitterly answered, "You¡¯re still refusing to help me?"

    Long Xi shook her head. "Teaching you the etiquette to worship the ancestors is pointless, as there¡¯s also a blood test. Everyone¡¯s blood is unique. When I gave you my blood, it was able to trick a normal test from the n, but there¡¯s no way that¡¯ll work for the test that they¡¯ll use this time. My blood will be recognized for what it is the moment it appears when you are worshiping the ancestors, and the same is true of even my brother¡¯s blood. Your own blood would also be recognized. Unless¡­"

    At this point she hesitated.

    Lu Yin''s expression also changed. "Unless what?"

    Long Xi continued in a more solemn tone, "Unless we can fundamentally change the blood. We would then be able to conceal your fake blood even when worshiping the ancestors, but it¡¯s impossible. Any blood from outside of the White Dragon n would never pass, and any blood from a n member would also be discovered and ruin any efforts."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. "Are you saying that things would work out fine if your blood was more pure?"

    Long Xi nodded.

    "How can you make it more pure?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "Open the three meridian points andpletely awaken your potential, or with the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood."

    Lu Yin felt speechless, as he had both options avable.

    "Which do you prefer?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi was startled at his question. "What does that mean?"

    "Tell me which you want, and I¡¯ll give it to you."

    Long Xi became rather amused and she looked at Lu Yin with an odd expression. "Do you really think that either option is easy to aplish?"

    "Is itplicated?" Lu Yin asked. He then took out the Ancestor Python''s blood and tossed it over. "Try it."

    Lu Yin had received this bottle of the Ancestor Python''s blood from Long Ke before traveling to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. Long Ke had given it to Lu Yin to appease him and as a bribe to tempt him into dealing with the side families, all so that Long Ke¡¯s position as n patriarch would be more secure. Lu Yin did not even know how to use the blood, and at this moment, it hade in handy.

 Chapter 1537: Extremes Must Be Reversed

    Chapter 1537: Extremes Must Be Reversed

    Long Xi took the Ancestor Python''s blood and examined it incredulously, but it was real.

    "How- how did you get this?" She waspletely gobsmacked, as this was not something that could be bought.

    Lu Yin answered, "It doesn¡¯t matter how I got it. You can have it."

    Long Xi frowned. It seemed as though Lu Yin was specifically trying to destroy her worldview. Hisbat power surpassed the four Junior Progenitors¡¯, and even with a false identity, he had somehow had gotten a hold of the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood. Almost no one in the entire White Dragon n had any of the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood, and only the patriarch and the Semi-Progenitor elders might have some.

    She grew serious as she stared at Lu Yin and then lowered her head to speechlessly stare at the jar of the Ancestor Python''s blood that she held.

    "So? Will this work?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi nodded. "Yes."

    She looked at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll use it after you leave."

    "I''m not from the White Dragon n, so the Ancestor Python''s blood¡¯s useless for me," Lu Yinmented.

    Long Xi''s eyes shed. "Come find me in two days."

    Lu Yin immediately left Zenith Mountain to wait for Long Xi to use the Ancestor Python''s blood.

    On Zenith Mountain, Long Xi sat down with the jar of the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood to start her breakthrough.

    Even though it was not as effective as opening the three meridian points, members of the White Dragon n could also absorb the Ancestor Python''s blood to greatly benefit their future cultivation. In other words, this meant that absorbing the blood would not lead to an immediate increase in strength. Long Xi had not received any before the trip to the Dominion Realm, as she would have used it long ago if it had granted immediate effects.

    The Ancestor Python''s blood improved the user¡¯s cultivation talent, not their actual strength.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin went to meet Long Xi.

    She had changed a bit over the course of these two days. She seemed colder, but also paler and nobler.

    Long Xi frowned as she casually threw the jar that had once held the Ancestor Python''s blood back to Lu Yin. It currently held a single drop of her own blood. "You can merge that with your own blood before worshiping the ancestors."

    Lu Yin was thrilled, and he solemnly put it away. He then suddenly thought of something. ¡°If I use this blood while worshiping the ancestors, and then youe back in the future, won¡¯t the White Dragon n use this blood to use you of knowingly helping me?"

    Long Xi indifferently replied, "It doesn''t matter. I¡¯ll just say that you forced me."

    Lu Yin had also thought of that answer. Wait a minute, the people on Zenith Mountain were supposed to be his prisoners, so how could they make so much trouble for him?

    "Can you teach me the necessary etiquette now?" Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    Long Xi stared at him and let out a silent sigh. "Let''s start."

    ¡­

    Learning the ritual to worship the ancestors was not difficult. Even though the movements for the ritual were cumbersome, cultivators were capable of memorizing the movements after seeing them once.

    When worshiping the ancestors, it was important for a person to maintain a devout attitude throughout the ritual. Lu Yin knew that he had put on many such performances throughout his life, so this should not be a problem for him.

    He left right after learning the proper aspects of the ritual. For some reason, he always felt like he was being groomed and trained when with Long Xi.

    Although he wanted to see Luo Shen before he left the Zenith Mountain, he did not want to deal with thatplicated matter just yet.

    He still had several months remaining in the Timestop Space, and with his remaining time, Lu Yin nned to look into the Extremes Must Be Reversed battle technique.

    This was Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique, and Lu Yin had been quite impressed by the withered creatures that he had fought against in the Dominion Realm¡¯s Withered Glory Region. Whenever the creatures were attacked, they would only grow stronger, unless the power of the attack exceeded a certain limit.

    Lu Yin had no desire to actually use this battle technique, as he saw no benefit to withering himself. However, it was still possible to research the technique.

    The battle technique had entrenched itself into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, though it was not without reason that he wanted to learn it. After all, it was a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin sat down cross-legged and started carefully mentally reviewing the Extremes Must Be Reversed battle technique.

    Right when Lu Yin entered the Timestop Space, Xia Xing, the lord of Shenwu''s Sky who had arrived at Dragon Mountain early, met with a certain person: the great elder of the White Dragon n, Ni Huang.

    The White Dragon n was one of the four ruling powers, and they naturally had more than a single Semi-Progenitor powerhouse. Ni Huang was another such Semi-Progenitor, and he was just as famous as the All-Dao family¡¯s Wan Zhiyi, who had been renowned for being the Semi-Progenitor closest to bing a Progenitor. Ni Huang was the White Dragon n¡¯s second most powerful person, and he always remained at Dragon Mountain to stand guard over the n.

    "Junior Xia Xing greets Senior Ni Huang."

    "Many years have passed. I did not expect the child from back then to now be the master of Shenwu''s Sky."

    "Might I ask why senior has asked this junior toe see him?" While facing Ni Huang, even though Xia Xing referred to himself as the junior, he actually had a very indifferent attitude. He was the master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, so if he was meeting Ni Huang in an official capacity, there was no difference in status between them.

    However, Xia Xing had heard stories of Ni Huang during his childhood.

    "Your daughter is not married yet," Ni Huang stated.

    Xia Xing was taken aback. He had not expected Ni Huang to suddenly bring up Xia Taili. Her marriage had practically nothing to do with the White Dragon n, as their n members typically did not marry outsiders.

    Some timeter, Xia Xing left, though no one knew what they had discussed, not even Long Ke.

    Inside the Timestop Space, Lu Yin did not know how much time had passed, but he suddenly felt that something was off with his arms, prompting him to open his eyes. When he looked down, his pupils shrank to pinpoints when he saw that his arms had shriveled, even his bones.

    He was startled by what he saw, and he immediately stopped practicing Extremes Must Be Reversed. Only when his arm eventually recovered did a profound wave of relief wash over him.

    Fortunately, he had noticed in time, as otherwise his entire body would have withered. If that had happened, then he would have had to rely on others to return his body to normal, which would have its own bevy of problems. If he showed up to worship the ancestors with the body of a desated corpse, he could very well imagine that the White Dragon n¡¯s Long Zu might jump down from the Dominion Realm in outrage.

    Lu Yin once again realized how miraculous this battle technique was as it could force a person¡¯s body to an extreme state, but it was almost the same as gaining a second life. Lu Yin could not even imagine how Progenitor Ku hade up with such a thing.

    It was no surprise why the legends had imed that Progenitor Ku had mastered the secret of immortality. He had definitely been able topletely wither his own body, which would allow him to survive for a long time, much like cryostasis.

    Cryostasis was used to preserve one¡¯s life, while Extremes Must Be Reversed brought about a reversal of vitality. Comparing these two options side by side, the battle technique could preserve a person¡¯s body for much longer than cryostasis.

    However, this preservation was just a side-effect of cultivating the battle technique, as it could also instantly reduce an opponent to ash, just like what Lu Yin had seen on the ancient battlefield. Using self-destruction to eliminate the enemy was a very difficult attack to counter.

    Even though Lu Yin was thoroughly impressed by the power and utility of this battle technique, it was, unfortunately, one that he could not use.

    He let out a silent sigh. Maybe one day, after he grew old, he would be able to practice this battle technique. Then, perhaps he would be able to reverse his vitality, restore his youth, and live forever. However, if he became a Progenitor, there would be no need to cultivate this particr technique.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and Lu Yin returned to the real world where only a second had passed.

    Hidden Dragon Lake was a very beautiful location. Lu Yin found that he quite enjoyed sitting next to theke and watching thes move about beneath his feet as the various civilizations developed. Theke had various restrictions in ce that would destroy anyone who wanted to escape from the variouss within theke. However, there were exceptions in ce as well, and anyone who managed to exploit those exceptions to escape theke would be epted by the White Dragon n and be a guard.

    Status determined everything. Anyone who managed to leave their home would be the most talented person in their entire civilization, but after reaching the outside world, they would learn that they were nothing more than an ordinary cultivator.

    A group of people arrived in the distance, and Lu Yin looked over to see that they were led by Xiao Qing, who was Long Xi¡¯s maid. Lu Yin had actuallypletely forgotten about this particr maid.

    "I greet the family¡¯s son-inw." Xiao Qing bowed, and the more than a dozen maids following behind her bowed as well. ¡°We greet the family¡¯s son-inw."

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Xiao Qing?"

    Xiao Qing''s face remained calm. "The patriarch ordered us to serve the family¡¯s son-inw."

    Lu Yin declined. "There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t need anything."

    Xiao Qing whispered, "We are here at the n patriarch¡¯s orders, so please don¡¯t humiliate us."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Alright, I¡¯ll do this much for you: you can stay, but I don¡¯t need you to actually do anything for me."

    "Thank you my lord," Xiao Qing replied. With that, all of the maids entered Lu Yin¡¯s quarters and began to clean for him.

    Lu Yin rarely ever had anyone care for him after he had started cultivating. In King Zishan¡¯s pce, there was Zhao Ran, but she could not really be considered a servant. Having so many maids present actually pushed Lu Yin¡¯sfort zone.

    Xiao Qing stayed close to Lu Yin and observed him.

    Lu Yin did not even need to turn around to know what Xiao Qing was doing. ¡°Is there something that you want to ask me?"

    Xiao Qing answered in a quiet and respectful tone, "Xiao Qing does not dare."

    Lu Yin turned around to face the woman. "I don''t know where Long Xi is right now. We were separated when we were in the Dominion Realm."

    "Yes, Xiao Qing knows this," she replied.

    Lu Yin knew that Xiao Qing had a good rtionship with Long Xi. Thus, he made a point of saying something before falling silent.

    After a while, Xiao Qing suddenly asked, "Are you nning to leave Hidden Dragon Lake soon?"

    Lu Yin was curious as to why she would ask such a thing. "I shouldn¡¯t be going anywhere before the ceremony to worship the ancestors. Why?"

    Xiao Qing answered in a quiet voice, "Before arriving, I saw nsmen from the branch families gather. Among them were Young Master Long Zhang, Long Jue, and several of the branch families¡¯ disciples. It looked like they wanted toe here to convince my lord to leave Hidden Dragon Lake and cause some trouble."

    Lu Yinughed. "You heard them?"

    Xiao Qing remained respectful. "Yes."

    Lu Yin turned back around to stare out at Hidden Dragon Lake. The other n members were not able to enter this region of Dragon Mountain, so the only way they could cause any trouble was if Lu Yin left theke. Even though Xiao Qing had not said anything, Lu Yin had not forgotten about how Qing Chen had mentioned that the Commander did not like impulsive people and that he preferred people who remained calm and were not swayed by their emotions.

    However, wasn¡¯t Long Zhang looking to create trouble the perfect opportunity for Lu Yin to reveal a bit of his true nature?

    If the Commander really was Mister Mu, then he was already Lu Yin¡¯s master and knew Lu Yin quite well. But if the Commander was not Mister Mu, then this situation might give Lu Yin a way to escape epting a new master. Otherwise, Lu Yin did not have any idea how he could exin himself to Mister Mu.

    "Xiao Qing, what do you think those people with Long Zhang will do to try to lure me out?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Qing shook her head. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin looked out at Hidden Dragon Lake and muttered, "I hope you¡¯ve at least got a brain, as it won¡¯t be any fun otherwise."

    He then suddenly said, much louder, "Xiao Qing, do you have a fishing rod?"

    Thes within Hidden Dragon Lake trembled. Staring into theke was like staring into the sky even though it was all under water. However, an invisible power kept all of thes isted from each other and the water.

    On Dragon Mountain, no matter if it was Hidden Dragon Lake or any of the otherkes, people were not ordinarily allowed to fish, but Lu Yin was allowed to do so.

    Lu Yinughed as an odd fish the size of a mountain leaped out of the water on the far side of theke and crashed back into theke. The impact jostled the entire ind.

    The next day, someone challenged Lu Yin from outside Hidden Dragon Lake.

    "Young Master Long Qi, the son of the Wulong branch family hase to issue a challenge." A maid approached Lu Yin and make a report in a respectful manner.

    "Okay!" Lu Yin shouted loudly, startling the maid. Xiao Qing was nearby, and the young master of the Wulong branch family by the edge of Hidden Dragon Lake jumped too. Then, theke itself started to surge from the excessive energy sted out from Lu Yin.

    The young master of the Wulong Branch was a Cruiser, which was considered decent for his age, but since he was a member of the four ruling powers, this was not very impressive. He could not evenpare to Long Jue.

 Chapter 1538: Arrogance

    Chapter 1538: Arrogance

    The Wulong branch family, the Long Quan branch family, and several other branch families had united to stand up to the main family. The youths from the various branch families were the ones currently attempting to lure Lu Yin away from Hidden Dragon Lake.

    Given that Long Qi¡¯s ceremony to ept Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Commander as his master was imminent and that he would also perform the ritual to worship the n¡¯s ancestors at the same time, the youths all expected it to be very difficult to lure Long Qi away from Hidden Dragon Lake. For this reason, they had prepared several back-up ns. For example, they had intended to gradually reveal how a young man from the Wulong branch family might have had a rtionship that had exceeded mere friendship with Long Xi. If Long Qi was able to endure even that, them they had even more prepared.

    They had even taken Xiao Qing into ount when creating their ns¡ªone of their ns was to bully Xiao Qing in order to anger Lu Yin.

    They had spent several days developing their ns before finally taking action.

    However, they had never expected that the moment the Wulong branch family¡¯s young master uttered his first provocation¡ªno, he did not even make it that far! A single word of challenge had triggered Long Qi into responding with the aura of someone who was absolutely unrivaled by any peer.

    At the edge of Hidden Dragon Lake, the young master of the Wulong branch family nkly stared on as Lu Yin tore through the void. The youth was frightened to the point where he almost pissed himself. Weren¡¯t only Envoys and above supposed to be able to tear through the void? In their generation, he had only ever heard of Junior Progenitor Long Tian being capable of aplishing such a feat. What the hell was going on?

    Xiao Qing also froze for a moment as she stared at the empty chair before her. Lu Yin had been calmly sitting in it to fish while the wind blew and the rain fell outside. It seemed only natural that he would remain unmoved by such provocations. Was this really the same person who had captured multiple Redbacks, fought on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, and be the pride of Humility¡¯s Gate? What had just happened?

    Lu Yin emerged from the void to confront the young master of the Wulong branch family by shouting, "Are you the one who challenged me?"

    The youth¡¯s mouth fell open, and his face went pale. He started to panic out of sheer terror.

    Some distance away, Long Zhang, Long Jue, and all of the other youths were stunned silly; was Long Qi really lured out that easily? How many days had they spent nning?

    "Hey, I asked if you¡¯re the one who challenged me! Do you think that you are better than me, Long Qi? I fought on the rear battlefield and was able to gain the attention of a powerful Progenitor!" Lu Yin shouted. His fists were clenched, and he looked quite upset.

    The young master gulped. "Did I say that?"

    "So it really is you." Lu Yin''s expression grew sharper. "Alright, go ahead. Do your best!"

    The young master swallowed his saliva a second time, and he shot a helpless look towards Long Jue and the others. Things were not going ording to n! The Wulong branch¡¯s young master had never really intended to fight against Long Qi. They were not trying to actually fight, just pick one!

    Lu Yin red. "What are you waiting for? Attack!"

    The young master from the Wulong branch family trembled and finally forced out a whisper, "Are you Long Qi?"

    "Yes!" Lu Yin shouted loudly, startling the young master so badly that his heart skipped a beat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve troubled the wrong person. I was hoping to challenge Xiao Qing."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "You¡­ want to challenge Xiao Qing?"

    The young master¡¯s face was utterly serious. "Yes! I''m here for Xiao Qing! Please send her out, as I wish to challenge her."

    Lu Yin had always felt that Ku Wei, Elder Tan from the ze Realm, and the others he had met were already shameless enough, but this young master from the Wulong branch family had surpassed them all! Challenging a maid? Lu Yin actually blushed in the youth¡¯s ce for being thick-skinned enough to vocalize such a request.

    The young master also felt humiliated, butpared to being beaten viciously, he would rather be humiliated. He already regretted his actions, but he had been given the task of starting trouble with Long Qi, and he could not back down at this point.

    Lu Yin felt that these youths did not even know how to stir up trouble. Exasperated, he rolled his eyes and looked into the distance where Long Zhang and the others were waiting.

    Long Zhang and Lu Yin stared at each other. Long Zhang was startled, but then he boldly stated, "Brothers, Long Qi has shown himself, so this is an opportunity to ruin his reputation. He won¡¯t dare to act up too much at a time like this."

    The gathered youths all summoned their courage and stepped forward. All of them had been badly frightened by the scene of Lu Yin tearing through the void, and the Wulong branch¡¯s young master would not have been this frightened if he had not witnessed that scene. Currently, that fear was gripping everyone else¡¯s heart as well.

    Long Jue had a stern expression on his face as he stepped forward to face Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin ignored the Wulong branch¡¯s young master. The youth had been abandoned. "Long Jue?"

    Long Jue shot towards Lu Yin andnded one hundred meters away from him. The young master¡¯s voice was deep as he spoke. "Long Qi, if I had been the one to visit the Dominion Realm with the Junior Progenitor, then he would not have ended up trapped, and our princess would not have disappeared."

    Lu Yinughed. "You would have stopped all of that by yourself?"

    "Long Qi, is that how you speak to your brothers from the same n? Do you still feel any kinship with your n? I think that you¡¯ve be arrogant and no longer care about any of us!" Long Zhang shouted, inciting boos from the surrounding n members.

    They were allpletely confident that Lu Yin would not dare do anything to them at this time; if they thought that there was the slightest chance of him responding to their challenge, then they would have never had the courage to approach Lu Yin. Everyone would be cautious during the period leading up to the moment when they would ept a Progenitor as a master, and even the Junior Progenitors would be cautious. Thus, they felt that there was no possibility of Lu Yin acting rashly.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts had gone in the exact opposite direction, and he attacked without any hesitation. The p sent Long Zhang flying several hundred meters back, and when he came to a stop, half of his face was swollen up, and his vision had grown so blurry that he could not see anything. He passed out, but not before spitting out several teeth.

    All of the nearby nsmen were stunned, even Long Jue.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand, his eyes zing. "I didn¡¯t like the way that he was speaking."

    Everyone stared at him nkly; what the hell was that excuse?

    Long Jue was shocked. "Long Qi, you actually dare to act against us?"

    Lu Yin stared at Long Jue. "Why wouldn¡¯t I?"

    Long Jue clenched his fist and ground his teeth. "You are too arrogant!"

    A figure approached from the distance. This person was an elder from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families. He had been aware that Long Zhang and others were nning on causing trouble for Long Qi, and he had been keeping an eye on them the entire time just to be safe. The elder showed himself as soon as he saw Long Zhang be pped away. "What''s going on here? Who hit someone for no reason?"

    "Elder, it''s Long Qi! Long Qi is looking down on our branch families, and he even took the initiative to strike Long Zhang!" a branch descendant wailed.

    The elder red at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, is this true?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "Don¡¯t you have eyes? Are you blind?"

    Lu Yin did not even need to guess to know that this elder was helping the branch families¡¯ descendants. Even though Lu Yin wanted to make amotion, he still felt that the n¡¯s main family was too useless.

    "Long Qi, it is nearly time for you to worship the ancestors! Your behavior is too reckless! You should know that once word of your actions spread, not only will your reputation be ruined, but you will also disappoint themander, and he might no longer ept you as his disciple! This will ruin my White Dragon n¡¯s reputation! Do you even realize how many important guests Dragon Mountain is currently hosting?" the branch elder shouted fiercely.

    Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned. "Old man, you think far too highly of yourself. What right do you have to intervene in who Humility Gate¡¯s Commander selects as his disciple?"

    The elder grew furious. He was a powerful Envoy, but he was currently being ignored by an impetuous youth like Long Qi. The elder wanted to teach Long Qi a lesson, but he had also seen Lu Yin tear through the void, which had piqued the old man¡¯s envy. Not to mention, Long Qi was about to worship the n¡¯s ancestors and be the disciple of a powerful Progenitor, both of which further intimidated the elder.

    He had shown himself because he had beenpletely confident that Long Qi would not remain arrogant before a n elder. The elder had never thought that he would be insulted, but to the elder¡¯s great irritation, the youth was far too arrogant.

    "Long Qi, your personality is twisted! This old man will definitely report this matter to the grand elder!" the branch elder threatened.

    The various youths in the area all opened their mouths to support the elder.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Noisy."

    As he spoke, his body flickered, and he appeared overhead. He pped down with a hand: Vacuum Palm. He even used several stacks, making the attack powerful enough to suppress everyone present, including the elder.

    No one here had even considered that Lu Yin would be bold and brazen enough to actually attack, especially not a n elder. In particr, the elder was so infuriated by Lu Yin¡¯s actions that he instantly used the White Dragon Transformation and actively suppressed all star energy in the area. Unfortunately, he btedly discovered that Lu Yin was not using any star energy, which meant that there was nothing for the Envoy to suppress. Lu Yin did not use a fast Vacuum Palm to attack the other youths, instead focusing the attack to produce a powerful st of wind that swept all of the n members away. Although the elder felt a tightness in his chest, Lu Yin¡¯s attack was no issue, so the Envoy raised his hand, brought out his spear, and thrust it forward.

    This spear entered the true universe before reemerging unseen. The elder had attacked from an unexpected angle to stab at the back of Lu Yin''s neck.

    However, Lu Yin reached back with a hand and casually grabbed the spear shaft, preventing the elder from retracting it.

    The elder was horrified; how was this possible?

    Lu Yin held the spear in ce with a hand that was shrouded in a golden battle force. With this reinforcing his already shocking physical strength, he could even recklessly contest gray-eyed corpse kings at the Envoy level. Thus, there was no need to even mention an elder from a branch family whose power level barely surpassed 500,000. If the elder was not capable of using the White Dragon Transformation, then Lu Yin would not have even needed to use his golden battle force.

    Lu Yinshed out with a foot, forcing the elder to let go of his spear and enter the true universe. However, Lu Yin elerated and also entered the true universe, where he confronted the elder¡¯s shocked eyes with a Vacuum Palm.

    The elder was not able to evade Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and he was summarily smashed out of the true universe and into Hidden Dragon Lake with a loud bang.

    This sight caused all of the branch families¡¯ n members to turn even paler as they realized that even Envoy realm n elders could not stand up to Long Qi!

    The Wulong branch¡¯s young master was currently lying on the ground after being knocked down by the shockwave from Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. Previously, he had thought that Long Qi was nothing more than hot air, but after seeing that even a branch family elder had been defeated, The young master was delighted by his decision to avoid personally fighting Long Qi. The Wulong branch¡¯s young master wasn¡¯t off the rails yet.

    The branch elder coughed up blood within Hidden Dragon Lake. Lu Yin had not held back his Vacuum Palm at all. The Envoy had been enraged, and he had attacked Lu Yin in anger, thrusting a spear at a junior. However, even when the elder had despicably tried to hide the tip of his spear, Lu Yin had unexpectedly avoided the attack and grabbed the spear shaft. It was quite obvious that Lu Yin had anticipated the Envoy¡¯s attack.

    Once the elder took out a weapon, Lu Yin had been able to predict all of the old man¡¯s possible actions. The elder had used a spear for many years, and he had even developed his own attacks and specially trained his thrusting speed. But despite that, Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument, allowing him to easily read the elder¡¯s movements with nothing but a nce. This was why it had been so easy for Lu Yin to disable the elder¡¯s attack and even disarm him.

    The elder repeatedly attacked several times, but he was never able to touch the spear that Lu Yin had taken. In fact, the tip of the spear even twirled around the elder¡¯s neck a few times, horrifying him. This youth¡¯s skills were far above his!

    How was this possible? How was this possible? How many years had this child trained for? How could his understanding of the spear have reached such an unimaginable level? How was this even possible?

    There was another bang as the spear shot past the elder¡¯s ear before swinging down and smacking the elder back into Hidden Dragon Lake.

    Lu Yin held the spear in one hand as he stood proudly in the void and gazed down at the crowd.

    Many of the youths stared at Lu Yin in fear, and even Long Jue felt his hands and feet grow cold. He felt that even Junior Progenitor Long Tian might not be this strong. Was it actually possible for Long Qi to match or even surpass Junior Progenitor Long Tian? That had to be impossible!

    On this day, the word "impossible" was the one spoken most by the White Dragon n¡¯s members, as everything that they had once epted to be true had been overturned.

 Chapter 1539: New Heights

    Chapter 1539: New Heights

    "What are you doing?" Long Kui appeared at this moment, causing everyone to freeze in ce as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes focused, but he acted neither servile nor arrogantly before Long Kui. "These members of the branch families challenged me, and I was asked to fight."

    "Challenged?" Long Kui nced at Long Jue and others. "Are you all here to challenge Long Qi?"

    Long Jue gritted his teeth and tried to deny it, but at this moment, the branch family elder rushed up from the depths of theke, gasping for breath. "Elder Long Kui, this Long Qi is too arrogant and has a twisted personality! Elder Long Kui, please report this matter to the n patriarch and the grand elder.¡±

    Long Kui frowned and turned back towards Lu Yin. "Long Qi, what''s going on here?"

    Lu Yin smiled gently. "A bunch of trash came here looking for trouble."

    The branch elder was infuriated by this response. "Elder Long Kui, you heard him! This Long Qi is so arrogant that he dares to speak such vicious words! He brings shame to my White Dragon n!"

    Long Kui stared at Lu Yin; why had this kid''s attitude changed so abruptly?

    Lu Yin looked up at Long Kui. "These people wanted to make me fail to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple, which means that they are seeking death. They¡¯re lucky that I didn¡¯t kill them outright."

    Long Kui instantly understood. For Long Qi, gaining a Progenitor as a master was a huge matter, and anyone who stood in the way of that goal would be his enemy. Long Qi viewed enemies as beings whom he could not exist with, and so his cruelty was understandable. It was no wonder why he had even attacked an elder from a branch family. "Long Qi, return to Hidden Dragon Lake for now, and I will inform the patriarch of this matter."

    Lu Yin tossed the spear aside before turning around and leaving.

    The spear fell into theke. The elder clenched his teeth so hard that his gums bled; that was his weapon! He had crafted it after spending many years gathering all the materials, and it could not be destroyed by weapons of a simr level. And yet, it had been casually thrown away. He wanted to go pick it up, but he could not afford to do that and look inferior to that child.

    As for asking Long Qi to recover the spear, the elder was not dumb enough to even consider making such a request. It was clear at a nce that Long Qi did not care about the elder at all.

    It was impossible for the elder to defeat Long Qi, and he could not even suppress the youth with his position as an elder! No branch family elder had ever suffered this kind of humiliation at Dragon Mountain before.

    Long Kui looked at the branch family elder and quietly said, "This is Hidden Dragon Lake, so why were you loitering about here? You will also need to exin yourself to the n patriarch and the grand elder."

    The branch family elder gritted his teeth as he replied, "I came here to congratte Long Qi, and my juniors wanted to see Long Qi and find out what sort of person he is."

    Long Kui sneered. "You are on Dragon Mountain, and there is nothing that happens here without escaping the grand elder¡¯s eyes. Say whatever you want, but the grand elder will be the one to pass judgment on you."

    Long Kui then turned and left.

    The elder¡¯s expression changed drastically. The grand elder, Ni Huang, never showed himself, and the branch family elder had actually forgotten about the grand elder¡¯s ability to peer through the sky and the earth. The elder quickly reviewed all of his actions, but felt relieved after a moment. He felt that he had never once taken any excessive actions, or said anything out of ce. Instead, it had been that bastard Long Qi who had seized the initiative and mouthed off.

    It was at this moment that the elder realized something; they had intended to harass andter nder Long Qi, so how had they ended up as the victims? From the beginning, even before they could take action, Lu Yin had seized the upper hand by striking first and pushed them into a corner.

    That bastard!

    Long Zhang woke up, but no one paid any attention to him. Many of the other disciples returned in silence, all of them shocked by Lu Yin''s strength. Even though his cultivation had once been unimpressive, he seemed to have already reached the same level of strength as Junior Progenitor Long Tian! After Long Qi gained a Progenitor as his master, his status wouldpletely change. He was not someone whom they should provoke.

    The young master of the Wulong branch family sucked in a deep breath through his teeth due to the pain. He took onest look at Hidden Dragon Lake and then fled in terror.

    After returning to the ind, Lu Yin returned to leisurely fishing, acting as though nothing had happened.

    Xiao Qing and other maids had all seen what had happened outside Hidden Dragon Lake. The other maids became frightened by Lu Yin, but Xiao Qing''s eyes revealedplicated thoughts. She thought back to the first time that she hadid eyes on Long Qi. Back then, he had beenpletely useless, and the princess had had to take care of him. She had used the White Dragon Surveying the Sky to trap him, and yet he had climbed to such heights in these short years. If the princess knew of his transformation, she would be delighted!

    No matter what, Long Qi was Xiao Qing¡¯s charge for the time being, and the princess had dered that no one was allowed to bully her husband. However, her husband had be the one bullying others instead.

    Long Kui intended to report the incident at Hidden Dragon Lake to Long Ke, but he was stopped when he was only halfway there. He turned around and returned to Hidden Dragon Lake to see Lu Yin. "Long Qi, the grand elder wishes to see you."

    Xiao Qing and the others were all shocked. The grand elder?

    Lu Yin stood up. He had heard of Grand Elder Ni Huang before, as the man was a legendary figure whose status was far superior to Qing Chen¡¯s. Along the way to Dragon Mountain, Qing Chen had mentioned to Lu Yin that the White Dragon n¡¯s Grand Elder Ni Huang had reached the same level as the All-Dao family¡¯s Wan Zhiyi. If Wan Zhiyi was on the cusp of bing a Progenitor, then it meant that Grand Elder Ni Huang was exactly the same.

    People who had reached this level could rarely ever be found.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang stayed beneath Dragon Mountain, though Lu Yin did not know how far down he needed to go. After Long Kui left, Lu Yin started looking around.

    He was currently at the bottom of Dragon Mountain. There was a soft blue light illuminating the area, and strange luminous nts floated in the air. The entire ce was very beautiful.

    The sound of a stream of water gently gurgling could be heard off in the distance, and a clear spring stream flowed underfoot. Lu Yin could see tiny stars revolving within the water.

    Lu Yin stared at the stars in the water. He had never seen such tiny stars before. Each one was like a regr star, but the size of an ant. He could destroy one with a p, crush one with a single hand.

    "For ants, each one is a world that can never be escaped, but for us, they are something that can be easily destroyed. This is the perspective that one achieves at the top." An ancient voice spoke, but there was no one to be seen. Lu Yin only heard the voice.

    His expression bing solemn, Lu Yin slowly bowed. "Junior Long Qi greets Grand Elder Ni Huang."

    "Long Qi, you have already reached a height that surpasses many, many people. Going forward, there is no need for you to pay any attention to mere ants. Instead, your vision should be fully upied with bing a Progenitor." The ancient voice spoke once more.

    Lu Yin replied, "I understand, Grand Elder."

    "Senior Mu Xie, Humility''s Gate¡¯s Commander, is a very refined individual. Even though he is the one who directs the killing de of Humility''s Gate, he has no desire to cause trouble. I will suppress today''s matter for you, but in the future, you cannot be reckless and fight with other internal factions of our n. Nothing that they do has anything to do with you. As long as themander bes your master, I will arrange a marriage that will catapult you into the heavens."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "A marriage? But this junior is already the main family¡¯s son-inw. I have already married Long Xi."

    "As I said, you no longer need to pay attention to such matters. Main family or branch family, such things are worth nothing to you. Your name will be a part of the main family¡¯s genealogy, and even though this is nothing more than just a formality, it means that your status is no longer just that of a son-inw, but rather that of being a direct heir of my White Dragon n. Your status is now equal to Long Tian¡¯s, which means that very few people hold the status to marry you. Do you have someone you care for?"

    Lu Yin had no idea how to answer, as he had never expected to be thrown into such a conversation. Grand Elder Ni Huang was essentially bypassing the n¡¯s main family! Was the main family that easily ignored? Probably not. Could it be that it was because even the current main family of the n was actually just a branch family that had taken the main family¡¯s position?

    "You don¡¯t have anyone? Then how about Xia Taili?"

    Lu Yin was startled. "Elder, that- that would not be good."

    "I have already discussed this matter with Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Xia Xing. This matter was not just decided by my conversation with Xia Xing, and it also reflects the wishes of Progenitor Long and Progenitor Xia. There¡¯s no need for you to worry about this matter. Go back for now, but don¡¯t be rash again. You need to focus on paying your respects to a Progenitor as your master. Prepare yourself well. No one will disturb you again during this time. Your name will soon be added to the main family¡¯s genealogy. By this, I do not mean the Long Kui family¡¯s branch, but rather the White Dragon n. The main family of the entire n."

    After hearing these words, Lu Yin''s vision fractured, and his body was suddenly sucked into a crack. He reappeared far away from the bottom of Dragon Mountain, and he found that Long Kui was close by.

    Lu Yin had an odd expression on his face. He felt both helpless and speechless; how could there be another marriage already arranged for him? Did he look like he enjoyed being married that much?

    His marriage to Xia Taili was essentially a marriage between the White Dragon n and Shenwu''s Sky. Adding in Humility''s Gate¡¯s Commander, it was a union of three Progenitors, which would be the greatest power in the Higher Realm. The Celestial Frost Sect had been too overbearing recently, and this marriage was also being forced by their actions.

    However, no matter how anyone looked at the situation, Lu Yin felt that he was the unluckiest one in the entire matter.

    Xia Taili was a little firecracker who was not easy to deal with, and Lu Yin would not be surprised if she wanted to kill him.

    Long Kui said nothing at all to Lu Yin, and he simply escorted him back to Hidden Dragon Lake before leaving. However, he did say one thing right before departing. "Grandmaster Qiu Ling has been invited to my Dragon Mountain to observe your uing ceremony."

    Grandmaster was a title that was unique to Array Grandmasters. This meant that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was an Array Grandmaster.

    There was only one reason for them to invite an Array Grandmaster, and it was obvious at first nce. This person was being invited as they were being asked to ept Lu Yin as an apprentice.

    The White Dragon n wanted to show off Long Qi bing a disciple of a Progenitor at the same time that he became an apprentice of an Array Grandmaster.

    "Young Master, a guest stopped by right after you left," Xiao Qing respectfully informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Is the guest still here?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang had just told Lu Yin that no one would disturb him, so was this a tant p in the face?

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed the very next instant, as he noticed a familiar face through his domain: Xia Taili. She had actuallye.

    Xia Taili also noticed that Lu Yin had returned, and her originally calm expression suddenly changed. She shouted in a rage, "Long Qi, you wretched bastard! You actually want to knock me up!"

    Even as she screamed, she charged towards Lu Yin, and the Divine Martial Armor shrouded her body. She was clearly furious.

    Lu Yin was speechless, and he raised a hand shrouded with golden battle force to block the Divine Martial Armor.

    There was a bang, and the Divine Martial Armor was halted. Xia Taili raised a hand: "Xia Secret Art: Lock." As she shouted, the image of a lock appeared above Lu Yin''s body, trapping him in ce. This was a very odd secret technique.

    Xia Taili waved a hand covered with Divine Martial Armor to fiercely attack Lu Yin.

    With a flick of Lu Yin''s hand, the Lock Secret Technique was shattered. He then raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm.

    Boom!

    Shockwaves sted out in all directions. Xiao Qing and the other maids were forced to continuously retreat, and a massive wave rippled out from the ind in theke, racing off into the distance. The Vacuum Palm passed by Xia Taili¡¯s ear and shattered the void.

    Xia Taili hesitated and stared at Lu Yin in shock. The gap between them was just too vast. In particr, Long Qi had broken free of Xia Taili¡¯s Lock Secret Art even faster than Bai Shaohong had, but how was that possible?

    Lu Yin helplessly said, "I had nothing to do with this. I didn¡¯t know until just a little bit earlier that such a thing was being discussed."

    Xia Taili finally reacted. She stared at Lu Yin and gritted her teeth. "You didn''t know?"

    "I didn''t know," Lu Yin repeated.

    Xia Taili clearly did not believe him. ¡°You¡¯re lying! I bet that you already made your decision! Ever since Long Xi went missing, you¡¯ve been eyeing me, right? All you want is a princess from one of the four ruling powers! Long Qi, you really are ambitious!"

    Lu Yin held his head. "I said that I didn¡¯t know, and I really didn¡¯t."

    "Then how is it that you know now?"

    "I just found out."

    "Then you should have refused!"

    "I can''t refuse."

    "You just attacked me! Long Qi, you¡¯re despicable! Shameless! You¡¯re shameless! You¡¯re an asshat!"

    Lu Yin started getting upset. "Your brother¡¯s the asshat."

    Xia Taili becamepletely enraged, and she even lost her breath. Her eyes went bloodshot, and she lookedpletely offended, but also as if she was about to cry.

 Chapter 1540: Worshiping The White Dragon Clanâ€™s Progenitor

    Chapter 1540: Worshiping The White Dragon n¡¯s Progenitor

    Lu Yin immediately developed a headache. "I swear, I really didn''t know until just now, so if you¡¯re able to say no to this, then I¡¯ll do my best to refuse as well."

    Xia Taili wiped her eyes and stubbornly retorted, "I don''t believe you!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, not knowing how he could get through to this girl.

    Xia Taili stared at Lu Yin and carefully enunciated each word. "Listen carefully¡ªif you really have the guts to marry me, I will castrate you. I¡¯m going to practice my knife skills right now. My Xia family is quite skilled with des."

    She let out a snort before leaping up and fleeing from Hidden Dragon Lake.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched as he shivered from a sudden chill. He had suddenly recalled the summoned Progenitor Chen of Shang Chi¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique. That summon had wielded

    a glowing knife in tandem with a technique that was able to interchange reality and illusion and cause people to change directions at will. It had been a chillingbination. True enough, the Xia family really did excel at using knives.

    Xia Taili had already known about their arranged marriage, so did that mean that the Celestial Frost Sect also knew about it? No matter how well the White Dragon n and Shenwu¡¯s Sky tried to keep this matter hidden, it would be impossible to hide such a monumental decision from the Celestial Frost Sect or the Wang family!

    Lu Yin truly had no desire to get married, and he hoped that some sort of falling out would ur between the two families. It would be even better if he was not epted as the Progenitor¡¯s disciple.

    After Shenwu''s Sky arrived, the Wang family came next. The second of the four ruling powers to arrive was represented by Wang Si, an elder from the Wang family, and she was apanied by her granddaughter, Wang Yun.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang personally went out to receive Wang Si when she arrived. They were both Semi-Progenitors, and although it was reasonable to say that Wang Si was not from the same generation as Ni Huang, she held a special status. Thus, no one was surprised that Ni Huang personally greeted this particr guest.

    The following day, Nong Ya, the patriarch of the Nong family, arrived with Nong Lie. Soon after that, Liu Song, the Liu family¡¯s hunched elder, also arrived.

    Liu Song¡¯s arrival also aroused Ni Huang''s attention, and the grand elder personally greeted the Liu elder as well.

    Next, Mr. Tang from Virtue Archives arrived. He was not a Semi-Progenitor, though his reputation was no worse than one. This was because he was one of the rare individuals who had reached the ultimate realm of domains: the void realm.

    "After so many years of not seeing you, senior remains the same as ever." Mr. Tang quickly bowed as soon as he saw Qing Chen. He gave off a schrly demeanor and had an erudite air about him.

    Qing Chen smiled. "Mr. Tang simrly has not changed. I wonder, is that old tree still in the academy? I still remember when you and I drank beneath that tree."

    Mr. Tang sighed. "During the massive change back then, the academy was also affected, and the old tree burnt down."

    Qing Chen felt somewhat nostalgic. "That¡¯s unfortunate, as drinking under that tree gave off a rather different atmosphere than other ces."

    Mr. Tang remained casual and rxed. "Senior, if you would like, you can nt a tree at the academy. When that small tree grows up, you and I will be able to drink under it, and it¡¯ll be just as enjoyable."

    "Haha, that sounds good." Qing Chenughed.

    "Naturally."

    "Mr. Tang, you are one of the rare masters who have cultivated your domain to the void realm. I wonder, would you be interested in giving some pointers to a junior? The junior I¡¯m referring to has cultivated his domain to the spirit manifestation realm, but he has gotten stuck." Qing Chen abruptly changed the topic.

    Mr. Tang''s eyes flickered. "I don¡¯t know which junior Senior Qing Chen is referring to. Who is it?"

    "Long Qi," Qing Chen replied.

    Mr. Tang was surprised. "I¡¯ve heard that Senior Qing Chen holds Long Qi in high regard and that even themander is interested in the youth. Hearing you speak up for the youth shows just how much you all value him."

    Qing Chen nodded and continued on in a serious tone, saying, "Aside from his status in the White Dragon n, Long Qi has also captured multiple Redbacks while running the risk of tantly offending the four ruling powers. On the rear battlefield, he saved tens of millions of people and repaired a defensive sourcebox array¡ªhis achievements were so high that he even caught the attention of the Twelve Marquises. This child is the most talented person I have ever encountered."

    The supervisor then looked straight at Mr. Tang while saying, "I know that Virtue Archives doesn''t care to teach anyone from the four ruling powers, but Long Qi is different."

    Mr. Tang smiled in reply. "If themander values the youth enough to ept him as a disciple, then this junior naturally understands. After Long Qi has worshiped his ancestors, and time permitting, then this junior will happily offer some advice. Of course, he can also visit Virtue Archives."

    "Very well, it''s settled then," Qing Chen said with a smile.

    Mr. Tang smiled as though everything was as it should be.

    Qing Chen really did regard Lu Yin very highly, and that had only increased after themander had said that he wished to take the youth as his disciple. Qing Chen had thuse to view Lu Yin as his junior, and the older man had clearly seen how the four ruling powers¡¯ actionspletely disgusted Lu Yin. This reassured Qing Chen, and he had let go of any possible concerns regarding Lu Yin¡¯s background as a member of the White Dragon n. If that were not the case, then it would have been impossible for Qing Chen to speak up for Lu Yin like this no matter how impressive he thought the youth was.

    Qing Chen had always felt that Lu Yin would bring about major changes to the Perennial World in the future.

    Countless people from both the Middle Realm and the Higher Realm gathered at Dragon Mountain, and even individuals who did not normally qualify to set foot on Dragon Mountain had unexpectedly received the opportunity to enter.

    The White Dragon n intended to take full advantage of Long Qi¡¯s status to improve their image, and Long Ke even wanted to use Lu Yin to stabilize the main family¡¯s position within the n.

    No fewer than twenty Envoys had arrived, and there were also several powerful Semi-Progenitors.

    When Lu Yin heard this news, he could not help but think that there were more than enough experts had gathered at Dragon Mountain to destroy the entire Fifth Maind, likely without any issues.

    The scheduled day for Lu Yin to worship the ancestors drew closer and closer. Then, finally, the Celestial Frost Sect arrived.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was represented by Sect Master Bai Teng, Elder Xi Zi, and an Elder Shi.

    .

    Many of the people already at Dragon Mountain were shocked when they heard that Elder Shi was attending the ceremony. They were not surprised due to Elder Shi¡¯s impressive strength, but rather because he was famous for being too persistent.

    Elder Shi, whose full name was Shi Xin,1 was a powerhouse who had only passed his first tribtion. It had been an excessive amount since that tribtion, but he still had not attempted his next breakthrough yet. It was not because he would struggle to ovee his next stellr tribtion, but rather because he was unwilling toplete his breakthrough.

    "Long ago, Shi Xin cultivated his battle force all the way to aurelian force, and he relied on that to cross realms and fight against Envoys. He¡¯s evenparable to the Seven Heroes from back then, but unfortunately, he failed when challenging them. However, he has always maintained his promise from back then to never breakthrough again. Even though the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s master has ordered Elder Shi toplete his breakthrough, he still refuses. He was even punished and imprisoned for his disobedience. I never expected him to attend this ceremony,¡± said an old man as he watched the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s group enter Dragon Mountain.

    Everyone around the old man heard his words, though some admired Elder Shi while others mocked him.

    "Even though he¡¯s only a single tribtion Envoy, there is no one in the entire Perennial World at that cultivation realm who is his opponent. Even though the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor was powerful enough to challenge Envoys with a higher cultivation, he has never challenged Elder Shi. This is because Elder Shi is invincible within his realm," another person said.

    "Aurelian force is truly rare. Very few people cultivate battle force, and even fewer are ever able to cultivate it to aurelian force."

    "It¡¯s such a pity that an amazing genius was buried alongside the Seven Heroes."

    "By the way, which one of the seven managed to defeat him?"

    "The rumors say that it was the seventh hero."

    ¡­

    The moment the people from the Celestial Frost Sect arrived at Dragon Mountain, they dismissed Long Ke, who had greeted them on behalf of the White Dragon n. Then, they immediately went to see the people from Shenwu''s Sky.

    "Princess Taili, please tell us once again what you saw at the Forgotten Ruins." Bai Teng and Elder Xi Zi both stared at Xia Taili. Their faces clearly showed that they would not leave unless she spoke.

    Next to Xia Taili was Xia Xing.

    "How many times has this princess told you this? You already asked me this when we first left the Dominion Realm! What else do you do other than repeat the same questions?" Xia Taili was already very upset and in a bad mood. So when Bai Teng showed up to force her to answer questions, she had instantly lost her temper.

    Bai Teng grew furious, and he looked over at Xia Xing. "Old Xia, is this how your Shenwu¡¯s Sky raises your children?"

    Before Xia Xing could even respond, Xia Taili leaped up with a grin. "You just did this princess a favor! Because of what you just said, this princess won¡¯t say anything more!"

    "You!" Bai Teng was enraged.

    Elder Xi Zi felt his head throbbing with pain. He had heard of Xia Taili''s unruly reputation before, and he knew that it would be impossible to force the matter. He quickly grabbed Bai Teng before saying to Xia Xing, "Sect Master Xia, please forgive me, but Shaohong''s death is not only a loss for my Celestial Frost Sect, but also a true loss for the entire Perennial World. He had a high chance of bing a Progenitor in the future, but he died just like that! We must receive an exnation to give to the Perennial World.

    "Our Progenitors are the strongest protection that our Perennial World has to offer."

    Xia Xing nodded. "You elders are correct, but Taili has also already told you everything that she knows. She has spared no details at all, covering everything from the moment she first arrived at the Forgotten Ruins to when she left. She has not left anything out, and I cannot ask her to keep repeating herself for you."

    Elder Xi Zi stared at Xia Taili, but the girl just snorted, deliberately antagonizing the elders. She was already upset, so no one should even think of pushing her around at this time.

    Elder Xi Zi nced past Xia Taili towards a young man standing in the corner. This young man had been present since they had first arrived, and he had maintained a respectful expression. If he were some ordinary disciple, he would have left long ago, but he had not.

    "Might I ask who the disciple that Sect Master Xia has brought here is? Has this old man heard of him before?" Elder Xi Zi asked as he stared at the young man in the corner.

    The young man met Elder Xi Zi''s eyes and showed a faint smile before slowly bowing. "Luo Zhong greets the seniors from the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Xia Xing exined, "This is a new disciple of Shenwu''s Sky. His talent is quite decent, so I brought him along with me for training, though I haven¡¯t made much progress with him. You elders have not heard of him before."

    Xia Taili rolled her eyes. "That''s not necessarily true. These old guys might be more aware about my Shenwu''s Sky than even you, Father."

    Xia Xing¡¯s voice dropped low. "Taili, don''t be rude."

    Elder Xi Zi still did not be angry, though Bai Teng waved a hand. "Uncultured brat."

    .

    He then left.

    Elder Xi Zi politely dismissed himself.

    Xia Xing stared at Bai Teng''s back with contempt. The sect master was nothing more than a puppet for someone else, so he was not worth her concern.

    Some timeter, Xia Taili walked away from the people from the Celestial Frost Sect, already in a much better mood. She nced behind. "Luo Zhong, let¡¯s go. Come train with this princess again."

    "Yes, Princess." Luo Zhong''s expression remained indifferent. HIs face was calm and had a slight smile that made people feel veryfortable. He was a calm youth who remained stubbornly respectful at all times, and he was also extremely talented in regards to cultivation. In just one year, he had risen up through the ranks of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s disciples until he was personally recognized by Sect Master Xia Xing.

    After following Xia Taili away, Luo Zhong suddenly nced over towards Hidden Dragon Lake and silently thought within his heart, Brother Lu, we will meet again.

    After the people from the Celestial Frost Sect left Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s quarters, they went to visit the Nong family, only to find that Nong Sanniang had note to the Higher Realm. Nong Lie was the only youth apanying Nong Ya, so the elders from the Celestial Frost Sect could only leave in frustration. They also wanted to speak with Long Qi, but the White Dragon n did not allow them to do so.

    Lu Yin quietly waited on the ind in Hidden Dragon Lake. Soon, ten days passed. High up in the sky, at a point where the altitude distorted one¡¯s sight, Dragon Mountain radiated a powerful light that shone throughout the entire Higher Realm. The day for Long Qi to worship the ancestors had finallye.

    This ceremony on Dragon Mountain was a major event, as it was rted to the prosperity of one of the four ruling powers of the Higher Realm, which meant that Dragon Mountain had be the focus of countless eyes.

    On this day, Lu Yin changed into the unique clothes needed for worshiping the ancestors of the White Dragon n and then solemnly entered the Ancestral Dragon Altar thaty at the center of Dragon Mountain.

    [1] Name means Iron Heart. ?

 Chapter 1541: Progenitor Longâ€™s Blessing

    Chapter 1541: Progenitor Long¡¯s Blessing

    The Ancestral Dragon Altar was located at the very center of Dragon Mountain, and it took up the highest point of the entire mountain. Even if one searched the entire Higher Realm, this was still one of the highest points in the entire Realm. The four ruling powers bnced each other, and so each of them had a location with a simr altitude. This meant that Lu Yin was about to step onto the peak of the Higher Realm. The only thing that would remain above him would be the Dominion Realm.

    Countless people surrounded the Ancestral Dragon Altar in all directions. No matter how powerful the people gathered here were, at this moment, all of them could only look up at Lu Yin; even the Semi-Progenitors were not excluded. It was impossible for anyone to look down at him.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was looking down upon everyone.

    "Worship the ancestors. Ascend the altar-"

    Lu Yin was wearing the beautiful and unique ceremonial clothes that the White Dragon n had prepared for him. His face had a look of surprise, as in front of him was a massive statue of the Ancestor Python. The statue looked as though it had merged with the Mother Tree, and it radiated a small pressure. Lu Yin still remembered the first time he had seen the Ancestor Python and just how heart-pounding the sight had been. He could not imagine how a human could ever possibly fight against such a creature. The entire White Dragon n believed in the Ancestor Python because the Ancestor Python had given them strength.

    Down below the Ancestral Dragon Altar, Nong Lie nervously watched Lu Yin. Even though the members of the Nong family were taught and trained to be humble from childhood, Lu Yin¡¯s current view was something that countless people in the Perennial World dreamed of seeing, and Nong Lie could not suppress his desire either.

    As Lu Yin took his first step, the light that Dragon Mountain radiated increased by another level, and the light spread beyond the Higher Realm and projected what was happening atop Dragon Mountain to the Middle Realm.

    Down in the Middle Realm, untold numbers of people looked up to see Dragon Mountain and Lu Yin worshiping the n¡¯s ancestors. They enviously watched on as Lu Yin walked towards the Ancestral Dragon Altar, one step at a time.

    In Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate, Wang Dashuai¡¯s mouth fell open. Bro, Bro, have you reached the peak of life?

    At the Smokecloud Sect, Semi-Progenitor Yun Wang had aplicated expression. Now that such a talented youth was rising up within the White Dragon n, the n really had not been harmed by losing a Junior Progenitor.

    At Blue Moon, in the home of a branch family of the Xia family, the family patriarch, Xia Ru, held his wife''s slender waist as he gazed up with envy. He had gone to the Ind of Hope with the intention of currying favor with Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei, but he had failed. At this moment, he was looking at Lu Yin and seeing someone on the same level as Xia Shenfei.

    To the side, Zhu Xian was feeling just as much envy. He asionally looked over to meet Madam Xia''s eyes, and he also looked at Xia Ru with eyes full of contempt and ridicule.

    The matriarch of the Shangling family, Shangling Wan, was stunned. She had never dreamed that the Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate would someday rise to such a level, but his name was bing far more important than ever before.

    On Dragon Mountain, below the Ancestral Dragon Altar, Xia Taili gritted her teeth. This scene reminded her of Lu Yin¡¯s attitude and behavior when he had forced her to protect him up in the Dominion Realm. This person was a true bastard.

    Some distance away, Wang Si remained calm. Although the White Dragon n had given birth to this descendant, his existence would not have any impact on the situation for the time being. Once the Junior Progenitors were saved and Long Tian united with this Long Qi, the future of the White Dragon n could already be seen. She looked over towards Shenwu¡¯s Sky. On top of that, there were rumors that Shenwu¡¯s Sky intended to forge a marriage alliance with the White Dragon n, which would unite the two forces. What would happen to her Wang family?

    Wang Yun was standing behind Wang Si. She had met Lu Yin when he had been sent to the Yinshan District. At this particr moment, Wang Yun frowned as she stared at Lu Yin. He was looking more and more and more familiar to her. She had felt this same feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu when she had first seen him at Yinshan Gate. Where had she seen him before?

    Out of everyone present, the most shocked person was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Elder Shi. He stared nkly at Lu Yin, as the youth looked nearly identical to that person. When Elder Shi had first seen Lu Yin, the elder had nearly mistaken Lu Yin for that person.

    As Lu Yin walked step by step towards the peak of Dragon Mountain, Elder Shi¡¯s fists clenched tightly, as Lu Yin reminded him of that person more and more. Unfortunately, Long Qi was not that person.

    After the news that Long Qi was going to be epted as the disciple of a Progenitor was released, more and more of the Perennial World¡¯s top powerhouses had seen Lu Yin¡¯s face, and many of them had felt that he looked very simr to another person. However, Long Qi was a member of the White Dragon n whose blood had already been tested several times. Those tests had removed any doubt that anyone might have held.

    However, as the light from Dragon Mountain was reflected down to the Middle Realm, countless people saw Lu Yin¡¯s appearance for the first time. How many of them were shocked by Lu Yin''s appearance? However, Lu Yin was ignorant to all this. The closer he moved to the statue of the Ancestor Python, the more pressure that Lu Yin felt. For countless years, the White Dragon n had worshiped the Ancestor Python, not for the creature itself, but rather for their beliefs.

    Could faith be another form of power? This thought inadvertently popped into Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    There were infinite mysteries within the human body. The corporeal body housed an ephemeral spirit. In that case, where did beliefs such as persistence, stubbornness, and couragee from? Faith could empower people to doing anything. Who could truly say that it was not power? Who would dare im that faith could not be used?

    At this moment, it was as though Lu Yin saw the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestor, the very person who had epted the Ancestor Python''s blood and its inheritance to create the White Dragon n: the original ancestor.

    Ni Huang appeared as Lu Yin stood atop the Ancestral Dragon Altar. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time actually seeing the White Dragon n¡¯s grand elder.

    Ni Huang''s voice sounded as though it rang out from ancient years, but he did not look that old. However, his appearance was a bit different from the rest of the members of the White Dragon n. He was stronger, much stronger than an old man should be, and he was nearly three meters tall, whichplemented his curly hair and domineering aura.

    "Please, the n¡¯s family tree," Ni Huang said. A bamboo scroll appeared from the void. There was no beginning to be seen, but Ni Huang held the end of the scroll. He then looked at Lu Yin. "Worship the ancestors."

    Lu Yin then began the tedious ritual of worshiping the n¡¯s ancestors. Fortunately, he had learned the ritual from Long Xi, so he missed nothing. He pictured the statue of the Ancestor Python as if it were Mister Mu, and it allowed him to show greater devotion.

    Ni Huang''s eyes showed his satisfaction, as he could feel Lu Yin¡¯s ¡°sincerity.¡±

    The grand elder was not alone, as everyone could sense Lu Yin¡¯s devotion.

    Elder Shi''s eyes grew bitter as he watched Lu Yin worship the statue of the Ancestor Python. He was struck by an indescribable sorrow when he saw someone with such a simr appearance to that person worshiping the Ancestor Python of the White Dragon n. This was a gross insult to him.

    It took around the time for half an incense stick to burn for Lu Yin to fullyplete the ritual, and Xia Taili started to be impatient. However, everyone who had gathered beneath Dragon Mountain solemnly watched the ceremony with true admiration.

    Not everyone held the qualifications to perform this ritual.

    Long Zhang was going insane with jealousy while Long Jue felt like he had run out of options. The elder from the branch family wanted to stab Lu Yin, but he was forced to suppress his emotions. From this point in time onwards, Long Qi¡¯s status would bepletely different. He would no longer be connected to the n¡¯s main family because of his marriage with Princess Long Xi, but rather because of his own strength. His promotion was even being overseen by Grand Elder Ni Huang, the ancestor who guarded Dragon Mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s position in the family was in the top ten now.

    .

    "Blood." Grand Elder Ni Huang¡¯s voice was heard.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew stern; this was the most challenging part of the entire ceremony. He cut his finger and dripped out some blood. Then, he waited anxiously.

    The blood floated through the sky before dripping onto the statue of the Ancestor Python as everyone watched.

    They all saw that, the moment the blood merged with the statue, it suddenly roared as though it were alive. After that, the illusory form of the Ancestor Python surged into the void, climbing high into the sky as it radiated an indescribable pressure. The beast circled Dragon Mountain and then shot upwards towards the Dominion Realm.

    Everyone on Dragon Mountain was shocked. Even the people from the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang family, and all the other organizations werepletely stunned.

    When the descendants of the White Dragon n worshiped their ancestors, the purer their blood was, the more real the image of the Ancestor Python would appear to be. Long Qi had just brought about an image of the Ancestor Python that almost looked true. This meant that he had apletely pure bloodline.

    Ni Huang grew excited. Down below, Long Ke''s eyes narrowed. He was actually not very happy at the moment because Lu Yin was no longer a part of his family. Long Ke was one of the only individuals present who was aware that the grand elder had made arrangements before this ceremony for Long Qi to wed Xia Taili, the little princess of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s level of value to the n far surpassed that of regr descendants now. He had even been raised to be dered a member of the n¡¯s main family, giving him a status that even surpassed Long Xi¡¯s and made him equal to Long Tian.

    Long Ke saw Lu Yin in a different light from before. At this moment, the n patriarch merely hoped for Long Tian to be rescued as soon as possible so that his main family would not bepletely surpassed. If not, after receiving the grand elder¡¯s support and gaining a Progenitor as a master, it was very possible that Long Qi could lead the Dalian Mountain branch family to supersede or even rece the main family.

    Eventually, a hint of hostility entered the patriarch¡¯s eyes. He regretted giving the Ancestor Python''s blood to this child.

    Ni Huang watched Lu Yin with a great deal of satisfaction. "Long Qi, from now on, your name will be entered into the main family¡¯s family tree, but unfortunately, you are the sole member of the Dalian Mountain branch family. Thus, you, Long Qi, will be a branch all on your own."

    Long Xi had dealt with the Dalian Mountain branch family long ago. That branch family had plotted to let Lu Yin impersonate their branch family¡¯s Long Qi, and in order to prevent the Celestial Frost Sect from discovering the truth that there was no one to marry her, Long Xi had taken action. Lu Yin had not asked about the matter before, so he was only now learning that the Dalian Mountain branch family no longer existed.

    This also eliminated some of Lu Yin¡¯s concerns.

    Also, Grand Elder Ni Huang¡¯s words were very clear, as well as their implication: Lu Yin was no longer considered the main family¡¯s son-inw. Even though he had been in the process of marrying Long Xi and had already visited the Lower Realm to pay his respects to the Ancestor Python with Long Xi, their marriage was not considered valid since they had not worshiped the ancestors together at Dragon Mountain. Lu Yin had regained his freedom at this moment.

    He could not stop himself from ncing over at Long Ke, and Lu Yin saw the hostility in the patriarch¡¯s eyes, leaving Lu Yin quite helpless. He did not want to abandon Long Xi, but had rather been forced to do so by his circumstances.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang wrote Long Qi¡¯s name into the main family¡¯s family tree. This was the moment that Lu Yin''s alias of Long Qi made a true leap upwards, officially bing a core member of one of the four ruling powers. With this change, he almost held the same status as Long Tian within the White Dragon n.

    "Please, receive Progenitor Long¡¯s blessing." Elder Ni Huang bent down low.

    Every single person within the White Dragon n bowed low and paid their respects.

    The Celestial Frost Sect and the other guests looked at each other before helplessly bending over as well, bowing. They were bowing to pay their respects to a powerhouse on the level of a Progenitor.

    "We greet Progenitor Long."

    "We greet Progenitor Long."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin bowed low. Was Progenitor Long really going to show himself?

    Progenitor Long did not actually show himself, but the sky did split open, and a pir of tribtion crystal appeared on the ground.

    Lu Yin stared at the massive pir that had appeared before him; what was this?

    Xia Taili sneakily lifted her head to look at the pir of tribtion crystal. Her eyes grew fervent as she became envious of this crystal pir; how could the White Dragon n still have such arge pir of tribtion crystal?

    Nong Lie, Wang Yun, and everyone else also saw it, and the envy practically spilled from their eyes. That pir of tribtion crystal was absolutely massive! It was fully capable of allowing a person to open their middle meridian point! Long Qi had already stolen a crystal pir from Long Xian''s son and opened his lower meridian point. Thus, with this crystal, Long Qi would also be able to open his middle meridian point. He would only be one step away from having all three meridian points open!

    Opening the middle meridian point would make a person practically equal to a Junior Progenitor in strength and cultivation. Long Qi was essentially bing another Junior Progenitor.

    Even Grand Elder Ni Huang and Patriarch Long Ke had not known that Progenitor Long had possessed another pir of tribtion crystals.

    "Long Qi, with the care and affection that our ancestor has shown you, offer your deep gratitude," Grand Elder Ni Huang quietly reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin finally reacted and expressed his thanks, "Thank you for blessing this one."

    Progenitor Long¡¯s appearance was not nearly as impressive as when the Progenitor of Combat had revealed himself during ZENITH. There was no pressure at all, but this incident made Lu Yin¡¯s heart pound even harder than the previous incident, as this powerhouse felt truly unfathomable.

    "Senior Mu Xie, how long do you intend to watch on for?" An ancient and deafening voice filled the sky, leaving everyone in awe. It was Progenitor Long¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled and he stared up at the sky. Was Commander Mu Xie going to appear?

 Chapter 1542: Stable Zone

    Chapter 1542: Stable Zone

    Ripples soon appeared in the void as a figure slowly emerged. It was as though a painting was being made, and there was not even the slightest effect on the surroundings. Even the ripples in the void seemed more like water ripples: gentle and rxing.

    Everyone bowed as one. "We greet Humility Gate¡¯s Commander."

    "We greet Humility Gate¡¯s Commander."

    ¡­

    No matter who they were, whether they were a part of Humility¡¯s Gate or not, at this moment, everyone bowed to this person with the utmost respect.

    Lu Yin looked up to finally get a clear look at Mu Xie. Themander was a very gentle-looking middle-aged man, but he was not Mister Mu. Lu Yin felt disappointed.

    Out of everybody present, Lu Yin alone had the courage to lift his head and look. Everyone else bowed low, even Grand Elder Ni Huang.

    Even if the grand elder held an impressive status and level of seniority in the Perennial World, he was still not a Progenitor. Thus, he was unqualified to act any differently.

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin and saw Lu Yin peeking. The older man smiled gently at the youth.

    Lu Yin felt his heart skip a beat, and he quickly bowed deeper than ever.

    "It¡¯s alright. There¡¯s no need to be so polite," Mu Xie said in a very soothing tone.

    Everyone bowed once more before rising up.

    At this moment, everyone who was able to see Mu Xie grew excited. After all, not everyone would ever see an actual Progenitor! Doing so was something they could brag about for the rest of their lives.

    Down in the Middle Realm and everywhere that was not Dragon Mountain, no one could see the image of Mu Xie, as the reflected light did not contain his image at all.

    "Long Qi, I''ve been watching you for a long time," Mu Xie said as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin started to get nervous. "Thank you, Commander Mu, for your care."

    "Would you like to be the disciple of me, Mu Xie?" Mu Xie asked in a very blunt manner.

    Everyone was taken aback, as they had not expected such a direct question.

    Lu Yin became nervous; what should he do? Could he refuse? No, that was absolutely not an option. However, how could he possibly exin himself to Mister Mu if he said yes? This was a terrible dilemma.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin with envy as they waited to hear his reply.

    At this time, a woman in the crown around the Ancestral Dragon Altar stepped forward and offered a respectful bow. ¡°Lord Commander, could you allow Junior Qiu Ling to say a few words first?"

    Everyone looked over at Qiu Ling; she was an Array Grandmaster.

    Qiu Ling was a woman, and it was very rare for anyone to reach the Array Grandmaster level. She did not look old, only as though she was in her thirties, but she had a very refined demeanor.

    Mu Xie looked at Qiu Ling. "Of course. What does Grandmaster Qiu Ling wish to say?"

    Progenitors held exalted statuses, but an Array Grandmaster was not a nobody either. This was the unique advantage enjoyed by Lockbreakers. Sourcebox arrays and Array Masters were useful in many ces, and their field of expertise was something that not even Progenitors could necessarily intrude upon.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling respectfully said, "This junior has heard that Long Qi is a lockbreaking prodigy, and I came here to observe him with the idea of epting him as an apprentice if he does well. However, I know that he would never dare to ept bing my apprentice after being epted as themander¡¯s disciple, as that would be rude. I wonder, would Commander Mu be willing to allow this junior to evaluate Long Qi?"

    Mu Xie smiled casually. "Of course. This is also a blessing for Long Qi if he is able to ept Qiu Ling as a teacher."

    After he spoke, Mu Xie disappeared, and no one could sense where he had gone.

    "Thank you, Commander." Grandmaster Qiu Ling was thrilled.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin as even more jealousy filled their eyes, though they also felt somewhat numb. Not only had this person¡¯s status within the White Dragon n transformed, but he had also been given the opportunity to ept a Progenitor as his master. And on top of all that, an Array Grandmaster had even stepped forward to ask Long Qi to be her apprentice. This youth was simply too lucky. No, his life was too good.

    Xia Taili gritted her teeth; this bastard had dog-shit luck.

    Behind Xia Taili, Luo Zhong felt shocked, and he gazed at Lu Yin with an odd glint in his eyes. I wonder, if you let all these people know that your surname is actually Lu, how many would rush forward to ept you as an apprentice or disciple then? This is quite interesting.

    In the Celestial Frost Sect, in Jade Valley, Liu Shaoge was gazing in the direction of Dragon Mountain. He could not see Mu Xie, but he was able to see Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and he knew what had been happening.This is interesting.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling grew solemn as she turned to face Lu Yin. "Long Qi, will you ept me as your teacher to guide you as a Lockbreaker?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before stepping forward and bowing low. "This junior would be honored."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling nodded. "I heard that you repaired the second array base¡¯s defensive sourcebox array and that you were also able to control the spherical red sourcebox array down in the New World. This shows you have an exceptional talent for lockbreaking, but seeing is believing. So, I want to test you myself. If you pass, I will ept you as an apprentice."

    "I will follow the Array Grandmaster¡¯s guidance," Lu Yin replied respectfully. His attitude satisfied Grandmaster Qiu Ling, though that was only normal. Anyone approached by an Array Grandmaster and asked to be their apprentice would show apletely respectful attitude.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling raised her hand, causing a sourcebox to fall to the ground right below the ancestral dragon altar, directly beneath Lu Yin.

    This sourcebox was shaped like a bottle. After it struck the ground, the nearby flowers and nts erupted in blooms, and their fragrance filled the area. Rainbows appeared in the sky, and rivers burst out of the ground to create a beautiful but bizarre spectacle within a hundred miles of the sourcebox.

    .

    "This is a Boundless Advance level sourcebox. Give it a try," Grandmaster Qiu Ling said, stating her test for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up at Grand Elder Ni Huang, who nodded.

    He then approached the sourcebox.

    Many of the nearby people started talking amongst themselves, as some of them had recognized the sourcebox. One such person was Master Deng Guo. He had alsoe to Dragon Mountain with the intention of epting Lu Yin as an apprentice, but unfortunately, with Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s presence, the man could do nothing.

    "This old man has seen that sourcebox before. It is one of the sourceboxes used by the Lockbreaker Headquarters to test Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers. Even though this sourcebox¡¯s danger field is not lethal, it makes anyone who attempts to approach the sourcebox grow sluggish and even hallucinate. It is verymon for a Lockbreaker to fail their lockbreaking attempt once they are disturbed, and almost everyone who wishes to be an Advanced Lockbreaker will fail if they encounter this particr sourcebox." Master Deng Guo sighed.

    It was only then that the people nearby understood that even though this particr sourcebox was not dangerous, it was still incredibly difficult to unlock.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was testing Lu Yin''s will and speed.

    Lu Yin also heard Master Deng Guo¡¯s exnation. This was going to be quite tricky. He was not worried about a dangerous sourcebox, but a sourcebox that caused hallucinations and affected the lockbreaker¡¯s judgment was the most difficult sort of sourcebox to unlock, as it was impossible to know when one was hallucinating. This was the source of this Lockbreaker test¡¯s difficulty. A Lockbreaker needed to be fast, as being too slow would naturally leave one unqualified.

    Given the situation, Lu Yin immediately started mentally reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. Regardless of what happened, it would never hurt to recite the scriptures.

    The facts ended up proving Lu Yin¡¯s decision to be correct. While he mentally recited the Stonewall Scriptures, he never felt any sort of sluggishness or saw any hallucinations. As he drew closer and closer to the bottle-shaped sourcebox, he started studying it to see how to best unlock it.

    This part of the process was not something that most people could follow or understand, but admiration filled Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s eyes. She saw that Lu Yin waspletely unaffected, and it was as if the sourcebox waspletely inert. The child was a natural-born Lockbreaker.

    The difficulty of unlocking this particr sourceboxy in the unseen interference that would affect the Lockbreaker trying to unlock it. Once this was dealt with, unlocking the sourcebox was a foregone conclusion.

    When Lu Yin had taken his Boundless Advanced Locker exam, he had unlocked a bridge dozens of timesrger than this small, bottle-shaped sourcebox. At that time, Lu Yin had used several days to sessfully unlock the bridge. This current sourcebox took him quite a bit of time, but he seeded within a day.

    There was a soft click, and everyone stared at the bottle.

    Lockbreaking was essentially a fight against a sourcebox. Each sourcebox had its own unique danger zone, and these fields could then be used by Array Masters to make arrays that were very effective against humanity¡¯s enemy. However, unlocking a sourcebox had a very high chance of revealing nothing in the end. Despite the odds and the utility of sourcebox arrays, many people still grew excited about lockbreaking as they wanted to see treasures from ancient times.

    No matter what a person preferred sourceboxes be used for, an unlocked sourcebox would always draw a great deal of attention, not to mention an advanced sourcebox that was able to induce hallucinations.

    The bottle shook slightly before transforming into powder.

    Lu Yin was disappointed, as he had gained nothing.

    Some of the nearby people said, "Sure enough, it should not have been unlocked. It would have been very powerful if used in a sourcebox array, especially since it was able to produce hallucinations."

    "Lockbreaking leads to both gains and losses. It¡¯s impossible to know the results. However, not all sourceboxes can be unlocked."

    "I support lockbreaking."

    "I feel that it''s better to not unlock sourceboxes. There must be a reason why these sealed objects were concealed from the universe, and it¡¯s best to not go against the will of nature."

    "Then why are you even cultivating? Just ept your natural death."

    "You¡­"

    ¡­

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was not disappointed, and she looked at Lu Yin with admiration. "Long Qi, that was well done."

    Lu Yin respectfully bowed. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for your praise."

    "Do you know of the game that many Array Masters y? It¡¯s called Stable Zone," Qiu Ling asked.

    Lu Yin felt rather lost, as he had never heard of this before.

    A few people eximed, "Does such a game really exist? Legend ims that only Array Masters can participate, but recently promoted Array Masters will find it to be nearly impossible to y a full game."

    "It¡¯s basically a game of chess that revolves around one¡¯s lockbreaking ability and sourcebox arrayprehension. Does Grandmaster Qiu Ling intend to use this game to test Long Qi? This is too much for him."

    "Long Qi has already mastered two sourcebox arrays, which is enough for him to be referred to as a Senior Array Master. He is naturally qualified to y."

    "That¡¯s true."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling revealed a slight smile. "Stable Zone is a game yed by many Array Masters, and it has existed for a long time. It was even yed back during the era of the Daosource Sect, but since only Array Masters can y, the game has never be widespread.

    "Star energy and a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone form the pieces and board of this game," she said as she waved her hand, causing two sourceboxes to appear. One looked like a single long strip floating in the air. It started quickly rotating about itself, and its danger field could be seen with the naked eye, as it was radiatedyers of sharpness that produced square cuts that even caused the void to twist and break. This sourcebox was so powerful that even an Envoy would be harmed, and it released a crimson, unusual kind of energy.

    With the ovepping danger fields from two sourceboxes, an unpredictable danger zone appeared that spread out in all directions, causing many people to retreat in fear.

    Lu Yin observed the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields as they ovepped and interacted to create an odd and unpredictable danger zone. He was only able to understand it a little bit.

    "Stable Zone is actually very simple: whoever destroys their opponent''s star energy by utilisingthe sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields wins." Star energy appeared beneath Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s feet, and it spread out to cover the area between the sourceboxes. Her star energy was then sliced into pieces until there were only a small fraction of it left drifting in the air.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling waved her hand again, and the star energy that had not been sliced apart by the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields changed color; half of it turned ck while the other half turned white. It was exactly half and half, just like the pieces of a traditional chess game. The danger field created by the two sourceboxes interfering with each other formed the game board.

    "You may choose your color." Grandmaster Qiu Ling smiled at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1543: Playing Against a Grandmaster

    Chapter 1543: ying Against a Grandmaster

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and carefully observed whaty before him. The star energy had been evenly divided into ck and white pieces, and anything that blocked the sourceboxes'' danger fields would be wiped out. He just needed to agitate the chaotic danger field to destroy his opponent¡¯s star energy pieces, and one move could affect the entire board.

    "This junior will choose white," Lu Yin said respectfully. After all, he was supposed to be a member of the White Dragon n.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling revealed a small smile. "I usually y against those old monsters, so it¡¯s rare to y against a junior."

    She then lifted her foot and stepped into the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone.

    While there were two sides to the game, whoever entered first risked triggering the danger field, which made going first more dangerous. Naturally, in a game against Long Qi, Grandmaster Qiu Ling was the first to step in.

    A sourcebox¡¯s danger zone was very sensitive and could be extremely dangerous. If this were not the case, then Lockbreakers would not be held in such high esteem. There was no movement or even the slightest fluctuation as Grandmaster Qiu Ling entered the danger zone. It was as though the danger zone did not even sense her presence.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dignified as he observed the board.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling did not press him, and she instead waited quietly.

    Lu Yin did not move for an entire day, and no one made any attempts to urge him forward during this time. Eventually, after another half a day passed, Lu Yin finally made his move and entered the danger zone as Grandmaster Qiu Ling had done.

    While his actions appeared simple, Lu Yin¡¯s movement epassed multipleyers of calctions, and he had only be capable of moving around after studying the entire danger zone. It was impossible for someone to safely enter the field without first understanding what they were entering.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin sessfully step onto the game board, Grandmaster Qiu Ling praised him, "It¡¯s quite impressive for you to sessfully take this step. It¡¯s very difficult for anyone to be as calm as you when ying this game for the first time. Let¡¯s begin. You may take the first move."

    Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked his fingers. A powerful gust of wind shot out, inciting a vibration along a specific portion of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone, which caused a strand of dangerous energy to move out. The entire danger zone seemed to boil, and in doing so, it began destroying the colored star energy strewn across the game board.

    It was not only the ck-colored star energy that was destroyed, but also the white, though far more of the ck was destroyed.

    The audience was fascinated even though most of them were incapable of understanding what they were seeing. Regardless, they were all aware that every single move of this game required the yers to not only consider their own safety, but also to simultaneously find a move that destroyed as much of their opponent¡¯s colored star energy pieces as possible. Each move¡¯s sess was determined by how well a Lockbreaker could manipte the sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields while also testing their awareness of those fields.

    "No two sourceboxes in the entire universe are the same, which simrly means that no two games of Stable Zone are the same. Whether there are two sourceboxes, three, or even more, the superimposed danger fields from the sourceboxes will produce different danger zones. Every game is like watching the birth of a new sourcebox array. This is Stable Zone." Master Deng Guo stared at the field of the game while wishing that he could also participate. Every Lockbreaker dreamed of ying against an Array Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin was in no position to pay any attention to anything happening in the outside world. Since he had taken his turn, Grandmaster Qiu Ling could naturally take action as well, though she made her move instantly and casually. The danger field that Lu Yin had manipted to destroy the ck star energy pieces suddenly changed. He was swept up as well; the new danger field destroyed not only his white star energy pieces, but it also attempted to destroy him. This was not just a game, but also apetition that could determine the life and death of the yers.

    Sweat rained down from Lu Yin''s forehead as he moved. He was not able to immediately reverse the situation, but he could still proceed step by step.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling also continued to make moves. There were no rules regarding turns in Stable Zone, and the yers were allowed to take action when and how they wished. A yer could remain still and wait or continuously move. But everything was based off of their understanding and ability to manipte the sourceboxes¡¯ danger field.

    Lu Yin continued to agitate the danger field in order to suppress Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s maniptions, and the Grandmaster approved of his actions. "Continue."

    Lu Yin smiled. This was quite an interesting game, and it was far more exciting than the stereotypical lockbreaking session.

    Everyone around them nervously watched on as the two sourceboxes continuously shredded the void with their superimposed danger fields. The red energy emitting from the sourceboxes was strange and dark, and most people felt they were burning just from looking at it.

    Atop the small game board, Lu Yin and Grandmaster Qiu Ling continued to y their game. Even though their match was far removed from the destructive games normally yed between two Grandmasters, people still found the game shocking.

    Not everyone was aware of this particr game¡¯s existence, and few were qualified to y or even watch a game be yed.

    Even in terms of the entire Perennial World, how many Lockbreakers had the qualifications to y this game?

    Lu Yin was quite thrilled to be able to y, and his smile grewrger andrger. It really was incredibly interesting; every time Grandmaster Qiu Ling moved, Lu Yin had to exert tremendous effort in order to handle what she threw at him while also retaliating. This game did not take his cultivation or abilities into consideration¡ªonly his lockbreaking skills.

    He was nowhere close to being Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s opponent, though the game was an amazing opportunity for Lu Yin in and of itself. He could feel that his understanding of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger field was rapidly improving. This improvement was not possible from just lockbreaking. No wonder rumours had it that this game was typically yed by Array Grandmasters..

    After just a short time ying, Lu Yin had observed no fewer than a hundred changes in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone, and seeing these changes gave him a much greater understanding of the danger zone, allowing him to move faster and faster.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s original admiration for the youth had now transformed into surprise, and after two days of ying, she waspletely shocked.

    When they had first started ying Stable Zone, she had been able to wear Lu Yin down and push him to the brink with any random move. But at the moment, she was taking actions much faster than before because Lu Yin was clearly responding much faster and more efficiently. He was rapidly learning the sourceboxes¡¯ superimposed danger fields, and his speed ofprehension was incredible. It surpassed that of all other juniors Qiu Ling had ever seen before.

    .

    In fact, this youth might even surpass her own abilities when she had been his age.

    Eventually, Grandmaster Qiu Ling started manipting more than the danger field, and she also started moving her body. She started to flutter between the ck and white star energy pieces along with Lu Yin. The two of them danced in the danger zone that could kill at any moment.

    Master Deng Guo was utterly speechless. If he were ying against Grandmaster Qiu Ling, he might not have been able to move about so freely. Long Qi had understood the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone far too quickly. Master Deng Guo also remembered that he had already been shocked by how quickly Long Qi had repaired the defensive sourcebox array on the second array base. But now, the youth¡¯s talent was on full disy.

    He realized that he should have epted the youth as an apprentice while at the second array base, and he now regretted his actions at that time. This Lockbreaker would definitely be a higher ranked Array Master at the very least.

    Ni Huang and other Semi-Progenitors nced at each other. Lu Yin was truly giving an exceptional and even perfect performance.

    Xia Taili was stunned by what she saw; was this really happening? Was this guy really that talented at lockbreaking?

    Luo Zhong''s mouth curled up into a smile; this was Lu Yin! He was an iprehensible genius who hade from the edge of a backwater in the Outerverse, only to eventually unite the Outerverse and rise up to surpass all of his peers throughout the entire Fifth Maind.

    The hunched Liu Song was simrly amazed; this youth was trulyparable to the Long Xing of back then.

    The longer Elder Shi stared at Lu Yin, the more of a resemnce he found between Long Qi and that person. The heroic appearance, the level of talent, the¡­ demeanor.

    The sourceboxes'' danger zone waspletely different from what it had originally been, as Lu Yin and Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s maniptions made it continuously shift and change.

    If Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been able to easily destroy Lu Yin''s white star energy pieces at the beginning of their game, then at present, she needed to put forth greater effort.

    "Long Qi, do you find this game interesting?" Grandmaster Qiu Ling suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Very."

    "Then let¡¯s add another one." Qiu Ling was intrigued by Lu Yin¡¯s talent, so she raised a hand and brought out a third sourcebox. This sourcebox¡¯s danger field possessed a strange rhythm that did not produce any attacks, but it did mentally stun those affected by it. The moment the rhythm ovepped with the existing danger zone, everything changedpletely.

    Lu Yin was shocked. The change introduced by the third sourcebox''s danger field would very likelypletely destroy his white star energy pieces, causing him to lose. As he looked around, he saw that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was continuously manipting the danger zone to prevent her ck star energy pieces from being destroyed. Fortunately, this prevented her from being able to attack Lu Yin, as she was upied with protecting her own star energy pieces. This gave Lu Yin enough time to react.

    He quickly attacked, but the addition of the new danger field hadpletely changed the board, which fully invalidated Lu Yin¡¯s previousprehension of the danger zone.

    Suddenly, a chill ran down his back; the sourceboxes'' danger fields had already reached him. He spun around as a wave pulsed out, followed by a sharp red energy. The danger fields of the three sourceboxes had ovepped with each other, and the current danger field surrounding Lu Yin was so powerful that it had even surpassed an Envoy¡¯s strength. Lu Yin suffered an attack, and it opened up a massive wound on his abdomen that bled profusely.

    Many people in the audience gasped in shock.

    Ni Huang''s expression changed slightly, and he wanted to stop the game.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth while he continued to evade the attacks. He had no way to pay any attention to the white star energy pieces, and he was focused entirely on staying alive.

    Ultimately, he was able to stay alive even in the chaotic danger zone. After all, he had the Channeling Diagram, the Teleportation Formation, and a multitude of secret techniques. However, he was not able to pay any attention to the white star energy pieces as all of his focus was spent on ensuring his own survival. Lu Yin¡¯s white star energy pieces were rapidly diminishing.

    Several days had already passed, but there were times when Array Masters would y Stable Zone for several years. Several days was nothing inparison.

    "The more sourceboxes there are, the moreplicated the sourceboxes¡¯ superimposed danger zone will be, and consequently, the moreplicated the game state. It¡¯s said that in ancient times, there was a Grandmaster who yed against people while using more than ten sourceboxes at once, which means that the danger field wasparable to the sourcebox array protecting the array bases." Master Deng Guo was amazed.

    Once again, Lu Yin managed to evade an attack from the danger field. He was graduallying to understand the changes urring around them. Only after that was he able to spare some attention to check on his white star energy pieces. To his shock, he found that not many of the white pieces had disappeared.

    "Not only are you able to quickly adapt to a changing danger zone, but you were also able to defend your own star energy pieces while doing so. Long Qi, you''re surprising me more and more. I really want to know how far you can climb." Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s voice spoke up, but Lu Yin could not understand her words.

    When had he protected his white star energy pieces? He had not paid them the slightest attention, but as Grandmaster Qiu Ling had mentioned, the white star energy pieces had not been destroyed, and Lu Yin was even being credited for this aplishment. No, this was not right. Lu Yin had always been a cautious person. He looked over at Grandmaster Qiu Ling to check her eyes, but all he saw was encouragement.

    Something was not right. With the introduction of the third sourcebox, a steady rhythmic pulse dictated the flow of the danger zone, and that pulse affected the entire game board. Given the situation, could the white star energy pieces have been left untouched by pure luck? That was impossible. In that case, who had given Lu Yin the credit?

    Lu Yin felt puzzled, and he looked at Grandmaster Qiu Ling in confusion, but she exined nothing. "Continue. Our game has not finished yet."

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the game should have ended long ago. However, with Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s assistance, the game reached a truly shocking level. This worked to portray Lu Yin as a genius Lockbreaker, and it was also many people¡¯s first impression of the youth. They saw him as someone who was able to hold out against an Array Grandmaster and whose talent truly deserved the Array Grandmaster¡¯s unfettered praise. This youth was a true genius Lockbreaker.

    As thest white star energy piece disappeared, Lu Yin exited the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone.

 Chapter 1544: Stunning Achievements

    Chapter 1544: Stunning Achievements

    The shock in the audience¡¯s eye still had not fully disappeared yet. In particr, Master Deng Guo felt absolutely astounded. Since he had a better understanding of Stable Zone, he was naturally more stunned than the average viewer.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling did not collect the three sourceboxes that had been used for the game, but instead gave them to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin put them away in a daze. He was still feeling rather confused by the game, and he was guessing that the ending might have been the White Dragon n¡¯s idea. After all, Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been invited by the n, and they also wanted to prop Lu Yin up as their poster child.

    "I have to admit that Long Qi''s talent is amazing. Neither I nor the other Array Grandmasters can measure up to his achievements at the same age. It¡¯s possible that his lockbreaking abilities will one daypare to even Progenitor Hui¡¯s," Grandmaster Qiu Ling said something that shocked everyone present before she turned and bowed to where Mu Xie had disappeared from. "Thank you, Commander, for giving this Qiu Ling an opportunity. Else, Qiu Ling would have lost out on such a talented apprentice."

    Ni Huang was overjoyed. "Long Qi, I don''t think that you¡¯ve thanked Grandmaster Qiu Ling for her support yet."

    Lu Yin then became certain that the end of the game must have been the White Dragon n¡¯s scheme. They were definitely doing their all to elevate him ever higher!

    "Long Qi thanks Grandmaster Qiu Ling for her kindness. If not for Grandmaster''s mercy, this junior would have never been able to endure for so long during the game." Lu Yin was sincere with his words, as they were true. However, it sounded to others as though he was being modest.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling smiled. "It was your own aplishment, not mine."

    She then frowned. "Did you draw the attention of the Twelve Marquises on the rear battlefield?"

    Lu Yin was startled by the question, but then he nodded. "I was attacked by Marquis Green Bamboo and Marquis Xiang. Without Supervisor Qing Chen¡¯s assistance, I would have died."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling grew visibly worried. "Given the talent that you¡¯ve revealed just now, you will absolutely be attacked the moment you step foot back onto that battlefield. Those monsters must already know that you are bing my apprentice, so you can¡¯t return to the rear battlefield for now."

    Qing Chen then stepped forward. "Grandmaster Qiu Ling can rest assured¡ªLong Qi has gathered enough aplishments that he does not need to remain on the rear battlefield. While he was stationed at Yinshan Gate, he arrested more than a dozen traitors and even exposed the three Guan brothers, including the Huaiyuan Gate Master, as Redbacks.

    "After he was made acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate, he arrested more than a dozen more traitors before exposing Yun Mubai as a Redback.

    "After he stepped onto the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, he killed a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy and repaired the defensive sourcebox array on the second array base. Heter repaired another sourcebox array, saved tens of millions of people, and even almost killed ten corpse kings at the Envoy level while in the New World. He even set up new sourcebox arrays to protect the human city in the New World.

    "After leaving the rear battlefield, he went with me to find the terror ants¡¯ natural predator that he had discovered in the Lower Realm some time ago, which is an extraordinary contribution.

    "He has simply too many aplishments to list, and there are so many ways he can contribute to humanity, regardless of if he is on the rear battlefield or within the Perennial World. Thus, there is no need for him to return and remain on the rear battlefield even if he joins the Lockbreaker Headquarters."

    All of the aplishments that Qing Chen had listed out just now made even Lu Yin feel like he was a hero, let alone everyone else listening.

    Everyone had already heard of some of Lu Yin''s exploits, but no one had expected him to have aplished so much. In particr, what he had done on the rear battlefield was shocking, and everyone was stunned to the point of speechlessness.

    Was this person really only an Enlighter? How was he able to aplish feats that were even beyond Envoys?

    Ni Huang carefully appraised Lu Yin. Amazement could be seen in the grand elder¡¯s eyes, and he finally understood just why Progenitor Long had shown so much care for this child and why he had wanted the invitations to this ceremony be distributed so widely. This ceremony of worshiping the ancestors had been intended to startle the entire Perennial World. Long Qi¡¯s talent was absolutelyparable to the Long Xing of back then, and he even eclipsed her in some aspects. The boy was truly a genius.

    Xia Taili pouted. "With so many aplishments, they have to have been faked. It¡¯s a sham."

    Xia Xing instantly scolded the girl. "Military achievements cannot be faked! Don''t spread such nonsense! There will be trouble if others hear you."

    Xia Taili just let out a cold snort in response to her father¡¯s chidings.

    Wang Si eximed. "I never expected this child to have aplished so much. It¡¯s no wonder why he was bold enough to risk bing a public enemy of the four ruling powers in order to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback. His actions were not actually rashly made. He has a heart that can topple even the sky."

    Wang Yun stared at Lu Yin. He was truly a powerful youth! He was absolutely able to stand on the same level as the Junior Progenitors, and he actually far surpassed them in terms of military achievements. Then, she remembered that she still owed him a favor.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Teng had a horrible expression on his face as he stared at Lu Yin. A powerful killing intent was buried deep in his eyes; such a genius could only be allowed to appear in the Celestial Frost Sect! How could such a person rise up from the White Dragon n? This could not be permitted!

    "With such aplishments, there indeed won¡¯t be any problems." Grandmaster Qiu Ling felt relieved, and she started to speak of epting Lu Yin as her apprentice.

    At this moment, Bai Teng stepped forward. "Grandmaster, please wait a moment."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling looked over at Bai Teng, as did many other people.

    "Sect Master Bai, what might be the matter?" Grandmaster Qiu Ling inquired.

    Bai Teng replied, "Just now, Supervisor Qing Chen spoke a great deal about Long Qi''s military exploits, but this sect leader has a question: the New World is held by those monsters. So when Long Qi and the others fell down there, how did they survive? Long Qi, can you exin this to us?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "We fought to the death and were lucky."

    Bai Teng sneered. "Is it really that simple?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and his head snapped around. When he spoke, his tone was no longer polite. "Howplicated do you want the story to be? Why don¡¯t you jump down there and see for yourself?"

    "Long Qi, don''t be rude to Sect Master Bai." Long Ke stopped Lu Yin from speaking further, and then he looked up at Bai Teng. "What does Sect Master Bai mean by these words?"

    Bai Teng loudly stated, "Everyone, you mustn¡¯t forget about what happened to the Wang family in the past! How did the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds start? Have you all forgotten?"

    Most people did not understand Bai Teng¡¯s words, but the people with the highest statuses all understood.

    .

    Lu Yin felt confused. He remembered hearing something about the Wang family being involved with the Forgotten Ruins that he had visited in the Dominion Realm. There seemed to be some ancient incident involving the Wang family which had led to their battle technique of Forgotten Ruins being learned by Aeternus; could that be what Bai Teng was referring to?

    Was the matter of the Wang family somehow connected to the Sixth Maind? Lu Yin thought back to what he knew of the war between the two mainds. What could the connection possibly be?

    "Bai Teng, what nonsense are you spouting?" Long Ke snapped.

    Bai Teng turned to look at Long Ke and replied, "He ims that after he fell to the New World, he saved millions of people. Do you really believe this to be true?"

    Long Ke became furious. "Does Long Qi have to die in order for you to believe what he has done? Miracles can be found everywhere in the universe."

    "At first, he was able to survive because the Twelve Marquisesunched an all-out attack that epassed the entire battlefield. All five array bases were all targeted, and the ones who fell fled to the Ever-Victorious Army. All five array bases¡¯ generals had to move out to block the Twelve Marquises. This was what saved Long Qi and the others¡¯ lives," Qing Chen exined.

    Bai Teng said, "That¡¯s quite the coincidence."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling frowned. "Sect Master Bai''s suspicions are rather extreme, but there is some merit to what he says.¡±

    There were also some doubts in her eyes as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Long Qi, you killed almost ten corpse kings with the strength of Envoys? How did you manage this?"

    Lu Yin was keenly aware of the sudden change in Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s attitude towards him. While this felt rather strange, he still answered her, "This junior borrowed Supervisor Qing Chen¡¯s merit points in order to trade for the Cloudguard Robes to protect me."

    "That was nothing more than protection. How did you kill them?" Elder Xi Zi asked.

    Lu Yin continued, "I hadrades to help me: Star Alliance¡¯s Che Zhan, Zhou Tang, the Old Mother of the Eastern Mountain, and Mr. Guo. They all helped this junior."

    "Then these achievements are not yours alone, but Lord Qing Chen tried to give you full credit," Bai Teng mocked.

    Qing Chen was enraged.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly chilled.

    "Sect Master Bai, what are you trying to say?" Ni Huang asked in a low voice. The fact that Bai Teng was saying such things at this particr point in time meant that he was targeting the White Dragon n itself with the intent of destroying it.

    Bai Teng¡¯s voice also grew cold, "I simply want to know one thing. Long Qi, why did you kill Shaohong?"

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank.

    Everyone erupted in amotion.

    Ni Huang was furious. "Bai Teng, do you know what you are saying?!"

    Bai Teng lifted his head. "Of course I know! Someone saw Long Qi use the Void Rip battle technique when he was at the second array base! That battle technique is a secret that my Celestial Frost Sect will not share with anyone else, and not even our core disciples are able to learn it. In that case, how did Long Qi manage to use it?"

    Lu Yin felt a chill cover his body. That was true. He had indeed used Void Rip at the second array base when he was fighting against the corpse king with the heavy hammer, and that sourcebox array had indeed been taken from Bai Shaohong. Did someone see him? And did they also report it to the Celestial Frost Sect? Who? The first person to pop up in Lu Yin¡¯s mind was Hua Beibei, who had hounded Lu Yin while begging for protection and was constantly staring at Lu Yin.

    "Long Qi, need I say anything more?" Bai Teng shouted.

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s palms had be sweaty. He stared back at Bai Teng. "I never used your Void Rip battle technique."

    "Nonsense! Someone saw you," Bai Teng snapped.

    Lu Yin''s voice grew slightly hoarse, "Who? Bring them out to use me."

    Bai Teng loudly retorted, "Those people are still on the rear battlefield and are not able to leave. Regardless, it is a simple fact that you used our Void Rip battle technique. How did you learn it? Given the talent and strength that you¡¯ve revealed, something unexpected must have happened during the trip to the Dominion Realm! Why? You were the one who killed Shaohong, right?"

    Lu Yin mentally sighed in relief. No one was confronting him, which did not make sense. Even though he had used the sourcebox array to release a Void Rip on the battlefield in an emergency situation, who would pay any attention to such a thing on the battlefield?

    They had to be falsely using him. Bai Teng was just trying tounch a smear campaign against Lu Yin in order to prevent him from bing the apprentice of an Array Gradmaster and the disciple of a Progenitor. Even though Lu Yin did not want to ept themander as his master, that did not mean that he would just sit back and let his reputation be ruined.

    Since he was able to figure out Bai Teng¡¯s motives, others were able to do so as well.

    Ni Huang roared in a rage, "Bai Teng, you dare to make usations without evidence!? Is this how the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s master conducts himself?"

    "Bai Teng, you are ndering me, the Supervisor of Humility''s Gate, before the Humility Gate¡¯s Commander!" Qing Chen was also furious.

    "Your Humility¡¯s Gate was the one who deliberately boasted about his impressive achievements. Even if he was protected by the Cloudguard Robes, how could Long Qi have killed a single corpse king at the Envoy level? All of us know that corpse kings are stronger than humans within the same realm. Not even Shaohong could have killed so many corpse kings of that level, so why is your Humility''s Gate going at legnths protecting him?" Bai Teng retorted, clearly unafraid of Mu Xie¡¯s presence.

    Sure enough, Bai Teng was trying to nder Lu Yin. Regardless of the cost, he could not let the White Dragon n seed here. He was able to see how the White Dragon n was building their momentum and trying to surpass the Celestial Frost Sect in terms of reputation, especially since the Celestial Frost Sect had just lost their Junior Progenitor. That loss was a harsh blow to the Celestial Frost Sect. Very harsh. At the same time, an extraordinary genius had appeared within the White Dragon n, which made the entire Celestial Frost Sect ufortable.

    Given the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s tyrannical attitude, they could not allow just an event to pass unmolested.

    Bai Teng had absolutely no evidence that Long Qi had used Void Rip on the rear battlefield, but he had raised doubts in others, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning how he had made it sound as though Qing Chen had lied about Long Qi¡¯s military exploits. Bai Teng was determined to see this through.

    Qing Chen also regretted his words. He should not have shared all of Long Qi¡¯s achievements. In truth, Qing Chen himself found it impossible to believe what Long Qi had done, but the members of Star Alliance had all remained behind in the New World, so it was useless to recount their aplishments, and it was better to give them to Long Qi. Bai Teng had chosen his usations well, and Qing Chen had been caught.

 Chapter 1545: What Is That?

    Chapter 1545: What Is That?

    Lu Yin was the most offended out of anyone here. He had actually ughtered all of those corpse kings on his own without any assistance, but he could not admit to it. After all, he could not exin where he had gotten the knife, the aquatic nt-shaped power vessel, or the spear. After all, those items had all been taken from the four Junior Progenitors.

    Bai Teng''s n had already seeded, as he had merely wanted to ruin Lu Yin''s reputation to prevent him from bing a Progenitor¡¯s disciple or an Array Grandmaster¡¯s apprentice. All of this was to stop the White Dragon n from rising up and bing the peak power. Also, Bai Teng really did suspect that Long Qi had been the one to kill Bai Shaohong. All of the four Junior Progenitors had been of roughly equal strength, and the other three would not have joined forces to kill Bai Shaohong. And out of everyone who had traveled to the Dominion Realm, Long Qi was the one who had hidden his strength the deepest.

    Ni Huang was beyond furious. The four ruling powers had been at peace with each other, but Bai Teng¡¯s words were no different than directly spitting in the White Dragon n¡¯s face. Clearly, Bai Shaohong''s death had driven the sect mad.

    "Bai Teng, don''t stir up unreasonable trouble!" Long Ke shouted angrily.

    Bai Teng sneered. "You all are too shameless! The White Dragon n has clearly worked together with Humility''s Gate to give that child military achievements that are not his."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s expression had soured, and she turned to look at Lu Yin. "Long Qi, tell the truth: are the achievements mentioned truly yours, or did you steal aplishments from the Star Alliance''s experts?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dark, and he turned to look at Bai Teng, where he saw the sect master¡¯s smug eyes. Then, Lu Yin coldly answered, "Just because Bai Shaohong is unable to do something, that does not mean that I, Long Qi, am also incapable. There are some people who im that, Long Qi, am qualified to be another Junior Progenitor and that I have reced Bai Shaohong, but I hate hearing this! Did Bai Shaohong ever expose a Redback? How many traitors did he arrest? How many monsters did he kill on the rear battlefield? Did he ever step foot upon the New World that represents humanity¡¯s hope? Or did he ever have the ability to repair a sourcebox array?

    "He was capable of none of these things! So why should I bepared to him? I did kill corpse kings with help from Star Alliance¡¯s experts, but if Bai Shaohong had been there, he would not have even been able to protect himself. I am Long Qi, and your Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong cannotpare to me! Don''t measure me by such trash¡¯s standards!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s words echoed far as he had spoken loudly. He had given the Celestial Frost Sect no face at all. Belittling Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong aplished nothing, so even Long Ke, Ni Huang, Qing Chen, and the others present were shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin was really taking advantage of this opportunity to step upon the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s reputation.

    "I will readily admit that the four Junior Progenitors were truly powerful when we traveled to the Dominion Realm, but that was also because I, Long Qi, had not yet broken through to the Enlighter realm. After I became an Enlighter, what sort of obstacle would Bai Shaohong have been to me? How dare youpare him to me!¡± Lu Yin spoke loudly, fully intending to be as arrogant as humanly possible. Behaving in a subdued manner? That was impossible, and Lu Yin had no intention of bing Mu Xie¡¯s disciple, and neither did he want to be Qiu Ling¡¯s apprentice. Lu Yin did not n on staying in the Perennial World, so therefore, it did not matter who he offended from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had no evidence that could prove that Lu Yin had killed Bai Shaohong, so he would be fine. After the ceremony to worship the ancestors was finished, Lu Yin would return to the Fifth Maind with the old man¡¯s help. Lu Yin had already made ns with the old man, and no one could stop them.

    The greatest obstacle stopping Lu Yin from returning to the Fifth Maind was now gone, so what was there to be afraid of? Without even considering the Celestial Frost Sect, Lu Yin was willing to go up against all four ruling powers right now, with the sole exception of the White Dragon n. After all, he did not want to end up trapped on Dragon Mountain.

    Silence reigned beneath the Ancestral Dragon Altar.

    Bai Teng was utterly stunned. He was the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, so how could he have ever expected an arrogant youth to scold him so? This was something that would enter the history books.

    Thinking of the ramifications, Bai Teng''s eyes suddenly shed red. This would definitely be recorded down in history! The fact that the exalted master of the four ruling powers had just been scolded by a youth was something that would certainly be passed down for countless generations, and this thought drove him mad.

    "Junior, you are too bold!¡± Bai Teng attacked, though Long Ke immediately moved to protect Lu Yin.

    A stifling pressure suddenly fell upon the area, and Bai Teng was forced back to where he had been standing, and Elder Xi Zi and the other people from the Celestial Frost Sect were unable to stop anything.

    Mu Xie appeared, his face calm.

    Everyone immediately bowed to him once more.

    Lu Yin bowed low. He had been arrogant enough, so now he was nervously waiting for things to y out.

    "Bai Teng, you im that my Humility¡¯s Gate falsified military achievements?" Mu Xie opened his mouth as he casually looked over at Bai Teng.

    Bai Teng bowed deeply. "This junior would not dare. This junior merely said that they exaggerated Long Qi¡¯s aplishments by iming that he defeated almost ten Envoy-level corpse kings at the Enlighter realm. While he did this with the help of others, Qing Chen took these aplishments and attributed them all solely to Long Qi. This junior merely feels aggrieved for those members of the Star Alliance."

    Shameless! Countless people silently screamed at Bai Teng. Half of the members of the Star Alliance had been forced there by the Celestial Frost Sect!

    "Long Qi, Bai Teng ims that you are incapable of fighting against Envoys, though Bai Shaohong was able to fight against some. Given your disdain for Bai Shaohong, do you dare to fight against an Envoy?" Mu Xie casually asked as he turned towards Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin refused, it would be impossible for Mu Xie to ever ept him as a disciple, and the Progenitor might even kill Lu Yin. He quietly replied, ¡°This junior is willing to fight."

    Mu Xie looked back at Bai Teng. "What do you say?"

    Bai Teng took a deep breath. Excitement shed in his eyes, as he had been waiting for this exact moment. He had known that it would be impossible for him to eliminate Long Qi at Dragon Mountain, but that was precisely why he had brought Shi Xin along. "If Long Qi can defeat this one next to me, Shi Xin, then this junior will believe his reported achievements from his time in the New World, and I will even send a congrattory gift to the White Dragon n for raising such a genius."

    "No!" Ni Huang immediately interjected. He had heard of Shi Xin''s reputation before. This person could be considered invincible among single tribtion Envoys. How could Long Qi possibly deal with such a person?

    Ni Huang instantly understood why the Celestial Frost Sect had brought an elder that they held in such low regard to Dragon Mountain; everything had been nned out in advance.

    Lu Yin grew suspicious, and he looked at Shi Xin. This person could cause even Ni Huang to be nervous.

    It was at this moment that Shi Xin looked up and locked eyes with Lu Yin. A rare glint of excitement shed through his eyes as he looked at Lu Yin and reminisced.

    Bai Teng looked at Mu Xie,pletely ignoring Ni Huang.

    Mu Xie casually replied, "Very well."

    He then disappeared once more.

    .

    Bai Teng smiled arrogantly and turned towards Lu Yin. "Long Qi, if you can beat Shi Xin, then this sect master will have misjudged you before. If not, you are clearly nothing more than an arrogant, ignorant child, no matter how talented you may be. So what? Given the nature of your heart, your future achievements will be limited."

    This was a vicious statement, and the sect master clearly intended his words to be heard by both Mu Xie and Qiu Ling. The moment that Lu Yin lost the fight, Bai Teng believed that it would be impossible for him to be epted by either Mu Xie or Qiu Ling.

    Ni Huang was furious. He had not known that Bai Teng would be so shameless. He looked at Lu Yin with grave worry and shared all the information that he knew regarding Shi Xin.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he looked over at Shi Xin. This person had actually fought against the Seven Heroes long ago, and he had always maintained his promise to never continue beyond the first stellr tribtion. What a dumb thing to promise.

    Still, regardless of how silly or simple the person was, the moment that Lu Yin looked at Shi Xin, his heart changed.

    "It¡¯s said that Shi Xin lost to the Seventh Hero."

    "That¡¯s right, he lost to Little Seven."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin heard the murmurs around him. Wasn¡¯t I Little Seven? That¡¯s me! Since you¡¯ve already lost to me once, then you shall lose to me again!

    The fight began.

    Lu Yin overestimated himself while also slightly underestimating Shi Xin. The moment the fight began, Lu Yin ran into trouble. Shi Xin''s physical strength wasparable to that of a grey-eyed corpse king at the same level. Realizing this shocked Lu Yin, as it was incredibly rare to run into such a physically powerful human.

    Shi Xin was no less startled than Lu Yin, and he was possibly even more surprised. The Envoy had never considered that a cultivator not at the Envoy realm could everpare to his own physical strength.

    There was a bang as a fist collided against a palm. Lu Yin squeezed Shi Xin''s fist tight even though his own palm was already numb from his opponent''s overwhelming strength. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had already beenparable to an ordinary Envoy¡¯s when he had been a Hunter. Since then, he had used dragon saliva, opened his three meridian points, and remolded his body with a formcast model when breaking through to the Enlighter realm. Given all of these improvements, Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was nowparable to that of an expert with a power level of more than 600,000.

    Shi Xin deserved his reputation as a genius who had oncepeted with the Seven Heroes. If he had continued to improve at a normal rate, then he should have already reached a power level of 700,000 or more. Instead, he willingly kept a promise to never attempt another tribtion, which Lu Yin found both ridiculous and honorable.

    The stone ground of Dragon Mountain was hard, and yet it cracked from the shockwave from the twobatants¡¯ shing attacks.

    As they both sank into the ground, Shi Xin stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "I find it unbelievable that an Enlighter can measure up to me. You are absolutely no worse than the Seven Heroes when they were at your level, and you might even be stronger than they were."

    Lu Yin raised his hand to grab hold of Shi Xin''s other fist again. The void in the area around the two became distorted due to the unbelievable forces being exerted, and spatial cracks spread across the ground and shot into the sky.

    "Who did you lose to, and why did you make that promise to never undergo another tribtion?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shi Xin answered solemnly, "I''ll tell you if you win."

    Even as he spoke, veins of stone appeared across his body and slowly spread out. Lu Yin arched a brow¡ªan innate gift? He grew wary, and he pulled both of his hands back while retreating slightly. Shi Xin pushed forward and then disappeared as he entered the true universe. Lu Yin moved at the same time and also entered the true universe.

    Countless spectators in the area were instantly shocked. They had only ever heard of the four Junior Progenitors being able to enter the true universe before the Envoy realm. Now, they had just seen another person do the same. More importantly, they were all able to see that Long Qi had not been forced out of the true universe after just a brief moment; rather, he seemed able to stay in there. This was beyond anything that most people could ept.

    However, Lu Yin did not have any time to worry about what the crowd was thinking. He wanted to defeat Shi Xin, but the Envoy was so fast that Lu Yin could barely grasp the man¡¯s shadow even in the true universe.

    This was the speed granted by the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God technique. It was just as famous as the Wang family¡¯s Four Arts or the White Dragon n¡¯s Roving White Dragon.

    Golden lines appeared over Lu Yin''s body, and his ten lined battle force lit up the area. At the same time, he released his domain and his spiritual force.

    Across from Lu Yin, Shi Xin''s body swayed, and his expression changed drastically. Both spirit force and domain attacks?

    Lu Yin turned his head andshed out with a Vacuum Palm.

    It squarely struck Shi Xin''s body, and forced him out of the true universe. His feet left behind two deep ditches in the ground.

    He was knocked back 100 meters by Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm, but he was uninjured. However, cracks had appeared on the stone-looking veins atop his body, though they soon recovered.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and unleashed multiple Vacuum Palms.

    Shi Xin looked up and calmly waved his right hand. A st of wind visible to the naked eye wrapped around his body and isted him from the void. With the Wind God technique in use, even though Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm rained down on the vortex, none of his blows could pierce it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched. This was troublesome. It had been a long time since he had met an opponent who could block his Vacuum Palm, which had essentially sealed off Lu Yin¡¯s most effective attack method.

    Shi Xin leaped forward and returned to the true universe. As he maintained the vortex surrounding his body, he raised a hand. "Wind God sh."

    As he shouted, a sharp attack shot forward. Regardless of if Lu Yin could see it or not, the attack would strike true.

    Lu Yin raised a hand in response: Channeling Diagram.

    Boom!

    A violent vibration caused the Ancestral Dragon Altar itself to tremble. Countless sharp shes were transformed into thin lines that were dispersed in all directions. It was the power of the Wind God sh that had been redirected away by Lu Yin¡¯s Channeling Diagram.

 Chapter 1546: Shocking Events

    Chapter 1546: Shocking Events

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was genuinely surprised when she saw Lu Yin use a sourcebox array. "That¡¯s quite effective. Although it¡¯s simple, it''s certainly a very practical array, especially inbat."

    Master Deng Guo also spoke praises. "Long Qi¡¯s familiarity with this sourcebox array has reached the level of using it like it¡¯s a part of his body. For him to use it so quickly not only showcases his talent as a Lockbreaker, but also his impressive control."

    Bai Teng and Elder Xi Zi nced at each other. Sure enough, Long Qi was not someone whom they could underestimate; he had actually managed to block Shi Xin''s Wind God battle technique, which was one of the Celestial Frost Sect''s most elite techniques that had made them famous throughout the entire Perennial World. The different parts of the technique epassed attack, defense, and even speed. Despite that, it had been blocked by a mere Enlighter.

    Shi Xin''s eyes went wide, and he grew excited. "Well done!"

    As he spoke, the stony veins across his body grew more and more clear. "Rockmorph."

    After he spoke, a stoneyer covered his entire body, giving him the appearance of a stone man. A fist shot towards Lu Yin, though this one clearly had nothing to do with the Wind God''s battle techniques.

    Lu Yin clenched his own fist and retaliated with his own punch. 350 Stacks burst out in a bang as the air within 1000 meters of the point of impact exploded, causing a powerful shockwave to sweep out in all directions.

    Lu Yin''s fist ached. Shi Xin had transformed into a stone man, but his strength had not improved by much. While Lu Yin was still able to use the Oveying Stacks Path to overpower Shi Xin, the Envoy¡¯s defense was truly mind-boggling. Lu Yin¡¯s attacks werepletely useless, even if he released his full strength and used his battle force.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The barrage of attacks continued, but blood soon started dripping from Lu Yin''s fist. Cracks had appeared on the stone covering Shi Xin''s fist, but they quickly recovered. Seeing how quickly the stone restored itself left Lu Yin at a loss for what to do.

    This was the first time since bing an Enlighter that Lu Yin had faced a true elite Envoy. This person was not overpowering Lu Yin with his cultivation realm, but rather with pure strength.

    Lu Yin could sense that Shi Xin felt frustrated, and Shi Xin could tell that the same was true of Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin¡¯s appearance was what bothered Shi Xin the most, as he was constantly reminded of that person. It was as if he had crossed through time and space to return to that day once again. He would never forget the feeling that had filled him on that day.

    The feeling of despair that came from the Champion¡¯s Stage.

    Shi Xin''s expression firmed, and his strikes grew increasingly heavy. As the void trembled, the air within ten miles of him started to burn. No¡ªit was actually the void that was burning. This was the feeling that came with aurelian force.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he quickly retreated, though Shi Xin immediately pursued. The speed granted by the Wind God technique meant that Lu Yin could not dodge the approaching punch, and this punch was also reinforced with aurelian force. There was a bang as itnded. Lu Yin unleashed a multistack counterattack and also unsealed his fatesand. Despite his efforts, his body was still smashed into the ground by Shi Xin¡¯s punch, and his battle force was even dispersed. Cracks covered his fatesand, and it returned to his body.

    The unimaginable power of the punch¡¯s force had driven Lu Yin deep into the ground, and not even he knew how far into Dragon Mountain he currently was.

    When the force of the punch finally ran out, Lu Yin found that his arms were numb, and he was unable to move.

    This was the power of aurelian force, the peak of battle force. Ten lined battle force waspletely useless against this power.

    All around the Ancestral Dragon Altar, everyone watching the battle was left speechless. Aurelian force and a domain at the void realm rarely ever appeared. Mr. Tang was well respected by even powerful Semi-Progenitors because his domain had attained the void realm while Shi Xin had aplished the equivalent by cultivating his battle force to aurelian force. It was a dominating, invincible power.

    When aurelian force was used, a person would be invincible. This was the ultimate level that one could reach with battle force.

    Shi Xin looked down and stared at the ground, waiting for Lu Yin to emerge.

    Some distance away, Bai Teng was smiling. The moment Shi Xin¡¯s aurelian force had appeared, forget about an Enlighter¡ªeven Envoys that had passed a stellr tribtion were not able to stand up to him. In the past, Shi Xin had challenged the Seventh Hero precisely by relying on his aurelian force.

    The hearts of Ni Huang and the other members of the White Dragon n all sank. Aurelian force was not something that could be considered normal.

    Qing Chen frowned. Shi Xin was not only terrifying because of his aurelian force, but also because he was from the same generation as the Seven Heroes. Even though so many years had passed, he still had not undergone another stellr tribtion, and he was at a level where he could pass one at any moment. He had an innate gift, battle force, and even secret techniques. This kind of person could make all his peers at the same cultivation realm feel helpless, so how could Long Qi, who was at a lower realm, possibly win?

    The Celestial Frost Sect had prepared too well.

    Deep underground, Lu Yin flexed his arm. He was once again able to move, so he pushed himself up and let out a pent up breath. His third meridian point really did provide him with a powerful vitality, allowing him to quickly recover from the damage of the punch he had received. Lu Yin was stuck. He had no power or attack that could break through the defense of Shi Xin¡¯s aurelian force, so unless he was willing to use the Champions¡¯ Stage or his God of Death Transformation, there was no path to victory.

    "Come out. I know that you¡¯re not badly injured," Shi Xin said, his voice descending to Lu Yin from above.

    Lu Yin moved out. His figure shed, and he reappeared up aboveground, 100 meters away from Shi Xin.

    Lu Yin stared at Shi Xin. Aurelian force still surged around Shi Xin, and Lu Yin could feel that the domineering power of the energy extended to not just the visible universe, but also the true universe.

    Zhou Tang''s aurelian force covered a hundred miles, and it had let him easily kill one of the massive corpse kings that far surpassed the Envoy¡¯s own power level. Inparison, Shi Xin''s aurelian force only covered a range of ten miles. Even though this was much smaller than Zhou Tang¡¯s, it was still enough to catapult Shi Xin to the peak of his cultivation realm.

    Lu Yin remembered a conversation that he had once had with Zhou Tang. Even though aurelian force was invincible, it was also impossible for a person to continuously use it. Thus, Lu Yin just needed to stall for time until Shi Xin¡¯s aurelian force expired.

    Shi Xin raised a hand and aimed it at Lu Yin with all five fingers pressed together. He then thrust an open palm towards Lu Yin. The attack sted the void apart, leaving behind a ck spatial tear that shot towards Lu Yin while carrying unparalleled destructive power.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he moved.

    His body appeared behind Shi Xin, but the Envoy instantly spun around and kicked out. Another shockwave shot forward, stirred up by the aurelian force, and it formed a massive, shing attack. But this was within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. He knew that just the Ce Secret Art would not be enough to escape from Shi Xin. After all, the Envoy had been brought along specifically to deal with Lu Yin, and he must have receivedprehensive information regarding Lu Yin¡¯s strength and abilities.

    Right as Shi Xinshed out with a kick, Lu Yin dodged again with a Teleportation Formation.

    Twice in a row, Lu Yin had managed to avoid Shi Xin¡¯s attacks that were reinforced with his aurelian force. Shi Xin leaped up, and the void within a ten mile radius began roiling from his aurelian force. From high above, it looked as though the area was steaming. Suddenly, Shi Xin swung his hand down, and the aurelian force that had seeped into the area suddenly erupted. Lu Yin looked up, his face pale. He could not dodge this attack, as Shi Xin had locked Lu Yin down with aurelian force. A palm struck Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, but the impact did not feel right to Shi Xin. It turned out that he had not struck Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, but rather his palm. A terrible power countered Shi Xin¡¯s attack, and he was forced back, trembling.

    Shi Xin retreated a hundred meters and fell to the ground. After hitting the ground, he took another ten steps back. He looked up, only to see that he had not been countered by Lu Yin, but rather by a powerful Envoy who had survived three tribtions.

    Lu Yin was actually thousands of meters away.

    Spiritual Force? Shi Xin felt a flicker of fear as he stared at Lu Yin.

    This Envoy realm powerhouse facing Shi Xin was from the Higher Realm, and he hade to congratte the White Dragon n by himself. He was amazed at the horror of the aurelian force, though he did not expect to inexplicably appear on the field. Although he felt very aggrieved, it had also let him experience the power of aurelian force.

    "That''s the spiritual force battle technique that he received from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo," someone suddenly said, his voice clearly expressing his displeasure. It seemed that either he or his ancestors had been harassed by Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo.

    Someone else said, "It must be. So did he not just receive some resources? Elder Shi was confused by a spiritual force technique, not some regr battle technique. That has to be something inherited from Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo."

    "Long Qi really is Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo¡¯s heir."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high as he heard the misunderstanding grow.

    "You have very powerfulbat skills, but if you want to beat me with just this, it''s impossible," Shi Xin stated in a deep voice as his aurelian force returned to a stable state.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Let¡¯s keep going."

    As he spoke, he charged forward. He wanted to take advantage of the lull in Shi Xin¡¯s aurelian force, as it meant that Shi Xin¡¯s strength had waned. Lu Yin took the initiative to attack, and he sent out a Vacuum Palm. Unfortunately, despite the weakening of Shi Xin¡¯s aurelian force, the stone veins covering his body had not disappeared yet. Thisyer of stone was his innate gift, and Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms could not prate the stone, rendering them ineffective.

    In the blink of an eye, the two were fighting once again. Fist met fist, palm met palm, and knees met knees. They fought like two savage beasts, and their movements shattered the void around them and created a ck storm of spatial cracks.

    In the distance, Wang Yun, who was standing behind Wang Si, watched as the void tore open to form a ck storm. She saw Lu Yin use the Oveying Stacks Path to stand up to Shi Xin, and the shock in Wang Yun¡¯s eyes grew stronger and stronger. Stacking attacks, stacking attacks¡­

    Suddenly, her expressionpletely changed.

    ¡°I remember now! It¡¯s you! It¡¯s you! You¡¯re from the Forsaken Land!" Wang Yun screamed loudly, and her voice startled the people nearby.

    Wang Si frowned. "Yun''er, what are you talking about?"

    Wang Yun shouted while pointing at Lu Yin. "He''s not Long Qi! He''s from the Forsaken Land¡¯s Astral Combat Academy!"

    Even while fighting against Shi Xin, Lu Yin heard Wang Yun¡¯s words. He was shocked, and he turned to stare at Wang Yun in amazement. He paid no attention to his surroundings, and Shi Xin punched Lu Yin straight in the chest, knocking him back. Unconcerned, Lu Yin had no time to deal with Shi Xin. He was staring at Wang Yun. How had this woman recognized him? She was the woman from the Wang family that he had met in the Yinshan District, right? How could she know that he was from the Fifth Maind, and even know the name of the Astral Combat Academy?

    Wang Yun''s words created amotion in all directions, and Bai Teng quickly reacted, "Xiao Yun, is what you just said true?"

    "Yun''er, this is a big deal, so you cannot joke about such things," Wang Si warned.

    Ni Huang and everyone else were all staring at Wang Yun, and the pressure she was facing suddenly spiked. She knew that it was not just the people she could see who were staring at her, as Progenitors Mu Xie and Long were also looking at her.

    She stared straight at Lu Yin. "You are from the Forsaken Land! You were a student at the Astral Combat Academy! We fought in a tournament. I represented the Technocracy."

    Lightning shed through Lu Yin''s mind. Yun, Yun¡­ Is she that Yun?

    After an impressive battle, ¡°Yun¡± had defeated Liu Shaoqiu before losing to Lu Yin. During their match, Lu Yin had been quite impressed by Yun¡¯s unpredictable power. However, he had never dreamed that the android he had fought from the Technocracy was actually this woman.

    Lu Yin''s hands and feet went numb and a chill swept over his entire body. "I don''t know what you''re talking about."

    Yun sneered. "You don''t know? I remember you very well! At that time, the Forsaken Land¡¯s sky had been reced by the Sixth Maind. Regardless if the people there faced those from the Sixth Maind or us, they would have all had their strength suppressed. However, you were an exception! I remember your name¡ªLu Yin!¡±

    There was a crisp snap. The loud noise filled the sky and just barely covered the sound of the name that Wang Yun had just uttered. In the distance, the sky split open, and a pair of huge scarlet eyes with vertical pupils appeared. They stared at the Higher Realm and at Dragon Mountain.

    The Tree Realm had been broken through once again, and a corpse king at the Progenitor level could be seen by the entire Perennial World. The Mother Tree shook.

    Mu Xie suddenly appeared, a dignified expression on his face. He had no time to pay attention to what was happening on Dragon Mountain any longer. He disappeared in an instant, followed by Progenitor Long.

    As for Lu Yin, he crushed Mister Mu''s jade talisman while simultaneously attacking Wang Yu with Skybreaker in an attempt to knock her out.

    However, Wang Si noticed Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and she red at Lu Yin with murder in her eyes. "Junior, what are you trying to do?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was dagger-like.

    "Xiao Yun, what did you just say his name was?" Bai Teng asked sharply.

 Chapter 1547: Battle Of Dragon Mountain

    Chapter 1547: Battle Of Dragon Mountain

    Wang Yun lifted her head to look up at Lu Yin. She slowly and clearly stated, "Lu. Yin."

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. Lu- Lu Yin? A member of the Lu family?

    "Impossible! He''s Long Qi!" Ni Huang protested. His eyes grew sharp enough to pierce bone as he red at Wang Yun. "You¡¯ve mistaken him for the wrong person."

    Wang Yun remained stubborn. "I did not."

    Wang Si moved to confront Ni Huang. "Senior, what do you want to do?"

    Ni Huang shifted his attention to Wang Si. "Long Qi has already proven his bloodline, showing that he is someone from the White Dragon n. Thus, how could his surname possibly be Lu? How could he be someone from the Forsaken Land?"

    "Regardless of whether he is or not, test his blood again," Bai Teng demanded.

    Long Ke angrily shouted, "Bai Teng, you must have lost your mind!"

    "Patriarch Long, there is nothing wrong with having another blood test, or could it be that you want to cover up the fact that your White Dragon n knew that he¡¯s from the Lu family all along?" Elder Xi Zi used.

    Ni Huang raged, "It looks like the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family have already worked things out in advance. You already know that my White Dragon n will marry Shenwu''s Sky, and thus you want to destroy us!"

    Bai Teng looked up. "Senior, Shi Xin has already gained the upper hand in his match with Long Qi. Long Qi clearly cannot defeat Shi Xin, so there¡¯s no need for any of this."

    "He is Lu Yin! I haven¡¯t remembered wrong!" Wang Yun shouted.

    Lu Yin wanted to kill her.

    Xia Taili was stunned. Things were getting much too exciting! She looked at Lu Yin. There was no way that this person could be from the Lu family, as that would be too much. The existence of such a person would shake the entire Perennial World.

    To her side, Xia Xing frowned and stared at Lu Yin. While this usation seemed far fetched, it was not impossible either. With this thought, he said, "Senior Ni Huang, whether it¡¯s true or not, just conduct another blood test. If he is from the Lu family, then the blood of your White Dragon n will notst for long within his body. With the time that has passed, the blood in his body right now is clearly his own."

    Ni Huang turned to look at Lu Yin. Despite being a Semi-Progenitor who had lived for uncounted years, he was nervous at this moment. Bai Teng was correct. There was no reason not to go through with this test. However, Ni Huang had also heard of Wang Yun and how she had vited the Wang family¡¯s rules to enter the Forsaken Land without permission. That was why she had been punished, and at this moment, she was the one iming that Long Qi was really from the Forsaken Land? And from the Lu family at that?

    If Long Qi really was someone from the Forsaken Land, then his White Dragon n would be nothing more than the Perennial World¡¯s greatest joke.

    Long Ke stared at Lu Yin, the patriarch¡¯s palms sweating.

    Everyone was staring at Lu Yin.

    Qing Chen softly said, "Long Qi, go and give a drop of blood to verify your identity. Don''t worry, you are a Gate Master of Humility''s Gate, and you are someone whom Commander Mu regards very highly. Anyone who uses you wrongly will not enjoy a pleasant ending."

    Wang Si''s eyes grew dark, and she nced down at Wang Yun. Qing Chen¡¯s words were true; if Wang Yun really had ndered Long Qi just now, then she would not only have offended the White Dragon n, but also Humility''s Gate.

    Lu Yin stood there, frozen in ce. He felt as though his heart had fallen to the bottom of the valley. He had only had enough of Long Xi''s blood to pass the test once, but her blood had already left his body. There was only his own blood left in his body, and it was indeed the blood of the Lu family.

    "Long Qi, go to the Ancestral Dragon Altar to test your blood again," Ni Huang ordered while staring at Lu Yin.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin.

    The slitted, scarlet eyes off in the distant sky had already disappeared, but everyone knew that the Progenitors were fighting in the distance.

    As everyone watched, Lu Yin returned to the Ancestral Dragon Altar, one step at a time. He proceeded very slowly, as he was waiting for Mister Mu. At this moment, only Mister Mu could save him.

    However, even when he arrived at the statue of the Ancestral Python, Mister Mu still had not appeared.

    Ni Huang stood directly in front of Lu Yin, staring at the youth intently. Despite his many years of life, Ni Huang had never been this nervous before, not even in life or death situations. This matter was something that would affect the reputation of the entire White Dragon n.

    Bai Teng and others were equally nervous. If Long Qi was truly someone from the Forsaken Land, then the White Dragon n would be forced to bear an indescribable burden while also bing the biggest joke of the four ruling powers. This would be the best possible oue for the Celestial Frost Sect, as they had only recently learned that their Junior Progenitor was dead.

    Lu Yin''s identity was intimately connected to the bnce between the four ruling powers, and it could even affect the entire Perennial World.

    "ce a drop of blood," Ni Huangmanded in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He raised his hand, but just as he was about to let his blood drip out, a familiar, though absolutely terrifying, creepyugh rang out. "Gaga, it''s so lively here!"

    The little doll appeared atop the Ancestral Dragon Altar, and the expressions on Ni Huang and others¡¯ faces instantly transformed. "Shaman God?!"

    The moment the words were spoken, everyone''s five senses became confused.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll shed and suddenly appeared right next to Lu Yin. "So it¡¯s the Lu family¡¯s blood, right? I¡¯ll have to take this back for testing. You humans no longer have the Lu family, so we¡¯ll have the Lu family appear from my Aeternus. We¡¯ll give you a taste of facing the Champions¡¯ Stage, and we¡¯ll even give those ancient ones a taste of the Wind God¡¯s techniques, gaga.¡± After the doll finished speaking, Lu Yin was dragged into the true universe by an irresistible force and taken away from Dragon Mountain.

    "Don''t even think about it!" Qing Chen shouted. A power that isted the void knocked Shaman God¡¯s doll out of the true universe, and Lu Yin fell down.

    Simultaneously, a drop of clear water appeared before suddenly bing massive. The water swirled around the Ancestral Dragon Altar as well as everyone else around it. This was Qing Chen¡¯s innate gift: Clear Water Purification.

    "I wanted to take advantage of this little ceremony where the White Dragon n worships their so-called ancestor to destroy an entire group of humanity¡¯s elites, though I certainly did not expect to happen to run into a member of the Lu family! This child needs to be taken back to Aeternus." A loud voice fell upon the area, shattering the void. The resulting spatial cracks created an opening hundreds of meters tall, and within it was the frame of a massive corpse king.

    "Corpse God?" Ni Huang shouted. "How dare you step foot onto my Dragon Mountain!"

    Lu Yin fell to the ground. He looked up to see that both Shaman God and Corpse God had appeared. One by one, the gathered Semi-Progenitors all attacked.

    Bai Teng suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin with a sneer. "Boy, stop struggling!¡±

    He stretched out a hand to grab Lu Yin, but Long Ke appeared before Lu Yin to face Bai Teng. "He has not taken the blood test yet, so the truth still has not been determined. Bai Teng, stand down."

    "Do you really want to keep deceiving yourself? The kid was clearly stalling for time, and he definitely doesn¡¯t dare take the blood test," Bai Teng snapped back.

    Long Ke had definitely been able to see the same thing, but he would never admit to it, as doing so would ruin his White Dragon n. "Bullshit! The White Dragon n will protect Long Qi! Anybody here who dares to attack Long Qi will be an enemy of my White Dragon n!"

    An entire group of the White Dragon n¡¯s powerhouses stepped forward.

    Wang Si shouted, "Long Ke, are you actually helping the Lu family?"

    Even as she spoke, the silhouette of a mountain appeared behind her body. The entire region was suppressed by an incredible pressure. How could anyone be a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s opponent?

    At that moment, a sword swept out. The hunched old man, Liu Song, appeared, and he confronted Wang Si. "Nothing has been proven yet. Wang Si, you are as impatient as ever."

    "Liu Song, so your Liu family does want to protect the Lu family¡¯s remnants!" Wang Si shouted.

    Liu Song shook his head. "He is clearly a member of the White Dragon n, so how could he be a survivor from the Lu family? Wang Si, your stubbornness does not allow you to see the truth?"

    Wang Si was infuriated, as the old man was tantly pretending to be confused.

    Lu Yin continued to move back, and he also put his universal armor on. He clearly understood the current situation. Even if the White Dragon n was fully convinced that Lu Yin was someone from the Forsaken Land or even that he was a survivor of the Lu family, they would never allow him to be exposed. All that he needed to do was slip away.

    "Kid,e with me." Elder Xi Zi emerged from the void and grabbed at Lu Yin. An elder from the White Dragon n appeared on the opposite side of Lu Yin to block Elder Xi Zi. "Do you really want to fight here on my Dragon Mountain?"

    Elder Xi Zi did not reply, and he simply nced over at Shi Xin.

    Shi Xin frowned, but he still charged for Lu Yin. However, another one of the White Dragon n¡¯s Envoy¡¯s appeared to stop Shi Xin.

    At this time, all of the experts who had arrived with the Wang family and the Celestial Frost Sect attempted to capture Lu Yin. However, the White Dragon n stopped them all.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s other guests remained at the sidelines and slowly retreated from the multiple battles breaking out.

    If Lu Yin was proven to be someone from the Forsaken Land, then even the White Dragon n would have to arrest him. On the other hand, as long as nothing was proven, the White Dragon n had a valid excuse to take action.

    "Follow me." Lu Yin heard the eager voice of a White Dragon n elder.

    Lu Yin kept looking around, as he was looking for a way to escape.

    "Follow me!" The White Dragon n elder grabbed Lu Yin''s arm, intending to drag the youth away. Lu Yin had basically been confirmed to be someone from the Forsaken Land, so none of the n elders felt any need to be polite. The youth would be taken away and quietly disposed ofter.

    Lu Yin instantly threw the elder¡¯s hands away and shot into the true universe, racing to leave Dragon Mountain.

    The White Dragon n elder was enraged, and he shouted, "You bastard!"

    He also tore into the true universe. The elder raised his hands, putting tremendous pressure on Lu Yin from all directions. This elder was an Envoy who had passed several tribtions. On the rear battlefield, Lu Yin had the Cloudguard Robes, which had protected him from such powerhouses, but he had long since lost that item. Thus, the stellr energy sted Lu Yin out of the true universe, and his body smashed into the ground.

    "Nice armor. Nowe with this old man." The elder once again grabbed at Lu Yin.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he tried to move himself, only to discover that he could not do so. The void around him had been twisted, and all of the star energy had been affected and suppressed by stellr energy. The elder¡¯s eyes were cold as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You animal! How dare you impersonate someone from my White Dragon n and cause us to be humiliated? You will suffer the worst punishment possible, and you will beg for death!¡±

    As he spoke, the elder could not refrain from pping a palm at Lu Yin. This attack contained stellr energy, and it shot straight towards Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, he had his universal armor for protection, and Lu Yin was merely knocked backwards, still uninjured. Without the armor, he would have been badly wounded.

    "I''m from the White Dragon n!" Lu Yin protested.

    The elder sneered and responded, "Then return with this old man."

    They were on Dragon Mountain, and it was full of the White Dragon n¡¯s powerhouses.

    Suddenly, another person appeared. This person was the old man with whom Lu Yin had agreed to return to the Fifth Maind with, and he casually swept the White Dragon n elder away.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed to see the old man, as it was impossible for Lu Yin to escape from Dragon Mountain on his own.

    "Kid, run!" The old man grabbed Lu Yin and tore through the void.

    As a Semi-Progenitor, no one could stop the old man unless they were also a Semi-Progenitor.

    Suddenly, the sky and the void around Dragon Mountain warped and grew distorted. How could one of the four ruling powers not have a sourcebox array protecting a ce like Dragon Mountain? It was the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestral home after all.

    The old man was stopped by the array, and his expression twisted. "This is a problem."

    Lu Yin stared at the sourcebox array that shrouded Dragon Mountain, and his heart fell. This was not something that a Semi-Progenitor could break through, as this was one of the four ruling powers¡¯ defensive measures. Why had Mister Mu still not appeared?

    Off in the distance, Ni Huang was fighting against Corpse God, and the old man¡¯s expression grew dark. This matter had to bepletely buried on Dragon Mountain. As for the people from the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family, he would find a way to convince them to conceal the matter, though he would have to pay a terrible price. As for Long Qi, the old man had already considered 10,000 means of torture to use before killing the imposter.

    The old man did his best, and he tried to force his way through the sourcebox array, but his efforts were all useless. He even suffered from the sourcebox array¡¯s retaliation, which caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. He bitterly said, "Kid, we can''t escape today. Tell this old man, what did that person tell you?"

 Chapter 1548: The Truth That Kui Luo Knows

    Chapter 1548: The Truth That Kui Luo Knows

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Get me back to the Fifth Maind and I¡¯ll tell you."

    "We can''t go back there, we¡¯re going to die here for sure!" the old man shouted.

    "You¡¯re Kui Luo, aren¡¯t you?" Lu Yin shouted.

    The old man did not deny it.

    "Then say something and get them to kill each other," Lu Yin suggested.

    The old man rolled his eyes, but he still turned his head as a majestic wave of spiritual force swept out. It went past Shaman God, Qing Chen, Corpse God, Ni Huang, Wang Si, Liu Song, and everyone else. "Hey old guys! It¡¯s me, Kui Luo! I''m not dead, hahahaha!"

    Everyone turned to look, and they gritted their teeth.

    "Bai Teng, you¡¯re the biggest Redback in the Perennial World!" the old man shouted.

    Everyone grew sluggish.

    Bai Teng waspletely stunned. What?

    "You¡¯re Aeternus¡¯s biggest Redback in the entire human race! Bai Teng, that¡¯s what you are, so don''t act stupid!" the old man shouted. He then turned to look at Wang Si. "Old woman Wang Si, you¡¯re the one who killed the White Dragon n¡¯s Elder Long Cunxin! No one else may know, but this old man does!"

    Wang Si''s expression fell, as this was true.

    The old man then moved on to Xia Xing. "Shenwu''s Sky, what are you doing? Your daughter is already pregnant with Long Qi¡¯s seed, so why don''t you help them out? Do you want your daughter to end up as a widow?"

    Xia Xing nearly exploded, and he whirled around to stare at Xia Taili in disbelief.

    Xia Taili¡¯s cheeks turned red as she jumped up in a rage. "Old man, what bullshit are you spouting?"

    The old man revealed an odd smile. "Up in the Dominion Realm, your brother was the one to kill Bai Shaohong, though it was with Long Qi. Bai Shaohong drugged you, and your brother found out about it, which started a death match between them. Long Qi showed up while they were fighting, and took advantage of the situation by sleeping with you. Afterwards, he worked together with your brother to kill Bai Shaohong. Your brother is still sitting in the Forgotten Ruins to cover everything up. Others might not know what happened there, but this old man does!

    "Your child was conceived in Huaiyuan Gate. This old man saw everything. That¡¯s why Long Qi requested for you to go to Huaiyuan Gate."

    Xia Taili¡¯s entire body was trembling, but she did not know what to say in response.

    Bai Teng and others from the Celestial Frost Sect all red at Xia Taili, murder in their eyes. This was not only because of her connection with Bai Shaohong''s death, but also because her womb might hold the Lu family¡¯s seed!

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he stared at the old man in disbelief. It was no wonder why this person had been wanted by the entire Perennial World! He was willing to say anything, and even worse, he said everything with such conviction that people naturally believed his words. He had even managed to connect everything together so tightly; had he reallye up with this story on the spot? That was a terrifying level of skill.

    "You killed Shaohong?" Bai Teng roared as he red at Xia Taili.

    Xia Xing was also furious, and he red back at Bai Teng. "Bai Shaohong dared to drug my daughter?"

    "That¡¯s ridiculous!" Bai Teng shouted back.

    "Bai Teng, you''re a Redback!" A powerhouse from Humility''s Gate red at Bai Teng.

    Bai Teng was enraged at the usation. "I''m not!"

    "Wang Si, you killed Cunxin!" Long Ke shouted as he red at Wang Si.

    Wang Si frowned. "You overstep yourself!"

    Dragon Mountain was instantly thrown into chaos. There were only a few Semi-Progenitors there, and each of them already had their own opponents. The old man had wanted to escape with Lu Yin, but the sourcebox array was not something that the old man could break through. However, they could buy themselves more time if everyone was suspicious of each other.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, and he took out Long Tian''s Junior Progenitor token from his cosmic ring. "This is Long Tian''s token. Can I use it to leave?"

    Normally, the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor would be allowed to enter and leave Dragon Mountain however he wished. The token was also proof of one¡¯s identity, and in many ces, merely holding a token would allow one to freely enter or exit.

    The old man grabbed the token and Lu Yin and raced away.

    Far away, Ni Huang was stunned even while fighting against Corpse God. How was this possible? Very few people in the entire White Dragon n were able to freely enter and leave the sourcebox array.

    As soon as they rushed out of the array, the old manmented in surprise, "Kid, you¡¯ve got a lot of good things. This must be something that you picked up in the Dominion Realm."

    "We¡¯re almost free!" Lu Yin was excited, as he had finally left Dragon Mountain. "Run away!"

    "If you want to escape, then you¡¯ll need to leave the old man behind." Wang Si appeared, and she raised a hand. A ck line appeared in the void, and it sealed the area surrounding both the old man and Lu Yin. This was one of the Wang family¡¯s secret techniques: Confinement.

    The old man threw Lu Yin away. "Kid, find a way to escape by yourself!"

    As soon as he finished speaking, he whirled around. For the first time, he gave off a cold and blood thirsty aura. "You old slut, you¡¯re still so annoying."

    "Kui Luo, you are courting death!" Wang Si struck down with a palm, and the old man was entirely cut off from the void and the world. It was as though a portion of the world had been severed by the palm.

    Kui Luo grew solemn. ¡°The Wang family spied and stole the Lu family¡¯s visualization technique and merged it with your Forgotten Ruins. I¡¯ve long since wanted to see this technique for myself. Bring it on, you old slut!"

    There was a bang, and an incredible shockwave swept out in all directions. The void opened up like a parting curtain, and Lu Yin used the force to fly straight at the Cloud Shuttle. He knew that he would run into various obstacles along the way, but this was his only path to freedom. He needed to leave the Higher Realm and return to the Fifth Maind, so he could only go this way.

    Back at Dragon Mountain, Ni Huang''s expression had changed. Wang Si had made a deal for him to allow her through the sourcebox array and intercept Kui Luo, but Dragon Mountain''s sourcebox array had kept Liu Song trapped behind. No one else was able to chase after the two men who had fled, but naturally, the White Dragon had sent out other people to give chase.

    As the two Semi-Progenitors fought, Lu Yin raced towards the Cloud Shuttle. However, before long, he heard a familiar voice, "Nice armor. Why don¡¯t you stop."

    It was the White Dragon n¡¯s elder who had chased after Lu Yin before. He was a powerhouse who had survived several tribtions.

    Lu Yin turned around to see the elder, and he saw the killing intent and cruel glint in the older man¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin coldly dered, ¡°I''m Long Qi, and yet you all really want to kill me."

    The elder just sneered. "Back at Dragon Mountain, no one could take you down, but even here, you¡¯re still putting on such an act even when you¡¯re about to be killed by this old man. You¡¯re the Lu family¡¯s trash!"

    Lu Yin abruptly stopped. His head turned around to look back at the elder, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression hadpletely changed. "Old man, you¡¯re asking to die."

    Right after that, Lu Yin took out the puppet that he had taken from Xia Shenfei, and he also put on his universal armor while attacking the elder with a hand.

    The elderughed from anger. "You want to challenge this old man with external items? Your thoughts are too simple."

    With that, his body suddenly changed as he used the White Dragon Transformation. A terrifying energy shot up into the sky as the old man lifted a hand, causing his spear to appear. He stabbed the spear forward, tearing through the void. His weapon was unimaginably sharp, and it was wrapped about with a terrifying power. Just a nce at it would frighten anyone.

    Lu Yin grabbed the spear shaft with a single hand. The force behind the spear knocked him back and drove him into the ground. The remaining power of the attack could destroy a small town. The elder had wanted to kill Lu Yin with a single attack, but Lu Yin had Enhanced the puppet that he had taken from Xia Shenfei, and it was now capable of withstanding attacks of a power level of almost 800,000, which was the same as an Envoy who had survived four tribtions. While the puppet¡¯s defenses could notpare to the Cloudguard Robes¡¯, there was one aspect where the Cloudguard Robes could not equal the puppet: the puppet could also attack.

    Lu Yin had been smashed into the ground by the spear, but when he lifted a hand, the puppet¡¯s arm moved in the exact same manner as Lu Yin¡¯s. Lu Yin¡¯s arm stretched forward, and the puppet punched the elder, destroying half of his body. Even though the elder was at the cusp of his fourth tribtion, both his attacks and defense were a bit worse than the puppet¡¯s, and the punch had been a direct hit.

    The elder was no longer even able to hold his spear, so he fell back. Lu Yin leaped forward to press the attack, but the elder was no corpse king, and he had no intentions of recklessly fighting. The old man instantly fled.

    Lu Yin remained standing where he was, gasping for breath. Off in the distance, the elder reappeared. Blood poured out of half of his body, and he looked terrible. He red at Lu Yin in an unwilling manner. ¡°Bastard of the Lu family, this old man will make sure that you die without a burial!"

    Lu Yin carefully stared at the elder for a moment before turning around and continuing making his way towards the Cloud Shuttle.

    However, he did not make it very far before another Envoy appeared from a city up ahead, clearly intending to intercept him. Lu Yin gritted his teeth, took out the sourcebox array that held the Void Rip technique, and released the final attack stored within it without any hesitation. The Envoy¡¯s head was cleanly sliced off.

    The head fell down to the city, and untold numbers of residents froze at the sight. They watched in a daze as Lu Yin continued making his way to the east.

    Behind him, the elders from the White Dragon n were able to recognize the Void Rip. Even further away, the other people from the four ruling powers were also observing Lu Yin, and they also recognized the Void Rip.

    "The Junior Progenitor really was killed by that survivor of the Lu family! We must get revenge."

    "Hey, he can''t escape! The sect master has already ordered that everyone in the Higher Realm from the Celestial Frost Sect should try to capture him. The Wang family has done the same, and not even the White Dragon n will allow him to escape."

    "Lu brat! Let¡¯s see how far you can run! Hahahaha!" Someoneughed, and although the voice entered Lu Yin''s ears, he simply gritted his teeth and continued flying towards the Cloud Shuttle without even turning his head around.

    Right after that, many people appeared. All of them had received orders from the Celestial Frost Sect to capture Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had just instantly killed an Envoy. Thus, no one was willing to rashly attack him. Also, the White Dragon n¡¯s elder¡¯s terrible condition caused them to be even warier. These people did not dare to do anything besides chase after Lu Yin and mock him. None of them dared to move against him.

    "Lu bastard, this is the Higher Realm! Where can you escape to?"

    "Lu bastard! Do you remember the All-Dao family? You son of a bitch, many women from that family are now ves¡ªone batch after another! Those women are living horrible lives, so why don¡¯t youe save them?"

    "Lu bastard! Even at the beginning, everyone who followed your family defected. If you¡¯re capable enough, why don¡¯t you clean up house?"

    "Lu bastard¡­"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He heard everything that was said, and he burned every word into his memory. He did not have to listen, but he felt that he needed to. Lu Yin was not a merciful person, and he remembered the faces of everyone who spoke. They could keep talking; everything here would eventually be repaid.

    Aaaah! There was a scream, and Lu Yin turned around to look, but all he saw was that someone¡¯s arm had been cut off. There was no sign of where the attack hade from.

    Everyone nearby was startled, and they quickly started searching for who might have attacked, but they could not find anyone.

    Lu Yin had kept his domain active at all times, and so he was able to vaguely see a patch of ground at the base of some mountains. There was an old farmer bent over in that ce, and he was facing Lu Yin. Not only was the farmer bent over to tend the field, but he was also bowing to Lu Yin, to the Lu family.

    "Lu bastard, you-" Someone else spoke up, only to be attacked from numerous directions.

    There were many people who hated the Lu family, but there were also just as many who wished to support the Lu family.

    Lu Yin had lost his memory, so he did not know what the Lu family had done for the Perennial World. However, the Lu family¡¯s former retainers and vassals still had powerhouses among them, and they would rather die than allow the Lu family to be disrespected. This led Lu Yin to believe that the Lu family had been quite different from the four ruling powers that had reced them.

    "Leave this Lu bastard to this old man!" A loud voice echoed through the void, and an old man emerged. He was someone from the Celestial Frost Sect, and his eyes swept past Lu Yin, across the ground, until it reached the old farmer in the distance. ¡°Hmph! So there are still some survivors among the Lu family¡¯s retainers. You bastard, this old man will show you how all those who survived will die!"

    Lu Yin clenched his hand into a fist and rushed at the old man. "Come at me if you have an issue!"

    The old man sneered. "Are you even worthy?"

    This man had passed four stellr tribtions, and he was much more powerful than the White Dragon n¡¯s elder that Lu Yin had faced earlier. In fact, the Envoy suddenly attacked with Cloud Fall, which startled everyone.

    "Fall for this old man!" he ordered as he pressed a hand down.

 Chapter 1549: Lu Yinâ€™s Name

    Chapter 1549: Lu Yin¡¯s Name

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpoints, and he pulled out therge ring the size of a hand that he had obtained from Grandmaster Gu Yan. The old man had once said that the power vessel contained the full power of one of his attacks.

    Cloud Fall descended, and therge ring disappeared from Lu Yin and passed by the old man.

    Without a single sound, the old man''s face turned gray, and his body was split in two. He slowly tumbled down into the mountains.

    The burgeoning secret technique, Cloud Fall, slowly disappeared at the same time.

    Everyone remained silent as they nkly stared on. A powerhouse of the Celestial Frost Sect who had passed through four stellr tribtions and had even mastered a secret technique had died so simply. In fact, there had not even been any buildup leading up to his death.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in fear.

    Lu Yin did not have any time to feel anything as he continued to rush towards the Cloud Shuttle. He wanted to get far away from the old famer, as well as any of the other Lu family¡¯s former vassals or retainers who wished to help him. He just wanted to escape far away.

    As Lu Yin fled, the old farmer looked up with bloodshot eyes. "Run away! You must live! Hope will only exist as long as you live."

    One dayter, another powerful Envoy appeared in front of Lu Yin. He used the knife that he had acquired, as well as a secret technique to fight. With the further assistance of the Enhanced puppet, he managed to severely injure the three-tribtion Envoy and resume his escape to the east.

    However, the puppet was recognized, and Shenwu¡¯s Sky sent out a powerhouse after Lu Yin as well.

    Finally, after another two days, Lu Yin ended up trapped within a mountain range. Someone had used a sourcebox array to trap him: Master Deng Guo.

    Lu Yin murderously red at Master Deng Guo, and Master Deng Guo stared back at the youth. "All members of the Lu family should be punished."

    "What created your hatred with the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Master Deng Guo remained unflustered. "The Lu family were the ones who moved the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters to the rear battlefield. The Lu family is the enemy of all Lockbreakers!"

    Lu Yin responded with a brilliant smile even as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. "Thank you for sharing with me how great my Lu family is."

    Master Deng Guo suddenly looked saddened. "It¡¯s a pity that your talent ends here. Die!"

    He had set up a simple sourcebox array in the mountains just ahead of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, but it was not the sourcebox array that protected the second array base with the conical sourceboxes. Master Deng Guo was a Array Master, which naturally meant that he had mastered more than a single sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin looked at the countless points surrounding him. Each point shone like a star, and they suddenly swarmed his puppet. None of the points of lightunched a powerful attack, but each one possessed a restraining force that was difficult to break through.

    Regardless of if he used a secret technique or an item, there was no way for Lu Yin to break free. The sourcebox array epassed almost half of the mountain range.

    All around Lu Yin, more and more people from the four ruling powers appeared.

    The White Dragon n still had not acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s identity as someone from the Forsaken Land. With the entire matter bing so public, the White Dragon n had to maintain a degree of self respect, but at the same time, they wanted to kill Lu Yin more than anyone else. The only way Lu Yin could settle the chaos for the n was by dying.

    "Is that how the Lu family maintained their authority over the Perennial World? Were they only capable of using power vessels?"

    "They were nothing more than a family of trash that were taken out. Just look at him! You can see that the Lu family must have had too many power vessels all along."

    "That¡¯s certainly true."

    ¡­

    "Hey, Lu bastard, do you have nothing but power vessels? You must have killed Young Master Bai with a sneak attack from a power vessel, right?" someone loudly called out.

    A disciple from the Celestial Frost Sect red at Lu Yin. "So, is it true or not? Your Lu family is so despicable and shameless!"

    "A shameless family."

    "Shameless."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stood above the mountain range and looked all around. He was surrounded by people who had been sent out to capture him. Among them he saw that Xia Taili, Nong Lie, and others had already arrived, along with the Purple-Gold family¡¯s Jin Feiyuan. Lu Yin was tantly mocked and ridiculed for being too arrogant and walking straight into a trap. While Lu Yin did not care about any of these people on an individual level, there were just too many of them, and he would not be able to escape unless Mister Mu arrived to save him.

    "Long Qi, that puppet belongs to my big brother, so how did you get it?" Xia Taili had specificallye here to ask Lu Yin this question, as the people of Shenwu¡¯s Sky could not wait for an answer. How had Lu Yin gotten a hold of their Junior Progenitor¡¯s puppet?

    Lu Yin just nced over at her. "I picked it up."

    Xia Taili grew furious. "Bullshit!"

    Lu Yin nced around at everyone. He really, truly was unable to escape from this situation. He noticed that there were also several Envoys in the surroundings, which meant that he could not even approach the Cloud Shuttle with his own strength.

    In that case, since escape was impossible, it would be better to aplish something. For example, redeeming the Lu family¡¯s name.

    "Bai Shaohong? He was nothing more than trash," Lu Yinmented quietly. However, his voice still managed to echo through the area, and it even reached the nearby city.

    The people from the Celestial Frost Sect all grew enraged. "You¡¯re nothing but some trash who managed to escape by relying on your power vessels! How dare you insult our Junior Progenitor! What can you do?"

    Lu Yin looked up at them. "I, Lu Yin, was able to defeat all four of the Junior Progenitors on my own."

    Silence reigned in the area for a moment, but it was quickly broken by booming, sarcasticughter.

    Xia Taili frowned; was Lu Yin insane? Even though Xia Taili had been upset earlier because she had no desire to marry Lu Yin, she did not actually have a bad impression of him as a person. So, why would he go and say such a thing?

    Nong Lie just shook his head and let out a sigh.

    Jin Feiyuan shouted loudly, "You Lu bastard, you want to face all four Junior Progenitors at once? You couldn¡¯t even hold your own against Elder Shi, and even he was not able to defeat Junior Progenitor Bai. He would have reced Elder Shi to be the truly invincible first-tribtion Envoy! How could youpare?"

    A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Why don¡¯t youe find out? One strike¡¯s enough to deal with you."

    Jin Feiyuan snorted derisively, though he showed no inclination of continuing the conversation with Lu Yin. However, the people nearby started mocking him, especially Nong Lie. "Jin Feiyuan, go give it a try."

    "Com¡¯on, Jin Feiyuan. Go try."

    "The members of the Purple-Gold family can¡¯t be that cowardly."

    "Arrogant."

    Jin Feiyuan had no way to hold onto any reputation with this ridicule. He really did not want to step forward, as Lu Yin truly did qualify to stand on the same level as the Junior Progenitors. He had also gone to the Dominion Realm whereas Jin Feiyuan had been defeated by both Shang Qing and Yao Xuan. Those losses had left behind a mental trauma, and he hade to absolutely hate the people from the Forsaken Land. This was why he had been so eager to chase after Lu Yin and insult him.

    Jin Feiyuan waspletely unconcerned with Lu Yin¡¯s status as someone from the Lu family. Instead, he waspletely certain that Lu Yin was from the Forsaken Land, and thus, Jin Feiyuan hade to see Lu Yin in the exact same light as Shang Qing and Yao Xuan.

    "Jin Feiyuan,e on! Take that puppet back!" Xia Taili ordered. After all, the Purple-Gold family was one of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s vassal ns. Jin Feiyuan had been given an order, but he did not look happy about it at all.

    Jin Feiyuan gritted his teeth as he red at Lu Yin. "Don''t use any power vessels!"

    Lu Yin immediately removed the puppet and his universal armor. He raised just his right hand and motioned for Jin Feiyuan to make a move. "Come."

    Jin Feiyuan clenched a fist and transformed into a purple-gold phoenix that flew into the air. The mes roared, and he charged straight into the sourcebox array to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up andshed out with a single hand: Vacuum Palm.

    The purple-gold phoenix shrieked as blood spurted out, only to be consumed by the mes. The bird copsed onto the ground in a miserable fashion, and just as it was about to crash into the ground, the bird transformed back into a human form. The youth nced over his shoulder as he raced out of the sourcebox array. He had already given up. The single Vacuum Palm had gravely wounded him, and he had only managed to flee by taking advantage of a power vessel.

    Lu Yin sneered; Jin Feiyuan wanted to escape? Lu Yin moved, suddenly appeared in front of Jin Feiyuan, grabbed the youth¡¯s hair, and violently pped him into unconsciousness.

    Everyone watching was shocked; how could this happen to Jin Feiyuan, who was supposed to be the Purple-Gold family¡¯s heir?

    Everyone had already known that Jin Feiyuan would not be Lu Yin''s opponent, but Lu Yin had agreed to not use any power vessels, though the same had not been said for Jin Feiyuan. This was why Xia Taili had asked Jin Feiyuan to attack Lu Yin. She did not have any intention of allowing Jin Feiyuan to die, but who could have expected Lu Yin to be so powerful that Jin Feiyuan was incapable of even escaping?

    Without directly facing Lu Yin in a fight, it was impossible to truly understand his strength.

    Some time passed with no one having the courage to even say anything.

    Given Lu Yin''s age, it was truly shocking that Jin Feiyuan had been knocked out with a simple p.

    Shi Xin arrived at this time, and he slowly walked into the sourcebox array to face Lu Yin. "Should I call you Long Qi or Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin''s face grew solemn. "Lu Yin."

    Shi Xin stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "You really do look too simr to that person."

    "Who?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shi Xin replied, "Lu - Xiaoxuan."

    It was as though a bolt of lightning shot through Lu Yin''s brain. Lu Xiaoxuan, Lu Xiaoxuan. The moment Lu Yin heard this name, he knew that it was his own. He was Little Seven of the Lu family, and his name was Lu Xiaoxuan. That was his original name. That was the name of the person who had defeated Shi Xin. That was the name of the person who had nted the de of grass in Seed Garden. That was the name of Young Master Tu¡¯s boss who he had been waiting for for so many years. That was the name that reflected Lu Yin¡¯s future, as it was the name of the person who would take revenge on the entire Perennial World. That was his name.

    "Are you really someone from the Lu family?" Shi Xin asked, his feelings torn.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist; had his situation not changed at all? Since it clearly had not, then there was no reason not to proceed. "You fought Lu Xiaoxuan, so tell me. How was it facing his Champions'' Stage?"

    Several different emotions flickered through Shi Xin''s eyes. "The members of the Lu family are very difficult to deal with. Just the Champions'' Stage alone means that a person does not face a single opponent, but rather an entire army."

    Lu Yin suddenly smiled. "In that case, here¡¯s something that you should remember from a while ago. I heard that you once fought with Bai Shaohong, so why don¡¯t you do so again?"

    The Champions¡¯ Stage appeared.

    The moment it appeared, it shattered the sky with an indescribable aura that spread throughout the entire Perennial World. It was as though the Mother Tree itself was trembling.

    Everyone was left dazed, and some of the older people¡¯s jaws hung wide open as they stared at the Champions'' Stage in awe. That familiar feeling had returned. The Lu family, a family where one person was as strong as a nation, where each individual had the power to lord over all, had returned.

    People had surrounded Lu Yin, and all of them had called him Lu bastard, but in truth, not every member of the Lu family possessed the innate gift of the Champions¡¯ Stage; only the direct lineage of the family even had a hope of awakening this particr innate gift.

    Seeing the Champions'' Stage appear had cemented Lu Yin''s identity: he was a of the main lineage of the Lu family.

    Incredible changes had taken ce in the Perennial World since the fall of the Lu family; seals had been ced within everyone¡¯s minds so that they could not speak or even remember the Lu family. The moment the Champions'' Stage appeared, no fewer than a hundred people''s heads exploded, as they had been forced to remember the family that had once ruled the Perennial World.

    Shi Xin''s expression changed drastically, and he blurted, "You¡¯re Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Outside the encirclement, the elders from the White Dragon n were all horrified, though the Envoys from the Celestial Frost Sect were just as shocked. Xia Taili and the others closer to Lu Yin felt their minds go nk as they stared on in disbelief: Lu Xiaoxuan? The seventh of the Seven Heroes? He had once been an incredibly talented genius who had been guaranteed to eventually be a Progenitor! He was actually still alive?

    Lu Yin had already known that the moment his Champions'' Stage appeared, his identity would be revealed. It was just like how Bai Shaohong had instantly recognized Lu Yin¡¯s true identity the moment he had seen the Champions'' Stage. It was only normal for the Champions¡¯ Stage to be readily recognized.

    However, oddly enough, Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had changed. Clearly, he should be someone from Shi Xin¡¯s generation, so why was no one able to verify Lu Yin¡¯s true age through his bones? Even his Champions¡¯ Stage looked as though he had only recently awakened his innate gift, which was a detail that both Bai Shaohong and Shi Xin had instantly noticed. What was the cause of these inconsistencies?

 Chapter 1550: Invincible God Of Death

    Chapter 1550: Invincible God Of Death

    "How can you be certain that I''m really Lu Xiaoxuan?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Shi Xin.

    Shi Xin''s eyes flickered, but then heughed. "It really is you! I doubted myself at Dragon Mountain, and I never expected it to actually be you! Lu Xiaoxuan, you''re back!"

    "Why are you so certain that I''m Lu Xiaoxuan?" Lu Yin asked again, louder.

    Shi Xin exined, "Because only a few people in the entire Lu family were actually able to use the Champions¡¯ Stage, and all of the others are gone. Besides, your face is a perfect match. Who else could you possibly be?¡±

    "Though, it looks like you''ve lost your memory."

    Lu Yin looked beyond the sourcebox array and at the confused eyes of the elders of the White Dragon n and the Celestial Frost Sect. It seemed that the elders did not have the same knowledge as Shi Xin.

    "What do you know?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shi Xin shook his head. "Unfortunately, just your existence is enough to disrupt the entire Perennial World. Even though you might not be killed, your fate will be worse than death. However, I¡¯d like to finish our fight before that happens. I¡¯d like to see how different you are from the original Lu Xiaoxuan."

    After he finished speaking, veins of stone appeared across his body, and he disappeared with the increased speed of the Wind God technique. He suddenly shot out of the true universe to attack Lu Yin.

    Shi Xin said nothing more, but Lu Yin knew that the man would not share any additional information.

    "By my name, I summon my champion." As Lu Yin spoke, the star energy drained from his body, and a copy of Bai Shaohong stepped forward next to him. It raised its hand to unleash Gap Between Heaven and Human against Shi Xin.

    Outside of the sourcebox array trapping Lu Yin, everyone from the Celestial Frost Sect had been shocked by the revtion of Lu Yin''s true identity, but they became upset and furious when they saw the summon of Bai Shaohong.

    "The Lu family is a bunch of bastards! Return my Junior Progenitor!" One of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Envoys charged into the array, hoping to gain an advantage from the fact that Lu Yin had put away all of his power vessels.

    ¡°By my name, I summon a champion.¡± Lu Yin spoke again, and this time, a summon of the Giant Emperor appeared with a roar as it unleashed a punch.

    The Giant Emperor was not able to stand up to an Envoy, but Lu Yin needed to use the giant to keep this particr Envoy upied for a single moment. Even if the Envoy wasunching a sneak attack, he had still passed through two stellr tribtions.

    Lu Yin shifted to the side. The void tore open right in front of him as a broken knife fell down. The de shifted to the side, still trying to cut Lu Yin. The wielder was a powerhouse from Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin snapped out with a kick, causing the ground to shatter with a bang and dust to fill the air. Lu Yin fell a hundred meters back. The powerhouse from Shenwu¡¯s Sky flipped the knife around and shed at Lu Yin again, each attack aiming to kill the youth.

    Lu Yin raised his head. "The Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky have three Envoys ganging up on me, Lu Yin! Who still dares to say that my Lu family relies on power vessels? Who canpare to me?"

    There was a bang as the broken knife shed sideways, cutting a straight line through space. Lu Yin lifted his hand to face off against the Envoy. He could only rely on his physical power at this moment, as the Envoys were able topletely suppress all of his star energy.

    There was a popping sound as the knife-wielding powerhouse from Shenwu¡¯s Sky stared at Lu Yin in amazement after being struck with a Vacuum Palm that had forced him to step back. ¡°As expected of the Lu family¡¯s seventh son. You really are incredibly gifted, but you have to die here today!"

    He then shed out with the knife again while simultaneously boosting his strength with the Divine Martial Armor.

    Shi Xin leaped out of the sourcebox array. He did want to fight with Lu Yin, but he wanted a fair match and not to gang up on Lu Yin with others. He refused to be a knife that someone else wielded.

    However, even though Shi Xin had withdrawn from the battle, two more Envoys leaped forward; one from the Wang family and the other from the White Dragon n.

    Four Envoys united against Lu Yin.

    The Bai Shaohong summoned by the Champions'' Stage faced off against the Envoy from the Wang family while the branch elder from the White Dragon n joined the two Envoys from Shenwu¡¯s Sky to directly face Lu Yin.

    No one there could believe what they were seeing. The four ruling powers were working together to take a singr Lu Yin. This was such a shocking scene, but it also gave many people a feeling of deja vu: the four ruling powers uniting against the Lu family.

    Nong Lie was furious at the sight. "How shameless! Four Envoys working together to fight an Enlighter? This is humiliating!¡±

    No one spoke up to refute him, as he spoke the truth.

    Also, there was no one who dared to mock or ridicule Lu Yin and the Lu family at this moment. Forget four Envoys¡ªthe Junior Progenitors were only capable of facing a single Envoy at best, and yet Lu Yin was going up against four on his own. This was no different from him fighting against all four Junior Progenitors at the same time.

    This was the first time in Xia Taili¡¯s life that she was truly startled by a person. She had previously believed that her brother, Xia Shenfei, was invincible, but at this moment, that belief waspletely shattered. Lu Yin¡¯s strength far surpassed anything that Xia Taili had ever imagined.

    "This is truly embodying the saying, ¡®one person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all,¡¯" someone muttered, and it urately described Lu Yin''s strength.

    Lu Yin focused on two Envoys. They had each passed through two tribtions, so he was not doing very well against them. This situation felt just like the one where he had faced off against the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm. No, his current situation actually felt even worse, as he was not able to use any star energy while his opponents still could.

    The summoned Giant Emperor and Bai Shaohong were continuously being pushed back. No matter how powerful Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage might be, it still struggled to stand up to the suppression of stellr energy. After all, Lu Yin¡¯s champions were formed from star energy.

    The star energy that made up his champions¡¯ bodies continued to weaken until the Giant Emperor finally disappeared. Even without the suppression of stellr energy, the Giant Emperor had never been a match for an Envoy who had survived two tribtions, and the champion had onlysted for a short while because it had been able to instantly recover by using star energy. The continuous suppressive effect of stellr energy on star energy also forced the summoned Bai Shaohong to quickly disappear. This was not because it had been any weaker than the Envoy, as at his peak, Bai Shaohong had been able to face off against a two tribtion Envoy. Even though he was not guaranteed a victory, he would definitely have been able to hold his own.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s champions had no intelligence, and their bodies were also formed from star energy, not to mention all of the battle techniques that they used. Even the body of the summoned Bai Shaohong had not been particrly stable, and this was the reason why it had quickly vanished.

    Lu Yin used a Vacuum Palm to force the White Dragon n¡¯s elder back. Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were truly powerful, and even after the elder had used the White Dragon Transformation, Lu Yin still left behind a palm print on the old man, though he failed to inflict much damage. The energy of the Divine Martial Armor enveloped the area and froze the void. Lu Yin was left without any means of evasion, and a knife fell. A bit further away, the Envoys from the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family both attacked as well.

    Lu Yin managed to avoid the broken knife, but he failed to evade the Gap Between Heaven and Human palm or the Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Everyone was left speechless. Four two-tribtion Envoys were working together to suppress Lu Yin. Even if the Envoys were facing someone with their own cultivation realm, how many people would be able to endure such an assault?

    Blood poured out from a massive wound on Lu Yin''s stomach, and the Gap Between Heaven and Human palm struck his shoulder. His body dried up where the palm attacknded, and his vitality was drained. This was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s palm technique.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Envoys facing him. The one from the Celestial Frost Sect was in front of him, and the other three were evenly spaced out,pletely surrounding him.

    In this situation, no one could say anything even if Lu Yin used a power vessel. His survival so far was already shocking enough. After all, he had not instantly died after being attacked by four Envoys. No one had ever been targeted by four two-tribtion Envoys as a thirty two cycle Enlighter before. Not even the Seven Heroes from the past could have aplished such a thing.

    However, did Lu Yin actually need to use any power vessels? There was no need to go so far yet, as he still had not revealed his full strength. No matter if it led to his life or death, he would definitely leave the Perennial World with a legend that would be in no way inferior to the Seven Heroes.

    Shaman God had hoped that Lu Yin would reveal himself as a truly peerless talent. If that happened, then even if Lu Yin managed to escape back to the Fifth Maind, the Perennial World¡¯s forces would chase after him. However, Lu Yin also wanted to redeem the reputation of his Lu family, and he wanted to create a legend for his family with his name as Lu Yin. He wanted every single enemy of his family still in the Perennial World to lose sleep from his mere existence while also bing a beacon of hope to the Lu family¡¯s surviving vassals and former retainers.

    He wanted everyone to know that the Lu family still lived; no, that he still lived and that he would eventually be a Progenitor. Since one person from his family was as strong as a nation, he alone represented hope for the Lu family¡¯s future.

    Lu Yin looked up and let out a long breath. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "My name is Lu Yin. There¡¯s no need to worry about what happened in the past. I, Lu Yin, am here now. I am the current patriarch of the Lu family! I want the entire Perennial World to know that the Lu family will return, and when Ie back, I will take back everything that belongs to my Lu family!"

    "Shut up, you Lu bastard! You will die here today!" the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Envoy shouted fiercely.

    Inside the sourcebox array, the elder from the White Dragon n was actually more eager to see Lu Yin dead than even the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s experts. As soon as themander reappeared, Lu Yin¡¯s identity would be made public, and the White Dragon n would be the Perennial World¡¯s greatest joke. Lu Yin had to die as soon as possible so that his blood could wash away the White Dragon n¡¯s humiliation.

    "Kill that Lu bastard!"

    "The Lu family actually wants to return? You will die here today!"

    "Kill him!"

    "Elder, kill him!"

    ¡­

    A smile tugged at the corners of Lu Yin''s mouth. "You guys are scared."

    He then pulled out a skeleton from his cosmic ring that radiated ck energy. Lu Yin had taken these bones from Crown Prince Gui Qian, and while the bones were not very useful to Lu Yin, they contained an amazing amount of death energy.

    As the death energy entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, he was encapsted within a ck and white cocoon that wrapped around him.

    Everyone stared on in surprise. Every single person felt confused, as not a single one of them could understand what sort of technique they were witnessing.

    The Envoy from Shenwu¡¯s Sky shed out with his knife; regardless of what technique Lu Yin was using, it was better to stop it.

    The knife shed at the ck and white cocoon, but it was actually stopped by the death energy. The powerhouse was shocked, but he immediately attacked again. This time, the other three Envoys attacked as well, which led to four attacks striking at the same time. This managed to break the cocoon, but a pitch-ck scythe emerged from the cocoon in response and stabbed into the true universe to attack the Envoy from Shenwu''s Sky. The man was startled; a scythe? Almost no one used this weapon.

    .

    The man lifted his broken knife and wrapped the energy of his Divine Martial Armor around it before unleashing another attack. This one was easily powerful enough to kill a one-tribtion Envoy.

    There was a bang as the scythe shed with the broken knife, and Lu Yin emerged from the cocoon, allowing everyone to finally see him clearly.

    His hair had grown out to reach his waist. His upper body was naked, and a ck mist twined about his arm. There were chains behind him, and his body was marked with iprehensible red lines. His left arm sported a shield that was condensed from a white mist while the ck mist around his body made him look like a god of death.

    Everyone was stunned at his appearance, though when one person saw this sight, his mind nearly exploded, as this was unbelievable. "Death- the God of Death? The legendary God of Death!?"

    "That¡¯s impossible. The God of Death is nothing more than a legend. There¡¯s no proof that such a being ever existed."

    "This is the God of Death that Specter Abyss has been searching for!"

    The Envoy from Shenwu''s Sky was stunned¡ªthe God of Death?

    Lu Yin''s eyes had turned pure ck. He stared at the Envoy without saying a word. Suddenly, the scythe twirled around and shed out from an unbelievable angle to slice the man¡¯s arm off. The broken knife fell to the ground. The protection of the Divine Martial Armor had beenpletely useless.

    The elder from the White Dragon n emerged above Lu Yin, driving his spear down at the youth¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin grabbed the chain that was wrapped around his body and swung his arm. The nebulous chain shot up and wrapped around the spear, oneyer after another before also wrapping around the elder from the White Dragon n. The elder immediately used the White Dragon Transformation and his physical strength exponentially increased as he raised his w in a bid to break free.

 Chapter 1551: Unrivaled Healing Technique

    Chapter 1551: Unrivaled Healing Technique

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s third time fighting while in the God of Death Transformation. The only time that his chains had been captured or held was when Long Tian had used his innate gift of Seizing that could even grab space itself. No one else had ever managed to touch the chains, and this White Dragon n¡¯s elder was no exception.

    He tried to grab the chain, but the chain simply tangled about him. As for apetition of strength, the elder could notpare to Lu Yin at this moment. When Lu Yin yanked down, he nearly tore the elder¡¯s body in two.

    Blood sshed onto the ground from the top of the old man¡¯s head, and it stained Lu Yin¡¯s feet red.

    "Lu bastard, how dare you collude with Specter Abyss? Are you seeking death?" the Celestial Frost Sect''s Envoy screamed as heshed out with a palm attack. Stellr energy roiled, and all nearby star energy was suppressed. However, the suppression failed to affect Lu Yin, and he simply tossed the White Dragon n¡¯s elder over at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Envoy with a flick of the chain. The branch family¡¯s elder was stunned by the Gap Between Heaven and Human palm that struck his back.

    Lu Yin took advantage of this opening to enter the true universe. Golden battle force twined around his body before eventually wrapping around his scythe right before it fell down.

    There was a bang as the scythe was struck by the Wang family¡¯s Four Art: Celestial de, sessfully diverting the merciless weapon. The Wang family¡¯s elder suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin, ring at the youth as he unleashed a Four Arts: Bear Stalwart.

    Boom!

    The palm strike smashed against the white shield on Lu Yin''s left arm, but Lu Yin was not pushed back at all. The ck mist behind him took on the form of massive eyes that opened to stare straight at the Wang family¡¯s powerhouse.

    The Envoy panicked and started involuntarily shuddering. It was as though he had gazed upon the most terrifying thing in the entire world. Lu Yin attacked, and the sourcebox array shifted, creating tears in the void that tried to disrupt Lu Yin''s attack. The Wang family¡¯s Envoy managed to finally react, fleeing.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce, and he nced around. Even though his eyes were jet ck, everyone could see the arrogance contained within them. He had the attitude of one who was invincible and without peers.

    All four two-tribtion Envoys had been injured despite working together. The results of the battle had silenced everyone watching, even Shi Xin.

    He was a genius who had oncepeted with the Seven Heroes. Even though he was only a one-tribtion Envoy, he was fully confident that he could overwhelm any of the individual Envoys facing Lu Yin at this moment. Even if each one of them was a two-tribtion Envoy, they only possessed an average strength for their cultivation level.

    However, Lu Yin was nothing more than an Enlighter, which meant that his star energy was unusable in this battle against Envoys.

    The Lu family had once dominated the entire Perennial World, but they had done so by relying on their Champions¡¯ Stages. A single person could reach the point of summoning thousands of champions from their stage and be fearless even against an entire enemy army. However, Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage had already been defeated earlier in the battle, and he was currently relying entirely on his individual strength to fight against four two-tribtion Envoys.

    Even Shi Xin had to admit that, at this moment, Lu Yin had surpassed him. Shi Xin was not capable of standing up to four opponents with superior cultivation realms.

    Excitement filled Nong Lie''s eyes as he watched Lu Yin with pure admiration. "He really is a role model for my generation to aspire to."

    The expression in Xia Taili''s eyes hadpletely changed as she looked at Lu Yin. She had finally seen true invincible power, and it was no wonder why Lu Yin had looked down upon Bai Shaohong so much. It had also be clear how Lu Yin had managed to kill the Junior Progenitor, as Bai Shaohong could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s current strength in any way at all.

    As Lu Yin held his scythe, the ck death energy surrounded him and masked his appearance, which was even more pronounced in the dim lighting of the Higher Realm. He looked like a true god of death, and his appearance was absolutely intimidating.

    "We can¡¯t let him live! He absolutely cannot be allowed to live!" someone from the Celestial Frost Sect screamed.

    Master Deng Guo gritted his teeth. "No one from the Lu family can be allowed to survive. Everyone, rush into the sourcebox array to kill him!"

    "Kill him!"

    Lu Yin clenched his left hand into fist. "You want to kill me? Thene on! I¡¯ll bury all of you with me!"

    He had already redeemed his family¡¯s name and created a legend of invincibility for himself. It was now time to use power vessels and items to continue the fight. He ended the God of Death Transformation and donned his universal armor. He brought the puppet back out and began to wield the knife. He also held the orb that contained the Karmic me in his mouth, equipped the massive, mechanical right arm, and had it hold some of the poison that he had taken from Elder Wu. Lu Yin refused to believe that the gathered people were capable of taking him down.

    He was waiting, waiting for Mister Mu and waiting¡­ for the Neohuman Alliance.

    Shaman God had not hesitated tounch an all-out assault on the five array bases protecting humanity. The Skygod had allowed Lu Yin to destroy several of Aeturnus¡¯s cities, and it had even mobilized the Twelve Marquises. After that, Shaman God had even shown itself at Dragon Mountain, so it was impossible that it would allow Lu Yin to die before he returned to the Fifth Maind.

    Master Deng Guo let out a scream as both of his legs were broken and the wounds filled with death energy. It was a sneak attack by a powerhouse from Specter Abyss.

    The elder from the White Dragon n who had been chasing and attacking Lu Yin was enraged by this sight, and he smashed the void with a palm, grabbing hold of the hidden powerhouse. "The Lu family has actually joined forces with Specter Abyss."

    The expert from Specter Abyss gritted his teeth. "The moment the God of Death is born, they will be the master of my Specter Abyss."

    "You¡¯re seeking death!" The White Dragon n¡¯s elder instantly shattered the body of the expert from Specter Abyss.

    Master Deng Guo had been attacked, which caused the sourcebox array to turn unstable. Lu Yin raised his hand and threw out an Enhanced shbomb. The Higher Realm was already a dark ce, and Lu Yin¡¯s shbombs were able to affect even a Junior Progenitor in normal circumstances. They were amazingly effective here, and the explosion of light stung everyone¡¯s eyes, even the Envoys¡¯.

    Lu Yin shot forward and tore through the void. As he shot past Master Deng Guo, Lu Yin¡¯s knife flickered. The Array Master¡¯s pupils instantly shrank, and an odd sourcebox array appeared in front of him to block Lu Yin''s knife.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated; he had wanted to kill Master Deng Guo, but the man was a Lockbreaker and an Array Master. Even if this person had no talent forbat and had wasted three quarters of their strength, they were still inferior only to Array Grandmasters when it came to lockbreaking. It was impossible to kill such a person through a sneak attack.

    With his attack failing, Lu Yin turned to the east and raced away without any hesitation.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s elder instantly attacked. "You bastard, you¡¯ll stay here forever!"

    Lu Yin raised a hand and let out some of Elder Wu¡¯s poison. He had upgraded it twelve times, which made it powerful enough to even threaten Envoys. Even though it was not enough to truly threaten the elder from the White Dragon n, the poison was certainly able to scare the old man. Lu Yin had used far too many items and power vessels, and his opponents were naturally all afraid of anything that he used against them. The Envoys retreated the instant they saw poison spreading through the air.

    Lu Yin sped up as he fled, and he did not stay to see what happened to the elders.

    He felt that he had been extremely lucky to have picked up all hispanions from Huaiyuan Gate before traveling to Dragon Mountain. Otherwise, they would have all been killed off by now.

    "You bastard! You still want to run?" Wang Si¡¯s voice echoed through the sky, causing Lu Yin''s heart to sink. The old man had not seeded in stopping the old woman.

    Lu Yin felt a sharp pain in his knees, and he looked down, only to see that his legs had been stabbed. In particr, his knees had beenpletely shattered. When had that happened? His universal armor and the puppet had not provided him even the slightest hint of resistance against this attack.

    Lu Yin looked back and saw that Wang Si was only 100 meters away from him, and her expression was a hideous mask of rage. "You little bastard, everyone from the Lu family should be damned!"

    She then raised her hand once more, and Lu Yin¡¯s mind went nk. He became utterly unaware of everything.

    Wang Si had used her family¡¯s Forgotten Ruins, but it was different from the Forgotten Ruins that Lu Yin had encountered in the Dominion Realm. That ce had not been controlled by anyone, which had given Lu Yin an opening to react. However, with Wang Si using the technique herself, Lu Yin waspletely unable to react.

    Bang, bang!

    There were two explosions in a row, and both of Lu Yin¡¯s arms were shattered, the joints destroyed just like his knees. The terrible pain allowed his mind to recover slightly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Wang Si sneered at him. "I won''t let you die easily, you little bastard! I¡¯m going to slowly torture you!"

    Blood dripped down the corners of Lu Yin''s mouth, and he was unable to control any of his limbs. A torrent of blood poured from his body, but his eyes remained fierce. ¡°You old slut, you must have been abandoned by my Lu family.¡±

    Wang Si''s eyes instantly grew icy. "You are courting death!"

    Suddenly, the old man''s voice could be heard. "Old slut, that¡¯s cheating."

    A visible energy sted the earth and sky, freezing everyone who had been chasing after Lu Yin and blocking all of Wang Si¡¯s attacks. She gritted her teeth. "Kui Luo, I¡¯m going to kill you too!"

    An invisible power threw Lu Yin far away. The old man had taken action and thrown Lu Yin far to the east.

    As more time passed, Lu Yin felt that Mister Mu was more and more of a mystery. In the Fifth Maind, Mister Mu had tossed Lu Yin halfway across the Innerverse, but this old man seemed incapable of such a feat. Still, it was possible that the discrepancy also had something to do with how stable space was in the Perennial World.

    Also, why had Mister Mu still not arrived?

    Lu Yin was thrown far away by the invisible power, though an unknown distance still separated him from the Cloud Shuttle. Hended on the ground and hid within some mountains.

    Wang Si had destroyed both of Lu Yin¡¯s hands and feet, and the remnants of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy still remained within the wounds. Even in the best of conditions, such injuries would be difficult to heal. Even though Lu Yin had opened his three meridian points and his body overflowed with vitality, it was impossible for him to remove a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy without any aid.

    Lu Yin hid at the bottom of ake. His breathing was ragged, and he wanted to enter Zenith Mountain to let Long Xi and the others to treat him. However, after considering it, he decided not to. After all, a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy was not something that Long Xi or any of the others on the mountain could deal with.

    Lu Yin racked his brain, but it was impossible for him to get any assistance from a Semi-Progenitor at this time. If Qing Chen found Lu Yin, the old man might help Lu Yin, but Qing Chen was just as likely to ept the decision of the Perennial World and simply eliminate Lu Yin. Was there anyone who could help him? The Nong family? The Liu family? Neither was guaranteed.

    After a while, Lu Yin suddenly remembered the battle technique that he had acquired: Extremes Must Be Reversed. As long as an attack did not instantly kill him, it would merely restore and strengthen his body.

    Should he give that a try?

    With that thought, Lu Yin¡¯s die appeared. He struggled to roll it, but it stopped on three pips. Lu Yin stared at the useless screens of light for a moment before continuing.

    The next time he rolled a five, but that was also useless. Again. This time, he rolled a four, which thrilled him. The scenery changed around him, and Lu Yin appeared in the Timestop Space.

    .

    There was no need for him to hurry after entering this ce, as Lu Yin could simply extend the duration forever while only a single second would pass in the outside world.

    He took a few deep breaths and swallowed some medicine. Without pause, he then slowly closed his eyes and started cultivating Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Fortunately, he had already tried out the technique before, so it was notpletely new to him.

    In a sh, half a year had passed. Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw that his shattered joints had be desated. He was still able to sense the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy wreaking havoc within his body, but Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique was also restoring his body. This technique was nothing less than an unrivaled healing technique.

    It was no wonder why rumors of Progenitor Ku mastering the secret of immortality had abounded when his secret technique was rted to healing. At this moment, this was Lu Yin¡¯s most valuable technique.

    While Extremes Must Be Reversed would indeed heal the wounds that had been inflicted upon Lu Yin by Wang Si, it would still take him a great deal of time.

    Another half a year passed in the Timestop Space, which meant that Lu Yin had spent 8 million star essence extending his time here. The cost to extend the time in the space doubled each time, so after a whole year, Lu Yin really could not afford to stay for even a few more months.

    He examined his limbs. While there was still a bit of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy in his body, the desated portions of his limbs had greatly recovered, though he would need at least a few years to fully recover.

    This was the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had recovered to the point where he could move again. He had almost no flexibility at all, but he could at least move his body.

 Chapter 1552: Swaying Public Opinion

    Chapter 1552: Swaying Public Opinion

    The resource that Lu Yincked the most was time, and yet he still exited the Timestop Space in spite of that. He immediately rolled the die again, but since he had already rolled it three times before getting Timestop, he only had one more roll left.

    Unfortunately, his fourth roll failed tond on another Timestop. Instead, he rolled Pilfer and received something useless.

    He let out a sigh and looked up just in time to see someone pass by. He did not know if they were searching for him or if they had just coincidentally passed so close to him. Regardless, given the situation, the entire Perennial World had most likely erupted into chaos by now.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were urate; the moment his identity had been revealed and leaked, the entire Perennial World had exploded.

    The first ce affected was Dragon Mountain.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang was busy fighting off Corpse God, and the elder was unable to believe what he saw. "The Champions¡¯ Stage? Is that Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Qing Chen was equally shocked. He pictured Lu Yin''s face and then that of Lu Xiaoxuan. Is he really Lu Xiaoxuan? What a joke! Even if Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, he was shocked stiff at this moment.

    He was unable to deny that he had felt a strong resemnce between Long Qi and Lu Xiaoxuan, but many people looked simr to each other. It was just too absurd of an idea for Long Qi to actually be Lu Xiaoxuan.

    When Xia Xing heard the truth, his expression also changed greatly. "Inform Shenwu¡¯s Sky that Lu Xiaoxuan absolutely cannot be allowed to return to the Forsaken Land alive!"

    Bai Teng waspletely furious as well. "Even if he gets away this time, my Celestial Frost Sect will never let him go! The Forsaken Land will not be able to stop us!"

    Elder Ni Huang remained shocked and in disbelief. The change in the situation was simply too drastic and too sudden! The youth who had risen up from his n with an unparalleled talent that had even attracted a Progenitor¡¯s interest was actually a child of the most hated Lu family whom they had submitted to for so long? On top of that, he was the seventh of the Seven Heroes, Lu Xiaoxuan?

    The four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family and taken over the Perennial World. Hearing that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan sparkedplex emotions and fear among the four ruling powers beyond any description. Those emotions only served to galvanize their determination to kill Lu Yin no matter the cost in order to avoid any future problems.

    Shaman God revealed an odd smile. "Gaga, so he turned out to be that kid? That¡¯s quite interesting. You humans have suchplicatedpetitions and only focus on your own self-interests. No wonder you lost."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan? I seem to have heard that name before." Corpse God''s deafening voice had echoed across Dragon Mountain, creating ripples in the void.

    Down below, Liu Song looked up to gaze off into the distance. So that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan? The old man still remembered the inheritance that Lu Yin had received from the Sword Monument and revealed a smile. Ah, no wonder, no wonder he¡¯s able to surpass Bai Xian''er. The birth of the Seven Heroes¡¯ generation wasparable to the time of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the past, however, due to that incident, the Seven Heroes vanished, and all that was left was Bai Xian''er.

    After thinking about it, the old man felt that things made sense. After all, who else could possibly surpass Bai Xian''er? Lu Xiaoxuan was the only person with a peerless talent on that level.

    The Perennial World was going to be truly chaotic now.

    Nong Ya let out a long breath while revealing a bitter smile. He had never expected the child to be that person.

    Ten dayster, the name of Lu Xiaoxuan swept through the Higher Realm like a storm. Countless people heard it, and countless more were shocked by it.

    As for Humility¡¯s Gate, many of the Fourteenth Gate¡¯s hidden powerhouses were given secret tasks to protect Long Qi, or Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin had disappeared, and there was no news about him for several days; no one was able to find him.

    The only news that anyone heard was that Wang Si had managed to badly wound the youth, and the Semi-Progenitor was confident that Lu Xiaoxuan would not live for much longer.

    The moment the Celestial Frost Sect learned of Lu Yin''s true identity, the sect had exploded. Many of their powerhouses were sent out to capture Lu Yin, but they soon received word that he would likely die soon, though no one was able to find him.

    There was a group of people who descended from the Jade Valley, intending to use the jade butterflies to find Lu Yin, but the butterflies were all useless.

    Elder Qing Xing also dispatched various teams, but once he was alone, he muttered to himself, "I never expected him to enter from the Forsaken Land. I don¡¯t know what choice those people might make."

    At the bottom of ake, Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his die. Ten days had passed, and he was able to roll again.

    This time, luck was on his side, and his first rollnded on four pips. The scenery around him changed, and he entered the Timestop Space.

    The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s energy was still festering within his wounds, and it needed more time to be fully removed. Thus, Lu Yin stayed in the Timestop Space for almost another whole year, though when he returned to the real world, only a second had passed.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw that his limbs were no longer as withered as before. They presently looked more thin than dry, and they should return to normal with another year¡¯s time.

    With this in mind, Lu Yin looked back up and rolled his die again.

    On the third attempt, he once again rolled four pips, returning to the Timestop Space.

    When he emerged for the third time, his limbs had fully recovered, but as far as the rest of the world was concerned, less than half a month had passed since Lu Yin had been injured by a Semi-Progenitor.

    It was simply unimaginable that an Enlighter couldpletely recover from the terrible wounds inflicted by a Semi-Progenitor within half a month.

    Lu Yin changed his appearance, emerged from thekebed, and continued making his way to the east.

    At this time, there were countless people searching throughout the Higher Realm for any sign of Lu Yin, and he actually ended up joining the search himself.

    "Brother, have you found that Lu bastard?" Lu Yin shouted to a group of people up ahead who looked back at him.

    "No. More than ten days have gone by, but no one¡¯s been able to find him." The person who replied sounded genuinely distressed.

    Lu Yin expressed his curiosity, "Why did he disappear after being badly hurt?"

    A woman with a clear voice exined, "Our family asked us to search specifically for anyone with injured limbs."

    Even as she spoke, she deliberately examined Lu Yin''s limbs. She saw that they were fine, so she moved on. "You should capture anyone who has injured arms and legs."

    Lu Yin nodded and passed by the group.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s strength, no one would be able to see through his disguise unless they were an Envoy at the very least.

    However, if he ran into any Envoys, he would need to hide.

    Still, even if he was able to hide once or twice, it was impossible to do so forever, and an Envoy was bound to notice him eventually. As Lu Yin considered this, he noticed a delicate-looking man. Was he from the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he raised a hand. A powerful st of wind shot out, and the man lost his limbs. He screamed as he plummeted to the ground.

    I''m sorry, Lu Yin mentally thought to the man before continuing on his way to the east.

    As Lu Yin traveled, he ran across various Enlighters searching for him, and without any hesitation, he destroyed all of their limbs and tossed them aside. After just a few days, hundreds of people had suffered from losing their limbs to Lu Yin.

    Not a single one of the wounded people was able to share their assant¡¯s image.

    "Uncle Shi, this disciple truly doesn''t know who attacked me, but it had to have been that Lu scumbag! Uncle Shi, you must avenge this disciple!" An upset man wailed to one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Envoys.

    The powerhouse was getting impatient. "It''s useless if you can¡¯t even see who attacked you!"

    "Uncle Shi, it had to have been that Lu scumbag!" the youth shouted.

    The Envoy shouted back in anger, "Do you think that you¡¯re the only one to have lost your limbs? Everyone is on the lookout for an Enlighter with wounded limbs, and there are still many surviving vassals of the Lu family, as well as others who are unhappy with my four ruling powers. There are Enlighters all across the Higher Realm whose limbs have been maimed."

    The young man grew bitter, but he still repeated, "Uncle, you must avenge this disciple!"

    In a small city in the Higher Realm, Lu Yin was drinking some wine while listening to the various conversations around him.

    "Have you heard? The city lord¡¯s eldest son¡¯s limbs were cut off, and he was dumped in the mountains."

    "Of course I heard about that! Now, it¡¯s not only Enlighters who are suffering and being wounded, but also Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters. There are always people who want to contribute to chaos and muddy the water, and they¡¯re all helping that Lu Xiaoxuan."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan has returned, and that reignited all of the Lu family¡¯s former retainers. There¡¯s also an entire other group of people who are unhappy with the four ruling powers, and they¡¯re now taking action in secret. I even heard that Humility¡¯s Gate is putting some effort into obstructing the four ruling powers."

    "I heard that Humility¡¯s Gate is actually helping Lu Xiaoxuan."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin slowly sipped his wine. His appearance in the Perennial World had truly shaken things up, and it would not be long before word of him spread to the Middle Realm. Once that happened, and once word spread further to the rear battlefield, the ramifications would be even greater.

    Lu Yin could not forget about the hopes of people like Zhou Tang who had been banished to the rear battlefield. There was an entire group of people within the Star Alliance and the Forsaken Soldiers who were waiting for the Lu family to return. In addition to them, there had to be many people throughout the entire Perennial World who were waiting for his family to return, and they would help hide him.

    "Honestly, the Lu family deserved to rule the Perennial World back then; Lu Xiaoxuan fought against four two-tribtion Envoys on his own, which is truly terrifying. I even heard that he received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance."

    "What God of Death¡¯s inheritance?"

    "I don''t know, but there are people in Specter Abyss who im that he is the master of Specter Abyss, and they¡¯re searching for him in secret."

    "Shh! Don''t talk about the Lu family! Aren¡¯t you afraid that your head will blow up?"

    "Don''t worry. As long as you don''t try to remember what happened to the Lu family, you''ll be fine."

    ¡­

    Chaos had fully engulfed the Higher Realm.

    The four ruling powers had always known that many of the Lu family¡¯s supporters were still in hiding, but they had never expected there to be so many.

    Even members within the Celestial Frost Sect suffered from having their limbs removed, which made their elders furious. However, they could only promise to dig out the Lu family¡¯s supporters that had hidden themselves within the sect.

    However, themotion gradually changed. This was because more and more of the people who were unhappy with the four ruling powers began to take action, and they secretly attacked those searching for Lu Yin, which led to a great deal of suffering for the four ruling powers. And when the four ruling powers sent out their powerhouses to search, that just provided the perfect opportunity for the dissidents to make their move.

    In short, the Higher Realm had be aplete mess, and the turmoil quickly spread to the Middle Realm as well. There were some people who said that they had seen Lu Yin in the Middle Realm and others who imed to have seen someone with a very simr appearance. These ims led the four ruling powers¡¯ vassals in the Middle Realm to send out people to investigate the ims.

    A storm descended upon the entire Perennial World.

    While this was happening, a certain phenomena started to quickly spread.

    While Lu Yin was walking down a street, a person passed by overhead, and they loudly shouted, "Lu Xiaoxuan, we humans are fighting the monsters, and there are countless casualties on the battlefield! If you are on humanity¡¯s side, reveal yourself and stop a civil war!

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have taken refuge with those monsters! The entire Lu family has taken refuge with those monsters! You are inciting a civil war!"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, for the sake of humanity, please kill yourself!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold. The four ruling powers were spreading propaganda. Many people had been swayed by the Lu family, so the rulers of the Perennial World were trying to nder Lu Yin and alter public opinion by using the voice of justice to force him into the open.

    Countless conversations entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears. "That¡¯s true! Why did the Lu family appear right now? Are they trying to start a civil war?"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan shouldn''t have shown himself! It will only help those monsters if humanity has to go fight a civil war."

    "The four ruling powers could be right¡ªthe Lu family might have joined those monsters. How else could Lu Xiaoxuan have survived?"

    "The Lu family has changed from back then."

    "I heard that when Lu Xiaoxuan was targeted by four Envoys, he used a corpse king transformation to survive!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s name and appearance was not something that would ever reach the ordinary people of the Middle Realm, and even some cultivators might not hear of it. However, everyone in the Higher Realm knew about this scandal, and even the ordinary humans had heard of Lu Xiaoxuan''s name. The news had not been censored in the Higher Realm at all, so Lu Yin heard news and rumors about himself wherever he went.

    Countless people were discussing what had happened, and he was extremely vexed with the situation. However, theirining provided Lu Yin with a great deal of information, which was how he learned that every single city in the Higher Realm had been ordered to send out powerhouses to hunt Lu Yin down. The four ruling powers were setting up a around the Cloud Shuttle to capture him.

    It would be almost impossible for him to use the Cloud Shuttle to return to the Middle Realm.

 Chapter 1553: The Name of Zhu Tong

    Chapter 1553: The Name of Zhu Tong

    As Lu Yin passed by a restaurant, he suddenly saw someone he recognized. More urately, it was someone Lu Yin knew, but who did not know Lu Yin: Xia Ru.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of excitement, and he entered the restaurant.

    The city itself was just illuminated by a dim light, and only the insides of the buildings were bright.

    Lu Yin sat down close to Xia Ru.

    Before much time passed, a group of people arrived and sat down next to Xia Ru.

    "There are orders from the sect that we return to the Middle Realm," one personined.

    Xia Ru frowned. "It''s impossible for someone from the Lu family to want to go down to the Middle Realm. Does the sect really believe those rumors?"

    "Of course not. The sect just thinks that people like us are useless!" One person mmed the table while angrilyining.

    "Don''t talk like that." Someone else quickly tried to hush up his words.

    Xia Ru sighed. "It¡¯s hard for us to aplish anything of note. The sect is too hard on branch families like ours. That kid from the Lu family¡¯s arms and legs are already ruined, and he might even be dead. If we can find him, then we¡¯d definitely be known throughout the entire Perennial World."

    The others all fell silent.

    "Still, if we look at it from the other direction, things aren¡¯t too bad." Xia Ru suddenly changed topics and looked at the confusion in the eyes of hispanions. After a moment, he continued in a more serious tone, "Don''t forget, how long ago was it that the Lu family was exiled? Too many people still hold that family in high regard, and the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm have both been thrown into a mess because of those people. If we actually find that Lu bastard, would the Lu family¡¯s supporters ever let us go?

    "No one knows how many people among the Lu family''s vassals and retainers survived, but there¡¯s definitely an entire group in Star Alliance."

    The people all nced at each other. "Forget it. Since we¡¯ve been ordered by the sect, we¡¯ll just go back to the Middle Realm."

    "It¡¯s our only option."

    Several people stood up from the table and moved to leave. Lu Yin looked over, still processing the information that he had learned from Zhu Xian. After a moment, he shouted at Xia Ru, "Second Uncle!"

    Xia Ru and the others were momentarily stunned, but then they turned around and saw Lu Yin staring at them with excited eyes.

    "Boy, what did you just say?" someone asked.

    Lu Yin showed clear excitement as he walked up to Xia Ru. Several of the people in the group grew wary at his approach. "Second Uncle, is that you? Second Uncle?"

    Xia Ru felt the need to ask, "Do we know each other?"

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Are you Xia Ru, the patriarch of the Blue Moon District branch of the Xia family?"

    His eyes were full of both anxiety and anticipation.

    Xia Ru was taken aback. "That is me, but you are¡­?"

    Lu Yin grew more excited. "It''s me, Second Uncle! I¡¯m Zhu Tong! Zhu Xian¡¯s my uncle, and you are his sworn brother. We met once before."

    Xia Ru thought for a moment before suddenly remembering something anding to a realization. "That child from back then? That Zhu Tong?"

    Lu Yin eagerly nodded. "That¡¯s me! Second Uncle, you actually remember me!"

    Xia Ru was surprised. "Are you really Zhu Tong? You aren¡¯t in the Middle Realm?"

    "This little nephew came to the Higher Realm specifically to try to be a disciple of Shenwu¡¯s Sky," Lu Yin exined.

    Xia Ru nodded. He did not grow suspicious, as not many people knew about this detail, and more importantly, no one had any reason to pretend to be Zhu Xian''s nephew. After a moment¡¯s consideration, he introduced Lu Yin to hispanions. ¡°This is the nephew of my big brother, Zhu Xian. Little Tong, greet your seniors."

    Lu Yin respectfully bowed to the older men. "Little nephew Zhu Tong greets the seniors."

    The little group nodded, but no one really spoke, as all of them were in a bad mood.

    Xia Ru was not particrly concerned with their situation. He had traveled to the Ind of Hope in an attempt to form a connection with Xia Shenfei but failed. He had then traveled to the Higher Realm, only to be ordered back to the Middle Realm. By now, he had be used to disappointment.

    "Little Tong, since you became a disciple of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, what are you doing here?" Xia Ru asked. The people with him all sat back down again.

    When it came to Zhu Xian, even though Xia Ru intended to use his sworn brother, the man put on a show of doing a good job. Even worse, Xia Ru was ignorant as to the rtionship between his own wife and Zhu Xian.

    Lu Yin felt pity for the man, as he was an unknowing cuckold. "Your little nephew wanted to be epted into Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but¡­"

    Over the course of half an hour, Lu Yin created an image of himself as a tragic young man who worked hard on his cultivation, had a bit of talent, but possessed terrible luck. There were too many cultivators in the same situation in the Perennial World, and Xia Ru and the others were familiar with many simr stories. For this reason, they looked at Lu Yin with sympathy and understanding, and a few even grew slightly emotional as they listened to the youth¡¯s story, as it closely mirrored their own youthful ambitions.

    Xia Ru patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Child, you¡¯ve already suffered enough, and you¡¯re alone here in the Higher Realm."

    Lu Yin responded with a determined voice, "This little nephew needs to stand out from the rest of the crowd! I will one day be an Envoy and build up the reputation of my Zhu family. No matter how hard it may be or how tired I be, this little nephew will never stop trying!"

    Xia Ru praised the youth, "Well said."

    The others simrly grew a bit morefortable after hearing Lu Yin¡¯sst promation. "Brother Xia, your nephew is quite ambitious."

    "That¡¯s true. Brother Xia, I think that you should take him into your Xia family and train him yourself. You might even be able to get him a position in Shenwu''s Sky with the quotas provided to your Blue Moon District branch of the Xia family."

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Ru with great excitement.

    Xia Ru considered the matter for a bit. ¡°You can give it a try.¡±

    He had no intention of deceiving the youth with false hope. The Xia family had many branch families, but how many of them were actually able to send anyone to Shenwu¡¯s Sky in a given year? It all depended on one¡¯s talent. If this Zhu Tong was truly talented as well as ambitious, it was not impossible for him to gain a position in Shenwu¡¯s Sky. They did recruit youths from all of the branch families, and if Zhu Tong was able to qualify, Xia Ru would also be rewarded.

    "Little Tong, why don¡¯t you return to the Middle Realm with me for now? Maybe even meet with your uncle?" Xia Ru softly suggested.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "I¡¯ll ask Second Uncle to make all the arrangements."

    Xia Ru was very satisfied with the attitude that Lu Yin disyed, and hispanions were happy with what they saw as well. Before long, the group started making their way towards the Cloud Shuttle.

    Even though Xia Ru was only a patriarch of a branch family of the Xia family, he was still a patriarch and a true disciple of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Given such an identity, no one dared to create any trouble for him as he proceeded towards the Cloud Shuttle. Besides, everyone had been told that Lu Yin¡¯s limbs had been destroyed, and who would believe that a member of Xia Ru¡¯s group was Lu Yin? Nobody would believe that, not only had Lu Yin fully recovered, but that he had also hidden himself within the Xia family.

    Xia Ru led the way, which made their progress much smoother. After just a few days, the Cloud Shuttle entered their sights.

    "Brother Xia, Humility''s Gate is growing more and more bold! They are actually blocking our path and forcing us to go around them!" someoneined angrily.

    Xia Ru replied, "Humility''s Gate is different from my four ruling powers. They are unconcerned with the ruler of the Perennial World, and that survivor of the Lu family has contributed far too much to Humility¡¯s Gate.

    "Fortunately, themander was never able to ept him as a disciple, as that would have created even more trouble."

    "The Lu family is the Lu family, and Lu Xiaoxuan was also one of the Seven Heroes back then. After returning, he¡¯s amazed the entire Perennial World. He single-handedly fought off four Envoys. People like you and I would have no chance of survival if we ran into him. The only reason why I even dared to try to search for him was because he was seriously wounded. I actually hope that he¡¯s already dead, because if he¡¯s not, things will only get worse in the future."

    "Don''t worry, the four ruling powers have already stabilized their rule over the Perennial World. Even a survivor of the Lu family will not be able to make any real waves or cause serious problems."

    Lu Yin quietly listened as the older men spoke about the current situation. He nevermented even once, as his current identity was that of a youth who did not qualify to interject in his elders¡¯ conversation.

    Lu Yin looked up ahead at the distant Cloud Shuttle. There was a veritable of people in ce across the ground and throughout the sky. Even though the Semi-Progenitors were all still fighting, things were not over just yet. Lu Yin believed that those monsters had also made arrangements to keep humanity¡¯s Progenitors upied. However, there was no shortage of Envoys.

    And any Envoy could see through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise.

    He only hoped that he would be able to sessfully slip through to the Middle Realm by traveling with Xia Ru.

    However, Lu Yin had still underestimated the four ruling powers'' determination to capture him.

    Xia Ru and the people with him led Lu Yin to just outside the Cloud Shuttle. There, Lu Yin learned that everyone who wished to travel to the Middle Realm needed to be individually searched, and even their cosmic rings needed to be turned over to be examined. Security was tight and strict.

    Everyone was absolutely certain that Lu Yin had already lost his arms and legs, but despite that, the four ruling powers had still set up an extremely strict security checkpoint, all to make sure that Lu Yin did not have even the slightest crack to slip through.

    "Child, they need you to take everything out of your cosmic ring and show it to them in just a bit, so don''t make any trouble," Xia Ru reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, Second Uncle."

    Xia Ru turned back around,pletely content with Lu Yin¡¯s attitude. The youth was respectful, and admiration could also be seen in his eyes. The youth could be very useful, though, unfortunately, Zhu Tong was not Xia Ru¡¯s true nephew.

    "Brother Xia, where did the child go?" one of Xia Ru¡¯spanions asked.

    "Isn''t he right behind me?"

    He turned around; where had Zhu Tong disappeared to?

    Some distance away, Lu Yin kept his distance from the Cloud Shuttle while considering hiding and leaving once things rxed, or even finding another way to leave the Higher Realm. Just as he was thinking about his options, he felt the danger field of a sourcebox surround him. This was not good!

    "Someone¡¯s trying to escape! Get them!" There was a stern shout, and everyone turned to look at Lu Yin, including Xia Ru and hispanions. All of them looked angry; why was Zhu Tong making trouble at a time like this?

    Several people moved over to arrest Lu Yin, and he replied by lifting his hand. He did not release a Vacuum Palm, but rather released a wave of pure power that caused his surroundings to tremble and sent his would-be captors flying.

    Xia Ru was startled, as neither he nor any of hispanions had expected the youth traveling with them to possess such strength. It was at this moment that Xia Ru suddenly felt that something was wrong. Given Zhu Tong''s age, how could he possibly possess such strength? He had just sent Enlighters flying!

    Lu Yin stepped forward and fled.

    "This old man wants to see just who is trying to escape!" A loud voice erupted, and an indescribable spiritual force attack shot out. Lu Yin''s eyes focused. He was a master of spiritual force himself, so he looked up and took the attack head-on. His body swayed, but fortunately, he was able to endure the attack. His opponent was only a one-tribtion Envoy.

    An old man stood in the void, shocked by the oue. "You actually managed to block this old man''s attack?"

    Lu Yin put on his universal armor and stepped forward. He tore through the void and entered the true universe.

    The old man was startled. "It''s the Lu bastard!"

    When considering cultivators below the Envoy realm, just who was capable of entering the true universe? The four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors were capable of doing so briefly, but they were literally the most outstanding geniuses of their entire generation. Other than those four, Lu Yin was the only other possibility.

    No one had even considered that Lu Yin might not be seriously injured when, in reality, his strength had not fallen in the slightest.

    The moment Lu Yin entered the true universe, he knew that he would be exposing himself. However, he had no choice but to do his best to escape as quickly as possible. He still remembered how Long Kui had managed to quickly travel to the Middle Realm, and the four ruling powers definitely had a hidden way of traveling to the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm. Perhaps he could take advantage of that.

    "Bastard, die!" The old man appeared in the true universe as well, and he raised a hand to attack. Lu Yin prepared to retaliate when the old man¡¯s expression suddenly and drastically changed. The stellr energy within his body was ripped away from him, terrifying him. ¡°No, I¡¯ve been exposed!"

    He did not mean that his identity had been exposed, but rather that his presence had been revealed to the true universe.

    Lu Yin then remembered that someone had once told him that Envoys could not fight in the true universe without any restrictions, especially when it came to using stellr energy. They had to keep their stellr energy hidden within their bodies. Otherwise, the true universe would forcibly take it back, no different from when stellr liquid was exposed to open air. This was why Envoys were always looking for curios to hide their presence from the true universe.

    The old man facing Lu Yin must have only recently be an Envoy, and he was still not fully familiar with the restrictions of his new cultivation realm. He had used too powerful of an attack, and it had caused all of the stellr energy within his body to be ripped away from him.

    Lu Yin instantly pped out with a Vacuum Palm, and it tore through the old man¡¯s body, forcing him out of the true universe. The Envoy spat out a mouthful of blood that was mixed with his own internal organs. He was deader than dead.

 Chapter 1554: Leaving

    Chapter 1554: Leaving

    Lu Yin was utterly ruthless with his actions. Anybody who called him a Lu bastard deserved to die.

    Off in the distance, Xia Ru and those with him were truly shocked. The youth who had been following them was actually Long Qi? No, would it be more urate to call him Lu Xiaoxuan? Several people felt their scalps go numb at the realization that they had actually traveled and mingled with such a terrifying powerhouse for several days. They had said quite a bit over these few days.

    Had the reports not stated that Lu Xiaoxuan had been attacked by a Semi-Progenitor and badly wounded? Everyone had assumed that he was dead or near-death, so how could the truth be so far from their expectations? How could a Semi-Progenitor''s attack have had no effect?

    "Boy, stay here." A voice entered Lu Yin''s ear, and he was smashed down to the ground after being sted out of the true universe. The incredible pressure shattered his universal armor.

    Suddenly, he heard a shout in the distance. "Young master, run away!"

    Lu Yin turned around to see that an Envoy who had been a part of the protective line surrounding the Cloud Shuttle was attacking the void. This particr Envoy had survived two stellr tribtions, but Lu Yin knew that the person who had attacked him had passed through at least five. He anxiously yelled, "Don''t!"

    "Survivor of the Lu family, you could have aided humanity, but you have only sought after death.¡± A man emerged from the void. He did not even nce at the Envoy who had attacked; the powerhouse¡¯s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin alone. The attacking Envoy''s strike stopped when it was only a single meter away from the powerhouse, as the old man merely needed to wave a hand to disperse the attack. The Envoy who wanted to help Lu Yin escape had his body torn apart as he was smashed down to the ground.

    Lu Yin watched as the man died. Even as he had died, the man had tried to yell for Lu Yin to escape.

    This was a scene that Lu Yin would never be able to forget. The Envoy who had tried to protect him was thrilled to see Lu Yin was alive, as he had been terrified that the youth would die.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the Envoy who had just sacrificed himself for Lu Yin, and his body grew cold.

    "Boy, there¡¯s no need to bother looking. He acted of his own initiative to protect you at the moment of his death.¡± The powerhouse stared at Lu Yin, and regret filled his eyes. "It''s such a pity that an Envoy had to die so pointlessly."

    Lu Yin red at the old man, killing intent overflowing from his eyes.

    "Since you are alive, just how many people will die for your sake? He was just one such person. Recently, I have found no less than a thousand people who wished to help you escape from the four ruling powers, and every single one of them was summarily captured and killed. Do you know how many of them were the Lu family¡¯s former retainers? Do you understand how many people wish to protect you? Your life means that more and more people will step forward, and chaos will spread across the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and even the rear battlefield. You cannot ignore your inheritance."

    Lu Yin''s body trembled as he tightly clenched his fists.

    The man looked at Lu Yin with an expression of pity. "Do you wish to have all of those former retainers die with you?"

    Lu Yin wiped away some blood on the corner of his mouth. "I can''t escape, so why are you saying so much nonsense? Do you want me tomit suicide?"

    The man shook his head. "You must admit to the Lu family¡¯s failings so that peace can return to the Perennial World. Humanity should be united against those monsters, not killing each other. Though, maybe that¡¯s what you want."

    Lu Yin let out a sarcasticugh. "You people rebelled against my Lu family, and now you want to pin a crime on my Lu family? The four ruling powers are the real bastards!"

    The man''s face fell. "How brazen."

    Lu Yin suddenly released his domain. The sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields locking down the Cloud Shuttle and its surrounding area instantly turned chaotic, and the sourcebox array grew chaotic and began attacking in all directions, though it seemed to target the guards.

    The powerhouse targeting Lu Yin was shocked; how could this have happened?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He moved, but in response, the surrounding void twisted, and he was unable toplete his movement. His only option was to rush towards the Cloud Shuttle at top speed. Someone was helping Lu Yin, and it was Grandmaster Qiu Ling.

    The sourcebox array protecting the Cloud Shuttle had been set up by Grandmaster Qiu Ling. It allowed people to enter, but it also sensed whenever anyone tried to leave, which was how Lu Yin had been initially discovered.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was clearly helping Lu Yin at the moment, which was not something that he had expected. Master Deng Guo had told Lu Yin that the Lu family were the ones who had sent the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s headquarters to the rear battlefield, and that relocation had caused most Lockbreakers to hate the Lu family. In that case, why was Grandmaster Qiu Ling helping Lu Yin? He refused to believe that it was because she wanted him as an apprentice. This was not simply a question of epting the youth as an apprentice; Lu Yin remembered that Grandmaster Qiu Ling''s attitude on Dragon Mountain had also been very strange.

    However, Lu Yin did not have any time to consider the situation. Grandmaster Qiu Ling had given him a bit of help, and she was the person controlling the sourcebox array. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s only objective was to escape from the Higher Realm as quickly as possible.

    The powerhouse who had been confronting Lu Yin was furious at the change. "Lu bastard, you can''t escape!"

    The man had survived five stellr tribtions, and his strength was not something that Lu Yin could resist. Even though Lu Yin pulled out the puppet, it aplished nothing. Wang Si had already broken the puppet when she had shattered Lu Yin¡¯s arms and legs, and the powerhouse protecting the Cloud Shuttle easily destroyed the puppet with a single palm.

    Pain erupted in Lu Yin''s back, but more importantly, he felt his vitality being sucked away. This attack was the Gap Between Heaven and Human, which meant that this powerhouse was from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    If not for the puppet, the palm attack would have instantly killed Lu Yin; instead, the puppet was merely destroyed. Lu Yin borrowed the force of the attack to hurl himself down from the Higher Realm. He was not in a position to slowly ascend through the Cloud Shuttle, so his only other option was to jump down.

    The powerhouse pulled out a power vessel and then used a hand to tear open the void. A terrible pressure swept out and became an iparably destructive attack that covered every corner of the Cloud Shuttle.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his pupils shrank at the sight above him. There was absolutely no way for him to stop this attack, and he could not escape from it either; the very sky looked like it was crashing down.

    Was he going to die here?

    However, it was at this moment that a figure appeared and threw Lu Yin towards the Middle Realm. Lu Yin looked over to see who it was, shocked. Adventure King?

    "There are powerhouses down below after your blood as well. Good luck."

    The wind whistled past Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and he hurled down towards the Middle Realm after being thrown there by Adventure King. Lu Yin struggled to reorient himself and look down. The four ruling powers had truly demonstrated their might; they had set up an air-tight blockade to catch Lu Yin. Even with the assistance of a Semi-Progenitor, Envoys, and the Lu family¡¯s former retainers, Lu Yin still had no hope of escaping.

    The four ruling powers were just too strong.

    Lu Yin had already lost his universal armor and the puppet. At this point in time, any random three-tribtion Envoy could kill him.

    The power of a Semi-Progenitor appeared some distance away from Lu Yin, and Wang Si appeared. She looked somewhat embarrassed, but a cruel light filled her eyes. ¡°Little bastard, you can¡¯t escape!¡±

    As she spoke, she raised a hand, but the old man suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin. He looked just as haggard as Wang Si, which gave him a vagabondish appearance. ¡°You old bat, you can¡¯t lose me!"

    Wang Si was furious. "Kui Luo, you must really want to die! I¡¯ll take care of you!"

    She took a beautiful red flower out of her cosmic ring.

    New novels chapters are published ?n !

    Kui Luo¡¯s expression instantly changed when he saw the red flower, and so did Lu Yin¡¯s.

    While Lu Yin did not know what the red flower was capable of doing, it was clearly not anything good for him. Otherwise, the old woman would not have brought it out at this time.

    Suddenly, the scenery changed before Lu Yin''s eyes. The old man had disappeared, as had Wang Si. The attack from up above that epassed the entire sky had also vanished. Lu Yin nced around¡ªwas he at the rendezvous point?

    He had unexpectedly appeared at the meeting ce!

    Off in the distance, he saw the void tear open and spatial rifts spread out. Everything taking ce was in the direction of the Cloud Shuttle where Wang Si and the old man were fighting. However, Lu Yin had already reached the meeting ce.

    He guessed that Mister Mu might have simply moved him. Regardless, since he was where he needed to be, he would return.

    He pressed a hand to the ground, and his star energy spread out to form a unique shape. At this exact same time, in a certain location in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Honor Zone, Arch-Elder Zen and a few others suddenly opened their eyes. ¡°If you feel it, make a move!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s star energy spread out, and the ground shattered. The void twisted to gradually take on a new form, which allowed Lu Yin to let out a sigh of relief. This was it!

    However, at that instance, a sh of white light appeared in the distance. An rm rang out within Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he moved by pure reflex. An arrow appeared and pierced through his shoulder before shooting into the void. As it passed through Lu Yin¡¯s body, it opened up a massive wound on his back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth opened, and he spat out blood. As he stared straight ahead, he saw several powerful arrows aimed at his head, neck, and heart.

    The arrows moved quickly , and time seemed to slow for Lu Yin. He was able to clearly see the arrows as they approached him, and one of them nearly touched his forehead. However, he could not move, as these arrows contained stellr energy, which suppressed Lu Yin¡¯s star energy. He could not use a secret technique, and neither could he set up a sourcebox array. On top of that, his body was too injured to move anyways.

    Move! Move! I''m going to die! Lu Yin internally screamed, but he was still unable to move.

    At the veryst instance, a willow leaf appeared to protect Lu Yin, blocking all three arrows. Lu Yin nkly stared at the people who had suddenly appeared in front of him: Liu Ye¡ªFei Hua?

    "You really are," was all that Liu Ye said, but the three fierce arrows were sucked into the void by a powerful force, and they instantly disappeared.

    Off in the distance, a pair of long, narrow eyes were staring at the rendezvous point, and they flickered.

    ***

    The news that had rocked the Perennial World finally reached the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. Even if the four ruling powers wanted to lock the news down, their efforts were all useless, as fresh blood was always needed on the battlefield.

    Xia Yan and Long Laogui were both stunned by the news; Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan?

    "How is that possible? He passed the blood test! He¡¯s someone from my White Dragon n, so how could he possibly be Lu Xiaoxuan?" Long Laogui was in disbelief.

    The White Dragon n has be the Perennial World¡¯s greatest joke. All of the invitations that they had sent out were now mocking reminders for the n.

    Even a Semi-Progenitor like Long Laogui was stunned by this development.

    Xia Yan eximed, "No wonder he seemed a bit familiar! Now that I think about it, he really did look a lot like Lu Xiaoxuan."

    "Impossible! How is this possible?" Long Laogui muttered to himself. He could not even imagine what was happening on Dragon Mountain right now, nor how angry Elder Ni Huang had to be. That was not even mentioning Progenitor Long¡¯s reaction. This truly meant that everyone, even Progenitor Long, had been deceived.

    But that was impossible! If Lu Yin had tricked even Progenitor Long, that meant that Long Laogui himself had indirectly tricked Progenitor Long, as he had been a driving force behind Lu Yin¡¯s discipleship ceremony.

    Long Laogui was panicking.

    As for the Lu family¡¯s former retainers who had been banished to the battlefield, they were left alone. A weak survivor of the Lu family would not be able to weather the storm raging across the Perennial World.

    There were discussions everywhere on the rear battlefield as people talked about the appearance of Lu Yin. In particr, those who had survived with Lu Yin in the New World had no idea how to react.

    "I thought that we were the ones who hated the four ruling powers the most, but I think that Long Qi has to be the most ruthless out of everyone," someone whispered.

    "He was the only one who made the original oath, and it was truly ruthless."

    "Long Qi doesn''t even know what''s going on, but he better not die! I want him to lead us brothers to peek at a hundred of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s female disciples while they bathe!"

    "Get lost!"

    "If Senior Zhou Tang learns that Long Qi is really Lu Xiaoxuan, he might go insane."

    ¡­

    On the first array base, on the sloped portion of the inverted pyramidal battlefield, there was a person curled up in a trembling ball. It was Bai Zhen. He had been like this ever since he had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity. No matter what the future held, Bai Zhen had never considered that that person might return.

    Bai Zhen still remembered everything from the very beginning. He had been Lu Xiaoxuan''s retainer, but he had been bribed by the Celestial Frost Sect into betraying the Lu family.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s back! He actually returned! It''s over! Everything¡¯s done! The Lu family wille back! They''re going to die! They''re going to die," Bai Zhen continuously muttered to himself, voicing his fears.

    "He deliberately stole the Cloudguard Robes! He must already know where I am and everything about me! That¡¯s why he deliberately stole the Cloudguard Robes from me! He¡¯s going toe and get revenge! This was just the beginning. He¡¯sing, Lu Xiaoxuan ising¡­"

    OMA''s Thoughts

    And that''s book 5. Hope you all enjoyed the exciting end and all the reveals, though we still have a lot of pending questions.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1555: Return

    Chapter 1555: Return

    In the Middle Realm, at the ce where Lu Yin disappeared, Wang Si and other powerhouses from the four ruling powers appeared one after another. Ugly expressions could be seen on all of their faces.

    "It''s this same scene again! After every single Yuanlun Festival, we send youths to explore the Dominion Realm, and those trespassers always manage to escape with the sourcebox array that Progenitor Hui gave them. It''s despicable!" Wang Si ranted.

    Ni Huang stared at the ground. Out of everyone present, he was the person who held the greatest hatred for Lu Yin. Lu Yin had toyed with the entire White Dragon n and had made them nothing more than a joke in the eyes of the universe.

    "We need to rescue Shenfei and the others as soon as possible so that we can ask them what happened in the Forgotten Ruins," Xia Xing said.

    Bai Teng quietly said, "Shaohong was killed by that Lu family trash and made into a champion! This deed must be avenged!"

    "Avenged? How are you going to do that? He escaped back to the Forsaken Land!" Wang Si asked in an angry voice.

    Bai Teng replied, "Xian''er is still in seclusion. As soon as shees out and learns that Lu Xiaoxuan is still alive and that he killed Shaohong, she will never give up. Everyone, do you prefer to keep your promise, or do you want to eliminate this scourge? Never forget, if Lu Xiaoxuan has children in the Forsaken Land, then they may very well inherit the innate gift of the Champions¡¯ Stage, and that innate gift could even allow an idiot to be a supreme powerhouse.

    "As soon as Lu Xiaoxuan establishes himself in the Forsaken Land, he will be the master of that ce."

    Ni Huang looked up. "I cannot let this matter go."

    "We need to report this matter to the Progenitors, as only they can make such a decision," Xia Xing cautioned.

    Wang Si¡¯s voice grew cold. "There is also that Kui Luo. I can''t let him go free. And the Lu family''s former retainers as well. Some in the Star Alliance can¡¯t be left alone."

    Xia Xing frowned and shot a nce over at Wang Si, but he said nothing.

    A great distance away, the old manid on the ground, exhausted. He had no thought for his image. He had finally managed to escape from that crazy old woman Wang Si who had wanted to keep fighting him. After getting a moment to think, the old man had to admit that he had never expected the kid to end up being Lu Xiaoxuan. "God willing, I hope that you told me the truth. No, regardless, I need to go to the Forsaken Land to see for myself, but how can I get there?"

    He then remembered Wang Yun. If that child could find a way into the Forsaken Land, Kui Luo could do the same.

    ***

    In the Fifth Maind, in a certain corner of the Honor Zone, Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua all descended to the ground.

    Lu Yin was unconscious due to his severe injuries. Because of them, he had not been able to withstand the power of the sourcebox array when it pulled him back to the Fifth Maind, though Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both fine.

    The moment the couple appeared in the Honor Zone, they instantly felt that something was wrong; the space was too delicate in this ce.

    In the Perennial World, only Envoys or experts above that realm were able to tear open the void, but in the Fifth Maind, even a Hunter could do so. This was also because the sky had changed. Before that, even Explorers had been able to tear open the void and travel through it. Even though space was more stable around the Honor Zone, it only took an attack with a power level of a bit more than 300,000 to tear through the void, which was far less than the Perennial World.

    For Liu Ye and Fei Hua, the Fifth Maind was too fragile.

    This was their first impression of the Fifth Maind, but their second was the five people surrounding them.

    "Where are we?" Sister Fei Hua demanded as she stared at an old man who looked like he had crossed the river of time itself. The man¡¯s eyes were half-closed, and he looked ready to die at any time.

    "So was it that child?" Not a single person paid any attention to Sister Fei Hua. All five people were focused on Lu Yin, and one of them had spoken up.

    "It would seem that the child went there early and then met with the other finalists. He¡¯s been seriously injured and needs to be treated," another personmented.

    "There¡¯s no need to hurry. Rather, look at this odd technique. It¡¯s drying up his entire body. It seems a bit familiar. Brother Xia, what do you think?"

    "It¡¯s simr to the Ku family''s technique."

    Sister Fei Hua was furious when she saw that not a single person present paid her any attention, and it caused her already bad temper to re. "I asked you something!"

    She fully released the force of her stellr energy, but the moment she did so, an immeasurable power fell upon her. It was almost more than she could bear, and she nearly knelt on the ground.

    Mr. Liu Ye quickly tried to help her, but his face was also pale. "Semi-Progenitors."

    "Child, don''t be in such a hurry. Take your time." The old man right in front of them who looked like he was about to drop dead spoke up and gave them a slight smile.

    Sister Fei Hua had gone totally white: five! There were actually five Semi-Progenitors here! She suddenly remembered a certain detail regarding Lu Yin. "We¡¯re in the Forsaken Land."

    ***

    In the middle of a deste in that held almost nothing aside from some gravel, a bit of tough, withered grass swayed as the wind blew.

    There were some people who said that they did not wish to be like grass that bent with whichever direction the wind blew, but there were also others who appreciated the resilience of the grass.

    A gust of wind blew and rose up into the sky, picking up a cloud of dust as it swept across the ground. A wooden house stood in the ins, and as the wind struck, a gentle noise rang out. The building looked like it could copse at any moment.

    Inside the shack, a young man¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open. He sat and nced around himself in a wary manner as confusion clouded his eyes.

    Where was he?

    This young man was Lu Yin, and he had returned to the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World.

    Given that he had just awoken in an unknown ce, Lu Yin subconsciously released his domain to get a better picture of his surroundings.

    As he did so, the door to the shack was pushed open, and an old man entered and gazed upon Lu Yin with a fond expression.

    Lu Yin was delighted to see the old man. "Arch- Arch-Elder Zen!"

    "You¡¯re awake," Arch-Elder Zen replied with a smile.

    Lu Yin quickly moved to his feet and bowed. "Junior Lu Yin greets Arch-Elder Zen."

    The old man sighed. "There¡¯s no need for you to be so formal. Just rx. You just came back, but your injuries have already recovered quite quickly."

    Most of Lu Yin''s injuries were the ones that he had suffered from the five-tribtion powerhouse who had been protecting the Cloud Shuttle, followed by the arrow that had attacked him at the rendezvous point. However, even though all of his injuries were from Envoys, he had also unlocked the miraculous healing power of Extremes Must Be Reversed. Thus, his injuries had all recovered.

    Lu Yin was excited, as he had finally returned. He was back in the Fifth Maind, though he still raised a hand to sense the spatial stability of his location. He was in the Honor Zone.

    Arch-Elder Zen observed Lu Yin. "You''ve changed."

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior has managed to greatly improve his cultivation base."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "I did not expect you to go to the Perennial World one step ahead of the others. How are they?"

    Lu Yin then remembered, and he quickly took out Zenith Mountain and let Shang Qing and the others out.

    Arch-Elder Zen was first surprised but then delighted. The meeting point that he had told everyone about was something that could only be used once, which meant that if Lu Yin had returned alone, Shang Qing and others would either die or be trapped in the Perennial World forever. Many people had been trapped in the Perennial World since ancient times, stuck there until they died of old age, but not even death would bring them back.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others had actually already given up on the other youths, and the elder had not expected to receive such a wee surprise from Lu Yin.

    Eleven people had been ced in Zenith Mountain, and besides the five Perennial World natives¡ªLong Xi, Wen Diyi, Crown Prince Gui Qian, Yun Tingting, and Liu Hao¡ªthe rest were all released.

    Shang Qing, Liu Tianmu, Unseen Light, Yao Xuan, Yuhua Mavis, and Luo Shen.

    Several youths appeared, and they all understood that they had returned to the Fifth Maind when they saw the old man looking at them. However, none of the youths looked too happy. Their entire purpose for traveling to the Perennial World had been to get ahold of Origin Matter and open their three meridian points. While they had survived, they had returned with nothing except their lives.

    Outside the shack, Highsage Grandmaster and several other people noticed that Shang Qing and the others had returned safely, and they all heaved sighs of relief.

    One of the old men could not help but ask, "Didn''t that girl Qiu Shi make it back?"

    Lu Yin answered in a respectful tone, "She was trapped, and this junior was powerless to save her."

    The old man who had asked was an elder from the Cosmic Sect, and he was one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors.

    The old man shook his head. He was very upset at the news, but he did not say anything more. There was no reason for him to even ask where Qiu Shi had been trapped. If she was in the Perennial World, then no one would be able to save her even if they fully understood her situation.

    "Didn¡¯t Xia Luoe back?" the Xia n¡¯s Elder Xia Ji asked as he stared at Lu Yin with burning eyes.

    Lu Yin answered in a helpless tone, "This junior never saw him."

    Xia Ji was different from the other Semi-Progenitors present, as he was more conniving. He found Lu Yin¡¯s answer to be somewhat questionable, but so what?

    "Liquor Hero didn''t return either."

    Lu Yin said, "I never saw or heard anything regarding Liquor Hero or Zhi Yi, though I did meet with Wu Taibai."

    Arch-Elder Zen looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at Shang Qing and others. The truth of Wu Taibai had to be made clear, and even if Lu Yin did not say anything, Shang Qing and others would not keep anything hidden. "Wu Taibai is actually from the Perennial World¡¯s Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "Shenwu''s Sky? Isn¡¯t that one of the most powerful forces in the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Realm?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Things havepletely changed in the Perennial World. Right now, Shenwu''s Sky is one of the four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin then slowly proceeded to share the information regarding the contemporary circumstances of the Perennial World.

    After half an hour, Arch-Elder Zen and the others finally recovered from their shock.

    "That Lu family was actually exiled!" Elder Gong was shocked.

    Xia Ji drilymented, "The Lu family, that invincible family, has been exiled. That¡¯s unbelievable."

    "How did the four ruling powers aplish such a thing? Even if they had the help of the White Dragon n, it¡¯s no easy feat to get the Ancestral Python to turn over," Highsage Grandmaster said.

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up. "No matter what the situation in the Perennial World is like right now, neither Zhi Yi nor Wu Taibai have returned. We need to exin what happened to the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors."

    This was a task for Arch-Elder Zen and the others to handle, so Lu Yin did not worry about it. He had already said everything that he could. Naturally, there were some things he did not mention, such as how he was a member of the Lu family.

    Even though he had the Lu surname, there was absolutely no way for Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors to make a connection between Lu Yin and that Lu family, as it was simply too absurd.

    Lu Yin had no intention of revealing his identity either. Wang Yun had been able toe to enter the Fifth Maind, and Shaman God had also told Lu Yin that the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers would hunt him down even if he escaped to the Fifth Maind. That meant that the Perennial World was not without the means to enter the Fifth Maind and pursue Lu Yin.

    Given those facts, Lu Yin could not risk exposing himself. Who knew if Arch-Elder Zen and the others were capable of resisting the pressure of the four ruling powers without surrendering? While such a possibility seemed unlikely at the moment, anything could change with the circumstances. It was even possible that the Sixth Maind might eagerly submit to the Perennial World.

    Nothing was determined, and Lu Yin had no desire to entrust his fate to others. At this moment, his greatest concern was what Liu Ye and Fei Hua would say.

    Over the course of several days, Arch-Elder Zen and the others questioned Shang Qing and other youths, mostly to learn as much about the Perennial World¡¯s situation as possible, as well as what had happened in the Dominion Realm. The Semi-Progenitors would not fully trust Lu Yin¡¯s words alone.

    Shang Qing and the others answered well, and only Yao Xuan mentioned the existence of Long Xi and the others on Zenith Mountain.

    Xia Ji went and found Lu Yin to tell Lu Yin to turn over Long Xi and the other youths. He wanted to interrogate them to gain a greater understanding of the Perennial World, but Lu Yin refused.

    "Kid, I¡¯m not asking! Hand over those people!" Xia Ji'' growled. The way the Seven Courts handled things was not gentle. Xia Ji had let Xia Jiu go after Xia Luo in order to raise the strongest heir possible for the n, and the elder did not care when Xia Luo had reced Xia Jiu. That showed Xia Ji¡¯s manner of handling things.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 1556: New Follower

    Chapter 1556: New Follower

    After visiting the Perennial World, Lu Yin was no longer a frog at the bottom of a well when it came to Semi-Progenitors. Semi-Progenitor? He had met too many of them.

    "Senior, this junior will not give those people to you. They are this junior¡¯s prisoners to handle. Not only did I capture those people, but I also opened my three meridian points, and I have an Origin Matter seedling within my body. Will Senior demand that this junior also deliver those things to you?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xia Ji was startled. "You opened your third meridian point?"

    Mister Mu had concealed Lu Yin¡¯s strength far too well. Not to mention a Semi-Progenitor¡ªnot even Progenitor Long or Humility Gate¡¯s Commander had been able to see through Lu Yin¡¯s true cultivation realm atop Dragon Mountain.

    "That''s right. This junior has opened his third meridian point," Lu Yin loudly announced.

    Highsage Grandmaster suddenly appeared. "Xia Ji, what are you trying to do?"

    Xia Ji hesitated, but he ultimately retreated. Those captured youths would not really be of much use. In reality, he had wanted to take them away from Lu Yin so that he could try to extract the four ruling powers¡¯ battle techniques or cultivation arts from them. However, after learning that Lu Yin had opened his three meridian points and that he was actually the only youth in the entire Fifth Maind to do so, Lu Yin¡¯s importance had risen to a level equal to the Semi-Progenitors despite hiscking strength.

    Xia Ji could not force things at this moment when it came to Lu Yin. More importantly, the youth was able to hide the fact that he had opened his three meridian points so well that not even Xia Ji had noticed anything. A true powerhouse was supporting Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin only revealed his value when he fully understood his importance. Ignoring the Fifth Maind, even in the Perennial World, someone who had opened their third meridian point would be one of the most important cultivators around. The value of the Junior Progenitors aptly demonstrated the status of a cultivator who had opened their meridian points.

    Upon learning that Lu Yin had opened all three meridian points, everyone was shocked, as this was the first time that anyone had heard of this news.

    The only person who was unfazed was Yuhua Mavis, as she had only recently learned of Lingzhi Mavis¡¯s death.

    One of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, Lingzhi Mavis, had died. Five of the surviving Semi-Progenitors were present, though there was one other Semi-Progenitor whose identity Lu Yin still did not know. He was just about to ask when he suddenly saw the captured Liu Ye and Fei Hua, and Lu Yin''s heart lurched when he saw them.

    Both of the two were miserable. The Cosmic Sect¡¯s elder had captured them both and then tossed them behind the wooden shack. Not only had their limbs been tied, but their mouths had also been gagged for some unknown reason, and neither was able to speak.

    Lu Yin removed their gags.

    Sister Fei Hua angrily demanded, "Release us! Why have you restrained us?"

    Lu Yinughed. "I''m sorry to offer you such ate wee, but wee to the Fifth Maind."

    Liu Ye felt helpless. "I never expected you to drag us to this ce."

    "The Forsaken Land is the Forsaken Land." Sister Fei Hua¡¯s temper was as bad as ever.

    Lu Yin just stared at her. "You¡¯re surrounded by five Semi-Progenitors. You really should watch what you say."

    Fei Hua sneered in response. "So what?"

    Lu Yin frowned. This woman was rather unreasonable, and why did she have such a bad attitude towards him?

    He then remembered that, when his identity had been exposed and while he had been fleeing from Dragon Mountain, old man Kui Luo had saved him multiple times. Some time ago, when rumors of Lu Yin receiving Kui Luo¡¯s inheritance had first spread, Fei Hua had shown a simr hostile attitude towards Lu Yin. At this point, it no longer looked like Lu Yin was merely the hated Semi-Progenitor¡¯s heir, and the old man¡¯s treatment made it look more like Lu Yin was his grandson.

    "Long Qi¡ªno, I should call you Lu Xiaoxuan," Liu Ye said, but Lu Yin''s eyes instantly shed

    "Call me Lu Yin."

    Liu Ye was a bit surprised, but he replied, "Lu Yin. A good name. Means to conceal."

    "Cut the nonsense! Just ask him!" Fei Hua scolded.

    Liu Ye acted as though he was forced as he asked. "Lu Yin, what is your rtionship with Kui Luo?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I met him by chance, though there¡¯s no way that you¡¯ll believe that."

    Fei Hua sneered.

    Lu Yin had grown curious as well. "You¡¯ve asked your question, but I would like to know how you were able to figure out my location so urately. You found me right after I left the Cloud Shuttle, but how did you know that I would show up at that ce?"

    Liu Ye replied, "That¡¯s actually quite simple: you¡¯ve visited the Cloud Shuttle several times in the past, and in particr, when you were exposing Yun Mubai as a Redback, you fled to the east. We¡¯ve been watching you for a long time, so we were naturally able to determine that much."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "No, you found me because of the Flying Blossom Willow Leaf power vessel."

    Liu Ye was caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "I''ve actually been wondering why you gave me that power vessel from our very first meeting, even though I didn¡¯t answer your questions. Now that I look back, that¡¯s how you were always able to find me."

    Liu Ye fell silent.

    Fei Hua was actually the one to respond. "You''re pretty smart. That¡¯s right, we are able to sense faint traces of people who havee in contact with a Flying Blossom Willow Leaf power vessel. When you showed up, we were already close by, so we immediately rushed over."

    Lu Yin nodded. These people had been plotting against him.

    "Lu Yin, you should be d about what happened. Without us, you would have died," Liu Ye said.

    Lu Yin asked, "Who attacked me at the end?"

    He needed to get revenge for that attack, as it had almost killed him. It had been an incredibly close call. Liu Ye had been absolutely correct when he called him Lu Yin¡¯s savior even though the man had also been chasing after Lu Yin.

    "That person should have been one of Realmless¡¯s assassins," Liu Ye said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharper. "How did an assassin from Realmless know that I would go to that ce?"

    "Do you really think that you were sneaky? Anyone who closely observed you for some time would have noticed a pattern to your actions, and Realmless has been watching you for far too long," Fei Hua replied with a sneer.

    Lu Yin then understood. After thinking about it, there was no one in the Perennial World who had spent more time observing him than Realmless. The assassins followed a credo of seizing the most opportune moment, and that assassin had likely hid at the rendezvous point for a long time just on the off chance that Lu Yin would return.

    "Lu Yin, we saved you, and while we don''t expect you to save us in return, we simply want to know the truth to our question." Liu Ye stared at Lu Yin as he spoke.

    Lu Yin had grown increasingly intrigued about their motivations. "You can ask, but I can promise you that I won''t know the answer."

    Fei Hua grew angry again. "Your idea of repaying kindness is with malice?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I honestly don''t know, I swear to you. However, I should be able to meet with Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo again in the future, so just ask me whatever questions you have."

    Liu Ye¡¯s voice grew bitter, "If we die now, does it even make sense to seek an answer to our question?"

    Lu Yin stared at them intently. "Actually, I can try to save you, but since you¡¯re from the Perennial World, you can''t be allowed to roam free in the Fifth Maind. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?"

    Fei Hua red at Lu Yin with cold eyes. "You want us to follow you? You¡¯re dreaming."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Don¡¯t think of it as following me, but rather as waiting for Semi-Progenitor Kui Lou."

    His answer startled Fei Hua.

    Lu Yin then continued, saying, "I¡¯ve already agreed to meet up with Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo again, and the location will be here in the Fifth Maind. Follow me, and you¡¯ll be able to see him. Don¡¯t, and you might die. After all, our Semi-Progenitors will not allow any news regarding the Perennial World to spread through the Fifth Maind."

    Fei Hua fell silent as she stared at Liu Ye.

    Liu Ye also carefully studied Lu Yin. "Alright, we promise to follow you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Then we have a deal."

    The information that Liu Ye and Fei Hua knew about the Perennial World was practically invaluable to the Fifth Maind. If they were willing to speak, then it was highly unlikely that Lu Yin would be allowed to take them away. However, neither of the two would submit, not even when Xia Ji threatened to kill them for not speaking.

    After all his aplishments, Lu Yin believed that he would not have too much difficulty in obtaining permission to take the two Envoys away.

    "Dead people are worthless. With what we have, if they are willing to follow Lu Yin, then just let him take them away," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Xia Ji asked in a solemn voice, "The Perennial World¡¯s mere existence is a secret within my Fifth Maind. What if they let word of it leak?"

    Elder Gong interjected, "Who will even know the truth from a lie?"

    Xia Ji frowned.

    Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper, who had yet to speak, spoke up now. "The entire Fifth Maind is changing, and the Perennial World will not simply stand by. Wu Taibai¡¯s appearance during ZENITH is the best proof of this. Speaking of which, there was also that Wang Yi."

    "Are you saying that the Perennial World will contact us soon?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Burial Garden¡¯s tomb-keeper remained silent.

    "If that is true, then those two¡¯s value are even less. Just let Lu Yin take them away. After all, the child did bring back Shang Qing and the others. Regardless of everything else, he has saved many of our most talented youths," Highsage Grandmaster said.

    Xia Ji raised no further objections.

    Even though Lu Yin was allowed to take Liu Ye and Fei Hua away with him, the Semi-Progenitors did not believe that Lu Yin was able to force the two to submit. Thus, Highsage Grandmaster ced a sourcebox array within their bodies. Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of lockbreaking meant that he could activate either array with just a thought, which essentially meant that he held Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s lives in his hands.

    "I¡¯m sorry, this isn¡¯t what I wanted," Lu Yin apologized.

    Liu Ye''s expression remained calm, as he did not care. Such precautions were to be expected, though Fei Hua''s expression was not as good. "If you had let them know that we had already made an agreement with you instead of saying that we would rather die than speak, I wonder what expression those Semi-Progenitors would have made?"

    Lu Yin revealed a slight smile. "I, Lu Yin, have opened my three meridian points. Just what sort of status do you think I have in this ce?"

    Fei Hua was left speechless. Even an idiot knew what it meant to open all three meridian points. Back in the Perennial World, not a single person had known that he had opened all three meridian points, but even without that, he had been talented enough for the White Dragon n to issue invitations throughout the Perennial World to boast about Long Qi. The Fifth Maind was far behind the Perennial World, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s achievement counted for far, far more. He stood above all others, and he could basically be treated as a future Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was happy to have Liu Ye and Fei Hua following him; he had suddenly found a pair of very strong bodyguards. However, there was another motivation¡ªhe did not want either of the two to expose the fact that he was a member of the main Lu family until he was absolutely certain of some various details.

    Zhi Yi and Wu Taibai had not returned to the Fifth Maind with the rest of the finalists from ZENITH, so Arch-Elder Zen and others needed to quickly exin the situation to the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors.

    Arch-Elder Zen did not hesitate, though he first took Lu Yin back to Honor Mountain before visiting the Starfall Sea with Highsage Grandmaster and the other Semi-Progenitors.

    Honor Mountain was as breathtaking as ever, though it paled inparison to the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin suddenly wondered if the Honor Zone¡¯s Honor Mountain could possibly be the ce where the Mother Tree had once sprouted from. After all, the visuals matched.

    After he arrived at Honor Mountain, the first thing that Lu Yin did was to have Luo Shen settle in.

    This woman was too easily satisfied. As long as she could be close to Lu Yin, it was enough. Luo Shen even suggested that she could simply stay on Zenith Mountain, but how could Lu Yin possibly agree to such a thing?

    After setting Luo Shen down somewhere, Lu Yin repeatedly ordered Liu Ye and Fei Hua not to leave his quarters. Finally, he went to visit CyNet World.

    Although news of Lu Yin¡¯s return had not been publicized yet, he had no intention of staying hidden. Thus, he openly visited CyNet World.

 Chapter 1557: Experience

    Chapter 1557: Experience

    n¡¯s second time at Honor Mountain, so he was not very familiar with CyNet World.

    A few of the people who Lu Yin asked for directions recognized him, and they just stared at him nkly in silence as they watched him walk away. Most of them thought that they had seen a ghost.

    As soon as he entered CyNet World, Lu Yin started making his way towards a soaring tower that loomed in the distance.

    At the top of the tower, Zi Jing was watering some flowers. As soon as she noticed Lu Yin¡¯s domain spreading through the area, she casually admonished, ¡°That¡¯s not a polite way to greet an old friend."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and his domain vanished. He picked up his feet and tore through the void to instantly appear at the top of the tower.

    Zi Jing turned around to look at Lu Yin. She appeared calm, though there was a faint smile on her face as she waved her hand, inviting him in. "Would you care for a cup of floral tea?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I have something urgent that I need to take care of. Specifically, I wish to contact my family."

    "Have a cup of tea. We won¡¯t waste any time." Zi Jing smiled.

    Lu Yin could only nod and sit down at her insistence.

    Compared to when he hadst visited this ce, Lu Yin¡¯s mindset had changed greatly. This was not only because this was his second visit to CyNet World, but also because he had traveled to the Perennial World. There, he had faced several Semi-Progenitors, and he had even been pursued by one more than once. The current Fifth Maind held little that could surprise Lu Yin.

    As he silently enjoyed the aroma of the fragrant tea, Lu Yin observed Zi Jing. This woman always made the people around her feel calm, and her aura was very suitable for the flowers and nts in her garden.

    "I''m really am in a great hurry," Lu Yin pressed.

    Zi Jing took her gadget out of her cosmic ring. "You¡¯ve changed."

    Lu Yin smiled casually. "Everyone¡¯s been telling me that after I returned."

    Zi Jing smiled back as she handed Lu Yin the gadget.

    Lu Yin epted it and then disappeared. He could not speak to the people that he needed to call in front of Zi Jing. Naturally, the first person he wanted to call was Ming Yan.

    He had not been able to think about it in the Perennial World, but as soon as Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind, he had been unable to stop himself from worrying about Ming Yan¡¯s situation. How had she discovered that Aru was actually Baruda, and just where was she?

    When Lu Yin had been at the observation station above Jupiter after leaving Earth, Lu Yin had made a note of the contact information that Ming Yan had used to call him.

    A soft ringing sound came from the gadget as Lu Yin waited anxiously for it to connect. Every moment that passed increased his nervousness, as he was afraid that Ming Yan would not pick up.

    After a few more beeps, the gadget connected, and Lu Yin nervously asked, "Yan''er?"

    "Big Brother Lu, is that you?" Ming Yan''s voice was heard, and she also sounded anxious.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Yan''er, it''s me."

    "It really is you, Big Brother Lu!" Ming Yan was excited, and the two quickly changed to a video call. Ming Yan''s image appeared on the disy.

    Lu Yin had not seen Ming Yan in a very long time, but the same unforgettable feeling was still present. In particr, Ming Yan''s eyes resonated with Lu Yin¡¯s.

    "Brother Lu, Yan''er thought that I would never be able to see you again in my life." Ming Yan''s eyes had gone red. She had always been prone to revealing her weaknesses before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Yan''er, where are you now?"

    Ming Yan pursed her lips and then exined what she had gone through. Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "You left the Shenwu Continent by following Gu Yue''s instructions, but you ended up being betrayed and captured by the Azure Mansion?"

    Ming Yan nodded. Seeing Lu Yin''s anger left her heart in a flutter, and her face grew pale. "Big Brother Lu, please don''t misunderstand! Yan''er doesn¡¯t want you to feel sorry for her. I-"

    Lu Yin quickly interrupted, "I know. But right now, I want you to tell me who betrayed you."

    Ming Yan ground her teeth. "Yan''er has already dealt with her."

    Lu Yin was surprised.

    Ming Yan continued speaking, and she continued her story about how she had taken control of ck Street, and also about how she had discovered that Bu Laoweng was a traitor to humanity.

    Ming Yan¡¯s adventure was in no way inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s own, and her story sounded more like a legend than real life. A weak woman who developed a split personality because of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Vitality Poison had be capable of controlling that very same poison to decide the lives of others.

    Lu Yin had trouble fully believing Ming Yan¡¯s tale. While he felt that his own story sounded like fiction, Ming Yan¡¯s experiences did not fall far behind them.

    "It¡¯s not only that, Brother Lu¡ªYan''er is now able to help you! Not only do I control ck Street, but also Bu Laoweng. I have been using the old man to gain information regarding the Neohuman Alliance," Ming Yan proudly stated.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew worse as she continued. "Yan''er, you need to stop that and return to the Shenwu Continent immediately."

    Ming Yan waspletely taken aback. "Why, Big Brother Lu?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew sharp, "The Neohuman Alliance is much more than what you believe it to be. What you know is nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. Do not go near them."

    Lu Yin was remembering Long Xian and Shaman God had once said. Aeternus seemed to be emotionless, but the depths of their schemes were truly terrifying. They were able to create traitors and Redbacks without those people even realizing what they were doing. Then, once the plot was revealed, those people would be forced to join Aeternus. Those monsters were terrifyingly cunning.

    The people of the Fifth Maind mostly understood the Neohuman Alliance to be one of the universe¡¯s Three Dark Hands, but still an organization that was greatly inferior to the Hall of Honor. However, Lu Yin knew the truth, and he fully believed that the Neohuman Alliance possessed more than enough strength to wipe out the entire Hall of Honor.

    The Progenitor of Secret Techniques had once destroyed Aeternus Nation, but in doing so, he had been injured. Lu Yin was no longer surprised by that event. The Neohuman Alliance possessed a terrifying background and power.

    Ming Yan had been trying to use Bu Laoweng to gather information about the Neohuman Alliance, but doing so was simply courting death.

    When she saw Lu Yin''s stern expression, Ming Yan whispered in an offended manner, "But Yan''er just wants to help Big Brother Lu."

    A bit of the tension finally left Lu Yin''s eyes, and his voice softened. "Yan''er, just listen to me on this. Immediately leave ck Street and get rid of any possible connection you might have established with the Neohuman Alliance. Don¡¯t have anything to do with them."

    Ming Yan hung her head. "Big Brother Lu, my royal father was killed by them."

    Lu Yin was startled by this response, and he had no words.

    "You were also almost killed by them. I know that I don¡¯t have the strength to deal with them, but I at least-" Ming Yan lifted her head to reveal her determined expression. "Yan''er wants to do this."

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled. "Do you understand just how dangerous they are?"

    Ming Yan smiled. "Brother Lu, do you know what Yan''er is to them?"

    Lu Yin was confused by the question.

    Ming Yan''s hair turned white, and her voice instantly became cold and hard. "I am their natural enemy."

    Lu Yin was startled. This white-haired Ming Yan was not easy to deal with.

    "Are you looking down on me?" The white-haired Ming Yan stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    Lu Yin''s mouth went dry. "No."

    "If you are able to deal with them, then so am I. Even if I die, I will die before you!" White-haired Ming Yan loudly dered.

    Lu Yin was stunned; what was that supposed to mean?

    "Don''t look at me that way. I control ck Street as well as an overseer. I am able to tap into the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s entire intelligencework. Do you think that all of this happened by mere happenstance? I, Ming Yan, also controlled the lives of countless people when ruling the empire," the white-haired Ming Yan stated.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You don''t know anything about them."

    "I don¡¯t need to, but they also know nothing about me. I have never once pushed to gain information, and I am extremely cautious in all matters regarding them," Ming Yan said.

    Lu Yin coughed. "I want to talk to the other one."

    "That¡¯s not necessary." The white-haired Ming Yan instantly refused, though her gaze kept drifting back to Lu Yin to see his reaction. Finally, her hair changed colors and became ck again.

    "Lu, Big Brother Lu, I''m sorry. She came out by herself," Ming Yan apologized quietly.

    Lu Yin shrugged. It was really hard to talk with someone who had a split personality.

    "Yan''er misses you, Big Brother Lu." Ming Yan could not resist saying this.

    Lu Yin replied, "I miss you, too, Yan''er. I¡¯ll visit ck Street and find you."

    Ming Yan quietly agreed, "I''ll wait for you."

    After that, she stared at Lu Yin for a bit before reluctantly ending the call.

    Lu Yin stared at the white clouds before him and let out a long breath. He absolutely did not want Ming Yan to participate in anything that was rted to Aeternus, but Ming Zhaoshu''s death was not something that Ming Yan could let go of. Also, Lu Yin had been attacked by them near Earth, and Ming Yan¡¯s warning had actually saved him. Without her call, it would be hard to say what would have happened to Lu Yin. Because of those incidents, Ming Yan must have done her best to learn more about the Neohuman Alliance.

    The fear of loss meant that it was impossible for Ming Yan to stop.

    It looked like Lu Yin would have to personally visit ck Street in order to fully understand the situation. His expression hardened, as it turned out that Bu Laoweng was also in ck Street at this moment.

    Lu Yin nced down at the gadget and called the next person that he needed to speak with: Wendy Yushan. Was she Lu Yin¡¯s family? Given her strength, Lu Yin should not be worried about her, but he was.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was not invincible.

    When she saw Lu Yin appear on her disy, Wendy Yushan was pleasantly surprised. "So you¡¯re back?"

    "You knew that I''d be back?" Lu Yin replied, mildly surprised.

    Wendy Yushan suppressed her astonishment and casually said, ¡°You would never die that easily."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You know me well. How have you been since I left?"

    "Things have been okay," Wendy Yushan replied.

    At that moment, a person walked out from behind Wendy, and Lu Yin was surprised to see who it was. "Ling Gong?"

    One of the Ten Arbiters, White Knight Ling Gong, had appeared behind Wendy Yushan.

    Ling Gong stared at the image of Lu Yin on the disy, clearly amazed to see him. ¡°You really are hard to kill."

    Lu Yin felt the need to ask, "Why are you two together?"

    Ling Gong indifferently answered, "Is it that strange? I ordered her toe, so she came."

    Lu Yin arched a brow; Ling Gong¡¯s arrogant tone was still as unpleasant as ever.

    Wendy Yushan exined, "The White Knight invited me to visit her Lingling n to train."

    "She hasn¡¯t done anything to you?" Lu Yin stared at the two women.

    Ling Gong became upset. "Lu Yin, what¡¯s with that look in your eyes?"

    Wendy Yushan had no idea how to respond. "She¡¯s treated me very well."

    Lu Yin nodded. "As long as you¡¯re doing fine. I¡¯ll leave you two be. I need to call Wang Wen next."

    "Wait!" Ling Gong called out as she stared at Lu Yin. "What¡¯s your cultivation base reached?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips peeled back to reveal a wolfish grin. "Enough to beat a hundred of you!"

    Wendy Yushan was startled, but Ling Gong was infuriated. However, before she could say anything in response, Lu Yin had ended the call. He looked up, feeling quite good.

    When Lu Yin thought back to his interactions with the White Knight, the woman had always been very obnoxious, and he could not help but feel as if she deserved to be beaten. She had threatened him in the past and had even kidnapped him before.

    Lu Yin had driven Yuhua Mavis to the point of disgust with his overwhelming strength until she had no fight left in her. Now he wanted to give some trouble to Wen Sansi. Compared to before, when he had looked up to the Ten Arbiters from an inferior position, their roles had reversed.

    However, Lu Yin did not actually notice this change himself. This was because he had been suppressed by others for far too long. When he had finally be the champion of ZENITH, he had immediately broken through to ten lined battle force.

    With this reminder, he felt that it would be a good idea to look the Ten Arbiters up.

    Even as he thought about this, Lu Yin called Wang Wen. It was time to get to business.

    Lu Yin had been absent from the Fifth Maind for nearly two whole years. Although he had Possessed San Liang during his time in the Perennial World and learned that the Great Eastern Alliance had not changed much due the Outerverse having the support of both Arch-Elder Zen and the Chief Justice, Lu Yin still needed to speak with Wang Wen to learn about the details of the alliance¡¯s affairs.

 Chapter 1558: Lifelong Endeavor

    Chapter 1558: Lifelong Endeavor

    An image of Wang Wen appeared on the gadget¡¯s disy. He looked sleepy.

    "It looks like you''ve been quite busy," Lu Yinmented.

    Wang Wen leisurely stretched. "Well, it has been two years. I thought that you¡¯d take longer to return."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I couldn¡¯t stay there forever."

    "I get it. So things went well." Wang Wen looked very sympathetic.

    "What do you know?" Lu Yin was rather surprised at Wang Wen¡¯s reaction. How did the man know if the trip to the Perennial World had been sessful or not?

    Wang Wen smiled as he stared at Lu Yin. "Given your abilities, Chesspiece Bro, you¡¯d have either racked up great achievements there or have lived like a mouse in the streets.."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "You¡¯ve guessed right, but it was really more like a mouse living the street."

    Wang Wen was startled, and his eyes went wide, showing clear interest. "Tell me."

    Lu Yin replied, "I can''t speak about this. I didn¡¯t return in the manner I wanted to, so I called you to get your help."

    "How big are we talking about?" Wang Wen asked, his eyes excited.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit and then lifted both of his hands. He indicated five with his right hand while indicating six with his left.

    Wang Wen was shocked. "A warparable to the one between the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. Suddenly, he smacked his hands together and clenched them both into fists.

    Wang Wen''s eyes narrowed. "Understood. This will be a lifelong endeavor."

    "I can¡¯t waste any time," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen shrugged. "You want both mainds, but do you really trust me that much?"

    Lu Yin shrugged back. "Is there anyone else besides you who can help me? Of course, you won¡¯t be the only one, as someone else will definitely help me with this as well."

    "If anyone heard our conversation, they would absolutely think that we¡¯re nuts."

    "So what?"

    "It doesn''t actually matter. Crazy is crazy. We will view the universe as a game. Regardless of if someone is an ordinary human or a powerful Progenitor, they can¡¯t escape their fate of bing chess pieces. It¡¯s up to you and I to be the yers of this game."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. If you¡¯re confident, then go for it. For now, I want to know about the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s situation."

    Wang Wen used his star energy to simte some water. He washed his face and roused himself from his drowsiness. "The Great Eastern Alliance is still doing okay for the moment. How should I say it¡­"

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin ended his call with Wang Wen. He then opened a star chart and sank deep into thought.

    Two years ago, ZENITH had just been about to start. At that time, Lu Yin had just conquered the ze Realm, and then with Wang Wen¡¯s advice, decided to abandon the ze Realm. The Great Eastern Alliance had then moved to Fennel Flowzone, which was a ce that was easy to defend, but difficult to attack from.

    After the passage of two years, the expected results had manifested.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had done well in Fennel Flowzone, and the Divine Venom Dynasty was almostpletely unconcerned with their neighbors. Not even the Sixth Maind had been able to attack the Divine Venom Dynasty, which meant that they were utterly unconcerned about the Great Eastern Alliance. However, tensions were rising in zing Mist Flowzone after two years of peace.

    Neither the Ross Empire nor the sylvan dragons were stupid. Even though the Great Eastern Alliance had left their flowzone, the two powers knew that they could not do much to the alliance. However, two years had already gone by, and the Great Eastern Alliance had actually remained within Fennel Flowzone, keeping their promise. Thus, friction had started developing between the two strongest powers of zing Mist Flowzone, in no small part due to Wei Rong''s efforts.

    In essence, both powers were still restraining themselves because the Great Eastern Alliance had not initiated any hostilities, but war was on the horizon.

    The ze Realm was a delicious piece of fat, and both powers wanted to swallow it whole.

    The Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons were not even the only ones eyeing the ze Realm, as all the neighboring flowzones¡¯ powers were doing the same, as were some of the top powers from the eight great flowzones.

    Given the duration of their call, it was impossible for Lu Yin and Wang Wen to have discussed much regarding the universe, and Wang Wen had only mentioned a few details. However, he had made one thing very clear: the Sixth Maind had already taken control of nearly one third of the Outerverse, and that was just thanks to Lu Yin.

    When the Sixth Maind had attacked the Fifth Maind, the Innerverse had been the primary target. The Outerverse had also been attacked, but that invasion had beenpletely stopped at Endless Weave.

    This meant that the people of the Outerverse did not hate the Sixth Maind as much as the people of the Innerverse. Although many people were reluctant to leave their homes, they still recognized the Sixth Maind¡¯s sovereignty.

    In truth, the Sixth Maind was not run by tyrants, and their takeover had proceeded smoothly.

    If the Sixth Maind had tried to move into the Innerverse instead of the Outerverse, they would not have been able to seize even a tenth of the Innerverse over the course of two years.

    A cause would always have an effect, and it was impossible for Lu Yin to not have predicted this oue.

    Next on Lu Yin¡¯s list was Wei Rong.

    While Wang Wen excelled at controlling the overall situation, Wei Rong was gifted at plotting and subterfuge, and he could use such methods to incredible effect.

    "I greet Your Highness." Wei Rong was much more formal than Wang Wen, though that was in part because he owed his life to Lu Yin. There was no avoiding the fact that Wei Rong had been forced to join the Great Eastern Alliance, which was different from Wang Wen¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin and Wang Wen were friends while Lu Yin and Wei Rong were master and servant.

    "I''ve already spoken with Wang Wen, so what do you need to tell me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Rong replied, "Over the past two years, this subordinate and Qiong Xi''er have united and taken control of many of the Innerverse¡¯s underground forces, and our intelligencework is also equal to what we have in the Outerverse."

    Lu Yin nodded. An intelligencework was incredibly useful.

    "Because of the support from the highest levels of the Hall of Honor and Your Highness¡¯s disappearance, our Great Eastern Alliance is no longer an object of jealousy for the Innerverse¡¯s major forces. We have gradually established trade rtions with the eight great flowzones, though the greatest change is the establishment of Continental Shipping.

    "Continental Shipping is a subsidiary created by our Great Eastern Alliance, and it was formed from abination of Endless Borders, Brightstar Corp., Leon¡¯s Armada, and Aurora Enterprises. It is a transportation corporation that spans both the Innerverse, the Outerverse, and the Cosmic Sea, and it currently has the greatest number of routes throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse. In fact, it has actually be thergest transportationpany in the entire universe¡­"

    Lu Yin had never expected Wei Rong and the others to aplish such a thing. It was also clear that setting up a transportationpany had not been Wei Rong''s idea, but rather Qiong Xi''er¡¯s.

    Endless Borders simply possessed too many routes through space. Lu Yin had bought a few by using a bit of coercion and proper incentive. Later, through a matter of coincidence, he had joined Endless Borders and managed to gain a clearer picture of the organization.

    The routes through the Innerverse should havee from Brightstar Corp.

    Thergest transportationpany in the universe had been established by abination of groups that possessed the greatest number of space routes, and it also had the protection of Leon¡¯s Armada, making it a safe and efficientpany. With the addition of Aurora Enterprises, even basic needs like transportation craft were taken care of. The entirepany was neatly self sufficient, which had created a monstrouspany.

    Wei Rong confidently stated, "Your Highness, the existence of Continental Shipping means that our Great Eastern Alliance can deploy the greatest number of troops throughout the universe in the shortest amount of time. Our efficiency greatly eclipses that of the eight great flowzones, as well as the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews."

    Lu Yin asked, "Who¡¯s currently overseeing Continental Shipping?"

    "Qiong Xi''er," Wei Rong replied.

    Lu Yin started thinking. Qiong Xier gave people the impression that she manipted financial markets and she was able to easily double apany¡¯s profits. Thus, having her head Continental Shipping would give others the idea that thepany had been established for profit and not for militaristic logistics.

    Lu Yin spent less than half an hour speaking with Wei Rong. There was not a great deal to report, but Lu Yin was more concerned about sussing out whether or not Wei Rong had any lingering grudges or conflicts. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not able to determine anything from their conversation.

    Fortunately, he still had a bit of room to maneuver.

    From the conversation with Wei Rong, Lu Yin also learned of a new enemy: Cong Ying, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers. Lu Yin had only ever heard of the man before, and he had never expected the man to be an enemy of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The overseer had taken advantage of his rtionship with the Sword Sect and the Daynight n¡¯s overseer to do his best to cause trouble for Continental Shipping. Arch-Elder Zen and the Chief Justice had both voiced their support for the Great Eastern Alliance, but neither of them would pay attention to something as small as Continental Shipping. This was also without considering the jurisdiction and authority of the nine overseers, who were responsible for representing the interests of the Human Domain¡¯smon folk. Strictly speaking, not even Arch-Elder Zen should interfere too much with the overseers¡¯ tasks.

    Lu Yin happened to be on Honor Mountain, so he felt that it might be possible to meet with Overseer Cong Ying and try to uncover why the man seemed to have a vendetta against the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin continued making calls, and the next person he contacted was En Ya. She was the primary architect behind the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s establishment, and while Lu Yin relied more on Wang Wen and Wei Rong, he had always greatly valued En Ya.

    Her report closely mirrored what Lu Yin had heard from Wang Wen and the others. She was currently focused on running the Great Eastern Alliance in the absence of its Alliance Leader. Over the course of just two years, due to the support from Leon¡¯s Armada and others, the Great Eastern Alliance had suffered no major internal problems.

    Lu Yin had originally struggled to unite the Outerverse, but in recent times, none of the members wanted to leave. The Sixth Maind had already taken over a third of the Outerverse, and while ordinary people could adapt to the Sixth Maind¡¯s rule, the change in power had not been kind to the organizations that stood at the top of the Outerverse. Millions City had actually relocated to Frostwave Weave.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered Aegis and their cloakstone, and he immediately brought it up with En Ya. Lu Yin had taken over Aegis long ago and made it a power subordinate to the Hall of Honor, but all of its administrational duties had been given over to En Ya. She was also able to use Lu Yin¡¯s authority to browse through all of Aegis¡¯s information, and she was the person who was the most familiar with the organization.

    "Aegis has not changed much. However, with the Sixth Maind taking over the Outervese, Aegis¡¯s territory will eventually be taken over as well. Your Highness, do you want them to move to Frostwave Weave as well?" En Ya asked.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin ended the call with En Ya to directly call Starfox.

    Starfox was currently flying in a spaceship through a weave in the center of the Outerverse, and he was gazing out at the stars when his gadget suddenly beeped. He looked down and saw that an unknown caller was trying to contact him.

    After Starfox epted the call, the image of Lu Yin appeared on the disy.

    The old assassin¡¯s eyes immediately changed when he saw Lu Yin, and it was as though he had seen a ghost.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Starfox." Lu Yin casually greeted the older man with a smile.

    Starfox was stunned. "You- you made it back alive?"

    "What? You didn¡¯t expect that?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Starfox replied, "It''s not that it¡¯s unexpected, but just that it''s just so sudden."

    "How is Aegis doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starfox suddenly looked quite stressed. "I¡¯m not very optimistic about things. We¡¯re being targeted."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "The Sixth Maind?"

    Starfox nodded. "Of the Outerverse¡¯s top four corporations, Amethyst Exchange¡¯s headquarters and Skylush have both moved to Frostwave Weave. The Nn family was already based in the west, and Endless Borders has also worked with your Great Eastern Alliance to create Continental Shipping. Thus, their headquarters has also moved to Frostwave Weave. Only my Aegis is in a more difficult position."

    "You can also move your headquarters to Frostwave Weave. I can provide you with a ce," Lu Yin offered.

    Starfox¡¯s voice dropped low, "We have been operating out of our current headquarters for too long, and we are unable to leave so simply."

    Lu Yin stared at Starfox, and the man¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin looked away and smiled. "Then do as you wish. Though, tell me, who¡¯s targeting you?"

    Starfox''s eyes turned hard. "The Di family."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Di family?"

    Starfox nodded. "We¡¯ve investigated the Sixth Maind, and we have learned that the Di family are also involved in the assassination business. The bloodlines that they cultivate are quite suitable for such a profession. For example, their Realmling, Di Fa, has the Demonfox bloodline, and it allows him to phase through any physical object. He¡¯s a born assassin."

 Chapter 1559: Grandmaster Xiu

    Chapter 1559: Grandmaster Xiu

    "How long can you hold out against the pressure of the Di family?" Lu Yin clearly did not believe the old assassin.

    Starfox replied, "The Di family¡¯s ancestor died in the Sixth Maind, which is no secret."

    Lu Yin was shocked.

    "When the Di family¡¯s ancestor died, more than half of the family¡¯s powerhouses either died with him or were scattered to the winds. The rest of the family is now busy dealing with all the various enemies that the family¡¯s made over the years. So far, they¡¯ve only sent people to contact me to warn Aegis. If the Di family were still at their peak, Aegis would have been erased long gone," Starfox exined.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He did not actually care about Aegis. After his horizons had been expanded due to his time in the Perennial World, let alone Aegis, but not even the Di family in their prime would be enough to cause him concern. There would always be a way to deal with them.

    No, what Lu Yin cared about were curios.

    The Fifth Maind had a small number of Envoys, and it was impossible for an assassin organization like Aegis to warrant much external attention, especially since they had no Envoys among their members. This was why their cloakstones had been ignored, but those cloakstones were precisely what Lu Yin was the most concerned about right now.

    "You know that Aegis is also a subordinate organization under me, Lu Yin. Don''t worry, I¡¯ll help you," Lu Yin reassured the old killer.

    Starfox stared at Lu Yin with stark distrust filling his eyes. The old man knew Lu Yin¡¯s personality, and the youth would only ever do something if it profited him. At this point in time, Aegis had to rely on the Great Eastern Alliance just to continue existing, and the alliance in turn received intel from Aegis, which made for a mutually beneficial rtionship. It was unreasonable to ask or expect Lu Yin to assist Aegis, especially since doing so would make him an enemy of the Di family. The only possibility was that Lu Yin had his own ns.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what do you want from Aegis?" Starfox asked.

    Lu Yin replied with disdain, "What can you offer me?"

    Starfox sank into thought, but he really could note up with anything. A powerhouse? Aegis¡¯s most powerful assassin was ck Mask, but he was only an Enlighter with a power level slightly exceeding 300,000. He was very powerful in the Outerverse, but he could notpare to the experts from Leon¡¯s Armada, least of all the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chief Justice who clearly supported Lu Yin. What could Aegis offer?

    Lu Yin said nothing more to Starfox, instead asking En Ya to keep an eye on the assassin organization in order to prevent Aegis from being devoured by the Di family. After dealing with ck Street, Lu Yin nned to immediately head to the Outerverse.

    With his business affairs in order, it was time for Lu Yin to call Big Sis. Upon thinking of her, Lu Yin started to panic slightly. In contrast to Long Xi, Big Sis was a motherly figure to Lu Yin. The panic he felt at the thought of calling her was an odd contradiction, as it also gave him a sense offort.

    The gadget¡¯s disy reappeared, and it showed an ugly old woman with a pockmarked face who was smoking a cigarette.

    The appearance on his screen frightened Lu Yin so much that he nearly fainted.

    "Dead boy, so you figured out how to return," the old woman said. She spoke with Big Sis¡¯s voice, and a familiar, though fierce, light zed in her eyes.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Big- Big Sis?"

    "What do you think?" The woman¡¯s voice turned cold and threatening.

    Lu Yin gulped and forced out a wan smile. "Big Sis¡¯s appearance has chan- changed again."

    Bis Sis¡¯s cultivation art caused her body to go through various changes. Sometimes she looked ugly and at other times she would be hideous. These constant changes created problems for those around her, and it even gave Highsage Leon a headache.

    Bis Sis snorted derisively. "Where did you go?"

    "I''ll tell youter. Big Sis, please help me keep an eye on Aegis. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Di family is trying to deal with them, and Aegis can¡¯t suffer any idents. They have something that I want."

    "A woman?" Big Sis arched a brow.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "No."

    "After so many years, you¡¯ve spent more time missing than not! Hurry up and have a kid for this olddy. Then, no one will care whether or not you die," Big Sis said rudely.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "I understand."

    Uncle Reuben showed up behind Big Sis, followed by an entire group of familiar and unfamiliar faces who all greeted Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    After ending the call, Lu Yin¡¯s heart felt warmer. Talking to his family was different from talking to other people. One of the reasons why he had left his call with Big Sis as thest one was because he wanted to feel the warmth of family.

    No, it was not thest call. Lu Yin remembered one more person he needed to talk to: Huan Sha.

    Huan Sha was the person who handled the Great Yu Empire¡¯s internal affairs. Lu Yin was not particrly concerned about those matters, as with En Ya and the others paying attention, the Great Yu Empire would not suffer any trouble. Rather, Lu Yin was more concerned about how much money he had been paid over the past two years.

    After discovering that, one time, Zhao Ran had forgotten about money that had been delivered to him, he had started paying attention and directly approaching Huan Sha instead of going through Zhao Ran.

    "Your Highness, for the past two years, the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu¡¯s Grand Auction, and Continental Shipping have all paid you a sry-"

    Huan Sha wanted to give a detailed report, but Lu Yin brusquely interjected, "Just tell me how much."

    Huan Sha looked up. "23.09 million."

    This number did not make Lu Yin as excited as when he hadst collected his sry. It was just a bit more than 20 million, which was no longer much in his eyes.

    However, the amount that he had receivedst time, when he had been on Mt. Microcosms, had only been a bit more than 10 million, and that had been eight years of sry. This amount had been collected in just two years, which showed a significant increase of revenue, and it was a perfectly eptable amount.

    He allowed Huan Sha to keep it. Given Lu Yin¡¯s worth, he possessed an amount of wealth that far exceededprehension, so he was in no hurry to withdraw his sry.

    He lifted his head and let out a long breath. He had spoken with many people, and it was only after all of these calls that Lu Yin truly understood that he had been gone for two years.

    It had taken him several hours to make all the necessary calls!

    Lu Yin picked up his feet and disappeared. He returned back to the top of the tower. Zi Jing was still there, humming a song as she leisurely watered the flowers. The tea was even still hot.

    "Where''s Bai Qian?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Zi Jing replied, "She said that she was going home."

    Home? Earth?

    Zi Jing had a gentle personality, and being with her caused people to instinctively rx.

    Lu Yin spent a few minutes talking with her before thanking her for her assistance. He then left CyNet World and traveled to the Lockbreaker World. Next on his to-do list was to raise his Lockbreaker rank.

    He was currently ranked as a one star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but this did not reflect his actual abilities. Thus, he was fully confident that he could earn a higher rank.

    Upon returning to the Lockbreaker World, Lu Yin was no longer amazed by the massive sourcebox array formed by the six enormouss. When he had first seen it, their majesty had utterly shocked him, butpared to the rear battlefield¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus, the array in the Lockbreaker World was far less impressive. Ceaseless Impetus was on apletely different level, as it was a sourcebox array that could stop Progenitors.

    Lu Yin had actually been given a in the Lockbreaker World, and he was able toe and go as he wished.

    However, he actually wanted to find Gui Junheng, but when he was only halfway to the older man¡¯s, a voice entered Lu Yin¡¯s ear. He turned to look in the direction of the Ancient Spirit Sea and started flying towards it.

    Lu Yin soon stepped onto an ind in the Ancient Spirit Sea. Lockbreakers were tested in this ce, and it was considered a holynd that many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lockbreakers yearned for.

    Lu Yin did not go to the testing grounds, but instead went somewhere else. He was actually making his way towards the home of Xiu Ming, the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Chairman. He was also known as Grandmaster Xiu.

    There were only two Array Grandmasters in the Fifth Maind: Highsage Grandmaster and Grandmaster Xiu.

    Lu Yin had not expected his arrival to draw the attention of Grandmaster Xiu.

    Even though Highsage Grandmaster and Grandmaster Xiu were both Array Grandmasters, they had focused on very different paths.

    Highsage Grandmaster leaned more towardsbat whereas Grandmaster Xiu had devoted himself to lockbreaking andprehending sourcebox arrays.

    Lu Yin soon reached Grandmaster Xiu¡¯s home. It was a simple ce, as there was only a thatched hut, a flowerbed, and a waterfall off in the distance. It looked like an ordinary person¡¯s private retreat.

    If Lu Yin were just an ordinary cultivator, then he might have gone straight towards the hut, but star energy filled Lu Yin''s eyes as rune lines entered his vision.

    After returning to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin was finally able to see runes once again. That meant that he could use Truesight here, which meant that hisbat power had risen even further than ever.

    Even though there were many ces in the Neoverse where runes could not be seen, such as Eversky Ind, where it was impossible to see runes or use them to determine a person¡¯s strength, Grandmaster Xiu¡¯s home was not one of those ces.

    A sourcebox array had been set up around Grandmaster Xiu¡¯s home, but this sourcebox array was not an offensive one.

    Lu Yin did not need toprehend the sourcebox array to enter the abode.

    He walked up a grassy path that meandered along the flowing river as he slowly approached the waterfall.

    The first person that he saw was not Grandmaster Xiu, but rather Wu Dan, the most talented Lockbreaker in the Lockbreaker World.

    Wu Dan noticed Lu Yin approaching, he was surprised to see him. "You¡¯re still alive?"

    This was many people¡¯s first reaction to seeing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered, "I was lucky enough to manage to survive."

    Wu Dan became quite ufortable. When he hadst seen Lu Yin in the Lockbreaker World, he had told Lu Yin that he would show everyone how a Lockbreaker fights during ZENITH. Wu Dan had been confident, but he had still quickly lost to Bu Kong.

    "Did Grandmaster Xiu ask you toe here?" Wu Dan asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. He then turned towards the thatched hut. "Junior Lu Yin is here to see Grandmaster Xiu."

    The hut¡¯s door slowly opened, and a man appeared before Lu Yin. Surprisingly, he did not look ravaged by the passing of time at all; he looked to be slightly past his middle years at most, but certainly not an old man.

    It was aplete subversion of what Lu Yin had expected. After all, in order for Xiu Ming to have be an Array Grandmaster, he had to have lived for many, many years. In all likelihood, he should at least be from the same generation as Highsage Grandmaster.

    Wu Dan quickly bowed low when he saw Xiu Ming emerge.

    Xiu Ming observed Lu Yin with a smile. "Two years have gone by, and yet you came here almost as soon as you returned. Do you intend to improve your Lockbreaker rank?"

    Wu Dan was startled, and he looked over at Lu Yin. Wu Dan was currently at the same rank as Lu Yin: a one star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. However, Wu Dan had reached this rank one step earlier than Lu Yin, and therefore, he had believed that his head-start was a gap that would only widen with time. After all, Lu Yin had mysteriously disappeared, and many people had believed that he was killed by the Neohuman Alliance. No one had expected him to try raising his Lockbreaker rank the moment he returned.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "I feel like I have improved a little, so I came here to test myself in the Lockbreaker World."

    "How arrogant!" Wu Dan was unable to restrain himself, as Lu Yin¡¯s words were tantly mocking him.

    After two short years, Lu Yin wanted to improve his Lockbreaker rank? Throughout history, Discerning Elementary Lockbreakers were the ones that most frequently attempted such a thing, and even then, only the most talented ones could do so. In general, most Lockbreakers had to take at least 180 years to improve their rank, and that was already considered fast. Even if Lu Yin couldpare to the most talented Lockbreaker in history, he still should need at least another 100 years.

    Xiu Ming walked over beneath the waterfall and said, "If you want to improve your Lockbreaker rank, then you will need to unlock the necessary number of sourceboxes."

    This was something that Lu Yin had already looked into, and he knew that to qualify to be a two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, he needed to unlock at least four one star advanced sourceboxes and one two star advanced sourcebox. At the top of Dragon Mountain, Grandmaster Qiu Ling had given Lu Yin all three sourceboxes used in their game of Stable Zone, and the third one that had been added was a three star advanced sourcebox.

    Two one star advanced sourceboxes and a three star advanced sourcebox were enough for Lu Yin to be promoted to the level of a two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker.

    Leaping across levels to unlock a three star advanced sourcebox, or even a four star advanced sourcebox, was a shortcut for one to raise one¡¯s rank, and Lu Yin had done so before.

 Chapter 1560: Record

    Chapter 1560: Record

    At this moment, Lu Yin could see runes, had reached the Creation realm of star energy control, and had worked with several different sourcebox arrays. But most importantly of all,he had yed a game of Stable Zone with Grandmaster Qiu Ling, which had greatly increased his lockbreaking ability. All in all, he was confident that he could unlock a five star advanced sourcebox if he came across one.

    Xiu Ming stared at the waterfall. "Throughout all of the years that the Lockbreaker Society has existed for, on average, it has taken ten one star advanced sourceboxes for a Lockbreaker to improve their rank from one star Boundless Advanced to two star Boundless Advanced."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, but Xiu Ming simply continued, saying, "In theory, one only needs to unlock four one star advanced sourceboxes and a single two star advanced sourcebox, but almost no Lockbreakers take this path. In order to do so, one must be confident of being capable of unlocking two star, three star, or even four star and five star advanced sourceboxes. However, even so, how do you know if you are truly qualified for be granted the title at that level?

    "Lu Yin, how many sourceboxes have you opened since you¡¯ve first started lockbreaking?" Xiu Ming asked.

    Lu Yin thought back. "Not very many."

    Xiu Ming then posed the same question to Wu Dan.

    Wu Dan replied in a respectful manner, "This junior has gone deep into the Ancient Spirit Sea and encountered one sourcebox after another. I saw myriad types of danger zones of various sourceboxes, and I¡¯ve also seen sourceboxes of every shape and form."

    Xiu Ming looked back at Lu Yin. "Comparing the number of sourceboxes you''ve seen versus that of Wu Dan, you haven¡¯t seen even a tenth, or maybe less than even a hundredth of what he has seen."

    Lu Yin looked up. "But this junior is able to unlock advanced sourceboxes."

    "A Lockbreaker is a schr who studies thenguage of the universe. A sourcebox is formed when the dust of the universe covers and seals something. Lockbreaking is only one of a Lockbreaker¡¯s abilities, and ability alone does not make a sessful Lockbreaker. You are an Enlighters, but is your strength actually limited to the Enlighter realm?" Xiu Ming asked.

    Lu Yin understood what Grandmaster Xiu was saying. The older man did not want Lu Yin to rush his progress without sufficient understanding. However, even with this exnation from Xiu Ming, Lu Yin still did not fully understand.

    A conflicted expression came across Xiu Ming''s face. "From the beginning of lockbreaking until now, how many master Lockbreakers have appeared? Of them, almost none have died peacefully."

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he stared at Xiu Ming in surprise.

    Wu Dan looked sad.

    "Humans are unable to surpass the limits of the universe. A sourcebox is something that is formed by gathering the dust of the universe while a Lockbreaker is someone who wishes to unlock the secrets of the universe. Thus, the associated risks are tremendous. You should already understand this, and it is the primary reason why Lockbreakers enjoy such a high status, especially the Array Masters. Arranging a sourcebox array is a means of converting trash into a miracle by borrowing the power of the universe itself. However, something borrowed must always be returned. Out of ten Array Masters, nine of them will die while lockbreaking."

    "Do you feel that lockbreaking is something simple? Do you believe that because you can set up sourcebox arrays, you are now able to casually unlock sourceboxes? Even an Array Grandmaster can die while lockbreaking, even to a sourcebox that is not at the advanced level. Child, I do not want that to be your ending. Can you understand that I don¡¯t want you to die while unlocking a sourcebox?¡± Xiu Ming spoke gently.

    Lockbreaking was something that was more of a hobby to Lu Yin. In the past, he had simply seen Lockbreakers as people who were given a great deal of respect. In fact, Lu Yin had be a Lockbreaker mainly to force his enemies to be more hesitant about attacking him. His motives had not been pure at the beginning, and truthfully, that part had not changed even after all this time.

    Lu Yin was eager to raise his Lockbreaker rank, but he mostly wanted the improved status that came with it. Gaining recognition from the Lockbreaker Society would increase Lu Yin¡¯s influence in the Fifth Maind, and that was even more important to him than lockbreaking itself.

    Xiu Ming had long since noticed this about Lu Yin, and that was also why the older man had made it a point to speak to Lu Yin today. The society¡¯s chairman did not want such a talented Lockbreaker to die while lockbreaking due to nothing more than simple arrogance.

    Lu Yin did not believe that he was an arrogant person, but his actions at this moment were exactly those of one.

    In terms of foundation, Lu Yin could notpare to Wu Dan, and Lu Yin only surpassed Wu Dan in terms of talent and ability. When it came to understanding the art and devotion, Lu Yin fell far behind Wu Dan.

    Xiu Ming raised a hand to show Lu Yin a scar. "I received this when I was a five star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. The sourcebox was nothing more than a Perceptive Intermediate one, but if I had been even the tiniest bit less luckier at that time, there would be no Xiu Ming today."

    Lu Yin''s expression finally changed slightly.

    Wu Dan was not surprised by the story, as he had obviously heard it before.

    "All Lockbreakers whoe to the Lockbreakers World have heard this story or something very close to it. Lu Yin, this is your first time hearing this, no?" Xiu Ming said.

    Lu Yin remained respectful. "This is the first time that this junior has heard this story."

    "That¡¯s because lockbreaking is not what your heart is set on," Xiu Ming said.

    Lu Yin could not refute the man¡¯s words.

    Wu Dan looked at Lu Yin in anger. Lockbreaking was Wu Dan¡¯s entire life, and he had devoted all of himself to the profession. However, the only peer who Wu Dan could admit that surpassed him in lockbreaking ability did not actually care much about the art. For a moment, Wu Dan felt an overpowering urge to kill Lu Yin and a reluctance to take no action at all.

    Lu Yin was someone who was able to casually surpass others¡¯ life-long efforts. The frustration felt by others when they saw what Lu Yin was capable of was truly indescribable.

    "The less lockbreaking means to you, the more likely you are to die while doing it. There have been countless examples that perfectly illustrate this point." Xiu Ming continued speaking in a gentle tone, but then he turned back to look at Lu Yin. "As the chairman, I have the right to give any Lockbreaker any assessment I deem fit for them. I hear your request, and for your assessment, Lu Yin, you are to explore the Ancient Spirit Sea and record the changes in the form of the danger zones of one hundred sourceboxes.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "By aplishing this will I be promoted to a two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?"

    Xiu Ming felt helpless; this child was relentless, and such determination truly made him ufortable. "We¡¯ll talk about itter."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. All he really wanted to do was improve his Lockbreaker ranking. Still, he listened to Xiu Ming''s words and considered the man¡¯s thoughts. In the end, Lu Yin finally decided that he would wait before pushing forward with his lockbreaking, though he would not abandon itpletely. He had be enthralled by the power of Ceaseless Impetus, and he dreamed of one day creating a sourcebox array that could simrly benefit the entire human race, but that was an extremely distant dream. It was a dream that would only have a chance of being realized after his Lu family regained their ce as rulers of the Perennial World, and while Lu Yin¡¯s dream of creating an amazing sourcebox array was not something that weighed heavily on him, he still hoped to aplish it.

    Still, Lu Yin remained eager to improve his Lockbreaker rank.

    "Senior, this junior will go to the Ancient Spirit Sea now," Lu Yin stated. There were still many things that he needed to take care of, and it would cost him too much time to repeatedly return here.

    Wu Dan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back as the youth left. He still was not convinced. "I will eventually surpass him!"

    Xiu Ming sighed. "There are some people who are simply innately talented. You are seen as a monstrously talented Lockbreaker by others, and even if your cultivation falls behind your peers, you are still capable of setting up sourcebox arrays. You already stand at the top, butpared to that child¡­"

    Xiu Ming stopped there. He was not trying to insult Wu Dan, but rather bring the youth to ept reality, as he had seen the unwillingness filling Wu Dan''s eyes. Xiu Ming did not want Wu Dan to only understand the gap between him and Lu Yin after Lu Yin left Wu Dan far behind.

    Still, Xiu Ming actually appreciated Wu Dan even more than Lu Yin, and the chairman considered Wu Dan to be the Lockbreaker Society¡¯s sessor. Lu Yin would never be able to take over the Lockbreaker Society, as his heart was not infatuated to lockbreaking.

    The Ancient Spirit Sea was an area that was nurtured by the Six Ancient Spirit Array. It had the form of an odd ocean, and sourceboxes were cultivated there by the array.

    If Ceaseless Impetus had been the most magnificent sourcebox array that Lu Yin had ever seen, then the Six Ancient Spirit Array was the most obscure.

    When Lu Yin had first heard about this sourcebox array, he had not been able to believe that it could nurture the formation of other sourceboxes. Even in the Perennial World, he had never heard of such a possibility.

    There was a dull sound as Lu Yin rushed into the Ancient Spirit Sea. He plunged in head first, and he immediately began looking for the sourceboxes gestated by the Ancient Spirit Sea. One hundred did not sound like too many, but since Xiu Ming had personally given Lu Yin this task, it clearly was not something to take lightly.

    Far away from where Lu Yin had leapt into the Ancient Spirit Sea, many Lockbreakers had gathered at the edge of a cliff and were looking at some people down below.

    "You¡¯re sure that those guys won''t die, right?"

    "They¡¯ll be fine. While some of the Boundless Advanced sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea are dangerous, they should be able to sense them early enough given their abilities."

    "The Innerverse Lockbreaker Society really has some talented youths. They have actually raised three young Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers at the same time."

    ¡­

    There was a yell as a figure rushed upwards from the seabed and leaped onto the cliff to stand there, panting heavily. If Lu Yin were present, he would have recognized the person as one of his former ssmates from the Astral Combat Academy: the former student leader of Astral-6, Dao Bo, who had once helped Lu Yin.

    Upon seeing Dao Bo¡¯s appearance, some of the nearby Lockbreakers looked at him, and one of them asked, "Kid, how many did you record?"

    Dao Bo was panting heavily, and there was a strand of seaweed wrapped around his back that was scratching at this skin, leaving him bleeding. "Neen."

    "What level?"

    Dao Bo fell silent for a moment before responding, "Seventeen Discerning Elementary and two Perceptive Intermediate ones."

    "Not bad," the man replied.

    Others nearby startedmenting, "That¡¯s really not bad. You¡¯re just a one star Intermediate Lockbreaker, and yet you were able to record the shapes and danger fields intentions of so many sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea while only receiving slight injuries. That¡¯s very good."

    At this moment, another figure charged up from the sea. It was Casanova.

    Three of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five hade to the Lockbreakers World for training. They knew of other Lockbreakers who were the same age as them, but none couldpare to their skills. They only wanted to challenge other Lockbreakers who stood above all of their peers and represented the peak of Lockbreaker Society¡¯s younger members, like Wu Dan.

    Even if Wu Dan had already be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, they could still challenge him by breaking his achievements one by one.

    "How many did you record?" Dao Bo asked.

    Casanova looked frustrated. He was bleeding from a nasty open wound across his shoulders. "Those danger fields are too sneaky! I almost died."

    Dao Bo felt bitter. It was not easy to record the shape and danger field of a sourcebox. Shape was easy enough to determine¡ªas long as you could clearly see the sourcebox and it was in a ce where you could circle around it, figuring out the shape was trivial. However, a Lockbreaker had to personally experience the sourcebox¡¯s danger field to record it down. There were some sourceboxes whose danger field they did not dare to touch, others whose danger fields were impossible to sense, and yet more that were simply difficult to record.

    "Twenty three sourceboxes. Four intermediate ones and neen elementary ones," Casanova reported in a muffled voice.

    Those who heard him were amazed once again. These results were shocking, as even mid-ranked Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreakers from the older generation might not be capable of doing much better.

    The names of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five had since be famous in the Lockbreakers World. After all, they ranked just below Wu Dan in the younger generation. Their aplishments were impressive, but they could not evene close toparing to Wu Dan.

    "Come on. We¡¯re not under any sort of time limit," Dao Bo said.

    Casanova shrugged. "Given my abilities, I hoped that I would have been able to find a beautiful Lockbreaker or two whom I could chat with."

    Dao Bo¡¯s voice grew cold. "It¡¯s your choice, but Wu Dan is already the most popr young Lockbreaker in the Lockbreakers¡¯ World."

    Casanova became upset the moment he heard Dao Bo¡¯s words, and he turned around to dive back into the Ancient Spirit Sea.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had found a sourcebox shortly after entering the sea.

 Chapter 1561: Ancient Spirit Sea

    Chapter 1561: Ancient Spirit Sea

    The sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea had to be traded for if one wanted to take them out. Lockbreakers were allowed to trade the sourceboxes in the sea for ones that they brought in from the outside world. Without this rule, the Ancient Spirit Sea naturally would have been depleted long ago.

    Lu Yin easily approached a sourcebox. It was only a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, and the danger field was not even powerful enough to pierce through his skin. He easily recorded down its shape and danger field before leaving to find the next one.

    He quickly found a second sourcebox, which was easy given the size of his domain. Even though he was being cautious and not directly observing the runes, his domain and sensitivity towards star energy fluctuations were enough for him to easily find sourceboxes.

    The third, the fourth¡­ the twelfth. Finally, the thirteenth sourcebox that he encountered was not a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, but rather a Perceptive Intermediate one. It had a powerful danger zone with a repulsive aspect that would make it difficult for most Enlighters to get close to it.

    Lu Yin confidently entered the danger field and recorded the sourcebox¡¯s danger field before leaving.

    Half a dayter, another Lockbreaker found the same sourcebox and attempted to move closer to it. He was hoping to exchange the Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that he already possessed for one of the sourceboxes in the sea. The danger field of this sourcebox was very well suited to the man¡¯s cultivation art, and if there was anything inside it, it would most likely be beneficial to him. Unfortunately, he could not even get close to the sourcebox and ended up having to leave in defeat.

    Over the course of a single day, Lu Yin recorded twenty-seven sourceboxes. Given his speed, it should not take him long toplete the task that Xiu Ming had given him. However, Lu Yin had not realized that he had already circumnavigated the entire Ancient Spirit Sea. Thus, he would need to drop down to a deeper level to find more sourceboxes. However, the further down one went, the more dangerous the sourceboxes became.

    Elsewhere, Dao Bo climbed back up the cliff once more, feeling frustrated.

    Today, he had found no fewer than three sourceboxes, but each one had possessed a powerful danger field that he did not dare to approach. Thus, he had not been able to record down even a single sourcebox.

    Casanova had encountered the same situation, and the two met up with each other as they had agreed upon earlier.

    "Out of the sourceboxes that Wu Dan recorded, it seems that there was a Boundless Advanced one as well, right?" Casanova asked.

    Dao Bo nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    Casanova felt frustrated. "How can wepare to him? Even if a Boundless Advanced sourcebox fell down right in front of us, we wouldn¡¯t be able to record it since we can¡¯t even get close to one!"

    Another figure burst out of the sea at this time. It was Qing Zhiyu, the leader of the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society¡¯s Distinguished Five. He was also a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, which meant that he was only a single step behind Wu Dan. However, this was a step that Qing Zhiyu simply could not take.

    "How was it?" Casanova asked.

    Qing Zhiyu''s face fell. "I can''tpare to Wu Dan."

    "Bullshit!" Casanova rolled his eyes.

    "Hey, kid! How many sourceboxes did you record down?" someone asked. All of them were paying attention to Qing Zhiyu, as he was said to be the junior who was second to Wu Dan, not Lu Yin.

    Qing Zhiyu looked up. "Thirty-two. Seven intermediate sourceboxes and twenty four elementary ones."

    "That''s only thirty one." Casanova responded. His eyes suddenly snapped back to Qing Zhiyu in surprise. "You recorded down a Boundless Advanced sourcebox?"

    Everyone nearby was simrly shocked.

    Qing Zhiyu lifted a hand, showing everyone that it was ck. Clearly, he had been poisoned. ¡°I did manage to record down an advanced sourcebox, but the danger field was poisonous, and it infected me."

    "You''re crazy! Are you alright?" Casanova¡¯s expression changed greatly upon hearing Qing Zhiyu¡¯s news.

    Qing Zhiyu shook his head. "It''s not actually that bad. Just painful."

    A firm determination entered Dao Bo''s eyes. "I¡¯m going back in."

    He jumped back into the Ancient Spirit Sea.

    Casanova felt cornered by Qing Zhiyu''s eyes, so he also jumped down. Meanwhile, Qing Zhiyu rested for a bit before racing back into the Ancient Spirit Sea as well. The three of them represented the Innerverse Lockbreaker Society, so they could not allow themselves to fall too far behind Wu Dan.

    As he dove deep into the sea, Dao Bo found another sourcebox. He had already recorded down most of the sourceboxes close to the surface, which were Discerning Elementary sourceboxes. His gaze was firm, and he continued swimming further down.

    After a while, he sensed another sourcebox, and he quickly rushed towards it. This sourcebox was shaped like a gourd and asrge as a hill. It had red lines that periodically radiated off of it like waves, but they disappeared past a certain distance.

    Dao Bo was not able to determine what sort of danger field the red lines were. He lifted a hand to sense the ambient star energy, but he was unable to detect any undtions, let alone the sourcebox¡¯s field. After thinking for a moment, he slowly moved closer until he reached the ce where the red lines disappeared each time. Even at this distance, he waspletely unable to sense anything.

    Another red line spread out from the gourd-shaped sourcebox in the distance, and it moved through the surrounding area, slowly approaching Dao Bo.

    In order to record a sourcebox¡¯s danger field, it was necessary for a Lockbreaker to fully understand the danger field. Thus, Dao Bo hesitated. He had fully released his domain, but he could not sense anything at all when the red line moved through it. In the end, he raised a hand and slowly moved forward to touch the red line.

    His hand inched closer, but at thest moment, right before he made contact with the red line, a hand sped his shoulder.

    Dao Bo was terrified when he realized that someone had snuck up on him without him sensing anything. His domain was still out, and he spun around, only to see a familiar face. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, it¡¯s not good to try to kill yourself."

    Dao Bo was taken aback, and he nced at where the red line had disappeared less than a centimeter in front of his finger. "Are you talking about that?"

    Lu Yin moved past Dao Bo and raised his hand. His index finger swept over the red line, twisting it and shredding it as his finger moved through it. Dim spots of red light drifted away, and one of them fell onto Dao Bo''s hand. In an instant, his hand was painfully burnt. He had not been able to react at all, but after Lu Yin casually pressed his hand down, the scorching temperature that had been burning Dao Bo''s hand suddenly disappeared.

    Dao Bo felt confused. "What is this?"

    Lu Yin threw the bit of the red line twined about his finger back to the gourd-shaped sourcebox and absorbed the shocking temperature with his Creation realm star energy control. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for him to remove the burning sensation from Dao Bo.

    Though the red light had only touched Dao Bo''s hand for an instance, he had still been severely burned. However, the injury was not important, as Dao Bo had some ointment to treat it.

    "Thank you," Dao Bo said in a low voice, afraid to even look at his hand. It ached terribly. If not for Lu Yin, such pain would have scorched Dao Bo¡¯s entire body, and he would have been burned to death. Such a death would be truly miserable.

    Even while realizing this, Dao Bo was absolutely dumbfounded by Lu Yin''s strength. Just a spot of the red light had hurt Dao Bo so badly, but Lu Yin had beenpletely unaffected even when he toyed with the red line itself. Just how strong had Lu Yin be?

    "Why is Senior doing here?" Lu Yin asked in an odd tone.

    Dao Bo bandaged his hand. "No matter if one is from the Outerverse or the Innerverse branch of the Lockbreaker Society, all cane to the Lockbreakers World to train, as long as you qualify. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here."

    "Are all of the Distinguished Five here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Dao Bo shook his head. "How could the Distinguished Five still exist? Two of us died when the Sixth Maind invaded the Innerverse. Before ZENITH, I managed to pass the exam to be a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, so I was added to their numbers. However, we¡¯re still short one person to make five.

    "Lu Yin, I heard that you¡¯d disappeared. What happened?" Dao Bo asked.

    Lu Yin had a good impression of Dao Bo. The young man had helped Lu Yin out in the Astral Combat Academy, and even though nothing had been said, Lu Yin hadter learned that Dao Bo was someone worthy of respect.

    "I was unlucky. I went to a miserable ce, but after two years, I was finally able to return. I actually just got back."

    "That''s good. The Neohuman Alliance is everywhere now, so be careful. With your strength and talent, they¡¯ll definitely be watching you."

    Lu Yin silentlyughed. At this moment, as far as the Neohuman Alliance was concerned, the stronger Lu Yin became, the better. It would be best for them if he managed to merge the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, as that would allow them to mount a better resistance against the Perennial World. To a certain extent, even though the Neohuman Alliance was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, they were also on the same side, which was a truly revolting thought.

    "Do you want this sourcebox?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Just to record it down. Upon arriving in the Lockbreakers World, we were given a task, and we also want to see how far behind Wu Dan¡¯s talent ours is right now."

    You¡¯re too far behind, Lu Yin wanted to say, but he stayed silent. Their motivation was quite surprising. "I''m also recording down sourceboxes. Senior, would you like me to help you?"

    Dao Bo grew somber. "No, I''ll do it myself."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Well then, Senior, take care. It¡¯s better to not touch a sourcebox that has an undetectable danger field like this one. By the way, this sourcebox might actually be a two star advanced one that not even Wu Dan might be able to get close to it."

    Lu Yin then bade his goodbyes to Dao Bo.

    Dao Bo stared at Lu Yin''s back. Suddenly Dao Bo remembered that his junior was also a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. Not only was Lu Yin¡¯sbat strength absolutely horrifying, but his lockbreaking ability also had to be incredible if he could easily deal with a danger field from a powerful sourcebox like this one. It seemed likely that Lu Yin had already surpassed Wu Dan.

    Talent was something that could not be forced. Dao Bo was admired by countless people in the Human Domain, and innumerable people envied his talent. However, he felt the exact same way when looking at Lu Yin. The difference between them was suffocating.

    Dao Bo was ignorant of the fact that even Wu Dan, Dao Bo¡¯s goal when it came to lockbreaking, felt the exact same way when looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin recorded down the gourd-shaped sourcebox and continued his search.

    After Lu Yin had recorded down fifty sourceboxes, he realized that the entire process was bing more difficult as he proceeded further. In particr, there was an oddly shaped sourcebox no bigger than his palm that had made him feel helpless. While looking at it, he could not find anywhere to start unlocking it, as the sourcebox did not have a fixed shape, but rather constantly shifted. On top of that, the danger field only radiated about a meter away from the little sourcebox, which was tiny. Lu Yin was unable to approach the sourcebox, and he was forced to skip it.

    Right after that, he encountered simr situations with increasing frequency. In the depths of the Ancient Spirit Sea, he found another a sourcebox that had released a truly terrifying attack. Lu Yin had already lost his universal armor, and his puppet had also been destroyed. And since this particr sourcebox¡¯s danger field¡¯s power level exceeded 600,000, he had been forced to retreat.

    Boundless Advanced sourceboxes gave off danger fields of various strengths. There were some that could even injure Envoys, and Lu Yin had no choice but to skip such sourceboxes.

    Even after spending more than ten days in the Ancient Spirit Sea, Lu Yin had only managed to record a bit more than 70 sourceboxes. Even though people would asionally exchange for one of the sourceboxes, the overall number of sourceboxes in the sea rarely ever changed.

    Lu Yin suddenly had a thought; could there only be 100 sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea? If that was actually the case, then Xiu Ming was truly despicable, as he had given Lu Yin a task that was essentially impossible for him toplete at present.

    One day, Lu Yin came across a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox that looked easy enough to record. However, it was actually a part of a sourcebox array that had been arranged with two other sourceboxes, all at the Perceptive Intermediate level. The three sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields had ovepped to form an array, and Lu Yin was unable to get close to even a single one of the sourceboxes.

 Chapter 1562: A Game

    Chapter 1562: A Game

    Lu Yin feltpletely helpless. No sourcebox array was easy to deal with. To record down these sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields, he would first have to disassemble the sourcebox array and then record down each sourcebox separately while dealing with all three sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields at the same time. Lu Yin¡¯s current level might be enough to let him seed, but it would take a long time, and time was not something that he had.

    Right when he was about to leave, he nced to the side and saw a man approaching a little ways behind him. The man looked quite old and had a solemn expression on his face. He stopped at a simr distance away from the sourcebox array as Lu Yin and simply stared at three Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes.

    "Might I ask who Senior is?" Lu Yin asked.

    The man looked over at Lu Yin. "Xu Feng."

    Lu Yin had never heard of this person. "This junior is Lu Yin."

    "I know. I¡¯ve been keeping track of your progress," Xu Feng replied. He then returned his attention to the three Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes. "Even if it isplicated, it¡¯s not that rare for sourceboxes to naturally form an array, though they do take a bit of time to study.¡±

    "Then this junior won''t disturb Senior," Lu Yin said before moving to leave.

    Xu Feng stopped him. "Wait."

    Lu Yin looked back.

    "Are you recording sourceboxes?"

    "Yes."

    "How many have you recorded so far?"

    "Seventy-six."

    Xu Feng was surprised. "You must have spent a long time here in the Ancient Spirit Sea."

    Lu Yin considered his time. "Just over ten days."

    Xu Feng was amazed. "As expected of a genius who exceeds even Wu Dan." He actually seemed rather emotional. "If my talent matched yours, I would have gone and recorded down this entire Ancient Spirit Sea by now."

    "How many sourceboxes has senior recorded?" Lu Yin asked, curious.

    Xu Feng¡¯s smile grew rather bitter. "Just over a hundred different sourceboxes."

    "How many sourceboxes are in the Ancient Spirit Sea?"

    "More than a hundred, possibly even more than two hundred."

    Lu Yin did not believe it. If there were over two hundred sourceboxes, then why could he not find them?

    "The deeper one goes in the Ancient Spirit Sea, the higher the rank of the sourceboxes. Even the sourceboxes that were used to create the Six Ancient Spirit Array came from the greatest depths of this Ancient Spirit Sea. Every Lockbreaker who visits the Lockbreakers World is among the best, so naturally, the majority of the sourceboxes in this sea are Perceptive Intermediate with only a few Discerning Elementary ones," Xu Feng exined.

    Lu Yin looked down. He wanted to go deeper.

    If he kept going down, then did that mean that he would eventually reach a depth where all of the sourceboxes were at the Boundless Advanced level? He refused to believe that the sea contained so many sourceboxes of that level, so it really must have mostly Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes.

    "Then this junior won''t disturb Senior anymore," Lu Yin said before leaving.

    Xu Feng continued to look at the three Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes that naturally formed a sourcebox array. There were many people simr to Xu Feng in the Lockbreakers¡¯ World, and that was because Xiu Ming had once stated that whoever was able to record down all of the sourceboxes in Ancient Spirit Sea would be epted as his disciple.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin purposely searched for Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes that were easier to record, and he even asionally returned to the upperyers of the Ancient Spirit Sea to search for new Discerning Elementary sourceboxes. This methodology was much faster and efficient, and he soon recorded down a hundred sourceboxes.

    Delighted with his sess, Lu Yin returned to Xiu Ming''s residence. "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior Xiu Ming."

    Xiu Ming stared at Lu Yin. "Why are you here? Did you finish your task?"

    "This junior has finished recording all of the required sourceboxes.¡± He then opened his gadget and switched the disy to show the records of the shapes and danger fields of all the sourceboxes that he had recorded down.

    Wu Dan watched on with curiosity.

    A hundred sourceboxes: thirty-six Discerning Elementary, forty-three Perceptive Intermediate, and twenty-one Boundless Advanced ones.

    Wu Dan¡¯s fists tightened when he saw that Lu Yin had recorded twenty-one Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. While he had also sessfully recorded down a hundred sourceboxes, he had not had such an impressive report. Among Lu Yin¡¯s list, Wu Dan even saw therge gourd-shaped sourcebox that he had never been able to approach. In fact, more than half of the advanced sourceboxes that Lu Yin had recorded down were ones that Wu Dan had seen but not been able to approach.

    Xiu Ming was not at all surprised to see that Lu Yin hadpleted his given task. "What are your thoughts?"

    Lu Yin replied earnestly, "There are no two sourceboxes in the entire universe that are the same. This time in the Ancient Spirit Sea has greatly shored up this junior¡¯s understanding of sourceboxes."

    "Shored up? You still don''t understand anything about lockbreaking," Xiu Ming countered.

    Lu Yin grew frustrated; did this person still want to block him from progressing?

    "Forget it. It seems that your thoughts are set on lockbreaking. Unlock two one star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes and one three star advanced sourcebox,¡± Xiu Ming ordered.

    Lu Yin was thrilled that the chairman had finally agreed to allow Lu Yin to take the promotion exam.

    "Chairman, this disciple has a request," Wu Dan suddenly spoke up, addressing Xiu Ming, "This disciple wishes to y a game with Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow rose¡ªa game?

    Wu Dan then turned towards Lu Yin, an antagonistic expression on his face. "Lu Yin, do you dare to y a game with me? It¡¯s an Array Master''s game."

    Lu Yin blinked. "What¡¯s the game?"

    "Stable Zone," Wu Dan said. Arrogance filled his eyes, as he assumed that Lu Yin did not know about this game.

    Lu Yin said nothing and instead simply stared at Wu Dan.

    "Stable Zone is a game that has been passed down since ancient times, and it¡¯s remained popr among Array Masters. The rules are very simple¡­" Wu Dan then began to exin the game, as he truly believed that Lu Yin did not know anything about Stable Zone.

    Before going to Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin actually had been ignorant of the game, but during his time there, Grandmaster Qiu Ling had introduced him to the game and the limitless possibilities within it. In fact, Lu Yin quite enjoyed ying the game, but could he tell Wu Dan that he had already yed against an Array Grandmaster? And that Array Grandmaster had even eximed at his talent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s game had shocked countless people, including even an Array Master, Master Deng Guo.

    "How about it? Lu Yin, do you dare to y?" Wu Dan stared at Lu Yin as he taunted him. Wu Dan really could not ept Lu Yin¡¯s talent. This person barely cared about lockbreaking at all, but he was still was able to surpass all of Wu Dan¡¯s aplishments. Even Grandmaster Xiu saw Lu Yin as someone with greater potential than Wu Dan even though Lu Yin was not focused on or devoted to lockbreaking. Wu Dan had already lost to Lu Yin during ZENITH and now at lockbreaking. So, he had to seize at least one victory from Lu Yin.

    Stable Zone was a game thatprehensively tested every aspect of a Lockbreaker¡¯s understanding and control over a set of sourceboxes'' danger zones. It was a thorough way of testing a Lockbreaker¡¯s abilities, as it could even reveal their natural talent for lockbreaking. If Wu Dan was able to defeat Lu Yin at this game, then it would prove that Wu Dan was not inferior to this person.

    "Okay. If you want to y, then I''ll join," Lu Yin said.

    Wu Dan was ecstatic. "I won''t bully you. We¡¯ll first y a game to let you learn and get used to the rules. Then, the second game will be our official match," he said.

    He then turned towards Xiu Ming. "Might I ask Senior to be the judge?"

    Xiu Ming showed a small smile. "Stable Zone. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve yed a game with Highsage Grandmaster. I truly miss it.

    ¡°Alright, you can y a game with two sourceboxes, and I¡¯ll judge your game.¡± As Xiu Ming spoke, he tossed out two one star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. This was the lowest difficulty level for Stable Zone, but this was also a game that could only be yed by Array Masters.

    Of the two sourceboxes, one released a gray fog the moment it appeared. If one looked closely at it, they would see that it was not actually fog, but rather an unknown energy that twisted the void into multiple, nearly indistinguishable folds. Once the folds umted to a certain density, the distortion started to take on the appearance of fog.

    The other sourcebox had an invisible danger zone. It released an inaudible sound, but it was also powerful enough to cause the void to tremble.

    Neither of the two sourceboxes had a very powerful danger zone, but both were potentially fatal to Wu Dan. After all, he was only a Hunter.

    The two sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones ovepped and then merged. They canceled each other out in some areas while superimposing on themselves in others to create an unpredictable and chaotic danger zone.

    Xiu Ming waved a hand, and his star energy spread out into the new danger zone. The sourceboxes eliminated the majority of the star energy, and the remainder transformed into ck and white to form the game pieces for Stable Zone.

    "Begin. Choose your color," Xiu Ming stated.

    Wu Dan looked at Lu Yin. "You can choose first."

    "White," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Wu Dan became solemn. "Very well, I''ll be ck. The game has started. You can enter the danger zone at any time, and even if I don''t enter, you can move to destroy all of the ck star energy if you can."

    Lu Yin nodded. Just like when he had yed with Grandmaster Qiu Ling, he took his time to observe the area that was the game board.

    Wu Dan did the same.

    After enough time for a stick of incense to have burned halfway down passed, Wu Dan¡¯s expression worsened. This game board was extremelyplicated. He was not very powerful, and it was also very difficult for him to enter the game board without disturbing the danger zone. The moment it was disturbed, there was no way of predicting what sort of reaction would ur.

    Wu Dan was a talented and arrogant Array Master, but he would never do anything without full confidence. This was a part of him that he could not change.

    Suddenly, Wu Dan looked up at Lu Yin, startled. Lu Yin was moving.

    Xiu Ming also looked over at Lu Yin.

    At this time, several other Lockbreakers arrived at Xiu Ming''s home. There were both men and women, and all of them held very high statuses in the Lockbreakers World, and they were also all Array Masters.

    Stable Zone was not merely a game; it was also an effective means for an Array Master to study and improve themselves. No Array Master would not be willing to watch a game, and this was also a key reason behind why the game had endured for so long.

    Several people were shocked to see Lu Yin moving already. ¡°Is he really that confident after such a short amount of time has passed?"

    "Well, this is his first game. It¡¯s natural for the kid to want to take a risk and try it for himself."

    "If the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone is triggered and destroys all of the ck and white energy, then he¡¯ll lose."

    Lu Yin chose a peculiar starting position while everyone watched on. Right after that, he lifted a hand and waved it, triggering the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone. His movement ignited a chain reaction, and the ck pieces were quickly destroyed. A bit of the white star energy was also destroyed at the same time, but such a thing was unavoidable.

    Wu Dan was shocked. Impossible! How?

    Even an idiot could see that Lu Yin had not randomly messed around with the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone. He was truly ying the game, just as he had against Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and he was intent on destroying his opponent''s game pieces.

    The game with Grandmaster Qiu Ling had allowed Lu Yin to make incredible progress in his Lockbreaking abilities, and that was not even considering the fact that the current game board was much simpler than the one that Lu Yin had yed on before. While the danger zone lookedplicated to Wu Dan, Lu Yin was able to see through it clearly.

    Wu Dan just stared nkly at Lu Yin''s move. The ck star energy was destroyed bit by bit, but Wu Dan was not able to step onto the game board even after all of his ck energy had been eliminated.

    The gathered Array Masters who were watching were also surprised to see the game end so quickly.

    Xiu Ming sighed in admiration. This was true talent. This child¡¯s talent was almost unbelievable, but unfortunately, his heart was not set on lockbreaking. If he did, the Lockbreakers World would belong to him, and he would lead all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lockbreakers. Really, it was such a pity.

    Lu Yin looked at Wu Dan. "Sorry, the game¡¯s over."

    "What? How? Why are you so fast?" Wu Dan still could not believe that he had lost.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You told me that I could move before you stepped onto the game board. Maybe I was just lucky."

    Wu Dan refused to ept the results of the game. "Let''s y again!"

    Lu Yin did not say no. After all, they had already agreed to y two games. "Sure."

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming stared at Lu Yin for a moment before taking out two more sourceboxes. These ones were also one star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Theirbined danger zone closely matched the level of difficulty of the one from the first game.

    Everyone intently watched.

    After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Lu Yin once again made his move.

    This time, Wu Dan also moved. He had not fully understood the danger zone that formed the game board, but he was not willing to suffer another crushing defeat.

    Both youths stepped onto the game board simultaneously.

 Chapter 1563: God Of Death Domain

    Chapter 1563: God Of Death Domain

    Lu Yin did not disturb the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone, but Wu Dan did. He immediately triggered changes in the game board that he could not control. Lu Yin understood Wu Dan¡¯s thoughts, as he had been simrly lost and confused when Grandmaster Qiu Ling had made her first move during their game of Stable Zone. Back then, Lu Yin had not been able to understand the changes that had taken ce on the game board.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was in the position that Grandmaster Qiu Ling had held during their game.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been merciful to her future apprentice, and she had calmly allowed Lu Yin to deal with the turbulence created by her attack, but Lu Yin had no intention of showing Wu Dan the same kindness. After all, Wu Dan was not Lu Yin¡¯s apprentice, and Lu Yin could see that the youth refused to ept the gap between them. In that case, Lu Yin would force Wu Dan to ept it. Lu Yin lifted a hand and agitated the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone.

    Wu Dan had wanted to observe the danger zone that formed the game board, but Lu Yin¡¯s movement hadpletely negated Wu Dan¡¯s efforts, and he was unable to understand anything that he saw. A sudden attack from the danger zone struck Wu Dan across the back, and he was thrown through the air. Lu Yin then seizedplete control of the danger zone and used it to eliminate all of the ck star energy pieces.

    The gathered Array Masters were all shocked, as the ability that Lu Yin had disyed throughout the course of this game was terrifying.

    Wu Dany on the ground with blood leaking out of his mouth. The fire in his eyes dimmed, as he had beenpletely defeated. It was the second game, but he still had no way to retaliate at all.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the game board and bowed to Xiu Ming. "Senior, this junior will return to work on unlocking a sourcebox."

    Xiu Ming nodded. "Go on."

    "Yes, Senior." Lu Yin then nodded to the gathered Array Masters who had spectated the game before leaving.

    The small group of Array Masters all stared at Wu Dan. He was the Lockbreakers World¡¯s most outstanding genius. Even though he had mastered a sourcebox array at a very young age and been treated as the most gifted Lockbreaker of his generation, he had just been utterly crushed by a peer. It was too depressing to watch.

    They felt like a rabbit had died to a fox. Wu Dan not only represented himself, but he also represented the entire Lockbreakers¡¯ World.

    Xiu Ming asked the audience to leave and then turned his focus onto Wu Dan. "You should have realized that you had no chance after the first game. The gap between you two is simply toorge."

    Wu Dan bitterly protested, "Chairman, the gap shouldn''t be this big!"

    Xiu Ming sighed. "His control over star energy has already reached the Creation realm, and his domain can even extend beyond what he can control with his star energy. Every aspect of his abilities, even including the sourcebox arrays that he has experienced, far surpasses your own."

    Wu Dan felt confused. "Sourcebox arrays?"

    Xiu Ming grew solemn as he exined. "From the first match, I was able to see that this was not his first time ying Stable Zone. He hase into contact and studied sourcebox arrays that greatly surpass what you have, and his experiences even surpasses those of many Senior Array Masters. It¡¯s possible that he has mastered as many sourcebox arrays as a Realm Array Master, as there is no other way to exin his current abilities."

    Wu Dan''s face turned pale and gray. A Realm Array Master? Really? A Realm Array Master? That was a level that Wu Dan might not be able to reach for hundreds of years. Lu Yin really had moved too far beyond Wu Dan.

    "There are certain people who are capable of achieving amazing things from the moment that they are born while others are destined to remain in obscurity. However, such things are not all that determine the future." Xiu Ming gazed at Wu Dan with gentle eyes. "Your heart is more pure than his, and you are also much more focused on lockbreaking than him. It does not matter if your talent is inferior to his. If you can¡¯t catch up to him within a year, then do it in two. If you can¡¯t do so in two, then take ten years, or a hundred. Wu Dan, you are a genius who has been nurtured by the Lockbreakers¡¯ World, and your future will be no worse than anyone else¡¯s.¡±

    Wu Dan slowly clenched a fist. "But Chairman, this disciple is still unwilling to ept this!"

    "Then continue topare yourself to him until the day that you surpass him," Xiu Ming said.

    Determination grew firm in Wu Dan''s eyes. "Yes, Chairman."

    ***

    After leaving Grandmaster Xiu Ming''s home, Lu Yin left the entire ind and returned to the that he had been given.

    At this time, he was close to improving his Lockbreaker rank to that of a two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. He could not afford to spend the necessary time to increase his rank any further than that.

    There were still so many tasks that he needed toplete.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin unlocked the first one star Boundless Advanced sourcebox, and it dispersed to reveal a red nt that was shaped like a creature. Lu Yin did not recognize the nt, so he simply put it away and started working on the second sourcebox.

    Unfortunately, the second sourcebox revealed nothing. Lu Yin immediately continued on to start unlocking the three star Advanced sourcebox.

    He eagerly anticipated sessfully unlocking this particr sourcebox, but he ended up being disappointed as it held nothing as well.

    The people of the Perennial World were generally split into two different mindsets regarding sourceboxes. Some believed that sourceboxes should only be used to set up sourcebox arrays while others believed that sourceboxes should be unlocked even though it was highly likely that the items sealed inside had already disintegrated.

    No one could say which of the two opinions was right or wrong.

    However, Lu Yin had started leaning towards the first mindset, as the financial losses of this round of Lockbreaking were massive. If he had simply sold the sourceboxes, he could have made an incredible profit.

    Lu Yin currently had a billion star essence in his possession. While it might sound like a lot, Lu Yin still felt that he was short on funds. After all, he had no power vessels or useful items. At this point in time, one of his most important tasks was to obtain a new defensive item, though he did not know where he could go to find such a thing.

    Unlocking two one star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes and one three star advanced sourcebox, in addition to recording down the shape and danger fields of a hundred sourceboxes in the Ancient Spirit Sea was finally enough for Lu Yin to be promoted to a two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. It had not been easy.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as he looked at his gadget and saw that his Lockbreaker rank had improved. He wanted to continue improving his rank, but even if Grandmaster Xiu Ming did not block his efforts, he still would need to find enough sourceboxes. How could it be easy to find and gather more Boundless Advance sourceboxes?

    Also, Grandmaster Xiu Ming¡¯s words had made Lu Yin more cautious. Sourceboxes were not easy to unlock, and no two sourceboxes in the entire universe were identical. There were also some sourceboxes that were impossible to fully see through. For example, Dao Bo hade across one such sourcebox, and if not for Lu Yin stopping him, Dao Bo would have touched the red lines emanating from the sourcebox, which would have put him in the ground.

    After improving his Lockbreaker rank, Lu Yin¡¯s next goal was to visit Cong Ying. Lu Yin wanted to find out why this particr overseer was trying to make things difficult for Continental Shipping. However, before he even met with Cong Ying, Lu Yin could question a few people about the matter.

    Before Lu Yin left the that he had been given, two familiar people arrived. They were the two mushroom heads.

    "We heard that you were back, so we hurried over to find you." Xiao Chi pushed his sses up. Excitement was written all over his face.

    Lu Yin asked, "Is there something wrong with me?"

    Xiao Shi still carried his massive history book. "I heard that you won a game of Stable Zone against Wu Dan. Is it true?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I beat him by a little bit."

    "Amazing!" the two eximed. Their eyes seemed to be filled with stars as they stared at Lu Yin.

    "You were really just too strong during ZENITH! That transformation made you look like the God of Death! Maybe you¡¯ll also be recorded down in this book one day," Xiao Shi said in admiration.

    Lu Yin grew ufortable. For some reason, that sentence sounded like he had just been cursed.

    "You should also get a mushroom haircut! Not everyone understands the glory of the mushroom head, but you¡¯re famous enough to start a new trend!" Xiao Chi said with bright eyes.

    Xiao Shi just nodded along while looking simrly excited.

    Lu Yin briefly pictured the Great Eastern Alliance being filled with mushroom heads¡­ Chills ran down his back, and he quickly changed the topic by looking at Xiao Shi. "Tell me more about that person, the God of Death."

    Xiao Shi flipped through his book. "I already told you everything that I¡¯ve managed to find out about the God of Death. You can¡¯t judge the information provided by this book¡¯s size. It has records pertaining to the countless years of human history, so each topic has very little information written about it."

    "Does it really have the history of the entire human race?" Lu Yin started to get curious. The God of Death had already been proven to actually have existed, as Lu Yin himself was living proof. In that case, it was possible that the book¡¯s contents were credible.

    "Just part of it. There should be other books, but we don¡¯t have them in the Historical Archives on Mt. Microcosms," Xiao Shimented.

    "Is there really nothing more about the God of Death?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Xiao Shi turned around and read for a bit. As he did so, Xiao Chi stared at Lu Yin and tried to convert Lu Yin to understand the glory of a mushroom head.

    Before long, Lu Yin felt a nearly irresistible urge to burn the two youths¡¯ mushroom heads, but suddenly, Xiao Shi eximed, "Well, there¡¯s this, but I don''t know it¡¯s really connected to the God of Death."

    "Tell me." Lu Yin instantly grew serious.

    Xiao Shi¡¯s finger touched the book, and he carefully recited a passage, word by word. ¡°The God of Death¡¯s domain brings darkness. It rises like a ck wolf of smoke to rouse the world. When the smoke wolf rises, war will begin."

    Xiao Shi continued to scan through the book after reading the one passage.

    "Nothing more?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi confirmed, "No."

    "Where is this God of Death¡¯s domain? Is there any more information?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi replied, "That sentence was the only information. There¡¯s nothing else."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. It seemed that this passage about a smoke wolf that would awaken the world and start a war was important enough to be recorded in this book, and even the God of Death had been mentioned. This indicated that the war would be no minor matter. Still, even if that was the case, it had taken ce far too long ago, and human history had not recorded down anything else about it.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. Maybe he could check the historical records of the ancient ns, like the Daynight n and the Court of Seven Names. It was possible that he would find more useful information there.

    He even had a thought that the ce in Aeternus Nation with the overpowering death energy might actually be the God of Death¡¯s domain.

    After considering this possibility, Lu Yin immediately called Arch-Elder Zen about the location of Aeternus Nation that had been destroyed by the Progenitor of Secret Arts. However, Lu Yin was disappointed once again, as he was told that the Progenitor had not shared the location with the Fifth Maind.

    Could Lu Yin ask the Progenitor of Secret Arts himself for the location?

    Lu Yin really wanted to find Aeternus Nation, as he could absorb death energy in that ce, which would improve his God of Death Transformation ever further. He did not want it to be like the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, which had not been able to keep up with Lu Yin¡¯s increasing strength.

    Lu Yin said goodbye to the Chi Shi duo as he left the Lockbreakers World under their expectant but disappointed eyes. He did not know when he would return to this ce again.

    San Liang was one of the guard masters on Mt. Microcosms. He was almost an Envoy, and his status was quite high. After all, this was the only way he could pursue his goal of bing an overseer.

    Lu Yin easily found San Liang''s home, but that was also because Lu Yin had once Possessed the man, and therefore, he knew a great deal about this person.

    When San Liang saw Lu Yin hade to visit, he greeted the youth in a solemn manner. "Alliance Leader Lu, pleasee in."

    Lu Yin followed San Liang to a sitting room, where San Liang asked someone to prepare some tea for Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes flickered. His mind was racing, though he was also carefully studying Lu Yin¡¯s movements in an attempt to pry into what was on this youth¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin was amused at San Liang¡¯s behavior, and he simply picked up his teacup and took a sip. "What do you see in my bodynguage?"

    San Liang was startled. "What do you mean by that, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man for a moment before setting the teacup to the side. "What do you believe this action means?"

    San Liang¡¯s expression instantly changed. This was not because of what Lu Yin had done, but rather because Lu Yin was actually aware that San Liang studied people¡¯s bodynguage in order to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of their minds. This meant that Lu Yin knew that San Liang studied psychology, but that was impossible! No one knew about that, as it was San Liang¡¯s innermost secret.

    "While I haven¡¯t studied psychology very muchpared to you, I still know enough to see that your expression reveals your surprise. In that case, if I tell you something else, you might be even more surprised." A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face as he spoke. ¡°I had Wang Wen¡¯s contact information be left for you."

    San Liang''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. "That was you?!"

 Chapter 1564: Giantsâ€™ Technology

    Chapter 1564: Giants¡¯ Technology

    Lu Yin picked up his teacup once again and savored the tea¡¯s fragrance. "It appears that you and Wang Wen have gotten along quite well."

    San Liang tried to suppress the shock resounding within his heart, but Lu Yin''s words had resolved some long-standing doubts of his.

    To begin with, Wang Wen¡¯s contact information had suddenly appeared in front of San Liang without any sort of exnation. He had tried calling the person, and he had quickly hit it off with Wang Wen. One of the two wanted to be an overseer and needed external support while the other wanted to set up his own people within the Hall of Honor.

    With Wang Wen¡¯s support and the resources of the Great Eastern Alliance, San Liang had be bolder. After all, he knew that Arch-Elder Zen and the Chief Justice both support the Great Eastern Alliance along with Leon¡¯s Armada, which was the most powerful of the Four Pirate Crews. This backing had given San Liang the courage to do many things, and not only had he gotten much closer to his dream of bing an overseer, but he had also be more confident that he would gain the position.

    However, despite the fact that everything had been proceeding so well, there was one particr lingering detail that made San Liang very ufortable¡ªwho had left him Wang Wen¡¯s contact information? Why had they done so silently, and also, why had they even sought San Liang out to begin with? San Liang had asked Wang Wen, but Wang Wen had not given him an answer. All that he had said was that San Liang would learn the truth when the time was right.

    When Lu Yin had spoken with Wang Wen, he had mentioned San Liang, so Lu Yin was quite familiar with San Liang''s current situation.

    "I''m not interested in whatever you and Wang Wen are doing. Right now, I want to talk to you to learn about Overseer Cong Ying''s situation," Lu Yin said.

    San Liang¡¯s attitude instantly changed. He was sitting in front of the person who not only led the Great Eastern Alliance, but also the person who had given him the opportunity to be an overseer. He did not want to even imagine the efforts put into such matters.

    Lu Yin was even bold enough to move against one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers. San Liang knew without even thinking that he did not have the means to go against someone like Lu Yin. Thus, naturally, San Liang started treating Lu Yin with more respect. He wanted Lu Yin to understand that he would be an obedient overseer. ¡°Regarding Overseer¡¯s Cong Ying¡¯s situation, I actually told Wang Wen that the entire matter is truly quite strange. Overseer Cong Ying is a stubborn and very principled man, and he will always follow through on his decisions.¡±

    Lu Yin silently listened. He was surprised by the description that San Liang gave of the overseer. Cong Ying was either extremely talented at hiding his true nature, like Bu Laoweng, or he genuinely hated the Great Eastern Alliance. However, the Great Eastern Alliance was based in the Outerverse, and so it seemed impossible for there to be any hatred between Cong Ying and the alliance. What other motive could he have for targeting Continental Shipping?

    "I see." Lu Yin set his teacup down and started leaving. However, before exiting the room, he said, "If you run into any trouble, you can find me. I hope that you will send me any further news regarding the nine overseers as soon as possible."

    San Liang let out several deep breaths as he watched Lu Yin leave. Even though San Liang had allied himself with the Great Eastern Alliance, he was actually moving closer and closer to bing an overseer.

    San Liang lived rather close to Overseer Ying¡¯s residence. While an ordinary person would not be able to travel such a distance even in an entire lifetime, Lu Yin was able to cover it very quickly.

    Lu Yin traveled across Mt. Microcosms by tunneling through the void. Although some people saw him, no one moved to stop him. The incident involving Lu Yin and Highsage Wudi had left a deep impression on all of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ residents.

    The nine overseers were all people who stood at the top of Mt. Microcosms, and yet one of them had still been bullied at his own home.

    Additionally, the attitude that Arch-Elder Zen had publicly shown towards Lu Yin had essentially made all of Mt. Microcosms Lu Yin''s personal garden.

    Arch-Elder Zen was not the only one supporting Lu Yin, as even the elusive Chief Justice had shown his support of this youth.

    The people who lived on Mt. Microcosms were not simple, and none of them would try to create trouble for Lu Yin over anything trivial.

    "Lu Yin asks to see Overseer Cong Ying." Lu Yin opened his mouth to announce himself once he arrived outside a certain courtyard, but Lu Yin purposely did not refer to himself as a junior. He was not making a personal visit, but rather trying to open negotiations.

    Overseer Cong Ying''s home was different from Bu Laoweng¡¯s and the other overseers. His home looked like a courtyard, and it was quite neat and proper. The first impression that the courtyard gave was that the owner was a very principled and stubborn person.

    A bit of time passed, and then Lu Yin was invited in. He was escorted by a man who was most likely Cong Ying¡¯s primary bodyguard.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to meet Overseer Cong Ying in person. The overseer looked very simr to how San Liang had described him; he had a serious face, and he would not treat strangers warmly.

    "Greetings, Mr. Cong Ying." Lu Yin smiled. He spoke politely, but maintained an attitude that was neither servile nor arrogant.

    In the past, he had seen the nine overseers as individuals with lofty positions, but at the present moment, Lu Yin saw them as nothing.

    Cong Ying did not even offer Lu Yin any tea, and his face remained expressionless. "Lord Lu, are you here about Continental Shipping?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right. I really don''t know how my Great Eastern Alliance could have offended an overseer to such a degree that an overseer would not hesitate to use their position and influence to block Continental Shipping¡¯s trade routes and even propose dissolving thepany to the council of overseers."

    Cong Ying spoke in a solemn tone. "I don''t like beating around the bush, and I prefer to speak directly. It¡¯s because of the Giant Consortium."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Giant Consortium?"1

    He was familiar with the group, as Brightstar Corp. was part of it.

    "Alliance Leader Lu should already know that there was a specific race of giants that were highly intelligent. At their civilization¡¯s peak, they were able to create technological weapons on par with Envoys. This Giant Consortium was established on the foundation of these giants¡¯ technology," Cong Ying exined.

    Lu Yin listened quietly.

    "Giants are sometimes said to be human, but they are not exactly the same race as us humans. At least, I will not admit to such a thing. There are some giants that drink blood, others that are physically stronger than astral beasts, and yet others that excel at developing technology. I adhere to the belief that the race of technologically advanced giants were wiped out and that our ancestors worked to eliminate those giants¡¯ technology. At this time, the giants¡¯ technology is resurfacing, and I will not sit idly by and watch," Cong Ying continued to exin.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Are there giants within the consortium?"

    "I don''t know. I have not found any proof yet, as if I had, I would already have proposed to destroy the entire consortium." Cong Ying''s eyes grew hard and cruel. "Lord Lu, if you stop cooperating with the Giant Consortium, then I will have no reason to target your Continental Shipping. Consider this matter carefully."

    Lu Yin believed that the overseer must have said these same words to Wang Wen and others, but since Wang Wen and the others had clearly refused, it demonstrated the importance that Brightstar Corp. had in Continental Shipping, so Lu Yin was also unable to agree.

    "Overseer Cong Ying, the consortium was built by a civilization that was already destroyed, so isn¡¯t the worry that you have towards it a bit exaggerated? Giant Consortium has been around for a long time."

    "You just called it Giant Consortium. ¡®Giant¡¯ is even in its name, though I did not notice the coincidence at first. However, the day that Brightstar Corp. started cooperating with your Great Eastern Alliance, someone brought it to my attention."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Someone brought it up? Could Overseer Ying tell me who that was?"

    Overseer Cong Ying fell silent.

    Lu Yin casually said, "For you to be able to hold the position that you do, you clearly are not dumb. It¡¯s never good to be used as someone else''s de."

    "Shamrock Enterprises¡¯, Yu Mu," Cong Ying spoke lightly.

    A sharp glint entered Lu Yin''s eyes; he had forgotten about Yu Mu and had not expected him to reappear at this time.

    "Thank you, overseer. Goodbye." Lu Yin then left. He already knew that he would not be able to resolve his conflict with this overseer without abandoning Brightstar Corp.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I know that you have many bigshots supporting you, but I have also been an overseer for many years, and I have never made a mistake. Not even Arch-Elder Zen can easily remove me from my position. I am not the same as Bu Laoweng," Overseer Cong Ying said onest thing as he watched Lu Yin leave.

    Lu Yin did not look back or even say a word. He simply walked away.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, nothing good wille of the return of the giants¡¯ technology. Back then, it was agreed by all of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers to destroy the giants and eliminate their technology. If you insist on restoring the giants¡¯ technology, then the consequences will be unimaginable¡­" Overseer Cong Ying¡¯s voice gradually faded as Lu Yin continued to walk away. He had no desire to continue the conversation any further.

    It was not that Lu Yin hated Cong Yin, but that they simply held opposing positions and views. Those differences had made them enemies, and Lu Yin saw no need to be polite to an enemy.

    However, he was also intrigued by the idea of the giants¡¯ technology, so he intended to fully investigate it.

    As soon as he left Overseer Cong Ying¡¯s home, Lu Yin sent Wei Rong a very simple message: ¡®Thoroughly investigate Cong Ying.¡¯

    Regardless of how Wei Rong wanted to proceed, the alliance already had two or three people on Mt. Microcosms, which meant that Wei Rong would be able to gather a great deal of information on Cong Ying. And as long as there was enough information, a solution could be found.

    Also, on top of the alliance¡¯s two or three men, there was also Bu Laoweng. While Lu Yin wanted to keep Ming Yan away from the Neohuman Alliance, Overseer Bu Laoweng still had his uses.

    If San Liang really did be an overseer, then two of the nine overseers would be supporting Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance, which would be pretty good.

    As for the other overseers, such as Overseer Xin and the others, they were all hesitant to target Lu Yin as Arch-Elder Zen supported him. Lu Yin actually had a considerable voice within the Hall of Honor.

    Finally, Lu Yin reached hisst stop on Mt. Microcosms: it was time for him to meet with the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court.

    Lu Yin wanted to know why the Chief Justice had repeatedly helped him.

    Arbitration World was shrouded in an eternal chill. This ce saw only executions and trials, and few people were able to leave this ce in the same state that they had entered.

    Even though Lu Yin was able to freely wander about Mt. Microcosms, he was still stopped before he entered Arbitration World. This was not a ce where Lu Yin could freely move about.

    Lu Yin had no way of getting in touch with the Chief Justice, so his only option was to get in contact with Mu En.

    However, Lu Yin found that he was unable to get to Mu En either.

    Lu Yin felt that he would have to return in failure, but then someone emerged to greet him. It was one of the Judicial Commissioners: the Shadow of Death.

    The Shadow of Death was the strongest of the three Judicial Commissioners, as well as the oldest. It was said that the Shadow of Death was from the same generation as the Chief Justice and that he had a terrifying power level of more than 800,000.

    The Shadow of Death looked like nothing more than a shadow, and he merged into Lu Yin''s own. Lu Yin¡¯s back went cold at the sight, and he felt incredibly vulnerable.

    "I will take you to see the Chief Justice," the Shadow of Death said, and Lu Yin was given no choice in the matter. He was actually dragged away by his own shadow.

    This experience reminded Lu Yin of the Ghost Monkey. He wondered where the strange beast had ended up.

    Lu Yin had expected to find the Chief Justice on the massive where he held court, but the Shadow of Death actually dragged Lu Yin to a corner of the Arbitration World.

    Arbitration World was an extremely dark ce that was only illuminated by a few stars. Lu Yin was taken to a corner of Arbitration World that was so devoid of light that he could not even see his own hands. No matter where he looked, there was no hint of any light.

    Lu Yin was a powerful cultivator who had already be an Enlighter, and yet he was unable to even see his own hand. This was the first time that he had experienced such a thing, and it waspletely different from how his senses had been mixed up and confused by Shaman God.

    Suddenly, the space nearby him twisted, and light gradually returned. Lu Yin looked around. He was once again able to see his own hand, but there was nothing else aside from pure darkness in front of him. He quickly bowed. "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior Chief Justice."

    Truthfully, Lu Yin was feeling a bit of panic at this moment since he did not have Highsage Wudi¡¯s support. Lu Yin had stolen the Chief Justice¡¯s little red bell, and Lu Yin had no idea if this matter had evere to light.

    "What''s the matter?" the Chief Justice asked in an indistinct voice.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "I wish to thank you for supporting the Great Eastern Alliance."

    The Chief Justice did not respond.

 Chapter 1565: Senior Brother?

    Chapter 1565: Senior Brother?

    Lu Yin looked up and continued, saying, "If the Chief Justice had not spoken up, the Great Eastern Alliance would not have been able to enjoy their peace over thesest two years. I also wish to thank the Chief Justice for his impartialness during my trial."

    "If those who exact justice need to be thanked, then how is there fairness?" The Chief Justice¡¯s tone remained casual.

    "The Chief Justice¡¯s words are true."

    Silence filled the air for a moment. Lu Yin actually wanted to ask the Chief Justice why he supported him, but Lu Yin found himself unable to speak the words aloud. Facing the Chief Justice, who was one of the most powerful figures in the entire Human Domain, Lu Yin did not know what to say. The atmosphere in the ce was just too cold.

    Lu Yin felt like he was being confronted by an executioner¡ªa cold and ruthless executioner who waspletely mysterious. Even though Lu Yin had been chased by a Semi-Progenitor before, he still felt rather nervous when facing the Chief Justice.

    "There¡¯s no need for you to thank me. Even though Master did not give me any specific instructions, since we are both his disciples, I have an obligation to help you." The Chief Justice¡¯s words left Lu Yinpletely confused.

    "Master?" Lu Yin tried to understand.

    The Chief Justice waspletely hidden in the darkness, but his words were perfectly clear: "Mister Mu."

    Lu Yin was startled. "Yo- you are Mister Mu''s disciple?"

    <sub></sub>

    "To be precise, I am one of his disciples," the Chief Justice rified.

    Lu Yin suddenly feltpletely foolish when he realized that a figure whom he had always looked at with awe and worry was actually a fellow disciple!

    In an instant, the mysterious and unpredictable image that surrounded the Chief Justice copsed for Lu Yin, and his jaw dropped. "Are you my senior brother?"

    "Yes."

    "You already knew that I was Mister Mu''s disciple?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "So, you deliberately helped me during my trial?"

    "If you had actually been transformed by death energy, I would have killed you without mercy."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Master never said anything to me."

    "You never asked."

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as the Chief Justice¡¯s words were quite urate.

    "Well, in that case, how should I refer to you?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Chief Justice fell silent for a moment, "Chief Justice."

    Lu Yin was stumped. ¡°You want to be called Chief Justice?¡±

    "Do you want everyone in the universe to know about our rtionship?" the Chief Justice asked in a rhetorical manner.

    Fuck yes! Lu Yin swore in his heart. Of course he wanted everyone in the entire universe to know that the powerful Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court was his senior brother! That would be amazing!

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be fine?"

    "No." The Chief Justice instantly destroyed Lu Yin¡¯s hopes.

    "You can leave now," the Chief Justice stated.

    Lu Yin stared at the pure ck sphere in front of him. This person was actually rather kind, and he actually acted like a senior disciple towards Lu Yin, which was theplete opposite of Highsage Wudi, who had also told Lu Yin to call him senior brother. For a moment, Lu Yin felt at ease. "Um¡­ when Master epted me as a disciple, he offered me a gift, ahem."

    Lu Yin coughed as he stared awkwardly at the Chief Justice.

    The Chief Justice remained silent, but then, a familiar little blood-red bell suddenly appeared and floated over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin blinked. What was this supposed to be? Was this some sort of bted gift?

    "This is for you," the Chief Justice stated.

    Lu Yin swallowed and pretended to be ignorant. "What is it?"

    "It¡¯s an emblem that can also influence cultivators with a power level of over a million," the Chief Justice said.

    Lu Yin solemnly epted the bell and put it away. Naturally, he already knew about the bell¡¯s capabilities, as another such bell was the only reason why Yuan Shi had been able to block the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse.

    At that time, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had only been enough for him to use the blood-red bell to intimidate people, but at present, things were different. Lu Yin was actually able to use the bell itself. It could stun any of his opponents, which would give him the opportunity to use a Vacuum Palm. The bell had almost the exact same effect as the piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide that he had once possessed. Back then, Lu Yin had used the hide to stun Enlighters while attacking them with a powerful gun.

    "Thank you, Senior Brother." Lu Yin quickly offered his thanks.

    "Time to go." After Lu Yin heard those words, darkness surrounded him once more, and his body was moved without his control. He was dragged back out of the Arbitration World by his shadow.

    "Judicial Commissioner, wait! This junior needs to speak with the Chief Justice." Lu Yin wanted to ask for something else, as he wanted a defensive piece of equipment, as those were the best-suited for him.

    The Shadow of Death ignored everything that Lu Yin said and simply dragged him out of the Arbitration World.

    Lu Yin felt helpless; was he being driven away?

    "Wait, Lord Shadow, please take a look at this." Lu Yin took out the little blood-red bell.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body finally paused just outside the entrance to Arbitration World, and his shadow twisted. "The Chief Justice''s emblem."

    <sub> .</sub>

    "If I have this, does it mean that I¡¯m a part of the Interster Supreme Court?" Lu Yin asked.

    "It can be seen like that," the Shadow of Death instantly replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Can I give orders to the members of the Interster Supreme Court?"

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin became ecstatic. When he had Pilfered that blood-red bell so long ago, he had not dared to use it openly, but this one waspletely legitimate. With this, he could use it as intended. It would be a powerful weapon for him in the future.

    Had the Chief Justice given it to him for that explicit purpose, or had it just been a casual gift to protect a junior? It did not matter to Lu Yin. All that mattered was that many issues would be much easier with this bell.

    In order to avoid leaving a bad impression with the Chief Justice, Lu Yin simply left the Arbitration World. However, he returned a few minutester before leaving for a second time. The second time, he left with an expert who was on the cusp of bing an Envoy.

    Lu Yin did not know how to get to ck Street, so he used his newly acquired authority with the blood-red bell to pick up an expert to act as a guide for him. Members of the Interster Supreme Court possessed status, ability, but most importantly of all, style.

    Since he was back in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin saw no need to keep a low profile; rather, he wanted to be extremely high profile.

    The expert from the Interster Supreme Court only moved out because he saw the Chief Justice''s emblem. He did not even consider Lu Yin¡¯s possible identity, as the man did not know who Lu Yin was, as he perpetually stayed within Arbitration World. However, the man¡¯s attitude quickly changed when Lu Yin reunited with Liu Ye and Fei Hua. At that time, the expert stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief.

    The expert could not fathom what sort of youth could warrant two Envoys to serve as his bodyguards, especially since, in the expert¡¯s senses, neither of the Envoys were any weaker than one of the Judicial Commissioners.

    The man was not wrong, as both the Calm of Despair and the Virtue of Righteousness had a lower cultivation than Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Only the Shadow of Death was stronger than these two Envoys.

    Lu Yin also took Luo Shen with him, and they followed behind Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and the expert from the Interster Supreme Court. They then left Mt. Microcosms and started for ck Street.

    To outsiders, Lu Yin looked like a stereotypical young master from an influential family with a beautifuldy, bodyguards, and even a tour guide.

    It was rather rare to see such a group in the dangerous regions of the Neoverse that surrounded the Honor Zone.

    There was nock of rich young masters in the Neoverse. There were direct family members of the nine overseers, rtives of other powerful figures from Mt. Microcosms, and even rtives of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s experts and more. The Honor Zone was an exaggerated situation, as the numerous hidden worlds contained countless rich young masters. Still, there was only one youth who had Envoys as his bodyguards.

    This was such a startling sight that Lu Yin created quite a sensation when he left Mt. Microcosms.

    Lu Yin looked back at the mountain with great fondness. Arch-Elder Zen was very protective of him, as he was a youth who had opened all three meridian points and would eventually be a Progenitor. His status in the Fifth Maind wasparable to that of the Perennial World¡¯s four Junior Progenitors.

    On top of that, Lu Yin had just discovered that the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice was actually his senior disciple. With everything put together, Mt. Microcosms really was about to be Lu Yin¡¯s back yard.

    Ah Da quickly found aiu and then guided Lu Yin, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Luo Shen away from the Honor Zone.

    Ah Da was the name of the expert from the Interster Supreme Court.

    Theiu tore the void open with a dull explosion. As it did so, they were confronted by anotheriu headed straight for them.

    Theiu that Lu Yin and the others were riding quickly changed direction, though the other beast continued to charge straight forward.

    Lu Yin grew upset that the other party was not showing him any hint of respect when he was in his own backyard.

    As the twoius passed each other, Lu Yin turned his head to look at the other rider. He saw a woman sitting atop the otheriu. She was young and beautiful, but her face was cold, though her garments were extremely gorgeous.

    The woman saw Lu Yin as well, but she simply looked away andpletely ignored him .

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows, really arrogant, but in the end, he didn''t care about her.

    "Brother Lu, thisiu is so fast!" Luo Shen was startled, and she looked at everything with a sense of wonder.

    When Lu Yin turned his attention back to Luo Shen, his mood immediately improved. Luo Shen was much more beautiful than the arrogant woman that they had just passed by. "This is the best way to move around in the Honor Zone, and Ah Da worked hard to find one for us."

    Luo Shen quietly agreed, and she stared at Lu Yin with tender eyes that radiated pure joy. She had no idea where they were going, but it did not matter. She only needed to follow Lu Yin.

    The atmosphere grew awkward, and Lu Yin pursed his lips. He nced over at Liu Ye and Fei Hua, though hepletely ignored Fei Hua and instead addressed Liu Ye. "What¡¯s your impression of Mt. Microcosms?"

    "There are many experts there."

    "Of course. It¡¯s Mt. Microcosms, which is the Fifth Maind¡¯s core," Lu Yin said.

    Fei Hua instantly mocked him, "What a pity that there aren¡¯t any Progenitors."

    Lu Yin momentarily choked on his own words.

    Ah Da was startled, and he nced over at the couple. A Progenitor? The Fifth Maind had not seen such a powerhouse for eons. Was this woman suggesting that she had seen a Progenitor before?

    Back at the border of Mt. Microcosms, the beautiful woman riding on theiu suddenly let out a little yelp. She turned to look back, as she had finally remembered why that youth looked so familiar. He had been with Highsage Wudi when he had created a hugemotion at the top of Mt. Microcosms. Later on, Lu Yin had be the champion of ZENITH. No wonder she had thought that he looked familiar.

    Upon realizing Lu Yin''s identity, the woman could not stop herself from regretting that she had missed the opportunity to meet such an important person. He was the person who controlled the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance. He was supported by Leon¡¯s Armada, Eversky Ind, the Chief Justice, and even Arch-Elder Zen! Lu Yin stood at the peak of the universe, and everything troubling her could be easily dealt with if she was able to cooperate with such a person.

    The more the woman thought, the more she regretted her missed opportunity.

    There were certain opportunities that disappeared forever after being missed the first time. Although the woman wanted to chase after Lu Yin, she had no idea where he and his party were headed to, which left her with no choice but to return to Mt. Microcosms.

    Atop theiu that was leaving the Honor Zone, Lu Yin introduced Luo Shen to the idea of hidden worlds. He would asionally point to some inconspicuous items and tell her that they were hidden worlds, which amazed Luo Shen.

    It had reached the point where Ah Da had to stop listening; those things weren¡¯t actually hidden worlds!

    It did not actually matter if Lu Yin was correct or not, as no one would expose him. He sometimes felt the need to try to show off when in the presence of a beautiful woman, and on top of that, he genuinely felt like he owed Luo Shen a debt. Naturally, he wanted to make up for it as best as possible, and he just wanted her to be happy.

    "Brother Lu, Shang Qing was quite upset to return when we did," Luo Shen suddenly mentioned as she looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "There''s nothing that I can do about that. I told him that Bai Xue¡¯s staying in Seed Garden and that it¡¯s impossible to get her out of there. He just needs to move on and forget about her. He won¡¯t be able to ever see her again."

    "It would be wonderful if it were that easy to forget," Luo Shen muttered to herself as she stared off into the distance with a conflicted expression on her face.

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed.

 Chapter 1566: Overturned

    Chapter 1566: Overturned

    It was at this time that Lu Yin received a notification on his gadget. His eyes narrowed after he looked at it; a good show was about to begin.

    Lu Yin had just received word from Overseer Cong Ying that Shamrock Enterprise''s Yu Mu had been the one to instigate him into working against Continental Shipping. Thus, Lu Yin had requested that the Great Eastern Alliance, San Liang, and Bu Laoweng gather as much information about Shamrock Enterprise as possible.

    Lu Yin was not someone who did not fight back.

    As expected, useful information had just been delivered to Lu Yin¡ªShamrock Enterprise was about to take control of a hidden world on Mt. Microcosms.

    Shamrock Enterprise was not actually a Neoverse power, but rather one from the Innerverse. It also was not a regr political power as it was actually a massive corporation.

    While everyone believed that Shamrock Enterprise was still headquartered in the Innerverse, the truth was that they had already bought a hidden world in the Honor Zone and relocated their headquarters there. Their goal this entire time had been to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms.

    Mt. Microcosms was the safest point in the entire Fifth Maind. Shamrock Enterprisecked the strength to stand on its own in the Neoverse like Aurora Enterprises or the Cosmic Sect. Thepany¡¯s only option was to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms in order to gain a measure of safety.

    This in and of itself was not a big deal. The Hall of Honor actually only used around one percent of the Honor Zone, and that was enough to shelter nearly a hundred hidden worlds. Given the size and influence of Shamrock Enterprise, it was perfectly reasonable for them to have this level of protection for themselves.

    The entire transaction was almostpleted, at least ording to the information that Lu Yin had received from Bu Laoweng. The nine overseers were nearly unanimous in their support for Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world to move to Mt. Microcosms, and Shamrock Enterprise had already paid a steep price.

    How interesting, Lu Yin thought to himself. He immediately asked Bu Laoweng to alter his position on the matter. Shamrock Enterprise had already reached out to Bu Laoweng, and he had agreed to allow them to gain ess to Mt. Microcosms.

    If Bu Laoweng changed his position, then it meant that at least four of the overseers would be refusing to allow Shamrock Enterprise to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms.

    Two of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers were from the Innerverse, two were from the Cosmic Sea, and the other five were all from the Neoverse. Of the various overseers, Bu Laoweng was under Ming Yan¡¯splete control, which meant that he waspletely obedient to Lu Yin. The two overseers from the Innerverse were clearly Lu Yin¡¯s enemies, though it was unknown if their stance was due to the Great Eastern Alliance or Continental Shipping. Regardless, they were most likely opposed to Lu Yin. In that case, only the two overseers from the Cosmic Sea and three of the five from the Neoverse could be approached.

    Nan Yuan represented the Seven Courts, and Lu Yin was unable to approach the man due to a previous conflict between them. Of the remaining two Neoverse overseers, one was known as San Shang while the other was Si Hong. Si Hong was the overseer whom San Liang was trying to rece, and his efforts had nearly seeded. Thus, San Shang was the only one of the overseers that Lu Yin had never interacted or had any sort of conflict with.

    Also, Lu Yin knew that several of the overseers had been helped by Yuan Shi in the past, and Lu Yin knew that things would be much easier if he knew who those particr overseers were. After all, everyone knew that Yuan Shi had given Lu Yin a great deal of support.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to call Yuan Shi, but he was not able to get in touch with the old man.

    Without any other option avable, Lu Yin could only contact Overseer Xin.

    "Alliance Lu, it''s truly a relief to see that you have returned safely." Overseer Xin had always been friendly towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Many thanks for Overseer Xin¡¯s care. It appears that Overseer Xin is also doing well."

    Overseer Xin showed a small smile. "Is there any matter for Alliance Leader Lu to be looking for me? Though that doesn''t really matter."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed, and he grew serious. "I heard that Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world will soon be moving to Mt. Microcosms. I am hoping that Overseer Xin will refuse their request."

    Xin Jiao''s eyes flickered. "Has Shamrock Enterprise offended Alliance Leader Lu?"

    With things at this point, Lu Yin saw no reason to hide anything. ¡°That¡¯s right."

    Xin Jiao started thinking. "Alliance Leader Lu halted his efforts in the ze Realm right after conquering the territory. Might you be willing to share your reasons with Xin Jiao?"

    Lu Yin then remembered that, after he had conquered the ze Realm, Xin Jiao had actually directly called Lu Yin to ask him to stop his war efforts, iming that there was no reason to create more enemies without just cause. Back then, Lu Yin had already lost his desire to continue his campaign against the Innerverse, so he had happily agreed to the overseer¡¯s request.

    "Naturally, with Overseer Xin making a special effort to contact me, I wanted to show my respect," Lu Yin replied.

    Xin Jiao smiled. "Since that''s the case, then I will naturally show my respect for Alliance Leader Lu at this time. I will oppose their request."

    "Thank you, Overseer Xin," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    "However, only if more than half of the nine overseers refuse their request will they be stopped. Does Alliance Leader Lu have any others on the council you are in touch with?"

    "I must ask Overseer Xin for her advice," Lu Yin said.

    "Both Mr. You1 and I are from the Cosmic Sea, but we have no special rtionship. Since this matter has no bearing on the Cosmic Sea, he has no reason to follow my lead on this. If Alliance Leader Lu wishes to gain Mr. You¡¯s support, then you could go through Yuan Shi."

    Mr. You was another one of the nine overseers.

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised by this news. "Is Mr. You someone who received Yuan Shi¡¯s support?"

    Xin Jiao nodded. "And the support that he received was not minor either. Also, both old San Shang and Cong Ying have received Yuan Shi¡¯s assistance in the past."

    Lu Yin had been aware that Yuan Shi wielded great influence within the Hall of Honor, but unfortunately, the old man never personally interfered in any of the Hall of Honor¡¯s matters. If he did, Lu Yin would have never been targeted by Bu Laoweng. "I understand. Thank you, Overseer Xin."

    Lu Yin had no desire to reach out to Cong Ying. The old man was stubborn, and he also already saw himself as Lu Yin¡¯s enemy. It seemed unlikely that their rtionship could be repaired with just Yuan Shi¡¯s influence, as Cong Ying would not have set himself up as an enemy of Continental Shipping if their issue could be resolved so easily. After all, Cong Yin was well aware that Lu Yin was behind Continent Shipping. In that case, Lu Yin could only approach Mr. You or San Shang.

    Mr. You was a quiet, middle-aged man, and he was very polite in his dealings with Lu Yin. Lu Yin hoped that the overseer would also refuse to allow Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s request to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms.

    "Leon''s Armada has a good rtionship with my Longevity Brigade. If I can help, then I will naturally do so," Mr. You said with a smile.

    It was only at that moment that Lu Yin realized that Mr. You was from the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Longevity Brigade.

    The Longevity Brigade was the oldest of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, and it was also the most mysterious. They had a good rtionship with Leon¡¯s Armada, and it was clear that the benefits that Shamrock Enterprise had offered Mr. You were not as valuable as Lu Yin¡¯s favor. Mr. You was well informed about Lu Yin, and he also knew about Leon¡¯s Armada and the implications of them supporting Lu Yin.

    Old man San Shang also readily agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s request. No one actually remembered the overseer¡¯s original name, and he was simply called old man San Shang because it was the third time that he had be an overseer.

    He was also the oldest of the nine overseers.

    Lu Yin did not know what to say when he saw an old, seemingly dying, man on the disy of his gadget. Did such an ancient person really need to be an overseer? He was simply waiting to die!

    Worried that the old man would forget what their conversation was even about, Lu Yin made sure to remind the old man once again. "Overseer San Shang, please refuse. Refuse!"

    "Cough, cough, cough, I know. Don''t worry, Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll refuse." The old man coughed out his response.

    Lu Yin ended the call, truly amazed that such an old man was capable of fulfilling his duties as an overseer.

    Bu Laoweng, Xin Jiao, Mr. You, old man San Shang, and Overseer Si Hong, who was being manipted by Wei Rong, made for five overseers. This was enough.

    All Lu Yin needed to do now was wait for the entertainment to begin.

    Ah Da was still sitting in front of Lu Yin on theiu, and he was absolutely shocked at how Lu Yin was wielding his own, personal influence to alter the nine overseers¡¯ decisions.

    The nine overseers were supposed to be the Hall of Honor¡¯s primary decision-making body. Even if the Interster Supreme Court enjoyed an authority that far surpassed the overseers, their overall influence certainly exceeded the Supreme Court, as the Supreme Court did not have the authority to interfere in the affairs that fell under the overseers¡¯ jurisdiction.

    Ah Da felt like he was essentially watching Lu Yin transform his hands into clouds in order to make it rain. It was only then that Ah Da remembered that Lu Yin also had the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, which meant that Lu Yin had almost unparalleled power within the Hall of Honor!

    Even though Liu Ye and Fei Hua had no real understanding of the power structure in the Fifth Maind, the power that Lu Yin held was readily seen.

    In addition to the hidden worlds, Lu Yin also pointed out some of the more visible powers that existed in the Honor Zone. Their small group also saw Nevend, the country established upon the back of a bird with the same name. There were only a few such odd powers or kingdoms in existence, but there were moremon in the Honor Realm.

    Lu Yin had received all of his knowledge about the Honor Zone from Mu En, and at this time, he was able to share a bit of what he had learned with Luo Shen, and even Liu Ye and Fei Hua were amazed by some of the oddities that they witnessed while traveling.

    For example, they saw a kingdom that had been built within a stone. This stone was actually transparent, and the wind constantly rolled it about. No matter where a person was from, this would be an odd sight.

    After they left the Honor Zone, their next destination was ck Street.

    It was at this moment that Liu Ye and Fei Hua saw a spacecraft for the first time.

    The Perennial World did actually have spacecrafts, but they could only be found in ces like White Mountain, Dragon Mountain, and some of the ces in the Celestial Frost Sect where civilizations were specially cultivated. Some of those civilizations had developed their technology to the level of spacecraft, but the couple had nevere into contact with such civilizations. In other words, the Perennial World¡¯s spacecraft were too slow for people to actually use.

    Lu Yin also felt that the ship was too slow. He had a ck-hole grade copsible Aurora, but it was too small for the entire group, so Lu Yin had no choice but to ask Ah Da to guide them. Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both Envoys, and they flew in front as the group made their way towards ck Street.

    Highsage Shenwei had led Lu Yin along when Lu Yin had first visited the Neoverse, and the speed of an expert with a power level of over 900,000 was not something that Liu Ye and Fei Hua couldpare to. Thus, when the couple carried Lu Yin and the three into the void, Lu Yin found the trip to be rather dull, so he sent Luo Shen into Zenith Mountain.

    If he hadn¡¯t been in such a hurry to see Ming Yan, Lu Yin would have preferred to take his own spaceship.

    If a person didn¡¯t visit ck Street, they would never know that the Neoverse was home to such a filthy ce.

    ck Street was also known as the Forgotten Land, as it was located at the ce where all of the waste from the entire Neoverse was dumped after passing through various stages of processing and recycling. The Forgotten Land was the nastiest corner of the Neoverse, and it was where all useless things would eventually find themselves.

    The trash found in this ce was not merely waste and refuse, but also human trash. Anyone who was unable to make their way in the Neoverse would end up either leaving or find themselves at ck Street.

    This ce was also home to every sort of underworld business imaginable.

    It seemed impossible for this ce to have once been one of the five centers that the Neohuman Alliance had expended every avable effort to find.

    The vessel slowly traveled through space, moving past the garbage-filled territory.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua''s faces grew increasingly worse. They had never seen such a disgusting ce before.

    In particr, Fei Hua was almost struck by some trash when she was flying through the void.

    "Is this ck Street?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ah Da replied, "This is the Forgotten Land. In the deepest section of this ce, there¡¯s a region dedicated to cleaning up all of this cosmic waste. There are many people there who try to survive off of this waste, and that is ck Street."

    Lu Yin did not bring Luo Shen back out. He was about to see Ming Yan, and doing so with Luo Shen would simply be awkward.

    "The garbage that you see here has already been filtered and processed several times, so everything that can be recycled has already been cleared away. Thus, all of this is either useless or too difficult to process," Ah Da continued his exnation.

    Lu Yin stared out into the trash-filled space. It stretched out far beyond what he could see, and it even covered the stars. The waste in this ce really was useless and without any value at all.

    [1] This is not the same "You" as we have seen before (ÓÄ). This (ÓÒ) actually trantes to Mr. Right (the direction).

 Chapter 1567: Black Street

    Chapter 1567: ck Street

    "Since everything here¡¯spletely useless, how does anyone make a living?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ah Da replied, "Ny nine percent of the trash here is useless, which means that those living here survive by hoping to stumble upon that one percent. It¡¯s not easy to survive in the Neoverse, and worms and bugs have appeared here in ck Street. As long as one has the ability, they can actually thrive here.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. This was actually where Ming Yan was staying, which Lu Yin was notfortable with. The hidden master of the Azure Mansion was also the master of ck Street. In other words, if Ming Yan had not been as capable as she was, she would have been tossed aside like the rest of the miserable wretches that lived in this trash heap.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. If not for how useful Bu Laoweng was alive, he really would have smacked him to death.

    Strange creatures asionally wriggled through the garbage piles drifting through space, and there were also all kinds of odd astral beasts that would eat something.

    There was a strange ecosystem in this ce. Even though humans could not survive off of the waste in this ce, creatures would adapt to every kind of habitat imaginable.

    There was a bang as a spacecraft exploded off in the distance, instantly killing everyone in it.

    Lu Yin and the others watched as a dark shadow left, but they did not move to stop it.

    That attack had been an assassination, a perfect one.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to see such a thing ur, and Ah Da was also used to such sights. The vessel that had been attacked had also been heading towards ck Street, which meant that it definitely did not have a simple purpose.

    Since they were traveling to what was known as the dirtiest ce in the Neoverse, such urrences did not surprise Lu Yin at all.

    The holes in the garbage drifting through space formed passageways that led to ck Street, and they formed a natural maze.

    A long timeter, the spaceship finally arrived at ck Street.

    What was known as ck Street was actually a massive maind that joined up to a pile of garbage on the horizon. It was covered with humans who looked like ants, and these people survived off of the waste in this ce.

    Surprisingly, ck Street was a very prosperous ce, and it was not as gloomy and dark as Lu Yin had expected. The maind itself was wide enough to fit more than tens lined up side-by-side.

    There were no procedures required to enter ck Street, as anyone coulde.

    Lu Yin and his little group docked their ship, and they were almost instantly surrounded by people who wanted to introduce them to various businesses.

    "Sir, do you need anyone assassinated? This little one will take you where you need to go. Their assassination rate is 100%! Guaranteed to be perfect and fairly priced as well."

    "Sir, this little one has an offer thates with a beautiful assassin who will keep youpany throughout the entire process. High quality and low price."

    "Sir,e and see this young sister here. We have every type of service you could want. Everything is freely avable, even watching authentic matches with guaranteed bloodshed."

    "Sir¡­"

    ¡­

    "Get lost!" a deafening shout echoed out from nearby.

    Lu Yin looked over to see a group of people quickly approaching them. As they did so, they drove away the crowd of peddlers, and the man in front bowed to Lu Yin in a very respectful manner. ¡°Sir, Boss sent this underling out to pick you up."

    Lu Yin had called Ming Yan before arriving, and these were the people that she had sent out to pick him up.

    If not for the rubbish that was ubiquitous in the entire region, ck Street would have just been another ordinaryndmass. From the outside, none of the dark and shady dealings could be seen.

    However, after unleashing his domain, Lu Yin became incredibly ufortable. He was flooded by all kinds of wailing and crying while he saw all kinds of heartbreaking scenes. The overwhelming misery shocked him, and he could not understand how Ming Yan could tolerate staying in such a pce.

    There was a scream as a woman was grabbed by her cor and dragged off somewhere.

    This was not an umon event.

    Blood filled the dark corners of ck Street that were only asionally cleaned, and some areas had even been infested by bugs since no one ever cleaned them.

    This was not a ce that ordinary people would ever visit.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had put Luo Shen in Zenith Mountain. He let out an emotional sigh.

    He was no saint, and he was also incapable of saving the people in this ce. Even if he could clean up ck Street, there were simply too many ces in the universe like ck Street.

    As they continued walking along, the surroundings continuously improved. There were some people hidden in the shadows who stared at Lu Yin and the others with envy and desire.

    Once Lu Yin arrived at Ming Yan''s residence, he turned back to observe the path they had taken through ck Street. The two ces were essentially two different worlds.

    Ming Yan lived in a ce with clear running water and green mountains. No garbage could be seen in the sky overhead, nor were there any dark and dirty hidden corners. White clouds drifted above them, and a floral fragrance filled the air. It was like a fairy wondend that had descended down onto earth.

    So there were opposing extremes even in this ce.

    Everyone in ck Street saw Bu Laoweng as their master, and his control of ck Street alone had given him a special status among the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers.

    ck Street processed an untold amount of waste from the entire Neoverse, and it was also one of the guardian nodes. This was what made the ce that Bu Laoweng had built up so unique and what had allowed for the rise of the bizarre location that was ck Street.

    However, ck Street was actually under the control of a beautiful girl at the moment, and she was snuggling in Lu Yin''s arms.

    As he held Ming Yan, Lu Yin feltplete.

    He had never spent much time with Ming Yan, except for the one time after they had first been separated for a long time, and the separation had created a strange misunderstanding between them.

    "Brother Lu, Yan''er missed you so much!" Ming Yan whispered, her eyes flushed with happiness.

    Lu Yin lifted her head. "Tell me about what you¡¯ve been doing. Don¡¯t leave anything out."

    Ming Yan blushed and then sighed.

    ¡­

    Half a dayter, Ming Yu formally asked to meet with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin kept his arms wrapped around Ming Yan, preventing her from leaving, and at the same time, he looked at Ming Yu. "I saw you in the Mountain and Seas Zone."

    Ming Yu was very nervous about speaking with Lu Yin. He was different from Ming Yan, and he exerted an immense pressure on Ming Yu that made it hard for her to breathe. ¡°This little one used Sir Lu Yin¡¯s name as protection. I ask for sir¡¯s judgment now."

    Lu Yin replied, "I appreciate smart people, and you even saved Yan''er. Thus, we can forget about the whole thing."

    "Thank you, sir." Ming Yu heaved a sigh of relief as her expression visibly showed relief.

    "Where''s Bu Laoweng?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ming Yan replied, "I had him locked up. I¡¯m controlling him with Vitality Poison, so he doesn¡¯t dare to go against me."

    Lu Yin stared deep into Ming Yan''s eyes. They were clear, limpid, and still as pure as the first time Lu Yin had seen them. Despite all that Ming Yan had gone through, the white-haired Ming Yan had taken on the entire burden of the girl¡¯s negative emotions. "Don''t mention Vitality Poison again. Avoid using that specific name in the future."

    Ming Yan nodded, happy to please Lu Yin.

    Ming Yu was startled by the behavior, as Ming Yan was currently behavingpletely different from the woman whom Ming Yu was familiar with. While the ck-haired Ming Yan initially seemed like a soft person, she was used to wielding the authority of an empress, and her aura dominated others. But her overbearing aura was currently being suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s presence, and Ming Yan seemed like nothing more than a well-behaved child.

    This was the charisma of this particr man. He had subdued the Outerverse, conquered the ze Realm, and controlled forces that Ming Yu could only guess at. Only a man like this could be worthy of Ming Yan.

    The two of them together were essentially the deciding voice of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    "This ce is not suitable for you to live in." Lu Yin repeated his warnings regarding the Neohuman Alliance. He was hoping for Ming Yan to return to the Great Yu Empire and stay on Zenyu Star, which would give him great peace of mind. That, or she could go to Earth.

    Ming Yan immediately changed the subject. "Brother Lu, Ming Yu has a gift for you."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he turned to Ming Yu. "A gift?"

    Ming Yu spoke in a very respectful tone. "Since Your Highness has returned safely, your subordinates should prepare some gifts."

    She pped her hands.

    Soon, a little boy was brought to them. He knelt on the ground, clearly so nervous that he would not even look up.

    Lu Yin waspletely confused.

    Ming Yu exined, "He is old man San Shang¡¯s great-grandson."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "Overseer San Shang? That old man?"

    The little boy looked up as soon as he heard ¡°San Shang.¡± His face turned pale, and he started trembling.

    "Sir, old man San Shang is being targeted right now. First, his eldest son married a woman, but he died soon after. That woman then went after old man San Shang by capturing all of his descendants and their families in order to gain control of old man San Shang. This child was the only one who escaped, but his luck was bad, and he eventually ended up being captured by pirates and sold to ck Street.¡±

    Lu Yin let go of Ming Yan and stood up to approach the child, where he crouched down. ¡°What''s your name?¡±

    The child was scared, and he looked at Ming Yu before licking his dry lips. "Bo."

    "Your name¡¯s Bo?" Lu Yin asked.

    The little boy nodded and looked up. He saw Lu Yin''s gentle eyes, which helped him summon his courage. "Sir, can you help me?"

    Lu Yin smiled and ruffled the little boy''s hair. "Take him away for now."

    The little boy was led away.

    "Who''s supporting that woman?" Lu Yin asked. Not even an idiot would believe that there was no one behind a woman who was able to attack one of the Human Domain¡¯s nine overseers.

    Not a single one of the nine overseers was a simple person. Even if they decided not to pay for protection, countless desperate powerhouses would line up to take up the task. For example, Bu Laoweng had easily maintained his control over ck Street. Even though there was no powerhouse above the Envoy realm following Bu Laoweng, that was mostly because the number of such powerhouses in the Fifth Maind were simply too few. If an overseer wanted to raise an army, untold Enlighters would flock to follow them.

    Old man San Shang had made no ys to gain power or influence, but the power that he wielded could not be ignored. How could such a man be easily subdued by a woman and then have all of his family and descendants imprisoned? There had to be truly unusually strong power to be supporting the woman.

    Ming Yu politely answered, "We have been looking into this ever since Bo was discovered, but we have linked no forces to her."

    Lu Yin sat down, and Ming Yan casually moved behind him and began to massage his shoulders.

    "Then just leave her alone and keep an eye on her," Lu Yin casually ordered. He always made ns before making a move. He would not rashly be enemies with whoever was supporting this woman before he learned who they were. Besides, they had Bo in their control, so Lu Yin could make a move at any moment.

    "Yes sir," Ming Yu replied demurely.

    Lu Yin had no intention of making trouble for this woman, and yet she had still sought out Lu Yin on her own. Though it was old man San Shang who had called Lu Yin, Lu Yin knew that the woman was the one making the overseer¡¯s decisions.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m truly sorry, but I may not be able to follow through on what I promised you," old man San Shang apologized in a hoarse voice.

    The ancient man looked pale on the disy, and he really did look as though he could die at any moment.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, are you saying that you will now agree to Shamrock Enterprise''s request to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms?"

    Old man San Shang nodded. "I''m old, and I tend to forget many things. This old man has alreadye to an agreement with Shamrock Enterprise, and I cannot go back on my word. You must understand."

    Lu Yin looked away. "This junior does understand."

    "Then goodbye, Alliance Leader Lu," old man San Shang said before ending the call.

    Lu Yin rubbed his gadget as his eyes flitted about.

    Ming Yan prepared some tea for Lu Yin and quietly asked, "Has he changed his mind?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It looks like he was forced to go back on what he told me. That woman probably forced him to do this. Things aren¡¯t adding up, so it¡¯s possible that she only just learned of our agreement, and if that is indeed the case, then she should be calling me herself soon.

    "Let''s go. I¡¯d like you to show me around ck Street. Though skip the front section¡ªthat ce is too filthy."

 Chapter 1568: Offending People

    Chapter 1568: Offending People

    Ming Yan nodded. "I don¡¯t go there either."

    A bit of concern then entered her voice, "Brother Lu, you won''t hate Yan''er because of this, right?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Why would you say that?"

    Ming Yan anxiously continued, saying, "This ce is just so dirty, and Yan''er actually wants to clean it up. However, the filth is a defining feature of ck Street. Even though Bu Laoweng is ck Street¡¯s master, there are many important people who are connected to this ce, and many of those connections areplicated. Any small move could easily result in massive bacshes, so Yan''er can''t easily change things."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Are a lot of important people from the Neoverse connected to this ce?"

    Ming Yan frowned. Disgust filled her voice as she answered, "Humanity exposes its true nature in the dark. That¡¯s where humans¡¯ most primitive nature is found. There are some people who shine in the light, but once they enter the darkness, they¡¯re worse than beasts."

    Lu Yin understood. "Yan''er, help me gather information on all of those people. It would really help Big Brother Lu."

    Ming Yan readily agreed.

    For some reason, the white-haired Ming Yan never showed herself during this visit, which let Lu Yin be more affectionate with Ming Yan. They stayed close to each other for a long time, and he engraved the softness on his skin and the heartbeat against his own into his soul, and it washed all of his exhaustion away.

    The next day, old man San Shang called Lu Yin once again. However, the overseer did not appear on Lu Yin¡¯s disy after the call connected; rather, it was a certain woman. It was actually the same arrogant woman that had run into Lu Yin when they had been leaving the Honor Zone on aiu.

    "It''s you?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    The woman smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, I will never forget seeing you at Mt. Microcosms. I¡¯m Qing Tan, and I offer you my respects."

    As she spoke, the woman slowly bowed, causing the ck silk clothing to fall. She had a provocative demeanor.

    She was naturally a beautiful woman, but at this moment, she had restrained her arrogance. This made her appear like an entirely different person, though her movements and expressions were also very natural. Her snow-white skin was crystal clear, and she was wearing a slightly see-through mesh veil, which allowed Lu Yin to see her conspicuous red lips. Everything about the woman seemed both unusual and alluring.

    Lu Yin had seen many women before, and while many women attempted to be seductive, few could aplish it to the degree where even Lu Yin¡¯s mouth would go dry. This woman was almost on the same level as Madam Nn.

    "You¡¯re calling me with old man San Shang¡¯s contact info. Do you have some connection to old man San Shang?" Lu Yin asked, acting both ignorant and curious.

    Qing Tan showed a slight smile. "My deceased husband was old man San Shang¡¯s son. My father-inw is currently in poor health, so this little girl handles many of his affairs."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, what matter do you have to call me?"

    "My father-inw mentioned that Alliance Leader Lu does not wish for Shamrock Enterprise to be allowed into Mt. Microcosms. This little girl can help." Qing Tan smiled.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Your conditions?"

    Qing Tan shook her head. "This little girl has long since admired Alliance Leader Lu. As long as Alliance Leader Lu speaks his request, this little girl will not refuse."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you so much, Miss Qing Tan."

    Qing Tan bowed once more. "It''s Qing Tan who would like to thank Alliance Leader Lu for giving her such an opportunity. Without it, I would have never had the opportunity to speak with Alliance Leader Lu. If time permits, Qing Tan would like to visit Alliance Leader Lu in person.¡±

    As she spoke, she licked her lips and acted even more coquettishly.

    "A time will certainlye." Lu Yin smiled.

    Lu Yin quickly ended the call. Just what was this woman¡¯s motives? Why was she trying to show Lu Yin kindness? Had she moved of her own ord, or was it on behalf of the powers behind her that allowed her to control an overseer?

    As he thought about this strange scenario, Lu Yin sent Wei Rong a message, asking him to look into who was behind Qing Tan.

    However, since Qing Tan was offering her assistance, Lu Yin did not need to deal with her for now. As long as he was able to achieve his goal, he did not really care who was controlling old man San Shang.

    On Mt. Microcosms, the nine overseers started a council session. They only asionally held these sessions, as they usually met virtually unless there was a major matter that required their physical presence.

    More than an hour into the meeting, Overseer Nan Yuan said, "The next issue is Shamrock Enterprise. They have officially submitted an application stating their hopes of being allowed to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms. Please consider the matter and vote."

    ***

    On Mt. Microcosms, Yan1 was smiling as he chatted with a friend. He did not even consider the possibility of something going wrong with their application to move Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world and headquarters to Mt. Microcosms. In fact, given thepany¡¯s power and influence, their headquarters could have moved to the mountain long ago. However, Leaf King did not want to be stuck in a hidden world, as he instead dreamed of ruling over his own territory in the Neoverse, just like the Cosmic Sect or Aurora Enterprises. However, that dream was still too distant for them.

    Even the mysterious Leaf King was not able to aplish such a thing quite yet, so he could only wait longer.

    "Brother Yan, you and I will only have more opportunities to meet with each other from now on.¡± The man apanying Yan was an expert who guarded Mt. Microcosms, just like San Liang.

    Yan smiled. "That''s only natural. When that happens, I¡¯ll have to trouble Brother Li to show me around Mt. Microcosms a bit more. We¡¯ll definitely visit all of the hundreds of hidden worlds on Mt. Microcosms one by one."

    "Given Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s power, there¡¯s no need for us to visit all of them¡ªwe¡¯ll just go and visit a few of the more important hidden worlds. The most important thing to do right now is to maintain a good rtionship with the overseers."

    "Of course. Brother Li, this is thetest pharmaceutical that ourpany has developed. Brother Li should be able to use it with your training, as it matches your battle technique very well."

    "Thank you, Brother Yan."

    Yan¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification at this time, and his expression changed drastically when he saw the message. His previously happy mood turned to suffering before falling to despair.

    "Brother Yan, what''s wrong?" Brother Li asked.

    Yan''s face twisted. "We failed."

    Brother Li was shocked. "How is that even possible? With Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s abilities, you absolutely qualify to enter Mt. Microcosms, and that¡¯s not even taking into ount how Brother Yan already has everything in hand.

    Yan quietly said, "Overseer Xin Jiao, Mr. You, old man San Shang, Si Hong, and Bu Laoweng all voted against our move."

    Brother Li frowned. "Howe? I''ll help you look into this."

    Yan nodded. "Thank you, Brother Li."

    He had built up a good rtionship with Mt. Microcosms¡¯ guards. That was because the guards were the ones who were best informed about the ins and outs of Mt. Microcosms, and all of them had connections to powerful forces.

    Soon, Brother Li looked back at Xiang Yan and solemnly stated, "Shamrock Enterprise has offended someone, so half of the overseers voted against your request."

    "Who?" Yan asked eagerly. He desperately wanted to discover just who had enough influence to overwhelm Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s efforts, as this indicated that they had a direct rtionship with the nine overseers.

    "Lu Yin," Brother Li quietly stated.

    Yan was first confused, but then startled. "The Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance? That Lu Yin?"

    Brother Li nodded.

    "Isn''t he missing?"

    "He¡¯s already returned. I was told by San Liang, who has a very good rtionship with Overseer Si Hong. It was because of Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with Overseer Xin Jiao that you were rejected. Without such a rtionship, it¡¯s impossible for the nine overseers to have refused you."

    Yan frowned. "What about Bu Laoweng? Did he also vote against us because of Lu Yin?"

    Brother Li¡¯s smile grew bitter. "Ever since Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Wudi kicked up such a fuss on Mt. Microcosms, Bu Laoweng has be an overseer in nothing but name, as he lost his privilege as an overseer.¡±

    Yan''s hands were trembling. It should not have been a big deal for Shamrock Enterprise to enter Mt. Microcosms, and this was not even Leaf King¡¯s true desire. However, their only way forward was to first enter Mt. Microcosms and then continue working towards greater goals. Their failure to enter Mt. Microcosms waspletely unexpected.

    After hearing that Lu Yin had been the one to cause them such trouble, Yan was instantly thought of a motive: it had to have something to do with Yu Mu, as he was the only person from Shamrock Enterprise who had ever offended Lu Yin. In particr, before Lu Yin disappeared, Yu Mu had submitted a report regarding traces of the giant¡¯s technology resurfacing. Yu Mu must have done something behind the scenes, as there was no other reason for Lu Yin to have created such trouble for Shamrock Enterprise this soon after returning.

    "Brother Li, thank you very much. I will speak with Lu Yin," Yan solemnly expressed his gratitude.

    Brother Li sighed. "Brother Yan, you and I are friends, so let me give you a bit of advice: don''t be enemies with Lu Yin. He has built up an incredible status in Mt. Microcosms, not only with the overseers, but also with the Interster Supreme Court, and even Arch-Elder Zen."

    Yan blinked. "Thank you."

    On a certain in the Outerverse, Yu Mu was quietly listening to Xiao Qin giving a report. Xiao Qin was the secretary of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s assets in the eastern regions of the Outerverse.

    "Mr. Yu, with the Sixth Maind upying the western part of the Outerverse, my Shamrock Enterprise has to shift its activities to the eastern region, and our assets there have improved rapidly. President Shen¡­"

    Yu Mu did not know why, but he felt increasingly uneasy as he quietly listened to Xiao Qin''s report, and his eye even started twitching. Unfortunately, he could not figure out what was making him so nervous.

    "As for the resources that we¡¯re supplying the Great Eastern Alliance with, I must ask Mr. Yu to give his instructions on this as well," Xiao Qin said.

    Yu Mu instantly replied, "Continue to cut it down. Sell them medicines with reduced efficacy, and tell Shen Fu to continue spreading word throughout the Great Eastern Alliance that Lu Yin is dead and that he will never return."

    Xiao Qin nodded.

    At this moment, Yu Mu''s gadget rang out with a call. He nced down and saw that Yan was calling.

    Yan was the secretary for Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president, which meant that Yan held extensive influence in the corporation. It was to the extent that even Yu Mu, the Outerverse chairman, could not ignore Yan.

    "Secretary Yan, for what reason are you calling me?" Yu Mu asked politely.

    "Yu Mu, what did you do to Lu Yin? I need to know everything." Yan suppressed his anger as he quietly asked.

    Yu Mu''s eye started to twitch worse and worse. "Lu Yin?"

    "He''s back, and he¡¯s targeting us," Yan stated.

    Yu Mu finally understood why he had been so ill at ease.

    The call soon ended, and Yu Mu¡¯s face had gonepletely pale. Lu Yin had actually returned? How was that possible!? He should have disappeared forever, but he had actuallye back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s return caused Yu Mu to start to panic, especially since Shamrock Enterprise had suffered such a heavy blow almost as soon as the youth reappeared.

    Half of the nine overseers had refused to allow Shamrock Enterprise to enter Mt. Microcosms. This was not actually a terrible problem for Shamrock Enterprise; they had already been in the Honor Zone for many years and done quite well. The troubling part of this incident was that it gave the rest of the Human Domain the impression that the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers would not work with Shamrock Enterprise, and that would badly damage thepany¡¯s image.

    Yu Mu felt confident that as soon as word of this incident spread, Shamrock Enterprise would see their reputation and status plummet for a while.

    Just how had Lu Yin built up this kind of influence so soon after his return?

    Back on Mt. Microcosms, Yan''s eyes danced about. Yu Mu had actually reached out to Overseer Cong Ying behind thepany¡¯s back and revealed that Lu Yin had possible connections to the ancient giants¡¯ technology. No wonder Overseer Cong Ying had been actively targeting Continental Shipping. Everyone had assumed it was because of Cong Ying¡¯s rtionship with Bu Laoweng, but it turned out to actually be because of Yu Mu.

    Yu Mu¡¯s methods had not been bad. He had not directly intervened, and had actually done nothing more than share a bit of news. It would have been easy to learn that Cong Ying¡¯s predecessors had strongly advocated for the destruction and annihtion of all giant technology.

    After considering the matter for a long time, Yan decided to reach out to Lu Yin to evaluate the youth¡¯s attitude.

    [1] Just a reminder, Yan first appeared in chapter 960, which was quite a long while ago.

 Chapter 1569: Sincerity

    Chapter 1569: Sincerity

    Yan had no means of directly getting in touch with Lu Yin, so his only course of action was to reach out to Brother Li, and through the guard¡¯s rtionship with Overseer Si Hong, reach out to Overseer Xin Jiao. Only after all of that was Yan able to contact Lu Yin.

    The gadget¡¯s disy twitched, and then a youthful face appeared in front of Yan. He greeted the young man in a respectful manner, "Yan, of Shamrock Enterprise, greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin was still on ck Street. While Yan believed that Lu Yin had not expected the call, the truth was that Lu Yin had Yan under constant surveince. In particr, San Liang had been keeping an eye on Yan at Lu Yin¡¯s orders. "Yan? Secretary of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president?"

    "I''m ttered to learn that Alliance Leader Lu has heard of me." Yan smiled while demonstrating a very courteous and respectful attitude.

    Lu Yin indifferentlymented, "I''ve heard about all of the people in Shamrock Enterprise who are worth paying attention to. After all, know yourself and know your enemy to win a hundred battles.¡±

    Yan was taken aback. "Your enemy? Why would Alliance Leader Lu say such a thing?"

    "I don''t like to beat around the bush," Lu Yin casuallymented.

    Yan''s face grew stiff. "Alliance Leader Lu, there has been some misunderstanding between our Shamrock Enterprise and you, and I hope we can resolve it."

    Lu Yin sipped his tea. "There¡¯s no rush. Actually, there¡¯s a question I''ve always wanted to ask."

    Yan smiled. "Please tell me."

    Lu Yin looked at Yan. "To my understanding, Shamrock Enterprise has scouted talented youths from across the entire Human Domain in order to nurture them as ¡®seeds.¡¯ With this information, what¡¯s the difference from your ¡®seeds,¡¯ and the moles that otherrge organizations nt in other powers?"

    Yan''s expression instantly changed. "What exactly do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Exactly what I said. I want to know more: have any of your seeds been sent into the Great Eastern Alliance?" Lu Yin asked in aid back manner. Given his experiences and all that he had seen in the Perennial World, he was not overly concerned with Shamrock Enterprise. He had once seen thepany as a mysterious and unpredictable power that spanned the universe, but at the moment, he saw Shamrock Enterprise as just another organization on the same level as Smokecloud Sect in the Middle Realm. In fact, Shamrock Enterprise fell behind when it came to top-level powerhouses, as Smokecloud Sect had a Semi-Progenitor.

    After climbing to a certain height, everything that one saw would appear to be very small. This was what provided Lu Yin with his confidence when dealing with Shamrock Enterprise.

    A massive corporation? The Leaf King? So what.

    Yan reluctantly smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu has been overthinking things. My Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds are different from moles. Our seeds are forthright. For example, your former ssmate Darkvoid never hid his status as a seed. Another of our seeds was also studying in the Astral Combat Academy with you: Tu Bo was another of our seeds."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s good. If there are any of your seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance, it would be best to let me know sooner rather thanter, as their presence could easily cause misunderstandings."

    Yan remained polite. "It¡¯s fear of just such a misunderstanding that there came a need to speak with Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Tell me," Lu Yin spoke indifferently.

    Yan was not used to needing to act in such a manner. He was the secretary to Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president, as well as a powerful Enlighter in his own right with a power level of more than 400,000. In the absence of an Envoy, Yan could be nearly be considered a top powerhouse, and there were not many Envoys in the entire Human Domain. There were very few people who would dare speak to Yan in the same manner as Lu Yin was doing, and it was starting to upset the secretary.

    However, Yan suppressed his discontent. Lu Yin had a status in the Hall of Honor and on Mt. Microcosms that not even Shamrock Enterprise as a whole couldpare to. This was also the same youth who had trashed Daynight Flowzone. He was a madman, and it was best not to be enemies with such a person.

    "We are aware that Yu Mu has caused Alliance Leader Lu and the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer some losses, and because of this, Shamrock Enterprise has decided to punish Yu Mu internally. He is losing his status as chairman of our Outerverse holdings, and we are also offering the Great Eastern Alliancepensation. We are doubling the resources you were previously promised, and if you would like, Alliance Leader Lu, you can make use of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s resources at will, so long as doing so does not affect our normal operations.¡± This was a very enticing offer.

    In fact, this offer was one that even the leaders of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones would get excited about. Shamrock Enterprise had made arrangements to move their headquarters within a hidden world over to Mt. Microcosms for less expense than they were offering Lu Yin. This was a price that they could only pay with Leaf King¡¯s personal approval.

    Shamrock Enterprise had never before offered up such a steep price as a form of reconciliation, and it demonstrated their sincerity.

    And yet, Lu Yin refused. He was genuinely tempted by the offer to make use of thepany¡¯s resources as he wished, but with the condition that he could not affect their regr operations, it meant that the amount of resources avable would be quite limited. Also, Lu Yin did not believe that Shamrock Enterprise would truly allow him to make use of such resources however he wished. Still, conditions had been offered, so a response was needed. ¡°Do you truly realize just how much trouble Yu Mu has caused for Continental Shipping? An overseer is currently targeting my Great Eastern Alliance, and the damage that¡¯s been caused already is irreparable."

    Yan sighed. "That is true; Yu Mu has caused the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer terrible losses. My Shamrock Enterprise will do our best to make up for this matter, and I ask Alliance Leader Lu to be magnanimous and not be concerned about such a minor person."

    There had once been a time when Yu Mu had condescendingly thrown a cosmic ring to the ground in front of Lu Yin aspensation for a misunderstanding. At that time, the Outerverse chairman had been arrogant, and had even dragged En Ya through the void. This had been a terrible insult to Lu Yin at the time, and yet, already, Yu Mu was just a minor individual.

    "The conditions you¡¯ve offered will remain the same, and if you manage to find a way to have Overseer Cong Ying stop targeting Continental Shipping, all misunderstandings between me and your Shamrock Enterprise will bepletely resolved," Lu Yin stated.

    Yan grew embarrassed. If such a thing were possible, he would have already done it long ago. Overseer Cong Ying was a stubborn man, and not even Shamrock Enterprise could change his mind. Yan had already investigated this matter. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you are also familiar with the overseer¡¯s personality, and if not even you can change his mind, you must understand that it¡¯s even more difficult for us to do so."

    Lu Yinughed. "You¡¯re merely demoting Yu Mu, and you im that Cong Ying is too difficult to deal with. Is this how your Shamrock Enterprise shows its sincerity? With an offer of just some mere resources?"

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I have already offered you the best conditions that my Shamrock Enterprise has ever given anyone! Please consider this matter," Yan solemnly requested.

    Lu Yin just shook his head. "It''s better for you to consider this matter.¡±

    With that, Lu Yin ended the call.

    Ming Yan stepped out from behind him. "Do you really want to be enemies with Shamrock Enterprise?"

    "That all depends on the situation. How much do you think I could gain from the situation if I¡¯m able to swallow all of Shamrock Enterprise?"

    Ming Yan considered the question. "I don''t know. Shamrock Enterprise has businesses that cover the entire Human Domain, and the amount of resources they dump into any one of their seeds is enough for a regr cultivator to be an Explorer. That¡¯s also not considering the fact that most of their seeds require excessive resourcespared to ordinary cultivators. The resources needed for any one of them must be unfathomable.

    "The more urate that is, the more difficult they¡¯ll be to deal with. I¡¯ve also heard that Leaf King is very mysterious."

    Lu Yin nodded. Leaf King was the only person from Shamrock Enterprise who Lu Yin was still wary of. If Leaf King became Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, his only option would be to leave the matter to his senior brother, the Chief Justice.

    "By the way, I want to give you something," Ming Yan said as though just remembering something. She became excited and pulled Lu Yin out of the room.

    "What gift?"

    "Your favorite!" Ming Yan tried to act mysterious.

    Lu Yin blinked; his favorite?

    ck Street was massive, and with Ming Yan controlling Bu Laoweng, it essentially meant that she directly controlled the old man¡¯s wealth that he had umted over many, many years.

    The darker and more violent the ce, the more exaggerated the speed at which wealth could be umted. ck Street was nothing but quick money.

    As he stared at a veritable mountain of star essence that had been stacked up, Lu Yin was absolutely stunned. There had to be more than a billion star essence gathered!

    "What¡¯s this?" Lu Yin was truly surprised.

    Ming Yan smiled proudly. "How is it? Do you like it?"

    Lu Yin subconsciously nodded a response, which made Ming Yan even happier. "This is what Bu Laoweng¡¯s managed to save up over the years. This not onlyes from ck Street, but also from his position as an overseer. Unfortunately, that old man¡¯s ns were rather grand, and so a lot of his wealth was spent on Azure Mansion to improve hisworking resources. Otherwise, the total amount will be much more than this.¡±

    Lu Yin understood her exnation. This was just like the ze Realm. Even though it had controlled a third of zing Mist Flowzone, their treasury had only held a rtively small amount of star essence. This was mostly because the funds were constantly being used. Bu Laoweng had created Azure Mansion and was the person who controlled ck Street, but that also meant that his operating costs were simrly higher. It was not bad at all for him to have been able to save up so much star essence.

    "There¡¯s a total of 1.36 billion," Ming Yan reported, which made Lu Yin kiss her. He was enjoying a sudden windfall of an incredible amount of wealth, and it was even enough money to Enhance many items.

    With this sudden influx, Lu Yin¡¯s liquid assets amounted to a staggering 2.4 billion star essence stored in his cosmic ring.

    "Brother Lu, actually, if you need more money, Yan''er can sell off a bunch of Bu Laoweng¡¯s properties, and Azure Mansion¡¯s costs can be reduced, which would allow for arge amount of money to be gathered very quickly," Ming Yan said.

    Lu Yin hugged Ming Yan and told her, "There¡¯s no need for that for now. Yan''er, thank you!"

    Ming Yan hung her head as she smiled.

    Suddenly, her hair turned white.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, and the long-absent white-haired Ming Yan was showering herself.

    She stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. ¡°Remove your hand."

    Lu Yin coughed and released her. "Um, why are you here?"

    White-haired Ming Yan snorted derisively. "Can I not? This is my ce."

    Lu Yin fell silent and simply gathered up the star essence into his cosmic ring.

    Bu Laoweng had also gathered up a great number of treasures in addition to simple star essence. There were power vessels and many other treasures, but all of the items were rather weak, and given their materials, none of them would serve Lu Yin¡¯s needs even after upgrading them.

    White-haired Ming Yan then led Lu Yin to a different area. "This ce holds some materials that no one knows what they are for. Some were picked up from the trash, while Bu Laoweng collected other bits. However, not even he knew what this stuff can be used for, so you¡¯ll have to just see if there¡¯s anything useful for you here."

    Lu Yin looked over the gathered materials. He actually did not recognize any of them himself. If the Ghost Monkey were present, he might have been able to help Lu Yin.

    Still, it did not matter if Lu Yin recognized the materials or not. He needed to get a new universal armor, and that would need many different materials, and the more precious the materials, but better the quality. After considering what he had needed to go through thest time to get his armor made, Lu Yin decided to Disassemble all of the gathered materials.

    "Resources are never enough," Lu Yin said.

    White-haired Ming Yan merely nced over at him. "Then I''ll return to ck Street to find some more for you."

    Lu Yin was about to refuse, but Ming Yan continued, "We are in the Neoverse¡¯s trash heap, so it¡¯s possible to asionally find some ancient materials."

    "Oh, that would be good," Lu Yin replied before watching as Ming Yan left.

    There were very few people in the entire universe who Lu Yin wasfortable enough with to use his die, but Ming Yan was certainly one of them. However, he did not stop her from leaving. He really did need more materials, and ancient materials would be much better.

    asionally ancient items would appear that could not be processed or recycled given contemporary abilities, but Lu Yin could still do so.

    He raised a hand and brought out his die. He tapped it, and it slowly spun before stopping on six pips.

    Lu Yin had not removed his cosmic ring this time, and he had noints when he saw that he had rolled a six. He acknowledged that there was no better means of gathering information or experience than his die¡¯s Possession. He had thought about rolling the die while in the the Lockbreakers World in hopes of being able to Possess a powerful Lockbreaker and gain lockbreaking experience, but he was afraid of being found out, given the size of the Lockbreakers World.

 Chapter 1570: The Man Behind The Scenes

    Chapter 1570: The Man Behind The Scenes

    Lu Yin would never forget all the benefits he had reaped from continuously Possessing people in the Perennial World. He had discovered Liu Shaoge¡¯s presence in the Perennial World, uncovered clues to the Hidden Earth Society, learned information about Yu Chen¡¯s jade butterflies, and even managed to travel to the Cloud Shuttle with Xia Ru. All of that had only been possible because of Possession. Given his previous results, Lu Yin felt that he might as well try it in the Neoverse as well.

    If he was able to Possess everyone in the universe once, then he would essentially be the absolute master of the universe.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and Lu Yin reappeared in that strange space. He nced around and then immediately merged with the brightest light orb that was around him.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, anyone he Possessed would undoubtedly be important, which meant that he would always gain valuable information.

    As his vision changed once again, Lu Yin almost ran into a that was in front of him. There were two people fighting each other, and Lu Yin recognized them both: Nan Yanfei and Di Fa.

    Was he in the Sixth Maind? No, this was the Outerverse.

    Almost all of the survivors from the Sixth Maind had been relocated to the Outerverse, and Realmlings like Nan Yanfei and Di Fa were no exceptions. They had also participated in ZENITH.

    Shang Qing¡¯s summoned Progenitor Chen had smacked Nan Yanfei down to the base of Zenith Mountain, and that one blow had eliminated him from thepetition. Di Fa had suffered even more. First, he had been hit by Shang Qing¡¯s secret technique, Banish, andter, he had been smashed down to the foot of the mountain by Lu Yin. Di Fa had even failed to climb back up the mountain after being sent to the bottom of the mountain, and his ranking in ZENITH had been truly pathetic.

    At the moment, the two were fighting against each other on a in the western region of the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin had Possessed an Imprinter from the Blood Homage Realm. In other words, Lu Yin had Possessed an Envoy. With his current battle strength, a bright orb had to represent an Envoy, as anyone weaker would be much dimmer.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time Possessing an Envoy, but that had been an extremely injured Envoy whose stellr energy vortex had been destroyed. Only then had Lu Yin been able to Possess that powerhouse.

    This meant that the Imprinter that Lu Yin was currently Possessing was the first full strength Envoy that Lu Yin had ever Possessed.

    This experience allowed Lu Yin to truly understand the difference between an Envoy and an Enlighter. Envoys used stellr energy to cultivate and had to create a vortex of stellr energy within their body. The body then became a container for that energy while the stellr energy was like a gas that filled the body. The stellr vortex was like a gxy slowly rotating in space. Thus, Envoys had entered a different realm of cultivation, and they were unimaginably more powerful from when they had been Envoys. Envoys were people on apletely different path of cultivation from Enlighters.

    Envoys needed to absorb stellr energy from the true universe in order to slowly expand their stellr energy vortex within their body. From the memories of the Imprinter that Lu Yin had Possessed, he learned that the stellr energy vortex had to grow to a certain point before it transformed. However, the transformation process was very lengthy.

    Lu Yin remembered how Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua had been poisoned by Vitality Poison in the Perennial World¡¯s New World when they had been defending the Folded Mountains. Marquis Xiang had said that the poison was engineered to destroy the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. Did that mean that stellr vortexes eventually developed into inner worlds?

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Envoys were different from the Envoys of the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind as they cultivated imprints.

    Lu Yin had always believed that cultivating imprints was the wrong path of cultivation, as it made it incredibly difficult to reach the ultimate level of power. Still, Lu Yin had to admit that imprints were by far the best method for Envoys to survive stellr tribtions. The Sixth Maind had many more Envoys than the Fifth Maind, and it was all because of their imprints.

    Usually, Envoys had to struggle to survive each tribtion, but the Sixth Maind¡¯s Envoys had imprints, and that extra boost of strength gave them a much better chance of surviving stellr tribtions. In fact, their sess rate was so high that, in some ways, the Sixth Maind couldpare to the Perennial World.

    There was a sudden bang; off in the distance, Nan Yanfei had brought out his imprint of the Bluedome Elder. Across from him, Di Fa had also unleashed his imprint of the Bluedome Elder, and their battle quickly escted.

    Lu Yin did not have time to focus on the Realmlings¡¯ battle as he was entirely focused on processing and filtering the Imprinter¡¯s memories. Another person¡¯s cultivation path would be Lu Yin¡¯s own invaluable experience.

    In the Imprinter¡¯s memories, Lu Yin saw a countless number of Aeternal¡¯s monsters wreaking havoc upon the Sixth Maind. He saw countless people die, he saw the maind itself copse, he saw the three Progenitors fighting with all they had, and he saw the blood of countless powerhouses stain the ground red.

    As time passed, Lu Yin saw memories of the Imprinter fighting against other families within the Sixth Maind, and he even saw the incredible power of Bluedome Elder. Suddenly, an image shed, and Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Was that Qing Tan?

    He had never expected to see Qing Tan appear in this Imprinter¡¯s memory.

    ording to the Imprinter¡¯s memories, the powerhouse had been visiting a statue of the Bluedome Elder, and Qing Tan had been standing beneath the statue. Lu Yin carefully studied the memory, but he found absolutely no information regarding Qing Tan¡¯s identity, only that the Imprinter was certain that the woman had a close rtionship with the Bluedome Elder.

    Qing Tan had to be someone from the Sixth Maind who followed the Bluedome Elder.

    This meant that the power behind Qing Tan was the Sixth Maind! It was no wonder why she had been able to easily control one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    In terms of both top powerhouses and overall number of experts, the Sixth Maind far surpassed the Fifth Maind. In fact, the Fifth Maind had only been able to stand on the same level as the Sixth Maind due to the foresight and preparations of their former Progenitors, but if it came to a true battle, then the Fifth Maind was not the Sixth¡¯s opponent.

    The Sixth Maind seemed to be unwilling to ept only taking the Outerverse, and they also had had ns to take over the Neoverse. As it turned out, part of that n was to seize control of the overseers.

    It was even possible that old man San Shang was not the only one of the nine overseers to have fallen under the Sixth Maind¡¯s control. The others might have already beenpromised as well.

    "Nan Yanfei, there''s no point to the two of us fighting¡ªlet''s find some people from the Fifth Maind," Di Fa loudly suggested.

    Nan Yanfei replied, "Do you want to go to the Innerverse? Forget it! Just calm down for now."

    "There¡¯s no need to go to the Innerverse. Have you forgotten about the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins? Even though you and I aren¡¯t a part of the younger generation anymore, there¡¯s no rules that say that we can¡¯t go back. After all, the universe has changed," Di Fa said.

    "That¡¯s true. I¡¯ve heard that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters still show up in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins sometimes."

    "That sounds like a n."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin ended his Possession, and his consciousness returned to ck Street. When he checked his cosmic ring, he was relieved to see that he had not used much of his funds. Only a few million star essence had been consumed, which was not very much.

    Lu Yin immediately wrote a note to Wei Rong, informing the man of Qing Tan''s identity and asking Wei Rong to focus his investigation onto those lines and to keep an eye on Qing Tan.

    If the Sixth Maind had started moving against the Neoverse, then there was no way that Qing Tan was their only person. Lu Yin could not startle the hidden snake, but since he had already uncovered Qing Tan¡¯s background, she would not be able to escape.

    Lu Yin then continued rolling his die, but his next roll was a one, and a weapon dropped out. He used a bit of his strength, and the thing broke. He just tossed it away and rolled the die again.

    Finally, he rolled four pips, which was perfect.

    After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin took out the materials that he had received from Ming Yan. After that, he continued rolling his die.

    As long as he was in the Timestop Space, he could get any roll he wanted, no matter how long it took.

    His next roll finallynded on two pips.

    Lu Yin had frequently gotten this roll in the past, but while it had mostly been useless back then, it was exactly what he needed at this moment.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw the ck hole appear, he used some star essence to increase its duration and then started processing the materials.

    While the wider universe had achieved a state of advanced technology, there were still certain processes that were impossible. For example, there were some materials that could not be separated after being mixed together.

    However, Lu Yin''s innate gift was able to separate all materials into their baseponents, which was what gave him the confidence of extracting something valuable.

    As he watched the various bits of materials be separated into their rawponents, Lu Yin saw that some glowed while others were impervious to his physical strength. He knew that all of these materials had to be invaluable.

    Nothing that ended up in the Neoverse¡¯sndfill could be reused or recycled.

    After some time passed, the ground was covered with raw materials that could not be refined any further. Lu Yin was quite satisfied with what he had aplished, and he stored everything away.

    He wanted to speak with the people that he had imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, but he felt that it would be better to do that after leaving ck Street. This was mostly because Long Xi was still on Zenith Mountain, and Lu Yin would feel guilty if he saw her while Ming Yan was around.

    When Lu Yin left the Timestop Space, only one second had passed in the outside world.

    Lu Yin waited a bit, and when white-haired Ming Yan returned, she threw a cosmic ring over to him. "This is everything for now."

    Upon inspection, while the items within seemed like garbage, they all gave off a very ancient-like aura.

    Lu Yin put the ring away, and then he turned to look at Ming Yan. However, before Lu Yin could say anything, white-haired Ming Yan coldly informed him, ¡°Don¡¯t even bother saying it. I¡¯m not leaving."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The Neohuman Alliance really is much more than what you think."

    "Since the Hall of Honor has always managed to keep the Neohuman Alliance suppressed, then there must be a way to defeat them. If that¡¯s the case, then why can¡¯t I go after them?" Ming Yan retorted. "This is my revenge, and I will take it for myself."

    Lu Yin knew that he would not be able to convince the white-haired Ming Yan, but the ck-haired Ming Yan was fine to deal with. Since Ming Yan would never agree with what Lu Yin asked, it would be better for Lu Yin to simply stay silent. The white-haired Ming Yan had an expression filled with both stubbornness and sereneness when she had bluntly refused Lu Yin¡¯s unspoken request.

    "Are you sure that the Vitality Poison will help you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ming Yan¡¯s eyes lit up. "Do you have some? Give it to me."

    At that moment, Lu Yin remembered Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua. That woman would be furious if she heard such a request. The Vitality Poison had almost destroyed a dignified Semi-Progenitor, and it had left her badly wounded at the very least. This poison had been strong enough to remove a Semi-Progenitor from the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. This was arge part why many cultivators refused to fight against corpse kings in closebat, and yet Ming Yan wanted to actually ingest that terrible poison.

    "Are you sure that you¡¯ll be ok? The Vitality Poison that you had before was very weak¡ªit was only ranked No. 91. The most powerful Vitality Poisons can even badly wound a Semi-Progenitor." Lu Yin tried to caution the woman.

    The white-haired Ming Yan revealed a rare expression of excitement. "The stronger the Vitality Poison, the more useful it is for me."

    Lu Yin blinked. They were seeing the same thing from twopletely contradictory viewpoints.

    "If you eat food, then in the worst case scenario, you can overeat and get bloated to death. But does that make food poisonous?" Ming Yan asked. Lu Yin had no idea how to reply.

    Vitality Poison was something that even Semi-Progenitors feared, but Ming Yan saw it as nothing more than sustenance. At worst, she would suffer from overeating.

    "So do you have any?"

    "No."

    "Then find some! As much as possible. The more of that poison that I eat, the stronger I¡¯ll be."

    "Alright, I''ll do my best."

    Beep, beep, beep. Ming Yan¡¯s gadget sounded with an alert, and her expression changed when she saw it. "The Neohuman Alliance is contacting Bu Laoweng."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew focused, and he looked over.

    Lu Yin saw a line of text appear on the gadget¡¯s disy: Go to Lu Yin and devote yourself to himpletely.

    These few words left white-haired Ming Yan in a state of shock, and she gave Lu Yin a very odd look.

    When Lu Yin saw the message, he instantly knew it hade from Shaman God. That old monster wanted to help Lu Yin build up his power in the Fifth Maind for when the Perennial Worldunched their attack. Aeternus wanted to trigger a civil war within humanity in order to weaken them.

    Lu Yin turned to face Ming Yan¡¯s eyes, and he said, ¡°It¡¯s ratherplicated, but I can promise that I''m not a member of the Neohuman Alliance."

    "I know," Ming Yan replied.

    The first thought that would ur to anyone who saw that message was that Lu Yin was a member of the Neohuman Alliance and a high-ranking member at that. Why else would the Neohuman Alliance help him?

    "Do you really believe me?" Lu Yin actually wanted to exin himself, but he did not know where to even begin. The Neohuman Alliance was certain that Lu Yin could lead the Fifth Maind against the Perennial World; who would believe such a im?

    However, this message also told Lu Yin that the Perennial World was preparing to invade the Fifth Maind and kill him. There was no other reason for Shaman God to spare no effort in assisting Lu Yin to gain a better foothold in the Fifth Maind.

    It would not be long before war broke out between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin needed to hurry.

 Chapter 1571: Heâ€™s Here

    Chapter 1571: He¡¯s Here

    Next, Lu Yin called Ban Jiu and asked the man to make another set of universal armor. In order to save some time, Ban Jiu sent Lu Yin the schematics and asked Lu Yin to melt down the materials before delivering them. The facilities at ck Street were advanced enough to melt down some of the materials. After all, ck Street existed because of the vast amount of nearby trash, and even though there were materials that could not be recycled, the ce still had impressive capabilities.

    Later, Lu Yin Disassembled the new batch of materials that Ming Yan had given him, gave the refined materials and schematics to Ming Yan, and asked her to find someone to process the materials. This would take a while, and Lu Yin intended to spend his time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    He had never forgotten about the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, but he had not had an opportunity to return to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins in a while. Finally, he was able to go back.

    Lu Yin pulled out his futon. It had been a long time since he hadst visited the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and he let out an emotional sigh before sitting down on it, reappearing in a za.

    When he hadst entered the ruins, it had been shortly before the Sixth Maind abandoned their invasion of the Fifth Maind.

    The square that Lu Yin entered was quite a bit more lively than it was during hisst visit. He altered his appearance a bit, stood up, and started making his way towards the First Divine Gate.

    There was a group of people gathered outside the road to the First Divine Gate, and they nced at each other while watching Lu Yin approach.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to step onto the road, one of the people stepped forward to stop him. "Brother, the First Divine Gate Guardians are hard to deal with. Do you want to go with us?"

    Lu Yin smiled but refused. "No need."

    "Brother, I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re a Cruiser, which would make you only inferior to Realmlings. You won¡¯t be in any danger if you team up with us, as Realmling Di Luo is supporting us, which means that these Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins are safe for us." The man continued trying to persuade Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised at this bit of news. "Di Luo? Isn''t Di Fa the Realmling?"

    Several people''s expressions changed, and they grew wary as they stared at Lu Yi. "Aren''t you from the Sixth Maind?"

    "I''m from the Sage Martial Realm," Lu Yin exined.

    Some of the crowd were surprised. "The Sage Martial Realm? Why has someone from there showed up here at the First Divine Gate?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "No idea, but here I am."

    "My Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Realming is now Di Luo. Lord Di Fa is too old to be considered a part of the younger generation, so he¡¯s no longer a Realmling," someone took a moment to exin, but after speaking, he stared at Lu Yin and studied him. ¡°You¡¯re from Sage Martial Realm? Then show us your imprint."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Sure."

    However, his body simply disappeared.

    The entire crowd was startled; what had happened to him?

    Lu Yin quickly passed through the First Divine Gate and stepped onto the Budding Terrace. He immediately continued traveling towards the region with the Nine Cauldrons.

    Di Fa had grown older and was no longer a Realmling. In the same manner, most of the Realmlings that Lu Yin had been familiar with had also left the younger generation, just like the the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters. However, Lu Yin was still young enough to be considered a part of the younger generation. Well, as long as the time that he had lived as Lu Xiaoxuan was not included¡­

    He could also be considered a member of that previous generation.

    It did not take Lu Yin long to arrive at the region that held the Nine Cauldrons, only to find that it was still blocked off.

    Long ago, after Lu Yin had absorbed all of the cauldron energy from the first cauldron, causing it to shatter. That incident had drawn the attention of many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s older experts, and they had moved to investigate. Eventually, some of the Sixth Maind¡¯s major powers had sealed off the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ region, and even though several years had passed since that incident, there were still some people paying attention to the region. It was impossible for ordinary cultivators to gain ess to the region.

    Lu Yin was different; he simply moved past the people standing guard in front of the region¡¯s entrance without any of them noticing anything at all.

    The first cauldron had already shattered, so Lu Yin entered the second cauldron. There, he found that there were some people already inside it. They were most likely all descendants of Imprinters, but none of them were important. Thus, Lu Yin simply knocked them all out and began absorbing the cauldron energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength hadpletely transformedpared to when he had previously absorbed cauldron energy, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that his absorption rate was much quicker.

    A few dayster, the second cauldron trembled before it shattered and copsed, right in front of many people¡¯s shocked gazes.

    "Hurry! Hurry up and let the family elders know that the second cauldron has shattered too!" someone eximed.

    Many of the watching people started moving towards the shattered remains of the cauldron in hopes of finding something, but the people that Lu Yin had knocked out inside the cauldron had been awakened by themotion, and they all nced around in confusion. Not a single one of them had any idea of what had just happened.

    "Someone knocked us out," someone quietlymented. As he spoke, he reflexively released his imprint and exerted his full strength. "The entrance to this ce has already been blocked off, so no one can leave.¡±

    Not only were there people in the second cauldron, but also in the third, the fourth, and even the ninth. Sword Schr actually emerged from the ninth cauldron, and his voice filled the entire region. "Everyone, don¡¯t do anything rash."

    No one dared to retort. Even though Xiao Qing had defeated Sword Schr and taken the position of Realmling, Sword Schr was still a former Realmling. Also, he was no longer a part of the younger generation, so most of the youths saw Sword Schr as a senior on the same level as their elders.

    Even though many of the youths secretly despised Sword Schr and the others of his age for shamelessly entering the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins topete with juniors, no one dared to speak up in front of the man himself.

    Sword Schr¡¯s eyes swept across the Nine Cauldrons Region. This ce was not very big, so he could observe the entire ce.

    Finally, his eyes locked onto the third cauldron.

    Since the first and second cauldrons had both shattered, the third cauldron should be next. Therefore, Sword Schr jumped into the third cauldron.

    That was thest thing that he remembered.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. Why all themotion? He just wanted to absorb the cauldron energy in peace, but every time he tried to do so, there would always be such a hugemotion.

    Lu Yin checked the area outside the cauldron. All of the youths were waiting for Sword Schr to report on what he found, and while Lu Yin could mimic Sword Schr¡¯s voice to intimidate these youths, the experts from the older generation would arrive soon, and Sword Schr was not enough to intimidate any of them.

    Not knowing what else to do, Lu Yin let out a long breath andpletely released his domain, enveloping the entire region.

    One person¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°What a powerful domain!¡±

    Before anyone else could react, every single person in the region copsed to the ground. Lu Yin had dealt with everyone with just his domain.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, set up a Channeling Diagram to iste the third cauldron, and then returned to absorbing the cauldron energy.

    It did not take long for more people to enter the Nine Cauldrons Region, as they had received the news that the second cauldron had shattered. However, everyone passed out the moment they arrived, and unconscious people were strewn about the entire region.

    People started to panic, but no one dared to make a move.

    A powerhouse was soon dispatched to investigate: Hong Ying.

    The Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins were treated as a battlefield where youths couldpete for opportunities, but that was just tradition. Older people were also able to enter, and Hong Ying was no exception.

    She entered the Nine Cauldrons Region and stared straight at the third cauldron before leaping in just like Sword Schr.

    While Hong Ying was still just a Hunter, she was at the cusp of bing an Enlighter.

    But right when Hong Yin was about to enter the cauldron, she was blocked by the Channeling Diagram, and she was forced to retreat dozens of meters.

    Hong Yin stared at the Channeling Diagram. She felt that it looked a bit familiar, but thought nothing else of it. Next, she pulled out a spear and stabbed at the barrier hindering her. The tip of her spear stabbed through the sourcebox array, and Hong Ying¡¯s imprint appeared. The appearance of Madam Hong¡¯s imprint caused Hong Ying¡¯s strength to spike at the exact moment that she attacked.

    However, the same scene as before repeated; her attack was useless.

    Dismayed, Hong Yingnded on the ground. An older expert must have discovered something and taken the opportunity in the Nine Cauldrons. She nced over at the first cauldron. It had shattered a few years ago, and the person behind that must have returned and made another move. Just who was it?

    Fan Shun was also in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and as soon as he received word of what had happened in the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ region, he rushed straight over.

    When he arrived, he found that there were no fewer than a hundred unconscious people strewn about the region. He looked around at them, but they were all silent.

    Hong Ying looked back at Fan Shun.

    In the past, no one had particrly cared about the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling, but he had revealed a terrifying level of strength, battle techniques, innate gift, and even a mastery over secret techniques during ZENITH. He had proven himself worthy of the title of Realmling. At the very least, Hong Ying had been fully convinced.

    Fan Shun instantly released his imprint of the Herb Immortal, which caused all of the nearby vegetation to surge with life. Towering trees rose up from the ground and formed a massive treant that pped a wooden hand against the third cauldron.

    This attack had been used during ZENITH, and it was so powerful that Hong Ying viewed it as invincible.

    The giant treant pped the Channeling Diagram surrounding the cauldron, but the force of the impact spread out into lines of force that shot out in all directions.

    Hong Ying''s expression changed slightly. One of the redirected lines of force had shot straight towards her face, and she stabbed at it with her spear. The collision forced her back a hundred meters, and her hands trembled as blood spilled from her mouth. She looked up, only to see that the third cauldron looked the same as before. Fan Shun''s attack had failed.

    Bang, bang!

    The diverted force from the attack struck the Nine Cauldrons Region¡¯s border in every direction, and the impact twisted the void.

    Hundreds of people panicked, terrified of being caught up in the attack.

    All of the towering trees disappeared, and Fan Shun frowned and stopped attacking. Even his imprint vanished.

    Hong Ying asked, "No use?"

    "He''s here," Fan Shun coldly announced.

    Hong Ying¡¯s eyes sharpened into focus. "Who?"

    Fan Shun looked at Hong Ying. "Don''t you feel like this scene is rather familiar?"

    Hong Ying looked back over at the third cauldron and recalled how the power from Fan Shun¡¯s attack had been dispersed. Suddenly, her expression changed, and her head whipped around to stare at Fan Shun. "It¡¯s a sourcebox array! Lu Yin?"

    A smile appeared on Fan Shun''s face. "He¡¯s been missing for two years, but he¡¯s finally back."

    Hong Ying gritted her teeth as she stared at the third cauldron. "He actually managed to seize the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ hidden opportunity."

    Fan Shun looked up. "Only a truly peerless person like him could possibly qualify to take this opportunity. You and I can¡¯t even break through his sourcebox array. Within our generation, not even the Daosource Three Skies can defeat him anymore. Only an Imprinter could possibly deal with him now."

    He then turned to look at everyone else in the area. ¡°Go and tell an Imprinter toe here as soon as possible. Let them know that Lu Yin is here."

    "Wait." Hong Ying stopped them from moving. "If an Imprinteres, you and I will get nothing from these Nine Cauldrons at all."

    Fan Shun was in a helpless position. "Lu Yin¡¯s here, so even if all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings and the Daosource Three Skies were here, it would aplish nothing. Who can take this chance from him?"

    Hong Ying wanted to disagree with Fan Shun¡¯s opinion, but then she remembered ZENITH¡¯s final battle. All of the top ten finalists had worked together against Lu Yin, but even theirbined strength had not been enough to force Lu Yin to take a single step back. The gap in strength had been so vast that it could not possibly be filled. Numbers could notpensate for so much individual power.

    Hong Ying was unwilling to ept her circumstances, but she was also helpless to resist. Why had such a freak appeared in her generation?

    Inside the third cauldron, Lu Yin heard what Fan Shun and the others all said. Their conversation made Lu Yin a bit nervous, though Fan Shun and others were even more anxious. They had always seen the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins as the Sixth Maind¡¯snd of opportunity for their youths, but at this moment, Lu Yin had stolen the greatest opportunity that the ruins held. They simply could not ept this.

    Fan Shen¡¯s Imprinter was more powerful than Hong Ying¡¯s, so Fan Shun decided to invite his Imprinter to step forward.

    The Realmling just hoped that Lu Yin would not take too much away before the Imprinter arrived.

    What inheritances did the Nine Cauldrons hold? It would be wonderful if Lu Yin could be captured and questioned, but, of course, that was nothing more than a dream. Given Lu Yin¡¯s status in the Fifth Maind, even the three Progenitors would be cautious about moving against Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1572: Unbeatable

    Chapter 1572: Unbeatable

    One dayter, Shang Rong arrived. He formed a brilliant sun that he used to try to break through Lu Yin¡¯s Channeling Diagram, but the attack ended up affecting the entire Nine Cauldrons region. Many people were injured.

    Little Arrow Saint arrived shortly after, but his aura was much weaker than Fan Shun¡¯s. Little Arrow Saint had been badly wounded during ZENITH, and he had been lucky to even survive. At the moment, he was only slightly stronger than Hong Ying.

    Little Arrow Saint had not traveled to the Nince Cauldrons region in order to try to take Lu Yin¡¯s inheritance away from him, but rather to watch the show. Little Arrow Saint knew that an Imprinter would soon arrive, and Lu Yin could not stand up to such a powerhouse.

    Xiao Qing also arrived, and she looked very interested.

    Even though Lu Yin was in a hurry, he did not panic. He had actually expected such a situation before even entering the Daosource Sect''s ruins, and so he had already made his preparations. However, the moment that one Imprinter failed to move Lu Yin, he would be on borrowed time. If he ended up drawing out old monsters with truly impressive power levels, he would not be able to stop them without the help of power vessels and items.

    Half a dayter, the first Imprinter arrived.

    The Sixth Maind had many Envoys. However, due to the status that such powerhouses held, and the fact that they often focused on their training, it was usually very difficult for a member of the younger generation to get in touch with an Envoy. Such experts would not allow themselves to be easily disturbed.

    The first Imprinter to appear was an old woman who came across the incident through pure chance.

    "It''s Senior Ling."

    "Senior Ling¡¯s someone from the Di family, but she left her family after their ancestor died."

    ¡­

    The old woman ignored the youths¡¯ments and focused on the third cauldron. "Junior from the Fifth Maind, You have just this one chance toe out."

    Everyone stared at the cauldron. An Imprinter had arrived, so no one believed that Lu Yin would be able to escape.

    There was no response at all from the cauldron. Lu Yin continued to absorb the cauldron energy.

    "Junior, don''t make this old womane after you. This will disrupt the harmony we have established with the Fifth Maind." The old woman''s tone grew much sharper.

    Fan Shun spoke up in a respectful tone, "Senior Ling, please make a move as soon as possible. Lu Yin''s time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins might soon end, and if that happens, he¡¯ll be able to simply leave."

    The old woman''s eyes shed, and she took a step forward and pressed down with a hand. The void shattered, and everyone saw her attack disappear.

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked up, still unfazed. He watched as the old woman¡¯s attack entered the true universe. Her palm fell onto his Channeling Diagram, and the force of the attack was diverted into lines that shot out in all directions.

    The old woman was startled; she was unable to break this sourcebox array? How was that even possible?

    The old woman was not the only one surprised by the development, as Fan Shun and all of the nearby youths were absolutely shocked. This woman was an Imprinter! Dealing with someone from their generation should be nothing more than ying, so how could she possibly not have broken Lu Yin¡¯s sourcebox array?

    The Nine Cauldrons region was already somewhere that space was unstable, and the old woman¡¯s attack disturbed the bnce. Spatial cracks appeared everywhere, and one person was careless and ended up being swallowed by a crack. There was only a scream and a bit of blood that was quickly sucked into the void. It was a disturbing sight.

    Everyone paled and slowly retreated.

    The old woman gritted her teeth and the surface of her body changed. She had activated her bloodline, which was the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory¡¯s unique cultivation method. She then once again attacked Lu Yin¡¯s Channeling Diagram, only to fail to break it a second time.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were cold. The Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators¡¯ greatest advantage over their peers in the Fifth Maind was the natural suppression that existed. Furthermore, the Sixth Maind had various unique methods of cultivation, including the imprints that had been spread by their three Progenitors. This made those from the Sixth Maind appear to be much stronger, but once those few advantages were taken away, cultivators from the Fifth Maind were actually more powerful on average.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s imprints not only limited people¡¯s futures, they also made people be dependent upon the imprints. The old woman wanted to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s Channeling Diagram without using her imprint, but Lu Yin had be ustomed to the power of the Envoys from the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World.

    The old womannded on the ground and solemnly stated, "Items. The child must have used some sort of power vessel."

    Some distance away, the faces of Fan Shun and the others turned ugly. They had already guessed that Lu Yin was using a power vessel. After all, at best he had be an Enlighter, so how could he possibly defend against an Envoy¡¯s attacks? How much time had passed since ZENITH? No one would believe that Lu Yin had improved enough to resist an Envoy in such a short amount of time.

    "Senior Ling, if we work together, we will definitely be able to break through," Shang Rong was solemn as he made the suggestion.

    The old woman frowned. "If not even I can break through this barrier, what could you juniors possibly contribute?"

    Shang Rong clenched his fists, but did not raise any objections.

    "Forget it. We¡¯ll just wait for another Imprinter to arrive, and then this barrier will break," the old woman said.

    "I''m afraid Lu Yin¡¯s time will run out." Shang Rong sounded anxious.

    The old woman turned to stare at him. "Can''t you just find him after he leaves the Daosource Sect''s ruins?"

    Shang Rong stayed silent after that. There were certain things that only they were aware of. After all, how could the Sixth Maind be willing to remain in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse? As long as they knew that Lu Yin had returned, they would be able to capture him in the outside world.

    Lu Yin heard theirment, and his eyes shed. Sure enough, the Sixth Maind had not abandoned their desire to take over the Fifth Maind. They had merely hidden their intentions.

    Lu Yin had already discovered the existence of Qing Tan, but if there was one mole, there were another ten or even a hundred. Things were getting interesting, and Lu Yin wanted to see who yed the game better.

    More than a day passed, and during this time, more and more people arrived in the Nine Cauldrons region. Fan Shun, Shang Rong, and the others grew increasingly anxious as they waited for a second Imprinter to arrive. They were waiting for Senior Chao.

    Fan Shun felt overjoyed when he saw Senior Chao arrive, and the youth quickly stepped forward to exin the situation. Fan Shun was the Brahman Realm¡¯s Realmling, while Senior Chao was from the Azure Realm, so Fan Shun knew the Imprinter.

    The Envoy stared at the third cauldron. "You can''t break through the barrier?"

    He looked at Senior Ling. "Have you used your imprint?"

    The old woman quietly replied, "Not yet."

    When Ancestor Di had died, some of the Di family¡¯s powerhouses had died as well, while others had left the family. Only a few had been left behind.

    Senior Chao sternly stated to Senior Ling, "You and I will work together to break through this."

    Right after that, Senior Chao¡¯s imprint appeared. The image was of a sloppy looking old man who wore a blue robe and leaned on a wooden stick. This person was the master of the Azure Realm and was an Empyrean Imprinter. He was Master Qing Hua

    Master Qing Hua¡¯s imprint instantly caused Senior Chao¡¯s strength to rise. He went from being a bit weaker than Senior Ling, to surpassing her. The woman watched in envy as the Imprinter attacked the Channeling Diagram, though she made sure to attack as well.

    Inside the third cauldron, Lu Yin sighed to himself. It was already toote. The Imprinters had arrived quicker than he had expected, and while he had absorbed some of the cauldron energy from the third cauldron, there was still a bit left. It would have to wait for the next time.

    There was a bang as the Channeling Diagram was broken, delighting Fan Shun and others.

    Senior Chao and Senior Ling looked inside the third cauldron, ready to capture Lu Yin, but all that they saw were Sword Schr and some other unconscious people. Lu Yin had vanished.

    The twonded inside the third cauldron. Where had the youth gone?

    "Blocked the exit!" Senior Chao suddenly thought of something, and he shouted, but, unfortunately, he was toote. Lu Yin had already moved past the crowd and left the Nine Cauldrons region.

    The same moment that the Channeling Diagram had broken, he had used the Ce Secret Art to escape, and not even the two Imprinters had noticed anything.

    Fan Shun and others quickly moved to block the exit, but Lu Yin had already left.

    Lu Yin had absorbed all of the cauldron energy from two cauldrons, and a good bit from a third one as well, which meant that he was currently able to use three suns.

    After leaving the Nine Cauldrons, Lu Yin realized that he had only used up half of his time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, so he decided to move on to Heaven¡¯s Pit.

    More and more experts from the older generation would be drawn to the Nine Cauldrons, and it was possible that even old monsters who were Empyrean Imprinters would show up. Lu Yin had no intention of staying around.

    Naturally, as Lu Yin left the Nine Cauldrons region, other people were entering, though none of them were able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s passing.

    Lu Yin passed through one of the beams of light that worked as teleportation devices, and he entered the region that held Heaven¡¯s Pit.

    Lu Yin looked up, but he did not see Heaven¡¯s Pit, but a massive spatial tear that looked like a stream of flowing water. Lu Yin had been shocked by the sight the first time he had visited, and space in this ce had been severed in an odd manner. As soon as anything disturbed the space, everything would disappear.

    The countless spatial cracks flowing overhead like water were enough to cause people to panic.

    Heaven¡¯s Pit was a palm print that was said to have been left behind by Progenitor Chen. It was said that by observing and studying the palm print, one couldprehend Progenitor Chen¡¯s secret technique. However, no one had ever been able to achieve any bit of sess even after so many years.

    Lu Yin approached Heaven¡¯s Pit. There were five stone pirs in front of the pit that rose into the sky; one above each finger. Only from the tops of the pirs was it possible to clearly observe the palm print.

    There were several people atop the pirs when Lu Yin arrived. The truth was that with the exception for when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth, these pirs had constantly been upied by people.

    Among those upying the pirs, Lu Yin saw someone he knew: Di Luo, the person who had reced Di Fa as a Realmling.

    The Sixth Maind suffered from diminishing talen. Ancestor Di had died, and yet Di Luo had still managed to triumph over his peers in the Bloodburn Realm to be the next Realmling.

    Lu Yin quietly took over a pir and started studying the palm print.

    As he leisurely spent his time looking at Progenitor Chen''s palm print that was known as Heaven¡¯s Pit, the Nine Cauldrons region grew increasingly busy. Powerhouses arrived one after another, and Senior Chao and Senior Ling bowed to many of their own seniors. After more than ten days passed, a nine-stage Augmenter from the Toolcasting family appeared. He was a World Imprinter, and everyone respectfully bowed when he appeared.

    "Lu Yin? That child has returned after missing for two years? The first cauldron broke even before he disappeared, which means he was indeed the one who gained the opportunity hidden in these Nine Cauldrons, and it happened back when that first cauldron broke," the nine-stage Augmenter reflected.

    Someone replied, "That¡¯s true. The youth¡¯s luck truly defies the heavens. During ZENITH, one of the Progenitors mentioned that he has likely received the legendary God of Death¡¯s inheritance, which would allow him to be invincible."

    Everyone fell silent. Lu Yin¡¯s existence was like an overshadowing mountain that not only put pressure on his peers, but also on members of the older generation.

    In particr, the image of the God of Death Transformation he had used during the final battle of ZENITH. At that time, he had demonstrated a perfect invincibility. No matter what level his cultivation reached, Lu Yin would always remain unbeatable within his cultivation realm.

    "Don''t overthink, seniors. The universe is fair to all. The stronger Lu Yin bes, the stronger the stellr tribtion he will have to face. It¡¯s possible that he won¡¯t even be able to survive his tribtion," Xiao Qing spoke up with a clear voice.

    Little Arrow Saint gloomily replied, "But if he can survive his tribtion, he¡¯ll be the most powerful Imprinter in history."

    Xiao Qing rolled her eyes. "You¡¯re so dramatic. Are you just afraid you¡¯ll be beaten?"

    Little Arrow Saint gritted his teeth, but denied nothing.

    A gloomy light flickered through the eyes of the nine-stage Augmenter. He nced over at the rest of the Imprinters and waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s time for everyone to leave. From now on, this ce is off limits. We will take turns standing guard to ensure that the Nine Cauldrons region remains closed."

    The youths who were present were all unwilling to ept this decision. Lu Yin had received an opportunity from this ce, which made all of them want to stay. After all, maybe they couldprehend something?

    The Daosource Sect''s ruins had existed for countless years, to the point that its full history was not even recorded. There were very few opportunities remaining in the ruins, such as Heaven¡¯s Pit, the Scripture Pavilion, and the tform of Inception. Rumors abounded regarding the opportunities hidden in those ces, but who had ever received anything? However, Lu Yin had just confirmed for everyone that the Nine Cauldrons region truly did hold some sort of inheritance. Naturally the youths were reluctant to abandon the ce.

 Chapter 1573: The Mountains and Seasâ€™ Inheritance

    "Senior, Lu Yin is able toprehend the Nine Cauldrons, but I may have a chance as well. Please allow me to stay here and study this ce. In doing so, I will also stop Lu Yin from obtaining this opportunity," Shang Rong pleaded.

    The nine-stage Augmenter solemnly replied, "Leave. We will discusster who will be allowed to enter and who will not. You will be given an answer."

    Xiao Qing muttered, "How arrogant. Even I can¡¯t understand anything."

    The nine-stage Augmenter instantly red at the girl, startling her. However, she just stuck her tongue out at the man. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll leave."

    She then promptly turned around and left.

    Xiao Qing had gained a special status within the Sixth Maind because she had actually defeated Bu Kong during ZENITH, which meant that she was the best candidate to take his ce as one of the Daosource Three Skies. If not for the fact that Xiao Qing was from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory, she would already have taken Bu Kong¡¯s former title.

    At this moment, Bu Kong was dead, and both Wu Taibai and Zhi Yi had gone missing. Not one of the Daosource Three Skies was still around, which meant it was just a matter of time before Xiao Qing would receive the title.

    The Nine Cauldrons Region drew everyone¡¯s attention, and as news about what had happened reached Heaven¡¯s Pit, many of the people started leaving, including Di Luo. In the end, Lu Yin was the only one who stayed behind to study the palm print.

    Although Lu Yin felt like he had only taken a nce, ten days had already passed, but he still had notprehended a single inkling from the palm print. He was truly eager to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but unfortunately, his hopes were nothing but dreams.

    After the Nine Cauldrons Region was sealed off, many people returned to Heaven¡¯s Pit. As they returned, Lu Yin had still gained nothing from his time observing the palm print. What was so good about this palm print? Who had imed that someone couldprehend Progenitor Chen¡¯s secret technique from it? Had anyone ever received it? It better not be a scam!

    "I haven''t seen you before. Where are you from?" A voice entered Lu Yin''s ears, and when he turned to look, he saw that Di Luo was speaking to him.

    Di Luo had not initially noticed Lu Yin, but after hearing the news about what had happened in the Nine Cauldrons Region, everyone had left Heaven¡¯s Pit except for Lu Yin. After Di Luo had returned, he had found that this person had stayed here the entire time. What could this person have gained from Heaven¡¯s Pit?

    "Is there something wrong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Di Luo stared at Lu Yin. "Where are you from? What have you seen in this pit?"

    "Bullshit!" Lu Yin spat out two words and disappeared.

    Di Luo''s pupils instantly constricted. What was this speed? How was such a thing possible? Who was that person? Wait, had anyone even been there in the first ce? What the hell?

    After leaving Heaven¡¯s Pit, Lu Yin considered visiting the tform of Inception, as there was a chance of running into Xin N¨¹ there.

    He was free to do as he wished, as he really had nothing else to do with his remaining time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. After a moment, Lu Yin remembered that there was a portion of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas here.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He remembered how, long ago, Ling Gong had tried to explore the Mountains and Seas region for an inheritance. At this moment, Lu Yin could do the same.

    Long ago, Progenitor Hui had concocted a scheme spanning eons. The end result had been the detonation of the Mountain and Seas Zone, which had prevented Aeternus from invading the Fifth Maind. At the same time, the Sixth Maind had been almostpletely isted from the Fifth Maind. The Mountain and Seas Zone had easily exploded, which had made it look like it was not something terribly important but rather just the first step of the implementation of Progenitor Hui¡¯s n.

    However, was that really the case?

    The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had existed during the Daosource Sect¡¯s peak, and that time was before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. In that case, why had Progenitor Hui created such an borate n to deal with the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion? Besides, back then, Progenitor Hui had not been the only powerful Progenitor in the Fifth Maind, and he would not have been able to casually move the Mountains and Seas that belonged to other Progenitors as though they were his own property.

    There had to be some other, unknown aspect to the story, and so Lu Yin decided to go to the Mountains and Seas region to try to find out.

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly remembered something else: Aeternus had invaded the Sixth Maind, causing it to copse. In that case, if Lu Yin could grab a futon from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, could he enter that ce as well?

    As soon as the idea popped into his head, Lu Yin dismissed it. Even if it did work, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was most likely full of Aeternus¡¯s monsters. Going there would be the same as asking to die.

    The inheritances of the Mountains and Seas were also the inheritances of Progenitors. While many people knew this, very few were capable of searching through the Mountains and Seas region for those inheritances. Only the Realmlings, the Ten Arbiters, and others on that level were able to do so. Lu Yin had never seen anyone else in the Mountains and Seas region, so he did not know if this selectivity was due to a rule or some sort of restriction.

    Lu Yin saw several people fighting above the sea, off in the distance. He leaned against a wall as he watched with great interest.

    He had not expected to see old acquaintances fighting against each other the moment he entered the Mountains and Seas region to search for inheritances. The Ten Arbiters¡¯ Wen Sansi and War King were fighting against Di Fa and Nan Yanfei,

    When Lu Yin had Possessed the Imprinter from the Sixth Maind, he had overheard Nan Yanfei and Di Fa discussing the possibility of returning to the Daosource Sect''s ruins to search for the Ten Arbiters. This was exactly what Lu Yin had stumbled upon.

    The Ten Arbiters and the Realmlings were old enemies.

    Neither the Ten Arbiters nor the Realmlings had greatly improved their strength during the two years that Lu Yin had been gone. But out of everyone, Lu Yin was the most curious about the War King¡¯s strength. He was the Arbiter that Lu Yin knew the least about, and the two had never fought. However, Lu Yin had heard of the War King¡¯s strength before.

    Xing Kai was known by the moniker of War King. He was a physically powerful man who was a full three meters in height. Lu Yin''s greatest impression of the man was the report that the War King had once killed a Realmling while fighting in the Daosource Sect''s ruins. It was an amazing achievement.

    Xing Kai and Nan Yanfei fiercely shed with each other above the sea, and their battle caused waves to surge in the waters below. At the same time, Wen Sansi was doing his best to trap Di Fa. Di Fa''s bloodline was truly difficult to deal with, as it allowed him to phase through anything.

    It was impossible to know how long the four people had been fighting for.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes wandered around, and he stared at the tall mountains on the other side of the sea. Most people believed that the Mountains and Seas¡¯ inheritances were false rumors, and the Fifth Maind had even destroyed five mountains and five seas as a part of Progenitor Hui''s grand n. It seemed highly likely that people no longer believed that the Mountains and Seas region held any inheritances.

    Regardless of how many times the Mountains and Seas region had been scoured by others, Lu Yin still needed to explore them himself.

    Given Lu Yin''s increased strength, it would not be a challenge for him to pass through the four-way battle and travel to the mountains without drawing any attention.

    He soon moved past where the four people were fighting, and a tall mountain appeared before him.

    Just when Lu Yin was about to start climbing the mountain, his body was suddenly pulled into the mountain, and he sank beneath the ground without the slightest ability to resist. As he sank down, he heard a loud voice echo in his mind. ¡°Challenger, enter.¡±

    Lu Yin swayed, and he almost fell. When he looked up, he saw that he was surrounded by a ring of torches. Then, their mes suddenly rose and merged before his eyes. These mes possessed no color, and Lu Yin himself was no longer able to see any color.

    The only thing that he could feel was the mes¡¯ unimaginable heat. They were hot enough to reduce his body to ashes just like how a star would incinerate an ordinary human. Lu Yin did not dare to approach the mes; if he were just a bit closer, he would be nothing but ash. All of his power vessels and items werepletely useless at this moment.

    This fire made Lu Yin feel like he was facing death.

    The feelingsted for no more than a moment, and the mes returned to the torches, reigniting them. Meanwhile, Lu Yin waspletely drenched with sweat as more dripped down his fingers.

    "Breakthrough failed." Another set of words entered Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and then he was back at the sea in front of the tall mountain. Far behind him, War King and the other three were continuing their fierce battle. Nothing had changed while Lu Yin had been thrust into a true life and death situation.

    Lu Yin had not felt such an incredible sense of danger even against Shaman God or when he had been attacked by Wang Si. He had not actually felt despair when facing those mes, but rather a sense of awe at the raw power before him. Those mes had far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯sprehension.

    Even though Lu Yin could not even understand the power of a Semi-Progenitor, without understanding why, he felt confident that even a Semi-Progenitor would have been just as helpless as him before those mes.

    Those mes had to havee from the power of a Progenitor! Lu Yin stared at the tall mountain in utter shock. Here, in this ce, was a Progenitors¡¯ inheritance!

    Lu Yin looked back at Wen Sansi and the others who were fighting. He was eager to know if any of them had ever experienced those mes.

    The four were still fighting, and it looked like their battle would not end anytime soon.

    However, Lu Yin had no desire to wait. He had less than ten days left in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and he intended to visit and explore another mountain.

    There were only two mountains and one sea left within the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    There was a bang as Xing Kai was knocked back. An imprint of the Bluedome Elder had appeared in the sky behind Nan Yanfei, allowing him to overpower Xing Kai. Nearby, the Bluedome Elder¡¯s imprint also appeared behind Di Fa, and he also activated his Demonfox bloodline.

    "Xing Kai, when you sacrificed a finger to cut down Realmling Tang, you imed that you could cut down all of the Realmlings if you cut off all ten of your fingers. Let¡¯s see it then!" Nan Yanfei shouted.

    Xing Kai remained calm, and he simply raised a hand. In front of him, a Taotie appeared and let out a roar.

    There was another bang as Xing Kai was smashed down to the bottom of the sea.

    Wen Sansi used his Literary Prison to trap Nan Yanfei while simultaneously avoiding Di Fa''s attack. He looked down at the bottom of the sea. "There¡¯s no need to push yourself."

    Xing Kai charged up from the seabed. He looked very serious. "I know."

    Nan Yanfei and Di Fa were both far warier of Wen Sansi. He had performed brilliantly during ZENITH, and he had revealed an innate gift that would be difficult to ovee.

    The four people were about to resume their battle when a breeze swept through the area. Both Nan Yanfei and Di Fa tumbled headfirst into the sea, only stabilizing themselves on the surface.

    Wen Sansi and Xing Kai were startled by the sudden change. "Who?"

    Neither of them had been attacked.

    Lu Yin emerged from the void and smiled at the two Arbiters. "Long time no see, you two."

    They both were surprised to see Lu Yin. "Lu Yin? Didn''t you disappear?"

    "I just got back."

    Xing Kai was stunned. "Was that your attack?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He had simply swept out with his star energy to instantly knock Nan Yanfei and Di Fa out of the sky. It was no longer difficult for him to aplish such a thing.

    Lu Yin was a Realmbreaker who had been able to defeat both Realmlings when he had still been a Hunter, so it was an easy matter to defeat them after his cultivation surpassed theirs now.

    Wen Sansi and Xing Kai nced at each other inplete amazement.

    Neither of them had been able to detect any hint of an attack, but two experts as strong as them had been instantly defeated. This overwhelming power even exceeded what Lu Yin had revealed during ZENITH. Then, people had at least been able to fight back against him.

    "What realm has your cultivation reached now?" Xing Kai asked.

    "Enlighter," Lu Yin replied. He then pointed at the distant mountain. "Have you been over there?"

    Wen Sansi nodded. "Of course I''ve been there. That¡¯s the ce that holds the Progenitors¡¯ inheritances, though it¡¯s just a sham."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose up. "There¡¯s nothing there?"

    "While there¡¯ve been a few inheritances that we¡¯ve fought over, but nothing real has ever been found," Wen Sansi replied.

    Lu Yin started thinking. Apparently, neither of the two had ever experienced what he had just gone through. At least, it did not look like Wen Sansi was lying.

    "Brother Lu, where have you been? You''ve changed quite a bit in thest two years," Wen Sansi asked, feeling very curious.

    Xing Kai''s eyes zed with fighting intent. He wanted to challenge Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt curious about Xing Kai''s missing finger. "He just said that you killed a Realmling after cutting off a finger. Is that your innate gift?"

    "Do you want to find out?" Xingughed. "I wasn¡¯t able to participate in thepetition for the Astral Tower, and I¡¯ve always wanted to have a match with you, Brother Lu."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "Sorry, but you don''t stand a chance."

    "What do you mean?" Xing Kai felt a bit confused.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew focused. All he needed to do was release his domain, and he instantly and fully suppressed both Xing Kai and Wen Sansi, stunning the two. Lu Yin¡¯s domain even surpassed Unseen Light¡¯s, and the two of them struggled to even move.

    "You can challenge me if you¡¯re able to go head-to-head against an Envoy, but you should just forget it otherwise. The gap between us is too big," Lu Yin said, partly to himself.

 Chapter 1574: Aurora Fortress

    Chapter 1574: Aurora Fortress

    Wen Sansi raised a hand and brought out his barrier, pushing it towards Lu Yin. He wanted to test how strong Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were.

    Lu Yin raised a hand as well, but he merely flicked a finger. However, that single flick shattered the barrier, leaving Wen Sansi and Xing Kai staring at him in disbelief.

    Shockingly, Lu Yin was strong enough to break Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier. Even though Wang Yi had been able to do the same during ZENITH, Lu Yin had done so with just the wind stirred up from a finger flick. This was just absurd.

    Wang Yi had used a battle technique to break through Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier, but what about Lu Yin? There was just too big of a difference between the two.

    "Like I said, there''s no need to test things," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Sansi was truly shocked. Each time he saw Lu Yin, the youth forced Wen Sansi to have an entirely new impression of him. At this moment, Wen Sansi felt as though he was facing the strongest person in all of existence. He would undoubtedly stand above all others in the future.

    Lu Yin looked over at Xing Kai. "You still haven''t answered my question. Does cutting off your finger have something to do with your innate gift?"

    Xing Kai grew solemn. "Breaking a finger can allow me to perfectly duplicate an opponent¡¯s innate gift."

    Lu Yin was blown away. This innate gift seemed very simr to the Xie family¡¯s secret technique, which allowed them to duplicate any technique that was used near them, and it even allowed them to attack with their opponents¡¯ techniques. However, removing a finger was something that could not be undone, which meant that this innate gift was equivalent to harming oneself to damage their opponent.

    Lu Yin switched his attention to Wen Sansi. "Is the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison only at the firstyer?"

    Wen San thought that this was a very strange question. "Firstyer of what?"

    Lu Yin considered how to respond. "The Literary Prison can beyered¡ªone level, two levels, three levels. Didn¡¯t you know?"

    Wen Sansi grew increasingly confused. "Can it really be used like that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "You don''t do that? Or are you saying that you¡¯ve never heard of this before?"

    Wen Sansi stared at Lu Yin. "Do you know this for certain?"

    He was not quite able to believe Lu Yin¡¯s words. It sounded like Lu Yin was just speaking nonsense. After all, who could possibly understand the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison better than the Wen family?

    Lu Yin looked up and lifted a hand. He used his star energy to imitate Wen Diyi¡¯s sevenyered Literary Prison. Naturally, Lu Yin did not actually know the technique, but he could use his star energy to imitate its appearance.

    Wen Sansi stared nkly at the sevenyered Literary Prison; could the technique really be used in such a manner?

    Lu Yin was not at all afraid that Wen Sansi would be able to understand the more advanced use of his family¡¯s technique with just a glimpse. If that was possible, then the Wen family would have discovered this possibility long ago.

    "Where did you see this?" Wen Sansi asked eagerly, excitement filling his eyes. This sevenyered Literary Prison was something that could open up an entirely new path for the Wen family. It could even be said that learning the sevenyered Literary Prison would allow the Wen family¡¯s strength to rapidly grow until they surpassed all the other Innerverse powers to be the most powerful force in the Innerverse.

    The firstyer of their Literary Prison might not even be capable of trapping a Realmling, but what about the seventhyer? Nan Yanfei would not be able to even dream of escaping, and it would instantly decide the oue of a fight.

    Lu Yin stared at Wen Sansi in a serious manner. He had been anticipating this moment ever since he had ced Wen Diyi in Zenith Mountain in the Forgotten Ruins.

    Lu Yin had used up too many of his treasures and resources in the Perennial World, and he needed to start recuperating his stash.

    "Looks like we¡¯ll need to find some time to sit down and talk. There are actually more than just sevenyers to the Literary Prison," Lu Yin said with a smile. After that, he simply vanished.

    He had no intention of starting negotiations with Wen Sansi just yet, mostly because Lu Yin had no idea what would even be needed.

    Still, judging by Wen Sansi''s reaction, the sevenyered Literary Prison was more than tempting enough, as it was able to clearly affect the Wen family¡¯s position in the Fifth Maind. Thus, this matter required Lu Yin¡¯s careful consideration before proceeding.

    However, Lu Yin did not even think about Wen Diyi¡¯s opinion, as the youth was nothing more than a prisoner.

    Upon seeing the empty sea, Wen Sansi calmed himself down. He had already realized that seeing the sevenyered Literary Prison had caused him to lose hisposure. This was a terrible mistake that had already ced his entire Wen family in Lu Yin''s grasp. Given Wen Sansi¡¯s understanding of Lu Yin, the Wen family would have to pay an exorbitant price for this technique.

    There were still two mountains and one sea in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins that Lu Yin had not visited yet. There seemed to be an innate connection between the mountains and the seas, but there was one mountain without a sea, and that was Lu Yin¡¯s goal.

    As he approached the mountain, he was unexpectedly sucked into it.

    ¡°Challenger, enter.¡± A voice entered Lu Yin''s mind again.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, only to see somethingpletely differentpared to what he had seen at thest mountain. This time, there were no torches, just a pool from which spring water was gushing up without end. Despite the surging waters, the pool did not overflow or drain. It maintained its one meter radius even as the water continued to flow without end.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the pool and looked at the spring water. He stared for a while but saw nothing. Then, he squatted down and stretched out a hand to touch the water. It was warm to the touch, but also somehow cold. It was quite strange.

    Suddenly, the voice entered his mind once again. ¡°Challenge failed.¡± He then appeared outside the mountain.

    Lu Yin was stunned; he had not even done anything!

    He stared at the mountain in front of him and then charged straight at it once again. He was sucked into the mountain, saw the spring, and then failed again. He repeated this again and again, but he failed every single time.

    Lu Yin tried multiple times in a row, but even when his time in the Daosource Sect''s ruins ran out, he was failing.

    If Wen Sansi had not lied to Lu Yin, then he was the only person who had been given the task of breaking through and entering the mountains. Did that mean that there really was a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance within each mountain? If that was the case, then how could the Fifth Maind have been willing to destroy five mountains and five seas? While that action had indeed saved the Fifth Maind, it had required them to sacrifice five Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. No matter how hard Lu Yin looked at the situation, he could not see that option as one that Progenitor Hui would choose.

    That was, not unless, the Mountains and Sea Zone that had exploded had been fake.

    The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he returned to ck Street. Besides absorbing more cauldron energy from the Nine Cauldrons, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest gains from this trip to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins was the discovery that the Mountains and Seas region did indeed contain Progenitors¡¯ inheritances. However, those inheritances would not be easy to obtain. Lu Yin did not even dare to return to the first inheritance, as he had been terrified that he would bepletely incinerated. As for the second inheritance, he had not been able to understand a single thing about it.

    He also had no idea which Progenitors had left those inheritances behind.

    As for the Nine Cauldrons, that entire incident had given Lu Yin a massive headache due to the huge ruckus that he had caused. The Sixth Maind would never willingly allow him to absorb more cauldron energy, and their wariness was high enough for them to station a World Imprinter as a guard at the entrance. Not even Liu Ye and Fei Hua would be able to do anything against such an opponent. Lu Yin had run into a problem where it would be difficult for him to absorb more cauldron energy, which was a problem.

    ¡­

    "Brother Lu, all of the materials that you gave me have been processed." Ming Yan was thrilled when she saw Lu Yin reappear.

    Lu Yin greatly enjoyed his time with her, but unfortunately, it was time for him to leave.

    "Yan''er, please listen to me and leave this ce." Lu Yin tried onest time to convince Ming Yan, but he still failed. Ming Yan might be very gentle towards Lu Yin and listen to almost everything he told her, but then the white-haired Ming Yan would appear. Her appearance would cause Lu Yin to hang his head and act as though he had been caught misbehaving. He felt utterly helpless.

    In the end, Lu Yin could only give Ming Yan the knife that he had taken from Wang Su for protection. Lu Yin had used the knife to kill many of his enemies, and the knife was capable of unleashing attacks that wereparable to those of an expert with a power level of almost 800,000. If Ming Yan used this knife together with her Moonstar battle technique and her ability to control Vitality Poison, then she should be able to stay safe.

    Also, Lu Yin changed his itinerary.

    He had originally intended to visit the Cosmic Sect after ck Street so that he could learn the next level of the Cosmic Art, but Ban Jiu had suggested that Lu Yin make a detour and visit Aurora Enterprises. This was because Aurora Enterprises had ess to technology that surpassed what Ban Jiu could touch. They were more than capable of helping Lu Yin create a new set of universal armor.

    Lu Yin constantly felt nervous and ufortable without a piece of protective equipment, so he was incredibly eager to obtain a new set of armor that he could Enhance. Thus, he made his way straight towards Aurora Enterprises.

    What''s more, Lu Yin needed to pass by Aurora Enterprises if he wanted to go to the Cosmic Sect anyways.

    Aurora Enterprisesy at the northern edge of the Neoverse. After Lu Yin, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Ah Da reached the northern border, they once again used the spacecraft to travel.

    Lu Yin also brought Luo Shen back out of Zenith Mountain.

    Luo Shen made no attempt to ask Lu Yin anything about ck Street at all.

    Before too long, they saw more ships traveling nearby. All that Lu Yin could recognize was the ships¡¯ grades, but he could not determine where they came from at all. Some of the vessels were incredibly bizarre, and they looked like they had been customized.

    Lu Yin suddenly had an urge to customize an exclusive vessel for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Lu- Big Brother Lu, is that Aurora Enterprises?" Luo Shen eximed as she stared at a monstrouslyrge superstructure some distance ahead of them in space.

    Lu Yin moved up next to her and looked at where she was indicating. There was a mammoth construction that looked simr to the forts in Ironblood Weave. "Yes. That¡¯s Aurora Enterprises¡¯ headquarters."

    Aurora Enterprises was a giant in the Neoverse. Even though they did not have the same level of status as the Mavis family or the Cosmic Sect, they still qualified to rule over a portion of the Neoverse. Aurora Enterprises¡¯ ships sold very well throughout the entire Fifth Maind¡ªregardless of where one went, even the most out of the way, backwards gxies would an Aurora, and each of their vessels was very expensive.

    One could only imagine the wealth controlled by Aurora Enterprises. In fact, their wealth was second only to the Mavis Bank.

    Liu Ye stared at the distant fortress, clearly amazed. "I actually feel threatened by that ce."

    Lu Yin nced over at the Envoy. Even though Aurora Enterprises was a corporation, they were also a power with the strength to stand tall in Neoverse. This was something that ordinary people could not evenprehend. If an Envoy with a power level of just over 700,000 was able to look down on such an organization, it would be a real joke. Lu Yin was fully confident that Aurora Enterprises would be able to instantly annihte Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Lu Yin had already announced his visit before making his way to Aurora Enterprises¡¯ headquarters. Thus, he met Director Zhi upon entering. The most influential person in the entirepany had personally stepped out to greet Lu Yin.

    Their vessel docked, and Lu Yin stood at a window looking down, where he saw Director Zhi and a small group.

    Director Zhi looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, and he had a smile on his face that seemed to exist on businessmen everywhere, though this smile also looked truly sincere. If not for Director Zhi¡¯s identity, one would never assume that he was in charge of Aurora Enterprises just by looking at him. He had not achieved his position through strength, as his cultivation was not impressive. So, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the man seemed quite average.

    There was a gentle sound as the spacecraft docked. Lu Yin led Luo Shen, Liu Yi, Fei Hua, and Ah Da out of the ship. At the same time, Director Zhi led the entourage from Aurora Enterprises closer as he smiled at Lu Yin.

    "Wee to Aurora Fortress," Director Zhi said enthusiastically as he stepped forward.

    Lu Yin smiled." Director Zhi is a gracious host. It is also my honor to be able to visit Aurora Fortress. I have long heard of Aurora Enterprises.¡±

    "Haha, My Aurora Fortress is just a little ce in the face of your Great Eastern Alliance. Alliance Leader Lu, please let me show you around," Director Zhi replied with a smile.

    "Many thanks, Director Zhi," Lu Yin smiled back, not refusing the offer. Given Lu Yin¡¯s position, it was only natural for Director Zhi to personally show him around during his visit. Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and lord of the Outerverse; he more than qualified for such treatment.

    Lu Yin did not politely refuse anything, and although Director Zhi¡¯s smile was even brighter, caution and wariness hid in the depths of his eyes.

    This was the young man who had personally stopped Shamrock Enterprise from moving their headquarters onto Mt. Microcosms.

 Chapter 1575: Business Deal

    Chapter 1575: Business Deal

    Even though Director Zhi did not particrly care about Shamrock Enterprise, the mysterious Leaf King was still a terrifying individual. Despite that, Lu Yin did not seem to care about the powerhouse at all. The youth had secretly manipted the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, which was essentially the same as taking control of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ authority.

    This was what Director Zhi feared. Mt. Microcosms formed the core of the entire Human Domain. It was astronomically different from the authority that Lu Yin wielded over the Outerverse.

    That was also not taking into ount how Lu Yin was backed by the Chief Justice, Arch-Elder Zen, and Leon¡¯s Armada.

    There were few people in the entire Fifth Maind who were able to arouse Director Zhi¡¯s jealousy, and Lu Yin was by far the youngest of those few.

    Neither Liu Ye nor Fei Hua received the attention that they had expected. They were Envoys, which made them true powerhouses in the Fifth Maind, and yet they were far from the most powerful individuals at Aurora Fortress.

    Aurora Fortress was mind-bogglingly huge, to the point where it would take several years to see every corner of the ce.

    Director Zhi led Lu Yin on a tour of the most important locations, such as where they manufactured radiant-grade and ckhole-grade Auroras. Lu Yin was even able to see where they built their newly developed ckhole-grade copsible spacecraft.

    "Can a copsible vessel be upgraded beyond the ckhole grade?" Lu Yin was surprised by what he saw because he had only ever seen radiant-grade copsible Auroras before. This restriction was because the vessel¡¯s copsible sections were unable to withstand the forces induced when a ckhole-grade vessel reached its maximum speed.

    Director Zhi shrugged. "The technology¡¯s been avable for a long time, but we simply do not have enough of the required materials, so we¡¯re only able to produce a few ships. They are usually all custom orders, and the clients are required to supply the materials for the copsible portions of the ship themselves."

    "Speaking of materials¡ªDirector Zhi, I have some materials with me that I was hoping yourpany could help me with. I would like to use them to create a universal armor based off of this blueprint." Lu Yin took out the aforementioned blueprint.

    Director Zhi checked the ns. "That would not be a problem. It¡¯s very simple to make universal armor, though might I ask, what materials does Alliance Leader Lu have on hand? There are certain materials that are difficult to process andbine."

    Lu Yin took out the various materials and spread them across the ground.

    One of the people behind Director Zhi suddenly eximed, "Rucen Gold?"

    The man then stepped forward and picked up a piece of metal from the ground that glowed with a faint gray as his eyes zed with excitement.

    Lu Yin shot Director Zhi a curious look.

    Director Zhi said, "Don''t mind him, Alliance Leader Lu. He¡¯s one of the engineers here at my Aurora Fortress. He¡¯s obsessed with manufacturing, and he also has some level of understanding regarding all sorts of raw materials."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Lodestar, Orbit Thread, and even Pinss? All of these things are extremely rare materials, especially that Lodestar. That shouldn¡¯t even exist anymore. How could it be here?" The man was iparably excited as he muttered to himself.

    Another person stepped forward from behind Director Zhi. He was an old man, and he hesitantly studied a thin bit of metal that looked more like a nt than metal. He squatted down to get a better look and then looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°Is this still alive?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Alive? What was with this question? Was the metal alive? Lu Yin did not understand the question, so he simply stayed silent.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, is this living metal?" a man asked in disbelief after seeing the metal that the old man was holding in his hands.

    The old man was simrly shocked. "I thought that living metal was something that only existed in ancient records. I never expected it to actually exist."

    Director Zhi¡¯s eyes narrowed as he turned his focus back to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, all of these materials are invaluable."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Their value is precisely why I want them to be used to make universal armor. After all, no matter how precious something may be, nothing is more valuable than life, right?"

    "Universal armor? No." The man who had recognized the Rucen Gold was still excited, and he looked up to stare at Lu Yin. "You want to use Lodestar to make universal armor? That¡¯s a terrible joke! I refuse."

    "Using living metal to make universal armor? I can¡¯t agree either," the old man spoke up.

    One after another, various people who had apanied Director Zhi and Lu Yin to tour around Aurora Fortress managed to identify some of the materials. Not everything was identified, but those that were absolutely shocked the engineers.

    Lu Yin had actually asked Ban Jiu to identify these materials, but the man had not been able to recognize even a tenth of them. Inparison, the engineers from Aurora Enterprises had seeded in identifying almost all of the materials.

    As expected, even people who were not managers in Aurora Enterprises had incredibly in-depth knowledge.

    Lu Yin remained casual as he watched the various craftsmen. No matter how valuable these materials might be, he was certain that he wanted them to be used to create a set of universal armor. With materials of this grade, he would be able to repeatedly Enhance the armor and make it absolutely amazing.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you have put me in quite a difficult position. Truthfully, these materials are invaluable, and using them to make universal armor is far too wasteful. Doing so would not allow the materials to be used in a manner that best takes advantage of their characteristics. For example, that one metal, the Lodestar¡ªif the copsible portion of a vessel is made with that, it would be able to reach the eonlight grade!" Director Zhi emotionally exined.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There¡¯s no other option, and it doesn¡¯t matter how many people get offended. Director Zhi, you should already know that I was chased after by Seven Skygods, and so I can''t help but be concerned about my protection."

    People who had reached the level of Director Zhi naturally knew of the Seven Skygods.

    "It''s just too wasteful! It''s impossible to use these materials to make universal armor. And I won''t agree! Doing so is an insult to these materials!" the old man shouted.

    Even though the other craftsmen stayed silent, their faces showed theirplete agreement with the old man.

    Lu Yin also understood these people¡¯s feelings. "Director Zhi, I, Lu Yin, am willing to pay you well to produce this for me."

    Everyone turned to look at Director Zhi, their eyes begging the man.

    Director Zhi felt cornered. "Alliance Leader Lu, if my Aurora Enterprises wished to buy these materials, would it be possible? Of course, my Aurora Enterprises would also supply an appropriate defensive treasure that Alliance Leader Lu needs."

    Lu Yin instantly refused. "This matter concerns my life and wellbeing. Even if it¡¯s a waste to use these materials, as long as the armor is even a little bit better, that¡¯s good enough for me."

    Director Zhi felt helpless. If anyone else approached Aurora Fortress with these materials, no matter how high their status was, Director Zhi would be confident in being able to keep some behind. However, he really could not move directly against Lu Yin.

    The other people all tried to persuade Lu Yin, but he remained steadfast. Even when Director Zhi offered a defensive treasure that could protect Lu Yin from attacks of a power level of 600,000, Lu Yin did not bat an eye.

    Lu Yin believed a universal armor made with these materials could be Enhanced to the point where it would beparable to the Cloudguard Robes that he had once worn.

    "It''s just too wasteful! Even if we use these materials to make universal armor, it would only be able to resist attacks at a power level of a bit more than 400,000 at best. It¡¯s very difficult to make something that can work against Envoys. Alliance Leader Lu, please reconsider! My Aurora Enterprises will provide you with a better defensive treasure than what you can get from using these materials. You¡¯ve already said that protection is your entire goal," the old man begged Lu Yin.

    "When Senior refers to a better defensive treasure, can its materialspare to these?" Lu Yin asked in response.

    The old man was startled. "As long as the item has a better defense, why would it matter if the materials are better?"

    No one could understand Lu Yin''s thinking. They saw Lu Yin as a rich young master; he simply wanted the most expensive option, not necessarily the best.

    Director Zhi stopped the craftsmen from continuing to badger Lu Yin. They had already said enough, and if they continued, it would just sour their rtionship with Lu Yin.

    "These materials are only a portion of what I have. If Director Zhi is willing, I am also willing to make a deal with Aurora Enterprises regarding materials of a simr quality to the ones that you see here," Lu Yin offered with a smile.

    Director Zhi and others were all shocked. "You actually have more materials of this grade?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Not at the moment, but I will shortly."

    Director Zhi did not quite believe Lu Yin¡¯s im. Aurora Enterprises was constantly scouring the entire universe for rare materials, and when it came to such things, not even the Hall of Honor couldpare to Aurora Enterprises¡¯ reserves. Aurora Fortress had the greatest concentration of rare materials in the entire universe. If Lu Yin¡¯s im to have more such materials was true, then could the guesses that people had made about him actually be true?

    When Lu Yin had been in the Outerverse, he had constantly revealed different power vessels and equipment that allowed him to challenge powerhouses far beyond his own cultivation, and he had also used various natural treasures to avoid certain crises. For a long time, people had guessed that Lu Yin must have found some ancient ruins and that everything that he had revealed so far hade from ancient times. If that was true, then these materials should be the same.

    "Do you truly have more?" the old man asked, his eyes glimmering.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I only said it because it¡¯s true."

    "Very well. If Alliance Leader Lu has such materials, then you can sell all of them to my Aurora Enterprises, and we will make sure to offer you a satisfactory price," Director Zhi said with a smile.

    Lu Yin had already considered what he would ask as payment: a customized spacecraft design that would be exclusively for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s use. He wanted to give the Great Eastern Alliance a unique look.

    "Hey, it''s still far too wasteful to make a universal armor from these things, so why don¡¯t we do this?" the man who had recognized the Rucen Gold paused as he looked over at Lu Yin, "We will make you a bodysuit armor."

    "What¡¯s a bodysuit armor?" Lu Yin was curious.

    "bodysuit armor is a type of battle armor, but it acts like a second skin. This kind of armor best fits the human body, and most people can¡¯t even notice that it¡¯s there, as it won¡¯t affect your movements at all. Universal armor is just something for ordinary humans to use to move about in space. It¡¯s a useless tool that actually gets in the way inbat."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "So is this better than universal armor?"

    "An item¡¯s defensive abilities are based on the base materials. The advantage that bodysuit armor has is that ordinary people can''t even see it."

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "Alright, let¡¯s go with a bodysuit armor then."

    It would take longer to produce a bodysuit armor than a universal armor, and Lu Yin nned to stay at Aurora Fortress until the manufacturing process finished.

    "Brother Lu, aren¡¯t you afraid that they¡¯ll steal some of the materials?" Luo Shen murmured quietly as her eyes flitted about.

    Lu Yinughed. "No, I¡¯m not worried at all."

    Several dayster, Director Zhi visited Lu Yin again. Lu Yin was very interested in Aurora Fortress. "Director Zhi, what sort of power level can Aurora Fortress withstand?"

    Director Zhi smiled. "A million."

    An excited light filled Lu Yin''s eyes. "A million? Are you saying that not even Yuan Shi could break through this ce¡¯s defenses?"

    Director Zhi smiled, but he stayed silent on the matter.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw a sprawling city. No fewer than ten billion people resided in Aurora Fortress. All of them were the employees and families of the workers who ran Aurora Enterprises¡¯ headquarters, and they had created a massive city.

    Included within the city were corporate behemoths that spanned the universe, such as the Mavis Bank and Shamrock Enterprise.

    A dazzling light shone out from a high point off in a distant part of Aurora Fortress in a corner of the city. Lu Yin looked over and heard a loud bang.

    "It''s that kid again. He¡¯s getting worse and worse," Director Zhi angrilyined.

    Lu Yin grew curious. He focused on the distant location and saw that a group of people were racing with cars. Yes, they were really racing cars, the primitive, four-wheeled models.

    "Are those race cars?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Director Zhi sighed. "It¡¯s my kid and a bunch of otheryabout brats who only race cars. Every time they do this, the city¡¯s residents get nervous. But hey, this time, we can make him stop."

    Lu Yin grew more interested. "Those cars look very old, and there¡¯s no excitement at all for a cultivator to drive them."

    "They converted them to run on star energy and specially modified them. Those cars are fast enough to even give a cultivator a thrill."

    "Director Zhi, please carry on with your work, though I would like to go see them." Lu Yin expressed his interest.

    Director Zhi was momentarily surprised, but he soon smiled. "That¡¯s right, I forgot. Alliance Leader Lu is about the same age as my child. If you¡¯re interested in such things, my son has a race car at home. Would Alliance Leader Lu like to try it out?"

    "Thank you, Director Zhi."

 Chapter 1576: Bloodstains

    Chapter 1576: Bloodstains

    These primitive race cars reminded Lu Yin of his early days on Earth. He had lived there for two years before starting his cultivation journey, and he had often raced against others in the suburbs of the city that he had lived in.

    The city in Aurora Fortress had many bridges crisscrossing through the air, and the ce was mostly illuminated by overhead lights that mimicked a sun. The lights lit up the cars and their drivers.

    Countless people stood on both sides of a bridge, and even all of the nearby buildings were filled. The onlookers were shouting excitedly, and many beautiful women could be seen.

    It was an exciting and public venue. The people at the center of it all were not afraid of being arrogant, but rather afraid of not being arrogant enough.

    Each of the cars had four wheels, but their bodies¡¯ shapes varied with some being far more impressive-looking than others. Some looked like beasts, others looked more like spaceships, and there were even some that looked like swords. The most ridiculous one was shaped like a beautiful woman, and it was extremely eye-catching.

    A whistle split the air, and hundreds of race cars rushed forward,pletely disappearing in the blink of an eye.

    The city was more thanrge enough to amodate these street races.

    Young Master Zhi charged to the front of the pack. A beautiful woman sat next to him, who was screaming incessantly. Each of the racers was apanied by a beautiful woman.

    After a while, crashes started to ur. These cars were not designed or programmed to avoid idents, though that did not matter. No cultivator would die even if their car exploded.

    The continuous crashes created a sort of rhythm in the night that prodded the entire city into a boil.

    These races had urred many times, but only a few people had ever won. Young Master Zhi had won the most races, though there were also very few cars capable ofpeting against him.

    "Kid, your legs are limp like jelly! You aren¡¯t quick enough, hahahaha!" A car shot by, driven by a young man who wasughing arrogantly and wearing a tattered coat that had rust stains on it. He looked homeless.

    Young Master Zhi became furious. "Wan Laoer, just you wait! I¡¯ll beat you to death!"

    "Go ahead and try!"

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    More crashes soon rang out, and the sound made Young Master Zhi¡¯spanion even more excited. Several of the race cars crashed off-course as well.

    Suddenly, a car crashed down from the sky. It smashed into another car and then shot forward to take the lead.

    Chi Shao and the other drivers were all stunned. Since when did cars start flying? In particr, Young Master Zhi thought, Wait, why does that car look so familiar? Isn''t it mine?

    Young Master Zhi''s eyes flushed red; someone had stolen his car!

    Wan Laoer was startled. "Hey kid, wasn¡¯t that the car that you won yourst race with? Someone stole your car!"

    "You dare toe in front of your daddy after daring to steal your daddy¡¯s car? You clearly don¡¯t want to live any longer! Your daddy even participated in ZENITH!" Young Master Zhi was furious and he pushed forward even faster.

    Wan Laoer was also instantly worked up. Someone participating with a stolen car was definitely an interesting development.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. For him, these cars were moving too slowly.

    His co-pilot¡¯s chair was upied by Luo Shen, and her face was flushed red with excitement. She shed Lu Yin a brilliant smile, feeling amazing. No one else had ever done this with Lu Yin, which meant that this experience belonged to just the two of them!

    "Boy, you better back down after daring to steal your daddy¡¯s car!" Young Master Zhi had caught up to Lu Yin, and he red at him from the side.

    Lu Yin just turned to look at the other driver.

    Young Master Zhi was momentarily stunned; why did this face look so familiar? The moment he made the connection, his expression changedpletely. "You? Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin smiled.

    Suddenly, something struck the side of his car. He turned to see that Wan Laoer had caught up as well and was looking at Lu Yin from the other side. He gave Lu Yin a thumbs up. "Boy, you¡¯ve done quite well! You actually stole this dude¡¯s car while in Aurora Fortress?"

    Lu Yin smiled indifferently, but just when he was about to reply, his pupils shrank. Right on Wan Laoer¡¯s cor, Lu Yin saw a very familiar symbol: the Hidden Earth Society. Why did this person have that symbol on his clothes? Also, the symbol was dark red, and it looked like a bloodstain.

    "Hey Bro, what''s your name?" Wan Laoer asked loudly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What''s your name?"

    Wan Laoer was caught off guard. "You don''t know me? You actually don¡¯t know who I am even though you¡¯re in this race? You¡¯ve got to be new."

    Lu Yin carefully studied Wan Laoer, equally curious about why this person did not recognize him. Had this person not watched ZENITH?

    "That¡¯s right, I¡¯m new."

    "Kids, this brat¡¯s new, so we need to teach him how things work around here! Hahahaha." Wan Laoerughed as his car elerated once again and shot forward.

    Lu Yin turned the other direction to smile at Young Master Zhi. "I think I saw you on Supreme Mountain."

    Young Master Zhi gulped. "Hello."

    "This is quite a fun way to pass the time. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow," Lu Yin said with a smile before speeding up to chase after Wan Laoer.

    Young Master Zhi just stared at the back of Lu Yin''s car. The woman sitting next to him shouted at him to hurry up, but Young Master Zhi did not move, even as the cars passed him from behind.

    "Young Master Zhi, are your legs that limp? It looks like that chick from yesterday took all the strength from your legs." Someoneughed loudly.

    "Young Master Zhi, you¡¯re wee toe back tomorrow!"

    "Young Master Zhi, hurry up and modify your car."

    ¡­

    It looked like Young Master Zhi heard none of the insults hurled at him. He searched to find Lu Yin, only to see that Lu Yin had already left.

    "Master Zhi, what''s the matter? Are ya stupid?" Wan Laoer stopped his car. He was very excited, as he had won that night¡¯s race.

    Young Master Zhi looked over at Wan Laoer. "Where''d that person go?"

    "Who? The kid who stole your car? I didn''t see. Actually, that¡¯s pretty strange. Where did he go?" Wan Laoer wondered.

    Young Master Zhi left immediately.

    Aurora Enterprises was actually a collective interest. It was a giantpany and was not owned by a single person. Director Zhi was merely the one at the helm of Aurora Fortress, and his position did not mean that Young Master Zhi was allowed to do whatever he wished. However, Young Master Zhi was not a wastrel, and hisworking skills were very good, able to connect with people of different sses.

    This night should have been one where Young Master Zhi was out partying and ying around, but he was not in the mood.

    He went and found Director Zhi, the youth¡¯s face solemn. "Lu Yin¡¯s here?"

    Director Zhi was studying a disy, and he casually responded. ¡°He arrived a few days ago. Have you seen him?"

    "Lu Yin is not good news. Why is he here to see us?" Young Master Zhi asked.

    Director Zhi was caught off guard, and he turned to look at Young Master Zhi. "Are you afraid of him? Are you worried about thepany?"

    Young Master Zhi sat down and took a sip of wine. Hisckadaisical image was nowhere to be seen as he quietly said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the Ten Arbiters or the Cosmic Five. No matter how powerful they might be, they will only ever inherit the powers that raised them. However, Lu Yin is different. He is too ambitious, and he even managed to dominate the entire Outerverse. Now that he¡¯s returned, he¡¯s definitely eyeing the Innerverse. He doesn¡¯t do anything without a purpose."

    Director Zhi dismissed the screen that he had been looking at and sat down across from his son. "You once asked me to give you some time to enjoy life. So, why are you asking about him now?"

    "I''m afraid of us being swallowed by him," Young Master Zhi angrily dered.

    Director Zhiughed. "You don''t know the foundation that Aurora Enterprises has! Let alone Lu Yin¡ªeven if the Seven Courts wanted to absorb thispany, they would not have an easy time of it. While Lu Yin¡¯s ability to influence the Hall of Honor makes me wary, he will never pose a threat to Aurora Enterprises unless he unites the entire Innerverse."

    "In that case, what the hell is he doing here?" Young Master Zhi asked.

    "He wants us to use some rare materials to make him some armor," Director Zhi stated. He stared at his son. "Maintain a good rtionship with him. Even if you don¡¯t be friends, absolutely do not be his enemy. He caused Shamrock Enterprise to lose their opportunity to move their headquarters to Mt. Microcosms."

    "That''s why I said that he¡¯s too ambitious." Young Master Zhi rolled his eyes.

    Director Zhi remained unruffled. "Just y with him. No matter how ambitious he may be or how he might be able to sway the Hall of Honor, he certainly is not able to deal with my Aurora Enterprises. In fact, we¡¯ve reached an agreement to cooperate: he¡¯ll provide us with rare materials, and in turn, we¡¯ll design and build vessels exclusive to the Great Eastern Alliance. It¡¯s just business."

    Young Master Zhi nodded.

    The next night, bright lights shot up all around the city on Aurora Fortress, illuminating the race cars once again.

    Young Master Zhi, Wan Laoer, and the others were all waiting to start, and Lu Yin had also lined up. He was wearing a helmet.

    ZENITH had publicized Lu Yin¡¯s face throughout the universe, and although he had no idea why Wan Laoer had not recognized him, Lu Yin felt it would be better to be careful.

    "Hey, kid, did you get a kick out of racing against us with a stolen car?" Wan Laoerughed.

    Young Master Zhi looked over at Lu Yin, a rare glint of challenge appearing in his eyes. He was not able topare to Lu Yin in strength. Young Master Zhi had not qualified to participate in thepetition in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and he had been eliminated by a single attack from Little Arrow Saint during ZENITH. However, Young Master Zhi had every intention of winning this race.

    There was a loud roar as all the cars shot forward.

    Several hourster, Lu Yin looked back to see that Young Master Zhi was the closest to him, but he was at least five minutes behind. This was Lu Yin¡¯s level of ability.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s strength, it took him no time at all to leave the other racers in the dust.

    Lu Yin''s overwhelming victory sparked everyone¡¯spetitive spirit, and for seven consecutive days, there were races. But Lu Yin won every race, and no one could catch up to him.

    Eventually, almost no one bothered challenging him anymore, as there was simply no hope of victory. The races ended with people getting bored of thepetition.

    During these seven days, Luo Shen was the happiest person, as she apanied Lu Yin every night.

    At the end, Wan Laoer returned home. He sat down, exhausted, and took a sip of water.

    The door opened. "Did you go racing again? You aren¡¯t allowed to go tomorrow. Come learn with me. We¡¯re in Aurora Fortress! How will you ever survive without any practical skills?"

    The person speaking to Wan Laoer was the craftsman who had recognized the Rucen Gold that Lu Yin had brought.

    Wan Laoer unhappily returned to his room while muttering something.

    Lu Yin watched everything from the distance. He had not been racing just to y around with these people, but rather to find out where the symbol on Wan Laoer¡¯s clothes hade from. After this week, Lu Yin was certain that the clothes Wan Laoer was wearing belonged to his father; was that man a part of the Hidden Earth Society?

    Lu Yin had stopped racing after figuring out where Wan Laoer¡¯s clothes hade from.

    There were still a few days left to go before the bodysuit armor waspleted, and Lu Yin was studying a star chart of the nearby area when a burst of pressure suddenly hit the area. As it fell, Lu Yin heard an excited voice. "Not good! I¡¯m going to break through to the Envoy realm!"

    Lu Yin was startled. Breaking through to the Envoy realm? Who?

    He looked up and saw Ah Da racing into space, leaving Aurora Fortress in a sh.

    Ah Da wanted to break through and be an Envoy?

    Breaking through to the Envoy realm meant going through the first stellr tribtion. Each tribtion¡¯s strength was proportional to the amount of stellr energy that formed the tribtion. A stellr tribtion was a powerful event, and if Ah Da stayed on Aurora Fortress, the tribtion would most likely sense the nearby Envoys, causing the tribtion to grow even stronger. This was not something that Ah Da could afford to have happen.

    It was impossible for Aurora Fortress to provide Ah Da with any assistance for him to survive his stellr tribtion. Even if the chances of another Envoy being detected by the tribtion were only one in ten thousand, that chance was risking total destruction.

    Ah Da immediately left Aurora Fortress and stood in the emptiness of outer space. The void above his head warped and twisted into a circle. It gave off the impression that a massive beast was descending, and its suppressive aura was simply terrifying, as if it could shatter earth and sky.

 Chapter 1577: A Successful Breakthrough

    Chapter 1577: A Sessful Breakthrough

    Director Zhi and the other Envoys all appeared in outer space one after another, though they stayed far away from Ah Da. Liu Ye and Fei Hua also showed up, as well as many more who were only Enlighters.

    Watching someone pass through a stellr tribtion would be a great boon for Enlighters hoping to break through in the future.

    Lu Yin also stepped into outer space, a solemn expression on his face as he quietly asked, "Liu Ye, in your opinion, will Ah Da be able to survive his tribtion?"

    Liu Ye shook his head. "It''s difficult to say. It all depends on what form the tribtion takes, as everyone''s is different."

    "The strength of a stellr tribtion is supposed to be determined by the amount of stellr energy that one steals from the true universe, no?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Ye nodded. "Breaking through to the Envoy realm requires one to form a vortex of stellr energy within their body, and the strength of that vortex is determined by the amount of star energy within the person¡¯s body. The more star energy the person has, the more stellr energy their body will draw in, and this cannot be hidden from the true universe. Ah Da does not have an excessive amount of star energy in his body, so as long as he has properly prepared himself, he has a 20% chance of sess."

    "Only 20%?" Lu Yin was startled.

    Fei Hua mockingly replied, "Do you think that stellr tribtions are a joke? Out of ten Enlighters, it would be lucky for even one to be an Envoy. He needs to ovee his stellr tribtion. This is not a fight against others. No matter how the tribtion suppresses him, he has to break through, and if he is even the slightest bit careless, sess will be impossible. A 20% chance of sess is already a very high probability.¡±

    "What about using external items?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice.

    Liu Ye replied, "There are certain external items that can help a person pass through a tribtion¡ªas long as they don¡¯t have any stellr energy, of course, as otherwise, it would just aggravate the tribtion. However, tribtions are iprehensible things, and not all items are useful. If an item from another person is used, it¡¯s more easily detected by the tribtion, and if that happens, the tribtion will be much stronger. Then, there will be no hope of survival."

    "A stellr tribtion can sense if an item¡¯s been borrowed?" Lu Yin was horrified. Was this tribtion sentient? No, this was beyond that. When Lu Yin used an item, nobody could tell if he had borrowed it or not.

    Fei Hua rolled her eyes. "It¡¯s not easy to deceive a stellr tribtion. Envoys have tried all sorts of things, but there¡¯s nothing more to say. Any Enlighter breaking through to the Envoy realm would not have a stable tribtion if they stayed on that Aurora Fortress."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. What the woman said made sense. In essence, Ah Da had not fled from Aurora Fortress because he was worried that the tribtion would sense the nearby Envoys, but rather because he had been worried that the tribtion would sense Aurora Fortress itself and react as though Ah Da was using the fortress as a defensive item.

    "One more thing: the strength of a tribtion is almost entirely determined by the strength of the stellr energy vortex, and that is something that no item can influence," Liu Ye warned.

    Nearby, Director Zhi let out an emotional sigh. "It really does seem as though stellr tribtions are alive in some capacity. They can see through things that no living creature can, and no one can escape them, only survive them. Only by bing stronger can a person hope to survive a stellr tribtion."

    Everyone stared at Ah Da and his solemn expression. The vortex was growingrger andrger above his head. Thunder cracked, and sharp shes of lightning asionally cut through the void, illuminating the spatial tears.

    "It''s a knife. His tribtion will be rted to a knife," a stoic-looking Envoy from Aurora Enterprisesmented.

    "He should therefore be an expert with knives," said Liu Ye.

    The next moment, a violent explosion rang out that sounded like multiple knives shing while sparks shed in the void and illuminated the area. Right after that, two long knives formed and shot towards Ah Da. The first knife charged straight forward like an arrogant dragon as it unleashed a roar that shook space itself. On the other hand, the second knife flickered about unpredictably, constantly shing as it was carried along by a strange power.

    The tribtion was not just knives, but also battle techniques.

    Star energy filled Lu Yin''s eyes. He saw nearly as many runes in the two knives as he did from Ah Da. No, there were two knives attacking, which meant that Ah Da had to survive two attacks that matched his own level of strength. This was a stellr tribtion.

    Ah Da pulled out a long, grayish-white knife from his cosmic ring and shed upward to sh with the first knife. The second knife flickered, and Ah Da¡¯s chest was cut, coloring his clothes red with blood. He was not able to stop both knives at the same time.

    A stellr tribtion was not some test, as it was the true universe putting forth a true effort to destroy an existence that had stolen from it. Such a thief was an unforgivable enemy.

    Ah Da shoved the first long knife away and immediately tried to sh at the second knife, but the second de contained a strange energy, and it blocked Ah Da''s de.

    Everyone watching sighed. The chances of him surviving this tribtion had fallen very low.

    At this time, a third knife appeared above the man¡¯s head.

    Fei Hua shook her head. "He¡¯s dead."

    Director Zhi simrly gave up hope. "This is a stellr tribtion."

    Lu Yin''s focus sharpened; sure enough, there was no way for Ah Da to survive.

    Ah Da looked up and saw the third knife forming. Thunder echoed in his ears. He took out a strange item and other power vessels, but they were all useless. Nothing that he possessed was able to resist this stellr tribtion.

    A crazed light entered Ah Da¡¯s eyes when he saw that the first knife was about to attack again. Suddenly, a voice reached him, and his knife shifted to chop at the second de of the stellr tribtion. The second knife¡¯s movement was altered in an odd fashion, and it blocked the first knife¡¯s attack. Ah Da grew excited, and he once again attacked the first knife. The continuous shing attacks surrounded him and made things unclear to the watching Enlighters.

    Not a single one of Ah Da¡¯s attacks was the same as the previous ones, and each attack caused the tribtion¡¯s knives to shift and move about differently. In particr, the strange energy carried by the second knife altered the first knife¡¯s movements every single time.

    Director Zhi and others were stunned; how could a person change so drastically?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua nced at each other before staring at Ah Da in utter shock. "Every time he moves his knife, it cuts through the best path, and he is essentially using the second knife to block the first! How is he doing it? Given his skills with a de, this should be beyond him."

    Nearby, Lu Yin was solemnly watching as he transmitted his voice.

    He was the one helping Ah Da. Even if the stellr tribtion could sense when a person borrowed an item from another, it would not be able to sense when someone provided verbal help. After all, that was too far-fetched.

    The stellr tribtions were sometimes able to sense if an item had been borrowed from another person, but it was impossible for it to pick up on help received through a sound transmission. This might be a possible lifeline provided by the tribtions.

    If this particr tribtion had not been a knife, but instead another form, Lu Yin would not have been able to provide much assistance. However, since it was a weapon, he could. When he had received his inheritance from the Sword Monument, Lu Yin had learned how to use a scythe to destroy weapons, and he had experienced cutting down tens of thousands of opponents.

    The time that Lu Yin had taken to receive his inheritance from the Sword Monument had even surpassed Bai Xian''er¡¯s record.

    Finally, there was a gentle sound as the tribtion¡¯s second knife finally shattered. Ah Da let out a deep roar and attacked the first de, shattering it as well.

    He was panting heavily, and blood streamed down from his chest onto his hands. Ah Da looked up at where the stellr tribtion¡¯s third knife was forming just as it fell towards him.

    This knife contained no battle technique, and it directly attacked him.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. This was bad! The third knife had far more runes than the previous two. Lu Yin stared at Ah Da, but he was unable to help.

    The power of this knife was not something that mere skill could ovee.

    This was the end.

    Director Zhi and other spectators all shook their heads. Ah Da had failed his tribtion.

    Even the Enlighters watching were able to feel the terrifying power of this third knife, and Ah Da¡¯s wounded state was clear for all to see. However, even in his peak state, Ah Da would not have been able to stop this knife.

    Ah Da looked up and saw the knife fall towards him. At that moment, the long gray knife disappeared from his hand, and it was reced by another that had the same shape. However, this new knife was sheathed, and that sheathe was Ah Da¡¯s innate gift.

    As the third knife fell towards his head, Ah Da¡¯s eyes went wide. He clenched his knife in his right hand, pulled the de free, and then shed it overhead. At that moment, an incredible number of rune lines appeared, startling Lu Yin. Star energy surged, shaking everyone nearby.

    This attack far exceeded the amount of star energy that Ah Da had in his body, and it was actually as powerful as if more than a dozen Ah Das had attacked at the same time. Ah Da¡¯s knife smashed the stellr tribtion¡¯s third knife, shattering it. It even continued on to sh at the vortex that was the stellr tribtion.

    Everyone was shocked, and many people sucked in sharp breaths; how could Ah Da have released such an attack?

    Even Director Zhi was startled, and he blurted out, "An innate gift rted to drawing a de? He¡¯s Da Qiu!"

    Lu Yin turned to look at Director Zhi. "You know him?"

    The surprise still did not leave Director Zhi¡¯s voice. "Yes. I should have remembered him before. Previously, he was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcers, but there hasn¡¯t been any news about him for decades."

    Lu Yin looked back at Ah Da; this man used to be one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcers?

    Off in the distance, Ah Da sheathed his knife, and then it slowly disappeared. He remained standing where he was. No one was able to see anything, though Lu Yin could see the man¡¯s rune lines continuously increasing. He had be an Envoy.

    The vortex slowly disappeared from above Ah Da¡¯s head, and everyone stared at the man with evident envy. He had survived his stellr tribtion.

    Liu Yemented, "That innate gift of his is quite good, but his skills with a de are even better."

    "He was lucky. There was a good chance of him not surviving his tribtion," Fei Hua said.

    Everyone stared at Ah Da as his body started to asionally disappear from view. He was entering and exiting the true universe. The Enlighters here were not able to see this, but the Envoys all knew what Ah Da was experiencing.

    Weaker cultivators would not be able to see a person who had entered the true universe, and attacking such a person was even more impossible. This was the power of an Envoy, and they were practically gods to Enlighters.

    The gathered crowd gradually dispersed, and Director Zhi also soon left. The birth of a new Envoy was certainly something worthy of his attention, but Ah Da was already someone who belonged to the Hall of Honor, and the Interster Supreme Court at that. Director Zhi had no connection with the new Envoy.

    Director Zhi was not overly concerned about Liu Ye and Fei Hua, so there was no need to even mention a new Envoy.

    Of course, there were also people who wanted to ask Ah Da about his tribtion.

    Ah Da opened his eyes and looked down at his hand. Even though he was still seriously injured, it was not a huge issue at the moment.

    He had survived his tribtion and formed a stellr energy vortex inside his body. He had be an Envoy. He quickly turned around and looked around for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not left yet, and so naturally, Liu Ye and Fei Hua had not either.

    Ah Da approached Lu Yin and offered a very respectful bow. "Mr. Lu, thank you."

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua both gave the two odd looks.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It was nothing, just a bit of help."

    Ah Da solemnly refuted, "It may not have been any great effort for you, but it saved my life. I, Da Qiu, wish to thank you."

    Lu Yin expressed his curiosity, "Da Qiu? Director Zhi mentioned that you used to be one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s enforcers, right?"

    Ah Da nodded. "I used to be, but I moved to the Interster Supreme Court after bing an Enlighter, and I¡¯ve changed my name until now."

    Lu Yinughed. "I never expected my luck to be so good! I really chose the right person to be my guide!"

    Fei Hua sneered. "Chose the right one? You just looked for the most powerful person avable. Your shamelessness is embarrassing."

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as she hadpletely called him out.

    Still, she was not wrong. When Lu Yin had visited the Arbitration World, he had chosen Ah Da because Lu Yin had seen that the man was on the cusp of bing an Envoy, and everyone else had been much weaker.

    "Since you were once an Enforcer, when you get back to Mt. Microcosms, will you be a Judicial Commissioner now that you¡¯ve be an Envoy? Or will you leave the Interster Supreme Court?" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 1578: Microarray Technology

    Chapter 1578: Microarray Technology

    Ah Da replied, "I haven¡¯t considered that yet as undergoing my stellr tribtion at this time was just an ident. I will first help Mr. Lu return to the Outerverse before making ns for the future."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. I know the Chief Justice quite well, so I¡¯m happy to help."

    Ah Da felt that this sounded quite strange. As far as everyone in the Interster Supreme Court was concerned, the Chief Justice was mysterious, majestic, and invible. He embodied the concepts of justice, judgment, and faith. Given all of that, why did Lu Yin¡¯sment make the Chief Justice sound like a middle-aged neighbor? When Ah Da remembered the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem that Lu Yin was carrying, an odd thought popped into his head: was it really possible that this youth was the Chief Justice¡¯s illegitimate child?

    Ah Da had always maintained a rather indifferent attitude towards Lu Yin, but after surviving his tribtion, the new Envoy¡¯s attitude hadpletely changed. Lu Yin had saved Ah Da¡¯s life, and he looked at Lu Yin with true respect.

    Lu Yin was also someone who was a part of the Hall of Honor. He had never lost this status, and Ah Da suddenly took a closer look at Lu Yin after hearing histestment.

    An Enlighter bing an Envoy was a big event, and it became a popr topic at Aurora Fortress.

    That night, Wan Lao''er was scolded once again. In his anger, he wanted to find Young Master Zhi¡¯s race car and challenge Lu Yin, but unfortunately, Lu Yin no longer had any interest in racing cars. He was far more interested in Wan Lao''er''s father.

    After Wan Lao''er stomped out of the house, his father, Wan Gong, let out a sigh. "Useless child."

    He shook his head and returned to his room. Suddenly, the hall lights in the downstairs of the house turned on, and he nced at the living room in an odd expression.

    "Wan Gong, let''s talk!" a voice called out. Wan Gong''s expression instantly changed, and he instinctively wanted to call someone.

    Many people had always wanted to steal Aurora Enterprises¡¯ technology, so all of the engineers had powerful bodyguards.

    "Don''t bother. I only came after preparing myself." The voice spoke again.

    Wan Gong felt that this voice sounded familiar, so he slowly walked downstairs to see Lu Yin lounging on a sofa while looking at some sketches.

    They were blueprints of just regr pieces of a spacecraft, so Wan Gong was unconcerned. He stared at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, is there something important enough for you to visit me sote at night? If you¡¯re curious about your bodysuit armor, you don''t need to worry. You¡¯ll have it in just two more days. We¡¯re doing an excellent job."

    Lu Yin set the sketch back down on the table. Next to the drawing were some raggedy old clothes.

    Wan Gong''s face fell when he saw the clothes.

    Lu Yin picked up the shirt and flipped up the cor to clearly show the mark that looked like bloodstains hidden beneath a fold. "Can Senior Wan Gong tell me what this symbol means?"

    Wan Gong stepped forward and asked, "What symbol? That¡¯s just a bloodstain."

    Lu Yin stared at Wan Gong. "You, or your ancestors, should havee from Earth."

    Wan Gong''s fingers trembled, but his eyes were focused. "What¡¯s ¡®Earth?¡¯ I¡¯ve never heard of it before."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "In that case, there shouldn¡¯t be any issue with Director Zhi seeing this symbol. I¡¯ve already spoken with Aurora Enterprises¡¯ senior management, so you should start thinking about how you can exin this to them."

    Wan Gong''s expression instantly changed. "Alliance Leader Lu, what are you saying?"

    "Nothing much. I just want us to speak openly."

    "There''s really nothing to say. So what if my ancestors came from the Hidden Earth Society? Aurora Fortress won''t care."

    "I never mentioned the Hidden Earth Society. I just said ¡®Earth,¡¯" Lu Yin said lightly.

    Wan Gong grew solemn. "Aurora Fortress doesn''t care about the Hidden Earth Society. To them, it''s just a small and unimportant organization."

    "That may be, but what if others find out that I, Lu Yin, have some connection to the Hidden Earth Society? After all, I¡¯m from Earth, so if someone sees us talkingte at night, just how will you exin that to Director Zhi?"

    Wan Gong frowned. "Lu Yin, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin stared at Wan Gong. "You betrayed the Hidden Earth Society."

    "I didn''t! I¡¯ll admit that my ancestors dide from Earth, but that was a long time ago. Those clothes aren¡¯t even mine, and they belonged to my ancestors. We never betrayed the Hidden Earth Society. But after settling down here at Aurora Fortress, we don''t want to get involved with anything to do with the Hidden Earth Society anymore."

    "Why?"

    "This is my home," Wan Gong dered.

    Lu Yin understood. "I get it.¡±

    He then stood to leave. There was no reason to continue speaking with Wan Gong. Lu Yin had sought the man out because he wanted to learn more about the Hidden Earth Society, but Wan Gong¡¯s family had left the society, and the man himself had never been part of it. Thus, there was no need to drag him into things that his ancestors had been part of. Wan Gong had nothing to do with the Hidden Earth Society.

    Wan Gong did not seem to believe that Lu Yin would really just leave. "Lu Yin, what is that you want?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew casual as he replied, "There¡¯s nothing to worry about. Since you¡¯re not a part of the Hidden Earth Society, then just have a good life."

    "You didn''t tell me about what will happen to me!" Wan Gong said nervously.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "Don¡¯t worry."

    With that, he simply left.

    Wan Gong stared at his empty living room and the clothes,plicated emotions surging within his eyes.

    He had not heard this name for many years, but it had suddenly appeared in his life again. Long ago, his ancestors had been regarded highly by Aurora Fortress for their technical skills, and his ancestors had also wanted thefort of a life in Aurora Fortress and not suffer like those in the Hidden Earth Society. The price to seek out people with ancient surnames was extremely high. However, they had not merely left the Hidden Earth Society, and they had truly betrayed it.

    As a part of the betrayal, everyone who knew that Wan Gong¡¯s ancestor had been a member of the Hidden Earth Society had been silenced, and no fewer than ten members of the Hidden Earth Society had been eliminated. A blood debt had been formed.

    The Hidden Earth Society was therefore ignorant that Wan Gong¡¯s ancestors had betrayed them, and that ignorance had allowed his family to live in peace for many years. Wan Gong had no desire to get involved with the Hidden Earth Society, but what was Lu Yin¡¯s motivation behind finding Wan Gong at this time? How had Lu Yin learned the truth of the past?

    Wan Gong stared at the clothes still on the table and at the blood stains. Blood debt, bloodstains. Blood debt. Blood debt. Wan Gong''s heart dropped, and his face grew pale. Lu Yin must have appeared to get revenge for those people from back then!

    How could Wan Gong possibly enjoy a good life like Lu Yin had mentioned when all that awaited him was terrible vengeance?

    Wan Gong had no fear of death, but he did not want his son to die as well. When Wan Gong¡¯s oldest son had died, the man had been pushed into despair for a period of time. His second child could not suffer any ident.

    Wan Gong did not doubt Lu Yin¡¯s ability to uncover the truth of the past. The youth had been personally greeted and shown about Aurora Fortress by Director Zhi. It would be all too easy for such a person to go after Wan Gong.

    No, no revenge could be exacted! If the ancestors had formed a debt, then that debt needed to be repaid.

    At this thought, Wan Gong instantly left his home. He could not allow a tragedy to strike.

    Shortly after Lu Yin left Wan Gong¡¯s home, the engineer found Lu Yin.

    The man¡¯s arrival surprised Lu Yin, especially since Wan Gong looked as though his son had died.

    Wan Gong dropped to his knees as soon as he approached Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I beg you to let my son go! You can do with me as you wish, but please, allow me to repay my ancestors¡¯ debt."

    Lu Yin was startled for a moment, but then his eyes flickered. He let out a sigh and casually took a seat. "Why?"

    When Wan Gong heard Lu Yin¡¯s reply, the engineer became fully confident that Lu Yin had visited him to exact revenge. "I will repay the blood debt that my ancestors owe the Hidden Earth Society! My family has stayed here in Aurora Fortress for many years, and we have gained great trust. I am actually one of the core engineers and am involved in some of Aurora Enterprises¡¯ most secretive research. I can only offer to tell Alliance Leader Lu of the technologies that I have developed and learned, and I can also tell Alliance Leader Lu everything that I know about Aurora Fortress.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Technological research? Regarding what?"

    Wan Gong instantly grew hesitant.

    Lu Yin snorted derisively.

    Wan Gong despaired, but then his determination firmed. "Microarray technology."

    Lu Yin did not understand the term. "Exin it to me."

    Wan Gong sighed. After mentioning microarray technology, there was nothing left to hide. "Ever since Aurora Enterprises was first founded, a tenth of thepany¡¯s profits have disappeared every single year without any exception. This is an incredible expenditure, and while many people are curious about where the funds go, the truth is that no one knows. I was also unaware. That is, not until one day, when my skills and background were both acknowledged as meeting the requirements. At that time, I was brought in to a research project studying something called microarray technology."

    Lu Yin was startled at this news, as Aurora Enterprises¡¯ annual profits made for an astronomical sum. Thepany earned no less than the entire Great Eastern Alliance. A tenth of those funds, from the time that thepany had first been established, just what sort of funding was that? It was a truly unimaginable amount of wealth.

    "The goal of microarray technology is to incorporate everything that can be observed in the visible universe together: items, living creatures, and even attacks. It aims to gather everything that is both visible and not into a small device that can be activated by anyone. This is the central goal of microarray technology. While it sounds simr to a cosmic ring, a cosmic ring can only store nonlivng items; they can¡¯t store living creatures, let alone attacks. A microarray would be capable of doing both.

    "No matter how crazy the idea sounds, Aurora Enterprises has always believed that such a thing is theoretically feasible, and thus, they have invested a great amount of money into the research. At the moment, the entire project has reached a bottleneck, and yet money is still being invested despite not a single bit of progress. In fact, the funds may have even increased."

    Lu Yin leaned forward. There was something tickling his memory, but he could not quite remember what it was. "Keep talking."

    Wan Gong continued, "Microarray technology is Aurora Enterprises¡¯ primary goal. If this research is sessful, it will change things for the entire human race, as the technology would be applicable to every single aspect of life, even warfare! Think about it¡ªif a person''s attack could be stored away to be used at another moment, what would that allow?"

    Lightning shed through Lu Yin''s mind as he suddenly remembered the sourcebox array that had held four Void Rip attacks.

    That sourcebox array had managed to store a battle technique, allowing it to be used at any time! There were power vessels that could do the same thing, but those could only be made by people with special abilities whereas microarray technology could be used by absolutely anyone, even ordinary people.

    If an ordinary person could have used the sourcebox array to release a Void Rip that could destroy an entire in an instant, then what sort of scene would that be?

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Such a technology sounds unrealistic."

    "I know, but Aurora Enterprises ispletely confident that it can be developed. The bodysuit armor and theponents of Auroras that dposes materials to upgrade the ships were both developed while researching this technology. Aurora Enterprises makes its money through manufacturing spaceships. Thus, they invest heavily into research. Countless geniuses have been brought to Aurora Fortress for countless years to continue this research. Those researchers continue to pursue this research until the day they die of old age, as will I,¡± Wan Gong stated.

    Lu Yin took out the Void Rip sourcebox array and tossed it over to Wan Gong. "Look at this."

    Even after Lu Yin had used up all four of the Void Rip attacks stored in the sourcebox array, he had not gotten rid of the array itself.

    Wan Gong took the Void Rip sourcebox array and started carefully examining it. Suddenly, his expression changedpletely, and he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. "A- Alliance Leader Lu, where did this thinge from?"

    "Is it useful?" Lu Yin was growing interested.

    Wan Gong¡¯s excitement only grew. "It''s useful! Very useful! This is nothing less than a model of working microarray technology! This could lead to incredible breakthroughs regarding microarray technology!"

 Chapter 1579: Debt From The Past

    Chapter 1579: Debt From The Past

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew thoughtful. He had not given Wan Gong a model, but rather a sourcebox array that was a working example of microarray technology. Even though it had been able to store four Void Rip attacks, it was a sourcebox array, not a form of technology. "Are there any Array Masters among the researchers investigating microarray technology?"

    "There is indeed a powerful Realm Array Master."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. This was not a surprising answer, as such a technology would have to bebined with the underlying principles of sourcebox arrays. Clearly, Aurora Enterprises was truly willing to freely invest into this research if they had their own Realm Array Master. Not even the White Dragon n, one of the four ruling powers of the Perennial World, had been able to raise an Array Master, and the n had been forced to hire such experts.

    For them to have a Realm Array Master on the research team, this research was not something that Lu Yin could afford to invest in.

    Wan Gong was excited by what he saw while examining the Void Rip sourcebox array. He had the same expression as when he had first seen the rare materials that Lu Yin had brought to be used for his universal armor. Wan Gong waspletely absorbed in examining the sourcebox array, and it upied his full attention. The man was a true engineer, and his essence could not be changed.

    "If you have this, could your microarray research make more progress?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wan Gong subconsciously responded, "There¡¯s no other option! Absolutely."

    He then looked at Lu Yin and the sourcebox array, clearly unwilling to give the thing back.

    "You¡¯ve forgotten why you came here. Our matter is not yet settled," Lu Yin reminded the man.

    Anyone who learned of microarray technology would be excited about it. Even if it sounded like an impossible goal, Aurora Enterprises had already poured so much money into the project, and their enthusiasm was clear to see.

    Wan Gong had truly forgotten about why he had chased after Lu Yin after seeing the Void Rip sourcebox array, and Lu Yin¡¯s blunt reminder gave the man chills.

    Lu Yin smiled casually and waved a hand, causing the sourcebox array to disappear from Wan Gong''s grasp.

    The man was still unwilling to give up such a treasure, and he stared at Lu Yin, pleading with his eyes.

    "With how things are, is anyone keeping an eye on you?" Lu Yin wondered.

    "Yes, but I¡¯m able to lose them."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I sought you out for an unpaid debt. You need to settle this ount."

    Wan Gong''s face grew pale. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''ll pay you back. Just please, let my son go! Let him go!"

    Lu Yin stared at Wan Gong. "With this sourcebox array, how long would it take to develop the microarray technology?"

    "I believe that we would be able to make a breakthrough within no more than ten years. However, I¡¯ve been absent from this project for a long time, so I don''t know what progress might have been made by now. ording to the progress when I left, it should be about ten years."

    Ten years was a long time to Lu Yin, but that was nothingpared to the time that had already been spent researching microarray technology.

    Lu Yin longed for the day when the research would bepleted and various attacks could be stored in a microarray. It would allow an army of hundreds of thousands of ordinary humans to instantly release an attack with the power of an Envoy! What would such a thing look like? Forget the Sixth Maind¡ªeven the Perennial World and Aeternus would be terrified!

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin threw the Void Rip sourcebox array back to Wan Gong. "I''ll give you the opportunity to stay here and research microarray technology. After the project¡¯s sess, you will deliver the results to me, and your debt will be cleared."

    Wan Gong was overjoyed. "Really?"

    Lu Yin nodded. This person was clearly a gifted engineer, but he was also ignorant of the full implications that this microarray technology held for the future, or it might be that he simply had not thought that far into the future. Aurora Enterprises, on the other hand, was different; they had seen the potential for microarray technology, but theycked the technical abilities to bring it into existence.

    What intrigued Lu Yin the most at this moment was how the Celestial Frost Sect had even made the Void Rip sourcebox array. Regardless of whether or not the sect itself had developed this sourcebox array that was able to hold four Void Rip attacks, someone had still already mastered microarray technology.

    This was not good news. Someone had developed microarray technology, but it was not being used against Aeternus. In that case, what was the technology being used for?

    "You can return now, but remember: if Aurora Fortress develops any important technology, you must inform me," Lu Yin ordered.

    These words meant that Wan Gong had betrayed Aurora Fortress.

    In the past, his ancestors had betrayed the Hidden Earth Society to join Aurora Fortress, but at this moment, Wan Gong had betrayed Aurora Fortress and fallen under Lu Yin''smand. The debt that he had inherited would soon be repaid.

    Wan Gong sighed and stood up. He slowly started leaving, but just as he got to the door, he suddenly remembered something. "Aurora Enterprises might have some sort of connection to the Cosmic Sect."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What was that?"

    Revealing the information about microarray technology meant that Wan Gong had alreadypletely betrayed Aurora Enterprises, and there was no turning back. His new position caused him to want to earn Lu Yin¡¯s favor. "Some technology that I developed identally detected that more than one person in Aurora Enterprises uses the Cosmic Art. While I¡¯ve never seen it myself, the instruments did. Still, I¡¯m notpletely certain.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. There should be absolutely no connection between Aurora Enterprises and the Cosmic Sect. "I see."

    Two dayster, Lu Yin¡¯s bodysuit armor was sessfullypleted, and he reached out to touch it.

    The bodysuit armor lookedpletely different from universal armor, and it looked like an exceptionally delicate piece of clothing. It was actually rather simr to the Cloudguard Robes in appearance, but while the Cloudguard Robes¡¯ defensive abilities came from abination of its material and various sourcebox arrays, the bodysuit armor¡¯s defensive abilities stemmed exclusively from its materials, which made it far weaker than the Cloudguard Robes, though that was only for the moment.

    Across from Lu Yin, Director Zhi admired the bodysuit armor. "With so many rare materials and my Aurora Fortress¡¯s technological abilities, we managed to produce a bodysuit armor that can defend against attacks of a power level of more than 400,000. While it¡¯s very, very close to the power of an Envoy, though it falls to pass that specific threshold."

    Lu Yin smiled. "This is enough. Thank you, Director Zhi."

    Lu Yin watched as Aurora Fortress gradually faded into the distance as he and his party moved towards the Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin¡¯s original destination had been the Cosmic Sect, as he wanted to study the nextyer of the Cosmic Art. However, Wan Gong¡¯sment had also piqued Lu Yin¡¯s desire to investigate that particr possibility.

    For eons, the Cosmic Sect had existed in the western region of the Neoverse while Aurora Enterprises was in the north. There was no affiliation between the two, and Lu Yin had never heard of any rumors connecting the two before. Still, if what Wan Gong had detected was urate, then the Cosmic Sect was indeed rted to Aurora Enterprises. Thebination of two such massive Neoverse powers would change the entire politicalndscape.

    Such a thing seemed highly, highly unlikely, as how could the Hall of Honor have possibly not noticed anything after so many years?

    "Mr. Lu, there is an abnormality up ahead," Ah Da said.

    Lu Yin had been tasting some wine that Director Zhi had given him with Luo Shen, but he immediately appeared as soon as he heard the warning.

    There was an interster city in front of their vessel. Such cities weremon in the Neoverse, such as the Westgazing City he had once visited, Crimson Star, and many more. However, the city up ahead of them was actually cracking apart.

    "Let''s go take a look," Lu Yin said.

    Each interster city was home to countless people, and they would struggle to survive if the city was destroyed. Naturally, Lu Yin would help if he could.

    Their spacecraft moved above the interster city, and Lu Yin and the others looked down at it.

    Two groups of people were engaged in a fierce battle in the city, and the fighting was causing the city to break apart. Innumerable people were fleeing in despair, but many of the vessels were not able to leave.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed; both sides were using Truesight in their battle.

    "Those people are from Gods¡¯ Origin, and they¡¯re fighting against people from the Ignition Crew, one of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews," Ah Da solemnly observed.

    Jin He had been a part of the Ignition Crew, and he was the person behind the deaths of the 72 people with the Lu surname. Even though Lu Yin had killed Jin He during ZENITH, he had still been a part of the Ignition Crew.

    "Liu Ye, please go ahead and suppress everyone," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had a sourcebox array hidden within their bodies, and Lu Yin could cause their deaths at any moment with just a thought.

    Ever since the two had started following Lu Yin, he had not once given the two Envoys a single order until this exact moment. Even though Fei Hua had constantly been rude to Lu Yin, he had never minded her attitude, and he had never once even asked for something until this moment.

    Fei Hua wanted to talk back after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s request, but Liu Ye stopped her with a shake of his head.

    During the time that they had followed Lu Yin, they had researched him on the Human Domain¡¯swork. They had already learned a bit about Lu Yin before this, and they knew about his personality. At this moment, if they went against him, they knew that Lu Yin would not hesitate to kill them both.

    Most of the people fighting in the city were only Explorers, but there were also a few Enlighters as well as two Envoys.

    "Get back! You bugs only know how to stay trapped in the Neoverse! The day will eventuallye when my Ignition Crew will take everything from Gods¡¯ Origin, and you all be ves!" A manughed wildly as he raised a hand.

    An arc appeared before him, but an old woman in beautiful robes who was from Gods¡¯ Origin snapped back, ¡°Arrogant!¡±

    She attacked even as she shouted.

    Each of the two sides worked to reduce their opponents¡¯ runes, and they also attacked each other by creating attacks out of nothing with their mastery of runes. asionally, the Envoys would disappear into the true universe, and their battle was quickly destroying the entire city.

    It was clear that not a single one of thebatants cared about the fate of the city or its citizens.

    This was true for both sides of the battle, and the city¡¯s own cultivators did not dare to interfere in such a battle, as the small city could not afford to offend either side of the two powers participating in this fight.

    Suddenly, a terrifying wave of energy swept out, and the two Envoys who had entered the true universe were forced back out. They looked up in awe and saw Liu Ye standing high in the sky.

    Peace returned to the city, but then an explosion erupted, and mes shot into the sky. Many people watched on in despair, thinking that they were seeing their own deaths approaching, but suddenly, they were standing in outer space.

    Both sides of the battle had been forced to stop fighting, and they all looked at Liu Ye.

    The old woman said, "I don''t know who this senior might be, but please help my Gods¡¯ Origin to destroy these traitors from the Ignition Crew."

    The Envoy from the Ignition Crew also spoke up. "I don''t know if Senior was just passing by and we disturbed you. If you visit the Cosmic Sea in the future, my Ignition Crew will definitely wee you and show our appreciation."

    Everyone stared at Liu Ye, waiting for him to speak.

    Liu Ye did not move, but the void near him twisted. Lu Yin appeared and looked down at the variousbatants.

    "Lu Yin?" someone shouted as they recognized him.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s right, ZENITH¡¯s champion!"

    "It''s him! It''s Lu Yin!"

    ¡­

    Down in the city, the old woman was thrilled. Gods¡¯ Origin was not a popr ce, as few people had any sort of affection for the organization. However, Lu Yin got along well with God Taiyi, and they could almost be considered friends. Even more importantly, Lu Yin had killed Jin He during ZENITH, who had been an incredibly talented youth who had managed to be one of the Innerverse¡¯s Ten Arbiters. It was clear that Lu Yin and the Ignition Crew were enemies.

    The moment he saw Lu Yin, the Envoy from the Ignition Crew did not hesitate to enter the true universe to try to escape.

    After taking just a few steps, Fei Hua appeared in front of him. No matter what the man tried, he could not get past the woman.

    Liu Ye looked dazed; the man was only a one-tribtion Envoy, and it even looked like the man had only recently be an Envoy, so how had the man managed to weaken his attack? It was not a small amount either. Liu Ye was a three-tribtion Envoy, but his strength had been weakened to the level of a two-tribtion Envoy, and he was unable to restore his strength despite his greatest efforts.

    The Envoy who was trying to escape gritted his teeth and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, what is it that you want?"

    "What just happened? He has very bizarre techniques," Liu Ye asked in a low voice as he nced over at Lu Yin with curiosity.

    Lu Yin smiled and asked, "Have you ever heard of¡­ the Rune Progenitor?"

 Chapter 1580: Disciple

    Chapter 1580: Disciple

    Liu Ye was confused. "Which Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Apparently, the people of the Perennial World did not know of the Rune Progenitor. "The Rune Progenitor created rune technology, which allows its practitioner to create something out of nothing or weaken their enemy. He established a truly amazing civilization. This person used the Rune Progenitor¡¯s method to attack you, as the method can be used as a battle technique."

    Lu Yin then redirected his attention to the Envoy from the Ignition Crew. ¡°"Who ordered Jin He to target Big Sis¡¯s Soldier Crew for members with the Lu surname?"

    The man solemnly replied, "Jin He did that on his own. Highsage Leon also questioned us about that matter, but my Ignition Crew had nothing to do with that matter."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression hardened. ¡°Listen carefully. My question is who ordered Jin He to target Big Sis¡¯s Soldier Crew for members under the pretext that having the Lu surname is a crime."

    The man clenched a fist. He had traveled to the Neoverse to recruit powerhouses to join the Ignition Crew. The incident that Lu Yin was referring to had actually led to a battle between Leon¡¯s Armada and the Ignition Crew. With the formation of the Great Eastern Alliance, the Ignition Crew had finally gotten some room to catch their breath. They wanted to use this time to grow asrge as possible, but unfortunately, they had been discovered by people from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    However, it was said that enemies walked a narrow road, and they had also run into Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve already said that that matter was orchestrated entirely by Jin He and that it had nothing to do with my Ignition Crew," the man solemnly dered.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Liu Ye, I¡¯ll have to trouble him to deal with him. You¡¯ll be able topletely experience the miraculous method that they use."

    Liu Ye''s eyes lit up. "Thank you."

    The Envoy down below shot back into the true universe, but Liu Ye just sneered. Even if his strength had been weakened, he was still much stronger than his opponent. He truly did want to experience this incredible method for himself. Could something from this Forsaken Land possibly surpass anything from the Perennial World?

    Liu Ye attacked. His opponent would not be a problem for him.

    The rest of the members of the Ignition Crew were all terrified.

    Lu Yin ignored everyone and descended into the city.

    The old woman from Gods¡¯ Origin approached him. "Thank you for your help, Alliance Leader Lu."

    An old man arrived from elsewhere. He was an Enlighter with a power level of about 300,000. After approaching, the man bowed to Lu Yin. "Many thanks, Alliance Leader Lu, for saving this city. This little old man wishes to offer you thanks on behalf of the millions of people here."

    Lu Yin simply ignored the old woman and moved to help the old man stand. "There¡¯s no need for any thanks. Go and get busy¡ªyour city has been destroyed, and it will take you some time to clean things up."

    The old man was again thankful, and he quickly left. He truly did have a lot that he needed to do.

    The old woman''s expression was quickly souring, but Lu Yin continued to ignore her and instead focused on an ant.

    Finally, he looked over at the old woman. "I didn¡¯t do this to help you, and you don¡¯t even qualify to receive my help."

    The old woman''s eyes frosted over. "Alliance Leader Lu, are you unwilling to be friends with my Gods¡¯ Origin?"

    Lu Yinughed. "You aren¡¯t able to represent Gods¡¯ Origin."

    The old woman was furious, but she suppressed her rage as she was actually scared of Liu Ye. "Since that¡¯s how it is, farewell. I will take the rest of the members of the Ignition Crew with me, unless Alliance Leader Lu feels differently?"

    She did not ask Lu Yin to give her the Envoy from the Ignition crew, as she was not an idiot. Lu Yin had not given the people from Gods¡¯ Origin any face when hepeted for the Astral Tower in the Mountains and Seas Zone. Aside from his rtionship with God Taiyi, Lu Yin could only be seen as not having a hostile rtionship with Gods¡¯ Origin. They were certainly not friends.

    "As you wish." Lu Yin watched the old woman leave and then stared off into the distance.

    It did not take long for Liu Ye to capture the Envoy from the Ignition Crew. The man was severely injured when he was dragged over in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin squatted down to look at the man. "Same question as before: who was it?"

    The man''s face was pale. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, and there was a gaping wound on his abdomen. However, he stared at Lu Yin with fierce eyes. "Jin He acted on his own! It had nothing to do with us!"

    Lu Yin frowned. He then stepped forward and disappeared. "Get rid of him."

    It was not long before their ship resumed its course for the Cosmic Sect.

    There were many ces in the Neoverse that Lu Yin wanted to visit. He wants to go to the Cosmic Sect to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art, and he also wanted to go see the Mavis family in order to see just how much wealth they really had. Could he get them to lend any to him? He wanted to visit the Seven Courts to see if he could find any records concerning Progenitors. And he also wanted to visit Gods¡¯ Origin to see if he could reach the next level of Truesight.

    Lu Yin truly had no spare time, as there was simply too much for him to do.

    However, he was not quite as eager to increase his mastery of Truesight, as the technique had many restrictions, and there were ces where it could not be used at all.

    If it was possible to use Truesight in the Perennial World, Lu Yin would have made sure to visit Gods¡¯ Origin long ago. Jin He had cultivated Truesight to the Knowing realm, and Lu Yin was still jealous of that achievement.

    After some time, they arrived in the northern region of the Neoverse, and they soon saw the Cosmic Sect.

    Luo Shen sped a hand over her mouth as she stared on in shock.

    Lu Yin had also beenpletely stunned the first time that he hadid eyes on the Cosmic Sect.

    It looked as though countless stars were being held in a hand. This was the Cosmic Sect¡¯syout, and while it could be described in such a simple manner, there was no way to describe its breathtaking beauty.

    Liu Ye voiced his admiration. "It looks quite simr to the Wang family¡¯s home, and they are one of the four ruling powers. However, the Wang family¡¯s home looks as though a severed hand is holding up theirnd while here, it looks as though an invisible hand is holding the stars as they move through space."

    Fei Hua nodded. "I had thought that the Forsaken Land was a cultivating wastnd, but it actually doesn¡¯t seem all that bad."

    Liu Ye agreed, "Not only is it not that bad, but it''s truly beyond our imagination. You didn''t fight that man back there. He was able to create things from absolutely nothing, and he could also weaken my attacks. It''s truly amazing. I¡¯ve never even heard of such a method in the Perennial World."

    After that, the man looked to Lu Yin. "Was the Rune Progenitor one of the Forsaken Land¡¯s Progenitors?"

    "He was a Progenitor whom history dared not record down, and he created a civilization that was also not recorded."

    Liu Ye grew emotional. "Creating a civilization is a feat worthy of a Progenitor. I would love to see this Truesight."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That person that you fought only cultivated Truesight to the rity realm. I once saw a genius who was able to reach the Knowing realm while only an Enlighter. At that level of mastery, he was able to deny certain things from influencing him. Basically, even if he faced an attack that was too strong for him, he could ignore it. And I mean really and truly ignore it as though it did not exist.¡±

    Liu Ye''s eyes zed. "Where is that person? I really want to meet him."

    "I killed him."

    Liu Ye choked.

    Fei Hua became upset. "Then what about everything that you said about him?"

    "Just because I killed him doesn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t skilled," Lu Yin retorted.

    Luo Shen pursed her lips and snickered; Lu Yin was tooting his own horn, which was entertaining to watch.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s present status in the Fifth Maind, Sect Master Yuan Qiong personally greeted the youth when he arrived at the Cosmic Sect.

    Yuan Qiong was apanied by Elder Yuan Shou, Elder Yao Shan, Elder Yuan Ke, Elder Yuan Miao, and a group of core disciples who all greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hurried over and bowed as soon as he saw Yuan Qiong and others. "Fifth Core Disciple Lu Yin greets the sect master and the elders."

    Yuan Qiong was stunned for a moment. He was the sect master, and with his position, he had stepped out to greet the leader of the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin was the most talented member of his generation in the entire Fifth Maind. That was the status of someone who was worthy of having the sect master of the Cosmic Sect personally greet him. No core disciple of the sect deserved such treatment! How could the sect master move out for a mere disciple?

    Yuan Qiong had moved to wee Lu Yin on behalf of the Cosmic Sect as a show of recognizing Lu Yin¡¯s status as the leader of the Outerverse and the champion of ZENITH; how was he supposed to react to this greeting?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you were merely an exchange disciple that Eversky Ind sent here to study. Your status as the fifth core disciple was forfeited when you left," Elder Yao Shan stated.

    Lu Yin spoke in a sincere tone, "I was a disciple of the Cosmic Sect for a day, and so I will remain a disciple of the Cosmic Sect for my entire life. This disciple will never forget the sect¡¯s teachings. This disciple regrets not being able to save Senior Sister in that ce."

    "Well spoken, and from the heart too. I am also a disciple of the Cosmic Sect," Elder Yuan Shou praised.

    Lu Yin bowed yet again.

    Yuan Qiong''s eyes flickered. No, this was all wrong. Lu Yin¡¯s attitude was too perfect, and he was acting too sincerely. Something had to be wrong.

    Even though Yuan Qiong could not put his finger on what the problem was, he kept an eye on Lu Yin. "I won''t discuss this matter today. Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve traveled far, so please enter my sect."

    Lu Yin quickly responded, "How could I dare to trouble the Sect Master to lead the way for me? That would be inappropriate for this disciple."

    Elder Yao Shan''s eyes suddenly flickered as a thought urred to him. "While Alliance Leader Lu is devoted to my Cosmic Sect, which gives me greatfort, you must not call yourself a disciple again, as you are not a real disciple of the Cosmic Sect."

    Elder Yuan Shou sighed. "Yao Shan, what are you doing? Lu Yin is showing his sincerity to my Cosmic Sect, and yet you rebuff him? Is this how an elder of the Cosmic Sect should behave? Are you really an elder?"

    Elder Yao Shan''s face twisted. "Alliance Leader Lu is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, as well as the champion of ZENITH. While I truly wish for him to be a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, he is not. My Cosmic Sect does not treat such matters lightly."

    "What are you talking about? Lu Yin cultivated in the Cosmic Sect, and he achieved the position of a core disciple through the third method. He is a core disciple of my Cosmic Sect."

    "That was merely an exchange program with Eversky Ind, and that time has already expired."

    "But his heart belongs to my Cosmic Sect."

    "There are many people who are devoted to my Cosmic Sect. Are all of them disciples?"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and silently listened as the two elders argued. He truly did regard himself as a disciple of the Cosmic Sect, though that was also because he wanted to learn the Cosmic Art. If he was not a disciple of the sect, why would they teach him anything?

    "Enough. You are all elders. Be aware of the image that you are presenting!" Yuan Qiong shouted angrily.

    Behind the elders, Mu Ziying, Hua Xiao, and others were leftpletely speechless. Just how was Lu Yin able to stir up so much trouble so fast while also lookingpletely innocent?

    Yao Ji stared at Lu Yin and started to feel twitchy; this bastard absolutely deserved a beating.

    Yuan Ke regarded Lu Yin very highly. "Sect Master, it''s rare for a child to show such devotion, and he has continued to be loyal to my Cosmic Sect. We can¡¯t treat such a person coldly."

    Yuan Qiong looked over at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, let''s not discuss the matter of your status as being a disciple or not for the moment. Let¡¯s first enter the sect."

    Lu Yin nodded. "As Sect Master wishes."

    Yuan Qiong knew that Lu Yin could not allow the sect master to be an escort, and Yuan Qiong also wanted to find out what Lu Yin wanted from them. The sect master was assuming that Lu Yin was after the Cosmic Art, but that could not possible. Forget the first three levels of the Cosmic Art¡ªthe fourth level required a person to gain ess to the thirty six fatal energy centers of the human body, and that was not something that could be shared with outsiders. Quite a while ago, Smoke Eater Peaks had paid a steep price to gain the first level of the Cosmic Art in order to allow Gu Xiao¡¯er to be a Lockbreaker. Who could have imagined that the kid would not live up to expectations and that he would even lose the copy of the Cosmic Art that he had been given?

    The Cosmic Sect had always remembered that matter, and the Cosmic Art could not be allowed to spread.

    "Who are these two?" Only at that moment did Elder Yuan Shou finally notice Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Everyone had been so preupied with Lu Yin¡¯s disruption that not a single person had noticed Liu Ye or Fei Hua.

    The Cosmic Sect was not the same as Aurora Enterprises. Thetter was a massive corporation. Since neither of the two Envoys held any value for thepany, Aurora Enterprises had not cared about the two. However, the Cosmic Sect was a sect.

    "Yuan Qiong was rude and didn''t notice the two of you. Please don¡¯t take any offense." Yuan Qiong grew solemn as he apologized to Liu Ye and Fei Hua. This demonstrated the difference between sects andpanies.

 Chapter 1581: The Way You Want

    Chapter 1581: The Way You Want

    Liu Ye just smiled. "There¡¯s no need for Sect Master Yuan to be so concerned. We¡¯re just Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s bodyguards."

    Yuan Qiong and the others were shocked by this information, and it pressed upon them the seriousness of Lu Yin¡¯s status. They were able to sense Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s strength, and the two surpassed most of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s elders in strength, and they were only weaker than the sect¡¯s top powerhouses, such as their sect master. There were actually two people with such power protecting Lu Yin.

    Fei Hua was not happy to be reminded of the situation she was in.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Liu Ye is just being humble. Both of them are this disciple¡¯s elders, and we just happened to be going the same direction and decided to travel together. However, this person is someone whom Sect Master and the other seniors should have heard of: Da Qiu."

    "The Hall of Honor¡¯s former enforcer?" Yuan Shou was surprised.

    Elder Yao Shan turned to study Da Qiu, also surprised at his identity. "You became an Envoy?"

    Da Qiu casually replied, "It was a lucky chance. Mr. Lu helped me with my breakthrough."

    Instantly, Lu Yin¡¯s status reached new heights in everyone¡¯s minds. Who else in the Fifth Maind qualified to have three Envoys protecting them? Not even Shang Qing, who the Hall of Honor had put their entire efforts into raising, warranted such protection. Also, Shang Qing had already lost to Lu Yin.

    Yuan Qiong carefully observed Lu Yin. Something urred to the sect master, and the more he considered the matter, the more he felt it was highly likely that Lu Yin would eventually be a Progenitor of the Fifth Maind. Even though Elder Gong had not specifically said anything, Yuan Qiong felt that it was quite likely that Lu Yin had seeded in that ce.

    If that was true, then it would not be uneptable to allow Lu Yin to be registered as one of the sect¡¯s disciples. It was absolutely worth the price if the Cosmic Sect had a hand in raising a future Progenitor.

    Yuan Qiong changed his mind at that moment.

    Within the Cosmic Sect¡¯s great hall, Lu Yin was clearly reluctant to take the seat of a guest. However, Yuan Qiong had stopped forcing the matter, and Lu Yin was thus allowed to sit as though he were a disciple beneath elder Yuan Shou and others. Meanwhile, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were invited to use the guests'' seats. As for positions in the seating arrangements, Luo Shen sat with Lu Yin while Da Qiu sat just below Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    As for Mu Ziying and the other disciples of the Cosmic Sect, they were given no seats and had no choice but to stand as they watched the proceedings.

    Lu Yin¡¯s primary goal in visiting the Cosmic Sect was to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art, but he was not certain how he should bring it up, especially when Elder Yao Shan was present. At the very least, this one elder would not be willing to share the Cosmic Art with an outsider.

    Though he was feeling desperate, Lu Yin had no options avable to him, and he just sat and exchanged pleasantries with Yuan Qiong and others as though he was truly just visiting the Cosmic Sect.

    After half a day, Lu Yin stood up. "This disciple recently saw Elder Gong, and thus I wish to greet him during this visit. I ask the sect master for his permission."

    "You¡¯ve met Elder Gong before?" Yuan Shou was surprised. He had never seen the grand elder before. The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Gong was one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, and he was someone with a lofty status. When Yuan Shou had first started cultivating, Elder Gong had already been a Semi-Progenitor.

    Yuan Shou was not the only one, as very few of the elders in the great hall had ever seen the Semi-Progenitor before.

    Lu Yin replied, "This disciple did indeed meet him once before."

    Yuan Qiong''s eyes shed, and he was now absolutely certain that Lu Yin had seeded in that ce. Elder Gong had been absent for a short while and had only recently returned. Lu Yin must have gone there, though Yuan Qiong had no idea how to travel to that ce. "I will immediately inform Elder Gong of your intentions."

    "Thank you, Sect Master," Lu Yin said. He did not lie about meeting Elder Gong before. As he thought about it, he sought an audience with Yuan Qiong, determined to find a way to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art.

    With the amount of time that Lu Yin had spent cultivating, there was a certain truth that he had discovered: the longer a powerhouse lived, the more simple their lives were.

    This was simrly true of Elder Gong. The old man lived on a very ordinary within the Cosmic Sect that had beautifulndscapes. No other cultivators lived on the, only ordinary humans. At best, some of them worked to improve their physical conditioning and had formed some primitive empires. The entire situation somewhat reminded Lu Yin of Starsibyl.

    When Lu Yin had stepped foot on that, he had seen two empires battling each other with armies of millions of ordinary people. Even though such a battle could notpare to a war between cultivators, regr humans could still be very passionate about their conflicts.

    des cut through bones, and rivers of blood flowed. Killing intent had filled the air, and there were even some regr humans whose arrogance surpassed that of cultivators.

    Elder Gong was sitting far from the edge of the battlefield, quietly watching everything. He looked as though he could pass away from old age at any moment.

    This man was the oldest of all of the Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin had personally seen.

    "Disciple Lu Yin greets Elder Gong." Lu Yin moved closer to Elder Gong and bowed.

    Elder Gong shifted. "Disciple?"

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "This disciple once represented Eversky Ind as an exchange student to the Cosmic Sect. While studying here, I was elevated to the position of the fifth core disciple."

    "Ah, yes. I remember something about that," Elder Gong said, and then he stopped talking. He resumed quietly staring at the battlefield.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Elder, what are you watching?"

    Elder Gong¡¯s voice was hoarse. "A general."

    "A general?" Lu Yin grew curious and he turned to look at the battlefield. Although there were millions of soldiers fighting at this moment, it was still easy enough to identify the armies¡¯ generals with a nce, as they were too conspicuous.

    The general that Elder Gone was observing was an old man dressed in ck armor who was charging across the battlefield while wielding a halberd.

    "This prevents people from cultivating. Ordinary people will always remain ordinary. No matter how much such a person trains, he will never be able to greatly surpass others, especially on a battlefield. Despite that, that general has already ughtered thousands of people," the elder simply exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised. He then turned to stare at the elderly general raging across the battlefield. This man had killed thousands of people who had practically the same strength as himself while on a massive battlefield where the slightest bit of carelessness would lead to death.

    "Thrice have I stopped him from stepping onto the path of cultivation. While on this battlefield, he has realized that arrogance can be like battle force. He is fearless. Fearless and unique," Elder Gong exined.

    Lu Yin wondered, "Given his circumstances, he should be extremely talented. Why hasn¡¯t Elder brought him into the sect?"

    "He refused."

    This answer startled Lu Yin.

    "He said that a hundred years is long enough of a life for a person. During his short hundred years, he has created a glorious record for himself in this¡¯s history. From birth to death, it does not matter how long he lives, only how he lives. He will fade away, but his name will forever remain behind," the elder exined.

    Lu Yin frowned as he stared at the old general. Everyone had their own pursuits. This person wanted to leave his name behind after death. He wanted to be famous throughout history, but there were other people who just wanted a longer life.

    "Child, what is your purpose for cultivating?" Elder Gong asked.

    Lu Yin considered the question for a while before smiling. "This disciple also wants to leave his name written down in history, but this disciple wishes to leave his name behind not on a single, but rather throughout the universe."

    Elder Gong smiled gently. "That is a different realm to aspire to. Do you think that this general canprehend the heights to which you aspire to reach?"

    Lu Yin answered without any hesitation, "Yes."

    Elder Gong nodded. "His wife is dead, and he wants to join her. Not only does he wish to leave his name behind, but he also wishes to join his dead wife soon. His only desire is to kill and die on this battlefield. This is the path that he has chosen. However, the chosen path is not necessarily the correct path.¡±

    After speaking, Elder Gong fell silent and spoke no more.

    Lu Yin bowed low. "Elder, this disciple will take his leave."

    After that, Lu Yin left the.

    The chosen path is not necessarily the correct path? Lu Yin still remembered Shaman God¡¯s scheme that had been shared with him in the Perennial World. The path that Lu Yin had chosen might not be the best choice for humanity, but it was what Lu Yin desired. And so, he would continue forward, just like the old general.

    After leaving Elder Gong¡¯s, Lu Yin visited Sect Master Yuan Qiong on his own.

    "This disciple wishes to learn the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, and I wish to ask the sect master to allow this request." Lu Yin respectfully asked Yuan Qiong.

    Yuan Qiong stared at the youth. "Is this why you refer to yourself as a disciple?"

    "It is indeed one of the reasons, but the other reason is that once a person has entered the Cosmic Sect, they are forever a disciple of the Cosmic Sect. Lu Yin will never forget this."

    Yuan Qiong stared intently at Lu Yin. "You went to that ce, didn¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. Many people were aware of the Perennial World, though naturally, only people with a status equal to or higher than Yuan Qiong¡¯s were privy to such information. It was impossible for people like Yuan Shou to be aware of these things.

    "Did you seed?" Yuan Qiong stared at Lu Yin.

    A small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "This disciple will be a Progenitor in the future."

    Yuan Qiong''s eyes shed. "Did you know that Senior Lingzhi Mavis, who recently died in her tribtion, was also sessful in getting what she wanted in that ce? There are people who seeded and failed in the past and got what they sought. No matter what you may have gained, you do realize that you are only at the same starting line as them, correct?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. This was the first time that he had heard that Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors all had Origin Matter. Yuan Qiong was telling Lu Yin that some of the members of the older generation had simrly seeded in the Perennial World and brought Origin Matter back to the Fifth Maind. Some people may have failed, but still carried Origin Matter. In that case, could it be that the Fifth Maind already possessed Origin Matter?

    This was absolutely shocking news, as when Arch-Elder Zen and the others of his generation had visited the Perennial World, they had not faced the four ruling powers, but rather the Lu family. The Lu family had far surpassed the four ruling powers, which showed just how lucky those seniors had been.

    "This disciple has been cultivating for nearly sixteen years. Let me ask the sect master this: with just sixteen years of training, who can match this disciple? This disciple is currently able to even defeat an Envoy," Lu Yin spoke in a calm and serious voice, his eyes steady.

    Yuan Qiong replied, "That¡¯s true. It¡¯s possible that not even Progenitor Chen and the others on his level were able topare to your current achievements at the same age."

    After a moment of silence, Yuan Qiong asked, "How did you learn the Teleportation Formation?"

    Lu Yin had exposed his mastery of the Teleportation Formation when fighting against Shang Qing during ZENITH, and he had long since considered how to answer this question. "I was lucky enough to find it."

    Yuan Qiong showed no surprise. "Crimson Star?"

    "Yes. This disciple discovered that Shang Ju, Crimson Star¡¯s city master, killed Shen Fu and also coveted the Teleportation Formation. This disciple then secretly stole the Teleportation Formation."

    Yuan Qiongughed. "No wonder I was never able to find the Teleportation Formation¡ªShang Ju didn¡¯t even know where it was!"

    The Cosmic Sect had already guessed as much, though they did not me Lu Yin. In the same situation, nearly anyone would do exactly what Lu Yin had done.

    This was the path of cultivation; when fighting against fate and the heavens, one would do whatever it took to survive. The most important thing was whether or not a person could maintain a bottom line and retain their humanity.

    No one would walk an easy path while cultivating, and no one would dare to im that they were infallible throughout the course of their cultivation. The path of cultivation was simple: the strongest always came out on top.

    If Lu Yin had been discovered after stealing the Teleportation Formation, he would have been punished. However, at the present moment, who could punish him? If Lu Yin had not taken the initiative to visit the Cosmic Sect, then how could the sect have ever had the opportunity to ask him about this matter?

 Chapter 1582: Pattern On The Sole

    All Yuan Qiong had wanted was an answer. "You didn''t lie, which is quite good."

    "When this disciple saw the Teleportation Formation, I was confident that I would be able to learn it, which was why I took it."

    Yuan Qiong dismissed the matter with a wave of a hand. "Don''t mention it again."

    "Then, can this disciple learn the Cosmic Art?" Lu Yin pressed.

    "In order to learn the Cosmic Art, you must first be a disciple of my Cosmic Sect." He then added, "Even if only as an exchanged disciple."

    Suddenly, the sect master¡¯s body disappeared.

    Lu Yin was startled, though also overjoyed, as he understood the sect master¡¯s implications. He immediately called Highsage Wudi.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to hear Highsage Wudi¡¯s voice. "Who is it?"

    "Senior Brother, it''s me, Lu Yin."

    Highsage Wudi was surprised. "You? You¡¯re alive?"

    "Master didn''t tell you?"

    "I''m not on Eversky Ind. Where¡¯ve you been?"

    "The Perennial World."

    Highsage Wudi fell silent for a moment. "You went early?"

    "Yep."

    "Sess?"

    "Lucky."

    "Nice."

    "Senior Brother, I¡¯m in the Cosmic Sect right now, and they¡¯re telling me that I need to be a disciple to learn more of the Cosmic Art. Could you ask Eversky Ind to allow me to represent them as an exchange student again?"

    "That¡¯s not a big deal. After all, how many people from the Cosmic Sect visit my Eversky Ind? And how many of us are there to act as exchange students?" Highsage Wudi said loudly.

    "Thank you, Senior Brother."

    "You''re wee. Go ahead and train in the Cosmic Sect however you want. If anyone tries to bully you, just send them to find your senior brother."

    Their conversation quickly wound down after that, and it did not take long for Lu Yin to be an honorary disciple of the Cosmic Sect once again.

    Elder Yao Shan was infuriated the moment he learned of this matter. "What does Eversky Ind take my Cosmic Sect for? Besides, Lu Yin isn¡¯t even a disciple of Eversky Ind! How can he be an exchange student representing them?"

    Elder Yuan Shou replied, "This really doesn¡¯t seem right. Is Lu Yin after something here?"

    Elder Yao Shan snapped back, "The kid wants to learn the Cosmic Art! Just you watch."

    Elder Yuan Shou coughed, feeling rather embarrassed.

    Yuan Qiong interjected, "Alright, since he has be a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, there is no reason to stop him from learning it if he wishes."

    "Sect Master, the Cosmic Art cannot be allowed to spread to outsiders! Our promise with Eversky Ind to host exchange students also has its own limitations. Within their time studying here, they are only allowed to learn three levels of the Cosmic Art at most. No outsider has ever been allowed to learn the fourth level of the Cosmic Art," Elder Yao Shan anxiously reminded the sect master.

    At this time, Elder Yuan Shou no longer tried to help Lu Yin. The Cosmic Art was too important to the sect, as it was their very foundation. There was no room for any mistakes.

    Yuan Qiong said, "I have already made up my mind. Do you want my Cosmic Sect to retract a promise? How will my Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples face Eversky Ind in the future?"

    "But-"

    Elder Yao Shan wanted to protest further, but Yuan Qiong stopped him. "Update the conditions of our exchange program. Make it so that any disciple can only participate in the program once. That way, we¡¯ll prevent such incidents from happening in the future. Yao Shan, you will negotiate the matter with Eversky Ind."

    Elder Yao Shan felt trapped, but this was indeed the first time that they had encountered such a situation. However, it did not feel like a surprise that Lu Yin was the source of this trouble, but Yao Shan really could not ept Lu Yin being allowed to learn the fourth level of the Cosmic Art.

    Yuan Qiong indifferently said, "How can the fourth level of the Cosmic Art be something that is easy to learn? Not to mention opening the thirty-six fatal energy centers of the human body, but even if he does start cultivating the fourth level, just how many stars will he be able to simte from the Skystar Jade Wall? He will not remain in my Cosmic Sect for too long."

    Such reassurance greatlyforted Elder Yao Shan.

    "Yuan Shou, you will personally open up Lu Yin¡¯s thirty six fatal energy centers," Yuan Qiong added on.

    Elder Yao Shan nced over at Elder Yuan Shou. "How long will it take you to open all of his fatal energy centers?"

    Elder Yuan Shou replied, "One day will be enough. Lu Yin is already an Enlighter, and his foundation is stable."

    Elder Yao Shan gritted his teeth. "A day is not long enough. Even a month is too fast."

    Yuan Shou was taken aback; that was far too much time.

    Yuan Qiong shook his head and ignored the matter. Lu Yin¡¯s potential was the only reason why the sect master was even willing to allow the youth to learn more of the Cosmic Art. If the youth seeded, then he might be a Progenitor in the future, but that was a matter for the future. For the moment, it would be all up to Lu Yin if he was able to learn the next level of the Cosmic Art or not.

    Finally, Elder Yao Shan and Elder Yuan Shou agreed that Yuan Shou would take at least half a month to open Lu Yin¡¯s fatal energy centers, and the elder would also attempt to dy the matter as much as possible in order to restrict Lu Yin¡¯s time to train within the Cosmic Sect even further. His progress in learning more of the Cosmic Art would greatly slow after leaving the Cosmic Sect.

    From what all of the elders believed, the fourth level of the Cosmic Art was something that Lu Yin would need to train in for a long time.

    The Cosmic Art¡¯s third level allowed a person to simte 726 stars, but the fourth level allowed one to simte 3,600. This was a truly significant increase.

    In the Cosmic Sect¡¯s great hall on Skystar, Elder Yuan Shou looked at Lu Yin. "You have always wanted to learn my Cosmic Sect''s Cosmic Art, and that is why you insist on referring to yourself as a disciple, no?"

    Lu Yin answered somberly, "As a disciple of the Cosmic Sect, isn''t it only right for me to learn the sect''s cultivation art?"

    Elder Yuan Shou wanted to argue, but upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s sincere expression, the elder suddenly remembered how this child¡¯sst visit to Cosmo Hall had actually drawn the attention of Jiu Shen, which indicated that his intentions towards the sect should be true. The elder nodded. ¡°True. You should have already heard about how the fourth level of the Cosmic Art requires one to open thirty six fatal energy centers. This process takes a bit of time, so prepare yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Mu Ziying mentioned that it should take no more than a few days."

    "That''s because his cultivation is weak. You are already an Enlighter, which makes your energy centers much tougher. It will not be easy to open your energy centers," Elder Yuan Shou exined.

    Lu Yin thought that this sounded perfectly reasonable, so he respectfully replied, "I''ve troubled Elder then. Please do as you must."

    Elder Yuan Shou reassured Lu Yin as he saw the youth close his eyes. The elder raised a hand and lifted Lu Yin¡¯s body, causing him to be suspended in the air. A ray of stellr energy shot out of the elder¡¯s palm, and Lu Yin felt a burst of pain as his thirty six fatal energy centers began to open.

    Lu Yin had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The Cosmic Art was actually the first cultivation art that he had ever practiced, and he had always wanted to improve it.

    He still remembered the excitement that he had felt when he had Pilfered the first level of the Cosmic Art during the start of his cultivation journey. At this moment, he was finally about to achieve a greater understanding of the art.

    The thirty six fatal energy centers on his limbs began to open. It took nearly ten hours for the point on his right palm to open. Based on this speed, it would take exactly half a month for all of his fatal energy centers to open.

    Elder Yuan Shou would be stuck in this ce for half a month.

    The elder lifted his hand again, but his stellr energy did not enter Lu Yin¡¯s foot. Instead, Lu Yin¡¯s shoe blew apart. As the stellr energy tried to enter into Lu Yin¡¯s fatal energy center, a pattern appeared on the bottom of his foot.

    The moment the pattern appeared, Cosmo Hall trembled a slight bit, and another person suddenly appeared. It was a stunned young man.

    Elder Yuan Shou was simrly shocked, and he stared at the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot. The elder hadpletely forgotten about opening the fatal energy center. What the hell? It¡¯s this pattern? How could this pattern be on the bottom of his foot?

    "Get out of the way." The young man shoved Elder Yuan Shou aside and took over opening Lu Yin fatal energy centers. In less than half an hour, all thirty six of Lu Yin''s fatal energy centers had been cleared.

    He opened his eyes, and the only difference was that the star energy in his body was flowing a bit smoother. And when he cycled his star energy ording to the method of the Cosmic Art, it felt as though his star energy flowed without any obstructions.

    "Lu Yin," the young man said as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin fell to the ground and then looked at the young man in a questioning manner; who was this boy? Confused, Lu Yin shot Elder Yuan Shou a questioning look.

    There was an odd expression on Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s face, and it looked as though the man was holding back a thousand words. "This is my Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen."

    Lu Yin was shocked. Elder Jiu Shen? That man was an old monster who was only inferior to Semi-Progenitors. Surprised, Lu Yin hastened to bow to the young man. "Disciple Lu Yin greets Elder Jiu Shen."

    The young man stared at Lu Yin with wide open eyes. "How did you get that pattern on the bottom of your foot?"

    Lu Yin waspletely lost. "What pattern on the bottom of my foot?"

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s gaze grew sharp as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Elder Yuan Shou exined, "On the bottom of your foot, you have-¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen stopped Yuan Shou before he could finish his sentence. Then, Elder Gong emerged from the void in another direction. The Semi-Progenitor no longer looked to be on the verge of death. He still looked ancient, but also full of energy.

    Lu Yin felt that something was off; all of these elders appeared to be terribly concerned. Was there a pattern on the bottom of his foot? But then, why did he not know about it? That did not make any sense. Cultivators knew their bodies down to the molecule, so how could there possibly be a pattern on the bottom of his foot that he had not noticed?

    Elder Gong remainedpletely silent, but he drew a picture of a person in the air.

    The moment Lu Yin saw the picture, his pupils instantly shrank; why was it him yet again?

    "It looks like you know him." Elder Jiu Shen observed Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin''s mouth had already gone dry. "This disciple met him on Driftcharge in the Outerverse. That old senior saved this disciple. Without him, this disciple would have died."

    "Where is he? Where is he?" Elder Jiu Shen shouted.

    "Dead."

    "Impossible." Elder Jiu Shen did not believe Lu Yin for a moment. "How could that old guy die?"

    Elder Gong gently prodded, "What did he say to you?"

    Lu Yin carefully recalled that time, "At first, the senior sent a terrible energy into this junior''s body. He then asked this junior to visit the Neoverse and find someone, but heter changed his mind for some unknown reason, and he caused the energy to disappear."

    "What about the pattern on your foot?" Elder Jiu Shen eagerly pressed.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior never knew anything at all about a pattern on my foot. If not for Elder Yuan Shou trying to open my fatal energy centers, this junior would have never even known that there was anything on the bottom of my foot at all."

    Elder Jiu Shen looked over at Elder Gong. "How should we choose?"

    Elder Gong stared at Lu Yin. "The old man asked you toe to the Neoverse to find someone. Did he say anything else?"

    "He asked me to take some things to the person that I should look for, but he never mentioned the matterter on." Lu Yin tried to remember more. He increasingly felt that the old man from Driftcharge had not been a simple person. The Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo was looking for that grandpa, and now, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Cosmic Sect was looking for him as well. Just who had that grandpa really been?

    Elder Gong sped his hands behind his back and started speaking slowly. He shared a story with Lu Yin that only a select few people knew about.

    "Many years ago, a very ordinary Enlighter brought a child to our Cosmic Sect, seeking refuge. That Enlighter eventually became a deacon of the outer sect. While he was quite old, he was also a kind person. Despite not having a very high status within the sect, he was happy. The child that the Enlighter brought here eventually became old enough to cultivate, but due to his poor talent, he was unable to cultivate the Cosmic Art no matter what.

    "The child was stubborn and wanted to practice the Cosmic Art. He did not care about any other cultivation arts or battle techniques. The sect¡¯s disciples mocked him, and at that point, the Enlighter who came with the child sneaked into where the Skystar Jade Wall was and stole my Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasure. However, I discovered the crime. At that same time, I learned the truth. That Enlighter was actually a Semi-Progenitor who had been badly injured and was unable to fully recover."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn; where could an unknown Semi-Progenitor havee from? They were in the Fifth Maind, not the Perennial World. There were very few powerhouses at that level.

    "How could I allow a Semi-Progenitor who had been hiding in my Cosmic Sect to escape after stealing our treasure? However, he was very powerful, even when badly wounded. In the end, I was unable to stop him, and he eventually fled the Neoverse. However, his injury was aggravated due to the battle, and I was certain that he would not live for much longer. However, the most tragic bit was that, at the beginning of our batting, our fighting most likely affected his child."

    Lu Yin remembered seeing the old man weeping at a grave on Driftcharge, and he hadter told Lu Yin that it was the grave of his grandson. So the old man¡¯s grandson was actually the child who had been injured during the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ fight!

 Chapter 1583: No Choice

    Chapter 1583: No Choice

    "There was no one in the right or wrong in this matter. He stole my Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasure for his grandson as he wanted to let his child to practice the Cosmic Art. However, the result of his actions most likely led to the child dying, and my Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasure was also lost.¡± Elder Gong looked back at Lu Yin. "That treasure is actually the pattern on the bottom of your foot."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "How can a pattern be a treasure?"

    Elder Jiu Shen solemnly exined, "It has been a very long time since anyone in my Cosmic Sect has been able to cultivate the Cosmic Art to its highest level. In fact, the Cosmic Art¡¯s highest level can only be reached with the assistance of this pattern. It is the realm that Progenitor Chen reached."

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he looked down to stare at his foot; had he been stepping on the highest level of the Cosmic Art this entire time?

    Elder Gong continued, "That pattern not only represents the highest level of the Cosmic Art, but it also conceals the secrets of Progenitor Chen. It was for this reason that the Semi-Progenitor was convinced that this pattern would allow his grandchild to cultivate the Cosmic Art."

    Lu Yin suddenly understood why the appearance of this pattern had drawn out the sect¡¯s top elders and powerhouses. "Honestly, Elder, this disciple never knew about the importance of the pattern on my sole. Why don''t you take the pattern away?"

    Elder Jiu Shen angrily retorted, "Do you really believe that this treasure can be taken away so easily?"

    Elder Gong felt exasperated. "We have no way of knowing how that old man took this pattern away from the Skystar Jade Wall back then, and in the same manner, we don¡¯t know how to take it back now. The pattern¡¯s been etched into the bottom of your foot, but it only appeared when your fatal energy center there was opened."

    "Take off his leg," Elder Jiu Shen immediately suggested.

    Lu Yin''s mouth twitched.

    Elder Gong shook his head. "There¡¯s no way it would be that easy to take back Progenitor Chen''s secret."

    Elder Jiu Shen stared at Lu Yin in a sullen manner. "Kid, I truly admire you a great deal. When you first visited Cosmo Hall, I even purposely appeared. Unfortunately, you are carrying my Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasure, so you can forget about ever leaving. You will stay here for the rest of your life."

    Lu Yin blinked. "I don''t have time for that. I''m busy."

    Elder Jiu Shen sneered. "Do you think that you can escape?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Elder Gong.

    Elder Gong fell deep into thought.

    Elder Yuan Shou could not resist speaking up. "Lu Yin, staying here will not be bad for you. You have that pattern, and if you stay here in my sect, you will eventually be able to cultivate the Cosmic Art to almost the same level as Progenitor Chen, and at that time, you¡¯ll be able to leave."

    Elder Jiu Shen also spoke up, "That¡¯s true. No one has ever been able to cultivate the Cosmic Art to the highest level since Progenitor Chen. Even when the pattern was still in the Skystar Jade Wall, no one was able to use it to cultivate. You are different¡ªthe pattern is merged with your body. As long as you continue to cultivate the various levels of the Cosmic Art, the day will eventuallye when you will be able to use that pattern.¡±

    "Lu Yin, this is an opportunity for you to change your fate! Once you master the highest level of our Cosmic Art, you will beparable to Progenitor Chen! You will be the next Progenitor Chen," Elder Yuan Shou said temptingly.

    "There¡¯s also the matter of Progenitor Chen''s secrets, which are hidden within the pattern. You will eventually understand what they are, but they¡¯re Progenitor Chen''s secrets. It¡¯s possible that the secrets might contain the Nine Clones Secret Technique, or possibly even what¡¯s behind Progenitor Chen¡¯s power," Elder Jiu Shen spoke up again. Every word he spoke carried a certain resonance, as this subject touched upon something irresistible to cultivators.

    The two elders were tantly cooperating with each other.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. That old man from Driftcharge had really put Lu Yin in a difficult position. At the same time, Lu Yin was relieved that he had gained this level of status. Given his present circumstances, even the Cosmic Sect would have a very difficult time forcing Lu Yin to stay within their sect. This was why the elders were trying to tempt Lu Yin, as they all understood that his current status made it very difficult for them to keep him incarcerated here.

    The old man from Driftcharge had not done anything to directly harm Lu Yin, but as far as Lu Yin was concerned, losing his freedom was the most terrifying thing in the world.

    "Boy, talk!" Elder Jiu Shen lost his patience. He was a powerhouse who was second only to Elder Gong within the Cosmic Sect; when had he ever been this patient with a youth and tried to tempt him? Jiu Shen was feeling stifled in such a way that he had not for a very long time.

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "I''m sorry, Senior, but this disciple has no desire to stay in the Cosmic Sect."

    "Do you really think that you have a choice?" Elder Jiu Shen sneered.

    Elder Yuan Shou quickly and quietly spoke to Jiu Shen. The more the elder said, the more shocked Jiu Shen became. He had been in seclusion for many years, and he waspletely ignorant of what had urred in the outside world. After being quickly updated, the man stared at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°Your status may not be low, but it¡¯s still useless. Even if you are a part of the Hall of Honor, you will still be forced to stay here with me."

    Elder Gong suddenly spoke up, "Alright, there¡¯s no need to be so forceful."

    Elder Jiu Shen had not expected Elder Gong to say such a thing. Elder Yuan Shou was only aware of a portion of the truth regarding Lu Yin, and he was still ignorant of many of Lu Yin¡¯s feats, not to mention his Origin Matter. On the other hand, Elder Gong was aware of almost everything. He knew that Lu Yin had received a great deal of attention from Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster, and neither would allow anything to happen to Lu Yin. If the Cosmic Sect tried to force Lu Yin to stay within the sect, it would lead to countless problems.

    "You can officially join the Cosmic Sect, and you don¡¯t need to ept a master. Instead, you can oversee the outer disciples," Elder Gong suggested as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Before Lu Yin could answer, Elder Jiu Shen immediately butted in, "Senior Brother, that can¡¯t happen. Outer disciples are not qualified to learn the higher levels of the Cosmic Art."

    Elder Gong indifferently replied, "He¡¯s the same as us."

    Elder Jiu Shen grew curious. "The same how?"

    He quickly and drastically reacted, and he stared at Lu Yin in utter shock. "Have you been to that ce?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I was there, and I seeded."

    Elder Jiu Shen was stunned. He was unable to see anything about this child, which meant that an absolute powerhouse was supporting Lu Yin and had hidden his cultivation. With the Hall of Honor and how readily Eversky Ind had allowed Lu Yin to be an exchange disciple for a second time, it suggested that either Arch-Elder Zen or Highsage Grandmaster was backing behind this child. It was no wonder why Elder Gong did not want to force Lu Yin to stay in the Cosmic Sect.

    "Elder, this disciple is willing to be a disciple of the Cosmic Sect," Lu Yin said respectfully.

    Elder Gong said, "Given the fact that you refused to ept Highsage Grandmaster as your master, you clearly already have a master supporting you. It¡¯s understandable that you would not want to ept a master, even if it is only in name. However, there is one thing that is not up for discussion: on the day that you are epted as a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, you will need to swear to never betray my Cosmic Sect and to always protect my Cosmic Sect."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed and his mind raced. Finally, he solemnly bowed. ¡°This disciple understands."

    "You all can leave. I will personally guide him in learning the fourth level of the Cosmic Art," Elder Gong stated, though he was actually asking Elder Jiu Shen and Elder Yuan Shou to leave.

    Lu Yin grew excited. Having Elder Gong¡¯s personal instruction was a thousand times better than what even the sect¡¯s true disciples received.

    After Elder Jiu Shen and the others left, Elder Gong grew more serious as he looked at Lu Yin. "That pattern on the sole of your foot can truly change your destiny. When you achieve great sess in the future, you will beparable to even Progenitor Chen. On that day, will you be willing to return to my Cosmic Sect and return this inheritance?"

    Comparable to Progenitor Chen? It was impossible to know when that day mighte, so Lu Yin said, "This disciple is willing."

    Elder Gong lowered his head and stared intensely at the sole of Lu Yin''s foot. The man¡¯s eyes belied his torn emotions.

    Lu Yin asked out of curiosity, "Elder, what secrets do this pattern hide? Can this disciple know them?"

    Elder Gong considered the request, and he eventually raised his hand. Stars revolved around the man¡¯s palm in a manner that was very familiar to Lu Yin, the Cosmic Art. "How can you be certain that the you are standing on did note from the Cosmic Art?"

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, and his scalp soon went numb as his mouth fell open wide. "You- are you saying-?"

    "Don¡¯t say, don¡¯t say it. This is my Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest secret." With that, Elder Gong led Lu Yin away from Cosmo Hall and traveled straight to the Skystar Jade Wall.

    A disciple was just about to enter, but he was pushed back by the elder, and the Skystar Jade Wall was then sealed. In private, Elder Gong proceeded to exin the fourth level of the Cosmic Art to Lu Yin.

    The fourth level of the cultivation art required one to undergo the unique practice of opening the body¡¯s thirty-six fatal energy centers. Only after this was done could the fourth level be cultivated with the help of the Skystar Jade Wall.

    Elsewhere, Elder Yuan Shou reported what had happened to Sect Master Yuan Qiong, and as he was speaking, Elder Yao Shan saw Elder Yuan Shou, and Yao Shan¡¯s eyes went red. "Yuan Shou, didn''t I tell you to stall him for at least half a month? Why did you finish in just a day? No, it hasn¡¯t even been a full day!"

    Elder Yuan Shou did not know how to respond, so he turned to look at Yuan Qiong.

    Yuan Qiong informed Elder Yao Shan, "You can no longer make things difficult for Lu Yin. He will take the position of leader of my Cosmic Sect¡¯s outer disciples, and his status will be equal to your own."

    Elder Yao Shan was stunned and confused by what he heard. "What does Sect Master mean?"

    Yuan Qiong gave Elder Yao Shan an intent stare. "Elder Gong is currently instructing Lu Yin on the Cosmic Art."

    Elder Yao Shan was truly startled by this revtion, and he grew pale. Elder Gong was one of the most powerful individuals in the entire Human Domain, and Yao Shan instantly understood what it meant for someone to receive the personal instruction of such a powerhouse.

    Elder Gong shared the essentials of practicing the fourth level of the Cosmic Art with Lu Yin, and after the elder left, Lu Yin approached the Skystar Jade Wall and started studying the stars.

    The fourth level of the Cosmic Art allowed the user to simte 3,600 stars, which was almost five times more than the third level. Lu Yin¡¯s excitement mounted as he stared at the stars on the wall. 3,600 stars was only the fourth level, and the fifth level would allow the user to simte 99,000 stars! The number of stars only continued to increase more and more until one matched the number of stars that Progenitor Chen himself had once simted.

    Lu Yin considered Elder Gong¡¯s question. Could the pattern that held the secrets of Progenitor Chen really allow a person to gain control of the stars that Progenitor Chen had simted? If those ces were now upied, then would a person gain control of all those residing on those celestial bodies?

    This was what the elders had been referring to when they had mentioned Lu Yin changing his fate!

    That life-or-death catastrophe on Driftcharge had truly changed Lu Yin¡¯s fate.

    ***

    There were many hidden worlds in the Honor Zone that took all forms and shapes. Some had the appearance of flowing water, cards, light, or leaves. Among them, the hidden world that was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters had the form of a clover. It looked like a perfectly ordinary nt that no one would pay any attention to, and no one would believe that this little nt was responsible for supplying over half of the Fifth Maind''s medicines.

    Inside Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world, Yan stood in a respectful manner beneath a tree. He was clearly waiting for something.

    This tree was truly beautiful, and it was covered with pink flowers. When the breeze blew by, flowers fell onto Yan''s head and shoulders, but he did not dare to move a single muscle.

    A day passed. Two. Three. A month went by, but Yan still did not dare move even though his head and shoulders werepletely covered with pink flowers by this point.

    "Lu Yin?" A pleasant voice spoke up from behind Yan.

    The man¡¯s expression changed and he spun around to bow. "President."

    A cheerful looking woman with a refined demeanor had appeared right behind Yan. She was wearing in clothes and no makeup, but there was no hiding her beauty. When she raised a hand, the pink flowers fell to her palm. The color perfectlyplemented her snow-white skin.

    She was the Innerverse president of Shamrock Enterprise: Balsam.

    Nobody would ever think that the person in charge of Shamrock Enterprise was actually a beautiful woman. For a long time, Yan had acted in Balsam¡¯s ce, handling Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s affairs throughout the Human Domain. In fact, it was hard for even thepany¡¯s top executives to see Balsam, and some people had never even heard of her. She was just as mysterious as Leaf King.

    Yan treated Balsam with the utmost of respect, and he did not dare to raise his head. It was as though he was utterly terrified of the beautiful woman before him.

    "This child caused you to fail?" Balsam asked softly. Her eyes were as tranquil as water, and her body gave off the fragrance of an orchid, which was exceedingly pleasant.

 Chapter 1584: Big Bro Monkey

    Chapter 1584: Big Bro Monkey

    Yan respectfully answered, "That¡¯s correct. He was able to manipte the nine overseers. Thus, when they voted, more than half of them rejected our proposal, causing this subordinate to fail."

    "How do you want to proceed?" Balsam asked.

    Yan grew solemn. "Lu Yin is backed by powers that cover the entire universe. He¡¯s supported by Semi-Progenitors, the Hall of Honor, Leon¡¯s Armada, and even Yuan Shi, who stays hidden in the Outerverse. This youth is a prickly opponent to mess with, and direct confrontation is not the answer, as our only method of retaliation is topletely withdraw our pharmaceutical sales from the Outerverse. It might be possible to deal with him, but regardless, my Shamrock Enterprise cannot be humiliated."

    The pink flowers disappeared from Balsam''s hand. She turned around and left. "Do as you wish."

    Yan stared at the ground, his eyes zing. Even though Shamrock Enterprise could notpare to Aurora Enterprises, it was still a massivepany that had managed to force its way into the Neoverse. Not just anyone could afford to offend theirpany! He wanted to see just how Lu Yin would deal with Shamrock Enterprise. Unless the youth could bring out an expert that was even more powerful than Leaf King, theirpany really had no reason to feel any fear.

    ***

    In front of the Skystar Jade Wall, Lu Yin opened his eyes as 890 stars revolved around his body. He was currently learning the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, but he knew that Qiu Shi had been able to simte 932 stars during ZENITH. Even if she had improved by an incredible amount after entering the Perennial World, Lu Yin expected that she could have only reached 2,000 stars, and that was already evaluating her talent quite highly.

    Given the situation, it was time for Lu Yin to roll his die. He was not afraid of falling behind when it came to a matter of time.

    Lu Yin left the Skystar Jade Wall, allowing the ce to once again be used by the other disciples.

    In Cosmo Hall, Sect Master Yuan Qiong had been waiting for Lu Yin for quite some time.

    Lu Yin offered a respectful bow, his attitude always excellent in this ce.

    Yuan Qiong was ovee withplicated emotions as he looked at Lu Yin, especially whenever the older man nced at Lu Yin¡¯s feet. The Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest treasure was actually on the bottom of this child¡¯s foot, which made the sect master truly unhappy.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin had been so insistent on learning the fourth level of the Cosmic Art and the Cosmic Sect agreeing to open his fatal meridian points, they would have never discovered the pattern on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot. Without these coincidences, it would have been impossible for them to ever find their sect¡¯s greatest treasure.

    "When do you n on leaving?" Yuan Qiong asked.

    "I¡¯ll stay here for no more than half a month."

    Yuan Qiong silently thought for a bit. "Just stay in Cosmo Hall to train then. There is a certain forbidden area there that would suit your training quite well."

    Lu Yin felt truly grateful. "Thank you, Sect Master."

    There was a part of Yuan Qiong that really wanted to ask Lu Yin if he had nned out everything in advance and if his insistence on learning the fourth level of the Cosmic Art had been nothing more than a ploy to reveal the pattern on the bottom of his foot to the Cosmic Sect. However, the sect master eventually decided to leave the question unasked. He did not want to think too deeply about the possibilities.

    No matter what, his Cosmic Sect could not really deny this youth.

    Out of sight was out of mind, and Yuan Qiong left without speaking to Lu Yin any further.

    Elder Yuan Shou entered the hall and saw Lu Yin cultivating in the forbidden area behind Cosmo Hall. The ce was intended for only the sect¡¯s elders cultivation use, but it had been given over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was truly grateful for the sect¡¯s treatment, but the attitude of even Elder Yuan Shou had changed. All of the elders assumed that Lu Yin had known about the pattern on his foot and that everything he had done so far had been an act. This belief had altered their attitude towards him.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin had no idea how to react, as he really had not known! The elders were wronging him, and it was not a pleasant feeling to be treated like this.

    Regardless, he had still achieved his goal.

    Lu Yin had no worries that someone would spy on him in the elders¡¯ training ground. In the Fifth Maind, there were far too many people protecting him, and it wouldn¡¯t matter even if his die was discovered.

    At ease, he raised his head and brought out his die. After tapping it, it finally stopped on four pips. His luck was quite good this time.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and Lu Yin entered the Timestop Space. Now, he was guaranteed to roll what he wanted.

    First, he needed to start training, and while doing so, he would roll the die every ten days.

    Naturally, he started practicing the Cosmic Art.

    Ten days soon passed, and Lu Yin rolled the die again. This time, he got a useless result of six pips. He resumed his training, and after ten more days, he rolled a one. Also useless. Continue.

    After more than a month in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin finally rolled a three.

    He stared at the two screens of light as he ced his bodysuit armor on the upper screen and began throwing out star essence. This armor was made from much better materials than Lu Yin¡¯sst universal armor. While that armor¡¯s materials hade from the Technocracy, this bodysuit armor¡¯s materials hailed from ancient times that the Fifth Maind no longer had the ability to recycle or refine. Only Aurora Enterprises¡¯ cutting-edge technology was able to process the raw materials into Lu Yin¡¯s new bodysuit armor.

    Even just the first upgrade cost Lu Yin millions of star essence. However, the more expensive the upgrade was, the better its quality. Lu Yin became very excited.

    Even though the armor was made from excellent materials, they could not be upgraded indefinitely. In the end, Lu Yin Enhanced his new armor eleven times, spending nearly a billion star essence in the process. This also improved the armor to the point where it could defend against attacks with power levels of nearly 900,000, but it did not seem capable of surpassing that level.

    Lu Yin was incredibly excited as he held up his bodysuit armor. This thing really was not too bad, and the materials that he had used had to have been truly precious for the armor to be able to reach this level. After all, even the aquatic nt-shaped power vessel and thebat puppet had been limited to the power level of an Envoy. It was not easy for an item to reach the Semi-Progenitor level.

    It was no wonder why the engineers from Aurora Enterprises had been so excited when they had seen Lu Yin¡¯s materials.

    Lu Yin felt that he would need to periodically visit ck Street in the future. Most of the Neoverse¡¯s unrecyble materials had gathered at that ce, and many of them came from ancient ages and were made from very precious materials.

    After Enhancing his bodysuit armor, Lu Yin had 1.4 billion star essence left, which was enough for emergencies.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Timestop Spacested for a minimum of three days, and he was able to extend that time to a maximum of 300 days, which was not that much. However, it cost him two million star essence to extend his time to such a degree as each extension would cost twice the previous.

    Three hundred days was almost a year, and Lu Yin did not know how many stars he would be able to simte in this period of time.

    ¡­

    The years meant nothing to cultivators. Once a cultivator reached a higher level, it was normal for their training to be measured by years instead of days, and experts on Yuan Shi¡¯s level cultivated in sessions that started at a thousand years or more.

    Three hundred days quickly passed by.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes as the scenery changed before his eyes. He had returned to the forbidden cultivation area behind the Cosmo Hall. Only a second had passed since he had disappeared.

    He raised a hand and rolled his die once again. The sooner he was able to master the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, the sooner he would be able to start learning the fifth level. Only then was he willing to leave. The fifth level of the Cosmic Art would allow him to cultivate for a very long time.

    Three pips. Useless, again. Two pips. Useless, again. Four pips¡­ The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he returned to the Timestop Space, where he resumed practicing the Cosmic Art.

    After spending nearly a whole year practicing the Cosmic Art, Lu Yin had managed to simte more than 1,800 stars. He was curious to see how many he could cultivate with another 300 days of training.

    As the number of stars that he could simte increased, so too did Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the Cosmic Art. Even though the cultivation art grew increasingly difficult as he progressed, he had the time needed to master it.

    ¡­

    Another 300 days passed, and Lu Yin left the Timestop Space again. He needed to wait ten days before he could roll his die again, as trying to roll again before that would knock him unconscious.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had managed to simte more than 2,600 stars.

    He left the cultivation area, and after ncing around, he saw Elder Yuan Shou staring at the names written down in Cosmo Hall. Lu Yin''s name was also present.

    Elder Yuan Shou was surprised to see Lu Yin already leaving his training. "Don''t you want to practice?"

    Lu Yin had been training nonstop for almost two years, but only a few seconds had passed for Yuan Shou and the others. Most of that time was Lu Yin rolling his die.

    Feeling the passage of time, Lu Yin suddenly grew emotional. ¡°"Elder, this disciple wishes to ask you a question."

    "Speak," Yuan Shou replied, his voice indifferent.

    "How many stars can Elder Yuan simte?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Yuan Shou nced at Lu Yin. "An Envoy with a power level of less than 700,000 can only cultivate up to theplete fifth level of the Cosmic Art: 99,000 stars. It¡¯s unknown if this limit has to do with physical limitations or the control that one has over the true universe. Only after exceeding a power level of 700,000 can an Envoy try to train in the sixth level, but caution is needed. Training in the sixth level can easily cause one¡¯s body to copse, which would cause the stellr energy to be forcibly pulled out of their body.

    "As for me, I practice the sixth level."

    Lu Yin had not expected to hear that Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s power level was more than 700,000, which meant that he was at least as powerful as Liu Ye and Fei Hua. "What about Elder Yao Shan?"

    "The fifth level," Yuan Shou stated.

    Lu Yin nodded. He felt that Elder Yao Shan¡¯s power level was a bit more than 600,000.

    While in the Neoverse, Lu Yin did not dare casually observe people¡¯s rune lines, as it was easy to get into trouble by doing so. The existence of Gods¡¯ Origin had caused all of the Neoverse¡¯s major powers to take precautions.

    "What about Elder Jiu Shen?" Lu Yin asked tentatively. He was very curious about the elder¡¯s strength.

    Elder Yuan Shou frowned. "Return to your training. Don¡¯t you want to leave?"

    Lu Yin saw that Elder Yuan Shou did not want to continue the conversation, which only made sense. After all, Lu Yin was asking about Elder Jiu Shen. Lu Yin had dealt with many bigshots, but to the others in the Cosmic Sect, Jiu Shen was akin to an old monster with a power level of over a million, and he wielded a great deal of authority. It was not respectful to discuss such a powerhouse as casually as Lu Yin had.

    Lu Yin returned to the forbidden area to resume cultivating. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes. However, he simply rested his mind. Training for two years was quite exhausting.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his recovered die. He tapped it, and it slowly spun before stopping on six pips.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had set his cosmic ring aside before rolling, and there was only a small amount of star essence on him, just enough to prevent him taking a total loss if he rolled six pips.

    As soon as he appeared in the strange space, Lu Yin merged with an orb of light that was not very bright. The star essence on him was not enough tost for more than a few seconds.

    As he opened his eyes, he saw a dim sky and ordinary buildings. Before he could even get a clear look at his surroundings, memories started pouring in. However, what Lu Yin found caused his expression to change drastically; what kind of memories were these? Kill! Kill! Kill! Everything was emotionless and cold, like a corpse. Wait, had he-? Had he Possessed a corpse king?

    Lu Yin quickly nced around, and he saw seven familiar towers standing in the distance. Were those the dark towers? He was actually in Aeternus Nation.

    "Little Lu!" A loud shout was heard.

    Lu Yin was startled; was someone calling him? How was that possible? Was there someone capable of seeing through his die¡¯s Possession? Lu Yin¡¯s body went cold, and he felt like all of his secrets had been exposed.

    He slowly turned around and looked towards where the shout hade from; was that the Ghost Monkey?

    Sure enough, the Ghost Monkey was nearby. The beast had returned to the same appearance when Lu Yin had first fought against the monkey. The Ghost Monkey was no longer just a shadow, and he was sitting in a sedan chair that was being carried by two corpse kings. The monkey raised a hand that held a whip and started beating it against the back of the corpse king in front of him. "Little Lu, I was calling you! Didn''t you hear me?"

    "Yes," the corpse king answered in a hoarse voice.

    "Idiot! What did I tell you to call this Lord Monkey? Say it loud!" the Ghost Monkey shouted with an arrogant grin on his face. He looked incredibly smug.

    "Bi- Big Brother Monkey." The corpse king was not able to speak clearly.

    The Ghost Monkey grew even more proud. "Little Lu!"

    "Big Brother Monkey."

    "Little Lu."

    "Big Brother Monkey."

    "Nice, Little Lu."

    ¡­

 Chapter 1585: The Truth

    Chapter 1585: The Truth

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the sedan chair as it went by. While he was relieved that he had not been discovered, he was alsopletely stunned. He had not expected to find that bastard monkey here. You dare to pull such a prank? I¡¯ll beat you to death one day!

    Lu Yin had been terribly scared, and his back was slick with cold sweat.

    Since he had Possessed a corpse king, he decided that he might as well try to find out a bit more about the Seven Skygods. In particr, he was very curious about Whiteless God. ording to the legends, Whiteless God was the one who possessed the list of human traitors: Aeterna.

    At this thought, Lu Yin controlled the corpse king¡¯s body and raced towards a dark tower.

    The corpse king soon approached the tower. However, Lu Yin was taken aback; the Possession was about to end, but he still had not even seen Whiteless God.

    As Lu Yin stared at a dark tower off in the distance, he saw a figure slowly walk inside. Their appearance struck Lu Yin light a bolt of lightning; that was Undying Yushan!

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to his own body, and he gasped for breath as his pupils fluctuated. He never could have dreamed that he would see Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation. The man had not died¡ªhe truly was not dead. He did not seem to be a corpse king either, but rather a living, breathing human. It had really been Undying Yushan.

    Lu Yin had long since guessed that there was a chance that Undying Yushan had not really died, but Lu Yin had no idea where the former emperor might have gone, or why the man had faked his own death. Lu Yin¡¯s best guess was that Undying Yushan had done everything for the chance to practice the Undying Manual.

    Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions had grown even stronger after discovering that Liu Zishan had been controlled by someone, but while Lu Yin suspected that Undying Yushan was the one who had been controlling her, there was no proof.

    As time passed, Lu Yin had gradually forgotten about the entire matter. He had never expected to see Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation! What was the man doing in such a ce? Also, wasn¡¯t Aeternus Nation supposed to have been destroyed by the Progenitor of Secret Arts? Why did it still exist? Or, was it possible that Lu Yin had visited another Aeternus Nation?

    Lu Yin was confused by everything that he had seen while Possessing the corpse king, but he desperately wanted to learn the truth.

    Unfortunately, it would be too difficult to uncover this mystery. Though, maybe, could he learn the truth from the Ghost Monkey? This possibility caused Lu Yin''s eyes to light up.

    The Ghost Monkey had been forcibly removed from Lu Yin by Shaman God. After living in Aeternus Nation for so long, the Ghost Monkey had likely learned quite a bit.

    The detail that Lu Yin found most uneptable was Undying Yushan¡¯s presence. The man had treated Lu Yin very well in the past.

    However, there was no way that Undying Yushan was aware that Lu Yin had discovered anything at all.

    ***

    "I can easily gain control of the Great Eastern Alliance, and I can even influence the Seven Courts. I deserve to be given a bit more Vitality Poison." Undying Yushan stood inside the dark tower as he spoke in a low voice.

    "We merely have a cooperative rtionship; we have no obligation to provide you with any resources."

    "Lu Yin has returned, and I can also control that kid. I don¡¯t believe that he has no value to you."

    "Are you really confident that you can control him? Did you know that he is part of the Lu family? That invincible Lu family?"

    Undying Yushan just smiled. "My original goal was just to practice the Undying Manual, and I gained control of him along the way. Who would have imagined that the little baby who pretended to be a member of the Zishan family would one day reach his current level? You can let him develop as much as you wish. I will remain hidden for now and will take control of him at the right time. He will not be able to escape."

    "I hope that you don''t underestimate the Lu family."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin rolled his die again, and after two more attempts, he finally rolled four pips and reentered the Timestop Space.

    Soon, another 300 days passed. This time, upon exiting the space, Lu Yin hadpletely mastered the fourth level of the Cosmic Art.

    3,600 stars of the Cosmic Art revolved around his body.

    Lu Yin remained in the forbidden area behind Cosmo Hall for a few more days. After staying there for about half a month, he was no longer able to wait any longer.

    He left Cosmo Hall and traveled to the innocuous where Elder Gong resided.

    "What are you doing in the sect if you aren¡¯t going to train?" Elder Gong asked calmly. He was staring off into the distance, but his eyes were unfocused.

    Lu Yin answered in a respectful tone, "This disciple has mastered the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, and I wish to study the fifth level."

    Elder Gong''s eyes went wide, and he turned around to stare at Lu Yin. "What did you say?

    Lu Yin knew that his im was unbelievable, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He could not waste time in the Cosmic Sect just to hide his progress with the Cosmic Art. If he did, then there would be no reason to use his Timestop Space.

    "This disciple''s training of the Cosmic Art went unexpectedly smoothly, and it only took me half a month toplete the fourth level," Lu Yin stated. As he spoke, stars appeared and started revolving around his body. They spread out and surrounded the entire, which caused many people in the Cosmic Sect to nce over in surprise.

    On Skystar, Elder Jiu Shen walked out and blinked. Is- is that the kid? This is too ridiculous! It¡¯s only been half a month.

    Elder Yuan Shou was also stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s reveal. In just half a month, the youth had mastered the entire fourth level of the Cosmic Art. His talent was truly too terrifying.

    Yuan Qiong''s expression grew solemn. Already, Qiu Shi''s talent for cultivating the Cosmic Art was absurd, as she surpassed all of her predecessors. In theory, even if Lu Yin¡¯s talent was beyond Qiu Shi¡¯s, he should not surpass her by this much. There had to be something else involved, and Yuan Qiong¡¯s mind instantly jumped to the pattern on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot. That was the only advantage that Lu Yin possessed that Qiu Shicked.

    The fact that Lu Yin had been able to master the fourth level of the Cosmic Art in just half a month had to be rted to the pattern that had been left behind by Progenitor Chen.

    Yuan Qiong was not the only person to have such thoughts, as all of the other elders were thinking the exact same thing.

    Elder Gong was amazed. It was impossible to fathom the power of a Progenitor. The pattern that had been left behind had actually allowed a child to master the fourth level of the Cosmic Art in a mere half month. In that case, how long would he take to master the fifth level? And what about the entire art?

    Elder Gong had assumed that Lu Yin would need a great deal of time topletely learn the Cosmic Art, and he had never even considered that it could proceed so quickly.

    Lu Yin stared at Elder Gong. "Elder, can this disciple be allowed to learn the fifth level of the Cosmic Art?"

    Elder Gong voiced his admiration. "While you have indeed met the necessary conditions to learn the next level, you must first learn how to use the stars that you have simted. The Cosmic Art not only assists in one¡¯s cultivation, but it also strengthens the power of the Cosmic Palm and the Celestial Sword. Have you learned the Celestial Sword Technique?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He had seen Qiu Shi use the technique on several previous asions, but Lu Yin had never learned the technique himself.

    The Celestial Sword was quite powerful, and the more stars that one could simte with the Cosmic Art, the stronger the technique became. Lu Yin was quite eager to learn it.

    Elder Gong offered his guidance, so Lu Yin remained on the in order to learn the Celestial Sword Technique.

    Several dayster, someone arrived at the Cosmic Sect, bringing some magical smoke with them. It was Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Elder Yao Shan was the one to greet the youth in Cosmo Hall.

    "In the past, you lost the first level of the Cosmic Art that you were given. Despite that, are you really shameless enough to return and ask to study it yet again?" Elder Yao Shan shouted fiercely as he red at Gu Xiao''er.

    Gu Xiao''er pulled his head back in fear and quickly replied, "Senior, I brought the smoke that your Cosmic Sect needs. I heard that you enjoy smoking?"

    "What¡¯s this nonsense?" Elder Yao Shan shouted.

    Gu Xiao''er pursed his lips. "But I¡¯m sure that I remembered this correctly. Who is it that enjoys smoking?"

    Elder Yao Shan¡¯s voice grew cold. "Leave the smoke. I can give you the first level of the Cosmic Art once again, but remember this: if you lose it again, even if you hide in Smoke Eater Peaks, this old man will tear you apart."

    Gu Xiao''er adjusted his expression to show his delight. He quickly agreed, all the while cursing the old man in his heart.

    After sessfully receiving the Cosmic Art, Gu Xiao''er was ready to leave. He had no desire to stay around in the Cosmic Sect, and the sect¡¯s disciples also did not like Gu Xiao¡¯er either.

    Unfortunately, Gu Xiao¡¯er ran into Yao Ji the moment he exited Cosmo Hall.

    Gu Xiao''er grinned. "What bad luck."

    Yao Ji stared at Gu Xiao¡¯er. "What was that?"

    While Gu Xiao''er was indeed intimidated by Elder Yao Shan, he was not afraid of Yao Ji at all. "No need to repeat something good."

    Yao Ji forced Gu Xiao¡¯er to stop. There were several inner disciples behind Yao Ji, and they all surrounded Gu Xiao¡¯er. Every single one of the disciples red at him.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er had naturally been escorted by experts on his way to the Cosmic Sect from Smoke Eater Peaks, but those powerhouses had stayed outside the sect, as they could not enter without permission.

    "Hey, if you want a fight, I¡¯ve never been afraid of anyone in my entire life! Come on, boy, let me teach you how to spell ¡®submit,¡¯¡± Gu Xiao¡¯er taunted.

    Yao Ji had been feeling stifled due to Lu Yin¡¯s presence in the Cosmic Sect, and at this moment, he was being antagonized by Gu Xiao''er. Without thinking any further, Yao Ji simply attacked. Naturally, Gu Xiao''er was unwilling to be outdone. His cultivation was actually even higher than Yao Ji¡¯s. Yao Ji was a Hunter, which meant that, of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s true disciples, only Mu Ziying couldpare to Gu Xiao¡¯er while Yao Ji fell a bit short.

    Outside Cosmo Hall, Yao Ji led several of the inner disciples to attack Gu Xiao''er. However, Gu Xiao''er¡¯s smoke was truly miraculous. No matter how Yao Ji attacked, he could not break through the smoke. On the other hand, while Gu Xiao¡¯er wanted to fight against Yao Ji, he was not having an easy time either, and each passing moment drew more people over.

    "Cosmic Palm."

    "Block."

    "Infinity Burst."

    "Block."

    "Don''t use your smoke if you¡¯re strong enough!" Yao Ji roared.

    Gu Xiao''er sneered. "Don''t use your Cosmic Art if you¡¯re strong enough! Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to get beat up in front of your buddies?"

    Many of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples had gathered here, including inner disciples Yun Feifei, Yan Kun, and Hua Xiao, as well as some of the elders.

    Eventually, Elder Yao Shan arrived, and he waved a hand to break apart the few people fighting. He then red at Gu Xiao''er. "You dare to cause trouble the moment you receive our cultivation art? Are you trying to lose this one as well?"

    Gu Xiao¡¯er felt offended. He had been ganged up on by others, and he had only wanted to teach them a lesson. Being targeted now made him feel like he had never been wronged this much in his entire life. ¡°Will your Cosmic Sect protect your members even when they¡¯re in the wrong?¡±

    "Arrogant!" Elder Yao Shan shouted furiously. A tremendous amount of pressure fell down, and Gu Xiao¡¯er gritted his teeth as he fought to remain standing.

    Suddenly, someone moved in front of Gu Xiao¡¯er, and they blocked the pressureing from Elder Yao Shan. "Elder, this person is a friend of this disciple. Please allow this disciple to take him away."

    Lu Yin had moved in front of Gu Xiao''er. He was not required to stay next to Elder Gong at all times while learning the Celestial Sword. So, while he had been wandering about, he had coincidentally stumbled across this situation.

    When Gu Xiao''er heard Lu Yin''s voice, he looked up. There were tears in his eyes as he called out, "Bro- Big Brother, is that you? Big Brother Lu Yin, you''re back!"

    Lu Yin looked over. "I haven''t heard you apologize to the elder yet."

    Gu Xiao''er shot a nce at Elder Yao Shan and merely snorted.

    Elder Yao Shan''s eyebrows nearly leaped off his face. "If you don¡¯t know any better, then scram from my Cosmic Sect!"

    Gu Xiao''er was furious as well. "You damn old ghost, who are you talking to?"

    Elder Yao Shan red, raised a hand, and pped down. ¡°Arrogant!¡±

    At the same time, Lu Yin also raised his hand. A Vacuum Palm met the elder¡¯s p as it fell. The void between the two shattered, and spatial fissures spread out to the sides, creating a break in the void.

    Elder Yao Shan''s pupils instantly shrank. He had aimed his attack not only at Gu Xiao''er, but also at Lu Yin, as the elder wanted to teach Lu Yin a lesson. Shockingly, the elder had actually been forced back. He was an Envoy whose power level was at the cusp of 700,000. Even if it had only been a casual attack, how could a youth like Lu Yin possibly block an attack from a powerhouse like him?

    Lu Yin''s body merely swayed. He shook his hand while indifferently stating, "Elder, he was merely speaking. Even if his words were not very polite, it¡¯s a bit much to react this strongly."

    Gu Xiao''er was horrified. He had not expected Elder Yao Shan to actually attack him. If not for Lu Yin, Gu Xiao¡¯er knew that he would have suffered terribly.

    At the same time, Gu Xiao¡¯er was startled to see that Lu Yin had actually managed to block an Envoy¡¯s attack.

    The moment Lu Yin made a move, he had blown everyone away.

 Chapter 1586: Smoke And Smoke

    Chapter 1586: Smoke And Smoke

    Elder Yao Shan carefully studied Lu Yin with a newfound fear in his eyes. "Make sure he watches his mouth."

    The elder then turned to stare at Yao Ji. "You¡¯ve shamed us. Go back."

    Yao Ji''s face grew pale, and he turned to look at Lu Yin, who also happened to be looking at Yao Ji at the same time. His heart trembled as the previous scene reyed in his mind, and Yao Ji lowered his eyes. He did not have the courage to say another word, and he quietly left.

    Everyone who had gathered to watch the fight gradually dispersed as well. Still, the shock in their heart all remained, as it was not that easy to erase what they had just witnessed.

    During thest match in ZENITH, Lu Yin had single-handedly faced off against all of the most powerful members of his generation. Even though his strength at that time had startled the Fifth Maind, it had still been at a level that people could ept. On the other hand, they had just seen Lu Yin block Elder Yao Shan''s attack. This was something that flew in the face ofmon sense.

    Such an aplishment would be shocking anywhere, both within the Fifth Maind and throughout the Perennial World.

    After all of the onlookers had dispersed, Lu Yin turned towards Gu Xiao''er. "What are you doing here?"

    Gu Xiao''er shouted in an exaggerated manner, "I should be asking you that! Aren''t you missing? When did you get back? You can¡¯t have been hiding out here in the Cosmic Sect this whole time, right? Bro, this ce is too boring! How could you not tell your own brother anything?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes and moved away from Cosmo Hall with Gu Xiao''er in tow. The Cosmic Sect¡¯s main hall was too conspicuous.

    After half a day passed, and Lu Yin finally stopped speaking. "You get it?"

    Gu Xiao''er nodded. "Got it. You went somewhere super powerful and then ended up being discarded like a piece of rotten fruit that got chucked, right?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This was a truly brutal metaphor.

    "Still, now that you¡¯re back, you¡¯ve grown way too much! You¡¯re even able to go against that old ghost! Be honest, have you already be an Envoy?"

    "Of course not! Though, I did learn about something," Lu Yin casually mentioned.

    "What?"

    "Have you ever heard of Smoke Incarnations?"

    "What the hell is that?"

    "I¡¯ll take you to see for yourself." With that, Lu Yin brought out Zenith Mountain and entered the hidden world with Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    There were still five people on Zenith Mountain at this time: Long Xi, Wen Diyi, Crown Prince Gui Qian, Liu Hao, and Yun Tingting. Lu Yin led Gu Xiao¡¯er to find Yun Tingting.

    Yun Tingting and the others had been imprisoned on Zenith Mountain ever since Lu Yin had left the Forgotten Ruins. For cultivators, a few short years would quickly pass by, and even though the five were trapped on Zenith Mountain, they had continued cultivating and had been slowly making progress.

    Lu Yin and Gu Xiao''er appeared 100 meters away from Yun Tingting, startling her. However, shepletely ignored Gu Xiao¡¯er and instantly fixed her gaze on Lu Yin. She quietly asked, "The Forsaken Land?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "We¡¯re there."

    Gu Xiao''er blinked and stared at Yun Tingting before turning towards Lu Yin and giving him an odd smile. ¡°Bro, have you been hiding women on this mountain?"

    Lu Yin stared at Gu Xiao''er for a moment before saying, "Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke is really amazing, but this woman has the same kind of smoke."

    "Impossible!" Gu Xiao''er instantly dered. "The only ce in the entire Fifth Maind that has smoke like ours is Eversky Ind¡¯s bridge. It exists nowhere else."

    Yun Tingting also heard Lu Yin¡¯sment. "What smoke?"

    Gu Xiao''er pointed his index finger and caused a wisp of white smoke to float out. It took on various shapes as his fingers moved about. "This smoke is very powerful, and even the Cosmic Sect needs it. In fact, it¡¯s what allowed me to trade for the first level of the Cosmic Art. Do you really think that anyone else in the universe could have something this rare?"

    Yun Tingting''s eyes flickered, and she also raised a hand. A wisp of white smoke floated out, and it started to take on various shapes as she twisted her fingers, just like Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    Gu Xiao''er sneered. "It doesn¡¯t matter how good it looks¡ªyou¡¯re nothing but a cheating fake!"

    He then waved a hand, and his white smoke formed a sharp de that shot towards Yun Tingting. Her eyes focused, and she also waved a hand, causing her smoke to form a de exactly like Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s.

    There was a bang, and the sound of des shing echoed out. Gu Xiao''er waspletely stunned, as his white smoke had been perfectly blocked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s focus sharpened. As he had suspected, the Smokecloud Sect and Smoke-Eater Peaks shared amon ancestry. It was to be expected, since they both used this miraculous white smoke.

    During the battle against the Sixth Maind in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin had personally witnessed Gu Xiao¡¯er using his smoke to block Zhi Yi''s Vitality Qi, which perfectly demonstrated the smoke¡¯s defensive power. Smoker had also used this smoke to escape from Leader Hong after a failed assassination attempt. Finally, Gu Xiao''er had just mentioned how the Eversky Bridge used this same smoke, which indicated that all three ces had simr origins.

    This smoke was simply beyond amazing; just who had created it?

    Gu Xiao''er was actually able to stand up to Yun Tingting. He refused to believe that the girl¡¯s smoke was actuallyparable to the smoke from his Smoke-Eater Peaks. However, Yun Tingting felt the exact same way; to her, it was impossible for someone from the Forsaken Land to have mastered Progenitor Smoke¡¯s power.

    As far as the two¡¯s cultivation was concerned, Yun Tingting was an Enlighter who had qualified to apany Bai Shaohong to the Dominion Realm. Gu Xiao¡¯er was thus far weaker in terms of cultivation, but the two werepeting purely in terms of their control over the smoke.

    Lu Yin simply watched as the two bits of white smoke intertwined and fought against each other. It seemed as though they could merge with each other, but that was just Lu Yin¡¯s guess.

    Before too much time passed, Yun Tingting asked, "Is this all?"

    Gu Xiao''er''s eyes zed red; this smoke formed the very foundation of Smoke-Eater Peaks, so seeing that someone else had also mastered it was a terrible blow. "I refuse to believe that your smoke is real! Can your smoke strengthen your body?"

    "Alright then, can your smoke form a clone?" Yun Tingting asked in reply.

    Gu Xiao''er was stunned. A clone? He had never heard of that possibility before. "Can your smoke hide your aura?"

    "Well, can your smoke defend against a secret technique?" Yun Tingting retorted yet again.

    Gu Xiao''er felt his heart twitch. "Can your smoke- can your smoke-"

    He was suddenly unable to say anything further, which caused Yun Tingting to frown. "Can your smoke allow you to deduce battle techniques?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. That was what Eversky Bridge was capable of doing.

    Gu Xiao''er took a step back, and he stared nkly at Yun Tingting. In the air, his smoke suddenly andpletely disappeared; it had been absorbed by Yun Tingting''s smoke. Gu Xiao¡¯er had not been able to control his own smoke. This was a matter of absolute suppression.

    Yun Tingting withdrew her hand. The white smoke disappeared, and she turned to face Gu Xiao''er. "It seems that you¡¯ve only received a portion of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s inheritance. My Smoke Cloud Sect is indeed the true inheritor."

    Gu Xiao''er was lost. "The Smoke Cloud Sect?"

    Yun Tingting looked over at Lu Yin. "How much does your Forsaken Land know about my Perennial World?"

    "Barely," Lu Yin replied.

    Yun Tingting shook her head. "Unfortunately, while Progenitor Smoke''s battle techniques are truly miraculous, the Progenitor did not leave much behind. Legends im that the Progenitor was able to traverse through the true universe as an Envoy and that he could create clones of himself. He was supposed to be able to use smoke to form various objects. Regardless, neither your Forsaken Land nor my Perennial World have much of the Progenitor¡¯s inheritance. No secret techniques have even been found. Since this person can indeed use the white smoke, I thought that he might have something new. Unfortunately, he only knows the basics of my Smoke Cloud Sect."

    Gu Xiao''er stared at Yun Tingting. "Are you saying that my Smoke-Eater Peak¡¯s foundational power is just your sect¡¯s basics?"

    "Do you doubt me?" Yun Tingting casually asked. She was not speaking derisively, and she ignored Gu Xiao¡¯er. It was simr to how she would treat an outer disciple of the Smokecloud Sect.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er felt extremely suppressed. This had been going on all day! While he had dared to speak back to Elder Yao Shan, what could he possibly say to this woman? She had already pped down all his best efforts.

    This was the day that all of Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s self-esteem was trampled upon.

    Lu Yin was rather amused by the whole matter, and he left Zenith Mountain along with Gu Xiao''er.

    Yun Tingting immediately tried to stop them, but she could do nothing to Lu Yin.

    Once the two were back in the Cosmic Sect, Gu Xiao¡¯er was feeling rather dejected. He felt as though his life had been deprived of all meaning.

    "My Smoke-Eater Peaks stands in the Neoverse, maintaining its status with our white smoke that everyone needs. The Cosmic Sect, the Hall of Honor, even the Seven Courts! Everyone wants our white smoke, as it can be used as a valuable protective treasure. And yet, despite all of that, we¡¯re nothing but a failure. It turns out that we¡¯ve been sitting at the bottom of the well, thinking that we can see the entire sky," Gu Xiao''er muttered.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "That woman isn¡¯t from our Fifth Maind. She¡¯s from that ce that I told you about."

    Gu Xiao''er lifted his head. "The ce where they abandoned you?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "They hate me, and she is also an enemy."

    Gu Xiao''er dropped his head again. "So what?"

    "Learn her secrets. We¡¯ll strengthen ourselves, and then one day, we¡¯ll be able to surpass them! The whole reason why she was willing to spar with you was to see if Progenitor Smoke left behind an inheritance that the Smokecloud Sect does not possess. In that case, why can¡¯t you learn what she knows? It¡¯s clear that her sect has an inheritance that your Smoke-Eater Peaks doesn¡¯t," Lu Yin suggested as he stared off into the distance.

    Gu Xiao''er considered the suggestion for a bit, and then he smacked his thigh. "That¡¯s right!"

    He looked at Lu Yin with evident excitement. "Bro, let your buddy here take that woman! I want to interrogate her."

    Lu Yinughed. "It''s time for me to meet your father, as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Gu Xiao''er was not stupid. He understood that there was a purpose behind Lu Yin taking him to see Yun Tingting and then making such a suggestion. He understood the universe that they lived in. Besides, he was not that close of a friend with Lu Yin.

    A gadget made a quiet sound, and soon, Gu Xiao¡¯er connected to his father, the master of Smoke-Eater Peaks: Gu Laogui.

    "You little bastard, did you get the Cosmic Art?" The older man¡¯s voice sounded rough, as though he had been a heavy smoker for years. It was not a pleasant sound, and it was reminiscent of grinding metal. All in all, it left people feeling very ufortable.

    "I got it." Gu Xiao''er scratched an ear.

    "If you have it, then get right back here! You better not lose it again! If you do, your old man will sell you to Azure Mansion!" Gu Laogui shouted. Lu Yin could only hear the audio from the call.

    Gu Xiao''er sighed. "Dad, we¡¯re in trouble."

    The older man was stunned. "What''s the problem?"

    "Dad, everything we know might be wrong,"1 Gu Xiao''er slowly said, but his words were enough to make his father resist the urge to leap through the disy and kill his own child.

    "You little bastard! You dare to mock your own father? You must be looking for a beating, just you wait¡­"

    At this moment, Lu Yin walked over next to Gu Xiao''er''s and looked at the gadget¡¯s disy, where he saw a heavy-set man on the other end of the call. "Senior Gu, this is our first time meeting. I am the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin."

    Gu Laogui had certainly not expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear, and he was greatly surprised to see the youth. The older man¡¯s expression quickly changed, and it was as though he was an entirely different person. "So it¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu. Haven¡¯t you been missing? Why are you with my son?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It was merely a coincidence. This junior is also in the Cosmic Sect right now."

    Gu Laogui stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "That''s quite the coincidence."

    He did not dare to underestimate Lu Yin in the least. His information sources all stated that the young man was brave, resourceful, and also highly ambitious. He had a strong foundation as he was supported by multiple powers that could not be looked down upon. No matter what happened, there would be people who would step forward to protect this child. Most importantly, he seemed to have some sort of rtionship with the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice and even Semi-Progenitor Zen.

    It was impossible to know what this youth wanted.

    Despite his youth, he had already explored Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, survived many catastrophes, and even started a war with an Innerverse power. Although young, Lu Yin was not an easy person to deal with.

    [1] The original trantes to "Our three views might be subverted." Exnation note from OMA:

    The three views of the Chinese are how you view the world, philosophy in life, and your values. Basically, it''s the way you see the world or life and how you value things. ?

 Chapter 1587: Harvest Begins

    Chapter 1587: Harvest Begins

    "I''ll personally show Alliance Leader Lu around if you have time to visit my Smoke-Eater Peaks," Gu Laogui said. Even though he was wary of Lu Yin, the older man was also aware that Lu Yin had a good rtionship with Gu Xiao''er. While Lu Yin might be ruthless in his actions, he was also intelligent and loyal.

    Lu Yin smiled. "While that¡¯s not possible for the time being, I would like to make a deal with Senior Gu."

    "Oh? What deal?" Gu Laogui grew curious.

    Gu Xiao''er interjected from where he was standing to the side, "Um¡­ Dad, Brother Lu went to some strange ce, and he captured a woman there. She actually has an even greater mastery of smoke than us, and she also mentioned Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance."

    Gu Laogui was shocked. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin smiled.

    Gu Xiao''er could not resist replying, "I told you that everything we know might be wrong."

    Gu Laogui turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Was there a massive big tree where Alliance Leader Lu has been?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Senior knows about that? By any chance, did you visit that ce as well?"

    Gu Laogui did not answer the question, instead saying, "It looks like Alliance Leader Lu is going to help increase the strength of my Smoke-Eater Peaks."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course. I, Lu Yin, appreciate doing things that are mutually beneficial."

    "In that case, what can I and my Smoke-Eater Peaks do for Alliance Leader Lu?" Gu Laogui asked in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin nced over at Gu Xiao''er. "What did you trade to the Cosmic Sect for the Cosmic Art?"

    Gu Xiao''er blinked. He then turned towards his gadget¡¯s disy. "Dad, what do you think?"

    Gu Laogui smiled. "This is an easy enough request. How much white smoke would Alliance Leader Lu like in exchange for that woman?"

    Lu Yin showed a small smile. "That woman is also one of my friends, so I can¡¯t just give her over to you. However, I can persuade her to help you improve the quality of your smoke and to share as much of Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance with you as possible. In exchange, I would like to ask your Smoke-Eater Peaks to provide my Great Eastern Alliance with enough white smoke for 100,000 people to use. That white smoke can be used as a defensive treasure, and it can also protect a person¡¯s entire body, which is naturally what the Cosmic Sect uses it for."

    Gu Laogui instantly refused, "That¡¯s impossible. 100,000 people? Does Alliance Leader Lu understand just how huge of a number you are requesting?"

    Lu Yin ran some numbers in his head. "Compared to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s entire military, it¡¯s quite small."

    Gu Laogui gritted his teeth; there really was no way to refute Lu Yin¡¯sment. It was true, the Great Eastern Alliance had a military force that numbered in the millions, not the thousands. "Alliance Leader Lu, you should know that we only provided enough smoke to the Cosmic Sect to protect just over a hundred of their disciples. Our smoke is treated as a rather high reward within their sect. I can offer you enough smoke for a thousand people."

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "A thousand¡¯s no good. It needs to be enough smoke to protect 100,000 people."

    Gu Laogui''s eyes went wide. "Are you trying to get my Smoke-Eater Peaks to work for your Great Eastern Alliance?"

    "This should not be too steep a pricepared to the opportunity to improve the quality of your white smoke and to learn more about Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance." Lu Yin was absolutely confident, and he did not actually care whether or not Smoke-Eater Peaks could pay what he was demanding. Lu Yin was not negotiating a business deal, and he had no intention of haggling with Gu Laogui. If Lu Yin¡¯s conditions were not possible, then that simply meant that Gu Laogui was not capable of uncovering any more of Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance.

    This was precisely the reason why Lu Yin had taken Gu Xiao''er to Zenith Mountain to meet Yun Tingting.

    In the future, no matter if Lu Yin was forced to go up against the Sixth Maind, the Perennial World, or even Aeternus, he would need a powerful army. His goal was to raise an invincible army, and 100,000 members was just a tentative goal at the moment.

    Gu Laogui felt like gnashing his teeth. He wanted to refuse the demand to provide smoke for 100,000 people as the most he was willing to provide was enough smoke for 1,000 people.

    The difference in the two sides¡¯ demands was toorge, and it was a bit embarrassing.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Since we can''te to an agreement, then we can forget about it. Senior Gu, please don¡¯t take any offense about us not being able toe to an agreement. When I have time, this junior will visit your Smoke-Eater Peaks."

    Lu Yin then made to leave.

    Gu Xiao''er quickly stopped Lu Yin, his tone of voice bitter. "Brother, your appetite is really too big! You should know that even if everything in Smoke-Eater Peaks is exhausted, it would still be impossible to provide enough smoke for 100,000 people. We only have 10,000 disciples on our mountains, and even if none of them sleep, we still can¡¯t create that much smoke. We might not be able to get Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance, but even if we agreed, none of our people would even have time to practice the new methods.¡±

    Lu Yin did not believe a word of it.

    Gu Laogui loudly stated, "Alliance Leader Lu, I know that you have a rtionship with Eversky Ind and the Hall of Honor. You can ask them how much white smoke my Smoke-Eater Peaks produces every year. They all are aware of our capabilities, and I would not lie to you about such a thing."

    Lu Yin stopped. Apparently, it was true that Smoke-Eater Peaks could not provide enough smoke to protect 100,000 people. "10,000 people will be fine. If even that¡¯s not possible, then there¡¯s no need to continue talking about this."

    Gu Xiao''er looked over at Gu Laogui.

    The older man''s expression changed as he stared at Gu Xiao''er. The man¡¯s son was clearly anxious, and his eyes were locked onto Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring.

    Finally, Gu Laogui agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s terms, but with the caveat that Lu Yin had to give them Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance as well as improve the quality of their smoke.

    Lu Yin agreed. The moment he delivered the inheritance to Smoke-Eater Peaks, 10,000 members of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s army would gain the white smoke¡¯s protection.

    Next was the most important step in this n: gaining Yun Tingting¡¯s cooperation.

    This would not be easy, and Lu Yin had to think about what the best way to handle this matter was.

    Lu Yin returned to Zenith Mountain, and he appeared rather close to Yun Tingting.

    She looked up at him. "When will you let us go?"

    Lu Yin gave her a small smile and then immediately took Yun Tingting away from Zenith Mountain. The two of them immediately appeared inside the Cosmic Sect.

    Yun Tingting was startled.

    Lu Yin lifted his gadget. "Take a good look at this ce, for this is where you will remain for the rest of your life."

    He then allowed her to ess the gadget¡¯s disy, and she stared at the Fifth Maind¡¯s star chart.

    Yun Tingting stared at the disy and the bit of text above the star chart. Unwittingly, she was drawn to the disy.

    After a while, she averted her gaze and looked around. "Where are we?"

    "The Cosmic Sect, one of the sects in the Neoverse. Their position here isparable to the Perennial World¡¯s Liu and Nong families. The only difference here is that there is a Hall of Honor instead of four ruling powers," Lu Yin said.

    Yun Tingting hoped that Lu Yin was lying to her and that they were still in the Perennial World, but there was no Mother Tree.

    In the Perennial World, the only ces that were unable to see the Mother Tree were the isted civilizations located withinkes, on isteds, or deep in the mountains. However, none of those ces radiated strength like this Cosmic Sect.

    She was easily able to sense multiple Envoys, which left her feeling nervous.

    She really was in the Forsaken Land.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough for you to get an idea of things. Time to go back to Zenith Mountain to stay," Lu Yin said.

    Yun Tingting turned to stare at him. "Do you still want to keep us imprisoned?"

    Lu Yin remained indifferent. "We¡¯re in the Fifth Maind, which you call the Forsaken Land. The people here are even ignorant of the Perennial World¡¯s mere existence, so you can¡¯t be allowed to roam about in order to prevent information regarding the Perennial World from leaking."

    "You must have brought me here for a reason, right?" Even though Yun Tingting had a graceful demeanor, she was furious at this moment. It felt like Lu Yin was just toying with her.

    Lu Yin said, "I just wanted to let you know where you are."

    He suddenly smacked his forehead. "Right, I forgot to tell you! Yun Mubai, your Smokecloud Sect¡¯s master, was found guilty of being a Redback by the overseer of Humility¡¯s Gate in the Middle Realm. Qing Chen arrested your sect master, and Yun Wang is currently in charge of the Smokecloud Sect."

    Yun Tingting was startled, and herplexionpletely changed. Her eyes red. "That¡¯s impossible! My father¡¯s no Redback!"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Humility¡¯s Gate is the one that¡¯ll determine the truth of that matter, not you or me."

    "Let me go! I want to go back!" Yun Tingting anxiously demanded. She was very concerned about her father.

    Redbacks hid themselves so well that Yun Mubai had been forced to give Yun Tingting the same education as others, which meant that she would always and resolutely eradicate any Redback. She saw her father as a ruthless person, but someone who was ruthless in resisting those monsters. How could he possibly be a Redback? Someone had to have framed him.

    "Of course not. You can''t even leave Zenith Mountain," Lu Yin stated.

    Yun Tingting''s eyes zed and white smoke emerged from her body. One Yun Tingting appeared after another. Each one was a clone created by her white smoke, and they rushed out in every direction.

    Lu Yin became intrigued. He had seen Yun Tingting fight in the Forgotten Ruins before, and she had used a clone at that time. However, her clone was different from the clones of the Xia family¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique. The nine clones were all true and permanent humans, and each had their own lives, fate, and thoughts. Yun Tingting¡¯s clones were simply the manifestation of a battle technique.

    If it was a normal battle technique that allowed the user to create a clone, then Lu Yin would not care. However, Yun Tingting was able to create clones that were each as powerful as her true body, which made it very difficult to tell them apart. Due to being formed from the white smoke, each clone could survive multiple attacks, and they could even face secret techniques. It was a very strange technique.

    Yun Tingting wanted to use her clones to escape, so she created ten clones.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had already prepared himself before he let her out of Zenith Mountain.

    All ten of the clones were instantly suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s domain. His domain had reached a level that surpassed all of his peers, including even Unseen Light. Even if Lu Yin¡¯s mastery over his domain was not as refined as Unseen Light¡¯s, that had no bearing on the brute strength of his domain.

    Despite Yun Tingting being an Enlighter, she might as well have been a child when faced with Lu Yin.

    All ten clones were instantly trapped within Lu Yin¡¯s domain, unable to escape. He then raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm, He attacked faster than the eye could see, and a Vacuum Palmnded on all ten figures at once, shattering the ten clones. Yun Tingting¡¯s true body paled, and she nearly copsed onto the ground as blood spilled from her mouth. She red at Lu Yin with eyes that contained both despair and defiance.

    Lu Yin slowly walked towards her. ¡°You are too far behind me. Forget you, as not even the four Junior Progenitors can stand up to me and hope to escape."

    "What do you want?" Yun Tingting was no fool. Lu Yin had purposely introduced Gu Xiao''er to her and watched as they had fought. Through that fight, Yun Tingting had also confirmed that the Forsaken Land truly did have a portion of Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance. Lu Yin had then taken Yun Tingting out of her prison to show her the Forsaken Land, and he had even told her about Yun Mubai. It was impossible for him to do all this without a reason.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "That person that you just met is my friend. He wants to learn the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s battle techniques as well as ways to improve his white smoke."

    "Impossible." Yun Tingting immediately refused.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. In that case, you can stay on Zenith Mountain forever. By the way, I¡¯ve already opened all three of my meridian points and even absorbed Origin Matter. At this moment, this Forsaken Land has surpassed your Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors. There are already multiple Envoys protecting me, which means that it¡¯s basically impossible for me to suffer that ident you¡¯re wishing upon me. This means that you will remain on Zenith Mountain for as long as I stay alive. Consider this matter carefully." Lu Yin then tossed Yun Tingting back onto Zenith Mountain.

    There was no way it would be easy to take another person¡¯s battle technique, and everything depended on Yun Tingting¡¯s choice.

    Back on Zenith Mountain, Yun Tingting wiped the blood away from the corner of her mouth. She could not calm herself down.

    She would never believe that her father was a Redback. Someone must have framed him, but who?

    Ancestor Yun Wang had always remained in istion within the sect, but did he have no intention of saving her father? Or did her ancestor have some sort of n of supporting someone else to be the sect master?

 Chapter 1588: Return

    Chapter 1588: Return

    After a while, Yun Tingting went and found Wen Diyi. There were very few people on Zenith Mountain, and she was only able to find Wen Diyi.

    "Have we already made it to the Forsaken Land? In that case, we should be allowed out of here soon," Wen Diyi said with a sigh.

    Yun Tingting then shared everything that she had recently experienced. Wen Diyi was surprised, and his expression quickly fell. "If Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance can be found here as well, then does that mean that there might also be an inheritance rted to my family¡¯s?"

    "That seems quite likely," Yun Tingting solemnly agreed.

    Wen Diyi felt stifled. "Did youe find me just to tell me this?"

    Yun Tingting helplessly replied, "I want to know what to do about it."

    Wen Diyi shook his head. "You people are the knives, while I am just a fish on the chopping block. I can listen, but you must be the one to decide what to do."

    "Can I believe his words?" Yun Tingting asked.

    Wen Diyi thought about it. "While I was still at Virtue Archives, I heard about Long Qi. He personally exposed the three Guan brothers who led Huaiyuan Gate as Redbacks."

    Yun Tingting''s eyes flickered. She had thought of something, and she looked up at the sky above Zenith Mountain. "Long Qi, I want to speak to you!"

    There was no response. Yun Tingting shouted again, but nothing happened.

    "You¡¯ll just have to wait for him toe back on his own," Wen Diyi said.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was helping Gu Xiao''er practice the firstyer of the Cosmic Art.

    Given Gu Xiao''er''s cultivation realm, it was not difficult for him to understand the firstyer of the cultivation art, unlike Lu Yin who had started cultivating with it from the very beginning. For Lu Yin, each and every star had been a challenge to simte, especially the ninth star that the mad master of Astral-10 had helped him deduce.

    "The only thing missing from this firstyer is the ninth star, but that one isn¡¯t included in the manual that I received," Gu Xiao''ermented.

    Lu Yin was once again relieved that he had be an exchange student of Eversky Ind at the Cosmic Sect. If not for that, Lu Yin would have never had the opportunity to learn the higheryers of the Cosmic Art. Well, at least not openly. Mister Mu had given Lu Yin the secondyer of the art.

    "Hey Bro, has that woman still not agreed?" Several days passed, and Gu Xiao¡¯er could not stop himself from bringing the matter up. He had already simted eight stars, which was quite fast.

    Learning the Cosmic Art would not help Gu Xiao¡¯er increase his strength, but he had wanted to learn it in order to be a Lockbreaker, which was also what Gu Laogui was hoping for.

    If Gu Xiao''er had not said anything, Lu Yin would havepletely forgotten about Yun Tingting. He had actually been nning on finding Elder Gong to ask about the fifthyer of the Cosmic Art.

    Avoiding Gu Xiao''er¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin brought Yun Tingting out of Zenith Mountain.

    Yun Tingting red at him. "Did you falsely use my father of being a Redback?"

    Lu Yin instantly became upset. "Of course I wouldn¡¯t do that!"

    Yun Tingting did not believe him, and she continued to re at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin spoke sincerely, "Honestly, I wasn¡¯t even the one to uncover the fact that your father¡¯s a Redback. Qing Chen, the Middle Realm¡¯s supervisor, was the one who made the arrest. You¡¯ll know the truth whenever you get back to the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin really had not been the one to discover the truth about Yun Mubai, and the man had not been falsely used.

    Old man Kui Luo was the person who had actually discovered that Yun Mubai was a Redback. Of course, after the battle on Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin had developed a new understanding of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s personality. It was not entirely impossible for the old man to have deliberately framed Yun Mubai for Qing Chen to arrest. From start to finish, Lu Yin had only acted as the messenger.

    "Really?" Yun Tingting remained suspicious.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I¡¯m only an Enlighter. How could I have possibly uncovered any evidence that your father¡¯s a Redback? I couldn¡¯t have even sneaked into the Smokecloud Sect, and how long was it that Long Qi left the White Dragon n¡¯s Dalian Mountain branch? If Redbacks were that easy to find, they wouldn¡¯t be Redbacks. At best, I could have only found a few traitors."

    Yun Tingting felt there was merit to his words. ¡°Then what about the three Guan brothers?"

    "Those three were simply unlucky, and it was actually just a matter of time before they were discovered. I happened to have a friend who was able to expose them. Actually, you¡¯ve met her: Yuhua Mavis," Lu Yin exined.

    Yun Tingting felt that something was off, but she really did not know what else to say. As far as the Perennial World was concerned, both Redbacks and trespassers were universal enemies. A Redback had actually been found by a trespasser, and then another trespasser had joined in on the plot to expose them. Those three really had been unlucky.

    "Have you made up your mind yet? I''m about to go into seclusion, so if you haven¡¯t made a decision yet, it might be a very long time before we see each other," Lu Yin said impatiently.

    Yun Tingting gritted her teeth. "I have conditions."

    "Tell me."

    "Since you were able to sneak into the Perennial World, it means that there has to be a way to go back. Promise to send me back, and I¡¯ll share the inheritance that the Smokecloud Sect''s received from Progenitor Yan with you."

    Lu Yinughed. "How often do trespassers go to the Perennial World? Do you not know? If it were as easy to go to the Perennial World as you¡¯re saying, then how could the Perennial World forget about us so easily? Why aren¡¯t there any rumors about the Fifth Maind in that casce?"

    Yun Tingting''s eyes nervously darted about.

    Lu Yin opened his gadget, and the disy popped up to show a picture of Wang Yi during ZENITH. "Do you know him?"

    Yun Tingting was startled. "The Wang family¡¯s Wang Yi?"

    "I can tell you how he got here, and then you can figure out the exact path for yourself. Basically, while I won¡¯t help you, I won¡¯t stop you either."

    Yun Tingting considered the offer. "Alright, as long as you¡¯re telling me the truth."

    "Long Xi can vouch for me. She knows me quite well, and she can speak for how trustworthy I am," Lu Yin stated matter-of-factly.

    It was not muchter that Lu Yin shared a method to improve the quality of Gu Xiao¡¯er¡¯s white smoke with him. Of course Lu Yin also knew the method, but he did not cultivate the white smoke, and he also did not have any interest in Progenitor Yan¡¯s inheritance. However, the Nine Clones Secret Technique was an entirely different matter.

    Gu Xiao''er happily shared the information with Gu Laogui. The agreement that had been made between Lu Yin and Gu Laogui stated that Smoke Eater Peaks would deliver enough smoke to protect 10,000 people after they improved the quality of their smoke. After that, Lu Yin would provide them with the Smoke Incarnations technique.

    Yun Tingting also needed to wait for the agreement to bepleted before she would be allowed to leave.

    Lu Yin was naturally concerned that Yun Tingting would manipte the battle techniques that she shared with him.

    With the matter momentarily settled, Lu Yin went to find Elder Gong to ask him to learn the fifthyer of the Cosmic Art.

    Elder Gong no longer refused, and he even personally guided Lu Yin¡¯s training.

    A bit more than ten dayster, Lu Yin bade farewell to Da Qui. Then, Elder Jiu Shen helped Lu Yin pass through the Cosmic Sea and reach the Innerverse.

    Out of the entire Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had spent the least amount of time in the Cosmic Sea. He had only fought there once during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and he had not returned since.

    The Cosmic Sea¡¯s climate was extremely temperamental, so whenever Lu Yin crossed it, he was helped by a powerful expert. The first time, it had been Highsage Wudi, and this time, it was Elder Jiu Shen.

    "Boy, take this." Elder Jiu Shen tossed something over to Lu Yin. It looked like a token.

    Lu Yin grabbed it, and filled his eyes with star energy. He saw that it contained a massive number of rune lines. This token could actuallypare to his upgraded bodysuit armor.

    "That''s a Cosmic Token, and it¡¯s a power vessel that I made to hold the Cosmic Art. This one contains the Celestial Sword Technique and Cosmic Palm, and it¡¯s for you to use as protection. Be careful, and don''t die," Elder Jiu Shen ordered. The juxtaposition of his youthful appearance with his voice filled with the vicissitude of age was very odd.

    Lu Yin did not dare to underestimate Elder Jiu Shen as he was a powerhouse who was at least as strong as Highsage Wudi. "This disciple understands. Elder, this disciple would like to make a request."

    "Speak," Jiu Shen said. Even though his opinion of Lu Yin had fallen again and again because of the pattern on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot, the elder forced himself to be patient. Even Elder Jiu Shen had to admit that there was a very good chance that this child would eventually be a Progenitor. Then, the Cosmic Sect would have to rely on this child if they wanted their treasure to be returned.

    Lu Yin coughed. "I understand that the sect has the Star Transference Secret Technique."

    Elder Jiu Shen angrily replied, "So it really is like Yuan Qiong thought¡ªyou¡¯re lusting after Star Transference."

    Lu Yin revealed a mocking smile.

    "No."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Why?"

    Elder Jiu Shen grew solemn. "What do you think a secret technique is? A cabbage? Something that just anyone can learn? That there are no limitations to them? It requires one¡¯sprehension. While it¡¯s fine to learn one or two, learning too many will leave your body useless.¡±

    "That¡¯s true. Learning too many secret techniques will do more harm than good," Liu Ye agreed.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed, but it did not particrly matter. Star Transference was a secret technique that focused on evasion, and he already had a simr secret technique, as well as the Teleportation Formation.

    Elder Jiu Shen returned to the Neoverse, and Lu Yin looked to the north. Finally, he had returned. The Innerverse looked quite weing in this ce.

    If Lu Yin was correct, they should have arrived in First Flowzone.

    He took out his copsible spacecraft. Lu Yin and Luo Shen boarded one while Liu Ye and Fei Hua used another. Lu Yin led the way to Fennel Flowzone.

    Even though traveling in a spacecraft was rather slow, it allowed Lu Yin to calmly handle a few matters.

    There were several unanswered messages on his gadget after leaving the Cosmic Sect.

    It did not take long for his gadget to start beeping; Wen Sansi was calling him. "Brother Lu, how would you like to visit my Wen family?"

    "This is about the sevenyered Literary Prison, right?" Lu Yin said bluntly. The benefits to keeping Wen Diyi and the others confined to Zenith Mountain were gradually appearing. He had spent significant resources to keep them all trapped there, and he needed to bepensated for those costs. The first was Smoke Eater Peaks, and the next would be the Wen family.

    "Brother Lu¡¯s manner of speech is quite refreshing. I wonder, what price my Wen family would need to pay for Lu Yin to be willing to share that method with us?" Wen San asked.

    "Show your sincerity by speaking to me face to face in Fennel Flowzone," Lu Yin said. He instantly ended the call,pletely unconcerned about offending the Wen family, as such things no longer worried him.

    Someone else called Lu Yin the moment he hung up on Wen Sansi: Madam Y¨­u.

    When Luo Shen heard Madam Y¨­u''s voice, her expression instantly changed, and she nervously looked at Lu Yin.

    "Ye''er was taken away by the Sword Sect. Alliance Leader Lu, I heard that you¡¯ve returned. Can you help my Y¨­u family?" Madam Y¨­u''s voice sounded bleak and exhausted. She was clearly begging.

    Lu Yin replied, "If you want to join the Great Eastern Alliance, then you can go to Fennel Flowzone to talk to me."

    Once again, he hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

    The Y¨­u family had broken away from the Y¨­u n, but in truth, the Y¨­u family was still a valid part of the n. Lu Yin had noticed that something was wrong when Madam Y¨­u had first approached him.

    Since the fact of the Y¨­u family possessing the n¡¯s secret technique had been exposed, why had the Y¨­u n not pursued the matter? Why had the Y¨­u family not returned to the Y¨­u n after the Sword Sect made their threats? It seemed that they were facing some sort of unknown threat, and even if Lu Yin was not afraid of such a thing, he did not want to deal with it.

    There was nothing in the Fifth Maind that he needed to fear.

    Of the surviving six Semi-Progenitors, three were actively supporting Lu Yin. The Chief Justice was his senior brother, and if this rtionship was ever revealed, Lu Yin would basically be the Fifth Maind¡¯s crown prince.

    The vessels continued traveling towards Fennel Flowzone, and Luo Shen unthinkingly leaned against Lu Yin''s shoulder. She knew that it would be very difficult for her to spend any time with Lu Yin after they returned to the Outerverse.

    These moments were truly precious to her, especially the times when she had sat next to Lu Yin while he had raced within Aurora Fortress. Those times had be beautiful memories.

    Lu Yin waspletely unaware that something massive had happened in the Outerverse while he had been in the Cosmic Sect: Shamrock Enterprise had stopped all of their transactions with the Great Eastern Alliance, and they would not sell even when they offered more than enough funds to purchase their goods. It was a tant move to suppress the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin had blocked their attempt to move their hidden world that contained Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters to Mt. Microcosms, and naturally, thepany wanted to retaliate.

    At the moment, Qiong Xi¡¯er was the one dealing with Shamrock Enterprise.

 Chapter 1589: Confrontation

    Chapter 1589: Confrontation

    Shamrock Enterprise had never even considered that Qiong Xi''er might already be on guard against them. Ever since she had first joined the Great Eastern Alliance, she had been secretly buying up and acquiring bothrge and small pharmaceuticalpanies. So, when Shamrock Enterprise finally bared their fangs against the alliance, Qiong Xi¡¯er was already in control of hundreds of pharmaceuticalpanies that directly supplied their to the Great Eastern Alliance, while simultaneously cutting off their raw materials supply for Shamrock Enterprise.

    No matter how powerful Shamrock Enterprise might be, they were unable to survive on their own. They needed to constantly buy all kinds of raw materials, whether it was for their pharmaceuticals or for their equipment, and these were the goods that Qiong Xi''er had deprived them of.

    After losing their supply chain, Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s production was abruptly sliced in half, though they were able to maintain production at 50%.

    A pharmaceutical trade war had started in the Outerverse, and it was already starting to spread into the Innerverse.

    ¡­

    There was a calm expression on Qiong Xi''er''s face. She kept her gadget open and activated as she spoke to someone.

    Her maid, Nana, sent out various orders ording to Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s instructions.

    "Young Master, 27panies of ours have already been paralyzed. Most of their raw materials for pharmaceutical production were being purchased from Shamrock Enterprise, and Shamrock Enterprise has stopped supplying raw materials to outsidepanies," Xiao Nan reported.

    Qiong Xi''er did not care. "As expected, though Shamrock Enterprise movedter than I expected. It looks like they¡¯re quite cautious of Lu Yin."

    "Young Master, the number¡¯s already increased to 40panies. Estimates are showing that all of the pharmaceuticalpanies under our control will be paralyzed within the next two days, and our losses will be astronomical. On the other hand, Shamrock Enterprise will only lose a batch of their drugs at worst."

    "One batch? Wrong, They lose at least half. Shamrock Enterprise has built up a strong monopoly over the pharmaceutical industry after all these years. These hundreds ofpanies failing right now are used to cut off their supplies," Qiong Xi''er said.

    Any behemothpany that held a monopoly would be secretly resisted by others in the same industry, and Shamrock Enterprise was no exception.

    However, they had never cared. Without the Great Eastern Alliance, they would have maintained their monopoly over the pharmaceutical industry and remained a hegemon. Qiong Xi''er had noticed all of this, and she had spent years preparing for this scenario.

    The Great Eastern Alliance would not be strangled by others.

    "That part of their production only applies to the Outerverse. Their Innerverse holdings have not been badly affected," Nana muttered.

    Just as Qiong Xi''er was about to respond, her gadget beeped, causing her to nce over. ¡°Now he finally calls me."

    The call connected, and Lu Yin''s voice was heard. "I heard that things have be quite exciting in the Outerverse."

    Qiong Xi''er smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, what are your instructions?"

    "I don¡¯t have any. I just called to ask if you needed anything." Lu Yin replied. He had only recently learned about the Outerverse¡¯s situation, but going all-out against Shamrock Enterprise was certainly a major event. Although Shamrock Enterprise was not as powerful as the Daynight n, thepany was still an absolute monster.

    Without the various powerhouses supporting him, Shamrock Enterprise would have had no issue suppressing the Great Eastern Alliance on their own. People from the Outerverse were too weak to be worthy of notice, including even the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome and Elder He.

    "Things are different for now, and I have the means to deal with them. However, even if I win, it won¡¯t be a real victory. They have a firm foundation, and while I can stop and frustrate them, they¡¯ve already estimated their potential losses and have found them eptable," Qiong Xi''er exined.

    Lu Yin snorted. "Then what are you going to do next?"

    He was genuinely curious. What would Qiong Xi¡¯er do against Shamrock Enterprise if he didn¡¯t take taking action?

    Qiong Xi''er smiled. "I always act like I¡¯m facing a human enemy. Resources, background, and strength all build upon, but in the end, we just need to deal with people."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. Next to him, Luo Shen was also listening to this conversation, and she was quite curious.

    Qiong Xi''er replied, "People always need to eat to live, and they have their own desires as well. How many people does Shamrock Enterprise employ? What are their living expenses?"

    Lu Yin instantly understood; Qiong Xi¡¯er was going to target thepany¡¯s bottom-level employees. He had to admit that the woman was quite sharp. Shamrock Enterprise could likely make counterns against the Great Eastern Alliance moving against them, and they had likely even taken Leon¡¯s Armada into ount. However, the pharmaceutical giant had almost definitely neglected their lowest level, but that was also their very foundation.

    "Basic necessities and transportation are things that ordinary people need, as well as cultivators," Lu Yin murmured to himself.

    After ending the call, Lu Yin looked over and saw the surprise in Luo Shen''s eyes, and it caused him tough. "What are you thinking about?"

    Luo Shen admiringly said, "She¡¯s so smart!"

    "The higher you rise, the further you can see. It¡¯smon to overlook what¡¯s underfoot, so the higher ups may not take the issues faced by those far beneath them into ount. To be exact, this isn¡¯t exactly her being smart, but rather taking a different perspective."

    "Oh."

    Lu Yin was more than happy to sit back and watch the fun since there was no need for him to make a move. He wanted to see how long Qiong Xi¡¯er would be able to frustrate Shamrock Enterprise for.

    ***

    The emptiness of outer space was dark, but it was apanied by gorgeous and colorfuls and stars.

    A spaceship flew away from a and made its way towards the Innerverse.

    The emblem of Shamrock Enterprise was on the side of the ship, marking it as a transport vessel that had just left a that grew raw materials for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

    "Captain, we have more than half a month left before we reach the Astral River Ark. You should rest for now," said a woman in the vessel¡¯s control center. She was holding a drink in one hand as she gazed at the man in front of her in an admiring manner.

    This man was the captain of the ship and a Cruiser. He had worked for Shamrock Enterprise for a hundred years, and not once had he made a single mistake. People said that he would soon be a Hunter, and once that happened, his status would transform as he would be able to relocate to the Innerverse.

    "Rest? There''s no time to rest. Carelessness can¡¯t be allowed," the captain retorted in a heavy tone.

    The woman was confused by his words. "We¡¯ve been transporting materials for so many years, and not once has anyone dared to touch Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s materials. What is Captain so worried about?"

    A bitter smile appeared on the captain¡¯s face. "That''s because we had no enemies in the past. However, we are currently enemies with thergest power in the entire Outerverse."

    Right as he finished speaking, a beam of light shot by in front of them, and an rm red out within the ship.

    "Captain, the vessel has been damaged! The enemy is attacking!" someone eximed in a panicked voice.

    The captain''s eyes went wide, and he stared off into the distance where a man was standing. His clothes made him look like an interster pirate.

    The captain quickly broadcast, "This vessel belongs to Shamrock Enterprise! Do you want to be enemies with my Shamrock Enterprise?"

    The man held arge knife, and a cruel smile spread across his face. "Leave the goods behind, and you can go."

    ¡°Arrogant!" the captain shouted, butser beams shot out from the spacecraft towards the man in response. Naturally, since Shamrock Enterprise was transporting valuable medicinal materials, the ships were armed and armored to deal with ordinary attacks. However, a Hunter was a major powerhouse in the Outerverse, and Shamrock Enterprise had not prepared their Outerverse vessels to deal with such a foe.

    It was not long before the ship was plundered, and the captain and crew from Shamrock Enterprise could only leave on a small spacecraft.

    "Captain, how dare these pirates be bold enough to rob our Shamrock Enterprise!? They¡¯re overstepping themselves!" Inside the small vessel, the woman was furious.

    The captain asked in a bitter tone, "Do you really think that that man¡¯s a pirate?"

    The woman was confused.

    The captain looked towards the east. The confrontation between the Great Eastern Alliance and Shamrock Enterprise was intensifying quickly if even these sorts of tactics were being used now. It looked like Shamrock Enterprise would not be able to take away any of the materials that they had cultivated in the Outerverse.

    "We¡¯ll head to the Innervese first," the captain said decisively. At this moment, it would be useless for him to return to the and try to bring out another shipment of raw materials. They would not be allowed toplete any transportation missions.

    The captain wanted to return to the Innerverse for new orders, but even though he was trying to be smart, he had forgotten that the Astral River Ark was in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s control.

    Even though the alliance had abandoned zing Mist Flowzone, leaving it to the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n, they had never abandoned the Astral River Ark. It was impossible for them to give that up.

    No one from Shamrock Enterprise was allowed to leave the Outerverse. Qiong Xi''er intended to stop all of thepany¡¯s normal operations in the Outerverse, and she also wanted to make it very difficult for them to return to the Innerverse.

    Simr scenes yed out throughout the entire Outerverse, and even in the Innerverse, Continental Shipping and various pirates in different flowzones made life difficult for Shamrock Enterprise.

    Given the situation, Shamrock Enterprise mobilized all of their seeds.

    Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds were not ordinary people. They were specifically chosen and raised by thepany. For example, Darkvoid, who had once been Lu Yin¡¯s ssmate, possessed an innate gift of exploding the void.

    The moment thepany sent out their seeds was the moment Shamrock Enterprise revealed their fangs. This corporate giant that had spread across the entire Fifth Maind unleashed a terrifying strength. Every seed that thepany had cultivated was a powerhouse, and they caused the pirates to suffer heavy losses. There were also seeds within the Great Eastern Alliance itself, and others who had snuck onto the Astral River Ark. In fact, they almost seized control of the ark.

    The Great Eastern Alliance treated the matter as dering war, so the alliance¡¯s experts were naturally sent out in turn. The conflict with Shamrock Enterprise was picking up.

    ***

    Far away from the Astral River Ark, in Darkmist Weave, a figure fled towards the north, chased by experts from the Great Eastern Alliance. They came from all different individual powers, including the Nine Allied Nations, Evenground Pce, and Aegis.

    Suddenly, the fleeing figure was wrapped up in ck mist as they instantly died. Topmist suddenly appeared, and he looked genuinely surprised. "Was that one of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds? What a powerful innate gift! Only a Cruiser, and yet he almost escaped."

    "He¡¯s the same one who nearly took control of the Astral River Ark. If that attempt had seeded, no one would have been able to endure His Highness¡¯s rage." A spectacled woman spoke up from near Topmist. She was the same woman who had once been the Melder realm Mistchild, but she was already an Explorer. Her cultivation had risen very quickly.

    "A single person can¡¯t take control of the ark, but Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds are really powerful. If all their Innerverse seeds attacked, the Great Eastern Alliance would be in a great deal of trouble," Topmistmented.

    The Explorer Mistchild gazed to the south. Your Highness, when will you return?

    She desperately wanted more of Lu Yin''s poisons, as only Lu Yin could give her strong enough poison to improve her strength.

    ***

    Back in the Honor Zone, there was an ugly expression on Yan¡¯s face. He had grossly underestimated the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s preparations. Judging from the current situation, the Great Eastern Alliance had seemingly long since made preparations to move against Shamrock Enterprise, or at least contemted the possibility of them falling out.

    At the moment, Shamrock Enterprise had been crippled in the Outerverse. Not to mention supplying raw materials to other ces, Yu Mu was unable to even return to the Innerverse. Thepany¡¯s seeds who had been sent to the Outerverse had also suffered heavy losses. Even if Shamrock Enterprise wanted to gain the Innerverse¡¯s support, doing so would require them to gather potential allies to fight against the entire Great Eastern Alliance.

    Yan had not expected the conflict with the Great Eastern Alliance to develop in this direction. He seemed unable to stop the matter from devolving into all-out war, which could not be allowed to happen. Even though the Great Eastern Alliance had not been around for very long, it was very stable and profitable due to the aligned interests of its various members. The alliance was ready for a war of contrition, so Shamrock Enterprise could not afford to openly fight against the alliance.

    This was not only because of the many resources being lost, but also because of a ssified project. That particr project required far too many resources, and their delivery could not be dyed.

    After thinking about it, Yan contacted Yu Mu. "Leaf King is about to leave seclusion. I¡¯m going to be ced in a difficult position once this matter is resolved, but you¡¯re going to be even worse off. This whole thing was triggered by your stupidity."

    Yu Mu hung up, his eyes darting about as he started to panic. While Shamrock Enterprise was not afraid of the Great Eastern Alliance, the losses that they had suffered were far too much for Yu Mu to take responsibility for. The Great Eastern Alliance had prepared far too well, and they hadpletely exceeded his expectations.

    With no other choice, Yu Mu finally reached out to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1590: Influence

    Chapter 1590: Influence

    Lu Yin was very close to Fennel Flowzone. And since he had left the conflict with Shamrock Enterprise to Qiong Xi''er, he had no intention of interfering. It was now a matter of who gave in first, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do to help.

    His gadget beeped, and after Lu Yin looked down, a smile appeared on his face as he answered, "Speak."

    Yu Mu¡¯s voice came through. "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m the one at fault for Overseer Cong Ying¡¯s attitude towards you. I can make this up to you."

    Lu Yinughed. "He is one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, and he is specifically targeting my Great Eastern Alliance. How can youpensate for that?"

    Yu Mu clenched his fists. "Alliance Leader Lu made it so that my Shamrock Enterprise was unable to enter Mt. Microcosms, which badly affected ourpany. Does Alliance Leader Lu really want to be enemies with Shamrock Enterprise?"

    "Are you threatening me?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare. Given Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s current status, I¡¯m truly a nobody. All I ask is for Alliance Leader Lu to give me a chance. Both Shamrock Enterprise and the Great Eastern Alliance hope to end this matter amicably."

    "You were the one who instigated this entire affair."

    Yu Mu had no grounds to argue. When he had first heard about the conflict, he had been thrilled, but who could have ever imagined that the Great Eastern Alliance would be so thoroughly prepared? They had so many moves prepared in advance that it was as though Shamrock Enterprise was their old enemy. It was even possible that thepany¡¯s losses could affect that n, which absolutely could not be allowed.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please look over the report that I have sent you. This conflict has only been going on for half a month, but during that time, the Great Eastern Alliance has lost three times as many cultivators as normal due to theck of medicines. These numbers will only continue to mount as this conflict continues, and it in no way benefits the Great Eastern Alliance," Yu Mu said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Are the losses that bad?"

    "The data doesn¡¯t lie," Yu Mu said seriously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew more focused. "I haven¡¯t even seen the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s data yet, but you already have a report on it. That¡¯s truly impressive."

    Yu Mu''s heart dropped, and his mouth went dry as he replied. "My Shamrock Enterprise has serviced many different customers from many different ces across the years, and we have many sources from which we gather our data. So, it wasn¡¯t difficult to tabte these calctions."

    Lu Yin was not really concerned. While information was indeed a weapon, he would simply pass this along to Wei Rong. Rather, it was more important to get the data from Shamrock Enterprise. "Am I understanding correctly that Mr. Yu Mu intends to settle this matter with just a few words?"

    "I, Yu Mu, am willing to pay the necessary price and will do my best," Yu Mu stated.

    Lu Yin sank into thought for a while. "You possess nothing that¡¯s worth my attention."

    Yu Mu¡¯s voice dropped low as he asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, are you familiar with Leaf King?"

    "Tell me."

    "Leaf King founded Shamrock Enterprise, and he has been around for a very long time, possibly even longer than Yuan Shi. During all that time, he has studied the concepts of creation and healing, and his power level exceeds a million at the least. It¡¯s truly not that my Shamrock Enterprise is incapable of moving our headquarters¡¯ hidden world to Mt. Microcosms, but rather that we have simply never bothered to do so. While we may not be able to measure up to Mavis Bank or Aurora Enterprises, we are still fully capable of protecting ourselves.

    "This conflict is unnecessary, and it would not be good if Alliance Leader Lu offended Leaf King," Yu Mu slowly said. He made sure to remove any threatening undertones from his voice, doing his best to speak as though he was merely stating facts.

    "Offending such a powerhouse is really not smart. In that case, let''s discusspensation."

    Yu Mu''s eyes lit up. "Please tell me."

    "First, the resources that Shamrock Enterprise sells to the Great Eastern Alliance must increase tenfold. At the same time, the losses caused by this matter will all be paid by Shamrock Enterprise. Don¡¯t try to pull anything, as you just shared all the data with me," Lu Yin said.

    Yu Mu was stunned; he had never expected the data that he had provided to convince Lu Yin would suddenly turn around and be a way to determine thepensation they owed. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re asking for too much."

    "I¡¯m not negotiating this with you. At the moment, this dispute is still just a trivial matter since I have not stepped in yet. The moment I intervene, I can mobilize Leon''s Armada and have them stop your Shamrock Enterprise from developing any further in the Outerverse. I can also ask them to stop you from being able to cross the Cosmic Sea and enter the Neoverse. Oh, I also forgot to mention that I have be a disciple of the Cosmic Sect, and I don''t even need to bow when greeting the sect master," Lu Yin spoke slowly, not caring if Yu Mu believed his ims or not. It did not matter, as Yu Mu was unqualified to agree to Lu Yin¡¯s conditions.

    "I need to report this further up," Yu Mu said as he excused himself.

    Lu Yin simply ended the call.

    "Aren''t you worried that they won''t agree?" Luo Shen was curious. Her eyes sparkled whenever she looked at Lu Yin, as though she could never get enough of him.

    "It doesn''t matter whether or not they agree. They don¡¯t have a choice."

    "What about their medicines?" Luo Shen asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I already made a request to the Hall of Honor about that, and several of the overseers agreed to help me. Still worried about medicines?"

    Luo Shen nodded and stared at Lu Yin with eyes full of admiration. He enjoyed her worshipful gaze, but it became very ufortable whenever he thought about Luo Shen''s feelings towards him. All he could do was wait for them to slowly dissipate.

    A dayter, just when Lu Yin was about to arrive in Fennel Flowzone, his gadget beeped again¡ªhe was being called by an unknown contact. Lu Yin picked up, and a pleasant-sounding voice immediately called out, "Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin replied.

    "The Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse President, Balsam."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "So it¡¯s the Innerverse¡¯s president. I understand that Yan is your secretary, correct?"

    "That''s right. Does Alliance Leader Lu have a moment to talk?" Balsam asked.

    "Please, go ahead."

    Balsam changed the audio call to a video call. Instantly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He had not expected Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president to be an amazingly beautiful woman.

    Lu Yin''s eyes remainedpletely focused, and he blocked out all distractions. Balsam and Lu Yin both stared at each other for a moment before she calmly started speaking. "Shamrock Enterprise is afraid of neitherpetition nor war, but in the end, we are businessmen. We try not to use force when we can simply solve things with money."

    "So will you agree to my proposal?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Before all this, Shamrock Enterprise was already providing the Great Eastern Alliance with a tremendous amount of resources, as these resources were all originally designated for the war against the Sixth Maind. Even after the invasion ended, we did not cancel the flow of supplies, which was done to demonstrate our respect for the Great Eastern Alliance."

    "You have my thanks," Lu Yin said, as he had already been aware of this.

    "While the resources that we supply to you each year are not exorbitant, it is certainly not a small amount either. After all, we are supplying the entire Great Eastern Alliance. However, if those resources are increased tenfold, then does Alliance Leader Lu understand what will happen? It would cause Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s holdings in the Outerverse to nearly copse. They would have to be supplemented by the Innerverse."

    Lu Yin did not believe this one bit.

    Balsam made her best attempt to show her sincerity as she shared thepany¡¯s operations with Lu Yin.

    "Increasing the amount of resources that we annually supply to the Great Eastern Alliance tenfold would ce a heavy burden on my Shamrock Enterprise. However, as the amount provided in the past was nothing excessive, I hope that epting this will allow Alliance Leader Lu to appreciate my Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s sincerity in this matter."

    Lu Yin had no idea if the woman was being truthful or not, as he had no real understanding of business operations. While Qiong Xi¡¯er would be able to go toe-to-toe with Balsam over such details, Lu Yin had no desire to put in so much effort. Instead, he simply pulled out the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem: the blood-red bell.

    Balsam''s pupils shrank, and she stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and stars began revolving around it to form the Celestial Sword Technique.

    Balsam was further startled.

    "You should understand what the Celestial Sword means within the Cosmic Sect, as well as what this bell is. With these two details and my influence with the nine overseers, I would like to hear just what price Shamrock Enterprise is willing to offer to stop this conflict. I¡¯m all ears," Lu Yin said casually.

    Shamrock Enterprise had been the sole instigator of this matter, so Lu Yin was insistent that they offer himpensation. He had thought that it would be unrealistic to expect them topensate them for the initial conflict, which was why he had agreed to Qiong Xi''er''s request for him to not interfere. But now, Balsam had reached out to him directly. Lu Yin knew that this matter would not continue for very long, and his foremost priority was to make sure that he received properpensation. There was no need to drag things out.

    Balsam had already known about Lu Yin¡¯s influence over the nine overseers as well as his good rtionship with the Chief Justice and Arch-Elder Zen, but she never thought that Lu Yin would actually have the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem or that he would have learned the Celestial Sword. That technique made Lu Yin¡¯s status in the Cosmic Sect perfectly clear to her.

    Finally, Yuan Shi, Eversky Ind, and the Lockbreaker Society all supported this person as well, which gave Lu Yin a truly elevated status.

    Balsam had never expected such a young man to be capable of doing so much. The zing title that Lu Yin had as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance had blinded them to the far more terrifying powers supporting Lu Yin from behind.

    There was a reason why Balsam had be Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president, and she was much more decisive than Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    "Ten times the annual resources is impossible, but I am willing to offer 500 million star essence to resolve this matter and topensate the Great Eastern Alliance for the losses they¡¯ve suffered due to the recent shortage of pharmaceuticals. Alliance Leader Lu, this is the best that I can offer you," Balsam stated.

    While ten times the annual resources might not seem as much as 500 million star essence, since this was an annual offering, it was difficult to calcte what this would eventually amount to. Shamrock Enterprise was very wealthy, but their biggest fear was their production slowing down and harming their operations. That would be the worst possible result.

    Lu Yin agreed, and the dispute summarily ended. Shamrock Enterprise would be extremely wary of the Great Eastern Alliance because of this conflict, but only Qiong Xi¡¯er had moved against thepany. Lu Yin¡¯s followers more insidious, like Wei Rong, had done nothing. Next time, Lu Yin would be prepared to swallow Shamrock Enterprise whole.

    His only concern was the mysterious Leaf King.

    "By the way, when we announce the truce, don''t let the matter of thispensation leak. It wouldn¡¯t be beneficial for either of us," Lu Yin warned.

    Balsam looked back at Lu Yin and stared at him for a moment as a sliver of fear rose from the bottom of her heart. This person had only just settled a conflict with Shamrock Enterprise, and he was already nning on making moves against others. It was no wonder how he had managed to be the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and the master of the Outerverse.

    A payment of 500 million star essence was not that much to Lu Yin, but it was still a tidy sum.

    Qiong Xi''er received orders to stop all actions against Shamrock Enterprise, and everything returned to normal.

    However, at the same time, she also received another order: ''Shamrock Enterprise Acquisition n.¡¯

    It was only a few words, and it was clear that Qiong Xi''er and Wei Rong were to fill in the details themselves. There was no need for Lu Yin to do everything personally.

    He lifted his head to look up in front. They had arrived at Fennel Flowzone.

 Chapter 1591: Fennel Flowzone

    Chapter 1591: Fennel Flowzone

    Fennel Flowzone was basically a gateway to Venom Flowzone, and the flowzone was like a small ind in the Innerverse. However, despite being even smaller than Northline Flowzone, Fennel Flowzone was a very lively ce.

    Venom Flowzone was unique throughout the entire Innerverse. It was filled with all kinds of poisonous insects and hidden monsters. Additionally, it was home to many people whose cultivation werecking and who had been forced to resort to other methods. This was the reason why Venom Flowzone was a desirable ce to many people, and its status had only increased after the Sixth Maind had attempted to attack the Divine Venom Dynasty. The flowzone¡¯s mystery had only risen after that incident.

    Also, the price of Venom Flowzone¡¯s poisonous bugs was very high.

    At the moment, Venom Flowzone was focused on the Great Eastern Alliance. All of the alliance¡¯s former opponents had either surrendered or been acquired, but the aftermath of these forceful acquisitions no longer concerned Lu Yin.

    "Ah!" There was a small scream as a pale-faced Luo Shen stared at a poisonous bug floating just outside their vessel, and she hid behind Lu Yin.

    He looked over, and his mouth twitched; the creature was truly revolting.

    This poisonous creature looked like a cross between a centipede and a toad. It had hundreds of legs, but it also had the head of a toad filled with bulging pustules.

    With a wave of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, the creature was sent away.

    Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy and looked out at outer space, where he saw runes everywhere. Each one represented a poisonous creature floating around, and some of them were evenrger than a spacecraft. At the same time, there were also many spacecraft flying through the area.

    These vessels were catching poisonous creatures, as they not only moved through outer space, but also inhabited many of the nearbys.

    Luo Shen became increasingly afraid. In such a ce, there was no need to mention her¡ªmost people would also be terrified.

    The Fennel Flowzone had been taken over by the Great Eastern Alliance many years ago. After Lu Yin arrived, he was greeted by Wei Rong and Ku Wei.

    "Boss, you¡¯re finally here! Boss, Little Wei has been waiting for you for so long!" Ku Wei immediately dropped down to embrace Lu Yin¡¯s legs the moment he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he kicked Ku Wei away. "Knock off the references. Just call me ¡®master.¡¯"

    In order to save Ku Wei from the Ku family of the Seven Courts, Lu Yin had be Ku Wei¡¯s Lockbreaker master.

    "Master, you¡¯re finally back. Little Wei has suffered with you gone!" Ku Wei howled.

    Suddenly, other miserable wails rang out, and countless people from the Great Eastern Alliance turned to look.

    "Alliance Leader! My lord, you''re back! My lord, Little Tan has been waiting for you and has suffered so much." The person who was making such amotion this time was the ze Realm¡¯s Elder Tan. After deciding to follow Lu Yin, the elder¡¯s entire personality had changed.

    Ku Wei red at Elder Tan. "Get lost! Don¡¯t stop me from enjoying my time with my master."

    Elder Tan tantly ignored Ku Wei. "Alliance Leader, Little Tan has been waiting for you and suffering all the awhile."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. The star energy in the area suddenly trembled, and both of the men were sent flying, which caused Luo Shen to giggle as she watched the scene.

    Wei Rong bowed to Lu Yin. "Your Highness, wee home."

    Lu Yin nodded and asked some workers to get Luo Shen settled in. He then led Liu Ye and Fei Hua towards the Greenlight Forest, which was the closest ce to Venom Flowzone.

    The Greenlight Forest was also the most valuable location in all of Fennel Flowzone. It was not a, nor was it a maind. Instead, it was the dried-up corpse of a massive poisonous bug that had been dead for an unknown amount of time. It had been so long that trees had grown on the corpse, and amazingly, these trees bore fruits that gave off a green light. This was able to give immunity to most of the poisonous gasses in Venom Flowzone, and they were also able to avoid being eaten or destroyed by many of the poisonous creatures.

    These glowing green fruits were a necessity for any cultivator who wanted to enter Venom Flowzone. The Greenlight Forest had previously been controlled by the Divine Venom Dynasty, but had recently been taken over by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "The Divine Venom Dynasty allowed us to take the Greenlight Forest?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Rong said, "The Divine Venom Dynasty was built up a myth regarding themselves within Venom Flowzone, and it¡¯s true that Venom Flowzone is too difficult to attack. However, outside Venom Flowzone, even though they use techniques that are more bizarre than the Sword Sect, they are not that strong. The alliance can only step back when ites to Venom Flowzone, but aspensation, we promised guard their gate in Fennel Flowzone for them. Information regarding anyone who enters Venom Flowzone is always shared with the Divine Venom Dynasty.¡±

    "The Divine Venom Dynasty ces too much importance on their environment within Venom Flowzone." Lu Yin instantly saw the problem. The Divine Venom Dynasty did not care too much about things outside of their own flowzone. Even if Fennel Flowzone was a portal to their domain, they werepletely confident that no one could force their way into Venom Flowzone. If even the Sixth Maind had failed, what could the Great Eastern Alliance do?

    Wei Rong smiled. "I like their confidence."

    Lu Yin smiled and looked to the west.

    "Master, this disciple will show you around Fennel Flowzone." Ku Wei took every opportunity he found to spout ttery.

    Not to be outdone, Elder Tan chipped in, "Alliance Leader, this subordinate will show you Venom Flowzone."

    "Master, your disciple has prepared a lot of special food for you."

    "Alliance Leader, your subordinate has prepared a beautiful girl."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had no desire to pay any attention to either of the two.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both very curious about Fennel Flowzone, so they stayed silent as everyone moved along. No one was able to sense the two Envoys¡¯ strength.

    If anyone told the people present that Liu Ye and Fei Hua were experts with power levels that exceeded 700,000, everyone¡¯s attitude would drastically change in an instant.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to step foot on the Greenlight Forest. This was the first ce he had visited in the Innerverse that truly belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival in Fennel Flowzone drew the attention of the members of the Divine Venom Dynasty, but nothing more than their attention. After all, the dynasty cared for nothing about the outside world.

    Periodically, there would be a surge in the poisons within Venom Flowzone, and the toxins would spread, polluting even the tributary astral rivers separating the flowzone from its neighbors. Lu Yin''s arrival happened to coincide with one such poison tide.

    Lu Yin stood in the Greenlight Forest and watched as countless strange poisons flowed through, painting the starry sky. There were all kinds of poisons to be seen. Lu Yin sighed. "It''s really quite amazing."

    He felt that it would be good to go to the Divine Venom Dynasty to get some poisons that he could then Enhance them like crazy.

    Events had proven that poison remained very useful inbat.

    "Arge number of people are lured out after the poison tides each year, as the tides push out some of the rarer poisons from the depths of Venom Flowzone, as well as somes that are filled with poison.

    A violent whistling was heard, and Wei Rong''s expression instantly changed. "That¡¯s a Babybud. They have very powerful poisons and can be the size of a star. They¡¯re creatures that are normally not provoked within Venom Flowzone."

    A shadow passed by up above, and Lu Yin looked up to see an iparably massive creature that was covered with poisonous gasses of all different colors. He even saw mountains and swamps on the creature¡¯s skin.

    In this ce, a Babybud was definitely a creature that was considered extremely powerful, and Lu Yin estimated by the runes he saw that it had a power level of about 450,000.

    "After a Babybud shows up, it¡¯s necessary to wait a few days before moving even if the poison tide has already finished. Things will be much safer after it returns to Venom Flowzone," Wei Rong exined in a helpless manner.

    "That¡¯s a very interesting creature. Liu Ye, do you remember that poisonous bug we ran into in the Lower Realm? This thing¡¯s very simr to that," Sister Fei Hua said.

    Liu Ye agreed, "It''s a bit close, but somewhat smaller. I¡¯ll go grab it to take a closer look."

    "I¡¯ll go with you." With that, both of them disappeared.

    Wei Rong was startled by their actions. "Your Highness, those two¡­?"

    "Just let them go. It''s just a little bug," Lu Yin indifferently dismissed Wei Rong¡¯s concerns.

    Wei Rong''s expression changed a bit, and he took a careful look at Lu Yin. He had changed. In the past, Lu Yin would absolutely have been cautious of a creature like a Babybud that had a level of strength that approached that of an Envoy, and yet he had just called one a little bug?

    For Liu Ye, Fei Hua, or even Lu Yin, a Babybud really was just a little bug. Lu Yin was able to with average one-tribtion Envoys who had power levels of more than 500 thousand. It was a different perspective

    As for Liu Ye and Fei Hua, they were both terrifying powerhouses with power levels of more than 700,000. Even Long Kui had once admitted to not being able to face the two of them together, which meant that when cooperating, the Flying Blossom Willow Leaf Duo were able to defeat opponents with power levels of more than 800,000.

    Together, they were approaching the strength of Yuan Shi. A Babybud truly was just a bug.

    There were many of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts in Fennel Flowzone, but no top-tier powerhouses. The strongest person present was Duane Daynight, who was an Enlighter from the Dayking n who had a power level of 430,000. Naturally, he could not deal with a Babybud.

    None of the people present were aware of the fact that the Babybud had not been released from Venom Flowzone by the poison tide, but had been released by the Divine Venom Dynasty. This was not some attack on the Great Eastern Alliance, but was merely intended to act as a deterrent.

    The Divine Venom Dynasty did not care about Fennel Flowzone, as they believed that no one could touch them, but that was on the premise that Venom Flowzone remained easy to defend and difficult to attack. They needed to maintain their air of mystery and fear to protect Venom Flowzone. After a Babybud moved out, no one would dare do anything and no one would be able to enter Venom Flowzone. Their mysterious reputation would grow even stronger. This was the way that the Divine Venom Dynasty handled things.

    They actually had their own methods to ensure their survival, and they did not truly ignore the rest of the Fifth Maind.

    Inside Venom Flowzone, a group of people stood tall in space as countless poisonous objects passed by them. They did not react to any of the toxins, and acted as though such things did not even exist.

    "Prince, those people out there who saw the Babybud probably won''t dare try to enter for at least half a year," one personmented with a smile.

    Everyone else in the group quickly agreed

    There was a middle-aged man standing in the middle of the group, and a smile appeared on his face after hearing their words. He proudly stated, "Of course not! They wouldn''t dare enter even if they had ten times the courage they possess."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance must have been frightened as well. Each year, the prince releases some powerful poisons with the poison tides, and that should be enough to keep the Great Eastern Alliance from doing anything rash."

    "The prince¡¯s wisdom is unparalleled! If those idiots in the ze Realm had possessed half of his wisdom, they would never have been destroyed by the Great Eastern Alliance."

    The princeughed loudly. "How could the ze Realm everpare to my Divine Venom Dynasty? My imperial brother entrusted me with this matter, so naturally I¡¯ll handle it properly."

    At this moment, they heard a shrill whistle off in the distance, and several people¡¯s expressions instantly changed. When they looked over, they saw the Babybud violently struggling as though it had just suffered an unimaginable attack. ¡°This bug dares fight back?"

    Suddenly, the Babybud started shrinking, and it fell into the Greenlight Forest and disappeared.

    "Take it easy! Don''t kill it too fast." Another voice was heard.

    "Don''t worry, bugs are incredibly durable. This thing can''t die."

    "Be a bit more careful."

    ¡­

    The people within Venom Flowzone were all stunned; the Babybud had been captured? A bug?

    The prince swallowed. There was an Envoy out there. Absolutely an Envoy! Who except for an Envoy could grab a Babybud so casually while not giving the creature the slightest opportunity to resist. There were Envoys in Fennel Flowzone. The Great Eastern Alliance had true powerhouses.

    Wait, hadn¡¯t the reports imed that the alliance had no Envoys? They had needed to borrow an Envoy from the Sea King¡¯s Dome? Then where had these Envoyse from? There were two of them!

    "Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re returning to the Dynasty," the prince decisively ordered. He turned around and prepared to leave. He needed to report this matter to the emperor. The Great Eastern Alliance had hidden their strength too well; they actually had two Envoys in Fennel Flowzone! What did they want? With two Envoys, the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons could have been eliminated long ago, so what was the alliance doing in Fennel Flowzone?

    Even though the Great Eastern Alliance could notpare to the strength that had been mobilized when the Sixth Maind had attacked Venom Flowzone, from the prince¡¯s perspective, the alliance was even more dangerous than the Sixth Maind. At least the Sixth Maind had been enemies with the entire Fifth Maind, while the Great Eastern Alliance was possibly focused exclusively on Venom Flowzone.

 Chapter 1592: Transience

    Chapter 1592: Transience

    Just as the prince was about to leave, a figure appeared behind him. He and the others in his group were all startled, as they had not noticed when this person had arrived.

    "Looks like Mr. Lu¡¯s invited a few people." Liu Ye had shown up next to the people. He and Fei Hua had noticed the group when they had taken the Babybud, and they had reported their presence to Lu Yin, who had asked Liu Yu to bring the people over.

    Liu Ye made his move, and the prince and the others werepletely unable to resist. All they could do was watch as they were taken to the Greenlight Forest.

    Some distance away, they saw the massive Babybud had shrunk down to only the size of a mountain range. Still, despite its diminished size, it still radiated a shockingly powerful aura.

    Lu Yin was standing rather close to the Babybud, watching as Fei Hua muttered something. The prince and his entourage appeared behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and observed the prince.

    The prince grew embarrassed and after realizing that he had been discovered. ¡°So the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance has returned? I had heard that you had disappeared, and my Divine Venom Dynasty had constantly worried over the safety of Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you. In that case, who might Your Highness be?"

    "Prince of Divine Venom Dynasty, Qing Li."

    Lu Yin respectfully greeted the man, "So you¡¯re His Highness the prince. I¡¯ve been rude. What might have brought Your Highness out to the border between Venom Flowzone and Fennel Flowzone?"

    "The poison tide. My Royal Brother is worried about the safety of the many cultivators in Fennel Flowzone, and so I brought some antidotes with me to help people resist the poison."

    Lu Yin found the prince highly entertaining, as he did not even blink as he tantly lied. Lu Yin nced over at the Babybud. "Your Highness should know that even though this creature¡¯s poison has no intelligence, it can stillpare to an attack from an expert with a power level of more than 400,000, and the creature should have no difficulties distinguishing an enemy or recognizing who threw it out of Venom Flowzone."

    Qing Li''s expression suddenly changed and he stopped talking.

    Lu Yin smiled. He had merely been randomly talking, as he had no evidence to support such a im. Even if the Divine Venom Dynasty truly had tossed the Babybud out into Fennel Flowzone, it was certainly within their rights.

    After seeing that Qing Li did not say anything more, Lu Yin suddenly said, "It¡¯s said that the Divine Venom Dynasty is unmatched when ites to poisons. Is there a poison that ispletely undetectable to cultivators and that after poisoning, their body will paralyzed and their reactions slowed?"

    Qing Li''s pupils shrank, and he took a little while to respond. "There are many poisons that are undetectable to cultivators, and there are quite a few that my Divine Venom Dynasty possesses. Why does Alliance Leader Lu ask?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Quite a few? Can Your Highness bring some out?"

    Qing Li grew awkward. "Alliance Leader Lu may not know, but poisons are the mostmon methods of attack in my Divine Venom Dynasty, so just like a cultivator''s battle techniques, people are unwilling to casually reveal their poisons."

    "What about buying them?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Li grew increasingly ufortable. "Well, we don¡¯t usually sell poisons."

    "You little old man, do you realize just who you¡¯re talking to? My master is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, peerless within his generation! He is an Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor, and the Cosmic Sect¡¯s first disciple! He¡¯s been named a disciple of Eversky Ind, and is even a two-star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker. He¡¯s supported by Leon¡¯s Armada and a member of the crew, and a frequent guest of the Seven Courts. He¡¯s a top tier VIP of Aurora Enterprises, and a top VIP of the Mavis Bank. He¡¯s stepping down by offering to do business with you; can¡¯t you even recognize when someone¡¯s giving you something good?¡± Ku Wei jumped out of nowhere and started shouting.

    His volume startled Qing Li. He was a prince of the Divine Venom Dynasty, so when had he been yelled at in such a manner?

    One of the people standing behind Qing Li shouted, "Impudence!"

    "You¡¯re arrogant! You don¡¯t even see who you¡¯re talking to! My master offered to buy your poison out of pity; can¡¯t you see a good thing when it¡¯s in front of you?" Ku Wei roared.

    Lu Yin looked at Ku Wei with an approving gaze. Sometimes people like him were needed to give off a desirable effect. However, Lu Yin realized that it was extremely hard for him to say these lines while it seemed like a natural thing for Ku Wei to say, as if he had recited the same lines a million times.

    Qing Li''s expression turned ugly, and he stared at Ku Wei. Stupidckey.

    "If you don¡¯t want to sell it, could you at least let me take a look?" Lu Yin asked. His tone of voice had soured a bit.

    Ku Wei grew impatient as he stared at Qing Li. "Hurry up and take it out! Do you still want us to do it for you? Look at that poisonous creature; if you don¡¯t pull out what you were told to, you¡¯ll end up in that thing¡¯s mouth."

    Qing Li was infuriated by Ku Wei, but the prince merely snorted and retrieved some poison from his cosmic ring. ¡°This is a poison that I personally developed that¡¯s called Five Steps Dispersal. If a cultivator below a Hunter is infected with this toxin, they will die after taking a single step without fail."

    Ku Wei quickly stepped forward to grab the poison, and he then carefully handed it over to Lu Yin with a smile. "Master, look at this."

    Lu Yin said nothing as he observed the poison. However, he was looking at the poison¡¯s runes, and saw that it basically matched a power level 100,000, which aligned with what Qing Li had said. "Your Highness the Prince must be joking; what¡¯s the meaning of bringing out this poison?"

    "You little old man, you¡¯d better realize what¡¯s good for you!" Ku Wei roared.

    Qing Li red at the youth. Still, after gritting his teeth, he took out another poison. While he imed it was a poison, it looked more like a live snake. It was brightly colored, but was as small as a fingernail. "This is snake venom that my Divine Venom Dynasty researched. This one¡¯s effective on even Hunters, as it¡¯s able to infiltrate a body faster than a human can react, and even Enlighters will struggle to deal with this poison."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew colder. "I''m asking about a poison that¡¯s essentially undetectable to any cultivator and that will paralyze a person after they¡¯re struck by it."

    Qing Li took out a few more poisons, but even the most powerful toxin was something that was only difficult for Enlighters to detect, not impossible.

    "It seems that Your Highness is ying with me. I¡¯m able to easily see whether or not everything that you¡¯ve brought out is poisonous. I was hoping that Your Highness would bring out a poison that I could not see through," Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Ku Wei instantly started spouting threats, "Do you want to y in the Babybud¡¯s mouth?"

    Qing Li did not know how to respond. "Alliance Leader Lu, there are several other poisons that are kept by the Dynasty that even Enlighters struggle to detect, but my imperial brother is the only one with ess to those."

    "Has Your Highness heard of runes before?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Li¡¯s expression instantly changed. "The method developed by the legendary Rune Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head and stared off into the distance. "In this Fifth Maind, absolutely everything has runes, and the poisons you just showed me that are supposed to be hard to detect all show runes revealing their strength. What I am needing is a poison that has no runes, much like a curio."

    Qing Li''s expression revealed no change. "That, our dynasty doesn''t have anything like that."

    "And yet I heard that Nightking Zhenwu received such a poison from the Divine Venom Dynasty, and I even suffered from it myself," Lu Yin casually mentioned.

    Qing Li immediately denied the possibility, "That¡¯s impossible. Nightking Zhenwu''s poison must havee from somewhere besides my Venom Flowzone."

    Lu Yin stared at the prince. "Qing Longlong told me."

    Qing Li was startled. "How did she know?"

    The moment the words left his mouth, he realized that he had been tricked. He looked up at the smug glint in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and Qing Li¡¯s heart sank.

    "Your Highness, how long do you want to try to keep this matter hidden? You are wee to stay as my guest here or in the Great Eastern Alliance. I believe that your Emperor Qing Shaohuang will find it difficult to stop me. How about for a year, or a hundred, or maybe even a thousand years?" Lu Yin ¡®s voice remained light.

    Qing Li''s face twitched, and he visibly struggled with something internally. "Send away your people."

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and everyone retreated to leave him alone with Qing Li.

    Qing Li grew somber as he stared at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Divine Venom Dynasty holds no hostility towards you."

    Lu Yin stayed silent and calm.

    "The poison that Nightking Zhenwu received from my Divine Venom Dynasty is called Transience. It¡¯s a poison that my imperial brother has asionally been able to develop from a strange flower. It is absolutely colorless and tasteless, and it is evenparable to a curio. Even if a person cultivates the Rune Progenitor¡¯s technique, they will not see any runes. It is my Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s most precious poison.

    "The reason why I gave it to Nightking Zhenwu is because when my Divine Venom Dynasty was first established, an ancient powerhouse from the Daynight n provided great assistance, which caused my Divine Venom Dynasty to owe the Daynight n a favor. We had no intention of helping the Daynight n work against Alliance Leader Lu," Qing Li exined.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin learned that the poison that he had been afflicted with on Nightking was known as Transience. At the time, Lu Yin had not been able to detect any trace of the poison, and if not for his die and the withered Root of Intelligence he had possessed, he would have died on Nightking.

    "Back then, I nearly died," Lu Yin said, his face sullen. Even though the Divine Venom Dynasty had little connection to that particr incident and held no animosity towards Lu Yin, he was unable to look past what had happened to him.

    Qing Li also understood this detail. "What is it that you want, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin stared at the prince. "I want Transience."

    Qing Li frowned. "My imperial brother won''t agree. Transience is something that no one other than Nightking Zhenwu has ever received, not even the emperor''s own daughter, Qing Longlong, let alone me."

    "I want to talk to Qing Shaohuang."

    "Unfortunately, the emperor is currently in seclusion to develop a poison. If Alliance Leader Lu does not believe me, you are wee to try to contact the emperor."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What do you think about the Fifth Maind?"

    Qing Li grew confused, as he could not understand such a sudden change it topic. "What does Alliance Leader Lu mean by such a question?"

    "Your Highness, if you wish, I, Lu Yin, can help you go anywhere you would like without needing to be trapped in Venom Flowzone," Lu Yin said.

    Qing Li shook his head. "Alliance Leader Lu is overthinking things. Those born in Venom Flowzone all have dealt with poisons their entire lives, it is difficult for any of us to leave and try to adapt to the outside world. This is part of the reason that the Hall of Honor has not paid much attention to my Divine Venom Dynasty; it is precisely because the Divine Venom Dynasty has no interest in the outside world."

    Lu Yin felt stuck, as he was hoping to be able to ce a contact within the Divine Venom Dynasty, but such a thing did not seem like it would be easy.

    "Those various poisons you just saw are a gift for Alliance Leader Lu aspensation for the Babybud. Alliance Leader Lu, I understand your desire to get your hands on Transience, and honestly, anyone who knows of the poison wants it. Unfortunately, no one is able to get it, and so I must suggest that you set aside this desire," Qing Li said.

    Qing Li left shortly after that, as Lu Yin did not make things difficult for the prince.

    This was not the time to create a bad rtionship with the Divine Venom Dynasty, and Lu Yin had no reason to move against the prince.

    As for Transience, Lu Yin was determined to find a way to get it. A poison that wasparable to curios was simply too useful. If he also managed to Enhance it, there would definitely be a use of the poison.

    However, this was not an appropriate time for Lu Yin to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty. Lu Yin was rather ignorant of the empire, though he had already been cautioned about the difficulty of getting Transience from Qing Shaohuang. Lu Yin was not able to use threats and violence everywhere he went.

    Also, Qing Shaohuang would not particrly care about Lu Yin¡¯s status.

    Lu Yin¡¯s purpose in Fennel Flowzone was to wait for the Wen family. He did not know what he might be able to get from the Wen family, so he intended to first speak with them.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, on a that belonged to Shamrock Enterprise, Yu Mu was gasping for air. He was kneeling on one of his knees, and blood streamed from his mouth to drip on the ground. Both of his eyes were crimson, though one was even blind.

    A pair of long, snow-white legs strode in front of the man. They belonged to a young girl who had bright eyes and white teeth. She was quite beautiful, but her eyes gave her a bit of a cheeky demeanor. She raised her head and looked up into the sky. "I honestly prefer acting like an average person, and the position of Outerverse president is nothing I want, but who forced you to make such a grave error, Master."

 Chapter 1593: Stellular Energy Pill

    Chapter 1593: Stellr Energy Pill

    Yu Mu gazed at the girl in horror. "You aren¡¯t dead."

    The girl smiled brightly at him. "Of course not."

    "Are you a seed?" Yu Mu spat out blood as he struggled to speak.

    The girl nodded. She behaved in a refined manner. "At first, thepany made the arrangements for me to ept you as my master, but you were so bothered by my talent that you tried to kill me. It¡¯s quite tragic, really."

    Yu Mu showed a miserable smile. "I never expected to face this day. Yu Er, do you still see me as your master?"

    "Of course! A master is a rtionship thatsts forever, and a master is someone who will be missed forever." The cunning glint in the girl''s eyes suddenly turned incredibly cold, and the same chill entered her voice.

    Yu Mu hung his head. "That''s good. That''s good. It''s wonderful to see you before dying. Actually, Master feels quite guilty."

    The girl''s gaze grew sharp, and she suddenly grabbed at Yu Mu. Her hand passed through his body, but no blood could be seen. His body disappeared.

    The girl was startled; the true universe? Unless she was wrong, he had absolutely just fled into the true universe. But how could that be? His power level did not even reach 400,000, so how could he enter the true universe?

    The girl entered a daze as she stared at the blood on the ground. The next moment, her eyes zed with fury; that old corpse couldn¡¯t have fled very far!

    In space, some distance away, Yu Mu coughed up blood as he fled to an abandoned nearby to hide.

    The was not far from where Yu Mu had been, so he knew that Yu Er woulde after him. In order to survive, his only option was to beg for help. However, there was only one person capable of saving Yu Mu: Lu Yin.

    The youth was an enemy who had driven Yu Mu into a corner, but he was also the only person capable of saving Yu Mu at this time.

    Yu Mu quickly essed his gadget and called Lu Yin.

    After waiting for an agonizing amount of time, Yu Mu finally heard a voice: "Master dear, I know you¡¯re here. You can''t escape, soe out! I won''t kill you."

    The girl¡¯s clear voice echoed through the, sounding like something from Yu Mu¡¯s nightmares.

    He looked up to see her standing high up in the sky with a hand raised to attack the.

    At this same moment, Yu Mu¡¯s gadget connected his call, and Lu Yin appeared on the disy.

    The moment the call connected, Lu Yin saw a girl standing in the sky, attacking the. Almost instantly, the disy went dark.

    On the Greenlight Forest, Lu Yin was stunned by what he had just seen; What just happened? Did Yu Mu just die? Who is that girl?

    "Brother Lu, do you need to take care of this?" Luo Shen softly asked.

    "It''s fine."

    He soon received another call on his gadget, and Lu Yin immediately answered. The disy showed Yu Mu. He had lost the use of an eye, and looked pathetic, which was shocking to Luo Shen.

    "All- Alliance Leader Lu! Save me!" Yu Mu¡¯s voice broke as he begged for help. He kept his voice pitched low, and fear filled his eyes.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "What''s going on?"

    "The conflict with you cost Shamrock Enterprise heavy losses, and thepany not only ordered me to be reced, but also to be silenced, as they need to keep a massive secret hidden," Yu Mu spoke quickly. He was panting, and constantly ncing over his shoulder as he spoke. He was clearly hiding and scared.

    "Continue."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re the only one who can save me! I swear, if you save me, I¡¯ll give you Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s greatest secret!" Yu Mu eagerly offered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly sharpened. "Why should I trust you?"

    Yu Mu gritted his teeth, which caused blood to leak from the corner of his mouth. "Because I just managed to escape by fleeing into the true universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. The true universe was a ce that only Envoys could enter, or at least someone with strength that wasparable to an Envoy, such as Lu Yin. Yu Mu¡¯s power level barely surpassed 300,000 at best, so how could he enter the true universe?

    "I don''t believe you," Lu Yin bluntly replied. Not even the Perennial World had the means to allow an Enlighter to enter the true universe, so it was clearly impossible for Yu Mu to have done such a thing.

    Yu Mu¡¯s voice sounded increasingly stressed, "Alliance Leader Lu, save me! If I¡¯m lying, it¡¯s not a terrible loss, but what if I¡¯m telling the truth? I can tell you what I used to enter the true universe! It¡¯s called a stellr energy pill and it¡¯s the thing that Shamrock Enterprise has always been researching. They only recently seeded, but now it¡¯s possible for the pill to be mass-produced.¡±

    "Where?" Lu Yin whispered.

    Yu Mu delivered the location, and Lu Yin immediately contacted Elder He. At the moment, Yu Mu was quite close to Enron, which was where the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome had taken up residence.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Shamrock Enterprise will send people to find me as soon as possible! I only have one stellr energy pill left, so I can only escape one more time."

    Yu Mu urged Lu Yin to hurry, only for Lu Yin to suddenly yell, ¡°RUN!"

    He had seen a figure appear behind Yu Mu in the disy. It was the same girl from before.

    The disy went dark, and Lu Yin stood rooted in ce, lost in thought. Could the stellr energy pill be real, or was the whole thing a scam?

    It did not seem likely for Yu Mu to be willing to risk lying. Lu Yin was Yu Mu¡¯s enemy, so why would the man ask Lu Yin to save him? Besides, if Yu Mu was lying, he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he would die. Was there really a pill that the Shamrock Enterprise had created to allow an Enlighter ess to the stellr universe?

    However, this whole thing soundedpletely impossible.

    In the Outerverse, Yu Er stared at the empty space before her. She had clearly seen Yu Mu, and yet he had escaped from her once again by fleeing into the true universe.

    She had no idea how he had aplished such a thing, but it had looked like the old corpse had been talking to someone, and it had looked to be Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was no stranger to Yu Er. She had stayed within the Great Eastern Alliance for quite a while, and she had also spent time in the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. Lu Yin had been a legend for nearly ten years, so she had seen far too many stories about him.

    The old corpse had been forced into his current corner because of his grudge with Lu Yin, so why would he reach out to Lu Yin?

    There were too many questions that Yu Er needed answered. She had to find that old corpse.

    After half a day of searching, Yu Er found Yu Mu on a meteorite, flying to the east.

    Yu Mu despaired; was he out of time? Lu Yin had not had the time to save him.

    "Oh, Master dear, were you talking to Lu Yin? Why? Also, how are you able to enter the true universe? Can you tell your disciple?" Yu Er moved to stand in front of Yu Mu. She had the strength to catch him in an instant, so she wasfortable confronting him directly as she spoke to him in a soft voice.

    Yu Mu sneered at her. "What? You don¡¯t know about the stellr energy pill?"

    "Stellr energy pill?" Yu Er had never heard of such a thing.

    Yu Mu mocked the girl, "Looks like thepany doesn''t trust you if they didn¡¯t even tell you about the stellr energy pill."

    "Then can Master tell me?" Yu Er asked as she stared at Yu Mu. Her long, snow-white legs formed a stark contrast to the dark and dead surface of the meteorite.

    Yu Mu shook his head. "In regards for our rtionship, I¡¯m going to warn you not to dig into this. The waters of Shamrock Enterprise are deeper and darker than you know."

    Yu Er grabbed Yu Mu and told him, "Go back with me."

    Suddenly, Yu Er grew stiff. The void had broken open, and an old man emerged from the true universe. "Little girl, please let him go. He¡¯s my guest."

    Yu Er turned to stare at the old man who was looking at her with solemn eyes. "An Envoy?"

    Yu Mu nced at the remnants of the shattered meteorite behind him and heaved a sigh of relief. He had survived.

    Elder He moved in front of Yu Mu and sped his hands behind his back. He led Yu Mu away. The Envoy was quite curious about the man he had rescued, as Elder He was privy to the grudges between Yu Mu and Lu Yin, so naturally, Elder He had not expected Lu Yin to make any efforts to save this man. There had to be more to their rtionship than Elder He knew.

    However, such things did not matter to Elder He. He was simply saving Yu Mu in order to earn a favor from Lu Yin that could be used to help find the Sea King.

    The people of the Sea King¡¯s Dome were absolutely certain that the Sea King was not dead, but they also had no idea where he could be. They were helpless to find or save him, so all they could do was rely on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was already making his way towards the Outerverse. He was incredibly interested in the stellr energy pill that Yu Mu had mentioned, and Lu Yin also needed to collect Aegis¡¯s cloakstone.

    The moment that Lu Yin left Fennel Flowzone in one direction, the Wen family entered the flowzone from the opposite direction. Upon learning that Lu Yin had just left for the Outerverse, the Wen family was left with no choice but to chase after him.

    It was nearly half a year since Lu Yin had returned to the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World. On one particr day, some people appeared in the far western region of the Technocracy, and they made their way towards the Sky Creation Academy.

    The Sky Creation Academy was the true core of the Technocracy, and it was found in theirrgest city. In fact, the city actually held the same name: Sky Creation Academy.

    During the Tournament of the Strongest, the Technocracy¡¯s participants¡ªYun, Domi, Yarpet, and the others¡ªhad alle from Sky Creation Academy. During ZENITH, Wang Yi had represented the exact same ce.

    Sky Creation Academy was home to many research teams, and Hui Kong frequently visited the ce.

    However, Hui Kong was to present at this moment, but instead on a barren far away, smashing a huge mechanical monster to pieces.

    "You old bald corpse, I¡¯ll tear you apart sooner orter!" The mechanical monster spoke in a clear, and furious, voice.

    Hui Kong grinned. "Little baby, go home and drink some milk. You¡¯re starting to get old, and yet Grandpa Hui is as young as ever."

    "You shameless baldy!" There was a bang as the mechanical creature waspletely smashed.

    Hui Kong looked up and blew out a long breath. "If only Brother Lu were here; there¡¯s so much raw materials for him to use."

    A dayter, Hui Kong was roasting a giant beast he randomly caught, when suddenly, his expression drastically changed. He stood and stared off in the distance, unprecedentedly solemn.

    A short whileter, an old man tore through the void and stepped out. His face remained calm as he looked at Hui Kong. "Someone from the Forsaken Land?"

    Hui Kong¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed. "Someone from that ce."

    "This old man is Wang Shang, from the Wang family of the four ruling powers. I understand that you are someone from the Forsaken Land, so maybe you will recognize this person." After speaking, the old man raised a hand and drew an image in the air.

    Hui Kong¡¯s pupils shrank as soon as he saw the image, Brother Lu?

    "Looks like you know him. Take me to him," the old man solemnly ordered, his tone leaving no room for questions. He was a rare six-tribtion Envoy from the Wang family who had always stayed on the rear battlefield. His appearance in the Technocracy was merely a coincidence, as he had received an order from the Wang family. He knew very little about the Forsaken Land, but he did not need to know anything; after all, it was a cultivation wastnd.

    Regardless of how many experts the Forsaken Land might possess, they were nothing but maggots to Wang Shang. There was no one in the Forsaken Land who was worthy of his attention. He had survived on the rear battlefield for thousands of years, so he fully believed he could survive even if faced with an entire group of the Forsaken Land¡¯s powerhouses.

    Hui Kong''s expression grew solemn. He could feel the old man¡¯s strength that had been tempered with blood and battle. This Wang Shang possessed a monstrous killing intent. Even if Hui Kong had stayed in the Technocracy for many years, he could not release the same sort of aura as this old man. It was possible that Wang Shang was actually stronger than Hui Kong.

    "I don''t recognize him," Hui Kong said.

    Wang Shang sneered, "If this old man is certain that you know him, then it must be true. Take this old man to him."

    Wang Shang raised a hand and pped it down. Simultaneously, ck ropes appeared from all directions to bind Hui Kong. It was a secret technique: Confinement.

    Hui Kong''s expression changed yet again. Hui Secret Art: Omnibreak. A secret technique that could allow a person to see weaknesses in order to defeat the strong while being weak.

    Secret technique shed with secret technique, but Hui Kong saw through Confinement and was not trapped, shocking Wang Shang. "It seems like I¡¯ve underestimated you."

 Chapter 1594: Foreign Visitors

    Chapter 1594: Foreign Visitors

    Space exploded as two experts with power levels of at least a million went head-to-head. Their battle alerted the entire Technocracy, though there was not even the slightest response to Wang Shang¡¯s arrival.

    Puff

    Hui Kong spat out blood as he stared at Wang Shang in amazement. Hui Kong did not even understand what had just happened; how had he been injured?

    Wang Shang actually looked quite embarrassed, and he was clearly impressed by Hui Kong. "I truly underestimate you. I never expected to find such a master in the Forsaken Land. However, you can¡¯t go against my Wang family, so take me to find this child or tell me if you have some connection to him."

    Hui Kong touched his bald head. "Go to hell! He''s my brother!"

    He then raised both hands high and pressed down with them. A Golden Meteor appeared overhead and smashed down towards Wang Shang.

    Wang Shang sneered. "Just a trick from a little worm!¡±

    He raised his own hand. ¡°Four Arts: Celestial de.¡± A sharp de shed out and cut across the meteor, but the power of the meteor was tremendous, and it forced Wang Shang and his Celestial de to retreat. He felt his internal organs tremble, and his arms cracked. Hui Kong had used his family¡¯s inherited battle technique, Golden Meteor, which hade from Progenitor Hui. It was not a simple technique to face.

    Wang Shang raised a hand yet again, though this time he aimed it at Hui Kong. Wang Shang intended to first badly injure his opponent.

    A key characteristic of the Golden Meteor technique was that each meteor could be individually cultivated. After a period of time, a cultivator would be able to condense a meteor with almost their full strength, and there was no limit to the number of meteors that could be cultivated in this fashion.

    Hui Kong had been in the Technocracy for countless years, and he had constantly been cultivating Golden Meteors as a deterrent towards the Technocracy. At this moment, he was using them against Wang Shang.

    Just as Wang Shang was about to attack Hui Kong, numerous Golden Meteors appeared above his head, and each of them shot towards him.

    Even if Wang Shang had survived the ughter of the rear battlefield and had be fearless in the face of death, he still was not able to take on so many powerful attacks, especially when he was already being pushed back. He tore through the void to make his escape.

    However, if the Golden Meteors were so easy to evade, they would never have be the Hui family¡¯s inherited battle technique.

    The Golden Meteors shot into the void, chasing after Wang Shang and smashing into him.

    Hui Kong gasped for breath. Even if he survived, he knew he was already badly injured. There were too many bizarre techniques in the universe, and there was also an insurmountable gap in existence. Fortunately, Hui Kong had held a trump card.

    What the hell did Brother Lu do? Why would such a powerhouse from that ce be personally chasing after him?

    However, the fact that such an expert was trying to kill Brother Lu also showed that the kid was alive, which was good news.

    It looked like Hui Kong would no longer be able to stay in the Technocracy; though that person had been forced back, someone would definitely return, and with greater strength.

    While this incident was ying out in the Technocracy, another incident was unfolding in the Outerverse.

    Elder He took Yu Mu towards Enron Star, but as they were traveling, they encountered an expert from the Sixth Maind who had been sent to target Aegis.

    The Di family had not been the only ones to target Aegis, as the Autumnfrost family had done so as well.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Realm had three powerful families, which were the Di family, the Mojiang n, and the Autumnfrost family. Of the three, the Mojian n and the Autumnfrost family had World Imprinters as their ancestors, while the Di family alone had possessed a Cosmic Imprinter. The Di family¡¯s ancestor had also one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Ten Venerables, but when disaster had struck the Sixth Maind, the Di ancestor had been killed during the fighting. The Mojiang n¡¯s ancestor had died long ago, so only the Autumnfrost family had managed to maintain their position in the Bloodburn Realm.

    The Sixth Maind had since moved into the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, which meant that the nine Realms were no longer physically divided from each other. Still, people felt a closer connection with those from the same Realm, and so most of the refugees from the Bloodburn Realm had taken refuse with the Autumnfrost family.

    "Who might you be?" Elder He studied the cultivators from the Sixth Maind who stood in front of him. The Envoy was solemn, as he held great animosity towards the people of the Sixth Maind.

    The powerhouse from the Autumnfrost family was known as Uncle Hua. He was an Envoy with a power level of more than 600,000, and he was followed by Di Fa, Autumnfrost Qing, and others from the Sixth Maind.

    "I¡¯m Elder Autumnfrost Hua. Who are you?" Uncle Hua asked. He had deliberately intercepted these two people after seeing that one of them was an Envoy. Since the Sixth Maind had moved to the Outerverse, they naturally wanted the locals to ept new overlords, and also to win over the Outerverse¡¯s experts. Winning over experts was the fastest method of taking over an area, especially Envoys, as such powerhouses were usually followed by arge number of cultivators.

    Elder He¡¯s tone grew more aggressive, "I¡¯m just passing by, so please let me move out of your way."

    Uncle Hua frowned, and Autumnfrost Qing spoke up from behind the Imprinter, "Are you really so rude that you won¡¯t even share your surname?"

    Killing intent flickered through Elder He''s eyes. "Just what is it that you want?"

    Uncle Hua replied, "You¡¯re an Envoy in the Outerverse, so are you an Outerverse cultivator, or just a passerby?"

    "That¡¯s none of your business," Elder He retorted.

    Uncle Hua¡¯s voice grew cold, "The Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse now belongs to my Sixth Maind, so everyone who belongs to the Outerverse also belongs to my Sixth Maind; how can your identity be none of my business?"

    "The Sixth Maind? Just a group of stray dogs without a home," Elder He replied disdainfully.

    Autumnfrost Qing and others grew furious, Uncle Hua''s eyes instantly went wide. "What arrogance!"

    As the Imprinter shouted, the imprint of Ancestor Autumnfrost appeared behind the expert, and his terrifying aura caused space to tremble.

    Elder He was fearless, and he prepared to attack. However, Yu Mu, who had remained behind Elder He, suddenly shouted, "Senior, Junior Yu Mu wishes to ask for something."

    Elder He suddenly looked back, murder raging in his eyes. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    An odd weapon appeared in Uncle Hua''s hand, and he attacked. Elder He reacted quickly, but despite it being a casual blow, Elder He was smacked back, and he spat out blood.

    Uncle Hua had a power level of more than 600,000, which already exceeded Elder He¡¯s cultivation level. Additionally, cultivators from the Sixth Maind enjoyed an innate suppression towards people from the Fifth Maind. With the support of the imprint and the Imprinter¡¯s bloodline, Elder He was absolutely not Uncle Hua¡¯s opponent.

    Uncle Hua snorted coldly and turned to look at Yu Mu. "What do you want?"

    Yu Mu was thrilled. He truly did not care about the Fifth or Sixth Mainds, he just wanted to survive. He felt it would be safer to turn to the Sixth Maind, with which he had no connection or rtionship, than to be saved by Lu Yin. This was because Yu Mu did not believe that Lu Yin would ever let him go.

    "This junior is Yu Mu, Outerverse president of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Shamrock Enterprise. I wish to join the Autumnfrost family," Yu Mu said as he gave a respectful bow.

    ***

    The Astral River Ark had once amazed Lu Yin, but he had since visited the Neoverse, Perennial World, the Honor Zone, the Bifrost, and the Mother Tree. Everything in the entire Fifth Maind had be less impressive to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Beep beep beep

    Lu Yin answered the call.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m sorry. I failed." Lu Yin heard Elder He¡¯s voice, but the Envoy sounded weak and was coughing.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Shamrock Enterprise sent out an Envoy?"

    "It was someone from the Autumnfrost family."

    Lu Yin grew curious, "How did you get involved with someone from the Autumnfrost family?"

    Elder He gave an exnation, and then apologized again, "I¡¯m at fault for Yu Mu being taken away."

    Lu Yin quicklyforted the older man, "Elder He is exaggerating the matter. You are in no way at fault for this matter. I¡¯ll handle this, so please return to Enron to recover."

    "Very well." Elder He then ended the call.

    Lu Yin then immediately contacted Starfox. There was no chance that it was a mere coincidence that someone from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Autumnfrost family had appeared in the area.

    In order to promote a peaceful takeover, and also because of the Aeternals¡¯ invasion, the Sixth Maind had been proceeding peacefully with their takeover of the Outerverse, and they had restrained themselves from employing acts of war as they had slowly moved eastward. With the Autumnfrost family sending people into the central weaves of the Outerverse, Lu Yin suspected that it might have something to do with Aegis.

    Lu Yin mentioned his suspicions to Starfox, and though the old assassin was shocked, he was also grateful towards Lu Yin. Starfox quickly fled with everyone from Aegis.

    Starfox had already made an attempt to travel to the west in order to speak with the Di family, but things had not gone well. Lu Yin¡¯s information regarding the presence of members of the Autumnfrost family left Starfox fully convinced that the family was targeting Aegis.

    The Di family had already submitted to the Autumnfrost family.

    At the same time that Lu Yin was reaching out to Starfox to allow Aegis to evacuate, Yu Mu was speaking to Uncle Hua.

    "Aegis is an organization that belongs to Lu Yin. That child has a special position within the Hall of Honor that allows him to recruit subordinate organizations. The Envoy from just now is someone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, so he will definitely report Senior¡¯s presence here to Lu Yin," Yu Mu exined.

    Uncle Hua immediately sped up. He was moving straight towards Aegis.

    Uncle Hua was already quite familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s reputation. Even though Uncle Hua had never personally encountered the youth, Lu Yin had put on a terrifying performance during ZENITH. On top of that, Lu Yin potentially remained the Sixth Maind¡¯s greatest obstacle to sessfully taking over the Outerverse. If not for the Great Eastern Alliance, the Sixth Maind¡¯s progress would have been much faster.

    The moment Autumnfrost Qing heard Lu Yin''s name, the youth clenched his fists and his face twisted into a hideous expression. It was Lu Yin yet again! If possible, Autumnfrost Qing really wanted to kill Lu Yin.

    Thinking of Lu Yin caused Autumnfrost Qing to think of Yan Xiaojing and that fatty. Autumnfrost Qing had never stopped looking for those two, as they both needed to die. He could not allow either of those two to escape.

    Di Fa stared out into space. Lu Yin had gone missing for a long time, and so Di Fa had not expected to discover that Lu Yin was still alive after vanishing for two full years. After Lu Yin¡¯s return, he had created a massivemotion in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and had even smashed Di Fa and Nan Yanfei into a sea, nearly killing them. The gap between Di Fa and Lu Yin had only grownrger with time, so would they meet again during this excursion to chase after Aegis?

    When Uncle Hua and his party came to the Aegis, they found that the ce had beenpletely abandoned. There was not a living soul on the.

    Not only had Lu Yin provided warning with sufficient time, Starfox and the others had already prepared themselves for this situation.

    Uncle Hua''s face grew ugly.

    Yu Mu quickly spoke up, "Senior, that person from the Sea King¡¯s Dome who spoke to Lu Yin. This junior knows where the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome can be found."

    "Show me." Uncle Hua''s voice betrayed his bad mood.

    Far away, Elder He had returned to Enron. He spoke to the other elders there of what had happened, and Hai Qiqi used her venomous tongue to mock Uncle Hua and others as being worthless. Elder He fell silent for a bit, but then he ordered everyone to evacuate.

    "Elder, do we really need to leave?" Hai Dashao asked.

    Elder Tong''s eyes flickered, "Yu Mu had to have recognized Elder He, and he also knows our rtionship with Lu Yin. Even if I don¡¯t know what will happen with the Autumnfrost family, I do know that Lu Yin will never allow Yu Mu to be taken away. Conflict between them has be inevitable, and we are too exposed. We can easily be targets."

    "So we leave," Hai Dashao affirmed.

    Hai Qiqi was reluctant, "Why does Lu Yin want us to wipe his ass?"

    After the passing of several years, she had gradually recovered from the shadow that the loss of the Sea King had cast over her heart. Even though she had not fully recovered, she was doing much better than she had before.

    "If you want to bring the Sea King back, you will have to rely on Lu Yin''s power. Only the Great Eastern Alliance is able to make those people from the Sixth Maind wary. Lu Yin''s foundation goes too deep, and his influence spreads further than anyone else," Elder Tong spoke with evident emotion. He nced at Hai Qiqi, thinking it would be great if Lu Yin and Qiqi would get together. In the past, the Sea King could have forced the two together, but such a thing had since be impossible.

    Uncle Hua led Yu Mu and the others to Enron Star. However, they were met by the sight of an ordinary that was inhabited solely by regr humans. There was no trace of anyone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    This caused Uncle Hua to be even more frustrated. The fury of an Envoy caused space to shake, and the suffered from disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes.

    No one dared to say a word to Uncle Hua, though they also could not have cared less about the lives of the regr humans on the.

 Chapter 1595: Hidden Seeds

    Suddenly, space shattered in front of Uncle Hua as a palm attack struck at him. Even though the Envoy saw it, he did not have time to evade, and the invisible palm print struck him. Though the palm print itself was invisible, it was shrouded with a golden light, and it pierced through his body, and burst out his back. As it struck, his defenses were suddenly weakened, particrly in the exact location where the attack hit him. He could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood as his body was sent tumbling back through space.

    Uncle Hua spat out a second mouthful of blood, and Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s imprint suddenly appeared behind the Envoy as he twisted his body and stabilized himself in space.

    He gasped for breath as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, and he stared at Enron. The palm attack that had struck him had been incredibly powerful, and had also used the Oveying Stacks Path. If not for the fact that the attacker was not an Envoy, Uncle Hua would have been in grave danger. As it was, he had still been wounded by the palm.

    "Who?" Uncle Hua shouted sharply. His eyes were blood-red, and his imprint did not disappear from behind his back. He even activated his bloodline in order to be as careful as possible.

    Autumnfrost Qing and others who had been traveling with Uncle Hua raced to get behind him for protection.

    Up ahead of them, Lu Yin emerged. His expression was grim as he stared at Uncle Hua.

    The moment that they saw Lu Yin, several of the people¡¯s expressions changed drastically. Of particr note was Yu Mu, who had turnedpletely white. A cold sweat drenched the man¡¯s back.

    "You¡¯re from the Autumnfrost family? What gave you the courage to enter my Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory?" Lu Yin shouted. His golden battle force twined around both of his arms.

    Uncle Hua stared at Lu Yin. "Are you Lu Yin?"

    "Answer me! Who gave you the courage toe here? Ancestor Autumnfrost?" Lu Yin demanded.

    "Arrogant! You¡¯re nothing but an Enlighter; how dare you speak to a senior Envoy in such a manner!" Autumnfrost Qing shouted.

    Lu Yin nced over at Yu Mu, and then turned his focus back to Uncle Hua.

    Uncle Hua stared at Lu Yin, feeling an overwhelming fear. He had not considered that the attack that had just struck him could havee from this youth. This child clearly had the strength to go up against an Envoy on equal terms, which was terrifying. How could an Enlighter be so strong? There was no one from the same generation as Lu Yin, not even the Daosource Three Skies, who could stand up to an Envoy. This child¡¯s strength was horrifying.

    If this youth was allowed to mature, it would absolutely bring about a disaster for the Sixth Maind. Thinking about this possibility, Uncle Hua shouted back, "All of the Outerverse has been given over to my Sixth Maind! What is this Great Eastern Alliance? Lu Yin, do you really want to make trouble with me? Do you want the Sixth Maind as your enemy?"

    "Bullshit!" Lu Yin raised a hand and instantly attacked with another Vacuum Palm. Uncle Hua''s expression changed, and a bizarre weapon appeared in his hand that he swept out.

    Lu Yin was watching Uncle Hua''s runes. This attack clearly exceeded a power level of 600,000, which was quite powerful, but Truesight immediately weakened it.

    As Uncle Hua¡¯s counter-attack swept out, he was clearly able to sense that something had gone wrong, as his attack had suddenly been drastically weakened. Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm fell and pped Uncle Hua''s weapon, knocking both the weapon and Uncle Hua back. However, the Envoy had been prepared this time, and he did not suffer as badly as he had from Lu Yin¡¯s initial attack, though the difference was not very great. Uncle Hua had not expected to suffer so badly from Lu Yin¡¯s attacks even when prepared.

    Lu Yin''s strength had reached a level that people like Di Fa who had fought against him in the past were in denial at what they saw before them. Lu Yin was facing an Envoy, and still forcing his opponent back!

    Uncle Hua passed through the void and disappeared. At the same time, Lu Yin did the same, and they both entered the true universe, and Vacuum Palms continued to rain down on Uncle Hua.

    The Envoy had not imagined that Lu Yin would actually be able to enter the true universe, and the Envoy was soon beaten back into the visible universe. An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he moved to appear directly behind Uncle Hua. However, the Envoy seemed to expect this change, and he attacked from an unexpected angle, forcing Lu Yin to fall back.

    Just as Uncle Hua was about to follow up on his attack, Liu Ye appeared and instantly stopped Uncle Hua. ¡°"Mr. Lu, why would you bother fighting with us present?"

    Both Liu Ye Fei Hua revealed themselves.

    Lu Yin had brought the two Envoys with him to the Outerverse, though he had left Luo Shen in Fennel Flowzone. He had asked Wei Rong to provide an escort to take Luo Shen back to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Seeing two Envoys suddenly appear startled everyone from the Sixth Maind, especially Uncle Hua. He had never expected such powerful people to be apanying Lu Yin.

    "So this is an imprint? It''s quite an odd power." Sister Fei Hua stared at the image of Ancestor Autumnfrost that could be seen behind Uncle Hua.

    Liu Ye was curious about something. "It¡¯s a power that can strengthen people to give them a slightly stronger power level than what they naturally possess. These imprints are certainly something that is worth studying here in the Forsaken Land."

    He then casually asked, "Have you ever seen this sort of power before?"

    Liu Ye was caught off guard. "Should we have?"

    "Visualization," Lu Yin spoke a single word.

    This answer startled Liu Ye. "It''s actually is rather simr."

    Uncle Hua waspletely incapacitated. Facing two powerhouses with the strength of Liu Ye and Fei Hua, the Sixth Mainder was unable to even give voice to any sort of threat. He was already Lu Yin¡¯s prisoner.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what do you want?" Uncle Hua asked.

    Lu Yin intended to allow someone to return to the Autumnfrost family to report this incident to them so that the family would pay a ransom for their captured members, while also threatening the Sixth Maind, but he suddenly thought of something else.

    "Mr. Yu, you¡¯re quite good at going where the wind blows," Lu Yin spoke directly to Yu Mu.

    Yu Mu showed a bitter smile. "Lord Lu, you and I are enemies. The only reason you moved to save me is because you were convinced by what I mentioned to you. However, I found a better offer. This is how business transactions work."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s true, we merely had a deal. However, if you were the one who led these people to Enron, then that¡¯s outside of any deal we made, and is actually you working directly against me."

    "The people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome aren¡¯t part of your Great Eastern Alliance, which means they have nothing to do with you, Alliance Leader Lu," Yu Mu quibbled.

    Lu Yinughed. "This isn¡¯t some kind of argument; I¡¯m simply telling you that you made things difficult for me."

    Yu Mu sighed. "I''ll tell you everything about stellr energy pill. All I ask is that Alliance Leader Lu will allow me to live."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Well then, let''s talk."

    Yu Mu grew wary. "I''m speaking to you as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, which means that the people who follow you and everyone who is part of the alliance cannot be allowed to do anything to me, nor can any of them hire an outsider to move against me. On top of that, you have to safely deliver me to the Astral Wilderness."

    "You¡¯re in no position to make any demands of me. I can promise you that neither I nor any of my people will target you, but if you want to go to the Astral Wilderness, you¡¯ll have to aplish that on your own," Lu Yin said.

    Yu Mu quickly replied, "Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯re talking about the stellr energy pill! Once the production of it is mastered, it will provide invaluable assistance to your Great Eastern Alliance, the value of which cannotpare to my simple requests. Actually, I have one more thing: give me the universal armor that you¡¯ve been using."

    Lu Yin stared at Yu Mu. "You''re truly interesting. Since I already know that Shamrock Enterprise as the stellr energy pill, I have the means to learn more. Getting the information from you merely saves me a bit of trouble. You¡¯re not only my past enemy, but you¡¯re still plotting against me? You want to take away my protection? Do you really think that I won¡¯t just kill you?"

    Yu Mu snorted derisively. "I may be afraid of death, but I also know that if my conditions are not met, I¡¯ll absolutely die. Shamrock Enterprise has hidden too many of their seeds, and it¡¯s possible that there are even some close to you, Alliance Leader Lu. You may not even be able to keep yourself safe unless all of them are killed. This is taking out two birds with one stone."

    "I can send you to the Astral Wilderness, but that¡¯s as far as I will bend. If that¡¯s not good enough, then you can just die." Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained casual.

    Yu Mu gritted his teeth. He was absolutely certain that Lu Yin wanted the stellr energy pill, as there was no other reason for Lu Yin to have instantly mobilized the Envoy from the Sea King¡¯s Dome, or rushed out to the Outervese himself. However, Lu Yin had also been right about something else he had mentioned; after learning of the existence of the stellr energy pill, Lu Yin would be able to find out more through alternate channels. Yu Mu was not willing to take such a gamble. He was afraid that he would push Lu Yin too far, and that would spell Yu Mu¡¯s death.

    If Yu Mu was not so desperate to survive, he would never have turned to Lu Yin for help, nor would he have instantly gone over to the Autumnfrost family at the first opportunity. Yu Mu cared more about his survival than anything else.

    "I want to join your Great Eastern Alliance," Yu Mu dered in a low voice, once again modifying the conditions of their agreement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp, and he considered the new request. "Alright."

    While the Great Eastern Alliance would wee all who wished to join, as the overall leader, Lu Yin had the authority to arrange personnel changes, and Yu Mu would be sent to the frontline in the most dangerous regions. While the man¡¯s identity would naturally be changed, it would be impossible for anyone to predict his final fate.

    "The stellr energy pill is the goal of one of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s research projects. I have no idea how long it has been going on for, but I only qualified to learn about it after I became the Outerverse president. At that time, the pills were able to allow entry to the true universe, but a person was unable to move at all. Now, Enlighters are able to instantly enter the true universe and move about in it," Yu Mu exined.

    "However, travel through the true universe is only one use of the stellr energy pill, and it has further uses. Shamrock Enterprise was not only studying how to make these pills, but also various uses for them. The pills are more generally used to draw the attention of the true universe."

    Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity was piqued, and a vague possibility had urred to him. ¡°Keep going."

    Yu Mu obliged. "When Envoys fight, they not only face each other, but also the true universe. The moment that the true universe notices them, it can strip away the stellr energy that is stored within their body. If that happens, the impact on any fight doesn¡¯t even need to be mentioned. If several stellr energy pill are used simultaneously, such an effect can be triggered.¡±

    Lu Yin understood, as this was another reason why all Envoys wanted curios. Such treasures were able to conceal an Envoy¡¯s stellr energy from being noticed by the true universe, which was invaluable for both cultivating and fighting. Stellr energy was a two-edged sword for Envoys, as well as one that only targeted Envoys.

    "Where is the stellr energy pill research team?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Mu grew solemn. "Thepany¡¯s hidden world headquarters. Actually, the research team¡¯s presence there is exactly why thepany wanted to move their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms. Otherwise, they would have avoided such a move in order to escape attention."

    Thest of Lu Yin¡¯s questions were finally answered. He had always wondered why Shamrock Enterprise had avoided relocating their hidden world to Mt. Microcosms, as it would be best to move there for the protection that could be had there. At this moment, Lu Yin finally had an answer.

    "In other words, the research into the stellr energy pill only recently achieved sess?" Lu Yin said.

    Yu Mu answered, "They were sessful about ten years ago, and I¡¯ve been testing them for that long. It¡¯s why I was able to get a few, though I used them all while trying to escape pursuit."

    "Aside from the hidden world headquarters, do any of thepany¡¯s other branches have some of these pills?"

    "Absolutely not. The stellr energy pill is thepany''s greatest secret. Even the woman who nearly killed me and is taking over my position as Outerverse president, Yu Er, knows nothing about even the existence of the stellr energy pill. I only know of it because of my age."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "That woman''s name¡¯s Yu Er?"

    Yu Mu''s face grew dark. "She was my disciple, but she betrayed me. She¡¯s a hidden seed. Alliance Leader Lu, you must be careful about Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds! Not only are they each very powerful, there must be some already hidden within the Great Eastern Alliance. Yu Er was actually hiding within your Great Eastern Alliance, and she only revealed herself in order to rece me. If not for that, I would never have even known that she was still alive."

 Chapter 1596: Bizarre Sect

    Chapter 1596: Bizarre Sect

    Lu Yin was not particrly concerned what happened to Yu Mu, as experts who did not have the strength of an Envoy did not qualify for Lu Yin¡¯s notice. "How can I get the stellr energy pill?"

    Yu Mu fell silent. Shamrock Enterprise was trying to hunt him down, so it was impossible for him to get the pill.

    Lu Yin stared at Yu Mu. "I would expect that you have someone you¡¯re familiar with who¡¯s already in the hidden world of thepany¡¯s headquarters. So long as you find a way to get me that stellr energy pill, I will guarantee a very bright future for you. At the very least, you won¡¯t have to fear for your life."

    Anticipation entered Yu Mu''s eyes, though he tried to keep it hidden. "There¡¯s simply no way. Thepany''s management is very strict, and since I¡¯ve been cklisted, the people who I know in the headquarters will alle after me to kill me if they see me now."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I can give you a universal armor strong enough to defend against Envoys."

    "This subordinate will do his best," Yu Mu replied. He had been very interested in Lu Yin''s universal armor. The entire universe was aware that Lu Yin had very powerful items and power vessels, so if Yu Mu could get one from Lu Yin, the man would no longer need to worry about being chased down and killed. If he could get Lu Yin¡¯s universal armor, Yu Mu would wear it even to sleep.

    However, Lu Yin also did not believe that Yu Mu would actually be able to get a stellr energy pill from Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters. He believed that it was already on Yu Mu¡¯s hands and that Yu Mu had hid it somece safe.

    The stellr energy pill was Yu Mu¡¯s only lifeline, so even if Lu Yin threatened him to hand it over, Yu Mu would deny that it was on him. Lu Yin could not force the matter, and could only wait for Yu Mu to deliver, while hoping that it would not take too long.

    A dayter, Lu Yinnded on a that belonged to Aegis, joined by ck Mask, Starfox, and several others.

    At the moment, Aegis could note close toparing to their peak period. The assassin who had looked like a child had died, and the organization had never been able to rece others who had been killed, such as The Magistrate, Peerless Beauty, Feng Zi, and others.

    Why Aegis had many assassins who were at the bottom of the organization, the loss of their more powerful assassins had greatly harmed their business. It had be impossible for them to target Hunters without sending out ck Mask or others of a simr level of strength.

    "The Sixth Maind has already taken over the western region of the Outerverse, and they¡¯re not very far from here. You¡¯re able to move over at any time, so what are you still doing here?" Lu Yin asked. He stood atop the highest mountain on the, and he was looking down. ck Mask and Starfox stood behind Lu Yin.

    Starfox replied, "I''m used to this ce."

    "In that case, are you nning on joining up with the Sixth Maind?" Lu Yin asked.

    ck Mask said, "No."

    "So then you want to die?" Lu Yinughed.

    Starfox and ck Mask nced at each other, not sure how to respond.

    "Is there something here that you can¡¯t abandon?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starfox felt cornered. "Alliance Leader Lu-"

    Lu Yin quickly raised a hand to interrupt the man, "Just remember that I am also a part of Aegis¡¯s top management, which means that I¡¯m also qualified to know everything concerning Aegis. Consider the situation before speaking."

    Starfox thought for a while. "There are cracks in the void on this, and there are ruins of an ancient sect within those cracks."

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide, and a cold light flickered in them as he stared at Starfox.

    ck Mask moved to stand in front of Starfox. "We found the ruins, and there was no need to tell you about them, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Show me."

    The was deste. When standing in the ce where ck Mask and the others had remained in cryostasis, it was possible to see an erect dagger. It looked ordinary, but there were two very ancient characters etched into the side of the de.

    "Bizarre Sect. The characters mean Bizarre Sect," Starfox said. He stretched out a hand to touch the dagger, and his body then suddenly disappeared.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This crack in the void reminded him of the ancient centipede he had once visited. That centipede had fallen out of a crack in the void, while this dagger was connected to such a crack.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to touch the dagger, and ckness covered his vision as his eyes went wide. A momentter, he was inside the spatial crack. It was a dim space, and when he looked around, everything seemed rather bleak. Off in the distance, a ck sun could be seen. He could not even guess how much time had passed with the sun hanging in that ce.

    He was standing in ruins that were even more crumbled than the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. The spatial pocket was not overlyrge, but it was certainly not small. Lu Yin released his domain, but all he could see were broken buildings, and some of them instantly copsed to powder the moment Lu Yin¡¯s domain touched them.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the buildings here are too old, so you can¡¯t touch them, or else nothing will be left," Starfox reminded.

    ck Mask also entered the space. "Bizarre Sect was the name of this sect. We managed to find some battle techniques here, but unfortunately, due to their age, everything we found was iplete. The battle technique that Calcifer used during the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s tournament was one of the techniques that came from this ce, but just like the others, it was iplete and not very effective."

    "Apart from the damaged battle techniques, what else did you find here?" Lu Yin asked, carefully making his way through the space.

    This sect should have been very powerful in ancient times. Lu Yin saw a few traces of battle, but because of so much time passing, it was impossible to determine any details at all.

    "Everything else is gone. If we could have actually gotten anything from this ce, Aegis would not have remained a minor assassination organization that was forced to remain in the Outerverse," Starfoxmented.

    While the words sounded right at first, were they really so attached to this just because of these ruins?

    Lu Yin turned to look at Starfox. "Did you also find the cloakstones here?"

    Starfox''s body shook a tiny bit. "That¡¯s right. Look, Alliance Leader Lu, and you can see that among the ruins, there are some buildings that were constructed out of cloakstone. It¡¯s believed that in ancient times, the members of this sect used the cloakstones specifically to remain hidden from others. Those stones are the only things that remain useful from here."

    "True. It would seem that this sect was quite powerful long ago if they only used cloakstone as a building material," Lu Yin casuallymented.

    Starfox''s expression changed drastically, and he nced over at ck Mask.

    Lu Yin looked at the two, amused by their interactions. "There are times that I really can¡¯t understand why you two are so on guard against me. Without me, Aegis would already have been ruined or evenpletely destroyed, and yet is this really how you treat your benefactor?"

    ck Mask grew solemn. "If Alliance Leader Lu knew in the past that cloakstone is a curio, would you have left them to us assassins?"

    Lu Yin was startled at the question, but he still shook his head. "It''s too much of a waste to use such a thing for assassinations."

    "Curios are helpful to Envoys, but we don¡¯t have any Envoys. We don¡¯t have the strength to qualify to interact or trade with an Envoy, and even just one could easily destroy us. Our position should be clear," Starfox made excuses.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand what you¡¯re saying. In that case, you can deal with me. I won''t destroy you, and I also won''t steal from you. After all-" Lu Yin suddenly smiled. "We¡¯re part of the same organization."

    The corner of Starfox''s mouth twitched even as his heart sank. Part of the same organization? Lu Yin spoke as though he had no intention of making a trade or a purchase. Starfox and ck Mask looked at each other, both of them saw bitterness in the other¡¯s eyes. Their most worrying problem had just arrived.

    They had previously guessed that Lu Yin would eventually discover that cloakstones were actually curios, but they had not expected that day to arrive so soon. After all, just how old was this child?

    "Fifty-nine cloakstones were discovered in Bizarre Sect. How many does Alliance Leader Lu need?" Starfox asked.

    Lu Yin blinked. "You want some too?"

    Starfox immediately became angry. "We were the ones who found them!"

    Lu Yin dismissively waved a hand. "Honestly, it¡¯s a waste for them to stay with you, so just sell all of them to me and tell me what you want."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the cloakstones form the foundation of Aegis. Without them, it¡¯s impossible for us to hide ourselvespletely," ck Mask exined in a low voice.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Then I''ll leave you two of them."

    Starfox gritted his teeth. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re demanding more than we even guessed; far more!"

    He wanted to say more, but as he looked at Lu Yin, Starfox was struck again by the realization that this person was not anyone who Aegis could afford to provoke.

    Lu Yin nced around. "Actually,pared to the cloakstones, you should focus more on staying alive and protecting Aegis. If you stay here, you will eventually be devoured by the Sixth Maind. If you want to move to the Innerverse, there¡¯s no space avable for you there, and it¡¯s even worse in the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse. The reality is that only the Great Eastern Alliance can protect you.

    "Since I can protect you, shouldn¡¯t you give me adequatepensation? Besides, I¡¯m not taking anything for free. Just speak up; I¡¯ve got some good stuff for you." At this moment, Lu Yin took out the giant mechanical arm and threw it over to Starfox. "Give it a try."

    Starfox''s eyes lit up. He had seen this arm before, as Lu Yin had used it when fighting against Yu Mu one time long ago.

    The moment he put the arm on, Starfox felt something was off, and he looked at Lu Yin in shock. "Alliance Leader Lu, this?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "This thing can release attacksparable to a power level of 500,000. I¡¯m giving you this in exchange for the cloakstones. Is it worth it? Also, the Great Eastern Alliance will protect Aegis. No matter if it¡¯s in the Outerverse or the Innerverse, Aegis will always have a safe ce as a member of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Starfox stroked the giant arm with glittering eyes. This thing provided a battle power of almost half a million! That was the level of an Envoy! This item gave Aegis strength close to that of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin looked at ck Mask, who was also staring at the mechanical arm. However, the machine was not very appealing to ck Mask. He was an assassin, and such an item was too conspicuous for his use.

    "Not enough? Then how ¡®bout this?" Lu Yin took out an Enhanced shbomb. "When this thing bursts, it can instantly blind an Enlighter with a power level of up to 300,000. This should be something that you would like, right? I can give you five."

    Starfox''s eyes lit up yet again and he quickly took the shbomb. Neither of the older men doubted Lu Yin¡¯s words. Even though Lu Yin could act like a tyrant, he was still an honest person and he would not lie to them about such things.

    "If that''s still not enough¡­" As Lu Yin spoke, neither Starfox nor ck Mask were able to stop themselves from looking over. Were they going to get even more treasures?

    "Then it means that you want to betray the Fifth Maind and go over to the Sixth Maind, in which case I can only apologize." Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew icy as the stared at the two men.

    Starfox quickly replied, "It¡¯s enough. Alliance Leader Lu, I can give you fifty of the cloakstones. You should already know just how valuable curios are."

    Lu Yin considered the proposal and agreed. Fifty cloakstones was indeed enough. He did not even have so many Envoys following him, though the curios could be used to recruit Envoys.

    "So, now can you tell me why you¡¯re so reluctant to leave this ce?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Starfox felt trapped, but it was too obvious that they did not want to leave the. Anyone would be able to see the same as Lu Yin.

    ck Mask looked up at the ck sun. "That."

    Lu Yin followed the assassin¡¯s gaze, surprised by the answer. "The sun?"

    "When I first discovered Bizarre Sect, there were people here," ck Mask exined. "The people had died long ago, and all of their bodies were stiff, but all of them were also kneeling and worshiping that sun."

 Chapter 1597: River of Death Energy

    Chapter 1597: River of Death Energy

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    "Everyone in every part of Bizarre Sect was kneeling and worshiping that sun. At first, we did our best to approach the sun, but we were never able to get close to it. As the years have passed, we¡¯ve managed to determine that the sun is the most valuable treasure here, and it is likelypletely invaluable. As for why we¡¯ve never been able to get close to the sun, it¡¯s because it possesses some aspect of spatial properties," Starfox said.

    Lu Yin frowned. The most amazing concepts in the universe were space and time. His own die had the power of Timestop, and that alone had allowed Lu Yin to reach his current level, while also saving his life countless times. Lu Yin had once watched as Long Tian had grabbed space with his innate gift, and doing so had caused Bai Shaohong and others with the incorrect perception that Long Tian¡¯s innate gift was rted to space, which had left them all jealous.

    Anything that had a connection to thews of space or time, whether an innate gift, battle techniques, cultivation arts, or natural treasures, would be able to ignite the entire universe into moving and racing to take it.

    It was no wonder that Starfox and the others were unwilling to leave the; there was a strange treasure rted to thew of space sitting right before their eyes. No one would want to abandon such a thing.

    You weren¡¯t able to get close despite everything you¡¯ve tried?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starfox replied, "While this pocket space is only so big, it¡¯s impossible to approach the ck sun."

    Lu Yin put on his bodysuit armor directly. He did not fully believe the two assassins, so he leapt off the ground, tore through the void, and shot towards the ck sun.

    ck Mask made no move to stop Lu Yin, as neither of the assassins believed that Lu Yin would be able to aplish anything at all.

    Lu Yin tore back out of void and reappeared. He was not far away from the ck sun, so he re-entered the void and continued on his way. Then, while still some distance away, he entered the true universe to keep approaching the sun. Finally, he did not tear through the void or space, and just flew towards the ck sun that remained off in the distance.

    He was able to see the end of the pocket space, but could not approach the ck sun.

    This defiedmon sense; either the ck sun was further away that it appeared, or it was a fake.

    However, how long could a fake starst? Every part of the Bizarre Sect had aged and faded, but ording to Starfox, they had seen that everyone in Bizarre Sect had been bowed to the ck sun, which suggested that it should not be fake.

    Lu Yin continued his attempts.

    Down below, the two assassins watched Lu Yin''s movements in the sky. While he seemed to be moving towards the ck sun, the truth was that he never moved much at all.

    It was a strange scene that gave them chills, but it also cheered them up. They became increasingly convinced that the ck sun possessed some aspect of space, for without such a power, how could someone like Lu Yin who could go head-to-head with Envoys fail to approach the sun even when traveling through the true universe?

    Half a day passed, and yet Lu Yin was still unable to get close to the ck sun. His efforts were futile, and there was no way to seed as he was, but was there some other way?

    He immediately thought of the Stonewall Scriptures. What would happen if he recited it?

    However, this time nothing happened, and it turned out to be useless to recite the Stonewall Scriptures. He was still unable to approach the ck sun.

    However, the more difficult it was to seed, the more determined Lu Yin became. He wanted to see what was at the ck sun, so he intended to use everything at his disposal: the Yu Secret Art, his domain, battle force, the Teleportation Formation, and even Truesight. Nothing worked, and he was still unable to approach the sun.

    Suddenly, something trembled within his body. Lu Yin ducked his head and ced a hand over his heart in shock; it had been a reaction from the ck and white mist!. He had merely identally touched the ck and white mist, but there had been a reaction. He looked back up at the ck sun. It was bigger, which meant that he had moved closer.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed; did this mean he could approach?

    He shifted aside his fatesand, and the ck and white fog roiled as death energy leaked from his body. Once again, he suddenly found himself closer to the ck sun, and Lu Yin was vaguely able to see that a bit of ck had stretched out from the sun to connect with him.

    Lu Yin stared at the ck sun. Could it be that it was death energy? Could that entire ck sun be death energy?

    Down below, ck Mask and Starfox were bothpletely bbergasted as they watched Lu Yin slowly approach the ck sun. How was he doing it?

    Starfox''s pupils fluctuated. "That¡¯s impossible! We tried everything over the years and always failed."

    "He''s getting closer. It¡¯s his," ck Mask bitterly observed.

    Neither of the old assassins even considered trying to steal the ck sun from Lu Yin. First of all, it was impossible. On top of that, there were those Envoys Liu Ye and Fei Hua waiting outside.

    Even though Lu Yin was approaching the ck sun, he was doing so very slowly. Still, regardless of his speed, he was still making progress.

    His God of Death Transformation used the ck and white fog within his body, but he had used too much of it during thest battle of ZENITH. He hadter relied on Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s death energy in the Perennial World, which had been the only way that Lu Yin had managed to seed.

    If the ck sun truly was death energy, it would provide an incredible boost to the ck and white mist within Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    However, how could there be death energy in this ce? What did this Bizarre Sect have to do with the God of Death?

    Lu Yin remembered the God of Death Domain that Xiao Shi had mentioned; could that be what the ck sun was?

    Lu Yin had no idea how much time passed. It might have been a long time, or almost none at all, but he found himself very close to the ck sun. It was ten times bigger than it had appeared at first, which was ample proof that he was getting closer and closer to it.

    ck Mask and Star Fox also tried to approach the sun, but they ended up with the same results as ever; failure.

    The death energy leaking from the ck sun became more and more noticeable, and soon ck Mask and Starfox were able to see that a ck gas connected Lu Yin to the sun. They both grew nervous, as they had no idea what would happen.

    The death energy entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he continued to absorb it. It replenished the ck and white mist in his heart.

    From down below, it was obvious that there was a ck line that connected Lu Yin to the ck sun, though Lu Yin continued to move closer and closer to it.

    The ck line was death energy, and the connection grew thicker and bigger. Finally, it looked like a river that crossed the sky.

    Even though Lu Yin continued moving closer to the ck sun, he was still a long ways away, and the distance made the ck river connecting him to the sun even more magnificent looking.

    As he absorbed more and more death energy, and the ck and white mist inside his body became more and more condensed. Lu Yin''s eyes gradually turned pitch ck. Death energy twined about his body, looking like chains. He looked like a god of death.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin started quickly dropping back towards the ground, moving further and further away from the ck sun. The stream of death energy leaking from the sun also grew thinner and thinner before finally breaking off and retracting to the sun.

    Lu Yin mmed into the ground with a loud bang. His impact created a gust of wind that swept out, and it reduced all of the buildings from the Bizarre Sect to dust.

    The two assassins felt the destruction was regretful, but there was nothing they could do about it. They looked at Lu Yin and felt the overbearing aura he exuded. What they felt from him caused them to feel panic and terror that rose up from the bottom of their hearts.

    Lu Yin turned his back to the two men. His breathing fluctuated from quick to slow, but it gradually stabilized and his eyes slowly returned to normal.

    He looked up, afraid. That had been dangerous, and he had almost lost consciousness. Death energy was able to cause people to lose their sanity, and Lu Yin could not allow himself to absorb too much.

    Despite all that he had absorbed, he had never actually gotten anywhere close to the ck sun. If he had actually entered the sun, he believed that he would be nothing more than a puppet to death energy.

    It was possible that the death energy in this sun wasparable to the amount that had been back in Aeternus Nation. He felt 90% confident that this was a God of Death Domain.

    Absorbing the massive amount of death energy had condensed the ck and white mist in his heart a great deal, and it was much more than what he had possessed during ZENITH. This was actually rted to his higher cultivation, as it had allowed him to absorb more death energy.

    The more death energy he absorbed, the stronger his God of Death Transformation should be. He could not even guess how powerful his transformation should be after this boost.

    "Alliance Leader Lu?" Starfox hesitated for a time before finally nervously calling out to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around and looked at the two old assassins. "Let''s go. I can''t approach it."

    Starfox and ck Mask nced at each other. "Alliance Leader Lu, could you tell us just what it is?"

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s nothing that you can touch. If you do, it will absolutely kill you."

    "Could Alliance Leader Lu exin a bit more?" ck Mask asked. He was truly unwilling to not know anything even after staying in this ce for so long and trying for the untouchable treasure.

    Lu Yin considered the request. ¡°Have you heard of the Specter n?"

    ck Mask blurted out, "The n that should be wiped out?"

    Lu Yin nodded and looked back up at the ck sun. "That thing¡¯s connected to the Specter n, and touching it will likely transform a person into something like the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s zombies."

    "Then how were you able to touch it?" Starfox asked. He suspected that Lu Yin was lying to them.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Because I already survived the Specter n¡¯s attempt to transform me."

    Starfox and ck Mask were both shocked; they had not expected Lu Yin to reveal such a thing.

    However, this information was not secret. All of the high-level officials of the Hall of Honor were already aware, and so Lu Yin had no intention of hiding anything. His God of Death Transformation was too distinctive, and it would give him away even if he wanted to keep the matter hidden.

    "Let''s go. Don''t worry about this ce. It won¡¯t matter even if the Sixth Maind finds it," Lu Yin said. Nothing in this space had any value except for the death energy, and the death energy was useless to the Sixth Maind. Also, it was possible that no one from the Sixth Maind would even notice anything. All they would likely discover would be the impossibility of approaching the ck sun.

    If that ck sun really was a God of Death Domain, then the power it held was too great. Forget a lone Envoy, it was likely that even a group of Semi-Progenitors would not be able to approach the sun.

    After leaving the space that held the ruins of the Bizarre Sect, Lu Yin took fifty cloakstones and started back towards Zenyu Star with Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Aegis had also agreed to move to Frostwave Weave as soon as possible.

    Additionally, the people of the Sea King¡¯s Dome and several other powers from the central weaves had decided to move to Frostwave Weave. It was clear that the Sixth Maind would soonpletely take over the central weaves as well, and it would quickly be difficult for people to move.

    After so long, Lu Yin was finally going to return to Zenyu Star. It felt like returning home. Zenyu Star and Earth were Lu Yin¡¯s home. The Perennial World and his past as Lu Xiaoxuan was something he felt no connection to. Even if his memories eventually returned, he would remain Lu Yin. He would always be Lu Yin.

    Beep beep beep

    His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin nced down to see that Madam Y¨­u was calling him. Lu Yin had no desire to get involved with the Y¨­u family or the Seven Courts, at least not at the moment.

    Nothing would remain perfectly hidden in the universe. No matter what happened with the Y¨­u family, the moment that Lu Yin¡¯s connection was exposed, it would cause all of the eight great flowzones to be wary of him, which wouldpletely void the entire reason that zing Mist Flowzone had been abandoned by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped again. This time, it was not Madam Y¨­u calling him, but Balsam, the Innerverse president of Shamrock Enterprise.

    Lu Yin had known that the woman would call him again, though he had not expected her to be able to endure for so long. More than ten days had passed since Yu Mu had escaped his hunter, and yet Balsam had only called Lu Yin when he was just about to enter Frostwave Weave. She must have been spending these days investigating the matter.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m sorry for being so bold as to disturb you," Balsam said politely.

    "What''s the matter?"

    "Excuse me, but does Alliance Leader Lu have Yu Mu in his possession?" Balsam asked. The woman was not beating around the bush.

    Lu Yin bluntly replied, "He¡¯s not here."

 Chapter 1598: Arrow Sect

    Chapter 1598: Arrow Sect

    Balsam went silent for a while after hearing Lu Yin''s blunt denial. "Yu Mu caused my Shamrock Enterprise and the Great Eastern Alliance to have a bad rtionship, and that matter created grave losses to mypany. We decided to punish him for this matter, and his punishment was to be death. I was told that Yu Mu was taken by your people; does Alliance Leader Lu really not know anything?"

    "I know a bit. Yu Mu proposed a deal to me, iming he would offer me some kind of medicine in return for me saving his life. I asked Elder He from the Sea King¡¯s Dome to save Yu Mu. I had intended to bring him to the Great Eastern Alliance, but halfway along the journey, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Autumnfrost family intercepted them, and Yu Mu¡¯s whereabouts are now," Lu Yin exined.

    Balsam was caught off guard. She no longer had any idea what was going on. When Yu¡¯er had tried to send a report to Balsam, the Innerverse president had not been able to answer to the call. Balsam had called Lu Yin the moment she had received the report, but she had not expected the matter to have involved the Sixth Maind¡¯s Autumnfrost family.

    That family was one of the three most powerful ns from the Bloodburn Realm. Even if the Sixth Maind had been invaded by monsters and had lost many of their top powerhouses, the Autumnfrost family still had World Imprinters, which meant experts with power levels of more than 800,000. This made the family a power on the same level as the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, and the other top powers of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones.

    "Why was Autumnfrost family there? Did they take Yu Mu?" Xiangzhi asked strangely.

    Lu Yin snorted derisively. "Yu Mu¡¯s just scum. First he enticed me with certain conditions, and then, while traveling, he met a powerhouse from the Autumnfrost family, and he immediately turned over to them. Not only did he betray our agreement, he also caused Elder He to be seriously injured. I hope that if Shamrock Enterprise manages to catch him that you¡¯ll give me an invitation to watch his punishment. I need to find some release for the hatred that¡¯s been built up towards him."

    Balsam had no idea if Lu Yin was telling the truth or not. This matter now involved the Autumnfrost family. While Shamrock Enterprise had managed to keep some of their intelligence operatives active in the western reaches of the Outerverse, it was impossible for them to infiltrate the Autumnfrost family. It would not be easy to prove Lu Yin¡¯s words true or false.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Yu Mu is a very treacherous man. What he says cannot be trusted," Balsam warned.

    Lu Yin''s voice grew cold, "You don''t believe me? You think I¡¯m hiding Yu Mu? Go ahead and investigate this matter. You¡¯ll learn that some powerhouse from the Autumnfrost family entered our region of the Outerverse. Elder He shared that the expert is known as Uncle Hua and also the man¡¯s appearance."

    Balsam thought for a few moments. "Very well, we¡¯ll look into this. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin continued the conversation, "Actually, I''m quite curious about something; Yu Mu mentioned that your Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s managed to develop something called a stellr energy pill and that it can allow someone to enter the true universe. He offered this to purchase the right to join the Autumnfrost family. Does your Shamrock Enterprise really have such a thing?"

    Balsam sneered, "Entering the true universe? That¡¯s something limited to only Envoys. The universe is utterly mysterious, so how could a medicinal pill manage to aplish such a thing? If my Shamrock Enterprise actually had the ability to create this so-called stellr energy pill, I would have teamed up with Aurora Enterprises long ago to step onto the same level as the Mavis Bank. How could we have failed to enter Mt. Microcosms?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, how could a person as smart as you possibly believe such nonsense from Yu Mu?"

    Lu Yin hesitated. "But he did break into the true universe in order to escape. How else could he have survived?"

    "Yu Mu managed to get his hands on many treasures due to the years he held the position of Outerverse president of Shamrock Enterprise. I¡¯ve heard that several families or sects from ancient times have been discovered hidden in spatial cracks, and it¡¯s normal for such ces to hold some life-saving means," Balsam said. She quickly continued, "If you don''t believe me, you are wee to visit my Shamrock Enterprise. As the Innerverse president, I am able to investigate any pharmaceuticals manufactured by Shamrock Enterprise. The Alliance Leader Lu cane and check if there are any of these so-called stellr energy pill."

    Lu Yin''s voice instantly turned cold. "It would seem that Yu Mu did indeed lie to me. I apologize, Miss Balsam, for interfering in yourpany''s attempt to punish Yu Mu. Don''t worry, I willpensate you for this incident."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. He¡¯s just an abandoned dog that no longer holds any value. I was reaching out to Alliance Leader Lu just to make sure that he didn¡¯t create any additional misunderstandings. However, since he¡¯s been taken away by someone from the Autumnfrost family, we will ask approach them to ask about this matter Alliance Leader Lu, please excuse me," Balsam excused herself.

    Lu Yin hummed and ended the call.

    Behind him, Sister Fei Hua voiced her admiration, "You spin an impressive web. You target the Autumnfrost family and don¡¯t give them any out while removing yourself from thepany¡¯s suspicions. You even reminded that woman that Yu Mu tried to use the stellr energy pill as a bargaining chip to join the Autumnfrost family, which means that no matter how they deny their involvement, even if they tell Shamrock Enterprise that Uncle Hua is missing, they will never be believed.¡±

    Liu Ye let out an emotional sigh. "No wonder you¡¯re able to deceive everyone. You threw the entire Perennial World into chaos, and even disrupted the four ruling powers. The White Dragon n became the source of a joke that won¡¯t be forgotten for a long time toe. Not even the Progenitors were able to see through you. Your actions were truly ruthless."

    Regardless of the words that Lu Yin heard from Liu Ye, Lu Yin did not think the Envoy was giving apliment. "I''m just trying to protect myself."

    "Can that stellr energy pill really allow an Enlighter to enter the true universe?" Sister Fei Hua asked. This was something that was unheard of even in the Perennial world.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "No clue. I hope so, but in the current universe, it¡¯s impossible to know if it¡¯s true or not."

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua looked at each other before looking back at Lu Yin. Their expressions made it clear that they felt that Lu Yin was the most deceptive person of all.

    Sometimes one needed to muddy the water in order to fish. Shamrock Enterprise might not believe any response that the Autumnfrost family gave, and that was even if the family was willing to provide any exnation at all. Given the typical personalities of people from the Autumnfrost family, Lu Yin felt it was highly likely that Shamrock Enterprise would not receive any answer at all, and the family might even suspect that Shamrock Enterprise might have done something to Uncle Hua and the others who had been with him.

    Of course, suspicions would also be raised concerning Lu Yin. All he was hoping for was to buy a bit of time in order to give Yu Mu an opportunity to obtain a stellr energy pill. As long Lu Yin could get a stellr energy pill, the Autumnfrost family would be released. At that time, Lu Yin would be able to hold negotiations with Shamrock Enterprise.

    Lu Yin stared at the three rings of mainds that circled a familiar, and he started to grow excited about being back.

    He had left Earth, moved to Zenyu Star, and then continued on to cultivate at Astral-10. While at the academy, Lu Yin had frequently returned to Zenyu Star, but not once had he ever been as excited as at this moment.

    He had trulye close to dying during thisst adventure. He had fully believed that he would not be able to return from the Perennial World, so he felt incredibly nostalgic while gazing at Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin was an incredibly poor regent for the Great Yu Empire. He had not held a cab meeting in a very long time, and he also had no ns to hold one again any time in the future. His status as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance was much greater than being the royal regent of the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin''s arrival raised no ripples on Zenyu Star, as only a few people were even aware of his return.

    At the gate of King Zishan''s pce, Kayze looked at a familiar figure. The guard trembled and he quickly bowed. "This subordinate wees His Highness¡¯s return."

    Lu Yin grunted and stared at Kayze beforeplimenting the man, "You¡¯ve improved a great deal."

    Kayze bent low, not even daring to look at Lu Yin. "My thanks, Your Highness, for your praise."

    Originally, Lu Yin had only subdued Kayze due to a whim. Lu Yin¡¯s thought at the time was that if he had any sort of run-in with the Dire Barbarian n turned in the future, Kayze would provide a connection. However, the Dire Barbarian n had be insignificant to Lu Yin. He could easily destroy a n that did not even have a single Envoy. However, Kayze had been acting as Lu Yin¡¯s doorman for many years, and Lu Yin had be used to the man.

    "Ahh! Your Highness is back! I¡¯ll go prepare some floral tea." Zhao Ran had been startled to see Lu Yin, and she quickly fled.

    The girl was as flighty as ever, but seeing that she had managed to remember him gave Lu Yin some hope that she would be able to recover her memory.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both settled into the pce. They were not able to go far from Lu Yin, and he also needed two such powerful bodyguards nearby.

    "Your Highness, have a taste!" Zhao Ran had already made a cup of floral tea for Lu Yin, and he stared at it nkly. How could the girl¡¯s drinks have be even more disturbing and bizarre to look at.

    Previously, she had simply prepared excessively colorful drinks, but Lu Yin felt that he saw creatures swimming about within the floral tea. Can this thing actually be drunk?

    Zhao Ran stared at Lu Yin with great excitement. She looked like a child who waiting to be rewarded.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Why don¡¯t you take a sip first?"

    Zhao Ran was visibly confused. "Why? It''s delicious! Does Your Highness not like it?"

    Lu Yin coughed. "No, it¡¯s just-"

    Suddenly, Kayze''s voice was heard, "Your Highness, Qiong Shanhai, master of Millions City, is asking to see you."

    "Let him in," Lu Yin quickly replied. He then looked at Zhao Ran. "Head on out for now, and I¡¯ll see you in a bit."

    Zhao Ran grunted and stared at her floral tea. She looked rather hurt.

    Qiong Shanhai soon entered, and he quickly bowed as soon as he saw Lu Yin. "Qiong Shanhai greets the alliance leader."

    Lu Yin made a weing gesture. "Where''s Xi''er? Didn''t shee with you?"

    Qiong Shanhai showed a bitter smile. "That girl has been very busy recently, and so she did note. I apologize for her rudeness."

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I just wanted to thank her for dealing with Shamrock Enterprise. Please thank her for me."

    "We¡¯re the ones who should be grateful towards Alliance Leader Lu. If not for your Great Eastern Alliance, I don¡¯t know where our Millions City would have gone,¡± Qiong Shanhai rebutted.

    "It''s not that much." Lu Yin smiled.

    Qiong Shanhai sighed. "Your Highness must be unaware of the Phoenix family. Word is that they are not doing well at all."

    The Outerverse¡¯s Phoenix family, which was known as the Dark Phoenix family, had previously been located in Endless Weave. When the Sixth Maind had attempted to invade the Outerverse, Mister Mu had shifted the entire border warfront from Endless Weave into Southside Weave, and naturally, the Dark Phoenix n had been moved as well. At the moment, the western regions of the Outerverse had fallen to the Sixth Maind¡¯s rule, and the Dark Phoenix n had fallen under the Sixth Maind as well.

    The Dark Phoenix n had once joined the Great Eastern Alliance, but when the Sixth Maind had started taking over the Outerverse, Wang Wen had reached out to the Dark Phoenix n. They had been unwilling to leave the western weaves, and a continued rtionship with the Great Eastern Alliance would also be impossible due to the Sixth Maind¡¯s sovereignty. Eventually, the Dark Phoenix n had fallen under the Sixth Maind dominion.

    "Which of the Sixth Maind¡¯s families rules over the Dark Phoenix?" Lu Yin felt a bit curious. He truly knew almost nothing about how things were in the western regions of the Outerverse at the moment. It seemed like he would need to take some time to speak with that Uncle Hua.

    Qiong Shanhai replied, "The Arrow Sect."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "What? The Sword Sect?"1

    "Arrows, like archery. The Arrow Sect used to be a power in the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ East Realm. They once gave birth to a powerful Empyrean Imprinter known as Arrow God of Wilderness. They were one of the top powers in the Sixth Maind. The members of the sect have the bloodline of giants, and they are skilled at using a bow. Each of their arrows is more than five meters long, and extremely deadly, as they carry a terrifying amount of power. They took control of the Dark Phoenix n and are using the n as mounts.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly changed. "Mounts?"

    Qiong Shanhai sighed. "The members of the Arrow Sect are all giants. They roam about space and use their archery skills to kill their opponents. Given their battle techniques, they need mounts, and the Dark Phoenix n has been taken to fill that need. Honestly, the Dark Phoenix n must be mourning the fact that they didn¡¯t move to Frostwave Weave when they had the chance."

    Lu Yin had not expected such a miserable fate to have befallen the Dark Phoenix n. They had been a powerful n that had killed their way out of the Innerverse, and yet they had been reduced to acting as the mounts for others.

    However, it was the fate that the n had chosen for themselves. The Great Eastern Alliance had not abandoned the Dark Phoenix n, and had even given them an opportunity, but the n had refused the hand that had been offered.

    [1] "Sword" and "Arrow" are homophones in Chinese, which causes this confusion. ?

 Chapter 1599: Changes

    Chapter 1599: Changes

    "Alliance Leader Lu, there are rumors iming that the Arrow Sect has its eye on the Neo-Vestige Sect, and that they even sent several groups of people to the Neo-Vestige Sect to observe their archery skills," Qiong Shanhai mentioned a reminder to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no concerns about the Neo-Vestige Sect joining the Arrow Sect. That waspletely impossible since the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s Arrow Mountain elder had been killed by the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind had already sent people to the Hall of Honor in order to seize indirect control of the overseers, so they must have been doing even more things in the dark. Lu Yin knew that there was no way the Sixth Maind would be satisfied with just the Outerverse, which meant that they would sooner orter be enemies once more.

    "Thank you for that reminder, City Master," Lu Yin expressed his gratitude, but then he pointed to the ss of floral tea that sat on the table. "City Master, please have some tea."

    The truth was that Qiong Shanhai had noticed the tea the moment he had entered the room. It was impossible to ignore something that was so obviously poisonous.

    It was the floral tea that Zhaoran had prepared. Lu Yin had his own ss, and the ss on the table had been specifically poured for Qiong Shanhai.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what is this?" Qiong Shanhai asked warily after noticing what looked to be tiny creatures swimming in the ss.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s a floral tea that Zhao Ran recently developed. It should taste quite good. City Master, please taste it and give me your impressions."

    Qiong Shanhai was stunned. His first reaction was thinking that Lu Yin was wanting to take over Millions City, and that was the reason to poison him in this ce. However, a moment¡¯s thought was enough for Qiong Shanhai to realize that Millions City held little value for the current Lu Yin. There was money, but that was not enough for Lu Yin to poison someone.

    Both anxious and suspicious, Qiong Shanhai took a sip.

    Lu Yin stared intently.

    Qiong Shanhai set the ss down in shock. "It''s delicious."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Zhao Ran will be very happy to hear it."

    Qiong Shanhai left shortly after, and Elder Tie arrived.

    The Lan family, Millions City, the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Aegis, Amethyst Exchange, and all of the major powers of the Outerverse had started flooding into Frostwave Weave to seek shelter. Naturally, with Lu Yin¡¯s return, each of them wanted to meet with him personally.

    Lu Yin and Elder Tie had little to say to each other. The Lan family had moved to Frostwave Weave and acted as a guardian of the weave. Elder Tie was also one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s protectors, along with some of the powerhouses from the Dayking n.

    Lu Yin spent the next three days visiting with the various people who wanted to see him. Seeing Lu Yin in person was reassuring to them, and people would panic if Lu Yin did not meet with people.

    Wendy Yushan had gone to visit the Lingling n in the Innerverse, and Lu Yin had no idea where Zhuo Daynight had gone. As for Lan Si, he had gone to train, though Lu Yin did not know where.

    Lu Yin was debating with himself whether or not to release Long Xi and the others so that they could stretch a bit, but after considering the matter, he decided not to. It would be hard to keep them all under control.

    "Your Highness, Wang Wen is asking to see you," Kayze announced.

    "Let him in."

    Wang Wen soon entered the room, looking sleepy and even yawning as he walked in. "Your Highness chess piece bro, are you done?"

    Lu Yin was a bit tired himself. "Yeah, finally."

    "You can''t me them. You disappear for years on end, and the situation here in the Outerverse has be quiteplicated. They all want to see you and learn your position on matters," Wang Wen stated.

    "Where do you see the Great Eastern Alliance going in the future?" Lu Yin asked. This was also a reason why Elder Tie and the other people had made a point of visiting Lu Yin. Soon er orter, the Sixth Maind would gainplete control of the Outerverse, and that time was not very far away. Even the Great Eastern Alliance would need to leave.

    The various powers within the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones had long since stabilized themselves, which meant that there would inevitably be bacsh and retaliation with the arrival of many different forces from all parts of the Outerverse. Arranging everyone into the Innerverse was the biggest problem at this moment.

    There was no way that the Hall of Honor would simply ignore such a matter, and ns were already beingid. Still, despite the best of ns, it would be impossible to avoid all conflict with the eight great flowzones. After all, their holdings were being shaken.

    Many things depended on how the Great Eastern Alliance chose to go about things. They could choose to move into a minor flowzone, or they could go up against one of the eight great flowzones.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had moved into Fennel Flowzone in order to give the eight great flowzones the impression that the Great Eastern Alliance was harmless, and results were finally showing.

    However, how could Lu Yin truly be striving to remain in Fennel Flowzone? Despite the size of zing Mist Flowzone, it still was unable to hold the entire Outerverse. Lu Yin wanted far more.

    Wang Wen casually opened a star chart and pointed at First Flowzone. "This is what I want most."

    Lu Yinughed. "Don¡¯t mess with the Sword Sect."

    Wang Wen stretched his waist. "Two years ago, the Daynight n was not an easy opponent for us to mess with."

    "We seeded there because of Leon¡¯s Armada. If we had relied on just ourselves, we would not have qualified to even have carried the shoes of the powers involved in that incident," Lu Yin said.

    "There¡¯s always a way. More than two years have passed since then, and we¡¯ve made incredible progress. Does Your Highness have any idea how many androids we now have with the strength of Explorers?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "How many?"

    Ban Jiu was in charge of this particr project, and Lu Yin had not looked into it yet.

    Wang Wen raised four fingers. "Four thousand."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "The Rapid Response Team only has nine hundred Explorers."

    "They have two thousand now," Wang Wen corrected.

    Lu Yin was again surprised. "They grew that much?"

    Wang Wen continued, "The Sixth Maind is taking over the Outerverse, but ordinary people are able to adapt. For them, it really doesn¡¯t make much of a difference whether they¡¯re under the Fifth or Sixth Mainds. However, it¡¯s a different story for cultivators, particrly powerful ones. In just two years, we¡¯ve doubled our number of Explorers, and we¡¯ve almost doubled our number of Hunters and Cruisers, not to mention the battleships that have been produced by alliance.

    "Given our current strength, we¡¯re capable of winning a fight with the Daynight n even without being able topare when ites to top powerhouses. We are much stronger than the leaders of any one of the eight great flowzones. Just ask the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, or Chaosgod Mountain just how many experts they can mobilize with the strength of Explorers of above. Even if we can¡¯t quitepare when ites to the number of Enlighters we have, we stille quite close.

    "All we¡¯re missing are top-tier experts."

    Lu Yin smiled. "We don¡¯t fall behind in that category, either. I brought two Envoys with me who each have a power level of more than 700,000, and they can defeat experts with power levels of more than 800,000 when the two of them work together. I can also call upon the Interster Supreme Court at any time. On top of that, with my power, I can be considered the Cosmic Sect¡¯s most important disciple.¡±

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. "You really know how to go big."

    Lu Yinughed loudly. Even without considering the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s regr troops, just the androids and cultivators that Wang Wen had mentioned were enough tounch a campaign against the Innerverse. It was plenty.

    "I want to form an invincible army," Lu Yin suddenly stated.

    "What level of soldiers are you thinking?"

    "We¡¯ll go with the ones you just said. I want to prepare them as best as possible; make each one of them a Realmbreaker on their own."

    Wang Wen¡¯s interest was piqued. "ying around with something like that¡¯s too expensive."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "This would just be the first step. If everything goes well, we¡¯ll repeat this method of creating invincible soldiers to all of our troops. You can¡¯t even imagine just how terrible our enemies in the future will be."

    Lu Yin was referring to the Aeternals. Corpse kings were fearless of death, and they were also scheming. They were constantly researching all kinds of poisons and were also cultivating traitors to humanity. Even though the Perennial World had powerful experts and even Progenitors that blocked the Aeternals from advancing on the Fifth Maind, there seemed to be holes in that wall. Still, the Fifth Maind was rtively safe.

    Lu Yin intended to fully prepare before the Aeternalsunched an all-out attack on the Fifth Maind.

    Wang Wen had to ask, "What are you talking about? Is there a powerful enemy?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "We¡¯ll give the order. I¡¯ve already prepared equipment for them."

    Wang Wen nodded. "Alright. By the way, overall, the Great Eastern Alliance is missing a capable general."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I have someone in mind."

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Rapid Response Team had been formed from experts who came from all of the alliance¡¯s major members. They were tasked with protecting the alliance¡¯s resources and deploying at the fastest possible speed. They had also been part of the forces that had moved against the Daynight n in the Innververse. They were the alliance¡¯s more elite troops.

    Lu Yin had always been the one to hold the authority to deploy the Rapid Response Team, but he had been missing for two years. Even though the RRT had remained, no one had possessed the authority tomand them or utilize them to their greatest potential. With Lu Yin''s return, the unit was finally activated once again.

    As Wang Wen had reported, the RRT had constantly added new members, and the older members had improved their strength. At the moment, the team wasposed of more than 6,000 cultivators with at least the strength of an Explorer. They would be his sharpest knife, and when the time was right , he would also rename the team.

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, in Vastdearth Sect, Elder Hua Qiao went to find Sect Master Meng Tianlong. "Sect Master, we¡¯ve lost contact with our informant in that special unit."

    Meng Tianlong was lost for a moment. "Which unit?"

    Hua Qiao solemnly replied, "The Rapid Response Team."

    Meng Tianlong was startled. "How could that happen? Did they suffer some ident?"

    "Lu Yin has returned," Hua Qiao answered.

    Meng Tianlong started to think. "There¡¯s no response at all?"

    "I can''t get in touch with anyone. All of the people we sent there are elite disciples. I don''t know what Lu Yin wants to do with them," Hua Qiao said.

    Meng Tianlong¡¯s voice grew bitter, "No matter what he does, we can''t stop him."

    In the past, nothing that the alliance¡¯s troops had done was able to be kept hidden from the major members of the alliance, especially more powerful groups like the Vastdearth Sect. As the Great Eastern Alliance had stabilized, troop movements had be more hidden, and after Lu Yin¡¯s return, none of the allies had any hint of control over the alliance¡¯s military.

    Even disregarding the Vastdearth Sect, not even the Neo-Vestige Sect was able to learn anything at all. They had once been one of the three untouchable powers of the Outerverse, and naturally, the Neo-Vestige Sect had sent elite disciples to join the RRT, but they had since lost all contact.

    The RRT seemed to havepletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin had cut off the Rapid Response Team¡¯s contact with all outsiders in order to prevent the troops from being infiltrated by the Aeternals. The Perennial World¡¯s Redbacks had left a deep impression on Lu Yin.

    On the Outerverse¡¯s Zenyu Star, members of the Wen family finally arrived.

    The family was represented by an elder powerhouse known as Wen Yao, and also by Wen Sansi.

    Lu Yin met the two in King Zishan¡¯s pce.

    Before meeting Lu Yin, Wen Yao had assumed that he would be able to take on the role of a senior, and Lu Yin as the junior, but he dismissed such presumptions the moment he saw Lu Yin. The elder felt danger from Lu Yin, as well as an unsuppressable fear.

    Wen Yao has cultivated for hundreds of years and had survived many life or death situations. He absolutely trusted his senses; Lu Yin was able to decide the elder¡¯s life or death.

    This was also Lu Yin by himself, not anything due to his position as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Wen Yao was unable to understand what he was sensing; Lu Yin was clearly a youth from Wen Sansi¡¯s generation¡ªno, Lu Yin was actually younger than Wen Sansi. In that case, how had Lu Yin managed to achieve such a level of strength? No matter how powerful Wen Sansi was, he could not beat Wen Yao, an expert with a power level of 400,000. The thought itself frightened Wen Yao.

    "The Wen family¡¯s Wen Yao greets Alliance Leader Lu." Wen Yao behaved in a very polite manner.

 Chapter 1600: Wen Familyâ€™s Inheritance

    Chapter 1600: Wen Family¡¯s Inheritance

    Wen Sansi remained silent and stood behind Wen Yao. The elder represented the Wen family, while Lu Yin represented the Great Eastern Alliance. In this situation, Wen Sansi was a mere junior.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Take a seat, honored guests.¡±

    He signaled for Zhao Ran to bring tea as he weed the guests. However, he had previously specifically told her not to serve her floral tea, in order to avoid scaring his guests.

    Lu Yin spoke again as the three took their seats. ¡°I heard that Senior Wen visited Fennel Flowzone? There was an urgent matter that I needed to attend, so I wasn¡¯t able to wait in Fennel Flowzone. My apologies for forcing Senior Wen and Brother Sansi to make an extra trip.¡±

    Wen Yaoughed. ¡°Such critical issuese first, Alliance Leader Lu. It¡¯s nothing for idlers like us to make an extra trip or two. Was everything handled well? Let us know if the Wen family can be of any help; we will never refuse requests that are within our means."

    Lu Yin was ted at the offer. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful! Can I take your word for it?¡±

    Wen Yao was dumbfounded at Lu Yin¡¯s response. He had merely been speaking in a manner required by propriety; who would actually take such words at face value?

    Wen Sansi was simrly speechless, though he was notpletely surprised given his slight familiarity of Lu Yin.

    ¡°You can count on the Wen family at any time,¡± Wen Yao decided to show some level of generosity since it would look bad to refuse at this point. Additionally, they were about to ask about after the sevenyered Literary Prison, so it would be for the best if they could get Lu Yin to owe them a favor.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Given the current situation, I¡¯m sure that Senior is aware of how the Outerverse has already been promised to the Sixth Maind. My alliance is destined to be homeless, so I wonder if we might be able to find a home in Erudite Flowzone?¡±

    Wen Yao was not expecting Lu Yin to make such a request. How could anyone bring up such a request as though it were nothing? If not for the smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face, Wen Yao would absolutely see such a request as a provocation intended to start a war!

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu must be joking; if the Great Eastern Alliance is unable to find a ce to call home, the Wen family will dly help you search for somewhere.¡± Wen Yaoughed.

    Lu Yin replied with a regretful tone, ¡°That¡¯s a pity. If that¡¯s the case, we can only look at some small flowzones. Senior, please help us keep an eye out for any small flowzones that might suite my alliance.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a given. Please rest assured, Alliance Leader Lu,¡± Wen Yao replied. He could not determine which of Lu Yin¡¯s words were authentic. If Lu Yin really was eying the eight great flowzones, there was no need to mention such a thing. However, if there was no such intention, then Wen Yao could not understand the purpose of mentioning such a request.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s goal was simple: between the truth and the deceptions, the leaders of eight great flowzones would not be able to lower their guards, even if the Great Eastern Alliance kept to themselves within Fennel Flowzone. Spies would continue to observe, and protesters would continue to resist. All Lu Yin wanted to do was muddy the waters.

    Lu Yin took a sip of tea and continued to avoid the topic of the sevenyered Literary Prison. Wen Yao shot Wen Sansi a nce, and the younger man quickly spoke up, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, do you possibly remember our meeting in the Daosource Sect ruins?¡±

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. ¡°What is Brother Wen trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Does Brother Lu have the method to cultivate the sevenyered Literary Prison?¡± Wen Sansi asked.

    Wen Yao¡¯s eyes remained locked on Lu Yin as though the older man was trying to glean something from the youth¡¯s expression.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Yes, but also no.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Wen Sansi asked curiously.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I have someone held captive who possesses the knowledge of the sevenyered Literary Prison. Since he¡¯s my prisoner, I can get the information from him if I act diligently, but there¡¯s also naturally a possibility that I¡¯ll gain nothing.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the man?¡± Wen Yao could not resist asking.

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°Wen Diyi.¡±

    Wen Yao and Wen Sansi looked at each other, visibly confused. ¡°While our Wen family has hundreds of descendants, there has never been anyone named Wen Diyi, and no one would even dare take such a name. There is no best writer.1 Where did this persone from?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t answer that. However, he does indeed know the sevenyered Literary Prison.¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°How can Brother Lu¡¯s words be verified?¡±

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and gestured an invitation towards Wen Sansi. ¡°Brother Wen, a match, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Sure.¡±

    Lu Yin took Wen Sansi into Zenith Mountain and they appeared somewhat close to Wen Diyi.

    Lu Yin was more than familiar with his current situation, as he had already used Yun Tingting to manipte Smoke-Eater Peaks. With Wen Diyi, Lu Yin expected to be able to do the same with the Wen family. Still, there was one particr detail that was giving Lu Yin a headache: someone like Wen Diyi would be difficult to deal with. The more well-read the person, the prouder they would be. One could call such people pedantic or pretentious, but intellectuals would neverck a sense of pride.

    Since Wen Diyi dared to refer to himself as number one, he would likely be even more difficult to deal with. Furthermore, Lu Yin had not even considered what he wanted to get out of the Wen family.

    Wen Diyi was cultivating with his eyes closed. He appeared much calmer than Yun Tingting had been, and he spoke when he saw Lu Yin and Wen Sansi approaching, ¡°Is it my turn?¡±

    ¡°You know why I¡¯m looking for you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wen Diyi answered calmly, ¡°Yun Tingting informed me that we¡¯ve already arrived in the Fifth Maind.¡± The man looked over at Wen Sansi as he continued, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you can use the Literary Prison, correct?¡±

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°You¡¯re Wen Diyi?¡±

    Wen Diyi grew solemn. ¡°The Wen family doesn¡¯t only exist within the Perennial World; descendants also remained in the Fifth Maind. When the Perennial World separated from the Fifth Maind, the Wen family left behind a bloodline, as well as an inheritance.¡±

    He stared at Wen Sansi. ¡°You being here proves your inheritance is iplete. How manyyers of Literary Prison can you use?¡±

    ¡°There are noyers. Literary Prison is all that it is,¡± Wen Sansi replied.

    Wen Diyi frowned. ¡°The inheritance here is truly iplete. Since I¡¯m already here, it¡¯s impossible for me to ever go back to that ce. I can teach you severalyers of the Literary Prison but I have a single condition: let me stay as part of the Wen family. I shall be recognized as a member of the family.¡±

    Wen Sansi raised his hand instantly trapped Wen Diyi with a Literary Prison. It was nine-by-nine, which was the highest level of mastery possible for the Literary Prison that the Wen family had inherited. Wen Sansi was providing a test.

    Wen Diyi observed the Literary Prison that surrounded him before taking a single step forward. He surrounded himself with an inverse Literary Prison, and it restrained Wen Sansi¡¯s technique. Quickly, a twoyered Literary Prison appeared, and it shattered Wen Sansi¡¯s Literary Prison. Finally, Wen Diyi made another move thatpletely trapped Wen Sansi within a sevenyered Literary Prison.

    Wen Sansi was shocked beyond words; the sevenyered Literary Prison truly did exist! Even if he had believed Lu Yin¡¯s words in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, seeing it in its full glory was something else entirely. The sevenyered Literary Prisonpletely subverted the Wen family¡¯s long inherited knowledge. Who could have imagined that they had only ever been cultivating a fragment of the true Literary Prison.

    ¡°Virtue Archives possesses eighteenyers of the Literary Prison, but I have only managed to cultivate up to the seventhyer. I don¡¯t have theplete technique that epasses all 18 folds. Still, for you, I expect that this is already plenty,¡± Wen Diyi said as he dismissed his Literary Prison.

    Lu Yin nced at Wen Sansi, and then to Wen Diyi. Both men were essentially on the same level when it came to theirbat power; Wen Diyi had a moreplete inheritance, but Wen Sansi possessed an exceptional innate gift. It would be difficult to determine a winner between these two in a fight, but if Wen Sansi managed to obtain the sevenyered Literary Prison, his strength would surge, as would the power of the entire Wen family.

    This was quite the temptation. What exactly did a cultivator desire? They wanted to fight for their lives. Thus, the stronger one became, the greater their chances of sess. This sevenyered Literary Prison would provide the Wen family with a greater chance for ¡°life.¡±

    ¡°I am willing to pass the inheritance on to your family, but for that to happen, we first have to leave this ce. What are Brother Long- no, Brother Lu¡¯s conditions that he offered you?¡± Wen Diyi asked, looking genuinely curious.

    Wen Sansi looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, your conditions?¡±

    Lu Yin had not been expecting everything to go so smoothly. Since Wen Diyi had not refused to pass on the sevenyered Literary Prison, the only problem was for Lu Yin to list his conditions. However, what conditions? He had not even thought of any!

    ¡°Brother Lu, precisely what conditions need to be met for you to let us take Wen Diyi?¡± Outside Zenith Mountain, Wen Yao was given an update by Wen Sansi. The elder then turned to Lu Yin while trying to suppress his emotions.

    Lu Yin stayed silent for a while. ¡°Please let me think about it. Too many things have happened recently, and I haven¡¯t had time to properly consider this matter.¡±

    Wen Yao frowned, as he felt that Lu Yin was trying to get more from them. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please name your price. We will not haggle with you so long as your request remains within my family¡¯s means.¡±

    Before making this trip, Wen Yao had thoroughly investigated Lu Yin, with a special focus on the youth¡¯s preferences. Still, the elder had not expected the youth to be such a money-grubber.

    Lu Yin waffled. Star essence provided Lu Yin with the means to increase his strength and abilities, but he had no idea just how much he could sell Wen Diyi for, as Lu Yin waspletely clueless as to the Wen family¡¯s resources.

    If they could only offer him a few hundred like he had taken from the ze Realm, then he would rather keep Wen Diyi.

    ¡°Senior and Brother Wen can either return home or enjoy yourselves for a bit here on Zenyu Star, and I¡¯ll inform you as soon as I¡¯ve made up my mind,¡± Lu Yin told them.

    Wen Sansi replied, ¡°Brother Lu, you are already aware of what the sevenyered Literary Prison means to my Wen family. I can tell you bluntly, it is important, very important! However, you also need to remember a certain detail: no one other than us in the entire Fifth Maind possesses any interest at all in the sevenyered Literary Prison. It¡¯s a technique exclusive to the Wen family, so you won¡¯t find a second buyer.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Brother Wen id definitely wrong about that! I believe the Sword Sect, Beast Tamers Flowzone, Chaosgod Mountain, and even various powerhouses from the Neoverse would be interested in someone like Wen Diyi.¡±

    People would certainly be interested in Wen Diyi, though not the sevenyered Literary Prison. What they would be concerned about would be preventing the Wen family from acquiring the sevenyered Literary Prison. It would not matter to such people if they were able to cultivate the technique themselves or not, but everyone would feel threatened if the Wen family¡¯s strength rose because of this technique, especially the Sword Sect.

    After Daynight Flowzone had been overturned by Lu Yin, the Wen family and the Sword Sect had be the strongest powers within the entire Innerverse, and they had constantly beenpeting with each other since that time. If the Sword Sect learned of the existence of the sevenyered Literary Prison, they would destroy it at any costs, just to keep it out of the hands of the Wen family.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Brother Lu, I expect you¡¯ve alreadye to a decision?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°As I said, you can wait on Zenyu Star for a bit, and I¡¯ll make sure to let you know as soon as I¡¯m done thinking.¡±

    Wen Yao became impatient. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re from the Astral Combat Academy! Erudite Flowzone¡¯s Lost Radiance Academy has always maintained a good rtionship with your alma mater, and Sansi has helped you in the past as well. We hope you can take such things into consideration and deliver Wen Diyi to us as soon as possible to prevent anything from happening.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, things haven¡¯t been peaceful within the Innerverse as ofte. The Wen family seems to have been targeted, and the same is true of Lost Radiance Academy. Han Chong is actually dead. We urge you to reach a decision soon,¡± Wen Sansi urged.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Han Chong¡¯s dead?¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded. ¡°Not only Han Chong, but also of his family¡¯s elders along with some of the Wen family¡¯s members have also died. The Neohuman Alliance seems to have had something to do with it, and they¡¯ve locked on to us. This is why I¡¯m afraid things could get bloody if any information regarding the sevenyered Literary Prison gets leaked.¡±

    Lu Yin found this rather odd; why would the Neohuman Alliance target the Wen family? Did the Wen family possess something worthy of such attention? Even if the Wen family did have such a thing, what connection could it have to Han Chong? He had only been a mere Cruiser.

    [1] Just a reminder that when Wen Diyi was first introduced (Chapter 1411), it was mentioned that "Wen" means literacy/writing, while "DiYi" means the best/number 1. ?

 Chapter 1601: Keep Watch

    Chapter 1601: Keep Watch

    Han Chong had been the student leader of Astral-2, as well as a Realm Master when he and Lu Yin had both been part of the Astral Combat Academy. Han Chong had stood head and shoulders above his peers. However, after just a few years passing, he had been nothing more than a mere Cruiser. Such cultivators meant nothing to Lu Yin anymore.

    Han Chong¡¯s death only served to remind Lu Yin of his memories from the Astral Combat Academy, but he did not give them much thought. After all, this was the Wen family¡¯s business.

    ¡°Please rest assured that I¡¯ll give you Wen Diyi as soon as I can,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wen Sansi and Wen Yao were left with no choice but to silently agree. No matter what, they were unable to take Wen Diyi away so long as Lu Yin did not give his conditions.

    ¡°Thank you then, Alliance Leader Lu.¡± Wen Yao was not in a very good mood at the moment. This was his first time needing to thank someone for waiting for them to list their conditions for a deal. For heaven¡¯s sake, Wen Yao was a powerhouse from the Wen family!

    Lu Yin noticed that Kayze was missing from his post while watching Wen Yao and Wen Sansi leave. Kayze was the guard for King Zishan¡¯s pce, so he should have been right at the gate.

    Lu Yin quickly found Kayze after releasing his domain; the doorman was speaking with an exceptionally ugly man.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back,¡± Kayze stated in a low, stubborn tone.

    ¡°You¡¯re a member of the Dire Barbarian n. When the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated, you were forced to be a guard for Lu Yin, but it has been years since the two were reconnected. We¡¯vee to see you many times since then, so why won¡¯t you return to the n? You¡¯re one of us, be it past, present, or future. You can¡¯t escape this fact. Do you really want to remain Lu Yin¡¯s doorman forever?¡± The man was shouting, and yet he managed to keep his volume rather low. It was clear he did not want to draw attention to himself.

    Kayze replied in a solemn manner, ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of my days in the Dire Barbarian n. I was apletely different person there. Now, I¡¯m living infort. So what if I¡¯m just a guard? I enjoy this life.¡±

    ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance doesn¡¯t even have a ce to call home! Just what exactly do you n to keep guarding?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°You-¡± The man was enraged. He wanted to forcibly take Kayze back, but did not dare attempt such a thing while on Zenyu Star. If not for where Kayze stayed, the older man would have taken the youth back shortly after the Innerverse and Outerverse had been reconnected. There were a number of powerhouses residing within the Great Eastern Alliance, and the number had only been increasing recently. The man had be much more cautious about attracting unwanted attention.

    ¡°You should leave, and don¡¯te find me again,¡± Kayze stated as he turned around and walked away.

    The man would not give up. ¡°Kayze, with your strength, if you are willing to return, you¡¯ll be treated almost the same as Avery! If he bes the n chief, you will be the grand elder! The two of you together will decide the fate of our n in the future. Are you really willing to be nothing more than a guard for your entire life?¡±

    Kayze did not even respond as he left.

    Lu Yin retracted his domain. This was clearly not the first time that the Dire Barbarian n hade to find Kayze, but that made sense. When Lu Yin had first met Kayze, he had already been strong enough to enter the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings, and he had stood second only to Avery within their generation in the Dire Barbarian n. There was no way the Dire Barbarian n would allow such a talent to walk away from them.

    Kayze returned to the gate of King Zishan¡¯s pce and took his post in a natural manner. He had already been doing this job for about ten years.

    ¡°Are youcking resources? For your cultivation?¡± Lu Yin spoke up from behind Kayze.

    The voice startled Kayze, and he quickly bowed. ¡°Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin asked a second time, ¡°Do you need any resources?¡±

    Kayze shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin looked in the direction of the ugly man who had just been speaking to Kayze. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to go back?¡±

    The color drained from Kayze¡¯s face. He had not thought that Lu Yin would have noticed his conversation. ¡°I wish to climb to even greater heights with Your Highness. The Dire Barbarian n is too small.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, though Kayze¡¯s words were not wrong. The Dire Barbarian n was nothingpared to what the Great Eastern Alliance had already be. Even if Kayze was a mere doorman, he still enjoyed a high status due to guarding Lu Yin¡¯s door. No one dared belittle such a person.

    ¡°Even though the Great Eastern Alliance managed to take over the entire Outerverse, we stillck support from the Innerverse powers. If they¡¯re willing, the Dire Barbarian n is wee to join as our soldiers, though any joining will need to at least be an Explorer,¡± Lu Yin said before returning inside the pce.

    While the Dire Barbarian n could notpare to the Great Eastern Alliance, they were still perfectly capable of providing some Explorers. Lu Yin was not content with an army of less than ten thousand Explorers, and he actually wanted more.

    Kayze understood that Lu Yin wanted him to persuade the Dire Barbarian n to eventually submit, but that would be a tricky task. While the n was not the leader of one of the eight great flowzones, they were far from weak; how could they easily to the Great Eastern Alliance?

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush. I¡¯ll also provide you with enough resources to ensure that you defeat Avery.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice carried out from within the pce. Kayze grew ecstatic. He had long dreamed of defeating Avery, but could he really do so?

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡± Kayze quickly responded.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin met with Leng Yan. She had previously worked for Iltoco, and thatpany had provided Astral-10 with the first mission that Lu Yin had epted. She hadter moved to Brightstar Corp. and had even managed to earn an office on the busiest street of Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin had met her several times before, and each time he saw her, she had gained a higher status. This time, Leng Yan was representing the Giant Consortium.

    Brightstar Corp. had originally belonged to the Giant Consortium, and was also part of the founders of Continental Shipping. Most of the conglomerate¡¯s routes through the Innerverse hade from the Brightstar Corp.

    The biggest difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse was that Outerversepanies were autonomous and able to protect themselves, whereas corporations in the Innerverse were all subsidiaries of the various major powers. Even a huge conglomerate like Giant Consortium was not exempt from offering up massive amounts of resources to the leaders of the eight great flowzones. Also, thepany had to be careful not to recruit too many powerhouses.

    This was the tragic fate ofpanies in the Innerverse.

    Giant Consortium¡¯s situation had only started to improve after they had started coborating with the Great Eastern Alliance, as thetter had also taken on full responsibility for protection.

    ¡°Leng Yan greets the Alliance Leader.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for her to stand up. ¡°Qiong Xi¡¯er is overseeing Continental Shipping, so I shouldn¡¯t be looking for you, but Cong Ying, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, has been making problems for Continental Shipping. Do you know why?¡±

    Leng Yan looked puzzled. ¡°I am not sure.¡±

    She had joined Continental Shipping as a representative of the Brightstar Corp., which had made her be regarded as Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew hard, ¡°Cong Ying¡¯s ancestors were radicals and participated in the n to annihte the giants. Cong Ying believes that Giant Consortium possesses technology from the giants and that thepany was even established by giants.¡±

    There was a slight change in Leng Yan¡¯s expression, but she did not deny anything and merely stayed quiet.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Are there really giants behind thepany?¡±

    Leng Yan replied, ¡°Giant Consortium really was indeed started by a tribe of giants using the remnants of their technology. Many years ago, the giants¡¯ technology could be found throughout the universe. However, at their peak, they became greatly feared by certain people. In particr, the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers thought that the more advanced the giants¡¯ technology became, the more humanity would be threatened. That fear led the nine overseers to being determined to destroy the giants¡¯ technology. That was all there was to it at first, and exterminating the giants themselves was not part of the n.

    ¡°Giants can be considered a branch of humanity. Overseer Cong Ying¡¯s ancestors were probably the ones who wanted to eliminate the giants, but they failed since the nine overseers decided to only destroy the giants¡¯ technology. Giant Consortium that we know was established thanks to that ancient giant technology.

    ¡°This is no secret, and all of the leaders of the eight great flowzones are aware of it. They are also aware of the whereabouts of various giant tribes in different parts of the universe and yet they never did anything much about it.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. ¡°Just how advanced is the giants¡¯ technology at this point?¡±

    Leng Yan replied, ¡°Far from the level it reached in the past. Thepany now mostly caters to ordinary humans, which is why major powers remain unconcerned.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at her. ¡°You¡¯re a human yourself. You should be aware that there are blood-thirsty, savage monsters among the various giants.¡±

    Leng Yan stared back at Lu Yin, her lips pursed. ¡°Does Your Highness harbor hatred towards giants?¡±

    Lu Yin considered the question. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any giants show any hint of friendliness towards humans.¡±

    The giants he had seen in Butterfly Weave or Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had all beenplete brutes.

    Leng Yan said, ¡°Your Highness could visit Giant Consortium for an inspection, if you like. The giants there would be more than happy to wee you. If Your Highness doesn¡¯t think that these giants can be safe to be around, you should cancel any coboration with them. However, before doing so, I beg Your Highness to not trust in rumors. There are good people among giants, too.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss Leng Yan.

    Giants were not a homogenous group, and there were different types. In general, there were the giants who focused on technological development, while others relied on their physical prowess. The fact that giants were able to develop technology showed that they were extremely intelligent, and Lu Yin did not believe that there should not be any major issues given that Giant Consortium had managed to survive for so long. Still, it was necessary for someone to keep an eye on them.

    Just because Cong Ying¡¯s ancestors had been prejudiced against giants did not mean that the other overseers shared the same feelings. Still, there had to have been a reason behind their decision to destroy the giants¡¯ technology. Also, there had been Progenitor Chen.

    One of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had been a giant, and it had caused him to be pursued by the Daosource Sect. There had been conflicting opinions regarding giants within the Daosource Sect, but the fact that Progenitor Chen had been willing to choose to have one of his clones be a giant proved that the ancient Progenitor had not been biased.

    There were good and bad individuals among the giants, but it was still important to remain cautious.

    Who should be assigned to keep watch on the giants? Lu Yin felt a headacheing on, and he wanted to reach out to Wei Rong or Qiong Xi¡¯er to gain their opinions.

    At this moment, he heard Kayze¡¯s voice, ¡°Your Highness, Ku Wei is asking to see you.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Let him in.¡±

    ¡°Master! It¡¯s so good to see you, Master! Master, please take me with you wherever you go; I don¡¯t want to be separated from you again.¡± Ku Wei could not restrain his loyal dog act after seeing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin visibly started sizing Ku Wei up. Ku Wei was just about to continue his typical ttery, but he suddenly got chills from Lu Yin¡¯s star. He blinked. ¡°Master?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Ku Wei, why¡¯d youe here to Zenyu Star? Was there nothing to do in Fennel Flowzone?¡±

    Ku Wei got a strong feeling that something was wrong from Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°N- Nothing much.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Yin continued to stare at Ku Wei. ¡°In that case, how ¡®bout a mission? You handle it well, and you¡¯ll have a bright future ahead of you.¡±

    Ku Wei gulped. He was starting to grow nervous for some reason. ¡°Of course, Master.¡±

    ¡°Go to Giant Consortium and keep an eye on them,¡± Lu Yin stated bluntly. Though his voice sounded calm, the words he spoke sounded truly perilous to Ku Wei. Keep an eye on giants? Keep an eye on giants? What does this mean? Why does he want me to watch giants? Did he figure something out? Does he know that I can transform into a giant? If not, why would he choose me for this?

    Ku Wei stared nkly at Lu Yin. He looked like he was trying to gain further understanding from Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was perfectly calm as he looked up. Hm? What¡¯s up with Ku Wei¡¯s expression? He looks like he¡¯s staring at the devil.

 Chapter 1602: A Forceful Break-In

    ¡°You¡¯re not willing?¡± Lu Yin asked, his voice quickly turning displeased.

    Ku Wei could not figure anything out about Lu Yin. His first thought was that Lu Yin had discovered that he was able to transform into a giant, as why else would Lu Yin give him such an assignment? However, when could Lu Yin have found out? Should Ku Weie clean? He feltpletely trapped.

    ¡°Um, Master, why me?¡± Ku Wei tried probing.

    Lu Yin raised a brow. ¡°Don¡¯t you already know why?¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes went wide. Lu Yin knew! He really knew! But when had Ku Wei been exposed? He had not once transformed after leaving Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, so could Lu Yin have found out inside the tomb? That was right, the person in front of Ku Wei was a ruthless man who had unified the Outerverse. Such a person was more than they appeared from the surface. Lu Yin had definitely discovered that Ku Wei could transform into a giant all the way back then, but in that case, had Lu Yin kept silent about it for so long just because of Giant Consortium?

    A whirlwind swept through Ku Wei¡¯s head in an instant.

    ¡°Yes, Master. I will definitely keep a close eye on those giants for you. I¡¯ll make sure they are obedient,¡± Ku Wei promised.

    Lu Yin grew puzzled; obedient? Did this person have a screw loose in his head? How could the giants be obedient to him? Lu Yin was only sending Ku Wei to Giant Consortium because it seemed like Ku Wei had too much free time, and Lu Yin did not want Ku Wei¡¯s constant presence wearing on him. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, who was sent to Giant Consortium was of no consequence.

    ¡°Just do your best. You can go now.¡± Lu Yin waved a dismissive hand.

    Ku Wei again vowed to do all he could to force the giants into submission, and he left as though he had been bestowed a sacred mission.

    With that, Lu Yin managed to get rid of Ku Wei.

    Things remained quiet for two days, and though during that time he had received a single call from Madam Nn. She was in the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves settling matters for the Nn family, and so she had not yet returned to Zenyu Star.

    Lu Yin felt an inexplicable anger at seeing Madam Nn, and he was still trying to find a way to vent his emotions when Lan Si arrived.

    Lu Yin had gone to do a bit of lockbreaking on a barren not far from Zenyu Star.

    When Lan Si stood before Lu Yin he mentioned, ¡°Your rate of improvement is pretty insane given that I haven¡¯t seen you for just two years.¡±

    Lu Yin waved a hand. ¡°I¡¯ve done alright.¡±

    ¡°Take my Vacuum Palm!¡± Lan Si said as he struck a hand forward and threw out a Vacuum Palm. The invisible attack shot through the air towards Lu Yin.

    The first time that Lu Yin had faced Lan Si¡¯s Vacuum Palm, it had been an overwhelming attack that had forced Lu Yin to use everything had had possessed at the time just to counter the attack. It had been that attack that had made Lu Yin fall in love with the Vacuum Palm. He had realized that it was a skill simply made for him. Fast forward to the present, after two years apart, Lan Si again attacked Lu Yin with another Vacuum Palm. The difference was that Lu Yin had be able to evade the attack.

    Lan Si had prepared himself for such an oue, as he had already known there was a vast gap between the two of them. Still, Lan Si Had not expected the gap to grow so vast! Lu Yin had casually evaded Lan Si¡¯s full strength Vacuum Palm.

    Lan Si¡¯s improvement had been quite impressive over the past two years, and he had focused on his physical training. His Oveying Stacks Path had almost reached 200 Stacks, which demonstrated his talent for physical cultivation, as well as his status as one of the Ten Arbiters. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had improved a far greater amount.

    Lu Yin praised, ¡°That attack was really powerful. If you had used that during ZENITH, you would definitely have entered the top ten.¡±

    Lan Si felt bitter. ¡°Am I only able to reach that level after these two years? Everyone else from thatpetition has kept improving as well.¡±

    ¡°Lan Si, is Vacuum Palm your only technique?¡± Lu Yin asked out of curiosity. He had always found it rather strange that Lan Si relied on such a monotonous attack method. While it had been enough to work against Lu Yin when they had first fought, as time had passed, the Ten Arbiters were no longer part of the younger generation, and they would increasingly have to face seniors in battle in the future. Methods that had worked in the past would lose their efficacy.

    Lan Si answered in a glum tone, ¡°Do you know where I learned Vacuum Palm?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°Mt. Stacks Dojo,¡± Lan Si solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Mt. Stacks Dojo? From Dojo Master Lan?¡±

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°No, not from Father. He actually doesn¡¯t know how to use Vacuum Palm. I¡¯m sure you remember the twenty levels of the stacked mountain in my dojo, and how gravity increases another hundred times normal gravity on each level. Every ten levels, there¡¯s a handprint that can be found. 10 Stacks can be found on the first level. 100 Stacks on the tenth level, and 1000 Stacks on the twentieth level. Vacuum Palm came from the 10 Stacks palm print on the first level.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°That handprint holds the Vacuum Palm technique?¡±

    Lan Si nodded.

    Lu Yin felt regretful. He had not seen the 10 Stacks handprint on the first level since he had made his way straight for the tenth level when he had visited the dojo. He felt it was a true pity that he had missed Vacuum Palm back then.

    ¡°Simrly, the 100 Stacks handprint at the tenth level also holds a battle technique, and if I¡¯m not wrong, it should be the sessor of Vacuum Palm. Unfortunately, I won¡¯t be able to get it,¡± Lan Si said.

    Lu Yin was genuinely surprised. ¡°A battle technique contained within the 100 Stacks handprint? Why didn¡¯t I find anything back then?¡±

    Lan Si nced at Lu Yin. ¡°Mt. Stacks Dojo had had countless disciples who¡¯vee into contact with the 100 Stacks handprint, and yet not one of them has ever managed to fullyprehend Vacuum Palm. I¡¯m the only one to ever seed.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as Lan Si¡¯s words were insinuating that Lu Yin¡¯s failure toprehend Vacuum Palm during his visit had had nothing to do with luck.

    ¡°So is Vacuum Palm the only thing you can use if you aren¡¯t able to return to Mt. Stacks Dojo?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lan Si shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve tried training with other battle techniques, but none canpare to the strength of my Vacuum Palm.¡±

    ¡°That much I believe,¡± Lu Yin replied. Even at the present moment, Vacuum Palm was Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack. It was a technique that was just too convenient.

    Lan Si shot Lu Yin a strange look. Thetter¡¯s understanding of Vacuum Palm practically matched Lan Si¡¯s own. It was hard to believe that Lu Yin had learned the technique from Lan Si.

    ¡°What¡¯s your cultivation realm now?¡± Lan Si asked, as he was unable to determine Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation level.

    Lu Yin did not want to hurt the Arbiter. ¡°I¡¯m an Enlighter. My cultivation is about the same as you guys.¡±

    Lan Si sincerely doubted Lu Yin¡¯s words, but still decided to simply move on. The gap between him and Lu Yin was just too big.

    Lu Yin looked towards the Starfall Sea. If he could get a hold of the technique that seeded Vacuum Palm, his battle power would definitely undergo a massive spike. Just how strong would a technique be for it to surpass Vacuum Palm? It really was such a pity.

    About half a month after Lu Yin returned to Zenyu Star, war erupted in zing Mist Flowzone between the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n. The turmoil enveloped the entire flowzone, as well as the nearby small flowzones.

    zing Mist Flowzone was one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, and so the war would directly impact many regions throughout the Innerverse, and not zing Mist Flowzone alone.

    Both the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons had influence that extended beyond zing Mist Flowzone throughout other parts of the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin received news regarding the eruption of war one day before it actually urred in zing Mist Flowzone. Wei Rong had already predicted this war, which made sense seeing as he had instigated it.

    Lu Yin watched a disy that showed the massacre between the Ross Empire¡¯s military and the sylvan dragons. He turned off the screen and addressed Wang Wen, ¡°Keep an eye on it, but don¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°This war willst for a long time, and it won¡¯t end up as a war concerning zing Mist Flowzone alone, but will form a ckhole that will engulf the entire Innerverse,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin looked at the other man. ¡°You want to drag the eight great flowzones into this?¡±

    Wang Wenughed. ¡°How can we stay out of sight without doing this much? Even with the war in zing Mist Flowzone, we still have many more eyes focused on us. They simply don¡¯t care about the Ross Empire or the sylvan dragons. We¡¯re actually the ones they¡¯re focused on.¡±

    Lu Yin understood Wang Wen¡¯s perspective, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s war potential was much higher than what was avable in zing Mist Flowzone.

    ¡°Do whatever you guys want. I¡¯m going to be focusing on the Hall of Honor.¡± Lu Yin said.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin went into seclusion. He then took out his futon and returned to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin arrived in the futon za and made his way straight for the Nine Cauldrons region.

    He was already aware that the region would have powerhouses from the Sixth Maind guarding it after themotion he had stirred upst time. This time, he had prepared himself in advance; he had his micro-armor on, the Cosmic Token from the Cosmic Sect in his hand, the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem hidden close to his chest, and he even had poison and a sh bomb hidden. Just who would be able to stop him?

    Lu Yin arrived at the region that held the Nine Cauldrons, and he had every intention of forcing his way in. He was not disappointed after arriving, as he saw an Envoy blocking his path.

    ¡°Leave. This ce has been sealed,¡± the Envoy shouted aggressively. It was clear from his impressive aura that he was someone from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory. He wore a strange scale armor, and his eyes were cold as ice, giving off a creepy sensation.

    Lu Yin held back nothing as he released a Vacuum Palm that instantly sent the Envoy flying.

    The guardian of the region had only recently be an Envoy, and so he was left half dead by Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm that had been reinforced by his golden battle force. The powerhouse violently mmed into the ground.

    Themotion at the entrance roused the attention of people inside the region, and a man and a woman simultaneously attacked. They just happened to be Senior Chao and the olddy who Lu Yin encountered during hisst visit to the Nine Cauldrons. They were the two who had forced him to leave.

    ¡°Rascal, how dare youe back here! You¡¯re seeking death!¡± the olddy bellowed as she bnced herself on one foot. Something that resembled a door appeared around Lu Yin, and it locked him within. Right as that happened, Senior Chao manifested his imprint and moved close to Lu Yin to attack with a finger.

    Both of Lu Yin¡¯s attackers were Imprinters with power levels surpassing 500,000. They presented a force to be reckoned with.

    Regardless, Lu Yin had already defeated people with this level of strength before many times, and he would not fear the two even without his new micro-armor.

    Senior Chao¡¯s finger easily struck Lu Yin, but the old man grew nervous; why was it so easy tond a hit on Lu Yin this time?

    Right when Senior Chao wanted to take a step back, he felt an excruciating pain from his abdomen. Lu Yin had released multiple, repeated Vacuum Palms that had shot through Senior Chao¡¯s stomach, and they sent him flying. At the same time, Lu Yin pulled out a long spear and thrust it at the olddy.

    The woman was startled, and she sped her hands together. The movement caused the door-looking things surrounding Lu Yin topletely seal him, and then she vanished. However, the olddy had not truly disappeared, but had merely entered the true universe. She could no longer be seen, but she was still present.

    The star energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body grew chaotic; the olddy was trying to suppress his star energy.

    However, she became confused to see that Lu Yin could still use star energy even when facing Envoys.

    The spear shot forward, and a loud bang was heard that had a metallic sound to it. The olddy retreated a few steps, and goosebumps appeared across her body. She had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s spear thrust to be such an aggressive attack. It had carried an absurd amount of physical strength, as well as the youth¡¯s battle force.

    The olddy¡¯s eyes went wide when she saw the golden battle force, and she was suddenly ovee with dizziness. Damn it, he¡¯s using a spiritual force battle technique.

    Lu Yin had attacked with Daynight Praises, which had caught the olddy by surprise, and nearly caused her to faint. He then took the opportunity and released his domain right as he struck the woman in her back, which sent her flying.

    Lu Yin had just defeated three Envoys in a row: the first had been an ambush, but the second had been a direct battle during which he had relied heavily on the perfect defense of his micro-armor. Only during the third fight with the olddy had Lu Yin used any battle technique.

    Lu Yin nted his spear upon the ground and looked forward. There was someone else still present. This person was the strongest expert present, and they also presented thergest obstacle between him and the Nine Cauldrons.

    A loud crash sounded and arge shadow leaped out of a cauldron and mmed down upon ground so hard that the earth trembled from the impact.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew dark as he stared ahead at¡­ a giant.

 Chapter 1603: Gaiaâ€™s Swamp

    Chapter 1603: Gaia¡¯s Swamp

    A ten-meter-tall giant stood before Lu Yin, staring at him with massive eyes. The giant carried a bow and arrows. Though the giant wore shabby clothes and looked like a barbarian, it was a barbarian that made Lu Yin feel great danger. That was because the giant had a power level of more than 600,000. No, it was more than 700,000.

    ¡°You¡¯re that Lu Yin guy from the Fifth Maind? I heard that the Neo-Vestige Sect answers to you. Tell you what, let the Neo-Vestige Sect join my Arrow Sect, and I can let you by,¡± the giant spoke loud and clear.

    Lu Yin tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯m in the process of inheriting the Nine Caudrons¡¯ battle technique;, are you really sure you¡¯re willing to let me by?¡±

    The giant grinned as raised a hand that smacked against the side of the cauldron with a tremendous bang. ¡°What can this thing do? Can it be more powerful than my arrows? I wouldn¡¯t have even bothereding here if not for you. Answer now: your life or the Neo-Vestige sect.¡±

    ¡°I want your life!¡± Lu Yin bellowed as he attacked with a Vacuum Palm.

    The invisible palm print shot through the air and mmed into the giant¡¯s body. However, the giant only slightly trembled as he looked down. ¡°Not bad, but unfortunately, it¡¯s useless.¡±

    He hefted his bow and knocked an arrow that he aimed straight at Lu Yin as he finished speaking.

    At that moment, Lu Yin was frozen. He felt as though his entire surroundings had been petrified. An astral chessboard quickly appeared beneath his feet, and he tried to move, but, s, it was useless.

    Swish! The massive arrow struck true. All of the color left Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The micro-armor had managed to block the arrow¡¯s damage, but not its power and momentum, especially since the arrow was five meters long.

    The overwhelming power behind the arrow shot Lu Yin back to the entrance of the Nine Cauldrons space. The giant emerged from the true universe behind Lu Yin, and pped at Lu Yin. ¡°Rascal, you¡¯re digging your grave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he roared and struggled to shove the arrow away with the help of his golden battle force. Behind him, the giant¡¯s hand was already close, so Lu Yin quickly pulled out Chief Justice¡¯s emblem and shook it.

    Ring ring ring!

    The crisp sound cut through the air, instantly leaving the giant¡¯s body stunned. His body trembled for a few brief seconds before he copsed to the ground with a loud thud.

    Lu Yin breathed heavily and looked at the giant. This giant was absolutely as strong as one of the corpse kings Lu Yin had faced on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. Both were opponents beyond Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, but thankfully, he had made ample preparations. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have been killed by that first arrow.

    Lu Yin let out a small cough and wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. He walked over next to the giant¡¯s head, and then shoved it down and released multiple attacks with the Oveying Stacks Path.

    He did not expect the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem tost very long, so Lu Yin could only take matters into his own hands. It would be best to simply eliminate the giant, but if that were not possible, then Lu Yin could at least extend the time the giant remained unconscious.

    Even with repeated, continuous attacks that utilized the Oveying Stacks Path, Lu Yin struggled to ovee the giant¡¯s defenses. Still, it was possible for Lu Yin to at least knock the thing unconscious.

    The asshole was from the Arrow Sect, and Lu Yin was able to tell from the way the giant had spoken that the Arrow Sect would likely be willing to do anything to obtain the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    With the giant dealt with, Lu Yin felt that there would be no visitors entering the Nine Cauldrons space, so Lu Yin jumped into one of the cauldrons and began to absorb the cauldron energy.

    He had entered the third cauldron, as he hoped to finish absorbing its energy.

    With the Nine Cauldrons being protected by multiple experts from the Sixth Maind, practically no one from the Sixth Maind dared go near the Nine Cauldrons. As such, Lu Yin was able to peacefully absorb the cauldron energy until the third cauldron cracked and shattered.

    After looking at the debris on the ground from the third cauldron, Lu Yin raised a hand and sensed the flow of the cauldron energy. It felt ancient and seasoned, as though Lu Yin was travelling through time to arrive at the first moment of humanity.

    The memory he had witnessed the first time he hadprehended the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation Technique resurfaced, but Lu Yin shook his head to stop the memories. He then quickly jumped into the fourth cauldron and started absorbing yet more of the cauldron energy. At this point, he was able to manifest four suns.

    Outside the Nine Cauldrons space, two of the new-generation Realmlings appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ability toprehend the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique had created quite amotion within the upper levels of the Sixth Maind. His achievement had given hope to the Sixth Maind¡¯s elites, no matter if they were Realmlings or heirs to various superpowers. All such talents were qualified to enter the Nine Cauldrons space to attempt toprehend the technique.

    The first thing the two Realmlings saw upon entering was the cracked ground and the giantying there.

    The two were shocked beyond words, and one of them instantly fled from the space at top speed. However, the other reacted too slow, and they fell to the ground as a powerful domain swept through the area.

    Lu Yin sighed regretfully within the fourth cauldron. He could not believe that someone had managed to escape; what impressive reaction speed! Lu Yin had already struck out the moment the two had entered, so he had not expected one of them to respond so instantaneously. It was truly impressive.

    Still, it did not matter since his time was almost up!

    Half a dayter, the quick-acting Realmling returned, but apanied by an Imprinter. As for Lu Yin, he had already left since his time had expired.

    The Imprinter was infuriated beyond words as he stared at the debris that had once been the third cauldron. Still, he was also thankful. Since Lu Yin had managed to defeat that powerhouse from the Arrow Sect, the Imprinter was unable to even image what his fate would have been if he had faced Lu Yin. As far as the Imprinter was concerned, it was a good thing that Lu Yin had already left.

    ¡°Report this incident immediately. This ce cannot suffer any further idents,¡± the Imprinter quietly ordered. Lu Yin still haunted the man¡¯s thoughts.

    The truth was that the fact that Lu Yin had been obtaining the inheritance of the Nine Cauldrons had not been made public. Only a select few had been kept in the loop. Of particr note was that the Fifth Maind had apparently thrown their support behind Lu Yin and sent some powerhouses to assist him. There was no other way for a youth like Lu Yin to have defeated a powerhouse from the Arrow Sect.

    The giants of the Arrow Sect possessed greater advantagespared to normal humans. Despite this fact, the giant had still not reached the level of a World Imprinter, though its power was very close to it. The giant¡¯s arrow should have been able to instantly deal with Lu Yin, and the fact that Lu Yin had survived was seen as proof that he was being supported by powerhouses from the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes after returning to King Zishan¡¯s Pce. He waved a hand, and four suns appeared.

    The appearance of the fourth sun caused a strange aura topletely engulfed Zenyu Star. The blood flow of everyone on the suddenly sped up without their conscious input. It was as though people¡¯s blood was reacting to the appearance of the four suns.

    Not even top-tier experts like Liu Ye and Fei Hua noticed a thing.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation needed one to have sufficient cultivation to continue to train in it, just the same as the Cosmic Art.

    At the moment, people were focused on the war in zing Mist Flowzone, which made things convenient for Lu Yin¡¯s training. As for the Wen Family, he had still not decided upon the best conditions to offer them.

    He raised his hand and brought out his die. It took time to train the Cosmic Art, so the only thing that Lu Yin could do was rely on his die. Once again, he would need to measure his time training in years.

    The stopped spinning at six pips. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered before he appeared in a surreal space. He fused with a bright orb of light that was nearby, and his body soon trembled as myriad memories gushed into his head.

    Oink, oink

    ¡°Lu Yin¡± looked up and saw a pig in front of him, and a massive one at that.

    The pig saw ¡°Lu Yin¡± opening his eyes, and the beast was absolutely shocked. It instantly grew exceptionally alert and started making even louder noises.

    However, ¡°Lu Yin¡± simply continued to stare straight at the pig. The pig was looking at eyes that it had seen for many, many years, and yet they seemed to not even recognize the pig at this moment.

    Lu Yin was in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, which was the Human Domain¡¯s greatest prison.

    ¡°Are you going to speak or not? Your eyes changed; weird,¡± the pig said as it shook its huge ass and stared straight into ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s¡± eyes.

    ¡°Lu Yin¡± simply continued to calmly stare at the pig.

    After a while, the pig left. It was the deputy warden of Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and everyone knew the beast as Lord Piggy.

    After Lord Piggy left, ¡°Lu Yin¡± lowered his head, his eyes filled with shock. He had actually managed to Possess a prisoner, and an impressive one at that.

    He was in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. The prison held three thousand prisoners who were chained by three thousand chains; one for each prisoner.

    The prisoners were kept locked up in an underground space that made was Gaia¡¯s Swamp. The entire area was filled with toxic fumes that corroded the prisoners. The fumes were able to drive the prisoners to delirium or insanity, and only a selected few were ever able to receive special treatment that prevented them froming into contact with the fumes. As for the unlucky individuals, most of them would eventually go crazy from the fumes and die, and then their bodies would then be thrown into Gaia¡¯s Swamp to feed the swamp.

    The gas that filled this ce was actually death energy.

    Lu Yin had Possessed someone who had all of his limbs pierced by chains. He had been a prisoner for many years, and he possessed countless memories. Lu Yin could not process them all in a short amount of time, but even the fragments he was able to glimpse were shocking.

    He had Possessed someone known as Liu Huang, who had been an exceptional elder from the Sword Sect long ago. He was a genius who could have be the sect master, but he had been cut down by his own arrogance when he had tried to create the Fourteenth Sword. This was the story of a tragic genius that was recorded in the Sword Sect¡¯s history.

    Liu Huang, much like Liu Shao Qiu, had held a sword from the moment he had been born. He had easilyprehended the Twelfth Sword at a young age and then traveled through the universe. He had finally mastered the Thirteenth Swords at the age of twenty, and had been an exceptional genius who had managed to master the Thirteenth Sword before reaching the required level of cultivation. Liu Huang had been unmatched in the history of the Sword Sect, and he had been seen as a genius who could surpass even the First Nightking.

    The First Nightking had founded the Nightking bloodline and had carried the Daynight n to the peak of the Innerverse. In the same manner, Liu Huang had been seen as the one who would take the Sword Sect into the Neoverse. He had been a person to dictate the future of the Sword Sect.

    Furthermore, Liu Huang had never let the Sword Sect down either. He had be an Envoy within just several decades, and his stellr tribtion had been unprecedented. His had been like a sword that came shing from ancient times that had shocked all of the Envoys who had been watching. His progression after that had be exponential, as he had be the Sword Sect¡¯s the invincible powerhouse in the shortest time imaginable.

    However, Liu Huang had ended up being too arrogant for his own good. He had been absolutely certain that the Thirteenth Sword was not the limit, and thus he had decided to enter seclusion in order to create the Fourteenth Swords himself.

    Many yearster, Liu Huang had been rmended to be the next sect master of the Sword Sect after the previous one had passed. However, Liu Huang had been found dead in the ce he had entered seclusion. His death had shocked the entire Fifth Maind so badly that even the Hall of Honor had sent representatives to mourn the death of the genius.

    Who would have thought that not only had that genius now died, but had actually been imprisoned within Gaia¡¯s Swamp? Even the Sword Sect had been unaware of this.

    This was an earth shattering secret, as the people who had captured Liu Huang had been from the Hall of Honor.

    When Lu Yin saw this particr one of Liu Huang¡¯s memories, he was able to feel the man¡¯s pain, anger, and deep hatred for the Hall of Honor.

    He had done nothing to offend the Hall of Honor, and it had all really just boiled down to Liu Huang¡¯s outstanding brilliance. He had been so remarkable that he would have been able to single handedly lead the Sword Sect into the Neoverse, but that had been something that the Hall of Honor could not sit and watch happen.

    It was a known fact that the Hall of Honor never interfered with power struggles and that they always remained impartial. However, who could have imagined just how many dirty deeds the Hall of Honor had aplished in the dark.

    In order to protect the Neoverse and peace, as well as to maintain the bnce that existed between the various major powers, they had preferred to capture and incarcerate Liu Huang to keep him forever in the dark. Over the course of many years, the Hall of Honor had captured numerous people whom they had believed capable of tipping the delicate bnce of the Human Domain. The Hall of Honor simply wanted to maintain the bnce that existed in the Innerverse, Outerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse. They did not want to allow the existence of anyone who could disturb that bnce.

    The Hall of Honor had simply been carrying out their self-appointed duties.

 Chapter 1604: Mountain Seas Painting

    Chapter 1604: Mountain Seas Painting

    It was only at this time that Lu Yin finally saw through the Hall of Honor¡¯s facade, though he could not me them. If Liu Huang had managed to continue increasing his strength, the Sword Sect definitely would have entered the Neoverse, and conflicts would certainly have broken out. Death and chaos would have bemon urrences, which would have allowed the Neohuman Alliance to take advantage of the situation that would have benefitted the Sword Sect. With Liu Huang held captive, all remained peaceful.

    However, was this fair to the Sword Sect? Was this fair to Liu Huang? In the name of bnce, the Hall of Honor had sacrificed both Liu Huang and the Sword Sect.

    This situation was clearly unfair from the Sword Sect¡¯s perspective, but to many in the Neoverse, it had been seen as a lucky oue.

    The Hall of Honor did not necessarily carry the me, as they truly did protect the bnce of the Human Domain and worked to prevent war. In the end, me could only fall upon the Sword Sect¡¯s weakness. This was thew of the universe.

    Any semnce of fairness or morality was always built upon brute strength.

    Lu Yin could only be thankful that he had powerful support behind him. Otherwise, the Hall of Honor would have long since thrown him into Gaia¡¯s Swamp after he had unified the Outerverse, not to mention taken aim at the Innerverse. At the moment, Lu Yin could act with utter fearlessness given his peerless background and standing within the Hall of Honor.

    Right after receiving an influx of memories, Lu Yin then saw Liu Huang¡¯s thoughts. The man had long agoe to terms with his situation, he did not me anyone. Still, if he could, he would annihte the Hall of Honor to get revenge. No matter right or wrong, the path of survival was the way of the universe and strength determined right and wrong.

    Liu Huang¡¯s personal emotions aside, the man was absolutely worthy of his title as a genius, and this was because he had actually created the Fourteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin continuously reviewed Liu Huang¡¯s memories in order to experience how Liu Huang had cultivated his sword skills. Lu Yin was able to attempt to repeat Liu Huang¡¯s actions, as Lu Yin was able to see a precise routeid out before him. All that hecked was sufficient cultivation.

    The Thirteenth Sword was an unparalleled sword technique, and it was able to even create a sensation in the Perennial World. There was no way to evade it, unless a person had no emotions. Lu Yin had once believed the Thirteenth Sword to be the apex of sword techniques, given its ability to meld emotions within a technique. It was something that he could not have conceived on his own.

    And yet, Liu Huang had created the Fourteenth Sword while held captive within the hellish nightmare that was Gaia¡¯s Swamp. He had managed to create an unbelievable sword skill that would shock the entire universe, and he had named it ¡°Misery.¡±

    Oink oink, oink oink. ¡°What a weird expression on his face just now. Let me go check on him again.¡±

    Lord Piggy turned around.

    Lu Yin returned to his own body. Liu Huang had achieved an incredible level of cultivation, and his power level had already exceeded 800,000 when he had retreated into seclusion to create the next level of the Thirteen Swords. After so many years in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, he had weakened and be frail and his battle power has fallen to match that of an ordinary Envoy. If not for this, there would have been no possibility of Lu Yin Possessing the man.

    Rolling six pips had once again been a beneficial roll: Gaia¡¯s Swamp, the death energy within the prison, Possessing Liu Huang, discovering the Fourteenth Sword¡­ There had even been something else. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. Someone within that prison was plotting a rebellion.

    Most people believed Gaia¡¯s Swamp was located within the Innerverse, but that was not true. It could actually be found at the border of the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. The vast swamp had formed from the spread of the sea¡¯s water, and the prison could be essed from either the Innerverse or the Cosmic Sea.

    Still, the portion of Gaia¡¯s Swamp that could be found within the Cosmic Sea was far worse than the portion thaty within the Innerverse. Liu Huang was held prisoner in the worst portion of the entire prison, while Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had been imprisoned within the Innerverse portion of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    There were three thousand chains that could be found in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and each one held a single prisoner. There was no escape. Regardless, Lu Yin had learned from Liu Huang¡¯s memories that someone had been plotting an uprising for a hundred years, and it could be instigated at any time. Liu Huang did not know who had masterminded this n, but he knew that it was someone who was imprisoned close by.

    Whoever the mastermind was, they had to be an absolutely monstrous powerhouse for them to be incarcerated close to Liu Huang.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and moved to roll his die again. He had just witnessed the Fourteenth Sword that Liu Huang had created, and even if Lu Yiin was never able to match Liu Huang¡¯s mastery of the sword, Lu Yini had also managed to experience the full Thirteen Swords through Liu Huang¡¯s memories. Those memories had deepened Lu Yin¡¯sprehension of sword skills and had reinforced the inheritance he had received from the Sword Monument that had allowed him to break down sword techniques.

    Lu Yin realized that he had unwittingly be a sword master. If he was given a sword, he could probably defeat Liu Tianmu. Probably.

    Feeling able to do something was one thing, but actually doing so was another thing altogether.

    The die gradually stopped spinning on four pips: Timestop. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed as he entered the Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin formed a sword from his star energy after entering the space, and he demonstrated the First Sword of the Thirteen Swords. The attack shot through the air with incredible power.

    Lu Yin felt satisfied and immediately continued.

    The Thirteen Swords was not something that just anyone could master; of Lu Yin¡¯s generation, only Liu Tianmu and Liu Shaoqiu had managed to aplish such a thing out of the entire Sword Sect. There had even been generations where no one had managed to inherit the technique at all.

    Lu Yin had underestimated this aspect of the sword technique. He might have witnessed Liu Huang¡¯s process of training in the Thirteen Swords, but Lu Yini was unable to exhibit fine mastery of the technique no matter what. It was as though he was using a poor copy of the original version of the technique, and this proved to be even more exaggerated when he tried to use the Fourteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin felt confident that he could break down the Thirteen Swords, and was even confident that he could stand up to Liu Huang¡¯s self-created Fourteenth Sword and teach it to others. Still, he struggled to use it himself.

    Lu Yin had long since received an inheritance that allowed him to break down and understand the movement of weapons from the Sword Monument, but actually using a technique specific to a given weapon was still a struggle for him.

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath; forget it. He had never been too interested in the Thirteen Swords anyway. People were what could be invincible, not battle techniques.

    Still, it would be absolutely amazing if the Sword Sect managed to receive the Fourteenth Sword!

    No, Liu Huang¡¯s return to the Sword Sect would create an even greater uproar.

    That was something that could remain nothing more than a dream to Lu Yin. It would also be incredibly troublesome if Liu Huang refused to cooperate and exposed the reason for his disappearance, as it would ruin the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation.

    Regardless of how the Hall of Honor had treated the Sword Sect, such actions did not matter so long as they remained good to Lu Yin. The Hall of Honor, Yuan Shi, the Chief Justice, Arch-Elder Zen¡­ all of them formed Lu Yin¡¯s powerful support system that upheld him.

    He had even be able to influence the nine overseers.

    He decided to give up on sword techniques and instead cultivate the Cosmic Art. This was his trump card.

    About half a yearter, his time in the space expired, and Lu Yin left the Timestop Space.

    He had managed to simte a total of 5,100 stars during this time cultivating the Cosmic Art. That was nearly a thousand stars more than when he had left the Cosmic Sect. This was the result from his cultivation of the fifthyer of the Cosmic Art.

    The Cosmic Art¡¯s fifthyer could allow a person to simte 99,000 stars, which was an impressive number. Even Lu Yin was uncertain that he could aplish such a feat with his current cultivation.

    It was possible that he would finally be able to use the pattern on the bottom of his foot after he seeded in cultivating the fifthyer of the cultivation art, though it was also possible that the fifthyer would prove to still be insufficient and that he would need to master the sixthyer.

    He continued to roll the die, and he next rolled a single pip. A rather useless weapon dropped out that he instantly crushed. He continued rolling the die. This was his fourth roll, and he would need to pause from rolling it for ten days after thisst roll.

    Lu Yin¡¯s luck proved to be good for his final roll, as it was three pips. Unfortunately, there was nothing that he needed to Enhance, so the roll was actually useless at this time.

    Lu Yin rested for ten days while also checking out the situation of the war in zing Mist Flowzone.

    The conflict in the flowzone had only gotten more heated. The sylvan dragons and the Ross Empire had both started to hire outside powerhouses, and an increased number of unknown individuals had started to enter Fennel Flowzone. It was clear that the eight great flowzones had started to interfere.

    Lu Yin became curious as to whether or not the Hall of Honor would intervene from the dark. He imagined if they might capture Emperor Luo or the sylvan dragons¡¯ Long Yi and throw them into Gaia¡¯s Swamp as they had done with Liu Huang. That would be a truly miserable fate.

    With the assistance of more outside experts, Wang Wen was hoping to see zing Mist Flowzone turn into a ckhole of war that would pull in even major powers like the Sword Sect and the Wen family. If this seeded, it would greatly benefit the Great Eastern Alliance. Things would be even better if Wang Wen could get the Sixth Maind and the Neohuman Alliance involved as well.

    Following these thoughts, Lu Yin sent Wang Wen a message, reminding him about the Sixth Maind and Neohuman Alliance.

    The necessary ten days passed quickly, and Lu Yin then rolled his die again. He was unable to determine if his luck was good or bad, as he ended up rolling six pips, again.

    Hisst Possession had only exhausted millions of star essence, as Gaia¡¯s Swamp was not too far away. He hoped this Possession would be somewhere rather close as well.

    He returned to that strange space once more, and he quickly merged with the closest and brightest of the orbs of light. He felt a sense of familiarity as hepleted the Possession, and he realized that it was the sensation of Possessing a corpse king.

    A corpse king was cold, and their thoughts were rigid. Not a hint of emotion could be sensed anywhere. This coldness andck of emotion was enough to freeze Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts.

    He knew he had Possessed a corpse king the moment the Possession waspleted.

    A vast and deste scene was revealed to him when he opened his eyes. He stood on a deste. Everything around him was ck, and the only glimmer of light came from the movement from a distant star, but it was incredibly faint.

    There were not many memories in this corpse king¡¯s mind, and almost all of the memories were of ughter. These memories made Lu Yin ufortable, and he wanted to quickly end this Possession, but suddenly the image of Han Chong appeared within the memories.

    Han Chong had been killed by this corpse king, and at the moment, this corpse king was in Erudite Flowzone not far from the Lost Radiance Academy.

    Recently, Wen Sansi had told Lu Yin that Han Chong had died. Lu Yin had not expected that he would so coincidentally Possess the body of the corpse king that had killed Han Chong.

    Wen Sansi had not been certain who or what had killed Han Chong and the others, and it had only been a vague guess that the Neohuman Alliance might have been behind the deaths. However, Lu Yin had just confirmed the killer.

    As for why this corpse king had killed Han Chong, it was because of the Mountain Seas Painting.

    Han Chong had once been heralded as the Art Saint during his time in the Astral Combat Academy. At that time, his primary batte technique had been painting. He had once been the student leader of Astral-2 and had painted during the Astral Combat Tournament.

    Lu Yin had already been curious when he had first seen the painting technique, but had not put much thought into it. He would never have thought that Han Chong¡¯s death would actually be instigated by his own painting of mountains and seas.

    This corpse king had remained focused on Han Chong for years; killing the young man had not been a sudden decision. The corpse king had paid close attention to Han Chong even before the Outerverse had been isted from the Innerverse, it just had never made a move. All it had done the entire time was observe Han Chong¡¯s every move in an attempt to understand the painting that he had created.

    The corpse king itself was actually uncertain of the reason for its task, but it had been an order from the Neohuman Alliance.

    As for why the corpse king had ultimately killed Han Chong, that was because its unfruitful observations had prompted the creature to capture the young man and interrogate him. Despite the torture, Han Chong remained silent until the end. Or, more urately, even Han Chong himself had been unaware that the painting he had made was something that came from the Lost Radiance Academy.

    At this moment, the corpse king has moved on to observing the Lost Radiance Academy.

    Lu Yin quickly ended the Possession, confused.

    Why would the Neohuman Alliance be interested in Han Chong¡¯s painting? Lu Yin lost himself in his own memories as he thought back to the Astral Combat Tournament. At the time, it had been the most intense tournament ever, butter, Han Chong had also participated in the Tournament of the Strongest.

    During the Tournament of the Strongest, Han Chong had ended up defeated by Yun, but everything had seemed normal at the time.

    However, things were bound to beplicated since he had been targeted by the Neohuman Alliance.

    The Lost Radiance Academy, the Mountain Seas Painting¡­ It looked like Lu Yin would need to visit Erudite Flowzone, and maybe he would finally be able toe up with a price to give to the Wen family.

 Chapter 1605: The Colossal Giants

    Chapter 1605: The Colossal Giants

    He rolled the die again, but he ended up with five pips, which was pretty much useless. He continued to roll: two pips. Again, useless. He continued on.

    Lu Yin managed to roll four pips on his fourth attempt, which sent him back into the Timestop Space where he continued to cultivate the Cosmic Art.

    Another half year passed.

    Lu Yin rested ten more days before rolling his die yet again.

    As far as others were concerned, Lu Yin had been in seclusion for nearly two months by this time. Still, two months was nothing for cultivators.

    However, two months felt like an eternity for Wen Yao and Wen Sansi.

    Lu Yin watched as his die slowed down; it was six pips again! He had actually rolled six pips three times during this period of time, which was an impressive streak of luck.

    Lu Yin did not Possess a human body this time, but instead Possessed a monster: a hundred meter tall corpse king.

    He saw masses of other corpse kings beneath his feet, as well as a reverse waterfall that shot upwards off in the distance. He was in the Starfall Sea beyond the ckhole barrier protecting the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had Possessed a hundred meter tall monster that seemed specialized in destroying sourcebox arrays. This particr corpse king had a battle power that exceeded 500,000, and it was walking steadily making its way towards the reverse waterfall. It was clear the corpse king¡¯s goal was the Sixth Maind.

    A corpse king. Again. Lu Yin sighed at his predicament. Aeternus simply had too many powerhouses. Possessing a corpse king was truly the most likely oue if he wanted to Possess an Envoy-level powerhouse within the range of the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, and the Perennial World.

    Oh right, this is the Starfall Sea, Lu Yin thought as he looked to the south. If he could manage to Possess a corpse king that was on Grayweed Continent, would that mean he could visit the Mt. Stacks Dojo through the body of a corpse king to study the palm print?

    However, that did not mean that he would actually be able toprehend or pick up the technique that was believed to be the sessor to Vacuum Palm. Lu Yin had not managed to do it with his own body when he had visited the ce in the past, but he still held out hope, which was enough to rouse his excitement as he ended the Possession.

    The massive corpse king had been too far away from Grayweed Continent, so even if Lu Yin had attempted to exhaust all his star essence, it would still likely not be enough to reach the continent, not to mention Mt. Stacks Dojo and the palm print itself. Everything had to be left to luck.

    He had three more rolls remaining after he ended his Possession. He did not want to waste this opportunity, so he quickly continued rolling.

    Once, twice, and finally the third roll gave him four pips. He returned to the Timestop Space to resume cultivating the Cosmic Art.

    Half a year in the Timestop Space was a mere second to the outside world.

    With the use of his die, Lu Yin had spent more than two years cultivating the Cosmic Art, and during this time, he had increased the number of stars he could simte to 5,700. This was five times more than he had been capable of when he had first returned to the Fifth Maind. His Cosmic Palm had experienced an incredible increase in the power, and he had also gained the Celestial Sword Technique as a bonus.

    The Celestial Sword allowed the user to form a sword from their simted stars, and Lu Yin was interested to see if the technique could work in tandem with the Thirteen Swords.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s two months of seclusion, Ku Wei apanied Leng Yan to Giant Consortium¡¯s headquarters within the Innerverse.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, where are the giants? You¡¯ve been showing me the ins and outs of thispany for two days, but this isn¡¯t what I¡¯m here for; I just want to meet giants!¡± Ku Wei said. After all, he was on a self-ordained mission to this ce.

    Leng Yan shot him a peculiar nce. ¡°Giants have bad tempers, so I must ask for your understanding.¡±

    Ku Wei remainedpletely unfazed. ¡°That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll see them when we see them.¡±

    Leng Yan nodded and led Ku Wei to their vessel. They then continued on towards a that was controlled by Giant Consortium.

    There were about tens that orbited around Giant Consortium, and one of them was home to giants. These giants were highly intelligent and focused on developing technology.

    The¡¯s environment differed drastically from the others nearby, and the equipment was simply enormous.

    Leng Yan led Ku Wei onto the. Thetter was stupefied as he lifted his head to stare at the gigantic stairs before him, as well as the colossal dining tables and chairs that stood off in the distance.

    There were giants walking about, but none of them showed any particr interest in the two humans as there were more humans present within the space station than giants.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see Mr. Qing,¡± Leng Yan informed Ku Wei.

    He nodded and agreed, ¡°Please.¡±

    Moving around in the giants¡¯ territory felt bizarre. Ku Wei had felt the same way when he had been in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but the guardian giants he had seen there possessed low intelligence and lived in simple stone houses. At present, Ku Wei was in a ce that exhibited cutting-edge science and technology.

    Everything seemed massive. It was like viewing a human nation where everything had been erged a hundred times over.

    ¡°The outside world isn¡¯t aware of a giants¡¯ settlement here?¡± Ku Wei asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°Mr. Qing has set down rules that state that giants are not allowed to leave this ce or even Giant Consortium without sufficient cause,¡± Leng Yan exined.

    ¡°Smart. People out there are definitely not friendly to giants,¡± said Ku Wei.

    Leng Yan nced side-ways at Ku Wei. ¡°And you are friendly to them?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Why else would Master send me here? I know some tricks when ites tomunicating with giants.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Leng Yan made no effort to hide her doubts.

    Before long, Leng Yan led Ku Wei to the head of Giant Consortium: Qing Kong. He was a hundred-meter tall giant who was extremely intelligent.

    Qing Kong weed Ku Wei in a pretty ostentatious manner. The hall Ku Wei was greeted in was morous and filled with a full spread of food and drinks. All of the giants present wore suits and dresses in the same style as humans, and they were all chatting amongst themselves. As for Ku Wei, the entire atmosphere was odd. He sat opposite Qing Kong at a humongous dining table, though it was properly proportioned to average giants. Still, Ku Wei felt it wasrge enough to hold an entire racetrack.

    The cutlery and food were proportionate to the table as well, and of particr note was the te of unknown meat thatpletely blocked Ku Wei from view.

    Leng Yan suppressed herughter after witnessing the scene from a distance.

    Ku Wei looked over at Qing Kong from above the tter of meat, and the giant stared straight back at the human in amusement. The nearby giants shot nces of their towards the pair every now and again.

    ¡°Um, Senior-¡± Ku Wei spoke up first.

    ¡°Call me Mr. Qing, or Boss Qing if you like. I prefer people calling me that,¡± Qing Kong interrupted. There was a great smile on his face, and his voice was clear and loud. If not for the fact that he was a giant, the smile would give off the impression of a seasoned businessman.

    Ku Wei cleared his throat and was about to reply when a female giant shoved a ss of wine towards him. The ss trembled slightly, and Ku Wei was almost inundated by a bit of the wine that sloshed out.

    Qing Kong nodded. ¡°Humans are suspicious, and they¡¯re afraid that we giants will develop too quickly. I already know that much. The reason I decided to work with the Great Eastern Alliance was because of the protection I hope such cooperation might provide. Alliance Leader Lu sending you here means that he is skeptical of our coboration, but is also willing to help. For that, I am indeed grateful.¡±

    Ku Wei smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±

    ¡°Here, let us wee our guest from afar! The direct disciple of the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Mr. Ku Wei!¡± Qing Kong stood up and shouted, causing all the giants in the hall to cheer. The noise hurt Ku Wei¡¯s ears, and it left Leng Yan ufortable as well, as she was not used to interacting with giants.

    The meal was concluded with a warm wee from the giants, and Ku Wei found a chance to have a private meeting with Qing Kong.

    Qing Kong lounged on a huge chair that faced the ocean. As for Ku Wei¡¯s chair, it was clearly not sized for him, as it was even bigger than a house.

    ¡°Our survival was not easily aplished, and things were made even worse by those giants that have no intelligence and ughtered humans like brutes. Many years ago, the Hall of Honor hade to a decision to eliminate our technology, but thankfully, they left us alone after destroying our technology. We have since worked hard to achieve our current technological standards.

    ¡°All that Giant Consortium wishes is to create a safe ce for homeless giants. That¡¯s all there is to us. For this goal, we endured and remained quiet even with the endless exploitations we have suffered from the Innerverse¡¯s major powers.¡± Qing Kong looked at Ku Wei. ¡°If Alliance Leader Lu is willing to truly ept us, I can promise that Giant Consortium will definitely support the Alliance to the best of our ability and we will never cause him any troubles. Please pass my sentiments on to Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Ku Wei silently listened to the giant and thought for a bit before replying, ¡°Mr. Qing, Master holds no prejudices towards giants. He sent me here to express his sentiments as well.¡±

    ¡°That would be great,¡± Qing Kong replied.

    ¡°Mr. Qing, do you actually understand what I just said? I¡¯m trying to say that mying here shows Master¡¯s position,¡± Ku Wei reinforced his point.

    Qing Kong felt confused. ¡°Are you not saying that Alliance Leader Lu is expressing his sentiments through you?¡±

    Ku Wei took a deep breath; it was time. He would not be able to hide his giant transformation forever, and while humans might hate him for it, these giants would not. In fact, they felt more familiar to him at the moment than humans.

    ¡°This chair is too big; I¡¯m notfortable sitting in it.¡± Ku Wei sighed.

    Qing Kong quickly ordered, ¡°Someone, bring Brother Ku Wei a chair; a human chair.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ku Wei said before transforming into a hundred-meter giant that was roughlyparable to Qing Kong¡¯s size as the giant watched.

    When Ku Wei had first transformed, he had taken on the size of a giant that was simr to the guardian giants in the mausoleum which were each about a thousand meters tall. However, over time, Ku Wei had started to gain finer control of his transformation¡ªsecretly, of course¡ªand he had be able to control the size of his giant form at will. Hisrgest size even exceeded what he had managed at his first transformation.

    Bang! A female giant behind him waspletely stunned, and she stared at Ku Wei.

    Even Qing Kong was rendered speechless, and he shot to his feet. ¡°Bro- Brother Ku Wei, you are¡­?¡±

    Ku Wei smirked. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Qing Kong took a while to recover from his shock, and he then motioned for the female giant to leave. He stared intently at Ku Wei, and his voice sounded strangled when he spoke, ¡°How did you do that? Are you not human?¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t human.¡± Ku Wei rolled his eyes and stood up to stretch in afortable manner before looking back at Qing Kong. ¡°It¡¯s so weird that I only feel like I belong when looking at you guys.¡±

    Qing Kong suddenly seized Ku Wei¡¯s arm and squeezed it hard. Ku Wei felt nothing, as Qing Kong¡¯s battle power was only about 200,000. The giants who specialized in technology did not possess impressivebat strength, and Ku Wei was able to defeat ten¡ªno, a hundred of them¡ªby himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re different from us. You¡¯re a colossal giant!¡± Qing Kong uttered as he stared at Ku Wei in awe before quickly continuing, ¡°Did you obtain the blood of a colossal giant from somewhere?¡±

    Ku Wei was visibly confused. ¡°A colossal giant? I don¡¯t know about that, but I¡¯ve been to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and I fell into the guardian giants¡¯ blood pool there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. Those guardian giants are savages; they don¡¯t have the power to make you a giant. Think further; did you ever receive any particrly strange blood?¡± Qing Kong pressed.

    Ku Wei shook his head.

 Chapter 1606: Lu Yinâ€™s Surprise

    Chapter 1606: Lu Yin¡¯s Surprise

    No matter how hard he tried, Ku Wei was unable toe up with anything. The only possible exnation was when he had fallen into the guardian giants¡¯ blood pool.

    Qing Kong was taken aback, as the revtion Ku Wei had given had been just too shocking. It was something that only a giant would understand.

    ¡°Actually, why do you people keep your height to only a hundred meters? Doesn¡¯t it feel awful?¡± Ku Wei asked in genuine curiosity.

    Qing Kong¡¯s face went nk as he stared at the youth. ¡°This is our height.¡±

    Ku Wei blinked. ¡°Then why can I transform into a thousand-meter-tall giant? Also, it seems like I¡¯m still growing?¡±

    Qing Kong¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s because you are a colossal.¡±

    His eyes suddenly shed. ¡°Brother Ku Wei, let me take you to the colossal giant''s n leader. Maybe he can answer your questions.¡±

    ¡°Colossal giant?¡±

    ¡°Like you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not like me?¡±

    ¡°There are many different giants. My kind are the smart ones.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid!¡±

    ¡­

    Ku Wei finally understood what Qing Kong meant by his own kind after meeting the colossal giants that Qing Kong had mentioned.

    Ku Wei was stunned by what he saw; the giant in front of him had to be at least 10,000 meters tall, which was more than ten times Ku Wei¡¯s greatest size! Qing Kong looked like an ant next to this giant.

    Ku Wei had heard of the different kinds of giants, but he had never thought that he would meet one so massive.

    The colossal giant also had a pleasant and majestic name ¡ª Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang stared at Ku Wei with huge eyes and sniffed at the youth. Ku Wei quickly transformed into a thousand-meter tall giant from fear, and instantly his fear disappeared, as he no longer could be swallowed whole given hisrger size.

    ¡°The aura of our ancient bloodline; you¡¯re one of us,¡± Chen Huang stated. His voice was so loud that the vibrations were visible.

    Qing Kong¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Does he really possess the aura of the ancient colossal giants?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certain. Where did you gain your bloodline?¡± Chen Huang asked.

    Ku Wei gulped. ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.¡±

    ¡­

    In a star-filled region of space, a piece of white paper carried Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Lu Yin en route to the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin had received a message from Ku Wei after leaving seclusion, and Lu Yin had been unable to believe what he had been told. A massive creature had appeared on his screen, and it had actually been Ku Wei. On top of that, an evenrger figure had stood behind Ku Wei.

    ¡°Our items are still superior; your vessel is far too slow.¡± Sister Fei Hua sighed.

    The paper had been made from the Mother Tree¡¯s bark and was able to be folded into any shape. The speed at which the paper could travel was dependent on the pilot, which, at the moment, was Liu Ye, so the speed was much, much faster than a spacecraft.

    They would only need two days to arrive at Giant Consortium¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin replied inly at hearing Sister Fei Hua¡¯s words, ¡°Spaceships can also be used by regr people, and they aren¡¯t exhausted when using them.¡±

    Sister Fei Hua replied in evident disdain, ¡°Normal people shouldn¡¯t require such high speeds.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at her. ¡°Cultivation isn¡¯t everything. Senior, don¡¯t forget you were once also once a regr person. One can only be stronger if their horizons and perspective is expanded. You wouldn¡¯t have been able to get out of even a small region back then without a spacecraft, and by the same token, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do so either.¡±

    Liu Ye then chimed in, ¡°He¡¯s right. It¡¯s already exceptional to get even a single elite cultivator from billions of people. These vessels really are quite useful.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re still just too slow,¡± Sister Fei Hua spat.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered a particr question. ¡°Seniors, what do you think now after touring around the Fifth Maind with me?¡±

    ¡°Too weak.¡± Fei Hua held back nothing.

    Lu Yin had no intention of engaging with the woman. She had the temper of a bull.

    Liu Ye thought for a bit. ¡°Although it¡¯s far fromparing to our Perennial World, it has its own merits. Also, there are many inheritances here with the same origins as the Perennial World.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the Forsaken Land anymore, right?¡± Lu Yinughed.

    Sister Fei Hua sneered, ¡°It will always be the Forsaken Land without a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin choked, but was unable to disagree with such a statement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s sudden departure had left Wen family¡¯s representatives a frazzled mess. The seven-fold Literary Prison was more important to the family than anything else, which was why they had been keeping a close eye on Lu Yin after he entered seclusion. His arbitrary trip to the Innerverse caused them to think that Lu Yin had further ns hidden.

    ¡°Brother Lu, just name your price! We willply as long as it¡¯s possible,¡± Wen Sansi spoke anxiously, though Lu Yin hardly saw the Arbiter¡¯s restlessness.

    Instead, he replied, ¡°Brother Wen, I simply haven¡¯te up with anything, but maybe you can help me with something else?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Wen Sansi replied.

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°The Lost Radiance Academy has a Mountain Seas Painting. Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, Han Chong only managed to defeat Xia Ye because of using that painting in a technique. I would like to see the painting.¡±

    Wen Sansi felt confused. ¡°A painting of mountains and seas? Brother Lu has an interest in such things?¡±

    ¡°Just a little. Mostly because it couldn''t have been easy for Han Chong to defeat his peers back then with his level of strength. The painting was the key to his victory. If Brother Wen isn¡¯t sure exactly which painting of mountains of seas I¡¯m looking for, you could go check at the Lost Radiance Academy.¡± Lu Yin ended the call as soon as he finished speaking.

    The Neohuman Alliance wanted that painting and was willing to do anything for it, which meant that Lu Yin woulde out on top if he could get the painting first. Also, he was confident that the Neohuman Alliance would not hurt him no matter what he did at this point in time. Their master n took precedence over everything else at this point in time because it was a turning point in the war between humanity and the Aeternals. Lu Yin intended to use this to his advantage.

    Wen Sansi told Wen Yao about Lu Yin¡¯s request, and the older man was equally confused. Still, they quickly reached out to the Han family at the Lost Radiance Academy.

    Their request was eventually delivered to the academy¡¯s dean, who also happened to be an elder from the Han Family. He was an Envoy and was the oldest living member of the Han family.

    It was significantly harder for cultivators from the Fifth Maind to be Envoys than it was for their peers in the Sixth Maind. Not only did the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses not have as many opportunities as the Perennial World¡¯s cultivators, they alsocked the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprints, which led to the Fifth Maind having a much lower percentage of Envoys.

    Put bluntly, it was difficult for a person to even be an Envoy.

    Dean Han and another of the Han family¡¯s elders were quiet in their seats.

    ¡°Tell Lu Yin that there¡¯s no such painting in the Lost Radiance Academy. Han Chong¡¯s painting was something that belonged to him alone and it perished with him,¡± Dean Han solemnly dered.

    ¡°Yes, Dean.¡±

    Dean Han fell into confusion after the other elder left, and it seemed as though the dean was trying to remember something. ¡°As expected, they came for the painting. I wouldn¡¯t have allowed Han Chong to do that if I had known it would cost him his life. However, how did Lu Yin find out about this?¡±

    Lu Yin quickly received the answer from Wen Yao. ¡°I¡¯m sorry senior. That painting is central to my price, so we simply cannot proceed without that.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the answer he had been given by the Lost Radiance Academy. Truthfully, he was not even certain the painting even existed. Regardless, for the Neohuman Alliance to go so far as to send powerhouses to monitor the academy for ten years, Lu Yin was confident that that painting was something vitally important, which therefore meant that the Lost Radiance Academy¡¯s reply denying their possession of painting only made sense. Lu Yin would react the exact same way.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s just a painting. If you want one, my Wen family would be more than willing to provide you with one, no matter which mountain or sea. All things aside, we excel in this field, and I can promise you that our paintings areparable even to those done by ancient sages,¡± Wen Yao offered.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Senior, but it has to be the painting that Han Chong drew. I believe the Lost Radiance Academy has it.¡±

    ¡°They really don¡¯t. The Lost Radiance Academy would not refuse any request from my Wen family, especially concerning something so important.¡± Wen Yao started to be anxious. He firmly believed that the Han family would not refuse the Wen family, as the Han family had been reliant upon the Wen family for many years.

    Regardless, no matter how Wen Yao tried to sway Lu Yin, the youth would not be moved. Lu Yin was unwilling to give the Wen family anything if the painting of mountains and seas was not included.

    Wen Yao felt forced to ask, ¡°Does Alliance Leader Lu have no trust in us, or do you have something else nned?¡±

    Lu Yin furrowed his brow. ¡°I have Wen Diyi, which means I am in the position to name any price that I will. All I can tell you is that I don¡¯t have any other ns at the moment, but that might change if you take too long.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Lu Leader, Wen Diyi is part of the Wen family; you have captured someone from my family,¡± Wen Yao spat.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly turned icy. ¡°Senior, I see you¡¯re threatening me with the Wen family. In that case, just forget it. If the Wen family has the strength, then you can juste after me and take Wen Diyi away on your own.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, that¡¯s not what I meant! Don¡¯t misunderstand. All I¡¯m saying is that Wen Diyi is part of the Wen family, and thus we¡¯re merely seeking your understanding in this matter,¡± Wen Sansi quickly spoke up.

    Lu Yin scoffed. ¡°Bring me that painting, or else the deal¡¯s off.¡±

    He ended the call after delivering his ultimatum.

    Back on Zenyu Star, Wen Yao seethed with anger. He had never been forced to lower himself so much to a junior. He had been consistently strung along by Lu Yin and had constantly buttered the youth up, and had only momentarily lost hisposure.

    ¡°Lu Yin created the Great Eastern Alliance and has already negotiated with the leaders of the eight great flowzones. He has never been afraid of anyone, and besides, his connections within the Hall of Honor are only growing deeper. Virtually no one can touch him, so just bear with it for a while longer,¡± Wen Sansi soothed.

    Wen Yan sighed. ¡°Forget it. Continue reaching out to the Han family. If Lu Yin is so certain about this, then it¡¯s possible that the Han Family is indeed hiding something.¡±

    Wen Sansi nodded, as his thoughts were along the same lines. There was no reason for Lu Yin to deliberately ce them in a difficult position, as doing so was simply not the intelligent choice. Even if Lu Yin was unafraid of the Wen family, there was no reason for him to make additional enemies.

    Lu Yin arrived in Giant Consortium¡¯s territory two dayster.

    Leng Yan, Qing Kong, and a crowd of hundred-meter tall giants had all been waiting for Lu Yin for some time.

    Qing Kong quickly approached Lu Yin as soon as he stepped onto the. The giant wore a smile so passionate that it outssed Ku Wei¡¯s. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, wee to Giant Consortium.¡±

    Lu Yin returned the giant¡¯s smile. ¡°Mr. Qing, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua observed the surrounding giants with curiosity. The Perennial World was home to all sorts of people, even giants. However, this was their first time seeing such odd giants. Weren¡¯t all giants savages? Didn¡¯t they all live bizarre lifestyles? These giants acted no different from normal humans.

    Qing Kong and the other giants were unable to determine Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s strength, and thus treated the couple as simple bodyguards.

    Lu Yin and Qing Kong chatted with each other as they made their way towards the of colossal giants. It was a forbidden region that only Qing Kong had permission to enter.

    Leng Yan and the rest were only able to wait where they were.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua did not follow along, as such a short distance meant nothing to powerhouses at their level.

    The ten-thousand-meter-tall giant and Ku Wei both entered Lu Yin¡¯s sight at the same time.

    They were truly gigantic, but Lu Yin was unsurprised. He had seen ancient colossal giants that had been farrger than when he had witnessed Progenitor Chen¡¯s memories in the mausoleum. Furthermore, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had been able to easily grabs as though they were marbles. That had been a true colossal giant.

 Chapter 1607: The Blood Of Progenitor Chen

    Chapter 1607: The Blood Of Progenitor Chen

    ¡°Master!¡± Ku Wei shouted as he transformed back to his human form and raced towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded in reply and diverted his attention over to the ten-thousand-meter tall giant, Chen Huang, who was also staring straight at Lu Yin with eyes that betrayed the giant¡¯s curiosity and shock. ¡°You- you also possess the aura of our bloodline! Can you also be a colossal giant?¡±

    Lu Yin had already heard the details from Ku Wei during the trip, and had actually managed to figure everything out. Lu Yin had absorbed Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood while in the mausoleum, and Ku Wei had most likely been lucky enough to absorb some of the blood as well. What differentiated the two was the fact that the Progenitor¡¯s blood had actually been assimted by Lu Yin¡¯s bloodline, just the same as the White Dragon¡¯s blood that he had absorbed. In contrast, Ku Wei¡¯s blood had been assimted by the Progenitor¡¯s blood.

    ¡°I can¡¯t transform,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Chen Huang was confused. ¡°Why?¡±

    Lu Yin considered his answer. ¡°Maybe I wasn¡¯t exposed to enough of it.¡±

    ¡°Master, it was the blood pool! You fell into it too?¡± Ku Wei asked, as he had not been aware of Lu Yin¡¯s experience there.

    Lu Yin silently nodded while looking at Chen Huang. ¡°Your surname is Chen; is that true of all of the colossal giants?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Chen Huang replied.

    Lu Yin instantly understood. ¡°So that¡¯s why Xia Shang was also known as Progenitor Chen.¡±

    Progenitor Chen had been hunted by the Daosource Sect and various other superpowers during his time because one of his clones had assumed the form of a colossal giant. He had eventually be a Progenitor, but had been best known for his clone that had been a colossal giant. All colossal giants had the Chen surname, which had been how Progenitor Chen¡¯s fame had spread wide and far.

    Qing Kong said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, we invited you here as a show of our sincerity. I simply want you to know that, no matter if it¡¯s now or in the future, you will always be seen as a friend. We hope you will view us the same.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. ¡°Mr. Qing, you¡¯re being overly concerned; if I was disturbed by giants, I would never have kept Ku Wei by my side.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s face twisted as though he felt offended. He had believed that he had been sent to Giant Consortium because Lu Yin had already discovered his ability to transform into a giant, and Ku Wei had only learned the truth two days earlier when Lu Yin¡¯s expression had revealed the truth of the matter when he had finally seen Ku Wei¡¯s giant form.

    Ku Wei was upset; very upset! His mistaken assumption had caused him to reveal his greatest trump card!

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I have one further request,¡± Chen Huang stated as he stared down at Lu Yin and Ku Wei with massive eyes.

    ¡°Please tell me.¡±

    Chen Huang spoke solemnly, ¡°Our colossal giant bloodline actually went extinct with Progenitor Chen during the ancient war with the Sixth Maind. Colossal giants such as those of us still alive fall far behind our most powerful ancestors. At best, we can be considered distant kin, but our bloodlines are actually far removed from them. Only by receiving Progenitor Chen¡¯s bloodline can we be true colossal giants, and then we would be a force to be reckoned with.

    ¡°I am currently about ten thousand meters tall, which is our upper limit; we can¡¯t exceed that. This is why we wish to borrow the power of his bloodline.¡±

    Lu Yin grew curious. ¡°Borrow? How?¡±

    ¡°Give us his blood. The more the better,¡± Chen Huang stated.

    Ku Wei¡¯s face turned a ghostly white. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Look at my puny body; I can¡¯t provide much blood at all!¡±

    Chen Huang quickly rified himself, ¡°Not much! Just a tenth of your blood should be enough. We just need to enhance and ovee the limits of our current bloodline in order to draw closer to the bloodline of the ancient colossal giants. We can aplish the rest on our own afterwards.¡±

    ¡°No, no! That¡¯s a big no-no. A tenth? I¡¯ll shrivel up!¡± Ku Wei refused immediately.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned sharp as he stared at Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei saw Lu Yin¡¯s expression, and his heart plummeted as he grew nervous. ¡°Master, do you know how many giants they have here? There are thousands! If all of them take a tenth of my blood, I¡¯ll be sucked dry!¡±

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Well, you can always recover your blood.¡±

    Ku Wei grew even more hysterical after hearing Lu Yin¡¯sugh. Ku Wei knew Lu Yin well; this person was absolutely up to something if he gave off such augh. ¡°¡°Master, what have they done to deserve our help? We¡¯re not a charity, and I really can¡¯t provide so much blood!¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at Chen Huang. ¡°Hear that? Even though we¡¯re cooperating with Giant Consortium, it¡¯s still just a business arrangement, which means we have no reason to provide such help. Not to mention that providing blood is a surefire way to race towards death.¡±

    ¡°A guaranteed road to death!¡± Ku Wei echoed.

    Chen Huang stayed silent, as he was not adept at negotiations. Instead, Qing Kong jumped in, ¡°Is there anything that Alliance Leader Lu requires?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°How many colossal giants are there here?¡±

    ¡°One thousand, one hundred, and fifty-two,¡± Qing Kong answered.

    Lu Yin contemted for a moment. ¡°Two hundred. I want two hundred colossal giants under mymand, and if this condition is met, I¡¯ll allow Ku Wei to give you his blood.¡±

    Ku Wei instantly cried, ¡°Master, I refuse!¡±

    Lu Yin pressed a hand onto Ku Wei¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Shut up.¡±

    Ku Wei no longer dared make any sound and he simply stared at Lu Yin with pleading eyes. If he had known this would happen, he would never have invited Lu Yin to meet the giants. These giants were despicable!

    Qing Kong looked up at Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang simrly fell into thought for a bit before finally nodding. ¡°It¡¯s time for the colossal giants to go see the universe once again. In the past, the colossal giants marched on the Sixth Maind and ughtered countless cultivators from there. That day is rapidly approaching once again.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, Brother Ku Wei¡¯s blood could be released a third at a time; how about allowing him to stay in Giant Consortium? It would make it easier for us to take care of him,¡± Qing Kong suggested.

    All color left Ku Wei¡¯s face as he looked at Lu Yin in a begging manner.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Mr. Qing, could I trouble you to set us up in a quiet ce? I feel we should talk for a bit.¡±

    Qing Kong nodded. ¡°Please follow me, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at Chen Huang onest time before following behind Qing Kong.

    Chen Huang was filled with hope; it would not be long before the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline would be restored. They had long wanted to go out and fight across the universe, after all, the colossal giants were not meant to hide and cower.

    Qing Kong arranged amodations for Lu Yin and Ku Wei that were truly secluded, though they did have a nice view.

    After arriving, Ku Wei instantly dropped to the floor. ¡°Master, please don¡¯t make me give them my blood! I don¡¯t wanna stay here! I don¡¯t wanna be their pet!¡±

    Lu Yin spoke tly, ¡°Give me some of your blood; the more the better.¡±

    Ku Wei wailed once again, but this time his theatrics irritated Lu Yin. ¡°Enough of that! I have means to get an even purer source of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. All you need to do is give me your blood. I¡¯m telling you now; the more blood you give me, the higher my chances of refining that purer blood, and you¡¯ll stay here you don¡¯t give me enough blood to do so.¡±

    Ku Wei twitched in shock and he quickly offered his blood to Lu Yin. At this moment, all Ku Wei could do was trust his master.

    Lu Yin had no intention of leaving Ku Wei with the giants, of course. Ku Wei was still Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, and Lu Yin was not so cruel. He had merely wanted to Enhance Ku Wei¡¯s blood, and with his die¡¯s three pips, Lu Yin believed he would be able to improve the blood from Progenitor Chen back to the same level it had been in the past.

    Ku Wei truly put forth his full efforts and released half of the blood in his body. He looked like a terminally ill patient and was not even able to walk.

    Blood floated in the air, though Lu Yin was unable to sense any hint of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, as Lu Yin¡¯s own bloodline was able to absorb Progenitor Chen¡¯s.

    After receiving the blood, Lu Yin went into seclusion, telling Ku Wei that he would only exit after ten days.

    Ku Wei was only able to wait and pray that Lu Yin would not be cruel enough to abandon him to offer blood to the giants.

    Elsewhere, Qing Kong returned to speak with Chen Huang.

    ¡°Did they agree?¡± Chen Huang asked.

    Qing Kong replied, ¡°Rest assured, Lu Yin is not only intelligent, but also scheming. He would never easily let go of the colossal giants.¡±

    ¡°The colossal giants have only fought for themselves and the Fifth Maind in the past. It¡¯s unbelievable for them to serve another person now. This would break our ancestors¡¯ hearts,¡± Chen Huangmented.

    Qing Kong shook his head. ¡°Times have changed. It¡¯s practically impossible for someone like Progenitor Chen to rise from humans. Lu Yin is the most talented human I¡¯ve ever seen; you¡¯ll be able to find a ce in the Fifth Maind by serving him.¡±

    ¡°I only hope I can one day be a true colossal giant and be able to grow without limit. The day I finally am able to match Progenitor Chen and can destroy stars with a mere wave of my hand¡­¡±

    Lu Yin waited for eight days before his die finally recovered. He waved a hand and brought out his die.

    His die had been used quite frequently recently.

    Four pips; his luck was really pretty good. The scenery changed before his eyes and he entered the Timestop Space.

    He would definitely be able to roll three pips after entering this ce.

    Once, twice, thrice, four times. Finally, on his seventh attempt, Lu Yin rolled three pips. Two light screens appeared, one above the other. Lu Yin took a deep breath and started to Enhance the blood.

    He ended up using an insane amount of star essence.

    Progenitor Chen had been a Progenitor realm powerhouse, and nothing was easy when it came to experts at that level. Enhancing the seemingly ordinary blood consumed required much more energy than any sort of normal item.

    Just the first upgrade alone cost Lu Yin three million star essence, and it increased exponentially after that.

    . With each upgrade, tangible changes could be seen with the naked eye. The blood exuded an indescribable, overwhelming power. After the sixth upgrade, the blood has taken on a much darker color, and the space around it became distorted. After the seventh, eighth, and ninth Enhancements, it no longer looked like blood, but looked like something that was alive and aware.

    It possessed an oppressive pressure and Lu Yin had the strange feeling that his Timestop Space was unable to contain the blood. Suddenly, a fist shot straight at Lu Yin. He quickly retreated, startled, and the fist disappeared. Had it been an illusion? No, that was the fighting spirit that was inherit to Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. This was something that could not be removed.

    Lu Yin stopped Enhancing the blood, despite being confident that he could obtain a pure strain of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood if he continued. The problem was that Lu Yin had no idea what would happen at that time, or if he would be able to handle it.

    Nine upgrades had cost Lu Yin about 1 billion, 20 million star essence. This was actually another reason that he had stopped Enhancing the blood: the cost. He might not possess the wealth needed for such an upgrade.

    He was already feeling a huge pinch from the loss of a billion star essence, and this loss would need to be recuperated from Giant Consortium.

    Lu Yin shook his head as he looked at Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood that was before him. It was of no use to him, which was a pity, but it was absolutely extremely useful to Ku Wei.

    Lu Yin left the Timestop Space when his time expired, and he saw that Ku Wei had already recovered a good deal. Some bit of color had returned to his face, and hope filled his eyes as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed at the sight. ¡°I took your blood, but I¡¯m returning some blood to you now. You must use the rest of your life to repay me; do you understand?¡±

    He then threw a bottle of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood over to Ku Wei, much to the young man¡¯s confusion.

    Therge amount of blood that Ku Wei had given Lu Yin had only resulted in three bottles of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Enhanced blood, one of which was for Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei took the bottle and stared at it nkly. He could not believe that he actually felt an urge to absorb the blood contained within. ¡°Master, what¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. Try absorbing it,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

 Chapter 1608: Transforming Destiny

    Chapter 1608: Transforming Destiny

    Ku Wei became ecstatic after hearing that he was receiving Progenitor Chen''s blood. He consumed the blood in a single swallow, and his body quickly began to change. He became massive, and his entire body flushed red and started to steam while also causing the void to warp.

    Ku Wei''s body grew bigger and bigger. In the blink of an eye, he was already a kilometer tall, and he only continued to grow, quickly surpassing his previous record without any sign of slowing down.

    Lu Yin became curious, as he wanted to see how tall Ku Wei would grow.

    Qing Kong quickly appeared, and he watched as Ku Wei''s body rose up. He saw as the youth reached 1,000 meters, 2,000 meters, and then 3,400 and 5,000 meters tall. The giant¡¯s mouth slowly fell open in shock; just how was this possible? This was a person growing taller, not a radish growing. It was far too fast!

    Lu Yin was also startled; was Progenitor Chen''s blood really so effective?

    Ku Wei experienced excruciating pain. Consuming Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood forced him to undergo a transformation. Even though he had already gained the giants¡¯ bloodline in the past and had possessed no restrictions on his final height, he had still needed time to grow taller. At this moment, Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood forced him to grow quickly, and he underwent more than mere physical changes.

    Finally, Ku Wei reached a height of 8,000 meters, which was very close to Chen Huang''s height of 10,000 meters.

    Qing Kong was left in a daze, as this was too extreme of a change.

    There was a bang, and the earth trembled as the void tore open. Chen Huang''s huge body emerged, and his eyes instantly locked onto Ku Wei, whose body was still hot. The youth was breathing rapidly. "Blood- his blood has changed! It¡¯s be far more pure and it contains overwhelming power. This is Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood! Are you his descendant?"

    Ku Wei¡¯s breathing was ragged, and wind surged with each breath he heaved. He stared down at his hands and felt his new power. He had actually be an Enlighter! He had experienced an instant breakthrough! Also, everything had be much smaller.

    Lu Yin felt satisfied. When he had returned, he had found that Ku Wei had managed to be a Hunter, but had onlypleted a total of eleven cycles. At this moment, Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood and the strengthened bloodline had allowed Ku Wei to immediately be an Enlighter, which was an impressive surge in strength.

    It was no wonder that families with powerful ancestors gave birth to so many geniuses; even their worst descendants would have a powerful bloodline.

    Ku Wei had instantly be a powerhouse. At least in the Outerverse, he was a peak expert. With his unique characteristics due to his giant¡¯s bloodline and his battle techniques from the Ku n, Ku Wei was capable of going head-to-head with Wen Sansi and the other Arbiters without being guaranteed to lose the fight.

    Ku Wei quickly shrank his body back down and he stared at Lu Yin with fervent eyes. "Master, I have be much more powerful! Thank you, Master."

    Lu Yin nodded. "After all, you¡¯re my first disciple, so this is how things should be."

    Chen Huang bent down to stare at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, how did you aplish this?"

    Lu Yin wanted to take out Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. After all, he still had two bottles, and one bottle would be enough to allow the colossal giants to improve their bloodline, while the other bottle could be sold to Qing Kong, which would allow Lu Yin to recover the costs of Enhancing the blood. However, a certain question suddenly urred to him. "Chen Huang, given the new purity of Ku Wei¡¯s blood, how much of his blood would it take to allow a colossal giant to improve their bloodline?"

    Chen Huang''s huge pupils locked onto Ku Wei. "One drop would be enough."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Find someone and have them try it."

    It did not take long for another giant to appear.

    There were more than 1,000 colossal giants on the. They essentially formed a tribe that was protected and kept hidden by Giant Consortium. The colossal giants were different from the technological giants. Even though both were giants, they were truly like two different races. The colossal giants possessed an incrediblebat potential, and if they were known, they would be seen as a much greater threat to humanity than the technological giants.

    This meant that even if the technological giants were exposed, the colossal giants had to remain hidden.

    The giant who appeared was a powerhouse within the tribe who was 7,000 meters tall, which made him one of the tallest colossal giants in the tribe. At the moment, Chen Huang was the tallest of all of the colossal giants.

    Ku Wei had be second only to Chen Huang.

    The giant who approached was clearly confused, and he did not know what to do. He simply stared at Ku Wei, who was an unknown giant, and the neer felt an inexplicable sense of awe.

    Lu Yin also observed Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei grinned and then carefully extracted a drop of blood and threw it at therge giant, clearly unhappy with his orders. The young giant swallowed the blood after receiving instructions from Qing Kong, and he then let out a roar. Everyone watched as the giant quickly grew muchrger than before, and he quickly reached a height simr to Ku Wei. To Lu Yin¡¯s star energy filled eyes, the giant¡¯s power level had risen by at least 40,000.

    The giant had only received a single drop of blood and had not cultivated at all, and yet had experienced a spike in his power level of 40,000. This was nothing less than a pie falling from the sky.

    Wait, not all of the colossal giants were Enlighters.

    After half an hour, the young giant¡¯s transformation finally calmed down. Huge beads of sweat rained down from him like a waterfall. The giant lowered his head and stared at Ku Wei with eyes that showed respect and also a hint of submission.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed after seeing the giant¡¯s eyes, and he looked back at Ku Wei in amazement. Could it be that Ku Wei''s blood was suppressing the giant? Was the colossal giant feeling an innate reverence towards Ku Wei?

    "My name is Chen Ji. What are your orders?" the young giant said as he stared straight at Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. "I don¡¯t have any orders. Just stay back; you¡¯re blocking the view."

    Lu Yin casually patted Ku Wei''s head. "Be polite to people."

    Chen Ji instantly became enraged, and he red at Lu Yin. "How arrogant!"

    As he shouted, his palm started to fall, but Chen Huang quickly grabbed Chen Ji''s arm and shouted at him, "Return!"

    Chen Ji sucked in a breath and continued to re at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was quite interested in this development, and he studied Chen Ji while pointing at Ku Wei. "You respect him a great deal?"

    "Yes! You are not allowed to be rude to him," Chen Ji angrily dered. It looked like the colossal giant was struggling to control himself.

    Chen Huang frowned. "Return. Don¡¯t make any assumptions."

    Even as he spoke, Chen Huang grabbed the younger giant and tossed him away. An 8,000 meter tall colossal giant was thrown like a child.

    Lu Yin carefully appraised Chen Ji who had been thrown away, and then turned to Chen Huang, revealing a sincere smile that Lu Yin believed looked quite warm. "A drop of Ku Wei¡¯s blood can allow a colossal giant to improve their bloodline. This means that you only need 1,105 drops of blood, which is not that much. This will allow your colossal giants to regain their former glory."

    Qing Kong never stopped staring at Lu Yin, and he had watched as the smile had appeared on the youth¡¯s face. The giant knew that this smile did not mean anything good, and Qing Kong had also seen how Chen Ji had behaved. Qing Kong¡¯s heart fell. If the colossal giants used Ku Wei¡¯s blood to improve their bloodline, would it mean that the entire tribe would feel an innate sense of respect and submission towards Ku Wei? That would not be good at all.

    When Qing Kong looked back at Chen Huang, he thought of the possibility of removing the restrictions that gued the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline. Reviving their race¡¯s former glory was the dream of every giant; could Qing Kong actually stop such a thing?

    While Chen Huang did not seem to be very gifted at negotiations, that did not mean that he was stupid. He was able to see the advantages and disadvantages of using Ku Wei¡¯s blood to improve his colossal giants¡¯ bloodline. While their restrictions would disappear, each giant would feel an innate sense of respect and suppression from Ku Wei. There was no way around this.

    The source of blood that could help the colossal giants came from Ku Wei. His blood was the key to their recovery. After countless years, this youth would be the new ancestor to the descendants of the ancient giants. If Ku Wei chose not to provide them with his blood and allow the giants to then reproduce, their bloodline could very well be thinned and never able to break through the limits of their bloodline in the future, and at that time they could no longer consider themselves true giants.

    This was a difficult problem.

    Lu Yin was thrilled that he had not immediately taken out Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. With the suppression that Ku Wei¡¯s blood ced on these colossal giants, Lu Yin would be able to easily control them. How was it possible toe across such a good thing?

    As Lu Yin thought about the current situation, he looked over at Ku Wei with evident admiration. Who would have thought that the guy who had once called himself Big Brother Wei and who had almost been executed by the Ku family would have such a momentous day? It had not been a loss to take in Ku Wei as his disciple.

    Seeing Lu Yin staring at him, Ku Wei reflexively revealed a happy smile.

    Lu Yin''s face went pale. "Maintain a dignified appearance in front of the colossal giants in the future. Don¡¯t evenugh! Do you get it?"

    Ku Wei nodded. He was not stupid, and he was able to follow along with Lu Yin''s thoughts.

    Ke Wei felt that this day could be considered the turning point of his entire life.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I don''t understand how little brother Ku Wei could have changed so much?" A question urred to Qing Kong that he could not hold back.

    Chen Huang also turned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not act like he was hiding anything. ¡°I happened to remember that I picked up a bottle of blood from Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. I didn¡¯t know that it was Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, so I gave it to him to test it out. I ended up being truly lucky, as it really was Progenitor Chen''s blood."

    Chen Huang and Qing Kong both shouted, "Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood?"

    "Is there any left?" Chen Huang eagerly asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Sorry, but that¡¯s all there was."

    Chen Huang was left disappointed.

    Qing Kong did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he whispered, "Alliance Leader Lu, Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood is incredibly important to the colossal giants. If there is any at all, my Giant Consortium is willing to pay you a steep price to get it. How about 1.5 billion star essence?"

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he nearly agreed, but his reason finally prevailed. "Boss Qing is overthinking things; the blood is really all gone already."

    Qing Kong still did not believe Lu Yin, but he also could not force Lu Yin to hand anything over.

    If Qing Kong were in Lu Yin¡¯s position, there would be no way that he would reveal Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood.

    With Ku Wei''s blood, not only was Lu Yin able to remove the restrictions that the colossal giants¡¯ weakened bloodline ced on them, he would also gain control of the entire race. Even an idiot would know the right choice to make, and Lu Yin would not give up the opportunity to gain control of the entire tribe of colossal giants just for 1.5 billion star essence.

    Chen Huang mourned, "Alliance Leader Lu, is there really no more of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood?"

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s possible that there¡¯s still some left in his mausoleum, but it¡¯s definitely all gone from where I picked it up, and that was all I had.¡±

    As he spoke, he pointed over at Ku Wei. "His blood can allow you to improve your bloodline, and it doesn¡¯t even take much of his blood. So, is our deal still good? You¡¯ll send 200 colossal giants to serve under me?"

    The corner of Qing Kong''s mouth twitched; two hundred giants? After Ku Wei''s blood improved all of the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline, all of them would fall under control of the Great Eastern Alliance. What was this about 200 giants?

    Even though he was able to instantly understand the situation, Chen Huang was still unable to resist the temptation to be a true giant, and he decided to allow all of the colossal giants to absorb Ku Wei''s blood.

    Ku Wei kept extracting blood. His head grew dizzy, but he saw the giants staring at him from the distance. This was not a bad feeling; these big guys were all going to be like his little brothers.

    Lu Yin''s eyes sparkled and shone bright. With so many giants under hismand, simply revealing them would scare anyone to death.

    From Qing Kong, Lu Yin had learned that colossal giants were born with the strength of an Explorer. Even a newborn colossal giant was powerful enough to smash a. The adults were all at least Hunters, and some were already Enlighters. They truly were humanoid astral beasts with an incredible capacity for destruction.

    Destructive power did not equate to one¡¯s cultivation. Just because a colossal giant had the strength of an Explorer did not mean the giant could wander freely through the universe, though there were also giants who were able to do so with only a small bit of training.

    All of the colossal giants were untrained. With training, it would be easy for their power levels to surpass 300,000, 400,000, or even for them to be Envoys.

 Chapter 1609: A Troubled Giant

    Chapter 1609: A Troubled Giant

    Long ago, one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had taken the bloodline of the giants. From smallest torgest, the development of all of the various giants varied, but they were still all quite simr. Lu Yin had witnessed Progenitor Chen''s memories and had watched how the Progenitor had once fought against other giants, and Lu Yin had also personally fought against the guardian giants.

    Those giants were iparable to the giants Lu Yin was currently staring at.

    And yet, after receiving Ku Wei¡¯s blood, these giants would gradually be able to regain the power their race had possessed in ancient times.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to pull 200 colossal giants into your Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military?" Qing Kong asked.

    "What''s the problem with that? These colossal giants are very powerful, and they won¡¯t suffer after joining my Great Eastern Alliance."

    Qing Kong exined, "Companies in the Innerverse are fundamentally different from those in the Outerverse. The Outerverse is able to have its four great conglomerates, and they are each able to exert influence far outside of their immediate holdings, but such things are impossible in the Innerverse. All of thergestpanies of the Innerverse have other powers standing behind them and controlling them. For example, my Giant Consortium has to offer up a percentage of our profits to the rulers of the great flowzones, but even more importantly, we have another power standing behind us and exerting control over us. That power is Chaosgod Mountain."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. He had already known that it was possible for another power to be behind Giant Consortium, as there was no other way for them to be able to safely hide the colossal giants, but he had never considered that their support coulde from Chaosgod Mountain. The consortium was not located even remotely close to Chaos Flowzone.

    "Chaosgod Mountain is the one protecting you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Kong¡¯s voice grew deep, "We have a mutually beneficial agreement. Chaosgod Mountain merely focuses on cultivation arts, not battle techniques, and they train their disciples to have almost supernatural reflexes. We giants are born with strong physical bodies, and Chaosgod Mountain has kept an eye on giants since ancient times. It¡¯s to the point that we have no secrets from them any longer, including our bloodline.

    "Chaosgod Mountain periodically selects giants who leave here, and those giants be their training tools. If we don¡¯t agree, they¡¯ll wipe us out, and we are unable to resist with our strength."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What about the Sword Sect and the other rulers of the eight great flowzones? Don''t know of your existence?"

    "Of course they know, but the eight great flowzones focus on their own affairs, and each of them has their own secrets. My Giant Consortium is a secret that belongs to Chaosgod Mountain, and they simply don¡¯t interfere with each other.¡±

    Qing Kong let out a sigh. ¡°Without Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s protection, we giants have been randomly attacked and ughtered in the past by the Expeditionary Forces, so this truly can be regarded as mutually beneficial.

    "I merely wanted to inform Alliance Leader Lu that interfering with the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline will create trouble with Chaosgod Mountain."

    Lu Yin was unconcerned about Chaosgod Mountain. He was focused on the Expeditionary Forces that Qing Kong had just mentioned. "Are you talking about the Hall of Honor¡¯s expeditionary force? One of the three major militaries?"

    Qing Kong was surprised. "Alliance Leader Lu doesn''t know that Overseer Cong Ying controls a part of the expeditionary force? That was why he was able to be an overseer so easily. His ancestors have always been part of the most powerful controllers of the expeditionary force, and it was that military that destroyed our giants¡¯ technology."

    The Hall of Honor was the true ruler of the Fifth Maind. In addition to the peak experts and major organizations that belonged to the Hall of Honor, they also had their own militaries, namely, the Beast Extermination Force, Guardian Force, and the Expeditionary Forces.

    The Beast Extermination Force stood guard at the border between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain. They were active at all times, and it was also the only military that could not bemanded by the grand marshal. Guardian Force, as the name implied, protected the Honor Zone and Mt. Microcosms. As for the Expeditionary Forces, they were intended to be the Hall of Honor¡¯s de against the Neohuman Alliance. They could be dispatched to any point in the entire Human Domain and would be sent against any target that the Hall of Honor wished destroyed that the Interster Supreme Court did not move against.

    The lowest level of soldiers in the Expeditionary Forces were at least Explorers, and it could be seen as an example of the invincible army that Lu Yin wanted to create.

    Lu Yin had not expected that Cong Ying would be supported by the Expeditionary Force; no wonder the overseer had been confident to move against the Great Eastern Alliance and to cause problems for Continental Shipping. He had the influence to sway various major forces of the universe into cooperating.

    "So, Chaosgod Mountain secretly protects the giants and holds off the Expeditionary Force, and your colossal giants sent out to provide them with resources and training aides, right?" Lu Yin rified.

    Qing Kong nodded. "Our rtionship isn¡¯tplicated. Even though the Expeditionary Forces is powerful, they still need the eight great flowzone¡¯s cooperation within the Innerverse. Without that, they would struggle to aplish anything. After all, they aren¡¯t the Interster Supreme Court.

    "After the colossal giants are exposed, Chaosgod Mountain and the Expeditionary Forces will both work to create trouble for your Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin seemed not to hear Qing Kong''s words, and he instead asked about another topic, "How many giants are at Chaosgod Mountain?"

    Qing Kong seemed confused by Lu Yin¡¯s question. "Not many. Maybe dozens."

    "In that case, how long until the next giant is sent to Chaosgod Mountain?" Lu Yin asked seriously.

    Qing Kong''s eyes shed. "What do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "I''m just curious. Is this something that¡¯s not convenient for Boss Qing to share?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Kong thought for a bit. "It won''t be very long before the next giant needs to be sent. More than a month. Less than ten giants will be sent, and ten of the giants they have will be returned to us."

    Lu Yin thought of a possibility. It was one that would lead to a chance of taking down Chaosgod Mountain.

    Chaosgod Mountain was the controlling power of one of the eight great flowzones, and they also oversaw the dark side of the Innerverse. They had connections with countless other forces, and each and every move they made would always be watched by other people. Lu Yin had not initially had any intention to target them, but the giants¡¯ circumstances caused Lu Yin to view the matter with a bit of hope.

    Colossal giants had remained hidden for many years, which proved that Chaosgod Mountain had carefully concealed the matter. Since Chaosgod Mountain was able to secretly control the colossal giants, then why couldn¡¯t Chaosgod Mountain be secretly controlled in turn?

    Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s ability to keep the colossal giants¡¯ location hidden provided an opportunity. Naturally, the giants were unable to exploit this matter, but things were different with Lu Yin involved.

    The more he thought on the matter, the more Lu Yin felt that his n was feasible. Lu Yin moved away from Qing Kong and immediately called Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong''s eyes zed. "There¡¯s a certain chance that the giants can¡¯t be exposed. They are Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s secret, and that allows for protection from the Expeditionary Force. Even if the giants rebel, Chaosgod Mountain will still do their best to keep the matter hidden. With this, it¡¯s not that there is no chance of counter-controlling Chaosgod Mountain, but the problem at the moment is whether or not Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s top powerhouses can be suppressed quickly enough.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s most powerful expert was Cang Zhou, who Lu Yin had already met more than once. He was a powerhouse with a power level of more than 700,000. Given Liu Ye and Fei Hua''s strength, they were absolutely able to suppress Cang Zhou. Envoys stood at the top, but there were not many of them even in the Innerverse. Even the Daynight n only had one expert with the strength of Nightking Dijiang, so Lu Yin did not believe that Chaosgod Mountain had a second Envoy.

    Lu Yin became excited as he thought of the possibility of gaining control of Chaosgod Mountain. That was the ruling power of one of the eight great flowzone!

    Lu Yin had already destroyed the ze Realm, but the ze Realm had only controlled a third of zing Mist Flowzone. Chaosgod Mountain was an entity on an entirely different level.

    After controlling Chaosgod Mountain, the Great Eastern Alliance would have a true foundation within the Innerverse, and even more importantly, no one would know that Lu Yin controlled Chaosgod Mountain.

    Starting with Chaosgod Mountain, Lu Yin would be able to conquer the entire Innerverse. After that, he would be able to turn his attention to the Cosmic Sean and the Neoverse. All of this depended on whether or not he would be able to seize control of Chaosgod Mountain.

    However, before anything at all, Lu Yin needed to control himself and have the Great Eastern Alliance cower in Fennel Flowzone and do nothing. They could not draw the attention of others. Lu Yin could only slowly determine his path for the future, but at least he had finally found his path forward.

    He would need to leave the matter of dealing with Chaosgod Mountain to Wei Rong, and the overall situation would be given over to Wang Wen. The most important detail was that nothing at all could be exposed. The moment that Lu Yin¡¯s actions against Chaosgod Mountain were exposed, the entire Innerverse would unite against him. After that, it would be practically impossible for him to gain control of the Innerverse.

    A few dayster, the entire tribe of colossal giants, with the sole exception of Chen Huang, had absorbed Ku Wei''s blood. Each and every one of them looked at Ku Wei as though they were staring at their ancestor.

    Even though Ku Wei was weak, he still felt very content at this moment. He had never had such eyes staring at him, and he unconsciously started to float, only to be brought back to earth by Lu Yin.

    "Master, why did you hit me?" Ku Wei asked in a strange voice.

    Lu Yin red at him. "Make sure I have a good rtionship with these colossal giants. You¡¯ll be in charge of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s first giant army."

    Ku Wei grinned. "An army? Alright, Master, don''t worry! Our giant army will absolutely be the most powerful part of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military."

    That remained to be seen, and Lu Yin suddenly thought about the invincible army he would establish. Inparison, the giants¡¯ army had a stronger base, but with various equipment taken into ount, arge army would still hold a clear advantage.

    "200 is too few. Try to get more giants to join the army," Lu Yin whispered before moving on to Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang sat in ce, looking like a mountain range. He faced the setting sun, his eyes mncholic.

    A 10,000-meter-tall depressed giant was contagious.

    "n Chief Chen Huang, why don''t you refine your own bloodline?" Lu Yin asked as he sat down beside Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang shifted, but the movement shook the sky. "Someone needs to remain awake."

    Lu Yin''s eyes darted about. "What is the n chief worried about?"

    Chen Huang looked down at Lu Yin. "Can you promise me that you won¡¯t allow the blood of my giants to be spilled in vain?"

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "My future enemy is the enemy of the entire human race. I can assure you of this, n Chief: my purpose is for the benefit of all humanity."

    "That''s good," Chen Huang said before falling silent.

    Lu Yin left. Chen Huang understood what was at stake. In order to improve his tribe¡¯s bloodline, he needed to allow his giants to ept Ku Wei¡¯s blood. Thus, Chen Huang himself had remained thest impure colossal giant in order to witness the giants¡¯ transition.

    Lu Yin found it to be a pity, for given Chen Huang''s strength, once he improved his bloodline, he would immediately reach the cusp of bing an Envoy. It was possible that he would even be an Envoy and be the first giant in the modern era to do so. Lu Yin felt it was a pity to lose a powerhouse who could stand up to an Envoy.

    However, the other colossal giants still gave Lu Yin a surprise. In addition to Chen Huang, there was another colossal giant who had a power level that exceeded 300,000. After integrating with Ku Wei¡¯s blood, this giant¡¯s power level rose to the nearly reach 400,000, which far exceeded Ku Wei¡¯s strength. This giant was Chen Jian. Like Chen Ji and the other colossal giants, Chen Jian stared at Ku Wei with tant adoration.

    Out of the remaining colossal giants, sixteen had the strength of Enlighters, and the rest of the adults were allparable to Hunters. Even the young had the strength of Cruisers, which made them truly a force to be reckoned with. Even if the Hall of Honor¡¯s Expeditionary Forces had Enlighters, they did not have so many experts with such a high level of strength.

    This was the power of the colossal giants. Progenitor Chen had once voluntarily faced the wrath of the Daosource Sect in order to have one of his clones ept the blood of this race, the colossal giant race.

    When the day came that these giants would grow to berger than a, it would truly be a sight to see.

 Chapter 1610: Yes Or No?

    Chapter 1610: Yes Or No?

    There was still more than a month left before more giants would be sent to Chaosgod Mountain.

    Lu Yin simply remained at Giant Consortium, waiting for the day to arrive. During this time, Wei Rong was doing his best to make arrangements, and the most important yer in the n was Ku Wei.

    In a blink of an eye, half a month passed. Wen Sansi had reached out to Lu Yin during this time, but Lu Yin had not backed down. He had asked the Wen family to provide him with that painting of the mountains and seas, but they had not been able to do so. Either the painting truly did not exist, or it was too important. Still, no matter how important the painting might be, Lu Yin refused to believe that it was more important to the Wen family than Wen Diyi, and so Lu Yin remained confident that the family would find a way to get him the painting.

    Gu Laogui also reached out to Lu Yin. Smoke-Eater Peaks had already improved the quality of their smoke, and so Gu Laogui was doing his best to produce more of the smoke and had already sent the first shipment to Lu Yin. The next step would be the start of their formal cooperation.

    Lu Yin also published a recruitment notice for the Rapid Response Team, and many experts moved to join. They had already been trained and were merely waiting for equipment in order to join the active force.

    More good news arrived one after another. Lu Yin received news from San Liang, who informed Lu Yin that Wan Gong had reported a breakthrough in microarray technology.

    When Lu Yin had left Aurora Fortress, he had given Wan Gong San Liang¡¯s contact information. With Lu Yin traveling to the Outerverse, there was no way for Wan Gong to contact him. The only option was to go through San Liang.

    When Wan Gong made his report, he was already able topress a bit of energy using microarray technology while maintaining the original form of the energy. As long as this process was steadily improved, it would not take long to be able topress battle techniques and form power vessels like the Void Rip sourcebox array that Lu Yin had used.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. If the white smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks wasbined with microarray technology, it would be the standard equipment for his invincible army. He expected any cultivator given such equipment would instantly be a Realmbreaker.

    In the future, such equipment would be further simplified and would be able to be used by all human cultivators when fighting against the Aeternals.

    The Perennial World had made no progress at all in the fight against the Aeternals despite the many years passing. In order to defeat such an enemy, it was critical to look at alternative options.

    Good news continued to pour in, and it left Lu Yin in a good mood. At least, until he received some bad news: Yu Mu had died.

    Yu Mu¡¯s death instantly put Lu Yin in a foul mood. That person had been Lu Yin¡¯s connection to the stellr energy pill. Given the man¡¯s personality, Lu Yin had been absolutely certain that Yu Mu had kept a stellr energy pill hidden, but with the man¡¯s death, it was naturally impossible for Lu Yin to obtain the pill.

    Lu Yin brought up his gadget¡¯s disy, and Duane Daynight appeared. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, I could not protect Yu Mu."

    "What happened?" Lu Yin asked.

    Duane Daynight shook his head. "I don''t know the details, but Yu Mu simply died without any traces linked to his death."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharper. ¡°Someone assassinated him?"

    "That¡¯s impossible. No one could kill him under my watch in such a silent manner unless they were an Envoy,¡± Duane Daynight dered.

    Lu Yin fell into though. An Envoy? Shamrock Enterprise had to have one, but their Envoy should be the mysterious Leaf King. Lu Yin could not quite believe that Leaf King had traveled to the Outerverse just to kill Yu Mu.

    "What was his cause of death?" Lu Yin asked.

    Duane Daynight¡¯s voice sounded pained, "He was torn to pieces. He died miserably."

    Shamrock Enterprise had to have been behind Yu Mu¡¯s death, as no one else would bother to kill him while he was being protected by the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin did not particrly care if Yu Mu lived or died, but even if the man was dead, Lu Yin had to get the stellr energy pill from the man. However, with the man already dead, Lu Yin¡¯s efforts spent on the man seemed to have been in vain.

    Also, he had died while being protected by the Great Eastern Alliance, which was a p in Lu Yin¡¯s face. Did this mean that the Great Eastern Alliance was incapable of protecting anyone? Lu Yin''s expression slowly grew darker.

    Duane Daynight started to get nervous. In the past, the man had seen himself as an elder when interacting with Lu Yin. While the Dayking n elder had always been respectful, it had always been a superficial sort of respect given solely because of those supporting the youth. However, after Lu Yin¡¯s most recent visit to Zenyu Star, Duane Daynight had felt suppressed to the point of terror. Lu Yin could not be judged by his age, and Duane Daynight had be extremely cautious in all of his dealings with Lu Yin.

    After ending the call, Lu Yin started scribbling in the air: Shamrock Enterprise, Aurora Enterprises, Giant Consortium, the Sixth Maind, and more. At the moment, the Fifth Maind had be very chaotic, but not even the Hall of Honor was fully aware of the details.

    In fact, there were areas where Lu Yin possessed greater knowledge than the Hall of Honor.

    Shamrock Enterprise had to have spoken with the Autumnfrost family and then believed what the Autumnfrost family had said. How else could thepany have learned that Yu Mu had been in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s custody? He had still been on Zenyu Star when he had been assassinated. However, just what had the Autumnfrost family said to make Shamrock Enterprise believe them?

    How had Shamrock Enterprise so urately determined Yu Mu¡¯s location? Had they really sent out an Envoy?

    Lu Yin felt a bit confused. Suddenly, he formed an unlikely, and yet most probable, guess that Yu Mu''s death had not been an assassination.

    Lu Yin then immediately called Wang Wen. "Go ahead and leak out the news that Yu Mu died on Zenyu Star."

    Wang Wen was startled. "Are you serious? If he wasn''t killed by Shamrock Enterprise, then his death on Zenyu Star is publicly admitting that you were hiding him. Even if Shamrock Enterprise doesn¡¯t respond officially, they won¡¯t let something like this go. This could create problems for the future."

    "Even if we hide it and Shamrock Enterprise wasn¡¯t behind his death, do you think they¡¯ll believe us?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Wang Wen started considering the matter. "You just said that Yu Mu might not have been assassinated. In that case, how did he die?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "First of all, it was definitely not a suicide."

    Wang Wen agreed; how could someone like Yu Mu havemitted suicide?

    "If it was an assassination, it means that an Envoy was the one to make the attack, and that isn¡¯t very likely. Even if Shamrock Enterprise has an Envoy, Leaf King should be their only powerhouse at that level, and it¡¯s not very likely that he would make such a move himself. Others would do his dirty work for him. The chances of Yu Mu killing himself are zero. After eliminating all of these possibilities, there are only two possibilities left." Lu Yin''s face grew solemn. "One, there are hidden Envoys on Zenyu Star who had a motive to kill Yu Mu."

    The moment that this possibility had urred to Lu Yin, he had instantly thought of Undying Yushan. Lu Yin had long suspected that the former emperor of the Great Yu Empire was still alive, and recently he had seen Undying Yushan alive in an Aeternus Kingdom. Lu Yin had no idea what the man was doing there or what he wanted, but Undying Yushan¡¯s existence had be a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    The more a person hid, the greater the plot they were involved in. Undying Yushan had remained hiding for more than ten years, and has even cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance. It was impossible to know what was in the man¡¯s mind.

    "The other option is that Yu Mu was killed by Shamrock Enterprise and that thepany had to ignore any and all risks to eliminate the man."

    The second possibility was simrly chilling. Shamrock Enterprise had always been a mysterious entity. If they indeed possessed such power, Lu Yin¡¯s wariness towards them would rise several times higher.

    Wang Wen replied, "That''s why you want the news released; you want to see how Shamrock Enterprise reacts."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew hard. "There¡¯s only one reaction they¡¯ll have, which is to question me. No matter if they killed Yu Mu or not, they¡¯ll never admit it."

    "Then what¡¯s your goal?" Wang Wen grew curious. He could see the big picture and was highly intelligent, but he still found it impossible to guess what Lu Yin was thinking.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "Simple; I want them to know that I killed Yu Mu."

    Wang Wen blinked, confused.

    Lu Yin grew more serious. "I''m holding a secret for them. The stellr energy pill is a secret that can go no further than me. I believe that what Yu Mu told me is true, and so I was forced to kill Yu Mu in order to protect Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s secret. They should be thanking me."

    Wang Wen was left speechless. "You¡¯re going to force them to owe you a favor."

    Not only was Lu Yin forcing out a favor, it was one that Shamrock Enterprise absolutely had to follow through on, especially with Yu Mu dead. If the stellr energy pill was exposed and everyone learned of it, who would believe that such a thing was fake? Everyone¡¯s only thought would be that Yu Mu had been killed because of this secret.

    If Yu Mu had not died, Shamrock Enterprise would be able to ignore such rumors, but with Yu Mu dead, everyone would believe the dead man''s words. Lu Yin wanted Shamrock Enterprise to pay to keep his mouth shut.

    "I have to admit, I''m not as good as you when ites to such twisted maniptions." Wang Wen sighed. "Alright, I''m going to do my own thing."

    He then ended the call.

    News of Yu Mu''s death spread quickly, and it spread far and wide, especially since there was also a rumor that he had been killed to be silenced and protect a huge secret.

    Lu Yin received a call request from Balsam just a dayter.

    Her face remained calm, but her eyes zed with anger. "Mr. Lu, you really seem to like toying about with my Shamrock Enterprise. You act as though you can y with us however you want."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin asked casually.

    Balsam grew solemn. "Yu Mu was right there with you, and yet you imed that the Autumnfrost family had taken him. This caused my Shamrock Enterprise to develop a bad rtionship with the Autumnfrost family, and they even believe that we were the ones who killed him. Alliance Leader Lu, as the one who had custody of Yu Mu, don¡¯t you owe us an exnation?"

    Lu Yin stepped forward and responded in a serious manner, "I need to bepensated for Yu Mu."

    Balsam was momentarily stunned. Even if she had experienced countless storms and waves throughout her life, she was still startled by Lu Yin¡¯s words. She was left truly andpletely speechless.

    "Yu Mu wanted to leak information regarding the stellr energy pill, so I was forced to silence him. I paid a steep price in order to help your Shamrock Enterprise." Lu Yin spoke slowly, revealing his exhaustion.

    Balsam gritted her teeth. "There is no such thing as a stellr energy pill. Alliance Leader Lu, I already told you this."

    "Alright, since that''s the case, there¡¯s no need to talk about it any further. By the way, the outside world will soon receive news about the stellr energy pill. I hope your Shamrock Enterprise is able to provide a reasonable exnation to the rest of the universe and the Hall of Honor. Maybe say that Yu Mu was just making a joke," Lu Yin said with a smile before ending the call.

    As the Innerverse president of Shamrock Enterprise, Balsam was supposed to be a veryposed person. Lu Yin had roused her anger, but she had no choice but to contact him again.

    News had spread like wildfire as soon as Yu Mu died. If the stellr energy pill were to be exposed once again, Shamrock Enterprise would suffer tremendously. Regardless of whether or not others believed it to be real, everyone would be focused on Shamrock Enterprise, especially the Hall of Honor. The pressure from such a thing would be truly unbearable, and Leaf King would not be able to endure it.

    Beep beep beep

    Lu Yin''s gadget beeped, and he smiled gently as he connected to the iing call, causing Balsam to reappear on his disy.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what are you trying to do?" Balsam asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained light. "What are your intentions in asking me this now? Are you confident or arrogant?"

    Balsam''s eyes grew cold, but she remained silent.

    Lu Yin casually asked, "The stellr energy pill, do you have it or not? Yes or no?"

    Balsam moved a finger. She wanted to say no, but she already knew that doing so was nothing more than self-deception. Lu Yin would never believe her. "Yes, but it hasn''t been fully developed."

 Chapter 1611: Unease

    Chapter 1611: Unease

    Lu Yin justughed when he heard Balsam''s answer. "Give me ten. Don¡¯t try to tell me that the pills haven¡¯t been developed. The truth is that I reached an agreement with Yu Mu before, and he was going to give me one. However, you were in such a rush to deal with him, so you now have to take over his responsibilities."

    "Ten? Impossible! Not to mention that the pills haven¡¯t even been fully developed yet. Even when that happens, it will be impossible for you to receive ten," Balsam bluntly refused.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Okay; then let everyone learn the three words ¡®stellr energy pill,¡¯ which will cause your Shamrock Enterprise to be focused on by the entire universe, not just our Fifth Maind."

    Balsam''s pupils instantly shrank. "One is the most I can do. This is the limit."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he considered the offer for a bit. ¡°Three."

    Balsam took a deep breath. "Alright."

    "I''m in Giant Consortium¡¯s territory, so send them to me here." Lu Yin then immediately ended the call, and after disconnecting, his expression changed and he was no longer as rxed as he had been a moment before. During their conversation, he had deliberately mentioned that Shamrock Enterprise had dealt with Yu Mu, and yet Balsam had not denied the casual usation, which had actually been a subconscious reaction. With Balsam essentially admitting to the assassination, Lu Yin had be certain that Yu Mu had been killed by Shamrock Enterprise. However, how had they pulled it off?

    Lu Yin had be very uneasy, and he quickly called Duane Daynight back and asked for all of the details concerning Yu Mu''s death. Lu Yin also pushed to have the matter further investigated, as he had to learn the truth behind Yu Mu¡¯s death in order to ever be able to rx again.

    On the other side of the ended call, in Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world headquarters, Balsam¡¯s angry expression suddenly disappeared and was reced by a cold expression. "I¡¯ll give you what you want, but it¡¯s up to you whether or not you can survive."

    Neither of the two individuals was stupid. Lu Yin believed that he had uncovered a secret of Shamrock Enterprise. On the other hand, if everything was still in Balsam¡¯s control, then why had she yed along and given in to Lu Yin? Balsam was thepany¡¯s Innerverse president, and she was naturally not an average person.

    Just as Lu Yin was confident that he would be able to gain control of Shamrock Enterprise, Balsam was simrly confident in turning the tide to her favor.

    ***

    In another part of the Innerverse, to the Erudite Flowzone, Dean Han weed a guest to Lost Radiance Academy who had not visited in a truly long time: the Wen family¡¯s patriarch, Wen Zizai.

    "What are you doing here instead of sweeping the grounds at your home?" Dean Han made no effort to be polite when speaking to Wen Zizai, as the dean already knew the patriarch¡¯s purpose for visiting.

    Despite his position as the Wen family¡¯s patriarch, Wen Zizai enjoyed sweeping the grounds, and he treated it as a form of meditation. The man was alsopletely unbothered by Dean Han''s words. "What the younger generations can''t manage can only be left to an old man like me. How about you give me some face?"

    Dean Han shook his head and grew solemn. "I won''t lie to you; we do indeed have a painting of mountains and seas, and Chong''er managed to see it once and tried to copy it, but that is precisely why he suffered a fatal disaster."

    Wen Zizai grew puzzled. "What is the story behind that painting? Even my Wen family knows nothing about it."

    Dean Han sighed. "It¡¯s a remnant from long ago that¡¯s been protected by my Han family. As for why there remains no record of it, all that I know is that every member of my Han family must protect this relic painting. It¡¯s a coincidence, my old friend, that this painting is so important and that we cannot give it to anyone at all.¡±

    "How did Lu Yin learn of it?" Wen Zizai wondered.

    Dean Han''s expression changed slightly. "That¡¯s something that I also want to know. No one in my entire Han family knows about the painting, except for me. Not even you were aware of it, so how could he have known about it?"

    "He said that Han Chong used a battle technique from the painting during the Astral Combat Tournament; could that painting have been the copy of your family¡¯s relic?" Wen Zizai guessed.

    Dean Han frowned, as he had been unaware of this detail. "Do you think Chong''er''s death could have anything to do with him?"

    Wen Zizai grew solemn. "There should be no connection at all, as if there were, he would not ask for the painting so openly."

    Dean Han nodded, his expressionplicated.

    Wen Zizai looked at the other man. "Do you know what Lu Yin is offering to my Wen family in order for us to help him get this painting?"

    "What is he offering that not even you can refuse?" Dean Han asked. Wen Yao had already made a request for the painting, but the dean had simply refused the request without even considering the motivation behind the request. With Wen Zizai himself asking, Dean Han grew genuinely curious.

    Wen Zizai''s voice dropped low, "An alternate method for using and training with the Literary Prison. He is offering my Wen family a lost portion of our inheritance."

    Dean Han was shocked. "No wonder you came here."

    Wen Zizai stared at Dean Han. "With my Wen family here, your Han family has no cause for worry. However, if my family one day ceased to exist, the painting and even your Han family will cease to exist. Han Chong¡¯s death had proved that someone is eyeing the painting. A force able to capture him without causing a ruckus in the Lost Radiance Academy should speak volumes of what they¡¯re capable of, and the Neohuman Alliance is very likely the culprit.

    "I¡¯m not even sure I can stop such an opponent."

    "What are you trying to say?" Dean Han asked in a sour tone.

    Wen Zizai sighed. "Let''s give him the painting. You can think of it as payment for the care and protection my Wen family has given your Han family over so many years."

    Dean Han trembled and he closed his eyes in agony.

    Soon after that, Wen Zizai personally contacted Lu Yin. This was not the first time the two had spoken to each other, but each time that they did, their rtionship was fundamentally different from before. At the moment, Wen Zizai was unable to even see the standard reverence and respect that people held towards powerful Envoys in Lu Yin''s eyes. The youth remained as calm as if he were meeting with some peer.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you truly want that painting, you should be aware of its importance. Our conditions are going to change: I will give you the painting, but you will give me the technique first," Wen Zizai spoke openly, thinking that he finally held the initiative.

    However, Lu Yin simply ended the call as soon as the Envoy stopped talking.

    Wen Zizai frowned and reconnected the call. "What are you saying, Alliance Leader Lu? Do you not want to discuss this matter?"

    Lu Yin replied in a casual manner, "Senior Wen, it instead looks like you have no intention to discuss this matter. Do you really think your painting is worth the missing inheritance of the Wen family, which can very well push you to the top power of the Innerverse? Do you think I¡¯m gullible enough to make a deal like that?¡±

    Wen Zizai stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, unable to determine if the youth was telling the truth or not. Could it be that Lu Yin was unaware of the importance of the painting? For the Han family, the painting had held unparalleled importance.

    "Does Alliance Leader Lu not understand the importance of this painting?" Wen Zizai shouted.

    "No clue," Lu Yin answered bluntly.

    Wen Zi was stunned, and thought that he must have misheard. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin borated on his answer, "I have no idea how important it is, which is why I wanted to see it. However, if your Wen family doesn¡¯t care enough about this deal to show some sincerity, then I don¡¯t want the painting."

    Wen Zizai Rao had lived for many years, but despite that, he had no idea how to respond to Lu Yin. Negotiations were always determined by both parties recognizing the terms being put forward. If one of the parties held an unquestionable advantage, then the matter ceased to be a negotiation and it became simple extortion. Lu Yin was trying to extort the Wen family without even caring about the value of the painting. He had instead set the painting as the base price for delivering Wen Diyi to the Wen family.

    As for whether or not the painting proved to be valuable or not, Lu Yin was unconcerned and would simply obtain it first.

    Wen Zizai ended the call, as he could not speak to Lu Yin any longer. The youth was totally ignorant of what the Mountain Seas Painting represented! Truthfully, Wen Zizai was simrly ignorant of its value, but he had gained some inkling from the attitude that the Han family had shown. The painting was more important to them than the lives of their own n members, which meant that the painting was invaluable. If the painting could only allow Lu Yin to allow them more options to choose from instead of choosing their own conditions, then he was not interested in the negotiation.

    Before the ending the call, Wen Zizai had again asked Lu Yin to change his price for delivering Wen Diyi, but Lu Yin refused.

    This was because Lu Yin still had no idea of what he wanted from the Wen family.

    Wen Zizai was incredibly frustrated. If he were dealing with almost anyone else, he would have 10,000 different methods to seize the initiative and force the other person to negotiate, but with Lu Yin, the Wen patriarch was unable to find a ce to even start. The youth had a foundation that was invincible with no clear weaknesses, and he was also very powerful. There was no opening for Wen Zizai to exploit.

    The Wen family became utterly passive in their negotiation with Lu Yin.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was in no hurry to resume negotiations, which also left the Wen family feeling helpless. It would not even make any difference if they sent their patriarch to meet with Lu Yin.

    After his time in the Perennial World, Lu Yin was no longer impressed by speaking with Envoys. He had long since lost his awe of such powerhouses, and he had even killed quite a number of them.

    For the moment, his negotiations with the Wen family had failed, so Lu Yin quietly waited for the day when people from Chaosgod Mountain woulde to Giant Consortium.

    ¡­

    A huge mountain floated through space. No matter if it was seen from a distance or up close, it was still clearly a mountain.

    Colossal giants entered the mountain and disappeared.

    Qing Kong stared at the mountain, somewhat nervous. He was unaware of what Lu Yin was nning, but the giant did know that Ku Wei had transformed into a giant and had joined the others who had gone to the mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s ns were clearly not small-scale.

    Thinking about it, Qing Kong was unable to stop himself from ncing to his side where an old man was looking at the mountain with his hands sped behind his back.

    Ahem, Cang Song coughed and patted his chest. When the Sixth Maind had invaded, he had been struck by an Imprinter on a mini maind. Cang Song had been lucky to survive, but he was also gued by an injury that could not be cured.

    "President Qing, I''ll take these people with me," Cang Song said, somewhat fatigued.

    Qing Kong nodded while staying silent.

    Giant Consortium was protected by Chaosgod Mountain, but the giants were also exploited by Chaosgod Mountain. The giants had no freedom at all.

    Cang Song was unconcerned by Qing Kong''s attitude, and he jumped after the mountain and entered it.

    A total of ten giants stood quietly on the mountain. Aside from them, the mountain was massive and empty. These giants were only a few kilometers tall, which meant that they were less than half the height of the mountain.

    Ku Wei stared at Cang Song, when suddenly, the mountain copsed and the giants were pressed to the ground. Ku Wei was no exception, and he was almost unable to stop himself from turning back into his original size.

    "Before arriving at Chaosgod Mountain, you should put up with this. It will also prevent you from destroying the mountain," Cang Songmented indifferently before turning around and leaving without so much as a nce at any of the giants.

    Ku Wei gritted his teeth. The mountain pressed against his entire back. It was an unusual mountain, and not only for its weight. Even if Ku Wei had suppressed his cultivation to just below that of an Enlighter, he still found it difficult to withstand the weight on his back. This was a unique characteristic of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s weapons that they used to suppress the giants.

    The enormous mountain began to move back towards Chaos Flowzone, and it moved quite quickly.

    Giant Consortium did not have its headquarters anywhere close to Chaos Flowzone, but they were also not too distant from each other. They were separated by several minor flowzones and Soulseal Flowzone.

    Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua followed closely behind the mountain, also making their way towards Chaos Flowzone.

    A few dayster, the mountain encountered a massive spacecraft. It bore an emblem that Lu Yin had seen before: it was the ckbeard Pirates who he had dealt with before.

    It was clear that the pirates recognized the mountain, as they turned and left the moment they saw it. However, the mountain elerated and rammed into the vessel.

    From behind, Lu Yin was able to clearly see that the pirates¡¯ vessel had been smashed to pieces, and several Explorers fled through space, only to be ughtered by Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s cultivators.

 Chapter 1612: Infiltration

    Chapter 1612: Infiltration

    Lu Yin started to wonder about the matter as he observed. The ckbeard Pirates were the uncrowned kings of pirates in Chaos Flowzone. They were powerful enough to survive in that ce, and they clearly had a good rtionship with Chaosgod Mountain.

    He saw a figure off in the distance who was fleeing in terror. He was surprised to see it was Mad Viper Knight, who could be considered a person who had changed Lu Yin''s fate.

    If not for Mad Viper Knight, Zhuo Daynight would never have been badly injured, and then Lu Yin would never have gone to the pirate port. Without that trip, he never would have been thrown to Driftcharge as white meat, and therefore would never have met the old grandpa there.

    Mad Viper Knight had indeed changed Lu Yin''s fate, but the man himself was still Lu Yin''s enemy.

    A rock distorted the void and smashed into Mad Viper Knight¡¯s head, piercing his skull. His body slowly crumpled and then floated through space.

    Before long, the mountain continued on its way towards Chaos Flowzone.

    Using his gadget, Lu Yin learned that the ckbeard Pirates had been wiped out by Chaosgod Mountain as far back as a year before. What Lu Yin had just seen was a vessel carrying the pirates who had escaped that purge.

    Lu Yin grew rather excited, as he realized that he was actually plotting against Chaosgod Mountain, which showed how far he hade.

    It was possible that his status would bepletely different after another ten years.

    After crossing through Soulseal Flowzone, two more days passed, and finally the mountain entered Chaos Flowzone. They were very close to Chaosgod Mountain.

    When a huge ck mountain came into view, Lu Yin''s expression became serene. This was Chaosgod Mountain. This ce ruled over the underworld of the entire Innerverse.

    Long ago, Chaos Flowzone had hosted ZENITH, and prior to the tournament, the Hall of Honor had forced Chaosgod Mountain to cleanse Chaos Flowzone. Chaosgod Mountain had not disappointed. All of Chaos Flowzone had been purged, which had shown the universe the power of Chaosgod Mountain.

    The mountain had been a monstrous existence for Lu Yin in the past, but at the moment, Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s strongest powerhouse was not someone who Lu Yin could not touch.

    All of Chaosgod Mountain was solid ck, and the sides of the mountain were smooth, as though the mountain had been polished. It stood tall and stretched far into the distance. Stars rotated around the mountain and illuminated it.

    Atop a huge ck dome, Ku Wei waited for the giants to catch upwhile looking around with curiosity.

    There were several of the colossal giants who stood nearby to protect Ku Wei, and he shot them a subtle look, telling them to move away. Everything would be ruined if they were discovered.

    Some distance away, there was another group of giants watching Ku Wei and the others approach. Compared to Ku Wei¡¯s group, the waiting giants were much shorter.

    After assimting Ku Wei''s blood, the colossal giants from Giant Consortium had experienced an incredible increase in size. At this point, Chaosgod Mountain had thought that Ku Wei had arrived with thergest giants, but they had in fact only been of average height before. Even so, after these giants had received Ku Wei¡¯s blood, they had be muchrger than the ones on Chaosgod Mountain.

    If Chaosgod Mountain saw thergest of the colossal giants who had assimted Ku Wei¡¯s blood, they would be startled and terrified at the power Ku Wei could provide.

    The waiting giants looked up at the neers with confusion, and one of them asked, ¡°Little Twinkle? How have you gotten sorge?"

    The giant beside the one who spoke out also looked curious, but no one else paid any attention to them.

    The ck dome was smooth, and the surface was extremely tough. When the ten giants reached the tform on the dome, stone pirs rose around the dome topletely iste it.

    Above these pirs stood a group of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s powerhouses, and each one of them possessed an impressive level of strength.

    One of the Enlighters grew eager as he looked at the newly arriving giants and Ku Wei. He jumped down. "I can''t wait! I want to test the quality of this batch."

    As he spoke, he shot through the void and punched at a giant.

    The colossal giant looked at the tiny human shooting towards him, but made no effort to move. Ku Wei pretended to twist his foot, and by doing so, he nudged the targeted giant and shifted him enough that the Enlighter¡¯s attack just missed.

    The punch erupted, and it shattered the void. The nearby colossal giants were all startled, and they pulled back while staring in horror at the tiny human who had just unleashed just terrifying power.

    The Enlighter turned around to look at the giant he had just missed, and he punched again. This time, the giant knew that a powerful attack wasing, so he raised a hand to p down at the Enlighter.

    Adult colossal giants were at least as strong as Hunters, and due to the rtion between size and physical strength for giants, they possessed an impressive amount of destructive power. However, their immense size caused them to suffer a severe disadvantage in a fight.

    Destructive power was one thing, while activebat was something else entirely.

    The Enlighter from Chaosgod Mountain tried to use his star energy to force the giant to retreat, but the giant used his physical strength to resist, and he pped the Enlighter down to the ground.

    The Enlighter immediately leaped back up, and he again charged the giant. The colossal giant raised a hand and pped at the Enlighter once again, but this time, the Enlighter evaded.

    Up above, Cang Yi looked down and was staring at Ku Wei. No one else had paid any attention to what Ku Wei had done, but Cang Yi had watched. Ku Wei had caused the other colossal giant to stumble and dodge the first punch. A single sessful punch would leave a giant suffering quite badly.

    This giant was interesting. Thinking of this, Cang Yi jumped down and stood in front of Ku Wei. "Come spar with me."

    Ku Wei''s face remained calm, and he raised a hand and pped out. Cang Yi easily avoided the attack. After all, he was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 300,000. His strength ced him among the five top experts in Chaosgod Mountain. The colossal giant in front of Cang Yi was almost an Enlighter, which would barely provide a warm-up, but Cang Yi had be very interested in Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei also did not let the man down. Ku Wei was far more agile than other giants, but regardless of his agility, he was unable tond a single attack on Cang Yi, and Ku Wei ended up being badly beaten by Cang Yi.

    Even though the giants who had apanied Ku Wei did not make any rash moves after receiving his orders, their eyes slowly grew bloodshot as they watched Ku Wei being beaten.

    Ku Wei was also feeling frustrated. Even if he was able to reveal his full strength, Cang Yi would still be a difficult opponent. He had been able to fight against ZENITH¡¯s ten finalists, and all of those people were able to stand up to experts with power levels of about 400,000. Still, the n called for Ku Wei to simply endure and be beaten.

    There was a bang as Cang Yi punched Ku Wei in the jaw. Even though the human Enlighter was small, the punch sent Ku Wei flying and he mmed against the mountainside.

    It took skill to be beaten, as it required a person to be able to avoid serious injuries while also wearing down the opponent. One would need to put on a good show and make things boring in order to end things as soon as possible. As for Ku Wei, there was another thing that he had to keep hidden while being beaten: he could not reveal any of his battle techniques.

    Colossal giants had no battle techniques, though they were able to cultivate battle force.

    Unfortunately, the colossal giants protected by Giant Consortium were raised in a greenhouse, and thus theycked the necessary spirit to train battle force.

    Ku Wei was beaten for half an hour. During this time, Lu Yin stepped onto Chaosgod Mountain in another location.

    Chaosgod Mountain was not sealed off from the outside world. Rather, it was only the inner portion of the sect that was sealed off and isted from the outside world. There were manys that could be found around the mountain, and these were where the families of the sect disciples and various guests were allowed to stay, and there were also various trial grounds for people waiting to enter the sect.

    The greatest difference between Chaosgod Mountain and other leaders of the eight great flowzones was that Chaosgod Mountain ruled over the Innerverse¡¯s underworld. This was a ce that focused on backroom deals and shady negotiations. In this way, Chaosgod Mountain was simr to the Neoverse¡¯s ck Street, though no hint of trash or refuse could be found near the mountain.

    Lu Yin and the other two concealed their cultivation as they walked down the main street.

    Lu Yin was no stranger to such a ce. He had not only visited ck Street, he had also seen a pirate port and had attended a meeting of the Outerverse pirates. Lu Yin had already seen everything, so there was nothing in this ce that was new to him. Unfortunately, there were no locals to lead the way, as Lu Yin was not familiar with the ce to know his way around.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had absolutely no interest in the ce, and they soon parted from Lu Yin. The three people had too grand a goal for them to remain together.

    A dark yellow sun shone above the street where Lu Yin walked, and it cast the entire ce in a dim light. The pedestrians walking the street were all wary of each other, and Lu Yin had already witnessed three robberies while walking along. There was no order to this ce.

    Miserable wailing harmonized with wantonughter to create the unique ambiance of such a ce. This was where the ugliness of humanity could be fully appreciated.

    All sorts of shady dealings were conducted in this ce. There were many disciples of great powers here, as well as many of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples. However, the all hid themselves, as none of them wanted to be recognized.

    Any minor matter in this ce could end up in murder.

    Lu Yin had note to this ce for fun, as he had no interest in this ce. However, Lu Yin was looking for someone. Someone from the Anglers'' Club.

    The Anglers'' Club was an informal organization that could not be seen as any sort of real group. Instead, the club was simply a tform for fishing enthusiasts across the universe tomunicate with each other.

    Since the Great Eastern Alliance controlled the Astral River Ark, the Anglers'' Club was forced to contact the Great Eastern Alliance to gain permission to fish from the Ark. Over time, the Great Eastern Alliance hade to know the members of the Anglers'' Club quite well, as well as the strange fish that they caught throughout the universe. They sold the fist they caught to all parts of the Innerverse, including Chaosgod Mountain.

    The more precious and strange the fish, the more likely it would be sold to a powerful force.

    Long ago, a fruit fish was sold to the Daynight n. At the moment, a member of the Anglers¡¯ Club had caught a strange fish that Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s Elder Cang Song was said to greatly enjoy, and such information needed to be exploited.

    Chaosgod Mountain had kept the colossal giants¡¯ existence hidden for countless years. If Lu Yin wanted to gain entry, he could either try to force his way in, or find an alternate path. This was his most likely means of entering the inner sect.

    Forcefully breaking in was impossible, as it would be no different from publicly announcing the existence of the colossal giants, and that would not be good at all for Lu Yin.

    He had no idea how Wang Wen had managed to get this member of the Anglers¡¯ Club to agree to be used by Lu Yin, but he also had no need to know such details.

    Before long, Lu Yin found the man in a corner of the street, and the man also notice Lu Yin.

    "Here¡¯s the fish. It was supposed to be delivered today, but I managed to hold off for a day. Someone from Chaosgod Mountain wille pick you up tomorrow."

    Lu Yin took the fish and looked at the man in front of him with interest. "Your Anglers'' Club has been constantly fishing in the Astral River; what¡¯s the strangest fish you¡¯ve caught?"

    The man looked up at Lu Yin in surprise. He had no idea who he was speaking to, only the threat that the Great Eastern Alliance presented and that he had to work with this person and get them into Chaosgod Mountain. As he thought about the fact that doing this was going to get him kicked out of the Anglers'' Club, his mood turned sour and he replied brusquely, "There are all kinds of fish."

    With that, he left. He was in no mood to chat with Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin did not care. He looked at the strange fish he had been given. It was truly odd, and it actually had two heads and three tails. It was just half a meter long. Was this kind of fish actually tasty?

    Lu Yin was already at the door and peering in at Chaosgod Mountain. Things really had changed for him. Even during ZENITH, he had not dared move against powers like Chaosgod Mountain, and yet at the moment, Lu Yin looked at them as a power with only Envoy realm powerhouses, which made them a slightly stronger organization. They were no longer a big deal.

    The presence of Liu Ye Fei Hua had given Lu Yin a great deal of confidence.

 Chapter 1613: The Time Has Come

    Chapter 1613: The Time Has Come

    Lu Yin waited quietly, and the next day, a female disciple from Chaosgod Mountain arrived and met with him.

    Lu Yin had disguised himself with the fisherman¡¯s appearance, and given his current strength, no one on Chaosgod Mountain would be able to see through his disguise unless it was Cang Zhou.

    "Let''s go. Elder Cang Song is waiting for you," the woman said.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You?"

    The female disciple pointed outside. "You¡¯re not the only one here; there¡¯s another person from your Anglers¡¯ Club who wants to sell fish. You two should know each other."

    Lu Yin followed her finger and saw a familiar middle-aged man. Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed a bit; wasn¡¯t that the same man who had cooked the fruit fish on Nightking?

    The man looked at Lu Yin, and his expression also changed. He smiled as he said, "Number Six, I didn''t expect to see you here. What kind of fish did you catch?"

    Lu Yin hefted the bucket in his hand. "Elder Cang Song likes to eat these. How ¡®bout you?"

    The man looked in the bucket Lu Yin held and frowned. "Number Six, how many times have I told you that you can''t store that kind of fish like this! It messes with the taste. What will Elder Cang Song do if he isn¡¯t satisfied when eating it?"

    He then turned to the female disciple. "Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll help him resituate the fish."

    "Hurry up." The woman was impatient and had no interest in fish.

    The man led Lu Yin back into the house, and his expression changed. He stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin was startled. "I''m Number Six; what''s wrong?"

    The man sneered. "But who is Number Six?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I¡¯m Meng E. You haven¡¯t forgotten my name, right?"

    Meng E was the name of the man whose appearance Lu Yin had adopted.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. "He has never been called Number Six."

    Lu Yin understood; the name Number Six had been made up by the other fisherman in order to test Lu Yin. "How did you figure it out?"

    The man snorted derisively. "The members of our Anglers¡¯ Club are always fishing in the Astral River, and the air around us is different from other people. We always have a fishy scent on us, and it¡¯s our greatest struggle as it can¡¯t be removed. Your body doesn¡¯t carry that smell."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I just had bad luck to run into you."

    The middle-aged man suddenly attacked, and he grabbed for Lu Yin''s neck. He wanted to subdue Lu Yin, but Lu Yin reacted at the same time and grabbed the man¡¯s hand. He pushed back, and the man¡¯s arm bent as his body was forced to the floor by Lu Yin. He stared up at Lu Yin in shock. "You?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "I just want to talk. No need to make a fuss."

    "Who the hell are you?" The man was stunned. He had a power level that exceeded 300,000, and he could be considered a powerhouse in both the Outer and Innerverse. Even on Chaosgod Mountain, he had the power to rank among the top five experts of the sect out of all of their countless members. He was an independent powerhouse, but he had not expected to run into someone who could leave him feelingpletely helpless. This person was pretending to be a member of the Anglers¡¯ Club, so the man knew that things would not be simple.

    Lu Yin restored his normal appearance and calmly stared at the man.

    The man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "Is it really you?"

    Lu Yin released his hold on the man and smiled. "It¡¯s been a long time. That fruit fish was delicious; do you have any more?"

    The man frowned and rubbed his wrist. This was unbelievable! Long ago, the man had met Lu Yin on Nightking, and right after that, the battle between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu had stirred up waves throughout the entire Innerverse. However, it had still been a fight between youths. While Lu Yin from back then might have been able to fight against the fisherman, it would have been impossible for the man to lose to the youth. How much time had passed since then? Already Lu Yin was able to leave the man unable to mount any hint of resistance.

    "What do you want to do?" the man asked. His tone of voice had soured, but he was actually more afraid than ever. He had already caught another fruit fish from the Astral River Ark, but it had been stolen by Tian Shao. The fisherman was not someone who was fearless in the face of death.

    Lu Yin said, "My ns have nothing to do with you. Just don''t expose me, and everyone will be better off. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make it impossible for you to leave Chaosgod Mountain alive, and I¡¯ll also make sure the Anglers'' Club will be banned from fishing in the Astral River."

    The man replied in anger, "You steal the identity of a member of my Anglers'' Club in order to make trouble here on Chaosgod Mountain. They¡¯ll definitelye after us! Things are not going to go well for us after this."

    "Do you actually think they¡¯ll even be able to waste any time on you after this?¡± Lu Yin casually asked before walking out of the room. "Get the fish."

    By the time Lu Yin left the building, he had already regained Meng E''s appearance. The fisherman followed behind Lu Yin. He had no choice but to dutifully behave and pick up Lu Yin¡¯s fish.

    The woman from Chaosgod Mountain did not feel that anything was different, and she led Lu Yin and the fisherman into the inner sect.

    They walked for a long time before finally entering the inner sect through a teleportation device. After that, they saw various disciples training as they continued along.

    All of the disciples were impressive, and they far outssed the disciples groomed by the major forces of the Outerverse. Even with Lu Yin''s perspective, these students could all qualify to study at the Astral Combat Academy. In the past, Cang Shi had also performed well during the Astral Combat Tournament.

    As soon as Lu Yin thought of Cang Shi, he appeared.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    Cang Shi was merely passing by. He was no longer a member of the younger generation, and instead had be Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s youngest elder.

    Right when Lu Yin entered Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s inner regions, Ku Wei looked up above the ck dome. It was time.

    In front of him, a Hunter from Chaosgod Mountain was fighting against another colossal giant. Suddenly, Ku Wei shrank his body when no one was paying attention to him. He then moved over to the group of giants who had already been at Chaosgod Mountain before his arrival, and he threw some blood towards them.

    Chaosgod Mountain made no efforts to prevent the colossal giants from speaking to each other. The colossal giants were not technically prisoners, if one was speaking nicely, but they were not much better off from prisoners as they were forced to spar and fight with Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples. Fortunately, the giants were not prevented frommunicating with each other.

    The giants had already know from the previous day what Ku Wei would do, and they did nothing to stop him.

    After absorbing Ku Wei¡¯s blood, a total of twenty colossal giants started to transform.

    Twenty colossal giants had been left at Chaosgod Mountain, the strongest of whom was Chen Ling, whose power level surpassed 300,000, which meant that he was about as strong as Chen Jian.

    As Ku Wei''s blood entered the giants¡¯ bodies, Chen Ling showed the strongest reaction, and his body started growing without any sign of stopping.

    Off in the distance, the people from Chaosgod Mountain stared in amazement and confusion, as they could not understand what was happening to the giants.

    Cang Yi was in charge of keeping an eye on the giants, but at this moment, he had no idea what was happening. Thinking quickly, he moved over in front of Chen Ling. "What''s happening? Chen Ling, what are you doing?"

    Chen Ling''¡¯s eyes gleamed as a terrifying aura shot into the sky. The ground shattered and Cang Yi was sent flying with a p.

    Due to his years of training, Cang Yi was able to sense the approaching danger, and was only barely able to avoid a direct attack, but he was still caught up in the powerful gust of wind that was stirred up by the p, and his body was smashed against the stone wall. He coughed up blood and looked up in shock. Chen Ling''s strength was supposed to be at a simr level to Cang Yi¡¯s, but this p was more powerful than anything Cang Yi had ever witnessed from the giant. Chen Ling¡¯s strength had taken a qualitative leap upwards.

    The top of the mountain ranges came pressing down from overhead. This was the same method used by Chaosgod Mountain to subdue the giants, but Chen Ling¡¯s change had destroyed this method of containing the giants.

    Chen Ling clenched a fist and threw out a punch against the approaching mountain. He barely managed to affect the mountain. The mountain was also targeting the other giants, but Ku Wei released his full strength and regained his full height of 8,000 meters. He was about as tall as Chen Ling. Ku Wei cooperated with Chen Ling and unleashed the Ku family¡¯s Finger Tap.

    Cang Yi stared at Ku We, his face pale with fright; since when were giants able to use battle techniques?

    There was a crack, and the mountain shattered.

    Cang Yi''s pupils constricted, and he quickly ordered the other Chaosgod Mountain disciples to move against the giants. "Chen Ling, you¡¯re insane! Do you want to bury all of the other giants with you? We¡¯ve been helping you!"

    Chen Ling pped at Cang Yi once again, and Cang Yi quickly dodged.

    Many of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples raced down towards the dome to suppress the colossal giants. The newly arrived giants were still not a problem, as they were not in their prime. They were unable to stop any of the disciples. However, the giants who had already been at Chaosgod Mountain were not being suppressed, and several of them had already achieved the strength of Enlighters.

    The news of this incident quickly spread through Chaosgod Mountain, and one by one, the elders and powerhouses were sent to the ck dome. Cang Song was also sent, and he sneered as he red at Chen Ling. "Chen Ling, just what are you doing? I never treat you badly! Do you really want to cause Giant Consortium to be destroyed?"

    Chen Ling punched at Cang Song, and the elder coughed as he faced the attack.

    Chen Ling''s power level exceeded 400,000, which was even stronger than Chen Jian, and ced him at a simr level to Cang Song. However, the giants had no battle techniques, and they also had not been able toprehend battle force, so they held no advantage in the fight. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand.

    Another elder with a power level of more than 300,000 appeared. Ku Wei moved to face off against the newly arrived elder, but Cang Yiunched a sneak attack on Ku Wei from behind. Ku Wei sneered and spun around to point a finger at Cang Yi. "Brother Wei has endured you for long enough!"

    The Ku family¡¯s battle technique was able to deprive their opponents of the will to fight, and this was what happened to Cang Yi. As he faced Ku Wei''s Finger Tap, Cang Yi was momentarily unable to attack. Also, because Ku Wei was a colossal giant, each of his fingers was like a mountain, and the finger smashed into Cang Yi.

    Cang Yi¡¯s head rose and he vomited blood. His body struck the mountainside with a st. His legs were bent in odd angles, and he was clearly badly wounded.

    Ku Wei was then attacked by another elder from behind, but the attack only managed to scratch his skin. Ku Wei whirled around and pped at the elder. "Get lost."

    The elder evaded the attack and stared at Ku Wei in surprise. "Who are you?"

    Ku Wei grinned. "Captain of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s 10th Imperial Squadron and disciple of the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance: Ku Wei!"

    The elder''s expression instantly and drastically changed. "Someone from Lu Yin?"

    The giants were rioting, and Chaosgod Mountain was locked down as fast as possible. Everything proceeded just as Lu Yin had expected. Chaosgod Mountain was sealed offpletely.

    At the moment, Lu Yin and the fisherman were no longer able to meet with Cang Song, and the woman guiding them was staring at the dome in amazement. Just what had happened?

    One after another, Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s powerhouses were sent out to the ck dome.

    Without additional help, Chen Ling and other giants would eventually be subdued.

    The fisherman stared at Lu Yin; all of this had to have something to do with this person.

    Suddenly, the void trembled. Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew focused; the Envoys were moving. He was feeling a fluctuation of stellr energy.

    Stellr energy swept out, disrupting everyone¡¯s star energy and suppressing them. However, this was useless against Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples and the giants. Both of them focused on physical strength, though things were different for Ku Wei. He had directed a Finger Tap at an elder, but his attack had just been dispersed.

    Suddenly, the void broke open and Cang Zhou stepped out. There was an ugly expression on his face as his eyes swept the ce. He raised a hand and pressed down to instantly andpletely subdue all of the colossal giants at once. Given his strength, this was an easy task.

 Chapter 1614: Gaining Control

    Chapter 1614: Gaining Control

    Ku Wei looked up, his face pale, Master, you still aren¡¯t making your move? This guy¡¯s an Envoy! Your disciple can¡¯t deal with this!

    Cang Zhou¡¯s palm mmed down, but suddenly, flying flowers and willow leaves appeared around him and trapped him.

    The man¡¯s expression changed drastically. "Who is so presumptuous on my Chaosgod Mountain? Come out and face me!"

    As Cang Zhou spoke, his powerful aura swept through the void, drifting up from the bottom of Chaosgod Mountain and igniting the entire mountain. The mountain did not burn with true mes, but instead it was the visual result of an explosive power that had shattered the void. It also resulted in a terrifyingly hot gas forming, and the attack shifted between the visible and the true universes.

    Cang Zhou''s attack created countless eruptions of energy that tore across the top of Chaosgod Mountain. The mountain waspletely covered by the spatial tears that looked like a ck hole.

    The willow leaves and flying flowers were destroyed.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua both emerged from the void with solemn expressions. ¡°That¡¯s a truly impressive level of physical might, but you still can''t escape."

    The two then worked together. Their cooperation resulted in a greater strength than just one plus one, and Cang Zhou''s movement were quickly restricted.

    The master of Chaosgod Mountain stared at Liu Ye and Fei Hua before moving his hands and causing countless mes to shoot towards the two Envoys. Pressure burst out, and it crushed both the colossal giants and Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples to the ground where they all trembled in fear. This was the power of an Envoy. No, this was the power of an elite Envoy. The strength caused the entire mountain to shudder and ripple effects spread out throughout Chaos Flowzone, stirring up the nearby universe.

    At the same time, nine lined battle force shrouded Cang Zhou''s body, causing his strength to rise further than ever.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua looked at each other. They each were about as strong as Cang Zhao, but when working together, the two of them were able to match up to an Envoy who had passed five stellr tribtions, and were able to defeat four tribtion powerhouses. Clearly, Chang Zhou could not reach this level of strength, but he was still a difficult opponent to lock down. It would be easy for the couple to defeat the master of Chaosgod Mountain, but they would struggle to capture him. Still, it was within their means.

    Within the ck dome, Lu Yin emerged from the void and looked up.

    Above him, there were several Chaosgod Mountain disciples attacking a colossal giant with the strength of an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin''s face gradually changed back to his own.

    One disciple watched as this happened, and his expression twisted with fear as he screamed, "Lu - Yin!"

    His yell startled many people, and many other disciples, including Cang Shi, turned and saw Lu Yin.

    Many things pieced together in Cang Shi¡¯s mind after he saw Lu Yin. Everything that was happening had to be rted to this person.

    Lu Yin had a reputation not only for being the most powerful member of his generation, but also for being an ambitious leader. He had appeared quietly while the giant had been rioting, so even a fool would realize that Lu Yin was rted to the chaos.

    "Lu Yin, what have you done?" An old man rushed at Lu Yin and attacked him with a long ax. The man¡¯s body had six lined battle force wrapped around it.

    However, Lu Yin did not even look at the man or his ax. Instead, his spiritual force swept through the area, stunning many Chaosgod Mountain disciples. They swayed on their feet or copsed to the ground, but they were unable to retain control of their own bodies. The old man in front of Lu Yin also crumpled to the ground.

    Spiritual force was the weakness of Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s cultivators, and Lu Yin''s spiritual force had be very powerful.

    He looked up and locked eyes onto Cang Zhou, and then Lu Yin¡¯s focus heightened: Daynight Praises.

    Cang Zhou was in the process of wildly attacking Liu Ye and Fei Hua in an attempt to break free of the two Envoys, but suddenly his brain was rattled, and it caused his movements to falter. At that moment, Liu Ye and Fei Hua both suddenly retreated before willow leaves and floating flowers appeared. Cang Zhou waspletely restrained, and he fell down to the top of the ck dome.

    Cang Zhou red in fury at his attackers, but he was unable to free himself.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua bothnded on the ground. They maintained their vignce against their captured opponent.

    "Who are you? Why are you attacking my Chaosgod Mountain?" Cang Zhou shouted he red at the two other Envoys with murder in his eyes.

    Footsteps could be heard from behind the captured Envoy. "Senior Cang Zhou, it''s been a long time. This junior, Lu Yin, greets you."

    Cang Zhou''s face betrayed his startlement, and he slowly turned his head to see a familiar-looking person walking over.

    There was a small smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Even though it¡¯s already been a few years, Senior still has the same attitude as ever."

    Cang Zhou roared, "This old man knew there was no way you had settled down! I should¡¯ve killed you in Chaos Flowzone back then!"

    "Senior, even if you go back in time with perfect foresight, you still would never have been able to kill me two years ago." Lu Yinughed.

    Cang Zhou red at Lu Yin. "You nned the colossal giants¡¯ riot in order to force me to lock down Chaosgod Mountain and seal this ce to iste us. If you want to secretly control my Chaosgod Mountain, you¡¯re dreaming! My Chaosgod Mountain has no cowards! Not one of us is afraid of death."

    The man had almost instantly understood the entire situation. He only regret was not understanding the truth sooner, as his actions had actually helped Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands the struggles that Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples endure, and I¡¯m also aware that your people are not afraid of death. However, since this junior is already here, I refuse to leave empty-handed."

    "What do you want?" Cang Zhou gritted his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin.

    The greatest regret in Cang Zhou¡¯s mind at this moment was not pushing to carry out the Purge when the chance had arisen. Why had he listened to this youth¡¯s deceptive words back then? That moment had led to the destruction of Chaosgod Mountain! Lu Yin had already taken control of one of the ruling powers of the major flowzones.

    Ku Wei shrank himself down and moved to Lu Yin''s side. His breath was ragged as he greeted Lu Yin, "Master."

    Just as Lu Yin was about to reply, he sensed runes moving. He turned his head back around to look see what was happening, and he saw that Cang Yi, who supposedly had been left lying on the ground badly wounded, had somewhat recovered and was fleeing.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked a finger. A powerful gust of wind shot through the void, and even entered the true universe before finally piercing through Cang Yi''s legs. The man fell with a scream.

    Cang Zhou saw the entire exchange, and his expression changed dramatically as he gazed at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- your strength?"

    "You little shit, you still want to run away? Master, that kid beat me up for an entire day! His name Cang Yi, and today, Brother Wei is going to rip off his bird wings!"1 Ku Wei angrily dered.

    Cang Yi? Lu Yin raised a hand to hold Ku Wei back even as he looked over at Cang Yi, who had been left in a miserable state some distance away. Lu Yin became quite interested, as this person was actually one of his primary targets in Chaosgod Mountain. He had not expected to find the person so quickly. Fortunately, Lu Yin had not attacked Cang Yi with much strength. ¡°Go get him and bring him to me. Don¡¯t hurt him any further, as he¡¯s of use to me."

    Ku Wei grew curious. "Master, what use do you have for that kid?"

    "Just go," Lu Yin whispered.

    Ku Wei nodded and moved towards Cang Yi.

    Cang Zhou was confused, and he looked at Cang Yi as he was captured where he had fallen. "Lu Yin, what is it that you want? Do you want my Chaosgod Mountain to join your Great Eastern Alliance? That¡¯s impossible!"

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "Liu Ye, you can take care of him, so please keep a close eye on him."

    Cang Zhou shouted, "Lu Yin, no one in all of Chaosgod Mountain is afraid of death, but we can still cooperate with you! We will never move against your Great Eastern Alliance. Even if all of your Great Eastern Alliance moves into the Innerverse, Chaos Flowzone will still give you a ce to stay."

    Lu Yin just waved a hand to have Liu Ye take Cang Zhou away.

    All of the other humans from Chaosgod Mountain were also rounded up by the giants, including Cang Song, who had almost died. There was another elder with a power level of more than 300,000 who had been unluck enough to have been stomped to death by the giants.

    Everyone pulled back to allow Lu Yin the privacy to speak with Cang Yi alone.

    Cang Yi was lying on the ground with both of his legs destroyed. He had suffered grave injuries after being attacked by Ku Wei¡¯s Finger Tap, and he was essentially only a breath away from death.

    "I can let you live and have a good life," Lu Yin slowly offered.

    Cang Yi looked up, and his eyes flickered. "What do you want from me?"

    Lu Yin squatted down and stared at the man. "Will you agree or not?"

    "I¡¯ll agree," Cang Yi struggled to speak.

    Lu Yinughed. "Cang Zhou told me that Chaosgod Mountain disciples don¡¯t fear death, and yet you didn¡¯t even put up any sort of struggle; why?"

    Cang Yi¡¯s voice grew bitter, "Living is better than dying. Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve worked so hard to gain control of Chaosgod Mountain, so how could you ever leave with nothing? Even if I die, other Chaosgod Mountain disciples will surrender to you and be your puppets."

    Lu Yin nodded as he eximed, "I think the same. As expected of one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s rare traitors who¡¯s turned to the Technocracy."

    Cang Yi stood rooted to the spot in horror the moment he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words.. It was as though he had been struck by lightning on a cloudless day. He stared at Lu Yin in a daze. This revtion waspletely beyond belief.

    Lu Yin smiled. "What? Is it so strange for me to know about that? It¡¯s not just you, but also many others from throughout the Innerverse who have turned to the Technocracy. No, I should say the Sixth Maind. I know about many of you; why else do you think I spared you just now? The only reason for me to leave you alive is because I know that you¡¯re afraid of death and someone who¡¯s already be a traitor has no lines that they won¡¯t cross.¡± At the end, Lu Yin stretched out a hand and grabbed hold of Cang Yi¡¯s hair, and his voice became icy cold.

    Cang Yi hung his head as sweat dripped down. Blood and sweat mixed together, and his mouth was dry. He had no idea how to respond.

    Lu Yin released his grip and took out an Enhanced pill that he stuffed into Cang Yi''s mouth. "Tell me: who do you serve? You should be aware that your only path to survival is to beg me for mercy, or else you¡¯ll quickly find yourself dead, especially because there are many other traitors in the Innerverse. No one will care if one of you dies. Why else do you think the Xun family was wiped out? There¡¯s also Wen Zhaocheng.¡±

    Cang Yi¡¯s heart fell the moment he heard Wen Zhaocheng''s name. He closed his eyes and twice. "Madam Hong."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Flying Horse Manor¡¯s Madam Hong?"

    Cang Yi nodded. "More than ten years ago, just when the Inner and Outerverse had be separated and the Sixth Maind had started its invasion. Back then, all I knew was that the person who gave me my orders was Madam Hong, an elder from the Sixth Maind''s Daosource Sect. My orders were always given in the Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City."

    The Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City was absolutely massive. It had been built by the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain, but was controlled by the Sixth Maind. It had been the base from which the Sixth Maind hadunched their assault on Endless Weave. It was a ce that had been at war with the Human Domain for countless years.

    Cang Yi had betrayed the Human Domain and joined the Technocracy. It was only natural for him to have been based out of that particr city, but Lu Yin had not expected that Cang Yi would be controlled directly by the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    It looked like it had not been Flying Horse Manor who had made Cang Yi be a turncoat, but rather the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Madam Hong had not been acting as part of Flying Horse Manor, but as a protector of the Daosource Sect.

    "When the Sixth Maind invaded, people from the Grand Martial Realm were able to easily ughter countless cultivators from the Innerverse and they even managed to seize control of Chaos Flowzone. Flying Horse Manor even destroyed Astral-3; were you involved in any of this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Yi''s expression changed. "I had nothing to do with any of that! A- all I did was tell Madam Hong where Astral-3 could be found, but I had nothing to do with anything that happened!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned icy cold. At this moment, he contemted killing Cang Yi immediately. The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Astral-3 had been destroyed, and their headmaster had been killed by Flying Horse Manor. Many of the students had been captured, and then used as bait to lure out Innerverse cultivators who tried to rescue the students. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, all of those people would have eventually been killed.

    [1] Cang Yi = Azure Wings. Tear of his "wings" is said with the intention of bringing Cang Yi down (from his overinted ego). ?

 Chapter 1615: Wealthy Again

    Chapter 1615: Wealthy Again

    "Are you able to contact Madam Hong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Yi briefly hesitated before nodding. "Yes."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; since Cang Yi could contact Madam Hong, he would prove to be incredibly useful.

    Madam Hong had been the one to capture the Sea King, and Lu Yin had never forgotten that detail.

    Cang Yi¡¯s existence provided Lu Yin with the best candidate to maintain secret control of Chaosgod Mountain. Anyone who was allowed ess to the ck dome were elite members of Chaosgod Mountain. It was normal for people from Chaosgod Mountain to go into seclusion to train, and their entire inner sect was closed to the outside universe. Cang Yi was in a position to be the ambassador of Chaosgod Mountain.

    Still, this would only be a temporary arrangement, as if it continued for too long, Cang Yi¡¯s connection to Lu Yin would be discovered.

    There were hundreds of underground groups that were directly or indirectly controlled by Chaosgod Mountain. They had millions of direct disciples, but there were also countless other cultivators who followed Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s orders.

    Before ZENITH, Chaosgod Mountain had managed to cleanse an entire flowzone.

    Cang Yi led Lu Yin through the mountain, and Lu Yin obtained 2.2 billion star essence that had been gathered by Chaosgod Mountain over many years.

    The greater the power, the greater their operation costs. So far, Chaosgod Mountain possessed the greatest power and wealth out of everywhere that Lu Yin had observed. Their wealth and power were directly rted to their control of the underworld forces of the Innerverse.

    With 2.2 billion star essence, Lu Yin''s breathing started to elerate; he was rich! Rich! His wealth had umted to over 3 billion star essence!

    Only when his funds were sufficient was Lu Yin able to feel any sense of relief.

    If not for his concern about creating tremendous confusion, Lu Yin would dly have gathered up all of the materials, natural treasures, and power vessels that had been stored in Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s treasury with the star essence in order to sell it all. Actually, he had also gained control of all of the Innerverse¡¯s underworld powers, and their tributes would amount to a great deal of wealth.

    Despite his reluctance to do so, the fisherman asked to see Lu Yin. The man wanted to leave Chaosgod Mountain. He had personally witnessed the change of power controlling the ce, and even if he was an expert with an impressive power level of more than 300,000 who had witnessed many things throughout his life, he still could not believe what he had seen.

    The Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones were controlled by the most powerful organizations in the entire Innerverse, and yet one of those powers had fallen under control of another. This revtion caused the fisherman to view Lu Yin with uncontroble apprehension and nervousness.

    Lu Yin patted the fisherman on the shoulder. "Leave? Isn¡¯t Chaosgod Mountain beautiful? Why would you leave? By the way, the Astral River was recently closed, so there¡¯s no reason for you to leave."

    The man bitterly replied, "I won''t go fishing for now. I just want to go home."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no hurry! Just stay here for now. Actually, why don¡¯t you do me a favor? You can keep an eye on these people here in Chaosgod Mountain. My followers here are all giants, so things should be easy for you."

    The man wanted to refuse, but Lu Yin''s hand pressed firmer and firmer upon his shoulder. The man quickly realized that staying was his only option.

    The fisherman also realized that it would not be easy for him to leave. Lu Yin had secretly gained control of Chaosgod Mountain, so how could he possibly allow anyone out who could leak news of this event?

    The man left, and Lu Yin spoke with Cang Zhou alone.

    Cang Zhou felt humiliated at this time. In order to prevent the master of Chaosgod Mountain from escaping, Sister Fei Hua had badly injured the Envoy, and he looked half-dead.

    "Senior, I''m truly sorry. If possible, I didn¡¯t want to do this, but it was the only option avable to me," Lu Yin casually ¡°apologized¡± to Cang Zhou.

    Cang Zhou sighed. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he stared at Lu Yin. "I already told you that no one from my Chaosgod Mountain fears death. Even if you capture all of us, you still won¡¯t be able to keep this matter hidden. Chaosgod Mountain can¡¯t go even a day without its master."

    "That''s true, and that¡¯s also why Cang Yi is the new master of Chaosgod Mountain," Lu Yin reported with a smile.

    Cang Zhou''s expression changed. "Cang Yi?"

    Lu Yin showed a small smile. "Senior, didn¡¯t you know? Cang Yi¡¯s been working under the Technocracy¡¯s capital city for many years. He¡¯s a traitor to the Fifth Maind."

    "Impossible! My Chaosgod Mountain doesn¡¯t have anyone who would do such a thing!" Cang Zhou shouted.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It doesn''t matter if you believe me or not. Regardless, Cang Yi is now working for me, and he¡¯ll be obedient in his management of Chaosgod Mountain, so no one will learn anything at all."

    Cang Zhou''s face turned red, and veins erupted across his forehead as he angrily demanded, "Where is Cang Yi? I want to see him!"

    "There¡¯s no need for that. Besides, you now don¡¯t have to worry about how I control Chaosgod Mountain. I actually just came here to say hello to Senior and reassure you," Lu Yin said as he stared into Cang Zhou''s eyes.

    Naturally, Lu Yin was not bored enough to visit Cang Zhou without a reason. Lu Yin had wanted to speak with the Envoy to see if he had missed anything. After all, given the size of Chaosgod Mountain, it was possible for Lu Yin¡¯s schemes to be iplete.

    At this moment, Ku Wei approached. "Master, there is someone from the Longevity Brigade here. They say they¡¯re looking for Cang Zhou."

    Lu Yin wondered, "The Longevity Brigade?"

    He looked back at Cang Zhou. "What¡¯s the Longevity Brigade looking for you for?"

    Cang Zhou replied, "They¡¯re wanting to use my Chaosgod Mountain to find some cultivators who are foolhardy enough to use them to explore the Cosmic Sea. We periodically supply them with a group of such people."

    Lu Yin knew that the Cosmic Sea was dangerous, and naturally the Four Pirate Crews would not use their own people to explore. Chaosgod Mountain controlled Chaos Flowzone, and there were many criminals in the flowzone, so it was perfectly natural to find such people to work with the pirate crews. ¡°Have Cang Yi send a group of people to the Longevity Brigade. Also, tell them that Chaosgod Mountain is currently sealed."

    "Understood, Master." Ku Wei hurriedly back out.

    Lu Yin was unable to learn anything useful through his conversation with Cang Zhou, so he soon left the Envoy alone.

    ***

    Elsewhere in Chaos Flowzone, there was a spacecraft making its way towards the Cosmic Sea. The vessel belonged to the Longevity Brigade, and it was transporting hundreds of captured criminals.

    Inside the vessel, a man made a call to the Cosmic Sea. "Captain, I wasn¡¯t able to meet with Cang Zhou, but he did send us a signal indicating that something¡¯s happened to Chaosgod Mountain."

    As the man spoke, he nced over at the group of cultivators.

    "I see," a deep voice replied, and the call was ended.

    ¡­

    Two days passed from the time that Cang Zhou had been captured. During these two days, aside from the people who had been captured in the ck dome, everything remained normal for Chaosgod Mountain. Once Cang Yi stepped into power, even if there were some people who had their doubts about the matter, they were quickly shushed.

    Twenty-nine colossal giants stood above the ck dome listening to Ku Wei. Each of them was obedient towards Ku Wei and had heart-felt respect for him.

    Lu Yin happily watched the scene. Colossal giants were not weak.

    Beep beep beep

    His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin answered the call. Wang Wen instantly reported, "We forgot something very important."

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin frowned. It was very unusual for Wang Wen to speak with such worry.

    "The Innerverse is only really second tier in the Fifth Maind. While the forces there are able to easily overpower the Outerverse, not one of the Innerverse powers is able to go against the powers in the Cosmic Sea, let alone the Neoverse. The powers controlling the various flowzones rarely change. Even if you are able to gain control of Chaosgod Mountain, the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse, the factions residing in the eight great flowzones are still ultimately the rulers here.¡±

    "What are you trying to say?" Lu Yin asked as an ominous feeling overcame him.

    "There¡¯s a certain stability inherit to every ecological environment, and the same holds true for the Innerverse. Don''t look at the eight great flowzones as being hostile towards each other and constantly fighting between themselves. I can promise you that there are connections between them that we arepletely ignorant about. Those other organizations will soon learn about what happened, as if they weren¡¯t able to do so, it would be too easy to seize control of them each, one by one. If that were possible, the Innerverse powers would already have be subordinate to some other, greater power, and they would not have their independence," Wang Wen exined.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger as he silently listened.

    "The entire reason that the Great Eastern Alliance was able to be created in the very beginning was entirely because we controlled the secrets of the powers directing the various weaves and managed to easily control those powers as well. Also, do you remember the excuse that was used to tell the various alliance members for initially creating the alliance?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin remembered that he had initially told the Vastdearth Sect, Millions City, and other major Outerverse powers that the Great Eastern Alliance was being formed to protect the Outerverse from pressure from the Innerverse powers. It was an alliance to allow the Outerverse to stand up to the Innerverse. Naturally, the Innerverse wanted the same ability, but towards the Neoverse.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance was established to stabilize the Outerverse and prevent the Outerverse powers from bing mere puppets of the Innerverse forces. If not for the Hall of Honor, the Outerverse¡¯s top powers would have disappeared long ago," Wang Wen continued.

    "The Innerverse may not fear the Neoverse because of the influence of the Hall of Honor,¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Wang Wen shrugged. "That¡¯s impossible. While the Outerverse isn¡¯t very important, the Innerverse is different. Even the Hall of Honor may want to control that ce, so there¡¯s no need to mention the monstrous entities in the Neoverse. The universe is not a peaceful ce, and the Innerverse has to have some form of stability in order to prevent any idents from uring to the various major powers. Whenever something happens, the other top powers have to quickly learn about it in order to ensure countermeasures are put into ce as soon as possible. This has to be a secret that only the controlling powers of the eight great flowzones are privy to.

    "You¡¯re already running out of time. You have to find out from Cang Zhou how to keep the recent events on Chaosgod Mountain from leaking, or else I¡¯m sure that the other flowzones will unite. The war in zing Mist Flowzone will stop, and everything will be peaceful. Our entire n will die a quick death."

    "Why didn''t you say something sooner?" Lu Yin angrily demanded. He had felt that things had progressed too smoothly, and he had always felt that something was off. This was why he had met with Cang Zhou on his own, as he had wanted to probe the matter, but Cang Zhou was too cunning and Lu Yin had not been able to determine anything at all.

    Wang Wen felt helpless. "It really is my fault this time, as it simply didn¡¯t ur to me. I was careless, and you moved too fast."

    Lu Yin ended the call and went straight to see Cang Zhou.

    "I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about," Cang Zhou sneered. He closed his eyes and would not even look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. "You have to have a way to let the Sword Sect and other Innerverse powers know when something happens to Chaosgod Mountain."

    Cang Zhou casually replied, "There indeed is a means to do so, but it¡¯s impossible for me to tell you."

    This was a problem. Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s people were cultivators who were capable of enduring all kinds of hardships, and they constantly dealt with underworld organizations. They were ustomed to seeing various means employed to force people into things, and their ability to endure could not bepared to ordinary people. Lu Yin could not think of anything that would be of use in this situation.

    "I can destroy your stellr energy vortex," Lu Yin indifferentlymented.

    Cang Zhou opened his eyes and stared at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s still better than my Chaosgod Mountain being controlled by you. Since you¡¯ve already guessed that there¡¯s a connection between us, you should also have guessed that we have an agreement. Even if my stellr energy vortex is destroyed, the situation in the Innerverse will remain unchanged. I¡¯m fighting for my Chaosgod Mountain; so what if I don''t have stellr energy?

    "Harming me will only make the Sword Sect and the others more afraid of you."

    Lu Yin was really in trouble at the moment, and Wang Wen was facing his own troubles: the Autumnfrost family was finally knocking on the door.

    The Autumnfrost family had sent Uncle Hua and others with Di Fa to find Aegis, but they had all been captured by Lu Yin before arriving. To cover Yu Mu¡¯s tracks, they were all being held captive on Zenyu Star. However, news of them being held there was going to leak out sooner orter, and the Autumnfrost family had finally arrived at Zenyu Star, demanding for their people.

    Fortunately, Frostwave Weave had Envoys, as without them, the Autumnfrost family¡¯s Imprinters would have employed a brute force approach.

 Chapter 1616: Mystery

    Chapter 1616: Mystery

    It was not long before Lu Yin received another call from Wang Wen.

    "I think it would be best to release Uncle Hua and the others. Now¡¯s not the time to try to go up against the Autumnfrost family," Wang Wen suggested.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Cang Zhou still hasn¡¯t said anything at all. Sooner orter, the Innerverse will learn that something¡¯s wrong with Chaosgod Mountain, but they won¡¯t necessarily know that it¡¯s got anything to do with us, right?"

    Wang Wen''s eyes lit up. "Are you wanting to use the Autumnfrost family to divert attention away from us?"

    "Is that possible?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen thought for a while. "It''ll be very dangerous, but we can use the Autumnfrost family to divert people¡¯s attention, though it¡¯s also possible that the Autumnfrost family will ruin or even destroy our efforts. The Sixth Maind is iparable to the Innerverse."

    Lu Yin said, "I can antagonize the Sixth Maind, but the Autumnfrost family can''t be allowed to destroy my Great Eastern Alliance."

    "This won''t work for long." Wang Wen obviously did not agree with Lu Yin¡¯s choice. In order to hide the fact that Lu Yin had gained control of Chaosgod Mountain, they would go up against the Autumnfrost family. Even if the Innerverse¡¯s major powers did not suspect the Great Eastern Alliance of being involved in the matter with Chaosgod Mountain, they would still be cautious after learning that something had happened to Chaosgod Mountain. The only difference would be that the Great Eastern Alliance would not be a target.

    Taking a greater loss than one¡¯s gains was always only thest resort.

    "Get us some time, and then we¡¯ll think about things," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen ended the call. He really had not expected the Autumnfrost family to approach at this time. This was really creating problems.

    Even if the eight great flowzones did have their secret connections andmunications to cooperate, such things could not ur frequently. Lu Yin estimated that each interval betweenmunications had to be at least more than ten years. For people who had the time, this was already quite frequent, and the people controlling these powers were all Envoys who could frequently go into secluded training for years at a time.

    What worried Lu Yin the most was that such a deadline was almost due, which would be infuriating.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin went to see Cang Zhou every single day. Each time, he tried to get Cang Zhou to speak, but all efforts were useless.

    "I''ve already made my move against Chaosgod Mountain. Even if I fall back now, the Sword Sect and the others will still be much more vignt, so there¡¯s no reason for me to back down. What you need to think about is how to leave unscathed, not the stability of the Innerverse. What does that have to do with you? People live their own lives, and they also determine their own lives," Lu Yin advised.

    Cang Zhou sneered, "Alliance Leader Lu, cut the bullshit; it''s useless. I will never say anything, so do your worst."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly. The man was an Envoy, so Lu Yin really had no ce to even start.

    One day, an unexpected person reached out to Lu Yin: God Taiyi.

    Lu Yin and God Taiyi could only be regarded as almost friends, and Lu Yin had never considered receiving a call from God Taiyi.

    "Brother Lu, is it that surprising for me to call you?" God Taiyi asked with a smile.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s quite the surprise. Is something wrong?"

    "Brother Lu, do you still remember those people from the Ignition Crew that you handed over to my Gods'' Origin back in the Neoverse?" God Taiyi asked.

    "Them? That wasn¡¯t a big deal."

    "Brother Lu''s hard work not only helped my Gods'' Origin, but also ended up helping you, Brother Lu," God Taiyi stated. He quickly continued, "Some time ago, Arbiter Jin He used the excuse of people having the Lu surname to condemn Big Sis and various others. Her mercenary crew was targeted and 72 people with your surname were killed. I know that Brother Lu will always remember this matter, and even if Jin He is already dead, Brother Lu will continue to seek revenge from the Ignition Crew. What I wanted to tell you, Brother Lu, is that there were other people involved in that matter in addition to the Ignition Crew."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed a bit. "It wasn¡¯t just the Ignition Crew?"

    "In the group that you sent to Gods¡¯ Origin, there were some who had heard about Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s involvement as well," God Taiyi solemnly dered.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed drastically. "Where are you?"

    God Taiyi grew confused. "Where am I?"

    Lu Yin pressed, "Where are you right now?"

    "Gods'' Origin. Does Brother Lu want toe visit?" God Taiyi wondered.

    Lu Yin frowned. This was just too much of a coincidence. Briefly, Lu Yin considered that God Taiyi might be trying to toy with him. After all, Lu Yin was still on Chaosgod Mountain and had only just taken control of the ce when God Taiyi contacted him. There was no way for him to not be suspicious.

    "Are you sure they mentioned Chaosgod Mountain?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I¡¯ll have the person tell you himself."

    Right after that, Lu Yin heard a trembling voice speak, "Yes, it¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain. When Jin He returned to the Ignition Crew, I personally heard it mentioned that Chaosgod Mountain had cooperated. I swear it¡¯s true! I¡¯m not lying! Don''t kill me! Don''t kill me!"

    Lu Yin''s expression turned dark. Chaosgod Mountain stood in Chaos Flowzone, which was far from the Ignition Crew or where they had been attacked; how could they be involved in such a matter?

    "Brother Lu, I''m just passing you some information. This person¡¯s terrified of death, so he¡¯s just throwing things out. You¡¯ll have to be the one to determine the truth of this matter. Later." God Taiyi then ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his had. The entire situation had once again be confusing. He had originally thought that the Ignition Crew had targeted Big Sis and her mercenaries because of their connection to Leon¡¯s Armada, and that the Ignition Crew had wanted to cut away at the strength of Leon¡¯s forces, but seemed to not be the case.

    Big Sis just led a small mercenary crew, so why had there been any need for Chaosgod Mountain to get involved. Also, just what was the connection between Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew?

    Lu Yin stood in ce and ran through the various details that he could remember about when people with the Lu surname had been targeted and killed. Lu Yin wanted to track down Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s possible involvement. In the end, the only possibility that he coulde up with was that there was some sort of connection between the Leo family and Chaosgod Mountain.

    When Big Sis and the others had reached the Outerverse, they had been attacked by the Leo family. Later, Lu Yin had taken Zhuo Daynight to a pirate port and had run into Da Chong. At that time, the man had been investigating the Leo family, but unfortunately, the Leo family had ended up being wiped out along with Driftcharge, and all leads had been destroyed.

    Everyone had assumed that the Leo family had received their orders from Jin He or someone else who held enmity towards Leon¡¯s Armada, and no one had ever cared enough to look into the matter.

    As he thought through the matter, Lu Yin summoned Cang Yi.

    "Darkmist Weave?" Cang Yi asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was low as he continued, "Gather any and all information on Chaosgod Mountain that¡¯s rted to Darkmist Weave going back more than ten years."

    Cang Yi nodded and left.

    Half a dayter, Cang Yi returned to Lu Yin and respectfully informed him, "Chaosgod Mountain is far away from Darkmist Weave, and there¡¯s almost no connection at all. The only thing that I found was an minor incident more than ten years ago when we supported a small family that once wandered about in Chaos Flowzone. We helped them strengthen a pirate port."

    Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open. "What was the name of the family?"

    "Leo. The Leo family."

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled. The Leo family! It really was the Leo family. At this moment, Lu Yin knew that the Leo family¡¯s assault on Big Sis and her mercenary crew was connected to Chaosgod Mountain.

    "Why support the Leo family? What¡¯s their connection with Chaosgod Mountain?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Yi shook his head. "There¡¯s no information about that. All that¡¯s recorded about the Leo family is that they were sent things to reinforce a port and some supplies. Everything else rted to that matter has disappeared.

    "Someone from the Leo family also stayed here in Chaos Flowzone and ended up developing a rtionship with an elder from my Chaosgod Mountain, so no one really cared about a little bit of support."

    "Did you meet that person?" Lu Yin asked.

    "That elder¡¯s already dead. They were killed by the Sixth Maind."

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath. He took a step and disappeared. He went to speak to Cang Zhou.

    Cang Zhou coldly greeted Lu Yin, "You can either give up and destroy my cultivation."

    Lu Yin stared at Cang Zhou. "I wonder if you¡¯ve ever heard of the Leo family."

    Cang Zhou''s eyes twitched, though only for an instant. The man¡¯s face immediately returned to normal. "What¡¯s the Leo family? Never heard of them."

    "There are records of the Leo family in Chaosgod Mountain. The only thing that was ever reported was a unteral support via supplies and strengthening a port they controlled. There was nothing gained from this matter. Your Chaosgod Mountain is not a charity, so tell me why you help this particr family?" Lu Yin asked. When he had visited the pirate port he had found a lot of advanced medical equipment. He had been puzzled by the presence of such equipment at the time, but now it looked like it had been sent there through Chaosgod Mountain.

    Cang Zhou just closed his eyes. "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. A small family like that could just have a connection to one of my Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s disciples. There¡¯s nothing wrong with providing a small bit of material support."

    "Things that can strengthen a pirate port are not simple supplies, though they probably aren¡¯t seen as much to your Chaosgod Mountain. However, after thinking about it, I wonder if this is rted to Leon''s Armada?" Lu Yin somberly suggested.

    Cang Zhou''s eye twitched, and he fell silent.

    "What sort of conflict does your Chaosgod Mountain have with Leon¡¯s Armada? Why would you work with the Ignition Crew to go against them?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Cang Zhou still said nothing.

    Lu Yin really wanted to kill the man, but doing so would cause the truth to disappear forever.

    Lu Yin walked away.

    After Lu Yin left, Cang Zhou opened his eyes. They flickered, as he had been discovered. What had gone wrong? He had believed that this matter would never be exposed, and even if the Ignition Crew was annihted by Leon¡¯s Armada, there was still no way for his Chaosgod Mountain to be exposed, as no one would say anything. This confidence was why Cang Zhou had forgotten about the matter.

    In order to remain undiscovered, he had to actually think and act as though he had done nothing. This was Cang Zhou¡¯s personality. When speaking with Lu Yin before, Cang Zhou had assumed the youth to be ignorant of the matter. The Envoy had not expected to be exposed like this.

    It looks like he could not keep things under wraps for too much longer.

    "Is this all the information that Chaosgod Mountain has on the matter?" Lu Yin asked.

    From behind, Cang Yi respectfully replied, "It''s all here."

    Lu Yin began to seriously study the information. He intended to find the connection between Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew.

    It was supposed to be impossible to find any such connection through the records that had been left untouched, but Lu Yin still found some.

    Chaosgod Mountain was different from other forces that controlled the eight great flowzones. One of the mountain¡¯s defining features was that the sect was not inherited, but was gained throughpetition.

    Cang Zhou was the master of Chaosgod Mountain, but he had not inherited it. Every single member of Chaosgod Mountain was eligible topete for the position of the mountain¡¯s master.

    Considering this detail, Lu Yin started to think.

    Chaosgod Mountain did not have an environment that was suitable for ordinary humans; it was too cold. The entire mountain was filled with a dry sort of cold that pierced to the bone.

    The giants were sleeping soundly atop the ck dome. Their huge bodies were thousands of meters tall and looked like mountains. Ku Wei was among them, as he had no other choice. He wanted to find a better ce to sleep and rx, but Lu Yin had ordered Ku Wei to stay with the colossal giants, which gave Ku Wei a headache.

    Chaosgod Mountain disciples were very diligent with their training. No matter if it was day or night, there were always people cultivating.

    Even though a group of the elite disciples and many elders had been captured, their disappearance had not affected Chaosgod Mountain for the time being. Cang Yi had seized control of Chaosgod Mountain as fast as possible.

    No one noticed when the two figures rushed into the mountain at an impressive speed. The two did not tear through the void, and they simply used pure speed.

    After entering Chaosgod Mountain, they separated.

    It was not long before a brilliant light erupted from the void and a terrifying burst of stellr energy swept over Chaosgod Mountain and caused the void to tremble.

    Lu Yin instantly emerged and looked over to where Cang Zhou was being held captive.

 Chapter 1617: Assailant

    Chapter 1617: Assant

    Cang Zhou was still being held captive by Liu Ye and Fei Hua, left unable to move. Sister Fei Hua stood in front of their captive with a solemn expression on her face. Suddenly, a ck shadow attacked, catching the couple off guard. Even more shocking was the attacker¡¯s strength; even though the person did not use any battle techniques and their strength could notpare to either Liu Ye or Fei Hua, Liu Ye was being pushed back.

    Liu Ye spread out his arms, and dozens of willow leaves spread through the void. The shadowy figure raised a hand and pointed an index finger forward. The finger briefly pointed at each leaf, instantly shattering each one. Liu Ye¡¯s pupils shrank; this was impossible!

    The attacker leaped back and entered the true universe. Liu Ye copied the attacker at the same time, but did not see the shadowy figure within the true universe. There was no one to be seen at all.

    This was a terrifying battle technique. Liu Ye felt that he was powerful for his cultivation even within the Perennial World, and yet he was being toyed with by this attacker as though he were a child facing an adult. Though Liu Ye used his battle techniques and innate gift, everything was useless.

    A ck shadow appeared behind Liu Ye and attacked the Envoy with a palm. This was still not a battle technique, though the attack did use stellr energy in some manner that sent chills down Liu Ye¡¯s spine. He spun around, and willow leaves flew out from his palm technique.

    There was a bang, and both people exited the true universe at the same time. The shadowy figure shot towards Cang Zhou and Sister Fei Hua by using the force of Liu Ye''s palm attack.

    Sister Fei Hua gritted her teeth.

    "You¡¯re seeking death!" she said as she raised a hand. Beautiful flowers flew out and danced about while blossoming within the void. Each petal tore through space around Chaosgod Mountain. "You dare move any closer, and I willpletely release my stellr energy."

    The shadowy ck figure hesitated, and the person stared at Sister Fei Hua in amazement; the woman was nuts!

    If an Envoy fully released their stellr energy, it meant that the energy would be detected by the true universe, and any and all exposed stellr energy would be ripped back into the true universe.

    Envoys typically held themselves back when fighting, unless then entered a true life or death battle. If their stellr energy was detected by the true universe, it would be ripped away from them in a manner simr to a stellr tribtion.

    "Let¡¯s go again." Liu Ye approached the attacker.

    However, at this time, another shadowy figure appeared, and the person stared at Sister Fei Hua. Her eyes shed, as she suddenly felt as though her entire being had just been greatly weakened. Even the flowers in her hand began to wither. Fei Hua was startled; just what was going on?

    "Truesight! They¡¯re from the Ignition Crew!" someone shouted. Lu Yin emerged from the void. He was wearing his micro-armor, and he raised a hand to attack the second shadowy figure who had appeared with a Vacuum Palm.

    The ck figure¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the person released a shield of light into the void. The Vacuum Palm mmed into the shield, and the force of Lu Yin¡¯s attack was greatly reduced. Even though it continued through the void, it was no longer an invisible Vacuum Palm, but instead looked like a palm attack from an average Enlighter.

    Lu Yin was startled; this person¡¯s mastery of Truesight defied Lu Yin¡¯s imagination. This person clearly had the greatest mastery of the technique of anyone Lu Yin had ever encountered. "Who are you?"

    The man looked up at the sky.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank; this was not good. "Stop him!"

    Sister Fei Hua unable to make heads or tails of the situation. While Liu Ye knew that he was fighting against at least one opponent who could use Truesight, he was still being held back by the first shadowy figure who had appeared.

    Cracks appeared on the willow leaves and flowers that trapped Cang Zhou, and the strength of the restrictions on the master of Chaosgod Mountain was weakened by Truesight. Cang Zhou roared and broke free of the willow leaves and flowers. He then coughed and spat out blood. "Junior, you¡¯re looking to die!"

    "Liu Ye, Fei Hua, retreat!" Lu Yin was decisive. With Cang Zhou working with the two shadowy figures, Lu Yin and his two Envoys stood no chance.

    "You¡¯ll stay here even if you want to leave!" Cang Zhou¡¯s hatred for Lu Yin ran deep, and he shot forward and unleashed a punch at the youth. The attack was apanied by a burst of battle force, making it an incredibly powerful attack.

    No matter how impressive the defensive abilities of Lu Yin''s micro-armor, it was still only a means of protection. It did not give Lu Yin the ability to go up against experts with power levels of more than 700,000. Even though Cang Zhou had been seriously injured and Lu Yin had killed multiple corpse kings in the New World with simr power levels, those victories had been won through the use of items and equipment. Lu Yin would have to rely on his items just to escape from these three people.

    As Cang Zhou¡¯s punch flew forward, willow leaves appeared in front of Lu Yin. There was a loud bang, and the willow leaves were scattered.

    Liu Ye became distracted, and he ended up being caught by the shadowy figure he had been fighting. A palm struck the Envoy¡¯s right shoulder, and he was knocked back 100 meters. Sister Fei Hua raced over to him. "Join hands!"

    Right after that, Liu Ye and Fei Hua became entangled.

    The battle quickly drew attention from others. After all, it was so violent that all of Chaosgod Mountain had started trembling.

    Ku Wei showed up, but he was so scared the moment that he saw the battle that he instantly fled back to the ck dome. Cang Yi also saw what was happening, and he immediately grew pale and also ran away at top speed.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua worked together and tried to block Cang Zhou and the other two, but they were simply dreaming. At the same time, Lu Yin took advantage of the instance when his two protectors made their move, as star energy was not suppressed for a moment. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he moved himself over to the ck dome. He looked back at the battle. "Liu Ye,e here."

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua united tounch an attack, but it waspletely nullified by the Truesight expert. When working together, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were supposedly able to stand up to experts with power levels of 900,000, and yet their attack waspletely useless.

    The couple was stunned, so the moment they heard Lu Yin yell at them, they pulled back to the ck dome.

    Cang Zhou and the other two immediately gave chase.

    Lu Yin pulled out the small, blood-red bell and rang it under the shocked eyes of his three opponents. For a moment, everyone felt as though they saw a massive hand pressing down upon their heads from above. The hand reced the sky and the universe. It was beyond anything they could imagine. That was the Chief Justice¡¯s power.

    By the time Lu Yin¡¯s three opponents were able to react, Lu Yin and all of hispanions had disappeared from above the ck dome. They had already left Chaosgod Mountain.

    Cang Zhou coughed up more blood as he stared at the empty ck dome. Hemented with evident frustration, ¡°We can¡¯t let them escape without chasing them down!"

    Neither of the two shadowy figures moved at all.

    Cang Zhou looked at them.

    One of the two said, "That child has the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, so there¡¯s no point in chasing after them. If not for the fact that the emblem¡¯s suppression being untargeted, both of us would have been in danger."

    "That child¡¯s backing is beyondplicated. We cannot move against him for the moment," the other person said.

    "Is that how it must be? I have never before suffered such humiliation!" Cang Zhou growled.

    "Did you say anything at all about us?" one of the figures asked.

    Cang Zhou angrily retorted, "Of course not! Some kid wants to control me? How could that be possible?"

    The Envoy¡¯s eyes shed as he spoke. "However, he did discover something, though I have no idea how he managed it."

    "What?"

    Cang Zhou frowned. "He discovered our connection to the Leo family. He knows that I had some sort of connection to the people who attacked Big Sis¡¯s mercenaries back then. Also, you were just recognized by Truesight, which means that he knows there¡¯s a connection between Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew."

    "How did he learn about the Leo family?" one of the shadowy figures wondered.

    Cang Zhou shook his head. "I have no idea. All of the people involved in that matter should already be dead, except for you and I. Lu Yin already even killed your Ignition Crew¡¯s Jin He, so I have no idea how he learned anything at all. However, he now knows beyond any shadow of a doubt that there¡¯s a connection between my Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew. Sooner orter, he¡¯ll learn the truth about that incident."

    "Then we can¡¯t wait. Contact the Daynight n and the Sword Sect to start making ns," a ck figure said. This was the same person who had been suppressing Liu Ye throughout the fight.

    "Don''t worry, he can''t find out anything about you," Cang Zhou reassured the person.

    The shadow''s gaze hardened. "It¡¯s just a matter of time."

    Out in space, Liu Ye and Fei Hua carried along a group of colossal giants and made their way to the east. They were returning to Giant Consortium.

    Lu Yin sat on a giant¡¯s shoulder, his expression dark. He had failed! Failed! He had never expected that Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s connections would be so deep. They actually had a rtionship with the Ignition Crew! One of those two people who had attacked had to have been from the Ignition Crew, though not necessarily both of them. Gods¡¯ Origin also made use of Truesight, and the use of the technique left most people helpless. Both Liu Ye and Fei Hua had been weakened to the point that they had been helpless.

    Who else could have been involved?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both feeling quite frustrated, as they had been overwhelmed and defeated.

    Liu Ye looked over at Lu Yin. "That person who was fighting against me is by no means as simple as they looked from the outside. He knew precisely where my stellr energy vortex is located, and the only reason that he didn¡¯t attack it was as a warning. Even in the Perennial World, there is no three tribtion Envoy capable of doing that, and not even a five tribtion expert is guaranteed to instantly discover the location of my stellr energy vortex."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Are you saying that he was hiding his strength?"

    "Absolutely," Liu Ye stated.

    Sister Fei Hua stared at Lu Yin. "What was that technique that my opponent used? Not only was it useless for the two of us to work together, my own personal strength was also weakened greatly."

    "That was the Truesight I mentioned before," Lu Yin replied indifferently. He then simply ignored Liu Ye and Fei Hua. He felt that the entire situation was growing increasinglyplicated, and it had to have something to do with Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew being chased down and people trying to kill them.

    Who all had been involved in that incident? What was the reason for it? If it had only been to deal with Big Sis and her mercenaries, then any Chaosgod Mountain elder could have dealt with the situation. What was the reason to go through the Leo family? Why not just kill everyone in the mercenary crew? Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew¡­ It seemed to Lu Yin like his attack on Chaosgod Mountain might have touched something further that he was ignorant of.

    If not for God Taiyi informing Lu Yin about the connection the Leo family had with Chaosgod Mountain, Lu Yin would have remainedpletely ignorant of the further depths of the matter.

    Big Sis¡¯s mercenaries were not particrly important. What was important was Leon¡¯s Armada that stood behind them. Could the Ignition Crew have teamed up with Chaosgod Mountain to attack Leon¡¯s Armada?

    Lu Yin could not let this matter go, and he immediately called Highsage Leon.

    The call went through, and Lu Yin heard a deafening shout, "Boy, you wait this long to contact me? Do you not take me seriously? Watch out, or else I¡¯ll string you up and beat your ass!"

    Lu Yin scratched at his ears. "Captain, I got into a tight spot."

    "That¡¯s got nothing to do with me! Just die if you can¡¯t handle it yourself!" Highsage Leon instantly cursed at Lu Yin.

    Another voice came through the call, "Please be nice. You¡¯ll scare Little Seven."

    "Frighten him my ass! He even tore his way into that ce; what could possibly scare him."

    "Little Seven is still young."

    "Fine. Get out. Your appearance is changing every day; can¡¯t you go without doing that for even a single day?"

    Lu Yin felt quite helpless as he heard the conversation taking ce on the other end of the call. He was unable to get a word in even if he wanted to. All he could do was wait.

    "Alright kid, why did you call me?" Highsage Leon asked.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "I poked a ho''s nest."

    "Who¡¯d you poke?" Highsage Leon instantly became interested.

    "Chaosgod Mountain."

    Highsage Leon fell silent for a moment, and then started raging, "Are you fucking with me? Just Chaosgod Mountain? What¡¯s the big deal?"

    Lu Yin shared what had happened, and after he finished, Highsage Leon''s tone changed yet again. "Two powerhouses? And one of them had to have been the captain of the Ignition Crew, that bastard Jin Mie. He¡¯s the only person from the Ignition Crew who can stand up to someone with a power level of 700,000. I don¡¯t know who the other person could be. The Leo family acted on Chaosgod Mountain¡¯s orders? Alright, I¡¯ll go and stomp on Chaosgod Mountain.¡±

 Chapter 1618: Incredible Pill

    Chapter 1618: Incredible Pill

    "Captain, that¡¯s actually not the point. What I¡¯m trying to point out is that there¡¯s no grievances between Chaosgod Mountain and Big Sis: why did they target her? Why did they go through the Leo family? Was it really because of orders from the Ignition Crew? Why didn''t the Ignition Crew just handle it themselves? The way that Jin He mentioned this matter, there were details that have remained hidden, and there were no records of it even on Chaosgod Mountain. The whole thing¡¯s really weird," Lu Yin said.

    Highsage Leon seemed to think of something. "There were once rumors that the current master of Chaosgod Mountain originally came from the Longevity Brigade."

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened, and his mind started to race. Something urred to him in an instant, only to flee from his mind just as quickly. He continued to consider what he had been told.

    "No one believed that rumor, and only a few people ever mentioned it even when the rumor first appeared. What¡¯s their connection to the Ignition Crew now? I¡¯ll have to go to Chaosgod Mountain and personally ask Cang Zhou about this," Highsage Leon dered.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the thought he had been chasing, and he quickly said, "It''s the Longevity Brigade! Boss, it''s the Longevity Brigade!"

    "What about the Longevity Brigade?" Highsage Leon was left confused.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "People from the Longevity Brigade visited Chaosgod Mountain a few days ago. They were wanting to pick up some criminals from Chaosgod Mountain to help with exploring the Cosmic Sea. I didn¡¯t think much of it at the time, so I just told Cang Yi to send them off with a batch of criminals, but now it¡¯s clear that everything that happened at Chaosgod Mountain after that was triggered by that incident."

    Highsage Leon snorted coldly. "If it really is the Longevity Brigade, then I¡¯ll have to kill that Ji bastard! He¡¯s had a good rtionship with your daddy, so he better not have stabbed me in the back."

    "Boss, wait for news from me. I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this, and then we¡¯ll get our revenge," Lu Yin said.

    Highsage Leon grunted. "I feel better with that. Alright, I¡¯ll wait to hear from you.¡±

    The call then ended.

    Lu Yin felt that the call had ended rather oddly. Had he just unknowingly agreed to settle the feud that Highsage Leon had with the Longevity Brigade?

    ***

    In the Outerverse, Wang Wen was again meeting with a representative from the Autumnfrost family on Zenyu Star. His counterpart was a beautiful middle-aged woman. Though the woman looked soft, her eyes were sharp, and every word she spoke was a threat.

    "Where¡¯s your alliance leader? Have him see me immediately. A mere junior like him will be killed by our ancestor with a single breath; is that why he doesn¡¯t dare show himself?" The beautiful woman mocked.

    Wang Wen had a headache. The Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were currently upied blocking the passage to the Sixth Maind, and even though the rest of the Sixth Maind stillpletely outssed the Fifth Maind when it came to pure power, the Sixth Maind was still quite cautious.

    At this moment, Wang Wen was thinking about Lu Yin¡¯s orders to start a conflict with the Autumnfrost family in order to divert attention away from Chaosgod Mountain. Was that even possible? It was just too dangerous.

    No matter how cautious the Sixth Maind might be towards the Fifth Maind, the moment a war started, both the Outerverse Innerverse would be crushed.

    This whole thing was so confusing! Wang Wen could not help himself from scratching his head.

    "Boy, I''m talking to you!" The woman red at Wang Wen. "Hurry up and release our Autumnfrost family¡¯s young master, Uncle Hua, and Di Fa. Do that, aplogize to my Autumnfrost family, and leave the Outerverse and we¡¯ll drop this matter."

    "You just keep saying the same thing, but your Autumnfrost family¡¯s people have nothing to do with my Great Eastern Alliance," Wang Wen said.

    The beautiful woman grew furious, and her eyes exuded a terrible pressure. "It looks like the Great Eastern Alliance actually wants to start a war with my Autumnfrost family. I hope you have powerhouses who can stop my ancestor. At least that will allow the ancestor to have some fun.¡±

    With that, she turned and left.

    There was an Envoy on Zenyu Star, which made the woman hesitant to take action. Otherwise, the would have been destroyed long ago.

    At this moment, Wang Wen received a message on his gadget. When he saw it, he quickly called out to the woman, "Senior! Wait a moment."

    The middle-aged woman turned just her head to re at Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen smiled, and it looked quite sincere. "Senior, your family¡¯s people have been found."

    The beautiful woman red at the young man. "How can you dare im that they weren¡¯t caught by the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Wang Wen answered in an earnest and honest voice, "They were discovered by the Hall of Honor. It¡¯s nothing to do with our Great Eastern Alliance."

    ¡­

    A long timeter, Wang Wen let out a sigh of relief and copsed in exhaustion. The woman had finally left.

    Autumnfrost Qing, Uncle Hua, Di Fa, and all of the others had been returned to the Autumnfrost family. No matter how the Autumnfrost family reacted to the matter, he was determined to im that they had been found by the Hall of Honor.

    Uncle Hua was absolutely furious that Wang Wen insisted that the Great Eastern Alliance had absolutely nothing to do with the matter. Even when when Autumnfrost Qing insisted that he had been injured by Lu Yin, Wang Wen simply replied that it must have been an illusion. The Great Eastern Alliance had had nothing to do with the matter, and there was no evidence to the contrary.

    As for how the Autumnfrost family might respond in the future, it was a matter for the future. War could not be allowed for the moment.

    At this thought, Wang Wen immediately called Lu Yin. "What''s going on? How was Chaosgod Mountain lost?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Some experts showed up and saved Cang Zhou. There was no way for me to stop them."

    "Where were Liu Ye and Fei Hua? They¡¯re both peak masters with power levels of more than 700,000. Couldn¡¯t they have stopped them?"

    "They couldn¡¯t do it."

    "What''s the current situation?" Wang Wen instantly grew much more serious. If not even Liu Ye and Fei Hua had been able to stop the attackers, then the matter was more serious than he had thought.

    Lu Yin hid nothing at all from Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen listened to Lu Yin''s story, and then solemnly replied, "If all of that was just done to deal with Leon''s Armada, why would they have tried so hard to keep everything hidden? If the Longevity Brigade¡¯s also involved, then things are even more bizarre. The Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigadebined are more than capable of dealing with Leon¡¯s Armada. On top of that, why would they have pulled Chaosgod Mountain into the mix and then secretly sent orders to the Leo family? Nothing about this makes any sense."

    "That¡¯s why I want to investigate this," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen cautioned Lu Yin, "It¡¯s possible that there¡¯s arger conspiracy behind this and some other hand controlling things. Be careful; this matter isn¡¯t simple."

    "I know, and that''s why I¡¯ve decided to head to Little Millennium Flowzone to visit the Starsibyl Sect," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen frowned. "Everyone¡¯s a suspect until the truth is revealed. Not even the Starsibyl Sect is an exception."

    "I¡¯m going to investigate first. I¡¯ve got Liu Ye and Fei Hua with me, as well as a bunch of equipment. It won¡¯t be a problem for me to stay safe. Also, it¡¯s not a big deal whether or not I go. Actually, help me find Xuan Jiu," Lu Yin suddenly asked when he remembered the old man.

    Wang Wen¡¯s brows rose high. ¡°The old scammer?"

    "He isn¡¯t a liar. If you can find him, you might learn that for yourself."

    Lu Yin did not know if Cang Zhou would expose Lu Yin¡¯s attack on Chaosgod Mountain after Lu Yin had been driven out.

    Logically speaking, such a thing should not happen, as the master of Chaosgod Mountain would not be able to exin how he had been rescued. After all, Lu Yin had moved with Liu Ye and Fei Hua, each of whom was an expert with a power level exceeding 700,000. Cang Zhou could not have fought off such people, and receiving hidden help would make Cang Zhou look suspicious, and all of the other Innerverse forces would grow wary of the mountain.

    It was unlikely for the matter to be exposed, but Cang Zhou would definitely manage to find a way to secretly stir up trouble in the Innerverse and have the various powers unite against Lu Yin, which would not be good for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin considered the matter the entire way to Giant Consortium. However, even after arriving, he had still not managed toe up with any sort of solution. The only answer was to secretly eliminate Cang Zhou, but the older man would never allow Lu Yin another opportunity to do so.

    Qing Kong proved to be very, very annoying. When Lu Yin had first hatched his plot to take control of Chaosgod Mountain, the giant had disapproved, but Lu Yin had actually failed. This meant that Giant Consortium would no longer receive any protection from Chaosgod Mountain, and it was even possible that Chaosgod Mountain would use this matter to reveal the existence and location of the giants, and that would trigger the Expeditionary Force to likely take action before anyone else.

    Qing Kong¡¯s expression was quite bad as he looked at Lu Yin, but the giant did not dare say a single thing. Chaosgod Mountain would no longer help the giants, and they could not rely on any of the other Innerverse powers, which meant that their only option was to rely on the protection of Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Qing Kong had already known that Lu Yin had intended to attack Chaosgod Mountain and take control of the ce. With that, Giant Consortium would no longer be under the umbre of Chaosgod Mountain, but would instead need to rely on Lu Yin. Even though he had failed, Giant Consortium was still left with no choice but to stay with Lu Yin. The moment Lu Yin had taken action, Giant Consortium had be permanently bound to him.

    Qing Kong maliciously believed that Lu Yin¡¯s goal all along had been Giant Consortium.

    Lu Yin had no time to bother considering Qing Kong¡¯s thoughts. He had only returned to Giant Consortium to drop off the colossal giants from Chaosgod Mountain. There was no reason for him to even think about whether or not the giants were still with him, as they had no choice. Qing Kong was in a position that left him with no room to maneuver at all.

    "Lord Lu, someone from Shamrock Enterprise is asking to meet with you." Leng Yan had been given the task of hosting Lu Yin, and during his stay, she was treated as his subordinate.

    "Who is it?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The secretary of thepany¡¯s Innerverse president," Leng Yan replied.

    "Let him in."

    Yan soon appeared, following behind Leng Yan. When the man saw Lu Yin, he gave a respectful bow. "Yan greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "What did you bring me?"

    Yan nced over at Leng Yan, she quickly left the two men alone.

    After Leng Yan left, Yan took out a delicate bottle that gave off a cold feeling. Lu Yin had no idea what the bottle was made from, but he was able to see that the cold it gave off had the power of an Enlighter, and yet the bottle still did not freeze.

    Lu Yin took the bottle, and his hand started to grow cold. While the coldness was enough to freeze most Enlighters, it was merely cold for Lu Yin.

    After Lu Yin opened the bottle, he saw a round bead covered with spikes. He was truly surprised, "This is a stellr energy pill?"

    "Yes. The stellr energy pill is not swallowed like a pill, but instead used like a power vessel that can let someone briefly enter the true universe."

    "Why is there only one?"

    Yan pulled out two more of the cold bottles and handed them over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin studied the stellr energy pill. Each pill possessed a staggering number of runes, and they surpassed those of a cultivator with a power level of 500,000. No wonder these things could allow a person to enter the true universe. Still, even though they were so powerful, they were still nothing more than mere items.

    Lu Yin could not begin to imagine how such a thing had been made.

    "Your Shamrock Enterprise is quite impressive for you to be able to make something like this," Lu Yin calmly praised as his eyes narrowed.

    Yan said nothing. He knew that he had made many mistakes in his dealings with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed by theck of reaction. "Alright, you¡¯ve delivered the pills, so you can leave."

    Yan respectfully dismissed himself. He did not care about the agreement Lu Yin had reached with Balsam; Yan had just made the trip to make a delivery.

    "Wait," Lu Yin suddenly spoke up to stop Yan from leaving.

    "Is there something else that you need, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Howe Yu Mu had a stellr energy pill? Actually, he had more than one," Lu Yin asked with curiosity. Given Yu Mu¡¯s position and status, he should never have qualified to even know about the stellr energy pill. After all, the woman who had been sent after him had not known about it.

    "Yu Mu was part of my Shamrock Enterprise for many years. All you need to know is that I never hid anything from him."

    "You guys trusted him so much, and yet still killed him?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Yan fell silent.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and Yan walked out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mood improved slightly as he stared at the stellr energy pill he was holding. He grabbed one and carefully studied it, but was unable to understand how such a little thing could be so powerful. These pills could open the true universe up to a person. Was it possible that they contained pyrolyte?

 Chapter 1619: War Preparations

    Chapter 1619: War Preparations

    The discovery of pyrolyte had caused all of the top powers in the Outer and Innerverses topete for it, and even the Neoverse had sent people for it. If not for the Sea King stealing all of the pyrolyte, it would still have a hidden presence and influence in both the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    Given its ability to release an unlimited force based on the amount used in an explosion, pyrolyte was truly quite useful. Still, for those old monsters who had power levels of hundreds of thousands, it was quite worthless.

    It would actually make quite a bit of sense for every stellr energy pill to have pyrolyte among the ingredients.

    As for who had the most pyrolyte, it was actually Lu Yin. After the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse, Lu Yin had gained control of all of the teams mining pyrolyte in the Astral Wilderness. After the Outerverse had reconnected to the Innerverse, all of the pyrolyte gathered had been stored on Zenyu Star. While it was not much, it was still better than nothing, as more mines had never been found in the Astral Wilderness.

    Lu Yin flicked a finger as he held a stellr energy pill in a hand. The pill shot away from his finger and pierced the void, where it erupted with a mysterious power that tore open the true universe. Lu Yin leaped through the crack, and it quickly recovered after he passed through. Even though everything returned to normal quickly, the brief moment that Lu Yin had disappeared had allowed him to travel a great distance. He had actually crossed almost the entire territory controlled by Giant Consortium.

    This was what had allowed Yu Mu to escape death when he had first been targeted by Shamrock Enterprise.

    Though Lu Yin was still unable to see why the stellr energy pill managed to open the true universe, but he just shook his head and stopped studying the things for the moment. Since he was unable to see it himself, he would simply need to cooperate with the people who researched it in the first ce. The greatest use of the stellr energy pill was not escape, but to interfere with stellr energy.

    The Wen family once again reached out to Lu Yin, and it was still Patriarch Wen Zizai himself. The man was quite persistent.

    "Senior, this junior''s conditions will not change," Lu Yin said bluntly.

    Wen Zizai felt helpless. "I have already obtained that painting you demanded. You cane to my Wen family¡¯s home to see it, but you can¡¯t take it with you. This is the best my Wen family can offer you."

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "It looks like Senior has no intention of cooperating with me, so this junior can only sell Wen Diyi to another, such as the Sword Sect."

    Wen Zizai''s expression froze. He clearly wanted to say something, but he restrained himself. Lu Yin was no longer someone the patriarch could threaten. Forget the current Lu Yin, even before ZENITH Lu Yin had managed to trash Daynight Flowzone, and the Daynight n was a power that stood at the same level as the Wen family.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you need to know that the painting actually belongs to the Han family, not my Wen family. We have merely borrowed it for the time being," Wen Zizai had no choice but to exin the situation.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "That has nothing to do with this junior. In short, my conditions remain the same as ever."

    He then hung up.

    Right after his call with Wen Zizai, Lu Yin led Liu Ye and Fei Hua straight to Little Millennium Flowzone. He wanted to see if divination could be used to find any clues.

    He had not originally believed in divination, but the results of what someone had divined about him had been proven urate when he had been in the Perennial World, which had slightly changed his views.

    "Master, your disciple will go, too! Take your disciple with you! Your disciple doesn''t want to leave you!" Ku Wei wailed his desire to remain with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed. "Alright, you can tag along."

    Ku Wei was stunned for a moment, as he had not expected Lu Yin to agree. Ku Wei actually grew embarrassed, as he did not actually want to leave! Giant Consortium was like no other ce Ku Wei had ever been. In this ce, those colossal giants all treated him like he was their ancestor. It felt amazing, especially after being yelled at by Lu Yin and acting like a loyal dog. After seeing the difference, only an idiot would leave to tag along with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply ignored Ku Wei, as he had instantly seen through the man¡¯s intentions. ¡°Stay here at Giant Consortium and keep an eye on the giants. Let me know the moment anything happens. Chaosgod Mountain won¡¯t dare do anything to the consortium for the time being, but there¡¯s no way that Cang Zhou will be able to hold himself back for too long, so be on alert."

    Ku Wei hastily agreed.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua led Lu Yin to the east. Little Millennium Flowzoney between Venom Flowzone and First Flowzone. Inparison to Giant Consortium¡¯s location, Little Millennium Flowzone was closer to both the Cosmic Sea and the Outerverse.

    While Lu Yin was at Giant Consortium, Cang Zhou reached out to Liu Qianjue, the sect master of the Sword Sect.

    No one knew what they spoke of, but after the call ended, Liu Qianjue ordered the entire Sword Sect to prepare for battle.

    Waves swept through the Sword Sect. Aside from when the Sixth Maind had invaded, it had been an exceptionally long time since the sect master had personally given orders for the sect to prepare for war.

    Every member of the Sword Sect tried to guess who their target might be.

    Li Zimo''s sword was ced horizontally. There was a huge waterfall behind him, and birds and insects chirped in the nearby forest. There was the asional disciple training with a sword, but there was nothing that could affect Li Zimo at all. He was training in the Inner Peace Sword Arts.

    After he had returned from ZENITH, Li Zimo had be one of the most prized disciples in the entire Sword Sect. His position had risen to be below only Liu Tianmu and Liu Shaoqiu. His status hadpletely transformed.

    The moment Liu Qianjue sent down orders for the sect to prepare for war, Elder Lianxin appeared in front of Li Zimo. "The Sword Sect is preparing for war, and you must do the same. This war will not be some minor battle; it won¡¯t be much worse than when the Sixth Maind invaded."

    Li Zimo opened his eyes and stood to bow to Lianxin, "Master, who will we face in this war?"

    While others still did not know, Lianxin was a powerhouse who was second only to Liu Qianjue in the Sword Sect, and so she naturally had been told. "The Cosmic Sea."

    She only spoke three words, but there was no need to say anything further.

    After Elder Lianxin left, Li Zimo essed his gadget and, for the first time since joining the Sword Sect, he sent a message to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s gadget beeped, and he nced down. He was surprised to see a message from Li Zimo. Even though Lu Yin had sent the other man into the Sword Sect, it had not been time to make use of Li Zimo, and so Lu Yin had never initiated contact. Despite that, Li Zimo had taken the initiative to send a message to Lu Yin.

    ''The Sword Sect prepares for war. Target: Cosmic Sea.'' The message was just a short nine words, but they sent Lu Yin¡¯s mind racing. A thought suddenly urred to him, but the possibility was terrifying.

    When Chaosgod Mountain had encountered a mishap, the Ignition Crew and a mysterious master had moved to rescue the mountain. This was not merely because of the connection regarding the Leo family, but because of Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew and Leon¡¯s Armada that stood behind the crew.

    Lu Yin was eager to uncover the truth of the matter from the past, but Cang Zhou was at least as eager to make sure that the truth remained buried. If that was impossible, if Lu Yin were in Cang Zhou¡¯s position, he would immediately move to have a full confrontation. Sure enough, their goal was Leon''s Armada.

    On Chaosgod Mountain, someone from the Ignition Crew had appeared to rescue Cang Zhou, as had a mysterious expert. It seemed like Lu Yin might have guessed correctly and that there was some connection to the Longevity Brigade.

    After all of that, Lu Yin had just received word that the Sword Sect was preparing for war, and their target was also the Cosmic Sea.

    Despite everything being mere spection, Lu Yin still immediately called Highsage Leon to ask if there was any connection to the Sword Sect. However, Lu Yin was disappointed in the answer. He had been hoping that the Sword Sect would cooperate with Leon¡¯s Armada, not target them. This was unfortunate. Since the Sword Sect would not be moving to reinforce Leon¡¯s Armada, they had to be moving out to attack the most powerful of the Four Pirate Crews.

    Chaosgod Mountain, the Ignition Crew, and the Sword Sect were all very dangerous. Lu Yin''s eyes grew focused as he started thinking. After a moment, he essed his gadget and called Wen Zizai.

    Wen Zizai was speaking with Dean Han, and was suffering from quite a headache. When he saw Lu Yin¡¯s call request, the old man¡¯s eyes lit up and he answered. "Mr. Lu, have you changed your mind?"

    Lu Yin knew that by taking the initiative to call the Wen patriarch that he had lost the initiative in the negotiations, but there was no other option, as time was running out and Cang Zhou was forcing Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    "Senior, this junior really wants that painting quite badly," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Zizai''s expression twisted. "I can''t give you that. You can see it at my Wen family¡¯s home, as I told you."

    "You don''t want Wen Diyi anymore? Liu Tianmu returned with this junior, and she already knows that I have Wen Diyi. In fact, someone from the Sword Sect has already made contact," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Zizai''s expression changed yet again, and his voice grew much more stern. "What conditions did they offer you, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "It would have made problems to tell them that this junior has been speaking to Senior. I called you not only as a reminder, but also for Wen Diyi''s sake. In that ce, Wen Diyi helped this junior somewhat, and he hopes to join the Wen family. This junior is also willing to see that happen for him," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Zizai let out a sigh of relief. "That would truly be for the best, but that painting really can¡¯t be given to you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin fell silent for a bit, and Wen Zizai did the same. After living for so long, how could he not hear the words that Lu Yin had left unspoken? The old man could tell that Lu Yin¡¯s conditions had changed, as there was no other way for Lu Yin¡¯s tone to change so drastically. The old man intended to simply wait. If it was a matter of patience, the old man was more than confident that his patience was greater than a youth like Lu Yin, or else his many years would have been lived in vain.

    "It seems that Senior really can''t give this junior that painting. Since that¡¯s the case, I can agree to your suggestion and visit your home to see the painting," Lu Yin said.

    As Wen Zizai had expected after Lu Yin had taken the initiative to reach out, Lu Yin had agreed to Wen Zizai¡¯s proposal. At this moment, Wen Zizai was simply waiting to hear Lu Yin''s other conditions.

    "However, this junior is not making a concession. After all, this painting was a prerequisite for our negotiations to make a deal. This junior¡¯s ns have recently changed," Lu Yin stated.

    "Please tell me, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew more somber. "The Sword Sect is preparing for war. This junior believes that they will be targeting my Great Eastern Alliance, so I hope the Wen family will put some pressure on the Sword Sect so that they are unable to do so."

    Wen Zizai was taken aback. "The Sword Sect is preparing for war? When did this happen?"

    It was almost as soon as the Sword Sect had received orders to prepare for war that Li Zimo had sent Lu Yin a message. Naturally, the Wen family had their own people in the Sword Sect as well, and the Wen family had also received a report. However, the report had not yet reached Wen Zizai, as the patriarch was at the Lost Radiance Academy rather than the family¡¯s home.

    "They just started making preparations. This junior refused to give them Wen Diyi, and that might have offended them, which is why this junior suspects that their target is my Great Eastern Alliance and Fennel Flowzone," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Zizai was truly speechless, and he wanted to curse. This was the most fake excuse ever! How could the Sword Sect possibly start a war with the Great Eastern Alliance over such a matter? There had to be something else behind this war, and this nasty little bastard intended to push the Wen family into the mix while also gaining favor.

    "Alliance Leader Lu has been overthinking; how could the Sword Sect start a war with the Great Eastern Alliance? That¡¯s impossible," Wen Zizai said. He had no desire to get involved in this matter. He was already looking over reports regarding the Sword Sect¡¯s war preparations, and Wen Zizai saw that Liu Qianjue had personally given the orders this time. This proved that the war was not being waged over some trivial matter, and the Wen family could not rashly get involved.

    "Life is precious, and it¡¯s good to be cautious. I am asking the Wen family to help by putting some pressure on the Sword Sect. This reces the painting as my prerequisite to negotiations," Lu Yin said.

    Wen Zizai frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Wen family can guarantee that the Sword Sect will not instigate a war with the Great Eastern Alliance."

    "How? Since when has your Wen family be master of the Sword Sect?"

    "The Wen family and Sword Sect are both part of the Innerverse. How could my Wen family not know about a war beingunched against the Great Eastern Alliance? There¡¯s no need for you to worry, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "This junior hopes that the Wen family will put some pressure on the Sword Sect, though I don''t know if Senior will agree or not." Lu Yin''s tone became much more forceful.

 Chapter 1620: Borrowing The Strength Of Others

    Chapter 1620: Borrowing The Strength Of Others

    "Alliance Leader Lu, who the Sword Sect is nning to fight against has absolutely nothing to do with Alliance Leader Lu if it doesn¡¯t affect the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin''s tone grew harsher, "What does Senior mean by this? You¡¯ve told this junior that the painting can¡¯t be given to me, and yet now when Senior was asked for a favor from your Wen family, you¡¯ve pushed back on almost every point that this junior has asked for. It really does look like the Wen family isn¡¯t interested in Wen Diyi. To put things inly, here are my conditions: the Wen family has promised that I, Lu Yin, am allowed to visit the Wen family¡¯s home to see the painting, but cannot take the painting away. This has been agreed upon, as if your Wen family did not agree to this, you can forget about ever getting Wen Diyi to your Wen family.¡±

    Wen Zizai grew increasingly upset, as he was being tantly threatened by a child, given Lu Yin¡¯s tone of voice. "I, Wen Zizai, cannot make unteral decisions for my Wen family, and moving against the Sword Sect is an important decision for my Wen family. This is no different from dering war, as it could lead to an all-out war with the Sword Sect. Not to mention, this is merely a condition for Alliance Leader Lu to give us Wen Diyi.¡±

    "I¡¯m merely asking you to put some pressure on the Sword Sect, not go all-out and fight them. How about this: if the Wen family really does end up going to war with the Sword Sect, I will take responsibility forpensating you for any losses. In addition, I, Lu Yin, am able to have two experts with power levels of more than 700,000 to reinforce your Wen family. How about this? Can we not deal with the Sword Sect together?" Lu Yin said sharply.

    Hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words and tone, Wen Zizai knew that Lu Yin would not back down any further. "Let me consider this matter and discuss it with the rest of my Wen family."

    "Once the Sword Sectunches a war against anyone, my conditions will expire, and at that time, you can forget ever getting Wen Diyi to join your family. I, Lu Yin, will follow through on my words."

    Lu Yin then ended the call.

    He had been left with no choice but to threaten the Wen family into stepping into the mix to act as an obstacle to the Sword Sect.

    Naturally, the Wen family was not as strong as the Sword Sect, but they still had the power to stall the Sword Sect. All that Lu Yin wanted was to disrupt Cang Zhou''s ns. Even if Cang Zhou and his allies intended to fight against Leon''s Armada, Lu Yin still needed to gain enough time to allow the Great Eastern Alliance to prepare.

    As he considered the situation and the various developments, Lu Yin quickly called Wang Wen and had him recall the military and have them prepare to deploy to the Cosmic Sea. This would likely be the first action that this particr military would have seen since their inception. They had been named the Lu Elite Troops.

    Wen Zizai lowered his own gadget and then immediately convened a meeting with all of the senior members of the Wen family to discuss the matter. In the end, they mobilized the entire Wen family as fast as possible and ordered everyone to prepare for war. Their target: the Sword Sect.

    Countless members of the Wen family were stunned by the orders. An unexpected and unexined attack on the Sword Sect? What did this mean? What could have triggered this? Could an illegitimate child of their patriarch have been killed by the Sword Sect?

    The members of the Wen family were not the only ones confused by their orders, as the same confusion spread to Beast Tamers Flowzone that bordered Erudite Flowzone. They actually wondered if Wen Zizai¡¯s mental state was stable and if he had given the wrong order and that Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Grade Hall was the true target of the Wen family. However, after repeatedly confirming the information, they became confident that Wen Zizai was really aiming the Wen family at the Sword Sect.

    This was incredibly odd.

    It did not take long for the Sword Sect to receive the news, and Liu Qianjue felt that he must have heard things wrong. "The Wen family wants to fight with my Sword Sect? Where did you hear this?"

    Elder Li''s expression contorted. "People we sneaked into the Wen family are all saying that Wen Zizai personally sent down orders for the entire family to mobilize themselves and prepare for war. Their target is our Sword Sect."

    Liu Qianjue was temporarily speechless. Beast Tamers Flowzoney between the Wen family¡¯s Erudite Flowzone and First Flowzone. What kind of war were they intending to fight with another force separating them? On top of that, Wen Zizai had given the orders himself, which just seemed wrong.

    After thinking about the news, Liu Qianjue quickly called Wen Zizai.

    Wen Zizai had no intention of speaking with Liu Qianjue, as the patriarch had nothing to say to the sect master. The Wen family had been forced to put pressure on the Sword Sect, and Liu Qianjue would likely start a fight immediately after hearing such a thing.

    Wen Zizai refused to answer the call, but Liu Qianjue kept calling. The Sword Sect had already spent a good deal of time preparing for their assault on the Cosmic Sea, and their efforts could not be stopped just because of an inexplicable attack from the Wen family.

    Finally, after two days, Wen Zizai finally answered one of Liu Qianjue''s calls. The patriarch really had no choice; Liu Qianjue had been incessantly trying to speak to the patriarch for two entire days.

    "Wen Zizai, why have you dered war on my Sword Sect?" Liu Qianjue asked sharply as he stared straight at Wen Zizai.

    Wen Zizai''s eyes snapped wide open. "Liu Qianjue, are you not embarrassed to say such a thing? Do you want to tell me about the situation with Wen Diyi?"

    "What Wen Diyi?" Liu Qianjue was confused, as he had no idea what Wen Zizai was talking about.

    Wen Zizai sneered. "You can stop the act! Your Sword Sect wants to get Wen Diyi from Lu Yin. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t find out?"

    Liu Qianjue was absolutely confused, as he knew nothing at all about Wen Diyi. Liu Tianmu was someone who focused solely on her own cultivation, and she never paid any attention to other matters. Even when she had been made one of the Ten Arbiters, she had not had any interest in overseeing the Fifth Maind¡¯s young generation, or what happened to other youths. She had never even considered how Wen Diyi¡¯s presence could affect the Wen family and the rest of the Innerverse.

    "Still pretending? Lu Yin¡¯s already told me what happened. My Wen family is destined to be the ones to win Wen Diyi, and if your Sword Sect dares try to interfere, my Wen family will not hesitate to go to war." Wen Zizai hung up as soon as he finished speaking.

    Throughout the entire conversation, Liu Qianjue not once understood what Wen Zizai had been talking about. Wen Diyi? Who¡¯s that? Someone from the Wen family? Why haven''t I heard about such a person?

    "Go and find out who this Wen Diyi is immediately!" Liu Qianjue ordered.

    The confusing conversation had left Liu Qianjuepletely lost as to Wen Zizai¡¯s actions and motivations, but the Wen patriarchs actions and attitude did not look to have been faced. Could the Wen family really want to fight against the Sword Sect? Could the family afford the consequences?

    Cang Zhou was waiting for the Sword Sect. Chaosgod Mountain, the Sword Sect, and the Ignition Crew all nned to enter the Cosmic Sea at the same time in order tounch a joint attack on Leon''s Armada.

    The time they had all agreed upon was fast approaching, but Cang Zhou suddenly received a new report. "The Wen family has dered war on the Sword Sect?"

    "Yes. We just received news that the Wen family has dered war on the Sword Sect," Cang Song solemnly reported.

    Cang Zhou felt like he was falling to hell. What sort of enmity did the Wen family have against the Sword Sect? For the family to suddenly dere war, it seemed as though an entire group of their most talented youths had been wiped out. Cang Zhou considered how serious this matter was. If the Wen familyunched a war on the Sword Sect at this time, how could the Sword Sect participate in a war in the Cosmic Sea? There was no way that the Sword Sect would be willing to send their forces away in such a situation.

    Cang Zhou also quickly tried to contact Wen Zizai, but the patriarch was no longer answering any calls. In fact, Cang Zhou was not the only one to reach out to the Wen family¡¯s patriarch. The Lingling n, the Beast Tamers Sect, and even the Divine Venom Dynasty that always ignored the outside universe tried to speak with the Wen family. As for Wen Zizai, he did not answer a single call.

    Lu Yin had told the patriarch that the Sword Sect waspeting with taking Wen Diyi, and Lu Yin had been quite clear. Wen Zizai was not dumb, so how could he mention Wen Diyi¡¯s existence to any outsider? He could not allow anyone to interfere with Wen Diyi joining the Wen family.

    However, Wen Zizai had no idea how to justify his deration of war without mentioning Wen Diyi. This was why he decided to simply ignore any and all calls.

    At this moment, Cang Zhou became the most frustrated. Lu Yin¡¯s schemes had repeatedly caused problems for Cang Zhou, and now there was an issue with the Sword Sect sending out their forces, and Wen Zizai would not ept any calls. Cang Zhou was left with no choice but to call Liu Qianjue.

    Liu Qianjue had still not learned anything at all about Wen Diyi¡¯s identity, and so his mood was quite bad when he epted Cang Zhou¡¯s call. "The Wen family has moved against us, and they have already started to send experts against my First Flowzone, and yet you still want to talk to me about us joining your attack on the Cosmic Sea? Should I not care about my own Sword Sect?"

    Cang Zhou had to ask, "Why did Wen Zizai dere war on you?"

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s mood grew even worse when he heard this question. "I don''t know what a Wen Diyi is, but could they be someone from the Wen family? Look into this."

    Cang Zhou instantly ordered an investigation, but neither Sword Sect nor Chaosgod Mountain could uncover any information at all. In fact, not a single one of the powers that controlled the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones could learn a single thing. This was odd, as most of the powers had spies in the other forces, except for the Divine Venom Dynasty. That was a ce that was not easy to infiltrate.

    "There is no Wen Diyi in the Wen family. How could we not know about such an important person? What else did Wen Zizai say to you?" Cang Zhou asked.

    Liu Qianjue gritted his teeth. "He said that he was told this by Lu Yin."

    Cang Zhou''s eyes narrowed. This told him that Lu Yin had already guessed that the Sword Sect was preparing for war with Leon¡¯s Armada, which meant that the youth was trying to use the Wen family to block the Sword Sect from participating. Just how had the youth pulled this off? How was he directing the entire Wen family? Cang Zhou could not understand anything at all about this matter or how Lu Yin had pulled it off. What could be so important about this Wen Diyi?

    "There are no records of any such person in any of the Wen family¡¯s genealogies no matter how far back we go. Talk to Wen Zizai again and get them to wait. Just have them wait until after everything in the Cosmic Sea has been settled," Cang Zhou suggested.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "That old fart Wen Zizai is no longer responding and can''t be reached."

    Cang Zhou grew angry. "It''s Lu Yin! He did all of this! He pushed the Wen family against the Sword Sect! While Lu Yin''s hadplicated and powerful backing, the only ones who can really help his Great Eastern Alliance is Leon¡¯s Armada. It¡¯s impossible for the Chief Justice or Arch-Elder Zen to step in, so we have to destroy Leon''s Armada before we breaking Lu Yin''s forces."

    Liu Qianjue shrugged. "I truly understand, which is also why I agreed to join you. My Sword Sect actually has no grudge against Leon''s Armada, and I don''t want to offend someone without just cause. Highsage Leon has Eversky Ind behind him, but Lu Yin is dangerously ambitious. We can¡¯t move against him personally without suffering uneptable repercussions, which means we can only remove his ws. However, do not forget that my Sword Sect has our own conditions."

    "Don''t worry, when ites to Highsage Leon himself, we won¡¯t do anything. All we will do is destroy his forces," Cang Zhou said. However, he also felt that something was off from this; the Sword Sect was currently unable to participate in the war efforts, so what were these conditions Liu Qianjue was mentioning? "Your Sword Sect will not be able to join the war efforts?"

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s voice dropped low. "I will personally visit Wen Zizai in order to determine just what is going on with the Wen family. How has Lu Yin managed to get the entire Wen family to move for him? Also, why does Wen Zizai trust his words?"

    "I''ll wait another half a month for you, but if the Sword Sect is still unable to participate in the war after that time, we''ll go alone. No matter if we seed or not, we must try," Cang Zhou said before ending the call.

    Liu Qianjue frowned. Leon¡¯s Armada was not an easy opponent, so he could not quite understand why Chaosgod Mountain was working so hard tounch a war to eliminate them. Liu Qianjue¡¯s motivation was entirely Lu Yin.

    Also, the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Ignition Crew would be joining the efforts.

    All three parties¡¯ interests aligned, which was why they were able tounch all of their forces against Leon¡¯s Armada.

    This war was incredibly important. If they could notpletely destroy Leon¡¯s Armada, all of them would subsequently suffer the Pirate King¡¯s revenge. That was not all. In fact, the sect master was most worried about Lu Yin.

    Once Leon''s Armada was destroyed, Lu Yin''s Great Eastern Alliance would no longer be anything to worry about.

    Liu Qianjue wanted to join the war if at all possible, for he did not have confidence in the war¡¯s sess if only Chaosgod Mountain and the Ignition Crew participated.

    The situation in the Innerverse had be quite strange. The war between the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons in zing Mist Flowzone had still not stopped, and many other forces hid in the background of that war. At the moment, both the Sword Sect and the Wen family were preparing for war, and Chaosgod Mountain had also suffered some sort of mishap and was shockingly preparing for war as well. Chaos was about to fall upon the entire Innerverse.

    Half a month was as long as Cang Zhou could afford to wait. Lu Yin had already noticed their scheme, and so Leon''s Armada had to be preparing themselves as well. Cang Zhou truly could not give the Sword Sect any more than half a month to settle things.

    ***

    Lu Yin looked out at the 108 tributary Astral Rivers ahead of him. He had finally arrived at the Starsibyl Sect.

    The moment that they arrived at the Starsibyl Sect, Liu Ye and Fei Hua both noticed something unusual. "It feels like something is watching us."

    Sister Fei Hua''s expression showed that she was no happy about this, and she spread out her stellr energy to find who was observing them, but she could not find a thing.

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Seniors, what do the two of you think about divination?"

 Chapter 1621: Future Catastrophe

    Chapter 1621: Future Catastrophe

    After listening to Lu Yin''s question, Fei Hua sneered, "You actually still believe in such things?"

    Lu Yin was toozy to give any attention to the woman, and instead looked over at Liu Ye, who said, "Divination is essentially guessing. We haven¡¯t dealt much with such things."

    "This is Little Millennium Flowzone. The only sect here is the Starsibyl Sect, and the Starsibyl Sect focuses exclusively on divination," Lu Yin exined.

    The moment they entered Little Millennium Flowzone, Liu Ye and Fei Hua had both felt that something was wrong, but neither could determine exactly what that was.

    The feeling of being watched simply would not go away, and yet they could not find the source. It was as though the entire flowzone was a pair of eyes.

    Starsibyl then arrived and greeted Lu Yin.

    "Brother Lu, I didn''t expect you to visit us." Starsibyl smiled when she saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin showed a small smile in return. "Why? You didn¡¯t predict this?"

    Starsibyl revealed a beautiful smile. "I¡¯ve never been able to predict Brother Lu''s whereabouts, so it¡¯s not surprising that I wasn¡¯t able to divinate that you would visit my Starsibyl Sect."

    She then turned to look at Liu Ye and Fei Hua and showed a very respectful manner as she slowly bowed. "Starsibyl greets the two seniors who have worked hard to get here."

    "It''s just a journey; where¡¯s the hard work?" Fei Hua said casually.

    Starsibyl smiled. "This is a path that most people cannot step upon for their entire lives.¡±

    After speaking these profound words, Starsibyl escorted Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua to the Starsibyl Sect.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua fell back, allowing Lu Yin and Starsibyl to speak privately. "Are you aware of my identity?"

    Starsibyl felt puzzled. "What is Brother Lu referring to?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "The Perennial World¡¯s Lu family."

    Starsibyl''s expression showed no change at all. "Brother Lu, remember how during yourst visit here I told you how fate can have conflicts? There are those who visit us who we worry a divination will cause them to miss their fate, and this is also why we do not perform divinations on ourselves. No matter what we learn, we must stay silent about it, so there is no reason for Brother Lu to worry about anything."

    "You avoided answering my actual question: do you guys know my identity?" Lu Yin repeated.

    Starsibyl and Lu Yin stared at each other, one with bright eyes that were so beautiful. "Divination is able to allow one to see cause and effect. This matter is not miraculous enough to see through a person¡¯s entire being."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "What matter has brought Brother Lu here this time?" Starsibyl asked.

    "I would like to ask for a divination. Please tell me what it will cost."

    "That depends on what Brother Lu would like divinated. Last time I asked Brother Lu to visit us here, my master said that we should try to have a good rtionship, and I would also like to have a good rtionship with Brother Lu," Starsibyl said with a smile.

    Lu Yin replied, "Last time you helped me uncover Overseer Nan Yuan. You¡¯ve already helped me quite a bit."

    "I''m still willing to offer even more assistance to Brother Lu. After all, you are someone worthy of the Starsibyl Sect''s support," Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin had no desire to to owe the Starsibyl Sect anything. He had already heard that the more people and things that were rted to a specific divination, the more troublesome it became. "You¡¯ll have to start giving me a price, as otherwise I won¡¯t be able to tell you anything."

    Starsibyl felt cornered. "It looks like Brother Lu still wants to keep my Starsibyl Sect at a bit of a distance. In that case, I will need Brother Lu to make me a promise.¡±

    As she spoke, she suddenly grew more serious.

    "What promise?" Lu Yin felt curious.

    Starsibyl''s eyes narrowed. "Some day in the future, humanity will face our greatest disaster in our entire history. I ask for Brother Lu to try his best to keep a remnant of the light of my Starsibyl Sect preserved if you are able. If nothing else, let the name of the Starsibyl Sect be passed down."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Mankind will face a catastrophe in the future?"

    Aplicated light filled Starsibyl''s eyes. "I¡¯m not sure. When ites to divination and predicting the future and peering into events that have not yet urred, there are things that neither I nor my master can see. However, there seems to be a certainty that at some point in the future, all traces of humanity are ripped away, which does not seem to be a good thing in the least. At the very least, I cannot see any trace of myself in that future."

    Lu Yin was able to understand nothing of what Starsibyl said. "That day won¡¯te, but if it does, I promise to do my best."

    "Then I want to thank Brother Lu now. What is it that Brother Lu would like to learn about this time?" Starsibyl asked.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Some time ago, Big Sis had a disagreement with Leon''s Armada, and she took a group of people with her and created her mercenaries and moved to the Innerverse. At that time, Jin He used people with my Lu surname of illegally possessing the primeval surname, and the chased down Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew, eventually killing 72 people. The Leo family also ended up getting involved, and I would like to ask you to uncover the truth of the matter."

    Starsibyl was caught off guard. "Hasn¡¯t everything already been made clear? After Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew returned to Leon¡¯s Armada, they dered war on the Ignition Crew, and neither side has stopped fighting even now. The Ignition Crew has suffered heavy losses, and they are recruiting and hiring people from the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse."

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly grew incredibly downcast. "While from the surface everything looks to have been settled and understood, I recently learned that the Leo family attacked Big Sis''s mercenaries because of orders from Chaosgod Mountain, and also that Chaosgod Mountain has some sort of connection with the Ignition Crew. There must be something deeper behind this matter, and I want to find out what it is."

    Starsibyl nodded. "I understand. Brother Lu, please wait a bit."

    It was clear that this divination would be much more difficult than the first one that Lu Yin had asked for, and he ended up having to wait much longer.

    Even though Lu Yin had taken the initiative to approach the Starsibyl Sect to ask for a divination, he still did not fully believe in things like divination. However, his previous experience with the sect had left him feeling some degree of doubt, and so his uncertainty had brought him back to seek answers.

    If he was honest, he would prefer to have divination be real, as it would be a valuable means of gathering valuable intelligence, which he felt was more important than seeing the future or the past.

    Starsibyl had once imed that divination allowed one to ride on the river of time, but Lu Yin did not believe that for a moment. If they were capable of influencing the river of time, the Starsibyl Sect would never have remained in the Innerverse.

    "Brother Lu, divination is unable to uncover many details regarding this matter, but I was able to learn the surname of another involved in that incident that you never mention," Starsibyl informed Lu Yin when she finally returned.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Which surname?"

    Starsibyl grew somber. "Xia."

    Lu Yin was startled. "Xia?"

    Starsibyl nodded. "When conducting the divination, the Xia surname appeared in my mind from the very beginning and I was unable to remove it, and I was also unable to push further with the divination attempt. All I can be sure of is the involvement of the Xia surname."

    Lu Yin started thinking, and Starsibyl left in order to give him time to consider the new information.

    After a while, Lu Yin called Highsage Leon to ask if Leon''s Armada had any connection with the Xia family.

    "The Xia family? How¡¯d you end up getting caught up with them? How are they connected to my armada and how do you know it¡¯s the Xia family?"

    "I''m at the Starsibyl Sect."

    "Dumbass! Only idiots believe those kinds of people. If you¡¯ve got time to waste on that kind of thing, it would be better for you toe drink with me."

    "Captain, Eversky Ind stands behind Leon''s Armada, so tell me, could this matter pull Highsage Grandmaster and Xia Ji into things?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. He was trying to process things from the most basic premise and then build his way up.

    The Leo family, Chaosgod Mountain, the Ignition Crew, and the Xia family. However, the only ones to face them were Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew, Leon''s Armada, and Eversky Ind. If there really was a connection to the Xia family, all that Lu Yin could think of was Xia Ji. Why else would they be willing to go up against Eversky Ind?

    Highsage Leon fell silent. He was someone from Eversky Ind who had created Leon''s Armada. However, Leon''s Armada really did not have anything to do with Eversky Ind, and Highsage Grandmaster did not acknowledge a pirate crew as being subordinate to his Eversky Ind. Despite that, if anything happened to Highsage Leon, how could Highsage Grandmaster sit by and do nothing? If the Xia family really did have some sort of involvement in the matter, the only force that could stand up to them would be Eversky Ind.

    "Just wait." Highsage Leon immediately called his master.

    It did not take long for Highsage Leon to call Lu Yin back. "Master says there¡¯s no bad blood between him and Xia Ji."

    Lu Yin¡¯s head started to ache, as he felt there was some connection that he could not uncover. The Xia family¡¯s involvement made no sense as they had no reason or motivation. How had these different forces been brought together? Why did Chaosgod Mountain want to deal with Leon''s Armada?

    Lu Yin went to find Starsibyl again, but Starsibyl shook her head. "Everything that can be determined through divination has already been revealed. Divination cannot be performed from nothing, as there must be clues to work off of. Without such things, there¡¯s no way to limit what one is looking at and finding any sort of information bes like searching for a needle in a haystack."

    Lu Yin against started mulling over the matter. There was no reason for Xia Ji to want to move against Highsage Grandmaster, let alone be an enemy of Eversky Ind. Could Starsibyl have made a mistake?

    He nced at Starsibyl with a bit of doubt. "Um¡­ could you get in touch with your master?"

    Starsibyl showed a small smile. "Does Brother Lu not trust me?"

    Lu Yin coughed. "Not at all. It''s just that I was in too much of a hurry to try to speak with Master Zhu, and I also wanted to see you again."

    Starsibyl exined, "Brother Lu, my divination turned out the same results as my master would achieve. It seems that Brother Lu has no leads regarding this matter. I would like to help you find something new through divination, but this ability is not omnipotent. Honestly, it¡¯s already a very good result to just be able to learn of the Xia surname."

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath. If Starsibyl Sect was correct, then the Xia family really was involved in this matter, but Xia Ji had no grudges or enmity with Highsage Grandmaster. In that case, what about the other members of the Xia family? Lu Yin instantly let out augh. There was no one else in the Xia family who was able to challenge Eversky Ind, not even their patriarch.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of a certain possibility: was it possible that Xia Ji had cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    During thepetition for the Astral Tower, Xia Jiuyou had revealed his mastery of the Nine Clones technique, which had shocked the entire universe. Also, it had been revealed that Starsibyl had alsoprehended the technique and cultivated it. While it had been discovered that the Nine Clones Secret Technique was not merely a myth, no one aside from the two of them had ever trained in the technique.

    No one else from the Xia family knew the technique, either.

    All along, everyone in the Fifth Maind had believed that the Nine Clones Secret Technique had been created by Progenitor Chen, but truly, how could Progenitor Chen have created a secret technique when he had still been young?

    Xia Ji might not have any grudge or enmity with Eversky Ind, but was it possible that the Semi-Progenitor had a clone who was behind everything? There was no one else from the Xia family who qualified to make any moves against Eversky Ind.

    After considering this possibility, Lu Yin immediately went back to Starsibyl.

    "I have a question that I¡¯m not sure I should ask you." Lu Yin hesitated.

    Starsibyl smiled. "Brother Lu, please speak. I¡¯ll answer you if I can."

    "Where did you learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique?"

    Starsibyl was momentarily taken aback, as she had not expected this question from Lu Yin. Such matters were closely guarded secrets, and were considered private matters second only to a woman¡¯s personal matters.

    Lu Yin instantly apologized, "I know I shouldn''t have asked. You can just forget this if you don¡¯t want to say."

    Starsibyl¡¯s voice grew soft, "It''s not that I don''t want to answer, but I¡¯m afraid that Brother Lu won¡¯t believe me when I tell you."

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious.

    "Divination allows one to observe the long river of time. When Xia Jiuyou visited the Starsibyl Sect, I happened to be doing some divination. Possibly because of his presence, or because of some other coincidence, I was able to observe the Nine Clones Secret Technique when looking into the river of time."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide; was such a thing actually possible?

    "How about Xia Jiuyou?" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 1622: The Real Enemy

    Chapter 1622: The Real Enemy

    Starsibyl continued, "Xia Jiuyou saw the same technique with me."

    Lu Yin understood and also realized why Xia Jiuyou had exposed Starsibyl after revealing that he had mastered the Nine Clones Secret Technique back in the Mountains and Seas Zone. it was because the two of them had learned the technique together.

    "Xia Jiuyou told others that he obtained the secret technique from Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, but honestly, no one even knows if the technique can be found there or not. The fact that I was able to learn it was purely coincidental," Starsibyl said.

    "It shouldn''t have been a coincidence."

    "Master said that Xia Jiuyou and his bloodline were too close to me, and that allowed me to witness the Nine Clones Secret Technique within the river of time. My view on the matter is no different. While divination isplex and beyond full understanding, there are many things that cannot be seen through divination. Much like Brother Lu¡¯s past, which I can¡¯t see," Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin sighed. "If the legendary Destiny were looking, he should be able to see everything."

    Starsibylughed. "Brother Lu still believes in that?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "You don''t?"

    Starsibyl shook her head. "There have only ever been vague references to Destiny, and while people have studied divination since ancient times, no evidence has ever appeared to support the existence of Destiny. My Starsibyl Sect does not believe such a person ever existed."

    Lu Yin snorted, but had no desire to argue with Starsibyl. ¡°With what you¡¯re saying, is it possible that Xia Ji was able to learn the Nine Clones Technique?"

    Starsibyl''s eyes lit up. "Brother Lu, are you saying¡­?"

    "Help me determine whether or not Xia Ji has a clone," Lu Yin said seriously.

    Starsibyl shrugged. "Xia Ji is one of the seven Semi-Progenitors. He stands at the very peak of humanity and is not someone my abilities can work on. Not even my master could do that. You will be disappointed by the results."

    "You just said that because of Xia Jiuyou presence and the fact that you were too close to him and his bloodline was why you were able to see the Nine Clones Secret Technique in the river of time. In that case, what if you were able to have Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood? Would that help you to be able to perform a divination to determine if Xia Ji has a clone?" Lu Yin asked as he pulled out a bottle of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood.

    Lu Yin had managed to Enhance three bottles of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood from the blood that Ku Wei had provided. Lu Yin had given Ku Wei one bottle, which had enhanced Ku Wei¡¯s blood and allowed him to help the colossal giants break away from the restrictions in their bloodline, but Lu Yin had saved the other two bottles.

    Starsibyl was startled. "Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood?"

    "Will this help?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl took the bottle. She had witnessed countless major events with her divination, and yet she still felt incredibly excited at this moment. This was a Progenitor¡¯s blood! The power it contained could not be fathomed, and if she held this, she would likely be able to see ancient legends for herself. She heard roars and the sounds of ughter. She perceived much more than Lu Yin was able to from this blood, and she even vaguely saw a pair of eyes in the bottle. They possessed a peerless majesty, and seeing them left Starsibyl turning pale.

    She suddenly dropped the bottle, though Lu Yin quickly caught it. He looked up at at Starsibyl with an odd expression.

    Starsibyl gasped for breath. "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu. I¡¯m used to using my divination and looking at the river of time. I just saw Progenitor Chen."

    Her words sent a chill down Lu Yin¡¯s spine; how was this any different from seeing a ghost?

    He quickly handed Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood back over to Starsibyl. "Can you perform a divination to see if Xia Ji has a clone?"

    Starsibyl nodded. "I can certainly try."

    She then turned and left.

    Shortly thereafter, Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around as he looked in the direction Starsibyl had gone. He saw an amazing and uncountable number of runes shooting up into space and traveling in an indeterminate direction. This waspletely different from the previous divination Starsibyl had done for Lu Yin. This was the power of Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    Suddenly, all of the runes shot to the south, and Lu Yin''s eyes grew more focused.

    Starsibyl stepped out of the void, her face pale and she looked exhausted. She also looked to the south. "The Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse."

    She looked back over at Lu Yin. "You guessed right; Xia Ji does have clones, and more than one. He has one in both the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse."

    Things suddenly grew clear in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. It looked like Xia Ji¡¯s clone was plotting against Eversky Ind and using the Ignition Crew and Chaosgod Mountain, but why Chaosgod Mountain? Also, how did the Longevity Brigade get dragged in as well? There were still details that Lu Yin did not understand, but there was one thing that he was absolutely confident about: Xia Ji was the one behind everything.

    "Were you able to determine how many clones he has?" Lu Yin asked eagerly.

    "Three in total."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew darker. The Xia family''s Nine Clones Secret Technique was truly revolting, especially how it could be used. Wait, there was another detail that Lu Yin suddenly remembered; Xia Luo used the technique, so could he have left any of his clones in the Fifth Maind? That was certainly not impossible.

    Lu Yin immediately called Highsage Leon and the results of the divination and his various conjectures. This matter involved a Semi-Progenitor, which made it extremely serious.

    ***

    In the Neoverse, Xia Ji¡¯s eyes suddenly opened and he looked to the north. He had just had the feeling that someone had been spying on him, but who could it have been? Who was even capable of spying on him? The Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors? That should not be the case, but was there anyone else who was capable of spying on him?

    He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he had survived too many storms and seen too many things, such as how Xia Luo had taken over Xia Jiuyou. Rather, Xia Ji had done nothing to interfere with Xia Yi''s cruel methods for training the family¡¯s children. Even though Xia Ji had known about those matters, he had still done nothing, not even when several of the family¡¯s direct descendants had been killed. After all, Xia Jiuyou''s fate was bound to Xia Ji¡¯s.

    Any ident that urred would result in irreversible consequences, and Xia Ji was well aware of this fact.

    Nothing good woulde from being spied on, regardless of the intentions of the person who had been peeping on Xia Ji. After a moment¡¯s thought, he lifted his hand and essed his gadget.

    ***

    In the Innerverse, in Chaos Flowzone, Chaosgod Mountain had finally settled down after the battle between the various Envoys. The many low-ranked disciples were clueless as to what happened at the sect¡¯s upper levels, as they almost never had any contact or interactions with people at that level.

    Elder Hu¡¯s eyes flitted about as he walked through Chaosgod Mountain. Even though several disciples greeted him, Elder Hu merely nodded in reply.

    Those several disciples all wondered at the elder¡¯s reaction. "What¡¯s with Elder Hu today? He¡¯s ignoring people."

    "Elder Hu is usually very quiet, so maybe he¡¯s just frightened from that recent battle."

    "Forget Elder Hu; who on the mountain wasn''t terrified? That must have been a battle that involved Envoys, though I have no idea just what happened. If not for Elder Cang Song stepping forward, we all would have thought that Chaosgod Mountain had been taken over by someone."

    "Elder Cang Song looked really rough. He must have been badly injured."

    "That whole thing¡¯s got nothing to do with us. However, our top disciples and the elders haven¡¯t been around since then, and I¡¯m thinking that something big is about to happen."

    ¡­

    Some distance away from the gossiping disciples, Elder Hu returned to his quarters. Within, someone looked up and asked in a hoarse voice, "How is it?"

    Elder Hu replied in a respectful tone, "Of course Elder Cang Song was seriously injured, but the Sect Master hasn¡¯t noticed any problems."

    "Hmph, how could he be okay? That old man had to have been seriously injured. How could Lu Yin have let him get away without a problem?" Cang Yi was the second figure. After Lu Yin had lost control of Chaosgod Mountain, Cang Yi had fled as quickly as possible. Cang Zhou had not initially had the time to waste chasing Cang Yi down, and had not been able to track him downter on.

    Who would have expected that Cang Yi had not left Chaosgod Mountain but had instead remained hidden right under Cang Zhou''s eyes?

    Because of the next stage in his ns, Cang Zhou had not revealed to anyone that Cang Yi was a traitor.

    "Why did you return so quickly this time?" Cang Yi asked while shooting Elder Hu an odd look.

    Elder Hu hesitated. "Elder Cang Song said that for the time being, the amount of resources don¡¯t need to be reported to him."

    Cang Yi frowned. "For how long?"

    "Until further notice."

    Cang Yi suddenly shot to his feet. He ruminated over this information for a bit. ¡°Go take a walk and see if the Explorer realm disciples have returned."

    "No, none of them have."

    Cang Yi''s eyes flickered. Something was not right. It had already been more than half a month since Lu Yin had been driven away, so those elite disciples should all have been released, so why had they not been seen? Could Cang Zhou have already made other ns for those elites?

    After thinking things over for a long time, Cang Yi finally decided to contact Lu Yin.

    He could no longer stay on Chaosgod Mountain, and Cang Yi was also absolutely certain that Lu Yin would never let him free. As long as Cang Yi stayed with Lu Yin, there would remain the possibility of again taking control of Chaosgod Mountain, just as he had half a month before. That had been an unforgettable experience.

    "A group of the elites have disappeared?" Lu Yin''s voice was heard from a gadget that belonged to Elder Hu.

    Cang Yi solemnly replied, "Yes, and I¡¯ve already looked into this. A lot of supplies have already been sent out, such as medicine, star essence, offensive power vessels, and more. There¡¯s only one reason for all of this to be sent out: Chaosgod Mountain is preparing for war."

    "The Cosmic Sea," Lu Yin subconsciously replied. "Keep an eye on things. It would be best if you can let me know when Cang Zhou leaves."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader," Cang Yi spoke with respect.

    Lu Yin''s voice was heard once more, "I¡¯ll take note of your merits, and I will always need someone to run things for me in the future."

    Cang Yi was overjoyed at this response. "Thank you, Alliance Leader."

    After ending his call with Lu Yin, Cang Yi thought for a moment before making another call. He called someone who should not have ess to a gadget, but who had started using one after entering the Fifth Maind: the Sixth Maind¡¯s Madam Hong.

    Most cultivators from the Sixth Maind had not originally beenfortable using gadgets, but most of them had started using them, as the things were just too convenient.

    Cang Yi passed the same information to Madam Hong. He did not want to fully rely on Lu Yin. Even though Lu Yin seemed to be powerful and someone who was trying to control everything, Lu Yin¡¯s bottom line was too clear. Cang Yi was still a traitor from the Fifth Maind, and it was not very likely that Lu Yin would have multiple uses for such a person. Cang Yi knew that he would be lucky just to not die, and so he continued to work for the Sixth Maind as well.

    It was impossible for the Sixth Maind to sit still and do nothing at all in the Outerverse, or at least that was what Cang Yi fully believed to be true.

    Madam Hong was quite happy with Cang Yi''s information. After the Sixth Maind had ended its invasion into the Fifth Maind, she had no longer had any use for the traitors she had previously used. There was no possibility of war breaking out again between the two Mainds, but that did not stop Madam Hong from making her own ns. The Fifth Maind would soon undergo a few new changes.

    ***

    The Cosmic Sea is a very strange ce within the Fifth Maind. Normal people could not even imagine the sea¡¯s weather, as the phenomena there defied nature.

    There were ces in the sea where it rained thunder, ces where volcanoes erupted without ceasing, and others where the seawater itself was dangerous, such as the Whitecliff Region. Still, even these were just a few specific locations within the Cosmic Sea. The weather in this region had truly made things difficult for the Sixth Maind when they had tried to invade.

    At the moment, there was a portion of the Cosmic Sea where there was a rain of stones. There were not themonly seen, naturally urring stones, but instead unusually heavy objects that seemed simr to stone while not actually being stone. In the Cosmic Sea, these rocks were still referred to as stones, but each and every piece weighed as much as a mountain.

    The stones rained down and fell into the sea, creating massive waves as each stone forced the seawater back.

    A pair of eyes snapped open at the bottom of the sea. The eyes possessed a bone-piercing coldness that seemed to linger, and the owner of the eyes suddenly shot out of the sea while wielding a trident. There was a bang, and the figure blocked an attack from the void. ¡°, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, their eyes were cold, with a bone-piercing lingering cold, they rushed out with a three-pronged weapon, a loud noise of pong, and an attack from the void was blocked, "You want to attack Leon¡¯s Armada? Die!"

 Chapter 1623: Battle Of The Four Pirate Crews

    Chapter 1623: Battle Of The Four Pirate Crews

    "You sure talk big, but you still need Highsage Leon to protect you freaks. Today I¡¯m going to ughter all of you mermen!" A voice shouted, and then one figure after another emerged from the void. Some distance away, a huge warship appeared. On the hull, ¡°Ignition¡± could be seen carved, showing where these people came from.

    "You¡¯re looking to die!" The merman''s trident stabbed forward, shattering the void. The spatial cracks spread, and it looked as though a ck line had been drawn through the void. It shot forward in an attempt to destroy the distant ship.

    At the same time, the stones raining down from above fell harder and harder. Many of the stones smashed onto the Ignition Crew¡¯s warship, but they aplished absolutely nothing.

    One of the stones crashed down towards the Ignition Crew¡¯s massive ship, clearly muchrger than the other stones.

    Inside the warship, a woman looked up and sneered. Her pupils suddenly transformed. ¡°It¡¯s a big stone, but it still can¡¯t avoid the issue with sneak attacks."

    As she spoke, Truesight weakened the stone as the woman waved her hand. She created a weapon from nothing and shot an arrow at therge stone.

    Therge stone and the long arrow collided in mid-air, causing a dazzling explosion.

    The resulting boom forced the seawater back, and then the water shot into the sky. Mermen shot out one after another, and more warships appeared behind the Ignition Crew¡¯s massive ship. Countless cultivators poured out of the fleet.

    "Today, my Ignition Crew will destroy Leon¡¯s Armada!" someone roared.

    "Arrogant, starting today, no one will remain of the Ignition Crew! There will no longer be the Four Pirate Crews!" There was another shout that responded to the first, and the five-meter-tall Elephant King appeared in the distance. He flung his massive nose about as he stared at the Ignition Crew. Another warship suddenly appeared.

    All eight of the regiments under Leon¡¯s Armada appeared, as well as the Ignition Crew¡¯s full forces.

    A beautiful woman stood atop a massive ship. Though her face was beautiful, her body was bloated. She was Big Sis, and her brow was furrowed.

    After she and her crew had returned to Leon''s Armada, Highsage Leon had dered war on the Ignition Crew. The fighting had already continued for more than ten years without ever stopping. Even when the Sixth Maind had invaded, the two Pirate Crews had not stopped having friction between them. From the very beginning, Leon¡¯s Armada had held the upper hand, and members of the Ignition Crew had constantly been ughtered, forcing the crew to retreat. At the moment, they controlled less than half of their original territory.

    Despite their current circumstances, the Ignition Crew was actually bold enough to directly confront Leon¡¯s Armada; why? They had to have gained their confidence from something.

    The cold glint of a sword appeared, and Liu Feng, captain of the Lightning Sword Regiment tore his sword through the void. The sh extended a great distance, and cut right through the rain of stones and continued on towards the Ignition Crew¡¯srgest warship.

    The captain of the Ignition Crew, Jin Mie, opened his eyes as an impressive shield of light appeared and protected the front of the ship as Liu Feng''s sword qi smashed through it. The attack was no longer able to injure even a wounded Enlighter with a power level of 300,000.

    Liu Feng had already expected such a result, and he lifted a foot to step into the true universe. When he reappeared, he was already above the Ignition Crew¡¯srgest ship, and his arms were raised high.

    Of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, only Leon''s Armada had two Envoys, which was also why Leon''s Armada was able to dominate the Cosmic Sea and was heralded as the leader of the Four Pirate Crews.

    Only the Ignition Crew¡¯s captain was capable of stopping Liu Feng.

    Jin Mie appeared and he looked up at Liu Feng. "What a pity that you¡¯re a genius swordsman. In your next life, choose to follow the right person."

    Jin Mie took a step forward as soon as he finished speaking, just barely evading a sword sh that shot out of the true universe. He was nearly cut, and even though he managed to dodge, the slice still slid across the tip of his nose, drawing blood.

    Jin Mie quickly retreated, his face pale. Highsage Leon suddenly stepped out of the void. He was holding an intimidating-looking saber and was alsoughing wildly. "Jin Mie, you finally worked up the guts to step out for your daddy? You can forget about leaving today, unless you leave your head here for me!"

    After speaking, Highsage Leon hefted his massive de and twirled it around. The pressure given off by the gesture caused the Cosmic Sea to boil, and the rain of stones suddenly stopped. The stones instead started to agglomerate into what looked like an entirendmass that then moved back up into the sky. It was a spectacr sight to behold.

    Jin Mie shook his head. "Truly, Highsage Leon, you are too arrogant. This will be the day that your armada will be destroyed!"

    "Try it." Highsage Leon shed his de at Jin Mie.

    Jin Mie''s pupils shrank, and a screen of light appeared in front of him, weakening Highsage Leon¡¯s attack. At the same time, a weapon appeared in Jin Mie¡¯s hand, and he entered the true universe. Highsage Leon just sneered as he did the same.

    Without Jin Mie''s presence, there was no one in the Ignition Crew who was Liu Feng''s opponent. He again attacked the massive warship, but the cultivators aboard showed no fear. The descending sword qi was blocked and torn apart before it couldnd on the vessel.

    Liu Feng''s expression changed. "Cang Zhou."

    Cang Zhou looked up and charged straight for Liu Feng without ever uttering a single word. Liu Feng grew solemn. While he was an Envoy, his power level only slightly exceeded 500,000, whereas Cang Zhou had a power level that surpassed 700,000. The master of Chaosgod Mountain was not someone Liu Feng could stand up to.

    To Liu Feng''s understanding, he would absolutely lose, as the gap between him and his opponent was simply toorge. It was impossible for Liu Feng to block Cang Zhou.

    However, Liu Feng was startled to discover that Cang Zhou¡¯s attack was not that bad, and the result was not as one-sided as the swordsman had feared.

    Cang Zhou felt quite helpless. When he had been held captive by Liu Ye and Fei Hua, Lu Yin had made sure that the master of Chaosgod Mountain had been badly injured in order to ensure the man could not escape. Of particr note, the injuries Cang Zhou suffered to his stellr energy vortex were not easy to heal, and they affected the power he could disy in battle. At best, he could use the strength of an Envoy with a power level of 600,000, which was not much different from Liu Feng.

    If not for Cang Zhou¡¯s injuries, Liu Feng would have already be a corpse.

    Cang Song and other experts from Chaosgod Mountain appeared and they all attacked Leon''s Armada.

    The armada had tens of thousands of cultivators, and while their numbers could notpare to a force like Chaosgod Mountain, every single member of Leon¡¯s Armada was an elite, just the same as the Ignition Crew. Arge number of people in a group was mostly useless in the Cosmic Sea and did not provide almost any advantage.

    Just by the numbers, this war could notpare to the battle that had been fought at the Outerverse¡¯s border, and yet the intensity and power used in the current battle were enough to shake up the entire Fifth Maind. It was a rare, all-out war in the Cosmic Sea.

    There was no way for anyone to keep the fighting in the Cosmic Sea hidden, and news of it quickly reached all of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones.

    The Lingling n, the Divine Venom Dynasty, and the Divine Grade Hall were all unconcerned, as none of them had anything to do with the Four Pirate Crews. It was only the Wen family that managed to put all of the pieces together after they heard about the war between two of the Four Pirate Crews.

    Wen Zizai stared at a report, and then looked towards First Flowzone. ¡°It seems that that old bastard Liu Qianjue is preparing for this war in the Cosmic Sea."

    The Wen family¡¯s patriarch was still in the Lost Radiance Academy, and Dean Hanmented, "Lu Yin moved your entire Wen family to suppress the Sword Sect because of Wen Diyi. It appears that he was already aware that the Sword Sect was nning to attack Leon¡¯s Armada.¡±

    "That child told us that the Sword Sect was going to attack Fennel Flowzone; I never considered that they would actually be targeting Leon''s Armada," Wen Zizai said in a cold voice.

    Dean Han sighed. "Someone like Liu Shaoqiu is born only once in a hundred years, while those like Liu Tianmu are only seen once in a thousand years, and someoneparable to Shang Qing is only born once every ten millennia. However, how many years must pass for someone of Lu Yin¡¯s caliber to appear? His talent is freakish, and his ambition is unfathomable, as he looks at the entire universe. On top of that, he has a unique personality and is able to draw people to his side and has countless people following. Not to mention, his luck in absurd.

    "He is truly a child of destiny, and the Wen family should not be his enemy."

    At this moment, Wen Zizai could not tolerate hearing anyonepliment Lu Yin. "What? Do you want to have your Han family cling to him?"

    Dean Hanughed. "The Han family will always remain in Erudite Flowzone, and that will never change. Lu Yin is too controlling and is unwilling to allow people or forces under him to not be under his control. My Han family could never serve such a person."

    Wen Zizai''s eyes flickered. "The sword that Lu Yin wields is Leon¡¯s armada. If they are destroyed in this war, Lu Yin will no longer present any sort of threat. What about his other backing? The Hall of Honor can¡¯t help him with his fights."

    Dean Han was caught off guard; Wen Zizai''s words indicated that the man had heard something different and dangerous from Dean Han¡¯sment.

    In the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue had a solemn expression. He should have participated in this battle, but Lu Yin had destroyed that opportunity. At this point in time, all that Liu Qianjue could do was hope that the Ignition Crew and Chaosgod Mountain would actually be able to join forces and destroy Leon¡¯s Armada and remove Lu Yin¡¯s sharpest de. Liu Qianjue could allow Lu Yin to stay in the Outerverse and Fennel Flowzone without issue, but he could not tolerate Lu Yin having any further ambitions.

    The sect master of the Sword Sect had still not learned that Lu Yin had attacked Chaosgod Mountain. As Lu Yin had guessed, Cang Zhou had no exnation to provide for how he had managed to recover the mountain, especially from Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Each of the two was an expert with a power level of more than 700,000, so who could be strong enough to help Cang Zhou and save him from such powerhouses?

    The war between two of the Four Pirate Crews had no affect on zing Mist Flowzone, and so the war between the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons continued with both sides doing their best to recruit outside experts to their own side.

    While the fighting in the Cosmic Sea did not have much of an impact on the Innerverse, it created a great deal of turbulence within the Hall of Honor, and the nine overseers immediately convened to discuss the matter.

    "It''s best for us to stop this war. The Fifth Maind has already achieved a level of bnce, and this war will destroy that. No matter if we look at Leon''s Armada or the Ignition Crew, nothing can be allowed to happen to either."

    "How do we stop it? We can''t intervene in such matters so long as they don¡¯t create too big of an impact on ordinary people. This battle will have no impact at all on any regr humans."

    "The Ignition Crew has actually teamed up with Chaosgod Mountain, but why would Chaosgod Mountain work with them?"

    "It''s definitely impossible for them to target Leon''s Armada, unless they have another motivation."

    All of the nine overseers looked at each other. None of them were stupid, so such a thing was readily apparent to all of them. Still, not one of them could see the true purpose pushing Chaosgod Mountain forward. Even if the Hall of Honor received information regarding the entire universe, there was nothing that they could find on this matter.

    "Overseer Xin, please share your opinion," San Sheng looked at Xin Jiao as he spoke.

    Everyone else looked over at Xin Jiao. After all, Xin Jiao and Mr. Yu were both from the Cosmic Sea.

    Xin Jiao shook her head. "I can''t speak with certainty on this matter, but the conflict between Leon¡¯s Armada and the Ignition Crew did not appear overnight. An all-out war was only to be expected."

    San Sheng then looked at Mr. Yu. "I wonder if Mr. Yu has an opinion on the matter?"

    It had been a long time since Mr. Yu had spoken to all of the nine overseers. The man had a gentle demeanor and was easy to overlook. He only asionally would speak up, and he held no additional role with any real authority. The only time that he had spoken up in recent times had been to give Lu Yin his firm support. Mr. Yu had been supported by Yuan Shi, and so he readily helped Lu Yin stop Shamrock Enterprise from moving their hidden world headquarters to Mt. Microcosms.

    Everyone expected Mr. Yu would speak up in support of Leon''s Armada at this time and push for stopping the war. After all, the current situation did not look good for Leon''s Armada. On top of everything else, Mr. Yu was someone from the Longevity Brigade, and the Longevity Brigade maintained a good rtionship with Leon''s Armada.

    However, his words caught everyone off guard. Sure enough, Mr. Yu did take a firm stance on the situation, but surprisingly, he demanded the eradication of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    "Everyone, we cannot forget that Highsage Leon is also the pirate king, and that Leon''s Armada controls the pirates throughout the universe. Pirates have always been seen as criminals to be wiped out, so there¡¯s no need to mention Highsage Leon. He is indeed the Pirate King, but because of various hesitations held by many different powers, no one has ever attempted to punish Highsage Leon. Now is the time to do so," Mr. Yu dered in a firm tone.

    Cong Ying and other overseers stared at Mr. Yu with odd expressions, as none of them could understand why he had suddenly started aiming at Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Upon hearing Mr. Yu¡¯s words, Bu Laoweng immediately sent Lu Yin a message, informing the youth that the Longevity Brigade was determined to be enemies with Leon¡¯s Armada, which was the only reason for Mr. Yu to have openly dered such a position.

    Lu Yin had hoped to learn of the opinion of the Longevity Brigade through the overseers, but the information he received left him disappointed.

 Chapter 1624: Position

    Chapter 1624: Position

    "I request that the Interster Supreme Court immediately ce sanctions on Highsage Leon, expose the crimes he hasmitted over the years, eradicate the pirates he shelters, and cast all of them into Gaia¡¯s Swamp," Mr. Yu coldly dered.

    "Mr. Yu, you¡¯ve never suggested any such thing before," Overseer Si Hongmented.

    Mr. Yu remained stoic. "There was never any opportunity. So long as the opportunity arose, I would always have been the first person to call for the removal of Leon''s Armada and his interster pirates."

    The other overseers all wondered just what Mr. Yu''s attitude meant? Could it be that the Longevity Brigade would also join the battle? If that truly happened, Leon''s Armada would be ced in a truly dangerous position.

    "I second Mr. Yu¡¯s proposal. Leon''s Armada has supported too many criminals, and it must be wiped out," Nightking Zheng stated.

    The overseer from the Sword Sect, Liu Ran also spoke his support, "I also support Mr. Yu."

    "I voice my support as well," Cong Ying said. He did not particrly care about Leon''s Armada, but he was quite concerned with Giant Consortium. Thatpany had worked together with Leon''s Armada to establish Continental Shipping, so if Leon''s Armada was not dealt with, Giant Consortium would never be eliminated.

    Overseer Nan Yuan also agreed. He was the Seven Courts¡¯ representative to the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and as a member of the Xia family, he naturally also agreed.

    With more than half of the members of the council agreeing, they submitted a formal proposal for the Interster Supreme Court to ce charges against Highsage Leon and Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Bu Laoweng frowned and sent more information to Lu Yin.

    In the Innerverse, Lu Yin was currently racing towards the Cosmic Sea. When he saw San Sheng¡¯s message, he quickly sent a reminder to Big Sis to keep an eye on the Longevity Brigade, and then Lu Yin called the Chief Justice.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was unable to interfere with the council''s decision, so his only choice was to approach the Interster Supreme Court, which was his senior brother''s jurisdiction.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s call would not connect no matter what, so he was left with no choice but to call Judicial Commissioner Mu En.

    This time, Lu Yin¡¯s call went through.

    "Judicial Commissioner, has the overseers¡¯ council submitted their proposal regarding Highsage Leon and Leon''s Armada to the Interster Supreme Court?" Lu Yin asked.

    "That¡¯s ssified information. I can''t tell you anything about that," Mu En replied.

    Lu Yin immediately asked, "Is there any way to stop it?"

    Mu En shook his head. "Lu Yin, you¡¯re an intelligent person, and you should know that the Interster Supreme Court is the Hall of Honor¡¯s sharpest de. Which direction a de strikes is not up the the de itself, but to the mind of the wielder. The overseers¡¯ council is the mind of the Hall of Honor. I can at least tell you that the council did submit a proposal regarding Highsage Leon, but..."

    "But what?" Lu Yin pressed.

    "But the Chief Justice is currently in seclusion, and so he is unable to receive the proposal, so it was instead delivered to us three Judicial Commissioners. However, we have no authority to make any decision regarding Highsage Leon or Eversky Ind that stands behind him. Thus, our only option is to send someone to the Cosmic Sea to observe the situation for now and wait for the Chief Justice to leave seclusion and make a decision.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "I understand. Thank you, Judicial Commissioner Mu En."

    "Lu Yin, the Chief Justice is impartial. I don''t know what your rtionship with him might be, but since the overseers¡¯ council has submitted a ruling against Leon''s Armada, the Chief Justice will carry it out to the letter. He will not be swayed just because of you, so you must prepare yourself," Mu En cautioned.

    Lu Yin hung up, his heart sinking at Mu En''s words. It sounded like his senior brother was truly an impartial person, which meant that there was nothing that could be done about the matter using this avenue. Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring, Since you¡¯re in seclusion, your junior brother will make a decision for you.

    On Mt. Microcosms, Cong Ying made a call of his own after returning from the council meeting. He called Xi Gu, themander of the Expeditionary Forces. Using the reasoning that the Interster Supreme Court was unable to immediately take action, Cong Ying asked the Expeditionary Forces to travel to the Innerverse to eliminate Giant Consortium with the excuse that Giants Consortium would send support to Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Cong Ying had been born with connections to Expeditionary Forces, and he possessed powerful influence with them. Given his position as an overseer, he was able to make requests of the Expeditionary forces. While the military was free to ept or refuse the request, Xi Gu chose to ept it.

    Even if themander knew that he was being given mere excuses, it didn''t matter. The Expeditionary Forces never needed to exin themselves to others, and at this time, they were acting on the request of an overseer.

    The fighting in the Cosmic Sea escted, and the Longevity Brigade finally stepped onto the battlefield beneath many eyes. Their target: Leon''s Armada.

    The rain of stones continued to fall, and Highsage Leon constantly shed at Jin Mei with his saber. The captain of the Ignition Crew was extremely powerful, but he was not able to stop Highsage Leon, and his shoulder was cut almost halfway through.

    Highsage Leon looked off into the distance at the Longevity Brigade¡¯s massive gship, and his expression fell. "Surrounded by three attackers."

    "Is Brother Leon talking about me?" A person appeared nearby. He carried a long spear and calmly gazed at Highsage Leon.

    Highsage Leon was not surprised by the man¡¯s appearance. "Ji Qiang, your Longevity Brigade has always had a good rtionship with my armada, so why are you here?"

    Ji Qiang looked up. "It''s time for things in the Cosmic Sea to change."

    Highsage Leon sneered. "So you¡¯re not here because of the Xia family?"

    Ji Qiang¡¯s expression instantly became sharply focused. "I don''t know what Brother Leon might be talking about."

    Highsage Leon clenched the saber in his hand. "Cut the bullshit. If you¡¯re here, then you should be ready to die! Today, I¡¯ll make a dish with both of your corpses!" As he spoke, Highsage Leon hefted his de and attacked Ji Qiang.

    An impressive amount of stellr energy erupted and swept across the battlefield and all of the fighters paused for a moment. They reflexively turned to looK, but none of them could see Highsage Leon or the other two, as all three had already entered the true universe.

    Highsage Leon was recognized as being the strongest of the captains of the Four Pirate Crews, and Jin Mie alone was not able to stand up to Leon, but Ji Qiang''s arrival bnced the odds.

    The Longevity Brigade was powerful. Even though they were not as strong as Leon¡¯s Armada, they were still stronger than the Ignition Crew. With the Longevity Brigade teaming up with the Ignition Crew, Leon¡¯s Armada instantly lost any advantage.

    However, thus far, Leon''s Armada had fought alone, but Highsage Leon was the pirate king. When Lu Yin had moved to deal with the Daynight n, Highsage Leon had called upon countless pirates from across the Innerverse to trash Daynight Flowzone and suppress the Daynight n. Since that day, the Daynight n¡¯s status had sank low in the Innerverse.

    At the moment, that scene from Daynight Flowzone was repeating itself.

    Countless pirates arrived from all directions, mostly from the Innerverse.

    These were crews that were not capable of traveling deep into the Cosmic Sea alone, and they were only present because of Lu Yin''s reminder to Highsage Leon to prepare early for the battle. This had allowed them to summon reinforcements to the Cosmic Sea.

    The arrival of the Longevity Brigade and countless pirates caused the war to escte even further. Such arge scale battle had never been seen in the Cosmic Sea with the sole exception of when the Sixth Maind had invaded.

    Three of the Four Pirate Crews were already involved in the battle, and many people kept an eye on the fourth crew; the Soldier Crew. Everyone was wondering if the final Pirate Crew would join the fray.

    Cultivators¡¯ wars did not end overnight, and they couldst for several days, dozens of days, or even for years.

    Two dayster, the rain of stones stopped, and then a school of strange fish appeared. These odd fish appeared in the air and swam through the battlefield as though they were migrating, and their passage killed countless people. A freshyer of corpses appeared floating in the sea along with the strange fish.

    By this time, Lu Yin had already entered the Cosmic Sea and was close to the battlefield. He suddenly received a call from Wen Zizai.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, how is Leon¡¯s Armada?" Wen Zizi asked.

    Lu Yin answered solemnly, "I don''t know. They¡¯re fighting a war with others of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews. I have nothing to do with any of it."

    "Why bother with the act now, Alliance Leader Lu? The Sword Sect was preparing for war with Leon''s Armada, which you already knew before. That was why you had my Wen family move against the Sword Sect. If the Longevity Brigade and Chaosgod Mountain aren¡¯t able to be held back, then my Wen family can help." Wen Zizi smiled as he spoke in a rxed tone of voice.

    "Thank you, Senior, but they¡¯re just a few clowns. There¡¯s nothing difficult to this matter."

    "What if other people get involved? Like the Sword Sect?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. What he had been most worried about was now happening: the Wen family was unwilling to be involved, and they would absolutely start making threats at this time. "What do you mean by that, Senior?"

    "Haha, Leon¡¯s Armada might be able to hold off their enemies for now, and if Alliance Leader Lu arrives in time, it may not be impossible to achieve victory, as I believe you must have already entered the Cosmic Sea. the enemy''s attack. However, if the Sword Sect gets involved, or perhaps even my Wen family, then what might happen? Even if no one else makes a move, just Liu Qianjue and I, Wen Zizai, are enough to determine the oue of the battle by destroying the bnce,¡± Wen Zizai dered.

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin snapped.

    Wen Zizai let out a long breath. He felt much better all of a sudden. For a long time, the entire Wen family had been controlled like a puppet by Lu Yin because of Wen Diyi, and even their patriarch, Wen Zizai, was no different. It was terrible to suffer such humiliation, but now, it was not Lu Yin threatening the Wen family, but them threatening him.

    "Alliance Leader Lu should be perfectly aware of what I just said. Do you need to force me to travel to the Cosmic Sea to speak with you? Maybe I¡¯ll bring Liu Qianjue with me. By the way, if we make a move, the Beast Tamers¡¯ Mountain God might not be able to stay still, or even the Lingling n might move out. Alliance Leader Lu should carefully consider this matter," Wen Zizai said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "You¡¯re threatening me."

    "Isn''t this what Alliance Leader Lu excels at? Wen Diyi is part of my Wen family, and yet Alliance Leader Lu used him to threaten and continuously push additional conditions on us. Don''t you think you pushed too much? Right now, Alliance Leader Lu only needs to deliver Wen Diyi to my Wen family, my Wen family promises that we will continue to restrain the Sword Sect so that the war in the Cosmic Sea will not escte. If not, this war may spread to the Innerverse and even Outerverse," Wen Zizai dered.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and slowly blinked.

    Beside him, Liu Ye frowned. Lu Yin was really not in a good situation at this moment. His backing was only able to intimidate people into not moving against Lu Yin himself, but that did not mean that those under his protection were untouchable as well. Many experts would remain independent to avoid being worried about such things.

    "There are times when taking a step back isn¡¯t a bad thing," Liu Ye suddenly said.

    "What''s the matter with you? Shut up?" Sister Fei Hua red at Liu Ye and yelled at him.

    Liu Ye reluctantly nced over at Sister Fei Hua before continuing, "When you tried to secretly deal with Chaosgod Mountain, you didn¡¯t do so just to ensure that other powers kept their guard down. Right now, take advantage of this opportunity to step back and strengthen yourself. For you, it¡¯s just taking a step back, but to others, it will show that you¡¯re not as much of a threat as they fear. This should achieve your goal."

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°While it might achieve my goal, the path to it is not one I wish to take."

    Fei Hua sneered, "Why not? Do you still have any other choice? If any of the people behind you make a move, their actions will sway the bnce of your Fifth Maind, and others will grow increasingly wary of you. Your threat to them will only grow increasinglyrger before a target is ced on your back."

    Lu Yin understood what Fei Hua meant. Whether it was Yuan Shi, the Chief Justice, or Arch-Elder Zen who had always been kind to him, any of them could easily resolve this matter and stop the war. However, if this happened, it would likely unite all of the forces of the Innerverse for the first time ever, and they would all be against him. Also, the same would be true of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Ignition Crew, Longevity Brigade, and even the Soldier Crew. As for the Neoverse, the Seven Courts would start viewing Lu Yin with much greater concern.

    All of this would have a heavy impact on the next phase of his ns.

 Chapter 1625: Crisis Of The Giants

    Chapter 1625: Crisis Of The Giants

    The most logical decision at this time would be for Lu Yin to step back and hand Wen Diyi over to the Wen family and agree to have the Wen family hold the Sword Sect back so that they could not rush into the Cosmic Sea and participate in the fight. Doing that as soon as possible would be the best decision given the current circumstances, but that was only when considering their current situation. However, Liu Qianjue and Wen Zizai were both unaware that the person behind everything was very likely the Xia family¡¯s Xia Ji.

    The Xia family had triggered this war, and everything had been initiated because of secrets that they were privy to that no one else knew about. How could the matter be resolved so easily? Even if the Sword Sect and the Wen family did not get involved, there was no way that this war would not escte to the point that even Eversky Ind and the Seven Courts would be forced to participate.

    The final stage of this massive war had already beenid out long ago.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, have you considered this matter?¡± Wen Zizai asked. He was utterly confident in his demands, as nearly everyone would agree with his proposition. The Wen family would hold the Sword Sect back as part of the deal, and if one were to look at the overall impact of things, giving up just Wen Diyi alone would be able to free up two Envoys to support Highsage Leon, and simultaneously prevent three of even for Envoys from moving against Leon¡¯s Armada. This was an excellent bargain.

    ¡°Senior, if the Wen family wishes to obtain Wen Diyi, then it must be on my terms. If you hold the Sword Sect back, I abandon my demand for the painting of the Mountains and Seas and simply look at it at your Wen family¡¯s home. If you can¡¯t agree to even this, then you can forget about ever getting your hands on Wen Diyi for as long as you live.¡±

    Lu Yin hung up the moment he finished speaking.

    Wen Zizai was left in a daze; what had just happened? He looked over Dean Han, who was also in a state of shock. Neither one had expected Lu Yin topletely reject the offer.

    ¡°He actually rejected us,¡± Wen Zizai muttered in disbelief.

    Dean Han¡¯s eyes narrowed in suspicion. ¡°He must have some sort of backup n.¡±

    Wen Zizai¡¯s fingers started trembling, and he began contemting the possibility of joining hands with the Sword Sect and traveling to the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Tread carefully and keep a close eye on Lu Yin and the entire Outerverse. There¡¯s a high chance that he has someone else supporting him,¡± Dean Han warned.

    ¡°But it¡¯s also possible that he¡¯s merely trying to intimidate me. He¡¯s gambling, and he could be counting on the fact that I can¡¯t do without Wen Diyi and that because of that I won¡¯t dare fight him,¡± Wen Zizai muttered under his breath.

    Dean Han stared at Wen Zizai. ¡°In that case, are you willing to risk challenging him?¡±

    Wen Zizai¡¯s face twitched at hearing the question. Did he dare do it? Untold years had passed since anyone had asked him such a question. Who possessed the ability to cause him, the almighty Wen Zizai, hesitate with his actions? Who dared gamble with him? However, there really was a young man at the moment who had the capabilities and the daring to do just that.

    This was a bet that Wen Zizai could not afford to lose, as if he did, he would be an outcast who would be condemned by the entire Wen family for all eternity.

    Wen Zizai was unafraid of death, but there was one thing that schrs like him all feared, which was having their name go down in history as a synonym for infamy. If he took this bet and lost, it was possible that his Wen family would lose their position as one of the top powers of the Innerverse, and they would likely lose any opportunity to ever enter the Neoverse. Did he dare take this bet?

    Seeing Wen Zizai¡¯s apprehension, Dean Han shook his head. The moment one hesitated, it already became clear that theycked the courage to do something. To think that the ruler of one of the eight great flowzones, the mighty Wen family and their distinguished patriarch, would end up being toyed with by a mere youth! Was the Wen family pitiable, or was that young man simply too terrifying?

    Lu Yin did not put much thought into the ultimatum he gave to Wen Zizai, and it was because he genuinely did have a backup n. He picked up his gadget and called someone: Ming Yan.

    There was one type of humans that was the most pathetic, which were those who knew they were being used, and yet could do nothing aside from continue letting themselves be used. Lu Yin was such a person.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll had told Lu Yin that the Aeternals wanted to use Lu Yin¡¯s identity as the heir of the Lu family to incite the greatest civil war humankind had ever seen in order to weaken all of humanity. Shaman God had even clearlyid the n out for Lu Yin, and yet there was still nothing he could do to extricate himself from the situation. War would eventually break out, because the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers would never spare Lu Yin, even if he was unwilling to fight them.

    However, Shaman God had also clearly underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s schemes. He was willing to be used because he had no other option, but since he was unable to remove himself from the Aeternals¡¯ n, Lu Yin had found another means to get by: that of mutual exploitation.

    He called Ming Yan via Bu Laoweng¡¯s gadget in order to ask the Neohuman Alliance for their help.

    The Seven Dark Towers of Aeternus Nation would always stand tall. This was an immutable fact that had been true from the dawn of time. Those towers represented the supreme Seven Skygods of the Neohuman Alliance, and Mr. Feng was someone whose importance ce him directly below the Seven Skygods. Not only was Mr. Feng Aeternus Nation¡¯s custodian, he was also the Seven Skygods¡¯ spokesperson, as well as the one who held control of Aeterna, the list of traitors.

    Mr. Feng was the one who always gave Bu Laoweng his orders.

    As for the war in the Cosmic Sea, naturally the Neohuman Alliance had immediately received news about it, and Mr. Feng had been following the developments quite closely. Suddenly, his gadget began to beep, and he answered the call request after seeing who it was.

    ¡°Mr. Feng.¡± Bu Laoweng¡¯s voice came through the call.

    Mr. Feng¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Did you forget your manners?¡±

    ¡°No sir, I haven¡¯t forgotten. But I have an urgent report for you, Mr. Feng.¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin reached out to me and told me to do whatever I can to stop the council¡¯s decision regarding Leon¡¯s Armada from being carried out and to have Azure Mansion join the war in the Cosmic Sea. He¡¯s clearly worried and he¡¯s already used up everything at his disposal.¡±

    Mr. Feng frowned. ¡°Is it that bad?¡±

    Bu Laoweng sighed. ¡°The fact that Lu Yin asked me to send our forces into the war is proof enough. Leon¡¯s Armada is his sharpest de, and once he loses it, he¡¯ll be left with practically nothing. Even if he had the ambition to do so, it would be nearly impossible for him to build his strength back up and make aeback in the future. I previously received orders to support Lu Yin to the best of my abilities in any way possible, so I figured that Lu Yin was probably someone we treat as one of us. This is why I wanted to consult with Mr. Feng on what to regarding his request for help.¡±

    Mr. Feng replied, ¡°I understand how things are right now, but you don¡¯t need to do anything.¡±

    The custodian then quickly hung up after speaking and then turned round and headed straight towards Shaman God¡¯s ck tower.

    Only a short bit of time passed before Mr. Feng reemerged and sent out orders to all of the corpse kings in the Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and any that were close to Cosmic Sea. All of them were ordered to join the war in the Cosmic Sea andunch attacks simultaneously on Leon¡¯s Armada, the Ignition Crew, and Chaosgod Mountain. Naturally, they were to try their best to minimize any damage done to Leon¡¯s Armada, and their attacks were to mostly target the Ignition Crew, the Longevity Brigade, and Chaosgod Mountain.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. He was vaguely able to feel the energy of a major battle. Many experts and groups had been dragged into this battle that was only second to Fifth Maind¡¯s efforts to stop the Sixth Maind in the Cosmic Sea during the invasion. If even a single wrong step was taken, the entire n would result in total failure. There was one thing that Bu Laoweng had beenpletely urate about, which was that if Leon¡¯s Armada were destroyed, Lu Yin would have to trash all of his ns that he had concocted against the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse because he simply would no longer possess the necessary foundation and power.

    There were many different events urring throughout the Fifth Maind at this time. There was also the war in zing Mist Flowzone between the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons. The war in the Cosmic Sea had already be a muddle mess that involved nearly all of the top powers of the Cosmic Sea. Also, Giant Consortium¡¯s connection to Leon¡¯s Armada had caused the Expeditionary Forces to be sent out against thepany.

    The Expeditionary Forces were not a military that was permanently stationed in a single location. They were the Hall of Honor¡¯s primary sword to be used within the Fifth Maind. Coincidentally, when they had been contacted by Overseer Cong Ying, they had already been in the Innerverse.

    By the time that Lu Yin had connected with Ming Yan, the Expeditionary Forces had already reached Giant Consortium.

    Who would have expected that the Expeditionary Forces would suddenly appear and attack Giant Consortium? The rage of war had already enveloped all of thes under thepany¡¯s control, and even though not all of the Expeditionary Forces¡¯ members were participating, in fact, only half of their soldiers were present, they still presented a force to be reckoned with. They had more than 1,500 Explorers, twenty Hunters, more than a few Enlighters, as well as Xi Gu. The military¡¯smander was actually an Envoy.

    The tribe of colossal giants were more than capable of going up against the Expeditionary Forces¡¯ cultivators, with the exception of Xi Gu, but his presence alone made things more than the giants could handle.

    After a exploded, Qing Kong gritted his teeth and ordered, ¡°Open fire.¡±

    The moment the words left his mouth, all of thes within Giant Consortium¡¯s territory all began firing beams of light that formed a of attacks that epassed the entire area and attacked the Expeditionary Forces.

    At the same time, another colossal giant entered space and charged towards the Expeditionary Forces to ughter their soldiers.

    The soldiers were taken by surprise, as none of them had expected to encounter such arge number of powerful colossal giants. They had suffered horrible losses right from the start of the battle, as Chen Jian alone was able to suppress everyone in the Expeditionary Forces aside from Xi Gu.

    Xi Gu emerged from the true universe, looked over at Chen Jian, and raised a hand. Flecks of white and gray started to appear over his palm, and when he struck out, each of the flecks shot through the void and struck Chen Jian¡¯s body. The giant was stunned, and could not figure out what had just happened. The gray and white flecks suddenly became unbearably hot before finally boring through his body.

    Chen Jian screamed in pain, and his massive body fell towards a.

    From behind Xi Gu, Chen Ling threw a punch at the Envoy. The giant¡¯s battle power exceeded 400,000, which ced him second to only the tribe¡¯s chief, Chen Huang. Chen Ling certainly had the strength and ability to fight against an ordinary Envoy, but only an average Envoy.

    As themander of the Hall of Honor''s Expeditionary Forces, how could Xi Gu be an average Envoy? He had been an Honor Chosen when young, and had started defeating various opponents after bing the Expeditionary Forces¡¯mander. Even though he had not be widely renowned, that had only been because the Hall of Honor had deliberately manipted matters to ensure that he remained somewhat unknown. He had survived countless battles, and was far fromcking power vessels.

    Xi Gu''s power as an Envoy was more than enough to suppress Chen Ling, but themander had no intention of facing the giant directly. Instead, he took a power vessel out from his cosmic ring and used it to strike Chen Ling down in an instant. Suddenly, dozens of colossal giants stood tall above the nearbys, each one prepared to smash Xi Gu.

    Xi Gu looked around. "Overseer Cong Ying''s concerns were valid; with so many colossal giants in hiding here, we would deal with trouble from them sooner orter."

    Xi Gu then took out another power vessel, and he ughtered the colossal giants one after another. It was not long before the corpses of hundreds of colossal giants drifted through space. Still, the Expeditionary Forces had sustained even greater losses, as they had lost hundreds of cultivators. Many of Giant Consortium''ss had been destroyed, and Qing Kong''s line of the technological giants had also sustained hundreds of deaths.

    "Expeditionary Forces, full retreat!" Xi Gu ordered. He looked out at the numerous corpses of his cultivators that littered space, and he clenched his fists in rage. He had let his guard down this time. He had believed that he would be able to easily exterminate Giants Conglomerate, but who could have known that the hidden colossal giants were so incredibly powerful? If he had known of their existence, he would never haveunched a direct attack. The Expeditionary Forces had other methods to deal with such things.

    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this on my own and destroy all of these colossal giants,¡± Xi Gu vowed with a cold glint in his eyes.

    All of a sudden, the void around him began to distort, and a whirlpool that released a terrifying energy appeared above him.

    Xi Gu looked up, and his pupils shrank; was this a stellr tribtion?

    There was no one in all of Giant Consortium who could stand up to an Envoy like Xi Gu, so their only hope was Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang had already been confident of holding his own against ordinary Envoys given the fact that he was a colossal giant, but he did not have the confidence of taking his tribe with him and allowing everyone to escape. He was not even confident that he would be able to escape himself without Xi Gu pursuing him. Xi Gu was clearly not some average Envoy, so Chen Huang had been left with no choice but to assimte with Ku Wei¡¯s blood in order to strengthen himself and remove the shackles of his own bloodline. He needed the power of an Envoy.

    In the presence of a stellr tribtion, even Xi Gu had no other choice but to pull back, as the only other option would be to directly face the tribtion head on.

    Chen Huang¡¯s stellr tribtion was truly terrifying. After all, he was a colossal giant. The size of this stellr tribtion had already be muchrger than that of a regr human. The tribtion epassed the entire region belonging to Giant Consortium, and it then spread out to cover the Expeditionary Forces as well.

    The Expeditionary Forces retreated again and again, staring at the tribtion in utter shock.

    Chen Huang looked up to take measure of the situation. There was a somber expression on his face. As the stellr tribtion took form, a mountain slowly appeared above him. It was majestic and it towered over him and moved to crash into him.

    The giant roared in rage and lifted both arms up to aggressively retaliate against the giant mountain in an attempt to hold it back. Right after that, another mountain appeared and merged with the first one. Thebined weight increased exponentially, and it caused both of Chen Huang¡¯s arms to tremble and swell. His veins popped out across his skin, and his skin flushed blood-red as both of his eyes bulged.

    Then, a third mountain suddenly appeared.

    Xi Gu heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Chen Huang¡¯s struggle from afar. Fortunately, it looked like the giant would not be able to survive his stellr tribtion. Colossal giants did not train in any battle techniques, which meant that they were practically unable to survive any stellr tribtion.

    Ku Wei was also watching everything from a distance. He was on top of Chen Ji¡¯s shoulder, and Ku Wei shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Bear with it! You must push through!¡±

 Chapter 1626: Arrival

    Chapter 1626: Arrival

    Seeing that Chen Huang was about to bepletely smashed to the ground by the merged mountains, all of the colossal giants began roaring at the sky, unleashing a noise that was familiar to only those of their blood. These roars had been passed down from ancient times and were carved into their blood, bones, and the very cells of each and every colossal giant. Carried along by instinct, even Ku Wei unconsciously transformed into a colossal giant and began roaring as well.

    Ku Wei¡¯s voice instantly overpowered those of all of the other giants. The blood in his body began to boil, and the faint image of an even bigger and more imposing figure appeared behind him. It looked as though a true giant had stood up, instantly dwarfing all of the colossal giants. Before this giant, Ku Wei¡¯s height of 8,000 meters left him as insignificant as an ant. All of the giants in the surroundings who saw this were shocked.

    Xi Gu was also watching from the distance. He and Ku Wei stood opposite from each other, but even so, Xi Gu was still able to clearly make out the giant silhouette, even though he was not able to clearly make out the face. The size of the giant far exceeded Chen Huang, and even the stellr tribtion.

    Xi Gu could not believe his eyes; how could such a massive giant exist? Was that still considered human? It was much bigger than even the surroundings!

    Qing Kong and the others all saw the image as well, and the humans employees of Giant Consortium, such as Leng Yan, saw it as well, but all that they could see were the legs of the image ¨C no, not even all of the silhouette¡¯s legs, but rather just the ankles. From where the humans stood, their eyes could only see the ankles of the image.

    Ku Wei lifted his head and looked up at the massive giant behind him,pletely dumbfounded. What in the world was that?

    That enormous giant let out an angry roar. It was a sound that came from the soul, and it triggered a change in Chen Huang¡¯s physique. When he saw the massive giant, he also felt an resonant aura rise up within himself, and it caused his bloodline to ignite. He could not resist the urge to roar along with the enormous giant, and a faint white of battle power quickly turned ck as it twined around his body. The ck could only be seen momentarily before it turned purple, and then the purple changed into dark gold, which then turned green before bing blue. The moment the blue lines covered Chen Huang¡¯s body, the pressure put on him by the threebined mountains suddenly decreased. However, things had not yet finished; the blue lines became magenta, which finallypleted the transformation by turning red.

    The magenta lines that covered the colossal giant¡¯s entire body were apanied by red, which signified nine lined battle force.

    Ku Wei was stunned, as was everyone else who had just witnessed the same scene. Was it that easy to cultivate battle force?

    The unbelievablyrge giant only remained visible for a moment before itpletely vanished. If not for the fact that literally every single person present had seen it, its entire existence could easily have been dismissed as an illusion.

    The giant¡¯s appearance had granted Chen Huang nine lined battle force, as well as the power to ovee the force of the three mountains.

    Chen Huang roared with rage, and with one punch, he managed to shatter all three of the mountains. That aplished, the stellr tribtion disappeared.

    The thousands of colossal giants surrounding Chen Huang started cheering loudly as they stared at him with zing emotions of respect and admiration.

    Chen Huang raised his head. His body felt much younger than before, and his height had doubled, making him 20,000 meters tall. He was forced to look down at all of the other colossal giants, and even Ku Wei only reached Chen Huang¡¯s waist at best.

    Xi Gu clenched his fists as he watched everything from a distance. The Expeditionary Forces had no more time to waste; if they let Chen Huang be ustomed to his strength as an Envoy, it would be incredibly difficult to deal with the giants. This thought prompted Xi Gu to immediately take action, and his flecks of gray and white light shot towards Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang raised a hand to meet the approaching attack with a p, and the giant¡¯s handpletely crushed the gray and white lights with nine lined battle force. Even the void was distorted by the overwhelming power. Chen Huang¡¯s body suddenly shot out of the true universe, and he crashed into Xi Gu. Both of Xi Gu¡¯s arms were blown back by the impact, and he was sent flying from the powerful impact.

    At this moment, Xi Gu only had one thought, which was to cheat.

    In a battle between Envoys, each person was forced to face their enemy and the true universe at the same time. If a person happened to overuse their stellr energy and was not careful to conceal their presence, they would have their stellr energy forcefully extracted from their body. This was why only Envoys who possessed curios were able to fight without restraint. Without such protection, the only option was to remain wary at all times. However, things were different for colossal giants, as they tended to fight solely with pure physical strength, which meant that they rarely had to worry about other factors. In particr, after Chen Huang hadprehended nine lined battle force, he had instantly be far more terrifying whenpared to humans who had aplished the same. This was entirely because of his strength as a giant.

    Xi Gu then suddenly recalled that battle force had originally been adapted from the giants¡¯ race to begin with. It looked like it was a form of cultivation that giants were the best suited for.

    Suffering from one of Chen Huang¡¯s ps forced Xi Gu to understand that the Expeditionary Forces¡¯ current mission had ended in failure. No matter what they did at this point in time, they would be able to do nothing to Giant Consortium, as Chen Huang alone was able to defeat all of them. The Expeditionary Forces could not go up against the colossal giants or Giant Consortium.

    Left with no other choice, the military was ordered to retreat.

    The battle with Giant Consortium proved to be a short one, yet the impact it had was quite considerable. What had shocked the Expeditionary Forces the most was not that Chen Huang had be an Envoy, but rather the silhouette of the massive giant that had appeared behind Ku Wei. Even Chen Huang¡¯s full height after his breakthrough was nothing at all whenpared to that enormous giant. The difference between the two had been just too much.

    Because Chen Huang had also absorbed Ku Wei¡¯s blood, the way the tribe¡¯s chief looked at Ku Wei had changed. This was something that could not have been avoided.

    After the Expeditionary Forces left, Ku Wei immediately called Lu Yin and gave a report about the attack on Giant Consortium.

    On hearing the news, Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grim. To think that Cong Ying would take the opportunity brought about by the war in the Cosmic Sea to try to exterminate Giant Consortium. If it not for the fact that Chen Huang had managed to break through and be an Envoy, things would have ended up truly bleak for Giant Consortium. Still, the events in Giant Consortium¡¯s territory had already been adding hail to snow.

    As he processed the news, Lu Yin immediately sent a message to Bu Laoweng, asking him to denounce Cong Ying and the Expeditionary Forces. After that, Lu Yin intended to lead Ku Wei¡¯s group of colossal giants into the Cosmic Sea. He hoped to amass all the forces he could in order to assist Leon''s Armada.

    At the same time, the mes of war continued to rage furiously in the Cosmic Sea. Highsage Leon, who had drifted away from the main battlefield, was alone facing the captain of the Longevity Brigade, Ji Qiang. The intense battle between the three captains caused the heavens and earth of the Cosmic Sea to crack and crumble.

    Of the seven regiments that made up Leon¡¯s Armada, the captain of the Cross Regiment ¨C Rocky ¨C had died, as had the captain of the Charging Elephants Regiment, Elephant King. The Longevity Brigade and the Ignition Crew had both suffered terrible losses, as had Chaosgod Mountain. Of particr note, Cang Song had been injured even before the battle had started, and he ended up dying during the war in the Cosmic Sea.

    Cang Song had been the one to kill Elephant King, and Elephant King¡¯sst counterattack before death had managed to take Cang Song down as well.

    Cang Shi stood above the sea. It was no longer seawater beneath his feet, but blood.

    Half of his body was already stained red. He had no idea why Chaosgod Mountain needed to be involved in this war, but one thing he did know was that more than half of the cultivators from Chaosgod Mountain had already died, though the casualties suffered by the pirates who had arrived to reinforce Leon¡¯s Armada were even more catastrophic.

    Cang Mu had also arrived. As someone who had once held ninth ce on the Top 100 Rankings, he was no longer considered part of the younger generation. He had followed Arbiter War King, which had caused Cang Mu to be known as the disgrace of Chaosgod Mountain. However, the moment this war had started, he had rushed over at top speed to help Chaosgod Mountain, as Cang Mu had already been training in the Cosmic Sea before the fighting had even started. Despite his strength, he had still not been able to avoid death.

    The young stutterer was still on one of the Longevity Brigade¡¯s warships, and he was quite anxious; just what in the world was going on? Why were they fighting a war all of a sudden? The youth did not dare step even a single foot into the sea after seeing the countless corpses that filled it.

    Somewhere nearby, Zi Jun was panting heavily. He had already lost half of an arm during the fighting. He looked up at the sky far above, clearly deep in thought. He knew that he likely did not stand much of a chance of surviving to the end of this war.

    From Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew, Da Chong had died, and so had Que Zi. People who Lu Yin knew had died one after another.

    Lu Yin stared at all of the corpses floating atop the sea with his bloodshot eyes. There were some from Leon¡¯s Armada, but more were from the Ignition Crew, Chaosgod Mountain, and the Longevity Brigade.

    Following a glimmer that shed in front of them, Liu Ye and Fei Hua led Lu Yin to the most vicious portion of the battlefield. Lu Yin¡¯s heart raced the moment he arrived, and he looked off into the distance in the direction of where Highsage Leon, Jin Mei, and Ji Qiang were fighting. He caught sight of a fourth cluster of runes in that ce, and their number was beyond terrifying.

    Lu Yin had seen that particr group of runes before in Daynight Flowzone above the Nightking. Nightking Dijiang was present.

    Lu Yin transformed his pupils into runes to get a better view. He had not expected Nightking Dijiang to appear, and so Lu Yin unhesitatingly released Daynight Praises in an attempt to ambush the Nightking.

    Not even Highsage Leon had noticed Nightking Dijiang¡¯s presence, as he had been too focused on dealing with Ji Qiang and Jin Mie; how could Highsage Leon have any attention to spare on the possibility of another expert lying in wait for him nearby? Even in a one-on-one battle, Highsage Leon would struggle to fight against Nightking Dijiang, as if that were not the case, he would never have asked Highsage Shenwei for help in the past.

    Nightking Dijiang had originally nned to sneak attack, since Highsage Leon had not noticed him. The only people who had sensed his presence were from the Ignition Crew, but there was no way any of them would reveal his presence. However, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had caused Nightking Dijiang to lose his cover.

    Even if Lu Yin¡¯s Daynight Praises was no different from scratching an itch for Nightking Dijiang, the attack had still drawn Highsage Leon¡¯s attention, which had been Lu Yin¡¯s entire goal.

    Nightking Dijiang was furious, and he retaliated against the spiritual force of Daynight Praises with counter-attacks. Lu Yin had already been prepared for such an event, and he had already set up his Inception Array for protection. Despite using the sourcebox array, Lu Yin still ended up coughing up blood from the counter-attack, and he even suffered a mental blow that nearly left him unconscious.

    ¡°Dijiang, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Highsage Leon roared as he shed his impressive saber at Nightking Dijiang.

    Ji Qiang swept his spear at Highsage Leon while mocking the man, ¡°Highsage Leon, say that after you defeat the two of us!¡±

    Nightking Dijiang shot a death re towards Lu Yin. If not for the various powerhouses protecting Lu Yin, Nightking Dijiang would not have been so gentle with his attacks. He easily could have killed the youth.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body was shaking. This was not because of fear, but due to the aftereffects of Nightking Dijiang¡¯s counter-attacks. Once the disparity between people¡¯s spiritual forces became too vast, the pain one would feel from an attack would far exceed physical pain.

    ¡°Hurry up and take care of him!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua nced at each other. ¡°We¡¯re no match for him.¡±

    When Nightking Dijiang had used a spiritual force attack against Lu Yin, both of the Envoys had tried to shield Lu Yin from the damage Yin, but sadly, neither of them were very proficient with spiritual force, and thus they had only been able to watch as the attack had struck Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin roared in a deep voice, ¡°Deal with him now or I¡¯ll detonate the sourcebox arrays in your bodies this instant!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Sister Fei Hua angrily retorted, but Liu Ye held her back as he shook his head.

    ¡°Just do it.¡± After speaking, Liu Ye stepped forward and unleashed his fluttering willow leaves against Nightking Dijiang. Sister Fei Hua snorted in rage before joining her husband. She could never allow him to confront someone so incredibly dangerous alone.

    Lu Yin had also been left with no choice in the batter; he could not just leave Highsage Leon alone to face three powerhouses. On top of that, Nightking Dijiang¡¯s spiritual force was extremely difficult to counter.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Daynight n to get caught up in the war as well. Ever since he had trashed their flowzone, they had almost entirely isted themselves and had kept a very low profile. Their forces had been slowly chipped away at by the Sword Sect, and the Daynight n had long since lost their title of being the most powerful n in the Innerverse. In fact, as time had passed, they had be practically irrelevant. This was also why it was so shocking to see them suddenly reappear, not to mention that their entrance to the war was the one that was forcing Lu Yin into a corner.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua would never be able to match up to Nightking Dijiang. Even though theirbined attacks were truly remarkable, Nightking Dijiang was no ordinary powerhouse. He was the patriarch of the Daynight n, and he had cultivated many mysterious techniques. Even if he were ced next to powerhouses from the Perennial World who matched his cultivation, Nightking Dijiang would still be considered one of the best.

    All that Liu Ye and Fei Hua were capable of was to buy a bit of time and stall for a while. They had absolutely no chance of victory.

    Lu Yin stared into the distance in worry; Liu Ye and Fei Hua had to hold out!

    Someone from the Ignition Crew tried to attack Lu Yin from behind, but Lu Yin never even moved a muscle. His attacker tried to stab a knife into Lu Yin¡¯s back, but it was pointless. The attack could not break through Lu Yin¡¯s defenses, and Lu Yin then easily dealt with the person.

    Out of everyone on the entire battlefield, the only opponents Lu Yin truly really wanted to fight with were the Envoys.

 Chapter 1627: Back-up Plan

    Chapter 1627: Back-up n

    The Envoys¡¯ battlefields were where Highsage Leon was fighting or where Liu Feng was holding back Cang Zhou, but the former was much too high-level for Lu Yin, as the experts fighting there were trading blows with power levels of about 800,000. Lu Yin could not step foot onto such a battlefield.

    Killing intent shed through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he entered the true universe. He wanted to kill Cang Zhou, but as he was making his way there, he saw that Sister Fei was in danger.

    Sister Fei was the captain of the Quickstream Regiment of Leon¡¯s Armada. She had streams of water twining around her, and they gave her an enchanting appearance. Given her power and her quickstream knife, even experts with power levels of 400,000 would not dare underestimate her. Despite that, her life was hanging by a thread at this moment.

    The battlefield in the Cosmic Sea epassed a veryrge area, and where Sister Fei was fighting there were only others from her Quickstream Regiment, though none of them were able to help Sister Fei.

    Her opponent was someone from the Longevity Brigade, and he had also suffered rather serious injuries, though his were not as severe as Sister Fei¡¯s.

    ¡°What a pathetic beauty! Die!¡± the man bellowed in a deep voice. All five of his fingers were pressed together as he reached for Sister Fei¡¯s head. She closed her eyes, giving up, but strangely enough, when she reopened them again after a moment, her opponent was already dead. Lu Yin said, ¡°Be careful, Sister Fei.¡±

    He then returned to the true universe.

    Sister Fei stared where Lu Yin had disappeared and let out a sigh of relief. She had survived.

    She never would have imagined that that little brat from back then would have already surpassed her.

    Lu Yin wanted to join the fight against Cang Zhou, but Liu Feng refused as he wanted to face Cang Zhou alone. All that Lu Yin could do was to unleash his domain to attack the Ignition Crew, Longevity Brigade, and Chaosgod Mountain across a wide region.

    Off in the distance, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were struggling terribly enduring against Nightking Dijiang. His spiritual force attacks were forcing them to suffer unspeakable pain.

    With no other choice, Fei Hua sent Lu Yin a quick message, ¡°Hey brat, this guy¡¯s too difficult for us to deal with. We¡¯ll never beat him, so find someone else to keep him upied.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Endure just a little longer.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Fei Hua was getting impatient and her tone had turned rude.

    Lu Yin yelled back at her, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    ¡°If I keep fighting this man, I¡¯ll still most likely die!¡± Sister Fei Hua yelled back.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists in anger, but just when he was about to retort, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He was not the only one, either, as everyone felt a chill. After that, they heard a horrifyingughter echo from the distance. One shadow after another began to appear and tear through the void and they fell upon the battlefield. Each of those shadows proved to be a corpse king, as each one possessed their characteristic scarlet eyes!

    When they saw the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s forces appear, Jin Mie, Ji Qiang, and the others were dumbfounded. Even Nightking Dijiang was startled; why would the Neohuman Alliance show up?

    Highsage Leon growled in rage when he saw the corpse kings step onto the battlefield. He shed his saber at Ji Qiang, forcing the man to step back. ¡°You actually went ahead and teamed up with these monsters?!¡±

    Ji Qiang red at Highsage Leon with cold eyes. ¡°Highsage Leon, you dare try to nder us!¡±

    ¡°If not for helping you, why else would the Neohuman Alliance be here?¡± Highsage Leon shouted in rage.

    Ji Qiang looked around at the corpse kings with a fierce re. He also had no idea how or why the Neohuman Alliance had appeared. Even if the Neohuman Alliance wanted to target them, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to wait until after the war ended? At that time, both sides would have suffered tremendous losses from an all-out war. So what was the point in showing up at such a time?

    Could it be that there were humans who had coborated with the monsters?

    The very next moment, the corpse kings were already attacking. There were dozens of corpse kings, and two of them had the strength of an Envoy, which was truly terrifying.

    One of the corpse kings was even able to undergo a red eye transformation, which was beyond horrifying.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye started twitching from this terrible turn of events; the Neohuman Alliance was too powerful a force to be contended with. The fact that they had managed to rush over to the Cosmic Sea so quickly also suggested that they had not been far away to begin with, which meant that this terrifying force had been close to the powers of the Cosmic Sea. Almost no one from the Fifth Maind was aware that the Aeternals were the force behind Neohuman Alliance. The Aeternals had managed to suppress humanity to the point that they had never had any opportunity to rx and recover.

    That corpse king who had undergone the red eyes transformation had targeted Nightking Dijiang, which caught the man off guard. Just when he was about to curse Leon¡¯s Armada for working with the Neohuman Alliance, the other Envoy-level corpse king started attacking Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Just like Nightking Dijiang, Liu Ye and Fei Hua were fighting with their full strength. After all, they were originally from the Perennial World, and they hated corpse kings to their core.

    Dozens of corpse kings had fallen onto the battlefield, and while the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s forces seemed to be severelycking numbers, the impact they were able to have on the battlefield was immense. The bnce of the battlefield had been instantly destroyed, though at least Nightking Dijiang had been given a different opponent to keep himpany and upied.

    Corpse kings were a natural nemesis to spiritual force. Any corpse king that was capable ofpleting the red eye transformation would be able to stand up to Nightking Dijiang so long as their initial power level was at least 600,000. However, the corpse king¡¯s chances of victory would remain debatable.

    Lu Yin was also targeted by a corpse king, and it was even a rather powerful one. It was able to use a green eyes transformation, and its initial power level had already surpassed 300,000.

    There was a tremendous boom as the corpse king was forced back by one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches. Though its green eye transformation had enhanced its power level by an additional 300,000 more, which meant that it was capable of unleashing attacksparable to an Envoy, Lu Yin was someone who was already capable of facing Envoys with power levels of more than 600,000 on his own.

    Highsage Leon still firmly believed that the Longevity Brigade and the others had been the ones to collude with the Neohuman Alliance, while Ji Qiang and the others all insisted that Leon¡¯s Armada had cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance.

    Even if everyone was able to see that the corpse kings were indiscriminately attacking everyone, they all still wished to pin the me onto their opponents. Whoever ended up shouldering the me would end up as the universal enemy of the entire Fifth Maind.

    A woman with an incredibly beautiful face stood atop the Cosmic Sea. She had a plump figure and was panting and trying to catch her breath. She was up against a powerhouse from the Longevity Brigade.

    She was Big Sis, and she was currently in imminent danger. However, all of a sudden, a corpse king attacked from nowhere. It not only attacked Big Sis, but also her opponent from the Longevity Brigade.

    Soon enough, the expert from the Longevity Brigade and the corpse king had fought to their deaths, and Big Sis ended up as the sole survivor. She found the entire turn of events a little odd, but did not bother putting much thought to it.

    Leon¡¯s Armada had summoned various pirates to deal with the Longevity Brigade, Ignition Crew, and Chaosgod Mountain, and the armada and pirates had certainly grabbed the short end of the stick. While the pirates were able to helppensate for numbers, they could do nothing to contribute to the numbers of true powerhouses on the battlefield.

    A deafening boom was heard, and a corpse king was smashed across the sea. Lu Yin allowed his arm to rx, and he looked over at Liu Ye and Fei Hua. They had already managed to suppress the Envoy-leveled corpse king they had faced, and it looked like they would soon eliminate it. However, the fight between Nightking Dijiang and the other corpse king would not end so easily.

    Lu Yin again unleashed his domain, and it swept the arena. He was able to affect thousands of people, and he immediately began taking advantage of his domain.

    Suddenly, Highsage Leon, Ji Qiang, and Jin Mie started to work together to defeat the corpse king that had been fighting Nightking Dijiang. Instantly, one of the corpse king¡¯s arms was chopped off by Highsage Leon.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye started to twitch nonstop, and he almost wanted to curse at everyone. If they dealt with the corpse king at this moment, who would keep Nightking Dijiang upied?

    However, Highsage Leon had no other choice, as Ji Qiang had already reported the new development to the Hall of Honor. At any time, regardless of any war, even a battle where one knew they would surely die, the moment that anyone from the Hall of Honor learned of the presence of a corpse king or made contact with one, they were required to immediately work to eliminate any and all corpse kings, or else they would be punished for inaction. This was an inviblew of the Hall of Honor.

    Ji Qiang had even instantly reached out to one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Judicial Commissioners, Mu Tianlun. Because of that, Highsage Leon had been forced to unite with his enemies against the corpse king. If Mu Tianlun was not paying attention to the situation, there was no way that Highsage Leon would have been foolish enough to leave Nightking Dijiang without an opponent. As for Highsage Leon, even if he saw the Neohuman Alliance as an enemy, he would not have chosen to fight them at this moment.

    After being surrounded by four powerhouses, the corpse king suffered a miserable end.

    Lu Yin sighed helplessly. ¡°Liu Ye, please help me to keep Nightking Dijiang upied.¡±

    Liu Ye gritted his teeth in anger. He really wanted to refuse at this moment, but Liu Ye was also much quicker than Fei Hua, and he knew that he could not afford to reject Lu Yin¡¯s orders at this time, as doing so would ensure that Lu Yin would make them pay the price in the future. Liu Ye was already well aware of Lu Yin¡¯s extremely vindictive nature.

    The corpse kings were quickly killed. Even if the dozens of corpse kings had managed to introduce an element of chaos into the battle, the overall impact they had made had not been very significant. Still, they had managed to buy a bit of time, which was exactly what Lu Yin needed most desperately.

    Half an hourter, a white smoke seeped out from the void, shattering the void as it passed, but also spreading back into the cracks that appeared.

    Lu Yin became thrilled when he saw the smoke, as it meant that Smoke-Eater Peaks had arrived.

    This was one of the back-up ns Lu Yin had prepared earlier. He had not expected Smoke-Eater Peaks to arrive in time after discovering the unnned presence of Nightking Dijiang, but thankfully, the Neohuman Alliance had arrived and joined the battle, which had bought the time needed for Smoke-Eater Peaks to arrive.

    Their appearance was not anything that Ji Qiang or the others could have seening.

    Gu Laogui wasughing maniacally when the white smoke shrouding his body began twirling towards Nightking Dijiang. ¡°Aren¡¯t you from the Daynight n? Let¡¯s y!¡±

    Ji Qiang just stared at Gu Laogui and asked, ¡°Why is Smoke-Eater Peaks getting involved?¡±

    Gu Laogui ignored the question and reced Liu Ye and Fei Hua as Nightking Dijiang¡¯s opponent. Just the two powerhouses testing each other out was enough to cause a mind-blowing collision that jostled the entire Cosmic Sea. The impact between the white smoke and the spiritual force swept the entire battlefield, and even continued on into the far distance. If one was able to capture a clear view of the entire Cosmic Sea, they would have noticed that the shockwave from the impact of the white smoke and the spiritual force spread across nearly a fifth of the Cosmic Sea.

    Both Nightking Dijiang and Gu Laogui were extremely powerful.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua let out sighs of relief as they looked at each other. How could they ever have imagined that such an intense war would break out in the Forsaken Land.

    Gu Laogui was not the only one from Smoke-Eater Peaks who had arrived, as many disciples had also shown up. White smoke quickly enveloped the battlefield, and it twined around the cultivators from Leon¡¯s Armada, exponentially increasing theirbat power.

    The white smoke was able to serve the same purpose as power vessels.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er shot towards Lu Yin while shouting, ¡°Brother, aren¡¯t I so loyal! As soon as I heard that you were caught up in a fight, I immediately dragged over everyone I knew! Look at that auntie, she was my wet nurse!¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips in concern. ¡°Be careful and don¡¯t get yourself killed.¡±

    Gu Xiao¡¯er bravely patted his chest, though he apparently used too much force, as he coughed a few times. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; your brother can¡¯t die that easily!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. The tides of the war had finally changed, though there was no way that it had already entered its final state. There were still some absent yers who were certain to make an appearance: the Xia family.

    A peerless powerhouse was capable of instantly changing the bnce of a war. The moment that Liu Ye and Fei Hua were no longer needed to hold back Nightking Dijiang, the bnce of the battlefield had already shifted towards Lu Yin¡¯s favor. This was an oue that would bepletely uneptable to the Xia family, and they were the ones controlling things from the dark.

    This was also why a mysterious person arrived on the battlefield before much more time passed, and they prepared to attack Lu Yin in a quite sneaky manner.

    Lu Yin did not notice the person¡¯s presence at all, as they possessed absolutely no runes before their attack. This was a perfect sneak attack.

    The mysterious individual felt that they had already sessfullypleted their mission as their sword was thrust into Lu Yin¡¯s back. The attack was not intended to kill Lu Yin, merely leave him severely injured. However, Lu Yin waspletely unharmed aside from being knocked forward by the impact. Still, he did feel an excruciating tearing sensation at his waist.

    The hidden person was shocked beyond words; how was this possible?

    Lu Yin spun around and stared at his attack with murder in his eyes. Thankfully, he had been wearing his bodysuit armor, as taking a direct attack from that sword would have left him seriously injured or even dead.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin roared fiercely as he shifted himself with the Ce Secret Art as an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mysterious attacker shed the sword through the air, tearing the void with an attack that used stellr energy which then stopped Lu Yin from using the Ce Secret Art. As a result, Lu Yin fell through the air, and his attacker seized the moment to leap towards Lu Yin and strike again with their sword. However, further up above, Highsage Leon bellowed in rage, ¡°Stop!¡±

    He swung his massive saber towards the mysterious attacker even as he shouted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell. Things were looking bad.

    The mysterious attacker spun the sword around so that the de faced the iing attack from the saber. The sword was cracked by the impact, and blood dripped from the hidden person¡¯s body. They immediately spun around and fled into the true universe in an attempt to escape. A single attack from Highsage Leon had managed to injure the person, but in exchange, Highsage Leon had been stabbed in the gut by Ji Qiang¡¯s spear. The spearhead pierced out of Highsage Leon¡¯s back, and blood soaked his clothes. Jin Mie took advantage of the opening and used Truesight to further weaken Highsage Leon¡¯s body, aggravating injuries suffered from the attack.

 Chapter 1628: Who In The World Is That?

    Chapter 1628: Who In The World Is That?

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted, and the power vessel he had received from Elder Jiu Shen appeared in his hand. He used the Cosmic Art to activate the badge, and instantly, 100,000 stars filled every corner of the battlefield, making it look as though they were fighting in outer space. At that moment, everything happening on the battlefield slowed to Lu Yin¡¯s perception. It was as though time had slowed. This was the same sensation he had felt when facing opponents with the same level of cultivation back when he had first started cultivating the Cosmic Art.

    Speed was meaningless against someone who used the Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the 100,000 stars coalesced to form a Celestial Sword. He then swung it down upon Ji Qiang without any hesitation.

    The look in Ji Qiang¡¯s eyes instantly changed, and he immediately spun his spear around and yelled, ¡°Jin Mie, with me!¡±

    Jin Mie raised a hand, causing a shield of light to appear in front of him. Truesight was being utilized to its maximum potential.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Celestial Sword contained the 100,000 stars that Elder Shen Jiu¡¯s had simted, while Lu Yin also unleashed his own golden battle force. This gave the Celestial Sword a golden color. Lu Yin attacked with the sword, and it shot straight past the shield of light and mmed against Ji Qiang¡¯s spear, forcing the man to retreat.

    Unfortunately, even with the support from the power vessel, Lu Yin was only capable of releasing an attack with a power level of about 800,000. After Jin Mie had weakened the attack with Truesight, the power level had fallen below 700,000. Lu Yin had absolutely no chance to injure either of the two experts attacking Highsage Leon.

    Still, by forcing Ji Qiang to retreat and Jin Mie to shift his attention, Lu Yin had managed to buy Highsage Leon some time.

    Highsage Leon held a hand over the wound on his abdomen, and Ghost Doc quickly appeared to help hismander. From the moment the fighting had started, Ghost Doc had remained out of sight until the moment that Highsage Leon had been injured.

    One powerhouse after another stepped onto the battlefield, leaving Lu Yin¡¯s efforts to turn the tides futile, even if he did use Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s power vessel. This waspletely different from how he had impacted the wars he had participated in in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    It was time he used the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem once again. Lu Yin thought long and deep on the matter while keeping a close watch on Ji Qiang and Jin Mie.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, the mysterious person who had attacked Lu Yin emerged from the true universe, their body sprinkled with blood stains. The sword appeared in their hand once more, and they stared at Lu Yin intently. This person¡¯s goal was Lu Yin and Lu Yin alone.

    Lu Yin felt the air grow cold around him. Even though his mysterious attacker was unable to break through the defense of his bodysuit armor, the attacker was not much weaker than Jin Mie and the others, so there was no way for Lu Yin to fight the person given his current situation. Lu Yin also fully understood his attacker¡¯s motive, which was to take advantage of Lu Yin to sway the situation of the entire battlefield.

    The tides of the battle were shifting increasingly away from Lu Yin¡¯s favor, though at least Liu Ye and Fei Hua had managed to keep the mysterious attacker upied.

    A great distance away, Gu Laogui was in the middle of a fight with Nightking Dijiang, when suddenly an expression of shock appeared on Gu Laogui¡¯s face. He carefully looked at the mysterious attacker, and a wave of emotions surged within him. Wasn¡¯t that someone from the Xia family? While the others on this battlefield might not know, Gu Laogui certainly did. That person was the Xia family patriarch, Xia Yi! Xia Yi had a habit of wielding his sword in a diagonal angle to the left when attacking. This was a habit that not even Xia Yi might be aware of, but Gu Laogui recognized it.

    For Xia Yi to personally step onto this battlefield, did it mean that the Xia family was involved in this war as well? The Xia family, Jin Mie, the Longevity Brigade, as well as the Innerverse¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain and the Daynight n¡­ From Gu Laogui¡¯s perspective, things did not feel quite right. This did not seem to be a simple fight between the Four Pirate Crews. There were far too manyplications tangled up for that to be the case.

    The more the man considered the situation, the weirder it became. Gu Laogui could not help himself from turning to look at Lu Yin. The kid had tricked him.

    Gu Laogui was able to see that the mysterious attacker was someone from the Xia family, though Lu Yin was able to guess the same. Lu Yin frowned in frustration; if the Xia family was stepping into this war, then was it possible that Xia Meng was not involved? After all, she was a top ranked powerhouse who had a power level of more than 900,000. There was no one on the entire battlefield who would be her opponent if she stepped onto the battlefield.

    At that moment, yet another group of powerhouses stepped into the battlefield.

    With the appearance of this new group, the bnce of the war shifted yet again. The neers were from Gods¡¯ Origin, and they were led by a stern-looking person who wore a purple robe. Jin Mie¡¯s face twisted in hatred when he saw the people from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Ji Qiang¡¯s brows rose high in confusion; why did more and more people keep on joining this fight? All of his ns had beenpletely ruined! Smoke-Eater Peaks and Gods¡¯ Origin were both forces that were never supposed to have participated in this war.

    Naturally, Gods¡¯ Origin arrival was another of Lu Yin¡¯s ns. He had explicitly told God Taiyi about the uing war and how it would be fought between the Ignition Crew and Leon¡¯s Armada. Gods¡¯ Origin had long been wanting to destroy the Ignition Crew, but they had just never had the opportunity to do so. Naturally, they would never miss such a rare opportunity, and thus they had rushed over to join the war.

    Lu Yin had not been certain that God Taiyi would respond positively when calling him, and Lu Yin had not been particrly hopeful that Gods¡¯ Origin would participate. Their arrival at this time was aplete, though pleasant, surprise for him as well.

    The person in the purple robes was known as Purple God, and he was the strongest member of Gods¡¯ Origin. The entire groupunched an attack on the Ignition Crew the moment they arrived.

    With the Ignition Crew thus preupied, Ji Qiang was forced to deal with Highsage Leon on his own.

    Purple God was not the only powerhouse from Gods¡¯ Origin to step onto the battlefield, as another Envoy hade as well. The full strength of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s forces was just enough for them to handle the entire Ignition Crew.

    Gods¡¯ Origin had taken a great deal of pressure off of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    The Envoys who Lu Yin had brought, Liu Ye and Fei Hua, were enough to upy the enemies¡¯st Envoys, which meant that the two new Envoys who hade with Gods¡¯ Origin were able to storm the battlefield.

    Given the rapid development, Lu Yin¡¯s mysterious attacker was quickly exposed, and shockingly to many people, he was the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, Xia Yi. Seeing Xia Yi on the battlefield was a clear indication that the Xia family had also joined the war.

    The first person from the Xia family who stepped forward was Xia Meng.

    With her appearance, she was instantly the most powerful person on the entire battlefield. She had held no intention of joining this war, but had been forced toe.

    Lu Yin actually felt relief when he saw Xia Meng, as it meant that the Xia family no longer had anything hidden that they could pull out. Also, her appearance meant that Eversky Ind could finally step forward as well.

    ¡°Who dares mess with my junior!¡± Highsage Shenwei roared as he appeared on the battlefield, his aura fully unleashed as he red at Xia Meng.

    Xia Meng frowned. ¡°This is a war, so we all are fighting for victory.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei clenched his fists. ¡°This is a war that your Xia family started! You will need to bear the consequences regardless of the oue.¡±

    Xia Meng¡¯s eyes zed. While she was not entirely certain what the underlying motives behind this war actually were, how many people fighting were privy to that information? Despite being a top expert with a power level approaching a million, Xia Meng was still nothing more than a pawn in this war.

    If that was true for Xia Meng, it was even more so for Highsage Shenwei.

    The real masterminds behind everything were Xia Ji and Lu Yin. Xia Ji had been the puppet master behind everything, while Lu Yin had deliberately forced one major power after another to join the mess. In fact, the war had actually not yet reached the level that had originally been intended, as if not for Lu Yin¡¯s maneuvers, the Sword Sect would also have gotten involved in the matter.

    The Lu Elite Troops appeared and announced their arrival with the appearance of more than 6,000 cultivators, the weakest of which was an Explorer. The formation of this army had been expedited by the war. Regardless of the numbers that the the Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigade could send out, they could neverpare to the staggering numbers of the Lu Elite Troops.

    However, the Lu Elite Troops still was not enough to turn the odds of the battle, and they had mostlye in order to gain battle experience.

    Everyone had believed that the victor of the war had already been written in stone, Lu Yin¡¯s side clearly had the upper hand. In fact, they even had two unhindered Envoys at this moment.

    However, right after Highsage Leon¡¯s devastating injury, the battle shifted in an unforeseeable direction.

    Lu Yin had managed to sessfully calcte and n for a great number of events regarding this war, but he had not considered Highsage Leon being personally defeated, much less to Ji Qiang.

    As the leader of the most powerful of the Four Pirate Crews, Highsage Leon should have been the strongest of all of the leaders. Even injured, he should not have lost to Ji Qiang in a one-on-one fight, but the facts remained that he really had been defeated by Ji Qiang.

    Highsage Leon was breathing heavily, and half of his body was stained with blood. He turned around to look at Ji Qiang, who was standing in the void. There was a look of absolute disbelief on Highsage Leon¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re not Ji Qiang! Who the hell are you?¡±

    Ji Qiang looked down at Highsage Leon from above. His eyes were calm, but also indifferent. It was as though he had be jaded after seeing everything the universe held. ¡°I am Ji Qiang.¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no way,¡± Highsage Leon said even as he coughed up blood. Ghost Doc reappeared, but this time he just shook his head. His efforts were of no use; Highsage Leon could not be healed by Ghost Doc. Highsage Leon¡¯s injuries were severe enough that only time would allow him to recover.

    The spear still in hand, themander of the Longevity Brigade turned to look at Xia Meng as she fought with Highsage Shenwei, and then over towards Nightking Dijiang before finally looking at the Ignition Crew. ¡°The fighting has already gone on for too long. Time to end it.¡±

    Lu Yin felt his eye start twitching again, because the look in Ji Qiang¡¯s eyes reminded him of Starsibyl¡¯s divination. After studying the man¡¯s runes, Lu Yin stared at Ji Qiang inplete shock; this man was actually Xia Ji¡¯s clone!

    Everything suddenly made sense! No wonder Chaosgod Mountain had thrown themselves into the war efforts; Cang Zhou had originallye from the Longevity Brigade, and the leader of the Longevity Brigade, Ji Qiang, was the hidden mastermind behind the whole scheme that had been plotted against Leon¡¯s Armada. However, his real target was absolutely not Leon¡¯s Armada, but rather Eversky Ind and Highsage Grandmaster.

    The Ignition Crew had been easily recruited as well, due to their hatred towards Leon¡¯s Armada being so deep. As for the Sword Sect, Lu Yin was not exactly sure what they would gain from this war. Had Nightking Dijiang been allied with them from the beginning, or had he spontaneously joined the war?

    However, there was one thing that Lu Yin just could not understand at all: why was Xia Ji targeting Highsage Grandmaster?

    The sky over the Cosmic Sea grew dark without any warning, and Gu Laogui felt chills suddenly run down his spine while he was fighting against Nightking Dijiang. He turned to look at where Highsage Leon had been defeated by Ji Qiang, and instantly felt that something was off. Gu Laogui was able to feel a frightening sense of dangering from Ji Qiang.

    Gu Laogui was not the only one sensing such a thing, as Highsage Shenwei, Liu Ye, and all of the other top powerhouse felt the same thing. People like Xia Meng, Xia Yi, and Nightking Dijiang stopped fighting and pulled back to keep a close eye on Ji Qiang.

    ¡°It is time to end this war,¡± Ji Qiang calmly dered as he raised his spear and stabbed it forward. Two phantom spears appeared from the attack, and one of them shot towards Highsage Shenwei, while the other darted towards Gu Laogui.

    Both Highsage Shenwei and Gu Laogui felt their scalps go numb. The attacks aimed at them were clearly ordinary spear strikes, and neither weapon was moving terribly fast, and yet neither man seemed to be able to escape the attacks. For each of them, the spear appeared like it represented heaven and earth. Each spear was apanied by a flurry of star energy, and while the attack did not enter the true universe. The afterimages of these spears existed even within the true universe, projecting countless shadows of themselves.

    This attack surpassed even Highsage Wudi¡¯sprehension. He was a top expert in the Human Domain whose power level exceeded 900,000. As for Gu Laogui, he stood on par with Nightking Dijang, as both of them possessed power levels of more than 800,000. It was unimaginable for such powerhouses to be unable to evade the mere projection of a spear.

    ¡°Thousand Rivers Return to Sea!¡± Highsage Shenwei shouted at the top of his lungs. He unleashed Eversky Ind¡¯s secret technique that converted all forms of attack into their raw energy form. Gu Laogui brought out a great deal of white smoke in front of himself in an attempt to block the iing spear.

    Fresh blood sttered from the sky. As for Highsage Shenwei and Gu Laogui, both of them had been seriously injured by the spear attack.

    Gu Laogui gritted his teeth in pain as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He had suffered a loss this time, a huge loss! He had thought that he would just be stepping into a war between the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, and he had wanted to make Lu Yin owe him a favor by personally helping out in the battle. That favor could reduce the amount of smoke that Smoke-Eater Peaks owed Lu Yin. However, how was Gu Laogui supposed to have known that top-tier experts would appear? In particr, he had definitely not been attacked by the Longevity Brigade¡¯smander Ji Qiang, as the person who had attacked Gu Laogui had absolutely been someone with a power level that exceeded a million. What an insanely terrifying powerhouse!

    If Gu Laogui had known that such powerhouses would be present, he would never have stepped on the battlefield, not even if he had been beaten to death. He had just suffered a loss that was more than he could bear.

    Highsage Shenwei red at Ji Qiang and shouted, ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    Ji Qiang hefted his spear once more as he said, ¡°It¡¯s time to send all of you off.¡±

    As he spoke, he swept his spear out, and one, two, three, four, five, six, seven¡­ seven spear images appeared. He clearly intended to eliminate all of the Envoys supporting Leon¡¯s Armada with one attack.

    Ring ring ring

    The crisp sound of a bell could be heard. It passed through the vast battlefield like a breeze of cool air that gently brushed by everyone¡¯s ears.

    The next moment, everybody was only able to feel a boundless darkness suppress heaven and earth; a massive hand was mming down towards them, and it would crush them all.

    Lu Yin had pulled out the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem, as this was the only option at this moment.

 Chapter 1629: Formidable Clone

    Chapter 1629: Formidable Clone

    The ringing of the bell was indiscriminate, and it instantly affected everyone, leaving the entire battlefield silent.

    Most people started swaying and falling into the sea. Their eyes were filled with nothing but fear and despair. The sensation they had just suffered from had felt like the universe copsing upon them.

    Ji Qiang¡¯s spear shadows hesitated for a moment and he looked over at Lu Yin andmented in a deep voice, ¡°The Chief Justice¡¯s emblem¡­ You¡¯re Lu Yin, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lu Yin met Ji Qiang¡¯s eyes. ¡°I already know who you are.¡±

    Ji Qiang was caught off guard. ¡°Oh, really?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew solemn. ¡°You¡¯re the one who started this whole mess. From the moment Jin He used those with the Lu surname of being criminals by using his status as an Arbiter, all the way until now, I already know everything you¡¯ve done.¡±

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not the only one manipting this war. You are as well,¡± Ji Qiang said rather indifferently. His eyes swept over the battlefield as he continued, ¡°The Sword Sect wasn¡¯t able to get here in time because of the Wen family¡¯s interference, and Smoke-Eater Peaks and Gods¡¯ Origin both showed up here unexpectedly. That all was your doing. You¡¯re also why Leon¡¯s Armada managed to summon so many pirates.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help butmend you for being able to aplish such a feat despite your young age. Never before has someone topare to you appeared in history. However, for you to have the courage to face me, you must be one-hundred percent confident that I can¡¯t kill you, no?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed in irritation.

    Ji Qiang scoffed, ¡°Since you already know who I am, do you really believe that I don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils instantly shrank, and he felt all the hair on his body suddenly stand on end. Ji Qiang¡¯s eyes burned with killing intent. It was clear that he absolutely meant what he said, and he truly intended to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had never actually believed that there would be no one who would darey a finger on him. So what if he would eventually be a Progenitor or that he had incredible powerhouses standing behind him? None of that would matter to any opponent if they were pushed too far. All that Lu Yin could hope for at this moment was that the Chief Justice¡¯s Emblem could save him, or Mister Mu.

    ¡°Whoever or whatever¡¯s behind you can¡¯t pose any threat to me! Since you¡¯ve managed to guess who I am and what I¡¯ve already done, you should also already know that I don¡¯t care about what happens to anyone else.¡± The moment he finished speaking, Ji Qiang raised his spear and thrust it forward. His only target this time was Lu Yin.

    Highsage Leon and the others all shouted in shock, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Lu Yin rang the bell again, and this time he brought out his die into his hand. His face was growing more pale by the moment. He had already crushed the jade talisman he had received from Mister Mu in the Perennial World, which meant that Lu Yin was down to hisst resort.

    Any of Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques or attacks would be pointless against Ji Qiang¡¯s spear. All that Lu Yin could do was pray that his bodysuit armor and the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem would be enough to keep him alive.

    Everyone else on the battlefield was only able to watch as well, as Ji Qiang was currently the strongest powerhouse on the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin endured the same experience as Highsage Leon and the others had gone through earlier. The attack was just a spear thrust, yet the spear tip seemed to cover the entire universe and overshadowed everything else in his perception.

    Lu Yin was barely able to suppress the urge to detonate his own body due to the overwhelming sensation of despair and suppression that had struck him.

    The moment when the projection of the spear was just about to pierce Lu Yin, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed hold of the spear, halting its action. The handpletely crushed the spear, leaving nothing more than specks of light.

    The hand looked to belong to someone quite young.

    Lu Yin stared in front of himself in aplete daze before finally catching sight of a boy. ¡°Elder Jiu Shen?¡±

    The person who had appeared in front of Lu Yin was indeed the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen. Despite his youthful appearance, he was actually incredibly old, and his strength had nearly reached the level of a Semi-Progenitor, as he was an expert with a power level of more than a million.

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s arrival left Ji Qiang¡¯s face contorting in shock. He was Xia Ji¡¯s clone, and though his power level was impressive, he still fell far behind the level of a Semi-Progenitor. As for Elder Jiu Shen, even if he was not a Semi-Progenitor, he was terrifyingly close. He waspletely capable of dealing with Ji Qiang despite the gap still between Elder Jiu Shen and a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡°It seems the brat¡¯s information he shared is right; this man might truly be Xia Jia¡¯s clone,¡± Elder Jiu Shenmented, and his words sent shudders through the hearts of everyone who heard him.

    Gu Laogui turned to stare at Ji Qiang in disbelief; Xia Ji¡¯s clone? Xia Ji was the mighty protector of the Seven Courts! He was a Semi-Progenitor and the Xia family¡¯s ancestor. This person had always been a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s clone? No wonder Ji Qiang was so terrifying.

    Gu Laogui then shot a re at Lu Yin. The older man was just about to crush his own teeth from grinding them in his rage. That little bastard! How dare he lie to me? He said this war was only going to be fought between the Four Pirate Crews; he never even mentioned the fact that even Semi-Progenitors might get dragged into it.

    Lu Yin had even given the Cosmic Sect advanced warning regarding this detail, and both Leon¡¯s Armada and Eversky Ind would absolutely have been informed as well. In fact, Gu Laogui instantly realized that he had been the only one left ignorant, and yet he foolishly charged into the battle without any reservations.

    He had even nearly died just a moment before, all because of that little bastard.

    Gu Laogui had never been so angry before in his entire life, not even when Gu Xiao¡¯er had lost the Cosmic Art those years ago.

    Gu Laogui had not been the only victim, as Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s Purple God was also confused, as was Cang Zhou. Even though Cang Zhou had been part of the initial n to defeat Leon¡¯s Armada, he had only ever been a small part and had possessed no right to be given ess to the truth of the matter. Who would have thought that themander of the Longevity Brigade would be a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s clone?

    Wasn¡¯t Xia Jiuyou supposed to be the only member of the Xia family who had managed to cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s words set the entire Cosmic Sea aze, as even those who had been spectating the battle and people like Da Qiu who had not yet gotten dragged into the fighting were startled. They had followed orders and traveled to the battlefield, but had been left on standby to await further orders. None of them had ever expected to learn such earth-shattering news.

    The information that Lu Yin kept concealed had just been viciously revealed by Elder Jiu Shen.

    Ji Qiang heaved a sigh and met Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s gaze. ¡°So you all really already know about everything.¡±

    He then looked back at Lu Yin and asked, ¡°Were you the one to tell them? How did you manage to discover such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Divination,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°There¡¯s no longer any need to hide. Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster are already on their way to the Seven Courts. You¡¯ve already lost,¡± Elder Jiu Shen dered.

    Ji Qiang¡¯s expression turned grim, and at this time, yet another figure appeared on the battlefield: Highsage Wudi.

    Both Elder Jiu Shen and Highsage Wudi possessed power levels of more than a million, and they were each powerhouses who surpassed even Yuan Shi. Their appearance had already brought about the end of the war in the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin let out a huge sigh of relief.

    He had won this round. Leon¡¯s Armada would be safe, and Xia Ji¡¯s secret had actually been exposed.

    Even though Ji Qiang was unable to defeat either Elder Jiu Shen or Highsage Wudi, they would each also struggle to defeat Ji Qiang. After all, he was the clone of Xia Ji, who was a Semi-Progenitor. Defeating such a person would not be easy.

    Xia Meng took this moment to escape, and she took Xia Yi with her. There was no longer any need for them to keep fighting.

    Nightking Dijiang also left the battlefield.

    Since Highsage Shenwei and Gu Laogui had both been injured, they were unable to prevent their opponents from escaping.

    Jin Mie also tried to escape, but Purple God had been keeping a close eye on him. There was no way that Gods¡¯ Origin would let the Ignition Crew escape so easily.

    Cang Zhou wanted to escape, but Sister Fei Hua kept him behind.

    With Xia Meng and the others escaping, the curtains were slowly being closed on this war that had dragged in practically the entire Fifth Maind. Chaosgod Mountain, the Ignition Crew, and the Longevity Brigade had all suffered terrible losses, especially the Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigade. There was no chance that either crew wouldst much longer.

    Cang Zhou coughed up blood as he red at Fei Hua with an expression of indignation. A burst of sword qi brushed past the man. It came from Liu Feng.

    The battle had already reached a conclusion, so Liu Feng stopped being so fixated on wanting to fight Cang Zhou one-on-one. Instead, he worked together with Fei Hua, and they beat Cang Zhou into a truly pathetic state.

    Cang Zhou¡¯s hair was a total mess, and his eyes were bloodshot as he red at his two attackers and roared, ¡°I won¡¯t let things end like this! It¡¯s taken ten years of nning; how could I just fail? I won¡¯t let this be the end!¡±

    Without any hesitation, the man charged straight for Lu Yin. Even if Cang Zhou was about to die, he would make sure that he dragged Lu Yin to hell as well.

    Liu Feng quickly moved to stop Cang Zhou, but an astral chessboard suddenly appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved himself in front of Cang Zhou. The youth confronted the older man, which absolutely enraged Cang Zhou, and he let out a growl of rage. Energy exploded from his fists, and the attack shot straight for Lu Yin. The target of the attack stopped Liu Feng and Fei Hua from interfering, as Cang Zhou had already been badly injured, and was actually even weaker than he had been on Chaosgod Mountain. At best, at this moment Cang Zhou could unleash attacks with power levels of just over 500,000, which was only a bit more powerful than what Leader Hong had been capable of when Lu Yin had faced the leader of the ze Realm. This level of strength was nothing much in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a golden battle force enveloped it. He unleashed a Vacuum Palm, and his first attack pierced straight through Cang Zhou¡¯s punch. The palm attack sent Cang Zhou plunging deep into the Cosmic Sea. He looked up and spat out a bit of blood before pulling a power vessel out of his cosmic ring. However, before he ever had a chance to use it, it was taken away from him by the Yu Secret Art.

    Lu Yin took a few quick steps and almost instantly appeared in front of Cang Zhou. Lu Yin unleashed repeated Vacuum Palms, leaving Cang Zhou without even a moment to recover. Palm prints started to appear across Cang Zhou¡¯s body, until atst, a hole pierced the Envoy¡¯s body, again smashing him down to the seawater below

    Blood spread along the surface of the sea.

    Lu Yin ced a hand atop Cang Zhou¡¯s head, and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    He then released a great deal of force from his palm and attacked Cang Zhou¡¯s head. A crazed light entered the Envoy¡¯s eyes, but then they changed to the color of scarlet. A few veins appeared before the eyes grew lifeless before finally closing.

    The Champions'' Stage appeared by Lu Yin, and hemanded, ¡°By my name, I appoint you as my champion.¡±

    As his voice echoed, Cang Zhou¡¯s image appeared on the Champions'' Stage. This was the third image to appear, and Cang Zhou was by far the strongest of Lu Yin¡¯s champions.

    Given the power Cang Zhou had possessed during his life, the amount of star energy Lu Yin would need to use to summon the Envoy as a champion was something unimaginable to an ordinary cultivator. No, it was possible that star energy would not even work. It was possible that Lu Yin would have to use stellr energy to summon Cang Zhou.

    As he watched Cang Zhou¡¯s corpse fall to the sea, many thoughts ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. To think that the life of a man who had controlled one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones had ended just like that. Cang Zhou had been a powerhouse with a power level of more than 700,000. The man had been someone who stood at the top of the Innerverse, who Lu Yin had once thought he would never be able topare to, and yet the man had still died at Lu Yin¡¯s hand. There would surely be a day in the future when Lu Yin would be able to eliminate Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitors.

    Lu Yin leaped up from the surface of the sea, only to see people hunting down the survivors from the Ignition Crew. Some people had already surrendered, among them was the stutterer who Lu Yin had met before. With his domain, Lu Yin also managed to notice Zi Jun¡¯s corpse floating in the water, which was shocking. The woman had once fought in the Tournament of the Strongest, and yet she had met her end in this battle.

    Lu Yin himself had no confidence that this war had fulfilled any purpose at all.

    Had the war been triggered because he had discovered the truth about the past, or had Xia Ji already been nning on this war from the beginning? Lu Yin was no longer certain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s most pressing question at this time was why Xia Ji even wanted to go after Highsage Grandmaster via Leon¡¯s Armada. At this moment, a war was also starting in the Neoverse that involved Xia Ji, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong, which meant that Lu Yin and the others in the Cosmic Sea still needed to wait for an ultimate victor to be decided. Once all of the fighting was ended, they would learn the motivation behind Xia Ji¡¯s actions.

    Was it possible that even Highsage Grandmaster was one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones? That would be simr to how Xia Luo had been one of Xia Jiuyou¡¯s clones. Or could Eversky Ind have been holding one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones hostage? Or¡­

    While Lu Yin became lost in senseless spections, Ji Qiang¡¯s body fell into the sea off in the distance. His body had been sent flying, and it tore through the void from the speed, and blood dripped from his body as well. The stars that Elder Jiu Shen had simted filled the entire Cosmic Sea, and Highsage Wudi released a domineering aura. It waspletely impossible for Ji Qiang to even escape with the two of them working together to fight him.

    Even though Xia Ji had been dictating the flow of events leading up to the war from the very start, he had never considered the possibility that his involvement would end upplicating things so much and pulling in so many powerhouses to the point that his clone could not even escape.

    There were only three people fighting on the battlefield in the Cosmic Sea at this moment, while everyone else was only able to watch.

    Lu Yin went and helped Highsage Leon up, earning a smirk and a light scolding from the older man. ¡°Get lost! I¡¯m not so bad off I can¡¯t even stand up.¡±

    ¡°Cut your bullshit! You nearly died just now! If it weren¡¯t for Little Yin here pulling in so many allies, we would have been dead before we even realized what was happening,¡± Big Sis scolded. She was still suffering from the fear induced by her own near-death experience on the battlefield, and so she turned to re fiercely at Highsage Leon.

    Nearby, Gu Laogui heard her words and his face twitched. What could he say in the current situation? Admit that he had been duped into participating? There was no way he would ever admit to such a thing, so he might as well pretend that he hade specifically at Lu Yin¡¯s request in order to force the youth to owe a favor.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er blurted in surprise, ¡°Old man, you knew about this all along? Why didn¡¯t I know anything?¡±

    Gu Laogui pped his son¡¯s cheek quite hard. ¡°Don¡¯t go sticking your nose in my business!¡±

 Chapter 1630: The Reason

    Chapter 1630: The Reason

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s and Highsage Wudi¡¯s fight with Ji Qiangsted more than two hours before finally ending. In the end, Ji Qiang had not been able to escape defeat.

    At one point during the fight, Ji Qiang had even tried to attack Lu Yin, but he had almost instantly been restrained by Elder Jiu Shen. Anyone other than Lu Yin could suffer a mishap on the battlefield, but Lu Yin had to be kept safe no matter what. His safety was directly rted to the Cosmic Sect¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin thanked Elder Jiu Shen, and the man nced at Lu Yin¡¯s foot and then warned,, ¡°Take good care of your soles.¡±

    Highsage Wudi was very confused to hear such a thing. The soles of his feet? Had he heard wrong?

    Ji Qiangy atop the sea, injuries covering his entire body. He looked truly miserable. Lu Yin was able to see that the man¡¯s runes indicated that his power level at this moment did not even amount to 600,000, which meant that he was about as weak as Cang Zhou had been. Lu Yin immediately started thinking about how to make the man into another champion.

    The group that gained the most from the war ended up being Leon¡¯s Armada. Of the Four Pirate Crews, the Soldier Crew had never been ones to engage in conflicts, so with the Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigade both out of the picture, Leon¡¯s Armada had essentially be the sole ruler of the Cosmic Sea.

    The worst thing for them was that so many of themanders of the various regiments had been killed in battle.

    While everyone else was cleaning up the Cosmic Sea battlefield, Da Qiu approached Lu Yin and said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please inform Commander Highsage Leon that gathering such arge number of pirates may not necessarily be a good thing, so he should dismiss them as soon as possible. If not, we¡¯ll be forced to take action as soon as things get out of hand.¡±

    Lu Yin understood Da Qiu¡¯s position, and quickly assured the man, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll leave quick enough.¡±

    After the fighting had ended, the pirates had all suffered severe casualties, and it would take a great deal of time for them to recover.

    Most people were feeling pretty happy about Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s victory, but them they received news from the Neoverse that startled everyone. They suffered from disbelief like a person who was struck by lightning from a clear sky.

    Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong had been defeated by Xia Ji, despite the two of them working together against a single opponent. Not only had Xia Ji won, he had even forced his way into the Cosmic Sect and had stolen the Skystar Jade Wall, which devastated the Cosmic Sect.

    Nobody could believe the news when they heard it. It sounded like the biggest of the century! How could Xia Ji defeat two peers at the same time, especially when neither one was an average cultivator? Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong were each members of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, which meant that they were experts who had been unparalleled throughout the ages. Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s loss was even more of a shock, as he was an Array Grandmaster.

    Elder Jiu Shen immediately reached out to the Cosmic Sect, while Highsage Wudi and the others called Highsage Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows were tightly furrowed. He just could not process the oue of the battle no matter how hard he tried.

    Cang Zhou had not been able to process his side¡¯s defeat in the war, and yet he had still ended up bing one of Lu Yin¡¯s champions. In much the same manner, Lu Yin was unable toprehend how Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong could have lost even after teaming up. Even if they had not seeded in destroying the entire Xia family, they still should have been able to deal Xia Ji a terrible blow.

    Wait a minute, it all makes sense now! Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Xia Ji had yet another clone.

    ording to Starsibyl¡¯s earlier divination, she had found three sources of power towards the Neoverse that were connected to Xia Ji. That had indicated that the real Xia Ji possessed three clones; could one of those three be another Semi-Progenitor? Had Xia Ji managed to defeat Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong because he had worked together with a clone?

    It did not take almost any time for Lu Yin to discover the truth of the matter. It turned out that Xia Ji had not actually defeated Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong through his own strength, but because of the help of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s secret technique.

    Eversky Ind¡¯s secret technique, Thousand Rivers Return to Sea, was able to revert an enemy¡¯s attack back into the form of energy that powered the attack, which essentially dispelled an attack. This was the same secret technique that Highsage Grandmaster had been willing to share with Lu Yin in the past. However, Lu Yin had not epted as he had already possessed the Yu Secret Art and the Ce Secret Technique.

    In the previous battle, Highsage Shenwei had also used the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea in an attempt to stop Ji Qiang¡¯s spear, and though the secret technique had indeed managed to weaken more than half of the spear¡¯s power, the remnant power had still ended up injuring Highsage Shenwei.

    Logically speaking, Highsage Shenwei should not have been injured by the spear after half of its force had been eliminated, especially considering the man¡¯s strength. Instead, the attack had resulted in Highsage Shenwei suffering grave injuries. The only reason for it was the greatest disadvantage of the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea, which was that it affected everyone indiscriminately.

    The moment the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea was used, it would not only reduce the user¡¯s opponent¡¯s attack to raw energy, the secret technique would also do the same to the user¡¯s own stellr energy. The only way that Highsage Shenwei could have truly countered the spear attack would have been to fully convert the attack back to raw energy, but since that had not happened, his physical body had been left unable to resist the remaining power of the spear attack due to Highsage Shenwei¡¯s own weakened state.

    This was much the same as when Lu Yin used pure physical strength to fight against an Envoy; Envoys were able to suppress star energy, which left Lu Yin unable to use his battle techniques or even secret techniques. All he was able to use against Envoys was his Vacuum Palm, which used pure physical strength. However, Xia Ji had taken advantage of the weakness of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s Thousand Rivers Return to Sea to deal a powerful attack against the two while they had still been dealing with the effects of the secret technique.

    Xia Ji had also been affected by the secret technique, but he had been extremely well prepared for everything that he had faced. However, Elder Jiu Shen and the others were unsure exactly how the man had managed tounch such a terrible attack against Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong. All that anyone knew was that the two Semi-Progenitors had lost because of the secret technique Highsage Grandmaster had used: Thousand Rivers Return to Sea.

    Fortunately, the two had only been defeated, and they were still in a rather decent condition. On top of that, Xia Ji would only ever be able to pull off such a trick once. It would never work again.

    However, once had already been more than enough for Xia Ji, as his entire goal had been the Skystar Jade Wall.

    ¡°Could that have been his goal from the start? Obtaining the Skystar Jade Wall?¡± The question slipped from Lu Yin¡¯s mouth.

    Elder Jiu Shen grimaced. ¡°All along, Xia Ji was aiming at the Cosmic Sect, hoping to get his hands on our Skystar Jade Wall. However, there had never been any chance for him to do so. He targeted Eversky Ind so that he could find a way to fight against Highsage Grandmaster, as he knew that as soon as he started fighting against Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong would not stand by, but would definitely join the fray, creating the two-on-one scenario Xia Ji hoped for. The moment he achieved that situation, all of his plots would have already fallen into ce, especially the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea.

    ¡°Even if the user gets affected by the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea as well, it still couldn¡¯t have been easy to defeat a Semi-Progenitor. He must have truly been thoroughly prepared.¡±

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood that when Jin He had used those with the Lu surname of having an illegal status, it had merely been the first step to Xia Ji¡¯s n. Thest step had been to lure out Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong in order to seize the Skystar Jade Wall. Truthfully, it was not that brilliant of a n, but it had undeniably been a very practical one.

    Xia Ji had managed to consider everything when concocting his scheme, and the only step that he had not predicted was the reveal of his connection to his clone and his direct involvement in the matter, which had resulted in a defeat in the battle in the Cosmic Sea. If things had gone ording to his n, the final battlefield should have been in the Cosmic Sea.

    Xia Ji¡¯s original n had involved capturing Highsage Leon and forcing Highsage Grandmaster to show himself, and then finally forcing Elder Gong out. The actual events could only be considered an unfortunate ident.

    However, this same ident had been precisely what had led Xia Ji to victory. How fickle fate could be.

    ¡°What does he need the Skystar Jade Wall for?¡± Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Elder Jiu Shen nced down at Lu Yin¡¯s feet before answering. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    Lu Yin was briefly stunned, but then his expression changed. ¡°Do you mean¡­¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen spoke in a rather indifferent tone, ¡°Has Elder Gong not mentioned Cosmic Art¡¯s secret to you before?¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood; Xia Ji was also after the pattern on the bottom of his foot.

    Lu Yin wanted to cultivate the Cosmic Art to its highest level, and it was possible with the help of the pattern. It would also allow him to take control of the stars that remained in the universe that had been simted by Progenitor Chen in the past, which would allow him to seize control of limitless power that had only ever been possessed by Progenitor Chen. If Xia Ji managed to achieve that, he would make the Xia family the ruler of the entire Fifth Maind, and would even likely be a Progenitor. At that point, nothing would be able to stop him.

    No wonder he had gone to such great lengths to seize the Skystar Jade Wall.

    However, there was a new problem: the Skystar Jade Wall did not have any pattern, as it was etched onto the sole of Lu Yin¡¯s foot.

    Things were quickly bing awkward, and Lu Yin blinked his eyes. Xia Ji¡¯s ns had been so extensive, and he had not even been concerned with making both Eversky Ind and the Cosmic Sect his enemies, so he should have been beyond ecstatic at finally getting his hands on the Skystar Jade Wall after so much effort. How would he react once he realized that the pattern he had been so eager to obtain was not within the Skystar Jade Wall, but had instead been on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot all along? The old man would probably cough up blood from his rage. On the other hand, Lu Yin was strangely happy about learning of Xia Ji¡¯s demise. Truly, very happy.

    What did it look like to use a wicker basket to try to draw water? Xia Ji was the best example of this. To think that a n which he had believed would seed had actually been ruined by Lu Yin. Fate was out to get that old man! His n had actually seeded perfectly, but his goal had not even been part of his target from the beginning. The entire thing was much like a tragedy bing a celebration, only to again be a tragedy. Even Lu Yin felt a bit bad for Xia Ji.

    How he hoped that old man Xia Ji would end up kicking the bucket from shock after discovering the truth! Regardless of anything else, the one behind the deaths of those 72 people from Big Sis¡¯s mercenary crew were still on Xia Ji¡¯s head.

    Off in the distance, Highsage Wudi had a grim and displeased expression on his face.

    Highsage Shenwei quietly asked, ¡°How¡¯s master?¡±

    Highsage Wudi answered in a somber tone, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re returning to Eversky Ind. We will need to get revenge for this no matter what.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too,¡± Highsage Leon dered.

    Highsage Wudi red at his junior brother. ¡°Stay here. What can you even do with your body in such a condition? Help to stabilize things here in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    After speaking, Highsage Wudi left with Highsage Shenwei.

    Elder Jiu Shen spoke up, ¡°I must also go.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Will the Cosmic Sect wage war on the Seven Courts?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but this matter concerns the Skystar Jade Wall ¨C my Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest inheritance ¨C so we will not be able to leave things as they are. There is a high possibility of war, but that matter might not be something the Hall of Honor is willing to allow.¡± He looked at Lu Yin and continued in a quieter tone, ¡°The location of the pattern should never be revealed to anyone. Xia Ji has been working for so many years to get it, so if he learns that it is with you, he will never let you go and he will kill you."

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°What about Ji Qiang? How are we going to deal with him?¡±

    Highsage Wudi had already left, so only Elder Jiu Shen could make such a decision.

    Elder Jiu Shen shot a cold re down at Ji Qiang where he had been immobilized and wasying on the surface of the sea. The youthful-looking elder stepped over the man as he left the battlefield, and Ji Qiang¡¯s body slowly vanished. That was the manner of death for clones from the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Elder Jiu Shen was ruthless in his methods, which also represented the Cosmic¡¯s Sect attitude at the moment.

    As soon as the Cosmic Sect had learned that their Skystar Jade Wall had been stolen by the Xia family, every single disciple erupted in rage. Many disciples began shouting and demanding for it to be retrieved, but the even more extreme disciples immediately began making their way south. They were ready to start a war with the Seven Courts.

    As for the Seven Court, the other families had never considered that Xia Ji would do such a thing. The entire scheme had been nned and carried out by Xia Ji alone, and it had nothing to do with the Seven Courts as a whole. They were united solely to maintain custody of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Despite that fact, the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind would never allow matters to rest after everything that had happened. Once the two fully united, even the Seven Courts would likely find it difficult to face them.

    Still, the Seven Courts could not afford to ce the me on the Xia family at the moment, as Xia Ji was the only Semi-Progenitor in all of the Seven Courts. His presence was what had allowed them to maintain control of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and if not for Xia Ji, Arch-Elder Zen would already have destroyed the Seven Courts on his own.

    If the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind truly intended to wage a war on the Seven Courts, the only option avable to the Seven Courts would be to fight.

    As far as fighting the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind, the Seven Courts actually needed a reason, or else they would be the passive party in the war. The Seven Courts had been formed through a matter of mutual benefit, and Xia Ji was not the only one directing their decisions.

    Several dayster, a rare meeting took ce between the patriarchs of the Seven Courts on the Xia family¡¯s sword-shaped maind.

    At this moment, Y¨­u Kexin ¨C matriarch of the Y¨­u n, Ku Pu ¨C patriarch of the Ku family, Ce Laoyan ¨C patriarch of the Ce family, Hui Zhi ¨C patriarch of the Hui Family, and Xie A¡¯hua ¨C matriarch of the Xie family, were all quietly sitting in the Xia family¡¯s main hall. Xia Yi had taken the host¡¯s seat for himself.

    Xia Yi looked calm, and no one could tell from his demeanor that he had been injured during the battle in the Cosmic Sea.

    ¡°Brother Xia, the union of the Seven Courts is intended to exist for our mutual benefit and in order to im a ce for ourselves here in the Neoverse. None of us have an easy time of things, but now we run the possibility of bing an enemy of the entire Neoverse due to Senior Xia Ji¡¯s actions. Can Brother Xia give us an exnation for that matter?¡± Hui Zhi spoke up. In some manner, the Hui family was a bit of the spokesperson for the Seven Courts.

    Everyone else turned to stare at Xia Yi. None of them were willing to ce me onto Xia Ji, but they did need to know the reason for such actions.

 Chapter 1631: Price To Pay

    Chapter 1631: Price To Pay

    Xia Yi took a sip of his tea before answering, ¡°All of you here should already know that my Xia family is Progenitor Chen¡¯s true descendants, and that his blood flows within us. Progenitor Chen cultivated the Nine Clones Technique, and one of his clones created the Cosmic Art, which forms the foundation of what we currently know as the Cosmic Sect. Everyone should be clear on the immense power the Cosmic Sect wields, but the inheritance of the Cosmic Art should have rightfully been given to the Xia family, as we are descended from Progenitor Chen. Thus, it is not only necessary for the Xia family to have taken the Skystar Jade Wall, it is proper as well.

    ¡°Only descendants of Progenitor Chen are capable of utilizing the true strength of the Cosmic Art. The Cosmic Sect has dominated the universe and was established from the advantage of the Cosmic Art that Progenitor Chen created. However, their actions are truly nothing more than thievery, as they had tantly stolen the Xia family¡¯s inheritance.¡±

    Ku Pu frowned. ¡°We all know about that, but the Cosmic Sect has long maintained their position in the Neoverse, and their influence is no longer something that can be changed. Senior Xia Ji¡¯s recent actions have caused all of the families of the Seven Courts to be enemies of both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind. This change has created a very unfavorable situation for when our Seven Courts¡¯ descendants venture out into the universe. The only exnation we ask from you is if these consequences are truly worth just gaining the Skystar Jade Wall?¡±

    None of the people seated at this meeting were fools, and they all understood that Xia Ji would most likely not have taken such actions for the Cosmic Art alone, as that was not a powerful enough motive to allow the the Seven Courts be an enemy of both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind. All of the family leaders had guessed that Xia Ji had another, hidden motive that he had kept secret. All of them had gathered for this meeting in order to uncover his hidden motive.

    The Seven Courts shared all gains, but also simrly shouldered all trials as one. Thus, they needed to know the truth of this matter as well.

    Xia Yi did not answer Ku Pu¡¯s question directly, but instead said, ¡°Everyone, please be at ease. The Elder has already started negotiations with Arch-Elder Zen, and the tensions will be eased as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Eased? How the hell is that going to happen? It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re going to return the Cosmic Art to the Cosmic Sect after all the trouble it took to seize it in the first ce, will you?¡± Y¨­u Kexin scoffed.

    Ce Laoyan stared at Xia Yi. ¡°Let¡¯s just put everything out on the table: why exactly did the Xia family grab the Skystar Jade Wall? Does the Skystar Jade Wall contain something worth starting a war with both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind? Since our Seven Courts are intended to act as one in position and action, we need to know the reason for this.¡±

    ¡°I really want to know why~¡± Xie A¡¯hua shed Xia Yi a seductive smile as she focused on him.

    Xia Yi¡¯s eyes flickered with a hint of uncertainty. Truth be told, he had no idea how to even begin to exin Xia Ji¡¯s actions to his peers.

    At that moment, Xia Ji¡¯s shadow suddenly appeared.

    Hui Zhi and the others quickly stood and bowed low. ¡°We juniors offer our respects to Senior Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°We offer our respects to Senior Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    ¡­

    Xia Ji spoke in an indifferent tone, ¡°The Xia family has given the Triple de Will to the Cosmic Sect aspensation for their loss. With that, this recent incident has been resolved. Everyone may return and continue your activities as normal.¡±

    Hui Zhi and the others were shocked beyond words, and their emotions fluctuated violently within their hearts.

    The Triple de Will was the de technique that had been traditionally passed down within the Xia family, and it was almost as important to the Xia family as the Cosmic Art was to the Cosmic Sect. The Triple de Will was a technique that could only be inherited within the family. The Xia family had risen to power from the ovepping power of their des, and the Triple de Will was their most fearsome technique. Despite all of that, they had actually given it to the Cosmic Sect in exchange for the Skystar Jade Wall? Just what did Xia Ji expect to find inside it?

    If the Xia family was willing to give away even their Triple de Will, Hui Zhi and everyone else clearly understood the stakes of the matter. The exorbitant price that they had willingly paid indicated that Xia Ji had gained something potentially even more valuable.

    What could Xia Ji have gained? Despite being a Semi-Progenitor, Xia Ji still did not possess the right to give his family¡¯s Triple de Will to the Cosmic Sect so casually. This was a matter concerning the Xia family¡¯s inheritance. Still, things could have turned out differently if the man had managed to convince the Xia family to support him.

    The more various family leaders considered the matter, the clearer their grasp of the situation: acquiring the Skystar Jade Wall had been more important to Xia Ji than absolutely anything else.

    ¡°So? What more do you wish to know?¡± Xia Ji looked around at everyone as he calmly asked.

    Hui Zhi and the others nced at each other, but they really no longer had a choice in the matter. They all left. They had no right to question the matter any further with what Xia Ji had shared, though if they had known that their meeting would end in this manner, they would have brought along their own families¡¯ most powerful elders.

    After everyone else had left, Xia Yi bowed low to Xia Ji and said, ¡°Elder, this-¡±

    He was instantly cut off by Xia Ji, whomanded, ¡°Show yourself.¡±

    Xia Meng appeared at the side of the hall and she looked straight at Xia Ji. ¡°Elder, is this really worth it?¡±

    Xia Ji smiled. It was far too rare to see a smile on his face, as he had not done so since bing a Semi-Progenitor. Xia Yi had never seen the elder smile, and ording to his memory, Xia Ji had only ever smiled once before, and that had been regarding something that had happened thousands of years ago.

    ¡°Is it worth the cost paid for a descendant of Progenitor Chen to obtain his inheritance?¡± Xia Ji responded with his own question.

    Xia Meng remained calm, and quietly replied, ¡°Everything was done merely for the Cosmic Art. I don¡¯t believe it¡¯s worth such a price.¡±

    Xia Ji¡¯s lips curled up into another smile as he said, ¡°What if it¡¯s for the possibility of bing a Progenitor?¡±

    Xia Meng and Xia Yi were startled, and they stared at Xia Ji in disbelief.

    Xia Ji¡¯s expression suddenly grew solemn, and hemanded, ¡°Xia Yi, excuse yourself.¡±

    Xia Yi¡¯s face grew pale, but he immediately bowed low and left the room.

    Even though Xia Yi was the Xia family patriarch, Xia Ji had been very displeased with the man since the matter with Xia Jiuyou. At the moment, Xia Ji would no longer even allow Xia Yi to participate in this particr conversation.

    After Xia Yi had left, Xia Ji spoke rather tly, ¡°Within the Skystar Jade Wall lies the greatest inheritance of Progenitor Chen¡¯s cosmic clone: the rotating stars of the Cosmic Art. How could you know with absolute certainty that some of the stars in this universe were not brought into existence by the Cosmic Art?¡±

    Xia Meng¡¯s face twisted in confusion. ¡°Brought into existence by the Cosmic Art? True stars?¡±

    Xia Ji nodded. ¡°Once cultivated to its peak, the Cosmic Art can allow the cultivator to create true stars, and even give birth to life. This is a key difference between a Progenitor and a Semi-Progenitor. Progenitor Chen was unrivaled throughout his entire life, and he was able to face nine of his peers alone. He became the most formidable figure in all of history! No matter if one considers his giant clone, his cosmic clone, or even his illusory clone, each and every one of them was able to fight against a Progenitor alone, and each and every one of them was also able to create life; transforming the rotten and lifeless into miracles and life.¡±

    ¡°Stars created by Progenitor Chen¡¯s Cosmic Art exist in this very universe. If one can gain control of these stars, they will also gain control of the civilizations living off those stars. Doing so can instantly grant the Xia family an infinite amount of power, but even more importantly.¡± He paused to stare at Xia Meng before continuing. ¡°By seizing the power of Progenitor Chen¡¯s stars, a person will be able to surpass Progenitor realm tribtions to finally be a Progenitor.¡±

    Xia Meng gasped, and her eyes zed with excitement. ¡°Really? One can be a Progenitor in this manner?¡±

    Xia Jiughed. ¡°That¡¯s only natural. How could a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion not be ovee with Progenitor Chen¡¯s power? Lingzhi Mavis died during her tribtion, and her death has left the rest of us Semi-Progenitors feeling nervous to attempt our breakthroughs. Even though that old man Gong is getting on in years, does he dare challenge his tribtion? Highsage Grandmaster has mastered many sourcebox arrays and has been making preparations on Eversky Ind for countless years, but does he dare face his tribtion? Even Arch-Elder Zen does not have the courage, and that¡¯s simply because the route to be a Progenitor is far too difficult. However, I have found my chance here! This is my shortcut to reach that level. By relying on Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, I will have a ny percent chance of sessfully passing my tribtion. After bing a Progenitor, I¡¯ll be the master of the entire Fifth Maind.¡±

    Xia Meng instantly understood everything. No wonder, no wonder Xia Ji had been willing to plot against the rtively insignificant Leon¡¯s Armada despite his exalted status as a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡°Do you feel it¡¯s worth the price?¡± Xia Ji stared directly at Xia Meng as he asked the question.

    Xia Meng bowed low and replied, ¡°Elder possesses great foresight. You will surely be the next Progenitor Chen.¡±

    Xia Ji¡¯s eyes gleamed; the next Progenitor Chen? That did not sound bad at all! He would indeed be the next Progenitor Chen! At that time, what would the Triple de Will matter? As long as he managed to be Progenitor, he would be willing to abandon everything else. What he needed to focus on was cultivating the Cosmic Art and probing at the Skystar Jade Wall. After that, everything would be taken care of.

    XIa Meng suddenly thought of something else, and she asked, ¡°Elder, if such a method exists, why hasn¡¯t the Cosmic Sect used it? Reasonably, Elder Gong should have managed to take control of those stars long ago.¡±

    Xia Ji shook his head. ¡°Such things are easier said than done. While I¡¯m not entirely clear one the details either, it has something to do with bloodlines. The members of the Cosmic Sect were never Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendants, so how could his inheritancend in their hands? We are his true descendants and bear his bloodline! Thus, we¡¯re sure to seed.¡±

    Xia Meng nodded. ¡°This junior will send out orders to seal the Xia family. From this moment forward, the Xia family will not host any guests or visitors until aver Elder¡¯s path to Progenitor has been established.¡±

    Xia Ji nodded, and his eyes filled with hope and drifted off to stare into the distance. Every cultivator dreamed of bing a Progenitor, and he was right at the edge of aplishing that. Fate had truly sided with him. He had originally believed that Lu Yin¡¯s interference would cause his ns to fail, but to Xia Ji¡¯s great surprise, everything had still gone ording to his n. It was simply heaven¡¯s will. The Fifth Maind needed a powerful Progenitor.

    However, there was one detail that Xia Ji had not mentioned and that Xia Meng had also rather ignored: the fact that while the Triple de Will was the Xia family¡¯s greatest inheritance, it was still a sword technique that was, by its very nature,ipatible with the Cosmic Sect. Inparison to the miraculous power of the Cosmic Art that could allow any who cultivated it to be a Lockbreaker, the value of the Triple de Will was a huge step down.

    One of the reasons the Cosmic Sect had agreed to such apromise was because both Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster had been injured, which also meant that the Cosmic Sect could not afford to fight another war if they disagreed to the proposed deal. The other reason was actually because of Arch-Elder Zen''s mediation. The Hall of Honor could overlook the major powers of the Fifth Maind fighting amongst themselves in chaotic wars, but they would never allow Semi-Progenitors to engage in all-out fights, as Semi-Progenitors were the powerhouses who formed the Fifth Maind¡¯s true foundation. Not to mention, the Semi-Progenitors were the ones who possessed Origin Matter.

    Lu Yin stayed with Leon¡¯s Armada in the Cosmic Sea for several days. Highsage Leon had been injured, so Lu Yin was notfortable leaving right away in case anyone wanted to take the opportunity to attack. The potential threat he was considering were mercenaries, but things remained rtively quiet for several days, and nothing much at all happened. The most exciting event was Lu Yin getting chewed out by Big Sis.

    The people from Smoke-Eater Peaks and Gods¡¯ Origin had all left. The only thing that Lu Yin still felt regretful about was the fact that Jin Mie had managed to escape. That man escaped at practically the speed of light, which left even Purple God from Gods¡¯ Origin unable to track the man down.

    Jin Mie was a cmity by himself, so even if Lu Yin needed to utilize all his resources and connections, he had to find the man no matter what.

    Another thing troubling Lu Yin was that the colossal giants had all disappeared.

    Just the day before, the Expeditionary Forces that had attacked Giant Consortium had arrived. They had been ordered to travel to the Cosmic Sea, and after they arrived, Lu Yin learned that Ku Wei and the others had disappeared.

    The Expeditionary Forces had been intimidated into retreating by Chen Huang¡¯s strength, and their withdrawal had meant that they had quickly traveled to the Cosmic Sea. Lu Yin should have been able to get in contact with Ku Wei and the others, as even if they fled to the Outerverse, they should still have been within range of his calls.

    He waited two more days, but still could not connect with Ku Wei. He felt that something was wrong, so Lu Yin sought out Xi Gu, themander of the Expeditionary Forces.

    ¡°I have no idea what you mean by colossal giants,¡± Xi Gu tantly denied any knowledge of the giants or visiting Giant Consortium¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly turned ruthless and cold, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He instantly appeared right in front of Xi Gu and he pped a palm at the man. Xi Gu was startled, as he had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s sudden attack. After all, he was themander of the elite Expeditionary Forces.

    Two hands shed with a loud bang. Xi Gu tried to use his innate gift Pierce to break through Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but faced with Lu Yin¡¯s golden battle force and Vacuum Palm, the specks of white and gray light were useless. Xi Gu¡¯s arm was forced to the side from the force, and he retreated many steps.

    Two Enlighters from the Expeditionary Forces instantly appeared and joined the fight. They tried to attack Lu Yin, but they were both instantly captured by his domain and left utterly immobilized.

    A bit further away, killing intent radiated from the rest of the Expeditionary Forces, and all of the members red at Lu Yin. However, the very next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s domain had already spread through the area and enveloped all of them. The soldiers felt like they had been submerged within a swamp.

    Themotion drew the attention of people from Leon¡¯s Armada, and there was a deafening boom as a massive saber struck the ground and sent out shockwaves through the Cosmic Sea. A terrifying aura swept over the Expeditionary Forces and all the soldiers¡¯ hairs stood on end.

    Everything had happened in less than an instant.

    Da Qiu and the others were startled, and they all feared that Leon¡¯s Armada wouldunch an attack on the Expeditionary Forces. What was happening? Did the Expeditionary Forces want to carry out some order of the overseers¡¯ council and capture Highsage Leon? That would be an extremely foolish thing to attempt.

 Chapter 1632: The Path That Was Chosen

    Chapter 1632: The Path That Was Chosen

    Beads of sweat dripped from Xi Gu¡¯s forehead as he red at Lu Yin in disbelief. This child was merely an Enlighter, and yet just one of his palm attacks was able to force an Envoy like Xi Gu back. Not even his innate gift had helped him at all, as Lu Yin¡¯s monstrous strength had been reinforced by his shocking level of battle force. How can this brat be so terrifyingly strong?

    Xi Gu had watched ZENITH, and had been confident that he had never underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s strength. However, at this moment, Xi Gu learned that he still had.

    ¡°Let me ask you again: do you know where all the colossal giants went?¡± Lu Yin angrily demanded as his cold eyes fixated on Xi Gu. This person¡¯s status meant nothing to Lu Yin.

    Xi Gu met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes for a while before solemnly replying, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen them after leaving Giant Consortium. I don¡¯t know where they are.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he started thinking. He stared into Xi Gu¡¯s eyes for a long time before finally turning around and leaving.

    Lu Yin believed Xi Gu¡¯s words, but the problem had instead be just where exactly had Ku Wei and the other colossal giants gone?

    In the Innerverse, an imposing silhouette was making its way towards the Outerverse at an extremely high speed. It was as though it were skipping through space. The figure was nearly half the size of a.

    Normal people would not be able to determine just what the figure was, and not even Enlighters would be able to get a clear image. Only Envoys and above would be able to see that the shape was actually an isted section of the void. Within that space were all of the colossal giants, such as Chen Huang and Ku Wei. At the front of the shape was a voluptuous woman. While she was not young, her face was still gorgeous beyondpare. Just one look at her was enough for a person to be tempted by her. This woman was Madam Hong.

    When the war in the Cosmic Sea had started, Madam Hong had started making her way there with the intention of lending a hand. However, who could have predicted that top powerhouses would appear one after another. Nightking Dijiang and Gu Laogui had shown themselves, andter on so had Highsage Shenwei and Xia Meng. Such experts left Madam Hong hesitant to show herself and join the fray. However, the war had ended before she had managed to make up her mind, and she lost her chance to participate in the war, so she turned around to return. To her shock, she ended up stumbling upon a group of colossal giants on her way.

    Her heart had pounded in excitement the instant she had seen an entire group of colossal giants; these creatures were natural-born warriors she had been looking for. She immediately captured all of the giants without another thought, and she started dragging them away. The colossal giants would be warriors of her Flying Horse Manor.

    Ku Wei had wanted to call Lu Yin from atop Chen Huang¡¯s shoulder, but he could not establish any sort of connection or signal from within the isted space that trapped them. He was really lost as to how to proceed. They had coincidentally met this crazy woman, and she had instantly captured everyone without a single word! She had to be nuts!

    There was absolutely no one who knew that Ku Wei and the others had been taken by Madam Hong aside from Cang Yi, as he had been the one to inform Madam Hong of the war before it had broken out in the Cosmic Sea. At this moment, Cang Yi had again taken control of Chaosgod Mountain. He had already learned of the results of the war, as well as the fact that Cang Zhou and Cang Song had both died. Even before taking control, there had been a group within Chaosgod Mountain who had been loyal to Cang Yi.

    Not that it really mattered, as the strongest person within Chaosgod Mountain had always been expected to take control of the ce. That was tradition. Chaosgod Mountain was a ce that was filled with bloodlust and was the power that oversaw the dark side of the Innerverse, so Cang Yi had not struggled to take control.

    After not being able to gain any information at all from Xi Gu, Lu Yin tried calling Cong Ying.

    Because Overseer Cong Ying had sent new orders of his own, the Expeditionary Forces had made their way to Giant Consortium¡¯s territory instead of traveling to the Cosmic Sea. Cong Ying had already been put on trial for this matter of insubordination, and he had already lost his position as an overseer.

    His actions had not been a simple mistake. He had deliberately dyed the movements of the Expeditionary Forces, and that had jeopardized the oue of the war. Things could easily have taken a much worse turn. Even more importantly, overseers were not allowed to make decisions using their personal emotions, and yet it had be clear that Cong Ying had been deliberately targeting the giants for a long time.

    As he had just been removed from his position as an overseer, Cong Ying became even more upset with Lu Yin¡¯s confrontational question. Cong Ying brusquely replied, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you should be asking this question of San Liang, as I am no longer an overseer.¡±

    With Cong Ying being removed, San Liang had immediately reced the former overseer. San Liang had previously been expected to rece another overseer, but due to the situation, he was promoted earlier than expected.

    ¡°Does the disappearance of all of the colossal giants have anything to do with you?¡± Lu Yin demanded.

    Cong Ying was actually startled. ¡°The colossal giants disappeared? What do you mean? Didn¡¯t Xi Gu fail?¡±

    ¡°So this has nothing to do with you?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Cong Ying scoffed. ¡°Wiping out all giants has been my life-long dream. I would never hide such an aplishment if I had managed to seed. I was indeed the one who sent the Expeditionary Forces to them, but they failed at their mission. I have not even attempted to hide any aspect of this failed mission from the overseers¡¯ council when I was questioned by them, so I have absolutely no reason to lie to you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew increasingly worried. If Cong Ying had been the mastermind behind this matter, Lu Yin would have actually felt a bit of relief. However, after finding out that the former overseer was innocent in the matter, just where could Lu Yin turn for answers?

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re nning on sheltering the colossal giants, aren¡¯t you?¡± Cong Ying suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose in confusion. ¡°They¡¯vepletely disappeared. Other than you, Overseer Cong Ying, who else in the entire Fifth Maind holds such a strong hatred for the giants?¡±

    Cong Ying sneered. ¡°It¡¯s not hatred, but wariness I feel for them. There are far too many different tribes of giants. I would be fine if they were only the typical brutish giants, but some of them are the survivors of the technologically inclined giants, and intelligent giants pose a far greater threat than those brainless, brutish giants. My goal has always been to wipe out all giants. I hold no personal grudge against any one of them in particr.¡±

    Lu Yin hung up and became immersed in his own thoughts. He then called San Liang, the Cosmic Sect, and every other connection he had in the Innerverse that he could move to look for the colossal giants. Lu Yin considered those colossal giants to be very important due to their limitless potential. Furthermore, Ku Wei was with the giants as well. No matter what, Ku Wei was still Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, and he could not allow things to just lie if anyone daredy a hand on Ku Wei.

    Several more days had passed, and finally Lu Yin bade Leon¡¯s Armada farewell. He then left the Cosmic Sea and made his way towards the Wen family.

    The recent war had rattled the entire Fifth Maind. No one had emerged as a total victor, though the Xia family had managed to soothe the Cosmic Sect¡¯s fury from having their prized treasure stolen by offering the Triple de Will. Despite the Cosmic Sect¡¯s reluctance to ept the exchange, the fact was that the deal proceeded regardless. There was nothing the Cosmic Sect could do without waging an all-out war on the Xia family.

    The Seven Courts had already been very wary of the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind, so how could the Cosmic Sect not be on guard as well? Even the Hall of Honor had started interfering in this tense situation.

    Lu Yin had already brought up a question regarding the price the Xia family paid aspensation to Eversky Ind, and Highsage Grandmaster had answered that it could be a sourcebox array. Regardless, Highsage Grandmaster chose not to pursue the matter any further.

    Lu Yin actually really wanted to see Xia Ji face-to-face, especially at the moment Xia Ji discovered that the Skystar Jade Wall did not contain the pattern. Lu Yin really wanted to capture the image of Xia Ji¡¯s expression at that moment for himself. The old man would surely blow through the roof.

    Elder Jiu Shen also went the extra mile to call Lu Yin and remind him to never reveal the truth about the pattern on the sole of his foot.

    Xia Ji had spent years plotting and preparing a war that had shaken up the Fifth Maind. It had reduced the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Pirate Crews by half. On top of all of that, Xia Ji had been forced to give up the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will and more valuables in order to smooth things out after taking the Skystar Jade Wall. Once the man found out that all he had obtained was a rtively useless item, he would surely lose any trace of rationality to pure anger. Lu Yin could not afford to be the target or the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s rage at that moment.

    Lu Yin was also well aware of his own importance, and there was no way he would make any mention of the location of the pattern.

    His spacecraft was headed for Erudite Flowzone, and Lu Yin took the chance offered by the trip to formally thank Liu Ye and Fei Hua for their efforts on the battlefield. ¡°Thank you both so much for your assistance. I am beyond grateful to you two.¡±

    Sister Fei Hua just rolled her eyes when she heard his words.

    Liu Ye replied, ¡°We were just trying to keep ourselves alive.¡±

    Lu Yin grew more somber. ¡°Trying to stay alive is one thing, but I want to humbly and genuinely express my gratitude to you two for your help. Please rest assured that you two will not remain stuck forever. After a while, I will return your freedom to you.¡±

    Sister Fei Hua¡¯s eyes gleamed and she turned around to look at Lu Yin. ¡°When?¡±

    Lu Yin replied firmly, ¡°Soon.¡±

    Fei Hua had no idea how to respond.

    Liu Ye suddenly spoke up, ¡°Can I ask a question?¡±

    ¡°Please.¡±

    After a bit of thought, Liu Ye asked in a stern manner, ¡°Exactly what are you nning?¡±

    Lu Yin was left confused by the question. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Liu Ye exined in a worried manner, ¡°You are Lu Xiaoxuan, the only descendent of the Lu family still in the Perennial World. Your appearance brought about great turmoil there Perennial World, and despite a short amount of time, your mere existence has caused the four ruling powers to suffer a massive decline in credibility and power. Countless people would flock over to you and would use your name to rise up against the four ruling powers. Despite that, you¡¯re here in the Forsaken Land doing your best to establish a base of power to increase your status and strength. What in the world are you nning?¡±

    Lu Yin stayed silent and did not answer. Instead, he turned to stare out at space.

    Staring at Lu Yin¡¯s back, Liu Ye pushed more to get some response. ¡°I know without you even saying anything that you intend to get revenge on the four ruling powers for exiling your Lu family.¡±

    Sister Fei Hua¡¯s eyes went wide in surprise and she also stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned back around and met Liu Ye¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes, I do want revenge, but is that desire not justified?¡±

    ¡°Doing so will condemn the entire Perennial World toplete chaos. The four ruling powers will crumble, and even the rear battlefront will suffer the consequences. Do you realize that the rear battlefield¡¯smander in chief and the array base generals all herald from the four ruling powers? If anything happens to those people, Ceaseless Impetus will bepromised, which will create an easy opening for the Aeternals to attack the Perennial World,¡± Liu Ye warned sternly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice rose, ¡°So I should just let the four ruling powers continue to force me about like a puppet? Am I supposed to turn a blind eye to the exile and annihtion of my Lu family?¡±

    Liu Ye shook his head. ¡°There is no question that they have been cruel and ruthless to you, but if you seek revenge, you¡¯ll be doing the same as them to both the Perennial World and this ce as well.¡±

    ¡°Is this something that has only recently urred to you?¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a long time.¡±

    ¡°In that case, why didn¡¯t you bring it up before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    This time, Liu Ye stayed quiet.

    ¡°You said nothing because you don¡¯t actually care whether or not I try to get revenge. In other words, you have your own reservations concerning the four ruling powers. Why have you and Fei Hua not joined them? Why have you both remained in the Middle Realm despite your power?¡± Lu Yin continued his questioning.

    Sister Fei Hua snapped, ¡°Not everyone is desperate to join them.¡±

    ¡°There are people just like you who can be found everywhere in the Perennial World, and yet many more have been captured and forced into the Star Alliance. If something were to happen to either of you, I wonder if the other would be forced into Star Alliance?¡± Lu Yinmented aloud.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua looked at each other. Neither knew how to respond.

    Together, they had the strength to protect themselves, but if either of them fell, the other would be forced to join the four ruling powers. Otherwise, they would be captured and forced into the Star Alliance.

    ¡°We are advisors to Humility¡¯s Gate.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the path you chose to take. For the sake of self-protection, your only choice was to be affiliated with Humility¡¯s Gate. As for me,¡± Lu Yin paused and gave Liu Ye and Fei Hua a serious stare. ¡°The only avable choice is revenge. It is the only way for me to protect myself. You and I are not any different from each other.¡±

    Soon after, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped. He nced at who was calling before answering.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is Cang Yi. I am calling to inform you that I have already taken control of Chaosgod Mountain,¡± Cang Yi¡¯s courteous voice came through the gadget.

    His mood had already been soured from the conversation with Liu Ye and Fei Hua, so Lu Yin merely gave a short reply, ¡°Mhmm, I got it.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, your subordinate will definitely help you to keep an eye on Chaosgod Mountain and will make sure that the Innerverse never learns anything,¡± Cang Yi continued speaking, already knowing what Lu Yin wanted from him.

    Lu Yin replied rather indifferently, ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    He then ended the call. After visiting the Wen family, he still needed to make another trip to Chaosgod Mountain. That was because Cang Yi was someone willing to betray the entire Fifth Maind, which meant that he had absolutely no bottom line. Lu Yin did not and never would trust such a person with Chaosgod Mountain. Instead, he would someone else to lead the ce.

    Lu Yini had been to Erudite Flowzone before, as he had visited the flowzone during the Astral Combat Tournament. However, that time he had only passed through the flowzone to get to the border, so this was his first time visiting the Wen family¡¯s home.

    After the war in the Cosmic Sea, the Wen family had sent multiple invitations to Lu Yin, but he had not responded even once. He was going to visit the Wen family, and his first visit would be as their formal guest.

    The Wen family truly embodied their surname; each of them was well-mannered and intellectual individuals through and through. Everyone in the flowzone exuded some sort of schrly demeanor. As for those Lu Yin and the other two saw in passing, the cultivators who were practicing their battle techniques and even the merchants traveling about through space were all very cultured. The entire ce was unlike any other flowzone Lu Yin had ever seen.

 Chapter 1633: Mountains And Seas Painting

    Chapter 1633: Mountains And Seas Painting

    The Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones each had their own unique characteristics. zing Mist Flowzone had high temperatures and cultivators with hot tempers. Chaos Flowzone was full of death and darkness. Daynight Flowzone was arrogant. First Flowzone was sharp and peerless. Venom Flowzone was full of poisonous creatures. Inparison, Erudite Flowzone was a veryfortable ce to visit.

    When Lu Yin and Liu Ye and Fei Hua finally arrived, everyone from the Wen family appeared to greet them, including their patriarch, Wen Zizai.

    "Wee, Alliance Leader Lu, guest of my Wen family. Patriarch Wen Zizai hase to wee you." A loud voice spoke up, greeting Lu Yin the moment he exited his vessel.

    Wen Zizai was the patriarch of the Wen family, which naturally meant that he was a powerhouse from the older generation. Him personally greeting Lu Yin was a show of great respect.

    Lu Yin quickly stepped forward and smiled. "This junior took the liberty of showing up to your home. It is my honor to visit the Wen family¡¯s home."

    Wen Zizai smiled. "The fact that Alliance Leader Lu is able to visit my Wen family''s home is an honor to my Wen family."

    The man spoke politely to Lu Yin before turning to Liu Ye and Fei Hua and addressing them. "You two must be Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Wee, both of you. You are our Wen family¡¯s guests."

    Liu Ye smiled as he responded, "The Wen family¡¯s behavior is worthy of respect."

    Wen Zizaiughed. "Alliance Leader Lu, please,e inside."

    "Senior, please lead the way."

    Wen Zizai proceeded along with everyone else from the Wen family who qualified to speak to Lu Yin, no matter if they were elders or juniors.

    Wen Sansi was situated rather close to Wen Zizai, as were Wen Qian¡¯er, Wen Yan, and the others that Lu Yin had met before. As for the elders, he saw Wen Yao, as well as experts such as Lu Jing, who was a guest of the Wen family.

    Among everyone present, Lu Yin also saw Wen Zhaocheng, the traitor to the Fifth Maind who had been named on the same list as Cang Yi. Lu Yin merely nced at the man and did not show any noticeable interest

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s present status, neither Wen Sansi nor Wen Zhaocheng qualified to speak to him as a peer. In fact, there was no one in the entire Fifth Maind who still treated Lu Yin as a junior.

    The members of the Wen family merely greeted Lu Yin as a matter of courtesy. After he and Wen Zizai entered the Wen family¡¯s home, the others all took their leave with only Wen Sansi remaining behind to apany the two.

    The Wen family favored an antiquated architectural style. Lu Yin had seen this style quite frequently, so he did not find it surprising. However, what did surprise him was seeing a broom at the steps to the entrance to the house, as the broom possessed a number of runes.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to use Truesight in the Innerverse to observe the quantity of runes that anything and anyone possessed. He had never expected to see a broom that possessed runes. Even though there were not very many, it was already bizarre for a mere broom to possess any runes at all.

    "I heard that Senior often sweeps the family¡¯s grounds. I wonder, do you do that in this ce?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wen Zizai replied, "That''s right. How was Alliance Leader Lu able to tell?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just a guess. The rest of the grounds are spotless, and this is the only ce where I can see fallen leaves and dust."

    Wen Zizai nodded. "That¡¯s true. This is the only ce that¡¯s left uncleaned. Just like a human heart that is full of greed, such things can never be clean."

    "I¡¯m not sure what Senior is talking about. Are you referring to this junior?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

    Wen Zizaiughed. "Of course not. The fact that Alliance Leader Lu hase to my Wen family''s home at this time indicates that a fair deal has been reached and that our agreement hase to an end."

    Lu Yin hesitated, as he was surprised. "An end? When?"

    Wen Zizai''s eyes shed, and Wen Sansi spoke up from behind. "During the war in the Cosmic Sea, my Wen family prevented the Sword Sect from taking action. Additionally, we agreed to allow Alliance Leader Lu to visit and view the painting that he requested. With these tasks aplished, Alliance Leader Lu will deliver Wen Diyi to us. Does this not mean that our deal isplete?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Wen Zizai andughed. "Senior, those two details were merely stated to start negotiations, notplete the deal. Has your Wen family made some mistake?"

    "Brother Lu, my Wen family paid a steep price to stop the Sword Sect, and at the same time, we also paid a high price to obtain the mountains and seas painting from the Lost Radiance Academy. Are these two matters still not enough for us to gain just one Wen Diyi?" Wen Sansi quickly asked.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "You merely intimidated the Sword Sect and are allowing me to only look at a painting, and yet you want to acquire what will allow your Wen family to dominate the Innerverse. Isn¡¯t this a ratherughable price?"

    Wen Zizai calmly replied, "Let''s continue and discuss this matter inside. Otherwise people will see that I am not acting as a proper host."

    While Lu Yin was being escorted by Wen Zizai, some distance away, the Lost Radiance Academy¡¯s Dean Han and several of the academy¡¯s teachers arrived, including Han Chong''s younger brother, Han Kui.

    "That person is Lu Yin. From the moment he first appeared, his legend has never stopped growing. Everything he does is worthy of being recorded down in history," Ying Tang praised. He was one of the academy¡¯s teachers.

    "As for his age, he¡¯s even younger than Wen Sansi and the other Arbiters. He was Han Chong¡¯s ssmate, but it¡¯s impossible to know just how high he has reached by now."

    "It¡¯s said that he¡¯s able to fight against Envoys."

    "That child is truly terrifying, though what might be the scariest of all is his ambition. Unifying the Outerverse certainly is not his final goal, and all of the eight major flowzones are wary of him."

    Dean Han stared at Lu Yin from a distance as he entered the Wen family¡¯s home. The old man sank deep into thought. Just how had this child ever learned about that particr painting?

    In a sitting room in the Wen family''s home, everyone took a seat.

    Wen Zizai said directly, "Mr. Lu, you already know the importance that Wen Diyi has to my Wen family. Please give us your terms."

    Lu Yin smiled. "The Wen family indeed stopped the Sword Sect from entering the war in the Cosmic Sea, and I am extremely grateful for your efforts. I came here this time to show you my sincerity."

    Wen Zizai''s eyes lit up. "How are you going to prove that?"

    "I want to take a look at thendscape painting. As for Wen Diyi, I can allow him and Wen Sansi to be alone for an incense stick¡¯s worth of time, but I will take him away after that. As for Wen Diyi remaining with the Wen family, I haven¡¯te up with a proper price. I wonder, does Senior have any suggestions?"

    Wen Zizai frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, Wen Diyi is a member of my Wen family."

    "He¡¯s not from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Wen family," Lu Yin countered.

    Wen Zizai stared at Lu Yin. Even though they were currently in the heart of the Wen family¡¯s home, the old man was not confident that he could forcefully let Wen Diyi stay behind. Even without anything else, Liu Ye and Fei Hua alone left the Wen familypletely helpless. As for Lu Yin, the child was famous for uniting the Outerverse and the strength that he had revealed during ZENITH that made him renowned as invincible among his peers, even without his power vessels and various items.

    Also, the youth seemed to have an infinite supply of powerful equipment and tools, and many of them were absolutely terrifying.

    The Wen family could not restrain Lu Yin and his two protectors, which meant that they also could not take Wen Diyi from Lu Yin. The number of top-tier powerhouses who had gotten involved in the war in the Cosmic Sea because of Lu Yin had horrified countless people.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, have you truly not considered your terms, or do you still have other ns?" Wen Zizai asked. Even in the peace of his own home, he was still close to losing his temper. There were many skills needed for negotiations, and while patience was indeed an important one, the old man was increasingly suspecting that Lu Yin was not being patient, but rather had truly not considered the conditions that he wanted.

    That was the most frustrating type of person to deal with. Wen Zizai would much prefer Lu Yin to put forth absurd conditions, as that would allow negotiations to proceed forth. But as things stood, Lu Yin was stalling indefinitely.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I really haven¡¯t considered my terms."

    He looked over at Wen Sansi. "Given brother Wen''s talent that allowed him to be one of the Ten Arbiters, he should be able to gain a great deal from speaking with Wen Diyi. Though, does the Wen family perhaps not want this opportunity?"

    Wen Zizai frowned. If he agreed to this, it would negate the price that he had already paid. His family had stalled the Sword Sect and agreed to allow Lu Yin to study the mountains and seas painting, but had they done all of that just to exchange an incense stick¡¯s worth of conversation? No, Wen Zizai was even more concerned that he would gain nothing at all.

    He had not expected such honesty from Lu Yin. Should they attempt to offer a price for Wen Diyi or agree to a short meeting first?

    One other detail had made the patriarch even more hesitant; given the time constraints that Lu Yin was cing on the meeting, would Wen Diyi be able to share anything useful regarding the Literary Prison? If they could not gain anything from the meeting, then everything would have been in vain.

    From Wen Zizai¡¯s perspective, Wen Diyi would most likely refuse to teach anything regarding the Literary Prison in hopes that their desire for improving the technique would motivate the Wen family into rescuing him. If Wen Diyi taught Wen Sansi what they wanted, Wen Diyi would be worthless, and then it would be very difficult for him to ever escape from Lu Yin''s control.

    It was only a single moment, but countless thoughts ran through Wen Zizai¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry, as he was enjoying the taste of the Wen family''s tea.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua nced at each other. They had spent quite a bit of time with Lu Yin by this point, and they were fully aware of just how cunning the youth was. When it came to understanding human nature, the kid was bing more and more adept every day, and he was gaining initiative with every step he took. Going against him would be very difficult.

    The people who managed to make each step they took count as three were the most difficult to deal with.

    In the end, Wen Zizai agreed. An incense stick¡¯s worth of time was still a bit of time. After all, they had lost nothing by stopping the Sword Sect, and the painting actually belonged to the Han family, so the Wen family was still not taking any loss. While they had spent a great deal of energy on these matters, that was something that could be easily recovered. A short meeting was still good enough.

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and sent Wen Sansi in. He then raised a hand and burned a stick of incense in the air. It was just a normal stick of incense that was neither long nor short, and even the speed at which it burned was perfectly normal.

    Wen Zizai also sipped his tea while quietly waiting. No one in the room spoke, as Lu Yin also waited quietly.

    The incense soon burned down, and Lu Yin waved a hand to pull Wen Sansi back out of Zenith Mountain.

    Wen Zizai stared at Wen Sansi, and the younger man nodded back, allowing Wen Zizai to let out a sigh of relief. Even though it had not been for very long, Wen Sansi had apparently gained something from the meeting.

    Lu Yin noticed the exchange. As expected, Wen Diyi had been able to share a bit with the time they had been given, though it was also impossible for him to share everything regarding the Literary Prison in such a short amount of time. If it were possible, the Perennial World¡¯s version of the Literary Prison would have long since spread to the Fifth Maind.

    "Senior, where is the painting?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wen Zizai asked Wen Sansi to excuse himself, and he then looked at Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Lu Yin simrly asked Liu Ye and Fei Hua to leave.

    Now, only two people remained in the room.

    Finally, Wen Zizai took out a very broken stone that was only a half-meter square. It really was stone. Lu Yin stared in amazement, as the stone clearlycked any runes, and yet it felt incredibly ancient to him, much like the Daynight n''s stone of inheritance. It was as if the stone had existed for an eternity.

    Stars could exist in the universe for countless years, and for much longer than how humans had existed. This stone gave Lu Yin the same sensation as a star, as though it had existed forever.

    Wen Zizai''s expression grew solemn. "I borrowed this stone from the Han family. The painting is on this stone. Alliance Leader Lu, go ahead and take a look. In fact, even I amenable to see anything."

    Lu Yin carefully took the stone, fearful of shattering it, as it seemed quite fragile.

    The impression that he received of the stone was that it was beyond ancient, and yet it felt like perfectly ordinary stone. There was a painting on it, but the stone only showed a corner of the image. It seemed that the stone was a shard of the full painting.

    There were no runes to be seen, and there was also nothing that stood out when Lu Yin touched the stone. He stared at the painting but could not feel anything at all, which was quite odd.

    He continued to study it, and his eyes moved closer to the stone.

    Suddenly, he noticed something unusual. It was not a typicalndscape painting, but rather a painting that seemed to contain the entire universe. There were stars and entire civilizations in it, simr to the Perennial World. There were many mountains andkes among the stars, as well as multiple universes and civilizations in it.

 Chapter 1634: Non-Existent People

    Chapter 1634: Non-Existent People

    Lu Yin stared at the painting for a full hour, and he was able to see many things, but not everything.

    He turned to give Wen Zizai a suspicious look. "Senior, are you sure that this is the painting?"

    Wen Zizai smiled bitterly. "I understand that Alliance Leader Lu may feel that, but this is the true painting. If Alliance Leader Lu doesn''t believe me, you can also see the records of Han Chong''s fight. He created a star energy drawing and recreated a picture of mountains and seas, which is exactly the same as this painting."

    Lu Yin frowned. He thought back to Han Chong''s battle, specifically the moment when the painting had appeared and defeated Xia Ye. That victory had suggested that this painting was not simple, though Han Chong may have simply found something hidden within the painting. Still, the fight that Lu Yin had witnessed had urred when Han Chong had not even been an Explorer while Lu Yin was already an Enlighter. How was it that Lu Yin still was not able to make anything out?

    Everyone had their own unique opportunities, and although Lu Yin felt helpless, he could not force things. He was still at the beginning of the path of cultivation, and with his ability to enter his die¡¯s Tmestop Space, it was impossible for anyone to know just how long he had cultivated for.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this really is that same painting. The Han family has protected this stone for many years, and Dean Han is here at this time. You can speak with him if you¡¯d like." Wen Zizai was growing increasingly concerned that Lu Yin would not believe him, so he reiterated the point.

    Lu Yin said, "In that case, could Senior ask Dean Han toe here?"

    Wen Zi nodded.

    A short whileter, an old man entered the room and faced Lu Yin. The man nervously looked down at the stone that Lu Yin was holding.

    Lu Yin recognized the old man, though they had never met face to face. Lu Yin had seen pictures of this person on thework. After all, the headmaster of the Lost Radiance Academy was considered a public figure.

    "Junior Lu Yin greets Dean Han," Lu Yin spoke politely.

    Dean Han nodded and voiced his admiration. "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s been a long time since your name has resounded in my ears like thunder."

    "I can''tpare to the headmaster¡¯s record of teaching and training people. In front of you, Lu Yin is still just a student. I have not even graduated from the Astral Combat Academy," Lu Yin replied.

    Dean Han was caught off guard. "You still haven''t graduated from the Astral Combat Academy?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Unfortunately I¡¯ve been away and busy for a long time, and so I simply haven¡¯t found the time to formally graduate."

    Dean Hanughed. "Given Alliance Leader Lu current strength, you have already surpassed your teachers. It no longer matters whether or not you graduate. By the way, I wonder if I might ask, how did Alliance Leader Lu learn of the existence of this painting?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "The Han family has protected the painting, but naturally, others can learn of it as well. There is no such thing as an eternal secret."

    "I understand that Alliance Leader Lu doesn''t wish to speak about this." Dean Han looked down at the stone in Lu Yin''s hand. "That is indeed thendscape painting that Alliance Leader Lu asked for. When Chong''er identally saw it, he was drawn to it. After begging for a long time, I finally allowed him to take a look at it. I never thought that looking at it would lead to his death."

    "Just one look?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Dean Han nodded. "Yes. He was immediately drawn to it. I believe that Chong''er must have formed some kind of a connection with this painting, possibly because of the fact that my Han family has protected it for so many years. I certainly did not expect such a thing to ur."

    Lu Yin looked back down at the stone in his hand. It seemed that some others were able to instantly see the hidden meaning in this painting, but Lu Yin could not see anything at all. He had no connection to this painting.

    He had even recited the Stonewall Scriptures, but he was still unable to see anything. In the end, his only choice was to return the stone to Dean Han.

    Dean Han took the stone and let out a sigh of relief.

    After Lu Yin observed the painting and Wen Sansi had met with Wen Diyi alone, the deal had beenpleted.

    Even though Wen Zizai desperately wanted to have Wen Diyi stay in the Wen family, Lu Yin took the young man away.

    Doing so gave Lu Yin an odd feeling, almost as though he was separating lovers.

    As he left the Wen family¡¯s ancestral home, Lu Yin saw Wen Qian''er. Although the two of them had only met a few times and had never really spoken to each other, they could still be considered acquaintances, though their previous interactions felt like a lifetime ago.

    Over the course of two years, Lu Yin''s mentality had undergone dramatic changes.

    Wen Qian''er stared at Lu Yin, but her eyes no longer held any challenge. Lu Yin had reached a level that was simply untouchable to her.

    "I didn''t expect you, Wen Zizai, to live to see this day. Someone has visited your home and walked away with what you desire most of all, and yet there is nothing that you can do about it," President Hanmented as he watched Lu Yin''s spacecraft leave.

    Wen Zizai answered quietly, "He''s not the first one to do so. Even though my Wen family stands at the top of Erudite Flowzone, the Fifth Maind is too vast. People from the Hall of Honor or the Neoverse do not even see us, and before them, not even the Daynight n or the Sword Sect can speak up.¡±

    "What terms do you think the child will propose?" Dean Han asked, very curious about the matter. The Wen family had shown their great willingness to work with Lu Yin, and they had practically offered to meet any conditions that he put forth. Despite that, Lu Yin still seemed to have no idea what he wanted from the family.

    Wen Zizai¡¯s mood had been ruined, so he just ignored Dean Han and returned to his home.

    ¡­

    After leaving the Wen family, Lu Yin deliberately made a detour on his way to Chaos Flowzone. The reason for the detour was naturally a corpse king.

    Lu Yin¡¯s particr target was the corpse king that had killed Han Chong. That creature had spent a long time staring at the Lost Radiance Academy and had been determined to get the painting. Lu Yin wanted to remove that hidden danger. Thendscape painting might have proved useless to him, but that did not mean that it would be the same for others. He particrly did not want a corpse king to obtain whatever was hidden within the painting.

    The Lost Radiance Academy was not a great distance from the Wen family¡¯s home, and given the speed of Lu Yin¡¯s vessel, it only took them half a day to reach the.

    It was a perfectly ordinary, though it was unfit for human habitation, so it did not house any form of civilization. There were not even very many creatures here.

    The corpse king had a power level of more than 400,000, but it could notpare to an Envoy. This was why the creature had not tried to invade the Lost Radiance Academy itself, but had instead simply remained on the and observed the academy while awaiting further orders from the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin hesitated over whether or not he should simply destroy the corpse king. Once it was gone, the Neohuman Alliance might realize that Lu Yin had gotten involved with the mountains and seas painting, and that could bring about new trouble. However, it might also reveal the key to unlocking the mystery within the painting.

    Dean Han did not know what was hidden within the painting, but the Neohuman Alliance might.

    Lu Yin stopped his vessel while still in outer space and simply stared down at the barren in the distance. Further away, he could see a colorful neb spinning.

    Liu Ye grew curious. "Aren''t you going?"

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Let¡¯s go."

    With that, he altered their destination, and the ship continued on towards Chaos Flowzone.

    It would be very simple to deal with the corpse king, but once that happened, the Neohuman Alliance would definitely send more over. Lu Yin wanted to preserve the corpse king for now. After all, it was one of the only ones that Lu Yin was able to Possess. It might prove to be of great use in the future.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin received a message from Starsibyl. "I am not able to divinate anything rted to Undying Yushan at all. Are you sure that the name is correct?"

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "It should be."

    "Undying Yushan, the master of the Great Yu Empire in Frostwave Weave. However, he died more than ten years ago. He¡¯s dead," Starsibyl said.

    "I saw him. He''s not dead."

    "That may be true, but I¡¯m unable to determine anything. Perhaps if you have some of his blood it could work."

    Lu Yin thought of Wendy Yushan. "I¡¯ll bring you some."

    "That would be good."

    ***

    Far away, in the distant Neoverse, on the Xia family¡¯s sword-shaped maind, Xia Ji had been studying the Skystar Jade Wall for quite a while, but he could not find anything special about it. ording to the information he had obtained from Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, there should be something special about this treasure that could only be used by those with Progenitor Chen¡¯s bloodline. It was supposed to allow them to sense the stars that had been left behind by Progenitor Chen.

    "What¡¯s wrong? Is it necessary to cultivate the Cosmic Art to its peak?" Xia Ji said to himself. There were nine stars revolving around his body, as he had easily learned the Cosmic Art. "If that''s the case, it will take a bit of effort."

    He then took a deep breath and began training in the Cosmic Art.

    The Cosmic Sect had recently received the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, and naturally, the first people to start training in the battle technique were the true disciples and the elders.

    However, there were not many elders willing to practice the Triple de Will. They had already be entrenched in their own path of cultivation, and learning the Triple de Will would not help them. Most of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples were not skilled with the de.

    However, Mu Ziying was very excited. His cultivation of the Cosmic Art had reached a bottleneck, and training in the Triple de Will gave him something that would improve his strength. Also, he enjoyed training with des.

    Even though obtaining the Triple de Will had temporarily soothed the Cosmic Sect¡¯s rage, when they realized that more and more of the sect¡¯s disciples had no talent for the battle technique, their rage would burst forth once more.

    Without the Skystar Jade Wall, their speed at mastering the Cosmic Art would drastically slow down, which was not a good thing for the Cosmic Sect.

    The current calm was only temporary.

    ***

    When Lu Yin arrived at Chaosgod Mountain once more, he quickly concealed himself to meet with Cang Yi.

    When he saw Lu Yin, Cang Yi quickly bowed. "This subordinate greets the alliance leader."

    Lu Yin nodded calmly. "You were very quick to get started. The deaths of Cang Zhou and the other elites have cost Chaosgod Mountain a great deal of strength. How do you n topensate?"

    Cang Yi cautiously answered, "Chaosgod Mountain has no shortage of disciples. As long as this subordinate is here, the dark powers of the Innerverse can provide us with arge influx of fresh blood at any time. However, with Cang Zhou dead, we have no Envoy realm powerhouse, which means that we will be an easy target for the other powers controlling the other eight great flowzones. This subordinate can only deal with cultivators from forces other than the forces that control the great flowzones."

    The implication from these words were quite straightforward: matters concerning the eight great flowzones would be left for Lu Yin to deal with. Cang Yi was confident that he could deal with everything else, but Lu Yin would have to deal with the major powers of the Innerverse, which was a very difficult task.

    "Are you saying that only the underworld forces recognize your position?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Yi answered in a respectful tone, "This subordinate has been dealing with those people for too long, so we are all very familiar with each other."

    "Do you know Thousand Eyes?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Cang Yi was startled. "Thousand Eyes? I know him¡ªhe¡¯s a pirate. He was originally in the Outerverse, but when the Great Eastern Alliance rose to power, he imed that he was unable to survive there anymore, so he moved to my Chaos Flowzone. Might I ask how you know him? From the surface, he seems to be someone who thrives in this ce. Alliance Leader Lu, did he offend you?"

    Lu Yin looked at Cang Yi and smiled. "Can you deal with him?"

    Cang Yi grew solemn. "Dealing with him is nothing difficult. Although he has formed a connection with many people in Chaos Flowzone over thest few years, such people will never help him."

    "So even you¡¯ve heard of him? It seems like Thousand Eyes is pretty good. He would be a good candidate for someone to rece you in dealing with the underworld powers," Lu Yin casuallymented.

    Cang Yi was taken aback, and he quickly paled. "Alliance Leader, what do you mean?"

    "Thousand Eyes belongs to me, and it sounds like he isn¡¯t much worse than you when ites to his connection with Chaos Flowzone¡¯s underworld. Even without you, he can still help Chaosgod Mountain pull in arge number of new disciples. Won¡¯t this be very helpful?" Lu Yin stared at Cang Yi as he spoke, and the look sent chills down Cang Yi¡¯s spine.

    His heart shook. "Alliance Leader, Thousand Eyes is only a Hunter."

    "So what? Cang Zhou was an Envoy with a power level of more than 700,000, and yet he also died."

 Chapter 1635: The Giantsâ€™ Whereabouts

    Chapter 1635: The Giants¡¯ Whereabouts

    "Even if Thousand Eyes can help deal with the underworld powers, what about Chaosgod Mountain itself? He isn¡¯t from Chaosgod Mountain, and he has no ability to control the forces that direct Chaos Flowzone," Cang Yi quickly said.

    Lu Yin turned to stare outside. He hade alone, but Elder Hu suddenly appeared from the air. He had remained hidden, and Cang Yi had not seen the elder until he revealed himself, startling Cang Yi. "Hu- Elder Hu?"

    Elder Hu bowed to Lu Yin. "This subordinate greets the alliance leader."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    After the Great Eastern Alliance had destroyed the ze Realm, Wang Wen and Wei Rong had sent out people to infiltrate the Innerverse powers. Elder Hu was someone whom they had recruited as a mole. He had secretly joined the Great Eastern Alliance more than a year ago.

    "Elder Hu, are you part of the Great Eastern Alliance?" Cang Yi could not believe his eyes.

    Elder Hu nced over at Cang Yi and indifferently replied, "I have served Alliance Leader Lu for more than a year, and it was at his order that I kept you hidden."

    Cang Yi¡¯s entire body trembled, and bitterness filled his eyes. He had thought that everything was in his control and that he had predicted everything, but he had just learned that he was merely dancing in the palm of another.

    "Although Elder Hu is not capable of leading Chaosgod Mountain, there¡¯s still you, Cang Yi," Lu Yin spoke slowly as he stared at Cang Yi. "With you here, regardless of your cultivation level orck of it, no one on Chaosgod Mountain will dare to act rashly. With Thousand Eyes and Elder Hu here, it¡¯s possible to stabilize the situation. The most important thing is that after the deaths of Cang Zhou, Cang Song, and the others, Chaosgod Mountain will need to seal itself off and cut off contact with the outside world. This is a legitimate excuse."

    Cang Yi''s mind started racing; regardless of his cultivation orck of it? That meant that Lu Yin was going to destroy Cang Yi¡¯s cultivation! No! Absolutely not! Cang Yi gritted his teeth and looked up at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I have been loyal to you. Why would you destroy my strength?"

    Lu Yin answered with evident disgust, "You¡¯ve betrayed the Fifth Maind and youck any redeeming qualities at all. Such a person should never exist.¡±

    Right at that moment, Lu Yin intended to kill Cang Yi, as he had no desire to drag things out unnecessarily with such a person.

    Cang Yi quickly yelled, "Alliance Leader Lu, I know where the colossal giants are!"

    Lu Yin hesitated and stared at Cang Yi. "What did you just say?"

    Cang Yi was utterly terrified. He was at the precipice of life and death, and Lu Yin¡¯s actions would determine if Cang Yi could at least survive and remain as Elder Hu¡¯s puppet for the rest of his life.

    "Speak!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Even though Cang Yi was terrified, he still forced himself to remain strong and said, "If I tell you, will Alliance Leader Lu let me go?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes were icy. "You are in no position to give me conditions."

    "It''s just a request! I, Cang Yi, beg Alliance Leader Lu to let me go!" Cang Yi knelt down, quivering.

    Lu Yin withdrew his hand. "Tell me. If what you say proves true, I can move you elsewhere."

    Cang Yi gritted his teeth. "Madam Hong. She¡¯s most likely the one who captured the giants."

    Lu Yin felt the need to ask, "Madam Hong? How could she have even known about the colossal giants? How could she have captured them? Isn''t she in the Outerverse?"

    Cang Yi trembled. "Well, I told her- No, I mean Madam Hong reached out to me to ask about the recent events on Chaosgod Mountain and the war in the Cosmic Sea. I had no choice but to tell her, and she said that she¡¯d go to the Cosmic Sea. If she did go, she most likely left after the battle, and she probably ran into the giants and captured them.

    "If it were anything else, given your influence, Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s impossible for not a single trace of the giants to have turned up by now."

    Lu Yin really wanted to p Cang Yi dead. This person had to have called Madam Hong and told her about what happened at Chaosgod Mountain. How could someone like Madam Hong have reached out to a traitor like Cang Yi? Given her recent actions regarding the traitors, it seemed quite clear that the Sixth Maind had no intention of moving against the Fifth Maind for the time being. Without such a motive, it was impossible for someone with Madam Hong¡¯s status in the Sixth Maind to reach out to Cang Yi of her own initiative.

    Cang Yi was practically lying on the floor, waiting in terror. He could not put forth too many conditions to Lu Yin. In fact, Cang Yi could only pray that Lu Yin did as he had offered.

    "Are you sure that it¡¯s Madam Hong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Yi gulped. "No, I¡¯m not sure, but I can get in touch with her and ask."

    "Ask, but don''t reveal our existence. You should understand that, let alone Madam Hong, not even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors can protect you right now. The only person who can keep you alive is me," Lu Yin threatened.

    "I know! I know!" Cang Yi immediately replied.

    After preparing for a while, Cang Yi regained his normalposure, and only then did he try to contact Madam Hong.

    After a while, he heard her voice, "What''s the matter?"

    Cang Yi answered in a cautious tone, "Madam, the war in the Cosmic Sea has ended, and this subordinate called to report the matter to you."

    "No need. I know," Madam Hong answered coldly.

    Cang Yi nced over at Lu Yin, who stood nearby with his back to Cang Yi. Cang Yi quickly continued, "Madam, there is one more thing I need to ask."

    "Your job is only to wait for my orders. Since when do you get to ask me questions?" Madam Hong''s voice turned quiet and icy.

    Cang Yi quickly replied, "This is a matter that concerns many forces, even the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers. So-"

    "What is this matter?" Madam Hong interrupted.

    "Do you know about the giants?"

    Madam Hong was surprised. "Why are you asking about that?"

    Cang Yi exined, "The Innerverse has apany called Giant Consortium, and behind them is a race of giants that have already joined Lu Yin. During the war in the Cosmic Sea, the giants traveled to reinforce the battle, but they mysteriously disappeared in transit. At this moment, Lu Yin is using his full influence to find these colossal giants. Right now, the Outerverse¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance, the Innerverse¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain, the Wen family, the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Leon¡¯s Armada, and the Neoverse¡¯s overseers are all looking for the giants.¡±

    "Their disappearance has incited great turmoil, and this subordinate is considering the possibility of using news of the giants to incite even greater chaos in the Outerverse and Innerverse. Lu Yin''s influence is growing everrger, and if he is lost and confused, the Fifth Maind will descend into chaos. By this point, he is able to sway the entire overseers¡¯ council."

    Madam Hong remained silent, and Cang Yi grew increasingly nervous. His palms started to sweat. He truthfully did not know whether or not the colossal giants had been taken by Madam Hong, and he was just going off of a hunch. The possibility was very high, and this bet was his only option for possible survival. He had actually spoken the words that Lu Yin had dictated, as it was impossible to ask Madam Hong such a question directly.

    After a while, Madam Hong asked, "How do you want to use the colossal giants?"

    "About that, this subordinate has note up with a n yet. I only had the initial idea, and so I contacted Madam Hong."

    Madam Hong quietly asked, "These giants belong to Lu Yin?"

    "Yes."

    "That¡¯s quite a coincidence. Those giants are currently at my Flying Horse Manor. Tell Lu Yin inly that if he wants the giants, he cane to my Flying Horse Manor. I''ll be waiting for him."

    Cang Yi panicked. "Madam Hong, the moment this subordinate says that to Lu Yin, this subordinate''s life will be for-"

    "You cane to my Flying Horse Manor before calling him. Cang Zhou is dead, and Lu Yin won¡¯t allow you to control Chaosgod Mountain. He will only allow someone who belongs to him to do so, so your life will be forfeit as soon as he returns to Chaosgod Mountain," Madam Hong said.

    Cang Yi''s heart fell. Madam Hong was absolutely right. Cang Yi looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Cang Yi nervously replied, "Understood, Madam Hong. Your subordinate will go to Flying Horse Manor."

    After the call ended, Cang Yi turned to Lu Yin in a respectful manner.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were dark. The colossal giants really had been taken by Madam Hong. This made things difficult, as it would be practically impossible to take them back from Flying Horse Manor. Madam Hong was an extremely powerful expert with a power level of more than 900,000. The forces at Lu Yin¡¯s disposal, even including Lui Ye and Fei Hua, would not be enough, as there was a qualitative difference in strength.

    In order to take the giants back, Lu Yin would have to negotiate. He believed that was what Madam Hong wanted, but her price would not be low. Lu Yin did not like to be the one with the lower position in negotiations. That meant that there was only one other option: forcefully taking the giants away. However, that would only work if Madam Hong was first moved elsewhere.

    Lu Yin called Wei Rong, and the two spoke for a while. Wei Rong was the most talented at this sort of thing.

    The following day, Lu Yin led Cang Yi, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua to the west towards the Outerverse.

    Chaos Flowzoney to the west of the Innerverse, and it was very close to the western region of the Outerverse if one crossed the Astral River with the massive Ark.

    Right after Lu Yin moved out, just when he was about to make a call, his gadget beeped with an iing call request. It was En Ya.

    "Alliance Leader, the Neo-Vestige Sect is in trouble."

    "What''s the problem?"

    "A giant is blocking the Neo-Vestige Sect and has dered that no one is allowed entrance. The giant is from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Sect, and his name is Man Li."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed.

    En Ya shared an image. Outer space, outside of the Neo-Vestige Sect, there was a nearly ten meter tall giant standing with a longbow hanging on his back and an arrogant expression on his face.

    Lu Yin was startled when he saw the giant, as he actually recognized him.

    When Lu Yin hadst visited the Daosource Sect ruins to visit the Nine Cauldrons Region, he had fought against this giant. The giant was very powerful. Not to mention the current Neo-Vestige Sect, but even if the Arrow Mountain Elder was still alive, he would not have been this giant¡¯s opponent.

    "The giant has his own rules, and he has not directly attacked the Neo-Vestige Sect. However, we¡¯re guessing that he won¡¯t wait for long." En Ya''s tone was not good; the Great Eastern Alliance was being bullied, as the Neo-Vestige Sect was a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. If the alliance could not handle this matter properly, there would be severe repercussions.

    This was the worst time for something like this to happen, as it could invalidate countless ns and efforts that had already been made.

    "Understood," Lu Yin said. He ended the call and thought for a bit before essing his gadget again. He wanted to call Qing Tan.

    It did not take long for Qing Tan to answer the call. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m so d that you called me."

    "Miss Qing Tan, there¡¯s something I wish to ask for your help on," Lu Yin said.

    In the Neoverse, atop Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan listened to Lu Yin, and his words caused her eyes to light up. "Alliance Leader Lu, please tell me. If I am able to help, Qing Tan will never refuse you."

    Lu Yin said, "I would like to ask Miss Qing Tan to have old man San Shang propose to the overseers¡¯ council to have the Hall of Honor stop the war in zing Mist Flowzone and allocate the ze Realm to my Great Eastern Alliance."

    Qing Tan grew curious. "If I remember correctly, I believe that the Great Eastern Alliance voluntarily withdrew from the ze Realm."

    Lu Yin bitterlyined, "I won¡¯t hide anything from Miss Qing Tan. Our intention behind leaving the ze Realm was to allow the sylvan dragons to go to war with the Ross Empire. Our intention was to reap the benefits as the fishermen, but starting with the war in zing Mist Flowzone, we learned that there are few major powers in the Innerverse that do not have any sort of connection with each other. My Great Eastern Alliance no longer has control of the situation now that the Sword Sect, the Wen family, the Beast Tamers Flowzone, and the other great flowzones are getting involved, and all of these forces are native to the Innerverse.

    "If my Great Eastern Alliance forces itself into the issue, we will incite public outrage. Not only will we fail to gain zing Mist Flowzone, but we will not even be guaranteed to retain Fennel Flowzone."

    Qing Tan''s lips curled up into a smile. Lu Yin had spoken with sincerity, as he was not dealing with a fool. Many people had already guessed that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s motive when pulling out of zing Mist Flowzone had been to incite war rather than to stop it. However, two years ago, the Great Eastern Alliance had been too naive, and the sylvan dragons and the Ross Empire had been too impatient. Thus, the war had started despite the alliance¡¯s mistakes.

 Chapter 1636: Deal

    Chapter 1636: Deal

    Just as Lu Yin had said, many Innerverse forces had already secretly joined the mess in zing Mist Flowzone, and it had be a chaotic storm.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m embarrassed to say that you must already be aware that the overseers are not allowed to interfere in disputes between the Human Domain¡¯s various powers,¡± Qing Tan replied. ¡°Might I ask, why does Alliance Leader Lu wish to acquire zing Mist Flowzone?"

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "I no longer want to hide this from Miss Qing Tan. The truth is that I¡¯vee to an agreement with people from the Sixth Maind for the Great Eastern Alliance to retain five weaves that the Sixth Maind will never interfere with. These are the weaves that are closest to zing Mist Flowzone, and the alliance already has control of the Astral River Ark, which will not change.¡±

    Qing Tan''s eyes narrowed. "Alliance Leader Lu managed to reach an agreement with the Sixth Maind? There are very few from the Sixth Maind who would dare to agree to such a thing."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course."

    "Might I ask, who promised you this, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated, and Qing Tan quickly back stepped. "If it¡¯s inconvenient for Alliance Leader Lu to say more, Qing Tan will not insist on an answer."

    Lu Yin replied, "Miss Qing Tan, it''s not that I don¡¯t wish to share this, but¡­¡± He hesitated again. ¡°If I tell you, can Miss Qing Tan keep this matter a secret?"

    "Definitely," Qing Tan firmly promised.

    "The Autumnfrost family, Flying Horse Manor, and the Arrow Sect."

    Qing Tan took a deep breath. "Alliance Leader Lu, how did you aplish this? Qing Tan is only curious, so if it is difficult for Alliance Leader Lu to say more, Qing Tan won''t push."

    Lu Yin proudly replied, "It''s quite simple. The Autumnfrost family relies on bloodlines for their power, and I happened toe across Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood in his tomb. One of his nine clones was a giant, and that bloodline can help Ancestor Autumnfrost advance his own bloodline, as the blood of a Progenitor is invincible. When the Autumnfrost family visited Frostwave Weave, while it might seem like they came to take Autumnfrost Qing and the others back on the surface, they actually visited to take away Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. It was all an act.

    "As for Flying Horse Manor¡¯s Madam Hong, that was even easier. She was given Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. It¡¯s an item from a Progenitor, and Madam Hong has been a World Imprinter for a long time, so she is very eager to be a Cosmic Imprinter. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide is naturally something that she was happy to acquire to try to improve her strength.

    "As for the Arrow Sect, they have wanted to seize control of the Neo-Vestige Sect in order to im the inheritance of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor. This is not a secret, but I intend to simply give them the inheritance that they are after. There is already someone from the Arrow Sect at the Neo-Vestige Sect, and while he looks to be blocking ess to the sect, they have alreadye to an agreement with me to peacefully obtain the inheritance from the Neo-Vestige Sect."

    "The Autumnfrost family, Flying Horse Manor, and the Arrow Sect together are enough to offer my Great Eastern Alliance five weaves."

    Qing Tan listened quietly. She knew of the conflict between the Autumnfrost family and the Great Eastern Alliance that had happened rather recently, and the rumors imed that when the people from the Autumnfrost family had arrived at Zenyu Star, a fight was brewing. The truth turned out to be very different, as it had actually been a cover for secret negotiations. Knowing this, she quickly reached out to a contact to have them look into the Arrow Sect¡¯s matters, and she almost immediately learned that the Arrow Sect¡¯s Man Li was blocking all traffic to and from the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    The Arrow Sect had already made preparations to fight against the Great Eastern Alliance, but that was the Arrow Sect¡¯s affairs, and no one else from the Sixth Maind had any intention or desire to interfere. The Outerverse had been given to the Sixth Maind, and the entire Sixth Maind had long since wanted to drive the Great Eastern Alliance out. Their only hesitation was due to a certain level of wariness, but it was clear that the Arrow Sect was more confident than others.

    Qing Tan sneered; were they acting as though they nned to start a war? Was it possible that the Arrow Sect¡¯s brutish giants had actually be enlightened to carry out such schemes? No, knowing the hidden strength of the Outerverse, that was most likely wrong. It was more likely that Lu Yin had proposed this scheme.

    Even the Arrow Sect had secretly reached an agreement with the Great Eastern Alliance. Qing Tan''s eyes zed.

    While the Sixth Maind did not forbid people frommunicating with those from the Fifth Maind, they were forbidden from getting involved with the Outerverse. The Outerverse was the Sixth Maind¡¯s, so dividing or giving away weaves was something that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect absolutely would not allow.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had already been destroyed by those monsters, but some powerful experts had survived, particrly their three Progenitors. As long as these powerhouses were still alive, their Daosource Sect would not vanish, and everyone had to obey the will of the Daosource Sect.

    "Miss Qing Tan, what about the overseers¡¯ council?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Tan smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, please rest assured. Qing Tan will work hard on this matter, though the final result will depend entirely on how well Alliance Leader Lu manages to persuade the other overseers. After all, the council decides upon matters through voting, and old man San Shang does not have the final word."

    "Of course, that¡¯s only natural." Lu Yin expressed his gratitude and hung up before calling the other overseers.

    Qing Tan waited a long time before calling Overseer Xin Jiao and asking him if Lu Yin had already spoken to the overseer. Qing Tan quickly learned that Lu Yin had indeed spoken with Xin Jiao and asked the overseer to propose to the council that all fighting in zing Mist Flowzone be stopped and that the Great Eastern Alliance be given authority over the ze Realm. After that, Qing Tan also called Overseer Si Hong, who had received the same request from Lu Yin.

    Only then did Qing Tan feel that she had confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s words. The woman was a cautious person, and although Lu Yin had no motive to lie to her, as doing so would be useless, she could never be too careful. After all, she could verify his words with an investigation through the Daosource Sect. Even if he had lied to her, it would not harm her or her position. Ancestor Autumnfrost, Madam Hong, and the Arrow Sect, not to mention Lu Yin, could not possibly know that Qing Tan was actually someone from the Sixth Maind, so there was no motive for them to lie to her. Still, she worked hard to confirm what Lu Yin had said.

    Only once she felt that she had confirmed everything did she submit a secret report to Bluedome Elder in the Outerverse.

    Bluedome Elder and the Arrow God of Wilderness were both powerful Empyrean Imprinters, but Bluedome Elder was one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Four Empyreans, while Arrow God of Wilderness was not. Their statuses were not the same, and Bluedome Elder held a much higher status than the Arrow God of Wilderness.

    When going through the report that Qing Tan had submitted, Bluedome Elder did not believe the information; how could the Outerverse¡¯s weaves be given away to the Great Eastern Alliance so easily? Even if the three organizations had agreed to the matter, no one else would. Bluedome Elder alone could drive the Great Eastern Alliance away with a single word.

    However, he still needed to look into this matter. In particr, he stared at some specific words in the report: Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Lu Yin actually possessed something from a Progenitor! Anything from a Progenitor could not be underestimated. Madam Hong certainly did not have the qualifications to possess anything that once belonged to a Progenitor.

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, Flying Horse Manor was currently settled in Suna Weave in the western regions of the Outerverse. The Moke Sword Sect had been the original masters of this weave, but after the Sixth Maind arrived, the sect had moved to the east, leaving Suna Weave for Flying Horse Manor.

    The colossal giants had all been tossed onto a close to where Flying Horse Manor had settled. It was a barren, and the indigenous creatures had no intelligence, only a primal instinct for hunting and killing.

    There was a bang as Chen Jian smashed a kilometer long giant python to death with a single punch. The massive snake was then butchered section by section and roasted. To the giant, the kilometer long python was just a small snake.

    Ku Wei sat on Chen Jian''s shoulder, an expression of despair on his face as he stared upwards; where in the universe were they?

    "Master, help!" Ku Wei wailed.

    Above the, Madam Hong was watching with great interest. These colossal giants were natural born warriors that possessed unlimited potential. Once they were properly trained, Flying Horse Manor¡¯s strength would experience a transformation. After all, in the ancient war against the Fifth Maind, these giants had been very powerful. As she watched and contemted, Madam Hong¡¯s eyes fell onto Ku Wei; how did this person be mixed up with these giants?

    Just as she was about to drag Ku Wei away, Madam Hong suddenly received orders to travel to Southside Weave to meet with Bluedome Elder.

    She found these orders odd. Bluedome Elder? She was someone from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory while Bluedome Elder was from the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory. What did one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s four Empyrean Imprinters want with her? There was no reason for them to ever meet.

    Despite the oddness of the orders, she did not dare to refuse amand from Bluedome Elder.

    She nced back down at the colossal giants and decided that she would tame them after her meeting with Bluedome Elder that they were returning to training. Lu Yin would soon learn that she had taken the giants, but regardless of the price he offered to pay, she absolutely could not return all of the giants to him.

    One day after confirming that Madam Hong had left Flying Horse Manor, Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua headed towards Flying Horse Manor.

    As they traveled, Cang Yi had a clear path before him, as Madam Hong had already prepared everything for him. She was merely waiting for him to arrive at Flying Horse Manor so that he could safely contact Lu Yin.

    They stared at the towering mountain with streams before them. Flying Horse Manor had taken over the Moke Sword Sect¡¯s former headquarters.

    Flying Horse Manor''s special production had been horsebeasts, but that had been back in the Sixth Maind.

    When Aeternus had invaded them, the Sixth Maind had copsed, and Flying Horse Manor¡¯s former territory had been devastated.

    When Madam Hong had firstid eyes on the giants, she had been delighted to see such powerful beings, and a big reason behind her enthusiasm was because she wanted the giant to rece their former specialty.

    "You¡¯re Cang Yi." At the entrance to Flying Horse Manor, an extremely ugly woman stood quietly in front of Lu Yin and the others, and she stared straight at Cang Yi with gloomy eyes.

    Cang Yi¡¯s hair rose on end at the sight of this woman, but he still quickly stepped forward and bowed. "Yes, this one is Cang Yi, arriving as ordered."

    "Madam had to leave temporarily, but do as Madam ordered." The ugly woman then looked over at Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua. Because of their cloakstones, she was unable to determine their strength at all.

    However, Lu Yin was clearly able to see the old woman¡¯s strength, and she was an Imprinter with a power level of more than 500,000, though it did not reach 600,000.

    Aside from Madam Hong, this old woman was the only other Imprinter that belonged to Flying Horse Manor. Before the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse and Cosmic Sea, Flying Horse Manor had had another Imprinter, but that expert had died to the headmaster of Astral-3.

    "Who are they?" the ugly woman asked as she stared at the other three people.

    Cang Yi respectfully answered, "They are this one¡¯s followers from Chaosgod Mountain."

    The ugly woman did not say anything more, as she did not care about Lu Yin and the other two at all. As far as she could see, none of them were even Hunters.

    "Get in." The woman then led them all inside.

    Cang Yi nced over at Lu Yin, who nodded. He did not know where the giants were being kept, so he wanted to defeat this ugly woman after entering Flying Horse Manor and then force her to reveal where the colossal giants were being held.

    Madam Hong would not be gone for very long, so Lu Yin did not want to drag things out. However, he also did not want to create too much chaos. Flying Horse Manor was not close to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    After they all entered Flying Horse Manor, the hideous-looking woman casually said, "You can call Lu Yin now and tell him that if he doesn¡¯te, the giants will all die. Also, mention that we already know that he¡¯s the one secretly controlling Chaosgod Mountain. If hees, his safety will be ensured.¡± At the end of her words, the woman¡¯s tone grew incredibly serious.

    ording to the original n, the woman would be subdued the moment Lu Yin and the others entered Flying Horse Manor, and they would extract the location of the giants from her. However, Lu Yin quickly stopped the two Envoys as soon as he heard the woman¡¯s words and nced over at Cang Yi.

 Chapter 1637: Seeing The Sea King Again

    Chapter 1637: Seeing The Sea King Again

    Cang Yi carefully asked, "What if Lu Yin still refuses toe?"

    The ugly woman sneered, "I heard that he has a good rtionship with the Fifth Maind¡¯s Sea King¡¯s Dome and that he even nearly became the Sea King¡¯s son-inw. Tell him that the Sea King is here and that if he doesn¡¯te rescue the man, we¡¯ll expose the entire affair. The Innerverse will be wary of him, and the Sea King¡¯s Dome will also be offended. No one will ever be willing to rely on him ever again in that case."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew frosty; Flying Horse Manor clearly knew a great deal about him, and it was information that could not have been gleaned in a short amount of time either. Just what exactly was Madam Hong hoping to aplish?

    "What are the conditions offered to him?" Cang Yi repeated.

    The ugly woman suddenlyshed out and seized Cang Yi''s neck with a hand. The blue veins on the back of her hand transformed into ferocious little snakes that hissed as they stared at Cang Yi. Fear sprouted in his eyes, and Lu Yin felt revolted as he unconsciously took a step back. It was impossible to know just how many of these miniscule snakes were hidden on this woman¡¯s body.

    "Is that a question you should be asking? Call Lu Yin and tell him toe to Flying Horse Manor. This is a very important matter," the ugly woman said coldly.

    Cang Yi quickly nodded as he stared at the tiny snakes moving closer and closer to him. He was afraid of these hideous and disgusting creatures.

    Lu Yin nced over at Liu Ye, and Liu Ye waved a hand. At the same time, star energy filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and Truesight weakened the old woman.

    Her heart suddenly skipped a beat as a sense of danger welled up within her heart, but there was no time for her to react before she was trapped within a storm of willow leaves and immobilized.

    After being trapped, the ugly woman was struck by a Vacuum Palm. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and some small snakes fell out with the blood, which just made her even more disgusting.

    Sister Fei Hua frowned, and stellr energy swept out to eliminate the ugly woman''s blood.

    The woman stared up at Lu Yin in disbelief, but she was unable to make any sound.

    Lu Yin stared back at the woman and reverted to his true appearance.

    The ugly woman''s pupils shrank and she turned to look at Cang Yi, her eyes full of murder and resentment.

    Her gaze startled Cang Yi and he quickly pulled back.

    Lu Yin said, "Let her speak."

    After he spoke, the ugly woman was again able to speak, and she let out a shriek, "Cang Yi, you dare betray Madam Hong and Flying Horse Manor? Madam Hong will not let you go! You will surely die!"

    Lu Yin snapped back, "Doesn¡¯t Madam Hong want to talk to me? What does she want to talk about?"

    The woman gritted her teeth and turned to stare at Lu Yin. Her expression was ferocious, and a small snake moved about in the air in front of her. The visual was enough to cause nightmares in most people.

    Lu Yin had rarely encountered such a disgusting cultivator. "Where are the giants?"

    The ugly woman snorted coldly. "No."

    Lu Yin frowned and flicked a finger. Wind shot forward where he pointed and pierced the woman¡¯s body, leaving heavy injuries and causing her blood to leak into the willow leaves that had her trapped. "Where is the Sea King?"

    "No!" the ugly woman growled. She then started threatening Lu Yin, "Lu Yin, this is Flying Horse Manor! As soon as Madam Hong returns, you will never be able to escape."

    Lu Yinughed. "Isn''t Madam Hong already trying to guarantee my safety? I am already here, and you can talk to me on her behalf. Let¡¯s see if I can ept the conditions she is offering."

    "Don''t even think about it!" the ugly woman roared. It was clear that Lu Yin had arrived for the giants. With Madam Hong absent, it was likely that the giants would be taken away. At a time like this, stating any conditions would only weaken their position in future negotiations.

    "This person is able to cultivate such a vicious battle technique. To be ruthless to others, one must be even more ruthless to themselves. Alliance Leader Lu, interrogating her will be useless. It would be better to investigate this matter for yourself," Liu Yemented.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked at the ugly woman. "You really have nothing at all to say?"

    The ugly woman suddenly opened her mouth as an imprint of Madam Hong appeared behind her. The woman spat out a giant python in an attempt to bypass Liu Ye and attack Lu Yin. However, the woman had underestimated Liu Ye, and he sliced the snake in half. The ugly woman was reduced to pus and blood at therge snake¡¯s death.

    They were struck by a putrid stench, and Sister Fei Hua could not help herself from cleaning up the area whilementing in disgust, "How can such a person exist?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and looked outside the room they were in. Someone wasing.

    Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Lu Yin grabbed Cang Yi and fled into the true universe.

    Soon after, two people entered the room; a man and a woman. The woman was Hong Ying, Madam Hong''s disciple. Lu Yin had fought this woman a couple times, and the most recent had been in ZENITH when she had been badly wounded by the wind from Lu Yin flicking a finger.

    Within the true universe, Lu Yin was startled to see the identity of the other person; was that Xun Jiong?

    Xun Jiong was a member of the Innerverse¡¯s Xun family. When the Xun family had tried to poison Lu Yin after ZENITH, the entire family had been wiped out, with Xun Jiong being the lone survivor. At the time, he had been determined to find traces of his father in the Higher Realm where the Sixth Maind had briefly stayed in the Innerverse. Xun Jiong had wanted to find his father¡¯s illegitimate child, but Lu Yin had not expected to see him in this ce after several years.

    "Strange, where are they?" Hong Ying wondered as she nced around. They were in Flying Horse Manor¡¯s main hall, which was where guests were weed.

    Xun Jiong stood behind Hong Ying. His face was lowered, and there was a begging expression on his face. "Maybe they went somewhere else."

    Hong Ying frowned. "That shouldn¡¯t be the case. No one leaves so quickly after arriving, as it¡¯s been a very short amount of time."

    "Are you looking for me?" Lu Yin spoke up and revealed himself, startling Hong Ying. She turned and saw a familiar face, as it belonged to someone she would never forget for her entire life. "Lu Yin?"

    As she shouted in exmation, she reflexively pulled out a spear with a red tassel on it. She instantly stabbed the weapon at Lu Yin as an imprint appeared behind her.

    The tip of the spear stopped a meter in front of Lu Yin. With the suppression of his domain, Hong Ying was unable to move at all. She stared at Lu Yin in horror. "Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "I''ve already spared your life several times. Things are over now."

    Hong Ying''s face grew pale, and she pulled something out of her cosmic ring, but the next moment, Lu Yin¡¯s domain contracted sharply, causing Hong Ying to spit out a mouthful of blood. Her muscles had been torn, and her mind had been jolted. She lost all strength, and the spear fell from her hand. The weapon struck the floor with a ringing sound. Hong Ying was alreadypletely dead.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Innerverse, Flying Horse Manor had built up too great of a blood debt. They had destroyed Astral-3, and Hong Ying had ughtered many people. She had even used Astral-3¡¯s students to lure out other Innerverse cultivators who had been desperate to rescue the students.

    Finally, the debt had been collected.

    Staring at Hong Ying''s body on the floor, Xun Jiong shuddered. He looked up at Lu Yin in terror as he slowly dropped to his knees. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu, I- I-"

    Lu Yin calmly looked at Xu Jiong. "Have you found anyone from your Xun family? Your father''s bastard?"

    Xun Jiong swallowed and shook his head. "No, I didn''t find anything."

    "Then why are you here in Flying Horse Manor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xun Jiong started to panic. "The Xun family was in touch with the Technocracy for a long time, and Flying Horse Manor was behind them. When the Sixth Maind invaded the Innerverse, Madam Hong personally reached out to my Xun family, so I came here seeking asylum."

    Lu Yin already knew this, as just like Cang Yi, before the Sixth Maind had invaded, none of the traitors had known that Madam Hong had been behind their connections to the Technocracy. When the Sixth Maind had firstunched their invasion of the Fifth Maind, Madam Hong had personally contacted the various traitors. Wen Zhaocheng and everyone else on the list that Lu Yin had discovered had been the same, as none of them had known that Madam Hong had been behind the Technocracy they had been dealing with.

    Clearly, it was impossible for just Flying Horse Manor to have managed to gain control of half of the Technocracy¡¯s authority, but Madam Hong had another status: she was also one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s guardians, and she had far more powerful people backing her.

    Lu Yin thought of Bluedome Elder. Qing Tan had been sent to the Neoverse to control an overseer, and she was one of Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciples. However, that did not add up to Lu Yin, as Bluedome Elder was from the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory, while Madam Hong was from the Progenitor of Combat Territory.

    However, the connection could still hold up if one ignored the various territories and realms of the Sixth Maind and looked at the position both people had within the Daosource Sect.

    Lu Yin stared at Xun Jiong as the man knelt on the floor and trembled from fear. He was absolutely terrified that Lu Yin would destroy him.

    Lu Yin asked, "Where¡¯s the Sea King?"

    Xun Jiong shuddered. "He¡¯s here, on another."

    "Take me there," Lu Yinmanded.

    Xun Jiong did not dare refuse, though he nced at Hong Ying''s body once again.

    At the moment, there were no Envoys in Flying Horse Manor, which gave Lu Yin and the others the freedom toe and go as they wished.

    Even if there were some defensive measures in ce, they meant nothing to Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s strength.

    Xun Jiong led Lu Yin and the others to a close to Flying Horse Manor¡¯s headquarters. Lu Yin saw a majestic number of runes, and saw that they came from the colossal giants, which left him pleasantly surprised. He had not expected to discover that the giants and the Sea King had been incarcerated on the same.

    "Madam Hong likes to collect strong people to be her ves, and some people are imprisoned on this if they aren¡¯t obedient," Xun Jiong exined quietly.

    Lu Yin asked Liu Ye and Fei Hua to rescue the giants while he made his way to the center of the. There, he saw the imprisoned Sea King.

    Magma filled the entire area at the¡¯s core, and there was a thick rock formation overhead. Wind blew through the area to create a whistling sound, and there were also odd insects flying about.

    Lu Yin made his way to the center of the, and he saw chains that led off into the distant magma.

    He released his domain and used it to push back the sea of magma to two sides. He followed along the chains, and soon revealed a miserable figure.

    The magma was pushed back further, and at the end of the chains, Lu Yin saw an ugly bald man whose skin was burnt and had festering sores. He was lying on the sea of magma, and it was impossible to know if he was dead or alive.

    Lu Yin dropped to the ground and approached the man. He looked at the man calmly. "Are you still alive?"

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s eyes snapped open and he grabbed hold of Lu Yin. At the same time, Lu Yin raised a hand and met the man''s attack. There was a bang, and a shockwave swept out that distorted the void and created spatial cracks that tore through the magma sea. Overhead, the rock formation was struck, which caused the entire to tremble.

    "Despite not seeing each other for seven years, the Sea King has the same personality as ever," Lu Yinmented while squeezing the Sea King''s hand and not giving an inch.

    The Sea King was a powerhouse who wasparable to Highsage Leon. At the man¡¯s peak, Lu Yin would never have dared face him. However, the man had been weakened greatly, and Lu Yin could see from the Sea King¡¯s runes that his strength did not even amount to a power level of 500,000. The man was incapable of hurting Lu Yin.

    The Sea King stared at Lu Yin, and finally got a clear look at Lu Yin''s face. The older man¡¯s hand suddenly went loose and an incredulous expression covered his face. "You?"

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "Senior Sea King, it¡¯s been a long time."

    Over their heads, the rock started to shatter and pieces fell down. The¡¯s core started to copse.

    The Sea King stared at Lu Yin, but then suddenly remembered something, and his eyes grew dark. "You betrayed the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I lured Madam Hong elsewhere so that I could save you."

    The Sea King''s eyes flickered, and he stared at Lu Yin. Madam Hong was a terrifying figure, so how could this mere child possibly do anything to distract her?

    Lu Yin casually cut the chains binding the Sea King, causing the older man¡¯s eyes to twitch. These chains had imprisoned him, which meant that they could withstand an Envoy¡¯s attacks, and yet this kid had just sliced through them?

    "What¡¯s with your strength?" The Sea King was quite startled by what he had seen.

 Chapter 1638: Contradiction

    Chapter 1638: Contradiction

    Lu Yin helped the Sea King to his feet. "Let''s get out of here, unless you want to say something. Madam Hong will return soon."

    Lu Yin then stepped into the true universe, taking the Sea King with him as they immediately left the.

    Sea King was incredulous; not that how much time had passed, so how was this child already able to enter the true universe? How was this possible?

    In outer space, above the, Liu Ye and Fei Hua had already retrieved all of the giants. "We can go."

    Any activity on this particr would be reported to Flying Horse Manor almost instantly.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what should I do?" Xun Jiong quickly asked.

    At the same time, Cang Yi also spoke up. "Alliance Leader Lu, please take me with you!"

    Lu Yin nced at Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Liu Ye grabbed Xun Jiong and Cang Yi, tore the true universe open, and sent the two back to Flying Horse Manor. Upon leaving the true universe, Cang Yi was only a corpse while Xun Jiong had received Lu Yin''smunication information.

    The giants had been rescued, but Madam Hong could never be allowed to learn of the truth of the matter. After all, the woman was a powerful expert with a power level of more than 900,000. Lu Yin had no desire to have such a powerhouse targeting him.

    Cang Yi had to die, and anyone else who knew about the matter had to be dealt with as well, though Xun Jiong could not die quite just yet. What¡¯s more, with Hong Ying dead, no one would have any idea that Xun Jiong had been involved in the incident. Lu Yin wanted to keep the young man alive as his personal eye in Flying Horse Manor.

    ncing back at the, star energy gathered in Lu Yin''s hand and then took the form of a sword. It looked like a very ordinary sword formed from star energy.

    The Sea King, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, Ku Wei, and all the giants stared at Lu Yin in confusion, not knowing what he intended to do.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide as he lifted the sword and swung it down. They didn¡¯t see anything happen, but a sword sh appeared on the distant that they had just left.

    The Sea King''s expressionpletely changed, and he blurted out, "The Thirteen Swords?"

    Ku Wei was startled. Thir- Thirteen Swords? How? Isn''t that technique exclusive to the Sword Sect? I thought that only Liu Tianmu and Liu Shaoqiu had mastered that technique in our generation. How did Master learn that?

    "Let''s go," Lu Yin said. With that, Liu Ye and Fei Hua led the way towards the Innerverse, though they took a detour towards the Great Yu Empire.

    The Sea King was still in a daze after seeing Lu Yin use the Thirteen Swords, though he was even more taken aback at Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Even though the Sea King had been seriously injured, his senses and perception were still fully intact, and he could tell that neither of these two was much weaker than him. And yet, they were clearly following Lu Yin''s orders. Just what had happened? This kid had even learned the Thirteen Swords!

    "Master, Master! Little Wei thought that he would never be able to see you again, Master!" Ku Wei quickly started to wail, and he went rather overboard this time, as he had truly believed that his life had been over.

    Lu Yin was curious about Chen Huang¡¯s situation, as the tribe¡¯s leader had actually be an Envoy while his strength hadpletely transformed. This meant that the Great Eastern Alliance had gained another Envoy.

    "Hey, you little rascal, what about Qiqi and the others?" the Sea King soon asked. He looked rather embarrassed, but there was no way that he could change his domineering personality.

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, Senior, all of them are doing very well. The people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome are all in the Outerverse."

    The Sea King frowned. "The Outerverse was given to the Sixth Maind."

    "It looks like Senior is up to date with current affairs."

    The Sea King solemnly replied, "Madam Hong came to visit me every once in a while, trying to force me to submit to her. When she did, she usually shared a bit of information with me."

    "Did she say anything about this junior?" Lu Yin felt curious.

    The Sea King shook his head. "She just told me that the Hall of Honor agreed to give the Outerverse over to the Sixth Maind, and there was also something about their three Progenitors arriving."

    Lu Yin sneered. "She was trying to deceive you. The Sixth Maind has already beenpletely destroyed, and too many of their powerhouses were killed. Of their three Progenitors, only the Progenitor of Combat came to the Fifth Maind, but only for a moment. He wasn¡¯t able to enter the Fifth Maind and demonstrate his power. And¡­"

    The Sea King had already learned of a few details, but he was ignorant of almost everything that Lu Yin shared. It was impossible for Madam Hong to mention anything that would show the Sixth Maind in a bad light to the Sea King, so after hearing everything from Lu Yin, the Sea King was left in a bit of a daze from the conflicting information.

    "So you¡¯re saying that the Sixth Maind is gone?" the Sea King could not believe this. "And the Starfall Sea as well? It was all part of Progenitor Hui''s master n?"

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were also shocked, as this was their first time hearing the full story.

    Lu Yin sighed emotionally. "Progenitor Hui''s n took eons to be carried out, and it managed to trick everyone, even those monsters. When the Sixth Maind attacked the Fifth Maind and destroyed the Fifth Maind''s Daosource Sect, Progenitor Hui plotted all of this as revenge."

    "Hmph! The Sixth Maind were not the ones who destroyed the Daosource Sect back then," the Sea King suddenly shouted in clear anger. "Those idiots from the Sixth Maind were tricked, but they were just pawns. If not for them, with my Fifth Maind¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, how could we have been so easily defeated? Not to mention having our sky changed!¡±

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Does Senior know the details about what happened back then?"

    The Sea King let out a long breath. "I know a small bit. It¡¯s said that a traitor from a certain family in my Fifth Maind deliberately incited war with the Sixth Maind and that the Sixth Maind was simrly deceived, causing them to be those monsters¡¯ unwitting de. This eventually led my Fifth Maind to suffer terribly, have our sky changed, and have no Progenitor rise here ever since.¡±

    "What about the ce beyond the Upper Three Doors?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The Sea King was startled. "You know about that?"

    He stared intently at Lu Yin. "The ce beyond the Upper Three Gates also belongs to a bunch of traitors, but those people did not attack my Fifth Maind. Instead, they abandoned the Fifth Maind. The people there are those who have spurned my Fifth Maind, and the primeval surnames alsoe from there."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had already known that bearers of primeval surnames were considered public enemies within the Fifth Maind, but they had a different status from the Neohuman Alliance. There were some people who hated those with primeval surnames and wanted to kill them, but there were also others who did not care and considered everything to be fine so long as the names were legal and registered.

    The bearers of primeval surnames were not really public enemies, but more like universally despised people.

    Because the ancestors of the people with primeval surnames had abandoned the Fifth Maind, the Fifth Maind had undergone great changes and lost all of its Progenitors. However, was that really the truth of the matter?

    The Fifth Maind had not had any Progenitors emerge in many years, and it was impossible for them to stop Aeternus. The only reason why Aeternus had not destroyed the Fifth Maind yet was because it was protected by the Stellr Tempest which blocked their path. The other reason was the existence of the Perennial World, which also blocked Aeternus. The Fifth Maind had not suffered any invasion from Aeternus away from the Upper Three Gates.

    This was what had allowed the Fifth Maind to exist as a sheltered greenhouse for so many years.

    As for the actual truth of the matter, only those who had witnessed history would ever know it. The primeval surnames had abandoned the Fifth Maind, but they were also protecting the Fifth Maind. However, the Perennial World considered the Fifth Maind to be an abandoned wastnd, and they looked down on it. They protected the ce, but they also looked down on it. This was a very contradictory situation and viewpoint.

    "Senior used something from a Progenitor and pyrolyte to force open the Upper Three Gates. You wanted to use the ce past the gates to change the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky back to its original sky. Did you think that doing so would trigger a war with the Sixth Maind? Does Senior believe that it was worth it?" Lu Yin asked a question that many people wanted to know the answer to.

    The Sea King''s expression grewplicated. "Was it worth it? That¡¯s a matter for future generations to determine. Many people hate me because I started the war which killed their loved ones. I don¡¯t care how people may curse me¡ªI just hope that, for now, the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky is no longer hidden by the Sixth Maind¡¯s."

    Lu Yin smiled. He also did not care about what others might think about the Sea King. After all, Lu Yin was currently taking simr actions to the Sea King¡¯s, as Lu Yin was working to trigger a war among humanity that would benefit Aeternus. Still, why should Lu Yin willingly sacrifice himself for the so-called greater good? He was not such a selfless person. The Lu family had to return, and he also had to dominate the universe. The more the four ruling powers wanted to stop the Lu family from returning, the more Lu Yin wanted his family back.

    Basically, Lu Yin felt that he was the same kind of person as the Sea King, and it was a wonderful thing to fight for what one wanted in life.

    Neither Liu Ye nor Fei Hua had any thoughts about the conflict between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but they were truly amazed by Progenitor Hui¡¯s n. He had plotted a scheme spanning eons, and he had even used the passage of time to deceive everyone. In the end, his n had actually seeded, which was truly unimaginable to the two of them. This was the power of a Progenitor.

    Shortly after Lu Yin and the others left, Hong Ying''s body was discovered, followed by the destruction of the that had been the Sea King and the colossal giants¡¯ prison. These discoveries sent the entire Flying Horse Manor spiraling into chaos.

    Xun Jiong watched the figure dash about through the sky and at the chaos that filled Flying Horse Manor. Madam,e back soon!

    He wondered just how Lu Yin had managed to time his visit right when Madam Hong had been absent; was it just a coincidence?

    He looked down at his gadget, thinking that he should call Lu Yin before Madam Hong returned. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for Xun Jiong to contact Lu Yin once the powerful woman returned.

    A group of people traveled through outer space, making their way towards Chaos Flowzone. They had already used the Ark to cross the Astral River.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had been traveling at top speed due to their fear of being caught by Madam Hong. Even they were fearful of an expert with a power level of over 900,000. Such a person was a top powerhouse even in the Perennial World.

    When his gadget beeped with the alert of a call request, Lu Yin answered it.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this is Xun Jiong."

    Lu Yin replied, "Flying Horse Manor must already be a mess."

    "Yes. Madam Hong will return soon."

    "She won¡¯t be there that soon," Lu Yinmented.

    Xun Jiong was startled; what did that mean? Could Madam Hong¡¯s absence have had something to do with Lu Yin? This thought sent chills running down Xun Jiong¡¯s back, as this indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s influence was beyond powerful. Was he actually able to affect even the Sixth Maind? How?

    No matter how hard Xun Jiong tried to refute this suspicion, when he thought of what Lu Yin had just aplished, every action that Lu Yin had made truly seemed like it had been dependent on being sure that Madam Hong would not immediately return, as no one would willingly risk their life so casually.

    "You were also quite lucky to be able to enter Flying Horse Manor, but don''t forget who gave you this opportunity," Lu Yin stated.

    Xun Jiong''s heart fell. "Alliance Leader Lu was the one who allowed me to die so that I would have a chance to survive."

    "It''s good to hear that you know. You did well just now, taking me to see the giants and the Sea King and getting me into Flying Horse Manor."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Cang Yi was the one who led you into the manor."

    "That was you. Cang Yi¡¯s dead."

    Xun Jiong''s face turned pale, and he helplessly replied, "I see. Might I ask what Alliance Leader Lu would order this one to do?"

    "Tell me everything you know about Flying Horse Manor and the Sixth Maind. It would also be best if you can find out what Madam Hong wants to discuss with me. She seems to want to negotiate something with me," Lu Yin said.

    Xun Jiong bitterly exined, "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s impossible for me to speak with Madam Hong. While in Flying Horse Manor, I have only been following Hong Ying. I have never once had any contact with Madam Hong at all."

    Lu Yin believed that Xun Jiong was just a minor character, and Madam Hong would view such a person as an ant. If not for the fact that the Xun family had been traitors and that Xun Jiong¡¯s name had been on the list, there was no way Xun Jiong would have ever been allowed within Flying Horse Manor. He did not qualify to pass through the gates of that ce.

    "Stay focused on Flying Horse Manor. I need useful information. As long as you¡¯re able to provide it, I¡¯ll help you change your identity and give you a ce to live in the Innerverse. If you can''t, then you¡¯ll meet Cang Yi''s fate," Lu Yin threatened.

    Xun Jiong''s heart trembled. "I understand."

 Chapter 1639: Frankness

    Chapter 1639: Frankness

    Lu Yin ended the call. He actually had no expectations for Xun Jiong and did not expect to gain any useful information at all, but it was still better to leave a hidden spy within Flying Horse Manor than to have nothing at all.

    Elder Hu was the hidden tool that Wei Rong had hidden within Chaosgod Mountain. While these tools often seemed inconspicuous, there were also times where they yed extremely important roles.

    Flying Horse Manor was currently a mess, and no one could reach Madam Hong.

    At this moment, Madam Hong was being questioned by Bluedome Elder. The woman¡¯s face waspletely nk, as she had no idea what Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide even was.

    Elsewhere, the overseers¡¯ council concluded a meeting, and they refused to stop the war in zing Mist Flowzone.

    Non-interference with internal powers was a basic t of the Hall of Honor. Qing Tan had controlled old man San Shang to have him agree to the proposal, but it had failed to be passed due to the small number of votes in support.

    San Liang had actually voted against the proposal, as Lu Yin did not actually have any intention of ending the war in zing Mist Flowzone war. Once that war ended, Wang Wen would have toe up with other ns to distract the Innerverse.

    Once the overseers¡¯ meeting concluded, Qing Tan received a call from Bluedome Elder. He was unable to discover any issue with Madam Hong or her answers, and it was also impossible for him to thoroughly interrogate her given her status. Thus, Bluedome Elder could only slowly investigate this matter.

    However, if people really were agreeing to allow the Great Eastern Alliance to retain five weaves, it meant that there was already a problem within the Sixth Maind.

    Qing Tan was very confident that Lu Yin would not lie to her, mostly because he had no reason to do so and he would gain nothing from doing so. Bluedome Elder naturally believed her report along with the im that the Autumnfrost family and the others had reached an agreement with Lu Yin. However, actual confirmation required hard evidence.

    The proof would be whether or not the Great Eastern Alliance managed to retain five weaves. Once that happened, Bluedome Elder would immediately have cause to take action. What he wanted the most was Progenitor Wusheng¡¯s hide.

    On Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan felt quite exhausted. Old Man San Shang stared off into the distance with dull eyes. His face betrayed the many years he had lived, and his eyes were nk.

    Qing Tan nced over at the old man, and then no longer cared about him.

    Soon after, she received a visitor: San Liang. He was the new overseer who had reced Cong Ying.

    Qing Tan was quite wary of San Liang. Even though he did not have any background or support, he had still been approved by Overseer Si Hong. It was very strange for such a person to have slowly climbed up to his current position one step at a time.

    San Liang had stopped by to visit Old Man San Shang. In the outside world, there was almost no one who knew that the overseer was being controlled by Qing Tan.

    Qing Tan stood behind San Shang as the two greeted San Liang.

    "Overseer San Liang, do you have any business with this old man?" old man San Shang asked politely.

    San Liang smiled. "I¡¯ve wanted to visit Senior for a long time but have never had the opportunity. During our recent meeting, this junior felt that Senior seemed to be in poor health, so I stopped over to check on you."

    The old man San Shang smiled back. "You¡¯re too kind. I¡¯m old, so many a times the heart is willing but the body is not."

    San Liang then asked, "Senior has been made an overseer three times and thus should be very clear on the Hall of Honor¡¯s position of non-interference in the disputes of the other various powers. Could I ask, why did you suddenly propose for us to interfere in zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s war?"

    The old man nced over at Qing Tan. Her eyes shed. "Overseer San Liang, this matter is ratherplicated, and my father-inw is not in good health. Might I take my father away to rest?"

    San Liang apologized, "This junior was abrupt, so Senior, please rest."

    "Qing Tan, help me see Overseer San Liang out," the old man said.

    Qing Tan agreed and smiled at San Liang. "Overseer, please."

    San Liang nodded and followed Qing Tan as she led him out. Once the two were out of sight of San Shang, San Liang suddenly stopped and turned to look at Qing Tan. "By the way, I have a question, though I don¡¯t know if Miss Qing Tan will know the answer."

    Qing Tan felt curious. "What can this little girl know? If the overseer has any questions, he can bring them to my father in a few days."

    "Senior doesn''t know about this issue, but Miss Qing Tan definitely does. After all, you know Bluedome Elder, don¡¯t you?" San Liang asked as he suddenlyshed out and grabbed Qing Tan by the neck as horror filled her eyes.

    San Liang had first worked as one of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ guards, which meant that his power level exceeded 400,000. Even though Qing Tan was Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciple, she was still a bit weaker than one of the Realmlings, let alone someone like San Liang. When he moved against her without warning, she did not even have a chance to react.

    San Liang held Qing Tan''s neck in a vice-like grip as he grinned at her. "The alliance leader sends his greetings to Miss Qing Tan."

    Qing Tan''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. Too many people had that title, but only one of them qualified for an overseer like San Liang to use it.

    Lu Yin knew that she was from the Sixth Maind! Not only that, but he also knew that she was Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciple; he knew everything!

    Qing Tan instantly understood that everything that Lu Yin had told her during theirst call had been a lie. He had simply wanted to send Bluedome Elder a message and had decided to use her as the messenger. However, to what end?

    Had it all been to verify her identity? Qing Tan instantly regretted her actions. Lu Yin had to have a mole within the Sixth Maind feeding him information. He had definitely known that Madam Hong had been summoned for questioning, and he had used that to confirm Qing Tan¡¯s identity. This had to be the situation.

    "Whe- when?" Qing Tan''s face grew red as she struggled to speak. San Liang had a very tight grip on her, which made it difficult for her to breathe.

    San Liang opened his gadget and called Lu Yin. It was not long before they heard Lu Yin''s voice. "Done?"

    "Alliance Leader, Miss Qing Tan is with me." San Liang was very respectful towards Lu Yin as he handed his gadget over to Qing Tan and set her down.

    Qing Tan gasped for air as she stared at the gadget.

    "Miss Qing Tan, why don¡¯t you properly introduce yourself?" Lu Yin casually asked. He sounded both overbearing and absolutely confident.

    Qing Tan rubbed her neck. "I don''t know what Alliance Leader Lu is talking about."

    "Since Miss Qing Tan is able to keep Old Man San Shang under control and almost wiped out his family, I fully believe that you are able to keep yourself safe on Mt. Microcosms. However, can Miss Qing Tan leave? Are you able to escape with your life when the Interster Supreme Court chases you to the Outerverse?" Lu Yin continued.

    Qing Tan sneered. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are too brazen! San Liang clearly is someone who answers to you, which means that you already have a voice representing you among the overseers. And now, you¡¯re trying to manipte things into making my father be your puppet! Stop dreaming! Even if I die, I will still not allow my father to be your puppet!"

    "It looks like Miss Qing Tan is convinced that I don¡¯t have any proof." Lu Yin fiddled with something on his own gadget, and San Liang raised his own as a video appeared; it showed San Shang¡¯s grandson.

    Qing Tan paled the moment she saw the little boy.

    "Even if you aren¡¯t from the Sixth Maind, secret controlling an overseer is already a crime deserving of capital punishment. Besides, I also have proof that Miss Qing Tan is Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciple. Tell me, Miss Qing Tan, do you think the Interster Supreme Court will give you the death sentence?" Lu Yin said.

    Qing Tan''s expression instantly changed. She had never expected Lu Yin to find that little boy. In fact, she had been looking for him herself but had never found any trace of him.

    "What is it that Alliance Leader Lu wants?" Qing Tan asked quietly.

    Lu Yin spoke slowly, "First of all, I want to know if Miss Qing Tan fears death. San Liang, get in touch with the Interster Supreme Court and request for a trial."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader Lu." San Liang instantly agreed, and he immediately ced a call to the Interster Supreme Court as Qing Tan watched.

    Her expression changed even more as she stared at San Liang''s actions. She watched carefully, and he was indeed calling the Interster Supreme Court, not merely putting on an act. Qing Tan knew that it was real, not a fake, because she saw that San Liang was calling Da Qiu. He was an Envoy who belonged to the Interster Supreme Court, and he was ted to be the fourth Judicial Commissioner.

    "Old Man San Shang-"

    San Liang had only just started speaking when Qing Tan interrupted him by shouting, "What do you want?"

    San Liang stopped and calmly looked over at Qing Tan.

    A voice came from the other end of the call, asking, "Overseer San Liang, what were you trying to say?"

    Qing Tan stared at San Liang, powerful fear welling up from the depths of her eyes.

    San Liang saw her fear and also clearly sensed it in her words and microexpressions. "It''s nothing. I was just chatting with Old Man San Shang and Alliance Leader Lu, and the alliance leader mentioned Your Excellency to us. Old Man San Shang became quite curious about you, so I decided to call you."

    Da Qiu politely replied, "So it turns out that Overseer San Liang and Alliance Leader Lu knew each other. The alliance leader is the entire reason why I was able to be an Envoy and pass my tribtion. Please send him my regards, and I will soon personally make a visit to Old Man San Shang."

    "Understood." San Liang then ended the call and turned to look at Qing Tan.

    "It looks like Miss Qing Tan is not yet ready to leave this world, which makes it easier to have a conversation and discuss things." Lu Yin''s voice was heard once more. "I would like Miss Qing Tan to reach out to Madam Hong andment on how you coincidentally heard Overseer Liu Ran of the Sword Sect during a call and how he managed to take the Sea King and the colossal giants away while Madam Hong was absent and that he did so because the Sea King possesses something the Sword Sect wants."

    Illumination suddenly struck Qing Tan''s mind. "You deliberately told me about an agreement you reached with Madam Hong, Ancestor Autumnfrost, and the Arrow Sect just to get Madam Hong away from Flying Horse Manor so that you could go in and take the Sea King and the giants?"

    "It looks like this girl¡¯s pretty smart, though you got one thing wrong: the Sword Sect rescued the Sea King and the giants, not Lu Yin," Lu Yin repeated.

    Qing Tan ground her teeth. She had been tricked! Completely and totally deceived! Lu Yin had long since known that she was Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciple, and that was how he had revealed his agreement with Madam Hong. This was all to force Madam Hong into revealing an opening so that Lu Yin could snatch the colossal giants and the Sea King. This was why he had deceived Qing Tan, and that was the story behind this matter.

    "When did you learn about my identity?" Qing Tan asked.

    "I¡¯m going to need to have Miss Qing Tan contact Madam Hong to tell her what I just mentioned." Lu Yin ignored her question and repeated his orders.

    Qing Tan wanted to refuse, but there was no choice; she wanted to live. The entire reason why she was on Mt. Microcosms was because she was one of Bluedome Elder¡¯s disciples who had never been seen by anyone from the Fifth Maind. In fact, there were very few people, even in the Sixth Maind, who even knew of her existence. This was supposed to keep her true identity hidden, but after being exposed, the only way for her to survive would be to listen to Lu Yin.

    This was also why Lu Yin had tested her. If she proved to be someone who did not fear death, then there was no chance that Lu Yin would dare to risk letting her speak with Madam Hong.

    In the Outerverse, Madam Hong''s eyes were cold as she flew through outer space on her way back to Flying Horse Manor. She had just received word that Hong Ying had died and that her manor¡¯s Imprinter, the hideous woman, had gone missing. Also, the giants and the Sea King had disappeared. Clearly, someone had attacked her Flying Horse Manor while she had been gone.

    Upon her return to Flying Horse Manor, everyone present trembled, and not a single person dared to meet Madam Hong¡¯s eyes.

    Hong Ying''s corpse was still lying t on the floor. It was clear that she had been killed from the overwhelming pressure of someone¡¯s domain.

    Madam Hong then went to see the where the Sea King and the giants had been imprisoned. On the surface of the, she discovered traces of the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Her gadget let out a gentle beep. People from the Sixth Maind had gradually started using gadgets, as the little devices were just too convenient.

    "Madam Hong, I am Qing Tan."

    Madam Hong frowned. "You shouldn''t have called me."

 Chapter 1640: Reunion

    Chapter 1640: Reunion

    "I just received some information that concerns you, Madam Hong. I wanted to share it with you and see if it might be of help." Qing Tan''s voice was perfectly calm.

    Madam Hong''s eyes shed. "Go on."

    "One of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers is from the Sword Sect. His name is Liu Ran, and just now, I overheard him speaking to someone in the Sword Sect. They sent someone to Flying Horse Manor to take away the Sea King and some giants," Qing Tan reported.

    Madam Hong''s eyes went wide and then grew extremely cold. She nced over at the scars on the that had been left by a sword. "You said the Sword Sect, correct?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "Why?" Madam Hong was far from stupid, and it was impossible for her to simply believe Qing Tan¡¯s words without question. Madam Hong had a clear grasp on the Fifth Maind¡¯s current political situation, and there was no motive for the Sword Sect to rescue either the Sea King or the colossal giants.

    Qing Tan solemnly replied, "That¡¯s one of the reasons why I reached out to you, Madam Hong. ording to the conversation that I overheard, it was said that the Sword Sect wants something from the Sea King. Something that¡¯s supposed to be rted to him opening the Upper Three Gates back then."

    Madam Hong frowned. It was true, the Sea King was indeed the person who had broken the Upper Three Gates open, which had caused the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky to change and was also the impetus for the Sixth Maind to invade the Fifth Maind.

    "The Sea King knows many things, and there are also certain things that only he possesses. The Sword Sect has been keeping an eye on Flying Horse Manor for a long time, and when Madam Hong moved out, they immediately made their move and grabbed the Sea King."

    "What about the giants?"

    "I don''t know anything about that. I¡¯m guessing that they were taken away at the same time out of convenience. Madam Hong, I called you because I want to know what the Sea King possesses that is so important. You¡¯ve held him captive for so long that you must have some idea."

    Madam Hong shrugged. "The Sea King is a resilient man. He was willing to risk the Fifth Maind¡¯splete destruction in order to open the Upper Three Gates, and his courage is beyond belief. How could I have broken him? However, I never expected the Sword Sect to have been keeping an eye on my Flying Horse Manor."

    She had initially believed that Lu Yin had attacked her Flying Horse Manor, but it looked like that was not necessarily the case. After all, Qing Tan had no reason to lie to Madam Hong.

    "Since Madam Hong doesn''t know about this, then I won''t keep asking. However, I do feel the need to remind Madam Hong that the Sword Sect is a power that controls one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s eight great flowzones. Even if Madam Hong wishes to get revenge, it will be necessary to use a more subtle approach. I hope that no conflicts with the Fifth Maind erupt at this time, as Master wishes to take things slowly," Qing Tan specifically reminded Madam Hong.

    Madam Hong ended the call and let out a disdainful snort as she stared in the direction of the Innerverse. ¡°The Sword Sect? They¡¯re courting death."

    The Sword Sect might be a monster to many others, but Madam Hong was unconcerned. Her strength surpassed the level of the Innerverse. From what she knew of the Sword Sect, no one there was her opponent.

    She would not let this matter go without a fight. Those thieves had dared to kill Hong Ying and had even stolen from Flying Horse Manor! She would force them to pay the price.

    In the Neoverse, atop Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan lowered her gadget, feelingpletely helpless. She had just lied to Madam Hong, which meant that she had basically betrayed the Sixth Maind itself. Even though she had been forced to do so, she was already convinced that she would be forced to repeat such actions many more times in the future.

    "Miss Qing Tan, that was well done. Thank you," Lu Yin said with clear relief. He had no desire to have Madam Hong already chasing after him, which was why he hade up with a n to frame everything onto the Sword Sect. After all, the Sword Sect was bing increasingly influential in recent days.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you hope to keep forcing me to do your bidding, I''d rather die," Qing Tan solemnly dered.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not. Just do a few more tasks for me, and then Miss Qing Tan will be allowed to leave."

    Qing Tan sneered. "If I leave, how will Alliance Leader Lu maintain control of Old Man San Shang? Or are you nning to give him his freedom as well?"

    "Naturally, there''s no need for Miss Qing Tan to worry about such things." Lu Yin simply hung up on the woman.

    Lu Yin and his party had already arrived at Chaos Flowzone, but they continued on traveling east without stopping.

    As they traveled, the Sea King used his gadget to get caught up on the recent events of the Fifth Maind. Most surprising was the news concerning Lu Yin.

    The youth had united the Outerverse,id waste to Daynight Flowzone, be the champion of ZENITH, destroyed the ze Realm, and done much more. One after another, each of the events that he learned about shocked the Sea King. How long had he been held captive? It had only been a few years, so why had so much happened? Also, just how had Lu Yin pulled off all of these aplishments?

    The more the Sea King learned, the more amazed he was. The information regarding Lu Yin was simply too incredible.

    Anyone who learned of Lu Yin''s legendary experiences would find them unbelievable.

    Despite his shock, the Sea King did not speak to Lu Yin. Instead, he remained silent and merely waited for when he would be reunited with his people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    As they passed through Giant Consortium¡¯s territory, Lu Yin did not drop off the colossal giants. They were going to be a part of the Great Eastern Alliance anyways, so they needed to be relocated.

    Chen Huang had no opinion on the matter. After he had absorbed Ku Wei''s blood to increase his strength, he had indeed be an Envoy, but just like all of the other colossal giants, the tribe leader¡¯s attitude towards Ku Wei had undergone a fundamental change.

    Ku Wei was very proud. After all, he now controlled an Envoy, and certainly not an ordinary Envoy at that.

    Several dayster, due to the help of Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s strength speeding up their travels, the group finally boarded the Astral River Ark and made their way to the Outerverse. They were already very close to the Great Yu Empire.

    "You control this Astral River Ark, correct?" the Sea King asked as he stared at the Astral River flowing by with aplicated expression.

    Lu Yin stood rather close to the Sea King, and answered, "Just a bit."

    The Sea Kingughed. "You¡¯ve be the lord of the Outerverse, and you even managed to take down Daynight Flowzone. I learned that there was also a recent war thatpletely changed the bnce of the Cosmic Sea. Things have changed too much, and you no longer need any of my help at all."

    Lu Yin looked over at the Sea King. "I would like to cooperate with the Sea King."

    The Sea King shook his head and sighed, "There is no Sea King anymore."

    During his years in captivity, despite his determination to die rather than give in, the Sea King¡¯s mentality had changed.

    "What about Highsage Leon?" the Sea King asked.

    "He¡¯s not doing bad. Just bing more and more oppressive."

    "Really?" The Sea King recalled his fight with Highsage Leon in the Starfall Sea. It had only happened a few years before, and yet it felt as though a long, long time had already passed.

    The Sea King had not expected to return to his people so suddenly.

    When the various elders and people saw the Sea King, they could not believe their eyes.

    Hai Qiqi remained frozen in ce.

    The Sea King let out a long breath. "I''m back."

    The very next moment, Hai Qiqi''s eyes had be bloodshot, and she leaped into the Sea King¡¯s arms. "Dad!"

    Everyone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome bowed low. "We wee the return of the Sea King."

    "We wee the return of the Sea King."

    ¡­

    During this unique and heartfelt reunion, Lu Yin left the people from the Sea King''s Dome alone and did not show himself.

    Ku Wei remained atop Chen Huang''s shoulder and pouted as he thought of the Ku family. After a while, he shook his head. He had no family there anymore.

    Lu Yin watched the Sea King reunite with his loved ones, and Lu Yin was hit by a barrage ofplicated emotions; if the Lu family was one day able to return, would he see this same scene?

    He longed to reunite with his real family and to see them again.

    A full hour passed before Hai Qiqi released the Sea King, though tears still streamed down her face.

    Hai Dashao stood where he was, though a previously unseen rxation could be seen on his face.

    The people of the Sea King¡¯s Dome had always believed that the Sea King was alive, and they had also wanted to find him. However, they had been helpless to do anything. If the Sea King never returned, the Sea King¡¯s Dome would never feelplete.

    As he looked out at the emotional expressions on the faces of Hai Qiqi and various others, the Sea King smiled. "It¡¯s alright. I''m back."

    "Dad, don''t ever leave Qiqi again, okay?" Hai Qiqi cried.

    The Sea King''s expression grew soft as he wiped away Hai Qiqi''s tears. "I understand. Dad won''t leave."

    ¡­

    Despite the time that the reunion took up and more for everyone to calm down, it was not actually very long. However, after seeing Hai Qiqi, the Sea King started to feel a great deal of guilt towards his daughter.

    Hai Qiqi was not like Hai Dashao. She had not built up a lot of life experience and had not been mentally and emotionally prepared for the pain of losing her father. She had been overprotected.

    After seeing Hai Qiqi''s painful and also excited face, the Sea Kingforted her yet again before saying something to Elder Tong and a few others. After that, he went and found Lu Yin.

    "You were the one who lifted the Sea King''s trident," the Sea King said as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, as he had not expected the older man to bring up that old matter back at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. It felt like something that had taken ce ages ago. "Do you remember?"

    The Sea King looked at Lu Yin with a serious expression. "Can you answer me honestly? Do you have any desire to marry Qiqi?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, I told you back then that I did not want to pull out the Sea King''s trident."

    The Sea King frowned. It was true, Lu Yin genuinely had not wanted to pull out the Sea King''s trident at the time, but when that had happened, the Sea King had not cared about Lu Yin¡¯s opinion at all; he had simply forced the youth to be his son-inw. Lu Yin had not been able to escape at that time, and no one had been able to stop the Sea King either. However, at present, the Sea King could not act like before. Even if he ignored everything else behind Lu Yin, just Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s presence was not something that the Sea King could handle.

    That was not even considering the other untouchable powerhouses that also backed Lu Yin.

    "It seems that you really don''t want to marry Qiqi. If that¡¯s the case, then everything from the past can be considered to be erased. I, the Sea King, helped you, and you also saved Qiqi and I. There is no debt at all between you and I, the Sea King," the Sea King solemnly stated. "As for Qiqi, I will find someone suitable for her."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m sorry, Senior. I do care for Qiqi, but not in that manner. I see her as a sister or as a friend."

    The Sea King gazed into the distance. "The universe is changing too fast if even I, the Sea King, need the power of your Great Eastern Alliance in order to survive. If there is anything that you need us to do in the future, let me know, though I may not be able to help."

    Without the Starfall Sea, the Sea King and the others had no home to return to. They could not return to the Starfall Sea and while the Sea King¡¯s strength was enough for him to conquer an entire flowzone, even one of the eight great flowzones, like the Great Eastern Alliance, the Sea King was seen as an outsider. Making a move against any of the flowzones could make the Sea King or the Great Eastern Alliance an enemy of the entire Innerverse.

    The Sea King was also exhausted. The moment heid eyes on Hai Qiqi, he had realized that he could not abandon her again. He wanted to quietly spend time with Hai Qiqi and the rest of his family.

    Lu Yin was able to see the exhaustion in the Sea King''s eyes. There were many people who were not afraid of death, but after experiencing a life and death scenario, their mentality would change. The present Sea King was not the same as the Sea King of the past, but more of a father. He was a patriarch who wanted to protect his family.

    "I hope that the Sea King can remain missing and that no one will be able to find him," Lu Yinmented.

    The Sea King froze for a moment, but then he nodded. "Yes, I will cooperate with you. I haven¡¯t returned."

    "Thank you." Lu Yin felt truly grateful.

    The Sea King was also very grateful towards Lu Yin.

    Hai Qiqi went and made a point of finding Lu Yin to say a few words of thanks of her own. It was a rare conversation with Hai Qiqi when Lu Yin did not have to deal with her vicious tongue, and it left him somewhat bbergasted.

    Everyone from the Sea King¡¯s Dome left with the Sea King while Liu Ye, Fei Hua, Lu Yin, and the giants continued on to Zenyu Star.

    Shortly after Lu Yin arrived, a report spread through the Outerverse and into the Innerverse.

    The Sea King was in the hands of the Sword Sect.

 Chapter 1641: Three Cards

    Chapter 1641: Three Cards

    The news about the Sea King had been leaked on Madam Hong¡¯s orders. She had developed a good understanding of the Fifth Maind¡¯s situation, and she had even specifically investigated various important people who were able to affect the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was one such person.

    Of course, she had looked into the rtionship between Lu Yin and the Sea King, and she had also studied the rtionship between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. Thus, she deliberately released the news that she had learned about the Sea King being in the Sword Sect just to force Lu Yin to make some trouble for the Sword Sect.

    Now that it was public knowledge that the Sea King was in the Sword Sect, the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome naturally would not allow such a thing to slide, and they would demand that the Sword Sect release him. As for Lu Yin, he had been set up to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw, and he also would not be able to sit by and watch.

    Madam Hong had purposely not revealed the fact that Lu Yin had taken control of Chaosgod Mountain and had instead exposed a different matter, as she wanted to force Lu Yin to face off against the Sword Sect.

    On top of that, there was an even more important matter that could only be started after Lu Yin and the Sword Sect started to confront each other.

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Frostwave Weave, on Zenyu Star:

    Lu Yin and Wang Wen were facing each other as they stood over a table that had three cards lying on it.

    Wang Wen had just exined the current situation in zing Mist Flowzone to Lu Yin.

    The current war in zing Mist Flowzone had been secretly triggered by Wei Rong. The Great Eastern Alliance had left zing Mist Flowzone after conquering the ze Realm, but this had also perfectly set up the situation for the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n to start fighting. It had not been difficult to incite a war given the already present friction.

    Even though the war in the Cosmic Sea had drawn the attention of the entire Fifth Maind, the war in zing Mist Flowzone had never stopped.

    "The Sword Sect and the Lingling n are both supporting the sylvan dragons while Beast Tamers Flowzone and the Wen family are supporting the Ross Empire. With a few smaller flowzones also getting involved now, zing Mist Flowzone is very busy." Wang Wen opened a star chart and smiled as he spoke. He seemed to find the situation quite interesting.

    Lu Yin asked, "Why is the Wen family supporting the Ross Empire?"

    "That¡¯s quite simple. The Wen family¡¯s Erudite Flowzone borders Beast Tamers Flowzone, and the sylvan dragons would never work with Beast Tamers Flowzone, as a n of beasts could never cooperate with them. If they did so, they would be nothing more than mounts. This means that the Wen family can only choose to support the Ross Empire."

    "But I remember that the sylvan dragons have quite a good rtionship with Beast Tamers Flowzone." Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

    "On the surface, maybe, but Beast Tamers Flowzone has always wanted to conquer the sylvan dragons and make the dragons their tamed beasts. The sylvan dragons aren¡¯t stupid, so how could they be willing to join Beast Tamers Flowzone? In the past, they betrayed the Astral Beast Domain just to avoid bing mounts, and they are naturally wary of Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s battle techniques. It¡¯s impossible for the dragons to rely on them even if the alternative is death."

    "What about the Sword Sect? Why are they helping the sylvan dragons?"

    "Well, they also want the dragons as mounts, but the sylvan dragons are more willing to submit to the Sword Sect than Beast Tamers Flowzone. When we trashed Daynight Flowzone, the sylvan dragon n tried to help the Daynight n. It''s not that the beasts can''t be convinced to be mounts, but rather that they have to choose to do so themselves. Remember Long Yi? He actually wanted to be Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s mount, and the entire sylvan dragon n wanted to be the Daynight n¡¯s mounts. In the end, those dragons are still just beasts.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the star chart. "This makes me very nervous."

    Wang Wen nodded. "The Ross Empire is at war with the sylvan dragons, and there is an Envoy on each side. As for ces like the Sword Sect, they can''t send their powerhouses as long as they want to act surreptitiously. Everyone¡¯s trying to stay hidden while simultaneously pushing their own agenda. Things aren¡¯t bad for the various elite disciples per se, but the normal disciples keep getting killed as the war has ground their numbers down like a millstone. Now, whenever the regr Sword Sect disciples hear that they¡¯re going to be sent to zing Mist Flowzone, they do their best to get out of it.¡±

    "Isn''t this exactly what you wanted?" Lu Yin asked. Wang Wen had said from the very beginning that he intended to make the war in zing Mist Flowzone into a ck hole that sucked all of the Innerverse¡¯s major forces into it and that it would be a ce where people could go to, but never return from.

    Wang Wen shook his head. "This is still far from enough. Given the current scale of the war, anyone can pull out whenever they want without paying too much of a price. This means that we should change things up." Wang Wen then gestured forward, indicating the cards on the table. "Your Royal Chesspiece, please go ahead and flip the first card."

    Lu Yin had been quite curious about the three cards for some time, so after hearing Wang Wen''s invitation, he flipped over the first card and saw that more than twenty names were listed on it.

    "These are people who are highly regarded by the Sword Sect, Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Wen family, and the Lingling n. Most of them are actually descendants of powerful elders. The people that Wei Rong sent into the various Innerverse powers are using their influence to make sure that all of these people are sent to the war in zing Mist Flowzone. All we have to do is take them out and start pointing fingers," Wang Wen said in a low voice.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "If these people are so important, then why would the various organizations willing send them to the war in zing Mist Flowzone?"

    "That part of the n is on Wei Rong, and I won¡¯t interfere in his methods. My job was just to confirm the names on the list and toter on nt the hatred. After these grievances are given time to sprout, it will not be easy to remove in a short amount of time. This will not only prevent the different groups frompletely withdrawing their forces from the war, but it will also prevent them from uniting. Your Highness, if I were to be killed by the Sword Sect, would you be willing to work with them? Would you trust them without hesitation?" Wang Wen smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately replied, "That¡¯s impossible. Still, the people connected to those on this list might not be the ones controlling things. The eight great flowzones have ruled over the Innerverse for countless years, and they are not led by fools. There¡¯s no way to make your n wless, as there will always be someone who manages to see through it."

    "Flip the second card," Wang Wen encouraged.

    Lu Yin casually flipped it only to see yet another list of names.

    "I¡¯ve looked into these people as well, and this is another list of people who need to be taken out," Wang Wen stated.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Just eliminating people is useless. When they''re put in a difficult situation, the great powers will have no choice but to unite their forces.¡±

    "What if that supposed emergency never appears? Flip the third card," Wang Wen said quietly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he finally flipped the third card. There were only a few words written on this card: aid from outside forces.

    He looked at Wang Wen with curiosity.

    A smile appeared on Wang Wen''s face. "No matter what we do, will they join forces once they are convinced that an outside enemy is able to overpower us? If someone has an ace up their sleeve, then they¡¯ll never be concerned about any other cards. However, what if this outside support is fake?¡±

    Lu Yin pped a hand onto the table. "I can find them outside support, and it will be the biggest one that can give them the greatest confidence."

    "Then?" Wang Wen continued.

    Lu Yin looked up at the other young man. "zing Mist Flowzone will be officially regained. I want to make that ce the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s trueunching point from which we enter the Innerverse."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader." Wang Wen took a step back and solemnly bowed to Lu Yin.

    The next moment, Wei Rong received a message: "Go."

    He stood back up and turned to look out at outer space. It had finally started. He had been waiting for this for a long time. Ever since they had defeated the ze Realm, Wei Rong had been waiting and preparing for this day. It was time for the Great Eastern Alliance to officially enter the Innerverse.

    In the Innerverse, peace had long since abandoned zing Mist Flowzone. Battles asionally raged in outer space above the flowzone, and there were times when the violence of the sylvan dragons or explosions of technological weapons could be heard.

    On one, billions of people looked up in terror. Their sun that had been blocked out was suddenly torn apart by a massive dragon that roared and raced about through outer space, only to be attacked by countless beams of light.

    The people of the stared on in despair as their sun cracked, began to copse, and then finally exploded. They all knew that they were merely waiting for death at this point.

    The impact of a star exploding was enough to destroy a even before the destroyed star eventually turned into a ck hole.

    There were billions of people here, but they were all helpless. The technology on this was not high enough for them to escape from their impending catastrophe.

    A month before, they had believed that there was no other civilization in the entire universe. However, once a massive sylvan dragon appeared, all of the¡¯s beliefs had been shattered. They had seen a massive dragon, and then their sun had been destroyed. At this point, not a single one of the people knew what to do.

    Suddenly, a beam of light shot by, and itpletely destroyed the star that was in the middle of exploding and obliterating the. The beam hade from the Ross Empire and was aimed at the sylvan dragon.

    The¡¯s sun had been wiped out of existence, and while this would have a devastating impact on the, causing an ice age at the least or an even more serious disaster, it was still better than being instantly erased. Given the¡¯s technology, the people still had a glimmer of hope of survival, though it was truly just a glimmer.

    Some distance away from the, arge sylvan dragon let out a roar within the void. It was using its highest speed, and given its cultivation of an Explorer, it was able to produce dozens of clones with its speed.

    The Ross Empire¡¯s technology surpassed anything that was avable in the Outerverse. Their warships¡¯ defenses and attack power could notpare to those of the Outerverse, and they also had enough warships to cover the entire sky.

    As long as there were no Envoys present, these weapons and ships would put most cultivators into a desperate fight for their lives.

    Whenever a warship exploded, all of the Ross Empire¡¯s cultivators aboard would die, and there was no chance of any of them surviving.

    Arge sylvan dragon mmed its body into a warship, only to be struck by countless attacks and have its body turned into a sieve.

    Battles were not only fought in outer space, but also on the surfaces of numerouss. The war had spread throughout every part of zing Mist Flowzone that had previously belonged to the ze Realm.

    Long Ze stared into the distance with his huge eyes. The Ross Empire had sent out another batch of weaponry. While the weapons were small and fragile, they were capable ofunching attacks that nearly reached power levels of 10,000, and when they were used in coordinated strikes, they could even threaten Cruisers. Long Ze roared and rushed away, his wings unfurling as he tore through the void and destroyed a great number of the Ross Empire¡¯s weapons.

    Long Ze was not alone, as there were several other sylvan dragons around him, as well as cultivators that had been subdued by the sylvan dragon n. All of them charged forward together. In front of them, the numerous scattered warships suddenly merged together andbined to form a monstrous warship that was a hundred timesrger than an ordinary one. This vessel was simply terrifying, and it shot out a beam of light that distorted the void for a moment beforepletely shattering it.

    One of the sylvan dragons was instantly sted into pieces, but the beam continued to sweep through space. Most of the sylvan dragons¡¯ conquered cultivators were killed, and only the lucky ones had an intact corpse.

    Long Jiu and Long Ba both died in the attack. Neither of them had be Explorers yet, so they were unable to enter the void. They had been hiding in spacecraft that they had confiscated from humans who had surrendered to the sylvan dragons, but they still died during the attack.

    Far behind the battle lines, Liu Tang, Liu Ling, and a group of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples stood on a meteorite next to arge sylvan dragon. All of them were observing the battle.

    As it stared at the massive warship, the dragon roared, "Despicable! The Ross Empire developed this monstrosity long ago, but they kept it hidden! Despicable! Absolutely despicable!"

    Liu Tang nced at the dragon, but he did not particrly care. He actually believed that the Ross Empire had technological weapons that were even more terrifying than what they were currently seeing.

    "In just one round of attacks, five of our outer disciples and two of our inner disciples died," Liu Ling reported with a heavy tone.

    Liu Tang casually replied, "One must be prepared for death before stepping into war."

 Chapter 1642: Burden

    Chapter 1642: Burden

    Liu Tang''s words caused Liu Ling to frown. "They''re not even Explorers, so they can''t enter the void. They¡¯re relying on nothing but luck while participating in this war.¡±

    Liu Tang replied, "Most of the people who participate in war contribute nothing. I''m actually quite curious: why are you here?"

    Liu Ling was Liu Shaoqiu''s cousin, and she enjoyed a very high status within the sect. She was able to scold elders and could even meet with Sect Master Liu Qianjue himself. Her status could notpare to other disciples¡¯, and she should have never been sent to the battlefield where she could die.

    Even though she was merely watching the battlefield from a great distance, it was still very dangerous.

    Liu Ling frowned. "Someone messed up their job, and my name was put down on the list. There are so many disciples that it¡¯s not easy to fix. Still, I¡¯ll be back within a couple days at worst."

    Liu Tang nodded, as this made sense.

    "Despicable! Despicable Ross Empire!" the sylvan dragon continued to rant. It had been sent to protect the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples, and it had also reached the peak of the Hunter realm. As long as no one approached the battlefield, everything here should be safe.

    Also, neither Liu Tang nor Liu Ling were weak themselves.

    Still, idents were always liable to happen. The massive warship suddenly started to move, and instead of remaining in ce to attack from a distance, it started charging towards the sylvan dragons¡¯ basecamp.

    Even the Ross Empire¡¯smander on site was startled. "Stop now! What''s happening?"

    "Commander, there¡¯s an error in the ship''smand system."

    "Fix it! ASAP!"

    "Yes!"

    The Ross Empire¡¯smander on this battlefield was Angelo, who had once directed the empire¡¯s efforts against the Great Yu Empire. During that excursion, the blind monk had destroyed the three of the Ross Empire¡¯s fleets and had even killed five Explorers and three Cruisers from the Ross Empire. When Angelo finally returned to the Ross Empire, he had been judged and punished. Only recently had he managed to reim his former position.

    When the Sixth Maind attacked the Innerverse, Angelo had technically held the position of amander, but he had not had the authority of one. This was his first battle since regaining his status and authority as a truemander. His opponents were the sylvan dragon n.

    The huge warship had been formed from all the vessels in two whole fleets. Whether one looked at the vessel¡¯s defenses or attack power, it surpassed an average Hunter¡¯s and could evenpare to a peak Hunter.

    Another round of attacks were fired out, and again, several sylvan dragons were killed.

    As for the dragon protecting Liu Tang, Liu Ling, and the other privileged disciples, he could no longer sit still. "Wait here. I¡¯m going to destroy that thing."

    The dragon then shot off. Despite his massive size, the enormous warship could not target the dragon due to his speed, and the dragon smashed into the huge warship.

    For a moment, the warship lost control and was not able tounch any attacks.

    The peak Hunter dragonughed wildly and returned to the meteorite.

    Angelo''s expression turned ugly.

    The peak Hunter dragon returned to the meteorite feeling very proud of himself, only to find that Liu Ling was dead and that Liu Tang¡¯s life was hanging on by a thread. The dragon waspletely shocked, and he quickly took the two humans away in a panic.

    Both of these people were very important to the Sword Sect, which meant that this was troublesome. Very troublesome for the sylvan dragons.

    The war in zing Mist Flowzone was not only raging on that one battlefield, but also on an evenrger one. On this battlefield, not only were the sylvan dragons and people from the Ross Empire participating, but also various cultivators from the other regions of the Innerverse and even other flowzones. Some forces, such as the Sword Sect, were more open about their involvement.

    Even though this war could notpare to the scale of the war that had just erupted in the Cosmic Sea, various powers from the Innerverse had been dragged in one after another.

    At the edge of zing Mist Flowzone, a huge astral beast flew into the distance. Little Mountain God was sitting on the massive creature. He also should not have been sent to zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s war, but because the Divine Hall¡¯s mission location had changed, Little Mountain God had arrived. He had no need to participate in the war itself, and he intended to return right afterpleting the mission that he had been given. He was actually already on his way back.

    As he looked at his gadget, Little Mountain God was startled by what he saw; the Sword Sect was crazy to risk antagonizing the Sixth Maind¡¯s Flying Horse Manor! Had they really taken the Sea King away from Flying Horse Manor? Did they not feel that there was already enough chaos in the Innerverse as things were?

    While Little Mountain God was still thinking about what he had learned, space froze beneath his astral beast, startling Little Mountain God. This was not good; someone was attacking him!

    Elder Tie emerged from behind Little Mountain God, and on the opposite side, Ye Gui appeared. He used his innate gift and froze the void, leaving Little Mountain God unable to move.

    The astral beast quickly died, but Little Mountain God managed to escape, despite suffering grievous injuries.

    Elder Tie''s expression showed his frustrations. "He actually managed to escape."

    "That¡¯s impossible for him alone. He had to have used some sort of power vessel or something else must be protecting him. Also, he is an Enlighter, so it¡¯s not easy to kill him. Still, this should be enough, as such a serious injury should drive Beast Tamers Flowzone crazy," Ye Gui replied.

    Far away, Little Mountain God took the form of a stone and fell onto a.

    Fortunately, he had been given a special treasure by his master. Otherwise, he would have died just then. But who was it? Who would dare to attack him? This was a nned assassination attempt, and even if he was in the Innerverse, Little Mountain God should not have run into such a dangerous situation. Someone was working against him, but who?

    In the Outerverse, on Zenyu Star, Lu Yin stared at the floral tea that Zhao Ran had prepared. Were more and more creatures appearing in her teas? He really did not know how to react to what he was seeing, but when he managed to take a sip, he found that, once again, it tasted surprisingly good.

    Half a month had passed since Lu Yin had spoken with Wang Wen, and the n had been officially in action for that amount of time.

    Names were constantly being crossed off of the list. Each one represented a very important organization such as the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect, Wen family, Lingling n, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and more. There were even elites such as Ling Que and Little Mountain God listed on there.

    Lu Yin had not expected Ling Que to step onto the battlefield in zing Mist Flowzone.

    He had also made the decision to remove Ling Que from the list. Otherwise, he would have already heard word of his death.

    One by one, the names were crossed out. Each line indicated that someone had died, and with each death, the nature of the war in zing Mist Flowzone changed drastically. The Sword Sect, the Wen family, and all the other organizations started to send more and more people into the war. Lu Yin had no idea who was being med for each assassination, but he was certain that the various Innerverse powers were ming each other.

    The seeds of hatred had already been sewn, which meant that they only needed to wait for those seeds to sprout and take root.

    More than ten days went by, and now that the disciples from the Sword Sect and other major powers were direct participating, the war had changed from a fight between the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n to a war between the eight great flowzones. Wang Wen went to look for Lu Yin. "Now¡¯s the best time. For at least a hundred years, there is no way they¡¯ll be able to move beyond the hatred that has formed between them."

    Lu Yin looked up at the mainds surrounding Zenyu Star. "Tell me, are we evil?"

    Wang Wen was taken aback at Lu Yin¡¯s sudden question, but after a moment, Wang Wen replied, "Is the Hall of Honor despicable?"

    Lu Yin considered the question.

    "The Hall of Honor rules over the entire Fifth Maind, but at first, they were not alone¡ªthere was also the Daosource Sect. After the Daosource Sect copsed, it became the Hall of Honor alone. The Hall of Honor was not an organization that was born, but rather one that was created. It was brought about by a countless amount of blood and fire. But now? The Hall of Honor is the force that ensures stability for the entire Fifth Maind. Without the Hall of Honor, when the Sixth Maind invaded us, the Innerverse would have never been able to work together to fight back.

    "Unsupported self-doubt and regret at your actions will only make you weaker," Wang Wen uttered as he stared at Lu Yin in a solemn manner.

    Lu Yin looked back up and showed a smile. "In another hundred years, there will be such a passage in the historical records stating how the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin, was kind-hearted. He hesitated to start a war but was bewitched by his subordinate, Wang Wen, into inciting a war that swept the entire Fifth Maind into it. The me should be carried by Wang Wen alone." With that, Lu Yin walked away with a big smile on his face.

    Wang Wen was left in a daze as he stared nkly at Lu Yin''s back. How was this okay? That was just in nasty! The bastard had thrown the moral burden straight onto Wang Wen! What a jerk! The worst part was, Wang Wen could not find any reason to refute Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    ***

    The Ross Empire was a unique force within the Innerverse. They focused strongly on technology, but still far from what the Technocracy had achieved. Emperor Luo had a firm conviction, and everyone in the empire hade to ept his view that cultivation was an illusion and that it was merely a self-glorification propagated by higher civilizations. Emperor Luo hoped to shatter the illusion and reveal the real face of the universe.

    Long ago, he had wanted to use the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Three Realms Six Daos to achieve a breakthrough, but he had never managed to aplish anything.

    He was destined to defeat the sylvan dragon n, not only because of the support of Beast Tamers Flowzone and the Wen family, but also because of the Astral Beast Domain.

    The sylvan dragon n had once betrayed the Astral Beast Domain, and during the Ross Empire¡¯s war against the dragons, some experts from the Astral Beast Domain had arrived and offered to help them deal with the sylvan dragons. The entire species would be eliminated, and their demise would wash away a stain on the Astral Beast Domain.

    Of course, Emperor Luo had weed the offer. He was singrly focused on gaining control of all of zing Mist Flowzone. As for Beast Tamers Flowzone and the Wen family who were supporting the Ross Empire, Emperor Luo was hostile towards them as well. He was already aware that the two powers were only supporting him with the intention of secretly dividing zing Mist Flowzone or even taking control, if at all possible.

    Emperor Luo was far more willing to work with the Astral Beast Domain, even if they were a foreign power that was enemies with the Human Domain. Everything would be fine as long as no one learned about the truth.

    The Ross Empire¡¯s capital was not a, but rather a mechanical city that was asrge as one. It also did not remain in a fixed location, as it was able to move and even be used as a mobile fortress.

    It was somewhat simr to Aurora Fortress, but far inferior. In fact, the Ross Empire¡¯s capital could not evenpare to Millions City. While their capital was able to defend against an Envoy¡¯s attack, it was not capable ofunching an attack with that much power.

    Warships and entire fleets departed the Ross Empire¡¯s capital and made their way towards the warfront. There were also various cultivators from the Ross Empire, as well as androids and cultivators that had surrendered to the empire.

    However, there were even more cultivators who were secretly from Erudite Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and other nearby small flowzones.

    Emperor Luo stared out into outer space. Everything had started half a month ago with the deaths of several people. Those deaths had propelled the war in an uncontroble direction. Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Little Mountain God had been badly injured, the Wen family¡¯s Wen Ran had died, and many people from the Sword Sect and the Lingling n had also died. The oddest thing was that all of the people had been important within their own organization, but had apparently been deliberately targeted.

    Emperor Luo was not the only one who had noticed the pattern, as many others had seen it as well. However, the people who had been targeted were simply far too important, so unless the mastermind hidden behind the curtain was revealed, there was no way to justify these events. After all, everything had happened on the battlefield.

    Still, these recent developments did not matter. Emperor Luo looked at a certain corner; it was time for him to ask those experts from the Astral Beast Domain to make their move. As long as the sylvan dragons¡¯ patriarch, Long Yi, was eliminated, the dragon n would lose their leadership. Even if they continued to be supported by the Sword Sect and the Lingling n, their struggles would be useless.

    Additionally, Emperor Luo was more than willing to believe that the Sword Sect and the Lingling n would readily divide the sylvan dragon n once they fell and use the beasts as mounts.

    Emperor Luo moved out and approached a certain section of the mobile fortress. He opened a door and walked straight into the room.

    The room was dark, and Emperor Luo''s eyes became alert. Suddenly, a ck shadow flickered, and something stood in front of the emperor. "It''s me."

    The shadow hesitated and then shattered into countless smaller shadows. They looked like countless giant pythons circling around the emperor, and it was an extremely terrifying sight.

    Emperor Luo looked straight ahead and saw a group of dark aquatic nts that had a pair of eyes hidden within them. This was actually the expert that had been sent by the Astral Beast Domain. It was a creature known as Dark Beast, and the creature actually used that as its name as well. Whether this was the true name of the creature or its species was not known, as there were no records of Dark Beast in the entire Human Domain.

 Chapter 1643: Iâ€™m Taking It

    Chapter 1643: I¡¯m Taking It

    There was no record of these creatures, which was precisely why the Dark Beast had been sent to assist Emperor Luo. After all, if an astral beast from the Astral Beast Domain was recognized, Emperor Luo would be looking at death. There would be no need for the sylvan dragons to do anything, as if it were revealed that the Ross Empire was colluding with the Astral Beast Domain, and the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court would immediately take action.

    "This war is getting more and more out of hand. I''m getting worried that the Sword Sect and the Lingling will send some Envoys over to interfere. You and I must work together to deal with Long Yi now," Emperor Luo said.

    "Yes. I was ordered to help Emperor Luo obliterate the sylvan dragon n," Dark Beast said.

    Emperor Luo grew more somber. "Long Yi will not be easy to deal with, or else he would never have been able to escape the Astral Beast Domain. You and I-"

    Suddenly, his eyes grew red and they started flickering about. ¡°No, something happened.¡±

    There was supposed to be a shield around the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress that protected it from all outside attacks, but at this moment, it had just been broken through by Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm. The power of his attack had shattered even the Ross Empire¡¯s most robust shield.

    Lu Yin, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua all appeared above the capitol and looked down at it.

    Emperor Luo charged out from the hidden room, and his eyes grew bloodshot the moment they locked onto Lu Yin. Elsewhere, someone else appeared in space, and Lu Yin was able to see from the person¡¯s runes that they had a power level of more than 400,000. Was this some hidden powerhouse who belonged to the Ross Empire?

    The Ross Empire could notpare to the Daynight n. Emperor Luo and the powerful Enlighter were the empire¡¯s top strength, and below them, the next Enlighter in the empire only had a power level of a bit more than 200,000.

    "Are you Lu Yin?" The Enlighter was startled when he saw Lu Yin.

    Emperor Luo moved forward, and the Enlighter looked over. "Your Majesty, this-"

    Emperor Luo raised a hand to stop the man from speaking. He stared at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, why are you here in my Ross Empire?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m taking your Ross Empire with my Great Eastern Alliance."

    Emperor Luo instantly raised a hand, and a red beam shot through the void towards Lu Yin.

    When the two had faced each other in the Royal Frost Continent, this particr attack had forced Lu Yin deep into the ice, and he would have died without his universal armor. This was an attack from an Envoy.

    However, at the moment, Lu Yin did not even move as the attack approached, and the red beam of light struck his body with full power. Despite that, there was no reaction at all. His bodysuit armor prevented Lu Yin from feeling any pain at all.

    Emperor Luo was shocked.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "My turn."

    He raised his own hand: Vacuum Palm.

    An invisible palm shot towards Emperor Luo, strengthened by golden battle force. When they hadst seen each other, Lu Yin had only been a Hunter, and yet his Vacuum Palm had managed to force Emperor Luo back a step. Lu Yin¡¯s current Vacuum Palm instantly smashed the emperor down and cracked half of his body. All of the cracks revealed that the man was actually a cyborg, but his movements were no longer smooth after suffering from the Vacuum Palm.

    At the side, the Enlighter with a power level of over 400,000 was horrified at what he saw. He had actually wanted to attack Lu Yin, but after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s attack, the Enlighter no longer dared move at all.

    Lu Yin stared at Emperor Luo, but suddenly, his eyes flicked to the side. He stared at a certain location of the mobile fortress. Was that another expert with a power level of over 500,000? This surprised Lu Yin. "Liu Ye, please force that hidden Envoy out."

    Right after Lu Yin spoke, an aquatic nt shot up from the ground, only to disappear, as the creature had fled into the true universe. It thenunched an attack that tried to bind Lu Yin from behind, and in coordination with the attack, the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress aimed countless technological weapons at Lu Yin.

    Liu Ye attacked, but only gently tapped a finger. The nt was shredded as willow leaves spread through the aquatic nt and dragged an odd looking creature out of hiding.

    It was Dark Beast.

    Dark Beast stared at Liu Ye in terror. This person was a true powerhouse, as the Dark Beast was unable to do anything to resist in the slightest.

    The mobile fortress suddenly trembled as countless weapons were deployed.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked over at the Enlighter from the Ross Empire. The man quickly shouted, "Stop! Stop!"

    Countless citizens of the Ross Empire were staring at the sky above. They had watched as their Emperor Luo had been crushed, and they saw as Lu Yin descended like a god. The people did not know what to do.

    As for those loyal to Emperor Luo, they did not stop their attacks, and countless attacks were released, covering Lu Yin.

    He instantly unleashed his domain and it swept out, annihting the numerous attacks. Lu Yin looked at Emperor Luo. He had wanted to make this person a Champion, but the emperor was too weak. With his mechanical body, what would remain of the man after a fight? It was hard to say.

    An entire fleet gathered near the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. People had already picked up on the changes at the fortress, and the fleet had wanted to rescue Emperor Luo. However, space trembled from the distance as the Lu Elite Troops suddenly arrived.

    No one in the Ross Empire had ever seen the Lu Elite Troops before, so all of them were badly startled at seeing more than 6,000 powerhouses walk through space. What were they looking at?

    The moment themander of the Ross Empire¡¯s fleet saw the Lu Elite Troops, he immediately considered that he might be dreaming.

    How many Explorers were there in the entire Ross Empire? Not even the Hall of Honor¡¯s Expeditionary Forces had the numbers topare to the Lu Elite Troops. This military force had only been made possible by consolidating the entire Outerverse. The number of top powerhouses present in the army was irrelevant, as their numbers alone were enough to sweep through all parts of zing Mist Flowzone.

    The empire¡¯s fleet instantly gave up, as no one wanted to fight a doomed battle.

    Given the strength that Lu Yin had acquired, it had be quite easy for him to deal with the Ross Empire.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, there was an unexpected change on the battlefield where the sylvan dragon n was fighting the Ross Empire. The originally frenzied situation instantly changed into all of the Ross Empire¡¯s forces making a rull retreat, much to the sylvan dragons¡¯ confusion.

    An Enlighter from Beast Tamers Flowzone who had a power level that exceeded 300,000 quickly sought out General Angelo. "What is the meaning of this? Why didn''t you tell us about such a major change in advance?"

    Angelo''s face twisted as he looked at the expert from Beast Tamers Flowzone. "I''m sorry, but we¡¯ve lost this war."

    The Enlighter¡¯s eyes went wide. "When?"

    He pointed towards the now-distant battlefield and the dragons pursuing them. "When did you lose? Which of your eyes sees you losing?"

    Angelo blew out a long breath and looked up. Finally, he sadly stated, ¡°Emperor Luo had been captured by the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin hid nothing at all when moving against the Ross Empire. The Lu Elite Troops was already very powerful, and there were also the Great Eastern Alliance regr military. In addition to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s troops, there were also giants.

    A month after the colossal giants had been taken to the Great Yu Empire, they entered zing Mist Flowzone once more and took part in their first battle under Ku Wei¡¯smand.

    The man from Beast Tamers Flowzone saw the giants, and horror crept onto his face as he stared into the distance and saw hundreds of giants walking through space. The sight caused every witness¡¯s scalp to go numb.

    At the vanguard of the colossal giants was Chen Ling. He had a power level of more than 400,000, and his height was over 10,000 meters. Not even the warships were much bigger than Chen Ling. Each of the colossal giants was at least almost 5,000 meters tall, and they rushed onto the battlefield like savage beasts, indiscriminately attacking both sylvan dragons and warships. All were their prey.

    Not only were the Ross Empire¡¯s forces left in a state of shock, the sylvan dragons were the same.

    The various powers supporting the sylvan dragons, such as the Sword Sect, were no less startled by the appearance of the giants, as this was beyond everyone¡¯s expectations.

    At this moment, Ku Wei was delighted. "Give it to Big Brother Wei! The Great Eastern Alliance is here, little brats, so prepare to fall!"

    Chen Ji reached out and grabbed hold of arge sylvan dragon and knocked it out with a few punches. The big dragon swayed a few times before passing out. Near it, more than ten other dragons roared and charged towards Chen Jian, but the giant just pped at them. No matter how fast the dragons were or how many clones they could produce from their speed, the giant¡¯s ps crushed through everything, and the dragons fell one by one, unable to resist.

    The strongest of the sylvan dragons was an Enlighter realm beast with a power level of more than 300,000. Its speed was such that it was able to produce a hundred clones, and the one beast alone was able to cover the sky.

    Chen Ling roared at the sky and leaped forward, grabbing at the dragon. He used a very primitive method, but it proved very effective: he stomped on the dragon.

    The people from the Sword Sect and other ces who were on the battlefield were all taken aback; this behavior was too barbaric.

    A cultivator''s expression changed. "It''s the Great Eastern Alliance! They¡¯re actually moving against zing Mist Flowzone!"

    The man then fled the battlefield. The arrival of the giants ended the war.

    Even if the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragon n joined forces, they would not be able to not resist the colossal giants. Things only elerated once Chen Huang made an appearance. He was over 20,000 meters tall, and he would make any of the sylvan dragons look like bugs. All of the dragons fled in a panic, not even knowing which direction to take.

    This was Ku Wei''s most glorious day! He could not wait to lead the giants to the Ku family! Of course, after only thinking about it, he knew the Ku family could notpare to zing Mist Flowzone.

    In one corner of the battlefield, Ling Que waspletely bbergasted. She was watching a colossal giant y with a dragon like it was a lizard. The dragon practically pissed itself in terror.

    What the hell? Ling Que quickly left.

    As for the people from the Sword Sect and the Lingling n who had also stepped into zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s war, Lu Yin had no problem letting them all leave.

    Ku Wei regretted this, as he had wanted to show off, but Lu Yin had already given the orders, and Ku Wei did not dare disobey.

    Their next step was to raid the sylvan dragon n¡¯sir and catch Long Yi.

    The fact that the Great Eastern Alliance was invading zing Mist Flowzone spread throughout the Innerverse and Outerverse at lightning speed, and then further on into the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse.

    As soon as the news was received, the Hall of Honor quickly convened a meeting of the overseers, but there was no point. The Hall of Honor did not interfere in disputes among lower powers, and this was only a minor skirmish. If Leon¡¯s Armada or a Neoverse power had invaded zing Mist Flowzone, the Hall of Honor would absolutely make a move against them, but since it was Lu Yin taking action, everyone remained silent.

    Two of the overseers, Liu Ran and Nightking Zheng, pushed strongly as they hoped to sway the other overseers into agreeing to send the Expeditionary Forces or the Interster Supreme Court to interceded in the war in zing Mist Flowzone and drive the Great Eastern Alliance out of the Innerverse. zing Mist Flowzone had already been considered to be the Sword Sect¡¯s property, and also, Nightking Zheng simply did not want to see Lu Yin seed no matter what.

    Mr. You also agreed with the proposal to intercede in zing Mist Flowzone. He was the overseer who hade from the Longevity Brigade, and with the Longevity Brigade destroyed, he knew he would not remain in his position for much longer.

    Director Nan Yuan also supported the proposal. He had not liked Lu Yin for a long time, and he also represented the interests of the Xia family, and they had be extremely hostile towards Lu Yin.

    However, aside from the four overseers, the other five¡ªXin Jiao, San Liang, old man San Shang, Si Hong, and Bu Laoweng¡ªall disagreed with the proposal, which meant that nothing was done on the Hall of Honor¡¯s behalf.

    Before the meeting ended, Xin Jiao made onement, "What if the proposal had been passed? The Expeditionary Forces were already defeated in Giant Consortium¡¯s territory once before, and as for the Interster Supreme Court, Lu Yin holds the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem."

    At her words, Liu Ran and the others grew pale. The Hall of Honor was the only weapon at their disposal, and yet Lu Yin had clearly be arger yer in the Hall of Honor than the overseers¡¯ council. How could the overseers possible hope to use the Hall of Honor against such a person?

    The Hall of Honor was the highest authority and power within the Fifth Maind, and yet it would not attack Lu Yin. At this moment, the only thing that Lu Yin needed to concern himself with were the powers at the helm of the eight great flowzones.

    Emperor Luo had already been severely injured, so Lu Yin and Liu Ye made their way towards the sylvan dragon n¡¯s home. The colossal giants had destroyed the Ross Empire¡¯s fleet on the battlefield, and had then captured the dragon who had been present. The giants then also left the battlefield and made their way towards the sylvan dragon n¡¯s home.

 Chapter 1644: The Dragon Lord Surrenders

    Chapter 1644: The Dragon Lord Surrenders

    The Sylvan Dragon Realm was the region of zing Mist Flowzone where the sylvan dragon n had made their home.

    It was impossible to travel through the Sylvan Dragon Realm on any spacecraft due to it being full of meteoroids. Any vessel trying to travel through the region would crash into something within seconds of entering the region. However, the region of space was perfect for the sylvan dragon to roam about, and the meteoroids also created a natural barrier. The sylvan dragons had betrayed the Astral Beast Domain, and after they had fled to the Human Domain, they had been given this area.

    In the deepest regions of the Sylvan Dragon Realm, there was a maind where the n¡¯s patriarch, Long Yi, had settled himself.

    When the dragons received word of the developments in the war, many of them roared and vowed to destroy the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Long Yi¡¯s eyes zed. Several years had passed since the ze Realm had been wiped out. While the Great Eastern Alliance had initially withdrawn from zing Mist Flowzone, they were now returning in a very over-the-top manner. They were not fools, which made their intentions very clear. Everything was pointless, as the Great Eastern Alliance would definitely take over all of zing Mist Flowzone.

    Lu Yin must¡¯ve finished dealing with Emperor Luo. It''s going to be our turn now. It¡¯s all over!

    One after another, the sylvan dragonsnded on the maind and asked Long Yi to take action.

    Long Yi showed himself. He was more than twice the size of any other sylvan dragon, and he was also an Envoy. He would be considered a powerhouse anywhere in the universe.

    He released a massive roar to summon all of the sylvan dragons to appear before him.

    At the moment, the n had more than 5,000 sylvan dragons. Of those, more than 300 had at least the strength of an Explorer and were able to travel through the void. However, most of those powerhouses had already been sent to the battlefield, so there were only about a hundred dragons who had the strength of an Explorer. There were also a few who were Cruisers, but only five Hunters.

    "All of you, are you willing to be mounts?" Long Yi asked. His voice was powerful, and it shook the Sylvan Dragon Realm and shattered countless meteoroids.

    Many of the dragons fell silent at Long Yi¡¯s words.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin received a call request. Surprisingly, it turned out to be from Mountain God. Lu Yin had expected Liu Qianjue or Wen Zizai would be the first to reach out to him.

    "Senior, it''s been a long time," Lu Yin answered the call calmly.

    Mountain God replied in a deep voice, "The Great Eastern Alliance wants to take over zing Mist Flowzone?"

    "That''s right." Lu Yin did not avoid the matter at all, which caught Mountain God off guard. He had assumed that Lu Yin would quibble over details or would use some excuse to justify his actions. After all, the Great Eastern Alliance had maintained a very low profile for several years.

    "Aren''t you afraid that my Innerverse will unite to drive you out?" Mountain God shouted. "Have you forgotten the Purge?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "The Innerverse is not yours, and my Great Eastern Alliance does not encroach on your own matters. However, we will destroy anyone who tries to drive us out."

    "You sure can talk big." Mountain God was furious.

    Lu Yin remainedid back. "Senior, you can certainly try. My Great Eastern Alliance has tens of millions of cultivators, over 10,000 warships, experts who are Hunters, Enlighters, and even Envoys. My recently established Lu Elite Troops has over 6,000 members, the weakest of which is an Explorer. We also have the colossal giants. What about your Beast Tamers Flowzone?"

    Lu Yin was merely mentioning things that had already been revealed. There was nothing he needed to hide.

    Mountain God grew solemn. "No matter how strong your Great Eastern Alliance may be, can it be stronger than an alliance formed from the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones?"

    Lu Yin secretlyughed; the eight great flowzones? They no longer existed. He had already conquered zing Mist Flowzone, and had also secretly taken control of Chaos Flowzone. Venom Flowzone had no interest in the outside world. As for Erudite Flowzone, would they dare move against him? Only if they no longer wanted Wen Diyi. Daynight Flowzone had already been beaten to a shadow of its former glory, which meant that the only flowzones that could truly unite were First Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and Soulspirit Flowzone.

    As for the remaining three great flowzones, they had already been weakened by Wang Wen''s machinations, so Lu Yin saw no reason to fear being targeted by anyone from the Innerverse.

    "I¡¯ll wait for Senior to unite the eight great flowzones," Lu Yin replied before immediately ending the call. He then quickly sent a message to Wang Wen, telling him to start eliminating people whose names were on the second card.

    Right after Mountain God, Lu Yin received a call from Wen Zizai. "Alliance Leader Lu, does the Great Eastern Alliance really want zong Mist Flowzone?"

    "Of course. The Outerverse has already been given to the Sixth Maind, which means that I, Lu Yin, have no home. Does Senior want to stop this?"

    "Hehe, not at all. Since Alliance Leader Lu has taken a fancy to zing Mist Flowzone, you can have it. I just hope that Alliance Leader Lu will make things more peaceful. After all, this universe is not an easy ce to live," Wen Zizai said with a smile before hanging up.

    Lu Yin snorted disdainfully. That old man was a fox. He had just been trying to test out Lu Yin¡¯s position. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that if the Wen family believed they were his enemy, they would secretly support the Sword Sect in their efforts against Lu Yin.

    However, that no longer mattered. The deaths of various important people to the various Innerverse powers had already destroyed their previously loose cooperation. Lu Yin refused to believe that they would be able to cooperate with each other due to their suspicions about each other.

    As Lu Yin had guessed, Mountain God immediately experts from the Divine Grade Hall, First Grade Hall, and the Second Grade Hall. On top of that, he reached out to the Wen family, the Sword Sect, and the Lingling n. He hoped to unite them all against the Great Eastern Alliance, but his efforts were thwarted.

    There were people from the Divine Grade Hall who refused to agree to an alliance with the Sword Sect. The grandson of one of their elders had died in the war in zing Mist Flowzone, and the reports had said that he had been killed by a sword.

    "Sect Master, while we must be cautious of the Great Eastern Alliance, we must be even more wary of the Sword Sect. There are reports that im that the Y¨­u family¡¯s heir is being held prisoner by the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect has the ambition of a wolf, and they are trying to integrate the power of our Innerverse in order to move into the Neoverse. Please reconsider this matter."

    Mountain God became furious, and he immediately wanted to scold the elder, but someone else spoke up before he could. This person opposed cooperating with the Lingling n.

    It was not that the elders were not able to see the current situation clearly, but rather that their hatred for the other Innerverse powers had gone too deep. Still, such people were quickly suppressed. There was nock of intelligent people in Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    "The deaths of some people from my Beast Tamers Flowzone were not necessarily caused by the Sword Sect or the Lingling n. Sect Master, the Great Eastern Alliance is also very suspicious; they could be trying to divide the Innerverse," one old womanmented.

    Her words left many others start thinking.

    The elder who had objected to working with the Sword Sect shouted, "As far as this old man is concerned, the Sword Sect still represents a greater threat than the Great Eastern Alliance!"

    The old woman looked over at the man. "Do you wish to find the real killer behind Ling Sun''s death, or do you prefer to be used by the murderer?"

    The elder was startled and left speechless.

    The old woman continued, "If the the person behind these deaths is the Great Eastern Alliance, you will be a pawn for your grandson''s murderer. Consider the matter carefully."

    The others all nced at each other.

    Mountain God let out a sigh of relief. Although he could simply force everyone to work with the Sword Sect and the Lingling n, doing so would be a waste of effort, as there would absolutely be some people working to make things difficult.

    He somewhat regretted his actions; he should have enacted the Purge back then. No matter what else Lu Yin had done, he had been the person who hade out as the final victor from ZENITH. Unfortunately, time could not be reversed.

    Simr events yed out in the Sword Sect, the Wen family, the Lingling n, and the rest of the Innerverse. There were people who opposed cooperation, while others supported it. In the end, there were more clear-headed people, and there was no stopping an Innerverse alliance.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, Liu Ye led Lu Yin into the Sylvan Dragon Realm, and there they found thousands of dragons on a maind, as well as Long Yi.

    Long Yi stared at Lu Yin and Liu Ye. A deep hatred filled the dragon¡¯s massive eyes. "Where''s Emperor Luo?"

    Lu Yin stood high above and looked down at Long Yi. "Not dead yet, I''m sorry to say."

    Long Yi solemnly stated, "My sylvan dragon n is willing to surrender to the Great Eastern Alliance. My only hope is that this Sylvan Dragon Realm can remain untouched so that the children can live in peace."

    Lu Yin nced around at the gathered sylvan dragons. He saw the hate in their eyes, and his own eyes flickered. "That¡¯s not too much to ask for."

    Long Yi heaved a sigh of relief.

    "However, I worked hard to seize control of zing Mist Flowzone not just to let an aging sylvan dragon like you to enjoy his old age in peace," Lu Yin continued.

    Liu Ye was looking around with open curiosity. These sylvan dragons were quite odd. They had antlers, but the bodies of snakes. They had rabbit eyes, cow ears, silkworm belly, carp scales, eagle ws, tiger paws, and two dark red, massive, delicate wings on their backs. At the end of their tails wererge balls of flesh. Their eyes radiated cruelty and fierceness. They seemed passive at the moment, but it was clear to see that the moment an opportunity arose, these sylvan dragons would pounce without any hesitation.

    These were astral beasts. They were not human, and theycked humanity.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I can serve you, or even act as your mount," Long Yi said. His words caused all of the other dragons to re at Lu Yin with frustration and indignation.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It won¡¯t be just you. All of the sylvan dragons who can travel through the void will join the Lu Elite Troops and be mounts for the soldiers."

    Many of the dragons let out low roars.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew wide, and his domain swept out to epass all of the sylvan dragons and Long Yi.

    The sylvan dragons all felt chills cover their bodies as they were suppressed by Lu Yin¡¯s domain. Long Yi shouted angrily, "Alliance Leader Lu, is the loyalty of me, Patriarch Long Yi, not enough for you? Why should I sell my descendants?"

    Lu Yin disappeared as he entered the true universe. All of the dragons were left confused, as they could not understand where Lu Yin had gone.

    Long Yi stared in front of himself where Lu Yin was walking forward step by step. He was not moving quickly, and it was clear that he knew that Long Yi could see him. In fact, it was clear that Lu Yin wanted Long Yi to see him.

    Long Yi was stunned; Lu Yin was just an Enlighter, and yet he had just entered the true universe. Long Yi could not begin to imagine how the youth had done it. How could such a genius exist in the universe?

    Lu Yin emerged from the true universe, and when he reappeared, he was on top of Long Yi¡¯s head. As his feet touched the massive dragon¡¯s head, Long Yi was smashed to the ground.

    There was a bang that caused the maind to tremble from Long Yi striking the ground, and the shockwave from the impact knocked back some of the other dragons.

    All the dragons roared with fury, and one of them who was an Enlighter actually charged at Lu Yin. As the dragon shot forward, it used its speed to create clones and it reached out to grab Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sneered and heshed out with his spiritual force, rattling the Enlighter dragon¡¯s mind and causing it to crash down into the ground.

    All of the other dragons were horrified.

    Long Yi shouted, "Alliance Leader Lu, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin was still standing on Long Yi. He knew the dragon could fight back, but simply did not dare to do so. However, it did not matter even if Long Yi did resist, as the dragon was not Lu Yin¡¯s match. "Like I already said, all sylvan dragons who are able to freely travel through space will join the Lu Elite Troops as mounts. Those who have not yet reached that level can choose to travel to Zenyu Star and act as sparring partners for students from the Yu Academy. These will be arrangements. I am the one with the final word, not you."

    Long Yi was panting. His huge head was being pressed to the ground, and at this moment, every shred of the dragon¡¯s dignity was being pressed beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet.

    Lu Yin did not care about Long Yi¡¯s dignity. The sylvan dragon n had already betrayed the Astral Beast Domain and taken refuge in the Human Domain. Their actions had caused them to be looked down upon by everyone, but they were proud of that fact.

    Back when Lu Yin had participated in the entrance exam for Astral-10, the sylvan dragons had sent members to participate in order to stop students from passing the exam and prevent Astral-10 from gaining any students. When Lu Yin had moved against Daynight Flowzone, the sylvan dragons had moved out to help the Daynight n. Lu Yin had never forgotten how they had worked against him.

 Chapter 1645: Give It A Try

    Chapter 1645: Give It A Try

    The only reason the sylvan dragons had not beenpletely exterminated was because they served as excellent mounts. Even ignoring Lu Yin, even the Sword Sect wanted to get the dragons.

    As long as the Lu Elite Troops managed to gain the sylvan dragons to serve as mounts, their strength would rise yet again. Though it was impossible for every soldier to gain a mount, they could be used as rewards. With the additional support of the white smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks and two amazing powerhouses like Liu Ye and Fei Hua, the Lu Elite Troops was strong enough to sweep the Innerverse.

    Long Yi surrendered, and the rest of the sylvan dragons did as well. Not one of them had the courage to not surrender.

    In particr, after they saw Ku Wei arrive with the colossal giants, the sylvan dragons practically buried their faces in the ground on their own.

    The natural tendency of living creatures was that therger the creature, the more powerful it was. The colossal giants wererge enough to treat the sylvan dragons like bugs, so when facing the giants, the dragons started panicking and sumbing to despair.

    Lu Yin was left speechless when he saw one of the giants wrapping a dragon around his waist to use as a belt. These giants were simply too savage. They needed to be trained.

    "Congrattions, Master! You are invincible and have be the ruler of zing Mist Flowzone. From now on, zing Mist Flowzone will no longer have the ze Realm, the Ross Empire, and the sylvan dragon n. Instead, you will rule it all, Master. There will only be the Great Eastern Alliance." Ku Wei¡¯s habit to kiss ass was something that could not be changed, but one had to admit that it was nice to hear such ttery.

    Also, Ku Wei was the captain of the Tenth Imperial Squadron of the Great Yu Empire. With him gainingmand of the colossal giants, someone else would need to rece him as captain of the Tenth Squadron.

    Thinking of the Thirteenth Imperial Squadrons from the Great Yu Empire caused Lu Yin to remember Undying Yushan. Just what was that old man nning?

    The sylvan dragon n had been recaptured, but it would not be easy to train them to be willing mounts. Thus, Lu Yin left the giants in the Dragon Realm to intimidate the dragons, though Lu Yin led Long Yi himself back to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress that was its capitol.

    Also, Lu Yin had almost forgotten, but besides the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons, there was also a third party in zing Mist Flowzone: Royal Frost Continent. However, Lu Yin had no intention of attacking the continent. It was guardian to a sourcebox array that Progenitor Hui had warranted. Lu Yin could not figure out what was sealed, and it left him very nervous.

    Also, the Royal Frost Continent had their Frostgate Army, which had a name that was almost the same as the Perennial World¡¯s Humility¡¯s Gate. The Frostgate Army consisted of eighty-six powerhouses who were kept in cryostasis. The average member of the Frostgate Army was an Enlighter with a power level of 200,000. If those people could join the Lu Elite Troops, the army¡¯s strength would take a leap forward.

    Just thinking of the possibility left Lu Yin hopeful.

    Besides the Royal Frost Continent, there was also the Gasfire Alliance.

    Once the Great Eastern Alliance gained control of zing Mist Flowzone, the Gasfire Alliance¡¯s Paige called Wang Wen, hoping the alliance would be able to find a home in zing Mist Flowzone.

    The Gasfire Alliance consisted of those who had been persecuted by the ze Realm. After the Great Eastern Alliance had pulled out of zing Mist Flowzone, the Gasfire Alliance had been chased off by the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons, and they had also retreated from zing Mist Flowzone. However, the Great Eastern Alliance had made aeback and had taken over all of zing Mist Flowzone, so the Gasfire Alliance was hoping to catch a break.

    Lu Yin did not refuse, and he offered them a small region for their own. The Gasfire Alliance had helped Lu Yin in the past, and they also posed no threat to him at all. They did not have even a single Enlighter, and their most powerful expert was a Hunter known as Uncle Meng. The man did not even qualify to be a captain of one of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the only secret left in zing Mist Flowzone was what was sealed beneath the sourcebox array in the Royal Frost Continent.

    Lu Yin stepped onto Long Yi, and the dragon flew away, quickly taking Lu Yin to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    As they passed through the battlefield, they saw the corpses of sylvan dragons drifting through space, as well as pieces of the Ross Empire¡¯s warships. The sight left Long Yi sad, for while they had fought and died, it had only benefited others in the end.

    However, the end had not yet arrived. Long Yi was fully convinced that the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse forces would not allow the Great Eastern Alliance to enter the Innerverse so easily.

    Beep beep beep

    Lu Yin nced down at his gadget, and a smile crept across his face as he answered the call. "Hello, Senior Liu."

    Liu Qianjue''s voice came through with a solemn tone. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you intend to dere war on the entire Innerverse?"

    "I don''t quite understand what Senior is saying."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance belongs to the Outerverse. The utmost limit that the Innerverse will ept is allowing you to stay in Fennel Flowzone. The Innerverse cannot ept any part of you taking over zing Mist Flowzone."

    Lu Yin looked up. "Since when does the Sword Sect represent the entire Innerverse?"

    Liu Qianjue fell silent for a bit. "It appears that Alliance Leader Lu is determined to keep zing Mist Flowzone."

    "Of course not."

    Lu Yin¡¯s unexpected words caused Liu Qianjue''s eyes to suddenly focus. "What do you mean by that?"

    "If we¡¯re given First Flowzone, we can readily leave zing Mist Flowzone, but that depends entirely on whether or not the Sword Sect is willing to make that trade." Lu Yin smiled.

    Liu Qianjue did not be angry, as doing so was pointless at this time. "I hope you don''te to regret this."

    Liu Qianjue simply hung up, but then Ling Qiu called Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, can the Great Eastern Alliance stop the attack of a united Innerverse?"

    "Give it a try." Lu Yin was unruffled.

    Ling Qiu frowned. "I know you, whether through our intelligence channels or Wendy Yushan, I know you well. I know you make ns before moving. Since you¡¯ve taken over zing Mist Flowzone, you are absolutely able to keep it. I simply want to ask you one thing: of the Innerverse, is zing Mist Flowzone all that you require?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp. This woman was smart, and she wanted to gauge Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, much like Cang Zhou had done before.

    After Lu Yin did not answer, Ling Qiu''s tone of voice revealed her displeasure. ¡°Could it be that you are looking at the entire Innerverse? Do you hope to be master of the Innerverse as well?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Sometimes a woman¡¯s intuition would drive a man insane. This woman was openly expressing her thoughts, and she must have recorded Lu Yin¡¯s reactions. If she revealed this video to the rest of the universe, it could be treated as evidence.

    While there were times that such evidence was meaningless when war was on the horizon, if both sides were of equal strength, such evidence could y a key role by allowing more people to have an excuse to step forward.

    "As long as others don''t push me, I, Lu Yin, am very trustworthy," Lu Yin replied. He liked this phrase, and he had frequently said it to Long Xi.

    Ling Qiu frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m asking if your goal is only zing Mist Flowzone or the entire Innerverse."

    "Matriarch Ling Qiu, having bad hearing can be a symptom of a health problem that needs to be treated. By the way, how is Wendy doing with your Lingling n? You won''t hold her as a hostage, right? Ling Gong doesn¡¯t have the best personality."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it would seem that you are looking at the entire Innerverse."

    Just as Ling Qiu finished speaking, another voice was heard. "Lu Yin, who are you saying has a bad personality?" It was Ling Gong.

    Lu Yin sneered. "In Daosource Sect ruins, you forced me to remove your clothes and treat you, but you refused to admit it afterwards. By the way, do you still like Wendy? I caution you not to touch Wendy."

    "Shut up! Lu Yin, I''m going to kill you!" Ling Gong was furious.

    Ling Qiu scolded her daughter, "Shut up!"

    Lu Yin just hung up. The Lingling n was not easy to deal with. Just now they had trapped him with his own words. If it was ever believed that he was targeting the entire Innerverse, Ling Qiu could spread her recording around the Innerverse, and it might be enough to unite the various flowzones. It might even pull Venom Flowzone out of their istion, which would be a problem.

    Lu Yin was familiar with most of the Innerverse, but Venom Flowzone remained one ce that he was very wary of. Transience hade from that ce, as well as countless poisonous creatures, and it was also full of poisonous gas. Venom Flowzone alone was able to stop the Great Eastern Alliance from moving a single inch.

    He needed to find a way to keep Venom Flowzone from bing his stumbling block on the path to unifying the Innerverse. The Sixth Maind had already failed to pierce through the shroud that caused Venom Flowzone to be such a mysterious existence. Lu Yin had a very difficult task before him.

    Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, Wen Zizai, and Mountain God had all spoken with Lu Yin to show him their positions regarding his recent moves.

    After Lu Yin arrived at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress with Long Yi, the four Innerverse powers officially decided to work together to drive the Great Eastern Alliance out of zing Mist Flowzone.

    In Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s Divine Hall, the old woman returned home exhausted. Soon after she sat down, she opened her gadget and stared at a star chart.

    Beast Tamers Flowzone had already begun to gather their disciples. Every cultivator from the First and Second Grade Halls who possessed at least the strength of an Explorer was to be sent out.

    Still, there were some people within the three halls who held great hatred towards the Sword Sect and Lingling n. It would not be easy to settle this hatred without proving that the Great Eastern Alliance was behind the various assassinations.

    The old woman¡¯s eyes started flickering. If it proved to be truly impossible to verify such a thing, her only option would be to fabricate the evidence in order to frame the Great Eastern Alliance as the hidden knife. No matter who had truly been the one behind those elite youths¡¯ deaths, she would do anything it took so long as her Beast Tamers Flowzone could cooperate with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers to drive the Great Eastern Alliance out. The bigger picture was what was most important.

    As the woman was considering how to fabricate such evidence, her face suddenly grew flushed and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her body shook as she crumpled to the ground and quickly died.

    Such events repeated within the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, the Wen family, and some of the forces from smaller flowzones. Everyone who died had been listed on the second card that Wang Wen had showed Lu Yin. These were all people who tended to focus on the bigger picture and the status of the entire Innerverse, while also having the status and position to influence the leaders of their respective powers. Without eliminating these people, the first stage of Wang Wen¡¯s n would prove pointless.

    Only after the people on his second list were eliminated would there be guaranteed problems regardless of how the Innerverse powers tried to cooperate.

    Even though Wang Wen¡¯s n was a bit too obvious, there was no other way, as the Great Eastern Alliance did not have the ability to deal with the people on both lists simultaneously.

    Mountain God soon learned of the old woman¡¯s death, and he became furious. Even an idiot would realize that the Great Eastern Alliance was behind this. Mountain God immediately called Lu Yin, but the alliance leader simply refused to admit that he had any connection to the old woman¡¯s death. Lu Yin was not only dealing with Mountain God, as the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and the Wen family had all had important people killed.

    The people who had died had formed the core of the Innerverse¡¯s alliance, and things instantly took a turn for the worst with their deaths.

    Of particr concern was the fact that the Wen family refused to openly unite with the other powers, which left the Sword Sect feeling cornered.

    While all of this was ying out, someone reached out to the Lingling n matriarch, Ling Qiu. It was the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Yuan Shou.

    "If Lu Yin continues in this manner, it¡¯s simply a matter of time before the mes of war reach the Neoverse. Matriarch Ling Qiu, my Cosmic Sect has decided to move against the Great Eastern Alliance," Elder Yuan Shou solemnly reported.

    Ling Qiu was overjoyed at hearing these words, as they meant that an alliance with the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone could no longer be avoided. Venom Flowzone and Chaos Flowzone had still not said a single word, and Ling Qiu had grown worried over how to proceed. She had never expected to receive support from the Neoverse.

    Not only were they receiving support from the Neoverse, it was the Cosmic Sect itself that was offering to support them! Any one of their elders was an Envoy, and even Elder Yuan Shou who had reached out to Ling Qiu likely possessed a simr level of strength as she did. They had true experts with power levels that exceeded a million! It was impossible to even dream of better support than the Cosmic Sect.

    "Has the Cosmic Sect truly decided to move against the Great Eastern Alliance? Lu Yin has an excellent rtionship with Eversky Ind, and there are rumors that he represented Eversky Ind as an exchange student who studied at your sect," Ling Qiu could not help but voice her doubts.

    Elder Yuan Shou snorted derisively. "The bigger picture is what¡¯s important. Our sect master has secretly gathered 100,000 disciples, and there are ns to use the Soldier Crew to travel to the Innerverse. However, Lu Yin has powerful people supporting him, so we cannot make this public. Because of that, I must ask Matriarch Ling Qiu to please answer when the timees. At this time, the n calls for the Lingling n, this old man, Elder Yao Shan, and Elder Yuan Ke to all take action at the same time so that we can be sure tond a blow that will eliminate the threat of the Great Eastern Alliance with one blow."

 Chapter 1646: Lord Of Blazing Mist Flowzone

    Chapter 1646: Lord Of zing Mist Flowzone

    Ling Qiu grew increasingly excited, "In that case, what about Lu Yin himself?"

    Elder Yuan Shou stayed silent for a while. "In the end, the child has too many people supporting him. While Eversky Ind and the Hall of Honor will not say anything regarding the destruction of the Great Eastern Alliance, nothing can be done to Lu Yin himself. Don¡¯t touch him. Make sure you remember that he can not be touched"

    "I understand. In that case, I''ll wait for good news from the Cosmic Sect," Ling Qiu replied. Seeing Elder Yuan Shou''s reaction to her question about Lu Yin had given her a great deal of reassurance, as it would be decidedly odd if the elder had simply said that Lu Yin needed to be eliminated.

    "We will cross the Cosmic Sea as soon as possible, so Matriarch Ling can rx as she waits," Elder Yuan Shou ended the call.

    Ling Qiu took a deep breath and stared towards the south. She had not expected the Cosmic Sect would be unable to stand on the sidelines at this time, but after thinking things through a bit more, she felt it made sense. The Great Eastern Alliance had stirred up too many waves. If they managed to defeat the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, they would next target the Neoverse.

    Leon''s Armada practically ruled the Cosmic Sea and saw Lu Yin as family, not to mention Lu yin¡¯s rtionship with Eversky Ind and the Hall of Honor. It really should not have been any surprise that the Cosmic Sect was leery of Lu Yin¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance.

    Still, it was unexpected for even the Cosmic Sect to be afraid. When Ling Qiu had visited the Cosmic Sect after bing an Envoy, she had seen multiple sect elders who were also Envoys, and she had even seen the unfathomable Elder Jiu Shen who had a power level of over a million. If Elder Jiu Shen moved out, he alone would be able to erase the Great Eastern Alliance, and even begging for Yuan Shi¡¯s help would be useless.

    In fact, with the Cosmic Sect¡¯s support, Ling Qiu no longer needed to bother working together with the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone. Not only was trying to cooperate with the two very difficult, it also felt useless, as there was no guarantee that they would be able to actually deal with Lu Yin. However, with this development, Ling Qiu merely needed to keep hidden the involvement of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples, which would not be much effort at all.

    At this thought, Ling Qiu quickly sent out orders to subtly refuse to cooperate with the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone. After all, cooperating with them was difficult, and Lu Yin feared a united Innerverse, and so he had no hesitation to send out assassins against them. As soon as the Cosmic Sect¡¯s forces arrived, the Great Eastern Alliance would cease to exist.

    On the other side of the call, Elder Yuan Shou¡¯s expression twisted after hanging up, and he turned to look at Sect Master Yuan Qiong, but the sect master just shrugged.

    "Sect Master, Lu Yin is going too far! He is actually pushing us to work with him to toy with the Lingling n. Once word of this matter spreads, our Cosmic Sect will have no face left," Elder Yuan Shou angrilyined.

    Yuan Qiong coughed. "You did not speak any lie to her. You told Ling Qiu that we intend to ask the Soldier Crew to ferry us across the Cosmic Sea. However, if the Soldier Crew denies our request, we cannot go to Leon¡¯s Armada, as that would just be absurd."

    Elder Yuan Shou ground his teeth. "I hate being used by that brat."

    Yuan Qiong had been left with no choice in this matter, as Lu Yin''s position within the Cosmic Sect was just too unique. Even though Lu Yin officially was only the head of the sect¡¯s outer disciples, he possessed the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest inheritance on the sole of his foot. That pattern was something that involved Semi-Progenitors like Elder Gong and Xia Ji, who had plotted to take the Skystar Jade Wall, only to gain nothing. Lu Yin¡¯s status and connections surpassed things like age and cultivation strength.

    Put bluntly, if the Cosmic Sect was asked to choose between Yuan Qiong and Lu Yin, the sect master would have to give himself up. Agreeing to put on an act was truly nothing.

    "But Sect Master, will Lu Yin really target the Neoverse?" Elder Yuan Shou suddenly asked as he stared at Yuan Qiong.

    Yuan Qiong actually grew pale. "Let him try, but those of the Neoverse are not easy to deal with. Even if the Innerverse truly bes unified, they will only be able to try to grab a ce in the Neoverse. It takes more than mere ambition to enter this ce."

    Elder Yuan Shou nodded. "I''m afraid that if our Cosmic Sect continues to be pushed around by him that he¡¯ll be able to pull it off."

    Yuan Qiong¡¯s face twisted the moment he heard thisment.

    Even if Ling Qiu was beaten to death, she would never imagine that the dignified Cosmic Sect would cooperate with Lu Yin putting on a y for her in order to give her the illusion of foreign aid. Let alone Ling Qiu, not even the Starsibyl Sect would have ever contemted such a possibility, as it was just too ridiculous. However, it was actually what happened.

    Ling Qiu believed that she had the powerful support of the Cosmic Sect behind her, and so she saw no reason to cooperate with the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone. The two were left with no choice but to work alone. At the moment, the Lu Elite Troops and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s colossal giants were enough to sweep through both Innerverse powersbined. Even the most powerful cultivators could still feel fear, and the alliance of the two Innerverse powers provided no reassurance.

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath as he lowered his gadget. The aid from outside forces that had been written on Wang Wen''s third card had just been taken care of, which meant that zing Mist Flowzone truly belonged to Lu Yin. What was his next step?

    Of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, Chaos Flowzone and zing Mist Flowzone both belonged to Lu Yin, but they were a great distance from each other. The Wen family¡¯s Erudite Flowzone would not move against Lu Yin, while Venom Flowzone and Daynight Flowzone were both isted at the moment. That left First Flowzone and Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    As Lu Yin was contemting the current situation, he arrived at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    Sister Fei Hua had remained at the capitol, making it impossible for Emperor Luo or the dark beast to escape. The Lu Elite Troops had taken over the entire fortress, rendering the many reinforcements useless.

    While the Ross Empire had tens of millions of soldiers, there were actually only about a million cultivators who were strong enough to assist the empire¡¯s mobile fortress. This was because the empire had so many battleships and fleets.

    The empire¡¯s forces were dealt with as they arrived, as they were allpletely unable to deal with the Lu Elite Troops.

    Long Yinded on the mobile fortress, his massive size startled many people.

    Sister Fei Hua was also caught off guard, but only by the dragon¡¯s appearance, as no such beasts existed in the Perennial World. As for the dragon¡¯s strength, the Perennial World did have mounts that were as strong as Envoys, and even Long Kui¡¯s beast was far stronger than Long Yi.

    The dark beast was kept immobilized by Fei Hua, while Emperor Luo was still lying on the ground, half-dead.

    Emperor Luo¡¯s eyes shed red before dimming a bit when he saw Long Yi arrive.

    Long Yi also saw Emperor Luo, andplicated emotions filled the dragon.

    zing Mist Flowzone had once been divided into three territories ruled by Leader Hong, Emperor Luo, and Long Yi. The three had kept each other in check, but had been united against the outside world. This was how they had managed to retain control of one of the eight great flowzones. However, one of the three had died, another captured, while thest one had surrendered. Worst of all, a youth had been behind everything.

    Seeing Emperor Luo''s miserable situation, Long Yi lost all desire to resist, as he was scared of ending up like Emperor Luo.

    There were also many other experts from the Ross Empire who had been captured and held within the mobile fortress. Among them were Schr Newmoon and Duke ckhawk, who had returned from Ironblood Weave. Also, there was the empire¡¯s most powerful expert after Emperor Luo, who was known as Lightning Axe. It was actually a title that he had received reflecting the respect the people of the Ross Empire held for the man.

    At the moment, all of the experts were silently standing in front of Lu Yin, waiting.

    Lu Yin was browsing videos on thework. Each one was of Emperor Luo, and specifically of the man¡¯s battles.

    Lu Yin had originally had no interest in Emperor Luo, but in the past, when Emperor Luo had attacked by reflex, Lu Yin had felt something off from the man.

    Typically, regardless of the person facing a critical situation, they would react with their most powerful attack possible, and yet Emperor Luo had shot out a beam of light from a mechanical arm.

    Something was wrong, as Emperor Luo clearly had a technology that allowed for attacksparable to an Envoy¡¯s, as how else had his mechanical body exerted such force? However, Lu Yin had investigated Emperor Luo before moving against the Ross Empire, and as far as people outside the Ross Empire were aware, Emperor Luo was a cultivator.

    This meant that he was both a cyborg and also a cultivator. He was an Envoy, which was a level he had attained through cultivation. As for his technological might, it only served as a support. However, during the fight with the Frost Emperor on the Royal Frost Continent, Emperor Luo hadunched a powerful sneak attack, and it had been pure technological power.

    Where was Emperor Luo''s technology that allowed his cyborg body to have a power level of an Envoy? Long ago, some tribes of giants had pursued technology and reached a level of mastery that had induced fear from the Hall of Honor, and the Expeditionary Forces had been sent out to destroy the giants¡¯ technology. This had motivated Emperor Luo to always keep his best technologypletely hidden.

    Lu Yin had once heard a rumor that the Ross Empire¡¯s technology had originallye from a ancient technology that had been sealed within a sourcebox. However, after witnessing so many things for himself, Lu Yin knew that the Hall of Honor would never have ignored the Ross Empire if they had acquired such technology. However, it turned out that Emperor Luo himself had been keeping the heights of the empire¡¯s technology a secret.

    Lu Yin found many videos of Emperor Luo fighting, but he fought everyone using his cultivation and only using technological means as a support. The man was deliberately hiding things.

    After closing a video, Lu Yin looked over at Emperor Luo, who was still on the ground. The cyborg¡¯s body had been severely damaged, and it was a challenge for the emperor to even stand.

    "Schr Newmoon, could you please tell me how powerful the weapons are that the Ross Empire can produce?" Lu Yin asked as he turned to Schr Newmoon.

    Schr Newmoon instantly panicked. The man was terrified of death, and even Wendy Yushan had once bluffed the man at East San Dios. At the moment, Schr Newmoon was facing Lu Yin, and he had absolutely no intention of hiding anything. "At best, we can produce weapons capable of attacks with a power level of a bit more than 200,000. While this matches the strength of an Enlighter, due to limited materials, it is incredibly difficult to produce these particr weapons, and they have only been used a few times during our war with the sylvan dragons, though we did kill an Enlighter dragon."

    Long Yi stared at Schr Newmoon from behind Lu Yin. The sylvan dragon n¡¯s top experts aside from him were only Enlighters.

    Lu Yin then turned to look at Lightning Axe. Emperor Luo had been severely injured by Lu Yin''s Vacuum Palm, while Lightning Axe had not possessed the courage to even attack Lu Yin. This was an indication that the man feared death as much as Schr Newmoon. "You tell me."

    Lightning Axe answered in a respectful manner, "Schr Newmoon is correct; that is indeed the best our Ross Empire¡¯s technology is capable of."

    "Then tell me, why does Emperor Luo possess the attack power of an Envoy?" Lu Yin asked as he stared Emperor Luoying on the ground.

    Schr Newmoon quickly replied, "Your Highness, Emperor Luo is a cultivator. If you look only at the power of his technologically-based attacks, none of them surpass the power of an Enlighter."

    Lu Yin waved a hand, dismissing everyone. He then approached Emperor Luo, one step at a time. Emperor Luo watched Lu Yin¡¯s approach with mechanical eyes, so Lu Yin had no idea what the man was able to see.

    "I¡¯m quite curious; tell me, when backed into a corner, there have been a few times when you¡¯ve used technologically-based attacks that match the power of an Envoy. This is not a level of technology that should be possessed by an Innerverse power," Lu Yin spoke casually.

    Emperor Luo''s eyes shed red, and the frequency of shing grew faster and faster.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Die if you¡¯re not going to talk."

    He lifted his hand, and used the Oveying Stacks Path, causing the void to tremor, and even the true universe became vaguely visible. At the same time, traces of his golden battle force appeared.

    Emperor Luo finally said, "The technology is from lockbreaking."

    "Really?" Lu Yin did not believe this at all.

    Emperor Luo continued, "I obtained the technology in the Technocracy."

    Lu Yin raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

    The red light in Emperor Luo''s eyes started to flicker faster and faster, and Lu Yin grew wary. Finally, the red light shot out, creating a screen of light in the air. It was a recording taken from a person¡¯s perspective.

    ''What is this?¡¯ The first thing seen in the recording was a woman. There were visible traces of cybeic technology around her ears that made it clear that this was merely an android in the form of a human.

    ¡®I just received this technology. Look, this is unprecedented! This will allow attacks with power of more than 500,000!¡¯'' The woman was speaking excitedly as she held a crystal cube in her hand that was about the size of her palm. It was beautiful.

    ¡®Is this real?¡¯ Suddenly, a hand appeared from behind the female-shaped android. It pierced her body and seized the crystal. At the same time, the person who had taken the recording also attacked to grab the crystal.

    ''Let go.''

    The person behind the recording said nothing, but instead merely raised a hand and shot out a beam. Everything in the recording exploded, and the video ended.

 Chapter 1647: Lu Yin And Madam Hong

    Chapter 1647: Lu Yin And Madam Hong

    "Is this your story?" Lu Yin asked.

    A faint red light flickered from within Emperor Luo''s pupils. "I stole the crystal, and with the help of the technology recorded within it, I managed to increase my attacks to beyond an attack power of 500,000. However, it took too long. Far too long."

    "How did youe to zing Mist Flowzone from the Technocracy?" Lu Yin wondered, the distance was a bit far.

    "The Technocracy is controlled by the Master Brain, but it is also divided in two. There is the First Edition City, and then Sky Creation Academy. With the two opposing sides, there¡¯s a path to leave the Technocracy. Even though it¡¯s difficult to pass through this path, I already had a power level of more than 400,000 back then, which was enough to allow me to escape," Emperor Luo said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, but he stayed silent.

    Emperor Luo continued, "I escaped from the Technocracy in order to avoid being hunted. I traveled far to enter zing Mist Flowzone. After arriving, I reced the original emperor of the Ross Empire and became Emperor Luo. It took me many years to develop the technology I gained from that crystal, but I was finally able to improve the attack strength of my technological weapons to a power level of more than 500,000, which allowed us to be one of the three powers of zing Mist Flowzone, of equal standing with the ze Realm and the sylvan dragon n."

    "Where''s the crystal?" Lu Yin asked.

    Emperor Luo''s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "It wore out."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp and he red at Emperor Luo, who quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m really not lying! It wore out! Still, I have everything that was recorded in it."

    Lu Yin was amused. "This sort of powerful technology really isn¡¯t anything unique. The giants developed technology that could match up to an Envoy¡¯s strength, only for them to be destroyed by the Hall of Honor, which means that they must¡¯ve taken all the research regarding the giants¡¯ technology. Getting my hands on them isn¡¯t too difficult for me.."

    "I never wanted to use the technology in any battle, as it¡¯s the existence of the technology that could end up saving me.," Emperor Luo said.

    Lu Yin fell silent.

    "Even though it¡¯s possible to use science and technology to create weapons capable ofparing to Envoys, the required materials are too rare and too difficult to work with. With a portion of the materials that I possessed when I had a power level of 400,000, plus what I managed to bring with me from the Technocracy, I was only barely able to reach my current level after so many years. I can¡¯t produce any androids that surpass an Enlighter¡¯s power, and this is also true of the Technocracy.

    "The technical means of matching an Envoy¡¯s attack have existed for a long time, but material limitations make such a thing impractical. You should already have realized this, as if it weren¡¯t true, both the Technocracy and the Hall of Honor would have produced Envoy-level androids long ago," Emperor Luo said.

    Lu Yin was also aware of this, as the Hall of Honor was not led by fools. Even if the Hall of Honor had destroyed the giants¡¯ technology, that technology had naturally been appropriated first. Despite that and the passing of so many years, no one had ever heard of an android with the power of an Envoy, which showed just how rare the required materials were. Lu Yin believed that the Hall of Honor had absolutely created a few androids with that level of power, but very, very few.

    As for the Technocracy, when that ce had worked with the Sixth Maind to attack the Outerverse at the border of Endless Weave, the Technocracy¡¯sbatants had all been robots and androids.

    Since such limitations were in ce in the Technocracy, the Human Domain was naturally even more limited.

    It waspletely unrealistic to expect to use such technology to mass-produce powerhouses. Even with the Enhance option on Lu Yin¡¯s die, it was still not realistic to try such a thing.

    Emperor Luo had saved his life, but just like Long Yi, he became a part of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin also had no trust in the two powerhouses, so he immediately separated the cultivators from the Ross Empire into various divisions of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces. At that same time, he allowed the people of the Great Eastern Alliance to enter zing Mist Flowzone.

    News that the Great Eastern Alliance was moving to upy zing Mist Flowzone shook the entire Fifth Maind. With the Great Eastern Alliance entering the Innerverse, countless Innerverse natives felt as though they saw a monster approaching.

    ***

    Liu Qianjue was preupied with the fact that the Daynight n had been pped in the face and had sealed themselves off, as this meant that the Sword Sect was unquestionably the most powerful force in the Innerverse. No one couldpete with them.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had invaded zing Mist Flowzone and had conquered both the sylvan dragon n and the Ross Empire. The number of powerhouses affiliated with the alliance had sharply increased. Even if no one else had joined the alliance, Long Yi and Emperor Luo alone left the Sword Sect feeling uneasy. Those were two Envoys! Also, there were numerous Enlighters and Hunters who had gone over to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The longer Liu Qianjue considered the current situation, the more ufortable he became. He used his position as the sect master to force the unwilling members of the Sword Sect to cooperate with Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Mountain God did the same, but the two sect masters suddenly learned that Ling Qiu had changed her position; the Lingling n no longer intended to cooperate.

    Liu Qianjue and Mountain God each called Ling Qiu, but she just stalled and put them off without providing any real reason for her actions.

    Ling Qiu already had made her own ns. She knew that the Cosmic Sect wanted to eliminate the Great Eastern Alliance, so she was in no hurry to make a move herself. She had also started to make hopeful little plots in her heart. She was hoping to see the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone fight with the Great Eastern alliance before the Cosmic Sect arrived at thest moment to defeat the alliance. In the aftermath, the Lingling n would then be able to overpower both the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone to be the strongest power in the Innerverse.

    This was what countless members of the Lingling n were hoping for. They had long desired to surpass the Daynight n, but had been powerless to do so. At this moment, they were being given a godsend opportunity.

    No matter how Mountain God cursed, Ling Qiu pretended not to hear anything. She was waiting for the Cosmic Sect to arrive.

    Without the support of the Lingling n, the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone would not prove to be a threat to Lu Yin even if they worked together. If everyone did not unite, they would be able to do nothing but watch as Lu Yin grew bigger and became more of a threat to them.

    They were trapped in a dilemma.

    Lu Yin no longer cared about the Innerverse powers, as there would be no problem in the near future even if they did work together, though it was possible that they might be able to blockade the surrounding, smaller flowzones from zing Mist Flowzone, which would give Wang Wen a headache.

    At this time, Lu Yin received a truly andpletely surprising call request. It was from Madam Hong.

    Lu Yin had never expected Madam Hong to reach out to him.

    Madam Hong¡¯s charming and beautiful appearance showed up on the disy of Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. She possessed a mature charm, which made herpletely different from the lovely Madam Nn. One woman was arrogant and domineering, while the other was graceful and tempting.

    "Lu Yin, Alliance Leader Lu." Madam Hong greeted Lu Yin with a smile, though her eyes were fierce and arrogant.

    Lu Yin looked back at Madam Hong. "Mistress of Flying Horse Manor, we¡¯ve met before."

    Madam Hong maintained her smile as she spoke. "It was in the Starfall Sea when you worked with the Sea King to stop me. Everyone who managed to escape did so because of you. I remember you well from that time."

    "I was also very impressed with Madam Hong, especially how you captured all of the colossal giants. They are mine." Lu Yin spoke with clear displeasure.

    Madam Hong indifferently replied, "That was just a small misunderstanding. When I found them, I had no idea they were under you."

    Lu Yin smirked, but said nothing.

    "I hoped to return them after I learned that they were yours, but Alliance Leader Lu was too quick to take them back from my Flying Horse Manor without even saying hello. Isn''t that rather crass? I¡¯m right here," Madam Hong riposted.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I¡¯m not sure what Madam Hong is talking about."

    Madam Hong stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "How were the colossal giants returned to you, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Am I obligated to tell Madam Hong?"

    "Alliance Leader Lu is free to keep it to himself, but it¡¯s not a good habit to be used as someone else¡¯s pawn."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "What do you mean, Madam Hong?"

    Madam Hong casually said, "Did the people who took the colossal giants away from my Flying Horse Manor not tell Alliance Leader Lu that they also retrieved someone else? The Sea King."

    Lu Yin frowned. "The Sea King?"

    "Alliance Leader Lu, don¡¯t bother trying to tell me that you¡¯re unaware that the Sword Sect currently has the Sea King in their custody. Word of this matter has already spread out," Madam Hong said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, but he stayed quiet.

    Madam Hong''s eyes flickered. Apparently, Lu Yin had no connection to the events that had urred at Flying Horse Manor, as if there were, he would never have allowed the giants¡¯ existence to be exposed, as this would give Flying Horse Manor cause to make trouble for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    If Qing Tan had not happened to hear Liu Ran when he had been speaking with someone from the Sword Sect, Madam Hong would have beenpletely ignorant. The Great Eastern Alliance had remained trapped in the Outerverse, but as soon as there was an opportunity, the Sixth Maind fully intended to drive the alliance out of the Outerverse. The Sword Sect¡¯s move against Flying Horse Manor had given the Sixth Maind just the opening they had been hoping for, which would have dealt the Great Eastern Alliance a harsh blow.

    If not for Qing Tan, there would have been no reason for Madam Hong to reach out to negotiate a deal with Lu Yin. In the end, the more the Sword Sect tried to remain mysterious, the worse it would end up hurting them.

    "I wonder what Madam Hong might be contacting me about at this time?" Lu Yin asked. He said nothing more about the colossal giants, but his face showed his frustration. He made it clear that he disliked being used without any choice in the matter.

    Madam Hong understood this feeling very well and said, "You have underestimated the Innerverse, and you are underestimating the Sword Sect."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained rxed. "Madam Hong is sharing what ismon sense within my Fifth Maind to me?"

    "Common sense can¡¯t describe the Innerverse. What you can see is merely the surface. I can tell you with absolute certainty that not matter if you consider the Sword Sect, the Daynight n, or the Wen family, each of them retain a hidden strength. You have incited their collective anger, and now it is not only the Innerverse that is eyeing you, but also those monsters in the Neoverse. You cannot remain in the Innerverse any longer," Madam Hong stated firmly.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. "Madam Hong should know my backing in the Fifth Maind."

    "Of course, you have the greatest backing of the entire Fifth Maind: the Hall of Honor. However, not even they can go against the will of the entire Fifth Maind. What your Great Eastern Alliance is currently doing crosses some people¡¯s bottom line, and they will do whatever it takes to drive you out," Madam Hong said.

    Lu Yin started to be curious. "Coudl Madam Hong give me an example?"

    Madam Hong and Lu Yin both stared at each other. "I don''t need to give you an example, but I can at least tell you that someone has secretly contacted us to tell us that we can immediately move to take over the rest of the Outerverse, which will not allow enough time for the people from your Great Eastern Alliance to travel to zing Mist Flowzone. At the very least, most of your people will remain trapped in the Outerverse under the control of my Sixth Maind. Given this information, how will you deal with the Innerverse?"

    Lu Yin fell into contemtion. He had considered this matter before, and so after the Sixth Maind had taken over Southside Weave, Yuan Shi had remained at the border between the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory and the rest of the Outerverse that was controlled by the Great Eastern Alliance as a deterrence to prevent the Sixth Maind from unexpectedly taking action. Lu Yin could not simply afford to keep an eye on them at all times.

    If the Sixth Maind truly intended to quickly conquer the rest of the Outerverse, Lu Yin would be in a bit of trouble, but nothing excessive. Just as there were internal wars within the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind was simrly not at peace. It wasmon for powers under the three Progenitors to fight against each other, and even for forces under the same Progenitor would asionally fight. For example, it was quitemon for fierce fighting to break out between the Bloodburn Realm and the ckblood Realm.

    Years before, the Sixth Maind had been united as one when they had invaded the Innerverse, but that had been because their various interests had all aligned. At present, so long as Lu Yin requested the full support of the Hall of Honor, he would definitely be able to pull his forces out of the Outerverse.

    Madam Hong was just using intimidation tactics, though Lu Yin obliged the woman by looking properly cowed.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s eyes grow dark and his expression turn somber, Madam Hong gave a charming smile. "Mr. Lu, is there something you wish to say?"

    "What is it that you want?" Lu Yin asked back. He pretended to be annoyed as he stared at Madam Hong.

 Chapter 1648: Odd Deal

    Chapter 1648: Odd Deal

    Madam Hong remained rxed. "Actually, I have no hatred towards the Great Eastern Alliance, and I don''t hope to have any enmity with you in the future either. Thus, I would like to propose a deal to Alliance Leader Lu. If an agreement is reached, then both of us will benefit greatly, and I can even guarantee that Alliance Leader Lu will definitely profit more than me."

    "What¡¯s the deal?" Lu Yin asked. He remembered what the ugly old woman at Flying Horse Manor had said. Madam Hong had wanted to speak with Lu Yin for some time, even before the colossal giants had appeared. Since then, he had started guessing what the other possible reasons might be.

    Madam Hong''s face grew pale. "Alliance Leader Lu should hate the Sword Sect a great deal."

    Lu Yin was startled by the woman¡¯s reaction. "What are you suggesting, Madam Hong?"

    "I''ll help you deal with the Sword Sect, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Madam Hong, please make things a bit more clear."

    Madam Hong¡¯s voice dropped lower. "After my Sixth Maind started taking over the Outerverse, cultivators from my Sixth Maind have been constantly traveling into the Innerverse and even the Cosmic Sea to gain experience. Some of them have kept their identities hidden while others have not. There are two in particr that I would like Alliance Leader Lu to help me capture: the Greenmen Duo."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "The Greenmen Duo?"

    "They are highly regarded disciples of the Brahman Realm¡¯s Master Qing Hua. In the past, his prized disciple was Fan Shun, but apparently, he values these two even more. You need to capture these two disciples, as forcing Master Qing Hua to move will help you deal with the Sword Sect. It will not be difficult for Master Qing Hua to deal with the Sword Sect, as he is a powerful Empyrean Imprinter," Madam Hong said.

    Lu Yin felt genuinely confused. "Madam Hong, do you have some grudge against Master Qing Hua?"

    "No."

    "Then why?"

    "This matter has nothing to do with Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Sorry, but I can''t do that," Lu Yin refused.

    Madam Hong frowned. "Does Alliance Leader Lu intend to be enemies with my Flying Horse Manor? Are you really okay with allowing the Sixth Maind to immediately move into the entire Outerverse and against your Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Lu Yin pretended to grow angry as he replied, "Master Qing Hua is a powerful Empyrean Imprinter! If he makes a move, then even if he does help me deal with the Sword Sect, what can I do against such a person? I¡¯ll be doomed as soon as I give up the Greenmen Duo, but I¡¯ll end up in even worse trouble if I refuse to release them. Also, if this matter is ever made public, my entire reputation will be destroyed! I can¡¯t afford to face the crime of working with outsiders against other people from my Fifth Maind."

    Madam Hong''s mouth curled into a smile. "If this is all that Alliance Leader Lu is concerned about, then things are quite simple: just exin the matter to the Hall of Honor and then have the Chief Justice or some other Semi-Progenitor protect you. If Master Qing Hua does move against you, then you can eliminate him without any qualms. Of course, the basis of everything is that there is an agreement between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds. So, if Master Qing Hua does try to do anything to you, he will be viting that agreement, and the Sixth Maind will not have any reasons to cause trouble for you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What do you mean?"

    Madam Hong solemnly replied, "There¡¯s a matter that we need to deal with, but Master Qing Hua is just too much of an obstacle. I simply want to ask Alliance Leader Lu to lead him away. Not only would this help us, but it could also be the start to an amiable rtionship. Not to mention, if this allows you to deal with the Sword Sect as well, then why not go for it? Am I right, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin started thinking.

    Madam Hong was in no rush, as she already knew that Lu Yin would not be able to refuse. This deal would not cause him any harm, and it would also help him eliminate the Sword Sect. As for why he wanted to deal with the Sword Sect, she had already helped Lu Yin open up that path: the Sea King.

    This was precisely the reason why she had ordered her people to spread word that the Sword Sect was holding the Sea King. Even back then, Madam Hong had already nned everything out.

    Lu Yin considered the proposal for a long time before finally looking up at Madam Hong. "Facing an Empyrean Imprinter is too dangerous. I don¡¯t want to risk it."

    Madam Hong instantly grew cold towards Lu Yin. "If that¡¯s how it is, then I will have to ask Alliance Leader Lu to remove everyone in your Great Eastern Alliance from the Outerverse within three days. If anyone has not left by then, we will treat them as though they have willingly submitted to my Sixth Maind."

    "Wait!" Lu Yin¡¯s eyes revealed anxiety as he looked into Madam Hong''s eyes that were filled with disdain. He solemnly stated, "I have one condition. Promise me this, and I¡¯ll do as you ask."

    "You don¡¯t have the qualifications to give me conditions!" Madam Hong shouted.

    Lu Yin remained stubborn. "Then I swear that I will die with my Great Eastern Alliance! Dering war is a big deal, and if I am truly threatened, the Hall of Honor will definitely move to help me."

    A cold glint shed through Madam Hong¡¯s eyes before she slowly said, "What condition?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand. "Five weaves. I want to keep five weaves in the Outerverse for my Great Eastern Alliance. You¡¯ve said that we will eventually be driven out of the Innerverse, so if that¡¯s true, then I want to reserve five weaves for my Great Eastern Alliance as our final resort for survival."

    Madam Hong thought for a while. "Two weaves."

    "I¡¯m not negotiating with you, Madam Hong. Five weaves is my absolute limit. Also, don''t forget that you captured the colossal giants, who belong to me. I¡¯ve ignored this matter from you, but giants hold grudges, and it is very difficult for me to restrain them."

    Madam Hong fell silent for a while. "Very well, I promise."

    Lu Yin stared at her. "I want the Daosource Sect¡¯s Four Empyreans to personally validate this promise to me, especially Bluedome Elder, as he holds no affection for me or my Great Eastern Alliance. As long as he promises to give us five weaves, I¡¯ll do as you ask."

    Madam Hong¡¯s eyes grew sharp. "I will speak with Bluedome Elder."

    With that, she hung up.

    Back in zing Mist Flowzone, Lu Yin realized that the curtains had been parted for him. He certainly had not expected the next person to step foot onto this stage to be Madam Hong.

    As soon as Lu Yin ended his call with Madam Hong, he called Qing Tan.

    Qing Tan had fallen under Lu Yin¡¯s control, and as long as she did not want to die, she had no choice but to do as Lu Yin ordered.

    "Do you know why Madam Hong, Ancestor Autumnfrost, and the Arrow God of Wilderness were being questioned?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I don''t know. Master did not disclose this matter with me."

    Lu Yin started thinking. When he had told Qing Tan to lie to Bluedome Elder, it had been to tell the Empyrean Imprinter that Madam Hong and several others had reached an agreement with Lu Yin for them to give him five weaves. That had merely been a bluff, but with Madam Hong about to approach Bluedome Elder and suggest giving the Great Eastern Alliance five weaves, regardless of the reason, her words would confirm the previous lie.

    Lu Yin had no idea what consequences Madam Hong would face precisely, but he could imagine.

    "How strong is Master Qing Hua?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Master Qing Hua?" Qing Tan had no idea why Lu Yin would suddenly bring up this particr person. "I don''t know Master Qing Hua, but he was once referred to as the sessor of the Four Empyreans. When the Toolwielder Ancestor fell in the Cosmic Sea, Qing Hua was the first in line to rece him."

    "Who are the Four Empyreans?" Lu Yin quickly asked.

    "Bluedome Elder, Mr. Lifeview, Herb Immortal, and the now-dead Toolwielder Ancestor."

    Bluedome Elder was from the Blood Homage Realm, Mr. Lifeview was from the Sage Martial Realm, Herb Immortal was from the Rock Realm, and the Toolwielder Ancestor had been from the War Martial Realm. Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the Sixth Maind had actually been clearer before they fled to the Fifth Maind.

    The three Progenitors had divided up the Sixth Maind between them, but as transcendental beings, they had no desire to get involved in its mundane affairs. Thus, the Four Empyreans were the true decision makers, and two of them were from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory, which gave that territory much greater influence within the Daosource Sect. However, the Toolwielder Ancestor had died and been reced by Qing Hua, who was from the Brahman Realm, which had been a part of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. This had therefore given the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory a greater voice.

    This was the underlying motivation behind Madam Hong¡¯s talk with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind had been decided by the Four Empyreans as well.

    When he thought back to when the Progenitor of Combat had personally made a move, the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory had been quite hostile towards the Fifth Maind, and two of the Four Empyreans hade from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory, which was allowed that territory to almost single handedly decide the direction of the Sixth Maind.

    Everything was starting to make sense, and Lu Yin felt confident that he had understood the current situation. This was certainly the reason why Madam Hong wanted Lu Yin to capture two of Qing Hua¡¯s disciples and draw the man¡¯s attention. It was most likely because she needed something done that no one in the Sixth Maind could do. This was likely why she had been so eager to use Lu Yin to settle the matter.

    It also made sense why Madam Hong would encourage Lu Yin to approach the Hall of Honor so that they could dispatch a powerhouse to protect him who could overpower Qing Hua. If Lu Yin were in Qing Hua¡¯s shoes, he would have never allowed the Greenmen Duo to leave his sight. If Qing Hua took action, it would give the Hall of Honor an excuse to move against him, which would prevent Qing Hua from bing one of the Four Empyreans.

    Lu Yin tapped the air with a finger as he thought about matters.

    Qing Tan said nothing, and she had no idea what Lu Yin wanted to do.

    After a long time, Lu Yin simply ended the call. He then took out a star chart and looked through each of the eight major flowzones one by one.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, in Southside Weave, Bluedome Elder weed a refined-looking, middle-aged man.

    The man had an ethereal quality to him that made him seem somewhat illusory. He gave off the impression of being an immortal exiled from the nine heavens, and most people would not dare to look directly at the man.

    Bluedome Elder looked up at the man. "Lifeview, what''s the matter?"

    Mr. Lifeview calmly replied, "Master Qing Hua cannot be one of the Four Empyreans."

    "Oh?"

    "Thus, we need help from the Fifth Maind. We havee to an agreement with Lu Yin to give him the five Outerverse weaves closest to the Astral River Ark, and in exchange, he will deal with Master Qing Hua for us."

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes snapped open when he heard Mr. Lifeview mention giving Lu Yin five weaves. "You personally spoke to him? That¡¯s not like you."

    Mr. Lifeview indifferently replied, "Madam Hong spoke with him. Once Qing Hua steps onto the same level as you and I, the people in the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory will gain greater influence in determining the direction our Sixth Maind takes. The Progenitor of Combat does not want that to happen."

    Bluedome Elder was no longer listening to Mr. Lifeview at all. All that Bluedome Elder had heard was that Madam Hong was the source of the information that Lu Yin was to be given five weaves. Sure enough, the woman had reached an agreement with Lu Yin, and everything concerning Qing Hua was nothing more than a cover. An agreement had already been reached, and Lu Yin had definitely given Madam Hong Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    The mere thought of Progenitor Wushang''s hide left Bluedome Elder excited. He had been stuck as an Empyrean Imprinter for far too long, never managing to reach the level of a Semi-Progenitor. He was desperate to get his hands on any and everything rted to a Progenitor. While Bluedome Elder did have possession of an item that once belonged to a Progenitor, it was unusable to him, but Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was a different matter. Their name had once rang throughout the entire Sixth Maind, and anything from that powerful Progenitor would far surpass something from one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors.

    What use could a mere World Imprinter have for Progenitor Wushang''s hide? Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes flickered.

    "Bluedome, what do you say?" Mr. Lifeview asked in an indifferent manner.

    "Alright."

    Mr. Lifeview left.

    Before long, Madam Hong reached out to Lu Yin once again to give him Bluedome Elder¡¯s answer.

    "Why should I take your word as truth? Have Bluedome Elder tell me himself," Lu Yin said.

    Madam Hong''s eyes red. "Who do you think you are? You want an Empyrean Imprinter to speak to you himself? Do you believe that an Empyrean Imprinter would stoop so low as to deceive you?"

    "I''ve already spoken with more than one Semi-Progenitor," Lu Yin retorted.

    Madam Hong sneered. "Your Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors can at bestpare to our Empyrean Imprinters! With the suppression that you all suffer against us from the Sixth Maind, your Semi-Progenitors may not even be capable of measuring up to that level! You can simply take my word for it, as that is all you can do. Otherwise you will not only insult my Flying Horse Manor, but you will also insult the entire Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory and Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory!"

 Chapter 1649: Slimy Lu

    Chapter 1649: Slimy Lu

    Lu Yin acted intimidated and then let out a cough as he recovered. "Alright, I believe you for now. So, where are the Greenmen Duo?"

    "They just went to zing Mist Flowzone. I¡¯ll send you a specific location soon. I do hope that you won''t let me down. Saving five weaves for the Great Eastern Alliance is not a small price to pay, and as I mentioned before, you will gain more than just that,¡± Madam Hong coldly threatened before ending the call. After that, Lu Yin received a set of coordinates from the woman.

    The Great Eastern Alliance fully entered zing Mist Flowzone, and their troops began to take over the weave¡¯s defenses.

    The Greenmen Duo were currently located in the same area where the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ First Legion had been stationed. Ian had been ordered to capture the two youths.

    zing Mist Flowzone had once been ruled by the Ross Empire, but the situation had be very chaotic on a certain high-tech. There were vessels flying in the sky over a city, sounding an rm: "Attention everyone: we are searching for dangerous criminals charged with robbery, intimidation, and assassination of public figures. They are known to be extremely dangerous. Stay alert at all times and immediately report these criminals if they are seen¡­ Attention everyone: we are searching for dangerous criminals¡­"

    There were vehicles covering the entire sky over the city and others moving in between the tall buildings. It was night, but the entire city was illuminated brightly.

    Where there was light, there would inevitably also be darkness. Even if the whole city was lit up, there would always be some ces that the light could not reach.

    In an alleyway, two figures were crouched low. One was fat while the other was thin. They were squatting on the ground and devouring some food. ¡°Fat Bro, what¡¯s that noise in the sky?"

    "I don''t know. They say that they¡¯re searching for dangerous people, so Skinny Bro, you need to be careful."

    "I know Fat Bro. This is absolutely delicious! Fat Bro, eat some more. Did you get fatter again?"

    "Really? Hahahaha! Skinny Bro, you¡¯ve lost a bit more weight. You look like a bamboo pole."

    "Really? Thank you, Fat Bro. Hahahaha."

    "Hahahaha."

    Suddenly, the lights in the sky gathered together and moved to illuminate the dark alley. "The dangerous criminals have been found. Area is secluded, so capture can proceed. Kill on sight."

    After the voice rang out, beams of lightpletely sealed off the alley. As that happened, lightning shed, and fierce attacks shot down from the sky to m into the fat and skinny pair on the ground.

    The two young men were confused by the attacks, but nothing else happened.

    "Fat Bro? What are they doing?"

    "Maybe it''s a show?"

    "Huh? Then what about us?"

    "Are we blocking their performance? I think I remember there being something about someone putting on a performance earlier today, but you pushed them out of the way, Skinny Bro."

    "Oh, well then let''s go. We don¡¯t want to get in the way."

    Right after that, the fat and skinny youths casually forced their way through the barrier and left.

    The entire city was a mess, but no matter which weapons were used, everything was useless against the two youths. Finally, in an act of desperation, the army started to evacuate the civilians. They calcted the path of the two young men and then prepared to use restricted super weapons.

    There was an explosion. The fat and skinny pair had been bombed, and a tenth of the city was leveled by the st. However, the two were simply more confused than ever. "Fat Bro, what are they doing?"

    "Skinny Bro, I think we¡¯re being attacked."

    "Really? That can¡¯t be. It doesn''t hurt or even itch."

    "True. Is this really an attack?"

    There was another bang as a figure shot forward from behind the fat man. The figure¡¯s speed was impressive, and the person threw a punch that sent the fat man flying.

    The thin man lifted a hand, grabbed the attacker¡¯s fist, and simply threw the man away, much to the shock and disbelief of the attacker.

    ¡°A Hunter.¡± The thin man suddenly looked serious.

    Off in the distance, the fat man rose to his feet. ¡°A Hunter? This actually has a Hunter?"

    When the two both looked up, they saw one person after anothernd on the ground. If they included the man who had just attacked the pair, they were surrounded by five people, each of whom was a Hunter.

    On a spacecraft above the, Ian was calmly watching everything.

    zing Mist Flowzone was too vast, and while the Great Eastern Alliance had defeated the Ross Empire, they had not taken control of every single within the empire. This particr had been unaware of the recent changes in the ruling power, though knowing or not made no difference to them as nothing about their life would change. The did not even have the strength to deal with the Greenmen Duo, and the people here had no way of fathoming the two¡¯s level of strength.

    During ZENITH, Fat Bro had used a single attack to defeat Tian Hou, which had shocked countless people. On the other hand, Skinny Bro had actually managed to actually enter thepetition¡¯s top twenty. Granted, there had been an element of luck to his high ranking, but the two¡¯s strength could not be denied.

    After ZENITH, both Fat Bro and Skinny Bro had be Hunters, and their strength had improved immensely. Each of them was capable of facing off against an ordinary Enlighter on their own, and their power was even greater when they worked together.

    All five of the Hunters on the were beaten down. They werepletely unable to stand up to the Greenmen Duo.

    "Fat Bro, we''re going back," the thin man said.

    Fat Bro nodded. The two were not stupid, and with the appearance of five Hunters, it was clear that someone was targeting them. They needed to return.

    Whether it was the or the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ First Legion, no one was strong enough to deal with the Greenmen Duo, but Lu Yin had already anticipated that. This was why he had sent out Lei Fu.

    As the Ross Empire¡¯s second most powerful expert, Lei Fu was very powerful, and he was also determined to sessfully disy the power of the Ross Empire to the Great Eastern Alliance. He just happened to pass by the with the Greenmen Duo.

    Just as the two young men decided to leave and return to the Outerverse, Lei Fu arrived.

    Even though the Greenmen Duo were very powerful, it was impossible for them to stand up to an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000. In the end, both of them were captured.

    Ian indifferently said, "Report to the alliance leader that the Greenmen Duo have been sessfully captured."

    A woman standing behind him responded with a respectful tone, "Yes."

    Ian stared out into space and started muttering to himself, "Capturing the Greenmen Duo and forcing Master Qing Hua out to deal with the Sword Sect¡­ Our alliance leader is handling this quite well. It looks like First Flowzone will soon belong to my Great Eastern Alliance."

    The woman behind Ian was shocked at what she heard, as she had overheard an incredible secret.

    After she left themand center, the woman quickly essed her gadget and sent out a message.

    Inside themand center, Ian stared past the door. It was as though he could see the woman even through the walls.

    The Greenmen Duo were quickly delivered to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. They had not been beaten badly, and the two of them quickly recovered. In particr, Fat Bro was alreadypletely free of all injuries.

    After seeing Lu Yin, Skinny Bro shouted, "Fat Bro! Fat Bro! It''s him, Slimy Lu!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    "Skinny Bro, it really is Slimy Lu! We¡¯re in trouble this time. We can''t beat him, so we can¡¯t escape."

    "Shh! Fat Bro, not out loud! He just heard all of that."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was standing just a few meters away from the Greenmen Duo, and he was quietly observing them as theyforted andplimented each other. Slowly, his brow furrowed; these two really deserved a beating.

    "Slimy Lu, why did you arrest us?" Fat Bro looked up at Lu Yin and yelled.

    Anger entered Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "Call me that again, and I¡¯ll scrape all your fat off."

    The fat man trembled. He dropped his head and muttered, "So fierce!"

    Then, the thin man looked up, but just as he was about to speak, Lu Yin casually said, "If you dare to spout the same bullshit, I¡¯ll feed you fat."

    The thin man¡¯s mouth fell open, and he stared at Lu Yin in absolute horror. "You monster!"

    Fat Bro¡¯s eyes had already lit up. "You¡¯ve got some fat?"

    Lu Yin looked over. "I¡¯ll starve you for a hundred days."

    The fat man quickly lowered his head again.

    Seeing that the two had fallen quiet, Lu Yin continued, saying, "Call Master Qing Hua. I want to talk to him."

    Fat Bro was caught off guard. "How do you know we can get through to that old man?"

    Skinny Bro quickly pped a hand over Fat Bro¡¯s mouth. "Fat Bro, you can''t say that! Don''t say it!"

    The fat man quickly nodded. Then, both men lowered their heads and fellpletely silent.

    Lu Yin shook his head. These two really were the Greenmen Duo. He grabbed the fat man''s arm and removed his gadget. After a moment, Lu Yin managed to find Master Qing Hua¡¯s contact information.

    Given the poprity of gadgets, practically everybody had one.

    Eh? Lu Yin suddenly came across Wang Yi''s name in Fat Bro¡¯s contacts. How did these two know Wang Yi?

    After ZENITH, Wang Yi had been ambushed by the Neohuman Alliance and forced to flee back to the Perennial World, but before that, Wang Yi had represented the Technocracy''s Sky Creation Academy. The Sky Creation Academy and the capital city were enemies since the capital city was controlled by the Sixth Maind while the Sky Creation Academy was not. Therefore, there should have been no contact between Wang Yi and the Greenmen Duo.

    Even if Wang Yi had some sort of connection to the Sixth Maind, it should not have been the Greenmen Duo.

    Lu Yin pointed at Wang Yi''s name. "What¡¯s your connection to this person?"

    The fat and skinny men nced at each other before looking up and down while acting clueless.

    Lu Yin snorted but did not push things. Instead, he simply called Master Qing Hua.

    "What''s the problem?" He heard azy voice call out as soon as the call connected. The moment Lu Yin heard the voice, the image of Wang Wen popped into his mind. It was that sloppy, slovenly look as if nothing really mattered.

    "Master Qing Hua?" Lu Yin asked.

    The call stayed silent for a bit. "Who are you? Where are those two idiots?"

    Lu Yin nced over at the Greenmen Duo and shook the gadget at them.

    The fat man instantly started wailing, "Old man, we got caught! Come save us! It¡¯s Slimy Lu!"

    A bang rang out as Lu Yin pped the fat man, leaving his head ringing.

    The thin man was about to react in a simr manner, but after seeing Fat Bro¡¯s suffering, Skinny Bro wisely kept his mouth shut.

    "Slimy Lu? Who¡¯s that?" Master Qing Hua waspletely confused, but his voice no longer held the heavy concern of before. Hearing Fat Bro¡¯s voice had let Qing Hua know that the two were fine.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I''m Lu Yin."

    "You¡¯re Slimy Lu?" Master Qing Hua was startled.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Why did this Master Qing Hua have a simr feeling as the Greenmen Duo?

    "Why did you grab those two idiots?" Master Qing Hua wondered.

    Lu Yin casually replied, "If you want to keep them alive,e find me in zing Mist Flowzone."

    Master Qing Hua sneered. "Save them? They don¡¯t matter. Do what you want with them."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained light. "Since I have the confidence to use these two to draw you out, your words clearly mean nothing."

    "Boy, do you realize who you¡¯re speaking to?" Master Qing Hua''s voice grew icy.

    A small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "zing Mist Flowzone, at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. I''ll wait a bit for you, but be here within twenty one days. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take care of the Greenmen Duo."

    "Who put you up to this?" Master Qing Hua suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin hung up. He had nothing more to say to Master Qing Hua.

    Master Qing Hua had clearly guessed that there was something more to the matter given hisst sentence. The powerhouse had no grudges with Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had no need to offend such a person. So, the only possible answer was that someone had ordered Lu Yin to do this.

    On the surface, everything looked as if it had been set up to attack Qing Hua, but it was actually still an internal fight for the people from the Sixth Maind. As for the heart of the matter, Lu Yin could only make some guesses. After all, what if all of this was just some sort of borate scheme cooked up by Madam Hong and the others to deal with Lu Yin? Just in case, he needed to ask for the support of a top powerhouse to feel safe.

 Chapter 1650: Heaven And Earth

    Chapter 1650: Heaven And Earth

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Yuan Shi, but he almost instantly realized that while Yuan Shi had a power level of more than a million, he still would not be able to defeat an Empyrean Imprinter. After Yuan Shi, the next person that Lu Yin thought of was the Chief Justice or one of the Semi-Progenitors.

    Wait a minute, he had forgotten about Elder Jiu Shen! Lu Yin smiled as soon as he thought of that old man.

    The Innerverse had recently suffered a great deal of chaos, as there had been wars in both the Cosmic Sea and zing Mist Flowzone, and that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s second debut in the Innerverse. There were also rampant rumors circting that the Sea King was being held within the Sword Sect. Something had happened at Chaosgod Mountain, and the master of the mountain had died. On top of all that, there was suddenly a new rumor that the alliance leader of the Great Eastern Alliance was working with one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters against the Sword Sect.

    This rumor created a huge uproar, as the Great Eastern Alliance would never admit to such a thing. However, the Sword Sect continued to spread the rumor, and they even imed to have evidence supporting their im. This caused people from the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even the Neoverse to hear of it.

    The Hall of Honor immediately called for a meeting of the overseers to discuss the matter.

    The Sword Sect presented their evidence, which was a video of Ian muttering to himself, as well as one of the Greenmen Duo being captured.

    Liu Ran roared, ¡°How dare Lu Yin cooperate with the Sixth Maind against the Fifth Maind¡¯s Sword Sect! He¡¯s a traitor! These actions are those of a traitor!¡±

    San Liang retorted, ¡°How can you judge that Lu Yin is a traitor based on a single person¡¯s words and the Greenmen Duo being captured? Overseer Liu Ran, you¡¯re from the Sword Sect, so we really can¡¯t take your word on this matter.¡±

    Liu Ran continued to angrily rant, ¡°Overseer San Liang, haven¡¯t you heard the rumors from before? I know that you¡¯re close to Lu Yin, but you can¡¯t cover up the fact that he is a traitor to our Fifth Maind.¡±

    San Liang mmed a hand onto the table with a bang. ¡°Nonsense! Overseer Liu Ran, are you insane? The Great Eastern Alliance has taken over zing Mist Flowzone, and this must be why the Sword Sect is so unhappy with Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still a fact that Lu Yin has betrayed the Fifth Maind! You can¡¯t ignore that!¡±

    ¡­

    The other overseers listened quietly. Half of them were happy to work against Lu Yin while the other half supported him. This made it impossible for them to reach a consensus.

    The rumor continued to spread, and there were even other rumors that said that Lu Yin had gone over to the Sixth Maind and be a disciple of one of the four Empyreans: Bluedome Elder. On top of that, still more rumors imed that Lu Yin had be a disciple to a Progenitor and that he had gained the potential to eventually be a Progenitor, which was why he had betrayed the Fifth Maind.

    Most people believed that these rumors were merely thus, but the evidence provided by the Sword Sect did manage to convince some.

    The Sword Sect truly believed that Lu Yin was nning on working with Qing Hua to deal with them. This was why they continued to frenziedly spread the rumors, as they were hoping that it would stop Lu Yin from attacking them.

    Liu Qianjue solemnly stated, ¡°I underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s ambition. I thought that the young man would at least maintain some principles, such as not working with the Sixth Maind.

    Elder Li¡¯s voice was vicious. ¡°Sect Master, Liu Ran is doing his best to sway the Hall of Honor, but the members of the overseers¡¯ council won¡¯t be able to stop Lu Yin unless the Interster Supreme Court itself steps in. However, the Interster Supreme Court is simply ignoring this matter.¡±

    Liu Qianjue snorted. ¡°Lu Yin is too influential within the Hall of Honor, so we can¡¯t rely on them unless he actually does something. What about the Court of Seven Names?¡±

    Although news did not spread out from the Neoverse quickly, the Sword Sect was still able to gather some bits of information, such as information regarding the war that had urred in the Cosmic Sea. They were aware that the main powers that had participated in that war were the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family and Eversky Ind. The Xia family was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, so Liu Qianjue was hoping to gain their support. Otherwise, the Sword Sect had no hope of countering an Empyrean Imprinter.

    Elder Li helplessly replied, ¡°It¡¯s too difficult for us to approach the Seven Courts. Liu Ran has spoken to Nan Yuan before, but Nan Yuan ispletely ignoring us right now. I believe that the Xia family has their own ns.¡±

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had already known that it would be hard for his Sword Sect to gather allies, as nobody except a Semi-Progenitor could possibly defeat one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters. None of the Fifth Maind¡¯s lesser powerhouses stood a chance.

    Most people were simply waiting for the Sword Sect to be defeated, as there was also no reason to help the Sword Sect if Qing Hua never attacked. If the Empyrean Imprinter really did destroy the Sword Sect, then it would be proof that Lu Yin had coborated with the Sixth Maind, which would give Lu Yin¡¯s enemies an excuse to attack him.

    No one actually cared about what happened to the Sword Sect.

    ¡°Sect Master, will Lu Yin truly work with Qing Hua to move against us?¡± Elder Lianxin asked.

    Liu Qianjue frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Realistically, with the rumors spreading out and the information that had been revealed so far, it should be impossible for Lu Yin to proceed with this particr n, but it was also impossible to know what Lu Yin would actually do.

    ¡°Send out orders to seal off the mountain.¡± Liu Qianjue turned to Lianxin. ¡°Take Liu Tianmu, Liu Shaoqiu, Long Yun, Li Zimo, and a few others away from First Flowzone.¡±

    Elder Lianxin¡¯s face sank. Their sect master was already preparing for the worst case scenario.

    Although the Sword Sect was powerful enough topletely control First Flowzone, there was nothing that they could do against an Empyrean Imprinter.

    The only hope that the Sword Sect had was that Lu Yin would abandon his n of working with the Sixth Maind. If not, the Sword Sect would be in grave danger.

    Liu Tianmu quietly stood on Sword Mountain and stared off into the distance.

    Liu Shaoqiu approached. ¡°Were you looking for me?¡±

    ¡°How far along are you in mastering the Thirteen Swords?¡± Liu Tianmu asked calmly while still staring off into the distance. She was staring at where she had grown up.

    ¡°The Eighth Sword.¡±

    ¡°Watch carefully¡ªthis is the Ninth Sword.¡± Liu Tianmu lifted her sword.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to teach me? Each person needs toprehend the Thirteen Swords for themselves.¡±

    Liu Tianmu did not answer, and instead calmly demonstrated the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Sword. After all of that, she aimed her sword at Liu Shaoqiu. ¡°This is the Thirteenth Sword.¡±

    Half an hourter, Liu Tianmu left, and Liu Shaoqiu stood in ce,pletely dazed. He did not move for five more days, and he only regained his senses on the sixth. When he roused himself, he had a much greater understanding of the Thirteen Swords. However, his expression suddenly changed; something was wrong.

    He vaguely remembered that Liu Tianmu had told him to take care of himself before leaving, but she had not mentioned where she was headed.

    Five days ago, Elder Lianxin had told the disciples that she would have to take them away from the Sword Sect, but Liu Tianmu had left during those five days.

    Liu Shaoqiu had a bad feeling.

    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Liu Shaoqiu turned around to see Long Yun sitting on a rock and holding a sk of wine.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Liu Shaoqiu asked. ¡°Where¡¯d she go?¡±

    ¡°First Disciple Sister?¡± Long Yun asked.

    Liu Shaoqiu red at Long Yun.

    Long Yun swallowed another mouthful of wine and then pointed at the ground.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s eyes grew focused, and he took off in a specific direction.

    Long Yun set his wine down and looked away.

    Liu Shaoqiu soon arrived in a small corner of the Sword Sect where some of the top members of the Sword Sect had gathered. Among them was Sect Master Liu Qianjue.

    ¡°Sect Master,¡± Liu Shaoqiu rushed straight towards Liu Qianjue. ¡°Did she go to retrieve that sword?¡±

    Elder Li shouted, ¡°How dare you? Leave!¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu stubbornly stared at Liu Qianjue.

    Elder Lianxin sighed. ¡°Shaoqiu, it¡¯s her choice.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop her? What does she want to do?¡± Liu Shaoqiu yelled.

    Nobody responded.

    Just momentster, the ground cracked open as sword qi tore the sky apart. Everyone turned around and saw Liu Tianmu emerge. There was blood on her clothes and wounds covering her entire body. However, she was also holding two swords; one was her usual white sword that everyone had seen before, and the other was an intimidating ck sword.

    As Liu Tianmu¡¯s blood dripped onto the ground, the ck sword shed with a dark red glow.

    Liu Qianjue solemnly stared at the ck sword. ¡°She managed to retrieve it.¡±

    ¡°Heaven and Earth.¡± Elder Lianxin was stunned. Although she trained in the Inner Peace Sword Arts, she was still astonished.

    Elder Li, Elder Liu Shen, and everyone else had goosebumps appear as they looked at the ck sword. They were all terrified, as if they were staring at their worst enemy.

    Liu Tianmu approached the elders, and they were able to see just how terrible her injuries were. Her entire back had been shredded apart, and her arms and legs were all bleeding. There were even bloodstains on her sses.

    She nced over everyone before finally turning to Liu Qianjue. ¡°Sect Master, please submit a challenge to Lu Yin on my behalf.¡±

    Liu Qianjue stared at Liu Tianmu with solemn eyes.

    ¡°No!¡± Liu Shaoqiu instantly moved to stop Liu Tianmu. He had always treated her as his rival, and even if they did not seem particrly close, they actually cared a great deal about each other. He would never allow his sister to challenge someone whom she could never hope to defeat.

    So what if she had obtained that sword?

    ¡°Lu Yin invaded zing Mist Flowzone and even injured Emperor Luo with a single attack. You definitely know that Emperor Luo is an Envoy! Do you really think that you can defeat an Envoy with that sword?¡± Liu Shaoqiu shouted as he red at Liu Tianmu. ¡°You know how powerful Lu Yin is, so don¡¯t go looking for trouble!¡±

    Liu Tianmu calmly repeated herself, ¡°Sect Master, please submit a challenge to Lu Yin on my behalf.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu turned towards Liu Qianjue as well. ¡°Sect Master, don¡¯t let her do this! She¡¯s the most talented person in our Sword Sect¡¯s entire history, and she even inherited the Thirteen Swords! You can¡¯t let her just die like this.¡±

    Liu Qianjue nodded. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already made your decision, I won¡¯t stop you.¡±

    He raised his gadget.

    Li Zimo silently watched and carefully studied the ck sword.

    ¡­

    In the Ross Empire, Long Yi¡¯s massive wnded in front of Lu Yin, but the human easily dodged it. Long Yi attacked again, and even though his body covered half of the sparring area, he could not touch Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued training with the dragon for several days.

    Since the sylvan dragons had been willing to even betray the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin did not trust them. Therefore, he intended topletely beat them into submission before including them in his future ns.

    Long Yi panted heavily as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. He had already known that Lu Yin was extremely powerful when he had first been defeated, but the dragon had not expected that even his full strength would be unable to touch Lu Yin even. Lu Yin was just an Enlighter, so how was this even possible?

    ¡°Is this your fastest speed?¡± Lu Yin was actually disappointed.

    ¡°My greatest speed can create speed clones even within the true universe, but that would attract the attention of the true universe.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a curio?¡±

    ¡°Each clone is basically a separate entity within the true universe, so I would need a curio for each and every one of them, and I don¡¯t have even a single one.¡±

 Chapter 1651: Challenge

    Chapter 1651: Challenge

    Lu Yin had initially wanted to give Long Yi a curio so that the dragon could utilize his full power, but after hearing Long Yi¡¯s exnation, Lu Yin changed his mind. He only had fifty cloakstones, and even if he gave all of them to the dragon, it would not be enough for half of Long Yi¡¯s clones.

    They continued sparring, and Long Yi continued trying to defeat Lu Yin. As for Lu Yin, his mind was on other things.

    At that moment, Ku Wei arrived in his normal form. He suddenly screamed.

    Lu Yin stopped.

    ¡°Master, the Sword Sect¡¯s gone nuts!¡± Ku Wei shouted.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember former Arbiter Liu Tianmu? She wants to challenge you as the Sword Sect¡¯s representative,¡± Ku Wei yelped.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Liu Tianmu wants to challenge me?¡±

    He also immediately assumed that the Sword Sect and Liu Tianmu had gone crazy. She already knew that he was strong enough to defeat an Envoy, and yet she still dared to challenge him. She had to be crazy!

    Long Yi also felt that the Sword Sect was insane. Not even the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder Lianxin was able to defeat Lu Yin, and she was an actual Envoy. There was no need to mention Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin checked his gadget and saw that news of Liu Tianmu¡¯s challenge had already been released on thework, and Liu Tianmu was even letting Lu Yin choose the time and ce for their battle.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew more focused; something was wrong. Liu Tianmu was either crazy or well prepared, but why would she believe herself capable of defeating him? Did she have some sort of item? A power vessel? That was impossible, as such things were not allowed in these formal challenges. In that case, why had she challenged him? Could it be that she was just trying to dy his attack on the Sword Sect?

    ¡°Master, the woman¡¯s gotta be crazy. There¡¯s no need for you to waste your time as I can settle this for you.¡± Ku Wei became very excited, as he wanted to fight against Liu Tianmu. He was confident that he would be a match for the Arbiters.

    Lu Yin waved Ku Wei away as he continued to browse the avable information.

    Before long, Li Zimo called Lu Yin. ¡°Liu Tianmu obtained a ck sword from somewhere underground in the Sword Sect. The sword¡¯s from Liu Guai.¡±

    ¡°Liu Guai?¡± Lu Yin was shocked. He had heard this name before; Burial Garden¡¯s Y¨­u Qi had mentioned it. You Qi¡¯s innate gift was a book that allowed him to use the power of dead people, such as Dun Jiu and Liu Guai. Lu Yin still remembered how Y¨­u Qi had used Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    ¡°Liu Guai was a unique person in the history of the Sword Sect, as he managed to learn the Thirteen Swords, but he only used five years to master the First to the Twelfth Sword. He was considered a true genius, but he was stuck on the Thirteenth Sword for twenty years. Nobody knows why. Even though he experienced romance and had familial ties, he still wasn¡¯t able to understand the Thirteenth Sword.

    ¡°Also, no one knows how he managed to master the Thirteenth Sword, but his version of the technique was unavoidable, just like Liu Tianmu¡¯s,¡± Li Zimo exined.

    It sounded like a normal story, but that could not be everything. If that was all there was, then Liu Guai would have never been included within the Sword Sect¡¯s records. He would have just been considered a typical cultivator who had managed toprehend the Thirteen Swords.

    ¡°I¡¯ve asked my master why Liu Guai¡¯s sword was kept beneath the Sword Sect, but she only told me that Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteen Swords was very tempting. She would not borate beyond that. However, there was one odd thing about Liu Guai: he was killed by someone else from the Sword Sect,¡± Li Zimo continued.

    Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This was a strange detail; the fact that Liu Guai had been killed by someone from the Sword Sect was a big deal, as the Sword Sect generally ced a tremendous amount of importance on the Thirteen Swords. How could one of their disciples who had mastered the Thirteen Swords been killed by someone else from the same sect? This was very strange.

    Furthermore, if Liu Guai had been killed inside the Sword Sect, then how was someone from Burial Garden able to use his skills?

    ¡°Where¡¯s Liu Guai¡¯s corpse?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that Liu Guai was killed inside the Sword Sect, but Master didn¡¯t say anything else. Oh right, Liu Guai¡¯s sword is known as Heaven and Earth.¡± Li Zimo hung up as soon as he finished talking.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and smiled. It was no wonder why Liu Tianmu had dared to challenge him. It seemed that there was something special about Liu Guai¡¯s sword. However, Liu Tianmu would not be allowed to use any additional items during their battle, so would a sword be of any help even if it was special?

    Could she stand up to one of his attacks?

    Lu Yin was a cautious person, and he was aware that Liu Tianmu was not irrational. Since she had challenged him, she had to have some measure of confidence. This meant that Liu Guai was at the heart of this issue.

    Lu Yin immediately reached out to Da Qiu and San Liang, as he wanted to use the Hall of Honor to gather more information about Liu Guai.

    The Hall of Honor had incarcerated Liu Huang within Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and they would naturally have the most knowledge about the Sword Sect outside of the sect itself.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, Liu Guai was one of the Sword Sect¡¯s many powerhouses in their history to master the Thirteen Swords. There was nothing particrly special about him,¡± Da Qiu informed Lu Yin.

    The Interster Supreme Court¡¯s records had nothing special pertaining to Liu Guai, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s only remaining resource was San Liang.

    San Liang soon got back to Lu Yin. ¡°There¡¯s only one detail that the overseers¡¯ council has regarding Liu Guai: he went insane.¡±

    ¡°Insane?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Nobody knows the details of what happened, but after Liu Guai went crazy, the Sword Sect dealt with him, and I heard that the Sword Sect even sealed themselves off for an entire year afterwards. Thus, they are the only ones who know the truth of what happened back then,¡± San Liang exined. He had perused the overseers¡¯ records, which covered all major events that had urred in the Fifth Maind, regardless of if it pertained to the Interster Supreme Court, military conflicts, or even the Lockbreaker Society. The overseers had the right to view any information that the Hall of Honor¡¯s subsidiary powers had ess to.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. It appeared that Liu Guai had been quite famous, and even the Hall of Honor had only been able to gather a small amount of information regarding the man. This meant that Lu Yin would have to go to the Sword Sect and Burial Garden if he wanted to find out more about Liu Guai.

    Burial Garden was far too mysterious, and Lu Yin actually had no way of contacting them.

    Lu Yin was just about to hang up when San Liang hesitantly said, ¡°Alliance Leader, um, there¡¯s one more thing, but I¡¯m not sure whether or not I should tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°The rumors iming that the Great Eastern Alliance is working together with Sixth Maind to deal with the Sword Sect have been spreading wildly, and even the overseers¡¯ council are arguing about this matter. Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re not actually working with the Sixth Maind, right?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°What¡¯s your position in this matter?¡±

    San Liang was confused. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stating a position, so tell me, what is it?¡± Lu Yin asked calmly.

    San Liang turned pale. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m not trying to express my position, I¡¯m just-¡±

    ¡°San Liang, do you remember how you first made contact with Wang Wen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    San Liang¡¯s heart fell. ¡°Yes, I remember, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°Since I was able to make you into an overseer and one of the most influential people in the entire Fifth Maind, I can also bring you back down. You have no right to interfere in anything I wish to do, and you have no right to even express your position,¡± Lu Yin icily stated.

    San Liang paled even further. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I understand. I¡¯m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu. I won¡¯t do it again.¡±

    Lu Yin hung up and stared up at the sky. People easily became arrogant after attaining power, and San Liang was one such person. He had desperately wanted to be an overseer and had spent a great deal of time studying psychology rather than cultivating and training, which showed his ambition. However, after he had seeded, he became dissatisfied at being a puppet of the Great Eastern Alliance and had wanted to express his position on matters.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had discovered the man¡¯s arrogance at an early stage, as otherwise, Lu Yin would have had to rece the man once he had be too ambitious, and that would be troublesome.

    San Liang was just one of many people under Lu Yin¡¯s control, and it was possible that some of the others had a simr mindset.

    What about Wei Rong? Lu Yin was still concerned about Wei Rong, as the man was too intelligent, and smart people did not readily reveal their ambitions.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had already nted someone near Wei Rong.

    Lu Yin went back to his gadget. Since the Sword Sect wanted to challenge him, he had no reason to refuse. No matter what skills Liu Guai might have had, Lu Yin did not believe that they would let Liu Tianmu measure up to him. Lu Yin had always been the one to sessfully challenge people stronger than himself.

    He set the date for their battle to take ce in seven days, and Lu Yin smiled when he chose the venue: the Sword Sect.

    Countless people became intrigued in former Arbiter Liu Tianmu¡¯s challenge to Lu Yin, and it became a topic of discussion for many across the universe.

    Still, while most people were confident that Liu Tianmu would not be able to defeat Lu Yin, as Lu Yin had left a strong impression on everyone during the final battle of ZENITH, there were some people who supported Liu Tianmu nheless. This was because the Thirteen Swords were just too famous as a technique, and it swayed some people into favoring the Thirteen Swords even though Lu Yin had withstood the Thirteenth Sword before.

    Liu Tianmu sat on the ground on Sword Mountain. A ck sword and a white swordy next to her as she waited for Lu Yin¡¯s reply.

    Liu Shaoqiu was worried.

    Long Yun and others had mixed feelings, as a former Arbiter was currently needing to challenge someone else instead.

    At this moment, even Liu Qianjue was waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s reply.

    ¡°Sect Master, Lu Yin has epted the challenge. He chose to have the match take ce in seven days, and he¡¯s also chosen the location,¡± Elder Li hesitated for a moment before continuing, saying, ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Sword Array za.¡±

    Liu Qianjue frowned. Was Lu Yin overconfident and too arrogant? Why else would he choose to have the battle take ce within the Sword Sect? The Sword Sect had be Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, but he still dared to fight in their home.

    The Sword Sect disciples were all outraged. Sword Mountain constantly emitted sword qi, which made it a perfect ce to fight, but particrly so for the Sword Sect¡¯s own disciples. Lu Yin was being far too arrogant by choosing to fight within the Sword Sect, let alone the Sword Array za where he had once destroyed their sword array.

    ¡°Agree to his terms. I¡¯ll wait for him in the Sword Array za in seven days,¡± Liu Tianmu replied.

    Liu Qianjue nodded and then raised his head. ¡°Disciples of the Sword Sect! Open the gates and prepare to receive our guests!¡±

    After two days, many cultivators had arrived in First Flowzone, as they wanted to enter the Sword Sect to watch the battle between Liu Tianmu and Lu Yin. Most of these visitors were part of the younger generation, as the Ten Arbiters had only recently stepped down due to age. Thus, to many youths, the former Ten Arbiters were still the overseers of the younger generation.

    Not many older cultivators were interested in this particr battle, as they already knew that Lu Yin was able to fight on par with Envoys. Even though many were curious about why Liu Tianmu had willingly challenged Lu Yin, they still believed that Lu Yin was guaranteed to emerge victorious and that the Sword Sect was just stalling.

    Since Lu Yin was supposedly cooperating with the Sixth Maind to deal with the Sword Sect, the only thing that the Sword Sect could do was dy the attack with something like this challenge.

    As far as most people were concerned, this challenge was nothing more than a waste of time.

    In the Neoverse, in the Cosmic Sect, Sect Master Yuan Qiong arrived at Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s training grounds. ¡°Elder, Lu Yin is in trouble.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen opened his eyes, his gaze expressing his rage and helplessness. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Yuan Qiong spoke bitterly, as he had no desire to visit Elder Jiu Shen for this matter, but the sect master had been left with no choice. Since Lu Yin had not been able to directly reach Elder Jiu Shen, he had forced the sect master to visit on his behalf. ¡°He wants you to protect him for a few days.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen instantly became outraged. ¡°He dares to try to force me to protect him?¡±

    Yuan Qiong helplessly exined, ¡°He said that he might soon die without your protection.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen gritted his teeth. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have that Liu Ye and Fei Hua with him?¡±

    ¡°He said that his enemy might be a Sixth Maind powerhouse with a power level of more than a million.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

 Chapter 1652: A Mysterious Sword

    Chapter 1652: A Mysterious Sword

    Yuan Qiong informed Elder Jiu Shen of everything that had recently happened, and he even told the elder about how the Cosmic Sect had helped Lu Yin deceive the Lingling n, which had greatly upset the sect master. ¡°Elder, Lu Yin is only getting worse. He¡¯s using that treasure on his foot to force our Cosmic Sect to take part in unspeakable acts, and now, he¡¯s even requesting that you go and protect him.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen frowned. ¡°Did you say that there are rumors iming that Lu Yin is working with the Sixth Maind to deal with the Sword Sect?¡±

    Yuan Qiong nodded. ¡°We initially assumed that they were mere rumors, but with Lu Yin now asking for protection, it looks like he really might be working with Master Qing Hua.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen grew solemn. This was a matter that now involved one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters, and with the innate suppression that those from the Fifth Maind suffered from those from the Sixth Maind, the elder was not confident that he could defeat Master Qing Hua.

    Why had Lu Yin gotten involved with such a person?

    ¡°Oh right, Elder, Lu Yin is asking you to make your way to the Sword Sect,¡± Yuan Qiong continued.

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s face twitched. ¡°Does he want me to help him settle matters with the Sword Sect?¡±

    ¡°One of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples challenged Lu Yin, and he chose the Sword Sect as the location for their match,¡± Yuan Qiong exined.

    Elder Jiu Shen immediately felt that Lu Yin was a troublemaker. Why else would someone purposefully choose to fight someone on their home turf? Elder Jiu Shen was truly tempted to go look for Elder Gong and have the elder forcefully retrieve that pattern from Lu Yin. They could not just blindly listen to Lu Yin! However, the elder soon abandoned the thought, as if it were possible, they would have done so long ago.

    Everyone in the Cosmic Sect, including Elder Shan and all the others, felt stifled by Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, and Elder Jiu Shen suffered the most. The worst part was that he could not refuse Lu Yin as the Cosmic Sect would lose their treasure if Lu Yin was killed.

    Five days passed, which meant that there were only two days remaining before the battle.

    On this day, Wen Sansi received an invitation to go to the Sword Sect. Many people had been invited to be the Sword Sect¡¯s guests, such as Little Mountain God, Ling Gong, Ling Que, Xing Kai, and many others. As soon as they learned of Liu Tianmu¡¯s challenge, they had all rushed over to the Sword Sect.

    Wendy Yushan had also made the trip with Ling Gong, and they were already waiting at the Sword Array za.

    There were even some powerful independent cultivators that had been invited into the Sword Sect.

    Starsibyl arrived on the sixth day, and she saw many familiar faces.

    Outside the za, millions of spectators had gathered. All of them were able to clearly see the za despite the vast distance.

    Liu Tianmu was quietly waiting within the za. Her white sword had been stored in her cosmic ring, and she was instead holding Liu Guai¡¯s ck sword.

    Many people felt curious about the ck sword, as they had never seen Liu Tianmu use it before.

    Wen Sansi and the others asked the Sword Sect disciples about the sword, but all of the disciples refused to say a single thing. All that anyone was able to learn was the name ¡°Liu Guai.¡± No one was able to learn anything else regarding the sword.

    ¡°Starsibyl, what do you think about this battle? Can you use divination to determine anything?¡± Wen Sansi asked. He was close to Starsibyl, and both Xing Kai and Ling Gong were nearby as well. A lot of people were looking at the small gathering, as several of the people had once been Arbiters.

    At the moment, another batch of youths had already reced the Arbiters on the Universe Youth Council, but they had not received the title of Arbiter. The Ten Arbiters were unique unto their era, and they hadpletely dominated their generation.

    However, Lu Yin retained his status as one of the Ten Arbiters. Despite that, the other nine former Arbiters did not interact with him, and none of them dared to contact him, as they all felt as though Lu Yin was someone from another generation despite him being about the same age as them.

    Starsibyl continued to watch Liu Tianmu as she calmly answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for divination.¡±

    ¡°Does Liu Tianmu stand no chance at all?¡± Wen Sansi asked.

    Starsibyl smiled. ¡°You know that very well.¡±

    ¡°Even with our help?¡± Ling Gong suddenly asked.

    Ling Que was startled. ¡°You want to jump in?¡±

    Wendy Yushan turned towards Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong clenched her fists. She would never forget Lu Yin¡¯s words after he had returned. He had said that he wanted to challenge all of the former Arbiters at the same time. Even though there was no chance of her defeating him, she still wanted to beat him up.

    ¡°That would be interesting, but there¡¯s still no need to do a divination. The gap between him and the rest of you is toorge.¡± Starsibylughed.

    Ling Que pouted. He had once thought that Lu Yin was weaker than him when they had both been referred to as candidates to rece the Ten Arbiters. However, even if all of the Arbiters worked together now, they still would not be able to defeat Lu Yin. The man was an absolute monster.

    Ling Que wondered where Mu Rong was at the moment.

    Lu Yin arrived on the seventh day, apanied by Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Everyone watched as Lu Yin entered the Sword Array za. He sat down a hundred meters away from Liu Tianmu, and the spectators all quietly watched the two.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes opened, and she met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°You should know my strength, so why did obtaining that sword give you the confidence to challenge me?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stared at the ck sword with interest.

    Liu Tianmu answered calmly, ¡°Tomorrow is the scheduled day for our battle. I thought that you wouldn¡¯t arrive until then.¡±

    Lu Yin nced around. ¡°I wanted to show up early so that I could take a good look around the Sword Sect since this ce will soon be mine. I was in a rush when I was herest time, so I only managed to get a look at the za and the pond where Senior Liu was fishing.¡±

    Liu Tianmu was stunned.

    Lu Yin had mentioned such things in a perfectly normal tone of voice and made no attempt to hide his words. He both astonished the spectators and enraged the Sword Sect disciples.

    Elder Li instantly wanted to kill the youth.

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s face turned stony. This Lu Yin was too arrogant! He really did not care about the Sword Sect at all.

    Liu Shaoqiu clenched the hilt of his sword. During the Astral Combat Tournament, he had beenparable to Lu Yin, but the difference between them had be inconceivable since.

    Ling Que was simrly stunned. ¡°He¡¯s really bing more and more arrogant! I was almost killed by the Great Eastern Alliance when I was in zing Mist Flowzone.¡±

    Ling Gong kept a close eye on Lu Yin. His demeanor had changed. Something must have happened when he had gone missing, as he no longer cared about even the Sword Sect.

    ¡°You¡¯re targeting the Innerverse,¡± Liu Tianmumented.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you have any interest in that.¡±

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s hand settled onto the ck sword. ¡°I will do my best in tomorrow¡¯s battle, and I hope that you will do the same.¡±

    Given the difference between them, it sounded as though Liu Tianmu was trying to die. Master Qing Hua was a huge source of pressure for the Sword Sect; otherwise, Liu Tianmu would never take the risk to challenge him.

    Lu Yin looked around, seeing many familiar faces. He noticed Wendy Yushan and immediately thought of Undying Yushan. That man was a problem that Lu Yin really needed to deal with.

    Lu Yin sensed a challenging gaze and turned to look at Ling Gong, who was standing next to Wendy Yushan. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept past her without any interest, causing Ling Gong to clench her fists. A grating sound emanated from her white armour, and she reflexively stepped forward to attack Lu Yin.

    Ling Que immediately dragged her backwards. ¡°Calm down, calm down.¡±

    Ling Gong snorted and red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Starsibyl, Xing Kai, and even Liu Qianjue, who was standing elsewhere.

    The sect master of the Sword Sect currently viewed Lu Yin in apletely different manner. The man had once seen Lu Yin as a junior as Lu Yin truly had not been able topare to the sect master at that time. However, Liu Qianjue¡¯s eyes now held both wariness and killing intent.

    Lu Yin was certain that Liu Qianjue would love to personally kill Lu Yin while he was at Sword Mountain even if he was criticized by the public, but the man was not able to do so.

    There were also many people from the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, and Lu Yin had no idea how many of those people were actually working for the Sixth Maind.

    However, there likely were not many, as this battle would be thought of as a game to such people.

    The next day soon arrived, and sword qi shot up from beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet. He felt like there was more sword qi present than before.

    Liu Tianmu opened her eyes and stood up. She put the ck sword away and used star energy to form the familiar white sword that she usually used.

    Lu Yin stood across from her and raised a hand. ¡°This will end with this attack.¡±

    Liu Tianmu clenched her sword and remained silent.

    ¡°Still, I¡¯ll give you a chance to attack, which I¡¯m pretty sure you already expected.¡± Lu Yin stared at Liu Tianmu. ¡°I¡¯m very curious about your current strength, but even if Liu Guai himself came back to life, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat me. Despite that, you seem to think that you can do so after spending just a few days with that sword. I really am very curious about this.¡±

    Liu Tianmu remained calm. ¡°I¡¯ll show you.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and lifted his hand. While everyone watched in amazement, Lu Yin used star energy to form a sword of his own, which shocked even Liu Qianjue.

    Lu Yin¡¯s sword was green, and the hilt was half the length of the sword. The de of the sword itself was covered with spirals that looked like wild beasts, though some also looked like water droplets. The sword was very realistic, and everyone who saw it felt as though they had returned to an ocean of the primordial era.

    Liu Qianjue was utterly stunned, and he looked at the sword closely. How was this possible? How could this youth know about that sword?

    Elder Lianxin frowned, as the sword seemed very familiar.

    Only the two elders paid any particr attention to the sword¡¯s appearance, as everyone else was merely interested in the fact that Lu Yin was using a sword,

    Lu Yin rarely ever used weapons when fighting, and most people only remember the scythe that he used during the final battle of ZENITH. However, he had chosen to use a sword in a fight against one of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples. This was simply an insult to both his opponent and the entire Sword Sect.

    Ling Que¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°That- that¡¯s too humiliating.¡±

    Ling Gong¡¯s eyes zed as she watched Lu Yin. He really had changed, and he was tantly insulting the Sword Sect.

    On the other hand, Wendy Yushan felt confused. This did not seem like something Lu Yin would do; was he trying to intentionally humiliate Liu Tianmu?

    This was what most people thought after seeing Lu Yin create a sword. Many people quietly cursed at Lu Yin, as they already knew that he was much stronger than Liu Tianmu; did he really have to humiliate her in such a manner? It would be incredibly humiliating if Lu Yin defeated Liu Tianmu with a sword.

    Not even Starsibyl could understand what Lu Yin was trying to do.

    Liu Tianmu slowly pulled out her sword. ¡°You want to defeat me with a sword?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nced over at Liu Qianjue. He saw the sect master¡¯s expression and knew that the man recognized the sword that Lu Yin had formed. He had replicated Liu Huang¡¯s sword that had gone missing when the man had been locked up in Gaia¡¯s Swamp by the Hall of Honor. Lu Yin¡¯s entire goal was for Liu Qianjue to recognize this sword.

 Chapter 1653: Sword Vs. Sword

    Chapter 1653: Sword Vs. Sword

    The entire Sword Sect was united against Lu Yin, as he was an outsider. If someone from the Sword Sect had the goal of uniting the Innerverse, then these people would not resist. The Sword Sect had recently developed a united will to oppose Lu Yin, and Liu Qianjue was the key to that attitude. However, Liu Qianjue would definitely be swayed after seeing Liu Huang¡¯s sword, and along with it, the Sword Sect¡¯s attitude would also crumble.

    This was only the first step of Lu Yin¡¯s n. He had chosen to have his match with Liu Tianmu within the Sword Sect itself topletely destroy the Sword Sect¡¯s will because he knew that, even with a sky-high level of power, he would not be able to destroy the Sword Sect. Rather, that would only further unite the Sword Sect against him. The only way to destroy their united will was through swordsmanship.

    The Sword Sect was most proud of their swordsmanship, and it was also the key to their unity. They felt that they were the best with swords, which naturally meant that the only thing that could destroy their will was pure swordsmanship.

    Lu Yin looked at Liu Tianmu and grew serious. ¡°The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords is famous throughout the universe. I hope to have a chance to experience it.¡±

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes went wide, as everybody could hear the open challenge in Lu Yin¡¯s words, and the Sword Sect disciples all became furious.

    Liu Tianmu no longer hesitated, and she immediately attacked with the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword. Lu Yin retaliated, but he used the exact same stance and motion; he was also using the First Sword.

    The two swords met in the sky, and the sky was split apart as a ng rang out. The collision of sword qi left an impressive image as it swept over the za.

    All of the spectators retreated and stared at the twobatants in awe. Many people rubbed their eyes; were they seeing things? Did Lu Yin just use a part of the Thirteen Swords?

    The Sword Sect disciples were all rendered speechless: the Thirteen Swords?

    Liu Qianjue took a step forward and red at Lu Yin. The youth had truly used the Thirteen Swords, but how had he learned that technique? It was simply impossible! Historically, only one person per generation was able to inherit the Thirteen Swords, and the current generation was already considered exceptional as two people had learned the Thirteen Swords. However, how had Lu Yin learned it? Had he somehow found an inheritance of the Thirteen Swords? Still, that was also impossible, as the Thirteen Swords did not exist outside of the Sword Sect.

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s gaze focused: the Thirteen Swords.

    ¡°It- it¡¯s fake, right? That can¡¯t be the Thirteen Swords!¡± The Sword Sect disciples were all stunned.

    A slightly older manmented, ¡°It has to be fake. How could an outsider learn the Thirteen Swords? Lu Yin is despicable! He¡¯s using his overwhelming power to imitate the Thirteen Swords! He¡¯s stronger than our martial sister, so he¡¯s using his higher level of strength topensate for hisck of skill with a sword! How despicable!¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin is so despicable for imitating the Thirteen Swords!¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin nced around. Despicable? He smiled in response. The more these disciples ranted, the more they showed how much they cared about the Thirteen Swords. They werepletely unwilling to admit that he had just used the true Thirteen Swords; while that technique was the Sword Sect¡¯s invincible technique, it could also be their greatest weakness.

    Liu Tianmu gaped at Lu Yin as a wound appeared on her arm. It was just a superficial cut, but she had lost to Lu Yin¡¯s First Sword.

    She attacked again, this time using the Second Sword, the sword of domain. Many people were able toprehend a domain, and Unseen Light¡¯s domain was far more powerful than Liu Tianmu¡¯s. However, a strong domain did not necessarily mean that it could be fused with sword techniques.

    The Second Sword, the sword of domain, was unique to the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Lu Yin again attacked at the same time, and he also used the sword of domain.

    Another wound appeared on Liu Tianmu¡¯s arm. She had once again been defeated.

    Lu Yin had used the Thirteen Swords once more, but the Sword Sect disciples still screamed, ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡°Despicable!¡±

    ¡­

    The Third Sword, the Fourth Sword, and the Fifth Sword. Liu Tianmu became one with her sword, which had also be one with her domain. All of the variousponents merged together. When Liu Tianmu used the Fifth Sword, Lu Yin still attacked at the same time as her with the same technique: the Fifth Sword. He never badly injured Liu Tianmu, and instead, each attack only inflicted a small scratch on her arm, as his goal was to force her to use each of the Thirteen Swords.

    He had Possessed Liu Huang and experienced the man¡¯s mastery of the Thirteen Swords. However, Lu Yin would likely not be able to utilize the full power of each sword if he simply trained in the technique on his own. But by using Liu Tianmu as a model, Lu Yin was sure that he could utilize the Thirteen Swords¡¯ full power and alsopletely destroy the Sword Sect¡¯s will.

    Liu Qianjue grew pale, as he finally understood what Lu Yin was doing. However, the sect master could do nothing about it. He had truly never expected Lu Yin to have learned the Thirteen Swords. Liu Qianjue also finally understood why Lu Yin had chosen to have the battle in the Sword Sect; he was trying topletely destroy the Sword Sect.

    ¡°Tianmu, don¡¯t use the Thirteen Swords against him!¡± Liu Qianjue sent a message to Liu Tianmu.

    Despite what she had been told, Liu Tianmu would never give up at this point. She was a disciple of the Sword Sect, and she refused to believe that Lu Yin had fully mastered the Thirteen Swords. Such a thing was a challenge to her core beliefs! She could never back down now. She continued on with the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Swords.

    Star yer. Lu Yin used his sword in the exact same manner as Liu Tianmu, and even the power of their attacks were identical.

    The sky around the za was cut open.

    Liu Tianmu immediately used the Eleventh Sword: Particle Diffusion.

    Lu Yin raised his hand as well: Particle Diffusion.

    By this time, the Sword Sect disciples had stopped their ranting. Even an idiot could see that Lu Yin was using the true Thirteen Swords.

    Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s face had gone pale, as he felt like the very sky was copsing upon him.

    He could ept being defeated by Lu Yin, and he could even ept the ever-widening gap between them. However, he could not ept the fact that Lu Yin had actuallyprehended the full Thirteen Swords. Liu Shaoqiu refused to believe that Lu Yin had actually surpassed him in mastery of the Thirteen Swords.

    The Sword Sect disciples all stared at Lu Yin with confusion and fear. Their desperation only grew as Lu Yin used more of the Thirteen Swords.

    Li Zimo¡¯s expression also showedplex emotions. Despite being Lu Yin¡¯s spy within the Sword Sect, Li Zimo also had some affection for the sect, and he also felt that nobody outside of the Sword Sect¡¯s own disciples could learn the Thirteen Swords. However, Lu Yin had managed to achieve that, and it truly shocked Li Zimo. There was no need to even mention the other disciples.

    When Lu Yin used the Twelfth Sword, one of the Sword Sect disciples dropped his sword to the ground with a ng. Despite the sound being rather soft, it rang out like thunder in Liu Qianjue¡¯s ears. He knew that Lu Yin had already seeded in dissolving the will of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples and that the Sword Sect would no longer be able to oppose Lu Yin.

    At that moment, the sect master suddenly aged a great deal.

    Liu Tianmu closed her eyes. There were twelve wounds on her arm, which meant that she had been defeated by all twelve swords.

    Lu Yin had truly used the Thirteen Swords; was he a monster?

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. He had managed to sessfully use each of the swords, which meant that only thest sword remained.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open as she lifted her sword: the Thirteenth Sword.

    Just when Lu Yin was about to use the Thirteenth Sword, he suddenly experienced an odd sensation; the scenery he saw instantly changed, and the people surrounding him were the masters of the Perennial World. ¡°Descendant of the Lu family, I never expected you to be alive.¡±

    ¡°Descendant of the Lu family, your family should be exiled,¡±

    ¡°Descendant of the Lu family, kill yourself if you don¡¯t wish to incite a war.¡±

    ¡°Descendant of the Lu family¡­¡±

    ¡°Descendant of the Lu family¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stood rooted in ce. He finally understood why Liu Tianmu had dared to challenge him and also why Liu Guai had gone insane: Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteenth Sword was different from that of others.

    The Thirteenth Sword was the Sword of Emotion, and anyone with emotions could create that particr sword. Whether their emotions were focused on kinship, love, or friendship, a human could never bepletely devoid of emotions. Even if one was ruthless to the extreme, that was still an emotion. This was why the Thirteenth Sword was unavoidable. Despite that, Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteenth Sword was unique; his sword was able to bring forth a person¡¯s deepest hatred, and it could even induce hallucinations.

    It was no wonder why the man had gone crazy! He had gone insane precisely because of his Thirteenth Sword.

    Although this version of the Thirteenth Sword was able to bring out Lu Yin¡¯s hidden hatred, it still was not enough topletely distract him. He had already mastered Daynight Praises, and the illusions that that technique produced wereparable to Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteenth Sword.

    The Sword Sect had fought against the Daynight n to im the position of the strongest force in the Innerverse after countless years. It was quite interesting to see that the Daynight n had Daynight Praises and that the Sword Sect had Liu Guai¡¯s version of the Thirteenth Sword. Nobody else had managed to learn the two techniques, and yet they were both trump cards of the two powers.

    Wait a moment. Lu Yin suddenly thought of something; if this was Liu Guai¡¯s Thirteenth Sword, then why did other people believe that he had struggled to learn the Thirteenth Sword? He must have learned the normal Thirteenth Sword, so what if this move was actually the man¡¯s Fourteenth Sword?

    Liu Huang had initially failed to develop a Fourteenth Sword, but he had eventually seeded after being locked up within Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Simrly, Liu Guai had also tried to develop a Fourteenth Sword but had insteadprehended this version of the Thirteenth Sword and lost his sanity, which had caused the Sword Sect to suffer a heavy loss.

    This sword was a version of the Fourteenth Sword. This was Liu Guai¡¯s Fourteenth Sword.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Tianmu and met her gaze. At this moment, she was in a daze. Her body shuddered, and then she copsed onto the ground. She was only able to use this sword once. She had already thought everything through when she had challenged Lu Yin. Lu Yin would not attack her first, and since Lu Yin had beenpletely unaffected by the Thirteenth Sword when she had used it on him before, her entire goal had been to use Liu Guai¡¯s sword.

    No matter how strong a person was, it would always be hard for them to fully control their emotions. Liu Tianmu had bet everything on that, and she had hoped that Liu Guai¡¯s sword would draw out Lu Yin¡¯s deepest hatred and cause him to go insane, just like Liu Guai.

    Liu Guai had been killed by the Sword Sect after losing his sanity. Therefore, if Lu Yin went crazy, the Sword Sect and others would need to deal with Lu Yin, and nobody would object to his death.

    Everyone outside the za silently watched, as they were unable to understand this part of the battle. Only Liu Qianjue and a few other elders understood what was happening, and they all carefully watched Lu Yin. Go crazy! Go crazy! Go crazy now!

    Unfortunately, the technique failed. The sword disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and he turned to smile at Liu Qianjue.

    Liu Qianjue closed his eyes. They had failed.

    Liu Shaoqiu leaped into the za and picked Liu Tianmu up to examine her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll onlyst for a few days. She definitely wasn¡¯t able topletelyprehend that technique, and she¡¯s also only able to use it once. She hasn''t gone crazy yet,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Liu Shaoqiu turned to Lu Yin and asked in astonishment, ¡°How did you learn the Thirteen Swords?¡¯

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you guys use it all the time, which is how I learned it. I¡¯ve actually got quite good talent for the sword, and I also enjoy it.¡±

    Liu Shaoqiu was left utterly speechless. There really did not seem to be any other possible reason aside from this.

    Every single person who heard Lu Yin¡¯s words was stunned. How could he have learned the technique by watching other people use it? Was that even possible? In that case, what about all of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples and the countless other people in the Fifth Maind who had been killed by the Thirteen Swords? Were all of them idiots?

 Chapter 1654: Turn Around

    Chapter 1654: Turn Around

    The Sword Sect disciples numbly stared at Lu Yin, not knowing what to do. This person had actually mastered the Sword Sect¡¯s greatest secret.

    Ling Gong and a few others that had wanted to attack Lu Yin all froze. They were stunned at the results of the battle, as Lu Yin had not used his own techniques, but rather only the Thirteen Swords during the match. This not only put a great deal of pressure on the Sword Sect disciples, but also the other spectators.

    ¡°Sect Master Liu, even though it was only a short battle, many of the spectators traveled from far away to watch. I¡¯m sure that you won¡¯t mind if everyone enjoys a cup of tea before leaving, right?¡± Lu Yin smiled at Liu Qianjue.

    Liu Qianjue nced around. ¡°Thank you, everyone, for visiting my Sword Sect. It would be the Sword Sect¡¯s honor if all of you stayed for a cup of tea before leaving.¡±

    He then asked Elder Li to deal with the guests while he had a private word with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin and Liu Tianmu¡¯s battle had astonished everyone. Despite everyone already knowing that Lu Yin was far more powerful than Liu Tianmu, they had all been curious as to why Liu Tianmu had believed that she could challenge Lu Yin. However, nobody had expected to watch apetition between two users of the Thirteen Swords.

    Lu Yin¡¯s skills had astounded the spectators, as it was extremely difficult for anyone to learn the Thirteen Swords. Despite that, Lu Yin had managed to learn it, demonstrating his peerless talent.

    Lu Yin and Liu Qianjue returned to the same pond as before, but the sect master was not fishing this time.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, where did you learn the Thirteen Swords?¡± Liu Qianjue asked while carefully observing Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I learned it through observation.¡±

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. ¡°If it was possible to learn the Thirteen Swords that easily, the Sword Sect would already have be invincible, and Liu Qiuyu would never have had to go to Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin stayed quiet and walked to the side of the pond where he sat down. ¡°I remember the first time I met Senior here. You pulled a fish out from Gan and told me that this pond was connected to all of the rivers in First Flowzone. You were so imposing, and I was very intimidated.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you also asked me how I created this pond. I can help you create one if you¡¯re interested, but howrge of an area would you want your pond to cover?¡±

    Lu Yin touched the ice cold water. ¡°You don¡¯t have to make one; this pond isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Liu Qianjue asked in a cold tone, ¡°Are you that determined to have this pond?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Yin answered honestly.

    Liu Qianjue frowned and his fingers involuntarily twitched. He desperately wanted to attack.

    The Sword Sect had initiated a challenge, so if Liu Qianjue killed Lu Yin within the Sword Sect, it would be a terrible disgrace to them. The forces supporting Lu Yin would definitely attack the Sword Sect in retaliation, regardless of whether the sect master seeded in killing Lu Yin or not.

    Lu Yin stared at the pond with his back to Liu Qianjue.

    Liu Qianjue carefully observed Lu Yin. There was a high possibility of the sect masterunching a sessful attack right now, as Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both absent. Should he attack? Liu Qianjue¡¯s eyes gleamed.

    Lu Yin remained calmly sitting where he was.

    A few momentster, Liu Qianjue sighed and sat down next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed, as he had hoped for Liu Qianjue to attack him. Any attack of his would have definitely failed, and not just because of Lu Yin¡¯s bodysuit armor, but also because Elder Jiu Shen, who had already arrived at the Sword Sect earlier.

    Elder Jiu Shen had arrived to deal with Master Qing Hua, but it would also be fine for Lu Yin to rely on the Cosmic Sect elder to deal with the Sword Sect. If Liu Qianjue had attacked, he would have definitely been in trouble.

    What a shame.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t imagine how a genius like you managed to appear in this universe,¡± Liu Qianjue eximed helplessly.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Actually, I learned the Thirteen Swords from the Sword Monument.¡±

    Liu Qianjue became confused, but then he suddenly considered something. He blurted out, ¡°The Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and met Liu Qianjue¡¯s eyes. ¡°Senior, you should be aware of where I went when I went missing. The Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument is in that ce, and I also saw Liu Tianmu there.¡±

    ¡°So you learned the Thirteen Swords from the Sword Monument?¡±

    ¡°The Thirteen Swords is also famous in that ce, so it¡¯s no surprise that I managed to do so.¡±

    Liu Qianjue was aware that Lu Yin had gone to that ce, and Liu Tianmu had also mentioned that Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument. However, the sect master had not thought that Lu Yin would have gained the Thirteen Swords from there.

    To be fair, Liu Tianmu had also been ignorant as to what Lu Yin had received, as he had only ever used sourcebox arrays and Vacuum Palms, both of which were skills that he had received in the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°I should have considered that. How could anyone haveprehend the Thirteen Swords through mere observation? You received an inheritance from the Sword Monument. Of course that¡¯s where you gained the Thirteen Swords. I should have thought of that sooner,¡± Liu Qianjue bitterlyined.

    Everyone in the Sword Sect had been dazed when they realized that Lu Yin had mastered the Thirteen Swords. Lu Yin continued calmly staring into the water as he listened to Liu Qianjue¡¯s bitter mutterings.

    ¡°Then, what about that sword?¡± Liu Qianjue asked.

    Lu Yin grew confused. ¡°What sword?¡±

    Liu Qianjue raised a hand and created an image of the exact same sword that Lu Yin had used during his fight against Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°Sect Master, are you interested in the design of the sword that I used? It¡¯s just something I randomly came up with.¡±

    Liu Qianjue snorted. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, let¡¯s be honest: where have you seen this sword?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you are talking about, Senior. I just randomly came up with it.¡±

    Liu Qianjue frowned. ¡°What must I do to receive an answer?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°It was just a random stroke of inspiration, so there¡¯s nothing I can do about it if you don¡¯t believe me. I do have something to ask you, though.¡±

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Why did the Sword Sect try to enter the war in the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    Liu Qianjue gave an honest answer, ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance would pose no threat to us without Leon¡¯s Armada.

    ¡°I have a question of my own for you, Alliance Leader: do you truly intend to work with Master Qing Hua to deal with my Sword Sect?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I will definitely deal with the Sword Sect, but you can guess if I will do so with Master Qing Hua¡¯s help.¡±

    Liu Qianjue frowned.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you attack just now, Senior?¡±

    ¡°Why did you show your back, Alliance Leader Lu?¡¯

    They stared at each other, and then finally, Lu Yin stood up. ¡°I always learn a great deal from talking with you, Senior. This is the second time I¡¯ve been to your Sword Sect, and maybe next time, things will be different.¡±

    Liu Qianjue calmly stared at his pond. ¡°That will all depend on whether you can get in.¡±

    ¡°I hope that you¡¯ll remain the same, Senior.¡± Lu Yin turned to leave, only to bump into Elder Lianxin. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Elder Lianxin, I have long since heard of you.¡±

    Elder Lianxin calmly observed Lu Yin. ¡°Me as well, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of Elder Lianxin¡¯s Inner Peace Sword Arts a long time ago, and I also saw an interesting battle between your disciple and Wang Yi,¡± Lu Yin voiced his admiration.

    Elder Lianxin shook her head. ¡°He can¡¯tpare to you, Alliance Leader Lu. Are you interested in learning the Inner Peace Sword Arts? I can provide you with a demonstration, and you might be able to learn it.¡±

    ¡°No thank you. I¡¯m too rash, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to learn your Inner Peace Sword Arts.¡± Lu Yin gently refused.

    Elder Lianxin replied, ¡°Rash people should learn it in order to calm themselves and see more clearly.¡±

    She then continued forward.

    ¡°Thank you for the advice, Elder.¡± Lu Yin left.

    After Lu Yin left, Elder Lianxin turned to Liu Qianjue. ¡°The sword that he used was Liu Huang¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his connection to Liu Huang? Liu Huang died in seclusion, and no descendants of his should exist. On top of that, his sword was buried with him,¡± Elder Lianxin muttered, showing her confusion.

    Liu Qianjue solemnly said, ¡°Do you really believe that Liu Huang died in seclusion?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elder Lianxin was startled by the question.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Everyone from the Sword Sect saw him die in seclusion, and even the Hall of Honor sent people to mourn his passing. However, his death was truly bizarre. I was still young at that time, and my master told me that Liu Huang¡¯s death might have been due to something else. However, the Sword Sect has never been able to uncover the truth.¡±

    ¡°Could Lu Yin have some connection to Liu Huang¡¯s death? No, that¡¯s impossible. He¡¯s too young,¡± Elder Lianxin mused.

    Liu Qianjue was simrly confused. ¡°I asked him about it, but he refused to give me an answer. The one thing I¡¯m certain of is that he will deal with our Sword Sect soon.¡±

    Elder Lianxin fell silent. Everyone was able to see that Lu Yin was dering war on the Sword Sect.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation over at Chaosgod Mountain? Are you still unable to learn anything?¡± Liu Qianjue asked.

    Elder Lianxin shook her head. ¡°They¡¯ve sealed the mountain off, and nobody knows what¡¯s happening on Chaosgod Mountain. There are people saying that Cang Zhou died from his injuries from the war in the Cosmic Sea along with many of his more powerful disciples. So-¡±

    Liu Qianjue suddenly interrupted, ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Elder Lianxin did not understand what the sect master meant.

    ¡°The Lingling n suddenly changed their minds, and the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone cannot stop the Great Eastern Alliance on their own,¡± Liu Qianjue muttered to himself. He made no further mention of Chaosgod Mountain, as he knew that they had already lost allmunications with Cang Zhou. They had had a special method to contact each other, and Liu Qianjue had not managed to contact Cang Zhou ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had gained control of zing Mist Flowzone. There was a high probability that Cang Zhou had lost control of Chaosgod Mountain. The worst case scenario was that Lu Yin had taken control of them as well.

    Liu Qianjue resolved himself after considering that possibility. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we must n for the worst. Take Tianmu and the others away first. We must protect the Sword Sect¡¯s future.¡±

    Elder Lianxin sighed and bowed her head in eptance.

    ***

    Although the Sword Sect had invited the spectators to stay behind, most of them left Sword Mountain right after the battle concluded, though some stayed behind.

    Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, and a few others stayed behind. Right when Starsibyl was about to leave, she received a message from Lu Yin asking her to stay.

    After speaking with Liu Qianjue, Lu Yin went to find Wendy Yushan. He wanted to ask her for a drop of her blood.

    ¡°Why do you need my blood?¡± Wendy Yushan grew curious.

    Lu Yin made up a random excuse before immediately going back to look for Starsibyl. ¡°Help me divine something about Undying Yushan.¡±

    After Lu Yin investigated Xia Ji, he had also asked Starsibyl to perform a divination on Undying Yushan, but she had not been able to achieve any results. This was why Lu Yin wanted a drop of Wendy¡¯s blood, as it might help Starsibyl perform the divination. Lu Yin could not forget about Undying Yushan.

    Starsibyl took the blood, but she did not meet Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    Lu Yin waited quietly.

    At that moment, Elder Lianxin approached Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader, I do hope that you can learn the Inner Peace Sword Arts.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Inner peace can rid you of worries and troubles.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Elder Lianxin, but unfortunately, I¡¯ve always been a troublesome person. I don¡¯t think I would ever be able to learn that technique.¡±

 Chapter 1655: Joining With A Sword

    Chapter 1655: Joining With A Sword

    ¡°The core of the Inner Peace Sword Arts is to allow your heart to join together with your sword. Everything that you have ever seen and heard of in the universe can be disyed through a sword. The highest level of this art allows the sword to represent your entire existence. I have always believed that the Thirteen Swords is a sword technique while the Inner Peace Sword Arts is a state of mind,¡± Elder Lianxin said.

    Lu Yin became intrigued; everything could be fused with one¡¯s sword? Even what he had seen and heard? Would that be somewhat simr to the final result of himbining his Vacuum Palm and the Oveying Stacks Path? This sessfully roused his attention.

    ¡°If Elder is willing to teach me, then I¡¯m definitely willing to learn. However, what conditions would you have?¡¯¡¯ Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Lianxin looked at Lu Yin with a meaningful expression. ¡°There¡¯s no conditions. You can consider it a reward for not killing Tianmu.¡±

    A sword appeared in the woman¡¯s hand, but the moment the sword left the sheath, it felt as though she had disappeared. However, she had truly not disappeared, as she was still standing in the same ce. Despite her obvious presence, Lu Yin was unable to detect the elder and could only see the sword at the moment.

    Lu Yin was startled; Elder Lianxin was a part of her sword. Aside from what she saw and heard, she had joined herself to her sword. It was no wonder why she had imed that the Inner Peace Sword Arts was a state of mind.

    During his battle in ZENITH, Li Zimo had showcased a unique characteristic of the Inner Peace Sword Arts. Those who had been able to understand his actions had been amazed while those who saw nothing were only able toin.

    Suddenly, the sword disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s sight and shot towards him.

    Warning bells went off in his mind; this woman was trying to kill him!

    Before Lu Yin could even react, the sword touched his neck. At the same time, an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he nearly seeded in moving away. However, there was no need for that, as the sword was unable to pierce his neck.

    Elder Lianxin¡¯s gaze grew sharp; that had been her most powerful attack, so why was Lu Yin unharmed?

    Although Lu Yin had not been injured, he was still shocked, as everything had urred very suddenly. Despite his impressive reflexes, he had only managed to move away after the sword touched him. If not for the fact that he was always wearing his bodysuit armor, this attack would have seriously injured him even if it could not kill him.

    Lu Yin used a Vacuum Palm with his right hand.

    Elder Lianxin was struck by the Vacuum Palm and sent flying backwards. She crashed into the ground, and her sword fell to her side. Her face turned pale, and blood leaked out from the corner of her mouth as she helplessly nced over at her sword; she had failed.

    Lu Yin touched his neck. He had made all the necessary preparations in advance since he had been nning to visit the Sword Sect. Even with the protection of Liu Ye and Fei Hua, not to mention Elder Jiu Shen, Lu Yin had still made sure to wear his bodysuit armor after his fight with Liu Tianmu concluded. No matter what, the Sword Sect was still one of the most powerful organizations in the entire Innerverse.

    He had not expected Elder Lianxin to attack when even Liu Qianjue had given up. What¡¯s more, her attack had almost given him a serious injury. She truly was an Envoy who belonged to the Sword Sect and had created a unique battle technique.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it disgraceful for the Sword Sect¡¯s second most powerful expert to ambush a junior like me?¡± Lu Yin reprimanded.

    Elder Lianxin rose to her feet. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm had injured her, her wounds were not that serious enough. She was an Envoy with a power level of almost 600,000. ¡°If I can remove a threat to the Sword Sect, then I don¡¯t care about my honor or life. Unfortunately, you¡¯re too cautious.¡±

    Lu Yin gazed at the woman with icy eyes. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯t have my armor, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to kill me. Just now, you said that the Thirteen Swords is a sword technique while your Inner Peace Sword Arts is a state of mind. In that case, I¡¯ll allow you to experience the Thirteenth Sword.¡±

    He then formed a sword from star energy and attacked the woman.

    The Thirteenth Sword: Emotion.

    He had wanted to use this attack against Liu Tianmu, but she had used Liu Guai¡¯s version of the Thirteenth Sword instead and then promptly copsed. This had taken away Lu Yin¡¯s opportunity to use the Thirteenth Sword, but now, the opportunity had appeared in the form of Elder Lianxin.

    The Thirteenth Sword was invisible and was able to manifest from any kind of emotion.

    It did not matter whether this particr attack was used on an Enlighter like Liu Tianmu or an Envoy like Elder Lianxin. The Thirteenth Sword could not be avoided by entering the true universe as it was truly unavoidable.

    Elder Lianxin stood in ce and made no attempt to dodge. She had already epted her death after failing to kill Lu Yin. If not, the Sword Sect would be forced to pay the price for her actions. Lu Yin would actually be able to use her actions to move against the Sword Sect, which meant that her only option was death.

    Blood dripped from her abdomen as the attack delivered a heavy wound. She looked down as the pain spread through her body. Her body was numb, and she knew that she was dying. She slowly bent forward, as she was no longer able to support her own weight.

    Lu Yin was about to continue his attack, but Li Zimo rushed forward. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please stop.¡±

    Elder Lianxin was coughing blood onto the ground, but she frantically whirled around upon hearing Li Zimo¡¯s voice. ¡°Don¡¯te over here! Leave! Leave!¡±

    Li Zimo instead rushed over to Elder Lianxin and turned towards Lu Yin to beg. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please let my master off. Please.¡±

    Elder Lianxinmanded, ¡°Zimo, leave! Go far, far away and nevere back. Go now.¡±

    Li Zimo continued to anxiously stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stayed silent, but the sword disappeared from his hand. He nced at Elder Lianxin. ¡°You have a good disciple. I¡¯ll let you off today.¡±

    Elder Lianxin closed her eyes. ¡°This will be an excuse for you to move against the Sword Sect. Alliance Leader Lu, I will take responsibility for my own actions. I refuse to implicate the Sword Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t need such an excuse to deal with the Sword Sect. Isn¡¯t the Sea King here?¡±

    Elder Lianxin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°The Sea King isn¡¯t in the Sword Sect.¡¯

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s here, and there¡¯s no point in lying. Whatever, just leave before I change my mind.¡±

    Elder Lianxin anxiously continued, shouting, ¡°Alliance Leader, someone must be trying to nder us. The Sea King is not here in the Sword Sect!¡±

    However, Lu Yin did not even listen to the woman and simply disappeared.

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s go back.¡± Li Zimo hurriedly helped Elder Lianxin to her feet.

    Elder Lianxin wanted to look for Lu Yin, but he did not show himself again.

    She suddenly understood that the rumors iming that the Sea King was being held by the Sword Sect was a part of Lu Yin¡¯s ns. These rumors had originated from the Sixth Maind, which meant that Lu Yin really was cooperating with the Sixth Maind! She had to tell the sect master about this immediately.

    Lu Yin reappeared after the two had left.

    If not for Li Zimo, he absolutely would have killed Elder Lianxin. Well, this was also fine; he would just allow her to live for a while longer.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin spun around, as he had sensed a group of rune lines rushing towards him. However, he could not see any attacks, only Starsibyl¡¯s runes. To his surprise, Starsibyl¡¯s runes extended into the sky and even around Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was confused by what he saw.

    Starsibyl appeared, her face solemn.

    Lu Yin nced at her. ¡°What just happened?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember when we investigated Xia Ji?¡± Starsibyl asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. He looked up: one, two, three, four¡­ fifteen, sixteen¡­ ¡°Are you telling me that Undying Yushan has that many clones?¡±

    Starsibyl shook her head. She was also confused. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I just conducted a divination on Undying Yushan, and each direction represents an Undying Yushan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could he have so many clones?¡± Lu Yin refused to believe it.

    Starsibyl replied, ¡°I know that. Another possibility is that each direction represents a member of his bloodline and that he can detect each one of them. And-¡± Starsibyl suddenly stopped talking.

    Lu Yin watched her closely.

    She finally continued, ¡°Each of the energies that I discovered were very powerful, and not one of them included Wendy Yushan.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    ¡°Each person is closer to Undying Yushan than even Wendy Yushan.¡±

    Lu Yin could not understand this. Closer? What did that even mean? Did each of these directions represent a different person who was rted to Undying Yushan?

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Alliance Leader Lu. Even if Undying Yushan¡¯s biological son is still alive, not even he would be included. These people are extremely close to Undying Yushan, or to put it another way, each one can be seen as Undying Yushan himself. I don¡¯t really understand this situationpletely, as I have never encountered such a thing before. However, maybe my master will know,¡± Starsibyl said.

    ¡°What about me? Why would I be implicated?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl stared at him. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he started reviewing his memories with Undying Yushan. What was going on? Undying Yushan was clearly still alive, but why would there be so many energies that matched his while Wendy Yushan was excluded despite being his daughter?

    Xia Ji had only possessed three clones when he had been investigated, and that had already been a huge problem. Just what had Undying Yushan done?

    Lu Yin had a feeling that Undying Yushan had set someplex scheme in ce. This thorn kept poking Lu Yin deeper and deeper.

    However, there was one thing that Lu Yin was certain of: Undying Yushan could notpare to Xia Ji. The man had only been a Hunter when Lu Yin had first seen him, and even if he had hidden his strength, it was impossible for him to have be a Semi-Progenitor. That would be too much.

    ¡°If you want to find out more, then all you can do is go to my master,¡± Starsibyl suggested.

    Lu Yin immediately said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go to Little Millenium Flowzone.¡±

    The Starsibyl Sect was actually quite close to the Sword Sect, and he still had seven days before his meeting with Master Qing Hua. Thus, Lu Yin had enough time for a visit.

    Lu Yin left the Sword Sect that same day. He said nothing to anyone about Elder Lianxin¡¯s attempt on his life.

    Wendy Yushan made her way back to Zenyu Star.

    Just when Lu Yin left the Sword Sect, news arrived from the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves that Master Qing Hua had moved out and was heading to the Innerverse.

    This news astonished many people, and the Sword Sect felt a great deal of pressure.

    Everyone wanted to see what Master Qing Hua would do, but not even Yuan Shi was able to keep track of such a powerhouse, so there was no need to even mention the others.

    Many people believed that Lu Yin really was working with the Sixth Maind.

    Given Master Qing Hua¡¯s speed, he arrived in zing Mist Flowzone very soon. However, it was not yet time for his meeting with Lu Yin, so the man simply disappeared. No one knew where he had gone.

    The Sword Sect was naturally the most anxious. Since they were not able to observe Master Qing Hua, they could only keep an eye on Lu Yin, but they soon discovered that Lu Yin had gone to visit the Starsibyl Sect in Little Millenium Flowzone.

    In First Flowzone, the Y¨­u family could be found beneath a dim sky.

    Their matriarch, Madam Y¨­u, was staring at a star chart with excitement. She kept lifting her gadget but hesitated every time she did so.

    She was considering whether or not she should call Lu Yin. If Lu Yin truly was working with Master Qing Hua, then it was absolutely possible for him to eliminate the Sword Sect. However, in that case, the Y¨­u family would not be able to join Lu Yin, as doing so would make them the enemy of the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin would not be dumb enough to cooperate with an enemy just to defeat the Sword Sect, would he?

 Chapter 1656: Ancient You Ming

    Chapter 1656: Ancient You Ming

    This matter was Madam Y¨­u¡¯s greatest concern, as Lu Yin was the only person who was both willing and capable of dealing with the Sword Sect. She was hoping that Lu Yin would destroy the Sword Sect and then release Y¨­u Ye''er, which would allow the Y¨­u family to join the Great Eastern Alliance. However, that would not be possible if Lu Yin was truly entangled with an outside enemy like the Sixth Maind.

    Moreover, Lu Yin had never contacted Madam Y¨­u, which was yet another problem for her.

    Aside from Madam Y¨­u, there were many other people who were close to Lu Yin, such as the people from the Great Eastern Alliance, who were also curious about what was going to happen. However, most of these people had no right to question Lu Yin¡¯s decisions.

    After Master Qing Hua appeared and contacted Lu Yin, someone who Lu Yin had to give an exnation to appeared.

    By that time, Lu Yin had already arrived in Little Millenium Flowzone. Starsibyl had brought Wendy Yushan¡¯s blood to Master Zhu when Lu Yin received a call from Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi rarely ever called Lu Yin, which made the old man¡¯s anxiousness even more apparent.

    ¡°Do you have anything to do with Master Qing Hua¡¯s movements?¡± Yuan Shi asked.

    Lu Yin paused. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Senior. I know what I should and shouldn¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yuan Shi hung up.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky. It was nearly time for him to attack the Sword Sect.

    Master Zhu spent an entire day conducting a divination. Finally, Lu Yin saw rune lines shoot out in various directions, just like what had happened during Starsibyl¡¯s divination.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, pleasee with me,¡± Starsibyl said.

    Lu Yin followed Starsibyl to where he had first met Master Zhu, and then Starsibyl left.

    ¡°Thank you, Senior, for your assistance,¡± Lu Yin said politely.

    Master Zhu solemnly answered, ¡°Alliance Leader, Undying Yushan is a difficult person to gather any information about.¡±

    Lyys¡¯ eyes flickered. ¡°How does hepare to Xia Ji?¡±

    ¡°More difficult,¡± Master Zhu immediately replied.

    Lu Yin felt confused. ¡°Senior, Undying Yushan isn¡¯t as powerful as Xia Ji.¡±

    Master Zhu shook his head. ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter that¡¯s rted to strength. Undying Yushan is involved with an ancient power, and I actually felt the aura of Ancient Progenitor Y¨­u Ming when I performed a divination on Undying Yushan.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?¡± Lu Yin eximed. He had heard this name before, but he only knew that this person had been an ancient Progenitor who had disappeared in ancient times. Apparently, he had lived long before even Progenitor Chen or the Rune Progenitor hade to power.

    Master Zhu recalled, ¡°Progenitor Y¨­u Ming was the strongest Progenitor in the Second Maind before it shattered. Since so much time has passed since then, it¡¯s hard to find proof, but Progenitor Y¨­u Ming definitely existed long ago. The Y¨­u n is descended from that Progenitor, and Progenitor Y¨­u Ming also created the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    ¡°If I had to make an analogy, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming lived at the same time as the God of Death and Wu Tian. At that time, the six Mainds were all stillplete, and the Daosource Sect ruled the entire universe. That was a long, long time ago.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Undying Yushan has a connection to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming? But he¡¯s not from the Y¨­u n.¡±

    Master Zhu shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what type of person he is, but I can sense the ancient aura of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming from him.¡±

    ¡°How did Progenitor Y¨­u Mingpare to Progenitor Chen?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Master Zhu replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, as they were not from the same era. Progenitor Chen was practically invincible within his realm, even among Progenitors. As for the Rune Progenitor, that person created a unique civilization. Both of them lived closer to our current era, though still long ago. On the other hand, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming lived in much more ancient times.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, Undying Yushan is a problem, and you are rted to him as a strand of his aura is on you. If possible, you should visit the Y¨­u n, as they are Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s descendants. Thus, they might be able to help you.¡±

    Lu Yin left the Starsibyl Sect with both Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    He had not expected his probing into Undying Yushan to actually involve an ancient powerhouse like Progenitor Y¨­u Ming who had lived during the same era as the God of Death. Even to the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, that was truly a long time ago, so how could Undying Yushan have any connection to such an ancient being?

    It seemed that Lu Yin really did need to have a chat with Madam Y¨­u.

    Right, he also remembered that the Y¨­u Secret Art was also rted to the power of time, as Y¨­u Ye''er had managed to hide her age. Lu Yin had not been impressed when he first learned of that matter, but recently, he hade to understand just how powerful such a technique truly was. On top of that, the battle technique that Y¨­u Ye''er had used during ZENITH was truly mysterious.

    The Y¨­u family had intentionally separated themselves from the Y¨­u n, and they were even asking for Lu Yin¡¯s protection. This led Lu Yin to guess that the Y¨­u family was hiding some big secret. It looked like he needed to look into this secret, as it could be connected to Undying Yushan.

    Lu Yin remained silent as he made his way back to zing Mist Flowzone.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua asked no questions. They had gradually gained a better understanding of the Fifth Maind while following Lu Yin around. Before they arrived in the Fifth Maind, they would have never thought that an Enlighter would be able to control the entire ce. However, they believed that Lu Yin¡¯s influence would only continue to grow in the future.

    The best way to understand the Fifth Maind was for them to follow Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    There was only a day remaining before Lu Yin¡¯s meeting with Master Qing Hua was scheduled to happen, and somebody saw the powerhouse appear near zing Mist Flowzone. The Sword Sect instantly sealed itself, and Lu Yin was sure that Elder Lianxin had already left with many of the top disciples.

    There was no point for Lu Yin to make any attempts to stop such efforts, as those disciples would be forced to return after Lu Yin gained control of the Sword Sect.

    Li Zimo did not contact Lu Yin despite having likely left with Elder Lianxin.

    Lu Yin was curious about how Liu Qianjue would feel if he learned that particr detail; the entire goal was to send out a group of the Sword Sect¡¯s top disciples and yet one of them belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The sect master would probably be furious.

    ¡°Elder Jiu Shen, are you there?¡± Lu Yin called out.

    Nobody replied.

    Lu Yin shouted again.

    ¡°What?¡± Elder Jiu Shen replied.

    Lu Yin smiled politely. ¡°Master Qing Hua hasn¡¯t appeared yet, right?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen snorted. ¡°Why did you ask him toe here if you¡¯re so scared?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared. Why would I be scared with you here, Elder Jiu Shen?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen no longer bothered replying, as he was annoyed at being forced to act as Lu Yin¡¯s bodyguard. The elder¡¯s irritation only increased when he thought about the Cosmic Sect¡¯s treasure that was etched onto the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was hiding on a barren close to the Ross Empire. Apart from Lu Yin, Elder Jiu Shen and the Greenmen Duo were also present on the.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had not tagged along, as they would be of no help at all against an Empyrean Imprinter like Master Qing Hua. Lu Yin was actually concerned that the two Envoys would be killed by Master Qing Hua, and Lu Yin did not want to lose his bodyguards.

    The two Envoys had also been relieved to hear Lu Yin¡¯s decision.

    ¡°Master¡¯sing! Did you hear that, Fat Bro? Master¡¯sing! We¡¯re going to be alright,¡± the thin man said.

    The fat man replied, ¡°Skinny Bro, calm down. Slimy Lu might try to trick Master.¡±

    ¡°Right, we need to keep calm. Actually, should we try to ambush him to help Master? Master would be so proud of us and will definitely reward us after we get back!¡±

    ¡°Definitely! What reward do you think we¡¯ll get?¡±

    ¡°A sk of his alcohol?¡±

    ¡°No, I want¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was speechless as he stared at the Greenmen Duo talking about their reward. These two were truly idiots! They had not even realized that they had almost died.

    Madam Hong¡¯s goal was not to merely trap Master Qing Hua, but also to use Lu Yin to injure or even kill the man, as that wouldpletely eliminate the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s influence within the Daosource Sect. The only cause for any conflict between Lu Yin and Master Qing Hua was the Greenmen Duo.

    When Lu Yin had first captured the two, they had both been poisoned. Fortunately, Lu Yin had healed them in time. If not, he would have been in deep trouble if they had died. A battle would have be unavoidable when Master Qing Hua arrived.

    Despite what they had lived through, the two were still as naive as ever.

    ¡°Fat Bro, you¡¯ll definitely get fatter from the reward.¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro, you¡¯ll be thinner. We have to stick together.¡±

    ¡°Forever!¡±

    ¡°Skinny Bro, it¡¯s so good to have you here.¡±

    ¡°Fat Bro¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Lu Yin roared. He startled the two idiots, and they instantly fell silent.

    The two¡¯s conversation had really annoyed Lu Yin.

    A few hours passed. There were a dozen satellites orbiting the barren where they waited, and they formed a line in the sky as the scheduled time for the meeting with Master Qing Hua arrived.

    Lu Yin looked up into the distance and saw a terrifying number of rune lines approaching. He felt a tremendous pressure descend upon the; he had experienced this feeling before in the Perennial World; it was just like when he had faced an attack from a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was not actually certain whether one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters was capable of defeating a Semi-Progenitor, as Imprinters should technically be weaker than a Semi-Progenitor. However, given the natural suppression that cultivators from the Sixth Maind had on their peers from the Fifth Maind, not to mention their imprints, Lu Yin was really not sure. On top of that, since Elder Jiu Shen himself was not a Semi-Progenitor, the probability of the elder being able to defeat Master Qing Hua was very low. Still, the elder should at least be able to keep Lu Yin safe.

    Suddenly, the rune lines condensed before disappearing. Right after that, there was a swirl of countless stars as Elder Jiu Shen appeared and solemnly stood next to Lu Yin.

    An old man in a green robe holding a stick appeared 100 meters away. There was a gourd on the stick, and the man took a drink from the gourd after revealing himself to Lu Yin. The old man swayed slightly after taking a drink, and he looked as though he might copse at any moment.

    ¡°The old man¡¯s here! Fat Bro, the old man¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Shh, it¡¯s Master! Master.¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re here.¡±

    Master Qing Hua belched and shook his head at the Greenmen Duo. He then turned to face Lu Yin. ¡°Slimy Lu, right?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression sharpened. ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin.¡¯

    Master Qing Hua sneered and nced at Elder Jiu Shen. ¡°You think that you can protect him? From me?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen warily countered, ¡°We¡¯ll know if we try.¡±

    Master Qing Hua pouted. ¡°Not bad, you managed to call out a powerhouse.¡±

    He took another sip from his gourd. ¡°Tell me, why did you ask me toe here? Do you want me to deal with the Sword Sect?¡¯

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°I¡¯ve removed the poison from the Greenmen Duo. If I hadn¡¯t done that, they would have died before you got here.¡±

    Master Qing Hua lowered his gourd as he spoke in a frigid tone. ¡°Who¡¯s that there?¡±

 Chapter 1657: War Of Destruction

    Chapter 1657: War Of Destruction

    ¡°Madam Hong,¡± Lu Yin instantly answered. Madam Hong had wanted to use Lu Yin to deal with Master Qing Hua, so Lu Yin naturally had no intention of ying nice. He had never expected the Sixth Maind to actually leave five weaves for the Great Eastern Alliance; those negotiations had merely been a part of his n for dealing with Madam Hong.

    Since the Sixth Maind had its own internal conflicts, Lu Yin wanted to make sure that their conflicts continued. He did not want to face a united Sixth Maind.

    ¡°She¡¯s just a little girl. She wouldn¡¯t dare do such a thing, so it was probably Mr. Lifeview¡¯s idea. However, I don¡¯t really want to deal with them,¡± Master Qing Huamented in a helpless manner. He turned back to Lu Yin. ¡°So, what do you want to do now? Did you just want to lure me out here? Or is there something that you want from me?¡±

    Lu Yin put up two fingers. ¡°I have two conditions. One: can you leave here in half a month? Two: please take the powerhouses from the Arrow Sect who are sealing off the Neo-Vestige Sect away.¡±

    Master Qing Hua¡¯s brows rose. ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen also turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. The elder had been ready to stop Lu Yin as soon as he proposed conditions that were too ridiculous. Elder Jiu Shen was the second strongest expert in the Cosmic Sect, and he had no desire to help Lu Yin fight against a powerhouse like Master Qing Hua.

    However, the elder had never expected Lu Yin¡¯s conditions to be so simple.

    Master Qing Huaughed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stay here for half a month and only leave after that. As for Man Li, I don¡¯t even know how his master became an Empyrean Imprinter.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank you, Senior. The Sixth Maind¡¯s issues are none of my business, but to avoid any possible retaliation, I hope that you won¡¯t reveal that I was the one who told you about this matter. I would be extremely grateful if you did that,¡± Lu Yin spoke solemnly as he pushed the Greenmen Duo towards Master Qing Hua.

    Master Qing Hua did not move and simply watched as the Greenmen Duo fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin turned to Elder Jiu Shen. ¡°Senior, are you satisfied with this?¡±

    He had never held any expectations that Elder Jiu Shen would listen to him, as this man was not like Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Elder Jiu Shen grunted. ¡°Not bad.¡±

    ¡°Could I also trouble you to send me somewhere?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Jiu Shen rolled his eyes. ¡°No, I¡¯m returning to the Cosmic Sect. Who do you think I am? Liu Ye and Fei Hua?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m hoping to visit somewhere that¡¯s actually on your way. Senior, could you please take me to Daynight Flowzone?¡±

    ¡­

    Ever since the Great Eastern Alliance had trashed Daynight Flowzone during Lu Yin¡¯s battle against Nightking Zhenwu, the Daynight n had sealed the weave off, and no one entered or left Daynight Flowzone since, not even people from Nightking. The Nightking n had also disappeared from the universe, and nobody had seen any of the Nightking n members in a long time.

    The Daynight n had once been extremely powerful, and the n had possessed multiple Envoys. However, at the moment, their only remaining Envoy was Nightking Dijiang.

    Many members of the Daynight n sat around the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral tablet to gain inheritances. Even though these people appeared calm, they were actually very anxious, as they had been trapped in this ce for a long time.

    ¡°How¡¯s everything going with the Sword Sect?¡± someone from the Daynight n quietly asked.

    A pretty girl peeked at her gadget and replied, ¡°Nothing so far.¡±

    ¡°I thought that people were iming that Lu Yin asked one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters to deal with the Sword Sect. Why hasn¡¯t anything happened yet?¡±

    A man softly replied, ¡°I heard that the Sword Sect has sent their elite disciples away, including Liu Tianmu, Liu Shaoqiu, and Li Zimo, but nobody knows where they went.¡±

    ¡°The Sword Sect is too unlucky! After our n sealed itself off, they immediately leaped forward and assumed that they would be able to take control pf the Innerverse. What a dumb move! Still, I didn¡¯t expect Lu Yin to actually cooperate with anyone from the Sixth Maind.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! He¡¯s been blinded by power. Just wait for it; after he destroys the Sword Sect with that Empyrean Imprinter, he will be ruined! Everyone will attack him as soon as they have concrete evidence, and then we¡¯ll be able to leave.¡±

    ¡°Our n didn¡¯t seal ourselves off because of Lu Yin! Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Nightking Gu bellowed coldly.

    The people who had been talking immediately stopped talking, and no one dared to continue the conversation.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was sitting in a corner, solemnly looking up at the name that sat at the highest point on the ancestral tablet. How long would she need to catch up to that person? She could not see any hope.

    She recalled the time when they had both been students of the Astral Combat Academy. At that time, that person had still been just an average cultivator, but now, even the entire Sword Sect was scared of him.

    Nightking Yuanjing was also on Nightking. He kept staring at a star chart of the Astral Beast Domain. Ever since Lu Yin had revealed that the Third Nightking was trapped in the Profound Void Realm, the Daynight n had sent out many people to explore that particr area in hopes of rescuing the Third Nightking. As soon as he was rescued, the Daynight n would be able to change their circumstances, as Lu Yin would no longer be able to threaten them.

    However, the elder still had not found any way to save the Third Nightking.

    He ground his teeth at the thought of Lu Yin. If Nightking Yuanjing had known that the situation would turn out like this, he would have killed that youth at the very beginning. The elder had thought that he was the one controlling Lu Yin¡¯s fate only to ultimately realize that he had been tricked by the child.

    Nightqueen Qiuyu had returned from Ironblood Weave and was also cultivating on Nightking.

    The entire Daynight n was very quiet, and nobody was even aware that Nightking Dijiang had left for the war in the Cosmic Sea.

    The Daynight n had never been quiet before, but this silent solitude hadsted for many, many years. Some people had be used to the n¡¯s behavior, but others had not. Lu Yin was one of those people who had never epted the Daynight n¡¯s behavior.

    Ever since he started cultivating, he had been surrounded by the Daynight n, be it in the Astral Combat Academy, the Starfall Sea, Pyrolyte, or the Cosmic Sea. His conflicts with the Daynight n had never ended, and it was time for Lu Yin to finally settle this matter.

    Lu Yin stood in outer space between Nightking and the n¡¯s ancestral grounds. He raised a hand. ¡°Destroy the Daynight n.¡±

    Space shattered as the Lu Elite Troops and the colossal giants simultaneously emerged.

    Chen Huang roared and lifted his right fist. He punched, his fist covered with nine lined battle force as he aimed at the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds.

    The giant¡¯s roar was like a battle drum.

    Nightking Dijiang¡¯s eyes snapped open, and his expression instantly changed.

    The n¡¯s disciples all looked up and saw an attack descending upon them that was supported by nine lined battle force. It looked like doomsday hade for them.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Nightking Dijiang blocked the attack and stepped into space, only to see Lu Yin with the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops standing behind him.

    Every member of the Lu Elite Troops and all the giants were able to freely travel through outer space.

    Not even the Daynight n had possessed so many powerhouses at their peak.

    Nightking Dijiang waspletely stunned. ¡°Lu Yin, what are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face Nightking Dijiang. ¡°You went to fight in the war in the Cosmic Sea, and that means that there will no longer be any Nightkings left in this universe.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua both appeared, and together, they attacked Nightking Dijiang.

    Nightking Dijiang was furious. ¡°How dare you! Do you really believe that you can destroy us? You¡¯re too naive! Take your people away and leave, Lu Yin!¡¯

    Lu Yin raised his hand and summoned the Champions¡¯ Stage. ¡°With my name, I summon a champion.¡±

    Cang Zhou appeared with ck chains of death energy circling his body.

    Cang Zhou had been an Envoy, and Lu Yin had to use stellr energy to summon the man. However, Lu Yin only had star energy, which meant that it should have been impossible for him to summon Cang Zhou. Despite that limitation, he had managed to use death energy as a recement for stellr energy to forcibly summon Cang Zhou.

    Lu Yin had not actually expected to seed with the attempt, as he had just been giving it a try. His star energy was affected by the suppression of Envoys, but the death energy within his body surged straight into the Champions¡¯ Stage and summoned Cang Zhou.

    Nightking Dijiang eximed in disbelief, ¡°The Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up; how did the Daynight patriarch know about that?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were simrly astonished. The Champions¡¯ Stage was the Lu family¡¯s characteristic power that had allowed them to dominate the Perennial World and force the four ruling powers to remain in the Middle Realm.

    Chen Huang and the others showed no trace of shock, as none of them understood just what the Champions¡¯ Stage represented. Simply seeing it was not able to convey just how powerful this innate gift truly was.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Lu family!¡± Nightking Dijiang was incredulous as he stared at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seniors Liu Ye and Fei Hua, thank you,¡± Lu Yin said. Cang Zhou rushed at Nightking Dijiang at the same time that Liu Ye and Fei Hua attacked.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were able to stand up to experts with power levels of about 900,000 when they worked together, and they could defeat someone with a power level of about 800,000. Nightking Dijiang had a power level of around 800,000, but Liu Ye and Fei Hua would struggle due to his powerful spiritual force. On the other hand, the summoned Cang Zhou couldpletely ignore spiritual force as Lu Yin¡¯s champion was not alive. A summoned champion could not be affected by spiritual force.

    The three Envoys with power levels exceeding 700,000 managed topletely lock down Nightking Dijiang.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reserves of death energy were being rapidly depleted, and he waved a hand to order the Lu Elite Troops and the giants to charge at Nightking and the ancestral grounds.

    This was the Daynight n¡¯s apocalypse.

    Chen Huang threw out another punch, but this time, Nightking Dijiang was not able to block it. An attack with nine lined battle force struck the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds as the stone tablet shook and copsed.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and the other n members turned pale and could only watch on in despair.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The two Enlighters standing guard over the tablet, Nightking Wei and Nightking You, both attacked Chen Huang.

    The giant raised a hand, and everything was crushed when it struck the ground.

    Puff!

    The two powerhouses from the Daynight n spat out blood and died.

    Nightking Gu leaped up with the other n members, and they charged at Chen Huang.

    ¡°Stop! This is the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds!¡±

    ¡°What did the Daynight n do? Why must we suffer like this?¡±

    ¡°Stop! The tablet cannot copse! The Daynight n will never be defeated!¡±

    ¡­

    Ku Wei leaped down from Chen Huang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let me teach you how to behave.¡±

    He used Finger Tap, and multiple silhouettes appeared.

    Ku Wei had previously beenparable to Nightking Gu, or possibly even a bit weaker. However, at this moment, Ku Wei was strong enough to fight against people like Liu Tianmu. This meant that Nightking Gu was no longer Ku Wei¡¯s opponent.

    Nightking Gu did not even bother retaliating, so Ku Wei¡¯s attack easily pierced through the Nightking¡¯s shoulder. Meanwhile, Nightqueen Yanqing¡¯s pupil turned purple as she tried to petrify Ku Wei. However, the moment Ku Wei¡¯s finger struck out, she no longer had any desire to use her innate gift, and she instead quickly retreated and copsed after the attacknded.

    This attack silenced everyone from the Daynight n.

 Chapter 1658: That Aura

    Chapter 1658: That Aura

    On Nightking, Nightking Leng, Nightking Siluo, and Nightqueen Qiuyu all attacked the Lu Elite Troops,who were apanied by a few members of the Daynight bloodline such as Duane Daynight. Lu Yin had brought the members of the Daynight n from Zenyu Star here to witness the destruction of the Nightking n.

    Duane Daynight and the others held back the powerhouses like Nightking Leng while the Lu Elite Troops swept through the rest of Nightking. Even though the Nightking n had strong static defenses, they were worthless against the Lu Elite Troops.

    Zhuo Daynight was also present. She easily moved past the Night Watch Pagoda and arrived at the field where she had once knelt to Nightking Zhenwu and where Lu Yin had been poisoned. She had learned of her parents¡¯ death and had suffered true despair in this ce. Despite all of that, she had also received new hope here. This was the ce where everything began, though it was also where everything would end.

    She stared off into the distance. Zhuo Daynight was looking at where Ellen Gale and the entire Fireplume Tribe had died. Even now, she could still feel the impact of the despair induced by Nightking Zhenwu.

    Above her, the Lu Elite Troops were ughtering the Daynight n.

    This ce was where she had suffered immense pain, and everything was finally going to end on this day.

    Nightking Dijiang dodged an attack from Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and even Cang Zhou. Suddenly, he spun around and used a Darkwind Finger against Lu Yin. He knew that the moment Lu Yin was defeated, Cang Zhou would disappear, and the battle would end.

    The Daynight patriarch had finally understood that Lu Yin had no ns of cooperating with the Sixth Maind to attack the Sword Sect; the youth¡¯s true intentions had been to deal with the Daynight n!

    Lu Yin lifted his hand. He brought out the Chief Justice¡¯s bell and rang it.

    Before Nightking Dijiang was able to use the Darkwind Finger, he and everybody in Daynight Flowzone felt the immense pressure of the Chief Justice. Everybody was momentarily frozen, including Lu Yin.

    Nobody could withstand the Chief Justice¡¯s pressure, as it was almostparable to that of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Due to the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, Cang Zhou, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Nightking Dijiang were all immobilized and unable to do anything besides watch as Nightking was destroyed. However, Lu Yin was still unable to take out Nightking Dijiang himself as Liu Ye and Fei Hua were not able to defeat the man.

    ¡°Lu Yin, do you really want to be the Nightking n¡¯s mortal enemy? If we are destroyed today, I swear to find a dark corner to wait in forever for the opportunity to destroy you!¡± Nightking Dijiang roared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t destroy the Nightking n, you would still kill me the moment you see the chance. You participated in the war in the Cosmic Sea, and you will definitely attack again when I move to deal with the Sword Sect. Instead of constantly being on guard against you, I¡¯d rather remove this problem now.¡±

    ¡°I swear that I willpletely seal off the Daynight n and that we will not venture out for a thousand years! Stop now!¡± Nightking Dijiang bellowed.

    Lu Yin did not move.

    The Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds were destroyed by the giants, and a massive hole appeared in Nightking as well.

    Nightking Dijiang was kept blocked off by Cang Zhou, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua. He sighed. ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I couldn¡¯t protect our n.¡±

    He clenched a fist and raised his hand high. Lu Yin was familiar with this movement; it was Skybreaker.

    This Skybreaker was not aimed at Lu Yin or even Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Rather, it was directed towards the stone tablet.

    Nightking Dijiang brought his hand down, and his spiritual force created a storm that swept through the region. The maelstrom shattered space and created a small spatial tear.

    That hole suddenly grew, and star energy surged out in visible waves.

    Lu Yin was astounded, and he suddenly saw countless runes streaming out from the hole. These runes did not represent power level, but rather an endless amount of star energy that had almost condensed into liquid. This star energy was simr to what had appeared when Lu Yin vaporized star essence with his Skyze Stone.

    The difference was that the star energying out of the hole far exceeded the amount of star energy released when he used the Skyze Stone.

    He was vaguely able to see mountains within the hole.

    ¡°It¡¯s a spatial tear! This ce is an intersection of two parallel universes!¡± Fei Hua blurted out.

    Liu Ye softly replied, ¡°No, it¡¯s a pocket dimension.¡±

    Lu Yin carefully observed the hole. He remembered the ancient centipede that had fallen out of a pocket dimension in Northline Flowzone, as well as the hidden Bizarre Sect on Aegis¡¯s headquarters.

    Hmm?

    There were living creatures inside that hole. That was a living beast!

    Numerous massive astral beasts charged out from the hole, and some of them rushed towards the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds while others shot into the sky. Still others rushed towards Nightking.

    There were many beasts; some of them were quite powerful while others were rather weak. It seemed like a connection had been formed to the isted pocket space.

    Nightking Dijiang nced towards the ancestral grounds and Nightking. He then ground his teeth and charged into the hole.

    At the same time, on Starsibyl, Starsibyl turned towards Daynight Flowzone, and her eyebrows rose high. A nearly hidden delight could be seen in her eyes; was it that aura?

    ***

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Morrow Weave, on a highly technologically developed, a huge crowd of people were surrounding an old man d in rags. The old man¡¯s eyes were half closed, and he had an extremely mysterious look to him. There was a g on a wooden stick next to him, and the words ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandfather¡± was written on one side of the g while ¡°Fortune Telling¡ªBelieve It If You Will¡± was written on the other side. The man was Xuan Jiu.

    On this technologically developed, Xuan Jiu¡¯s outfit caused him to look like he hade from an ancient era.

    ¡°Er, this- this- mister,¡± a man shouted carefully. ¡°Can you really perform divinations?¡±

    Xuan Jiu stroked his beard. ¡°I see that there¡¯s a dark energy between your brows. Have you been unlucky recently?¡±

    The guy blinked and thought back. ¡°Actually, I wanted to find out about my love life.¡±

    Xuan Jiu opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re stupid. How can you find love if you don¡¯t have a career? You¡¯re unlucky, and you have to get rid of your bad luck before you can seed in your career.¡±

    ¡°I justpleted a contract. I¡¯ll be a billionaire soon,¡± the guy hesitantly stated.

    Xuan Jiu shouted, ¡°Stupid! It¡¯s fake. It¡¯s a lie! You¡¯ve been scammed!¡±

    The man¡¯s face twitched. ¡°It¡¯s a contract with my dad. Mypany¡¯s working with my dad¡¯spany.¡±

    Xuan Jiu gulped. ¡°Your dad, is he your real dad?¡±

    The man was stunned, and the people in the crowd started looking at Xuan Jiu oddly. This old man was clearly manufacturing bad luck for the man.

    Suddenly, Xuan Jiu turned towards Daynight Flowzone, and his expression changed. ¡°How can that be? So many auras? Where are theying from?¡±

    He suddenly disappeared, leaving his g behind.

    The surrounding crowd were all shocked; he vanished?

    ¡°An expert! He¡¯s an expert!¡± someone shouted and quickly knelt down.

    Everyone else also started kneeling down, and they prayed to the g.

    As for the man who had wanted a divination on his love life, those five words kept repeating in his mind. ¡°Is he your real dad?¡±

    ¡°Is he your real dad?¡±

    ¡°Is he your real dad?¡±

    ¡­

    He considered his past and all the scoldings and beatings that he had endured. He even remembered his dad once saying that he had been picked up from a bin. The man suddenly realized that all of that had to be true, as the master who had just left could not be wrong. His ¡°father¡± was not his real father! The man started to run around as though he had gone insane, and the surrounding people all pitied him.

    In Daynight Flowzone, the hole grewrger andrger as more beasts emerged from it.

    Fortunately, none of these beasts had the strength of an Envoy, and at most, they were at the Enlighter level, which meant that the Lu Elite Troops and the colossal giants were able to defeat all the beasts.

    At the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest concern was Nightking Dijiang; Lu Yin did not want to let that man escape.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered Liu Ye and Fei Hua to go after the Daynight patriarch.

    Fei Hua snorted. ¡°We¡¯re not going after him. We don¡¯t mind helping you with normal matters, but that guy chose to run into that hole instead of escaping. He clearly has a backup n, and we don¡¯t want to die.¡±

    Liu Ye turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Don¡¯t make things difficult for us. Nobody wants to die.¡±

    Lu Yin put away the Champions¡¯ Stage. He had already be very pale from using up so much of his death energy reserve. ¡°Even though you two might not be able to defeat him, he also can¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Fei Hua¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°There¡¯s no point in trying to persuade us. We won¡¯t go in.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He could not force the two to do as he wanted, as they could just hide somewhere on the other side after passing through the hole, and they might not even tell Lu Yin if they saw Nightking Dijiang.

    ¡°Mister Lu, please look carefully. How could we just rush into a ce like that?¡± Liu Ye said grimly as he pointed at the hole.

    Lu Yin looked at where the Envoy was pointing and saw the mountains on the other side of the hole. There was a sign at the bottom of the mountains, and it was formed from a cloud.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect?¡±

    Liu Ye replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. Those are the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins in the Fifth Maind. Even powerhouses with a power level of a million might die after entering, let alone people like us. You should already know how powerful the Celestial Frost Sect is¡ªthey have Semi-Progenitors and even Progenitors.¡±

    However, Lu Yin absolutely could not allow Nightking Dijiang to go free after he realized that the man had fled into the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. Lu Yin had no idea what sort of power Nightking Dijiang could potentially gain after entering such a ce.

    Regardless, Lu Yin was still confident that Nightking Dijiang would not be able to gain anything overly powerful from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins; otherwise, the Daynight n would have entered the Neoverse long ago. However, Nightking Dijiang was already quite powerful, and things would be much more difficult if the man¡¯s strength increased even more.

    Lu Yin had to eliminate Nightking Dijiang, or else he would never feel a moment of peace.

    Lu Yin turned to Liu Ye. ¡°Kill Nightking Dijiang for me, and I¡¯ll set you free.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua looked at each other before turning back to Lu Yin. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes. As long as you get rid of Nightking Dijiang, I¡¯ll talk to Arch-Elder Zen and ask him to set you free. You guys should know that I¡¯m a trustworthy person and that I don¡¯t break my promises.¡±

    He hesitated a moment but finally took a blood-red bell out from his cosmic ring and tossed it over to Liu Ye. ¡°You should be able to keep yourselves safe with this.¡±

    Liu Ye caught the bell. He already knew that this item was from the Chief Justice and that it could even stun powerhouses who had survived six stellr tribtions. This should indeed be enough for them to stay safe. Still, that ce was the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Fei Hua was also hesitant.

    Lu Yin bellowed, ¡°If we don¡¯t get rid of Nightking Dijiang, you¡¯ll also never enjoy a moment¡¯s peace as long as you¡¯re with me. Are you confident that you can avoid his ambush attacks forever?¡±

    Liu Ye frowned. ¡°Fine, but it¡¯s a promise: after we deal with Nightking Dijiang, you¡¯ll set us free.¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Fei Hua was still hesitant, but there was only one option avable to them.

    Liu Hua charged into the hole with his wife, and they chased after Nightking Dijiang.

    However, the two were not powerful enough to defeat Nightking Dijiang, not to mention actually kill him. Even though Lu Yin had given them the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, it still would not be possible for the two of them to kill the Daynight patriarch. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Elder Jiu Shen, I know that you¡¯re still here. Pleasee out.¡±

 Chapter 1659: Ruins

    Chapter 1659: Ruins

    Elder Jiu Shen emerged.

    Lu Yin had asked the powerhouse to take him to Daynight Flowzone, and Elder Jiu Shen had disappeared as soon as they had arrived. The elder should have already left and gone back to the Cosmic Sect by this point, but Lu Yin was certain that the man would stick around to see how things proceeded.

    ¡°Young man, nicely handled. You acted as though you were intending to deal with the Sword Sect, even forcing them to send their elite disciples away, but you were actually nning on attacking the Daynight n, and you actually managed to sessfully surprise the Daynight n,¡± Elder Jiu Shen eximed.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Senior, this isn¡¯t a good time for us to discuss this matter. Could you help me out? My life will constantly be threatened as long as Nightking Dijiang is alive.¡±

    ¡°You want me to go after Nightking Dijiang?¡± Elder Jiu Shen sneered. ¡°Impossible. Helping you remove him would destroy the bnce within the Fifth Maind. Why else do you think the old fellows in the Neoverse haven¡¯t attacked the Innerverse already? We all have an understanding among each other, and whoever acts to destroy the existing bnce will have to pay.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Nobody will know it was you.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen retorted, ¡°Stop lying to yourself. They will definitely find out.¡±

    Lu Yin spoke in a helpless manner, ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll head on in.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen frowned. ¡°Why would you go?¡±

    ¡°I want to look for an inheritance, as well as Nightking Dijiang.¡¯

    ¡°Do you want to die? That¡¯s the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins and anyone who doesn¡¯t belong to the Celestial Frost Sect will end up in tremendous danger upon entering. I don¡¯t want to go in, so stop thinking about gaining some kind of inheritance from this ce as it¡¯s basically impossible. What kind of ce do you think the Celestial Frost Sect is?¡± Elder Jiu Shen reprimanded.

    Lu Yin was very clear on just exactly what the Celestial Frost Sect was. They were one of the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers, making them one of the leaders in the rebellion against the Lu family. The sect had both Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors, and the Celestial Frost Sect was capable of easily defeating the Fifth Maind on its own.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins were absolutely dangerous, and people who were ignorant of the sect would naturally rush in immediately to search for inheritances. However, Lu Yin knew how dangerous that ce would be, and he might not go there if he were alone. However¡­ he nced over at Elder Jiu Shen.

    Elder Jiu Shen saw Lu Yin¡¯s nce, and the elder¡¯s brows shot up in fury. ¡°How dare you try to manipte me?¡±

    Lu Yin sincerely replied, ¡°What are you talking about, Senior? How could I dare try to manipte you?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen ground his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t assume I don¡¯t know your n. Stop dreaming! I won¡¯t go there.¡±

    ¡°Senior, do you know who is currently standing at the top of that world? It¡¯s the Celestial Frost Sect,¡± Lu Yin solemnly stated.

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what Lu Yin was referring to.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect has both Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors,¡± Lu Yin continued to exin. He pointed at the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. ¡°It¡¯s true that it¡¯s definitely a dangerous ce, but it also contains opportunities for you to be a Semi-Progenitor. The Celestial Frost Sect left the Fifth Maind in a rush, and nobody knows what they may have left behind. Senior, think about it¡ªwhy else would Nightking Dijiang rush in there instead of trying to escape? It means that there¡¯s inheritance in there that will help the Daynight n survive.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s eyes lit up as he looked out at the ruins.

    ¡°I won¡¯t force you if you don¡¯t want to go, but I want to take this chance. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to be an Envoy in there or even experience the inner world that¡¯s unique to Semi-Progenitors,¡± Lu Yin shouted as he shot towards the ruins.

    Elder Jiu Shen was genuinely tempted. His eyes shed, and he chided himself for growing more and more timid with age. These ruins were definitely a dangerous ce, but if he could obtain an opportunity to be a Semi-Progenitor, why would he not take such a risk?

    How many life and death situations had he survived from the day since he had first started cultivating? But he had be more timid with the years. He stepped forward and stood next to Lu Yin. ¡°You possess the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest treasure, so nothing can happen to you. I¡¯ll go along with you, and you should be able to stay alive.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you, Senior.¡±

    He then ordered the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops to remain outside of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins before entering together with Elder Jiu Shen.

    Meanwhile, in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, Nightqueen Yanqing uploaded a video of Nightking Dijiang entering the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins onto thework and did her best to spread news of the ruins¡¯ appearance. She also leaked some information regarding the Celestial Frost Sect to lure in more people.

    She believed that the Great Eastern Alliance had more enemies than allies in the universe, especially when considering major forces like the Sword Sect.

    As the news about the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins spread, the whole universe became excited.

    Along with the release of information regarding the Celestial Frost Sect, there was talk concerning the old Celestial Frost Flowzone. There were rumors that Daynight Flowzone had once been known as Celestial Frost Flowzone.

    Celestial Frost Flowzone had once controlled the entire region while the Daynight n had only been one of the sect¡¯s followers.

    Liu Qianjue stared at the video in shock. ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect? Those are the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect! The Daynight n truly hid themselves very well! I can¡¯t believe that they managed to conceal the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.¡±

    Elder Lianxin was confused. ¡°Sect Master, was Daynight Flowzone truly once known as Celestial Frost Flowzone?¡±

    She was much younger than Liu Qianjue and did not know much regarding the Fifth Maind¡¯s secrets, so she naturally knew almost nothing about the Celestial Frost Sect. Not many people in the entire Fifth Maind knew about the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Liu Qianjue solemnly answered, ¡°Long ago, the Celestial Frost Sect left when the Daosource Sect was destroyed during the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. Before they left, the Celestial Frost Sect controlled the entire Daynight Flowzone and was one of the most powerful sects in the Fifth Maind. They had both Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors, and the Daynight n was merely one of their followers.¡±

    ¡°Why would the Celestial Frost Sect have remained in the Innerverse if they were so powerful?¡± Elder Lianxin asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either.¡±

    ¡°Many people will definitely go explore the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins,¡± Elder Lianxin said.

    Elder Li suddenly arrived. ¡°Sect Master, should we ask our disciples to return?¡±

    Liu Qianjue nodded. ¡°Have them return.¡±

    Elder Li¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°Lu Yin is so devious! He pretended to cooperate with the Sixth Maind in order to deal with us, but the whole time, he was actually nning an attack on the Daynight n!¡±

    Liu Qianjue remained silent. Everyone had been deceived by Lu Yin. The youth was truly not dumb enough to collude with the Sixth Maind, and he had even intentionally taunted the Sword Sect during his match with Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin was just too cunning.

    ¡°Sect Master, since the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins have appeared, can our disciples go there to search for inheritances?¡± Elder Li asked.

    Liu Qianjue answered, ¡°That¡¯s entirely up to fate. They can go if they wish.¡±

    ¡°Understood,¡± Elder Li agreed. Even the Sword Sect¡¯s elders wanted to go, as those ruins were once the Celestial Frost Sect, a powerful sect that the Daynight n had followed in the past. If anyone managed to discover anything in that ce, they would be able to castly increase their own strength.

    The Divine Grade Hall was also discussing the Celestial Frost Sect, as well as Lu Yin¡¯s attack on the Daynight n. In the end, they made a decision simr to the Sword Sect¡¯s, which was to allow their disciples to explore the ruins. However, they specifically did not encourage them to do so, as the ruins were a very dangerous ce. If not, Nightking Dijiang would have never revealed the ce.

    The Daynight patriarch was apparently quite confident that he would be capable of defeating even the Great Eastern Alliance after gaining whatever it was in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, but nobody knew his exact n.

    Bai Shui watched the video with great excitement from a within Daynight Flowzone. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had finally appeared! Her ancestor¡¯s wish had finallye true.

    Her daughter, Bai Xiaodie, was ten years old and was standing next to Bai Shui.

    ¡°Are we going there?¡± Bai Xiaodie asked timidly.

    Bai Shui closed the video and patted her daughter¡¯s head. She lovingly replied, ¡°Mum will be going, but you¡¯ll stay here.¡±

    Bai Xiaodie pouted. ¡°I want to go too! There¡¯s bad people there.¡±

    Bai Shui smiled. ¡°That¡¯s my hometown. There are no bad people there.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s bad people there!¡± Bai Xiaodie stubbornly insisted. She was normally a very obedient child, but this time, she refused to let Bai Shui leave.

    Bai Shui thought for a moment, and then switched her gadget back on. She found a video of Lu Yin. ¡°Xiaodie, do you remember him?¡±

    Bai Xiaodie blinked as she looked at Lu Yin¡¯s video. Finally, she managed to remember. ¡°I remember him, but it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Bai Shui smiled. ¡°That brother is there too. He saved us before, so don¡¯t worry. He¡¯ll protect me this time as well.¡±

    Bai Xiaodie bowed her head and tugged at Bai Shui¡¯s shirt.

    Bai Shui soon left the. She turned back to gaze longingly at Bai Xiaodie for a moment before looking towards the Daynight n. ¡°Even if I die, I still have to at least try! Don¡¯t me me, Xiaodie.¡±

    She started moving towards the Daynight n.

    The news regarding the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins shocked the entire universe, and some people naturally wanted to visit the ruins to search for inheritances. Even disciples from the Sword Sect and the Divine Grade Hall were interested, let alone independent cultivators.

    The Daynight n had beenpletely destroyed by the Great Eastern Alliance, and half of the Nightking n members had been killed. All of the survivors, such as Nightqueen Yanqing and Nightking Gu, were currently being held captive.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had been injured heavily, and a giant stood behind her, ready to crush her if she tried doing anything.

    She looked out at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins with hope. While she did not know why their patriarch had gone to that ce, hope would remain as long as he remained alive.

    Nightking Yuanjing had been injured by the Lu Elite Troops and was lying on the ground. At this moment, the Daynight n could only set their hope on Nightking Dijiang.

    The moment Lu Yin entered the ruins, the first thing he felt was a tremendous amount of star energy. Cultivating in this ce would be much faster than cultivating in the Innerverse, or even the Neoverse.

    He looked up at the sky and nced around. He was surrounded by mountains, and bestial roars continuously echoed out in the distance. A bit further away, there were some indistinct buildings, which showed the location of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    A shadow appeared above him as a beast appeared. An Enlighter realm beast had tried to attack Lu Yin, but it was flung away by a mere nce from Elder Jiu Shen.

    As soon as any of the beasts left the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, they were all killed by the colossal giants waiting outside.

 Chapter 1660: The Power Of A Progenitor

    Chapter 1660: The Power Of A Progenitor

    ¡°Senior, this is a good ce.¡± Lu Yin stretchedzily as he took a deep breath of fresh air. He was tempted to start cultivating given the incredible density of star energy here, but it would all soon leak out.

    Elder Jiu Shen frowned as he looked to the distance. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Jiu Shen grew solemn. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I have a bad feeling that I haven¡¯t sensed in a long while.¡±

    His expression grew increasingly grim. ¡°We should leave, now.¡±

    Lu Yin became concerned. Elder Jiu Shen had already entered and was clearly anticipating the prospect of finding any possible inheritances that could help him be a Semi-Progenitor, and yet he still wanted to leave. This meant that the man was not being overly cowardly, but rather that he had truly sensed something.

    Lu Yin was just about to reply when he felt something tremble close to his heart. Was that his death energy? No, it was his fatesand that was vibrating. Suddenly, a force pulled Lu Yin in a certain direction. To be more urate, the force was pulling the fatesand within his body.

    There was something in these ruins that had triggered a reaction with his fatesand, and even Lu Yin could not stop himself. He reflexively started walking in a certain direction.

    Elder Jiu Shen immediately went after the youth.

    They soon arrived at the foot of a mountain, and there, they saw a gray figure rushing towards them.

    Lu Yin was shocked; someone was already here? In that case, why had he not seen any runes?

    He was just about to attack when Elder Jiu Shen stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s just some remnant spiritual force.¡±

    Remnant spiritual force? Lu Yin thought back. ¡°You mean like what I saw in the Mountain and Seas Zone¡¯s tablet world?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen nodded.

    During thepetition for the Astral Tower, Lu Yin had seen mysterious gray figures within the tablet world. They were formed from remnant spiritual force from ancient times, and each of the figures simply repeated the actions they had done in life over and over again. Periodically, those actions would change, but everything that was done seemed to be actions that had urred in the past.

    Why was something like that in these ruins?

    The gray figure did not seem to have noticed Lu Yin or Elder Jiu Shen, as it simply rushed past them and disappeared.

    That was simply how remnant spiritual force behaved; the figures could not detect people unless there was a disturbance. However, the moment that any remnant spiritual force was disturbed, it would attack and try to kill every living thing nearby.

    Lu Yin had had a memorable experience in the tablet world, and he was suddenly facing something simr once again.

    The two men nced at each other before moving on towards the top of the mountain.

    They soon saw two gray figures walking down the mountain. These silhouettes were both wearing the same clothes with the emblem of a cloud, meaning that they were cultivators from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    As the two humans walked towards the peak of the mountain, the number of gray figures they saw increased, and they were eventually surrounded.

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen dodged the silhouettes as they climbed to the peak. They saw a dozen tforms there and some gray figures were sparring each other atop the tforms while other figures watched.

    ¡°They¡¯re having a tournament. All of these people are Celestial Frost Sect disciples,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Elder Jiu Shen calmlymented, ¡°These disciples are only Limiteers with a few Explorers, though the Explorers are not participating. This should be a tournament for external disciples who are fighting for the opportunity to formally enter the sect.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s attention was drawn to a row of gray figures that were probably the elders monitoring the tournament, and they had to be quite powerful. A cultivator would have to be at least an Enlighter in order to qualify to be an elder within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen had only covered a small portion of the mountain, and they quickly continued upwards, still aiming for the peak. They saw tournaments for Explorers, Cruisers, and even Hunters.

    This mountain was known as Mount Shaoyou.

    At the tournament venue that featured Hunters, the two saw the master of Mount Shaoyou, as everyone else was standing behind the figure. The two were not able to determine the mountain master¡¯s exact realm, as it was nothing more than remnant spiritual force. However, based on the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s past strength, this person had to be at least an Envoy. Still, it was impossible to know the person¡¯s exact capabilities.

    After leaving Mount Shaoyou, they moved on to Mount Taihe, which was nearby. The force attracting the fatesand within Lu Yin originated from behind Mount Taihe.

    There were not many people on Mount Taihe, and the two only saw one disciple practicing a battle technique at the peak of the mountain.

    ¡°Void Rip?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Elder Jiu Shen was astonished. ¡°You know that technique?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before.¡±

    They continued observing as the figure created a line between two dots. However, the line then disappeared as the disciple had failed. Undaunted, they tried yet again.

    ¡°Void Rip is the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most powerful battle technique, and I¡¯ve only ever seen their Junior Progenitor use it while I was in that world. Since this person was given the opportunity to learn the battle technique, he had to have been an elite disciple,¡± Lu Yin exined. The two were onlymunicating through voice transmissions, as neither one dared to openly speak lest they be detected by the gray figures.

    They both stood there, watching the gray figure silently train.

    After half a day, the figure sessfully used Void Rip, and the battle technique astounded Elder Jiu Shen. ¡°If he were fighting a peer, this battle technique would be invincible.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fought against it before,¡± Lu Yin stated as he turned to face Elder Jiu Shen. He smugly followed it up by stating, ¡°I defeated it.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen arched a brow as he recalled Lu Yin¡¯s performance during ZENITH.

    They followed a small path after leaving Mount Taihe, as they did not dare do anything that would attract too much attention. They were currently traveling through a recreation of the past, and they had no idea if a gray figure might suddenly appear in the sky above them and alert the entire Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, ¡°If Liu Ye and Fei Hua manage to find Nightking Dijiang and start fighting him, they¡¯ll alert the entire Celestial Frost Sect. What should we do then? Do you think we¡¯ll be able to escape?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen huffed, ¡°You¡¯ll jinx us.¡±

    Lu Yin stopped talking.

    ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s somebody hidden there,¡± Elder Jiu Shen looked towards a concealed section of the mountain. In that ce, there was a figure practicing with spiritual force.

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen stood in front of the figure and quietly watched from a few meters away.

    This silhouette had a very powerful spiritual force, and it was practicing battle techniques that utilized spiritual force that all seemed rather familiar to Lu Yin. ¡°These are the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques.¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s battle techniques,¡± Elder Jiu Shen corrected.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the figure. ¡°Senior, was the Daynight n able to enter these ruins at any time?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t the Daynight n have been able to learn all of these battle techniques?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen hesitated. ¡°Are you suggesting that all of the Daynight n¡¯s battle techniques came from this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s quite possible since this was originally Celestial Frost Flowzone, and the Daynight n was just one of their followers. They only grew in power after the Celestial Frost Sect left, and that was also when their many powerful spiritual force battle techniques started to appear. It was said that all of the battle techniques came from the Daynight n, and while the First Nightking was indeed incredibly talented and it is possible that he created Skybreaker, he might have gained his inspiration from this ce.

    ¡°Maybe¡­ their battle techniques came from this person.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen silently stared at the figure, as what Lu Yin was saying was not impossible.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have been odd for the Daynight n to have obtained their battle techniques from these Celestial Frost Sect ruins,¡± Elder Jiu Shen agreed.

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°I heard that the Daynight n has hundreds of battle techniques, and I¡¯m guessing that most of them came from this ce.¡±

    He stared at the gray figure. ¡°This guy might basically be the foundation of the Daynight n.¡¯

    Elder Jiu Shen felt stunned. ¡°That actually makes sense.¡±

    After a while, the two left and continued onto another mountain.

    The next mountain was darker than the others, as it was not formed from rock but rather metal, and there were also some bloodstains on it as well.

    ¡°This probably used to be one of the sect¡¯s punishment grounds, so it was likely the ce that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples feared the most,¡± Elder Jiu Shen observed.

    They reached the mountain¡¯s peak and were just about to leave as they had not seen any figures on Mount Punishment. However, the sky suddenly underwent a massive change, and it felt as though the entire mountain had disconnected from the rest of the Celestial Frost Sect. Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen were instantly surrounded by small whirlpools, and they both reacted properly to this instantaneous change: they remainedpletely still.

    Elder Jiu Shen had been just about to leave with Lu Yin when the small whirlpools joined together into a vortex that entrapped the two of them. They exerted an immense pressure that caused the elder to freeze in ce. This pressure far exceeded the presence of any cultivator that Lu Yin had ever encountered before; not even the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor had put this much pressure on him.

    This was not mere pressure, and the two felt as though they were ants caught in a whirlpool.

    Lu Yin had only experienced such a feeling once before, which was during the finals of ZENITH. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat had appeared and interfered with Shang Qing¡¯s battle. The pressure that Lu Yin had felt back then was the exact same feeling that he was experiencing at this moment: this was the power of a Progenitor.

    To a Progenitor, Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen were both the same: nothing more than ants. The only difference was that Elder Jiu Shen was a slightly bigger ant.

    A moment felt like ten thousand years.

    The next moment, a knife appeared in the sky and destroyed the maelstrom, releasing Mount Punishment that had been disconnected from the outside world. That was also the power of a Progenitor.

    The knife and whirlpool became the center of a collision between two Progenitors, and that moment incited the greatest despair for Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen, as the knife was heading straight towards them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew incredibly focused, and he felt as though his head was about to explode. Both he and Elder Jiu Shen would definitely be killed by this knife. They watched as the knife approached them, but then a hand swept out and took both the knife and whirlpool away. That hand had also belonged to a Progenitor.

    They had just witnessed a battle involving three Progenitors. The hand had been the most powerful of the three phenomena that the two witnessed, as it had destroyed both the knife and the whirlpool. However, the impact of the attacks had still affected both Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen. The elder managed to to use his full strength to form a Celestial Sword from tens of thousands of stars to withstand the aftershocks of the attack. Then, he grabbed Lu Yin, and they both fell down on Mount Punishment.

    Lu Yin had no ability to do anything at all, and he could only remain frozen and watch. Even his thoughts had been frozen.

    Woosh!

    Elder Jiu Shen spat out a mouthful of blood, and his right arm was torn and shredded to bits. He crashed to the foot of the mountain with Lu Yin.

    Afternding, Lu Yin finally managed to react. He just had experienced a life and death situation caused by a Progenitor.

    Cough, cough.

    Elder Jiu Shen coughed up a mouthful of blood.

    Lu Yin immediately took out an Enhanced pill and fed it to Elder Jiu Shen, but the pill was useless to the powerhouse.

 Chapter 1661: Make a Match

    Chapter 1661: Make a Match

    Elder Jiu Shen slowly took out a pill of his own and swallowed it. He hoarsely ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t leave. Each mountain is reying a unique incident, and this mountain¡¯s involves Progenitors. Do nothing and wait for me to recover.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Elder,¡± Lu Yin said solemnly. Elder Jiu Shen had saved Lu Yin¡¯s life, as the younger man would have been forced to defend against the attack on his own if not for the elder. Given the fact that not even Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s most powerful Celestial Sword had been able to fully block the attack, Lu Yin definitely would have died even if he was wearing his bodysuit armor.

    Lu Yin had not expected Mount Punishment to be so dangerous as both Mounts Shaoyou and Taihe had been very peaceful. Elder Jiu Shen was right; each mountain was reying a unique incident, which meant that there had once been a battle between Progenitors within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s territory, which was the incident that they had just witnessed.

    How could such ancient incidents constantly be reying? Even the power of Progenitors had been disyed. If someone managed to harness that power, it meant that they would be able to repeatedly use the power of a Progenitor. That was unimaginable.

    Lu Yin had encountered this situation twice so far; once in the tablet world, and again in his current visit to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. There had to be some simrities between these two ces.

    The two remained on Mount Punishment, but Lu Yin did not dare to risk leaving. He had no idea when those whirlpools might reappear, and he was not confident in escaping from the mountain without Elder Jiu Shen.

    They stayed on the mountain for half a month as Elder Jiu Shen recovered.

    Above the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral ground, various different spacecraft arrived. Most of them carried cultivators from the Innerverse¡¯s major flowzones¡¯ major powers while others belonged to independent cultivators.

    One of the vessels carried cultivators from the Phoenix n.

    Serati Phoenix was one of the people on the ship, and they were led by an elder from the Phoenix n, Lyman Phoenix. He was the most powerful elder in the n, second only to the n¡¯s patriarch. This elder¡¯s power level was more than 400,000, and he was among the most powerful experts in the entire Innerverse.

    Lyman Phoenix sighed as he stared at the destroyed ancestral grounds and Nightking. ¡°The Daynight n was once extremely powerful, but it has now beenpletely ruined. Serati, if you run into Lu Yin in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, make sure you don¡¯t offend him.¡±

    Serati Phoenix answered grimly, ¡°Elder, do you think that our family will be safe even if I don¡¯t offend him?¡±

    Lyman Phoenix frowned but did not answer. Given the fact that Lu Yin had attacked even the Daynight n, it meant that anyone who did not join his Great Eastern Alliance would eventually be his target, including their Phoenix n.

    The half of the Phoenix family that had left the main n had already been forced to join the Great Eastern Alliance, and now, it was the main n¡¯s turn. There were no exceptions.

    Unless the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones united, there were no organizations capable of defeating Lu Yin and his Great Eastern Alliance. This applied even to the Daynight n and the Sword Sect, so there was no need to mention the Phoenix n.

    These thoughts urred to more than just the Phoenix n, as all the cultivators on the other spacecraft simrly fell silent upon seeing the current state of the Daynight n.

    The Daynight n had been a powerful force with many experts for many years. Despite that, they had been reduced to such a state within just a few years. The members of the Daynight n who had been captured by the colossal giants all looked quite pathetic.

    Nobody dared to offend the Great Eastern Alliance, but many grew curious as to why the alliance¡¯s powerhouses were guarding the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins instead of entering it.

    A beautifuldy among the gathered cultivators plucked up enough courage to ask one of the giants.

    ¡°May I ask why you aren¡¯t entering the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins? I¡¯m an independent cultivator, and I have no seniors to protect me. So, I would like to ask for more information to better protect myself,¡± she said in a pitiful manner.

    A few giants nced over, but they simply ignored the woman. Her beauty held no attraction to any of them, as they were only concerned about strength. This person was weak, and therefore unattractive. Any of them could easily kill her with just one swat.

    Ku Wei¡¯s eyes gleamed when he saw the beautiful woman, and he waved to her from atop Chen Huang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come over to Brother Wei. I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡±

    The girl was delighted, and she turned towards Ku Wei. However, at that moment, Chen Huang turned to look at the girl, and she froze in terror. She started trembling and nearly peed herself as she had never even seen an Envoy before, let alone one like Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang had fought against an entire army by himself, and he was unable to suppress his aura as he had only recently be an Envoy.

    The girl fainted and copsed.

    Ku Wei became annoyed and smacked Chen Huang¡¯s head. ¡°Why¡¯d you turn and look at her? You could¡¯ve scared her to death! Even I was a little surprised.¡±

    Chen Huang blinked. ¡°She¡¯s too tiny and weak. Thus, she doesn¡¯t suit you.¡±

    Ku Wei¡¯s brows rose high, but just when he was about to speak, Chen Huang said, ¡°Da Hua suits you.¡±1

    Ku Wei¡¯s face twitched, and he stared up at the sky in helplessness.

    Da Hua was a powerful female giant whose full name was Chen Da Hua, and she was built like a mountain. Her most distinctive characteristic was that she had very hairy arms that were incredibly strong. Chen Huang had kept trying to match Ku Wei with Da Hua, as the chieftain felt that their union would produce the strongest giant possible.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about that! I¡¯ll never get together with Da Hua,¡± Ku Wei angrily growled.

    Chen Huang mournfullymented, ¡°But Da Hua really likes you. She¡¯s a nice girl.¡±

    Ku Wei roared, ¡°Not Da Hua!¡±

    On the other side of the Nightking, other cultivators started asking the Lu Elite Troops why they had not entered the ruins. At the moment, the armycked amander with Lu Yin¡¯s absence.

    Before the attack on the Daynight n, Lu Yin had appointed Zhuo Daynight as the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ deputymander. She was powerful enough to lead them given the fact that she could cause anyone to fall into her illusions, even Enlighters.

    The person asking was a polite man from a minor flowzone, though he was the heir to one of the major forces within the flowzone.

    Nobody answered the man¡¯s question, and Zhuo Daynight ignored him after just shooting a nce at him.

    The man felt awkward, but did not dare get angry, as anyone in this army could easily kill him.

    A sword shed through space as disciples from the Sword Sect arrived and entered the ruins, followed by others from Beast Tamers Flowzone and Soulseal Flowzone.

    The independent cultivators stopped asking any questions and also started to enter the ruins.

    One of those independent cultivators was Bai Shui, who had only just arrived.

    Many beasts emerged from the ruins, but all of them were easily dealt with by the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops. Still, there were more beasts lurking within the ruins.

    Bai Shui encountered two beasts with the strength of a Cruiser almost as soon as she entered the pocket dimension. Given her strength as an Explorer, she was barely able to defeat one of the beasts. Fortunately, a rock suddenlynded atop the two beasts; Little Mountain God had also entered the ruins.

    Bai Shui expressed her gratitude as Little Mountain God carefully observed the beasts. ¡°Thank you for your assistance.¡±

    Little Mountain God simply ignored Bai Shui. He was from Beast Tamers Flowzone, so he was naturally interested in these beasts. Saving the woman had actually been unintentional.

    A few older cultivators arrived at Mount Shaoyou, but none of them had ever seen remnant spiritual force before. One of the people reflexively shouted upon seeing the gray figures, and the noise disturbed all of Mount Shaoyou.

    Lu Yin had initially assumed that disturbing the gray figures would affect the entire ruins, but after witnessing the incident on Mount Punishment, he had realized that each mountain reyed its own, distinct incident, which meant that those cultivators had only disturbed the remnant spiritual force figures on Mount Shaoyou.

    The surrounding figures all attacked the cultivators the moment the disturbance appeared, and all of the cultivators had to work together to defeat the gray figures.

    The independent cultivators who were capable of entering the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins were all quite powerful while most of the remnant spiritual force figures on Mount Shaoyou were not even Explorers. This led to the cultivators achieving an easy victory.

    The cultivators worked together to eradicate the remnant spiritual force.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared behind one of the independent cultivators, and they raised a hand to attack. If Lu Yin were present, he would have recognized the attack as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God Battle Technique.

    The gray figure only had the power of a Limiteer, but the Explorer was cut in half by the Wind God¡¯s sh, and his blood spilled onto the ground.

    The remaining cultivators were all shocked, and one of them immediately attacked the gray figure. The figure blocked the attack with the Wind God¡¯s Defense before suddenly disappearing. The two other cultivators nced at each other in confusion, but then a finger suddenly descended onto their heads and crushed all three of them. This was another one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s battle techniques: Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    The gray figure had the strength of an Explorer, and yet it had managed to kill three cultivators within the same realm in an instant. This showed the enormous gap between them.

    Apart from the three independent cultivators, there were about ten other people who were on Mount Shaoyou. The disturbance that had affected the remnant spiritual force had spread to this area as well, and half of the cultivators here were killed.

    Wen Sansi and Lei N¨¹ were the most unfortunate. They knew that these figures were remnant spiritual force, so they had remained at a mountain peak to watch the tournament. They had beenpletely engrossed in the tournament when the mountain was disturbed, causing them to be surrounded by the gray figures before they could react.

    Fortunately, they had only been watching the tournament with the weakest cultivators on the lowest level on Mount Shayou, so most of the figures that surrounded them were even weaker than Explorers. In fact, they only faced two Explorers and one Enlighter.

    The figures were destroyed one after another. Wen Sansi trapped the Enlighter figure with his Literary Prison while Lei N¨¹ used her star energy to destroy most of the others.

    Wen Sansi¡¯s Literary Prison cracked and fell apart, surprising him. The Enlighter was very powerful as they could destroy Wen Sansi¡¯s Literary Prison, meaning that this figure¡¯s power level was around 300,000. Wen Sansi lifted his hand, causing a secondyer of Literary Prison to appear, trapping the Enlighter figure yet again.

    Lei N¨¹ was shocked. A stacked Literary Prison?

    There were other cultivators on the mountain as well, and one of them was an elder with a power level higher than 400,000. Everyone worked together to clear the mountain as they destroyed all of the gray figures.

    Suddenly, a crack appeared in the sky. Wen Sansi and Lei N¨¹ immediately crouched on the ground, but the elder powerhouse was cut in half. That crack had been a Void Rip.

    That Void Rip actually killed everybody present except for Wen Sansi and Lei N¨¹.

    They nced at each other and immediately tried to leave. However, they suddenly felt the aura of an Envoy. It turned out that there was actually an Envoy on the mountain.

    Wen Sansi and Lei N¨¹ each took out a power vessel at the same time that they shot away. As soon as they left the mountain, the power vessels shattered. Everyone else who had been on Mount Shaoyou was dead.

    [1] Da Hua = Big Flower. ?

 Chapter 1662: Attract

    Chapter 1662: Attract

    ¡°Most of these people have no idea what these figures actually are. We need to tell them or else things will be very dangerous for everyone,¡± Wen Sansi said as he panted. He stared at the shattered power vessel that he was holding with a bit of regret. This power vessel had been capable of defending against an Envoy¡¯s attack, and there were only a few such treasures within the Wen family, and he had just used one up like that.

    Lei N¨¹ raised a hand and wrote out some information regarding the remnant spiritual force figures with her star energy. Anybody who stepped onto Mount Shaoyou would see her message.

    On the peak of Mount Taihe, seven people were staring at the figure that was training Void Rip. They were carefully observing the figure, though none of them could determine what was actually happening.

    Among the seven people were the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Shaoqiu and Elder Li, as well as Ling Gong. All of them were watching in silence.

    Suddenly, an independent cultivator arrived and eximed, ¡°This battle technique looks familiar.¡±

    Elder Li and the others red at the man as soon as he spoke; what an idiot!

    The gray figure practicing Void Rip was disturbed by the sound, and it immediately used Void Rip on the person who had spoken. The independent cultivator had no time to react at all before his head fell to the ground.

    Elder Li immediately attacked the figure. The elder had a power level over 400,000 while the gray figure only had the strength of an Enlighter. Thus, Elder Li waspletely unconcerned.

    Liu Shaoqiu and the others looked simrly rxed, especially Ling Gong as she had no fear of fighting against anyone within her generation.

    Surprisingly, the gray figure was extremely powerful, and not even Elder Li was able to match it. Things only grew worse when a Void Rip nearly sliced off Elder Li¡¯s arm. The man¡¯s sword was also unable to harm the figure, and his sword even shattered.

    The elder suddenly felt like he was facing Lu Yin once again.

    Elder Li had briefly fought with Lu Yin when Lu Yin had first visited the Sword Sect, and Elder Li truly hated the feeling of being pushed back by someone with a lower cultivation realm.

    The gray figure pressed a hand down. It was using Cloud Fall.

    Elder Li was frozen by the secret technique and found that he could not move. The figure then lifted a hand and used Void Rip.

    Suddenly, Ling Gong rescued Elder Li. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, or else we won¡¯t be able to see him train again.¡±

    Elder Li agreed, and the two left with Liu Shaoqiu and the others.

    With no one left on Mount Taihe, the grey figure resumed training.

    The people all intended to return againter.

    Ling Gong was very interested in Void Rip.

    There were other people observing the gray figures that were cultivating spiritual force on another mountain. Of the various remnant spiritual force figures throughout the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, the gray figures in this particr area were the most valuable, as this was where the Daynight n had acquired most of their battle techniques. Many people were interested in watching the figures, but people kept identally disturbing them, which resulted in many independent cultivators being killed.

    The most deaths urred on Mount Punishment, and anybody who stepped onto that mountain was unable to leave alive.

    Mount Punishment had recorded an incident where two Progenitors had shed with each other, and even Elder Jiu Shen had been badly injured by their movements.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins upied a massive area, but the ruins still did not epass the entire sect of the past, as certain sections had been taken to the Perennial World.

    There was a great hall off in the distance, which was where the Celestial Frost Sect had held their most important discussions.

    The atmosphere within the great hall was odd. There were a few figures silently sitting on chairs around a table, and there was also a figure at the head of the table that was talking. The other figures all asionally nodded, which made it clear they were discussing something.

    Nightking Dijiang, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua were all in the hall, but none of them dared to talk or move. They each sat stiffly in ce, waiting for the figures to finish their meeting.

    This ce had clearly been the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s great hall and was where they had held their most important meetings. Thus, the figures gathered in the hall had all once been elders of the Celestial Frost Sect. Since the three Envoys were aware of just how powerful the Celestial Frost Sect was, they understood that the figures present in the hall had to have earned the right to be there. Each one clearly had a power level of more than a million, and some were possibly even Semi-Progenitors.

    All three people were terrified of being discovered if they even moved.

    Nightking Dijiang also understood the danger that they were in at this moment. All three sat quietly in ce despite their desire to fight each other.

    ***

    A piece of blood stained cloth fluttered down Mount Punishment.

    Lu Yin looked up; someone else had died. Anyone who visited Mount Punishment would die, and thest person had been lucky enough to leave a bit of cloth behind.

    This was also probably why Mount Punishment was stained with blood; the ce was basically hell.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin suddenly saw some cultivators.

    When he saw them, they were at the foot of the mountain. Most of the people who entered the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins would climb to the peak of Mount Punishment before moving to where Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen were. However, these cultivators had taken a different route and gone around Mount Punishment. This was how they had managed to avoid the fight between Progenitors and stayed alive long enough to meet Lu Yin.

    The cultivators were shocked when they saw Lu Yin, and they immediately tried to escape. However, Lu Yin dragged them back.

    ¡°Bro, why are you trying to run away? I won¡¯t eat you,¡± Lu Yin joked.

    The cultivator timidly looked at Lu Yin and reluctantly answered, ¡°Lu- Alliance Leader Lu, I don¡¯t have any desire to fight with you for an inheritance. I¡¯m just passing by.¡±

    ¡°Passing by? Passing by the Daynight n? You¡¯re quite brave,¡± Lu Yin teased.

    The cultivator asked, ¡°Erm, Alliance Leader, can I please leave now?¡±

    ¡°How did you get here?¡±

    ¡°I walked.¡±

    ¡°Not that. I¡¯m asking if you had any issues on your way here.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin guessed that the battle between the Progenitors only affected the mountain¡¯s peak and that the base was unaffected. This meant that he could leave now and that there was no need to wait for Elder Jiu Shen to recover.

    ¡°What''s the situation right now? How many people are out there? How did you find out about this ce?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The cultivator told Lu Yin that information regarding the Celestial Frost Sect had been posted on thework. ¡°A lot of people have already entered, and I even saw a few disciples from the Sword Sect. Oh, there were also some people from the Cosmic Sea and even from the Hall of Honor. I saw Lei N¨¹.¡±

    Since Lei N¨¹ was present, it meant that the Hall of Honor was also eying the ruins.

    Most people were ignorant of the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant that somebody had to have intentionally leaked information onto thework. Had it been someone from the Daynight n? Were they hoping that someone would rescue them? That was too na?ve.

    ¡°Fine, you can go now, but you have to tie a string,¡± Lu Yin tied a string around the cultivator¡¯s wrist.

    The cultivator waspletely confused. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what¡¯s this for?¡±

    ¡°Nothing much. Go on.¡±

    The cultivator was terrified, as he felt that Lu Yin was using him, but the man could not figure out how he was being used. He was just about to leave, but he kept feeling that something was wrong whenever he looked at the string; should he really leave?

    He carefully sneaked a peek at Lu Yin, and the man trembled when he noticed Lu Yin watching him. The man decided to leave and stop overthinking matters.

    He rushed away from Mount Punishment at his top speed.

    Lu Yin held the string and was able to sense the cultivator¡¯s speed. Lu Yin wanted to use the string to determine whether the man encountered any danger while leaving. If everything proved safe, Lu Yin would be able to leave as well, but if there was danger, he would have to wait for Elder Jiu Shen.

    The cultivator soon left Mount Punishment, and he was smart enough to not try to remove the string, as he also knew that he was not capable of doing so.

    After leaving Mount Punishment, the string fell off, and the cultivator sighed in relief. He looked back before almost instantly fleeing. He had no desire to ever meet Lu Yin again for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Are you going to leave?¡± Elder Jiu Shen asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Elder, it¡¯s safe to leave, and I want to go somewhere.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen opened his eyes. ¡°There are many ces here like Mount Punishment. How do you intend to protect yourself if you encounter a Progenitor¡¯s power again?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I won¡¯t be that unlucky, right?¡±

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect was like the Daynight n in the past. They controlled an entire flowzone and there is no way they were any less scheming than the Daynight n. Since they left these ruins behind, they would never allow others to easily receive their inheritances. It¡¯s even possible that these ruins were left here for the Daynight n to protect themselves. Nightking Dijiang must have had a specific reason for rushing in here, and it won¡¯t be possible for you to obtain a better inheritance than him or kill him in this ce,¡± Elder Jiu Shen exined.

    Lu Yin understood what the elder was saying. He had already been shaken by the situation on Mount Punishment, and he no longer had any ns of going after Nightking Dijiang. The worst case scenario was for him to simply post someone outside the ruins to keep watch for Nightking Dijiang. At this time, Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to find the ce pulling at his fatesand. He had a feeling that there was much more to discover concerning fatesand.

    He had heard from Xiao Shi that collecting enough fatesand could attract Destiny. Destiny had been a powerhouse from the same era as the God of Death, and both had been ancient powerhouses that defied reason. If what Xiao Shi had said was true, could whatever had pulled at Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand be rted to Destiny?

    That person had been an Ancient Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had already experienced the power of the God of Death, which felt nearly invincible. What about Destiny?

    Lu Yin did not want to abandon this opportunity.

    ¡°I want to go somewhere. I need to go there,¡± Lu Yin said firmly.

    Elder Jiu Shen answered with resignation. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Even though Lu Yin was aware that Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s only concern was to protect the pattern on the sole of his foot, Lu Yin still felt touched. ¡°Thank you, Elder.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen shook his head. He was one of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s strongest powerhouses, and yet he had been reduced to a mere bodyguard here.

    Even though he had the protection of Elder Jiu Shen, Lu Yin still left Mount Punishment as quickly as possible. Even a Semi-Progenitor was no different from a normal person against the power of a true Progenitor.

    Lu Yin followed the pulling force as he left Mount Punishment, though he also encountered a few cultivators along the way. All the people here anxiously ran away as soon as they saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, taken control of zing Mist Flowzone, destroyed the Daynight n, and almost taken over Daynight Flowzone. He was a truly powerful person to all the cultivators who saw him.

    This was also because the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had been exposed by the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, most people felt like they were thieves randomly stumbling into the master of the house when they saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had the same feeling, and he was genuinely annoyed to see so many people. The entire ruins were his!

    He could feel that there were remnant spiritual force figures on most of the mountains that they passed by. Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen did not check any of the mountains, as they had been traumatized by their encounter on Mount Punishment.

    Even though the two did not travel particrly quickly, they still left most of the other cultivators behind. Eventually, they arrived in a barrennd. It was clear that a battle had been fought here in the past, and there were no living things even after the passage of so much time.

    ¡°It¡¯s at best the strength of a Semi-Progenitor,¡± Elder Jiu Shen softlymented as he observed the area.

    This region epassed all that they could see. ¡°It should be safe, right?¡±

 Chapter 1663: Celestial Frost Pond

    Chapter 1663: Celestial Frost Pond

    Elder Jiu Shen raised a hand and gently tapped his finger against the air, causing ripples to spread through the barren region. ¡°There¡¯s nothing dangerous else. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    They entered the region, and the force pulling at Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand increased in strength.

    He knew that they were approaching their destination.

    A few hourster, Elder Jiu Shen eximed, ¡°There¡¯s someone else here.¡±

    Lu Yin turned and saw a white figure walking in the distance. It was a woman.

    Lu Yin kept staring at the woman¡¯s back; why did she look so familiar?

    At this moment, Bai Shui was very excited. She had finally found it¡ªthe Celestial Frost Pond! Her ancestors¡¯ records were urate, and it was right where she expected it to be.

    Suddenly, she stopped and slowly turned around. She saw two people approaching, which astonished her. Why were there other people in this ce? Could someone else be headed towards the Celestial Frost Pond instead of exploring the mountains?

    Hmm? Bai Shui¡¯s eyes shed when she saw Lu Yin. It¡¯s him?

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen approached Bai Shui. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Bai Shui slowly bowed. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    She nced at Elder Jiu Shen but did not speak to the man. Elder Jiu Shen had a very youthful appearance, and if people did not know his identity, many would underestimate him. On top of that, Bai Shui was unable to detect Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s strength given her own level of cultivation.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, your name¡¯s Bai Shui, right?¡± Lu Yin asked hesitantly.

    Bai Shui smiled. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to know that you still remember me. Thank you for helping me when the Daynight n tried to kill me back then.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Bai Shui¡¯s eyes flickered. She hesitated but then said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for the Celestial Frost Pond.¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. The Celestial Frost Pond? He knew that the Celestial Frost Sect had a certain battle technique¡ªCelestial Being Shows the Way¡ªthat required the Celestial Frost Pond. This battle technique was very well known throughout the Perennial World.

    Bai Shui was from the Bai family, the family that led the Celestial Frost Sect. She was most likely one of their descendants that had been left behind in the Fifth Maind, so Lu Yin was not particrly surprised that the woman knew about the Celestial Frost Pond.

    ¡°Do you know about Celestial Being Shows the Way?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui was caught off guard. ¡°You know about that?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I know more than you.¡±

    Bai Shui warily looked at Lu Yin, but she kept her thoughts well hidden.

    ¡°Since we¡¯ve bumped into each other, let¡¯s travel together,¡± Lu Yin offered.

    Bai Shui nodded and followed along with Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen.

    They were already quite close to the Celestial Frost Pond, and they could even vaguely see it from where they had met Bai Shui. So without any issues, they soon arrived at the pond, where they took a closer look.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the Celestial Frost Pond would be covered with mist and have an ethereal look, so he was shocked by the pond¡¯s true appearance. ¡°This? This is the Celestial Frost Pond?¡±

    Bai Shui nodded.

    The pond in front of them was only ten meters across, and there was absolutely nothing around it. The water within the pond was cloudy, and there even seemed to be mud in it¡ªeven a normal hot spring or fish pond would be better than what they were looking at. Regardless, the water was extremely cold.

    Bai Shui bent down and touched the water with a hand, but her hand shot back as if she had been zapped. ¡°This is definitely the Celestial Frost Pond.¡±

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen looked at each other before also bending down and touching the water with a hand.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength, he would not be affected by the Celestial Frost Pond¡¯s water no matter how cold it could be. He actually could not understand why this pond was considered one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most valuable treasures.

    If his guess was not wrong, Bai Shaohong¡¯s visualization method had been the Celestial Frost Pond.

    ¡°What do you know about the Celestial Frost Pond?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui immediately answered, ¡°The Celestial Frost Pond is essential to learning Celestial Being Shows The Way. In both the ancient records and what I heard from my ancestors, the greatest use of the Celestial Frost Pond is to learn that technique.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly observed Bai Shui.

    Bai Shui panicked when Lu Yin kept staring at her. She turned to the Celestial Frost Pond. ¡°However, not many people know that the true purpose of the Celestial Frost Pond is cryostasis.¡±

    ¡°Cryostasis?¡± Lu Yin was surprised. This did not sound overly impressive, as many cultivators throughout the universe chose to undergo cryostasis to preserve their bodies for longer periods of time. The most memorable encounter for Lu Yin was how the Royal Frost Continent had put an entire army into cryostasis.

    ¡°Cryostasis is indeed verymon, but have you ever heard of anyone able to cultivate while undergoing cryostasis?¡± Bai Shui asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose up at that. ¡°Cultivate while undergoing cryostasis?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen looked at Bai Shui in shock. ¡°I¡¯m also curious. How can one cultivate while in cryostasis?¡±

    Bai Shui nced at the youthful looking elder and exined, ¡°This is the primary purpose of the Celestial Frost Pond. As long as one remains within the pond or is submerged in the water, they can be put in cryostasis while also cultivating as normal. However, this type of cryostasis doesn¡¯t work as well as other methods. For example, if a person can survive for a thousand extra years with cryostasis, they¡¯ll only be able to live for a dozen years within this pond. In essence, it allows people to extend their life less than ten times that of normal cryostasis. Still, given the fact that normal people can¡¯t even live for a few hundred years, this pond would allow such a person to live ten times their usual lifespan.

    ¡°And they would also be able to cultivate during this time.¡±

    Lu Yin was astounded. He scooped up a bit of the water. ¡°I never expected this water to be so useful.¡±

    ¡°On top of that,¡± Bai Shui continued, ¡°Apart from cryostasis, this pond is also able to preserve any stellr energy that leaks out while practicing battle techniques, which helps in avoiding detection from the true universe.¡±

    ¡°You know about the true universe?¡± Lu Yin was shocked.

    Elder Jiu Shen interjected, ¡°Preserve stellr energy? That¡¯s impossible. Stellr energy cannot be stored.¡±

    However, Lu Yin knew that there was indeed a way to store stellr energy, which was by using the Mother Tree. The Mother Tree absorbed stellr energy and converted it into stellr liquid, which could then be illegally gathered and used by the four ruling powers. However, there was no way of storing stellr energy in the Fifth Maind.

    Bai Shui exined, ¡°The energy can¡¯t be stored, as it¡¯s only preserved. Then, it naturally dissipates without being detected by the true universe.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen felt relieved. ¡°That makes more sense. If the Celestial Frost Sect was able to store stellr energy, they would have been able to forcefully cultivate countless Envoys, and the Sixth Maind would have never been able to defeat us. Also, they would have never needed to leave.¡±

    Lu Yin thought of something as he stared at the pond. ¡°You mentioned that a person can cultivate while undergoing cryostasis if they¡¯re submerged in the pond water, right?¡±

    He turned towards Bai Shui.

    Bai Shui nodded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°This means that we can take some water from the pond.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen stood up straighter and looked at Bai Shui excitedly.

    Bai Shui¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen nced at each other before they each started searching for their cosmic rings. It would not make sense for them to leave the ruins without gaining anything at all.

    Elder Jiu Shen was no fool, but he was not as cunning as Lu Yin. When Lu Yin had mentioned that they could take the water away, the old man had quickly found a bottle, dumped it out, and then started filling it with water from the Celestial Frost Pond.

    Lu Yin watched awkwardly as he was not able to find a bottle.

    Bai Shui blinked. ¡°Erm, if you want to gather any of the pond water, you need to use a special bottle made by the Celestial Frost Sect. Otherwise it¡¯ll just be in water after you leave.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen was speechless. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier?¡±

    Still, he kept filling his bottle. He might not have such a special bottle, but he also could not be bothered to find one. He just wanted to take some of the water back to test it out, and it would be fine even if it did not work out.

    After cultivating for so many years, Elder Jiu Shen had understood something: everything had its own destiny, and there was no point in trying to force things. Another important thing that he had learned was that whatever he held belonged to him.

    Lu Yin and Bai Shui silently watched as Elder Jiu Shen filled his bottle.

    Elder Jiu Shen looked up and turned to Lu Yin. The old man frowned; something was wrong. ording to his understanding of Lu Yin, there was no way the youth would pass up on obtaining such a treasure.

    ¡°What are you thinking about, boy?¡± Elder Jiu Shen asked.

    Bai Shui also looked at Lu Yin in curiosity.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°Are you done, Elder?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen arched a brow and reflexively stored his bottle away. ¡°I won¡¯t give you my bottle. Figure something out yourself.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°She already said that doing so would be useless.¡±

    ¡°I still won¡¯t give you the bottle. Go figure something else out or find another bottle.¡± Elder Jiu Shen rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin coughed. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not nning on taking any of the pond water.¡±

    Bai Shui and Elder Jiu Shen both showed expressions of disbelief.

    Lu Yin coughed again and looked slightly embarrassed. ¡°Actually, the environment on my Zenith Mountain is pretty bad, and it could use some spring water as a decoration.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen was startled, and Bai Shui¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°You¡¯re taking the whole pond?¡±

    Lu Yin felt rather bad. After all, the three of them had found the pond together, and Bai Shui had been the one to share the pond¡¯s function. Despite that, Lu Yin was the one nning on taking the entire thing away. ¡°Actually, you can just let me know if you ever need it and I¡¯ll give you some.¡±

    ¡°Boy, you¡¯re too shameless! You want to take this whole thing with you?¡± Elder Jiu Shen shouted.

    Lu Yin helplessly defended himself. ¡°I don¡¯t have any other ideas, and I also don¡¯t have any of the special bottles. If I don¡¯t do this, then do you have any other suggestions, Senior? Other people might find it if we leave it here, and there will definitely be quite a few powerhouses interested in it, and there won¡¯t be enough water even if everyone takes just a small bit. But most importantly-¡±

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he continued, ¡°I¡¯m taking it away to help those close to me, such as the members of the Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen did not believe Lu Yin at all, but he also did not stop him. It would be a good thing if Lu Yin managed to take the pond away, as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins would never be Lu Yin¡¯s exclusive domain, not even though the Great Eastern Alliance had defeated the Daynight n and taken control of the ruins.

    Lu Yin would be forced to give some of the pond water to the Cosmic Sect if he took the entire pond, and that was better than leaving with nothing.

    Bai Shui was annoyed; she couldn¡¯t believe that Lu Yin would take the whole pond.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Pond won¡¯t be very useful if it leaves here,¡± Bai Shui tried to stop Lu Yin.

    He just dismissively waved a hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s better than just leaving it here. This pond can only hold a few people, and it wouldn''t be good if a fight breaks out over it. I¡¯ll just take it away, and even if I can¡¯t use it, it will still be a decoration for Zenith Mountain.¡±

    He took out Zenith Mountain and prepared to pull up the entire Celestial Frost Pond.

    Bai Shui helplessly stared at the pond, but she could do nothing at all to stop Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1664: A Powerful Enemy

    Chapter 1664: A Powerful Enemy

    Suddenly, Bai Shui froze; a pair of eyes at the bottom of the pond opened and met her gaze. Bai Shui was stunned and copsed.

    Elder Jiu Shen was the first to realize what had happened, and he reflexively looked at the bottom of the pond. He also saw the pair of eyes, and he was simrly stunned. Clouds of spiritual force appeared around him, and they all erupted at the same time.

    The eruption of ten clouds of spiritual force unleashed an attackparable to what Yuan Shi was capable of, meaning that it had reached a power level of a million. The number of runes continued to increase as this was not actually a battle technique, but rather a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin immediately erased some of the runes.

    Elder Jiu Shen was injured by the spiritual force from the sourcebox array, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had already been heavily injured on Mount Punishment, and this new attack pushed him to the brink of copse. He managed to manifest 10,000 stars and retreated just in time with Lu Yin.

    A man stepped out of the pond. His eyes were icy, and he looked determined. He was very handsome, and his white and ck hair reached all the way down to his ankles, though there was a streak of gray in the middle of his head.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp; this man was a Nightking.

    Elder Jiu Shen immediately pushed Lu Yin backwards. ¡°Run, boy!¡±

    Lu Yin was thrown into the distance, but the Nightking also disappeared. Lu Yin felt confused; who was this man? He had not entered the Celestial Frost Sect with everyone else, and it seemed that this man had been in the Celestial Frost Pond for a long time. He had to be a hidden powerhouse of the Nightking n.

    This man had to be the reason why Nightking Dijiang had fled into the ruins! The patriarch had not been trying to protect himself with the ruins, but rather trying to reach this man. This man was Nightking Dijiang¡¯s hidden trump card. Since this man had been able to injure Elder Jiu Shen with a sourcebox array, then he had to be at least as strong as Elder Jiu Shen, or possibly even stronger.

    Who was he?

    Blood leaked out of the corner of Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s mouth as he manifested another 10,000 stars to form a Celestial Sword.

    The Nightking was startled. ¡°The Celestial Sword? If I remember correctly, you must be Elder Jiu Shen. It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯vest seen you.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen hesitated and stared at the man in shock. ¡°You know me?¡±

    The man smirked before suddenly disappearing. Elder Jiu Shen spun around, but he only saw cracks in the sky. The man was chasing after Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had finally managed to gain control of himself, and he had just passed Mount Punishment. He was only a short distance from the exit, and he would soon leave the ruins. But how was Elder Jiu Shen doing?

    ¡°Are you worried about Elder Jiu Shen?¡± A voice rang out.

    Goosebumps covered Lu Yin¡¯s body as he slowly turned around to see the Nightking with ankle-length hair. Lu Yin clenched his fists and was just about to take out the Chief Justice¡¯s bell when he remembered that he had given it to Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Many of the people in the ruins, including even Wen Sansi, looked up to see Lu Yin and the man standing high in the sky.

    Even though most people were reluctant to admit it, all of them would have to agree that Lu Yin was the master of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    However, despite what others thought, Lu Yin felt incredibly threatened by the man in front of him. This was the same feeling that he had suffered when he had been chased through the Perennial World.

    Elder Jiu Shen emerged from the true universe and stood next to Lu Yin. ¡°I remember now: you¡¯re the Second Nightking.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°The Second Nightking?¡±

    The manughed and turned to Elder Jiu Shen. ¡°It¡¯s been so long since we met in the Neoverse. I still remember that battle very clearly.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he solemnly replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive.¡±

    The Second Nightkingughed again. ¡°I was lucky.¡±

    He then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Why are you protecting this boy? Who is he?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered; did this man not know what had happened in the outside world?

    Elder Jiu Shen was about to answer when the Second Nightking looked past the ruins.

    Lu Yin immediately shouted, ¡°Elder, attack! He¡¯s already noticed what¡¯s happened to the Daynight n!¡±

    The Second Nightking coldly asked, ¡°Who dared to destroy the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen formed a Celestial Sword and shed it at the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking turned around. ¡°Back then, you people from the Neoverse killed the First Nightking in order to stop the Daynight n from entering the Neoverse. Do you intend topletely destroy the Daynight n now?¡±

    He pointed a finger, and Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank: Nightking Advent Immortal Finger.

    Nightking Dijiang watched in delight from within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s great hall. He had already noticed the Second Nightking. Their ancestor was still alive! This meant that the Daynight n would be fine.

    The finger struck the Celestial Sword, but there was no massive collision, as the two experts did not dare to create anyrge disturbances within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    The stars coalesced into the Celestial Sword one by one. However, an icy breeze suddenly swept by and froze the sword.

    Elder Jiu Shen eximed, ¡°Water from the Celestial Frost Pond?¡±

    Lu Yin became worried. The Daynight n¡¯s Nightking Advent Immortal Finger was a copy of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Celestial Being Shows The Way, and the Second Nightking had been cultivating within the Celestial Frost Pond for a long time. His attack was nearly identical to the true Celestial Being Shows The Way, and the man was even able to use the pond water to freeze opposing attacks. There was absolutely no way that Elder Jiu Shen would be able to withstand such an attack given his previous injuries.

    The Celestial Sword shattered with a ng as nine lined battle force appeared around the Second Nightking¡¯s finger. His finger struck Elder Jiu Shen and froze the man.

    ¡°Back then, I was not your opponent, and not even the First Nightking couldpare to you. However, I have been training in that pond for many years, and you¡¯re already heavily injured. You are no longer my opponent. Elder Jiu Shen, you should pay for taking the First Nightking¡¯s life,¡± the Second Nightking dered as cold air appeared around him.

    Elder Jiu Shen gritted his teeth before suddenly disappearing. Another man appeared where he had just been standing. The man looked down to see his body freezing before he fell to the ground.

    Elder Jiu Shen had used the Cosmic Sect¡¯s secret technique: Star Transference.

    The Second Nightking sneered and looked down. He smirked when he found Elder Jiu Shen coughing blood onto the ground. The Nightking suddenly turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Boy, you¡¯re from the Cosmic Sect, right? It¡¯s too bad that you joined the wrong sect and wanted to take the Celestial Frost Pond away. I¡¯m going to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin was terrified when he heard the killing intent in the Second Nightking¡¯s voice. In desperation, Lu Yin instantly said, ¡°I¡¯m part of your n!¡±

    The Second Nightkingughed coldly. ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    He unleashed his spiritual force.

    There was absolutely no way that Lu Yin could withstand the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force, but fortunately, he had already prepared himself by setting up the Inception Array and reciting the Stonewall Scriptures beforehand. As the spiritual force swept past him, his bodysuit armor cracked, and he felt as though his brain was shattering. He copsed to the ground.

    The Second Nightking was caught off guard. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to survive. Even though it was just a casual attack, no one below the Envoy realm or with an exceptionally powerful spiritual force should have been able to survive that.¡±

    The man used his spiritual force to attack Lu Yin once again, this time with an even more powerful attack.

    Lu Yin was nearly unconscious, and he waspletely unable to withstand this attack.

    Elder Jiu Shen yanked Lu Yin away just in time, and they barely managed to keep their lives.

    The Second Nightking descended and red at Elder Jiu Shen before pointing a finger. ¡°Die.¡±

    ¡°Second Nightking, do you really want your entire Daynight n to be destroyed?¡± Elder Jiu Shen shouted as he stared intently at the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking hesitated.

    ¡°You know that my Cosmic Sect also has Elder Gong, who¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor. He can easily eliminate you no matter how long you¡¯ve cultivated for or how many sourcebox arrays you set up. Moreover, there¡¯s also Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Grandmaster and Arch-Elder Zen¡ªnone of them want to see your Daynight n enter the Neoverse, so do you want to be a public enemy of the Fifth Maind?¡± Elder Jiu Shen threatened.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes grew more focused, and his hand lowered.

    Elder Jiu Shen let out a sigh of relief.

    Suddenly, the Second Nightking created another cloud of spiritual force that surrounded Elder Jiu Shen and Lu Yin. This was the same sourcebox array that the man had used to ambush Elder Jiu Shen at the Celestial Frost Pond.

    Elder Jiu Shen had not expected the Second Nightking to suddenly attack, and he was unable to react in time due to his injuries. In an instant, Lu Yin and Jiu Shen were surrounded by clouds of spiritual force.

    ¡°Do you think that the Hall of Honor and the Cosmic Sect will let me go if I leave this ce? I still remember how the First Nightking died, and I will definitely face the same fate as him. I will never forget that grudge! As for the Daynight n, we can restart elsewhere, be it the Technocracy or the Astral Beast Domain. Anything is better than simply waiting here for death,¡± the Second Nightking said calmly. ¡°As for you, I¡¯ll kill you to collect some interest on that debt. I¡¯m also curious to see if Elder Gong will chase me to the ends of the universe.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind dying, but this boy is someone from your own n. Are you really going to let him die?¡± Elder Jiu Shen anxiously asked.

    The Second Nightking sneered. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Elder Jiu Shen would spout such nonsense before his death. How pathetic.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen had resigned himself to his own fate; he could die, but Lu Yin had to survive. He had to stay alive since the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest treasure was on the bottom of his foot. It was the boy¡¯s own fault. Why would he im to be from the Daynight n? Elder Jiu Shen had no choice but to y along with the lie and hope to manage to persuade the Second Nightking.

    Hopefully, it would work!

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe it, but you can just ask him. It¡¯ll only take a moment,¡± Elder Jiu Shen pleaded as he healed Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking let out a coldugh. ¡°Stop wasting my time and die.¡±

    At that moment, Lu Yin regained consciousness and used Daynight Praises.

    This was the Daynight n¡¯s greatest spiritual force battle technique, and it far surpassed the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s attack stopped the instant he saw Daynight Praises. He red at Lu Yin. ¡°How do you know Daynight Praises?¡±

    Lu Yin panted for breath while suffering from excruciating pain. He actually had no idea what was happening, as thest thing that he remembered was trying to withstand the Second Nightking¡¯s attack. He had wanted to use Daynight Praises when he saw the iing attack but had lost consciousness. This was why Lu Yin had used the technique as soon as he regained his senses.

    ¡°Boy, answer him!¡± Elder Jiu Shen urged.

    Lu Yin finally understood what was happening when he noticed the ten clouds of spiritual force surrounding him. He went pale as he remembered how the earlier eruption of ten clouds had gravely wounded Elder Jiu Shen just now. If Elder Jiu Shen had been able to withstand the Second Nightking¡¯s attacks, then they would be in a very different situation.

 Chapter 1665: A Huge Shock

    Chapter 1665: A Huge Shock

    ¡°Boy, tell me: how did you learn Daynight Praises?¡± the Second Nightking bellowed as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at both the Nightking and Elder Jiu Shen before letting out a long breath. ¡°I learned it at the ancestral ground.¡±

    ¡°How dare you! You don¡¯t belong to my n, so how could you have possibly entered our ancestral grounds?¡± the Second Nightking yelled in fury.

    Lu Yin bitterly exined, ¡°Actually, I fell in love with a girl from the Nightking n and received the patriarch¡¯s permission to enter the ancestral ground after enduring many difficulties. Then, I managed to arrive at the end of the inheritance corridor and learned the n¡¯s most elite battle technique: Daynight Praises.¡±

    The Second Nightking carefully observed Lu Yin, but he could not determine whether or not the youth was lying. Still, the Daynight n had never allowed their members to marry outside the n, so why would this boy be an exception?

    ¡°Women of my Daynight n are forbidden to marry anyone outside of the n,¡± the Second Nightking coldly stated.

    Lu Yin excitedly dered, ¡°I really love Nightqueen Yanqing, and no one can stop me!¡±

    ¡°Nightqueen Yanqing?¡± The Second Nightking nced towards the exit to the ruins and out towards the shattered remains of the n¡¯s ancestral ground. There, he saw giants holding members of the Daynight n captive. While the Nightking was distracted, both Lu Yin and Elder Jiu Shen disappeared with a Teleportation Formation.

    The Second Nightking spun back around and waved a hand. ¡°How dare you lie to me! Ten Prison Formation.¡±

    The clouds of spiritual force once again tried to surround the two men.

    Elder Jiu Shen fled with Lu Yin while doing his best to evade the Ten Prison Formation. However, it was difficult for them to remain free since the Second Nightking was much more powerful than either of the two.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, and it spread out in all directions.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins upied a massive area, but they still could notpare to Dragon Mountain back in the Perennial World. A part of the sect¡¯s grounds had to have been taken to the Perennial World when the Celestial Frost Sect had left the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain enveloped Mount Shaoyou, Mount Taihe, and the other nearby mountains, and doing so naturally disturbed all the figures formed from remnant spiritual force.

    The ruins instantly descended into utter chaos as the gray figures were upset, and all of them started attacking the cultivators who were exploring the ruins.

    The atmosphere in the ruins experienced a sudden transformation.

    The Second Nightking furiously shouted, ¡°Boy, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    There were many other cultivators aside from the Second Nightking who were also cursing Lu Yin at this moment. The situation felt like every cultivator within the Celestial Frost Sect had been awakened, and they all started attacking the cultivators within the ruins.

    The various cultivators had essentially invaded an ancient sect.

    The most unfortunate people were Nightking Dijiang, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua; when Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept past, they were still standing in the great hall of the ruins, which was where the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most powerful experts had once gathered.

    When the figures formed from remnant spiritual force were disturbed, they immediately attacked Nightking Dijiang, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua.

    Instantly, all three Envoys were injured. These figures were the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s powerhouses, and each one of them had a power level of at least a million while half of them were even more powerful than that. The three Envoys werepletely unable to fight back.

    Liu Ye reacted the fastest, and he immediately rang the Chief Justice¡¯s bell. The sound of the bell spread throughout the entire area.

    Everyone suddenly felt as though a huge hand had covered the sky.

    Even though they were within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, the Chief Justice was still considered extremely powerful.

    While Lu Yin was stunned by the strength of the Chief Justice, his only thought was that the remnant power of the Progenitors on Mount Punishment would hopefully not be disturbed with this move, as no one would be able to escape alive if that happened.

    Liu Ye sessfully managed to stun everybody, including even the gray figures, with the Chief Justice¡¯s bell. Although Liu Ye was also stunned by the bell, since he was the user, he was also the first to regain consciousness.

    The moment he regained consciousness, Liu Ye fled with Fei Hua. Nightking Dijiang was not as lucky, as he only managed to regain consciousness at the same time as the gray figures.

    The powerhouse who had been sitting at the head of the table pointed a finger at Nightking Dijiang¡¯s forehead, and the Nightking¡¯s head exploded.

    He had been the patriarch of the Daynight n, and he had even fought alongside the First Nightking. At the end, he had reached a power level of more than 800,000, being one of the top powerhouses in the entire Innerverse, and yet he was killed so easily.

    Nightking Dijiang never even knew that he was actually responsible for his own death.

    If he had not exposed the existence of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins and tried to go after the Second Nightking in order to protect the Daynight n, then the Second Nightking would have never chased after Lu Yin, which meant that Lu Yin would have never disturbed the figures formed from remnant spiritual force, and thus, Nightking Dijiang would have never been killed.

    However, Lu Yin was also in a difficult situation right now. The gray figures were attacking everyone, including Wen Sansi and Unseen Light. Many people had started cursing Lu Yin for being selfish.

    However, Lu Yin had no other choice. He still had no idea if he could even escape from the ruins alive. This ce had been home to the Celestial Frost Sect, and even if there were no Semi-Progenitors among the gray figures, any remnant with a power level of more than a million could easily kill them. The scariest thing was that these gray figures had no consciousness, so Lu Yin could not even try talking to them.

    The Second Nightking was targeted by a gray figure that he could not defeat even with his impressive strength. This meant that the figure couldpare to Elder Jiu Shen at his peak.

    Elder Jiu Shen and Lu Yin had also been surrounded by a few of the gray figures, and they were unable to escape. Elder Jiu Shen grabbed Lu Yin. ¡°Boy, you¡¯ll have to keep yourself alive now.¡±

    The elder spat out a mouthful of blood as he manifested tens of thousands of stars to form a Cosmic Palm that struck Lu Yin¡¯s back. The stars protected him while also shoving him towards the exit.

    Lu Yin had not expected Elder Jiu Shen to act so selflessly. The elder had risked being injured yet again in order to try to send Lu Yin out to safety. Lu Yin was touched by the man¡¯s actions.

    However, Lu Yin saw Elder Jiu Shen disappear just momentster, and a Daynight n member appeared where the elder had been standing before being instantly shattered. Elder Jiu Shen had used Star Transference.

    Lu Yin had no time to think about anything at all, and he charged towards the exit. Before him, a gray figure lifted its hand and used a secret technique: Cloudfall.

    The stars around Lu Yin froze, but he gritted his teeth and summoned an astral chessboard to appear beneath his feet.

    Fortunately, the stars managed to dy the attack, which allowed Lu Yin to finish using the Ce Secret Art. He instantly appeared right at the exit, and the stars from the Cosmic Palm pushed him out. When he turned around, he saw the Second Nightking for a moment before his vision suddenly changed, as the Ce Secret Art had disrupted the space surrounding Lu Yin; he saw Bai Shui leap into the Celestial Frost Pond.

    Lu Yin wasunched straight out of the ruins, and he shot towards a small near Nightking until he crashed straight into a huge spacecraft.

    Cough cough!

    Lu Yin shifted his body. He was in agony. Where was Elder Jiu Shen?

    He was about to move out of the ruins of the vessel when he heard a voice say, ¡°Captain, it¡¯s been a very long time.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around to see an annoying face with a disturbing smile stered on it.

    ¡°Silver?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Silver smiled as he approached Lu Yin. ¡°You truly are my captain¡ªyou¡¯re not injured even after all this! I salute you.¡±

    Lu Yin stepped forward and grabbed hold of Silver¡¯s neck. The man did not fight back at all as he was lifted by Lu Yin.

    ¡°Cap- Captain, there¡¯s no need to get so excited,¡± Silver said smilingly, despite being only a step away from death. Corpse Beast stood behind him, but although the corpse king was able to undergo a third transformation, it was no longer any threat to Lu Yin. He could easily defeat it given his current strength.

    Lu Yin hefted Silver into the air and threw him far away. He used the Oveying Stacks Path to force Silver into the ground, where he vomited blood and lookedpletely miserable.

    Lu Yin nced at Silver before ncing back at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins with a solemn expression. He finally let out a sigh of relief when he realized that none of the gray figures were leaving the ruins.

    Chen Huang came over, Ku Wei still on the giant¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Master, are you ok?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. You can go back,¡± Lu Yin said calmly.

    Ku Wei wanted to look inside the spacecraft, but Lu Yin ordered, ¡°Make sure no one from the Daynight n escapes.¡±

    Ku Wei helplessly replied, ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Lu Yin turned his attention back to Silver.

    Silver was still on the ground, and he looked up at Lu Yin with the same eerie smile on his face as ever. However, the blood at the corner of his lips gave him a pitiful appearance.

    ¡°It¡¯s really been a long time, and yet your smile is still as annoying as ever.¡± Lu Yin looked down at Silver.

    Silver wiped the blood off of his lips and slowly rose to his feet. ¡°That was incredibly painful, Captain. You¡¯re much stronger than during ZENITH. You can easily beat someone with a power level of more than 500,000 now, right?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Since you already know the answer, then why did you still show yourself to me?¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°I need to demonstrate my loyalty.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and quietly watched Silver.

    Silver continued, ¡°Captain, ever since you used the power of the God of Death during ZENITH, you are the master of all death energy. Have you ever considered revitalizing the Specter n? In the entire universe, only the Specter n has the same power as you.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly understood what Silver was suggesting. The Specter n was simr to the Perennial World¡¯s Specter Abyss, as both powers used death energy, and they might have evene from the same origins. Back in the Perennial World, someone from Specter Abyss had died to save Lu Yin¡¯s life, and he had even said that Lu Yin was the leader of the Specter Abyss. Crown Prince Gui Qian had told Lu Yin him that anyone who used death energy was a descendant of the God of Death and that Lu Yin was the God of Death¡¯s heir, and therefore the master of death energy.

    Silver¡¯s words were almost exactly the same as Crown Prince Gui Qian¡¯s.

    However, would Lu Yin believe Silver? Nobody would be able to ept the sudden appearance of a master without any warning, let alone people like Silver and Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    The Specter n had allied themselves with the Neohuman Alliance in order to survive, and just like the sylvan dragons, the Specter n had no principles. Thus, Lu Yin definitely would not believe their pledge of loyalty without proper cause.

 Chapter 1666: Please Help Us, Ancestor

    Chapter 1666: Please Help Us, Ancestor

    ¡°What do you want to tell me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Silver opened his eyes. ¡°Captain, you¡¯re the future king of the Specter n, so we¡¯repletely loyal to you.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Silver and smiled. ¡°Loyal to me? Alright, tell me where Aeternus Nation currently is and eliminate the Seven Skygods. Then, I¡¯ll let you follow me.¡±

    Silver replied, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me, Captain? It looks like you don¡¯t understand the power of the God of Death.¡±

    He drew out a star chart in the air. ¡°There¡¯s something you need here, so go take a look when you have the chance.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the star chart. It indicated an unknown ce in the Astral Wilderness.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had also managed to escape the ruins. If not for the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, they would have suffered the same fate as Nightking Dijiang.

    Lu Yin memorized the location indicated by the star chart that Silver had drawn. ¡°Is that all you wanted to say?¡±

    Silver shrugged. ¡°Of course not. I actually didn¡¯t want toe here alone, and my goal wasn¡¯t even you. You just coincidentally fell into my spacecraft. It¡¯s fate.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your target?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Silver turned to stare at the hole leading to the ruins, and Lu Yin turned around just in time to see the Second Nightking rush out of the ruins.

    The gray figures were unable to leave the ruins, so they turned back after the Second Nightking escaped.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed the moment he saw the Second Nightking leave the ruins.

    ¡°Captain, don¡¯t worry. Someone will deal with the Second Nightking for you,¡± Silver stated with a smile.

    At the Celestial Frost Sect ruins¡¯ exit, the Second Nightking was breathing heavily while a terrible wound on his back quickly recovered. There was also a noticeable bruise on his right shoulder. Even with his immense strength, he had still struggled terribly to escape the ruins. There were just too many powerhouses among the gray figures.

    The Second Nightking nced around and then slowly dered, ¡°All who tried to destroy the Daynight n must die!¡±

    His terrifying aura swept through space and covered all of Daynight Flowzone.

    Instantly, everyone felt as though the sky was crashing down on them. They stared at the Second Nightking in despair and fear.

    Liu Qianjue and many others had also arrived as they were also interested in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    The appearance of the Second Nightking shocked Liu Qianjue, Mountain God, Ling Qiu, and a few other top Innerverse powerhouses. They could not believe that they werepletely unable to resist. How could the Daynight n still have such a powerhouse?

    With the presence of such a powerhouse, the Daynight n could have entered the Neoverse long ago.

    Countless stars throughout Daynight Flowzone exploded as the sky copsed. The Phoenix n, the Frostmoon Sect, and other major forces were all left terrified as soon as they sensed the Second Nightking¡¯s power.

    Elder Jiu Shen felt helpless. If he was in peak condition, he was confident in defeating the Second Nightking. However, that was impossible at the moment given the elder¡¯s extensive injuries.

    In the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds near Nightking, Nightqueen Yanqing and the other members of the Daynight n grew excited, and one of them eximed, ¡°It¡¯s the Second Nightking! The Second Nightking.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Second Nightking! Our ancestor, the Second Nightking!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Second Nightking!¡±

    ¡­

    Even the colossal giants were terrified to see the Second Nightking. Despite their love for fighting, they were still intelligent creatures and could easily realize the Second Nightking¡¯s overwhelming strength.

    Chen Huang clenched his fists as he said, ¡°Do your best to escape if he attacks.¡±

    He was speaking to Ku Wei. Not all of the colossal giants were present, as some had remained in zing Mist Flowzone. The deaths of all these colossal giants was not a problem, but Ku Wei had to stay alive, as he was the source of their improved bloodline.

    Ku Wei¡¯s lips went dry; how could such a powerful cultivator be in this ce? An ancient powerhouse with this sort of strength belonged in the Neoverse instead.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s appearance had changed the entire situation, as he was one of the top powerhouses in the entire Fifth Maind, second only to the Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. There was no one nearby who could deal with the Second Nightking, However, given Silver¡¯s presence, the Neohuman Alliance would definitely show up as well, and then Lu Yin would no longer need to worry about the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s power shook the universe. Despite his aggressive actions, the water from the Celestial Frost Pond was something that could preserve stellr energy, which meant that the Second Nightking was not detectable to the true universe right now.

    The entire universe was forced to surrender to the powerhouse.

    At this moment, the Second Nightking was invincible.

    The members of the Daynight n were thrilled; they were saved!

    ¡°Hahaha, Great Eastern Alliance, you¡¯re all dead! Nobody can save you now!¡±

    ¡°Ancestor, please kill Lu Yin and take revenge for the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°Please kill Lu Yin, Ancestor.¡±

    ¡°Please help us, Ancestor.¡±

    ¡­

    The Second Nightking heard the cries of the members of the Daynight n. ¡°Who is Lu Yin?¡±

    His voice rang through space and destroyed multiples.

    From Nightking, Nightking Yuanjing shouted, ¡°Ancestor, Lu Yin is our enemy who destroyed the Daynight n. He destroyed Daynight Flowzone and shattered our statue of the First Nightking. He also stepped upon the top of the Night Watch Pagoda and killed our n¡¯s most talented descendant. He stole one of our inheritance stones, released the Dayking n, and tore down the ancestral grounds¡¯ stone tablet. He¡¯s even trying to enve the Daynight n now!

    ¡°Lu Yin is the greatest enemy of the Daynight n.¡±

    The Second Nightking looked around with a vicious re. ¡°Who is Lu Yin?¡¯

    Lu Yin remained calm within the spacecraft, and Silver turned towards him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared, Captain?¡±

    Lu Yin just smiled. ¡°Who did the Neohuman Alliance send? Which of the Seven Skygods?¡±

    Silver answered, ¡°During the war in the Cosmic Sea, Shaman God sent powerhouses to attack everyone, but those efforts ended up helping you instead. If I¡¯m guessing correctly, you¡¯re ying with fire.¡±

    Lu Yin said nothing.

    Nightking Yuanjing raised a hand and drew out a picture of Lu Yin in the air. He then pushed the image away, causing the picture of a young man to appear above the.

    Nightking Yuanjing had even managed to capture the inherent arrogance in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The Second Nightking became even more furious after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s image. ¡°He¡¯s Lu Yin?¡¯

    ¡°Yes, this is Lu Yin, our n¡¯s greatest enemy. Ancestor, please kill him!¡± Nightking Yuanjing shouted.

    The other members of the Daynight n were all shouting as well, but the giants and the Lu Elite Troops did not dare to make any moves due to the presence of the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking was outraged, as he had finally realized that Lu Yin hadpletely lied to him. Everything that the youth had said about being in love with Nightqueen Yanqing, receiving the approval of the Nightking n, and being allowed to learn Daynight Praises had been made up.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s reaction would not have been so strong if Lu Yin had merely lied, but the youth was also the very person responsible for the destruction of the Daynight n. The Second Nightking would never allow the youth to escape.

    The Second Nightking suddenly turned towards the spacecraft that held Lu Yin. The spacecraft suddenly shattered, exposing Lu Yin and Silver.

    The Second Nightking swept Silver away, causing the youth¡¯s face to pale even further.

    Lu Yin quietly stood in ce.

    Elder Jiu Shen silently cursed off in the distance.

    ¡°I¡¯ll skin you alive so that I can hang you over the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds for 10,000 years!¡± the Second Nightking coldly stated. He raised a hand while all of the members of the Daynight n watched on in excitement.

    Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Gu, Nightking Yanjing, and many others watched in delight.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s face grew pale, but her eyes revealed determination. She immediately used Night¡¯s End, Daybreak in an attempt to stop the Second Nightking, even if it only managed to slow him for a single second.

    The Second Nightking turned towards Nightking in utter shock to look at Zhuo Daynight. ¡°Night¡¯s End, Daybreak? That¡¯s the Dayking¡¯s battle technique! You¡¯re his descendant.¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing shouted, ¡°Ancestor, the Dayking¡¯s descendants betrayed the Nightkings and cooperated with Lu Yin to destroy our n and kill all of the Nightkings.¡±

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How dare you betray our n! Kneel!¡±

    The bellow swept over Nightking.

    Zhuo Daynight vomited blood and crumpled to the ground.

    Lu Yin leaped into outer space. ¡°I¡¯m the one who wants to destroy the Nightkings! You blind old man, you¡¯re targeting the wrong person!¡±

    The Second Nightking sneered and tried to seize Lu Yin. The expert could not even be bothered to speak to the youth.

    At this moment, a voice echoed from elsewhere, and it was apanied by a horrifying number of rune lines. To Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, this new arrival was just as powerful as the Second Nightking.

    ¡°Congrattions on returning to the world, Second Nightking,¡± a gentle voice called out.

    The Second Nightking paused before turning around. He saw an average looking, middle-aged man. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The man smiled. ¡°You can call me Mr. Feng. I¡¯m from Aeternus Nation.¡±

    The Second Nightking was startled. ¡°The Neohuman Alliance?¡¯

    Mr. Feng sped his hands behind his back. ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you have any interest in joining the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    The Second Nightking¡¯s gaze grew sharp. ¡°Thew of the entire universe is to ughter anyone from the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    He pointed a finger ahead and froze everything; it was the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger.

    Mr. Feng remained unfazed despite the attack, and did not even bother moving to dodge. ¡°Kill me? Then what about the First Nightking?¡±

    The Second Nightking instantly froze and stared at Mr. Feng with great intensity.

    Mr. Feng smirked. ¡°Have you already forgotten how the First Nightking died? Why was the Daynight n forced to remain in the Innerverse? At your n¡¯s peak, you had countless powerhouses, including the First Nightking, the Second Nightking, the Dayking, and the Third Nightking, so why were you unable to enter the Neoverse? However, after the death of the Dayking, your powerhouses started dying off, even the First Nightking. Not to mention the Third Nightking, who disappeared.

    ¡°Have you forgotten everything? Do you really believe that the Neoverse will let you off given the fact that you know the truth? Is there any difference between you and the Neohuman Alliance?¡¯

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Nobody was able to hear the conversation between Mr. Feng and the Second Nightking, and all they could see was the two powerhouses standing across from each other in space.

    However, Elder Jiu Shen was able to hear the conversation, and he started to grow anxious, as both the Second Nightking and the Neohuman Alliance were his enemies. If these two joined forces, then nobody present would be able to survive unless a Semi-Progenitor suddenly appeared.

    However, how could a Semi-Progenitor randomly appear? Besides, the Neohuman Alliance had been able to stand up against the entire Human Domain all this time.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s strength would make him a huge ally to the Neohuman Alliance if he joined them.

 Chapter 1667: Judgment

    Chapter 1667: Judgment

    ¡°Will you really remain loyal to the Human Domain? Haven¡¯t you already developed the intention to betray them?¡± Mr. Feng pressed.

    The Second Nightking frowned.

    Lu Yin suddenly piped up from behind the two powerhouses, ¡°This is pretty interesting¡ªit¡¯s an idiot trying to scam another idiot.¡±

    Both Mr. Feng and the Second Nightking became enraged as soon as they heard Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    The Second Nightking had never expected Lu Yin to be so fearless. ¡°Boy, I¡¯m going to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin scornfully said, ¡°Do you really think that you¡¯ll still be human after joining those monsters? I¡¯ve been to Aeternus Nation before and the humans there are essentially zombies. You¡¯ll suffer the same fate if you join them. Even though you¡¯re quite powerful, you can¡¯tpare to the Seven Skygods at all, dumbass.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The Second Nightking tried to grab Lu Yin. Mr. Feng was also quite annoyed, as he had wanted to kill Lu Yin for a very long time, especially after seeing just how talented Lu Yin was during ZENITH. If possible, Mr. Feng would love to watch as the Second Nightking killed the youth.

    However, Shaman God and even the mysterious Whiteless God had ordered Mr. Feng to protect Lu Yin. The custodian of Aeternus Nation knew just how vicious the Seven Skygods could be, and he would definitely be destroyed if Lu Yin was killed by the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking tried to grab ahold of Lu Yin, but had no intention of killing the youth. The Nightking fully intended to y Lu Yin alive to use him as a warning to the other enemies of the Daynight n.

    Just when the Second Nightking was about to reach Lu Yin, Mr. Feng did something to stop the other man. The Second Nightking warily turned to face Mr. Feng. ¡°Mr. Feng, is there something you want?¡±

    Mr. Feng answered, ¡°This boy is incredibly talented, and he¡¯s a prime candidate to be converted into a corpse king. He can¡¯t be allowed to die.¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s done too much to harm my Daynight n. He must die!¡± the Second Nightking shouted.

    Mr. Feng coldly stated, ¡°I just told you that he can¡¯t die. Do you want to be an enemy of the Neohuman Alliance?¡±

    The Second Nightking sneered. ¡°What a joke. Am I less important than this boy?¡±

    ¡°Definitely,¡± Mr. Feng answered immediately.

    The Second Nightking red at Mr. Feng as the man continued, ¡°This child holds the power of the God of Death. I need to capture him.¡±

    The Second Nightking was astonished. ¡°What did you say? The power of the God of Death?¡±

    He spun to look at Lu Yin with eyes filled with both disbelief and excitement.

    Lu Yin frowned. The Second Nightking did not seem to doubt such a possibility at all, but was instead acting as though he had just discovered a rare treasure that he desperately desired. What was going on? Did he actually believe Mr. Feng? Was he that certain that the God of Death had truly existed? Did the Nightking actually believe that Lu Yin possessed the power of the God of Death? Why would he believe such a thing? Most people did not believe that the God of Death had ever lived, including people from the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°You truly possess the power of the God of Death?¡± the Second Nightking excitedly asked. ¡°Show me! If you truly wield that power, I won¡¯t hold anything against you.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Why do I need to show you?¡±

    The Second Nightking bellowed, ¡°Show me!¡±

    He then used a surge of stellr energy to force Lu Yin.

    Mr. Feng grew increasingly annoyed that he was being forced to protect Lu Yin, and even worse, Lu Yin was insulting him.

    Ring ring!

    The crisp ringing of a bell was heard, and it gave everyone present chills, including the Second Nightking, Mr. Feng, and Elder Jiu Shen.

    However, this time nobody had the sensation of a hand covering the sky above them. There was nothing aside from the ringing of a bell.

    Lu Yin instantly whirled around to re at Liu Ye; how dare he interfere? Lu Yin had left the Chief Justice¡¯s bell with Liu Ye, which meant that he was the only person who could produce this sound.

    However, Lu Yin saw that Liu Ye was not moving.

    Both Mr. Feng and the Second Nightking nced over to a distant location that was shrouded with darkness.

    Outer space was already dark to begin with, but this darkness covered absolutely everything. Nothing at all could be seen within the darkness aside from an even darker silhouette.

    Lu Yin looked over and his eyes lit up; this was Brother Chief Justice!

    Everyone gaped as the silhouette approached. They felt like the God of Death himself was descending upon them.

    There was no pressure, nor was there any sort of impressive imagery. In fact, there was nothing aside from a dark shadow. Despite that, this moment was etched into everyone¡¯s minds, and they were all terrified.

    This person was the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court; a powerhouse whom even Elder Jiu Shen was wary of. He was a mysterious person nobody knew much about.

    The Chief Justice was not quite a Semi-Progenitor, but nobody could say for sure that he was not as strong as one.

    It was possible that, out of the entire Fifth Maind, only the seven Semi-Progenitors were capable of clearly seeing the Chief Justice.

    Mr. Feng grew solemn. Apart from the seven Semi-Progenitors, the only person he felt threatened by in the entire Human Domain was this Chief Justice, as no one knew the man¡¯s true abilities. Mr. Feng was even confident that he could defeat the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen, Eversky Ind¡¯s Highsage Wudi, and even the Seven Courts¡¯ hidden powerhouse, but he was not confident in being able to defeat the Chief Justice.

    The Seven Skygods had even cautioned Mr. Feng to retreat if he ever encountered the Chief Justice.

    The Second Nightking carefully observed the approaching figure, and he even instinctively used his spiritual force to probe the figure, but the spiritual force simply disappeared. The darkness was actually an abyss that swallowed everything, and to the Second Nightking, it felt like the darkness could devour him. The irony was that this darkness was from someone from the Hall of Honor, which represented light.

    Where there was light, there would also be darkness. Everyone had the impression that the Hall of Honor represented light while the Neohuman Alliance represented darkness, but if aparison were actually to be made, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s darkness did not seem to be as pure as the Chief Justice¡¯s.

    At least, that was how the Second Nightking felt.

    Everyone fell silent at the Chief Justice¡¯s appearance and quietly stared at him.

    The ck silhouette drew closer, and it was not long before it covered the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral grounds, Nightking, and even the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    It felt as though all sound had disappeared from this region.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you for a long time, Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court,¡± Mr. Feng spoke calmly, though his eyes revealed great wariness.

    There was no light to be seen within the darkness. At that moment, Mr. Feng felt the Chief Justice¡¯s eyesnd on him, and Mr. Feng felt chills as he was ovee with uncontroble fear and desperation. Nobody had ever given him such a feeling aside from the Seven Skygods themselves; just how powerful was the Chief Justice?

    ¡°Mr. Feng of the Aeternus Nation, receive judgment,¡± an emotionless voice rang out from within the darkness. A set of scales emerged from the darkness and stopped once they were beneath Mr. Feng¡¯s feet. Mr. Feng was startled, and he immediately tried to flee. However, he found that he could not escape the scales, not even by entering the true universe. The scales chased after him until he was eventually trapped atop one side of the scales.

    ¡°Rule of judgment: power. If a person is stronger than me, they will survive. If they are weaker, they will die,¡± the Chief Justice slowly dered. The scales started tipping, and Mr. Feng was continually lifted higher. The man looked more and more ufortable as he rose higher on his side of the scales. After the scales rose by a meter, blood trickled from Mr. Feng¡¯s lips. Once it rose to two meters, the man¡¯s limbs broke. He never stopped struggling. ¡°You¡¯ll never kill me! We¡¯ll meet again, Chief Justice.¡±

    He then took out one of Shaman God¡¯s dolls from his cosmic ring.

    Ripples spread throughout space as everyone¡¯s senses were disrupted and mixed up. The power of a Semi-Progenitor filled the entire region.

    Once everyone managed to recover, they saw that Mr. Feng had disappeared. All that remained where he had once stood was a destroyed Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    Mr. Feng had used Shaman God¡¯s doll to avoid certain death.

    Lu Yin was amazed. He had just seen the Chief Justice¡¯s innate gift, but it was extremely creepy. Mr. Feng was an elite powerhouse second only to the Semi-Progenitors, which meant that he should have beenparable to Elder Jiu Shen and the Second Nightking. However, even such a powerhouse had not been able to resist or retaliate and had only been able to escape after using a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s power vessel. Even then, Mr. Feng had been badly injured.

    On the other hand, the Chief Justice had not even revealed his face.

    The gap between the two was too much, but how was that possible? Lu Yin could not be sure.

    He suddenly remembered the benchmark that Mister Mu used for epting disciples: a person had to surprise Mister Mu in order to be a disciple. Lu Yin acknowledged that he had received many unique opportunities, and yet even he had barely passed Mister Mu¡¯s benchmark. The Chief Justice was another one of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples, and he had been epted long before Lu Yin. Thus, the man¡¯s talent had to at least beparable to Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt chills. He thought about the gap between him and Enlighters like Wen Sansi. The gap between the Chief Justice and Elder Jiu Shen or Mr. Feng wasparable, which meant that the Chief Justice was extraordinarily powerful. Lu Yin could not even begin to fathom just how powerful the Chief Justice was. Could the man beparable to the seven Semi-Progenitors?

    Mr. Feng¡¯s fate shocked the Second Nightking, and he stared at the Chief Justice in disbelief.

    The Second Nightking had seen the Chief Justice before, back when the First Nightking had still been alive. Thus, the Second Nightking was well aware that the Chief Justice was extremely powerful. Still, this level of strength was truly unexpected. Cultivating within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had helped the Second Nightkingpensate for the difference in strength between himself and Elder Jiu Shen, but the Nightking felt that he still could note close to measuring up to the Chief Justice.

    In fact, the Second Nightking felt the exact same way as he had all those years ago when he had first encountered the Chief Justice.

    The Second Nightking was terrified.

    ¡°Second Nightking, receive judgment.¡± The cold voice rang out again.

    The Second Nightking immediately protested, ¡°Wait a moment! Sir Chief Justice, why are you judging me? I am innocent.¡±

    The scales emerged from the darkness and moved beneath the Second Nightking. The man did not even bother trying to hide or flee, as he knew that was impossible. He stared into the darkness. ¡°I¡¯m innocent! I have remained within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins this entire time, and I have done nothing wrong. I even helped invade the Astral Beast Domain with the First and Third Nightkings long ago! I have worked towards the benefit of the Human Domain, so how can you judge me?¡±

    The members of the Daynight n watched on in fear, but nobody dared speak.

    ¡°Rule of judgment: betrayal. You spoke to Mr. Feng with the intention of joining Aeternus Nation, which is equivalent to betraying the Human Domain,¡± the Chief Justice¡¯s voice rang out.

    The Second Nightking screamed, ¡°I never joined the Neohuman Alliance! How can you judge me?! This is unfair!¡±

    The Chief Justice did not respond.

    The scales started tipping, and the Second Nightking was lifted up.

    Everyone had seen the same scene just a moment ago, but it was still astounding.

    The Second Nightking roared and used the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger to attack the darkness.

 Chapter 1668: Prison

    Chapter 1668: Prison

    The Second Nightking was very powerful, but his attack quickly dissipated into nothingness. He was unable to do a single thing, not with spiritual force attacks, battle techniques, or even battle force.

    Countless people gasped in astonishment, as they had just experienced for themselves the Second Nightking¡¯s strength, and yet he waspletely powerless against the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin was simrly astounded, though this actually proved that his previous guess was correct; the gap between the Chief Justice and Elder Jiu Shen was massive, as it had to have been for Mister Mu to ept the Chief Justice as a disciple. The difference was so wide that it caused Elder Jiu Shen and the others to doubt themselves.

    Puff!

    The Second Nightking vomited blood and copsed to the ground. Stellr energy streamed out of his body and was quickly detected by the true universe, resulting in the man¡¯s stellr energy being forcefully extracted from his body by the true universe.

    This was the first time Lu Yin ever witnessed someone¡¯s stellr energy being removed by the true universe. No, he had actually seen it once before, but that was after someone had failed their tribtion. This was the first time Lu Yin had seen such a thing happen during a battle.

    The members of the Daynight n fell into despair, and Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s face turned ashen. Why is this happening? Why is the Chief Justice helping Lu Yin? Why? Are all my hopes of restoring the Daynight n gone forever?

    Everyone from the Daynight n looked on in desperation.

    The stellr energy in the Second Nightking was forcefully removed, and Lu Yin could see that the man¡¯s rune lines were quickly decreasing. Once all of the powerhouse¡¯s stellr energy was gone, his strength was only at around a power level of 700,000. While this was still quite impressive, it was a massive drop whenpared to the man¡¯s previous power level of a million.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s breath was ragged, and he looked much older as he copsed upon the scales in a pitiful manner.

    ¡°Judgment has ended. You will be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swap for 10,000 years,¡± the Chief Justice¡¯s cold voice rang out, like a knife that stabbed into the Second Nightking¡¯s heart.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes showed that he felt forsaken; being locked up for 10,000 years was more than enough for his n to disappear. ¡°I refuse! I refuse!¡±

    Nobody dared to speak up for the man, and nobody even had the right to speak with the presence of the Chief Justice¡¯s pressure. This would not change even if the three Judicial Commissioners were present, as nobody was able to overturn the Chief Justice¡¯s judgment.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were utterly astounded. They had never seen such a powerful person before, not even in the Perennial World. Typically, a powerhouse on this level would have to form an inner world, which was the mark of a Semi-Progenitor, to reach such a level of power. However, the Chief Justice had no inner world, and he actually had not used anything other than his innate gift to defeat both the Second Nightking and Mr. Feng.

    The Chief Justice would definitely be the strongest person beneath the Semi-Progenitor realm, even in the Perennial World.

    They had never expected to encounter someone this powerful in the Forsaken Land.

    Liu Qianjue, Mountain God, Ling Qiu, and everyone else who was present bowed.

    Without exception, everyone bowed to the Chief Justice while waiting for his next judgment.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins belong to the Human Domain. Everyone will be free to explore them.¡± Next, the Chief Justice dered that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins were property of the entire Human Domain.

    Lu Yin wanted to say something, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

    He wanted to object and im that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had belonged to the Daynight n, and since Lu Yin had conquered the Daynight n, the ruins should rightfully belong to him.

    However, after seeing the Chief Justice¡¯s level of power, Lu Yin decided to hold his tongue. There was absolutely no way he would be able to withstand those scales. Even though he and the Chief Justice shared the same master, the Chief Justice was still the Chief Justice, and Lu Yin had not forgotten the time when the Chief Justice had said that he would have eliminated Lu Yin without hesitation if he had been transformed by the Neohuman Alliance.

    As far as the Chief Justice was concerned, proper judgment was clearly more important than Lu Yin¡¯s wellbeing.

    After speaking those words, the Chief Justice disappeared. The man had most likely entered the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins himself.

    After the Chief Justice vanished, the remaining people also entered the ruins.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had returned to normal, and everyone had already received the Chief Justice¡¯s approval to enter. Thus, they naturally all immediately went in to explore.

    By this point in time, almost everyone had learned about the figures formed from remnant spiritual force, and much fewer idents urred.

    Lu Yin ordered his own people to recapture the members of the Daynight n and send them to zing Mist Flowzone.

    The Second Nightking was most likely being held captive by the Chief Justice and wouldter be taken away when the Chief Justice left. The man¡¯s fate was to be imprisoned for 10,000 years in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, which was a terrible fate.

    The Second Nightking had quite terrible luck, as he had been imprisoned almost as soon as he left the ruins. He had only spoken a few words to Mr. Feng, but he had previously upset too many major forces in the Neoverse, particrly the Hall of Honor. Thus, surviving was already a pretty good oue for the man.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you weren¡¯t given judgment,¡± Lu Yin told Silver.

    Silver rubbed his chest and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m negligible. The Chief Justice wouldn¡¯t even notice me. But Captain, what do you think will happen to you when the Chief Justice finds out about you? Death? Or Gaia¡¯s Swamp?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face Silver. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything and have never betrayed humanity. Why would I be judged?¡±

    Silver smiled. ¡°Think about how you¡¯d exin Mr. Feng¡¯s actions.¡± Then, he waved as he said, ¡°Remember to go take a look at that ce, Captain. The Specter n will always support you.¡±

    After speaking this, Silver turned around and left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. After showing up, Mr. Feng had tried to protect Lu Yin twice. Even though Mr. Feng had imed that he had done so because Lu Yin possessed the God of Death¡¯s power, would the Chief Justice believe that?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua found Lu Yin and returned the Chief Justice¡¯s bell to him. Neither of them wanted to enter the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins again since they had both been injured and needed time to recuperate.

    Lu Yin found Elder Jiu Shen and earnestly thanked the elder for saving his life.

    Elder Jiu Shen calmly answered, ¡°Don¡¯t thank me¡ªyou should thank the Cosmic Sect. Remember your promise: you¡¯ll always be a disciple of the Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen nodded. He had been badly injured, and he would need at least eighty years to recover. It was all this child¡¯s fault! What a troublemaker.

    Lu Yin nced at Elder Jiu Shen. Even though the man had a youthful appearance and had saved Lu Yin¡¯s life, the elder was actually quite cunning. He had actually used his secret technique to mark a person from the Daynight n before they had ever entered the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins; if he had not done so, he would have never been able to escape with Star Transference. This man was proof that people who had cultivated for a long time also had more battle experience.

    Lu Yin also entered the ruins, as he had not forgotten seeing Bai Shui jump into the Celestial Frost Pond right before he left the ruins.

    Given her status as a descendant of the Bai family, she definitely knew something.

    Apart from the ce where the battle had been fought and parts of the mountains, nothing else had been destroyed in the ruins. The gray figures of remnant spiritual force continued to repeat their usual tasks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to the Chief Justice. The man was at Mount Punishment, which was obvious due to how dark the sky above the mountain had be. It looked like the Chief Justice was just about to step onto the mountain.

    Lu Yin immediately cautioned the Chief Justice that he might be attacked by remnants with the strength of Progenitors if he stepped onto the mountain.

    No matter how strong the Chief Justice might be, he was still only a slightlyrger ant to Progenitors. Even Semi-Progenitors were ants to Progenitors, which showed the difference between the two realms.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s voice reached the darkness, the sky grew brighter once again as the cloud of darkness disappeared.

    Many people looked up and let out sighs of relief; the Chief Justice had left.

    Lu Yin looked at Mount Punishment; Did the Chief Justice really leave? Why didn¡¯t he say goodbye? Hold up¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t have gone on and visited Mount Punishment, would he?

    ¡°You went there before?¡± a cold voice spoke from behind Lu Yin, startling him. He turned around and saw a cloud of darkness in the shape of a human.

    ¡°Brother, could you please make a bit of noise before speaking?¡± Lu Yin asked in a helpless manner. He had beenpletely caught off guard, as the Chief Justice had even hidden his runes. Powerhouses like Elder Jiu Shen and Mister Feng were capable of hiding their runes whenever they wanted.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been to Mount Punishment before?¡± the Chief Justice repeated.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I went to the peak, but the scene up there is one of a battle between Progenitors, and I almost died. Fortunately, Elder Jiu Shen saved my life. However, he also ended up badly injured, as otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have lost to the Second Nightking.¡±

    The Chief Justice was nothing but a cloud of darkness, so Lu Yin was never able to determine where the man was facing or looking.

    ¡°Brother, can you not hide yourself inside a cloud of darkness?¡± Lu Yin asked tentatively.

    ¡°Call me Sir Chief Justice,¡± the Chief Justice said.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Sir Chief Justice, can¡¯t you show me your real face? I¡¯m your junior brother. You wouldn¡¯t use this form when you meet Master, right?¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± the Chief Justice said.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°You meet Master like this?¡±

    The Chief Justice moved some distance away. ¡°Was my answer unclear?¡±

    Lu Yin went after the man. ¡°Erm, Sir Chief Justice, why are you here? Weren¡¯t you training?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve finished training.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Do I need to exin myself to you?¡±

    ¡°Cough cough. Sir Chief Justice, are you going to explore the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins?¡±

    The Chief Justice suddenly stopped. ¡°There are times when we need to share a blessing we¡¯ve received instead of keeping it to ourselves.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on keeping it to myself.¡±

    ¡°Where are you headed?¡± the Chief Justice asked.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Pond.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused. ¡°Sir Chief Justice, are you interested in the Celestial Frost Pond? Oh, by the way, have you been to the Perennial World before?¡±

    The Chief Justice said nothing in reply and simply headed towards the pond.

    Lu Yin felt like he was talking to a wall. However, it was still good to have the Chief Justice with him, as Lu Yin would no longer need to worry about his own safety anymore. It would not matter even if all of the gray figures within the ruins were disturbed again, as the Chief Justice could definitely keep Lu Yin safe.

    On top of that, given his status, the Chief Justice would not fight with Lu Yin for anything they found.

    Lu Yin immediately picked up his speed and headed straight for the Celestial Frost Pond. If he was not quick enough, anything good would be taken by Bai Shui. That woman was quite smart, and she was most likely fine since she had jumped into the pond after the gray figures had all been disturbed.

    They soon arrived at the pond.

    While gazing at the water, Lu Yin recalled that the Second Nightking had hidden himself at the bottom of the pond. Neither Lu Yin nor Jiu Shen had discovered the Nightking, which indicated that this pond water was not as simple as it appeared.

    ¡°Sir Chief Justice, let¡¯s jump in,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Chief Justice did not move.

    Lu Yin showed no hesitation and leaped straight into the cold pond.

    Given Bai Shui¡¯s level of strength, she should have been frozen as soon as she jumped in. Lu Yin made his way towards the bottom of the pond.

    The water in this pond was even able to freeze stellr energy, which made it very difficult to determine how deep the pond was from the outside.

    After diving down for some time, Lu Yin remembered that he had wanted to remove the entire pond and relocate it to his Zenith Mountain. He now realized that if he had really attempted that, there was no way he would have seeded.

 Chapter 1669: The Bottom Of The Celestial Frost Pond

    Chapter 1669: The Bottom Of The Celestial Frost Pond

    The pond grew colder the deeper Lu Yin dived. He still had not seen Bai Shui anywhere, so he continued diving deeper and deeper.

    After a few more moments, Lu Yin left the pond and fell into an open space. He nearly crashed into the ground, and when he looked up, the pond was floating in the sky above him.

    He nced around, and the first thing that attracted his gaze was a broken tree root, as well as Bai Shui, who was emanating chilly air from where she sat next to the tree.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Celestial Frost Fruit Tree,¡± the Chief Justicemented as he appeared next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°The Celestial Frost Fruit Tree? Is it broken?¡±

    The Chief Justice approached the tree. ¡°It¡¯s been broken for a very long time. This is also why the Celestial Frost Pond was left here¡ªthe most valuable aspect of the pond aside from its water is its ability to nurture the Celestial Frost Fruit Tree. The Celestial Frost Sect took almost the entire Celestial Frost Pond away, only leaving this small bit behind. They also cut down the Celestial Frost Fruit Tree, not allowing it to be left behind in the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around. The ce where they were standing was dim, and next to them was a pce covered with dust. The only clean area was where Bai Shui was sitting, which was probably the same ce where the Second Nightking had cultivated.

    The fatesand within Lu Yin¡¯s chest trembled vigorously as it was pulled by an unknown force. Lu Yin looked into the depths of the pce¡ªthat was where the force seemed to originate from.

    At this moment, Bai Shui opened her eyes to see Lu Yin and the Chief Justice.

    She was startled, and her face grew pale as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. She had not expected Lu Yin to arrive in this ce.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°You really are a descendant of the Bai family if you¡¯re able to survive the dive to get here.¡±

    Bai Shui stood up, the cold air still radiating from her. She had only managed to arrive at the bottom of the pond by using a power vessel and one of her family¡¯s inherited techniques. Even then, she had been chilled by the pond water and been forced to spend the time until now recovering.

    She had believed herself to be the only person present and naturally had not expected to see Lu Yin as soon as she opened her eyes.

    She had only spent a short amount of time to recover after reaching the bottom of the pond, and yet Lu Yin had already appeared. She did not know why he kept showing up nearby.

    The strangest thing was that the person apanying Lu Yin had changed. He was no longer apanied by a young man, but by a mysterious ck shadow.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, why are you here?¡± Bai Shui asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Bai Shui¡¯s eyes flickered as she considered her answer.

    Lu Yin did not push. ¡°This ce belonged to the Bai family, so there are naturally some things here that only you are aware of. I won¡¯t make things difficult for you, so just tell me whatever you want. However, you should remember that you would have never been able to find this ce for the rest of your life if I hadn¡¯t dealt with the Daynight n, so you should probably give me something for that.

    ¡°Also, I once saved you in the past.¡±

    Bai Shui hesitated before saying, ¡°This is the location of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped. ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury?¡±

    The Chief Justice showed no reaction, but since he was just a ck shadow, nobody would notice even if the man waspletely shocked.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury is at the bottom of the Celestial Frost Pond. I¡¯m here to search for the inheritance that my ancestors left for us,¡± Bai Shui exined.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°It looks like your ancestors didn¡¯t think things through. If not for me, you wouldn¡¯t have ever been able to get to the inheritance.

    Bai Shui bowed. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. As thanks, I¡¯m willing to share the treasury with you, and I definitely won¡¯t refuse if there¡¯s anything you need.¡±

    Lu Yin remained unfazed. After all, Bai Shui had no choice but to share the treasury with him.

    If the Bai family¡¯s ancestors really had left something behind for their descendants, then Lu Yin had no guilt taking it away. This was how cultivators conducted themselves, and nothing truly belonged to a single person forever. Lu Yin knew the character of the Bai family in the Perennial World, and if possible, he would love to rob the Celestial Frost Sect in the Perennial World.

    Faced with Lu Yin, Bai Shui had no choice at all.

    ¡°Where is it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°The treasury is further inside. Please follow me, Alliance Leader Lu.¡± Bai Shui bowed and started walking towards the pce.

    The Chief Justice never said anything at all. He seemed very mysterious, and Bai Shui was actually concerned about the man.

    ¡°Did you realize that you wouldn¡¯t be able to escape if the Second Nightking killed us and came back?¡± Lu Yin asked when they entered the dusty pce.

    Bai Shui hesitated for a moment. ¡°As long as there is any possibility of sess at all, I won¡¯t give up. The Bai family will only be able to regain our glory if I can find our ancestors¡¯ inheritance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he quietly followed Bai Shui. He had already realized that Bai Shui was headed in the same direction that his fatesand was being pulled in. Clearly, the thing acting on his fatesand was in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury.

    The pce was enormous, and they slowly made their way forwards since they were concerned about running into more gray figures.

    Fortunately, they never encountered any remnant spiritual force here, which caused Lu Yin to sigh in relief.

    They were in one of the most important ces in the entire Celestial Frost Sect, which meant that any remnant spiritual force that appeared would be extremely powerful. Any one of them would have to at least beparable to the Chief Justice, or possibly even a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Bai Shui excitedly eximed as she stood in front of a huge copper door. They were at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury.

    The copper door was a thousand meters tall, and there were various patterns etched into it. Lu Yin did not care about any of these details, as what surprised him the most was the fact that there were nine clumps of fatesand fixed into the door. The attraction was very strong now, and it probably came from these nine spots of fatesand.

    Why was fatesand fixed to a copper door in the Celestial Frost Sect? Actually, the fatesand did not look as though they had originally been a part of the door, but rather as if they had been added onter on.

    The Chief Justice slowly approached the copper door and silently observed it.

    Bai Shui softly asked Lu Yin, ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°The Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court.¡±

    Bai Shui was startled. ¡°The Chief Justice?¡¯

    Lu Yin nodded. He told the truth in order to insure that this woman would not attempt anything funny. Even though she looked fragile, it was all just an act.

    When Elder Jiu Shen and Lu Yin had been chased by the Second Nightking, Bai Shui had leaped straight into the pond without any sign of hesitation. This meant that she had clearly been confident in being able to deal with the Second Nightking. Lu Yin did not believe what Bai Shui had said about wanting to find the inheritance even if she was discovered by the Second Nightking. If that had happened, the inheritance that she was seeking would have just be a gift for the Second Nightking.

    She definitely had some means of dealing with the Second Nightking, and that secret was hidden behind the copper door.

    Bai Shui stared at the dark shadow in awe. She had heard of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice before, and his presence felt like that of someone who had existed since the beginning of time.

    She had never expected Lu Yin to be with the Chief Justice.

    ¡°Do you know if the Celestial Frost Sect collected fatesand?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked as he stared at the nine spots of fatesand on the door.

    Bai Shui shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. There aren¡¯t very many records regarding fatesand.¡±

    Lu Yin walked past Bai Shui to move closer to the copper door and then ced a hand on it. It was as cold as the water in the Celestial Frost Pond, but also extremely hard.

    He then stretched his hand out and used his star energy to surround the nine spots of fatesands in an attempt to pull them off of the door.

    He was surprised to discover that the clumps of fatesand was easily removed.

    However, the pulling force did not disappear after that, which meant that there was something else past the door that was pulling at his fatesand.

    ¡°Are you gathering fatesand?¡± the Chief Justice asked coldly. His voice made Bai Shui shiver.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. I¡¯m not intentionally trying to get more.¡±

    The Chief Justice asked no further questions.

    Lu Yin stored the fatesand away and pushed against the copper door. ¡°How do you open it? The Second Nightking wouldn¡¯t have taken everything away already, right?¡±

    Bai Shui stepped forward. ¡°Probably not. The door can only open with the blood of someone from the Bai family, so the Second Nightking wouldn¡¯t have been able to open the door.¡±

    She made a small cut on her finger and caused her blood to float up and closer to the copper door. The blood then merged into the door, and the entire thing started to glow as the strands of blood fused with the door.

    Bai Shui excitedly stepped closer and raised a hand to push the door open.

    Lu Yin carefully watched Bai Shui and got ready to follow her in.

    However, Bai Shui disappeared the moment she touched the copper door.

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he immediately pushed against the door with his own hand. However, he remained where he was while the door returned to its original color.

    Lu Yin blinked; he had just been tricked. He immediately turned to look at the Chief Justice. The dark shadow had not moved at all, and the Chief Justice calmly stated, ¡°Protecting an important ce by restricting it to a specific bloodline was amon method of the ancient sects. We won¡¯t be able to enter.¡±

    ¡°It was no wonder why she wasn¡¯t worried about the Second Nightking returning. She already knew that the Second Nightking wouldn¡¯t be able to get past the door. We¡¯ve been tricked,¡± Lu Yinined.

    The Chief Justice continued, ¡°Not really. Just wait a while. She¡¯ll find a way to open the door for us.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that Bai Shui would absolutely open the door for them. She would never even dream of defeating the Chief Justice, even if she did receive some inheritance from her ancestors. However, by the time Lu Yin managed to enter, she would have already taken everything useful.

    Since she had not been scared of the Second Nightking, it meant that whatever inheritance was inside was quite powerful and also not something that could be taken away after someone acquired it. Thus, even if Lu Yin and the Chief Justice managed to enter, they still would not be able to take this inheritance away from Bai Shui.

    Still, this restriction only applied to Lu Yin and the Chief Justice. If the Second Nightking were in their ce, he would have just killed Bai Shui if he had been unable to take the inheritance. For Bai Shui to be this confident, there had to be something within the treasury that could have helped her defeat the Second Nightking. Or maybe there was an alternative escape route.

    Lu Yin desperately wanted to know what was inside the treasury, but he was locked outside.

    Lu Yin could not imagine leaving this ce empty handed. Back in the Dominion Realm, he had used a great deal of money to stop Long Xi from escaping from Zenith Mountain. After that, he had taken Wen Diyi and a few others away in an effort to recoup his costs. There was no way that Lu Yin would do something that did not benefit him.

    ¡°Sir Chief Justice, is there really no way for us to open this copper door?¡± Lu Yin asked anxiously.

 Chapter 1670: Equivalent Exchange

    Chapter 1670: Equivalent Exchange

    The Chief Justice replied, ¡°No, not unless a Semi-Progenitor destroys the door, but that would destroy everything behind it as well.¡±

    Lu Yin was growing increasingly anxious, and he tried pushing against the door again. Out of frustration, he even punched the door, but nothing happened.

    ¡°I should have taken some blood from Bai Shaohong,¡± he said in exasperation.

    Suddenly, he thought of something and pulled out Bai Shaohong¡¯s token from his cosmic ring.

    Could this be helpful?

    Lu Yin had used the token to escape from the sourcebox array that had surrounded Dragon Mountain, which meant that it might be able to help him get past this door!

    He pressed the token against the door.

    Lu Yin waited nervously.

    Momentster, the copper door started glowing. Lu Yin was thrilled, and he disappeared as he was pulled through the door.

    The Chief Justice was shocked as he stared at where Lu Yin had just vanished from. Even though the Chief Justice had seen many things throughout his life, he was still astonished by this. Just how had Lu Yin gone in? What had he just done? This boy always had strange items and rare inheritances, but the Chief Justice could not understand how Lu Yin had managed to acquire all these things.

    Lu Yin had thought that he would enter a treasury filled with star crystals, but he actually entered an empty room that only had a few glowing items floating in the air.

    He turned around and saw Bai Shui storing something in her cosmic ring. He immediately appeared in front of her.

    Bai Shui had been focused on happily storing the treasure that she had found when Lu Yin popped up in front of her. She was astonished, and her face turned red. She demanded in disbelief, ¡°How- how did you get in here?¡±

    Both Bai Shui and the Chief Justice were both equally confused. This was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury, and only members of the Bai family¡¯s main bloodline were able to enter this ce; nobody, not even the Chief Justice, could enter through brute force. So how had Lu Yin managed to enter?

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I walked in.¡±

    Bai Shui gaped at Lu Yin, not having a clue as to how to respond.

    Lu Yin nced at Bai Shui¡¯s cosmic ring with open curiosity. ¡°Miss Bai Shui, what did you get?¡±

    Bai Shui¡¯s face twitched. She had not been able to get rid of Lu Yin after jumping into the Celestial Frost Pond, and he had even managed to follow her into the treasury itself; could he be her nemesis?

    ¡°Nothing much, just a few power vessels. They¡¯re useless to you, Alliance Leader Lu, as they aren¡¯t even suitable for Envoys,¡± she said in a helpless manner.

    Lu Yin nodded. He would feel bad if he forced her to show him everything in her cosmic ring. Besides, Bai Shui had only been in the treasury for less than a minute before he entered, and she most likely had not managed to pick up much in that amount of time, especially since she had assumed no one would be able to enter the treasury besides her.

    Lu Yin nced around and looked up the floating items, among which was some fatesand.

    He was surprised that the Celestial Frost Sect had possessed so much fatesand.

    Fatesand was incredibly rare, and not many people possessed any of it in the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was unsure how many of the Ten Arbiters possessed fatesand, but he would bet that less than half of them had it. Besides, there were also people who chose not to use fatesand.

    Why would the Celestial Frost Sect have been collecting fatesand?

    ¡°Miss Bai Shui, should we gather everything so that we can take a closer look at them?¡± Lu Yin asked. He did not even wait for an answer and immediately started using his star energy to gather the glowing items.

    Bai Shui helplessly watched on, as she no longer had any choice in the matter.

    The glowing items approached Lu Yin, and he immediately took the fourteen bits of fatesand.

    ¡°Miss Bai Shui, you probably don¡¯t need fatesand, right? In that case, I¡¯ll help myself.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Bai Shui stayed silent, as there was nothing she could say.

    ¡°Wow, this power vessel is quite strong! It seems to be used for trapping people. Miss Bai Shui, this doesn¡¯t suit your strength, so I¡¯ll keep it for myself, haha.

    ¡°Oh, this is another power vessel. Miss Bai Shui, who do you think is more suited for this power vessel? Me? In that case, I¡¯ll dly take it. Oh right, Miss Bai Shui, I have something good for you. Your daughter, Bai Xiadie is going to start cultivating soon right? You can have this six-stage formcast model for her.¡±

    Bai Shui gratefully epted the formcast model. Formcast models were the Fifth Maind¡¯s unique cultivation method, and a six stage formcast model was extremely valuable. ¡°This- is this for me?¡±

    Lu Yin dismissively waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s for Xiaodie. I really like that kid.¡±

    Bai Shui nced at Lu Yin. Was trading the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s power vessels for a six-stage formcast model worth it? She was not sure. The items that her ancestors had left behind were all quite powerful, and the power vessels that Lu Yin had taken were powerful enough to deal with the average Envoy. However, there was no way for her to get those items back from Lu Yin.

    A six-stage formcast model was indeed extremely useful for Xiaodie. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin felt quite satisfied; how many people in the entire Fifth Maind had a six-stage formcast model? It was definitely more useful for Bai Shui than the power vessels. He had actually tried his best to give her something that she needed.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stared at a piece of jade in his hand.

    Bai Shui was perplexed. ¡°Can I take a look?¡±

    Lu Yin passed it over.

    Bai Shui took a look, but she hesitated as soon as she saw it.

    Lu Yin knew that she was worried, but she did not seem capable of hiding her emotions. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Bai Shui solemnly replied, ¡°The Wind God Battle Technique.¡¯

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God Battle Technique?¡¯

    Bai Shui nodded and passed the jade back to Lu Yin.

    The Wind God Battle Technique was one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s primary battle techniques, and it wasparable to the Wang family¡¯s Four Arts. It was very powerful, and Lu Yin certainly had not expected to find it in this ce.

    This battle technique would likely be incredibly tempting to most people, as it could entirely transform them. However, Lu Yin did not need the technique, as he already had countless battle techniques. He had not even perfected the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation yet, so there was no way for him to start learning another, new battle technique.

    On top of that, Lu Yin had no interest in the Wind God battle technique. Since Bai Shaohong had not used it during his battle with Lu Yin, it likely meant the technique was useless once it hit a certain level.

    Lu Yin passed the jade back to Bai Shui. ¡°You probably need this.¡±

    Bai Shui was truly shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t you want it?¡±

    Lu Yin answered seriously, ¡°This is something your ancestors left behind. I can¡¯t take it.¡±

    Bai Shui opened her mouth but could not find anything to say. She wanted to taunt Lu Yin but could not force the words out of her mouth as she stared at the piece of jade in her hand.

    What was happening?

    She really could not understand Lu Yin at all. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s battle technique was powerful enough to establish a major power, and yet he did not want it.

    There were not many glowing items left when Lu Yin solemnly looked at a bottle in his hand, as it contained stellr liquid.

    He had not expected the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ancestors to be so generous and to actually leave some stellr liquid in the Fifth Maind. This also meant that the Celestial Frost Sect had been extracting stellr liquid from the Mother Tree even when they had still been in the Fifth Maind. This also proved that the Mother Tree had once been in the Fifth Maind and that it had been separated from the Fifth Maind by the Lu family and the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin had not be an Envoy yet, so he had no way of determining if he was holding arge or small amount of stellr liquid. However, when he thought back to the stellr liquid that he had found near the Mother Tree, this bottle contained quite a lot inparison!

    He immediately stored the bottle away and picked up another glowing item. This one was a piece of metal, but he could not determine what it was.

    ¡°Miss Bai Shui, what is this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui was still thrilled about obtaining the Wind God battle technique, so she turned around upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°That¡¯s innate ore.¡±

    ¡°Innate ore?¡± Lu Yin was confused, but it sounded quite rare.

    Bai Shui exined, ¡°Innate Ore is a rare ancient metal that¡¯s suitable for making weapons. My ancestors left it here for us to craft weapons that we might need.¡±

    ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    ¡°Our records mention that our ancestors left a piece of innate ore behind.¡±

    Lu Yin looked down at the piece of metal in his hand. Innate ore? Since it could be used to craft weapons, he wondered if he could use it to repair his damaged bodysuit armor.

    After storing the innate ore away, there were only two items remaining. One was something that resembled tree bark while the other was a sourcebox array that contained Void Rip.

    Lu Yin immediately picked up the array, which was exactly the same as the one that he had taken from Bai Shaohong. This acquisition delighted Lu Yin, and he wondered how powerful this one would be.

    He turned to Bai Shui and eximed, ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect was quite generous to you descendants!¡±

    He was genuinely astounded. If Bai Shui had taken all of these items, she would have been able to cultivate even faster than the Ten Arbiters, and she could have even used the stellr liquid after bing an Envoy.

    These items were literally priceless.

    There were numerous power vessels, and even Void Rip, which was suited for battle.

    Bai Shui stayed silent. She was aware of the value of the items, but there was no point in her thinking about that.

    The final thing was the tree bark, and when Lu Yin tried to tear it apart, nothing happened at all.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. That wasn¡¯t mentioned in our records.¡±

    Lu Yin doubted her.

    She quickly continued, ¡°Alliance Leader, I really don¡¯t know. There¡¯s no reason for me to lie since you¡¯ll take it anyway.¡±

    Lu Yin felt bad after hearing that. He cleared his throat and took out five natural treasures that had reached the level of being able to sense danger, some pills, and shbombs from his cosmic ring and handed everything over to Bai Shui.

    Bai Shui took them in confusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate these things. They can help keep you safe and can also help with your cultivation,¡± Lu Yin said. Everything that he had given her was indeed very effective. In fact, he had even used the shbombs against both Bai Shaohong and Long Tian when fighting them.

    No matter what Bai Shui felt, she was only able to ept the items in exchange for the items that Lu Yin had taken from the treasury.

    ¡°Bring Xiaodie to zing Mist Flowzone and just say that you¡¯re part of the Great Eastern Alliance. If anything happens, I¡¯ll do my best to help if I can,¡± Lu Yin promised.

    Bai Shui bowed low. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    The cultivation world was cruel, and other people might have killed her to take what she had already stored in her cosmic ring. She was clearly aware that even more would have given her nothing in exchange. After all, she had seen many acts of evil while exploring the universe.

    Comparatively, Lu Yin had truly been quite kind to Bai Shui.

 Chapter 1671: That Symbol Again

    Chapter 1671: That Symbol Again

    Lu Yin suddenly had a thought that the tree bark felt quite simr to the sourcebox array that contained Void Rip. He retrieved the sourcebox array and noticed that the two items had the exact same texture.

    Had the Void Rip sourcebox array been made from this tree bark?

    The Void Rip array contained an attack of the Void Rip battle technique and was able to perfectly release the technique.

    The sourcebox array itself was very important, but a material capable of amodating the Void Rip battle technique was actually even more important.

    Amodate, tree bark¡­ Lu Yin suddenly connected some dots; could this be bark from the Mother Tree?

    The Mother Tree was even able to store stellr liquid, so it definitely had the ability to store something like the Void Rip battle technique. Even though Lu Yin was just guessing, he felt that his conclusions were highly probable.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, there¡¯s nothing else here, so let¡¯s go,¡± Bai Shui said.

    Lu Yin stored the Void Rip sourcebox array and the tree bark away before turning to Bai Shui. ¡°I have a question for you.¡±

    Bai Shui felt confused.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°If you hade in here all alone, and the Second Nightking was waiting outside, what would you have done?¡±

    Bai Shui dropped her head. ¡°The things here-¡±

    ¡±Don¡¯t try to say that you would have used the things here to protect yourself. I already know just how powerful these items are, and you probably also know how strong the Second Nightking is. Nothing here would have been able to help you,¡± Lu Yin cut her off.

    Bai Shui¡¯s eyes flitted about. ¡°There¡¯s another exit to this ce.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± Lu Yin demanded.

    Bai Shui clenched her fists and looked around the treasury.

    Lu Yin continued to calmly stare at the woman.

    Sweat dripped from Bai Shui¡¯s forehead as she wracked her brain for an answer.

    Lu Yin just waited patiently.

    After a while, Bai Shui let out a sigh. ¡°What are you trying to say, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said what I wanted to. Don¡¯t try telling me that you would¡¯vee in here for these inheritances no matter what. If the Second Nightking were waiting outside, then everything here would have ultimately belonged to him. So, what gave you the assurance that you could leave with anything at all?¡± Lu Yin questioned.

    Bai Shui bit her lips and met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes with a pleading gaze. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this matter is a secret between the Bai family and the Daynight n. Could you please let me keep this to myself?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. ¡°The Daynight n no longer exists. The Great Eastern Alliance has taken control of the Daynight n, which means that this secret now belongs to the Bai family and the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Bai Shui trembled as she thought about this change.

    The more the woman hesitated to answer, the more Lu Yin wanted to learn about this secret. Nothing in the treasury would have been able to protect her from the Second Nightking, which meant that the item she had taken upon first entering the treasury was the secret that she was trying to keep. That secret was the most valuable thing that had been in the room.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had made a point of asking this particr question; otherwise, he would have forever remained ignorant.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of the Sealed Cage Technique, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± Bai Shui finally asked helplessly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°The same Sealed Cage Technique that the Nightkings used to control the Daykings?¡±

    Bai Shui sneered. ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s the Sealed Cage Technique that the Bai family used to control the Daynight n. The Daynight n was once the Bai family¡¯s ves.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°The Daynight n was the Bai family¡¯s ves?¡±

    Bai Shui nodded. ¡°Back when the Daosource Sect was still in the Fifth Maind, the Celestial Frost Sect was a major force within the Innerverse, and the Bai family stood at the top of the Celestial Frost Sect. The Daynight n was the Bai family¡¯s ves, and one of our Semi-Progenitor elders created the Sealed Cage Technique in order to have better control over the Daynight n.

    ¡°However, after the Celestial Frost Sect left, the Daynight n started harboring rebellious thoughts, especially after the appearance of the First Nightking and the Dayking. Eventually, they killed the members of the Bai family who had stayed behind with only a few survivors. After that, the Sealed Cage Technique was lost. Despite everything, the First Nightking was extremely talented and managed to modify the Bai family¡¯s Sealed Cage Technique so that the Nightkings could use it to control the Daykings.

    ¡°This is the Sealed Cage Technique.¡± She took out a jade.

    Lu Yin had certainly not expected to learn that the Sealed Cage Technique had been created by one of the Bai family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors in order to reinforce the Daynight n¡¯s status as ves.

    He took the jade. ¡°This is what you stored away when I first got in here?¡±

    Bai Shui nodded. ¡°The Daynight n killed my family, so I wanted to learn the Sealed Cage Technique in order to get revenge.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at her. ¡°Are you actually confident in being able to control the Second Nightking after learning the Sealed Cage Technique?¡±

    Bai Shui exined, ¡°The Sealed Cage Technique affects the bloodline, and there is absolutely no way to resist it. The First Nightking altered the technique to control the Daykings, but the Sealed Cage Technique still exists within the Nightkings as well. ording to my family¡¯s records, when the Daynight n was enved to the Bai family, even a child was able to control an Enlighter from the Daynight n. Thus, I¡¯m fully confident in being able to controll the Second Nightking.¡±

    Lu Yin gasped. This technique was too overbearing if even a child could control an Enlighter. It was no wonder why the Daynight n had rebelled against the Bai family!

    Nobody would be willing to be enved, and the Bai family was at fault for leaving behind members of their family who had been useless enough to be killed by the First Nightking. If not for that mistake, Daynight Flowzone would have stayed as Celestial Frost Flowzone, and the Daynight n would never have risen to power.

    Lu Yin looked at the piece of jade with zing eyes. ¡°Could I control the Daynight n if I mastered the Sealed Cage Technique?¡±

    Bai Shui hesitated a moment before nodding. ¡°That¡¯s right. Anyone who learns the Sealed Cage Technique can control the Daynight n. On top of that, the Sealed Cage Technique is actually very easy to learn, to the point where even someone who just started cultivating can learn it.¡±

    This was the precise reason why a child from the Bai family could control Enlighters from the Daynight n. Lu Yin was more than qualified to learn this technique.

    Lu Yin instantly regretted Nightking Dijiang¡¯s death, as well as the Second Nightking¡¯s soon-to-be imprisonment within Gaia¡¯s Swamp. If he had known that such a technique was within reach, he would have never allowed either event to ur, as the two men could have be his bodyguards.

    What a waste. If he had known about this sooner, the powerhouses of the Daynight n would have all ended up working for Lu Yin! The Great Eastern Alliance would have be far more powerful than before and would have been able to easily dominate the Innerverse.

    Why had he not learned about this matter earlier?

    Bai Shui felt increasingly ufortable despite not knowing what was running through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. She felt sad about losing the Sealed Cage Technique, as she had intended to use it to take control of the Daynight n. However, as Lu Yin had said, the Daynight n had already been captured by the Great Eastern Alliance, which made the technique useless to her, as she could not control the n anyways.

    If she tried to take control of the Daynight n, she would end up as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s enemy.

    Lu Yin sighed as he put the jade away. There was nothing that he could change since everything had already urred.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Bai Shui nodded.

    Although entering the treasury required blood from the Bai family¡¯s main bloodline, leaving was easy as anyone could just walk through the copper door.

    Lu Yin walked out of the room and almost ran into the Chief Justice¡¯s shadow.

    Bai Shui bowed as soon as she saw the Chief Justice.

    The Chief Justice said nothing to Lu Yin about what he had gained from the treasury, but instead only asked, ¡°Child of the Bai family, what is sealed underground?¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at Bai Shui with curiosity; there was an underground seal?

    Bai Shui was lost. ¡°Seal? What seal?¡±

    The Chief Justice coldly pressed, ¡°You don¡¯t know about it?¡±

    Bai Shui shook her head and bowed yet again. ¡°Please believe me, Sir Chief Justice. I know nothing about any seal.¡±

    The Chief Justice walked away, and Lu Yin and Bai Shui both followed.

    The two younger people soon felt a suppressed aura, but they could not determine where the aura wasing from.

    Lu Yin tried looking for runes, but he could not see anything.

    The Chief Justice suddenly stopped walking, and Lu Yin and Bai Shui stepped forward to stare off into the distance.

    They saw dust flying across the ground, and a symbol of a broken root eventually appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp as he blurted, ¡°Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol,¡± the Chief Justice affirmed.

    Bai Shui¡¯s mouth fell open. Progenitor Hui was a legend to her. She had heard about the invincible Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Hui, and others, but such people existed only in historical records, as nobody alive had ever seen them before. Even though she was a descendant of the Bai family, her knowledge of the universe was actually at a simr level as an average cultivator¡¯s. The concept of a Progenitor was so distant that she could not even imagine it.

    Despite all of that, she was currently staring at something that came from a real Progenitor; this was Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the symbol. ¡°Sir Chief Justice, you mentioned that there was an underground seal; was it put in ce by Progenitor Hui?¡±

    ¡°If Progenitor Hui left his symbol behind, then it should mean that he sealed this ce,¡± the Chief Justice agreed.

    Lu Yin thought back to the Royal Frost Continent which had actually been established on top of a massive seal. Nobody knew what was beneath the seal, but it had also been sealed by Progenitor Hui.

    It seemed like Progenitor Hui had sealed multiple locations, including the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Just what was under these seals?

    The Celestial Frost Sect had their own Progenitor, so why would they have allowed Progenitor Hui to seal this ce? Had this ce been sealed when the Celestial Frost Sect was still in the Fifth Maind, or had it been sealed after they left?

    ¡°Sir Chief Justice, do you know what¡¯s under the seal?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Chief Justice did not answer.

    Lu Yin then remembered that the man had just asked Bai Shui the same question, so he clearly did not know what was under the seal.

    No matter how powerful the Chief Justice was, Lu Yin felt that the man was not capable of discovering anything at all when it came to something that was rted to Progenitor Hui.

    Even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were present, Lu Yin still would not expect them to understand anything that Progenitor Hui had left behind.

    Progenitor Hui had been one of the most intelligent people in all of history, and he had even altered its flow. Even though Lu Yin did not know how powerful the Progenitor had been, the fact that he had managed to outsmart both the Sixth Maind and Aeternus proved how much power he had wielded.

    If Progenitor Chen represented the apex of physical strength, Progenitor Hui represented the apex of wisdom.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about this seal?¡± Lu Yin asked Bai Shui.

    She grewpletely solemn. ¡°I swear that I know nothing at all about this.¡±

    Lu Yin believed Bai Shui, as there was no way she could know about Progenitor Hui¡¯s seal. In fact, it was possible that not even her ancestors who had left the items behind had known about this seal. The Celestial Frost Sect only had a single Progenitor, and that Progenitor would have been the only person with the right to know about such a seal. The Progenitor would not have bothered to leave an inheritance behind for descendants like Bai Shui, which meant that the inheritances had to have been left by somebody else.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. This ce cannot be seen by anyone else,¡± the Chief Justice coldly stated.

    Lu Yin agreed. Since Progenitor Hui had sealed the ce, there had to be a reason behind it. This ce had to be keptpletely hidden in order to avoid it being discovered by Aeternus.

    They soon returned to the bottom of the Celestial Frost Pond. Lu Yin threw Bai Shui out of the pond and turned to the Chief Justice with a smile. ¡°Brother, I brought you something good from the treasury.¡±

    He pulled out the bottle of stellr liquid.

 Chapter 1672: Disappear

    Chapter 1672: Disappear

    The Chief Justice was surprised. ¡°Stellr liquid? It would seem that the Celestial Frost Sect was extracting it before they even left the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Lu Yin gave the bottle over to the Chief Justice. ¡°Would this be useful to you?¡±

    The Chief Justice coldly asked, ¡°What is it that you want in exchange?¡±

    Lu Yin answered seriously, ¡°It¡¯s just a gift. How could you treat it as an exchange? Senior Brother, you¡¯re treating me like an outsider.¡±

    The Chief Justice did not answer. Since he merely had the form of a shadow, Lu Yin could not see any expressions or determine what the man was thinking.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat and carefully passed the stellr liquid to the older man.

    The Chief Justice calmly stated, ¡°A single bottle is too little, so it isn¡¯t very useful to me.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. He gritted his teeth and took out another bottle.

    ¡°Two bottles is still too little. They aren¡¯t very useful,¡± the Chief Justice said again.

    Lu Yin felt cornered. ¡°Senior Brother, I only have three bottles, and I want to keep one just in case. There really aren¡¯t any more bottles. The Celestial Frost Sect wouldn¡¯t have left that much behind for their descendants.¡±

    The two bottles were absorbed into the dark shadow. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The ck shadow jumped up into the Celestial Frost Pond.

    Lu Yin immediately chased after the Chief Justice. He could not allow the Chief Justice to simply leave without saying anything, as that would result in Lu Yin suffering a huge loss. Stellr liquid was far too valuable, and he would not feel good about losing two bottles without gaining anything at all in return.

    Upon exiting the pond, Lu Yin looked around and found Bai Shui sitting on the ground. As for the Chief Justice, he had simply disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank; the man would not have simply left, right?

    Lu Yin made the decision to chase after the Chief Justice even if it meant going back to the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin nced over at some buildings in the distance, wondering if he should go take a look at them.

    ¡°The remnant spiritual force is gone,¡± the Chief Justice stated.

    Lu Yin spun around in shock. ¡°The remnant spiritual force is gone?¡±

    ¡°All of it has disappeared.¡±

    How was that even possible? Lu Yin used his domain to scan a wide area, only to see that all of the gray figures formed from remnant spiritual force were indeed gone.

    He saw Unseen Light and various other cultivators looking quite confused, but Lu Yin could not find even a single gray figure.

    Could their disappearance possibly be connected to what they had just done? But they really had not done anything at all.

    The cultivators in the mountains searching for the gray figures also seemed to know nothing about what had happened.

    ¡°Miss Bai Shui, do you know why those figures disappeared?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shui opened her eyes and blew out a gust of cold air. ¡°I don¡¯t actually even know why there was remnant spiritual force here to begin with. This is my first time encountering such things.¡±

    Lu Yin took a guess. ¡°Is there something even more valuable here? Think carefully¡ªthe appearance and disappearance of remnant spiritual force should be connected to something. Don¡¯t end up losing your inheritance to someone else.¡±

    Bai Shui nced at Lu Yin in a helpless manner; he had already taken away most of her inheritance, but she did not dare to say that out loud. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing else. Our records only mentioned the treasury beneath the Celestial Frost Pond.¡±

    Lu Yin turned around to talk to the Chief Justice, only to realize the man had already headed out towards Mount Punishment.

    Lu Yin immediately chased after the Chief Justice, but before leaving, he told Bai Shui, ¡°Go to zing Mist Flowzone. The Great Eastern Alliance will protect you.¡±

    He had initially wanted to take the Celestial Frost Pond away, but he was worried that something bad might happen if he did that since Progenitor Hui had sealed something underneath it. He had therefore given up on that idea with the new idea of returning and using the Celestial Frost Pond when he became an Envoy.

    Even though the Chief Justice had said that the ruins belonged to the Human Domain and that everybody was wee to explore it, Lu Yin had no intention of sharing the Celestial Frost Pond with anyone, not even the Hall of Honor.

    Bai Shui sighed as she watched Lu Yin leave. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance?¡±

    The Chief Justice was quietly standing at the bottom of Mount Punishment.

    Lu Yin ran over. ¡°Sir Chief Justice, since the remnant spiritual force has disappeared, we can go up now, right?¡±

    The Chief Justice asked, ¡°What else do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin bit his lip. He really did not know how to address this topic.

    The Chief Justice continued, ¡°Fine, then I¡¯ll leave.¡±

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°Um, alright. See youter.¡±

    Although the Chief Justice was hidden within his shadows, Lu Yin was able to sense that the man was looking at him curiously.

    ¡°Do you really have nothing to say?¡±

    ¡°No, I just came to remind you to be careful, Sir Chief Justice,¡± Lu Yin said sincerely.

    The Chief Justice hesitated before heading up Mount Punishment.

    Lu Yin sighed. He had wanted to ask the Chief Justice if it would be possible for him to release the Second Nightking. The Sealed Cage Technique would make the man into Lu Yin¡¯s bodyguard.

    The two bottles of stellr liquid had been offered in exchange for the Second Nightking¡¯s freedom.

    However, before saying anything at all, Lu Yin had suddenly remembered that he was dealing with the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice. This person was the representation of fairness, and no matter how cruel he might be, the man still had his own principles. During their first meeting, the Chief Justice had said that he would have killed Lu Yin if he had been corrupted by the Neohuman Alliance, and at that moment, Lu Yin had realized that there were certain lines that he could not cross with the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin felt that there would be an extremely low chance of getting the Chief Justice to release the Second Nightking, so he had simply not bothered asking about it.

    However, Lu Yin had also decided not to address the matter because he had remembered another detail: someone was nning a prison break in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Lu Yin had learned this when Possessing Liu Huang.

    Someone inside Gaia¡¯s Swamp was nning a prison break, and if they seeded, all of the prisoners would escape. However, only key prisoners were aware of the n, and nobody from the Interster Supreme Court was aware of anything.

    The prison break from Gaia¡¯s Swamp would be Lu Yin¡¯s best opportunity to capture the Second Nightking. This also meant that he could not ask the Chief Justice to simply release the Second Nightking, as doing so would definitely make the Chief Justice form a connection between Lu Yin and the prison break after it urred.

    ¡­

    Crash!

    A deafening sound rang out as the ground shattered.

    Wen Sansi helplessly looked off into the distance to see a group of giants arrive at a pce atop a mountain.

    These giants were 7,000 meters tall, and they were destroying everything that they stepped on.

    ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance became much more powerful with the addition of these giants. Even though they don¡¯t have any battle techniques, they are still able to cultivate battle force.¡± Unseen Light was standing close to Wen Sansi with his eyes closed.

    Wen Sansi frowned. ¡°These giants and the Lu Elite Troops are the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s greatest weapons. The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion and the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse really helped Lu Yin soar to sess.¡±

    ¡°It was a rare opportunity, but even if we had been in the Outerverse back then, we still wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve the same results as him,¡± Unseen Lightmented.

    Wen Sansi had a different viewpoint than Unseen Light. Wen Sansi was part of the Wen family, and they were currently being targeted by the Great Eastern Alliance. Anyone could tell that Lu Yin was not merely aiming at zing Mist and Daynight Flowzones, as his ultimate goal was to unite the entire Innerverse.

    Despite everything, there was nothing that the Wen family could do about the situation. They had already paid a steep price to acquire Wen Diyi, and they would need to pay even more in the future.

    ¡°Hahahaha, Brother Wei¡¯s here! Kids, clear the area for me¡ªI want to have a meeting in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s great hall!¡± Ku Wei shouted arrogantly from where he stood on Chen Huang¡¯s shoulder.

    The colossal giants in the area all charged straight for the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s great hall.

    Everyone else in the area fled while cursing. Still, regardless of their frustrations, there was nothing that they could do. These giants were simply too terrifying, especially Chen Huang, who was 9,000 meters tall. He could easily crush dozens of people with a casual p.

    The people who had entered the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins were all quite powerful, and there were even quite a few hidden powerhouses from the Innerverse who had made their way into the ruins with multiple experts with power levels between 300,000 and 400,000, but not one of them dared try to fight against the giants.

    This was not only because of the strength of the giants themselves, but also because of the presence of the Lu Elite Troops, Chen Huang, and Long Yi, the sylvan dragon master, who were stationed outside the ruins.

    Lu Yin roamed the ruins alone after parting ways with the Chief Justice. He left several dayster, and after that, he ordered the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops to enter the ruins and explore them in batches. He also summoned Long Yi from zing Mist Flowzone and ordered the sylvan dragon to act as the guardian of Daynight Flowzone.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was in a meeting with Liu Qianjue, Mountain God, Ling Qiu. and Wen Zizai.

    These old people had all made the trip after the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins appeared. However, none of them had entered, instead allowing their juniors to go exploring.

    The older powerhouses had only entered the ruins after all of the remnant spiritual force had disappeared.

    They found nothing after exploring the ruins, and this was also why they had approached Lu Yin.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve entered these ruins twice already, so I¡¯m certain that you¡¯ve developed a good understanding of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins,¡± Mountain God said in a rumbling voice. He usually had the appearance of Bai Wanshan, which was typically enormous, but he had shrunk down for his meeting with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯ll be straightforward. The disappearance of the remnant spiritual force most likely has some connection to you. Sir Chief Justice already dered that these ruins belong to the entire Human Domain. The remnant spiritual force in these ruins can help inspire many people, but you caused all of the figures to disappear. Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± Ling Qiu said.

    Lu Yin remained calm. ¡°Who said that I did it?¡±

    ¡°I believe that you¡¯re the only person who could have done such a thing, Alliance Leader Lu,¡± Liu Qianjue said.

    Lu Yin looked around at the various elders. ¡°Are you trying to me me for this? You¡¯ve got the wrong person. I was exploring the ruins with the Chief Justice when the gray figures all disappeared, and I have got nothing to do with their disappearance. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can just ask Sir Chief Justice.¡±

    The older people all looked at each other. Ling Qiu spoke back up, ¡°Did you really have nothing to do with this?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face the matriarch. ¡°Do I have any reason to lie to you? Or do you think Sir Chief Justice would help me deceive you?¡±

    Wen Zizai spoke up, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that this was Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s fault.¡±

    Liu Qianjue red at the patriarch. ¡°Brother Wen, the Wen family has been very close to the Alliance Leader recently, and Alliance Leader Lu even went to visit your Wen family. It looks like the Wen family has a special rtionship with Alliance Leader Lu. Why is that?¡±

    Mountain God chimed in, ¡°I¡¯m also curious about that.¡±

    Ling Qiu interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m more curious about what happened at Chaosgod Mountain. Cang Zhou died in the Cosmic Sea, and then Chaosgod Mountain immediately sealed itself off.¡±

    She turned towards Lu Yin. ¡°Did you have something to do with that, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

 Chapter 1673: Bathing Pool

    Chapter 1673: Bathing Pool

    Lu Yin calmly stared at the people around him. ¡°The biggest difference between the old and the young people is that young people are impatient. You guys enjoy your chat; I¡¯m going to head out first.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve already taken control of zing Mist and Daynight Flowzones, so what¡¯s your next target?¡± Mountain God bellowed.

    Lu Yin red at the man. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Mountain God was furious, and he even wanted to attack, but the presence of Liu Ye and Fei Hua forced him towards discretion. On top of that, both Chen Huang and Long Yi were also very powerful.

    Lu Yin had almost the same number of Envoys as all of the gathered Innerverse forces, and he still had Emperor Luo back in zing Mist Flowzone. On top of that, there were also some people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome who were still in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s foundation was truly very impressive.

    ¡°Seniors, if you have nothing else to say, then I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± With that, Lu Yin left immediately. He had no time to talk to these people, as he was eager to learn the Sealed Cage Technique and take total control of the Daynight n.

    After Lu Yin left, Liu Qianjue turned to confront Wen Zizai. ¡°What¡¯s your Wen family trying to do?¡±

    Wen Zizai remained calm. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Brother Liu.¡±

    Liu Qianjue coldly demanded, ¡°Is this rted to Wen Diyi?¡±

    Wen Zizai met Liu Qianjue¡¯s re. ¡°If Lu Yin was in possession of the Fourteenth Sword, what would you do?¡±

    Liu Qianjue was stunned.

    Wen Zizai just shook his head and left. He was well aware of his current situation. There was nobody in the Innerverse capable of stopping Lu Yin, so why should the Wen family bother with even attempting? Unless, of course, the Neoverse was willing to help.

    For the Wen family, the most important person in existence was Wen Diyi and theplete version of Literary Prison. As long as they obtained the full technique, the Wen family would be able to regain all their glory and respect, and they would not even need to stay in the Innerverse. They would have a chance of entering the Neoverse, and Wen Zizai refused to believe that Lu Yin was daring enough to go against the Neoverse powers.

    Mountain God turned towards Ling Qiu. ¡°What about your Lingling n? Why aren¡¯t you doing anything?¡±

    Ling Qiu snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t have to exin myself.¡±

    She left in a huff.

    Mountain God was furious. ¡°What are you idiots thinking? Do you really intend to let Lu Yin rule the entire Innerverse?¡±

    Liu Qianjue just watched as Ling Qiu left. There was something wrong; the Wen family was being threatened by Lu Yin because of some Wen Diyi, but why would the Lingling n also be acting strangely?

    Ling Qiu was anxious as she left, as she was hoping to meet with Elder Jiu Shen. She had been looking forward to meeting with him for several days, but her efforts had proven fruitless.

    During these days, she kept remembering the scene of Elder Jiu Shen sending Lu Yin out of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Why would Elder Jiu Shen have done that when they were confronted with such grave danger? She had been told that the Cosmic Sect was working against Lu Yin, so why would the elder risk himself to save the youth?

    She had considered many possibilities, and she had evene up with a possible answer, though she refused to ept it. In the end, she had to speak with Elder Jiu Shen to uncover the truth.

    However, she never managed to find the man, and Ling Qiu was also unaware that Elder Jiu Shen had already left.

    Ling Qiu called Elder Yuan Shou, as he was the person who had promised the Lingling n that the Cosmic Sect would help the n deal with Lu Yin.

    Elder Yuan Shou answered the call.

    ¡°Elder Yuan Shou, Lu Yin has seized control of Daynight Flowzone. Why hasn¡¯t the Cosmic Sect done anything?¡± Ling Qiu asked rudely.

    Elder Yuan Shou became annoyed. ¡°Does the Cosmic Sect answer to you?¡±

    Ling Qiu¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°I saw your Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen rescue Lu Yin from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.¡±

    Elder Yuan Shou hesitated. He had known about the ruins and that there were various Neoverse forces currently negotiating with Leon¡¯s Armada for them to take their youths to the Innerverse. However, Yuan Shou had been ignorant of the fact that Jiu Shen had rescued Lu Yin and that Ling Qiu had seen it happen.

    ¡°Are you sure it was Elder Jiu Shen? Have you ever met the elder before?¡± Elder Yuan Shou retorted.

    ¡°I went to the Neoverse when I first became an Envoy, and I visited the Cosmic Sect during my trip. I met Elder Jiu Shen once before.¡±

    ¡°You must have seen someone else. Elder Jiu Shen has remained within our sect this entire time and has not left,¡± Elder Yuan Shou stated confidently.

    Ling Qiu frowned. ¡°Elder Jiu Shen hasn¡¯t left?¡±

    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know who you saw, but get your facts straight before confronting me.¡± Elder Yuan Shou hung up.

    Ling Qiu fell deep into thought; could that person have not been Elder Jiu Shen? That was impossible. She had met the man when visiting the Cosmic Sect, and she was absolutely certain that he had rescued Lu Yin.

    Ling Qiu was no fool. No matter how vehemently Elder Yuan Shou denied her usation, she needed to start preparing for the worst case scenario.

    If Lu Yin managed to convince the Cosmic Sect to y along with him, then the situation would be incredibly serious. Lu Yin had exposed his various connections during the war in the Cosmic Sea, and this also indicated that there was a very low chance of any of the Neoverse powers sending experts to stop Lu Yin¡¯s efforts. Ling Qiu needed to keep brainstorming and thinking for a way to resolve this matter.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had already started learning the Sealed Cage Technique.

    Bai Shui had said that the technique was easy to learn, so Lu Yin had ordered his army to stand and watch over the members of the Daynight n while he started training nearby.

    The Sealed Cage Technique had been recorded in a piece of jade, just like the battle technique Extremes Must Be Reversed. All Lu Yin needed to do was crush the jade.

    He sat on the ground.

    Off in the distance, Nightqueen Yanqing and the other members of the Daynight n had been forced onto the ground. Their pleas for Lu Yin¡¯s death when the Second Nightking had appeared had angered the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops, which had caused them to suffer harsh treatments in response. Each of them was beaten until their bodies hurt if they even twitched. Nightking Yuanjing was in the worst condition, as all four of his limbs had been shattered. He wasying on the ground with blood streaming down his back.

    Only the Nightkings were suffering from such torture, as the normal members of the Daynight n had been merely captured. Their treatment was actually slightly better than what the Daykings had suffered through.

    Zhuo Daynight watched all of them from a ways away. The Nightkings were finally feeling the same desperation that had once gued her. For her, the only pity was that Nightking Zhenwu had already died and was not alive to experience this.

    ¡°You¡¯re really happy, aren¡¯t you?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing spat when Zhuo Daynight was just about to leave.

    Nightqueen Yanqing red at Zhuo Daynight. The Nightqueen¡¯s face was pale, her lips were cracked, and there was even blood dripping from her lips.

    A Hunter from the Lu Elite Troops red at Nightqueen Yanqing before white smoke smashed into her back. Nightqueen Yanqing copsed to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Zhuo Daynightmanded.

    The Hunter looked over at Zhuo Daynight and slowly stepped back.

    At this moment, there was still no truemander of the Lu Elite Troops. Lu Yinmanded the army at the moment, and he had appointed Zhuo Daynight as the deputymander. This gave Zhuo Daynight the right to order anyone in the Lu Elite Troops.

    Nightqueen Yanqing struggled to raise her head to meet Zhuo Daynight¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re really happy, right?¡±

    Zhuo Daynight calmly approached the other woman. ¡°Why would I be happy?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve managed to get revenge, and the Nightkings have been forced into such a pathetic situation. Aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing screamed.

    Zhuo Daynight¡¯s voice was cold. ¡°Were you happy when Nightking Zhenwu killed my parents and the rest of my family?¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing was stunned, and she stared at Zhuo Daynight in a daze.

    Zhuo Daynight watched Nighqueen Yanqing. ¡°I want to get revenge on Nightking Zhenwu, but he¡¯s already dead, and I wasn¡¯t even the one to kill him. I don¡¯t care about the rest of you. The person who controls your fate now is Lu Yin, not me.¡±

    Nightqueen Yanqing closed her eyes. She felt both grief and helplessness; there was literally nothing that she could do.

    The mighty Daynight n had been reduced to such a pathetic state. She should have killed Lu Yin back when they had both been in the Astral Combat Academy. In her anger, she turned to re at Nightking Yuanjing; all of this was his fault. The idiot had believed Lu Yin¡¯s lies, and that had caused the destruction of the entire Daynight n.

    Zhuo Daynight left.

    The Nightkings silently awaited their fate.

    There were some buildings that stood deep in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Although some of them were extremely fragile, others remained well maintained, such as the great hall.

    At this moment, there were many people gathered in the great hall, and Ku Wei was seated at the head of the table.

    Ku Wei had his legs propped up on the table and a smug smirk on his face.

    Wen Sansi, Unseen Light, Lei N¨¹, Ling Gong, and many others were also present, including two Enlighters whose power levels were more than 300,000.

    ¡°Have you thought it through? Speak up!¡± Ling Gong shouted, startling Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei rolled his eyes. ¡°Woman, it¡¯s no wonder why Master said that you have a bad temper. Just wait and let me think about it.¡±

    Ling Gong threw her spear at Ku Wei, but he just grinned and used Finger Tap. Ripples spread through the air, and there was a bang. Wen Sansi instantly used Literary Prison to block the shockwaves from the impact. ¡°Don¡¯t be rash. Do you want to destroy this ce?¡±

    Ling Gong snorted and put her spear away before ring at Ku Wei with cold eyes.

    She had met him in the past, and she already knew that this person always followed Lu Yin around and acted as hisckey. However, she had never expected Ku Wei to possess a level of strength that wasparable to her own. How had he aplished such a feat?

    Apart from Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, Unseen Light, and the others gathered had also been astonished by what they had seen. Ku Wei had improved far too quickly, and he now stood on the same level as them. Despite being from the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family, the Ku family¡¯s inheritor was Ku Lei, not Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei smugly raised his head up high. He had always wanted to fight against the former Arbiters, and even though he was a bitte, he had finally caught up to them.

    Fortunately, he had obtained Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, which had greatly improved his strength. Without it, he would have never been able to stand up to these people before him.

    ¡°Brother Ku, you heard what the Chief Justice said: the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins belong to the entire Human Domain, and they should not be monopolized. It¡¯s not good for you to post a giant at that pond and forbid people from approaching it,¡± Wen Sansi said politely. Everyone from the Wen family was very polite to members of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ku Wei sneered. ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins are not to be monopolized, and we haven¡¯t done so in the least. After all, aren¡¯t you here right now? As for that pond¡­¡±

    Everyone looked at Ku Wei with increasing intensity.

    Ku Weiughed. ¡°That¡¯s the bathwater of the future wife of my master, so why would any of you want to check it out?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± an Enlighter eximed angrily.

    Ku Wei red at the man and flicked a finger. Given his new level of strength, even a gentle finger flick was extremely powerful, and the cultivator was sted out of the great hall.

 Chapter 1674: Destroying Their Arrogance

    Chapter 1674: Destroying Their Arrogance

    Ku Wei was Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking disciple, and he also held a high rank within the Great Eastern Alliance. On top of all that, he led the colossal giants. This meant that the Enlighters and even the Envoys present did not dare to oppose him.

    ¡°Brother Ku, that¡¯s not a nice thing to say. We are all aware that the alliance leader wants to keep the pond for himself, but what is he going to tell the Chief Justice?¡± Wen Sansi asked.

    Ling Gong cut in, ¡°Cut the nonsense! Let us use that pond too.¡±

    Ku Wei smiled. ¡°You can go.¡±

    Ling Gong was stunned, and everyone else present was taken aback as well. What did this mean?

    ¡°I heard that you¡¯re involved with Master, so he won¡¯t stop you if you want to go. You¡¯re also going to be one of his future wives,¡± Ku Wei said in apletely serious manner.

    Ling Gong blushed, but she was also furious. In her anger, she threw her spear at Ku Wei. ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡±

    ¡°Why are you attacking me? You¡¯re one of my future mistresses! I won¡¯t fight you.¡±

    ¡°Who told you to say that? I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    ¡°Your temper is horrible. My master truly has unique tastes. Chen Jian, protect the pond and don¡¯t let anyone dirty my master¡¯s future wives¡¯ bathwater.¡±

    ¡­

    No one could do anything with Chen Jian sitting next to the Celestial Frost Pond. The giant watched the skirmish between Ku Wei and Ling Gong with clear interest. There were a few cultivators who tried to sneak into the Celestial Frost Pond, but they were easily smacked away by the giant. One such person even had a power level that exceeded 400,000, but they were still batted away by Chen Jian without issue.

    There were also a few other giants near the pond, and their presence intimidated everyone.

    Although the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins epassed a huge area, it took only a short amount of time for the cultivators to fully explore it.

    Over the course of just a few days, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins were fully explored, with the exception being the Celestial Frost Pond. Aside from some nts that had reached the point of detecting danger, there was nothing of much value left in the ruins.

    Everyone tried to ess the Celestial Frost Pond, and an increasing number of cultivators gathered in the great hall in an attempt to force the giants to pull back and give ess to the Celestial Frost Pond. There were even some people who threatened toin to the Interster Supreme Court about the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Despite everything, Ku Wei refused to move, and the giant sitting guard over the Celestial Frost Pond changed to Chen Huang.

    From Ku Wei¡¯s words, the pond was reserved for his future mistress, and thus could not be contaminated.

    His ount quickly spread out into the rest of the universe, and countless people cursed Ku Wei.

    In the end, Liu Qianjue and a few others were unable to endure such behavior, and they went to the Celestial Frost Pond.

    By this time, tens of thousands of cultivators had gathered around the Celestial Frost Pond. However, those who had gathered were all quite powerful, and they also treated everyone else as their enemy.

    Close to the Celestial Frost Pond, Ku Wei was standing on Chen Huang¡¯s shoulder and quarreling with Liu Qianjue and a few other people.

    ¡°Boy, get lost!¡± Mountain God had returned to his normal size as Bai Wanshan, which made him asrge as Chen Huang.

    Chen Huang red back. ¡°Leave. Nobody can approach the bath pond.¡±

    Mountain God bellowed, ¡°Bullshit! Get lost!¡±

    ¡°Fight me, stupid mountain.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just a giant that¡¯s already been eliminated by time.¡±

    ¡°How dare you? I¡¯ll destroy you!¡± Chen Huang shouted as he raised his right fist. The colossal giants had been suppressed by mountains in the past, and he hated all mountains.

    Mountain God sneered. ¡°Ridiculous.¡±

    The two collided in the sky, and the impact of their collision pushed all the nearby people away.

    Ku Wei tightly grabbed Chen Huang, which allowed him to manage to avoid being flung off.

    At the same time, Ling Qiu and Liu Qianjue appeared right next to the Celestial Frost Pond, but before they could take another step, Liu Ye and Fei Hua appeared to block their path.

    Liu Qianjue frowned. These two would not be easy to deal with.

    Ling Qiu coldly said, ¡°It seems that this pond is quite special, seeing as how Lu Yin has assigned three Envoys to guard it.¡±

    Liu Ye calmly stated, ¡°Leave. There¡¯s nothing much here.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯ll believe that?¡± Ling Qiu taunted.

    Fei Hua¡¯s brows rose. ¡°You don¡¯t have any choice.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ling Qiu shouted.

    A shadow appeared above all of them, and Liu Qianjue and Ling Qiu looked up to see Chen Huang, who was covered in nine lined battle force.

    Liu Qianjue and Ling Qiu nced at each other before immediately retreating.

    Mountain God also left after the other two pulled back.

    The more effort that was put into preventing them from approaching the Celestial Frost Pond, the more they wanted to investigate it.

    The ancestral tablet in the Daynight n had been destroyed, but Lu Yin was practicing the Sealed Cage Technique close to where it had once stood. After several days, he suddenly opened his eyes; he could feel the members of the Daynight n. Most of them were already close to him.

    He could see clouds of blood when he closed his eyes, and each cloud represented a person from the Daynight n. He could even kill them at any moment if he so wished.

    This was the Sealed Cage Technique that had been used on a bloodline; what a tyrannical battle technique.

    At this exact moment, Nightqueen Yanqing and the other members of the Daynight n felt chills run down their spines. They had a strange sensation, as though an extra line had connected to them that was linked to their life force itself. If that line broke, they would die.

    ¡°Sealed Cage Technique? It¡¯s the Sealed Cage Technique!¡± Nightking Leng shouted in terror.

    Someone from the Lu Elite Troops flung smoke at the man. Although Nightking Leng¡¯s power level had surpassed 400,000, just a Hunter from the Lu Elite Troops was able to easily injure the Nightking given his current wounded state.

    However, the Nightking did not have any time to even think about the pain, as the Sealed Cage Technique had been activated.

    Nightqueen Yanqing was in shock. ¡°The Sealed Cage Technique? Elder Leng, what are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Who said that you could talk?¡± The nearby soldiers tried to stop them, but the Nightkings seemed to have gone crazy.

    ¡°You¡¯re right! It¡¯s the Sealed Cage Technique. We controlled the Daykings with this and were able to control their very life force, but this is the reverse. Who is controlling us? Who activated the Sealed Cage Technique?¡± Nightking Silo screamed.

    ¡°Who? Who is controlling us?¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    The Nightkings screamed in desperation. This was their first time ever experiencing the sensation of having their very lives being held in someone else¡¯s hand, so the despair filling their hearts was terrible.

    Zhuo Daynight arrived, and she stopped the Lu Elite Troops from attacking the Nightkings. She also wanted to find out what was happening.

    When Lu Yin had killed Nightking Zhenwu and taken the Daykings away from the rest of the Daynight n, the Sealed Cage Technique had been removed from the Daykings, and they had been freed from the Nightkings¡¯ control.

    However, the Sealed Cage Technique had just been reactivated. The Daykings were being controlled once again, and Zhuo Daynight had rushed over, thinking that one of the Nightkings was behind this change.

    However, the scene that she saw left her confused. Were the Nightkings also being controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique? How was that even possible?

    ¡°Zhuo Daynight, is this your work? Did you manage to reverse the Sealed Cage Technique to control us?¡± Nightqueen Yanqing red at Zhuo Daynight.

    The Nightkings all red at Zhuo Daynight in absolute fury.

    At this same time, Ying Daynight and Ganggu Daynight arrived as well. They had followed the Lu Elite Troops here for the attack on the Daynight n, and they had also sensed the activation of the Sealed Cage Technique. They had also believed that it was due to one of the Nightkings, so thay had rushed over in shock.

    ¡°Did one of you Nightkings take control of us with the Sealed Cage Technique again? Even if we die, we¡¯ll die with you!¡± Ganggu Daynight shrieked.

    Nightking Leng bellowed back, ¡°This must be the Daykings¡¯ fault!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the Sealed Cage Technique was created by the Nightkings, so how is this our fault?¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Zhuo Daynight shouted, and everyone turned to look at her.

    She said quietly, ¡°Even the normal members of the n are being controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique.¡±

    Everyone suddenly fell silent. The Nightkings had been able to control the Daykings with the Sealed Cage Technique, but even if the Daykings had managed to find the means to reverse the technique and control the Nightkings, it should not have affected the normal members of the Daynight n. Those people should have never been affected by the Sealed Cage Technique at all, and yet they were also being controlled at this moment.

    Could it be the Second Nightking? Zhuo Daynight suddenly thought of the man, as he was the only ancient powerhouse who could have done such a thing. However, he had already been taken away by the Chief Justice and imprisoned at Gaia¡¯s Swamp. It was impossible for him to affect the Daynight n from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lu Yin appeared in the sky.

    The Lu Elite Troops bowed. ¡°Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader.¡±

    ¡­

    Zhuo Daynight turned towards Lu Yin but did not bow. After all, she was not his subordinate. Lu Yin had asked for her to help him out by temporarily filling the position of the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ deputymander, as he had been unable to find anyone else who both had the ability and was trustworthy.

    Nightqueen Yanqing and the other Nightkings kept a wary eye on Lu Yin. Their gazes were filled with fear, helplessness, and hatred.

    ¡°Lu Yin, release me! I helped you before and even rescued you. If not for me, you would have never been able to safely leave the Northline Flowzone. If not for me, you would have been killed by the Daynight n,¡± Nightking Yuanjing begged.

    Lu Yin nced over. ¡°You¡¯re right, Nightking Yuanjing. You helped me quite a few times, but that was also due to my own efforts. Have you found the Third Nightking yet?¡±

    Nightking Yuanjing¡¯s voice was hoarse. ¡°Please, let me go. I won¡¯t be your enemy.¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°My enemy? You¡¯re overthinking it. The Sealed Cage Technique is quite interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in astonishment, including Zhuo Daynight.

    ¡°You activated the Sealed Cage Technique?¡± Zhuo Daynight asked in disbelief.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over Zhuo Daynight and the rest of the Daynight n. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if any of you know what sort of status the Daynight n used to have. Let me tell you¡­¡±

    In addition to physically defeating the Daynight n, Lu Yin wanted to destroy their will as well.

    They believed themselves to be one of the strongest powers in the entire Innerverse, and the members of the n had always been extremely arrogant. Even when they had lost one of their inheritance stones, they had actually bragged that nobody would dare to touch such a thing and that it would be quickly returned to them. Nightking Zhenwu had tortured the members of the Fireplume Tribe and bullied everyone he saw, and it all steemed from his overweening arrogance.

    At this moment, Lu Yin wanted the n to understand their true status: ves. They had been ves to the Bai family, the masters of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You¡¯re lying!¡± Nightking Leng screamed. He tried to get up to attack Lu Yin, but a spear skewered his leg, and he copsed to the ground.

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t need to lie. If not for the First Nightking who killed the members of the Bai family, this ce would have never been called Daynight Flowzone, and it would still be Celestial Frost Flowzone. The family ruling this ce would also be the Bai family instead of the Nightkings.

    ¡°Even the Sealed Cage Technique wasn¡¯t created by the First Nightking¡ªhe merely altered it a bit.¡±

 Chapter 1675: A Bloody Sky

    Chapter 1675: A Bloody Sky

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± Nightking Silo shouted in disbelief.

    Nightqueen Yanqing, Nightking Gu, and all the other Nightkings red at Lu Yin with zing hatred, and even Zhuo Daynight looked at him with mixed emotions.

    Lu Yin had just revealed the truth of the Nightkings to them. No matter how arrogant they might be, they were still ves controlled by others.

    ¡°The First Nightking eliminated the truth about the Daynight n, but I¡¯ve revealed who you truly are. You should all feel thankful, as forgetting your own history is no different from betraying yourselves. The Sealed Cage Technique is in your very bloodline,¡± Lu Yin stated coldly. He did not care about how his words might affect the members of the Daynight n at all.

    Lu Yin sighed and nced over at Zhuo Daynight in an apologetic manner. ¡°Are you unable to ept this?¡±

    Zhuo Daynightughed bitterly. ¡°So what? No matter if it was the Bai family or the Nightkings, we¡¯ve always been under someone¡¯s control! We are already familiar with the Sealed Cage Technique, so we just have a new person controlling us now.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I will remove the Sealed Cage Technique for you and the Daykings.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight turned towards Lu Yin. ¡°Isn¡¯t the foundation of this technique our bloodline itself? Is it even possible to remove it?¡±

    Lu Yin fell silent. There was no use removing the technique from the Dayking n, as it was something passed down within their very bloodlines. The only way to remove it was if Lu Yin had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡°Can you promise me something?¡± Zhuo Daynight looked at Lu Yin hopefully.

    Lu Yin grew serious. ¡°Tell me.¡±

    Zhuo Daynight solemnly said, ¡°The Sealed Cage Technique will cease to exist after you, and there will be no Nightkings after you either.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±

    The most pathetic thing for a n was for them to be controlled by someone else. The only means to remove the control of the Sealed Cage Technique from the Daynight n was to have the Sealed Cage Technique disappear forever. So while Lu Yin would use the Sealed Cage Technique to control the Daynight n because they were his enemies, what about his descendants?

    Zhuo Daynight did not want the Daynight n to remain ves forever and to be nothing but puppets to the Sealed Cage Technique. The Daykings had experienced that pain for too long already.

    She would rather have the Nightkings and even the entire Daynight n disappear rather than allow them to live under someone else¡¯s control forever.

    Lu Yin also did not like the Sealed Cage Technique, but he needed the Daynight n¡¯s assistance for the time being.

    He had been thinking about this while practicing the Sealed Cage Technique.

    It was possible that his Lu Elite Troops would not be sufficient for the uing war. He needed at least three armies. One would be the Lu Elite Troops, the colossal giants would be the second, and the third army would consist of his former enemies, such as the Daynight n and the sylvan dragons. This third army would be known as the Redemption Army.

    The Redemption Army would be formed from Lu Yin¡¯s former enemies, which meant that they would be people he could not trust. However, things would change if the Daynight n was incorporated into this army, as they would never be able to oppose Lu Yin. His control over them made them the most trustworthy people for the Redemption Army, and they would form the army¡¯s core.

    Once the three armies finished training, Lu Yin would have enough power to challenge the Perennial World. However, that did not guarantee victory, as it merely meant that he was qualified to challenge that ce.

    No matter whether or not the Daynight n epted the truth, their lives were in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    Nightking Yuanjing was the happiest person in the n at this moment, as this meant that he would live.

    Lu Yin had not nned to kill the man anyways, as he still had a use for Nightking Yuanjing.

    Most of the Nightkings could not ept the fact that their lives were under the control of the Sealed Cage Technique, and theymitted suicide. Still, there were a few who epted the truth.

    Only Lu Yin and Zhuo Daynight knew that he controlled the Daynight n. Nobody else knew about this, not even Ku Wei, Liu Ye, or Fei Hua, as they had all been sent to act as guards within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    The Innerverse had been alerted to Lu Yin¡¯s scheming methods after he attacked the Daynight n instead of the Sword Sect. Elder Yuan Shou had also told Lu Yin that Ling Qiu had witnessed Elder Jiu Shen rescuing him, which meant that Lu Yin was aware that it would be difficult to maintain the lie about his rtionship with the Cosmic Sect to Ling Qiu.

    This meant he would have to face a united opposition from half of the Innerverse.

    Fortunately, the grudges and conflicts that he had created during the war in zing Mist Flowzone were not things that could be erased quickly. Lu Yin needed to quickly seize control of Daynight Flowzone, though doing so would only further intimidate the other Innerverse flowzones.

    Lu Yin was in the middle of discussing something with Wang Wen when he heard a wail ring out in the distance as blood filled the sky.

    Lu Yin immediately looked over, only to see Long Yi¡¯s runes decreasing rapidly. Worried, Lu Yin moved out and quickly headed over.

    The huge sylvan dragon was hanging in the sky and bleeding profusely.

    By the time Lu Yin arrived, Long Yi was already half dead. His head had been ripped open, and his wings had cruelly been sliced off.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw a massive number of rune lines leaving the area. He was about to give chase when Liu Ye and Fei Hua appeared. ¡°That person is very powerful.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated and carefully observed the rune lines. They belonged to Liu Qianjue. The man had not even tried to hide himself at all.

    In addition to Liu Qianjue, Lu Yin also saw some runes that belonged to Ling Qiu and Mountain God in another direction. The three of them had worked together to instantly deal with Long Yi.

    This was a warning to Lu Yin, and it also served to reduce the strength of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin had been too careless, as everything had been going too well for him recently, and he had felt as though all of his ns were on the path to sess. The leaders of the major flowzones would never allow Lu Yin to take control of the Innerverse, especially not after he had already taken over zing Mist and Daynight Flowzones. The major Innerverse powers had initially been shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, but they had started working together.

    After putting down Long Yi, who was one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Envoys, the three would definitely target another of the alliance¡¯s Envoys.

    Long Yi had merely been the first victim.

    Lu Yin looked at poor Long Yi, who had been cut down so cruelly. The three were not only reducing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s power, but they were also warning the alliance¡¯s powerhouses.

    After conquering Daynight Flowzone, Lu Yin was facing the worst case scenario: the Innerverse had united to work together and oppose him.

    ¡°By my name, I appoint a champion.¡± Lu Yin sent Liu Ye and Fei Hua away as he imprinted Long Yi onto his Champions¡¯ Stage alone.

    Even though Lu Yin had never fully trusted Long Yi, the dragon had still surrendered to him. Liu Qianjue had sessfully managed to get to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had Long Yi¡¯s body delivered to Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen merely said one sentence: leave Daynight Flowzone.

    Only a handful of people were aware that Lu Yin had takenplete control over Daynight Flowzone. Wang Wen was one of the few people whom Lu Yin trusted wholeheartedly, which meant that the man naturally was aware of this fact.

    With Lu Yin in control of the Daynight n, there was no need to announce anything at all. Instead, by leaving Daynight Flowzone, he could sessfully confuse Liu Qianjue and the other leaders of the great flowzones.

    As an excuse for Lu Yin¡¯s sudden departure, they used the Third Nightking.

    A few dayster, another group of people arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. These people were from the Cosmic Sect and the Court of Seven Names.

    Lu Yin ordered the Great Eastern Alliance to leave Daynight Flowzone.

    And like that, the Daynight n seemingly returned to normal.

    These orders astonished Liu Qianjue and the others. They werepletely confused; why would Lu Yin leave after finally conquering Daynight Flowzone?

    Everyone in the universe was confused by this news.

    However, another bit of information quickly cleared any doubts: the Third Nightking was returning.

    Liu Qianjue, Mountain God, Ling Qiu, and Wen Zizai gathered near the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins as they watched the colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops leave. They watched as the Daynight n regained their freedom.

    ¡°They¡¯re truly free. The powerhouses from the Great Eastern Alliance have all left Daynight Flowzone,¡± Mountain God warily observed.

    Liu Qianjue frowned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Given Lu Yin¡¯s personality, how could he possibly give up on the Daynight n?¡¯

    ¡°I also believe that it¡¯s impossible,¡± Ling Qiu agreed.

    Wen Zizai shook his head. ¡°If the Third Nightking is really returning, then there¡¯s no reason for Lu Yin to remain in Daynight Flowzone. We have all experienced the Second Nightking¡¯s power, and rumour has it that the Third Nightking is even more talented than the Second Nightking.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how the Second Nightking managed to survive all these years, but I don¡¯t believe that the Third Nightking has also managed to survive while bing even stronger than before. They¡¯re both people from ancient times, and while they might have been powerful back then, they should be much weaker than before even if they did manage to stay alive with cryostasis. At most, the Third Nightking should only beparable to us,¡± Ling Qiu said.

    ¡°Everyone, do you remember the incident that happened a few years ago when the Great Eastern Alliance defeated the ze Realm and then left?¡± Liu Qianjue asked.

    Wen Zizai¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°So you think that Lu Yin¡¯s doing this intentionally?¡±

    Liu Qianjue looked up. ¡°We¡¯ll know after seeing what he does next. If he leaves Daynight Flowzone but stays nearby, it indicates that he¡¯s doing this deliberately. He already knows what our goal is after we killed Long Yi. We are after the Envoys working with him. We can remove Emperor Luo from the equation for now, but we absolutely have to eliminate Liu Ye and Fei Hua, who are his guardians. There¡¯s also the people from the Sea King¡¯s Dome who are hiding in the Outerverse, not to mention the giants¡¯ chieftain. It¡¯s possible that Lu Yin pulled back to protect himself.¡±

    ¡°So what if he retreats? We¡¯ll still push on,¡± Ling Qiu sneered.

    Liu Qianjue turned to Ling Qiu. ¡°I hope that you will remember those words. I don¡¯t know why you suddenly backed out from cooperating with us before, but you should know that this is our only option now. We can either wait for Lu Yin to gain control of the Innerverse, or we can defeat the Great Eastern Alliance andpletely remove Lu Yin¡¯s chances of ever entering the Innerverse.¡±

    Ling Qiu snorted. She had said nothing to anyone about what had happened in the past, as it was simply too humiliating. She had been deceived by the Cosmic Sect, which meant that she was even more enthusiastic about dealing with Lu Yin than Liu Qianjue.

    ¡°There¡¯s only one problem: there are always a few powerhouses who appear around Lu Yin,¡± Mountain God said.

    Liu Qianjue coldly replied, ¡°Everything¡¯ll be fine as long as we don¡¯t attack him personally. It¡¯s time for us to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty and have a talk with Qing Shaohuang. He really thinks that he¡¯ll be fine if he stays in the Venom Flowzone.¡±

    The colossal giants and the Lu Elite Troops all made their way straight towards zing Mist Flowzone, though they only traveled at an average speed.

    Lu Yin looked back. This was an impressive line up. If there were no Envoys present, the colossal giants working together with the Lu Elite Troops would be enough to sweep through the entire Innerverse.

    However, their speed was too slow when it came to traveling, and Lu Yincked efficient means of transportation.

    Liu Qianjue and the others were definitely keeping an eye on Lu Yin, but he did nothing at all. He had actually released the Daynight n, though he had also made sure that nobody would ever learn about the Sealed Cage Technique.

    To any outsider, apart from Nightking Dijiang¡¯s death, nothing much had changed for the Daynight n. However, there would be a change in the future, as the Third Nightking was returning.

    Lu Yin had put a great deal of effort into finding an excuse that would make the Daynight n a threat to him.

    Beep beep!

    Lu Yin turned to look at his gadget and was surprised to see that it was an internal call from Astral-10. Only teachers and pupils from Astral-10 were able to call Lu Yin using this internal method. When he took a closer look, he saw that it was a call from Old Cai.

 Chapter 1676: I Want It All

    Chapter 1676: I Want It All

    ¡°Old Cai, I didn¡¯t expect a call from you,¡± Lu Yin said in a friendly tone.

    Old Cai replied, ¡°Um, I heard that you went to the Daynight n, right?¡¯

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Yes. Are the juniors from Astral-10 interested in exploring the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins?¡±

    Old Cai hesitated. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter. There¡¯s something else I wanted to ask you.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. He had always had an impression of Old Cai as a very cunning, shameless, and petty old man. The mentor from Astral-10 never seemed to mind scamming anybody, including his own students. Since when had the man be so shy?

    ¡°Please tell me.¡±

    Old Cai cleared his throat. ¡°How is Nightqueen Qiuyu?¡¯

    Lu Yin was perplexed. ¡°Nightqueen Qiuyu? Why are you asking about her?¡±

    ¡°Is she still alive?¡± Old Cai asked hesitantly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s fine.¡±

    Old Cai fell silent.

    Lu Yin did not press the matter, but he did remember something. Back when the Daynight n had hosted a Daynight Feast and invited him, Old Cai had cautioned Lu Yin not to use any of his Money Bombs near the Daynight n members. Money Bombs were Old Cai¡¯s signature weapon, and Lu Yin had felt as though he had been scammed after being told not to use them against the Daynight n. Sandmaster had also mentioned that Old Cai¡¯s Money Bombs had a bad reputation, so it was possible that there was a connection to Nightqueen Qiuyu.

    ¡°Mentor, what¡¯s your connection to Nightqueen Qiuyu?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Old Cai sighed. ¡°You might not believe me, but she¡¯s actually my fianc¨¦e.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Fianc¨¦e?¡±

    ¡°Fianc¨¦e.¡±

    ¡°I heard you, but why?¡±

    ¡°Why what?¡±

    Lu Yin was about to ask how Old Cai managed to be engaged to Nightqueen Qiuyu given his looks, but the youth suppressed the urge to ask such a question, as he felt that it would be too insulting. Instead, he asked, ¡°I thought that the Daynight n never allowed their members to marry outside of their own n. How can she be your fianc¨¦e?¡±

    Old Cai helplessly told Lu Yin of his past.

    Old Cai¡¯s history was a pretty typical story. He had met Nightqueen Qiuyu when exploring the universe, and the two had fallen in love. However, they had been torn apart when the Daynight n had learned of their rtionship. It was a sad yetmon experience for couples.

    ¡°How is this rted to your Money Bombs?¡± Lu Yin felt terribly confused. If their history was nothing more than a failed romance, then Old Cai would have never asked Lu Yin to hide the fact that he was from Astral-10.

    Old Cai cleared his throat. ¡°I was quite young at that time, and rash too. I made some Money Bombs and destroyed a few of the Daynight n¡¯s buildings.¡±

    ¡°A few?¡± Lu Yin grew increasingly curious.

    Old Cai cleared his throat again. ¡°I identally bombed the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral tablet.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°You bombed their ancestral tablet?¡±

    ¡°Sigh. Because of that, the Daynight n started treating me like an enemy, and even Nightqueen Qiuyu refuses to forgive me. That tablet is sacred to them, and I was too impulsive,¡± Old Cai exined. However, he did not sound at all regretful, and he actually sounded more like he was boasting.

    Before Lu Yin had shown up, who had dared to touch anything that belonged to the Daynight n, let alone their ancestral tablet?

    ¡°But there are always experts standing guard over that tablet. Given your strength back then, how did you seed?¡± Lu Yin mused.

    Old Cai grinned. ¡°I wasn¡¯t that young when that happened. The two of us were separated when we were young, but I grew more and more annoyed as time passed. When I became an Enlighter, I snuck into a Daynight Feast, and I identally bombed the tablet. Actually, I didn¡¯t really bomb it¡ªI just messed up the dust around it because of all those old farts guarding it. The Daynight n is too touchy about such things, and Nightqueen Qiuyu came after me like she¡¯d gone nuts. Sigh, I really was too rash.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°She let you go instead of chasing after you, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    Old Cai stayed quiet.

    ¡°Your Money Bombs were the explosives you used?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you forbade me from using those near the Daynight n?¡¯

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°So what now? Nightqueen Qiuyu is back with the Daynight n, so are you going to go see her?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Old Cai was surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t you take control of the Daynight n?¡±

    Lu Yin answered with evident frustration, ¡°The Third Nightking ising back, so I left.¡±

    ¡°The Third Nightking? He¡¯s still alive?¡± Old Cai was astonished.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°If you still have feelings for Nightqueen Qiuyu, then you should go look for her. There probably isn¡¯t anyone in the Daynight n who can stop you now. Good luck.¡±

    Lu Yin then hung up.

    All of the teachers from Astral-10 were quite powerful, especially Old Cai with his cunning nature. Since he had been able to escape from the Daynight n in the past, returning should be a breeze for the old man. Lu Yin was not at all worried, as the old man had probably already prepared a massive number of Money Bombs.

    That old man definitely had even more powerful versions of his Money Bombs, or else he would have never had the confidence to target the stone tablet. Old Cai had sold Lu Yin weaker versions of his Money Bombs in the past, as Lu Yin had only bought bombs that were effective against Hunters. If not for his Enhance, he would have never been able to use any of them against Enlighters.

    Hold on. Lu Yin thought of something else and called Old Cai back.

    ¡°What now?¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Mentor, are you still selling your Money Bombs?¡±

    Old Cai paused. ¡°Do you need some?¡±

    ¡°Of course. They¡¯re very useful.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re able to fight against Envoys now, so why would you still need those bombs?¡± Old Cai became curious.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I just need them. How many do you have? I want all of them.¡±

    Old Cai felt that something was off. Back when Lu Yin had bought his first Money Bomb, he had acted upset, and Old Cai had actually needed to coerce the youth into buying more. He never expected Lu Yin to actually offer to buy more at this time.

    ¡°How many do you want?¡±

    ¡°How many do you have?¡±

    ¡°I have as many as you want. I¡¯ve made quite a few over the years.¡±

    ¡°I want as many as you have. Same price as before, right? Fifty star crystals for one and a hundred star crystals for three?¡±

    ¡°The price is the same, so how many do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°I already told you¡ªI want everything you¡¯ve got. Money¡¯s not an issue.¡±

    Old Cai arched a brow. ¡°Are you arming your army?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Old Caiughed. ¡°That¡¯s smart. Student Lu, since you¡¯re equipping your army with them, we should return to talking about the price.¡±

    Lu Yin bit his lips. He had already known that this old bastard would try to take advantage of him again. ¡°I can already handle the Daynight n at any time.¡±

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. ¡°Alright, same price as before. I have a bit more than 4,000 of them.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Only 4,000?¡±

    Old Cai felt insulted. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®only 4,000?¡¯ Do you think that I can make these at any time? This is already a good number that¡¯s taken me years to umte. I have limited time and materials, so just take what I have. It¡¯s only 143,333 star crystals for 4,300 Money Bombs.¡±

    140,000 star crystals was nothing but pocket change to Lu Yin, as he currently needed to spend millions of star essence every time he Enhanced an item.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have the money transferred to your Mavis Bank ount. I¡¯ll also send someone to Astral-10 to pick them up,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Old Cai agreed, ¡°Sounds good.¡±

    ¡°Hang on, Old Cai. Don¡¯t you have more powerful Money Bombs?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Old Cai answered, ¡°I know what you want, but I don¡¯t have any. I really wasn¡¯t nning to cause any serious damage to the Daynight n¡¯s ancestral tablet, as I wouldn¡¯t be alive right now if I had¡ªI just wanted to vent some frustrations. You can go ahead and try to check just how many people in the entire universe are able to make bombs that can affect Hunters.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed. Although the Ross Empire¡¯s battleships were able to fire attacks that had the strength of Hunters, those vessels were incredibly expensive, and they were also not very agile. It really was not bad at all for something as small as the Money Bombs to have so much power.

    Besides, Lu Yin could just use Enhance to upgrade the Money Bombs to have the strength of an Enlighter. He would need about 15 million star crystals, which was not a terrible cost.

    He imagined the member of his Lu Elite Troops each possessing two Enlighter-level Money Bombs and the white smoke; just how impressive would that be?

    He did not expect his Lu Elite Troops to be able to defeat Envoys; he just wanted them to be able to deal with any cultivators beneath the Envoy realm.

    As Lu Yin was dreaming about improving his army¡¯s equipment, Man Li was still barricading the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s entrance.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Sect had their own giants.

    Man Li stood ten meters tall, and he was sitting at the entrance to the Neo-Vestige Sect. He could single handedly threaten all of the members of the Neo-Vestige Sect given his power level of over 700,000. If not for the Great Eastern Alliance and the Hall of Honor, Man Li would have already crushed the Neo-Vestige Sect and captured everybody in it.

    The leader of the Neo-Vestige Sect, Gong Ling watched Man Li with evident fear.

    The members of the Neo-Vestige Sect were in no mood to cultivate, as they were all waiting for Man Li to attack. A powerhouse with this giant¡¯s strength was capable of easily wiping them all out.

    ¡°Still no news from the Great Eastern Alliance,¡± an elder from the Neo-Vestige Sect said.

    Someone nearby replied, ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance can¡¯t deal with that giant either. He has a power level that exceeds 700,000 as well as an imprint. Add in the natural suppression that we suffer from Sixth Maind cultivators, and there aren¡¯t many people even from the Innerverse who can defeat that man, let alone the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the Great Eastern Alliance is still eager to attack the Innerverse, but they don¡¯t even care about our Neo-Vestige Sect. I think that we should just join the Arrow Sect,¡± Shao Zisongined.

    Sect Leader Gong Ling red at that elder with cold eyes.

    Shao Zisong immediately shut up.

    He had been Master Bei¡¯s disciple, which meant that he was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy. After Master Bei¡¯s death, Shao Zisong had been sent to Arrow Mountain to act as a servant. However, given the fact that the Neo-Vestige Sect had been rapidly losing their most talented members, he had been released from his punishment. Still, Shao Zisong absolutely hated Lu Yin.

    ¡°The Arrow Mountain Elder was killed by the Sixth Maind, so how could you even suggest such a thing? Are you still even loyal to the Neo-Vestige Sect?¡± another elder bellowed.

    A few elders joined in on scolding Shao Zisong, and he clenched his fists.

    ¡°Enough,¡± Gong Ling ordered. He continued in a cold tone, ¡°Shao Zisong, go to Arrow Mountain and work as a servant.¡±

    Shao Zisong was startled by this order, and he immediately knelt. ¡°Sect Leader, I am indeed at fault and said the wrong thing. Please give me another chance, Sect Leader. I have no intention of betraying the Fifth Maind, and I simply pity the disciples of our sect who are being pressured by that giant. Please give me another chance, Sect Leader.¡±

    ¡°Enough, just leave. Serve as a servant on Arrow Mountain for a hundred years.¡± Gong Ling tossed Shao Zisong away.

 Chapter 1677: Missing

    Chapter 1677: Missing

    After Shao Zisong was thrown out of the meeting, one elder said, ¡°We should have never released him. Master Bei may have taken him off the mountain, but he¡¯s still a ve. He truly hasn¡¯t changed his ways.¡±

    The others agreed.

    Gong Ling frowned. He had not had any particr concerns regarding Shao Zisong since Master Bei had already died. The sect master looked out of the Neo-Vestige Sect, wondering whether or not Lu Yin would be able to help them.

    On Arrow Mountain, Shao Zisong gritted his teeth and cursed the elders.

    One disciple shouted at Shao Zisong, ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re just a ve, so stay silent. Don¡¯t you know how important it is to pick an arrow?¡±

    Another disciple chimed in, ¡°Get lost and don¡¯t disturb us.¡±

    Everyone was in a bad mood given the giant sitting outside of their sect.

    Shao Zisong left with his head bowed. He had been Master Bei¡¯s disciple, and those disciples had not even had the right to meet with him in the past. However, they acted rude to him once he had been sentenced to be a ve for 100 years. His future was ruined, given that he was a ve that anyone in the Neo-Vestige Sect could insult or order about.

    No, he could not continue to live in this manner. He refused to ept such a fate. Since he no longer had a future within the Neo-Vestige Sect, he needed to look elsewhere. Gong Ling, since you didn¡¯t believe in me, there¡¯s no need for me to be loyal to you anymore.

    Darkness shrouded the Neo-Vestige Sect at night, but Gong Ling continued to solemnly stare out of the sect.

    Suddenly, a sh of light shot up into the sky above Arrow Mountain.

    When Gong Ling noticed the light, his expression instantly changed.

    He immediately headed to Arrow Mountain, and there he found Shao Zisong ring at him viciously.

    Gong Ling bellowed, ¡°What have you done, Shao Zisong?¡±

    Shao Zisong sneered, ¡°Sect Master, you condemned me to act as a ve for a hundred years, but did you ever consider my feelings? You would have never done such a thing if my master were still alive!¡±

    Gong Ling became furious, and he smashed Shao Zisong into the ground. ¡°I asked you¡ªwhat have you done?¡±

    Themotion on Arrow Mountain quickly attracted the attention of others in the Neo-Vestige Sect, and elders appeared one after another. ¡°Sect Master, what¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°Father?¡± Gong Chou asked.

    Suddenly, the entire Neo-Vestige Sect trembled as a terrifyingugh rang out, ¡°Hahahaha, so there¡¯s still some smart people here. You¡¯re Shao Zisong, right? From now on, you belong to the Arrow Sect. We¡¯ll see who dares to touch you now.¡±

    A powerful gale swept through the area, and a huge arrow shot past Gong Ling to pierce through Arrow Mountain.

    When Arrow Mountain, which had existed since the founding of the Neo-Vestige Sect, was pierced by the arrow, Gong Ling vomited blood and copsed. He had been injured by the arrow¡¯s impact.

    The disciples of the Neo-Vestige Sect were all forced to the ground, their faces pale.

    The giant, Man Li, emerged from the true universe and looked down at everyone on the ground.

    Shao Zisong was ted, and he immediately kneeled down. ¡°I¡¯m Shao Zisong, sir.¡±

    Man Li grinned. ¡°You aren¡¯t bad, hahahaha.¡±

    Gong Ling¡¯s face was deathly pale from the attack that he had just suffered.

    The Neo-Vestige Sect was ruined. The sect master immediately ordered Gong Chou to find a way to escape.

    Anyone but Gong Chou could die.

    ¡°Sir, that¡¯s Gong Ling, the sect leader of the Neo-Vestige Sect. He has ess to the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s full inheritance.¡± Shao Zisong pointed at Gong Ling.

    Man Li red at Gong Ling. ¡°You, follow me.¡±

    Gong Chou bellowed, ¡°We are a part of the Great Eastern Alliance!¡±

    Man Li frowned and stared at Gong Chou. ¡°So what? Who¡¯ll say anything even if I destroyed your Neo-Vestige Sect?¡±

    He then lifted a hand and moved to crush Gong Chou.

    Gong Chou¡¯s mind went nk; he had absolutely no means of fighting back.

    Gong Ling screamed, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Man Li sneered and pped a hand towards Gong Ling. Suddenly, he hesitated. A disheveled old man in a sloppy green robe had appeared beneath his palm and was smiling up at the giant.

    Man Li immediately stepped back and descended to the ground. His tone grew incredibly respectful, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here. I am at fault, but please forgive me.¡±

    Everyone from the Neo-Vestige turned to look at the old man. He was Master Qing Hua.

    He had appeared to uphold his promise to Lu Yin. The man had only recently left zing Mist Flowzone, and he had specifically traveled to the Neo-Vestige Sect in order to take Man Li away.

    ¡°You¡¯re Man Li, right?¡± Master Qing Hua asked.

    Man Li quickly replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Man Li from the Arrow Sect. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Master Qing Hua.¡±

    Master Qing Hua? Gong Ling had heard of this person before. When the Sixth Maind had moved to the Outerverse, people from the Fifth Maind had started slowly getting more acquainted with the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses, and Master Qing Hua was one such powerhouses: he was an Empyrean Imprinter.

    How powerful was an Empyrean Imprinter? Gong Ling could not even imagine the strength of such a person. The most powerful person that the Neo-Vestige Sect had ever had was the Arrow Mountain Elder, but he had only been an Envoy, which meant that he had beenparable to an Imprinter from the Sixth Maind. Beyond that, there were still World Imprinters and Cosmic Imprinters before one reached the realm of Empyrean Imprinters.

    There were rumors that Empyrean Imprinters were second only to Progenitors. In that case, would such a person visit the Neo-Vestige Sect? There was no reason for the Neo-Vestige Sect to have caught this expert¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Master Qing Hua calmly asked Man Li.

    Although the Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s tone sounded very friendly, Man Li still acted very politely. Even though Man Huang, the leader of the Arrow Sect, was also an Empyrean Imprinter, he was still Master Qing Hua¡¯s junior. There were even rumors that Master Qing Hua might rece the dead Toolwielder Ancestor as one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Four Empyreans. This was a key reason why Man Li was so respectful to Qing Hua.

    ¡°Elder, I¡¯m following my master¡¯s orders to take him to the Neo-Vestige Sect,¡± Man Li answered.

    Master Qing Hua looked around. ¡°Forcefully?¡±

    Man Li replied, ¡°There are disciples in this Neo-Vestige Sect who have already joined the Arrow Sect, so I¡¯m not actually taking anyone away by force.¡±

    Master Qing Hua smiled. ¡°Then just take those who have joined your sect with you. Are you trying to start a war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds? Is that your n? Or rather, is that Man Huang¡¯s n?¡±

    Man Li exined anxiously, ¡°I was too rash, forgive me.¡±

    Master Qing Hua continued, saying, ¡°We have only just arrived at the Fifth Maind, and even though the Outerverse belongs to us, we should not wantonly kill people as that will only intensify the Fifth Maind¡¯s hatred for us and make it harder for us to truly rule the Outerverse. Leave. I¡¯ll go speak to Man Huang about this.¡±

    Man Li hesitated. ¡°Elder, my sect leader tasked me with guarding the Neo-Vestige Sect. If I suddenly return¡­¡±

    Master Qing Hua¡¯s eyes shed, and Man Li was suddenly forced to the ground as a huge rod pressed down on him. Man Li screamed in pain from being pinned to the ground as a terrible wound had already appeared on his back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    Additionally, he found that he was unable to control his own stellr energy, and some of it was even being forcefully removed by the true universe.

    Man Li started begging, ¡°Please let me off, Elder! Please let me off.¡±

    Master Qing Hua asked in a calm manner, ¡°Did you hear what I just said?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Man Li was terrified. This was the first time he had felt this helpless after bing an Envoy. Even when Lu Yin had rung the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, he had not suppressed that badly, as even that had only momentarily dazed Man Li. But at the moment, he was being tortured.

    Master Qing Hua always had a sloppy appearance no matter who he met, and he very rarely lost his temper. However, he was still an Empyrean Imprinter, and the very skies changed when he raised his hand.

    The people of the Neo-Vestige Sect all stayed silent as they watched on in horror.

    Man Li left with Shao Zisong. Since Shao Zisong was someone from the Neo-Vestige Sect, Man Li had managed toplete a portion of his mission.

    Master Qing Hua left as well. He did not speak even a single word to anyone from the Neo-Vestige Sect. He had only stopped by to take Man Li away as he had promised Lu Yin.

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Suna Weave, a serving girl bowed low within Flying Horse Manor. ¡°Madam, there is someone from the Tong family here to see you.¡±

    Nobody answered.

    The girl repeated, ¡°Madam, an elder from the Tong family has brought Tong Chou here to meet with you.¡±

    There was still no reply.

    After a long time, the elder from the Tong family impatiently entered to look for Madam Hong.

    There was a Cosmic Imprinter within the Tong family, which gave them a higher status than Flying Horse Manor. Thus, the elder was unafraid of Madam Hong punishing him despite his extraordinary rudeness.

    The elder pushed the door open but did not see anyone inside. This was supposedly Madam Hong¡¯s training room, but there was no trace of her.

    The elder red at the serving girl. ¡°Where¡¯s Madam Hong?¡±

    The girl was confused. ¡°She should be inside.¡±

    ¡°Contact Madam Hong now,¡± the elder ordered. Tong Chou observed the room with curiosity. The Tong family had a close rtionship with Flying Horse Manor, and there should not be any reason for Madam Hong to avoid them. Besides, the serving girl would have never dared to lie about the Madam leaving the training room to the Tong family elder. So, where was the woman?

    News of Madam Hong¡¯s disappearance soon spread, as nobody from Flying Horse Manor was able to get in contact with Madam Hong.

    In a dark ce in Southside Weave, a faint light shone on Madam Hong, who had been held captive for about ten days.

    Ten days ago, she had been worrying about her failed plot against Master Qing Hua. She had been thinking of ways to deal with Lu Yin when disaster had suddenly struck. She had been kidnapped, but she was clueless about her kidnapper¡¯s identity. Despite being a World Imprinter, she had not even been able to fight back, which meant that her kidnapper was an extremely powerful Cosmic or Empyrean Imprinter.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Madam Hong screamed in an exhausted voice. It would have been fine if she had just been held captive during these ten days, but she had actually been tortured excessively as well. Her stellr energy had been forcefully retrieved by the true universe, and all of her limbs had been broken. She had never expected to endure such torture.

    ¡°Give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. You have no right to possess a Progenitor¡¯s item,¡± a voice rang out.

    Madam Hong could not determine who was speaking. She weakly muttered, ¡°Who are you? I don¡¯t have Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I will kill you if you don¡¯t give it to me. Nobody can save you.¡±

    ¡°I really, truly, don¡¯t have Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide,¡± Madam Hong weakly protested.

 Chapter 1678: Progress

    Chapter 1678: Progress

    Bluedome Elder frowned. Ten days had already passed, and this woman was very stubborn. However, he was certain that she possessed Progenitor Wushang''s hide. She had offered five weaves to Lu Yin in exchange for Progenitor Wushang''s hide, and she had been smart enough to evene up with using Master Qing Hua as an excuse. If not for Qing Tan, Bluedome Elder would have never learned about this exchange.

    ¡°I repeat: give me Progenitor Wushang''s hide, or else you will be tortured forever!¡± Bluedome Elder shouted.

    Madam Hong screamed in despair, ¡°Let me out! I- I really don¡¯t have Progenitor Wush- Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide!¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Bluedome Elder turned and left. The woman would not be able tost for long.

    ***

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp was connected to both the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. It only upied a small area, but it was the Fifth Maind¡¯s most closely guarded prison, and it held their most violent criminals.

    On one particr day, a thousand meter long and hundred meter tall pig was running frantically while panting.

    ¡°Trouble! There¡¯s trouble¡­¡± He screamed as he ran. Suddenly, he mmed into a giant toe, and the pig looked up just in time to see a drop of water crash down onto him like a waterfall.

    The pig choked and coughed. ¡°This wine is too strong! Lord Piggy can¡¯t drink this! I can¡¯t drink this!¡±

    ¡°h h h, stop talking, pig. Do you want me to roast you? Hahahaha!¡± Loudughter rang throughout Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and many of the chains started nging as the prisoners were being tortured by theughter.

    Lord Piggy immediately spoke up, ¡°Shh! Shh! Sir Warden, the prisoners can¡¯t handle it! Laugh quietly, quietly.¡±

    ¡°They should all just die. Those who should be alive are dead, but those who should be dead still live. They can all just die, hahahaha.¡±

    ¡°Master Cha¡¯s father won¡¯t be able to take it.¡±

    ¡°Cough, go take a look and make sure he¡¯s still alive.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Lord Piggy was just about to leave when his ears perked up. ¡°No, no. Sir Warden, there¡¯s trouble.¡±

    Another drop of winended on Lord Piggy. ¡°What now?¡±

    Lord Piggy gulped. ¡°Sir Chief Justice just sent another prisoner, and it¡¯s someone famous.¡±

    The Warden asked, ¡°Famous? How famous? Tell me.¡±

    Lord Piggy gulped again. ¡°He¡¯s the- the Second Nightking.¡±

    Lord Piggy was waiting for the Warden to respond when a head suddenly appeared in front of him, and a pupil red at the pig. ¡°The Second Nightking? Isn¡¯t he dead?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive. He was in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins and only recently reappeared, but he was sent here right after that,¡± Lord Piggy exined.

    The Warden was surprised. ¡°He was caught right after he reappeared? Hahahah, how unlucky! He¡¯s an important person who¡¯s lived for a long time, and yet he was still caught as soon as he reappeared! Go and lock him up. I don¡¯t care who he is, but since he¡¯s in Gaia''s Swamp, he¡¯ll have to listen to me, hahahaha.¡±

    ¡°Shh, Sir Warden, Master Cha¡¯s father won¡¯t be able to take it!¡±

    ¡°Cough, go take a look and make sure he¡¯s still alive.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Chains were connected to the ground that also wrapped around the prisoners.

    Lord Piggy frantically ran back and forth to lock the Second Nightking up. Then, the pig spread word about the Second Nightking to everyone in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Liu Huang opened his eyes. ¡°The Second Nightking? What an ancient person. The prison break will be even easier with him here. Still, we¡¯ll have to wait a bit longer to let him recover. Defeating the Warden won¡¯t be easy, but it¡¯ll happen soon. Soon.¡±

    ***

    Lu Yin looked to the west with regret in his eyes.

    Nightking Dijiang had died, and the Second Nightking had been imprisoned. The battle against the Daynight n would have been nearly perfect, if not for the fact that Lu Yin had learned the Sealed Cage Technique. Instead, he kept feeling like he had suffered a huge loss because of the Sealed Cage Technique¡¯s sheer value.

    Lu Yin was not particrly concerned about Nightking Dijiang¡¯s death, but the Second Nightking was extremely powerful, even stronger than Yuan Shi. If Lu Yin could control that person with the Sealed Cage Technique, he would be capable of doing whatever he wanted wherever. In the entire Fifth Maind, only the Semi-Progenitors and the Chief Justice would be able to stop Lu Yin. He would not even be scared if he went to the Sixth Maind.

    There was no possibility of Lu Yin allowing the Second Nightking to remain in prison. He intended to make good use of this potential minion.

    Thus, he needed to visit Gaia¡¯s Swamp before the prison break happened.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, should we speak about the promise that was made?¡± Liu Ye and Fei Hua asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned to face them. ¡°What promise?¡±

    Fei Hua arched a brow. ¡°Have you already forgotten, Alliance Leader? You promised that you would return our freedom after we killed Nightking Dijiang.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Did you kill Nightking Dijiang?¡¯

    Fei Hua¡¯s voice grew cold, ¡°While we might not have killed him, he still died because of us. He would have never been in the ruin¡¯s great hall if not for us, and he was killed by the gray figures in that room.¡±

    Liu Ye calmly exined, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, we havee to know you well after following you during this time. This is why we were willing to take such a risk and enter the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Even though the people from this Fifth Maind may not know just how dangerous the Celestial Frost Sect is, we are well aware. Alliance Leader Lu, you should know how difficult the choice to enter that ce was for us to make. If not for the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, both of us would have suffered the same fate as Nightking Dijiang.¡±

    ¡°We almost died, Alliance Leader Lu. You¡¯ll keep your promise, right?¡± Fei Hua red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua looked at each other happily.

    ¡°Yes, but I need you two to do onest thing with me,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Fei Hua grew furious. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, are you trying to go back on your word?¡±

    Lu Yin remained calm. ¡°You can im that Nightking Dijiang died because of you, but I feel that his death was because of me. If not for me and Elder Jiu Shen disturbing the remnant spiritual force throughout the ruins, Nightking Dijiang would have never died. Thus, you only aplished half of the mission that you were given. On top of that, you two are only alive because of the item that I allowed you to use. I will permit you to regain your freedom because you¡¯ve helped me before, just not because of this incident alone.¡±

    Fei Hua was just about to say something when Liu Ye stopped her. ¡°What is it that you want us to do, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin turned towards the west. ¡°Come with me to Gaia¡¯s Swamp.¡±

    ¡°Gaia¡¯s Swamp?¡± they asked. It was clear that they had not heard of this ce before.

    Lu Yin did not bother borating, and he instead immediately contacted Arch-Elder Zen. Arch-Elder Zen had already given Lu Yin his contact information after Lu Yin returned from the Perennial World.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both from the Perennial World, and they were only following Lu Yin because sourcebox arrays had been nted within their bodies as a means of preventing them from causing any problems while in the Fifth Maind. Thus, Lu Yin needed to speak with Arch-Elder Zen before the two Envoys could be freed.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin informed Liu Ye and Fei Hua, ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to Arch-Elder Zen, and he¡¯s willing to allow you two to be free. However, you will have to remain under observation after leaving me. You will need to stay at Mt. Microcosms, and you will only be allowed to freely roam the Fifth Maind after Arch-Elder Zen has agreed to it. He will even remove the sourcebox arrays inside you at that time.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were thrilled. ¡°The sourcebox arrays will be removed?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve both been a great help to me, and I have also gotten to know you better during this time. I have promised him that you won¡¯t cause any problems, so I hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    Liu Ye immediately replied, ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Fei Hua nced at Lu Yin. She had not expected Lu Yin to actually be the one to eventually help them. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin continued, saying, ¡°Gaia¡¯s Swamp is the Fifth Maind¡¯s most secure prison. The Second Nightking has been locked up there, and there¡¯s something I need to deal with there as well. I¡¯ll need your help during this visit, but after we leave Gaia¡¯s Swamp, both of you can make your way straight to Mt. Microcosms.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had been protecting Lu Yin ever since he had returned from the Perennial World. Lu Yin had already be ustomed to their presence and protection, and he felt saddened that he was about to lose two bodyguards.

    Oh right, there was another thing that he needed to do. He quickly got in touch with San Liang and asked about Wan Gong¡¯s progress.

    San Liang took three days to respond. ¡°Wan Gong just got back to me, and he said that they¡¯re making good progress. However, there is one final obstacle, which is that there¡¯s no material that can withstand what they require.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°What else did he say?¡±

    ¡°Just that. It looks like it¡¯s bing more and more difficult for him to call me,¡± San Liang answered in a respectful manner. Ever since he had been warned by Lu Yin, San Liang had grown far more respectful in the way he spoke towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not at all surprised by Wan Gong¡¯s situation. Microarray technology was Aurora Enterprises¡¯ most ssified project, and since the research project was close to a breakthrough and Wan Gong was a senior engineer, he would naturally be under stricter monitoring at this time.

    It would most likely be very difficult for San Liang to get in touch with Wan Gong from this point forward. Lu Yin would have to go to Aurora Fortress himself.

    They needed a special material? The bark from the Mother Tree would likely fit their needs. Was that their final obstacle? Lu Yin started to get excited.

    However, where would he acquire bark from the Mother Tree?

    That was a massive problem.

    Seven dayster, when Lu Yin arrived in zing Mist Flowzone, the Money Bombs from Astral-10 also arrived.

    Lu Yin became excited as soon as he saw 4,000 Money Bombs, and he immediately announced that he was going into seclusion.

    Lu Yin was already aware of Liu Qianjue¡¯s ns, and it was clear that the Sword Sect¡¯s master and the others wanted to get rid of Lu Yin¡¯s Envoys. Emperor Luo, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua were all within the Ross Empire, so Liu Qianjue and the others were unable to touch them even if they tried.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces had returned to zing Mist Flowzone after withdrawing from Daynight Flowzone, which shocked Liu Qianjue and the others. They had expected Lu Yin to stay in a nearby minor flowzone after pulling out of Daynight Flowzone, so they had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s forces to actually fully return to zing Mist Flowzone.

    Was the Third Nightking really going to return?

    Lu Yin found a quiet ce in the Ross Empire and took out his die. Apart from the Money Bombs, he also needed to Enhance the cube-shaped power vessel and the stellr energy pills.

    He had more than three billion star essence on him at the moment, so he was able to spend money quite freely.

    His finger touched the die, and the diended on Pilfer. A piece of a useless material fell out, and it was crushed into dust the moment he exerted any bit of force. It was probably able to withstand a Hunter¡¯s attack, but such things were useless to Lu Yin.

    He continued rolling his die, and it nextnded on Timestop. This was amon result, and Lu Yin appeared in the Timestop Space.

    Once he was in this ce, he was guaranteed to eventually roll Enhance.

 Chapter 1679: Life Force

    Chapter 1679: Life Force

    Lu Yin rolled Possession on his third attempt, and Gift Copy on the fourth. Finally, he got Enhance on his fifth try.

    The two light screens appeared, and Lu Yin started to Enhance the Money Bombs.

    The Money Bombs that he had bought from Old Cai had the attack strength of a Hunter, and Lu Yin needed to spend around 3,300 star essence per bomb to raise their power until it wasparable to a new Enlighter¡¯s. If he spent 16,000 star essence, the Money Bombs would be capable of unleashing an attackparable to that of an Enlighter with a power level of nearly 300,000.

    Given the average strength of the members of the Lu Elite Troops, Money Bombs with the strength of new Enlighters were better for them to use. If the Money Bombs wereparable to Enlighters with a power level of 300,000, the soldiers might not be able to control them.

    Lu Yin spent quite a bit of time upgrading all 4,300 Money Bombs one at a time, but the amount of star essence that he ended up using was actually negligible.

    After quite a while, Lu Yin finally finished Enhancing all of his Money Bombs, and he stored them all away in his cosmic ring. Next, he took out the cube-shaped power vessel that he had picked up in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. This power vessel could be used to trap his enemies, and he could tell that its power level alreadypared to an Envoy¡¯s just by observing its rune lines.

    A power vessel that could deal with an Envoy was probably sufficient in the Fifth Maind, but Lu Yin still felt that it was not powerful enough.

    He started to upgrade the power vessel.

    This particr power vessel wasparable to the one that he had taken from Xia Taili, and it managed to reach a power level of 700,000 after just five upgrades, which meant that it would barely be able to trap powerhouses at Cang Zhou¡¯s level. However, it would not endure if someone with Cang Zhou¡¯s strength used any battle techniques.

    He continued upgrading the power vessel.

    The aquatic nt-shaped power vessel had only been able to be upgraded five times, but the cubic power vessel could withstand more Enhancements as it was made from different materials.

    The sixth upgrade cost him nearly fifteen million star essence, and after that, the cubic power vessel no longer dropped down any more, as the materials had reached their limit.

    At this point, the power vessel might be able to keep Cang Zhou trapped even if he used a battle technique. However, Lu Yin was not absolutely confident in that estimate, as power vessels were inanimate while humans were alive.

    With that done, Lu Yin checked the rest of his various items. He saw quite a few different things that he could upgrade, such as the Skyze Stone, but Lu Yin did not dare to upgrade that any further as he was worried that it would suddenly gain a new life. He did not want to lose his cultivation shortcut.

    He also had a bit of white smoke, but Lu Yin had no idea how to use it after Enhancing it. He also had no interest in using the smoke.

    The bone that he had taken from Crown Prince Gui Qian had probablye from a Semi-Progenitor, but Lu Yin had only used it for the death energy within the bone, and he had already almostpletely absorbed it, so there was no point in upgrading it at all.

    Oh, there was also the stellr energy pill.

    Lu Yin took out the stellr energy pill. He had no idea how the Shamrock Enterprise had developed such a thing, but since it was a pill, he would definitely be able to Enhance it.

    Lu Yin tossed the pill onto the light screen and started throwing star essence at it.

    Sure enough, the stellr energy pill could be Enhanced, as it started falling down. As it did so, it looked shinier. Lu Yin felt encouraged, and he continued to throw out more star essence.

    The stellr energy pill needed nearly the same amount of star essence to be Enhanced as the cubic power vessel. This made sense, as the stellr energy pill was able to break into the true universe, which meant that its power level had to be greater than 500,000.

    Even after upgrading the pill five times, it still was able to be further Enhanced. Lu Yin studied the stellr energy pill closely.

    The feeling he got from it had changed. Shockingly, there were strands of vitality on the pill. He started to grow curious about what would happen if he continued upgrading the pill. With that in mind, he continued.

    After the sixth upgrade, the vitality on the stellr energy pill had be much more noticeable. By this point, Lu Yin had used 300 million star essence, but he still continued upgrading the pill. He wanted to see just how many times the pill could be Enhanced.

    The power vessel from the Celestial Frost Sect had had an upgrade limit of six times. Did this mean that the material used in constructing the stellr energy pills was ofparable value to what had been used for the power vessel?

    Lu Yin used nearly 600 million star essence for the seventh upgrade, but he gritted his teeth and continued. Eight upgrades altogether had cost him around one billion star essence, and the stellr energy pill had be very strange. Lu Yin actually felt like there was something watching him. It was very ufortable, and he felt like he was holding a life in his hand rather than a pill.

    He looked at the stellr energy pill and then the light screens. Should he continue Enhancing it or not?

    He found it unbelievable that the pill could still be upgraded even further. Not even the power vessel that he had taken from Xia Shenfei had been able to undergo so many upgrades. This thing was just a pill that had been mass produced; how could Shamrock Enterprise have made arge number of these pills?

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that he might have underestimated Shamrock Enterprise.

    He stored the stellr energy pill away, as he had already spent almost two billion star essence Enhancing it. It was an astronomical amount, and Lu Yin actually regretted his decision. He should not have upgraded that pill at all. He had been too rash, but he still really wanted to find out just how far the pill could be upgraded.

    His funds had suddenly decreased by more than half, and he gasped at that realization.

    He had only upgraded one stellr energy pill, and he had no idea what it was now capable of after being Enhanced. Could it only help him travel about within the true universe more efficiently? That would be a terrible loss. He absolutely needed to find a way to get his money back. The resources that he had taken from the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons had not been tallied up yet, and there were also the resources that he had taken from the Daynight n; all of that belonged to Lu Yin.

    He looked up and saw that he still had a bit of time left within the Timestop Space. After thinking about it, he had not seen Long Xi and the others in a long time, so it was time to pay them a visit.

    Lu Yin hesitated as he took out Zenith Mountain, but then he finally entered. The first person he went to speak with was Wen Diyi.

    Hope shed in Wen Diyi¡¯s eyes as soon as Lu Yin appeared. ¡°Are you satisfied by the price that the Wen family paid?¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°How manyyers of Literary Prison did you teach Wen Sansi?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Wait a bit longer. Things are good right now.¡±

    Wen Diyi asked, ¡°Then why are you here?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I keep forgetting to ask.¡± Lu Yin looked at Wen Diyi. ¡°What does Virtue Archives have that¡¯s able to encourage major powers to send their disciples?¡±

    Wen Diyi answered calmly, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t ask me this question. Aren¡¯t there other people here?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of Guo Hai before?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wen Diyi¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°He graduated from Virtue Archives and joined the All-Dao family. He¡¯s currently part of the Star Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and asked nothing more. Although this question seemed random, Wen Diyi¡¯s answer had actually changed Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Virtue Archives. The academy was involved in the outside world; otherwise, Wen Diyi would not have known that Guo Hai was a part of Star Alliance.

    The people in Star Alliance were considered criminals or enemies of the four ruling powers, and as such, the four ruling powers had concealed that group¡¯s existence from the public. When Lu Yin had been traveling to the Sword Monument with Long Kui, they had seen someone being captured to be sent to Star Alliance, but Long Kui had said almost nothing to Lu Yin about the group. Even Long Kui was reluctant to speak about such things, and yet Wen Diyi, a student from Virtue Archives, was aware of the group. Thus, Virtue Archives clearly had a solid understanding of the outside world.

    Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Virtue Archives was that it was a ce that the four ruling powers were interested in having their youths join. He believed that they had a clear understanding of the outside world, as well as multiple powerhouses among them.

    Wen Diyi frowned. He regretted answering that Guo Hai was part of Star Alliance, though he wondered what Lu Yin had been able to glean from that answer.

    After speaking with Wen Diyi, Lu Yin went to go see Liu Hao. The Liu family heir was very calm, and Lu Yin did not say much to him. Lu Yin already knew about the Liu family¡¯s stance, and he had only gone to see Liu Hao in order to not forget about him.

    After Liu Hao, Lu Yin visited Yun Tingting. She became very anxious as soon as she saw Lu Yin, and she even promised to give him the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s inheritance to buy her freedom. She was desperate to return to the Perennial World, but Lu Yin would not let her leave at the moment even though he wanted the inheritance that she was offering.

    Even if he let her go, she still would not be able to return home.

    ¡°Just wait a while more. The Perennial World will probably send someone over soon,¡± Lu Yin said. He actually expected the Perennial World to have already sent someone after him, as there was no way that the four ruling powers would allow Lu Yin to enjoy a peaceful life. He was confused about theck of pursuit, and he was constantly on guard against assassination attempts from the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin was ignorant of the fact that the four ruling powers had indeed sent someone to the Fifth Maind, but Hui Kong had chased that person back to the Perennial World.

    ¡°Why would the Perennial World send someone here?¡± Yun Tingting asked.

    Lu Yin replied casually, ¡°To start a war.¡±

    Yun Tingting was shocked. ¡°To start a war?¡±

    Lu Yin left without exining anything. He was simply preparing his captives for the future, as he knew that the people on Zenith Mountain still spoke to each other.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was shrouded in darkness like before when Lu Yin went to meet him. Lu Yin simply stated, ¡°The God of Death¡¯s Domain.¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was startled. ¡°How do you know about that?¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve heard of it before.¡± Lu Yin was actually surprised. He had not expected Crown Prince Gui Qian to know about it.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian solemnly replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to test me. I will tell you anything you want to know.¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian continued trying to convince Lu Yin while thetter looked at him with evident distrust. ¡°Our people need to cultivate with death energy, so death energy is equivalent to stellr energy for us. Since you are the creator of death energy, we are bound together.¡±

    ¡°So death energy can rece stellr energy for you?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    ¡°Yes. Both stellr energy and death energy are higher forms of the universe¡¯s energies. I remember my ancestor saying that after a power reaches the utmost limit, it is able to change the universe. This is why not everyone needs to cultivate with stellr energy, as death energy can rece it.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Rune Technology that the Rune Progenitor had created. Had runes also reced stellr energy?

    ¡°My ancestor also said that stellr energy is a power that was created by an extremely powerful individual. However, the energy was so powerful that it eventually spread throughout the entire universe. If the God of Death had been as powerful as that person, then he might have been able to spread death energy across the universe or even rece stellr energy. Still, that¡¯s nothing more than my ancestor¡¯s conjectures. I personally believe that stellr energy is something natural to the universe and that nobody can create something that is more powerful than stellr energy,¡± Crown Prince Gui Qian said.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had ever heard of such things. Even though everything sounded ridiculous, it also made sense.

    The Rune Progenitor had created Rune Technology, and everyone from that civilization had followed the Rune Progenitor and cultivated Truesight. Even though they also cultivated with stellr energy, their method of fighting waspletely different, and they were apletely different kind of cultivator. Thus, it would not be totally out of the question if death energy could also open up another path that cultivators could take.

 Chapter 1680: I Punched Him

    Chapter 1680: I Punched Him

    ¡°Death energy is as important to us as stellr energy is to normal cultivators. We would never betray the source of death energy, as doing so would harm us as well,¡± Crown Prince Gui Qian exined.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been nning this speech for a long time, huh? Did you think that I''ll let you off after hearing this?¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t care if I am able to leave. I simply wish to exin that Specter Abyss will never betray you. You are the only person capable of creating death energy, and nobody can take that away from you. Even my ancestor would need to bow to you if he saw you.¡±

    Crown Prince Gui Qian was obviously exaggerating, and only an idiot would take his words at face value. However, Lu Yin did believe that there were some people within Specter Abyss who would dly join him. One such person had been the cultivator from the Specter Abyss who had rescued Lu Yin during his escape.

    ¡°Tell me about the God of Death¡¯s Domain.¡± Lu Yin had no desire to hear Crown Prince Gui Qian babble on about his loyalty any longer.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian thought for a moment before saying, ¡°The God of Death¡¯s Domain is a myth. There are rumors iming that the God of Death left a sect behind, but others im that the domain was a result of a battle between the God of Death and his enemy and that it is merely the ce with the highest concentration of death energy. We only know some rumors about the God of Death¡¯s Domain, as we have not been able to uncover any concrete evidence of its existence.¡±

    In Xiao Shi¡¯s book, it had only been written, The God of Death¡¯s Domain brings darkness. It rises like a ck wolf of smoke to rouse the world. When the smoke wolf rises, war will begin.

    ¡°Are those the only rumors?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian answered, ¡°That¡¯s it. Specter Abyss gathers all rumors rted to the God of Death, but that¡¯s the only information that we have about the God of Death¡¯s Domain.¡±

    ¡°What about a location?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian shook his head. ¡°We haven¡¯t found anything. Rumors are just rumors, and we haven¡¯t been able to find anything.¡±

    Lu Yin left. Crown Prince Gui Qian did not even ask to leave, as he knew that Lu Yin would not keep him imprisoned forever.

    Thest person Lu Yin needed to see was Long Xi. He always felt restless when he was about to meet her.

    Long Xi opened her eyes and quietly stared at Lu Yin when he appeared before her.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°Are you doing alright here?¡±

    Long Xi answered, ¡°Yun Tingting and Wen Diyi told me that we¡¯re in the Forsaken Land.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the Fifth Maind,¡± Lu Yin corrected her.

    ¡°What happened on Dragon Mountain?¡± Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin told her about what had happened between him and the four ruling powers, though he kept the fact that his real name was Lu Xiaoxuan hidden.

    Long Xi was astonished. ¡°I never expected you to actually be able to return to the Forsaken Land.¡±

    Lu Yin felt relieved. ¡°I was lucky. If not for the fact that those monsters from Aeternus attacked the Higher Realm, as well as the Seven Skygods showing up and Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo stirring up some chaos, I would have never been able to escape.¡±

    Long Xi carefully observed Lu Yin. ¡°Why would the four ruling powers all target you? Even if they learned that you were behind Bai Shaohong¡¯s death, only the Celestial Frost Sect should have gone after you. Actually, who even exposed that you killed Bai Shaohong on Dragon Mountain? Did people from the Celestial Frost Sect actually dare to attack Dragon Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Wang Yun. She¡¯s a woman who¡¯s been to the Fifth Maind before, and we even fought each other here. She recognized me,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°She¡¯s Wang Si¡¯s granddaughter, no wonder.¡±

    She turned back to Lu Yin. ¡°So, why did youe to me? I shouldn¡¯t be of any use to you now that we aren¡¯t in the Perennial World.¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to see you.¡±

    ¡°Yun Tingting and Wen Diyi have battle techniques that are simr to some of the sects in this Forsaken Land, so they are still of use to you. However, there shouldn¡¯t be any inheritances from Dragon Mountain here,¡± Long Xi continued to say.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, there isn''t. I¡¯ll leave now.¡±

    Long Xi closed her eyes and returned to silently cultivating.

    ¡°Oh, let me ask you a question.¡± Lu Yin turned back to Long Xi. ¡°Have you heard of the Seven Heroes?¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes opened back up. ¡°Why would you ask that?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I was just curious. I met a group of people on the rear battlefront, and one of them was called Tu Qiming. He kept saying that I resembled Old Seven of the Seven Heroes.¡±

    Long Xi shot close to Lu Yin. ¡°Tu Qiming? Are you sure that his name was Tu Qiming?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°People referred to him as Young Master Tu. He¡¯s aplete thug.¡±

    Long Xi smiled happily. ¡°He¡¯s alive! Brother Tu¡¯s still alive! That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Lu Yin started to get annoyed. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Long Xi grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s arm and suddenly looked anxious. ¡°How is he? Is he alright?¡±

    Lu Yin pouted. ¡°Not really.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Long Xi asked worriedly.

    ¡°I punched him,¡± Lu Yin answered casually.

    Long Xi was stunned. ¡°What?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°That guy likes being hit by me.¡±

    Long Xi was rendered speechless, and she just stared at Lu Yin. ¡°What else did he tell you?¡±

    Lu Yin carefully watched Long Xi. ¡°Why are you so concerned about him?¡±

    He looked down at his arm.

    Long Xi immediately let go and softly replied, ¡°We knew each other long ago. He always took good care of me.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s just a thug. Why would he take care of you?¡±

    ¡°I was very young back then.¡± Long Xi had already regained herposure.

    Lu Yin turned to leave.

    Long Xi asked again, ¡°So, how is Brother Tu?¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated before answering, ¡°His innate gift was removed,1 and he¡¯s staying with the Forsaken Soldiers.¡±

    Long Xi clenched her fists and her arms started to tremble.

    ¡°In addition to Tu Qiming, there were a few other people from the Qiming family there, as well as the All-Dao family¡¯s Wan Sen,¡± Lu Yin continued.

    Long Xi was shocked. ¡°All of those people are with the Forsaken Soldiers?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes. We went through some hard times together, and I have no idea when they might be killed by those monsters from Aeternus.¡±

    Long Xi closed her eyes sadly.

    Lu Yin left. The people from the White Dragon n had a different life cycle from normal humans. Thus, even though Long Xi looked like she was the same age as Lu Yin, she had been alive during the Seven Heroes¡¯ era, which was not too long ago. It appeared that she had been very close to the Seven Heroes and Tu Qiming.

    This meant that she was also one of Lu Yin¡¯s old friends! She was someone who had supported the Seven Heroes and the Lu family.

    After leaving Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin used his remaining time to practice the Cosmic Art and recite the Stonewall Scriptures. Once his time expired, he returned to the real world, where only a second had passed.

    The Ross Empire was more technologically advanced than The Great Yu Empire, so after taking over the Ross Empire, Lu Yin had transferred Ban Jiu over so that he could review and study the new technologies avable.

    One day, Lu Yin went to meet with the Lu Elite Troops.

    Lu Yin calmly looked out at 6,432 soldiers.

    Out of these 6,432 soldiers, 4,000 were androids with the strength of an Explorer. These androids would eventually be reced, as Lu Yin wanted to have his army beposed of living cultivators.

    Of the living Explorers, Zhanlong Daynight was one of the soldiers, as he had volunteered to join the army. In addition to him, there were also some Enlighters who had volunteered, such as Ganggu Daynight, Ying Daynight, and Ye Gui. Zhuo Daynight had opted to not join.

    Instead, the army¡¯s deputymander at the moment was Ying Daynight.

    Lu Yin felt most secure with the members of the Daynight n.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much to say, and I only want to tell you all one thing.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across the army and he raised his voice. ¡°Your future enemy is far more powerful than you imagine. I simply want all of you to be stronger.¡±

    He looked over at Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen reluctantly stepped forward. ¡°The Lu Elite Troops have been personally chosen by Alliance Leader Lu of the Great Eastern Alliance¡­¡±

    Lu Yin listened quietly as Wang Wen raised the army¡¯s morale. This was not something that Wang Wen enjoyed doing, as he was better suited to encouraging soldiers right before a battle. However, since they were about to distribute the Money Bombs, they needed to give a bit of a speech as well.

    After half an hour, Wang Wen finally finished talking.

    There were a total of 4,300 Money Bombs, which was not enough for all of the soldiers. This was also why Lu Yin had no ns of distributing the weapons to the androids, but rather only to the cultivators. As for the leftovers, he intended to use them as rewards for those who showed loyalty to the Great Eastern Alliance. Anyone who contributed to the alliance would gain a chance to obtain a Money Bomb, regardless of the person¡¯s strength.

    After the army was dismissed, Wang Wen asked, ¡°Are you really going to have Ying Daynight be in charge of the army? Do you trust him?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    ¡°Ying Daynight isn¡¯t strong enough to lead this army,¡± Wang Wen continued.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough Envoys with Liu Ye and Fei Hua about to leave.¡±

    Wang Wen smiled. ¡°What about the Sea King?¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°The Sea King? Why would you consider him?¡±

    Wang Wen exined, ¡°The Sea King is very suited for leading the Lu Elite Troops. Even though his strength is inferior to Yuan Shi¡¯s, he is still a very courageous and responsible person. He¡¯s the most suitable for this position.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I also would love to get the Sea King to join us, but he¡¯s not willing to do so. Besides, now isn¡¯t a good time for him to show himself.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean for you to use him right now. You cane up with something for the time being. The Lu Elite Troops is a sword while themander is the edge of the de. If the de isn¡¯t sharp, then no matter how shiny the sword might be, it¡¯ll still be useless. Are you really banking on using these Explorers and Enlighters to defeat Envoys? That¡¯s unrealistic. The Lu Elite Troops is an army, and not all of them are powerhouses,¡± Wang Wen said.

    ¡°Oh right, didn¡¯t the Sea King want you to be his son-inw? You should give that a shot. Hai Qiqi isn¡¯t bad.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°You should give that a shot instead. You¡¯re just as annoying as her.¡±

    Wang Wen grinned. ¡°Why not? No regrets if I¡¯m the one who ends up with her.¡±

    Lu Yinughed heartily. ¡°Then let me be the first to congratte you.¡±

    Wang Wen was left speechless.

    ¡°Aside from the Lu Elite Troops, the colossal giants can also be considered an army. Andstly, I want to form a third army as well. One that consists of former enemies that canpare to the Lu Elite Troops,¡± Lu Yin suddenly said.

    Wang Wen was astounded. ¡°Another army?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Even my enemies are valuable. You can¡¯t possibly expect me to just kill the sylvan dragons or the Nightkings, so we should have them work for us instead.¡±

    Wang Wen nodded. ¡°Many people have done such things before, but we will need to make sure that we can control these soldiers.¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°We¡¯ll call this army the Redemption Army.¡±

    ¡­

    Ever since Liu Qianjue and the others had killed Long Zhu, Lu Yin had been wary of the three powerhouses. He was ignorant of when they might attack; they had already set aside their pride as the leaders of their respective forces in order to act as assassins.

    Lu Yin needed more elite guards since Liu Ye and Fei Hua would soon be leaving him.

    A few momentster, Lu Yin headed out towards Gaia¡¯s Swamp with Liu Ye and Fei Hua. They were traveling there to imprison Emperor Luo.

    [1] This is not a mistake here, but rather a correction of a mistake in Chapter 1518, where it was mentioned that Qiming Tu''s cultivation was destroyed. Previous chapters have been corrected. ?

 Chapter 1681: Flourish

    Chapter 1681: Flourish

    ¡°Imprison Emperor Luo?¡± Ling Qiu was bbergasted. She was currently on a call with Liu Qianjue, Mountain God, and Wen Zizai.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Lu Yin¡¯s headed towards Gaia¡¯s Swamp with Liu Ye and Fei Hua to imprison Emperor Luo,¡± Mountain God said.

    Ling Qiu asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Emperor Luo surrender?¡±

    Liu Qianjue replied, ¡°Lu Yin doesn¡¯t trust Emperor Luo since the Ross Empire dered war on the Great Yu Empire when he was studying in the Astral Combat Academy. That war caused great damage to the Great Yu Empire, and when the Great Eastern Alliance attacked Daynight Flowzone and the ze Realm, the Ross Empire also actively tried to stop their efforts.¡±

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he just kill Emperor Luo?¡± Ling Qiu asked.

    Wen Zizai said, ¡°Lu Yin is different from other people. He doesn¡¯t care solely about his own hatred, but also about the bigger picture. An Envoy could be very useful, so the best choice is to imprison Emperor Luo in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. It¡¯s also possible that Emperor Luo possesses something that Lu Yin needs.¡±

    ¡°Not everyone qualifies to be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Emperor Luo hasn¡¯tmitted any terrible crimes, so why would he qualify?¡± Mountain Godined.

    Wen Zizai nced over, but he did not bother answering.

    Liu Qianjue spoke up instead. ¡°This shows Lu Yin¡¯s influence within the Hall of Honor. Even though Shang Qing is the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen, he¡¯s not as powerful or as influential as Lu Yin. Lu Yin can have anyone locked up in Gaia¡¯s Swamp simply because he has the Chief Justice¡¯s bell.¡±

    Mountain God grew furious. ¡°He¡¯s gone too far! Should we do something?¡±

    ¡°Of course we should.¡± Ling Qiu hated both the Cosmic Sect and Lu Yin. She had been badly deceived, but she could do nothing to the Cosmic Sect. This meant that Lu Yin was the sole target of her frustrations. ¡°Since only Liu Ye and Fei Hua are with Lu Yin, doesn¡¯t that mean that Chen Huang is still in the Great Eastern Alliance? Where is the Envoy giant? We should go kill him.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve sent people to investigate, but they haven¡¯t found him yet,¡± Liu Qianjue answered. ¡°Also, after Long Yi¡¯s death, Lu Yin will be on guard. Since he had people hide Chen Huang¡¯s whereabouts, he might actually attack our flowzones at this time. We all need to be careful.¡±

    They looked at each other and saw the wariness in each person¡¯s eyes.

    They were the only people in the Innerverse capable of defeating Lu Yin. Thus, even though they knew that Cang Zhou was dead and that they could easily take control of Chaos Flowzone, they did not bother even looking at it as they were entirely focused on dealing with Lu Yin.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation like with the Daynight n?¡± Ling Qiu asked.

    Liu Qianjue answered, ¡°What have you uncovered?¡±

    Ling Qiu answered, ¡°Everything seems normal within the Daynight n. There is nobody from the Great Eastern Alliance monitoring the n, and there isn¡¯t even anyone from the Great Eastern Alliance in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. The Daynight n has sealed themselves off and are not epting any visitors.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the same as what we¡¯ve found. Lu Yin did nothing to the Daynight n. The people of that n hate him greatly since he¡¯s destroyed their ancestral tablet and Nightking, and it¡¯s impossible for them to be loyal to him. It looks like Lu Yin truly has no control over them and that the Great Eastern Alliance has actually left the Daynight n,¡± Mountain God said.

    Wen Zizai met Liu Qianjue¡¯s gaze, and they both nodded. ¡°That sounds right.¡±

    Liu Qianjue eximed, ¡°It looks like the Second Nightking really scared Lu Yin off, and it¡¯s also possible that the rumors of the Third Nightking returning are true. Once the Third Nightking is back, the Daynight n will regain their former glory.¡±

    ¡°Then, what should we do about the Daynight n?¡± Mountain God asked.

    Liu Qianjue spoke up, saying, ¡°The most important thing at this point in time is to force the Great Eastern Alliance out of the Innerverse. Even if the Third Nightking returns, he won¡¯t be able to do anything to us as the Hall of Honor will be keeping an eye on him. Compared to the Third Nightking, Lu Yin is a much greater threat.¡±

    ¡°We need to keep searching for Chen Huang and work to eliminate all of the Envoys around Lu Yin.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also Elder He from the Sea King¡¯s Dome. He¡¯s helped Lu Yin in the past.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t let any of them go.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see what he can do without any Envoys.¡±

    ¡°Everyone, aside from eliminating his Envoys, we also need to shut down all trade and any interactions with the Great Eastern Alliance. We need to make them the entire Innerverse¡¯s enemy. Our war has begun.¡±

    ¡­

    A spacecraft left First Flowzone and made its way towards Venom Flowzone, carrying Elder Lianxin and Li Zimo.

    ¡°Master, the Divine Venom Dynasty doesn¡¯t ever get involved in outside politics, and they didn¡¯t even participate when the Sixth Maind invaded. Will they actually help us?¡± Li Zimo asked.

    Elder Lianxin stared upwards. ¡°They¡¯re not helping us, but rather themselves. Lu Yin is too ambitious, and he¡¯s different from the Sixth Maind. The Sixth Maind is the Fifth Maind¡¯s sworn enemy, but Lu Yin is doing somethingpletely different, which means that his actions are threatening the Divine Venom Dynasty as well. As long as Qing Shaohuang is no fool, he will join us.¡±

    Li Zimo nodded and fell silent.

    The Innerverse had eight great flowzones, and once First Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, Soulseal Flowzone, Erudite Flowzone, and Venom Flowzone joined hands, they would represent more than half of the Innerverse. The Great Eastern Alliance would have a hard time dealing with such an alliance.

    This was especially true since the Venom Flowzone¡¯s poisons were very difficult to avoid.

    Li Zimo had already sent word to the Great Eastern Alliance, but he had no idea what Lu Yin¡¯s response would be.

    The Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones also joined together and cut off all trade with the Great Eastern Alliance. They even stopped all travel in an attempt to iste zing Mist Flowzone.

    Lu Yin was already aware of all of this, and it all fell within his expectations. He would deal with everything after returning from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    He was more concerned with news from the Outerverse: Master Qing Hua had officially reced Toolwielder Ancestor to be one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Four Empyreans.

    Lu Yin turned off his gadget after ncing through the news.

    Qing Hua had no interest in politics. If Madam Hong had not tried to make trouble for the man, he would have never done anything even after bing one of the Four Empyreans. However, after Madam Hong¡¯s actions, nobody knew what Qing Hua was nning.

    Lu Yin could not predict the man¡¯s actions either, but Lu Yin had simply wanted to incite chaos within the Sixth Maind by using Qing Hua. Lu Yin had no ability to influence the decisions of an Empyrean Imprinter.

    By now, Qing Hua had already followed through on what he had promised to Lu Yin by taking Man Li away and returning peace to the Neo-Vestige Sect.

    Countless bits of information were sent to Lu Yin¡¯s gadget every day, including some from En Ya. Lu Yin spent his free time browsing through all of the various reports on his gadget.

    zing Mist Flowzone was located on the eastern side of the Innerverse, so even with Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s speed, they needed ten days to reach Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp was connected to both the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea, and it was a truly unique ce.

    It only took up a small area, but nobody dared to enter it without permission. Gaia¡¯s Swamp was surrounded by a swamp that not even Explorers could pass through due to the dense death energy that surrounded the ce.

    Lu Yin studied the gray swamp that had even spread into the sky. He was stunned to discover that there was a sourcebox array in this ce.

    After thinking about it, he realized it made sense. After all, this prison held the Human Domain¡¯s most vicious criminals, so it would be normal to have a sourcebook array in ce here. However, he wondered if the array would be enough to suppress the uing prison break.

    The sourcebox array that was set up in Gaia¡¯s swamp was perpetually active. Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°I am Lu Yin, and I wish to meet with the Warden.¡±

    His voice rang out through Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    A pig sleeping in the swamp rolled over.

    ¡°I am Lu Yin, and I wish to meet with the Warden.¡± The voice echoed throughout the swamp, and many criminals opened their eyes and looked upwards.

    The pig sat up, exasperated. ¡°Who dares to disturb me? Lock him up!¡±

    ¡°I am Lu Yin, and I wish to meet with the Warden.¡± The voice rang out yet again.

    The pig finally opened his eyes. ¡°Lu Yin?¡¯

    In a corner of the prison, Ze Cu was startled. ¡°Lu Yin?¡¯

    A beautiful pair of beautiful eyes opened up within the depths of Gaia¡¯s Swamp. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin silently stood next to Liu Ye and Fei Hua just outside of Gaia¡¯s Swamp. They were also apanied by Emperor Luo, who had been tied up.

    Emperor Luo¡¯s eyes shed. He had voluntarily chosen to be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as Long Yi¡¯s death had shown Emperor Luo that Liu Qianjue would kill him the moment the opportunity arose. Instead of living in constant fear, Emperor Luo would rather be a prisoner within Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lu Yin would also not allow the man to remain imprisoned forever, as he also possessed a route into the Technocracy. This made him extremely valuable to Lu Yin. Even if Lu Yin did not personally want the information, Emperor Luo could still share it with Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s Warden, as he was certain that the Hall of Honor would be interested in the information.

    To Emperor Luo, Gaia¡¯s Swamp was not a prison, but a ce of refuge.

    There was a loud bang, and the swamp trembled. Lu Yin and the others turned around to see an enormous being emerge from the ground. Itnded atop of the swamp and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    Lu Yin blinked. He had experienced many things and seen many unique creatures throughout his life, including Gui and the corpse of the ancient centipede. He actually believed that he could no longer be shocked by any terrifying beings, but the creature before him truly astonished him once more even though he had seen the pig before when Possessing Liu Huang.

    Lu Yin could simply not imagine that a pig was capable of cultivating. Also, judging by the number of its runes, this pig was quite powerful. How could a pig cultivate?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were equally astonished. Lord Piggy had absolutely defied their expectations.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp was a dim ce that imprisoned many vicious criminals, so it was absurd to see a pink pig in such a ce.

    Lord Piggy ignored Liu Ye and Fei Hua and faced Lu Yin. He grinned in a disgusting manner. ¡°Isn¡¯t it Alliance Leader Lu? Sorry for not weing you sooner. Please enter, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    The pig raised a trotter and made a weing gesture.

    Lu Yin felt rather awkward, as he felt as though he was being invited to enter a pig sty. But without a better option, he cleared his throat and slowly entered the prison.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua nced at each other, as they also found their situation odd.

    ¡°Why are you free enough to visit the Gaia¡¯s Swamp, Alliance Leader Lu? Are you simply passing by? Or perhaps taking a break? Gaia¡¯s Swamp is flourishing at this moment, simply flourishing!¡± Lord Piggy kept talking nonstop.

    Lu Yin and the others were invited to sit on the pig as it moved into the depths of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp was surrounded by death energy, but Lord Piggy parted the death energy as it went by so that Lu Yin and the others would not feel anything.

    Lu Yin observed his surroundings. The amount of death energy in this ce made it feel veryfortable to him.

    The amount of death energy present wasparable to what he had seen beneath Aeternus Nation.

    Liu Yemented, ¡°This ce feels like Specter Abyss.¡±

    Lu Yin was intrigued. ¡°You¡¯ve been to Specter Abyss?¡±

 Chapter 1682: The Warden

    Chapter 1682: The Warden

    Liu Ye said, ¡°I went there once by ident, but I left very quickly.¡±

    ¡°He went to save me,¡± Fei Hua exined.

    Liu Ye smiled and reached out to grasp Fei Hua¡¯s hand. ¡°We survived that incident and became Envoys, so it was worth it.¡±

    Fei Hua gently smiled back at her husband.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, it¡¯s very easy to get lost in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and most Enlighters aren¡¯t able to withstand the toxic gas here. Many of our prisoners have even been killed by the toxic gas. Actually, the Hall of Honor ordered us to protect the prisoners for a certain amount of time, so they shouldn¡¯t be dead, but Sir Warden is toozy, and I¡¯m too busy to care for everyone. I hope that you won¡¯t me us, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    The toxic gas that Lord Piggy was referring to was actually death energy, but the pig did not use the term ¡°death energy.¡±

    ¡°Sir Warden just watches videos all day and doesn¡¯t care about anything. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s watching, but sometimes heughs very loudly, and he¡¯s even killed some prisoners with hisughter. A lot of the prisoners say that I¡¯m the warden while he¡¯s basically the assistant warden. What do you think, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± Lord Piggy babbled on without end, and he even tried to imply that he wanted to be the prison warden.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. It¡¯s not bad.¡±

    Lord Piggy was delighted. ¡°Right? Right? Alliance Leader Lu, you also think that I should be the warden, right?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled.

    A dark castle soon appeared in front of them. It was tens of thousands meters tall, and it took up nearly half of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Is that where Sir Warden stays?¡±

    Lord Piggy exasperatedly answered, ¡°Yes. Sir Warden is too enormous, so that¡¯s the only ce where he can stay. Alliance Leader Lu, it cost an incredible amount to build that castle, and if we had used those funds to hire guards instead, we would have been able to double our defenses. Sigh, Sir Warden is too wasteful.¡±

    Lu Yin listened quietly as Lord Piggy kept ndering the Warden. The various guards bowed as the pig and his guests passed by, and they soon entered the castle.

    Lord Piggy suddenly picked up his speed after entering the castle, and he ran straight in a certain direction.

    While the castle was enormous, itsyout was very simple. The interior had the appearance of a storage space, as there were not many rooms or facilities. Actually, there was nothing more than a path that led to the Warden.

    Lord Piggy rushed down this path, and Lu Yin saw a tremendous number of rune lines up ahead that wereparable to Cang Zhou¡¯s. As they neared the end of the path, a huge toe suddenly appeared that Lord Piggy crashed into.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua leaped down to the ground with Lu Yin and Emperor Luo. When Lord Piggy collided with the huge toe, it looked like the pig was used to doing such a thing, and Lu Yin felt that the pig had done it intentionally, likely in hopes of killing the Warden from the impact.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± A loud voice rang out, and a huge wine sk rose high.

    Lu Yin looked up to see the Warden¡¯s face, who was a colossal giant 30,000 meters tall.

    He had learned of this before arriving at Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    To be honest, he had not expected the warden of Gaia¡¯s Swamp to be a colossal giant, as Chen Huang had mentioned that the colossal giants had gone extinct. The chief of the colossal giants clearly had not known that there was actually a tribe member in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Glug glug glug.

    The Warden took a long drink of his wine.

    Lord Piggy shouted, ¡°Sir Warden, guests are here! It¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu from the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    The Warden lowered his sk and wiped his mouth before ncing down. ¡°Who¡¯s here?¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu! The honorable Alliance Leader Lu is here!¡± Lord Piggy screamed.

    The Warden nced at Lu Yin and the others, surprised. ¡°Who are these experts? Are you here to break into the prison?¡±

    ¡°Sir Warden, it¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu from the Great Eastern Alliance!¡± Lord Piggy shouted desperately.

    Lu Yin shot a sympathetic look at the pig. The creature would probably die soon if it kept on shouting like that. He was even more sure now that it had run into the Warden¡¯s toe as an act of revenge.

    The Warden knelt down and looked at the humans. ¡°Oh, Alliance Leader Lu, I remember you. You¡¯re the one who defeated Ze Cu. Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I have someone tomit to Gaia¡¯s Swamp.¡±

    The Warden took another swig from his sk. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy for someone to be condemned to Gaia¡¯s Swamp. What did you bring me?¡±

    ¡°Sir Warden, you¡¯re being too rude!¡± Lord Piggy shouted as he ran into the Warden¡¯s toe again.

    Lu Yin grinned. ¡°Do I need to bring a present in order to have a criminal imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp?¡±

    The Warden was shocked. ¡°A criminal? You¡¯re not sending someone here to be a guard? That won¡¯t do. There¡¯s only 3,000 chains here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and we don¡¯t have any free space.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Are there no empty spaces?¡±

    ¡°No, no. Just leave,¡± the Warden said in frustration while resuming drinking.

    Lord Piggy was overjoyed. He had kept quiet in hopes that Lu Yin would end up in a quarrel with the Warden, as that would increase the pig¡¯s chances of bing Warden when the overseers met. Lord Piggy already knew that Lu Yin held a lot of influence over the overseers.

    ¡°If there¡¯s no space, then just execute a prisoner,¡± Lu Yin suggested.

    The Warden smashed his sk onto the ground and red at Lu Yin. His terrifying aura swept outwards, and Lord Piggy was pushed away.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua moved in front of Lu Yin and red at the Warden.

    The Warden bellowed, ¡°Where do you think this is? No means no!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew sharp, and he locked eyes with the Warden. He took some wine out of his cosmic ring that he had prepared beforehand.

    He had previously drank with Zi Rong, Cai Jianqiang, and even Hui Kong. Many people throughout the universe loved alcohol, so Lu Yin had made it a habit to always carry some wine with him.

    ¡°Senior, have a taste of this wine from my home. You might like it.¡± Lu Yin tossed the wine over to the Warden.

    The Warden looked at the sk that floated in the air. It was a minuscule amount to the giant, and he could finish it in a single mouthful. Still, heughed. ¡°Hahahaha, Alliance Leader, you¡¯re too kind! The wine smells great, and it must taste amazing too.¡±

    He finished the wine and happily wiped his mouth.

    ¡°Oh right, what were you saying just now, Alliance Leader?¡± the Warden asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°This is Emperor Luo, the former emperor of the Ross Empire. He killed a great number of people recently, and I want him locked up here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Piggy, go find a ce for Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s guest,¡± the Warden ordered.

    Lord Piggy shook his little tail and muttered to himself reluctantly. Then, he turned to Lu Yin and smiled in an ingratiating manner. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this way, please.¡±

    The Warden smiled as he watched Lu Yin leave. What an interesting young man; he truly was the master of the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin also possessed the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, which meant that he could have just ordered the Warden to imprison Emperor Luo. However, like the Warden had said, this was Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and he made the rules in this ce. Even though all of the criminals had been judged and received prison sentences which meant that they could not be simply thrown out or killed, the Warden could actually do just that as there was no one to question his decisions.

    If Lu Yin had actually wanted to force the matter of bringing a prisoner into Gaia¡¯s Swamp, he would be grossly underestimating the ce. Still, he had done his best to test the Warden.

    ¡°Gaia¡¯s Swamp is connected to both the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea, and it¡¯s divided into two different areas. The area that¡¯s in the Innerverse houses the criminals who aren¡¯t too powerful and can be easily controlled. However, the area in the Cosmic Sea holds the scary criminals,¡± Lord Piggy exined as he led Lu Yin towards the area close to the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°So will Emperor Luo be held in the Cosmic Sea?¡±

    Lord Piggy nodded and warily answered, ¡°Emperor Luo is an Envoy, and even the prison in the Cosmic Sea has only a few Envoys. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d be held anywhere else.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared that the prisoners will cooperate and rebel?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy was shocked by such a question. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, don''t scare me like that! I¡¯ve never considered such a thing, but these chains are specially made so that even cultivators with power levels of more than a million can¡¯t break them. Everything should be fine.¡±

    ¡°Show me the section in the Innerverse,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lord Piggy felt torn. ¡°Emperor Luo isn¡¯t suited for that section.¡±

    ¡°I just want to take a look, don¡¯t worry,¡± Lu Yin answered. Since he had made it to Gaia¡¯s Swamp, releasing Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was another one of Lu Yin¡¯s goals, as he had promised that to En Ya long ago. Besides, the Great Eastern Alliance needed amander for its armed forces.

    There were the Allied Forces, the Lu Elite Troops, as well as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s reserve army. The system was aplete mess! Lu Yin did not have the time to deal with such affairs, and En Ya was too busy gathering intelligence. They needed an actual professional to oversee the military.

    Lord Piggy changed directions and started moving towards the portion of the prison thaty within the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin saw some prisoners.

    The prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp were all chained to the ground. There were no cells to be seen, and all of the prisoners were simply exposed to the swamp, allowing the death energy to surround and erode their bodies.

    Lu Yin saw many prisoners, some of whom were already dead.

    Lu Yin frowned. Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao was not a very powerful cultivator, so was it possible for him to have already died? ¡°Not many prisoners are able tost to the end of their sentence given these conditions, are they?¡±

    Lord Piggy answered, ¡°Some prisoners are given special care, like that guy up front. He¡¯s been isted from the toxic gas, though a little bit might seep in from time to time.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Some people get special treatment? Who is he?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy replied, ¡°Some madman. He removed people¡¯s brains and used their bodies to stay alive. He¡¯s just a Sentinel, but he¡¯s managed to live for more than 2,000 years. While he was active, he killed a lot of people, one of whom was the child of a senior member of the Hall of Honor. That person ordered him to be imprisoned here for 10,000 years.¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s just a Sentinel, how can he be held here for 10,000 years?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy pointed to something in front of them.

    Lu Yin turned and saw that the death energy had been isted from an area, and there was a brain sitting in the area that was clear of death energy.

    ¡°He died long ago, but his brain has been kept alive. The person from the Hall of Honor ordered us to prepare multiple scenarios with tragic endings for the prisoner¡¯s brain so that he can experience pain and suffering for 10,000 years.¡± Lord Piggy shivered. ¡°What a poor thing.¡±

    ¡°Who from the Hall of Honor ordered this punishment?¡¯¡¯ Lu Yin grew curious. Even though the man had been given a terrible punishment, such methods could only be used on normal people, as even Explorers could easily kill themselves.

    Lord Piggy nced around before softly answering, ¡°Overseer Xin Jiao.¡±

 Chapter 1683: Do You Regret It?

    Chapter 1683: Do You Regret It?

    Lu Yin eximed, ¡°Overseer Xin Jiao?¡±

    Lord Piggy made a shushing gesture with his trotter. ¡°Overseer Xin Jiao ordered this to be kept secret! I¡¯ve only told you about it, so please don¡¯t mention anything to Overseer Xin Jiao.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    They continued moving forward as Lord Piggy led the way.

    They soon encountered another prisoner who had received special treatment. The man¡¯s entire family had betrayed the Human Domain to join the Celestial Beast Empire, but he had been caught at the border warfront. As a result, he had been imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp ever since. The Hall of Honor hoped to use the man as bait to lure his family out, so the man had been imprisoned for many years now.

    Every single criminal in this prison had their own story and motivations. Some were true criminals while others had moreplex backgrounds.

    Most of the people in Gaia¡¯s Swamp had been locked up for valid reasons, including Shui Chuanxiao.

    ¡°This is Shui Chuanxiao, the formermander of the border warfront. He lost his mind and betrayed Endless Weave, resulting in the Technocracy taking control of half of the weave. He¡¯s been sentenced to 10,000 years here,¡± Lord Piggy casually mentioned.

    Shui Chuanxiao had not been isted from the death energy, and the man looked half dead. He had indeed forsaken Endless Weave, which had led to countless deaths. Regardless of his reason for his betrayal, he hadmitted an inexcusable crime.

    Lu Yin studied Shui Chuanxiao and discovered that the man¡¯s runes still showed the strength of a Cruiser, which meant that he would not die anytime soon. Despite the excessive concentration of death energy present, it seemed to have been processed as it was not as concentrated as the death energy throughout the rest of the swamp. Otherwise, all of the prisoners would have already been transformed like the humans that Lu Yin had seen in Aeternus Nation.

    This was something that Lu Yin was quite curious about. ¡°These chains have another function apart from simply being sturdy, don¡¯t they?¡±

    Lord Piggy eximed, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re very sharp! These chains are a part of a sourcebox array and are able to filter the toxic gas so that it¡¯s less concentrated.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s finger twitched, and he slowly looked up. He opened his eyes and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Grand Marshal Shui, it¡¯s been a long time,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lord Piggy felt shocked; did Lu Yin know Shui Chuanxiao?

    Shui Chuanxiao hoarsely answered, ¡°I never expected to see you again.¡±

    ¡°You took good care of me at the border warfront in Erudite Flowzone. I never had the chance to thank you,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Shui Chuanxiao hung his head. ¡°The army has a system. I didn¡¯t take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Do you regret it, Marshal?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy anxiously interrupted, ¡°Alliance Leader, the rules state that you¡¯re not supposed to talk to the prisoners!¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao smirked. ¡°Regret? If the Human Domain never obtained a unifiedwork, would it have even remained intact?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. When Shui Chuanxiao had forsaken Endless Weave, thework had not been unified throughout the Human Domain, and the proposal to create a universalwork had only been approved after Shui Chuanxiao lost Endless Weave. Because of that loss, when Ironblood Weave was invaded, the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves had been able to immediately respond. Simrly, the Outerverse had also been able to react quickly when the Sixth Maind invaded, and both responses were entirely due to the universalwork connecting everything together.

    If not for the universalwork, would the Human Domain still be the Human Domain right now?

    Shui Chuanxiao had contributed greatly to the survival of the Human Domain, but he had also done so by betraying Endless Weave. This was a crime that he would never be able to atone for, as human lives could not be priced.

    The Sea King had opened the Upper Three Gates in order to let the Fifth Maind have the possibility of giving birth to Progenitors once more. He had never regretted his actions despite directly inciting the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    Shui Chuanxiao and the Sea King were quite simr to each other, and Lu Yin shared the same mindset as them. Who cared if there was going to be a civil war? Would he just allow the four ruling powers to kill him? Would he simply allow the Lu family to remain in exile and be destroyed? That was impossible. Lu Yin did not regret triggering a civil war, and he was also willing to bear the consequences of his choices rather than denying his desires.

    He was was also certain that he needed Shui Chuanxiao to deal with Aeternus¡¯s ns.

    Lu Yin walked away with a mysterious smile on his face.

    Shui Chuanxiao bent his head and closed his eyes as he continued to endure his confinement in the darkness of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Half a dayter, they finished touring the Innerverse region of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    The area of the prison thaty in the Cosmic Sea held fewer prisoners, but all of the prisoners in this smaller region were far more powerful.

    The first prisoner that Lu Yin saw was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000. However, the man¡¯s power level had diminished to less than 100,000, showing that he had been incarcerated for a very long time.

    ¡°This man is a deserter from the border warfront, and his desertion caused us to lose a battle. His sentence is 3,000 years of confinement,¡± Lord Piggy spat disdainfully.

    Lu Yin nodded, and they continued walking.

    Lord Piggy introduced many prisoners to Lu Yin; one left a strong impression on Lu Yin as they had tried to break into Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lord Piggy showed tant outrage when seeing that prisoner. ¡°A thousand years ago, an overseer came to observe Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and this person apanied the overseer. He then tried to rescue a prisoner, but fortunately the War- No, I discovered his n. If not, he would have seeded. The overseer was in Gaia¡¯s Swamp at that time, so we would have been utterly humiliated if he had seeded.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t the chains able to withstand an attack with a power level of a million? How could he have possibly seeded?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy muttered, ¡°He wasn¡¯t able to break the chains, but that was the final step of his n.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless; how was that considered a near sess? He had thought that the prisoner¡¯s chains had been broken.

    Since it was so hard to break these chains, then why was the person who was nning the prison break so confident of sess? Lu Yin was growing curious.

    The chains were different lengths for each prisoner. The stronger the prisoner, the deeper within Gaia¡¯s Swamp they had been ced.

    Just a few momentster, Lu Yin saw a prisoner who was calmly looking at him. His surroundings werepletely clear of death energy, and his clothes were even clean. In no way did he look like a prisoner. If not for the fact that the man was chained up, Lu Yin would have thought that the man was a guard.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy answered, ¡°He¡¯s someone special: he¡¯s Assistant Warden Master Cha¡¯s father.¡±

    ¡°The assistant warden¡¯s father?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    Lord Piggy refused to borate any further. ¡°Alliance Leader, where would you like to ce Emperor Luo? There are a few locations up ahead, but there aren¡¯t many down below. Moreover, if any future prisoners are sent here, like the Second Nightking, they¡¯ll have to be locked up down below.¡±

    ¡°Take me to the Second Nightking,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lord Piggy¡¯s ears perked up, and he spoke with clear terror, ¡°The Second Nightking? You want to see him? That¡¯s not easy to do, as he¡¯s difficult to deal with since he was just imprisoned. He hasn¡¯t been affected by the toxic gas yet, so I¡¯m worried that there might be an incident.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry, Sir Chief Justice badly injured the Second Nightking, so he¡¯s actually quite weak right now,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lord Piggy reluctantly agreed, ¡°Fine.¡±

    With that, he headed underground.

    Lu Yin asked Lord Piggy to stop before they started moving. ¡°Are there still other prisoners up here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, one more person. The battle technique that he learned was too evil, so he ended up being imprisoned here. He¡¯s quite powerful, as he¡¯s only been here for a few hundred years,¡± Lord Piggy exined.

    ¡°Let me go take a look.¡± Lu Yin headed over. He wanted to observe all of the prisoners near Liu Huang, as the mastermind behind the prison break was definitely one of these people.

    Lord Piggy led the way and parted the swamp¡¯s miasma for Lu Yin. Lu Yin soon saw a pale prisoner chained up. The person did not have many runes, and he seemed to have the strength of an Enlighter.

    The prisoner suddenly opened his eyes and looked up at Lu Yin. Lu Yin felt that this gaze felt very familiar.

    Surprise also shed through the prisoner¡¯s eyes when he saw Lu Yin. He then closed his eyes andpletely stopped looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the prisoner. This person¡¯s eyes felt very familiar, and Lu Yin was utterly certain he had seen them before.

    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Can,¡± Lord Piggy answered. ¡°What an annoying name.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been here for a few hundred years?¡± Lu Yin was quite curious.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why was he sent here?¡±

    Lord Piggy answered easily, ¡°He practiced an evil battle technique that¡¯s rted to spiritual force, and he killed many people.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to Can. ¡°Have you seen me before?¡±

    Can said nothing.

    Lord Piggy softly spoke up, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, he¡¯s been here for a few hundred years, and given the fact that you¡¯re so young, it¡¯s impossible for him to have seen you before just now.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. This person¡¯s gaze felt far too familiar, which meant that Lu Yin must have seen it multiple times in the past. Despite that, Lu Yin could not remember anything. Also, it had not been recent, so when had they met?

    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Yin,¡± Lu Yin continued to say.

    Can continued ignoring him.

    Lord Piggy gave Lu Yin a strange nce. The alliance leader was acting quite weird. This prisoner had been imprisoned here for a few hundred years, so how could he have seen the Alliance Leader before? Oh, during ZENITH, Sir Warden had allowed the prisoners to watch the broadcast with him, so Can might have seen Lu Yin at that time.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, should we go?¡± Lord Piggy asked.

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Lord Piggy swished his tail and led Lu Yin towards the Second Nightking.

    They soon reached the lowest level of Gaia¡¯s Swamp, which was where the Second Nightking was being held. As an expert with a power level of more than a million who wasparable to Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking was one of the strongest people in the entire Fifth Maind, so he would naturally be imprisoned on the lowest level.

    The person next to the Second Nightking was Liu Huang.

    ¡°Is there someone else down here? He must be a true powerhouse to be locked up next to the Second Nightking,¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Lord Piggy answered, ¡°He¡¯s not bad, not bad.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. He already knew who the other person was. Although Liu Huang had never been as powerful as the Second Nightking, the swordsman had still attained a power level of a million at his peak. Even the Sword Sect had been ignorant of Liu Huang¡¯s peak strength, as the man had been imprisoned within Gaia¡¯s Swamp by the Hall of Honor in an effort to preserve the Fifth Maind¡¯s bnce.

    Despite being imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp and suffering from the death energy¡¯s corrosion, Liu Huang had still managed to create the Fourteenth Sword that he had named Misery. This was a truly impressive aplishment that amply showed his incredible talent.

 Chapter 1684: Take Effect

    Chapter 1684: Take Effect

    Liu Huang¡¯s power level might not have been equal to the Second Nightking¡¯s, as he was much younger than the ancient powerhouse, but Liu Huang was definitely more important than the Second Nightking. He was someone who could never be allowed to escape from Gaia¡¯s Swamp as his mere existence was proof of the Hall of Honor¡¯s dark side.

    ck clouds of death energy floated past the Second Nightking. His limbs were chained up, and the chains extended deep into the ground.

    He had only recently been imprisoned, and his eyes were still filled with anger and resentment.

    He had spent countless years cultivating within the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Not many people were capable of continuously extending their lifespan like he had with the Celestial Frost Pond¡¯s water. He was even more powerful than the First Nightking, and the Second Nightking had been confident that he could carry the Daynight n to even greater heights than ever before. However, he had instead witnessed the defeat of his Daynight n. Upon his return, he had seen the ruined ancestral tablet and the destroyed Nightking. Then, he had been sent to Gaia¡¯s Swamp before he could even get his revenge. Even his enemy, Lu Yin, pitied the Second Nightking.

    However, the man still had not given up, and he was simply waiting for an opportunity. This tiny Gaia¡¯s Swamp could never contain him.

    Lord Piggy arrived.

    The Second Nightking opened his eyes and saw Lord Piggy, which caused him to frown. Ever since he had been locked up, this pig had stopped by daily to keep an eye on the Second Nightking. Once the pig had realized that the Second Nightking had been absorbing stellr energy, he had used a sourcebox array and caused the true universe to forcefully remove the man¡¯s stellr energy.

    If the Second Nightking ever managed to escape from Gaia¡¯s Swamp, he would definitely kill the pig.

    Hmm? There¡¯s someone on the pig¡¯s back?

    The Second Nightking looked up, and his eyes instantly grew cold. ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    Lord Piggy cautiously approached the Second Nightking, but he stopped a thousand meters away before fearfully saying, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, the Second Nightking is too powerful, and he also excels at using spiritual force, so I don¡¯t dare get close. Is it ok if I stay here?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s voice rang out, oozing hatred. ¡°Lu Yin, Lu Yin-¡±

    Lu Yin picked at his ears. ¡°I heard you, Senior. How¡¯s Gaia¡¯s Swamp?¡±

    The Second Nightking hated the Hall of Honor, the people from the Neoverse who had killed the First Nightking, the Chief Justice who had sent him to Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and also Lu Yin. No, to be exact, he hated Lu Yin more than anyone else! Lu Yin had destroyed the Daynight n and exposed the existence of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. If not for this youth, the Second Nightking could have continued training until he reached a level where he no longer needed to be afraid of the Chief Justice, or until he had be a Semi-Progenitor!

    If not for Lu Yin, none of this would have urred. On top of everything, Lu Yin had even deceived the Second Nightking, and the man wished desperately to kill Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking tried to escape from his chains, but his efforts only caused the chains to give off loud nging sounds. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp as he saw a tremendous number of runes surge towards him. The Second Nightking had attacked with spiritual force.

    The Chief Justice had destroyed the Second Nightking¡¯s stellr energy vortex, which had drastically decreased the man¡¯s strength, but it was impossible to remove the man¡¯s spiritual force. The Daynight n had always been peerless when it came to spiritual force battle techniques.

    Still, they were in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and there were sourcebox arrays everywhere. Since the Second Nightking had already been heavily wounded by the Chief Justice, he was incapable of unleashing his spiritual force¡¯s full power, and Lu Yin managed to easily block the attack with an Inception Array.

    Lord Piggy retreated the instant the Second Nightking unleashed his spiritual force attack. Goosebumps covered the pig¡¯s entire body. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Alliance Leader Lu! This is too dangerous!¡±

    The chains binding the Second Nightking kept nging, and they alerted Liu Huang, Can, and the other prisoners in the area. Soon, all of Gaia¡¯s Swamp was roused.

    The Warden took another swig of wine, but then turned around and resumed sleeping.

    A woman looked towards the prison curiously. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    The guards in Gaia¡¯s Swamp solemnly moved out to keep an eye on the various prisoners.

    Lu Yin leapt off of Lord Piggy¡¯s back, but he did not ask for protection from Liu Ye or Fei Hua. Instead, he started slowly approaching the Second Nightking while reciting the Stonewall Scriptures.

    Lord Piggy tried to stop him, but Lu Yin just waved a hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just meeting an old friend, so there¡¯s no need to worry.¡±

    Lord Piggy nervously red at the Second Nightking. He was very worried, as Lu Yin could not be allowed to die at this time and ce. Lu Yin was someone who could decide the pig¡¯s future, so the youth absolutely had to stay alive. On top of that, Lord Piggy had been the one to lead Lu Yin to the Second Nightking, so he would absolutely be in deep trouble if Lu Yin died.

    Why had the Warden not been the one to lead Lu Yin through the prison? If that had happened, then Lord Piggy would have hoped for the Second Nightking to kill Lu Yin, as that would create trouble for the Warden and give Lord Piggy a chance to be the Warden!

    Lu Yin stopped 500 meters away from the Second Nightking. Despite the injuries that the Second Nightking had suffered from the Chief Justice and the sourcebox array, Lu Yin was not able to move any closer without risking being injured himself.

    ¡°Come here, Lu Yin! Come here!¡± the Second Nightking bellowed. He struggled against his chains as a figure suddenly appeared behind him and shed out at Lu Yin. It was Skybreaker.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Do you not want the Daynight n to survive?¡±

    The Second Nightking stopped the Skybreaker and shot a vicious re at Lu Yin. ¡°What about the Daynight n? What have you done to them?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually drag down your own n members,¡± Lu Yin sneered.

    The Second Nightking did care about the other members of his n, but not to the degree of sacrificing himself, as he was a selfish person. Still, he would not be able to kill Lu Yin even if the Second Nightking possessed his full strength, which meant that such attempts were meaningless.

    ¡°What did you do? You were the one to summon the Chief Justice, weren¡¯t you?¡± the Second Nightking roared.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°You overestimate me. How could I summon the Chief Justice?¡¯

    ¡°Why are you here? What did you do to the Daynight n? Are any Nightkings still alive?¡± the Second Nightking asked.

    Lu Yin smiled and activated the Sealed Cage Technique. ¡°Just feel for yourself.¡±

    The Second Nightking frowned and started carefully studying Lu Yin.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp returned to silence.

    Lord Piggy stared at Lu Yin in confusion; why was no one moving?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua nced at each other, as they both were wondering what Lu Yin was about to do.

    Emperor Luo was still tied up and had been left on Lord Piggy¡¯s back. He had not said a single word this entire time.

    Finally, after quite a while, the Second Nightking asked, ¡°Lu Yin, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. The Second Nightking was too powerful, which made it very difficult for Lu Yin to control him with the Sealed Cage Technique.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at the Second Nightking. The man¡¯s wounds were not terrible enough¡­ Lu Yin would probably only be able to control the man if his injuries were worse.

    Lu Yin shrouded his body with his golden battle force and used a Vacuum Palm against the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s body trembled, but he was not wounded badly at all. He yelled, ¡°Boy, you¡¯re trying to get revenge against me!¡±

    Lord Piggy gaped from a distance. ¡°Alliance- Alliance Leader Lu, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡±

    The Second Nightking had already been heavily injured, and he was also a prisoner of Gaia¡¯s Swamp; had Lu Yin simplye to get revenge on the man?

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua also felt that Lu Yin¡¯s actions were strange.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. The Second Nightking was indeed badly wounded, but he was still a powerhouseparable to Elder Jiu Shen. Even if the man had not focused on training his physical body, he was still very powerful as his physical strength would naturally increase with every stellr tribtion that he passed. Lu Yin was unable to break through the man¡¯s defenses, and he would actually need some sort of tool or weapon to inflict serious injuries upon the man.

    What item could help Lu Yin injure the Second Nightking? He had nothing that would work.

    ¡°Liu Ye and Fei Hua, you two go beat him,¡± Lu Yin said coldly.

    The Second Nightking growled as he struggled, ¡°Boy, you¡¯re just insulting me! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Lord Piggy also felt bad about what was happening. ¡°Alliance Leader, there¡¯s no need for this.¡±

    Liu Ye frowned. ¡°Mr Lu, this-¡±

    His pride would not allow him to attack someone incapable of defending themselves, not to mention such a person who was also already heavily injured.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°This is why I asked you toe with me to Gaia¡¯s Swamp with me. Did you think that we were just taking a pleasure trip?¡±

    ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s just do it,¡± Fei Hua said without any hesitation.

    Liu Ye sighed, and the two moved forward and attacked.

    Things turned out very differently with Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s attacks. Although the two were not nearly as powerful as the Second Nightking, they were still able to injure him, though only slightly. Lu Yin also joined in with his Vacuum Palm.

    Lord Piggy felt repulsed. This Lu Yin was too vicious! The Second Nightking had already been left in such bad condition, but Lu Yin had stille here to get revenge. The pig decided that he would never offend Lu Yin in the future, as this person was clearly too petty.

    Lord Piggy reflexively retreated, as he did not want to be involved in any way.

    The Second Nightking gritted his teeth and red at Lu Yin. ¡°Boy, if I manage to escape from this ce, I¡¯ll peel your skin off and hang it on Nightking for 10,000 years!¡±

    Lu Yin ignored the man and just continuedunching Vacuum Palms. He was also using the Sealed Cage Technique at the same time, attempting to control the Second Nightking.

    The three were only able to cause the Second Nightking minor injuries, but after an hour, Lu Yin¡¯s Sealed Cage Technique finally took hold. The Second Nightking¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he felt chills run down his spine. Terror overcame his mind. What¡¯s happening? Is this the feeling of the Sealed Cage Technique?

    The man¡¯s eyes flickered, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin inplete disbelief. Lu Yin¡¯s presence had suddenly be overwhelming to the Second Nightking because this youth was able to decide his life or death. The hatred that the Second Nightking held towards Lu Yin did not diminish in the least, but he suddenly lost the courage to go against the youth.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Lu Yin ordered. He waved a hand and asked Liu Ye and Fei Hua to step back.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua sighed in relief. They did not feel like they had aplished anything at all, as they had only managed to inflict minor injuries on the Second Nightking. So, they both felt relief when Lu Yin asked them to pull back.

    Lu Yin met the Second Nightking¡¯s eyes and smirked at the man. ¡°How is it?¡±

    The Second Nightking felt incredibly bitter. He finally understood why Lu Yin hadunched all those weak attacks; it had all been so that he could establish control over him with the Sealed Cage Technique. The ancient powerhouse¡¯s eyes were filled with hatred and shock. ¡°Why- why do you know the Sealed Cage Technique?¡±

    Lu Yin silenced the man. ¡°Stop talking, or else you¡¯ll die.¡±

    The Second Nightking gritted his teeth as he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Why?¡±

 Chapter 1685: No Misery

    Chapter 1685: No Misery

    Lu Yin felt relieved, as the Second Nightking was finally under his control. This was a powerhouse who stood on the same level as Elder Jiu Shen! ¡°There were descendants of the Bai family in Daynight Flowzone, and they led me to the bottom of the Celestial Frost Pond. I saw the treasury there, opened the door, and found the Sealed Cage Technique.¡±

    The Second Nightking clenched his fists so tightly that blood dripped from his palms and stained his chains red.

    He had spent countless years cultivating in the Celestial Frost Pond, and he had also tried to open the treasury. Despite all of his attempts, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s treasury was something that not even a Semi-Progenitor could forcefully open without destroying everything within. As for the Second Nightking, he had never possessed enough power to destroy the treasury.

    He knew that there had been an inheritance in the treasury, but he had never expected the Sealed Cage Technique to be part of it.

    Those idiots had not even managed topletely eliminate all the Bai family¡¯s descendants! Idiots, idiots!

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°I already know what you¡¯re thinking, but you really me your n members for the fact that you didn¡¯t handle things cleanly.¡±

    The Second Nightking paused. He suddenly thought of something, and his expressionpletely changed. ¡°That woman?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Yes, that woman.¡±

    The Second Nightking coughed up blood. The anger and resentment that bloomed in his heart aggravated his existing injuries. It had been that woman! The woman whom he had seen when he had opened his eyes inside the Celestial Frost Pond! At that time, he had held back, as he had wanted to understand what was happening. That was why he had merely stunned the woman instead of outright killing her. He had never thought that she would be a descendant of the Bai family.

    The Second Nightking was beyond furious.

    His chains kept trembling, as the Second Nightking¡¯s resentment had nearly solidified.

    Lu Yin spoke in a calm tone, ¡°Alright, what¡¯s past is past, and you can¡¯t change it anymore. Now, do you know what¡¯s happened to the Daynight n?¡¯

    It was obvious that since Lu Yin possessed the Sealed Cage Technique, the members of the Daynight n would not have been killed but rather fallen under Lu Yin¡¯s control.

    The Second Nightking bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! I will never listen to you!¡±

    Lu Yin stared intently at the Second Nightking. ¡°So you¡¯d rather die here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp? In this moldy prison? You would rather have your Daynight n be without a leader and vanish into history? You¡¯re willing to watch the people who killed the First Nightking continue on with their happy little lives? You¡¯re willing to leave the Third Nightking trapped forever in the Profound Void Realm?¡±

    The Second Nightking felt genuinely shocked. ¡°The Third Nightking¡¯s in the Profound Void Realm?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°The Third Nightking was as fortunate as you. He¡¯s still alive, probably in cryostasis, and he¡¯s trapped in the Void Wanderer¡¯s Profound Void Realm. I¡¯m absolutely certain of the veracity of this information, but if you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask the other Nightkings.¡±

    The Second Nightking was ecstatic, as it was great news to learn that the Third Nightking was still alive.

    ¡°Although the Third Nightking is still alive, he¡¯ll never be able to escape without someone rescuing him. Given his strength, even if he¡¯s been in cryostasis this entire time, he still can¡¯t live forever. You extended your life by using the water in the Celestial Frost Pond, but what about him? The longer he stays in cryostasis for, the weaker he¡¯ll be until he eventually dies,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Second Nightking lowered his head as he struggled with the information that he had just received.

    Lu Yin sighed; he had seeded. The Second Nightking¡¯s pride would not allow him to remain under someone else¡¯s control, but the man also would not allow himself to die just yet, as he wanted to rescue the Third Nightking and save the Daynight n.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt like he wanted to meet the Third Nightking.

    From the time since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, the Third Nightking had been of great help to him. Without the Third Nightking, Lu Yin would have long since been killed by someone from the Daynight n. On top of that, the Third Nightking had just helped Lu Yin gain a bodyguard in the form of the Second Nightking. The Third Nightking had been Lu Yin¡¯s best assistant so far, and Lu Yin decided that he would try to rescue the man if the opportunity ever arose, as the Third Nightking was clearly Lu Yin¡¯s lucky star.

    Unsurprisingly, the Second Nightking finally surrendered. He did not want to spend the rest of his days in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as the Daynight n would struggle badly without him. The Third Nightking would also eventually die if nothing changed, so the motivations that Lu Yin had provided worked perfectly.

    Lu Yin had blocked off his conversation with the Second Nightking, so Lord Piggy, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua had all been unable to hear a thing.

    When Lu Yin turned to leave, the Second Nightking closed his eyes. He had no idea how Lu Yin nned to take him away, given the fact that the Second Nightking had been condemned to Gaia¡¯s Swamp by the Chief Justice himself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Yin said as he jumped up onto Lord Piggy¡¯s back.

    Lord Piggy wagged his tail. ¡°Alright, Alliance Leader Lu. Have you chosen a ce for Emperor Luo?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°There¡¯s someone else I want to meet.¡±

    ¡°Someone else?¡± Lord Piggy asked.

    Lu Yin pointed towards Liu Huang.

    Lord Piggy¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, that¡¯s not very convenient.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m just curious about who could be imprisoned next to the Second Nightking,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Lord Piggy hesitated, but he eventually led Lu Yin over to Liu Huang. The primary reason for this was that Liu Huang had been imprisoned for so long that Lord Piggy was not concerned that Lu Yin would recognize the man. Actually, not even the sect master of the Sword Sect might necessarily be able to recognize Liu Huang, as they were from different generations.

    Lord Piggy had assumed that Lu Yin would just take a look at Liu Huang as he had with Can and others. The pig had not expected Lu Yin to approach the prisoner.

    Lord Piggy was just about to stop Lu Yin, but held his tongue after being red at by Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, be careful. This man might be even more dangerous than the Second Nightking.¡±

    ¡°Does he also know spiritual force battle techniques?¡± Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    Lord Piggy answered, ¡°No, but-¡±

    He had just wanted to scare Lu Yin, as he was worried that Liu Huang might say the wrong thing.

    Unlike many other prisoners, Liu Huang was generally quite obedient and did not make any trouble or attack any of the guards, which was in direct contrast to the Second Nightking, who was very aggressive.

    Lu Yin slowly moved closer to Liu Huang.

    Liu Huang¡¯s head stayed down.

    Lu Yin stopped 500 meters away from Liu Huang, and Lord Piggy whispered, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, be careful! Don¡¯t get too close!¡±

    Lu Yin found this quite funny. After all, how could he Possess Liu Huang if he did not get close? He continued moving forward.

    Lord Piggy anxiously tried to stop Lu Yin, but he continued moving towards Liu Huang.

    Liu Huang¡¯s head remained bent until Lu Yin was only ten meters away from the man.

    Lord Piggy immediately moved over to Lu Yin, eager to take him away. The pig would end up in deep trouble if Liu Huang mentioned who he was to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced at Lord Piggy. ¡°No need to be so worried. I''m just taking a look.¡±

    Lord Piggy was about to cry, and he turned to Liu Huang. ¡°Hey, pick up your head for the alliance leader to take a look! Thanks for your cooperation.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and moved further forward.

    Liu Huang¡¯s fingers twitched, but he slowly raised his head.

    Lu Yin stopped just six meters away from the man.

    Liu Huang¡¯s gaze was able to make anyone who saw it feel miserable.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua reflexively stepped back when they met the man¡¯s gaze. His eyes reminded them of their near-death experience in Specter Abyss and other dire trials that they had survived. Emotions welled up in their hearts, and they felt like vomiting blood.

    Puff!

    Fei Hua spat out blood, and Liu Ye moved in front of her and bellowed, ¡°Mr. Lu, don¡¯t look at the man!¡±

    Lord Piggy wanted to shield Lu Yin from the prisoner, but the creature was toorge. Lu Yin was only standing six meters away from Liu Huang while Lord Piggy was more than ten meters wide. Thus, the pig could only try to drag Lu Yin backwards.

    Lu Yin did not move, and he continued staring straight at Liu Huang.

    In fact, Lu Yin showed no reaction at all.

    Liu Huang was astonished. ¡°Do you¡­ have no hatred?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Hatred? Of course he did. Nobody lived a perpetually happy life, but Lu Yin had already Possessed Liu Huang in the past, and that had allowed him to experience the Fourteenth Sword. This was why Lu Yin knew how to deal with the technique. He stayed silent and simply took another step forward.

    Lord Piggy could not endure the situation any longer, and he bit Lu Yin¡¯s shirt to drag him back.

    However, Lord Piggy found that it was impossible to do so, and he was instead pulled forward by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin made it within five meters of Liu Huang, and he Possessed the man again.

    Liu Huang entered a daze. He had been imprisoned for far too long, making him much weaker than before, which was how Lu Yin was able to Possess the man.

    Lu Yin suddenly gained ess to Liu Huang¡¯s memories.

    At this moment, the chains binding Liu Huang began to vibrate. All 3,000 chains throughout Gaia¡¯s Swamp trembled at the same time.

    The Warden just turned around yet again; this was none of his business.

    Lord Piggy was startled, as this meant that Master Cha had activated the sourcebox array.

    Lord Piggy pulled Lu Yin back and worriedly said, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, Master Cha got angry! Let¡¯s go! There¡¯s nothing to see.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at Liu Huang. ¡°Alright.¡±

    He got back on Lord Piggy¡¯s back, and they headed back to the castle.

    Liu Huang felt confused as he watched Lu Yin leave. What was that feeling just now? That young man looked like the champion from ZENITH.

    Why did that young man possess no hatred? Was his Fourteenth Sword still iplete? Could it be wed? If a young man was able to ignore it so easily, then how could it be considered the Fourteenth Sword?

    Lu Yin closed his eyes as he sat on Lord Piggy¡¯s back so that nobody could see the surprise filling his eyes.

    After Possessing Liu Huang, Lu Yin had learned the identity of the leader of the prison break: Can. Lu Yin did not feel surprised by that, as all 3,000 prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp were potential suspects. What surprised him was the means ofmunication that Can had used to organize the prison break; he was using globes of spiritual force.

    Lu Yin had never expected to see globes of spiritual force in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Liuying Zishan had once been controlled by an orb of spiritual force, and Can was using the same method to contact Liu Huang to organize a prison break. This was how Can had been able to n anything at all. If these light balls of spiritual force were the same as what had controlled Liuying Zishan, then Can most likely had the ability to control the guards, and possibly even the Assistant Warden, which would allow the prisoners to escape from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Can had been imprisoned for many years, so could the orb of spiritual force that had controlled Liuying Zishan have any connection to the man? Lu Yin had initially assumed that Undying Yushan was the person controlling Liuying Zishan. Then, he suddenly remembered something else: that familiar gaze was Undying Yushan¡¯s!

    The familiar eyes that Lu Yin had seen in Can were the same as Undying Yushan¡¯s.

    Lu Yin becamepletely confident that Can was Undying Yushan. When he had asked the Starsibyl Sect to perform a divination on Undying Yushan, runes had shot out in various directions. It was impossible for Undying Yushan to possess so many clones, so Lu Yin guessed that the runes were actually the locations of globes of spiritual force. If that was true, then how was Can connected to Undying Yushan? Was it possible that he was one of the many ¡°Undying Yushans?¡±

    OMA''s Thoughts

 Chapter 1686: Send You Off

    Chapter 1686: Send You Off

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide, and he looked down at the ground. He had seen Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation while Possessing a corpse king, so Gaia¡¯s Swamp was the second ce where Lu Yin had seen the man after his death. If this Can person was truly connected to Undying Yushan, then Lu Yin finally had a lead on the mysterious man.

    He would have to eventually remove this particr thorn in his side.

    Once they were inside the massive castle, Lord Piggy ran straight for the Warden¡¯s toe. Lu Yin and the others leaped off the pig¡¯s back just before the creature smashed into the toe.

    ¡°Did you find a ce?¡± the Warden bent low to look at Lu Yin.

    Lord Piggy had flipped over after crashing and was trying to catch his breath.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Warden. ¡°Senior, could we speak in private?¡±

    Lord Piggy¡¯s ears perked up. A private chat? That did not sound good. He immediately spoke up, saying, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m willing to stay and listen to your orders.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Lord Piggy opened his mouth, and his tail flicked downwards.

    ¡°What do you want to chat about, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± the Warden asked.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°I haven¡¯t enjoyed a drink in a long time. I¡¯d like to have a drink with you, Senior.¡±

    The Warden paused before letting out a heartyugh. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s been a long time since anyone¡¯s drank with me. Since you¡¯re interested, I¡¯ll definitely join you, hahahaha.¡±

    ¡°I want a drink too,¡± Lord Piggy muttered, only to be shoved away by the Warden.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua took Emperor Luo away with them so that only Lu Yin and the Warden were left in the room.

    The ground shook as a massive sknded next to Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader, have a taste of my people¡¯s wine.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Drinking with a 30,000 meter tall giant was not an enjoyable experience, as Lu Yin had to dodge gigantic drops that fell from the sky. Despite each droplet being a normal size to a colossal giant, they were like waterfalls to Lu Yin.

    The wine that the colossal giants made was very strong, dry, and rather bitter in taste. It suited the colossal giants quite well.

    Crash!

    A sk struck the ground again, and the Warden let out a sigh. His breath created a cloud that enveloped the castle. ¡°So many years have passed with nobody to chat with me in this forsaken ce.¡±

    ¡°I heard that you enjoy watching videos, right?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Warden smiled. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve got nothing better to do, so I do like watching videos. I also get the guards and prisoners to watch with me since they¡¯re bored too. This ce is so dim, and nobody would voluntarily live here. Your fights during ZENITH were quite interesting.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Lu Yin smiled. He swept out a hand and drank more wine. It was a very strong and dry drink that was extremely robust. There was no trace of gentleness to it at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s not very tasty, huh? Hahahaha, most people don¡¯t care for our wine, but human wine is too weak and tasteless.¡± He took another drink and wiped his mouth. ¡°Can the giants who follow you brew wine?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°They¡¯re not real colossal giants. I managed to help them remove some of their weakened bloodline¡¯s restrictions with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, which was how they managed to transform.¡±

    The Warden was shocked by this revtion. ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood? You had some too?¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°You have some as well, Senior?¡±

    The Warden grinned. ¡°The colossal giants almost went extinct during the ancient war. No, they actually did go extinct. I haven¡¯t seen any of my n members ever since I woke up from cryostasis. Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood was next to me when I woke up, so I should be thest pure-blooded colossal giant.¡±

    The Warden then took another gulp of wine.

    Lu Yin found this phrase odd¡ªpure-blooded? It sounded strange.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen received blessings from the colossal giants, as they didn¡¯t kill him and even epted him as one of their own despite him being an outsider. That bottle of blood was his way of repaying us. I didn¡¯t expect that more of it existed. Where did you get Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood from?¡± the Warden asked curiously.

    ¡°Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.¡±

    ¡°The one protected by the Seven Courts?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I visited there before.¡±

    The Warden nodded and no longer asked any more questions on the matter.

    After a few moments, the Warden instead asked, ¡°Where do you want to put Emperor Luo?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°There¡¯s a prisoner called Can. I want Emperor Luo to rece him.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll find another ce for Can,¡± the Warden promised.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Senior, I don¡¯t want Can to be moved, I want to rece him. I don¡¯t want him to even exist in Gaia¡¯s Swamp anymore.¡±

    ¡­

    One dayter, Lord Piggy entered the castle to find an empty sk. Lu Yin had only drank a small bit as the Warden had essentially finished it all by himself.

    A strong smell of alcohol filled the entire castle to the point where the rain smelled of alcohol. Even the mist that covered Gaia¡¯s Swamp had its scent.

    ¡°Pig, take Alliance Leader to Can,¡± the Warden ordered in a booming voice.

    Lord Piggy grew curious. ¡°Can?¡±

    ¡°Just follow my orders, or else I¡¯ll peel your skin off and roast it.¡±

    Lord Piggy was startled, and he immediately led Lu Yin into the depth of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    They soon drew close to Can.

    ¡°Alliance Leader, might I know what Sir Warden was saying?¡± Lord Piggy asked.

    Lu Yin leaped off the pig¡¯s back and walked towards Can with Liu Ye and Fei Hua standing guard next to him.

    Lord Piggy watched as Lu Yin approached Can. The pig was not at all worried;pared to when Lu Yin had interacted with Liu Huang or the Second Nightking, Can was just an Envoy with a power level of about 500,000. On top of that, he had been a prisoner for many years and was much weaker than his peak. Thus, Can posed no threat at all to Lu Yin. Still, Lord Piggy was quite curious as to what Lu Yin intended to do.

    Can opened his eyes and calmly looked at Lu Yin. The familiar gaze that Lu Yin had seen during hisst visit to the man was gone. Can had hidden it well.

    Lu Yin looked at the prisoner. ¡°Is your name Can?¡±

    Can¡¯s eyes swept straight past Lu Yin over to Lord Piggy. ¡°Why is he here?¡±

    Lord Piggy shook his head in confusion.

    Can stared at Lu Yin for a bit. ¡°Oh, I remember you. Are you that champion of ZENITH, Lu Yin?¡±

    ¡°Remember the name well, as it will be thest name you hear in your life,¡± Lu Yin said. As he spoke, he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear right in front of Can, grabbing the prisoner¡¯s neck.

    Can¡¯s eyes instantly grew sharply focused. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Lord Piggy waspletely stunned. ¡°Alliance Leader, are you¡­?¡±

    Lu Yin coldly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t like your name, so I¡¯ll send you off.¡±

    The killing intention in his eyes red.

    Lord Piggy dumbly watched on. He made no efforts to stop Lu Yin, as that was beyond the pig¡¯s abilities.

    Can¡¯s eyes went wide as he felt the increasing pressure on his neck. Lu Yin was actually trying to kill him!

    Suddenly, the chains trembled, and a massive force forced Lu Yin back.

    It was the power of the sourcebox array that covered Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s through the many chains. 3,000 chains existed to lock up the prisoners within Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and rumors imed that not even monsters with power levels of over a million could break free from this sourcebox array. It had been specially made for Gaia¡¯s Swamp by an ancient Array Grandmaster.

    ¡°Master Cha¡¯s angry!¡± Both Lord Piggy¡¯s ears and tail perked up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as his eyes locked onto Can¡¯s.

    Can red at the young man. ¡°Why do you want to kill me?¡±

    ¡°I told you, I don¡¯t like your name,¡± Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both quite curious about this. Lu Yin was not a violent person, and he always had a reason for killing someone.

    After the sourcebox array was activated, everyone in Gaia¡¯s Swamp was locked in ce, including Lu Yin. He waited for the person who had activated the array to show themselves.

    Can said nothing at all and merely continued to re at Lu Yin. The prisoner¡¯s eyes shed, but there was no hatred in them.

    Death energy slowly surrounded them. Although the chains did not release enough death energy to harm Liu Ye and Fei Hua, it was still torturous for the prisoners who were incessantly exposed to it.

    Even though Fei Hua had seen many powerful cultivators throughout her life, she was still intimidated by Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as life as a prisoner in this ce was a fate worse than death.

    A few momentster, a woman approached. Lu Yin turned around and was shocked to see this beautiful woman.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp was filled with death energy. The woman who was slowly approaching Lu Yin and the others had a cold expression on her face. Although her features were as exquisite as Ling Gong, giving her a simrly cold demeanor, there was killing intent in this woman¡¯s gaze that felt like a mountain of ice.

    If Ling Gong¡¯s delicate features gave her a domineering appearance, then this woman¡¯s features just made her look cold, and she was quite well-suited to Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lord Piggy trembled in fear when he saw the women. ¡°Master- Master Cha.¡±

    Can sighed in relief when he saw the woman.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman with curiosity. Was this woman Master Cha, one of Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s assistant wardens? One of the prisoners that he had seen during his visit was this woman¡¯s father.

    Master Cha approached Lu Yin and stopped when she was a hundred meters away. She looked at him with her cold eyes. ¡°Why are you trying to kill him?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I don¡¯t need to give you a reason, as the Warden already agreed to it.¡±

    Master Cha frowned. ¡°There are 3,000 prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and each one has their own sentence. Unless they die to the toxic gas, they cannot be allowed to die before their sentence expires. Anyone who tries to kill a prisoner will be sent to the Interster Supreme Court.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged and took out the Chief Justice¡¯s bell.

    Master Cha¡¯s brows rose.

    Can¡¯s expression sank, and he was ovee by a bad feeling.

    ¡°You are trying to kill someone in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Give me a reason, or else I¡¯ll treat you as though you are a trespasser,¡± Master Cha coldly stated.

    Lu Yin calmly met her eyes. This woman could only be objecting to his actions either because she was a stickler for rules or because she was aware that Can was the leader of the nned prison break, and she hoped to use that opportunity to save her father.

    Lu Yin suspected thetter to be true.

    ording to Can¡¯s n, the prison break should not ur anytime soon, as the timing was not right. However, Lu Yin could not afford to keep waiting. Nothing would happen as long as he remained in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as his presence with Liu Ye and Fei Hua had changed the entire situation.

    All he could do was force Can.

    Lu Yin grabbed hold of Can¡¯s neck once again. Master Cha¡¯s eyes shed, and she tried to gain control of the sourcebox array, but she failed. The Warden had altered the sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin grabbed Can¡¯s neck and squeezed. ¡°I¡¯ll send you on your way.¡±

 Chapter 1687: Powerful

    Chapter 1687: Powerful

    The familiar eyes returned as Can red at Lu Yin. ¡°Get lost!¡±

    The 3,000 chains suddenly trembled violently as Can pulled his limbs back. Half of the prisoners¡¯ chains that were connected into the ground suddenly broke, and some of the guards attacked theirpanions as well.

    Chaos suddenly descended upon Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Master Cha¡¯s eyes went wide, and she grabbed hold of a chain. She twisted it towards Lu Yin at the same time that Can unleashed his spiritual force. While the man¡¯s spiritual force could notpare to the Second Nightking¡¯s, it was still at a power level of around 600,000. Lu Yin was knocked backwards, but fortunately did not suffer any heavy injuries.

    Master Cha once again swung the chains at Lu Yin, but Fei Hua casually shoved the woman away with a snort.

    Liu Ye prepared to attack, but Lu Yin stopped the Envoy.

    Can was confused when he saw what Lu Yin had done.

    Lord Piggy shrieked, ¡°Sir Warden, someone¡¯s trying to escape!¡±

    Sword qi sliced through a distant part of Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Liu Huang had joined the chaos, and he had used stellr energy to form the same strange sword that Lu Yin had used during his match with Liu Tianmu in the Sword Sect.

    Master Cha¡¯s father, L¨¸ Yan, covered his body with nine lined battle force as he struggled free from his chains. A huge crimson moon appeared over his head, and a wolf could be seen howling within the moon. This was Crimson Moon Howl.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s chains also shattered. He looked up and used Celestial Being Shows The Way.

    In addition to these top powerhouses, other prisoners also started attacking.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s guards were quickly overwhelmed.

    In his castle, the Warden opened his eyes and emerged. He bellowed, ¡°How dare you! Get back to where you belong!¡±

    He punched at the ground, and a terrifying power smashed down at Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Liu Huang¡¯s sword, L¨¸ Yan¡¯s Crimson Moon Howl, and the Second Nightking¡¯s Celestial Being Shows The Way were all shattered.

    If these powerhouses were at their peak, then any single one of them would be able to easily defeat the Warden, but they had all been either imprisoned for too long or injured too badly, and they were no longer able to withstand the Warden¡¯s strength even when working together.

    The Warden clenched his fists and mmed them down upon Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    The weaker prisoners who tried to escape all spat out blood and died.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s chains had also shattered, startling him. This meant that someone was trying to escape, and they had even managed to destroy the prison¡¯s sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin coughed as the Warden¡¯s power spread throughout Gaia¡¯s Swamp. The Warden was attacking the entire prison, which meant that Lu Yin was included within the scope as well.

    Can grew curious about why Lu Yin had not ordered Liu Ye and Fei Hua to attack him. Can was able to sense just how powerful Liu Ye and Fei Hua were, though he had no time to think about such things at this moment.

    Glowing orbs of spiritual force emerged from the bodies of the dead guards and prisoners, all of which were quickly absorbed by Can. His rune lines rapidly increased as his power level surged beyond 600,000.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had initially wanted to fight Can for control of the orbs of spiritual force, but Lu Yin had suppressed the urge after considering the Warden¡¯s strength.

    If no one could defeat the Warden, then how would Lu Yin be able to take the Second Nightking and Shui Chuanxiao away?

    Master Cha held a hand to her chest. Blood could be seen dripping from her lips. She nced at the unmoving Lu Yin, and then at Can in confusion.

    Someone suddenly appeared and helped Master Cha up. ¡°Xiao Cha, who hurt you?¡±

    The man was her father, L¨¸ Yan.

    Can ordered, ¡°Leave Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡ªwe¡¯ll have to work together to defeat the Warden.¡±

    L¨¸ Yan red at Can. ¡°Did you injure Xiao Cha?¡±

    L¨¸ Cha grabbed hold of her father. ¡°Run, Father!¡±

    L¨¸ Yan shot a vicious re at Can. His gaze then swept over Lu Yin before the man picked up L¨¸ Cha and rushed upwards. He was attacked by a massive force, but he used his Crimson Moon Howl to counterattack.

    Lord Piggy copsed to the ground. The pig did not even dare to lift his head up.

    Lu Yin and the others silently watched without interfering.

    Lu Yin had already informed the Warden about the nned prison break, and he had even mentioned that Can was the leader. This was why the Warden had agreed to allow Lu Yin to attack Can and force the prisoner¡¯s hand.

    The Warden was fully confident that he could suppress all of the prisoners, as he was very powerful, and he also had the assistance of the sourcebox array.

    However, Lu Yin had not mentioned Can¡¯s precise ns for triggering the prison break, or anything about how the man could control people. Lu Yin had only told the Warden that Can had tried to coordinate with Shui Chuanxiao, but the former grand marshal had refused. Lu Yin had also told the Warden that Shui Chuanxiao was the one who had informed him of Can¡¯s nned prison break.

    Lu Yin had made Can look weak while making the Warden feel powerful. At this moment, Lu Yin just needed to wait and see whether or not the prisoners could defeat the Warden.

    A riot had erupted within Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    The castle broke apart, but the Warden continued to rain down powerful punches upon the ground, causing all of Gaia¡¯s Swamp to shake.

    L¨¸ Yan rushed up from underground with L¨¸ Cha. The man raised a hand. ¡°Banishment.¡±

    The Warden was forced back several meters as L¨¸ Yan had just used the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique: Banishment.

    The Warden growled and punched at the escaping prisoner once more. But in response, sword qi appeared in the sky and shed at the Warden. This was the Thirteenth Sword.

    L¨¸ Yan was startled¡ªthe Thirteenth Sword? Was there someone from the Sword Sect in Gaia¡¯s Swamp?

    The Thirteenth Sword could not be avoided, and the Warden coughed up blood. ¡°How dare you try to escape! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    He threw out another punch.

    Liu Huang appeared and confronted the Warden¡¯s attack. The man had formed a sword with stellr energy. Despite his greatly reduced strength, Liu Huang was stillpletely confident in being able to withstand this punch.

    Bang!

    Liu Huang was flung back as cracks appeared all over his body. The death energy in Gaia¡¯s Swamp had weakened him tremendously, and the Warden¡¯s punch nearly killed him.

    The next moment, more prisoners rushed out, and they all attacked the Warden in unison. However, there were also some prisoners who did not join the attack, instead trying to escape from the prison as soon as possible. These particr prisoners were all quite powerful, and there were even some Envoys among them.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp had gathered the Human Domain¡¯s most evil people all in one location, and many of them were able to withstand the Warden¡¯s attacks. Most of the prisoners were Enlighters, and each and every one of them had been extremely powerful at their peak.

    The Warden clenched his fists and pressed his hands into the ground. He yanked up multiple chains and swept them out across Gaia¡¯s Swamp, forcing all of the prisoners back, regardless of whether they were trying to escape or to attack the Warden. Some of the prisoners were instantly killed, dying a miserable death.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes flickered as he carefully observed the Warden.

    The Warden¡¯s vision changed, as he had been targeted by a spiritual force battle technique. The Warden saw a giant asrge as a before him, and he bellowed, ¡°Even if Progenitor Chen is here, you still won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±

    The Warden attacked.

    The scenery before him shattered, and the Second Nightking spat out blood. He had been injured very badly by the Chief Justice, so the Warden had easily shattered the illusion. If the Second Nightking were still at his peak, he would have easily dealt with the Warden with just Celestial Being Shows The Way.

    ¡°Attack him together!¡± Can ordered. With that, L¨¸ Yan, Liu Huang, and the Second Nightking all attacked as one. They were the most powerful prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and their escape would have tremendous effects on the rest of the Fifth Maind.

    The Warden watched as they all attacked, and an indescribable aura was suddenly unleashed. The sky began to twist about as though it was being burnt, and countless cracks appeared. Liu Huang and the others were suppressed to the point where they could not move forward. The Warden seemed taller and more invincible than ever.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How is this possible? Aurelian force?¡±

    The Warden lifted his head back and released a furious roar. A gale of aurelian force swept through his surroundings, and nobody was able to move. Aurelian force was the pinnacle of battle force, and Lu Yin had previously thought that no one in the entire Fifth Maind had reached that level. After all, there were only a handful of people who had reached that level even in the Perennial World.

    Once the Warden used aurelian force, he gained precise control and dominated his surroundings.

    Can and the others were all stunned. The Second Nightking had goosebumps run down his back. ¡°Attack!¡±

    The Warden punched at them, and with his aurelian force, his punch couldpare to an Envoy¡¯s attack with a power level of 800,000 despite the Warden only having a power level of about 700,000.

    Under this attack, Can, the Second Nightking, L¨¸ Yan, and Liu Huang were all thrown back.

    Lu Yin nearly fainted, and Liu Ye and Fei Hua were simrly astounded. They would not be able to defeat the Warden even if they worked together, as he had mastered aurelian force.

    The Warden had finally unveiled his full strength. Even without the sourcebox array, he was still able to fully control Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and this was why he was the Warden.

    Master Cha, who had been lying in L¨¸ Yan¡¯s arms, was also startled. She had never expected the Warden to actually be this powerful, as he had never revealed his battle force before.

    ¡°Oh no, we can¡¯t escape! Xiao Cha, tie me up, now!¡± L¨¸ Yan ordered.

    L¨¸ Cha shook her head and replied in a bitter tone, ¡°Father, the Warden isn¡¯t stupid.¡±

    L¨¸ Yan sighed.

    Liu Huang also let out a sigh. He wiped the corner of his mouth. Since there was a chance for him to escape at this moment, he would never give up. No matter how powerful the Warden¡¯s battle force might be, he still could not escape from the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Swords.

    Some distance away, the Second Nightking was not actually looking at the Warden. He had redirected his focus to Can, and the Second Nightking saw Can absorbing the glowing balls of spiritual force.

    ¡°Let¡¯s work together. Lend me your spiritual force,¡± the Second Nightking said. Can¡¯s eyes flickered, and orbs of spiritual force appeared. The Second Nightking took control of them and slowly surrounded the Warden.

    Lu Yin saw everything take ce from underground. He had seen the Warden¡¯s power, Liu Huang preparing to use the Fourteenth Sword, as well as the Second Nightking¡¯s Ten Prison Formation.

    The Second Nightking was a Senior Array Master, and he had previously used the Ten Prison Formation to injure Elder Jiu Shen. Since it was a sourcebox array, the Warden might not be able to overpower the experts working against him.

    ¡°Pig, are you dead? Get out here!¡± the Warden shouted. He then grabbed hold of the chains once more and smashed them downwards.

    Lu Yin nced over at Lord Piggy, who was still hiding his head in the ground. Lu Yin justughed.

    Bang!

    The ground shook yet again, dazing Lu Yin.

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Bang!

    The Warden gave the prisoners no time to react. He was trying to use his strength to stun everyone, and this caused most of the prisoners to faint, and a few died outright. Only a few people like Liu Huang remained conscious.

    Beneath the Warden¡¯s feet, ten orbs of spiritual force grew in size as the Second Nightking merged his own spiritual force with Can¡¯s.

    Liu Huang raised his hand to use the Fourteenth Sword.

    L¨¸ Yan set his daughter down and leaped forward. He attacked the Warden with his Crimson Moon Howl.

    ¡°Since you all want to die, I¡¯ll grant you your wish!¡± the Warden yelled. He punched forward, shattering the Crimson Moon Howl. As L¨¸ Cha watched on in shock, the Warden punched L¨¸ Yan hard enough to nearly shatter every bone in his body. The man¡¯s body crashed to the ground, but before hended, he used Discipline against the Warden.

 Chapter 1688: The True Leader

    Chapter 1688: The True Leader

    Discipline was the Hall of Honor¡¯s most infuriating secret technique, as it reflected the wounds that one had suffered onto their opponent. Almost every enemy of the Hall of Honor had experienced this technique in the past, and it was a very difficult secret technique to ovee.

    The Warden retreated multiple steps as blood dripped down the corner of his mouth. He had basically suffered the effects of his own attack at the same time that Liu Huang had used the Fourteenth Sword: Misery. This sword forced anyone who faced it to relive the worst moments of their lives. This was unavoidable, as there was no one who had lived apletely happy life. Liu Huang¡¯s sword magnified the bitterness that one felt, which was a truly difficult experience for the Warden.

    The Warden was ultimately unable to withstand it despite his aurelian force, and he coughed up blood.

    The next moment, the sourcebox array of spiritual force, the Ten Prison Formation, activated. The Second Nightking was cooperating with Can to defeat the Warden.

    The Warden was heavily injured by the eruption of the sourcebox array.

    Discipline had injured his body.

    The Fourteenth Sword had wounded his soul.

    The Ten Prison Formation had hurt his spirit.

    The Warden knelt on the ground, as he was not able withstand the threebined attacks. His aurelian force slowly dissipated until itpletely disappeared.

    He tried to stand back up.

    Lu Yin just shook his head; it was over. While aurelian force was beyond merely being dominating, it also exacted a terrible toll on the person using it. Both Zhou Tang and the Warden were only able to use their aurelian force in short bursts.

    With this, the three attacks had sufficiently andpletely defeated the colossal giant.

    The Warden copsed onto the ground, causing Gaia¡¯s Swamp to shake.

    Can sighed in relief. He turned to the Second Nightking in ecstasy.

    The Second Nightking also turned towards Can, though the Second Nightking had an odd expression on his face.

    The sword formed from stellr energy disappeared from Liu Huang¡¯s hand, and he nearly copsed to the ground.

    L¨¸ Cha anxiously rushed over to L¨¸ Yan¡¯s side. ¡°Father! Father! How are you?¡±

    L¨¸ Yan coughed up blood. He had suffered the worst injuries, and he was almost dead. L¨¸ Cha continuously fed her father pills for him to recover.

    With the Warden¡¯s defeat, the rest of the guards were useless. Can absorbed the spiritual force that had been used to set up the Ten Prison Formation, and at the same time, glowing globes of spiritual force appeared over all of the corpses of prisoners and guards, which Can absorbed as well.

    The Second Nightking observed the entire thing. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a method for cultivating spiritual force. How interesting.¡±

    Can warily nced over at the Second Nightking. ¡°The Warden has been defeated, so we can leave now.¡±

    Only a few people in Gaia¡¯s Swamp remained conscious, as nearly everyone had fainted from either the Warden¡¯s attacks or Can¡¯s spiritual force, including even some of the most powerful prisoners.

    Upon hearing Can¡¯s words, L¨¸ Cha immediately pulled L¨¸ Yan up so that they could leave, and Liu Huang also slowly rose.

    At this moment, Lu Yin appeared with Emperor Luo, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua.

    Can red at Lu Yin. ¡°Do you want to stop us?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and nced over at the unconscious Warden. ¡°I warned him not to be overconfident. You guys really aren¡¯t easy to handle, but-¡± His gaze swept over across Can and the others. ¡°You guys have also reached your limit, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Young man, you¡¯re not from the Gaia¡¯s Swamp, so you have no reason to stop us. Let us go, and we will make it worth your while,¡± Can said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp.

    ¡°The Hall of Honor has a dark side as well. You don¡¯t need to stop us,¡± Liu Huang added hoarsely.

    L¨¸ Cha red at Lu Yin with cold eyes. ¡°Go away.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°No.¡±

    Can ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s attack together! This is our only chance of escaping.¡±

    His spiritual force crashed towards Lu Yin as Can formed a w with a hand and reached out for Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. While the attack looked quite simr to the Skybeast w, this attack was actually a spiritual force technique. It had fused a physical battle technique with a spiritual force one to form a truly wicked battle technique.

    Can had been captured by the Hall of Honor and locked away in the Gaia¡¯s Swamp precisely because of this battle technique.

    This attack could instantly shatter a cultivator¡¯s head, and Can would then be able to absorb their spiritual force. He had killed countless cultivators with this battle technique.

    At the same time, Liu Huang reformed his sword from stellr energy and shed out at Lu Yin. He was using the Fourteenth Sword once again. The man only had enough energy for a single attack, as he was still exhausted from their battle with the Warden.

    Lu Yin remained as he was, and neither Liu Ye nor Fei Hua moved.

    Can was attacked by a Ten Prison Formation before his own attack could strike Lu Yin¡ªthe Second Nightking had struck. Before the Warden copsed, Lu Yin had already ordered the Second Nightking to set up a Ten Prison Formation beneath Can¡¯s feet.

    Can screamed and fell to the ground. He had not expected the Second Nightking to suddenly betray him. He had actually felt the Ten Prison Formation activate but had assumed that the Second Nightking was using it against Lu Yin. Can had not even considered the possibility of the sourcebox array being used against him.

    Although Can had powerful spiritual force attacks, he was heavily injured by the Ten Prison Formation, and he fell unconscious.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored Can, as he was instead studying Liu Huang¡¯s Fourteenth Sword. This was an unavoidable technique, but it had no effect on Lu Yin since he had also learned it. This was the greatest w of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Swords: they both targeted the spirit, which meant that they were either unavoidable or utterly useless.

    Liu Huang helplessly let go of his sword when he saw Lu Yin calmly looking back at him. The swordsman¡¯s stellr energy dissipated¡ªhe had failed. This youth was able topletely ignore the Fourteenth Sword, which was proof that Liu Huang¡¯s greatest aplishment was wed.

    Cany on the ground, betrayed by the Second Nightking. Liu Huang had been defeated, so the only people remaining were L¨¸ Cha and L¨¸ Yan. However, L¨¸ Yan was already terribly wounded and could not even stand.

    L¨¸ Cha clenched her fists. They were one step away, just one step away from sess! Why did this person have to appear? They should have been able to escape, so why? Why?

    The woman¡¯s body trembled, and her pupils suddenly went dark. L¨¸ Yan, who she was holding, was startled. He pulled at L¨¸ Cha¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Xiao Cha, calm down! Stop! Stop!¡±

    But it seemed as though L¨¸ Cha could not hear her father¡¯s words. She had somehow be a different person, and there was a very disturbing aura around her at this moment.

    Suddenly, the death energy in Gaia¡¯s Swamp was pulled towards L¨¸ Cha, and she absorbed it. A whirlpool of death energy formed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide; what was going on?

    ¡°Xiao Cha, stop! Stop!¡± L¨¸ Yan screamed anxiously.

    L¨¸ Cha kept absorbing the death energy, and she was undergoing a massive change.

    Her rune lines kept increasing, and they soon exceeded a power level of 500,000. She had entered a new realm.

    Bing an Envoy was a threshold, as only a few people were able to fight against an Envoy.

    The four Junior Progenitors in the Perennial World were capable of challenging Envoys, which qualified them to be called Junior Progenitors. Others could not achieve the same feat and would therefore never be able to reach the same level as the Junior Progenitors. While L¨¸ Cha had cultivated for much longer than the four Junior Progenitors, it was still incredibly difficult for an Enlighter to reach an Envoy¡¯s power level.

    However, this was not the part that surprised Lu Yin. He was more startled by the fact that this woman was able to absorb death energy. Was she from the Specter n?

    After L¨¸ Cha¡¯s runes exceeded a power level of 500,000, she stopped absorbing the death energy. Her eyes opened wide, but they had be silver. This was a characteristic of the Specter n, as their eyes could be white, silver, or gold. Not many people had golden eyes, so this silver color indicated that the woman was a senior within the Specter n.

    ¡°Xiao Cha¡­¡± L¨¸ Yan said helplessly as he vomited blood.

    L¨¸ Cha gently set L¨¸ Yan down and then red at Lu Yin. ¡°Leave.¡±

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua stepped in front of Lu Yin, as they were able to sense the sudden change in L¨¸ Cha. Although she most likely could not harm Lu Yin, the two Envoys did not want to run that risk. They were on theirst trip with Lu Yin, and they would end up in deep trouble if Lu Yin was harmed while with them.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss Liu Ye and Fei Hua before stepping forward. ¡°I wasn¡¯t interested in you before, but I didn''t expect you to be a part of the Specter n. How interesting. Just how did you manage to join the Hall of Honor?¡¯

    L¨¸ Cha had no desire to speak with Lu Yin at all. Death energy streamed out of her body and formed chains that wrapped around Lu Yin.

    He allowed the chains to twine about him. Fei Hua wanted to help, but Lu Yin shot her a re. ¡°Don¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Fei Hua was growing anxious, but Liu Ye set a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head; Lu Yin was not someone who would look for trouble.

    L¨¸ Cha¡¯s chains managed to bind Lu Yin, much to her surprise. Still, with Lu Yin captured, everything was over. She pulled the chains towards her, as she wanted to use Lu Yin as a hostage while escaping with her father.

    However, no matter how L¨¸ Cha manipted the death energy, Lu Yin did not move an inch. It felt as though she was unable to control her own death energy, but how was that possible?

    L¨¸ Cha had kept this ability of herspletely hidden, but she was still aware of just how powerful death energy was, as it allowed her to contest Envoys. Even though she was not able to view the true universe, she could still fight against Envoys, and this demonstrated the ample power of death energy. So, why was it not working right now?

    This was impossible! L¨¸ Cha exerted more force, and she absorbed even more death energy from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    ¡°Are you from the Neohuman Alliance?¡± Lu Yin asked as he studied L¨¸ Cha.

    L¨¸ Cha gritted her teeth and met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze with her silver eyes. She was trying to intimidate him, as most people would lose their minds after looking into her silver eyes. Regardless, Lu Yin remained unfazed.

    ¡°Why? Why are you immune to death energy?¡± L¨¸ Cha asked.

    L¨¸ Yan then suddenly remembered the final match of ZENITH where Lu Yin had transformed; could the rumors actually be true?

    He shouted, ¡°Xiao Cha, stop! You can¡¯t use death energy against him. He¡¯s the true master of death energy.¡±

    L¨¸ Cha became even more confused.

    Lu Yin smirked. He raised a hand and beckoned with a finger. The death energy surrounding him suddenly reversed and bound L¨¸ Cha instead. She waspletely unable to struggle free.

    L¨¸ Yan bellowed, ¡°Lu Yin, the rumors are true! You¡¯re the God of Death¡¯s heir!¡±

    Lu Yin slowly approached L¨¸ Cha. ¡°Are you from the Specter n?¡±

    L¨¸ Cha coldly red at Lu Yin with her silver eyes.

    L¨¸ Yan grew anxious and quickly said, ¡°She¡¯s not from the Specter n! She¡¯s just a cultivator who was sessfully transformed. It¡¯s my fault, as I took her to Aeternus Nation to undergo the transformation. Release her, Lu Yin! It¡¯s not her fault! She¡¯s never betrayed anyone!¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face L¨¸ Yan instead. ¡°You were once a Judicial Commissioner, weren¡¯t you? Your crime was betraying humanity, so it seems that you were working with the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

 Chapter 1689: Control

    Chapter 1689: Control

    L¨¸ Yany on the ground, coughing. ¡°I- I didn¡¯t betray anyone! I just wanted to treat Xiao Cha.¡±

    L¨¸ Cha had already changed back to her normal condition, though she was still bound with death energy. Her face was pale, and her voice was weak. ¡°Father took me to the Neohuman Alliance in order to save my life, but he didn''t do anything for them. After I was sessfully transformed, he confessed everything to the Chief Justice. That¡¯s why the Chief Justice was willing to send my father here to Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Otherwise, he would have simply been killed if he had truly betrayed humanity and joined the Neohuman Alliance. You can ask the Chief Justice about it.¡±

    Lu Yin did not need to ask anything at all, as he already knew that anyone who joined the Neohuman Alliance would be killed without exception. Besides, L¨¸ Yan had once been a Judicial Commissioner, so he would have definitely been sentenced to death if he had joined the Neohuman Alliance. Since the Chief Justice had allowed the man to stay alive and be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, it showed that L¨¸ Yan had not actually done anything bad. In addition, his record clearly stated that he had surrendered.

    However, if he had surrendered, why had he just tried to escape?

    Lu Yin stopped paying attention to the father and daughter and instead approached Liu Huang.

    Liu Huang bitterly said, ¡°We were still defeated.¡±

    ¡°You said that the Hall of Honor has a dark side. What were you referring to?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Huang calmly looked at the youth in front of him. ¡°Do you truly wish to know? You won¡¯t be able to turn back after learning of this.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You¡¯re Liu Huang, right?¡±

    Liu Huang¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°You know of me?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°You were the most talented cultivator that the Sword Sect has ever seen, and also the only person who managed to create a Fourteenth Sword. Well, to be urate, you were the first person to create the Fourteenth Sword. Someone else managed to create a Fourteenth Sword after you. His name was Liu Guai, and he seeded in creating a unique variation of the Thirteenth Sword.¡±

    Liu Huang was surprised to hear this. ¡°How do you know about me? The Warden would have never told you about me.¡±

    Lu Yin answered calmly, ¡°I know everything about you, what you¡¯ve experienced, what you care about, and even the Fourteenth Sword.¡±

    Liu Huang frowned. ¡°The Fourteenth Sword?¡±

    Lu Yin formed a sword with his star energy, and then nced over at the Second Nightking. ¡°Fourteenth Sword: Misery.¡±

    The moment Lu Yin started his attack, Liu Huang instantly recognized the Fourteenth Sword.

    The Second Nightking trembled as the Fourteenth Sword struck. Although he was uninjured, he felt extremely ufortable as he re-experienced the tragedies of his life.

    He turned to look at Lu Yin in astonishment. Lu Yin had used no power in his attack, only showing the meaning of this sword technique. This was his way of proving to Liu Huang that he knew the Fourteenth Sword, so Lu Yin had not genuinely tried to attack the Second Nightking.

    Regardless, the Second Nightking was absolutely astonished by the intent behind the Fourteenth Sword. If Lu Yin had been at his power level, he would have been killed by that attack just now. His wariness of Lu Yin immediately increased by another level.

    This kid seemed to know about everything. He knew the Daynight n¡¯s Daynight Praises, the Sword Sect¡¯s unprecedented Fourteenth Sword, and even the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. While the Second Nightking did not truly believe that rumor, it was a fact that Lu Yin could control death energy. The Second Nightking could scarcely believe that such a person existed in the universe.

    ¡°Why do you know the Fourteenth Sword?¡± Liu Huang was stupefied. He also finally understood how Lu Yin had been able to ignore the Fourteenth Sword that he thought that he alone knew.

    Lu Yin ignored the man and instead tossed a gadget to Liu Huang so that he could catch up on what had happened in the universe. Lu Yin did not have the energy to exin everything to the man.

    Finally, Lu Yin turned to Can.

    Can was still sprawled on the ground, and he had watched as Lu Yin took control of the fate of everyone here. There was a trace of excitement in Can¡¯s gaze and no trace of resentment at all.

    Lu Yin walked over and bent over next to Can.

    Can lowered his head. ¡°Kill me if you want.¡±

    Lu Yin asked in a calm tone, ¡°Why don¡¯t you dare to look at me?¡±

    Can sneered. ¡°What? Do you want to show off to someone you defeated?¡±

    Lu Yin grabbed Can¡¯s neck and twisted the man¡¯s head to face him.

    Eyes were the window to a person¡¯s soul, and Lu Yin could not see any resentment and hatred in Can¡¯s gaze like he had in L¨¸ Yan and Liu Huang¡¯s eyes.

    Can frowned, and his expression chilled. ¡°Boy, what do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin released the man. He was certain that this person was Undying Yushan, but the familiar look that Lu Yin had previously seen was hidden, and it was possible that this body was just a shell for Undying Yushan. Liuying Zishan had previously been controlled by an orb of spiritual force, and Can had used the same thing to control the guards and prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Given the situation, it was possible that Can was also under the control of the globes of spiritual force.

    That was Undying Yushan¡¯s technique.

    Undying Yushan had only been a Hunter, but he had also been ranked among the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings at his peak. He had been weakened greatly after being injured.

    How powerful was a person who had stood among the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings? The Ten Arbiters had not existed during that era, so the top ten of the Top 100 Rankings had beenparable to the Universe Youth Council¡¯s representatives. If Undying Yushan had been hiding his strength since then, it meant that he was actually one of the strongest members of his generation in the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin thought further down that path: what realm would Wen Sansi and Liu Tianmu reach after cultivating for a few hundred years? It was impossible for Undying Yushan to still be a mere Hunter.

    Lu Yin had cultivated for less than twenty years to reach his current level, and while he had relied on his innate gift and a bit of luck, he did not believe that he was the only person in the entire universe with this level of talent. He would much rather believe that Undying Yushan was just as talented and that he was also someone who was extremely scheming.

    Lu Yin truly could not estimate what level of Undying Yushan might have reached after cultivating for a few hundred or even a thousand years. At minimum, Lu Yin was sure that he could be an Envoy within a hundred years, so what about Undying Yushan?

    Can had been imprisoned for a few hundred years and was not an Envoy. On the other hand, Undying Yushan could have cultivated for a few hundred years to reach that level, which meant that it was possible that he had taken control of Can.

    Just what was Undying Yushan nning?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes drifted back to Can. No matter what Undying Yushan intended to do, Lu Yin could not keep Can around. Imprisoning him was of no use, as he could use his orbs of spiritual force anywhere.

    Lu Yin attacked, and glowing balls of spiritual force surged from Can¡¯s body, striking heavy blows on Lu Yin.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were stunned. The Second Nightking saw this happen, but he did nothing to interfere and simply allowed Can¡¯s balls of spiritual force light balls to strike Lu Yin.

    Oddly enough, the strength of the orbs of spiritual force were very weak. Lu Yin¡¯s attack killed Can, and the orbs entered Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Can¡¯s remaining spiritual force was very powerful, and Lu Yin sat down on the ground and began reciting the Stonewall Scriptures in order to absorb the spiritual force.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua immediately stood guard beside Lu Yin while looking at him in surprise.

    ¡°You can absorb someone else¡¯s spiritual force?¡± Fei Hua felt confused.

    Liu Ye answered, ¡°It¡¯s possible. Anything is possible in the universe. That person was even able to control the guards with his spiritual force.¡±

    The Second Nightking red at Lu Yin. He wanted to attack but could do nothing at all with Liu Ye and Fei Hua present.

    Liu Huang, L¨¸ Yan, and the others could only wait while Lu Yin finished absorbing the spiritual force, as this youth was in total control of the current situation.

    Fortunately, there had not been much spiritual force remaining, so Lu Yin finished absorbing it shortly. By the time he finished, the Warden, the other prisoners, and the surviving guards still had still not recovered.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and was able to sense that his spiritual force had be much stronger than before.

    During ZENITH, he had barely been able to hold off Yao Xuan¡¯s attacks with his own spiritual force while also using the Inception Array. After returning from the Perennial World, Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force had grown stronger, but at best, he could withstand a spiritual force attack from an Envoy. At this moment, Lu Yin could easily withstand such an attack, and he could even attempt to hold back the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force with the Inception Array.

    Still, even then Lu Yin would only be able to withstand one of the Second Nightking¡¯s casual attacks, as the difference between them was too vast.

    Focus returned to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at Can¡¯s body. While Can¡¯s final attack had seemed useless, he had actually set something up for Undying Yushan. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was correct, there were orbs of spiritual force within his own body that could be controlled.

    Could Undying Yushan control Lu Yin? He did not know. He had the Stonewall Scriptures, but he was unsure if that could stop Undying Yushan.

    Wait, that was wrong. If his guess was correct, the balls of spiritual force should have been ced in his body ever since he had absorbed the orbs controlling Liuying Zishan.

    Lu Yin felt bitter. If that were true, then Undying Yushan had nned out everything long, long ago, back when Lu Yin had possessed no ability to fight back.

    However, if Undying Yushan was as powerful as Lu Yin suspected, why had he stayed in The Great Yu Empire? Why had he remained hidden? Why was he pretending to be dead? Why was he working with the Neohuman Alliance? The Yu family had already been targeted by the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin had too many questions that he wanted to ask Undying Yushan, but he could have never asked Can, as Lu Yin did not want to alert the wrong people.

    Some distance away, a curly tail appeared, and a pig head popped out of the ground.

    Lord Piggy carefully poked his head out. As soon as he saw the icy eyes of the Second Nightking, the pig¡¯s ears perked up, and he dove right back into the swamp.

    Lu Yin stood and rubbed his head. ¡°Bring Shui Chuanxiao to me.¡±

    Liu Ye left.

    Lu Yin turned to face Liu Huang. ¡°Do you understand everything now?¡±

    Liu Huang lowered the gadget and stared at Lu Yin with respect. ¡°Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    ¡°I can take you out of here and let the Sword Sect join the Great Eastern Alliance. If I don¡¯t, then the Fourteenth Sword will never reach the Sword Sect, and you will die here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp of old age,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated. This was the only way that Liu Huang could help Lu Yin if Lu Yin allowed the man to leave the prison.

    Given Liu Huang¡¯s strength, he was absolutely someone who would stand at the pinnacle of the Innerverse after regaining his peak strength. However, Liu Huang would never be able to catch up to the Second Nightking. When it came to both the swordsman¡¯s cultivation level and the time that he had spent cultivating, he was greatly inferior to the Second Nightking, which was why Lu Yin was not worried about letting Liu Huang out.

    Liu Huang stared down at the gadget in silence.

    ¡°The Warden will soon regain consciousness. If you don¡¯t give me an answer before he wakes up, you will stay here until you die.¡± Lu Yin turned to stare off into the distance. His finger twitched, and the death energy binding L¨¸ Cha rose up into the sky. It then spread out, reformed into the swamp, and pulled Lord Piggy up out of the swamp with his limbs all tied up.

    Lord Piggy yelped, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu- Master Lu! I¡¯m Piggy! Your loyal Piggy! I won¡¯t say anything! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡±

 Chapter 1690: Keep It A Secret

    Chapter 1690: Keep It A Secret

    Lord Piggy was thrown to the ground, and hended with a bang. Stunned with terror, he curled up into a ball and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin spoke calmly, ¡°You¡¯ve seen everything that happened here, even the people I want to take away.¡±

    ¡°No! I didn¡¯t see anything!¡± Lord Piggy screamed anxiously.

    At this instance, Liu Ye returned with Shui Chuanxiao.

    Lu Yin turned to face Shui Chuanxiao. ¡°Wee to your prison escape, Grand Marshal.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao nced around. He noticed the Warden, and his eyes eventually returned to Lu Yin. ¡°Why do you want to take me with you?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and gave the man a gadget.

    Shui Chuanxiao started reading.

    Lu Yin nced over at Lord Piggy. ¡°I can¡¯t risk letting the Hall of Honor know about the people I¡¯m taking with me, so your fate has already been determined.¡±

    Lord Piggy was terrified, and he started wailing, ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m your servant! I won¡¯t say anything, nothing at all! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t say anything! Never ever! Alliance Leader¡­¡±

    Lu Yin actually had no ns of killing the pig. The creature had done nothing at all to help after the riot broke out, and only the Warden had taken action against the escaping prisoners. Someone reliable needed to stay in Gaia¡¯s Swamp to exin what had happened after the Warden fainted, or else the disappearance of the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and Shui Chuanxiao would be too suspicious, especially since Lu Yin had suffered no injuries at all.

    In addition to Lord Piggy, L¨¸ Cha and L¨¸ Yan also could not leave the prison.

    Just like with what had happened in the Dominion Realm, Lu Yin needed witnesses to prove that there was no connection to a major incident.

    Lu Yin turned to L¨¸ Cha. ¡°Do you want your father to stay alive?¡±

    L¨¸ Cha stared intently at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Stay here with your father. Even if the Warden suspects your involvement in the escape attempt, his suspicions will have no grounds if L¨¸ Yan is still here. I also need you to keep an eye on that pig. And in return, I can promise that I will get your father out of Gaia¡¯s Swamp soon,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll stay,¡± L¨¸ Yan immediately spoke up, as he had no other choice.

    L¨¸ Cha helplessly asked, ¡°Will you really save my father?¡±

    ¡°I will make sure that both you and your father are able to leave,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    L¨¸ Cha was solemn as she looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Alright, I promise.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. Both prisoners and guards had died during the riot, so not very many people could be allowed to escape. If all of the important prisoners escaped, then the incident would blow up. This was why L¨¸ Yan needed to stay behind, and it was also why Can had to die. Only Liu Huang, the Second Nightking, and Shui Chuanxiao could be allowed to leave.

    Lord Piggy silently dived back into the ground as he tried to escape into the depths of the swamp.

    L¨¸ Cha nced over, walked towards the pig, and then easily pulled him up by the ear.

    Lord Piggy whined, ¡°Master Cha, please let go! Let me go! Alliance Leader Lu, help! She¡¯s trying to kill me!¡±

    L¨¸ Cha tossed Lord Piggy onto the Warden¡¯s head, and the pig started to nervously tremble.

    ¡°Pee,¡± L¨¸ Chamanded.

    Lord Piggy blinked in confusion.

    Lu Yin was also stunned. Pee? He suddenly thought of that bastard, Tu Qiming.

    ¡°Pee,¡± L¨¸ Cha ordered again.

    Lord Piggy was terrified, and he involuntarily pissed himself. He then started shrieking, ¡°I¡¯m dead! I¡¯m dead! I¡¯m dead! I¡¯m dead! I peed on the Warden, I¡¯m dead!¡±

    ¡°No matter what happens, anyone who pees on the Warden will die,¡± L¨¸ Cha dered. She then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°He won¡¯t say anything no matter what.¡±

    Lord Piggy rolled off of the Warden, tears filling his eyes. This was the worst day of his entire life, and he was surrounded by terrible people.

    Lu Yin shot a sympathetic look towards Lord Piggy.

    The Warden¡¯s finger twitched, and the ground shook.

    Lu Yin turned to Liu Huang. If the man did not make up his mind by the time the Warden regained consciousness, Liu Huang would die here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp as Lu Yin would not give the man a chance to say anything.

    Liu Huang met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance is a loose yet close-knit alliance. Even if the Sword Sect joins you, you still won¡¯t be able to interfere with the Sword Sect¡¯s internal affairs and can only decide our overall direction, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Although you¡¯ve managed to create the Fourteenth Sword, you¡¯ve been imprisoned for too long. Has your brain spoiled?¡±

    Liu Huang¡¯s expression instantly changed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold, ¡°That¡¯s how it will be on paper. However, as soon as the Sword Sect joins the Great Eastern Alliance, you will need to listen to my orders. Still, you can try to rece me as the Alliance Leader, if you are able to do so.¡±

    The Warden¡¯s finger twitched again.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Huang with cold eyes. Liu Huang was the key for Lu Yin¡¯s n to force the Sword Sect to submit. However even if the man disagreed, Lu Yin would be able toe up with other methods.

    Liu Huang turned to look at the Warden and saw the giant¡¯s finger twitch yet again. He let out a reluctant sigh. ¡°I want to leave this ce and teach the Fourteenth Sword.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at the Second Nightking. ¡°Take them away.¡±

    The moment the Second Nightking had helped Lu Yin stop Can¡¯s attack, his position had been made clear. He was no longer in any position to refuse Lu Yin.

    Both Liu Huang¡¯s and the Second Nightking¡¯s lives were under Lu Yin¡¯s control. The only exception was Shui Chuanxiao, but regardless of if the man was willing to take on the position of Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander, Lu Yin would still take the man away from Gaia¡¯s Swamp. En Ya had done a great deal for Lu Yin over the years, and her only request was Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s freedom, and Lu Yin had promised to aplish it.

    Shui Chuanxiao was a terrible criminal, but his crime had ended up greatly benefiting the Human Domain. The former grand marshal¡¯s fatey in Lu Yin¡¯s hands; if Lu Yin felt that Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s contributions were enough to cancel out his crimes, Shui Chuanxiao would eventually be free to leave. However, if Lu Yin felt that Shui Chuanxiao was a true criminal, the man would die here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    This was power.

    ¡­

    The Warden woke up, and he reflexively punched the swamp, tearing the sky apart as he yelled, ¡°Who dares to escape? I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Lord Piggy was tossed into the distance with a shriek.

    The Warden looked around, and he saw L¨¸ Cha silently standing nearby along with Lu Yin and the others.

    ¡°Where are the prisoners who escaped?¡± the Warden bellowed as he red at L¨¸ Cha.

    L¨¸ Cha answered coldly, ¡°The Second Nightking, that old swordsman, and less than ten prisoners escaped. Can is dead, and L¨¸ Yan has been recaptured.¡±

    The Warden was shocked. He looked around and saw that everything had already returned to normal, with the exception of his distant castle slowly copsing.

    He nced at Lu Yin and the others, and then over at Lord Piggy who had be stuck in the swamp. The Warden picked up Lord Piggy and shook him.

    Lord Piggy whined, ¡°Sir Warden, I¡¯m Piggy! Don¡¯t eat me! Don¡¯t eat me!¡±

    The Warden released the animal. ¡°What happened after I fainted?¡±

    Lord Piggy leaped up, panting. ¡°After you fell unconscious, Alliance Leader Lu stepped up. However, your previous attacks were too strong, and Alliance Leader Lu was also wounded, so he wasn¡¯t able to capture the Second Nightking and the other prisoners who escaped¡­¡±

    Since both of Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s assistant wardens were present, L¨¸ Yan was back in prison, and Can had died, the Warden held no suspicions towards Lu Yin. Of particr importance was the fact that the Second Nightking had escaped, and the Warden believed that Lu Yin would never let that man go, as the Second Nightking was Lu Yin¡¯s greatest threat.

    Just the fact that the Second Nightking had escaped erased all suspicions towards Lu Yin could be cleared. On top of that, Lu Yin had actually told the Warden about Can¡¯s ns before anything had happened, which had further proven that Lu Yin had no connection to the prison break.

    Lu Yin was instead seen as the righteous person who had helped them stop a full prison break.

    At least, that was the Warden¡¯s perception. He profusely apologized to Lu Yin. ¡°I was too careless. I never thought that they would be this powerful after being held captive in the toxic gas for so long.¡±

    Lu Yin answered in a helpless manner, ¡°Liu Ye and Fei Hua wanted to help out at first, but, Senior, your aurelian force was just too powerful! We couldn¡¯t do anything at all.¡±

    The Warden apologized yet again.

    ¡°We should find a way to capture the prisoners who escaped! The Second Nightking is one of them,¡± Lu Yin angrily dered.

    The Warden continued to apologize, and he guaranteed that the Hall of Honor would quickly capture the Second Nightking.

    As far as everyone else was concerned, the Second Nightking¡¯s escape seemed to be extremely bad for Lu Yin, so nobody would think that Lu Yin had actually deliberately released the man from Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Emperor Luo was locked up in Can¡¯s old ce, and Lu Yin led Liu Ye and Fei Hua elsewhere to rest.

    The Warden was going to be extremely busy for the time being, as he needed to rechain the prisoners, tally the various deaths, and determine exactly who had managed to escape. In addition, he also had to uncover the reason why there had been a sessful prison break to begin with.

    The first person the Warden spoke with was L¨¸ Cha.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you escape?¡± the Warden asked L¨¸ Cha. His castle had already been repaired, as a few guards had easily taken care of that matter.

    L¨¸ Cha answered coldly, ¡°The entire universe belongs to the Hall of Honor, so what''s the point in trying to escape?¡±

    The Warden¡¯s voice was equally cold. ¡°Your father surrendered and never even considered leaving Gaia¡¯s Swamp, but then he changed his mind after you arrived to keep himpany. He wanted you to leave this ce as he doesn¡¯t want you to stay here forever. So, why didn¡¯t you leave with him?¡±

    L¨¸ Cha raised her head. ¡°This is a good ce, so why would we leave? My father has his opinion, and I have my own. I don¡¯t want to leave. I¡¯m the reason why he¡¯s here, so I want him to leave this ce proudly, not escape in shame. Even if I am forced to die here, I will still stay with him.¡±

    The Warden took a sk out from his cosmic ring and took a swig. ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s the right mindset for an assistant warden of Gaia¡¯s Swamp! Alright, I understand.¡±

    Lord Piggy rushed in as soon as L¨¸ Cha left. However, this time, the pig did not run into the Warden¡¯s toe. After seeing the power of the Warden¡¯s aurelian force, the pig knew that he would never be able to kill the Warden, not even if he grew ten times bigger. ¡°Sir Warden, what should we do regarding Liu Huang¡¯s identity? Alliance Leader Lu asked me about this a few times, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to keep it a secret.¡±

    The Warden red at the pig. ¡°You must keep that from him no matter what! Don¡¯t ever mention that name again!¡±

    Lord Piggy jumped up, and his ears drooped. He then carefully looked up, saw the Warden¡¯s face, and remembered peeing on it. Just thinking about it made Lord Piggy feel like he could be killed at any time. ¡°Yes, keep it. I have to keep it from him. I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    The Warden was satisfied with this response. ¡°That¡¯s right, keep it a secret. Say nothing to anyone.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Sir Warden. I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡±

    ¡­

    The Warden reported the riot and the escapes to the Hall of Honor after regaining consciousness. The news shocked the council of overseers, the Interster Supreme Court, and even Arch-Elder Zen.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp not only housed criminals, but it also held people like Liu Huang who could expose the Hall of Honor¡¯s dark side. If such matters were revealed, the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation would be threatened.

 Chapter 1691: Tail

    Chapter 1691: Tail

    The overseers immediately held an emergency council meeting. All of the overseers were present, though there had been some recent changes in the faces.

    Cong Ying had already been reced after dying the Expeditionary Forces from joining the war in the Cosmic Sea. He had been reced by Yang Ji,1 the leader of the Light World, which was one of the 3,000 hidden worlds in the Honor Zone. The other overseer who had been reced was Nightking Zheng.

    Nightking Zheng had been fired when Lu Yin arrived at Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and he had been reced by Zi Jing.

    ¡°Fourteen prisoners escaped due to the riot in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Here¡¯s the list,¡± Xin Jiao stated solemnly. There was something hidden in her eyes.

    Zi Jing felt shocked when she saw the list. ¡°Why is one of the prisoners nameless?¡±

    Xin Jiao answered, ¡°That person wasn¡¯t locked up by the council of overseers and was instead directly sent there by the Interster Supreme Court. Due to the confidential nature of this matter, that person¡¯s name has been redacted.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we know about it?¡± Yang Ji asked. As leader of the Light World, he had a power level of more than 700,000, which made him one of the powerhouses on the council.

    Old Man San Shang shook his head. ¡°This is actually quite normal, so just get used to it.¡±

    ¡°The Second Nightking also escaped!¡± Liu Ran eximed.

    With Nightking Zheng removed from the council, Liu Ran had be the only overseer representing the Innerverse. The Second Nightking¡¯s escape affected the Innerverse the most, and Liu Ran¡¯s first thought was about whether or not the Daynight n would be able to recover. However, that was actually impossible, as the Second Nightking could not openly return to the Daynight n after escaping from Gaia¡¯s Swamp. That would just induce the Chief Justice to move out once again.

    Liu Ran also realized that the Second Nightking¡¯s escape was a huge problem for Lu Yin. Lu Yin had destroyed the Daynight n, so the Second Nightking would definitely seek out the youth to get revenge.

    Liu Ran reflexively smiled after considering this. He wanted to send a message to his sect master right away so that Liu Qianjue would know that he no longer needed to worry about Lu Yin. In fact, Lu Yin was probably terrified for his own safety at this moment!

    Overseer Si Hong nced at Liu Ran. ¡°The Second Nightking is extremely powerful, and we must capture him soon, as nobody will be able to defeat him once he regains his full power. We can¡¯t simply ask the Chief Justice to run around the universe trying to capture the man.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Lu Yin again!¡± Mr. You eximed. ¡°Why do things happen wherever Lu Yin goes? Is this riot in Gaia¡¯s Swamp connected to him? He must be behind it.¡±

    San Liang instantly retorted, ¡°Mr. You, be careful with your words. As an overseer, how could you use people without evidence?¡±

    Mr. You wanted to retaliate, but bit his tongue instead. The Longevity Brigade had been destroyed, which meant that he no longer had anyone supporting him. Nightking Zheng had also just been removed from the council, and Mr. You knew that he would not retain his position for much longer, so he did not argue with San Liang.

    Mr. You nced over at Nan Yuan. The rtionship between the Longevity Brigade and the Xia family had been exposed, so Mr. You was basically a servant to the Xia family at this time.

    Nan Yuan smacked the table. ¡°Overseer San Liang, don¡¯t blow things out of proportion. Mr. You is simply voicing a guess. It¡¯s true that things happen wherever Lu Yin goes, so it¡¯s perfectly reasonable to suspect him.¡±

    ¡°You are wrong about this one. Here is the report from Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s Warden,¡± Xin Jiao said as he shared the report.

    Yang Ji was surprised by what he saw. ¡°Lu Yin knew about the riot beforehand? And Shui Chuanxiao was the one who told him about it?¡±

    ¡°The Warden was informed that a riot would ur, but he still allowed more than ten prisoners to escape. This is the Warden¡¯s fault.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Lu Yin also helped out. If not for him and the people with him, all of the prisoners would have escaped.¡±

    ¡°But how did Shui Chuanxiao escape? Since he was the one who told Lu Yin about the riot, shouldn¡¯t he have not wanted to escape?¡± Liu Ran asked.

    Bu Laoweng interjected, ¡°No matter what, this incident is over. We have to send someone to investigate the prison, and we also need to post wanted pictures across the universe.¡±

    The council¡¯s decision was soon delivered to the Interster Supreme Court. The final decision was to send Judicial Commissioner Mu En to investigate what had happened in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    As for the overseers, they treated the matter like a normal prison escape, as they were ignorant about Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s defenses. However, the reaction to this incident was very different within the Interster Supreme Court.

    Not even an expert with a power level of more than a million could break into Gaia¡¯s Swamp, let alone some of the escaped prisoners. Thus, everyone, including the Chief Justice, was shocked to learn that a riot had resulted in multiple prisoners escaping.

    Mu En had been on a different mission, but he was quickly redirected to Gaia¡¯s Swamp because of the emergency.

    After Mu En¡¯s visit, the other Judicial Commissioners, the Shadow of Death and the Calm of Despair, also made their way to Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    The most pressing issue at this time was to recapture the Second Nightking

    How were they supposed to find and capture someone so powerful in the vast universe?

    After the overseers ended their meeting, Liu Ran immediately reported the Second Nightking¡¯s escape to Liu Qianjue. Liu Qianjue felt relieved, as he had initially been concerned about finding a way to stop Lu Yin. But with the Second Nightking¡¯s escape, Lu Yin would likely be too busy to find trouble for the Innerverse.

    Liu Qianjue immediately sent someone to secretly congratte the Daynight n, and he also tried to find further information about the Third Nightking.

    Liu Qianjue was hoping for the Third Nightking to return so that the man would cooperate with the Second Nightking to restore the Daynight n¡¯s former glory. This would allow the Sword Sect to work with the Daynight n to oppose the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin was too ambitious, so Liu Huang would rather have the Daynight n as an opponent than the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Innerverse¡¯s other great flowzones felt a simr wave of relief. They were all delighted that someone else was causing trouble for Lu Yin, as it meant that they could focus on isting zing Mist Flowzone.

    Ever since Lu Yin had entered zing Mist Flowzone, he had be the Innerverse¡¯s universal enemy.

    Lu Yin, who was still in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, received a message from Mu En, asking him to remain in Gaia¡¯s Swamp and help with the investigation.

    Lu Yin did not mind, as Mu En¡¯s arrival meant that the Judicial Commissioner could then take Liu Ye and Fei Hua with him when he left.

    Lu Yin felt sad at the thought of Liu Ye and Fei Hua leaving. They had been wonderful bodyguards, but they did not belong to him.

    L¨¸ Cha visited Lu Yin. ¡°My father wants to speak with you.¡±

    Lu Yin followed L¨¸ Cha to see L¨¸ Yan.

    L¨¸ Yan looked far more haggardpared to when Lu Yin had first met the man. ¡°Xiao Cha, you can leave us alone.¡±

    L¨¸ Cha silently left.

    Lu Yin turned to face L¨¸ Yan. ¡°Why did you ask to see me?¡±

    L¨¸ Yan was serious as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I have finally understood your background, Lu Yin, Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not a secret.¡±

    ¡°How much do you know about me, Alliance Leader Lu?¡± L¨¸ Yan asked.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°You were once a Judicial Commissioner, and you should be from about the same generation as Judicial Commissioner Shadow of Death. This is all I know about you, as I didn¡¯t investigate you and have only seen what Gaia¡¯s Swamp has on you.¡±

    L¨¸ Yanughed bitterly. ¡°I was once a Judicial Commissioner, but now people only know of me as a prisoner! How ironic.¡±

    Lu Yin said nothing. He had no idea why L¨¸ Yan had wanted to meet him. They had not had many interactions, and Lu Yin was not particrly keen on coercing L¨¸ Yan into joining him. L¨¸ Yan had already betrayed humanity, and although he had not done anything evil and had even turned himself in, nobody would dare to ept him because of his grave mistake in the past.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, who do you believe is humanity¡¯s real enemy?¡± L¨¸ Yan asked.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    L¨¸ Yan answered, ¡°Just what I asked you. To you, is your real enemy the Sword Sect? The Daynight n? The major powers of the Innerverse? Or maybe the people from the Neoverse like the Seven Courts?¡±

    Lu Yin confidently answered, ¡°The Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    L¨¸ Yan¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Neohuman Alliance. The Hall of Honor has always followed a specific principle: whoever works with the Neohuman Alliance must be killed. This is because the Neohuman Alliance is our true enemy. They want to transform humans into zombies in order to achieve their supposed Aeterna.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°It appears that there¡¯s something you aren¡¯t aware of, Senior. The Sixth Maind has already been overtaken by monsters from the Neohuman Alliance, and they have been forced to relocate to the Outerverse. I already know the Neohuman Alliance is our enemy.¡±

    ¡°I know about what happened to the Sixth Maind. Gaia¡¯s Swamp could only hide itself when the Sixth Maind invaded, but I also know what happened after that. I simply wanted to confirm who you believe to be our true enemy in your deepest heart. That is very important to me. Now, I feel free to tell you something. Alliance Leader Lu, I want you to find out something about this ce. This ce is the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse¡­¡± L¨¸ Yan exined solemnly.

    Lu Yin was astonished at the information he was receiving from L¨¸ Yan. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    L¨¸ Yan nodded. ¡°I discovered this when I was in Aeternus Nation. Mr. Feng thought that I didn¡¯t know, but I was once a Judicial Commissioner.¡±

    Lu Yin had always wanted to target Aeternus, and not just because they were humanity¡¯s greatest enemy.

    Shaman God wanted to use Lu Yin to incite war among humans. Lu Yin could not avert that n, but after discussing things with Wang Wen and Wei Rong, Lu Yin had decided to instead involve Aeternus in their own n as well. It would be better to exhaust Aeternus, as they were the greatest enemy of the Fifth Maind, as well as the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World.

    Even on a battlefield, everyone¡¯s first priority was always to destroy a corpse king if one appeared.

    Lu Yin could fight against the four ruling powers of the Perennial World, but he wanted to destroy Aeternus first. At the very least, humans could not suffer greater casualties than Aeternus did.

    In order to unite the Innerverse, Lu Yin would need to wage a war on other humans. This was not something that he actually wanted to do, as he would much rather fight against Aeternus alongside his fellow humans.

    And yet, despite everything, Lu Yin had not been able to find any trace of Aeternus. Finally, he had grasped something.

    ¡°Since you know the location of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Outerverse and Innerverse, why didn¡¯t you tell the Hall of Honor about it?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    L¨¸ Yan solemnly answered, ¡°There¡¯s a spy within the Hall of Honor.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. That spy was Bu Laoweng. He had been the one to reveal the location of a certain location to the Neohuman Alliance, which would have allowed Aeternus to invade through the stellr storm. If not for Progenitor Hui¡¯s n, the Fifth Maind would have been destroyed.

    Not many people knew that Bu Laoweng was the greatest spy that the Neohuman Alliance had nted within the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°How did you find out that the Neohuman Alliance has a mole inside the Hall of Honor?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    L¨¸ Yan answered, ¡°Mr. Feng told me that. He trusted me a great deal since I sent my daughter to them to undergo a transformation. However, he never imagined that I had only joined the Neohuman Alliance for my daughter to be cured with death energy. As soon as Xiao Cha was cured, I received a mission from Mr. Feng, ordering me to find out the Chief Justice¡¯s weakness. He never expected me to turn myself in.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, the Neohuman Alliance is very powerful since the corpse kings that they¡¯ve created can live forever. However, they have no emotions, so they will never understand loyalty. I, L¨¸ Yan, was able to betray humanity for my daughter, but I would never do anything to harm humanity! Hahahaha!¡±

    ¡°So why do you trust me? Aren¡¯t you worried that I could also be someone from the Neohuman Alliance?¡± Lu Yin was curious about this.

    [1] Yang Ji = The Beginning of the Sun. ?

 Chapter 1692: Take A Beating

    Chapter 1692: Take A Beating

    L¨¸ Yanughed bitterly after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°If you¡¯re a part of the Neohuman Alliance, then our universe is doomed! Who could stop your God of Death¡¯s powers if you were a corpse king? We might as well just surrender.¡±

    Lu Yin then left, though L¨¸ Yan gave him a warning that there were certainly corpse kings with power levels exceeding a million at the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse, so he should not touch the ce without making ample preparations.

    Each person had their own story, and the prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp had all lived exciting lives. No matter if they were good or bad, normal people would never be imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Lu Yin was curious about the various prisoners¡¯ backgrounds, so he ordered L¨¸ Cha to bring him information regarding the prisoners. Shortly after, he started reading.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin approached a prisoner. To be precise, he was approaching a brain. This brain was the same one that Lord Piggy had shown him when Lu Yin had taken a tour of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    The owner of this particr brain had killed numerous people in order to obtain eternal life. Thest person that he had killed was Overseer Xin Jiao¡¯s son, and it was also why the brain had been imprisoned and sentenced to eternal torture. Everything that entered the thoughts of this brain was a nightmare, so the mind that it once contained had probably gone crazy by now.

    This was just the information that Gaia¡¯s Swamp had recorded, but Lu Yin had learned more from San Liang, as some facts had been intentionally hidden by Xin Jiao.

    This brain had actually belonged to a normal cultivator. The reason why this person had been able to carry out those crimes was actually all because of Xin Jiao¡¯s son. Xin Jiao¡¯s son had financially backed this cultivator, and he had not been the only person chasing after immortality; Xin Jiao¡¯s son had also been interested.

    However, the experiments had failed, and Xin Jiao¡¯s son had been killed. That was why Xin Jiao hade to hate this cultivator and had imprisoned his brain.

    Lu Yin could notmunicate with a mere brain, but he felt like he was looking at Xin Jiao as he stared at the brain. Beneath her mild appearance, Xin Jiao was an extremely cruel person. The woman was far from being as nice as she seemed.

    There were still ten days left before Mu En arrived at Gaia¡¯s Swamp, so Lu Yin asked the Warden about aurelian force due to his boredom.

    Lu Yin had wanted to learn about aurelian force for a long time, and he had asked Zhou Tang about it in the past. Now, he was continuing by asking the Warden about it.

    ¡°Aurelian force? Oh, you¡¯ve cultivated battle force too, right? What level have you reached?¡± The Warden asked curiously. He had to bend his head down low to look at Lu Yin, as the giant was far too massive.

    Golden battle force appeared around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and it shook the sky.

    The Warden was surprised. ¡°That¡¯s not bad. Almost nobody in this whole universe can reach ten lined battle force.¡±

    ¡°Are youplimenting yourself, Senior? You¡¯ve already achieved aurelian force.¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    The Warden shook his head. ¡°I only managed to reach the realm of aurelian force by using Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. If not for his blood, my limit would have been nine lined battle force. One¡¯s spirit is the most important factor when cultivating battle force, but this universe¡¯s values restrict everyone¡¯s spirit.

    ¡°Everyone in this ce believes that the peak of battle force is nine lined battle force, and with that belief, how could anyone achieve a further breakthrough unless they truly felt like they had conquered the universe? How did you manage to break through?¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°When I became the champion of ZENITH.¡±

    The Wardenughed. ¡°No wonder! You defeated all your peers and proved that you are invincible among your generation. That¡¯s why you were able to break through. Think about it: how many people in this universe could achieve the same thing? And even then, those who could be capable of doing so may not have cultivated battle force. Those conditions aren¡¯t easy to fulfill.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s tough. Senior, I really want to learn aurelian force. Do I need to reach yet another peak to do that?¡±

    The Warden hesitated and took another sip of his wine. ¡°Spirit is the most important thing, but the second most important is umtion. Without a strong enough body and a sturdy enough foundation, it¡¯s impossible to achieve aurelian force even if you are the master of the Hall of Honor. So, you should take a beating.¡±

    Lu Yin choked. ¡°What?¡±

    The Warden grinned. ¡°Take a beating. Spirit is improved through beatings. If you want to be stronger, then you¡¯ll need to take beatings, and only then will your battle force be stronger. That¡¯s my opinion, but you can ignore it if you want.¡±

    The Warden then continued drinking.

    Lu Yinughed bitterly. Fighting was indeed a great method to improving one¡¯s battle force. There was no shortcut when it came to cultivating battle force, as each person had to get there on their own.

    Lu Yin had not be the champion of ZENITH through an ident. He had put in a great deal of effort in order to aplish that feat and that included cultivating battle force.

    ¡°Senior, can you help me? I would like to experience aurelian force,¡± Lu Yin spoke with confidence.

    The Warden smashed his sk onto the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t mind beating you up. Here¡¯s some aurelian force for you.¡±

    A finger appeared right in front of Lu Yin, and the Warden flicked his finger at Lu Yin. The young man crossed his arms before his chest, but he still felt like both of his arms were about to fall off. He was sted backwards, and the golden battle force covering his body was instantly shredded apart as a stabbing pain wracked his body, forcing him to spit out blood.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both shocked, and they instantly appeared next to the Warden and almost attacked him.

    The Warden said, ¡°He asked me to beat him up.¡±

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin felt like his body was falling apart. He had crashed into a distant portion of the swamp, and he was surrounded by death energy. Only after taking a few deep breaths did he start to feel a bit better.

    Pain assaulted his entire body, and he was unable to even stand. This was the effect of a gentle finger flick from the Warden; Lu Yin¡¯s body waspletely unable to withstand the power of such an attack without the protection of his armor.

    Lord Piggy anxiously rushed over as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

    ¡°Alliance Leader! Alliance Leader Lu, are you alright?¡± the pig shouted.

    Lu Yin slowly sat up as he looked down at his hands and his stomach. His body had been torn apart, and he had suffered quite serious injuries. Fortunately, he had opened through all three of his meridian points, which allowed him to recover very quickly.

    A snout suddenly appeared right before Lu Yin. Lord Piggy was carefully looking at Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance- Alliance Leader Lu, how are you feeling?¡±

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not dead yet.¡±

    Lord Piggy felt disappointed, but said, ¡°That¡¯s great, Alliance Leader Lu. Why did Sir Warden attack you? Did you say something that he reacted poorly to?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Lu Yin was about to continue, but instead he suddenly said, ¡°Is he sensitive about anything?¡±

    Lord Piggy moved much closer to Lu Yin and whispered, ¡°Sir Warden has been single for years! He¡¯s liked a few women in the past, but he¡¯s never had any sess. So, he drinks to alleviate his loneliness.¡±

    ¡°Female giants?¡± Lu Yin was shocked; were pure blooded giants not extinct? He had heard that the Warden was the only one left!

    Lord Piggy shook his head. ¡°No, human women.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. Of course that would never have worked! One was 30,000 meters tall, while the other was just over 1 meter tall!

    ¡°While the Warden seems brash, he¡¯s actually very emotional. Let me tell you a secret.¡± Lord Piggy whispered, ¡°Sir Warden¡¯s even written a love poem before!¡±

    Lu Yin blinked in shock. A- a love poem?

    ¡°How do you know about this?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Piggy blinked. ¡°I always see Sir Warden reciting his poems.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. He did not want to continue this conversation. ¡°You can leave. I¡¯ll stay here for a bit longer to recover.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to take you to the castle?¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    Back in the castle, the Warden had sat down and continued his drinking. He had actually not held back very much in his attack against Lu Yin, but he had controlled the attack very precisely, so he felt that it should have been at just the right level for Lu Yin to be able to withstand. While the youth would certainly be badly injured, he should be fine after recuperating for a few days since the injuries should all be superficial.

    The Warden continued drinking.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin returned, looking quite disheveled. His clothes were tattered, and wounds could still be seen all over his body, though most of his injuries had already recovered.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua were both shocked. They had seen the extent of Lu Yin¡¯s injuries, so how had he managed to recover so quickly?

    However, they were unaware of the changes that had urred to Lu Yin¡¯s body after he opened his three meridian points. As long as he was not instantly killed, he could recover from basically any injury. As for wounds that were inflicted by a Semi-Progenitor and were unable to recover on their own, he could use Extremes Must Be Reversed and Timestop to recover. If he told anyone about these abilities, including powerhouses like Liu Ye and Fei Hua, they would be shocked.

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re already fine?¡± The Warden waspletely astonished.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°Senior, let¡¯s continue.¡±

    The Warden grew intrigued. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll keep going.¡±

    His aurelian force once again lit up the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Ever since the Outerverse had been separated from the Innerverse, Lu Yin had started down a unique cultivation path, especially after he had killed Enlighters as an Explorer by using Enhanced weapons. Lu Yin¡¯s upgraded items had since be an integral part of his attacking methods. Even when he fought against people like Nightking Zhenwu and Shang Qing, Lu Yin had never felt the pressure of a life or death situation.

    He had always been thinking about the long-term pressure rather than anything in the heat of the moment where he could be killed.

    Lu Yin was about to feel that kind of pressure in a battle, and he truly felt as though he could be crushed at any moment.

    The Warden¡¯s finger appeared again, but this time Lu Yin was prepared. An astral chessboard appeared under his feet, and he moved. However, the Warden¡¯s aurelian force had already warped space, which meant that Lu Yin could not move himself anywhere, not even into the true universe. Lu Yin raised a hand and set up a Channeling Diagram even as golden battle force covered his body. Once again, he was shot backwards with a bang.

    Despite being better prepared than before, Lu Yin was still heavily injured, as the Warden had used more strength in this attack.

    Not everyone would be able to face the pressure of an attack that utilized aurelian force, and Lu Yin was confident that he would be able to break through if he kept experiencing aurelian force.

    Bang.

    He was thrown to the southern region of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Bang.

    He was shot to the northern section of Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s guards would asionally look up to see Lu Yin being sted all across the swamp. Lord Piggy secretly hoped that the Warden would idently kill Lu Yin, as the pig would no longer be under Lu Yin¡¯s control in that case.

    L¨¸ Cha was also watching, but her thoughts were different from Lord Piggy¡¯s. She did not hope for Lu Yin¡¯s death, as he was the only person who could potentially set her father free. The prison riot had been the first prison break to seed even after countless years. Without Lu Yin, there would never be another chance in her entire life to rescue her father.

    Ze Cu was astounded by Lu Yin¡¯s talent. Only a short amount of time had passed since ZENITH had finished, but Lu Yin was already able to withstand the Warden¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin used multiple methods, but he simply could not find any way to avoid the Warden¡¯s attack as the gap between them was toorge. The Warden¡¯s power level wasparable to Cang Zhou, Liu Ye, and Fei Hua¡¯s. However, with the boost provided by aurelian force, not even Cang Zhou could have been the Warden¡¯s opponent. Liu Ye and Fei Hua would also never be able to trap the Warden, just like how they had not been able to trap Nightking Dijiang.

    Nightking Dijiang had possessed a powerful spiritual force, but the Warden controlled a powerful battle force.

 Chapter 1693: Return

    Chapter 1693: Return

    Ten days quickly went by, and Mu En soon arrived at Gaia¡¯s Swamp. The first thing that he saw upon arriving was Lu Yin flying past him. The Judicial Commissioner was shocked by this sight, and he immediately went to see the Warden. ¡°Warden of the Gaia¡¯s Swamp, what are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin crashed into the swamp, feeling as though his body was about to copse. He had experienced the same feeling multiple times now, and he had already be ustomed to it. At the same time, his golden battle force had be more robust, and he felt as though it had sunk into his very bones.

    Within the castle, Mu En eximed, ¡°Lu Yin¡¯s training with you?¡±

    The Warden nodded. ¡°He requested this himself. Judicial Commissioner Mu En, you¡¯re here to investigate the prison break, right? Please carry on.¡±

    Mu En nodded even as he looked off into the distance. He did not ask any more questions, as he had noticed that Liu Ye and Fei Hua had not intervened. Additionally, Lu Yin himself had requested the training, so there was nothing that Mu En could say.

    He did nothing to interfere, and instead, he went to interrogate the guards and prisoners with Lord Piggy.

    After just two days, Mu En finished his investigation. He had spoken to everyone within Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and he had also examined the avable video recordings. However, the recordings were not very useful, as they had all stopped the moment the Warden used his aurelian force.

    Lord Piggy provided most of the information that Mu En gathered, as the pig had recounted the incident in great detail, with a particr emphasis on Lu Yin¡¯s contributions. From Lord Piggy¡¯s ount, the pig sounded more like someone from the Great Eastern Alliance rather than an assistant warden.

    Lu Yin observed his golden battle force that had be more solid due to his recent training. Still, it was clear that it would take a long time before he reached the level of aurelian force.

    ¡°It¡¯s certainly not easy, or else somebody else in this universe would have achieved it long ago,¡± the Wardenmented while gulping down more wine.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Senior, why isn¡¯t anyone aware that you have aurelian force?¡±

    The Warden smiled. ¡°I reached that level with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, so what does it matter if others know about it? Since I didn¡¯t aplish it on my own, I¡¯ll never be able to teach others how to cultivate battle force. Additionally, it isn¡¯t easy for people to even start cultivating battle force.¡±

    Lu Yin understood this, as few people in the Astral Combat Academy had managed to sessfullyprehend battle force. Even in the Perennial World, how many had managed to reach the level of aurelian force? It was a truly difficult path, and it was not even intended for humans, as battle force was a cultivation method that originated from the giants.

    ¡°There is something I¡¯m curious about: how do you recover so quickly, Alliance Leader Lu? Did you use a secret technique? Or some sort of recovery technique?¡± the Warden asked. He had be a bit closer to Lu Yin over the recent few days, so he did not feel awkward asking such a question.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It¡¯s a skill from the Ku family.¡±

    The Warden grew intrigued. ¡°The Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family? I heard that their Ku Secret Art allows a person to instantly recover. Did you manage to learn that?¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that easy to learn the Ku Secret Art.¡±

    Lord Piggy rushed in with Mu En on his back.

    Mu En greeted the Warden and then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, let¡¯s talk for a moment.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    Mu En and Lu Yin stood across from each other outside the castle.

    ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for helping to stop the riot that broke out here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. It would have been chaos if all the prisoners had escaped,¡± Mu En said.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a problem.¡±

    Mu En continued, ¡°The Warden must bear most of the responsibility for this riot. He was already aware that someone was nning a prison break, but he still assumed that he would be able to take care of everything by himself. His mistake led to a terrible situation, and he may very well be judged for this matter. As for you, Alliance Leader Lu, you will be rewarded for reporting the nned prison break.¡±

    Lu Yinughed and turned to look out at the swamp. ¡°All of the prisoners and guards here are stuck in this prison, so what¡¯s the difference? Even if the Warden is punished, the worst thing that could happen is that he¡¯ll have to stay here and be the Warden for longer than expected. You should be more concerned about the escaped prisoners.¡±

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he looked at Mu En. ¡°I would like to request that the Chief Justice himself go out to capture the Second Nightking. I don¡¯t feel safe with him free.¡±

    Mu En shook his head. ¡°The Chief Justice has his own way of handling matters, and we aren¡¯t able to interfere. However, I will still deliver your request to the Chief Justice.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Mu En then asked, ¡°Aren''t you able to reach out to the Chief Justice yourself, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

    While no one knew precisely what kind of rtionship existed between Lu Yin and the Chief Justice, it remained a fact that Lu Yin held the Chief Justice¡¯s bell, which showed that the two were quite close.

    Lu Yin awkwardly answered, ¡°Just like you said, nobody can interfere with the Chief Justice¡¯s way of handling things, and that includes me. This is why I can only ask for your help, Judicial Commissioner.¡±

    Mu En nodded. ¡°I have something to ask you, Alliance Leader.¡¯

    ¡°Please, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help out at the beginning of the riot, Alliance Leader?¡± Mu En carefully watched Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin turned to face the Judicial Commissioner. ¡°I was about to help, but I was stunned by the Warden¡¯s attack.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Mu En asked.

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°The Warden used his aurelian force on all of Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡­¡±

    Mu En had already gained quite a thorough understanding of the incident, but he still asked Lu Yin about the matter, as he wanted to see if he could detect anything from Lu Yin¡¯s expressions or words.

    ¡°Judicial Commissioner, are you suspecting me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu En smiled. ¡°Of course not, Alliance Leader Lu. You warned the Warden of the riot before it happened, and you also helped out during the chaos. On top of that, your most dangerous enemy, the Second Nightking, was one of the prisoners who escaped.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear you acknowledge that, Judicial Commissioner,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°I have another question, Alliance Leader Lu: do you know who the old swordsman is?¡± Mu En asked Lu Yin curiously.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°No.¡±

    Mu En studied Lu Yin¡¯s face for a while before nodding. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t know, Alliance Leader Lu. As the master of the Outerverse and someone who is trying to enter the Innerverse, you should know that sometimes, you have to resort to unsavory means in order to aplish your goals.¡±

    ¡°I can leave Gaia¡¯s Swamp now, correct?¡± Lu Yin interrupted.

    Mu En nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Mu En frowned as he watched Lu Yin leave. If Lu Yin had any other identity, he would not have been allowed to leave Gaia¡¯s Swamp, regardless of whether or not he was aware of Liu Huang¡¯s identity, as the Hall of Honor could not take any risks rted to this matter. However, Lu Yin was unique, and he was supported by powerful people like the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and even Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin practically had the support of half of the Fifth Maind. Nobody had been able to stop him from taking the Great Eastern Alliance into the Innerverse, let alone something as small as leaving Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Mu En remembered his first time meeting Lu Yin, as well as the time that he had taken Lu Yin from Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum to Mt. Microcosms. This boy had grown exponentially more powerful since then, and it was possible that the youth would change once again before their next meeting!

    After Emperor Luo was chained up in Can¡¯s former location, Lu Yin officially bade farewell to Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had both gotten to know Lu Yin quite well after being with him for so long. Fei Hua even spoke nicely to him before separating. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t reveal your identity.¡±

    She was referring to his identity as Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    He looked at Liu Ye and Fei Hua with great reluctance. He rarely released anything after obtaining it, but Liu Ye and Fei Hua were bound to leave him. Even now, he felt sad at the thought of losing his two excellent bodyguards.

    However, their recements were going to be the Second Nightking and Liu Huang.

    Those two were even more powerful, but they would not be able to reveal themselves, which was more of a hassle.

    Lu Yin had arrived with four people, but he left alone.

    Lu Yin left Gaia¡¯s Swamp and boarded his spacecraft to make his way back to zing Mist Flowzone.

    Mu En continued to investigate things in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as he needed to uncover how the sourcebox array that connected the three thousand chains had been bypassed, as well as why some of the guards had helped prisoners escape.

    One day after leaving Gaia¡¯s Swamp, three more people could be found within Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft. Namely, they were the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and Shui Chuanxiao.

    All three had started to regain their strength, but it was difficult for Shui Chuanxiao and Liu Huang, as they had been poisoned by the death energy. As for the Second Nightking, he had not been overly affected by the death energy due to his short stay, but his injuries from the Chief Justice still made it difficult for him to recover.

    Lu Yin kept a close eye on the Second Nightking, and he continuously checked the Sealed Cage Technique to ensure that the Second Nightking could not escape after recuperating.

    If any sign of the man no longer being under his control appeared, Lu Yin would kill the Second Nightking without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin also regretted not asking Bai Shui to stay with him. It had been difficult for Lu Yin to gain control of the Second Nightking in Gaia¡¯s Swamp with the Sealed Cage Technique, and he had only seeded after heavily injuring the man. In that case, why had Bai Shui been so confident that she would be able to control the Second Nightking with the Sealed Cage Technique?

    She would have never jumped into the Celestial Frost Pond without being fully confident. Thus, there had to be some reason behind it. Lu Yin¡¯s guess was that the Sealed Cage Technique was far more effective with the Bai family¡¯s bloodline.

    If that was true, then would the Daynight n still remain under his control once the Celestial Frost Sect entered the Fifth Maind? That could be a huge problem!

    After leaving Gaia¡¯s Swamp, Lu Yin received some news regarding the tactics that the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones had employed against the Great Eastern Alliance, such as isting the regions surrounding zing Mist Flowzone and Venom Flowzone, stopping the tributary arks, setting up trade sanctions, and more. Lu Yin was not concerned about any of these details, as he had already dealt with most of the Innerverse¡¯s key decision makers. Additionally, the minor flowzones would not be able to stop the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military in any way.

    The thing that Lu Yin was concerned about was the personnel changes among the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers.

    Nightking Zheng had been removed, which was not within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    ¡°This is my fault¡ªI should have paid more attention! There are nine overseer positions: two each for the Innerverse and Cosmic Sea, and the rest for the Neoverse. Nightking Zheng gained his position as an overseer because of the Daynight n, but after their defeat, they no longer qualified to make decisions for the Innerverse. That¡¯s why Nightking Zheng lost his qualification as an overseer,¡± Wang Wen said apologetically. This was not something that he had considered.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I don¡¯t me you. Nobody can anticipate everything. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if you had considered it, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to change anything. However, I didn¡¯t expect Zi Jing to rece Nightking Zheng.¡±

    ¡°CyNet built up thework for the entire Fifth Maind. Even though thepany maintains a low profile, they are just as powerful as Shamrock Enterprise, Aurora Enterprises, and the Mavis Bank,¡± Wang Wen solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°I know. I was only able to contact you from Mt. Microcosms because I was able to use Zi Jing¡¯s gadget.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s her personality like?¡± Wang Wen asked. The Fifth Maind was toorge, and Wang Wen had always focused his attention on the Outerverse, so he did not have a great understanding of the people from the Neoverse, especially since he rarely interacted with any of them.

 Chapter 1694: Caught All Of Them

    Chapter 1694: Caught All Of Them

    Lu Yin did not know how to answer Wang Wen¡¯s question. ¡°I¡¯ll find some time to take you to Mt. Microcosms so that you can get to know her. She¡¯s always been quite nice to me.¡±

    ¡°Zi Jing reced Nightking Zheng while the leader of the Light World, Yang Ji, reced Cong Ying. They¡¯re both from Mt. Microcosms,¡± Wang Wenmented.

    Lu Yin understood the implications behind this. While it looked like the council of overseers were the decision makers for the Hall of Honor, the true decision maker was actually Arch-Elder Zen. From this, it looked like Arch-Elder Zen was trying to shift the power bnce within the overseers to Mt. Microcosms.

    It was possible that this was a warning to Lu Yin, but Arch-Elder Zen was not specifically targeting him. If that were the case, then both Bu Laoweng and San Liang would have been removed from their positions at the same time as Nightking Zeng. Lu Yin was certain that someone at Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s level was not worried about him.

    ¡°Yang Ji represents the Light World, which is one of the Honor Zone¡¯s 3,000 hidden worlds. He was probably chosen to be an overseer in order to maintain bnce. As for Zi Jing, she controls the entirework, which is vital to the Human Domain,¡± Wang Wen mused.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. When he had met Zi Jing in CyNet World, he had asked her why she had used Shui Chuanxiao to connect the various pieces of thework together. However, Zi Jing had not answered, as they had run out of time. He had forgotten about his question since then, but he had suddenly remembered it now. Maybe he could get his answer from Shui Chuanxiao.

    After hanging up on Wang Wen, Lu Yin went to Shui Chuanxiao to ask the man about Zi Jing.

    ¡°Zi Jing? CyNet¡¯s boss? She was the one who asked me to help with thework,¡± Shui Chuanxiao said.

    Lu Yin remained curious. ¡°You agreed to her request?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao answered, ¡°Why not? No one else was ever as desperate as me for a universalwork. Instantaneousmunication is crucial in war. When thework connected Ironblood Weave to the border, we gained a huge massive advantage in our war efforts against the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she propose the request to the overseers herself?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not something that I know, but maybe she submitted the proposal before. I had also made such a request in the past.¡±

    At this time, the man¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°However, I failed. In fact, there was no chance at all for the proposal to seed. Otherwise, I would have never sacrificed half of Endless Weave.¡±

    Lu Yin left. Shui Chuanxiao did not actually know Zi Jing all that well either, but the former grand marshal was a determined person who would do whatever it took to aplish his goals. Shui Chuanxiao was just like the Sea King in this matter. Thetter had single-handedly destroyed the Sixth Maind¡¯s false sky, even at the risk of bing the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s enemy.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua had brought Lu Yin from zing Mist Flowzone to Gaia¡¯s Swamp in a short amount of time. However, returning to zing Mist Flowzone was much slower, as neither the Second Nightking nor Liu Huang had fully recovered. Thus, the four men were only able to travel at the speed of a Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft.

    Ten dayster, the spacecraft arrived at the border between the Venom and Northseal Flowzones.

    Northseal Flowzoney to the north of Venom Flowzone, and it also bordered the Astral River. By passing through the Northseal Flowzone, it was possible to enter either Fennel Flowzone or Venom Flowzone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vessel quickly passed through Fennel Flowzone and continued on towards zing Mist Flowzone.

    There were multiple Astral River tributaries throughout the Innerverse, and since Northseal Flowzone was connected to both Venom and Fennel Flowzones, there was actually a three-way split in the Astral River, and there was also a tributary ark there.

    It was possible for Lu Yin¡¯s vessel to use the tributary ark to enter Fennel Flowzone, but the tributary ark had been shut down, meaning that nobody was able to enter or leave Fennel Flowzone.

    The major forces of the Innerverse were using this and other simr tactics to suppress the Great Eastern Alliance. They intended to iste both zing Mist and Fennel Flowzones so that the Great Eastern Alliance would be cut off from all the nearby flowzones.

    Lu Yin calmly watched on as various ships traveled back and forth.

    Shui Chuanxiao appeared behind him. ¡°It would seem that you¡¯re not in a good position. It¡¯s not good for you to be the entire Innerverse¡¯s enemy.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve already done the best I can with this.¡±

    He turned to face Shui Chuanxiao. ¡°So, what¡¯s your decision? Are you willing to act as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Commander?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao observed Lu Yin with visible interest. ¡°Are you asking me because of En Ya?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. En Ya can¡¯t make decisions for the Great Eastern Alliance. She asked me to save you, and I¡¯ve already done that. Asking you to be mymander is my decision alone,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that you¡¯ll be in deep trouble if my presence is exposed?¡±

    Lu Yin turned back around and stared off into space. ¡°I¡¯m already in a lot of trouble. Compared to the help that I can get with you, dealing with the fallout is not a big deal.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t have anything else to do anyways. Besides, I could never leave the military.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled at Shui Chuanxiao. ¡°Wee aboard, Commander.¡±

    ¡°I should call you Alliance Leader Lu now. So, can I get the real situation in the Innerverse from you now?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°Of the eight great flowzones, zing Mist Flowzone, Chaos Flowzone, and Daynight Flowzone all belong to me. On the other side, First Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and Soulseal Flowzone are my most obvious enemies. As for Erudite Flowzone, they''re secretly helping First Flowzone work against me. Venom Flowzone is neutral for the moment, but they might change their position in the future.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao was caught off guard. ¡°You also control Chaos Flowzone?¡±

    Since Lu Yin had taken the Second Nightking out of Gaia¡¯s Swamp, Shui Chuanxiao had already figured out that Lu Yin had gained control of Daynight Flowzone. However, the man had not expected to learn that Lu Yin also held Chaos Flowzone in his hands. In that case, Lu Yin had already gained control over nearly half of the Innerverse, as the minor flowzones could be disregarded.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°How would I dare to go against the entire Innervese without achieving at least this much?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao grew solemn. ¡°Liu Huang¡¯s existence can act as a threat towards the Sword Sect and even force them to join you, but what of the Wen family?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in possession of the Wen family¡¯s most valuable inheritance,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Shui Chuanxiao eximed, ¡°I need to speak with you, Alliance Leader Lu. I need to learn more about your Great Eastern Alliance and you as well, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    A spacecraft flew towards them, trying to chase Lu Yin¡¯s ship away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he casually flicked a finger. A crack was torn apart in space that separated the approaching vessel from the space station.

    The cultivators aboard the ship from Northseal Flowzone were all stunned, and they watched in a daze as Lu Yin¡¯s vessel moved into the tributary astral river ark and Lu Yin started making his way to Fennel Flowzone.

    Nobody was able to stop Lu Yin, and Northseal Flowzone¡¯s forces had simply been in the wrong ce at the wrong time.

    Lu Yin never revealed himself, but most people guessed that he was behind it, and the incident was immediately reported to the Sword Sect.

    Liu Qianjue and the others were not overly concerned, as they already knew that nobody could stop Lu Yin from returning to zing Mist Flowzone. Rather, they were currently waiting for the Second Nightking to start making trouble for Lu Yin.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft docked in the Ross Empire. He had returned.

    Wang Wen, En Ya, and many others were already present and waiting for Lu Yin.

    En Ya was working in the Great Yu Empire, but Lu Yin had asked her to travel to the Ross Empire after rescuing Shui Chuanxiao.

    The Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and Shui Chuanxiao had all changed their appearances.

    When Lu Yin led the three men off of his ship, En Ya instantly recognized Shui Chuanxiao.

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s entire demeanor was different from the other two men. The Second Nightking gave off a frigid aura, and Liu Huang felt deste. As for Shui Chuanxiao, anyone could tell that he had a military background from his sharp eyes.

    En Ya went straight towards Shui Chuanxiao and was about to bow to him, but the man held her upright. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first.¡±

    Wang Wen looked at the three men with open curiosity. He already knew who all three were, and he knew that they were all powerful individuals.

    En Ya formally greeted Shui Chuanxiao once they were back inside.

    Shui Chuanxiao returned to his original appearance, and he grew incredibly emotional as he looked at En Ya. ¡°I never thought that I¡¯d see you again!¡±

    En Ya had tears in her eyes. ¡°Grand Marshal, I never thought that I would be able to see you again either.¡±

    She moved to kneel before Lu Yin. ¡°Thank you, Alliance Leader.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched, and En Ya involuntarily rose to her feet. ¡°I simply did what I promised you. What are your ns for the future?¡±

    En Ya nced over at Shui Chuanxiao before firmly stating. ¡°I will continue working for you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and turned to Wang Wen. ¡°Starting today, Shui Chuanxiao will be the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ Commander. He has the authority tomand all of the Allied Forces, and he will also be the deputymander of the Lu Elite Troops, the Giants¡¯ Army, and the Sinners¡¯ Army.¡±

    Wang Wen turned to look at Shui Chuanxiao. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of you for a long time, Commander. I¡¯m Wang Wen.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao looked at Wang Wen in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re Wang Wen? Wang Wen from Ironblood Weave?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. I didn¡¯t expect you to know of me, Commander,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Shui Chuanxiao eximed, ¡°You entered the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List at an incredibly young age, and you are one of the most wanted people in the Astral Beast Domain. The Ten Arbiters were put on that list because of their strength, but you were put on it because of your wits. Because of you, Ironblood Weave is no longer merely on the defensive. You were even able to anticipate the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s movements, no?¡±

    Wang Wen answered humbly, ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Commander.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao smiled. ¡°I remember that there are a few other people in the Outerverse who were simrly known for their intelligence.¡±

    He then turned to Lu Yin. ¡°What happened to them?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all working for me.¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve caught all of them.¡±

    Wang Wen excelled at an overall strategy while Wei Rong was extremelypetent at scheming and maniption. Qiong Xi¡¯er was focused on economics, and with the addition of Shui Chuanxiao, who was a peerless militarymander, all of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s intelligence bases were now covered.

    Wang Wen had always been assisting Lu Yin with military affairs, and he had done well due to his experience in Ironblood Weave, but Wang Wen had been relying solely on his intelligence and limited experience. He could notpare with Shui Chuanxiao in terms of experience regarding military formations and movements.

    Shui Chuanxiao officially joined the Great Eastern Alliance as the militarymander, but he remainedpletely behind the scenes. After observing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military, he immediately made some adjustments and set up a spiderweb formation that spread across the Outerverse and zing Mist Flowzone.

    This formation allowed Shui Chuanxiao to mobilize the military as quickly as possible while also protecting the Great Eastern Alliance. He also nned out new military routes and implemented his own military measures¡­

    Lu Yin made no moves to interfere in Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s changes, as he did not know much about such matters. Since Shui Chuanxiao had been entrusted with the military, Lu Yin had no intention of meddling.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin took Shui Chuanxiao to see the Giant¡¯s Army and the Lu Elite Forces that had recently returned to the Ross Empire.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Ku Wei rushed straight over the moment he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin red at Ku Wei, who immediately said, ¡°Master, you don¡¯t know how scared we were with you gone! We were worried that those people from the Sword Sect would attack.¡±

    ¡°They couldn¡¯t even find you guys,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Ku Wei smiled. Suddenly, he looked over at the disguised Second Nightking and Liu Huang who were standing beside Lu Yin. ¡°Where are seniors Liu Ye and Fei Hua?¡±

 Chapter 1695: The Shine Of Money

    Chapter 1695: The Shine Of Money

    Shui Chuanxia moved away to inspect the Lu Elite Troops and the Giants¡¯ Army.

    Ku Wei¡¯s heart fell. ¡°Master, where are seniors Liu Ye and Fei Hua?¡¯

    ¡°They left. They won¡¯t be with me any longer,¡± Lu Yin replied calmly.

    Ku Wei instantly grew anxious. ¡°Master, how could you let them go? Without them, how will we be able to defend against Liu Qianjue and the others? We¡¯re doomed! Master, let¡¯s hide with the giants.¡±

    ¡°Noisy,¡± the Second Nightking spat out coldly as he shot Ku Wei a vicious re.

    Ku Wei instantly felt threatened, and he reflexively took a step back.

    Lu Yin nced over at the Second Nightking, and the man looked away from Ku Wei.

    Ku Wei hesitantly asked, ¡°Master? Who¡¯s this senior?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Just know that even without Liu Ye and Fei Hua here, these two are able to keep me safe,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Ku Wei nodded and looked back at the Second Nightking and Liu Huang. He only peeked at the Second Nightking, as the old man had scared him; Ku Wei felt like the old man could end him on a whim. He looked at Liu Huang more openly, as the man appeared friendlier.

    ¡°Young man, you mentioned Liu Qianjue just now. Is he the sect master of the Sword Sect?¡± Liu Huang asked with a smile.

    Ku Wei gulped and nodded. ¡°Yes, he is.¡±

    ¡°What did he do to scare you so badly?¡± Liu Huang continued.

    Ku Wei nced at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin revealed nothing.

    Ku Wei replied softly, ¡°He killed the leader of the sylvan dragons, Long Yi, who was my master¡¯s mount. His goal is to kill all of the Envoys that are a part of the Great Eastern Alliance.¡±

    Liu Huang nodded. ¡°The masters of the Sword Sect have grown even more vicious and greedy.¡±

    The Second Nightking stated coldly, ¡°It¡¯s the same as it was in the past.¡±

    ¡°The Sword Sect was established to pass down the Thirteen Swords. We were forced to be ruthless, and the Daynight n was one of the driving factors behind that change,¡± Liu Huang calmly retorted.

    ¡°If not for the Neoverse, the Daynight n would have long since be the master of the Innerverse. The Sword Sect wouldn¡¯t even exist.¡± The Second Nightking¡¯s voice remained as cold as ever.

    Liu Huang continued the argument, saying, ¡°If not for the Hall of Honor, the Sword Sect would have already entered the Neoverse. The Fourteenth Sword alone is enough to destroy the Daynight n.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± the Second Nightking red at Liu Huang.

    The two men rarely spoke to each other, and Lu Yin had forgotten that one of them came from the Daynight n and the other from the Sword Sect. If not for the Great Eastern Alliance, the two would be mutual enemies who had both been wronged by the Hall of Honor.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t your battlefield,¡± Lu Yin said icily.

    The Second Nightking ignored Lu Yin. While it was impossible for Liu Huang to defeat the Second Nightking, the ancient powerhouse was still interested in seeing the Fourteenth Sword.

    Liu Huang did not know just how powerful the Second Nightking truly was. His understanding of the Second Nightking¡¯s strength was still based in the past when the First Nightking had been the Daynight n¡¯s strongest powerhouse.The First Nightking¡¯s power level had never exceeded a million, even at his peak, while Liu Huang had already surpassed that level.

    If the First Nightking returned, he could be Liu Huang¡¯s opponent, but the swordsman felt that it was impossible for the Second Nightking.

    One of them was suffering from heavy injuries while the other was suffering from poison. Neither knew of the other¡¯s true strength, and only Lu Yin was aware of that.

    Ku Wei did not dare to speak again, as the auras given off by both the Second Nightking and Liu Huang¡¯s auras were too powerful for him.

    Ying Daynight, who was a part of the Lu Elite Troops, carefully looked at the Second Nightking. Even though the Second Nightking had changed his appearance, Ying Daynight had still recognized the man from his expression and aura.

    The only person from the Daynight n who qualified to stand next to Lu Yin was the Second Nightking. This was also because Lu Yin had just returned from Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and the Second Nightking was known to be on the loose.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s gaze swept over the gathered soldiers, and he focused on Ying Daynight.

    Ying Daynight dropped his eyes and did not dare to meet the Second Nightking¡¯s gaze.

    The Second Nightking looked away. He felt disgust towards the Daykings, as they had been forced to rely on Lu Yin.

    The Lu Elite Troops and the Giants¡¯ Army soon left.

    Shui Chuanxiao voiced his admiration. ¡°Even if the most elite cultivators from the border were gathered, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the standard of your Lu Elite Troops or the Giants¡¯ Army. Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve given me quite the pleasant surprise.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯ve spent a great amount of effort to gather these people. Commander, do you want to return to the battlefield once again after being absent for so long?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s eyes zed. ¡°What¡¯s your target?¡±

    Lu Yin opened his star chart and chased Ku Wei away. Then, he pointed at a small flowzone: Basong Flowzone.

    ording to L¨¸ Yan, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse was located in Basong Flowzone.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse?¡± Shui Chuanxiao was shocked.

    Throughout history, the Neohuman Alliance had always been the Hall of Honor¡¯s greatest enemy. It was considered one of the Three Dark Hands, but that was merely an excuse put forth by the Hall of Honor to rally people within the Fifth Maind to oppose the Neohuman Alliance. The Neohuman Alliance was actually the enemy of all of humanity.

    No matter where a person was, everyone had the shared responsibility of destroying the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings whenever they were encountered, even on a battlefield.

    ¡°The Neohuman Alliance is worse than we believed. We must find their headquarters and destroy it,¡± Lu Yin stated firmly.

    Shui Chuanxiao looked at Lu Yin with a meaningful expression. ¡°I thought that you were more interested in conquering the Innerverse.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Of course I am, but they are a cancer. I won¡¯t feel right if I don¡¯t remove it.¡±

    After seeing the war in the Perennial World and the spies and Redbacks there, how could Lu Yin remain focused on internal disputes? His primary motivation for uniting the Fifth Maind was actually to fight back against the four ruling powers of the Perennial World and Aeternus.

    A disjointed Fifth Maind would never be able to defeat Aeternus.

    Shaman God had set up a scheme that would allow Lu Yin to unite the Fifth Maind, but Lu Yin did not intend to follow Shaman God¡¯s path. Lu Yin was going to drag the Neohuman Alliance into the mess and destroy them before moving against the four ruling powers.

    Investigating Basong Flowzone was the first mission that Lu Yin gave Shui Chuanxiao, and it was also the man¡¯s first mission after bing themander of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military.

    Two dayster, Shui Chuanxiao delivered a proposal to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had believed that Shui Chuanxiao only excelled at militaristic warfare, but after seeing the man¡¯s proposal, Lu Yin realized that Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s foresight was quite simr to Wang Wen¡¯s. In this case, themander¡¯s tactics were even better than what Wang Wen hade up with.

    ¡°His excuse to send the Allied Forces because of how Fennel Flowzone has been isted is exactly the same as yours,¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Wang Wen replied, ¡°He¡¯s done my job for me.¡±

    ¡°Not just yours¡ªhe¡¯s finished Wei Rong¡¯s job, too.¡± Lu Yin nced back at Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s proposal.

    Wang Wen frowned. ¡°He could havepletely destroyed Basong Flowzone and left no survivors, but he¡¯s intentionally left some paths open to Venom Flowzone, Soulseal Flowzone, and First Flowzone. He¡¯s setting the board up to unite the Innerverse. He really is very experienced.¡±

    ¡°Just wait. He¡¯s using his own methods to infiltrate Basong Flowzone, and he¡¯ll need at least a month. I¡¯ll use this month to cultivate,¡± Lu Yin paused before continuing, saying, ¡°Just keep a low profile for now.¡±

    The people who were familiar with Lu Yin knew that he always tried to keep a low profile before taking any big actions.

    The quieter the Great Eastern Alliance became, the more likely something major was about to ur.

    Lu Yin secluded himself and began cultivating.

    He had decided to do this because he had too much money.

    After taking control of zing Mist Flowzone, the resources of the Ross Empire and the sylvan dragons had all be Lu Yin¡¯s.

    With the ze Realm as an example, Lu Yin had not had any real hopes for the Ross Empire or the sylvan dragons. The more powerful the force was, the greater their expenditures, which meant that they would have fewer liquid assets. The ze Realm was a perfect example of this.

    However, the Ross Empire had given Lu Yin a small surprise while the sylvan dragons had given Lu Yin a huge surprise.

    The Ross Empire had had 700 million star essence, which was not a massive amount, though still better than the ze Realm. As for the sylvan dragons, Lu Yin had been shocked.

    There were rumors that certain creatures liked to collect shiny objects, and while Lu Yin was not certain those rumors were referring to the sylvan dragons, he knew that he had hit the jackpot when he saw their treasury. The sylvan dragons had a total of 3.5 billion star essence.

    How much was that? 3.5 billion was even more than the stores of Chaos Flowzone¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain.

    Lu Yin had even thought that there had been a miscount when he first received the report, but sure enough, they had confiscated 3.5 billion.

    He had asked the elder sylvan dragons about the matter and had then learned that the sylvan dragons had no use for star essence aside from cultivating. On top of that, sylvan dragons cultivated at a much slower speed than humans, which meant that they had umted an enormous amount of star essence.

    Humans used their money to enjoy life, conduct business, and for gifts. However, the sylvan dragons did none of that, and they merely hoarded their wealth.

    Although the sylvan dragons only took up a third of zing Mist Flowzone, they had gathered a staggering amount of resources over the years. If not for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion that had cost the dragons half of their resources, Lu Yin would have received far more than 3.5 billion star essence.

    Lu Yin became upset at that thought. He would never forget that the Sixth Maind had stolen such arge amount of money from him.

    Oh, right; some of the star essence on the transportation continent had definitelye from the sylvan dragons.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath to calm himself. Otherwise, he would be more and more agitated the more he thought of the matter.

    Although the Daynight n had not possessed as many resources as the sylvan dragons, Lu Yin had still gained about 1.7 billion star essence from them.

    Given the Daynight n¡¯s position in the Innerverse, this could only be considered a small amount, and it was mainly due to Lu Yin¡¯s previous assault on Daynight Flowzone, as the n had to use vast resources to recover from the damage that he had caused back then.

    The resources of the Ross Empire, the sylvan dragons, and the Daynight n amounted to 5.9 billion star essence in total. When added to Lu Yin¡¯s previous funds, he had 6.7 billion star essence. He was rich, truly rich.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing started to grow ragged as he looked in the direction of First Flowzone with greedy eyes. He wondered how many resources he would be able to gain if he took over the Sword Sect and Beast Tamers Flowzone. Every time he gained arge amount of money, he could improve his abilities by a tremendous amount.

    Lu Yin forced himself to calm down as he lifted a hand. His die appeared, and he rolled it.

 Chapter 1696: A Mysterious Place

    Chapter 1696: A Mysterious ce

    The die slowly spun around before finallynding on Pilfer. A bag of snacks fell out.

    Lu Yin blinked; what a waste of time! He used his die again, but itnded on Pilfer again. This time, a piece of scrap metal dropped out. Lu Yin pouted. He rolled the die a third time, only to roll Pilfer yet again.

    Lu Yin was speechless; why was he so unlucky this time? Why did he keep rolling Pilfer?

    A leaf dropped out of the sky andnded on the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched; a leaf? Who would store a leaf in their cosmic ring? Hang on¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he picked up the leaf. His mouth fell open in shock. This¡­ was this Origin Matter?

    The sprout in his upper meridian point trembled and radiated vitality as Lu Yin grabbed the leaf. The leaf in his hand also trembled in unison.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had never even thought that his die could grab someone¡¯s Origin Matter.

    Was he dreaming? Lu Yin pinched himself, but he was not dreaming. He really had Pilfered Origin Matter!

    The leaf¡¯s aura slowly spread outwards, and Lu Yin quickly stored it away.

    Whose Origin Matter had he stolen with his die? Who even had Origin Matter? He immediately thought of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. Could he have stolen it from one of them? Or was his die actually able to reach the Perennial World? There was definitely more Origin Matter in the Perennial World than the Fifth Maind.

    There was definitely more than one piece of Origin Matter in the Dominion Realm. If not for Aeternus¡¯s schemes, the expedition to the Dominion Realm would have taken much longer, and they would have returned with more than just one leaf of Origin Matter.

    Each expedition to the Dominion Realm was intended to be a test for the Junior Progenitors, and each one of the four ruling powers naturally kept some Origin Matter reserved in case their Junior Progenitor was unable to find any during their expedition.

    Whose Origin Matter had Lu Yin taken? Had it belonged to one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors or to someone in the Perennial World? Lu Yin gulped. Still, he did not care who it had belonged to before, because it had be his. He was going to give it to Ming Yan.

    He had already given the two extra tribtion crystal pirs that he had gained to Ming Yan so that she could open her lower and middle meridian points. With this Origin Matter, she would be able to open her upper meridian point as well, which would open up the path for her to potentially be a Progenitor in the future.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed, and he wanted to tell Ming Yan about it immediately.

    However, Ming Yan was not even a Hunter yet, so it was still too early for her to open her meridian points. He would have to wait for her to be a Hunter before giving her the Origin matter.

    Lu Yin felt that this was his lucky day.

    He lifted his hand again and brought out his die. This was his fourth roll, and he hoped he would get Timestop.

    Lu Yin was delighted when he saw the diend on Timestop. This really was his lucky day.

    Lu Yin appeared in the Timestop Space, and he immediately took out the Karmic me, which was the catalyst for the ze Realm¡¯s Karmic me Sword. The me had already been very powerful when Lu Yin had first acquired it, but after upgrading it six times, the Karmic me¡¯s runes were nowparable to those of an expert with a power level of 700,000.

    Still, there was no reason to save the me. Lu Yin decided to let the Skyze Stone absorb it right away so that he could cultivate faster.

    ¡­

    Extreme heat covered his arms, and the entire Timestop Space was filled with vaporized star energy.

    Lu Yin quickly absorbed the star energy by using the Skyze Stone in tandem with the Cosmic Art. As he did so, his golden battle force shrouded his body.

    Without his golden battle force, Lu Yin would have been unable to endure the high temperature of the Karmic me.

    He had already reached his thirty second cycle after bing an Enlighter in the Perennial World, and he was working onpleting his thirty third cycle at this moment. He needed to use 100 million star essence per cycle whereas normal cultivators only needed a million star essence. It was a shocking discrepancy.

    He was a member of the Lu family, and they simply could not support their Champions¡¯ Stage without a correspondinglyrge amount of star energy.

    Lu Yin still did not know what had happened to him back then. When he had still been Lu Xiaoxuan, he must have had quite a few champions in his Champions¡¯ Stage, but his current Champions¡¯ Stage seemed brand new.

    Had he been able to summon Envoys as an Enlighter or maybe even a Hunter before? Lu Yin withstood the high temperature of the mes while considering his forgotten past.

    At a nce, the entire Timestop Space looked like a zing red star as vaporized star energy surged into Lu Yin.

    Thirty fourth, thirty fifth. The Skyze Stone¡¯s mes soon expired, as Lu Yin had not had much of the Karmic me. Fortunately, he would still be able to use it onest time.

    The Karmic me that he had picked up in the ze Realm only had three uses, and there was one remaining.

    Lu Yin did not have much time left in the Timestop Space, so he left after practicing the Cosmic Art for a bit. After ten days passed, He used his die once again.

    He rolled Timestop right away, and he continued cultivating.

    He used the Skyze Stone again, and the Timestop space once more became burning hot.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin managed toplete his thirty ninth cycle, and the mespletely disappeared from the Skyze Stone.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He had justpleted his thirty ninth cycle, which meant that he was only one cycle away frompleting his fortieth. He was drawing closer and closer to bing an Envoy.

    He had used almost a billion star crystals to progress from his thirty second to his thirty ninth cycle.

    Lu Yin sometimes wondered if it was even possible to gather such an absurd amount of star essence without the ambition to unite the Fifth Maind. How would he have cultivated? Would he have been forced to rob people?

    Back when the Lu family had ruled the Perennial World, had they been forced into such a position because of the amount of star essence required for their cultivation?

    Lu Yin also had not even included the star essence that he had used with his die, as his expenses would be truly terrifying if he had done that.

    He had used an astronomical amount of star essence so far, possibly exceeding even the funds of the Innerverse¡¯s major forces.

    He wondered how he would answer if Ming Yan ever asked him how he used his star essence.

    It was a question that could not be answered.

    Lu Yin had be much more powerful afterpleting his thirty ninth cycle; he was able to even challenge Envoys with power levels of 600,000 now. Against a powerhouse like Cang Zhou, Lu Yin would no longer be easily defeated and would actually stand a fighting chance.

    Still, he felt sad at the thought that he had just consumed a billion star essence.

    He checked the time, and he had already spent a year and a half in the Timestop Space.

    Done advancing for now, Lu Yin recited the Stonewall Scriptures as he practiced the Cosmic Art. He left the space after his time expired, but he continued to roll his die. In the outside world, only ten days had passed.

    At this same time, Ming Yan opened her eyes and sighed. ¡°Moonstar is very powerful. It¡¯s such a shame that I can¡¯t teach it to Brother Lu.¡±

    She stood up and looked out her window at ck Street.

    If she had not taken control of Bu Laoweng, she would have been in a terrible situation.

    Ming Yan fell deep into thought. Some timeter, she suddenly thought of something, and she happily took out two tribtion crystal pirs. ¡°These were a present from Brother Lu. He said that I should only use them after bing a Hunter. I wish that I could do that already so that I could give Brother Lu a surprise.¡±

    It seemed as though she had found a source of greater motivation, and she continued cultivating after putting the tribtion crystal pirs away once more.

    Lu Yin exited the Timestop space and resumed rolling his die. In addition to improving his cultivation, he also wanted to Enhance some items, such as the initiate ore that he had picked up in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. He wondered if he could upgrade it, as he nned to integrate it into his armor if it was possible to Enhance it.

    The die eventuallynded on Possession.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed. Given his current strength, anyone whom he Possessed should be an Envoy, which meant that they would be a senior in their organization.

    He appeared in the same strange ce as always, and he saw countless balls of light. He chose the one that was the brightest and closest to merge with it.

    When his senses returned, he was confused. What was this feeling? Lu Yin felt very odd. He opened his eyes to find that he was surrounded by darkness. He looked down, he could not see even his own body. Was he Possessing some sort of astral beast?

    Lu Yin had indeed Possessed a type of astral beast that he had seen before: a Creeper.1

    Lu Yin was shocked to discover that he was in the Astral Beast Domain. He clenched his fists and tried to get a sense of how strong this Creeper was. These creatures often worked together with Soundseekers,2 and theirbination was very powerful.

    Lu Yin had struggled greatly to deal with a Creeper at Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border.

    Lu Yin could feel how powerful this Creeper was. It was an Envoy with a power level of about around 600,000, but it was also extremely strong. Its physical strength wasparable to Lu Yin¡¯s, and it could easily defeat a powerhouse with a power level around 600,000 with its physical strength alone.

    Possessing an astral beast was a strange experience, and Lu Yin saw only darkness in his surroundings. However, as an Envoy, it was easy to observe his surroundings.

    The first thing that he found was an enormous statue. As Lu Yin looked up, he could not find the top of the statue. All he could see was one of the statue¡¯s four legs, and the head was nowhere to be seen. Lu Yin quickly essed the Creeper¡¯s memories.

    He froze for a moment and then stared at the statue in disbelief.

    The Creeper didn¡¯t know who the statue was of, but it did know that the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Skymender often and faithfully prayed to it.

    Even in the Human Domain, Lu Yin had heard of Skymender. He was able to divine the future like members of the Starsibyl Sect, and he was someone whom even Semi-Progenitors were wary of. Despite all of that, such a powerhouse still prayed to this statue.

    Who was this statue of?

    Lu Yin browsed through more memories of Skymender praying to the statue, and he quickly found the reason why the Creeper was in this ce. It was responsible for moving humanoid sourceboxes.

    Lu Yin continued to observe the Creeper¡¯s memories after finding one of the Creepers moving a humanoid sourcebox. However, the only memories that Lu Yin could find were those of the Creeper moving humanoid sourceboxes, Skymender praying to the statue, and the creature¡¯s childhood.

    The Creeper did not know who the statue represented, why it needed to move humanoid sourceboxes, or what the humanoid sourceboxes actually were.

    [1] An edit from many, many chapters ago. In Chapter 239, these creatures were introduced as Yin Guais. This literally means "hidden/concealed monster," so it was decided to try to get a better name. ?

    [2] Simr to above. These creatures were introduced in the same chapter, and were originally introduced as Sheng Guais (sound monsters). ?

 Chapter 1697: Little Tree

    Chapter 1697: Little Tree

    There were other astral beasts in this ce in addition to the Creeper, but every single one of them was an Envoy. They were all responsible for transporting humanoid sourceboxes, or to be more urate, they were here to protect the sourceboxes.

    At that moment, a voice rang out. ¡°Something¡¯s approaching.¡±

    Momentster, a Soundseeker walked out.

    Creeper and Soundseeker always worked together within the Astral Beast Domain, and this was true even for the beasts that had reached the Envoy level.

    Lu Yin continued to browse through the Creeper¡¯s memories, and he soon realized that he was in a mysterious ce. Still, some living creatures would approach them from time to time, though they were all destroyed as soon as they drew close. Even elders from the Celestial Beast Empire or the Crown Prince Yao Xuan himself would be killed if they approached this region without Skymender¡¯s permission.

    Lu Yin controlled the Creeper to follow the Soundseeker, and they moved into the sky. They were in a pocket space, simr to where the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins had been.

    This was a remote region of the Celestial Beast Empire that was far to the depths of the empire.

    The Soundseeker had already attacked some Firesnow Drakes that had identally wandered into the area. These Firesnow Drakes were not particrly powerful, and they were not included on the Celestial Beast List. Most likely, they had entered the spatial crack by ident, but they were still ted to be eradicated.

    The Soundseeker easily destroyed the entire n.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you help?¡± the Soundseeker asked.

    ¡°Lu Yin¡± answered, ¡°I didn¡¯t have to.¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten what the Imperial Advisor said? The existence of this ce can never be revealed, or else our ns will be destroyed,¡± the Soundseeker solemnly reminded.

    Skymender had said this in the past, and those memories appeared in the Creeper¡¯s mind. As soon as this ce was discovered, both of their species would be destroyed.

    Both species were listed on the Celestial Beast List, but Skymender had still threatened to exterminate them. Moreover, the Creepers and Soundseekers absolutely believed the threat, which showed how much influence Skymender wielded throughout the Astral Beast Domain, as well as the importance of this ce.

    Lu Yin left the Creeper¡¯s body and opened his eyes. He immediately tried to make a note of the location of where he had just been, but it proved impossible, as the location did not exist even in the Creeper¡¯s memories.

    Lu Yin sighed and opened a star chart to study the regions around the Astral Beast Domain.

    The Human Domain had been at war with the Astral Beast Domain for countless years, and they had a good understanding of the ce. They had formed a rough star chart of the Astral Beast Domain, but Lu Yin could not find the ce no matter how hard he studied the star chart.

    Ever since Progenitor Hui¡¯s plot had sessfully tricked the Sixth Maind and the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s forces from outside the Fifth Maind were being held back by the three Progenitors at the only hole, the war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain had greatly diminished in scale. Lu Yin had even heard that the war between the two Domains was something that had mostly existed in an attempt to deceive the Neohuman Alliance and the Sixth Maind.

    However, was that actually true? The war between the two domains hadsted for untold years, and countless people had died at the border warfront. Countless species had even gone extinct in the Astral Beast Domain, so how could everything be justified as an attempt to confuse the Sixth Maind?

    Furthermore, the memories that Lu Yin had just obtained also showed that Skymender was gathering humanoid sourceboxes. Lu Yin¡¯s greatest impression regarding humanoid sourceboxes was still Xiao Shi¡¯s words, which was to never unlock them.

    Even though Xiao Shi did not seem to be a reliable source, he had mentioned both the God of Death and his domain, both of which Lu Yin hadter confirmed to be real. In that case, could Xiao Shi¡¯s warning regarding humanoid sourceboxes also be true?

    Even if his words were not true, then if humanoid sourceboxes held humans, why would Skymender collect such things?

    Lu Yin mulled over this for a bit before contacting Xiao Shi.

    ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s great that you called us! Have you thought it through? It¡¯s great to have a bowl cut, and you should get one, too!¡± Xiao Shi said with great excitement.

    Lu Yin cringed. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thatter. Xiao Shi, do you remember mentioning humanoid sourceboxes to me? Why can¡¯t I unlock those?¡±

    Xiao Shi immediately grew serious. ¡°No reason is recorded in my book, but it repeatedly stated one thing: do not unlock them.¡±

    ¡°But there isn¡¯t a reason?¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, have you found any humanoid sourceboxes?¡± Xiao Shi eximed.

    Lu Yin answered, ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t open it! Apart from saying not to unlock humanoid sourceboxes, there was another note in the book: ¡®opportunity coexists with risk,¡¯¡± Xiao Shi exined.

    Lu Yin became even more confused than before. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°Nothing else, Brother Lu. Get a bowl cut too, as then Xiao Chi and I won¡¯t be the Chi Shi Duo anymore.¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°Oh right, you also mentioned fatesand before. What do you know about it?¡±

    ¡°Fatesand¡­ Let me take a look.¡± Xiao Shi flipped through his nk book. ¡°That¡¯s strange, why is it gone?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s gone?¡±

    ¡°The book used to say that anyone who gathers enough fatesand would be able to receive an inheritance from Destiny, but that line¡¯s gone. That¡¯s fine. This book¡¯s contents are always changing, so I¡¯m already used to it,¡± Xiao Shi said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Anyone who gathers enough fatesand can receive an inheritance from Destiny? Is that true?

    Xiao Shi answered, ¡°If it¡¯s in the book, then it¡¯s true. However, since it¡¯s gone from the book, I¡¯m no longer certain.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright, see youter.¡±

    ¡°Brother Lu, think about it! A mushroom cut is great!¡± Xiao Shi tried to convince Lu YIn again, but he immediately hung up. Get a bowl cut? He would rather die.

    Lu Yin only made a quick note of what he had learned about the humanoid sourceboxes as there was only one piece of new information. He then checked his star essence, as he had spent a long time Possessing the Creeper, and it had an impressive distance as well.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief after checking; he had only used about 300 million star essence.

    While it was a terrifying amount to others, it was an eptable expenditure to Lu Yin, as he had learned of Skymender¡¯s deepest secret.

    Lu Yin continued to roll his die, and it nextnded on Timestop.

    He had already entered his Timestop Space multiple times, but Lu Yin continued rolling his die as soon as he entered the space. He wanted to get Enhance.

    He was not worried, as after entering the Timestop Space, he was guaranteed to roll Enhance.

    He rolled his die every ten days, and it finally gave him Enhance on the third roll. Lu Yin immediately tossed the Taichu Stone onto the light screen but found that he could not upgrade it because it was a basic material. He disappointedly put it away and then looked through his cosmic ring. He really did not have anything else that he could upgrade.

    Out of curiosity, he tossed the leaf onto the light screen, wondering if he could upgrade Origin Matter.

    He ced millions of star essence on the screen, and even though everything was consumed, the leaf did not move at all.

    This was simply a bottomless pit! Lu Yin sadly put the leaf away, as he had nowhere near enough money to fully upgrade it.

    What about the bark of the Mother Tree that he had obtained? Lu Yin tried, but he failed to upgrade that as well. The Chief Justice¡¯s bell? Also impossible to Enhance. He nced at a stellr energy pill. It was the one that he had Enhanced eight times already, which had cost him 1.9 billion star essence. He had stopped upgrading it after that for two reasons: he had run out of funds, and he had also felt a trace of vitality from the pill.

    It was a truly bizarre feeling, as if there was an eye fixed upon him, and the feeling left Lu Yin very uneasy.

    He felt the same way when he pulled the pill out again.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and resumed Enhancing the stellr energy pill.

    He had already spent 1.9 billion star essence, and he did not want to waste all that money to stop halfway.

    He forced himself to ignore the vitality he sensed and simply continued upgrading the pill, as he was unafraid of anything within the Timestop Space. He could even defeat Leaf King if the powerhouse suddenly appeared.

    He tossed the stelluar energy pill onto the top lightscreen and started throwing star essence out.

    The ninth upgrade cost 1.8 billion, and Lu Yin almost vomited blood. This upgrade caused the color of the stellr energy pill to change, and now, there was something that looked like a shoot on its surface.

    Lu Yin stared at the shoot on the stellr energy pill in shock. Would this thing grow into a tree? Suddenly, a strange feeling struck Lu Yin from the pill; he felt a desire to live.

    This was an indescribable feeling, and he felt as though he was holding a newborn baby in his arms rather than a pill.

    He estimated that he would need about 3.5 billion star essence to upgrade it once more. That was everything that he had left.

    Normally, he would not continue upgrading an item. For example, he had stopped upgrading the froststone when he realized that he would not be able topletely upgrade it even though he had heard the rumors iming that the ultimate froststone could freeze time itself. However, the stellr energy pills were rted to Shamrock Enterprise, and he was curious about just what was watching him. Still, he was unwilling to use up all his money just for curiosity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Should he upgrade or not? This was a huge dilemma.

    The shoot on the pill glowed faintly within his hand. The light of the glow touched Lu Yin¡¯s finger and gave him a warm,fortable feeling. At the same time, he heard a soft call. This was not an actual sound, but rather the tremor of life. Lu Yin instinctively started upgrading the stellr energy pill when the call resonated within him.

    He could not reject the feeling of new life appearing. Even more importantly, the ck and white mist inside his chest had calmed down upon feeling the resonance.

    Lu Yin did not know what sort of impact the stellr energy pill would have on his death energy, but he did not mind trying it out since his ultimate goal for using money was to help him be more powerful.

    He had stumbled upon the God of Death transformation, but he had not truly inherited anything at all.

    This was the pill¡¯s tenth upgrade, and it was the most expensive Enhancement that Lu Yin had ever made. He spent a total of 3.5 billion star essence toplete it.

    As the stellr energy pill dropped through the lower light screen, the shoot started to grow into a small tree.

    At the same time, the stellr energy pillpletely disappeared the moment the upgrade finished, as the sapling hadpletely absorbed the pill.

    It was a small tree with only two branches and brilliant green leaves that stood half a meter tall. When itnded on the ground, a normal person would think that it was just a normal tree, aside from the fact that it was glowing.

 Chapter 1698: Guess

    Chapter 1698: Guess

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips twitched; this would not just be a normal tree, right? That should be impossible after he had spent 7.2 billion star essence Enhancing it. If it was still a normal tree, he would be traumatized forever.

    The little tree started to move as Lu Yin stared at it. It suddenly rose up vertically and moved to face Lu Yin.

    Its green leaves twitched a bit, and then it stopped moving.

    Lu Yin blinked and moved closer to the tree.

    The tree moved again, retreating a small distance. It seemed as though it was scared.

    Lu Yin took another step forward, and the leaves on the small tree glowed with greater intensity, creating a beautiful green halo behind it.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the tree as it continuously retreated. However, it finally stopped retreating after Lu Yin touched his hand to a branch. Upon contact, the tree moved forward and used a branch to rub against Lu Yin¡¯s hand while conveying a happy feeling.

    Lu Yin smiled when he felt its emotion. This was not the smile that he had shown after taking over zing Mist Flowzone, nor the one typically appeared after defeating an enemy. This was a gentle smile that radiated pure happiness.

    The branch was hard, but also flexible, and it was brimming with vitality.

    At the same time, the sprout of Origin Matter in Lu Yin¡¯s upper meridian point also started to radiate vitality, and it even interacted with the little tree.

    Lu Yin was astonished; could this tree also be made of Origin Matter? That was impossible. Shamrock Enterprise had produced a great number of stellr energy pills, so how could this tree possibly be Origin Matter? If the pills were made with Origin Matter, then Leaf King would have to be the Mother Tree.

    Wait a moment, the Mother Tree?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed as he suddenly thought of something. He studied the little tree more closely.

    It seemed that the little tree was able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s emotions, and it suddenly trembled and retreated a bit as soon as Lu Yin grew serious. Its branches also shrunk in onto itself, and it acted scared.

    Stellr energy pill, Mother Tree, sprout, Leaf King.

    Lu Yin thought of a scary possibility after linking all of those things together. Since nts had seeds, then could the stellr energy pills contain Leaf King¡¯s seeds?

    That could be the reason why the stellr energy pills allowed one to enter the true universe, as Leaf King had the same ability. This was also how Yu Mu had died; he had not been assassinated by someone from Shamrock Enterprise, but rather killed by his stellr energy pill! This was also why Balsam had given one of the pills to Lu Yin so easily.

    Lu Yin had actually believed that he had seeded in forcing Shamrock Enterprise to give him the stellr energy pills, but in truth, he had fallen into Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s scheme; they would be able to kill him at any time through these pills.

    Lu Yin was confident in this conclusion.

    He had already faced the Nine Clone Secret Technique, as well as Undying Yushan¡¯s glowing orbs of spiritual force. It was therefore not overly difficult for Lu Yin to ept that Leaf King could produce seeds, as it would exin why the stellr energy pill had sprouted. Everything made sense if the pills contained Leaf King¡¯s seeds, as it was natural for seeds to sprout.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the little tree with excitement. This meant that this little thing was the new Leaf King.

    The little tree was scared by Lu Yin¡¯s emotions, and it retreated from him once again.

    Lu Yin smiled and approached the little tree. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    The little tree¡¯s leaves shook, and it behaved very affectionately towards Lu Yin; it had imprinted upon Lu Yin in the same manner that baby animals recognized their parents. The tree felt happy when Lu Yin smiled, and it used its branch to caress his face. It then happily leaped into Lu Yin¡¯s arms.

    Lu Yin had never expected that the first child he held in his arms would be a sapling rather than his own child.

    The little tree felt very close to Lu Yin, and he also had a strong urge to protect it. He thought of the little tree as a member of his family, as it had been birthed under his care.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call you Sapling from now on, ok?¡± Lu Yin smiled.

    Sapling was thrilled, and it happily waved its branches like a child.

    Lu Yin soon took Sapling out of the Timestop Space. It was scared when it saw a new ce, and it twined a branch around Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    Lu Yin smiled, but the corner of his mouth twitched when he nced down at his cosmic ring. He was out of money again, as he only had 100 million star essence remaining. While this was still a huge amount to a normal cultivator, it was just pocket change to Lu Yin, as it could not support his die at all.

    Lu Yin sighed as he walked out with Sapling. The tree twined a branch about Lu Yin¡¯s finger, and it happily followed Lu Yin around. Lu Yin was able to sense the tree¡¯s fear as it observed the unfamiliar ces as its branch would wind more tightly around Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    At the same moment that Lu Yin left the Timestop Space with Sapling, Leaf King exited his seclusion in Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world.

    Leaf King had always been a very mysterious individual, and very few people had even seen him. Balsam acted as his representative to the outside world.

    Still, nobody would expect Leaf King to be a handsome young man who was even better looking than Yao Xuan. He looked very young, and people would assume that he was around Lu Yin¡¯s age.

    Balsam bowed as soon as she saw Leaf King appear, though she was shocked to see that he had ended his cultivation early.

    ¡°Leaf King, why did youe out early?¡± Balsam asked.

    Leaf King stood in ce, clearly in deep thought. There was a stellr energy pill in his hand.

    Balsam did not dare to disturb the man and merely silently stood behind him.

    ¡°Who has been given a stellr energy pill?¡± Leaf King asked.

    Balsam immediately provided a list.

    Leaf King fell back into thought as he read through the list.

    Leaf King exined, ¡°We¡¯ve lost control of one of the stellr energy pills.¡±

    Balsam was shocked. ¡°Lost control? It¡¯s been used?¡±

    As soon as she spoke she regretted her words; how could they lose control of a pill after it had been used?

    Leaf King remained calm. ¡°From this list, who is able to cause us to lose control of a stellr energy pill?¡±

    Balsam quickly skimmed through the list. Although Shamrock Enterprise had not publicly revealed the stellr energy pills, they had merely hidden the true function of the pills. They had actually already handed out quite a number of the pills to various forces, such as the Hall of Honor and other various forces in the Neoverse, including the Court of Seven Names.

    Multiple organizations were already in possession of a stellr energy pill, and there had not been any issues over thest few years. The stellr energy pills had all been weakened so that none of them could provide ess to the true universe, and nobody had paid much attention to them. It was also no surprise that people were seen using them, as the weakened pills were only able to open a small tear in space.

    owever, losing control of a pill was a big problem, as it meant that someone had discovered the secret behind the stellr energy pills, which would cause huge trouble for Shamrock Enterprise.

    ¡°Leaf King, if someone has learned the secret-¡±

    Balsam was interrupted by Leaf King. ¡°Nobody will find that out. It¡¯s impossible,¡± Leaf King coldly refuted.

    Balsam suddenly thought of Lu Yin.

    She had recently given Lu Yin a stellr energy pill, and he also was aware of the true function of the pills. He was the person with the greatest chance of learning the secret behind the pills, as he was exceptionally lucky, possessed a strong background, as well as a powerful master. Nobody truly knew the youth¡¯s limits.

    ¡°Spread out the stellr energy pills ording to n,¡± Leaf King ordered.

    Balsam was startled. ¡°Are we elerating the n?¡±

    Leaf King did not reply, and he simply held a stellr energy pill in his hand.

    Lu Yin reappeared within the Ross Empire, apanied by Sapling, which shocked many people.

    Lu Yin had no worries that Sapling would be recognized, as there were many unique beings throughout the universe. There were astral beasts who could transform into humans, and there were even nts and even ck holes that had sessfully managed to cultivate. There were many strange things in the universe, so nobody was overly surprised to see a small tree follow Lu Yin about.

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang showed no surprise at all, as they had already seen everything before given their long lives.

    Ku Wei approached Lu Yin, and he stared at Sapling in a daze. ¡°Master, what¡¯s that?¡±

    Ku Wei spoke in a very loud voice and scared Sapling. It immediately hid behind Lu Yin and only revealed half a branch to peek at Ku Wei.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Why¡¯re you here?¡±

    Ku Wei grinned. ¡°Everything¡¯s good right now, and I missed you.¡±

    He resumed studying Sapling with curiosity.

    Sapling waved its leaves while conveying its curiosity to Lu Yin. It was very curious about everything nearby.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything to do, then go find some more strange nts that can move,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Ku Wei wanted to know why Lu Yin wanted these things, but he already knew that Lu Yin would not answer that question. Thus, Ku Wei left after taking another look at Sapling.

    Beep beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget rang.

    Sapling was scared by the sound, and it immediately wrapped itself tightly around Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin patted the tree and calmed it down.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, sorry for disturbing you. This is Balsam.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he nced down at Sapling. ¡°Why are you calling me?¡±

    Balsam smiled. ¡°I wanted to congratte Alliance Leader Lu for gaining control of zing Mist Flowzone and entering the Innerverse. I congratte you on behalf of Shamrock Enterprise. Also, we would like to send the Great Eastern Alliance a batch of pills as a gift.¡±

    ¡°zing Mist Flowzone has been isted from the neighboring flowzones. Can you get here?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xiang Zhi smiled. ¡°Shamrock Enterprise has been doing business throughout the Innerverse and the Outerverse for many years, so we are certainly able to do that much.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then thank you,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Balsam soon ended the call.

    Lu Yin smiled. He was more convinced than ever that his guess was correct. Shamrock Enterprise was not on good terms with him, and while they were not enemies, they also could not be considered allies. It was far too suspicious for them to be willing to offend the Innerverse¡¯s major forces by entering zing Mist Flowzone just to give him a gift. If his guess was correct, then Balsam would personally visit him to ask about the stellr energy pills that he had been given.

    Lu Yin immediately called Ku Wei and asked him to quickly start looking for strange nts that could move around. At the same time, Lu Yin also considered the various natural treasures that had reached the level of sensing danger. He wondered what Balsam¡¯s expression would be when she saw such things around him.

    If nobody had seen Sapling before, then these actions would make Balsam even more suspicious. However, many people had already seen Lu Yin with Sapling, and he believed that Balsam would definitely learn about it from those people. This meant that Lu Yin could only find more mobile nts in order to distract people. As for Sapling, he had be quite attached to it and had decided to hide it.

 Chapter 1699: Unlucky

    Chapter 1699: Unlucky

    Lu Yin spent a few days wandering around the Ross Empire with Sapling so that it would no longer be so scared by everything. At the same time, due to Ku Wei¡¯s advertising, Lu Yin¡¯s interest in collecting unique nts had been revealed to the public, and a lot of people sent unique nts over to the Ross Empire as a result.

    There were suddenly a great many more nts in the Ross Empire, and the whole region had be much greener.

    There were even some unique nts that could asionally be seen moving about.

    Also, half a month had passed since Shui Chuanxiao had started infiltrating Basong Flowzone. Once the Lu Elite Troops sessfully infiltrated the area, they would start attacking Basong Flowzone.

    Whoosh whoosh!

    Sapling kept happily shaking its leaves as a beautiful blue flower gave off a blue glow that enveloped the sapling. The nt hopped about excitedly, and there was also a small shrub nearby that kept producing dew.

    Birds flew overhead, creating a picturesque scenery of natural beauty.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, the Ordnance Mercenaries sent someone over with a tree that can run,¡± someone reported.

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Send them over.¡±

    Sapling was morefortable with nts than people. Ku Wei had visited twice recently, but Sapling was still scared of him. However, it was unafraid of all the nts. One of the nts was even very aggressive, but it acted timidly whenever Sapling was around.

    The captain of the Ordnance Mercenaries, Qi Jin, soon arrived, followed by a huge tree.

    Lu Yin had a strong impression of the Ordnance Mercenaries; Shalosh, the captain of the Eighth Imperial Squadron, was the mercenaries¡¯ vice-captain. Also, Ian, who was a part of the Allied Forces, had spent quite a bit of time as part of the crew. Finally, the Ordnance Mercenaries had worked for Lu Yin in the past.

    ¡°I¡¯m Qi Jin. It¡¯s good to see you, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Captain Qi Jin. How are the Ordnance Mercenaries doing?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Qi Jin answered in a respectful tone, ¡°Thanks for asking, Alliance Leader Lu. Everything is going well.¡±

    He set the tree that he had been carrying down and warily grabbed one of its branches before turning to Lu Yin. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I heard that you¡¯re collecting unique nts, and this tree is quite strange. You can see for yourself if you¡¯re interested in it.¡±

    Lu Yin curiously looked at the tree. It looked quite normal and did not seem special at all.

    Sapling, who had still been ying with the blue flower, suddenly rushed over and jumped up on top of the tree. The tree instantly started moving, and it raised up all its branches in a show of anger.

    Lu Yin was shocked.

    Qi Jin had no time to react before two thick branches appeared from between the tree¡¯s roots, and the tree took off running.

    Qi Jin anxiously chased after the tree, and Lu Yin grinned. He could see that the tree had a few runes, about the same number as the blue flower or the shrub that produced dew.

    However, the tree was clearly much stronger than the other nts as Qi Jin, who was almost a Cruiser, was unable to drag the tree back to Lu Yin. Instead, Qi Jin was dragged along by the tree like a rag.

    In the end, Lu Yin was forced to drag the tree back. Sapling happily leaped about, and Lu Yin Lu Yin could sense its delight.

    The big tree was scared of Lu Yin, and it was also annoyed that it had been dragged back. So, it turned to escape in another direction but failed again. Regardless, the tree instantly tried to flee in yet another direction.

    Qi Jin blushed in an awkward manner, as this was humiliating.

    Lu Yin justughed. They were in a ce that had been built for Sapling, and it was already filled with other unique nts. The big tree fit right in.

    ¡°Captain Qi Jin, you¡¯ve done well,¡± Lu Yin praised.

    Qi Jin smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the embarrassing incident.¡±

    Lu Yin rewarded Qi Jin with some items before sending the man away.

    There were many strange things in the vast universe, and countless unique nts were sent over with every passing day. Lu Yin also spent some time ying with Sapling, and he even gave it his other stellr energy pill. Sapling was thrilled, and it grew a bit taller after absorbing the pill.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes gleamed after seeing that Sapling could grow by absorbing other stellr energy pills. How interesting.

    Some time had passed since Lu Yin had left Gaia¡¯s Swamp, so both Liu Huang and the Second Nightking had regained a bit of their former strength.

    At the moment, the Second Nightking¡¯s power level had returned to around 700,000 while Liu Huang¡¯s had reached around 600,000. If not for the Warden¡¯s attacks, the two would have recovered much more quickly, especially since they had been given Enhanced pills by Lu Yin.

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, when can I return to the Sword Sect?¡± Liu Huang asked.

    Lu Yin calmly answered, ¡°It¡¯s still too early. We¡¯ll talk after your power level breaks through 900,000. The current sect leader, Liu Qianjue, isn¡¯t someone who¡¯s focused only on swordsmanship but is someone ambitious and quite capable. If you return now, you¡¯ll just end up as a mere elder.¡±

    Liu Huang was not the Second Nightking, and Lu Yin had never nned on permanently keeping the swordsman around as a bodyguard. Rather, he wanted to use Liu Huang to control the Sword Sect and force them to join the Great Eastern Alliance. This was the deal that the two had made in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    As long as Liu Huang was present, Lu Yin had absolutely no worries regarding the Sword Sect. If Liu Huang tried to renege on their deal, Lu Yin would have a perfectly valid reason to attack the Sword Sect. He might not even need to do so, as Liu Huang had previously been secretly captured by the Hall of Honor, and the man would never dare to publicly reveal himself. This was a crucial secret that Lu Yin could use to threaten the man. However, Lu Yin had no intention of actually exposing Liu Huang, as doing so would stain the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation, and Lu Yin had no wish to do such a thing to one of his strongest supporters.

    Also, all of this made Madam Hong¡¯s excuse of the Sword Sect imprisoning the Sea King seem pointless.

    Actually, that was quite strange; why was there still no news at all from Madam Hong?

    Lu Yin had expected Madam Hong to cause some trouble for him after Master Qing Hua left. Instead, he had heard basically nothing from the World Imprinter despite so much time passing. He almost wanted to reach out to Xun Jiong.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped while he was watching Sapling yfully leap about. He nced down and saw that there was a call request from an unknown contact.

    A voice spoke up. ¡°This thing is pretty useful. Why didn¡¯t I use itst time? Thework isn¡¯t bad either. There¡¯s actually information about divination that¡¯s even quite detailed. I wonder if it¡¯s useful. I should try it out one day.¡±

    Lu Yin realized who was calling as soon as he heard the voice: Xuan Jiu.

    ¡°Xuan Jiu, the position of national advisor is still waiting for you to fill it. Why haven¡¯t youe over yet?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu seriously answered, ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be the national advisor anymore?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°You were the one who asked me for the position. Why did you change your mind? The Great Eastern Alliance is only bing more and more powerful as time goes by.¡±

    Xuan Jiu hesitated. ¡°You have offended too many people, and-¡± He hesitated before continuing. ¡°You bring misfortune to people.¡±

    Lu Yin felt curious about this. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Literally what I said: whoever follows you will have an unlucky life.¡± The man was clearly annoyed. If he had taken the position of national advisor, then he would have been able to enjoy the rest of his life, especially since Lu Yin¡¯s tremendous ambition meant that he would always continue expanding his territory. Given that situation, Xuan Jiu would have be the national advisor for countless people, and everyone would have had to call him Ninth Grandfather. However, he had abandoned this dream after performing a divination.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Xuan Jiu, we¡¯re old friends, so tell me. Why would I bring misfortune?¡±

    Xuan Jiu sighed. ¡°I saw an incredible future with Heaven¡¯s Enigma. Anyone near you will suffer terrible luck and die miserable deaths. I¡¯m not cursing you, as this is just what I saw with Heaven¡¯s Enigma.¡±

    ¡°I heard that the opposite of whatever you predict will ur.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t want to perform divination for most people. You¡¯re different. Boy, take care of yourself. I¡¯ll never see you again¡ªyou¡¯re too unlucky, and many people will die because of you,¡± Xuan Jiu stated confidently.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. ¡°What did you see in your divination?¡±

    Previously, Lu Yin had not believed Xuan Jiu, but that had started to change after the man performed a divination regarding Lu Yin¡¯s family. Additionally, the sect leader of the Starsibyl Sect had also acknowledged that Xuan Jiu had learned Heaven¡¯s Enigma, which gave Lu Yin even more cause to believe the man.

    Xuan Jiu helplessly answered, ¡°Heaven¡¯s Enigma doesn¡¯t show me a detailed future, and I can only see if it¡¯s good or bad. Anyways, you won¡¯t have a good time in the future¡ªno, you won¡¯t have a good time now either. Do you know when this happened? Your future changed when you returned from that ce. Now it¡¯s miserable, just too miserable.¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°My past was also miserable, but I don¡¯t believe in a destined future. Ever since I started cultivating, everything that I¡¯ve done has overthrown other people¡¯s beliefs. Divination is nothing more than predicting the future by looking at the current situation, which is actually just another kind of perspective. I, Lu Yin, am the best at changing people¡¯s perspectives.¡±

    Xuan Jiuughed. ¡°That makes sense. You can try, but I still won¡¯t be there.¡±

    The man then hung up, but less than five secondster, he called Lu Yin back. ¡°There¡¯s something else I want to say. Boy, you picked up some items from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, right?¡±

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins? Some items?¡± Lu Yin considered the question. ¡°I got quite a few things from there. What are you referring to?¡±

    ¡°Something rted to Destiny,¡± Xuan Jiu said solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glittered. ¡°Why do you think I picked up something connected to Destiny?¡±

    Xuan Jiu answered, ¡°Only a few can detect the aura of Destiny, and Destiny¡¯s aura is bing increasingly strong on you. You must have picked up something rted to Destiny, so what is it?¡±

    ¡°Fatesand.¡± Lu Yin made no effort to hide it, as he wanted to learn more from Xuan Jiu if possible.

    Xuan Jiu eximed, ¡°How much fatesand do you have?¡±

    ¡°Thirty nine pieces,¡± Lu Yin answered.

    Xuan Jiu took a deep breath. ¡°Seriously? There¡¯s only 108 pieces of fatesand, and you have thirty nine? That¡¯s impressive. It¡¯s been spread all over the universe, and I only managed to find three after a great deal of difficulty. How did you get so much?¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°You have fatesand too?¡±

    Fatesand was quite precious, and not even all of the Ten Arbiters had some. Even if they did, they normally received it from their elders, as it was too difficult for youths to obtain any. Hong Ying¡¯s fatesand had been given to her by Madam Hong, and Lu Yin had not expected Xuan Jiu to have three pieces.

    ¡°Give me your fatesand.¡±

    ¡°Give me your fatesand.¡±

    They spoke the same thing at the same time, and Xuan Jiu anxiously continued, ¡°Boy, don¡¯t be cocky. It¡¯s not good to have so much fatesand, as it might cause you even further harm.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the concern, but I still want more.¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

 Chapter 1700: An Important Guest

    Chapter 1700: An Important Guest

    Xuan Jiu grew even more anxious after he heard Lu Yin¡¯s response. ¡°I¡¯m not lying! Fatesand is rted to Destiny, and you can¡¯t afford to offend Destiny. You¡¯ve already received an inheritance from the God of Death, and you¡¯ve experienced his invincible power. Destiny is someone who appears right next to the God of Death in the legends, so you should know how powerful they are. You should give me your fatesand. Otherwise, you¡¯ll end up in deep trouble.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like anyone has gotten into trouble so far after receiving fatesand.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they only had a few pieces! Nobody would be able to detect one or two pieces of fatesand, but it¡¯s entirely different when you have more. You¡¯ll end up alerting Destiny after you get too much, and then Destiny will determine your fate! That¡¯s why your future looked so miserable to me¡ªit has to be because of this stuff. Give it to me, and your future will be amazing!¡±

    Lu Yin was left speechless. ¡°Why do you want fatesand so badly? Is Destiny actually real? Are you trying to get Destiny¡¯s inheritance?¡±

    ¡°What inheritance? I¡¯m gonna bury them all somewhere so that nobody will be able to find them, and they¡¯ll be a sourcebox. I hope that they¡¯ll never surface again for all eternity,¡± Xuan Jiu spat viciously.

    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu snorted. ¡°Everyone wants to see and change the future, but if you change your future, you also change other people¡¯s. Do you want anyone changing your future however they please? If Destiny¡¯s real, they have this power. Do you actually want such a person to show up?¡±

    Lu Yin felt sudden chills. Changing his own future could lead to good or bad things, but the worst case scenario was having his future being altered by someone else.

    ¡°Do you believe that Destiny really exists?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu answered solemnly, ¡°No, but I still can''t risk it.¡±

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t give you my fatesand. I have a use for them.¡±

    Xuan Jiu grew somber. ¡°Alliance Leader, I¡¯m really not joking here. You can¡¯t mess with Destiny. Anybody who gets involved with Destiny will encounter bad things.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also not joking. It¡¯s really useful to me,¡± Lu Yin rebutted.

    Xuan Jiu sighed. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to give it to me, then at least don¡¯t give it to Starsibyl either. Some people are not who you think they are. Remember that.¡±

    The old man hung up.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought as he stared at his gadget. Destiny was truly a heavy matter to brood on¡­ did such a person truly exist? Could they change destiny? What was destiny? Was it time? Could Progenitor Destiny alter time? Destinies would change if time was altered.

    Did Destiny really exist?

    The God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian: did these Ancient Progenitors truly exist? Wu Tian had left behind the Sword Monument, and the God of Death had created death energy. As for Destiny, they had created fatesand. These feats made it seem like the Ancient Progenitors had truly existed, but aside from these few traces, there was nothing else that indicated that they had ever existed. If they were real, where were they? Were they dead or alive?

    Lu Yin agreed with what Xuan Jiu had said; he could not allow anyone else to alter his destiny.

    If Ancient Progenitor Destiny truly existed, then they could change other people¡¯s destiny, which meant that they were everybody¡¯s universal enemy.

    No matter how evil or kind Destiny was, they were an enemy to everybody as nobody would want their destiny to be under someone else¡¯s control.

    From a certain perspective, wouldn¡¯t such a person be a god if they were truly capable of altering other people¡¯s destiny?

    Sapling continued to jump about happily, but Lu Yin could easily change its destiny, as it was currently incapable of independent thought. However, once it grew up and was able to go against Lu Yin, would it still be willing to let Lu Yin change its destiny?

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look at the Second Nightking. Xuan Jiu had sensed Destiny¡¯s aura on Lu Yin because of his fatesand, so why had there been so much fatesand in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect? The fatesand on the copper door had clearly been added on afterwards, and the Second Nightking also clearly believed in the existence of the God of Death¡¯s inheritance after Mr. Feng mentioned it.

    Why would the Second Nightking have believed such a thing?

    ¡°Do you believe in the God of Death¡¯s existence?¡± Lu Yin asked while carefully observing the Second Nightking¡¯s reaction.

    The Second Nightking frowned. ¡°He¡¯s just a rumor.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you one more time: do you believe in the God of Death¡¯s existence?¡± Lu Yin was still rather upset, as Xuan Jiu¡¯s words had ruined his mood. He red viciously at the Second Nightking, prepared to do something if the Second Nightking continued ignoring him.

    The Second Nightking met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze and coldly stated, ¡°I don¡¯t believe in him, but the Bai family does.¡±

    ¡°The Bai family? The Bai family from the Celestial Frost Sect?¡± Lu Yin was stunned.

    The Second Nightking nodded. ¡°The Daynight n managed to stay in the Fifth Maind because we volunteered, but it was also toplete a task for the Celestial Frost Sect. We were ordered to find everything we could regarding Destiny. Destiny and the God of Death are mentioned in the same legends, and the Bai family firmly believed in both of them.¡±

    ¡°The Daynight n helped the Celestial Frost Sect gather items rted to Destiny? The fatesand?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking answered, ¡°That¡¯s right. Collecting fatesand was the task that they gave us, but we stopped after the First Nightking sessfully rebelled against the Bai family. Even if the God of Death and Destiny are real, their existence is too uncertain, and we would rather believe in our own abilities.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood why there had been fatesand on the treasury door in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Those pieces of fatesand had been gathered by the Daynight n, though they should have gathered even more over the countless years. However, they had ceased their task after their sessful rebellion and had instead stepped onto the path towards ruling over the Innerverse.

    The Bai family firmly believed in Destiny and the God of Death, so when Mr. Feng mentioned that Lu Yin had received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, the Second Nightking had believed it because of the Bai family¡¯s principles. Also, the Second Nightking might have chosen to believe Mr. Feng¡¯s words because he hoped to steal the inheritance from Lu Yin.

    The fatesand that had been behind the copper door had been gathered by the Celestial Frost Sect, so why had they not taken it with them?

    Lu Yin sighed. Since the Bai family believed in Destiny, the Ancient Progenitor might not be a mere legend. Destiny might have truly existed in the past, and they were supposed to be an Ancient Progenitor who was capable of controlling others'' destiny. Could fatesand really be connected to that person?

    That would be interesting.

    Lu Yin wondered what would happen if he gained inheritances from both the God of Death and Destiny.

    Liu Huang observed the conversation with a strange expression. He believed in neither Destiny nor the God of Death. He was obsessed with swords, and he would much rather believe that someone could create the Fifteenth Sword.

    His eyes lit up at the mere thought. Would it not be absolutely amazing if someone created a Fifteenth Sword?

    A few dayster, it was almost time to invade Basong Flowzone. Also, it was about time for Balsam to arrive.

    One day, a guest arrived who was personally greeted by Lu Yin.

    The bald head was extremely noticeable under the city lights. Lu Yin was thrilled. ¡°Brother Hui Kong?¡±

    The guest who had arrived in the Ross Empire was the bald old man, Hui Kong.

    Hui Kongughed when he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Brother Lu, it¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    Lu Yin was excited, and he ran up to Hui Kong. ¡°Brother Hui, you escaped?¡±

    Hui Kongughed. ¡°What are you talking about? Nobody locked me up, so it¡¯s perfectly normal for me to leave for a bit.¡±

    He patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and eximed, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten a lot stronger than during ZENITH! Brother Lu, you¡¯ve got great luck.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately invited Hui Kong to have a seat.

    Hui Kong nced over at the Second Nightking and Liu Huang. ¡°Brother Lu, aren¡¯t you going to introduce them to me?¡±

    Lu Yin waved his hand to dismiss the Second Nightking and Liu Huang.

    Hui Kong was caught off guard by how casual Lu Yin was towards the two powerhouses. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t even understand what you¡¯re doing. Those two are quite powerful. You aren¡¯t being tricked, right?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Brother, take a seat, and I¡¯ll exin everything to you slowly.¡±

    Lu Yin was genuinely grateful to Hui Kong, and he also felt like the old man was family. Hui Kong had saved Lu Yin, and he had also gone through many difficulties with Lu Yin while in the Technocracy. In truth, Hui Kong had taken care of Lu Yin and even provided him with food, resources, and a massive cosmic ring. He had even helped Lu Yin to escape from the Technocracy.

    If not for Hui Kong, Lu Yin would have died in the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin felt the same way towards Hui Kong as Big Sis. Apart from his die that he would never share with anyone, Lu Yin was willing to share anything else with Hui Kong.

    Despite being from the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family, Lu Yin still believed in Hui Kong.

    Half a dayter, Hui Kong was staring at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°Brother Lu-¡±

    Lu Yin smugly stared at Hui Kong¡¯s stunned expression. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Go through it again. I didn¡¯t hear you clearly.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    ¡°The Second Nightking and Liu Huang? Tsk, you¡¯ve got balls, Brother Lu,¡± Hui Kong eximed.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t have any other choice.¡±

    Hui Kong smacked Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°Good for you! You really are my brother, hahahaha!¡±

    Lu Yinughed despite the ache in his shoulder. ¡°Brother, why¡¯d you leave the Technocracy?¡±

    Hui Kong¡¯s expression changed, and he grew solemn as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°There were people from that ce who came for you.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated a moment before his expression quickly changed. ¡°The Perennial World?¡¯

    Hui Kong continued, ¡°He called this ce the ¡®Forsaken Land¡¯.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists. ¡°Who was it?¡±

    ¡°Wang Shang, from the four ruling powers.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He had not heard this name before, but this person had to be a powerhouse from the Wang family.

    ¡°He was quite powerful, and if not for my time cultivating in the Technocracy, he would have seeded. I managed to force him back, but he¡¯ll definitely return.¡± Hui Kong turned to Lu Yin and said in disbelief, ¡°What did you do? How did you manage to antagonize such a powerful person? I¡¯ve almost never encountered anyone that powerful despite wreaking havoc in the Technocracy for so long.¡±

    Lu Yin flinched; who described themselves as wreaking havoc?

    Lu Yin did not want to tell the man his identity as Lu Xiaoxuan. This was not because Lu Yin did not trust Hui Kong, but rather because he did not want to create problems for the older man. ¡°Brother, there are some things that I can¡¯t tell you, at least not for now. Just know that I¡¯m in deep trouble and that I can be regarded as that entire ce¡¯s enemy.¡±

    Hui Kong reflexively touched a hand to his head. ¡°Impressive. I¡¯ve spent so long in the Technocracy, and yet even I haven¡¯t been branded a public enemy yet. You¡¯re amazing.¡±

 Chapter 1701: Thereâ€™s A Problem

    Chapter 1701: There¡¯s A Problem

    Hui Kong then continued to say, "Forget that I asked anything if you don''t want to say. Just let me know if you need anything. Your brother might not have any other skills, but I¡¯m good at fighting, and I can at least support you with that. Though, I can only support you as my brother, and I can¡¯t represent the entire Hui family."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I know."

    "By the way, there is one other thing." Hui Kong pulled out two memory chips from his cosmic ring that he threw over to Lu Yin. "Find a technician to analyze these. They have some confidential information regarding some cities in the Technocracy, including First Edition City. This big brother of yours took a lot of effort to get this, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s worth anything.¡±

    Lu Yin became curious. "Brother Hui, were you in Technocracy for so many years because of this?"

    "Of course not. This is just a little something extra. Brother Lu, I was actually forced out. I lost a lot of resources during my fight with that old man Wang Shang. Everything that I had umted during my many years in the Technocracy was used up, so I would have suffered if I had tried to stay in the Technocracy. They aren¡¯t looking for trouble, and the people entering this ce will definitely be making more trouble," Hui Kong said.

    Lu Yin felt apologetic. "Thank you, Brother Hui."

    Hui Kong patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Forget about it. For now, let¡¯s focus on other things. Your brother is actually in a hurry to get home. I haven¡¯t been back there in so many years, and I have no idea how many descendants the family has had by now."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This was not going to be a blessing for the Hui family. They were going to suffer terrible luck now that their ancestor was about to return home.

    The most suitable person under Lu Yin¡¯smand to analyze the memory chips that Hui Kong had give him was Huan Sha, as her innate gift was simtion analysis.

    Lu Yin immediately had Huan Sha transferred over to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, but even at the fastest avable speed, it would take her a few days to arrive.

    "Brother Hui, let''s go eat something and drink some wine. By the way, I picked up some wine from a colossal giant."

    "The colossal giants¡¯ wine giant? Interesting. Let¡¯s give it a try."

    "It¡¯s not very tasty."

    "That¡¯s fine."

    ¡­

    Bang!

    There was a loud noise, and Lu Yin stepped back. In front of him, Hui Kong attacked with a single hand. "Again! For an Enlighter to have this kind ofbat strength, it¡¯s possible that only Progenitor Chen couldpare to you."

    Lu Yin shook an arm. "Brother Hui, be more gentle."

    "Come on, I¡¯ll show you how the Hui family fights!" Hui Kongughed. Lu Yin emerged from the true universe and attacked from a strange angle with a Vacuum Palm.

    Still, no matter how many Vacuum Palms Lu Yinunched, they were all useless, and this was when Hui Kong was restricting his power level to be close to Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Lu Yin was surprised, as it was the first time that someone had ever managed to ovee his Vacuum Palm in such a manner. "Brother Hui, how are you doing it?"

    "The Hui family¡¯s secret art: Omnibreak. It allows a person to see through any battle technique and find its weaknesses. While your Vacuum Palm is extremely powerful and is even too fast to be seen, the way you move your hand is too obvious. Also, haven''t you noticed that your palm technique can never change direction?" Hui Kong responded loudly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Vacuum Palm was nothing more than a powerful palm attack, and there was no way for it to change directions. It relied solely on power and speed to overwhelm opponents, but Lu Yin had not expected Hui Kong to be able to see through the technique so clearly.

    In fact, many people were able to see how Lu Yin¡¯s hands moved when he used the technique, but very few were able to dodge the attacks even though they knew where the strike wouldnd. In contrast, Hui Kong did not avoid the attacks, but rather sneakily shifted about. He was always able to find the weakest point of each Vacuum Palm, and that knowledge allowed him to push the attacks aside.

    This was how the Hui family fought.

    Each of the families in the Court of Seven Names was adept at defeating powerful opponents from a position of weakness.

    Lu Yin had seen Hui Santong fight many times in the past during the Astral Towerpetition, ZENITH, and other such events. He himself had even fought against the Hui family¡¯s inheritor. However, while Hui Santong seemed to be nothing special, if he was ced in a battle against others at the same level of strength, Hui Santong would be a terrible enemy. He was able to see through his opponents¡¯ battle techniques and find his enemy''s weaknesses. Not to mention, he also had the Hui family¡¯s inherited battle technique, Golden Meteors, which was so powerful that it had forced Wang Shang to retreat before Hui Kong left the Technocracy.

    The members of the Hui family were all very intelligent.

    Hui Santong had never been anything special, but that was simply because Lu Yin and Hui Santong¡¯s other opponents were all too strong, and they would never give him a chance to win from a weaker position.

    "Brother Hui, the Hui family is descended from Progenitor Hui, right?" Lu Yin asked as he attacked again, this time using the Thirteen Swords.

    "That''s right." Hui Kong was startled to see the technique Lu Yin had used. ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯ve mastered the Sword Sect¡¯s techniques?"

    "Almost," Lu Yin replied.

    Hui Kong was speechless. "Have you learned the Sword Sect¡¯s entire Thirteen Swords?"

    He then nced over at Liu Huang who was some distance away. "Doesn''t he care?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "He created the Fourteenth Sword by himself, though I also learned it."

    Hui Kong was momentarily stunned from the surprise he felt at Lu Yin¡¯s revtion. "Fourteenth Sword? He created one?"

    When Lu Yin had told Hui Kong about Liu Huang and his identity, as well as the Second Nightking, Lu Yin had not mentioned the Fourteenth Sword, and he had merely mentioned that Liu Huang had been imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. This was the first time that Hui Kong was hearing about the Fourteenth Sword.

    "Hurry up and show it to your brother! I want to check it out." Hui Kong¡¯s interest was instantly piqued.

    Lu Yin felt troubled.

    Hui Kong said, "Don''t worry, your brother will be fine. Given your strength, you can''t hurt me at all."

    Lu Yin answered in a serious tone, "Brother Hui, the Fourteenth Sword is called Misery, and it causes a person to relive the worst experiences of their life, so be careful."

    Lu Yin then raised a sword that he had formed from star energy and swung down.

    Due to the massive difference in strength, Lu Yin was well aware that it was impossible for him to actually injure Hui Kong with the Fourteenth Sword, but what made this particr sword technique so terrible was not its power, but rather the intent behind the attack. It was simr to why Liu Tianmu had believed that she could cause Lu Yin to lose his mind with Liu Guai¡¯s version of the Thirteenth Sword despite the difference in their strengths. That sword technique could drive people insane regardless of their strength, and in much the same way, the Fourteenth Sword could make people suffer.

    Hui Kong stood still. Regardless of if one considered the Thirteenth or the Fourteenth Swords, the most terrifying aspect about them was how they were unavoidable.

    The sword swung out, and Hui Kong''s expression went through various emotions. He clutched at his chest and let out a long breath.

    Lu Yin stared at the older man.

    From the distance, Liu Huang was also watching. If he were at his peak strength, he would be able to wound Hui Kong badly with the Fourteenth Sword or even kill the old man, but Lu Yin was too weak to pull that off.

    Hui Kong looked up, sadness filling his eyes. "I really shouldn''t have left the Technocracy."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Brother Hui, I know that its hard."

    Hui Kong showed a bitter smile. "Yeah, I just remembered something."

    "Let me show you Sapling," Lu Yin suggested.

    Hui Kong shook his head. "Let me be alone for a bit."

    The man then left.

    The star energy sword dissipated from Lu Yin''s hand. This attack should have reminded Hui Kong of his determination.

    The man had stayed in the Technocracy for so many years, and although Lu Yin did not know why, the fact that Hui Kong had abandoned the Hui family and stayed in the Technocracy all alone for so many years required a determination that few could understand.

    The Second Nightking had hid in the Celestial Frost Pond and cultivated primarily to avoid the attention of the monstrous powerhouses in the Neoverse, but also because he hoped to be able to protect himself after emerging.

    It seemed clear that Hui Kong should be in a bad mood after being forced out of the Technocracy after so many years, but he had never shown any sign of that.

    The next day, Hui Kong had already recovered, and he continued training with Lu Yin. Sparring with Hui Kong was a novel experience for Lu Yin, as he rarely met people who fought by relying on cleverness. Typically, Lu Yin either crushed his opponent or was crushed by them. It was very rare for him to encounter such a unique opponent.

    While visiting Gaia¡¯s Swamp, Lu Yin had trained with the Warden, but that was nothing more than him getting beaten by the giant. On the other hand, Hui Kong was helping Lu Yin find the weaknesses in his battle techniques.

    After two days, Huan Sha arrived. Lu Yin immediately gave her the memory chips and asked her to analyze them. He then continued training with Hui Kong while asionally visiting Sapling.

    Therge tree that had been given to Lu Yin continuously tried to escape from captivity, and the strange nt tried every means to do so, but unfortunately, it was destined to fail. Sapling really liked therger tree, and it constantly sat atop of therger tree and jumped about.

    Even more strange nts had been added to Sapling¡¯s area over thest few days, and there were even bizarre ones that ate rocks.

    Hui Kong was very interested in Chen Huang, or, to be precise, Hui Kong was interested in the colossal giants. Hui Kong made a point of sparring with Chen Huang, and just like when he had sparred with Lu Yin, Hui Kong suppressed his strength.

    "It''s no wonder why some people im that battle force is a cultivation method that was originally intended for giants! The power that giants can exert with battle force is quite terrifying," Hui Kongmented with evident emotion.

    "Humans can alsoprehend battle force," Lu Yin said.

    Hui Kong smiled. "But not like these colossal giants. Even Progenitor Chen appreciated the power of the colossal giants, and one of his nine clones became a colossal giant that eventually achieved an unparalleled size."

    Lu Yin knew this, as he had seen Progenitor Chen''s memories while in Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. The giant clone had beenrge enough to y withs like they were marbles. Actually, how far had Progenitor Chen cultivated his battle force? Had he also achieved aurelian force, or had he reached an even higher level?

    Lu Yin longed to reach that level.

    Before long, Huan Sha reported to Lu Yin that she had concluded her analysis.

    Lu Yin took Hui Kong to go meet with Huan Sha.

    Hui Kong looked at Huan Sha with a bit of curiosity. He had merely been slightly curious about the information on the memory chips, and had not considered it very important. The reason why he was in the Technocracy was not rted to these things, and he had just randomly grabbed these chips without knowing if they would be of much use or not.

    Huan Sha returned the memory chips to Lu Yin and respectfully reported, "Leader, the information on these is about the consumption of materials, battle damage, funding for research and development, and other data for First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, and the records go back many years. The Technocracy is not like our Human Domain where we have a great deal of trade and culture. Instead, they seem to only care about developing warfare-rted technology."

    Lu Yin looked over at Hui Kong.

    Hui Kong nodded. "That sounds right. I stayed in the Technocracy for many years, and no matter if it¡¯s another city or First Edition City, life is very monotonous for the people there, and the research teams only focus on R&D. There¡¯s really not much creativitypared to the Human Domain, and there¡¯s much less culture. They also don¡¯t even trade, as the Master Brain runs everything.

    "There are some cities that are very strange and hard to even describe. If you go there, you¡¯ll understand, as they will defy your imagination."

    Ordinary people would not be able tost a day with such a lifestyle.

    "So are you saying that the resources listed in this chip aren¡¯t very useful? Is this just a recording of the Technocracy¡¯s most mundane affairs?" Lu Yin asked.

    In the Technocracy, technological research and the usage of materials for warfare was much like the consumption and production of food within the Human Domain. In fact, even the usage of training resources that the Human Domain required was considered a trivial matter in the Technocracy.

    Hui Kongmented, "I didn''t have much hope when I grabbed it. If it''s useless, it''s useless."

    Huan Sha interjected, "Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s a problem with the data on these chips."

    Lu Yin and Hui Kong looked over, as even Hui Kong was surprised. "A problem? What¡¯s the problem?"

    Huan Sha spoke earnestly, "Afterpleting my analysis, I found discrepancies between the various smaller cities and First Edition City in the consumption of various materials, research developments, and wars. In particr, I found the greatest discrepancies to be rted to warfare. Any battle will always result in a great deal of resources being lost, but that¡¯s not close to being enough to ount for the losses recorded in here. These materials have simply disappeared, which is not normal. Even when a primitive nation in the Human Domain goes to war, many materials will be recycled, and things don¡¯t simply vanish into thin air.

    "However, in every battle that¡¯s fought between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City, arge amount of resources simply disappear."

 Chapter 1702: Bad Luck Leads East*

    Chapter 1702: Bad Luck Leads East*

    Hui Kong said, "There is a machine in the Technocracy called scavengers. They specialize in gathering and processing leftover scraps from battles and experimental failures."

    Huan Sha replied, "That¡¯s recorded in the chips as well, but the resources that I''m referring to are in the records pertaining to First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, not the scavengers. The missing materials that I found are actually just missing data. Someone has deliberately deleted that particr information."

    "Every battle?" Lu Yin asked.

    Huan Sha nodded. "Yes, every single one."

    "Are warsmon within Technocracy?" Lu Yin looked over at Hui Kong and asked.

    "Quite frequent, especially between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City. Those two each control a half of the Master Brain, and that creates numerous contradictions. First Edition City is the one targeting the Human Domain while Sky Creation Academy is different. That¡¯s why I stay in Sky Creation Academy¡¯s territory all the time."

    "Can you determine how many resources are missing?" Lu Yin asked Huan Sha.

    Huan Sha shook her head. "It¡¯s too much, and these records only report the recent battles, not all of them."

    Lu Yin and Hui Kong looked at each other. If the resources belonging to just Sky Creation Academy or First Edition City disappeared, it would not be a problem. It was normal for someone to deliberately steal resources, but resources were vanishing from both sides. This did not seem right. This made the various battles look like they were just an excuse to steal more resources, rather than them being lost during a battle.

    Was it possible that someone was able to control the fighting between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City from behind the scenes? Who? The Master Brain?

    The Sixth Maind was the power behind First Edition City while the Wang family was behind the Sky Creation Academy, at least ording to what Lu Yin knew.

    However, he wanted to learn where the missing materials had gone. Suddenly, he remembered the mechanical ants that he had seen when he had Possessed one of them. There were countless ants densely packed somewhere within the Technocracy.

    At this thought, Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb; there were so many ants, but who had made them?

    "Do the reports have any mention of mechanical ants?" Lu Yin asked.

    Huan Sha shook her head. "No."

    Huan Sha soon left.

    Hui Kong said, "Brother Lu, I will also be leaving. You must be careful since there will be peopleing from that ce."

    "Aren''t you curious about where those resources went?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Kongughed. "That''s a problem for the Technocracy. It has nothing to do with what I¡¯m looking for."

    This showed the difference in the two¡¯s positions. Hui Kong only cared about what he was searching for while Lu Yin was the master of the Great Eastern Alliance. In the future, Lu Yin intended to lead the Fifth Maind in a counterattack against the Perennial World. Of the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy, the Technocracy was the most mysterious, as there was no way to send anyone to infiltrate that ce. These newly discovered missing materials could actually be his entry point.

    He would not easily let this matter go. Of course, it was also possible for the whole thing to turn out to be useless, as it was not impossible for people to be stealing materials from both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy.

    "Brother Hui, could you stay for a few more days? I want to ask you about the Technocracy," Lu Yin said.

    Hui Kong nodded. "Alright, I¡¯ll stay for a few more days and tell you what I know."

    ¡­

    That night, Lu Yin made a call in a sealed room. Four screens appeared in front of him, showing Wang Wen, Wei Rong, Qiong Xi''er, and Shui Chuanxiao.

    "Huh? All of us? It looks like something major¡¯s going to happen." Wang Wen was surprised.

    Wei Rong bowed to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder Lianxin has not yet appeared in Venom Flowzone."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry about the Sword Sect for now. There¡¯s something else I want to discuss with you four. This is a major issue concerning life and death."

    Everyone grew solemn at Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin usually consulted them one at a time, but all of them were participating this time, which indicated that this was a truly massive situation.

    Shui Chuanxiao grew increasingly curious. He had been tasked with moving the Lu Elite Troops into Basong Flowzone. He was almost done, so what could be even more important than destroying the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters in the Innerverse and Outerverse?

    Lu Yin organized his thoughts and then looked up at the four people in front of him. He proceeded in a low voice, "I have an enemy who is very, very powerful. As soon as they appear, let alone me, even the Hall of Honor will find it hard to resist."

    When the four people heard his words, their expressions instantly changed.

    Qiong Xi''er was at a loss. "The Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen. "I spoke of this to you."

    Wang Wen''s expression grew even more solemn. "Are they here?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    The four let out sighs of relief. Even if they did not know who Lu Yin¡¯s enemy was, the situation would be alright as long as that enemy had not already arrived, as it meant that they would have some time to prepare.

    "I¡¯m not sure when they¡¯lle," Lu Yin continued.

    Shui Chuanxiao could not stop himself from asking, "Who is this enemy?"

    Lu Yin somberly replied, "Telling you now would do no one any good. What you need to know is that this enemy will appear from within the Technocracy¡¯s Sky Creation Academy. I wanted to gather the four of you in order to discuss how we should defend against this enemy."

    "I would like to know just how determined this enemy is to target Alliance Leader Lu," Wei Rong asked.

    Lu Yin answered without any hesitation. "I¡¯m a must-kill target."

    Wei Rong''s eyes narrowed at this response. If he considered all of Lu Yin¡¯s enemies throughout the entire Fifth Maind, there were very few who were determined to kill Lu Yin. At the moment, even the major Innerverse powers, such as the Sword Sect, did not actually want to kill Lu Yin; at most, they wanted to drive him out of the Innerverse.

    "Do they actually dare to kill you or simply want you dead?" Shui Chuanxiao asked.

    "Both."

    Wei Rong''s finger twitched. This was a problem. Lu Yin''s backing covered the entire universe, as he was supported by the Hall of Honor. Even the Sixth Maind had to take that into ount. This unknown enemy was bold enough to kill Lu Yin, which meant that they were either desperate or had nothing to lose. Wei Rong was afraid that thetter seemed more likely, as it was impossible for Lu Yin to be so serious about this matter otherwise.

    "There¡¯s only a few ways to defend against foreign enemies. One is to remove the hatred," Qiong Xi''er said.

    "Impossible," Lu Yin said.

    Qiong Xier continued to say, "Another is to ally with their enemies."

    "Can''t do that."

    "The third is to hide."

    "Also can''t be done."

    "Then that leaves only one option." Qiong Xi''er frowned. To borrow the hand of your enemies to destroy another.1

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to write in the air. He wrote a list of his enemies. First on the list was the Neohuman Alliance. He did not have much personal hatred towards the Neohuman Alliance, but he desperately hoped to drag them into the mix. Next, he wrote down the Sixth Maind, the major forces of the Innerverse, the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia Ji, and more.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s expression grew increasingly strange as she watched the names being added to Lu Yin¡¯s list. This was a lot of hatred¡­

    Of the four, Wang Wen was the one who knew Lu Yin the best, so he was not surprised at the list. As if he already knew everything, Wei Rong also showed no surprise. He had even imagined the Hall of Honor to be one of Lu Yin¡¯s enemies. Shui Chuanxiao and Qiong Xier were the ones who were truly surprised, especially Shui Chuanxiao. He looked at Lu Yin in a brand new light; just what kind of person was able to provoke so many people into bing their enemies?

    "Alright, let''s analyze things and see who can take on this enemy who will appear in the Sky Creation Academy," Lu Yin said loudly.

    ¡­

    No one knew what came of Lu Yin¡¯s meeting with Wang Wen and the others, but their meeting continued for several days.

    After those days passed, Lu Yin saw Hui Kong off.

    Hui Kong was quite reluctant to leave Lu Yin. The two had be fast friends some time ago, and their friendship surpassed the difference in years.

    Before leaving, Hui Kong drew a star chart of the Technocracy for Lu Yin, as this was something that Lu Yin needed.

    After Hui Kong left, Balsam arrived.

    Balsam brought Lu Yin numerous medications and pills from Shamrock Enterprise on this visit to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. This was intended to be a congrattory gift for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s entry into zing Mist Flowzone.

    "Are these the odd nts that you¡¯ve been collecting, Alliance Leader Lu?" Balsam stood outside of Saplinge¡¯s area and watched the nts running about like forest spirits. Of particr note was therge tree, as it was still doing everything possible to try to escape. Anyone would be surprised to see such a thing.

    Lu Yin nodded. "What do you think? There are quite a few."

    Balsam smiled. "If Alliance Leader Lu enjoys such things, my Shamrock Enterprise can offer you many more. We have collected too many such strange nts."

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "Really? In that case, please ept my thanks."

    "Tell me, what did you do to collect all of these nts?" Balsam asked as she stared at Lu Yin. She had already observed the nts, and there was nothing she saw that warranted any concern.

    Lu Yin grew a little embarrassed.

    Balsam smiled again. "If it''s not convenient to say, I''ll just contact mypany and have them send some nts to you."

    Lu Yin turned serious as he looked at Balsam. "Honestly, I visited Gaia¡¯s Swamp and saw one of the prisoners. He was locked up there because his research killed too many people. He was researching¡­ eternal life."

    "Eternal life?" Balsam was surprised.

    Lu Yin nodded. "His research actually showed some results, but it also offended someone important, and he ended up being locked away for the rest of his life. I wanted to use his findings to research these nts. I think that his results weren¡¯t bad."

    "Eternal life?" Balsam asked uncertainly.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Balsam''s eyes flickered, as she did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s answer. Too many people in the universe pursued immortality, and even Shamrock Enterprise had people participating in that field of research. However, she felt like Lu Yin¡¯s studies were unreliable, though there was no denying the appeal of eternal life. Death was inevitable, as no one could live forever, with the possible exception of Progenitors.

    However, the Fifth Maind had no Progenitors, and such powerhouses were too far removed from people like Lu Yin and Balsam.

    "If Shamrock Enterprise is willing, I would be happy to cooperate with you in studying immortality," Lu Yin offered.

    Balsam smiled as she replied, "It would be my Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s honor."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "That''s wonderful. I¡¯ll make sure to find some time to visit Leaf King."

    There was a loud bang, and the two turned around to look at themotion. Inside the isted area, the big tree had fallen to the ground. It had just leaped up, trying to jump out. However, despite the height of the jump, it had just violently mmed back into the floor.

    When the big tree fell down, a small tree appeared from inside the branches. It was Sapling.

    Without really knowing why, Balsam had a strange feeling as soon as she saw Sapling.

    Lu Yin''s eyes changed as he watched Balsam, and his heart dropped. He had not expected her to pick up on the difference between the various nts and Sapling.

    Lu Yin suddenly raised a hand and set it on Balsam¡¯s shoulder, startling her and causing her to instinctively want to attack. "I''m really quite serious. Eternal life needs to be studied. Do you know who that prisoner offended with his research?"

    Balsam stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Who?"

    "I can''t say."

    Balsam arched a brow and frowned. She was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse President, and she had always maintained an elegant demeanor as though everything was in her control. However, she had just been startled by Lu Yin before being left at a loss for words. Both of these things were quite infuriating, and they caused Balsam¡¯s expression to twist slightly.

    [1] The title of this chapter is an idiom that means to use certain means to prevent oneself from suffering losses while having others bear the losses instead. This passage right here is the meaning, while the title is the literal trantion of the idiom. ?

 Chapter 1703: Eternal Life

    Chapter 1703: Eternal Life

    Lu Yin looked inside Sapling¡¯s park and saw the big tree pick itself back up while Sapling slipped back inside the big tree¡¯s canopy, making Lu Yin feel relieved. "Although I can¡¯t say a name, I can tell you that the person''s identity is incredibly sensitive, and regr people, or even Envoys, can¡¯t offend them. She- this person, is able to prove that the research results are quite valid, so I truly do hope to cooperate with Shamrock Enterprise. As soon as we see any bit of sess, the results will benefit both of us greatly, won¡¯t they?"

    Balsam turned her head to look at her shoulder where Lu Yin''s hand stilly. More importantly, Balsam was wearing an outfit that exposed her shoulders, which meant that Lu Yin''s hand was directly resting on her skin.

    This was not a good way to start the conversation, and Lu Yin quickly lowered his hand while he burned with embarrassment. "I''m sorry, I forgot myself. Immortality is very important, and many people have failed in pursuing it. Although you may not particrly care, I do."

    Balsam''s expression quickly returned to normal, and she smiled once more as she replied, "I can see how deeply you feel about this, Alliance Leader Lu. Don''t worry, I will definitely persuade Leaf King to cooperate with you on this."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That''s wonderful. Legend has it that Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Leaf King represents creation and healing, and I¡¯m certain that he has a unique understanding towards immortality."

    "It will be good if we can help you, Alliance Leader Lu. By the way, have you used your stellr energy pills?" Balsam asked. This was her entire purpose in visiting Lu Yin.

    "Stellr energy pills?" Lu Yin was caught off guard, but then he remembered. "Right, the stellr energy pills, I forgot. Here, there¡¯s this one."

    He stared at Balsam. "Since Shamrock Enterprise has even managed to make something like this pill, anything can be made, and more researchers are always helpful.¡±

    Immortality, immortality, and again, immortality. From the moment that Balsam had met Lu Yin, he had mentioned eternal life far too many times, and she had grown tired of hearing about it. Seeing the fanatical light in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, she became a bit more convinced that he genuinely wanted to research eternal life and was willing to cooperate with anyone, as it seemed that pursuing immortality was more important than who he worked with.

    This behavior caused Balsam to start to look down on Lu Yin.

    Studying immortality was not as good as cultivating, but if Lu Yin actually abandoned his training because of this obsession with eternal life, it would be good news for many people.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you haven''t used the stellr energy pills, have you? Why don''t you give it a try? Don''t worry, I¡¯ve brought two more with me on this trip. Even after Alliance Leader Lu tests one out, these two will rece that one," Balsam said with a smile .

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget rang, and he nced down before answering the call.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s time."

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled into a smile, and he turned to look at Balsam with eyes that were suddenly sharply focused. "Ms. Balsam, you¡¯vee a long way to see me, so how about you join me to see a great show?"

    Balsam felt confused, as she did not understand what Lu Yin was talking about.

    After Shui Chuanxiao had be the hiddenmander of the alliance¡¯s various armies, the Allied Forces had undergone tremendous changes. No matter if one looked at their equipment,bat knowledge, or interster routes, everything had greatly improved.

    It was easy to see their improvement just by looking at the speed at which the Allied Forces assembled.

    Balsam was surprised when she saw the battleships of the Allied Forces appear on a disy that showed a starry sky. Who was about to fight? She first thought that Lu Yin was targeting the Sword Sect, as the current situation in the Innerverse was clear. The major powers were being led by the Sword Sect to oppose the Great Eastern Alliance, and they were trying to keep the alliance contained within zing Mist Flowzone.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance intended to start a war, their first target would naturally be the Sword Sect.

    However, when the Allied Forces started moving, Balsam realized that her assumptions were wrong. This was because the Allied Forces were traveling towards the west while the Sword Secty to the south.

    Lu Yin stood inside the Allied Forces¡¯ massive gship with his hands sped behind his back as he stared out at the passing universe. Liuying Zishan stood with him, as she had be the Allied Forces¡¯ Commander in name, and Ian was also present.

    "Will the addition of the equipment from the Ross Empire greatly improve the army¡¯sbat strength?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liuying Zishan respectfully answered, "Yes. All of the equipment is being upgraded, with an emphasis on the battleships. The vessels built by the Ross Empire greatly outperform those produced by our Great Eastern Alliance."

    "That''s only natural." Lu Yin smiled.

    The Great Eastern Alliance currently had four different armies, and even just the Allied Forces alone was powerful enough tounch a war on an entire flowzone. This was referring to the eight great flowzones, not the minor flowzones. Also, this was not considering a battle that included Enlighters, as even Liuying Zishan would struggle to survive against an Enlighter. However, if Enlighters were involved, then there was no need to send out the Allied Forces.

    The destination of the Allied Forces was Giant Consortium¡¯s territory, and they followed one of Giant Consortium¡¯s interster routes.

    When the people on the tributary Astral River Ark saw countless battleships appear, they became terrified and turned pale as they immediately sounded the war rm.

    At the moment, the tributary ark was not in Fennel Flowzone, but rather on the other side of the tributary Astral River in Northseal Flowzone.

    Still, the people in Northseal Flowzone immediately started panicking. No one had expected the Great Eastern Alliance to suddenly start a war without any signs, and worst of all, it turned out that Northseal Flowzone was the alliance¡¯s target.

    "Don''t panic. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces can¡¯t easily cross the tributary Astral Rivers, so hurry up and dismantle the tributary arks!" An old man with fierce eyes shouted boldly. He was one of themanders in charge of the blockade sealing Fennel Flowzone, and he was an elder from Northseal Flowzone¡¯s Hall of Seals.

    The Hall of Seals controlled Northseal Flowzone, and even though it was only a minor flowzone, the Hall of Seals was still an Innerverse power. Naturally, the Hall of Seals'' strength surpassed the Outerverse powers like the Vastdearth Sect, the Moke Sword Sect, and others, especially when it came to the power of their elders. The Hall of Seals had elders with power levels of 400,000, which wasparable to Northgate Taisui from Northline Flowzone.

    Upon receiving the elder¡¯s order, all of Northseal Flowzone¡¯s cultivators started attacking the tributary ark. However, the next moment, they heard a roar from the void that was apanied by violent tremors. The sound filled everyone''s ears, tearing countless people¡¯s eardrums apart as people screamed in agony.

    An energy visible st to the naked eye passed through the Astral River tributary and struck the elder from the Hall of Seals.

    Everyone from Northseal Flowzone who saw this was stunned, and they all stared nkly across the tributary river as the terrifying figure of a giant emerged. It was Chen Huang, the colossal giant who had be an Envoy. His punch was not only able to instantly destroy an Enlighter, but it was also able to eliminate the army that was blocking off ess to Northseal Flowzone.

    The gathered cultivators were not actually an army, but rather cultivators who had gathered after being summoned by the Hall of Seals. At this moment, Chen Huang''s punch had shattered their determination, and no one dared to move.

    "Bring the tributary ark over!" the giant shouted fiercely.

    Everyone in Northseal Flowzone at the border trembled. There were some who were unwilling to obey the giant, but most did not hesitate to take action. Even if they were separated by an Astral River tributary, one punch from that giant could kill all of them.

    The fate of the elder from the Hall of Seals had been too tragic.

    Lu Yin watched everything with a smile. "Those people have no faith. Have Chen Jian visit the Hall of Seals and destroy it as a warning."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader," Ian acknowledged the order and turned to see it carried out.

    Although the tributary Astral Rivers had locked the Great Eastern Alliance in, Lu Yin did not care. There was no one in the entire Innerverse who could stop him. The return of the second Nightking gave hope to the Sword Sect that someone was finally going to stop Lu Yin, but imagine their terror if they knew the Second Nightking had been made to act as Lu Yin¡¯s bodyguard

    However, Lu Yin did not want to take the hard path, as he would rather subdue the major forces of the universe than destroy them. He needed to make uniting the Innerverse an inevitability rather than a militaristic threat.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what is the purpose of this expedition?" Balsam approached and asked curiously.

    Lu Yin turned to look at her. "Just watch. This will be a good show."

    Balsam nodded and asked no further questions.

    News that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had seeded in crossing from Fennel Flowzone into Northseal Flowzone, and then further on into Venom Flowzone instantly spread throughout the entire Innerverse. The Sword Sect and the other major powers were stunned, as none of them could understand just who Lu Yin was going after.

    Erudite Flowzone, First Flowzone, Soulseal Flowzone, and Beast Tamers Flowzone were all to the south of zing Mist Flowzone, and only Chaos Flowzone was to the west, aside from some other various, small flowzones. Could Lu Yin be targeting Chaos Flowzone?

    ***

    Liu Qianjue stared at a star chart, lost in his confusion.

    Even if the Great Eastern Alliance conquered Chaos Flowzone, what was the point? It was too far away from their other holdings, and even if the Great Eastern Alliance was supported by the entire Outerverse, it would be impossible to defend such arge border. Could the Allied Forces divide themselves in order to upy Chaos Flowzone?

    Lu Yin''s move confused almost everyone.

    Liu Qianjue suddenly thought of something, and he immediately contacted Mountain God and the others to have them all raise their guards. Lu Yin was exceptionally skilled at deception and misleading people while muddying the waters. In the past, he had acted as though he was targeting the Sword Sect while actually nning an attack on the Daynight n. It was possible that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s other armies had moved elsewhere.

    Liu Qianjue''s warning instantly made Mountain God and the others nervous. After a few quick discussions, they quickly destroyed the tributary arks that connected zing Mist Flowzone to the other major flowzones, making it impossible for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces to easily travel to them. While this could not stop powerhouses from traveling through the Innerverse, it could certainly stop an army from doing so.

    ***

    Basong Flowzoney to the west of the Innerverse, and the Allied Forces needed at least half a month to make the journey. This was because the Ross Empire¡¯s technology had greatly improved the army¡¯s battleships, lowering the previous prediction of a month.

    Shui Chuanxiao had needed a month to infiltrate Basong Flowzone with the Lu Elite Troops, and the Allied Forces needed half a month to travel to Basong Flowzone, which added up to the originally requested month and a half to start the assault on Basong Flowzone.

    Before the Allied Forces arrived, Lu Yin left them and made his way east.

    The Second Nightking led the way, and Lu Yin spent a few days outside the Lost Radiance Academy in Erudite Flowzone. There, he found the corpse king that was constantly monitoring the academy.

    The corpse king had not expected Lu Yin and the Second Nightking to suddenly appear, and although the creature instantly attacked, it waspletely unable to resist the Second Nightking and was thus instantly captured.

    The Second Nightking gave Lu Yin a very odd look. "How did you know that there would be a corpse king hiding here?"

    "That has nothing to do with you," Lu Yin casually replied.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eye twitched; this youth actually only became more of an enigma as time passed. Since Lu Yin had clearly known about the corpse king in this ce, why had he not warned the Lost Radiance Academy or the Wen family and let them destroy the creature? Why had Lu Yin instead insisted on capturing a corpse king? Could Lu Yin be colluding with the Neohuman Alliance?

    The Second Nightking suddenly remembered that Mr. Feng had protected Lu Yin twice outside of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. The Second Nightking felt that he was onto something.

    After grabbing the corpse king, the two left and made their way towards Basong Flowzone.

    Lu Yin was happy that he had not killed the corpse king; if he had, his current n would have been impossible.

    ¡­

    Lava flowed across the brokenndscape of a that was illuminated by a strange red moon. The sky was dark, and when the red moon lit the ground, it created a dark, cold, red sky that enveloped the like a veil.

    Rivers of blood flowed across the ground, their red glow mirroring the red moon above. The dead shambled all across the.

 Chapter 1704: Annihilation

    Chapter 1704: Annihtion

    There was a bang, and shards of ss struck the ground with a tinkle that was especially noticeable in the silent night. A pair of terrified eyes looked down from the broken window at where countless ck shadows had gathered. All of them were zombies.

    The zombies poured into the building, causing the structure to crumble.

    A young man leaped out of the broken window. His jump took him across the entire street, and hended on the roof of another building. It was a distance of more than fifty meters, so the man clearly was not an ordinary human.

    Just as the young mannded on the roof of a building across the street, a pair of scarlet eyes appeared before him. The man¡¯s pupils shrank sharply, and his face grew pale. Out of desperation, he dropped down the roof andnded on the street, but the corpse king followed him. The creature released a fierce roar and jumped forward with raised ws, ready to grab the young man.

    The man was terrified, and he dropped to the ground with a scream. The corpse king¡¯s hand fell, and the young man instinctively closed his eyes, already giving in to despair.

    He waited a bit, but nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of slender, snow-white thighs. His gaze followed them up to see a young girl wearing a dark red dress with a dagger at her waist and a long sword in her hand. The most conspicuous thing about the sword was the red moon engraved on its hilt. That red moon was the symbol of the Red Moon Dynasty.

    The young man was thrilled to see this, as it meant that the people from the Red Moon Dynasty had arrived.

    Roar!

    The corpse king pursuing the man let out a frustrated roar, and when the young man looked at the creature, he saw that all its limbs were twisted in unnatural directions. There was also a cut on the beast¡¯s abdomen, clearly a result of an attack from the girl from the Red Moon Dynasty.

    There was a bang as her sword fell down, and the man watched as it tore through the ground, forcing the man to retreat in terror.

    The corpse king approached the girl one step at a time, and countless zombies emerged from the ruins of the building that the young man had leaped from. They had noticed the man and the girl, and they started to swarm them.

    "Quick, run away!" the man warned in fear.

    The girl did not even look at the young man as her sword spun around and shed out with a horizontal attack. The next moment, the countless zombies that were running towards the two were sliced through at the waist, causing blood to stter across the ground. Even more terrifying was that the building behind the zombies was cut in half.

    The man was shocked, was this the strength of a cultivator?

    The corpse king was terrified, and it roared again. It looked like the creature wanted to make a move, but footsteps suddenly came from behind them. "Junior Sister, are you still not done yet?"

    The young man turned his head, and he saw a group of people approaching from the distance. Some of them were walking on the ground, and others were leaping down from the nearby skyscrapers. There were seven people, and each one of them was wearing armor and wielded a sword with the emblem of the Red Moon Dynasty on the hilt.

    With so many cultivators from the Red Moon Dynasty, the corpse king grew frightened, and it turned to flee.

    None of the humans reacted, and they remained where they were and allowed the corpse king to escape.

    Finally, the girl turned around, and the young man was surprised when he saw her face.

    The girl was quite beautiful. She had delicate features, and the long sword in her hand gave her a heroic aura.

    The man quickly rose to his feet, grateful, only to see disgust fill the girl''s eyes. "Is such a person worthy of rescuing?"

    The man nkly stared at the girl walking in front of him. The disdain he saw in her eyes forced him to lower his head, and he no longer dared to look at her directly.

    "Whether he¡¯s worth it or not, he¡¯s not an ordinary human, which means that there¡¯ll be rewards for taking him back, just like that woman from a few days ago."

    "Hmph, that woman is probably the most beautiful person on this entire! How many times have you yed with her?"

    "Haha, Junior Sister, cut the nonsense."

    "Like I don¡¯t know you?"

    "Alright, let''s go. There¡¯s more for you to finish," someone a little further away urged.

    The young man just listened to the people talk before they dragged him away. Not a single one of the people paid the young man even the slightest hint of attention, and they merely dragged him along like an animal. However, this let the man to see the power of the Red Moon Dynasty. The terrifying corpse kings were helpless against these people.

    After observing the people for a few days, the young man saw that many other people were also rescued by the group from the Red Moon Dynasty. Each person who was rescued was an extraordinary person while all of the ordinary people were simply ignored. The seven people watched as ordinary humans were bitten by zombies, and they even jokingly bet on how long a person would survive.

    The young woman with the delicate features was no different from the others, as not a single one of them treated regr humans as real people.

    The strangest thing was that none of these powerful experts would kill the corpse kings, and they always allowed the creatures to escape. This caused the young man to be increasingly doubtful, though he did not dare to ask any questions.

    During these few days, he gradually came to understand where the group of experts hade from, as well as the status of his in the greater scope of the universe.

    The young man had been born on a called Peacemound that was in Basong Flowzone. However, the young man had no idea what a ¡°flowzone¡± was. All he knew was that the Red Moon Dynasty was the master of the entire Basong Flowzone. Doomsdays, like the one that his was suffering, were used to select people to join the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s cultivators as their soldiers.

    The young man¡¯s had also been chosen.

    After learning this, the young man''s eyes zed with hatred. In order to choose their soldiers, the Red Moon Dynasty deliberately triggered doomsdays. They did not care about the lives of the ordinary people on thoses, and their view was made clear when the girl said, ¡°If you can find talented cultivators, it¡¯s worth sacrificing a hundred suchs.¡±

    These words repeated themselves in the young man¡¯s dreams every single night. The girl''s delicate face had be something hideous in his eyes, and he had already sworn that he wouldpletely destroy the Red Moon Dynasty if the opportunity ever arose. He would avenge his home, his parents and family, as well as his unborn child.

    He kept his hatred hidden deep in his heart.

    One day, the man was still following the experts from the Red Moon Dynasty, and they approached a massive spacecraft. "It''s finally here! Get inside. As soon as you head up, your fate will change," someone said in a loud voice.

    Someone quietly asked, "Then what about our home?"

    A person from the Red Moon Dynasty just sneered. "Home? This? It¡¯ll be immediately destroyed, and it will be as though it never even existed."

    The young man and all of the other people who had just been rescued werepletely heartbroken upon hearing this answer. They fell silent and quietly boarded the vessel that soon ascended into space.

    The men were all put in dormitories that each housed twenty people in a manner fit for animals. Fortunately, each room had a small window that allowed them to see the starry expanse of outer space as they traveled.

    They were in outer space! The young man¡¯s home had developed technology and done their best to find life beyond their, but they had only found their¡¯s doom instead. The young man¡¯s hands slowly clenched into fists.

    Before long, another person entered the room. She was a woman wearing ragged clothes, and she just curled up into a corner where she trembled with her head hanging low. While it was difficult to get a clear look at her face, her eyes were filled with both fear and hatred.

    As the young man looked at the woman, the spacecraft jostled, and the woman¡¯s hair moved to the side. He saw her face clearly, and his pupils instantly constricted. Who was that woman? Could she possibly be Yun Fei? Peacemound¡¯s most beautiful woman? How did she end up in such a state?

    The young man¡¯s thoughts drifted back to the day when he had been rescued and the words that had been spoken by one of the experts from the Red Moon Dynasty. The young man ground his teeth so hard he nearly crushed them. Those beasts!

    The people of Peacemound had viewed people from the Red Moon Dynasty as practically celestials, but the truth was that they were mere beasts.

    After several more days, the vesselnded, and the young man was driven out. He saw a massive sitting in space like a monster. It waspletely surrounded by numerous space stations. Above it was a majestic red moon, and off in the distance was a luxurious imperial pce. They had arrived at the Red Moon Dynasty.

    Cultivators from the Red Moon Dynasty flew through the sky, one after another. They looked like gods.

    The people around the young man all subconsciously started kneeling, and they dropped to the ground one by one. In the end, only the young man, Yun Fei, and the person who had kept his head down the entire time did not kneel.

    In the sky above them, the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s cultivators who filled the air as they passed by red down at the man. "How arrogant. On your knees!"

    The man''s legs trembled, and his courage was overpowered by his fear. However, just as he was about to kneel, he heard a chuckle from the side. "This is the day the Red Moon Dynasty disappears."

    With that, the head of the cultivator who hadmanded the three people to kneel was removed.

    The young man stared nkly at the sky, and he watched on in shock as scarlet blood spilled out. Suddenly, an rm red out through the entire Red Moon Dynasty.

    The young man had no idea what was happening, and he turned in confusion to look at those next to him, only to see white smoke wrap around the bodies of the others who had not kneeled.

    Right after that, chaos erupted in all directions. "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Elite Troops have been ordered to annihte the Red Moon Dynasty."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Elite Troops have been ordered to annihte the Red Moon Dynasty."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Lu Elite Troops have been ordered to annihte the Red Moon Dynasty."

    ¡­

    Boom!

    The spaceship that had carried the young man from his home of Peacemound to the Red Moon Dynasty violently exploded, and the explosion continued to spread until the entire space station was blown apart.

    The man fled as fast as possible. Off in the distance, the experts from the Red Moon Dynasty who had rescued the man had also started panicking. The young man had not expected such powerful experts to react in the same manner as him. No, they were actually worse than him, as there was despair etched into their faces.

    In particr, the girl with the delicate features had gonepletely pale. "The Great Eastern Alliance? Why? Why would the Great Eastern Alliance attack us? We¡¯re just a small flowzone that doesn¡¯t pose any threat at all to them."

    "Any who surrender will not die." The girl reflexively raised her sword and attacked the voice that came from behind, but her sh was easily blocked by a puff of white smoke. She turned around, and the white smoke drifted past her. She stood in a daze as vessels exploded all around them in the distance. A shockwave swept by, and it swallowed up the girl''s body, leaving nothing behind.

    The young man was stunned; he had watched that girl slice through an entire building with a single swing of her sword, but she had no way to resist at this moment.

    From the sky all the way down to the ground, white smoke drifted about, filling the battlefield.

    Overhead, the red moon suddenly flickered, and a loud voice echoed through the entire region, "Why is the Great Eastern Alliance attacking my Red Moon Dynasty? My Red Moon Dynasty has never had any interactions with the Great Eastern Alliance, so why?"

    The voice echoed out from the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce, and a terrifying sound wave caused even the void to shake. The young man could not believe that he was seeing spatial tears emerge from mere sound.

    How could a person do such a thing? Wasn¡¯t this the power of a god? Even if Peacemound had spent another thousand years developing their technology, it still would have been impossible for them to tear through space. This was the power of the Red Moon Dynasty.

    However, even more terrifying was the fact that the power the young man regarded as god like actually contained words filled with a panicked helplessness that was reminiscent of when the young man had been captured and taken to the Red Moon Dynasty like livestock. Could even gods panic?

    As for the Red Moon Dynasty, this day was their doomsday.

    Out in space, Lu Yin stood quietly within the gship while staring out at the huge red moon in the distance.

    The Red Moon Dynasty had a rather strange power, or to be precise, bizarre battle techniques that borrowed the power of the red moon.

    There were countless battle techniques throughout the universe, and the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s methods were just one style.

    Balsam still felt puzzled. "Alliance Leader Lu, why did you attack the Red Moon Dynasty? They are just a tiny power."

    "Just wait and see. You won¡¯t be disappointed by this show." Lu Yin showed a small smile.

    On the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s home, a middle-aged man rushed out. He had a power level of more than 400,000, but his expression was grim and showed evident despair. "Why did the Great Eastern Alliance attack my Red Moon Dynasty? My Red Moon Dynasty has never offended you!"

 Chapter 1705: Shangwuâ€™s Technique

    Chapter 1705: Shangwu¡¯s Technique

    Although the master of the Red Moon Dynasty was a powerful Enlighter, he did nothing to help his people or fight back as he watched the Lu Elite Troops ughter his people. The man did not even dare to kill a single soldier, as he was terrified of inciting the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s direct animosity.

    Lu Yin appeared in outer space and faced the ruler of the Red Moon Dynasty.

    When the middle-aged man saw Lu Yin show himself, the man instantly grew respectful. "So it''s actually Alliance Leader Lu himself. Might I ask why the Great Eastern Alliance has moved against me and my Red Moon Dynasty?"

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face as he slowly raised a hand up high before dropping it down. He had just attacked the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce.

    A Vacuum Palm shot out, and the Enlighter in front of Lu Yin did not even have a chance to react. The void trembled as the pce instantly shattered. Besides that, Lu Yin¡¯s attack also tore through the void and shot through the entire. After that, numerous pairs of slitted, scarlet eyes opened deep underground.

    The middle-aged man whirled around, and he saw the scarlet eyes appear in the bowels of his. Desperation filled the man¡¯s eyes; he had been discovered, but how?

    "You have coborated with the Neohuman Alliance. The Red Moon Dynasty will no longer exist in the universe," Lu Yin dered before gentlymanding, "Exterminate them all."

    Corpse kings burst out from beneath the ground, and the Lu Elite Troops responded as one. The was unable to endure the stress, and it was torn apart.

    Over a hundred corpse kings had been hidden beneath the Red Moon Dynasty. Most of them had the strength of Limiteers, but there were more than twenty with the strength of Explorers, and fewer than five that were as powerful as Hunters. Finally, there were three with the power of an Enlighter.

    Ye Wei, Ganggu Daynight, and Ying Daynight all appeared from within the Lu Elite Troops, and they moved against the Enlighter-level corpse kings.

    Lu Yin remained focused on the underground space, as there were still a terrifying number of rune lines there. There was a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy present. After all, this ce was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse.

    The middle-aged man who was the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s emperor ground his teeth and suddenly attacked Lu Yin. With this attack, the red moon paled in the sky, and all of the power within it seemed to be drawn out, boosting his attack until its strength approached the power of an Envoy.

    However, such an attack was just a joke to Lu Yin. He raised a hand and destroyed the middle-aged man with a Vacuum Palm. A single attack shattered the man¡¯s body into pieces and continued on, striking the Envoy-realm corpse king still underground.

    At the same time, several of the nearbys were also attacked. The Lu Elite Troops were not the only ones making a move, as there was also the Allied Forces and the colossal giants. All of thes that were attacked had corpse kings hidden within them.

    The Allied Forces¡¯ battleships swept throughout Basong Flowzone.

    In outer space, another corpse king with the strength of an Envoy appeared, and instantly, hundreds of battleships were eliminated.

    One by one, more corpse kings revealed themselves in all parts of Basong Flowzone.

    Inside the gship, Balsam stared on in a daze. So the truth was that the Great Eastern Alliance had moved out to destroy the Neohuman Alliance! How had Lu Yin known that so many corpse kings were hidden in this ce?

    The Allied Forces hadpletely surrounded Basong Flowzone, and the moment the corpse kings appeared, news quickly spread through the Innerverse.

    The Hall of Honor was instantly alerted, and their Expeditionary Forces were immediately dispatched while the overseers were called to a council meeting.

    The Neohuman Alliance was humanity¡¯s greatest enemy, and this was true not only of the Human Domain. As soon as a corpse king appeared anywhere, regardless of the time or situation, it had to be destroyed as soon as possible.

    While all this was happening, the flowzones bordering Basong Flowzone received orders to seal off the flowzone and assist the Great Eastern Alliance in destroying all of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s forces.

    War enveloped the entire Basong Flowzone.

    When Lu Yin had been in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, L¨¸ Yan had cautioned him that there would be powerhouses at the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters with power levels of over a million, and Lu Yin was finally seeing it for himself.

    In the depths of the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s home, a pair of scarlet eyes opened. At the same time, space froze as a feeling of terror welled up from the depths of everyone¡¯s hearts. At this moment, they felt as though there was a sharp de hanging over their necks. After all, they were being targeted by their natural predator.

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang nced at each other with frowns. At their peak condition, they had each possessed a power level of more than a million, but neither of them were currently able to stand up to such a powerhouse. Even if they worked together, they could not face such an expert, let alone one that was a corpse king.

    The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings were always terrifying, especially when they were capable of undergoing a corpse king Transformation, which would drastically improve their strength.

    A ck line rose out of the ground that split the entire region in two. Everyone watched on in horror as a pair of scarlet eyes with vertical pupils appeared. The sight caused a chill to rise in their hearts.

    No matter if it was the Lu Elite Troops, the colossal giants, or the cultivators from the Red Moon Dynasty, everyone felt a chill run down their spines at this moment.

    The young man from Peacemound hid himself beneath some stone, and he hung his head as he trembled. Just the sight of those eyes caused him to be ovee with fear. Was that a cultivator? How could anyone raise their strength to such a level?

    The appearance of a corpse king with a power level of over a million instantly changed everything on the battlefield. This was how things worked in interster wars: absolute power determined everything.

    Lu Yin''s expression was no different from normal. Who cared about a corpse king with a power level of a million? After all, he had already faced Semi-Progenitor level corpse kings before.

    This particr corpse king looked just like an ordinary person, and if not for its scarlet eyes, no one would have noticed anything strange about it at all.

    The corpse king looked at Lu Yin and raised a hand, but Lu Yin just arched a brow. ¡°Your opponent isn¡¯t me.¡±

    After he spoke, a figure emerged behind the corpse king, and the creature spun around as its eyes went wide. It threw out a punch that shattered the void before fleeing into the true universe. The person who had just appeared suddenly looked up. ¡°Lu Yin, stay back."

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he moved.

    The person who had appeared to fight the corpse king was Yuan Shi.

    L¨¸ Yan had cautioned Lu Yin to be wary of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters precisely because of the existence of a corpse king with a power level of more than a million, so Lu Yin¡¯s only choice was to rely on a powerhouse with aparable level of power.

    Yuan Shi had previously fought in battles where Lu Yin had been present, but Lu Yin had never been able to clearly see Yuan Shi fight, as such powerhouses conducted their battles in the true universe. In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to observe the true universe, but at this moment, he was able to clearly watch Yuan Shi¡¯s battle.

    No matter if Yuan Shi and the corpse king fought in the true universe or the visible universe, Lu Yin could watch their fight.

    The corpse king with a power level of more than a million was not just any corpse king, but one with an innate gift. It was able to release things that looked like snowkes to block Yuan Shi¡¯s attacks, but they were not as durable as Wen Sansi¡¯s barrier. Yuan Shi showed no innate gift, but he still easily evaded all of the corpse king¡¯s attacks.

    Space shattered, and images of Yuan Shi and the corpse king frequently appeared in every direction. They gradually moved away from the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s home, and their fight started to epass the entire Basong Flowzone. For such experts, Basong Flowzone was actually too cramped.

    There was a loud explosion as one of the Allied Forces¡¯ battleships blew up, and then several more did so in rapid session. All of this destruction was caused by the mere shockwaves from the fight between Yuan Shi and the corpse king.

    Within the true universe, the corpse king stared at Yuan Shi. Fists and palms collided, and the faux snowkes spread out from Yuan Shi''s arm. The man¡¯s expression remained stoic, and he simply shook his arm to shake off the snowke-shaped substance. He pped out with a palm attack, and it multiplied without end. Countless palm images rained down upon the corpse king, who responded with a near-infinite amount of the faux snowkes. Each impact spread out from the true universe into the visible universe.

    The corpse king''s innate gift covered all directions, but it was impossible for the creature to trap Yuan Shi. Even when the man did be trapped, he easily escaped. The corpse king was actually helpless against its opponent.

    The faux snowkes covered everything in Basong Flowzone. Regardless of what they touched, whether it bes, spacecraft, or other celestial bodies, everything shattered.

    All of Basong Flowzone was shaking.

    "That¡¯s the Hall of Honor¡¯s Shangwu¡¯s Technique," the Second Nightking said quietly. "That¡¯s Yuan Shi."

    Liu Huang looked up. "The Hall of Honor¡¯s most respected elder? Have you seen him before?"

    "Of course I¡¯ve seen him before. He¡¯s from the same generation as the First Nightking," the Second Nightking replied.

    "I¡¯ve heard that the Hall of Honor teaches Shangwu¡¯s Technique. I¡¯ve heard of it, and it¡¯s said to be a method that requires great dedication, but after being mastered, one can use it to discern their opponent¡¯s weaknesses in a simr manner as the Seven Courts¡¯ Hui family¡¯s secret technique. However, I¡¯ve never heard of anyone using it throughout the years. He must be the first to have sessfully cultivated it, and it makes him a very difficult opponent," Liu Huang said admiringly.

    Above the Red Moon Dynasty, Lu Yin frowned. It appeared that Yuan Shi would not be able to defeat this corpse king easily. At this thought, Lu Yin looked over to Liu Huang and ordered, "Attack."

    Liu Huang''s expression soured. Given his current state, everything would be over for him the moment the corpse king made a move.

    Lu Yin took out the Chief Justice¡¯s bell and rang it.

    Far out in outer space, within the true universe, the fight between the corpse king and Yuan Shi froze for a moment. Even in his peak condition, the Second Nightking had not been able to endure the Chief Justice¡¯s pressure. All the Second Nightking had felt was the sky falling down on him in the shape of a hand.

    Lu Yin was the first to recover from the daze induced by the Chief Justice¡¯s bell¡¯s ring, as he had been the one to ring it. Right after him, the corpse king and Yuan Shi recovered.

    As soon as Yuan Shi woke up, he immediately took out Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide and held it up to the corpse king. He had coordinated this with Lu Yin beforehand.

    The moment the corpse king recovered, it was instantly met with the sight of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, which dazed the creature once again, causing its eyes to grow dull.

    Liu Huang seized this opportunity by attacking with a sword formed from stellr energy. It was the Fourteenth Sword.

    Sword qi swept out and shed through the corpse king.

    Lu Yin carefully watched everything ur.

    However, there was no response from the corpse king.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. Liu Huang had not yet recovered to his full strength, and at the moment, the best that he could do was release attacks with power levels of a bit more than 700,000. Lu Yin had hoped that the Fourteenth Sword would still be able to affect the corpse king, but it was a corpse king, and the result was even worse than Lu Yin had imagined. The Fourteenth Sword, Misery, had no effect on the creature.

    Yuan Shi pped a hand into the corpse king¡¯s chest, knocking it flying.

    Liu Huang felt helpless. "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, but it doesn¡¯t work."

    Lu Yin frowned. He nced at the Second Nightking, but it only took a moment¡¯s thought to remember that spiritual force was even less effective on corpse kings than the Fourteenth Sword.

    As for the Second Nightking, he was quite upset, as he felt that he was being underestimated. He stared at the corpse king fiercely fighting with the Yuan Shi. Even if Lu Yin was underestimating him, he was not wrong, as his current strength was insufficient to do anything at all to the corpse king.

    At the border of Basong Flowzone, battleships fired beams of light, and two corpse kings had holes sted through their chests as they shot out into space. Their bodies were soonpletely destroyed. Some distance away, the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s fleet had appeared, and they were attacking the Allied Forces.

    Hunters appeared from the Allied Forces and took direct action, destroying the enemy fleet.

    Ian stared at a screen with a solemn expression. The Allied Forces had already sealed off all of the tributary Astral Rivers connected to Basong Flowzone, which was no different frompletely encircling the flowzone. With the exception of Enlighters and above, it was nearly impossible for cultivators to cross the tributary Astral Rivers without assistance.

    The Red Moon Dynasty had very few Enlighters, and all of them were targets of the Lu Elite Troops, so Ian did not need to worry about them. Instead, he was concerned about the corpse kings.

    No one knew just how many powerful corpse kings were hiding in the flowzone.

    He noticed snowkes flying about far away, and Ian immediately shouted, "Number 792, retreat!"

    As he spoke, a distant battle ship quickly pulled back, avoiding contact with the faux snowkes.

    Ian did not know where these things wereing from, and he could not find the source, but he had already discovered that anything touched by it would be destroyed, including the battleships. One of the Allied Forces¡¯ Hunters had tried to block the snow, only to be destroyed as well.

    Suddenly, the battleship shook, and Ian nearly lost his footing. The red light in themand center flickered on, and an rm rang.

    "Admiral, enemies have boarded the ship!" someone shouted.

    Ian barked back, "Find their location and request backup!"

    Bang!

    There was a boom, and Ian turned around to see themand center¡¯s door break open. He stared into a pair of slitted, scarlet eyes.

 Chapter 1706: Return To Sky Creation Academy

    Chapter 1706: Return To Sky Creation Academy

    Corpse kings might be emotionless, but they were not unintelligent. The Allied Forces had sealed off Basong Flowzone, so naturally, the corpse kings intended to remove the enemymander.

    Ian was one of the orchestrators of this attack.

    While Ian was a deputymander and an admiral of the Allied Forces who answered only to Liuying Zishan, he was not very strong. He had gained his position solely through his expertise when it came tomanding military forces.

    Faced with a corpse king that was as strong as a Cruiser, Ian had absolutely no way to fight back.

    The corpse king raised a hand to grab Ian, and the man could not even see the creature¡¯s movements, let alone try to dodge it. Fortunately, powerful Hunters constantly protected themand center.

    The Allied Forces had six Hunters among their numbers. Two protected Liuying Zishan, one protected Ian, and the other three moved about freely.

    A Hunter with the appearance of a middle-aged man used a strange knife to sh at the corpse king. The creature raised a hand, and its entire arm turned ck, causing the knife to shatter upon contact with a loud ng, and the corpse king¡¯s other hand struck at the Hunter.

    The middle-aged man kicked the corpse king away with one foot.

    Ian let out a sigh of relief and returned his focus to the screen. "Sixty-two, retreat. Ny-five, ny-one, and ny-nine, stay sharp. Don¡¯t allow a single corpse king to escape."

    Vibrations continued to shake the battleship as the Hunter continued his fierce battle with the corpse king. Once the corpse king underwent a green-eyed transformation, the Hunter was no longer able to endure, and he retreated with serious injuries. Although one of the corpse king¡¯s arms had been cut off, it immediately returned to attack Ian once again.

    Ian raised a hand when the corpse king returned. In his hand, there was a Money Bomb.

    There was a tremendous explosion, and Ian moved to another battleship. Next to him was the badly wounded Hunter. The previous battleship and the corpse king had both been transformed into a sea of fire.

    "Thankfully, His Highness gave me that Money Bomb. Otherwise, everything would have been over just now," Ian muttered to himself. He looked elsewhere. "Themander should have also run into trouble."

    Ian had only faced a Cruiser-realm corpse king, but Liuying Zishan was being attacked by a Hunter-realm corpse king. However, as the General of Allied Forces, Liuying Zishan had a very important position, and she was openly protected by two Hunters and secretly guarded by an Enlighter.

    Liuying Zishan watched as the Enlighter fought against the Hunter-realm corpse king, and she heaved a sigh of relief. A corpse king with the strength of a Cruiser could cross realms to be a difficult challenge for Hunters, but corpse kings with the strength of Hunters struggled to fight against Enlighters, as the difference in strength between the two realms was toorge.

    Liuying Zishan¡¯s Enlighter guardian was notoriously cautious, so she would be perfectly safe under his care.

    More and more of the snowke-like objects appeared throughout Basong Flowzone. Aside from the flowzone¡¯s native forces, the Allied Forces had suffered the harshest casualties so far. They had already lost almost 100 battleships.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no way to interfere in Yuan Shi¡¯s battle. Instead, Lu Yin moved to eliminate the Envoy-level corpse king that was hiding deep within the. He then released the corpse king he had brought with him that he was able to Possess, set up a camera some distance away from the corpse king, and made sure that his body was hidden within five meters of the creature.

    Lu Yin took control of the corpse king¡¯s body, stood up, and looked around. He looked up just in time to see someone from the Lu Elite Troops kill a corpse king with some white smoke. The Possessed corpse king then looked down and pulled out one of the scarlet eyes that the corpse kings used tomunicate with each other. The creature looked into the slitted pupil and spoke five words. ¡°Return to Sky Creation Academy.¡±

    After saying these five words, the corpse king leaped upwards.

    Once it was five meters away from Lu Yin, the corpse king regained its senses, and it turned its head to look around with both eyes, just in time to meet a Vacuum Palm. The creature was sent flying, alreadypletely dead.

    Lu Yin stepped out, picked up the camera, and disappeared.

    It eventually turned out that Yuan Shi was unable to prevent the corpse king that he was fighting from escaping, as the creature fled into the tributary Astral River and disappeared.

    "I''ve shamed the Hall of Honor, and I''ve shamed the Fifth Maind by not being able to stop that corpse king," Yuan Shi openly expressed his guilt as he returned Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s no need for Senior to me himself, as that only happened because this junior didn''t take enough precautions. While Senior has about the same power level as that corpse king, given the myriad characteristics of corpse kings, it would naturally be difficult for Senior to lock down that corpse king even with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. This junior should have reached out to the Interster Supreme Court. It would have been safest to ask the Chief Justice to move out for this matter."

    Yuan Shi angrily spat, "Who would have imagined that such a powerful corpse king would be here!"

    The truth was that Lu Yin really had miscalcted this time. He had thought that Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide and the Chief Justice¡¯s bell would be enough to let Yuan Shi deal with a corpse king at the same level of strength as him, but the creature had ultimately escaped. Lu Yin had not wanted to ask the Interster Supreme Court to get involved in this matter, as it would have likely been more difficult to carry out his n with the Chief Justice present, or even with any of the other powerhouses from the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin needed a top powerhouse¡¯s help to deal with the most powerful corpse king at the headquarters in order for his ns to proceed smoothly, and Yuan Shi was the only person who met Lu Yin¡¯s requirements.

    Still, it did not really matter, as the Neohuman Alliance would not be able to hide for much longer. Lu Yin had ways of searching for them that they could not protect against, as he would absolutely be able to eventually find some clues with his die¡¯s Possession.

    Also, it was possible that there was something in Basong Flowzone. Lu Yin looked down. He had been entirely focused on executing his n, so he had not investigated the underground area yet. This was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so he refused to believe that there was nothing important in this ce. The battle had been too brief, so the Neohuman Alliance should not have had time to destroy or remove everything.

    Lu Yin quickly said, "Senior, don''t me yourself. There could also be information regarding the Neohuman Alliance here."

    Lu Yin then dropped down into the underground region of the.

    Yuan Shi''s eyes lit up, and he followed Lu Yin.

    The area beneath the Red Moon Dynasty had housed the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for both the Innerverse and Outerverse while the Red Moon Dynasty had established the core of their empire on the surface of the. The dynasty had controlled the entire Basong Flowzone, so the had been very prosperous for some time. In contrast, the interior of the was a deadnd reminiscent of Aeternus Nation. Walking corpses could be seen everywhere, as well as some very weak corpse kings. There was even a city that had been built inside the.

    Having already seen Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin was not surprised at the sights that greeted him, though he was still disgusted.

    Yuan Shi frowned. "This entire should be destroyed."

    "We should search for any information about the Neohuman Alliance before destroying it," Lu Yin replied.

    There was a veryrge space at the center of the, and Lu Yin released his domain to pour through every inch of the ce. Yuan Shi also scanned the ce with his stellr energy, but they found nothing at all. Everything regarding the Neohuman Alliance had clearly been either taken away or destroyed. All that they found were some abandoned resources.

    Lu Yin had no need for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s resources, and such things were also not very valuable. However, he was surprised to discover that a scarlet eye with a vertical slit pupil had been left behind within the subterranean city.

    Just like the scarlet eyes that Lu Yin had picked up from Silver and Wu Shang, this eye was also something linked to the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin had not initially known this, and he had only learned of it muchter, but this was the only reason why the Redbacks in the Perennial World held onto these things. Without such a use, the scarlet eyes would be useless and meaningless to hold onto.

    Lu Yin stared at the eye, but he had no idea how to use it.

    Yuan Shi left, as he had another very important responsibility, which was standing guard at the border between the Sixth Maind and the Great Eastern Alliance in the Outerverse in order to prevent the Sixth Maind fromunching a surprise attack on the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Yuan Shi¡¯s strength was nowhere close to being enough for him to actually stop the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces, but he could at least give Lu Yin advanced warning.

    Up on the surface, the ground started to crack. Lu Yin had the Lu Elite Troops evacuate the along with all of the regr humans. The was no longer suitable for human habitation.

    Also, Lu Yin recovered the Red Moon Dynasty¡¯s assets, which amounted to a full 300 million star essence.

    Given Basong Flowzone¡¯s status as a minor flowzone, this was an impressive amount for them to have saved up.

    Next, anyst remnants of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s forces needed to be cleared out from Basong Flowzone, and all of the cultivators from the Red Moon Dynasty had to be either eliminated or captured. There had to be some experts within the dynasty who were aware of the existence of the nearby corpse kings, but they had chosen to keep it a thing secret and not reported it, which was no different than cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance.

    ¡­

    The Great Eastern Alliance had utterly destroyed Basong Flowzone¡¯s Red Moon Dynasty, and the blitz attack on a major Neohuman Alliance base shook the entire Fifth Maind. The Hall of Honor had dispatched the Expeditionary Forces the moment they received word of the presence of so many corpse kings, but the war was over long before the Expeditionary Forces arrived in the flowzone.

    The battle was over, and even the cleanup had finished. However, the Great Eastern Alliance had only imed responsibility for Basong Flowzone, and any corpse kings that had escaped were the responsibility of the Expeditionary Forces.

    Shui Chuanxiao had originally suggested leaving a few holes open in the blockade surrounding Basong Flowzone. However, these would not be true openings, but rather just what appeared to be gaps so that they could announce the fact that the corpse kings were escaping and borrow the power of the Hall of Honor to perform certain tasks that they normally found difficult to do. In fact, very few corpse kings had managed to escape, and the remaining corpse kings hidden within Basong Flowzone would be eventually eradicated by the Allied Forces.

    Liuying Zishan was speaking with Xi Gu,mander of the Expeditionary Forces.

    "What? You allowed many of the corpse kings to escape? Didn''t your Great Eastern Alliance surround Basong Flowzone? How could any of the corpse kings escape? The universe is massive, so how do you expect my Expeditionary Forces to find them?" Xi Gu made no attempt to speak politely to Liuying Zishan. The woman was not even a Cruiser, and she was not qualified to even speak to someone like Xi Gu.

    However, the woman¡¯s expression remained indifferent. "The Allied Forces¡¯ strength is limited, and it was impossible for us to barricade the entire flowzone. We¡¯ll provide you with the information that we gathered, and you can search for the corpse kings yourselves."

    "What''s with your attitude? Let me speak to Lu Yin!" Xi Gu was furious at such treatment.

    Liuying Zishan waspletely unfazed. "You aren¡¯t qualified to meet with our alliance leader."

    Xi Gu was enraged.

    Liuying Zishan continued in a casual manner, "A list of directions and ces the corpse kings fled to has already been sent to you, and it¡¯s up to you how you want to proceed from here on out. Our alliance leader will be negotiating directly with the overseers and the Interster Supreme Court. While the Red Moon Dynasty colluded with the Neohuman Alliance, it¡¯s unknown who else has done so as well. Regardless, the most likely culprits are those who know where corpse kings can be found but make no effort to find them.¡±

    At the end, Liuying Zishan stared at Xi Gu in a very pointed manner. The man¡¯s pupils shrank. "You¡¯re threatening me."

    Liuying Zishan simply hung up on the man.

    Sending out the Expeditionary Forces to chase after the escaped corpse kings? Did this make any sense? The giants could deal with this matter! The only reason why Xi Gu had been called was so that Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance could use the name of the Expeditionary Forces against the Innerverse powers that were working against the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The locations that Lu Yin had asked Liuying Zishan to share with Xi Gu were indeed the flowzones that could be reached through the ¡°holes¡± in the blockade around Basong Flowzone, but in truth, no corpse king had escaped from Basong Flowzone. Still, whether or not they believed that one had escaped was up to Lu Yin to decide.

    Northseal Flowzone, Lager Flowzone, Pan Flowzone, and more. All of these minor flowzones had stepped up and taken action at the prompting of the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and the other major Innerverse powers. They had worked to iste zing Mist Flowzone by removing or destroying the tributary arks. These were also the flowzones that the corpse kings had reportedly fled to.

    Xi Gu quickly reviewed the list that Liuying Zishan had sent him, and a single nce was enough for him to see the connection between these ces and the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ever since he failed to eliminate the colossal giants for Cong Ying, Xi Gu had started paying close attention to the Great Eastern Alliance, and he was already very familiar with the alliance¡¯s manner of dealing with things. These minor flowzones were clearly all locations that had actively worked with the major Innerverse powers against the Great Eastern Alliance by sealing off zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s borders.

    When Xi Gu saw what Lu Yin was attempting to do with the Expeditionary Forces, he immediately contacted the overseers¡¯ council. Xi Gu was hoping to use the evidence that he had been given to use Lu Yin of trying to exact personal revenge by using the Hall of Honor, deliberately allowing corpse king¡¯s to escape, and attempting to use the Expeditionary Forces as his own sword against his enemies. However, Xi Gu¡¯s proposal was rejected before it even reached the overseers¡¯ council. As far as the Hall of Honor was concerned, the most important matter at this time was to destroy all of the corpse kings. This was not only for the sake of the Hall of Honor, but also for the entire human race.

    The Hall of Honor had always treated the extermination of the corpse kings as its number one priority that superseded all else. Even if Lu Yin had purposely allowed some corpse kings to escape, his aplishments in destroying the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse was real, and he was untouchable at this moment. Even if Overseer Nan Yuan despised Lu Yin, Mr. Right and the other overseers were not willing to stir up such trouble at the moment.

    Not only would that be trying to make trouble, but it would also be calling down misfortune upon themselves.

 Chapter 1707: Determination

    Chapter 1707: Determination

    Xi Gu did not want to be Lu Yin''s sword, but the man still had to investigate the information that he had received from Lu Yin; otherwise, Xi Gu would simply be setting himself up. Lu Yin would not even need to take action against Xi Gu in that case, as the Hall of Honor itself would do so.

    So, Xi Gu could only grind his teeth and follow through with what he had been given. As for the minor flowzones that Lu Yin had listed, they were simply unlucky. Regardless of if there were actually any corpse kings within the flowzones, the Expeditionary Forces would still thoroughly search through each and every ce.

    While this search was being conducted, would it be possible for them to disrupt travel by removing or dismantling the tributary arks? That was impossible, as everyone was eligible to be searched and investigated, even the tributary arks and their crews.

    All of this, including the fate of the Red Moon Dynasty and the Yin Tang Sect, was merely intended to be a lesson for the various flowzones. Lu Yin fully believed that, after everything was concluded, not a single minor flowzone would be willing to step up and help the Sword Sect and the other great Innerverse powers in their efforts against the Great Eastern Alliance. It was too easy for Lu Yin to move against such small powers.

    Lu Yin stood quietly in outer space as he waited for something.

    Before long, his gadget beeped, and Lu Yin nced at it before answering the call.

    "Where did this videoe from?" The voice of an old man that came through the call, and it belonged to Arch-Elder Zen. Lu Yin had sent the man the video that he had taken.

    "I found it by ident, but the corpse king in that video could not be found," Lu Yin replied.

    "Who else has seen this?"

    "No one. I sent it to you as soon as I saw it."

    Arch-Elder Zen fell silent for a while. "Sky Creation Academy shouldn¡¯t be cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance."

    "Why?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen did not answer, but instead, he said, "Don''t show anyone else that video. Destroy it."

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Arch-Elder Zen, if you know about the Perennial World, then you must know about Aeternus as well."

    Arch-Elder Zen listened quietly and showed no surprise.

    "Aeternus has been humanity¡¯s greatest enemy since ancient times. Even when Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui were alive, Aeternus was their greatest enemy. Since we know of a location rted to them, why shouldn¡¯t we go after them?"

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "The Technocracy is very special, and the only way to enter it is through brute force. The graduation exam for Eversky Ind¡¯s disciples is for them to force their way into the Technocracy. You should know that, even if we barge in, even if we can get to Sky Creation Academy, how will we be able to find a connection to the Neohuman Alliance? Forcing our way in will scare them into hiding, but there¡¯s no other way to get into the Technocracy."

    "I have a way to get in," Lu Yin said.

    Arch-Elder Zen was surprised. "How?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "The Ross Empire¡¯s Emperor Luo is actually someone from the Technocracy, and he knows of a route that lies between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy that leads out of the Technocracy. I had him imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, but as long as you take him with you, you can get into the Technocracy."

    Lu Yin himself had also escaped from the Technocracy before, but unfortunately, he had used a different route than Emperor Luo.

    "Alright, I''ll make the arrangements." Arch-Elder Zen started to get excited. He had not expected Lu Yin to have a secret path into the Technocracy. So Emperor Luo was actually someone originally from the Technocracy! This was something that the Hall of Honor had known nothing about. After all, Emperor Luo was not important enough to warrant the Hall of Honor¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up again, "Arch-Elder Zen, I have a request. I would like to travel to the Technocracy myself."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. "Go yourself?"

    "Yes. I want to go too."

    "Why? Don¡¯t you know how dangerous the Technocracy is?"

    Of course Lu Yin was aware, as he had been to the Technocracy before. If not for Hui Kong, Lu Yin would have never been able to return to the Human Domain even in death. However, Lu Yin did not have any choice at the moment; he was being threatened by the Perennial World, and he had to deal with the matter himself. This was not something that other people could deal with for him.

    He did not want to be forever terrified that a Semi-Progenitor from the Perennial World woulde to destroy him. After all, the four ruling powers were not short on Semi-Progenitors, so it was actually possible for them to send such a powerhouse to the Fifth Maind to take care of Lu Yin. It was certainly possible, as long as they were willing to pay the price.

    Besides, even the first person that had been sent after Lu Yin was powerful enough to defeat someone like Hui Kong.

    Lu Yin could not have a Semi-Progenitor as a bodyguard, as that was unrealistic. Besides, if he was being targeted by the four ruling powers¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, Lu Yin would not feel safe even if he were next to his senior brother, the Chief Justice. Before such experts, the Second Night King and Liu Huang were nothing more than ants.

    Lu Yin could not simply wait around to react, and he instead had to be proactive. He needed to take a risk at this time, as if he did not, only fear and death awaited him.

    The four ruling powers had managed to exile the entire Lu family, so there was no need to even mention Lu Yin alone.

    "No matter how dangerous it is, I¡¯m willing to go. Emperor Luo is cunning, and it¡¯s possible that he hasn¡¯tpletely broken off his connection with the Technocracy. This is also why I locked him up in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, as only I can control him. As for other people, even if you yourself go, Arch-Elder Zen, it might not be possible for you to control him, as people can be unpredictable." Lu Yin used apletely ridiculous excuse; could a Semi-Progenitor fail to control Emperor Luo? That was simply impossible.

    Arch-Elder Zen considered the matter.

    Lu Yin waited some time, but when there was still no response, Lu Yin continued, saying, "Senior, this junior is willing to take the risk. I beg you to let this junior go. This junior has already been in the Technocracy before, so I am not unfamiliar with the ce."

    "I don''t know why you insist on going to the Technocracy, but I want to remind you of one thing," Arch-Elder Zen spoke somberly, "The Technocracy has the ability to force back even us old people."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, as Arch-Elder Zen was referring to Semi-Progenitors, which meant that the Technocracy possessed the strength to force back even the Human Domain¡¯s most powerful experts. However, this was something that Lu Yin had already expected. Otherwise, there was no way for the Technocracy to have endured against the Human Domain for so many years.

    However, Lu Yin was alsopletely confident that forcing a Semi-Progenitor to retreat was not something that the Technocracy could use freely. If it were, it was impossible for Hui Kong to have remained in the Technocracy for so many years without suffering. Lu Yin felt that his assessment of the Technocracy had to be fairly urate, otherwise the war between the Technocracy and the Human Domain would have been over long ago.

    Regardless, Lu Yin had no choice but to go. If he were given a choice, he would naturally let someone else make the trip in his ce, but anyone who was qualified to rece Lu Yin was not someone he could trust, and anyone he trusted would die without a doubt during the trip, and Lu Yin was not cold-hearted enough to do such a thing to those whom he trusted.

    This was a risk that he had to face on his own.

    If he seeded, even if he did not stop the four ruling powers from entering the Fifth Maind, he would at least know when someone was arriving, which meant that he would no longer be as blind or ignorant.

    "This junior is determined to go to the Technocracy," Lu Yin said.

    Arch-Elder Zen continued to think for a bit. "I''ll make some arrangements for you. Also, this trip will be considered as you taking it on behalf of the Hall of Honor, so regardless of the sess or failure of the mission, this matter and credit will be added to your record."

    "Thank you, Arch-Elder Zen."

    "I will need some time to make all the arrangements, and you should use this time to reconsider your participation in this trip. Given your talent and abilities, as well as the fact that you¡¯ve opened your three meridian points and obtained Origin Matter, the possibility of you bing a Progenitor in the future is quite high. I don''t wish for you to die in some pointless adventure, as your death would be a huge loss for the Fifth Maind, you, as well as your loved ones. So, think about this carefully.¡± Arch-Elder Zen then ended the call.

    Given the old man¡¯s position, the fact that he had repeatedly tried to persuade Lu Yin to change his mind amply showed the importance that Arch-Elder Zen ced on Lu Yin. However, this was also all that the Semi-Progenitor could do. He would not refuse to allow Lu Yin to travel to the Technocracy to investigate this matter, as Lu Yin''s attitude had shown that he would likely make the trip alone if he was not allowed to join the Hall of Honor¡¯s expedition. Thus, it would be better for Arch-Elder Zen to have various experts participate alongside Lu Yin. That way, it would be more likely for both the mission to seed and for Lu Yin to return alive.

    Even though Lu Yin had a good chance of bing a Progenitor in the future, and Arch-Elder Zen would protect Lu Yin when possible, it was impossible for the Semi-Progenitor to act as Lu Yin¡¯s nanny just because there was a chance the youth could be a Progenitor. In the end, it was merely a possibility, and no one could see the future.

    If it was possible to see the future and know for absolute certainty that Lu Yin would be a Progenitor, then things would be different, and Arch-Elder Zen might even personally move to protect Lu Yin. Unfortunately, no one could not see the future, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had Origin Matter themselves, so each of them also had a chance of bing a Progenitor. At best, Lu Yin was on the same level as the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, just much younger. Thus, Arch-Elder Zen would not ask his peers to demean themselves and sacrifice their cultivation time to protect lu Yin.

    This was how cultivation was; everyone had their own path to walk, and no one could be responsible for another, no matter how impressive their talent might be or how great the expectations ced on them were. There were some dangers and trials that had to be personally experienced.

    This was an obstacle that Lu Yin needed to ovee, and Arch-Elder Zen could not stop it, so he would not even try to do so.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and looked to the west, towards the Technocracy. He had to go back to that ce, and the goal of this trip was to create a ce of refuge.

    In Basong Flowzone, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces took over everything, and they began frantically searching for corpse kings.

    Lu Yin entered the gship, and Balsam started praising him. "Alliance Leader Lu, the Great Eastern Alliance has aplished a great thing for the Human Domain, and you have caused the Neohuman Alliance to suffer heavy losses."

    Lu Yinughed. "Not really. We just cleaned up some leftover corpse kings. The Neohuman Alliance hasn¡¯t really lost anything, not even the corpse king with a power level of a million."

    Balsam smiled. "Everyrge organization isprised of numerous essential parts. This ce was probably the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s most important base in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and I¡¯m guessing that this was actually their local headquarters. This is not the minor loss of a few corpse kings, but rather the loss of countless years of effort. You have destroyed all of their ns for the Innerverse and Outerverse, and it should be very difficult for the Neohuman Alliance to make new corpse kings in the Innerverse and the Outerverse from now on."

    Lu Yin stared out into space. Balsam did not paint a bad picture of the situation, and ording to the reports, more than a thousand corpse kings had been destroyed in Basong Flowzone so far. While this was a negligible number on the battlefield behind the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree, this cleanup had taken ce in the Fifth Maind. How many corpse kings could the Neohuman Alliance actually have here? Also, having ess to a stable flowzone that could provide a steady supply of corpse kings was extremely important to the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin had essentially destroyed the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s method of creating corpse kings in the Innerverse and Outerverse. Even if they had other bases, they would be much smaller and less important than the one that Lu Yin had destroyed. He had caused the Neohuman Alliance to suffer massive losses.

    Still, when it came to actual powerhouses, the Neohuman Alliance had suffered no losses at all, and this was the part that Lu Yin struggled to ept.

    He could not forget the 3,000 hidden worlds in the Honor Zone, especially the hidden world that had looked like a drop of water. All life in that ce had been destroyed by the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Vitality Poison. This had shown to Lu Yin that the Neohuman Alliance was not only able to target the Innerverse and Outerverse, as they were also able to attack the hidden worlds protected by the Hall of Honor. Hidden worlds could also be used to create more corpse kings. The Innerverse and Outerverse were not the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s only source of materials.

    Only by destroying every single corpse king in existence could the Neohuman Alliance be considered broken.

 Chapter 1708: First Protector Of Mt. Microcosms

    Chapter 1708: First Protector Of Mt. Microcosms

    "Since ancient times, the Neohuman Alliance has always been humanity¡¯s greatest enemy. That¡¯s how it¡¯s always been. Miss Balsam, do you think that we humans will eventually be able topletely eradicate the Neohuman Alliance?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Balsam replied, "Given Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s attitude and behavior, it¡¯s impossible for the Neohuman Alliance to have any ce in the Innerverse or the Outerverse. This is a matter that stems from you yourself. Wherever you go, the Neohuman Alliance will cease to exist."

    Lu Yin looked at Balsam. "You have that much confidence in me?"

    Balsam answered with a smile, "I can clearly sense how you feel about the Neohuman Alliance.¡±

    She then suddenly changed the topic, "Actually, Shamrock Enterprise is able to cooperate with the Great Eastern Alliance, and the stellr energy pills that we¡¯ve been researching can be made a top priority. Alliance Leader Lu, you can use the pills with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces to test out how effective they are."

    Lu Yin suddenly lifted a hand and spread his fingers.

    Balsam was confused.

    Lu Yin exined, saying, "5,000. First, give me 5,000 of the stellr energy pills."

    Balsam was stunned. "5- 5,000? But Alliance Leader Lu, you haven''t even tried one out yet."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "There¡¯s no need. I have the funds, so first give me 5,000 to equip the Lu Elite Troops and the colossal giants. Actually, I¡¯m also making ns to form another army called the Redemption Army, so 5,000 might not be enough. Let¡¯s make it 10,000 pills."

    "10,000 is too many, Alliance Leader Lu. This-" Balsam was trying to get Lu Yin to try the pills himself, but Lu Yin was acting like a rich man. To him, it did not matter how well the product worked, as money was not a problem.

    However, Balsam was interrupted by Lu Yin several times whenever she tried to rebut him. Finally, Lu Yin seemed to remember that all of his financial transactions were supposed to be handled by Qiong Xi¡¯er, so he introduced Balsam to Qiong Xi¡¯er and left Qiong Xi¡¯er with only one request: buy as many stellr energy pills as she could.

    Balsam had not even considered having business negotiations at this time, as she had only visited Lu Yin in order to check on him and his stellr energy pills.

    Lu Yin''s actions werepletely outside of Balsam¡¯s expectations, but she was still somewhat suspicious. Could the lost pill be connected to Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin was aware that his behavior would rouse Balsam¡¯s suspicions, but he had no other option. Of the two stellr energy pills that he had been given, one had been Enhanced until it became Sapling, and the other had been fed to Sapling. It was better for Lu Yin to brush it off with a distraction. In that case, even though Balsam would most likely still be suspicious, Lu Yin would be able to avoid giving the concrete answer that she wanted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s status and strength meant that he was not afraid of the mysterious Leaf King, but it was still best for him to remain hidden in the dark. He was not certain of the true reason why Leaf King had created the stellr energy pills, but Lu Yin did not want Sapling to be discovered and suffer an ident.

    However, Lu Yin did not have the time to deal with Leaf King at the moment. After he returned from the Technocracy, he would settle things with not only Shamrock Enterprise, but also Aurora Enterprises and the Sword Sect. He would resolve everything at once.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, Aeternus was his greatest enemy, followed by the four ruling powers. But between the two, the powers that ruled the Perennial World were also the most urgent threat, so everything else would have to be postponed until that matter was handled.

    While Lu Yin focused on scouring Basong Flowzone for corpse kings, the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers were having a council meeting. The sole topic of their meeting was about Lu Yin¡¯s reward.

    The Neohuman Alliance had always been the Hall of Honor¡¯s worst enemy, and they were treated as a greater priority than even the Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Sixth Maind. This was particrly true for Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors who were aware of Aeternus¡¯s existence, and they were personally dedicated to the destruction of the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin had just eliminated the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse, which was too impressive of an aplishment.

    Thus, several of the overseers were discussing what rewards were to be given to him.

    Their goal was not to merely reward Lu Yin for his actions, but also to encourage others to do the same and exterminate the corpse kings. This was vitally important, and Arch-Elder Zen had personally made a point to mention it, which was the precise reason why the overseers had convened.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance is under Lu Yin, but it is not subordinate to the Hall of Honor. In truth, they should not be rewarded by us. The Neohuman Alliance is the enemy of the entire Human Domain, which means that the Great Eastern Alliance is duty-bound to exterminate all corpse kings. Providing too rich of a reward will only cause others to see the Hall of Honor as being biased towards its Honor Chosen. There are forces in both the Innerverse and Outerverse that have destroyed corpse kings, but when have we ever provided rewards for such actions? This is unfair." This was the position that Overseer Nan Yuan took; he represented the Seven Courts, which were also hostile towards Lu Yin.

    Old Man San Shang retorted, "How can the corpse kings that have been wiped out by the organizations in the Innerverse or Outerverse possiblypare to what the Great Eastern Alliance just aplished? They destroyed their headquarters in the Innerverse and Outerverses!"

    "The Great Eastern Alliance has imed that they¡¯ve destroyed the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily make it true. It¡¯s possible that they simply destroyed a base that had a few more corpse kings," Mr. Right said.

    There were two or three overseers who resisted the push to reward Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance. "If that¡¯s your attitude, then what''s the purpose of this meeting? Is this a discussion on whether or not to grant rewards?"

    Mr. Right and Nan Yuan looked at each other, as they could not deny that the council meeting had been convened at Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s direct orders that a reward should be given for Lu Yin¡¯s recent actions. They were supposed to be discussing what would be given, not whether or not Lu Yin should be rewarded at all.

    Yang Ji suddenly spoke up. "Why don''t we provide him with a hidden world?"

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Nan Yuan and Mr. Right both refused in perfect unison.

    Hidden worlds were only avable in the Honor Zone, and they were not allowed to exist in the Innerverse, the Outerverse, or even the Cosmic Sea. If the Great Eastern Alliance received one, then they could justifiably take their military into the Honor Zone itself, which would mean giving the Great Eastern Alliance entry to the Neoverse.

    While Nan Yuan did not believe that the Great Eastern Alliance had the strength to present any sort of threat to the Court of Seven Names, Lu Yin¡¯s rampant ambition was evident for everyone to see. If the Great Eastern Alliance was allowed ess to the Neoverse, no one could predict what would happen in the future. Even if the Great Eastern Alliance was not a threat to the Seven Courts, the thought of their presence in the Neoverse was revolting.

    In particr, given Lu Yin¡¯s strong support from the Hall of Honor, the closer his forces moved to Mt. Microcosms, the more nervous the Seven Courts became.

    Yang Ji was the master of the Light World, and he had made the suggestion because he naturally believed that a hidden world was the most important thing to have. Also, Yang Ji hoped to be able to approach Lu Yin through his new position as an overseer. Arch-Elder Zen himself had ordered the overseers to reward Lu Yin, which suggested that Lu Yin was supported by the pinnacle of the Hall of Honor itself, making Lu Yin¡¯s backing much more impressive than what Yang Ji had initially believed. It would doubtlessly be beneficial to maintain a friendly rtionship with such a person.

    Several of the overseers argued throughout the entire morning, and no decision could be reached. Finally, Zi Jing spoke a few rare words. "He likes money, so just give him money."

    Several of the overseers were taken aback. Money? When had such a vulgar topic ever been broached on the overseers¡¯ council? They were the peak that ruled the entire Human Domain and represented humanity itself! Still, the proposal had merit, as everyone who knew Lu Yin also knew about his love for money. His dedication towards securing more star essence was famous throughout the universe.

    Yang Ji was actually rendered speechless for a bit. He had hoped to secure a hidden world for the Great Eastern Alliance, but once money was mentioned, he had no idea how to refute the proposal. Did Lu Yin really want just money? This was very confusing!

    "Then give him money," Nan Yuan stated decisively. To the overseers, money was nothing more than a number, and granting funds was much better than giving the Great Eastern Alliance direct ess to the Honor Zone.

    Mr. Right also agreed.

    The others found it difficult to voice any objections.

    In the end, the overseers decided that Lu Yin¡¯s rewards for leading the Great Eastern Alliance to destroy the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters would be one billion star essence.

    This was not much for the Hall of Honor, but it was more than what Lu Yin had plundered from the ze Realm or even the Ross Empire. It was a substantial sum.

    Lu Yin was thrilled when he received the news. This was a sudden windfall for him, as he had not expected to receive a reward from the overseers¡¯ council. Also, a billion star essence was a great deal of money, so he was even happier.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had suffered substantial casualties while cleansing Basong Flowzone, especially the Allied Forces, which had suffered the greatest losses. Still, even when all of the losses were tallied up, ten million star essence were enough to cover their losses, let alone a billion.

    The overseers are very friendly! Lu Yin thought. He was being rewarded for cleaning up Basong Flowzone, and when he returned from the Technocracy, regardless of whether or not there was proof of the Sky Creation Academy and the Neohuman Alliance coborating, Arch-Elder Zen had already promised Lu Yin a reward. That one would certainly not be disappointing.

    Actually, the mission that Lu Yin had asked to join was fake from the get go! He had Possessed and controlled the corpse king that he had recorded, which meant that the entire mission had no real foundation. Lu Yin wondered who Arch-Elder Zen would arrange to travel to the Technocracy with him.

    The Hall of Honor had done its best to provide a proper reward to Lu Yin, and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s image improved a great deal due to their actions against the Neohuman Alliance. In contrast, Aeternus Nation remained silent.

    The corpse king with a power level that exceeded a million soon returned to Aeternus Nation, and it met with Mr. Feng, who led the corpse king into a dark tower to meet with Shaman God.

    "A hide that was able to daze you for a moment? That kid really has everything. If I¡¯m right, that should be a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide." One of Shaman God¡¯s dolls floated in the air as it spoke.

    An indifferent and surly voice replied, "Shaman God, I hope that Aeternus Nation will still exist by the time your n bears fruit."

    Shaman God¡¯s voice grew cold. "Why? Do you believe that that child is able to destroy my Aeternus Nation?"

    "He captured the corpse king that was monitoring the Lost Radiance Academy, so he must have found something. He already has the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, the blood of the Lu family, and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s technique. No one can guess what the child will aplish in the future."

    "The more powerful he bes, the better. Do you see the four ruling powers as mere livestock? The more powerful the kid bes, the worse off the four ruling powers will end up. However, I''m very curious¡ªjust how did he know that our headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse was beneath the Red Moon Dynasty?"

    "He¡¯s visited Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and L¨¸ Yan is a prisoner there."

    "L¨¸ Yan knows about Basong Flowzone?"

    "It¡¯s possible."

    "If I had known that, I would have killed him back then."

    "It''s not toote even now. This debt that must be collected."

    ¡­

    Arch-Elder Zen moved quickly, and just ten dayster, while Lu Yin was still in Basong Flowzone, a person arrived who had been dispatched from the Hall of Honor to meet up with Lu Yin before going to the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin saw an old man with open curiosity in his eyes, and Lu Yin offered a respectful bow to the man. "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior."

    The old man observed Lu Yin. "Are you Lu Yin? The very same Lu Yin who unified the Outerverse and is currently trying to conquer the Innerverse? You look very ordinary. Your appearance is not nearly as exaggerated as the rumors im."

    Lu Yin smiled. "To Senior, all juniors must be quite average."

    The old man smiled back. "Child, I was not insulting you by saying that you look ordinary. What do you think of this old man?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he hesitated for a while before answering, "Senior¡¯s prowess is unfathomable."

    "Hahaha, that''s ordinary! To speak inly is to appear as ordinary to this old man, which was apliment to you," the old man exined in a very serious manner.

    Lu Yin bowed a second time. "Thank you, Senior, for your praise."

    The old man nodded. "This old man is the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms. You might not have heard of this position before, so I¡¯ll exin it thus: I¡¯m the guardian of Mt. Microcosms, and I don¡¯t concern myself with anything else."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Guardian of Mt. Microcosms? San Liang was your subordinate?"

 Chapter 1709: Sedan Chair

    Chapter 1709: Sedan Chair

    The old man smiled again. "That''s right. That kid has some potential, and he was able to be an overseer. This isn¡¯t actually the first time that we¡¯ve seen each other. Back when you were with Highsage Wudi and he made that big fuss on Mt. Microcosms, I was watching from the side. That was pretty interesting, ha ha ha ha!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This powerhouse who was Mt. Microcosms¡¯ first line of defense turned out to bepletely unqualified¡ªhe had just sat there and watched when outsiders made trouble on Mt. Microcosms!

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough chit-chat. Arch-Elder Zen asked me to apany you to the Technocracy. This is a heavy task. Are you sure about this? I certainly don¡¯t want to die there." The old man¡¯s voice grew noticeably nervously.

    Lu Yin found this strange, as it seemed like the old man was genuinely nervous and not simply putting on a show, which confused Lu Yin. How could Mt. Microcosms¡¯ primary defender be so timid? However, after a moment, Lu Yin remembered that Elder Jiu Shen had also been very nervous about entering the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Could it be that cultivators became more afraid of death as they grew older? Was this fear of death what allowed them to live for so long?

    Lu Yin said, "Senior, this junior has already been to the Technocracy once before, but I was too weak at that time, and I only managed to escape by sheer luck. All in all, I don¡¯t know much about the ce, and the one who will be guiding us this time is Emperor Luo, who used to rule over the Ross Empire. He¡¯s originally from the Technocracy, and he knows of a rtively safe route that leads to a ce between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy."

    The old man let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good. It¡¯s good to have a bit of an advantage. Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to make this trip, but I didn¡¯t have a choice since Arch-Elder Zen ordered me and the Chief Justice is busy. My choice was to either temporarily take over for him in the Interster Supreme Court ore with you."

    Lu Yin was also a bit dissatisfied, as he had hoped that the Chief Justice would apany him to the Technocracy. Lu Yin would never forget what he had seen outside the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. At that time, the Chief Justice had casually overpowered both Mr. Feng and the Second Nightking. The Chief Justice¡¯s strength was unfathomable, especially since he was qualified to be one of Mister Mu''s disciples. ording to his best guess, the Chief Justice most likely had no opponents among his peers, and he would naturally be far more reliable than this old man.

    Lu Yin seriously doubted this old man¡¯s ability to cross realms and challenge a Semi-Progenitor.

    If Lu Yin had the Chief Justice¡¯s protection, then he would be assured of his safety within the Technocracy. His real chaperone was a disappointment.

    Both Lu Yin and the old man were regretting their situation, as they were both afraid of death. The Technocracy was simply too mysterious, and neither knew what would happen after they entered.

    In recent days, Lu Yin had made it a point to reach out to Hui Kong to ask more about the Technocracy¡¯s current situation, but he did not tell Hui Kong about his uing trip to the Technocracy in order to avoid dragging the older man onto the trip as well. From what Lu Yin had heard of Hui Kong and his time in the Technocracy, he knew that the man was very powerful and familiar with the Technocracy. But given the importance of this mission and their destination, it was uncertain whether or not the Technocracy had some unknown means of tracking or identifying Hui Kong when he was in the Technocracy. If that happened, his mere presence would reveal everything. Too much attention would ruin the entire purpose of the expedition.

    Since the expert from the Hall of Honor had already arrived, Lu Yin did not have much time to prepare or consider ns, as they were to head straight for the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin only gave a small exnation to the others before he left the Second Nightking and Liu Huang behind to follow the old man. They were apanied by three expressionless Envoys as they made their way to Gaia¡¯s Swamp to collect Emperor Luo.

    None of the three Envoys had names, and the old man simply said that the three worked together. In fact, Lu Yin did not even know the old man¡¯s name, and so Lu Yin was only able to refer to the man as Senior Defender.

    While the old man seemed to be scared of death, his strength was no joke. After talking with the man, Lu Yin was surprised to learn that the elder was from the same generation as Elder Jiu Shen, and the old man also showed no respect for Jiu Shen at all. He was as strong as one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters.

    This was the power of the Hall of Honor.

    Even in ces like the Seven Courts and the Cosmic Sect, people at this old man¡¯s level were all regarded as ancestor-level existences that formed the foundation of the entire organization. However, unlike other organizations, the Hall of Honor had multiple such powerhouses: the Chief Justice, this First Protector, the unfathomable Array Grandmaster Xiu Ming, as well as Yuan Shi. It was even possible that there were more such powerhouses scattered across the Fifth Maind.

    The Hall of Honor was revealing its secrets to Lu Yin little by little.

    ¡­

    At the border of the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse, Mu En left Gaia¡¯s Swamp shortly after Lu Yin. While the investigation into the riot in Gaia¡¯s Swamp was still ongoing, Mu En had not been able to uncover anything at all.

    Gaia''s Swamp was as dark as ever, and the sourcebox array had already been restored. From the outside, Gaia''s Swamp looked no different from before.

    One day, a woman arrived just outside of Gaia''s Swamp. She was as beautiful as a flower, and there was also a smile on her face. One step at a time, she approached the border of the sourcebox array, and once she arrived, she lifted a hand to touch it.

    The next moment, the death energy that filled Gaia''s Swamp all started surging, overturning the entire prison.

    Inside his castle, the Warden¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he charged out with an unprecedentedly serious expression on his face as he looked around.

    Lord Piggy¡¯s eyes also opened, and he looked out at the boiling death energy. The pig instantly panicked. "What¡¯s wrong with the toxic gas? Sir Warden! Please help."

    L¨¸ Cha also looked up. Someone was controlling the death energy¡­ The Specter n! This was bad.

    There was a boom, and the 3,000 chains in Gaia¡¯s Swamp all moved, tearing apart the prisoners'' bodies. The death energy twisted as though it hade alive, and all of Gaia''s Swamp writhed.

    The Warden looked out and shouted, "Who¡¯s there?"

    He entered the true universe, and his body was shrouded with aurelian force that started burning the void. In an instant, the Warden raised a hand and attacked the woman who was just outside Gaia''s Swamp.

    She looked up, and her eyes turned golden. Above her head, the death energy formed a cloud.

    "L¨¸ Yan, suffer and die," the woman said with a smile. Her voice was terrifying to hear.

    Deep underground in Gaia''s Swamp, L¨¸ Yan''s expression instantly changed; how were they so fast?

    The moment L¨¸ Yan had shared the location of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse with Lu Yin, L¨¸ Yan had expected this oue. He had actually been waiting for this moment for a long time. Originally, he had turned himself in to atone for his crimes, but he had been affected by his daughter, and because of her, his time in Gaia¡¯s Swamp had be true torture. He had already decided that he would rather die than allow Xiao Cha to remain in a terrible ce like Gaia¡¯s Swamp, but he had not expected to meet his fate so quickly.

    Mu En had already investigated the riot in Gaia''s Swamp, and L¨¸ Yan had made a point of mentioning this particr possibility to the Judicial Commissioner so that the Interster Supreme Court could be prepared when it happened. L¨¸ Yan had expected his final gift to the Human Domain to pave the way for Xiao Cha; he had not expected the Neohuman Alliance to appear so quickly. All that could be said was that Lu Yin had moved too quickly.

    All 3,000 chains within Gaia''s Swamp broke apart, and the sourcebox array protecting the prison that even experts with power levels of more than a million could not destroy was shattered. This sourcebox array had been specially designed and was exclusive to Gaia''s Swamp.

    However, the woman was controlling all of the death energy throughout Gaia''s Swamp, which allowed her to attack the sourcebox array from within. The chains shattered into pieces, and L¨¸ Cha spat out blood as she fell unconscious in an instant.

    The Warden was also unable to endure the assault of the death energy, and he spat out blood and flew back.

    Despite his strength that allowed him to stand up to Envoys with power levels of more than 800,000, this woman was someone with a power level of more than a million, and that was in a normal situation when she wasn¡¯t controlling all of the death energy in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    "Gaia''s Swamp? What a joke! This ce was where my Specter n once trained, but the Hall of Honor stole it from us to use as a prison! Hmph!" the womanmented in a casual tone as she entered Gaia¡¯s Swamp. She did not even nce in the Warden¡¯s direction as she moved straight for L¨¸ Yan.

    L¨¸ Yan looked up at the woman when she appeared. Her golden eyes caused fear to well up from the depths of people¡¯s hearts. At this moment, she controlled all of Gaia''s Swamp.

    "Darkness. Interster Supreme Court. Chief Justice. Tongyu," L¨¸ Yan deliberately spoke each word that came from his hoarse voice.

    The woman stared at L¨¸ Yan. "By the order of the Seven Skygods, I¡¯vee for your death."

    L¨¸ Yan showed a miserable smile. "This moment was decided the moment I took Xiao Cha to Aeternus Nation."

    The woman¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. "I¡¯m not only here for you¡ªyour daughter will also die."

    L¨¸ Yan''s eyes instantly went wide, and he attacked the woman with a palm. He was using the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique: Banishment, but death energy swirled around the woman¡¯s body in such a way that L¨¸ Yan was unable to touch her even with his secret technique.

    "What can you do in such a miserable condition?" the woman mocked.

    L¨¸ Yan roared as he red at the woman. "Don''t hurt Xiao Cha! None of this has anything to do with her!"

    The woman just shook her head. "As a former Judicial Commissioner, you should already understand how the Neohuman Alliance handles things. Your daughter must die."

    L¨¸ Yan roared in fury, and nine lined battle force covered his entire body. However, due to the terrible injuries that he had recently suffered, the battle force quickly faded away, and L¨¸ Yan¡¯s neck was grabbed by the woman. He was wrapped up in death energy that quickly prated his body. The woman smiled as she watched L¨¸ Yan die in pain and despair.

    After L¨¸ Yan¡¯s death, the woman looked in the direction of L¨¸ Cha, and proceeded to walk towards the unconscious woman.

    From the initial attack on Gaia¡¯s Swamp to the moment L¨¸ Yan died, it had not even been enough time for half an incense stick to burn. Gaia¡¯s Swamp waspletely helpless before this woman.

    She walked towards L¨¸ Cha and smiled when she saw the unconscious woman. "It''s a pity that you look so beautiful."

    As the woman spoke, her eyes turned utterly cold, and death energy crept along the ground towards L¨¸ Cha before wrapping around her to give her the exact same death as her father.

    Suddenly, the void crumpled around the woman to create a red wall. Then, the red wall instantly extended to both sides before taking on the shape of a four-sided box. There were two parallel bars that ran down two sides, and the entire thing looked precisely like a sedan chair. A red one.

    The woman was trapped inside the red sedan chair, and she formed a scythe with her death energy.

    Every time she moved, she felt an irresistible pressure that epassed her entire body. She could not stop herself from spitting out blood, and rage filled her eyes. All over her body, she couldn''t help spitting out blood, and her eyes were hideous, "The captain of Burial Garden¡¯s Death Regiment? Since when did Burial Garden be the Hall of Honor¡¯s guard dogs?"

    As she spoke, the death energy throughout Gaia''s Swamp surged once again to form a tsunami of death energy that swept over the red sedan chair.

    It instantly shattered, and calm returned to the void.

    There was blood at the corner of the woman''s mouth when she suddenly appeared outside of Gaia''s Swamp. When she looked back, she was unable to see anyone at all. Unperturbed, she gave a derisive snort before instantly vanishing.

    Peace returned to Gaia''s Swamp, but as for the Warden, the guards, or the prisoners, everyone was unconscious. Thus, not a single sound broke the silence.

    As for the strange red sedan chair, it had also disappeared as though it had never even been there in the first ce.

    A dayter, the First Protector led Lu Yin and the three Envoys to Gaia''s Swamp. The moment the old man drew close to the prison, his expressionpletely changed. "This is bad. Something¡¯s happened."

    Even from outside the swamp, the five people were able to see the still-roiling death energy, as well as the shattered chains. Both the old man and Lu Yin had ugly expressions on their faces.

    The Warden was still unconscious, and when the First Protector pressed a hand against the colossal giant, his massive body trembled for a moment before death energy started to drift out of it. The Warden coughed and opened his eyes, but he lookedpletely confused.

    "What happened?" the First Protector asked in a deep voice.

    The Warden looked at the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms and frowned. The giant slowly sat up and put a hand to his chest. "Who are you?"

    "I¡¯m the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Protector of Mt. Microcosms."

    The Warden was stunned. "The First Protector of Mt. Microcosms?"

    "He¡¯s the strongest expert who guards Mt. Microcosms," Lu Yin exined.

    It was only then that the Warden noticed Lu Yin was also present, and the giant¡¯s expression softened a bit. "Why are you back here?"

    "I came to pick up Emperor Luo. What happened here?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Warden coughed yet again and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "The Specter n came."

 Chapter 1710: Route

    Chapter 1710: Route

    "The Specter n?" The First Protector and Lu Yin both reacted at the same time. Regarding the Specter n, the two had very different thoughts: one was jealous while the other was merely curious.

    The Warden stared out into the swamp as he held a broken chain in one hand. Suddenly, the giant smashed a hand down onto the ground, causing Gaia¡¯s Swamp to tremble and startling the prisoners and many of the guards awake, including Lord Piggy and L¨¸ Cha.

    Many of the prisoners were overjoyed when they discovered that their chains were broken, and they immediately tried to race out of the swamp in an attempt to escape. However, the First Protector just red at them, and a terrifying wave of power swept through the void and caused all of the prisoners to fall unconscious.

    "Sir Warden, Sir Warden, are you alright?" Lord Piggy shouted. Even though he clearly saw the Warden sitting upright, the pig still made a point of shouting his concern.

    Lu Yin released his domain, and it spread across all of the unconscious prisoners. Suddenly, his expression froze. He had found L¨¸ Yan, but the man was already dead.

    Out of all the prisoners in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, only L¨¸ Yan had died. The situation could not be any clearer: this was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s revenge. Their headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse had been destroyed, which was far from a small loss for them. They could not directly retaliate against Lu Yin, so they had gone after L¨¸ Yan instead.

    L¨¸ Cha also learned that her father had died, and she silently wept.

    The Warden remained silent.

    The First Protector just frowned and nced around. "I don¡¯t sense just death energy. Was Burial Garden here as well?"

    The Warden was surprised at this question. "Burial Garden?"

    The First Protector nodded. "There¡¯s no way I¡¯m wrong about this. I¡¯m sensing that someone from Burial Garden was here, and it was actually one of the Death Regiment Captains, but I can¡¯t tell which one came here."

    Burial Garden was one of the Three Dark Hands of the Human Domain, and they were actually the most mysterious one. In Lu Yin¡¯s entire life, he had learned almost nothing about Burial Garden, and he rarely ever encountered people from that ce. He had not learned anything about Burial Garden even in the Perennial World, though he had found a few mentions of them there.

    Burial Garden, Burial Garden. It sounded like it was a true garden where the dead were buried, and the cultivators from Burial Garden were all odd and unpredictable. For example, one person from Burial Garden who had once appeared in the Cosmic Sea who had been nearly as strong as the Ten Arbiters and who had been able to change his own body into a five-meter-long knife. There was also Y¨­u Qi, who possessed an innate gift that allowed him to use the abilities of powerhouses long dead, including even the Thirteen Swords.

    As for the captains of the Death Regiment that the First Protector had mentioned, there were four such people, and each one was an incredible powerhouse with terrible reputations in the outside world.

    ¡°The suona summons forth hell.¡±

    ¡°The dead travel on sedans.¡±

    ¡°A paper thin life.¡±

    ¡°Rice straws protect tombs.¡±

    Each sentence described a leader of the Death Regiment.

    "What was Burial Garden doing here? Were they cooperating with the Specter n and the Neohuman Alliance?" the Warden asked.

    The First Protector shook his head. "No. While Burial Garden is also one of the Three Dark Hands, it is impossible for them to cooperate with those two. Their very foundations are different, though I do not know why one of them came here."

    Lu Yin looked at the Warden. "Have people from Burial Garden visited Gaia''s Swamp before?"

    The Warden shook his head. "Never."

    "First Protector, how strong are the Death Regiment Captains?" Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    The First Protector solemnly replied, "Each has a power level of over a million."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. These people were far more powerful than he had expected. Fortunately, none of Burial Garden¡¯s experts had shown up during the prison break. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to have taken the Second Nightking and the others away from Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Still, why had someone from Burial Garden appeared at Gaia''s Swamp? Could it have been a coincidence? Or had theye with the powerhouse from the Specter n?

    The Warden had no idea why anyone from Burial Garden woulde to Gaia''s Swamp either, and the others had even less of an idea.

    The Warden immediately reported what had happened at Gaia''s Swamp to the Hall of Honor, and the First Protector also contacted someone. While Lu Yin did not know who the First Protector was calling for certain, he assumed that it was Arch-Elder Zen.

    L¨¸ Yan had died, and the person who grieved his death the most was naturally L¨¸ Cha. After all, she had been willing to stay at Gaia''s Swamp for her father.

    Lu Yin sighed. He was actually somewhat responsible for L¨¸ Yan''s death. L¨¸ Yan had probably already thought about the possibility of this oue when he told Lu Yin to attack Basong Flowzone. L¨¸ Yan had not cared about his life or death, and he had only wanted to escape from Gaia¡¯s Swamp for the sake of L¨¸ Cha. L¨¸ Yan had even joined the Neohuman Alliance in order to save his daughter, which involved betraying the Hall of Honor and even his own morals. It was possible that L¨¸ Yan had been waiting for this day for a long time.

    L¨¸ Yan had sacrificed too much for the sake of his daughter, but he had also ended up as a burden for her. This father had loved his daughter too dearly.

    With L¨¸ Yan¡¯s death, there was no longer any need for his body to remain in Gaia''s Swamp.

    After checking and confirming that L¨¸ Yan was truly dead, the Warden agreed to L¨¸ Cha''s request to take her father¡¯s body back to his hometown, which was also where L¨¸ Cha had been born.

    L¨¸ Cha made no mention of whether or not she would return. It was possible, but it was also possible that she would never set foot in Gaia''s Swamp again.

    Lord Piggy was very sad to see L¨¸ Cha leave. The two of them had worked together for a very long time, and if she did not return, there would only be Lord Piggy and the Warden left in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, which would be too lonely for the pig.

    Lu Yin had no worries that Lord Piggy would reveal the truth about what had happened during the riot and the prison break. The pig had already urinated on the Warden¡¯s head, so he would naturally behave even with L¨¸ Cha¡¯s absence.

    All of the other prisoners were fine, but the damage to the sourcebox array proved to be very troublesome.

    "Shang Yang, the Innerverse president of the Lockbreaker Society, is on his way to fix the sourcebox array, so it should be repaired quite soon,¡± the Warden reported. He already knew that, regardless of whether or not he was at fault, he would be med for this incident as well.

    However, it did not really matter to the Warden even if he was med. No one wanted to be sent to Gaia¡¯s Swamp, not even to run the prison. A transfer from the prison to any other location in the universe was considered a promotion, so it was very unlikely that the Warden would be transferred anywhere at all.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you want to take Emperor Luo away from here?" the Warden asked once he finally had an opportunity to speak with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m here to take Emperor Luo to help me with an important task."

    "The Emperor Luo is an Envoy, so it is possible that he will be questioned by the Hall of Honor about if he saw the person from the Specter n." The Warden felt awkward mentioning this.

    Of the prisoners who were still in Gaia''s Swamp, the only ones with any possibility of having seen the person who had attacked the prison were the Envoys.

    "Then let¡¯s question him now. The mission that Emperor Luo is needed for is very important, and it can''t be dyed. We¡¯ve already been held up here in Gaia''s Swamp for some time, and the First Protector is here only because of this mission," Lu Yin exined.

    The Warden understood the seriousness of the situation, and he immediately ordered Lord Piggy to fetch Emperor Luo.

    Lu Yin had requested that Emperor Luo be locked up in Gaia''s Swamp partly because he did not trust the Envoy, but also because Lu Yin was afraid that Emperor Luo would be assassinated by Liu Qianjue or another person from the Innerverse. Thus, at the time, sending Emperor Luo to Gaia¡¯s Swamp had been the best choice. Lu Yin had simply not anticipated retrieving the man from the prison so quickly.

    The Warden questioned Emperor Luo, but the man had not seen anything during the attack. Just like the Warden and the other prisoners, Emperor Luo had also suffered from the wave of death energy and fallen unconscious.

    "Since you didn¡¯t see anything, you should head out with Alliance Leader Lu," the Warden stated.

    Emperor Luo was startled. Leave? So soon? He had expected to remain as a prisoner for at least a few years. He knew that his greatest value was his knowledge of a route into the Technocracy, but he had thought that the route would most likely not be used anytime soon. Even if it was eventually used, it would only happen after a great deal of time, so Emperor Luo had been prepared to be a prisoner for hundreds or even thousands of years.

    Gaia''s Swampy at the border of the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse. To the west of the Innerverse was the Technocracy, but that routey too close to the Starfall Sea. The horizontal ckhole that protected the Fifth Maind was in the Starfall Sea, and the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors stood in that barrier¡¯s hole to defend humanity. It was impossible for Lu Yin and the others to use that route to travel to the Technocracy.

    It was also impossible to ess the Technocracy through Endless Weave in the Outerverse, as it no longer existed. After the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse, Endless Weave had beenpletely upied by the Technocracy.

    The Sixth Maind had relocated the Daosource Sect to where the Outerverse and the Technocracy had once bordered, Southside Weave.

    Even if the First Protector moved carefully, he would never go near the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, as there were simply too many powerhouses in that ce.

    The First Protector led Lu Yin, Emperor Luo, and the three Envoys to the Astral River Ark, and then they traveled to the western region of the Outerverse as they made their way towards Southside Weave. As they traveled, Emperor Luo traced out his secret route into the Technocracy.

    At first, Lu Yin kept the star chart that Hui Kong had shared with him hidden, just to verify the veracity of Emperor Luo¡¯s route.

    Afterparing the two routes, while they were different, they likely went through the same region.

    "This route leads right in between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. The two each control half of the Technocracy, and they are almost constantly at war with each other, though their strength is almostpletely equal. I¡¯ve participated in their wars before, and I fought for First Edition City," Emperor Luo exined while pointing at different portions of the star chart. "Because of their constant fighting, this route is different from the others leading to the Technocracy. As long as you are careful and pay attention, it should be possible to evade all the border surveince."

    "Are you certain?" the First Protector asked solemnly.

    Emperor Luo shook his head. "I was lucky enough to make my escape right after the war, so it¡¯s possible that much of the surveince equipment at the border was destroyed. I¡¯m notpletely certain what will be there if I go back."

    The First Protector frowned.

    Lu Yin then asked, "Why do First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy constantly fight each other?"

    Emperor Luo shook his head. "I don''t know, but it seems to be simr to how my Ross Empire started fighting against the sylvan dragons as soon as the ze Realm was destroyed."

    Lu Yin also felt that that was a reasonable guess. Since the two shared control of the Technocracy, it made sense that each power wanted to gain total control.

    "First Edition City is supported by the Sixth Maind, so how can Sky Creation Academy stand up to them?" Lu Yin asked. This question had been bugging him for a long time, though he also had his own guesses about the reasons.

    Emperor Luo shook his head. "I don''t know."

    "The Sixth Maind shouldn¡¯t have sent any of their people over to directly participate in the battle," the First Protector interjected.

    Lu Yin looked up. "That doesn¡¯t seem realistic. If I was making decisions for the Sixth Maind, I wouldn¡¯t abandon control of the Technocracy. Back then, if Sky Creation Academy had joined forces with First Edition City to attack the Outerverse, we wouldn''t have been able to fend them off. The threat that the Technocracy poses is too great for the Sixth Maind to ignore and abandon controlling."

    "That is quite odd." The First Protector was also intrigued.

    Lu Yin believed that the Perennial World was actually the one suppressing the Sixth Maind and preventing them from gaining control of the entire Technocracy, or rather, the Wang family.

    The Sixth Maind was the one backing First Edition City while the Wang family was the power behind Sky Creation Academy.

    Wang Yun had participated in the Tournament of the Strongest by representing the Technocracy, and she had fought against students from the Astral Combat Academy. Later on, Wang Yi had participated in ZENITH as the Technocracy¡¯s representative. Both of them had participated as members of Sky Creation Academy. Even Wang Shang had entered the Technocracy through Sky Creation Academy in order to hunt Lu Yin down.

    The Wang family was definitely the power supporting Sky Creation Academy, which was also Lu Yin¡¯s driving motivation to travel to the Technocracy.

    He was quite clear on First Edition City¡¯s situation, but everything rted to Sky Creation Academy was very hazy.

    However, the Fifth Maind was more than ready to cooperate with Sky Creation Academy, as Sky Creation Academy had not shown too much hostility towards the Human Domain throughout the years.

    After quietly passing through Southside Weave, Lu Yin and the others let out sighs of relief, as none of them wanted to draw the Sixth Maind¡¯s attention.

    They had no confidence of being able to escape if the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect pursued them as they naturally had hidden powerhouses.

 Chapter 1711: Opportunity

    Chapter 1711: Opportunity

    After passing through Southside Weave, the First Protector led Lu Yin and the others straight into what had once been Endless Weave.

    Given the First Protector¡¯s strength, none of the surveince methods present in Endless Weave were able to detect the small group, but this only applied to Endless Weave. As soon as they entered the Technocracy proper, regardless of the First Protector¡¯s strength, the Master Brain would detect him.

    The route that Emperor Luo had shared was essible from Endless Weave. Since it led to the region between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, it was highly improbable that the route would be discovered.

    Long ago, Emperor Luo had entered Endless Weave from the Technocracy without ever being detected, but a long time had passed since then. It was not that the route had changed, but rather that the battlefield it led to had changed.

    The war between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City had changed, as the city had fallen to a disadvantage, and the battlefield had shifted closer to First Edition City. This was something that Emperor Luo did not know, and Lu Yin and the others were alsopletely ignorant of matters in the Technocracy. However, this meant that, soon after entering the route, they found themselves being attacked.

    Pieces of massive mechanical ws were scattered all throughout outer space. Emperor Luo''s eyes were flushed. "The route¡¯s still fine, but there¡¯s a lot of surveince. The level of surveince on the route was just as intense as anywhere else along the border to the Technocracy. Has the location of the battlefield changed?"

    "It would be best to quickly determine a safe path. Otherwise, we¡¯ll draw the attention of the Master Brain soon," the First Protector warned.

    Emperor Luo stared at a star chart.

    Lu Yin frowned. It was quite normal for a route to change after so many years. "Let¡¯s first find an ordinary to hide on for a bit. It should be a where ordinary people live."

    "We won¡¯t be able to find one of those here. If we are noticed by the Master Brain, then we¡¯ll be in deep trouble, and we¡¯ll drag in anyone living on a like that," the First Protector countered. He then grabbed Lu Yin and the others and left Emperor Luo¡¯s route.

    They would absolutely be detected within the Technocracy, but it was also very difficult for them to move around in Endless Weave.

    They found a random barren in Endless Weave, and Lu Yin started thinking. If he could not get to Sky Creation Academy, then he would not be able to implement his n.

    He waspletely unconcerned about alerting the Technocracy to their presence and startling their target into hiding. After all, Lu Yin was the one who had invented the story of Sky Creation Academy cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance. In fact. Lu Yin wanted to brazenly charge into the Technocracy in order to initiate his n, but there was no way the First Protector would ever agree to such a thing.

    The First Protector was on a mission to learn whether or not Sky Creation Academy had coborated with the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lu Yin stared towards the Technocracy. It seemed like their current n would not work. He would instead have to wait for the Second Nightking and Liu Huang to fully recover before venturing into the Technocracy again.

    One dayter, the First Protector was just about to take Lu Yin and the others back to the Innerverse the same way that they had arrived when he suddenly noticed a group heading towards the Technocracy.

    They were in the upied Endless Weave, so any cultivators who appeared were most likely from the Sixth Maind.

    The First Protector did not want to get caught or entangled in a fight as he simply wanted to leave in peace. However, Lu Yin stopped the old man from doing that. "Senior, the Sixth Maind has already fallen, and all of their people have moved into the Outerverse, which also happens to border the Technocracy. This isn¡¯t good for the Fifth Maind, and this junior feels that we should get an understanding of the situation."

    The First Protector just rolled his eyes. "That has nothing to do with this old man. My only task is to investigate Sky Creation Academy."

    Lu Yin replied, "Senior¡¯s strength is more than enough to easily overpower those people. Our mission to Sky Creation Academy has already failed, so we¡¯ll at least be able to go back with something better thanplete failure if we¡¯re able to get some information from those people."

    The First Protector was not convinced. He looked towards the Technocracy. It was still too early to give up, and it was also obvious that this group had just left the Technocracy. They had been given a mission, and it would not do to make hasty decisions at this time.

    He observed the Sixth Maind cultivators. Their most powerful member was just an Envoy, so the First Protector could instantly capture the entire group while making sure they could not alert anyone. No one would notice a thing, and as long as they were able to extract information from these people, everything would be fine.

    "Senior, why is the Sixth Maind able to work with First Edition City? I feel like there are still many mysteries hidden from our Fifth Maind, and if Senior can learn anything from these few people, it will be of great benefit to the Fifth Maind, maybe even enough to be recorded in the Hall of Honor¡¯s archives." Lu Yin tried to tempt the old man.

    The First Protector just sneered. "Kid, don¡¯t bother. Those kinds of records hold no interest to me. Still, it¡¯s fine to capture a few people and question them."

    He then raised a hand and grabbed at the group.

    Nothing changed in space. Everything was the same as before, but the Sixth Maind cultivators had disappeared.

    Back on the barren, more than a dozen people copsed in a daze.

    One of the people entered the true universe the moment he fell onto the, but the First Protector instantly stopped the Envoy. ¡°He reacted pretty quickly."

    The group from the Sixth Maind all stared nkly at the First Protector and Lu Yin, and then one of them suddenly eximed, "Lu Yin?"

    "Lu Yin?"

    Even the Envoy stared at Lu Yin as though he had seen a ghost. "Lu Yin? Why are you here?"

    The First Protector turned to look at Lu Yin andmented, "You¡¯re pretty famous."

    Lu Yin smiled and approached the Envoy. "Family. Name. Destination. Tell me everything I want to know."

    The Envoy just stared at Lu Yin before suddenly attacking by stabbing two fingers forward like a sword.

    Lu Yin made no effort to dodge or move away from the attack, as his bodysuit armor was more than capable of stopping this attack. The Envoy was not particrly powerful, and he was far weaker than the likes of Cang Zhou. His power level was barely over 500,000, and he could not even prate Lu Yin¡¯s defenses.

    Lu Yin set a hand on the Envoy¡¯s shoulder. "I¡¯m going to ask you again, and you¡¯re going to tell me everything I want to know."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin started to exert an increasing amount of strength, and he even started to use the Oveying Stacks Path to make the force prate into the Envoy¡¯s body. The man coughed up blood, as his body could not bear the force of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and his blood vessels started rupturing.

    "Lu Yin, my Sixth Maind and your Fifth Maind have already stopped fighting and are coexisting in peace! Why are you here? Why are you still killing us?!" the Envoy grumbled in a deep voice as he gritted his teeth.

    "What¡¯s this nonsense?" The First Protector lost his patience, and he started staring three inches below the Envoy¡¯s left shoulder. "I wonder, what sort of effect will happen if I destroy your stellr energy vortex?"

    The Envoy flinched and grew pale. "Do you want to start a war between the Sixth and the Fifth Mainds?"

    "You aren¡¯t qualified to trigger a war," Lu Yin coldly retorted.

    The Envoy gritted his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned; he was not the one threatening to destroy the man¡¯s stellr energy vortex, so why was the man ring at him? It was not always good to be famous¡­

    "I''m from the Sage Martial Realm. I¡¯m a swordsman under the Cloud Valley Master," the Envoy stated in a low voice.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The Sage Martial Realm? How umon."

    The First Protector spoke up, "Why were you in the Technocracy?"

    The Envoy hesitated upon hearing that question, and his eyes started to flicker.

    "Once you reach the same level as me, you¡¯ll also be able to easily tell when someone lies. One wrong word, and your stellr energy vortex is gone," the First Protector threatened.

    The Envoy struggled for a moment before letting out a sigh. "We were asking First Edition City if we could take their androids to the Outerverse."

    "Why?" the First Protector quickly pressed. He had a hunch that they might have just learned about something important.

    First Edition City and the Human Domain had always been enemies, so First Edition City clearly would not send androids to the Outerverse with good intentions. Given the Sixth Maind¡¯s current situation, they could not reasonablyunch a war against the Human Domain. However, if they joined forces with the Technocracy, and many androids were sent to the Outerverse over a long period of time, then if a war did break out, the Human Domain would instantly fall to a terrible disadvantage. It would be no different than a two on one battle.

    However, this was also not something that the Human Domain could stop from happening. After all, Endless Weave bordered Southside Weave, and there was no room for the Hall of Honor to interfere.

    The Envoy shook his head. "I don''t know the specifics. All I know is that I was ordered to meet with First Edition City and bring back as many androids as possible."

    "You really don''t know why?" The First Protector did not believe this at all.

    The Envoy grew pale. "I really don''t know! I¡¯m not qualified to be told such things."

    Lu Yin''s right hand mmed down onto the man¡¯s shoulder again. "Were you discussing moving against the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    The Envoy was in agony, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. "The Outerverse was already given to my Sixth Maind, so taking action against the Great Eastern Alliance would not be unwarranted. Alliance Leader Lu, it would be better if you tried to establish a better rtionship with us now, rather than taking actions that could exacerbate tensions or even lead to war.¡±

    The First Protector was considering the entire Fifth Maind, but Lu Yin was more concerned about the Great Eastern Alliance. After all, if the Sixth Maind united the Technocracy to move against the Fifth Maind, the Great Eastern Alliance would have borne the brunt of the damage.

    The one thing that Lu Yin was certain about was that the Sixth Maind was scheming against the Fifth Maind. Qing Tan had been sent to Mt. Microcosms, and she had even gained control of an overseer. The Sixth Maind would never give up taking control of the Fifth Maind.

    After securing the Envoy from the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin had a private discussion with the First Protector. "Senior, this is our opportunity!"

    The First Protector had to ask, "What opportunity?"

    Lu Yin excitedly exined, "Pretend to be someone from the Sixth Maind! Take control of the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s disciple and enter the Technocracy so that we can visit Sky Creation Academy."

    The First Protector was taken aback by the proposal. "Are you crazy? Enter First Edition City? Do you know what that actually entails? That city is one of the Technocracy¡¯s most protected locations, and it¡¯s home to a powerhouse that even Arch-Elder Zen is cautious of. Why else do you think we humans have never defeated the Technocracy after all these years? That ce is not as simple as you think!"

    Lu Yin said, "This junior is indeed aware of that, but as long as we aren¡¯t found out, we¡¯ll be fine. Not to mention, even if we are discovered, with Senior¡¯s strength, couldn¡¯t we still quickly escape? I know that the Seven Courts¡¯ Elder Hui Kong stayed in the Technocracy for many, many years."

    The First Protector bluntly refused. "I can''t do that. First Edition City is too dangerous, and it¡¯s even more unrealistic to try to visit Sky Creation Academy after going to First Edition City. Do you think that they¡¯re united or even close? We¡¯re talking about the Technocracy here."

    "Then how about this? We¡¯ll let these people from the Sixth Maind lead us in, and after we get to the battlefield between First Edition and Sky Creation Academy that Emperor Luo mentioned, we cross the battlefield to get to Sky Creation Academy, which was our goal from the very beginning! That¡¯s what we¡¯ve been trying to do all along," Lu Yin proposed.

    The First Protector still wanted to refuse, but Lu Yin was not wrong. The First Protector had been given a task by Arch-Elder Zen himself, and that task was to investigate Sky Creation Academy. Of course, the premise of that mission was that Emperor Luo¡¯s route was safe, as otherwise, it would be impossible to get to Sky Creation Academy. It would change from an investigation to an invasion.

    Since Hui Kong had been able to survive in Technocracy for so long, their small group might be able to do the same, but they also would not be able toplete their task, which would make staying in the Technocracy pointless.

    They had just been given an alternate means of aplishing their task, so even if the First Protector wanted to refuse, if Lu Yin mentioned this matter to Elder Chan, the First Protector would be in deep trouble.

 Chapter 1712: Control

    Chapter 1712: Control

    "Controlling these people from the Sixth Maind and getting into the Technocracy while posing as them will be very easy if you¡¯re able to find the route that they use. Even if you can¡¯t get into the Technocracy, it won¡¯t be a problem to get out again. We won¡¯t be in any danger, and the worst that¡¯ll happen is us being discovered. This junior was able to survive my time in the Technocracy, and forcing your way into that ce is even Eversky Ind¡¯s graduation exam. As long as Senior doesn¡¯t attack First Edition City or the Master Brain, nothing bad will happen to us," Lu Yin continued to try to convince the First Protector.

    Seeing that the old man was still hesitating, Lu Yin continued, "Even if we are found out, as long as the Sixth Maind doesn''t want to start a war with the Fifth Maind, we¡¯ll be able to live as neither of us have a normal status."

    The First Protector stared at the Sixth Maind cultivators off in the distance before looking back at Lu Yin. "I¡¯m quite curious¡ªwhy are you so determined to get to Sky Creation Academy regardless of the cost?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "Because this junior has met Aeternus."

    The First Protector''s eyes suddenly went wide. Given his status, he naturally knew of Aeternus. That name was forbidden in the Fifth Maind, though the Sixth Maind had suffered the worst, not the Fifth Maind.

    "I¡¯ve seen Aeternus and the endless battlefield, as well as humanity¡¯s miserable situation. This junior does not want the Fifth Maind to repeat humanity¡¯s previous mistakes. If the Neohuman Alliance really has colluded with Sky Creation Academy, then the threat they pose is too big," Lu Yin exined.

    The First Protector was not very familiar with Lu Yin. If the Chief Justice, Arch-Elder Zen, or Highsage Grandmaster were present, not a single one of them would believe Lu Yin''s words. However, the First Protector was different. He rarely left Mt. Microcosms, and he did not know much about Lu Yin. In fact, most of what the First Protector knew about him was what Arch-Elder Zen had shared.

    Arch-Elder Zen had a good impression of Lu Yin, so the First Protector had also received a good impression of the youth.

    The First Protector saw Lu Yin as one of humanity¡¯s most talented youths who was willing to take grave risks by entering enemy territory for the sake of mankind. While the old man did not want to take this risk, he also could not find any reason to refuse Lu Yin''s idea. So, the First Protector ultimately agreed.

    The most difficult part of the n was how they would control the Sixth Maind cultivators. If their control was not strong enough, then they would be instantly turned over to First Edition City once they arrived and everything would be over.

    "Senior, do you have a way to control them?" Lu Yin asked.

    The First Protector turned around, approached the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s disciple, and then looked down at the man.

    The Envoy¡¯s eyes twitched. "What do you want?"

    The First Protector casually said. "This old man has an innate gift known as cocooning and self-binding. Simply put, it allows me to put my stellr energy into an opponent''s body in the form of a silkworm. Everything, no matter if it¡¯s a person¡¯s stellr energy vortex, flesh, blood, or even their clothes, will be devoured."

    As the First Protector spoke, he pped a hand down onto another cultivator¡¯s shoulder.

    The man was initially confused, but then he suddenly screamed as white threads of silk appeared over his body. He was wrapped up, and Lu Yin and the others watched on in shock as the silk threads turned red before they started to shrink more and more. Finally, the unlucky man had be enwrapped in what looked like arge bug cocoon.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This was an extremely vicious innate gift. The cocoon devoured everything it enveloped, and it seemed like a very painful and cruel manner of death. He had not expected the First Protector¡¯s innate gift to be so brutal. Outer appearances were often deceiving.

    This was the true face of the cultivation world: ruthless, decisive, brutal. Someone who believed in strength and respect for life was someone who saw life as a necessity.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s impression of the First Protector changed. He could no longer be asfortable with the old man, as a heart-felt fear had appeared in Lu Yin. This old man was not nearly as friendly as he appeared.

    Lu Yin was not the only one frightened by the old man¡¯s actions; Emperor Luo and everyone else from the Sixth Maind was simrly terrified.

    The disciple of the Cloud Valley Master grew pale, and he stared at the red cocoon on the ground in horror. It once held a living person that had now met a tragic end. The Envoy had killed many people throughout his life, but this was his first time facing such a desperate situation, and he was frozen by fear and despair.

    "You- what do you want?" The Envoy was still in a daze.

    The First Protector smiled and pped a hand onto the Envoy¡¯s shoulder, startling the man. "Stop! What are you doing?"

    "Don''t worry, I haven¡¯t done anything to you besides nt a cocoon inside your body. Behave yourself, and nothing will happen. But if you act out of line even once, I only need a thought to deal with you." The First Protector pointed at the red cocoon that was still on the ground.

    The Envoy¡¯s pupils fluctuated as sweat poured from his forehead. He was an Envoy standing on a barren, but he still felt breathlessness at this moment.

    "I might as well tell you that a Semi-Progenitor once tried to test out my innate gift and forcibly unravel it, but he failed." The First Protector sneered. "The person he tested it out on ended up in the exact same situation as the person on the ground, and not one bit of that person was saved. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask any of your Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans to try to save you, but it would be best if a Progenitor made the attempt. If a Progenitor tried to undo my innate gift, they probably would not have any trouble.¡±

    "What do you want?" the Envoy shouted. He stared at the First Protector in absolute terror.

    Lu Yin then stepped forward. "We''re going to First Edition City."

    The Envoy was stunned. "First Edition City? What are you doing there?"

    "Don''t worry about that. We won¡¯t make things difficult for you¡ªwe just want you to take us to the path that leads from First Edition City to Sky Creation Academy. We¡¯ll find our own way after we get to First Edition City. Still, no matter how far apart we may be, you will still die if you act up. This man is the First Protector of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Mt. Microcosms with a power level of-"

    At this point, Lu Yin turned to look at the First Protector, as Lu Yin actually had no idea how powerful the old man actually was.

    The corners of the old man¡¯s mouth curled up into a smile. "From your Sixth Maind, only your Four Empyreans can fight against this old man."

    The Envoy¡¯s hands trembled. "What guarantee do I have that you won¡¯t just kill me after leaving?"

    "You can write down what happened here as an exnation to others. If some ident urs, then you can tell everyone what we¡¯ve done. We have no desire to end up surrounded and attacked by both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy while in the middle of the Technocracy. Let me know when you get back to the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory, and I promise, on my name as Lu Yin, that nothing about this agreement will change, no matter if we get back safely or not. We will not take action against you," Lu Yin promised.

    The Envoys hesitated.

    "You also aren¡¯t in any position to refuse," Lu Yin continued in a colder voice.

    The Envoy closed his eyes. "What about them?"

    He was referring to the other people from the Sixth Maind who had followed him.

    "Of course we''ll all go together, but whether or not they say anything will be up to you. Basically, if we¡¯re caught because of anyone in your little group, you''re the one who¡¯ll die," Lu Yin threatened.

    "Deal with them yourself first." The First Protector suddenly said, and he raised a hand and pointed at the other people from Sixth Maind. "Take care of them."

    The people who had followed the Envoy were all frightened. ¡°No! We won''t say anything! We won''t say anything!"

    The Envoy clenched his fists. He finally turned around and swung a hand. The head of that person from the Sixth Maind was separated from their body, and they instantly died.

    The other cultivators from the Sixth Maind trembled and copsed in fear. None of them even dared to look up again.

    The First Protector smiled with satisfaction. "That''s how it should be."

    Lu Yin took a long look at the First Protector. It seemed that the longer people cultivated, the more ruthless they became. If Lu Yin assumed that these old monsters were dumb, he would be the true idiot. When Lu Yin had been chased out of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins by the Second Nightking, he had been rescued by Jiu Shen, but the elder from the Cosmic Sect had already nned out his own escape route before even entering the ruins. Each one of these old people had hidden means, and Lu Yin had to be careful. He absolutely could not afford to underestimate any of these old people.

    Was this kindness?

    Suddenly, the First Protector waved a hand, and one of the Sixth Maind cultivators was smacked back. There was a yellow prayer mat in his hand.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. A prayer mat? He waved his hand and used the Yu Secret Art. The prayer mat disappeared from the man¡¯s hand and reappeared in Lu Yin¡¯s possession.

    "Isn''t that the Seven Courts¡¯ Yu family¡¯s secret technique?" The First Protector was taken aback.

    Lu Yin smiled. "The Yu family fled and hid in the Outerverse, and this junior was taught their secret technique by the survivors of the Yu family," Lu Yin answered as he held the prayer mat. When he looked up, he locked his eyes onto the person who had held the prayer mat.

    The man¡¯s face had gone ashen, and he was unwilling to even look at the prayer mat in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    "Why would you think that you could escape? Did you think that we wouldn¡¯t understand what you were doing?" Lu Yin smiled at the man.

    The Envoy¡¯s eyes flickered and grew sharp as he red at the man. Suddenly, the Envoy attacked and instantly killed the man.

    "He only recently joined my Cloud Valley. He was an independent cultivator before that, and he stillcks determination. It would have been impossible to ensure that he would never say anything," the Envoy exined, actually sharing some information regarding the Sixth Maind. Still, he had handled the matter himself, as it was his own life on the line.

    Lu Yin looked down at the mat in his hand. The man had actually had a decent n. If he had managed to sit down on the prayer mat, he would have left and been sent to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. If Lu Yin and the First Protector had not known what the prayer mat was, they might have reacted too slowly, and the man could have escaped.

    Independent cultivators fought against the heavens and earth, and they were more experienced atpeting with other cultivators. Disciples fromrge sects or powerful organizations held the advantage when it came to resources and battle techniques while independent cultivators generally had sharper wills and craftier wits.

    After picking up the prayer mat, Lu Yin nced over at Emperor Luo before looking at the First Protector. Lu Yin could ask someone to apany him to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, as the Sixth Maind would naturally have powerhouses present to prevent Lu Yin from essing the Nine Cauldrons Region again. Lu Yin did not want to be captured in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, but as long as the First Protector apanied him, he would be safe unless the Four Empyreans moved out themselves. Maybe then he could safely absorb the rest of the cauldron energy, as it was bing more and more difficult to get ess to them.

    Lu Yin and the others followed behind the Envoy from the Sixth Maind while pretending to be the First Protector¡¯s disciples. No one was worried that the Technocracy would detect the old man¡¯s true strength, as they believed that the Technocracy was on guard against powerhouses on Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s level, not anyone weaker than a Semi-Progenitor. The machines that were capable of monitoring the entire Technocracy might not be able to detect the First Protector¡¯s power level, but Lu Yin was still worried about the Envoys in their group.

    "You really haven''t thought this through the whole way. One wrong step, and we¡¯ll be in grave danger. I¡¯m telling you right now that if we get in trouble in the Technocracy, I¡¯m saving myself first," the First Protector said.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Since Senior¡¯s here, I¡¯ll leave everything to you to decide. How can this junior¡¯s mindpare to your experience?"

    The First Protector rolled his eyes. "I want to go back to the Honor Zone.¡±

    After speaking, he continued in a more casual tone. ¡°Even if we do get discovered, they¡¯ll be fine."

    Lu Yin was both surprised and confused by this. "Why?"

    "Ask them yourself.¡± The First Protector gestured to the three Envoys who were apanying him.

    Lu Yin looked at the three people. From the very moment they had met, not a single one of them had uttered a single word. Lu Yin had tried to speak to them several times, but he had never received a response.

    "They¡¯re androids," Emperor Luomented.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Androids?"

 Chapter 1713: First Edition City

    Chapter 1713: First Edition City

    The First Protector smiled when he saw Lu Yin''s surprise. "I have watched humanity¡¯s technology develop for countless years, and there are always some outstanding geniuses. The Technocracy is able to produce androids with the power of Envoys, and my Human Domain has the same ability. However, due to the limited supply of various materials, very few such androids can be produced.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought after hearing this exnation was of the giants¡¯ technology.

    There were stories from long ago about how the Expeditionary Forces had eliminated the giants¡¯ technology after they developed the means of producing weapons that could unleash attacks at the Envoy level. The rumors imed that the technology had been destroyed, but Lu Yin always believed that the Hall of Honor had confiscated the technology instead. At this moment, his suspicions were finally validated.

    Lu Yin initially thought that the giants¡¯ technology had been eliminated because the Hall of Honor did not want any of the Human Domain¡¯s civilizations or powers to develop too quickly, as that might threaten the Hall of Honor¡¯s status or create a terrible power struggle. However, after thinking about it for some time, Lu Yin felt that there was most likely a deeper reason, which was the materials needed to produce such weaponry.

    The Hall of Honor had long since possessed the technology to create weapons as powerful as an Envoy, but the domain¡¯s severely limited materials meant that such things could never be mass-produced. While the giants had achieved simr results with their technology, they would still require materials at a simr level, which meant that they would have beenpeting with the Hall of Honor.

    In that situation, how could the Hall of Honor possibly allow the giants¡¯ technology to continue? Thus, the Hall of Honor had assimted the giants¡¯ research and technological aplishments, as not only would this allow the Hall of Honor to further optimize their own technologies, but they would also be able to acquire some desperately needed materials. For these reasons, the Hall of Honor naturally had not hesitated to move against the giants.

    It could only be said that the giants had not developed their technology to a high enough level at the right time, and they had also not been able to keep their aplishments secret. If Lu Yin had been Arch-Elder Zen, he would have also chosen to eliminate the giants¡¯ technology.

    Regardless of whether the Hall of Honor had acted selfishly or domineeringly, it was still better for them to have the rare materials than for the giants to use them on their own technologies.

    Suddenly, a sh of inspiration sprang up within Lu Yin¡¯s mind, stunning him into a daze. He had glimpsed some thought, but it had shed by, and he had failed to hold onto it. What was it? He had instantly forgotten that momentary thought, but he knew that it was very important, and he even felt like it was the key to solving the various mysteries around him, but what was it?

    Lu Yin frowned and stopped to think.

    Emperor Luo and others looked at him oddly.

    The First Protector¡¯s eyes flickered; was this an epiphany? No, this did not seem like that. The kid seemed more like he was spellbound.

    Lu Yin remained frozen for an entire hour, but he was never able to recapture his previous thought. He even repeated every word that he had thought leading up to that glimpse of inspiration, but he simply could not remember whatever it had been.

    He shrugged and let out a sigh. He had forgotten, and the ethereal thought hadpletely vanished. Still, it had probably been something very important.

    "Let''s go," Lu Yin said.

    The group from the Sixth Maind soon continued on their way. Their numbers were the same as before, but some people had been reced by Lu Yin and the others.

    The route that the Sixth Maind cultivators had nned to take to First Edition City was different from the route that Lu Yin and the others had tried to take. They had been headed to a part of the Technocracy that was under Sky Creation Institute¡¯s control, and the new path was clearly closer to First Edition City.

    Lu Yin had technically been dead when he entered the Technocracy thest time. After he woke back up, he had found himself on a with Fat Bro and Yan Xiaojing. Lu Yin recalled that the had been known as Star Duolun. After that, Lu Yin had met Hui Kong, who was extremely familiar with the Technocracy.

    The Technocracy was full of machinery. When the Ghost Monkey had dragged Lu Yin across the border to hide in the Technocracy, Lu Yin¡¯s body had been skewered by a random piece of metal flying around the void at the border of the Technocracy.

    At that time, Lu Yin hadn¡¯t even been able to see the Technocracy¡¯s defenses, but this time, when they reached the border, he saw metal spikes hidden in the void, as well as metal frames connecting variouss in the distance. Thes and the metal frameworks actually formeds that spread out far into the distance.

    If an outside force tried to break into the Technocracy, the entire framework would instantly copse upon them, and unless the invader¡¯s strength had reached a level that surpassed the Technocracy¡¯s defenses, they would be trapped and defeated regardless of their numbers.

    This was Technocracy.

    To Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the strange thing was that he could not see where the metal framework even started. How far did the extend? How was it fixed in ce? He could not see any answers to his questions.

    There were manys in the Technocracy that were inhabited by ordinary people, much like Star Duolun where Huang San and Yan Xiaojing lived. There were many other simrs in the Technocracy, and they were inhabited by more than just humans. As far as the Technocracy was concerned, humans were just another astral beast species, and the Technocracy did not ostracize any creatures.

    As the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s servant and his party led Lu Yin and the others into the Technocracy, they were not blocked or inspected, and they simply continued moving further deeper into the Technocracy.

    As they traveled, Emperor Luo kept verifying their route while also attempting to locate the battlefield thaty between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. Unfortunately, he could not locate the battlefield.

    After several days passed, Lu Yin was passing the time by observing some of the Technocracy¡¯ss, as well as arge number of androids and battleships. These vessels were not piloted by humans, but rather possessed their own self-awareness. They were essentially alive, couldmunicate, and even had emotions. They were able to merge with each other through fighting, and their existence shattered Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of life.

    "Have you still not found a route?" Lu Yin asked. He was getting a bit anxious, as they were getting closer and closer to First Edition City. If they were not able to find the battlefield and a route to it soon, they would be forced to return to the Human Domain, as First Edition City was too dangerous to approach, and even the First Protector was scared of that ce.

    Emperor Luo shook his head. "The battlefield¡¯s moved. We tried to take the old route that I knew, but it¡¯s no longer useable since the battlefield changed. Half of the old battlefield was taken over by Sky Creation Academy, and the other half by First Edition City. They have a new battlefield now, but from my guesses, it isn¡¯t anywhere near the Human Domain. In fact, it might even be in the deepest regions of the Technocracy.¡±

    Emperor Luo¡¯s voice fell lower as he spoke.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, as he was rather unwilling to give up.

    The First Protector shrugged. "If that¡¯s really the case, then all we can do is return the way that we came and leave the Technocracy."

    They heard a boom; some distance away, two-sized machines were fighting, and their battle was scattering countless bits of debris into space.

    "That¡¯s a verymon mechanical beast here in the Technocracy. After two of them fight, the winner will absorb material from the loser," Emperor Luo exined.

    They had seen many simr sights in recent days. The Technocracy was not a ce that was dominated by androids or any particr creature, but rather by the Master Brain. The Master Brain was the ruler of the Technocracy, and the variety of lifeforms that were found here was endless.

    This was also true of the mechanical creatures. Humans referred to minds as brains, but this was not always true in the Technocracy. Instead, they typically referred to the mind that controlled a body as the dominant consciousness.

    Near to the two fighting mechanical creatures, there was a densely packed group of strange, eight-limbed machines. They were the scavengers that Hui Kong had mentioned to Lu Yin. These machines worked to collect the trash from various battles.

    The Technocracy operated through its own system. It was said that the Technocracy was devoid of life, but the creatures there were sapient, just not organic. The various mechanical creatures, including the scavengers and the androids, had no traditional signs of life.

    Hui Kong had remained in the Technocracy for so long because he had been investigating why Progenitor Hui had established the Technocracy, and Lu Yin found himself holding the same curiosity.

    "You can stop searching. We¡¯ll just go back the way we came," the First Protectormented.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s disciple¡¯s face twisted. "I can''t go back."

    The First Protector''s expression turned grim. "What did you just say?"

    The Sixth Maind Envoy raised a hand and shared a message that he had received: Your location has been locked onto. Please proceed to First Edition City by following the suggested route. Thank you for your cooperation.

    "I received this letter from the deputy master of First Edition City. The city¡¯s moved, and it¡¯s very close to our location now," the man exined.

    The First Protector was scared by this change. "I can''t go there."

    "They¡¯ve locked onto our location, so if we try to leave, we¡¯ll end up in trouble. First Edition City¡¯s already too close to us, and if they really do have a strength that even Arch-Elder Zen is wary of, then our current distance from the city is actually meaningless. We¡¯re already here, and if Senior tries to force your way out, we¡¯ll definitely struggle to survive,¡± Lu Yin exined. He had not expected First Edition City to suddenly move over, and this was not something that Emperor Luo could have known about either.

    The Envoy from the Sixth Maind had also only learned of this development after they entered the Technocracy.

    The First Protector was upset by this change. "If we enter that ce, I can¡¯t promise that I¡¯ll be able to get any of us out of there safely."

    "That¡¯s assuming that we get caught, but we still have yet to be discovered," Lu Yin retorted. If he did not carry out his n, the Perennial World¡¯s attack would be an unpredictable inevitability. It would have been better for Lu Yin to travel to First Edition City with Hui Kong. That old man had stayed in the Technocracy for a very long time, and he had definitely been to both Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City. Getting into trouble in the Technocracy would only happen if they were discovered.

    Lu Yin did not think that anyone would be dumb enough to be fooled by him, so his departure was ssified as an adventure and not a mission.

    The path of cultivation was far from smooth. Lu Yin had actually died on several different asions, but he still had the courage to take risks when necessary.

    "Senior, we don¡¯t have a path out any longer. The longer we hesitate here, the more suspicious we¡¯re going to look," Lu Yin urged.

    The First Protector felt cornered. "I have a feeling that you¡¯ll end up being the death of me¡­"

    He then looked over at the first disciple of the Cloud Valley Master. "Lead the way."

    ¡­

    The universe was infinite and vast, and it was full of surprising sights. Still, Lu Yin had never thought that he would one day behold the current sight before him.

    First Edition City was extremely technologically advanced, and it was iparably massive. It floated through outer space along various air currents, and there was no soil or sky to be seen. Rather, when one looked up, they would see a glowing brain flickering with light. Down below, there was something gaseous flowing by. Upon closer inspection, the mysterious gas was actually some sort of cloud made out of light that propped up the entire city.

    From a distance, First Edition City did not look like a city at all, but instead a human brain.

    The city was illuminated by the brain, and this was the Master Brain that controlled the entire Technocracy. It was the ultimate authority in this ce.

    These details were not what surprised Lu Yin. Instead, what shocked him was the fact that First Edition City feltpletely lifeless yet also full of activity.

    Dead silent, but also brimming with life. These two conflicting concepts were vividly juxtapositioned in First Edition City.

    There were androids everywhere in the city. Each and every one was neatly arranged and stored in a specific location in the city. What¡¯s more, there were pipes filled with air that connected the various regions of First Edition City, and they transported supeputers from one ce to another. Some of the supeputers would exit in different ces and merge with an android, which would activate, move around, and carry out various activities. Some of the supeputers just continued drifting through the pipes. It was much like how an ordinary human might go sightseeing in a car and enjoy the scenery of a city. However, these supeputers were able to integrate with any of the various androids, which meant that the androids were essentiallymunal property.

    Emperor Luo was very familiar with this sight, but Lu Yin had not been prepared for it. Hui Kong had told Lu Yin a great deal about the Technocracy, but he had never mentioned anything about what Lu Yin was staring at. It was possible that Hui Kong simply had not known how to describe this scene, but he had told Lu Yin that there were truly bizarre sights to be seen in the Technocracy.

    The individuals in this ce were the supeputers while the android bodies were nothing more than tools.

    This was a city in the Technocracy. The supeputers were full of life, and they wandered all about the city. They could enjoy the entire city in whichever body they chose, but there was no hint of organic life to be seen at all.

 Chapter 1714: Control VS Cooperation

    Chapter 1714: Control VS Cooperation

    Lu Yin had not expected the city to have no humans or even astral beasts, as the Technocracy was supposed to treat all creatures equally. Regardless of if one was human or an astral beast, they were just another life form. However, there were actually no living creatures within First Edition City at all.

    The sky above the city had crisscrossing pipes covering it, and there were asionally ripples in the void when a supeputer integrated with an android body, not one of which was weak. Although there were no runes in this ce, which made it impossible for Lu Yin to precisely determine the strength of anything, he was certain that there were terrifyingly powerful things in this city, as it had the strength to scare even the First Protector.

    "Be careful. This ce is giving an old man like me a few heart palpitations," the First Protector stated dryly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "This junior is also a bit nervous. Is this really a ce where people can live?"

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Of course not. If you tried to, you¡¯d find yourself going insane sooner orter," the First Protector retorted in a miserable tone. He was still terribly upset that they had been forced to enter First Edition City. Humans had always been the most prevalent species, but in this city, humans were seen as out of ce oddities. The mechanical, interchangeable bodies were the mostmon sight in First Edition City, and it was a jarring change for humans.

    Lu Yin still remembered Aeternus Nation. There had been ordinary humans living there, but all of them had been nothing more than livestock, reared for the corpse kings. That ce had also had a dead feeling, much like First Edition City, but the cities in Aeternus Nation also contained a feeling of despair and violence.

    To some degree, Aeternus Nation and First Edition City had simrities, as neither was a ce where humans would willingly live.

    "Everyone, please follow me. You¡¯ve had a difficult journey to get here. I¡¯m the vice city master, and I¡¯ve already made arrangements for your quarters during your visit." The person who received them had the appearance of a beautiful woman who looked no different from a regr human. Her frowns and smiles were both beautiful and natural, but Lu Yin had seen a brain enter the mechanical body just before it started to move.

    This person was an android, though one with an exceptionally beautiful appearance. This individual most likely enjoyed a high status within First Edition City, and they were also quite strong, as they couldpare to an Enlighter.

    "Thank you, Vice City Master," the first disciple of the Cloud Valley Master replied.

    The beautiful android smiled in reply before leading Lu Yin and the rest of the party towards the center of the city.

    There were no identifiable streets within the city. For the supeputer, the pipes acted as streets, and the android bodies were simply vehicles. They had no need to make actual streets for their ¡°vehicles,¡± as the androids were treated like spaceships or cars.

    There were also no houses in First Edition City, but rather strange lightforms that could be found everywhere. asionally, an android would exit or enter one of these lightforms. This was simply a city of supeputers.

    Lu Yin and the others were provided with a house that was located close to a transportation pipe. ording to the beautiful android, the lightforms could be altered at will, and people could control them with their thoughts.

    Lu Yin created an ordinary-looking stone house with the lightform, and when he touched it, it even had the correct texture. This level of technology was simply magical.

    Suddenly, a screen appeared far above the city, and Lu Yin and the others looked up to see fourteen figures appear on the massive screen. A loud voice announced, "Wee, guests from humanity. Your visit to our city coincides with a once-in-a-decadepetition. This androidpetition has reached the semi-finals, and the finals will take ce in a month, just in time for our guests from humanity to spectate. You are all wee to attend."

    The whole city started buzzing.

    Lu Yin walked out, and he was surprised at the announcement. "Androidpetition?"

    Emperor Luo exined, "Both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy have a number of research teams. These ces don¡¯t actually have any families or sects, just research teams. They develop androids or weapons that appear in thesepetitions. The winners receive more resources, opportunities, and even a higher status.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that every ce had their ownpetitions, and the Technocracy was naturally no different. The Human Domain¡¯spetitions took ce in the form of conquests and internal conflicts while the Technocracy¡¯s way ofpeting was open for all to see.

    Thesepetitions were also events that could only ur in the Technocracy due to the Master Brain¡¯s absolute control over the ce. The Human Domain could never pull off such apetition.

    "Many dominant consciousness prefer to remain with an android that they built themselves. If you look up at the screen, you¡¯ll see profile pictures of fourteen individuals. Of the two at the top, one is the city master, who¡¯s been famous for thousands of years. That dominant consciousness is very powerful, and in the past, they¡¯ve led two research teams to participate in no less than ten of thesepetitions, and they¡¯ve even won twice.

    "The other one at the top is named R1O, who¡¯s a talented inventor who only recently appeared. He¡¯s also leading a research team, but this is their first time participating in apetition. They¡¯ve already qualified for the finals, and they also have got a good chance of winning," Emperor Luo exined.

    Isn¡¯t that little R1O? Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Wasn¡¯t that the person who had designed the android blueprints that he had Pilfered and given to Ban Jiu? This was a fated encounter!

    "How do you know all of this?" Lu Yin wondered. Emperor Luo had been absent from the Technocracy for many years, so he should not know about all this.

    Emperor Luo pulled out a gadget and passed it to Lu Yin. "This is from the android that met us. They gave each of us one so that we can learn a bit about the Technocracy."

    Lu Yin and the others had all stored their gadgets in their cosmic rings before arriving at First Edition City so that none of their information could be essed or discovered by the Technocracy.

    Once Lu Yin started browsing through the gadget, he quickly learned about the recent androidpetition, as well as a detailed summary that was readily essible.

    A total of 100 research teams had participated in thepetition, but only two teams had reached the semi-finals.

    The former champion team had mainly focused on developing weapons, so androids were not their forte. Still, they had developed somebat androids, so if they won, it could only be said that the Technocracy was biased.

    The weapons that the former champions had created were very powerful, and Lu Yin took a look at some images of them. The weapons all looked very odd, and Lu Yin could not even understand the underlying principles behind them.

    As for Little R1O¡¯s team, they had focused exclusively on developing androids, and they had no weapons at all.

    Little R1O¡¯s androids were nothing surprising to Lu Yin, as the Great Yu Empire had already started producing the same kind of androids that were able to be upgraded and improved as long as there were materials of sufficient quality. It was impossible to predict the final limits of these androids.

    Lu Yin had not dared to consider the implications before, but after he had returned from the Perennial World, he had started to believe that Little R1O''s android design might be able to reach the Envoy level as long as the materials requirement was met.

    "For this androidpetition, the winners will be allowed to create an independent army that can join the war against Sky Creation Academy," Emperor Luo said in evident surprise.

    Lu Yin had not yet reached that information in the event summary, and he looked up as soon as he heard Emperor Luo''sment. Sure enough, the man was genuinely excited. An independent army? Did that mean that as long as Lu Yin could connect with the winning team, there was a possibility of being taken to the Technocracy¡¯s greatest battlefield?

    After thinking of this possibility, Lu Yin quickly went to find the First Protector.

    Lu Yin¡¯s news was like a bucket of cold water getting dumped on the First Protector. "Don''t even consider it! Just wait for those guys from the Sixth Maind to finish up their business so that we can go back. Why would anyone here take you to the battlefield? Are you trying to reveal your real strength while we¡¯re here?"

    "What if it¡¯s possible?" Lu Yin and the First Protector stared at each other.

    The First Protector finally snorted. "If you can make it happen, then it would be best for me to apany you."

    Lu Yin shouted, "I¡¯ll let you know as soon as everything¡¯s settled!"

    A frown appeared on the First Protector face. He was feeling frustrated because Lu Yin was clearly too confident in pulling this off. "Are you sure you can do this?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, but it¡¯s better to try than to do nothing."

    The First Protector nodded. "It''s good that you want to destroy Aeternus, but everything depends on the given situation. Don¡¯t try to force anything. Arch-Elder Zen told me that there¡¯s a good chance that you¡¯ll eventually be a Progenitor, and there are just too many things that be possible once you reach that level. There are certain sacrifices that you need to make now in order to realize that future."

    "This junior understands. Thank you for your concern," Lu Yin said.

    The next day, the vice city master summoned the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple.

    The Envoy was the only one invited, as Lu Yin and the others were merely his entourage. None of them were considered qualified to participate in the negotiations or even to listen to them. Of course, Lu Yin and the First Protector were not worried, as the only way the Sixth Maind Envoy would betray them would be if he wanted to die.

    This was not the Envoy¡¯s first time visiting First Edition City, as he had visited the ce in the past when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind. Each time he visited, he saw the vice city master use a different appearance. This time, the vice city master was using an android that had the form of a bear.

    The man felt rather awkward while having a conversation with a bear. He watched the bear drink some ck beverage as though it was drinking tea. The ck beverage was most likely actually something that supported the mechanical body: oil.

    Sigh.

    The bear opened his mouth and let out a sigh of enjoyment, letting a very unpleasant smell spread through the air. The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple maintained a respectful manner. "Lord Vice City Master, I¡¯ve exined to you why I¡¯ve been sent here again and again. Might I hear First Edition City¡¯s reply?"

    The bear stretched his legs and swung them about. The ws were sharp enough to terrify anyone as this bear clearly was not an ordinary one, as it was valuable and powerful enough to have the vice city master use it. It clearly had the power topare to an Envoy.

    "We have always cooperated with the Sixth Maind. Even before your war, we helped you by sending you information on how you could deal with the Human Domain. Once you invaded, we took part in the fighting ourselves and helped to invade the Outerverse. It would seem that my city will answer whenever the Sixth Maind calls, but this time is an exception." The bear was very serious as it stared at the Envoy. "We were defeated during that invasion, and while we do not know what Sky Creation Academy¡¯s support is, a new group of androids have appeared there that are terribly powerful. We are being pushed back again and again, and while we can support you by sending androids to the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse, we cannot send very many at all. I am sorry."

    The Envoy was not in any condition to discuss anything with the vice city master at this time, as he only wanted to return to the Sixth Maind as soon as possible. However, he had been sent here to negotiate, and it would be too much if he left without making any attempts towards negotiating at all. "Sir Vice City Master, you also know the situation that my Sixth Maind is facing. Even if you are unable to send the numbers that Bluedome Elder requested, even half will be of great help.¡±

    The bear shook its head. "We can¡¯t even send that. At best, we can send a million androids and a single android with the power of an Envoy."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple shook his head. "That¡¯s not enough."

    "Go back and consider it, as there''s only so much we can give you," the bear said.

    The human left, and the bear stared at the man¡¯s back before taking another sip of his ck liquid.

    After the man returned to the Sixth Maind¡¯s quarters, Lu Yin went to meet him.

    "A million androids? And one Envoy level android?" Lu Yin frowned, as that was indeed a lot. While it was far from the numbers that Bluedome Elder had requested, it was still enough to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance. This put a great deal of pressure onto Lu Yin.

    He had to ask, "Isn¡¯t it said that your Sixth Maind controls half of the Master Brain? How can First Edition City even try to bargain with you?"

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s disciple¡¯s face took on an unnatural expression. "We don¡¯t control it, but rather cooperate with it."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Cooperate?"

    The Envoy nodded. "The Four Empyreans tell everyone in the Sixth Maind that we control the Master Brain, so only a few people know that we are actually only cooperating with First Edition City. They help us out, and in return, we provide them with resources and materials that they require."

    "First Edition City does things for you? Like what?" Lu Yin wondered.

 Chapter 1715: Lu Yin And Little R1O

    Chapter 1715: Lu Yin And Little R1O

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s servant grew embarrassed. "The Technocracy has always been at war with your Human Domain, and many times, they are the first to attack."

    Upon hearing these words, Lu Yin instantly understood.

    Of the Fifth Maind¡¯s three domains, the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain were constantly at war with each other, and they had many conflicts. However, there was no reason for the Technocracy to fight against the Human Domain. Wars between the two did not make any sense. If it was about stealing materials or resources, then the Technocracy could not even enter the Human Domain. As for hatred between the two domains, there did not seem to be any real hatred. And yet, they were constantly fighting each other. Lu Yin had looked into the possible reasons behind this conflict, but he had not found any. After all, Hui Kong had stayed in the Technocracy for many years, and he had always been searching for the reason why the ce had been established to no sess.

    The full name of the Technocracy was the Lost Science and Technology Domain, and it had been founded by Progenitor Hui. Progenitor Hui had been a human, so no one understood why his Technocracy was the Human Domain¡¯s enemy.

    Over the course of countless years, it seemed to have be normal for the Technocracy and the Human Domain to be at war, but no one had investigated the core reason behind this. At this moment, it had been revealed that the Sixth Maind was the most likely culprit.

    The Fifth Maind had only guessed that half of the Master Brain¡¯s authority had been usurped by the Sixth Maind, but in truth, it was not a matter of control, but rather one of cooperation.

    This waspletely different.

    Control indicated that the Technocracy carried out the will of the Sixth Maind while cooperation meant that the Technocracy willingly took such actions itself. The fact that the domain was willingly cooperating with the Sixth Maind showed that there was a desire within the Technocracy, and whatever it was that they wanted was important enough for them to cooperate with an enemy of the Human Domain.

    This was actually worse than if half of the Technocracy was being controlled by the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin would much rather have the Technocracy be under the Sixth Maind¡¯s control than have it be voluntarily hostile towards the Human Domain and willing to go to war.

    "How many resources has your Sixth Maind provided for First Edition City over the course of so many years? Are they really willing to cooperate with you just because of the resources that you provide them?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Envoy nodded. "It¡¯s just basic resources. The Technocracy is special, as each dominant consciousness is able to think andmunicate on its own, but each one is only a mind. They need a vessel to inhabit, and each vessel requires resources. This is different from humans like us who can reproduce naturally and grow through eating food and absorbing nutrients. These dominant consciousnesses need raw materials, and an endless supply of them at that."

    First Edition City had managed to obtain massive amounts of resources by cooperating with the Sixth Maind, which had allowed them to continue their simultaneous war against both the Human Domain and Sky Creation Academy.

    In that case, what about Sky Creation Academy? Why had they continued their war against First Edition City? There was only one possibility: the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin stared at a star chart of the Technocracy. In his eyes, both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy were no different from two bottomless holes that devoured endless resources. The materials that they had gathered or been given had be countless androids and weapons, and this had continued on for many years. Battles were constantly fought, and each battle was an opportunity for resources to vanish, which was what Huan Sha had discovered.

    Materials would disappear from each ce after each battle and war, but where had these resources gone? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and suddenly, the same thought that had flickered through his mind just outside of the Technocracy returned: ants. Those endless numbers of mechanical ants.

    The scale of the war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy was massive, and after every single battle, a portion of materials would always disappear. After so many years, it added up to an astronomical amount of materials. It was impossible to im that someone from inside the two forces had stolen so much over the course of so many years, and with the way that the Technocracy was structured, such a thing was not very likely. The greatest possibility was that all of those materials had been redirected to the manufacturing of endless mechanical ants.

    Who had made those ants? If the materials used to create them were really the same ones that disappeared after each battle, it could not be just First Edition City or Sky Creation Academy behind the ants, but rather abination of the two. The only possibility that Lu Yin coulde up with was that this had something to do with the Master Brain.

    The Sixth Maind did not have the ability to control half of the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain, so did that mean that the Master Brain was still intact? If that was true, then why did First Edition City wage war on Sky Creation Academy? Was the Master Brain at war with itself?

    Lu Yin could not figure this out, but he had another thought: the Master Brain might have never been split or divided. Rather, it was using this method to gather resources from both the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World in order to secretly gather enough materials to produce the mechanical ants.

    If that was true, then it would be a huge secret. What need was there for so many mechanical ants? Was this truly the will of the Master Brain, or was it someone else¡¯s design?

    Lu Yin thought about these possibilities for a long time even as the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s servant left. Since the First Protector did note looking for Lu Yin, he continued to quietly ponder the matter until the following day.

    The Envoy from the Sixth Maind was summoned back to a meeting, and he once again spoke with the vice city master who was using the bear android.

    The meeting had the same conclusion as the previous day, but the Envoy reluctantly maintained his facade of being frustrated and determined. Still, no matter what, the vice city master would not budge.

    First Edition City cooperated with the Sixth Maind in exchange for resources, but since the Sixth Maind had been overrun by Aeternus, it was no longer possible for the Sixth Maind to provide the same amount of resources as before. Instead, the materials came from the Outerverse, and the drop in quantity was no longer sufficient to whet First Edition City¡¯s appetite. This was the primary reason behind the city¡¯s change in attitude.

    The third day. The fourth day. The fifth day.

    The vice city master sought out the Envoy from the Sixth Maind each day, and he met with the human each day in the guise of a bear.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s servant felt that it was almost time to leave. After this long, First Edition City would no longer suspect anything. However, even though the Envoy wanted to leave, Lu Yin refused.

    Not only did Lu Yin refuse to leave, but he also became determined to sabotage the cooperation between First Edition City and the Sixth Maind.

    On the sixth day, Lu Yin followed the Envoy to his meeting with the vice city master. Starting on their third day in the city, the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s servant had taken one person with him to each meeting, so the deputy city master had be used to it.

    The negotiations failed during the meeting on the sixth day as well. The vice city master insisted that only a million androids and no more than a single one at the Envoy level could be sent to reinforce the Sixth Maind. However, it was impossible for the Sixth Maind¡¯s representative to agree to such terms. The meeting did notst long before the deputy city master left.

    "Master Sword Servant, his excellency Bluedome Elder was very clear: we need to get First Edition City to send at least five million androids to the Outerverse, at least three of which have the strength of an Envoy. Their attitude is terrible now, so please ask his excellency to step forward. His excellency already said that if First Edition City refuses to cooperate, the Four Empyreans will move together against the city and destroy it before forcing the Master Brain to fall under their control. After all, it¡¯s impossible to ask the Progenitor of Combat toe out at this time," Lu Yin spoke sharply.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s representative¡¯s face twisted, but Lu Yin¡¯s hand was on the Envoy¡¯s shoulder, preventing him from speaking.

    Off in the distance, the vice city master heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, and the bear¡¯s eyes started zing. Do they want to take control of my First Edition City? The Sixth Maind¡¯s lost their roots, and they¡¯re no longer able to provide with as many resources. The expected transaction is no longer possible, so they want to strong-arm us now. Hmph!

    Lu Yin removed his hand, and the Envoy¡¯s face grew pale. "Are you not afraid to mention the Progenitor of Combat? Are you trying to intimidate this ce?"

    "This has nothing to do with you," Lu Yin replied coldly.

    ¡­

    First Edition City was covered with pipes, and it was not a ce that was suitable for human habitation. Still, there was one thing that was simr to human cities, which was the presence of nts.

    The city was full of lush nts, and there were many gardens, some of which even had creatures living in them. They were rare oases of life within First Edition City.

    When one wandered around the city, what they saw was only the tip of the iceberg. The dominant consciousnesses that lived in First Edition City needed ways to rx, and some of them would use vessels with a humanoid form, only to destroy the vesselter. There were others that used vessels to devour all kinds of metals. And there were still others who enjoyed the scenery of the verdant gardens.

    At first, Lu Yin had no idea what the androids were doing, so he had looked through the provided gadget to learn more.

    Humans had their own means of rxing, and these dominant consciousnesses had their own as well, though their forms of pleasure were quite bizarre to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin visited a garden, from where the huge, glowing brain was only vaguely visible through the branches and leaves of the nts. There was more than one android in the garden, through most of them were sitting about in a daze. It was also in this ce that Lu Yin saw Little R1O.

    Little R1O was staring at ake, looking quite stressed. Lu Yin wondered what Little R1O was thinking about.

    Lu Yin walked over andmented, "It''s been a very excitingpetition."

    Little R1O was startled, and he looked over at Lu Yin. "Thank you. Are you a human?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Can¡¯t you tell?"

    "Of course. I just need a nce to determine the make and model of any android, as well as their potential for future development," R1O proudly stated.

    Lu Yin was impressed. "That¡¯s amazing! You deserve to be a semi-finalist."

    When Lu Yin said this, Little R1O dropped his head. "This is about as far as I can go."

    "Why? Are you not confident?" Lu Yin asked.

    Little R1O shook his head. "I¡¯m confident. I can easily see through the weapons and attack methods that powerhouses use, but I don''t have the necessary materials to deal with such weaponry. While my android is powerful, it¡¯s not enough to withstand a bombardment from those weapons. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll eventually lose.¡±

    "That¡¯s not fair!" Lu Yin ranted.

    Little R1O was surprised. "Not fair? Why?"

    "Isn''t it unfair to lose because of your limited materials? I¡¯ve heard that your opponent¡¯s been famous for a long time, so the amount of resources that they¡¯ve received far surpasses what you have," Lu Yin said.

    Little R1O hesitated for a moment. "Are you humans really that na?ve?"

    Lu Yin was stunned by his reaction. "Why do you say that?"

    Little R1O exined, "Materials are the most valuable resources in our Technocracy, and they¡¯re no different from your humans¡¯ battle techniques. Some of you even have what you call secret techniques, but do you demand that all of your fights with other humans be fair in terms of battle techniques?"

    After considering this perspective, Lu Yin felt that it had merit. He had forgotten that, for the residents of the Technocracy, materials were the most valuable resources. There was nothing fair in the universe. After many more years, Little R1O would manage to gain more fame and be pitted against other research teams. In such a situation, the materials that they could acquire were simply another type of advantage.

    "That¡¯s a pity. Your design¡¯s really impressive," Lu Yin said regretfully.

    Little R1O nced over, but he did not want to pay any further attention to the human. As far as Little R1O was concerned, how could any human understand the wonder of his android? This person was just bragging.

    "As long as you give it the right materials, your android design can be instantly enhanced, which ispletely different from other designs. Other androids are very difficult to upgrade, and that¡¯s even when the upgrade seeds. Also¡­" Lu Yin began to talk on and on. Even though he did not understand all the details in the designs that he had Pilfered, he could still remember what they were about.

    Little R1O had developed the unique design himself, and Lu Yin was basically regurgitating Little R1O¡¯s own ideas back to him. This surprised Little R1O, and he could not help himself from continuing the conversation with Lu Yin.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s poor understanding of the technology, there was no way he was capable of keeping up with Little R1O, so Lu Yin quickly stopped talking. Instead, he just listened while making the asionalment that built off of Little R1O¡¯s own ideas. This surprised Little R1O even more than before. To use human terminology, Litter R1O felt like he had found a confidant.

    Little R1O had never thought that he could have such a passionate discussion with a human. The more the conversation progressed, the more Little R1O realized that this human was highly intelligent. His ideas were so consistently aligned with Little R1O¡¯s own that they felt identical. This human was a genius on the same level as himself!

 Chapter 1716: A Real Man

    Chapter 1716: A Real Man

    "What''s your name? If you stay here in First Edition City, I¡¯ll make sure to get you the best resources avable so that we can research and develop the most powerful androids together." Little R1O looked at Lu Yin with incredible excitement, as he truly needed such a talented assistant.

    Lu Yin smiled. "You can just call me Ah Qi, but I can''t stay here."

    "Why not? I can give you everything that you could need as a human. Don''t you humans need battle techniques, cultivation arts, and different resources in order to train? We have a lot of those things here in First Edition City, and I¡¯ll help you figure out how to get them," Little R1O insisted.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I¡¯m sorry, but I really can''t stay."

    Little R1O was disappointed.

    With that settled, Lu Yin and Little R1O continued to chat for a long time. Most of it was Little R1O speaking and Lu Yin just listening, as Lu Yin had run out of things to say. The measly knowledge that he possessed could not keep up with Little R1O.

    When Lu Yin saw Little R1O''s eagerness for him to present a new idea, Lu Yin just coughed. "I have no idea what the battlefield between First Edition and Sky Creation Academy is like, and I would really like to see it."

    Little R1O felt curious. "Why would you want to go there?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression betrayed his desire to see the battlefield. "There¡¯s a saying among humans: a real man should visit the battlefield."

    Little R1O waspletely lost. "Real men? Are there fake men?"

    "Yes, a lot."

    "What do they look like? We¡¯re able to choose the gender of each android, so for us, there¡¯s no difference between male and female. You humans really are difficult. It even seems like being able to cultivate is a matter of a person¡¯s innate physique. I¡¯ve heard that there are even some research teams that are studying you humans¡¯ innate gifts," Little R1Omented.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew sharp for a moment before returning to normal. "There¡¯s a research team studying that?"

    Little R1O nodded. "Research teams study all sorts of different things, and there are some that are studying humans¡¯ innate gifts while others are researching biological immortality. I¡¯ve even heard that some are studying things like luck, but the most absurd research team that I¡¯ve heard of is studying how to make particles be infinitelyrger, as they are hoping to create a universe from the smallest of particles. Those supeputer brains have gone haywire."

    Supeputers going haywire was a taboo topic in the Technocracy, as it was simr to human insanity.

    Each research topic sounded farfetched, but many humans were scared of such research. However, it was clear that many simr things had been studied in the Human Domain; how was the brain in Gaia¡¯s Swamp any different from the dominant consciousnesses in the Technocracy? The key difference was that those in the Technocracy used androids and other machines as vessels while the imprisoned brain had once belonged to a human who had hoped to achieve eternal life.

    "Actually, you didn¡¯t say why you wanted to see the battlefield. Is seeing a battlefield somehow rted to bing a real man? Also, what¡¯s a fake man?" Little R1O was eager to learn more.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "If you are strong, then you¡¯re a real man. The battlefield is a ce where men can be powerful."

    "Isn¡¯t a battlefield a ce where people go to die?"

    "All you need to do is survive, and those survivors are real men."

    "Oh, so that¡¯s why you want to see the battlefield. Unfortunately, I can''t take you there. Only the winning research team is able to go there on their own, and the losers can¡¯t," Little R1O exined in a frustrated tone, as he had been reminded of his uing loss again.

    Lu Yin started searching through his cosmic ring. "You just said that you¡¯re going to lose because of the materials that you have ess to. I¡¯m not sure if this stuff that I have with me can help you out, but I¡¯ve picked it up over the course of many years."

    Lu Yin then pulled a bunch of substances from his ring. Most of the stuff was materials that had been Disassembled but never used. The Great Eastern Alliance had taken control of all of zing Mist Flowzone, including the Ross Empire, so they had managed to collect arge amount of raw materials, and Lu Yin had Disassembled them whenever the opportunity arose. The materials that he pulled out were all substances without any descriptions on the Human Domain¡¯swork.

    Little R1O scanned through the mountains of materials that had appeared in front of him, but he showed no surprise. For the supeputers of the Technocracy, materials were regarded in the same manner as star essence in the Human Domain, and the amount that Lu Yin had brought out was not enough to make more than a few androids.

    However, Little R1O was soon stunned, and then he quickly became confused.

    "West Crystals? Is this Woodtooth of Light? Ancient Windsand? ..." Little R1O picked through the rare materials andmented on their names one by one.

    Most of what Little R1O was looking at were materials that hade from the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, and Lu Yin had picked them up when he had confiscated the Ross Empire¡¯s star essence. Emperor Luo had gathered these materials in hopes of producing androids at the Envoy level.

    Little R1O selected ten different materials, and he sucked in a quick breath as he turned to look at Lu Yin. Excitement filled the researcher¡¯s eyes. "You- are you really ok with giving all of this to me?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "There¡¯s another saying among humans: don¡¯t worry about it and just use it."

    Little R1O''s eyes sparkled. After a few breaths¡¯ time, he stepped forward and embraced Lu Yin. "Friend, we¡¯re friends!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Friends."

    "Ah Qi, you¡¯re Little R1O''s friend, and Little R1O is Ah Qi''s friend!" Little R1O excitedly dered.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He still did not understand these individuals that were the dominant consciousnesses of the Technocracy, but it appeared that they had no concept of friends. However, they were different from the cold and emotionless corpse kings. It was not impossible for the supeputers that controlled the androids to experienceplex emotions, but Lu Yin had no idea how to trigger such responses.

    These individuals seemed to live in a world without lies, and each person was true to themselves while also appearing to be indifferent.

    "Can you win with these materials?" Lu Yin asked.

    Little R1O scratched his head. "It''ll be difficult, but my chances are much better than before. Unfortunately, you don''t have a material that can serve the most important function, which is to improve the control center. If you had something like that, then my win would be guaranteed."

    The androids¡¯ core control center was something that Lu Yin had learned about from Little R1O¡¯s blueprints, as this was the most important upgradable aspect in Little R1O¡¯s android design.

    Lu Yin raised a hand as he pulled out the initiate ore. "What about this?"

    He had no idea what the metal could be used for, but it was definitely something special since the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family had left it in the treasury of their sect ruins for their descendants.

    Little R1O was surprised when he saw the ore. "What is this?"

    He quickly took the metal and started examining it. "Initiate ore? This is something that¡¯s supposed to have only existed in ancient times. It¡¯s supposed to have vanished. How is this here?"

    Lu Yin exined, "I happened to find it in the ruins of an ancient sect that was hidden in a pocket dimension, and I grabbed it."

    Little R1O felt a wave of envy. "You humans are so fortunate!"

    What did finding this metal have to do with luck?

    "So how about it? Can you use it?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I¡¯m not sure, but I can try it. There¡¯s still more than a month left to go before the finals, so it should be enough time." Little R1O then looked up at Lu Yin. "Ah Qi, I''m going to head back to prepare to upgrade my androids. Do you want toe with me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯m going to have to turn you down, but I¡¯ll see you in a month."

    Little R1O nodded and stored all of the materials away. "I¡¯ll see you in a month. I¡¯ll definitely win! And then I¡¯ll take you to see the battlefield so that you can be a real man!"

    The android then fled.

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment; had he mistakenly just convinced Little R1O that he was not a real man yet?

    After Lu Yin returned to the human quarters, he found that the First Protector had been waiting to speak with him. As soon as Lu Yin returned, the old man said, "The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple received a message from the vice city master that their war with Sky Creation Academy has escted, and First Edition City is temporarily unable to send out any androids at all to support the Outerverse, which means that we can leave."

    After sharing this information, the old man¡¯s tone grew strange. "What did you say to them? You¡¯ve infuriated these people so badly that even if we don¡¯tplete the mission we came for, you have still aplished something amazing for the Human Domain."

    Lu Yin smiled and looked at the First Protector. "Senior, do you really want to go back?"

    The First Protector pursed his lips. "Do you want to stick around longer?"

    "This junior¡¯s already found a way to get to the battlefield that lies between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. As long as we can get past that, we¡¯ll be in Sky Creation Academy¡¯s territory, and I believe that the academy should be somewhat close to the battlefield. Also, there¡¯s no way the surveince surrounding the battlefield will be as tight as elsewhere else." Lu Yin was quite excited about this.

    The First Protector was surprised yet again by Lu Yin. "You found a way in?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The First Protector was renderedpletely speechless. He had already promised Lu Yin that if a path to the battlefield opened up, they would go to Sky Creation Academy. Still, the old man had not expected Lu Yin to actually aplish such a thing. How was this even possible? They were not in the Human Domain, so was it possible that Lu Yin had connections to the Technocracy¡¯s dominant consciousnesses?

    "How did you manage this?" The First Protector was stumped.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s a secret, so just wait and see, Senior."

    "How long?"

    "When the androidpetition finishes."

    The First Protector considered this. "So we¡¯ll still have to wait for more than a month?"

    "That¡¯s right. Actually, while we¡¯re waiting, I would like to ask for your help with something, Senior.¡± Lu Yin suddenly grew very serious.

    The First Protector frowned. "Does this have something to do with getting to the battlefield?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It¡¯s rted to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect."

    The First Protector''s first eyes went wide. "Exin."

    Lu Yin could not hide what he had been doing with the Nine Cauldrons. The Sixth Maind already knew that Lu Yin was in the process of receiving some kind of inheritance from the Nine Cauldrons, and this information would eventually spread to the Fifth Maind. Thus, it would be better for Lu Yin to take the initiative and exin the situation so that he could ask some of the Fifth Maind¡¯s top experts to protect him and help him absorb the cauldron energy in safety.

    He had initially wanted to get the Second Nightking to help, but since there was more than a month before the finals of the androidpetition concluded, he felt like it would be much better to ask the First Protector for his help. This old man was one of the strongest powerhouses in the entire Fifth Maind, which meant that only the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters could stand up to him. With the First Protector¡¯s assistance, Lu Yin would be perfectly safe to absorb the cauldron energy as he pleased.

    The First Protector soon sank into thought.

    Lu Yin was forced to wait for an answer. He had no idea if the First Protector would help him or not, as there was no real bond or connection between them. They were just two individuals who had been sent on the same mission, so the chances of the old man agreeing or refusing were equally likely.

    "So you¡¯ve actually been inheriting the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique?" The First Protector was shocked, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "I didn''t think it was real. ording to the legends, that¡¯s an invincible battle technique, and if the records are true, it¡¯s truly ancient and was created even before the Daosource Sect¡¯s establishment. The Nine Cauldrons have stood there for almost an eternity, but no one¡¯s ever managed to gain anything from them.¡±

    Lu Yin grew curious. "I heard some rumors that Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique came from the nine ancient powerhouses who created the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    The First Protector shook his head. "It''s even older than the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect still stood, the Nine Cauldrons were always there, indestructible and indecipherable. Even Progenitors have examined them, but they never found anything."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled, as he had simply relied on the Stonewall Scriptures to receive the technique in the Nine Cauldrons. Since he was made to memorize the Stonewall Scriptures by the old grandpa on Driftcharge, it meant that other people could learn the scriptures as well. He refused to believe that none of the Progenitors who had controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had known the scriptures, so why had they not been able to resonate with the Nine Cauldrons and learn the battle technique?

    Was there anything else that made Lu Yin unique aside from the Stonewall Scriptures? He could not understand this.

    "Show me the invincible technique that you¡¯ve received from the Nine Cauldrons." The First Protector stared at Lu Yin with his eyes full of expectations.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and his star energy gathered to form a zing sun. Cauldron energy poured out to merge with the star energy, and one sun became two, three, and then four zing suns that hung over Lu Yin¡¯s outstretched hand.

 Chapter 1717: Broken

    Chapter 1717: Broken

    The four suns did not seem to be particrly powerful, but the First Protector could feel an unusual aura from the technique as he stared at four zing suns. "Iplete. It feels unfinished."

    Lu Yin dismissed the technique. "Of course it''s iplete. What was Senior able to sense?"

    The First Protector showed a bitter smile. "How could I see through an invincible battle techniques that even Progenitors once desired with my paltry strength? Still, while it feels iplete, there¡¯s something to it that causes my heart to twitch. It¡¯s possible that, as you get closer topleting the technique, you¡¯ll be able to find the secret. I felt as if something was staring up at me from the underworld. The feeling that I sensed from the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ Technique was as though it was alive."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, can battle techniques possess their own life?"

    The First Protector also felt that this was a bit extreme. "I don''t know, and it was just a feeling of being stared at."

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb upon hearing these words.

    "Let''s go to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. You¡¯re from the Fifth Maind, so you should spend some time there," the First Protector said.

    Lu Yin immediately took out two prayer mats, one for each of them. He then left some instructions with the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple, Emperor Luo, and the others before sitting down on the prayer mat next to the First Protector. They then disappeared and entered the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins.

    The ruins were truly magical, as no one knew their precise location, and yet, they could be entered with the prayer mats from anywhere in the Sixth Maind, the Technocracy, and the Human Domain.

    The only ce that Lu Yin had not checked was if the ruins could be essed from the Perennial World, and he intended to do so the next time he was there.

    He had no concerns of being discovered while in the Technocracy. Although the prayer mats were a secret in the Fifth Maind, that was not true in the Sixth Maind, and it was possible that the people of the Technocracy already knew about them.

    Lu Yin entered the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and he appeared in the za of the First Divine Gate. The First Protector appeared there as well.

    The First Protector looked around after entering, as this was a new experience for him. He was deep in thought regarding the various records concerning the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    "What a pity that the overlord of my Fifth Maind fell so far," the First Protectormented.

    Several people from the Sixth Maind looked over from a distance, and one of them approached the two men and offered a respectful bow. "Junior Liu Fei from the Bloodburn Realm greets Senior."

    The First Protector looked at Liu Fei. "What''s the matter?"

    "May I boldly ask, does the Senior who has entered the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins have any requests? We would be more than delighted toplete them for you," Liu Fei solemnly exined. As he spoke, several other people stepped forward and bowed.

    After it was discovered that Lu Yin was in the process of receiving the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ inheritance, the Sixth Maind started frequently sending older powerhouses into the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. In the past, very few older experts entered the ruins, as the ce was treated as a ce of opportunity for youths to explore. The older generation had done the same in their youth, and it had be tradition. However, Lu Yin had forced the Sixth Maind to break their tradition, and it had be rathermon to find older powerhouses wandering around the ruins. Now, the younger cultivators from the Sixth Maind had started ignoring the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and they instead focused on waiting for older experts to enter. Then, they would then try to make a connection with the older experts. After all, it was simply too difficult to gain anything from the ruins, as they had already been explored countless times over by countless people.

    "No tasks. We¡¯re leaving," the First Protector casually replied.

    Although the youths were unwilling to leave things be and wanted to say something more, the First Protector had already disappeared.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the path to the First Divine Gate on his own, and he waited for the First Protector in Budding Terrace.

    It did not take long for the First Protector to appear.

    "Boy, I came here with you, but will I leave with you?" the First Protector suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, as he hadpletely forgotten that everyone stayed in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins for different lengths of time rather than a fixed amount, as it was based on one¡¯s spiritual force. Lu Yin would leave after a month, but that did not mean that the First Protector would as well.

    "Senior, your spirit force should not be particrly strong, right?" Lu Yin asked hopefully as he nervously looked at the First Protector.

    The First Protector considered the question. "I don¡¯t specialize in spiritual force."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief.

    "But my spiritual force is still strong enough to kill you, kid," the old man said.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This was the end. He hadpletely forgotten about this detail. It was easy to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, but leaving was an entirely different matter. With the First Protector¡¯s strength, it would not be surprising if he stayed in the ruins for several months. Would Lu Yin be forced to wait in First Edition City for several months until the old man returned? If that happened, then what was the point in visiting the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins? It would have been better to just not visit and waste some time in First Edition City.

    The Second Night King and Liu Huang were both still at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, and if Lu Yin did not return for a long time, it was impossible to know what would happen. Things would be fine with the Second Nightking as he was restricted by the Sealed Cage Technique, but the same was not true of Liu Huang. His rtionship with Lu Yin was closer to what Lu Yin had had with Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Lu Yin felt trapped, as he had alreadye to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. The only thing that he could do was continue forward. He also held out a bit of hope that he would be able to stay in the ruins for longer than before, as both his spiritual force and his cultivation level had improved greatly since going to the Perennial World. It was entirely possible for his time limit in the ruins to have increased as well.

    These thoughts were the only way that Lu Yin couldfort himself.

    Turning his focus to the Nine Cauldrons, Lu Yin hurried towards them with the First Protector. Along the way, Lu Yin gave the First Protector an introduction to Budding Terrace, Heaven¡¯s Pit, the Scripture Pavilion, the tform of Inception, and the other ces. After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s exnations, the First Protector became eager to explore.

    Lu Yin quickly cautioned the older man. "Senior, please remember that we¡¯re in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, which is a ce where Progenitors have shed blood. The Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses typically avoid this ce not only in order to leave behind the remaining inheritances for their juniors, but also because it¡¯s easy for them to suffer a random ident in this ce. It would be best if you don¡¯t roam about too much, Senior."

    The First Protector gritted his teeth. "Why didn''t you warn me about this before we got here?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I forgot."

    "Kid, you really are quite tricky. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to conquer the Outerverse," the First Protectormented. Still, he did not seem particrly bothered, as this was just typical behavior for cultivators. How could one seed at cultivation if they were constantly worried about others? The First Protector could not even count how many selfless people he had seen die early.

    The experts standing guard at the entrance to the Nine Cauldrons Region were not always the same. After the Sixth Maind learned that Lu Yin had obtained this lucky chance, all the eyes of the major powers in the Sixth Maind had grown red. Each of them wanted to control the Nine Cauldrons Region, and as a result, the guards asionally rotated. Who was standing guard also determined who was able to gain ess to the space, as no one wanted to allow people from other powers to gain ess to the Nine Cauldrons.

    Man Li had been standing guard when Lu Yin hadst visited, and Man Li had allowed people from the Arrow Sect to visit the Nine Cauldrons, as well as others from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory while blocking almost everyone from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory and the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory. This time, Lu Yin saw that the Nine Cauldrons Region was being guarded by Ancestor Sightless, who was from the Bloodburn Realm. This man was a Cosmic Imprinter.

    Lu Yin had already defeated Man Li once before, and during that session, he had shattered another one of the cauldrons. That had badly startled the Sixth Maind, and after that incident, all of the guards stationed at the Nine Cauldrons Region had been a Cosmic Imprinter at minimum.

    This was already the highest level of consideration that the Sixth Maind could make. After all, it was impossible for someone like Zhutian Yinzhao to guard it in person. The cultivators at their level did not care about the Nine Suns Technique, and Master Qing Hua did not care.

    Having Ancestor Sightless guard the Nine Suns Region was already enough to show the importance that the Sixth Maind ced on Lu Yin.

    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t pay enough attention.

    In the Nine Suns Region, Ancestor Sightless faced the First Protector with a dull expression and a circle of light behind him.

    The circle of light was the ancestor''s innate gift. During the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, Lu Yin and the others had suffered greatly from this innate gift after they had entered the Innerverse from the Outerverse during a battle.

    Given Ancestor Sightless¡¯s strength, his technique should be invincible, but he was currently facing the First Protector. The First Protector was someone of the same era as Arch-Elder Zen, and was an unfathomable powerhouse even to the four venerables of the Sixth Maind, . He simply stepped on the ring of light with one foot, knocking out Ancestor Sightless, who didn''t even have enough time to notice his opponent.

    In addition to the ancestor, there were more than ten other people in the Nine Cauldrons Region, but all of them were youths, and they instantly lost consciousness.

    "Well, I did it. Nothing too unexpected, though that old guy there took a bit of effort to knock out," the First Protectormented in surprise as he looked at Ancestor Sightless.

    Lu Yin replied, "He''s an expert with a power level of a million. He¡¯s on the same level as Yuan Shi."

    "Yeah, that¡¯s about right." The First Protector then looked out at the six cauldrons in the distance. ¡°You said that there were nine cauldrons, so why are there only six?"

    "Three broke."

    The First Protector found this odd. "Broke? How did they break?"

    Lu Yin told the truth, and after the First Protector heard the exnation, he stared at Lu Yin. "Kid, you better not have broken them on purpose so that no one else could learn the technique."

    "Senior, if I was able to do that, then I wouldn¡¯t have needed to ask for your help," Lu Yin protested.

    This made the First Protector think for a moment, as the Nine Cauldrons had been famous even when the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had been standing strong. Those cauldrons were not something that Lu Yin could have damaged.

    "Three cauldrons broke, and the pieces must have been taken away by people from the Sixth Maind," Lu Yin exined. He then leaped up and entered the fourth cauldron. "This junior will start cultivating, so I will have to ask Senior to stand guard over me."

    The First Protector just grunted as he approached the fifth cauldron. He stared at it for a long time and then entered the cauldron as well. He also wanted to see if he could grasp anything.

    The Nine Cauldrons Region was no longer a public area. Anybody who qualified to enter the space would already be there, and nobody else would have any thoughts of visiting the ce.

    Lu Yin absorbed the cauldron energy, and soon, half a month passed. There was a bang, and the fourth cauldron shattered and copsed.

    The First Protector stared at the fragments of the fourth cauldron in shock. He had watched it break apart with his own eyes. This object had existed since ancient times, and while the First Protector had already been warned that it would happen, it was still a shock to see one of the Nine Cauldrons shatter.

    The fourth cauldron had broken, and the sound roused Ancestor Sightless.

    Ancestor Sightless sprang to his feet in horror. "A cauldron broke! Lu-"

    But before he could say another word, he was knocked unconscious by the First Protector. "What a pain¡ªI didn¡¯t use enough strength. I need to focus better next time."

    Lu Yin looked at the shards of the broken fourth cauldron beneath his feet and then turned to look behind at the five remaining cauldrons. With a thought, his body flickered, and he appeared in the fifth cauldron. His time in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins had not run out yet, so he would continue absorbing the cauldron energy.

    The First Protector did not say anything to Lu Yin. Instead, he bent down and picked up some of the broken cauldron fragments. When he squeezed down hard, the fragments were crushed into even smaller pieces. The old man was shocked; why were these pieces so fragile? He had already tested out one of the other cauldrons for half a month, but he had aplished nothing at all. And yet, at this moment, the same material was so weak. Had something been extracted from the cauldron?

    The old man thoughtfully looked over at the fifth cauldron. The youth had to be absorbing something from the cauldrons.

    The First Protector was not the only one with such a thought, as the Sixth Maind hade to the same conclusions. However, no one else was able to absorb anything from the cauldrons at all. Whatever it was that made the cauldrons indestructible was too valuable to not be desired.

    A few days quickly passed, and a young man with an arrogant expression entered the Nine Cauldrons Region. He was a Realmling, one of the newly appointed ones. All of the Realmlings had permission to ess the Nine Cauldrons and attempt to gain enlightenment, and this was the youth¡¯s first time entering the Daosource Sect after bing a Realming.

    He entered the space full of anticipation and excitement, eager to obtain the Nine Cauldrons Battle Technique. However, he passed out the moment he entered the region, and he never even saw anything.

 Chapter 1718: Aspiring Youth

    Chapter 1718: Aspiring Youth

    A dayter, another person entered the ce. He stepped right on Yu Zi¡¯s back before taking another step, only to also fall unconscious.

    When Lu Yin''s time was about to run out, he told the First Protector, "Senior, this junior is returning, as my time is up."

    The First Protector stood. "I can''t stay here any longer. Well, this old man will also go somewhere else."

    He then stared at Lu Yin. "Don''t leave First Edition City. Wait for me there."

    Lu Yin replied, "If Senior¡¯s not there, how could I go to Sky Creation Academy? I will definitely find a way to stall for time."

    Lu Yin¡¯s body disappeared from the Nine Cauldrons Region after he finished speaking.

    After Lu Yin left, the First Protector had no reason to stay there, so he quickly left as well.

    The fourth cauldron shattering was guaranteed to create major waves in the Sixth Maind, as it meant that not even a Cosmic Imprinter was enough to stop Lu Yin. Would they need to send out Empyrean Imprinters after this?

    Lu Yin appeared back in First Edition City, where he put away his prayer mat and exited the room.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple looked nervous when Lu Yin stepped out, and the Envoy quickly spoke up as soon as he saw Lu Yin. "The vice city master¡¯s looked for you several times! If you don¡¯te with me to meet them, then their suspicions will be raised."

    "Why would the vice city master look for me?" Lu Yin asked. "By the way, have the finals for the androidpetition started yet?"

    "They¡¯ve already started, but don''t worry about that right now. Come on, we need to go see the vice city master," the Sixth Maind¡¯s representative urged.

    It was not long before Lu Yin was meeting with the vice city master along with the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple. In the past, the vice city master had not shown any interest in Lu Yin, but recently, they had been specifically requesting to meet with Lu Yin.

    "Vice City Master, this is Ah Qi," the human Envoy politely introduced Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin bowed. "Ah Qi greets the vice city master.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had been altered by the First Protector, so it would be difficult for anyone to see through his disguise.

    The vice city master stared at Lu Yin. "Who do you represent?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "The Daosource Sect¡¯s Protector Madam Hong."

    The vice city master¡¯s voice dropped lower. "Why do you want to go to the battlefield? Specifically, the one where First Edition City fights against Sky Creation Academy."

    Lu Yin had already guessed why the vice city master was looking for him, so his answer sounded perfectly natural. "First Edition City is unable to support us in the Outerverse because of your war with the Sky Creation Academy. I want to go to the battlefield to try to stop this war."

    The vice city master let out a mockingugh. "All by yourself?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I understand that such thoughts are practically dreams, but in order toplete the mission that we¡¯ve been given, all I can do is risk my life in an attempt. Even if stopping the war is impossible, stalling it would still be fine."

    The vice city master gave a disdainful snort, ignored Lu Yin, and redirected his attention to the human Envoy. "Take care of your people and don¡¯t do anything unnecessary. You can visit the battlefield if you want, but don''t hold anything against us when you die."

    The bear then turned around and left.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple heaved a sigh of relief. His face had gone pale, and he nced over at Lu Yin. He had heard of this youth even in the Sixth Maind, and he was aware that Lu Yin excelled at stirring up trouble. Even the vice city master had personally stepped forward to deliver a warning.

    The man felt that his life was on the line.

    Lu Yin also let out a sigh of relief. As long as Little R1O¡¯s research team won thepetition, he would be able to visit the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield.

    As far as the vice city master was concerned, Lu Yin was merely a loyal member of the Sixth Maind. He was nothing more than an ambitious young man who was desperate toplete the mission that he had been given. In short, the vice city master saw Lu Yin as a stupid human being.

    After the meeting with the vice city master ended, Lu Yin looked up above the city. There was a huge disy in the sky broadcasting the androidpetition.

    This androidpetition was essentially the Technocracy¡¯s equivalent of how humans battled for supremacy, but instead, it was apetition between androids.

    Little R1O was the dark horse and challenger in thispetition, and without Lu Yin¡¯s help, he would have been resigned to an uing loss.

    But because of the materials that Lu Yin had provided, in just a month¡¯s time, Little R1O''s android had changed dramatically.

    Lu Yin could not help himself from admiring the fight that he saw on the screen between the two androids.

    Little R1O''s android was overpowering the former champion team¡¯s android. Even though the former champions had an odd android with powerful weapons, Little R1O¡¯s design was even better.

    Lu Yin had seen many odd methodologies from the Technocracy, such as the lightforms that formed giant beasts, or mechanical creatures that were controlled like the beasts in the Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Lu Yin was unable to understand most of the Technocracy¡¯s techniques, which was due to the sheer technological gap between the Human Domain and the Technocracy. He could not even understand the purpose of many of the Technocracy¡¯s weapons.

    On the other hand, any battle techniques could be recorded down by the Technocracy as long as the technique was witnessed.

    The androidpetition was very exciting, and the rewards were extremely generous. Thepetition had taken up the entire city¡¯s attention, but as far as Lu Yin was concerned, the battle was a bit dull. This was because even Little R1O¡¯s most powerful android was only as strong as an Enlighter. Still, this was quite impressive. After all, how long did it take for a human to cultivate to that level of power?

    There are many research teams throughout the Technocracy, but how many of them were able to design an android as strong as an Enlighter? Most such teams represented First Edition City, as it was so powerful that it would be a force to be reckoned with even in a fight against the entire Human Domain.

    At this moment, the only thing able to rouse Lu Yin''s interest was the fight between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy.

    "Have you ever met the city master ?" Lu Yin asked the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s first disciple.

    The Envoy shook his head. "I haven''t ever seen them. The first time I came here, I was led by Bluedome Elder. His Excellency has met the city master, but I was not allowed to meet them."

    Lu Yin looked up. It would be great if he could see runes in this ce.

    Lu Yin had no idea just howrge a wave he had stirred up in the Sixth Maind by shattering the fourth cauldron in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. They had decided to force the Great Eastern Alliance out of the Outerverse and takeplete control of the Outerverse. However, the Great Eastern Alliance would be allowed to retain their full territory if Lu Yin handed over what he had obtained from the Nine Cauldrons.

    If Lu Yin refused to cooperate, then the Sixth Maind would drive the Great Eastern Alliance out of the Outerverse. If he agreed, his Great Eastern Alliance would be preserved.

    This meant that the Sixth Maind was willing to trade a massive region of the Outerverse for a single battle technique. This was an incredible offer.

    Naturally, they did not expect Lu Yin to agree, so the Sixth Maind was simply waiting for the Technocracy to send androids to support them in their attack on the Human Domain.

    In addition to the threat that the Sixth Maind posed, the Great Eastern Alliance was also being targeted by the major powers of the Innerverse. At this moment, the Great Eastern Alliance was facing a situation that closely resembled what Madam Hong had predicted when she had spoken to Lu Yin. The difference was that the Great Eastern Alliance was not as weak as it had been in the past, and Lu Yin was in control. The Innerverse powers werepletely ignorant as to the Sixth Maind¡¯s true power.

    As for the Sixth Maind, they were clueless to the fact that Lu Yin was currently sabotaging their cooperation with First Edition City.

    No upsets urred in the androidpetition, and Little R1O eventually won.

    After his victory, he immediately went to find Lu Yin. "Ah Qi, I won! Haha, I won! And it¡¯s all because of the materials that you provided! Ah Qi, thank you."

    Lu Yin looked at Little R1O''s excited face on the disy, and he happily replied, "Congrattions, friend!"

    "Ah Qi, didn¡¯t you still want to see the battlefield? I¡¯ve already submitted an application to the vice city master, and they agreed to allow me to assemble an independent army," Little R1O stated. Personally, he did not care about the battlefield at all, but he was very concerned about gaining First Edition City¡¯s support.

    After his victory, Little R1O had received a great amount of materials from the vice city master, and it was enough to assemble an entire army of androids, though not arge one. At best, there would be a hundred. On top of that, due to the scarcity and rarity of the required materials, the androids would only have the strength of an Explorer. Still, this was enough. While First Edition City was forcing Little R1O to fight on the battlefield, they did not expect him to achieve anything. As for Lu Yin, he just wanted to witness and see the battlefield for himself.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "When do you leave?"

    "You¡¯ll need to wait a while. I want to first put together a hundred androids, as I won¡¯t have an army otherwise," Little R1O replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. He had no idea when the First Protector would return. "Take your time and don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll wait for you."

    "Alright. I''ll let you know when I¡¯m done. Ah Qi, thank you," Little R1O repeated before hanging up the call.

    After the call ended, Emperor Luo''s eyes flickered red. "The war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy is absolutely brutal, and the androids will all be shattered. If we really want to go there, then we¡¯ll have to determine Sky Creation Academy¡¯s location in advance. Otherwise, we might stumble into a monitored region when we try to move over.¡±

    Lu Yin already understood this. Their original n had been to travel to the ce closest to Sky Creation Academy via the route that Emperor Luo had once used to escape from the Technocracy. The First Protector would carry all of them through the true universe, and they would then work to search for any traces of the Neohuman Alliance. If they found arge number of corpse kings near Sky Creation Academy, that was proof enough that the Neohuman Alliance was working with Sky Creation Academy.

    The n was not perfect, but it was the best that they had been able toe up with to investigate Sky Creation Academy.

    However, no one was aware that Lu Yin had never held any real ns to go to Sky Creation Academy. As long as he could reach the Technocracy¡¯s main battlefield, he would be able to carry out his n.

    Whether or not he could travel far enough to reach Sky Creation Academy or even investigate the potential presence of corpse kings waspletely irrelevant to Lu Yin.

    All Lu Yin needed to do was wait for the First Protector to return and for Little R1O to finish producing his androids.

    Lu Yin did not expect this to be a short wait, so after thinking for a bit, Lu Yin brought out his die to try to roll six pips. There was nothing faster or more urate for gathering information than Possessing people and browsing through their memories.

    He quickly set up a Channeling Diagram sourcebox array around himself before lifting a hand and bringing out his die. After tapping it, he watched as it slowly came to a stop on two pips. Useless. Again.

    The second roll was three pips, and Lu Yin waved his hand to dismiss the two screens of light. He continued, and his third rollnded on six pips. Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He had already set his cosmic ring aside before rolling, only keeping a small bit of star essence on his person, as he wanted to be sure that his Possession would be limited to people within the Technocracy. This should work out!

    He entered the strange space filled with balls of light. Some of them were dim while others shone brightly.

    Lu Yin saw a light that was too intense for him to merge with, and he continued on searching for a ball of light that would ept him.

    Once he reopened his eyes, everything he saw made him feel as though he was in a dream.

    The starry expanse of outer space was the same as ever, but there were countless rays of light that stretched into the unseen distance. Inside those rays of light was an enormous mechanical w. An unbelievably far distance away, there was another one. Shockingly, there were massive mechanical ws at regr intervals.

    He was in the Technocracy, and Lu Yin had Possessed an android with a power level of over 600,000.

    When normal people looked about, the Technocracy appeared to be no different from the Human Domain. However, the Technocracy had an additional means of surveince, which were these enormous mechanical ws that were concealed within the Technocracy¡¯s space. Thus, anyone who entered the Technocracy would be discovered.

    The androids were able to see an additional level within the Technocracy, as they were able to sense moreyers of space than humans. Thus, androids were able to perceive ayer of space unique to the Technocracy, and thisyer contained the gigantic ws that carried the light of the Technocracy.

 Chapter 1719: Thoughts Brought To Reality

    Chapter 1719: Thoughts Brought To Reality

    Humans were able to walk and stand on the ground. After cultivating for a time, they could even fly and see much further than before. Androids could also walk across the ground or fly, but they were also capable of something more than humans, which was that they were able to ess the uniqueyer of space that was filled with the light of the Technocracy. This uniqueyer of space was not a physical dimension, but something simr to thework of the Human Domain.. However, the Technocracy¡¯s uniqueyer of space was actually tangible and could be physically manifested.

    This was also how those giant mechanical ws were able to remain hidden.

    A tremendous number of memories struck Lu Yin as he was overwhelmed by the android¡¯s memories. He quickly understood that he was at the border of the Technocracy and the Innerverse, and was actually quite close to where he had entered the Technocracy years ago when the Ghost Monkey had dragged him in. Lu Yin also learned that the androids were able to directly ess the light-filledyer of space, which meant that they did not need to use gadgets to send and receive messages. Thework that humans believed connected the Technocracy was nothing more than an illusion.

    What Lu Yin found even more incredible was that he discovered that the Technocracy was actually a unified entity that was enveloped within the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts that connected the entire region of space. The rays of light that Lu Yin was looking at were the Master Brain''s thoughts.

    Thoughts that were actually able to be manifested. Lu Yin would never have believed such a thing if he had not been able to ess the memories of this android.

    This actually meant that the clouds of light that carried First Edition City and the pipes that the supeputers used to move about the city were nothing more than materialized thoughts.

    Lu Yin had been moving about in other creatures¡¯ thoughts! This realization caused Lu Yin to feel chills that covered his entire body.

    What a terrifying revtion this was! The entire Technocracy waspletely controlled by the Master Brain. Lu Yin would never have learned this detail if he had not Possessed an android with the strength of an Envoy, as it was impossible that any average android would be allowed this information.

    Androids could not betray the Technocracy. Emperor Luo was a cyborg that had originally been a human being, which meant that he had never been an android that waspletely controlled by a dominant consciousness. This had been the reason that Emperor Luo had been able to escape the Technocracy, and also why he was ignorant of the truth of the Technocracy. The true androids were not even capable of possessing a thought of escape.

    Lu Yin continued browsing the memories, and he was able to ess an iparably massive base of knowledge. Through these memories, Lu Yin was able to observe the war with Sky Creation Academy, as well as the war against the Human Domain. More and more memories kept pouring in.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin returned to the strange space filled with spheres of light once again.

    Lu Yin nced around. His Possession had ended, as his star essence had been consumed.

    The advantage of keeping a smaller amount of star essence on his person during a Possession was that he could somewhat limit the physical distance between himself and his target, but the disadvantage was that his Possessions were too brief.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s eyes open once more, he looked down at the soles of his feet. He was currently inside the physical thoughts of the Master Brain, so did that mean that the Master Brain had already analyzed every detail of Lu Yin? The Master Brain was in control of the entire Technocracy, so why did the war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy?

    More and more, Lu Yin felt that there was something wrong with the Technocracy. What had been Progenitor Hui¡¯s true purpose in establishing the Technocracy? Lu Yin was bing more desperate to learn the truth than even Hui Kong.

    An android with the power of an Envoy had ess to so much information that Lu Yin felt inspired, and he quickly continued rolling his die.

    One pip. Useless.

    He needed to wait ten days before he could roll the die again. Ten days was not long for cultivators.

    Lu Yin had already seen a lot of information about First Edition City with the gadget he had been provided. Everything he had ess to was various humans¡¯ impressions of the Technocracy.

    However, how could any of the humans be aware of the fact that the Master Brain covered the entire Technocracy, or that it was the Master Brain that had fought against the Human Domain for so many years and had traded with the Sixth Maind.

    Ten days quickly passed, and Lu Yin was impatient to roll his die again.

    One roll. Two. Three. It was not until his fourth roll that he managed to roll a six. The moment he entered the strange space, Lu Yin had a suspicion that he would find it more and more difficult to roll six pips if he continued on. He had already seen this pattern before, as the more frequently he used his die, the more difficult it became to roll three or six pips. The reverse was also true.

    There are many balls of light in the strange space, but Lu Yin immediately merged with a brighter orb. When he next opened his eyes, arge hand was falling. He was suddenly sent intoplete darkness, and then returned to the strange space as he was sent back to his body. Sweat poured out of his entire body, and the ck and white mist within his chest suddenly surged and increased a small bit. He had just died, and it had been an instantaneous death.

    Lu Yin''s pupils fluctuated a moment. Even though it had been an incredibly brief experience, he had realized that he had felt the power of a Progenitor during his Possession. It had felt the same as when the Progenitor of Combat had appeared at ZENITH, or when Lu Yin had seen the scene of the fight between Progenitors in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. When Lu Yin had Possessed the body, it had felt like the body of a corpse king that had the strength of a Envoy. That corpse king had been instantly killed by a Progenitor.

    Where had that been? The most likely answer was the Starfall Sea, just outside the horizontal ck hole.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. He had died without even seeing where he had been. This was the first time he had been killed by a Progenitor.

    His impression of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors had always been based off the fact that the Progenitor of Combat had been had been badly injured by the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power in the Innerverse, and also how the Progenitor of Secret Arts had destroyed Aeternus Nation, but had also been badly injured in the process.

    The fact that both Progenitors had been seriously wounded had given Lu Yin a bad impression of the Progenitors¡¯ strength. They were far from being able to match up to Progenitor Chen or the Rune Progenitor, and they could not evenpare to the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors. However, this p had been a wakeup call for Lu Yin: Progenitors were still Progenitors. No matter how weak the three Progenitors from the Sixth Maind might be within their realm, they had each trained, step by step, to reach their level. They had all opened their three meridian points as well, as it was a requirement to be a Progenitor.

    Anyone who managed to reach the level of a Progenitor would have been peerless within their realm. It was impossible to take such people lightly.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly; he had been pped to death by a Progenitor. That corpse king had also been unlucky. What had the creature been doing in front of a Progenitor? The creature had not even struck the Starfall Sea before it had died.

    Lu Yin continued rolling his die.

    He watched as the die slowly came to a stop at one pip, and then a piece of grilled meat fell out. Lu Yin pursed his lips, and the meat was instantly reduced to ash. He needed to wait another ten days.

    He had no idea when the First Protector would return, but Lu Yin was hoping it would not be far off from when Little R1Opleted making his androids.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin again raised his hand to continue rolling the die.

    Lu Yin had no idea if it was good luck or bad luck, but on his very first attempt, he rolled Possession.

    Lu Yin entered the mysterious space, and he did not hesitate at all before merging with a close and rtively bright orb, hoping it would be someone who was rather close to the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes as soon as he Possessed the new body. He was met by a very familiar scene: he was not in the Human Domain, but in First Edition City.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be able to Possess anyone in First Edition City. He had actually Possessed an android, so it could not be considered an actual creature.

    Lu Yin looked down a transportation tube at the city that was held up by the cloud of light and his eyes darted around. If anyone from the Technocracy saw him at this moment, they would be stupefied. This was because Lu Yin had Possessed an android that was missing a dominant consciousness. It was merely a tool that could be used at any time that had the strength of an Envoy.

    The city master heldplete control of First Edition City, and the city controlled half of the Technocracy. Under the city master¡¯s orders, countless androids had been assembled. Some of the androids were kept in First Edition City for the dominant consciousnesses to use, while others were sent to be used asbat units.

    Lu Yin had Possessed a topbat model android that had the strength of an Envoy.

    The die¡¯s Possession ability could allow Lu Yin to Possess the body of a biological creature or something simr. He had learned this after Possessing Tian Hou, as it had meant that even something with a body that was closer to a ck hole than a biological creature could be Possessed. After that, Lu Yin had also Possessed a mechanical ant, so an android was not really out of the question.

    He had previously believed that he merged with the consciousness of an individual when Possessing their body, but he hade to understand that it was the vessel that he Possessed as well. As long as there was a vessel, he could Possess it.

    There was no dominant consciousness present in the android, so it was nothing more than a tool. However, since it was able to be controlled by a consciousness, it was able to be Possessed.

    Lu Yin was unfortunate that there was no dominant consciousness in the android, as it meant that there were no memories avable. This Possession was wasted.

    He turned his head and looked around. The android was somewhere high up in First Edition City, but Lu Yin was unfamiliar with the location. He had only been to a few ces near the center, and the city was too big for him to have seen everything.

    Aside from the android that Lu Yin had Possessed, there were three others in the same location, and it seemed that they all possessed the strength of Envoys.

    It was not unusual for the same person to own four different androids with simr strength.

    Lu Yin moved the body, and walked it forward, as he wanted to look around. It would be best if he could find something useful, but as soon as the android moved, a nearby rm went off and strands of metal shot out from all directions to bind the android in ce.

    Lu Yin felt that this was a problem, as he had apparently been discovered. Not knowing what else to do, he moved to the room¡¯s door and punched, creating a deafening noise. Given the fact that the android was as strong as an Envoy, the void was shattered all around.

    The rm suddenly grew even more intense, and Lu Yin took the chance to evade the binding strands of metal approaching him.

    The android he had Possessed was located in a lightform structure that was very high up in the city. Lu Yin¡¯s attack on the door had torn the void, and it caused the lightform structure to generate sparks and grow chaotic.

    There was a transport tube nearby, and a row of supeputers¡ªno, a row of dominant consciousnesses exited the tube close to Lu Yin. There was the slightest flicker of light, which was an indication that the dominant consciousnesses were thinking andmunicating with each other.

    For them, seeing the Possessed android was like a human seeing a corpse rise up and move.

    Lu Yin frowned. The star essence that he had set aside for this Possession would notst long. Thinking quickly, he raised an arm up high, and mmed it down. In front of him, the face of a massive bear suddenly appeared with raised arms. It was the vice city master.

    Not only did Lu Yin''s android fail to injure the vice city master¡¯s bear-shaped android, to Lu Yin¡¯s shock, the lightform structure cracked beneath his feet, and he fell.

    The vice city master looked confused. "What''s going on? Who¡¯s using the android? Are they trying to rebel?"

    Suddenly, the bear¡¯s expression froze. It seemed they were receiving a message. After less than a second, rage overtook the bear¡¯s face, and its gaze turned malevolent. Unbelievable as it was, this android had gone out of control, but how was that even possible?

    There was no such thing in the Technocracy as an android going out of control. Could it be a cyborg that had once been a human? No, as how could such a thing be in this ce?

    The bear form of the vice city master looked down.

    Half of the android body that Lu Yin had Possessed waspletely shattered. He took a moment, and then looked up, meeting the vice city master¡¯s eyes. They each saw the shock on the other¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin was amazed at the vice city master¡¯s strength, as the bear had not even attacked Lu Yin. All the bear had done was block Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and yet the android with the strength of an Envoy had been shattered. This was an unimaginable level of power.

    As for the vice city master¡¯s heart sank as it looked down again at Lu Yin. The bear shouted, ¡°Who are you?¡± as it charged down.

    Lu Yin forced the half-destroyed android to raise itself up and release as powerful of an attack as possible. The next instant, the vice city master was there, pressing a paw to the back of the android Lu Yin had Possessed.

 Chapter 1720: The Sophic Rift

    Chapter 1720: The Sophic Rift

    The moment Lu Yin opened his own eyes again, he immediately rose to go outside. He was trying to find where he had just been in the city. However, themotion from Envoy-level androids fighting had not spread to where Lu Yin and the others stayed, as First Edition City was just too big.

    Given such a bigmotion, it was guaranteed that First Edition City would investigate the matter, and given the abilities of the Technocracy, it was possible that Lu Yin could be discovered at any moment. The First Protector had still not returned, which made this a very bad situation.

    Lu Yin left his quarters and saw the First Protector outside with his back to Lu Yin.

    "Senior!" Lu Yin was ecstatic.

    The First Protector held up a hand. His face was solemn. Lu Yin followed the old man¡¯s eyes to see countless androids and several of the enormous mechanical ws had surrounded by them from all directions.

    The Cloud Valley Master''s swordsman''s face was pale; was it over? Had they been discovered?

    The vice city master emerged from the true universe, still using the bear-shaped android. They looked at the swordsman in a searching manner. "Bring out everyone from your group."

    The human subconsciously nced over at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He quickly stepped forward, and at the same time, the First Protector, Emperor Luo, and everyone else in their group followed the swordsman out.

    Lu Yin was nervous, as he had created a bigger mess than he had expected. He was also scared of the power within First Edition City that left even Arch-Elder Zen on edge. Lu Yin was worried that someone would be able to see through his disguise that the First Protector had arranged for him, as that would mean that they would have to try to escape.

    His die¡¯s Possession ability had always brought Lu Yin great benefits, but this time it had caused terrible problems, as there was no way out of this.

    The bear form of the vice city master nced at the human Envoy, Lu Yin, and even the First Protector. He saw all of the humans, as there were not many in their group. This was strange, could it not have been them?

    "Vice City Master, what happened?" the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman asked nervously.

    The bear and the human stared at each other. "Have any of your people left recently?"

    The Envoy instantly replied, "No."

    The huge bear¡¯s face swept back over all of the humans. None of them showed any signs of injuries, and it was impossible for any of them to have arrived before the vice city master, given their speed. Also, there had been no trace of them near the location of the rogue android. This matter had nothing to do with these humans.

    "Apart from you Sixth Mainders, are there any other humans?" the bear asked.

    The swordsman shook his head. "No, this is all of us."

    "Are you sure? If we find anyone else, we will kill them without any mercy," the vice city master replied.

    The swordsman was quick to try to reassure the bear, "Anyone else is not part of our group, as we¡¯re all here."

    The bear nodded. "It was best to do this, as there could easily have been misunderstandings otherwise.¡±

    With that, the vice city master and all of the other androids left.

    The swordsman heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the surrounding androids all leave. While he had no idea what had happened, he felt that anything going on had to have something to do with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still just happy to see the First Protector had returned, as his absence would have been very difficult to exin.

    "What happened?" the First Protector asked in a deep voice. As soon as he had returned, he had been met with this situation. If he had not hidden his strength, he would have wanted to flee.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman shook his head, and then looked at Lu Yin with a bewildered expression.

    The First Protector also looked over at Lu Yin. "What did you do this time?"

    Lu Yin quickly tried to clear himself. "I don''t know. I was in seclusion until just now, and I didn¡¯t do anything. Senior, you saw mee out."

    The First Protector thought about Lu Yin¡¯s answer. He had returned a few days ago, and the Technocracy¡¯s androids had only just surrounded them. The First Protector had immediately looked for Lu Yin, and had seen that the youth had been present.

    Could there be other humans in First Edition City aside from their group?

    Who could possibly enter the Technocracy¡¯s capitol without being detected at all?

    What Lu Yin was most concerned about was the possibility that this incident would change their ns to follow Little R1O to the battlefield. There were only a few ways to get to First Edition City, as it had always been difficult for anyone to hide from the Technocracy¡¯s surveince and sneak in. This incident would be a terrible shock to First Edition City.

    Lu Yin remained uneasy as he and the others waited for another ten days. After ten days, his gadget he had received from First Edition City beeped quietly. It was a call request from Little R1O.

    "Ah Qi, my friend! I¡¯ve made all of the androids, see?" Little R1O excitedly showed off his recent creations to Lu Yin. Next to the researcher were rows of androids. There were a hundred of them, and they had all been made from the materials that had been provided by First Edition City. Little R1O had built his small army; these were the androids that were to be sent to the war against Sky Creation Academy.

    This sort of thing was considered an honor by any of the dominant consciousnesses that lived in First Edition City. Simr to how Lu Yin hadpeted to enter Astral-10 from the Great Yu Empire, the dominant consciousnesses could receive glory by fighting against each other.

    The Master Brain essentially controlled the entire Technocracy with its thoughts. Dominant consciousnesses were beings that could be controlled, but were also capable of independent thought. They also strove and fought for their aplishments and desires.

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised at this news. "Congrattions, Little R1O."

    "Ah Qi, I¡¯ve already submitted the application to the vice city master. You can choose a few of you nsmen or some other people to go with me to our battlefield with Sky Creation Academy, that is, the Sophic Rift. However, the one who brought you here, that swordsman, is not allowed to join." Little R1O looked a bit embarrassed to deliver this news. He had been clearly told by the vice city master that everyone in Lu Yin¡¯s group could go, but had very recently been told that the Envoy from the Sixth Maind was no longer wee to join the group.

    Lu Yin hesitated. "Little R1O, could you ask the vice city master again? All of us are hoping to go see the battlefield."

    Little R1O sighed. "I''m sorry, my friend. I would definitely do that if it would help, but the deputy mayor was very firm about this."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "If that''s how it is, then just forget it. We¡¯ll go."

    Lu Yin then suddenly grew serious as he continued, "Little R1O, I don¡¯t want to lie to you; this trip to the battlefield isn¡¯t just because I want to see it. I also want to try to do as much as possible to stop the fighting, or at least stall things for a bit so that First Edition City can send more androids with us to the Outerverse to fight against the Human Domain.

    "This is my goal for this trip. I don''t want to lie to you about this."

    Little R1O smiled. "I know, the vice city master already told me. Ah Qi, do whatever you want, as it won''t affect our city. However-" He continued in a helpless tone, "I can''t help you. You can only try to do this on your own. Don''t worry though, I¡¯ll do my best to bring you back. After all, we¡¯re friends."

    "Thank you, Little R1O." Lu Yin genuinely felt grateful. He chatted with Little R1O for a bit longer before hanging up. He then let out a sigh of relief, as it seemed that First Edition City did not doubt their group.

    Despite countless years passing, no one had managed to sneak into the Technocracy undetected. Hui Kong had tantly forced his way in at first, and it was unknown why First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy had never done anything about his presence. He had been allowed to live in the Technocracy for many, many years.

    First Edition City had easily been able to determine the location of Lu Yin and the others in his group, which had made it easy to exclude them as suspects. However, it was their group that had been excluded as suspects, not the Sixth Maind.

    First Edition City had agreed to allow Lu Yin and the others to follow Little R1O to the battlefield, but the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman was kept behind as a hostage.

    Lu Yin believed that First Edition City would never be able to determine the truth of what had happened. They felt that no one was able to enter their city without being detected, and no one could guess at the existence of Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift that was his die.

    No matter what First Edition City believed to be true about the matter, Lu Yin was finally able to start towards the Sophic Rift.

    the Sophic Rift was the name of the battlefield where First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy fought each other. No matter how the location of the battlefield changed, the name never changed.

    No one knows what the Sophic Rift meant, especially humans. Many people had looked into the matter after learning the name of the battlefield was the Sophic Rift, as they hoped to be able to use the name as a starting point to look into the reason behind the endless war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. However, no attempts had ever seeded.

    However, Lu Yin hade up with his own guess: the Sophic Rift was a gap in thought. The entire Technocracy was controlled by the Master Brain''s materialized thoughts, but the battlefield could be a hole in the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts. This was what Lu Yin suspected to be true.

    How could anyone who did not know the truth that formed the structure of the Technocracy guess at such a possibility?

    Lu Yin had no idea if his thoughts were on track orpletely wrong, and even if he was correct, he still did not understand why. Why would the Master Brain be divided? Could this be the same as a human with a multiple personality disorder?

    The following day, Lu Yin received a message: Please go to the provided coordinates within two hours and report to the party there - First Edition City¡¯s Third Fleet.

    Lu Yin knew almost nothing about First Edition City¡¯s fleets, but it seemed that the Third Fleet was about to be dispatched to the Sophic Rift to join the war against Sky Creation Academy.

    For the first time since they had tried to enter the Technocracy from Endless Weave, Lu Yin and the First Protector were parting ways with the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman.

    The Envoy stared at Lu Yin with eyes full of fear and questions about his future.

    Lu Yin whispered, "As long as you don''t anything stupid, you can return to the Sixth Maind and be at peace."

    "You won''t hurt me, right? If you get caught, I¡¯ll end up being taken down with you," the Envoy asked. This was his greatest fear from the moment that Lu Yin had mentioned that they could travel to the battlefield with Little R1O. The swordsman had felt torn, but he could not betray Lu Yin and the First Protector.

    If the Sixth Mainder betrayed them, he would instantly die. Even if he did not expose them, he would be dragged down the moment that Lu Yin and the others had their true identities revealed, or if they did anything to harm First Edition City.

    No matter what, the Envoy did not see a bright future for himself.

    This was what was most terrifying for the Cloud Valley Master''s swordsman; no matter how he looked at things, it seemed highly unlikely that he would be able to safely return to the Outerverse.

    The First Protector coldly warned the Envoy, "Don''t worry, we don''t want to be discovered, and that¡¯s all you need to know."

    The Envoy let out a sigh of relief. It was guaranteed that these people would be in grave danger if they were caught, so none of them would want to be discovered. "I can trust that."

    Lu Yin spoke in a light tone, "Didn''t I already tell you to write down everything that¡¯s happened and give it to someone you trust? That way, if you die, you¡¯ll still be able to expose us, and we don¡¯t want to die with you."

    The Envoy¡¯s only option at this moment was to trust Lu Yin and the others.

    Two hourster, to the east of First Edition City, Lu Yin, the First Protector, Emperor Luo, and three Envoys who had apanied them all along saw Little R1O. He was apanied by an android.

    "Ah Qi, this way!" Little R1O was very happy to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled and went to meet the researcher.

    As soon as he was face to face with Lu Yin, Little R1O apologized again, "I¡¯m sorry, my friend, but I wasn¡¯t able to convince the vice city master to allow all of you to go to the Sophic Rift."

    Lu Yin just smiled. "You didn¡¯t need to do that, just us here will be going."

    Little R1O looked past Lu Yin and saw the few others, along with the First Protector. "Just the few of you? You can bring more. The vice city master just said that that swordsman isn¡¯t allowed to go. Everyone else has permission."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. If we can¡¯t seed, then having more people with us will just mean more deaths," Lu Yin replied. First Edition City could never have dreamed that Lu Yin had been hoping for some ident to separate him and hispanions from the Sixth Maind cultivators. Before the vice city master had intervened, Lu Yin had been trying toe up with a n to get rid of the Sixth Mainders after they reached the Sophic Rift.

 Chapter 1721: The Third Fleet

    Chapter 1721: The Third Fleet

    Once Lu Yin and the others met with Little R1O, they were quite close to the Third Fleet.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin saw First Edition City¡¯s Third Fleet.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was not the only one shocked, as the First Protector had the same reaction.

    Spacecraft spread across space and out of sight. There were at least a million vessels, nearly 100,000 of which were battleships. The remainder were all transports or androids. There were hundreds of millions of androids. This was the Third Fleet.

    It was no wonder that the Technocracy was able to contend with the Human Domain. Lu Yin had not understood this in the past, as cultivators were quitemon in the Human Domain, and there were countless cultivators at just the Outerverse¡¯s border. While there were not that many cultivators who had reached the level of an Explorer or beyond, once they were gathered from all across the Outerverse, the numbers were quite impressive. This was also not even considering the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, or the 3,000 hidden worlds.

    The Hall of Honor was able to mobilize everyst human cultivator.

    At this moment, Lu Yin finally realized that the Technocracy had an astonishing number of androids. In addition to the androids and the battleships, there were different kinds of technological weapons. These were not only the ones that were visible to the naked eye, but also the ones that remained hidden within the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts. All of space throughout the entire Technocracy was packed with mechanical weapons.

    Lu Yin and the First Protector were also only looking at the Third Fleet. First Edition City still had two more fleets, and those forces were absolutely capable of standing up to the Human Domain.

    There was a massive sphere at the center of the Third Fleet that looked like a, but was not. It was entirelyposed of some mysterious, crystal-like material. It looked a great deal like crystal, and it refracted the light in a beautiful manner.

    Lu Yin initially believed the sphere to be some kind of weapon, but Little R1O gave an exnation, and Lu Yin finally understood that the sphere was actually themander of the Third Fleet: Chong.

    The prevalent creatures living in the Technocracy were the dominant consciousness, and they were able to take control of any mechanical form that was able to house their consciousness. The sphere was actually such an object, and it was controlled by the dominant consciousness known as Chong.

    "The Third Fleet¡¯s Admiral Chong is quite powerful, though you can¡¯t tell from outside. After reaching the battlefield, you would have realized that Admiral Chong¡¯s body is a celestial body with a powerful gravity field due to beingpressed as much as possible. Any attack from themander will match a power level of a million." Little R1O then quietly shared that he had been assigned to a battleship. Naturally, Lu Yin and others had been assigned to the same ce.

    Lu Yin was surprised at Admiral Chong¡¯s strength. "Attacks with a power level of a million?"

    Little R1O nodded. "That¡¯s right. The most powerful things in the universe are not you humans, nor us androids, cyborgs, or even the astral beasts. The celestial bodies are the most powerful, and there are some objects or phenomena that are able to shatter everything we think we know. You should already know about Stellr Tempest and the ck hole that forms a barrier across the Human Domain¡¯s Starfall Sea. Both of those are celestial bodies.

    "Admiral Chong uses a type of celestial body for his body. The material that makes that sphere ispressed, and by shifting the density, he is able to unleash attacks from the sphere. Each of those attacks can reach a power level of a million. He¡¯s one of First Edition City¡¯s most powerfulmanders, and themanders are second only to the city master."

    "What about the vice city master?" Lu Yin asked out of curiosity.

    Little R1O shook his head. "I don''t know. The vice city master has always stayed within the city and has never left or stepped onto the battlefield. Their precise strength is unknown."

    Little R1O did not know, but Lu Yin was aware that the android that he had Possessed had been as strong as an Envoy, and yet it had been almost entirely destroyed by the vice city master simply blocking an attack from Lu Yin. The Vice City Master¡¯s power level absolutely exceeded a million.

    The higher Lu Yin climbed, the greater the powerhouses he encountered.

    At one point in time, Yuan Shi had been the most powerful being Lu Yin had ever seen, as the old man had a power level of a million. However, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts of power had recently been shattered after a corpse king he had Possessed had been destroyed by a Progenitor, and also from the scene he had witnessed on Mount Punishment in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. Lu Yin had witnessed and even experienced the power of Progenitors.

    The Third Fleet had received its orders, and they started towards the Sophic Rift. Their departure was truly spectacr. Many androids from First Edition City watched, and many dominant consciousnesses remained in the transport tubes to watch while chatting with each other. It was exactly like how humans would see their armies off; First Edition City was seeing the Third Fleet off.

    Among the viewers, somewhere in the city, the vice city master was standing in a respectful manner.

    "If you can''t find anything, then just stop investigating this.¡± A deep voice spoke.

    The vice city master felt reluctant to agree. "City master, I have never missed anyone trying to sneak into the Technocracy! Everyone has been discovered and either killed or expelled. We must find out who sneaked in this time, as to do otherwise would be neglecting our responsibilities."

    "Maybe it''s a human¡¯s innate gift," the deep voice replied. It was full of majesty and grandeur, but spoke in a very casual manner.

    The vice city master felt frustrated. "City Master, allow your subordinate to continue investigating! I will definitely get to the bottom of this; it must be connected to the Sixth Maind."

    "The Sixth Maind? They¡¯ve already lost everything, so there¡¯s no need to worry about them. If you want, you can keep looking into this. It¡¯s your call."

    "So what about the Sixth Mainders?"

    "Just don''t worry about them. They¡¯ve lost their Sixth Maind, so they¡¯re nothing more than a bunch of poor homeless bastards now."

    "Yes, City Master." After speaking, the vice city master¡¯s bear-shaped android left the room in a respectful manner.

    After a bit, the deep voice continued, "They were already deceived, and then they took the wrong path with their cultivation. Now, they¡¯ve lost their homnd. They will need to take responsibility for their own mistakes. They have not yet paid the full price due."

    After that, the voice disappeared.

    Not even the vice city master could determine where this deep voice came from. The city master of First Edition City had been the ruler of it for a long, long time.

    ¡­

    The Technocracy was about the same size as the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse. First Edition City was master of half of that territory, which meant that their domain epassed an area equivalent to more than thirty weaves.

    First Edition City¡¯s location within its territory was rather close to the Sophic Rift, but because the entire Third Fleet was moving together, their speed was much slower than moving independently, and it took them several days to reach the battlefield.

    There was also arge number of cyborgs within the Third Fleet. These cyborgs were the same as Emperor Luo, as they had originally been human or some other biological creature that had then been adapted and modified. The most important thing about the cyborgs was that theycked a dominant consciousness and that the bodies had their original minds.

    It seemed that it would make sense for the cyborgs to be the vanguard of the war of attrition that First Edition City waged with Sky Creation Academy, but that was not actually the situation. No matter if it was the battles with the Human Domain or Sky Creation Academy, few cyborgs entered the fighting. Most of them lived throughout the Technocracy, and they rarely joined in the fighting.

    Lu Yin found this quite strange.

    Of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s militaries, the Redemption Army he intended to create would be made up of his former enemies. The Redemption Army would be sent to the most dangerous battlefields, as it would keep the Lu Elite Troops and the colossal giants from being the tip of the spear. Lu Yin¡¯s secret wish was to see all wars fought with androids instead of living humans.

    The Technocracy was truly an odd ce.

    With all of the oddities piquing his curiosity, Lu Yin led Emperor Luo as the two of them followed Little R1O on a tour of the Third Fleet.

    "There are no fewer than ten research teams here with the Third Fleet. Some of them are here to maintain and repair the spaceships, others are here to repair the androids, while others are supposed to find the enemy¡¯s ws and weaknesses on the battlefield. War here in the Technocracy is quite different from how you wage your wars in the Human Domain. There¡¯s nothing here like regional tactics, as our fight is through technology and invention," Little R1O exined as they approached a vessel that held a research team.

    The research team they were approaching was called the Boom Boom Team, and their focus was thest thing that Little R1O had mentioned: finding the enemy¡¯s weakness. At the moment, they were studying the battlefield before arriving on it, as the Fourth Fleet had sent back data that could be studied. The research team was studying the most recent androids and weaponry that Sky Creation Academy had fielded.

    There were several people, but Lu Yin and the others did not disturb them.

    Little R1O was not familiar with most of the other research teams, and they passed by one, crossing a tether that connected one vessel to another in order to continue their exploration.

    One by one, Lu Yin saw several of the research teams. Some of them were friendly and greeted the three people and even invited them to visit, while others vanished behind closed doors.

    In addition to the research teams, they also stumbled upon the armory, and they were allowed to enter and examine some of the weapons.

    Lu Yin found a bit of material that seemed simr to what made up the surface of Admiral Chong¡¯s massive body. Lu Yin picked it up and exerted a good bit of his strength, but the substance showed no reaction at all.

    "Over there is the ship with the cyborgs, but there¡¯s no reason to meet with them. They¡¯re narrow-minded, and no one likes them," Little R1O spat in disgust.

    Lu Yin nodded in agreement. He had no interest in seeing the cyborgs.

    Two days passed as Lu Yin wandered about the Third Fleet. If he had been an outsider visiting the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s militaries, would he ever have been allowed such freedom while exploring? He had even visited the Third Fleet¡¯s armory and handled their weapons.

    Just when they were about to return, Lu Yin paused and turned to look towards the cyborgs¡¯ ship. He sensed eyes locked onto him that held surprise and disbelief.

    Lu Yin frowned; someone was staring at them. Given the emotions behind the eyes that were looking at them, was it possible that they had been recognized? That should be impossible, as they had not been discovered even in First Edition City.

    The next moment, a woman emerged from the cyborgs¡¯ vessel. Her face was half-mechanical and half-human. The human features were beautiful, but the mechanical aspects were a bit depressing, especially the eyes. One of her eyes was a normal person''s, while the other was green.

    The woman picked up a foot and entered the true universe. She tore through the void to reappear in outer space in front of Lu Yin and the others. She opened the hatch of the spacecraft they were in and instantly appeared less than a meter away from Lu Yin and the others.

    Neither Lu Yin nor Emperor Luo moved, but Little R1O shouted, "What do you want?"

    The woman¡¯s eyes were staring past Lu Yin at Emperor Luo. "How dare youe back here!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes twitched, and he remembered the video that Emperor Luo had shared before. He had been attacked by a woman; could this be her?

    "I don''t want to. I¡¯m just following orders," Emperor Luo replied stiffly.

    The woman stared at Emperor Luo,pletely unconcerned by Lu Yin. "Give me everything and I¡¯ll forget what happened."

    Emperor Luo stood in ce, silent and unmoving.

    The woman¡¯s mechanical side of her body moved, and she suddenly attacked. She grabbed for Emperor Luo, but he simply raised a hand. The beam attack that the hand was capable of releasing made the woman feel danger, and she reflexively retreated.

    Emperor Luo made no further moves, and Lu Yin pushed the man¡¯s hand down.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. "He belongs to me now."

    The biological half of the woman''s face frowned, and she continued staring at Emperor Luo. "The strength of an Envoy? You definitely have the power of an Envoy."

    Emperor Luo lowered his hand and quietly moved to stand behind Lu Yin.

    The woman finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "Who are you?"

    Before Lu Yin could even reply, Little R1O burst out in anger, "Who are you? You dare treat my friends like this? These are my Little R1O''s friends!"

    The woman was shocked. "The Sixth Maind?"

    "Yes, he¡¯s taken refuge with my Sixth Maind. He¡¯s responsible for protecting us on our trip to First Edition City to negotiate with the vice city master. What is it that you want?" Lu Yin spoke slowly, and he deliberately made it clear that he was upset.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1722: Skirmish

    Chapter 1722: Skirmish

    The female cyborg snorted derisively as she stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t care who he is now; the things from back then have to be returned. Your Sixth Maind doesn''t research any technologies, so give the data to us, and we can provide you with what you need."

    "We need hundreds of thousands of androids," Lu Yin instantly replied.

    The woman snapped back, "I''m not exaggerating; the Technocracy haspleted a tremendous amount of research in that field, and another android is nothing more than an extra vessel most of the time, which means they¡¯re not worth as much as you believe. Trading something worthless for a good rtionship is a good deal, and it also works out for you. We¡¯ll even help you in your negotiations with the vice city master."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You''re a cyborg, so why would you speak up for us?"

    "Hey, cyborg, don¡¯t you see Little R1O standing here? I''m the genius Little R1O! Move back now!" Little R1O shouted and moved in front of Lu Yin.

    The woman turned around and left in a very decisive manner. "The Sophic Rift is a very cruel ce. I don¡¯t know what you n to do there, but I hope you make it back alive."

    With that, she left.

    Little R1O was truly furious. "Ignoring me, Little R1O? That¡¯s too much! They need to be punished! Those cyborgs are getting more and more unruly."

    Lu Yin patted Little R1O on the shoulder. "Just forget it. It really doesn''t matter. Don¡¯t let her ruin your mood."

    "Ah Qi, I''m sorry. Not only did I fail to aplish what I promised you, I also caused you to suffer such an insult; you were threatened by a cyborg! Don''t worry, I won''t forget about this matter."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Little R1O, I hope you¡¯ll remember that our friendship is pure and has been untainted by any ulterior motives, so please just let this matter drop. If you defend me, outsiders will see it as a blessing in disguise. If I allow you to do this, it actually won¡¯t help me out. For my sake, and for our friendship, just drop it. Cheer up, as only when you¡¯re happy will you be inspired to do further research.

    "That woman¡¯s just a bystander in our lives, and we¡¯ll forget her before you know it."

    Little R1O stared at Lu Yin for a moment, emotion clouding his eyes. "Ah Qi, you are too- too¡­ Right, open-minded. The term you humans use is open-minded. Ah Qi, you¡¯re too open-minded. Only your boldness and magnanimity can stop this war. You know what, I take back what I thought before: Ah Qi, you can definitely do this!

    "There¡¯s a certain fearless spirit among some humans, and you have it, Ah Qi."

    Lu Yin patted Little R1O on the shoulder again. "I just don''t want our friendship to get polluted by other interests. Of course, if something happens to me and I can''t deal with it by myself, I¡¯ll definitely ask my friends for help."

    "Of course! Don''t try to be polite." Little R1O was very happy.

    Emperor Luo quietly watched as Lu Yin spoke with Little R1O, until he finally could not listen any longer. He stared off into the distance. The cyborg woman was still staring at Emperor Luo from the distant spaceship, and her eyes were incredibly cold.

    After they parted with Little R1O, Lu Yin''s expression fell away. "Who is that woman?"

    "One of the district managers for First Edition City. There¡¯s a region beneath First Edition City, and it¡¯spletely inhabited by cyborgs. I used to live there."

    "Is she the one who was in that recording you shared with me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Emperor Luo nodded. "She may not be one of the most powerful cyborgs, but she is definitely the most conniving. She¡¯s the only cyborg who¡¯s able to meet with the city master."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "And yet you were able to escape from someone like her back then?"

    "She wasn¡¯t as powerful then as she is now. She¡¯s improved, just like me."

    "Then how do you know she can meet with the city master?"

    Emperor Luo¡¯s voice dropped low, "Her entire district knows her, and she¡¯s basically a saintess to all the cyborgs. That¡¯s because she¡¯s the one who managed to get the cyborgs to be allowed to live in First Edition City."

    The term saintess was one that spurred people¡¯s imaginations. Anyone who was able to be referred to as a saintess was someone who was treated as a spiritual pir of amunity. That woman was the cyborgs¡¯ spiritual pir.

    "Why does she care so much about getting the technology to develop androids with the strength of Envoys?" Lu Yin asked.

    Emperor Luo exined, "So that she can work with a research team, though I don''t know specific what for. There¡¯s more than just one research team in First Edition City that has the means to design androids with the power of Envoys, but they can¡¯t actually make them due to ack of resources. Humans need to survive a stellr tribtion in order to be able to break through and be Envoys, while there are harsh requirements for the materials needed to produce androids at that level.

    "Materials form the very foundation of an android¡¯s strength, which is precisely why there aren¡¯t very many androids in the entire Technocracy that have the strength of an Envoy, as the materials that are required for those are simply too rare."

    Lu Yin had heard mentions of materials more sinceing to the Technocracy than ever before, and he was gaining more and more confidence in his earlier guesses.

    With Emperor Luo being targeted, and their close proximity to the Sophic Rift, Lu Yin was no longer in any mood to simply hang out.

    Soon, there was a brilliant sh from far away, and it was quickly followed by a shockwave that was powerful enough to distort space. A violent force shook the spacecraft Lu Yin was in, and an rm went off. They had arrived at the Sophic Rift.

    Before seeing it with his own eyes, Lu Yin had been unable to even imagine the scene of hundreds of millions of androids and mechanical creatures fighting each other in space. Battleships shed with each other, and machines tore each other apart. There were even odd attacks that appeared from nowhere.

    The Third Fleet was given no time to prepare at all, as the moment they arrived at the Sophic Rift, there was a battle. Countless of the giant mechanical ws suddenly appeared to grab at the spaceships, and countless beams of light shot out from the Third Fleet¡¯s battleships. All of the nearby space was lit up for a great distance in all directions.

    There was a massive shadow and a terrible roar. It was an enormous mechanical giant that was charging at the Third Fleet with a hand held high. The mechanical arm continued into a massive sword that shed down, slicing through the void. This was a strength that was beyond the scope of an Enlighter, and an entire line of the Third Fleet¡¯s vessels was destroyed.

    The ruined ships were notpletely destroyed, and they merged together to form a giant cannon that aimed at the mechanical giant. There was a boom, and the mechanical giant''s sword was struck by the cannon st. The giant was sent tumbling backwards, the edge of its sword cracked.

    Waves of terror swept the entire fleet.

    This was merely what Lu Yin saw in the first instant on the battlefield. The Sophic Rift was far more intense than he imagined it would be.

    He suddenly felt that First Edition City had held back their firepower when facing the Human Domain, nothing more than a minor skirmish on the side. It was clear from seeing the Sophic Rift that First Edition City¡¯s primary concern was Sky Creation Academy.

    The mechanical giants were Sky Creation Academy¡¯s androids. Each of the giants was tens of thousands of meters tall, and each one was iparably massive. There were also countless writhing mechanical creatures within the Third Fleet that looked simr to an octopus, and they suddenly took action and shot towards the giants.

    Countless spaceships appeared in the distance, and the Third Fleet¡¯s battleships turned tounch a volley of attacks at the same time that the distant ships attacked.

    Boom

    Boom

    Boom

    Space everywhere was churning. There were nos on the battlefield, though if there ever had been, they had long since beenpletely destroyed.

    Little R1O and Lu Yin were situated in the middle of the Third Fleet, and they were not far from Admiral Chong. Even though they were able to clearly see the battlefield and were witnessing its fierce cruelty, they were a vast distance away from the fighting.

    Little R1O became nervous, and his face grew pale. He watched for himself as battleships were destroyed. Each of those vessels held hundreds of androids, and even though their strength fell far short of the androids he had designed and made, they were still androids. All of them had disappeared without any sign of resistance, and the debris from their passing filled the area.

    If the ship that Little R1O had been assigned to was simrly attacked, he believed he would be done for.

    Lu Yin, the First Protector, and the others stared into the distance at the bright lights that continuously flickered. Each sh represented the end of some spaceship or mechanical creature. All they could see was war and the endless destruction of machinery.

    "This is the battlefield where First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy fight each other," the First Protectormented in an emotional tone. "The fighting between the Human Domain and First Edition City has never been this intense. This fighting seems to bepletely devoid of all tactics; it closer resembles a desperate fight for mutual destruction."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. If his Lu Elite Troops entered this battlefield, they would struggle to gain any sort of advantage. While the average soldiers in that army was stronger than the average android on this battlefield and possessed protective measures far beyond anything Lu Yin had seen any other army possess, their numbers were too few, and theycked top-tier powerhouses with true strength.

    Attacks as powerful as what Enlighters were capable of, or even what Envoys could unleash, would asionally appear in all different direction. This was even disregarding that Lu Yin had already seen several androids within the Third Fleet that had the strength of an Envoy. When he had apanied Little R1O in exploring the Third Fleet, Lu Yin had seen some truly bizarre androids, such as walking cube, a heat source that had eyes, and much more.

    It was impossible to guess what sort of power such bizarre things could release, and Lu Yin knew for absolute certainty that his Lu Elite Troops would suffer if they faced such an army.

    Additionally, Lu Yin and the others were only seeing the first minor bit ofbat on the battlefield, and things were settled within less than a day. Seeing the unfathomable amount of debris filling space, Lu Yin turned to ask Little R1O, "Is all of this trash still useful?"

    Little R1O replied, "Some of it can be recycled, and some can''t, but we just leave it for the scavengers."

    "I''ve always been curious, who do the scavengers belong to?" Lu Yin asked.

    Little R1O thought for a moment. "Both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy work to produce scavengers, and they work together to clean the battlefield. If they didn¡¯t, the armies wouldn¡¯t be able to move a single inch into the Sophic Rift."

    "Where do the scavengers take the trash?" Lu Yin asked.

    Little R1O shook his head. "I don''t know."

    After a while, Little R1O told Lu Yin, "Ah Qi, we¡¯re about to reach the center of the battlefield. The Fourth Fleet is pulling back to return to First Edition City and replenish their resources. After that, the Third Fleet will need to take over, and then the real battle will start. Is there anything you can do to stop this war?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "I want to find Sky Creation Academy¡¯smander here in the Sophic Rift and talk to him."

    Little R1O nodded. "Best of luck, my friend. The fighting here isn¡¯t ceaseless, and there are moments of peace. You can act as a special envoy at that time, and I hope you seed."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Little R1O, if I pull this off, could you visit my home? I, Ah Qi, would like to invite you."

    Little R1O was thrilled to receive an invitation. "That would be great! I''ve wanted to see the human regions for a long time, so that would be perfect. Oh, also, I¡¯ll send some of my androids over to keep you safe."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No need. We can protect ourselves."

    ¡­

    Off in the distance, a bright light approached from far away, and it quickly shot past. The next moment, the ship that Little R1O had been assigned to was split in two. More than just that spacecraft, dozens of ships behind had been severed as well.

    This had been an overwhelming attack, and it had note from a sharp de like a sword or knife, but from a blunt object.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1723: Contact With The Lost Course Army

    Chapter 1723: Contact With The Lost Course Army

    As the forces of Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City shed, a distant spacecraft suddenly exploded. The force of the explosion shot out shrapnel in all directions, and one for the hatches had been propelled by the force, and it had shot forward like a bullet, and it had been the cause of the loss of Little R1O¡¯s ship.

    This was something that was perfectlymon in the Sophic Rift. This ce was a terrible meat grinder, and both sides of the war were constantly burning through their resources.

    Lu Yin stood in outer space, and his head slightly tipped to the side as a bit of metal shot by. The surface of the shrapnel burned away, as its speed had surpassed what it could withstand.

    Behind him and a bit off to the side, a giant mechanical w moved to grab Lu Yin, but heshed out with a hand and grabbed it. He threw it forward, amplifying the force of the throw with the use of the Oveying Stacks Path. There was too much power behind Lu Yin¡¯s throw, and the w smashed through multiple ships that hadid in its path.

    From the perspective of the entire battlefield, Lu Yin only upied a tiny corner that no one paid any attention to.

    Instead, everyone¡¯s attention was locked on the battle between two behemoths a long way off.

    Not only Lu Yin was enthralled by the fight, but even the First Protector was amazed at the sight.

    They were watching Admiral Chong reveal his strength. The admiral was clearly just a sphere, but it was capable of generating a terrifying gravitational field. Everything nearby would be pulled towards the admiral, including even light and sound. No one dared approach Admiral Chong, with the sole exception of an iparably huge mechanical giant.

    This giant far surpassed the size of even the Warden of Gaia''s Swamp. This monstrosity¡¯s size exceeded that of a, and was simr to the size of Admiral Chong. Lu Yin watched as the giant punched right in front of Admiral Chong. The force of the enormous fist was offset by the terrifying gravity of the sphere and was redirected in all directions. The attack swept over the battlefield.

    Everywhere, no matter if they were from First Edition City or Sky Creation Academy, every spacecraft and mechanical creature was destroyed.

    The shockwave from the exchange was so powerful that it even reached Lu Yin.

    This was a battle between beings with power levels of over a million.

    Unlike humans who had reached such a level of strength, the machines used technological methods in theirbat: this was pure destructive power. These mechanical beings did not enter the true universe, nor did they use battle techniques or have innate gifts. These beings from the Technocracy used brutal destructive power and toughness.

    It was utterly impossible within the Human Domain, and so it was unimaginable that the Technocracy could create machines that could exert a power level of over a million.

    Hundreds of millions of androids fought each other, and the end result was a literal sea of debris.

    Lu Yin stared out at all of the materials that were floating about, but his thoughts were on the data that Huan Sha had analyzed and how she had discovered that some of these materials always disappeared.

    Off in the distance, reflective materials covering Admiral Chong''s body sloughed off. Every time something fell off, a powerful gravitational wave would sweep out in one direction. Before Lu Yin could even react, the First Protector grabbed him, and they both disappeared. Where Lu Yin had just stood, gravity suddenly distorted space, and everything there was reduced to dust.

    Lu Yin reappeared far away, and he heaved a sigh of relief, as he had almost been wiped out by Admiral Chong.

    "That¡¯s an attack from someone with a power level of a million; they can affect a massive area, so be careful," the First Protector cautioned.

    Lu Yin stared into the distance at the iparably massive mechanical giant that had fought against Admiral Chong. Lu Yin had no idea how Sky Creation Academy had managed to build such a thing.

    "Do you still want to go to Sky Creation Academy after all of this?" the First Protector asked.

    Lu Yin said, "I would like to try, so we can at least find Sky Creation Academy¡¯s location."

    The First Protector shook his head. "It''s too dangerous."

    "If all of these androids are sent against the Human Domain, I don''t know how we¡¯ll survive," Lu Yin suddenlymented.

    The First Protector''s expression froze for a moment, and terrible fear could be seen in the depths of his eyes.

    "There¡¯s not only these androids, but also endless numbers of corpse kings from the Aeternals¡¯ forces, and if they also work with the Astral Beast Domain, I doubt humanity would be able to survive a single battle," Lu Yin continued.

    The First Protector''s voice dropped a bit lower, "It''s impossible for the Astral Beast Domain working with the others, as they¡¯re also enemies of the Aeternals."

    "We all believe the Aeternals to be the astral beasts¡¯ natural enemy as well, but the Aeternals prey on humans. From the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s perspective, is there any real difference between us humans and the Aeternals?" Lu Yin asked back.

    The First Protector said nothing.

    "Maybe there is a difference, since us humans are easier to deal with than the Aeternals," Lu Yin said.

    The First Protector sighed. "As you can see, we¡¯ve already reached the battlefield for the war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, which was our original first goal on this trip. However, we want to get to Sky Creation Academy and investigate, especially while not being detected, and that¡¯s impossible."

    "I still want to give it a try," Lu Yin replied. He did not actually want to go to Sky Creation Academy, but was instead simply waiting for an opportunity to implement his true n.

    The First Protector was clueless as to Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts. In the old man¡¯s opinion, since it was impossible to secretly investigate, any attempt to continue was meaningless. The Neohuman Alliance had remained hidden within the Human Domain for so many years without being discovered, and it would be far more difficult to find traces of them in the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin spent more than a day watching the distant fight between Admiral Chong and the oversized mechanical giant. As he watched, the entire battlefield grew more and more odd to his eyes.

    During humans¡¯ war, if powerhouses at the level of Envoys or above fought each other, they would enter the true universe in order to avoid the shockwaves from their confrontation spreading out and wreaking havoc among the weaker humans. However, there was no such consideration in the Technocracy¡¯s civil war. No matter how intense Admiral Chong¡¯s fight with the giant became, there was a constant stream of androids arriving around the two powerhouses to fight as well, and each time, the androids would be instantly wiped out by the two monsters.

    This waspletely ridiculous, and it was a waste that should at least be avoided by someone at Admiral Chong¡¯s level.

    A few dayster, the fighting paused briefly for the battlefield to be cleaned. The Third Fleet had already suffered terrible losses, and countless shattered spacecraft drifted through space along with an infinite about of other debris. It looked like an ocean in space.

    Lu Yin received a message on his gadget to meet up with Little R1O.

    Little R1O''s expression was ugly, and his head was hanging low. There were still more than a dozen of his personal androids in fighting condition, but most of his forces had already been lost.

    Lu Yin tried tofort the researcher. "As long as you''re alright."

    Little R1O wailed, "Ah Qi, I only really understand after seeing this battlefield! Many of the ideas that I used to have were just too na?ve. Honestly, I¡¯ve created a few designs for things that I¡¯ve sent to the vice city master, but I never received any response. The vice city lord then told me that they¡¯d find a chance for me to get here to the battlefield, and I finally understand why they said that."

    Lu Yin patted his friend¡¯s shoulder.

    "I only have about a dozen androids left. The Third Fleet¡¯s already sent someone to ask if we want to stay here on the battlefield. How do you feel about it, Ah Qi?" Little R1O asked.

    Lu Yin answered, "Help me get in touch with Admiral Chong. I want to act as a special envoy for the Third Fleet to visit the enemy."

    Little R1O was startled. "You still want to go?"

    Lu Yin nodded determinedly.

    Little R1O was impressed. "Ah Qi, you¡¯re so brave! Alright, I¡¯ll get in contact with Admiral Chong."

    First Edition City¡¯s Third Fleet was facing off against Sky Creation Academy¡¯s Lost Course Army. There was a noticeable difference in the two armies, as Sky Creation Academy tended to use a more humanoid design for theirbat models. As for First Edition City, they had their First, Second, and Third Fleets, which were all filled with diverse and strangely designed androids and mechanical beasts.

    Admiral Chong agreed to Lu Yin''s request and reached out to the Lost Course Army. Sky Creation Academy¡¯s forces agreed, so Lu Yin and hispanions were allowed to act as special envoys.

    Special envoys were rare even when considering the entire history of the Sophic Rift. This was part of the reason why the Lost Course Army was quite curious what people from the Sixth Maind wanted to say to them.

    "The Lost Course Army produces powerful giants, as they believe that size equals invincibility. Much of what you¡¯ll see within the Lost Course Army will be massive, and go ahead andpliment them on it," Little R1O exined as he escorted Lu Yin and others to the edge of the Sophic Rift.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Got it. We¡¯ll be right back."

    The Sophic Rift separated First Edition City from Sky Creation Academy, so crossing the battlefield meant entering Sky Creation Academy¡¯s territory.

    After crossing the battlefield, Lu Yin saw the Lost Course Army. He had not carefully observed the enemy while on the battlefield, as most of his attention had been focused on the battle between Admiral Chong and the super-sized mechanical giant. When Lu Yin saw the Lost Course Army at this moment, he could not help feeling overwhelmed when he saw their battleships, as they were truly massive.

    The Lost Course Army¡¯s battleships were muchrger than any that the Third Fleet possessed, and the cost to produce so many ships of such size had to be exorbitant. Lu Yin did not believe that Sky Creation Academy was capable of bearing such expenses without receiving outside support.

    The materials avable to half of the Technocracy could not be enough to support such expenditures, and the same was true of First Edition City. Neither of the Technocracy¡¯s powers could supply the materials that they used for their armies.

    A pair of eyes stared at Lu Yin and the other humans.

    There were the three androids with the strength of Envoys, Lu Yin, the First Protector, Emperor Luo, as well as a few of the cultivators who had followed the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman into the Technocracy. All of them had apanied Lu Yin.

    There was a loud noise, and it startled one of the Sixth Mainders, and he turned pale.

    There were a lot of cyborgs within the Lost Course Army, and they startedughing.

    High overhead, a massive head was dropping down towards them while revealing sharp teeth.

    Emperor Luo looked up, and a red light flickered in his eyes. This huge head belonged to an iparablyrge astral beast that had had half of its body reced with machinery. It was one of the cyborgs.

    "Human, I saw you out on the battlefield, and you destroyed a lot of our ships!" The astral beast spoke in a very loud, but very t voice. As soon as it spoke, many other cyborgs looked over.

    Lu Yin looked up and stared at the creature. ¡°I didn''t destroy you, so you¡¯re very lucky."

    "What did you say!" the astral beast roared and swung a massive paw down.

    Lu Yin just arched a brow.

    Just as the mechanical ws were about to fall upon Lu Yin and the others, the astral beast froze. Two fingers pinched the massive body, and then tossed it far away.

    That was exactly what happened, the massive cyborg had been thrown away like a bug.

    A mechanical giant suddenly appeared, and it looked down at Lu Yin and other humans.

    This giant was 20,000 meters tall. While it was not asrge as the Warden of Gaia''s Swamp, it was still much bigger than the astral beast, and the giant¡¯s strength was alsoparable to an Envoy.

    "The armymander won''t meet with you, so what do you have to say to me?" The giant lowered its head to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up. "The fundamental reason for this war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy should be the need for materials."

    The mechanical giant did not respond, and simply stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued, "On behalf of the Sixth Maind, I would ask that First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy call a temporary truce, and in exchange, my Sixth Maind is willing topensate the materials needed."

    "Human, do you have any understanding of the Technocracy?" the mechanical giant raged.

    Lu Yin was unfazed by the anger shown.

    "The war here in the Sophic Rift has continued for so long that not even we know why the war was started. Materials? No. Territory? No. This is a war that¡¯s continued since ancient times, and it cannot stop until one of us ispletely eliminated. You want to buy peace with just some materials? Stop dreaming!" the mechanical giant shouted.

    There were outbursts all around: "Stop dreaming."

    "Wake up, human."

    "Leave!"

    ¡­

    "My Sky Creation Academy has nothing to do with your Sixth Maind, and we also have no hostility with the Human Domain. Don''t try to get involved in the Technocracy¡¯s civil war, or else you¡¯ll be an enemy of Sky Creation Academy!" The mechanical giant continued its shouting.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1724: True And False

    Chapter 1724: True And False

    Lu Yin was unwilling, "Is there no possibility of a temporary peace? A hundred years, or even ten years would be enough."

    "Not possible, and you don¡¯t qualify to even discuss such things." The mechanical giant threw a punch into empty space. "Go back. If we meet on the battlefield, we will not let you go, regardless of where youe from."

    "Where is Sky Creation Academy?" Lu Yin shouted.

    The mechanical giant replied, "Not far behind the battlefield. If you are able to cross the battlefield and break through the Lost Course Army, you can find Sky Creation Academy, like that bald man from the Human Domain known as Hui Kong did. There¡¯s no need to speak any further. Leave."

    With that, the giant leaped up and disappeared. Lu Yin had no idea where the construct had gone.

    He and the others were then dismissed and sent away.

    As they returned to the other side of the Sophic Rift, Lu Yin turned around. All of the set up wasplete, so he could finally begin implementing his n.

    "Do you still want to try to get to Sky Creation Academy? I''m not confident about sneaking over there," the First Protector said.

    Lu Yin replied, "Did Senior sense any corpse kings within the Lost Course Army?"

    "Do you?" The First Protector showed some surprise, but Lu Yin shook his head.

    The First Protector heaved a sigh of relief. "That was why I hadn¡¯t said anything yet."

    Lu Yin lowered his voice, "This junior is not willing to just leave."

    "What else do you want to do? It would be best if you could travel to Sky Creation Academy as a special envoy, but unfortunately, that¡¯s not possible," the First Protectorined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Then we should go back to our original n: just charge over from this battlefield."

    The First Protector hesitated for a long while, and Lu Yin eventually looked up at the old man. "Senior, our original n was to sneak deep into the Technocracy by using Emperor Luo¡¯s secret path, and then make our way over to Sky Creation Academy. We¡¯re already close, so I have to try to get there no matter how dangerous it may be.¡±

    The First Protector could only helplessly nod in agreement.

    Back in Endless Weave, Lu Yin had persuaded the old man to use an alternate way to enter the Technocracy by approaching First Edition City. This was already the fourth time that ns had changed, and the First Protector had no real reason to refuse.

    Lu Yin''s failure to broker a truce was not anything that Little R1O found unexpected, but Little R1O could only try tofort Lu Yin after his return, "Juste back, Ah Qi. The war here in the Sophic Rift has been going on for far too long, and no one can put a stop to it. You¡¯ve already done your best, and your Sixth Maind will have to see the efforts you¡¯ve put in."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was bitter, "Thank you, Little R1O. Still, even though I failed this time, I¡¯m not giving up."

    "What else can you do?" Little R1O felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "I''m going to Sky Creation Academy!"

    Little R1O was caughtpletely off guard. "You want to go to Sky Creation Academy? Ah Qi, this isn¡¯t anything to mess around about! Sky Creation Academy is not First Edition City, and they will not wee you. You¡¯ll find it hard to leave again after you get there, and it¡¯s nearly impossible for you to even get close to Sky Creation Academy."

    Lu Yin remained stubborn. "I still have to try, for the sake of my n and the Sixth Maind."

    Little R1O stared nkly at Lu Yin for a long while.

    "Little R1O, why are you staring at me?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The android lowered his head. "I''m sorry, Ah Qi."

    "Why are you apologizing?"

    Little R1O remained silent for a bit before whispering, "I apologize for my previous behavior. You think about your n, but I¡­ I¡¯ve used the bodies of your n members for experiments. I''m truly sorry, Ah Qi."

    Lu Yin felt quite curious. "What do you mean, my n members¡¯ bodies?"

    Little R1O started exining, "Your n-"

    He then paused for a moment and essed his gadget and shared a picture. It was of a man lying on a high-tech bed. Half of the man¡¯s body had been reced with machinery, and there were all sorts of lights visible.

    Little R1O apologized yet again, "I''m sorry, Ah Qi, but this was one of your n members. I used him as a test subject, but your words just now made me realize that was a mistake. Your n is very dear to your heart, so I will return him to you."

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the person in the picture; was that Ancestor Autumnfrost?

    How? Wasn¡¯t Ancestor Autumnfrost in the Outerverse?

    "Little R1O, what happened to him?" Lu Yin asked hurriedly.

    Little R1O thought that Lu Yin was angry, which caused Little R1O to feel even more guilty. "I''m sorry, Ah Qi, but I used him as a test subject. When I found him, I could tell that it was the corpse of a powerful human, so I wanted to use it for some tests. I never expected to meet you, who¡¯s one of his n members, so I¡¯ll return him to you."

    "You mean he¡¯s dead?" Lu Yin frowned.

    Little R1O nodded. "He was already dead when we found him."

    Impossible! Lu Yin stared at the image of Ancestor Autumnfrost on the screen. It was clearly Ancestor Autumnfrost, and if Lu Yin remembered correctly, when the Sixth Maind had cooperated with the Technocracy to attack the Outerverse through Endless Weave, Ancestor Autumnfrost had teamed up with Ancestor Mojiang to fight against Yuan Shi. Yuan Shi had badly injured the two ancestors. Ancestor Mojiang had then died, but Ancestor Autumnfrost had escaped.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost was still alive and thriving in the Outerverse, leading one of the most powerful families in the Bloodburn Realm. Of the other top families, one of the Ten Venerables, Ancestor Di, had been killed by Aeternus, and Ancestor Mojiang had been killed by Yuan Shi. This had left Ancestor Autumnfrost as the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s only World Imprinter, which was also why many of the members of the Mojiang n had taken refuge with the Autumnfrost n.

    So why in the world was Lu Yin staring at Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s corpse?

    "Little R1O, when did you find him?" Lu Yin asked.

    Little R1O took a moment to remember. ¡°Nine years¡­ Yes, nine years and one month ago."

    "How do you know that so precisely?"

    "Ah Qi, we need to keep track of dates and all other data when conducting research, so everything that happened from the moment he was picked up to the start of all of our experiments and beyond was carefully dated and documented," Little R1O exined.

    Lu Yin started thinking; nine years ago was the time that the Technocracy and the Sixth Maind had invaded the Outerverse, and it almost precisely coincided with when Ancestor Autumnfrost and Ancestor Mojiang had been wounded and driven back by Yuan Shi. Did this mean that Ancestor Autumnfrost had already died back then? In that case, what was the current Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s real identity?

    Lu Yin stared out into space in the direction of the Human Domain; one of the two Ancestor Autumnfrosts had to be a fake.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Little R1O had any motivation to try to deceive Lu Yin with a fake, and Little R1O most likely did not even know of the existence of Ancestor Autumnfrost. In that case, there was only one possibility: the Ancestor Autumnfrost currently leading the Autumnfrost family in the Outerverse was an imposter.

    "Ah Qi, take them back with you. I''m really, truly sorry," Little R1O yet again apologized.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s fine. Little R1O, there are also wars between different groups of humans, and not all of us from even the same n are friends. I have no rtionship with that person, so let¡¯s just go back to First Edition City. We can talk about this there."

    "Okay."

    Lu Yin had visited with Sky Creation Academy¡¯s army in order to negotiate a temporary truce, but had predictably failed. Because no one had expected his sess, this failure did not create even a single ripple in the Third Fleet.

    Throughout his entire time with the Third Fleet, Lu Yin never once spoke with Admiral Chong, and the only time the admiral had even heard of Lu Yin had been when the human had requested to speak with the Lost Course Army as a special envoy. Admiral Chong had no impression at all of this human.

    The only person who paid attention to Lu Yin¡¯s movements was the cyborg woman, the one who was seen as their saintess. Her name was Xin Yu, which was a nice name.

    "I certainly underestimated your courage; you actually dared to go speak with the Lost Course Army." Xin Yu sought out Lu Yin and his group, though her voice was as cold as ever.

    Lu Yin looked over at the woman. "What are you doing here?"

    Xin Yu stared at Emperor Luo. "Your strength increased because of those designs from back then. As long as you return them, I can ask First Edition City¡¯s master to send more androids to the Outerverse to fight against the Human Domain."

    "Are design schemes for Envoy-level androids really so rare for First Edition City?" Lu Yin asked in an odd tone.

    Xin Yu looked at Lu Yin. "You clearly don''t realize that any technological breakthrough is only aplished after countless experiments. Data from previous experiments is extremely valuable, and it even can offer new inspiration, which can be worth more than anything."

    She turned back to Emperor Luo. "The data he possesses might be useless, but it could also be able to inspire a reformation.

    "This is no different from your humans¡¯ lockbreaking: you might uncover something that can change the universe, or it might beplete trash."

    "¡¯You humans¡¯? Like you aren¡¯t human?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Xin Yu coldly retorted, "Whether or not I¡¯m human doesn¡¯t matter. Return those designs, and I can help you reach your goals. If you give me those, I can help you get almost anything, so long as it isn¡¯t too excessive."

    Lu Yin and the First Protector nced at each other. If Emperor Luo''s stolen technology could truly offer inspiration or aid to First Edition City, it was impossible for them to share it.

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin started leaving.

    Xin Yu frowned as she watched Lu Yin. "This battle willst a long time, and I know you¡¯ll be back to the city within just a few days. It would be best for you to reconsider, as how are you going to be able to exin yourselves when you go back empty handed? I can help you; I am able to get you what you came for.¡±

    With that, she finally left.

    If Lu Yin and others truly represented the Sixth Maind, naturally they would be willing to purchase Xin Yu''s help with the design schemes, as it would allow them to get more androids from First Edition City. However, they were imposters, and were actually the Sixth Maind¡¯s enemies, so they felt things would be much better if Xin Yu developed a hatred towards the Sixth Maind, so they were happy to secretly provoke more conflicts.

    The fighting soon resumed on the Sophic Rift, and countless explosions, attacks, and ck holes appeared in space. On this terrible battlefield, life was incredibly cheap.

    Lu Yin started being targeted by a cyborg astral beast with the strength of an Enlighter. Lu Yin was not able to reveal his full strength, so he slowly fought against the cyborg for half a day.

    The astral beast started to be impatient, and also quickly grew more and more anxious. In the end, it was killed by the cubic android Lu Yin had seen before.

    "Human, no need for any thanks." The cube greeted Lu Yin before attacking one of the Lost Course Army¡¯s battleships.

    The Third Fleet had too many androids to even count, and while the same was true of the Lost Course Army¡¯s numbers, they had a farrger proportion of massive-sized cyborgs.

    A shockwave swept towards Lu Yin from the distance, and it was hurling many ships through space. Lu Yin raised a hand and tore through one vessel with a palm attack. The shockwave came from a distant attack from a powerfulbatant with the strength of an Envoy.

    Admiral Chong and thergest mechanical giant were still tirelessly fighting each other, and asionally a shockwave from their sh would sweep out in all directions. Lu Yin had be far more vignt, so he was able to avoid the shockwave¡¯s every time even without the First Protector¡¯s assistance.

    During one particr sh between the two primarybatants on the battlefield, the mechanical giant identally smashed one of the androids from the Hall of Honor that had apanied Lu Yin and the First Protector. The mechanical giant suddenly roared, "Despicable! Your First Edition City is bing more and more despicable! You actually hid an Envoy-level android within the regr military!"

    "What are you even talking about?" Admiral Chong shouted back.

    The giant solemnly replied, "You know what I said."

    An android with the strength of an Envoy had just been instantly destroyed, and Lu Yin felt the pain of the loss.

    The First Protector was feeling the same agony. While the Hall of Honor had long since developed the technology to produce Envoy-level androids, very few could be made due to the limited avability of the required materials. One of those had just been lost, and they could not even retaliate or react, which greatly pained the First Protector. His expression grew worse and worse as he stared at the oversized mechanical giant.

    If not for the fact that the First Protector was so wary about the Technocracy, he would have already destroyed the giant.

    <strong></strong>

 Chapter 1725: Why Is It Gone?

    Chapter 1725: Why Is It Gone?

    "When do you want to leave?" the First Protector asked, his tone betraying his rotten mood.

    Lu Yin said, "We should wait a bit longer, as there¡¯s still quite a bit of attention on us right now."

    The First Protector was still upset, and he had the remaining two Envoy-level androids from the Hall of Honor pull back. At this time, they needed to hide themselves before crossing the entire battlefield and sneaking into Sky Creation Academy. If they were discovered, they would just exin that they were the Sixth Maind¡¯s representatives, which was a wonderful cover.

    Lu Yin was secretly calcting the time; it was almost the right moment!

    With a thought, an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he moved.

    His body suddenly shifted across the battlefield to appear between Admiral Chong and the oversized mechanical giant. A leaf appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and with the Yu Secret Art, it suddenly disappeared. When it reappeared, it had been stuck to the body of the massive giant.

    This leaf was the bit of Origin Matter that Lu Yin had Pilfered with his die. He hoped to use the Origin Matter to push Sky Creation Academy into the forefront, which had been his n all along.

    His entire purpose in traveling to the Technocracy was to shove Sky Creation Academy into the limelight for the entire universe. After that, even if someone from the Perennial World was sent over, Lu Yin would learn about it almost immediately, as such news would be instantly sent to the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    Since it was impossible for Lu Yin to stop the Perennial World by himself, he wanted to drag everyone else into the fight. Origin Matter was too valuable. Even in the Perennial World it was fought over by everyone, not to mention in the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    Lu Yin believed that the moment news of Sky Creation Academy possessing Origin Matter spread, both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds would erupt into chaos, especially the Sixth Maind. It was even possible that their Progenitors would make a move.

    Origin Matter was necessary for a person to be a Progenitor, which meant that it was impossible to estimate its value, so he felt a tinge of pain from using the only bit he had.

    Once the leaf was stuck onto the giant, a vague and indescribable aura began to spread.

    The same aura had appeared when Lu Yin had first obtained it with his die, and it had only stopped after he stored it away in his cosmic ring. However, there was nothing to stop the aura from spreading through the Technocracy, and the First Protector quickly sensed it.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no worry that news of the Origin Matter would not spread, as there was no ce in the universe that was perfectly sealed. Even though the Technocracy was mysterious and information about it rarely leaked outside, Lu Yin absolutely believed that the Fifth and Sixth Mainds had their own means of learning certain details. Otherwise, their countless years of war would have been for naught.

    Lu Yin moved across the chaotic battle, and he rushed up to the First Protector in excitement. ¡°Senior, I just saw some Origin Matter!"

    The First Protector was caught off guard and was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s exmation, and then his eyes went wide. "What did you just say?"

    "I just saw some Origin Matter! It''s on that massive robot!"

    How absurd! How could there possibly be Origin Matter on the mechanical giant? Even though the First Protector truly did not believe the ridiculous im, he still nced over. After all, if they could pick up a bit of Origin Matter, their trip would not have been made in vain. Each bit of Origin Matter was no different from another potential Progenitor, and such prospects were too important to the Fifth Maind.

    At the same time, the leaf¡¯s aura was spreading across the battlefield faster and faster, and it quickly spread outside of the Sophic Rift. It was undetectable to ordinary cultivators, but anyone who had reached the Envoy level would instantly sense it.

    For example, Xin Yu. She felt a sense of vitality wash over her, like a new breath.

    The First Protector also felt the aura. He stared at the mechanical giant, looking at the leaf that was stuck to the enormous carapace; how could there be Origin Matter in this ce?

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath, as he had seeded. The Origin Matter¡¯s aura was spreading, and the Fifth and Sixth Mainds would absolutely learn of this. After this, the situation would no longer be in his hands.

    Instead, Lu Yin started mourning the loss of his Origin Matter.

    Lu Yin had actually wanted to take the Origin Matter back after exposing it, but he had quickly realized that other people were far from stupid. Without real Origin Matter present, how would Sky Creation Academy possibly remain as the focus of everyone¡¯s attention?

    The only option was to sacrifice the Origin Matter and make it into a treasure that everyone genuinely fought for. In this manner, everything would make sense to outsiders, and it would not feel like a contrived scheme that someone else had put into y.

    Lu Yin had never believed himself to be much more intelligent than others, so if he tried to outsmart people, he would ultimately catch the short end of the stick. Besides, this Origin Matter had been free, so it really was as if he had never gotten it at all.

    The Origin Matter¡¯s appearance had no effect on the androids; they did not recognize it, and they could not sense its aura at all. Even thergest mechanical giant could not feel that it had Origin Matter stuck to its body while it was fighting with Admiral Chong. Only the First Protector and the most powerful cyborgs were able to sense the Origin Matter¡¯s presence.

    The First Protector was eager to grab it, and he started plotting how he could surreptitiously collect the Origin Matter.

    Suddenly, the leaf disappeared.

    It not only disappeared from the First Protector¡¯s sight, but also from that of Xin Yu and all the other Envoy cyborgs in the Lost Course Army¡¯s sights. Everyone who had sensed the leaf previously was stunned, as it had vanished.

    Lu Yin was also startled; what had happened to the Origin Matter? Why was it gone? Could it have been smashed to nothing by Admiral Chong''s attack?

    The next moment, a figure emerged from the void. He was holding a woman in one hand and the Origin Matter in the other. There was a smug smile on the old man¡¯s face. "I never thought that I¡¯d pick up something this good as soon as I stepped foot in the Forsaken Land! Origin Matter? Who would put this on their body? That¡¯s way too excessive. Fortunately, it was seen by this old man, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin stared in stupefaction at the old man who had just appeared. Kui- Kui Luo?

    Lu Yin had never dreamed that Kui Luo would suddenly appear at the most important juncture of this n and steal the Origin Matter!

    Wait¡­ is he holding onto Wang Yun?

    Instantly, Lu Yin understood that Kui Luo had taken Wang Yun hostage and used her to travel to the Technocracy.

    Kui Luo¡¯s appearance in the Sophic Rift drew a great deal of attention, and the First Protector instantly attacked in an attempt to steal the Origin Matter from Kui Luo.

    However, Kui Luo swept through the nearby region of space with his spiritual force, stopping the First Protector in his tracks. The old man¡¯s face paled. Semi- Semi-Progenitor!

    Kui Luo was also startled, and he turned his head to stare at Lu Yin. The old man had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s presence the moment he had scanned the area. Had he actually already found Lu Yin? "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin and Kui Luo both stared at each other ck-jawed. "Put the leaf back!"

    Kui Luo was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin grew increasingly anxious. "Put the leaf back! It''s mine."

    Just as Kui Luo was about to reply, his head suddenly turned to stare in another direction, and his expression drastically changed. "So fast? That¡¯s not good. They¡¯re here to kill you."

    He then looked back at Lu Yin. "Don''t expose yourself. Bai Laogui and Wang Si are here to kill you.¡±

    Lu Yin''s scalp wentpletely numb; Bai Laogui and Wang Si were both Semi-Progenitors!

    Space trembled as a peerless strength swept over in the distance, causing everything in the Sophic Rift toe to aplete stop.

    Thergest giant, who was themander of the Lost Course Army, looked over. This power?

    "Kui Luo, stop right there!" Wang Si howled. Her voice rang out, and it caused many of the androids to explode.

    Lu Yin grew pale, and he clenched his hands into tight fists.

    The First Protector grew solemn, as this tremor contained a weight that he could not withstand. This was the power of an inner world, which was the unique power of a Semi-Progenitor. Another one had just arrived on the tail of the first.

    Kui Luoughed wildly. "You old bat, you really are impressive at chasing me down!¡±

    He quickly moved further away.

    "Kui Luo, you''re courting death!" Another fierce shout echoed, this one from Bai Laogui, a Semi-Progenitor from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family.

    Kui Luo instantly taunted the other two. "Just you two want to deal with me? Quit dreaming! It¡¯s useless even if you both are secret lovers."

    The next moment, Wang Si and Bai Laogui suddenly appeared in the Sophic Rift at the same time. They stared at Kui Luo off in the distance but did not go after him. Their goal was to hunt down Lu Yin, not deal with Kui Luo.

    They had only encountered Kui Luo out of sheer coincidence, and the two of them had no desire to stay even after discovering his presence.

    Lu Yin started to panic; that old fart Kui Luo had actually led these two old monsters to the Technocracy instead of somewhere else. This was a huge problem, as the moment either Semi-Progenitor scanned the area, Lu Yin would be discovered.

    Even though Lu Yin was panicking, Admiral Chong had not. Instead, it shifted ayer of material covering its body and released the most powerful gravitational wave possible towards Wang Si and Bai Laogui in an attempt to lock them down and trap them. Androids had no concept of the power of a Semi-Progenitor, not even those at the level of Admiral Chong and the massive mechanical giant.

    Wang Si and Bai Laogui had both appeared on the battlefield without any sort of precursor or exnation for their presence. However, they had appeared from the direction of Sky Creation Academy, and the mechanical giant had not moved against them. So, to Admiral Chong, Sky Creation Academy was cooperating with these two people, and he did not hesitate to attack.

    The gravitational wave created a storm across the battlefield that tried to pull Wang Si and Bai Laogui across it.

    Bai Laogui just frowned. "Annoying."

    He waved a hand, and an invisible power overwhelmed Admiral Chong and shattered the android¡¯s body.

    This left the entire battlefieldpletely silent. Admiral Chong was a monster with a power level of a million, so how had he been disintegrated so casually?

    The enormous mechanical giant stared at the two humans in shock, but they simply ignored him.

    "We¡¯ll go straight to the Forsaken Land to deal with Lu Xiaoxuan. Kui Luo is also looking for him, so we can''t let Kui Luo get to him first and hide the brat," Bai Laogui stated solemnly.

    Wang Si frowned. "There are also the Forsaken Land¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. The fact that Wang Shang was forced to retreat shows that Lu Xiaoxuan has a tremendous amount of influence here. Don''t forget how much of a mess that kid created in the Perennial World. Do not becent."

    "He¡¯s just a baby. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan hadn¡¯t forgotten everything from back then, he still would be no match for either of us."

    "I meant the Forsaken Land¡¯s Semi-Progenitors."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin, the First Protector, and everyone else on the battlefield instantly understood their position, and no one spoke. The humans had hidden themselves inside a damaged spacecraft and did not even dare to look at Wang Si or Bai Laogui.

    This was especially true of Lu Yin. These two old people hade here specifically to hunt him down, so he would die the moment he was discovered.

    Suddenly, Kui Luo returned. He had wanted to lure Wang Si and Bai Laogui away from the battlefield, only to discover that they werepletely ignoring him. "Hey, old bat, do you not want your granddaughter anymore?"

    He lifted Wang Yun up.

    Wang Si red at Kui Luo with cold eyes. "If I were you, I would have never saved Lu Xiaoxuan. Isn¡¯t it safer to live in peace?"

    Kui Luo sneered. "Safe? With you traitors?"

    Wang Si''s eyes grew hard. "What rtionship do you have with the Lu family? Back then, you didn¡¯t hesitate to charge into the center of Dragon Mountain to save him, and now you¡¯ve chased him to the Forsaken Land."

    These three did nothing to conceal their conversation. None of them saw the androids as human as they were more than a bunch of machines in the eyes of the Semi-Progenitors.

    "Old woman, I just like him while I don''t like you, get it?" Kui Luo rolled his eyes.

    Bai Laogui¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "Stop the nonsense! Today I''ll deal with you."

    Even as he spoke, he pointed a finger: Celestial Being Shows the Way. At the same time, Wang Si also attacked.

    Kui Luo vaguely nced towards Lu Yin, and then, without any hesitation, he fled far away. As long as the other two Semi-Progenitors were led away, Lu Xiaoxuan would not be discovered.

    Lu Yin had the same thoughts.

    However, Lu Yin, Kui Luo, and Wang Si each had their own ns, but they had all forgotten one thing: they were in the Technocracy, and everything in this ce was under constant surveince. Even Arch-Elder Zen was wary of this ce.

 Chapter 1726: Identity

    Chapter 1726: Identity

    Arch-Elder Zen had once mentioned to Lu Yin that there was a power within the Technocracy that not even Semi-Progenitors were willing to provoke. However, that power would not suddenly appear for no reason.

    But after Bai Laogui and Wang Si unleashed their strength as Semi-Progenitors, the terrifying power that hid deep within the Technocracy was suddenly triggered.

    The sky copsed.

    Space throughout the entire Technocracy instantly and drastically changed. A stretched over the Sophic Rift, or rather, over the entire Technocracy. It looked like a, but Lu Yin had once Possessed an Envoy-level android, and he knew that this was actually the manifestation of the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts.

    The entire Technocracy was actually enveloped within the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts, and the manifestation of these thoughts into tangible objects had be First Edition City, Sky Creation Academy, and the Technocracy¡¯swork that connected the entire region. This was the true, terrifying power of the Technocracy that not even Arch-Elder Zen and the others dared to probe too deeply.

    Although this power was not that of a Progenitor, there were simrities.

    A Progenitor was able to perform many unbelievable feats, and the Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain had aplished one at this moment.

    Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Kui Luo all looked up in utter disbelief.

    "How is this possible? Is this an inner world? No, is this the strength of a Progenitor? How could such a power exist in this ce?" Wang Si was shocked. Their Wang family had cooperated with the Technocracy¡¯s Sky Creation Academy for many years, but even they had no idea that the Technocracy possessed this level of power.

    After the of manifested thought covered the entire Sophic Rift, it swept through everything and imprisoned all non-mechanical beings. Lu Yin was no exception, and neither were Wang Si, Bai Laogui, or Kui Luo. The three Semi-Progenitors were trapped by the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts, and they all disappeared from the Sophic Rift.

    When the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts disappeared, the only beings left on the battlefield were the androids and cyborgs. The Third Fleet and the Lost Course Army had been left untouched.

    Little R1O blinked; what had happened to Ah Qi? What about those people from the Sixth Maind? They had all disappeared.

    Up above the Sophic Rift battlefield, within an invisible pocket, the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts had created another space. This was the spatialyer where the giant mechanical ws that constantly monitored the entire Technocracy were hidden.

    Lu Yin and the other humans had all been imprisoned in this ce, and none of them were able to move. Each person¡¯s body had been immobilized by the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts.

    The First Protector was in the same situation as everyone else. The old man¡¯s understanding of the world had been shattered repeatedly after Kui Luo suddenly appeared. Three unknown Semi-Progenitors had suddenly appeared on the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield. Before this, the First Protector had actually believed that moving about the Technocracy was not a big deal.

    Unfortunately, he had dyed matters by vaciting between trying to get to Sky Creation Academy and returning to the Human Domain.

    Nearby, both Wang Si and Bai Laogui stared nkly at Lu Yin. After being captured, the two had instantly noticed Lu Yin, as all of the humans had been teleported to a small area.

    Neither of the two Semi-Progenitors could have imagined that their mission target would actually be right where they had entered the Forsaken Land.

    Lu Yin looked up at the two Semi-Progenitors. "Is this a coincidence?"

    Bai Laogui''s pupils instantly constricted, and his fingers twitched as he tried to break free, only to discover that it was impossible.

    Wang Si growled. "Even if it isn¡¯t a Progenitor, this is not a power that we can break free from. This power has existed for far too long, and whatever controls this strength is infinitely close to the Progenitor level."

    Bai Laogui red at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you killed my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor and even colluded with Aeternus! You deserve to die."

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly turned cold. "Old man, did that woman empty your body and brain? When did you ever see me working with anyone from Aeternus?"

    "Your impudence!!" Wang Si shouted angrily.

    "You¡¯re arrogant! Old woman, when my Lu family was still around, you were nothing more than a dog. Even though my Lu family¡¯s been exiled, you¡¯re still nothing but a dog to my eyes," Lu Yin mocked.

    Wang Si became furious. "The Lu family monopolized the resources of the entire Perennial World and did whatever they wanted. They deserved to be exiled!"

    "Hahaha, old woman, there¡¯s no reason to say things so nicely. Did you forget how you dealt with the Lu family? Do you want me to remind you?¡± Kui Luoughed.

    Wang Si''s eyes became bloodshot. "Shut up, Kui Luo!"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, if you are still your own person, then kill yourself! Otherwise the human race will end up ughtering each other because of your existence, which will only help Aeternus. This is the only way for you to prove your innocence! Do this, and my Celestial Frost Sect will announce to the entire Perennial World that Lu Xiaoxuan did not betray humanity and that your Lu family did not collude with Aeternus," Bai Laogui shouted.

    Lu Yin looked at him as though seeing an idiot. "Old man, is there something wrong with you? What¡¯s with you? How dare you nder my Lu family!"

    "Believe it or not, in another 10,000 years, the entire Perennial World will curse the Lu family for colluding with Aeternus, and you, Lu Xiaoxuan, will be cursed for hundreds of millions of years!" Bai Laogui threatened.

    This was a threat from the Celestial Frost Sect, as Lu Yin¡¯s mere existence threatened their reputation and influence. The Celestial Frost Sect led the four ruling powers of the Perennial World, and they could indeed carry out such a threat. As more time passed, people would remember the existence of the Lu family even less. History was written by the living.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Laogui. "You¡¯ll never get the chance, as I will level the entire Celestial Frost Sect."

    "The ignorance is astounding!" Bai Laogui sneered.

    To the side, the First Protector silently listened as the others spoke. He heard the Perennial World, the Celestial Frost Sect, the Lu family, and Lu Xiaoxuan all be mentioned. The more the old man listened, the more terrified he became.

    Kui Luo was still insulting Wang Si and airing the woman¡¯s dirtyundry in a crazy manner. There were even some details that were so horrid that Lu Yin had to block them out. Others were clearly made up, especially a story that Kui Luo concocted about an affair between Wang Si and Bai Laogui. At that moment, Wang Yun was dazed. From the looks of it, she had half-believed them to be true.

    "It was the right choice for you two to split up back then. It was best for the Wang family and the Bai family¡­" Kui Luo continued speaking without ever letting up.

    Wang Si was absolutely furious, and her body was trembling. In contrast, Bai Laogui simply red at Lu Yin.

    "By the way, don''t you two have a bastard child?" Kui Luo asked.

    Finally, Wang Si roared, "SHUT UP!"

    Bai Laogui then turned to look at Kui Luo while gritting his teeth. "I swear, one day I will pin you down and peel your skin off."

    Kui Luo showed an odd smile. "Sorry about exposing your secrets."

    He then looked back at Lu Yin. "These stories are fun. Do you want to hear to another segment?"

    Lu Yin did not want to harp on these useless matters, and instead said, "How can we get out?"

    Kui Luo shrugged. "Don''t know. We¡¯re being trapped by something very strange. It¡¯s simr to an inner world, but it¡¯s much stronger than any of us. We won¡¯t be able to get out unless we¡¯re released."

    "Aren''t you worried about being stuck here forever?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Kui Luo sighed. "There¡¯s no way out."

    Lu Yin fell silent, and Kui Luo did the same.

    Wang Si also stayed silent at this time. Everyone who had been trapped here was incapable of moving, which meant that words were the only weapons avable at this moment. Since Kui Luo''s gift of gab was traumatizing Wang Si, she no longer dared to antagonize the man. Bai Laogui had the same thought.

    Lu Yin noticed the First Protector looking at him, as well as the shock and confusion in the old man¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin knew that it would be impossible to keep his secret hidden for long; his identity as Lu Xiaoxuan would soon be revealed to the Fifth Maind.

    This was not what Lu Yin wanted, but he had never expected three Semi-Progenitors to suddenly appear on the battlefield. As soon as Kui Luo had shown up, Lu Yin¡¯s ns had beenpletely disrupted. All that could be said was that everything had happened too quickly and there were too many coincidences.

    "Does Arch-Elder Zen know about this?" the First Protector asked while staring at Lu Yin withplicated emotions filling his eyes.

    Few people in the Fifth Maind were aware of the truth of the past, especially the fact that the Perennial World was a traitor that had betrayed the Fifth Maind. Also, the Perennial World had been led by the Lu family.

    The Lu family, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family, the Wang family, the Xia family, the Liu family, and the Nong family had all abandoned the Fifth Maind, which was why the Fifth Maind held such hatred for the primeval surnames.

    Other than those at the very top, no one in the Fifth Maind understood this. Most people believed that the primeval surnames were the Fifth Maind¡¯s enemies, but in truth, the families of the primeval surnames had abandoned the Fifth Maind, and they were not mortal enemies. This was also why Lu Yin, who had a primeval surname, had been able to repeatedly go from being in danger to being protected.

    If the primeval surnames were true enemies of the Fifth Maind like the Neohuman Alliance, then how could Lu Yin have survived for so long? How could Arch-Elder Zen, Eversky Ind, or any of the other major powers have ever allowed Lu Yin to continue to mature?

    Lu Yin was simply regarded as someone from Earth with a primeval surname. No one had thought that Lu Yin would actually be a member of the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family. Also, judging by his talent, there was no possibility of him being a random nobody in the family.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, I never told anyone."

    The First Protector¡¯s voice grew bitter. "The Lu family was exiled by the four ruling powers, so you came to my Fifth Maind to fight back against the four ruling powers, right? Is this why you united the Outerverse and why you¡¯re trying to conquer the Innerverse?"

    "Lu Yin was the one who united the Outerverse, not Lu Xiaoxuan. All my memories from back then arepletely gone," Lu Yin somberly exined.

    How could the First Protector possibly believe such a thing? People like Lu Yin who were both unbelievably talented at cultivating and yet also capable of achieving something like uniting the Outerverse were essentially nonexistent.

    "What''s your position within the Lu family?" the First Protector pressed.

    Lu Yin did not even know the answer himself.

    Off to the side, Bai Laogui sneered, "It seems like this Forsaken Land is ignorant of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s identity. Then let me tell you: his name is Lu Xiaoxuan, and he is an heir of the Lu family. The Lu family has already been eliminated, so Lu Xiaoxuan''s mere existence is an offense to my Perennial World. His life is enough to provoke us into going to war."

    The First Protector stared at Bai Laogui, his eyes flickering. The First Protector had never thought that Lu Yin would have such an important status. It was no wonder why he had caused three Semi-Progenitors to visit the Fifth Maind.

    "You damned old fart, how shameless can you be to spout such shit? As long as the Lu family returns, they will instantly return to their position of ruling the Perennial World. How could a civil war among humans happen after that?" Kui Luo swore.

    Bai Laogui stared at Kui Luo. "You definitely have a connection to the Lu family. Kui Luo, what is your rtionship with them? Despite your unruly nature, you were willing to hide in cryostasis after the Lu family was exiled. What¡¯s your goal?"

    Lu Yin also stared at Kui Luo, as he had also realized that Kui Luo had a different attitude when it came to the Lu family.

    In the past, Lu Yin had thought that Kui Luo had rescued him from Dragon Mountain because of the old grandpa from Driftcharge. While this might have been partially true, Kui Luo''s attitude had also changed a great deal after he learned of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity. The subtle shift in attitude would be difficult for an ordinary person to notice, but Bai Laogui, Wang Si, Lu Yin, and the others were far superior to ordinary humans. They had all noticed this change: Kui Luo was doing his best to uphold the Lu family¡¯s reputation.

    Kui Luo revealed a strange smile. "I have a very simple goal, old man."

    Bai Laogui and Wang Si both solemnly stared at Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo sneered at them both. "I just want to see you humiliated."

    Bai Laogui''s eyes red, and he red at Kui Luo. This bastard was the biggest shit-stirrer in the entire Perennial World! They should have gathered all of the powers to get rid of him long ago.

    Bai Laogui stopped paying attention to Kui Luo, as it would be impossible to get any information from the obnoxious man. Instead, he shifted his attention to the First Protector. "What¡¯s your status in this Forsaken Land? You have passed seven stellr tribtions, which makes you below only a Semi-Progenitor. Tell the masters of this Forsaken Land to eliminate Lu Xiaoxuan, or else not only will chaos reign in my Perennial World, but your Forsaken Land will also be threatened.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s existence is able to rouse a vast number of the Lu family¡¯s old supporters, and Aeternus would be only too happy to see us humans fighting each other. Lu Xiaoxuan must die. This is his only fate."

    The First Protector was silent.

 Chapter 1727: The Origin Progenitorâ€™s Sutra

    Chapter 1727: The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Laogui. "Old man, isn¡¯t that enough already?"

    Bai Laogui red back at Lu Yin. "You Lu bastard, your life was doomed the moment you were born. You must die for the sake of the Perennial World and for the sake of everyone living there. Do you truly want your Lu family to suffer for hundreds of millions of years of infamy? You can do nothing about my four ruling powers, and everything that you do to resist merely saps away at the united strength of humanity, helping Aeternus. You are a traitor to humanity!"

    "You¡¯re just a pack of dogs that once only knew how to bark andter turned on their masters. You don¡¯t have any right to condemn me," Lu Yin coldly retorted.

    Bai Laogui gave a derisive snort as he redirected his attention back to the First Protector. "Did you hear that? Report back to whoever is in charge of this Forsaken Land: eliminate Lu Xiaoxuan, and you will remove mankind¡¯s greatest hidden threat."

    "That crazy broad Wang Si must have scrambled your brain. Get yourself out of here before you start talking shit," Kui Luo scolded.

    Wang Si ground her teeth and shot a vicious re at Kui Luo. She had been staying silent, and yet, she had still been dragged into the man¡¯s insults.

    Bai Laogui continued in a low voice, "Did you hear me? If by some miracle Lu Xiaoxuan manages to escape back to your Forsaken Land, have your masters eliminate him."

    The First Protector suddenly lifted his head to stare at Bai Laogui. "Old man, who the hell are you to speak to me like this?"

    Bai Laogui was caughtpletely off guard by this response. Wang Si was also stunned, and even Lu Yin was left in a daze as he stared at the First Protector in astonishment. Lu Yin had never thought that the old man would have the guts to speak to a Semi-Progenitor in such a manner.

    Bai Laogui was a Semi-Progenitor. In theory, no one would want to offend such a person without some sort of pre-existing grudge, especially someone like the First Protector who always acted cautiously and was terrified of death. Lu Yin had had to continuously prod the old man into continuing on with their mission in the Technocracy, and he had never thought that the old man would be bold enough to insult a Semi-Progenitor.

    "What did you just say? How dare you speak to me like that?" Bai Laogui shouted in rage. His gaze towards the First Protector became even colder than when he looked at Lu Yin, as the First Protector had stepped on Bai Laogui¡¯s dignity.

    Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan, which meant that his status was actually higher than Bai Laogui¡¯s, and the two were also mortal enemies. No matter what insults Lu Yin said, it was only to be expected. Also, there was no need to even mention Kui Luo, as it was expected for that old man to curse anyone nearby.

    But why would someone who was not even a Semi-Progenitor dare to scold Bai Laogui? This old man was someone from the Forsaken Land, which meant that some trash of the Forsaken Land had just dared to insult Bai Laogui! The more the man thought about the First Protector¡¯s words, the more angry he became, as he feltpletely humiliated.

    The First Protector clenched his fists as he stared at Bai Laogui. "Are a bunch of deserters who fear death and abandoned their ancestral home thick-skinned enough toe back here?"

    "How bold!" Wang Si shouted angrily. "Who gave you enough courage to speak to us in such a manner?"

    The First Protector continued chastising in a stern tone. "Who are you people? You escaped, and yet you want toe back now and show off your strength? Do you really believe yourselves to be strong? If not for the sky that changed, if you hadn¡¯t escaped back then, then how could you have be more powerful than us? How did you even manage to be Semi-Progenitors after running away back then? You would have already died by then, and you don¡¯t have any right to even speak to me.

    "Also, this is the Fifth Maind, not the Forsaken Land. This is your ancestral home! You should call this old man ¡®Ancestor¡¯!"

    Both Bai Laogui and Wang Si¡¯s pupils shrunk, as their rage had reached a level where it felt like it could practically manifest.

    Lu Yin stared at the First Protector in admiration. "Senior, that was impressive! Especially thatst line, that was amazing!"

    Kui Luo also looked at the First Protector in surprise. He had not initially paid any attention to the old man, and he certainly had not expected the First Protector to be so stubborn and have such a vicious tongue.

    The First Protector shot a cold re at Lu Yin. "You should also shut up! Your goals are selfish, and you want to use my Fifth Maind to deal with those deserters and help your family. Do you understand what this will do to my Fifth Maind? You will bring the disaster of war upon us all! All of you are deserters! If you already escaped, then don''te back here. Why did youe back and drag my Fifth Maind into your mess?"

    Kui Luo pursed his lips, as the First Protector was directing his words towards all of them. Even though the words were vicious, Kui Luo could not retort, as the First Protector had spoken well and true.

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled, as the First Protector words had struck Lu Yin straight in the heart. Since he had escaped, then why had he returned? After abandoning the Fifth Maind, why had they all returned? They had dragged the Fifth Maind into an outside conflict.

    Lu Yin could not deny anything that the First Protector had said, as the old man had spoken truly on behalf of the entire Fifth Maind.

    "The Forsaken Land is the Forsaken Land. We did not escape from this ce, but rather abandoned it. This ce no longer has any value, you vermin," Wang Si spat.

    The First Protector said nothing in argument. They both held different perspectives, and neither would be able to convince the other. The Fifth Maind powerhouse had merely been provoked into saying whaty in his heart by Bai Laogui¡¯s earlier words.

    "Senior, you¡¯re right," Lu Yin spoke softly as he looked at the First Protector. "My goal all along was to unite the Fifth Maind in order to retaliate against the Perennial World, but I never considered the position and feelings of the Fifth Maind. I am Lu Yin, it¡¯s true, and yet I am also Lu Xiaoxuan. These are both facts that cannot be changed.¡±

    The First Protector frowned.

    "If I manage to return, this junior will exin the situation to Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster and receive their judgment. This junior will always be Lu Yin, the person who moved to unite the entire Outerverse and rose to my current position one step at a time. I will ept whatever decision is made, and I will not object if I am forced to leave the Fifth Maind and return to the Perennial World, regardless of if that means that I am returning to get my revenge or simply to be hunted down. My future will have nothing to do with the Fifth Maind, and I will never get the Fifth Maind involved."

    Only the fittest survived in the universe, and strength reigned supreme. Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, and he was well on his way to conquering the Innerverse as well. His intention had been to lead the Great Eastern Alliance against the Perennial World, regardless of victory or defeat. This had been his goal, but he had forgotten about the Great Eastern Alliance. Each alliance member had their own goals and desires, as did the entire Fifth Maind; would they be willing to follow Lu Yin in his quest for revenge?

    Such thoughts were normally pointless, as there was no need for Lu Yin to consider such matters given his position, but the First Protector¡¯s words had struck Lu Yin deeply. Regardless of his status or strength, he had his own goals and ns. As far as the Fifth Maind was concerned, Lu Yin would always be an outsider.

    Lu Yin''s words caused the First Protector¡¯s expression to soften.

    Kui Luo just rolled his eyes, as Lu Yin¡¯s words were a load of crap in his mind. After being exposed, what else could Lu Yin have done aside from confess? Words were cheap, and there was no reason for Lu Yin to say anything at all. The brat was bing more and more hypocritical.

    Bai Laogui and Wang Si nced at each other, and they both saw disdain in the other''s eyes.

    "Retaliate against the Perennial World? What a joke! Lu Xiaoxuan, do you even understand what you¡¯re talking about? Retaliate?" Wang Si mocked.

    The First Protector turned towards Wang Si. "Shut up you old slut! You¡¯re such an eyesore!"

    Wang Si became enraged. "You¡¯re courting death!"

    She then struggled to break free from the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts in order to attack the First Protector.

    The First Protector just gave a disdainful snort. "Trash like you can¡¯t even make waves in my Fifth Maind."

    "Bastard!" Bai Laogui shouted angrily.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "You two are such idiots! How did the four ruling powers end up sending you two?"

    "Because there¡¯s no one else left. Anyone else would be even dumber than these two," Lu Yin suggested.

    "You Lu bastard, you¡¯ll surely die without even being buried!"

    "My four ruling powers will never let you go! The Forsaken Land will die with you!"

    "Our Hall of Honor would be able to y as many trash like you no matter how many areing."

    ¡­

    The war in the Sophic Rift continued on beneath the pocket space that had been created by the manifested thoughts.

    Little R1O contacted the vice city master, asking for Lu Yin to be rescued, but it was useless.

    After hearing the report from Little R1O, the vice city master remained silent for a long time. The materialized thoughts controlled the entire Technocracy, as that was the Master Brain¡¯s power. The Master Brain had not made a single move in countless years, but the simultaneous appearance of three Semi-Progenitors had been enough to alert the Master Brain into taking action.

    Of Lu Yin''s group, Emperor Luo had been left on the battlefield along with the two Envoy-level androids from the Hall of Honor. None of the three had been trapped by the manifested thoughts, as they were a cyborg and two androids.

    However, this had also exposed them all.

    Even if Emperor Luo was ignored, the presence of two Envoy-level androids had surprised First Edition City, and the Third Fleet had quickly captured the androids.

    The fighting continued on for half a month, and during this time, Kui Luo cooperated with the First Protector to verbally abuse Bai Laogui and Wang Si without any restraint. Wang Yun silently watched on without making any attempt to interrupt, but Lu Yin would asionally interject, and his words were even more barbed than the two old men¡¯s.

    Some distance away were the cultivators from the Sixth Maind, none of whom qualified to even be noticed by any of the people speaking. Also, the distance between the Sixth Mainders and the others wasrge enough that they could not even hear Lu Yin and the others, which prevented a great deal of trouble.

    Eventually, after more than a month passed, Lu Yin''s heart sank. He no longer had any desire to mock Bai Laogui and Wang Si as he was instead wondering if he would ever be able to escape.

    Lu Yin asked Kui Luo about this, but the old man¡¯s answer left Lu Yin disappointed.

    Wang Si and Bai Laogui finally lost all interest in speaking as well. They had tried to escape multiple times but failed.

    Everyone eventually fell silent for more than ten days.

    Finally, on one day, Kui Luo sent a voice transmission to Lu Yin, "Do you still remember the full text that that person gave you?"

    Lu Yin was startled. "I remember. I constantly recite it."

    "Recite the whole thing again," Kui Luo ordered.

    Lu Yin did not know what was going on. The Stonewall Scriptures were invaluable, and reciting them had saved Lu Yin too many times for him to remember. Thus, he was a bit reluctant to share the Stonewall Scriptures with Kui Luo.

    "Forget it, don''t bother reciting it if you don''t want to. Anyway, it¡¯s already a certainty that you are Lu Xiaoxuan. Hey, did that old man tell you the name of that passage?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "No. Do you know it?"

    Kui Luo fell silent for a bit before saying, "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up; were the Stonewall Scriptures actually known as the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra? This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard this name.

    "You¡¯ve been reciting the text out of order, but I¡¯ll correct that. You¡¯ll need to recite it and relearn it," Kui Luo said.

    Lu Yin was startled. "You know the correct order? How do you even know that the old man mixed up the order?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Of course I would know, as we had a long-standing agreement that when we needed to share the sutra, we would rearrange it in a specific order. As long as he¡¯s the one who taught you, I know how to fix what you learned. However, if you learned it from someone else, you¡¯ll suffer.¡±

    As Kui Luo gave his warning, he stared at Lu Yin with eyes that were filled with deep meaning.

    "Who the hell are you? What''s your connection to the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo casually replied, "You¡¯ll find out when you find out, but I can''t tell you right now. You¡¯ll need to wait until you be an Envoy at the least."

    "I can already defeat two-tribtion Envoys, and I can summon Envoys from my Champions¡¯ Stage with death energy, which means that I can face off against several two-tribtion Envoys at the same time," Lu Yin replied.

    Kui Luo shook his head. "You can¡¯tpare yourself to regr cultivators. The lowest that you shouldpare yourself to are Progenitors when they possessed your level of cultivation. Do you think you¡¯re a genius? I can¡¯t speak for certain about other things, but the one thing that is absolutely guaranteed is that you are nowhere near Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s level right now."

 Chapter 1728: Transformation

    Chapter 1728: Transformation

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned at Kui Luo¡¯sment; just what did this mean?

    "Your memory¡¯s disappeared, your bloodline¡¯s been sealed, your foundation has been reformed, and your innate gifts were returned to the beginning. You have essentially started over with a new life. You are Lu Yin while Lu Xiaoxuan is Lu Xiaoxuan. Back when Lu Xiaoxuan had already created the Heaven-Shattering Palm, whichter became one of the Lu family¡¯s unique battle techniques. This technique is so profound that its creation caused Progenitor Lu to appear. This is not something that you are capable of doing right now," Kui Luo exined.

    It was strange to bepared to himself, but Lu Yin had truly be Lu Yin. Still, he was not convinced by Kui Luo¡¯s words. "Are you saying that I can''tpare to my past self, when Lu Xiaoxuan was at the same age that I am now?"

    "I don''t know about that, but you can''tpare to Lu Xiaoxuan. Your cultivation is too diverse and messy. Consider this carefully: do you have any techniques that you have created by yourself?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and his head dropped down as he started to review everything he had learned and mastered. He actually had not made a single technique on his own. It was true that he was very powerful, but his strength relied entirely on his predecessors, including his lockbreaking techniques, spiritual force, and battle force.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan followed the orthodox methods of the Lu family and trained in their techniques from childhood, progressing step by step while maintaining a firm foundation. Although he did use the Champions¡¯ Stage and mastered all of the Lu family¡¯s unique techniques, he never abandoned his attempts to create his own battle techniques. Finally, one day, he created the Heaven-Shattering Palm, shocking the entire Perennial World and causing Progenitor Lu to show himself. The entirety of the Perennial World was brought together by this achievement, precisely because of how shocking it was.

    "He aplished an unprecedented feat, as his technique was profound enough to be added to the Lu family¡¯s collection of unique techniques for those beneath the Envoy realm. This was something that no one has ever managed to do in the past. Lu Xiaoxuan became a paragon that represented the pinnacle that could be reached within any given realm. If there was a fight, I couldn¡¯t say who woulde out on top, but at least in terms of pure cultivation, you are far inferior to Lu Xiaoxuan, as you can only fight by using the strengths of others.

    "For example, the God of Death Transformation that you use is the legendary God of Death¡¯s ultimate inheritance, and it is as powerful as everything that Lu Xiaoxuan masteredbined, but it is not your power."

    Kui Luo''s words echoed in Lu Yin''s mind: not his power. Lu Yin started reviewing all of his numerous, constant battles. He had proceeded by using his Vacuum Palm, his domain, spiritual force, battle force, and lockbreaking techniques. He had steadily proceeded until he had be peerless within his generation with the God of Death Transformation that had shocked the entire universe. However, not one thing that Lu Yin used or possessed was something that was uniquely his.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something that Crown Prince Gui Qian had once mentioned, about how an ancestor from Specter Abyss had once exined that unique powers could alter the entire universe once they were taken to an extreme level. Stellr energy was not strictly necessary for cultivation as death energy was able to to rece stellr energy for the members of the Specter n, and the Rune Civilization also had an alternate cultivation method. The God of Death and the Rune Progenitor had each changed the universe through the use of their own, unique power.

    What about Lu Yin? He felt a bit confused, as just what was his unique power? What could he possibly create on his own?

    Seeing Lu Yin¡¯s confusion, Kui Luo realized that this was a bad situation, and so he quickly shouted, "Hey, old woman, Bai Laogui, is Wang Yun your bastard kid?"

    Kui Luo''s loud shout startled everyone, and Wang Si''s face instantly grew pale before she turned to re at Kui Luo. "Just wait, this old woman will be your death!"

    Bai Laogui roared, "Kui Luo, I swear that I¡¯ll kill you with a thousand cuts!"

    Lu Yin was roused by Kui Luo''s shout, and a cold sweat covered his back. He had just gotten lost in a strange state of mind, and he had no idea how serious the consequences might have been if he had continued down the line of thought that he had started upon. Fortunately, Kui Luo shouted and roused Lu Yin out of his strange state.

    Lu Yin looked over at Kui Luo, but Kui Luo was staring at Wang Si and Bai Laogui with a strange smile on his face. However, the old man also nced at Lu Yin out of the corner of his eye. After seeing that Lu Yin had recovered, Kui Luo let out a sigh of relief. The kid had started thinking too deeply about certain things, and Kui Luo could only me himself for saying too much. Still, he had to say those words.

    Kui Luo had wanted to tell Lu Yin that, even back in the Perennial World, the youth¡¯s cultivation was too chaotic. It seemed like Lu Yin wanted to focus on everything, but that would only result in him achieving nothing. It was not toote for Lu Yin to focus himself this time.

    After taking two days to calm down, Lu Yin finally sent a voice transmission to Kui Luo. "I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have any trouble bing an Envoy, so tell me: who are you and that old man who taught me the sutra?"

    Kui Luo responded with a voice transmission as well. "Like I told you, we can talk about this after you be an Envoy. Do you not think that it¡¯ll be difficult? You¡¯re underestimating the stellr tribtions! The more powerful a genius is, the more terrifying the tribtion will be. When Bai Xian''er became an Envoy, her tribtion was earth-shattering, and it left everyone speechless. A Progenitor had to intervene because Aeternus started an aggressive attack at the same time as they did not want her to survive her tribtion. Still, that woman survived. It¡¯s impossible for your stellr tribtion to be any weaker than hers, so I suggest that you prepare yourself as much as possible. The hope of Lu¡¯s family return is on you."

    "The hope of their return? What do you know?" Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    Kui Luo pursed his lips. He had already said too much. "Nothing. Tell me, do you want to learn the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra?"

    Lu Yin stared at Kui Luo for a while. It was clear that the old man would not answer any more of Lu Yin¡¯s questions. "I¡¯ll learn it."

    Kui Luo took a deep breath, and he became more and more solemn. After a bit of time, he sent another voice transmission. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you must always remember that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra is not something to be used as ast resort. You cannot share it with any outsiders. From the very beginning, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra should have only been given to you, as it is a cultivation method that has been passed down by your Lu family from one generation to the next. Maybe it was fate, or maybe your Lu family¡¯s ancestors blessed you, but you still managed to learn it. Now, you must remember the correct order: swap the first sentence with the fourth. The second with the seventh. The third with the twenty-first. The fourth and the fifteenth¡­"

    Lu Yin listened silently. The first change made the beginning ''the Dao of Heaven¡¯s spear.¡¯ The second rearrangement became ''the flow of a hundred rivers'' ¡­

    When the old grandpa had asked Lu Yin to recite the Stonewall Scriptures on Driftcharge, Lu Yin had not been able to learn theplete scripture as a whole, and he still struggled to recite the entire thing in one go. Still, the Stonewall Scriptures were only too familiar to Lu Yin, as Lu Yin had constantly recited the Stonewall Scriptures¡ªno, it was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    As Lu Yin decrypted each word, the unorganized version that had been the Stonewall Scriptures began to reveal its true power. Without his realization, Lu Yin''s body began to move to a rhythmic beat. The rhythm exited both within his body and outside. It permeated the manifested thoughts of the Master Brain and started to spread out.

    Kui Luo quickly becamepletely shocked. Sure enough, only the direct descendants of the Lu family were able to unlock the true power of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and even Kui Luo felt this strange tempo exert an influence on him.

    Bai Laogui and Wang Si soon felt that something was wrong, but they could not determine what. All that they could sense was that there was some hidden power that was trying to influence them and seize some level of control over their spiritual force.

    "Someone is attacking!" Wang Si shouted as she looked up and nced around. "Who is it? We are from the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers. Release us at once! Don¡¯t make a mistake!"

    The First Protector had also felt the unique rhythm, and he nced around as well, unable to determine its source.

    Wang Yun and the people from the Sixth Maind were all within range of the odd rhythm, and their spiritual force resonated with it. Their spiritual force pulsed with Lu Yin¡¯s as he recited the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and it felt as though Lu Yin was controlling their heartbeats.

    This was just the beginning of Lu Yin reciting the sutra. As he progressed, his spiritual force transformed. If his spiritual force had previously been like a fog that could be blown away, then that fog had be solid. While there was no increase in the amount of spiritual force that Lu Yin possessed, it waspletely different from what it had been before. It was aplete transformation.

    The Celestial Demons were known as the most terrifying species in the Astral Beast Domain, but as Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force transformed, he realized that he would no longer need to fear any Celestial Demon, no matter how terrifying their spiritual force or ability to devour it might be. Their attacks might be like a hurricane, but a hurricane could not shake a stubborn rock. Unless the storm was powerful enough to uproot and destroy the entire mountain range, the stubborn rock would remainpletely unchanged and undamaged in the face of the storm. At this moment, Lu Yin''s spiritual force was that stubborn rock.

    It was as though Lu Yin hadyered hundreds of Inception Arrays on top of himself; the true version of the Stonewall Scriptures changed Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force into something like an immovable stone. Even if it was small, it was robust.

    At this moment, Lu Yin wanted to test himself against the Second Nightking to see how much of the Second Nightking''s spiritual force he could withstand. Regardless, Lu Yin knew that he was capable of enduring far more than when he had first encountered the Second Nightking in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    Lu Yin eventually stopped reciting the sutra, as he could not even recite the full text of the Stonewall Scriptures, let alone the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    Still, even though Lu Yin had only made it through a small bit of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, the recitation had brought about a tremendous change in him. When he opened his eyes, there was an indescribable brilliance within them.

    It was impossible for either Wang Si or Bai Laogui to realize that the spiritual force fluctuation they had just felt was actually from Lu Yin. The resonating rhythm had stopped the moment Lu Yin had stopped reciting the sutra.

    Wang Si continued to shout, but there was absolutely no response. All along, she had been calling for the headmaster of Sky Creation Academy, Senn, but there was no response at all.

    Lu Yin looked over at Kui Luo, and the old man let out a sigh of relief. Since Lu Yin was able to practice this sutra, it meant that the youth had not been lying.

    "How do you feel?" Kui Luo asked curiously. He had also learned and mastered the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and this sutra was the reason why his spiritual force had reached the level where the old man could face off against several Semi-Progenitors on his own and safely escape. However, the Lu family were the true descendants of the Origin Progenitor, and only those with the blood of the Lu family could unleash the sutra¡¯s true strength.

    Kui Luo was quite curious about what Lu Yin had just experienced, as the spiritual force fluctuation had affected him even though Lu Yin was not yet an Envoy.

    Lu Yin said, "Very nice."

    "And?" Kui Luo pressed.

    Lu Yin blinked. "And what?"

    Kui Luo stared intently at Lu Yin. "Your spiritual force has gone through some sort of change; was it a big change?"

    "Huge," Lu Yin answered truthfully.

    Kui Luo nodded and dropped the matter. "You will need to continue this yourself, so don¡¯t ck off."

    "Even if I practice this, what¡¯s the use if we can''t escape from this ce?" Lu Yin felt helpless. He looked all over the ce and just happened to meet Wang Yun¡¯s eyes. The young woman saw the hatred that filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Kui Luo just shrugged. "Who knew that there was such a bizarre inner world in the Forsaken Land. I certainly can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s keeping us trapped, and even Bai Laogui and that old broad Wang Si are stuck here with us. Very few of the Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitors would be able to escape from this ce."

    "Like Ancestor All Dao?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo nodded. "Old Wan Zhiyi is the Semi-Progenitor who¡¯s closest to bing a Progenitor. There are also different levels of strength among Semi-Progenitors, and those who have opened all three meridian points like you and me are able to continue progressing the Progenitor realm, but those who haven¡¯t will forever remain as Semi-Progenitors. There¡¯s a big difference between those who haven¡¯t opened their meridian points and those who have, and Bai Laogui never aplished that."

    ¡°What about that olddy, Wang Si?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I don''t actually know. She originally never even had a chance of bing a Semi-Progenitor. Her foundation wasn¡¯t sturdy enough when she was an Enlighter, so she was only barely able to be an Envoy, which took her a long time to aplish, and it only happened because of the Wang family providing her with so many resources. As for what happened after that? I have no clue how she managed to be a Semi-Progenitor, but it has to have something to do with your Lu family."

    This information caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to be even colder when he looked over at Wang Si. The woman¡¯s aplishments had actually been built on the Lu family¡¯s foundations!

 Chapter 1729: Murkiness

    Chapter 1729: Murkiness

    The imprisonment continued for two months, and Lu Yin had no idea how long they would remain trapped here for. He had alreadye up with a possible way to escape, but it would most likely expose his die, and he did not want to do that.

    They were being held captive by manifested thoughts, and because of this, if Lu Yin rolled his die andnded on four pips, he would leave the pocket dimension for a split second to enter the Timestop Space.

    However, regardless of how brief his absence might be, he would cease to exist within the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts for a moment, and that would naturally cause some trouble.

    This was what Lu Yin had thought of trying, and he had only been able to think of this n because he knew that they were being held prisoners by the Master Brain¡¯s materialized thoughts. This fact was something that Kui Luo, Wang Si, and Bai Laogui were allpletely ignorant of.

    However, escaping from this current predicament required Lu Yin to roll his die, and to even do so in front of everyone. His die was his greatest secret as he had not even revealed it to Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin felt quite torn.

    He was hesitant on what to do for another half a month, and during that time, Lu Yin recited the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra every single day. It made sense to do so, as he had nothing else to do.

    Kui Luo and the other prisoners were all affected each time Lu Yin practiced the sutra. Wang Si and Bai Laogui believed that the strange rhythm was rted to the Technocracy, and so they continued to threaten and posture while exposing the Wang family¡¯s cooperative rtionship with Sky Creation Academy. However, they never managed to arouse any reaction at all.

    Lu Yin already knew that Sky Creation Academy had some connection to the Wang family, but it turned out that they merely had a cooperative rtionship. This was something that Lu Yin could not understand. He knew that Sky Creation Academy needed materials that the Wang family could supply, but what could the Wang family possibly gain from Sky Creation Academy? Lu Yin had never seen any androids in the Perennial World.

    One day, while Lu Yin was reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, everything around him suddenly turned gray, though Lu Yin remained in the same pocket space as before. He looked over and saw that Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Kui Luo had all been frozen, and only Lu Yin was able to move. He was saved.

    He slowly looked up to see a familiar figure before him. Lu Yin heaved a massive sigh of relief. "Master, you¡¯re finally here!"

    Naturally, Mister Mu had appeared in front of Lu Yin.

    Mister Mu calmly observed Lu Yin. "You ended up in trouble again."

    Lu Yin felt wronged. "Master, there was nothing that your disciple could have done! The Perennial World sent Semi-Progenitors to hunt me down, and if I hadn¡¯t gotten lucky, they would have killed me long ago. They¡¯re going to kill your disciple, Master!"

    The more Lu Yin exined his situation, the more excited he became. He kept trying to reiterate how the Perennial World was working to eliminate one of Mister Mu''s disciples.

    Mister Mu reactedpletely indifferently, "You¡¯ve gained many opportunities, and disasters naturally follow. This is nothing surprising."

    Lu Yin was startled, and he had no idea how to respond. Mister Mu''s reaction hadpletely shut down any response Lu Yin could have made.

    "By the way, Master, how did you know that your disciple was here?" Lu Yin asked. He did not have a jade talisman anymore, so was it possible that Mister Mu had been keeping an eye on him?

    Mister Mu indifferently replied, "I was passing by and saw you."

    Passing by? This answer sounded odd to Lu Yin. After all, they were in the Technocracy, so why the hell would Mister Mu ¡®pass by¡¯ this ce?

    He then remembered what Mister Mu had said when Lu Yin had seen him in the Perennial World: "If I want to visit, then I¡¯ll do so."

    This was a truly different perspective. To Lu Yin, the Technocracy was full of mystery, and it was intimidating to even Semi-Progenitors. However, to Mister Mu, it was just some ce that he passed through whenever he wanted.

    Lu Yin nced over at Kui Luo, Wang Si, and Bai Laogui. The three Semi-Progenitors were allpletely frozen.

    Lu Yin looked back at Mister Mu again. The difference between them was just too big.

    "Have you seen your senior brother?" Mister Mu asked in a casual manner. He acted as though nothing was particrly important.

    Lu Yin remained respectful. "Yes, I''ve seen him. The Chief Justice is just too powerful."

    Mister Mu stared at Lu Yin. "I meant the other one."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "The other- the other one? Who?"

    Mister Mu looked off to the side. "If you don¡¯t know, then just forget I said anything."

    Lu Yin instantly became curious; was there another brother disciple that Lu Yin had seen? Who could it be? He had already realized that he had more than a single senior disciple brother, but only the Chief Justice had revealed their connection to Lu Yin.

    Who could the other one be? Lu Yin¡¯s mind started racing as he started going through all the people he had met.

    "Since I saw you, I have a task to give you," Mister Mu said, but then he suddenly stopped talking. He seemed to be hesitating about something.

    Lu Yin had never seen this reaction from Mister Mu, and he suddenly felt that he might be able to help with a unique task. So, he quickly put on his best smile and pandered, "Master, if you there¡¯s anything you need, please tell me."

    Mister Mu thought for a bit longer before answering. "This particr task is too dangerous for you, but you are also the one who is most suited for it."

    "Tell me, Master. Your disciple is not afraid of danger," Lu Yin volunteered.

    Mister Mu somberly stared at Lu Yin. "Aeternus has had a n in motion for a long time. They call it ¡®Murkiness.¡¯ I would like you to learn more about it."

    "Aeternus¡¯s n?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Mister Mu continued exining in a calm manner. "Aeternus is humanity¡¯s greatest enemy throughout all of history. They have done many things to mankind, and even though we have managed to produce many geniuses, we are still at a disadvantage. This particr n may be the most difficult one that Aeternus has evere up with, and it¡¯s possible that we humans will cease to exist entirely if they seed.

    "I have been investigating this n for many years, but it¡¯s impossible to force a corpse king to reveal anything at all, and it¡¯s even more difficult to nt a mole within Aeternus. Thus, aside from the name, I have been able to learn nothing at all about this n. I¡¯m hoping that you might be able to learn something, as you seem to be very good at such tasks."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew determined. "Master, don''t worry! Your disciple will do his best to look into this."

    Good at such tasks? Of course Lu Yin was good at them! With his die¡¯s Possession ability, as long as Lu Yin managed to Possess the right corpse king, he would learn everything, and the corpse king would be utterly helpless to resist. The only problem was that Lu Yin¡¯s current strength meant that he could only Possess beings with a power level of about 600,000. It was impossible for any corpse king at that level to know anything about the master n that Mister Mu was investigating.

    Lu Yin would probably have to Possess an Aeternus powerhouse at the level of the Seven Skygods to learn anything at all.

    "Master, it might not be easy for your disciple to learn anything soon," Lu Yin exined. "But your disciple promises that, as my strength improves, I will absolutely do my best to look into this. This will be my top priority in the future!"

    Mister Mu nodded. "Don''t worry too much and just do your best."

    If Lu Yin were faced with anyone else, he would have likely started to negotiate conditions, such as protection from the Perennial World¡¯s experts chasing him, or a powerful piece of equipment. However, Lu Yin had no such thoughts when facing Mister Mu.

    The kindness of one¡¯s teacher was a weight as heavy as a mountain, and Mister Mu had already saved Lu Yin¡¯s life many times. Without Mister Mu, Lu Yin would have died long ago, so he would not refuse any requests that Mister Mu made.

    "Is there anything else?" Mister Mu asked.

    Lu Yin smiled, "Master, um¡­ there are a few people who were trapped with your disciple, so I would like to ask Master to rescue them as well. Otherwise, your disciple won¡¯t be able to return to the Innerverse."

    Mister Mu looked up. "That¡¯s simple."

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched, as the two of them truly saw things frompletely different viewpoints. "Also, Master, your disciple has something that I would like to ask you."

    "Tell me."

    Lu Yin thought for a while before solemnly asking, "Is your disciple¡¯s cultivation path too messy?"

    Mister Mu stared at Lu Yin. "Why are you asking that?"

    Lu Yin remembered what Kui Luo had said. While Lu Yin had been imprisoned, those words had echoed in his head time and time again. "You know about this disciple¡¯s identity from before I lost my memory. Lu Xiaoxuan had his own life, and he even managed to create his own Heaven-Shattering Palm while your disciple has aplished nothing yet. Progenitor Chen created his Cosmic Art, the Rune Progenitor created the runic cultivation method, and the legendary Death God was able to rece stellr energy with his own death energy.

    "Every true powerhouse has created their own strength and power, but your disciple has nothing and no idea how to even proceed."

    As Lu Yin spoke, his eyes dimmed. He had always believed himself to be extremely talented, but it was true that everything he possessed hade from others. Everything that he knew had been learned from someone else. What did it matter if he was a Realmbreaker who could challenge Envoys? Lu Yin had nothing to truly call his own, which was something that Lu Xiaoxuan had already aplished by the time he had reached Lu Yin¡¯s age.

    Lu Yin had be full of self-doubt during these recent days. He had no idea what he could create on his own, and he genuinely had no idea where to even start.

    "Master, your disciple is ipetent," Lu Yin said softly.

    Mister Mu raised a hand and set it on Lu Yin''s head.

    The gesture startled Lu Yin, and he froze while staring nkly into space.

    "Everyone has their own path. Your path is something that only you can know, and there is no need topare yourself to anyone else. So you don¡¯t know how to go about creating your own power? That simply means that the moment has note yet. The day wille when you will find something that is uniquely yours, some unique power. You are exceptional. Since I have epted you as my disciple, you must be truly excellent,¡± Mister Mu said.

    Lu Yin hesitated. "If your disciple had not established the Great Eastern Alliance and had focused exclusively on cultivating, could I have found my way to my own power sooner?"

    Mister Mu pulled his hand back and looked down at Lu Yin. "The path you are taking is your own path. While you might feel that you are carrying those that you meet on your path right now, they may very well be able to give you a lift to greater heights in the future. Progenitor Chen walked his path on his own, taking on the universe on his own, while the Rune Progenitor cared for the masses, creating runes and raising an entire Rune Civilization.

    "Cultivation is not solely for you alone. The reason why humans are different from the Aeternals is because of our connections to each other. Even if Progenitor Chen fought against the universe on his own and lived a lonely life, he still fought to protect humanity. Life and death are both mysteries. Everything that you do will end up bing an opportunity that will return to you, possibly far in the future."

    Mister Mu''s words cleared the fog that had been clouding Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Familiar words started to ring in his mind: ''Lu Yin, the Great Yu Empire is yours, as I''m not suitable to handle it.''

    ''Master, you¡¯re back! Master, Little Wei missed you!''

    ''Your Highness, where are my snacks? I want delicious snacks.''

    ''Everything is under the Alliance Leader¡¯smand.''

    ''We greet the alliance leader.''

    ''We greet the alliance leader''

    ¡­

    ¡®Brother Lu, I¡¯ve missed you so much.¡¯

    Lu Yin tightly clenched both of his fists. Kui Luo''s words had left Lu Yin doubting himself for a period of time, and he had even started to deny his own talent and everything that he had ever aplished. At the end, he had even started to deny the Great Eastern Alliance and those whose fates were intertwined with his own.

    Fortunately, Mister Mu had cleared the doubts from Lu Yin¡¯s mind in time.

    Who had imed that cultivation needed to be internally focused to the point of excluding all else? Who had said that managing the Great Eastern Alliance and working to unify the Innerverse and Outerverse had dyed Lu Yin¡¯s progress? Who had imed that cultivators had to seek out inheritances and constantly exchange pointers with others? Lu Yin had his own path to seek.

    He had nearly forgotten, but if he had never established the Great Eastern Alliance, how could he have ever gathered the necessary star essence to cultivate and fuel his die rolls? Without the Great Eastern Alliance, how could Lu Yin have built up the status that he currently enjoyed, and how would he ever be able to stand up to the Perennial World in the future? How could he have ever be valuable enough for Aeternus to include him in their schemes? It was quite likely that Lu Yin would have simply been captured by Shaman God from the battlefield behind the Mother Tree and then transformed.

    Yes, this was his path.

    He wanted to take himself and his followers to the pinnacle.

 Chapter 1730: Cooperation

    Chapter 1730: Cooperation

    Upon seeing rity return to Lu Yin''s eyes, Mister Mu showed a small smile.

    "Master, your disciple understands. Thank you, Master." Lu Yin was truly grateful.

    Mister Mu¡¯s tone remained indifferent. "Your senior brother has no such doubts because he knows that bing epted as my disciple means that he is the best."

    Lu Yin snorted. "Master, your disciple has already learned so many different things, so my foundation is veryplicated. What should I do about it?"

    "It''s fine just to practice everything to the pinnacle," Mister Mu casually replied. With that, the pocket dimension returned to normal. Lu Yin said nothing as his body fell down, as did Kui Luo, the First Protector, and the two Sixth Maind cultivators.

    As for Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Wang Yun, they remained trapped within theyer of space that held the manifested thoughts.

    Kui Luo was stunned; what had just happened?

    Thergest mechanical giant charged over, and Kui Luo reflexively twitched a few fingers,pletely shattering the giant.

    "We¡¯ve escaped!" Lu Yin was excited.

    Kui Luo''s expression grew sharp. Escaped? He quickly grabbed hold of Lu Yin and said, "Let''s go."

    "There¡¯s no need to panic. Those two old things aren''t here," Lu Yin quickly mentioned.

    Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force burst out and swept across the Sophic Rift. The war was still raging on, but everything paused when Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force spread across it.

    The Third Fleet was no longer present, as Admiral Chong¡¯s body had been destroyed. His demise had forced another fleet to rece the Third Fleet. However, the recements from First Edition City were also no longer fighting against the Lost Course Army.

    Lu Yin and the others had appeared without any notice, and right after that, Kui Luo''s strength had shocked the entire battlefield. Androids and cyborgs from both sides of the war all stared at the old man.

    "Let''s go! Take me to First Edition City," Lu Yin whispered.

    Kui Luo automatically refused. "We¡¯ve finally escaped, but you don¡¯t want to leave this haunted ce?"

    "If you want to leave, then we have to speak with them. They can put us back whenever they want," Lu Yin said.

    Kui Luo thought about that possibility, and fear filled his heart. He still was not able to understand how the Forsaken Land could possibly have a powerhouse that so terrifying that it had instantly captured and restrain multiple Semi-Progenitors. This strength was nearing that of a Progenitor.

    "We need to go and talk to the people in First Edition City. Otherwise, who knows when we¡¯ll get free again if they recapture us," Lu Yin exined. He was also afraid of being recaptured. However, his mission in the Technocracy had not beenpleted yet, so he could not leave things as they were. This trip could not be for nothing.

    Although Wang Si and Bai Laogui were still both trapped, the Perennial World could simply send more Semi-Progenitors after Lu Yin. He had to set up a means to constantly monitor Sky Creation Academy.

    When the First Protector heard that Lu Yin still wanted to return to First Edition City, he instantly refused.

    "Where?" Kui Luo asked. He had no intention of interacting with the First Protector at all.

    "That way." After Lu Yin pointed in a certain direction, Kui Luo carried Lu Yin, the First Protector, and the two Sixth Maind cultivators away. The humans all disappeared, headed towards First Edition City.

    With Kui Luo¡¯s strength as a Semi-Progenitor, they almost instantly arrived at First Edition City.

    The Technocracy¡¯s surveince was certainly no joke, and the humans¡¯ whereabouts were revealed as soon as they arrived at First Edition City.

    The First Protector had a miserable expression on his face, and he stared at Lu Yin. "We need to go back. There¡¯s no telling what the power that imprisoned all of us will do."

    "Do you really believe we can escape the Technocracy without being captured?" Lu Yin shot back.

    The First Protector found himself without an answer.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, "Senior, the Semi-Progenitor beside you is even more afraid of death than you."

    "Kid, cut the nonsense! This old man just doesn¡¯t like being controlled." Kui Luo was upset.

    The First Protector snorted derisively. He did not like Kui Luo from what he had seen so far.

    "Kid, what''s with that look? Do you need a beating? Do you want me to dig up how you wetted your bed when you were a child?" Kui Luo threatened, but the First Protector just ignored him. Not liking someone was one thing while being afraid of them was something else entirely.

    Kui Luo smirked at the First Protector¡¯s reaction.

    A group of humans stood in outer space just outside First Edition City.

    Soon, the vice city master emerged from the void to meet Lu Yin. "I thought that you all had already left the Technocracy, but you actually dared to return."

    "Our people were captured by you, so we have to take them back," Lu Yin said casually. He was naturally referring to Emperor Luo and the two Envoy-level androids from the Hall of Honor.

    The vice city master nced over the rest of the humans, only revealing a bit of fear when he nced at Kui Luo. "Now that you have the support of a Semi-Progenitor, do you think that you can take people away from my First Edition City? Human, you underestimate us too much."

    Lu Yin smiled. "No, I¡¯m not underestimating anyone."

    After that, Lu Yin canceled the disguise that the First Protector had put on Lu Yin and reverted to his normal appearance.

    With Lu Yin revealing himself, this had be an official matter.

    The vice city master was truly surprised. "Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. So it¡¯s you. No wonder you¡¯ve been so daring."

    "Won¡¯t the vice city master invite us in for a chat? I¡¯ve been wanting to meet the city master for a long time," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    The vice city master just sneered. "You want to meet with the city master?"

    Right after that, a deep voice was heard, "Little Bear, let them in."

    The vice city master grew embarrassed, and he quickly shot Lu Yin a fierce re. "Please enter."

    Lu Yin gave a polite smile before leading Kui Luo and the others into First Edition City.

    This was Kui Luo¡¯s first time seeing such a bizarre ce. There were supeputers moving about in transportation tubes and deactivated androids scattered around for use as vessels. The old man had never been to such a bizarre ce even in his dreams.

    After Lu Yin and others entered the city, the vice city master¡¯s bear-shaped android remained exceptionally vignt. After all, there was a Semi-Progenitor with these humans.

    It was known that Semi-Progenitors were inferior only to Progenitors among humans, and if not for the Master Brain, the Technocracy would have no means of trapping such experts. So naturally, First Edition Citycked such means.

    "Vice City Master, how are my people doing? Also, how is the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman?" Lu Yin asked.

    The vice city master coldly replied, "They¡¯ve all been captured."

    "Have you already interrogated the swordsman?" Lu Yin was curious.

    "That has nothing to do with you," the bear retorted.

    After entering the city, they were taken to the same quarters they had been given before, but this time, there was someone already there. It was a very ordinary looking android who looked at Lu Yin and hispanions with open curiosity.

    The two cultivators from the Sixth Maind and the First Protector all stayed outside, and only Lu Yin and Kui Luo entered the room.

    The First Protector felt offended. He was a peak powerhouse who was inferior only to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and yet he was beingpletely ignored. The truth was that he was confident that he could force his way out of First Edition City as he was well aware of his own power.

    "City Master, they''re here," the vice city master respectfully stated.

    The android looked past Lu Yin at Kui Luo. "When did the Human Domain gain another Semi-Progenitor?¡±

    The android then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Is he with you, Alliance Leader?"

    Lu Yin said, "Master Midday of First Edition City, there¡¯s no need to keep secrets at this moment, and I also know a bit about the truth behind the Technocracy. Do you really not know where this Semi-Progenitor is from?"

    Midday remained silent for a long time, but was also quite curious about Lu Yin¡¯sment. "You say that you have some understanding of our Technocracy? Let''s hear it."

    Lu Yin considered his answer for a bit. "Manifested thoughts."

    These words left Midday silent for a very long time while the vice city master¡¯s eyes went wide as the bear stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief: how could this human know such a thing? This was impossible!

    No matter how this human learned of this matter, Lu Yin could never be allowed to leave the Technocracy alive. No, he could not be allowed to live.

    As his thoughts raced, the eyes of the bear started leaking strong killing intent.

    Lu Yin nced over, but he only showed a confident smile after seeing the vice city master¡¯s reaction. "The master of First Edition City already knows what happened to us, and I did not expected to be released. However, since we are able to get out, does City Master Midday believe that you can hold us?"

    The bear''s paws trembled as he looked over at Midday.

    A long timeter, Midday looked up at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, let¡¯s talk about this."

    The android then gestured for Lu Yin to have a seat.

    Lu Yin and Kui Luo nced at each other before sitting down.

    Kui Luo was quite curious about First Edition City¡¯s master. Given Kui Luo¡¯s personality, if not for the residual fear from his recent imprisonment, he would have already scanned through the entire city with his spiritual force. It was truly abnormal for him to sit down and slowly talk things through with someone.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what was the purpose in disguising yourselves as representatives of the Sixth Maind to sneak into my city? Was this just to go see the battle in the Sophic Rift?" Midday asked.

    "What if I told you yes?" Lu Yin replied.

    A long time went by before Midday revealed his surprise. "Truly?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "One of our goals was to visit the Sophic Rift while our other purpose was to search for something."

    A long period of silence passed as Midday stared at Lu Yin and simply waited for the human to continue.

    "Origin Matter," Lu Yin solemnly stated.

    Midday took a long time before responding. "The Origin Matter that appeared on the carapace of the Lost Course Army¡¯smander?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sky Creation Academy has Origin Matter. You saw it on the battlefield."

    Midday replied, "I''m not certain that that was actually Origin Matter. Who would put such a thing on the body of the Lost Course Army¡¯smander? Also, it instantly disappeared, which is the real problem."

    Kui Luo nced at Lu Yin, as he was quite interested in how the youth would spin things. Kui Luo still had the Origin Matter, and Lu Yin was actually the one who had nted it on the battlefield.

    "I can''t exin why the Lost Course Army¡¯smander had Origin Matter, but I do know for absolute certainty that it was Origin Matter,¡± Lu Yin dered.

    Midday justughed for a long time. "This situation is all too odd. To be honest, I don''t actually believe it was Origin Matter even though the aura was so simr."

    "Has City Master Midday seen Origin Matter before?" Lu Yin was startled. Out of everyone in the Sophic Rift, he had only expected the First Protector to recognize the Origin Matter. Naturally, any Envoy would have also sensed the energy of the Origin Matter, but none of them should have been able to recognize what it was.

    In fact, when Lu Yin had first mentioned the presence of the Origin Matter to the First Protector, Admiral Chong and the other powerhouses on the battlefield had not recognized anything, and they had simply continued fighting.

    City Master Midday exined, "I always pay attention to the battlefield, but due to the distance and the brief time that it appeared, I was not able to sense the energy. However, others have already told me that the energy only affected those with the power of Envoys. Also, I did once see Origin Matter, and the appearance was nearly the same. Thus, there has been quite a bit of spection.

    "However, spection is only that, and I still don''t believe that Origin Matter appeared. Such a thing is too absurd andpletely unbelievable."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It is absurd. Origin Matter is valuable enough to cause even Semi-Progenitors to go crazy, and yet some mysteriously appeared on your battlefield on a mechanical giant. There¡¯s no exnation for this, but I don¡¯t need one. All I need is the Origin Matter, and it shouldn¡¯t be of any real use to your Technocracy."

    Midday stared at Lu Yin for a long time. "Whether it was real or not, why did youe back to First Edition City if your goal is the Origin Matter? Was it just because of your subordinates?"

    Lu Yin instantly grew serious. "I want to cooperate with your First Edition City."

 Chapter 1731: A Trove Of A Secret Techniques

    Chapter 1731: A Trove Of A Secret Techniques

    Kui Luo showed no surprise when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, though the First Protector would have been absolutely shocked if he had heard Lu Yin¡¯s request. First Edition City had fought against the Human Domain for eons. There had been people in the past who had wanted to stop the war and cooperate with the Technocracy, but all such attempts had failed. First Edition City had never shown even the slightest bit of goodwill towards the Human Domain, and yet Lu Yin wanted the two of them to cooperate.

    Little Bear instantly startedughing and as he looked at Lu Yin with a mocking expression.

    On the other hand, Midday showed great interest. "Cooperate? Alliance Leader Lu, are you toying with me?"

    "I¡¯mpletely serious," Lu Yin solemnly replied.

    The master of First Edition City answered, "The Hall of Honor has asked to cooperate with us before, but all such requests were rejected. My city has been at war with the Human Domain for countless years, and there has never once been any possibility of cooperation. What makes you bold enough to try?"

    Lu Yin remained unflustered. "Because the Sixth Maind is gone."

    City Master Midday calmly gazed at Lu Yin for a long time.

    Lu Yin finally continued, saying, "First Edition City cooperated with the Sixth Maind for the materials that they supplied, and the people from the Sixth Maind exined to me that your cooperation was based off of you fighting against the Human Domain in order to earn the supplied materials. With the Sixth Maind destroyed, there is no longer any reason for you to cooperate with them, which makes it our turn."

    "What? Do you think that your Human Domain has enough resources to even interest us? Even if there is, how can you represent the Human Domain? You can''t represent the Hall of Honor! Even though I don¡¯t pay attention to the Human Domain¡¯s news, I still know that over the years, their hatred towards us in no worse than their hatred for the Sixth Maind. Provide us with resources? What a joke!" Midday casually replied.

    Lu Yin moved his fingers. "It would not be the Human Domain cooperating with you, but me."

    Midday and Little Bear both stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, I am representing neither the Human Star Region nor the Great Eastern Alliance, but myself, Lu Yin. I will provide you with the resources that you need."

    "Why you?" Little Bear could not stop himself from speaking up.

    They had been cooperating with the massive Sixth Maind, which had supplied First Edition City with untold resources over the years. Even if the city did decide to cooperate with the Human Domain, they should be negotiating with the Hall of Honor. No matter how rich and powerful Lu Yin might be, it was impossible for him to match the resources of the entire Humain Domain.

    Lu Yin just stared at Midday for a long time. "I don''t havemon materials that I can provide you with, but I do have some rare materials that ordinary people can''t acquire, not even the Sixth Maind. This is what I can provide you."

    Midday¡¯s eyes flickered. "How can you possibly acquire materials that the Sixth Maind can''t?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Let me just say that it¡¯s an innate gift. I can perfectly separate theponents of any substance, which allows me to obtain the purest form of the dposed substance¡¯s original materials."

    "Impossible!" Little Bear shouted while staring at Lu Yin. "Lies! Not even the best technology of my First Edition City can do that!."

    Lu Yin condescendingly responded, "Just because you can¡¯t do something doesn¡¯t mean that I can¡¯t as well. Don''t believe me? Let me prove it."

    Midday silently stared at Lu Yin for a long time. His rationality insisted that Lu Yin¡¯s ims were impossible. Such rare materials had ancient origins, and they had all been used up long, long ago. While First Edition City did have a lot of items from the ancient eras, it was impossible to refine those items back into their raw materials. Thus, the only option was to search for new sources of those rare materials, but that was also impossible, as such things had all been dug up and used long ago. Despite all of that, this human youth was iming to be able to perfectly refine and separate any material. How could this possibly be real?

    Cultivators constantly fought throughout their long lives, and while experts with power levels of a million or Semi-Progenitors might have the strength of a god, there were still some things that were beyond their abilities.

    Even Kui Luo looked at Lu Yin in surprise. Was it really possible for someone to perfectly refine any and all materials? This was very simple to do with regr items, and even some powerhouses that focused exclusively on battle were capable of doing so. However, those items never contained any truly rare materials. Suchpounds could not be refined even with First Edition City¡¯s technology, so this was clearly not a simple im to make.

    There were even some items that looked to be perfectly ordinary but could not be refined either because of their age, an extremelyplicated manufacturing method, or unique characteristics of thebined materials that did not allow for the item to be refined and recycled. No one could perfectly break down any substance, as it was simply impossible.

    "City Master Midday, you can test me out. Find something that contains a material that you need but cannot refine. See whether I can refine it for you," Lu Yin said to the android.

    Nothing happened for a long time, and then Midday looked at the bear-shaped android and winked.

    Little Bear left.

    Nothing was said for a long time.

    "By the way, Alliance Lord Lu, was themotion that broke out in my city some time ago connected to you?" Midday suddenly asked while staring straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression remainedpletely unchanged. "It doesn''t matter."

    The two stared at each other for a long time, but the android could not tell whether Lu Yin was hiding something or not. Actually, Midday also found this detail to be irrelevant because the android that had created amotion had been quickly defeated without ever having any opportunity to go anywhere in First Edition City. He was still convinced that the Sixth Maind was behind the incident, and he found it highly unlikely that there was any connection to Lu Yin.

    Soon after, the bear returned, holding a shattered stone that was thrown to Lu Yin. He caught it, and his brows rose as he studied the stone.

    "While this stone is just a stone, it contains a certain substance that¡¯s known as teardust. As long as you can extract that, I¡¯ll believe you," Midday solemnly dered.

    Kui Luo was startled. "Teardust?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Have you heard of it, Senior?"

    Kui Luo nodded while still staring at the stone in amazement. "Teardust is a very ancient substance that hasn¡¯t been seen in countless years. I never expected to find some here."

    He then looked up at Lu Yin. "Are you sure that you can purify this? You should know that teardust is extremely fragile. Not to mention you, but even someone who only just started cultivating could destroy teardust with the slightest bit of carelessness.¡±

    "What is it used for?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Kui Luo. "Growing nts."

    Lu Yin blinked. "That¡¯s it?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "That''s it. It''s actually a type of soil."

    "Then why is it so valuable? Even Senior has heard of its value."

    "It¡¯s said that nts grown in teardust will have greater spirituality than other nts of the same species. In fact, I once heard that Progenitor Hui''s first Root of Intelligence was grown in teardust."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he was suddenly overjoyed. "Really?"

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please extract the teardust from this. How long will you need?" Midday finally interrupted to ask.

    Lu Yin looked down at the stone in his hand. "Do you have anything more? Bring me all of it, as I don¡¯t have time to wait here and slowly refine it."

    "As long as you are able to extract the teardust, our cooperation will begin. There will not be any need for Alliance Leader Lu to wait in First Edition City, as I will give you various items, and you can deliver them to us after they have been refined," Midday responded earnestly.

    Lu Yin smiled. "You¡¯re acting like a decision¡¯s been made. However, City Master, I never mentioned my conditions for our cooperation. All I said was that I¡¯m willing to cooperate with you."

    "First extract the teardust." The master of First Edition City still did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s ims, so the android simply left.

    Little Bear quickly caught up to Midday. "City Master, aren''t you worried that he might already have some teardust that he can use to trick us?"

    Midday took some time to reply. "If something so coincidental urs, then it¡¯s simply fate to cooperate with him, so why fight it?"

    Little Bear acted like he understood, though he actually did not.

    Kui Luo also excused himself, leaving Lu Yin alone.

    Lu Yin returned to the room where he had secluded himself before, and his eyes sparkled as a rush of energy swept out from Kui Luo that prevented First Edition City from monitoring Lu Yin.

    "Don¡¯t worry about it," Kui Luo¡¯s voice reached Lu Yin.

    He looked up, feeling as though he was able to see the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts. Lu Yin did not know if the Master Brain could still see him at this moment, but even if it could, it was fine. Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to first roll his die¡¯s two pips, after which he could hide any of his die¡¯s other abilities.

    While an innate gift for purifying materials into their raw state was rare, it was not enough to put Lu Yin in any danger.

    He set his cosmic ring aside, and he also made sure that he did not have any star essence on himself.

    He raised a hand and brought out his die. His finger tapped it, and after it slowly spun around, it stopped on five pips.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated. While both Kui Luo and the First Protector had innate gifts, Lu Yin did not dare to rush over to either of them within the time limit of ten seconds and touch them. Instead, he rolled the die again.

    The second roll resulted in three pips, but Lu Yin just shook his head when he saw the two screens made of light. He rolled again.

    His third roll was lucky, as the dark vortex of his ckhole Disassembly appeared. Lu Yin instantly threw the shattered rock in, and several different substances fell out. Lu Yin could only recognize the mostmon shards of rock, but there were also some bits of red and gray powder.

    He threw everything back into the vortex, but nothing was refined any further. The materials were already at their purest.

    That meant that one of the three substances before him was teardust. He felt that the gray dust was the most likely suspect as there was very little of it.

    Lu Yin collected a bit of everything that hade out of the stone. While he needed to produce some of the teardust to prove his abilities, he did not need very much, and the androids had no idea how much had originally been in the stone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ckhole Disassembly could onlyst for five minutes, but Lu Yin was in no hurry, as aplishing his task too quickly would merely rouse suspicions.

    After the vortex disappeared, Lu Yin closed his eyes and began practicing the Cosmic Art.

    ¡­

    Two days passed, and during this time, Little Bear had stopped by twice only to see that Lu Yin was still in seclusion. The bear¡¯s eyes remained indifferent as he left, as he did not believe that Lu Yin could aplish his task.

    Right when Little Bear arrived for the third time, Lu Yin emerged.

    Little Bear quickly approached Lu Yin, and the bear¡¯s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin. "Did you fail?"

    Kui Luo and the First Protector both looked at Lu Yin with curiosity as well.

    Lu Yin smiled and lifted his hand. In it were several different types of debris. "Please check if any of this is teardust."

    Little Bear stared at the powders in Lu Yin''s hand, especially the gray powder. The android waspletely shocked.

    A good bitter, Midday also arrived. This time, he was using a different android as his vessel, and it was far more powerful than the one that he had used to meet with Lu Yin earlier. Upon seeing the gray powder in Lu Yin¡¯s hands, Midday looked up at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I look forward to cooperating with you."

    Lu Yin handed the gray dust over to the Vice City Master as the First Protector watched on in a daze. Lu Yin then smiled at Midday. "Pleasee in."

    "Thank you." Midday''s tone of voice when speaking to Lu Yin had alreadypletely changed.

    The First Protector was still in a daze, dumbfounded from seeing how Lu Yin was just smiling and chatting with the master of First Edition City. How was this possible? The Hall of Honor had tried to negotiate or cooperate with First Edition City for so many years, but nothing had ever worked. What had Lu Yin done to pull it off?

    Times were truly changing.

    The Outerverse getting cut off from the Innerverse had allowed Lu Yin to unite the Outerverse, which had previously been seen as impossible. The Sixth Maind¡¯s destruction had given Lu Yin the opportunity to cooperate with First Edition City.

    Comparing the destroyed Sixth Maind, which could no longer meet the First Edition City¡¯s needs, to Lu Yin, who was able to provide them with exceptionally rare materials, it was clear which one was more worthy of the city¡¯s cooperation. Lu Yin had be a treasure in the eyes of First Edition City¡¯s City Master.

    For the Technocracy, raw materials wereparable to battle techniques and cultivation arts in the Human Domain. If Midday¡¯s perspective was converted to a human perspective, then Lu Yin was no different from a trove of secret techniques!

 Chapter 1732: New Terms

    Chapter 1732: New Terms

    Even Little Bear¡¯s expression was different when he looked at Lu Yin. His guess that Lu Yin might have coincidentally possessed some teardust had vanished the moment the red powder had appeared. Even though the red powder was nowhere near as valuable as teardust, it was still a rare material. Although Little Bear had not said anything about the red powder, he had absolutely kept an eye on it.

    The moment the red debris appeared, Little Bear had be absolutely certain that Lu Yin had truly extracted teardust, not brought out some that he had already possessed.

    At this moment, Little Bear was looking at Lu Yin with apletely different light in his bear eyes. It was the same light that had appeared whenever he saw people from the Sixth Maind before it had been destroyed.

    Lu Yin and First Edition City¡¯s City Master spoke for a long time, though no one knew what words were exchanged between them. Even Kui Luo was ignorant of their conversation, though he simply was not interested in finding out.

    From Kui Luo¡¯s point of view, Lu Yin was still traveling down the wrong path. A cultivator should focus exclusively on their cultivation, not waste time on these trivial matters.

    Two days after Lu Yin¡¯s meeting with Midday, Little Bear was asked to bring out the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman.

    The Envoy looked nervous when he appeared. His face was pale, and he looked quite ill.

    "When we first captured you, you said that you didn''t know who those people were, correct?" Little Bear asked in a cold tone.

    The swordsman¡¯s voice shook as he answered, "I really don''t know! I really don''t!"

    Little Bear just sneered, "Are you saying that you don¡¯t know Lu Yin?"

    The Envoy waspletely shocked, and his heart dropped to the bottom of a pit. Everything was over. First Edition City knew! Lu Yin and those with him would never know what the swordsman said, and he did not want to die. ¡°Vice City Master, I was not part of this, but Lu Yin and the people with him nted a self-binding cocoon inside my body with an innate gift, forcing me to bring them here. I didn¡¯t want to lie to you, but if I hadn¡¯t, they would have killed me!"

    Little Bear calmly stared at the swordsman. The bear then stood and moved behind the human. "A self-binding cocoon?"

    The man nodded. "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the innate gift of that old man following Lu Yin around. His innate gift is extremely powerful, and it can ignore distance to instantly kill me anywhere."

    "If that''s true, then why aren''t you already dead?"

    "Because I didn''t say anything."

    "But we already know about them, so why would Lu Yin believe that you weren¡¯t the one to tell us?"

    The swordsman was startled, but he also found himself unable to answer this question.

    Little Bear disdainfully said, "Ignore distance? You actually believed that? Let me tell you, Lu Yin and those others ran away long ago and fled the Technocracy. They can¡¯t do anything to you."

    The swordsman was initially shocked, but he quickly became ecstatic. "Really? They escaped?"

    Little Bear stared at the man with cold eyes. "Are you happy about that?"

    The human quickly dropped his head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare."

    Little Bear sat back down. "Tell me what they were trying to do here."

    First Edition City already knew about Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, so the Sixth Maind Envoy felt like he had no reason to hide anything, and he freely shared everything he knew.

    Little Bear listened quietly before staring towards the Sophic Rift. It looked like Lu Yin actually had not lied. He really had wanted to visit the Sophic Rift even before he entered the Technocracy. How had he known that Origin Matter would appear there? Had someone told him?

    "That''s all I know. Vice City Master, Lu Yin and the others never even considered visiting First Edition City at the beginning, as their only goal was to get to the battlefield between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, though I have no idea why they wanted to go there." The swordsman spoke in a bitter tone, as he saw himself as an unlucky man. There were so many ways to enter the Technocracy from Endless Weave, and yet Lu Yin and the others had chosen the same particr path as him.

    "I know their goal," Little Bear replied.

    The human was shocked, but he did not ask.

    "Lu Yin wanted to get to the Sophic Rift because of¡­ Origin Matter," Little Bear solemnly exined.

    The swordsman was confused, and he had no idea what Origin Matter even was.

    Little Bear stared at the human. "I don''t me you for Lu Yin¡¯s actions. All I can say is that you were truly unfortunate. However, you can forget about us sending any androids to the Outerverse to help you with the Human Domain. We won¡¯t send even a single one."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman instantly grew pale. "Lord Vice City Master, there has never been a problem with your First Edition City cooperating with my Sixth Maind. Even if Lu Yin caused some problems, it has nothing to do with my Sixth Maind! This-"

    Little Bear suddenly interjected, saying, "If it has happened once, then it will happen twice. Do you expect us to do nothing the next time someone from your Sixth Maind is forced to bring outsiders into my city? Do not forget that my First Edition City has suffered this time because of this."

    The swordsman remembered that he had been interrogated by First Edition City during the earliermotion. When they had started questioning him, he had already guessed that Lu Yin and the others had made a move, but the investigation had shown no connection at all, which had greatly relieved the swordsman. However, regardless of if this new incident had anything to do with the Envoy, how could he possibly not be held somewhat responsible for escorting Lu Yin into the Technocracy?

    The man wentpletely cold at this realization. He was the cause for First Edition City ending their cooperation with the Sixth Maind, and not even ten of his lives would be enough topensate for this loss. He would absolutely die upon returning.

    The more the man thought about it, the more frightened he became. "Lord Vice City Master, please forgive me! What happened in your city this time was absolutely not something that Lu Yin and the others did! Also, this lowly one doesn¡¯t dare to ask that you send many androids, but please follow through with your initial offer! Just send as many as you can. If your First Edition City cuts off my Sixth Maind, this one will absolutely die! Please, Vice City Master!"

    After a long while, Little Bear finally said, "It¡¯s not that it¡¯s impossible to cooperate with your Sixth Maind, but because of what happened due to Lu Yin¡¯s presence here, our cooperation will need to be renegotiated."

    The Envoy waspletely confused, and he could not understand what the android meant. Still, the only option was to listen to the end and hear all the details.

    "The Sophic Rift is continuously drifting closer to First Edition City, and we are falling to more and more of a disadvantage in our war against Sky Creation Academy. This is why we need the Sixth Maind¡¯s support for First Edition City: we need you to attack Sky Creation Academy from the opposite direction," Little Bear exined.

    The swordsman was startled. "Attack Sky Creation Academy?"

    "That¡¯s right, attack Sky Creation Academy. Of course, resources will also need to be supplied, as that agreement is the very foundation of any sort of cooperation between us."

    The Envoy was facing a true dilemma; how could he make the decision to attack Sky Creation Academy?

    "If you don''t want to agree, then forget the matter." Little Bear¡¯s voice grew cold.

    The human started begging once again.

    The bear-shaped android relented a bit. "Actually, we¡¯ve met several times in the past, so by your humans¡¯ reckoning, we can be considered acquaintances. I don''t want you to go back just to die."

    The man hurriedly thanked the android.

    "I¡¯ll ept your thanks, and I can even help negotiate our cooperation, but it''s your choice about whether or not you want to agree," Little Bear exined.

    The Envoy was again left puzzled.

    "I mentioned that Lu Yin came here looking for Origin Matter, so just mention this when making your report. Sky Creation Academy currently possesses Origin Matter. In order to cooperate again, we need the Sixth Maind to attack Sky Creation Academy, but we have no desire for the Origin Matter, so once it¡¯s found, it will belong to you," Little Bear exined.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman had no idea what Origin Matter was, but since Little Bear was offering a path to life, the man knew that this offer held merit. Out of desperation, the Envoy borrowed a gadget that was able to contact Endless Weave and beyond. He eventually made contact with one of the Four Empyreans who was stationed in Southside Weave past Endless Weave: Mr. Lifeview.

    Mr. Lifeview was one of the Four Empyreans of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    "Origin Matter? Such a thing actually appeared in the Sophic Rift?" Mr. Lifeviewpletely lost hisposure. As one of the Four Empyreans, there were very few things that could excite him this much.

    Origin Matter was a requirement to be a Progenitor, and not even all Semi-Progenitors had acquired Origin Matter or opened their three meridian points.

    The Sixth Maind also possessed an understanding of the three meridian points, as if they did not, their three Progenitors would have never been born. There were very few among the Sixth Maind¡¯s top experts who had opened their three meridian points, and it was precisely because of ack of Origin Matter.

    However, the person that they had sent to conduct their negotiations with the Technocracy had actually sent back word that Origin Matter had appeared in the Sophic Rift.

    Mr. Lifeview''s first reaction was that of disbelief.

    Right after that, he received First Edition City¡¯s conditions that, to resume their cooperative rtionship with the Sixth Maind, they had to both attack Sky Creation Academy, which encouraged Mr. Lifeview¡¯s disbelief.

    However, regardless of his own beliefs, this news had to be shared with the other three of the Four Empyreans.

    Soon, all of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Four Empyreans convened: the Blood Homage Realm¡¯s Bluedome Elder, the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Mr. Lifeview, the Rock Realm¡¯s Herb Immortal, and the newly appointed Qing Hua of the Brahman Realm.

    The moment they heard Origin Matter being mentioned, none of the four hesitated to meet.

    Bluedome Elder was the first to voice his doubt. "How could Origin Matter suddenly show up in the Technocracy? My Sixth Maind has existed since ancient times, and yet we have no Origin Matter left, so how could the Technocracy have any?"

    Mr. Lifeview replied, "That¡¯s true, but the Progenitor of Combat once mentioned that all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors possess the aura of Origin Matter, which means that the Fifth Maind still has some left even after all these years. That¡¯s our real target, and also why we attacked the Fifth Maind. It¡¯s nearly impossible to mistake Origin Matter for something else, which makes it even more unlikely for any to have appeared in the Technocracy, as it holds no value to those mechanical creatures."

    "It''s not impossible," Herb Immortal interjected. He was the most low-key of the Four Empyreans, and he rarely voiced an opinion when they made decisions. However, no one would dare ignore him whenever he spoke, as he was senior to even Bluedome Elder and Mr. Lifeview.

    "Don''t forget, even though the Origin Matter may have appeared on the battlefield, it belongs to Sky Creation Academy, and Sky Creation Academy is connected to that ce."

    Bluedome Elder looked up. "The Fifth Maind¡¯s split¡­ The primeval surnames?"

    Herb Immortal gently corrected, "The primeval surnames did not split up, but rather abandoned the Fifth Maind. During the ancient war, my Sixth Maind was able to alter the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky precisely because the primeval surnames abandoned the Fifth Maind. Without the primeval surnames leaving, the situation would have turned out very differently. This has always been clear to me, which was why I stationed someone at the Upper Three Gates; I did not want to allow the Fifth Maind to use the Perennial World to revert their sky.

    "Now that the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky has been restored, more and more people are appearing from that ce."

    As soon as the Perennial World was mentioned, everyone¡¯s expression became a bit more solemn. While they mightpletely despise the Fifth Maind, they also knew that if not for the primeval surnames¡¯ abandonment of the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind would have never been able to win the ancient war. After all, the Fifth Maind had possessed more Progenitors than the Sixth Maind at that time.

    "If the Origin Matter truly dide from that ce, everything makes sense. However, how could Origin Matter be given to Sky Creation Academy? Origin Matter is extremely rare, and it is also necessary to be a Progenitor. No one would waste such a thing," Mr. Lifeview wondered.

 Chapter 1733: Kui And Luo

    Chapter 1733: Kui And Luo

    "This is nothing more than First Edition City¡¯s own im that Origin Matter appeared in the Sophic Rift. No one can actually prove this. We can''t attack Sky Creation Academy just because of something that most likely doesn¡¯t even exist, especially if it might havee from that ce," Bluedome Elder said, "Let''s talk about the Great Eastern Alliance instead. We¡¯ve given them a great deal of time already, and it''s time to drive them away or force them to surrender."

    As soon as he mentioned the Great Eastern Alliance, Bluedome Elder shot a subtle nce towards Master Qing Hua. If his ns had proceeded smoothly, Qing Hua would have never be one of the Four Empyreans. Lu Yin had agreed to cooperate with Madam Hong, but he hadter acted against what they had agreed upon. The Great Eastern Alliance had to either leave the Outerverse or surrender to the Sixth Maind. The five weaves that had been agreed upon could not be given to the alliance.

    However, Madam Hong had also never revealed the location of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Was it possible that Lu Yin had never given it to the woman? No, Bluedome Elder had promised to give Lu Yin five weaves for the Great Eastern Alliance even before the incident with Qing Hua. The agreement that Lu Yin had made with Madam Hong had been five weaves in exchange for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. This was something that Madam Hong had no authority to agree to, which was why she had tried to scheme against Qing Hua, as she needed a reasonable excuse to give Lu Yin the five weaves that they had agreed upon.

    Quite a bit of time had passed between those two incidents, so naturally, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide should have been given to Madam Hong. Why else would Madam Hong have been so determined to get approval for five weaves to be given to Lu Yin?

    Progenitor Wushang''s hide had to be in Madam Hong¡¯s possession.

    As Bluedome Elder was thinking about Progenitor Wushang''s hide, Mr. Lifeview suddenly spoke up and roused the other Empyrean Imprinter. "Someone else also saw the Origin Matter: Lu Yin."

    "Lu Yin?" Bluedome Elder, Master Qing Hua, even Herb Immortal were caught off guard by this.

    "Why was Lu Yin in the Sophic Rift?" Bluedome Elder asked.

    Mr. Lifeview then shared the information that he had received about how the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman and those with him had been captured and forced. The swordsman had not hid this matter, as he had known that it would be impossible to do so. All that he had kept hidden was the fact that First Edition City had wanted topletely end all cooperations with the Sixth Maind.

    Since First Edition City had proposed a new condition for them to continue cooperating, it was impossible for the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman to reveal First Edition City¡¯s first reaction. This was why even the Four Empyreans only knew that the Technocracy¡¯s conditions were continuing to increase; in addition to raw materials, First Edition City was also demanding them tounch a joint attack on Sky Creation Academy. Such a change was actually perfectly normal; after all, the Sixth Maind had been destroyed, so the amount of resources that they could give to the Technocracy had greatly diminished. It only made sense that other conditions had been proposed.

    "Even Lu Yin made his way to the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield for the Origin Matter. He must have received some inside information. It looks like the report about the Origin Matter is authentic." Herb Immortal sighed emotionally.

    Mr. Lifeview looked over at Bluedome Elder. "What are your thoughts?"

    Bluedome Elder was not entirely certain. "Lu Yin is someone who will not make any moves without being certain ofing out on top. Despite his youth, he makes excellent decisions and is patient enough to wait to act. If he was not such a person, he would have never managed to achieve all that he has. Honestly, when looking at the younger generation of our Sixth Maind, we have no one who canpare to him, no matter if we look only at theirbat strength or their ability to plot. Since he appeared in the Sophic Rift, it¡¯s very likely that the Origin Matter is real.¡±

    "The Human Domain and First Edition City have always been enemies, so if not for something like Origin Matter, he would not have taken the risk to visit the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield."

    Mr. Lifeview shook his head. "But he should have picked up some Origin Matter in that ce."

    None of the four powerhouses could unravel this particr detail.

    "Setting the issue of the Origin Matter aside for the moment, cooperating with First Edition City is unavoidable. Even if there is no Origin Matter, do we agree to these new conditions?" Herb Immortal asked.

    "If we attack Sky Creation Academy, we will likely incite the wrath of that ce. They abandoned the Fifth Maind, and I do not wish to see them return. The primeval surnames are not easy to deal with." Master Qing Hua spoke for an unusually long amount of time. He looked sloppy, and he also did not particrly care if the Sixth Maind cooperated with First Edition City or not. Instead, he cared almost exclusively about the security of the Sixth Maind itself.

    His words were met with approval, and the four men eventually reached an agreement and contacted First Edition City to ask the city to change its conditions. In fact, the Four Empyreans had already nned to find another method of obtaining the materials that they needed to send to the Technocracy from the Fifth Maind, such as by purchasing the materials from the Hall of Honor or something simr. However, with the realization that Lu Yin had discovered their cooperation, it would be impossible for the Sixth Maind to get any resources from the Fifth Maind, and the Hall of Honor had already most likely suspected the Sixth Maind¡¯s intentions.

    However, none of the four mentioned this possibility, as they all knew for a certainty that if the Fifth Maind learned that the Sixth Maind had requested reinforcements from First Edition City for the Outerverse, the rtionship between the two mainds would change, and the Fifth Maind would likely start considering war.

    During this meeting, there was another decision that was reached as well, which was that all four of them would stand guard in Endless Weave, and if any of them discovered Lu Yin, they would immediately kill him.

    The people of the Sixth Maind were not stupid, and it was impossible for them to readily agree to attack Sky Creation Academy just because of a possibility that some Origin Matter had appeared in the Sophic Rift. Lu Yin also had not been certain that the Sixth Maind would be willing to move against Sky Creation Academy, but his whole intention had merely been to ce some bait.

    Everything depended on whether certain people from the Sixth Maind would be able to resist the temptation of Origin Matter, as well as their willingness to continue cooperating with First Edition City.

    Lu Yin stayed in First Edition City for a few days, and during that time, he Disassembled several materials for the vice city master, and he also verified the conditions of their cooperation.

    Among Lu Yin¡¯s proposed conditions, the most important point was that First Edition City would keep an eye on Sky Creation Academy and contact him the moment another person from the Perennial World appeared.

    This was also Lu Yin¡¯s primary motivation in traveling to the Technocracy, as he could not afford to be constantly worried about being hunted down. Even though Kui Luo had appeared, Lu Yin had no certainty that the man would constantly follow him around and protect him.

    Lu Yin was not confident enough to even want a Semi-Progenitor as a bodyguard, even if Kui Luo had some sort of rtionship with the Lu family. If one intended to be protected at all times, then they also needed to be able to monitor their protectors.

    No one had a better understanding of Sky Creation Academy than First Edition City.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time in the Technocracy was over. He had established a cooperative rtionship with First Edition City, which included having First Edition City constantly surveil Sky Creation Academy for Lu Yin. He had aplished everything that he had wanted to in the Technocracy. As for the First Protector, while he had not been able to confirm whether Sky Creation Academy was working with the Neohuman Alliance, he had learned the truth of Lu Yin¡¯s identity. Also, Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World had shown up, including Kui Luo. These vital details all had to be immediately reported back to the Hall of Honor.

    He had also learned that Lu Yin had started cooperating with First Edition City, which meant that it was very unlikely for First Edition City to remain enemies with the Human Domain. This was incredible news.

    The First Protector was silent on their way back. The Fifth Maind held powerful hatred for the primeval surnames, and thus, he had no idea how he should deal with Lu Yin, especially since it was possible that the youth would bring down disaster upon the Fifth Maind.

    As the First Protector thought about the primeval surnames, he became both nervous and resentful.

    Kui Luo had an easier time of things, as Wang Si and Bai Laogui were both still imprisoned, and it would be impossible for the Perennial World to quickly send more powerhouses of the same strength. Lu Yin should be safe for a while, and Kui Luo had always wanted to visit the Fifth Maind.

    "Kid, take me to see that stone wall," Kui Luo said.

    When Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World, he had told Kui Luo about how the old grandpa on Driftcharge had carved the Stonewall Scriptures into the side of a cave. Lu Yin had also said that the old man had died, but he had agreed to take Kui Luo to visit the grandpa¡¯s grave.

    This was also why Kui Luo had been willing to help Lu Yin and had even done so much to aid Lu Yin¡¯s escape from the Perennial World.

    When Lu Yin heard Kui Luo¡¯s request, Lu Yin exined, "He¡¯s dead, but you can¡¯t see him."

    Kui Luo instantly froze, and Lu Yin, the First Protector, and the two Envoy-level androids were all forced to stop at the same time.

    "You lied to me?" Kui Luo''s eyes became slits that seemed to contain great evil.

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "Am I able to recite the sutra?"

    Kui Luo¡¯s eyes narrowed even further.

    "Who else knew about that aside from the person you¡¯ve been looking for? Who else but him could have told me that scripture? Anyone at all? I didn''t lie to you, but the was destroyed at the same time that he died," Lu Yin said.

    "So you said that in the Middle Realm just to get me to help you." Kui Luo gritted his teeth.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Kui Luo blew out a long breath, feeling quite sullen. He had told lies his entire life, and his tongue was vicious enough to kill a person with his words alone. Still, he had never considered the possibility of this kid deceiving him.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You didn''t know my real identity back then, and if I hadn¡¯t told you that, you probably wouldn¡¯t have helped me, right?"

    Kui Luo stared off into the distance before shaking his head in a bitter manner. "Old man, I worked so hard to get to the Forsaken Land, and I just wanted to clean your tomb. I never thought that there wouldn¡¯t even be a tomb at all. Pitiful, just too pathetic."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Who the hell was he? Why did he know the scriptures that were my Lu family''s inheritance? He told me that I needed to go to the Neoverse and deliver the scriptures to someone there for him. Who was that person? Why didn¡¯t I need to look for them?"

    Kui Luoughed. "The person he told you about? That was just a decoy. It was most likely someone he picked to save the legacy of the sutra, and he most likely didn¡¯t send you to them because he felt that you were a more reliable protector than who he was nning on sending you to. As for the sutra itself, he could have never known that he had given it to the one person who was most qualified to receive it."

    "Who was he?" Lu Yin was very curious. The old grandpa on Driftcharge had given Lu Yin the greatest opportunity of his entire life. The Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival had brought Lu Yin back from death several times, and the Stonewall Scriptures had also helped him live through numerous disasters. Finally, with the help of the Cosmic Sect, it was possible for Lu Yin to receive Progenitor Chen¡¯s inheritance in the future. Without that old man, Lu Yin would have almost none of the incredible techniques that had paved his cultivation path.

    He really wanted to build a monument to that grandpa.

    Kui Luo nced over at the First Protector and then at Lu Yin. After thinking for a bit, he finally spoke to only Lu Yin. ¡°My name isn¡¯t Kui Luo."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide; was this was not Kui Luo?

    "You aren''t Kui Luo? That¡¯s impossible!" Many people had recognized the old man, and what other Semi-Progenitor was as vicious with their words as Kui Luo?

    Kui Luo slowly exined, "Kui Luo was actually always two people¡ªone named Kui, and the other Luo. I am Kui, while the old man that you knew was Luo."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Are you for real?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "Absolutely. When the Lu family was exiled, we were both caught up in the mess, and we were forced to separate as we fled. Old Luo might have been captured, which was why I¡¯ve always been searching for him."

    "But didn''t you fake your own death a long time ago? Why did you force yourself to keep suffering?"

    "As I said, we followed the Lu family, but no one knew who we were. I¡¯ve been looking for Old Luo everywhere in the Perennial World for so many years, but I have never found any trace of him. I didn''t think to look for him here."

    "What was your connection to the Lu family? Why did Old Luo know those scriptures?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "I''ve told you repeatedly: be an Envoy, and then I¡¯ll tell you. Focus on your cultivation until then."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but did not respond.

    "Also, where did Old Luo''s grandsone from? Do you know anything about him?" Kui Luo was quite curious about this. When Lu Yin had first mentioned how Luo¡¯s grandson had died on Driftcharge, Kui Luo had been very intrigued, but he had never had the opportunity to ask about it.

    Lu Yin quickly shared the story of what had happened at the Cosmic Sect, though he did keep the fact that the pattern was on the bottom of his foot a secret.

 Chapter 1734: Heâ€™s My Junior Disciple Brother

    Chapter 1734: He¡¯s My Junior Disciple Brother

    Kui Luo was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s story. "That youth should have been an adopted grandson. He became so good-natured all because of an adopted child¡­"

    Good-natured? Lu Yin could still remember the first time that he had seen the old man on Driftcharge, and there had been a dark aura around the man. That grandpa had forced Lu Yin to memorize theplete Stonewall Scriptures, and he had even threatened to eat Lu Yin as white meat. The old man¡¯s personality had not been pleasant at all, and he actually had been rather simr to Kui Luo.

    "No wonder the Perennial World was never able to trap and capture you. Two Semi-Progenitors working as one? Who could have stood up to you?" Lu Yin muttered to himself.

    Suddenly, he remembered something, and he turned to stare at Kui Luo. "Give me that leaf."

    Kui Luo just rolled his eyes. "You threw it away."

    "I was trying to find a way to instigate people into attacking Sky Creation Academy so that their coborators from the Perennial World would have some trouble."

    "Yet nothing happened, so that was pointless to do."

    "That''s because you stole the leaf!"

    "Don''t worry. As long as it actually showed up for some time, nobody who dreams of bing a Progenitor could forget about it.¡±

    "Everyone will at least think that Sky Creation Academy has some Origin Matter. Do you think that those Semi-Progenitors are just idiots?"

    "Quit trying to act smart. You raised hell in the Perennial World, but in the end, you were exposed by a girl who met you before. It wasn¡¯t Progenitor Long who figured out that you were an impostor, so don¡¯t bother giving people too much credit for being intelligent."

    "People aren¡¯t stupid! Give it back!"

    "You threw it away."

    "Do you need Origin Matter too?"

    "Duh! I also want to open my meridian points to be a Progenitor."

    "Haven¡¯t you already done that?"

    "What? Who else has Origin Matter in their possession other than the four ruling powers?"

    ¡­

    It was not long before the group left the Technocracy.

    Suddenly, Kui Luo was startled. "There¡¯s a powerhouse, and they are far from weak."

    The First Protector''s expression grew solemn. "That should be one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters."

    Lu Yin had already expected that the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s swordsman had to have contacted with the Sixth Maind, and it looked like they had received word early. There was no way that the Sixth Maind would be willing to allow Lu Yin to return from the Technocracy.

    "Boy, what do you want to do?" Kui Luo asked. He was actually quite curious about the Sixth Maind''s so-called imprints.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Let¡¯s try to avoid them. The Sixth Maind has Progenitors."

    Kui Luo lost all motivation the moment he heard the word ¡°Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, let''s go."

    With Kui Luo leading them, not a single one of the Four Empyreans were able to notice Lu Yin and the others. After all, the First Protector himself was a powerful expert on the same level as an Empyrean Imprinter.

    As such, it did not take Lu Yin and the others long at all to leave Endless Weave and enter Southside Weave.

    All of the Empyrean Imprinters had been sent to Endless Weave to block Lu Yin¡¯s return, so Southside Weave was rtively safe.

    Kui Luo prepared to leave the group after he confirmed that they had passed the most dangerous phase of their trip.

    "Leave? Where are you going?" Lu Yin asked. "Are you not going to go to the Innerverse with me?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Why would I follow you around? Hey, this old man¡¯s tired from being stuck in the Perennial World for so many years, and I¡¯ve never been to the Fifth Maind. Now that I¡¯m finally here, I want to wander around and see the various local cultures."

    Lu Yin arched a brow¡ªlocal cultures? He was well aware of the reputation that Kui Luo had built up for himself in the Perennial World. The old man had offended almost everyone and everything. He was a terrible person who was gifted at distorting the truth, fabricated stories left and right, and was always able to dig up some sort of earth-shattering event that had been kept secret.

    This could be interesting¡­ There were still many secrets in the Fifth Maind that Lu Yin wanted to learn about.

    However, Kui Luo could not be allowed to dig into Lu Yin¡¯s own secrets. "Cough, um¡­ don''t mess around here. People here are civilized, so just take it easy. If you can¡¯t get through, then will you just stay here in the Outerverse?"

    At this moment, the First Protector checked his gadget and then looked at Kui Luo. "Arch-Elder Zen would like to speak with you."

    Kui Luo and Lu Yin nced at each other. "Arch-Elder Zen? That doesn¡¯t sound like a very nice name. Who is he? The boss of your Forsaken Land?"

    The First Protector frowned; what kind of Semi-Progenitor acted like this?

    Lu Yin whispered, "Arch-Elder Zen has always been the master of our Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor. He is on the cusp of bing a Progenitor, and he should be at almost the same level as the All Dao family¡¯s ancestor."

    Kui Luo was shocked. "There¡¯s such a powerful person here?"

    Lu Yin did not actually know how strong Arch-Elder Zen was, but it seemed appropriate to intimidate Kui Luo a bit.

    "Arch-Elder Zen once spoke with the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors as an equal," Lu Yin added.

    Kui Luo instantly grew cautious. The All Dao family¡¯s ancestor was almost able to speak with Progenitors as an equal because all the Progenitors were absolutely certain the man would eventually be a Progenitor. That was an untouchable level of self-confidence, and yet this Arch-Elder Zen was capable of the same thing.

    Kui Luo then started speaking with Arch-Elder Zen, though Lu Yin could not hear a word of their conversation. He simply hoped that Kui Luo would not create too many problems for the Fifth Maind, such as revealing the existence and history of the Perennial World and other such things.

    In the past, a sourcebox array had been nted within both Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s bodies that was able to instantly kill either of them. However, Kui Luo was a Semi-Progenitor, and no one was capable of doing the same thing to him. All Lu Yin could do was hope and pray that the old man would exhibit a bit of self-control.

    Kui Luo did not cause a scene, but he had a bad attitude throughout the conversation. Still, he never flipped out.

    Lu Yin started thinking about his uing conversation with Arch-Elder Zen. The First Protector had already reported everything to the Semi-Progenitor, so Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Arch-Elder Zen would want to speak to him as well.

    His conversation with Arch-Elder Zen would directly determine whether the Great Eastern Alliance would be allowed to continue existing.

    If Arch-Elder Zen despised Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, the Great Eastern Alliance would instantly be erased. After all, they were in the Fifth Maind, and the Hall of Honor was the absolute master of the Human Domain. Many of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments had only been achieved because of the Hall of Honor¡¯s backing.

    Without the support of the Hall of Honor, no one would fear Lu Yin, and many people would lose all hesitation in acting directly against him.

    It did not take long for Kui Luo to throw the gadget back at the First Protector. "I can¡¯t understand a thing that that old man says! That was aplete mess."

    With that, Kui Luo left as the First Protector red at his back.

    The old man also took the Origin Matter with him; Lu Yin had not been able to get it back. The old man had refused to return it, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do about it.

    Kui Luo had been quite rude when speaking to Arch-Elder Zen, but the two were powerhouses on the same level, so the First Protector could not really say anything. He dismissed the matter from his mind after a moment¡¯s thought and looked at Lu Yin, only to find that the youth had already opened his own gadget. "Arch-Elder Zen, Junior Lu Yin needs to apologize to you."

    The First Protector waspletely speechless; this kid worked fast!

    Arch-Elder Zen had also not expected Lu Yin to take action so quickly. The moment he had ended his conversation with Kui Luo, Lu Yin had called. There had been less than two seconds between the two calls.

    "Should I call you Lu Yin or Lu Xiaoxuan?" Arch-Elder Zen solemnly asked.

    Lu Yin grew bitter. "Before my amnesia, I was Lu Xiaoxuan, but now I¡¯m Lu Yin."

    The old man said nothing.

    Lu Yin continued, "I''m sorry, Senior. The Fifth Maind has given this junior too much support, and in return, I let you down."

    Arch-Elder Zen answered in a light tone, "If you don''t be a Progenitor, only then will you disappoint me."

    "This junior is someone from the Perennial World, and I have a genuine primeval surname." Lu Yin continued his confession.

    Arch-Elder Zen asked, "Are the primeval surnames in this Fifth Maind fake?"

    Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    "The truth is that many of the ancestors of the families with primeval surnames in the Fifth Maind came from the same ce as you. While we hate it, we also do not. The primeval surnames abandoned this ce, leaving it deste. This was their choice. However, have you ever seen the Hall of Honor hunt down those with primeval surnames?" Arch-Elder Zen continued his questioning.

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "This junior understands."

    "His identity as Lu Xiaoxuan will bring war upon us." The First Protector suddenly spoke up, and he did not keep his voice subdued.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. This was the matter that he was the most worried about.

    Arch-Elder Zen remained silent for some time. "Lu Yin."

    "This junior is here," Lu Yin quickly replied.

    Arch-Elder Zen solemnly stated, "Humanity cannot survive an internal war, regardless of who is right or wrong in that ce. You cannot do Aeternus¡¯s work for them. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "This junior understands, and Senior can rest assured that I will find a way to deal with this."

    The old man then ended the call. Neither person had spoken clearly, but they both knew the truth of the matter. Lu Yin could not willingly ept his death, and Arch-Elder Zen could not allow the Fifth Maind to go to war with the Perennial World. Everything would depend on how Lu Yin handled matters.

    Lu Yin had expected such an oue the moment he had been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan. As the master of the Hall of Honor and someone aware of Aeternus, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s response was not wrong. Lu Yin had already known just howrge of a challenge stood before him, and yet he still wanted to lead his forces against the four ruling powers. This was another major obstacle in his path.

    However, it was an obstacle that would have appeared sooner orter. Even if Lu Yin had not been exposed at this time, Arch-Elder Zen would have learned the truth as soon as the Perennial World¡¯s forces arrived. It was simply a matter of time.

    Still, Lu Yin had not expected Arch-Elder Zen to let the matter drop so easily. The old man had not even brought up the Great Eastern Alliance, and he also showed no intention of driving Lu Yin out of the Fifth Maind. When Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors had first shown their support for Lu Yin, it had been because he had opened his three meridian points and because he had a chance of eventually bing a Progenitor. This fact had, in some ways, given Lu Yin a status almost equal to the Semi-Progenitors. However, it had just been revealed that even if Lu Yin did be a Progenitor, he would not belong to the Fifth Maind alone, but also to the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family.

    Arch-Elder Zen did not seem to even mind this fact, which was beyond Lu Yin''s expectations.

    In the Neoverse, on Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen lowered his gadget, stepped out, and quickly entered the Arbitration World. It was not that the old man was unbothered by Lu Yin¡¯s identity, and he had supported Lu Yin not just because he stood a chance of bing a Progenitor. No, there was someone else who Arch-Elder Zen also needed to keep in mind when it came to Lu Yin.

    There were many geniuses in the Neoverse. In fact, when Highsage Wudi had led Lu Yin to Mt. Microcosms and created a big fuss, Lu Yin had not been a match for Shang Qing, and the Hall of Honor had not ced the same value upon the two of them. Despite that disparity, Arch-Elder Zen had clearly shown his support for Lu Yin at that time, which had been the start of Lu Yin receiving the Hall of Honor¡¯s support.

    Arch-Elder Zen was not concerned about Eversky Ind, and there was no need to even mention a loose union of small powers like the Great Eastern Alliance. Such an organization could be destroyed with a single breath. No, the person behind Lu Yin was the same person who supported the Chief Justice.

    In the Arbitration World, a voice spoke out from within the darkness. "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    In front of the darkness, Arch-Elder Zen had his hands sped behind his back. "That¡¯s right, Lu Xiaoxuan. The Perennial World has changed drastically, and the Lu family was destroyed by the current four ruling powers, including the Celestial Frost Sect. Lu Xiaoxuan managed to survive under his current pseudonym of Lu Yin. Did you know about this?"

    "He¡¯s my junior disciple brother."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared into the dark, and it seemed that the old man¡¯s eyes could pierce through the darkness to see the Chief Justice himself. "Did your master know about this?"

    "I don''t know, but he is my junior, and that position has nothing to do with his identity."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "I already knew that he was a peerlessly talented youth, but who knew that he also came from a top family, or rather, the top family. The Lu family. You realize that it¡¯s possible that my Fifth Maind will end up at war with the four ruling powers because he wants to fight against them by leading the Fifth Maind to war, right? Did you know about all of this?"

    "It doesn¡¯t matter. All I know is that he is my junior disciple brother."

    "If he ends up being the cause of the destruction of my Fifth Maind and inadvertently helping Aeternus, I will be humanity¡¯s greatest sinner," Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    The darkness surged, and a set of scales slowly appeared. It was the Chief Justice¡¯s innate gift.

 Chapter 1735: Fairness: Right And Wrong

    Chapter 1735: Fairness: Right And Wrong

    "It is the nature of cultivation for the strong to devour the weak. This has nothing to do with right or wrong, but I believe that this world still needs right, wrong, and fairness. Even if I can never achieve it, this remains my goal. Humans are not the walking dead.¡±

    "It is right for Lu Yin to attack the four ruling powers on behalf of the Lu family. He is entitled to his revenge. If humans are destroyed by Aeternus because of this, then he will be liable to the judgment of the entire human race. If I live to see that day, then I will judge him fairly. But how can he be convicted now by a future that has yet to ur? Who can decide when the scales have not yet settled?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the scales with aplicated expression. "Is this what your master intends as well?"

    "I don''t know, but this is my own decision."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "I understand now. I¡¯ll head out."

    The old man then left the Arbitration World, but before leaving, he spoke onest sentence. ¡°This ce is not the Forsaken Land, but the ancestralnd. Deserters will always be deserters."

    Lu Yin had no idea of what urred in the Neoverse after his call, and he also was ignorant of the change in Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mindset. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, regardless of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude, Lu Yin already knew what he needed to do. It was impossible for him to abandon his goal of leading his forces against the Perennial World just because of a few words from the old man. It would entirely be the Fifth Maind¡¯s decision whether they attacked the Perennial World or not, and while Lu Yin would respect the decisions of those who followed him, he would not stop pursuing his goal. The words that he had spoken to the First Protector had been partly to voice his own opinion, but also because he felt pressured and helpless.

    Humanity could not allow themselves to have any major internal conflicts. This was something that Arch-Elder Zen was adamant about, and Shaman God was just as eager to see ite about.

    In the end, everything depended on how things were aplished. It was clear that Shaman God¡¯s n would y out, but the result might not be as the Skygod desired. It was possible that Aeternus would also be dragged into the mess as well.

    How could Lu Yin possibly allow Aeternus to watch the fun from the sidelines?

    Shortly after Kui Luo left, Lu Yin sent a message to Qing Tan.

    Far away, on Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan saw the message from Lu Yin, and her face went nk; what the hell was Origin Matter?

    She had no idea, but she still did as Lu Yin requested.

    In Endless Weave, Bluedome Elder had his eyes closed. All Four Empyreans were currently standing guard. Even if one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors appeared, they still might not be able to save Lu Yin from such a lineup. However, the four were very hesitant to kill the youth, as he was much more valuable as a captive than dead. He possessed Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, Origin Matter, the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique, and more. The child had too many secrets and too many treasures.

    Suddenly, Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes snapped open, as he had remembered the most important thing: Lu Yin had the legendary God of Death¡¯s inheritance!

    The God of Death was just a legend that few people believed in, but Lu Yin''s performance during ZENITH had roused a great deal of attention from many people, including Bluedome Elder.

    After Lu Yin was caught, he had to be questioned about the God of Death¡¯s inheritance.

    Right when the man was thinking about this, he received a message from Qing Tan. After Bluedome Elder nced at it, his expression drastically changed.

    Lu Yin has returned from the Technocracy and reported his trip to the overseers¡¯ council. He mentioned discovering Origin Matter in the Sophic Rift.

    Bluedome Elder and the other Empyrean Imprinters had never actually believed the matter of Origin Matter appearing on the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield, but this message from Qing Tan left Bluedome Elder shaken.

    They knew that Lu Yin had traveled to the Technocracy, but they had not been able to determine why. It was not impossible for him to have made such a trip for Origin Matter.

    Had there actually been Origin Matter?

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes darted about. Origin Matter or Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide¡ªwhich was more important? They were both vital to the man.

    Empyrean Imprinters were not necessarily Semi-Progenitors. Some had reached that level while others had not. Bluedome Elder had not, but he was still ambitious. This was because he was one of the few Empyrean Imprinters who had not be a Semi-Progenitor yet as he had only opened his lower and middle meridian points. He was truly desperate to be a Progenitor in the future.

    If this were not so, he would never have captured Madam Hong.

    After all, if his actions were discovered, a war with the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory could easily erupt.

    With further confirmation of the presence of Origin Matter, Bluedome Elder could no longer sit still. Regardless of whether the news regarding the Origin Matter was real, he had to send someone to First Edition City.

    There was already a cultivator from the Sixth Maind at the city, but that person was from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory. Bluedome Elder had to send his own people.

    There was no longer any need to stand guard against Lu Yin, as he had already returned. Also, there was no need to pay any attention to the Great Eastern Alliance at this moment. If the Origin Matter was real, it was very possible that the Technocracy¡¯s war would tip in favor of Sky Creation Academy. In the end, nothing was more important than bing a Progenitor.

    ¡­

    The Astral River was magnificent. Strange fish asionally appeared, and very rarely, a massive and unfathomable creature would swim through the Astral River with enough power to cause even the Astral River Arks to sway.

    An older person had once mentioned that there were some creatures in the Astral River that wererge enough to capsize even the massive arks.

    After the Sixth Maind moved into the Outerverse, they had gradually taken control of most of the Outerverse, forcing out or absorbing all the local powers. However, the two Astral River Arks to the east and west of the Outerverse had always remained under the Fifth Maind¡¯s control, and the Sixth Maind had never tried to seize either of the massive ships.

    Even the Astral River Ark that was stationed to the west that provided direct ess to the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves had been left alone.

    Anyone who boarded the western Astral River Ark would directly enter the Sixth Maind¡¯s controlled weaves in the western Outerverse. This demonstrated the Sixth Maind¡¯s confidence and sense of superiority towards the Fifth Maind. However, no one from the Sixth Maind was allowed to enter the Innerverse.

    Whether or not the Fifth Maind was willing to admit it, it was a fact that the average Sixth Maind cultivator was stronger than their peers from the Fifth.

    When Lu Yin had gone to Flying Horse Manor to rescue the colossal giants, he had crossed the Astral River on the western ark. After that, he had used it once again when the First Protector had led Lu Yin towards the Technocracy. At this moment, Lu Yin was about to use the Astral River Ark yet again to cross the Astral River.

    As he looked at the massive ship in the distance, Lu Yin grew curious about something. "Is the Sixth Maind not allowed to use the arks?"

    The First Protector replied, "I don''t know. I don¡¯t ask about matters outside of Mt. Microcosms."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Ever since he had been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan, the First Protector¡¯s attitude had changed. He was no longer as close or friendly with Lu Yin, and he had be noticeably more vignt and distant.

    There was no avoiding this, as their differing origins was not something that could be ignored. This was true even for Arch-Elder Zen.

    It was not long before a few people entered the Astral River Ark. Even though the First Protector¡¯s strength meant that their small group did not actually need to use the enormous ship, there was no need to do so. Cultivators did not need to always reveal their power, and idents could ur at any moment.

    As he stared at the roiling Astral River, Lu Yin remembered the iparably terrifying number of runes that he had seen in it in the past. There were truly powerful creatures that hid within the river.

    The Astral River Ark soon started moving and shuttling its passengers towards the Innerverse.

    There were many spacecraft that lined up to enter the eastern ark, but the one to the west had very few passengers, as very few people were bold enough to enter the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory. The Sixth Maind had previously invaded the Innerverse, sowing a terrible hatred between the two groups. Few people from the Fifth Maind were willing to visit the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory.

    At the moment, most of the people on the ark were from corporations or were independent cultivators. They were people without any other option but to try their luck. There were also some people who were native to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse who were hoping to escape from the Sixth Maind¡¯s rule by moving to the Innerverse.

    "Another vessel¡¯s almost here, but unfortunately, they were toote," someonemented with deep empathy when they saw a spacecraft off in the distance.

    "It doesn''t really matter. The ark goes back and forth very quickly."

    "Wait, look! Those people should be part of some force from the Sixth Maind!"

    This discussion entered Lu Yin''s ears, and he turned to look. Sure enough, a vessel had stopped a bit behind the Astral River Ark, and there were cultivators surrounding the ship. The people¡¯s clothes looked familiar; were they from the Autumnfrost family?

    Lu Yin was surprised; why would people from the Autumnfrost family be here? This was a considerable distance from their territory.

    There was a bang, and the ship exploded. Two people shot out from the wreckage, dashing in different directions in an attempt to escape. One of the cultivators from the Autumnfrost family attacked. The man was an Imprinter Lu Yin was familiar with: Uncle Hua. He was trying to kill the fleeing people.

    Many people aboard the Astral River Ark were watching. Although they were curious about who was trying to escape, no one felt any real surprise, as they had all seen simr scenes too many times before.

    One of the escaping individuals was a young man, and his left arm had been unnaturally twisted around. His entire body was covered with cracked, dry blood.

    ck patterns that looked like mes spread out from his hand and formed a massive ming ck palm print was further reinforced by three-lined battle force before shooting towards the approaching attack.

    A knife shed, and the palm print was torn apart. The sh continued traveling forward, and it seemed guaranteed to slice through the young man¡¯s neck.

    The man was helpless, and his face turned pale. There was no way to escape. Was he about to die?

    Suddenly, the shing attack froze. Some unfathomable power fell down from above. Neither the young man nor the attacker from the Autumnfrost family were able to move at all.

    The space tore, and Lu Yin emerged slowly to stare at the wounded young man with great excitement. ¡°Senior Little Pao?"

    The young man looked at Lu Yin, and his eyes suddenly red and excitement filled them. They quickly reddened. "Ju- Junior Lu."

    The young man who had nearly died after counterattacking with the ckgold Palm was Lu Yin¡¯s senior from Astral-10, Little Pao. Naturally, the person he had been escaping with was Big Pao.

    Long ago, Lu Yin and hispanions from Astral-10 had escaped into the Starfall Sea in order to avoid Feng Mo. When they had left the seater, Big Pao and Little Pao had stayed behind. They had still been there when the Sixth Maind invaded the Innerverse and when the Outerverse had been separated. Lu Yin had not seen these two since they had parted ways all those years ago.

    He had actually thought that his two seniors had died, and he had not expected to run into them in this ce.

    "Junior Lu, it''s really you!" Big Pao shouted in excitement.

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "Seniors, I didn''t think that you were still alive! This is wonderful!"

    "We also didn''t think we¡¯d see you again," Little Pao excitedly replied.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s appearance, there was no longer any problem with Big Pao and Little Pao¡¯s safety. The Autumnfrost family cultivators were easily dealt with, which left the two older youths rather stunned.

    Seeing their shocked expressions, Lu Yin had to ask, "Have you not heard about me?"

    "What do you mean?" The two brothers were equally confused, but Big Pao quickly said, "Junior, this isn¡¯t the time to talk! Let¡¯s go, quickly! The people from the Autumnfrost family who came here are dead, so we need to quickly get back to the Innerverse."

    Lu Yin tried to quickly calm the two down. It was clear that they had suffered badly, and Lu Yin had no idea what the two had been up to for so many years that they had not heard anything about his activities.

    It was clear that neither of the two would befortable talking where they were, so Lu Yin turned around and asked, "Senior, could you please take us to the other side of the Astral River?"

    Big Pao and Little Pao were both taken aback. Senior? Was there another person here?

    The First Protector revealed himself and then easily carried Lu Yin and the other two across the Astral River into the Innerverse.

    This absolutely destroyed everything that the brothers understood. In their minds, how could it be so easy to cross the Astral River? There were rumors that it was possible to travel through the Astral River unaided after reaching a certain level of power, but that was an unimaginable level of strength.

    "Junior Lu, are we really back?" Little Pao was still stunned as he turned back to look at the Astral River that already looked so distant.

    Lu Yin said, "Don''t worry, Senior. We¡¯re no longer in the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory."

 Chapter 1736: Unfamiliar With Their Junior

    Chapter 1736: Unfamiliar With Their Junior

    Big Pao was stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s remark and asked, "How¡­?"

    He then turned to look at the First Protector and quietly asked, "Is Senior actually an Imprinter?"

    The First Protector just turned around and vanished. Imprinter? What an insult!

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Almost. Tell me, Seniors, what happened to you?"

    Big Pao and Little Pao nced at each other. It was clear that they were both quite bitter about what they had gone through.

    After separating from Lu Yin in the Starfall Sea, they had stayed at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. They had been pursued for quite a long time, so they had used that peaceful period of time to quietly cultivate.

    Then, disaster had struck.

    The Sixth Maind had invaded, and the Starfall Sea had been conquered. The two brothers were among the unlucky first batch of people who were captured by the Sixth Maind.

    However, they had not been captured by the Autumnfrost family, but rather by Justice Manor.

    Justice Manor was a power from the Grand Martial Realm, and they wereparable to Flying Horse Manor. A few years after the brothers¡¯ capture, they had been taken to Justice Manor in the Sixth Maind and then transferred over to the Autumnfrost family. They werepletely ignorant as to anything that had happened in the outside world during their captivity.

    Later, the Sixth Maind had been invaded by Aeternus, and the two had been transported to the Outerverse. Still, no matter where they had been taken, they had been told nothing at all as they were treated like mere cargo.

    Lu Yin became curious; why would people from the Sixth Maind have brought Big Pao and Little Pao with them when they had fled to the Outerverse from the Sixth Maind?

    "What were you doing for the Autumnfrost family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Pao replied, "We don''t actually know, but it was absolutely enormous yet also very precise. I guess you could call it a tool. I¡¯m not sure how else to refer to it."

    "It¡¯s huge¡ªit spans entire gxies, but it¡¯s also very precise," Little Pao added.

    "We needed to study with the Autumnfrost family for three whole years before we were qualified to participate in the production of this thing, but we¡¯ve be very experienced. Our seniority was actually why the Autumnfrost family lowered their guard towards us, which gave us an opportunity to escape," Big Pao said.

    With this, Lu Yin finally understood. It was no wonder why the Autumnfrost family had made sure to save the two brothers from Aeternus; they had had to study for three years despite being Explorers. This made the difficulty of their task quite clear. The Autumnfrost family could not have very many Explorers, which meant that Big Pao and Little Pao had been more important than many of the ordinary Sixth Maind cultivators during the retreat.

    Still, Big Pao and Little Pao had not gone through too much during their captivity; for almost their entire time spent captive, they had been preparing to or working on the production of the tool. However, they never learned of the actual purpose of the tool they had been working on.

    The fact that it could span an entire gxy left Lu Yin incredibly curious. While a gxy would be considered small to cultivators of a certain level; a gxy covered a region of space that was easily traversed, even to Auroras, making size a rtive concept. To date, Lu Yin had never seen any sort of construction that wasparable to a gxy in size.

    While the Technocracy had massive ws that were part of their ubiquitous surveince system, those ws only existed within the manifested thoughts of the Master Brain, and they could never exist without that unique structure.

    The Sixth Maind did not prioritize developing or researching technology, so what sort of tool could the Autumnfrost family possibly be making?

    The more Lu Yin thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. After all, Ancestor Autumnfrost had died long ago. ording to the timeline of the brothers¡¯ story, it seemed that Big Pao and Little Pao had been acquired by the Autumnfrost family after their ancestor¡¯s death.

    "Was the Autumnfrost family already working on that tool before you joined the project?" Lu Yin asked.

    The two looked at each other, but then they shook their heads. "Absolutely not. We were among the first to be trained."

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted. It seemed that this project was something that the fake Ancestor Autumnfrost had initiated, and the true ancestor had beenpletely uninvolved. Things were bing even more interesting. A tool that spanned a gxy¡­

    "Junior Lu, what level have you reached now?" Big Pao asked. He was quite curious, as they had just seen Lu Yin release an attack that was stronger than they could even imagine.

    Lu Yin felt like he should act a bit modestly in front of his seniors. "I¡¯m an Enlighter."

    Big Pao and Little Pao started to freak out a bit. "Enlighter?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The brothers were absolutely stunned. "Bro, how- you¡¯re an Enlighter already? How did you pull that off? How long have you even been cultivating for? An Enlighter? That¡¯s a power level of over 200,000!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips; a power level of more than 200,000? No, his actualbat strength was higher than an Envoy with a power level of 600,000, but he could not say that to these two. It would shatter their mentality, as the two had lived pathetic lives recently. They had been ves, forced to focus all their efforts on making a tool for another.

    "Junior Lu, you should be very close to matching up to the Ten Arbiters!" Little Pao said. This was something that the two brothers had never even dared to dream of. They both stared intently at Lu Yin. For their generation, the Ten Arbiters were untouchable existences, and with the passage of so many years, neither of the two could imagine how strong those ten must have be.

    Right after Little Pao asked his question, the Astral River Ark docked at the edge of the Astral River in the distance.

    Lu Yin thought of how he should answer for a bit. "Actually, I can already fight against the Ten Arbiters. They don¡¯t pose much of a challenge."

    Big Pao and Little Pao were leftpletely speechless. Their junior was too much for them to ept.

    Lu Yin gave each of the brothers a gadget so that they could catch up on what had happened in the Human Domain while they had been gone. After that, Lu Yin went to the First Protector to ask the old man to visit the Autumnfrost family to investigate what sort of tool they had been making.

    The First Protector just red at Lu Yin. "I need to go back now. I don¡¯t have time for this."

    Lu Yin could clearly sense the old man¡¯s displeasure. After all, Lu Yin had already tricked the First Protector numerous times during their trip to the Technocracy, and the old man had grown very wary of Lu Yin¡¯s ploys.

    "Senior, the Sixth Maind sent people to First Edition City to request a massive number of androids to be sent to the Outerverse. They clearly are not up to any good. Don¡¯t you want to find out what they¡¯re nning?" Lu Yin asked.

    The First Protector snorted, but he otherwise ignored Lu Yin. So, Lu Yin continued persuading. "Right now, there aren¡¯t any powerhouses in the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory who can threaten Senior, and we only need to go to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, which is nowhere close to Southside Weave or the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, which means that there¡¯s almost no chance of running into any of their Empyrean Imprinters. Senior, you¡¯re so strong that you¡¯re almostparable to the strongest people in the entire Sixth Maind. And what if this tool is some grave threat to the Fifth Maind? This is basically a free meal."

    The First Protector sneered and finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "Boy, say whatever you want, but it¡¯s all useless. A free meal? I don¡¯t need anything like that. Your status is high enough that Ipleted this mission, but I will most likely will not be leaving Mt. Microcosms anytime soon. Don¡¯t forget, I am the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms, not of the Interster Supreme Court, and certainly not of the overseers."

    Lu Yin felt helpless, but it was clear that it would be useless to try to say anything more, as the old man was absolutely determined to leave Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not dare risk going on his own, as Ancestor Autumnfrost was protecting the ce that needed to be investigated. Even if the man was an imposter, there was no way that he was not a powerhouse, as there was no other way for him to have maintained control over the Autumnfrost family all this time.

    This imposter was putting so much time and effort into building this enormous tool, and Lu Yin had only learned of it because Little Pao and Big Pao had managed to escape. They had to be carefully protected, and they would easily be discovered if they went with Lu Yin to investigate this matter.

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly remembered that he had fought against the Autumnfrost family¡¯s Uncle Hua when the man and others from the Autumnfrost family had been asked to go after Aegis by the Di family. Uncle Hua had an imprint of Ancestor Autumnfrost, but since the ancestor had died, how could Uncle Hua possibly have a dead man¡¯s imprint?

    "Alright, I¡¯m going back to Mt. Microcosms now," the First Protector said while looking at Lu Yin. "You can take care of things by yourself."

    Lu Yin bowed low. "Thank you for your efforts and protection on this trip to the Technocracy."

    The First Protector shook his head and left with the two Envoy-level androids.

    Lu Yin was left with only Big Pao, Little Pao, and Emperor Luo.

    Lu Yin looked at Envoy, who quickly bowed and said, "I await the alliance leader¡¯smand."

    The cyborg had watched in First Edition City as Lu Yin had summoned clouds and rain. Emperor Luo had truly believed that they would all die if their identities were exposed, and yet Lu Yin had somehow established a cooperative rtionship with First Edition City out of nowhere. Not to mention, there was a Semi-Progenitor supporting Lu Yin.

    A Semi-Progenitor¡­ That was an unfathomable powerhouse.

    Even though Emperor Luo knew nothing about the Perennial World or the Lu family, it did not matter. He still understood that Lu Yin¡¯s background was a universe-level power. With the Ross Empire gone, his options were to either rot away in prison or aid Lu Yin. It was impossible for Emperor Luo to even try to escape.

    Lu Yin said, "Let''s spend some time in the Great Eastern Alliance for now."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader Lu," Emperor Luo responded in a very respectful manner.

    "By the way, was Dark Beast the one who reached out to you?" Lu Yin asked. When he had conquered the Ross Empire, in addition to Emperor Luo, there had also been a creature from the Astral Beast Domain known as Dark Beast. The creature had been sent to eliminate the traitorous sylvan dragon n, but it had been captured by Lu Yin. The beast was still being held captive, as Lu Yin had not released it. The entire matter was a secret that one else was aware of.

    Emperor Luo replied, "It did indeed seek out your subordinate. ording to my understanding of the Astral Beast Domain, the Human Domain has no knowledge of such a creature¡¯s existence."

    "Is there any way to control it?"

    Emperor Luo shook his head. "Dark Beast was sent here to eliminate the sylvan dragon n. Since the Celestial Beast Empire feltfortable sending the creature here, it means that they are fully confident that it will not betray them. After all, it is a great risk to send any of their powerhouses into our Human Domain."

    Lu Yin was disappointed to hear this. He always hoped to gain more Envoys for the Great Eastern Alliance, as the more they had, the better. After all, Envoys were too umon. Unfortunately, if he could not control Dark Beast, the only option was to destroy the creature.

    They boarded Lu Yin¡¯s vessel and started making their way towards zing Mist Flowzone.

    Before they left, Lu Yin nced back towards the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves. He could not be certain whether or not the Sixth Maind would attack Sky Creation Academy, but still, with First Edition City keeping an eye on things, Lu Yin had aplished his goal. This trip had been a sess.

    Origin Matter had appeared in the Sophic Rift, and that information had been shared with Qing Tan. Bluedome Elder and the Sixth Maind¡¯s other top powerhouses would absolutely pay attention to this matter, but if they could not verify the existence of Origin Matter, it was possible that they would not be willing to attack Sky Creation Academy.

    Lu Yin could only leave things up to fate, and he could not force this matter. Naturally, he had hoped to keep the Origin Matter that he had revealed as Sky Creation Academy¡¯s while also tempting the Sixth Maind into attacking. His hope had been to emte Shaman God¡¯s n, but that had been shattered by Kui Luo¡¯s appearance.

    However, if Kui Luo managed to be a Progenitor, it would be a very good thing for Lu Yin, as that meant that he would gain the support of a Progenitor! Only the future would reveal if Lu Yin had eaten a loss or profited from this trip.

    A dayter, Big Pao and Little Pao had finally reviewed all of the major events that had urred during their years of absence. However, almost all of the biggest events were connected to Lu Yin! They really could not believe what they read when they next saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed at the two. "What? Do you not know me anymore?"

    Big Pao was at a loss for words. "You- you¡¯re Lu Yin."

    "I¡¯m not a fake."

    Little Pao blinked. "The champion of ZENITH?"

    "I got lucky."

    "The leader of the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    "It just happened."

    "The enemy of the entire Innerverse?"

    "Cough, that''s just a misunderstanding."

    "You invaded zing Mist Flowzone?"

    "I just went to stop their war."

    "Price gouging?"

    "Never happened."

    "Warmonger?"

    "I¡¯m a lover of peace."

    ¡­

    "The Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice¡¯s bastard son?"

    "Who would spread such rumors?"

    "The most handsome guy in the universe?"

    ¡°¡­I must be."

    "Chronic liar?"

    "I am the most honest person."

 Chapter 1737: That Strange Place, Earth

    Chapter 1737: That Strange ce, Earth

    Big Pao and Little Pao nced at each other before looking back at Lu Yin with odd expressions on their faces. There was still something rather familiar about Lu Yin, though his answers to their questions were different from what was on thework.

    He was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and also the champion of ZENITH, but despite his des, he did not seem arrogant at all. Lu Yin still looked like the same person that had entered Astral-10 all those years ago and be their junior. He seemed so sincere, but that was really just his shamelessness.

    "Junior Lu, do you have any idea what word is used to describe you the most on thework?" Big Pao asked.

    Lu Yin felt slightly curious. "What?"

    "A money-grubber." Little Pao did not hesitate at all to answer.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, but just when the two brothers expected their junior to argue, he merely smiled. "Not bad."

    The two were truly rendered speechless.

    "It¡¯s been more than twelve years since we¡¯ve seen each other." Lu Yin sighed.

    Big Pao nodded. "Just about."

    "Seniors, you¡¯ve had a hard time. Have you already reached out to Astral-10¡¯s mentors?"

    Big Pao instantly grew excited. "I called them, and the mentors were all happy to hear from us. Junior Lu, we¡¯re going back!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course, I¡¯ll take you there."

    Given the speed of Lu Yin''s spacecraft, it would only take them a bit more than half a month to reach Astral-10.

    During this time, Big Pao and Little Pao learned more about what had happened in the Fifth Maind during their absence. However, the more they learned, the more amazed they were by Lu Yin, especially after they saw his fights with Lan Si, Nightking Zhenwu, and Liu Tianmu.

    They still had the impression that the Ten Arbiters were the peak of the younger generation, but they had just learned that several of the Ten Arbiters had already been defeated by Lu Yin. This revtion gave them an indescribable feeling, as it toppled their worldview. Still, they also felt incredibly proud, as Lu Yin was an alumnus of Astral-10.

    "Seniors, I''m actually still one of the Ten Arbiters." Lu Yin could not help but remind them of this.

    It was a fact that Lu Yin was still one of the Ten Arbiters, as no one would dare to strip him of the title. However, Lu Yin only held this status in name. No one from the Universe Youth Council had once sought him out to fulfill any sort of responsibility for the council even once, as Lu Yin had long since superseded such a level.

    Also, Lu Yin no longer needed the Universe Youth Council to achieve any of his goals. He had already cemented his rtionships with the various Innerverse powers, and the influence of the Universe Youth Council was unable to affect such matters.

    "By the way, Junior Brother Lu, I just remembered that while we were working for the Autumnfrost family on their odd tool, I once identally saw something that was being protected by Ancestor Autumnfrost himself," Big Pao suddenly mentioned.

    Lu Yin immediately asked the man to draw what he had seen.

    Lu Yin frowned when he saw the picture of an irregrly shaped ck crystal. "You saw that?"

    "Isn''t it just an ordinary energy crystal? A me one? Maybe lightning? Or something else? A lot of mediocre cultivators use crystals like these when cultivating or to execute certain battle techniques. They¡¯re supermon," Little Paomented.

    Lu Yin remembered that Geine¡¯s older brother, Gerbach, who had once been a Hall Master of Yu Academy, had used thunder energy crystals to use a lightning battle technique. That incident had left a profound impression on Lu Yin back then.

    Big Pao replied, "You¡¯re correct, and energy crystals usually aren¡¯t very important, but this thing has to be due to its size."

    "How big was it?"

    "As big as a."

    Lu Yin was startled. "As big as a?"

    Big Pao nodded and hesitantly continued, saying, "Because of its size, and also because that was my first time seeing Ancestor Autumnfrost. I was really impressed, and I think that it was about ten years ago."

    "Why didn¡¯t I see it?" Little Pao wondered.

    Big Pao exined, "I saw it when we were taking turns resting, and I happened to see it when it was my turn to work."

    Lu Yin started thinking. Energy crystals the size of a were truly rare, and Ancestor Autumnfrost would not casually protect an object himself without ample cause, even if he was an imposter.

    Lu Yin stared at the picture of the energy crystal and fell deep into contemtion.

    It was considered normal for cultivators to leave home to train for decades, or even hundreds of years without returning. But for Big Pao and Little Pao, it was a little moreplicated than that as they returned to Astral-10.

    Astral-10 was not just a ce where they had trained and learned, but it was also a ce where they had grown up. The mentors there were like teachers and fathers to the brothers.

    Even though they had already called Astral-10, the two were still unable to calm down.

    The closer they drew to Astral-10, the more excited Big Pao and Little Pao became. "Sure enough, there are a lot more people here now."

    "Well, a long time ago, Lu Yin won the Astral Combat Tournament, which made Astral-10 the top-ranked branch of the Astral Combat Academy. Naturally countless youths want toe and study here now. This ce hasn¡¯t changed one bit, though¡ªit¡¯s like I was just here yesterday."

    Lu Yin also let out a sigh. When the three of them had all been students, Astral-10 had been horribly suppressed, and the academy¡¯s mentors had all been unwilling to teach the students much. Enlighters were rarely seen powerhouses to them, and Envoys had been so distant that Lu Yin had not even heard of that realm.

    Everything had changed since then.

    Climbing high allowed a person to see further, but there were times when people did not want to see so far. After all, the further one saw, the more trouble they would see.

    They docked the ship at the academy¡¯s space station. Emperor Luo stayed with the vessel while Lu Yin, Big Pao, and Little Pao all continued on to enter Astral-10.

    When they saw the familiar teleportation device, the brothers became more uneasy than ever.

    "Which of the mentors are you going to go see first?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Neither of the two hesitated to reply, "Rainmaster."

    Lu Yin realized that, of Astral-10¡¯s mentors, the Trialmaster constantly yed deaf, either ignoring people or being rude to them whenever they visited. The Sandmaster was very strict, the Starmaster was silent, Old Cai was almost always rude, and the headmaster was insane! The Rainmaster was the only normal one among the entire teaching staff.

    The Rainmaster had also been the first of the mentors whom Lu Yin had met after joining Astral-10.

    Rain sprinkled down on the Rain Observatory, wetting the moss on the stone tform. In front of Lu Yin, Big Pao and Little Pao both bowed to the pouring rain. "Mentor, us two disciples are back."

    The Rainmaster calmly emerged from the rain, though Lu Yin could see how happy the older man was. "You just came back."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s luck was quite good, as his return to Astral-10 with the brothers coincided with the Astral Combat Tournament, though Astral-10 should really be called Astral-9 after Astral-3 had beenpletely destroyed.

    While Big Pao and Little Pao met with the Rainmaster, Lu Yin went to visit the Trialmaster, and he bowed to the old man.

    The Trialmaster opened his murky eyes to look at Lu Yin. "It''s you."

    "Mentor, this disciple would like to observe the Astral Combat Competition," Lu Yin respectfully requested.

    The Trialmaster nodded. "Go ahead. Astral-10 has produced some impressive talents thesest few years."

    Lu Yin bowed again, and he passed behind the Trialmaster to enter the Three Realms Six Daos, which was where the Astral Combat Tournament was always held.

    Upon seeing the towering cliffs once again,plicated emotions surged within his chest. More than ten years had passed since he hadst visited this ce!

    There were many students from Astral-10 who were sitting along the cliffs, as well as the Sandmaster and Old Cai. Unlike when Lu Yin had attended Astral-10, there were quite a number of mentors keeping watch over the students.

    Lu Yin found an empty ce and sat down in a cross-legged position to enter the Three Realms Six Daos.

    This time, the Astral Combat Competition was being held in the Dao of Heaven, which made the location incredibly lively. Inside a giant technological construct, two figures were engaged in a fierce fight. Each would asionally gain some ground, only to pull back before closing back in once more.

    This was the scene that greeted Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    He actually had not wanted to attend the tournament, but the Rainmaster had specifically requested it. After all, Lu Yin was one of Astral-10¡¯s guest instructors. Even if he still had not officially graduated yet, he was obligated to see the students.

    There were manyrge bits and pieces around the mechanical ruins, including spacecraft, battleships, and even skyscrapers. The entire region looked like a technological advanced world that had gone through an apocalypse.

    The students watched the match from up close while the mentors maintained a farther distance. Still, they were not too far, and they remained in sight of all the students.

    Lu Yin arrived at an iron cube that was 100 meters tall. Many of the mentors were standing atop the cube, and Old Cai and the Sandmaster represented Astral-9.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival startled many of the mentors, as no one had expected him to suddenly appear.

    Even Old Cai was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I brought my two seniors back, and I wanted to take a look at the Astral Combat Tournament."

    "Thank you for bringing those two boys back alive." Old Cai seemed to struggle to offer thanks.

    The Sandmaster also spoke up. "Thank you."

    Lu Yin casually replied, "There¡¯s no need for any thanks."

    There was another mentor from Astral-9 atop the iron block, though Lu Yin did not know it. Still, there was someone else whose presence surprised him: Liu Xiaoyun.

    Liu Xiaoyun and Lu Yin both looked at each other and nodded before greeting each other.

    Lu Yin then asked, "Why are you here?"

    Liu Xiaoyun simply said, "I¡¯m an acting mentor for Astral-7."

    Acting mentors were different from guest instructors, as they were people who had been brought in to handle minor misceneous tasks. Liu Xiaoyun was not strong enough to qualify as a guest instructor.

    "Will you stay at Astral-7 in the future?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Xiaoyun nodded.

    Lu Yin did not say anything, as he wanted to avoid conflict with her if possible. Everyone knew that Lu Yin was looking to dominate the Sword Sect, so if Liu Xiaoyun remained at the Sword Sect, the two were guaranteed to be enemies. This was Liu Xiaoyun¡¯s way ofpromising, as it was better for her to stay in Astral-7.

    The Astral Combat Academy had a rather special status within the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin would never forget what he had heard the insane headmaster say all those years ago. The Astral Combat Academy carried the seed of inheritance, and all of the ten headmasters were Envoys, which was an impressive lineup for any power. In fact, it was possible that not even the Hall of Honor could mobilize ten Envoys at once.

    This demonstrated the uniqueness of the Astral Combat Academy.

    Lu Yin still had no idea how the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s headmasters were chosen, but the insane one was certainly the most special. Despite his strength, he was rather clueless.

    "Watch the match. You¡¯ll be pleasantly surprised," Old Cai said.

    Lu Yin became curious. "Surprised?"

    Old Cai just smiled. "There¡¯s a new faction in the current batch of students, and this particr faction is made entirely of students from Earth. They¡¯ve been doing very well."

    Lu Yin was surprised; something like this had happened?

    Lu Yin looked at where Old Cai had indicated, and he saw a group of students filling up a whole section as they watched the match. Several of the students were standing atop a massive broken screw, and at the front was a woman with her back to the rest of the students. Lu Yin could not see her face clearly from where he was standing, so he turned back to watch the match instead of waiting for her to turn around.

    "Earth is truly a bizarre ce. We¡¯ve taken in many students from there over thest few years, and almost all of them possess innate gifts," the Sandmaster said.

    "Yes. Several years ago, the Rainmaster actually went to visit Earth, but he found nothing special aside from many cultivators with innate gifts," Old Cai added.

    Lu Yin already knew that Earth was special, though he had no idea why.

    After Lu Yin left Earth, the next group of Earthlings to leave the had gone to study at the Yu Academy. There had been several incredibly talented cultivators in that group, and Lu Yin hadter heard that many had been epted as students of Astral-10. It seemed that some of them had even entered the Top 100 Rankings, which was truly shocking.

    At the moment, the group of Astral-9¡¯s students from Earth were all quite young. Most were only sixteen or seventeen years old, and even the oldest was no more than twenty.

    Inside the mechanical ruins of the arena, the match between the two students ended, and Astral-5¡¯s students started cheering. Clearly, the winner had been one of their own.

    The next match was between students from Astral-9 and Astral-2.

 Chapter 1738: Habitual Madness

    Chapter 1738: Habitual Madness

    The branches of the Astral Combat Academy were ranked ording to how their students ced during the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s assessments. However, the ranking had remained unchanged for many, many years. The only exception to this was Astral-10, which had insisted on remaining Astral-10 even when it ranked first.

    Lu Yin watched each match with great pleasure as he reminisced about his time as an Astral-10 student.

    The students he saw were all quite talented. There were no less than four who had cultivated four-lined battle force, which was even more than Lu Yin¡¯s ss. There were also many with domains or innate gifts. However, there was ack of top powerhouses. When Lu Yin had fought in the Astral Combat Tournament, the Thirteen Swords had appeared along with Nightqueen Yanqing and Starsibyl. There were no powerhouses on their level in the tournament that Lu Yin observed.

    However, Lu Yin did see a genius from the Mavis family participating in the tournament, and from what he could see, this person was even stronger than Grandini Mavis had been during the tournament that Lu Yin had fought in. This person was readily acknowledged as one of the strongest participants in thepetition.

    After watching the matches for a long time, Lu Yin lost interest and moved to leave.

    "Leaving already? Don''t worry, a genius from your Earth is about to fight. Won''t you watch them?" Old Cai said.

    Lu Yin stopped and turned to look.

    At the end of the current match, the next round started, which was the top sixteen. This was the round that would determine the top eight students within the Astral Combat Academy.

    The girl standing in front of the other students from Earth on top of the massive screw disappeared and reappeared in the arena. A man showed up in front of her. He was covered with tattoos from the neck down, his eyes were hideous, and his hands were several timesrger than those of ordinary people.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally saw the girl¡¯s face. He was shocked. Was it really her? The person down in the arena was Zhou Xixi, Zhou Shan''s daughter.

    Lu Yin had not even considered that Zhou Xixi could be here; was she even old enough to participate? After Earth¡¯s apocalypse, when Lu Yin had left for the Great Yu Empire, the girl had not even been born, but in the blink of an eye, she was already this old. After thinking about it, Lu Yin realized that the girl should be about sixteen years old! Time had really flown by.

    Three-lined battle force shrouded the tattooed man¡¯s body, and he charged straight at Zhou Xixi without using any sort of battle technique. She gracefully dodged the attack and seemedpletely unfazed by the man¡¯s up-closebat style. He spread the fingers of one hand andunched a palm attack that contained the Oveying Stacks Path.

    Lu Yin¡¯s meteoric rise had also caused the Oveying Stacks Path to rise in poprity in the universe. Countless people wanted to learn the method, especially after Lu Yin had revealed his Vacuum Palm. There were untold numbers of people who coveted that technique.

    The Vacuum Palm was a technique that had both power and speed, and it was even invisible. It truly was one of the best attack techniques.

    The man''s mastery of the Oveying Stacks Path was quite good, and when that wasbined with his three lined battle force, he would have attracted a lot of attention even if he had participated in Lu Yin¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament.

    Still, the man¡¯s efforts were useless against Zhou Xixi.

    A smile stretched across Lu Yin''s face, as he saw that Zhou Xixi was having a happier time of things than he had. The girl had no worry about having enough resources, as her father was the headmaster of the top cultivation academy on Earth, which was also Lu Yin¡¯s home. The enjoyed a very special status in the Great Yu Empire, and the amount of resources that Earth had received was surpassed only by Zenyu Academy. Given such tremendous resources, Zhou Xixi was more powerful than her peers, and her cultivation was also at a much higher level than others of her age.

    That was even ignoring battle techniques. Lu Yin had provided a tremendous number of battle techniques to Yu Academy, and Zhou Xixi was qualified to learn any of them.

    Her foundation was not something that the regr students of the Astral Combat Academy couldpare to, and even the descendants of the Wen and Liu families might not have received her level of treatment.

    The tattooed man was quickly defeated, and Zhou Xixi easily achieved her victory. She looked around with clenched fists. Defeating this opponent was no aplishment to her eyes. Instead, her goal was to be the strongest person in the entire Astral Combat Academy. She intended to be recognized as the most powerful student so that she could proudly stand before her Uncle Lu.

    Her father''s greatest regret was that he had not been able to leave Earth with her Uncle Lu. Since her father had failed, Zhou Xixi intended to rece him. One day, she would be able to help her Uncle Lu and not just be the child of some old friend.

    What?

    Zhou Xixi''s eyes suddenly went wide as she looked at the iron cube off in the distance. Was that her Uncle Lu standing with the academy¡¯s mentors?

    Lu Yin and Zhou Xixi locked eyes, and he smiled and nodded to her.

    Zhou Xixi was incredibly excited, and she instantly left the arena and headed straight toward the iron cube.

    It was clear that she was very excited, and her actions drew many people''s attention. After all, she was one of the strongest contenders for winning the entirepetition.

    "Uncle Lu!" Zhou Xixi shouted in excitement as she leaped onto the iron cube and came face to face with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled at the girl. "I didn''t expect you to already be so big."

    "Uncle Lu, why are you here? Did you watch Xixi''s match?" Zhou Xixi eagerly asked.

    Lu Yin snorted. "It was a good fight. Zhou Shan taught you well."

    Zhou Xixi felt proud. "Uncle, just watch! Xixi will definitely be the champion! Uncle, you won your tournament, and Xixi will do the same."

    "Haha, go for it, but that Mavis girl isn¡¯t weak."

    "Yes, Uncle."

    ¡­

    Many of the students surrounding the arena stared at Lu Yin as heughed with Zhou Xixi atop the iron cube. All of them were shocked to see him. "It''s Arbiter Lu!"

    "It really is Arbiter Lu! I didn''t expect him toe."

    "The leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, the champion of ZENITH actually came to see our Astral Combat Tournament!"

    "Senior once studied at Astral-10, and it looks like he¡¯s a bit of a nostalgic person. We have to do our best this time!"

    "You were already eliminated, and yet you¡¯re talking about working hard? Only the top eight can have a chance of entering Arbiter Lu¡¯s eyes. I want to join the Great Eastern Alliance and gain glory."

    "You¡¯re just looking at the top and seeing stars."

    "No way! Remember, Arbiter Lu came from Earth."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had intended to leave after Zhou Xixi¡¯s match, but he got caught up talking to her and ended up watching a few more matches.

    "Uncle, the finals will take ce in just half a month, and Xixi will definitely win! Will you stay to watch, Uncle?" Zhou Xixi asked with high expectations as she stared at Lu Yin with glittering eyes.

    Lu Yin replied, "If at all possible, I¡¯ll try to be here."

    Actually, he had felt that something was off this entire time, and it finally clicked at this moment: he was being called an uncle!

    Lu Yin looked like he was around the same age as Zhou Xixi, so he felt very awkward being referred to as ¡°uncle.¡±

    At this time, Old Cai and the Sandmaster both suddenly disappeared. Lu Yin frowned; something had happened, and something in the real world was most likely causing problems.

    Upon realizing this, Lu Yin told Zhou Xixi, "Have a good match. I¡¯m going to head out for now."

    He then immediately left the Three Daos Six Realms.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, he immediately leaped off the mountain. The Trialmaster was not outside the entrance, and there were some students off in the distance, shouting, "The headmaster went crazy! He lost his mind again!"

    "Where?" Lu Yin asked loudly.

    "The Rain Observator."

    Lu Yin instantly disappeared.

    "Hey, he looked really familiar. Who was that?"

    "I think that was Arbiter Lu¡­"

    ¡­

    Rain was still falling at the Rain Observatory. Off in the distance, there was a personughing wildly and shouting, "You provoked the war, and you¡¯ll suffer the consequences on your own! Hahahaha, you provoked the war!"

    It was the insane headmaster.

    After he started shouting, the enormous trees started to copse one after another, and shockwaves swept over the Rain Observatory and across Astral-10 with enough power to shake the void.

    Outside of the academy, multipleyers of the void were torn asunder, and even the nearbys exploded.

    The Starmaster, Old Cai, the Rainmaster, the Sand Master, and the Trialmaster all attacked as one. Lu Yin could not even understand what they were doing, but they somehow surrounded the headmaster and stopped him from moving.

    Lu Yin approached the Rainmaster and looked at the bizarre scene.

    Astral-10 had always been different from the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy. For one, Old Cai and the other mentors were not true mentors. Rather, they were the headmaster¡¯s caretakers. The academy¡¯s original mentors had all left long ago. This was why the headmaster had to beg the men to teach Lu Yin and the other students of his generation.

    Astral-10 was a guide in the unknown, a battleship, and it carried the torch of humanity.

    A long timeter, the mad headmaster finally recovered, and he instantly disappeared without even looking towards Lu Yin.

    Old Cai and others were all exhausted. "I don''t know when these days will stop."

    The Rainmaster asked, "Do you actually think that they will ever end?"

    Old Cai rolled his eyes. "It would be fine if this ce was just a cage, but I have to also shoulder the endless responsibilities of teaching all those students now. It¡¯s such a pain."

    After hearing their conversation, Lu Yin butted in, "Does the headmaster act like this often?"

    The Starmaster, Trialmaster, and Sandmaster all left, and Old Cai answered, "Sometimes."

    "It has been hard on all of you mentors," Lu Yin said.

    Old Cai suddenly sounded upset, "If you know that your mentors have been working so hard, then you should contribute! If not for your ss, Astral-10 would have been shut down long ago, and we wouldn¡¯t have so many responsibilities. Just look at how busy we are¡ªwe can¡¯t even watch a match."

    Lu Yin let out a wry smile. He was curious about the insane headmaster¡¯s words, but he knew that the mentors would not tell him anything.

    He was about to leave, but just as he turned around, Zhou Xixi arrived through the teleportation device. "Uncle Lu."

    Lu Yin felt a sudden headache, but he still forced a smile. "Xixi, what''s wrong?"

    Zhou Xixi had note by herself, as there was arge crowd of students behind her. All of them stared at Lu Yin in a starstruck manner. This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such expressions.

    "Uncle, they would like to get your autograph," Zhou Xixi stated clearly.

    Lu Yin was speechless. "My autograph?"

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, he was swarmed by the students. Some offered him a piece of clothing, and others their hands for him to sign. The worst was a student who was about to disrobe and have Lu Yin sign her chest.

    Before Lu Yin could even respond, Zhou Xixi drove the young woman away in anger. "Bah, shameless!"

    Lu Yin felt quite embarrassed, as the woman was quite beautiful.

    After finally chasing all of the students away, Zhou Xixi grabbed Lu Yin''s arm. "Uncle, are you leaving?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He reached up to rub Zhou Xixi''s head. "Yes, I''m leaving, but I''ll see you next time."

    Zhou Xixi was disappointed. "I knew that Uncle Lu would be too busy to stay here for Xixi''spetition."

    "Don''t worry, I¡¯ll be back to see it."

    Zhou Xixi obediently nodded. "Then can you apany Xixi to the Stargazing Deck?"

    "Have you not been there yet?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. ording to the rules, each student could only visit the Stargazing Deck a single time, as a second visit would only allow a person to witness the same scene again.

    Zhou Xixi whispered, "I heard that the Starmasters of the other eight branches of the Astral Combat Academy are absent, so I wanted to try to sneak in again, in case our Starmaster is also gone."

    Lu Yin found this amusing. "Sorry to disappoint you, but our Starmaster is here.¡±

    He was about to continue speaking when he finally processed what she had said and became startled. ¡°The other eight branches¡¯ Starmasters are absent?"

    Zhou Xixi nodded and blinked. "That''s what my ssmates told me."

    Lu Yin has always been very concerned about the Stargazing Deck. Long ago, he had held the goal of visiting each of the ten Stargazing Decks so that he couldprehend the Skybeast w, but besides Astral-10¡¯s, he had only ever managed to visit Astral-9¡¯s Stargazing Deck. He had never made it to any of the other branches of the Astral Combat Academy.

    He had actually forgotten about that particr goal, but Zhou Xixi had just reminded him of it.

 Chapter 1739: Triggering Destiny

    Chapter 1739: Triggering Destiny

    The Stargazing Deck could allow a person to see both the past or the present. This was not something that Lu Yin had paid much attention to in the past, but as more time passed, he had gradually realized that the Stargazing Deck was very mysterious.

    It was also not a trivial matter that all of the other eight Starmasters had disappeared at the same time.

    "Uncle, let''s go. Will you go with Xixi to the Stargazing Deck?" Zhou Xixi asked as hope filled her eyes. She was actually quite afraid of what would happen if she were discovered on her own. So, she wanted to drag Lu Yin along in order to feel safe.

    Lu Yin nodded, as he also wanted to go see the Stargazing Deck again.

    How many times had Lu Yin visited the Stargazing Deck? After thinking about it, he felt that this was his fourth time. He had used the Stargazing Deck twice and been refused ess once.

    Zhou Xixi was disappointed to see the Starmaster present at his post. "He¡¯s really here¡­ Forget it, I won¡¯t be able to use it today."

    "Xixi, there¡¯s something that I need to speak with the Starmaster about, so head on back first," Lu Yin said.

    Zhou Xixi looked at Lu Yin. "Uncle, you¡¯ll definitely see Xixi''s next match, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile. "Of course. Now go on."

    Zhou Xixi snorted, but it only took her three steps to leave after she turned around.

    After the girl left, Lu Yin respectfully greeted the Starmaster. "Student Lu Yin would like to enter the Stargazing Deck."

    The Starmaster looked at the young man. "This is your fourth time asking, and the answer is no this time as well."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This student still hasn¡¯t graduated, and my strength ispletely different from before. Could Starmaster make an exception? This student is confident that I¡¯ll see a different vision from before."

    The Starmaster responded in a rxed tone, "In that case, what should I do if all the Enlighters and Envoys ask to enter the Stargazing Deck?"

    "This student still has not graduated," Lu Yin protested.

    "It¡¯s because you are a student that you cannot repeatedly use the Stargazing Deck."

    Lu Yin changed tactics. "This student was asked to be a guest instructor by the headmaster."

    "But you haven''t agreed to ept that position yet," the Starmaster retorted.

    Lu Yin spoke loudly, "This student agrees to the headmaster¡¯s request."

    The Starmaster stared intently at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin stared back just as intently.

    After a while, the Starmaster simply said, "Guest Instructor Lu, you can enter the Stargazing Deck, but only once."

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "Thank you, Starmaster."

    Lu Yin thought back to the scene that he had witnessed when he had first used the Stargazing Deck. He was absolutely confident that he would be able to see deeper and further than back then, getting a different picture.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and moved to the top of the Stargazing Deck. Suddenly, his body froze midstep. After a moment, his chest became hot, and all the fatesand inside his body suddenly appeared. The Stargazing Deck remained the same as ever, but in Lu Yin¡¯s sight, Astral-10 hadpletely disappeared. The scene outside of Astral-10 started trembling violently. Images shed by Lu Yin, but he could not get a clear look at any of them. It was as if he was watching time fly by, but it also felt like he was seeing imprints of events that had been left in time.

    He tried his best to see any of the images clearly but failed.

    At this same time, far away in another part of the universe, Xuan Jiu was eating a delicious meal when he suddenly vomited blood, and his face grew pale. He could not stop himself from clutching his head and screaming.

    In the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender also spat up blood and slumped to the ground.

    In the distant Perennial World, there was a woman who suddenly started bleeding from her mouth. Her eyes opened to reveal a piercing gaze filled with coldness and dignity as she spat out blood and muttered, ¡°Everything hase to naught. Who? Who is it that is inviting Destiny?¡±

    Lu Yin was clueless about all these events. The only thing upying his mind was his attempt to see one of the scenes that flickered across his vision. He concentrated so hard that his eyes began to bleed.

    Finally, the flickering images converged onto a single scene that Lu Yin could clearly observe. He saw a random Champions¡¯ Stage set within a courtyard that has not been cleaned for a long time. There were bloodstains on the Champions'' Stage, and there was also a man kneeling on the ground close by.

    The man looked uneasy as he knelt on the ground. It was impossible to know how long the man had held that position for. When Lu Yin saw the man¡¯s face, it seemed extremely familiar, but at the same time, he could not recognize him.

    Suddenly, the vision vanished, and Lu Yin felt as though he was falling through endless time and space to return back to Astral-10. His mind was spinning, and he almost copsed. At the same time, his fatesand dispersed in all directions.

    He wanted to stop it, but at this moment, his strength waspletely gone and he could only watch as the fatesand scattered in every direction.

    Fortunately, he was in Astral-10, and the scattered fatesand did not make it far before the Starmaster caught and suppressed it.

    Lu Yin was gasping for air, and sweat was pouring down from his forehead. His entire body felt weak for a while, especially his chest. All of the death energy that he had umted from Gaia¡¯s Swamp hadpletely vanished.

    What had happened? He stared at the Stargazing Deck. Was there a connection? Lu Yin had possessed fatesand in the past when using the Stargazing Deck.

    Could it have been the Starmaster?

    Lu Yin raised his head and looked over at the Starmaster.

    The Starmaster was staring at Lu Yin, he and solemnly stated, "I had nothing to do with any of it."

    Lu Yin was confused. "Starmaster, what just happened?"

    The Starmaster shook his head. "I don''t know what you saw, but-" The man raised his hand to reveal the thirty nine pieces of fatesand that had left Lu Yin''s body. "It¡¯s possible that possessing this caused you to trigger Destiny."

    Lu Yin was even more confused than before. "Trigger Destiny?"

    The Starmaster returned the fatesand to Lu Yin, and the youth absorbed them back inside his body. Fortunately, nothing bad had happened.

    "People from time immemorial often entrusted their unfulfilled wishes to the gods, and ording to the legends, Destiny was the god that was trusted with those wishes. The Stargazing Deck is a ce that the ancient people built to worship the gods," the Starmaster slowly exined.

    Lu Yin listened quietly. Destiny. It was Destiny again.

    "However, this is just ording to the legends. What rtionship might exist between the Stargazing Decks and fatesand? No one knows, but both are rted to Destiny in the legends. It¡¯s possible that Destiny actually existed, or that there is some other connection between fatesand and the Stargazing Deck. The truth remains that nothing can be proven and that all we have to go on are myths and legends.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, "Starmaster, do you believe in the legend?"

    The Starmaster stared at Lu Yin. "Whether I believe in it or not makes no difference, as it has nothing to do with me."

    "Why does every branch of the Astral Combat Academy have a Stargazing Deck?"

    "Humanity¡¯s development and inheritances are inextricably tied. The Astral Combat Academy holds an inheritance that no one can destroy unless a catastrophe appears that humanity cannot withstand."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. As far as he understood, each of the nine headmasters of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s branches was an Envoy, and even though Astral-3 had been destroyed, their headmaster had still killed the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinters. Not to mention, Astral-10¡¯s mad headmaster had even forced back Xia Meng.

    Every headmaster of the Astral Combat Academy was a very powerful Envoy.

    This was a terrifying level of power.

    It had to be acknowledged that, even at their peak, the Daynight n had only possessed two or three Envoys. Not even the monstrous powers in the Neoverse possessed more Envoys than the Astral Combat Academy.

    The Starmaster had spoken truly: the Astral Combat Academy contained an inheritance that could not be destroyed. Even if every power in the Innerverse joined together, they still would not be able to destroy the academy. The only reason why Astral-3 had been destroyed was because the Sixth Maind had invaded and brought disaster upon the entire Fifth Maind.

    "The Stargazing Deck and the Three Realms Six Daos are both unique inheritances that were ced in the Astral Combat Academy. Is there no history regarding the Stargazing Decks?" Lu Yin was very curious about this fact. He felt that, as he umted more and more fatesand, his connection to Destiny had be more and moreplicated. Thus, he was very eager to learn more.

    He still remembered Xuan Jiu''s caution to not be involved with Destiny, but in the end, it seemed that Lu Yin had still influenced Destiny.

    "No. Legends are just legends in the end. Those things are too old, and the Stargazing Deck is only used to guide new students when they first enter the academy now. When you first arrived, you also received this guidance, and that¡¯s enough." The Starmaster then sat down and closed his eyes.

    Lu Yin shrugged and looked back at the Stargazing Deck. Too many images had appeared when he stepped onto that ce; were each of the scenes that had shed by guidance from Destiny? Why would Destiny guide him at all? He had seen a Champions'' Stage in one of the images, so did that mean that Destiny somehow knew that he was a part of the Lu family? Could the connection have been perceived through blood? His innate gift? Or even time?

    Aside from the Champions'' Stage, there had been too many other scenes. What were the other ones? Did they also have a connection to Lu Yin? Or was it possible to see images that were rted to other people? Was this Destiny¡¯s power?

    Everyone was entitled to their own privacy, but the scene that Lu Yin had just witnessed caused him to suddenly tremble. Was it possible that Destiny could freely spy on everyone?

    Although the thought left him terrified, Lu Yin still wanted to see it again. He let out a long breath and looked up. "Starmaster, the Stargazing Decks are very important to the Astral Combat Academy, right?"

    The Starmaster said nothing.

    "Are the Stargazing Decks really nothing more than a guide? In that case, why did all of the other eight Starmasters leave their posts? If I¡¯m right, they should be out searching for the Stargazing Deck that was lost when Astral-3 was destroyed," Lu Yin theorized.

    The Starmaster still remainedpletely silent.

    Lu Yin knew that the man would not say anything, so without any other options, he simply bowed and turned to leave.

    After Lu Yin was gone, the Starmaster¡¯s eyes opened once again, and they contained conflicted emotions this time. "Triggering Destiny? I did not expect that there could be such a person. This might not be a bad thing."

    After Lu Yin left the Stargazing Deck, he visited Astral-10¡¯s other mentors, hoping to learn more about the Stargazing Deck. However, no one could give him a real answer.

    Old Cai¡¯s response was simplyzy. "The Stargazing Deck? Who knows what''s going on with that. Anyways, when I got here, that thing was already here. If I knew how the hell it works, I¡¯d be able to know everything."

    The Rainmaster showed surprise. "The Stargazing Deck? I don''t understand it, but it is found nowhere else in the entire universe. They are only located in my Astral Combat Academy."

    The Sandmaster smacked a student into the sand sea with a punch. "The Stargazing Deck? How should I know? I''ve never visited it. Curious? Of course I''m curious about it. The Stargazing Deck, the teleportation battles, and the Three Realms Six Daos are all mysteries. Are you going to exin them all to me?"

    The Trialmaster opened his eyes. "The Stargazing Deck? Is there something like that here?"

    Lu Yin was stuck. After he said his goodbyes to Big Pao and Little Pao, he left Astral-10 with Emperor Luo.

    The Astral Combat Tournament was still going on, but Lu Yin intended to visit Gaia''s Swamp to replenish his death energy.

    Without any death energy, he would not be able to use the God of Death¡¯s Transformation. He also did not have any easy means of getting more death energy, which left him feeling very nervous.

    At this moment, he knew of two different ces where he could replenish his death energy: Gaia''s Swamp and the pocket space in the Outerverse on Aegis¡¯s headquarters where the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins were located.

    Aegis¡¯s headquarters was in the Outerverse, on the border between the Sixth Maind and the Great Eastern Alliance. While it was rather inconvenient to travel to Gaia''s Swamp because of the distance, it was still a much better choice than returning to the Outerverse.

    As for the Stargazing Deck, although Lu Yin could not understand it, it was clearly connected to Destiny. Also, since the God of Death had been a real figure in history, then Destiny must have existed as well.

    They were both Ancient Progenitors, and it was possible that one really could ess Destiny¡¯s inheritance by umting all the pieces of fatesand in the universe. Lu Yin started to get some ideas. After all, even though he was afraid of Destiny, the urge to see those mysterious scenes of the future again was too strong.

    There was also the scene of the Champions'' Stage and the person kneeling beside it. Thus, there had to still be people of the Lu family, and Lu Yin really wanted to know where that person was.

 Chapter 1740: Limited Time

    Chapter 1740: Limited Time

    Just two days after Lu Yin left Astral-10, a major event urred in the Outerverse.

    The Outerverse had technically already been given to the Sixth Maind, but due to time and logistical limitations, it had been impossible for them to take control of the entire Outerverse in one move.

    This meant that the Great Eastern Alliance still had time, and the border to the west was under Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s supervision and constantly being patrolled.

    In addition to the Fourth Division of the Allied Forces that patrolled the border, Yuan Shi was also present there.

    One day at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border, the Fourth Division¡¯smander, Sigmund Mathers, looked out to see more and more people from the Sixth Maind approaching in the distance. He quickly grew pale and immediately sent an urgent message to En Ya.

    Sigmund Mathers had originally been a part of the Lu Office of Defense, and he had been posted in Grandtop Weave. However, as the Great Eastern Alliance had grown and acquired additional people with talent and qualifications, Sigmund Mathers had been transferred and mademander of the Allied Forces¡¯ Fourth Division. This waspletely unrted to his skills as amander or his strength; he had been given this position purely because he was someone whom Lu Yin could trust.

    More and more people started to appear at the border. They were from the Di family, the Mojiang family, and the Autumnfrost family. Members of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Yan family, the Blood Homage Realm¡¯s Nong family, and the ckblood Realm¡¯s Sightless n also showed up. There were even cultivators from the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Cloud Valley, Grand Martial Realm¡¯s Justice Manor, and more. Altogether, these people represented followers of all three of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost, Justice Manor¡¯s Cemetery Keeper, Ancestor Sightless, the Cloud Valley Master, and the Nong family¡¯s ancestor were all present. Their arrival caused space itself to tremble.

    The Allied Forces¡¯ Fourth Division remained silent. Not a single soldier dared to move before the presence of so many powerhouses.

    Sigmund Mathers¡¯ face went pale as he stared out at space. His battleship¡¯s device to measure power levels had actually exploded a bit ago, so he had known that an unimaginable powerhouse was approaching.

    Each of these experts alone could eliminate the entire Fourth Division with the twitch of a finger. Their lives were not their own at this moment.

    Fortunately, Yuan Shi quickly appeared and dissipated the pressure that had been sweeping towards the Fourth Division.

    "For so many experts to appear from the Sixth Maind, do you have something to say?" Yuan Shi¡¯s expression was solemn as he spoke.

    Ancestor Sightless, the Cloud Valley Master, and the Nong family¡¯s patriarch were all Cosmic Imprinters, which meant that they were at the same level of strength as Yuan Shi. He had no confidence in being able to defeat any of them since cultivators from the Sixth Maind held an innate advantage against anyone from the Fifth Maind. With three such powerhouses present, Yuan Shi was under unbelievable pressure.

    The Cloud Valley Master nced at the Fourth Division of the Allied Forces. Wherever his eyes fell, the soldiers grew terrified. They felt as though they had just been sliced with a sharp de, and no one dared to look at the man.

    Finally, the Cosmic Imprinter looked at Yuan Shi. "Leave the Outerverse. My Sixth Maind is taking control of this entire ce."

    Yuan Shi frowned. "Given the size of the Outerverse, even if your Sixth Maind wants to take it over-"

    But before he could finish speaking, the Cloud Valley Master interrupted him, saying, "Whether or not we can take control of the entire ce has nothing to do with you. Leave the Outerverse within a month. Any who remain after that time will be treated as submitting to the Sixth Maind.¡±

    Yuan Shi''s expression grew even more somber.

    It was impossible for the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces topletely abandon the Outerverse in a single month as there were just too many people in the Great Eastern Alliance. There were countless people in the eastern weaves who wanted to leave the Outerverse, as they did not want to be ruled by the Sixth Maind. How could all of these people be moved away in a month with just the one Astral River Ark that they had ess to? Doing so even in one, two, or even ten years would be a challenge.

    There were also countless people in the western weaves who had wanted to flee the Sixth Maind, but had not had time.

    "Is this your decision or that of your Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect?" Yuan Shi asked.

    The Cloud Valley Master casually replied, "The Daosource Sect¡¯s."

    "A month is impossible." Yuan Shi refused.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s expression grew sharp. "My Sixth Maind has already given you so much time, and yet you have not left. One more month is all you get."

    Yuan Shi shook his head. "I just told you that a month is impossible. If you try to force this, my Fifth Maind will treat it as a provocation."

    The Cloud Valley Master justughed, and a sword appeared in his hand. It was covered with golden patterns, and suddenly, a terrifying aura swept towards Yuan Shi.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s aura was fierce and peerless while Yuan Shi¡¯s was vigorous.

    When the two auras shed, space trembled, and stars moved.

    At this moment, Ancestor Sightless stepped forward. He was another Cosmic Imprinter, and his entrance into the fight meant that Yuan Shi was instantly suppressed by the Cloud Valley Master and Ancestor Sightless.

    Yuan Shi clenched his fist. He was alone here, and he could not stop the Sixth Maind by himself.

    The Sixth Maind was going topletely ignore his presence. He had already received the information that Lu Yin had learned in the Technocracy; the Sixth Maind had asked First Edition City for support in the Outerverse in the form of androids, and everyone understood that this had to mean that they were nning to go to war against the Fifth Maind. With that matter exposed, the Sixth Maind had cast aside all restraints. They wanted to move against the Fifth Maind.

    The hatred between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds ran too deep and had existed for far too long. The Sixth Maind had won the ancient war and covered the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky. On the other side, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Hui had put into y a scheme spanning countless years that had resulted in a cmity for the Sixth Maind; their entire homnd had been destroyed.

    The hatred between the two Mainds far exceeded the grudges that existed between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.

    The Fifth Maind had only agreed to give the Sixth Maind the Outerverse because they needed the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors to keep Aeternus outside of the hole in the barrier that protected most of the Fifth Maind.

    Each side was incredibly familiar with the other, and the Sixth Maind was eager to take total control of the Outerverse. Their next goal was to move on and seize control of the Innerverse, and then even the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse.

    There was no going back.

    There was no way to resolve such animosity of the two in the short term, not to mention a cure for greed.

    Both sides werepletely on edge.

    Sigmund Mathers¡¯ fists were clenched tightly. The moment a battle broke out, his Fourth Division would be done. They did not have the strength to stand up to the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses.

    At this time, someone coughed, and Nong Laohan stepped forward awkwardly. "Um¡­ we never finished our discussion, so why start fighting already?"

    The Cloud Valley Master and Yuan Shi both looked at the old man.

    "What else is there to even talk about?" The Cloud Valley Master''s voice was frigid. He had always looked down on Nong Laohan, as the man was simply lucky. When it came to actual strength, the man was worthless.

    Nong Laohan was a true legend in the Sixth Maind. His luck was truly heaven defying, and he had encountered countless lucky opportunities. This was the reason why he had managed to be a Cosmic Imprinter. As for his battle strength, few people had ever seen him fight, and it was generally well known that he was weak at fighting. He had only been brought along as a bit of support.

    Nong Laohan said, "Cloud Valley Master, have you already forgotten what Bluedome Elder told us? After all, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance is Lu Yin."

    The old man then turned towards Yuan Shi. "We need to talk to Alliance Leader Lu."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s face twisted in distaste¡ªLu Yin? He was just a child.

    "That''s right. Let us speak with Alliance Leader Lu," Ancestor Sightless agreed.

    It was hard for the Cloud Valley Master to interfere after two Cosmic Imprinters spoke out.

    Yuan Shi had not expected to hear such a request. Even though Lu Yin was very famous and held a very high status, he was still just a junior. He was not qualified to take part in decisions that could affect the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. Why did these people want to talk to Lu Yin?

    "Lu Yin? What is there to say to him?" Yuan Shi asked.

    Nong Laohan smiled. "You¡¯re Yuan Shi, correct? Although you are a true powerhouse, you are nothing more than a protector. You don¡¯t have the authority to decide whether the Great Eastern Alliance stays or leaves. Have Alliance Leader Lue speak with us, and he might just willingly join my Sixth Maind, haha."

    Yuan Shi could not understand the Sixth Maind¡¯s intentions at all. "You must give your word that you will not attack Lu Yin."

    Nong Laohan solemnly replied, "Even if war does break out, we can give Lu Yin a bit of time to leave in safety, as long as he is not the first to attack."

    Yuan Shi thought for a moment and then asked the Fourth Division to call Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and Yuan Shi was also not good at making decisions.

    Only a brief bit of time had passed since people from the Sixth Maind had appeared at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border, but Lu Yin had already received a report. As soon as he received the news, he had instantly shifted course for the Outerverse.

    At the same time, he had reached out to Wang Wen, Shui Chuanxiao, and his other advisors. He hoped that they could find a way to stall for as much time as possible so that the Great Eastern Alliance would have a better chance to move into the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Sixth Maind to move against him so quickly.

    Wang Wen and others felt simrly helpless at the news. They were all brilliant people, but they could not counter a move like this. The Sixth Maind had dispatched multiple powerhouses, and it was obvious that they had already made a decision. No matter what they tried to do against the Sixth Maind, it would all be useless.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he quickly answered the call.

    "The Sixth Maind wants to talk to you. Will youe?" It was Yuan Shi.

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, "Of course I¡¯ming. Before I get there, I must ask Senior to try to avoid fighting with them, as it¡¯s likely that the Sixth Maind wants to start a war."

    "I¡¯ve already reported this matter to the Hall of Honor, and the Neoverse will send experts as well. The three Progenitors are all outside the Starfall Sea, and without them, the Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t have much of an advantage over my Fifth Maind, even if war does break out," Yuan Shi exined.

    "This junior already knows." Lu Yin hung up.

    Aside from the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, they also had quite a few Envoys, but Lu Yin had no idea how many Semi-Progenitors they had.

    The Fifth Maind had once had seven Semi-Progenitors, but Lingzhi Mavis had died, so there were only six left. The Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy were considered to be peers of the Human Domain, and it did not seem likely that the Sixth Maind would be much weaker even with the absence of their Progenitors. This meant that the Sixth Maind must have been keeping their Semi-Progenitors hidden, especially those who intended to try to be Progenitors themselves.

    If war erupted between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds once again, the Great Eastern Alliance would bear the brunt of the damage, which would not be good for Lu Yin.

    He did not want the war to start.

    There were both small and big ns in y. While Madam Hong and others could use people like Qing Tan and other means to scheme against Lu Yin, in the face of the entire Sixth Maind¡¯s movements, such plots were not even worth mentioning.

    While Lu Yin waited for the Second Nightking and Liu Huang to meet up with him, he stared at a star chart. This was a very important matter, and he needed a n that oversaw the entire situation. However, what could he do? How could he avert this crisis?

    ¡­

    More than ten dayster, Lu Yin rushed to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border at his top speed to meet with the Cloud Valley Master and the other Sixth Maind powerhouses.

    Upon seeing the majestic number of runes that filled space before him, Lu Yin realized just how many experts the Sixth Maind had sent. This was not a force that the Great Eastern Alliance could stop, and it would be difficult for even the full power of a united Innerverse to stop this army.

    The Cloud Valley Master and others immediately noticed Lu Yin, and they all stared at him.

    None of them had ever seen Lu Yin before, but they had all heard of him, and they had watched him fight during ZENITH. This child was a true legend, but what concerned the three Cosmic Imprinters the most was the peerless battle technique that Lu Yin had gained from the Nine Cauldrons Region in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. That, and the God of Death¡¯s inheritance that Lu Yin had received.

    Lu Yin had single handedly defeated all of his peers in his generation. This was a level of strength that only future Progenitors could possess. Thus, it was not surprising for Lu Yin to already have such impressive bearing.

    "Lu Yin greets his seniors." Lu Yin¡¯s face carried an indifferent expression as he met all of the old men in the emptiness of outer space. He carried himself with unparalleled confidence, and he faced the Cloud Valley Master and others with a calm arrogance.

    The Cloud Valley Master coldly asked, "Are you Lu Yin? Junior, take your Great Eastern Alliance out of the Outerverse within a month, or else my Sixth Maind will attack. Anything that remains after a month will be treated as part of my Sixth Maind."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "A month is not enough."

    "You don¡¯t get to decide if it''s enough or not," the Cloud Valley Master coldly retorted.

    To the side, Nong Laohan was staring at Lu Yin with open curiosity. A young man like Lu Yin was truly rare. Still, the most important thing to him was that Lu Yin had stolen something from the Nong family.

 Chapter 1741: Grand Plan

    Chapter 1741: Grand n

    Lu Yin''s eyes swept over the Cloud Valley Master, and he quickly looked at Nong Laohan before shifting his gaze to Ancestor Sightless, Ancestor Autumnfrost, and Cemetery Keeper. "Seniors, do you want to start a war with my Fifth Maind?"

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s expression grew fierce after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, and his expression became even colder than before. "You are threatening us."

    "Of course not, but from what you seniors have said, in a month, the entire Outerverse will fall under the Sixth Maind¡¯s control. However, that also means that, for the duration of this month, this ce still belongs to my Great Eastern Alliance, which means that it still belongs to the Fifth Maind. So this would mean that where you seniors are standing also belongs to my Fifth Maind, no?" Lu Yin gave a small smile.

    "Junior, you aren¡¯t qualified to speak to me about such things. So what if what you say is true? What can you do about it?" Ancestor Autumnfrost shouted fiercely.

    Lu Yin turned to face Ancestor Autumnfrost. "This junior is quite confused. You don¡¯t want to speak to me, and yet you gave me a month to vacate the Outerverse and even waited for me toe and speak. If I¡¯m not qualified to speak with you, then why did you ask for me toe here?"

    He then looked at the Cloud Valley Master. "What did you seniors want to say to this junior? Do you intend to make this junior submit to you, or to simply make me promise to leave the Outerverse within a month?"

    The Cloud Valley Master coldly replied, "My sword attendant was honored to entertain you."

    Lu Yin suddenly said, "Ah, so it¡¯s about that. You¡¯re very wee. It was entirely coincidental that I met him. He almost died in the Technocracy, and this junior happened to be passing by and managed to save him. It¡¯s important for humans to protect each other."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s eyebrows rose after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s shamelessness as he stared at the youth¡¯s serious expression. The old man knew that if he had not been aware of the true story, he would have most likely been deceived by the youth. Lu Yin lied without batting an eye.

    "Why did you go to the Sophic Rift?" the Cloud Valley Master demanded.

    Yuan Shi was caught off guard by this question. The Sophic Rift? If I remember correctly, that should be the Technocracy¡¯s battlefield for the civil war between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. Why did Lu Yin go there?

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I don''t want to talk about that."

    "Have all of your forces leave the Outerverse within a month," the Cloud Valley Mastermanded.

    Lu Yin looked amused at this demand. "So this is the true purpose of you seniors. If this junior asked it, would you take all of these people from the Sixth Maind away?"

    "That¡¯s impossible. The Outerverse already belongs to my Sixth Maind, and you have already been given enough time to leave. At best, we can give you a few more months, as long as you reveal everything," the Cloud Valley Master replied.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "A few months or just one month¡ªwhat''s the difference?"

    "The time that you receive depends on how much you can offer us," the Cloud Valley Master loudly dered.

    Lu Yin stared at the old man. This was the heart of the negotiations. The Cloud Valley Master was not merely asking Lu Yin why he had visited the Sophic Rift, but also about other secrets that Lu Yin held, such as the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ battle technique, or other things that Lu Yin possessed that others did not understand.

    The Sixth Maind was threatening Lu Yin with the fate of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and spread his fingers open. "Bluedome Elder promised to leave my Great Eastern Alliance five weaves. Is this promise no longer valid?"

    The Cloud Valley Master answered without hesitation, "Of course it is valid, but we will decide which five weaves you keep."

    Lu Yin¡¯s agreement that he had reached with Madam Hong had been for him to receive five weaves close to the eastern Astral River Ark, but they had never named the specific weaves. If the Sixth Maind decided which weaves Lu Yin received, it was impossible for them to give him five connected weaves, which would make possessing thempletely meaningless. Also, Lu Yin firmly believed that if he was given five weaves, the people who lived in them would not enjoy better lives.

    "I don''t want five weaves. Instead, I want to exchange them for five years¡¯ time to retreat," Lu Yin countered.

    The Cloud Valley Master sneered. "Impossible. You were offered five weaves ording to Bluedome Elder¡¯s words. If you want to trade for time, that all depends on what you can offer in the trade."

    "What if I disclose the deal to give me five weaves?"

    "That¡¯s your choice. You can try it."

    The Fifth Maind had various internal conflicts, and the same was true in the Sixth Maind. Even if Lu Yin publicized that he had promised to kidnap the Greenmen Duo for Bluedome Elder, it would not lead to anything, as it was not too important in the overall scheme of things.

    There was no pressure for the Sixth Maind to take over the Outerverse, and the only need for them to rush things was to force Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    Lu Yin held too many secrets, and he had also established the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant that it was more important to him than anyone else. Everything at this point depended on Lu Yin¡¯s priorities and whether or not he would be willing to divulge some of his secrets to save the alliance.

    The moment Lu Yin had arrived to meet with the Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses, the one month countdown had already started.

    Inside a spaceship, Yuan Shi was staring off into the distance. Despite having a power level of over a million, he was stillpletely helpless at this moment.

    "Senior, in your opinion, which is a greater enemy of the Fifth Maind? The Astral Beast Domain or the Sixth Maind?" Lu Yin suddenly asked while staring at Yuan Shi.

    Yuan Shi felt puzzled. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin said, "This junior would just like to know, if needed, which one would you prefer to give Ironblood Weave to?"

    Yuan Shi stared at Lu Yin and then considered the matter for a moment. "The Sixth Maind."

    "Why?" Lu Yin asked with raised eyebrows.

    Yuan Shi shrugged. "Our Human Domain holds a powerful grudge against both the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain, but from a certain standpoint, the Sixth Maind is still a human power, and it would be better for humans to be ruled over by other humans than beasts."

    "What if you remove all biases?" Lu Yin continued.

    Yuan Shi said, "Just tell me what you want to do."

    ¡­

    It was not long before Lu Yin was talking to Elder Lohar on his gadget. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to do this?"

    Lu Yin''s expression remained stern. "Do it."

    Elder Lohar ended the call and instantly called the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers. Lu Yin¡¯s n was too extreme; he actually wanted to give Ironblood Weave to the Astral Beast Domain! Ironblood Weave had been the Human Domain¡¯s primary bulwark against the Astral Beast Domain for countless years. To give the weave over to the enemy would be betraying all those who had died to resist the astral beasts¡¯ forces.

    Lu Yin¡¯s n was quite simple; he intended to leave Ironblood Weave to the Astral Beast Domain and then allow the Sixth Maind and the Celestial Beast Empire to inevitably start fighting once they met.

    Harm could not be allowed to befall the ordinary humans, but it was possible for the Fifth Maind to give up Ironblood Weave. If this did not happen, then an intact Outerverse would be perfectly delivered to the Sixth Maind, which would only strengthen their enemy.

    This was the scheme that Lu Yin hade up with while traveling. He knew that he needed to find an opponent for the Sixth Maind to fight against, and at the same time, he also needed to do his best to force First Edition City to encourage the Sixth Maind to attack Sky Creation Academy.

    No matter how strong the Sixth Maind might be, as soon as they started fighting two different battlefronts, they would not be willing to step onto a third. This would thus give the Great Eastern Alliance an opening to safely withdraw from the Outerverse.

    The Sixth Maind had tried to force Lu Yin¡¯s hand by threatening the Great Eastern Alliance in order to gain ess to his secrets, so he simply needed to find a method to force the Sixth Maind into a difficult position.

    This was how war was. There were times when it was possible to gain a tactical edge over an opponent by taking a step back. For example, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao had given up half of Endless Weave so that the entire Human Domain could be connected to a singlework. Lu Yin hoped to do the same by giving up Ironblood Weave. Also, this would give his Great Eastern Alliance a bit of leeway.

    This strategy hade from Wei Rong, who was brilliant at indirect warfare.

    Regardless of whether one considered the Sixth Maind or the Astral Beast Domain, both were enemies. Once war truly broke out, Lu Yin would consider the n sessful if he managed to keep the ordinary humans safe. This was his bottom line.

    At this moment, Frostwave Weave posed the greatest obstacle for Lu Yin. It was close to the northern part of the Outerverse, and it was also home to both Zenyu Star and Earth. It was very difficult for Lu Yin to let go of that weave.

    However, maybe it was possible to keep the weave¡­

    In Ironblood Weave, Elder Lohar ended his call and stared to the north.

    "We have stood firm here for so many years, and yet in the end, I must give it to them," Elder Loharined bitterly.

    Behind him, Han Fei spoke up in a soft voice. "Elder, do you really intend to give Ironblood Weave to those beasts?"

    "This is the overseers¡¯ decision."

    Han Fei grew furious. "How many people have bled and died to keep Ironblood Weave? There has always only been one rule here: everyone is born to fight in this war and never retreat! Every child born here knows that we will never give in to those beasts, but we have to give the whole weave now? What are the overseers thinking?"

    Elder Lohar looked at the man. "It''s not up to you or me to alter a decision made by those above us. Order everyone to immediately withdraw from Ironblood Weave. We have fifteen days."

    Han Fei was unwilling to ept this. "I can''t do this! And the people following us will refuse to ept it too!"

    "Keep an eye on the big picture."

    "Keep an eye on the big picture? Fuck the big picture! The overseers¡¯ big picture? Let those of us who have protected Ironblood Weave for our entire lives be deserters! Is this for the big picture? If that¡¯s the case, I''d rather die here!"

    Elder Lohar''s eyes betrayedplicated emotions, as he was even more unwilling to ept his orders than Han Fei. Elder Lohar had actually protected Ironblood Weave for even longer than Han Fei, and he did not want to abandon it. However, what else could he do? The orders that he had received could not be changed. Lu Yin had not kept his n hidden, and it would be impossible to do so even if he wanted to. His only goal was to find an opponent for the Sixth Maind to fight, and it was impossible for the Astral Beast Domain to be satisfied with just Ironblood Weave. The moment they conquered Ironblood Weave, their next step would be the rest of the Outerverse, which would give the Sixth Maind a massive problem.

    Lu Yin had provided the Astral Beast Domain with a grand opportunity, and regardless of if the Celestial Beast Empire went to war with the Sixth Maind or not, the two would definitely be wary of each other.

    This benefited the overall picture of the entire Human Domain, which Lu Yin had taken into ount. The overseers had agreed, as this would erode the strength of both the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain, which would be beneficial to the Human Domain in every way.

    However, had the people on the front lines of Ironblood Weave even been considered?

    They had spent entire lifetimes and shed endless amounts of blood to stand firm in Ironblood Weave, only to ultimately be ordered to abandon their posts. How could such dedicated soldiers ept such a ruling?

    Elder Lohar took a deep breath and then essed his gadget again to contact Lu Yin. The old man shared all of his thoughts and concerns with him.

    Lu Yin did not speak. After a period of silence, Elder Lohar heard Lu Yin start to speak. "When the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse, how was Ironblood Weave able to hold off the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion?"

    Elder Lohar could not understand why Lu Yin would suddenly bring that situation up at such a time.

    At the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border, Lu Yin continued, saying, "It was the united strength of the entire Outerverse. All of the Outerverse¡¯s powerful cultivators at that time, including me, went to fight in Ironblood Weave. Why were we able to get there in time? Because of thework that connected the entire Human Domain. Elder, you should understand that for thework to be truly connected, a sacrifice was paid. What did Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao pay? Half of Endless Weave.

    "Some people im that he betrayed the Human Domain, and others say he went mad, but no matter how you spin the matter, you cannot deny that his actions were directly responsible for the Human Domain gaining a universalwork. There is no way to quantify his crimes with how the Human Domain has benefited from his actions, which was why he was imprisoned in Gaia''s Swamp. However, Ironblood Weave must still remember Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao. The care and attention that he gave Ironblood Weave provided it a second chance that was needed to defend the border, and that was traded for half of Endless Weave.

    "At this moment, I need to trade Ironblood Weave for a future chance of winning the war between the Human Domain and the Sixth Maind. There are some things that you should not be told right now, but because of your concerns, I feel that I should tell you.¡± Lu Yin paused briefly before solemnly continuing, saying, "The Sixth Maind has asked the Technocracy for reinforcements. They asked for tens of millions of androids to be sent to the Outerverse to aid them in a war against my Fifth Maind."

 Chapter 1742: Beyond The Battlefield

    Chapter 1742: Beyond The Battlefield

    Elder Lohar was stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s revtion. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin somberly answered, "The Sixth Maind has asked the Technocracy for an army of tens of millions of androids to reinforce them. This is a power that the Innerverse has no hope of stopping, and even the entire Fifth Maind would struggle to resist it. Elder Lohar, you should now understand why we need to abandon Ironblood Weave.¡±

    Elder Lohar finally realized that Ironblood Weave was not being abandoned just for Lu Yin¡¯s sake, but in order to get the Sixth Maind to fight against the Astral Beast Domain so that the Human Domain would be able to relieve some of the Sixth Maind¡¯s pressure. This was the real big picture to consider.

    Losing one stronghold would give them the hope of prospering in the future.

    "Tell me, do the protectors of Ironblood Weave only dream of defending the weave and to stay there? Elder, pass along a message for me to everyone in Ironblood Weave: I, Lu Yin, promise to one day lead them out of Ironblood Weave and into the Primal Zone. We will force our way into the Astral Beast Domain and into the heart of the Celestial Beast Empire!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Elder Lohar had cultivated for many, many years, and he tended to be dispassionate towards most things. However, Lu Yin¡¯s deration instantly ignited the old man¡¯s passion. He felt that he could see a human army forcing its way into the Primal Zone one day in the future, leaving the Astral Beast Domain powerless to stop them. The dream of Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenders? Lu Yin had just given voice to the dream of countless cultivators!

    "I see. Alliance Leader Lu, you can be assured that there will be no group in Ironblood Weave resisting the retreat orders," Elder Lohar solemnly vowed.

    Lu Yin ended the call.

    Nearby, the Second Night King and Liu Huang both stared at Lu Yin as though they were looking at a stranger. Both of them had altered their appearance in order to avoid being recognized by Yuan Shi.

    Both of the powerhouses had heard Lu Yin¡¯s words to Elder Lohar, and they could not believe that an old man had been roused into a zing passion with just a few words from a youth. This was the charm of a born ruler. If anyone else had tried to tell Elder Lohar the same exact words, the old man would have pped them before they even finished speaking. However, he had had a different reaction when Lu Yin had spoken.

    Everyone believed that Lu Yin could actually aplish what he had imed. Even the Second Nightking was confident in Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, as the youth had already aplished too many legendary shocking feats, which made his ims all too convincing no matter what he dered he would one day do.

    The Cloud Valley Master only gave Lu Yin a month, but after calcting things, Lu Yin knew that it would be enough.

    This month would give the cultivators in Ironblood Weave enough time needed to leave, and the Celestial Beast Empire would quickly see the opportunity and enter the Outerverse.

    There was absolutely no possibility of reconciliation or cooperation between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain. After all, the Sixth Maind had not only invaded the Human Domain, but also the Astral Beast Domain. The hatred between the two was not small either, and more importantly, Lu Yin intended to quickly add more fuel to the fire.

    With the remaining time and the distance that needed to be covered by the retreating cultivators, Lu Yin needed to wait at least nine days before speaking with the Cloud Valley Master again.

    At that time, the ball would be back in Lu Yin¡¯s court.

    Nine days passed in a sh, and Lu Yin nced at his gadget to see a message from Emperor Luo: time was up.

    Lu Yin stepped out and entered space. "Tell the Cloud Valley Master that I¡¯m here."

    Across from Lu Yin, many of the people from the Sixth Maind red fiercely at Lu Yin with expressions that seemed to say that they wanted to tear him apart.

    The Cloud Valley Master emerged from the void and stepped forward. He was apanied by several other old powerhouses.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, have you made a decision?"

    Nong Laohan stood next to the Cloud Valley Master and observed Lu Yin with a great deal of interest.

    Lu Yin and the Cloud Valley Master stared at each other, and Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision. We¡¯ll leave."

    The Cloud Valley Master sneered. "You were given a month, which means that you only have half a month left."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s enough."

    The Cloud Valley Master was taken aback at the rxed response. That¡¯s enough?

    "They canpletely evacuate Ironblood Weave with just six days, so that''s enough," Lu Yin exined.

    The Cloud Valley Master was stunned for a moment, but then his expression changed drastically. "You moved the defenders of Ironblood Weave out? You dare to collude with the Astral Beast Domain?!"

    Lu Yin blinked. "What collusion? This junior really can¡¯t understand what Senior is talking about."

    "Lu Yin, you pulled out Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenders, which is no different from allowing the Astral Beast Domain to invade the Outerverse! You have betrayed humanity!" Ancestor Autumnfrost shouted fiercely.

    Nong Laohan frowned; this kid was ruthless.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The Ironblood Weave is also a part of my Great Eastern Alliance, so what¡¯s wrong with having the people there retreat?"

    The Cloud Valley Master was truly furious. He had never even considered that Lu Yin would evacuate Ironblood Weave. While it was true that the weave technically belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance, that was merely a formality as the alliance could not control the weave at all. If necessary, the Great Eastern Alliance could even be forced to support Ironblood Weave, as it was a special region that was under the direct control of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor.

    The Ironblood Weave¡¯s purpose was to prevent the Astral Beast Domain from invading the Outerverse, and the Cloud Valley Master had never thought that Lu Yin might do something this ruthless. He actually preferred to give human territory to those beasts than to the Sixth Maind!

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you do this, how will you exin yourself to humanity when this information is released?" the Cloud Valley Master asked coldly.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "I haven¡¯t done anything. You told me to have the Great Eastern Alliance leave the Outerverse, and that¡¯s what we¡¯re doing, so what''s the issue? Actually, that reminds me¡ªthe fortresses in Ironblood Weave haven¡¯t beenpletely evacuated, so we need at least six more days to pull them out. That should be enough for you to send someone over."

    The Cloud Valley Master turned to look at Ancestor Autumnfrost. "Get your Autumnfrost family to Ironblood Weave as soon as possible. You must arrive within six days."

    Ancestor Autumnfrost''s expression grew ugly. His Autumnfrost family had settled in the area in the furthest north in the Outerverse. "Elder, Ironblood Weave should not be given to my Autumnfrost family-¡±

    Nong Laohan interrupted before the other Cosmic Imprinter could finish talking. ¡°Just move your family there as temporary guardians. You¡¯ll be reced eventually, so you don¡¯t need to worry about being stuck there forever."

    Taking control of Ironblood Weave meant protecting the border against the Astral Beast Domain. While the Sixth Maind was not afraid of the Astral Beast Domain, it also did not want to go to war. The Astral Beast Domain was too deste, and they had learned from their previous attempted invasion that the gains from invading the Astral Beast Domain would not equal their losses.

    No one would willingly take on a thankless task like fighting against the Astral Beast Domain.

    Naturally, Ancestor Autumnfrost did not want to ept this task either, but the fact remained that the Autumnfrost family was the closest to Ironblood Weave out of anyone else in the Sixth Maind. Ironblood Weave could not be left undefended.

    There was a clear hierarchy among cultivators. Even if powerful Progenitors could easily end a war, they would not make moves lightly. As far as Progenitors were concerned, wars were nothing more than games. By the same token, as far as the Cloud Valley Master and others at his level were concerned, the possibility of the Astral Beast Domain invading the Outerverse was something rather petty that needed to be handled, and the Autumnfrost family was a qualified candidate to handle the matter. Thus, there was no need for the other powerhouses to make a move.

    Unless, of course, the Celestial Beast Empireunched an all-out assault.

    Wait, the Celestial Beast Empire?

    The Cloud Valley Master suddenly stared at Lu Yin. "Does the Celestial Beast Empire know about what you¡¯ve done in Ironblood Weave?"

    Lu Yin was surprised by this question. The Cloud Valley Master was far from stupid, as he had actually guessed this matter.

    Given the strength of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces in the Primal Zone, Ancestor Autumnfrost could clean out the entire ce out by himself, which would defeat the entire purpose of Lu Yin¡¯s plot. This was why Lu Yin had tried to find a way to leak the information to the Celestial Beast Empire before he returned to speak with the Cloud Valley Master at the border. Only if an expert from the Celestial Beast Empire moved out would there be a threat to the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind, the Fifth Maind, and the Astral Beast Domain could all clearly see what Lu Yin was aiming at, but none of them could back down from it.

    The Astral Beast Domain could not resist the temptation of gaining ess to the Outerverse, and neither could they eliminate their hatred for the Sixth Maind. It was also impossible for the Sixth Maind to allow Ironblood Weave to fall into the control of the Astral Beast Domain.

    There could only be a single reason why LU Yin¡¯s n might fail, which would be if he had underestimated people''s hearts. People were born with a propensity for both good and evil, and Lu Yin was treating the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind as the same sort of evil. If both sides were better than Lu Yin believed, the Astral Beast Domain would not enter Ironblood Weave, and the Sixth Maind would not end up fighting with the Astral Beast Domain. That was the only way that his n could fail.

    However, was that even possible? Lu Yin never even considered it. All he thought of was adding fuel to the fire.

    The fire had to be a zing bonfire before Ancestor Autumnfrost reached Ironblood Weave.

    Also, the Autumnfrost family was effectively gone now.

    "I''ll ask you again: does the Celestial Beast Empire know anything about what is happening in Ironblood Weave?" The Cloud Valley Master''s voice was like steel, and a terrifying pressure radiated from the man. The oppressive aura of an expert with a power level of more than a million was not something that Lu Yin could handle.

    Fortunately, Yuan Shi quickly appeared to block the pressure for Lu Yin.

    "They know," Lu Yin said while staring back at the Cloud Valley Master. "That¡¯s my guess."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s gaze bore through him, and killing intent shed through his eyes as he nodded. "Well, this was certainly a ruthless enough move. You deserve your position as the leader who united the Outerverse. Still, I¡¯ve seen through your scheme. Do you really believe that this will work? Even if my Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain engage in an all-out war, just the Autumnfrost family, the Nong family, and a few others will be enough to block the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. Or do you believe that the Astral Beast Domain actually dares to fight against the full power of my Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "All I know is that it¡¯s not smart to try to grab food from a beast''s mouth. When have you ever seen a beast spit out meat that¡¯s already in its mouth?"

    The Ironblood Weave was meat in the mouth of the Astral Beast Domain, as Lu Yin had personally given it to them.

    Elder Hua and others were obsessed with Ironblood Weave, but the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s obsession was at least just as strong. In the same way that Elder Lohar yearned to push into the Primal Zone, the Astral Beast Domain also desired to conquer Ironblood Weave.

    How could they give up such a wonderful opportunity?

    Lu Yin had already presented his conditions to the Primal Zone, and the other party had immediately agreed. He knew that a war was about to break out between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain.

    For this second conversation, the Cloud Valley Master was not nearly as calm as he had been the first time. He hadpletely underestimated Lu Yin''s ruthlessness.

    The man was also clueless as to the fact that this plot had not been hatched by Lu Yin, but rather Wei Rong¡¯s. If the Cloud Valley Master learned of this, he would absolutely make his way to the Innerverse and personally kill Wei Rong.

    A weak, nonbatant had forced the Cloud Valley Master into a passive position.

    Even though the Sixth Maind did not particrly care about the Astral Beast Domain, once a war started, it would consume manpower and physical resources that were already in somewhat short supply.

    Wei Rong had set up a battlefield in Ironblood Weave for the Sixth Maind to use, and Lu Yin wanted to also do the same between Sky Creation Academy for the Sixth Maind.

    While Lu Yin had been making his way to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Outerverse border, he had reached out to a cyborg that the Technocracy had left at their border. Through this person, Lu Yin had gotten in touch with First Edition City, and he had requested for First Edition City to try their best to coerce the Sixth Maind into attacking Sky Creation Academy. This had to happen as soon as possible, and in exchange, Lu Yin had agreed to Disassemble rare materials for First Edition City for half a year.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was currently waiting for First Edition City to make their move. The moment that the Sixth Maind was pulled into two different war fronts, they would no longer have the time to pay attention to the Great Eastern Alliance, and that would give the Great Eastern Alliance enough time to cleanly pull out of the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin really wanted the Great Eastern Alliance to stay in the Outerverse, as he felt that the Outerverse was his territory, but he could not stop the flow of the times. The Sixth Maind was not something that Lu Yin could resist, and the overseers, the Interster Supreme Court, and even Arch-Elder Zen could not do anything to repulse the Sixth Maind.

    ¡­

    In Ironblood Weave, above Brokende Fort, Charon reached out to touch the dark-red stone before looking out at the endless starry sky.

    "Charon, it''s time to go." Linley appeared and looked over at Charon before quietly informing the man that they needed to leave. Linley was a senior disciple of the Myriad Swords Peak, and he had once fought alongside Lu Yin in Ironblood Weave. At the time, Linley had been a Cruiser, but he had already be a Hunter.

 Chapter 1743: Long-Term Scruples

    Chapter 1743: Long-Term Scruples

    Charon was a genius Lockbreaker. Even when he had been Lu Yin¡¯s ssmate in the Astral Combat Academy, Charon had already been a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. Unfortunately, because of his time in Ironblood Weave, his reputation had never had a chance to spread.

    "Brother Linley, are we really leaving? This is Ironblood Weave," Charon bitterly protested. Compared to his time as a student, he had greatly matured.

    Linley''s eyes flickered, but they remained bleak. "Let''s go. Don¡¯t think about it too much, and just follow our orders."

    Charon sighed. "Why are we leaving? I can already smell the disgusting stench of those beasts! As soon as we¡¯re gone, what will happen to the ordinary humans living outside this weave?"

    "Don''t worry about it. I asked, and the Hall of Honor¡¯s already prepared something. Those people will be fine," Linley replied.

    Charonughed hoarsely. "It looks like an agreement was reached. This is bullshit! We risked our lives on this battlefield, and where were those decision makers then? Did they say anything to us before reaching an agreement?"

    Linley stared off into the distance. Charon was not the only one to have such thoughts, as everyone who had fought at Brokende Fort held simr confusion; why were they leaving? This was Ironblood Weave! When they were gone, who would protect the Outerverse?

    The people stationed in Ironblood Weave were rather ignorant of the rest of the universe¡¯s matters, as themanders were worried that such things would adversely affect the soldiers¡¯ determination. This was why the soldiers did not know that the Sixth Maind was about to take control of the entire Outerverse.

    Charon and those with him were thest to evacuate. They looked back at Brokende Fort; how many heroes were buried in that ce, both dead and alive? Everyone had worked so hard to keep this ce from being broken, and yet they had just voluntarily abandoned it.

    Behind Brokende Fort, countless ck shadows suddenly appeared: astral beasts. Their eyes glowed brightly with the color of blood. They had already passed by Ironblood Fort and the others. Brokende Fort was thest stronghold in Ironblood Weave. Taking control of this ce symbolized that they had be the masters of Ironblood Weave.

    The humans¡¯ Ironblood Weave had held the astral beasts back from entering the Human Domain for countless years, and it was finally about to shatter.

    When Elder Lohar saw those astral beasts arrive, his eyes grew cold. He then turned his head to look in the direction that they were retreating, just in time to face a terrifying aura that swept over them. It was the power of an Envoy.

    Elder Lohar and the other humans from Ironblood Weave were all stunned, as an Envoy-level figure was not someone who they could stand up to. How could an Envoy-level astral beast be blocking their way?

    The countless astral beasts still behind Brokende Fort grew excited to see that an Envoy-level beast had appeared. They were still at the edge of the humans¡¯ Ironblood Weave, and they could not wait to move past Brokende Fort to join their powerhouse tounch a true attack on the Outerverse.

    Brokende Fort was quickly destroyed by the powerful astral beast.

    Charon and the others clenched their fists as they mournfully watched the scene y out.

    Naturally, the Envoy-level astral beast that had appeared past Ironblood Weave was Dark Beast. When Elder Lohar and other humans had seen it, so too had the astral beasts behind them.

    Suddenly, a person appeared behind Dark Beast, and the figure raised a hand. The hand fell, and with it, so did a battle technique: Skyrender w. This was the Autumnfrost family¡¯s battle technique.

    The Skyrender w tore through Dark Beast¡¯s body, and blood sttered through space.

    Everything fell silent.

    "That¡¯s an imprint! That¡¯s someone from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Autumnfrost family!" one of the retreating people shouted loudly.

    These words ignited the rage of the astral beasts still behind the ruins of Brokende Fort. This attack had been carried out just outside of Ironblood Weave by the cultivator from the Autumnfrost family who had just arrived.

    Elder Lohar immediately led the retreating soldiers in a different direction.

    More of the Autumnfrost family arrived just as Elder Lohar led thest group of soldiers out of Ironblood Weave, and this was also the same moment that the astral beasts passed by Brokende Fort and made their way into the Outerverse.

    Dark Beast had been killed by one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerful Imprinters, and the Sixth Maind was also blocking the path to the Outerverse. This was an act of war to the astral beasts.

    It was possible that there were intelligent members of the Celestial Beast Empire who did not want to fight against the Sixth Maind, but at this moment, who could stop the astral beasts from charging forward? The beasts from the Primal Zone were far too eager to rush into the humans¡¯ Outerverse.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost simply snorted derisively. He had no desire to even try negotiating with these beasts. He was a World Imprinter, and his strength swept through space, easily eradicating all the approaching beasts.

    There was a roar from within the depths of Ironblood Weave, and an iparably massive python slithered through space, staring at Ancestor Autumnfrost through its slitted pupils. The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s experts had also arrived.

    War broke out in Ironblood Weave again, but this time, it was being fought between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Elder Lohar led thest of the defenders away from the battlefield and towards the Innerverse.

    This was not their war to fight.

    War had broken out in Ironblood Weave. Meanwhile, in the far flung Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City, the vice city master had just refused Di Jun¡¯s proposal.

    Qing Tan had provided information to Bluedome Elder that confirmed to the Empyrean Imprinter that Origin Matter had appeared in the Sophic Rift, and this was why Di Jun had been sent to negotiate with First Edition City. They no longer simply wanted to recruit First Edition City¡¯s androids as reinforcements in the Outerverse, as they also wanted to further verify the location of the Origin Matter.

    Di Jun had already confirmed that Sky Creation Academy was in possession of Origin Matter, but he was frustrated by the conditions that First Edition City were demanding for them to provide the Sixth Maind with any androids. The only requirement that the city had put forth was for the Sixth Maind to attack Sky Creation Academy.

    Di Jun asked the vice city master countless times for other options, but he had been met with the same response over and over. ¡°If First Edition City is defeated by Sky Creation Academy, where will you get androids to support you?¡±

    These words could not be refuted, especially since the Sophic Rift had been constantly shifting, and it was clear that First Edition City was at a distinct disadvantage.

    Helpless, the only thing that Di Jun could do was reach out to Bluedome Elder, who told Di Jun to remain in First Edition City and continue the negotiations.

    However, just half a month ago, First Edition City''s attitude had suddenly and drastically changed, as they insisted even more forcefully that the Sixth Maind immediately attack Sky Creation Academy.

    Di Jun had been forced to reach out to Bluedome Elder yet again, which had resulted in Di Jun finally being told to return to the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory.

    In the Technocracy, Di Jun''s eyes glinted. After he moved away from First Edition City, he changed directions to move towards the Sophic Rift. Before leaving the city, he had made a point to say that he needed to visit the Sophic Rift to determine the matters there so that he could make a full report to Bluedome Elder. However, the truth was that Di Jun was going all the way to Sky Creation Academy.

    The Sixth Maind needed the support of androids, but that did not mean that they had to get them from First Edition City. Bluedome Elder¡¯s intention was to look at other possibilities.

    Di Jun intended to visit Sky Creation Academy to discuss a cooperative rtionship that included the Sixth Maind gaining the support of androids, but he was also visiting to investigate the existence of Origin Matter.

    As long as Sky Creation Academy actually possessed Origin Matter, Bluedome Elder was willing to pay an incredible price.

    Bluedome Elder was very intelligent, and he had no desire to hang himself on a tree, as he would much rather cooperate with Sky Creation Academy. However, First Edition City was also far from stupid.

    Once Di Jun arrived in the Sophic Rift, he was greeted by the vice city master, who was still using the bear-shaped android.

    First Edition City had recentlye to see Lu Yin as more valuable than the Sixth Maind. They already possessed arge amount ofmon materials, and the Sixth Maind had been destroyed. Thus, the maind had nothing that could rouse First Edition City¡¯s interest. Only Lu Yin''s ability to perfectly refine a substance into itsposite materials was able to gain their interest.

    Half a year of Disassembling various materials was an opportunity that held untold temptations for First Edition City. Regardless of Di Jun¡¯s true purpose in visiting the Sophic Rift, he was dead. Midday¡¯s goal was very clear: Lu Yin wanted to coerce the Sixth Maind to start a war against Sky Creation Academy.

    Not long after Di Jun perished, Bluedome Elder received a call from First Edition City.

    "This is Little Bear, First Edition City¡¯s Vice City Master. It¡¯s been a long time, Bluedome Elder."

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes flickered. "Vice city master, what might be the matter?"

    "Di Jun is dead. He died in the Sophic Rift," the vice city master reported.

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and his voice grew chilly. "How?"

    "He was caught up in the aftershocks of a battle. Experts are as numerous as the clouds in the Sophic Rift, and even someone like what you from the Sixth Maind refer to as Imprinters can easily fall there. He was not familiar with theyout of the battlefield, and so ended up getting caught up in the shockwaves of a battle, which killed him."

    There was no way that Bluedome Elder would believe such a story. He was very familiar with Di Jun and his strength. Even though the man was not particrly strong and was only a World Imprinter, he was very cunning. When Ancestor Di had died, Di Jun had led the rest of the Di family to escape to the Outerverse. He had been a very smart person, or else Bluedome Elder would have never sent him to First Edition City.

    How could such a person have gotten caught up in someone else¡¯s battle and died that easily?

    "In that case, I¡¯ll send someone else to negotiate with your city," Bluedome Elder stated. He did not particrly care about Di Jun¡¯s death, as the Empyrean Imprinter simply wanted to get the androids as soon as possible, and also the Origin Matter.

    The vice city master solemnly replied, "Is Your Excellency not curious about where Di Jun died?"

    "What does that matter?"

    "Di Jun died in the Sophic Rift near Sky Creation Academy¡¯s border. It looked like he was trying to visit Sky Creation Academy."

    Bluedome Elder frowned. "Things can change quickly on the battlefield, and it¡¯s also possible that he could not control his position. He should have gone to the Sophic Rift to confirm the current situation. If your city is truly being suppressed by Sky Creation Academy, then my Sixth Maind will naturally send help. After all, we have cooperated for many years."

    "I hope that¡¯s the case. It¡¯s said that humans are cunning creatures, but we can still see Bluedome Elder¡¯s sincerity. We just hope that your Sixth Maind will not betray our hopes."

    "Of course not."

    "In that case, Bluedome Elder, when will you send people to attack Sky Creation Academy?"

    Bluedome Elder said, "That will have to be decided after the Four Empyreans discuss the matter."

    "Very well. We will wait for your answer then."

    Once the call ended, Bluedome Elder immediately called Mr. Lifeview. Of the Four Empyreans, they were the only two with the same position on this matter.

    "We can''t attack Sky Creation Academy for the time being. War has already broken out in Ironblood Weave. If we start a war with the Technocracy as well, we will be helpless against the Fifth Maind," Mr. Lifeview replied.

    Bluedome Elder did not care about such things. "The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast Empire cannot threaten us. You or I alone can go in and prevent the Astral Beast Domain from ever taking a single step inside Ironblood Weave."

    "Do not underestimate the Astral Beast Domain. While they do not have the same number of Semi-Progenitors as the Fifth Maind, the two have been deadlocked for many years. When we attacked the Astral Beast Domain, we did not suffer small casualties either. The Astral Beast Domain is not a simple ce, or else how could they possibly dare go to war with us? Have you already forgotten about the Fourth Maind?" Mr. Lifeview¡¯s voice dropped low.

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s expression finally changed, and he started thinking about the Fourth Maind. "Then what do you suggest?"

    "Don''t worry about the Technocracy for now. If Sky Creation Academy does have Origin Matter, then it will not be able to move from there. At this time, we need to bring the entire Outerverse under ourplete control. I¡¯ve been feeling like there¡¯s something wrong with First Edition City¡¯s attitude towards us. Something¡¯s fishy,¡± Mr. Lifeview replied.

    After hanging up, Bluedome Elder reluctantly turned to look towards the Technocracy. He was not able to do anything for the moment, and the exact location of the Origin Matter still had not been verified. However, there was another lead that was rted to the Origin Matter: Lu Yin. The Origin Matter had only been discovered by the outside world because Lu Yin had visited the Sophic Rift.

    Lu Yin had also provided confirmation that the Origin Matter had appeared. As long as Lu Yin was telling the truth, Bluedome Elder would be able to determine the best way to deal with both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy.

    Thinking, he essed his gadget.

    ¡­

 Chapter 1744: Chance Encounter

    Chapter 1744: Chance Encounter

    The war that broke out in Ironblood Weave waspletely within Lu Yin''s expectations. The Astral Beast Domain could not resist the temptation to gain ess to the humans¡¯ Outerverse, and the Sixth Maind could not afford to surrender Ironblood Weave. War between the two was nothing more than a matter of time.

    At this moment, everything depended on what First Edition City did. If they were able to force the Sixth Maind to attack Sky Creation Academy, Lu Yin would havepletely gained the upper hand.

    There was no longer any need to speak with the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin simply needed to wait for news from the Technocracy, but he would not just wait around.

    Since he was already at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Outerverse border, he was not far from Aegis¡¯s headquarters, which meant that he could go there and replenish his death energy reserves.

    Lu Yin took the Second Nightking and Liu Huang with him as he headed towards Aegis¡¯s home while Yuan Shi remained behind to stand guard at the border.

    Many of the Sixth Maind cultivators who had arrived to confront the Great Eastern Alliance left the border and moved towards Ironblood Weave.

    The Astral Beast Domain had initiated a fierce attack. Because they had received advance notice from Lu Yin, the Celestial Beast Empire had sent many powerhouses. If they had not, Ancestor Autumnfrost would have been able to clear out the Primal Zone by himself.

    At the moment, things had already devolved into a stalemate.

    Aegis¡¯s headquarters was not far from the border, so they made the trip in only half a day.

    While Lu Yin referred to it as the border, the truth was that most ces in the universe were somewhat inessible, and cultivators usually only traveled along the more developed routes.

    While the route that Lu Yin took towards Aegis¡¯s headquarters was not a secret, it was still quite remote and rarely used, which was why he had not expected to run into an acquaintance.

    Ahead of Lu Yin, there was a rapidly approaching vessel that was shaped like a massive w. The ship was traveling along the same route as Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft, and the two would pass by each other with a distance of no more than 100 kilometers.

    100 kilometers was a negligible distance in the scope of the entire universe.

    In order to avoid being noticed by the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin had deliberately moved out incognito.

    The massive w-looking ship that was approaching Lu Yin looked to belong to the Autumnfrost family.

    Lu Yin felt that this was quite strange, as the entire Autumnfrost family should have already moved into Ironblood Weave, as the route to Ironblood Weave was far to the north of the Outerverse. It was not even close to this path at all.

    Logically, if members of the Autumnfrost family were not making their way to Ironblood Weave, then they should have been trying to join the other people who were already at the border. However, Ancestor Autumnfrost had already left the border, so why would anyone else from the family be headed in that direction?

    As the two vessels drew closer and closer to each other, Lu Yin suddenly felt his heart begin to race.

    "There¡¯s an Envoy on that ship," the Second Nightkingmented.

    "Strong?"

    "No."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Stop them."

    To Lu Yin, itpletely did not matter what this Envoy¡¯s goal was, not even if they were simply making their way to the border to join the Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses there. No matter where this person was going, they would increase the strength of the Sixth Maind. That meant that it was better to end them immediately.

    The Second Nightking looked out at the approaching vessel, and his eyes focused for a moment before his spiritual force surged out with enough strength to make space itself tremble.

    The spaceship that looked like a massive w instantly exploded, and a middle-aged man pulled a young man out of the wreckage and shot away, his face pale. In an instant, the Envoy had felt a terrifying spiritual force overwhelm him; they had been attacked by a true powerhouse.

    This vessel clearly belonged to the Autumnfrost family, but they had still been randomly attacked. These people were definitely enemies who were also unafraid of the Autumnfrost family.

    There was another bang as a wave of sword qi sliced at them from the true universe. The Envoy was startled; was there another powerhouse? He looked back at the ship that had attacked them to see a pair of cold eyes. There really was more than a single expert here.

    An imprint appeared, but the Envoy¡¯s left arm was still severed by the sword qi. The Envoy¡¯s body was sent tumbling into the distance, and the young man had already fallen unconscious as he drifted through space.

    The middle-aged man was bleeding profusely, but he gritted his teeth and entered the true universe to try to escape, abandoning the young man.

    The Second Nightking just sneered as he peered into the true universe. A fluctuation rippled out, and the middle-aged man spat out blood. His pupils dted before instantly constricting as his body trembled while his mind sank into an illusion.

    Only a few seconds had passed after the Second Nightking¡¯s attack, but an Envoy had already been seriously injured to the point of almost dying.

    Lu Yin stared at the young man drifting away. It was actually Autumnfrost Qing!

    Lu Yin was still standing inside his ship, his hands sped behind his back. He stared at the middle-aged man who had copsed with a bit of interest. Autumnfrost Qing was still unconscious, though he had been moved next to Lu Yin.

    "I- I''m someone from the Nan family in the Blood Homage Realm." The middle-aged man struggled to speak. Blood dripped out of half of his body, staining the floor red. Sweat beaded on the man¡¯s forehead as he nced at the Second Nightking and Emperor Liu before finally shifting his attention to Lu Yin. At that moment, the man¡¯s pupils shrank slightly.

    Lu Yin indifferently asked, "Name?"

    "Nan Qi."

    "Do you know who I am?"

    Nan Qi hesitated briefly before nodding. "Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin studied the Envoy. "Where were you headed?"

    Nan Qi calmly answered, "The border. All of the families have been ordered to send their Imprinters to the border to join up with the Cloud Valley Master and the other elders to suppress the Great Eastern Alliance. I was the one sent by my Nan family, and the rest of my family¡¯s Imprinters are still en route. They shouldn¡¯t be far behind and are likely almost here."

    "You talk too much. Why? Did youe up with this story beforehand?" Lu Yinughed.

    Nan Qi grew a tiny bit paler, but he stayed silent.

    Lu Yin looked over at Autumnfrost Qing. "I¡¯m going to wake him up now. Tell me, do you think that he can remain firm if he¡¯s trapped in an illusion created by the expert standing next to me? Do you think that he¡¯ll say nothing? If he tells me something different from your story, I¡¯ll make sure that you suffer until you die.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were hard and cold as he stared at Nan Qi.

    The man¡¯s face grew even paler, and right when one of Autumnfrost Qing¡¯s fingers twitched, the Envoy¡¯s pupils shrank, and he looked back at Lu Yin. "We were going to Frostwave Weave."

    Lu Yin''s smile disappeared, and his expression grew ugly. "Frostwave Weave?"

    Nan Qi nodded, and he continued in a helpless manner. "I was given orders to go to Earth and Zenyu Star in Frostwave Weave."

    "Why?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice.

    Nan Qi shook his head. "I don''t know. Although I¡¯m originally from the Nan family, I¡¯ve joined the Autumnfrost family. The Autumnfrost family was given some orders, and I was to apany Autumnfrost Qing on this mission. If you want to know what we were supposed to do, you¡¯ll have to ask him."

    Lu Yin then woke Autumnfrost Qing up. When he saw Lu Yin, the youth was absolutely dumbfounded. He would have never dreamed that he would happen to stumble into Lu Yin while on the way to Frostwave Weave to get revenge on Lu Yin! Somehow, he had been captured and imprisoned before he even drew close to his target.

    If Autumnfrost Qing had known this would happen, he would never have left home, not even if doing so would have led to his death! However, the order for his mission had been given to him by his father: the Autumnfrost family¡¯s patriarch.

    Lu Yin had no interest in wasting time with Autumnfrost Qing, and he simply used Daynight Praises to instantly bewitch Autumnfrost Qing in an illusion, which quickly revealed the truth.

    The order hade from Ancestor Autumnfrost, and he had ordered the Autumnfrost family to go to Earth and Zenyu in Frostwave Weave so that they could use those two ces to threaten Lu Yin and force him to speak.

    The Autumnfrost patriarch had initially wanted toplete the task himself, but Autumnfrost Qing had happened to hear of it, and Nan Qi had also recently arrived. Thus, the patriarch had asked Nan Qi to go to Frostwave Weave instead. Autumnfrost Qing had only asked to go because it was a chance to attack Lu Yin.

    They had been truly unfortunate, as they had happened to run right into Lu Yin while still on their way over.

    Lu Yin''s face was stony. Earth and Zenyu Star were two ces that he dearly wanted to protect, and yet the Autumnfrost family wanted to use them against him. What could Ancestor Autumnfrost even want to ask Lu Yin?

    The only possibility that Lu Yin coulde up with was that Bluedome Elder was behind Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s actions.

    This incident had probably urred because of the Origin Matter, as the reports all stated that Lu Yin had seen it when he visited the Sophic Rift. First Edition City had no idea why Lu Yin had known that the Origin Matter would appear, and Bluedome Elder along with everyone else was just as puzzled over this matter.

    Origin Matter was the only thing important enough for Bluedome Elder to make such a move. After all, war had already broken out in Ironblood Weave, and no matter how hard they threatened Lu Yin, he could never drive the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces back out. Thus, there was no way Ancestor Autumnfrost would threaten Lu Yin over that matter.

    However, more importantly, the current Ancestor Autumnfrost was a fake, though Lu Yin had no idea who the imposter truly was. There was also no need for Lu Yin to be concerned, as there was no true value in using the Sixth Maind to strike up a conversation with Lu Yin.

    Unless, the imposter knew that his cover was blown.

    Lu Yin''s thoughts suddenly shifted. The Autumnfrost family had already tried to attack him, so it would be better to settle this matterpletely.

    "Deal with them," Lu Yin casually ordered.

    Nan Qi was startled. "Alliance Leader Lu, don''t! I can follow you! I can-"

    Before the man could even finish speaking, he was silenced and killed by the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force. Autumnfrost Qing did not suffer as painful a death, as he simply became lost in an illusion and died.

    While Nan Qi had appeared to be a member of the Blood Homage Realm¡¯s Nan family, he had actually left his own family to join the Autumnfrost family, and he had not hesitated at all to try to throw his lot in with Lu Yin. Even if the man was an Envoy, Lu Yin had no need for such a turncoat.

    As for Autumnfrost Qing, an old enemy was gone. It was nothing much, but it could still be seen as Lu Yin doing a favor for Fat Bro.

    "Alter our route. We¡¯re going to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s headquarters," Lu Yin solemnly ordered.

    Since the Autumnfrost family wanted to attack him, he would move first. This was the best time to move against the Autumnfrost family, as Lu Yin did not have to worry about running into Ancestor Autumnfrost, let alone the Four Empyreans. Also, Lu Yin was very curious about the tool that the Autumnfrost family had been constructing, as he had never even heard of a construction that spanned a gxy before.

    He was even more curious about the true identity of the fake Ancestor Autumnfrost, and he hoped to discover something in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s headquarters.

    The Autumnfrost family had settled down close to the Sixth Maind¡¯s border with the Great Eastern Alliance, and their headquarters was not far from Aegis¡¯s.

    Lu Yin and the other two raced towards the Autumnfrost family¡¯s home as quickly as possible.

    At the moment, the only Imprinter present was their patriarch, Autumnfrost Chen. Uncle Hua, the rest of the family¡¯s Imprinters, and even the Imprinters who had joined the Autumnfrost family after the fall of the Mojiang family had all been sent to Ironblood Weave.

    Back in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodburn Domain, the Di family¡¯s ancestor had been killed by Aeternus while Ancestor Mojiang had died during the invasion of Endless Weave. The Autumnfrost family was the Bloodburn Realm¡¯sst family with a powerhouse.

    The remnants of the Di and Mojiang families had all joined the Autumnfrost family, which had caused the Autumnfrost family¡¯s power to skyrocket. Once Ancestor Autumnfrost finally became a Cosmic Imprinter, the family¡¯s strength would instantly surpass even the Di family¡¯s at their peak, and they wouldpletely dominate the Bloodburn Realm.

    This was also why the Autumnfrost family was qualified to be sent to Ironblood Weave to fight against the Astral Beast Domain.

    At the moment, the Autumnfrost family home was very quiet, as most of their cultivators had been sent to Ironblood Weave, leaving their headquarters quite empty. No one had expected Lu Yin to suddenly visit at this time.

    In one of the main home¡¯s offices, Autumnfrost Chen was staring at a star chart, clearly exhausted. His family was fighting against the Astral Beast Domain, but things were not going well. The only upsides were that their ancestor might breakthrough while fighting in Ironblood Weave or the Daosource Sect noticing the Autumnfrost family¡¯s efforts.

    "Patriarch, I still can¡¯t reach the young master," an old servant respectfully reported from outside the office.

    Autumnfrost Chen frowned. "Keep trying."

    "Yes."

    Autumnfrost Chen was growing uneasy, and he already regretted sending his son away. After all, he had been sent to the heart of the Great Eastern Alliance, and Lu Yin was notorious for his ruthlessness. Once threatened, there was nothing Lu Yin would not do.

    Autumnfrost Qing had to be reached and told to return. This task could be left to Nan Qi alone.

    Autumnfrost Chen shook his head and waved a hand, dissipating the star chart. He was just about to leave his office when he turned to look in a certain corner. He had no idea when it had happened, but there was another person in the office with Autumnfrost Chen! It was a young man, and the young man¡¯s face left Autumnfrost Chen stunned.

    "Lu- Lu Yin?" Autumnfrost Chen stared at the youth in disbelief. How could he be here?

 Chapter 1745: Bubble

    Chapter 1745: Bubble

    Lu Yin gave the patriarch a slight smile. "Patriarch Autumnfrost, this is our first time meeting, but I¡¯ve been waiting for this for a long time."

    Autumnfrost Chen instantly brought out his imprint while simultaneously activating his bloodline. His body rose into the air, and he wanted to attack, but a sh of sword qi suddenly shot by, and Autumnfrost Chen felt a sharp pain in his leg bones. When he looked down, his pupils abruptly shrank; his legs were gone!

    An old man holding a sword of stellr energy had appeared in front of the patriarch, and he looked at the patriarch with cold eyes.

    Autumnfrost Chen¡¯s mind could not catch up to what was happening.

    His body crashed to the floor as a pool of blood spread out. The man could not stop himself from trembling as he stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin sat back down. "People from your Autumnfrost family were on their way to Frostwave Weave in order to threaten me, and yet you ask what I want?"

    Autumnfrost Chen''splexion paled even further; how did Lu Yin know about this?! No matter how fast Nan Qi had been moving, it was impossible for him to have already arrived at Frostwave Weave. There was no way for Lu Yin to know about this!

    Still, this was not the time for Autumnfrost Chen to be considering such matters. "Where''s Qing''er?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and his spiritual force surged: Night¡¯s End, Daybreak.

    It was easy for him to draw Autumnfrost Chen into an illusion. Given the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, unless he was facing an Envoy with a power level of more than 600,000 who had also strengthened their own spiritual force, Lu Yin¡¯s opponents would not be able to resist his technique. While Autumnfrost Chen was an Imprinter with a power level of a bit more than 500,000, the Autumnfrost family did not focus on cultivating spiritual force.

    After falling under the illusion¡¯s hold, Autumnfrost Chen was no longer able to keep anything hidden. He not only revealed the locations of all the Autumnfrost family¡¯s resources, but the man also shared the Autumnfrost family''s battle techniques and bloodline secrets.

    Lu Yin had no interest in the Autumnfrost family''s battle techniques or bloodlines. Instead, he was keenly interested in their resources and any information regarding Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    Unfortunately for Lu Yin, Autumnfrost Chen knew almost nothing at all about Ancestor Autumnfrost aside from the fact that the man was the family¡¯s ancestor. The patriarch was actually ignorant to the fact that the real Ancestor Autumnfrost had already died.

    Once Autumnfrost Chen died, the pure descendants of the Autumnfrost family had all disappeared.

    No one knew about Autumnfrost Chen¡¯s death, as Lu Yin and the other two came and left without a trace. No one could find any sign of their visit.

    Before leaving the Autumnfrost family¡¯s headquarters, Lu Yin made sure to collect all of the resources that he could carry.

    He was quite surprised by the amount of resources that the Autumnfrost family possessed, as their treasury held 600 million star essence. Lu Yin had no idea how they had gathered it all.

    600 million star essence was not very much for a family with a World Imprinter and multiple Envoys, as it did not even match up to the sylvan dragon n¡¯s hoard. However, that was only when the Autumnfrost family¡¯s wealth was considered in the context of the Sixth Maind. They had lost most of their possessions when Aeternus had destroyed the Sixth Maind, but Lu Yin was quite satisfied with what they had managed to save.

    Lu Yin also found a great number of raw materials, as well as the Sky Overlord bloodline, which could be sold for a great deal.

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin took everything. When he left, he did not return the way that he hade, but instead continued on further. He was going to visit the ce where Ancestor Autumnfrost had been constructing the tool.

    Autumnfrost Chen had also not known anything about the tool, and he had simply followed Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s instructions regarding the project.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to learn this. Since the real Ancestor Autumnfrost was already dead and the tool was being constructed by an impostor, how could Autumnfrost Chen have been told anything about it?

    The construction site was quite close to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s headquarters, so Lu Yin and the two Envoys arrived quite soon.

    Lu Yin was stunned as he stared at the endless expanse of metal that stretched out into the distance and connected numerouss. He could not imagine what this tool that spanned an entire gxy was supposed to do.

    The metals used in the construction were verymon, and they did not even qualify to be sent to First Edition City. Just what could it even be used for?

    Lu Yin could easily crush this sort of metal without any effort, but the construction was all quite delicate. It was no wonder why it had taken Big Pao and Little Pao three years to learn how to work on this project.

    Lu Yin traveled through outer space, crossing through the entire gxy in order to determine the overall design of the tool.

    It was shaped like a pot. It had an iparably massive concave metal te in the middle that was surrounded by many other pieces of metal that were connected to the center te.

    There were countless people working on the construction.

    While Autumnfrost Chen had not known the purpose of the tool, he had been aware of the fact that the Autumnfrost family had dedicated all of their material and human resources onto this project. Even Imprinters had worked on it.

    Lu Yin had no idea what this pot-shaped tool was intended to be used for, so he nned to simply destroy it. The Autumnfrost family was his enemy, and even the fake Ancestor Autumnfrost was an enemy. Lu Yin would never show mercy to his enemies, and whatever they wanted, he would take first or destroy. There was no third option.

    "Let''s do it," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Huang raised a hand, and sword qi spread upwards and outwards, tearing through the gxy and distorting space. The tool was instantly reduced to shattered shards.

    The metal te at the center also shattered, revealing the ck energy crystal that Big Pao had mentioned. It truly was the size of a. The crystal was much harder than the metal, but it was still destroyed by Liu Huang''s attack.

    Lu Yin held a piece of the ck crystal fragment, but he could not see what it was supposed to do, so he simply stored the piece away.

    Just as he was about to leave, a strange color entered his vision.

    Lu Yin turned around to look, and he saw that there had been a bubble in the center of the ck crystal, and within it was a reddish liquid. It was a very small bit of liquid that was only the size of a finger, and it floated within the bubble.

    It looked as if the bubble would pop the moment it was touched.

    Lu Yin quickly asked Liu Huang to stop his attack, and he quickly approached the bubble.

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang were both watching with curiosity.

    "Can you tell what it is?" Lu Yin asked.

    The two both stared for a long time. "No."

    Lu Yin was able to see that the liquid possessed no runes, but it was also possible that the bubble was concealing the runes. He stretched out a hand, ready to pop the bubble.

    Just as his fingers were about toe into contact with the bubble, Lu Yin stopped and reconsidered his actions. Instead, he stored the entire bubble away in his cosmic ring.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go."

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang did not say anything, as neither of them were particrly curious about the bubble. Lu Yin was the only one who knew that the current Ancestor Autumnfrost was a fake, and he also suspected that the imposter had assumed Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s identity because of this tool.

    Lu Yin simply wanted to see how Ancestor Autumnfrost would react so that he could determine the importance of the liquid within the bubble.

    If it was valuable but ended up disappearing because he popped the bubble, he would definitely regret his actions.

    From beginning to end, no one discovered that the three men had visited the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, killed their patriarch, destroyed the construction project, and stolen the bubble.

    In the distant Ironblood Weave, the moment that Ancestor Autumnfrost learned that the tool had been destroyed, he was utterly stunned. He instantly abandoned all the other cultivators from the Sixth Maind and ran back to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory at full speed.

    However, how could the massive python from the Celestial Beast Empire simply allow Ancestor Autumnfrost to leave? The serpent¡¯s enormous body wound out, but Ancestor Autumnfrost ignored everything and raced away from Ironblood Weave.

    "If you leave, I will ughter everyone here!" the python roared.

    Still, Ancestor Autumnfrost fled without any sign of hesitation. It was as though the man had not even heard the beast.

    The abandoned cultivators looked up as the python¡¯s attack fell upon them as they screamed in despair.

    ¡­

    At the Sixth Maind¡¯s border with the Great Eastern Alliance, the Cloud Valley Master read a report on his gadget and then suddenly let out a roar of fury.

    He had been sent a report regarding Ironblood Weave. With Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s sudden departure, the Sixth Maind had suffered heavy casualties as their people had been ughtered by the Astral Beast Domain. The astral beasts had instantly routed the Sixth Mainders, pressed on through Ironblood Weave, and were now invading the Outerverse.

    Even though most of the casualties hade from the Autumnfrost family¡¯s forces, people from the Cloud Valley and other powers had also been ughtered.

    More importantly, the Astral Beast Domain had invaded the Outerverse! There was someone to me for this matter, and the Cloud Valley Master intended to find them.

    The Cloud Valley Master immediately called Ancestor Autumnfrost, but the call was ignored.

    "Brother Nong, please head out to visit the Autumnfrosts¡¯ territory and capture Autumnfrost Feng," the Cloud Valley Master angrily ordered.

    Autumnfrost Feng was Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s full name.

    Nong Laohan felt puzzled. "What happened to Autumnfrost Feng?"

    The Cloud Valley Master gritted his teeth. "He abandoned the battlefield and left without permission, which led to Ironblood Weave being captured by the Astral Beast Domain. Also, they¡¯ve invaded the Outerverse!"

    Nong Laohan was quite surprised. "Did Autumnfrost Feng go crazy?"

    The Cloud Valley Master turned to look at Nong Laohan and solemnly dered, "Autumnfrost Feng must pay for this! The moment that my Sixth Maind took over the Outerverse, the Astral Beast Domain invaded. This is a humiliation, and we will beughed at for 10,000 years! I will go now to Ironblood Weave while Brother Sightless will remain here. Brother Nong, I leave Autumnfrost Feng to you. No matter what his reason may be, capture him. The Daosource Sect will be the one to judge him."

    Nong Laohan felt rather conflicted, as he really did not want to do such a thing, but this matter had already gotten far too out of hand. "Understood. I¡¯ll go to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory."

    The Cloud Valley Master led arge group of cultivators towards Ironblood Weave while Nong Laohan made his way towards the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory alone. Ancestor Sightless and the Cemetery Keeper were left at the border.

    The shifting battlefront in Ironblood Weave had not only been reported to the Sixth Maind, but also to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Yuan Shi was solemn as he received the report. The Astral Beast Domain had actually forced the Sixth Maind out and taken control of Ironblood Weave. There was no chance of the Celestial Beast Empire easily giving up Ironblood Weave after iming it, and they were sure to send out more true experts to hold the weave.

    Even though Yuan Shi had agreed to abandon Ironblood Weave due to the bigger picture, he still ached to see it fall under the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s control.

    Lu Yin''s strategy had never been to abandon Ironblood Weave, but rather to have the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain fight each other there. ording to Yuan Shi¡¯s understanding, the Sixth Maind was far stronger than the Astral Beast Domain, so it did not make sense for the Sixth Maind to have been driven out and lose control of the weave.

    Lu Yin could never have imagined that his passing whim had led to the Sixth Maind¡¯splete defeat in Ironblood Weave.

    Lu Yin traveled with the Second Nightking and Liu Huang to Aegis¡¯s former headquarters. Because Aegis had abandoned the, nothing remained on the aside from a few Sixth Maind cultivators.

    These people were most likely independent cultivators who had been unable to find a better ce to train, so they had simply chosen this abandoned.

    Aegis had chosen this as their headquarters solely because of the existence of the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins in the pocket dimension. However, the Sixth Maind had not discovered the ruins, and these cultivators remained on the only because they had no other choice.

    Lu Yin did not bother these people, and he simply went straight to the entrance to the pocket space. After having the Second Nightking and Liu Huang stand guard outside, Lu Yin entered the ruins.

    Both the Second Nightking and Liu Huang were surprised, as they had not expected to encounter a pocket dimension in this ce. They were both quite curious as to what Lu Yin was doing inside.

    After entering the ruins, Lu Yin looked up at the ck sun that was still just as high in the sky as ever,pletely unapproachable.

    He leaped up and shot towards the ck sun. When he could get no closer, he shifted the fatesand within his chest to the side.

    At that moment, his body quivered, and the ck sun became a bit bigger. He had moved closer to it. While this happened, the ck sun released a strand of death energy across the sky that slowly connected to Lu Yin.

    Death energy surged into his body.

 Chapter 1746: The Silhouette

    Chapter 1746: The Silhouette

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath as the death energy revolved within his chest. The ck and white mist that usually sat there slowly returned to normal.

    While Lu Yin was absorbing death energy, Ancestor Autumnfrost was shooting through space at top speed, racing back to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory as soon as possible.

    Autumnfrost Chen was already dead, but Ancestor Autumnfrost did not care. The only thing that he cared about was the tool.

    The man¡¯s face twisted as he stared at the shattered remains of the massive construction project. He quickly approached the center, but once he saw the countless shards of the shattered crystal, he let out a roar and began to frantically search for something.

    "No, it hasn''t broken, so it must have been taken away! Who?" the man said to himself.

    A spacecraft approached from the distance. It carried the members of the Autumnfrost family who were responsible for the construction.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost looked at them sharply. "Who did this?"

    The members of the Autumnfrost family aboard the vessel were terrified, but they also had no answer.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost was truly furious, and he destroyed the ship. None of the people on it survived.

    The man seemed crazy at this moment, and he did his best to find out who had destroyed his tool, but he could not find anything at all.

    Nong Laohan arrived, and he watched Ancestor Autumnfrost, who was still searching through space for something. Nong Laohan hesitantly asked, "Autumnfrost Feng, why did you leave Ironblood Weave without permission?"

    Ancestor Autumnfrost ignored the man.

    The old man¡¯s eyebrows rose sharply. "Autumnfrost Feng, I am speaking to you! Why did you leave Ironblood Weave without permission? You should know that abandoning your post has caused Ironblood Weave to be upied by the Astral Beast Domain, and they have even invaded other weaves in the Outerverse. You understand that this concerns my Sixth Maind-"

    Before the man could even finish speaking, Ancestor Autumnfrost angrily shouted, "Get lost!"

    Nong Laohan was stunned for a moment, but then he also became angry. He was a good-natured man who tended to not get into fights, so he did not enjoy a particrly high status among his peers in the Sixth Maind. Still, people would be respectful when speaking to Nong Laohan, and no one would dare to underestimate someone with his strength. This had always been true of Ancestor Autumnfrost in the past, but at this moment, Ancestor Autumnfrost seemed to have lost his mind and raised his voice against Nong Laohan.

    No matter how good-tempered the old man might be, he could not tolerate such behavior. "Autumnfrost Feng, no matter what it takes, I will capture you myself!"

    He then raised a hand and unleashed the terrifying strength of a Cosmic Imprinter to attack Ancestor Autumnfrost from the true universe. Nong Laohan was trying to use the power of pure stellr energy to suppress Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost clenched his fists, and his breathing changed.

    When Nong Laohan emerged from the true universe, Ancestor Autumnfrost suddenly looked up. The man¡¯s eyes had turned scarlet, and his pupils were slits. An unfathomable aura surged forth and shot upwards to smash into Nong Laohan''s descending palm.

    Nong Laohan was startled, and he blurted, "A third transformation corpse king?"

    Ancestor Autumnfrost turned to stare at Nong Laohan. "You¡­ court death."

    Nong Laohan hesitated for a moment, but then he fled without even looking back. The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse king transformation was an absolutely terrifying battle technique, as each subsequent transformation raised the user¡¯s physical strength by tenfold.

    Corpse kings were naturally much stronger than ordinary humans, and after a third transformation, the corpse king¡¯s physical strength would be 1,000 times its original level. Even if Ancestor Autumnfrost was just a World Imprinter, Nong Laohan did not want to fight against a corpse king with such power, and he was not even sure if he was facing the real Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    It should be impossible for Ancestor Autumnfrost to be a corpse king.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost moved forward and crushed space with a fist that shot straight towards Nong Laohan. The terrifying physical might left the void quivering as the attack forced its way into the true universe. Everything before the fist shattered. It was unstoppable.

    Nong Laohan felt Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s attack approach him from behind, and he could even hear the corpse king breathing. Those scarlet eyes and slitted pupils made the Cosmic Imprinter¡¯s scalp go numb.

    Suddenly, he whirled around and raised a hand. "Skylock Pattern."

    As his voice rang out, a circr pattern appeared before him, the interior of which was entirelyposed of stellr energy chains that shot straight for Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost crashed into the Skylock Pattern.

    He had assumed that he could smash through the Skylock Pattern with his body, but the corpse king had underestimated Nong Laohan, as well as the power of a Cosmic Imprinter. No matter what the corpse king¡¯s physical power might be, there was still a gap in their cultivation.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost became trapped by the Skylock Pattern, and the chains bound his limbs. He was quickly andpletely suppressed by the technique.

    Nong Laohan spun back around and left. He had no desire to continue attacking.

    Even if Ancestor Autumnfrost had been trapped, his physical power had increased so much that it not only gave him a much more powerful attack, but also an incredibly robust defense. Nong Laohan was not certain that he could ovee Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s defenses.

    Roar!

    With a roar, Ancestor Autumnfrost fought against the Skylock Pattern using his peerless physical strength, intent on chasing after Nong Laohan once more.

    Nong Laohan looked back, but it was impossible for him to kill the creature, as he had only managed to trap it for less than ten seconds. Helpless, Nong Laohan attacked again, and another Skylock Pattern shot through space.

    This time, Ancestor Autumnfrost dodged the attack. Even if he could destroy the Skylock Pattern, he did not want to be trapped again.

    However, despite clearly avoiding the attack, the Skylock Pattern changed directions and struck Ancestor Autumnfrost from behind, trapping him once more.

    Nong Laohan seized this opportunity to escape.

    A Cosmic Imprinter was far faster than a World Imprinter.

    By the time that Ancestor Autumnfrost destroyed the second Skylock Pattern, Nong Laohan had long since disappeared.

    Nong Laohan fled a great distance. His breathing was ragged, but he immediately called Bluedome Elder.

    The Empyrean Imprinter was absolutely shocked by the report. "What did you just say? A corpse king?"

    "Yes. Ancestor Autumnfrost is one of the corpse kings from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neohuman Alliance. He used a third stage corpse king transformation, and I immediately fled." Nong Laohan still felt a lingering fear.

    Bluedome Elder grewpletely solemn. When it came to the Neohuman Alliance, the Sixth Maind also treated them as an enemy, but their attitude was far from the Fifth Maind¡¯s, which held the position of destroying any trace of the Neohuman Alliance at any cost.

    In fact, the Sixth Maind had even cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance in the past to deal with the Fifth Maind, even if very rarely.

    At least, this had been the Sixth Maind¡¯s attitude before their home had been destroyed by Aeternus. After the Sixth Maind¡¯s destruction, the Sixth Maind¡¯s attitude towards the Neohuman Alliance hadpletely changed, and they also believed that all corpse kings needed to be eradicated.

    In some ways, the Sixth Maind held even greater hatred towards the Neohuman Alliance than the Fifth Maind. While the Fifth Maind¡¯s hatred was born of old feuds and rules that had been passed down from ancient times, the Sixth Maind¡¯s enmity was fresh. Naturally, their hatred for the Neohuman Alliance far surpassed what they felt for the Fifth Maind.

    Upon learning that Ancestor Autumnfrost was a disguised corpse king, Bluedome Elder immediately ordered Ancestor Lingtong, who was the closest powerhouse, to cooperate with Nong Laohan and Ancestor Sightless to deal with Ancestor Autumnfrost. As for the Great Eastern Alliance, they were a much lower priority.

    Nong Laohan told Bluedome Elder that he could not handle Ancestor Autumnfrost alone.

    "Your Excellency, after undergoing a third stage corpse king transformation, Ancestor Autumnfrost is definitely not something that we canpare to. He is too strong now, and we will at least need some Empyrean Imprinters to handle him," Nong Laohan hesitantly protested.

    Bluedome Elder answered in a low voice, "He is nothing more than a World Imprinter. Even if he did undergo a three stage corpse king transformation, two Cosmic Imprinters are still enough to deal with him. Do you want to us to do your work for you?"

    Nong Laohan opened his mouth, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he closed it again. It was clear that Bluedome Elder did not want to deal with this.

    "Your Excellency, Ancestor Autumnfrost has likely run away by now, and we may not be able to find him." Nong Laohan really did not know how to handle this matter.

    "Do whatever it takes to find him," Bluedome Elder ordered firmly.

    Nong Laohan felt even more helpless than ever.

    Ancestor Sightless had been left at the border with the Great Eastern Alliance with only Cemetery Keeper.

    Cemetery Keeper had a very minimal presence, and he even looked like a corpse. Yuan Shi had no idea how to speak to such a person, so he did not even bother trying.

    ***

    In the pocket dimension hidden at Aegis¡¯s former headquarters, death energy poured into Lu Yin''s chest, gradually forming a ck and white mist.

    He was absorbing much more death energy thanst time, and his body was also being pulled towards the ck sun.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin opened his eyes as a tremendous amount of death energy entered his body. He looked out and saw a shattered region of outer space where a sun was setting in the distance where a strange, limbless creature with no eyes stretched to the horizon and was headed towards him.

    Off in the distance, there was a lonely figure sitting on the ground with a ck scythe next to him. His arms were wrapped around his knees, and his chin seemed to be resting on his hands. Even though Lu Yin could not see the person¡¯s face, he could feel the person¡¯s abject loneliness, as well as their indifference at facing such a strange creature.

    The lonely silhouette and the setting sun were both instantly covered by a ck fog, which then condensed into a gigantic ck sphere that shot into the sky to strike at the back of the strange creature. The creature could not resist at all and was simply forced to the ground.

    There was no sound, and yet Lu Yin felt like he could hear the creature¡¯s wails and frustrations. Still, everything was soon overwhelmed by the ck sphere. Eventually, the ck fog dissipated, and the setting sun disappeared from the starry sky. The figure¡¯s back also vanished, and the only remaining thing of the scene that Lu Yin had witnessed was a drop of blood.

    That drop of blood transformed into the setting sun.

    Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes, confused. What had he just seen? That figure that he had seen from the back, as well as that familiar scythe; could that person have been the legendary God of Death? Had Lu Yin just seen something from the God of Death¡¯s time?

    People imed that the God of Death was nothing more than a legend, and even if Lu Yin cultivated death energy and could use the God of Death Transformation, he still was notpletely certain that the God of Death had truly existed. It was possible that the God of Death was just an imaginary figure and Lu Yin just happened to be cultivating something simr to what everyone pictured for the God of Death.

    Even if Xiao Shi had read about the God of Death in his mysterious book, and even if the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family was certain that the legends were true, Lu Yin had never beenpletely confident in the existence of the God of Death.

    However, Lu Yin was now absolutely certain that the God of Death had once lived, because he had nearly seen his face!

    Lu Yin slowly descended from the sky. The death energy had been restored within his chest, and it had even been increased by a small amount. That meant that the duration of his God of Death Transformation would also be somewhat extended.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of regret that he had only seen the back of the God of Death. He wished that he could have clearly seen the face of the person who had be the legendary God of Death.

    After exiting the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin''s gadget beeped. He looked at the message only to be shocked; had such a thing really happened?

    Ancestor Autumnfrost had abandoned the war in Ironblood Weave, which had led to the Astral Beast Domainpletely upying Ironblood Weave. The Cloud Valley Master had personally moved out to reim Ironblood Weave.

    Right after the first message, another arrived. Ancestor Sightless had left the border, which meant that only Cemetery Keeper remained at the Sixth Maind¡¯s border with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Something must have happened.

    It was impossible for reports from within the Sixth Maind to spread to the Fifth Maind, but if the matter was serious enough, it would eventually reach Lu Yin¡¯s ears. Still, Lu Yin did not want to wait, so he pulled his gadget up and called someone he had not spoken to in a very long time: Xu San.

    Xu San was someone whom Lu Yin had taken away from Earth but hadter disappeared. When Lu Yin had entered the Cosmic Sea for the first time, it had been during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and he had met Xu San there once again. However, at that time, Xu San had gained the favor of Ancestor Lingtong due to the fact that they shared the same innate gift of double sight. Xu San had been epted as a disciple and had then be the young master of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Lingtong n.

    When Lu Yin had met with Xu San in the Cosmic Sea, Xu San had promised to help Lu Yin and the others, which was considered repayment for all that Lu Yin had done for Xu San in the past, but that they would never speak again.

    However, as a potential catastrophe loomed over Xu San in the Sixth Maind, he had shamelessly left a message at Zenyu Star for Lu Yin to contact him.

 Chapter 1747: Interests Above All Else

    Chapter 1747: Interests Above All Else

    In order to prevent Xu San from being discovered, Lu Yin had made it a point to never reach out to him, but this was the right time to do so.

    The call connected, and after a period of silence, Lu Yin heard a loud shoute through. The voice was arrogant and narcissistic, clearly belonging to someone who was used to ordering others around. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    Lu Yin justughed. "Me."

    The call went silent again, then a much softer voice called out, ¡°Bo- Boss?"

    Lu Yin snorted.

    Xu San grew excited. "Boss? It''s really you! This is great, Boss! You finally remembered your little brother San!"

    Lu Yin retorted, "Didn¡¯t you say you never wanted to get involved with me again?"

    "When did I ever say that? Boss, who¡¯s trying to tear us apart? Was it that idiot Ling Que? Or was it that scheming chick? Boss, Little San''s loyalty to you can be seen from the sun and moon! I called home as soon as I came to the Outerverse. I¡¯ve missed you, Boss!" Xu San immediately started whining loudly, wailing about how miserable his life had been.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. After all, he was well aware of just how doted upon Xu San was. Even if the Sixth Maind was destroyed, as long Ancestor Lingtong remained alive, Xu San would still be the young master of the ckblood Realm. On top of that, Ancestor Lingtong was just a single step away from bing a Cosmic Imprinter, and the moment he broke through, he would immediately be an elder in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    In fact, Ancestor Lingtong was already one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s protectors, which was a truly lofty status.

    "Alright, cut the bullshit. I need to ask you something: what happened to the Autumnfrost family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San was taken aback, as this was a strange question. "The Autumnfrost family? No clue."

    "Is that how you answer me?" Lu Yin''s voice grew cold.

    Xu San quickly corrected himself, "Boss, just wait a moment! Little San will ask about this right now!"

    Lu Yin went out to join the Second Nightking and Liu Huang. After waiting for a long time, his gadget finally beeped again.

    He heard Xu San''s voice, this time with a solemn tone. "Boss, Ancestor Autumnfrost is a corpse king."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "What did you just say?"

    Xu San earnestly exined, "The Autumnfrost family¡¯s been destroyed. Their patriarch, Autumnfrost Chen, and their heir, Autumnfrost Qing, are both dead. All of the family¡¯s resources have disappeared, and Ironblood Weave¡¯s been lost because of Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s actions! He was supposed to stay there, but he left to return to his family¡¯s territory, so Ironblood Weave¡¯s been taken by the Astral Beast Domain.

    "Ancestor Autumnfrost even underwent a third stage corpse king transformation."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. So the imposter was actually a corpse king? A corpse king had impersonated Ancestor Autumnfrost just to construct that massive tool, and then it had even exposed itself and abandoned Ironblood Weave because of that very same tool.

    The tool was clearly incredibly important, but what did it do?

    "Boss, several powerhouses have joined together to go to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory to destroy Ancestor Autumnfrost. The Autumnfrost family is finished," Xu San exined.

    "How do you know all this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu San answered proudly, "I¡¯ve been in the Sixth Maind for many years now, and I¡¯ve made many connections. After the Di and Mojiang families fell into hard times, the Autumnfrost started dominating the Bloodburn Realm, which was something that a lot of people didn¡¯t like. This information has already spread out among my group of contacts, and I wanted to find out more, which is why I took so long to tell you about all of this."

    "Got it. I understand," Lu Yin replied as he prepared to end the call.

    Xu San quickly spoke up again. "Boss, um¡­ I heard that the Great Eastern Alliance isn¡¯t doing well right now. Is there anything your little brother can do to help? Just say the word!"

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s already been destroyed, the refugees who escaped to the Outerverse aren¡¯t weak. Why are you trying to butter me up when you can live a good life following Ancestor Lingtong?"

    Just when Xu San was about to continue ttering Lu Yin, Lu Yin coldly cut him off. "The truth."

    Xu San coughed awkwardly before falling silent for a moment. "Actually, Ancestor Lingtong is about to have a breakthrough."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp¡ªa breakthrough? Was the man about to be a Cosmic Imprinter?

    "While having a breakthrough is a good thing, if it fails, it¡¯s an absolute tragedy. Boss, you should know that if anything happens to Ancestor Lingtong at all, I¡¯ll be done in the Sixth Maind. Even ignoring the people with grudges against the Lingtong n, even within the n, there are people who would love to get rid of me. Don¡¯t look down on that Sixteen guy, not even if he spends his days skulking around. I won¡¯t even survive as a pawn if something happens to Ancestor Lingtong.¡±

    "If he fails his breakthrough, Sixteen will be the first toe after my life."

    Lu Yin casually said, "You¡¯re pretty aware of your situation. In that case, tell me, if Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s breakthrough is a sess, are you going to cut me offpletely?"

    Xu San quickly answered, "Boss, you have to believe in Little San¡¯s loyalty to you! Little San is anything but an ungrateful person. Boss, you have to believe me!"

    Lu Yin was toozy to listen to such nonsense, so he simply ended the call.

    Xu San was very cunning, and he always had alternative ns prepared. People would look out for themselves, as it was just the way of things, and Lu Yin did not mind Xu San¡¯s behavior.

    Even if Ancestor Lingtong did seed in his breakthrough, Lu Yin still would not consider getting rid of Xu San. While it was impossible to use Xu San for anything major, Lu Yin could still get some news from him now and then.

    "A corpse king?" Liu Huang stared at Lu Yin, searching the youth¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Ancestor Autumnfrost is a corpse king."

    "If he¡¯s a corpse king, then he definitely shouldn¡¯t have exposed himself to rush back to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory," the Second Nightking added. It was very rare for the man to speak up voluntarily.

    Lu Yin knew that the corpse king had exposed itself because of the tool, and more specifically, because of the bubble and the red liquid within it that Lu Yin had taken away.

    "Let¡¯s go. We need to head back to the border first," Lu Yin said.

    While the three people headed towards the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border, Nong Laohan, Ancestor Sightless, and Ancestor Lingtong were making their way towards the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory.

    Along the way, Ancestor Sightless asked Nong Laohan about the strength that Ancestor Autumnfrost had revealed after undergoing the third stage corpse king transformation.

    "I couldn¡¯t beat the corpse king after that transformation or even trap it. Alone, neither of us have any chance of winning," Nong Laohan stated, still clearly scared from his encounter.

    Ancestor Sightless grew solemn. "A World Imprinter overwhelmed you after undergoing a third stage corpse king transformation? Aeternus¡¯s monsters are truly terrifying."

    "Ancestor Autumnfrost is definitely not in the Autumnfrost¡¯s territory right now, so is there any way for you to find him, Brother Sightless?" Nong Laohan asked.

    Ancestor Sightless shook his head. "It¡¯s not my area of expertise."

    Nong Laohan heaved a sigh of relief, though he said, "That''s unfortunate. I¡¯m also not very good at tracking, but we¡¯ve been sent to find and eliminate Ancestor Autumnfrost. If we actually do run into the corpse king, it will all depend on you, Brother Sightless."

    Ancestor Sightless frowned, but he did not refute the statement. Even though Nong Laohan was also a Cosmic Imprinter and famous for his good-natured personality, when it came to fighting, the man had done far too little. Nong Laohan was lucky when it came to chance encounters though.

    It was impossible to rely on such a person in their current situation.

    Also, Ancestor Sightless did not put much trust in Nong Laohan¡¯s report regarding the corpse king¡¯s strength, even if it had undergone a third transformation. After all, Nong Laohan was simply too weak. In fact, he was considered to be the weakest of all the Cosmic Imprinters.

    The two quickly arrived in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, only to bepletely dumbfounded.

    They hade to this ce to search for clues regarding Ancestor Autumnfrost, and they werepletely stunned to see that Ancestor Autumnfrost still had not left.

    The corpse king was still in the same gxy where the tool had been shattered, searching for something with its scarlet eyes. When Nong Laohan and Ancestor Sightless arrived, the corpse king instantly attacked. "You two¡­ courting death!"

    Nong Laohan was bbergasted; was this creature too arrogant to leave?

    "Brother Sightless, it''s up to you!" Nong Laohan shouted.

    Ancestor Sightless attacked, and a circle of light enveloped Ancestor Autumnfrost. This was Ancestor Sightless¡¯s innate gift; he could move anything within the circle to anywhere within his sight.

    Ancestor Sightless did not instantly move Ancestor Autumnfrost, but instead received one of Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s punches to personally test the creature¡¯s strength after it underwent a third corpse king transformation. Space exploded with a deafening bang, and the shattered remnants of the ck crystal were sted away.

    Even Nong Laohan was forced back.

    The Sightless n possessed one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invincible bloodlines. It gave them the ability to turn into a cocoon when on the brink of death and then emerge fully restored and with improved strength.

    Every time Ancestor Sightless had emerged from his cocoon, his strength had leaped forward. After going through the process several times throughout his life, Ancestor Sightless had be extremely powerful, and there were very few people among his peers who couldpare to him.

    As far as most people from the Sixth Maind were concerned, Nong Laohan was the weakest a Cosmic Imprinter could possibly be while Ancestor Sightless was the strongest. This was mostly because no one could know whether or not Ancestor Sightless could turn into a cocoon and be reborn once again. If he could aplish that, he would likely be invincible within his realm.

    This unique trait of the Sightless n¡¯s bloodline allowed them to improve everything, so there were very few who couldpare to Ancestor Sightless with either their cultivation or physical strength.

    Even after a third stage corpse king transformation, the corpse king¡¯s punch could not overpower Ancestor Sightless. Both were pushed back, as they were evenly matched.

    Ancestor Sightless was shocked. He was a Cosmic Imprinter while Ancestor Autumnfrost was not. There was an entire level between them, and on top of that, Ancestor Sightless was one of the most powerful Cosmic Imprinters alive. Despite his strength, Ancestor Sightless had still been pushed back. This was the strength of a third corpse king transformation.

    The next moment, Bluedome Elder¡¯s imprint appeared behind Ancestor Sightless, and his strength rose yet again.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost''s eyes zed scarlet as he rushed forward once more. Given the peerless strength of the corpse kings, the creature was shocked to discover that it was evenly matched with Ancestor Sightless.

    Nong Laohan was off in the distance, retreating further and further as the corpse king crazily attacked.

    The fightsted for a full hour, and although Ancestor Sightless managed to suppress Ancestor Autumnfrost with thebination of his bloodline, imprint, and the Sightless n¡¯s battle techniques, Ancestor Sightless could not win or even seriously injure Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    On the other hand, Ancestor Sightless was being injured by each attack that the corpse king managed tond.

    "Nong Laohan, attack!" Ancestor Sightless felt forced to ask for help as he endured the corpse king¡¯s assault.

    However, Nong Laohan moved back even further. "Brother Sightless, I can¡¯t attack, as I¡¯ll disrupt the flow of your battle!"

    Ancestor Sightless was furious, and he red at Nong Laohan. Distracted, Ancestor Sightless received a punch to the chest, and he spat out blood. However, he used the impact to counterattack himself. Still, the corpse king was merely forced back, and it waspletely unharmed. The creature¡¯s physique was too robust.

    Upon seeing that Nong Laohan was still just watching from the sidelines, Ancestor Sightless used his innate gift to move Ancestor Autumnfrost, and threw the corpse king over to Nong Laohan. In fact, there was only a meter between the two.

    Nong Laohan was stunned for an instant, and then he became startled. Ancestor Autumnfrost snapped a foot out and kicked the old man out of the true universe. A cracking sound was heard from Nong Laohan¡¯s abdomen, and then fragments of what looked like ss fell down. Nong Laohan had been protected by a precious treasure, but it had been instantly destroyed by Ancestor Autumnfrost.

 Chapter 1748: A Grave Matter

    Chapter 1748: A Grave Matter

    Nong Laohan''s face grew pale, and he threw out a Skylock Pattern to trap Ancestor Autumnfrost as he raced away.

    At this moment, a beam of light shot through the universe. It originated from far away, but it urately struck Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    When the corpse king was struck, the beam of light instantly pierced a hole in its body.

    Ancestor Sightless and Nong Laohan both spun to see where the attack hade from; what was this battle technique?

    "Seniors, let¡¯s work together. It¡¯s very difficult to kill a corpse king after it¡¯s gone through three transformations," said a middle-aged man with a smoothplexion. He was extremely handsome, and his voice was calm, which was a sharp contrast to the fear disyed by Nong Laohan.

    The man was Ancestor Lingtong, Xu San''s master.

    The strongest person in the ckblood Realm had originally been the dead Ancestor Di, followed by Ancestor Sightless. Beneath him was Ancestor Lingtong.

    Despite the fact that Ancestor Lingtong was just a World Imprinter, his strength had already reached the level where he was considered a half-step Cosmic Imprinter.

    Given the fact that Ancestor Autumnfrost was actually a corpse king that had undergone three corpse king transformations, the creature was able to go toe-to-toe with a Cosmic Imprinter, but Ancestor Lingtong was capable of doing the same.

    When it came to Ancestor Lingtong, not even Ancestor Sightless could see the man¡¯s full potential, but it was clear that once Ancestor Lingtong became a Cosmic Imprinter, there would be few capable of facing him aside from Empyrean Imprinters.

    Not even Ancestor Sightless would be a match. This was just how powerful Ancestor Lingtong was.

    From his youth to his current level, Ancestor Lingtong had always stood above his peers. He was much younger than Ancestor Sightless, and yet he was almost equal to the older man.

    Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s participation in the fight was much more helpful than Nong Laohan¡¯s presence, at least as far as Ancestor Sightless was concerned. In particr, the battle technique that Ancestor Lingtong had used as soon as he arrived had actually pierced through the corpse king¡¯s body, which indicated that it was more powerful than Ancestor Sightless¡¯s own attacks.

    At this moment, Ancestor Autumnfrost broke free from the Skylock Pattern. His scarlet eyes locked onto Ancestor Lingtong with a tinge of fear in them.

    Ancestor Sightless targeted Ancestor Autumnfrost once again while shouting, ¡°Attack!"

    Nong Laohan pushed another Skylock Pattern forward as Ancestor Autumnfrost threw himself at Ancestor Sightless. The Skylock Pattern approached from a tricky angle, trapping the corpse king once more. Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s pupils dted for a moment and then pointed at Ancestor Autumnfrost''s forehead. "Aurora Beam.¡±

    Light condensed and then spread out to form a finger that shot forward to strike Ancestor Autumnfrost square in the forehead.

    ¡­

    At the border between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin quietly slipped across, only to be immediately discovered by Yuan Shi. "Thetest news is that Ancestor Autumnfrost was killed. He was a corpse king that was actually able to perform a third corpse king transformation."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s dead? What happened?"

    Yuan Shi received his information directly from the Hall of Honor. Since the Sixth Maind had settled in the Outerverse, how could the Hall of Honor not know what they did?

    The Sixth Maind was searching for a way to infiltrate the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor, but the Hall of Honor was also trying to find a way to sneak into the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    Lu Yin was able to get some information from Xu San, but the truth was that Xu San¡¯s status was too low, and he had needed some time to gather the information.

    The Hall of Honor was able to gather their intel much faster.

    Lu Yin frowned at what he heard from Yuan Shi, and this was a grave matter. Things had taken a sharp turn.

    That instrument had been far more important than anything Lu Yin could have imagined.

    Just what could that tool¡¯s purpose have been that its destruction warranted the corpse king that had impersonated Ancestor Autumnfrost, a World Imprinter with a power level of more than 800,000, to expose itself and be killed? The creature had even been one of the rare few corpse kings capable of performing a third stage corpse king transformation, and yet it had sacrificed itself without hesitation. Clearly, the tool was incredibly important, as it had to be vastly more valuable than even Ancestor Autumnfrost.

    The fake Ancestor Autumnfrost had only spent around ten years working on the tool¡¯s construction, which meant that the tool itself was not particrly valuable. After all, it could be rebuilt in just a decade. The important thing had to be the ck crystal and what it had held inside.

    However, just what was in that bubble?

    Lu Yin had a hunch that even the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse that he had destroyed would be considered much less important than what he had found inside that crystal.

    Lu Yin took out a piece of the ck crystal fragment and stared at it intently.

    He soon went to find the Second Nightking.

    "Go back to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory?" The Second Nightking felt rather confused. "What do you want me to do?"

    Lu Yin answered solemnly, "Nothing at all. I want you to keep an eye on the shattered bits of the ck crystal and see what happens."

    The Second Nightking replied, "A corpse king fought against multiple experts with power levels of over a million in that ce. Many people will want to see it."

    "Just keep an eye on the ce. You might find something interesting," Lu Yin said. Ancestor Autumnfrost had wanted to search through that ce even if it meant his death. The Neohuman Alliance would not be the only group to show interest, so if the Second Nightking was there, he might see some interesting people show up.

    The Second Nightking reluctantly left.

    Yuan Shi was at the border, and both the Second Nightking and Liu Huang needed to avoid the ancient powerhouse, so it was pointless to try to keep them nearby.

    After sending the Second Nightking away, Lu Yin started looking into information regarding Ironblood Weave.

    The Celestial Beast Empire had not disappointed Lu Yin; they had sent millions of powerful beasts to reinforce the creatures from the Primal Zone, and they had takenplete control of Ironblood Weave.

    As Lu Yin stared at the star chart, he let out a long sigh. He felt incredibly guilty; Ironblood Weave had stood as the border of the Human Domain and had been a staunch bulwark against invaders for countless years, and yet it had been conquered. Lu Yin felt as though he owed a terrible debt to his seniors who had sacrificed themselves to protect Ironblood Weave.

    "Don''t worry. What¡¯s ours is ours! I, Lu Yin, swear that I will take back our territory, all the way to the Primal Zone and into the Astral Beast Domain!" Lu Yin vowed to himself.

    Although the Cloud Valley Master had personally gone to Ironblood Weave, the Cloud Valley Master was not the one targeting the Great Eastern Alliance, but rather the four powerhouses behind him.

    In the blink of an eye, the two week deadline had passed, and Ancestor Sightless and Nong Laohan returned to the border.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time was up, so the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators had appeared to force the Great Eastern Alliance out.

    Lu Yin stared into outer space with stern eyes.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, your time is up. Please leave the Outerverse," Ancestor Sightless loudly dered.

    Lu Yin raised his head. "Senior Bluedome Elder promised me five weaves for the Great Eastern Alliance. Has that been revoked?"

    Ancestor Sightless simply replied, "As the Cloud Valley Master already told you, that deal will be honored, but we will be the ones to choose which weaves you will retain."

    Lu Yin raised a finger. "We don¡¯t need five weaves, as just one is enough, but we get to choose the weave."

    Ancestor Sightless did not reply, as this was not a decision that he could make without consulting Bluedome Elder.

    At this time, Nong Laohan was standing close to Ancestor Sightless, and the old man nced down at his gadget. Instantly his expression changed drastically. "Another corpse king showed up in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory."

    Ancestor Sightless¡¯s expression also changed in an instant. "When?"

    "Right now. However, it wasn¡¯t just a corpse king, as the Second Nightking from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daynight n also appeared."

    Ancestor Sightless and the other Imprinters were not the only ones to be informed about the corpse king¡¯s appearance, as the Second Nightking had already sent a report to Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking had actually run into a corpse king in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget, reading the message from the Second Nightking. While there had only been a brief battle, both the Second Nightking and the corpse king had been exposed.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. Sure enough, another corpse king had gone to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory already. The liquid within the bubble had to be extremely important.

    This news was much more important than the Great Eastern Alliance, and Ancestor Sightless instantly called Bluedome Elder.

    One dayter, the Second Nightking silently returned to the border to meet with Lu Yin.

    "What happened?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking stretched out his right arm to show a bleeding wound on his wrist that had reached the bone. "It was a powerful expert."

    "The corpse king?" Lu Yin was surprised. Even though the Second Nightking had not yet fully recovered his strength, his power level was still almost at a million. Without this, he would have never been able to hide from Yuan Shi. However, despite the Second Nightking¡¯s strength, he had been injured in a brief fight, which proved the strength of his opponent.

    The Second Nightking replied, "It was an ident. The Autumnfrost family has created too many grudges over the years, and one family went to go make trouble for them. I was nearby and saw the corpse king appear and destroy the cultivators from the family. However, it started questioning them, so I moved closer to find out what it was asking. I ended up being discovered by the corpse king, and it attacked me. It absolutely had a power level of over a million."

    "Why did you reveal yourself?" Lu Yin was frustrated.

    The Second Nightking started grinding his teeth. "If I hadn¡¯t done my best against a corpse king that powerful, I would have died. Even if it¡¯s not as strong as one of the Seven Skygods, it''s not far off."

    The Second Nightking clearly did not know much about the Seven Skygods, but Lu Yin knew for a fact that the Seven Skygods were not nearly as simple as they first appeared to be. On the battlefield behind the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree, Aeternus had their twelve Marquises, and yet Shaman God had been able to order them all around. Just this was enough to show that the Seven Skygods held a higher status than most people imagined.

    Lu Yin looked towards the west. A corpse king had appeared in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory again, and even an idiot could tell that there was something there that the Neohuman Alliance desperately wanted to regain. This would be a big headache for the Sixth Maind.

    Both a corpse king and the Second Nightking had appeared in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, and the incident sent waves throughout the entire Sixth Maind.

    After the Four Empyreans held a discussion, Bluedome Elder headed out to investigate the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory. Everyone believed that there had to be something in that ce that was important enough to warrant such attention, and anyone investigating the Autumnfrost family would easily learn of the massive tool they had been building.

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s goal was to unravel the purpose of the tool.

    The aura of an Empyrean Imprinter enveloped the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, leaving everyone there trembling.

    Bluedome Elder zed like a sun that illuminated the entire region that belonged to the Autumnfrost family. He was truly one of the Four Empyreans.

    It was easy to ignore whaty on the ground below after one rose too high up. For example, Bluedome Elder could easily crush the ck shards of the shattered crystal, so hepletely disregarded it. It was also clear that the Neohuman Alliance had no interest in the crystal, as it would have already been taken away if that was the case. They had certainly had the time to recover the shattered crystal.

    Many other people had already thought of this as well, and Lu Yin was the person who knew the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s goal the best. He expected that after the Neohuman Alliance finished frantically searching, they would start to investigate everyone who had visited the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory. Lu Yin needed something to prevent the Neohuman Alliance from going after him¡­

    After staring at the ck crystal for a while, he pulled out his gadget.

    ¡­

    Lin Dong was a self-respecting man. He had been born into an ordinary human family and raised by them. It was onlyter that he had discovered a cultivation art and be a cultivator.

    If he was honest, it had taken him a hundred years just to be an Limiteer, which made him quite the average talent. He was someone with no status within the Autumnfrost family and was just a random person who was given odd jobs. This became even more true after the Autumnfrost family had be the dominant power in the Bloodburn Realm and more experts had flocked over. It was at that time that Lin Dong had lost nearly all value to the Autumnfrost family, and he had been sent to oversee a massive construction project. He had been left there, unable to leave with no one to even speak with.

    Lin Dong believed in his own worth, and he was confident that he would one day be an Explorer who could wander about the universe. Once he crossed that line, his future would be limitless.

    This was why, after the massive tool had been destroyed, after all sorts of incredible powerhouses had left after fighting, and while everyone else had fled, Lin Dong had returned to the construction site in his spacecraft to take away shards of the broken ck crystal.

 Chapter 1749: Shocking News

    Chapter 1749: Shocking News

    Lin Dong had no idea what the purpose of the ck crystal might be, but Ancestor Autumnfrost had valued it immensely, so there had to be something about it that ordinary people could not even imagine.

    Unfortunately, a few dayster, Lin Dong learned that he had been wrong. The invincible powerhouses had stopped fighting, and they had simply left countless fragments of the enormous ck crystal behind. They were just floating around in space, and although many people passed through the area, no one cared about the crystals. They were treated like garbage.

    It was possible that the crystal was destined to be nothing more than a decorative piece of art. Still, the shard that Lin Dong had picked up was quite symmetrical, and it was shaped like a hexagon.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped as Lin Dong sat inside his spaceship. He had been staring out into space, lost and confused, with no idea when he might be able to be an Explorer. He was confident in himself, but still.

    He nced down, and his pupils instantly constricted, and he became short of breath as he stared at the message that he had just received in utter disbelief: ''May I ask if your fragments of the ck crystal are for sale? I¡¯ll pay a thousand star essence.''

    The man was stupefied; what did a thousand star essence represent? He rubbed his eyes and looked at the message again. It stayed the same, and it still said a thousand star essence.

    For a bottom-tier cultivator like Lin Dong, star essence was an unattainable cultivation resource. People like him only used star crystals. When had he ever even seen star essence?

    A single star essence was worth 100,000 star crystals, so didn¡¯t that mean that 1,000 star essence was hundreds of millions of star crystals?

    Lin Dong became increasingly excited. Hundreds of millions of star crystals? What sort of an astronomical number was that? At the moment, all of Lin Dong¡¯s wealth put together only amounted to around 200,000 star crystals.

    This person should not be a liar. Lin Dong grew wary, but after thinking about it, he felt like it should not be the case. After all, what would anyone gain by lying to him? The ck crystal? There were too many fragments that had been left behind for that to make sense.

    Wait a minute¡­ Lin Dong''s expression changed. With there being so many shards of the ck crystal strewn throughout space, why would anyone offer so much money to buy a single piece? This did not seem right.

    As he was thinking about this, his gadget beeped again. ¡®Not enough? How about 2,000 star essence?¡¯

    Lin Dong''s eyes went wide. 2,000? Would that be 200 million star crystals? This- this-

    Lin Dong did not even know what to think anymore as he stared at the numbers. He really wanted to ask if the person had made a typo; did they mean star crystals instead of star essence?

    ''Still not enough? 3,000?¡¯

    Lin Dong''s eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was absolutely hideous. He gritted his teeth; this was proof that the sender was clearly a liar who was trying to trick him. There were so many pieces of ck crystal still floating around through space, so why would anyone spend money buying them, let alone so much money? Something was not right.

    This was just too much. Lin Dong was merely a measly Limiteer, and yet someone was pranking him like this. This was no different from an ordinary person being told that they had won the lottery, only to realize that it was a scam. Such a roller coaster of emotions left Lin Dong feeling like he was about to vomit blood.

    He was so furious that he wanted to express his emotions by extending a long greeting to the prankster¡¯s parents.

    It was at this time that yet another message appeared: ''Such a symmetrical crystal is truly rare, so, 4,000. 4,000 star essence for the crystal.¡¯

    Lin Dong stared nkly at the message. Symmetrical? He took out his piece of ck crystal. Yes, it was almost perfectly symmetrical. Could this be why this person was so interested in it?

    At this moment, still another message arrived: ''It seems that you are an expert. In that case, I¡¯ll cut to the chase and give you a final price: 50,000 star essence. Take it or leave it. Someone else should also be able to find a symmetrical ck crystal like what you have.¡¯

    Lin Dong did not hesitate to reply: "Deal. 50,000 star essence."

    The next dozens of seconds felt like an entire year to Lin Dong as he stared at his bank ount. Finally, there was a notification. He stared nkly at the amount in his ount. He also saw that his ount had been upgraded to the highest tier, and he had even received an invitation from the Mavis Bank to be a VIP member.

    Everything felt like a dream to Lin Dong, as it had happened too suddenly and without any warning. Had he just be super wealthy in an instant?

    Forget Limiteers¡ªeven a Hunter would struggle to gather this much star essence. Lin Dong remembered hearing about a senior who had be an Enlighter. The powerhouse had mentioned that he needed to absorb more than 60,000 star essence each cycle.

    This meant that the 50,000 star essence that he had just received was the equivalent to the internal reserves of the average Enlighter!

    The Enlighter realm was nothing more than an unattainable dream to Lin Dong. He was confident in himself and believed that he could be an Explorer, but he had never even considered the possibility of bing a Hunter, let alone an Enlighter.

    ''Send the ck crystal to these coordinates. No tricks, or else I will find you.¡¯

    This was someone who had casually offered up 50,000 star essence, and Lin Dong did not dare to y any tricks with such a person, as he would die before even knowing what had happened.

    If the Autumnfrost family were still around, Lin Dong would not be this afraid, as no one would be arrogant enough to go against the Autumnfrost family. However, the family had fallen to pieces, and Lin Dong could once again be considered an independent cultivator with no one to rely on.

    ''If there are other symmetrical fragments of the ck crystal like this one, please contact me. You will definitely be satisfied with the price. Happy to work together.¡¯

    Lin Dong closed the message. He needed time to digest what had just happened. This had not been just a dream.

    The next day, Lin Dong packed up everything that he owned and returned to the gxy where the ck crystals had shattered. The Horned Gxy was a ce he had once hated, but it had now transformed into a treasure chest in his eyes. No one else wanted the shards of ck crystal, so he could just move along and sweep them all up. With so many pieces to be found, he refused to believe that there were no more symmetric ones.

    Lin Dong believed that he had silently acquired a fortune, but he had forgotten something important: pies did not fall from the sky.

    While he was on his way to the Horned Gxy to search for more of the ck crystal fragments, his transaction was posted publicly on thework.

    Instantly, countless people were caught up in a frenzy.

    50,000 star essence was enough to make Lin Dong lose his mind, and others were no different.

    How many people had never even seen star essence in their entire lives? And yet at this moment, such a treasure was right in front of them! As long as they were able to find a symmetrical ck crystal within the Horned Gxy, they would be able to make at least 50,000 star essence.

    Everyone dreamed of achieving the same thing.

    At that moment, no matter if they were from Sixth or Fifth Mainds, countless people flocked to the Horned Gxy.

    In particr, since someone had already made a profit and proven that the deal was real, it drove people even crazier.

    Others started to find value in the symmetrical ck crystal fragments as well. Since someone had bought one for such a sky-high price, there had to be some use for the crystals. Thus, various powers with sufficient funds started looking for ways to acquire the crystals to study them as well.

    The Horned Gxy instantly became famous. First, incredible powerhouses had fought there and destroyed the gxy, and then it had spurred a transaction involving an unimaginable sum. Soon, there was word of four different crystals being bought, and countless more people started searching for the crystals. The gxy had immediately be a treasure trove for countless adventurers.

    At the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s border, Lu Yin lowered his gadget. He had been the person who had bought the first ck crystal fragment for a sky-high price. His goal had been to lure people into the Horned Gxy in order to muddy the waters for the Neohuman Alliance, and thus avoid having his visit to the gxy be discovered.

    That bubble had definitely been very important, and if it was discovered to be in his possession, he could forget about his safety in the future.

    Lu Yin had only bought the ck crystal piece in order to trigger the public frenzy. As soon as he hadpleted the transaction, he erased all traces of it in order to prevent the Neohuman Alliance from learning about it.

    If Lu Yin were the one leading the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s investigation, he would not only look into people who had recently visited the Horned Gxy, but also anyone who knew about the tool and the ck crystal. Any of the ves working on the project who had escaped would also need to be hunted down.

    Fortunately, Big Pao and Little Pao were both hiding in Astral-10, and it was even possible that the Autumnfrost family had never acquired any of the brothers¡¯ personal information. After all, given the two¡¯s low cultivation realm, they might not have even been considered worth keeping a record of. As long as no one suddenly appeared in front of the brothers and recognized them as people who had worked on Ancestor Autumnfrost¡¯s construction project, they would be fine.

    At the same time, Lu Yin pressed the Great Eastern Alliance to elerate their retreat to the Innerverse.

    He had once wanted to let the Great Eastern Alliance remain in the eastern region of the Outerverse, which was why he had tried to negotiate matters with the Sixth Maind, but he had overestimated himself. Lu Yin still did not qualify to negotiate with the Sixth Maind, and not a single one of the Four Empyreans would step forward to speak to him.

    The only thing he could do was move the entire Great Eastern Alliance while doing his best to retain Frostwave Weave, if at all possible.

    Close to the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory was a small family that lived in the same weave. They had always lived in the shadow of the Autumnfrost family and sent tribute to the Autumnfrost family every year. In essence, they were servants of the Autumnfrost family.

    After Ancestor Autumnfrost was exposed as a corpse king and then killed, the Autumnfrost family waspletely finished. They were even being investigated by Daosource Sect.

    The small family grabbed this opportunity to pull in some people who had fled from the Autumnfrost family in order to expand their own n. Seeing the price that the ck crystals were being sold for on thework had invigorated the entire family, and they made their way to Horned Gxy to take advantage of their family¡¯s power to collect the ck crystals.

    One dayter, the family¡¯s blood spilled. There was not a single survivor. Many of the people had also experienced true terror before their deaths. It looked as though they had been interrogated, though there were also bodies that had beenpletely torn apart. The entire scene radiated extreme cruelty.

    Simr incidents urred throughout the western weaves. Many people died, and they all had one thing inmon: they had some sort of connection to the Autumnfrost family.

    However, all of the people who died were only part of small powers, so the deaths did not attract much attention.

    However, a few dayster, something was announced that shocked the entire universe, including the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and even the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Bluedome Elder had died.

    The Four Empyreans from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect held lofty statuses and were all extremely powerful. No one had imagined that one such top expert would suddenly die. His death was not only untimely, but could even be considered bizarre. It looked as though he had died without a fight. His body was found standing still in outer space. It looked as though he had not noticed anything before dying in an instant.

    People with the strength of an Empyrean Imprinter would definitely make amotion, even if they died. Aside from a Progenitor, who else could silently eliminate an Empyrean Imprinter? However, there were only three Progenitors in the universe, and they were all from the Sixth Maind. It was impossible for them to have killed Bluedome Elder, though even if they had, they would not have done such a thing without announcing anything.

    News of Bluedome Elder¡¯s death shocked everyone when it spread.

    Lu Yin struggled to believe the news when he first heard it.

    Yuan Shi grew incredibly solemn, and his eyes revealed his disbelief. "It''s true, Bluedome Elder is dead, and his death was quick."

    Lu Yin was horrified. How could an Empyrean Imprinter have died without releasing even the slightest ripple? How was that possible?

    "Can they find his killer?"

    Yuan Shi looked at Lu Yin. "They can find nothing, and there¡¯s not even the slightest trace to be seen. However, they believe that he was killed by the Neohuman Alliance. It was likely one of the Seven Skygods."

 Chapter 1750: Sharing Intel

    Chapter 1750: Sharing Intel

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched; the Seven Skygods? While that might not be impossible, even the Seven Skygods should not be able to kill Bluedome Elder without him being able to even resist.

    While Bluedome Elder might not have been a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s opponent, he still should have been able to put up some sort of fight, so how could he have died so silently?

    This particr detail was difficult for Lu Yin to ept. After all, if Bluedome Elder had died so silently, did that mean that Lu Yin could soon follow him?

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s death brought terror to people along with shock.

    The Neohuman Alliance was a malevolent force that had been the Fifth Maind¡¯s worst enemy for countless years, and at this moment, they had begun to bare their fangs towards the Sixth Maind.

    Already, the Sixth Maind had witnessed the World Imprinter Ancestor Autumnfrost to be a corpse king in disguise that had possessed the power to fight against a Cosmic Imprinter. Right after that, another corpse king had appeared that had fought and even injured the Second Nightking. If Bluedome Elder truly had died at the hands of the Neohuman Alliance, then they possessed a hidden strength that would intimidate even the Sixth Maind.

    At the moment, no matter who had killed Bluedome Elder, the Sixth Maind would not stop pursuing this matter. In the end, one of their Four Empyreans had died. This was a p to their face.

    In Southside Weave, an old man emerged from a spatial crack. He looked towards the east and let out a long sigh. "I can''t even cultivate in peace. The Progenitors are going to be upset¡­"

    He then stepped forward and disappeared.

    Soon after that, the old man appeared in the Horned Gxy. He looked at a fragment of the ck crystal that he held in a hand, an odd light in his eyes. Just what was this substance capable of that it would induce such a reaction from the Aeternals?

    Nearby was Bluedome Elder¡¯s corpse, still standing still in space. No one had dared to move or even touch it.

    A crowd of experts from the Sixth Maind were gathered around the corpse. Some of them had noticed the old man¡¯s inexplicable and sudden appearance, and someone quickly stepped forward to say something, but someone else suddenly appeared in front of the old man.

    When the person approaching the old man saw who had appeared in front of him, he was startled. "Your Excellency."

    All of the other nearby cultivators instantly bowed as well. ¡°Your Excellency."

    The person who had appeared in front of the old man was Mr. Lifeview, one of the Four Empyreans. As soon as he had heard of Bluedome Elder¡¯s death, he had instantly rushed over.

    Mr. Lifeview ignored the cultivators around and proceeded right in front of the old man who seemed to be deep in thought. Mr. Lifeview immediately bowed, saying, "I am Lifeview, from the previous generation. I pay my respects to Senior Jiu San."

    All of the other people in the ce were stunned. To their understanding, the Four Empyreans were second only to the three Progenitors, and yet one of them had just bowed to this old man. Could he be a Progenitor? They did not dare even consider such a possibility.

    The old man lowered his hand and looked over at Mr. Lifeview. "It¡¯s been a long time."

    Mr. Lifeview and the old man both looked at each other. "I didn''t expect you toe out, Senior Jiu San."

    The old man shook his head. "It''s only to be expected. My Sixth Maind has been taken from us, and many of my old brothers died in battle. If I¡¯m still alive, it would be best for me to at least wander around a bit. I may die one day, but I still haven¡¯t seen enough of this ce."

    Mr. Lifeview grew somber, "Senior Jiu San is destined to be a Progenitor, so how could you die?"

    The old man justughed before looking over at Bluedome Elder¡¯s corpse. "Didn''t he die? He even died so peacefully. It looks like he didn¡¯t suffer, so he was at least lucky for that."

    Mr. Lifeview''s expression grew bitter. "He should have been killed by the Neohuman Alliance."

    The old man nodded. "One of the Seven Skygods: Forgotten Ruins God."

    "You can tell?" Mr. Lifeview was surprised.

    The old man''s eyes continued to stare at the corpse. "The power of the Forgotten Ruins still hasn¡¯tpletely dissipated."

    Mr. Lifeview expression grew dark. "Even if one of the Seven Skygods attacked, there¡¯s no way that Bluedome Elder would not have been able to at least retaliate."

    "The most terrifying aspect of the Seven Skygods is not just their might, but also the fact that they remain perfectly hidden. You can never know who around you might be one of the Seven Skygods. Those seven have been humanity¡¯s enemies since ancient times. As far as many people are concerned, the Seven Skygods are the foundation of Aeternus."

    "They are only Semi-Progenitors."

    "In this ce, they are only Semi-Progenitors," the old man corrected.

    Mr. Lifeview''s instantly shrank. "What do you mean?"

    The old man shook his head.

    "Regardless, the Seven Skygods have made a move. This is something that we have rarely dealt with, but the Fifth Maind has suffered it many times. Most recently, there was an attempt to assassinate the top ten of ZENITH. It¡¯s time that we had a chat with the Fifth Maind."

    In Ironblood Weave, the Cloud Valley Master looked quite upset. Everything that had happened recently had beenpletely unexpected. Starting with the moment that Ancestor Autumnfrost had abandoned Ironblood Weave, numerous things had spiraled out of control, and even Bluedome Elder had died.

    Bluedome Elder and Mr. Lifeview had been the driving force behind kicking the Great Eastern Alliance out of the Outerverse, and with Bluedome Elder dead, the Cloud Valley Master had no idea what to do next.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s one month time limit had already expired, Mr. Lifeview most likely had no energy to even notice the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Still, the Cloud Valley Master knew that his first priority had to be to stabilize things in Ironblood Weave.

    The Cloud Valley Master was not the only person to have his ns thrown intoplete disarray; Lu Yin had also been caughtpletely off guard.

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s death caused things to escte even further in the Horned Gxy, and Lu Yin no longer had control of the situation, which left him scared. Once the Neohuman Alliance learned that Autumnfrost Chen was also dead and that the tool had beenpletely destroyed, Lu Yin could not even imagine how the Neohuman Alliance would react.

    Would they kill him? Or just take back the bubble and give him a warning? If one of the Seven Skygods appeared, would Lu Yin be willing to give the bubble back?

    Lu Yin feltpletely confused by the situation.

    It was at this moment that Wei Rong called Lu Yin. The man wanted to know if Lu Yin wanted to take advantage of the recent developments to do something.

    Lu Yin instantly shot the idea down. Wei Rong was not the one who was exposed to a de, so he could not understand what Lu Yin was feeling, but Lu Yin was absolutely terrified that the Neohuman Alliance would suddenly find him. Each of the Seven Skygods was a Semi-Progenitor, and there were no Semi-Progenitors nearby who could protect Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not even determine if the tool that had been being built in the Horned Gxy or Shaman God¡¯s n was more important, and thus, he did not want to take any risks.

    His best choice was to just leave. He would act like everything that was happening waspletely unrted to him, as though he did not care or know anything at all.

    Lu Yin immediately made a call to Arch-Elder Zen. Even if Lu Yin wanted to leave, he could not just walk away from the Great Eastern Alliance. They still needed to retreat to the Innerverse. While they had been moving quite quickly, transferring everything to the Innerverse was far from an overnight project, and so Lu Yin wanted to ask if the Hall of Honor would be able to step forwards and buy a bit more time.

    Although the Great Eastern Alliance belonged to Lu Yin, it was also a power from the Fifth Maind. After hearing Lu Yin''s request, Arch-Elder Zen agreed to help. "I will try my best to negotiate with the Sixth Maind to get you some more time to evacuate your people."

    Lu Yin felt truly grateful. "Thank you, Arch-Elder Zen."

    After learning of Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan, Arch-Elder Zen no longer felt a strong need to protect Lu Yin.

    From Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s perspective, Lu Yin was a descendant of the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family, and that family had been the ones to lead the primeval surnames in abandoning the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin was genuinely grateful that Arch-Elder Zen had notpletely turned him away. ording to the way things were normally handled, Lu Yin should have been kicked out of the Fifth Maind entirely.

    "The Neohuman Alliance has made quite a fuss this time, which is much different from their usual behavior. Be careful. They might start assassinating key people like they did after ZENITH," Arch-Elder Zen warned.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "If one of the Seven Skygods moves against me, this junior will not be able to do a thing about it."

    Arch-Elder Zen fell silent for a bit. "No Semi-Progenitor will protect you this time, so you will have to take care of yourself."

    Lu Yin snorted. "Thank you for the warning, Arch-Elder Zen."

    "The Sixth Maind just sent someone to speak to me, but not one of the Four Empyreans," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Lu Yin instantly grew curious. "Not one of the Four Empyreans? A Venerable?"

    Arch-Elder Zen grew serious. "The Daosource Sect¡¯s strongest people do not concern themselves with matters outside the sect, and they are all Semi-Progenitors."

    Lu Yin was not surprised by this. Bluedome Elder had been an Empyrean Imprinter, but Empyrean Imprinters were not necessarily Semi-Progenitors. For example, the most recent people holding the posts of the Four Empyreans were not Semi-Progenitors. The Sixth Maind hid their Semi-Progenitors within their Daosource Sect. Inparison, the Fifth Maind¡¯s First Protector of Mt. Microcosms was powerful enough to contend with the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans, but he could note close toparing to Arch-Elder Zen or the Fifth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors.

    As for the Chief Justice, he remained aplete unknown, as he was too mysterious.

    Semi-Progenitors focused solely on their cultivation, as they were only a single step away from bing a Progenitor. If they could take thatst step, their entire existence would change, and they would undergo a true transformation. As far as cultivators were concerned, Progenitors were essentially gods. Most Semi-Progenitors would not concern themselves with mundane affairs, which was also why most of the matters concerning the Hall of Honor were left to the overseers and the Interster Supreme Court to handle.

    "How many Semi-Progenitors are in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Arch-Elder Zen answered solemnly, "I don''t know, but there can¡¯t be many left. The Sixth Maind was taken from them, their true Daosource Sect was destroyed. The three Progenitors were rebuffed, so the casualties among their Semi-Progenitors cannot have been small. The person who reached out to me was Jiu San. Jiu is the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s surname. This man is the Progenitor¡¯s great-grandson.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s great-grandson? That was a very important person in the Sixth Maind, and yet he had taken action at this time.

    "Be sure to prepare yourself. When I speak to him, I will also bring up the Great Eastern Alliance, so if he seeks you out to speak with you, do not be rude," Arch-Elder Zen cautioned.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands."

    No one knew anything at all about the conversation that took ce between Arch-Elder Zen and Jiu San until a dayter. At that time, Lu Yin received a message from the Semi-Progenitor, informing Lu Yin that the Great Eastern Alliance had been given a reprieve of three years to move out of the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin let out a big sigh of relief. Three years was enough. He quickly replied and asked Arch-Elder Zen what price had been paid for this.

    Arch-Elder Zen simply exined that he had shared information regarding the Neohuman Alliance.

    Regardless of the Sixth Maind¡¯s attitude towards the Neohuman Alliance in the past, the moment the Aeternals invaded the Sixth Maind and drove the humans out and into the Outerverse, the Sixth Maind¡¯s hatred of the Aeternals and the Neohuman Alliance had actually surpassed the Fifth Maind¡¯s. Sharing intelligence regarding the Neohuman Alliance benefited both parties.

    As for the Great Eastern Alliance, this matter was considered unimportant to the Sixth Maind. After all, three years meant nothing to cultivators.

    With the threat of the Sixth Maind removed, Lu Yin left the Outerverse with the Second Nightking and Liu Huang the same day that Arch-Elder Zen sent the message. Within three years, not only would Lu Yin shift the Great Eastern Alliance into the Innerverse, he would also unite the Innerverse, or at least ensure that he no longer had any enemies in the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin knew nothing at all about the Neohuman Alliance, and the incident in the Horned Gxy had nothing to do with him at all.

    The Astral River Ark ferried over to the Innerverse. The entire thing waspletely packed. The cabins, decks, and even the fishing tforms of the Ark werepletely full of people. All of them were from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin was able to cross the Astral River without the Ark if the Second Nightking or Liu Huang helped, but instead, Lu Yin chose to use the Astral River Ark to return to the Innerverse.

    This was likely the first time since the moment of its construction that an Astral River Ark had carried so many people, but this would be standard for the next three years.

 Chapter 1751: Bait

    Chapter 1751: Bait

    Near one of the Ark¡¯s fishing decks, someone let out a sigh. It was the fisherman whom Lu Yin had met on Nightking, and then againter on at Chaosgod Mountain.

    "Don''t push! Do as you¡¯re told!"

    "Don''t step back any further, or else you¡¯ll fall!"

    "Where are you from?"

    "We¡¯re from Mordo Weave."

    "Isn¡¯t Mordo Weave on the other side?"

    "It¡¯s the home of the Neo-Vestige Sect, which is where we¡¯re from. Don¡¯t push! I¡¯m going to fall."

    "What about you?"

    "We¡¯re from the Vastdearth Sect."

    ¡­

    The fisherman feltpletely helpless. "I never thought I would see the day that people crowded onto one of the Astral River Arks¡­ Ah."

    "Have we disturbed your fishing?" a voice spoke up.

    The man reflexively nodded, but then he suddenly returned to his senses, and his head snapped over. The fisherman was a powerful Enlighter, and yet someone had approached him from behind without him being able to sense anything at all! When the fisherman looked over, he saw an unknown man. "Who are you?"

    A smile spread across the man¡¯s face. "Aren''t you supposed to be at Chaosgod Mountain?"

    The fisherman¡¯s pupils instantly constricted as he stared into the stranger¡¯s eyes. After a moment, the fisherman asked in disbelief, ¡°Lu-?¡±

    The man raised a finger to silence the fisherman.

    Of course, the man was indeed Lu Yin. He had changed his appearance to avoid being recognized, as if he were discovered, it would create quite a sensation.

    "You don''t want to answer me? Aren''t you supposed to be at Chaosgod Mountain?" Lu Yin repeated. He stared out into the Astral River, looking at the incredible number of rune lines that flowed by. He had no idea what might be in the depths of the river.

    The fisherman¡¯s face twisted. "I got lost and identally left."

    Lu Yinughed. "Well, since you already left, why not at least put on an act? Are you not afraid of being discovered by me while fishing from the Ark?"

    The fisherman dryly retorted, "What? I''m not your prisoner."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Any catches?"

    "What catch?" The fisherman felt lost.

    Lu Yin pointed to the Astral River. "I want to eat some fruit fish."

    The fisherman was left speechless. "I haven¡¯t caught any¡­"

    "Then start fishing."

    "There¡¯s no room."

    "No matter how crowded it might be, there are still ces a single person can fish from," Lu Yin said in azy manner. Fruit fish was a very familiar taste to him, and he wanted to eat it to see if he could recall any more memories from his past life as Lu Xiaoxuan. No matter if it was through divination or through tasting something familiar, Lu Yin would readily do anything if it helped him recover those memories.

    He had thought that he was Lu Yin and that Lu Xiaoxuan had already died, but Kui Luo''s words had awakened Lu Yin¡¯s interest in his past life. Lu Xiaoxuan had created the Heaven-Shattering Palm, which had be one of the Lu family''s inherited techniques. It had been so profound that even Progenitor Lu had appeared. It would be amazing if Lu Yin could remember the Heaven-Shattering Palm.

    Even the name sounded powerful: Heaven-Shattering Palm!

    After speaking a bit longer with the fisherman, Lu Yin moved on. After a day and a half, the Astral River Ark entered the Innerverse.

    There were some people present to greet the neers into the Innerverse and provide arrangements for people from the Great Eastern Alliance to settle into zing Mist Flowzone. Wang Wen and the others had already allocated different regions to the various major powers of the Outerverse.

    Of course, there were some who were still unwilling to leave the Outerverse and would rather ept the Sixth Maind¡¯s rule, and Lu Yin had no intention of forcing anyone to move. There was no fear of the Great Eastern Alliance not being able to recruit fresh blood, as there was still the entire Innerverse to draw from.

    It was time to take care of something.

    After Lu Yin returned to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, the first thing that he did was send Liu Huang back to the Sword Sect to settle things there.

    While Lu Yin had no way to control Liu Huang, the man was smart, and he knew that his identity was the greatest threat. Even though exposing himself would deal a harsh blow to the Hall of Honor¡¯s reputation, Liu Huang would also end up suffering, and he would drag the entire Sword Sect down with him.

    Liu Huang naturally did not want this to happen, as otherwise, he would not have stayed at Lu Yin¡¯s side for so long.

    After sending Liu Huang back to the Sword Sect, Lu Yin entered his botanical garden to check on Sapling.

    Sapling quickly noticed Lu Yin''s arrival, and it happily leaped over. The tree¡¯s branches wrapped around Lu Yin''s fingers and rubbed his hand in a very intimate manner.

    Lu Yin was essentially a parent to the tree.

    As for the big tree, it had be even more desperate to flee.

    There were many odd nts in the garden, and the caretaker was actually someone whom Lu Yin was familiar with. He was a young man who was two meters tall with a green body.

    When the young man saw Lu Yin approach, he quickly bowed. "Bror greets the alliance leader."

    Lu Yin took a moment to ce the young man, but he soon remembered. "It''s you! You used to follow Geine."

    Bror answered in a respectful manner, "Yes. Your subordinate Bror was brought in to care for your garden here."

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile. "Pleased to have you."

    "I am honored to be working for the alliance leader!" Bror quickly replied.

    Bror had been one of the students who had been sent to Earth to participate in a trial during the apocalypse that had struck the. He had followed Geine along with some others, and he had been a student at the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Outerspace Academy.

    "How are things going here? Are you still getting used to it?" Lu Yin asked as he yed with Sapling.

    Bror nced at Sapling. "Everything is fine. Your subordinate will be sure to care for your garden."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s good."

    After the brief conversation, Lu Yin led Sapling out, as he wanted to spend some time with the little nt.

    There was a soft thud, and Lu Yin turned his head to see the big tree strike the ground. Bror felt a mounting headache. This big tree was the most troublesome nt in the entire garden. All it did all day every day was try to escape. Bror had no idea where the tree¡¯s obsession came from, let alone why it was trying to escape. Just who had brought such a thing to the garden? Without the big tree, Bror¡¯s job would have been half as hard.

    Lu Yin just smiled and took Sapling away.

    While Lu Yin and Sapling were spending some time together, Aeternus had broken its silence, and corpse kings emerged one after another.

    On a street in Aeternus, the Ghost Monkey was stunned. "Why are there so many monsters moving out? All of them seem to be going somewhere. I have no idea what might have happened, but I hope this doesn¡¯t affect Little Lu. I¡¯m still waiting for him to prostrate before me! Little Lu, don¡¯t worry, Big Brother Monkey ising! Hahahaha."

    A voice came from Shaman God¡¯s dark tower. "Forgotten Ruins God is too impulsive. Killing Bluedome Elder is no different than announcing to the entire universe that there was something that¡¯s important to us, and this is only going to make it more difficult for us to find it."

    "There are more and more people gathering in that particr gxy, and killing Bluedome Elder also served as a warning to some people. Otherwise, even more people would be going to that gxy. And then when would we find it?"

    "We have to get it back."

    "Someone is making trouble for us. People were deliberately lured over to the Horned Gxy, but unfortunately, there¡¯s no trace of who that person is. There are no clues at all to follow."

    "Has everyone who has had any sort of contact with the Autumnfrost family been looked into?"

    "The investigation¡¯s already started, but the Sixth Maind is growing more and more cautious. Even their Semi-Progenitors have started to appear, which is a big problem. Those people haven¡¯t been seen for thousands of years."

    "What else can we do?"

    After a moment of silence, a voice suddenly spoke up, "The Starsibyl Sect."

    "Divination?"

    "Yes. Anyone who¡¯se into contact with those crystals is suspicious."

    "Go to the Starsibyl Sect right now. Don¡¯t let anyone escape."

    A ughter continued within the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces. Any person or organization with any connection to the Autumnfrost family with even the slightest chance of having visited or seen the tool was visited by devastation. This included even the suppliers and transportation crew that had provided the Autumnfrost family with equipment and materials, tools, and more.

    The Neohuman Alliance was desperately looking for something, and the Sixth Maind did not remain silent. Four of the Ten Venerables were sent out, and they used people rted to the Autumnfrost family as bait to lure out the Neohuman Alliance.

    Lin Dong stared nkly at a pair of slitted scarlet eyes that were standing just outside his spacecraft. His entire body had gone numb, and he could not move a muscle due to the terror that gripped his heart. It was a corpse king! A corpse king from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neohuman Alliance! Why would such a creaturee after Lin Dong?

    The corpse king shattered the vessel with a single punch, and the sudden change in pressure sent Lin Dong tumbling into outer space. He was not even able to react. After all, he was only a Limiteer, and his body had not adjusted to survive in outer space. The moment he left his vessel, his death was already guaranteed.

    The corpse king raised a hand and grabbed hold of Lin Dong¡¯s neck with a hard, cold hand. A dry voice asked, "Who- gave- you- money- location?"

    Lin Dong''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks; so he was being targeted because of that ck crystal! He regretted epting the deal. He should not have been so greedy. Clearly, there was some precious use for the symmetrical ck crystals, or else they would have never been bought for such exorbitant prices. Even a corpse king had appeared to chase after them!

    "I don''t know! Everything was done anonymously on thework." Lin Dong struggled to answer.

    The corpse king stared into Lin Dong''s eyes. Its scarlet eyes were terrifyingly cold, and Lin Dong had already be truly desperate. He felt his neck being squeezed tighter and tighter, and his body was growing cold.

    Suddenly, another hand appeared right in front of him, and it smashed into the corpse king''s head, shattering it to pieces.

    The corpse king¡¯s hand fell away from Ling Dong¡¯s neck, and he slowly turned his head to see who had appeared. There was a middle-aged man standing in space who looked very wary as he pulled his hand back. He then turned to look at Lin Dong.

    Lin Dong recognized the man. He was Huang Li, patriarch of the Bloodburn Realm¡¯s Huang family. The man was a powerful Enlighter.

    The Huang family had once had an Imprinter, but the family had weakened after their Imprinter¡¯s death. The reason why Lin Dong had recognized Huang Li was because Huang San was also from the family, and he had kidnapped a girl from the Yan family who had once pursued the Autumnfrost family¡¯s young master. The girl¡¯s disappearance had caused the Autumnfrost family to target the Huang family, and eventually, no one in the entire Bloodburn Realm dared to have any dealings with the Huang family. They had ended up in a miserable situation.

    As someone who had once followed the Autumnfrost family, Lin Dong naturally knew the appearance of people from the Huang family.

    "Thank you, Senior Huang, for saving your life." Lin Dong respectfully bowed and offered his thanks.

    Huang Li replied in an indifferent manner, "No thanks needed. The crisis isn¡¯t over yet."

    Lin Dong immediately became fearful again. "Is there another corpse king?"

    Huang Li stared off into the distance. "If they don''t find what they¡¯re looking for, they won¡¯t stop for even a single day. The Neohuman Alliance has been quiet in the Fifth Maind for so many years without making any real moves. Right now, they are brazenly moving about. Whatever they¡¯re searching for is far too important to them."

    Lin Dong felt his heart grow cold. "Then what should we do, Senior?"

    He was regretting his previous decision, as that 50,000 star essence was likely going to be the cause of his death.

    Huang Li nced at Lin Dong. "Get to the Daosource Sect. Maybe you won¡¯t die there."

    This was not for Lin Dong, but also for Huang Li. Everyone was aware of the matter that had happened between the Huang and Autumnfrost families, and at this moment, everyone with any sort of connection to the Autumnfrost family was being hunted down. It made no difference if those people had been friendly or hostile towards the Autumnfrost family, which meant that the Huang family was not safe either.

    The Daosource Sect had sent orders throughout the Sixth Maind that Enlighters or above were to try to find someone weaker with a connection to the Autumnfrost family and protect them. This was not done to protect the Autumnfrost family, but rather to protect the Sixth Maind¡¯s reputation.

    Huang Li shot a vague nce behind him, as there was also someone protecting him. His entire Huang family was being used as bait for the Neohuman Alliance.

    ***

    In order topletely avoid any association with the Horned Gxy, Lu Yin had not looked into anything that was happening within the Sixth Maind, as he wanted to take absolutely no chances of the Neohuman Alliance drawing a connection between the Autumnfrost family and Lu Yin.

    This was also why the Neohuman Alliance never thought to look for Lu Yin, as he had not evene up as someone connected to the Autumnfrost family. As soon as any sort of reminder came up, it was possible that a connection would be made. This was why Lu Yin had been doing his best to remain under the radar.

    Half a month passed, and the ughter in the western region of the Outerverse never once halted. ording to the reports, more than one hundred corpse kings had died, all of which possessed the strength of an Explorer or above. There had even been some Envoy-level corpse kings that had died. Naturally, the Sixth Maind¡¯s losses had not been small either.

    Even the war in Ironblood Weave had been affected, because many of the cultivators fighting against the Astral Beast Domain were members of the Autumnfrost family.

 Chapter 1752: Fame And Fortune

    Chapter 1752: Fame And Fortune

    In the Innerverse, at the Sword Sect, Liu Qianjue was quietly fishing when Elder Li approached him. "Sect Master, are we just going to leave the Great Eastern Alliance in zing Mist Flowzone?"

    "What other option is there?" Liu Qianjue casually replied.

    Elder Li remained silent. He did not know what they should do, but the Great Eastern Alliance was experiencing a rare moment of hardship, and he felt that they should take advantage of the situation.

    "Alright, head back for now," Liu Qianjue gently ordered.

    Elder Li bowed and excused himself.

    Liu Qianjue suddenly started, as he had caught a strange and massive fish. He nced at it, frowned, and then threw it away. It was not a fish that was tasty.

    Since the Great Eastern Alliance was being forced topletely leave the Outerverse, Liu Qianjue also wanted to do something, but it was the Sixth Maind forcing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s hand. If he did anything at this time, it would be no different than cooperating with the Sixth Maind, and given Lu Yin¡¯s influence in the Hall of Honor, the Sword Sect would likely be used of doing just that.

    The Hall of Honor represented the overall interests of the entire Fifth Maind, and since Lu Yin was able to somewhat direct the opinions of the Hall of Honor, it was vital that he not do anything that could give the wrong impression.

    Elder Lianxin had already gone to visit Venom Flowzone, as no matter how much the Divine Venom Dynasty wished to avoid the outside world, it was impossible for them to ignore the Great Eastern Alliance, and it was just as impossible for them to ignore Lu Yin.

    The Divine Venom Dynasty, the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, the Daynight n, the Divine Grade Hall, the Wen family, and the various other powers from both the eight great flowzones and the minor flowzones: once they all joined together, they would be strong enough to suppress the Great Eastern Alliance into staying in just zing Mist Flowzone.

    Together, these organizations could represent the entire Innerverse, which meant that the Hall of Honor would not be able to interfere. This was how the Hall of Honor handled matters, as without such limitations, the Hall of Honor would have long since united the entire Human Domain.

    "This is a troubled era. Even the Neohuman Alliance has started to move about boldly. The best choice is to do nothing for now and to try to avoid this chaos." Liu Qianjue sighed and resumed fishing.

    Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind him. "Unfortunately, you can''t avoid it."

    Liu Qianjue froze, and the fishing rod in his hand transformed into a sword. He did not take a single step or move his body, yet his sword stabbed behind him and thrust into the true universe. Sword qi surged out, causing the entire Sword Sect to shake. At that moment, every sword in the sect rang.

    There was a ringing sound, and the sword snapped. Liu Qianjue was still sitting in the same ce as before, but shock and fear had covered his face. His sword had been broken, and it had been broken by pure sword skill. This intruder had not only been able to see through Liu Qianjue¡¯s technique, but he had also been able to find ws in it.

    Most shocking was that the person had not used any more strength than Liu Qianjue had in his attack.

    "The All-Directional Sword Arts. For you to have mastered this technique, you must have excellent perseverance. Unfortunately, the technique¡¯s ws are quite obvious. There is always a point in a given direction that cannot be targeted, which is the technique¡¯s weakness."

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s gaze grew sharp. "Your Excellency, who are you?"

    Cheng.

    A sword gently rang as it was stabbed into the ground in front of Liu Qianjue. It had a green hilt that was half the length of the de, and both the hilt and the de were covered with spiraling patterns where water droplets converged to form the shape of a halberd. This was the same sword that Lu Yin had once formed from his star energy. When Liu Qianjue had seen it back then, he had been shocked, because only one person had ever used this sword: Liu Huang, the most outstanding genius in the entire history of the Sword Sect.

    Liu Qianjue whirled around to see Liu Huang standing no more than a hundred meters away. Shock and disbelief filled the Sword Sect master¡¯s eyes. "You? Impossible! You can''t be alive!"

    Liu Huang sped his hands behind his back, and various emotions passed over his face. "True, it is indeed impossible for me to be alive. How could someone who¡¯s regarded as a scourge by the Hall of Honor possibly live? And yet I have been alive, living a million miles away in the depths of Gaia''s Swamp."

    Liu Qianjue''s fingers trembled. "Gaia''s Swamp?"

    Liu Huang nodded. "That¡¯s right, Gaia''s Swamp."

    Liu Qianjue frowned. "Impossible. You were clearly dead back then."

    Liu Huang replied in a solemn tone, "There is a person within the Hall of Honor who possesses an innate gift for faking death, and they were the one who took me to Gaia''s Swamp."

    "I¡¯ve never heard of such a person before," Liu Qianjue retorted.

    Liu Huang just shrugged. "I never had either until they took me away."

    "How can you prove who you are?" Liu Qianjue asked as he stared at Liu Huang.

    Liu Huang looked in a specific direction. "The ancestor of my Liu family who came to this ce is buried there."

    As he spoke, he tapped a finger and formed the picture of a very inconspicuous ravine.

    Liu Qianjue''s pupils instantly shrank. While many people knew where the Liu family¡¯s ancestors were buried, the public information was a lie. Only the master of the Liu family in each generation would be told the true location. The true location was a secret ce that no one would think to look, and it was kept secret because the ancestor had wanted to be buried in that ravine. However,ter generations had felt that the location was improper, so they had created a false grave.

    While this was not an important secret, it was one of the Liu family¡¯s most closely guarded matters.

    "Still don''t believe me? Then-" As he spoke, Liu Huang pointed in another direction. He pointed to a ce where he had once trained with others from a past generation. The people had grown old and already died, but the list of names could still be seen.

    "If that¡¯s still not enough," Liu Huang moved a finger again, and the long green sword flew to his hand. He raised a hand and said, "Thirteenth Sword."

    While his voice fell, he never moved. Liu Qianjue''s body trembled, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. He slowly bent over. There was no denying that this was the Thirteenth Sword.

    "Junior Liu Qianjue greets his ancestor." Liu Qianjue slowly bowed low. The Liu family¡¯s ancestor¡¯s grave had been revealed, the man¡¯s former home had been shown, and even the Thirteenth Sword had been used. Liu Qianjue could no longer hold any doubts.

    Liu Huang put his sword away and slowly walked towards the pond.

    Liu Qianjue looked up. "What happened back then?"

    Liu Huang sat down as he started speaking, "My Sword Sect possesses unparalleled determination, and once a true expert appears, the Fifth Maind will no longer be peaceful. This was why I was imprisoned within Gaia¡¯s Swamp, never to be released."

    Liu Qianjue clenched a fist. "We are the same as the Daynight n!"

    Liu Huang found this quite funny. "We are much more fortunate than the Daynight n! The First and Third Nightkings were forced into the Astral Beast Domain, and one of them died while the other disappeared. I was not nearly as unfortunate. Even though I was imprisoned, there was at least the possibility of escape."

    "The riot in Gaia''s Swamp?" Liu Qianjue blurted.

    Liu Huang looked at him and said, "The Sword Sect¡¯s masters from each generation are intelligent and ambitious, but most of them focus on their swordsmanship. What sort of sect master are you?"

    Liu Qianjue''s eyes flickered. "This junior does not understand."

    Liu Huang looked back at the calm pond. "Someone mentioned that you are too unfocused on the sword. You abdicated your position, and yet you have taken it back. Your ambition for your sword is less than your other ambitions."

    Liu Qianjue let out a sharp breath. "Lu Yin?"

    Liu Huang nodded.

    Liu Qianjue showed a bitter smile. "I should have thought of that earlier. He was present during the riot in Gaia''s Swamp, and from what I know of him, even if he had nothing to do with the nning or execution of such a thing, it¡¯s impossible for him to not seize an advantage from such an event. However, this junior does not understand. Did Lu Yin get involved in the riot for your sake?"

    Wait! Suddenly, Liu Qianjue''s expressionpletely changed. "The Second Nightking!"

    Liu Huang appeared as calm as ever, and he did not interrupt.

    Liu Qianjue grew pale, and his hands and feet turned cold. That was right, the Second Nightking had also escaped from Gaia¡¯s Swamp. If Lu Yin had been involved in the riot and had somehow gotten Liu Huang free, how could the youth have ever allowed the Second Nightking to escape? There was no way that Lu Yin would permit such trouble for himself.

    The Second Nightking was either already dead, or there was another possibility that Liu Qianjue could not even muster the courage to consider. He stared nkly at Liu Huang, hoping to receive a negative response.

    However, Liu Huang eventually nodded. "That¡¯s right, the Second Nightking was also taken away by that child."

    "Why? The Second Nightking would never submit to him, so why would he free the Second Nightking?" Liu Qianjue could not make heads or tails of this, as it simply made no sense at all.

    Liu Huang solemnly stated, "I may not know the reason, but the Second Nightking is always at Lu Yin''s side."

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s heart was dropping further by the moment. If the Second Nightking had submitted to Lu Yin, then that meant that the entire Daynight n had also submitted! It was no wonder why Lu Yin had abandoned Daynight Flowzone so casually back then; it was already his.

    But how did Lu Yin take control of the Daynight n? Why would he trust the Daynight n to follow him?

    Thoughts whirled through Liu Qianjue''s mind as he thought of the Second Nightking and the implications that this information brought. Suddenly, Liu Qianjue¡¯s eyes returned to Liu Huang. "You are here to have the Sword Sect join the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Liu Huang looked over. "Smart."

    "Why? With your return, you could simply take over the Sword Sect! The entire sect is yours! Why do you wish to join the Great Eastern Alliance?" Liu Qianjue protested.

    Liu Huang''s voice dropped low, "Do you think that I can reveal myself?"

    Liu Qianjue instantly understood; the Hall of Honor would never spare Liu Huang, so he could only remain hidden. "Are you concerned that Lu Yin will report you?"

    Liu Huang stared at Liu Qianjue and said, "While I can''tpare to you when ites to scheming and administration, I can see through people better. Regardless of whether or not I had returned, the Sword Sect cannot avoid its fate of joining the Great Eastern Alliance. My appearance is only going to make it easier for the Sword Sect to join."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance is being driven out of the Outerverse, and they are too busy dealing with their own affairs. The entire Innerverse is united in wanting to restrain Lu Yin."

    "The Hall of Honor is what determines the fate of such things, not the Innerverse," Liu Huang fiercely retorted. Being imprisoned in Gaia''s Swamp had given him a clearer view of such things than anyone else. While he deeply hated the Hall of Honor, he still had to admit that the Hall of Honor had the power to control everything.

    Lu Yin was able to influence everything as well, because he could influence the Hall of Honor.

    Liu Qianjue argued back in a low voice, "Not even the Hall of Honor can decide upon the fate of the Innerverse. This has been true for countless years."

    "Then why did I end up in Gaia''s Swamp?" Liu Huang asked back.

    Liu Qianjue was stunned, but he truly could not say anything to counter this fact. The Hall of Honor was not merely the guiding hand of the Human Domain that everyone saw; it also acted in secret to maintain control of things.

    The Daynight n had given birth to the First Nightking, the Second Nightking, the Third Nightking, and the Dayking. Each of them had been a true genius, and yet the First Nightking had been killed, the Third Nightking had been trapped in the Astral Beast Domain, and the Dayking had died. As for the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Huang, he had been secretly imprisoned.

    It was not only the Daynight n and the Sword Sect, but also the entire Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse that were controlled by the Hall of Honor, whether openly or secretly. This was how the Human Domain was ruled.

    "That was the Hall of Honor, not Lu Yin," Liu Qianjue finally replied.

    Everyone had a certain degree of selfishness. Liu Qianjue never wanted the Sword Sect to join the Great Eastern Alliance, as that would make him the one who had failed the sect in generations toe.

    In order to leave Gaia''s Swamp, Liu Huang had agreed to Lu Yin''s conditions, whether he had done so because he wanted to pass on his Fourteenth Sword or for something else, it had still been an essentially selfish decision.

    Some were greedy for fame, others for profit, and yet more for their legacy.

 Chapter 1753: Joining The Alliance

    Chapter 1753: Joining The Alliance

    "Since I¡¯ve returned, you should know what it means." Liu Huang''s statement was unquestionable.

    Liu Qianjue closed his eyes before suddenly snapping them open. "Please forgive this junior for his rudeness, but if you insist on forcing my Sword Sect into the abyss, then you are an enemy of the Sword Sect and also my Liu family¡¯s enemy!"

    A sword rose and pointed straight at Liu Huang.

    Liu Huang and Liu Qianjue just stared at each other for a moment. Neither looked at all surprised by this development. "You can make the first move."

    Liu Qianjue did not decline. When Liu Huang had gone into seclusion to create his own Fourteenth Sword, his strength had already been enough to make the Hall of Honor wary, which meant that he certainly surpassed Liu Qianjue¡¯s own strength. After so many years of being imprisoned within Gaia''s Swamp, even if Liu Huang¡¯s power had fallen, the man still was not an easy opponent for Liu Qianjue. After all, the older man had just shattered Liu Qianjue¡¯s All-Directional Sword Arts and even given him pointers on it.

    Liu Qianjue stepped forward with a foot and entered the true universe. From his new position, he instantly unleashed a single sword attack: the Thirteenth Sword.

    Liu Huang just shook his head. The Thirteenth Sword was unavoidable, and that was true even for him, but why did he need to avoid it? He had created the Fourteenth Sword on his own, and it essentially surpassed the Thirteenth Sword.

    The next moment, Liu Huang was startled, and he stared at Liu Qianjue¡¯s position; there was another sword attack, and it was also the Thirteenth Sword. However, how could there be two Thirteenth Swords?

    The dual Thirteenth Swords struck Liu Huang without any surprise, and the man stood stock still while looking quite stunned.

    Liu Qianjue then appeared, carefully observing Liu Huang while clenching his sword. This dual Thirteenth Sword was an attack unique to him, as his innate gift allowed him to attack twice at the same time.

    There had been countless geniuses throughout the history of the Sword Sect, and while Liu Qianjue was certainly not the most talented and could notpare to people like Liu Huang or Liu Guai, he still felt like hisbat strength wasparable to both of those seniors when they had been at the same cultivation realm. After all, who could stop an unavoidable attack that could deal double damage?

    Liu Qianjue was an Envoy with a power level of more than 800,000, and after he used the dual Thirteenth Swords, even a powerhouse with a power level of over a million would be struck down.

    Finally, Liu Huang moved. He lifted his head and looked straight at Liu Qianjue. The older man could not stop himself from coughing out a mouthful of blood.

    Liu Qianjue was not only unhappy, but his expression also twisted in an ugly manner. He had expected his attack to badly injure Liu Huang, and yet the man showed almost no reactions at all. He had merely spat out some blood! Was the gap between them so vast?

    Liu Huang smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth. "Yes, that¡¯s quite good, though still notparable to the Fourteenth Sword. But in an actual fight, its potential nearly matches the Fourteenth Sword."

    Liu Qianjue was startled. "The Fourteenth Sword?"

    Liu Huang slowly raised a hand, and his long green sword reappeared in his grip. "That¡¯s right, the Fourteenth Sword."

    "You created it?" Liu Qianjue could not believe his ears. How many people throughout the entire existence of the Sword Sect had created a Fourteenth Sword? The person who had been the closest was Liu Guai, but he had gone insane because of it. His technique could only be considered a variation of the Thirteenth Sword. Had Liu Huang actually seeded in creating aplete version of the Fourteenth Sword?

    "See it for yourself. The Fourteenth Sword is called ¡®Misery.¡¯¡± Liu Huang then slowly swung his sword down. This was another attack that could not be avoided. This was the first thing that Liu Qianjue realized when observing the Fourteenth Sword. Then, unparalleled grief nearly crushed him. It was as though his entire life had instantly be dark and devoid of all hope. The darkness of his past drowned him in loneliness, and then severe pain followed.

    The Thirteenth Sword was a technique that transformed emotions into a sword. As long as there were emotions of any kind, they could be transformed into a sword. On the other hand, the Fourteenth Sword was a sword that used a person¡¯s past suffering. The despair and loneliness that it could force someone to experience far surpassed what the Thirteenth Sword was capable of doing.

    There was a bang, and a sword fell. Liu Qianjue clutched his chest, and his limbs quivered. His forehead was dripping with sweat, and his pupils kept dting and constricting. This was the power of the Fourteenth Sword.

    Liu Huang had not put much strength into this attack, as he had simply wanted to allow Liu Qianjue to experience the Fourteenth Sword. Creating and practicing the Fourteenth Sword had made Liu Huang almost immune to the Thirteenth Sword, and if not for the fact that Liu Qianjue was capable of attacking with dual Thirteenth Swords that caused the power of the technique to surge, Liu Huang would not have been injured at all.

    "I agreed to Lu Yin''s terms and left Gaia''s Swamp just for this: the Fourteenth Sword. Do you think that my sacrifice was worth it?" Liu Huang asked sadly while observing Liu Qianjue. The older man just waited for the younger swordsman and family member to recover enough to talk.

    Liu Qianjue finally let out a long breath. He suddenly thought of the Wen family, and how Wen Zizai had admitted to being willing to submit to Lu Yin. For powers like the Sword Sect and the Wen family, a temporary high or low would notst forever, but inheritances could be passed down without end.

    If their inheritances disappeared, so did their future.

    The Fourteenth Sword had finally been born. If it just disappeared once again, who would be the true traitor to the Sword Sect?

    "It was worth it," Liu Qianjue replied bitterly. The moment the words left his mouth, the burden suddenly fell from his heart; he no longer had to worry about how to deal with Lu Yin or how to deal with the Hall of Honor! Such thoughts were no longer needed.

    Liu Huang nodded. "I believed that you would understand, which is why I came here."

    "What if I had said that it was not worth the price?" Liu Qianjue looked up and asked.

    Liu Huang gave a slight smile. "That would have never happened. You are a member of the Liu family, and the blood of the sword flows through your body."

    Liu Qianjue stared back at Liu Huang and saw the chill in the man¡¯s eyes. If Liu Qianjue had answered that Liu Huang¡¯s sacrifice had not been worthwhile, the older man would have most likely found someone else who did believe that the price was worth it and have him take the position of the Sword Sect¡¯s sect master!

    Everyone had their own obsessions, and Liu Huang''s was to have the Fourteenth Sword that he had created be passed down. It would be famous throughout history, and no one would be able to stop it.

    It could not be said that Liu Huang was wrong, only that he had happened to encounter Lu Yin.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin stared at a green liquid that sat before him. His lips were pursed. Zhao Ran had stopped by and delivered one of her drinks. While each one was genuinely delicious, Lu Yin could not summon the courage to taste it due to its horrifying appearance. However, when Lu Yin looked over and saw the hope on Zhao Ran¡¯s face as she stared at him, Lu Yin still drank the concoction.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin nced down at his gadget. His eyes glinted, and he immediately epted the call.

    "The Sword Sect has officially decided to join the Great Eastern Alliance," Liu Qianjue''s voice came through, though it did not carry the helplessness that Lu Yin had expected. After a moment, Lu Yin understood; the man had already convinced himself of his decision.

    "Congrattions, Senior Liu, on obtaining the Fourteenth Sword. The Sword Sect will rise to a new level in the future," Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    Liu Qianjue indifferently replied, "It is my hope that I can continue to lead the Sword Sect as before, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "I know. However, it''s not time to announce this change yet, so I must ask Senior Liu to please wait a bit."

    Liu Qianjue understood that Lu Yin intended to first deal with the Lingling n and the other Innerverse powers. This was how the youth had handled the Daynight n, and his Sword Sect was about to receive the same treatment. There was no one in the Innerverse who could escape this child. The Innerverse would soon bepletely unified.

    "Since the Sword Sect has now joined the Great Eastern Alliance, can Senior Liu tell me about the situation in Venom Flowzone? I heard that Elder Lianxin went to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty," Lu Yin continued.

    Liu Qianjue had not expected Elder Lianxin''s whereabouts to stay a secret, and since his mentality recently changed, he no longer had any schemes in y. "Yes, though Alliance Leader Lu should have figured this out already. The Innerverse is nothing before the might of the Neoverse powers, and we cannot even stand up to the Four Pirate Crews. Thus, there is a tacit agreement for the eight of us to periodically confirm each other''s identity."

    Naturally, this was something that Lu Yin was already aware of, as he had learned of it when secretly taking control of Chaosgod Mountain.

    "This is true of even the Divine Venom Dynasty, but they have one unique characteristic in that they avoid disputes and conflicts with the rest of the Innerverse as much as possible. As long as they themselves are not facing a crisis, they will ignore everything. The current situation is no different. Qing Shaohuang never once considered joining hands with us, so out of desperation, my only choice was to send Elder Lianxin as an emissary."

    "And how have things developed?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "Far from ideal. Qing Shaohuang was eventually persuaded, but another major faction within the Divine Venom Dynasty that¡¯s led by an old expert, Yuan Taishi, strongly opposes the Divine Venom Dynasty joining the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin was surprised to hear this. "Why?"

    "Their family¡¯s founder was born in Venom Flowzone, and he followed and established the principle that Venom Flowzone is self-contained and does not interact with the outside world. He did not want the Divine Venom Dynasty to have any interactions with the outside world at all. In fact, the Divine Venom Dynasty does indeed have the ability to do just this," Liu Qianjue exined.

    "Cultivators from the Divine Venom Dynasty not only cultivate themselves, but also poison. Yuan Taishi is opposing our request for help, and while he is not an Envoy, he possesses an Envoy-level jincan that was passed down by their ancestors, which means that Yuan Taishi is actually able to fight against Envoys. Thus, even Qing Shaohuang must give some face to this expert.¡±

    "The ecology of Venom Flowzone itself is integrally rted to poison, and without the help of members of the Divine Venom Dynasty, it¡¯s difficult for outsiders to enter or leave the flowzone¡­"

    Liu Qianjue shared a lot of information with Lu Yin regarding the Divine Venom Dynasty, finally saying, "There are too many people in the Divine Venom Dynasty who agree with Yuan Taishi, so even if Qing Shaohuang wants to join us, he¡¯s worried about trying to push for them to leave Venom Flowzone. Instead, under the premise of a recent breakthrough, he intends to invite all the Innerverse¡¯s major powers to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty. Alliance Leader Lu will also be invited."

    Lu Yinughed. "He¡¯s not hoping to assassinate me in Venom Flowzone, is he?"

    "Of course that¡¯s impossible, but Elder Lianxin still doesn''t know what the n is," Liu Qianjue answered.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you, Sect Master Liu, for telling me. One more thing." Lu Yin paused. "How is the Y¨­u family?"

    "The Y¨­u family?" Liu Qianjue had not expected to hear this question from Lu Yin. "Why is Alliance Leader Lu asking about the Y¨­u family?"

    "Madam Y¨­u has already approached me many times, hoping to join the Great Eastern Alliance and receive my protection," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "The Y¨­u family has hidden themselves too deeply, and I still don¡¯t know why they separated from the Y¨­u n. The battle techniques that Y¨­u Ye''er''s used during ZENITH were strange and disturbing, and they definitely do note from the Y¨­u family or the Y¨­u n. Even though we have kept them trapped, we have not done much to them otherwise. The entire thing feels quite strange.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, "Keep up the pressure. Actually, turn it up a notch."

    When Lu Yin had first asked the Starsibyl Sect to perform a divination on Undying Yushan, they had found a rtion to Ancient Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, who was the Y¨­u family¡¯s ancestor. This had greatly concerned Lu Yin, but with the Sword Sect joining the Great Eastern Alliance, he could have the Sword Sect put pressure on the Y¨­u to see how they would react.

    Lu Yin was hoping to receive a call from Madam Y¨­u soon.

    Liu Qian could not understand Lu Yin''s thoughts, but he also did not ask. More than anything, the master of the Sword Sect wanted to know more about the Fourteenth Sword and anything concerning Liu Huang.

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin lowered his gadget and smiled as he waved Sapling over. The odd little nt happily jumped right over.

    The moment Liu Huang had been released from Gaia''s Swamp, the Sword Sect had been left without a path towards escape. Everything had proceeded ording to Lu Yin''s expectations.

    Of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, four had already fallen. Which would be next?

    Beep beep beep!

    The gadget beeped again, and Lu Yin was surprised when he nced down. Madam Hong?

    Madam Hong had disappeared after reaching an agreement with Lu Yin, and not even the people from Flying Horse Manor had any idea where she had gone.

    The moment the call connected, unrestrainedughter came through. "Hey kid, are you surprised? Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin was quite startled.

 Chapter 1754: Goals In Life

    Chapter 1754: Goals In Life

    Madam Hong was a graceful woman who possessed a charming voice. Lu Yin had expected to hear the woman¡¯s voice, and he certainly had not expected to hear a burst of coarseughter the moment he had answered the call, which was why he had been startled so badly.

    "Who is this?" Lu Yin was confused, but he almost immediately eximed, "Kui Luo?"

    "Hahaha, it''s me, the old man! This was quite the ident, haha!" Kui Luoughed.

    Lu Yin feltpletely lost. "Why do you have Madam Hong''s gadget?"

    Kui Luo smiled. "I identally came across a woman who was trapped, and I rescued her. In her¡ªum, this thing is a gadget, right?¡ªAnyways, your name was listed, so I thought I¡¯d give it a try."

    "Where''s Madam Hong?" Lu Yin quickly asked. "Who captured her?"

    "Hey, girl! You hear that? Who trapped you?" Kui Luo asked in a very rude manner.

    Lu Yin soon heard a weak voice speak up. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin immediately turned on the call¡¯s video option, and the disy popped up. The first thing that he saw was Kui Luo''s wrinkled face, tantly showing a proud expression. After that, Madam Hong appeared. She was pale, bleeding from all seven orifices, and she was even missing both of her arms. Clearly, she had endured unimaginable torture.

    The woman was a World Imprinter, and she was a very powerful one at that. She had a power level of over 900,000, which put her far above countless people, and she was also a protector of the Daosource Sect. She was someone who was qualified to promise five weaves to Lu Yin, and yet she had been reduced to such a state.

    "What happened?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Madam Hong red at Lu Yin, deep hatred and confusion filling her eyes. "Bluedome Elder!"

    "Bluedome Elder captured you? Why?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Madam Hong¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I don''t know! He demanded that I give him Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, but I don¡¯t have anything like that!"

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, but he quickly understood. In order to force Madam Hong away from Flying Horse Manor and save the colossal giants, he had told Qing Tan a story about how he had traded Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to Madam Hong for a promise that the Great Eastern Alliance would be given five weaves. At that time, Bluedome Elder had looked into the matter, and he had discovered that Madam Hong really had promised to give Lu Yin five weaves in exchange for Lu Yin¡¯s help in dealing with Qing Hua. However, from Bluedome Elder¡¯s perspective, the real exchange had already beenpleted, and it had been for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, not for Lu Yin to act against an Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s disciples.

    Lu Yin¡¯s request for five weaves had just been randomly said, and he had never anticipated his careless words to cause such a terrible fate befall Madam Hong. He had never even considered the possibility that Bluedome Elder would covet Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide so much that he would attack Madam Hong. Things had greatly exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    Lu Yin has always wanted to force Madam Hong to pay back the debt she owed for her actions against the Fifth Maind; she had captured the Sea King, the colossal giants, and even nearly killed Lu Yin in the Starfall Sea. This was why Lu Yin had schemed against the woman.

    When Bluedome Elder had interrogated Madam Hong about Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, she had also figured out what had happened, and she had realized that Lu Yin had tricked her. She hated Lu Yin even more than Bluedome Elder, but at this moment, she could only keep her emotions hidden. She was in Kui Luo¡¯s care, which did not seem to be much different from falling into Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    "Hey, kid. What do you want me to do with this chick? Do you two know each other?" Kui Luo asked as his face filled the disy.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, she is one of this junior¡¯s enemies."

    Madam Hong''s expression instantly changed.

    Kui Luo''s eyes narrowed, and his voice instantly chilled. "Well, in that case-"

    "Wait!" Madam Hong screamed. She stared at Lu Yin, begging him with her eyes. "We aren¡¯t enemies! Lu Yin, I¡¯ve never hurt you."

    "In the Starfall Sea."

    "We were on opposite sides of a war, but I¡¯ve never held any personal grudge against you, and I never did anything to harm you!"

    "You captured the colossal giants."

    "I didn''t even know they were yours when I captured them, and I tried to speak with you after I found out."

    "Pitting me against Master Qing Hua?"

    "That was simply a deal!"

    Lu Yin stared at Madam Hong and slowly smiled. "You don''t think that we¡¯re enemies? Honestly, we aren¡¯t enemies as far as I''m concerned, just friends. However, what kind of friend are you?"

    Madam Hong swallowed dryly and reflexively nced over at Kui Luo. Kui Luo arched a brow, but he otherwise continued to re at her fiercely. She trembled when she saw it. This old man''s strength was iprehensible! The way that he wandered around wherever he wanted meant that he was at least as strong as an Empyrean Imprinter.

    "Friend! We¡¯re friends!" Madam Hong tasted ashes as she imed to be friends, as she already understood that she had be Lu Yin¡¯s subordinate.

    Lu Yin felt quite satisfied. "Yes, we are friends, but while I like to treat my friends very well, we¡¯re too far apart for me to entertain you. Senior Kui Luo is also one of my elders, so I¡¯ll have to ask him to take care of you for now."

    "Hey, kid, I don''t have time to babysit this girl!" Kui Luo instantly became upset.

    Lu Yin simply spoke two words. ¡°Origin Matter.¡±

    Kui Luo grinned and rolled his eyes. "I want to uncover the mysteries of the universe."

    "Madam Hong knows a great deal about the Sixth Maind, especially since she¡¯s one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s protectors, so she should be able to help you with that," Lu Yin urged. What was Kui Luo''s greatest strength? Uncovering people''s secrets. However, this was also the man¡¯s greatest weakness, as it was why he had be wanted and hated by the entire Perennial World. Still, this was a great boon for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no idea where Madam Hong had been held, but it had definitely been a secret location. After all, one of the protectors of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had been captured, and if this matter were exposed, even Bluedome Elder would have had a difficult time. Despite the protections that the Empyrean Imprinter must have taken, Madam Hong had still been discovered and rescued by Kui Luo. This was absolutely amazing, and it amply proved that the old man had a unique gift for digging into other people''s secrets.

    Lu Yin held high hopes that he would be able to uncover the Sixth Maind¡¯s ssified information through the old man.

    "The Daosource Sect?" Kui Luo''s eyes instantly lit up. In ancient times, the Daosource Sect had ruled over all of humanity, but the only branch of the Daosource Sect that still remained was the Sixth Maind¡¯s. Truthfully, he was very interested.

    "It¡¯s not just Daosource Sect¡ªthe Sixth Maind also has imprints, bloodlines, martial prints, and more. Almost all of their cultivation methods arepletely different from what my Fifth Maind uses, and they¡¯re very interesting," Lu Yin continued.

    Kui Luo took a long look at Lu Yin. "That Origin Matter isn¡¯t enough to hire this old man as your workhorse!"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn as well. "What is Senior saying? Doesn¡¯t Senior love all of these things?"

    Kui Luoughed when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words as his eyes filled with eagerness.

    Madam Hong''s heart dropped; what had she just overheard? Bloodlines, martial prints, imprints, and the Daosource Sect? This whole thing felt quite surreal. She nced over at the old man; just what was it that this old man wanted to do?

    "Alright, I won¡¯t mess around with you anymore," Kui Luo said, and he was just about to end the call.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Wait! I have one more question for Madam Hong."

    "Hurry up. The expert who captured her is about to get back," Kui Luo pressed.

    Lu Yin just pursed his lips; just how frequently did this old man spout off lies? "Don''t worry. Bluedome Elder¡¯s dead."

    Kui Luo was instantly confused. "What do you mean?"

    "Bluedome Elder¡¯s dead?" Madam Hong could not believe her ears, and her eyes went wide.

    Lu Yin exined, "The master of wherever you are was Bluedome Elder, but he died. I don¡¯t know how he died, but he¡¯s already dead, so no one will be going back to that ce anytime soon."

    Kui Luo became upset. "I just lost all feeling of aplishment¡­"

    "How did Bluedome Elder die?" Madam Hong eagerly asked. She felt both excited and sad. She had been tortured for so long that her hatred towards Bluedome Elder had already reached the sky. She had actually intended to report him to the Daosource Sect and have Bluedome Elder¡¯s reputation be smeared throughout the entire Sixth Maind. She had never even thought he would have already died.

    "I already said that I don''t know how, but he¡¯s dead. Now, let me ask you: did you take anything away when you destroyed Astral-3 during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion? Like the Stargazing Deck?" Lu Yin asked.

    Eight of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Starmasters had left their posts, and when Lu Yin had asked about it, he had realized that they were out looking for the missing Stargazing Deck that had been lost with Astral-3.

    When Lu Yin had returned to visit Astral-10 and visited the Stargazing Deck, a strange event had urred His fatesand had reacted, and he had seen a strange vision. This was why the Stargazing Deck was still on Lu Yin¡¯s mind, as he had triggered Destiny, which had shown that the Stargazing Decks were connected to Destiny.

    Madam Hong thought about it for a bit. "After we destroyed Astral-3, we dragged the whole thing back to the Sixth Maind. After all, when our two Mainds were at war, the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s warships were devastating. When Aeternus invaded, we used Astral-3 to fight back. When we retreated, we couldn¡¯t bring it with us, so it was left in the Sixth Maind."

    "It was left in the Sixth Maind? The Stargazing Deck too?" Lu Yin frowned.

    Madam Hong nodded. "Back then, I couldn¡¯t bring anything at all from Astral-3."

    Lu Yin mourned the fact that Astral-3 had been lost, as well as its Stargazing Deck. Eight of the Starmasters were out searching for it, which was why Lu Yin had thought to ask about it.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t keep holding me up. I¡¯ll talk to the girl about her goals in life." Kui Luo was impatient.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sounds good."

    As Kui Luo was ending the call, Lu Yin was able to see Madam Hong''s terrified expression, which left Lu Yin speechless. He did not want to even think about what Kui Luo considered the ¡°ideals of life,¡± but he already knew that they involved digging into others¡¯ secrets. The old man was going to brainwash Madam Hong, and Lu Yin firmly believed that the Sixth Maind would witness a difficult period in the future, as no one would be able to keep any secrets hidden.

    Also, it was pretty clear that Madam Hong must have misunderstood something.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget in a daze. Madam Hong was under Kui Luo¡¯s control, which provided him with a great amount of maneuverability. Lu Yin needed to think about how to use this.

    A few dayster, someone from Venom Flowzone sent Lu Yin an invitation.

    After ncing at it, Lu Yin put it away. Sure enough, Qing Shaohuang had sent him an invitation.

    "Alliance Leader, the Divine Venom Dynasty has invited many different powers, not only from the Innerverse, but also from the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse. Even people from the Hall of Honor have been invited," Wei Rong reported.

    "Do you think that I should go?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Rong replied, "At least some people feel that you shouldn¡¯t. I just received a message from someone else in Venom Flowzone, and they specifically told me not to let you go."

    "One of Master Yuan Taishi¡¯s people?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Rong nodded. "Seems to be."

    "Then I¡¯d better go. I want to find out just what Qing Shaohuang is nning." Lu Yin was quite intrigued. After all, he had dared to enter even the Technocracy, so there was no need to mention Venom Flowzone. Besides, while the Second Nightking¡¯s strength was still recovering, he was already a match for Yuan Shi, so there was no one in Venom Flowzone who could stop the old man.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, they had not been able to enter Venom Flowzone because the entire flowzone had a unique environment. While Qing Shaohuang was far from weak, the most important detail was how the flowzone¡¯s very space was quite different, and this detail had stopped the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. It had never been because they had not been able to enter Venom Flowzone. After all, a Cosmic Imprinter could freely enter and leave Venom Flowzone without any issue.

    With the Second Nightking at his side, Lu Yin truly did not believe that Qing Shaohuang could do anything to harm him. Lu Yin himself was not weak, and Qing Shaohuang was not dumb enough to target Lu Yin.

    After considering everything, Lu Yin felt that he might as well go visit Venom Flowzone. It was still one of the eight great flowzones, which meant that it would eventually be part of Lu Yin¡¯s territory.

 Chapter 1755: The Importance Of An Opponent

    Chapter 1755: The Importance Of An Opponent

    While Lu Yin was deciding whether he should go to Venom Flowzone, things were finally starting to simmer down in the Outerverse between the Neohuman Alliance and the Sixth Maind. This was mostly because there were too many people connected to the Horned Gxy. There was not only the entire Autumnfrost family and those connected to them, but also the person who had bought a fragment of the ck crystal for a ridiculous price. As soon as that transaction had been exposed, countless people had swarmed the Horned Gxy ande into contact with fragments of the shattered ck crystal. It was impossible for the Neohuman Alliance to track everyone down, even if they had many more corpse kings.

    At this time, the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s invitations were delivered across the entire Human Domain. In particr, not a single one of the powers from the eight great flowzones declined the invitation.

    Also, powers such as Shamrock Enterprise, Aurora Enterprises, the Mavis Bank, Windrift Hall, and many more received invitations as well.

    Venom Flowzone was a mysterious ce that had few interactions with the outside world. Qing Shaohuang had suddenly done somethingpletely out of character and invited many people to his flowzone. This sudden change had roused many people¡¯s interest.

    Lu Yin took the Second Nightking with him, and they boarded a ship that headed towards Fennel Flowzone.

    Fennel Flowzone served as the entrance to Venom Flowzone, and it was controlled by the Great Eastern Alliance. If not for an agreement that had been made with the Divine Venom Dynasty, Lu Yin would have loved to do something with Fennel Flowzone.

    "How much do you know about the Divine Venom Dynasty?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Behind him, the Second Nightking was leaning against a wall. Upon hearing Lu Yin''s question, the Second Nightking knew that it was directed towards himself. "Nothing."

    Lu Yin turned to look at the man. "But I heard that the Third Nightking provided a lot of help back when the Divine Venom Dynasty was first established."

    The Second Nightking casually replied, "It wasn¡¯t really a big deal. The eight great flowzones were not appointed, andpetition was needed. When the Third Nightking went to Venom Flowzone back then, he killed a person who was an enemy of the current royal family of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and in exchange, they offered to support my Daynight n. However, this offer disappeared when the Third Nightking vanished."

    "Do you know that I¡¯ve actually died more than once, and one time was because of one of your descendants?" Lu Yin asked in a light tone.

    The Second Nightking looked up at this. "Nightking Zhenwu."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    When the First Nightking had first left the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, he had been almostpletely ignorant of matters in the Human Domain, but after being out for so long, he had already learned a lot, especially regarding matters rted to Lu Yin.

    However, one would still learn of Lu Yin¡¯s matters whether they chose to or not. The development in the universe thest ten years had been influenced by him.

    Lu Yin stared out into space as he continued speaking. "To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve encountered many dangerous situations from the moment I first started cultivating, and I¡¯ve even been attacked by a Semi-Progenitor and caught up in the shockwaves of a Progenitor¡¯s attack. Still, none of that canpare to my fights with Nightking Zhenwu.

    "It¡¯s no exaggeration to admit that Nightking Zhenwu was the strongest opponent I¡¯ve ever faced among my peers."

    The Second Nightking''s eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin continued in a light manner, "During ZENITH, I faced Shang Qing, who¡¯s very powerful, and his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique forced me to use the God of Death Transformation. The top youths from the Neoverse and the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors were also very powerful, but none of them were able to make me feel the same sense of danger and crisis that Nightking Zhenwu gave me.¡±

    "Nightking Zhenwu gave me the greatestpetition from my peers, and he was also the person to push me into the most helpless position."

    "And yet he still lost to you," the Second Nightking retorted. Hemented Zhenwu¡¯s death, as Nightking Zhenwu had been the most outstanding genius that the n had seen since the First Nightking. The Second Nightking had watched recordings of Lu Yin¡¯s battle with Nightking Zhenwu.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "He lost to himself, to his narrow-mindedness and selfishness, and his desire to control everyone. He lost by losing his humanity."

    The Second Nightking did not want to continue this conversation. Nightking Zhenwu was still a subject of pain for the Daynight n.

    "Do you know why I¡¯m bringing this up?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking was actually confused by this.

    Lu Yin remained somber. "Because Nightking Zhenwu was clearly strong enough to fight me directly, and yet he purposely poisoned me in order to improve his chances of victory even more, and I almost died. It was just a hair¡¯s breadth away."

    The Second Nightking did not understand.

    "He used a poison that¡¯s called Transience, and it came from the Divine Venom Dynasty," Lu Yin continued.

    The Second Nightking''s eyes flickered. "Are you saying that my n still has some connections to the Divine Venom Dynasty?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Not right now. Since I¡¯m the one controlling the Daynight n, I know for a fact that they don''t. The only time that there was any sign of cooperation was when they helped Nightking Zhenwu, but that¡¯s simply rted to the regr Daynight n. You, on the other hand, are the Second Nightking. There are only a select few that know that you are following me, and the Hall of Honor has made you wanted throughout the entire Human Domain. Tell me, where do you think you have the greatest chance of remaining hidden?"

    The Second Nightking finally understood. "You want me to reach out to the Divine Venom Dynasty."

    "The Third Nightking assistance is not something that can be repaid with something as simple as a poison like Transience," Lu Yin replied.

    The Second Nightking nodded. "I understand."

    Regardless of the Second Nightking¡¯s own feelings on the matter, he was in no position to refuse.

    In Fennel Flowzone¡¯s Greenlight Forest, there was a glowing green fruit that grew that could allow a person to resist many of the poisons in Venom Flowzone, and the fruits were a necessity for anyone entering the toxic flowzone.

    With all of the invitations that the Divine Venom Dynasty had sent out to people throughout the universe, people from everywhere had gathered in Fennel Flowzone and were making their way to the Greenlight Forest. There were spacecraft from all parts of the Human Domain.

    Wherever many people gathered, more conflicts would appear. This was especially true since the price of the greenlight fruits was spiking, which had upset many people.

    "This is the price of the greenlight fruits now, whether you like it or not."

    The entrance to the Greenlight Forest had been barricaded to keep the crowds out, so many people were disgruntled. "The greenlight fruits¡¯ price is a thousand times higher now! This is ridiculous! We¡¯ll just go pick some ourselves."

    "That¡¯s right, we¡¯ll go get our own."

    "Move! Let us in."

    ¡­

    Themotion increased until someone attacked. A fierce battle instantly erupted at the entrance to the Greenlight Forest, and many people were dragged into the chaos.

    However, the fightingsted for only a few minutes before a powerhouse from the Great Eastern Alliance showed up and quickly suppressed everyone. After that, no one dared to create any fuss.

    Off to the side, there was a gloomy looking man who was staring at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s military with open fear. This man was He Zhong, and he was a disciple of the Tempest Flowzone¡¯s Fire Scorpion Sect. The sect specialized in raising fire scorpions and extracting their venom to use with their battle techniques.

    He Zhong had instigated the recent fight in front of Greenlight Forest.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, all of the Fire Scorpion Sect¡¯s fire scorpions had died, and their only choice was to visit Venom Flowzone in order to find a toxin that could rece the fire scorpions¡¯ venom. In the past, it had been easy to enter Venom Flowzone, but after the Great Eastern Alliance had taken over Fennel Flowzone, the price of the greenlight fruits had steadily risen. The Fire Scorpion Sect had suffered terribly from the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and they were no longer able to afford the prices of the fruits.

    Also, there were not many people who wanted to enter Venom Flowzone, so the Fire Scorpion Sect had never been able to find anyone else willing to cooperate with them to fight the current situation. At the moment, things were about to improve. After all, with so many people protesting together, the price of the greenlight fruits had to fall.

    Unfortunately, He Zhong had been overly optimistic, as the price of the fruits did not drop at all. Instead, he was arrested as Lu Yin had recognized the man.

    When Lu Yin had passed through Fennel Flowzone to collect a greenlight fruit, he had coincidentally seen He Zhong attack.

    He Zhong had wanted to escape with a greenlight fruit, but the Great Eastern Alliance had a garrison stationed at Greenlight Forest, and they also controlled the entire Fennel Flowzone as well as its borders. In the past, Northseal Flowzone had sealed their border with the Great Eastern Alliance because of the Sword Sect¡¯s pressure, but after a colossal giant had eliminated a sect within their borders, no one else from the flowzone had been willing to offend the Great Eastern Alliance.

    He Zhong was basically a nobody, and Lu Yin did not even remember the man from before. Instead, Lu Yin was focused on a distant vessel; was that Ling Que?

    There was a distant spaceship smoothly making its way towards Venom Flowzone, and it carried the emblem of the Lingling n.

    Venom Flowzone had always been a mysterious ce, and most people were reluctant to enter it unless absolutely necessary. However, Qing Shaohuang had recently invited a vast number of people to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    In addition to the people who had been invited, many others also tried their best to follow the invitees, as they wanted to form a connection with the Divine Venom Dynasty. After all, they ruled one of the eight great flowzones, and many people were envious of the poisons they own and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to acquire some of them for their own use.

    "Let me tell you. Back then, Lu Yin was nothing more than a pleb before me! He wasn¡¯t even qualified to be one of my supporters, and he only was able topare to me after he reached his peak. If not for that idiot Mu Rong fighting against Lu Yin and giving him the experience that he needed, Lu Yin still wouldn¡¯t be able topare to me, Ling Que!" An arrogant voice echoed through the vessel, addressing a group of people who represented various forces from across the Innerverse who were following the Lingling n in order to enter Venom Flowzone.

    After Ling Que finished speaking, a row of beautiful women started shouting:

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    Apuse exploded as the gathered representatives from forces both big and small roused themselves from the stupor they had sunk into while Ling Que had been speaking. Seeing the smug look on his face, they all quickly apuded, fearing that Ling Que would see their hesitation and force them out of the vessel.

    If they did not follow the Lingling n, they would have no means of entering Venom Flowzone, as it would be too dangerous to try to enter on their own.

    Ling Que felt quite satisfied with the reactions he saw. "Cough. Alright, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯m not telling you all of this to brag, but so that you can understand how important a qualified opponent is. Lu Yin is the biggest opponent that I¡¯ve ever encountered, and he also once mentioned that I, Ling Que, was the most dangerous opponent he¡¯s ever gone up against. Honestly, he tends to overthink, and I actually prefer to think of him as a friend. After all, every time we fight and injured each other, it only benefits others."

    The entire group waspletely stunned; how could anyone possibly be so shameless? Ling Que was someone Lu Yin could drown by simply spitting!

    Still, more apuse was heard.

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡­

    No one noticed that one more person had appeared within the group of Innerverse representatives, but suddenly, Ling Que expression became quite strange.

    At this moment, the vessel came to a stop, and someone said, "Report: a vessel from Beast Tamers Flowzone is up ahead."

    Ling Que¡¯s brows rose. "Beast Tamers Flowzone? Those people who raise pets? Who is it?"

    A screen appeared, and it showed a massive spaceship soaring through space with the emblem of Beast Tamers Flowzone on its hull. There were numerous other vessels in front of it, and they came from all parts of the Innerverse.

    Further up ahead was the entrance to Venom Flowzone, and the space there was filled with different types of poisonous gas that could be easily seen.

    No one could tell when she had arrived, but Ling Gong suddenly stepped forward. ¡°Go speak to the people from Beast Tamers Flowzone."

    "What am I supposed to say to those animal lovers?" Ling Que muttered.

    Ling Gong¡¯s eyes grew cold, and she red at Ling Que for a moment before ncing over at his cheerleaders. The women seemed to trigger Ling Gong¡¯s anger. "Get rid of them."

    Ling Que was startled, but then he grinned. "Hey, there¡¯s no need for that. This ship is so big, and there¡¯s plenty of room for them."

    "Get them out!" Ling Gong shouted fiercely, and Ling Que then hastened to push his cheerleaders out of the room.

    Their departure allowed all of the Innerverse representatives present to let out sighs of relief. The cheerleaders¡¯ presence had beenpletely stifling, as the representatives were expected to apud every time the cheerleaders started chanting for Ling Que. It had been exhausting.

    "I''m sorry, everyone. Please return to your quarters to get some rest," Ling Gong apologized to them all.

    Everyone quickly offered a few polite words and excused themselves. Not one of them dared to even nce over at Ling Que.

 Chapter 1756: Venom Flowzone

    Chapter 1756: Venom Flowzone

    Ling Gong red at Ling Que. "If you have the guts to make trouble like this again in the future, I¡¯ll lock you up until you be an Enlighter."

    Ling Que''s expression instantly grew bitter. "Sister, I''m not like you."

    He had actually wanted to say, ¡°a freak like you,¡± but he did not have the courage to voice such thoughts under Ling Gong¡¯s fierce re. He could only suffer in silence.

    Several people soon entered the room in the spacecraft, including a rock, which was actually Little Mountain God.

    "Senior Mountain God didn''te?" Ling Gong asked the Little Mountain God.

    Little Mountain God replied, "Senior Ling Qiu also didn''te."

    "What are Senior Mountain God¡¯s ns?" Ling Gong asked.

    Little Mountain God was floating in the air, and he swayed slightly. "We intend to observe the situation for now. Mostly, we want to evaluate Qing Shaohuang¡¯s attitude."

    "What is Qing Shaohuang going to do? Attack Lu Yin directly? That¡¯s highly unlikely," Ling Gong retorted.

    Ling Que rolled his eyes. What nonsense¡ªit was simply impossible. It did not even matter if such an attempt would seed or not. Even if it did, the powerhouses who supported Lu Yin could easily eliminate the Divine Venom Dynasty, and Qing Shaohuang was no fool.

    Ling Que observed Ling Gong for a moment; had his sister gone stupid?

    Little Mountain God replied, "Most likely, poison will be involved, as that is how the Divine Venom Dynasty usually handles things.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance haspletely moved into the Innerverse, which has put too much pressure on us. Tell Senior Ling Qiu that they must cooperate with us, or else the Innerverse will really end up belonging to Lu Yin."

    "There¡¯s no need to say that." Ling Gong''s voice was cold. The rtionship between the Lingling n and Beast Tamers Flowzone was not a good one. If not for the fact that they needed to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance, the two would never willingly cooperate.

    "Your Lingling n has remained silent since the beginning, and we still don¡¯t know the reason for this," Little Mountain God spoke indifferently, but he looked like he was about to leave.

    Suddenly, he froze, slowly turned around, and stared at a corner of the room. He was utterly dumbfounded.

    "What?" Ling Gong asked as she stared at Little Mountain God. She frowned when she noticed that he had entered a daze and was staring at a corner of the room, so she followed his gaze, only to be startled. She had no idea when, but a person had entered the room and was standing in a corner. Was that Lu Yin?

    Ling Que also looked over, and his mouth fell open. "Lu Yin?"

    Everyone was staring at the corner. None of them could believe that Lu Yin was actually in the room with them, and he seemed to have been there for a long time. This- this-

    This was extremely embarrassing! They had been discussing how to deal with Lu Yin in his absence, and they had never considered that he would somehow be in the room. This was the first time any of them had ever experienced such a thing in their entire lives, so none of them knew how to react.

    Lu Yin just smiled at them. "This isn¡¯t a coincidence. After all, we¡¯re all headed to Venom Flowzone, so it¡¯s perfectly normal for us to meet up with each other."

    "How long have you been standing there for?" Ling Gong gritted her teeth as she spoke to Lu Yin with clear disdain.

    Lu Yin put on a pondering expression. "I got here just before the cheerleaders left."

    "So you were eavesdropping on us just now?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "How can it be eavesdropping when I didn¡¯t even bother to hide myself? It¡¯s not my fault that you didn¡¯t look over here or see me. Well, actually, Little Mountain God did see me, so I guess his eyes are just fine."

    "How is this a problem with our eyes? You were just eavesdropping on us!" Little Mountain God angrily retorted. He still remembered almost dying in zing Mist Flowzone to powerhouses from the Great Eastern Alliance. That assassination attempt had been unforgettable, as he hade incredibly close to death.

    Lu Yin frowned and then suddenly appeared right behind Little Mountain God with a raised hand stretched out to grab the rock. The two people from Beast Tamers Flowzone who always apanied Little Mountain God moved to stop Lu Yin, but they were both only Enlighters. Still, one of them had an impressive strength that exceeded a power level of 400,000, but the expert was still nothing more than a child to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin easily pushed the two Enlighters back, and he set a hand on top of Little Mountain God¡¯s head. Well, it should be his head¡­ After all, Little Mountain God was just a rock.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to attack so suddenly, and Ling Gong shouted, "Lu Yin, don''t mess around!"

    Little Mountain God did not dare to even try moving. He waspletely frozen, and he just stared at Lu Yin in abject terror.

    Lu Yin moved closer as a smile spread across his face. "Little guy, didn¡¯t your master tell you to be polite to me? Forget you, I¡¯d even kill your master if he said such a thing."

    Little Mountain God did not dare to move, and he just stared at Lu Yin.

    His two protectors also stared at Lu Yin. One of them had a strange bird standing behind him while the other had a ball that was wrapped around his arms. Both of these things were their tamed beasts. "Alliance Leader Lu, the young master did not mean to offend you just now. Please show Senior Mountain God some face and spare the young master."

    "Please show mercy, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin gently patted Little Mountain God, and the stone fell to the floor with a light bang.

    "I just came to say hello. There¡¯s no need to be so nervous." Lu Yin gave a small smile as he looked over at Ling Gong. "Let''s chat."

    Ling Gong waved a hand, dismissing everyone from the room. Little Mountain God was carried away, too scared to move on his own.

    Ling Que kept himself as innocuous as possible, hoping that Lu Yin would not notice him. After all, Ling Que had ndered Lu Yin quite badly just a few minutes ago, but given Lu Yin¡¯s reaction, he probably had not heard all of it.

    "What do you want to say?" Ling Gong remained cold.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Is this how you¡¯re going to talk to me?"

    "What? Do you want me to serve you some tea?" Ling Gong mocked.

    Lu Yin suddenly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already right next to Ling Gong. Her expression changed in an instant, and she reflexively split into three clones and tried to move away from Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin appeared in front of each of the clones simultaneously. It was not that Lu Yin was able to produce clones as well, but that he was simply too fast.

    Ling Gong could only watch as Lu Yin reached out and removed her mask. She did not react at all, aside from the anger that filled her eyes. "You are too egoistic!"

    Lu Yin held the mask in his hand while looking at Ling Gong''s delicate features. He smiled at her. "That''s better. It¡¯s only basic manners to speak to someone face-to-face."

    Ling Gong was absolutely furious, and her spear appeared in her hand. She thrust it at Lu Yin, but he easily evaded the attack and grabbed hold of the spear shaft with just two fingers. He then exerted a bit of strength and caused the spear to vibrate. Multiple Oveying Stacks traveled through the weapon, and Ling Gong could feel a terrifying power spread to her hands from the spear. Her hands almost burst apart, and she had no choice but to release her weapon.

    Ling Gong red at Lu Yin. "You-"

    However, before she could finish, she saw Lu Yin¡¯s hand appear right in front of her face, and a finger flicked her forehead between her eyebrows. Her body was sent flying, and she only stopped when she smashed against the wall.

    Lu Yin had not used a powerful attack, but Ling Gong had been absolutely powerless to resist.

    She had already known that Lu Yin was very powerful, and she had even heard the rumors that imed he could fight against Envoys, but she had never expected that she could not fight back at all.

    Lu Yin stared at Ling Gong''s flushed face and at the red mark that had appeared between her eyebrows from his finger flick. He suddenly felt like he was bullying someone¡¯s little sister.

    "Do you want to keep going?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Ling Gong was trying to catch her breath. Her entire body felt weak, and her spear was still trembling on the floor nearby. She had not even been able to maintain control of her own weapon. The first time she met Lu Yin had been in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and she had been the one inplete control of the situation at that time. How much time had passed since then? Why had the gap between them reversed and even grown sorge?

    Even during ZENITH, Ling Gong had at least been able to put up a fight against Lu Yin, but at this moment, she was not able to do a single thing at all.

    Ling Gong slowly got back up, rubbing her forehead as she stared at Lu Yin. "What do you want to say to me?"

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "The Lingling n would be wee to join the Great East Alliance."

    Ling Gong''s eyes instantly narrowed. "Do you think that just saying that is going to convince us?"

    "I¡¯m not trying to convince you¡ªthis is a threat." Lu Yin did not beat around the bush. "If you don''t join us, there¡¯s no reason for the Lingling n to remain."

    Determination shed aross Ling Gong''s eyes. "My Lingling n doesn¡¯t fear death!"

    "But that is all on the premise that one¡¯s death is not in vain. When we first met, the Innerverse was an untouchable force in my eyes, but now I¡¯ve destroyed the Daynight n and have united several flowzones. Meanwhile, you¡¯ve been reduced to the point where you¡¯re being forced to cooperate with other flowzones. Have you even considered the purpose in your actions? Is this really just to deal with me?" Lu Yin said.

    "Isn''t that enough? You¡¯re too ambitious," Ling Gong retorted.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance is simply a united collective. I have not ever directly intervened in any organization¡¯s internal affairs. On the other hand, if not for the Great Eastern Alliance, the Outerverse would have never been able to mount any sort of resistance against the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. In the future, humanity¡¯s enemies will only continue to grow stronger. A divided Innerverse is much weaker than what a united force can aplish," Lu Yin stated solemnly.

    Ling Gong instead sneered. "How absurd! The Innerverse hasn¡¯t witnessed any sort of crisis for countless years, and yet you im that one exists?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That''s because you haven¡¯t reached a high enough status yet. Go back and ask Ling Qiu what sort of threat Aeternus is."

    "There¡¯s no reason for you to be speaking to me." Ling Gong remainedpletely cold towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "True, but we happened to run into each other, and you¡¯re a future powerhouse of the Lingling n. I don''t want the Lingling n to disappear, but anyone who blocks my way is an enemy. More importantly-" At this moment, Lu Yin stared at Ling Gong in a much more serious manner than before. "You¡¯re a friend I think I can get along with, and you¡¯re also Wendy¡¯s friend."

    Friend? Ling Gong''s eyes rxed a bit. What did that word mean?

    She stared at Lu Yin. For many years, Ling Gong had had no friends, so this was apletely foreign word to her.

    Lu Yin left. His conversation with Ling Gong had been nothing more than a chance encounter, but he honestly did not want to be enemies with the Lingling n. However, if they insisted on working against him, he would not show them any mercy.

    Soon, Lu Yin''s vessel entered Venom Flowzone.

    This flowzone was full of poisonous gases, and there were poisonous creatures roaming about in outer space from time to time. These creatures did not actually have the strength of an Explorer, but they were still able to roam the universe. The universe gave birth to many bizarre lifeforms. There were creatures that were immortal, and others that were born to live in outer space. Such things were quite normal.

    Needing the strength of an Explorer to wander the universe was a limitation that only applied to humans.

    After talking with Liu Qianjue and learning about Venom Flowzone¡¯s internal situation, Lu Yin was no longer aplete stranger to the ce, but he felt quite different after actually entering the flowzone.

    Venom Flowzone could be thought of as a cave that was full of poisonous gas. It was home to all kinds of poisonous insects and monsters, and it boasted a truly strange ecosystem as almost all the lifeforms in the flowzone were poisonous. It was even possible that poison in this flowzone was like oxygen to humans: absolutely necessary for life.

    The Second Nightking parted ways with Lu Yin. He followed Lu Yin''s orders and reached out to contact the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    For his trip to the Divine Venom Dynasty, Lu Yin had only brought along the Second Nightking. Liu Huang had returned to the Sword Sect, and all the other Envoys under hismand had their own tasks.

    As one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, Venom Flowzone was far from small.

    Lu Yin set a course for the coordinates that he had been given, and his spaceship headed for the core of the Divine Venom Dynasty: the Divine Venom Continent.

    Ling Gong and the others avoided using the same route as Lu Yin, instead using a different path to make their way towards the Divine Venom Continent.

    One dayter, Lu Yin stopped his vessel. He stared up ahead in true amazement. There was an old man in space. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back while he walked through a poisonous green gas that filled arge area of space. There were also strange flowers that were blooming within the poisonous gas.

 Chapter 1757: Qing Cao

    Chapter 1757: Qing Cao

    Lu Yin could see from the rune lines of this poisonous gas, and it was as strong as Enlighters, which made it extremely dangerous. Still, the old man had even more runes, which meant that he had no problem walking through the gas. In fact, it even looked like the old man was studying something.

    The most interesting thing of all was the old man¡¯s identity, as he was wearing clothes with Windrift Hall¡¯s emblem on them.

    Lu Yin exited his vessel and made his way towards the old man.

    The old man was wearing a white robe, and he was staring intently at one of the strange little flowers that grew within the poisonous gas.

    Lu Yin did not want to bother the old man, so he just stood behind him, waiting. More than ten hours passed until the small flower finally wilted. The old man suddenly moved, and his hand shot out to grab hold of the flower. There was a satisfied smile on his face as he collected it.

    "May I ask what Senior is doing?" Lu Yin asked. He did not raise his voice, but due to the absolute silence in the area, the old man was quite startled.

    He turned around, an ugly expression on his face, but he let out a sigh of relief when he saw the curiosity in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The man patted his chest. "Young man, do you know that it¡¯s possible to scare people to death?"

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, "I''m really sorry. This junior didn''t mean to startle you."

    The old man waved a hand dismissively. "I know. You must have been waiting here for quite a while."

    "A bit more than ten hours."

    The old man admired Lu Yin¡¯s patience. "You waited here more than ten hours without disturbing me? You¡¯re pretty good. Actually, young man, have we met before? You seem rather familiar."

    Lu Yin smiled. "This junior is Lu Yin."

    The old man thought for a moment before suddenly eximing, "Lu Yin? I remember now¡ªyou¡¯re the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. You must need something quite important."

    Lu Yin said, "It¡¯s nothing too important. I just wanted to ask for Senior''s name."

    "I am Qing Cao," the old man said with a smile.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The master of Windrift Hall? That Master Qing Cao?"

    The old man smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "It¡¯s nothing worth mentioning."

    Lu Yin was quite impressed, as he had not expected this old man to be the master of Windrift Hall. Even though it was not a particrlyrge power, its members were all well respected individuals because they all healed and saved other people. They had no connection to any other organization, and they had no conflicts of interest either. They simply wanted to help save the world.

    If Shamrock Enterprise was apany that manufactured pharmaceuticals purely due to their desire for profits, then Windrift Hall was a ce that was formed on the basis of kindness.

    The truth was that cultivation encouraged cruelty and ruthlessness, which was why Lu Yin had never believed that a group like Windrift Hall could actually exist. Even if a power was established on such principles, things would change over time. However, Windrift Hall had not changed; it had always remained the same.

    This was also why when Lu Yin had seen that the old man was from Windrift Hall, he had not left or disturbed him. Lu Yin had instead stayed, mostly hoping to help the old man if possible. After all, Lu Yin had been helped by Windrift Hall before. When Lu Yin had been at the pirate port with Zhuo Daynight, Windrift Hall¡¯s Zeng Die had saved the girl. Also, Lu Yin had a good rtionship with both Coco and Zora; overall, Lu Yin had a very good impression of Windrift Hall.

    Windrift Hall was a ce that deserved respect.

    "Windrift Hall helps the world and saves people. This junior had been helped by Windrift Hall in the past, and Master Qing Cao has done much to help others in the universe. This junior is genuinely grateful." Lu Yin sincerely expressed his appreciation.

    Master Qing Cao smiled. "There¡¯s no need to concern yourself with that. Windrift Hall is able to cure diseases and save people, but part of why I do such things is that I enjoy studying pharmacology, and I also am not by any means short of money. This is why I can often help others for free. However, things will be quite different if I end up broke, haha."

    Lu Yin smiled. "If Windrift Hall ever ends up short of funds, this junior would be happy to help."

    "Then I¡¯ll offer Alliance Leader Lu my thanks. I¡¯ve long since heard that you are quite wealthy, so this old man won¡¯t be shy." Master Qing Cao remained calm and did not refuse Lu Yin¡¯s gesture.

    Lu Yin looked out at the poison gas before them. "What did Master Qing Cao just do?"

    "Venom Flowzone is sick, so I am treating it."

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment, and he blinked, as he did not understand the old man at all. "Master Qing Cao, what do you mean?"

    Master Qing Cao smiled and repeated himself. "Venom Flowzone is sick, so I¡¯m treating it."

    Lu Yin looked around. "I guess so."

    Master Qing Caoughed. "Do you understand?"

    "Not at all."

    Master Qing Cao smiled. "Life is truly miraculous. It is capable of self-repair and can expel harmful substances. For example, when people get sick, there are some minor illnesses that can be healed without outside assistance because of life¡¯s innate ability to protect itself. Venom Flowzone is also a form of life¡ªthe poison is its blood, and thes form its meridians. At the moment, it is sick, so I want to find the cause."

    Lu Yin finally understood. "This junior understands what you¡¯re saying, but how do you treat such a disease?"

    Master Qing Cao shook his head. "I don''t know. I¡¯ve been studying this ce for hundreds of years, but I still can''t find the source of this sickness."

    "How do you know that Venom Flowzone is sick?"

    "It¡¯s quite easy to see that the poisonous gasses are moving about abnormally. It¡¯s just like when a human¡¯s breathing is wrong."

    "You can see this?"

    "You can¡¯t?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Still, everyone has their own abilities. If an ordinary person was asked to observe another person¡¯s rune lines, it would be impossible for them to see anything at all. Qing Cao was able to see Venom Flowzone from apletely different perspective than Lu Yin.

    "I know that you can''t see it," Qing Cao continued quietly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He had first believed that Qing Cao was an honest and straightforward person, but why would the old man ask such a question if he already knew the answer?

    "Let me give you something." Master Qing Cao took a piece of grass out from his cosmic ring and handed it over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up; green grass? Just like Master Qing Cao¡¯s name. Could this grass be a natural treasure? While surprised, Lu Yin did not feel such a thing waspletely unexpected. While Master Qing Cao was just an Enlighter, his power level was more than 400,000. The man was mostly admired for his skills in healing and his eagerness to heal and save people, not his personal strength.

    Even if this green grass was a rare natural treasure, it could not be anything too impressive.

    Lu Yin took the grass and studied it. He frowned, as there were no runes at all. No matter how he looked at it, it was the most ordinary sort of grass.

    "Senior, what is this?" Lu Yin felt quite puzzled.

    Master Qing Cao solemnly replied, "Grass."

    "This junior knows that much."

    "Then why ask?"

    Lu Yin hesitated. "Why did you give me a de of grass?"

    Master Qing Cao grew serious. "Look, when the dayes that you are able to see this grass observing you, you should also be able to see Venom Flowzone¡¯s breath. In this universe, every natural order has its own breath and its own life.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. While this sounded quite profound and quite logical, why did it also feel rather strange?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something else and he asked, "Do battle techniques also have breath?"

    Master Qing Cao nced over at Lu Yin in surprise, and he voiced his admiration. "Young man, that¡¯s quite perceptive."

    "So, do battle techniques have breath?"

    "Are you asking me? I thought you already knew. Keep working at it." Master Qing Cao sighed.

    Lu Yin left, as Master Qing Cao wanted to remain where he was and continue his research. There was no need for Lu Yin to be concerned with the old man¡¯s safety, as he had already been in Venom Flowzone for hundreds of years.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin asked about Coco and the other people he knew from Windrift Hall, as he had not seen any of them for a long time. However, Master Qing Cao could not answer, as he had absolutely no idea who any of the people Lu Yin asked about were.

    There was a massivendmass in the center of Venom Flowzone that was known as the Divine Venom Continent. It was surrounded by poisonous gas, and rumors imed that Venom Flowzone¡¯s oldest and most powerful creatures lived beneath thendmass, but no one knew what creatures there might be.

    At the center of the continent, there was a city known as Venom King City, which was the capital of the Divine Venom Dynasty. It was ruled by the Qing family, which had established the city as the capital from which they ruled the entire Divine Venom Dynasty.

    It was not easy for outsiders to get ess to the Divine Venom Continent, and each person had to go through stringent identity checks before entering the continent. They also had to have a token from the Divine Venom Dynasty, which gave people the ability to resist the countless poisonous creatures that lived on the Divine Venom Continent.

    Of course, this only applied to ordinary cultivators. For people like the Second Nightking, the Divine Venom Continent, Venom King City, and even the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce were perfectly essible and safe to enter.

    "Second Nightking?" Qing Shaohuang blurted out in shock as he stared at a man rxing in the imperial garden while quietly enjoying a drink.

    Even though the Divine Venom Dynasty was sealed off, they were notpletely isted from the outside world. They remained quite aware and informed about major events that urred, but their focus was simply different. They were merely concerned about whether or not any major events would affect Venom Flowzone.

    For example, both battles between Envoys and the war between the Daynight n and the Great Eastern Alliance had garnered attention, particrly so the current situation regarding the Daynight n. After all, the Divine Venom Dynasty and the Daynight n have an inseparable rtionship.

    Qing Shaohuang had always paid attention to news regarding the Second Nightking. There was when the ancient powerhouse had left the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, the prison break that had urred in Gaia''s Swamp that had allowed the Second Nightking to escape, and how the man had be wanted by the Hall of Honor; Qing Shaohuang had paid attention to all of these details.

    The imperial garden was quite beautiful, and it was full of all kinds of exotic flowers and nts that were in full bloom. This ce was not as poisonous as many people would expect.

    As for the Second Nightking, he lowered his wine ss and calmly looked over at Qing Shaohuang. "You look a great deal like your ancestor."

    Qing Shaohuang nced around, but the guards patrolling around the garden acted no differently than usual. They were likely being controlled by the Second Nightking, as it would have been otherwise impossible for them to show absolutely no reaction to his presence. No one in the entire imperial pce had sensed the Second Nightking''s arrival or presence. The emperor''s heart sank; if the Second Nightking wanted to attack, the emperor would most likely not be able to escape.

    "Junior Qing Shaohuang greets Senior Second Nightking." Qing Shaohuang stepped forward and bowed in the manner of a junior. He behaved in a very respectful manner.

    The Second Nightking stood up. "The Third Nightking was the one who helped your family found your empire, but we all knew what he was doing at that time and allowed it."

    Qing Shaohuang expressed his gratitude. "Many thanks to the Daynight family for the help that they gave my Qing n."

    "Back then, there was only one person in the Qing family who barely managed to be an Envoy, which was the first emperor, Qing Fan. However, right now, your strength exceeds what he achieved. If I still possessed my strength from back then and not what I have achieved more recently, I might not even be able topare to you." The Second Nightking sighed.

    Qing Shaohuang grew solemn. "The Daynight n¡¯s kindness towards my Qing n is something that can never be repaid. Senior is like an ancestor to my Qing n."

    "Very well." The Second Nightking stared at Qing Shaohuang. "I had thought that your Qing n had forgotten about your original oath, but since you remember, then can you help me? With this, there will be no debts between us."

    Qing Shaohuang instantly became serious. "Senior, please tell."

    Hatred filled the Second Nightking''s eyes. "I want Lu Yin to die."

    Qing Shaohuang was startled. "Senior, this-¡±

    "What? Is there a problem?" The Second Nightking stared at Qing Shaohuang with cold eyes.

    Qing Shaohuang answered in a solemn tone, "Lu Yin is visiting the Divine Venom Dynasty because he was personally invited by this junior. If he dies while here, my Divine Venom Dynasty would lose the entire universe¡¯s trust."

 Chapter 1758: Local Produce

    Chapter 1758: Local Produce

    The Second Nightkingughed at Qing Shaohuang''s response. "Are you trying to say that you wouldn¡¯t do anything to Lu Yin without my request?"

    Qing Shaohuang''s expression twitched slightly, but he just stared at the Second Nightking. "What are you trying to say, Senior?"

    "The current situation of the Innerverse is clear at a nce. The Sword Sect has been trying to work with you for some time, and you would not have invited Lu Yin here for no reason. Since you have invited him, you must have some sort of n. While I might not know what exactly you hope to do, it has to be rted to poison. Making your position clear is your best option here, as you want to show that your Divine Venom Dynasty has no intention of getting involved with the outside world," the Second Nightking coldly stated.

    Qing Shaohuang felt embarrassed, and his mind started racing. He was already aware of the Second Nightking''s hatred for Lu Yin, as the youth had destroyed the Daynight n, ruined their ancestral grounds, and released the Dayking n from their envement. In truth, even if the Second Nightking had not been imprisoned in Gaia¡¯s Swamp, he still would have possessed enough motivation to kill Lu Yin a million times over.

    However, Lu Yin could not be killed while he was in the Divine Venom Dynasty, and neither could the Second Nightking be allowed to move against the youth. Even though the Divine Venom Dynasty had isted themselves from the outside world, they were notpletely cut off. Not to mention, the powerhouses supporting Lu Yin could easily deal with all of Venom Flowzone by themselves.

    If the Divine Venom Dynasty did not feel fear, they would have never considered cooperating with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers, but it was precisely because of the threat that Qing Shaohuang felt from Lu Yin that he was considering joining the Innerverse in working against Lu Yin.

    Qing Shaohuang stared at the Second Nightking, unsure of how to refuse the ancient powerhouse¡¯s request. The only option was to agree as much as possible. "Senior, this junior will help you."

    The Second Nightking nodded. "Good. I don''t want Lu Yin to live to see the outside of Venom Flowzone."

    "If Senior takes action, you will be exposing yourself. This-"

    Qing Shaohuang tried to bring up an objection, but the Second Nightking just sneered. "Given the size of the Fifth Maind, it''s not difficult to find somewhere to hide."

    "Senior can hide within my Divine Venom Dynasty," Qing Shaohuang offered.

    The Second Nightking shot the emperor a cold look. "We¡¯ll talk about itter."

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Lu Yin finally saw the Divine Venom Continent from his spacecraft.

    From a distance, the Divine Venom Continent looked like a monster lying in space that was emitting a strange gas. He stared at thendmass as he thought of the rumors iming that there was a terrifying poison beneath it.

    Lu Yin was still very interested in poison. Long ago, Elder Wu¡¯s poisons had been a great deal of help to him. There had to be a poison in the Divine Venom Dynasty that Lu Yin could Enhance to a level where it would threaten even experts with power levels of more than a million. Like that Transience poison¡­ Lu Yin felt that he would need to pay the king a visit.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s status, he was weed by King Qing Li, who was Qing Shaohuang''s younger brother. In other words, Qing Li was among the top three people in the entire Divine Venom Dynasty. Even if Qing Longlong, the first princess, saw Qing Li, she would only refer to him as uncle. He was one of the few people in the entire empire who was qualified to know about Transience and use it.

    Qing Li did not want to be the one to greet Lu Yin, but Qing Shaohuang had ordered the king to go. Given the fact that either Qing Li or Qing Shaohuang would have to greet Lu Yin, there was no way for Qing Li to refuse.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw Qing Li appear to wee him.

    The king despaired when he saw Lu Yin''s smile, as he could still remember how much he had suffered when he hadst seen Lu Yin; he had almost confessed to wetting the bed as a child at that time. Still, Qing Li forced out a smile. "Wee, Alliance Leader Lu, to the Divine Venom Dynasty. You¡¯re a wee guest to my Venom King City."

    Lu Yin smiled back and said, "So it¡¯s Qing Li. This isn¡¯t our first time meeting."

    Qing Li smiled back. "Of course not, Alliance Leader Lu. Please, follow me."

    Lu Yin followed Qing Li towards the Divine Venom Continent. The sky was overcast and misty, but it was still possible to make out the outline of the continent from a bird¡¯s eye view.

    The Divine Venom Continent actually looked no different from an ordinaryndmass, as it had mountains and rivers, but there were also strange patterns that covered thend, and some ces actually contained poisoned corpses that could easily be seen.

    As they moved along, Qing Li shared information about thend with Lu Yin. The visiting Lu Yin was quite interested in this ce, and he already saw it as something that would eventually belong to him. In his mind, learning more about it would never hurt.

    "Your Highness, do you still remember what I said back then?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as the two of them were wandering about the sky above the Divine Venom Continent. At this moment, they were close to Venom King City.

    Qing Li''s eyes flickered. "I don¡¯t really have any interest in the outside world, but thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for your kindness."

    Lu Yin expressed his disappointment. "Regardless of how beautiful the scenery in Venom Flowzone might be, it¡¯s just one ce, and it¡¯s honestly too small. Even the outside world is like that¡ªthere¡¯s just the Innerverse, the Outerverse, the Cosmic Sea, the Neoverse, the 3,000 hidden worlds, and the rest of the Fifth Maind. However, the massive region beyond the Fifth Maind is truly fascinating. With Your Highness¡¯s strength, it really is a pity that you aren¡¯t able to go out and explore."

    "A ce beyond the Fifth Maind? Are you referring to the Sixth Maind?" Qing Li asked. Before the Sixth Maind had invaded them, not even Qing Shaohuang had known about the existence of the Sixth Maind. But afterwards, almost every cultivator in the entire Fifth Maind had learned of them.

    However, there was only the Fifth and the Sixth Mainds.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Aeternus took over the entire Sixth Maind. I''m talking about another ce."

    Qing Li was stunned. "Another ce?"

    Lu Yi was surprised. ¡°Did your brother not tell you about this? There¡¯s another ce where people can still be Progenitors."

    Qing Li¡¯s expression grew sharp, and he instantly froze in ce. Every cultivator¡¯s greatest dream was to one day be a Progenitor. Even someone who had only just started cultivating would dream about reaching the apex as a Progenitor, even if they knew that their chances were not even one in ten billion. Qing Li was no different. He was the closest person to the threshold of the Envoy realm in the Divine Venom Dynasty, and he naturally also dreamed about one day bing a Progenitor. Still, he knew that his dream was too far out of reach.

    Lu Yin continued moving along without pausing, and Qing Li hurried to catch back up. "Alliance Leader Lu, where is this ce where one can be a Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "Go ask your brother. If he hasn¡¯t told you yet, he must have a reason."

    Qing Li''s eyes shed; was Lu Yin trying to instigate something between them? Seeing Lu Yin''s serious expression, the king felt confident that Lu Yin was trying to sow doubt into his rtionship with Qing Shaohuang. Still, the desire to be a Progenitor was too strong. Was it possible that Qing Shaohuang really did know about such a ce? If so, why would he have never told him about it?

    "Is that Venom King City right in front of us? Your Highness, could you show me around?" Lu Yin asked, and Qing Li hurried to catch up once again.

    "Yes, that¡¯s Venom King City, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Venom King City was surrounded by high walls, and water poured down from them like waterfalls. Mist shrouded the river, but this mist was not the normal white color, but rather iridescent as it was actually spat out by giant toads that crouched along the walls.

    Lu Yin observed the wall surrounding Venom King City in surprise.

    He stared at the wall as the enormous toads spat out rainbow-colored balls at regr intervals. Each of the orbs would strike a pir above the city, and then shatter. Rainbow colors then rained down upon the city.

    With the number of giant toads contributing to the mist, the iridescent mist was able to cover the entire city.

    "What are those toads?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    Qing Li proudly answered, "Those are not just any ordinary toads but rainbow toads. While they aren¡¯t aggressive, they are an extremely poisonous species that our Divine Venom Dynasty has bred. The rainbow-colored balls that they spit out strike the poisonous heart pir of Venom King City, and the mist that is produced by thatbination is something that even Envoys fear."

    Lu Yin entered the true universe and tried to move into the city through that method, only to be caught off guard when he discovered that the iridescent fog also surrounded the area in the true universe that corresponded to Venom King City.

    "While Envoys are able to enter Venom King City through the true universe, their bodies will still be contaminated by the iridescent mist¡¯s poison, which means that they will be discovered the moment they enter the city. Only peak experts are strong enough to avoid the mist, and those powerhouses are strong enough to easily enter the city without needing to sneak in, as my Venom King City would wee such powerhouses with all the respect that they are due," Qing Li exined.

    Lu Yin nodded and then praised, "This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen such a defensive method."

    Qing Li smiled. "This is not a means of defense, but rather just a warning system. Anyone weaker than an Envoy can¡¯t force their way in while even Envoys will be discovered."

    "How do ordinary people enter?"

    "They just need to have a token from Venom King City. Those tokens naturally repel the rainbow mist, so they allow anyone can enter."

    "What if an enemy grabs a token?"

    "Each person¡¯s token is unique," Qing Li said as he lifted a hand to show amon-looking token that had the character for venom on it that he handed over to Lu Yin. "This is yours, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin took the token and then saw a series of nine digits on it.

    "The number entered the first time must precisely match the number entered after in order to open the token¡¯spartment and release the substance that repels the iridescent mist. Without that, the tokens are useless. By the way, there¡¯s only one chance to enter the number," the king exined.

    Lu Yin was left speechless; was this any different from a password? With something as ancient-looking as these tokens, he had assumed that they would be bound to a person by blood or some other method, though he would not have been willing to bind it with his blood.

    While Venom King City¡¯s defenses seemed quite impressive at a nce, Lu Yin¡¯s opinion of it dropped substantially after he learned how the tokens worked.

    Qing Li led the way, so Lu Yin easily entered the city.

    Venom King City was quite lively, and the clothing style of the Divine Venom Dynasty was quite unique. Lu Yin''s eyes lit up when he saw what the local people were wearing.

    No matter what sort of impression the outside world had of the Divine Venom Dynasty, the people that Lu Yin saw seemed very happy, and everyone had a sincere smile. He understood why Yuan Taishi was so determined for the Divine Venom Dynasty to remain uninvolved with the matters of the outside world.

    For better or worse, such a thing would disrupt the peaceful lives of all the residents in the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    Not long after entering the city, Lu Yin ran into an acquaintance.

    "One million star crystals. Deal or no deal?" Wen Qian''er''s voice drifted out of a shop in the city while Wen Sansi was standing beside her.

    All kinds of poisons were being sold in the store, and it was the mostmon kind in the Divine Venom Dynasty as everyone here needed poison.

    "No, this is a highly venomous snake! How can such a creature be bought for just a million star crystals? A million and a half, minimum," the shop owner tly replied.

    Wen Qian''er shouted, "I¡¯ll give you 1.2 million star crystals."

    "It has to be a million and a half."

    "1.3 million."

    "One and a half."

    "Boss, is something wrong with your head? This isn¡¯t how negotiating works! You have to at least give in a little bit."

    "The listed price is 3 million! You got me to lower it to 1.5 million, and yet you still want me to lower it further? That¡¯s just too much!"

    "Cough, 1.4 million. Show me some face."

    "Who are you? Why should I give you any face?"

    Wen Qian''er grew furious, and her eyes red.

    Lu Yin then walked in, attracting the attention of the small group of people.

    Wen Qian''er looked over and was surprised. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin nodded to Wen Sansi before looking at Wen Qian''er. "You like poisonous snakes?"

    Wen Qian''er retorted, "Of course not! Still, since I¡¯m here, I need to get some local produce to take back."

    Lu Yin found this quite funny.

 Chapter 1759: Measure For Measure

    Chapter 1759: Measure For Measure

    "Local produce? Girl, are you messing with me? This is a gemsnake! Go search through the entire Divine Venom Dynasty and tell me how many people can afford one!" the shop owner screamed in a strangled voice.

    Wen Qian''er nced back at the man. "You really don¡¯t know how to run a business."

    Ordinary people used universal currency, or even local currency like the Yushan coins that the Great Yu Empire had used. One piece of universal currency could be exchanged for ten Yushan coins, and a million star crystals could be exchanged for ten trillion Yushan coins. Lu Yin had no idea what the exchange rate existed between the Divine Venom Dynasty''s local currency and universal currency was, but even if the Divine Venom Dynasty''s local currency was traded at a rate of one to one, a million star crystals was still enough to trade for one trillion pieces of universal currency.

    A snake that was worth trillions of pieces of universal currency was truly a special product that could not be looked down upon.

    Of course, universal currency was never used in this manner, as only ordinary humans used the currency. As far as cultivators were concerned, universal currency was little different from trash. Still, this snake was being sold for an impressive amount of star crystals.

    "Fine, I don¡¯t want to buy it anymore. Let''s go." Wen Qian''er had be upset, so she immediately started walking out of the store.

    The shop owner became furious. "Girl, you spent so long haggling with me. Do you realize how much business you lost me? If you weren¡¯t going to buy it, then why waste my time?"

    "What? You still dare to try to talk business with me?" Wen Qian''er turned her head around just enough to re at the shop owner.

    The man gritted his teeth and then nced at Wen Sansi and Lu Yin, as well as Qing Li. He felt that he should not mess with these people. He snorted and punched the counter of his shop, causing the building to tremble. Just outside the front door, a fine powder drifted into the air.

    Believing it to be only dust, Wen Qian''er was unconcerned, and she was about to walk right through it.

    Suddenly, Wen Sansi grabbed her and pulled her back, startling the girl. He turned to shoot a cold re towards the shop owner. "You dare to use poison?"

    The shop owner was confused. "What poison?"

    Wen Sansi frowned and waved a hand. The powder that had settled to the floor was pulled up andunched at the shop owner. The man did not move a muscle, and he looked confused even as the powder fell onto his body. ¡°Sir, what are you doing?"

    Wen Sansi¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but this was a custom of people in the Divine Venom Dynasty. This shop owner was clearly unafraid of poison, and he had merely attempted a tiny bit of revenge. If Wen Qian¡¯er had not noticed, she would only suffer a bit, but if the man was caught, he could just feign ignorance. Even if the powder was thrown onto himself, he would not care at all.

    This was the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    Qing Li watched from the side, but he had no intention of intervening.

    The Divine Venom Dynasty was sealed to the outside world, but that did not mean that its inhabitants were easy to bully.

    Wen Sansi had eaten aplete loss. Although he could easily handle someone with the shop owner¡¯s strength, they were also in the Divine Venom Dynasty, and Wen Sansi had already made a move. Attacking again would not make him look good.

    "I understand," Wen Sansi said casually as he prepared to lead Wen Qian''er away.

    At this time, several people entered the shop from the street. They were Balsam, Yan, and the Hall of Honor¡¯s Overseer You.

    The group almost ran straight into Wen Sansi and Wen Qian''er.

    Wen Sansi instantly recognized Mr. You, and he was surprised to see the overseer. "Overseer You? Why are you here?"

    Mr. You nced around at everyone in the store, and his expression noticeably changed when he saw Lu Yin. The overseer then smiled at Wen Sansi. "I received an invitation from the Divine Venom Dynasty, so I came here to have a look. I just happened to be passing by, and I sensed that I must have missed something."

    Wen Sansi casually said, "It was nothing much. Just a little misunderstanding."

    Wen Sansi did not know Balsam, though he recognized Yan, who was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse president¡¯s secretary. Yan was a well known figure.

    Balsam looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "I didn''t expect to meet Alliance Leader Lu here. Please stay safe."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile in return. "Oh, was Shamrock Enterprise also invited?"

    "Yes. I''m here to deliver a congrattory gift," Balsam replied.

    Mr. You stared at Lu Yin and said in a measured tone, "I didn''t expect to run into Alliance Leader Lu here. It''s been a long time."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Do I know you?"

    Wen Sansi, Balsam, and the others were all startled, as Lu Yin was being decidedly rude. Even though everyone was aware that Lu Yin and Mr. You stood on opposing sides, no one had expected shots to be fired the moment the two met.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no regard for Mr. You. The man was technically an overseer, but he was about to lose the position. If not for him always being protected by Overseer Nan Yuan, Mr. You would have lost his overseer seat even faster than Nightking Zheng. Lu Yin had a high enough status that there was no need for him to put on an act and be polite to Mr. You.

    Mr. You sneered. "Mr. Lu is a hot-shot, so it¡¯s only to be expected that you wouldn¡¯t know a little guy like me."

    "You can introduce yourself: name, affiliation, background, strength, and position. Tell me, and maybe I¡¯ll be able to remember who you are after," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Mr. You''s expression grew ugly. This was not a request for an introduction, but rather an interrogation! Lu Yin¡¯s tone and choice of words were offensive and infuriating.

    There was a man who had remained right at Mr. You¡¯s side, and he spoke up at this time. ¡°This is Mr. You, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers."

    No one had expected the man to speak up, and Balsam nced at him in surprise. She knew who this man was; he was Li, one of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors. He had a very good rtionship with Shamrock Enterprise, and he was also one of Yan¡¯s friends on Mt. Microcosms. Balsam had not thought that Li would be dumb enough to interrupt at this moment.

    Yan''s expression instantly changed, and he quickly tried to gesture at Li for him to back out.

    Even Mr. You''s expression became worse, as he felt that announcing his identity at this moment would only give Lu Yin more opportunities to sling insults.

    Sure enough, Lu Yin replied, "One of the nine overseers? I seem to recall there being someone with that name, though it seems to be temporary. I wonder, how long will you be able to keep your position for?"

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "Things will go downhill for you soon."

    Mr. You was furious, and he red at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, watch yourself! The overseers¡¯ council is not something that you can control. If you aren¡¯t careful with your words, the overseers can hold you ountable."

    Lu Yin did not care at all. "Give it a shot."

    Mr. You''s face flushed with anger.

    At this moment, Li finally felt that he had made a mistake. After all, how could Lu Yin not recognize Mr. You? In fact, Mr. You had made the trip to the Divine Venom Dynasty just to curry favor with Overseer Nan Yuan, who had offered to protect Mr. You. Li realized that he should not have spoken up, as Lu Yin had openly mocked Mr. You. If Mr. You was removed from his position as an overseer, Li would be fine, but if Mr. You retained his position. Li would likely have a very difficult time in the near future.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he looked at Li.

    Li¡¯s heart plummeted, but he summoned the courage to reply, "I''m Li. I¡¯ve been sent to protect Mr. You.¡±

    "On whose order?" Lu Yin asked.

    Li bitterly replied, "The overseers¡¯ council."

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. "The overseers¡¯ council sent a special order to have you protect Mr. You while he¡¯s visiting the Divine Venom Dynasty, right when he¡¯s about to lose his position? That doesn¡¯t seem very likely. I remember you now¡ªyou¡¯re one of Mt. Microcosms¡¯s protectors. I know Senior First Protector. If you get the chance, you should ask him why Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors are being sent out as bodyguards for traveling overseers."

    Li instantly grew pale, and fear filled his eyes. He had not even considered the possibility that Lu Yin would know the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms. How could the youth know that powerhouse?

    Balsam spoke up to smooth the situation over. "Alliance Leader Lu, what gifts have you brought for your visit to the Divine Venom Dynasty? Don''t be too excessive, or else you¡¯ll make the rest of us look bad."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I didn¡¯t bring anything, so I¡¯m actually out shopping."

    Balsam was stunned speechless. Out shopping? In Venom King City? This had to be a joke!

    "You are King Qing Li, correct?" Balsam looked over at the man standing next to Lu Yin who not yet spoken a single word.

    Qing Li had not expected Balsam to recognize him. He had been silently watching the show with growing excitement. "That¡¯s correct. And you must be Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse President Balsam, no?"

    Balsam smiled. "I didn''t expect Your Highness the king to recognize me."

    Qing Li smiled. "Of course I would recognize you. No one should be ignorant of Miss Balsam¡¯s name."

    The shop owner became increasingly stunned as he listened to the people carry on within his shop. Alliance Leader Lu? An overseer from the Hall of Honor? While the man was rather ignorant of the outside world, even he had heard these two names more than once. How could he not have heard something about the VIPs currently visiting Venom King City?

    Suddenly, the name ¡°Qing Li¡± registered in the shop owner¡¯s mind, and he spun to stare at the only man dressed in the customary clothes of the Divine Venom Dynasty in disbelief. Was he King Qing Li?

    At this thought, the shop owner quickly hurriedly stepped forward and bowed low. "This lowly one greets King Qing Li."

    Qing Li dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Be at ease. Do what you have to."

    What do I have to do? The shop owner was stunned. What was with these people¡¯s conversation? Was it actually something he could listen to?

    "Hey Boss, do you have anything special here? I want to buy a gift for your emperor," Lu Yin asked while smiling at the shop owner.

    The man was a bit slow to react, as he had no idea how to respond.

    Wen Qian''er just rolled her eyes. "What sort of quality goods could this man have?"

    Mr. You snorted disdainfully. "Mr. Lu is being too insulting to Qing Shaohuang. Don¡¯t you feel that it¡¯s rude to buy ast minute gift for your host?"

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile. "I wanted to give him the Longevity Brigade, but unfortunately, it was already destroyed."

    "You!" Mr. You was furious.

    Suddenly, a condescending voice spoke up from just outside the door to the shop. "Such a powerful aura. If I¡¯m not wrong, it has to belong to Alliance Leader Lu Yin."

    As the door opened, a man with a snow-white skin and cold eyes slowly entered. It was impossible to tell how old the man was, but his voice was sharp and carried the weight of many years.

    Lu Yin frowned, as this man was staring at him with vicious eyes that gave the impression of needles. A strange tugged at the corner of the man¡¯s mouth, which left Lu Yin feeling very ufortable.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin asked.

    The man stepped the rest of the way into the shop and slowly bowed to Qing Li. "I greet the king."

    King Qing Li just snorted. "This is the imperial pce¡¯s chief attendant and also my brother''s confidant."

    Attendant Yi quickly smiled and spoke up, "What is Your Highness saying? I wouldn¡¯t dare be referred to as a confidant! I''m just a mere servant who served His Majesty and Your Highness."

    Lu Yin observed Attendant Yi. "Were you the one speaking earlier?"

    Attendant Yi turned to face Lu Yin, still showing the same slimy smile as before. "If it isn''t Alliance Leader Lu. I came here to greet you at His Majesty¡¯s orders, but as soon as I arrived, I felt your presence, which terrified this lowly one. Might I ask who in Venom King City might have offended you, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, but he did not answer. This was because one more person had just entered the shop, and this time, it was a woman: Qing Longlong.

    The shop owner prostrated himself on the floor and no longer dared to even lift his head. Lu Yin and Mr. You being in his store was not a big deal to the man, as they were important figures in the world outside of the Divine Venom Dynasty. Thus, no matter how powerful they might be, they had nothing to do with someone like the shop owner. On the other hand, Attendant Yi¡¯s arrival had scared the man stiff, as he was the second-highest ranking person in the entire Divine Venom Dynasty, and he was responsible for countless millions of people.

 Chapter 1760: Lu Yins Gift

    Chapter 1760: Lu Yin''s Gift

    In particr, when it came to the ordinary people of the Divine Venom Dynasty, Attendant Yi was someone who held their lives in his hands. This was not simply because of the man¡¯s strength and position, but also because of the man¡¯s greed for wealth. He treated the entire street as his business, and he acted as the general manager.

    On top of that, even without Attendant Yi present, the emperor''s daughter Qing Longlong was also in the shop, which left the shop owner trembling.

    "Attendant Yi, who authorized you to speak to Alliance Leader Lu in such a manner?" Qing Longlong rudely scolded Attendant Yi the moment she entered the building.

    Attendant Yi maintained his smile as he slowly bowed to the princess. "This old ve greets Your Highness."

    Qing Longlong stared at Attendant Yi with a look of disgust on her face. "Father asked you toe greet Alliance Leader Lu and the others; what were you just doing?"

    Attendant Yi smiled. "This old ve simply saw the power of the alliance leader, and I was so impressed that I could not stop myself from voicing my admiration. There was nothing more to it than that."

    He then turned and bowed to Lu Yin. "I beg that the alliance leader will not hold this against me."

    Lu Yin gave a tiny smile.

    Attendant Yi kept the same smile as ever, and it was both irritating and disturbing to see.

    "Honestly, given the fact that you¡¯re a member of the Divine Venom Dynasty, I can¡¯t me you even if I wanted to. The only thing I can say is that your master is too kind and doesn¡¯t wish to discipline his ves." Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    The smile disappeared from Attendant Yi''s face, and his eyes moved upwards to stare Lu Yin. "It appears that Alliance Leader Lu has some bit of skill."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You just asked that I wouldn¡¯t hold your words against you, so I¡¯ll train you on behalf of your master. This is a gift for Emperor Qing¡¯s recent breakthrough."

    Lu Yin then swept out a hand thatnded on Attendant Yi. The man was blown away by the p, and he crashed into the street outside the shop.

    Everyone was startled, as no one had expected Lu Yin to act so brazenly without showing any sort of respect for anyone.

    Qing Li¡¯s brows rose high, and it was clear that he had also been taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    The people who followed Attendant Yi rushed into the store to attack Lu Yin, only to be stopped by Qing Longlong who simply ordered, "Get out."

    Attendant Yi quickly stood back up, but already half of his face had be swollen. He also stopped his guards from taking any action. "Step back. Her Highness and the king are both present; how can you forget your ce?"

    The various guards quickly pulled back.

    Attendant Yi red at Lu Yin with hatred, and a deep cold appeared in the man¡¯s eyes. He had not expected Lu Yin or anyone else to have the audacity to strike him within the Divine Venom Dynasty, and he had been caught off guard by Lu Yin¡¯s attack. However, there was nothing that Attendant Yi could even do about it with Lu Yin¡¯s status. "This old ve misspoke just now; has the alliance leader relieved his anger?"

    Lu Yinzily replied, "Tell Emperor Qing that this was my congrattory gift for him. I hope he finds it to his liking."

    The disturbing smile returned to Attendant Yi¡¯s face. "Understood. This old ve will take his leave."

    He then left without even acknowledging Qing Li or Qing Longlong.

    Everyone could see the burning resentment within the man¡¯s eyes.

    Qing Longlong turned to face Lu Yin with aplicated expression and a bitter smile. "Why did Alliance Leader Lu do that?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "I don''t like the look of him."

    He was being perfectly honest. However, in all of Venom King City, the only person who qualified to treat Attendant Yi with such rudeness was Qing Shaohuang himself. Lu Yin had the status to act the same, not even Qing Li would dare treat the chief attendant so rudely. This was mostly because Attendant Yi was notoriously vengeful.

    Despite Qing Longlong¡¯sment, she had felt quite a bit of pleasure from watching Lu Yin pping Attendant Yi. Even though the chief attendant would be polite to the princess, it was also quite obvious that he did not have even the slightest bit of respect for her, and he would often prevent her from seeing Qing Shaohuang. Qing Li was the same, but no one could say anything about Attendant Yi¡¯s behavior.

    Lu Yin''s fearlessness and boldness had been perfectly revealed by his actions. He did not care at all about Attendant Yi, nor about Emperor Qing Shaohuang either. Their rtionship as friends or enemies had already been determined.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯ll head out first. We will see you at the banquet," Balsam politely bade farewell to Lu Yin.

    Mr. You also left, though he did not speak a single word more to Lu Yin.

    Before Wen Sansi left, he whispered, "You shouldn''t havee."

    Qing Li separated from Lu Yin as well, as Qing Longlong had taken over the responsibility of entertaining Lu Yin. The two were of simr age, and so it was more suitable for the two to interact.

    One by one, everyone else left, until finally, only Lu Yin, Qing Longlong, and the shop owner remained in the shop.

    The shop owner was still prostrated on the ground with his head as low as he could force it. He did not dare raise his head the slightest bit, though he had still caught the slightest glimpse of Attendant Yi being pped out of the shop. The young alliance leader was truly a ruthless man, but fortunately, the shop owner had done nothing to offend Lu Yin.

    Qing Longlong said, "Alliance Leader Lu-"

    However, before she could say anything more, Lu Yin raised a hand to stop her. "We¡¯re peers, so there¡¯s no need to speak like that. I¡¯ll see you outside."

    Are we that familiar with each other? Qing Longlong wanted to ask this question, but refrained. "Alright, Brother Lu. Let me show you somewhere you can rest."

    Lu Yin nodded and followed Qing Longlong out of the shop.

    Such a small shop had just been the center of the entire Divine Venom Dynasty. For the next while, the shop owner would absolutely not have even a moment of peace. Every word and each tiny detail of what had happened in his shop would be pulled from him.

    Qing Shaohuang had arranged an entire residence as Lu Yin¡¯s quarters for his stay. It was in Venom King City, but it was a house that almost no one knew of. It was a ce for Qing Shaohuang to use when he needed some peace.

    After hearing Qing Longlong''s introduction of the ce, Lu Yin asked, "Your father, the emperor, can¡¯t be hoping that I¡¯ll be creating less chaos in the future, could he?"

    Qing Longlong smiled. "Brother Lu, you¡¯re overthinking. My imperial father has no such intentions. It¡¯s simply that this pce is rather remote, but also has quite a pleasant environment, so there will be few people to disturb you. I¡¯ll take care of any arrangements for you."

    Lu Yin nodded. Neither of the two was in any hurry to arrive at Lu Yin¡¯s guest quarters, so they just wandered about the streets of Venom King City.

    Venom King City was a very lively ce, and everywhere the hustle and bustle of a busy city could be seen, as well as the asional fight. Each conflict would see people bringing out all kinds of poisons. If cultivators were not taken into ount, then Venom King City would give the impression of being an ancient imperial city that was inhabited by ordinary humans.

    "Attendant Yi is highly trusted by your father?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Longlong nodded. "He¡¯s served my imperial father since he was very young, and he¡¯s continued to work hard for many years."

    "He¡¯s still not dead?" Lu Yin was surprised at this. Qing Shaohuang was far from weak, and he had even invited people from all parts of the Human Domain to celebrate a recent breakthrough. The emperor should be an expert with a power level of at least 800,000, so how was it that Attendant Yi had managed to keep up with Qing Shaohuang?

    "That is something incredibly unique about Attendant Yi; in order to stay alive, he periodically uses a poisonous ice," Qing Longlong said. Though her tone of voice sounded quite casual, her words were heavy.

    Qing Shaohuang was an emperor, and as such, there was no shortage of people willing to serve him, and yet he would rather be attended by Attendant Yi. This was a friendship that was no longer an ordinary master-servant rtionship. It was no wonder that even Qing Li and Qing Longlong were so polite towards Attendant Yi. If looked at from a certain perspective, Lu Yin had pped Qing Shaohuang himself.

    Qing Longlong was unconcerned, but she did look over to check Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. However, she noticed that hisplexion and coloring had not changed even the slightest bit; did he truly not care?

    After thinking for a moment, Qing Longlong realized that both the Sword Sect and the Daynight n had been stronger than the Divine Venom Dynasty. The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s uniquenessy in its location and the surrounding environment. Without such things, the Divine Venom Dynasty might not even be able topare to the Wen family.

    Lu Yin had led the Great Eastern Alliance to destroy the Daynight n, suppress the Sword Sect, and harass the Wen family. Naturally, such a person would not care about the Divine Venom Dynasty, let alone someone like Attendant Yi.

    After half an hour of walking down the busiest street in Venom King City, Qing Longlong stopped in front of a very upscale restaurant.

    It was the tallest building on the entire street, and it also covered arge area in every direction. There were two rows of servers waiting at the door.

    "Brother Lu, I want to introduce you to someone," Qing Longlong said with a smile.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright."

    Lu Yin was greeted by an unexpected scene upon entering the restaurant, as the atmosphere waspletely different from the outside. While the outside was grand, the inside was simple and homey.

    Lu Yin followed Qing Longlong up to the top floor, where two beautiful maids bowed to greet the princess. Due to the style of clothing, Lu Yin was almost able to catch a peak at snowy white chests, and he quickly averted his eyes.

    "Brother Lu, please." Qing Longlong found this reaction quite amusing; who would believe that the dignified leader of the Great Eastern Alliance would have such a side to him?

    Lu Yin entered a private dining room and saw a woman in a frilly ck coat and a delicate mask who stood up and bowed as Lu Yin entered. "This humble one is Yuan Miaomiao. I greet Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Even though the woman was dpletely in ck and wore a mask, it was still not enough to conceal her beauty. Lu Yin was able to clearly see an attractive mouth, as well as eyes that were as bright as stars.

    "Yuan Taishi¡¯s granddaughter?" Lu Yin was surprised by the woman''s name.

    Yuan Miaomiao bowed a second time. "I didn''t expect Alliance Leader Lu to know of this small one."

    Lu Yin looked over at Qing Longlong, who said, "Miaomiao and I are best friends, and she asked me to help her meet you."

    Lu Yin was rather perplexed. Yuan Taishi had been advocating for Venom Flowzone to remainpletely uninvolved with matters regarding the outside world, yet Qing Shaohuang was in favor of working with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse forces to find a means of containing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s spread. The two held different opinions, but they were not actually enemies. They were both part of the Divine Venom Dynasty that was dealing with the Great Eastern Alliance. Given the current circumstances, it did not make any sense for Qing Longlong to set up a meeting between Yuan Miaomiao and Lu Yin. What was the reason for this?

    "Longlong doesn''t have any intentions, so please don¡¯t read into this, Alliance Leader Lu. She just wasn¡¯t able to refuse this one¡¯s request to bring Alliance Leader Lu here," Yuan Miaomiao spoke up. Her voice was soft and rxing.

    Lu Yin sat down. "Is there something that Miss Miaomiao wants to say?"

    Qing Longlong looked at her friend, and Yuan Miaomiao looked back at the princess. "Go away, and don¡¯t try to listen in."

    Qing Longlong pursed her lips, but still nodded and walked out.

    Lu Yin stared at Yuan Miaomiao with heightened interest. "You two have a truly unusual rtionship. She¡¯s the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s eldest princess, and yet she¡¯s willing to go against her father to help you meet me without even asking why. I''m quite curious."

    Yuan Miaomiao replied with a small smile, "That¡¯s how our friendship is. From childhood to now, I¡¯ve spent more time with Longlong than even my own parents, grandfather, and other family members. Longlong¡¯s also spent more time with me than His Majesty. We found each other, and we feel that our friendship is more valuable than our families."

    This was the first time Lu Yin had heard of such a rtionship. "Alright then, why did you want to see me?"

    Yuan Miaomiao stood back up and very solemnly bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not say anything. Given his status, let alone Yuan Miaomiao, even if Yuan Taishi bowed to him, it would not be anything improper. He was deserving of such signs of respect.

    "This one wishes to ask Alliance Leader Lu to leave Venom Flowzone," Yuan Miaomiao solemnly stated.

    The room remained silent for a bit. Yuan Miaomiao continued to bow without ever rising back up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What does Yuan Taishi intend?"

    Yuan Miaomiao¡¯s tone was serious, "The Divine Venom Dynasty should not interfere in the external affairs. This has always been my grandfather''s belief. The people here are very prosperous and we have no wars. As soon as we interfere in outside conflicts, our future is impossible to predict. It¡¯s not worth the risk."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just because I¡¯m here, why are you so certain that the Divine Venom Dynasty will get involved in outside conflicts? What is the Divine Venom Dynasty going to do to me? Or rather, is Qing Shaohuang nning to do something to me?"

 Chapter 1761: Tempting The Heart

    Chapter 1761: Tempting The Heart

    Yuan Miaomiao looked up to gaze at Lu Yin. Her eyes were quite beautiful, and Lu Yin could see his own reflection in her eyes. "Why would Alliance Leader Lu ask such a thing? Especially since you did not care about our earlier warning and insisted on entering Venom Flowzone. Grandfather said that all of His Majesty''s schemes are useless against you."

    "You overestimate me and underestimate Emperor Qing Shaohuang," Lu Yin replied in a casual tone.

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. "Even if His Majesty is able to do as he wishes, it will only bring unpredictable disasters upon the Divine Venom Dynasty."

    There was a knock at the door, and a gentle voice spoke, "Let''s have dinner first."

    Yuan Miaomiao stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin got up. "There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ve already said everything I need to."

    He then prepared to leave.

    Yuan Miaomiao suddenly took off her mask, drawing Lu Yin''s eyes. A flicker of surprise could be seen on his face. He had seen too many beautiful women throughout his life, and no matter if one considered Starsibyl, Ming Yan, Bai Xue, or Madam Nn, all of them were absolutely stunning. Yuan Miaomiao revealed herself to be beautiful enough topete with any of those women Lu Yin knew.

    Still, the most unique feature to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes was the image of an alluring flower on Yuan Miaomiao¡¯s face. Though the flower had no color and was merely an outline, the moment Lu Yinid eyes on it his mind was filled with the image of this flower blowing in the wind. It was red and bold, andpletely enchanting. Given Yuan Miaomiao''s beautiful appearance and her soul-devouring eyes, the flower looked to be indescribably morous.

    This was a flower that seduced people''s hearts. This was not a seduction brought about by words, but by beauty and the image of the flower that was on Yuan Miaomiao''s face. This flower was her ability to seduce people''s hearts.

    Lu Yin''s heart was swayed. He was not ovee by emotions, but by his heart. It moved as though his heart was actually being stolen.

    His expression shifted a bit, and his eyes flickered. It was the flower! That flower on the woman¡¯s face was producing a powerful temptation thatbined with her beautiful features to produce something Lu Yin could almost not resist.

    Someone weaker would absolutely fall to this ability.

    "Miaomiao, you-" Qing Longlong opened the door, only to be shocked at what she saw. She stared at Yuan Miaomiao inplete disbelief.

    Yuan Miaomiao continued to stare at Lu Yin. She focused on his face, but saw that his first reaction was just a bit of surprise, and after that, his expression returned to normal. This was quite disappointing, as the flower on her face made her tempting enough that no man should be able to resist her. By the time she had only been five years old, she had already attracted countless suitors. If not for her grandfather, she shuddered to even consider what fate might have met her.

    As she had grown older, she had covered her appearance and had covered the flower on her face, which had stopped the men pursuing her. If she had not done that, she never would have been able to go anywhere without causing amotion.

    She had hidden her appearance for many years, and Yuan Miaomiao had once told Qing Longlong that she would only ever reveal herself to a man she acknowledged. At this moment, Qing Longlong saw that her friend had revealed herself to a man, and yet this man did not seem to care at all.

    Lu Yin looked at Yuan Miaomiao and calmly asked, "Was there anything else?"

    Yuan Miaomiao bowed once more, and pursed her lips before sadly saying, "Miaomiao was born in Venom King City, and I can''t bear the Divine Venom Dynasty suffering a disaster. Alliance Leader Lu, so long as you agree to leave Venom Flowzone, Miaomiao will put herself at your disposal."

    "Miaomiao, what in the world are you talking about?" Qing Longlong was startled, and rushed over to support Yuan Miaomiao. When the princess saw the wariness in Lu Yin''s eyes, she felt that he must have threatened Yuan Miaomiao.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "If Yuan Taishi knew what you just said, he would be very disappointed in you."

    Yuan Miaomiao looked sad. "Grandpa was also born here in Venom King City, and he¡¯s lived here all his life. Given his old age, I hope for him to be able to enjoy his years in peace without having to worry about the Divine Venom Dynasty. Since Grandpa thinks you should leave, Miaomiao also hopes you will leave and nevere back to Venom Flowzone ever again. Miaomiao is willing to serve you no matter what you may ask of her."

    Qing Longlong grabbed hold of Yuan Miaomiao and scolded her, "Miaomiao, do you know what you¡¯re even saying? If I had known what you wanted earlier, I would never have brought Brother Lu here!"

    Lu Yin suddenly stretched out a hand and ran his fingertips along Yuan Miaomiao''s face, stroking the silky skin.

    Qing Longlong was furious at his actions, and she turned to re at Lu Yin. "Stop!"

    Yuan Miaomiao stubbornly kept her eyes on Lu Yin and did not take a single step back. She allowed Lu Yin¡¯s hand to touch her face until his palm cupped her face.

    "This is a jincan? What kind of jincan is this?" Lu Yin asked. He was not actually wanting to take advantage of the girl, but was simply curious about the flower on her face. It was quite odd for anything to be able to sway his heart.

    Qing Longlong frowned. "It''s a flower of affection. It will only ever bloom for those you love."

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back. "Go back and tell Yuan Taishi that I, Lu Yin, don''t like to kill without cause, but everyone has a bottom line. He''d better help Qing Shaohuang stay away from my bottom line, or else he can¡¯t me me for getting rude."

    He then walked out of the restaurant.

    Back in the room, Yuan Miaomiao swayed and nearly copsed to the floor. Fortunately, Qing Longlong supported her friend. "Miaomiao, you¡¯re too impulsive! How could you?"

    Yuan Miaomiao answered in a bitter tone, "The Divine Venom Dynasty should not have to suffer any disasters."

    "Why are you so certain Lu Yin will bring disaster to the Divine Venom Dynasty? For so many years, no one¡¯s been able to do anything at all to our Divine Venom Dynasty." Qing Longlong felt quite confused.

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. "Longlong, he''s waiting for you outside. Go on."

    Qing Longlong continued to stare at her friend with worry.

    Yuan Miaomiao smiled. "It''s okay."

    Qinglong sighed and finally walked away.

    Yuan Miaomiao looked outside the restaurant, her eyes still full ofplex emotions, though they were dominated by bitterness and an indescribable mncholy, fear, and more.

    Elsewhere, an old man was standing in Qing Shaohuang¡¯s office. There was a bitter expression on the old man¡¯s face, and his eyes were quite anxious. In front of him, Attendant Yi was whispering something to Qing Shaohuang. The man¡¯s voice was not loud, but the old man was still able to hear everything. Lu Yin had pped Attendant Yi, and the emperor¡¯s entire demeanor had changed the moment he had heard of this.

    The old man was Yuan Taishi, the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s most senior minister. Even Emperor Qing Shaohuang had to show respect to his person. Without Yuan Taishi, the Divine Venom Dynasty would never have reached its current prosperity.

    "Your Majesty, Qing Li is asking to speak with you." Some timeter, someone entered to make a report.

    Qing Shaohuang solemnly replied, "Show him in."

    Qing Li soon entered and bowed low to Qing Shaohuang, who waved a hand. "Tell me, what do you think of Lu Yin?"

    Qing Li was not surprised that Qing Shaohuang would ask such a question, so he immediately replied, "Brother Huang, Lu Yin is not an easy person to unravel."

    "What do you mean?" Qing Shaohuang frowned.

    Qing Li considered his response before speaking. "He- he seems to be a bit too cruel."

    Qing Li had already considered this conversation on his way over, but had not been able to find a suitable word to describe Lu Yin. He could openlyment on what he had seen, but as Qing Li had already told Lu Yin about Transience, he did not dare make any moves against Lu Yin, as Qing Li feared the youth¡¯s retaliation.

    Transience was Qing Shaohuang''s greatest secret, and even Yuan Taishi and Qing Longlong did not know of it.

    "You came to such a conclusion when weing him?" Qing Shaohuang was in a terrible mood at the moment. The hand print on Attendant Yi''s face had still not disappeared. Given the man¡¯s cultivation, he naturally could remove it, but had deliberately kept it. He absolutely hated Lu Yin.

    Qing Li shrugged. "Brother Huang, I haven¡¯t had much contact with Lu Yin, and I didn¡¯t entertain him for very long at his arrival, as Linglong met up with him. This-"

    "Longlong? Longlong went to meet with Lu Yin?" Qing Shaohuang asked in an odd tone.

    Qing Li was caught off guard. "You didn¡¯t know, brother? Didn''t you send her?"

    Qing Shaohuang''s expression grew even worse.

    Attendant Yi quietly said, "Your Majesty, Her Highness is kind and does not tend to think badly of others. His Highness might not be able to urately gauge Lu Yin¡¯s character."

    "He pped you and she still can¡¯t see it?" Qing Shaohuang shouted.

    Attendant Yi dropped to his knees. "This old ve mispoke and overstepped. Please don''t get angry, Your Majesty."

    Qing Li watched Attendant Yi''s performance with cold eyes, but did nothing to interrupt. No matter if it was Lu Yin or Attendant Yi, Qing Li did not want to end up on either man¡¯s bad side.

    "Alright, stand up," Qing Shaohuang ordered.

    Attendant Yi thanked the emperor with a quick bow.

    Qing Shaohuang stared at Attendant Yi. "What do you think about Lu Yin?"

    Attendant Yi bowed again and said, "Lu Yin is arrogant and more. He is not someone who is easy to get along with. On top of that, he is extremely ambitious, and even the Sword Sect and the Daynight n fear him. That is not a person who can understand true friendship. It would be best to either maintain a great deal of distance from him, or-¡± The man¡¯s eyes suddenly grew incredibly vicious. "Avoid future troubles."

    "Arrogant!" Yuan Taishi could no longer listen in silence, and he red at Attendant Yi. "What does a mere servant know? How dare you discuss affairs of state."

    Qing Shaohuang nced over at Yuan Taishi. "Old Taishi, no need to get angry. I asked for his opinion."

    Yuan Taishi bowed and solemnly replied, "Your Majesty, my Divine Venom Dynasty has never interfered with matters of the outside world. No matter what sort of character Lu Yin might have, or how ambitious he may be, none of it has anything to do with us, so why get involved with him, either as an enemy or as friends? Regardless, neither option will bring any benefits to our Divine Venom Dynasty."

    "Elder¡¯s words are wrong. If Lu Yin unites the Innerverse, would you still be willing to im that such a thing has nothing to do with our Divine Venom Dynasty?" Attendant Yi asked in a cold voice.

    Yuan Taishi grew furious. "A small man¡¯s opinion!"

    Attendant Yi¡¯s expression sharpened, and a cold glint flickered deep in his eyes. "This old ve is a viin for His Majesty''s sake. If the Great Eastern Alliance is truly no threat, why would the Sword Sect have sent someone to my Divine Venom Dynasty?"

    "They are trying to take advantage of us."

    "Is Elder Yuan afraid?"

    ¡­

    "Enough. Old Taishi, stop here for now; I''m tired," Qing Shaohuang interrupted the argument and waved for Yuan Taishi to leave.

    Yuan Taishi red at Attendant Yi, but could only excuse himself.

    Attendant Yi held too high a position in the empire, and he had Qing Shaohuang¡¯splete trust. On top of that, the chief attendant was very powerful in his own right. If not for all of these details, Yuan Taishi would have attacked this servant who overstepped himself.

    "You should also leave for now," Qing Shaohuang said to Attendant Yi.

    Attendant Yi bowed left, leaving only Qing Shaohuang and Qing Li in the office.

    Qing Shaohuang turned to Qing Li, "Do you think Transience would be enough to deal with Lu Yin?"

    Qing Li¡¯s fingers twitched as he shook his head. "No. Back then, Nightking Zhenwu used Transience and poisoned Lu Yin, yet the youth removed the poison and survived. Brother Huang should already know this."

    "I know, but Transience has changed since then; it is now more toxic and deadly," Qing Shaohuang stated coldly.

    Qing Li dropped his head, not knowing what to say. He hesitated over whether or not to tell Qing Shaohuang that Lu Yin already knew about Transience. This was not something that Qing Li wanted to admit to, but if the emperor tried to use Transience to deal with Lu Yin and then failed, Qing Li would suffer right alongside Qing Shaohuang. Even if Qing Shaohuang ended up fine, Lu Yin would still reveal his knowledge of Transience, and Qing Shaohuang would not let that matter just go.

    Qing Li was stuck in quite a dilemma.

    However, it was also possible that Transience would be able to take care of Lu Yin. After all, there was no way to detect the poison, which left a tiny glimmer of hope.

 Chapter 1762: The Highest Consumption

    Chapter 1762: The Highest Consumption

    Qing Shaohuang had told Qing Li about the existence of Transience, but the emperor never mentioned that the Second Nightking had appeared. Qing Shaohuang would never mention that detail to anyone at all.

    The emperor had no intention of moving in the open to deal with Lu Yin, as there were far too many powerful people supporting Lu Yin.

    This was also just considering Lu Yin¡¯s situation, as it was also important to note that the Second Nightking was wanted by Interster Arbitration. As soon as news leaked that the ancient expert was in Venom King City, Qing Shaohuang would not only need to face those supporting Lu Yin, but also the full might of the Hall of Honor. That was the strength that dominated the Human Domain.

    Qing Shaohuang had also been feeling hesitant, but Lu Yin pping Attendant Yi in the face had firmed the emperor¡¯s resolve. Lu Yin had not been striking Attendant Yi, but Qing Shaohuang. This had happened in Venom King City, which demonstrated just how arrogant Lu Yin was and how he looked down on the Divine Venom Dynasty. Perhaps the truth was like the Sword Sect had said, and once Lu Yin united the Innerverse, the Divine Venom Dynasty would not be overlooked.

    The emperor felt hate towards Yuan Taishi and the others were too stubborn and conservative.

    The Divine Venom Dynasty had sent invitations to many people throughout the Human Domain, and more and more people continued to enter Venom King City. It would still be some time before the banquet celebrating Qing Shaohuang¡¯s breakthrough would be held.

    Lu Yin stayed in Qing Shaohuang¡¯s remote pce for two days before going out again. This time, he went to visit Elder Lianxin.

    Lu Yin had no idea what sort of bizarre surveince methods the Divine Venom Dynasty might possess, so he did not try to hide his movements, but was open about his visit.

    Lu Yin''s location was something that was constantly being monitored by Qing Shaohuang. The Divine Venom Dynasty monitored the city through the ground. Every inch ofnd on Divine Venom Continent was poisonous, and each drop of poison was able to record the daily whereabouts of any particr creature.

    The moment Lu Yin stepped out of the pce, Qing Shaohuang was aware of it.

    Elder Lianxin was staying in a mansion close to the imperial pce, but she refused to see Lu Yin when he arrived at the mansion.

    Lu Yin frowned. The Sword Sect had already surrendered secretly to him, and yet this was how Elder Lianxin was still treating him. This was either because she was worried about the Divine Venom Dynasty, or it was because the elder had no desire to personally join the Great Eastern Alliance. Regardless, Lu Yin had to get in. Even if he was not able to see Elder Lianxin, he could still see Li Zimo and determine Elder Lianxin''s true feelings.

    There was a bang as the gate of the mansion was destroyed and all the Divine Venom Dynasty cultivators who guarded the mansion dropped to the ground. Lu Yin casually entered the mansion¡¯s grounds.

    The sound disturbed the nearby imperial pce, as well as Qing Shaohuang. The emperor was absolutely furious; Lu Yin was too arrogant! This was Venom King City, not the Great Eastern Alliance territory, and yet Lu Yin was still so brazen!

    The boom also alerted other people in Venom King City, and all of them started to pay attention to Lu Yin''s actions. This was just too over the top!

    Lu Yin entered the mansion and saw Li Zimo, who was staring at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, is there something you need here?"

    Lu Yin moved right past the young man. "I heard that Elder Lianxin was here, so I came to see her."

    Li Zimo lifted his sword in a futile attempt to stop Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not even move, yet the sword shattered. The next moment, the void warped, and Qing Shaohuang emerged to block Lu Yin¡¯s path.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the emperor in person, but he had seen many videos before.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you have something to say, I can ry a message on your behalf. You and Elder Lianxin are both my Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s honored guests, so please stop your actions," Qing Shaohuang spoke lightly and showed a calm expression. He did not betray even the slightest bit of hostility towards Lu Yin, despite the rage the emperor was feeling.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "I didn''t expect His Majesty to leave the pce."

    Lu Yin¡¯s position made it reasonable for Qing Li and Qing Longlong to greet him upon his arrival, but given the fact that he was staying in Venom King City, it was natural for Qing Shaohuang to also show some courtesy and personally meet with Lu Yin. However, so far, Qing Shaohuang had used the excuse of secluded training as an excuse to not meet with Lu Yin, though the emperor had not met with anyone else, either.

    "I just exited my seclusion. I¡¯ve ignored Alliance Leader Lu," Qing Shaohuang answered with a smile.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Since His Majesty has made the request, then I¡¯ll just forget about this."

    "Thank you. A banquet will be held in a few days, and Alliance Leader Lu can rest until then. Although Venom King City is not a particrly prosperous ce, it still has its own charms unique from the outside world, and I insist on covering any expenses that you may incur while visiting my city." Qing Shaohuang smiled.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He was somewhat familiar with this concept, as it was the same gesture that the Sea King had made towards all of the participants in thepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw; the Sea King had covered all of the participants'' expenses at the Sea King¡¯s Dome for the duration of thepetition.

    "Are you sure?" Lu Yin''s mouth curved up.

    Qing Shaohuang was startled at Lu Yin¡¯s reaction, and had a bad premonition. Still, after a moment¡¯s thought, the emperor remembered that Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, so how could he be shameless enough to rack up much of a bill? The emperor put no more thought to the matter. "Alliance Leader Lu should enjoy his stay."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Your Majesty, you should feel free to return to your seclusion. Oh, and also, congrattions on your breakthrough."

    Lu Yin then turned around and left.

    As soon as he saw Lu Yin leave, Li Zimo stepped forward to bow to Qing Shaohuang.

    At the same time, Elder Lianxin appeared. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for stopping him."

    Qing Shaohuang nodded, "Both Elder Lianxin and the alliance leader are our honored guests. It would be best if the two of you can avoid any conflicts. I will have to trouble Elder Lianxin to remain in the mansion for the next few days."

    Elder Lianxin was feeling torn at the moment, Qing Shaohuang believed that Lu Yin was looking to make trouble for Elder Lianxin because the Sword Sect had sent her to ask the Divine Venom Dynasty for help in dealing with Lu Yin. The emperor had no idea that the Sword Sect had already secretly submitted to Lu Yin. At times, the more stubborn a person was, the more then would ignore inheritances, life and death, and even if they were right or wrong in their pursuits.

    Lu Yin was the reason that Li Zimo had left Shenwu Continent. Lu Yin had helped Li Zimo and had sent him to the Sword Sect. Because of this, Li Zimo would not betray Lu Yin. This was something that not even Elder Lianxin knew about.

    This was part of why she had no desire to see Lu Yin. Even if Liu Qianjue had submitted to the Great Eastern Alliance, Elder Lianxin had no desire to do the same, and she would much rather live the rest of her life in seclusion.

    However, despite Elder Lianxin¡¯s unwillingness to submit to Lu Yin, she would also not work against Lu Yin, nor would she tell Qing Shaohuang of the Sword Sect¡¯s decision.

    After Qing Shaohuang left, Elder Lianxin let out a sigh.

    "Master, will this be your decision?" Li Zimo asked quietly.

    Elder Lianxin looked over at Li Zimo. "Remember, only by maintaining your natural state of mind can you reach peace. Your master is not willing to join the Great Eastern Alliance, nor I will not help Lu Yin. This is your master''s path."

    "Your disciple understands," Li Zimo replied.

    Elder Lianxin nodded.

    Li Zimo stared at Elder Lianxin''s back and inwardly sighed. "Master, you have your own path, but your disciple has his own path as well."

    That night, Elder Lianxin suddenly copsed after being assaulted by a wave of drowsiness. Qing Shaohuang arrived to check on her, and was surprised to discover that Elder Lianxin had been poisoned.

    "While it¡¯s only a toxin with an average effect, it is incredibly potent. It perfectly utilizes the characteristics of the poisons, or even beyond perfection. Every single bit of the poison¡¯s power has been magnified ten times, or even a hundred times over." Qing Shaohuang frowned as he looked at Li Zimo. "Who has Elder Lianxin met with recently?"

    Li Zimo replied in a very respectful tone, "Master has always remained within the mansion and has never had any contact with anyone other than her disciples."

    Qing Shaohuang was surprised. While the type of poison that had been used was verymon, this particr version was incredibly potent. After all, it had caused even an Envoy like Elder Lianxin to fall asleep. Who had poisoned her? Lu Yin? If so, then when?

    The emperor looked back at Li Zimo and shook his head. It was impossible for Li Zimo to be behind the poison. He was Elder Lianxin¡¯s disciple, and he had been with her within the Sword Sect for many years. When Qing Shaohuang had spoken with Elder Lianxin, she had mentioned her disciple. It had been clear that Elder Lianxin had absolute trust in her disciple. This young man seemed the least suspicious out of everyone.

    The poison was quitemon, but its potency was truly terrifying. Where had ite from?

    "Your Majesty, how is my master?" Li Zimo asked, his eyes worried.

    Qing Shaohuang replied, "Don''t worry. The elder is merely lethargic. It¡¯s nothing serious, and she will be able to wake up shortly."

    Li Zimo let out a sigh of relief, but then clenched his fists. "Who the hell poisoned my master?"

    Qing Shaohuang did not understand either, and this matter had to be looked into. This attack had happened within Venom King City, which would make this matter more difficult to cover up. This was also not a simple attack, and how many poison masters in Venom King City were capable of creating such a toxin? The emperor suddenly remembered Yuan Taishi. That old man had always disapproved of targeting the Great Eastern Alliance, so it would not be any surprise for him to have poisoned the Sword Sect¡¯s representative.

    It was not impossible for it to have been Yuan Taishi, but Qing Shaohuang suppressed his suspicions and reassured Li Zimo once again before leaving.

    Li Zimo bowed deeply to the unconscious Elder Lianxin. "I''m sorry, Master."

    He had been the one to poison the woman. Lu Yin had broken into the mansion and had handed the poison over when he had passed by Li Zimo, while also asking if Elder Lianxin was unwilling to join the Great Eastern Alliance. That was the reason for the poison. Also, Lu Yin had shared the properties of the poison with Li Zimo, which was the only reason he had been willing to poison his master.

    Lu Yin was aware of the rtionship between Li Zimo and Elder Lianxin, and he had no desire to truly poison Elder Lianxin, just to have her remain asleep for a while. This was a poison that Lu Yin had taken from Elder Wu. It was a verymon sort of poison, and it was not a violent sort. Lu Yin had originally had three bottles, and he still had two left.

    Elder Lianxin was unhappy with the Great Eastern Alliance, so even after the Sword Sect had submitted, she had remained unwilling to join the alliance. She presented an unstable factor, which meant that Lu Yin could only have her sleep for the time being.

    At first, Lu Yin had nned to continue on to the Wen family¡¯s quarters after leaving Elder Lianxin''s mansion. Lu Yin hoped to threaten Wen Zizai again and drive home the importance of the improved Literary Prison, but Qing Shaohuang had given Lu Yin an opportunity that could not be ignored, so Lu Yin had excitedly decided to go shopping.

    His first stop was the small shop he had visited on his first day in the city.

    He had no paid particr attention the first time, but on his return, Lu Yin deliberately checked the name of the shop: "Poisons Come and Go." A good name.

    Lu Yin entered the shop, and saw the shop owner was busy with a group of customers. The owner and his customers saw Lu Yin, and simultaneously, all five of the people in the store nearly dropped. "Sir!"

    "Master Lu!"

    Lu Yin gave an odd stare at the customers. "You know me?"

    The man at the front of the small group answered respectfully, "Who in the universe doesn''t know of Alliance Leader Lu? Seeing the alliance leader in person is enough to let this lowly one be willing to die!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s something I want to discuss with this shopkeeper."

    "Please take your time. This lowly one will withdraw." The man quickly left the store with the others in his group.

    Still on the floor, the shop owner kept his head bowed in terror as he bowed to Lu Yin. "Sir, this lowly one was wrong before! I did not mean to offend you or your friends, so please forgive this lowly one this once! I swear it will never happen again...."

    Lu Yin scratched at his ears. "Alright, enough with the crap."

    The man became even more frightened, and he actually copsed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp as he looked at the man. "Let me ask you: where¡¯s the most expensive store in Venom King City?"

    The shop owner felt confused. "The most expensive store?"

    Lu Yin squatted down to get closer and smiled at the man. ¡°Your shop¡¯s got a decent size in a good location, and it does a great deal of business. With all of this, you have to have a good understanding about the more expensive ces in Venom King City."

 Chapter 1763: Yis Emporium

    Chapter 1763: Yi''s Emporium

    The shop owner stared at Lu Yin in a daze before finally registering what the young man had asked. At that moment, a slight smile subconsciously spread across the man¡¯s face. ¡°I understand. So, is Young Master looking for the most exclusive store?"

    Lu Yin nodded and stared intently at the shop owner. "It must be the most exclusive."

    "That is not a problem at all. This one will escort Young Master there personally. This store is absolutely the very best." The shop owner behaved very motivated, as if he had received a sudden enlightenment.

    Lu Yin was somewhat taken aback by the change in behavior, but he quickly praised the shopkeeper¡¯s decision. When he had been at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, he had not thought about getting a local to guide him, but only the locals would be familiar enough with a city to know which shop was the most expensive. Going to an auction house would be too low-level for Lu Yin¡¯s current status. Although many items that were auctioned off were very expensive, most of the best items sold in such a manner were not exclusive to the auction houses, which was unfortunate.

    "Young Master, allow me to show you the way." The shop owner smiled warmly, though his smile was rather ugly.

    They left the store and hailed a cart that was pulled by a strange animal. The shop owner drove, and after a long ride, the two men arrived at another street.

    Lu Yin blinked as he looked around at the yful andughing women on each side of the street, as well as the mboyant lighting. "Where are we?"

    The shop owner moved closer. "This is the most enjoyable ce in all of Venom King City! Young Master, here, you can experience the greatest pleasures in the world, even things that you can¡¯t imagine! There is nothing that you cannot find here. Young Master, what¡¯s your preference? They have all types."

    Lu Yin pped the shop owner upside the head. "I thought you said that you were taking me to the most expensive ce!"

    The shop owner grew terrified. "This street is home to Venom King City¡¯srgest brothel, and the prices there are unmatched! I heard that even Casanova himself has visited this ce before. Is this not up to your liking, Young Master?"

    Lu Yin was leftpletely speechless. "I want to buy something!"

    After a brief moment, he corrected himself. "Let me make it as clear as possible: I want to buy poison, or some sort of exotic treasure, weapons, or simr things. I want the best and the most expensive."

    The shop owner''s face twitched, and he gulped hard.

    "Understand now?" Lu Yin asked in a vicious tone. His every move was being watched and spied upon; just how would he exin himself of his actions on this street when word of it leaked out?

    Actually, why bother exining at all?

    The shop owner quickly nodded. "Understood! This lowly one understands! I will take you to Yi''s Emporium.¡±

    "Yi''s Emporium?"

    "Almost any poison that can be found within the Divine Venom Dynasty is sold in Yi''s Emporium. It¡¯s the biggest poison market in the empire, and they also sell weapons and all other sorts of treasures. Young Master will definitely be satisfied."

    "Let¡¯s just go to Yi''s Emporium¡­"

    Within the imperial pce, Qing Shaohuang expressed a bit of surprise as he read a report. He was standing in front of Qing Longlong.

    "He went to Beauty Street," Qing Shaohuangmented as he tossed the report away.

    Qing Longlong was confused. "Beauty Street?"

    Suddenly she remembered something, and her face flushed brightly. She snorted, "Shameless!"

    Qing Shaohuang had no intention of continuing this conversation with his daughter. Instead, he asked, "Did you take him to see Yuan Miaomiao?"

    Qing Longlong knew that she could not hide this from her father, so she grunted in affirmation. "Miaomiao wanted to see him."

    Qing Shaohuang frowned. "Don''t take Lu Yin to see anyone else from that family again. Just leave it alone."

    Qing Longlong looked at Qing Shaohuang and hesitated, but she eventually decided to remain silent.

    News that Lu Yin had visited Beauty Street quickly spread throughout Venom King City. At this moment, Qing Shaohuang was no longer the most talked about person in the city, as Lu Yin had taken this position.

    "Beauty Street? Where¡¯s that?" Wen Sansi asked curiously.

    The local guide provided for the Wen family by Venom King City replied, "A street of brothels."

    Wen Sansi nodded and no longer cared at all, but Wen Qian¡¯er spat, called Lu Yin shameless, and left.

    Mr. You soon learned of Lu Yin''s trip as well. As long as Lu Yin did nothing to hide his movements, everyone would know wherever he went. If Lu Yin hid things, then only Qing Shaohuang would know of his movements.

    "Beauty Street? Hmph!" Mr. You''s eyes were dark. He had made the trip to Venom Flowzone not only because of the invitation that he had received, but also because the overseer hoped to find a way to convince Qing Shaohuang to cooperate with the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers to deal with Lu Yin. This was the overseer¡¯s true mission.

    Balsam also received word that Lu Yin had gone to Beauty Street, though she was somewhat puzzled, as Lu Yin had been too open about his actions. Everyone was aware that Lu Yin¡¯s only connection to any brothel was the Neoverse¡¯s Azure Mansion. Other than that, Lu Yin had never once been known to visit such ces. What had changed with his visit to Venom King City?

    Had he done this deliberately?

    In Yuan Taishi''s estate, the master of the house looked quite calm. "He went to Beauty Street? Odd that he was able to remain calm with Miaomiao..."

    At this time, on a certain section of Beauty Street, Qing Li quickly made an emergency U-turn.

    "My lord, are you not going to visit Miss Tang?"

    Qing Li felt quite frustrated. "It''s bad luck to go right now."

    "Miss Tang has been waiting a long time for you."

    The corner of Qing Li¡¯s mouth twitched. His determination to go rose once more, but after realizing that he might run into Lu Yin, Qing Li lost interest. ¡°Cut the crap, I won¡¯t be going anymore.¡± He paused, before adding, ¡°Make a trip down and make sure that Lu Yin doesn¡¯t seen Miss Tang."

    "This lowly one will be on his way."

    Qing Li felt cornered. Why was that bastard haunting him? The king had wanted to visit Beauty Street to vent a bit, but such a situation had urred. Things were just getting worse and worse.

    Lu Yin just turned around on Beauty Street and started making his way elsewhere.

    Yi''s Emporium took up half of the street ity on, and Lu Yin was able to see the building from far away.

    Yi''s Emporium, Yi''s Emporium, Lu Yin''s heart moved. "What sort of connection is there between this Yi''s Emporium and Attendant Yi?"

    The shop owner answered in a respectful tone, "The hidden owner of Yi''s Emporium is Attendant Yi."

    Lu Yin was surprised at this. "He¡¯s allowed to have his own businesses with his position? Does Qing Shaohuang not care?"

    "Qing-" The shop owner was about to reply, but then he suddenly stopped. He was not qualified to speak Qing Shaohuang''s name casually. "His Majesty¡¯s knowledge is not something that this lowly one would dare toment on, but Yi''s Emporium has been open for many, many years, and it enjoys an excellent reputation."

    Lu Yin did not particrly care about the ce¡¯s reputation. All he cared about was whether their goods were of a high enough quality. Even if their reputation was poor, what would they do? Try to rob him?

    Yi''s Emporium took up half the street front, but it looked rather simple from the outside.

    Half a street in Venom King City was a distance that an ordinary person could not cover even after spending an entire day of walking. This meant that even cultivators could enjoy the pleasure of wandering about a store, and it also meant that the store had an endless variety of goods.

    Yi''s Emporium had nine levels, and while that might not sound like very many, each level was extremely tall, and even the imperial pce could be seen from the top of the building.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes darted about for a moment as he approached Yi''s Emporium, as there were Enlighters protecting the building, and more than one at that. This was an impressive lineup.

    "The Divine Venom Continent is the heart of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and each of the hundreds of cities on this continent has its own Yi''s Emporium. In each location, Yi''s Emporium is only shorter than the city master¡¯s pce. This ce is Yi''s Emporium¡¯s headquarters, and it is only shorter than the imperial pce itself," the shop owner mentioned as he led Lu Yin to the store.

    This Yi''s Emporium had quite an imposing entrance, as it was manned by twenty Explorers. Such a show of strength was enough to scare most people away.

    Even before Lu Yin entered the building, someone approached came to wee him.

    "This lowly one is Yi''s Emporium¡¯s manager, Cai. I came to wee Alliance Leader Lu." The old man respectfully bowed to Lu Yin. There was an entire group of people behind the old man, and both the men and women bowed to show their respect to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You know me?"

    Cai Lai answered in a very respectful manner, "Who doesn''t know of Alliance Leader Lu? I¡¯m truly honored to have Alliance Leader Lu visit my Yi''s Emporium."

    Lu Yin smiled and walked in.

    The shop owner smiled at Cai Lai in an attempt to suck up to the man, but Cai Lai just shot the owner of the small shop a cold look before following after Lu Yin. The shop owner considered his options and then followed behind.

    As soon as Lu Yin entered Yi''s Emporium, everyone else was once again informed of his location. Wen Sansi and many others simply wondered why Lu Yin had left Beauty Street so quickly.

    Attendant Yi''s expressionpletely changed the moment he learned that Lu Yin had gone to Yi''s Emporium, and his mood hit rock bottom. This was because Attendant Yi was aware that Qing Shaohuang had already offered to cover all of Lu Yin¡¯s expenses during his visit. This meant that everything that Lu Yin spent in Yi''s Emporium needed to be billed to Qing Shaohuang, but how could Attendant Yi ask Qing Shaohuang for money? Just the thought of that situation made Attendant Yi feel as though the sky was falling down on him.

    Qing Shaohuang''s expression also became a bit odd after he learned that Lu Yin had gone to Yi''s Emporium. Of course, the emperor was aware that Yi''s Emporium had been established by Attendant Yi. After all, everyone had some sort of hobby, and there was nothing particrly wrong with Attendant Yi¡¯s love for money. Qing Shaohuang knew that Yi''s Emporium should bill him for Lu Yin¡¯s spending, and while the emperor did not particrly care about money, would Attendant Yi dare to ept such a thing from the emperor?

    Everyone was watching Lu Yin. Attendant Yi¡¯s greatest wish at this moment was for Lu Yin to not buy anything too expensive in Yi''s Emporium, and it was closely followed by the wish that the store¡¯s staff would not tell Lu Yin about any of the more valuable items. Attendant Yi desperately wanted to say something, but it was already toote.

    Lu Yin entered Yi''s Emporium and looked around. It was quite massive and spacious on the inside.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this is just the first floor, and all the items here are worthless. There¡¯s nothing here that is worthy of your attention. Everything you could be interested in is up on the eighth and ninth floors," Cai Lai said.

    "Let¡¯s go and see," Lu Yin casually replied. He had already unleashed his domain, and there really was nothing on the first floor that he cared about. Most of what he saw was a variety of poisons, as well as a few weapons and armors. Everything that Lu Yin saw was useless for him, as these items were only useful for Explorers.

    Still, even the first floor of the building was dedicated to Explorers, which showed just how impressive Yi''s Emporium was.

    The second floor, third, fourth, and even the seventh floor were all passed through one after another, and Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept across each level as they passed. There were a few things on the seventh floor that could be of use to Lu Yin, but he wanted only the best and most expensive items that the store had to offer.

    The little shop owner continued to follow behind Lu Yin. He had visited Yi''s Emporium in the past, but he had only ever made it as far as the fourth floor. He had never been allowed to step foot on the fifth floor, let alone the seventh. Even in his dreams, he had not been to the eighth floor.

    However, Lu Yin had given the man such an opportunity.

    Each sessive level of Yi''s Emporium was smaller than the previous, and since the eighth floor was close to the top of the building, it was much smaller. In fact, an ordinary person could easily walk around this floor of the building.

    Lu Yin spent some time on the eighth floor. The poisons that he noticed were quite strong, and each one of them were even more powerful than what Elder Wu¡¯s. However, while the poisons were strong, they were also extremely far from being subtle.

    There were not many items on the eighth floor, but Lu Yin noticed one bottle. It was small, only the size of his palm, and it wasbeled "Vajra Poison."

    "Alliance Leader Lu really has impressive eyesight. While this poison is not dangerous to others, if one uses it on themselves, it will make their skin indestructible. Even an Enlighter would struggle to ovee the protection that this poison provides. It is definitely one of the most precious items on the eighth floor," Cai Lai exined as he looked at Lu Yin gleaming, hope-filled eyes.

    Lu Yin nodded, but was not impressed. He moved on to look at other things.

    "This is Poison Firestar that has been concentrated and condensed into a small tube. Once released, it can shoot out 10,000 Poison Fire Beads. Even an Enlighter with a power level of 400,000 would struggle to survive against this attack. The beads will cover a person¡¯s body and slow their movements, which can be very useful when fighting against Enlighters."

    "This is¡­"

    ¡­

 Chapter 1764: This Much Money?

    Chapter 1764: This Much Money?

    Lu Yin looked around, but he felt a little disappointed. "Let¡¯s see the ninth floor."

    Cai Lai was caught off guard. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you not see anything that you like on this eighth floor?"

    "There¡¯s nothing good enough." Lu Yin did not mince words.

    Cai Lai''s expression changed. "Very well. Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me."

    The man started walking even as he spoke.

    Actually, Lu Yin had noticed many things on the eighth floor that would be useful as long as he Enhanced them, but his standards had changed. Even if he wanted to Enhance something, he needed the best avable items to start with. On top of that, he was rtively short on funds to Enhance anything at all.

    The shop owner suddenly lost his breath; the ninth floor! Yi''s Emporium¡¯s ninth floor was legendary, and only a select few people in the entire Divine Venom Dynasty qualified to set foot on it. It was possible that the number was not even ten, as even Princess Qing Longlong had been stopped from stepping foot on the ninth floor due to ack of funds. The value of the items on the ninth floor was absolutely unimaginable.

    There were no stairs leading from the eighth floor to the ninth, and instead there was a teleportation device.

    "Where are you going?" Cai Lai stared at the shop owner and asked in a cold voice. Such a person was not qualified to step onto the ninth floor.

    The shop owner had no choice, and he stepped back.

    Lu Yin nced back at the man. "He¡¯s with me."

    Cai Lai had not expected Lu Yin to allow the shop owner to follow him, and Cai Lai felt rather embarrassed, "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m simply following the pavilion¡¯s rules; such a person does not qualify to visit the ninth floor."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You can bring up your rules after you show me something in your Yi''s Emporium that actually interests me."

    He then entered the teleportation device.

    Cai Lai stared at the shop owner with cold eyes, and snorted, "Let''s go!"

    The shop owner grew pale. "I don''t dare! This lowly one doesn¡¯t dare!"

    Cai Lai¡¯s voice chilled even further, "Do you expect me to offend Alliance Leader Lu? Get going!"

    Cai Lai then also entered the teleportation device.

    The shop owner took a deep breath and stared at the teleportation device. He had not expected that a small-time business man like himself would one day enter a ce that even the empire¡¯s princess did not qualify to enter! This was an experience that would be enough glory tost him a lifetime.

    At that thought, excitement started to build, and the man stepped into the teleportation device.

    The ninth floor was not as magnificent as expected. It was almost as though the most precious things in the universe were also the most primitive.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw a warped void devoid of everything stretching out in all directions. Beneath his feet were only ancient stones. If not for the shop owner and Cai Lai soon appearing, Lu Yin would have assumed that he had been transported to a barren.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this my Yi''s Emporium¡¯s ninth floor. What you see before you is the most primitive appearance of the Divine Venom Continent," Cai Lai exined.

    As soon as the shop owner arrived, he nced around in surprise. The sky was covered with huge shadows, and a monster passed by. Its body was covered with thick tumors, and a nce was enough to know the creature was incredibly toxic.

    The shop owner turned white with fear.

    Cai Lai felt satisfied seeing the shop owner¡¯s response. "Each emporium¡¯s ninth floor is designed in this manner; they all are imitations of the original appearance of Divine Venom Continent. What you are seeing are nothing more than phantoms."

    Lu Yin felt curious, "Why use such a design for the ninth floors?"

    Cai Lai''s expression turned sincere. "Because His Majesty Emperor Qing honors his ancestors, and he often considered their difficulties when first living on the Divine Venom Continent. Because of this, Attendant Yi decided to design the ninth floors to imitate the primordial continent in honor the emperor¡¯s thoughts."

    Lu Yin sucked in a sharp breath. He understood why Qing Shaohuang was so fond of Attendant Yi. This was the ultimate form of ttery! While Ku Wei and Elder Tan would go all out when they were at Lu Yin¡¯s side, whenpared to Attendant Yi, the other two were inept. Only someone who had taken ttery to a spiritual level could be capable of something like what Lu Yin was seeing.

    Also, it was no wonder that Qing Longlong had been prevented from visiting the ninth floor, as this ce was a monument, and Attendant Yi did not want to share his open ttery for the emperor with anyone who could steal it. It was hard not to admire the man¡¯s dedication.

    Even his employees were able to use Attendant Yi¡¯s nning for ttery at the drop of a hat.

    Lu Yin felt quite envious of Qing Shaohuang. Life had to be quite rxing with someone like Attendant Yi nearby.

    However, Lu Yin also had no interest in observing the primordial state of Divine Venom Continent. "Isn''t this ninth floor supposed to be where the most valuable treasures are sold? Bring them out for me to see."

    Cai Lai responded by pping his hands. Soon, the teleportation device twisted, and a beautiful woman appeared with a crystal tray that she held in a hand. There was a gray cloth covering the tray.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please look," Cai Lai encouraged.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened a bit as he casually removed the cloth. However, he was greeted by the sight of a strange, long worm thaty on the crystal tray. It was even as dry as a branch.

    "What¡¯s this?" Lu Yin had absolutely no idea.

    Cai Lai smiled. "Sectarian."

    "Sectarian?" At the side, the shop owner was startled, and he grew pale yet again.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "You know what this is?"

    The shop owner stared at the worm in horror. "Sectarians are giant and powerful beasts that asionally attack my Divine Venom Dynasty. At their peak, they can fight against the united power of the entire military of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and even Emperor Qing. His Majesty almost failed to destroy the Sectarians on several asions. These things are incredibly poisonous, and they burrow into peoples¡¯ bodies as soon as theye into contact with them. Their venom devours flesh and blood, and even powerful Envoys have been destroyed by it."

    Cai Lai shot an impressed nce at the shop owner. It actually had turned out to be somewhat advantageous to allow the man to be brought along. He had really talked up the first item.

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he stared at the worm. He just could not see how this thing could be so powerful that even Envoys struggled to deal with it.

    The universe was filled with many odd things. Normally, people cultivated with star energy, but while members of the Specter n cultivated with death energy. People from the Sixth Maind also cultivated bloodlines and imprints, while in the Divine Venom Dynasty, people cultivated poison. For example, Qing Longlong had a certain jincan known as Unending Worms, and as long as those bugs could burrow into an enemy''s body, they would nevere out until they died.

    That sounded quite simr to this worm, but Qing Longlong¡¯s endless horde of insects were only able to handle Enlighters, while this worm could even defeat Envoys.

    "Weren¡¯t all of these worms destroyed? Due to how insidious they are, if even an average cultivator got a hold of one, they could still pose a grave threat, and that¡¯s why His Majesty the emperor doesn¡¯t allow these worms to exist," the shop owner protested in shock.

    Cai Laipletely ignored the shop owner. Qing Shaohuang did not allow the worms to openly appear, but that was merely a restriction limited to ordinary cultivators. Others, such as members of the royal family, were not held to such restrictions. Still, because of how dangerous the worms were, very few people were willing to use them.

    Cail Lai nced at Lu Yin. While the jincan was powerful, it also posed a danger to the owner. Several people from the Divine Venom Dynasty had already seen this worm, but no one had bought it.

    "No. Next," Lu Yin casually stated.

    Cai Lai was stunned for a moment. "Is Alliance Leader Lu not at all interested?"

    Lu Yin indifferently exined, "I''m not very interested in jincans, and no matter how I look at it, putting something alive into my body is weird."

    Lai shrugged and waved a hand. "Next."

    Lu Yin''sment essentially meant that they would not show him any more jincans. The next item to appear looked to be something Cai Lai had specifically picked out for Lu Yin: a sourcebox.

    Lu Yin was a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, and he was the most appropriate sort of customer to sell a sourcebox to.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the sourcebox, as this was a valuable item.

    The sourcebox released a dazzling amount of light of all different colors. Anyone who saw the light would not be able to keep their eyes open, which was the sourcebox¡¯s danger zone.

    "Ordinary people go blind from just a nce. Even cultivators can''t endure it for more than a few seconds. There was once an Enlighter who was a Lockbreaker, but even he went blind after staring at this sourcebox for just ten seconds. No matter what, no one has been able to unlock this sourcebox," Cai Lai said. He quickly averted his eyes, as he also did not dare keep looking at the colorful sourcebox.

    Lu Yin felt his eyes start to sting, so he quickly looked away as well. "I want it. Wrap it up."

    Cai Laiughed. This sourcebox was something Yi''s Emporium had kept for a long time, but no one had wanted it. Many Lockbreakers had tried to open it, but all of them had given up. It was possible that it held an invaluable treasure, but they were unable to open it.

    Cai Lai had heard that Lu Yin was quite wealthy, so the store manager quickly tried to calcte what to charge Lu Yin.

    "Thank you for your patronage, Alliance Leader Lu. For today, all of your purchases in our Yi''s Emporium will be 30% off." Cai Lai loudly stated. In fact, he had not decided to offer Lu Yin a discount, but since there were no prices listed, no one would know that Cai Lai was doubling the prices. After all, Attendant Yi had been pped by this young man, and Cai Lai wanted to do something to collect on that debt for his boss.

    The colorful light disappeared as the sourcebox was wrapped up. Lu Yin turned to stare at Cai Lai with a solemn expression.

    Cai Lai was chilled by Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, and cautiously asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, is there a question you might have?"

    Lu Yin somberly stated, "This sourcebox is very valuable."

    Cai Lai blinked; what the hell was that supposed to mean?

    "I perfectly understand that offering such a discount on an invaluable item like this will cause your Yi''s Emporium to suffer a loss. There¡¯s no need to offer me any sort of discount, as I¡¯m willing to pay whatever price you give," Lu Yin stated.

    Cai Lai''s eyes went wide, and he was blown away by the sense of wealth that Lu Yin exuded at this moment. The young man¡¯s words had just made Cai Lai consider that Lu Yin might be someone from the Mavis family.

    Even the shop owner was startled; so rich?

    "Even if there¡¯s a discount, I don''t want it. I, Lu Yin, have no intention of taking advantage of others!" Lu Yin shouted. "Do you understand?"

    Cai Lai stiffened his back. "I understand, Alliance Leader Lu. Rest assured, this one will not let you down."

    He immediately decided to charge Lu Yin five times more.

    Lu Yin pped a hand onto Cai Lai¡¯s shoulder and said, "Alright, that¡¯s the attitude of a qualified businessman! Let¡¯s see your next item. I hope your inventory won¡¯t disappoint me. Money¡¯s no issue, and so long as I¡¯m satisfied, it doesn¡¯t matter how you pad your profit margins."

    Cai Lai felt incredibly motivated. This young man was just too rich! Cai Lai had not originally intended to take out the best items in their inventory, as such things were Yi''s Emporiums¡¯ treasures. However, one had to take advantage of running across a rich man, and Cai Lai recognized this opportunity.

    Chief Yi, your subordinate has met a super rich man who has offended you, so your subordinate will get revenge for you!

    With thoughts ofpletely fleecing Lu Yin, as well as the arrogance of not allowing his Yi''s Emporium to be looked down upon, Cai Lai brought out the third item. It was a drop of liquid that was suspended within a bottle. The drop was shaped like a teardrop and waspletely colorless.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this is a poison that¡¯s called Samaritan Tears." Cai Lai looked solemn as he introduced this item.

    At this same time, Attendant Yi was no longer able to hold himself back, and he reached out to the Yi''s Emporium to ask what Lu Yin had bought.

    After hearing that Lu Yin had not bought anything at all on the first eight floors, Attendant Yi¡¯s heart sank.

    Knowing that Lu Yin was already on the ninth floor, Attendant Yi gritted his teeth and was about to tell Cai Lai to not take out anything truly valuable.

    However, before he could do so, he was told that Cai Lai had brought out the colorful sourcebox.

    Attendant Yi felt as though blood was dripping from his heart.

 Chapter 1765: Takeaway

    Chapter 1765: Takeaway

    Attendant Yi knew that Lu Yin would definitely want the sourcebox. If Lu Yin would pay for it, everything would be fine and it would not matter. However, Lu Yin was paying on the emperor¡¯s credit!

    This was no different from saying that anything that Lu Yin bought would be a total loss for Attendant Yi.

    Attendant Yi sent word again to tell Cai Lai to not show Lu Yin anything truly valuable, hoping the message would be delivered quickly.

    Instead, Attendant Yi learned that Cai Lai had brought out Samaritan Tears.

    Attendant Yi''s face turned pale.

    Back on Yi''s Emporium¡¯s ninth floor, Lu Yin was puzzled, "Samaritan Tears?"

    Cai Lai nced over at the shop owner, and the man spoke up right on cue. He had been in business for many years, so he was quite discerning of people¡¯s desires. "Samaritan Tears is one of my Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s most toxic poisons. Legends state that even a single drop is enough to kill an Envoy.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Are your Envoys that worthless? First, there was that worm, and now you¡¯re saying that even this Samaritan Tears is able to kill an Envoy."

    The shop owner had no understanding of the power of an Envoy, so he had no way to answer Lu Yin¡¯s question this time.

    Instead, Cai Lai replied, "Alliance Leader Lu, Envoys are incredibly powerful, and the only Envoy in my Divine Venom Dynasty is Emperor Qing himself. However, there are records of Envoys being poisoned by both the worm you saw earlier and the Samaritan Tears. This is the truth, and in fact, it was not even an ordinary Envoy who was poisoned by the Samaritan Tears." Wonder glowed in the man¡¯s eyes as he continued. ¡°It was an Envoy with a power level that exceeded 700,000, ording to the legends."

    "Impossible." Lu Yin emphatically stated. "Aside from Qing Shaohuang himself, no one from your Divine Venom Dynasty has ever managed to achieve a power level of more than 700,000 throughout your entire history."

    "That¡¯s simply what the records state. As for whether or not they¡¯re true, I can¡¯t say. Still, Samaritan Tears is absolutely the most toxic poison in my Divine Venom Dynasty. Except for my Yi''s Emporium and the imperial pce, Samaritan Tears cannot be found anywhere else at all."

    Lu Yin started to think. Could Qing Shaohuang be thinking of using Samaritan Tears to deal with Lu Yin?

    "This poison is colorless and scentless?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Lai regretfully denied this, "While the Samaritan Tears are incredibly potent, the poison can be detected. It¡¯s a colorless liquid, but it can easily be seen by the naked eye. Because of this, so long as proper precautions are taken, it is unusual for someone to be poisoned. This is the biggest w of Samaritan Tears."

    Lu Yin nodded. While Transience was nowhere close to being as toxic as the Samaritan Tears, it was a much more deadly poison because it could not be seen or tasted, and it did not even possess any runes. On the other hand, Samaritan Tears was easily noticeable. There were pros and cons to each, which was only natural.

    "I want this, too." Lu Yin looked up. No matter what ws the poison might have, its toxicity was the real deal. Besides, Lu Yin had frequently used poisons in the middle of his battles without trying to be sneaky about it, and if Samaritan Tears could also be Enhanced, he could not imagine how powerful it might be.

    Cai Laiughed; he had sold another treasure! The Samaritan Tears was extremely expensive, and it was considered to be one of Yi''s Emporium¡¯s top treasures. If Cai Lai had note across such a big spendthrift like Lu Yin, the Samaritan Tears would never have appeared.

    "Next!" Lu Yin shouted. It looked like he still was not hurting for funds.

    At this moment, a Yi''s Emporium maid entered, clearly wanting to say something to Cai Lai. Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Is your Yi''s Emporium so casual with the conduct of your employees? I just became interested in your goods, and I have no desire to be disturbed."

    Cai Lai frowned and turned to re at the maid. "Why are you not gone yet?"

    The maid was desperate. "Manager Cai-"

    Lu Yin gave a derisive snort and released a burst of spiritual force that he directed at the maid. It was far more than the woman could withstand, and she instantly fainted.

    Cai Lai felt rather puzzled, as he had not been able to sense any sort of energy fluctuations at all.

    "Hurry up and bring out the next one. I have something else I need to be doing," Lu Yin showed his impatience.

    Cai Lai did not think much of what had happened, and simply assumed the maid must have had some issue of her own. "Alliance Leader Lu, the next treasure is a poison."

    Lu Yin frowned.

    Cai Lai quickly exined himself. "This poison is different from others, as it is not something that is stored within the body, but coats the skin. It works to rece death."

    "Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" the shop owner eximed in disbelief.

    Cai Lai shot another admiring gaze towards the shop owner. This support was just too perfect and too perfectly timed. Cai Lai was seeing this man in a more and more positive light as time went on.

    "Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" Lu Yin waspletely confused. He hade across so many strange items in the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    This time, the next thing for sale was not a physical object. Cai Lai pped his hands, and Lu Yin saw the sky change. They were suddenly surrounded by a sea of extremely beautiful flowers. At the center of the sea was a beautiful butterfly pping its wings and slowly flying about. It had colors that seemed toe from a dream, and it left a strange and beautiful trail in its wake that only slowly disappeared.

    Lu Yin blinked; where did it go?

    "Life-Prolonging Butterfly, as the name suggests, can give a person an extra life, so long as it is engraved on the surface of their body. No matter how powerful the attack, it will only destroy the butterfly and will leave the personpletely unharmed. One understanding of this ability is that the butterfly pushes the human¡¯s body into a parallel time and space," Cai Lai exined as he gazed with envy at the beautiful trail that was disappearing.

    Anyone who knew of Life-Prolonging Butterflies would want one, but just who could qualify for such a thing? There were very few throughout the entire empire, such as Qing Shaohuang, Attendant Yi, Qing Li, and such.

    Lu Yin''s face instantly grew serious. This was a very big deal.

    How had the outside world not learned that the Divine Venom Dynasty possessed such a treasure? This should be impossible. Wouldn¡¯t at least the Hall of Honor know of such a thing? A treasure that could grant one an extra life was far more important than anything like the giants¡¯ technology.

    "Anyone can use a Life-Prolonging Butterfly?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cai Lai nodded. "Anyone. However, Life-Prolonging Butterflies have a distinct w: once one has been used, a person will never be able to improve their cultivation for the rest of their life."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You just mentioned that Qing Shaohuang has used a Life-Prolonging Butterfly, so how has he continued to improve his cultivation?"

    Cai Lai exined, "His Majesty Qing Emperor did not use it to improve his cultivation, but his poison. People in my Divine Venom Dynasty use poison inbat, so as long as their poison is improved, it¡¯s almost no different from improving one¡¯s cultivation. Cultivation is not quite so important to us."

    Lu Yin finally understood. Even if the Hall of Honor did have Life-Prolonging Butterflies, who would willingly use one? Arch-Elder Zen? Impossible. That old man clearly still had his eyes set on bing a Progenitor. The First Protector? Also impossible. Everyone wanted to continue to improve their strength.

    Only people born in the Divine Venom Dynasty would treat the Life-Prolonging Butterflies as invaluable treasures. This was also why there were no Life-Prolonging Butterflies outside of Venom Flowzone; this w instantly erased most of the treasure¡¯s value.

    "Life-Prolonging Butterflies are exceptionally rare in my Divine Venom Dynasty, and they can even be counted on one hand. Even if not many people in the empire are aware that such a thing exists, this is one of the treasures my Yi''s Emporium possesses," Cai Lai proudly dered.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I want it."

    Cai Lai''s eyes lit up brighter than ever. "Alliance Leader Lu is generous."

    "Next!" Lu Yin loudly called out. Yi''s Emporium really did have a lot of great things.

    At this moment, another maid rushed in. Her face was pale, and she immediately opened her mouth to speak, but Lu Yin just red at her and she crumpled to the ground. "Your Yi''s Emporium¡¯s maids are too rude! How can they be so casual about disturbing your guests? This is disappointing."

    Cai Lai''s expression changed. Naturally, Yi''s Emporium''s maids were all familiar with the rules. It was impossible not to realize that something big had happened, and Cai Lai also realized that the first maid had fallen unconscious because she had been attacked by Lu Yin. Cai Lai was not an idiot.

    "Next," Lu Yin told Cai Lai.

    Cai Lai''s expression changed a bit, but he tried to show a friendly smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, there isn¡¯t any more."

    Lu Yin red at the man. "What was that? No more? This is Yi''s Emporium¡¯s ninth floor, and yet you¡¯re saying there¡¯s nothing else left?"

    Cai Lai felt offended. "There is nothing at all wrong with Yi''s Emporium¡¯s ninth floor! Even the first princess can¡¯t afford the treasures here! Any one of these treasures is something that countless people in the Divine Venom Dynasty would fight for, and there truly is nothing more."

    Lu Yin snorted disdainfully. "This is so disappointing. Is this all there is to Yi''s Emporium? Any region within my Great Eastern Alliance possesses more treasures than you¡¯ve shown me."

    Cai Lai offered a respectful bow, but remained silent.

    Lu Yin regretted that there was no more, but Cai Lai ran this Yi''s Emporium, and he was a very shrewd person. "Alright then, that¡¯s enough shopping for now. Pack up everything I said I like, and also everything on the eighth floor."

    Cai Lai was startled and felt that he must not have heard correctly. "Alliance Leader Lu, what was that?"

    Lu Yin repeated, "Pack everything on the eighth floor. I¡¯m buying it all."

    Cai Lai¡¯s mouth fell open; pack everything up? This was the first time he had seen someone who spent money so casually. How could Lu Yin possibly still have enough to buy more?

    "Why don''t they just pack up everything in the whole Yi''s Emporium?" Lu Yin muttered to himself. Cai Lai''s body went limp, and he almost fell to the floor.

    "That- Alliance Leader Lu, there are simply too many items that are needed for the regr operations of Yi''s Emporium. And, well, you said to pack up everything on the eighth floor, but this lowly one must check with the owner," Cai Lai said.

    Lu Yin retorted, "How stupid! You¡¯ve managed this business for hundreds of years, and yet you still need to ask your boss? Why are you even the manager?"

    No matter what Lu Yin said, Cai Lai remained unmoved. No matter what, he would not sell Lu Yin another item before finding out what was happening.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This was the end. If he tried to buy anything more, he would force that old man Yi out into the open, as well as Qing Shaohuang. "Fine, but first pack up what I just ordered."

    Cai Lai wiped his forehead. "About that; might I ask how Alliance Leader Lu intends to settle his bill?"

    Lu Yin smiled and patted Cai Lai¡¯s shoulder. "Are you looking down on me? Get everything ready for me first, and after I¡¯ve checked that you have it all ready, then I¡¯ll pay. Or could it be that you¡¯re worried that I¡¯ll leave without paying?"

    Of course Cai Lai would not dare say such a thing, which left him with no choice but follow Lu Yin¡¯s request and package all of the goods that Lu Yin had requested: the sourcebox, the Samaritan Tears, and the Life-Prolonging Butterfly. The butterfly was a living creature, but since it was sealed away, it was able to be stored in a cosmic ring like an inanimate object.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin felt that he had bought far too little.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, your purchases have been prepared. Your totales-¡±

    Just as Cai Lai was talking, Lu Yin raised a hand to interrupt, "Go and talk to Attendant Yi. Everything that I spend on your Divine Venom Continent is being covered by Qing Shaohuang.

    ¡°Alright, thanks for everything!¡±

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he grabbed the shop owner and vanished.

    Cai Lai stood where he was, staring nkly into space andpletely unresponsive for a long time.

    When he did react, his body copsed to the ground. He felt like he was being crushed by the sky.

    Elsewhere, within the empire¡¯s imperial pce, Attendant Yi was feeling the same way. When he had been informed that Cai Lai had taken out the Life-Prolonging Butterfly, Attendant Yi had almost lost his mind, and he had not been able to maintain hisposure in front of Qing Shaohuang.

    Both the five-star Boundless Advanced sourcebox and the Samaritan Tears were invaluable, but the Life-Prolonging Butterfly was literally a priceless treasure. Not one of the three treasures was anything an average Enlighter could afford, and Attendant Yi was sure that even Qing Li did not possess the wealth to buy more than one of the three items. As for Qing Longlong, she did not even qualify to step onto the ninth floor of Yi''s Emporium.

 Chapter 1766: The Star Disappears

    Chapter 1766: The Star Disappears

    The treasures that were reserved for the ninth floor of Yi''s Emporium could almost be regarded as Qing Shaohuang¡¯s private collection, and the most valuable items had just been taken.

    On top of that, if Lu Yin had not been stopped, he would have also taken away everything from Yi''s Emporium¡¯s eighth floor as well. The bastard waspletely shameless.

    Qing Shaohuang also learned of what had happened, and his expression turned ugly. Even though Lu Yin had only taken three things, each one of them was just far too valuable. Even a single one of the items would have been enough to incite chaos, and yet Qing Shaohuang was supposed to cover everything Lu Yin had just spent.

    Subconsciously, Qing Shaohuang looked over at Attendant Yi, and the chief attendant happened to look at Qing Shaohuang at the same time. When Attendant Yi saw Qing Shaohuang''s eyes, the man fell to his knees and said, "Your Majesty, everything this lowly one possesses was given to me by you. Please, Your Majesty, don''t even consider paying for this incident! This lowly one would rather die!"

    Qing Shaohuang''s expression improved greatly. While he was wealthy and did not particrly care about his wealth, he was still upset to suddenly owe such an outrageous sum. "Don''t worry, I won''t allow you to suffer. He will willingly repay everything that he owes."

    Attendant Yi''s expression showed all of his grief and rage. He was resentful, yet felt helpless about everything that had happened. In fact, the handprint Lu Yin had left on the man¡¯s face was still visible. "Your Majesty, there are still a few days before the banquet."

    Qing Shaohuang''s heart dropped. Given the shameless behavior Lu Yin had just shown, it was impossible he would behave before the banquet. He would definitely run up a shocking tab. ¡°There¡¯s no choice; prepare the banquet to be held sooner. We can¡¯t wait."

    "Yes, Your Majesty. This lowly one will start preparing immediately." Attendant Yi left in a hurry.

    Qing Shaohuang let out a drawn out breath and clenched his fists tightly. Lu Yin was truly too shameless!

    After leaving Yi''s Emporium, Lu Yin felt quite relieved. He reached over to pat the shop owner on the shoulder. "You did a good job! Not bad at all."

    The shop owner was frozen in fear and regret. He was still reacting to what had just happened. This young man had just yed with Yi''s Emporium and Attendant Yi, and the shop owner had been the one who had led Lu Yin to Yi''s Emporium in the first ce! This was the end! The shop owner knew his death was imminent, and no one could save him.

    Lu Yin nced at the man. "Hey, don¡¯t look like you¡¯re about to die. I¡¯ll tell Qing Shaohuang to take care of you, and he¡¯ll have to do at least that much for me. That¡¯s just a given."

    Hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, the shop owner felt like a life-saving straw had just been offered to him. He kneeled down before Lu Yin and started wailing, "Sir, you have to save this lowly one! I don¡¯t want to die yet! My life has only just begun, and I¡¯m still very young! I don''t want to die! Though you asked me to take you to the most expensive ce in the city, I was ignorant before taking you to Yi''s Emporium! You must save me! Save me!¡±

    Lu Yin lost his patience with the man. "I already told you that I¡¯d save you! Enough, let¡¯s go. Where else can I spend more money?"

    The shop owner turned pale. This man was brutal in the way that he spent money, which meant that he had to have a powerful background. After seeing how Lu Yin had offended Yi''s Emporium, the shop owner did not dare take Lu Yin to such a ce again. Any ce that Lu Yin went, people would be offended, and if the man took Lu Yin anywhere else, there would not be any ce for him to call home on the Divine Venom Continent, or even within the entire empire.

    Seeing the shop owner¡¯s reaction, Lu Yin knew that the man did not dare show him any other ce. Still, Lu Yin did not want to lose the rare opportunity, so he decided to try to intimidate the man.

    "If you don''t take me anywhere expensive, then I¡¯ll just abandon you. Yi''s Emporium will certainly remember you, and actually, I pped Attendant Yi¡¯s face in your own store," Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    The shop owner trembled as he listened to Lu Yin''s every word. Each word sounded like a deration of death. This person was too terrifying and too cruel.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he simply started looking around.

    The shop owner felt cornered. "Young Master, this lowly one knows a ce, and though I cannot be certain if it is expensive or not, it should not be too bad."

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "You don''t know? Haven¡¯t you been there before? Where is it?"

    The shop owner bitterly exined, "It''s a secret auction. I happened to visit it once by ident, but I was almost immediately removed, as I had insufficient funds."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Do they check people¡¯s funds before entering?"

    "Yes. Each person must have at least a million star essence to be able to enter."

    "Take me!" Lu Yin had no hesitation. Even though a million star essence were practically nothing for Lu Yin, it was a staggering amount for most cultivators, even Enlighters who hadpleted thirty-two cycles. Only a million star essence were usually required toplete that cycle, while new Enlighters only needed about 120,000 star essence toplete a cycle.

    Lu Yin had long been confronting the powers that controlled the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, or even the monstrous forces of the Neoverse, and these were groups that handled hundreds of millions of star essence. Still, as far as most average cultivators were concerned, millions of star essence was enough tost even an Enlighter for their entire lifetime.

    This meant that the entry requirements for this auction was essentially limited to Enlighters.

    There were not arge number of Enlighters even in the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, so a ce that was limited to such powerhouses was naturally quite tempting to Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    There were 108 Astral River tributaries that wrapped around the Innerverse¡¯s Little Millennium Flowzone. It was a truly unique scene that was highly unusual given its precise order.

    Countless spacecraft arrived every day at the border of the flowzone, hoping to be contacted by the Starsibyl Sect. Also, there were also quite a few people who simply hoped to see Starsibyl herself.

    "Brother Liang, I heard that you once sat at the same table as Starsibyl long ago! This has got to be another chance to see her again.This time, I just want to step into the Starsibyl Sect to have a glimpse of her beauty."

    There were many vessels docked on a meteorite that had been transformed into a space station. There was even a small market that could be found.

    Within the space station, a group of young people were drinking tea and chatting. Every so often, they would spar among themselves with an audience, sparking a lively atmosphere.

    "Brother Ping is being too humble. Back then, Brother Ping also spoke with Starsibyl when she was only an Explorer. It¡¯s even said that you spoke to her for longer than any of your peers, which makes one truly jealous."

    "Haha, none of us canpare to Brother Liu. As part of the Sword Sect Liu''s family, he canugh as he wanders about the universe with Starsibyl, while waiting here is our only option."

    A short ways away, a young man¡¯s mouth curled into a smile as many people turned to look at him with envy. His name was Liu Dong, and he was someone from the same generation as Liu Shaoqiu in the Liu family. However, Liu Dong was far inferior to Liu Shaoqiu, and could not even measure up to Liu Ling or Liu Xiaoyun. Still, due to being part of the Liu family, Liu Dong had indeed managed to meet with Starsibyl.

    Liu Dong put on a humble demeanor as soon as he saw everyone direct their attention towards him. "There is more than one Starsibyl, while I¡¯ve only spoken with the Limiteer Starsibyl. I¡¯ve never been able to speak with the Explorer Starsibyl, let alone the Cruiser or Enlighter Starsibyls."

    The man who had been referred to as Brother Liang voiced his jealousy, "Who knows, maybe the current generation of Starsibyls are different from before, and they¡¯re actually all the same person and are just the various clones that were created with the Nine Clones Secret Technique. When Brother Liu spoke to the Limiteer Starsibyl, it might have been the same as speaking to all of them. Even Starsibyl herself treats you with respect! Just don¡¯t forget about me waiting here if you¡¯re able to enter the Starsibyl Sect, Brother Liu.¡±

    "We¡¯ll thank you now, Brother Liu."

    "We¡¯ll thank you now, Brother Liu."

    ¡­

    Liu Dongughed loudly. Even though they all thought that he looked impressive, the truth that only he knew was that when he had seen Starsibyl, she had not even looked at him directly. From her perspective, what was different between Liu Dong and the people around him? He also did not qualify to enter the Starsibyl Sect.

    If he was someone who stood at the same level as Liu Shaoqiu, things would bepletely different. While Liu Shaoqiu did not have the same sort of status as Starsibyl or the Ten Arbiters, he was still someone who would one day be a powerhouse who could stand tall in the entire universe after he mastered the Thirteen Swords.

    Liu Dong dreamed ofprehending the Thirteen Swords, especially since an outsider like Lu Yin had managed such a feat, and had even defeated senior disciple sister Liu Tianmu with the Sword Sect¡¯s own Thirteen Swords. Liu Tianmu¡¯s loss had shocked the entire Liu family, and outsiders would never believe that the family was just feigning their calmness.

    If Liu Dong could reach the same level as Lu Yin, even Starsibyl would have to kneel down to greet him. Liu Dong could not help himself from starting to daydream and imagine bing Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, space shattered, and the entire space station was swept away. Everyone¡¯s bones were pulverized instantaneously, and people, spaceships, and celestial bodies were all destroyed in that instant.

    A ck shadow suddenly stood at the center of Little Millennium Flowzone. They nced around, revealing a pair of slitted scarlet eyes.

    Then, the figure disappeared.

    It was not long before all of Little Millennium Flowzone waspletely destroyed. News of the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s disappearance almost instantly spread through the Innerverse, and then throughout the entire Fifth Maind.

    The Starsibyl Sect was a power that had a powerful influence on the entire universe. Whether or not people believed in divination, the sect would still have an impact on them. Each of the Starsibyls was individually powerful, and yet all of them had vanished in a moment.

    The Starsibyl Sect¡¯s disappearance had an even greater effect than if one of the powers that led any of the eight great flowzones had suddenly disappeared.

    ¡­

    In Venom King City, the shop owner led Lu Yin around until they entered a dark alley. They quickly passed through the alley to arrive in a dark ce that led to a long passageway.

    The moment Lu Yin and the shop owner entered the corridor, oilmps lit up on both sides, and each me slightly distorted the void, giving the hallway an extraordinary appearance.

    "Asset confirmation: one million star essence. Please present it." A voice spoke up. It sounded soulless, and it had appearedpletely without any prior indication. The shop owner was startled by the voice, and he quickly ducked his head, hoping to not be recognized, or even worse, rememberedter on. The shop owner was already aware that Lu Yin was intending to help himself to a free meal, and he was absolutely going to create a mess. Even if the shop owner had hidden his appearance, it would mean nothing if Lu Yin was going to go all out on this trip.

    A secret auction indicated an auction held in a hidden ce that catered to those who could not be exposed. This was not only referring to the goods being sold, but also the people bidding on the items.

    Everyone who participated in a secret auction would hide their identity so that no one would know who attended the auction. This was also done to protect the secret auction.

    Lu Yin had naturally also hidden himself. He nced out of the corner of eyes and lifted a hand that held an Enhanced poison from Elder Wu. The poison was tossed out, and it instantly disappeared. ¡°Check for yourself."

    Asset verification could be done with star essence or items of equivalent value. As long as the value matched a million star essence, it would be enough.

    The poisons that Lu Yin had obtained from Elder Wu and then upgraded were able to affect even Envoys, which meant that the value of the poison would greatly exceed a million star essence, especially in the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    After a while, the bottle reappeared and Lu Yin retrieved it.

    "Approved. Please enter." As the voice spoke, the passageway grew dark once again, and Lu Yin proceeded along with the shop owner.

    The shop owner could not decide if he should be happy or concerned. After all, he had not only apanied Lu Yin to the legendary ninth floor of Yi''s Emporium, he had also made it into the secret auction. The shop owner was visiting all sorts of ces he would never have gained ess to in his entire life, but would his final destination for the day end up being his own grave? All he could do was hope and pray that Lu Yin possessed a conscience and would save him.

    After passing through the passageway, the two entered a dark room. Only a tform at the front was illuminated, but there were hundreds ofpartments all around the room. Each one was tens of meters away from the others, and it was impossible to see inside any of thepartments from the others.

 Chapter 1767: Unbelievably Expensive Information

    Chapter 1767: Unbelievably Expensive Information

    Lu Yin was led along by an attendant to apartment that only had a single window that faced the illuminated tform.

    There was plenty of food and drinks arranged within thepartment, and there was also a woman chained to a corner. She was d in revealing clothing, but her eyes were nk. She was beautiful, and there was an innocence to her that would captivate almost any man.

    Lu Yin frowned. There was a great deal of darkness in the universe, but almost everyone believed that life was better than death, and it was clear that this woman felt the same way, given her situation.

    Lu Yin asked the attendant to remove the woman before quietly taking a seat.

    The shop owner stood beside Lu Yin, but he was casually told, "Sit down."

    The shop owner trembled as he lowered himself into a seat.

    "What''s your name?" Lu Yin asked, as he still did not know the man¡¯s name.

    The shop owner answered in a respectful tone, "This lowly one is named Chang Wu. You are wee to just call me Little Wu."

    "You¡¯re even aware of something like this secret auction, so you seem to be doing quite well for yourself," Lu Yin said.

    Chang Wu bitterly answered, "It''s not that this lowly one wanted to know, as it truly was nothing more than a coincidence. I was once being chased and beaten, and I stumbled into that dark alley and entered the corridor by ident. I thought I was being robbed when they demanded to verify my assets, and it was also thest thing that I remember hearing before I was driven away."

    Lu Yin nodded and stopped asking any questions. He instead focused on the tall tform.

    After waiting a long time, a man in a mask appeared on the high tform. It was impossible to see the man¡¯s face, but he was an Enlighter. Although Lu Yin could not see the man¡¯s face, there was no way that the Enlighter¡¯s runes could be hidden from Lu Yin.

    "Everyone should already know the rules of this venue. This ce only provides a space and conducts the auction itself. We hold no responsibility for the items being auctioned off, though if you have anything that you wish to sell, you can reach out to this business. Now, I¡¯m happy to bring out the first item for sale. There are sixteen bottles that were produced by Poisonous Old Man before his death. There is no starting price."

    The void twisted after the auctioneer spoke, and a tray appeared. Atop it were sixteen bottles of varying sizes.

    "50,000 star essence." The moment the bottles appeared, someone instantly made a bid. It was clear that the voice had been processed in some manner, and it sounded extremely stiff.

    "60,000 star essence."

    "80,000."

    "90,000."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was curious, "Poisonous Old Man?"

    Chang Wu bowed his head and said, "Poisonous Old Man was a powerful Enlighter who lived in the Divine Venom Dynasty. He was very cruel, and once, he ughtered an entire¡¯s inhabitants with poison before he was finally killed by the emperor. Any poison left behind by him is extremely powerful and invaluable for research.¡±

    Lu Yin did not have any particr interest in poison, as he only wanted a few of them to upgrade and improve. He did not really think about using poisons in his fights, and neither did he expect the Allied Forces to utilize poison. While there were many different methods of cultivating, poison was something that felt evil to most people, and the Great Eastern Alliance did not want such stigma attached to them.

    In the end, Poisonous Old Man¡¯s sixteen bottles of poison were bought for 200,000 star essence.

    The next items that appeared were mostly more poisons, which was disappointing to Lu Yin. No matter how potent the poisons might be, they were still far from measuring up to Samaritan¡¯s Tears or Transience, which were the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s best poisons.

    After watching for a while, Lu Yin started to get quite bored, which Chang Wu noticed. "Young Master, the truth is that poisons and jincans are the two most in demand products in the Divine Venom Dynasty. If you don¡¯t have any interest in either of these products, then there likely won¡¯t be anything here that will interest you at all. My Divine Venom Dynasty is isted from the outside world, so you likely will not find anything that you need here."

    Lu Yin was also able to see that the people in this ce were not interested in natural treasures like what cultivators in other ces wanted. In the Divine Venom Dynasty, poisons and jincans were the equivalent of natural treasures.

    "Aren¡¯t there any battle techniques here?" Lu Yin felt stubborn.

    Chang Wu gave a wry smile. "The battle techniques and cultivation arts here also use poisons and jincans. After all, this is Venom Flowzone, and since ancient times, people have always known that only poisons and jincans can be found in this ce, making Venom Flowzone a dangerous ce that no one wants to visit."

    Lu Yin felt the situation was a true pity as he watched the items appear and be auctioned off one by one.

    ¡­

    "The starting price is 50 million star essence."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped back to the tform¡ª50 million star essence?

    Lu Yin was not the only one to react in this way the moment the price was announced. Everyone was staring at the tform. 50 million star essence? That was insane! What could possibly be worth that price?

    No one was informed of the items to be sold before the auction started, and that included even the auction house itself. Only those who needed to know the items and prices would be informed, as the auction house had to adhere to the prices required by the seller.

    Lu Yin could also sell things if he wanted to, and he would be the one to set the starting price. He could set it as high or as low as he wanted, and the auction house had absolutely no say in this matter.

    At this moment, even the auctioneer on the stage was clearly startled by the price of this item. He had been the auctioneer for many years, and he had never oncee across an item with such a high starting price. The most important detail was that what was being sold was not even a physical item, but rather information.

    "What could be so expensive? Why don''t you show us?" Someone asked. This was not because the person was interested in buying this item, but rather born from pure curiosity. This was something that almost no one could possibly afford.

    "Show us quickly! This young master wants to find out what¡¯s so expensive!"

    "Show us quickly."

    ¡­

    Chang Wu was also staring at the tform with powerful curiosity. Such a high starting price had to be something left for the record books.

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. 50 million was a lot even by his standards.

    Up on the tform, the masked auctioneer stepped forward and held up a hand. "Everyone, this next item is not a physical object, but rather a piece of information."

    "Information worth 50 million star essence? Could this be news about His Majesty''s illegitimate child?" someone teased, clearly unafraid of being discovered by Qing Shaohuang. The secret auction was a powerful business, and all of the customers also kept their identities hidden.

    "Or could it be about some sort of research into a production method for a poison that surpasses even my Venom Flowzone¡¯s Samaritan¡¯s Tears?"

    "It doesn''t have to be something rted to Venom Flowzone, then couldn¡¯t it be connected to the outside world?"

    "That¡¯s possible¡ªmaybe it¡¯s something about Lu Yin. They say that the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance is in Venom King City right now, so could this secret be rted to his cultivation?"

    "That''s worth more than 50 million star essence. That¡¯d be worth around 500 million!"

    "500 million is something you¡¯ll never be able to afford, hahahaha."

    ¡­

    Many people were talking about the next item to be auctioned, but everyone remained focused on the tform. There were also some whose eyes darted about, as they were wondering which person was selling this information. That person was absolutely in one of thepartments in this room.

    Lu Yin listened in silence. Chang Wu had an odd expression on his face, as the person that these people were all gossiping about was actually in the same room as them. If they knew the truth, it was possible that these people would be scared to death. While some of them might be important enough that even the imperial family had to tread lightly around them, Chang Wu had watched Lu Yin p Attendant Yi right in the face.

    "Cough. You all already know that something big has recently happened in the Outerverse. The Neohuman Alliance ughtered many people from the Sixth Maind, and it was because the matters in the Horned Gxy had something to do with the Neohuman Alliance. They started their insane ughter because they were searching for something, and that thing is rted to the ck crystals that were found in the gxy afterwards," the masked man said. The room fellpletely silent.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew solemn. Was this information connected to the Neohuman Alliance and the ck crystals? This was Venom Flowzone, so what possible connection could there be?

    When it came to the Neohuman Alliance, no one would dare to underestimate them.

    "Alright, 50 million star essence. The bidding may begin," the masked man stated.

    However, not a single bid was ced. The events in the Outerverse had happened quite recently. Even though the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s ughter had died down a bit, it still had not stopped. The Neohuman Alliance was one of the Three Dark Hands and also the Hall of Honor¡¯s greatest enemy. The enemy of humanity was not something that these people could stand up to.

    The people who were able to attend this secret auction were not ordinary people. They had ess to far more information, and they were naturally warier as a result.

    The masked man called out a few more times, yet there were still no bids. In the end, the information could only be skipped over in the auction.

    In hispartment, Lu Yin grew thoughtful. He had left the Outerverse and purposely and openly traveled to Venom Flowzone in order to avoid getting caught up in the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s search. It was impossible for him to bid on this information, as it would be very easy for him to be discovered.

    Still, not being able to make a bid in the secret auction was one thing; getting the information was something else entirely. He absolutely had to know what this information was.

    Lu Yin released his domain that had reached the spirit manifestation realm and swept through the auction house. Unless there was an Enlighter or Envoy present who was also skilled at domains, no one would be able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s actions at all.

    In fact, there were three Enlighters in the building, which was not something that most forces could match.

    In addition to the three Enlighters, there were also all kinds of poisons present to prevent anyone from spying on others. There were even poisons in eachpartment, and Lu Yin was almost discovered because of these poisons.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of his domain allowed him to avoid detection and also keep an eye on the masked auctioneer.

    The auctioneer was speaking to an attendant backstage, but he was entirely ignorant that Lu Yin was observing him.

    Once, twice, three times. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he suddenly focused on apartment across the room. While the auctioneer had been speaking, he had nced at that particrpartment three times. Either someone extremely important was sitting in thatpartment, or it was the person who was selling the information. Lu Yin was inclined to believe that it was thetter.

    Lu Yin pushed through to look into thepartment and see who was inside it. He found an old man with a rather sluggish expression. The man was not quite at the Hunter realm, and his breathing was a bit unstable. It was immediately clear that he was injured.

    After learning the identity of the seller, Lu Yin was no longer in any rush. It would be easy for anything he did to be noticed. After all, the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s poisons were quite odd. Lu Yin was not able to hide his location on the Divine Venom Continent from Qing Shaohuang, and it was quite possible that it would be just as difficult to hide anything from the master of the secret auction house.

    While Lu Yin was not concerned about the people behind the auction house, he was very worried about drawing the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attention.

    The auctionsted for half a day before it finally finished. Lu Yin watched as the old man left hispartment. All of the clients left the auction house at different times and took different routes to prevent them from meeting with each other.

    Lu Yin constantly kept an eye on the old man through his domain. After Lu Yin exited a different dark alley than the one he had arrived at, he sent Chang Wu back to his shop to wait for him before starting to follow after the old man.

    Chang Wu was nervous, and he did not dare to actually return to his store. Before knowing that he was safe, he did not want to go home. He felt like he had just entered the darkest time of his entire life.

    Lu Yin did not follow the old man for very long, as the man suddenly died. He watched as the old man fell to the ground and was reduced to a puddle of blood. Lu Yin shot forward to try to save the man, but it was already toote.

    Lu Yin looked back towards the secret auction house. Judging from the old man¡¯s expression when he had left the auction house, he should have sold his information. Since it had not been sold during the auction, the only other option was that the auction house itself had bought the old man¡¯s information.

    After thinking things through this far, Lu Yin turned back, only to discover that the secret auction house had copsed and that a raging fire had filled the sky. There was a crowd of people standing around to watch the entertainment, and the city guards had sealed off the nearby area.

    That fast? From the time the old man had left and died to when Lu Yin had returned, it had been less than the time needed to brew a cup of tea, and yet someone had already killed people to silence them and burned down the entire building in order to hide all traces. Still, there were ws.

    Lu Yin shot a subtle nce towards a certain man in the crowd. He was the masked auctioneer.

 Chapter 1768: A Visit

    Chapter 1768: A Visit

    When Lu Yin swept out with his domain, he had taken note of the masked auctioneer, particrly the man¡¯s hands, as there was blood and dirt embedded under the nails. It was quite obvious that the man had been involved in something nefarious.

    The masked man watched the mes burn for a while before leaving. The secret auction could be easily abandoned by whatever power was behind it.

    Lu Yin did not secretly follow the man, instead tracking the man¡¯s whereabouts with his domain while maintaining plenty of distance. Finally, after it became dark, the masked man entered a mansion. Lu Yin slowly lifted his head, as it turned out that the man had entered Yuan Taishi¡¯s mansion. It turned out that Yuan Taishi was the power behind the secret auction.

    Lu Yin did not disturb anyone and simply returned to his own residence.

    Qing Shaohuang had constantly kept track of Lu Yin''s whereabouts, and he was surprised to see the young man returning to his own quarters after approaching Yuan Taishi¡¯s mansion. Qing Shaohuang was not surprised to see Lu Yin approach Yuan Taishi, but why had he not gone in to actually see Yuan Taishi?

    "Your Majesty, I''ve looked into the matter, and Lu Yin was just at a secret auction." Attendant Yi returned to provide a report.

    Qing Shaohuang''s eyes flickered. "Whose?"

    "Yuan Taishi¡¯s," Attendant Yi replied.

    Qing Shaohuang was not surprised. No matter if it was Yuan Taishi or Attendant Yi, it was normal for people to have their own businesses. "Did anything valuable appear at the auction?"

    He had not received word that he needed to pay another tab for Lu Yin, which meant that Lu Yin had not bought anything, which was quite strange.

    Attendant Yi remembered the losses that his Yi''s Emporium had suffered, and his entire body started trembling from rage. "There was supposedly a bit of information regarding what the Neohuman Alliance is searching for in the Outerverse."

    Qing Shaohuang¡¯s head snapped up and his eyes grew sharp. ¡°Rted to what happened in the Horned Gxy?"

    "Yes, but there were no bidders due to the excessively high price," Attendant Yi exined.

    Qing Shaohuang instantly understood. It was quite clear that Yuan Taishi had acquired the information and then destroyed the secret auction. However, no one had expected Lu Yin to discover this matter as well and also learn that Yuan Taishi was the hidden hand behind the auction.

    After considering his options for a while, Qing Shaohuang finally said, "Don''t get involved in this matter, and don''t even ask about that information again."

    "Then what about Yuan Taishi?"

    "That won¡¯t be any problem. Yuan Taishi only wants the Divine Venom Dynasty to be stable, and if this information gets out, tragedy will strike this empire. Yuan Taishi will never share anything with Lu Yin. It will be as if the secret auction never happened, and everyone who attended the secret auction will be tracked down, and their mouths will be sealed."

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    The only reason why Qing Shaohuang had agreed to help the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers deal with Lu Yin was because the emperor was afraid that Lu Yin would go after Venom Flowzone. Both Qing Shaohuang and Yuan Taishi agreed that Lu Yin would never let go of Venom Flowzone, but their disagreement stemmed from the fact that Yuan Taishi did not believe that Lu Yin had the power to force his way into Venom Flowzone.

    Still, they both agreed that they wanted peace and stability for Venom Flowzone.

    If word of this information leaked out, it would inevitably bring chaos to the entire Divine Venom Dynasty. As soon as the Neohuman Alliance got involved, there would be nothing that Qing Shaohuang or Yuan Taishi could do, as not even Lu Yin was able to stop the Neohuman Alliance.

    This was why Qing Shaohuang was absolutely certain that Yuan Taishi would simply destroy the information. Others could not be allowed to know of it, and Qing Shaohuang did not want to know either.

    Lu Yin wanted to get the information from Yuan Taishi, but that was impossible.

    Shortly after Lu Yin returned to his temporary residence, he received word that the Starsibyl Sect had vanished.

    Chills ran down his back when he saw the report, and his first thought was of the Neohuman Alliance. If what they were searching for was so important to the Neohuman Alliance, then it was possible that their only way to find it was to use the Starsibyl Sect.

    It appeared that the item the Neohuman Alliance was searching for was even more important that what Lu Yin had initially imagined. Yuan Taishi had gotten his hands on the information, and Lu Yin had already decided to give up on obtaining it, as it was impossible to do so in secret. Also, it was possible that Qing Shaohuang would get involved as well, and Lu Yin would most likely be targeted by the Neohuman Alliance after he obtained the information.

    However, the Starsibyl Sect had disappeared. The Neohuman Alliance''s behavior in searching was getting more and more exaggerated, which made Lu Yin¡¯s heart skip a beat.

    It looked like he could not just let this matter go. He needed to visit Yuan Taishi.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn, and he started rubbing his cosmic ring. No matter what, that bubble with the red liquid could never be exposed.

    ***

    At the same time that Lu Yin was thinking about the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s demise, there were people in an Aeternal Kingdom who were thinking about him.

    "When disaster struck the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory, Lu Yin was also in the Outerverse, and he was even quite close by the Autumnfrost family and the Horned Gxy," said a voice within a dark tower.

    "Are you suggesting that Lu Yin attacked the Autumnfrost family?"

    "That¡¯s not impossible. He certainly had the capability."

    "But he has no motive. Although he did have a conflict with the Autumnfrost family once, there was no need for him to go after the Autumnfrost family at the same time that the Great Eastern Alliance was being forced out of the Outerverse."

    "Remember when Autumnfrost Qing disappeared? The route that he was taking led towards Frostwave Weave."

    The dark tower fell silent for a time.

    "I will learn why Autumnfrost Qing left the family¡¯s territory as soon as possible. No matter how small the chance, if there¡¯s any possibility at all, we cannot leave it alone. However, Lu Yin also cannot be abandoned."

    "His mere existence is rted to our big n, so don''t make any moves unless you are absolutely certain."

    "Where is he right now?"

    "The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s Venom King City."

    "Then have that guy go talk to him."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was informed that the banquet to celebrate Qing Shaohuang''s breakthrough would be held in three days. He had initially wanted to visit Yuan Taishi in two days, but it looked like his ns would have to be pushed forward.

    Lu Yin actually had no need to visit anyone at all from the Divine Venom Dynasty, and before attending the secret auction, he had not even considered visiting Yuan Taishi. This was someone who only wanted peace for Venom Flowzone, and they did not view Lu Yin favorably at all. There was no reason for Lu Yin to visit such a person, and his only reason for doing so was to acquire the information.

    Lu Yin soon arrived outside Yuan Taishi¡¯s mansion, and his presence was quickly announced. The gate opened, and guards and servants lined up on either side of the gate to respectfully wee Lu Yin into the estate. Yuan Taishi personally went out to greet Lu Yin, and he brought Yuan Miaomiao along as well.

    "I apologize, Alliance Leader Lu. You¡¯vee to visit my humble abode, and I was not able to greet you in a timely manner." Yuan Taishi was a spirited old man with eyes that had seen the passage of many years. Although he was not an Envoy, he was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000, which made him a top powerhouse within the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    There were not many experts present at the mansion, and it came nowhere close toparing to the protection that had been present at the secret auction.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''ve wanted to visit Yuan Taishi for quite some time, but I¡¯ve never had the opportunity. Venom King City is a prosperous ce, and this junior has not yet seen enough of it, haha."

    Yuan Taishi¡¯s eyes flickered. Junior? This was not the proper way for Lu Yin to refer to himself, as there was no need for Yuan Taishi to personally greet a junior. For Lu Yin to be acting so humble, there had to be something that he wanted¡­

    In an instant, a thought shed through Yuan Taishi¡¯s mind, and his expression fell.

    "This is my granddaughter, Miaomiao. Miaomiao,e greet Alliance Leader Lu," Yuan Taishi said.

    Yuan Miaomiao bowed. "Alliance Leader Lu, we meet again."

    "Have you two met before?" Yuan Taishi seemed genuinely surprised.

    Lu Yin smiled. This old man seemed to be quite the actor. "We¡¯ve met once before. Miss Miaomiao''s great beauty left quite the impression."

    Yuan Taishi justughed. "Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s ambition is not something that canpare to that of ordinary people. Pleasee in, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Senior, please."

    The group quickly entered the mansion.

    Yuan Taishi¡¯s son and daughter-inw did not live at the mansion, but their daughter, Yuan Miaomiao, lived with her grandfather. There were rumors that Yuan Taishi¡¯s son had already died, but this had never been confirmed.

    The mansion was quiterge, and the group was also in no hurry. They slowly walked through the building as they chatted about random topics. The Great Eastern Alliance was not brought up, and neither was the secret auction. Lu Yin also did not mention anything at all regarding the purpose for his visit until he was seated with his host. "Two days ago, this junior stumbled upon a strange ce that I entered through a dark alley. After passing through, I found a secret auction. I wonder, do you know about this ce?"

    Yuan Taishi¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and Yuan Miaomiao quickly left. The old man stared at Lu Yin. "What is it that you wish to know, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin would have only brought this subject up if he already knew that Yuan Taishi was the one behind the secret auction, so there was no need to try to hide anything.

    Lu Yin grew serious. "There was a piece of information that was sold rted to what happened in the Horned Gxy incident. This junior is very curious about that information."

    Yuan Taishi remained perfectly calm. He took a sip of tea and remained silent.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry, so he waited quietly.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are you not afraid of getting burned by this?" Yuan Taishi asked.

    Lu Yin looked at the old man. "Everyone who participated in the secret auction is aware of this information¡¯s existence, but no one else knows that you were the one who acquired it in the end. Right now, this is something that only you and I know, and possibly Emperor Qing Shaohuang. I also know that as long as the Divine Venom Dynasty wants to avoid the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attention, this information will never be leaked. I will not spread anything, and I am merely curious about the contents of this information.¡±

    Yuan Taishi set his teacup back down and stared at Lu Yin. "I''m afraid that Alliance Leader Lu will only be disappointed."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin arched his brow. He actually did not want to get involved in what had happened in the Horned Gxy, but since it might be connected to the ¡°Murkiness¡± n that Mister Mu had asked him to look into, Lu Yin could not ignore it.

    "The information being sold was false," Yuan Taishi stated.

    Lu Yinughed. "Those are not very convincing words."

    Yuan Taishi sighed. "Ipletely understand that Alliance Leader Lu won¡¯t believe me, but false is false. That man waspletely evil, and he was being hunted down by his enemies. He came up with this scheme in an attempt to survive a truly desperate situation, and I have to admit that it was a good n. The outside world is still buzzing over what happened in the Horned Gxy, though no one wants to get involved in it.

    "If he had not set such a high starting price for his information, someone might have bought it, but he was too greedy. After I learned that the information he was trying to sell was false, I shut everything down. I hope that Alliance Leader Lu can understand why I would go to such extreme measures. Although people im that we are terrible, my Divine Venom Dynasty cannot afford to be targeted by the Neohuman Alliance."

    The exnation was quite reasonable, and Lu Yin originally did not believe that there would be any information in Venom Flowzone that was rted to the Horned Gxy incident, so he did not argue with Yuan Taishi. "In that case, what was the information about? Old Master, can you tell me?"

    Yuan Taishi tapped a finger on the table. He was reviewing what he knew about Lu Yin¡¯s history, and he realized that if he did not say anything, Lu Yin would never let him go. Yuan Taishi was trapped. "He imed that the emperor of my Divine Venom Dynasty, His Majesty Qing Shaohuang, obtained one of the symmetrical ck crystal fragments and used it to achieve his recent breakthrough."

    Lu Yin frowned. He was the person who had drawn all of the attention towards the ck crystal fragments, so he naturally knew that this information was a lie. However, others would not know this, and such information might be able to deceive some people.

    After another half an hour, Lu Yin left. He could only choose to believe Yuan Taishi, as it was impossible to prove that he was lying.

 Chapter 1769: The Hidden Flower

    Chapter 1769: The Hidden Flower

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what did Miaomiao say when she met with you?" Yuan Taishi suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin remembered the young woman¡¯s beautiful face, as well as that captivating flower on her face, and his heart was unwittingly moved. Her beautiful face with the image of the flower had been just too alluring. "Nothing much. Why does Senior Yuan Taishi ask?"

    Yuan Taishi bitterly replied, "That child, Miaomiao, has changed a great deal after her meeting with the alliance leader, and she seems quite lost. Alliance Leader Lu, this old man has a request that I hope you can help me with."

    "Senior, please tell me," Lu Yin said.

    Yuan Taishi grew embarrassed, but he still gritted his teeth and continued on to say, "I would ask Alliance Leader Lu to speak with Miaomiao again in order to loosen the knot that has formed in her heart. You would have this old man¡¯s deepest gratitude.¡±

    After speaking, the old man actually bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly helped the old man back up. "Yuan Taishi, this sounds quite serious. If there¡¯s anything that I can do to help Miss Miaomiao, this junior feels obligated to do so."

    "I owe you my greatest thanks. Here, show Alliance Leader Lu to see Miaomiao," Yuan Taishi ordered a servant.

    Lu Yin bade goodbye to Yuan Taishi before following a maid to Yuan Miaomiao''s quarters. If he was being honest, Lu Yin was a bit excited. While he did not feel anything in particr towards the woman, she did possess an irresistible charm, and besides, everyone appreciated great beauty.

    When Lu Yin entered the room, his eyes were greeted by an active spring with a soft mist rising from it, but what caught his attention were the puerile snow-white feet ying in the spring water. It was like watching a young girl y, and water sshed up and sprinkled on the lotus that was blooming within the spring.

    It was a truly beautiful scene, especially when Yuan Miaomiao turned to the side to look at Lu Yin, showing him the image of the flower on her face. The sight stunned Lu Yin for a moment; the sensation was the same as when he had first met Madam Nn, or when he had fallen into Ming Yan¡¯s tub on Shenwu Continent. It was a sensation that a person could drown in.

    Yuan Miaomiao blushed when she saw Lu Yin approaching her, and she hurriedly rose to stand and cover her feet with her white dress. Her back faced Lu Yin, as she was quite embarrassed.

    Lu Yin coughed, as he also felt a bit embarrassed. He stepped forward and said, "I''m sorry about that."

    Yuan Miaomiao hummed softly as she put on her shoes. She took a few deep breaths, turned to face Lu Yin, and then gave a slow bow. "Alliance Leader Lu."

    "We¡¯re both about the same age, so just call me Brother Lu," Lu Yin said.

    Yuan Miaomiao''s face was still red, but it was impossible to see that through the veil she wore. Still, her eyes were entrancing, and they looked like beautiful stars that glittered when she flicked them over to Lu Yin from time to time. "Lu- Brother Lu, why did youe here?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew a bit stiff. "Yuan Taishi asked me toe see you. He mentioned that you¡¯ve been feeling rather offtely, so he asked me toe speak with you."

    As Lu Yin was speaking, something suddenly popped up in his mind, and he quickly corrected himself. ¡°I mean, to try to help you."

    "Help me with what?" Yuan Miaomiao blinked, looking somewhat dazed.

    Lu Yin had no idea what else to say. Anyone would end up at a loss when faced with this kind of woman, no matter how powerful they might be. "Help cheer Miss Miaomiao up."

    Yuan Miaomiaoughed gently. "Tell my grandpa that his daughter''s not in a bad mood. It¡¯s just his imagination."

    "Since that''s the case, I''ll say goodbye," Lu Yin said.

    "Brother Lu!" Yuan Miaomiao called out. She pursed her lips and remained silent for a bit before finally saying in a quiet voice, "Join me for a drink. I actually like to drink, but Grandpa doesn''t let me."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, but then he quickly nodded with a smile. "Sure thing."

    The two of them sat across from each other at a stone table as they enjoyed some snacks and wine. It was a unique atmosphere, given that they were surrounded by the spring¡¯s soft white mist.

    Lu Yin found that chatting with Yuan Miaomiao was very rxing. She made no further mention of the Great Eastern Alliance or the Divine Venom Dynasty and instead simply talked about trivial matters, as well as interesting gossip from Venom King City. It allowed Lu Yin to enjoy a rare moment of rxation.

    It was dark when Lu Yin finally left Yuan Tiashi¡¯s mansion.

    The day had passed in a hurry, and that night, Lu Yin reached out to Qing Longlong and asked her to arrange a meeting with Yuan Miaomiao.

    Qing Longlong immediately left to visit Yuan Tiashi¡¯s mansion. After arriving, she stared at Yuan Miaomiao. "You met Lu Yin again? Did the same thing happen?"

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. She felt a little lost, but also a bit happy. "No."

    "No? How could you ask meet him without me? Last time, you sent me away at the restaurant too. You must have a crush on him." Qing Longlong hated the fact that her friend had ended up in this situation.

    Yuan Miaomiao looked at Qing Longlong and blinked. "Do you not approve?"

    Qing Longlong sighed. "How can I not approve? Still, Lu Yin is too much to go after. Do you know what he did to conquer the Outerverse? Now the entire Innerverse is his enemy."

    Yuan Miaomiao rolled her eyes. "We¡¯ve only met twice! How much do you think has happened?"

    Qing Longlong smacked a hand against her forehead. "Two times! Just two times you¡¯ve met, and yet you¡¯re already like this. You need to see him again."

    "So you¡¯ll help me see him?" Yuan Miaomiaoughed.

    Qing Longlong shrugged. "I don''t really want to, but¡­" As she spoke, her voice grew bitter. "I haven¡¯t seen you this happy in a long time."

    Yuan Miaomiao froze and stared at Qing Longlong with a sincere look in her eyes. "Thank you, Longlong."

    Qing Longlong just showed a sour smile. "Who asked me to be your little sister? By the way, you still haven¡¯t said anything to your grandpa. Will he agree?"

    The smile disappeared from Yuan Miaomiao''s face. "Right now, he can''t wait to get me into Lu Yin''s bed so that Lu Yin will leave Venom Flowzone."

    Qing Longlong opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What could she even say? Everything that Yuan Taishi did was for the Divine Venom Dynasty, even if it meant sacrificing Yuan Miaomiao. He was someone who had sacrificed his own family for the benefit of the entire Divine Venom Dynasty, but Qing Longlong had benefited from the old man¡¯s sacrifices.

    "Miaomiao, I can''t help you. I''m sorry," Qing Longlong apologized.

    Yuan Miaomiao smiled back. "What are you apologizing for? I''m not upset. It¡¯s definitely better than being shipped off to some old man."

    Qing Longlong perked up at her friend¡¯s words. "I''ll pick you up tomorrow."

    "No, I''ll go by myself."

    "What? Do you not need me anymore? Miaomiao, you have to stay firm! There are some things that you can only do after marriage!"

    "Damn it, girl! What are you talking about?"

    ¡­

    There were still two days left before Qing Shaohuang''s celebratory banquet, and Lu Yin found himself sitting in a restaurant. He was waiting to meet with Yuan Miaomiao again, as she had asked to meet in the same restaurant when they had met for the first time.

    Lu Yin did not wait for long when a familiar scent appeared. It instantly reminded him of the misty spring shrouded in shadows.

    "Brother Lu, I¡¯ve made you wait," Yuan Miaomiao quietly apologized as soon as she arrived.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Where''s Qinglong?"

    "She didn''te."

    "Okay," Lu Yin said and closed the door. He then turned to look at Yuan Miaomiao before ncing at the table, where there were two words that had been written with wine. These words had not been on the table when the two had first met, as Lu Yin had just written them down. They were copied from what Yuan Miaomiao had written the previous day when she had chatted with Lu Yin by the spring.

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yuan Miaomiao suddenly dropped to one knee, providing Lu Yin with an incredible and shocking view, but he did not move.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please save me! Save me from Yuan Taishi¡¯s mansion!" Yuan Miaomiao begged as her eyes grew red and tears dripped down.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Yuan Taishi is your grandfather. He-"

    "He is not my grandfather!" Yuan Miaomiao raised her head, revealing hatred and sadness that filled her eyes. "He killed my parents! He is not my grandfather!"

    Lu Yin frowned. "What are you talking about?¡±

    He suddenly thought about the imposter masquerading as Ancestor Autumnfrost. The same situation could not happen twice; that would be too much of a coincidence. What was going on here?

    Yuan Miaomiao sadly exined, "Yuan Taishi adopted my parents. After I was born, he poisoned me with this love flower."

    As she spoke, she removed her veil so that Lu Yin could clearly see the image of the flower on her face again before she continued exining. "He killed my parents just because they learned of his greatest secret: he- he¡¯s working with the Neohuman Alliance!"

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. "What was that?"

    Yuan Miaomiao stared up at Lu Yin. "Yuan Taishi worked with the Neohuman Alliance to develop a poison here in the Divine Venom Dynasty. My parents were killed after they learned about this. He thinks that I don¡¯t know, as I was very young at the time, but I overheard my parents talking about it, and I¡¯ve never forgotten.

    "He¡¯s put on the appearance of being my grandfather for many years, but the truth is that he controls me with both love and this jincan. He arranged my first meeting with you, Alliance Leader Lu, hoping to get you to leave Venom Flowzone by offering me to you. He must be worried that you¡¯ll learn that he¡¯s been working with the Neohuman Alliance to develop a poison. He¡¯s not trying to help the Divine Venom Dynasty to have peace! That¡¯s nothing but lies."

    "What¡¯s the poison?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice.

    Yuan Miaomiao thought for a bit before remembering. "It was¡­ What was it? Vital-something?"

    Vitality Poison! Lu Yin''s eyes instantly grew stern. Vitality Poison was always apanied by a number that indicated how powerful it was. This was a name that no one would ever know unless they had personallye across the poison. This was something that not even many of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings knew about.

    The moment Yuan Miaomiao had mentioned the word "vital," Lu Yin had lost all consideration that she might be lying. Given her strength and position, it was impossible for her to have ever encountered Vitality Poison outside this situation.

    If Yuan Miaomiao¡¯s words were true, then the most likely reason why Yuan Taishi was pushing for the Divine Venom Dynasty to not get involved in the conflict between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Innerverse was because he was afraid that the conflict would disturb the development of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Vitality Poison. It was possible that the information rted to the Horned Gxy that had been offered at the secret auction had not been fake like Yuan Taishi had imed, but rather something that the old man could not afford to let leak to anyone.

    Lu Yin asked Yuan Miaomiao to stand up, and then he sank deep into thought.

    Yuan Miaomiao did not bother Lu Yin, and she just stood to the side as she watched him with eyes that asionally flickered with a bit of hope.

    "Your parents only said that Yuan Taishi¡¯s working with the Neohuman Alliance, right? They didn''t mention anyone else?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief, as his biggest worry was that Qing Shaohuang was also an aplice of the Neohuman Alliance. If that were the case, then Venom Flowzone would be nothing more than the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s personal nest, and it would be very difficult for him to leave in safety.

    It was reasonable and made perfect sense that the Vitality Poison had been researched and developed in Venom Flowzone. This ce was filled with all kinds of poisons, and researching poison in such a ce would not attract any attention at all. Even better, Venom Flowzone was an isted ce, which meant information was even harder to obtain. It was an ideal location for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s work.

    Why did Lu Yin run into the Neohuman Alliance wherever he went? Aeternus really had pervaded the entire Human Domain.

    Lu Yin looked back at Yuan Miaomiao, wanting to say something, but suddenly, his pupils shrank. Earlier, Yuan Miaomiao had taken off her veil when she had been telling Lu Yin her story, and he was still able to clearly see the image of the flower on her face. Each and every line and curve that detailed the flower was crystal clear, but within the image, there was a second, hidden flower.

    The second flower was a perfectly ordinary little flower, and it was far from as morous and dazzling as the love flower. However, there were nine dots around that little flower. Although it just looked like an ordinary flower, Lu Yin felt like he was struck by lightning when he saw it, as he instantly recognized it: it was the emblem of Progenitor Chen.

 Chapter 1770: Infernal Zone

    Chapter 1770: Infernal Zone

    Lu Yin had witnessed some of Progenitor Chen¡¯s memories in the memory bubbles in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Most of the memories had been about fighting, but there had asionally been some memories of peace, and Lu Yin had witnessed one of the Progenitor lying drunk in a sea of flowers.

    Nine stars surrounding a small white flower was Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at Yuan Miaomiao. Why did she have Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem on her face, let alone hidden beneath the image of the love flower?

    Lu Yin was staring at Yuan Miaomiao¡¯s face, and she believed that he was smitten with her beauty. She lowered her head, blushing all the way down to her neck. "Alliance Leader Lu¡­"

    Lu Yin woke up from his daze, and he gave Yuan Miaomiao an appraising look. When she looked back up at him, he nced away, as he did not want her to see the look in his eyes at the moment.

    Yuan Miaomiao was confused at his behavior. "Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin steeled his expression and returned to normal before he faced Yuan Miaomiao again. He felt rather embarrassed by his reaction. "Sorry, I got a little lost for a moment and embarrassed myself."

    Yuan Miaomiao looked down once again. This was not ament that was easy to respond to.

    "By the way, Miss Miaomiao, is that love flower on your face a jincan?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yuan Miaomiao nodded. "The love flower poison can also be thought of as a jincan. It¡¯s quite famous in the Divine Venom Dynasty, but my love flower jincan has been altered by Yuan Taishi, and it¡¯spletely different from the original one. He can use it to control me, and I don¡¯t want to live under his oppression anymore. My life is one of fear and worry. I beg you, save me!¡±

    As she spoke, she dropped to her knees once again.

    Lu Yin quickly helped the young woman up, and then continued to hold her by the wrist. Her hand felt silky and was quitefortable to hold. However, given her incredibly low cultivation, why would she bear Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem?

    This could not be a coincidence. Lu Yin waspletely certain that Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem was hidden beneath the love flower. While the love flower supposedly controlled her life and death, it also seemed possible that it had been put on to hide Progenitor Chen''s little flower.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Yuan Miaomiao for a moment before saying, "Don''t worry, I¡¯ll definitely find a way to save you."

    Yuan Miaomiao felt incredibly grateful. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu!"

    "Alright, we still have some time, so take a seat, and we¡¯ll talk," Lu Yin said. When he looked into Yuan Miaomiao''s eyes, there was a hint of obsession that clearly showed that he did not want to separate from her.

    Yuan Miaomiao felt rather embarrassed by Lu Yin''s stare. "Mhmm."

    The two remained in the restaurant for a long time, until they were disturbed by the appearance of a man who was obsessed with Yuan Miaomiao. He was tossed out by Lu Yin, but the two¡¯s time together had already been disrupted.

    Lu Yin did not escort Yuan Miaomiao home. It was what Yuan Miaomiao wanted, and Lu Yin did not want to start up any rumors.

    Lu Yin stared at Yuan Miaomiao¡¯s back as she walked away, and a burning question filled his eyes: just what was the connection between this woman and Progenitor Chen? No matter how he looked at it, Yuan Miaomiao had Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem on her face.

    On top of that, there was also the issue of Yuan Taishi colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, as well as Qing Shaohuang¡¯s ns to move against Lu Yin. Things were quite busy in the Divine Venom Dynasty for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin returned to the pce that he had been lent, only to be informed that he had guests waiting for him. When he made his way to a sitting room, he was surprised to see Yuehua Mavis waiting for him.

    The two were old acquaintances. Yuehua Mavis had once been the most powerful expert that the Mavis family had stationed in the Outerverse. Lu Yin had even watched the woman use the Mavis family¡¯s techniques to briefly hold her own against an Envoy.

    That incident had left a deep impression on Lu Yin, as it had shown how many extraordinary abilities and items the Mavis family possessed.

    Upon entering the room, Lu Yin saw that Yuehua Mavis¡¯s strength had greatly improved since they hadst seen each other.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s been a long time." Yuehua Mavis politely greeted Lu Yin when he entered the room.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It has indeed been a long time, Senior."

    Yuehua Mavis replied, "When speaking with Alliance Leader Lu, other than age, I have absolutely no qualifications to be referred to as a senior. Given your current strength, Alliance Leader Lu, I believe that a single palm would be enough for you to deal with me."

    Even without a palm, just spiritual force or my domain would be enough, Lu Yin thought to himself. However, he would never say such a thing out loud. "Senior, you are being too modest. Please, have a seat."

    Yuehua Mavis nodded and sat down.

    Lu Yin looked at her. "Is there something troubling you, Senior?"

    He had noticed a slight sad expression flicker over her face out of the corner of his eye.

    Yuehua Mavis grew serious. "I sought you out at this time, Alliance Leader Lu, to officially offer you an invitation: my Mavis family would like to invite Alliance Leader Lu to be our guest."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why this sudden invitation?"

    Yuehua Mavis replied solemnly, "The Mavis family has invited you several times in the past, but you¡¯ve never visited our home. This time, my Mavis family wanted to officially extend an invitation in hopes that Alliance Leader Lu would ept."

    This was an official invitation that was being formally extended from the Mavis family to the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. Not epting the invitation at this time would be too disrespectful to the Mavis family.

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he epted the invitation card. "Very well. Once I¡¯m done with my visit here in Venom Flowzone, I¡¯ll be sure to make a visit."

    "The Mavis family will await your visit, Alliance Leader Lu." With that, Yuehua Mavis left.

    Lu Yin looked at the invitation. The Mavis family¡¯s actions were very formal this time, which waspletely outside his expectations. He had wanted to visit the Mavis family for a long time, but it had never been a priority for him. After all, the Mavis family was far more powerful than any other force that Lu Yin had ever considered visiting, which meant that Lu Yin had far less to gain from them. While Lu Yin loved money and the Mavis family was the wealthiest power in the universe, that was not enough of a reason for him to visit the Mavis family.

    However, why was the Mavis family being so formal about inviting him? Could it be¡­? Lu Yin suddenly had a guess.

    That night, the Second Nightking went to visit Lu Yin in his quarters.

    Lu Yin gave the man an image of a person. "Look into anything at all regarding this person in the entire Divine Venom Dynasty."

    The Second Nightking looked at the picture on the screen of an ordinary-looking old man. "Is that all?"

    "He¡¯s already dead, and I need you to keep your investigation secret. No one can know about this, but go ahead and use your full power to check the entire Divine Venom Dynasty," Lu Yin solemnly ordered.

    The Second Nightking left. Given his strength, no matter how odd the Divine Venom Continent might be, it was impossible for anything to remain hidden from the powerhouse.

    Lu Yin wanted to take advantage of the Second Nightking''s powerful spiritual force to track down any and all information regarding the old man who had tried to sell the expensive piece of information in the secret auction. That way, Lu Yin could potentially unearth some clues rted to the information itself. The knowledge that Yuan Taishi was coborating with the Neohuman Alliance and that he had also eliminated the old man¡¯s information made Lu Yin very curious as to what that information was, as well as whether it was true. No matter if the information was true or not, Yuan Taishi had deliberately destroyed the information and all of its traces.

    The Second Nightking was truly capable. While he did not care about anything that Lu Yin did, the old man¡¯s information was dug up within a single day, and the Second Nightking delivered a report to Lu Yin on the afternoon of the second day, catching Lu Yin by surprise. He had not expected results toe so quickly; even if a specialist had investigated, they would not have been able to aplish anything this quickly.

    "The Divine Venom Dynasty already investigated the person, and he¡¯s also a celebrity," the Second Nightking exined as he delivered the report.

    Lu Yin skimmed the information about the dead old man. The man''s name was Shui Pai, and he had been a Hunter. However, he had cultivated a jincan that had the power of an Enlighter.

    In the Divine Venom Dynasty, anyone with the power of an Enlighter had to be recorded down, and Shui Pai had been infamous for ughtering several families in an act of revenge. However, he hadter been chased down and killed, which had created quite a stir in the Divine Venom Dynasty for some time.

    This incident had even caught Qing Shaohuang¡¯s attention.

    Shui Pai had been constantly watched, as practically half of the Divine Venom Dynasty had been hunting after him. His revenge had offended too many people.

    Lu Yin nced through the list of Shui Pai''s aplishments with admiration. This person¡¯s life was the model blood feud that came after a sessful revenge. Unfortunately, everything had happened in Venom Flowzone, so even after the man had achieved his revenge, there had been no ce for him to hide.

    Many times, Shui Pai hadpletely disappeared without anyone able to locate him. He had been an expert at hiding himself and avoiding his enemies. Still, all the information that had been gathered about the old man waspiled into the report Lu Yin was given. Even after ncing through it all, Lu Yin saw no mention of a special hideout. Either one had never been discovered, or it had held nothing of value when found.

    One thing of particr importance was that he had managed to escape from Venom Flowzone¡¯s forbidden region in his youth. He had kept himself hidden for decades, and he had only be famous once he had be a Cruiser. At that time, he had wiped out an entire family and had embarked down his path of revenge. Everything had started when he had left that forbidden zone.

    The forbidden region that Shui Pai had escaped from in Venom Flowzone was a ce known as the Infernal Zone. It was a deadly ce that was filled with crimson mist, and anyone who entered it could only rely on luck to leave with their life intact. Two of the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s emperors had died in the Infernal Zone, and Qing Shaohuang did not dare to enter the ce. His ancestors had only entered when their lives were reaching the end, desperate to find something within the Infernal Zone that could save their lives.

    Shui Pai¡¯s family had been exterminated, and everyone had assumed that he was dead when he fled into the Infernal Zone. No one could have imagined that decadester, the same person would get his revenge and kill everyone who had participated in his family¡¯s eradication. Shui Pai¡¯s aplishments had encouraged many people to go into the Infernal Zone, only to die.

    Lu Yin looked away from the report; could Shui Pai¡¯s hideout be in the Infernal Zone?

    ¡­

    The next day, all five of the imperial pce¡¯s gates leading to Venom King City were opened. A mighty bell was rung, and the entire city shook.

    There were very few instances throughout the entire history of the Divine Venom Dynasty when outsiders had been invited into the imperial pce. This time, Qing Shaohuang had invited cultivators from all over the Fifth Maind to visit Venom King City, which was something to be recorded down in history.

    King Qing Li arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s guest residence to personally escort him to the imperial pce.

    One by one, high-ranking officials from the Divine Venom Dynasty escorted representatives from various major powers of the Fifth Maind.

    Countless members of the Divine Venom Dynasty watched in excitement from outside the imperial pce. Balsam, Wen Yao, Wen Sansi, Yuehua Mavis, and more were led by the officials to enter the imperial pce through one of the five gates.

    The pce¡¯s central square was surrounded by clear water, and Qing Li gestured to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, please be seated."

    Lu Yin had been given a position that was nearly equal to that of Qing Shaohuang himself.

    Of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, Qing Shaohuang was the master of Venom Flowzone, which put him on the same level as Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, and the other leaders. Lu Yin was the master of zing Mist Flowzone, so he was technically the only one of Qing Shaohuang¡¯s peers to attend the banquet.

    Across from Lu Yin, seated at the same level, was Mr. You.

    The man was an overseer and represented the Hall of Honor, which meant that he had a very high status. If they were anywhere outside of Qing Shaohuang¡¯s empire and pce, Mr. You would actually hold a position above even Qing Shaohuang.

    As Mr. You took his seat, his gloomy eyes swept over to nce at Lu Yin before stopping.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled into a smile. He had no worries about Mr. You at all, as he was someone who was about to lose his position. Instead, Lu Yin looked at the Mt. Microcosms Protector who stood behind Mr. You. The Protector noticed Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and his face grew pale as he felt his heart drop.

    Lu Yin was sitting next to Qing Li, as every single guest from outside the Divine Venom Dynasty was apanied by a member of the empire. King Qing Li apanied Lu Yin while Yuan Taishi apanied Mr. You.

    When Yuan Taishi arrived, Lu Yin reflexively looked around for Yuan Miaomiao, only to see that she had already taken a seat. She was actually staring right at Lu Yin. When she noticed his gaze, she quickly ducked her head.

    Lu Yin then looked over at Yuehua Mavis. A member of the Mavis family could reasonably be given a higher position than Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was quite special, and so Yuehua Mavis was apanied by Qing Longlong.

 Chapter 1771: Wireless Jincan

    Chapter 1771: Wireless Jincan

    Just lower than Yuehua Mavis was the Wen family, led by Wen Yao, Wen Sansi, and Wen Qian¡¯er. Below them was Balsam and Yan. On Mr. You¡¯s side, first came the Sword Sect¡¯s Li Zimo, who was representing Elder Lianxin. The elder still had not fully recovered from being poisoned, so the only option was for Li Zimo to go in her stead. Below the Sword Sect sat Ling Gong, Ling Que, Little Mountain God, and the other representatives of the Innerverse. Even though they all represented powers from the eight great flowzones, they were still just juniors.

    Seated a bit lower was Lyman Phoenix, from Daynight Flowzone¡¯s Phoenix family. Serati Phoenix was also present.

    Lu Yin had once looked up to the Ten Arbiters as being distant powerhouses, but at this moment, they could not even enter his eyes.

    In addition to the people who sat at the top of the banquet, there were also many other people from the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea who were seated further away. There were not many people from the Neoverse who had attended. Aurora Enterprises had sent some people, but they had not appeared at the banquet itself.

    Not long after Lu Yin took his seat, Qing Shaohuang also arrived, and his arrival announced the official beginning of the banquet.

    In Venom King City, the banquet was not an individual event, but rather one apanied by apetition.

    Strange jincans from all over the Divine Venom Dynasty were to be presented during the banquet, and guests like Lu Yin and the others were allowed to choose any of the jincans to take away.

    A young man walked out onto the stage beneath the seats. He had an arrogant expression on his face as he took off his shirt to reveal the image of a three-wed monster that was branded on his back. "I spent 130 years cultivating this jincan. I call it cave, and it has an odd internal structure that allows it to store power several times beyond its own attack ability. Simply put, as long as a Limiteer has this jincan, they can easily escape from an Explorer without being harmed.¡±

    Many of the people attending the banquet were amazed, and even Lu Yin was impressed. When he had been a Limiteer, he had been able to fight against Explorers when he had been sent to Erudite Flowzone. It was because he was capable of doing that that he understood just how absurd this ability was. For a jincan to have this ability was absolutely amazing.

    "How long does it take to raise this ¡®cave?¡¯" Someone suddenly asked. It was a question that came from the lower seats. This was a tradition for the one presenting jincans, as certain people would be expected to speak up and ask questions and identify the pros and cons of a jincan. This was how the presentations were conducted.

    The young man replied, "It can be cultivated in twenty six years."

    "Twenty six years? How powerful of an attack can it receive after that long?"

    The young did not hesitate. "A Limiteer¡¯s attack."

    "If you were given twenty six years, could you be a Limiteer?"

    "Naturally." The young man was proud of himself, as he was considered a genius in his home. He certainly had not taken twenty six years to be a Limiteer.

    "In that case, is it worthwhile to cultivate this jincan?"

    The young man''s expression finally grew ugly. "If it is cultivated for an additional 30 years, it can receive an Explorer¡¯s attack."

    "Can you be an Explorer within fifty six years?"

    This time, the young man hesitated. Bing an Explorer was a massive hurdle. Even though he considered himself a genius, he still was not fully confident in aplishing this. Still, with so many people staring at him, he could only reply, "Naturally."

    "So, what¡¯s the purpose in cultivating this jincan?"

    The young man''s mouth twitched, and he stepped down.

    Lu Yin smiled. While this was a truly impressive jincan, it unfortunately took too much time to cultivate, which made it worthless. Those who could afford this sort of jincan were not ordinary cultivators, but that also meant that they had ess to many resources and were usually quite talented. For such people, this jincan was rather useless.

    The next person to step onto the stage was a woman who introduced a jincan that could bloom into a hundred flowers, but it had no practical purposes.

    After that, one strange jincan after another appeared. There were hundreds of cities on the Divine Venom Continent, and every single one of them researched jincans, which led to there being far too many of them. While some seemed to have rather mediocre uses, this usually depended on how they were used.

    For example, the jincan that could cause a hundred flowers to bloom could be quite useful to people who studied poisons, as there were some poisonous flowers that took far too long to bloom.

    Typically, the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s jincans could be considered simr to cultivators¡¯ innate gifts. There was no such thing as an absolutely useless jincan, onlypletely useless people.

    Half a day passed, and Lu Yin¡¯s felt as though his eyes had been opened. There was a truly unique side to the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s culture. The jincans that they cultivated seemed rather simr to Beast Tamers Flowzone¡¯s tamed beasts. In truth, one used research and utilization while the other established control.

    Beast Tamers Flowzone would never study why an astral beast was able to utilize certain sorts of attacks; all they focused on was controlling the creature and helping it to grow and develop. Jincans were different, as they had to be researched, and that study allowed for the development of countless different uses.

    A young man stepped onto the stage. He looked somewhat timid, and his clothes were very dirty. There was arge character for ¡°small¡± embroidered on the chest of his shirt.

    Qing Shaohuang unconsciously frowned when he saw the young man appear on the stage.

    Many other people from the Divine Venom Dynasty frowned as well.

    The teenager started to be even more nervous. "I- I- I''m from a small town. My name is Xiao Fa."

    "Show your jincan!" There was a loud shout that startled Xiao Fa. He quickly raised his hand out of reflex, and everyone stared at his arm that was not moving.

    Everyone grew confused; where was the jincan?

    Xiao Fa looked at his arm and blinked. Huh? The jincan?

    Someone suddenly whispered to him, "Under your foot! Under your foot!"

    Xiao Fa turned around. "What?"

    He shifted a bit, and his right foot stepped onto a soft mass. The sensation startled him again, and he ran a few meters away.

    Everyone stared in absolute speechlessness. This was a show, right?

    Qing Shaohuang¡¯s frown grew more pronounced.

    Xiao Fa quickly ran back and checked out the soft mass that he had just stepped. He carefully picked it up, and let out a sigh of relief. "It''s okay, it didn''t die. It just got squished a bit, just a little bit."

    As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to notice that everyone was still staring at him. He swallowed his saliva, and his face flushed brightly. He raised his hand. "Um, the jincan is here. This is a jincan that my hometown spent a long time developing. This is the wireless jincan."

    Everyone looked at what Xiao Fa was holding in his hand; wasn''t that a tadpole? It was the same squishy mass that had been stepped upon and nearly destroyed.

    The entire ce fell silent.

    "What does it do? What does it do!" Someone in the audience whispered fiercely.

    Xiao Fa coughed again. "Well, this wireless jincan can ignore all distance to allow for instantmunication no matter where you are, even in the Astral Wilderness. You canmunicate instantly without any hindrance anywhere. It works much better than gadgets."

    After this brief exnation, Xiao Fa fell silent and looked towards Qing Shaohuang, as if he were waiting for apliment.

    Someone in the audience dropped their face into their hands, lookingpletely helpless.

    "Justmunication?" someone asked.

    Xiao Fa replied, "It can ignore all distance to allow instant messaging."

    "Can it work with video?"

    "That- that hasn¡¯t been looked into yet."

    "Audio?"

    Xiao Fa pursed his lips. "It''s not easy to speak tomunicate, but you can understand what the other side ismunicating through the vibrational frequency of the wireless jincan."

    "If you already have a gadget, why would you need this wireless jincan?"

    Xiao Fa started to be anxious. "It ignores distance! It ignores distance!"

    "You¡¯ve been in Venom Flowzone your whole life and aren¡¯t even a Limiteer, so how can you have possibly verified that this jincan can ignore distance? Do you even understand what sort of distances exist in this universe? Can you even conceive just how far away the Sixth Maind is, let alone the even more distant Astral Wilderness?"

    "I know, but it can ignore those distances." Xiao Fa remained stubborn.

    "Hmph, get off the stage."

    Xiao Fa wanted to say something more, but the voice called out again, saying "Leave¡± with enough force that Xiao Fa was almost blown away.

    The people from the Divine Venom Dynasty eitherughed or ridiculed the young man, and they all seemed to absolutely hate Xiao Fa¡¯s jincan.

    Lu Yin felt quite curious. "Is there something special about his hometown?"

    From the side, Qing Li exined, "That small city is the smallest on the entire Divine Venom Continent, so it can''t actually even be considered a city. It was originally somewhere for the more extreme people who specialized in researching jincans that can benefit ordinary humans to gather. Eventually, more and more people gathered, especially ordinary people and businessmen. Finally, enough gathered to form a small town.¡±

    "The jincans that they develop are basically useless in battle, but they can be very useful for ordinary humans. For people who can¡¯t buy a gadget, they¡¯ll be able to buy this wireless jincan."

    "Can they really ignore all distance?" Lu Yin asked.

    Prince Qing Li shook his head andughed. "That¡¯s just their ims. How could it really be possible for these jincans to ignore distance? Most of the researchers aren¡¯t even Explorers, so there¡¯s no way they can understand the vastness of this universe and how difficult it is to travel through space. That wireless jincan is something that they already submitted a report about a long time ago. However, a person needs to learn how to interpret the vibrational frequencies of the jincan, which makes them far inferior to a gadget. Also, those jincans can die from a touch, as they¡¯re very fragile. In fact, even a regr person stepping on them can kill them."

    Lu Yin stared at the bizarre little hairball that was on the stage below. Could it really ignore any distance? If that was true, then it could be incredibly useful.

    Gadgets worked by utilizing signals that connected them to thework. If a war broke out, especially one against Aeternus, then given Aeternus¡¯s understanding of humans, they would absolutely destroy every part of the humans¡¯work that they could.

    No matter if it was against Aeternus or the Perennial World, Lu Yin had to maintain an upper hand, and instantaneousmunications were crucial, as they could have a massive impact in a war. Lu Yin had already ordered Ban Jiu to study this topic, but there had been no results yet.

    Upon thinking about this, Lu Yin stared at Xiao Fa with eyes that lit up.

    The presentation of the jincans continued on for two days, and some particrly powerful ones appeared as well. Even Lu Yin took note of them despite not particrly caring.

    However, if a jincan simr to the Life-Prolonging Butterflies existed, there was no way that the Divine Venom Dynasty would reveal such a thing. Their most precious jincans could not be shown in public, especially in front of outsiders.

    After the presentation finished, the city that won thepetition was unsurprisingly Venom King City. The capital city had won for many years in a row.

    The jincan that Venom King City presented looked like a bead. It had a simple appearance and was notrge at all. After being incorporated into a person¡¯s body, it would allow their speed to increase to an extreme level that far surpassed anyone else in the same cultivation realm.

    The jincan¡¯s main w was that only a few could be produced, and it took a long time to cultivate them, which made it unsuitable for mass production.

    Qing Shaohuang looked quite happy about the fact that the bead was the winning jincan. "Dozens of new jincans are developed in my Divine Venom Dynasty every year, but only a rare few can be used for decades. Most of what are developed are useless jincans, but this Escaping Orb is a rare jincan that is useful for anyone."

    "Congrattions, Your Majesty." Yuan Taishi was the first to speak, and everyone from the Divine Venom Dynasty quickly bowed as well. "Congrattions, Your Majesty."

    Qing Shaohuangughed.

    Mr. You spoke up with a smile on his face. "Venom Flowzone¡¯s unique environment and cultivation methods are truly enlightening. If His Majesty Qing Shaohuang is willing, I would like to ask for an Escaping Orb to take back to the Hall of Honor for the people there to see."

    Little Mountain God also smiled and spoke up, "Your Majesty Qing Shaohuang, if there are any extra, this junior would also like to ask for one."

    Wen Qian''er quickly raised a hand as well. "This junior would also like one."

    Ling Que¡¯s hand shot up too. "Um, I would too."

 Chapter 1772: Testing Each Other

    Chapter 1772: Testing Each Other

    Qing Shaohuangughed loudly. "Everyone wants one! This is a jincan that is a wonderful representation of my Divine Venom Dynasty! Since this is the case, then everyone will get one."

    He then gave Attendant Yi an order, and the chief attendant retreated with a smile.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty. By the way, Your Majesty, could you also allow me to have one of those jincans that can cause a hundred flowers to bloom?" Wen Qian''er asked hopefully.

    Qing Shaohuang smiled. "Of course. If you have an interest in any of the jincans that have been presented, just say the word."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty." Wen Qian¡¯er was thrilled.

    Qing Shaohuang looked over towards Lu Yin. "Was there anything that caught Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s interest? Just say the word."

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "My cultivation is already tooplicated, and the path of jincans is broad and profound, so they don¡¯t suit me."

    Mr. You spoke up, "What? Alliance Leader Lu didn''t see anything you liked?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s face wentpletely nk as he turned to look at Mr. You. "One more wordes out of your mouth and I¡¯ll crush it."

    Mr. You instantly pped his table and shot to his feet, furious, only to be pushed back down by the Mt. Microcosms Protector who was escorting him. "Mr. Overseer, calm down."

    Qing Shaohuang frowned and looked over at Mr. You. An invisible force had pressed down on the overseer, leaving Mr. You unable to speak or move in the slightest. The overseer was not even able to tell where the pressure came from, and simply assumed that Lu Yin had attacked.

    Qing Shaohuang had no desire to help Lu Yin, but also did not want any issues during the banquet. Lu Yin''s personality was readily apparent, and he would follow through on any threats he spoke. Lu Yin would absolutely shatter Mr. You''s mouth in front of everyone.

    Mr. You was being suppressed by Qing Shaohuang.

    The Mt. Microcosms Protector did not dare even look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just sneered and nced towards Qing Shaohuang. "After what he just said, it will look like I¡¯m looking down on the Divine Venom Dynasty if I don¡¯t ask for something. In that case, I would like that wireless jincan."

    Qing Shaohuang smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu is being too serious. Everyone has a different path of cultivation. You can just y with a jincan, and there¡¯s no need to treat it seriously."

    Lu Yin smiled back. "The other jincans aren¡¯t very convenient to carry around, and I don¡¯t want just any jincan. You have my thanks, your majesty, for your kindness."

    "Since Alliance Leader Lu has already decided, then it¡¯s fine. This is no problem," Qing Shaohuang replied.

    "By the way, Your Majesty, please allow me to have that boy to teach me how to use the wireless jincan," Lu Yin requested.

    Qing Shaohuang was caught off guard, as clearly Lu Yin was genuinely interested in the wireless jincan.

    On the other side, Taishi Yuan smiled and spoke up, "Since Alliance Leader Lu is interested in the wireless jincan, then why not go visit the town that created it? Miaomiao will be visiting that ce soon, so she can just escort you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Qing Shaohuang nced at Yuan Taishi; it was clear that this old fox was doing his best to pawn off his granddaughter.

    Yuan Miaomiao''s face blushed as soon as she heard her grandfather¡¯s words.

    Qing Longlong stared at Lu Yin, threatening him.

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "In that case, I¡¯d be happy to ept! After the banquet, I¡¯ll make the trip to that town with Miss Miaomiao. Thank you, Yuan Taishi."

    "Only happy to help, haha!" Yuan Taishi was also very happy.

    Prince Qing Li merely watched everything with a cold eye. No one was more clear on the situation within the Divine Venom Dynasty than him. Qing Shaohuang was afraid of Lu Yin and wanted to help the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers deal with him. As for Yuan Taishi, he wanted to win Lu Yin over and permanently force him out of Venom Flowzone. This whole production was a great show.

    The most pitiful people at this moment were Venom King City¡¯s talented youths who were present at the banquet, as all of them were staring at Yuan Miaomiao. Every year, enough people to form a line that extended out of the city would stop by Yuan Taishi¡¯s estate to propose to his granddaughter, but none had ever seeded. However, Yuan Miaomiao was actually being given to an outsider.

    Yuan Miaomiao was the empire¡¯s top beauty, yet she was being given to someone from outside of Venom Flowzone. Her peers were gritting their teeth, as there was nothing at all they could do about it.

    It was not long before one of the Escaping Orbs was delivered to Lu Yin''s table. Looking at it, Lu Yin nced over at Qing Li. The prince¡¯s expression seemed a bit unnatural.

    Lu Yin thought of Transience, and the possibility that this Escaping Orb had beenced with Transience. It seemed possible that these Escaping Orbs were part of Qing Shaohuang''s n to deal with Lu Yin.

    Transience was highly toxic, colorless, odorless, and did not even have any runes. It waspletely impossible to detect, which made it the safest method of dealing with Lu Yin.

    Qing Shaohuang kept his eyes on Lu Yin, and showed a satisfied smile when he saw Lu Yin put away the Escaping Orb. "Come, everyone, enjoy your time as guests of the Divine Venom Dynasty."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty."

    "Thank you, Your Majesty."

    ¡­

    The wireless jincan was delivered to Lu Yin, as well as the young man Xiao Fa.

    The young man was terrified and did not even dare to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just spoke a few casual words before dismissing the young man without paying him too much attention.

    The next portion of the banquet was the gift-giving session. One by one, all of the guests presented gifts on behalf of their own force. Lu Yin provided a bottle of medicinal pills. He had not Enhanced them, and they were perfectlymon, but it was still better than the p that he had sent Qing Shaohuang via Attendant Yi as a gift to begin with.

    Seeing Lu Yin¡¯s gift, Attendant Yi''s eyes shed coldly. He would never be able to forget that p.

    Soon, it was Balsam''s turn, and she gestured for Yan to present their gift.

    "Your Majesty, Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s congrattory gift is another medicinal pill, but this is not one that is ingested, but one that can allow a person to avoid certain crises," Balsam exined with a smile.

    Qing Shaohuang became curious. "Avoid certain crises?"

    Balsam took another pill out of her cosmic ring and threw it forward. The void was torn open, and another space became visible, It was the true universe.

    Qing Li and Yuan Taishi were both startled, and they both eximed, "The true universe?"

    Qing Shaohuang was truly shocked; a pill could provide ess to the true universe? This was unbelievable! This was something that only experts with power levels exceeding 500,000 could achieve.

    Lu Yin stared intently; Shamrock Enterprise was no longer keeping their stellr energy pills hidden. Just what were they nning?

    Everyone was stupefied by the effect of the stellr energy pill. Not even Qing Shaohuang was an exception, even if his own jincan allowed him a power level of more than 800,000. He was one of the top powerhouses in the entire Innervese, and yet even he was startled by the power of the stellr energy pill.

    Everyone had long since known that Shamrock Enterprise was a monster of apany, even the isted Venom Flowzone, which was why Shamrock Enterprise had been invited to Qing Shaohuang¡¯s banquet. Still, no one had imagined that the pharmaceuticalpany could actually have developed such a pill.

    Yuan Taishi immediately asked, "How difficult is it to make this pill?"

    Balsam smiled politely. "They are already ready to start mass production; the technology is being simplified. I believe that very soon the true universe will no longer be just a legend to most people."

    Yuan Taishi''s expression instantly changed. "What about your current production?"

    Balsam maintained her professional smile. "That¡¯s a trade secret."

    "Can everyone use them? The true universe is not something that ordinary people have ever had ess to," Qing Li interjected.

    Balsam replied, "At the moment, a person must have the strength of a Hunter to be able to use these stellr energy pills, as they require that level of strength to activate and open a path to the true universe. However, we are already developing a better version of the stellr energy pills. We are confident that we can improve them so that even an Explorer will be able to activate them."

    Everyone was blown away. If this im proved true, battles in the future would change drastically. The Escaping Orbs merely increased a person¡¯s speed a great deal. On the other hand, these stellr energy pills allowed ess to the true universe. These could make it difficult for even a Hunter to kill an Explorer.

    Mr. You leaned forward, his eyes dark. "Why is it that not even I have heard about these stellr energy pills before?"

    Balsam looked at Mr. You. What the man was really asking was for the Hall of Honor and the council of overseers. It only made sense for the Hall of Honor to be the first to be informed when something unprecedented like these stellr energy pills had been created.

    "That is likely because this information has been spread very slowly. We¡¯ve already submitted a report regarding the sessful materials from our research and development," Balsam replied.

    Mr. You''s gaze sharpened. This answer was clearly just an excuse. What was Shamrock Enterprise doing? He took special note of this matter.

    Qing Shaohuang was solemn as he looked at Balsam. "Shamrock Enterprise has my deepest thanks for their care for my Divine Venom Dynasty. I epted your gift."

    Balsam slowly bowed. "Your Majesty Qing Shaohuang, I wish you an early breakthrough to reach a power level of a million so that you can stand at the top of this universe."

    Qing Shaohuang smiled. "I¡¯ll be counting on your auspicious wishes."

    "Miss Balsam, I don''t know, but might there be any extra stellr energy pills that can be sold to my Wen family," Wen Yao asked as he stared at Balsam.

    Ling Gong, Little Mountain God, and many others all stared at her.

    Balsam smiled. "These stellr energy pills will soon be the my Shamrock Enterprise crowning jewel. They will be sent to each organization in batches before official sales begin. They should be on their way to each of your powers, including-" As she spoke, she looked straight at Lu Yin. "The Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed; Shamrock Enterprise was sending stellr energy pills to the Great Eastern Alliance?

    He suddenly had a bad feeling.

    At first, Balsam had tested whether or not Lu Yin had used his stellr energy pills several times in the past as she suspected that something had happened to the pills he had been given, but had made no progress at all. Lu Yin simply handed over the negotiations of a contact with Shamrock Enterprise to Qiong Xi¡¯er, but Lu Yin¡¯s true motivations had remained a secret, as he had not had a chance to say anything at all to Qiong Xi¡¯er.

    If Shamrock Enterprise was sending a batch of their stellr energy pills straight to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, what could be the consequences? Would Sapling be discovered? Lu Yin had no idea what Balsam might be thinking.

    He was certain that this had to be some sort of test that Shamrock Enterprise was conducting, and doing so at this exact moment was too perfect.

    Balsam kept her eyes on Lu Yin and saw his reflexive change of expression and a twitch of his finger. There was definitely a problem. The stellr energy pill that they had lost control of was absolutely rted to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin and Balsam stared at each other, seemingly able to see each other''s intentions.

    No one at their level could be stupid, and Lu Yin never believed himself to be more intelligent than others. Still, so long as he had certain advantages, he would be able to take the lead and foresee someone¡¯s future actions like a god. However, Balsam was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Innerverse President, and her schemes were definitely not anything that couldpare to what Lu Yin usually faced, not even the Purge that the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu Qianjue and the other Innerverse leaders had plotted.

    If not for his background and a few lucky opportunities, Lu Yin would have lost his life to others¡¯ schemes long ago. He knew that if he schemed against others, he would absolutely be schemed against in turn and would one day lose out.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that he had just lost to Balsam¡¯s schemes. No matter what happened at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, the moment he had heard Balsam''s words, his expression had changed, and Balsam had already determined something from that.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and his gaze directed at Balsam grew much sharper. His expression waspletely different from before.

    If he had been found out, then he might as well spread out the information and see who yed who.

    Balsam frowned and stared at Lu Yin for half a minute. Finally, someone coughed. Balsam did not react, but finally returned to her seat.

    It was someone else''s turn to offer their congrattory gift.

    ¡­

    At the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, the stellr energy pills that Shamrock Enterprise had sent arrived.

    The person responsible for the delivery of the pills was Little Leaf King, Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s heir. He had participated in thepetition for the Astral Tower, and he had used the Starswitched Leaf battle technique. Still, he had not stood out during thepetition.

    "I took the liberty to show up uninvited, as I was tasked by my father to deliver a new batch of stellr energy pills to the Great Eastern Alliance," Little Leaf King told Qiong Xi''er.

    Qiong Xi''er was startled. "We haven''t even reached an agreement with Shamrock Enterprise about purchasing stellr energy pills. What is the meaning of this?"

 Chapter 1773: Provocation

    Chapter 1773: Provocation

    Little Leaf King smiled at Qiong Xi¡¯er. "These stellr energy pills have been improved from what was shared before, and we are selling them to the entire Fifth Maind. Before sales begin, batches are being given as gifts to the Great Eastern Alliance, the Sword Sect, the Wen family, the Lingling n, and more as an expression of my Shamrock Enterprise''s friendship."

    Qiong Xi''er understood. Quite simply, Shamrock Enterprise was looking to establish better rtionships and increase goodwill with the various powers. While this was not necessary, given thepany¡¯s size and power, it was always beneficial to have good rtionships. This was an unspoken rule. Still, for some reason, Qiong Xi¡¯er kept feeling that something was wrong. During their conversations, the topic that hade up the most frequently had been whether or not Lu Yin had used the stellr energy pills he had been given.

    This did not seem very normal. What was wrong?

    Given Qiong Xi''er''s keen instincts that had been honed by her time working in finance and with variouspanies, she believed that if she felt there was a problem, then there had to be one somewhere. Thinking quickly, she said, "Thank you, Little Leaf King, for extending such kindness to us. We ept these stellr energy pills, but unfortunately, our alliance leader is not here at the moment, as he was invited to be Venom Flowzone¡¯s guest. However, as soon as he returns, he will be sure to visit Shamrock Enterprise personally to express his gratitude. Also, our alliance leader is very interested in studying eternal life with Shamrock Enterprise, so we can discuss that matter then as well.¡±

    Little Leaf King''s eyes shed. "Very well."

    He then hesitated for a moment. "Besides the task given to me by my father, I would actually like to wait here for Alliance Leader Lu to return. We werepetitors during the Astral Tower, and his strength amazed me. I¡¯ve recently had a breakthrough of my own, and I was hoping to be able to ask Alliance Leader Lu for some advice. Please, rest assured that I would never want to disturb him.¡±

    Qiong Xi¡¯er felt this was a problem.

    Little Leaf King frowned. "Is there something about my stay that puts Miss Qiong at an inconvenience? Could it be that outsiders are not allowed to stay here on the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress?"

    Naturally, there was no way for Qiong Xi''er to actually refuse Little Leaf King, especially since people kept arriving from a distant space station and the fortress. "Of course not, Mr. Little Leaf King. Please enter."

    Little Leaf King smiled and nodded before following Qiong Xi¡¯er.

    Little Leaf King had a unique status that qualified him to gain ess to certain areas that most people were not allowed to visit. "I heard that Alliance Leader Lu enjoys collecting unique nts. This is actually also my own hobby. Could you show me his collection?"

    Qiong Xi''er reflexively wanted to refuse. Even though she could not figure out what was wrong, since this was something that Little Leaf King clearly wanted, it only seemed right to deny the request.

    There was a sudden shout from off in the distance, and when people turned to look, they saw arge tree wildly charging forward, straight towards the group with Little Leaf King and Qiong Xi¡¯er. The tree¡¯s limbs moved like those of a human, and they tookrge steps as the tree careened forward without a care. Chaos was left in the tree¡¯s wake.

    Though many cultivators from the Great Eastern Alliance were right behind the tree, they did not dare attack it out of fear.

    "Hurry up and grab it! Grab the escaped tree! That¡¯s the alliance leader¡¯s pet!" Bror was racing after the tree and shouting as he ran.

    With his shouts, nobody dared to attack the tree, even if they wanted to, as they were worried about hurting the nt.

    Zhao Ran next appeared, running right behind Bror. "Don''t run so fast! Big Tree, stop! Stop!"

    Little Leaf King had a nk expression on his face as he watched his scene. The big tree drew closer and closer, and it approached with a momentum that made it clear it intended to break through all obstacles.

    Qiong Xi''er was utterly speechless. She had already heard about the big tree in Lu Yin¡¯s private park. It was supposedly arge, mobile tree that unggingly tried to escape, and it had be quite famous. Qiong Xi¡¯er had not expected the tree to actually escape.

    "Mr. Little Leaf King, I''m sorry to have allowed you to see such a scene," Qiong Xi''er helplessly apologized.

    Just as Little Leaf King was about to reply, all of the stellr energy pill that he was carrying shot off, tearing straight through his clothes as they flew towards the big tree. Little Leaf King''s expression changed dramatically, but he did nothing to try to stop the pills. He allowed them to approach the big tree, as as they did, a little sapling popped out and grabbed all of the pills and devoured them.

    Little Leaf King''s pupils shrank instantly as he nkly stared ahead.

    Qiong Xi''er also saw what happened, and her heart sank. This was the problem she had been concerned about, though she also had no idea how or why it was a problem. Still, the look on Little Leaf King¡¯s face and watching all of the pills be devoured by the sapling had all been indications of a huge problem.

    "Little Leaf King, what''s the matter?" Qiong Xi''er shouted quickly as she moved her body into a position that blocked Little Leaf King¡¯s line of sight.

    However, he stared straight through her, his eyes locked onto the canopy of the big tree that was still approaching. He was focused on the sapling that had suddenly grown significantly that was perched atop the big tree. Little Leaf King casually replied, "It''s nothing. This is very interesting."

    ***

    At Venom King City¡¯s imperial pce, the banquet was still continuing. There was a seemingly endless stream of congrattory gifts from all of the guests. Still, overall there was nothing that stood out as special aside from Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s stellr energy pill.

    The banquet soon ended.

    Suddenly a scream rang out that startled everyone.

    Everyone turned to look for the origin of the screams, and they saw that blood was sttered all over the floor, as well as a man who had been beaten beyond recognition.

    Qing Shaohuang frowned. "What''s this?"

    Attendant Yi delivered a quiet report. "Your Majesty, this person was wandering about just outside the pce, and I felt he had evil intentions when I saw him, so I arrested him and questioned him. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

    Qing Shaohuang waved a hand, dismissing the chief attendant in disgust. "Drag him away."

    "Yes, Your Majesty."

    "Wait." Lu Yin suddenly spoke up.

    Everyone turned towards him, and everyone¡¯s expressions suddenly changed. This was because there was a terrible expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face, and it looked like he was ready tomit murder.

    This was something that was rarely seen from Lu Yin, and seeing it left even Wen Sansi and others who were more familiar with Lu Yinpletely shocked. Ling Que reflexively wanted to sneak away.

    Qing Shaohuang also looked at Lu Yin and asked, "What''s the matter, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Attendant Yi looked at Lu Yin with a cold stare.

    Lu Yin looked back at the man. "That person is Chang Wu."

    "Chang Wu?" Qing Shaohuang was puzzled, and so he looked over at Attendant Yi, who looked to be simrly confused.

    "How does Alliance Leader Lu know this person? It¡¯s true, after interrogating him, we learned that his name is Chang Wu, but what is his connection to Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin''s voice chilled, and a strong killing intent could be seen in his eyes as he red at Attendant Yi. "From the moment I first started cultivating, many people have crossed me, including even the unofficial leader of the Innerverse¡¯s youths, Nightking Zhenwu. However, everyst one of those people has died.¡±

    Attendant Yi sneered, "Why are you bringing this up to this lowly servant? This ve would never dare antagonize Alliance Leader Lu."

    Qing Shaohuang spoke up, "Is there some sort of misunderstanding, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and he suddenly attacked. A Vacuum Palm shot through the void, headed straight for Attendant Yi. The man did not react, as he was not even able to perceive Lu Yin¡¯s attack. Instead, Qing Shaohuang raised a hand and blocked the Vacuum Palm.

    The emperor¡¯s cultivation exceeded a power level of 700,000, and his jincan gave him a power level of more than 800,000. Despite this, blocking the Vacuum Palm had left his hand numb, badly startling the Envoy. Lu Yin was not even an Envoy, and yet his physical strength was absolutely incredible. Even if Qing Shaohuang was not someone who had focused on improving his physical strength, he was still an Envoy and should be able to easily deal with anyone who was not.

    However, there was still a significant gap between the two, and even if Qing Shaohuang¡¯s hand was left slightly numb, he had not moved a single step.

    As for Attendant Yi, he did not even react until after Qing Shaohuang had blocked the Vacuum Palm. The chief attendant had not expected Lu Yin to attack so suddenly. If not for Qing Shaohuang taking the attack, Attendant Yi would surely have died.

    For a moment, Lu Yin''s icy eyes and killing intent forced an unprecedented level of fear upon Attendant Yi. He was a powerhouse himself, and enjoyed an elite status within the Divine Venom Dynasty, so this was a new experience for him. He felt a burgeoning and unfathomable fear for Lu Yin from the depths of his heart. He realized that this youth really, really wanted him dead.

    Anger filled Qing Shaohuang''s eyes, and he shouted, "Alliance Leader Lu, no matter what may have happened, this is still my Divine Venom Dynasty as well as my imperial pce! Your actions show that you are not taking me seriously!"

    As he shouted, he shattered Lu Yin''s spiritual force.

    While Lu Yin had been ring at Attendant Yi, he had alsoshed out with his spiritual force to overwhelm Attendant Yi with fear.

    Lu Yin and Qing Shaohuang stared at each other. "If we were not in your Divine Venom Dynasty, you would no longer be alive."

    Lu Yin then moved, and collected Chang Wu from the distance. The man was half-dead and waspletely unconscious.

    While Lu Yin would act ruthlessly and had often been cruel while uniting the Outerverse, he had seldom allowed others to be implicated by his actions. Chang Wu had been targeted because of his association with Lu Yin. The young man had been negligent and had not taken care of matters as soon as possible, which had allowed Chang Wu to suffer so terribly.

    Everyone at the banquet watched as Lu Yin took out a medicinal pill and fed it to Chang Wu while specting over the two¡¯s rtionship.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I demand an exnation for this." Qing Shaohuang was very solemn. Even though the emperor had not stopped Lu Yin from saving Chang Wu, regardless of the reason, Lu Yin had tried to kill Qing Shaohuang¡¯s chief attendant right in front of him, which was no different from publicly pping the emperor. Such actions had to be ounted for.

    Lu Yin turned to stare at Qing Shaohuang. "Your Majesty Qing Shaohuang has been keeping track of my whereabouts since I arrived, so you already know that this is the person who showed me around Venom King City. He is the person in your city who I have spent the most time with. He is a timid person, and thus would never dare approach the imperial pce in a suspicious manner to be caught and tortured by your servant. This behavior is showing me no respect at all."

    Qing Shaohuang turned back to look at Attendant Yi, and sternly asked, "Is this true?"

    Attendant Yi wanted to quibble, but seeing Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, an endless fear welled up in the man¡¯s heart. He was so frightened that he instantly caved. He could not muster the courage to argue, and he even started to tremble.

    Many people present felt disappointed; this chief attendant was simply too useless! If he had publicly denied Lu Yin¡¯s allegations, there was no way that Lu Yin could force a confession from him in front of so many people? They were in the Divine Venom Dynasty, not the Great Eastern Alliance. As long as there was no evidence and they held their stand, things would not necessarily turn out badly.

    This was so unfortunate; many people sighed inwardly.

    When the Great Eastern Alliance had entered the Innerverse, the Sword Sect and other Innerverse powers had cooperated and acted against the Great Eastern Alliance because none of the great or minor flowzones wanted to join the Great Eastern Alliance. Arge number of the guests attending Qing Shaohuang¡¯s banquet came from those great and minor flowzones, ans so most of them hoped to see Lu Yin and Venom Flowzone be irreconcble enemies.

    However, after seeing Attendant Yi''s cowardly behavior, many people just shook their heads. This matter was already over.

    Qing Shaohuang red at Attendant Yi and roared, "You overstep yourself! How dare you offend Alliance Leader Lu? He is one of my Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s honored guests! How can you redeem yourself for such inexcusable actions?"

    As the emperor shouted, he waved his hand and smacked Attendant Yi''s body far away. No one knew what sort of poison or jincan was used, but uponnding, Attendant Yi let out a shrill scream and began frantically scratching at his skin.

    Lu Yin watched from the sidelines, as this was all just an act. Anyone else would have already been killed, but Qing Shaohuang genuinely doted on Attendant Yi. All of this meant that Qing Shaohuang had been the one to arrange this entire act.

    Lu Yin took a sip of his wine.

    The shrill screams continued, and Qing Shaohuang returned his attention to Lu Yin. He rose to his feet and apologized, "Alliance Leader Lu, my leniency with my servant has led to such an incident. I must apologize to Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin responded indifferently, "That¡¯s unnecessary. There¡¯s another one right here who has been provoking me."

    Mr. You¡¯s brows rose sharply, as this was clearly referring to him.

    Prince Qing Li was speechless; Lu Yin was too aggressive with his words.

    "Regardless, I¡¯m the one who is responsible for this matter. As an apology, Alliance Leader Lu is wee to select one thing from my treasury aspensation for what has happened. Please don¡¯t refuse," Qing Shaohuang spoke in a sincere manner.

 Chapter 1774: Stubborn Rock

    Chapter 1774: Stubborn Rock

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up the moment he heard Qing Shaohuang¡¯s words; treasury?pensation?

    "I can choose anything?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Shaohuang nodded. "Yes. No matter if it''s a national treasure or something from my own private collection, as long as Alliance Leader Lu likes it, you can take it away aspensation for this matter. While my Divine Venom Dynasty has had little contact with the outside world, we are not inhospitable. If word of this incident spreads, my Divine Venom Dynasty will lose face and trust. There¡¯s no need for Alliance Leader Lu to be polite in this."

    Little Mountain God gritted his teeth and stared at Qing Shaohuang. What was this man trying to do? Did he want to deal with Lu Yin or not?

    Wen Yao and the others were not able see through Qing Shaohuang¡¯s intentions, but regardless of how Qing Shaohuang dealt with Lu Yin, it would have nothing to do with the Wen family, and the Wen family would not participate.

    "Since His Majesty Qing Shaohuang is so generous, I will have to impose upon you." Lu Yin was suddenly in a good mood. Who did not like free gifts? Lu Yin was quite eager to see if he could find something useful in the treasury.

    Qing Shaohuang immediately asked someone to show Lu Yin to the treasury, as he needed to spend time with the other guests who were leaving. However, Lu Yin refused the offer.

    "I want him to take me." Lu Yin pointed to Attendant Yi.

    Qing Shaohuang''s eyes flickered. "Alliance Leader Lu, that servant will be punished severely, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself."

    Lu Yinughed. "Don''t worry, I have no intention of doing anything at all to him; I just need him to lead the way. Your Majesty, rest assured, I won¡¯t do anything at all to him. Such a person is not worth me breaking a promise."

    Qing Shaohuang nced over at Attendant Yi, who was still screaming, and nodded. "Very well."

    The emperor then sternly stared at Attendant Yi. "Take Alliance Leader Lu to the treasury. If he likes something there, let him take what he asks for."

    Attendant Yi had scratched at his skin all over his body, and he looked miserable. Terror filled his eyes and blood covered his body. "Yes, Your Majesty. This ve understands."

    Chang Wu woke up at this moment, and the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Lu Yin, which caused the man to believe himself to be dreaming. He gritted his teeth. "It''s you! You¡¯re the reason I was tortured! I¡¯m going to die, and you won¡¯t even think of me again! Release me! It¡¯s all because of you! It¡¯s your fault¡­"

    Everyone looked at the man with sympathy, as he had been truly unlucky, as he had suffered entirely because of his association with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "You aren¡¯t dead. Take a good look at where you are."

    Chang Wu was startled, and he quickly nced around. He instantly saw Qing Shaohuang seated on the highest seat, as well as the miserable-looking Attendant Yi. When the shop owner saw the people who were around him, he instantly copsed. Eh? Where was the pain? There had clearly been a great deal of pain before?

    The man¡¯s injuries had all been cured by the medicinal pill that Lu Yin had given the man, but the recovery had been so fast that Chang Wu did not dare believe his recovery himself.

    "Alright, send him off. No need to humiliate him any further," Qing Shaohuang said.

    Chang Wu nkly stared at Lu Yin nkly, his eyes fully expressing his loss and confusion at his situation.

    Lu Yin nodded. "You can head on out. No one will touch you again in the future."

    Chang Wu was quickly taken away. From beginning to end, he never understood what was happening. All he knew was that his fate had somehow changed, and only the future would tell if it had changed for the better or for the worse.

    Some people were certain that the man would not see any luck again in the future, but others felt that the man had a bright future.

    Attendant Yi led Lu Yin away from the banquet and towards the imperial treasury.

    The treasury was located within a spatial crack in a corner of the imperial pce. Several Enlighters protected the location, and there were countless other defensive measures in ce, the mostmon being jincans.

    Lu Yin was eager to see what the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s treasure might hold.

    Attendant Yi walked in front of Lu Yin, trembling the entire way. He no longer showed any trace of the arrogance and overbearing demeanor that he had demonstrated before. The man trembled with every step as there was a person right behind him who absolutely wished him dead and could kill him at a whim.

    "Attendant Yi," Lu Yin suddenly spoke up.

    The man quivered and slowly bowed low. "A- Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin stared at the man intently. ¡°Was the emperor aware when you captured Chang Wu?"

    Attendant Yi was startled, and he grew incredibly pale. "His Majesty- Of course His Majesty knew nothing!"

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the man for a while. "Really."

    The two continued on towards the imperial treasury. They soon crossed half of the imperial pce, and then suddenly an indescribably terrifying spiritual force surged, and it epassed all of Venom King City in an instant and even caused the sky to change color.

    Qing Shaohuang leaped to his feet, and his expression changed drastically. "Not good!"

    He was not the only one, as everyone felt an overwhelming spiritual force suppressing all of them.

    It was from the Second Nightking.

    As the spiritual force surged, the voice dripping with resentment echoed through Venom King City, "Little Lu, I didn''t expect to wait for you. I said that I would hang you from the stone tablet in the Daynight n¡¯s ancestralnd to torture you for 10,000 years."

    After the voice spoke, an even more terrifying spiritual force exploded into the void, destroying the city¡¯s defenses.

    On the city walls, the strange toads instantly exploded and died. The iridescent poisonous gas that protected the entire city was transformed into raindrops.

    Qing Shaohuang''splexion truly changed at this moment, as if those raindrops showered the city, there would be very few people who would be able to survive.

    Yuan Taishi and the others werepletely stunned, but there was not even any opening for them to try to take action.

    "Second Nightking, aren¡¯t you afraid the Chief Justice will find you?" Lu Yin''s anxious voice reached everyone''s ears. Suddenly, the pce building that stood between the voice and the banquet was instantly destroyed, and everyone was blown back by a powerful wind.

    The Second Nightking raised his hand and reached out for Lu Yin. "You have no chance!"

    The void congealed, and then shattered, allowing everyone to peer into the true universe. This was the Second Nightking''s spiritual force. When it was used in front of everyone, all of them, no matter their cultivation, felt like nothing more than an ant.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, and he looked up towards the source of the spiritual force and stepped forward. It was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, though also like a stubborn rock facing wind and rain, refusing to crumble.

    This attack was something that Qing Shaohuang had nned, though Lu Yin had also instigated by sending the Second Nightking to prod the emperor.

    It was no surprise that all of the city¡¯s defenses were destroyed by the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force, as this had been Lu Yin''s goal. Also, he was curious to see how well he could resist the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking''s spiritual force suppressed the entire continent, and Lu Yin recited the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. At that moment, the maind changed. No matter if it was Wen Sansi, Ling Gong and other youths, Yuan Taishi, Qing Li, and the other experts who were approaching the level of an Envoy, or even Qing Shaohuang and the Second Nightking, everyone felt as though they had heard voices from an ancient era.

    Throughout history, from the moment that humanity had been born, humans had gathered with one voice to speak prayers, chants, or other such things. These ancient voices sounded like they formed the voice of heaven and earth.

    As for the Second Nightking, his pupils instantly constricted, and he gaped at Lu Yin in disbelief. While the ancient powerhouse could not tell where the voices came from or who was behind it, he instantly guessed that the voices had something to do with Lu Yin. What had that brat done?

    Naturally, the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force greatly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s, after all, he had been able to easily stun the youth in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Ruins. However, at the moment, the Second Nightking could do nothing at all.

    Qing Shaohuang flew through the sky with a huge, double-headed centipede on his back. That centipede was his jincan. As the double-headed centipede rushed forward, its size increased until itpletely filled the sky above the city and casting a shadow on the metropolis. ¡°Leave my Venom King City, Second Nightking.¡±

    The Second Nightking removed all distracting thoughts. No matter where that voice that had affected him hade from, it was no threat to him the moment. "Qing Shaohuang, this has nothing to do with you."

    As he spoke, he raised a finger and pointed it at the two-headed centipede, and one of the two heads exploded. Celestial Being Shows the Way.

    The terrible cold struck, freezing Venom King City. Qing Shaohuang was furious, as he had offered the Second Nightking a chance to attack Lu Yin, but had also reminded the Second Nightking not to affect the city. However, the Second Nightking had already attacked the city twice, and Venom King City had suffered heavy casualties.

    Enlighters throughout Venom King City stepped forward to hold back the cold, but they were instantly frozen.

    Without any other options avable to him, Qing Shaohuang tore open a wide rift in the void so that the cold air could enter the true universe.

    Lu Yin''s body was shrouded a golden battle force. "Second Nightking, the Chief Justice has an unfathomable level of cultivation, and had could appear at any moment. Why don''t you just leave?"

    The Second Nightking replied in a cold and arrogant voice, "Today is the day that you will be captured and yed!¡±

    Even more terrifying spiritual force burst out to form a de that sliced down. This was Skybreaker, and it was an attack that Lu Yin had not anticipated. The Second Nightking was actually wanting to test out Lu Yin¡¯s limits, as he also knew that Lu Yin could instantly restrain him with the Sealed Cage Technique at any moment. However, Lu Yin did not do that. This Skybreaker was an attack that did not even reach a power level of 700,000, though it truly looked impressive. Lu Yin intended to face the attack head on, as he wanted to see what his limits were when using the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    The Skybreaker fell down towards Lu Yin, slicing through the void and revealing the true universe. Lu Yin raised a hand and unleashed an endless torrent of Vacuum Palm, but they were simply erased by the descending de. Lu Yin had underestimated the attack; this was an attack from the Second Nightking, and even though Lu Yin was an Enlighter who could fight against Envoys, the Second Nightking was not someone who was on the level of an ordinary Envoy. On top of that, Skybreaker was not an ordinary battle technique, but was a technique that had dominated an era.

    All Lu Yin''s techniques were useless against the Second Nightking''s Skybreaker, and eventually, the sharp de of spiritual force passed by Lu Yin.

    Everyone stared nkly; was Lu Yin dead?

    Qing Shaohuang, Little Mountain God, and many others grew excited, as they hoped for Lu Yin¡¯s death, as that would be the best oue for them.

    Yuan Miaomiao grew nervous, and her fingers turned white.

    Yuehua Mavis grew solemn. After all, Lu Yin had just suffered an attack from the Second Nightking, who was an ancient powerhouse.

    Mr. You gritted his teeth and watched in excitement. "Let him die! It¡¯s better if he¡¯s dead!"

    However, Lu Yin eventually slowly lifted his head to face the Second Nightking with a solemn expression. "You¡¯re still too injured to kill me."

    He then pulled out a blood red bell and shook it. It was the Chief Justice¡¯s emblem.

    Ring ring

    Everyone felt like a massive hand suddenly covered everything in existence and started crushing down on them. This was the power of the Chief Justice.

    Puff

    The Second Nightking¡¯s pupils fluctuated, and he suddenly spat out blood. His hair was a mess, and his face was pale. Blood could be seen at the corners of his mouth. "The Chief Justice¡¯s bell¡­ Qing Shaohuang, what are you waiting for? Work with me to kill Lu Yin! No one will know about it."

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to stare at Qing Shaohuang with cold eyes.

    Qing Shaohuang was startled and enraged at this suggestion. "Second Nightking, what sort of nonsense are you speaking?"

    The Second Nightking roared back, "Even if you kill him, it will be said that I killed him, and no one will go after you. We also came to an agreement before, and so long as we achieve the results we both want, everyone else here can be killed."

    Everyone grew pale when they heard the Second Nightking¡¯s words, and wary eyes shot over to stare at Qing Shaohuang.

    Qing Shaohuang ground his teeth so hard they were about to shatter. "Second Nightking, you are ndering me!"

    Lu Yin lifted the blood red bell once again.

    The Second Nightking was not able to stop himself from spitting out more blood, his eyes became scarlet from being so bloodshot. "Qing Shaohuang, if you don''t kill him now, you will absolutely regret your decision!"

    The ancient expert then shattered the void and disappeared.

    Lu Yin ignored the Second Nightking¡¯s exit, but instead kept a vignt watch on Qing Shaohuang.

 Chapter 1775: An Explanation

    Chapter 1775: An Exnation

    Half of the imperial pce had been destroyed by this incident. The two-headed centipede moved high into the sky above the city to redirect the poisonous rain away from Venom King City. The toxic rain left thend surrounding the citypletely deste. No grass remained, and every species there had died. After that, the two-headed centipede returned to the ground and slowly returned to its original size.

    At this moment, besides Lu Yin, Yuehua Mavis, Wen Yao, and many others were all staring at Qing Shaohuang with eyes filled with vignce and fear.

    Qing Shaohuang and Lu Yin stared at each other, and the emperor said in a low voice, "Alliance Leader Lu, my Divine Venom Dynasty invited you as a guest, and I have absolutely no malicious intentions. Doing so would humiliate myself and my empire. You should not believe the Second Nightking¡¯s words."

    Lu Yin had a gloomy expression. "Why did the Second Nightking appear in your imperial pce? He actually attacked while I was on my way to your treasury. Qing Shaohuang, don''t try to tell me that this is just a coincidence."

    Qing Shaohuang¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Given the Second Nightking¡¯s strength and the vastness of the universe, how could he possibly be found? He was even able to escape from Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and you were there when it happened, so you should already be aware of his strength."

    "But he was seriously injured by the Chief Justice, and he is no longer capable of utilizing even half of his previous strength. He¡¯s no longer even able to kill me, so how could he possibly hide from you within your own pce?" Lu Yin countered.

    Everyone stared at Qing Shaohuang. Yes, the Second Nightking looked incredibly strong, and he gave off the image of a peerless powerhouse. However, he had not even been able to kill a junior like Lu Yin. Just how could the Second Nightking have remained hidden from Qing Shaohuang?

    If the Second Nightking had really regained enough power to hide from the emperor, then how had he failed to kill Lu Yin?

    "The Second Nightking attacked me. You showed yourself to be strong enough to face him and protect Venom King City, but you didn''t. You also did nothing to stop him when he tried to escape. It looks like you were cooperating with the Second Nightking from the very beginning," Lu Yin used.

    Qing Shaohuang''s eyes red, and he wanted to retort, but Lu Yin continued to say, "Your Divine Venom Dynasty was established with the help of the Nightking n who greatly helped your Qing family. Am I wrong?"

    These three consecutive usations left Qing Shaohuang without any response. Additionally, everything that Lu Yin had said was true. It had never urred to Qing Shaohuang that the Second Nightking would not be able to kill Lu Yin. Not only had the Second Nightking failed to kill Lu Yin, but he had also exposed his coboration with Qing Shaohuang.

    What¡¯s more, the emperor had not expected the Second Nightking to expose him at the veryst moment. Why had he done so? Qing Shaohuang could not understand this part, let alone how Lu Yin had managed to survive the Second Nightking''s spiritual force attack.

    No matter how stupid a person might be, everyone here was able to see that there was some sort of connection between the Second Nightking and Qing Shaohuang.

    This was another reason why Lu Yin had sent the Second Nightking to meet with Qing Shaohuang.

    "Qing Shaohuang, you must give me an exnation for this, or else from now on, the Divine Venom Dynasty will be an enemy of my Great Eastern Alliance," Lu Yin threatened.

    Yuan Taishi quickly stepped forward. "Alliance Leader Lu, please don''te to any conclusions before this matter is rified. The Second Nightking excels at using spiritual force techniques, and he could have controlled other people to bring him into the imperial pce. Yes, controlled someone like that." He then pointed a finger at Attendant Yi, who had already passed out. "It was most likely that ve. He¡¯s been behind everything.¡±

    "He was the one who captured Chang Wu, which forced you to take action, Alliance Leader Lu, and it also forced His Majesty Qing Shaohuang to offer youpensation. The suggestion ofpensation from the imperial treasury might also be something that was suggested by Attendant Yi, who must have been controlled by the Second Nightking this entire time."

    These words caused Qing Shaohuang''s eyes to light up. "That¡¯s true. Just a bit earlier, my servant did remind me that your love for resources is exceptional. Alliance Leader Lu, after he offended you, I remembered thisment, and so I offered to give you one item from the imperial treasury. Alliance Leader Lu, now that I think about it, this servant was behind everything."

    Lu Yin sneered. "A servant can influence your decisions? Do you think that I''m an idiot?"

    Qing Shaohuang''s eyes grew cold. "Alliance Leader Lu, I have already given you what I should. What more do you want?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "Venom Flowzone is sealed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave until the truth is uncovered. Everyone is under investigation." As he spoke, he stared at Qing Shaohuang. "Including you, Qing Shaohuang."

    Qing Shaohuang became furious. "Lu Yin, don''t overstep yourself! This is Venom King City."

    Yuan Taishi quickly spoke up as well, "Alliance Leader Lu, why use such extreme measures?"

    Prince Qing Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew Lu Yin rather well, and he was aware that Lu Yin was not a nice person.

    The Little Mountain God was so thrilled by this development that he nearly leaped for joy. His main goal in traveling to Venom Flowzone was to convince the Divine Venom Dynasty to cooperate with the other Innerverse powers against the Great Eastern Alliance. At this moment, it looked like there would be no need to do any convincing at all, as Lu Yin was doing all their work for them.

    This guy was so stupid! Even if Qing Shaohuang and the Second Nightking wanted to kill him, Lu Yin would still have to endure their cooperation. Wasn¡¯t he just making enemies for no reason? Just who had imed that Lu Yin was smart?

    Lu Yin coldly replied, "How long has it been since anyone has tried to assassinate me like this without me doing anything in response? Do people really think that I, Lu Yin, am easy to push around? This happened in Venom King City, so the Divine Venom Dynasty needs to give me a satisfactory exnation. Otherwise, starting today, no one will be allowed to leave Venom Flowzone!"

    Qing Shaohuang slowly clenched his fists, and Yuan Taishi continued to try to diffuse the situation.

    Suddenly, the two-headed centipede returned to the sky, and its body expanded until it wrapped around the entire imperial pce. Its tail touched its head, and then it fell to the ground, trapping Lu Yin within the circle.

    Lu Yin quickly attacked, and Vacuum Palms fell down like rain, but it was useless. Qing Shaohuang had a power level of more than 800,000 once he worked with his jincan; how could Lu Yin do anything against this level of strength?

    Lu Yin was instantly trapped within the circle formed by the two-headed centipede¡¯s body as though it were a cage.

    Qing Shaohuang had actually attacked Lu Yin, and this shocked everyone present, especially the guests from the Innerverse¡¯s great and minor flowzones. They all knew that things were going to get much worse for them if Lu Yin survived. However, it did not seem likely that Qing Shaohuang would be bold enough to kill Lu Yin, as the youth had too much support.

    "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Yuan Taishi was startled, and he immediately tried to convince Qing Shaohuang to change his mind.

    Yuan Miaomiao grew pale and covered her mouth.

    As for Qing Longlong, Prince Qing Li, and the others, their hearts had dropped the moment Qing Shaohuang had made a move, as his attack meant that there was no longer any room for negotiations. War between the Divine Venom Dynasty and the Great Eastern Alliance was now inevitable.

    Qing Shaohuang simply ignored Yuan Taishi and instead turned towards Li Zimo. "The Sword Sect needs to take action against the Great Eastern Alliance now while my Divine Venom Dynasty keeps Lu Yin trapped. Otherwise, my Divine Venom Dynasty will join the Great Eastern Alliance and help Lu Yin unite the Innerverse. Choose now."

    Elder Lianxin had made her way to the Divine Venom Dynasty with the purpose of persuading Qing Shaohuang to enter the fray and work with the Sword Sect to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance. At this moment, because of the Second Nightking''s actions, Qing Shaohuang had been forced to make a choice: eitherpletely destroy his rtionship with Lu Yin and start a war, or apologize. Given Lu Yin''s temperament, an apology would have to include the Divine Venom Dynasty joining the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Without a third option, Qing Shaohuang¡¯s hand had been forced.

    Qing Shaohuang¡¯s original n had been to poison Lu Yin, and it absolutely would have seeded. The emperor had only agreed to the Second Nightking''s request to attack in order to show favor towards the Daynight n. If Qing Shaohuang had been lucky, then no one would have investigated the Divine Venom Dynasty after the Second Nightking killed Lu Yin. The emperor had never even considered the possibility of the Second Nightking exposing him. Despite being a peak expert with a power level of more than 800,000, Qing Shaohuang had only been left with two paths forward.

    "What does His Majesty Qing Shaohuang intend to do?" Li Zimo asked, as he was representing Elder Lianxin.

    Qing Shaohuang nced around at all of his guests. "Most of the people here are from the Innerverse and are even hostile towards the Great Eastern Alliance. I, Qing Shaohuang, have reached this point because I was forced by Lu Yin. He forced my Divine Venom Dynasty to be his enemy, and since that is the case, then my Divine Venom Dynasty will not be afraid of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Reach out to Sect Master Liu and tell him to move ording to the proposed n. I want the Great Eastern Alliance to lose every single Enlighter. They will then disappear. Regardless of their numbers, they will no longer have anyone stronger than mere ants."

    "Understood." Li Zimo quickly agreed.

    The Little Mountain God was getting increasingly excited. "I''ve been waiting for this for so long! Don''t worry, Majesty Qing Shaohuang."

    Ling Gong looked towards where Lu Yin was trapped by the double-headed centipede. Lu Yin could not me anyone else for this. He could only me himself for being too arrogant. With this development, there would no longer be any Great Eastern Alliance, but with Lu Yin¡¯s background, no one would dare to do anything to harm him personally. He would be able to focus on cultivation.

    Too many powerhouses stood behind Lu Yin, but everyone was clear that as long as Lu Yin''s life was not threatened, those experts would do nothing. They would not step forward for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This was also why Elder Lianxin had traveled to visit the Divine Venom Dynasty. She had intended to negotiate with Qing Shaohuang regarding a n topletely eliminate all the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s powerhouses who were Enlighters or above. As soon as the alliance did not have any Enlighters, how could they possibly stand up to the Innerverse? It was impossible for the alliance to rely on Lu Yin alone.

    The Innerverse¡¯s flowzones were already able to suppress the Great Eastern Alliance. For example, Northline Flowzone had Northgate Taisui who was powerful enough to deal with anyone in the Great Eastern Alliance aside from Lu Yin. What would the execution of this n entail for the Great Eastern Alliance?

    Yuehua Mavis and the other guests not from the Innerverse sat there quietly. The Innerverse¡¯s affairs had nothing to do with them.

    Mr. You started gloating.

    Balsam stared at the two-headed centipede; just what was Lu Yin thinking at this moment? He did not have a particrly aggressive character, so why had he just deliberately forced Qing Shaohuang to be his enemy? What was it that Lu Yin wanted?

    Only people who were incredibly familiar with the Great Eastern Alliance understood that dealing with the alliance was not only dealing with Lu Yin himself, but also his three brilliant advisors.

    Qiong Xi''er constantly increased the wealth of the entire Great Eastern Alliance. Not only did the alliance no longer need to rely on loans from Lu Yin, but they had also be capable of economic warfare.

    Wei Rong was skilled at schemes and ns thaty outside the battlefield. He had been the mastermind behind the Sixth Maind getting caught in a war in Ironblood Weave, which had given the Great Eastern Alliance a chance to breathe.

    At the moment, the scheme ying out against the Divine Venom Dynasty was something that Wang Wen had designed, as well as Lu Yin''s own hidden power.

    Lu Yin possessed both strength and intelligence. However, people tended to ignore his cunning side and only remembered his strength.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, and Mountain God appeared just outside zing Mist Flowzone¡¯s border along with an unknown Envoy. This man was Abel Phoenix, a powerhouse from the Phoenix family. Finally, a graceful figure appeared. She was the Y¨­u family¡¯s matriarch, Madam Y¨­u.

    "Everyone, after today, the Great Eastern Alliance will no longer have any Enlighters or other powerhouses. Our Innerverse will be restored to its glorious state!" Liu Qianjue loudly proimed. With that, the five Envoys entered the true universe and moved into zing Mist Flowzone.

    Inside the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce, all the invited guests had already returned to their individual residences, but none were allowed to leave Venom King City. Qing Shaohuang could not allow anyone to leak out news about what had happened at the imperial pce during recent days. Only after the Great Eastern Alliance waspletely dealt with would the guests be allowed to leave.

    Not even Li Zimo and the other Innerverse representatives were allowed to leave.

    Within the two-headed centipede¡¯s encirclement, Lu Yin was perfectly calm. Everything was proceeding ording to his expectations, and he had been waiting a long time for this day. The Outerverse had already been unified, and now, it was time for the Innerverse to follow.

 Chapter 1776: A Clear Sky

    Chapter 1776: A Clear Sky

    The Innerverse¡¯s fate had been sealed the moment that Lu Yin took Liu Huang and the Second Nightking out of Gaia''s Swamp.

    Lu Yin was sitting calmly within the two-headed centipede¡¯s encirclement as the creature slowly moved. It released an oppressive pressure that would have left most cultivators trembling.

    Spots of light illuminated the ground as they reflected off of the two-headed centipede¡¯s carapace slowly condensed, and a familiar cold appeared in the air.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened, but he could not see any runes at all. Still, he remembered this particr sensation. This was the same thing that he had felt each time he met one of the Seven Skygods.

    "Did you have something to do with what happened in the Horned Gxy?" asked a gloomy voice. It was impossible to determine if the voice belonged to a man or a woman.

    Lu Yin did not even bother looking for the speaker, as he already knew that he would not see anything at all. "The Horned Gxy? I had nothing to do with that."

    "Where were you when Autumnfrost Chen died?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Who are you?"

    "I ask, and you answer. You do not get to ask questions."

    Lu Yin sneered. "So, what will happen if I don''t answer?"

    "Then you die."

    Lu Yinughed. "You don''t care about Shaman God¡¯s n? Which of the Seven Skygods are you? You clearly aren¡¯t Shaman God or ckless God, as he¡¯s on the other side of the Fifth Maind."

    "I am Forgotten Ruins God."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply. "Forgotten Ruins God? Why are you here?"

    "Did you have anything at all to do with what happened in the Horned Gxy?" Forgotten Ruins God asked once again.

    Lu Yin coldly replied, "That had nothing to do with me."

    "Where were you when Autumnfrost Chen died?"

    This question was repeated again, but this time, Lu Yin chose to answer. "In seclusion."

    "Where?"

    Aegis."

    "Why did you go there?" Forgotten Ruins God clearly hesitated a bit before continuing their questioning, as they had not expected Lu Yin to actually answer. The Neohuman Alliance had already looked into the matter and learned that Lu Yin had not been anywhere near the border between the Sixth Maind and the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, Forgotten Ruins God had not believed that Lu Yin would answer. Refusing to answer showed that Lu Yin had something to hide, but a ready admittance proved the opposite.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before quietly responding, "Anyways, I had nothing to do with what happened in the Horned Gxy. As for why I was in seclusion on Aegis, that has nothing to do with you. Stay away from me."

    "The Great Eastern Alliance has already been attacked. The Innerverse is going to kill all of your powerhouses that have the strength of Enlighters. You will have no one at all to rely on, not even Wang Wen and the others," Forgotten Ruins God suddenly said.

    "So what? Do you want to help me?" Lu Yin mocked.

    "That¡¯s not impossible."

    "And then I will be an enemy of the entire universe."

    "We have our own means, as long as you give us that thing back."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What thing?"

    "The thing that was in the Horned Gxy."

    Lu Yinughed. "I already told you that I had nothing to do with that incident."

    "Your identity as Lu Xiaoxuan has already been exposed. While it is possible that they will not oppose you, they will never help you. Besides, even if the Neoverse wanted to help you, they would be toote. The Great Eastern Alliance will be destroyed. Do you want to see it disappear? How will you possibly put up a fight against the four ruling powers in the future?" Forgotten Ruins God pressed.

    "As long as you return that item to us, we can help you to keep all that you have built up and obtained. We can even help you quickly conquer the entire Innerverse."

    Lu Yin''s voice turned nasty. "How many times do I have to tell you before you actually believe me? I had nothing to do with what happened in the Horned Gxy. I don¡¯t have anything at all to give you."

    "Tell me the real reason why you went into seclusion on Aegis. You already know that we can find out even if you stay silent," Forgotten Ruins God threatened.

    Lu Yin fell silent for a bit, and then he shrugged. "There¡¯s an entrance to the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins on Aegis."

    Forgotten Ruins God waspletely confused. "The Bizarre Sect?"

    "They¡¯re an ancient sect. The ruins contain death energy," Lu Yin said. He was not afraid that the death energy would be discovered by the Neohuman Alliance, as there was still Gaia''s Swamp. Also, if the Neohuman Alliance started to make things difficult for Lu Yin, he could start stirring up even more trouble for them.

    This was not even considering the fact that the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Aeternus Nation already had their own source of death energy. For them, gaining ess to another one would not really make much of a difference.

    However, this information caught Forgotten Ruins Godpletely off guard. "Death energy? There¡¯s death energy in the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins? I remember the Bizarre Sect now¡­"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Was it a famous sect?"

    Forgotten Ruins God did not answer. "Your answer receives three points of trust."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "Why not ten?"

    "As for the other seven points, I need to personally verify what you¡¯ve said."

    Right after the voice stopped speaking, a chill ran down Lu Yin''s back; Forgotten Ruins God was about to attack!

    Lu Yin did not know what Forgotten Ruins God was capable of, but they were still one of the Seven Skygods.

    Suddenly, the two-headed centipede¡¯s body shattered, and it did not even have a chance to release so much as a whimper before it was destroyed. Behind Lu Yin, a figure condensed from the spots of light, and a set of scales appeared beneath the figure¡¯s feet. Forgotten Ruins God was lifted by one side of the scales while an endless darkness appeared on the other side.

    Some distance away, Qing Shaohuang coughed up blood. The two-headed centipede¡¯s death had caused him to suffer a bacsh. He stared at the endless darkness in shock, his eyes flickering.

    Jingle jingle!

    Lu Yin whirled around and saw the scales holding up a figure formed from condensed light, as well as the endless darkness. He was thrilled to see this. "Senior Chief Justice."

    These scales represented judgment.

    Forgotten Ruins God spoke up in a somber and cold voice. "You are not even a Semi-Progenitor, and yet you want to judge a Semi-Progenitor? Qing Ping, you are too arrogant. Do you really believe that you can face my Seven Skygods?"

    A calm voice spoke up from within the darkness. ¡°Inner world - Judgement."

    As the voice spoke, the darkness suddenly vanished, only to be reced by a clear sky. It was empty and pure, and it looked like the natural sky. It reced the sky above the Divine Venom Continent, and it even reced Venom Flowzone¡¯s sky. It was as if the entire region of space had been moved.

    Lu Yin''s face showed his absolute shock, This- this is changing the sky!

    Forgotten Ruins God slowly started rising as the scales tipped in favor of the Chief Justice.

    "You aren¡¯t even a Semi-Progenitor, and yet you¡¯ve already cultivated an inner world? No, this is not an inner world, but rather merely a manifestation of your cultivation. Still, it isparable to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. Qing Ping, I can''t let you leave you alive today." Forgotten Ruins God was in utter disbelief, and as they shouted, the sky changed once again. Lightning ripped apart the clear sky, only to transform into cracks that shattered the sky.

    With that, countless faint sounds appeared, and as they fell from the shattered sky, they pushed down upon the scales.

    They tipped once again, this time dropping Forgotten Ruins God down while raising up the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin watched anxiously. The Chief Justice was not a Semi-Progenitor, and yet he was fighting against a Semi-Progenitor with an inner world. Not only that, but he was fighting against one of the Seven Skygods. Those seven powerhouses seemed to be more than just mere Semi-Progenitors.

    Even if Lu Yin had faith in the Chief Justice¡¯s strength, Lu Yin had no confidence at this moment. His senior brother seemed to be a bit rash.

    Bang!

    The scales were pressed down, lowering Forgotten Ruins God more and more, and yet the scales were not destroyed.

    Forgotten Ruins God startled. "If I can¡¯t destroy it, then I will simply judge you ording to your own rules."

    After that, Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s side of the scales started dropping quicker and quicker, until they were eye-level with the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fists were clenched tightly, and a blood-red bell appeared in his hand as he considered ringing it.

    Some distance away, Qing Shaohuang was just as nervous as Lu Yin. One of the two people fighting was the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, who was also rumored to be one of Lu Yin¡¯s supporters. As for the Chief Justice¡¯s opponent, they were actually one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods. Qing Shaohuang would lose out regardless of the victor, so he actually preferred for them both to lose.

    "Qing Ping, you are going to die today! You¡¯ve brought this upon yourself!" Forgotten Ruins God arrogantly pushed down on the Chief Justice.

    On the other side of the scales, the Chief Justice retorted, "Your weakness is too clear. Given the inner world that your current body possesses, how could you possibly resist my judgment?"

    This was the day this phenomena was recorded into the history of Venom Flowzone. The dark starry sky was reced by a bright sky.

    Suddenly, the Chief Justice started to slowly descend, and the scales tipped back out of Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s favor.

    The figure formed from the condensed spots of light that was Forgotten Ruins God slowly dissipated. "If I were you, I would have never exposed myself. Today, because of your karmic intent, your karmic cause will mean your death in the future.¡±

    With that, there was nothing left behind at all.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Forgotten Ruins God was gone. Lu Yin had no idea if the Skygod had actually lost or been driven away, but if Forgotten Ruins God had actually lost, then that indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was just too powerful! The Chief Justice had actually judged one of the Seven Skygods that only Semi-Progenitors could stand up to.

    The scales disappeared, and the bright sky vanished as well. All that was left was the portion of darkness that looked very familiar to Lu Yin.

    He quickly stepped forward. "I greet the Chief Justice."

    Qing Shaohuang also hurried over, but his voice sounded weak when he said, "I greet the Chief Justice."

    Everyone who had been in the imperial pce¡ªYuan Taishi, Qing Li, Qing Longlong, and more¡ªcame to greet the Chief Justice. After that, Wen Yao, Balsam, and the others also arrived to do the same.

    Everyone was quite surprised, as none of them could understand why the Chief Justice had appeared in Venom Flowzone.

    Qing Shaohuang was the most nervous out of everyone, as there had long since been rumors that Lu Yin was supported by the powers who truly ruled the Human Domain. There were mentions of the Hall of Honor, the Interster Supreme Court, the overseers¡¯ council, and even several Semi-Progenitors. This was why so many people were so hesitant to attack Lu Yin himself. This was also the reason why Qing Shaohuang had not dared to kill Lu Yin.

    Everyone believed that regardless of who was supporting Lu Yin, they would do nothing at all as long as Lu Yin himself remained untouched. No one had expected the Chief Justice to suddenly appear and protect Lu Yin. What was their rtionship? Just how big was Lu Yin''s backing?

    "Why did one of the Seven Skygods appear?" the Chief Justice asked. Although no one could see him, everyone understood that he was speaking to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "Forgotten Ruins God wanted to know if this junior had anything to do with the incident in the Horned Gxy."

    "Did you?" the Chief Justice continued.

    Lu Yin showed no sign of hesitation. "No."

    The Chief Justice fell silent.

    Qing Shaohuang could no longer hold himself back. "Lord Chief Justice, you honor my Divine Venom Dynasty with your presence, but unfortunately, the imperial pce is currently in ruins. This junior apologizes for showing such a rude wee. Might I ask why you are here?"

    The Chief Justice lightly replied, "The Neohuman Alliance."

    "You already knew that one of the Seven Skygods would appear?" Qing Shaohuang felt quite confused.

    Lu Yin spoke up to exin, "He did note for the Skygod. I asked the Chief Justice toe here."

    Lu Yin stared at Qing Shaohuang, and a smile appeared on the young man¡¯s face. "You should already know why."

    Qing Shaohuang''s eyes instantly filled with rage. "The Interster Supreme Court represents the Hall of Honor and is the highest judicial authority in the entire Human Domain! The Chief Judge is the representative of human fairness and justice. It is impossible that he came to Venom Flowzone just to help you."

    Lu Yinughed. This person was trying to use righteousness as a means to bind the Chief Justice¡¯s hands from being able to make any moves. However, others¡¯ perception of righteousness meant nothing at all to the Chief Justice. Even if the Chief Justice openly dealt with the Innerverse powers for Lu Yin, who would be able to say anything?.

    The smile left Lu Yin''s face. "This junior did not ask the Chief Justice toe here for personal matters, but rather for a report that the Divine Venom Dynasty is suspected of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance."

 Chapter 1777: Conclusive Evidence

    Chapter 1777: Conclusive Evidence

    Qing Shaohuang was shocked, and King Qing Li angrily shouted, "Lu Yin, don''t spout such nonsense!"

    He had not said anything before this, as he had been afraid of offending Lu Yin. It had also been useless for him to say anything, but this usation had to be crushed immediately.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was no big deal to go up against, regardless of who might be backing Lu Yin. However, if the Divine Venom Empire was stigmatized as having colluded with the Neohuman Alliance, that would be something else entirely.

    Such a crime was enough to eradicate any group or nation. Let alone collusion¡ªeven a suspicion of collusion was enough for people to be wiped out. This was always how the Hall of Honor had handled things.

    Lu Yin was incredibly vicious; he was actually using such a vile trick to deal with the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    Yuan Taishi started coughing from anger. "A- Alliance Leader Lu, even if His Majesty is your enemy, you shouldn''t randomly frame my Divine Venom Dynasty! This, this-"

    Qing Shaohuang red at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, today, you need to prove that my Divine Venom Dynasty has truly colluded with the Neohuman Alliance. If your usations are false, I swear that I, Qing Shaohuang, will never let you go! Even if it means making a report to the overseers¡¯ council or Arch-Elder Zen himself, I will demand rpense for this and haunt you down for eternity until it is paid!¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face the Chief Justice and then offered a slow bow. "The Chief Justice is here because someone made a report that there is evidence proving that the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s Yuan Taishi has colluded with the Neohuman Alliance to develop Vitality Poison here in Venom Flowzone."

    Qing Shaohuang suddenly turned to stare at Yuan Taishi.

    Yuan Taishi''s expression instantly and dramatically changed. "Alliance Leader Lu, don''t be ridiculous!"

    Lu Yin eyed Yuan Taishi. "The person who made the report is named Yuan Miaomiao."

    Yuan Taishi, Qing Shaohuang, and many others turned towards a distant location, which was where Yuan Miaomiao was standing. She faced everyone¡¯s stares and slowly bowed. "Miaomiao reported that Yuan Taishi has colluded with the Neohuman Alliance to develop poison. The evidence is indisputable. I ask the Chief Justice to investigate Luo Ao."

    Luo Ao was a rather empty region in Venom Flowzone that was located close to the Divine Venom Continent. The entire area was filled with a highly toxic poison, and it was difficult for ordinary people to even approach the region. Even for Explorers, that area was a death sentence. However, the depths of the region were filled with an even deadlier poison that was known as gong metal. Despite its high toxicity, the metal was not very useful, so very few people would go there to collect gong metal.

    Lu Yin had asked the Chief Justice to visit Venom Flowzone because of what he had learned from Yuan Miaomiao. Her information had been concerning enough that the Chief Justice had made the trip himself. As for whether the usations were actually true, that had nothing to do with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s greatest fear at this moment was that the Chief Justice might happen to stumble upon the Second Nightking. If that happened, Lu Yin would have no choice but to allow the Second Nightking to be captured to finish his sentence in Gaia''s Swamp.

    Still, this was something that had to be done. From the moment that Yuan Miaomiao had first told Lu Yin that Yuan Taishi had been colluding with the Neohuman Alliance in researching Vitality Poison, this was the n that Lu Yin and Wang Wen had decided upon. This n could drive Qing Shaohuang into the abyss.

    This could quite possibly be the most important step in unifying the Innerverse.

    The Chief Justice took Qing Shaohuang, Lu Yin, Yuan Miaomiao, and Yuan Taishi away. They disappeared, instantly traveling to Luo Ao. Everyone else back at the ruins of the imperial pce could only wait.

    Balsam''s eyes flickered. Sure enough, there was a problem. However, this matter also reminded Balsam that Liu Qianjue and the others were currently attacking zing Mist Flowzone. Could Lu Yin have already made preparations? If that was true, then Lu Yin was too ruthless an individual, and his schemes ran too deep.

    Of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, First Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and Soulseal Flowzone were all attacking zing Mist Flowzone while Lu Yin was in Venom Flowzone. There was no one who would dare to step forward to help the Great Eastern Alliance in this situation.

    However, if everything was proceeding ording to Lu Yin''s calctions, then the entire situation of the Innerverse was about to drastically change.

    Balsam had obviously already been aware that the banquet in Venom Flowzone was part of a plot designed by the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers to deal with Lu Yin. Just how had things taken such a sharp turn?

    The Chief Justice led Lu Yin and the rest of the small group to Luo Ao. He waved a single hand and casually dispersed the poison that filled the area.

    There were nearly twentys in this region, but because of the ubiquitous poison here, there was no life.

    Yuan Taishi red at Yuan Miaomiao with eyes that burned with killing intent.

    Lu Yin stood next to Yuan Miaomiao and looked over at Yuan Taishi. "We¡¯re here, so just tell the truth and tell us where they¡¯re researching the Vitality Poison. Maybe the Chief Justice can simply take care of things."

    "It won''t be simple. Everyone there will die," the Chief Justice indifferently replied.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Qing Shaohuang was the one who offended you, and I had nothing to do with the entire matter. Why are you targeting me with this nder?" Yuan Taishi gnashed his teeth.

    Qing Shaohuang was also staring at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, don''t think that you can nder my Divine Venom Dynasty simply by bringing us to search somewhere. It¡¯s possible that you stashed some vitality poison here in order to smear my reputation, but the Chief Justice won¡¯t be deceived by you."

    Suddenly, the Chief Justice released an attack. He pointed a finger, and the Luo Ao region was torn apart. As a result pair of slitted scarlet eyes opened. There were actually quite a few corpse kings hidden in this ce.

    Instantly, one corpse king underwent a red-eyes transformation, and its rune lines immediately surged past what even Yuan Shi possessed.

    Lu Yin was startled. This was incredibly dangerous! Fortunately, Yuan Miaomiao had given them the location, and Lu Yin had not investigated himself but rather simply shared the information with the Chief Justice. If Lu Yin had tried to handle this himself, then he definitely would have ended up in trouble, especially since even the Second Nightking most likely could not have saved him from this corpse king.

    The red-eyed corpse king had a power level of over a million, which was quite powerful. Not even one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cosmic Imprinters would be able to handle this creature. However, it stood no chance against the Chief Justice. It was instantly killed.

    They uncovered many traces of Vitality Poison throughout Luo Ao.

    Qing Shaohuang could not believe what he saw. "How is this possible? It''s fake! It has to be fake!"

    He shot a fierce re towards Lu Yin. "You¡¯re ndering me! You must have done this!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Right, I¡¯m able to capture a corpse king with a power level of a million and toss it here just to nder you, right? In that case, why didn¡¯t I just have the corpse king kill you?

    ¡°Whatever, this was done by the Neohuman Alliance, and there¡¯s no evidence that points to any connection to me."

    Qing Shaohuang was left speechless, so he instead turned to stare at Yuan Taishi.

    The old man had a gloomy look on his face, and his eyes were overflowing with despair.

    Realization finally struck home for Qing Shaohuang when he saw Yuan Taishi¡¯s expression, and the emperor¡¯s face turned pale. "This was you? You truly colluded with the Neohuman Alliance? Why? I never mistreated you. Why would you work with them?!"

    Yuan Taishi clenched his hands into fists and red hatefully at Yuan Miaomiao. "I should have killed you! I should have killed you!"

    Yuan Miaomiao closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

    "Qing Shaohuang, cut the act. You were the one who ordered Yuan Taishi to work with the Neohuman Alliance to research their Vitality Poison. Maybe your Divine Venom Dynasty was actually the first to create the Vitality Poison, and you sold it to the Neohuman Alliance," Lu Yin said.

    Qing Shaohuang roared, and his eyes red. "This is absurd! My Qing family rules the entire Venom Flowzone. Why would I want to cooperate with the Neohuman Alliance? Lu Yin, you¡¯re trying to ruin me!"

    Lu Yin picked at his ears. "So it¡¯s true, and yet you still want to fight it? Yuan Taishi has always been right under your nose. With your strength, were you really not able to see that he was working with the Neohuman Alliance? Just stop pretending."

    Qing Shaohuang was furious, and he reached out to grab Lu Yin. "This is insane!"

    Just one step, but the emperor could no longer move a single muscle. The Chief Justice coldly snorted. "Impudence."

    That single word woke Qing Shaohuang up, and he suddenly realized the worst possible oue.

    Regardless of whether he actually had any connection to Yuan Taishi¡¯s coboration with the Neohuman Alliance, the emperor knew that he would still be taken in for interrogation. With the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude regarding the Neohuman Alliance, it was truly impossible for the emperor to safely return to the Divine Venom Dynasty. In that case, what direction would the Divine Venom Dynasty take in the future?

    Qing Shaohuang turned to look at Lu Yin, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. This young man was targeting the Divine Venom Dynasty. While the emperor could resist, if he was gone, the empire would be done for.

    The more Qing Shaohuang considered the current situation and the future, the colder his heart and body became.

    "Chief Justice, I- I really am being wrongly used! This junior has never had anything to do with the Neohuman Alliance!" Qing Shaohuang protested as he tried to prove his innocence.

    "Whether you''ve been wronged or not, it will alle out during your trial," the Chief Justice replied coldly. Space suddenly solidified in the entire local region, preventing anyone from entering it again. Lu Yin and the others were then taken back to Venom King City¡¯s imperial pce.

    When everyone saw Yuan Taishi¡¯s pale face and desperate expression, as well as Qing Shaohuang¡¯s paleplexion, it was clear that Lu Yin¡¯s im was true.

    Qing Li and everyone else from the Divine Venom Dynasty felt as though the sky was falling on them at that moment.

    "Yuan Taishi has colluded with the Neohuman Alliance and will be taken to Mt. Microcosms for investigation. Qing Shaohuang will also be investigated. No one from the Divine Venom Dynasty is allowed to leave Venom Flowzone until this investigation is concluded." The Chief Justice indifferently pronounced the two men¡¯s sentences.

    Lu Yin immediately agreed, saying, "The Great Eastern Alliance will do its best to assist the Hall of Honor in investigating the Divine Venom Dynasty."

    "Let Little Sheng return. Help Little Sheng1 as best you can, but bring him back!" These were thest words that Qing Shaohuang spoke before he was taken away.

    A banquet held to celebrate a cultivator¡¯s breakthrough had ended with the conclusion of Qing Shaohuang being arrested and dragged away to his own trial. Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin. Not one person knew how to treat him at this moment.

    King Qing Li stared at Lu Yin withplicated feelings. Regardless of whether Qing Shaohuang had actually cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance, the emperor would not have a very good future. Even the best oue would involve Qing Shaohuang serving a lengthy prison sentence, and the Divine Venom Dynasty would absolutely be investigated by the Hall of Honor. Qing Li could not even imagine how many people would suffer from this, and even he might face a terrible oue. Given the Hall of Honor¡¯s methods, even though the Divine Venom Dynasty would not be destroyed, it would lose ayer of skin at the very least.

    Qing Longlong approached Lu Yin, staring at him. She then turned to look at Yuan Miaomiao. "What the hell is going on? What did you say?"

    Yuan Miaomiao''s eyes dimmed. "Longlong, Yuan Zhong isn¡¯t my grandfather. He actually killed my parents, and he also colluded with the Neohuman Alliance."

    "What does that have to do with my father?" Qing Longlong shouted hoarsely.

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. "I have no idea what His Majesty has to do with anything. I only reported Yuan Taishi."

    Qing Longlong was startled. Yes, Yuan Miaomiao had only reported Yuan Taishi¡¯s activities, not Qing Shaohuang. The only reason why Qing Shaohuang had been arrested was because of his association with Yuan Taishi. The emperor¡¯s arrest had absolutely nothing to do with Yuan Miaomiao.

    Even if Yuan Miaomiao had not reported Yuan Taishi, but instead reported someone else, Qing Shaohuang still would have been taken away and investigated because he was the emperor of the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    "Why right now? Why?" Qing Long asked weakly.

    Yuan Miaomiao looked at her friend. "If not now, then when could I have made a report? What would it have aplished?"

    "You could have told my father!"

    "I had no evidence. The Chief Justice was the one who gathered the evidence. I never had a chance to say a thing to His Majesty. If I had tried, I would have died." Yuan Miaomiao also felt quite bitter about the situation.

    Qing Longlong could not release her friend¡¯s hand. It was true. If Yuan Miaomiao had made a report to Qing Shaohuang, then Yuan Taishi would have died, but Yuan Miaomiao would have died as well. This matter could not have been allowed to spread, and anyone who became aware of it would have been killed. Yuan Miaomiao definitely would have died. Qing Longlong was able to realize this herself, and she could not me her friend. All she could say was that Lu Yin had visited at the right time, and Qing Longlong had actually been the one who had allowed Yuan Miaomiao to meet Lu Yin.

    This was all her fault!

    [1] This is Casanova. His name in Chinese is Qing Sheng, but the closest meaning in English to his Chinese name is Casanova, as his name means yboy. ?

 Chapter 1778: It Will Fall Under The Lu Surname

    Chapter 1778: It Will Fall Under The Lu Surname

    At this time, many people from the Divine Venom Dynasty suddenly surrounded Lu Yin, ring at him with murder in their eyes. Lu Yin was Qing Shaohuang¡¯s enemy, so naturally, he was the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s enemy.

    Countless jincans filled the sky and covered the ground as numerous people surrounded the imperial pce. All of them were just waiting for the word to attack Lu Yin with their full might.

    Little Mountain God and other guests all looked quite rxed. Even though Qing Shaohuang had been arrested and taken away by the Chief Justice, it was simply something the man had brought down upon himself. Regardless, the Great Eastern Alliance was the one that was about to run out of luck, as there would soon be no Enlighters at all. As for Envoys? That was even more impossible.

    None of the Innerverse representatives actually cared about the Divine Venom Dynasty doom. They were just there to watch the fun.

    Lu Yin nced around before his eyes finallynded on Prince Qing Li. "Is this how the Divine Venom Dynasty feels about me?"

    Qing Li dropped his head before looking back at Lu Yin. Everything that had just happened shed through the prince¡¯s head. Finally, he raised a hand and waved it.

    "Your Highness, His Majesty was ruined by this person. Please allow us to kill him!" someone shouted as they red at Lu Yin.

    Many people agreed with the man, including even some of the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s ministers. Anyone who was able to enter the imperial pce would be a cultivator with a jincan, so Lu Yin was surrounded by all kinds of jincans.

    Far away, beyond the imperial pce, Xiao Fa and the other contestants from the jincan exposition of the banquet were all driven out of the imperial pce.

    Attendant Yi woke up, lookingpletely dazed.

    The man had been quite lucky, as his Life-Prolonging Butterfly had allowed him to survive the Second Nightking¡¯s attack. After that, he had also been fortunate enough to avoid being dragged away by the Chief Justice to be investigated. Normally, someone like Attendant Yi would have been arrested as well simply because of his rtionship with Qing Shaohuang.

    "Where is His Majesty?" Attendant Yi waspletely confused. However, as soon as he finished speaking, Prince Qing Li raised a hand and formed a w that swept out. Attendant Yi slowly fell to the ground, unable to even close his eyes.

    Lu Yin watched the events unfold with an odd expression.

    Even though the Second Nightking had not released a particrly powerful attack, it had still been more than enough to kill Attendant Yi. The man had only managed to survive thanks to the Life-Prolonging Butterfly he had possessed. Also, the Second Nightking had not released a second attack, so Attendant Yi could be considered lucky for surviving such an encounter. Still, even after living through such an event, Attendant Yi ended up dying at Prince Qing Li¡¯s hands.

    Qing Li¡¯s eyes showed open disgust as he stared at Attendant Yi¡¯s corpse. The man had instigated many things, including even Elder Lianxin''s meeting with Qing Shaohuang. The chief attendant had also been a driving force in the emperor¡¯s hostile attitude towards the Great Eastern Alliance. Without Attendant Yi, things might have turned out very differently.

    The man should have died long ago.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, my Divine Venom Dynasty has no ill will towards you. We trapped you with the two-headed centipede because I felt that someone was going to attack you, so I wanted to protect you. As things have just proven, someone did indeed try to attack you." The prince spoke in a sincere tone.

    Lu Yin gave the man a very odd look.

    Lu Yin was far from alone, as everyone was giving Qing Li odd looks. Just how thick-skinned did someone need to be to say such a thing after everything that had happened.

    Even the people from the Divine Venom Dynasty looked at the prince oddly. Was this man really Prince Qing Li? The man who ignored all government affairs, was asionally a bit arrogant, but also was clearly afraid of death? Was this the same prince who was only good at covering his own ass? Even though the man¡¯s words had been truly shameless, they had also erased most of the most tant hostility that existed between the Divine Venom Dynasty and Lu Yin.

    Not only that, he had also shown Lu Yin his goodwill by killing Attendant Yi.

    Lu Yin felt like he was seeing Qing Li for the first time. This man had much greater tolerance than Qing Shaohuang. Lu Yin had initially felt that the prince harbored no ambitions and simply feared death, however, it instead looked like Qing Li was more suited to rule the Divine Venom Dynasty than Qing Shaohuang had been.

    At the very least, Qing Li was thick-skinned.

    Lu Yin smiled. "So the Divine Venom Dynasty has no animosity towards me?"

    "Of course not." Prince Qing Li sounded perfectly sincere. "The Great Eastern Alliance holds control of Fennel Flowzone, which is the gateway to our Venom Flowzone. My Divine Venom Dynasty had no issues with this change, and we even offered our help. When we invited Alliance Leader Lu to visit us here, and yet that ve dared to offend Alliance Leader Lu. In order to offer an apology, my imperial brother was willing to allow Alliance Leader Lu to enter our treasury and choose anything you liked.

    "As for the Second Nightking''s attack and the deaths that urred, that matter was purely idental. The Daynight n was trying to provoke dissension between us, so please please don''t believe what the Second Nightking said at that time. Alliance Leader Lu should be even more familiar with the Daynight n than us; when Nightking Zhenwu and Alliance Leader Lu were about to fight each other, the alliance leader was poisoned before the fight. People from such a n cannot be trusted at all."

    Qing Longlong felt like this was her first time seeing her uncle. He had always been someone who did not seem to like to speak too much, but he had clearly seen through many of the matters at the heart of the current issue.

    Qing Li¡¯s retelling of events was not particrly clever, and the best that anyone could say was that the prince had thick skin. With Qing Shaohuang taken away for his trial, Lu Yin no longer considered bing the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s enemy. Instead, his goal was to have Venom Flowzone join the Eastern Border. Alliances, not create a new enemy.

    Prince Qing Li had already shown his friendliness towards Lu Yin, so Lu Yin did not mind giving the prince a path forward.

    "Your Excellency is quite right; you really can''t trust the members of the Daynight n," Lu Yin agreed in an emotional voice.

    The prince let out a sigh of relief.

    Qing Li was in a very different position from what Qing Shaohuang had held. Even if Lu Yin did not have the Great Eastern Alliance after it disappeared, Qing Li would never want to offend Lu Yin. This person was simply too cruel.

    "Your Majesty, Qing Shaohuang viewed Lu Yin as a terrible enemy, and he caused the imperial pce to be destroyed. Lu Yin is the reason that the Divine Venom Dynasty will soon be surrounded by the Great Eastern Alliance. Have you already forgotten all this?" Mr. You asked.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance will soon disappear," Ling Gong said in a mocking tone as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin blinked and turned to look at Ling Gong. "The Great Eastern Alliance will soon disappear? What are you talking about?"

    Ling Gong¡¯s voice was cold. "Right now, zing Mist Flowzone should be quite the exciting ce. Why don¡¯t you check for yourself?"

    Lu Yin nced at Yuehua Mavis and Balsam, and then Wen Yao, Wen Sansi, Qing Longlong, Ling Que, and everyone else present. "It appears that something happened while I was trapped by that two-headed centipede.

    "Actually, when I got out, I wanted to invite all of you to watch a show, but the Neohuman Alliance popped up, and then the Chief Justice, and that just threw everything off, but maybe we¡¯re not toote to catch the show." Lu Yin then raised a hand and activated his gadget to connect to someone.

    A short whileter, a disy appeared that expandedrger andrger until it floated above the ruins of the imperial pce. It showed a fierce battle taking ce. Mountain God was fighting. Chen Huang was the one battling with Mountain God, and their battle was shaking stars.

    Chen Huang was apanied by another figure in his fight against Mountain God: Emperor Luo was working with the colossal giant.

    The two had teamed up to deal with Mountain God, but they were still suffering a disadvantage.

    "Alliance Leader, Mountain God is still the leader of one of the great flowzones. Even if he¡¯s one of the weakest of the eight leaders, he¡¯s still not someone Chen Huang and Emperor Luo can handle." A voice spoke up.

    As soon as the person finished speaking, the nine lined battle force covering Chen Huang''s body were shattered, and the massive body was forced back. Mountain God pressed his advantage, and Chen Huang spat out blood.

    It was clear that Mountain God had gained the upper hand, but for some reason, Little Mountain God was not happy about what he saw. This was because the voice of the person reporting to Lu Yin sounded far too rxed.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "If they can¡¯t beat him, just swap opponents. Just don¡¯t die."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. Someone wille help soon." After the voice spoke again, five interlocking rings of plum blossoms appeared, freezing space. The Royal Frost Continent¡¯s Frost Emperor had appeared, and he had attacked Mountain God. Further away, there was a phoenix that had been frozen solid within the void. It was Abel Phoenix.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw the Frost Emperor step onto the battlefield, he lost interest. "Call Wei Rong."

    Another screen appeared in the sky, and this one also showed a battle. There were two women: Ling Qiu, the Lingling n¡¯s matriarch, and the master of the Y¨­u family, Madam Y¨­u.

    "Madam Y¨­u?" Ling Gong and Ling Que were both shocked. "Impossible! The Y¨­u family is controlled by the Sword Sect! How could Madam Y¨­u attack my Lingling n?"

    While Madam Y¨­u¡¯s power level could notpare to Ling Qiu¡¯s, Madam Y¨­u was someone from the Seven Courts¡¯ Y¨­u n, and that was a background that was iparable to the Lingling n. It was difficult for either of the women to gain the upper hand in their battle.

    "Call Ku Wei."

    Another disy rose into the sky. This video was shaky, as the person controlling the video on the other end of the call was fleeing, and sword qi kept shing across the screen. The void was continuously shattered, but no one could be seen.

    "Master, your disciple doesn¡¯t dare get any closer! That¡¯s the fight between Liu Qianjue and Ling Taizu!" Ku Wei''s voice was the one that was heard this time.

    Ling Gong suddenly stepped forward to stare at the disy. Even though she could not see anything, what Ku Wei had just reported should not be wrong: Liu Qianjue was fighting against Ling Taizu.

    But why? Wasn¡¯t Liu Qianjue supposed to be attacking the Great Eastern Alliance? Why would he have targeted the Lingling n?

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Ling Taizu? I didn''t expect another powerhouse to appear."

    "What''s going on?" Little Mountain God suddenly shouted, and he quickly turned towards Li Zimo for an answer. "Why is your Sword Sect helping the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Ling Gong, Wen Yao, Mr. You, and everyone else present also focused on Li Zimo.

    The Sword Sect had defected. Liu Qianjue and Madam Y¨­u were both helping the Great Eastern Alliance, which hadpletely altered the bnce of the battlefield. Even the arrival of Ling Taizu, who had always remained hidden, proved useless. This was also ignoring that Lu Yin always had other powerhouses of his own.

    This was the show that Lu Yin wanted to share with everyone.

    Li Zimo remained perfectly calm and did not even speak.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back, and his melodious voice echoed across all of Divine Venom Continent. "Daynight Flowzone, Chaos Flowzone, zing Mist Flowzone, and First Flowzone all belong to our Great Eastern Alliance. Venom Flowzone had been sealed until it is investigated by the Interster Supreme Court. Tell me, who else can join your resistance?"

    At this point, Lu Yin looked at Wen Sansi. "What is Erudite Flowzone¡¯s position?"

    Wen Sansi stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "My Wen family and the Great Eastern Alliance have always been friends. We have never had any hostility towards each other."

    Lu Yin showed a small smile. "After today, the Great Eastern Alliance will officially take over all eight of the Innerverse¡¯s great flowzones."

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in stunned silence.

    At this moment, Qing Li was Venom Flowzone¡¯s representative, but he could not deny Lu Yin¡¯s im. No, he did not dare refute Lu Yin¡¯s im. Qing Shaohuang¡¯s fate had already set an example.

    Little Mountain God and the others all stared nkly at the battles being shown on the screens in the sky. No one knew how to react.

    This was the day that the Great Eastern Alliance should have copsed, so why were things turning out so differently? What had gone wrong? Why was the Sword Sect helping Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin looked around at the crowd. This was not enough. It still was not enough. This was just the starting point. If he wanted to fully unite the Innerverse into his Great Eastern Alliance, it would need a bit of time, but it could not be too long.

    This ce would eventually fall under the Lu surname as it would be conquered by Lu Yin. No one could stop this froming to pass.

    Regardless of whether Liu Qianjue or Ling Taizu won, the Great Eastern Alliance would still be the final victor, as there was also Liu Huang, who had not yet made a move.

    Liu Huang had stayed in hiding, as he was afraid of being sent back to Gaia''s Swamp. Otherwise, the swordsman would have moved out long ago.

    Just as Lu Yin was thinking about this, there was a sudden change, and sword qi shed across space, cutting open a broad region of the universe and revealing the true universe.

    That was Liu Huang¡¯s sword qi.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide; who else was there?

    He watched as space copsed and a hand was cut off. It transformed into an odd branch that fell. Liu Huang moved past stars to disappear in a sh.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew stern. That person was not someone who had been with Ling Taizu and the others. This person had tried to secretly attack, and based on Liu Huang¡¯s sword, the person had just entered the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

 Chapter 1779: Merits And Demerits

    Chapter 1779: Merits And Demerits

    This shocking turn-aboutpletely stunned Ling Gong and others; the Great Eastern Alliance had actually hidden top powerhouses.

    Lu Yin spoke some orders into his gadget, "Finish things as soon as possible."

    At his order, sword qi swept through space on a screen. Instantly, Mountain God was sliced badly, Ling Qiu''s arm was broken, and Ling Taizu was badly injured. The sword qi hade from Liu Huang¡¯s attack, and he simply surpassed the others on the battlefield too much.

    Liu Huang had no peers in the entire Innerverse. His talent was truly extraordinary, and even if the Second Nightking was more powerful, he had required a great deal more time to achieve such a level of strength. If the two werepared at the same age, the Second Nightking would not be able topare to Liu Huang.

    The faces of Ling Gong and the other Innerverse representatives in Venom Flowzone all grew pale when they saw Ling Taizu and the other Envoys all instantly defeated. This was simply unbelievable.

    Things had changed too quickly, and they could not process everything fast enough.

    Lu Yin closed the disys and turned back to face Ling Gong and the others. "So, was that a good show?"

    The imperial pce waspletely silent. Everyone present had watched as the Great Eastern Alliance had defeated the Innerverse¡¯s great flowzones to be the new dominant power of the entire Innerverse.

    In fact, Lu Yin had not expected to end his fight with the great flowzones in such a manner, and it had truly been a mere coincidence that Yuan Miaomiao''s report against her grandfather had allowed Lu Yin to seized control of the Divine Venom Dynasty. Outside, Liu Qianjue''s betrayal had left the Lingling n and the other Innerverse powers feeling powerless, so naturally then had ended up being overpowered by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    This battle had shown that the Innerverse did not possess the power to stand up to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    While the Innerverse had no power to resist the Great Eastern Alliance, someone from an organization that did possess such strength had also been watching.

    Mr. You immediately contacted the other overseers and submitted a report to the entire Hall of Honor.

    The Hall of Honor had not cared when Lu Yin had established the Great Eastern Alliance and unified the Outerverse. This was simr to how no one had cared about Lu Yin¡¯s status as the master of the Outerverse when he had been in the Neoverse. However, the Innerverse was different.

    There was a fundamental difference between the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Even if everything else was ignored, there were about ten Envoys in the Innerverse. Not even the behemoth organizations of the Neoverse had so many Envoys, and the Hall of Honor could not risk any other organization having such a level of strength.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had just united the Innerverse, which meant that Lu Yin had just gained a level of power that wasparable to the monsters of the Neoverse. This was not even considering the other forces which supported Lu Yin, such as Leon''s Armada, or Liu Ye and Fei Hua who had previously protected Lu Yin.

    The Innerverse and Outerverse had both be property of the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant that Lu Yin had the qualifications to speak on the level of the entire Fifth Maind. This put him on the same level as the Three Dark Hands and the Hall of Honor.

    No one had ever imagined that Lu Yin would act so quickly and unexpectedly. Mr. You had personally watched the entire thing. There had been no warning or sign of anything from the very beginning, and yet every action Lu Yin had taken had pushed the Great Eastern Alliance closer to uniting the entire Innerverse.

    Lu Yin made no attempt to stop Mr. You from submitting his report, and Lu Yin even personally informed Arch-Elder Zen. If the master of the Hall of Honor did not want the Great Eastern Alliance to unite the Innerverse, then all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts would have been in vain.

    Actually, that was not necessarily true¡­

    Lu Yin''s expression grew sharper when he remembered that he still had Kui Luo. Lu Yin was notpletely without the means to stand up for himself.

    "Please, everyone, return home," Lu Yin said as his eyes swept over the crowd.

    As his gaze passed over them, everyone lowered their heads. No one, not Little Mountain God, Wen Yao, or even Mr. You dared to look Lu Yin in the eyes.

    Ling Gong alone stubbornly stared at Lu Yin, but he just ignored her and she was soon dragged away by Ling Que.

    Yuehua Mavis was the first person to leave, quickly followed by Balsam and the others. Soon, only members of the Divine Venom Dynasty remained within the rubble of what had been imperial pce.

    Lu Yin pulled his gadget back out to call Arch-Elder Zen.

    The old man soon answered, and his voice was heard, "Congrattions."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly grew solemn. "If Senior is unwilling to allow the Innerverse and the Outerverse to be united, this junior can immediately dissolve the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s tone remained light. "The Hall of Honor concerns itself with the Hall of Honor¡¯s affairs. Given its strength, we could have easily conquered everyone in the Innerverse and Outerverse, but it was never allowed to be done because the Hall of Honor cannot be allowed to act in too overbearing a manner. Our Interster Supreme Court is the face of our judgment, and it is a cold knife pointed at everyone that could fall at any moment.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance is different, as it is merely a loose alliance that has gathered because of aligned goals and interests. They have united not only for your sake, Lu Xiaoxuan, but also for themselves.

    "They have joined the Great Eastern Alliance because it is able to provide them benefits; not just because they fear annihtion. The Great Eastern Alliance is not some hegemony, but a true alliance. That has always been the purpose of your Great Eastern Alliance. If they one day learn that you face an invincible enemy, will they still support you so staunchly?"

    Lu Yin replied quietly, "Senior, this junior has already said that I will not lead the Great Eastern Alliance against the Perennial World because of my own selfish desires. I will not allow us to fall to the Aeternals."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "After ZENITH, the Hall of Honor decided to fully support you, whether you united the Outerverse or the Innerverse. Even the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse were considered, and as long as you have the ability, I will not stop you. However, this is because you are Lu Yin. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up, "Can this junior ask Senior a question?"

    "Tell me."

    "Did the primeval surnames truly really abandon the Fifth Maind?"

    The call fell silent, but Lu Yin was in no hurry, so he waited patiently.

    Some timeter, Arch-Elder Zen finally replied, "Why do you ask that question?"

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Because of the location of the Upper Three Gates. They are located on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree in the Perennial World. That ce protects us from being attacked."

    The old man said nothing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "While I may have lost my memory, I am still more or less aware of the situation of the Lu family for the time when I lived in the Perennial World. The Lu family was a popr ruler, and at the very least, the Liu family, the Nong family, and Virtue Archives did not betray them. Those powers were willing to be public enemies for the sake of the Lu family. Countless people look forward to the Lu family¡¯s return, and even if they die, they still refuse to join with the four ruling powers. I can¡¯t believe that a Lu family like that would have abandoned their ancestralnd.

    "I am both Lu Yin and Lu Xiaoxuan, and neither Lu Yin nor Lu Xiaoxuan would ever abandon their ancestralnd. Neither would the Lu family."

    "The fact remains that the Fifth Maind was abandoned and our sky was reced by the Sixth Maind. The Lu family was the group that took the lead, as only the Lu family possessed power to take the Mother Tree away and truly abandon my Fifth Maind," Arch-Elder Zen exined in a deep voice.

    "If that battlefield was not located behind the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree, the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind would never have been able to endure against the Aeternals, as we would not even have been able to stand up to the Twelve Marquises. Is this junior correct in his understanding that the Perennial World is blocking the Aeternals from targeting the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Abandoning their ancestralnd in the ancient times is an entirely separate matter from blocking humanity¡¯s enemies. Even if they are holding back the Aeternals on the rear battlefield, that still cannot erase the fact that they allowed the sky of their ancestralnd to be reced. If the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors had stayed here, the Sixth Maind would have been defeated. Progenitor Chen would not have fought alone, and the Rune Progenitor would not have died helplessly while carrying his civilization. My Fifth Maind would not becking any Progenitors all this time," Arch-Elder Zen replied sternly.

    Lu Yin realized that Arch-Elder Zen and the others carried a powerful resentment towards the Perennial World. In fact, not only them, but their elders and predecessors had all been Semi-Progenitors as well. Because the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky had changed, none of them had been able to be a Progenitor. All of those people had died without even having a chance of bing a Progenitor. Lu Yin couldpletely understand that they must be feeling incredibly betrayed.

    It was true that merits could not bnce demerits. No matter what the Perennial World may have done to protect the Fifth Maind, it was impossible to ignore that the Fifth Maind had been abandoned and its sky had been reced.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s conversation with Arch-Elder Zen also made himpletely certain that the Perennial World really was blocking the Aeternals from entering the Fifth Maind. It was possible that the truth of the past was not known to everyone.

    In the current era, what was known to be true was the story that had been passed down by those who had stayed behind in the Fifth Maind, but the passing of so many years could have distorted the truth with their own re-imaginings. This was also true of the Perennial World, as both ces absolutely believed that the Fifth Maind had been abandoned by the Perennial World.

    At this realization, Lu Yin suddenly cheered up a great deal and no longer felt any bit of guilt.

    Cultivators had to be aware of their own mindsets. Even if Lu Yin eventually became able to force the Great Eastern Alliance to fight against the four ruling powers, if he always felt that he owed the Fifth Maind an impossible debt, it would eventually be a burden that would permanently affect him. However, that burden had been lifted.

    It was possible that the Lu family did not owe the Fifth Maind a thing. In fact, it was even possible that Lu Yin¡¯s family might have taken the initiative to protect the Fifth Maind from the Aeternals.

    At the moment, Lu Yin needed the Fifth Maind¡¯s strength in order to bring back his Lu family. This was what he believed in, and also had to believe it as the truth..

    As for the fact that Arch-Elder Zen and the others believed that the truth was that their Fifth Maind had been abandoned, Lu Yin chose to not believe it. He wanted topensate for his own shorings, and this was something he had to do. If he eventually seeded and the Lu family returned to power, then he would be able to take appropriate actions based on the truth of what had happened all those eons ago. However, in order to do anything at all, the Lu family had to first return.

    After clearing the burden from his heart, Lu Yin let out a long breath and stopped debating the matter with Arch-Elder Zen.

    "After uniting both the Innerverse and Outerverse, you are qualified to speak directly with my Hall of Honor. This is why I told you this before, and I will remind you again now: do not fight against the four ruling powers. Do not weaken humanity to give the Aeternals an advantage. This is the bottom line of everyone, as it is humanity¡¯s bottom line," Arch-Elder Zen solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What if the four ruling powers send someone here to kill this junior?"

    Arch-Elder Zen remained silent for a while. "They are not able to do that."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. He had assumed that the old man would say something along the lines of reassuring Lu Yin that they would do their best to help and protect Lu Yin, or even that they would abandon him to the Perennial World. He had not expected the answer that Arch-Elder Zen had given. Where did such confidencee from? Those were the four ruling powers of the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin felt that something was off. Arch-Elder Zen was too confident. The four ruling powers were capable of sending more than a single Semi-Progenitor to hunt Lu Yin down in the Fifth Maind, and it was even possible that a Progenitor would be sent. Arch-Elder Zen had no qualifications to make such a im, and yet he had still done so.

    Lu Yin thought back to when he had been at the top of Mt. Microcosms and how Arch-Elder Zen had defended him even back then. He thought of the helplessness in the old man¡¯s voice when he had first learned that Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan. Arch-Elder Zen had to be aware of something, and the most likely thing was Mister Mu.

    "Has Senior heard of Mister Mu?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen fell silent once again, and a long timeter, he replied, "I have heard of him and I have seen him."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. As he had suspected, much of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s protectiveness was because of Mister Mu. Lu Yin had been let free after being taken to Aeternus Nation to be transformed into a corpse king, and yet there had been no repercussions. This should have been impossible, given the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude towards the Aeternals.

    Sure enough, it had been because of Mister Mu.

    "Senior, do you know of this junior¡¯s rtionship with Mister Mu?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "You should stop with the questions, as I can¡¯t tell you anything. Instead, you should speak to your senior disciple brother when you have the opportunity."

    "The Chief Justice?"

    "Whether or not he wants to tell you anything has nothing to do with me. Still, even if you are that master¡¯s disciple, that will not change the bottom line of my Fifth Maind. The Aeternals are humanity¡¯s greatest enemy. You must always remember this." With that, Arch-Elder Zen ended the call.

 Chapter 1780: A Small Windfall

    Chapter 1780: A Small Windfall

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget, suddenly looking much more rxed from before. Arch-Elder Zen actually knew Mister Mu, and had spoken of Lu Yin¡¯s master in a very respectful manner. This made things easy to deal with.

    His gadget suddenly beeped, and Lu Yin answered the call. ¡°Master, we¡¯ve defeated their masters! The Innerverse is ours. Little Wei will lead the colossal giants to sweep the Innerverse, and all who disobey you will be caught and forced to follow! I picked a few beautiful women to warm Master¡¯s bed. Master..."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Shut up."

    Ku Wei quickly fell silent and did not dare say another word.

    A disy opened, and Lu Yin saw Ling Qiu, Mountain God, Ling Taizu, and Abel Phoenix. All of the Envoys looked quite pathetic, particrly Mountain God. Half of his body was cracked and leaking sword qi from Liu Huang¡¯s attack.

    One of Ling Qiu''s arms had been sliced off. Blood dripped from Ling Taizu''s mouth. The man sat cross-legged and stared back at Lu Yin with eyes that expressed his helplessness.

    Around the wounded Envoys stood Liu Qianjue, Chen Huang, Emperor Luo, Madam Y¨­u, and even the Frost Emperor, who had an indifferent expression on his face.

    There were nine Envoys in the single image that Lu Yin was looking at. Together, these people represented most of the power in the entire Innerverse.

    "Can any of them resist?" Lu Yin asked.

    Emperor Luo was the one to answer in a respectful tone, "All of them have been sealed by the Frost Emperor."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Lock them up, and I''ll talk with them after I return. Anyone in Beast Tamers Flowzone or Soulseal Flowzone who dares to try to resist will die."

    "Understood."

    After ending that call, Lu Yin immediately called Liu Huang. "Who was that?"

    Liu Huang shook his head. "I don''t know. I''ve never fought that person before, and they felt very odd. Still, they weren¡¯t very strong, just very strange. Their power level should be about the same as Liu Qianjue¡¯s."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "What did they want?"

    "I noticed them as soon as they arrived at the fortress. I don''t think they ever imagined someone like me would be hidden there," Liu Huang replied.

    Liu Huang was not the only Envoy that Lu Yin had hidden, as the Sea King was also in hiding. Lu Yin had been on guard against the Court of Seven Names. However, no one from the Seven Courts had shown up, but instead an unknown powerhouse. If Lu Yin was right, that person should have been Leaf King.

    Lu Yin had already believed Leaf King to be a powerful expert, as well as someone with extensive ns, but had never considered the possibility that Leaf King might be capable of escaping from Liu Huang.

    Leaf King''s goal had clearly been Sapling.

    While Lu Yin was in Venom Flowzone, in addition to forcing the Divine Venom Dynasty to join the Great Eastern Alliance, he also needed to look into the wireless jincan and gather more information about Infernal Zone. Anything else was not important, and he wanted to return as soon as possible.

    Since Forgotten Ruins God suspected that Lu Yin had some connection to the Horned Gxy incident, there was no way the Neohuman Alliance would simply drop the matter. Lu Yin needed to find a way to get in touch with Kui Luo, but he had no idea what the old man might be doing.

    Lu Yin spent most of his day in the ruins of the imperial pce. He called and spoke with Wang Wen, Wei Rong, Qiong Xi''er, and Shui Chuanxiao, mostly about ns for the unification of the Innerverse.

    Qing Li, Qing Longlong, Yuan Miaomiao, and others stayed far away from Lu Yin, simply watching him. Everyone else from the Divine Venom Dynasty kept their distance as well. Even though many of them wanted to attack Lu Yin, they knew they were unable to do anything at all to him.

    Night hadpletely fallen by the time that Lu Yin put his gadget aside. The various details regarding the great and minor flowzones of the Innerverse joining the Great Eastern Alliance could be handled by his various subordinates after the major issue of the eight great flowzones¡¯ resistance had been dealt with. The other powers were not any problem at all.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was eager to inspect the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s treasury.

    History had so far proven that Lu Yin would be able to reap great profits every time he defeated a powerful organization.

    Lu Yin looked at Qing Li with glittering eyes, and slowly said, "Qing Shaohuang previously asked me to go to the imperial treasury to choose something that I want. Is that offer still valid?"

    Qing Li''s face twitched. "Of course, of course. I¡¯ll show you there myself."

    Lu Yin nodded and waved at Yuan Miaomiao, who hurried over to him.

    She had perked up a great deal after the threat of Yuan Taishi had been removed.

    "Head on back for now and wait for me. I¡¯ll find you," Lu Yin quietly told the girl. When he looked at her face, his eyes lit up.

    For many people, this would be their reaction simply when gazing upon the woman¡¯s beautiful face, but Lu Yin was actually staring at Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem that was hidden beneath the love flower that covered half of Yuan Miaomiao''s face.

    Yuan Miaomiao hummed a quiet agreement, but stopped just as she was about to leave. She was looking at Qing Longlong. Yuan Miaomiao opened her mouth, but she had no words to speak.

    Qing Longlong remained standing where she was in silence.

    Lu Yin casually asked Qing Li, "Do you want to bring Qing Sheng back?"

    Qing Li nodded. Everyone who had been present had heard Qing Shaohuang¡¯sst words as he had been taken away. Qing Sheng was the future ruler of the Divine Venom Dynasty, as he was Qing Shaohuang''s only son. King Qing Li could only function as a regent.

    "Honestly, I feel you¡¯re very well suited to ruling the Divine Venom Dynasty," Lu Yin said as he followed the king towards a certain corner of the imperial pce.

    Lu Yin''s words left Qing Li momentarily stunned, and he immediately remembered that Lu Yin had spoken simr words to him once in Fennel Flowzone. This was the second time that Lu Yin had suggested such a thing to Qing Li, yet the king refused once again, "Qing Sheng is the inheritor of the Divine Venom Dynasty, and the people all know this."

    Lu Yinughed. "It¡¯s always debatable whether or not an inheritor will receive their inheritance, it¡¯s just that normally the inheritors of your empire are too powerful and no one can resist them. If someone had the strength to resist, who would be willing to be ruled by someone else? Did you really not mind when Attendant Yi spoke down to you so much?"

    Qing Li quietly answered, "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for thinking of me, but I really don¡¯t want such a position. It sounds exhausting."

    Lu Yin gave the man a hard look before shaking his head and dropping the matter.

    After Qing Shaohuang had been arrested, Qing Li had resolved the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s crisis with just a few words. At that time, everyone had gazed at the man with great admiration. Lu Yin had also believed that the king had the heart to guide the Divine Venom Dynasty, but at the moment, it seemed that Qing Li had given the matter more thought.

    Additionally, there was only way path forward for Venom Flowzone, which was to join the Great Eastern Alliance. If things did not work out well and the Divine Venom Dynasty was pushed into an even worse situation, Qing Li knew that he would be the empire¡¯s greatest sinner.

    Regardless of whether or not Qing Li was willing to take control of the Divine Venom Dynasty, the current situation required that Qing Sheng take the throne.

    Lu Yin had learned to never underestimate people who seemed to bezy and unmotivated. He had learned this from Ming Zhaoshu. That experience had taught Lu Yin that there were people who were not actually weak or worthless, but rather that they would not take action until they deemed that it was the right time.

    Lu Yin had reached a higher level, and so he had be able to see through many such people. However, there were still people like Ming Zhaoshu or Qing Li who might be at Lu Yin¡¯s level or an even higher level. What about Undying Yushan? Who could possibly see through such a person?

    Intelligence was its own version of strength, and there could be perfectly ordinary humans whose wisdom might surpass even that of a Semi-Progenitor.

    They finally reached a section of the imperial pce that Lu Yin had never visited before. This was their destination.

    The area was heavily guarded, and there were even Enlighters among the guards.

    At the moment, Qing Li was in charge of the Divine Venom Dynasty on behalf of the new emperor, so the king was able to pass through all of the security without any fuss or difficulty. However, all of the guards red at Lu Yin with open hatred.

    "You should warn them, as if anything happens, I won¡¯t be able to hold myself back, and it might lead to a massacre," Lu Yinmented as he followed Qing Li underground.

    Qing Li''s heart skipped a beat. "Understood, Alliance Leader Lu."

    The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s treasury was located within a spatial crack, just like the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins on Aegis. The ze Realm¡¯s treasury had also been hidden in a simr spatial fold.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin looked around at the star essence that formed mountains, as well as countless poisons, raw materials, jincans, and more. The joy in his eyes was visible to anyone who saw him.

    "Your Divine Venom Dynasty is this rich?" Lu Yin was surprised, as he saw more star essence in the treasury than he had obtained anywhere else in the Fifth Maind. Even if it was not able topare to what he had seen on the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors, it was still an absurd amount.

    Qing Li looked at Lu Yin''s ecstatic expressions. It turned out that the rumors were true, this person''s greatest pleasure came from gathering star essence. "Even though my Divine Venom Dynasty doesn''t interact with the outside world, countless people still enter Venom Flowzone every year to buy jincans or poisons. Many people have also lost their lives while in Venom Flowzone, and whatever possessions might have been on them aren¡¯t returned to the outside world, but are instead collected by members of the empire.

    "Over the course of time, my Divine Venom Dynasty has acquired a great deal of resources."

    Lu Yin quickly understood. The truth of the matter was that while outsiders might enter Venom Flowzone, the citizens of the Divine Venom Dynasty did not really leave the empire. This meant essentially a one-way flow of funds. Wealth would flow in, but would not leave Venom Flowzone. They possessed an ideal seller''s market.

    Lu Yin remembered how Qiong Xi¡¯er had onceined about how it was impossible to do business with people from Venom Flowzone. She imed that the people were idiots, and that their prices werepletely arbitrary. Frequently, the prices would be very high, and they would not hesitate to cheat people.

    "3.4 billion star essence," Qing Li said.

    Lu Yin sucked in a deep breath. "I like your Divine Venom Dynasty."

    Qing Li shrugged. "Actually, a considerable portion of our resources were already taken away by our emperor."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What a pity."

    Aside from star essence, the mostmon goods in the treasury were poisons, jincans, certain types of materials, as well as a few items and natural treasures. Of course, there were also a few battle techniques and such.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, most things no longer held any appeal to him. Despite that, he still found some things that he wanted. He found even fatesand, and while it was only a single bit of it, that was still quite good.

    He also picked up a few strange poisons and materials that he would be able to trade with Aurora Enterprises or First Edition City.

    "What about Transience?" Lu Yin asked. He had never been able to forget this poison, as it was invisible, scentless, and did not even possess any runes.

    Qing Li had already expected Lu Yin to bring up Transience. "Transience is the emperor¡¯s most important poison, and it is not something that can be stored in this treasury. He always carries it on him."

    Lu Yin stared at Qing Li, and the king returned the stare without any fear.

    Lu Yin felt that there was no need for Qing Li to try to hide Transience at this moment.

    Lu Yin pulled out his Escape Orb that he had been given. "Is there Transience on this?"

    Qing Li hesitated for a moment. "I¡¯m not certain, but most likely, yes."

    "Why didn''t Qing Shaohuang trigger the Escape Orb in order to poison me?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Most likely because he was worried about the Chief Justice," Qing Li guessed.

    Lu Yin''s expression hardened. "No, he didn¡¯t poison me because he¡¯s certain he¡¯ll be able to return. Basically, he didn¡¯t poison me because he was worried the Chief Justice would be able to remove the poison from my system, but more importantly, because he actually didn¡¯t cooperate with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if he was dragged down by his association with Yuan Taishi, Qing Shaohuang will only be locked up for a while at worst, but he¡¯lle back."

    Qing Li was surprised. "Alliance Leader Lu believes my royal brother to be innocent of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Not just be, but the Chief Justice as well. If that weren¡¯t the case, you and Qing Longlong wouldn''t still be here. You both would have been hauled off as well."

 Chapter 1781: The So-called Distance

    Chapter 1781: The So-called Distance

    Qing Li wanted to say something, and Lu Yin looked at the man calmly. "Surely you¡¯re not hoping for me to speak up for Qing Shaohuang."

    Qing Li stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, and the king¡¯s heart sank; why had this only just urred to him?

    Lu Yin had been responsible for Qing Shaohuang¡¯s arrest, so how could Lu Yin possibly allow the man to be released again?

    "No, Alliance Leader Lu has misunderstood me," Qing Li said in embarrassment.

    Lu Yin nced around. "You said that Transience came from a strange flower that appeared in a spatial crack. Where¡¯s that flower?"

    "My imperial brother keeps that with him as well, of course," Qing Li replied.

    When Lu Yin left, most of the resources were also removed from the treasury. He was actually rather unhappy to see that he had to leave some things behind. "Have that Xiao Fa from the small towne see me."

    All of the representatives of Divine Venom Continent¡¯s cities who had attended the jincan exposition had tried to avoid the site of the imperial after it had been destroyed, but none of them had left the city, as everyone was wanting to see how things would develop.

    It did not take long for Xiao Fa to be found, and three young people were found with him: one woman and two men. The two men were just as timid as Xiao Fa, and only the woman dared to even sneak a peek at Lu Yin, though she quickly ducked her head.

    Lu Yin stared at Xiao Fa. "Can your wireless jincan really ignore any distance?"

    Xiao Fa was nervous, but he still nodded. "Yes."

    "You don''t even know about the true universe, so how can you guarantee that your creation can ignore any distance?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Xiao Fa plucked up his courage and forced himself to look at Lu Yin. "What is distance?"

    Lu Yin had not expected to be asked a question himself. "Tell me."

    Xiao Fa spoke in an earnest manner. "For ordinary people, it takes several months just to get across Venom King City, but for Explorers, the same trip only takes a few days. As for a powerhouse like yourself, such a journey can be finished in an instant. The distance remains the same, but the time needed changes.

    "Spacecraft can traverse great distances of space by passing through wormholes,pleting their journey in a single moment.

    "The distance is always constant, but the means employed to cross that distance can change. For my wireless jincan, no matter how far apart they may be, no distance can prevent them frommunicating with each other. They simply have no concept of distance..."

    Lu Yin listened in silence, even though Xiao Fa spoke for half an hour before stopping. When it came to the young man¡¯s field of expertise, he became very serious and courageous in his speech. Still, as soon as he was done, fear overcame him and he started trembling.

    "While I don''t quite understand what you just said, I¡¯ll give it a try," Lu Yin said. "I want to use a wireless jincan to call you."

    Xiao Fa instantly took out two wireless jincans and handed one of them to Lu Yin while keeping the other for himself.

    Lu Yin looked at the fragile tadpole in his hand that could be crushed without any effort at all. "How do I make a call?"

    "It¡¯s simple: there are a total of 3,279 codes. Depending on which is used, the jincan willmunicate with the other that corresponds with the code used. I¡¯ll teach you." If this bigshot was really interested, then Xiao Fa had to grab hold of this man and drag out as much research funding as possible.

    "Just give me one."

    "All right."

    It did not take Lu Yin long to learn a single code. He then picked up his feet and disappeared into the true universe. He was still able to see Xiao Fa and the others right in front of him, and could even easily touch them, but none of them could see Lu Yin.

    Xiao Fa and the others were terrified, as they could not understand what had just happened. As far as they were concerned, Lu Yin had simply left.

    None of them had ever had any interactions at all with powerhouses with the strength of Envoys. Qing Shaohuang had no interest in their research, and there was no other Envoy in the entire empire. This was why they did not know about the true universe, though they were still confident in their wireless jincan.

    The results proved their confidence warranted, as the wireless jincan really couldmunicate from the true universe to the visible universe.

    Lu Yin emerged from the true universe and looked at the wireless jincan in his hand. "Don''t tell me this can really ignore all distance. Tell me, what¡¯s the furthest you¡¯ve ever had them connect to each other?"

    Right when Xiao Fa was about to answer, the woman interrupted him. She looked at Lu Yin. "Where are you wanting use our wireless jincan?"

    Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "That has nothing to do with you."

    The woman''s eyes remained determined. "If you¡¯re wanting to use them for war, then just forget it. We won''t provide you with any wireless jincans."

    Lu Yinughed. "You¡¯re in no position to try to negotiate with me."

    The woman continued staring. "I know of you; you¡¯re the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin. Everywhere you go, war breaks out. You¡¯re the reason that His Majesty Qing Shaohuang was arrested!"

    "Sister Guoguo!" Xiao Fa freaked out and shouted.

    The woman still did not stop. "Even though we¡¯re looked down upon because our jincan can¡¯t be used in a battle, we don''t want our research to be used for war. Our small town is a peaceful ce, and we don''t want to have anything to do with a war."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "What if I destroy your little town?"

    The moment the words were spoken, all of the youths in Xiao Fa¡¯s team grew pale from terror, even Guoguo. Her eyes never left Lu Yin. "We just want to live in peace."

    "Help me, and you¡¯ll be able to live a peaceful life. How I want to use your wireless jincan has nothing to do with you, just the production. Don''t ask any other questions, or else-" The smile disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s face and both his spiritual force and domain surged forth. The sky grew dark, and everyone felt as though the heavens were copsing down upon them and the earth was about to swallow them and consume all of Divine Venom Continent. "Whether or not you believe me, I can make your little down disappear in an instant if I so choose."

    Guoguo''s body trembled and she nearly copsed.

    Peace was something that everyone in their small town wished for, but when faced with someone like Lu Yin, their wish seemedpletely absurd.

    Lu Yin also did not want to start a war, but all peace was something that was bought with war. As long as people would have thoughts and ideas, contradictions would also appear and wars would break out. There was no way to stop this.

    Since it could not be stopped, then the only way to end war was by winning a war. This was true for Lu Yin¡¯s conflict with the four ruling powers, as well as the Aeternals.

    "Now it''s your turn to answer my question," Lu Yin said as he looked back at Xiao Fa.

    Xiao Fa trembled. "That- I don''t really know. In theory, all distance is ignored, but we¡¯ve only been able to travel as far as the border of Venom Flowzone. We were still able tomunicate from there."

    Lu Yin beckoned Qing Li over. He did so in such a casual manner that it frightened Xiao Fa and the others. To them, Qing Li someone whose power epassed the entire universe. "Do me a favor and check how far these wireless jincans can connect to each other. Send people in all different directions, and to the Astral Wilderness as well."

    Qing Li nodded, as this was a trivial matter to agree to.

    If it was confirmed that the wireless jincans could truly ignore all distance whenmunicating with each other, that small town would be Lu Yin''s treasure. Until that time, he would confiscate all of their research rted to the wireless jincan in order to prevent anyone from making any moves against the town.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin and Yuan Miaomiao were walking alongside a river a bit outside Venom King City. The city was close to arge, turbulent river that surrounded it.

    Most of the water and mountains on Divine Venom Continent could not be casually approached, but this particr river was an exception.

    "I don''t want to stay in Venom King City any longer," Yuan Miaomiao said as she stared at the river in a bit of a trance.

    Lu Yin stared at the side of her face and softly said, "Then I''ll take you away."

    Yuan Miaomiao dropped her head and blushed. "Thank you."

    "Me? I should be thanking you! The Neohuman Alliance is mankind¡¯s greatest enemy, and yet Yuan Taishi worked with them to study that poison. If you hadn''t uncovered this, I have no idea how much the Neohuman Alliance would have gained from this ce or how many people they would have harmed. You¡¯re a hero of humanity, and the Hall of Honor will not forget what you¡¯ve done," Lu Yin said with clear admiration.

    Yuan Miaomiao shook her head. "I don''t want the Hall of Honor¡¯s acknowledgement. I-"

    She hesitated before simply falling silent and not saying anything more.

    Boats slowly rowed by out on the river, apanied by beautiful songs and ying children.

    Lu Yin and Yuan Miaomiao stayed by the river for a long time that day.

    A few more days passed, and yet Qing Sheng still had not returned. When Qing Li met with Lu Yin, he reluctantly said, "Qing Sheng clearly doesn''t want toe back. He must have gone to the Neoverse."

    "Is he going to try to speak to the Interster Supreme Court?" Lu Yin was surprised at this. He remembered shortly after he had returned from the Perennial World he had met with the Innerverse¡¯s Distinguished Five in the Lockbreakers World. That hidden world was not far from Arbitration World.

    "That¡¯s most likely the case." Qing Li felt bitter about it.

    "He doesn''t want toe back to lead the Divine Venom Dynasty?" Lu Yin felt quite curious.

    Qing Li shook his head. "If he had wanted to, he wouldn¡¯t have left in the first ce. He hasn¡¯t been back here for many years."

    "In that case, who has the final say for the Divine Venom Dynasty right now? You or Qing Longlong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Li''s face twitched. "It should be me."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Alright, in that case, it''s time for us to talk about the Divine Venom Dynasty joining the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Qing Li let out a long breath. There was no way to escape this matter, and the Divine Venom Dynasty did not possess the strength to fight against the Great Eastern Alliance. Even though Venom Flowzone was a unique ce and it would be difficult for any outside force to invade, Lu Yin alone could easily wipe out all the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s experts.

    Even the emperor had feared Lu Yin when he had been present, so there was no need to even mention how Qing Li felt in his brother¡¯s absence.

    Qing Sheng refused to return, so the king could only temporarily agree to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    ¡­

    The Great Eastern Alliance had united the Innerverse, and Lu Yin had decided to hand over the affairs regarding negotiations with the major Innerverse powers to En Ya and the others. Lu Yin had no need to deal with anything at all, and he was also too busy.

    After everything was settled in Venom Flowzone, he intended to lead Yuan Miaomiao towards zing Mist Flowzone.

    But first, he needed to visit the Infernal Zone.

    "Infernal Zone?" Yuan Miaomiao was surprised. "That''s one of Venom Flowzone¡¯s forbidden regions that even Envoys are wary of. Why do you want to go there?"

    Lu Yin answered in a solemn tone, "The Yuan family controlled a secret auction house, and I coincidentally participated one time. There was a person in attendance who tried to sell information rted to what happened in the Horned Gxy, but Yuan Taishi eventually took the man away. However, not even Yuan Taishi was able to understand the information. I learned the information as well, and it indicated that there are things in the Infernal Zone just like in the Horned Gxy."

    Yuan Miaomiao was taken aback. "What is it?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t actually know, but I''ll find out after looking."

    "If you already had the information, why didn''t you just tell the Chief Justice?" Yuan Miaomiao wondered.

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "Because I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s true or not. I want to go to the Infernal Zone to verify the truth, and after that, then I can make a report to the Chief Justice and whatever is there can be used as bait to trap the Neohuman Alliance."

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked at Yuan Miaomiao and grew incredibly solemn. "Don''t tell anyone at all what I just told you, or else you¡¯ll definitely be killed."

    Yuan Miaomiao grunted, "I know."

    She then stared off into the distance where a strange light shed away.

    Given the speed of Lu Yin¡¯s spaceship, it would not take him long to reach the Infernal Zone. Even though Venom Flowzone was full of poisonous gasses and creatures, they were not able to pose any threat to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1782: A Multi-Tiered Strategy

    Chapter 1782: A Multi-Tiered Strategy

    The Infernal Zone, as the name suggested, looks like a dark red portion of space from a distance. Rumors imed that if someone entered the region and made it out again alive, their strength would quickly spike. However, most people who entered were never seen again.

    Shui Pai¡¯s experience had be famous in the Divine Venom Dynasty, and naturally, his tale had also increased the poprity of the Infernal Zone. Entire groups of people would eagerly enter the ce, only to die, but people still chased after the potential to grow stronger. Also, there were many people in simr situations to Shui Pai where they were chased by enemies and were forced to enter the Infernal Zone.

    Lu Yin saw one such scene as he approached the dark red region of space. Someone screamed as they drove their spaceship straight into the Infernal Zone. They looked like they were facing death, and their eyes were filled with resentment and frustration. Still, they were quickly concealed within the dark red.

    Lu Yin¡¯s own vessel came to a stop, and he stared out at the Infernal Zone in a solemn manner.

    Yuan Miaomiao looked worried. "Lu- Big Brother Lu, do you really want to go in there?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I have to go in, as there¡¯s something in there that¡¯s important to the Neohuman Alliance. As long as I can find it, the Neohuman Alliance will suffer a terrible blow. You can¡¯tprehend how much damage the Neohuman Alliance has caused us humans."

    "But-"

    Yuan Miaomiao hoped to be able to persuade Lu Yin, but he left the ship without any hesitation. Right before he entered the Infernal Zone, he looked back at Yuan Miaomiao and smiled at her. "Wait for me."

    Yuan Miaomiao nodded in a determined manner. "If you don¡¯te back out, I''ll go look for you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯ll definitely be back."

    With that, he charged straight into the Infernal Zone.

    He moved closer and closer to the dark red region of space, and just as he was about to enter, he heard a familiar voice, "You don¡¯t have any chance."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed; it was Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s voice.

    "How much do you know about what happened in the Horned Gxy and what¡¯s in the Infernal Zone? Let me see." Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s voice moved closer to Lu Yin, until it sounded as though the person was speaking right in Lu Yin¡¯s ear, which caused Lu Yin to suddenly feel a bone-deep chill.

    He clenched his fists tightly as he was confronted with a terrible crisis. The Infernal Zone seemed to disappear from in front of him, and everything in sight suddenly changed color. He could not even see the dark red region of space that should have been right in front of him.

    Right after everything disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s sight, an indistinct figure appeared and raised a hand to grab Lu Yin''s head.

    Everything at Lu Yin¡¯s disposal was absolutely useless against one of the Seven Skygods, as the gap between them was simply too great.

    Suddenly, a set of scales appeared beneath Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s feet once again.

    ¡°You were right." The Chief Justice''s voice sobered up Lu Yin.

    The moment he recovered his mind, Lu Yin raced back to his spacecraft by using the Ce Secret Art. He stared out towards the Infernal Zone towards the scales that had appeared. They were the Chief Justice¡¯s innate gift. Forgotten Ruins God raged, "Qing Ping, why are you here? Why did you return?"

    "I never thought that you would give up on Lu Yin, so I just followed him," the Chief Justice casually replied. The arrival of the scales indicated that judgment had already begun. "Of the two of us, only one is able to leave alive."

    Forgotten Ruins God sneered. "By yourself? Do you really believe that you can defeat me?"

    "This is nothing more than a broken body." As the Chief Justice spoke, the scales started to tip, and the Chief Justice continued to fall as Forgotten Ruins God rose up. The indistinct figure started to dissipate.

    Space in Venom Flowzone began to change yet again. Back in Venom King City on Divine Venom Continent, Qing Li looked up and stared towards the region of space that had be chaotic. "Another battle between top experts? What is happening to my Venom Flowzone?"

    In another ce in Venom Flowzone where Qing Cao was studying the poisonous gas, the man looked up with a nk look on his face; what was going on? Why had a bright sky appeared once again?

    Suddenly, a violent shockwave struck everyone. No matter if people were ordinary humans or cultivators, they all started bleeding from all seven orifices. An endless amount of the poisonous gasses that filled Venom Flowzone were ejected into other flowzones. In Fennel Flowzone, the Greenlight Forest began to crack, and the tributary Astral Rivers nearby all started to surge.

    Fights between Semi-Progenitor level powerhouses were intense enough topletely change the universe in the eyes of countless people.

    Lu Yin¡¯s spacecraft simply exploded, and Lu Yin instinctively grabbed the young woman and raced away.

    "Qing Ping, I already told you that you cannot stop me, nor can you defeat me!" Forgotten Ruins God shouted.

    When they looked over at Lu Yin and Yuan Miaomiao, the Skygod waved a hand, andyers of space ovepped without end right in front of Lu Yin. His mind went nk for a moment, and he thought he heard the Chief Justice say, "Stop at once!"

    Sit and forget? Lu Yin''s mind suddenly started racing, as this sounded like the technique that belonged to the Perennial World¡¯s Wang family. They were one of the four ruling powers, and when someone used their technique, their opponent would forget everything. Wang Si had once attacked Lu Yin with the technique, and the Junior Progenitors¡¯ party had be trapped in the Forgotten Ruins in the Dominion Realm.

    Forgotten Ruins God, sit and forget, Forgotten Ruins¡­ The member of the Seven Skygods who was in front of Lu Yin was a member of the Wang family!

    Lu Yin could not hear anything, and at the moment that Forgotten Ruins God targeted Lu Yin, he was unable to do anything at all.

    The Chief Justice became upset, as he was a step toote. Forgotten Ruins God had actually used the Chief Justice in order to go after Lu Yin. The Chief Justice hoped that Lu Yin would not forget too much. Even as these thoughts shed through the man¡¯s mind, his scales reappeared beneath Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s feet to continue the judgment.

    Forgotten Ruins God could only stop targeting Lu Yin in order to return focus onto the Chief Justice, and yet that did not happen. The Skygod would rather receive the Chief Justice¡¯s judgment and continue attacking Lu Yin with the Forgotten Ruins technique.

    Lu Yin''s face grew ck. Right at the moment that his consciousness was able topletely disappear, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was heard, and rity returned to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    "Hey, out of the way!" Venom Flowzone itself was changed as a powerful phantasm swept through the flowzone like an irresistible tide. Even Forgotten Ruins God was shocked. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    The new arrival was Kui Luo, and he had not actually attacked Forgotten Ruins God, but Yuan Miaomiao.

    The young woman was sted away by the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s terrifying spiritual force.

    Lu Yin showed no surprise. After all, he had been the one who had set all of this in motion. This was because Yuan Miaomiao was actually Forgotten Ruins God.

    The indistinct figure of Forgotten Ruins God who was being judged by the Chief Justice disappeared the moment that Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force struck Yuan Miaomiao. The Chief Justice''s scales stretched out and chased after Yuan Miaomiao as she fled.

    Yuan Miaomiao''s eyes suddenly changed to be cold and ruthless, and she started giving off a truly terrifying aura. She stared at the Chief Justice and Kui Luo as the scales appeared beneath her feet.

    "One of the Seven Skygods, Forgotten Ruins God. The Wang family¡¯s traitor." Kui Luo stepped forward while staring instantly at Yuan Miaomiao with eyes that zed with killing intent.

    The Chief Justice and Yuan Miaomiao each stood on opposite sides of the scales. "So, you are Forgotten Ruins God."

    The veil fell away, revealing Yuan Miaomiao''s face. It was a beautiful and tempting sight, especially with the image of the love flower that covered half of her face. She truly was beautiful. However, shepletely ignored both the Chief Justice and Kui Luo while focusing on Lu Yin with a strange expression. "When did you figure it out?"

    Lu Yin wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth. "Back when the imperial pce was attacked."

    Yuan Miaomiao was quite surprised by this. "So Qing Ping and this Semi-Progenitor are both here because of you? I¡¯m certain that I never never revealed even a single w, so you shouldn¡¯t have been able to determine anything about me."

    "I don¡¯t need to exin anything to you," Lu Yin said solemnly. "Why are youing after me? Why would you choose to give away Yuan Taishi and the Vitality Poison research that was being done?"

    "I don''t need to exin anything to you." Yuan Miaomiao showed a gentle smile. "You deliberately brought me here after telling me about that information as a test. The truth is that you don¡¯t even know what the information that old man had was."

    "Are you willing to make that bet?"

    "Hehe, Lu Yin, I find myself admiring you more and more. If you can tell me why you first questioned my identity, I can spare you from death in the future." Yuan Miaomiao smiled brightly as she said this to Lu Yin.

    "You won''t have that chance," Lu Yin sneered.

    Yuan Miaomiao brushed her hair with a hand. "Xia Shang actually said the same thing, but unfortunately for him, he couldn''t do it."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed; Xia Shang was the forbidden name of Progenitor Chen. This woman had actually interacted with Progenitor Chen, which meant that Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem on her face was authentic.

    "Cut the bullshit! We need to deal with this bitch first." Kui Luo suddenly attacked, and the Chief Justice did not hesitate to continue his judgment. Both of the men attacked Yuan Miaomiao at the same time.

    And yet, Yuan Miaomiao still did not look at either powerhouse. She continued to stare at Lu Yin, and her lips moved.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡­

    There was a bright sky up above as terrifying spiritual force caused Yuan Miaomiao''s body to slowly break down. She did not put up much resistance at all, though Lu Yin was not able to see this. This was a battle at the level of Semi-Progenitors, and even if Lu Yin could observe and enter the true universe, he could not see the current battle.

    Thest time that Lu Yin even saw Yuan Miaomiao was when she mouthed some words to him: ¡®I¡¯lle back.''

    From the time that Lu Yin had first discovered Yuan Miaomiao''s true identity, to when she was defeated and killed, everything proceeded so smoothly that Lu Yin felt it was all rather surreal.

    He looked over at Kui Luo, who did not appear to be at all happy.

    "She said she¡¯de back for me; what did that mean? Isn¡¯t she dead?" Lu Yin asked anxiously. He felt like there was a corpse watching him.

    Kui Luo sighed. "Given our strength, it¡¯s very difficult to kill even one of the Seven Skygods."

    The Chief Justice butted in, "That was just a body of one of the Seven Skygods."

    "Same thing." Kui Luo was clearly upset. He nced over at the Chief Justice and saw that the man was also unhappy. This person was clearly not even a Semi-Progenitor, and yet Kui Luo could not see through the man¡¯s strength. He also kept himself shrouded in darkness at all times.

    "There¡¯s a difference," the Chief Justice solemnly retorted.

    Lu Yin could not help himself from asking, "What do you mean ¡®a body¡¯?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "The Seven Skygods in the Forsaken Land and the Seven Skygods in the Perennial World are all just bodies of the true Seven Skygods. Their real forms are all Progenitors, and they are all extremely ancient beyond any sort of timeframe that you can even understand."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed; were they really all Progenitors? He had always wondered why the Twelve Marquises would listen to Shaman God¡¯s orders, as well as why the Seven Skygods would recklessly roam about the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World without being killed by any Progenitors. This information exined all of that.

    "Those seven fossils have all lived for way too long, and their bodies are actually just powered by this Forsaken Land of yours. You can think of them as odd treasures," Kui Luo continued.

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his back. "How can one of the Seven Skygods be someone from the Wang family?"

    Kui Luo sneered. "Actually, that person¡¯s the one of the oldest members of the Wang family. Despite their ridiculous age, they always choose a young and beautiful body. It''s revolting.

    "If even those old monsters in the Wang family need to kneel in respect when they see this old freak, just how old do you think they are?"

    Lu Yin was curious about something. "Why does she have Progenitor Chen''s emblem on her face?"

    "How should I know?" Kui Luo retorted. He then shot Lu Yin a strange look. "Speaking of, you¡¯ve got guts to willingly spend so much time with Forgotten Ruins God. From the looks of it, weren¡¯t you here already?"

    "Nope." Lu Yin instantly replied. He already understood what Kui Luo was trying to say.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes once more and showed an odd smile.

    Lu Yin was quite aware of the risk he had taken. If Yuan Miaomiao had attacked him before they had arrived at the Infernal Zone, there would have been no one to save Lu Yin. Even thinking about the danger after the fact left him shuddering.

 Chapter 1783: Personal Reasons

    Chapter 1783: Personal Reasons

    "How did you force Forgotten Ruins God to reveal themselves?" the Chief Justice asked. No matter what Lu Yin might have believed, if Yuan Miaomiao had not been forced to make a move, no one could have been certain that she was actually Forgotten Ruins God, not even Arch-Elder Zen. The Seven Skygods¡¯ greatest advantage over the Human Domain was their ability to hide perfectly.

    Lu Yin looked towards the Crimson Prison. "There¡¯s something that is driving the Neohuman Alliance crazy, and it should have something to do with what happened in the Horned Gxy."

    The moment the Chief Justice heard those words, he immediately entered the dark red region of space.

    Lu Yin had no concerns regarding the Chief Justice¡¯s safety. Not even one of the Seven Skygods had been able to do anything to the Chief Justice, so there was really nothing in this ce that could pose a threat to the man.

    After the Chief Justice entered the Crimson Prison, only Lu Yin and Kui Luo remained outside.

    "Where''s Madam Hong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo looked at Crimson Prison with open curiosity and distractedly answered, "I didn''t bring her with me."

    "What are you looking at?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Kui Luo suddenly shouted, "I remember! If I¡¯m right, that guy¡¯s Qing Ping, right?"

    Qing Ping was indeed the Chief Justice¡¯s name, though Lu Yin had only learned of it during the Chief Justice¡¯s fight with Forgotten Ruins God at the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce. No one had ever mentioned the name to Lu Yin before that, and he had not been able to find anything at all regarding the Chief Justice¡¯s name when he had searched.

    "How did you know?" Lu Yin was quite surprised.

    Kui Luo sighed. "That guy¡¯s one of the people who was sent to the Perennial World."

    The old man looked at Lu Yin. "You¡¯ve been there before too, so you already know that the strength of this ce can¡¯tpare to that ce. It¡¯s not even close. Even your strongest powerhouses can¡¯t even remotelypare to our best experts.¡±

    "Are you talking about me and the four Junior Progenitors?" Lu Yin replied.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re already an exception to the norm, and you aren¡¯t even from this ce originally."

    "I grew up here and cultivated from nothing here," Lu Yin shot back.

    Kui Luo was not happy with this argument. "Do you still want to hear the story?"

    Lu Yin instantly shut up.

    Kui Luo snorted. "Every once in a while, someone from the Forsaken Land will sneak into the Perennial World to steal some Origin Matter. A tremendous amount of time will pass between each incident, and it¡¯s even to the point that even the Semi-Progenitors might end up forgetting about the possibility. This is why people weren¡¯t too worried about you at first, as most people had forgotten about the possibility of trespassers.

    "The time Qing Ping sneaked into the Perennial World was thest time that there were trespassers. Actually, no one ever learned about his existence except for the Lu family."

    This bit surprised Lu Yin. "Not even powers like the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Kui Luo shook his head. "Shouldn¡¯t have. He was discovered by the Lu family¡¯s scion of that generation, and the two fought when Qing Ping was in the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide and he stared at Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo nced over. "Qing Ping won."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. After all, the Chief Justice was someone else who had been epted as Mister Mu¡¯s disciple. Despite not being a Semi-Progenitor, the Chief Justice was still powerful enough to go up against the Seven Skygods and was bold enough to pass judgment on anyone. Even if the Lu family¡¯s top youths were given countless resources and were considered peerless with the family¡¯s absurd innate gift, that still might not be enough for them to defeat the Chief Justice.

    This was just like during ZENITH. During thest battle, if Lu Yin had not been able to use the God of Death Transformation, he would never have been able to fight against Shang Qing, not even with his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Shang Qing was just like Qing Ping had been in his youth.

    "How do you know about this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo exined, "It was in the Lu family¡¯s records. I put it together because of his innate gift. Back then, the Lu family¡¯s youths referred to it as the genius Qing Ping¡¯s Judgement of the Fifth Maind. There was even a day when I fought with him against an enemy. At that time, you must realize that I was already an Envoy and was much, much older than him."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shifted. "Could you tell me about my Lu family?"

    Kui Luo let out a sigh. "Learning about the Lu family is on you. All I¡¯ll say on the matter is that the Lu family is domineering, but also gentle. Each of their descendants is crazier than the next, but more than that, they are all¡­¡± He searched for the right word. "Reasonable."

    "Reasonable?" Lu Yin found this odd. How could such a word be associated with the same people who were regarded as domineering?

    Kui Luo started wracking his brain for the proper way to exin this matter. "How should I say this? Each of them has their own reasons behind their actions. I remember one of your Lu family ancestors once said that everything that¡¯s written is bullshit and that people just needed to listen to him."

    Lu Yin blinked. He liked this reasoning; everyone in the Great Eastern Alliance should listen to him in this way. This made a great deal of sense.

    "What about my parents? You should know my parents; what about them? Do I have any brothers or sisters? What about grandparents? There¡¯s also my sworn siblings, the Seven Heroes, I-"

    "Enough, enough! Figure it out on your own. How should I know about such brats?" Kui Luo had very little patience.

    "What about my parents?" Lu Yin asked, looking at Kui Luo expectantly.

    Kui Luo swallowed and gave Lu Yin a long look. "Your father¡¯s a shameless bastard."

    Lu Yin was stunned and confused by this response.

    "Anyway, just remember not to follow your father¡¯s example; he¡¯s an asshole." Kui Luo recalled a bitter memory.

    "Why?" Lu Yin asked out of reflex.

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth. "Why? Even if I don¡¯t mention anything else, the simplest example I can give you is that your mother was forcibly taken by your father when they were married. His excuse was that it¡¯s easier to have kids that way."

    Lu Yin''s face grew nk. Easier- easier to have kids?

    "Alright, I¡¯m off. Don¡¯t bother looking for me in the future. Oh, right, there¡¯s going to be a good show in a bit. Those Sixth Maind guys have a lot of secrets, and things are pretty interesting, hahahaha!" Kui Luoughed and disappeared.

    Even after the man left, his words continued to echo in Lu Yin¡¯s mind: ¡®easier to have kids.¡¯

    ¡­

    Lu Yin waited three days outside the Crimson Prison before the Chief Justice returned.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed when he saw a huge ck crystal in front of him. He quickly moved forward. "Senior brother, this looks almost exactly like the ck crystal that shattered in the Horned Gxy."

    The Chief Justice grew solemn. "This is a big deal, so I¡¯ll be leaving now."

    Lu Yin snorted.

    Before he left, the Chief Justice made one morement, "Bluedome Elder was killed by Forgotten Ruins God, and from what was found at the site of his death, Bluedome Elder was not prepared for the attack."

    He then disappeared along with the ck crystal.

    Lu Yin started thinking; unprepared? This meant that Forgotten Ruins God and Bluedome Elder had either already known each other, or Forgotten Ruins God had another identity that had known Bluedome Elder. The second option was far more likely.

    The Seven Skygods¡¯ ability to conceal themselves was truly terrifying if not even Empyrean Imprinters could notice anything.

    Bluedome Elder¡¯s death had made the entire universe grow wary of the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin started thinking more about Yuan Miaomiao, no, Forgotten Ruins God. Had she told Aeternus Nation about what had happened in Venom Flowzone? If the Neohuman Alliance learned of such things, a war would likely engulf the Human Domain from the Outerverse to the Neoverse.

    There was a soft beep, and Lu Yin looked at his gadget to see a message from the Chief Justice.

    ''Have the Great Eastern Alliance search for these same ck crystals in the Innerverse. As long as one is found, you can make any request of the Hall of Honor. The ck crystal in the Crimson Prison and Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s death will be considered partially your achievements, while your actions at Gaia¡¯s Swamp canceled each other out. Liu Huang''s identity can be revealed, but he can never admit that he was imprisoned in Gaia''s Swamp.¡¯

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped; the Chief Justice knew the truth about what had happened in Gaia''s Swamp! He clearly had not before, or else the man would have recaptured Liu Huang and the Second Nightking long ago.

    Could he have learned the truth at the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s imperial pce? The Second Nightking had pretended to try to kill Lu Yin at that time, and Lu Yin had no idea how long his senior brother had been present before revealing himself on Divine Venom Continent. This seemed to be the most likely exnation, as anything else would have to be pure coincidence.

    Because of Forgotten Ruins God, the Chief Justice would not arrest the Second Nightking even if he had noticed the powerhouse.

    While others who had witnessed the events at the imperial pce could not see the truth, the Chief Justice would have instantly been able to see that the Second Nightking had notunched a true attack at Lu Yin, and could have then inferred that Lu Yin had some connection to the prison break in Gaia''s Swamp. Even though Lu Yin had not instigated or led the prison break, he had still taken the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and Shui Chuanxiao away.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. If not for the fact that they had been forcing Forgotten Ruins God to reveal themselves and that Lu Yin had then helped his senior brother to find the ck crystal, the Second Nightking and the others who Lu Yin had rescued would definitely have been captured, and possibly tried, which would have been a huge problem.

    This meant that Lu Yin could publicly deploy the Second Nightking and the others. This would make many things much easier as Lu Yin would not need to keep so many secrets.

    If Qing Shaohuang knew that the Second Nightking was his, he would probably be mad.

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin had already returned to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress to meet up with Ling Qiu and other Envoys who had been captured. The Second Nightking had returned just before Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was the most curious about Ling Taizu.

    No one had known before recent events that the Lingling n had such a powerful expert among their numbers. Ling Taizu was actually almost as strong as Liu Qianjue.

    Ling Taizu looked back at Lu Yin with calm eyes.

    "You aren¡¯t surprised?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Taizu responded in an indifferent manner. "What is there to be surprised about?"

    "Most of you seniors let out emotional sighs when they face me," Lu Yin said.

    Ling Taizuughed. "I¡¯ve seen more than a few of the ups and downs of the universe. I¡¯ve seen it all before."

    "You¡¯ve seen everything before?"

    "Life and death are both casual matters, so there¡¯s no need to even mention other things," the old man replied. He then nced towards the Second Nightking standing behind Lu Yin. "That person looks familiar."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Go through your memories; see if you can remember."

    Ling Taizu stared at the Second Nightking for a long time before his eyes went wide with disbelief. "Second- Second Nightking?"

    Lu Yin let out augh. "So Senior can be surprised after all."

    Ling Taizu was truly shocked. "Second Nightking? Are you really the Second Nightking?"

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin. "How could the Second Nightking be following you?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The universe is full of ups and downs. You¡¯ve already seen many incredible events, so why are you so surprised? I can also tell you that when you were fighting against Liu Qianjue and were attacked by a hidden sword, that attack was made by Liu Huang."

    Ling Taizu''s pupils instantly constricted to pin pricks. He had nearly lost his head to Liu Huang¡¯s attack during that battle, and he had spent a lot of time recently wondering who had attacked him. He had known it was a powerful swordsman, but had not considered the possibility of them being Liu Huang.

    Of course Ling Taizu was familiar with Liu Huang¡¯s name. As the most outstanding genius throughout the entire history of the Sword Sect, even if the man had died, he would still be recorded by the various powers.

    "Isn¡¯t Liu Huang already dead? Could it be¡­" Ling Taizu felt that the Sword Sect must have deliberately hidden their strength as well.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "You weren¡¯t even surprised that the Sword Sect helped me, but only by the fact that the Second Nightking and Liu Huang are helping me. It appears that Senior treats matters regarding cultivation more seriously than other matters. This junior admires such an attitude."

    Ling Taizu was shocked. "Alliance Leader Lu, I just want to know how you were able to request the Second Nightking¡¯s assistance?"

    It was not odd at all for the Second Nightking topletely ignore even someone like Ling Taizu, and anyone who knew the Second Nightking¡¯s identity would understand such things. After all, while Ling Taizu was very old, he was still a young junior to the Second Nightking.

    Lu Yin smiled and waved a hand. Ling Qiu, Mountain God, Abel Phoenix, as well as their previous opponents, Liu Qianjue, Madam Y¨­u, and Liu Huang, all appeared. Almost ten powerful Envoys had been gathered in a small room, as well as the Second Nightking and Liu Huang, both of whom were matchless powerhouses.

 Chapter 1784: Welcome To Compete

    Chapter 1784: Wee To Compete

    "Official announcement." Lu Yin faced everyone with a solemn expression, pointed at the Second Nightking, "This is the Second Nightking."

    He then pointed at Liu Huang. "He¡¯s Liu Huang."

    Ling Qiu and others were shocked, including Madam Y¨­u. Not one of them had ever imagined that the Second Nightking and Liu Huang would suddenly appear, let alone actually be helping Lu Yin. More importantly, the Second Nightking had escaped from Gaia''s Swamp, so how could Lu Yin publicly reveal the man?

    Lu Yin continued in a casual tone, "I already know what you¡¯re thinking, and I¡¯ll tell you right now that the Second Nightking¡¯s presence can be made public. No one will make trouble for him, not even the Chief Justice."

    The moment Lu Yin said thisst bit, everyone¡¯splexion changed. What did it mean that a prisoner who had escaped from Gaia''s Swamp who had exposed themselves would not be arrested by even the Chief Justice himself? It meant that the Chief Justice was supporting Lu Yin! Lu Yin actually was able to pull over even someone like the Chief Justice.

    In the past, everyone had already known that Lu Yin was supported by the Hall of Honor, Eversky Ind, and was also able to influence the overseers¡¯ council to a certain degree. However, no one had expected that even the Interster Supreme Court was supporting the young man so much. This was truly mind-blowing.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. This was the reaction he had wanted.

    The Second Nightking and the other escaped prisoners had been given back their freedom all because of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments. However, since nothing that Lu Yin had done could be made public, people could only see the final results, which was that the Chief Justice was mysteriously offering Lu Yin help. This would have an incredible impact on the entire universe, and it struck Ling Qiu and the others especially hard, as they had be prisoners.

    At this moment, they no longer felt like they were facing an enemy that was onlyposed of Lu Yin and his Great Eastern Alliance, but instead an enemy that also included the Interster Supreme Court and possibly the entire Hall of Honor.

    "The Daynight n and the Sword Sect have already joined the Great Eastern Alliance, while Chaos Flowzone and zing Mist Flowzone are both ces that we controlpletely. The Divine Venom Dynasty also officially announced that it joined the Great Eastern Alliance half a month ago, which leaves only Soulseal Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and Erudite Flowzone.¡±

    Lu Yin looked first at Ling Qiu, and then at Mountain God. "So, you got anything to say?"

    Ling Qiu and Mountain God had not been separated during their detainment that hadsted for more than half a month. The two of them had already discussed matters, and with their previous discussionsbined with the power that Lu Yin had just revealed, their final decision was no surprise. Naturally, they joined with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance was not an alliance, but a truly united force, the Lingling n would rather fight to the death than give up their independence and sovereignty. However, they were merely joining an alliance.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are we also qualified to run for election to be the alliance leader?" Ling Qiu asked as she stared at Lu Yin.

    The eyes of Liu Qianjue and the others all snapped back to Lu Yin, who smiled at them. "Of course. Anyone in the entire alliance is eligible to run for election. All of you are wee topete with me, and we¡¯ll have a fairpetition."

    Even if things had the appearance of fairness, Lu Yin would remain the leader of the alliance for as long as he was alive. When the Great Eastern Alliance had first been established, A proposal had been set forth to rotate the position of alliance leader after a set period of time, but who would dare mention such a thing? No one.

    In the past, the Great Eastern Alliance had beenposed of the Outerverse¡¯s seventy-two weaves, but with this, most of the Innerverse¡¯s major flowzones had also be members.

    Erudite Flowzone was the lone holdout among the eight great flowzones. However, Lu Yin was in no hurry to go after Erudite Flowzone. He had instead asked Wang Wen and others to integrate the Innerverse¡¯s forces as quickly as possible. All members of the Great Eastern Alliance were expected and required to send troops and experts to join the Allied Forces, and there were also matters of determining borders and more. Lu Yin had no energy to handle such affairs.

    He was actually eager to look at the various ancient artifacts that First Edition City had sent to him, so Lu Yin announced he would enter seclusion for a period of time.

    In order to ease some of the pressure the Great Eastern Alliance was facing to quickly withdraw from the Outerverse, Lu Yin had made an agreement with First Edition City that if they coerced the Sixth Maind to attack Sky Creation Academy, Lu Yin would dpose various items into their raw materials for them for half a year. However, First Edition City had failed to follow through on their side of the agreement.

    Still, Lu Yin was continuing to cooperate with the city and intended to dpose everything they had sent him in order to have First Edition City maintain their vignce towards Sky Creation Academy. This would allow Lu Yin to be informed as soon as possible if the Perennial World sent more experts after him.

    Lu Yin at about a dozen items that had been sent to him. Each of them radiated an ancient aura. He took a deep breath, his eyes growing heated as he looked at the items.

    He had no idea where First Edition City might have gathered so many ancient items from. Even though he needed to return the raw materials that were extracted from these items back to First Edition City, he would naturally keep a small bit of each thing for himself. These were materials that were practically extinct in the current universe, which meant that every single one of them was a priceless treasure.

    He lifted a hand and brought out his die. He tapped it, and it slowly spun before stopping on five pips. Useless. Again. After spinning a second time, the die stopped on two pips, causing Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to light up. He felt lucky to have gotten his desired roll so quickly after starting.

    He immediately picked up one of the items and threw it into the ckhole Disassembly and watched as the variousponent materials were extracted and separated. His eyes grew brighter and brighter as time passed.

    ***

    Just as Lu Yin went into seclusion to dpose the ancient items, Xu San was feeling very, very uneasy. There was even a bit of panic. This was because Ancestor Lingtong had finally decided to attempt his breakthrough.

    The man had his hands sped behind his back and was standing in the middle of space. No one knew what was passing through the man¡¯s mind at this moment.

    Xu San and others from the Swifteyes n were congregated far away, all of them holding their breath.

    Behind Xu San stood Sixteen, and He Xiang was not far away. There were also members of the Sightless n nearby, as well as representatives of many other forces from the Sixth Maind.

    The Ancestor Lingtong was the most powerful Cosmic Imprinter, and not even Empyrean Imprinters could be confident of killing the man. After Ancestor Lingtong broke through and became an Empyrean Imprinter, he would immediately rise to the top of the ranks and be practically invincible within his realm.

    The corpse king who had impersonated Ancestor Autumnfrost had actually been killed by the cooperative efforts of Ancestor Lingtong and Ancestor Sightless.

    "Brother San, don''t worry. The ancestor will definitely seed at his breakthrough. It¡¯s guaranteed," Sixteen said encouragingly as he stared off into the distance.

    Many of the gathered people held the same confidence as Sixteen. After Ancestor Lingtong passed through this breakthrough, the Swifteyes n¡¯s status would be transformed, and they would rise to the same level as the Sightless n.

    Xu San was very nervous, Master, you have to make it through this breakthrough! If you don''t, your disciple will be done for!

    At this thought, Xu San nced over at Sixteen. The man was staring at Ancestor Lingtong, but he still noticed Xu San¡¯s stare, and so he turned his head to look back at Xu San. "Bother- Brother San, what''s wrong?"

    Xu San''s expression changed. "Stay away from me."

    Sixteen was taken aback. "Why?"

    "Just make sure you stay far away!" Xu San shouted.

    Sixteen was startled by Xu San¡¯s reaction, but he still quickly moved away while looking at Xu San in confusion.

    Xu San nced at the people surrounding him, and heshed out again, ¡°All of you, get back!"

    No one dared to speak back, and they all hurried away in the same manner as Sixteen.

    They were all quite puzzled, but Xu San was quite clear on the fact that while if Ancestor Lingtong seeded, these people would all continue to fawn over him as they always had. Sixteen had even once swallowed an apple that Xu San had eaten half of. There was no limit to these peoples¡¯ ttery.

    However, if Ancestor Lingtong failed, everything would be over for Xu San, and Sixteen would definitely be the first to try to kill Xu San.

    Xu San was no idiot, and he did not feel at all safe when surrounded by these sycophants who might turn on him at any moment. He looked around, but he actually felt even more nervous when he was all alone. He fled over to He Xiang, and looked at her shyly.

    He Xiang was disgusted by his presence. "Stay away from me."

    Xu San shamelessly just smiled at her. "You¡¯re my fianc¨¦e, so we should live and die together. We should absolutely be together at an auspicious time like the ancestor''s breakthrough. We should unite in order to cheer on our ancestor."

    He Xiang snorted in derision, but she also knew that she could not drive Xu San away. "Why don''t you stay with your little group of bastards?"

    Xu San grinned. "They¡¯re too noisy."

    He Xiang sneered, "Are you afraid?"

    Xu San looked confused. "Afraid? Afraid of what?"

    He Xiang stared at the man. "You should be wishing for the ancestor¡¯s sess more than anyone, as you¡¯ll be done for if he fails."

    Xu San acted ignorant. "Done for? Why?"

    He Xiang said nothing more, but instead redirected her attention forward. Her emotions were ratherplicated at this moment.

    If Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s breakthrough was a sess, Xu San¡¯s status would correspondingly rise, and it would be impossible for He Xiang to resist her fate. She would be forced to marry Xu San, which was something that she did not want at all. However, she was even more unwilling to see the ancestor fail, as that would mean the fall of the Swifteyes n, and then she would likely suffer a fate as bad or even worse than marrying Xu San.

    With these mixed feelings, He Xiang nced back at Xu San, and her eyes flickered. Even though the man was terrible, cheap, and without any sort of taste, at the very least, he was not stupid. While marrying him was bad, it was still an alright oue. After all, it was still better than having any decision regarding her future taken from her.

    Besides, she was confident of being able to stand up to him even after they married.

    A loud noise filled the entire area, and everyone looked up to see space tear open to reveal a pair of eyes.

    Peoples¡¯ scalps grew numb; space had eyes?

    Ancestor Lingtong opened his eyes and looked up, his gaze bing focused. Was this an Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s stellr tribtion?

    Stellr tribtions would only start to appear when one tried to break through and be an Envoy. After that, another tribtion would appear every time that an Envoy made a qualitative increase in their strength. If it was tabted with measurements, tribtions urred with every 100,000 increase in one¡¯s power level..

    However, the recurring tribtions were not particrly powerful, and it was also possible for Envoys to employ various means to hide their power levels for those tribtions. Only the first stellr tribtion and the one that blocked the way to bing an Empyrean Imprinter were ones where cultivators werepletely unable to conceal any bit of their power level.

    Reaching a power level of a million was the second massive hurdle, and it was the same as when one surpassed a power level of half a million.

    The stellr tribtion that had appeared over Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s head was actually the same as his innate gift of double sight.

    As the eyes slowly became more clear, Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s pupils shrank. He pointed a finger, and a ray of light shot out that was reinforced by nine lined battle force. This was his Aurora Beam.

    The finger attack that had instantly pierced through the body of the fake Ancestor Autumnfrost and left Ancestor Sightless feeling chills suddenly disappeared halfway to its target. An overbearing pressure appeared, and with it, countless blood-red cones. Each cone was only about the size of a person¡¯s hand, but their numbers meant that they covered the entire sky and blocked all of the nearby stars.

    Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s expression changed drastically. "Brightstone''s double pupils?"

    The man¡¯s eyes opened, and his double pupils converged. The void trembled in a wave that swept off into the distance.

    Xu San and the others watching felt themselves being pushed back. Space erupted, and figures appeared in front of the crowd. Every single one of them was an Imprinter from the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory, and they blocked the shockwave from harming anyone.

    "Everyone, back up!" someone shouted fiercely.

    Xu San and the others retreated, their faces pale.

    He Xiang stared at the blood-red cones that were off in the distance. Her expression grew incredibly solemn. "That''s Akashi''s innate gift of heavy eyes."

    "Who¡¯s Brightstone?" Xu San was puzzled.

    An ugly expression appeared on He Xiang''s face. "Throughout the history of the Fifth Maind, there¡¯s been more than one person who¡¯s had the double pupils innate gift. One of them was known as Brightstone, and their innate gift allowed them to create countless blood red cones, and each one would strike Brightstone¡¯s enemy until they were dead. I never thought that the stellr tribtions could replicate the innate gifts of ancient powerhouses."

 Chapter 1785: A Strange Face

    Chapter 1785: A Strange Face

    He Xiang''s words caused Xu San''s heart to drop. He stared out into the distance, Master, you have to endure!

    Ancestor Lingtong stared up above with a heavy heart. The blood-red cones were crushed by an invisible power, and one after another vanished, only to quickly reappear in a never-ending cycle.

    The massive eyes in the distance continuously created the red cones that attacked Ancestor Lingtong, and at the same time, the Cosmic Imprinter erased the cones with some invisible power.

    Shockwaves from the battle swept out again and again, and soon, one of the Imprinters was caught off guard. The shockwave hit him directly and tore his body open. He instantly fled.

    Suddenly, another pair of eyes appeared above Ancestor Lingtong, and they also manifested double pupils and began to stare at the man.

    Everyone''s hearts sank; this stellr tribtion was extremely terrifying.

    The second pair of eyes did not manifest any visible attacks or power, and yet Ancestor Lingtong suddenly spat out blood. An imprint appeared behind him, and he let out a roar. Both pairs of eyes disappeared from above him at the same time.

    Xu San got excited; it was over!

    However, space broke apart once again in the very next moment, and eyes appeared with dual pupils that were ten times the size of the eyes that had appeared before. This time, the eyes did not appear by themselves, as there was also a human face.

    Even though the face was not very clear, Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s face changed to apletely different color. This was because the dual pupils in the eyes of the massive face had split. This was no longer the innate gift of double pupils, but quadruple sight, and this revtion left the powerhouse at a loss of breath. This was a huge obstacle.

    "Lie Tiandi¡­" Ancestor Lingtong was actually horrified.

    Given his innate gift of double pupils, Ancestor Lingtong had long since studied all of the cultivators throughout history with this same innate gift. No matter if the person had been a powerhouse from the Fifth or Sixth Mainds, or even from the destroyed four Mainds from the past, he had some knowledge of all of them.

    For example, Brightstone had been someone from the Fifth Maind who had possessed the innate gift of double pupils, and Ancestor Lingtong was quite knowledgeable about the ancient expert. He was simrly familiar with whose innate gift he was facing at the moment. It was his knowledge that left Ancestor Lingtong stunned at the sight before him.

    Lie Tiandi had been a peerless expert from the Third Maind who had faced the entire universe with his quadruple sight. He had once vowed to challenge the masters of all of his peers, and yet had never lost. He had truly been invincible within his cultivation realm.

    Unfortunately, the man had eventually died to his stellr tribtion. In fact, Ancestor Lingtong was facing the same breakthrough that Lie Tiandi had died to, the stellr tribtion faced when one attempted to surpass a power level of a million.

    Ancestor Lingtong had never imagined that he could one day face Lie Tiandi¡¯s horrifying innate gift.

    Lie Tiandi¡¯s innate gift had been quadruple pupils, and its characteristics were double that of the double pupils innate gift, which made him more than twice as terrifying an opponent.

    The four pupils in each of the eyes above Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s head stared down at the Cosmic Imprinter. The eyes flickered, and an indescribable pressure struck the man. He attacked the eyes with his Aurora Beam, but it was useless. A counter appeared and shed with his attacks. Space shatteredpletely, and a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions.

    Most of the entire weave twisted and boiled, and countlesss simply exploded, which led to a tremendous amount of mourning and despair.

    At this moment, another pair of eyes flickered into existence above Ancestor Lingtong. Xu San and the others watching the tribtion all stared nkly as space copsed, crushing Ancestor Lingtong. The pressure was so powerful that the Imprinters arranged in front of the gathered audience all grew pale. No one dared to move any closer at all.

    Ancestor Lingtong then triggered his bloodline ability, which caused his body to mutate, and yet even then he was unable to withstand the pressure.

    This pressure was actually his own double pupils ability, but he was feeling double the pressure, as this was an attack from Lie Tiandi¡¯s innate gift that doubled what it copied.

    Puff

    Ancestor Lingtong spat out blood. Even though the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ imprint behind him reinforced his strength, the man¡¯s face was twisted from the effort he was exerting. His clothes were torn, and his body was covered with blood. His eyes looked about ready to burst.

    Everyone could scarcely breathe, as it was clear that Ancestor Lingtong had reached his limits.

    Ancestor Sightless appeared off in the distance. He shook his head and sighed; it was all over.

    The more powerful one¡¯s innate gift and talent, the stronger their stellr tribtion. Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s tribtion had actually brought about a recreation of a peerless ancient powerhouse from the Third Maind. If the man could survive and pass this stellr tribtion, it would be an event that would shock the entire universe, and he would absolutely create a legend of his own. However, Ancestor Lingtong was unable to seed. He had failed.

    Xu San''s face grew ashen, and his nails were digging into his hands. Breakthrough! Master, breakthrough! You have to!

    He Xiang bit her lips. She had already started to consider the future of the Swifteyes n if Ancestor Lingtong failed his tribtion.

    A bit further away, Sixteen and many others were thinking simr thoughts. From what everyone could see, Ancestor Lingtong had already lost. Sixteen nced over at Xu San with a coldness that started to well up in the depths of his eyes.

    Xu San felt it, and he felt a tingle down his spine. He had always been very sensitive to danger. He instinctively lifted up his gadget, as he wanted to reach out to Lu Yin. He watched as space waspressed in front of him, and countless fissures ran through the void like massive pythons. Ancestor Lingtong propped the space that had threatened to crush him within

    Xu San could not stop himself from shouting, "Master, hold on!"

    "Xu San!" Ancestor Lingtong roared back at the top of his lungs.

    Xu San was stunned. He had never expected his master would call out his name at such a critical moment. Was Xu San really so important to his master?

    He Xiang, Sixteen, and everyone else looked at Xu San with strange expressions; could this guy be Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s bastard child? That should be impossible, but why else would the man think of this person at such a time?

    "Xu San, look at me!" Ancestor Lingtong shouted as he turned his head to stare at Xu San.

    Xu San reflexively responded in kind, as this was a very familiar action. From the moment that Xu San had first been epted as Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s disciple, his master had helped him train his innate gift of double pupils. They had spent days, months, possibly even years at this exact training.

    Over the years, any time that Xu San and Ancestor Lingtong looked at each other and their eyes met, and their eyes would perfectly mirror the other¡¯s.

    At this moment, the enormous eyes above Ancestor Lingtong suddenly shifted to stare at Xu San. The unmatched pressure fell, epassing everyone around Xu San and He Xiang.

    These people watching the stellr tribtion stood no chance of even reacting to this sudden attack, but fortunately, Ancestor Sightless was present and protected everyone. Ancestor Lingtong seized the opening, and he looked up at the eyes in the face up above. Blood leaked from the Imprinter¡¯s eyes as he stared at the eyes with four pupils that snapped back to Ancestor Lingtong. However, the pressure from before did not return, and instead, the eyes slowly disappeared.

    The stellr tribtion was over.

    Ancestor Lingtong immediately let out a long breath and closed his eyes as he worked to suppress something.

    A great distance away from the man, Xu San and the others were still feeling confused, as none of them even knew what had just happened.

    Ancestor Sightless had a terrible expression on his face. This was not because Ancestor Lingtong passed his stellr tribtion, but because Ancestor Sightless had been used.

    Ancestor Lingtong had actuallye up with a means of redirecting a stellr tribtion, which was an incredible achievement.

    Stellr tribtions could not be avoided, transferred to another, or stopped with items or equipment. Others could not even be brought in to help resist a tribtion, and yet Ancestor Lingtong hade up with a method to aplish just such a thing. Still, how had it been done? It clearly had something to do with Xu San.

    At this thought, Ancestor Sightless turned to look at Xu San, the old man¡¯s mind racing.

    A short ways away from Xu San, Sixteen and many others rushed towards him in a doting manner. "Brother San, are you all right?"

    "Brother San, it''s great to see you¡¯re fine. You¡¯re quite lucky, and you can¡¯t risk meeting any idents."

    "Brother San, even though we were only apart for a short while, it felt like endless years for your younger brother. Brother San, you can''t abandon your little brother again!"

    ¡­

    While Xu San had no idea what had just happened, he was quite happy with the results. Ancestor Lingtong had survived his stellr tribtion, and Xu San would remain the disciple of a true powerhouse. Xu San would still not be considered an average member of the younger generation.

    "Hahaha, when did Brother San abandon you? You¡¯re overthinking! It¡¯s just that Brother San wants to chat with his fianc¨¦e and you¡¯re too annoying to have around all the time!" Xu San returned to his normal arrogant manner.

    Sixteen heaped on the ttery, "It''s us small ones who were blind! Brother San, Sister-inw, let''s take some time to catch up."

    "Brother San, Sister-inw, let''s take our time to catch up."

    ¡­

    He Xiang was left speechless and she stared at Xu San for a while. This guy was the same as ever.

    Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s sess meant the Sixth Maind had gained another Empyrean Imprinter, and not just one of average strength. This became more apparent than ever when Ancestor Lingtong opened his eyes back up, as everyone could see that his eyes had changed. There was greater depth to them from before, and they felt far more terrifying.

    Nong Laohan was present, and more of the Sixth Maind¡¯s top powerhouses appeared one after another to offer their congrattions to Ancestor Lingtong. Even Arrow God of the Wilderness appeared. It was unexpected that another Empyrean Imprinter would arrive.

    Ancestor Lingtong had also not expected Arrow God of the Wilderness to show up, and Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s eyes tightened for a moment before returning to normal.

    ***

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin stared at the numerous raw materials arrayed before him. They were the results of using his ckhole Disassembly on all of the items he had been given by First Edition City. While Lu Yin did not recognize a single thing, that did not matter. No one would notice if he kept a small bit of each substance, and it had not been any effort at all on his part to extract all of these materials.

    Since he had already finished up with all of the ancient items that First Edition City had sent to be recycled, Lu Yin continued to roll his die. This time, itnded on four pips. Since he was entering the Timestop Space, it meant it was time to train.

    While Lu Yin had been in the Technocracy, Kui Luo had said that he would not tell Lu Yin anything about the Lu family until Lu Yin became an Envoy himself, so Lu Yin was eager to raise his cultivation.

    His biggest headache was that he no longer had any mes stored in his Skyze Stone, which meant that his only option was to directly absorb star energy on his own.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened. He was very frustrated, as without any heat stored in the Skyze Stone, he was forced to cultivate in a normal manner, and even if the Cosmic Art was miraculous, Lu Yin¡¯s progress was still very slow.

    The more stars he could simte with the Cosmic Art, the faster he would absorb star energy. However, Lu Yin had discovered that after reaching the fourth level of the Cosmic Art, even if he absorbed a great amount of star energy, most of it was used to maintain the simted stars revolving around his body instead of being absorbed into his body. The Cosmic Art did not allow for as absurd a cultivation speed as Lu Yin had imagined.

    He had once assumed that members of the Cosmic Sect would continue to cultivate at an incredible speed even as their cultivation rose due to the multiplicative effect of the Cosmic Art as one simted more stars. However, he was learning that the truth was that the cultivation art was not as broken as he had assumed.

    There were no true cheats when it came to cultivation.

    Since it was so difficult for him to improve his cultivation, then he would improve something else!

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought his die back out. He tapped it, hoping to roll three pips.

    His first roll was Pilfer, and his second roll was Possession, neither of which were useful at the moment.

    His third roll ended up being Enhance, and Lu Yin pulled out the Samaritan Tears from his cosmic ring and immediately ced it on the upper screen of light. This was the most toxic poison in the entire Divine Venom Dynasty, and Lu Yin had obtained it in Yi''s Emporium. This poison was actually much more powerful than even Transience, but because of how easy Samaritan Tears was to detect, it was far less valuable than Transience.

    Samaritan Tears was supposed to be a toxin capable of killing even Envoys with power levels of 700,000. Lu Yin already had several power vessels capable of the same, but he needed more powerful methods of attack, which made Samaritan Tears his first choice to Enhance.

    His eye twitched as he watched the vial of Samaritan Tears fall through the lower screen. He had already used up 30 million star essence just to Enhance the poison once. Still, he continued.

    Twice. Thrice. Four times. Five times. Finally, hepleted the sixth upgrade.

    After the sixth Enhancement, the nearly transparent Samaritan Tears twisted in an odd manner, and though Lu Yin was not sure if he was seeing some sort of illusion, he felt that he could make out a vague face that smiled at him.

    A cold feeling hit the back of his head, and he focused intently on the Samaritan Tears. However, it was simply transparent no matter how he stared at it.

    Still, Lu Yin could not forget what he had just seen. This bit of poison had undergone some very strange change.

 Chapter 1786: A Major Event

    Chapter 1786: A Major Event

    Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the universe as a whole had changed as hisprehension of star energy had expanded and risen to new levels. The description of a single flower containing an entire world was not simply a metaphor; every single bit of star energy essentially contained an entire world of its own. Samaritan Tears was no different, as it contained a separate world as well, one in which poisons and toxins lived and interacted with each other.

    The die¡¯s Enhance was able to improve this world, but Lu Yin had no idea what level the bit of poison could actually reach.

    Poison would never be 100% fatal, as everything depended on how such a tool was used.

    Lu Yin carefully put away the vial of Samaritan Tears. He had gained another powerful tool, but acquiring it had cost him dearly, as he had spent 1.9 billion star essence on improving it.

    At Lu Yin¡¯s current level of strength, upgrading anything at all that could be useful to him would cost at least 100 million star essence just to begin with. This was absurd amounts of money!

    The next thing he wanted to Enhance was the froststone. It was something that he had been given from the Royal Frost Continent¡¯s Frost Emperor, and it was supposed to be able to freeze even injuries.

    Such a thing was useless when it was unneeded, but your life could be saved in a crisis if you had such a thing.

    After gaining more than 3 billion star essence, Lu Yin was able to go through another round of improving the stone.

    The froststone waspletely different from the Samaritan Tears, as the poison had been clearly something to use to attack others. Naturally, it took far less resources to Enhance the froststone than Lu Yin had spent on the vial of poison. He had already improved the stone seven times, and even the seventh upgrade had only cost 200 million star essence. On the other hand, the sixth time that Lu Yin had upgraded the Samaritan Tears, he had needed to cough up 1 billion star essence. The two could simply not bepared.

    However, the Samaritan Tears had only been able to be Enhanced six times, while Lu Yin had no idea what the limit might be for the froststone.

    As the froststone fell through the two screens of light, the cold that radiated from it was almost enough to prevent Lu Yin from touching it. The stone was bing more and more white with each upgrade, and at this point, it was almost entirely white, though the light around it was being devoured, almost like the darkness that perpetually surrounded the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin only upgraded the stone once, spending 400 million star essence, but he decided to stop there after considering it for a moment. After all, he had no confidence that he would even be able to touch the froststone if he Enhanced it again. It was possible that another upgrade wouldpletely freeze Lu Yin.

    A bitter, Lu Yin pulled out some gray powder, which was the teardust that he had obtained from refining some materials that First Edition City had provided him. He had no idea if this gray powder could be Enhanced, as it was said that Progenitor Hui had used this substance as the soil from which he had grown his first Root of Intelligence. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up the moment he thought about the Roots of Intelligence.

    He also made a note to himself to remember to ask Brother Hui for some Root of Intelligence. After all, since Lu Yin already had some of the teardust, maybe he could grow a root.

    Lu Yin became even more excited when he discovered that the teardust could actually be improved.

    However, even the first upgrade cost him a million star essence, which caused Lu Yin¡¯s excitement to fade. Such a small bit of the soil had already cost such arge amount of star essence to be improved a single time, so how much would it take to improve it to its limit?

    He suddenly suspected that the tremendous amounts of star essence in his cosmic ring would not end upsting him for very long.

    He suddenly was reminded of the four Junior Progenitors in the Perennial World. If he could steal thoses, he would be able to splurge freely and could enjoy the life of a rich man.

    His thoughts ran wild as he Enhanced the soil again and again.

    At first, the teardust was a gray powder, but as it was improved repeatedly, it started to gain a shine, and it even began to emit a slight sound that was simr torge beads and small beads hitting each other. It was a very pleasant sound as the grains of powder fell through the screens one at a time. There was an odd beauty to the light that the soil gave off as well.

    Eventually, it was impossible to improve the teardust any further. At this point, the dirt looked more like a pile of delicate gems, each one a finely crafted piece of art. Each was a perfect sphere, and there was an odd solidness to the soil when one held it in a hand. Though it was odd, it was quite pleasant.

    Lu Yin stared at the teardust for a moment. It hadpletely transformed, and could actually be considered apletely different material.

    He had improved the teardust eleven times, and the tenth upgrade had cost him a billion star essence. In total, he had spent 1.96 billion star essence to improve the dirt.

    Lu Yin''s heart was dripping blood. While he had spent such a fortune improving the teardust, he had absolutely no idea what it did or what had improved. He could only hope that whatever it was, it was worth the amount of resources he had poured into it.

    Also, his funds were down to only about 300 million star essence. While this would be considered a substantial amount for an Enlighter, or even an Envoy, for Lu Yin, it was almost nothing. He was poor again already.

    Everything that he had obtained from the Divine Venom Dynasty had only been enough for him to Enhance two items.

    He let out a silent sigh and looked up to check the time he had remaining in the Timestop Space. It was not much, so after a moment¡¯s thought, he started reciting the Origin Sutra while waiting for his time to run out.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin exited his Timestop Space. He had not been in seclusion for long at all, and he wanted to continue rolling his die. He was not wanting to continue training or try to improve any other items, but instead wanted to roll six pips. At his current level of strength, anytime that he rolled a Possession, he would merge with someone with the strength of an Envoy, and Possessing any such expert would be a fruitful experience.

    However, as soon as Lu Yin nced at his gadget, he saw numerous missed calls. There were calls from Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and many others. Even Yuan Shi had tried to call Lu Yin.

    Clearly, something had happened, so Lu Yin immediately reached out to Wang Wen.

    The call soon connected, and Lu Yin saw Wang Wen''s very solemn expression. The man¡¯s very first sentence left Lu Yin utterly stunned: ¡°Corpse God is dead."

    "What?"

    Wang Wen exined a bit more, "One of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods, Corpse God, is dead."

    Lu Yin''s expression shifted. "When? Wait, first, how do you even know about Corpse God?"

    The Neohuman Alliance was quite famous for being one of the Three Dark Hands, but very few people had ever heard the names of the Seven Skygods. This was not information that Wang Wen should have had ess to.

    Wang Wen replied, "I¡¯ve actually known of the Seven Skygods for a long time, but I never knew the names of any of them. However, I¡¯m not the only one right now, as everyone knows the name of the Seven Skygods¡¯ Corpse God."

    "How did he die? Tell me everything," Lu Yin ordered. Forgotten Ruins God had died in Venom Flowzone, but Lu Yin had no idea if the Neohuman Alliance was aware of that incident. Regardless, since Lu Yin simply wanted to be left alone, and it was impossible for him to have aplished such a thing, he had purposely ignored it to maintain as much anonymity with the Neohuman Alliance as possible.

    Still, only a few days had passed, and yet another of the Seven Skygods had already died? Was it that easy to take one of them out? This sounded like a joke.

    Wang Wen told Lu Yin about how while Lu Yin had been in seclusion, Ancestor Lingtong had seeded at his breakthrough and had be an Empyrean Imprinter. Many powerhouses had arrived to congratte the man, including even Arrow God of the Wilderness, who was himself an Empyrean Imprinter. However, Ancestor Lingtong had seen through the other Empyrean Imprinter as being Corpse God in disguise.

    A trap had been set, and many powerhouses had cooperated to attack Corpse God under Jiu San¡¯s leadership.

    That battle had been world-shattering, and Corpse God had revealed his terrifying and gigantic body. It had beenrge enough to toy withs as though they were marbles, just like Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone. The battle had spread across many of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves, and had even crossed the border into the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. Countless people had been caught up in the battle, and casualties had been heavy as people had tried to flee.

    The Sixth Maind had experienced terrible losses, and even Jiu San had been seriously injured and had eventually returned to Daosource Sect in order to recuperate.

    "Reports im that Corpse God was finally killed by Jiu San using the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint and using the Progenitor¡¯s power. Without that, they never would have been able to kill Corpse God. This event shook the entire universe, and we¡¯re still analyzing what sort of impact it will have. For the moment, all we can do is keep pulling back and retreating while trying not to provoke the Neohuman Alliance," Wang Wen concluded.

    "Are there any videos of the battle?"

    "How could there be? It was a fight between Semi-Progenitors."

    Lu Yin felt this was very unfortunate, as a battle between Semi-Progenitors was invaluable. Just what he had seen of the fight between the Chief Justice, Kui Luo, and Forgotten Ruins God had greatly expanded Lu Yin¡¯s horizons. He had also wanted to see Corpse God¡¯s massive body that wasparable to Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone¡¯s body.

    What a pity.

    "You¡¯re right, the Neohuman Alliance has lost one Skygod after another, and there¡¯s no way they won¡¯t retaliate. Just avoid them for now and don''t do anything to provoke them." Lu Yin was very somber at this moment. No matter if it was the incidents involving the ck crystals or the death of the Skygods, the Neohuman Alliance had suffered incalcble losses. The universe was about to descend into chaos.

    The most important detail was that the Seven Skygods themselves had not been killed, but rather just their bodies. Lu Yin could not begin to guess just how many bodies they might have, but he did know that the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strength far surpassed what people imagined. This was why Lu Yin did not dare do anything at all that might provoke them.

    He simply hoped that the Neohuman Alliance was ignorant of what had happened in Venom Flowzone, as otherwise, Lu Yin would be ced in a very difficult situation.

    "Before you went into seclusion, you ordered the alliance to search for ck crystals like what were in the Horned Gxy. What are your orders now?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Continue the search, but also spread word that I¡¯m not the one looking for the crystals, but the Hall of Honor. Make it clear that we are simply helping them."

    Wang Wen nodded. "Got it."

    The ck crystals had been kept as a very close secret, or else it would not have been just two that had been discovered over the years. Each of the crystals had only been discovered by chance, and if the crystal in the Horned Gxy had not been discovered, nothing would have been found in Venom Flowzone.

    However, after the crystals had been exposed, Lu Yin felt confident that more would eventually be found. "Be careful. If any of the ck crystals are found, the information has to be locked down and nothing can be leaked. Do whatever¡¯s necessary to ensure this," Lu Yin''s eyes were like chips of ice.

    Wang Wen nodded. "Understood. Are you going to resume your seclusion?"

    "It really wouldn¡¯t be proper to do that right now. Let¡¯s first see how the Neohuman Alliance responds, though the Sixth Maind will absolutely bear the brunt of their rage. This will actually work as the second battlefield we were hoping to force the Sixth Maind to fight on."

    In a distant Aeternus Kingdom stood seven dark towers, though two of them had already copsed. It seemed that the deaths of the two Skygods had caused their towers to copse.

    "Forgotten Ruins God and Corpse God are both dead; anyone want to guess who''ll be next?" A strangeughter echoed through the dark towers, and the Ghost Monkey shrank back when he heard it. However, a palm reached out and patted the monkey¡¯s head and stroked its fur.

    While the Ghost Monkey felt disgusted, he did not dare say a thing. At this moment, he was in Shaman God¡¯s tower, and Shaman God was actually the one petting the Ghost Monkey. However, the oddest thing was that there were only arms and no body.

    "Shaman God, why are you so happy?" a dull voice spoke. It seemedpletely devoid of all emotion.

    Shaman God showed a strange smile. "It''s just funny! The magnificent Skygods are being killed by Semi-Progenitors, kakaka."

    "Stopughing! What have we learned about Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s death?" A cold voice spoke up this time. It belonged to a female, but was incredibly cold. The sound of it brought to mind an indescribably beautiful individual.

    "She died in Venom Flowzone, but I don¡¯t know anything more."

    "We didn¡¯t receive any information?"

    "It''s not like you don''t know her personality. She''s really weird, and she doesn''t like to interact with us. She insists on doing her own thing, even if it kills her. It doesn¡¯t matter anyways."

    "The Hall of Honor will take what¡¯s in the Crimson Prison, and sooner orter, that thing will be discovered. It won¡¯t be long now."

    "We don¡¯t have any options. We can¡¯t get into the Hall of Honor unless we can use the power of a Progenitor."

    "Then distract them. Undying God, how long are you going to pretend to be asleep?" The cold voice shouted in a harsh tone.

    Some timeter azy voice replied, "Who- who called?"

    "Forgotten Ruins God and Corpse God have both been taken out." Shaman God¡¯s bizarre smile returned.

    "So, is it my turn?" Undying God asked.

    The cold voice replied, "It¡¯s time for you to make a move after sleeping for so long."

    "What? Alright. Just look at this ce and how many ancient bloodlines are here. It''s time for them to step onto the stage and make their entrance," Undying God responded.

 Chapter 1787: Progenitor Chen?!

    Chapter 1787: Progenitor Chen?!

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin watched as his die slowly came to a stop at six pips. His eyes went wide at his luck; he really had rolled Possession.

    The mysterious space with the balls of light was quite dim, and Lu Yin was left speechless at the sight before him. All of the balls were quite dark, indicating that none were worth merging with. This was his first time encountering such a situation, but he did not want to use up all of his star essence in this ce.

    He simply merged with a random orb of light and opened his eyes. Huh? This is familiar¡­

    He had not Possessed a human, nor an astral beast, and not even a corpse king. Was he one of those mechanical ants?

    Lu Yin was surprised to discover that he had actually Possessed the body of one of the mechanical ants he had Possessed once before. He was still in the body of something that had the strength of a Hunter, so it was no surprise that the orb of light had been so dim. With Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, a Hunter was just too inferior to him.

    Lu Yin twirled his antenna to look around. He was still surrounded by countless mechanical ants. It was almost exactly the same scene that he had witnessed before. He manipted the body of the ant to leap up onto the ant in front of him. He continued forward, using the same method as before. Unfortunately, there had been too many ants thest time, and Lu Yin had not been able to see anything at all regarding where they were headed.

    However, this time he was able to see something. There were still countless mechanical ants up in front of him, and he had no idea what was behind. There were many raw materials being moved around, and scavengers were the ones moving the materials around.

    Eventually, the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he returned to his own body. Even then, he did not move, but simply sat there in silent thought.

    He had once guessed that there was a connection between the disappearance of massive amounts of materials in the Technocracy and the scavengers which cleaned the battlefields, but he was still surprised to learn that he had been absolutely right.

    Scavengers were specially designed machines that the Technocracy used to clean up regions of outer space that were used as battlefields. Lu Yin believed the Master Brain to be their creator and master, as there were scavengers in both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy. If the mechanical ants really were being produced with materials gathered by the scavengers, then both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy had to be secretly involved as well, though it had to be the Master Brain controlling everything.

    Lu Yin lifted his head. He was still just postting, and though he was not very clear on many details, he felt that his guess was quite likely the truth.

    This Possession had taken up 80 million star essence, which, fortunately, was not everything Lu Yin had left. He still had about 200 million star essence left for him to hang on to.

    After resting for ten days, Lu Yin lifted his hand and brought his die back out. He tapped it to begin rolling it again.

    He rolled two pips right away, but unfortunately, he did not need ckhole Disassembly for the time being.

    He rested for another ten days before rolling again.

    How would the Neohuman Alliance respond to recent events? Everyone was watching and waiting to see. The Great Eastern Alliance was proceeding quickly with the efforts to unite the Innerverse, but there was nothing for Lu Yin to personally take care of. Since there was nothing, then he might as well roll his die.

    This time, he rolled Possession again, which left Lu Yin rather surprised. This was quite a bit of luck. He returned to the same mysterious space as always, but this time, he was no longer surrounded by dim balls of lights, but by radiant spheres.

    Why were there so many? Lu Yin was stunned. This should not be possible. Given Lu Yin¡¯s strength, such vibrant balls of light had to belong to Envoys, and not even average Envoys. There were even several balls of light that Lu Yin found difficult to look at. Just what level of strength did such brilliant light represent? He had never Possessed any such person.

    Lu Yin decided to give it a try just once. Maybe he could Possess an expert with a power level of 800,000, 900,000, or even a million.

    It was a good idea, and Lu Yin tried to merge with the brightest ball of light he could find, but, unfortunately, it was impossible.

    His vision changed, and he went straight from the dark mysterious space to and that was dark red and shrouded in dusk. Lu Yin had Possessed another body. This time, it was a person, but there were no memories.

    Lu Yin stood in ce, somewhat dazed. There were no memories at all, absolutely none! He looked down at his hands and examined his body. It all looked normal, and he was made of flesh and blood. However there was no body heat; the body was as cold as a corpse. A corpse king? No, there were no thoughts of cruelty or rage, nor any impulse to destroy everything. It seemed that it was simply a corpse lost in the wilderness.

    This corpse could move, but had no memory. It somewhat reminded Lu Yin of the mummified corpse that he had Possessed in the Forgotten Ruins in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm. However, the two bodies were also fundamentally different. After all, Wang Su had discovered that the corpse in the Forgotten Ruins had been the key to triggering the trap.

    That corpse had been a mere tool, while the one that Lu Yin was currently Possessing was able to freely move about, and simply had no memory. It waspletely different from a corpse king.

    Why were there so many things in the universe that were so bizarre? Lu Yin was quite puzzled.

    Lu Yin then looked up and nced around. He was in a deste location, and the sun was setting on the horizon. He saw some small white clouds that were drifting by, but were they really clouds? There was also a cool breeze that felt like it came from the sea. Wait, was there a sea nearby?

    Lu Yin controlled the corpse and started to walk forward. Suddenly, without him understanding what was happening, an astral chessboard appeared beneath the corpse¡¯s feet, and the body then vanished. When it reappeared, it was a great distance from its original location.

    Lu Yin was startled; had the corpse just used a secret technique? How was that possible? Could his own secret technique somehow have been triggered by this corpse? That was impossible, as only his consciousness had Possessed this corpse, and there was no way to have brought the secret technique as well. Lu Yin tried to use the Ce Secret Art, but nothing happened.

    Sure enough, it had not been his own mastery of the secret technique that had been triggered, but something from the corpse itself. It seemed to have activated the secret technique without conscious control.

    What the hell was going on? Was this the corpse of someone from the Ce family? Could it be that he had ended up in some ce that belonged to the Seven Courts?

    Lu Yin was confused, but he continued to walk into the distance. Soon, he saw a figure walking quietly along. No, it was actually jumping.

    Lu Yin had goosebumps all over his body immediately, and a coldness burgeoned from the depths of his heart. He remained where he was and watched in silence.

    It did not take long for the person to be clear. They were an old man with a face that looked flushed from having drunk too much wine. He only had a single leg that was made from wood, and the other leg was missing entirely.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. This person only had a single leg, so no wonder he was jumping to get around.

    The one-legged old man jumped andnded quite close, but leaped away again, seemingly without even seeing the corpse that Lu Yin Possessed.

    Lu Yin looked away and continued to walk forward. It seemed like there was more than just the strange corpse in this ce, and he wanted to see what other strange corpses were in this ce.

    The duration of his Possession was quickly running out, so Lu Yin hurried forward, hoping to trigger the Ce Secret Art again.

    The next moment, an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and the secret technique was activated. He instantly disappeared, and though he was not very far away when he reappeared, the secret technique was instantly triggered again with each step that Lu Yin took. It seemed as though this corpse never tired and was able to use the Ce Secret Art repeatedly without any sort of limitations.

    The cool breeze grew stronger as Lu Yin continued forward, and he could tell he was quickly approaching the sea. There was only a cliff up ahead separating him from the water up ahead. Lu Yin looked around and saw a lone figure sitting atop the cliff with its back to Lu Yin. Though he could not see the person¡¯s face, the figure radiated a feeling of extreme loneliness.

    He heard the sound of the sea, and just as he was about to continue forward, he sensed motion from behind. He turned to see a very cute girl facing him with a smile on her face. She had lively eyes, and she was looking straight at him.

    Her appearance startled Lu Yin, and he almost fell. The girl lifted a hand and attacked as Lu Yin watched in fear. The attack started up high, and quickly descended, piercing through the void and shattering space.

    The next moment, the attack disappeared. The girl stepped forward and walked past Lu Yin, moving in a different direction. Every time she covered a certain distance, she would pat the air before her, unleashing a terrifying attack that dropped down in front of her. The whole time, there was a cute smile on her face. The whole thing was truly odd.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The girl had practically scared him to death.

    He subconsciously put a hand to his chest before remembering that the was not in his own body. He then lowered his hand with embarrassment. That girl was likely also a corpse, though her eyes had been quite alive and very weird.

    Without another thought about the girl, Lu Yin turned his head back to look at the lonely figure that was sitting at the edge of the cliff.

    The Ce Secret Art activated without his control once again, and Lu Yin next appeared right at the edge of the cliff. He could see the sea down below, as well as the sun setting over the sea.

    He could vaguely make out enormous creatures that were swimming through the water, but were they actually living creatures? Their presence quite surprised Lu Yin. He wanted to jump down and take a closer look, but he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat and he remembered the figure sitting nearby. He looked over at the person, and his pupils instantly shrank to dots. That- that person was¡­ Progenitor Chen?

    The scenery suddenly changed once again before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as his consciousness returned to his own body. He was instantly on his feet, his eyes darting about. He was not wrong; he had just seen Progenitor Chen sitting atop the cliff by the sea! Lu Yin had already experienced the Progenitor¡¯s memories, and he knew that the person he had just seen was Progenitor Chen.

    But how could Progenitor Chen be in that ce? There were corpses there. Could Progenitor Chen actually be one of them?

    Lu Yin frowned, and he found himself unable to understand anything that he had just seen. Just what was that ce? There had been a corpse from someone in the Ce family, that weird one-legged old man jumping around, the girl with bright eyes but very odd behavior, and finally, he had seen even Progenitor Chen! That ce was definitely not ordinary.

    Could it be Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum?

    Lu Yin shook his head. That was not very likely, as he had already visited Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    Where could that ce have been?

    Progenitor Chen was sitting next to the sea all alone, and did not move like the corpse that Lu Yin had Possessed. Just how long had the Progenitor been sitting there? What was he looking at? What was he yearning for?

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and brought his die out once again. He wanted to roll a six again to revisit that ce.

    There were too many secrets in the universe. From ancient times to present, which powerhouse had appeared and lived who had not had their own secrets? Some had be legends, while others had lived and died shrouded in mystery.

    When Lu Yin had spoken with Mister Mu in the Technocracy, his master had said that Progenitor Chen¡¯s death was a mystery. Was it possible that Progenitor Chen was still alive? Had that been a corpse?

    Lu Yin finally shook his head. It was impossible for him to determine anything at all, so he could only wait to verify thingster on.

    At the moment, he was still just an Enlighter. Maybe after bing an Envoy and rolling Possession he might be able to Possess a more powerful person and gain information regarding some of the ancient secrets.

    He pulled out his gadget, but nothing major had happened. Lu Yin closed his eyes, intending to rest for a few days before rolling his die again.

    Actually, how much of his star essence had that Possession consumed? He quickly checked, and blinked when he discovered that there was absolutely no star essence left at all. Well, not quite all of it. He had started off with around 200 million star essence, but at this moment, there was just a few million left, which was a meaningless amount for Lu Yin.

    It was only enough star essence to return to the Timestop Space and cultivate.

 Chapter 1788: Integrating The Innerverse

    Chapter 1788: Integrating The Innerverse

    Lu Yin rolled the die twice before getting four pips. His vision changed, and he entered the Timestop Space once more.

    This time, he intended to focus entirely on cultivating the Cosmic Art.

    He had initially nned to work on reciting the Origin Sutra if he managed to roll Timestop, but he had been badly shocked by seeing Progenitor Chen, and he had been reminded of the long-ignored Cosmic Art. He needed to focus on it once again.

    Wait, why not work on both at the same time?

    Lu Yin began to practice the Cosmic Art while reciting the Origin Sutra. He was testing this out.

    Half a monthter, his eyes opened. Stars were revolving around his body, and the Origin Sutra rang in his ears. Excitement lit up his eyes; he had not expected his attempt of practicing both things at once to proceed so smoothly! In fact, he was progressing with the Cosmic Art even faster than before. The Origin Sutra could help with cultivating? Why had Kui Luo never mentioned such a thing?

    If Lu Yin had known about this before, he would have continued training with the Cosmic Art a long time ago.

    The Origin Sutra was like giving the Cosmic Art rocket boosters.

    Lu Yin felt inspired, and he immediately tossed out all of the star essence that he had remaining, which increased his time in the space by nearly a year. That done, he started to train.

    Lu Yin had already reached the Cosmic Art¡¯s fifth level, and had simted 5,700 stars. At the moment, with the assistance of the Origin Sutra, stars were being simted one by one, and a universe seemed to be appearing around Lu Yin as the stars spread out further and further.

    One month.

    Two months.

    Three months

    ¡­

    Eleven months. When he only had less than five days remaining in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened. After nearly a year, Lu Yin¡¯s simted stars had nearly doubled.

    His eyes grew wide as he stared at the stars that surrounded him. Each one was distinct and noticeable. There were 9,300 stars. These were his results after almost a year of training.

    The first time he had trained with the Cosmic Art in the Timestop Space, he had only managed to increase his number of simted stars by about 1,000. He had just increased that speed by nearly four times. This was the benefits of training while reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and this was even when Lu Yin was still far from being able to recite theplete text. He had no idea how much his training speed would increase once he reached the point of being able to recite the entire sutra without stopping.

    The Cosmic Art was a cultivation art that elerated the speed at which one could absorb star energy, and the Origin Sutra actually boosted the Cosmic Art. When those two things were alsobined with Lu Yin¡¯s Timestop ability, if word of his cultivation speed ever leaked out, it would leave people questioning their very lives.

    It was a pity that he had run out of star essence. He needed to get a hold of more in order to continue training with the Cosmic Art. He had toplete the fifth level of the Cosmic Art and see if the pattern on the bottom of his foot would reveal any use.

    If Progenitor Chen was still alive, would he appear? Lu Yin was looking forward to finding out what might happen.

    The scenery changed in front of him. His time was up. Lu Yin returned to the real world.

    So far, he had been in seclusion for more than a month, and yet he had already used up all of the billions of star essence that he had possessed. Lu Yin felt his heart bleed at the realization.

    This was also why when Wang Wen was the first person that Lu Yin saw after he emerged, Wang Wen was looked at like Lu Yin was about to mug him.

    "What''s wrong? You look a little on edge." Wang Wen was quite observant, and he became very wary when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s expression.

    Lu Yin rubbed his eyes. "I was in seclusion, but I¡¯m too tired to keep cultivating."

    Wang Wen blinked. "Tired? I have to say, I see other people go into seclusion for years at a time, and yet you only went for a bit more than a month. The longest you¡¯ve ever gone into seclusion is a few months, but never more than half a year. How can you be tired?"

    "Bullshit, of course I¡¯ve done more than that!"

    "I can¡¯t remember any time."

    "Right, so what¡¯s going on?" Lu Yin was feeling rather impatient. It was a feeling as though some secret of his had just been exposed.

    Wang Wen handed over a report. "This is the details on the new alliance members¡¯ military. It includes the number of powerhouses as well as overall numbers that can be used in the Allied Forces. Go ahead and look through it."

    Lu Yin went through the report.

    At the moment, seven of the Innerverse¡¯s great flowzones had been integrated into the Great Eastern Alliance, and those seven flowzones alone represented about half of the Innerverse. Aside from Erudite Flowzone, all of the minor flowzones were not worthy of any concern.

    At the moment, the Allied Forces had ten divisions of the Allied Forces, as well as the three special armies.

    The First through Fourth Divisions remained the same as they had been after Shui Chuanxiao had made his rearrangements. Their organization and ranks had all been set up by the former Grand Marshal.

    The Fifth Division was mostly made up of the Sword Sect¡¯s disciples, as well as some Outerverse cultivators. The Fifth Division was about as strong as the First Division and had been stationed in Chaos Flowzone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw this bit of the report, as this had been done to separate the Sword Sect from their members who were in the Allied Forces.

    The Sixth Division was made up of cultivators from the Divine Grade Hall, as well as some Outerverse cultivators, and they were stationed in Soulseal Flowzone.

    The Seventh Division was mostly members of the Lingling n and some Outerverse cultivators, and it had been stationed in First Flowzone.

    The Eighth Division was members of the Daynight n and Outerverse cultivators, and it had been sent to Erudite Flowzone.

    At this point, Lu Yin nced up at Wang Wen. "Erudite Flowzone?"

    "Eventually," Wang Wen said in a matter of fact manner.

    Lu Yin smiled and continued to browse the report.

    The Ninth Division was Venom Flowzone cultivators and Outerverse cultivators, and they had been sent to Daynight Flowzone.

    The Tenth Division wasposed of members of the Wen family and some Outerverse cultivators, and they had been sent to Venom Flowzone.

    Not only had the Allied Forces separated the various organizations¡¯ disciples from their power base, they had also sent the various divisions into hostile flowzones to help bnce the overall situation of the Innerverse.

    "So, who are the candidates for themanders?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen suddenly revealed a great deal of stress. "That¡¯s a lot more difficult. We don¡¯t have many powerhouses we can trust, and if we give the Innerverse experts positions ofmand, it will only lead to unnecessary trouble. For example, Beast Tamers Flowzone and Soulseal Flowzone are always at odds with each other, so if an Enlighter from Beast Tamers Flowzone bes amander, I worry that the Sixth Division will start making trouble for the Lingling n."

    This was indeed a problem, and Lu Yin started thinking about it for a moment. "Transfer the captains of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons to takemand of the divisions. Just leave Peach and the other Cruisers, as they still aren¡¯t strong enough to hold such positions. Instead, pull Duane Daynight and the Lan family¡¯s Elder Tie in."

    "Are they actually qualified?" Wang Wen was clearly uncertain.

    Lu Yin nced over. "You have someone better?"

    Wang Wen shook his head. "They don¡¯t have a good enough background, but, well, it¡¯s the only option."

    Lu Yin continued to scan the report. In addition to the Allied Forces ten divisions, it also covered the three special armies, namely, the Giants¡¯ Army, the Lu Elite Troops, and the Redemption Army.

    There were no changes made to the Lu Elite Troops or the Giants¡¯ Army, but the Redemption Army had been formed around the sylvan dragon n and others who hadmitted terrible crimes in the minor flowzones. Tentatively, themander was suggested to be Lightning Axe.

    The Redemption Army had tremendous growth potential, and Lu Yin''s goal was actually the Perennial World.

    The four ruling powers sent Envoys who did not follow them into Star Alliance, and Lu Yin had created the Redemption Army off this same concept. In the future, he nned to aim at the four ruling powers themselves.

    With the Innerverse almost fully unified, the Great Eastern Alliance had fourteen powerful Envoys: the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, Ling Taizu, Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, Mountain God, Madam Y¨­u, Abel Phoenix, Elder Lianxin, Chen Huang, Emperor Luo, as well as the Sea King who Lu Yin could call upon at any time. Finally, there was Elder He and the Frost Emperor.

    If Erudite Flowzone also joined the Great Eastern Alliance, two more Envoys would be added to their number: Wen Zizai and Dean Han. The Great Eastern Alliance had the potential to have sixteen Envoys.

    If Lu Yin was included, they had seventeen powerhouses at that level.

    Seventeen Envoys. This was something that not a single one of the monstrous powers in the Neoverse could mobilize. It was possible that the Hall of Honor had that many Envoys hidden, but Lu Yin did not believe they had that many.

    Of course, Lu Yin had no idea how many powerhouses the Hall of Honor had hidden within their ranks, or how many Envoy-level androids they had, not to mention their various subsidiary organizations. On top of that, the Hall of Honor¡¯s top powerhouses could easily destroy any of Lu Yin¡¯s experts, as there was an impossible power gap between them. Still, Lu Yin was at least confident to be able to face almost any other organization.

    There was just one powerhouse still missing from Lu Yin¡¯s number. He was thinking of Kui Luo, but the old man also made Lu Yin remember Madam Hong. Right, there were two powerhouses still missing.

    Lu Yin was in a much happier mood as he approached Sapling¡¯s garden and called the tree to him. Sapling shook its branches at Lu Yin from within the canopy of therge tree. As soon as Sapling¡¯s branches moved, it raced towards Lu Yin, thrilled. On the other hand, the big tree fled without any hesitation.

    Sapling jumped right onto the top of Lu Yin''s head. He pursed his lips and grabbed the tree to pull it down. "I''m not that big tree of yours, so don¡¯t sit on my head."

    Sapling happily twined its branches around Lu Yin¡¯s fingers, and he could feel the strange nt¡¯s happiness.

    "Your Highness, these are the stellr energy pills Shamrock Enterprise sent." Qiong Xi''er found Lu Yin and delivered the stellr energy pills to him.

    Shamrock Enterprise had publicly announced the function of their stellr energy pills during the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s banquet, and the information had sent ripples throughout the universe. Countless powers had wanted to buy the pills, and Little Leave King had visited the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress to make a delivery of the pills.

    That had been when Little Leaf King had also found Sapling.

    When Lu Yin took the package of stellr energy pills, Sapling¡¯s branches wrapped more tightly around his fingers.

    "What has Shamrock Enterprise been up totely?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qiong Xi''er said, "Advertising and promoting their stellr energy pills. Nothing worth mentioning besides that."

    "Anything regarding us?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er replied, "Actually, Little Leaf King mentioned before leaving that he wanted to invite you to visit the hidden world that¡¯s Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters in the Neoverse."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Got it."

    Qiong Xi¡¯er then left.

    Lu Yin stared at the stellr energy pills that he held. The person who had tried to force their way into the mobile fortress only to be stopped by Liu Huang had most likely been Leaf King. He had most likely been after Sapling.

    The fact that Leaf King had been able to escape from even Liu Huang meant that the man had a power level of at least 800,000 or more. That was a dangerous person.

    Shamrock Enterprise possessed a strength that was no less than that of any of the powers that controlled the eight great flowzones of the Innerverse, though thepany was a bitcking whenpared to the Daynight n or the Sword Sect.

    At the moment, their promotion of their stellr energy pills had to involve other ns.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. The powers that controlled the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones looked towards raising their members¡¯ strength, and so they were not overly concerned with money. However, Shamrock Enterprise was amercial power. Even though they had used a considerable portion of their ie to develop the stellr energy pills, those funds had onlye from their profits. Their profits had to be astronomical! If Lu Yin could get his hands on those funds¡­

    He found himself short of breath.

    The branches started squeezing Lu Yin¡¯s fingers tighter and tighter. He looked down, and saw that Sapling seemed to be staring straight at the stellr energy pills that Lu Yin was holding. Even though the tree had no eyes, Lu Yin could sense the nt¡¯s desire and could also tell that it was staring at the pills.

    "You want them?" Lu Yin asked. He remembered how Sapling had devoured one of the pills before, and also how Sapling had been able to sense the pills and pull it in order to devour it.

    A few of the green leaves at the top of Sapling rubbed against Lu Yin''s chin. They felt pleasant and warm, and the touch also calmed the ck and white mist within Lu Yin''s chest.

    Unable to resist such cuteness, Lu Yin opened his hand, and the pills shot out one by one. Sapling quickly caught all of them, and the stellr energy pills all disappeared. Sapling grew just a tiny bit, but it was still an amount that was visible to the naked eye.

 Chapter 1789: Blood Spilled Across The Universe

    Chapter 1789: Blood Spilled Across The Universe

    Sapling devoured five stellr energy pills, but it still looked eager to eat even after that.

    "Don''t worry. There¡¯ll be more stellr energy pills for you to eat soon," Lu Yinforted the little tree.

    Sapling poked out a branch and rubbed against Lu Yin''s chin. It was very happy.

    A boom echoed throughout the garden as the big tree fell back down. It relentlessly tried to escape. Its persistence was impressive, but its actions also seemed to be an uncontroble impulse.

    Bror held his head as he entered the garden. He moved over and crouched beside the big tree and whispered something to it.

    The tree rose back up and resumed its attempts to escape.

    Lu Yin found the whole thing quite entertaining.

    His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin nced at it. Brother Hui Kong?

    "Brother Hui!" Lu Yin immediately answered the call.

    "Brother Lu, you¡¯re too reckless! You actually went to the Technocracy? No wonder you were asking me so many questions about that ce!" Hui Kong was truly upset.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, "I¡¯m sorry, Brother, but there was a reason that made it so that I had to go."

    "Then why didn¡¯t you just tell me that clearly? It would have been better for me to take you than for you to wander around by yourself."

    "Brother, you¡¯ve been in Technocracy for so long that you¡¯d be instantly recognized wherever you went. I was trying to stay hidden."

    "Fair enough, Brother Lu. I ze like a sun when I¡¯m in the Technocracy! I¡¯ve already been to both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, so I really couldn¡¯t have taken you to either of those ces." After a pause, Hui Kong asked, "How was it? Did you run into any danger?"

    Lu Yin said, "Nothing too bad. After all, the First Protector was with me."

    "That''s good. If you go back to the Technocracy again, make sure you tell me. Right, I almost forgot. Since you¡¯re cooperating with First Edition City now, you¡¯re going to be even more famous than me when you go back, haha," Hui Kong said with augh.

    Lu Yin¡¯s agreement to cooperate with First Edition City was not something that could be kept hidden from the overseers¡¯ council. Naturally, if the overseers knew something, the Seven Courts would learn of it as well.

    "I also heard that you went and trashed the Divine Venom Dynasty, right?" Hui Kong asked with great curiosity.

    Lu Yin shared the story of what had happened while he had been in the Divine Venom Dynasty.

    Hui Kong let out a long sigh. "I never thought that people from that mysterious Venom Flowzone would actually be working with the Neohuman Alliance. This was an oversight by the Hall of Honor."

    Lu Yin had no desire to continue on this topic with Hui Kong, so he instead asked, "Brother, does your Hui family have any Roots of Intelligence?"

    "Roots of Intelligence? Of course."

    Lu Yin grew excited.

    "But what we have aren¡¯t the Roots of Intelligence from Progenitor Hui''s era. My family¡¯s grown them based on the instructions that Progenitor Hui left behind, and they aren¡¯t nearly as effective as those old Roots of Intelligence. At best, they¡¯re able to help people meditate, which isn¡¯t very useful.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious about this. "Why can''t your Hui family grow Roots of Intelligence that match those from Progenitor Hui¡¯s time?"

    "Do you think that growing those things is easy? They don¡¯t just require a certain climate and soil¡ªthey also need to be raised by peerless powerhouses. In short, I don''t understand all of the details, but the simplest matter is that the soil needed to grow the real Roots of Intelligence no longer exists."

    "Teardust?"

    "You know about that? There are also quite a few other things needed as well, so teardust is just one of them. Actually, even more important than teardust is the heart of teardust."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Heart of teardust?"

    "Yeah. It¡¯s basically the essence of teardust, but even a mountain of teardust will only have a speck or two of heart of teardust. It¡¯s actually the best soil for growing the Roots of Intelligence, but that¡¯s something that only Progenitor Hui was able to gather. How could his descendants manage to do that?" Hui Kong sighed.

    Lu Yin remembered how the teardust had transformed after he had upgraded it. Could that be heart of teardust?

    "Is heart of teardust all that¡¯s needed?"

    "It¡¯s the most important one, but there are other ingredients for the soil that are just as rare. Basically, even if my family does our best, it¡¯s impossible for us to grow any of the real Roots of Intelligence, so just forget about that possibility."

    Lu Yin had a request. "I¡¯d like to buy some of your family¡¯s Roots of Intelligence."

    Hui Kongughed loudly. "You can want to buy them, but I won¡¯t let you. I¡¯ll just give you some."

    "Brother, this-"

    "Enough, don''t say no. It¡¯s no big deal. Just wait a bit, and I''ll send someone to deliver some Roots of Intelligence to you."

    With that, the call went dead.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget, a warmth filling his heart. Hui Kong was one of the very few people around whom Lu Yin could lower his guard and be himself.

    ¡­

    The Outerverse¡¯s Sourcepeak Weave had once housed the headquarters of the Outerverse Lockbreakers Society, but after the had been attacked, the society had been forced to relocate their headquarters to Frostwave Weave. At the moment, Sourcepeak Weave was upied by the Sixth Maind¡¯s Di and Mojiang families, and they shared possession of the weave.

    If Ancestor Di had not died, and the Di family would still have a Cosmic Imprinter as the head of their family, and it would have been impossible for them to share control of a weave with another power. However, their power and influence had greatly diminished, and the Mojiang family had fallen as well.

    The matters that started with the incident in the Horned Gxy had continued to escte. Starting with the death of the true Ancestor Autumnfrost, the situation had progressed to the deaths of Bluedome Elder and even Corpse God, who was one of the Seven Skygods. Thisst death had set the entire Sixth Maind on edge, and they were well aware that the Neohuman Alliance would absolutely retaliate against them.

    On one particr day, on an inhabited that belonged to the Di family, Di Bao and others bowed to greet a young man. This young man was Di Luo, and he was one of the most recent Realmlings to emerge from the Sixth Maind. He was actually the younger brother of the previous Realmling, Di Fa. The two brothers were both part of the Di family¡¯s direct line while the ones bowing were merely members of a branch family.

    Di Luo had stopped by this in order to replenish his resources as he was traveling.

    As Di Bao and others were ying host to Di Luo, 10,000 meters below their feet, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, and a body stood up. The figure shot through the¡¯s magma, pierced the crust, and stepped onto the surface of the.

    Di Luo had been just about to leave when the ground started to crack beneath his feet, and the cracks quickly grew bigger and bigger.

    He was quite startled.

    Di Bao immediately ordered some people to investigate, and his gadget beeped soon after. It was actually showing a constantly rising reading of someone¡¯s power level. "There¡¯s an enemy!"

    Di Bao was stunned to realize that the power level on the readings wasing from underground.

    The power level reading continued to rise. It started at 10,000, but it quickly reached 120,000 and continued to rise.

    Di Luo''s expression grew solemn. This was a powerful Hunter, but fortunately, even if Di Bao¡¯s family on this was nothing more than a branch family, they were still perfectly capable of dealing with a Hunter.

    However, once the power level reading reached 210,000, Di Luo''splexion drastically changed.

    Although Enlighters were not considered powerhouses within the Sixth Maind, it was different in this ce. The branch family¡¯s strongest expert was only a Hunter, and it was unlikely for him to be capable of dealing with an Enlighter. Itpletely depended on the opponent¡¯sbat strength.

    There was actually a substantial gap in strength between the former Realmlings and their recements. The difference was actually quite simr to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters and the members of the Universe Youth Council who had reced the Arbiters.

    The Ten Arbiters had been able to easily challenge Enlighters and even defeat some while they had been Hunters, but such feats were beyond the members of the Universe Youth Council.

    "Attack!" Di Bao shouted fiercely. Many members of his family started attacking the ground with their weapons, and the ground shattered. The itself trembled, andva shot into the sky, only to be swept away by a wave of Di Bao¡¯s hand.

    A figure emerged from theva and stepped on the ground. It proceeded to walk forward step by step.

    When Di Bao and the others got a clear look at the future, their expressions all changed drastically. "A corpse king? No! Young Master Di Luo, RUN!"

    Di Luo felt as though his scalp was about to explode; how could a corpse king be in this ce? The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s revenge had just started.

    Di Luo and the others had absolutely no thoughts of fighting against a corpse king, and everyone instantly fled towards outer space.

    The members of the branch family were so terrified that they immediately ran away. No one had even a single thought of trying to stop the corpse king.

    However, the corpse king that was walking along the surface of the neverunched a single attack. Instead, it stopped and stood still. This corpse¡¯s eyes were actually ck, which waspletely different from a corpse king¡¯s scarlet eyes with slitted pupils. If Lu Yin were present, he would have recognized this corpse as the same as the one that had once chased after him. That desated corpse was not actually a corpse king, and it had actually killed corpse kings; this figure was the exact same thing.

    When Lu Yin had been pursued by Darkstar Gorge, he had stumbled upon a dried up corpse at the center of a that had been a Neohuman Alliance stronghold. The corpse had chased after Lu Yin and tried to kill him, though it had ended up being the reason why Lu Yin had managed to break through to the Explorer realm.

    The corpse stood still for a while, and then its gaze turned to the west. "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    As soon as the words were spoken, the corpse¡¯s legs slowly bent. It seemed as though the figure had not moved in a long time and its bones had grown sore. There was a grinding sound as the dried up corpse jumped up and charged into space, making its way towards the west of the Outerverse at a very impressive speed.

    Di Luo saw the creature as it blew past him. He thought that he was already dead, and yet he was not even attacked.

    What had just happened? Di Luo waspletely confused, and he sent a report to his family about what had happened.

    Simr events urred in many ces across the universe at the exact same time.

    The same thing happened in a ce in Tyrannical Weave, where Millions City had once been located. The weave that had once been famous for being the wealthiest location in the entire Outerverse had been upied by Justice Manor.

    Justice Manor was led by Cemetery Keeper, who was a World Imprinter. The man controlled an entire weave, and no one dared to speak against such an arrangement.

    As the name suggested, Justice Manor¡¯s cultivators were able to control corpses. There were even some people who liked to roam about while carrying corpses on their backs. For example, Corpse Looter was the heir of Justice Manor, and he enjoyed collecting corpses. He also had a powerful attack that was known as Dead Man¡¯s Palm.

    A desated corpse emerged from underground on one of Justice Manor¡¯ss, and it happened to emerge right where an older Justice Manor disciple lived. The man stared at the corpse in amazement. He did not consider it to be a corpse king, as there were fundamental differences between corpse kings and this corpse. This was clearly more like a mummy, but why was a mummy moving?

    "Alright, who¡¯s here? Knock it off with the pranks and show yourself," the disciple ordered.

    Justice Manor¡¯s cultivators could control corpses, so naturally, this corpse was being controlled by someone. However, why did this dried up corpse have pure ck eyes?

    The corpse stood still, as those stunned.

    "Which junior brother is it? Come on out and show yourself, and let your senior brother know if you need some help." The older disciple spoke up again, but he started to grow ufortable when there was still no response. "Since none of my juniors want to show themselves, I¡¯ll offer my assistance by seeing how this corpse was created."

    The man then approached the dried up corpse.

    The desated corpse did not even seem to see the man, and it remained standing as though it were frozen.

    The man pointed a finger against the corpse¡¯s forehead, intending to examine it. Suddenly, the corpse raised its hand to grab a hold of the man¡¯s arm. There was a slight move, and a scream rang out. The man¡¯s arm had been torn open. The disciple instantly paled. "Stop! You-"

    He was cut off as the corpse casually swung a hand, and the p smashed the man¡¯s head to pieces.

    "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill," the corpse muttered to itself before shooting off into outer space, clearly making its way towards a very specific direction.

    Simr dried up corpses appeared all over the Outerverse, as well as the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse. It was as though the corpses had been summoned, and they all started moving at the same time.

    In the Primal Zone, past Ironblood Weave, the corpse that had been stopped by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide also started muttering, ¡°Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill.¡±

    "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    Even though the desated corpse had found a target, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide still prevented the corpse from moving.

    On this day, blood spilled across the universe, as many people lost their lives to these dried up corpses. Each one actually had a power level of over 200,000.

 Chapter 1790: The Lu Familyâ€™s Unique Technique

    Chapter 1790: The Lu Family¡¯s Unique Technique

    Lu Yin was soon informed about the appearance of the dried up corpses. He stared at the disy of his gadget, saw the blood leaking from Bai Shui¡¯s mouth, and looked past her to see a corpse destroying a spacecraft.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered at this sight. He had nearly forgotten about that dried up corpse, but more had reappeared.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, that corpse is as powerful as an Enlighter, and your soldiers can''t stop it!" Bai Shui shouted as she clung to Bai Xiaodie.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes focused. "My people will protect you, but you¡¯ll have to hold out until then. Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll get there soon."

    Bai Shui looked back and gritted her teeth before using the God of Wind battle technique.

    There was a bang. The corpse had smashed the vessel with a downward swing of a hand, and then it shot through the Allied Force¡¯s lines to grab hold of Bai Shui. "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    Bai Shui raced away, as her attacks were useless against this corpse.

    Lu Yin frowned. If he had known that this would happen, he would have given Bai Shui something to use to protect herself. He had given her some shbombs, but they were clearly useless against this corpse.

    Fortunately, Nightking Yuanjing arrived just in time to destroy the corpse and save Bai Shui.

    Bai Shui had been quite lucky, as she had been attacked just when the Allied Forces had entered Daynight Flowzone. If the timing had been even slightly different, she would have died before the Allied Forces could even arrive.

    "What happened?" Lu Yin asked.

    He saw on the disy that Bai Shui was panting heavily and that she had been seriously injured. "I don''t know. That thing showed up out of nowhere to kill me! It said something about an ancient bloodline."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. An ancient bloodline? Could it be referring to people with primeval surnames? Were these dried up corpses searching for members of the primeval surnames? Lu Yin remembered how the desated corpse that had tried to kill him had once ughtered a corpse king, which suggested that these things were not products of the Neohuman Alliance, though that was not certain either. Who else aside from Aeternus would target the primeval surnames?

    At this moment, En Ya delivered a report stating that there were many dried up corpses conducting massacres throughout the Outerverse and the Innerverse. Some of the people who had been killed were cultivators while others were actually ordinary people.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he immediately tried to contact the Sea King to ask the man to go with Elder He to protect Earth.

    Earth was home to far too many people with primeval surnames, and if one of these corpses happened to find Earth, the entire would be destroyed.

    Over the course of just a few days, more and more of the corpses appeared everywhere.

    Lu Yin also got in contact with the Hall of Honor to ask about where these desated corpses hade from, but Arch-Elder Zen did not have any time to pay attention to Lu Yin.

    One of the corpses appeared just outside of the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    The owner of the voice was suddenly smashed by a giant. Chen Jian nced down at his hand. "Huh?"

    Elsewhere in the Innerverse, in a minor flowzone, a vessel tore through space, only to be instantly shattered by a corpse. A middle-aged man was exposed within the wreckage. He looked quite determined. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to die. I can¡¯t die! Our family¡¯s inheritance cannot be destroyed! "

    He let out a roar as he raised a long knife. The de flickered, and the flickers suddenly created the image of a strange mountain and river. It radiated an inexplicable power, and it shattered the void as the knife flickers shed the corpse.

    However, the man was not even a Cruiser, and despite his superb de skill, he waspletely powerless against the corpse. The man was smashed to death with a single palm strike.

    The man did not possess a primeval surname.

    In the Cosmic Sea, there was a small ind with mes that rose high into the sky. A desated corpse emerged from the mes and looked down at a woman who was lying on the ground with an upraised hand.

    The woman felt desperate, as she was just an ordinary human. She had no idea why she was being attacked. There was a jade pendant that shone brightly on her chest, but the corpse¡¯s hand fell, and the woman suffered a tragic death. The pendant shattered, and a grain of fatesand fell out. It sank along with the ind.

    In the Neoverse, a corpse entered a city that drifted through the stars. This particr dried up corpse had a power level of over 400,000. It fought with the master of the city for half an hour before finally killing the man. The corpse then descended into the courtyard of a certain family that lived in the city.

    The family¡¯s ancestor had been an Enlighter who had served the master of the city, but the descendants were just normal humans.

    The arrival of the corpse spelled a disaster for the family. Every single person died, except for a little boy who hid in a corner.

    The little boy stared at the corpse in terror. A hand was raised, and the child fell into despair. The fear was so bad that he closed his eyes.

    However, despite waiting for a while, he was never attacked by the corpse. Instead, a fragrant breeze blew past the boy. When he opened his eyes, still terrified, he saw that the desated corpse was gone. All he saw was a woman who was looking at him tenderly. "Child, don''t be afraid. It''s alright."

    The little boy started wailing. He was clutching a piece of jade tightly. Maybe from fear, or maybe because he squeezed too hard, but the child¡¯s nails pierced the flesh of his hands, and his blood dripped out and touched the jade. There was a sh of light, and the jade disappeared into the boy¡¯s head.

    Even though it happened in an instant, the woman still saw it. She stared at the child.

    The little boy''s eyes went nk for a moment, but he quickly recovered and wiped away his tears.

    "Child, did you just learn something?" the woman asked. She looked at the boy curiously.

    He continued to clean his face as he nodded. ¡°Yeah, a little guy taught me some moves."

    "What moves?" The woman was taken aback. That jade had been an inheritance, and this child had just inherited a battle technique.

    The little boy considered the question and then made a move. However, he only moved his body. He was not a cultivator, and he knew nothing of star energy, so the woman was not able to see a thing.

    "Can you tell this auntie what the move is called?" the woman asked.

    The little boy replied, "Hidden- Hidden Needle."

    The woman was Yuan Miao, and she was an elder from the Cosmic Sect. She had happened to be passing by, and she had decided to rescue the little boy. She took him back to the Cosmic Sect and reported the corpse¡¯s ughter. The matter drew the attention of the entire Cosmic Sect, and the story even shocked the other elders, who all wanted to meet the child.

    "Child, make that move again," Elder Gong softly requested.

    The little boy raised a hand and stretched it forward. His palm was facing down, and then it turned up. It was a very ordinary movement, but it was not ordinary in Elder Gong¡¯s eyes.

    When he had snuck into the Perennial World, he had fought against cultivators from the Lu family, and their Hidden Needle technique had left a deep impression on him. The fact that this Hidden Needle could be used to expel toxins from the body or even heal injuries showed how miraculous it was.

    "Child, what''s your name?" Elder Gong asked.

    The little boy replied, "Er Qi."

    Er Qi? This answer startled Elder Gong, as the child actually did not have the Lu surname. The elder stared at the boy for a while and then asked Yuan Miao to take care of him. "Help me get in touch with Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin had been dealing with one headache after another for two days. The Great Eastern Alliance had spread far and now covered toorge a territory; there were no fewer than ten of these desated corpses within their territory. Each of them was killing people without any rhyme or reason. Even ordinary humans were being killed.

    However, Lu Yin had also found a way to deal with the corpses, which was that they did not typically touch anyone who was not a target or who did not attack them. The dried up corpses did not randomly attack people.

    Lu Yin felt quite frustrated, and he had dispatched all of the powerhouses under hismand who were at least at the Enlighter realm, as they were the only ones who stood a chance against any of the corpses. However, not all of the dried up corpses had the same level of strength, and some were much stronger than others. The most powerful one that had been discovered so far had actually killed Ling Shen, an Enlighter from the Lingling n with a power level of more than 450,000. The elder¡¯s death had enraged Ling Qiu, who had personally gone out to hunt the corpse down.

    The Hall of Honor had also not been idle, and they had continuously sent out experts to surround and eliminate corpses.

    Many people believed that the corpses had been released by the Neohuman Alliance, but they were also clearly different from the corpse kings.

    Fortunately, not one corpse had been discovered with the strength of an Envoy yet.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he saw it was a call from Yuan Qiong, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s sect master.

    "Sect Master, what can I do for you?" Lu Yin bluntly asked as soon as he connected to the call. He made no efforts to be too polite or to act like a disciple who looked at the sect master in awe.

    Yuan Qiong was unconcerned, as Lu Yin was not a disciple of his Cosmic Sect. If not for the pattern on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot, the Cosmic Sect would not care about him at all. "Elder Gong wanted to speak with you."

    Elder Gong appeared on the disy, his face grim. "Yuan Qiong, you can leave now."

    Yuan Qiong was startled; was even he not allowed to be present for this conversation?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and a vague guess popped up in his mind.

    After Yuan Qiong left, Elder Gong focused on Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile turned bitter, and he bowed low. "I apologize, Elder, for lying to you."

    Arch-Elder Zen had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan, and he would not hide such a thing from the other Semi-Progenitors such as Highsage Grandmaster. Lu Yin had waited for the old powerhouses to call him, but they had taken so long to do so that he had forgotten about the matter.

    This also made it a surprise that Elder Gong had reached out to Lu Yin.

    "Forget about that for now. Do you know the Hidden Needle technique?" Elder Gong asked.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled, but he shook his head. "No, I don''t."

    Elder Gong stared at Lu Yin for a while before letting out a sigh. "It appears that you really did forget everything."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Is it connected to the Lu family?"

    "Hidden Needle is one of the Lu family¡¯s unique techniques," Elder Gong exined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tone grew bitter. "This junior has forgotten it. Even though I should have learned it back then since it¡¯s a technique that belongs to the Lu family, I¡¯ve had to restart my cultivation from scratch. I have no connection to that technique any longer."

    Elder Gong grew serious. "There¡¯s a child who was hunted down today by one of the desated corpses, but he managed to acquire the Hidden Needle technique from an inheritance."

    Lu Yin was startled. "I thought that you said that Hidden Needle is an exclusive technique of the Lu family¡¯s."

    "It is. No one can possess the technique except for the Lu family, and yet this child just received an inheritance because of his blood, and he managed to obtain Hidden Needle."

    "Are you saying that this child is a member of my Lu family?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Elder Gong felt a bit puzzled. "That¡¯s possible, but not guaranteed. While Hidden Needle has always been a skill that belonged exclusively to the Lu family, they might not have been the ones to create it. It¡¯s possible that a member of the family picked up the technique somewhere else. Even if an inheritance can only be obtained by a single bloodline, that does not mean that someone can¡¯t teach the technique to other people."

    "What are you trying to say, Senior?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Elder Gong''s expression became solemn once again. "These mummies are chasing after ancient blood, but they might not be chasing after the primeval surnames. It¡¯s possible that everyone who has been attacked possesses an extraordinary lineage that triggers such targeting and that these mummies are going after those bloodlines. Regardless, the future is about to change.¡±

    Lu Yin started thinking.

    "As these desated corpses continue to hunt down more people, more and more ancient inheritances will pop up. This child¡¯s parents and grandparents never learned Hidden Needle, and yet he did. This is a unique technique that has returned to the universe, and it¡¯s possible that the other inheritances are the same, though there are likely some that have already vanished," the elder continued.

    Lu Yin looked back up at the old man. ¡°What are you trying to say, Elder?"

    "Try to protect those that are being targeted, as you might be able to pick up some secrets regarding the ancient times by doing this, at least if you are lucky," the elder replied.

    Lu Yin quickly understood that the dried up corpses were targeting and trying to kill people because of their ancient bloodline. This meant that anyone targeted by a corpse most likely possessed some sort of ancient inheritance, even though the inheritance might have already disappeared.

 Chapter 1791: Burial Gardenâ€™s Gates

    Chapter 1791: Burial Garden¡¯s Gates

    Elder Gong not only called Lu Yin, he also reached out to the Hall of Honor and the other major powers, as he wanted as many people who were being hunted down to be protected as possible. The Great Eastern Alliance had spread greatly, and it now epassed toorge an area of the universe, and this was actually why Elder Gong had called Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately ordered all of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts who had been sent out to hunt the dried up corpses to protect whoever was being targeted, regardless of whether or not they were part of the alliance.

    These people might hold the key to learning about ancient times.

    Even though the Great Eastern Alliance covered a vast territory and had many powerhouses, it was impossible for the Envoys to be ordered around. Even though the Sword Sect and the other powers that controlled the great flowzones of the Innerverse had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, they had only joined the alliance; they were not Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates. All of the people with ancient bloodlines who were protected would not be sent back to Lu Yin.

    For this reason, Lu Yin did not attempt to issue any orders to the Sword Sect or the other powers and instead acted honestly about the situation. People would be more decisive and proactive when they were motivated by their own self interests.

    Lu Yin had asked Elder Gong about where the desated corpses hade from, and the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s answer had been both expected and unexpected: Aeternus.

    However, Aeternus only had corpse kings, so where had these dried up corpses that hunted after ancient bloodlinese from?

    Elder Gong eventually informed Lu Yin that there was a specific person behind the dried up corpses: the Seven Skygods¡¯ Undying God.

    Undying God was one of the Seven Skygods, and every single one of the Seven Skygods possessed an extraordinary origin. For example, Forgotten Ruins God was someone from the Wang family, which was one of the four ruling powers of the Perennial World. In fact, Forgotten Ruins God was the Wang family¡¯s oldest ancestor, which made the Skygod truly ancient.

    There was Forgotten Ruins God, Undying God, and also Corpse God, who possessed a body with a sizeparable to what Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone had achieved. Lu Yin was very curious about each of the Seven Skygods, and he really wanted to know their true identities.

    The appearance of the corpses created a big show across the universe where people were chased after and protected. Once the Sword Sect and the other powerful organizations started to move, the corpses¡¯ targets suddenly became a preciousmodity that everyone was eager to protect, as they all hoped to obtain an ancient inheritance.

    Unfortunately, almost everyone ended up being disappointed. While many of the corpses¡¯ targets did indeed have items that had been passed down from ancient times, frequently, too much time had passed, and the items had been either lost, damaged, or their records were iplete. Not even people who possessed ancient bloodlines were able to understand everything in the inheritances. Most of the people acting as protectors ended up disappointed.

    However, there were also some who seeded.

    After half a month, there was news from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Justice Manor. One of their members had rescued an old woman from one of the desated corpses. She was thest surviving member of her family, and although the family¡¯s surname had changed several times due to various reasons, there had always been a piece of stone passed down through the generations. No one knew where the stone hade from or what it was, and all the olddy knew was that the stone had to be passed down and that it absolutely could not be lost.

    There were somendscape paintings on the stone, but other than that, it looked quite ordinary. However, the scene that the painting portrayed was shockingly ancient, and Justice Manor¡¯s World Imprinter had said that the painting gave him the impression of being beyond ancient.

    In the Neoverse, Aurora Enterprises also rescued someone who had been targeted. This person did not possess any sort of inheritance, but instead had been given just four words: Mountains and Seas Technique. No one thought these words held any meaning, and many people had heard these words without noticing anything at all.

    However, these four words held an entirely different meaning for Aurora Enterprises. The person who had been rescued was just a Cruiser, which put him at the very bottom of the Neoverse. He lived in one of the floating astral cities, and he had never heard of the Astral Tower or the Mountain and Seas Zone. Clearly, Mountain and Seas Technique referred to the Mountain and Seas Zone, and more importantly, it referred to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    When Lu Yin heard these words, excitement filled his eyes, and he instantly remembered what he had encountered in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. He had entered more than one of the Mountains and been challenged to ¡°breakthrough,¡± though he had failed. He had seen colorless mes during one of those challenges and a spring of water that was constantly pumping out more water in another, but he had not been able toprehend anything.

    Both of those inheritances belonged to the Mountains and Seas, so was this phrase also some sort of inheritance from the Mountains and Seas?

    Also, there was that old woman who had been rescued by Justice Manor. Lu Yin had a feeling that the painting on the stone in her possession was rted to the painting that the Lost Radiance Academy possessed that the Neohuman Alliance had focused on so intently.

    It turned out that the people who possessed ancient bloodlines who were being hunted down by the corpses really did have something. Lu Yin grew more and more interested in the people who were being targeted. He asked some people to look into making records about everyone who was hunted, regardless of whether they were killed or survived, regardless of location, and even regardless of whether or not they possessed an inheritance.

    The entire universe started focusing on ancient bloodlines who were being hunted down by the corpses, and as time passed, the number or people being targeted and the number or corpses both started to increase.

    Also, at this time, Burial Garden revealed itself to the world.

    A spaceship was steadily moving along through outer space, making its way towards the Cosmic Sea. It was a transport ship that was carrying a great number of goods, and it constantly shuttled back and forth between the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse.

    It was nothing more than an ordinary transport, and yet, one of the desated corpses appeared atop it. This corpse was able to travel through the void, and it had a power level of more than 200,000, so the people aboard the vessel looked at it in pure fear.

    There was a bang as the ship was torn apart. Instantly, dozens of people were thrown into outer space, where they quickly perished.

    The broken spaceship continued to explode. In one cabin, a youth desperately hid beneath a table, but he was jostled by one of the explosions ripping through the wreckage. He assumed that he was about to die, but the nearest explosion was blocked before the shockwave could reach the youth. He looked up, and the first thing that he saw was a desated corpse with ck eyes and a withered face. The youth¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and thest words of his father echoed through the teen¡¯s mind.

    ''Child, remember that our surname is Wang, which is a primeval surname. While this is our foundation, we cannot reveal this to the outside world, or else we will have no ce here in the Innerverse. Remember this, child.''

    The young man stared at the corpse in a daze as it kept muttering, "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    After that, the corpse reached for the young man.

    The youth had no idea when it happened, but a fog had appeared in space. When the corpse reached out for the youth, a war banner suddenly appeared in front of the boy. The banner was wrapped with strange strands of gray energy that blocked the corpse¡¯s hand, though the g was crushed.

    A sword shot out from behind the young man, and the corpse''s head separated from its body andnded at the young man''s feet. Even as it died, the head was still muttering, "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill."

    The young man''s face had gonepletely white. His eyes swiveled from the headless corpse to behind himself. There, he saw a knight staring at him. For some reason, this knight''s figure sometimes seemed to be fully transparent and invisible at times, and yet fully solid at other times.

    The young man stared at the knight in confusion.

    "Starting today, you are epted as a disciple of Burial Garden." Leaving these words behind, the knight disappeared along with the boy. No one could see either of them any longer.

    Simr scenes repeated across the universe.

    Arch-Elder Zen quickly received word, and he reached out to Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper. This person was one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, though he was quite unique. He was an old man who hardly ever spoke, which only made him all the more intimidating.

    "Is Burial Garden about to open?" Arch-Elder Zen said.

    "Yes."

    "Burial Garden was about to open back when the Sea King opened the Upper Three Gates, but the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power dyed that. Why is Burial Garden about to open now?"

    "The ancient bloodlines are facing a crisis. We adhere to the ancient ancestors¡¯ orders to protect and preserve the bloodlines."

    "My Hall of Honor can do that as well. In fact, the entire universe is trying to protect the ancient bloodlines."

    "Those people merely hope to take the inheritances of the ancient bloodlines for themselves and gain ess to legacies from the ancient times. They do not know that there are certain inheritances that they cannot lust after."

    "This current situation doesn¡¯t require Burial Garden to open. Have you forgotten how some humans will turn into fiends when Burial Garden opens?"

    "Burial Garden¡¯s opening offers a possibility for both talented humans and humans who seek the wrong path. Some will eventually turn into fiends, but there is also the possibility of exceptional humans rising up. There are pros and cons, but my sole responsibility is to protect the ancient bloodlines."

    Arch-Elder Zen said nothing more. He could not direct or order Burial Garden.

    Before long, tombs started to appear in many ces across the universe. Each one was dozens of meters tall, and the gates to the tombs were actually tombstones. The bolts were all made of y, and each tomb had the words ¡°Burial Garden¡± engraved upon them.

    Even though there were no other words written, everyone knew that Burial Garden was open. As long as a tomb could be opened, they could enter Burial Garden.

    However, what was Burial Garden? No one knew.

    On the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin was staring at the gate of a massive tomb that had risen out of the sea. He was a bit stunned at the sight. Burial Garden? What was going on?

    "Alliance Leader, many other ces in the Great Eastern Alliance are also reporting the appearance of these tombs. On top of that, they have appeared throughout the Innerverse, the Outerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse. These gates to Burial Garden have appeared in countless locations throughout the universe," En Ya reported.

    Ku Wei arrived. "Master, this is from Burial Garden, one of the Three Dark Hands. How did it show up here?"

    Lu Yin nced at Ku Wei. "Have you been to Burial Garden before?"

    Ku Wei grinned. ¡°They¡¯re all dead people, and they¡¯re really ufortable to be around. Master, make sure that you don''t get involved with them."

    Clearly, this was not something that Lu Yin could avoid getting involved in, as Burial Garden¡¯s gates had appeared right in front of him. It seemed obvious that it was to let Lu Yin go inside, but he did not want to go at the moment¡ªwho knew what would happen after he entered.

    The Three Dark Hands consisted of the Neohuman Alliance, the Court of Seven Names, and Burial Garden. Not a single one of the three was easy to deal with, and one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitor¡¯s was from Burial Garden. Lu Yin had wanted to speak with the man, but he had beenpletely ignored when he tried.

    "How do you open this door? Just push it?" Lu Yin asked.

    One after another, various people from the Great Eastern Alliance started to arrive. Even Lan Si appeared, and he was the first to step forward. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try."

    Elder Tie quickly moved to stap Lan Si. "This is dangerous! Don''t be rash."

    Lan Si stared at the gates of the tomb. "I¡¯ve heard of Burial Garden before, and even though they¡¯re one of the Three Dark Hands, they have done nothing that can be considered evil. They are only known as one of the Three Dark Hands because of their reputation. Also, it¡¯s said that Burial Garden possesses an impressive inheritance."

    Lan Si had been one of the Ten Arbiters, but he had beenpletely surpassed in recent years. Even his Vacuum Palm had been taken by Lu Yin and then improved beyond what Lan Si was capable of, and he had always been frustrated by hisck of progress.

    Lan Si somberly stared at Lu Yin. "I¡¯m going to go to Burial Garden. After I obtain an inheritance, we¡¯ll have another match."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''ll be waiting."

    Elder Tie started to get worried. "Do you want Mt. Stacks Dojo to have no future?"

    Lan Si walked up to the gate. "If I, Lan Si, wiped out everyone, what would be the difference between the presence and absence of Mt. Stacks Dojo?"

    He then ced his hands on the gates to the tomb and gave them a fierce push. Surprisingly, they opened much easier than expected. A gray vortex appeared that looked much like a wormhole. Without any hesitation, Lan Si stepped into it and disappeared.

 Chapter 1792: Fruit

    Chapter 1792: Fruit

    Lan Si was not the only one who entered Burial Garden at this time, and there were also some people who felt forced to enter Burial Garden due to them being in a dangerous situation.

    However, most people continued to sit back and watch, intending to wait until they knew whether or not people could return after entering the gates.

    The gates did not close after they opened. The Great Eastern Alliance sent in several volunteers with the goal of exiting as soon as they entered. However, even after several days passed, no one returned.

    Lu Yin stood outside the gate to Burial Garden, waiting for a few days. During this time, he called Yuan Shi and other older powerhouses. Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to learn more about Burial Garden, but not a single one of the old experts would share any details with him. The only information that Lu Yin was able to glean was that there were fiends in Burial Garden.

    Fiends were humans that had taken the wrong cultivation path, and although they were evil, they were also powerful. Human fiends had been born when Burial Garden hadst opened, and they had ughtered almost all of the people who had entered Burial Garden before conducting massacres throughout the entire Fifth Maind. Ultimately, the Hall of Honor had been forced to step forward and execute all of the fiends.

    There were risks and benefits to be had whenever Burial Garden opened. The birth of fiends was also the reason why Burial Garden could never be casually opened.

    Although this was what Lu Yin learned from Yuan Shi, Lu Yin felt that some fiends appearing should not be enough for Burial Garden to remain closed most of the time. There had to be a deeper reason.

    "Alliance Leader, someone¡¯se back out," En Ya reported. "They¡¯re on Yima."

    "I¡¯m going." Lu Yin immediately headed out.

    Yima was a perfectly average, and the civilization¡¯s development was at a simr level to what Earth had reached before its apocalypse. The people of Yima were in the process of exploring nearbys, and they werepletely ignorant about anything at all regarding the rest of the universe.

    The appearance of one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates had an unparalleled impact on the residents of Yima. Even in the face of death, they would have never imagined that, one day, a tomb with a gate would appear in the middle of a street.

    The entire grew excited when the gate appeared, and every country on the entire asked to be able to explore it. However, because Yima was a ce that had not discovered cultivation, the gate could not be opened by the strength of any individual resident. Instead, it was eventually opened by the most powerful technological weapon that existed on the. Even then, it only opened the gate, and it was quickly decided to send in an army.

    The people of Yima believed that their most powerful weapons and a powerful army would be strong enough to explore the entrance to Burial Garden. However, none of them could have imagined that their entire army would be ughtered before a single person even managed to enter the gate by a cultivator who had rushed out of the gate. This person had raced towards outer space, only to be captured by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The person was only an Explorer, and while such a person was very powerful by the standards of Yima and was even able to destroy their entire, just one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s battleships was enough to deal with such a person.

    Yima entered an age of interster exploration all because of the appearance of Burial Garden¡¯s gate on their.

    Lu Yin also went to visit Yima.

    His hands were sped behind his back as he observed the ruins of the buildings on either side of the street where the tomb had appeared. He was surrounded by soldiers from the Allied Forces as well as members of the Lu Elite Troops.

    "Tell me what happened inside," Wang Wenmanded. He had followed Lu Yin to the in order to question the Explorer who had exited the gate.

    The man¡¯s name was Shi San, and he was just an average Explorer. He was so terrified at being confronted by people from the Great Eastern Alliance that his body was ovee with a sense of weakness, and he immediately shared everything he knew.

    ording to Shi San, he had entered Burial Garden in a distant minor flowzone. He had stayed in Burial Garden for a few days and then coincidentally stumbled upon an exit that had led him straight to Yima. He also shared information regarding the environment in Burial Garden. He said that the ground was a dark red that looked as though it had been soaked in blood and that it did not seem to have been made of earth, but rather pieces of flesh.

    The environment was also not homogenous. When Shi San had first entered Burial Garden, the ground had been a dark-red earth, but at the exit, it had been more like rusted metal. He had passed through two zones in Burial Garden.

    "The ground was like rusted metal?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Shi San''s entire body trembled as he looked at Lu Yin. They briefly locked eyes, and Shi San instantly lowered his head. "Yes, it was definitely rusty, and it actually looked like it had corroded due to sheer age rather than anything else."

    "You entered a gate in a flowzone very far from Yima. How could you cover such a vast distance with your strength?" Wang Wen was curious about this.

    Shi San said, "I don¡¯t know. All I know is that I traveled at my normal speed, but I somehow arrived here in just a few days."

    "It could be that the entrances lead to random ces within Burial Garden, but the exits are fixed. Yima has one of the exits, but the gate at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress might not be an exit at all," Wang Wen analyzed.

    "Oh. Also, in addition to the different regions, there are also moving corpses in there," Shi San suddenly said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide. "Exin."

    Shi San¡¯s voice shook as he continued, "One day after I entered Burial Garden, I saw a corpse that was constantly eating dirt. It would spit it back out and then eat it again. It just kept repeating those two things over and over."

    "How do you know that it was a corpse?" Wang Wen pressed.

    Shi San said, "I¡¯m an Explorer, and after living and training for hundreds of years, it¡¯s easy to tell the difference between a corpse and a living human. I first thought that it was one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings, but I eventually realized it wasn¡¯t. Still, the corpse moved, though it was really strange how it just kept eating dirt the whole time."

    "Was there only one?" Lu Yin stared at him.

    Shi San nodded. "I only came across that one."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he fell into thought, but he did not say anything more.

    "Masters from the Great Eastern Alliance, can I leave now?" Shi San asked carefully.

    Wang Wen grinned. "Of course."

    Shi San heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Just hand over everything you found in Burial Garden. Don''t worry, we¡¯ll pay a fair price for everything that you found," Wang Wen added. His smile was bright, and his tone sincere as he made these demands.

    Shi San''s heart dropped, and his expression grew stiff. "Sir, what are you talking about? I really don¡¯t understand."

    Wang Wen squatted down to get closer to Shi San. "You¡¯re a smart person, and I¡¯m considered pretty smart myself. Since we¡¯re all smart people here, there¡¯s no need to talk in circles: take out everything that you picked up while in Burial Garden. While I may not know if we want what you have or not, we¡¯ll still take it all and pay you a fair price.¡±

    Shi San gritted his teeth. "I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Wang Wen''s face turned sour. "The first thing you did after exiting Burial Garden wasn¡¯t to check your location, but rather to head straight for outer space. There are no cultivators on Yima, so there¡¯s no one here who can threaten you, and you would have run away if you hadn¡¯t been caught by the Allied Forces. So, tell me, why were you in such a big hurry to leave? You clearly had some reason to want to run away so quickly, or at least to avoid other people, and I can only think of one reason for that. You found something in there.¡±

    "Hurry up and bring it out. The universe runs on survival of the fittest. Fortunately for you, our Great Eastern Alliance has a good reputation. If you had managed to run into other people when you came out, they might not have been as willing to chat with you as we have been."

    Shi San was trapped, and his face revealed his bitterness as he stared at his cosmic ring and fought an internal battle. In the end, he dumped out everything in it.

    Lu Yin looked at the pile, and his eyebrows rose as he stared at an oval-shaped, blood-red object that looked like a fruit. His pupils transformed into runes, and he was shocked to see that the fruit possessed enough runes topare to an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000.

    Shi San picked up the oval fruit and held it out. "This is what I found in the region with the red ground."

    Wang Wen took the fruit, but since he could not see rune lines, he turned to Lu Yin with a questioning look.

    Lu Yin took the thing, but he still did not know what it was.

    "Only one?" Wang Wen asked.

    Shi San''s eyes flickered. "Now, yes. There were two, but I ate one. Actually, I only just became an Explorer, but my power level doubled in just a few days after I ate the fruit."

    Wang Wen was caught off guard. "You actually went ahead and ate this thing? Weren¡¯t you worried about being poisoned?"

    Shi San¡¯s voice turned bitter. "I wasn¡¯t alone in Burial Garden, as I met an enemy there. It was a fight to the death, and I didn¡¯t have any options left. After I ate the fruit, my strength spiked, and I managed to kill my opponent. This is the only one left now."

    Wang Wen looked back at Lu Yin. "What do you think? Do you want to eat it?"

    Lu Yin stared at the fruit for a while, thinking about it. However, instead of eating it, he called Qing Cao.

    Qing Cao was the Hall Master of Windrift Hall, and he was a highly respected healer. He was the best person to ask about this fruit.

    The man was still in Venom Flowzone, and Lu Yin could tell by the background of the video that the man was still in the same ce as where they had met.

    "You¡¯re asking me about this thing?" Qing Cao carefully observed the fruit in Lu Yin''s hands through the video call. He thought for a moment before saying, "It should be a human blood fruit."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed a bit. "A human blood fruit?"

    Qing Cao nodded. "When the blood of certain powerhouses falls onto the ground, possibly because of special cultivation techniques or natural treasures that they¡¯ve eaten, their blood won¡¯t dry up or coagte, but will instead condense and solidify to form these fruits. These things are basically formed by using the blood of powerhouses as fertilizer.

    "While these fruits are rare, they aren¡¯t unheard of. Eating one can allow a person¡¯s cultivation to rise quickly, but not by much."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

    Qing Cao asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, are you hoping to raise your strength with that fruit?"

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Of course not. I can''t eat something like this."

    Qing Cao smiled. "There are many different means of raising one¡¯s strength in this universe, not just absorbing star energy. There have been some truly powerful cultivators who have created alternative cultivation methods, much like here in Venom Flowzone. These methods can be either artificial or natural. There are ces with unique civilizations like here in Venom Flowzone, or the Specter n that cultivates with death energy instead of star energy. All of these means are eptable, so Alliance Leader Lu, if you do hope to improve your strength, there¡¯s no need to use something that¡¯s contaminated like this human blood fruit."

    Lu Yin nodded to show his understanding before ending the call. He then handed the fruit back to Shi San. "Did you hear that?"

    Shi San nodded. "I heard."

    "Are you still going to eat it?" Wang Wen looked at the man.

    Shi San gritted his teeth. "For lords like you, there are many options to raise your cultivation, but for people like me, the future is bleak. Even surviving requires a bit of luck. I¡¯ll still eat this human blood fruit."

    Lu Yin waved to dismiss the Explorer.

    He was not surprised by Shi San''s choice, and he would not criticize the decision either. Everyone had their own path, and if Lu Yin had not walked down another¡¯s path, then he was not qualified to criticize or to try to change those choices.

    "It looks like there are a lot of good things in Burial Garden. Each region might have different treasures. What are your ns now?" Wang Wen looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Send some people to stand guard here and have the Giants¡¯ Army station themselves nearby. Capture anyone who exits from this gate."

    Anyone who managed to leave Burial Garden might be carrying treasures, and since this exit was in Lu Yin¡¯s territory, there was no way he would allow such an opportunity to slip by.

    "Send people to all of the gates that have opened in the Great Eastern Alliance and have them see which gates can be used as exits. Then, send some powerhouses to stand guard at each of the exits and don¡¯t let anyone whoes out of these gates escape."

 Chapter 1793: Tracked By Something Unseen

    Chapter 1793: Tracked By Something Unseen

    Even though luck was needed to encounter opportunities, strength was also required. Lu Yin did not intend to allow people to freely enter and exit Burial Garden¡¯s gates within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. This was his territory, and he could be as domineering as he wished.

    Lu Yin also made ns to enter and explore Burial Garden himself.

    There were no restrictions regarding one¡¯s cultivation level to enter Burial Garden. As long as a person found a gate, they could enter.

    Lan Si was part of the first group of people to enter the gates. During the few days that he had been in Burial Garden, he had been doing his best to avoid a wooden hammer striking his head.

    He wanted to curse someone. After entering Burial Garden, he had inexplicably found himself in a concave field. Before he was even able to observe his surroundings, a wooden hammer had fallen, aimed straight at his head. He had been lucky enough to react in time and avoid being struck. However, he soon saw that the ce where the hammer had struck had numerous cracks, and he realized that he could not afford to be struck, as it would absolutely kill him.

    The wooden hammer was the size of an entire, and it smashed down at the ground again and again. The void was crushed every time the hammer struck, and Lan Si believed that only a giant could wield this weapon. Based on the size, the giant would have to be much bigger than even Chen Huang, as it would have to berge enough to hold an entire in one hand.

    Although Lan Si did his best to evade the hammer, his efforts were fruitless. The hammer was just too big, and he was not able to escape from its range before it fell again. His only option was to try to take advantage of the cracks in the ground caused by the hammer¡¯s previous blows if he wanted to avoid being hit.

    Fortunately, since the wooden hammer was the size of a, the cracks that it left in the ground were as wide as an entire mountain. As long as Lan Si did not try to run around, he would be safe if he didn¡¯t move.

    This was how he survived the first day, but on the second day, he noticed that there was an odd pattern to the rhythm that the wooden hammer struck the ground. He became excited because he noticed that while this rhythm was simr to the Oveying Stacks Path that he practiced, it was actually different.

    The Oveying Stacks Path was based on the premise ofyering one¡¯s strength again and again. Vacuum Palm was a technique that was the culmination of the Oveying Stacks Path as it was a palm strike that exhibited the Oveying Stacks Path¡¯s greatest strengths. The rhythm in which the hammer struck the ground was different; the strength seemed to be erupting all at once to release an explosion of power that was dozens of times more powerful.

    This sort of technique actually demanded an even more exquisite level of control over one¡¯s strength than even Vacuum Palm.

    Lan Si was very excited, and he lost all desire to leave. He was happy to remain right where he was.

    Despite not being able to see who was wielding the hammer and beating the ground, Lan Si wanted to learn this technique and improve his strength, as he was certain that this was the best technique for him.

    While Lan Si was not able to see who was wielding the wooden hammer, Ling Que was able to see from off in the distance.

    One of Burial Garden¡¯s gates had also opened up in the Lingling n¡¯s territory, and Ling Que had just arrived in Burial Garden. He had not wanted to enter the gate, but his foot had slipped, and he had fallen through.

    He would absolutely never admit that Ling Gong had kicked him through the gate¡­

    As soon as Ling Que entered Burial Garden and his feet met the ground, he was almost scared to death by a powerful tremor. He then looked up and saw the corpse of a giant mming a wooden hammer into the ground.

    The sight almost caused Ling Que to piss himself in fear. Never before had he seen such arge giant, let alone one that was a moving corpse. How was this corpse even moving? With its size, even if the giant never cultivated, it could still instantly kill Ling Que with a single p.

    Ling Que held his breath and tried to sneak away.

    Fortunately, the giant did not care about the young man in the slightest, and it never once stopped smashing the ground with the wooden hammer. Ling Que had no idea what the giant was trying to do, but it simply mmed the hammer into the ground again and again. Each pit caused by the hammer¡¯s fall was the size of a.

    ¡°If anyone was unlucky enough to fall into one of those pits, they¡¯d be smashed to death," Ling Que said to himself as he fled. He had to escape, as this ce clearly was not safe.

    However, he stumbled after just a few steps. When he looked down, he saw a rope on the ground that was right at the edge of one of the hammer pit. He felt curious, so he pulled the rope up. Something was on the other end, but the rope was being a bit stubborn. Still, Ling Que had be curious, so he used a bit more strength and continued pulling. Finally, he pulled up a sourcebox. It was actually a humanoid sourcebox, and when he looked further, he saw that the rope was tied to an entire series of humanoid sourceboxes!

    Ling Que was stunned; what in the world was this?

    Sourceboxes on strings? Also, were these really all humanoid treasures? He had never seen so many humanoid sourceboxes in his entire life.

    He quickly dismissed the matter from his mind. No matter what, sourceboxes were still treasures. Ling Que quickly put all of the sourceboxes into his cosmic ring and then ran off. He hadpletely neglected the fact that not a single one of the humanoid sourceboxes had a danger field.

    Not too many people had entered Burial Garden at this point in time, but once some people started to leave, information regarding Burial Garden started to spread, and more and more people started to pass through the gates.

    Lu Yin entered through the gate that had appeared in the middle of the sea on the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    What he had heard from Shi San had led Lu Yin to suspect that Burial Garden might be the ce where he had Possessed the corpse and seen Progenitor Chen. This was something that he had to verify.

    From some of the guesses that he had made after hearing about Shi San¡¯s experience, Lu Yin believed that he would appear in a random location within Burial Garden. This was because, based on the location where Shi San had entered Burial Garden, it should have been impossible for him to reach Yima in just a few days.

    Lu Yin entered with the Second Nightking as a precaution, but when he looked around after entering, the Second Nightking was nowhere to be seen. They had been sent to random locations.

    Lu Yin appeared atop a shattered boulder. He nced around and saw there was simr rubble in all directions. Everything looked as though it had been shattered by powerful blows. No matter where Lu Yin looked, all he could see was simr rubble as far into the distance as he could see.

    The boulder that he had appeared upon was absolutely massive, and it was actuallyparable in size to a star. In fact, it was possible that it was a shattered star rather than a stone.

    Lu Yin chose a random direction and started traveling. His goal was the sea.

    After traveling for a while, he suddenly stopped and stood still. His pupils transformed into runes, and he looked around.

    He had a feeling that something was following him, but he could not find anything even after releasing his domain and his spiritual force.

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists but still continued moving forward. After a bit, he stopped again. Yes, something was definitely following him.

    "Come out!" Lu Yin shouted. His head whipped around, but there was nothing there. He focused more intently and spread his fingers out. The air swayed as a shockwave swept out, but there was still nothing to be seen.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce for a while, but there were no fluctuations in the air. He could only continue on, but he immediately stopped again, as he clearly felt that something was following him. Just what was it?

    "Which senior is toying with this junior? Please show yourself," Lu Yin loudly requested.

    Still, there was no movement.

    Lu Yin snorted and then suddenly took off, rushing far away. As he fled, an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He moved and instantly disappeared.

    There were a few spatial cracks where Lu Yin had vanished, but the distortions soon vanished as everything calmed down.

    Lu Yin reappeared some distance away, and he immediately looked back. He still could not see anything, but the feeling of being followed had disappeared. He let out a breath of relief; just what had been following him?

    He was not too worried, as the invisible tracker had not attacked him, and even if someone had made a move, Lu Yin should be able to survive even a surprise attack. His bodysuit armor was able to defend against attacks with power levels of almost 900,000, so he would have to be terribly unlucky to suffer an attack that could instantly kill him.

    After ncing back, he continued forward.

    Far ahead of Lu Yin was more rubble, no different from what he had seen so far. However, one of the shattered stones that looked no different from any of the others was different when viewed from the front. From a specific angle, they would discover that the shattered stone portrayed a battle technique through a series of clearly defined movements. It looked as though someone had carved their battle technique into this stone.

    At the moment, there was a middle-aged man standing right in front of the shattered stone, and he was staring at the series of movements that were disyed on the stone, and his body unconsciously followed the movements.

    There were sixty nine movements shown on the stone, and as the man moved through them, his movements grew faster and faster until there was a second image of the man.

    Also, there was a corpse on the ground beneath the man¡¯s feet. This was not one of the mobile corpses that roamed across Burial Garden, but rather a fresh corpse belonging to someone who had just died. Apparently, they had been killed by the middle-aged man.

    There were also people hiding off in the distance. One of them was an old man who was afraid to even look at the middle-aged man¡¯s back. The old man¡¯s eyes zed with killing intent, and he was clearly plotting something. The other person was a girl with a fish on her head. She was Xi Qi.

    Xi Qi was desperately keeping the fish¡¯s mouth covered in order to prevent it from revealing their location. The fish kept pping its fins, as it had been smothered for a long time. It had to speak! If it did not manage to do so, it felt like it would die by holding its words in.

    After watching for a while, they saw that the middle-aged man was bing more and more proficient in the battle technique¡¯s series of movements.

    Finally, the old man could not restrain himself any longer, and he stepped forward. His body moved into a strange posture as the void warped around him, and he shot forward, a finger pointed ahead. He struck the middle-aged man with a fierce attack.

    The man suddenly whirled around. "I''ve been waiting for a long time, you little rat!"

    As the man spoke, a circr weapon appeared in his hand that turned towards the old man. The attacker bent his fingers andshed out with his right leg. "Get out of my way!"

    "You¡¯re asking to die, old man." An imprint appeared behind the middle-aged man, and he easily blocked the old man''s foot. The younger man then struck out with his left hand, and his palm turned green as it shot forward. The old man¡¯s reactions were extremely quick, and he pulled out something from his cosmic ring that looked like a shield.

    There was a bang, and the old man''s body was sent flying through the air, but the middle-aged man was also forced back. The two were of equal strength.

    Xi Qi stared at the men. Both of them were powerful Enlighters, and she could not help but hope that both of them would be injured, as that was the only way for her luck to not run out. She did not think that the two would not be able to find her.

    "Are you from the Sixth Maind?" The old man was intimidated.

    The middle-aged man sneered. "What of it?"

    The old man snapped back, "Burial Garden belongs to my Fifth Maind! Does the Sixth Maind want to start a war?"

    The middle-aged man was unbothered. "Burial Garden¡¯s gates didn¡¯t only open in the Innerverse. They also opened in the Outerverse, so why can¡¯t people like me from the Sixth Maind enter? Quit talking about stupid things and get lost."

    Right as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man raised his hand towards the old man. Surprisingly, this was the same movement that was shown on the surface of the stone.

    The old man''s pupils constricted tightly, and he turned and fled. Cultivators from the Sixth Maind enjoyed an innate advantage when fighting against people from the Fifth Maind. The old man¡¯s most powerful protection was the shield that he had just used, and it had been bent from the force of the middle-aged man¡¯s attack. It was clear that the old man would not be able to endure the next attack.

    "So you want to run now?" The middle-aged man charged forward, his movements crushing the nearby stones. Several afterimages appeared as he moved, but they soon started to ovep and throw out simultaneous palm attacks. The old man grew desperate when he saw this attack, and he shot over towards Xi Qi, trying to redirect the attack towards her.

    Xi Qi screamed, and although she wanted to escape, it was impossible for her to get away from Enlighters with her level of strength.

    Xi Qi was instantly captured by the old man, and he threw her behind him. Her face turned white.

    As far as the middle-aged man was concerned, it did not matter who faced his attack, as both Xi Qi and the old man were about to die. His attack mmed forward. He was absolutely confident that this attack would not only strike the woman, but also continue on and kill the old man. The middle-aged man knew at this moment that his future had changed. He was now able to join one of the more powerful organizations, such as a World Imprinter¡¯s family or maybe even the Daosource Sect.

    Xi Qi watched as the middle-aged man''s palm drew closer and closer. The fear of death made it hard for her to even breathe.

 Chapter 1794: I Can Do It

    Chapter 1794: I Can Do It

    At the most critical moment, the obnoxious fish leaped forward and blocked the middle-aged man¡¯s attack, preventing it from striking Xi Qi. There was a bang, and both the fish and Xi Qi were sent flying into the ground. However, they were both fine and had only been pushed away.

    More importantly, the attack had been negated.

    The old man looked back and was surprised at what he saw, as he had not expected a little girl to block such an attack.

    The middle-aged mannded on the ground and stared at the fish in disbelief. What had just happened? Had his attack been blocked by a fish?

    "The pain¡¯s killing me, you despicable two-legs! Kneel down to Lord Fish! You dared to touch Lord Fish''s noble body! You¡¯ll be a ve for 10,000 years! 10,000 years!" the fish screamed as it flopped up and down on top of Xi Qi''s head.

    As for Xi Qi, she rubbed her shoulder, as she had been slightly hurt when she had crashed into the hard stone.

    The middle-aged man continued to stare at the fish. "How are you able to talk?"

    The fish pointed a fin at the man. "Kneel to Lord Fish! Lord Fish might consider reducing your sentence as a ve by a month! Lord Fish is furious that anyone dared to touch his noble body! The more I think about it, the angrier I¡¯m getting! No, Lord Fish will enve you for a million years! No, 10 million years! Kneel down before Lord Fish!"

    Further back, the old man sucked in a cold breath as he stared at Xi Qi for a moment. After that, the old man fled without another nce behind.

    The middle-aged man gave a derisive snort. He had already intended to chase down the old man regardless of what happened with Xi Qi. "You can¡¯t escape today. You¡¯re going to die."

    The old man gritted his teeth. "This old man no longer has any qualms with you, so why are you intent on killing us both?"

    "This is the end of your life." The middle-aged man once again began to go through the movements of the battle technique that he had learned from the stone. His hand thrust forward and pierced the void tond on the old man¡¯s back, but the old man had already pulled out his shield. However, his earlier suspicion was proven correct; the shield was not able to withstand a second attack. The palm pierced through the old man¡¯s body, and blood sttered on the shattered stones as the old man fell to the ground.

    The middle-aged man nced over, but it was clear the old man was already at death¡¯s door. Then, he turned back to Xi Qi and looked down at her. "Little girl, what''s the deal with your fish?"

    Xi Qi''s had gone pale, and her fingers were touching her cosmic ring. She had made her decision to fight.

    "You two-legged beast, didn¡¯t you hear Lord Fish¡¯smand to kneel? I¡¯ll warn you that Lord Fish is looking for his younger brother toe out and kill you! Little Bai, Little Wang, Little Lu, where are you? Get over here and kill this two-legs for Lord Fish!" The fish continued screaming as it jumped up and down.

    Xi Qi''s face showed her embarrassment at this moment.

    A cold glint appeared in the middle-aged man''s eyes. "Absurd."

    While he spoke, he casually swung a hand forward, intending to eliminate Xi Qi. However, another person suddenly appeared in front of the man and caught his hand. The man found himself unable to move his hand at all.

    The middle-aged man was terrified, and he stared at the young man who had appeared in front of him so suddenly. When had this youth shown up?

    The middle-aged man let out a scream as his arm was torn off, and he roared, "Release me!"

    An imprint appeared behind the man as his remaining hand used the battle technique that he had learned from the stone, but this attack was also easily caught.

    "It¡¯s an impressive battle technique, but unfortunately for you, it¡¯s useless against me," the young man said as he tossed the middle-aged man away as though disposing of some trash. The young man then turned his focus to Xi Qi. "This is quite the coincidence."

    Xi Qi stared nkly at the young man as she joyfully cried out, "Big- Big Brother Lu!"

    Naturally, Lu Yin was the person who had appeared. He had made his move the moment he had seen the middle-aged man about to attack Xi Qi. Lu Yin had used the Ce Secret Art to move in front of the middle-aged man and block his attack.

    "Huh? You¡¯re a very familiar two-legs. Are you here to pay homage to Lord Fish? Hurry up and kneel! Lord Fish will grant you an opportunity, and as long as you agree to serve Lord Fish, Lord Fish will teach you invincible battle techniques! This one has already been with Lord Fish for a long time, but Lord Fish hasn¡¯t taught her anything. Hurry up! Lord Fish feels that you¡¯re very promising!" the fish said while pping its fins about.

    Xi Qi could do nothing about the fish. It was about to smash her head, but she had already be used to such treatment. She no longer even worried about things like concussions.

    Lu Yin stared at the arrogant fish. This thing had such a nasty mouth. If Ku Wei were present, he could let the two fight each other for a long time. "What happened? Did you decide toe here too?"

    Xi Qi nodded. "I was on my way to find a sourcebox when I happened to find one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, and this insisted on meing in."

    She pointed to the fish on her head as she spoke.

    Lu Yinughed. "You¡¯re quite obedient."

    Xi Qi pursed her lips and muttered, "If I don¡¯t listen, its mouth will be the death of me."

    "Skilled two-legs, Lord Fish is speaking to you! Hurry up and kneel to Lord Fish, and Lord Fish will grant you an opportunity!¡± The fish was clearly excited and thrilled to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no intention of paying even the slightest bit of attention to the fish. A little ways behind them, the middle-aged man who had been tossed aside was staring at Lu Yin. He had finally remembered who this youth was. "It¡¯s you, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance!"

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the man. "That¡¯s me."

    The man grew terrified. "I¡¯ve learned my lesson today! I¡¯ll excuse myself now!¡±

    He turned to flee.

    Lu Yin gently waved a hand out, and the wind that he stirred up pierced a hole through the man¡¯s neck. The middle-aged man had not expected Lu Yin to actually kill him, and he clutched at his neck as he slowly sank to the ground.

    The man had looked resentful of Lu Yin¡¯s interference, and Lu Yin had been reminded of a simr scene in the past that had resulted in Autumnfrost Qing and others trying to attack Frostwave Weave. Lu Yin did not want to leave such a threat around to bother him again. This person would definitely sneak around and stir up trouble if he did not have the strength for a direct fight. Such people were infuriating to deal with, and they could quickly create an irreversible situation.

    There were too many simr conflicts in the universe, and Xi Qi was already used to seeing such things. She simply excitedly dragged Lu Yin back to the shattered stone she had seen earlier. "Brother Lu, look! This is the battle technique that that man used against you and me. He just learned it here, and his strength suddenly spiked."

    Lu Yin looked at the images demonstrating the battle technique¡¯s method that had been engraved on the stone, but he just shook his head. ¡°You go ahead and learn this. It''s useless for me."

    Xi Qi snorted, but she still turned around and started carefully studying the images.

    The battle technique was one that was best suited for an Enlighter, but since Lu Yin¡¯sbat strength matched that of Envoys, a technique of this level would not be able to help him much at all. However, it waspletely different for Xi Qi.

    After looking around Burial Garden for a bit, Lu Yin had to wonder if it really was that easy toe across a lucky chance. First there had been that human blood fruit, and now there was this impressive battle technique. Lu Yin was confident that he woulde across even more opportunities as time passed. If this was how it was in Burial Garden, it would prove to be an incredible boon to humanity. If that was the case, why did Burial Garden remain closed? It had opened now, but why had it not opened earlier? Just because of the fiends? That seemed impossible.

    It took only a short bit of time for Xi Qi to learn the battle technique, and she knew that it would benefit her greatly, and yet she was continuously mocked and ridiculed by the fish. ¡°This is such amon technique! Lord Fish can teach you a hundred different techniques at this level, so why are you treating this like a treasure? This is humiliating! How can Lord Fish ever let Lord Fish¡¯s friends know that his mount is so pathetic? What will be of Lord Fish¡¯s self-esteem? Lord Fish wants to change mounts!"

    "Thank you," Xi Qi could not resist answering the fish¡¯sstment.

    The fish kept pping her with its fins. "What did you just say? Say that again! Believe it or not, do you have any idea how many people once dreamed of bing Lord Fish¡¯s mount? Back then, even though those people wanted the opportunity, Lord Fish refused! You should understand your situation and appreciate how to take advantage of it! Lord Fish¡­"

    Lu Yin picked at his ears.

    The fish¡¯s eyes shifted over to Lu Yin, and it quickly continued to say, "Familiar two-legs, you must listen carefully to all that Lord Fish has to say! Lord Fish will teach you how to be human. Understand that back then¡­"

    ¡­

    "Brother Lu, I''m sorry, but please take me with you," Xi Qi said while blushing.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m just wandering aimlessly, so let¡¯s take a walk."

    Xi Qi offered some small thanks, as she understood that the situation was much different from the past. Lu Yin had climbed to a lofty position, and his strength was beyond herprehension. Xi Qi could not help but think back to when they had first met and how simr their strength had been at that time. In fact, Xi Qi had been one of the Distinguished Five. But how could Xi Qi evenpare to Lu Yin anymore? Not even the Ten Arbiters could keep up with his progress.

    This person was truly impressive.

    "Brother Lu, you- are you really a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker?" Xi Qi asked.

    "Yeah, two stars, but it¡¯s really difficult to improve from there."

    "That¡¯s amazing! I¡¯m not even close to that. I actually haven¡¯t improved very much," Xi Qi said dejectedly.

    The fish pped her head. "Shame! Shame! Shame for Lord Fish! What two star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker? With Lord Fish¡¯s training, sooner orter you¡¯ll be like an ancestor to all other Lockbreakers! Don¡¯t embarrass Lord Fish. Come, shout with Lord Fish, ¡®I can do it!¡¯ Shout ¡®I can do it!¡¯"

    Xi Qi mumbled, "I- I can do it."

    "Again! ¡®I can do it!¡¯"

    "I can do it¡­"

    "Listen to me. Shout again, louder! ¡®I can do it!"

    "I- I can do it!¡± Xi Qi shouted with all her might while fiercely blushing.

    "¡®I can do it!¡¯"

    "I can do it!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was left speechless, but he finally understood why the despicable fish always remained with Xi Qi: she actually listened to it! Lu Yin considered the possibility of a fish mounted on top of his head and ordering him to shout ¡°I can do it!¡± Just the thought of it gave him chills. This sort of behavior was on the same level as the mushroom head infatuation of the Shi Chi duo.

    The two people continued to walk through the rubble of shattered stones for several more days before they finally saw a green field off in the distance, which put them in a much better mood.

    Lu Yin had been worried about the feeling of being followed returning the entire time he had been in the region with the shattered stones, so he heaved a sigh of relief when they left the area.

    "This looks very familiar," the fishmented as it lifted its head up high and stared at the green region up ahead. It then turned to look back at the shattered stones. "Strange¡­"

    Lu Yin said, "Do your best to remember. Maybe something wille back to you."

    The fish pointed a fin straight at Lu Yin. "Familiar two-legs, Lord Fish has always felt that there¡¯s something very familiar about you¡­ Come, let Lord Fish touch and pat you! Maybe Lord Fish can remember. Yes, maybe one of your ancestors was once Lord Fish¡¯s mount!"

    The fish¡¯s words caused Xi Qi¡¯s face to turn purple, and she covered the fish¡¯s mouth as quickly as possible and nervously nced over at Lu Yin, worried that he might have gotten upset.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This nasty fish really should not even speak.

    "I''m sorry, Brother Lu! I''m sorry!" All Xi Qi could do was repeatedly apologize.

    Lu Yin just rolled his eyes.

    Not long after they entered the green region, Lu Yin sensed someone approaching, and it was another acquaintance: Zhu San.

    Zhu San was part of Millions City¡¯s Zhu family. The family had once tried to take control of Millions City, andter, Millions City had joined the Great Eastern Alliance. That meant that the Zhu family had also joined the alliance.

    The Zhu family was actually a branch of the Seven Courts¡¯ Ce family, and Lu Yin had acquired his Ce Secret Art from the Zhu family¡¯s blood with Mister Mu¡¯s assistance.

    Zhu San was not walking normally, and he instead looked like he was trying to dodge something, and he identally ran straight into Lu Yin¡¯s domain that had been spread out. The moment Zhu San entered the domain, he felt like he had entered a swamp, and his entire body felt suppressed. He nervously looked around. "Might I ask which senior is here? This junior was disrespectful, but I ask Senior to show themselves."

    Lu Yin led Xi Qi towards Zhu San, and Zhu San soon saw the two people.

    However, Zhu San reacted like he saw a ghost when he saw Lu Yin, and panic filled his eyes.

    The Zhu family had been a part of Millions City, and they had agreed to join the Great Eastern Alliance. But when Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World, the Zhu family had moved from Millions City to the Neoverse and even cut off all contact and interactions with Millions City. At the moment, Zhu San felt like he was reuniting with a former master whom he had betrayed.

 Chapter 1795: Cautious

    Chapter 1795: Cautious

    Lu Yin looked at Zhu San and showed a half-smile. "It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve seen each other."

    Zhu San bowed low. "Alliance Leader Lu."

    "There¡¯s no need to call me Alliance Leader Lu. After all, your Zhu family has returned to the Ce family, which means that you¡¯re no longer a part of the Great Eastern Alliance," Lu Yin replied.

    Xi Qi watched the two with curiosity.

    Zhu San¡¯s tone turned bitter. "The Zhu family was always part of the Ce family, and we were simply sent to Millions City. Returning to the Ce family was also done because of orders we received, not because we wished to betray you, Alliance Leader."

    "I know. What are you doing right now? You look like you¡¯re trying to avoid something." Lu Yin was curious.

    Zhu San suddenly remembered something, and he quickly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, your alliance¡¯s Liu Tianmu is in danger! There¡¯s a lucky opportunity behind me where I just came from, but there are powerhouses from the Sixth Maind who are fighting against Liu Tianmu. They even have an Envoy!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed when he heard Zhu San¡¯s story, and he quickly moved forward with both Zhu San and Xi Qi in tow.

    It was impossible for Liu Tianmu to fight against an Envoy, but since the Sword Sect had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, it meant that Liu Tianmu had be one of Lu Yin¡¯s people. Naturally, Lu Yin would move to help out if his people were being bullied.

    "How strong is the Envoy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhu San replied, "They¡¯re an Imprinter."

    Lu Yin nodded. That was no issue for him. As long as he was not up against a World Imprinter or someone even more powerful, Lu Yin would be alright. At the moment, his only worries were for Liu Tianmu.

    It did not take Lu Yin too long to arrive at the ce that Zhu San had mentioned.

    They were immediately met with the sight of sword qi crisscrossing through the sky as Liu Tianmu fought against an opponent. Further back, Hui Santong was fighting against Fan Shun, who had once been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmlings.

    As for the Imprinter whom Zhu San had mentioned, the expert was not participating in the battles. In fact, far from participating, the person was sipping on tea at the moment.

    Xi Qi''s eyes went wide at the sight of an elegant old man who was sipping his tea in the distance. Was this really the proper ce to enjoy tea?

    Even the fish was stunned by this sight.

    While he enjoyed his tea, the old man was giving pointers to the Sixth Maind cultivator who was fighting against Liu Tianmu. There was no need for the old man to say anything regarding the battle between Fan Shun and Hui Santong. Fan Shun had his Forest World technique as well as several secret techniques. The fight was far fromparable to the excitement of Liu Tianmu''s battle.

    A young man was fighting Liu Tianmu, but he was already a Hunter, though he was not quite strong enough to face Liu Tianmu.

    Another person released attacks, preventing Liu Tianmu fromnding any fatal attacks on the Hunter. Without this, the young man would not have even been able to hold his sword against Liu Tianmu.

    "That¡¯s right, just treat this as a sparring match with one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters. This will allow yourbat experience to improve greatly. Not all of the Realmling positions have been filled, and your grandpa hopes that you¡¯ll be able to win one of those positions one day. You already have the foundation to qualify," the old man slowly said as he addressed the young Hunter.

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s sword shed, and although the young Hunter hurriedly avoided the attack, it was impossible. Fortunately for the young man, an Enlighter blocked the attack, but not even the Enlighter dared to receive Liu Tianmu¡¯s attacks carelessly even though he had a power level of over 300,000.

    Liu Tianmu had a cold expression on her face as she thrust her sword forward with the edge flipped over. She attacked the Enlighter with the Fifth Sword, and proceeded up to the Eleventh Sword. As soon as she finished, she started casting the Twelfth Sword.

    The Imprinter sipping tea in the distance shouted, "Didn¡¯t this old man tell you not to use those sorts of techniques? Those will kill Wu She, don''t you get it?" An overpowering force shot out from the true universe and shattered Liu Tianmu''s sword.

    Liu Tianmu spun around, and her star energy condensed to form another sword. She faced the Imprinter and released the Thirteenth Sword.

    She had previously had the courage to challenge Lu Yin even though she knew that he could defeat Envoys. There was no way that she would be intimidated by this Imprinter.

    The old man was so furious that he stepped forward and disappeared. Liu Tianmu''s eyes were determined, and the star energy sword in her hand dissipated before forming a long ck sword.

    She waited. She was waiting for the old man to attack her after emerging from the true universe. This was the same tactic that she had used to challenge Lu Yin: she simply hoped that he would not be able to endure her attack.

    The sword technique that she was preparing to use had nothing to do with one¡¯s cultivation.

    The old man emerged behind Liu Tianmu, and she spun around and attacked with her sword, but the old man disappeared even before Liu Tianmu managed to finish turning around. He was not there when the sword shed through the air.

    Liu Tianmu''s expression changed slightly, as this Imprinter had avoided her attack before it couldnd. He was an Imprinter, and he was facing her, who was both a junior and an Enlighter; why was he still being so cautious?

    "Watch out!" Hui Santong shouted.

    The Enlighter behind Liu Tianmu raised a hand and attacked her shoulder with a hidden weapon. Her arm instantly turned numb, and her sword fell from her grasp, nging onto the ground. The young Hunter grinned and shot towards Liu Tianmu, his hand stretched out towards her. "I want to see just how powerful the Fifth Maind¡¯s Arbiter Liu Tianmu really is."

    He reached for her neck, grabbing Liu Tianmu from behind and slightly to the side. The Imprinter appeared, looking calm and rxed while the Enlighter just stared warily at the swordswoman even though he knew that she could not move after being struck by his sneak attack.

    Just as the young Hunter¡¯s hand was about to touch Liu Tianmu''s neck, her entire body twisted.

    The Imprinter was stunned. "No! Get back!"

    While he shouted, his stellr energy burst forth and suppressed all of the star energy in the immediate area as he attempted to restrict Liu Tianmu from doing anything at all.

    Unfortunately, he was toote. The Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords was a battle technique that introduced the concept of cultivating a domain as early as the Second Sword. Liu Tianmu did not even need to use star energy, as she simply used her domain to shatter the young man''s arm. Her domain struck like a thousand sharp des. The Hunter let out a scream, and countless sword cuts appeared all over his body as blood dripped to the ground.

    The Imprinter angrily shouted, "You bitch! Do you want to die?"

    Liu Tianmu stared at the old man with cold eyes. She was unable to move, and she was powerless to resist the Imprinter¡¯s attacks. Even if she had not beenpletely restrained, she would still be helpless against this man. Not everyone was Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, golden meteors fell from above, aimed at where the Imprinter would attack Liu Tianmu. Hui Santong had made a move, but the old man just snorted in contempt and waved a hand to smash the meteors away. Stellr energy swept out once more, sting Liu Tianmu aside. When she struck the ground, she spat out blood.

    Hui Santong was facing a crisis of his own. Fan Shun had used Reversal Cycle, and Hui Santong¡¯s eyes grew incredibly focused as he tried to counter with Omnibreak. This was a very dangerous move, but he managed to find a hole in Fan Shun¡¯s Reversal Cycle and escape. However, the moment he escaped from the secret technique, Hui Santong found himself surrounded by trees and unable to move.

    "Little girl, if I tell you that you can¡¯t survive, then you have no choice but to die.¡± The Imprinter stared at Liu Tianmu with eyes that zed with cruelty and savageness.

    Liu Tianmu''s expression remained the same as ever, though her eyes were filled with reluctance and killing intent as she stared at the old man.

    However, the old man¡¯s foot stopped just as he was about to step onto Liu Tianmu''s arm. It was not just the old man either; Fan Shun and the Enlighter were also frozen in ce. It was not even that they were unable to move, but rather they had been frozen stiff. They were all being suppressed by a domain, and it was as if like they had sunk into a quagmire. This domain was shockingly powerful, and even the Imprinter was only able to move his head very slowly.

    Lu Yin was silently standing in ce a few thousand meters away from the Imprinter, his hands sped behind his back. He silently stared at the Imprinter.

    The old man¡¯s pupils constricted when he saw Lu Yin''s face, and he took a step back as he stared at Lu Yin. "The Fifth Maind¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu."

    Liu Tianmu also turned her head, though she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Lu Yin. As she turned around, her sses fell off, exposing her face. She looked a bit silly without them.

    This surprised Lu Yin. Of the Ten Arbiters, Ling Gong was a cute little girl, so she hid her appearance within a bulky armor. It turned out that Liu Tianmu had a rxed and natural beauty, so was she trying to hide that with her sses? It seemed like everyone was trying to disguise themselves.

    A bit further away, Fan Shun was still able to move, but his heart dropped when he saw Lu Yin.

    If it was still during ZENITH, Fan Shun would not feel fear towards Lu Yin. Even though he didn¡¯t have any hope of defeating Lu Yin back then, Lu Yin had still been someone within the same realm of strength as him. However, things had changed. Lu Yin had disappeared for years after ZENITH, and when he returned, there were rumors that he had be capable of fighting against Envoys and even defeating them.

    There were also quite a few Envoys in the Great Eastern Alliance, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength was still unfathomable. He was qualified to speak with World Imprinters and even Cosmic Imprinters. Fan Shun was no longer on the same level as Lu Yin.

    "Who gave you the courage to attack me?" Lu Yin asked in a casual tone as he stared at the Imprinter.

    The Imprinter¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Young man, don''t be foolish. While I know that you have powerhouses protecting you, we¡¯re in Burial Garden right now. Everyone is separated when they enter, so do you really think that your powerhouse can get here in time to protect you?"

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled into a smile. "Tell me, what do you consider a powerhouse to be? Is it someone who can beat you? If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯m a powerhouse."

    The Imprinter clenched his fists and disappeared. He had entered the true universe and then instantly attacked.

    In the distance, Zhu San''s face went pale. This person was an Envoy! An Envoy! Zhu San had no idea what it took to fight against such a powerful expert.

    Excitement danced in Xi Qi''s eyes. Even though she was confused at the moment, she knew that Lu Yin definitely was not a stupidly stubborn person, so she was certain that Lu Yin was confident in seeding if he had been willing toe to this Imprinter.

    The fish on Xi Qi¡¯s head kept pping its fins. "Beat him! Beat him, skilled two-legs! Beat him!"

    Lu Yin remained quietly standing where he was after the Imprinter entered the true universe. The man was able to see Lu Yin, but it was impossible for the young man to see the Imprinter. This was the greatest difference between Enlighters and Envoys. The other thing that made facing an Envoy as an Enlighter so terrifying was their stellr energy. The Imprinter could suppress Lu Yin¡¯s star energy, rendering itpletely useless. This young man was not the Imprinter¡¯s opponent. He might have a powerful domain, but it still was not enough to pose a threat.

    These were the Imprinter¡¯s thoughts, and yet he was a very cautious person. He had even dodged Liu Tianmu¡¯sst ditch attack, so there was no need to mention how he would act against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were still sped behind his back, and instead of turning to look at the Imprinter, he looked at Liu Tianmu lying on the ground. It was not readily certain if she was dead or alive. "You¡¯re facing the wrong sort of opponent. That old man¡¯s too cautious to face your Thirteenth Sword."

    Liu Tianmu¡¯s voice was indifferent, "Even if I had struck him with the Thirteenth Sword, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to defeat him. The Thirteenth Sword isn¡¯t invincible, and at best, I would only be able to injure him."

    "Have you learned the Fourteenth Sword?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Tianmu''s eyes twitched. "Not yet."

    "Misery is actually a sort of emotion. You already have a foundation in the Thirteenth Sword which you¡¯ve mastered, so you¡¯ll certainly be able to learn the Fourteenth Sword,¡± Lu Yin said. After the Sword Sect had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had started to regard Liu Tianmu differently from before. There was no longer any reason to be wary of the woman or the Sword Sect. Liu Tianmu had be one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s elites, so Lu Yin was willing to help her grow stronger if possible.

    Liu Tianmu stared at Lu Yin. "What about you? You¡¯ve also learned the Thirteenth Sword."

    Lu Yin gave her a small smile and then stretched out a hand. The sword that Liu Tianmu had taken from Liu Guai disappeared before reappearing in Lu Yin¡¯s hand. He shed at an empty portion of the sky with the sword. This was Misery, the Fourteenth Sword.

 Chapter 1796: What Went Wrong?

    Chapter 1796: What Went Wrong?

    The Imprinter was still watching everything from the true universe. He was waiting for an opportunity to attack, but he would have never imagined that Lu Yin would attack first. Actually, how could he even see the Imprinter? Was his attack actually able to enter the true universe?

    Overthinking it was useless, and the Imprinter simply wanted to evade the attack. However, he soon realized that it was impossible to avoid the falling sword. Both the Thirteenth Sword and the Fourteenth Sword were impossible to evade; as long as one was within attack range, they would be struck.

    The void twisted, and the Imprinter stumbled out of the true universe. His steps were unsteady, and his face was pale. He clutched at his heart as he stared at Lu Yin. After a moment, he suddenly spat out blood and sank to the ground. Sorrow welled up from his heart and caused him to fall into despair. It was an unbearable feeling.

    Puff!

    Another mouthful of blood was spat out. The Imprinter''s chest was stained from the blood, and his entire body started trembling.

    Lu Yin lowered the sword. "Were you able to see it clearly?"

    Liu Tianmu was not surprised to see that Lu Yin had defeated an Imprinter with a single sword strike. This Imprinter had been incredibly cautious and had hidden himself in the true universe and had never even revealed his true strength. The man had underestimated Lu Yin far too much, so it was only natural that he would be defeated by a single sword strike.

    "I feel like this sword can''t really be treated as a true Fourteenth Sword, as there¡¯s no essential difference from the Thirteenth," Liu Tianmumented.

    Lu Yin tossed the sword back to Liu Tianmu. In fact, he also felt the same way. The Fourteenth Sword absolutely surpassed the Thirteenth Sword, but it was still a sword technique that used emotion. Liu Huang had thought that he had created the Fourteenth Sword, but Lu Yin had thought for a while that Misery was actually just an advanced version of the Thirteenth Sword, much like Liu Guai''s alternative Thirteenth Sword.

    The nearby Enlighter was staring at Lu Yin in abject horror. What should he do? Escape? That was impossible. Attack? There was no way the Enlighter was Lu Yin¡¯s opponent. The man slowly fell into despair.

    Hui Santong freed himself from Fan Shun¡¯s Forest World. He panted for breath and stared at Fan Shun. "Let¡¯s go again."

    Fan Shun ignored him and instead stared at Lu Yin. He was able to fully understand what Liu Tianmu and the others felt when they saw Lu Yin. This guy was too much of a freak, and he simply was not even in the same category as the rest of them.

    Zhu San moved over to help Liu Tianmu up, and at the same time, the despicable fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head kept praising Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was considering how he should deal with these Sixth Maind cultivators. The easiest option would simply be to kill them all.

    At this time, the Imprinter coughed a few times and haltingly said, "All- Alliance Leader Lu, I- I want to purchase my- my life."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Purchase your life?"

    The Imprinter wiped away the blood that was at the corners of his mouth. "I know something that Alliance Leader Lu needs, and I also have many things in my cosmic ring. This should be enough to buy my life."

    Lu Yinughed. "I can just kill you and then use your blood to open your cosmic ring. Whatever you have is already mine."

    The Imprinter removed the ring and replied, "Alliance Leader, you can try, but I will sacrifice my cultivation and self-destruct the moment you attack. While I may not be your opponent, I can at least make sure that not a single drop of my blood remains after I self-destruct. You can be assured of that."

    The moment the old man finished speaking, he trembled. A palm print appeared on his chest from Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm. This was an invisible attack that not even an Envoy could react to.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms were powerful enough to instantly kill a badly wounded Imprinter.

    The old man slowly copsed to the ground.

    Lu Yin walked over, picked up the man¡¯s cosmic ring, and opened it with the dead man¡¯s blood. "I don''t like being threatened."

    The nearby Enlighter was terrified, and he turned and fled. However, Liu Tianmu had already regained a bit of her strength, and she released an attack with a swing of her sword.

    Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Liu Tianmu tond a hit on this Enlighter, even with the Thirteenth Sword. However this person had his senses in a bunch because of Lu Yin.

    As for the young Hunter whom Liu Tianmu had injured earlier, he was already dead.

    At this point, Fan Shun was the only person from the Sixth Maind who was still alive.

    Hui Santong looked at his former opponent with a yful look, but Fan Shun remained calm. "Alliance Leader Lu, I also want to buy my own life."

    Lu Yin had already dumped out everything from the Imprinter¡¯s cosmic ring, but his expression turned hostile when he heard Fan Shun¡¯s words. "Are you also trying to threaten me?"

    Fan Shun looked up. "No threat. I just want to make a deal. It¡¯s about the Qing Hua World."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Qing Hua World was something that had been created by Master Qing Hua. "Do you intend to trade Master Qing Hua''s secret for your own life?"

    "That¡¯s right. I know that Alliance Leader Lu has contacted Master Qing Hua in the past. To tell the truth, my Sixth Maind is really no different from your Fifth Maind. You have your Astral Beast Domain, the Technocracy, and the Human Domain. For us, the three Progenitors¡¯ Territories are all hostile to each other. Even different realms from the same territory, such as the Brahman Realm, East Realm, and Rock Realm in the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory will dere war on each other. Thergest family in the Brahman Realm was my Brahman family, as we had a Cosmic Imprinter. However, the appearance of the Qing Hua World has changed everything, so I¡¯m happy to tell you some things about Master Qing Hua."

    Lu Yin was convinced. He was quite concerned about the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans, one of whom was Qing Hua. "Alright, tell me. If I feel that it¡¯s enough, I promise to let you live. You can trust my promises.¡±

    Fan Shun said, "Okay, I¡¯ll believe you."

    Not long after, Fan Shun left, as Lu Yin had let him go.

    Hui Santong felt an itch in his heart, and he quickly approached Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, what did Fan Shun tell you for you to actually let him go?"

    Both Liu Tianmu and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Imprinter had been drawn to this particr ce because of a certain opportunity. Letting Fan Shun go would likely attract powerhouses from the Sixth Maind. Hui Santong did not think that Lu Yin would not realize this, and yet even still, Fan Shun had been released. It was clear that whatever secret Fan Shun had shared was not minor.

    Lu Yin gave Hui Santong a sideways nce. "It¡¯s got nothing to do with you."

    Hui Santong did not relent, as he was sufficiently thick-skinned to keep pushing. "My Hui family is famous for our intelligence, and it¡¯s possible that Brother Lu might have been deceived. Tell me, and I¡¯d be happy to help my brother and your team. Actually, my Hui family has already ced spies within the Sixth Maind, a lot of them. I¡¯ve even heard some news that you¡¯ll be interested in."

    "Go ahead and say it, and we¡¯ll see if I¡¯m interested or not," Lu Yin responded in a solemn manner.

    Hui Santong grinned. "Madam Hong¡¯s disappeared. Do you have any idea where she might be?"

    Lu Yin''s eyebrows twitched. "What does that have to do with me?"

    Hui Santong answered proudly. "Don''t think that we don''t know. Brother Lu, you and Madam Hong have had some conflicts in the past, and she also attacked the Sea King in the Starfall Sea in the past. She eventually captured him, and even captured the colossal giantster on. Tell me, Brother Lu, do you really not care where Madam Hong is?"

    "Okay, I care. So where is she?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hui Santong answered with a shrewd expression, "First tell me what you learned from Fan Shun."

    "Let''s first talk about where Madam Hong is," Lu Yin answered in an indifferent tone.

    Hui Santong was certain that Lu Yin was very interested in Madam Hong¡¯s whereabouts; was he putting on an act to try to trick him? Like that would work! "You share first."

    "Then just forget it." Lu Yin answered very bluntly, and he acted so matter-of-factly about it that Hui Santong started to doubt everything he knew.

    Hui Santong stared at Lu Yin as he browsed through the items that had been in the Imprinter¡¯s cosmic ring. Did this person really not care? That should be impossible! Hui Santong knew that his analysis had to be urate, as Lu Yin had shed with Madam Hong multiple times, and there were likely some hidden matters between the two as well. How could Lu Yin not care about Madam Hong''s whereabouts? No, this should be an act. It had to be an act.

    "Brother Lu, Madam Hong''s situation right now is rather unusual, and only my Hui family knows where she is. You- do you really not want to know? I''ll only ask this once." Hui Santong was actually trying to anger Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin was in a good mood at the moment, as he had just picked up 120 million star essence from the dead Imprinter. It was a nice windfall, though it was no surprise. After all, the man had been an Envoy.

    Even though 120 million star essence was not too much, it was much better than nothing.

    "Brother Lu, Madam Hong''s location is actually rted to an Empyrean Imprinter. My Hui family is absolutely certain about this. Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to know?" Hui Santong asked again. He did not want to give up.

    Lu Yin nced over. "What was that?"

    Hui Santong¡¯s mouth fell open. This was impossible! He was Hui Santong, a descendant of the Hui family. The Hui family mirrored their surname, which meant intelligence. Every single member of the Hui family was very bright while Lu Yin focused solely on strength. Hui Santong had carefully analyzed Lu Yin, or to be more urate, the entire Hui family had analyzed Lu Yin. His reaction did not fit their analysis at all.

    He should be very interested in anything regarding Madam Hong, so what was wrong? It truly looked like Lu Yin did not care about this information, but that should be impossible. Could an analysis made by the entire Hui family be wrong?

    Of course, it was not that Lu Yin did not care about Madam Hong, but rather that he had ess to even more information than Hui Santong. From what Lu Yin had heard, it seemed that the Hui family did not actually know Madam Hong¡¯s exact location; rather, they just suspected that her disappearance was rted to Bluedome Elder. That information was quite outdated.

    Having ess to current information was vital. This was something that Lu Yin was bing increasingly convinced of.

    A stone pir sporadically appeared in the location where Lu Yin and the others were. It would appear and disappear randomly, but there was always a piece of jade at the top of the pir. That jade was the opportunity.

    Liu Tianmu had been the first to arrive, followed by the people from the Sixth Maind.

    The young Hunter who wanted to be a Realmling was someone with amazing luck, as he had actually met up with an Imprinter from his own family. This was why Liu Tianmu had been forced to act as his sparring partner.

    When Hui Santong had arrived, he had not noticed the Imprinter, nor had Fan Shun when he showed up. However, an Imprinter could have easily crushed either of them with a single finger.

    Zhu San had been the only lucky one, as he had also stumbled upon the same ce as everyone else, but he had managed to slip away as the Imprinter had not cared about Zhu San.

    "That old man¡¯s death certainly proves that even the roots have to be removed. You can¡¯t underestimate anyone, not even ants," Hui Santong observed.

    Zhu San nced over and thought to himself, Your whole family is ants!

    Of course, he only dared to think that within his own mind, and he would never say such words aloud. The Hui family was just as powerful as the Ce family, and neither was a power that Zhu San could antagonize.

    Still, there would be a day when he was strong enough to do so! At that time, he would not fear anything. Zhu San was someone who wore women''s clothes, so who couldpare to him in the entire universe? He actually felt a bit proud of himself.

    "He¡¯s going to tell others about this ce, and powerful experts wille over. Brother Lu, you shouldn''t have let Fan Shun go," Hui Santong added.

    "Hey, two-legged beast! You seem very familiar," the fish said. It had been staring at Hui Santong for a long time.

    Hui Santong pursed his lips. He had already heard this vile fish¡¯s tongue, and he had no interest in engaging with the creature.

    Xi Qi quickly moved away, only to have her head beaten by the fish. Her head was covered with bruises left by the fish.

    "Brother Lu, are you really not interested in where Madam Hong is?" Hui Santong asked onest time before giving up.

    Lu Yin was serious. "No interest."

    A bitter expression appeared on Hui Santong''s face. Lu Yin''s reaction to this information had caused Hui Santong to doubt his family¡¯spetence. Something had to be wrong! This just should not be right. There was no way that Lu Yin should have this reaction.

 Chapter 1797: Jiu Han

    Chapter 1797: Jiu Han

    "Oh, right. I heard that your ancestor went back home," Lu Yin remarked.

    Hui Santong''s expression grew stiff. These words sounded like a curse in his ears, though they were also true. "Ancestor Hui Kong has returned. I heard that Brother Lu met our ancestor in the Technocracy."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯m just d that Brother Hui Kong made it back safely."

    The corner of Hui Santong''s eye twitched. "Our ancestor mentioned Brother Lu."

    "Brother Hui Kong and I hit it off."

    "Our ancestor asked my Hui family to help Brother Lu whenever possible."

    "My brother really cares for me."

    Hui Santong''s face started to turn purple. He was saying "ancestor" while this guy was saying "brother." Lu Yin was clearly taking advantage of his rtionship with the Hui family¡¯s ancestor, the bastard!

    "By the way, here are the Roots of Intelligence that our ancestor sent to Brother Lu. I came across one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates while on my way to deliver them to zing Mist Flowzone," Hui Santong exined as he handed over a few Roots of Intelligence to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This was great news. "Please give Brother Hui Kong my thanks, and also tell him that I really appreciate you bringing them to me."

    The Roots of Intelligence that the Hui family had raised in the current era were far inferior to what Progenitor Hui had left behind.

    Still, Lu Yin was quite satisfied. He could still try to Enhance the root or even nt it. He had several options, but he really did need a true Root of Intelligence to help him improve his strength.

    Hui Santong reacted despondently, and he nced around, trying to find some way to leave. Even if he stayed, he would not be able to acquire the piece of jade.

    Coincidentally, the stone pir from before reappeared at this moment.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he looked up at the towering stone pir that had suddenly appeared. "Did you try to get it?"

    Liu Tianmu had not recovered from her injuries yet, and her face was still quite pale. "Yes, but the pir disappeared before I could reach the top of it."

    "That fast?" Lu Yin was startled, but he instinctively shot upwards to try even as he spoke.

    However, before he could do anything, someone else had already appeared at the top of the stone pir with a hand outstretched to grab the piece of jade. Lu Yin instantly attacked with a Vacuum Palm, but it did nothing at all to the man.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed; this was not good. This person was a powerhouse.

    The pir disappeared, and the man who had grabbed the jade descended from the sky and gentlynded on the ground. An unparalleled strength burst out that caused the void to tremble, and Lu Yin and the others were all pushed back.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew tightly focused the moment he saw the expert¡¯s face. "Xia Yi?"

    The man who had grabbed the jade from the pir was indeed Xia Yi, the patriarch of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family. Lu Yin had met the man twice before: once outside of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and once in the Cosmic Sea.

    The two were enemies, not friends. Xia Yi had been Xia Jiuyou¡¯s father, and Lu Yin had plotted against Xia Jiuyou with Xia Luo. Even though Xia Luo was also one of Xia Yi¡¯s sons, the man clearly favored Xia Jiuyou. The Xia patriarch clearly hoped for Lu Yin¡¯s death, and he had even attacked Lu Yin in the Cosmic Sea with the goal of taking control of the war¡¯s situation at that time.

    Xia Yi was an expert with a power level of more than 700,000, and he was also the Xia family¡¯s patriarch. However, he did not act how most experts from the senior generation did as he was willing tounch sneak attacks and had also willingly hidden his identity.

    Lu Yin had not expected to run into this person in Burial Garden.

    Hui Santong was simrly stunned, as he had also not expected to meet Xia Yi here.

    Xia Yi looked at Lu Yin with eyes that radiated hatred and a powerful killing intent. Lu Yin actually felt a flicker of fear.

    "Santong greets Uncle Xia." Hui Santong bowed.

    Xia Yi looked at the youth and nodded before turning back to focus on Lu Yin and casuallymenting, "You just attacked me."

    Lu Yin nervously replied, "I didn¡¯t know it was you, Senior Xia. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have done such a thing."

    "You mean to say that you wouldn¡¯t have attacked because it was useless. If you could have injured me, you definitely would have attacked, no?" Xia Yih retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "This junior doesn¡¯t understand Senior''s words."

    Hui Santong quickly bowed again and interjected, "Uncle Xia, why are you here? Did one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates appear in our Seven Courts¡¯ territory?"

    Xia Yi gave Lu Yin a long look before answering, "They appeared everywhere in the Human Domain, so that shouldn¡¯t be a surprise."

    Hui Santong frowned. "Burial Garden is an organization on the same level as our Seven Courts, so how could one of their gates have appeared in our territory? Is this because of some previous agreement?"

    Xia Yi finally looked at Hui Santong. "Ask your father when you return."

    The Envoy then refocused on Lu Yin. "This is the first time, but if you attack me again, you can¡¯t me me for being ruthless."

    The man then took a single step and vanished.

    Lu Yin was unable to discern where the man had gone.

    While Xia Yi had the same power level as Cang Zhou, a bit more than 700,000, the two had been onpletely different levels. One of them was the master of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family while the other had been the master of the Innerverse¡¯s Chaosgod Mountain. Cang Zhou had never been able topare to Xia Yi.

    Both Lu Yin and Hui Santong let out relieved sighs when they saw Xia Yi leave. If the man had actually attacked Lu Yin, Lu Yin had no confidence in being able to escape. The Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will was too fierce an attack, and Lu Yin was not certain that his bodysuit armor could withstand such an attack.

    "Brother Lu, you really are quite lucky that I happened to be here. Otherwise, Xia Yi might have attacked you." Hui Santong sighed and shamelessly took all of the credit.

    Lu Yin wondered to himself, "Xia Yi is the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, so why would he enter Burial Garden? Are the other members of the Xia family dead?"

    Hui Santong shrugged. "When Xia Luo reced Xia Jiuyou, the Xia family¡¯s ancestor got upset at Xia Yi, and he started constantly making trouble for Xia Yi. He¡¯s a patriarch, and yet he doesn¡¯t live up to his position. What else can he do besides enter Burial Garden to try his luck?"

    Lu Yin understood. If Xia Ji was upset with Xia Yi, then it made sense for the patriarch to enter Burial Garden.

    "It¡¯s really pathetic. The man¡¯s the patriarch of one of the Seven Courts, and yet he¡¯s been driven to the point where he¡¯s out hunting for lucky opportunities like a youth. He probably hates Xia Ji to the point of wishing for the old man¡¯s death.¡± Hui Santong looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Also, almost all of his grievances are because of you. Brother Lu, you need to be careful. He didn¡¯t attack you because I was here with you. If I¡¯m not with you¡­"

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine, and he remembered being attacked by Xia Yi in the Cosmic Sea. That man was rotten to the core, so it really would not be surprising if he did something so shameless.

    "Did that jade stone just disappear?" Xi Qi whispered as the stone pir disappeared from before her eyes.

    Lu Yinined, "No, but it didn¡¯t be ours. It wasn¡¯t meant for us after all."

    The annoying fish pped its fins about. "Stupid! You should have grabbed it! Taken everything! Everything belongs to Lord Fish, so go and get it back for Lord Fish, skilled two-legs. Lord Fish wants that treasure!"

    Hui Santong scratched his head. "I''m heading out. I don¡¯t want Fan Shun leaking information to the Sixth Maind and having some powerhouse think that we grabbed the jade. That would be a problem."

    Before leaving, he waved to Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, I already told you to take care. Remember that Xia Yi isn¡¯t known for his kindness. He is actually infamous for being vengeful and shameless."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he started looking around. He intended to find one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates and leave.

    Hui Santong did not make it very far before he came flying back at top speed. His face was pale, and there was a miserable expression on his face. He did not even have a chance to say anything before everyone saw some ripples passing through the void in the distance. Soon, they saw a middle-aged woman slowly walking towards them.

    Every step the woman took forced space back in all directions.

    Lu Yin grew somber, as even though he could not see the woman¡¯s runes, he had a bad premonition. His domain could not affect this person, and it was actually being pushed back by her. She was clearly an Envoy, and not a weak one at that. He felt a strong sense of danger from her.

    Liu Tianmu, Zhu San, and Xi Qi all stepped back immediately. They were also able to feel that something was wrong, and their eyes stung whenever they looked at this woman. Such terrifying phenomena only appeared with Envoys.

    "Brother Lu, I''ll leave this to you." Hui Santong instantly ducked behind Lu Yin. Even though Hui Santong could not see how powerful this woman was, he was still certain that she was much more powerful than the old Imprinter they had faced earlier.

    Lu Yin felt the same.

    The woman looked at Lu Yin and simply stated, "The Fifth Maind¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression tightened. "Are you from the Sixth Maind?"

    The woman lifted her head higher and arrogantly proimed, ¡°I¡¯m the Daosource Sect¡¯s Jiu Han."

    Lu Yin''s expression shifted a bit. "Jiu? Are you a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat?"

    Jiu Han showed no reaction to Lu Yin¡¯s question. "It¡¯s better that you know. Give me what you found."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You''re toote. Xia Yi was the one who took what was here."

    Jiu Han frowned. "Xia Yi? The Court of Seven Names¡¯ Xia family¡¯s patriarch from your Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin exposed Xia Yi without any hesitation. "That¡¯s right. He just left, so you should still be able to catch him."

    Jiu Han sneered, "How could someone with a status like the Xia family¡¯s patriarch possibly enter Burial Garden? Even if the Xia family did send someone here, at best, they would have sent some elders. Your story is too absurd, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin shrugged again. "I really was robbed by Xia Yi, and I¡¯m not someone who can tell you about the Xia family¡¯s affairs."

    He then stepped aside and pointed at the exposed Hui Santong. "However, he¡¯s from the Hui family, so you can just ask him."

    Hui Santong nched when Jiu Han''s eyes locked onto him, and he cursed Lu Yin as a bastard. The pressure was truly terrible at this moment. "Um, it really was taken by Xia Yi. I swear."

    Jiu Han''s expression chilled, and she shot Hui Santong a contemptuous look before looking back at Lu Yin. "No matter if Xia Yi took what was here or not, empty your cosmic ring. I will see for myself."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This woman was tantly robbing him. Lu Yin could not be more familiar with this situation, as he was usually the one saying these words rather than the one being threatened by them. There was only one viable answer: Vacuum Palm.

    Jiu Han intimidated Lu Yin, which was why he had not immediately attacked her. He had even tried to speak with her and exposed Xia Yi¡¯s involvement in the matter because Lu Yin did not want to fight. Fighting this woman felt like he was admitting guilt, but if she intended to simply rob them, then fighting was the only eptable answer.

    Vacuum Palm was a startlingly fast attack, and Jiu Han was actually struck by the invisible palm. She had not expected Lu Yin to attack without any warning, so the woman was knocked back.

    Lu Yin''s eyes tightened as he focused. Jiu Han had not been able to avoid his Vacuum Palm, which meant that there was no way her power level exceeded 700,000. At best, it was a bit over 600,000. This was someone whom Lu Yin could fight, even if she was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat.

    Jiu Han smashed into the ground with the sound of something shattering. She had been sent flying before she even realized that she had been attacked, and one of her defensive treasures had been shattered. Lu Yin¡¯s attack surpassed a power level of 500,000.

    The young man instantly appeared in the air above the Envoy. ¡°You decided not to go after Xia Yi, so now you can cough up your own cosmic ring.¡±

    Battle force twined around Lu Yin¡¯s arm, and he threw out another Vacuum Palm. This second attack was far more powerful than the one that he hadunched as a sneak attack, as it was reinforced by his battle force.

    Jiu Han was seeing double at this moment. She was one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants, and she stood far above countless people in the Sixth Maind. She had spent most of her life in the Daosource Sect, but when she did go out, even World Imprinters and Cosmic Imprinters had to be polite to her. She had never been attacked, let alone beaten by someone. She had only coincidentally entered one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, and yet right after entering, she ended up being pped by a mere child!

 Chapter 1798: Trapped

    Chapter 1798: Trapped

    To Jiu Han, being attacked was not merely a provocation, but an affront to her dignity.

    She immediately screamed, "You bastard! I¡¯ll kill you!"

    There was a bang as another Vacuum Palm struck her. However, the woman was prepared this time, and what looked like water ripples appeared in front of Jiu Han, showing where the Vacuum Palm had struck. Five more palm prints appeared, but Lu Yin still failed to break through the water that had appeared to shield Jiu Han''s body.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank; were his attacks really doing nothing? His Vacuum Palms rarely failed him when he went up against Envoys with power levels in the 600,000s. He became much more serious as he stared at Jiu Han. This woman was absolutely the best of her generation, and she had certainly been a Realmling in her youth. After all, she was one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants.

    Jiu Han''s eyes were dark as she stared at Lu Yin. They were both in the true universe. The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint appeared behind the woman, and she raised her hand in a movement that was very familiar to Lu Yin. He quickly remembered Wu Taibai''s technique that he had used during ZENITH: the Mountains and Seas Imprint. This was the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s secret technique, and it was an attack that ignored distance.

    Boom!

    Lu Yin was struck by the attack and sted out of the true universe.

    Jiu Han had expected her secret technique to at least badly injure Lu Yin, and seeing him merely be forced out of the true universe was far outside of her expectations. He waspletely unharmed.

    Her eyes shed, and she also stepped out of the true universe, appearing right in front of Lu Yin. "You little beast, let¡¯s see how many times you can take this."

    Her hand rose once again as she prepared to attack him with the Mountain and Seas Imprint. However, Lu Yin sneered, as his bodysuit armor ensured that this woman¡¯s attack could do nothing to him. He simply allowed the secret technique to strike him while raising his own hand and retaliating with a Vacuum Palm.

    Mountain and Seas Imprint.

    Vacuum Palm.

    Mountain and Seas Imprint.

    Vacuum Palm.

    The battle between the two continued, but the Mountain and Seas Imprint could not break through Lu Yin¡¯s bodysuit armor, but on the other hand, his Vacuum Palm could not pierce through the water ripples that protected Jin Han. Both of them continued raining attacks upon the other.

    Zhu San and everyone else watching werepletely stunned. Space was constantly shattering, and the aftershocks of the battle kept spreading further and further out. All of the onlookers nced at each other before simply fleeing from the area.

    Jiu Han felt more and more frustrated. Using the secret technique repeatedly put a terrible strain on her while Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palm was just a normal attack. She could not understand how a mere child could unleash such terrifying attacks. His star energy was suppressed and rendered useless by her own stellr energy, but his raw physical strength was enough to not only send his attacks into the true universe, but also ensure that she could not suppress him even with the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s secret technique.

    It was no wonder why he was known as absolutely peerless within his generation. Not even the Daosource Three Skies were his opponents.

    This man had to die.

    Jiu Han''s eyes grew dark, and she waved a hand. The void shook, and then water condensed into orbs all around her. At the same time, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved.

    The void froze where Lu Yin had just been standing, and another ball of water formed.

    Lu Yin appeared some distance away, and he stared at where he had been with a strong sense of fear. The ripples of water that he had seen were not actually some sort of defensive treasure, but rather this woman¡¯s innate gift! She had been relying solely on her own strength to block Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms, and with her Mountains and Seas Imprint, she was fully capable of fighting against Envoys with power levels of over 700,000. Lu Yin realized that this fight would be far more difficult than he had expected.

    "I already told you that Xia Yi took the piece of jade away. If you have the ability, go bother him for it!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Jiu Han no longer cared about the piece of jade at all, as she was now determined to eliminate Lu Yin. If this youth survived, he would one day suppress her Sixth Maind. Once he became a Progenitor, he would truly be invincible. Her ancestor had even personally interfered during ZENITH precisely because the Sixth Maind did not want the Hall of Honor¡¯s First Honor Chosen to survive and be a Progenitor. But instead, this child had be the champion of ZENITH.

    Jiu Han waved her hand again, straining her innate gift to the limit as she tried to drain the water from Lu Yin''s body.

    This was a terrible thing to face. Many people had an innate gift of controlling water, but not many people were capable of reaching this level of control or even attempting such a feat.

    Lu Yin''s body twisted, and his internal organs were jostled. He could not stop himself from spitting out blood. His bodysuit armor could not protect him from something like Jiu Han trying to extract all of the water from his body. "You little beast, I¡¯m going to dry you up and leave your corpse to join the others here in this Burial Garden!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and he was suddenly surrounded by stars. There were 9,300 of them, and Jiu Han was also surrounded. The stars then converged to form a sword; Lu Yin was using the Celestial Sword to unleash the Fourteenth Sword.

    Jiu Han could not avoid this attack, and not even her rippling water defense could stop it. The Fourteenth Sword struck true, and she coughed up blood.

    The Envoy had tried to extract the water from Lu Yin¡¯s body while he had retaliated with the unavoidable Fourteenth Sword. Both people were injured simultaneously.

    Lu Yin seized this moment to unleash Daynight Praises.

    The scenery disappeared from around Jiu Han. When she looked up, the first thing that she saw was the Progenitor of Combat. Everything that she had just experienced was forgotten, and the Progenitor was the only thing that upied her mind. She could not resist dropping to her knees. "Jiu Han greets the ancestor."

    The Progenitor of Combat was an arrogant individual, and he looked down at Jiu Han. He lifted a hand and pressed a palm down. She did not dare to move a muscle. Her life hade from the Progenitor of Combat, so even if he wanted to take her life, Jiu Han was incapable of resisting.

    Just as the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s hand was about to touch her, the vision shattered. Jiu Han¡¯s body shook, and her thoughts returned. She grew pale as she realized that she had fallen prey to an illusion.

    Her head snapped up, but she saw that Lu Yin had also fallen to his knees, sweat dripping from his forehead. Behind him, a sharp de could be seen as it swept by. The edge forced Lu Yin to the ground, and it was impossible to tell if he was dead or alive.

    Jiu Han turned to look into the distance, but she could not even see a shadow despite someone else attacking Lu Yin.

    Down where he had been forced into the ground, Lu Yin was suffering from terrible pain in his back. Even with the protection of his bodysuit armor, his tendons had nearly snapped from a single attack. He had been struck by the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will. Xia Yi had attacked him.

    Jiu Han had been amazingly susceptible to Daynight Praises. Lu Yin had never considered that it would be so easy to trap the woman, but her mental resistances were impossibly pathetic. If Xia Yi had notunched a sneak attack, the fight would have ended with Lu Yin¡¯s victory unless Jiu Han possessed some sort of special protective treasure.

    Apparently, Xia Yi had remained hidden nearby, and when he had seen that Jiu Han was about to lose, he had instantly attacked.

    Lu Yin wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and clenched his hands into fists.

    Xia Yi. Lu Yin would remember this.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body suddenly twisted again. This was a problem, as Jiu Han was trying to extract the water from Lu Yin¡¯s body once again.

    Stars reappeared around Lu Yin as he attempted to once again counter her with the Celestial Sword and the Fourteenth Sword. Unfortunately, things did not proceed as smoothly as before, as the Cosmic Art was not an instantaneous technique.

    Another sharp attack appeared, this time from a different direction. Xia Yi was attacking him again.

    Lu Yin released his domain and spread it as far as he could before finally finding Xia Yi standing behind him.

    Xia Yi snorted in contempt and shed out with a de, quickly following up with a second attack.

    The sharp attacks sliced through Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and he quickly pulled out the Void Rip sourcebox array and unleashed attacks towards both Jiu Han and the Triple de Will.

    Two lines appeared as two Void Rips shot out. What looked like water ripples briefly flickered in front of Jiu Han¡¯s body, blocking the Void Rip aimed at her while the Triple de Will smashed into the other Void Rip. Lu Yin took this chance to use the Ce Secret Art to move, but instead of fleeing, he appeared closer to Xia Yi and threw a square at the patriarch, much to the man¡¯s astonishment.

    This square was a power vessel that Lu Yin had picked up in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins, and it was even able to capture Envoys. After Lu Yin had Enhanced it, the power vessel was able to capture Envoys with power levels of almost 800,000.

    Xia Yi was surprised to find himself trapped, and although he immediately tried to slice his way out, he found that this power vessel was incredibly durable.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as he looked at Xia Yi. He then turned to face Jiu Han.

    Jiu Han was already looking at Lu Yin, and she took something out of her cosmic ring. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he shot away without turning his head or looking away.

    While Xia Yi was trapped, it would notst for long. The man was the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, and he had naturally had his own power vessels and battle techniques that were far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s ken. As for Jiu Han, she was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat. Lu Yin had no intention of continuing such a reckless fight, so he was making his escape.

    "You little beast, you can''t escape!" Jiu Han shouted as she gave chase.

    Xia Yi kept attacking the power vessel, as he also wanted to chase down Lu Yin. This was too rare of an opportunity to give up.

    Jiu Han was extremely fast, but Lu Yin was far from slow. Jiu Han kept trying to extract water from Lu Yin¡¯s body, but he was already on guard against that technique.

    He saw one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates off in the distance, and there was a figure standing next to it. Lu Yin recognized the figure, as it was not a person, but rather one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s androids that had the strength of an Envoy. Lu Yin had traveled to the Technocracy with this android before.

    Lu Yin was overjoyed at the sight, and he looked back at Jiu Han. "Old woman, that''s one of our Hall of Honor¡¯s Envoys. Do you still want to chase after me?"

    Jiu Han stopped and stared at the Envoy next to the gate. She looked back at Lu Yin and ground her teeth. "You¡¯re a lucky little beast! Next time I see you, I¡¯ll kill you!"

    Lu Yin looked up at her. "Whatever. If someone hadn¡¯tunched a sneak attack at me, you¡¯d already be dead.¡±

    He looked past Jiu Han. Although there was nothing to be seen, Lu Yin could feel Xia Yi staring at him with murder in the older man¡¯s eyes.

    If he were not so wary of Xia Yi, Lu Yin would have been eager to fight Jiu Han to see who woulde out on top.

    Jiu Han retreated. Seeing that she would be facing both Lu Yin and an Envoy, she felt that it would be too difficult of a challenge to ovee.

    Lu Yin had no idea how far away Xia Yi was, but since Lu Yin had reached this ce, he had a path towards escape.

    Not all of Burial Garden¡¯s gates could be used as exits, and the only one that Lu Yin had heard of before he entered had been the one on Yima.

    He slowly walked up to the gate, and the android opened its eyes and stared at Lu Yin.

    "I would like to leave," Lu Yin said.

    The android just closed its eyes again, giving no answer. Still, it did nothing to block Lu Yin¡¯s path.

    "Why are you here? Did the Hall of Honor send you here to stand guard at this exit?" Lu Yin asked.

    The android did not respond. This was the same as when Lu Yin had been in the Technocracy. Not once during the entire trip had any of the Hall of Honor¡¯s androids said a word.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but he still stepped forward to approach the gate. He nced back but felt that Liu Tianmu and the others should all be fine. They had left during Lu Yin¡¯s brutal fight against Jiu Han.

    Without another thought, Lu Yin stepped through the gate to leave Burial Garden.

    Each gate was actually a portal, and traveling through them felt like traveling through time and space. Lu Yin soon emerged from the gate only to find himself at the bottom of a sea. There were dozens of people surrounding the gate and staring at him.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by their presence, as all of Burial Garden¡¯s gates would have guards by now. The Great Eastern Alliance had taken simr precautions.

    The biggest thing was that Lu Yin had no idea which power controlled this particr gate to Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he looked around. He felt greatly relieved when he saw that there was no one close to the power of an Envoy present and that the people surrounding him were all quite weak.

    "Who are you? Identify yourself!" called out a stern voice from within the guards as a stout man moved forward. He had quite an odd appearance, as his belly was many timesrger than a normal person¡¯s, and yet it was clearly not fat. The man actually looked more like another creature than a human. Could he be a merman?

 Chapter 1799: Numbers

    Chapter 1799: Numbers

    Lu Yin looked at the odd man with surprise. "Are you a merman?"

    The man stared back at Lu Yin. "Identify yourself."

    Lu Yin looked away from the man and nced around. "Lu Yin."

    The man frowned. Lu Yin? This was a very familiar name.

    All of the guards felt the same way, and then one of them suddenly eximed, "Lu Yin? The leader of the Great Eastern Alliance? The champion of ZENITH?"

    The moment they heard these words, everyone made the connection, and they all stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Lu Yin could see curiosity, fear, and nervousness in their eyes.

    The leader¡¯s eyes went wide. "You- are you Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Where am I?"

    At the moment, the name Lu Yin was recognizable the moment it was spoken. Naturally, everyone had heard his name and had some impression of him, as long as they were in contact with the universe as a whole. Both regr humans and cultivators knew of Lu Yin.

    The man gulped. The name Lu Yin did not only represent a person, but also conflict and the Outerverse and Innerverse. How many wars had been fought because of Lu Yin? One had even been fought in the Cosmic Sea.

    "This is the Cosmic Sea," the man nervously replied.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. "So do you belong to a particr ind, or are you a part of a crew?"

    A booming voice shouted from the distance, ¡°Unyielding Corps!¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look and was surprised to find that he actually recognized the man. He was Ye Xingchen, who had once been one of the four peerless Limiteers along with Lu Yin.

    At that time, Lu Yin had fought against both Ling Que and Mu Rong, but he had never faced Ye Xingchen. The Sixth Maind had invaded before an opportunity came up. By the time that Lu Yin finally met Ye Xingchen, a gap had already opened up between them. Ye Xingchen hadter participated in ZENITH, and by that time, the gap had only widened. At the moment, it waspletely impossible topare the two young men.

    During ZENITH, Ye Xingchen had fought against Fan Shun.

    Lu Yin was surprised that exiting Burial Garden had led him to a gate in the Unyielding Corps¡¯ territory.

    Ye Xingchen had not expected to see Lu Yin appear from the gate. They had only recently discovered Burial Garden¡¯s Gate, and they had still been debating over whether or not to enter when Lu Yin came out of it.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s a pleasure to finally meet you," Ye Xingchen spoke loudly, but he remained calm as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s a pleasure to meet you as well. I¡¯ve long heard of you, Ye Xingchen."

    Ye Xingchen showed a small smile. "I can¡¯tpare with Alliance Leader Lu, and my Unyielding Corps can''tpare with your Great Eastern Alliance."

    "I didn''t expect toe out in the Cosmic Sea. Can you wee an uninvited guest like me?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Ye Xingchen made a gesture of wee. "This is something that I couldn¡¯t have asked for more. I¡¯ve wanted to speak with you as much as ten years ago, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "I¡¯ve felt the exact same way myself," Lu Yin replied.

    "Please."

    ¡­

    The Unyielding Corps was a very small crew within the Cosmic Sea. In addition to the Four Pirate Crews, there were also many smaller crews in the Cosmic Sea, such as the Arcadian Arrow Crew. However, the Unyielding Corps was much smaller than even the Arcadian Arrow Crew.

    When Lu Yin had first heard about Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin¡¯s first thought had been to wonder how Ye Xingchen managed to roam about the Cosmic Sea with his strength. It was a question that Lu Yin had never been able to answer.

    "The Cosmic Sea is dangerous, and it''s really not a good ce to wander around. If you¡¯re unlucky and run into another crew, then it¡¯s highly likely that one of the two will be wiped out¡­" Ye Xingchen yed host to Lu Yin and shared a great deal of information about the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "In that case, why does Brother Ye stay here?"

    Ye Xingchen shrugged. "Honestly, I didn¡¯t create the Unyielding Corps. It was created by my father."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as this was something that he had not known; he had only ever heard that Ye Xingchen had put the Unyielding Corps together.

    "My father founded the Unyielding Corps and became good friends with the mermen, so he managed to leave me with a crew. I took over the crew in order to not let my father¡¯s hard work go to waste after he died. The only reason why I¡¯m able to move about the Cosmic Sea is thanks to the mermen," Ye Xingchen exined.

    "Many different crews move about on the surface of the Cosmic Sea andpete with each other there, but the truth is that the mermen are the ones who actually control the Cosmic Sea. They¡¯re able to read the weather, find new routes, and avoid danger. Unfortunately, they don¡¯t have any true powerhouses, or else the Cosmic Sea definitely would not belong to humans."

    Lu Yinmented, "I remember that Leon¡¯s Armada has a merman crew."

    Ye Xingchen nodded. "Their Merman Regiment is led by Brother Hao. He¡¯s the most powerful merman in the universe, and he¡¯s also the reason why I was able to meet with his captain, Highsage Leon."

    Ye Xingchen nced over at Lu Yin at this moment, as no one actually understood what the exact rtionship between Lu Yin and Leon¡¯s Armada was.

    "Brother Ye, feel free to say whatever you want," Lu Yin said.

    Ye Xingchen continued, "Highsage Leon¡¯s always wanted to incorporate the Unyielding Corps into his armada, but I¡¯ve never been interested in joining them. This crew is the result of my father¡¯s efforts, and he was a proud man who would never bow, not even to the Longevity Brigade or if it killed him. That attitude was what led to his death.¡±

    "Was your father killed by the Longevity Brigade?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Ye Xingchen nodded. He then rose to his feet and formally said to Lu Yin, "Alliance Leader Lu, I, Ye Xingchen, would like to express my immense gratitude for the destruction of the Longevity Brigade."

    Lu Yin helped the young man back up. "I didn¡¯t destroy the Longevity Brigade to avenge your father, so there¡¯s no reason for you to thank me."

    Ye Xingchen¡¯s voice turned bitter. "If not for Alliance Leader Lu, I would have never been able to get revenge in my entire life. Regardless of whether you agree or not, I, Ye Xingchen, owe you a favor."

    After spending some time chatting with Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin learned that while there were quite a few of Burial Garden¡¯s gates in the Cosmic Sea, the gate that the Unyielding Corps had found had not been revealed to the rest of the universe, and no one knew that there was an exit in this ce.

    "Actually, it¡¯s quite dangerous to stand guard at this gate. If it hadn¡¯t been you, Alliance Leader Lu, who came out, but instead an enemy, we would have been in quite a bit of trouble." Ye Xingchen sighed. He was an ambitious man. The Unyielding Corps had originally refrained from joining Leon¡¯s Armada because of Ye Xingchen¡¯s father¡¯s pride, butter, it had remained independent because of Ye Xingchen¡¯s own arrogance.

    However, many years had passed, and when Ye Xingchen saw the heights that Lu Yin, who had also once been one of the four peerless Limiteers, had risen to, Ye Xingchen was forced to face reality. He had even been willing to verbally admit that he could have never gotten revenge for himself. A decade before, such words would have been impossible for Ye Xingchen to speak.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to leave the Unyielding Corps, though he did call Wang Wen.

    Before Lu Yin entered Burial Garden¡¯s gate, he had asked Wang Wen to tally up the number of gates that had appeared throughout the Great Eastern Alliance, and they should have a rough number by now.

    "There are 89 gates in our Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory, sixteen of which are exits. This is the most recent data that¡¯s been gathered by the top powers like the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and more," Wang Wen exined.

    Lu Yin asked, "How many exits do we control outside of the eight great flowzones?"

    "Six."

    "So there are ten exits out of Burial Garden that are controlled by the powers that control the great flowzones, right?"

    "At the moment, yes, but there should be more in the future. It¡¯s also possible that there are some gates that haven¡¯t been discovered yet."

    Lu Yin voice dropped low, "Try to destroy three of the Burial Garden gates that are exits and then have Chen Huang and some others stand guard outside the other three. Stop everyone whoes out and capture them in my name. If some powerhousees out, then just pull back."

    "Are you sure? Those gates are Burial Garden¡¯s, and we might provoke Burial Garden by destroying their gates." Wang Wen was quite worried, as he knew that it was not wise to antagonize any of the Three Dark Hands. While he knew that it was inevitable that they would face off against those powers in the future, that was not right now. Even if the Great Eastern Alliance had united both the Innerverse and the Outerverse and had twelve Envoys, they still could not stand up to any of the Three Dark Hands.

    There was no need to even mention the Neohuman Alliance, as the Sixth Maind was afraid of the Seven Skygods taking action, and not even the Hall of Honor could suppress the Neohuman Alliance. Burial Garden was also one of the Three Dark Hands.

    The power of the Seven Courts and the Neohuman Alliance was apparent to see, but Burial Garden waspletely shrouded in mystery.

    Although the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s power was expanding every single day, they were still far from being able to measure up to any one of the Three Dark Hands.

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s out of my control, but if one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouseses out of one of those gates, we¡¯ll suffer a huge disaster. We can¡¯t leave such weaknesses exposed. Three exits is a number that we can handle as we¡¯ll be able to control and manage the peopleing out of Burial Garden.¡±

    "What about the eight great flowzones?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I''ll talk to them."

    While Lu Yin did not know the real reason why Burial Garden had opened, at the moment, it was a ce that held numerous opportunities. There was no way that old foxes like Liu Qianjue would easily let go of such an opportunity, and they most likely hoped to control as many exit gates as possible so that they could filter the people who came out from Burial Garden. It was possible for them to reap the rewards of many people by taking those opportunities away as they came through the exits.

    As far as the major powers were concerned, this was the best way to acquire Burial Garden¡¯s lucky opportunities.

    However, Lu Yin needed to wake these powers up to reality.

    One disy after another appeared, showing Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, Mountain God, and King Qing Li. Lu Yin had called everyone at once.

    "You¡¯ve only recently joined the Great Eastern Alliance, and although we had originally nned to hold our first official meeting for the united Innerverse in the future, current events have changed things, especially Burial Garden¡¯s opening. This is why I called to speak to you all earlier than nned." Lu Yin spoke in a casual manner as he held his hands behind his back.

    Ling Qiu said, "What does Alliance Leader Lu have to say?"

    She did not sound very friendly. After all, these people had been forced to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Is this about Burial Garden¡¯s gate?" Liu Qianjue asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know that Burial Garden¡¯s gates have appeared in all of your territories and there are both entrances and some exits. I also know that the best way for you to profit from this is to pick cultivators clean as theye through the exits."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, we don¡¯t pick them clean, but rather conduct an exchange." Ling Qiu rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Regardless of whether it''s robbery or a business arrangement, I already know your intentions, so please find a way to destroy the gates and only leave one exit in each of your territories."

    Towards the end, Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew firm.

    Liu Qianjue and the others nced at each other, and Mountain God spoke up in his deep voice. "The things acquired in Burial Garden are able to improve the strength of each of our powers, and they can even improve the overall strength of the Great Eastern Alliance. What are Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s concerns?"

    Lu Yin grew extremely serious, "I just came out from Burial Garden, and I came out in the Cosmic Sea when I went through the exit."

    The others were all surprised.

    "How was it?" Ling Qiu quickly asked.

    Lu Yin said, "It¡¯s true that there are many opportunities in Burial Garden. That ce is clearly ancient and has existed for an incredible amount of time, and it¡¯s possible to find unexpected rewards. However, these opportunities can also invite disasters. The exit I came through had people guarding the gate from outside, but they¡¯re all so weak that I could have easily wiped them all out. None of you want to die like that.¡±

 Chapter 1800: Tea Mountain

    Chapter 1800: Tea Mountain

    Mountain God bellowed, ¡°Who could obliterate us? Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re underestimating our strength! We might not be on par with the entire Great Eastern Alliance, but we are far from weak!¡±

    ¡°I almost died twice in Burial Garden. The first was when I was attacked by an Envoy, and the second was when I ran into one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. She attacked me with Xia Yi, and if either of them had entered an exit that led to your territories, what could you have done to stop them? I wasn¡¯t able to acquire any opportunities in Burial Garden because the only one that I found was taken away from me. Are these the people that you want to deal with?¡± Lu Yin asked in a rhetorical manner.

    The others fell silent at this revtion.

    Ling Qiu said, "My Lingling n can deal with something like that."

    Lu Yin looked at her. "But I don''t want to take such risks. The Lingling n has you, Matriarch Ling Qiu, and also Ling Taizu. You two can work together to guard a gate, but there¡¯s no guarantee of you all being able to protect two gates."

    Ling Qiu became upset at this insinuation. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you not believe me to be strong enough to protect a gate on my own?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew stern, and a chill entered his voice. "I called all of you to discuss this as a matter of respect, and I do not want to have to force things. I hope that you can all show me some respect for my position as the alliance leader."

    Ling Qiu wanted to retort, but she was stopped by a look from Liu Qianjue. Regardless of what they all wanted, Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and they had already joined it. Thus, they had to show him some degree of respect. Even if they could deal with Lu Yin, they could not do so right now, as such a move would cause them to be seen aspletely untrustworthy in the future.

    The powerful reigned supreme in the universe, but there were many unspoken rules beneath thisw. They could not immediately try to rebel after joining the Great Eastern Alliance, and that included openly opposing the alliance leader. If another power like the Great Eastern Alliance were to appear next time, they would not be given the option of surrendering again, but would rather simply be executed.

    There were some rules that could not be broken unless one¡¯s bottom line was crossed.

    "Alright, since Alliance Leader Lu has spoken, we agree to leave only one of Burial Garden¡¯s exits open in each of our territories," Liu Qianjue spoke up.

    Lu Yin nced around. Qing Li had not said a single word the entire time. He did not actually qualify to participate in such a discussion, which was why he merely listened.

    "By the way, Alliance Leader Lu mentioned being attacked by Xia Yi. Are you referring to the patriarch of the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family? Are you saying that he entered Burial Garden?" Mountain God suddenly asked.

    "That¡¯s right."

    Liu Qianjue and the others once again exchanged nces. The Seven Courts was a power that stood at the same level as Burial Garden, but even the Xia family¡¯s patriarch had entered Burial Garden. It seemed possible that the other patriarchs would enter as well. This indicated that there might be opportunities in Burial Garden that could even interest people at their level. Should the few of them also go in?

    "Let me remind you all that allowing you to keep one exit is based on your strength. If you enter Burial Garden and I deem you unable to protect a gate, that one gate will also be destroyed," Lu Yin stated.

    Liu Qianjue and the others did notment on this.

    The call soon ended, and Lu Yin called Wang Wen back. ¡°I spoke to the leaders of the great flowzones, but those old foxes will definitely keep the exits open."

    "I¡¯ll keep an eye on things."

    "How hard is it to destroy the gates?"

    Wang Wen looked frustrated. "Burial Garden¡¯s gates aren¡¯t easy to destroy, but one was broken when Chen Huang made a move."

    Lu Yin remarked, "It seems that it takes the strength of an Envoy to break them."

    "Don''t worry. There shouldn¡¯t be too many people going in for now, though the numbers will certainly increase as time goes by. Take care of yourself," Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin sighed as he hung up.

    Burial Garden represented a massive opportunity at this moment, and people would always be willing to take risks for opportunities to grow stronger.

    Since he was in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin wanted to go visit Leon¡¯s Armada, but after mentioning the matter to Ye Xingchen, Lu Yin learned that the armada was very far away. Given the unpredictable weather in the Cosmic Sea, it was difficult for two different parties to meet each other even when they both knew the other¡¯s location. Lu Yin would struggle unless Highsage Leon himself came over to pick up Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin considered the matter, but he decided to postpone it forter.

    He bade Ye Xingchen farewell and stepped out, ready to reenter Burial Garden¡¯s gate. Before leaving, Lu Yin also made sure to remind Ye Xingchen to avoid the gate.

    Lu Yin actually wanted to suggest to Ye Xingchen that he destroy the gate, but unfortunately, the Unyielding Corps had no Envoys.

    Lu Yin was a bit dazed when he returned to Burial Garden and saw where he had appeared. Was this really Burial Garden?

    There were thick trees that blocked the sun, and he could also see mountains and hills through therge trees. The hills and mountains were verdant, and there were small rivers winding around them.

    If Lu Yin had not deliberately entered Burial Garden¡¯s gate, he would have thought that he had arrived at some suitable for human habitation.

    This ce was quite simply a paradise.

    After leaving the forest, Lu Yin looked around again. The mountains were not very high, and they were all green. The closer hills were covered with tea nts.

    Lu Yin could not resist approaching the hills.

    He quickly arrived at the base of the hills, and just as he was about to start climbing it, he vaguely heard something in the distance. The sound seemed to being from the right and up ahead, so he started examining the area as he started approaching it. A few meters ahead, there were some neatly arranged tea bushes, but not a single creature could be seen. Still, there was a sound, and it was growing louder.

    "Help me."

    "Help me."

    "Please, save me."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin searched for a long time, but he still could not find a thing. He happened to nce at the tea leaves on the bushes, but then his head whipped back, and he stared at the middle of the tea leaves. His pupils constricted, and an expression of horror appeared on his face. It was rare for Lu Yin to have such a reaction, but at this moment, he had just seen something unbelievable.

    There was a human face within the leaves. It was indistinct as it weakly murmured something. The voice that he had been hearing wasing from this human face.

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened as he stared at the tea leaves. It was only a face without a body or even a head. What was this? Has this nt been demonized?

    At this time, the face¡¯s eyes fluttered open and looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was horrified once again. He was able to seeplex emotions that could only belong to a human within those eyes. There was despair and begging, and a great deal of excitement as well. ¡°A- Alliance Leader Lu, is that you?"

    Lu Yin stared at the face. It belonged to a middle-aged man, but he also looked very pale and weak. Still, Lu Yin could not see anything at all aside from the face. "Do You know me?"

    The face grew even more excited. "I- my name is An Liang. I''m from Watermoon Vi."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Watermoon Vi? Do you know An Shaohua?"

    "Yes! I¡¯m An Liang, An Shaohua''s uncle. Alliance Leader Lu, please save me! I¡¯m from Watermoon Vi, and I¡¯m a member of the Great Eastern Alliance!" An Liang¡¯s voice was weak as he begged, though his eyes showed both hope and despair. The excitement that Lu Yin saw was like someone suddenly seeing dawn again.

    Lu Yin had no idea how to respond. "How did you get like this? What happened to your body?"

    An Liang was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s question, and his eyes started darting about. His pupils fluctuated wildly. The face looked utterly terrified. "It''s that corpse! That corpse has been treating me like a tea nt! It¡¯s all because of that mummy."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "What are you talking about?"

    An Liang looked at Lu Yin, his face contorted with fear. "Alliance Leader Lu, please save me! Save me! I don''t want to be a tea nt, and I don¡¯t want to be turned to fertilizer!"

    Lu Yin went pale. There was a surge of cold air from his feet, and he spun around, but there was nothing there. All he could see was a trickling stream.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, save me! Save me!" An Liang groaned in agony that twisted his entire face. It was a scary sight.

    "Are you saying that some dried up corpse nted you like a tea nt?" Lu Yin pressed.

    An Liang struggled to answer, "Yes¡­ it was a dried up corpse that was carrying a bamboo basket."

    A chill covered Lu Yin''s whole body. He did not feel like he was facing a life or death crisis, but rather something that was unfathomable and bizarre. It felt simr to when he had been treated as white meat on Driftcharge or when he had seen the human in Aeternus Nation with their organs removed. Lu Yin was almost ovee by the chill and panic that swept over him.

    He quickly moved back and looked around. He did not even have the courage to release his domain at this moment.

    He had run into more than one corpse in Burial Garden, such as that old, one-legged man, the girl who kept pping the air in front of her, and the corpse that Lu Yin had Possessed that had been able to reflexively use the Ce Secret Art. Not to mention, there had also been Progenitor Chen, who Lu Yin could not determine if he was alive or not. Lu Yin assumed that a corpse that had existed for so long would not be easy to deal with, and Lu Yin did not think that he could fight against such a thing.

    He had originally thought that the corpses in Burial Garden were not threats or even aggressive, but seeing An Liang¡¯s case had overturned all of Lu Yin¡¯s assumptions. Burial Garden was not nearly as safe as the outside world believed it to be. Humans entering topete for opportunities did not only need to fight against other humans, but also things like the moving corpses that inhabited Burial Garden.

    "A- Alliance Leader Lu, save me! Save me¡­" An Liang continued moaning and pleading.

    Lu Yin looked at the other tea nts, and saw that all of them held faces. However, all of them were already dead, and none of them responded.

    Lu Yin retreated further and hurried back into the forest before turning around to take another look at the hills covered with tea bushes. Lu Yin felt an unprecedented fear. He still had not found the corpse that was nting the tea bushes.

    Suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere some distance away. The man looked confused, and he nced around in the same manner as Lu Yin had after entering Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin watched the man, but he did not make a single sound. This man was another person who had entered one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, and he had been randomly sent to this forest.

    The man was not weak at all, and the void twisted as he stepped forward. He instantly appeared at the base of the tea hills and then entered the hills.

    As soon as the man stepped into the hills, a figure stood up in the middle of the tea mountain. It was an old corpse that was hunched over at the waist. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back and was facing the man who had just arrived. The corpse made a gesture, and the human¡¯s body flew towards the corpse. It caught the newly arrived man and shoved him straight into the ground. Suddenly an ear-piercing scream echoed through the hills.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared in amazement.

    He watched as the man''s body and limbs gradually withered away and transformed into a tea bush. The muscles, bones, and blood all became nutrients to feed the tea bush until only the face remained. It turned up to look into the sky. The eyes were nk, and yet they held a sort of extreme pain and despair.

    Lu Yin was still in the forest, and he simply left without even looking back. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he moved again and again as he fled. He did not dare to stop at all.

    That man had been instantly nted into the ground! Lu Yin was horribly traumatized by what he had just witnessed. What the hell was that old corpse? It was so strange and so cruel.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no thoughts of investigating the matter, as he felt that it waspletely impossible. The only thing on Lu Yin¡¯s mind was to get as far away from the tea hills as possible. The further, the better.

    He never wanted to see such a terrifying thing ever again.

 Chapter 1801: Wandering Corpse

    Chapter 1801: Wandering Corpse

    What Lu Yin had witnessed at the tea hills filled him with dread towards Burial Garden, and he became very cautious with every step he took.

    In zing Mist Flowzone, one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates was smashed apart by Emperor Luo. The¡¯s army was gathered in the distance, watching.

    "Such an incredible opportunity is gone, just like that. The Great Eastern Alliance is too oppressive! They¡¯re taking this chance away from us!" While the man who wasining was not a powerhouse, he was still someone who ranked within the middle to upper ranks of the Great Eastern Alliance. However, since Lu Yin had personally ordered this gate to be destroyed, the man was powerless to intervene.

    "General, are we just going to watch?" an angry young man asked from behind the general. Hatred filled the young man¡¯s eyes as he stared at Emperor Luo.

    Suddenly, Emperor Luo''s gaze swept over, and the young man felt his heart skip a beat. He quickly dropped his head.

    Also, the young man was not the only one to react in such a manner, as the general, who was a Cruiser, also did not dare to meet Emperor Luo¡¯s eyes.

    Emperor Luo looked away. He did not care at all about what this¡¯s residents thought. Although they believed that a lucky opportunity was being stolen from them, they were actually being saved. Just how many people in the entire universe had entered one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates? Just the Great Eastern Alliance alone had many powerhouses, and there were many experts above the Cruiser realm. This was not even taking into ount the Cosmic Sea, Neoverse, or the Sixth Maind.

    If an expert who was hostile towards the Great Eastern Alliance emerged from the gate, the would be devastated. This was something that the people of this did not even realize.

    Suddenly, Emperor Luo received a call request. "Emperor Luo, Burial Garden¡¯s gate on Mudwall has just been confirmed to be an exit. Someone has juste out, though the situation is currently under control."

    Emperor Luo checked the coordinates that he was sent and quickly moved out to make his way towards Mudwall.

    Lu Yin had passed down an order that the Great Eastern Alliance could only keep three exits. The gate that Emperor Luo had just destroyed was the fourth exit that had been discovered, which was why it had been destroyed. The Great Eastern Alliance did not have enough powerhouses to protect more than three exits.

    Lu Yin wanted stability, and as far as he was concerned, not even Emperor Luo was strong enough to defend an exit on his own.

    When Emperor Luo arrived at Mudwall, he was met by the scene of a shattered and countless people in mourning. Many spacecraft were still nearby, though most were also broken. There were corpses floating through space, all of which belonged to the Allied Forces¡¯ First Division. Most shocking of all was the sight of a dead colossal giant whose corpse was drifting through space.

    The average strength of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts was too low, so Lu Yin had sent out the colossal giants to help out in various ces. Any giant who qualified to be deployed had to be an Enlighter. Despite that, the Enlighter Colossal Giant had still been killed.

    Emperor Luo''s expression changed drastically, and he quickly approached the shattered pieces of the. He soon discovered that Burial Garden¡¯s gate remained unharmed, though it was also floating through outer space.

    It took at least an Envoy to destroy one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates.

    A powerhouse¡¯s attack had clearly destroyed Mudwall, and it seemed quite obvious that it had been from someone who had exited the gate. Emperor Luo¡¯s eyes shed, and he started investigating. The greatest concern was that the culprit had gone back inside Burial Garden, as then there would be no way to track them down.

    It was not long before Emperor Luo started moving away. He had already found some clues. The attacker was an Enlighter, and given the fact that they had killed a colossal giant, they had to have a power level of about 300,000. There were still some traces from the attacker¡¯s assault.

    Emperor Luo had submitted a report to the Great Eastern Alliance while he was investigating the rubble of the. zing Mist Flowzone was instantly sealed off, and people were sent to rescue the survivors from Mudwall.

    The alliance could not afford to treat the giant¡¯s death and the destruction of the as a minor incident. Lu Yin nned to look into this matter further.

    Half a dayter, Emperor Luonded on a meteorite to the south of Mudwall. There was a man on the meteorite with a sallowplexion who was excitedly examining something in his hand. It was an irregrly shaped piece of metal that looked like a shard from a broken weapon. The man lookedpletely amazed as he stared at the shard. "Fantastic workmanship! It¡¯s practically supernatural! Even just this fragment still retains theplete sourcebox array. If this weapon was actuallyplete, I have no idea just how many sourcebox arrays it would contain. I don¡¯t dare even to imagine, but the power of the ancients is truly amazing."

    As the man spoke, his eyes grew even more heated as he stared at the weapon shard.

    He had been lucky enough to pick up this shard in Burial Garden, and he had actually used it to kill someone at the same level of strength as him. There had been no grudge or reason for the attack, as the Enlighter had just wanted to test out the sourcebox array on the weapon shard.

    He had been quite happy with the results. No, he was actually quite excited, as the sourcebox array on the shard allowed the piece of metal to move about without any trace. In fact, the Enlighter himself could not track the shard, and he was only able to designate a target.

    "With this thing, I can even fight against that old freak with a power level of more than 400,000! I might be able to use this to improve my Lockbreaker rank and maybe even join the upper ranks in the Lockbreaker World, hahahaha!" the sallow-faced man excitedly spoke to himself, "The Great Eastern Alliance actually wants to arrest me and confiscate my possessions¡ªin their dreams! My, Shan Kun''s belongings aren¡¯t anything those pathetic people can take!"

    The Enlighter still had not realized that Emperor Luo was actually less than five meters behind him as he was speaking.

    Shan Kun excitedly put the weapon fragment in his cosmic ring and stared off into the distance. Suddenly, he felt a chill, and he whirled around to see a pair of red eyes. A corpse king? No, was this an android?

    "So you¡¯re the one who destroyed Mudwall and killed the giant there," Emperor Luo stated coldly.

    Shan Kun¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Emperor Luo. Fear filled the Enlighter¡¯s eyes. This person was an absolute powerhouse! This person had moved so close, and yet Shan Kun had not noticed a thing. "Your Excellency?"

    "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Emperor Luo."

    Shan Kun''s heart dropped to the nadir. He pulled the weapon shard back out while saying, "So you¡¯re the former emperor of the Ross Empire. Your Excellency was once in charge of an entire empire. How could you have possibly willingly surrendered to some pathetic ant like Lu Yin and help him?"

    Emperor Luo''s expression never changed at all. It was impossible to discern his emotions. "Give me what you picked up in Burial Garden and return with me to the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Shan Kun lifted his head. "I''m a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker from the Lockbreakers World in the Neoverse! I¡¯m a member of the Lockbreakers Society! Your Great Eastern Alliance wants to arrest me? You want to confiscate my possessions? Your Lu Yin is part of the Lockbreakers Society just like me. Go and ask him if he actually dares to do this!"

    The Lockbreakers Society always protected their own. Attacking one would lure out an entire group. Lu Yin had previously used the Lockbreakers Society as a form of protection, and the Enlighter¡¯s words were enough to cause even Emperor Luo to be hesitant. "For now, return with me to the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Shan Kun sneered. "I¡¯m not doing that. I¡¯m going back to the Lockbreakers World right now. If Lu Yin has something to say, he cane speak to me himself through the Lockbreakers¡¯work."

    Emperor Luo repeated, "Return with me to the Great Eastern Alliance now."

    Shan Kun became furious. "Emperor Luo, while I may respect you for being an Envoy, don¡¯t think that the Lockbreakers Society is afraid of you! Let me tell you, my Lockbreakers Society has more than one Envoy, and you can¡¯t do a thing to me!"

    Emperor Luo had no desire to waste time arguing with the Enlighter, so he simply reached out to seize Shan Kun. The Enlighter¡¯s expression grew dark, and he lifted a hand to release the weapon fragment. It disappeared from his sight, and he could not even find any trace of it. The only thing that the Enlighter knew was that he had attacked Emperor Luo with the weapon shard.

    However, Emperor Luo was able to see that the fragment had broken into the true universe to attack him. He stretched out a hand and grabbed the shard, and as he did, there was the sound of his palm being cut, and sparks flew as the Envoy¡¯s hand was sliced open.

    Shan Kun was horrified; if Emperor Luo did not die from this, he was done for!

    Emperor Luo stared at the weapon shared that he held in shock. What sort of metal could be so hard?

    "Emperor Luo, give that back to me!" Shan Kun shouted angrily, though he did not dare to try to attack. He was only an Enlighter with a power level of around 300,000. He had actually used the weapon shard to sneak attack the colossal giant as well.

    Emperor Luo put the metal fragment away and grabbed hold of Shan Kun. The two started to make their way back to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    "Emperor Luo, release me! Are you trying to start a war with the Lockbreakers Society? Not even Lu Yin has the guts to do that!" Shan Kun screamed at Emperor Luo, only to be stunned by a fist from the Envoy.

    It was not long after this that someone exited one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates in the Sword Sect¡¯s territory. This person was rather unlucky, as he was instantly captured by the Sword Sect. He was stripped of even his clothes, and everything was examined. The man wanted to cry, but he had no tears.

    Simr events urred all across the universe. Someone was standing guard at every single one of Burial Garden¡¯s exit gates. Some of the guards were wiped out by the people who exited the gates.

    Things were bing increasingly chaotic because of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, but the dried up corpses had not yet stopped targeting people with ancient bloodlines. It appeared that nothing involving the desated corpses had been affected by the opening of Burial Garden.

    The whole universe had gone from a period of calm to a period of great excitement.

    Just a few days after Lu Yin returned to Burial Garden through the gate in the Cosmic Sea, a report was spread regarding Burial Garden that shocked the entire universe.

    This report imed that there was a massive ancient corpse roaming about Burial Garden and that they had a pce on its back. This corpse would drop many protective treasures, weapons that were suitable for Enlighters, and even cultivation arts that were inheritances.

    It seemed impossible to track down the source of this report, but it spread like wildfire across the entirework, though itpletely disappeared after an hour.

    It was possible for a truly powerful organization or person to intervene and block information from the entirework, but only people who truly stood at the top of the Human Domain were capable of such. In other words, only Neoverse powers could do such a thing, and it was at least 90% certain that only the Hall of Honor would make such a move.

    However, this only lent greater credibility to the uracy of the information.

    Many major powers started to send their people into Burial Garden to search for the ancient giant.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin was standing atop a mountain range, staring into the distance in a daze. He was looking at an iparably enormous figure that was staggering along. The figure was hunched at the waist, and every step that it took left footprints the size of a city. Each step caused the mountains and the ground to tremble. Even the clouds only reached the giant¡¯s waist, and through them, Lu Yin could see that the giant was carrying an evenrger pce.

    After the terrifying scene that he had witnessed at the hills of tea, Lu Yin had developed a radically different opinion of Burial Garden. Despite that, he still felt a bit of disbelief as he stared ahead. Was that really a giant with an entire pce on its back?

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as he stared at the giant walking along. Although the giant appeared to be tired and faltered with each step that it took, it also had a massive stride, and it did not take long before the figure began to disappear into the distance.

    Lu Yin quickly gave chase. No matter what, that pce carried on its back held an incredible draw, and if Lu Yin was seeing things correctly, the giant was one of Burial Garden¡¯s mobile corpses. Such a corpse already had a coined name: they were wandering corpses.

 Chapter 1802: Bloodstained Shirt

    Chapter 1802: Bloodstained Shirt

    Burial Garden was fundamentally different from the Neohuman Alliance, and the wandering corpses were alsopletely different from corpse kings or the desated corpses that hunted down people with ancient bloodlines. Still, there were a few simrities.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the enormous wandering corpse, though he did not dare to get too close. He had truly been deeply traumatized by what he had seen in the tea hills, and he was worried about getting the giant corpse¡¯s attention.

    So far, he had already been shown that Burial Garden¡¯s wandering corpses were far from simple.

    After following the giant for a long time, Lu Yin finally decided to move around to the front of the wandering corpse and get a look from a different direction. Suddenly, he looked up at the pce on the corpse¡¯s back. There were actually a few people in the pce who were in the middle of a fierce fight, seemingly contesting over something.

    Lu Yin stared at the scene, his eyes wide, as his pupils transformed into runes.

    He saw that the fight was taking ce right at the gate to the pce. He was also able to determine that none of them were even Enlighters, though it also seemed quite clear that they were fighting over something. After a while, one person used some odd method to kill the others before suddenly jumping away from the pce and fleeing into the distance.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to chase after the fleeing person, the wandering corpse suddenly raised a hand and swatted it. The action was as if the giant was swatting a mosquito, and the fleeing cultivator was pped straight into the ground. There were no bones left intact.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. When that giant had swept its arm out, it seemed to instantly shatter the void and even reveal the true universe. The incredible raw strength had almost caused the sky to copse. It was powerful enough to make anyone who saw it panic and fall into despair.

    The giant wandering corpse definitely had a power level over a million, and Lu Yin believed that it had even reached the same level as the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters, which meant that it had a power level of about 1.2 million.

    At that level of power, even a casual wave of its arm was not something that Lu Yin could withstand. Each time the giant swung an arm, the speed was shocking, and the giant even reacted like a human trying to get rid of mosquitoes: if the giant saw anything, it would try to swat it.

    Lu Yin had seen how easily that cultivator had been killed.

    Lu Yin moved towards the puddle of what had once been a cultivator. He saw a cosmic ring in the puddle, and he picked it up and opened it with the blood around it. Many things fell out, most of them useless to Lu Yin. However, in the end, a strangely shaped item that looked like a shard from a broken weapon appeared. This caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    If he remembered correctly, the final survivor in the fight outside of the gates of the pce on the giant¡¯s back had killed several other people with this shard.

    Lu Yin picked it up, and he felt as if he had been frozen to the bone the moment he touched it. He casually waved it through the air, and the void was sliced apart, revealing the true universe.

    This weapon fragment was shockingly able to tear open the true universe. It was no wonder why the final cultivator had been able to win the battle; he had been able to attack his opponents from the true universe without being caught.

    Thatst cultivator had also been very unlucky. He had been leaving in victory, only to be swatted down like a fly.

    The man had also been quite cautious. He had known that it was possible that a powerhouse was hiding nearby and that it might not be possible for him to keep the weapon fragment, so the man had immediately left the pce. Unfortunately, he had been killed by the massive wandering corpse.

    Lu Yin put the weapon fragment away and then carefully circled around to the front of the giant wandering corpse before looking up at it.

    He had assumed that the corpse was from a colossal giant, but after seeing the face, Lu Yin was quite surprised. It was not a giant, but rather an enormous astral beast.

    The wandering corpse carrying the pce did not belong to the humans¡¯ giant race, but was instead some creature with the body of an ape and the head of an eagle. Lu Yin took a closer look and realized that the wandering corpse was covered with long fur, and there also seemed to be wings on its back that were pressed down close to its body by the pce.

    Lu Yin observed the giant beast as it walked. Even when he looked up at the pce above the clouds, he felt no desire to explore as it had all disappeared the moment the cultivator had been pped to the ground. Instead, Lu Yin decided to simply follow the wandering corpse. If anyone tried to explore the pce, Lu Yin would reap a harvest after they tried to leave the pce.

    This was essentially the same method that the people waiting outside of Burial Garden¡¯s gates were employing. There was no need to take any risk.

    One dayter, someone arrived, and after considering the situation for a bit, they rushed into the pce.

    The wandering corpse made no attempt to do anything as the person entered the pce.

    Lu Yin followed behind the wandering corpse of the astral beast. He had high expectations.

    One day. Two days. Three days. Even after four days, the person still had not left the pce. They must have either died inside the pce, or they did not want to leave.

    Lu Yin continued to follow the wandering corpse.

    Before long, other people arrived, and they charged into the pce one after another. It almost seemed like they had been informed of the pce¡¯s location.

    This time, the people who entered the pce left very quickly, and all of them were simrly killed by the enormous wandering corpse.

    Lu Yin found the puddles of blood that were the remains of the cultivators who had been attacked. However, where were the cosmic rings? Gone?

    Lu Yin was quite disappointed, but cosmic rings were not indestructible. It was actually quite easy to destroy a cosmic ring, and Lu Yin had simply been very lucky a few days ago when he had picked up the dead man¡¯s cosmic ring.

    He continued to wait for people to leave.

    Time passed, and some people left while others entered the pce. There was a constant flow of people going in and out, and fierce fights were constantly breaking out within the pce, as well as whenever people tried to leave. Most of those who fled the pce were killed by the wandering corpse, though there was one person who was lucky enough to not be instantly killed. Still, the person was severely injured as they fell to the ground, where they became stuck and unable to pull themselves out.

    Lu Yin squatted by the crater that had formed and looked at the half-shattered woman who was embedded in the ground. "You want some help?"

    The woman cried in pain. "Yes, Big Brother, please save me! I¡¯m from the Neoverse¡¯s Flower City."

    Flower City? Lu Yin knew that there were many cities that drifted through outer space in the Neoverse, and this Flower City was one of them. It was a city that had been built atop arge blue flower. Although it looked quite unique, the city was perfectly average and not particrly popr.

    "I can pull you out as long as you give me everything that you picked up in that pce." Lu Yin smiled.

    Half of the woman''s body had been shattered, but a cold light flickered through her eyes when she heard Lu Yin''s words. After a moment, frowned and agreed in a weak voice, "Of course! Big Brother, I¡¯ll give you everything I have. Please, just help me!"

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face as he proceeded to rescue the woman.

    She clutched at her right shoulder and coughed. Blood spilled out from the corner of her mouth. She bowed to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Big Brother, for saving my life."

    As soon as she finished speaking, she attacked by spitting blood at Lu Yin. The blood exploded in the air into a red fog that filled the area.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically, and the red fog enveloped his body. His skin began to fester and corrode at a speed that was readily visible, and his body was quickly reduced to nothing more than bones that fell to the ground.

    The woman gasped for air as she sneered. "You want to steal my stuff? Why don¡¯t you look in the mirror and see how strong you are first, trash!"

    She then turned around and started walking away, but she quickly looked back, and when she did, shock appeared on her face as if she had seen something unbelievable.

    Lu Yin was standing behind the woman. His face was calm, and his bodypletely unscathed.

    The woman could not believe her eyes, and she looked down at the ground. The pile of bones was still there, though it started to melt away. "How did you do that?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "You¡¯re certainly vicious enough! I¡¯m pretty sure I saw you kill two people outside the pce¡¯s gate when you rushed out. You¡¯ve got some pretty good tricks."

    The woman gritted her teeth and turned pale. "You¡¯re so strong, so aren¡¯t you embarrassed to bully a half-dead woman like me? I¡¯ll tell you now¡ªif you dare to attack me, Flower City won¡¯t let you go! They¡¯ll hunt you down and kill you!"

    Lu Yin justughed. "Do you not recognize me?"

    The woman was about to sneer at him again, but suddenly, her face froze in ce. She stared at Lu Yin''s face, her eyes darting about. Confusion appeared in her eyes for a moment, followed by a glimmer of something as she tried to remember a certain detail. Finally, her mouth fell open as fear painted her face. "Lu- Lu- are you Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled back at the woman. "And here I thought that you didn''t know me."

    The woman was shocked at Lu Yin¡¯s identity, and she slumped to the ground. "Lord Lu, I- I didn''t mean to offend you! Please don¡¯t hold this against me! If you allow me to leave, I¡¯m willing to do anything to repay you!"

    The woman was truly terrified. She had assumed that a nameless nobody had appeared in front of her, and she had intended to use the name of the Neoverse to scare him away. However, who could have imagined that she would actually run into Lu Yin! Peerless within his generation. The Great Eastern Alliance Leader. Supposedly, he was able to fight with Envoys while just being an Enlighter. There were also rumors that he was able to control the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers¡¯ council. This was someone with backing that could overshadow the entire Fifth Maind.

    The woman could forget herself, as she knew that not even her entire Flower City would amount to anything before this youth.

    She even felt humiliated that she had just tried to use Flower City to threaten Lu Yin. She started to be desperate.

    Lu Yin flicked a finger, striking the woman in the forehead. She fell to the ground.

    The woman was a vicious person, and Lu Yin was not in the habit of letting his enemies live.

    He picked up the woman¡¯s cosmic ring and opened it with her blood. Most of what he found within it was useless, but there was also a flower that seemed to be some sort of container.

    Lu Yin opened it, and he found that it contained some clothes that had blood stains on the front. The clothes were ck, and the fabric seemed to be perfectly ordinary. However, the moment he saw the blood on the clothes, he saw the same image that he had seen when he absorbed death energy from the ck star in the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins.

    Once again, he saw a lone person sitting on the ground with a ck scythe at their side. The person¡¯s back looked lonely, and they were wearing clothes that had the exact same color as the ones that Lu Yin were holding. Could these clothes have belonged to that person?

    Lu Yin had already guessed that he had seen the God of Death, so did that mean that these clothes belonged to the God of Death?

    Lu Yin nkly stared at the blood-stained clothes that had been in the flower box. He finally stretched out a hand and grabbed the clothes.

    The moment his fingers came in contact with the clothing, a roar echoed in his brain, and the death energy inside his body surged out of control and formed a figure behind him that shed out with an attack.

    All of Burial Garden seemed to tremble.

    The wandering corpse of the astral beast trembled for a moment and then knelt down. Its movements caused the entire pce to shake.

    Elsewhere in Burial Garden, Tombkeeper suddenly looked up. ¡°The God of Death¡¯s power has been roused. Did someone manage toe into contact with an ancient legend so quickly? I hope that someone will be able to ept an ancient inheritance this time."

    The power of the God of Death appeared and disappeared in but a single moment. Even though there were many people in Burial Garden, the cultivators who had entered the various gates did not notice anything.

    Lu Yin instantly pulled his hand back. His fingers felt like they had been shocked by a bit of electricity. He was sure that he had just seen that same lonely back once again, and the person had easily overpowered a huge monster. The person¡¯s back felt bleak and lonely, and it was clearly the same person that Lu Yin had seen before. The bloodstained clothes belonged to that person.

    Lu Yin quickly put the clothing away.

    He looked up. What? When did the giant wandering corpse kneel?

    He approached, curious.

    After a while, the wandering corpse of the astral beast rose back to its feet and continued walking. Each step it took caused the ground to vibrate, and asionally, something would be pped to the ground. Every time that happened, Lu Yin would approach and investigate.

    One day, a terrible aura swept over the area.

    Lu Yin instantly knew that a true powerhouse had finally found the wandering corpse. This person was an Envoy, though Lu Yin had no idea if they were from the Fifth or Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked up into the sky as a person emerged from the void and casually entered the pce.

    His eyes grew cold, as he had recognized the Envoy. That person was a powerhouse from the War Martial Realm¡¯s Toolcasting family.

 Chapter 1803: Sneak Attack

    Chapter 1803: Sneak Attack

    The Sixth Maind''s Toolcasting family was extremely powerful. Their ancestor had been an Empyrean Imprinter, and they had even been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans. However, he had died to the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, and his death had caused the family¡¯s status and power to plummet.

    At its peak, the Toolcasting family had had Toolwielder Ancestor, who had been an Empyrean Imprinter, as well as many World Imprinters and ordinary Imprinters. The family¡¯s experts had been as numerous as the clouds. They were from the War Martial Realm and had organized their Imprinters by calling them Augmenters. The Progenitor of Combat had not interfered in such arrangements.

    The family had even had a Realmling, who had been Toolwielder. He was powerful and arrogant, and he had even been able to forcefully take control of Wendy Yushan¡¯s sword.

    However, the Toolcasting family¡¯s glory was a thing of the past, and it was possible that the Imprinter that Lu Yin saw enter the pce on the wandering corpse¡¯s back was theirst living Imprinter.

    Lu Yin had no idea what sort of power level the Imprinter who had entered the pce possessed, but he did not want to risk a fight with them. He simply hoped that the Imprinter would be pped to death by the wandering corpse when they tried to leave the pce.

    However, Lu Yin ended up disappointed, as the Imprinter never came out. Days passed, and although some people asionally rushed away from the pce, they were all other cultivators. The Imprinter from the Toolcasting family never reappeared.

    Lu Yin had already spent more than ten days following the enormous wandering corpse, and he had been tempted to enter the pce and explore it himself several times, as more than one person had been lucky enough to escape from the the giant wandering corpse¡¯s deadly swat when they left the pce, though they were not able to escape from Lu Yin. Still, he resisted the temptation. He could not go into that pce. Absolutely not.

    One day, a pale man appeared a little ways ahead of the wandering corpse. The man kept on traveling through the void, asionally ncing back. He was clearly avoiding something.

    Despite there being no movement for a while, the man¡¯s expression never rxed, and he actually looked even more nervous as time passed.

    Suddenly, the man''s body froze in the sky, and his skin started to dry up. It looked as though the moisture had been pulled from his body, but he quickly pulled out an umbre to cover his body, allowing him to quickly recover.

    "As long as you tell me where that umbre came from and how to use it, I¡¯ll let you go. What do you say?" A cold voice was heard as a woman appeared behind the man. She had a somber expression and cold eyes. Her eyes were filled with murder, and she appeared to be exceptionally arrogant.

    "You¡¯re an Envoy. Don''t you feel any shame in harassing an Enlighter like me?" the man retorted in a cold voice.

    The woman sneered. "I fought an Enlighter even younger than you just a short while ago, and yet he managed to escape. So what if you¡¯re an Enlighter?"

    The woman was Jiu Han.

    The man frowned. "Are you talking about Lu Yin?"

    Jiu Han¡¯s expression tightened. "Tell me where that umbre came from and what it does, or else you¡¯ll never leave this ce alive."

    However, just as she finished speaking, she turned to stare off into the distance, and astonishment covered her face when she saw the wandering corpse of the astral beast walking around with a pce on its back. This was a truly shocking scene.

    The man also saw the giant, and although his pupils shrank sharply, he instantly fled.

    Jiu Han snorted disdainfully. "That umbre might be able to stop me from extracting the water from your body, but do you really think that you can use it to block my attacks?"

    She waved a hand, and the man was pped to the side with enough force to knock him out of the void.

    Jiu Han was an Envoy, and she was much more powerful than an ordinary Envoy at that. As for the man, he was only an Enlighter, and he was not even able to endure against an Enlighter with a power level of 300,000.

    Lu Yin was unique throughout the entire universe.

    However, the man was not injured. Three streams of qi swirled around his body, and they transformed into different shapes at the same time.

    Jiu Han sneered. "I¡¯ve already dealt with your Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique before, and while it might indeed be an invincible battle technique, it¡¯s not enough topensate for the gap between us."

    A clone of Progenitor Chen that wielded a knife formed from one strand of ancestral qi, and it quickly merged with the illusory clone of Progenitor Chen that had also appeared. Thebined figure shed a knife forward, and at the same time, Progenitor Hui was formed from the third strand of ancestral qi. The clone of Progenitor Hui shot past Jiu Han and instantly set up an As If Closed sourcebox array.

    Jiu Han lifted a single finger and pointed it forward. Martial prints appeared at the tip of the finger, and they easily shattered the sourcebox array. Even though two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had merged together, the woman was still able to easily deal with the summoned clone.

    She was not an average Envoy, but rather someone who stood head and shoulders above her peers, and she also had a power level of more than 600,000.

    "Enough ying around! Give me that umbre!" Jiu Han shouted as she appeared right in front of the young man. She pped a palm down at him, clearly showing no mercy at all.

    The man raised his own hand. "Banishment."

    His efforts were useless. Jiu Han was only forced a single step back by the secret technique, and her palmnded on his forehead.

    The man thought that he was dead, but it turned out that Jiu Han had not actually attacked the young man, but rather grabbed him by the neck. After that, she dragged the young man towards the pce on the back of the wandering corpse.

    "Don''t worry, I¡¯m not going to kill you. I remember that you are Shang Qing, and you¡¯re more useful alive than dead. Actually, I want to know more about that Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique that you use." Jiu Han''s voice became much softer as she looked at the young man in her grasp.

    This was her true purpose. The moment she had recognized the young man, her thoughts had turned to the Tri-Yang Technique.

    The technique had zed like the sun during ZENITH, and Shang Qing had overwhelmed his peers, including even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies. At that time, Shang Qing had even encouraged everyone to attack him at once, as he had wanted to break through the Tri-Yang Technique, but the Progenitor of Combat had stopped him.

    If not for Lu Yin¡¯s appearance and his demonstration of a legendary power, Shang Qing would have be peerless within his generation. He would have been unstoppable.

    Jiu Han had also watched ZENITH from within the Daosource Sect. At the time, she had felt a strong curiosity and desire for the Tri-Yang Technique, and she had not expected to run into Shang Qing while in Burial Garden. She had naturally seized this opportunity.

    She did not care about any sort of consequences, as the Progenitor of Combat would protect her regardless of what she did.

    Even if Jiu Han killed Shang Qing or captured him, the Hall of Honor would not know anything.

    Shang Qing was not surprised to hear that Jiu Han wanted to learn the Tri-Yang Technique. "You can''t learn it."

    Jiu Han sneered, and then her eyes fell onto the Voidsoul Umbre that Shang Qing was holding. "Just what is this umbre of yours? It¡¯s actually able to stop me from extracting water from your body. I almost managed to capture Lu Yin as well, but unfortunately, he escaped. The two strongest youths of your entire Fifth Maind almost fell into my hands."

    Jiu Han caught up to the wandering corpse as she dragged Shang Qing along with a hand. When she saw the corpse¡¯s face, she was just as startled as Lu Yin had been.

    "So it''s actually an astral beast? This Burial Garden really has everything," Jiu Han muttered to herself.

    From behind the wandering corpse, Lu Yin stared nkly at Jiu Han, who had just appeared up ahead of the giant and the pce. He looked at the person in her grasp; was that Shang Qing?

    Lu Yin saw Jiu Han, but the woman¡¯s full attention was directed towards the wandering corpse, and she waspletely unconcerned about anything else at this moment.

    Jiu Han did not notice Lu Yin, so he quickly ducked his head and hid himself even more carefully. He was not afraid as Xia Yi was not present. However, Lu Yin could not allow Jiu Han to escape again. Also, he needed to rescue Shang Qing.

    Jiu Han was a genuine Envoy, and that meant that she not only had powerful cultivation, but she had also survived various difficulties. It was impossible for anyone to be an Envoy without enduring various hardships, not even the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants.

    She remained cautious. Despite seeing the pce, she did not rush straight in. Instead, she took the same action as Lu Yin. She kept a hold of Shang Qing and waited.

    Lu Yin could only fall further behind in order to prevent her from finding him.

    Before long, someone else appeared. This person also did not go straight into the pce, intending to wait and observe from a distance. Jiu Han lost her patience, and she shot over in front of the neer and threw them into the pce.

    The man was not even a Hunter, so he was as powerless as a child against Jiu Han.

    As soon as she saw that the man had entered the pce without being harmed, Jiu Han sneered and twitched a finger. The man had intended to continue into the pce, but he was suddenly yanked back by an unstoppable force. At that moment, the man was pped into a puddle of blood. Not a single bone remained.

    Both Jiu Han and Shang Qing¡¯s faces changed color in unison, and they were both too frightened to even look at the wandering corpse. Did this thing actually take the initiative to attack people?

    It was readily apparent that the pce housed ancient treasures, and Jiu Han wanted those things, but she had no desire to risk her own life. She nced at Shang Qing. No, this was the person who could provide her with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. His life was also too valuable to risk.

    Her only option was to wait from a distance. Jiu Han decided that she would wait, and if anyone went in, then she would simply collect whatever they gathered from within the pce after they were pped to death by the wandering corpse.

    Jiu Han¡¯s thoughts aligned perfectly with Lu Yin''s.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had already moved around in a wide circle in front of the wandering corpse astral beast. He then set up a sourcebox array while calcting the trajectory of the path that Jiu Han was going to take following the wandering corpse.

    Lu Yin was quite lucky that the Envoy¡¯s full attention was devoted to the massive wandering corpse; otherwise, she might have noticed Lu Yin¡¯s movements.

    An hourter, Jiu Han was still holding on to Shang Qing and following behind the wandering corpse, waiting for someone to enter the pce.

    Suddenly, Jiu Han¡¯s face became highly focused. She had detected star energy fluctuations. She looked around and saw a pool of blood on the ground some distance away. There was a cosmic ring in the puddle of blood, and the fluctuations of star energy had originated from there.

    She wondered how anyone could have died there, let alone in the same manner as how the wandering corpse killed people.

    Despite the oddity of the situation, she did not give it much thought. She dragged Shang Qing along and approached the puddle. Right when she was about to reach down and grab the cosmic ring, Shang Qing disappeared from her grasp and reappeared thousands of meters away. Jiu Han was startled. There was a sourcebox array here!

    She immediately moved and entered the true universe in order to avoid the enemy attack.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin appeared with the Ce Secret Art. His hand was wrapped around with his golden battle force, and he instantly released a Vacuum Palm.

    Jiu Han had not expected to be ambushed by Lu Yin. The moment she saw him, she reflexively protected her body from his Vacuum Palm with the water ripples. Her reaction was almost instantaneous, and the Vacuum Palm struck the water ripples. Still, she was forced out of the true universe by the attack. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold, and his spiritual force erupted: Daynight Praises.

    The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint appeared behind Jiu Han, and her stellr energy instantly suppressed the star energy in the area, locking down both Lu Yin and Shang Qing¡¯s star energy. Jiu Han was able to stifle their star energy, but she could not dispel spiritual force or Lu Yin¡¯s Vacuum Palms.

    When the two hadst fought, Lu Yin had already realized that Jiu Han''s greatest weakness was her spiritual force, while that just happened to be one of Lu Yin¡¯s fortes.

    It was Lu Yin¡¯s strongest aspect against Jiu Han¡¯s weakest, and Jiu Han instantly fell into the illusion of Daynight Praises. She saw the Progenitor of Combat appear, and she learned the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. However, her impression of the technique was illusory.

    Suddenly, the Progenitor of Combat struck at Jiu Han.

    It was an attack that fully integrated Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge. Within the illusion of Daynight Praises, this attack was enough to severely injure or even kill Jiu Han.

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants too much.

    A light shone from Jiu Han''s forehead, and a martial print appeared. This martial print not only shattered the illusion, but it also attacked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not been this badly surprised even when he learned that Jiu San had fought against Corpse God. After all, Jiu San was the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s great grandson, and he had managed to kill Corpse God by using a martial print that the Progenitor of Combat had left within his descendant¡¯s body. Jiu Han had the same sort of martial print in her body, and even if it was weaker than the one that Jiu San had been given, it still was enough to pose a fatal threat to Lu Yin.

    His pupils instantly constricted, and he waved his hand to cause the Voidsoul Umbre that Shang Qing had been holding to appear in his hand instead. He opened the umbre and aimed it at the approaching martial print.

    There was a deafening bang, and the void was torn open while Lu Yin was sted back. The shockwave from the explosion ripped through the surrounding area, and it even shook off the dust on the feet of the enormous wandering corpse.

    Some timeter, after the dust dissipated, Lu Yin lowered his arm. The Voidsoul Umbre remained unharmed.

    In front of Lu Yin, Jiu Han''s face had gone pale. "Impossible! That was a martial print from the Progenitor of Combat himself! How could that umbre stop it?"

 Chapter 1804: Solved

    Chapter 1804: Solved

    Lu Yin was lucky that he had been able to grab the Voidsoul Umbre, as without it, his bodysuit armor most likely would not have been enough topletely protect him from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s martial print. If it had been the limit of what Jiu Han could endure, then the martial print had probably been an attack that exceeded a power level of 900,000. This was more than what he could withstand, but the Voidsoul Umbre was a treasure from Progenitor Ku¡¯s Voidsoul Pce, which meant that it was also something from a Progenitor.

    "There are plenty of things that you¡¯ll never be able to understand, but let me see if you have another martial print!" Lu Yin shouted as his spiritual force swept towards Jiu Han once again.

    The Envoy¡¯s expression changed drastically, and she waved a hand in an attempt to pull the water out of Lu Yin''s body, but Lu Yin was holding the Voidsoul Umbre, and it was able to block all of her attacks. She was instantly lost in the illusion once again.

    Daynight Praises caused Jiu Han to suffer unimaginable pain. The Progenitor of Combat¡¯s martial print had been able to protect her once, but a second time was impossible. Within the illusion, the Progenitor of Combat''s palm finally fell upon her.

    Jiu Han spat out blood, and her forehead fractured. She stared at Lu Yin and started wailing, "I¡¯m the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendant! Lu Yin, do you really dare to kill me?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly red. "So what if you¡¯re the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendant? This is the Fifth Maind, and your background means nothing here."

    Jiu Han screamed and pulled out numerous power vessels from her cosmic ring in an attempt to save herself. One of the defensive items had a shape that was simr to a martial print, and it wrapped around her entire body before carrying her far away. ¡°You little beast! I¡¯ll remember this! You¡¯ll pay for this with your life! Your Great Eastern Alliance can forget about surviving in the Outerverse!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold, and his expression firmed. "Did you actually think that you could escape?"

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet even as he spoke, and he moved.

    Jiu Han tore into the true universe in order to escape, but Lu Yin followed her there. He raised his hand, and his Champions¡¯ Stage appeared. "With my name, I summon a champion."

    Lu Yin¡¯s death energy suddenly dropped as it formed Cang Zhou¡¯s body. The champion targeted Jiu Han and mes erupted. Cang Zhou had been an expert with a power level of over 700,000, and a single attack from him caused the water ripples that protected Jiu Han¡¯s body to distort, terrifying the woman. "Lu Yin, stop! Do you want to start a war with my Sixth Maind? Do you want to start a fight with the Progenitor of Combat?"

    Lu Yin remained unfazed as he bombarded her with Vacuum Palms.

    It took less than ten seconds for all of Jiu Han''s defensive power vessels to shatter, which horrified her. "Lu Yin, I¡¯m one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants! There are many powerhouses in my family, and if you dare to kill me, you will absolutely die in the future! The Progenitor of Combat will never let you go for this!"

    Lu Yin took out the weapon fragment that he had picked up and casually waved it towards Jiu Han. The weapon fragment pierced the woman¡¯s neck, and a thin, blood-red line became clearly visible.

    Shang Qing stared nkly as Jiu Han''s body fell and struck the ground some distance away. The Envoy¡¯s eyes were still wide open, disying her resentment and frustrations even in death.

    Lu Yin emerged from the true universe. He looked absolutely exhausted.

    Jiu Han had not been an easy opponent even if her spiritual force had been quite weak. She had also been protected by the martial print that she had received from the Progenitor of Combat himself.

    Given her status as one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants, she had ess to many treasures, but fortunately, Lu Yin had proven more capable.

    The ground trembled. The wandering corpse of the massive astral beast had been unaffected by the battle, and it was still plodding forward and carrying the pce on its back.

    Lu Yin approached Jiu Han''s body and quietly stared at it.

    Killing one of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s descendants would certainly incite an enmity that could not be resolved, though Lu Yin also had no desire to even try. There was already an inerasable hatred between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    Despite the fact that both Mainds were inhabited by humans and their greatest enemy was actually Aeternus, Progenitor Chen had previously ughtered the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors, and the Rune Progenitor had led his entire civilization to fight against the Sixth Maind. These ancient sacrifices that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors had made proved that the Sixth Maind had to have done something that the Fifth Maind could never forgive.

    If not for Progenitor Hui''s incredible scheme that had spanned the ages and led to the copse of the Sixth Maind due to Aeternus¡¯s invasion, the Sixth Maind would have never agreed to live in peace with the Fifth Maind. In Lu Yin''s heart, the Sixth Maind was an enemy that ranked behind only Aeternus and the four ruling powers. If they were killed, so be it.

    Still, at the moment, the loot that Lu Yin could gain from Jiu Han¡¯s corpse was the most important thing.

    His eyes fell onto the Envoy¡¯s cosmic ring on her finger, and he grabbed it with high expectations.

    Shang Qing approached, though he was left speechless by Lu Yin''s actions.

    Lu Yin looked over and reluctantly threw the Voidsoul Umbre back. "That thing¡¯s pretty good."

    Shang Qing took the umbre and stored it in his cosmic ring. "I picked it up in the Dominion Realm. I¡¯d like to thank you."

    Lu Yin''s mouth twitched to the side. "Then get me some star essence."

    Shang Qing nodded. "Alright. I¡¯ll make some arrangements when I get back."

    Lu Yin did not take the conversation to heart as he was focused on Jiu Han''s cosmic ring. He opened it with her blood, and everything fell out. What he found left him stunned.

    In addition to a woman¡¯s personal items, he also found some medicinal pills, but not too many. What about all the power vessels? Cultivation arts? At the very least, there should have been star essence, but there was none at all.

    Lu Yin assumed that he must not havepletely emptied the cosmic ring, so he focused on pulling everything out, only to realize that there was nothing left within the ring at all.

    He gritted his teeth. Despite fighting such a battle, he had not ended up gaining anything at all.

    Actually¡­ He summoned the Champions¡¯ Stage once again. "By my name, I anoint a champion."

    Unsurprisingly, Jiu Han¡¯s image appeared on the stage.

    This was the first time that Shang Qing had seen Lu Yin anoint a champion, and he was startled by the process.

    Lu Yin nced over and he suddenly remembered the Voidsoul Umbre. Typically, Lu Yin would never return something that he had taken, especially after saving someone¡¯s life.

    Well, he would just forget it this time and pretend to have not seen the Voidsoul Umbre.

    "Keep this to yourself," Lu Yinmented, referring to his Champions¡¯ Stage. Even though Arch-Elder Zen knew about it, Lu Yin did not want his innate gift to be public knowledge.

    Shang Qing was still stunned. "Is that your innate gift?"

    "You don¡¯t recognize it?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Shang Qing shook his head. "Should I?"

    Lu Yin then remembered that everyone in the Perennial World had had any and all memories rted to the Lu family sealed, which meant that none of them were able to even think about the Lu family. The Champions¡¯ Stage was essentially the symbol of the Lu family, so naturally, no one in the Perennial World would speak of such a thing, and no records of it existed. Only people like Arch-Elder Zen and other knowledgeable powerhouses would even know about such a matter.

    While Shang Qing was second only to Lu Yin within their generation, he was still a young man and did not qualify to be given very much information.

    "She was Jiu Han, a descendant of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat," Shang Qing reported.

    Lu Yin replied in a casual tone, "I know. We fought each other before."

    "I heard her mention something about that and assumed that she¡¯d fought with you. There isn¡¯t any other Enlighter who could have gotten away from her."

    Lu Yin nced over. "Are youplimenting me?"

    Shang Qing denied nothing, but he did change the subject. "As soon as her death bes known, the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s other descendants will definitely start investigating."

    "Did anyone see her chasing you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shang Qing stared back at Lu Yin. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin frowned, but there really was nothing else to say.

    Shang Qing''s expression remained calm. "Even if someone does learn that her death has something to do with me, it doesn''t matter. Even if the Progenitor of Combates, he won¡¯t be able to force his way deep into the Neoverse. My Fifth Maind is not powerless to defend itself against even Progenitors. Also, Aeternus managed to badly injure the Progenitor of Secret Arts, which left the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors all wary."

    "Also, the power of the Rune Progenitor injured the Progenitor of Combat," Lu Yin reminded. He actually wanted to find out what sort of hidden power the Hall of Honor had that could make even the Seven Skygods nervous.

    Each of the Skygods was a Semi-Progenitor, and while the Human Domain as a whole had their seven Semi-Progenitors to hold back the Seven Skygods, the Hall of Honor alone did not have that ability. If the Seven Skygods worked together to attack the Hall of Honor, then the Human Domain¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors might not be able to arrive in time to help. Despite this, the Seven Skygods had never united to attack the Hall of Honor even though Ancient God had once destroyed a node even when it was being protected by Arch-Elder Zen.

    Even if the nodes had been put into ce by Progenitor Hui, this incident showed that Arch-Elder Zen mightck the strength topletely hold back Ancient God.

    The Hall of Honor had to have some sort of foundational power that even the Seven Skygods feared, but Shang Qing would not know about such things at his level. So, Lu Yin remained silent.

    The giant wandering corpse continued to move away step by step, and Lu Yin and Shang Qing hastened to catch back up to it.

    "What are you doing?" Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his voice took on a decidedly unfriendly tone. Shang Qing had better not want to try to take this chance from Lu Yin. That would be going too far.

    Shang Qing indifferently replied, "I¡¯m just following along to watch. Don''t worry, everything will belong to you."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, but what could he say? If Shang Qing dared to try to take anything, Lu Yin would just stop him.

    Shang Qing was actually just curious about where the wandering corpse of the enormous astral beast hade from, as well as the situation in Burial Garden. No matter what, Burial Garden was one of the Three Dark Hands.

    "So, were Arch-Elder Zen and the othersfortable letting youe to Burial Garden?" Lu Yin asked after remembering something.

    Shang Qing casually replied, "After ZENITH, many people''s thoughts changed. They used to want to train me in the safest manner possible and have me cultivate without ever risking my life, but things are different now. I lost to you during ZENITH, and that caused many people to reevaluate their opinions, especially Arch-Elder Zen. He¡¯s allowed me to go out on my own to get some experience. Even if I die, I¡¯ll die while gaining experience.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew strange. "That sounds so weird! How can you just train so that you can go get experience? That sounds so forced! If possible, I''d love to be kept safe and secure so long as I was given enough star essence."

    "That¡¯s not funny."

    Lu Yin was actually being serious. "I''m not kidding! As long as someone could provide for all my needs, I¡¯d be happy to not go anywhere at all."

    Shang Qing absolutely did not believe Lu Yin, and no one else would believe such a im either. In fact, only Lu Yin himself believed it. This was simr to when Starsibyl had asked Lu Yin how to be stronger, and he had replied that it just took money.

    However, that had been Lu Yin''s honest answer. This was his path, and it was a path that no one else could copy.

    The two young men followed the wandering corpse for two days, during which many people approached the giant wandering corpse. Some of the people entered the pce while others acted like Lu Yin and Shang Qing and tried to follow from behind in order to collect others¡¯ harvests. Lu Yin hated seeing others trying to copy his idea, and he forced those people to enter the pce and explore it.

    If they were lucky, they might be able to leave with a treasure. If they were unlucky, they would be swatted to death like a fly.

    Lu Yin managed to collect a few things from the people who tried to escape from the pce, but everything that he found was useless. There were some items that seemed ancient, but they broke as soon as they were touched. There were also some treasures that even Envoys could use, but Lu Yin saw them as worthless as they were not worth Enhancing.

    "Do you want this? I''ll sell it to you." Lu Yin offered an ancient-looking treasure to Shang Qing while asking in an expectant tone.

    It was a power vessel that could unleash an overwhelming power that could even push an Envoy away, but it was not even as useful as the Vacuum Palm technique to Lu Yin. Even if he Enhanced the power vessel to the limit, its range was limited enough that it would not be very useful.

    Shang Qing took it. "How much?"

    "What do you think?" Lu Yin¡¯s expression sharpened as soon as money was mentioned.

    Shang Qing considered the question for a bit and then gave Lu Yin a white Mavis Bank card. "The Hall of Honor gave me this to use, so you can take whatever¡¯s left in the ount."

    He then proceeded to tell Lu Yin how to ess the ount.

 Chapter 1805: Divination Method

    Chapter 1805: Divination Method

    Shang Qing clearly knew Lu Yin, and Lu Yin became excited at what he had just received. A white bank card was only inferior to the Mavis Bank¡¯s gray crystal cards. "How much?"

    "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin eagerly took the card.

    The two suddenly looked up at the same time, only to see that someone was trying to leave the pce carried by the wandering corpse, but they were summarily swatted out of the air by the massive corpse.

    Suddenly, the wandering corpse stopped and no longer moved.

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing nced at each other, as this wandering corpse had never stopped moving before.

    Suddenly, the entire pce was tilted as the wandering corpse straightened and stood upright. Many things fell out of the pce, though most of them were corpses.

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing were blown away. Was it stretching? Could corpses even stretch?!

    The giant astral beast corpse took its time stretching for a while and then continued on its staggering walk. Many things were left on the ground behind it.

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing shot forward. Someone nearby was looking up at the wandering corpse as it staggered by. The figure stood quietly before turning around and began to leave. It was at this moment that Lu Yin¡¯s domain covered the area the person was standing on. Sensing this, the figure turned back around.

    Lu Yin had been in the middle of picking through the items that had fallen from the pce, but this person¡¯s appearance startled him, and he instantly entered the true universe and disappeared.

    Shang Qing was taken aback; what could possibly cause Lu Yin to stop picking up free treasure? He knew Lu Yin well enough to know that something important must have happened, and Shang Qing wanted to chase after Lu Yin, but after ncing around, Shang Qing realized that he had absolutely no idea which direction Lu Yin had even gone in.

    Some distance away, a person was staring up at the enormous wandering corpse as Lu Yin emerged from the true universe next to them. "You¡¯re actually still alive?

    This person was Starsibyl. Many people had thought that she had died when the Starsibyl Sect was destroyed, so Lu Yin had not expected to run into her in Burial Garden.

    Starsibyl turned to look at Lu Yin and gave him a small smile. "Brother Lu, we meet again."

    Lu Yin stared at Starsibyl¡¯s smiling face. "I thought that you were dead."

    Starsibyl continued to smile as she replied, "The Neohuman Alliance needs us to find something for them, so how could they kill us?"

    "So, was the Starsibyl Sect destroyed by you guys?" Lu Yin asked.

    A breeze blew by and pulled a strand of hair across Starsibyl¡¯s face. She reached up and tucked it behind her ear, revealing her snow-white neck. "It was the only way we could manage to avoid being captured by the Neohuman Alliance."

    "Why not just ask the Hall of Honor for help?"

    "Brother Lu, do you actually think that the Hall of Honor can protect us? Or that Arch-Elder Zen himself would step out for us? Even if my Starsibyl Sect has a bit of influence, it¡¯s far from enough to ask Semi-Progenitors to protect us. We aren¡¯t as important as Brother Lu, who was protected by Highsage Grandmaster himself after ZENITH. You really are able to turn your bad luck into good luck." Starsibyl was clearly envious.

    "Where are you staying now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl gave a small bow. "The Aeternals are too powerful, and even if Brother Lu is able to protect himself, you probably still don¡¯t have the strength to protect my Starsibyl Sect. Please don''t ask any more questions. Give us some peace and just wait for the Starsibyl Sect to reappear. One day, when Brother Lu needs me, I¡¯ll offer you the full support of my Starsibyl Sect, so please don''t forget about our previous agreement."

    Some time ago, when Lu Yin had asked Starsibyl Sect for a divination, she had asked Lu Yin to promise that, when the day came that humanity faced a great crisis, he would preserve a trace of the Starsibyl Sect. That had been Lu Yin''s promise to the Starsibyl Sect.

    "I haven''t forgotten, but what is the catastrophe that you¡¯ve predicted?" Lu Yin was quite curious about this.

    Starsibyl shook her head. "I don''t actually know, but that catastrophe will definitely appear. As for what it is, that¡¯s something that I can¡¯t see."

    "Then why do you believe that I can preserve a trace of your Starsibyl Sect? I might not even be able to protect myself," Lu Yin said.

    Starsibyl looked at Lu Yin with bright eyes. "Brother Lu, do you still remember the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Astral Combat Tournament and the Tournament of the Strongest?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course."

    Those twopetitions had been the start of Lu Yin¡¯s fame, so how could he forget them? In particr, the Tournament of the Strongest had been where Lu Yin had first fought Wang Yun, and that meeting had led to him being exposed in the Perennial World.

    Starsibyl¡¯s mouth curled up into a beautiful curve. "I first wanted to conduct a divination for Brother Lu, but I wasn¡¯t able to see you in any of my divinations, so I instead predicted the most probable oue, and I used that to see into Brother Lu''s future."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "See my future? What did you see?"

    Starsibyl shook her head. "It¡¯s hard to exin, but I was able to divine something.¡±

    "Back then, it should have been the Starsibyl who was my ssmate in the Astral Combat Academy who performed the divination. She was the student leader of Astral-1."

    "She¡¯s one of my clones."

    "Are you saying that you see me as someone whom you can ce your hopes upon?" Lu Yin found this quite strange, and his tone expressed his doubt.

    Starsibyl gave a small smile. "Of course not. This is just one detail, or rather, a variable. I want to perform further divinations regarding your particr variable."

    "But you also helped Nightking Zhenwu," Lu Yin countered.

    Starsibyl stared at Lu Yin. "When you fought him back then, I told you that that day was either going to be the most glorious moment of his life or the darkest nadir. I also told you that I could not see his future beyond that day."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "So back then, you weren¡¯t only using me as an anchor to perform your divinations, but also Nightking Zhenwu?"

    "More urately, I conducted a second divination with you as the anchor and Nightking Zhenwu as a reference point because I can''t directly divinate anything regarding you," Starsibyl said.

    Starsibyl¡¯s words did not make any sense to Lu Yin, but he did know that Starsibyl had tried to perform many divinations on him. However, she had never been able to directly divine anything concerning Lu Yin himself. Rather, she always had to infer details by divining his enemies or other such methods. This was also why she had gotten close to Nightking Zhenwu.

    "Your first divination on me was based on probability while the second used Nightking Zhenwu as a vantage point. What about the third time?" Lu Yin asked. He did not like having his future looked at, but Starsibyl had never been able to see Lu Yin¡¯s future. He alone seemed to be immune to divination, which he found rather odd.

    Starsibyl bowed once more. "That divination is something that I can''t exin. Brother Lu, I have never done anything against you, and I have helped you and entrusted you with the future of my Starsibyl Sect. We will absolutely support you with everything we have, and I hope that you will treat us in kind."

    Lu Yin contemted the matter for a moment. "Help me divinate a particr word."

    "Brother Lu, please tell me," Starsibyl encouraged.

    "Murkiness."

    Starsibyl felt confused. "Murkiness? What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Just that word: Murkiness. Please perform a divination on that, and ask Senior Zhu toe out to tell me the results of the divination."

    Starsibyl nodded. "Alright. If that¡¯s all, I¡¯ll take my leave now. Also, Brother Lu, Burial Garden¡¯s gates are very dangerous, and the Neohuman Alliance will definitely try to destroy them. Burial Garden is something that involves ancient secrets and even ancient inheritances. Aeternus will not allow this ce to endure, so Brother Lu, you must be careful."

    As Lu Yin watched Starsibyl leave, he realized that he actually wanted to force Starsibyl to reveal everything she knew, but there were some people who could not be forced.

    On top of that, Starsibyl Sect had already helped him several times before, and Lu Yin was not someone who repaid kindness with evil. While he hoped that the Starsibyl Sect might be able to divinate something rted to Murkiness, he did not hold much hope. It was impossible for them to discover anything if not even Mister Mu had been able to learn anything.

    Lu Yin simply wanted to see what the Starsibyl Sect was capable of, and also what they might be able to learn with the word ¡°Murkiness.¡± In the past, Xuan Jiu had performed a divination for Lu Yin, and the old man had vomited blood from the attempt. The Starsibyl Sect was clearly rather capable.

    Ake could be too still to be seen, and only by throwing a stone could the depths be seen clearly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to disturb theke, and his n was to use the Starsibyl Sect as the stone to stir the water.

    He returned to where the wandering corpse had stretched, and he found Shang Qing still waiting there, as well as another, terrified person crouching next to Shang Qing.

    Lu Yin ignored the neer and simply picked through the rest of the items on the ground. Most of what he found were corpses, weapons, and so on, but the weapons were all verymon. It was clear that there had been a battle within the pce and that thebatants had fallen out.

    Lu Yin checked the corpses¡¯ cosmic rings one by one, and in them, he found two more weapon fragments.

    "I- can I go? I didn''t get anything!" The cultivator squatting on the ground spoke up in a trembling voice. He had recognized these two young men. One of them was known as Shang Qing, and he was a representative of the Hall of Honor itself! As for the other man, he was even more terrifying. He was Lu Yin! The leader of the Great Eastern Alliance that was headquartered in the west of the Innerverse. Although the man was from a ce that was far away from the Great Eastern Alliance, he had heard that even Chaos Flowzone had joined the alliance, so he knew that his flowzone¡¯s time was limited.

    Lu Yin nced at the man, and his eyes sent chills through the man. He quickly spoke up, terrified. "Lord Lu, this lowly one really didn¡¯t take anything! I simply heard that there was a giant walking around with a pce on its back. I just wanted toe see it, and I was captured by this person as soon as I saw the giant. I really didn¡¯t take anything!"

    "You heard about it? Who told you about it?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    "There was a report that¡¯s spread throughout the entire universe. Some people say that there are giants in Burial Garden who walk in circles while carrying ancient pces on their backs and that they often drop precious treasures, including weapons, power vessels, and cultivation arts."

    Lu Yin frowned. "When did this newse out?"

    The cultivator thought for a while. "It''s already been a while. It started circting just a bit after Burial Garden opened, so it should have been more than ten days ago."

    More than ten days? At that time, Lu Yin had not seen the wandering corpse yet, which meant that the news had been leaked before he even found it.

    At this moment, someone exited the pce on the wandering corpse¡¯s back far away. The figure tore into the void and fled.

    Lu Yin recognized the person as the Augmenter from the Toolcasting family. Had that man not died? He had stayed in the pce for a long time.

    A seventh stage Augmenter was naturally an Envoy, and such a powerhouse could naturally enter the true universe, but that meant nothing to something as powerful as the wandering corpse. It waved a hand and struck through the void. Hiding in the true universe was useless, and the Augmenter was still struck.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression had gone cold, and the crouching cultivator could not understand what was wrong. The man had only seen the wandering corpse casually wave a hand, as though it were swatting a mosquito, though there had been a burst of blood in the void.

    "Lord Lu, I- I really didn¡¯t take anything! I just wanted to take a look. I swear, I¡¯ll never say a single word to anyone that I saw the two of you here. Also, I can provide you with some information to trade for my life!" the cultivator spoke quickly in his panic.

    Shang Qing was curious. "Information?"

    The cultivator nodded and gulped. "Close to where I entered Burial Garden was a gate."

    Lu Yin turned to look at the man, his eyes bright. "Is this gate an exit?"

    The man nodded. "Yes, but it¡¯s protected by a powerhouse. Anyone wanting to leave has to give him their cosmic ring."

    Lu Yin and Shang Qing nced at each other. For them, only Envoys with Jiu Han¡¯s strength could be considered powerhouses, which meant Envoys. How many Envoys were there in the entire universe? And how many of those had entered Burial Garden?

 Chapter 1806: Skyeater Goose

    Chapter 1806: Skyeater Goose

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something. He turned towards Shang Qing, but then he stopped right before he opened his mouth. He first pped the crouching man unconscious and then turned back to Shang Qing. "Aren¡¯t you a part of the Hall of Honor?"

    Shang Qing felt rather confused. "Why are you asking me that?"

    "I found an exit gate, but it was being protected by one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Envoy-realm androids," Lu Yin said.

    Shang Qing shook his head. "I don''t know anything about that. No one told me anything."

    Lu Yin stopped talking, and he instead raced to the puddle of blood that had once been the Augmenter. He suppressed his nausea and used his star energy to pull out the dead man¡¯s cosmic ring. Lu Yin quickly opened it and emptied it.

    This time his harvest was not bad. He found many weapons in the Augmenter¡¯s cosmic ring, though Lu Yin could not determine their quality. Additionally, he found hundreds of millions of star essence, various bottles, as well as a piece of jade. It looked like it might have held a cultivation art, but it was iplete, which made it useless.

    Almost everything that had been in the cosmic ring was trash, such as the tokens from the Toolcasting family. But there was only one thing that caught Lu Yin¡¯s interest, which was a map. He spread it out and was shocked to see that it was actually a map of the pce.

    It was no wonder why the Augmenter had spent so long in the pce; he had actually been sketching a map. However, what was the reason? Lu Yin could not understand why the man had made the map.

    There were various portions of the pce that were depicted in great detail, and dangerous regions were specially marked. Lu Yin nced at the map, but he had no intention of entering and exploring the pce. It was possible that not even the Teleportation Formation would allow him to escape from there.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin stared at a particr image that had been drawn on one corner of the map. It was not a drawing of the pce, but rather of a creature. It had also been highlighted by the Augmenter as more important than anything else on the map.

    Most importantly, Lu Yin had seen the creature before.

    It was a truly odd creature, as it had no eyes, limbs, eyes, ears, nose, or any other typical body parts.

    This was not a creature that still existed, and yet Lu Yin had seen it before, and he even had a strong impression of it.

    When he had absorbed the death energy within the ruins of the Bizarre Sect, Lu Yin had seen the back of a figure that appeared to be the God of Death, and that person had easily defeated a creature that had beenrge enough to cover the sky and block the sun. The creature drawn on the map was exactly the same as the one that Lu Yin had seen the God of Death defeat.

    After seeing that vision, Lu Yin had taken some time to do a bit of research, but there was no such creature that matched that description recorded or known to mankind. It was a creature that did not exist in the current era, but rather something that had lived in ancient times, which matched with what Lu Yin had witnessed in that vision.

    If the figure that Lu Yin had seen from the back really had been the God of Death, and this creature had been courageous enough to attack even the God of Death, then it was possible that this creature had the strength of a Progenitor.

    The bloodstained clothes that he had picked up made Lu Yin certain that the figure whose back he had seen had been the God of Death.

    He looked up at the pce. It did not seem particrly odd for an image of this creature to be in the pce as it had lived in the same era as the God of Death whose clothes had been in the pce. But if that was the case, then how had this pce been preserved? Too much time had passed for this to be possible. Just what was the origin of Burial Garden for even these ancient items to have been preserved? Lu Yin felt like Burial Garden had somehow crossed through time and space to connect back to the ancient eras.

    "Is that a map?" Shang Qing asked as he approached.

    Lu Yin instantly put the map away. "There¡¯s no map."

    "That was just-"

    "There was nothing. You saw wrong."

    Shang Qing took a while to find the words to respond. "I¡¯m not going to rob you."

    A dangerous glint flickered in Lu Yin''s eyes. "If you dare to try it, I¡¯ll end you."

    Shang Qing had no idea how to even reply.

    "Don''t forget, you still owe me money," Lu Yinmented.

    Shang Qing felt both confused and uncertain. "Didn''t I already give you that Mavis Bank card?"

    "That was to buy the power vessel," Lu Yin stated as though this was perfectly obvious.

    Shang Qing pursed his lips. He simply could not figure out how tomunicate with Lu Yin. After thinking for a moment, he decided to just let the matter go. He would treat it aspensation for Lu Yin saving his life. Tossing it aside, Shang Qing made a mental note to find some way to get Lu Yin more money. "Do you want to keep following the giant wandering corpse?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the enormous astral beast that was already lumbering off into the distance and then shook his head. "Not anymore. It¡¯s easy to get into that pce but almost impossible to get out. I have no interest in dying, and trying to get anything by following it is too time-consuming."

    Shang Qing said, "I''m not going to keep following it either."

    He nced around. "Burial Garden is massive, and I want to see more. What about you?"

    "I want to explore. Just don''t die. And even if you want to die, make sure you pay me back what you owe me before you die." Lu Yin was quite emphatic.

    Shang Qing¡¯s smile grew bitter. "I understand. Don''t worry, Brother Lu. Goodbye."

    "Later."

    The two separated; one made their way south and the other north. As for the enormous wandering corpse, it continued walking east.

    ¡­

    In the Innerverse, the Divine Grade Hall was the power that led Beast Tamers Flowzone. Beneath the Divine Grade Hall were the First Grade Hall and the Second Grade Hall. Together, they controlled the entire Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    There were many astral beasts roaming through interster space in Beast Tamers Flowzone. Unlike humans, astral beasts did not need to reach the Explorer realm to be able to freely move through outer space. Many astral beasts were actually born in outer space, and some even had shells that were simr to the hull of a spacecraft. These beasts¡¯ tamers would be protected, and they would be able to travel through the universe as though they were in a spaceship.

    The Second Grade Hall was located in the outer reaches of Beast Tamers Flowzone, and it acted as the flowzone¡¯s gatekeeper. The Second Grade Hall had only ever had two Enlighters, but they had always been the most average kind of Enlighters. For example, Karthika had been an Enlighter from the Second Grade Hall, but he had been killed by Lu Yin.

    When Burial Garden¡¯s gates had started to appear throughout the universe, three gates had immediately appeared in the Second Grade Hall¡¯s territory. The Divine Grade Hall had repeatedly sent disciples through the gates to explore Burial Garden, but none of them had ever been able to get back in touch with the Divine Grade Hall after entering Burial Garden.

    In the end, the only option was for the Divine Grade Hall to send in some Enlighters.

    Beast Tamers Flowzone only had a single Burial Garden gate that could be used as an exit, and this was why Mountain God had not particrly cared when Lu Yin had ordered the powers that controlled the eight great flowzones to only keep a single exit open within each flowzone.

    However, in recent days, someone had emerged from another one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates that was in the Second Grade Hall¡¯s territory, which verified the existence of a second exit within Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Mountain God had be excited at this development, and hepletely ignored Lu Yin¡¯s orders. After all, how could he possibly destroy such an amazing opportunity?

    A great deal of information regarding Burial Garden had appeared on the Human Domain¡¯swork, but no one seemed to know where the information wasing from. In summary, Burial Garden held numerous valuable opportunities from ancient times, and some people were able to pick up ancient treasures, others found pills, and others obtained human blood fruits that they devoured to greatly increase their strength. The Hall of Honor had done nothing to stop Burial Garden from opening.

    All in all, many people believed that Burial Garden held an incredible opportunity.

    Mountain God was sure of this, as the first thing that he had acquired from someone exiting from Burial Garden had been the feathers of a legendary creature: the Skyeater Goose.

    Legends imed that in ancient times, there had been a wild swallowing goose that could devour space as its food and drank stellr energy as though it were water. It had been invisible to ordinary people, but its body had beenrge enough to cover the sun, moon, and stars, and its cry had been able to shake the universe itself.

    Despite the swallowing goose¡¯s immense size, its feathers had a unique trait that caused the bird to be intangible, and it had been able to freely travel through the void without actually touching any physical objects. It had been ethereal even in the true universe.

    It had truly been an amazing creature.

    Mountain God had acquired a feather from the swallowing goose, and it allowed him to vaguely hear the ancient swallowing goose¡¯s cry, which had given him an indistinct impression of space. This impression had actually opened up a new avenue of understanding towards cultivation.

    This experience had convinced Mountain God that Burial Garden held incredible opportunities from the ancient era. How could he possibly be willing to destroy one of Burial Garden¡¯s few exits? That exit could allow the Divine Grade Hall to grab far more treasures from Burial Garden.

    Mountain God was not the only person with such thoughts, as Liu Qianjue and others were the same. They had only put up an act of destroying Burial Garden¡¯s gates; how could they possibly destroy such an invaluable opportunity.

    Doom followed their decisions.

    The Second Grade Hall was massacred, and several Enlighters died, as well as countless disciples. This event left Mountain Godpletely shocked.

    He was furious at this loss, and he raced over to the Second Grade Hall. Upon arriving, he found that manys in the region had been destroyed, and Burial Garden¡¯s exit had also been destroyed. Only the most elite disciples from Beast Tamers Flowzone qualified to act as guards for the exit gates, and none of them were even from the Second Grade Hall, but rather the Divine Grade Hall.

    The loss of so many elite disciples was almost enough to break the Divine Grade Hall. Of the entire younger generation, only a few of the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s youths had managed to survive, and that was only because they had been out training.

    Mountain God wanted to track down the culprit, but he was toote. The person had been extremely ruthless, and the remaining evidence showed that the person was quite powerful. Even if they were not an Envoy, they were someone at the cusp of stepping into that level, and the person was also someone who was skilled at hiding their tracks.

    Only a day passed from the time that Mountain God had received word of the attack, and yet the person had already escaped far away before Mountain God could arrive.

    Not only had the Divine Grade Hall lost an exit gate of Burial Garden, but they had also lost the vast majority of their disciples, which was enough to make Mountain God roar from anger.

    Despite knowing it was pointless, Mountain God still issued an order to seal the flowzone. Word of this matter could also not be allowed to spread, as it would be impossible to exin to Lu Yin why one of Burial Garden¡¯s ordinary gates had been protected by so many experts.

    By this time, anyone trying to leave Burial Garden would be incredibly cautious, and some did not even stop and survey their surroundings when they got out, using their fastest movement techniques to escape from the exit.

    Far too few of those who entered Burial Garden to find opportunities were able to leave with what they had found.

    No one did anything at all to stop people from entering any of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, but anyone who exited a gate would be instantly captured.

    Only experts at Lu Yin''s level of strength at a minimum could be fearless when leaving Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin went in the direction that he had been told an exit could be found, and sure enough, he found one that had a person standing watch on the outside. The person was an arrogant looking middle-aged man with an imprint. He was not an Envoy, but merely an Enlighter with a power level of a bit more than 300,000. Such a person could not even withstand a single p from Lu Yin.

    The Enlighter tried to slip away the moment he saw Lu Yin approaching, but he was kicked to the ground and forced to reluctantly turn over his cosmic ring.

    The Enlighter felt both frustrated and upset. He had thought that very few true powerhouses would enter Burial Garden because the gates had only been open briefly, and he had assumed that his power level of 300,000 would be enough for him to run rampant. He had been partially correct, as he had not encountered any powerhouses, allowing him to pick up some treasures. However, only a bit of time had passed before the Enlighter ran into Lu Yin, rendering all of the man¡¯s efforts pointless.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was absolutely thrilled, and he evenplimented the Enlighter. "Keep standing guard and keep up the hard work. You¡¯ve got a bright future ahead of you!"

    This person had actually provided Lu Yin with a tribtion crystal pir, which was something that Lu Yin had not expected to find in Burial Garden. Although the pir was not particrlyrge and was also useless to Lu Yin, it could be sold for a shocking amount of money. After all, there were never enough tribtion crystal pirs, and if one was put up for sale, there would be no end to the number of people racing to buy it for any price.

 Chapter 1807: Hollow Palm

    Chapter 1807: Hollow Palm

    Aside from the pir of tribtion crystals, the Enlighter had less than 10 million star essence and a piece of jade that held a cultivation art. However, it was not one from the ancient era, and it was actually worthless.

    Wait, what was that?

    Lu Yin was shocked to find out that the man also had a sourcebox, and it was actually a humanoid sourcebox that was tied to a string.

    "Where did you get this humanoid sourcebox?" Lu Yin instantly grew somber.

    The Enlighter was quite resentful of his situation. "I got it from a young man. I asked him about it, and he said that he identally pulled it out of the ground."

    "Where?" The moment Lu Yin asked this question, he regretted it. How could anyone know where anything was inside Burial Garden?

    The middle-aged man had no idea how to even answer, so he just stared at Lu Yin with a fearful expression.

    Lu Yin was very ufortable after discovering the humanoid sourcebox, and he quickly put it away. He kicked the Enlighter away and passed through the gate to leave Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin was very vignt as he left Burial Garden. Despite his confidence in his own strength, he had no idea if he would run into some old freak with a power level of a million as soon as he passed through the gate, especially since Burial Garden¡¯s gates had also appeared in the Outerverse as well. The Sixth Maind had numerous powerhouses, and there was no way they would simply ignore the gates.

    Due to his caution, Lu Yin moved very carefully and even held the blood-red bell in his hand. The moment he detected anything off at all, he nned to ring the bell and return to Burial Garden.

    Fortunately, his wariness was unwarranted. Let alone a powerhouse, he found no one at all after exiting Burial Garden.

    He nced around and saw trees towering high into the clouds all around him. He was clearly in a dense forest. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and his expression instantly changed; there were no runes at all. Was he not in the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin kept a tight grip on the blood-red bell as he released his domain and slowly spread it out to its furthest limit.

    His domain was able to cover an incrediblyrge area given his current strength, but he still did not find a single trace of another human being. What was even more bizarre was that he had the distinct feeling that he had been to this ce before, as there was something familiar about it.

    This sensation couldn¡¯t be wrong, so he stood right next to Burial Garden¡¯s gate and reviewed his memories, trying to find the reason why this location felt so familiar.

    However, no matter how much time passed, he could note up with anything at all.

    The only thing that he knew for certain was that no one was nearby at all.

    With no one standing guard at the gate he had exited, could it be an undiscovered gate? That should be impossible.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, and he spread out his domain once more. This time, he was searching the area more carefully, as he simply wanted to find traces of anything that was not natural to the forest.

    There was no way that he was the only person who had passed through this exit gate, so where had all the others gone? Before long, Lu Yin found traces of blood. After following them in a particr direction with his domain, he soon found a body.

    Lu Yin approached the corpse, intending to check its cosmic ring.

    Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, and he understood why the forest felt so familiar. He had escaped to this ce once before.

    Back when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind and the Starfall Sea had been essentially conquered, Lu Yin had happened to end up on Grayweed Continent. There, he had passed through this particr forest to travel from Thundercharge Dojo to Mt. Stacks Dojo. No wonder why this ce felt so familiar.

    Since Lu Yin was on Grayweed Continent, it meant that he was in Aeternus¡¯s territory. Of course there were no runes here.

    This sudden thought sent chills down Lu Yin¡¯s spine, and he reflexively wanted to dart back into Burial Garden¡¯s gate to escape.

    However, after considering his situation, he looked towards the east, which was where Mt. Stacks Dojo was located. Could he go and check the palm prints that Lan Si had mentioned?

    Vacuum Palm¡¯s importance to Lu Yin as his primary attack method was readily evident, and yet Vacuum Palm was the technique that Lan Si had received from just the Ten Stacks palm print.

    Lu Yin excelled at the Oveying Stacks path, and his physical strength was unmatched. So, the techniques that used the Oveying Stacks Path naturally suited him best.

    However, Grayweed Continent was part of Aeternus¡¯s territory, and if Lu Yin was being careful, he knew that it would be best to immediately return to Burial Garden instead of trying to get to Mt. Stacks Dojo. After all, what would happen if he was discovered?

    Lu Yin was torn with indecision. On one hand, the most suitable technique imaginable for him was within reach, but on the other, safety was right next to him. He really did not know what to choose. He also knew that, when he had touched the palm prints during his previous visit to Mt. Stacks Dojo, he had not even sensed any techniques from the Ten Stacks palm print. Not a single other disciple from Mt. Stacks Dojo had ever sensed the existence of Vacuum Palm aside from Lan Si himself.

    Some battle techniques could only be obtained through luck, with nothing to do with ability. Even if Lu Yin was able to get to Mt. Stacks Dojo and visit the palm print, there was no guarantee that he would be able to sense a new battle technique, let aloneprehend one.

    After contemting the two options for a long time, Lu Yin eventually decided to travel to the dojo. Even if it was a very low possibility ofprehending a battle technique, he still wanted to at least attempt it. After all, such a battle technique was really too perfect for him.

    Just because Aeternus had taken over the Starfall Sea did not mean that the region waspletely full of corpse kings. That was actually impossible. This was much like how Lu Yin and the other people from the Fifth Maind had managed to escape from Grayweed Continent even when the Sixth Maind had taken over the Starfall Sea.

    The Grayweed Continent was massive, and there had been no corpse kings anywhere near Burial Garden¡¯s gate that Lu Yin had exited from. It was possible that there would not be any near Mt. Stacks Dojo either.

    The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this trip to Mt. Stacks Dojo was feasible. Lu Yin took a deep breath and mustered up his courage to make his way across Grayweed Continent.

    The forest that he was in was not that far from Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    As he traveled, Lu Yin did note across any corpse kings. He soon saw the stack of tforms of increasing gravity that stood tall above Mt. Stacks Dojo. There were twenty different levels to the tower, and each one was connected to the next by a hundred steps.

    Lu Yin did not move very quickly, as he was concerned about attracting unwanted attention if he traveled too fast. Fortunately, even when he was just outside Mt. Stacks Dojo, he still had not found any traces of a single corpse king.

    Mt. Stacks Dojo seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, as weeds had sprouted everywhere. Lu Yin approached the tower of tforms with increased gravity, and he simply leaped up to instantlynd on the first level, which was where the first palm print was located.

    In the past, Lu Yin had only been able to walk up to the first level, as he had only been an Explorer. At the present moment, the increased gravity was not able to affect him at all.

    On the tenth level, Lu Yin went straight to the palm print, and he pressed his hand against it while feeling a bit anxious.

    Time passed, but Lu Yin could not sense anything aside from the Oveying Stacks Path. He felt disappointed, as he had been hoping that he simply had not noticed the presence of the Vacuum Palm technique when he hadst touched the palm print. But even now, he still was not able to sense anything.

    Could it be that Lan Si was the only person who was able to sense anything besides the Oveying Stacks Path from the palm print?

    Lu Yin refused to believe that. He stretched out his hand once more and ced it against the palm print, but there was still no reaction.

    Suddenly, he had an idea, and he used Vacuum Palm on the palm print as he touched it. He felt a strange vibration in response, and with it, Lu Yin immediately saw the image of a palm print, and it struck him, passing a palm technique to him.

    He retreated a few steps and stared at his hand as he reviewed the information that had appeared in his mind: Hollow Palm.

    The sessor technique to Vacuum Palm was called Hollow Palm.

    Vacuum Palm was the culmination of the Oveying Stacks Path¡¯s method of superimposing one¡¯s strength, and it was an invisible, powerful, and very fast attack.

    Hollow Palm took everything one step further, as it not only included the Oveying Stacks Path, but also battle force, domain, and spiritual force¡ªanything that a person might have mastered waspressed into a single palm attack. This technique was even more difficult to detect than Vacuum Palm, and it was also an all-inclusive technique. Even if an opponent had superior physical strength, if they did not also have a domain, battle force, or spiritual force that matched that of the wielder of the Hollow Palm, they would still suffer injuries.

    In essence, Hollow Palm was the purest attack that incorporated all of an individual¡¯s strengths, including the previously learned Vacuum Palm.

    Hollow Palm was even more direct and powerful than Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from looking up at the highest level of the gravity tforms. At that level, there was a palm print that recorded a full 1,000 Stacks. Lu Yin had no idea what technique that palm print held, but could it be even more powerful than this Hollow Palm?

    There was no reason for Lu Yin to linger any longer, as he had already learned Hollow Palm, so he turned around to leave. The moment his back turned around, he was ovee by an indescribable terror that caused him to reflexively use the Ce Secret Art to flee. Right after he moved, a pair of slitted scarlet eyes appeared, and a terrible gust of wind sliced through the void and tore the sky apart.

    Lu Yin reappeared a hundred meters away, and he turned to see a corpse king standing where he had just been. When had it arrived?

    The corpse king stared at Lu Yin with its scarlet eyes, bent its legs, and then charged forward to release a punch.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. Although he did not appear to move, a palm print suddenly shot away from him: Hollow Palm.

    Boom!

    A shockwave erupted that shattered the void. Both the corpse king and Lu Yin tore into the true universe simultaneously, and the terrifying power of a Hollow Palm erupted once again and met the corpse king¡¯s fist. Lu Yin was forced back five steps, his sleeve was shredded, and his arm was numbed to the point where he could not even move it.

    As for the corpse king, it waspletely unscathed.

    This corpse king definitely possessed a power level of over 600,000, and its physical strength actually exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. Against this particr corpse king, Lu Yin¡¯s domain was his best tool. Spiritual force had little effect on corpse kings, and even though the Hollow Palm had already incorporated Lu Yin¡¯s battle force, it was still not enough to injure this corpse king.

    It was a very unusual one.

    The creature stared at Lu Yin and then slowly raised an arm. Lu Yin saw the creature¡¯s muscles started to twist and squirm as though they were alive, and the corpse king¡¯s arm took on a darker color.

    Lu Yin''s face paled, as this was an innate gift. This corpse king had an innate gift. That,bined with its power level of more than 600,000, meant that its attacks would be even more terrifying than if it underwent a corpse king Transformation. This was a problem.

    The creature let out a roar as it moved forward to attack Lu Yin. The attack was simple and brutal.

    Lu Yin kicked a foot upwards while throwing out another palm attack. As he spun around, stars appeared around his left hand, and they coalesced to form a sword. He struck out with the Fourteenth Sword, but just as the edge of the sword made contact with the corpse king, the star energy dissipated. Lu Yin was facing a crisis as this corpse king was suppressing his star energy.

    It was rare to encounter a corpse king that would suppress star energy. After all, they were not human, and Lu Yin had no idea how they could reach the level of an Envoy. Regardless, his star energy had been suppressed, which meant that this creature had a stellr energy vortex.

    This meant that none of Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques that employed star energy could be used.

    He quickly pulled back, but the corpse king immediately caught up. It threw its right hand forward once again as all the muscles in its arm twisted and squirmed, including the ones in its hand. It was a disturbing and frightening sight, but it also radiated an iparable power. Still, Lu Yin was confident in enduring this attack with his bodysuit armor.

    Boom!

    The corpse king¡¯s fist struck Lu Yin in the chest, though he managed to counter with an Hollow Palm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attack forced the corpse king back, but Lu Yin was also knocked back. His chest ached, but fortunately, the bodysuit armor had been able to block the attack.

    The corpse king was not pushed very far back, and it instantly bent its knees and charged forward once again. Its right arm twisted itself in a ghastly manner and the muscles bulged several timesrger.

 Chapter 1808: Water God Dojo

    Chapter 1808: Water God Dojo

    Lu Yin paid close attention as he continuously moved back. As he stared, the corpse king''s right arm continued to twist, and a terrifying amount of strength was being gathered.

    It was truly unfortunate that Lu Yin was in a region controlled by the Aeternals, as it was impossible to determine the corpse king¡¯s power level by observing its runes. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have most likely been able to kill the corpse king through abination of Truesight and the God of Death Transformation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as he watched the strength continue to build up in the corpse king''s arm, and he suddenly dropped to the ground.

    Suddenly, the corpse king released a punch, and the attack covered the entire sky. The void was shattered, and the ground was destroyed. The entirety of Grayweed Continent was almost destroyed with this punch.

    Some timeter, the corpse kingnded to find a bottomless pit that had been opened in the ground. The pit extended beyond its line of sight, though bloodstains could be seen in it, as well as a crushed body.

    The corpse king stared at the remnants of the body for a bit before looking up and leaving.

    After the corpse king left, Lu Yin reappeared. He had been struck by the attack, but his bodysuit armor had allowed him to ignore the attack. The crushed corpse that had appeared in the bit was the one that he had found outside of Burial Garden¡¯s exit gate.

    There was no way for the corpse to remain intact given the strength of the corpse king. Lu Yin had pulled the corpse out the moment the punchnded and thrown it out to take his ce in the pit.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and flexed his hand, which was still numb. Corpse kings were quite different from humans, and their style of fighting was alsopletely different.

    Humans employed a variety of fighting methods, including battle techniques, weapons, secret techniques, innate gifts, power vessels, lockbreaking techniques, and other exotic methods like tamed beasts, jincans, poison, and more. Corpse kings used a much more direct style ofbat: an innate gift if they had it and physical strength. At best, they would also use a corpse king Transformation, but that technique simply enhanced their physical power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fighting style was actually quite simr to what corpse kings used, especially when he went up against Envoys as he could not use any star energy-based techniques against such opponents.

    "I''m sorry that I couldn¡¯t leave you with aplete body at your death.¡± Lu Yin felt a bit guilty as he looked down at the bloodstain on the ground.

    Suddenly, he remembered something, and he shot off towards the gate that he hade out of.

    He soon arrived, only to find that the gate had already been destroyed. The corpse king¡¯s punch had affected toorge of an area, and it had even reached the gate of Burial Garden. It almost looked like an entireyer of the continent had been removed by the creature¡¯s punch.

    Lu Yin felt both helpless and resentful that the gate had been destroyed. How was he supposed to get back now?

    He nced around. Grayweed Continent was vast, and the Starfall Sea was much, muchrger. There had to be another one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates around here. Thus, Lu Yin¡¯s only hope was to be able to find one that was not guarded by the Aeternals, which would prevent him from being able to return.

    Using his memories from his previous time on Grayweed Continent, Lu Yin started making his way towards Skyze Dojo.

    He had no idea where another one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates might be, and wandering around aimlessly was not a valid n. So, he decided to make his way to Skyze Dojo in order to cultivate.

    He still remembered the me that he had seen beneath Skyze Dojo, as that me had supposedly given birth to the Skyze Stone that he used for cultivation. That me was what had allowed Skyze Dojo to surpass nearly all the other seventy-two dojos on Grayweed Continent and rank beneath only the Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    Lu Yin hoped the me would still be at Skyze Dojo and that it would be able to elerate his cultivation. After all, he needed a source of heat that was intense enough to actually pose a danger to him, which was far from easy to find.

    This time, Lu Yin was much more cautious as he traveled. He had gotten too excited when he obtained the Hollow Palm Technique, and his excitement had caused him to be careless. He did not want to repeat that mistake.

    Several days passed, and Lu Yin continued to search for one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates as he traveled across Grayweed Continent, following the paths in his memories. Finally, he arrived at Skyze Dojo.

    Lu Yin looked at the dojo. It seemed to have been abandoned, just like Mt. Stacks Dojo. The sight caused Lu Yin to be rather emotional, as Madam Hong had nearly killed him at Skyze Dojo before they managed to escape.

    This was also the ce where Lu Yin had first tentativelypared his strength with Lan Si, and it was also where he had picked up the Skyze Stone. This ce was significant and could be considered an integral part of what had molded Lu Yin into his current self.

    Skyze Dojo seemed to have been abandoned for even longer than Mt. Stacks Dojo, but fortunately, the underground mes had not disappeared.

    Lu Yin immediately went straight down into the underground mes, right to the very bottom, as he was searching for a source of heat that could actually pose a threat to him.

    The further down he went, the higher the temperature of the mes became, though it was never enough to pose any threat to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no idea how deep he had gone, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Was that a stone?

    After his experiences in the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin would never underestimate any stones anymore, especially not one in the middle of mes that were hot enough to burn an Enlighter with a power level of over 400,000. This was very odd. Just what sort of stone could endure such heat? The mes surrounding Lu Yin were hot enough to reduce an entire to ash.

    Lu Yin approached the stone and reached out to touch it. As he did, space twisted, and he disappeared.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face when he saw what was in front of him; he had entered a pocket dimension hidden within the void. Like the ze Realm, the Daynight n, and other powerful organizations, Skyze Dojo had also hidden their treasury within a pocket dimension. Lu Yin licked his lips as he observed the neatly piled star essence and other resources. He picked the ce clean. All of this was now his.

    Still, this seemed quite strange. Had the Sixth Maind not searched Skyze Dojo after destroying it? Everything should have been searched, so why was this treasury still present? Could Lu Yin have stumbled upon Tian Yanzi¡¯s private stash? That seemed possible.

    This treasury had been hidden within incredibly hot mes, and the only person in all of Skyze Dojo who could have reached this ce was Tian Yanzi. When Madam Hong had chased Lu Yin and the others out of the Starfall Sea, it was possible that she had forgotten about this stash, or that she had considered searching for such things to be a waste of time. Regardless, this treasury had been forgotten.

    Lu Yin found 200 million star essence, and while it was not a lot, it was not bad. After all, before finding this stash, Lu Yin¡¯s funds had only been a bit more than 200 million star essence.

    The ze Realm had controlled arge portion of one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, and they had also controlled one of the Astral River Arks, which had allowed them to umte a great deal of wealth. They had lost most of that after being attacked by the Sixth Maind, which was the reason why Lu Yin had acquired so little from them. As for Skyze Dojo, they did not have any huge streams of ie, which meant that the wealth that Lu Yin had found had to have been gathered by Tian Yanzi on his own. As expected of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin still felt that it was a bit of a pity, as it would definitely be better if there were more. He was an Enlighter who hadpleted thirty nine cycles, and he would need 200 million star essence toplete his fortieth cycle, and even more toplete his forty first. This basically meant that he was broke.

    If cultivation resources were provided for him, then the temperature of the hottest mes beneath the Skyze Dojo would be just barely enough to elerate his cultivation, which would have allowed him to cultivate until he was nearly an Envoy.

    The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became.

    He cleaned out the treasury and then continued to move deeper.

    Lu Yin finally reached the bottom, and the heat of the mes was just barely enough to cause him some difort, though it was stillckingpared to what he had been hoping for. This heat was only barely useful.

    Lu Yin took out his Skyze Stone and absorbed all the mes in this area. The heat that the stone absorbed over the course of a day was enough to meet Lu Yin¡¯s needs, so he raised his hand and brought out his die. He needed to get four pips.

    When the dice slowly came to a stop, it showed three pips. Lu Yin pursed his lips. This roll would not appear when he actually needed it, but it frequently appeared when he did not. Not to mention, he was currently broke.

    The second roll showed the die stopping on five pips. Lu Yin sighed and then tapped the die again.

    The third time, he rolled Pilfer.

    Whatever fell out was instantly vaporized by the heat of the mes surrounding him, and Lu Yin was not even able to see what had appeared.

    Again.

    The fourth roll went well, as Lu Yin got four pips. The scenery changed around him, and he entered the Timestop Space.

    He pulled out all the star essence on him, as well as the Skyze Stone. 9,300 stars began to revolve around Lu Yin as he began to absorb star energy.

    ¡­

    No matter how much time has passed in the Timestop Space, only a second would ever pass in the outside world.

    His surroundings changed once again, and Lu Yin returned to the outside world. He had improved his cultivation to forty one cycles, and the number of stars that he could simte had increased to 10,000.

    Lu Yin did not feel that there was much of a difference between 9,300 stars and 10,000. He needed to simte a total of 99,000 stars in order to reach the fifth level of the Cosmic Art, and he had onlypleted 10,000 stars. He was barely a tenth of the way there.

    If he had enough star essence, he would happily enter seclusion for several years, but unfortunately, that was not possible at the moment.

    He simply did not have enough funds. He was broke, and he always seemed to be broke.

    Lu Yin was reminded of the Mavis family, which led to him remembering that Yuehua Mavis had delivered a formal invitation for him to visit the Mavis family. Unfortunately, the events that had yed out after that had been quite unexpected, and the visit had been taken off of Lu Yin¡¯s schedule. However, after he got back, he would make the trip to visit the Mavis family as soon as possible. Lu Yin felt that even if he offended the rest of the universe, he absolutely could not offend the Mavis family.

    All he needed to do was pick up a bit of the money that fell from their fingernails.

    At this time, a group of people arrived outside Skyze Dojo. There were both men and women among them, and all of them were quite young with the exception of a single old woman. In the middle of the group was a beautiful woman d in blue. She had a bold forehead, and she was holding a long sword in a hand as the group slowly walked towards Skyze Dojo¡¯s entrance.

    "Is this Skyze Dojo? Big Sister, I haven¡¯t been here before!" a very cute girl eximed.

    A man to the side of the group retorted in a contemptuous manner, "Skyze Dojo was once very powerful, but not that it¡¯s fallen, our Water God Dojo can take it over."

    "That¡¯s true. Skyze Dojo will eventually be reduced to mere rubble, just like cktop Dojo back then. They simply don¡¯t know how to conform," someone else agreed.

    The old woman frowned. "Watch your tongues! Skyze Dojo boasts an impressive history, and you children are not in any position to spout such nonsense."

    The man protested, "But we juniors are still right! No matter if we¡¯re talking about Skyze Dojo or Mt. Stacks Dojo, neither of them understood the fundamental truth regarding the rise and fall of power. This is something that my Water God Dojo understands, as this is rted to the concept of water and our cultivation art. No matter how long it may take, my Water God Dojo will eventually be able to stand tall and proud in the universe without falling.¡±

    The old woman coldly retorted, "If you understand the truth regarding the rise and fall of power, then why not be humble? Can you improve your strength or status by arrogantly criticizing an abandoned dojo?"

    The man wanted to reply, but the beautiful woman in the middle of the group spoke up. "How has my Water God Dojo managed to survive? Do you not know? How did Tian Yanzi die? Do you understand just how many people Dojo Master Lan and the Thundercharge Dojo Master died to protect? You are in no position to condemn them."

    The man seemed much more intimidated by the younger woman than the olddy, and he no longer dared to open his mouth.

    "Xiao¡¯er, don''t bring up the past again," the old woman reminded.

    The group silently followed the woman into Skyze Dojo.

    Si Xiao¡¯er looked at the dpidated state of the dojo withplicated emotions.

    In the past, Grayweed Continent¡¯s seventy-two dojos had shone brilliantly. Mt. Stacks Dojo had stood at the very top, followed by Skyze Dojo, Bluearch Dojo, and others. Her Water God Dojo had been ranked just below Skyze Dojo, and the two had alwayspeted for second ce.

    Unfortunately, the master of Water God Dojo had not been able to break through and be an Envoy, which meant that he could notpare to Tian Yanzi. Otherwise, Water God Dojo might have greatly surpassed Skyze Dojo.

    One focused on fire while the other cultivated water techniques. Water and fire were always ipatible.

 Chapter 1809: Status Quo

    Chapter 1809: Status Quo

    Many of Water god dojo¡¯s disciples became excited when they saw the downfall and destruction of Skyze Dojo, but they never knew that if not for the sacrifice of Skyze Dojo, they wouldn¡¯t be alive standing here right now.

    Dojo Master Lan, Tian Yanzi, the Thundercharge Dojo Master, and the Bluearch Dojo Master had all sacrificed themselves for others, and they did not deserve to be ndered in their deaths.

    "Xiao¡¯er, let''s go look around. It¡¯s almost time to return," the old woman said.

    Si Xiao''er walked straight into the heart of Skyze Dojo and looked down. The raging mes shot high into the sky. Once, this had been the home of a fire dragon, but at the moment, she was standing right next to the heart of Skyze Dojo. How things had changed.

    "Senior sister, let''s go," said the cute girl. She was scared that the heat of the mes would be too much and that they would scorch her.

    Si Xiao''er nodded and turned around, but just as she was about to leave, her foot slipped, and she fell into the mes. It was almost as if she had been dragged down by an invisible power.

    The old woman instantly shot forward, but the mes surged and zed hotter than ever, burning the old woman and forcing her back. If she had not been quick enough, she would have been burned to nothing but ash in less than a moment.

    Water god dojo¡¯s disciples were allpletely stunned. "Senior sister?"

    "Sister?"

    "Save Big Sister!"

    Deep underground, Si Xiao''er could only watch as she fell. She gritted her teeth and surrounded her body with water as she tried to escape, but she was only a Hunter. While she was able to resist the heat, for some reason, her water was useless against the force that continued to drag her deeper underground.

    Far away, she thought she could hear someone calling out, ¡°Senior Sister.¡±

    Si Xiao''er assumed that she was doomed.

    A gentle voice entered her ears, "Wake up. You aren¡¯t dead."

    Si Xiao''er''s eyes twitched, and she slowly opened them to see a young man who was looking at her with clear interest.

    She was startled to see him, and she quickly backed away.

    "If you move any further, you¡¯ll be burned to ash," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Si Xiao''er''s face was already flushed from the high temperature. She looked around, and her pupils shrank to mere dots. Where in the world was she?

    "This is the deepest region beneath Skyze Dojo. The mes here are hot enough to reduce even an Envoy to ashes," Lu Yin exined as he smiled at Si Xiao''er.

    She gave him a nk stare. Her lips were already cracking, but she forced out a dry voice. "Who are you? Did you capture me?"

    "That¡¯s not a nice way to say it. You fell down here," Lu Yin replied.

    Si Xiao''er''s fingers trembled. "Who in the world are you?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback; did this woman actually not recognize him? After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that this made sense. He had not been particrly famous when he had first entered the Starfall Sea, and even when he had returned after the Sixth Maind¡¯s first invasion, he had not been nearly as famous as the Neoverse¡¯s top youths. It was perfectly normal for the people in the Starfall Sea to not know him.

    "I''m from Skyze Dojo," Lu Yin said.

    Si Xiao''er clearly did not believe him. "My Water God Dojo and Skyze Dojo have been rivals for a long time, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone like you in Skyze Dojo."

    Lu Yinughed. "You wouldn¡¯t have at your level. Actually, even your master isn¡¯t qualified to have heard about me."

    Si Xiao''er''s eyes flickered. She did not believe any of this.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and showed her the Skyze Stone.

    Si Xiao''er was startled to see it. "Is that the Skyze Stone?"

    She looked back at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- are you really from Skyze Dojo?"

    "It''s senior. You should refer to me as ¡®Senior.¡¯ I''ve been in seclusion for too long, so no one recognizes me any longer," Lu Yin looked quite frustrated by his situation.

    Si Xiao''er felt puzzled. "But, your face¡­"

    Lu Yin just smiled at her.

    She stuck out her tongue. Si Xiao¡¯er knew that it was easy for cultivators to alter their appearance, and given her strength, it was impossible for her to determine Lu Yin¡¯s age from his bones. She slowly processed this information before offering a slow bow. ¡°Water God Dojo¡¯s disciple Si Xiao''er greets the senior from Skyze Dojo."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ve been in seclusion for far too long. Tell me, what¡¯s happened outside? When I emerged, I found my Skyze Dojo in ruins. There was absolutely no one around, and the Neohuman Alliance is in the area. There are corpse kings wandering around. Grayweed Continent ispletely different."

    Lu Yin grew more somber as he continued talking, and Si Xiao¡¯er grew more despondent as well. She sounded quite sad as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s true, Grayweed Continent has changed, and actually, the entire Starfall Sea has changed. It¡¯s all because of¡­"

    Si Xiao''er spent more than half an hour exining the current situation of the Starfall Sea to Lu Yin, and he finally developed some understanding of matters.

    He had assumed that everything outside the horizontal ck hole that was acting as a barrier and protecting the Fifth Maind was full of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings and that all the humans there had been either ughtered or transformed into corpse kings. He had pictured an environment identical to the New World behind the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree.

    However, the reality of the Starfall Sea was much better than what he had imagined.

    The Aeternals had not conducted much of a ughter at all, and they had instead built a number of cities to gather the humans who were in the Starfall Sea. Thergest settlement was an Aeternal Kingdom. They had built this particr Aeternal Kingdom on top of what had once been the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    The Aeternals had transformed the Sea King¡¯s Dome into an Aeternal Kingdom, though it was different from the Aeternal Nation that Lu Yin had seen in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse. This Aeternal Kingdom was split into two separate cities¡ªone was in the east, and the other was in the west. The western city was inhabited by corpse kings, though humans were allowed to freely enter and leave. As for the eastern city, that was restricted to only humans, and the corpse kings were not allowed to ess it at all.

    Not only that, but the human beings living in the Starfall Sea¡¯s major cities were living lives no different from the ones that they had enjoyed in the past. They could train and cultivate, go out exploring, and travel anywhere they wished without any restrictions at all.

    For example, Water god dojo disciples who were visiting Skyze Dojo had traveled from the Aeternal Kingdom that had been established on Grayweed Continent, and they had gone out to train and visit the fallen dojos. There would not even be any problems if they encountered a corpse king on their journey.

    This information left Lu Yin doubting his entire life. When had the Aeternals be so friendly with humans?

    The more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. He felt increasingly uneasy. Something was definitely wrong. Were humans really living no differently from before and actually coexisting with corpse kings? This should be impossible.

    What Lu Yin had seen in the Aeternus Nation in the Neoverse had been a typical situation. It had been utter hell for the humans living there, and it was a perfect example of why the Aeternals were humanity¡¯s greatest enemy.

    "Who is the one controlling all the corpse kings in the Starfall Sea right now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er solemnly answered, "ckless God."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. He was familiar with ckless God, as that was the first of the Seven Skygods that Lu Yin had ever encountered. However, ckless God¡¯s body had been destroyed by Mister Mu, so Lu Yin was surprised to hear that the Skygod was still present in the Starfall Sea.

    "Have you ever seen ckless God?" Lu Yin began to ask for more details.

    Si Xiao''er shook her head. "I haven¡¯t seen them, but ckless God controls all of the Neohuman Alliances forces in the entire Starfall Sea. Not even my master qualifies to meet with him. Only City Lord Yang is able to do so."

    Lord Yang that Si Xiao¡¯er had mentioned was the ruler of Aeternus Kingdom¡¯s Eastern City. Si Xiao''er''s master was Dojo Master Si, and they were second only to City Lord Yang. Both individuals were Envoys.

    The eastern city had two Envoys among their numbers, but Si Xiao¡¯er had no idea how strong City Lord Yang was.

    "What do you know about Burial Garden¡¯s gates?" Lu Yin asked this key question as he tried to pin Si Xiao''er down. He had first wanted to get some understanding of the Starfall Sea¡¯s circumstances, but he had not expected these people to be able to travel to Skyze Dojo so easily and without any hint of fear. This piqued his curiosity.

    The second thing that he wanted to learn about was Burial Garden¡¯s gates, as entering one was his only means of leaving the Starfall Sea.

    Si Xiao''er waspletely confused. "What¡¯s a Burial Garden¡¯s gate?"

    Lu Yin created an image of a gate in the air. Si Xiao''er was surprised by the sight. "Isn''t that one of the gates of death for those who fail the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s tests? Why did you call it Burial Garden¡¯s gate, Senior?"

    "Gate of death?" Lu Yin arched a brow. Unsurprisingly, the Neohuman Alliance could not reveal the truth about Burial Garden¡¯s gates, as the news would allow the humans in the Starfall Sea to slip away, and the corpse kings would not be able to chase after them and drag them back. Burial Garden was a forbidden ce for corpse kings, as any who entered a gate would invariably die. "What did the Neohuman Alliance tell you about them?"

    Si Xiao''er replied, "The gates of death were brought about by certain experiments. Anyone who passes through a gate will be transformed into a mindless corpse king without even the ability to move on their own. If the gates are allowed to persist, then they will gradually grow, expand, and consume everything around them. Anyone who finds a gate of death needs to report it to the Neohuman Alliance as soon as possible."

    After providing this exnation, she looked at Lu Yin with some confusion. "Senior, why did you call them Burial Garden¡¯s gates?"

    Lu Yin exined in an indifferent tone, "They aren¡¯t gates of death. The Neohuman Alliance is lying about that. These gates lead to a mysterious ce, and from there, you can even find a path to the Innerverse."

    Si Xiao''er was startled, but she quickly grew excited. "A path to the Innerverse? Really?"

    "Are you all willing to be ruled over by corpse kings?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he stared intently at Si Xiao''er.

    Si Xiao''er''s body went rigid, and her eyes showed her feelings. Finally, she gave a massive shrug. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re willing or not. The passage to the Innerverse is blocked, and we can¡¯t get through. Even the Progenitors won¡¯te deep into the Starfall Sea to rescue us, so we¡¯ve been abandoned to the Neohuman Alliance. What else can we do?"

    Lu Yin frowned. This seemed to be the true feelings of the humans in the Starfall Sea who were ruled over by the corpse kings. This seemed urate, as they had indeed been abandoned and left with no choice but to submit to their new rulers. What else could they do? Die? On top of that, they were even allowed to live the same lives that they had enjoyed before. Let alone Si Xiao¡¯er, even if an Envoy like her master was unwilling to ept the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s rule, there was nothing that could be done about it.

    No one could me these people. No one wished to be subjugated by another species, but there was nothing that these people could do about it.

    "If we can one day return to the Innerverse, even if it¡¯s only a tiny chance, we¡¯ll fight for it," Si Xiao''er whispered. Although quiet, her voice held strong determination.

    "Then Burial Garden¡¯s gates are your only chance. Unfortunately, most of them have already been destroyed by the Neohuman Alliance," Lu Yin said.

    Si Xiao''er asked, "Wasn¡¯t Senior in seclusion? These death- Burial Garden¡¯s gates only recently appeared, so how does Senior know that they can lead us to the Innerverse?¡±

    The woman was not stupid, and this was an obvious question that had to be addressed, as this concerned the survival of humanity here. If the Neohuman Alliance had not lied, then entering the gates was a death sentence, and no one would be willing to risk their lives to test out such a thing.

    Lu Yin replied, "When this old man was young, Burial Garden¡¯s gate appeared as well. I happened to see one when I emerged some time ago, but unfortunately, it was quickly destroyed by a corpse king."

    Si Xiao''er shrugged. "Well, the Neohuman Alliance has already destroyed many of the gates. Unless they¡¯re well hidden, there shouldn¡¯t be any more in the ruins of the seventy-two dojos."

    Lu Yin found himself at a loss for words, as he suddenly understood why he had been discovered. That corpse king had not been looking for him, but rather for Burial Garden¡¯s gates. It was just a coincidence that Lu Yin had been discovered in Mt. Stacks Dojo.

 Chapter 1810: Shudders

    Chapter 1810: Shudders

    The fact that the Neohuman Alliance was searching for Burial Garden¡¯s gates and systematically destroying them meant that there was a very low chance of ever finding a gate anywhere on Grayweed Continent. Still, regardless of the probability, Lu Yin still had to search. Burial Garden¡¯s gates were Lu Yin¡¯s only way of leaving the Starfall Sea and returning to the Innerverse. The Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were guarding the pass to the Innerverse, so even if the Aeternals did not stop Lu Yin, he still would not even consider the possibility of making his way past the three Progenitors.

    In particr, the Progenitor of Combat was eager to kill Lu Yin, though he did not actually trust any of the three Progenitors.

    "Senior, what are you going to do now?" Si Xiao''er asked.

    Lu Yin was solemn. "I¡¯m going to find one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates and make my way to the Innerverse. I refuse to live under the reign of corpse kings."

    "But all of Burial Garden¡¯s gates should have already been destroyed, right?" Si Xiao''er had very little confidence in this n.

    Lu Yin remained determined. "Even if there¡¯s only a glimmer of hope, I¡¯ll still pursue it."

    Si Xiao''er pursed her lips. "This junior is willing to take Senior to search across Grayweed Continent. If you go alone, Senior, you will run into corpse kings, and you¡¯ll be easily found out. You clearly are not an ordinary person, and even my master might not be your opponent, correct?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Your master is definitely not my opponent."

    Si Xiao''er was startled. How could he be so confident?

    "If you go with me, what will you say if we meet with a corpse king?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er thought for a bit, but her eyes soon lit up. "Do you have any way to drain water from your body? Our Water God Dojo has a battle technique that can extract the water from an opponent¡¯s body, but it takes a long time to train in the technique. If we encounter a corpse king, we can just say that you are a junior of mine who¡¯s out training in that water extraction technique."

    Lu Yin found this option quite odd. "Extract water from an opponent¡¯s body? Where did this techniquee from?"

    It had not been long since Lu Yin had fought against Jiu Han, and she had possessed an innate gift that had allowed her to do the exact same thing as this battle technique. Lu Yin had almost been drained, and it had been an awful feeling.

    Si Xiao''er replied, "All of our battle techniques have been handed down to us by our ancestors, and most people whose cultivation involves water have simr techniques."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ll take you out of here. Just hold on for a bit."

    He then grabbed hold of the woman and shot upwards.

    Lu Yin tore the mes apart above Si Xiao''er''s head as they raced upwards, and she left the underground mes without ever feeling any hint of heat. The other Water God Dojo disciples had already left, as she had spent a long time underground.

    Lu Yin used Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    If Lu Yin wanted to deceive a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy, he needed to actually drain his body of water. Si Xiao¡¯er was far from strong enough to do this to Lu Yin, and it was not something that could be faked.

    Actually, Lu Yin had another reason to use this particr technique. After activating this technique, suffering attacks would allow a person¡¯s body to return to normal. The more powerful the attack was, the greater the recovery, and the more power the technique would umte.

    Lu Yin had no idea when he would be able to return to the Innerverse, so this sort of battle technique was perfect for this situation. It would practically guarantee his survival from almost any attacks, and it would also change his appearance to something simr to a mummified corpse. No one would be able to recognize him. Best of all, this was not some sort of disguise, but a genuine change in appearance, which meant that not even a Semi-Progenitor would be able to see through it!

    Si Xiao''er waited just outside of Skyze Dojo for more than three days. She spent this time cultivating, so she did not be impatient with the wait.

    Fire opposed water, and suppressing her water techniques with the heat and fire in the air was also a form of cultivation.

    Finally, the void behind the woman twisted, and Lu Yin appeared. Si Xiao''er turned to look, and her expression changedpletely, as she was ovee with fear. "You- you?"

    "It''s me," Lu Yin replied.

    Si Xiao''er stared nkly for a moment, and then was shocked. "Senior?"

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s appearance was quite frightening, as his entire body looked like a mummified corpse. There was no trace of moisture within his body, and let alone Si Xiao''er, even Ming Yan would not recognize Lu Yin in this condition.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body looked like he was nothing more than stringy muscles stuck to bones.

    "Let''s go and find a gate," Lu Yin tried to speak casually, but his voice had be incredibly hoarse.

    Si Xiao''er grunted in acknowledgement. Lu Yin¡¯s appearance caused her to feel a bit of fear, but he absolutely had the appearance of someone who had drained the water from their body. As expected of a powerhouse, this man was quite thorough.

    "By the way, don''t mention me to your master. After all, I am someone from Skyze Dojo," Lu Yinmented.

    "I know."

    Si Xiao''er moved quite slowly, and Lu Yin also had to limit his speed so that he did not draw any unwanted attention and potentially attract a corpse king.

    The two then made their way towards the west from Skyze Dojo. They specifically sought out regions with dense forests and no people, as well as forbidden areas.

    "Forbidden areas? No, the seventy-two dojos divided the entire Grayweed Continent, so even if there were any forbidden regions, they¡¯ve all already been explored," Si Xiao''er said.

    No matter what, Grayweed Continent was smaller than any of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. Venom Flowzone had the Infernal Zone, which was a ce that not even Qing Shaohuang had been willing to enter, and he was an Envoy powerful enough to overpower all of Grayweed Continent. In the entire Starfall Sea, only the Sea King himself couldpare to Qing Shaohuang.

    "Have any gates shown up inside one of the Aeternal Kingdoms?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er nodded. "One did, but it was immediately destroyed."

    "No one tried to go through it and explore?"

    "No."

    "You all just trust the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s words?"

    "It''s not a matter of trust, but that no one wants to die."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Si Xiao''er chatted as they traveled, and half a month passed in a blink of an eye.

    They found nothing at all during this half a month, but after another two days, they found a destroyed Burial Garden gate, which Lu Yin found regretful.

    "Senior, let''s find another," Si Xiao''er encouraged.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t refer to me as ¡®Senior.¡¯ It makes it too easy to be exposed."

    "Then what shall I call you?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Call me Seventh Bro."

    "But what should I call you if we meet a corpse king?" Si Xiao''er asked again.

    Lu Yin thought again. "Then just call me Seventh Junior Brother."

    "I have a seventh junior brother."

    "Then call me Seven." Lu Yin started to get upset.

    Si Xiao''er stuck out her tongue at him. "Fine."

    A few more days passed, and finally, Lu Yin hesitated for a moment. ¡°They¡¯re here."

    Si Xiao''er was confused, but then darkness appeared above them, and the void twisted. A figure emerged and crashed into the ground.

    It was a corpse king, and it was actually the same one that had fought with Lu Yin at Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained unchanged despite instantly noticing this detail.

    Si Xiao''er turned pale, as she was rather frightened.

    The corpse king¡¯s scarlet eyes swept over Si Xiao''er and locked onto Lu Yin. "Who is this?"

    Si Xiao''er gulped. "He¡¯s my junior brother."

    The corpse king continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he quickly dropped his head, not daring to make eye contact with the corpse king. "I offer my greetings, sir."

    The corpse king approached Lu Yin and reached out to grab his arm. The creature squeezed hard enough to cause Lu Yin pain. "Sir?"

    Si Xiao''er started to panic. "Sir?"

    The corpse king let go. "What are you doing here?"

    Si Xiao''er quickly offered an exnation, "We¡¯re exploring Grayweed Continent¡¯s various dojos. We¡¯re close to Zhanyi Dojo, so that¡¯s where we''re headed to next."

    The corpse king suddenly looked up, took a step, and disappeared.

    An entire minute after the corpse king had left, Si Xiao''er let out a sigh of relief. Her forehead was drenched with sweat.

    Lu Yin also let out a sigh of relief. He was quite lucky that he had used Extremes Must Be Reversed. The muscles in his arm had actually loosened up a bit, which indicated that the corpse king had used a terrifying amount of strength.

    "We- are you alright?" Si Xiao''er asked nervously.

    "Are you scared?"

    Si Xiao''er answered in a bitter tone, "If I didn¡¯t know when to be afraid, I would have never lived this long."

    Lu Yin stared at her for a moment. "Let''s go."

    Lu Yin had been able to confirm Si Xiao¡¯er¡¯s words from the corpse king''s behavior. It really seemed as if the Aeternals were looking for a way to coexist with humans. They had to have some sort of deeper purpose.

    Lu Yin had been terribly disturbed by what he had seen in Aeternus Nation in the Neoverse, but he had also expected such things. At the moment, this new behavior of the Aeternals left Lu Yin far more nervous. They were actually eroding humans¡¯ will to fight the Aeternals, and they were practically raising human beings in captivity.

    This was more terrifying than wanton ughter. Lu Yin believed that there had to be quite a number of people in the Starfall Sea who were unwilling to fight the corpse kings and were instead content to ept their new overlords.

    This was the worst possible oue.

    While Lu Yin was searching through Grayweed Continent for Burial Garden¡¯s gates, a major event urred within Burial Garden as well.

    Someone recovered a horn from the depths of Burial Garden. It was a horn made from the skin of a Progenitor, and when it was blown, all of Burial Garden began to tremble. People felt as though massive creatures from ancient times were breaking through space and time to charge through the area and pass through the universe.

    Many people started fighting over this horn, and it was impossible to predict where it would ultimately end up. All that anyone knew was that the moment that the horn appeared, the guards stationed at the exit gates were reinforced multiple times over.

    Whoever managed to seize the horn was guaranteed to try to escape, and they would try to leave Burial Garden through an exit gate. They were equally likely to emerge from all the exit gates, and since this horn was a Progenitor-level item, even Semi-Progenitors would be willing to step forward.

    Aside from how amazing the horn was since it was a genuine Progenitor item itself, the person who had uncovered the horn was also worth paying attention to, as they were someone with an ancient bloodline.

    Rumors imed that Burial Garden was the tomb of countless powerhouses from both ancient and modern times and that it also held the most ancient of inheritances. These inheritances, apparently, could only be essed by those with an ancient bloodline.

    This particr rumor caused many forces throughout the Fifth Maind to grow jealous, and many of them started to target people with ancient bloodlines. The desated corpses still hunting the ancient bloodlines were quickly eliminated while the remaining people with the ancient bloodlines were forced to enter Burial Garden. Some were poisoned while others were controlled by various techniques.

    On Yima, a cultivator from the Great Eastern Alliance was determined to enter Burial Garden to seek out opportunities. The man knew that all of Burial Garden¡¯s gates were being guarded, so even if he found something, he would most likely not be able to keep it. Still, he wanted to go.

    How many chances did the universe contain? There were countless cultivators, but how many of them could actually stand out? Thepetition was too fierce, but this man simply wanted to enter thepetition. If he found something, even if he could not keep it for himself, since he was a part of the Great Eastern Alliance, he might be able to sell what he found. If he was lucky, he would be able to find an exit that opened into the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. That way, even if he lost whatever he found, it would at least benefit the alliance.

    As long as he could find an opportunity, he could change his destiny.

    The man was far from the only one with such thoughts, as countless others were thinking the exact same thing. This caused the number of people in Burial Garden to practically double every day. No one was stopped from entering Burial Garden, as this had essentially be a rule. Someone had to find the opportunities in Burial Garden.

    However, in addition to opportunities, there were also dangers in Burial Garden. Many people who entered Burial Garden died tragically. Still, this did not scare people off, as they all hoped to at least fight for a chance to find an opportunity to change their fates.

    After the cultivator made his decision, he rushed straight towards the gate of Burial Garden. He moved fast enough that he could not even stop himself. All he wanted to do was to charge ahead.

    However, just as he was about to enter the gate, someone came out of it and blocked the man. There was a bang, and the man was struck unconscious as he fell to the ground.

 Chapter 1811: Legends Of Burial Garden

    Chapter 1811: Legends Of Burial Garden

    At Burial Garden¡¯s gate, the guards stationed by the Great Eastern Alliance all stared at the person who had just emerged from the gate, and someone loudly shouted, "You are in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s zing Mist Flowzone! Lower your weapons and hand over your cosmic ring, and you will not be harmed."

    The person who had just exited the gate merely sneered. "Nothing but trash."

    As he spoke, his eyes widened. The void tore open and a terrifying wind swept through the area. Emperor Luo suddenly appeared in front of the neer, rushing out from the true universe with a hand raised to release a beam attack.

    The neer simply waved a hand and dispersed Emperor Luo''s beam attack. "The Great Eastern Alliance? You can all die."

    Emperor Luo stared at the person in front of him,pletely horrified. "Are you Xia Yi?"

    Xia Yi had indeed exited the gate on Yima. He had not expected the exit that he had found to lead to zing Mist Flowzone of all ces.

    Xia Yi formed a knife from his stellr energy and shed out. So he was in the Great Eastern Alliance? This was perfect. He had not been able to get rid of Lu Yin, so he would clean up these bugs now.

    Emperor Luo was taken aback. He knew that Xia Yi was not an ordinary Envoy, and Emperor Luo had no idea how to counter Xia Yi¡¯s knife, so he immediately tried to dodge it.

    However, there was toorge a gap between Emperor Luo¡¯s and Xia Yi¡¯s strength. Just to start off, Xia Yi had a power level that surpassed 700,000 while Emperor Luo¡¯s barely surpassed 500,000.

    A single knife sh caused half of Emperor Luo''s body to crack.

    Xia Yi raised a hand and released another attack, but a massive shadow suddenly covered him. It was Chen Huang. He and Emperor Luo worked together to protect the exit from Burial Garden on Yima while the other two exit gates in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory had been left to Liu Huang and the Second Nightking to protect.

    The Second Night King had previously entered Burial Garden with Lu Yin, but the two of them had been separated the moment they entered. However, the Second Nightking¡¯s strength was so high that he had managed to quickly find an exit and almost immediately leave Burial Garden.

    He had not wanted to leave the ce, but he was forced to follow Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    The strength that Chen Huang and Emperor Luo possessed meant that there should have been no issues with them guarding one of Burial Garden¡¯s exits, but unfortunately for them, Xia Yi hade out of their gate.

    As the sharp attack slid by, Chen Huang''s enormous body was cut, and blood spilled out to rain down from the sky.

    The two immediately joined forces to face Xia Yi, but they still could not put up a fight.

    Xia Yi turned his head and instantly destroyed Yima¡¯s exit gate with a flick of his knife. His body flickered, and he suddenly appeared above Yima. Once there, he raised his knife and said, "I¡¯ll have all of you disappear."

    As the de fell, it was blocked by a long trident that stopped the knife when it was still only halfway down. The trident contained an unspeakable pressure, and Xia Yi was startled that it had actually forced his knife back.

    The patriarch¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he stared in front of him.

    Space twisted, and the Sea King stepped out of the true universe to confront Xia Yi.

    Xia Yi frowned. "Sea King?"

    The Sea King stared at Xia Yi. "The Court of Seven Name¡¯s Xia family patriarch, Xia Yi."

    "Rumors im the Sword Sect captured you, but they¡¯re now a part of the Great Eastern Alliance. Is that why you were released?" Xia Yi asked.

    Sea King sped his long trident. "That is none of your concern. Leave."

    Xia Yi grew stern. "Do you think that you can stop me?"

    "I can certainly try."

    The sudden impact of the two weapons caused space itself to tremble, and shockwaves swept out in all directions. The Sea King and Xia Yi were evenly matched, but Xia Yi suddenly used the Triple de Will to attack in a different direction. However, his attack was sliced through by a sword attack, and a second attack followed right behind.

    Xia Yi''s pupils instantly shrank. This was not good! There was a true powerhouse present. Xia Yi instantly turned and fled without even looking back.

    However, a sword appeared from the void, and it sliced into Xia Yi. The man spat out a mouthful of blood as he copsed. Liu Huang¡¯s Fourteenth Sword was not something that Xia Yi could endure.

    The Sea King stared in amazement a short distance away, and he watched as Liu Huang moved forward, grabbed Xia Yi, and took the man away without even speaking a single word to the Sea King.

    Emperor Luo awkwardly appeared from the surface of Yima. Half of his body was riddled with cracks, but he approached the Sea King despite his serious injuries.

    The Sea King put away his trident as he stared at Emperor Luo. "Where''s Wang Wen?"

    Emperor Luo felt confused. "Wang Wen?"

    The Sea King¡¯s face contorted into an angry expression. "That little bastard dared to hit on my daughter! He¡¯s dead!"

    The Sea King instantly disappeared into the void.

    Emperor Luo opened his mouth, but he had no words. This seemed to be a family matter.

    Also, judging by the Sea King''s attitude, Wang Wen was not in any mortal danger. After a moment¡¯s thought, Emperor Luo decided to send a message to Wang Wen and Liu Huang at the same time.

    In the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Wang Wen was reviewing some information on his gadget when he received Emperor Luo¡¯s message. This was bad! His interactions with Hai Qiqi had been discovered!

    Wang Wen instantly tried to call Lu Yin, but it was already toote. The Sea King was above Wang Wen¡¯s head, and the Envoy dropped down right in front of Wang Wen. The youth was easily grabbed as the Sea King said, "Little brat, you¡¯reing with me."

    Both Wang Wen and the Sea King disappeared.

    Wang Wen had been kidnapped by a furious Sea King. No one made any efforts to stop the Sea King, though prayers were muttered, hoping that Lu Yin would be able to save the young man.

    ***

    At this moment, Lu Yin was also uttering prayers that he would be able to find an undiscovered gate to Burial Garden. His eyes zed with anticipation.

    In the blink of an eye, almost another half month had passed. By this time, it had been a month since Lu Yin had arrived in the Starfall Sea, and he had spent the vast majority of this time with Si Xiao¡¯er, searching for one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates.

    While they had not managed to find any gates, Lu Yin had seen a great deal of Grayweed Continent.

    During this half a month, the arrival of many people with ancient bloodlines had created waves in Burial Garden, and many legends had appeared, which was unprecedented for Burial Garden.

    There was a legend that said that when a person with an ancient bloodline entered Burial Garden, they had inexplicably grabbed a piece of jade from the sky, obtaining an inherited cultivation art.

    There was a legend that someone with an ancient bloodline had suddenly lost their mind and started spouting ancient words that no one could understand.

    There was a legend that there was a wandering corpse in Burial Garden that was constantly seeking a particr person with an ancient bloodline. After finding the person, the wandering corpse followed them around like an underling.

    There was a legend that said when the massive wandering corpse of a giant astral beast stood up and stretched one time, a que fell out and killed many people, but the que was covered with ancient characters.

    There was a legend about a mountain covered with tea nts with a wandering corpse that spent its time growing tea, but it would also teach people ancient battle techniques.

    ¡­

    Burial Garden became far more active once people with ancient bloodlines started to enter it, and even more phenomena were seen. The wandering corpses became far more active, and there was even one person who was bored and kicked a rock, only to discover that the rock actually contained a cultivation art.

    However, all of these stories were nothing more than minor ripples that spread through the universepared to one particr rumor that caused everyone to focus all their attention on Burial Garden. Someone imed to have seen Progenitor Chen.

    Progenitor Chen had been the Fifth Maind¡¯s most impressive and peerless Progenitor. He had once single-handedly suppressed the entire Sixth Maind, his Nine Clones Secret Technique had allowed him to face off against nine other Progenitors on his own, he had fought against the entire world in his youth and still lived to be a legend, and he was an existence that the Sixth Maind refused to acknowledge. Everyone had thought that Progenitor Chen was dead, and the Seven Courts even guarded Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    But, unbelievably, someone had actually imed to have seen Progenitor Chen in Burial Garden.

    No matter if the Progenitor was nothing more than a wandering corpse or even an illusion, any sighting of Progenitor Chen was enough to lure countless people into Burial Garden.

    The sighting of Progenitor Chen shocked countless people, but it was not that sighting that lured the Hall of Honor, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and other such monsters to start sending their people into Burial Garden. Rather, it was the rumor that a pir of tribtion crystals had been found.

    No one had even considered the possibility of someone uncovering a pir of tribtion crystals in the depths of Burial Garden, and the person who discovered it actually did not know what it was or what it was used for. The pir had been seen by others when it was dug out, and that person had not stopped anyone from taking pictures of the pir or posting them onto the Human Domain¡¯swork, which was how the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had discovered it.

    Neither the Hall of Honor nor the Daosource Sect revealed the truth. Instead, they both secretly sent some powerhouses into Burial Garden with the mission of finding people who had found tribtion crystal pirs while also searching Burial Garden.

    In Astral-1, or rather, the former Astral-1, Wu Da was nkly staring at the headmistress, as well as the headmasters of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s other branches. He nervously swallowed.

    The headmistress of the former Astral-1 was an old woman with silver hair. Wu Da had never seen the woman before, and he was not alone; no one from his ss or even his seniors had ever seen the headmistress as she was always in seclusion and did not concern herself with outside matters. The headmistress had only moved when the Sixth Maind invaded, and she had casually killed an Imprinter before moving Astral-1 to a safer location.

    This mysterious headmistress was not looked at with respect by not only a student like Wu Da, but also by the headmasters of Astral-2, Astral-5, and Astral-6. No one knew this old woman¡¯s true strength.

    "Are you Wu Da?" the silver-haired old woman asked in a kind tone while smiling at the young man.

    Wu Da gulped and quickly nodded. He nervously licked his lips and forced out a smile. "Yes, I¡¯m Wu Da, a student, and I offer my greetings to the headmistress."

    The old woman smiled. "You¡¯re a pleasant child."

    As she spoke, she waved a hand and brought up a disy in the air that showed a set of images. Each one was of Burial Garden, and many of them showed items that people had found. One of the images showed a pir of tribtion crystals.

    The old woman pointed at the pir. "Did you take this picture?"

    Wu Da nodded.

    "Why?" The old woman was genuinely curious.

    Wu Da grew embarrassed. "This- this student wanted to raise my poprity by publishing pictures of Burial Garden. I hope to establish my ownpany in the future."

    The old woman was confused by this exnation.

    Wu Da exined, "Burial Garden¡¯s opening is a major event that everyone in the entire universe is focused on, and everyone wants to go in and explore it, hoping to find a lucky opportunity. I don¡¯t dare to dream of such sess for myself, as I don¡¯t have the strength needed to explore Burial Garden, but I can still take some pictures and share my thoughts on what I see. I wanted to be the only reporter in the universe who¡¯s reporting on what¡¯s happening inside Burial Garden." Wu Da grew increasingly excited as he spoke. "This student''s dream is to be the greatest reporter in the universe! It¡¯s my goal now, and even after graduating, it will still be true!

    "This dream is why, even when I was just a Melder, I reported on the various battles within the Astral Combat Academy, and the most famous battle that I ever reported on was one of Lu Yin¡¯s. Even when I¡¯m able to wander through the universe by myself, I¡¯ll never forget my original goals and dreams¡­"

    The old woman just listened as Wu Da shared his dreams. She never interrupted, and simply smiled.

    The other headmasters rolled their eyes. As far as they were concerned, someone who was not solely focused on cultivation was walking down the wrong path. If one was willing to enter Burial Garden, then they needed to have the desire to explore. A student had no future ahead of them if they were not even willing to take some risks and explore.

    However, regardless of what anyone else thought, Wu Da only wanted to report on what happened in Burial Garden. Still, the ce was simply too massive, and the topics that he had covered was not even the tip of the iceberg, though he had still photographed everything that he had seen. His behavior meant that, when Wu Da left Burial Garden, there had been nothing on him when he had been searched, and his status as a student of the Astral Combat Academy had ensured his survival.

    The old woman looked at Wu Da with admiration. "That¡¯s excellent, Child. It''s better to have a dream than no dream at all, and you can do as you wish."

    She then handed Wu Da a power vessel. "Keep it close to your body where no one can see it. It will protect you from danger."

    Wu Da grew excited. "Thank you, Headmistress! Thank you!"

    He then left in great excitement, as his dream had been recognized, and by the headmistress of Astral-1 at that!

 Chapter 1812: An Unnerved Kui Luo

    Chapter 1812: An Unnerved Kui Luo

    "That child is neither focused nor serious about his cultivation. What if his reporting leaks something even more important some day?" someonemented.

    The old woman casually replied, "Everyone has their own path, and he is walking down his own. Others simrly walk down their own paths, and there is no need to take responsibility for another¡¯s affairs."

    The picture of the tribtion crystal pir had been taken by Wu Dan, the man who aspired to be the greatest reporter in the universe.

    In the Neoverse, at the peak of Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen had his hands sped behind his back as he stared at a screen with Tombkeeper on it. "Is this what you expected? Burial Garden remained closed not just because the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power blocked the Sixth Maind, but more so because it was not yet time. You have waited many years for this moment."

    Tombkeeper looked back at Arch-Elder Zen through muddyeyes. ¡°It is not me, but Burial Garden itself. Burial Garden has been waiting for many years."

    "Waiting for the ancient bloodlines?" Arch-Elder Zen pressed.

    Tombkeeper let out a sigh. "Burial Garden was originally a cemetery from the ancient era. In order to awaken anything from back then, only the ancient bloodlines will suffice."

    "Why haven¡¯t you sought them out yourselves?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Tombkeeper just shook his head. "We don''t have any means of tracking down those with ancient bloodlines. Only the Aeternals are capable of that, and we cannot cooperate with them."

    Aplicated light could be seen in Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes. Progenitor Hui had put in y an borate n, and it almost seemed as though some invisible hand had dyed Burial Garden¡¯s opening. Progenitor Hui had even been able to scheme against the Aeternals and predict their actions, so there was no telling what the final results of his plot would be.

    Arch-Elder Zen could not resist asking, "Who were the ones Burial Garden was waiting for?"

    Tombkeeper shook his head. "That I don''t know. All I know since the day I became Tombkeeper is that Burial Garden has always been waiting for the ancient bloodlines to appear."

    "Are the ancient bloodlines Burial Garden¡¯s ultimate goal?" Arch-Elder Zen continued his questions.

    Tombkeeper stared back at Arch-Elder Zen. "I don''t know."

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. This was quite frustrating. Progenitor Hui had used the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Towerpetition to plot against the Aeternals, weakening their forces in the Fifth Maind while simultaneously getting revenge against the Sixth Maind. However, what about Burial Garden? Who had left Burial Garden behind? Had it really sat there, waiting, for countless years, all for the ancient bloodlines?

    Why had the power behind Burial Garden believed that the ancient bloodlines would eventually be hunted down by the Aeternals? Could that unknown powerhouse have seen these modern day events from the past? Was it possible to actually see the future?

    Arch-Elder Zen could not help but think of the Starsibyl Sect, as well as the legendary Ancient Progenitor, Destiny.

    Tombkeeper had no more information to share, so Arch-Elder Zen ended the call and went to find the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms.

    "What? You want me to go into Burial Garden?" The First Protector waspletely confused.

    Arch-Elder Zen was solemn as he replied, "Yes, go into Burial Garden. Keep an eye on all those with ancient bloodlines. I want you to see how they interact with the various ancient inheritances."

    The First Protector¡¯s face twitched. "Ancient¡­"

    Anything connected to this word would not be easy to deal with. Others might not know, and the First Protector only knew a little, but what did ¡°ancient¡± really mean? Not even the time of Progenitor Chen was considered an ancient era, though it had certainly been the age of legends. While Semi-Progenitors had not exactly been ants during that era, there had been many Progenitors, and all of them had be legendary figures.

    For example, as soon as figures such as the God of Death or Destiny were involved, even a Semi-Progenitor would struggle. The First Protector did not want to die, as he had always feared the prospect of death.

    "But I am the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms. My responsibility is to protect Mt. Microcosms. I don''t want to go into Burial Garden." The First Protector bluntly refused his orders.

    Arch-Elder Zen repeated, "Enter Burial Garden."

    The First Protector¡¯s heart sank, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "I really don''t want to go into Burial Garden! Please send Qing Ping. He is much better suited for this than I am."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the man. "Enter Burial Garden."

    The First Protector was speechless. "What about sending Lu Yin? That brat can deal with anything!"

    The Semi-Progenitor merely stared at the First Protector.

    Finally, the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms agreed. It was all he could do.

    Why was there so much trouble popping up all at once? First the Technocracy, and then Burial Garden. One issue after another kept appearing, and the Hall of Honor could not easily deal with everything.

    The First Protector was forced to enter Burial Garden, but at the same time, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was not idle. One by one, powerhouses from the Daosource Sect entered Burial Garden, and even one of the Four Empyreans, Mr. Lifeview, entered Burial Garden.

    At this time, many experts entered Burial Garden from the Outerverse, as the Sixth Maind was eager to get hold of some tribtion crystal pirs. At the same time, they were very worried about the reported sighting of Progenitor Chen.

    If Progenitor Chen was still alive, the Sixth Maind would be in grave trouble.

    Only two days passed, but in this short amount of time, many powerhouses from all over the Human Domain had been drawn into Burial Garden. At this time, news was released that shocked everyone: the Neohuman Alliance had attacked the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    Many of the sect¡¯s experts were killed, and all of the Daosource Sect¡¯s hidden strength had been forced into the open. It was revealed that they had four Semi-Progenitors, though Semi-Progenitor Jiu San was killed.

    This report left the entire universe in silence.

    The Neohuman Alliance was not a group that did not pursue revenge. Corpse God had been killed by the Sixth Maind, and vengeance had beening. Still, no one had expected the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s revenge to be so direct and ruthless. They had actually attacked the Daosource Sect!

    The true Daosource Sect within the Sixth Maind had already been destroyed by the Aeternals. So, the ce in the Outerverse was merely a symbolic location. The Sixth Maind¡¯s most hallowed ce had been destroyed, and this second destruction was nothing less than a p in the face.

    In particr, Semi-Progenitor Jiu San¡¯s death caused countless people from the Sixth Maind to grind their teeth. Jiu San had not only been a Semi-Progenitor, but also the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s great grandson. He was the only living member of the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s immediate family, and the man had just been killed.

    The man¡¯s death induced a sense of shock that exceeded people¡¯s imagination.

    Two days after the Daosource Sect was attacked, the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s power swept across the universe, causing countless people to tremble.

    One of the Sixth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors reached out to speak with Arch-Elder Zen, but no one knew the contents of their conversation.

    In the Outerverse, the Daosource Sect was standing in Southside Weave. At the moment, the entire weave was immersed in rage and mourning.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had once stood at the center of the weave.

    When the Aeternals attacked the Sixth Maind, their Daosource Sect had already been destroyed, which had meant that the Daosource Sects on the other six Mainds must have already disappeared. After that, the Daosource Sect in Southside Weave remained as the only surviving remnant of the Daosource Sects.

    Despite being nothing more than a memorial, the Daosource Sect in Southside Weave had still been constructed to possess an iparable sense of glory and power. Four Semi-Progenitors had remained in the sect, and the Four Empyreans were responsible for the Sixth Maind as a whole.

    Jiu San had been a Semi-Progenitor, and yet he had still been killed. The three surviving Semi-Progenitors moved out to speak with the Hall of Honor. It was clear that they wanted to get their own revenge on the Neohuman Alliance.

    Everyone was waiting for the Sixth Maind¡¯s retaliation.

    A figure quietly sneaked into the Daosource Sect. "I¡¯m already an old man, but I still haven¡¯t been everywhere! I¡¯ve pissed on the four ruling powers¡¯ ancestral homes, but I¡¯ve never been in a Daosource Sect! All that¡¯s left of it nowadays are legends and this remnant in this maind. It¡¯s really too bad that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect has already been destroyed. This is the only one left that I can sneak into. It might be fake, but that doesn''t matter!¡±

    Just outside the Daosource Sect, Madam Hong was tied up. Her face betrayed her indignation and despair. This shriveled old man even wanted to break into the Daosource Sect! However, he had also mentioned that the sect had just been attacked, which meant that their vignce would be at an all-time low.

    Madam Hong had been clueless as to how many Semi-Progenitors the Daosource Sect had kept hidden. She had heard that half of their Semi-Progenitors had been killed when the Aeternals invaded the Sixth Maind, but there had still been so many left! Just where had all of these old freaks lived before this?

    She prayed that the three Semi-Progenitors would not find the old man, and that the old geezer would not babble about the things he knew about her. She did not want to die, let alone be branded a traitor.

    This old man was too brazen and was too willing to take risks. He was doomed to grace an early grave. Hurry up and die!

    Naturally, Kui Luo was the one who had snuck into the Daosource Sect. He had long since dreamed of visiting the Daosource Sect, and what could possibly be more exciting than sneaking in? This was the lone sect that had endured since ancient times when it had been the sole ruler of all the Mainds. Naturally, it was the ce that held the greatest secrets.

    The Daosource Sect was simply too appealing to someone like Kui Luo.

    Still, he had had known that there were powerhouses hidden within the Daosource Sect who would make sneaking in an incredible challenge. Luckily for Kui Luo, the Daosource Sect had just been attacked by the Neohuman Alliance, and it had been revealed that the sect was home to three Semi-Progenitors. No one would possibly be dumb enough to try to sneak into the Daosource Sect at this time. Armed with this information, that was precisely why Kui Luo chose this moment for his infiltration.

    Just as he expected, the Daosource Sect¡¯s defenses were quite low when he arrived, and the protective sourcebox array had already been destroyed by the Neohuman Alliance. Kui Luo managed to sneak into the innermost depths of the sect.

    Half a dayter, Kui Luo raced out of the Daosource Sect while screaming. A stern voice shouted from behind, "Die thief!"

    Space shattered. Kui Luo lookedpletely disheveled and embarrassed as he fled. His face suddenly turned purple, and he spat out blood after traveling a great distance from the Daosource Sect. It was at this moment that he finally looked back. He patted his chest, as he felt quite lucky. "Thankfully I¡¯ve lived for quite long, so I¡¯ve managed to gather enough things to save my life. Without those, that old freak would have stopped me.

    "But who was that? They¡¯re enshrined in the deepest regions of the Daosource Sect, and everyone is worshiping them. Could the three Progenitors worship that person as well?" The thought gave Kui Luo chills, and he shook his head before moving further away.

    Kui Luo breaking into the Daosource Sect sent waves rolling through the Human Domain yet again.

    Arch-Elder Zen struggled to believe the news when he received word. Even after the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attack, was there really still someone brazen enough to sneak into the Daosource Sect? And they had actually seeded and escaped from the three Semi-Progenitors? This person was absolutely one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors alive.

    There were very few Semi-Progenitors alive at the moment, and although Arch-Elder Zen did not know about those from the Sixth Maind, this person definitely was not someone from the Sixth Maind. However, after considering his peers, Arch-Elder Zen could not think of anyone who would even consider attempting such a thing.

    Wait, could it have been him? Arch-Elder Zen suddenly remembered a certain Semi-Progenitor who hade from the Perennial World. That person had not seemed to be a very serious person¡­

    As soon as he thought about this, Arch-Elder Zen called Lu Yin, but he was not able to get through.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Si Xiao''er were still wandering around Grayweed Continent.

    "It''s already been more than a month, and we still can''t find anything. This doesn¡¯t seem to be the right way to go about this." Lu Yin was bing quite frustrated. He could not move around too quickly, as doing so would easily reveal him. But at their current rate, he had no idea how long it would take to explore the entire Grayweed Continent.

    The Aeternals were also searching for Burial Garden¡¯s gates. Not only were they not restricted by how quickly they could move, but there were far more of them searching.

    Lu Yin was desperate to find a gate to Burial Garden, but the chances of doing so were abysmal.

    Si Xiao''er asked, "Is there any other way to search?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He had also been trying to think of another method, and they had run into several people along their travels, but everyone had been from the Starfall Sea. Lu Yin had been hoping to run into others who hade out from Burial Garden.

    Burial Garden¡¯s gate appeared seemingly at random, and Lu Yin could not understand why they appeared in certain ces and not others. The most likely answer was that they had been set up in advance, as anything else indicated that Burial Garden possessed an unfathomable power that allowed them to send their gates to any ce within the entire Human Domain.

 Chapter 1813: Yang Kong

    Chapter 1813: Yang Kong

    "Senior, I''m going to go back," Si Xiao''er suddenly said as she stared at her gadget.

    Gadgets were not forbidden in the Starfall Sea, but they were unable to connect to the Innerverse. Still, there were unrestrictedmunications within the Starfall Sea itself.

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er''s face was ugly, "Yang Kong has challenged my master."

    Lu Yin had no idea what she was talking about.

    Si Xiao''er exined, "Yang Kong is the son of the Aeternal Kingdom¡¯s East City Master. He¡¯s an extraordinarily talented youth, and he¡¯s already an Enlighter."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Wait, an Enlighter is challenging your master? Isn¡¯t your master an Envoy?"

    Si Xiao''er nodded and quietly said, "My master only became an Envoy in recent years. This isn¡¯t the first time that Yang Kong¡¯s challenged my master, but every time he¡¯s issued a challenge in the past, my master has refused and only promised a future match."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Your master isn¡¯t confident?"

    Si Xiao''er pursed her lips. "Yang Kong is just too powerful. Even though he¡¯s still an Enlighter, even some Enlighters who are at the cusp of bing Envoys can¡¯t take more than a few moves from him. My master believed that she was no match for Yang Kong before bing an Envoy."

    "Bing an Envoy is a qualitative leap forward. It¡¯s too difficult to cross realms to defeat an Envoy," Lu Yin said.

    Si Xiao''er¡¯s smile grew bitter. "It might be difficult for others, but not necessarily for Yang Kong. He¡¯s already defeated too many older powerhouses, and no one dares to fight him any longer. Since he has the courage to challenge my master, he must be confident of victory. I know that Senior just came out of seclusion, but in recent years, the Human Domain hosted an incrediblepetition for members of the younger generation that was called ZENITH. People came from the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy all came to participate.

    "The champion ended up being a man named Lu Yin, who¡¯s now considered peerless within his realm, but he¡¯s nowhere close to being Yang Kong¡¯s opponent. It¡¯s simply that Yang Kong was in seclusion during ZENITH, as well as in the Starfall Sea, so he wasn¡¯t able to participate. Otherwise, Lu Yin wouldn¡¯t have ended up as the champion."

    Lu Yin had to ask. "Did you watch ZENITH?"

    Si Xiao''er shook her head. "We weren¡¯t able to see it."

    "Then why do you think that Lu Yin isn¡¯t Yang Kong''s opponent?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er replied, "Can Lu Yin defeat an Enlighter at a vastly higher cultivation realm with just a single attack? Was Lu Yin able to be a Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker while still just a youth? Was Lu Yin able to master a sourcebox array? Can Lu Yin challenge an Envoy after onlypleting a bit more than thirty cycles? No such genius has ever appeared in all of human history.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This girl almost sounded like she was indirectly praising him. Could she have recognized him?

    "So are you saying that Yang Kong¡¯s able to do everything you just mentioned?" Lu Yin¡¯s interest had been roused.

    Si Xiao''er nodded. "Yang Kong is capable of anything that Lu Yin is, and he can also perform feats that are beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities. Lu Yin may be praised as the most impressive of his generation, but Yang Kong is even able to challenge Envoys from the older generation. That is the gap between them.

    "It¡¯s possible that Lu Yin can¡¯t even enter the true universe."

    Lu Yin blinked. The people in the Starfall Sea were seriously underestimating him!

    "If Brother Lan Si were here, maybe there¡¯d be someone who could fight against Yang Kong, but unfortunately¡­" Si Xiao''er muttered to herself as her expression turned gloomy.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Lan Si?"

    Si Xiao''er quickly exined, "He¡¯s one of the Ten Arbiters of the younger generation. Senior¡¯s been in seclusion for so long that you would never have heard of them, but the top ten youths were given the title of the Ten Arbiters. Brother Lan Si was born in the Mt. Stacks Dojo and is one of the Ten Arbiters. He might be able to put up a fight against Yang Kong, but actually winning would be very difficult. After all, Brother Lan Si is someone who lost to Lu Yin.¡±

    "With everything that you¡¯ve said, are there any videos of Yang Kong''s battles? I¡¯d like to see." Lu Yin was bing more and more interested, though he also had some rather serious doubts.

    Si Xiao''er instantly answered, "Yes."

    She then pulled up her gadget and brought out a disy that showed a battle. However, the camera was too far away from the battle, so Lu Yin was not able to see anything clearly.

    "This is a video of Yang Kong¡¯s fight against an Enlighter who¡¯spleted forty two cycles, but he won in just seven moves," Si Xiao''er exined.

    Lu Yin stared at the video. The first five moves were nothing special, as Yang Kong was just letting his opponent y around. However, the sixth move was a serious attack from Yang Kong, and it dispersed his opponent¡¯s star energy and allowed Yang Kong to easily win with his seventh move. There was nothing special to the entire fight.

    A second video appeared, and this one was a bit clearer.

    "This is from the fight from when Yang Kong challenged an Enlighter with forty ninepleted cycles. Shockingly, he used the same seven moves as before," Si Xiao''er said in a tone that betrayed how intimidated she was by this feat.

    Lu Yin watched the video and saw that Yang Kong had once again managed to easily disperse his opponent''s star energy. When Yang Kong turned around, his face was clearly seen in the video.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank. Was that Bu Kong?

    Lu Yin was certain that the man in the video was Bu Kong, who had been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies.

    However, Bu Kong was supposed to be dead.

    Lu Yin stared at the video, his eyes filled with disbelief.

    How could this be possible? Was Bu Kong actually not dead? How could he possibly still be alive?

    The video was not long, so Lu Yin said, "Alright, show me all the videos of his battles."

    Si Xiao''er did not understand why Lu Yin''s tone had suddenly changed, but she simply continued searching for more of Yang Kong''s battle videos.

    There were many videos, as Yang Kong was a rather mboyant person, and he made sure that everyone was aware of each of his fights. It almost seemed as though he was afraid that people would not learn about his feats, and this behavior fully demonstrated the pride and arrogance that a powerhouse of his age should have.

    Lu Yin watched the videos one after another, and eventually, he was able to confirm that Yang Kong was indeed Bu Kong. There was no way he was wrong.

    Even though Yang Kong never used the secret techniques Power Transfer or Resurrection, he did use his innate gift of Dposition.

    When the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth Maind, Bu Kong had been the youngest of the Daosource Three Skies, and he had been a bit immature. The same had also been true during ZENITH, but in the videos that Lu Yin watched, Bu Kong¡¯s appearance had changed. He had also be much taller, and even people who had watched ZENITH might not immediately recognize him.

    However, Lu Yin had been quite impressed by Bu Kong, especially when he had used his own strength to knock back the most powerful youths of their generation during a battle in the Cosmic Sea. That scene was still perfectly clear in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Bu Kong''s death had been a tragic loss for the Sixth Maind, and Lu Yin had also regretted Bu Kong¡¯s death. If he had been able to go to the Perennial World, he might have been able to gain certain achievements there.

    Who would have thought that Bu Kong was still alive.

    However, if he was still alive, why had news of his death spread so thoroughly? Even the Progenitor of Secret Arts had invaded Aeternus Nation to get revenge for his disciple. What was all of that about?

    Could the Aeternals have the ability to resurrect the dead?

    Lu Yin suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

    "I''ll go with you to the Aeternal Kingdom," Lu Yin informed Si Xiao''er.

    Si Xiao''er was surprised. "You want to go with me?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s likely that there isn¡¯t a single Burial Garden gate on Grayweed Continent, but there might be in other ces in the Starfall Sea. There might even be one in the Aeternal Kingdom."

    Si Xiao''er''s dryly replied, "You don''t want to try to sneak into the Burial Garden gate that¡¯s in the western city."

    "There¡¯s a Burial Garden gate in the western city?" Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised.

    Si Xiao''er nodded. "The portals started popping up everywhere just a few months ago, and two appeared in the Aeternal Kingdom. One of them was destroyed, but the one in the western city was left untouched. Still, I strongly suggest that you don¡¯t go anywhere near it. There are too many powerful corpse kings in the western city, and it¡¯s impossible to get close to the gate."

    Lu Yin rubbed his chin. "Didn''t you say that there¡¯s no issue with humans going into the western city?"

    "Yes, but we just don¡¯t go there." Si Xiao''er tried to make the fact that this was a bad idea clear. If Lu Yin failed, Water God Dojo¡¯s people would end up in trouble. In fact, even if Lu Yin seeded, the dojo would still suffer.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Alright, I get it. I can¡¯t force my way into the western city, and even the eastern city has their city master who I can¡¯t deal with. I certainly don¡¯t want to die."

    Si Xiao''er heaved a sigh of relief.

    "Still, I¡¯ll go with you to the Aeternal Kingdom. Maybe we¡¯ll find a gate on the way to your home," Lu Yin said.

    Si Xiao''er did not suspect anything, as it was merelymon sense that it was impossible to cause trouble in the western city. Even though this senior from Skyze Dojo was an Envoy, even Envoys could be differentiated into the weak and the strong. This person would not walk to his own death.

    After deciding to return to the Aeternal Kingdom, the two changed directions and started heading north.

    The only way to get to Aeternal Kingdom was by using one of the Aeternals¡¯ massive spacecraft, as no other vessels were allowed to be used within the Starfall Sea.

    This was one detail that waspletely different from the past.

    The Aeternals did not stop the humans from doing anything, regardless of whether it was exploring, cultivating, or anything else, and they did not even interfere in any human conflicts. The humans living in the Starfall Sea were given almostplete freedom, though there were key areas where the Aeternals wielded absolute control, such as travel andmunication.

    Lu Yin and Si Xiao¡¯er had not been very far from the northern coast to begin with, so as soon as they started making their way due north, they arrived at Grayweed Continent¡¯s coast within just a few days.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time visiting Grayweed Continent''s coast, as he had stopped there both when he had first arrived at on Grayweed Continent, as well as when his group had been chased after by Madam Hong.

    Lu Yin still remembered that Elder Shan from the Sea King¡¯s Dome had been waiting for them at the coast with a vessel to escape. Everything had changed since that time and now.

    There were many people gathered at the coast. They were all waiting for the massive ship to arrive for them.

    "Senior sister?" There was a shout of surprise, and a group of people surged towards Lu Yin and Si Xiao¡¯er.

    Lu Yin looked up to see a group of people from Water God Dojo.

    Si Xiao''er was surprised to see them. "You¡¯re all here?"

    An old woman immediately approached Si Xiao''er, her eyes shining with excitement. "Xiao¡¯er, you¡¯re not dead?"

    "Senior Sister, we all thought that you had died."

    "Sister, how are you?"

    The entire group of disciples, both male and female, were staring at Si Xiao''er. All of them were waiting for the ship to arrive as well, which was why they had happened to meet.

    Si Xiao''er answered with a smile, "I''m fine. The hot mes underground was not something that I couldn¡¯t survive, but there was a terrible heat blocking the way out, so I was trapped and unable to leave."

    "Was that the surge of heat that forced me back?" the old woman asked.

    Si Xiao''er nced at Lu Yin before nodding. "Mhmm."

    She hade to understand that the surge of heat was something that Lu Yin had done to prevent anyone from saving her.

    Lu Yin had purposely dragged Si Xiao¡¯er into the mes, so she had never actually slipped and fallen.

    The old womanmented, "I never even considered that it might have just been a barrier of heat. I thought that you had died, and so I was intending to return and admit to my guilt. However, everything¡¯s better now, as you¡¯re fine."

    After speaking, the old woman uncertainly nced over at Lu Yin, who was standing nearby. "Xiao¡¯er, did you just arrive with him?"

    The dojo¡¯s disciples all turned to look at Lu Yin as well at that moment.

    Si Xiao''er quietly said, "Let¡¯s first return to the eastern city before I exin anything. He has a special status."

    The old woman''s eyes flickered, but she just nodded and said nothing.

    The rest of Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples were all curious about Lu Yin, as his appearance was quite odd. His body seemed devoid of all water, and it reminded them of their own battle techniques.

 Chapter 1814: Returning To Find Things Unfamiliar

    Chapter 1814: Returning To Find Things Unfamiliar

    "How long do we need to wait for the ship to arrive?" Si Xiao''er asked.

    The old woman was the one to reply, "At least another day. We¡¯ve been waiting for half a month so far."

    "Then we got here just in time."

    The old woman suddenly pretended to be angry. "It¡¯s just like you to be perfectly fine when we were all terrified that you were dead! We didn¡¯t even dare to say anything to the dojo master!"

    Si Xiao''er could only shrug. "I''m really sorry for having such an ident."

    More and more people continued to gather. There were at least several thousand.

    Were all of these people really from the Starfall Sea? Could any of them have alsoe out of one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept over everyone gathered, but he was not able to see anything unusual at all.

    However, searching for someone was pointless. Only an idiot would stay here after learning that they had appeared in the Starfall Sea. The only thing that might have been left behind was the Burial Garden that Lu Yin had found that had already been destroyed.

    Lu Yin believed that more than just a few people had arrived in the Starfall Sea through the same gate that he had exited from, but the gate had already been destroyed, so no one else would pass through it. The only gate that Lu Yin knew of that still stood in the Starfall Sea was the one guarded by the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin was very happy that he had been lucky enough not to exit through the gate that was in the West City.

    A corpse king flew through the sky, and it was the same one that Lu Yin had fought against.

    Lu Yin felt a chill every time he saw the creature, as he was scared that he would be discovered.

    Fortunately, just one dayter, the super-sized ship arrived, and everyone boarded it one after another. The ship took off again as soon as everyone was aboard, and it set course for the Sea King¡¯s Dome, or rather, the new Aeternal Kingdom.

    Lu Yin stared out at the indistinct image of Grayweed Continent. He had no idea when he would return to this ce. Mt. Stacks Dojo still had the 1,000 Stacks palm print that he needed to check, but at this moment, he was not even capable of using 400 Stacks. He guessed that he needed to be an Envoy at the least before he would be able to use a full 1,000 Stacks.

    As for the battle technique that was concealed within the 1,000 Stacks palm print, Lu Yin could not even imagine what it might be.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin did not reveal himself during the trip from Grayweed Continent to the Aeternal Kingdom even once, not even to Si Xiao''er.

    The old woman asked Si Xiao''er about Lu Yin several times, but the young woman would not reveal anything about Lu Yin at all, and in fact, Si Xiao''er herself did not know even Lu Yin¡¯s name. The only thing that he had told her was that he was a senior from Skyze Dojo.

    A tremor passed through the massive ship. They had arrived at the Aeternal Kingdom.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and emerged from his quarters. Shock filled his eyes when he looked out from the ship.

    Was this really the same ce that he had visited before? Was this really once the Sea King¡¯s Dome?

    Lu Yin still remembered the shock that had filled his heart when he first saw the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Back then, the sky overhead had not been dark, but rather a bright blue that was full of light. There had been a massive mountain surrounded by white clouds and rainbows that appeared from the various waterfalls cascading down the mountain while kicking up mist. It had looked like a fairnd. However, the mountain had been turned into a mine when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Starfall Sea, and at the moment, even a mountain was not left standing. The ce that had once been the Sea King¡¯s Dome had apparently been erased from the map.

    All that Lu Yin could see was an expansive city. Even though it appeared to be quite prosperous, he felt an odd silence from the ce. There were smiles on many people¡¯s faces, but he was also able to see helplessness, bitterness, and even despair hidden beneath those smiles.

    He even saw the same look on Si Xiao¡¯er¡¯s face. She had worn normal expressions while on Grayweed Continent, but returning to the Aeternal Kingdom was like returning to her cage. The feeling of being trapped and suppressed only made the sky overhead even darker and more oppressive.

    The sky above the Aeternal Kingdom was very bright, but it was not a light that illuminated the city, but rather one that strengthened the shadows.

    "Xiao¡¯er, let''s go. Yang Kong and your master are about to have their battle, and it¡¯s going to take ce right in the East City¡¯s main square." The old woman''s expression changed drastically as she suddenly shouted at Si Xiao¡¯er.

    The young woman¡¯s face grew pale, and she quickly left the ship and headed into the city along with all the other Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples.

    Lu Yin nced around and saw that the group was not alone. Many people from the city were headed in the same direction.

    An Enlighter had challenged an Envoy. This was something that waspletely unprecedented, at least in the Starfall Sea, and so it had attracted a tremendous amount of attention. Lu Yin looked up. It was possible that even the one controlling the Starfall Sea, ckless God, was paying attention to this match.

    Lu Yin stepped out to make his way to the East City¡¯s main square, but he was not familiar with the ce.

    The East City¡¯s main square was in the northern section of the city. Given the power that an Envoy could unleash, let alone a mere city square, even the entire Aeternal Kingdom could be easily destroyed. Fortunately, the square was not in the city itself, but rather to the north and on the Starfall Sea¡¯s coast. This location was why the square had been chosen for this battle. In fact, although the city square was reportedly the site of the battle, the fight would actually take ce over the Starfall Sea.

    The square was alreadypletely crowded when Lu Yin arrived, and two people were standing across from each other at the center of the square. Both were calmly staring at each other.

    One of the two was the master of Water God Dojo, a middle-aged woman known as Dojo Master Si. She was quite average to look at, but there was something alluring about her.

    Across from Dojo Master Si was her challenger: Yang Kong.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes focused when he saw Yang Kong in person for the first time. This person was absolutely Bu Kong. Even though his appearance had changed a bit, his aura was the same as ever, especially his forcefield. This made Lu Yin absolutely confident in his original guess.

    "Dojo Master Si, I''ve been waiting a very long time for this match." Yang Kong arrogantly lifted his head and revealed a proud expression on his face.

    Dojo Master Si''s voice remained calm. "There¡¯s a qualitative leap in power when breaking through from an Enlighter to an Envoy. Are you really so confident that you can defeat me?"

    Yang Kong remained cocky. "Cut the chit-chat! While it might be something that¡¯s never been done before in history, there are already people who can pull it off. If he can do it, then so can I! I refuse to be any worse than him!"

    Dojo Master Si frowned. "Then let''s do this. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing why you believe that you can defeat me."

    Just outside the square, Si Xiao''er and the other Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples were gnashing their teeth as they red at Yang Kong. This bastard was using their Dojo Master Si as a stepping stone to elevate himself. If he lost the match, it would only be expected, as he was an Enlighter challenging an Envoy. However, if Yang Kong won, Dojo Master Si would lose all respect. Yang Kong was truly hateful, but he was also invincible, so they could do nothing.

    There was a bang, and Yang Kong shot through the void to instantly appear right in front of Dojo Master Si, and he threw out a palm as his opening attack.

    Lu Yin watched from outside the square, and he was surprised by this move. Bu Kong¡¯s style of fighting had changed. In the past, Bu Kong¡¯s primary means of attack had been his innate gift of Dposition, but at this moment, he was attacking with a palm. Was he using physical strength against this Envoy?

    Dojo Master Si looked unimpressed by Yang Kong¡¯s attack, and she simply moved and disappeared by entering the true universe.

    This was thergest hurdle to ovee when an Enlighter faced an Envoy. Within the true universe, Dojo Master Si was able to see and freely attack Yang Kong, but he could not touch her.

    Yang Kong had already expected this, and he waved a hand and quickly arranged a sourcebox array in the air.

    Dojo Master Si attacked, and a stream of water wrapped around the area and suppressed all of the star energy in the area. The sourcebox array was truly powerful, but the stream of water had appeared instantly in response.

    This was the same sourcebox array that Bu Kong had once used atop the Champions¡¯ Stage to knock everyone else off.

    However, at the moment, Bu Kong was not facing Enlighters, but rather an Envoy. Envoys used stellr energy that was able topletely suppress star energy.

    This was the second greatest hurdle that Enlighters faced when up against Envoys. How could one fight without even using star energy?

    Even if Lu Yin had reached the Creation realm of star energy control and was able to absorb all attacks with his star energy, he could not stabilize his star energy against an Envoy, as Envoys were able to innately suppress and disrupt star energy. It waspletely impossible for Bu Kong to be able to ovee this hurdle.

    His sourcebox array was broken by the stream of water, and the water moved around to fill the sky with numerous teardrops.

    Someone watching from outside the square suddenly shouted, "That¡¯s Water God¡¯s Tears! This match is already over. There¡¯s no way Yang Kong can win after being trapped within the Water God¡¯s Tears. Even survival is questionable after being trapped by that technique."

    Si Xiao''er became excited. Water God¡¯s Tears was Water God Dojo¡¯s pinnacle battle technique. It was not merely an attack made up of multiple water droplets, as each droplet actually possessed a raging current within it, and the force within each teardrop only rose as time passed until the force exceeded the user¡¯s control.

    Cultivators from Grayweed Continent all knew to avoid getting trapped by Water God Dojo¡¯s Water God¡¯s Tears, as once one was trapped, not even disciples from Water God Dojo were guaranteed to be able to rescue the person.

    All of Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples started breathing quickly. This battle was already over.

    Lu Yin was also amazed, as this Water God¡¯s Tears was quite an impressive technique. The inside of each water droplet containedplex changes, and each one constantly strengthened itself. Much like a sourcebox, if a person wanted to ovee this technique or admit defeat, both would have to take ce before the internal forces of each droplet exceeded the user¡¯s control. Once that happened, their only option was to forcibly overpower the technique.

    However, even overpowering the technique from outside would harm whoever was trapped within.

    Overpowering the technique typically required the use of a technique that surpassed the upper limit of what the Water God¡¯s Tears could withstand, which would also surpass what anyone trapped by the technique could endure.

    This was a battle technique that constantly changed.

    Dojo Master Si emerged from the true universe. "Admit defeat. I can still dispel the Water God¡¯s Tears now, but if you dy, it will be toote."

    Yang Kong clenched his fists tighter than ever as his clothes were shredded oneyer at a time.

    Dojo Master Si frowned. "Do you wish to die? If you wait too long, not even the city master himself will be able to save you."

    Yang Kong sneered, though his skin started to be torn and shredded by the Water God¡¯s Tears, and blood started to appear in the sky. The Water God¡¯s Tears slowly changed from colorless to scarlet.

    Dojo Master Si''s eyes flickered. She did not want to kill this youth, as doing so would offend the city master. Even if Dojo Master Si was also an Envoy, she was still intimidated by the city master, as she was not his equal.

    Just when Dojo Master Si reached the point where she was almost unable to resist canceling her attack, a hand pierced through the Water God¡¯s Tears and forcibly tore the technique apart, startling everyone.

    Yang Kong stepped out, his face grim. Blood stained his entire body, and his eyes were gray.

    Lu Yin was startled. A Gray Eyes Transformation?

    Dojo Master Si eximed, "You¡¯ve used the Corpse King Transformation?"

    Yang Kong sneered. "You¡¯re mistaken!"

    He then leaped forward and charged at Dojo Master Si. The woman simply turned and entered the true universe, disappearing from sight. Yang Kong instantly froze in ce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. The true universe was a hurdle that only the Perennial World¡¯s four Junior Progenitors had managed to ovee. Before Lu Yin, there had been no Enlighter in the Fifth or Sixth Mainds who were able to ovee this hurdle, except for older powerhouses that Lu Yin did not know much about. He seldom ever encountered seniors who were extremely powerful at their Enlighter level.

    Whether or not Yang Kong could defeat Dojo Master Si all depended on whether or not he could surpass this obstacle and enter the true universe. Just by itself, the Gray Eye Transformation had given Bu Kong enough physical strength topensate for the fact that he could no longer use star energy.

    Dojo Master Si attacked again from within the true universe. A stream of water appeared, and the Water God¡¯s Tears reappeared. This time, the teardrops easily filled the sky, and the technique waspleted in half the time that had been used before.

    Yang Kong''s eyes changed color once again and became green. It was as though his entire being had been improved by a level, and he instantly tore right through the Water God¡¯s Tears. He stared in one particr direction, stepped forward, and then disappeared.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew sharp. Bu Kong had broken past the barrier. He had entered the true universe. This made Bu Kong the second Enlighter to be able to challenge Envoys after Lu Yin¡¯s appearance.

    This was something that was beyond even Shang Qing, and yet Bu Kong had aplished it. Still, he had done so by utilizing the Aeternals¡¯ Corpse King Transformation.

 Chapter 1815: Lie Yanzi

    Chapter 1815: Lie Yanzi

    The Corpse King Transformation was an extremely terrifying battle technique. In Lu Yin''s opinion, it was in no way inferior to the Tri-Yang Technique, and in some senses, it might have even surpassed the Tri-Yang Technique.

    How many years had passed? And yet, from all the geniuses that the Hall of Honor had groomed, only Shang Qing had been able to master the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. On the other hand, not only could multiple corpse kings use the Corpse King Transformation, but even humans could use it. For example, in the past, Zi Rong had used the Corpse King Transformation.

    However, if the technique that Zi Rong had used waspared to Bu Kong¡¯s, then Zi Rong¡¯s technique clearly had some ws.

    Being able to step into the true universe showed that Yang Kong was definitely strong enough to face off against Dojo Master Si.

    For the first time since the start of the fight, Master Si Tao''s expression changed. She no longer looked asposed as she watched Yang Kong move closer and closer to her. She stretched her hands forward, and water surged forth to form two mountains that crashed into Yang Kong.

    For those watching from the square, there was no trace of the twobatants, but the two suddenly reappeared, though they were already above the Starfall Sea.

    Water surged upwards as though forming cliffs that pressed against the sky and blocked the light of the sun in two different directions.

    Si Xiao''er bit her lip. "Shuang Ya, Master¡¯s even using her innate gift!"

    The old woman''s expression grew even worse. Even though she was not able to fully understand a battle at the Envoy level, she was able to sense that Dojo Master Si was being forced back.

    The two rising walls of water suddenly started flowing again, and they both dropped down to envelop Yang Kong when Dojo Master Si raised a finger. The flowing water then transformed into a single thread that shot straight through Yang Kong¡¯s shoulder. "Give up, or else the next attack will go through your head!"

    Yang Kong stared at Dojo Master Si with his green eyes. After a moment, he smiled. ¡°I already said that you¡¯re guaranteed to lose."

    At that moment, his aura suddenly surged, and all of the injuries covering his body instantly recovered. He even managed to force back all of the water surrounding him as he rushed over to Dojo Master Si.

    The woman¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks as Yang Kong ced a single palm against her abdomen. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    There was a bang, and Dojo Master Si¡¯s body was sent flying into the East City, where she crashed into the ground.

    All of Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples raced over as fast as they could.

    The rest of the audience stared in a daze. Yang Kong had just sent Dojo Master Si, an Envoy, flying. How had he done it? His aura and power level had surged in an instant, and all of his injuries had alsopletely recovered. No one could understand what had just happened.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Sure enough, Yang Kong really was Bu Kong.

    At the end of the fight, Bu Kong had used two secret techniques: Resurrection and Power Transfer, and also his innate gift. If not for the fact that Dojo Master Si had remained cautious and wary throughout the fight, maintaining ayer of water around her body for protection, not only would she have been badly injured, but she might have also suffered from having her body Dposed, which would have resulted in only a single possible oue: death.

    Yang Kong was definitely Bu Kong. He had demonstrated mastery of the Sixth Maind¡¯s secret techniques, as well as the same innate gift and personality as Bu Kong.

    He truly was not dead.

    In fact, judging by the fact that Bu Kong was still able to use the Sixth Maind¡¯s secret techniques, he had not lost his memories. After all, he had even used a sourcebox array that Lu Yin recognized. Just what had the Aeternals done to Bu Kong?

    In the East City, all of the buildings in arge region had been destroyed when Dojo Master Si struck the ground. She held a hand to her abdomen, and her face waspletely white.

    Si Xiao''er and others from the dojo all surrounded the wounded Envoy.

    Dojo Master Si dismissed them all with a wave of her hand. "I¡¯m fine."

    As she spoke, she was staring into the distance where Yang Kong stood tall far above the Starfall Sea. He was staring at her with cold eyes.

    Si Xiao''er and the others all turned to re at him.

    "You¡¯ve won," Dojo Master Si bitterly admitted.

    The disciples of Water God Dojo were unwilling to ept this oue, but there was nothing that they could do.

    Yang Kong acted as arrogant as ever. "I told you that you aren¡¯t my opponent! I said that the first time we fought."

    "Yang Kong, if not for the Corpse King Transformation, you would never be able to defeat me." Dojo Master Si picked herself up off the ground, despite blood still leaking from her mouth. She was clearly unwilling to ept her defeat.

    Yang Kong snorted disdainfully. "So what? The Corpse King Transformation is nothing more than a battle technique. Are you willing to face your opponents without your Water God Dojo¡¯s Water God¡¯s Tears? Your whining is for losers."

    "Yang Kong, don''t go too far!" Si Xiao''er shouted angrily.

    Yang Kongpletely ignored her. He was an arrogant person, and none of the disciples were worth his attention. "Dojo Master Si, you¡¯ve lost, so remember what you promised me."

    He then disappeared. He had already left.

    Si Xiao''er quickly asked, "Master, what did you promise him?"

    Everyone else from Water God Dojo also turned to look at Dojo Master Si, but her only reply was to frustratedly say, "Let¡¯s go back before we talk about this."

    The match between Yang Kong and Dojo Master Si shocked many people. This was the first time in the entire history of the Starfall Sea that an Enlighter had defeated an Envoy, and it had happened in their lifetimes.

    This was a historic moment for the Starfall Sea¡¯s residents.

    As the crowd dispersed, it was inevitable for news of the match to spread, and it would not be long before the entire Starfall Sea learned of it.

    In the East City, at Water God Dojo, Dojo Master Si had already recovered a bit. At the least, her face was not as pale as it had been.

    All of the gathered disciples looked thoroughly depressed.

    Dojo Master Si spoke in an indifferent tone. "Winning and losing are both perfectlymon oues. I lost, but I will rise again in the future. This universe has given birth to far too many geniuses, and Yang Kong is just one of them. Some people are young while others are old. I once overwhelmed Skyze Dojo when representing our Water God Dojo, but this time I¡¯ve lost. Why are all of you looking so upset?"

    "Master, your disciple understands," Si Xiao''er said firmly.

    Dojo Master Si nodded. She waved a hand to dismiss the other disciples while staring at Lu Yin, who had followed Si Xiao''er back to Water God Dojo.

    He did not need to visit Water God Dojo, but Dojo Master Si was an Envoy from the East City, and she would naturally have a much better understanding of matters regarding the Aeternus Kingdom. Thus, speaking with her would definitely be better than simply wandering around, so Lu Yin had gone to Water God Dojo.

    "Who is this?" Dojo Master Si asked.

    The old woman also looked at Lu Yin with a great deal of curiosity.

    Si Xiao''er spoke up to answer, "He is a senior from Skyze Dojo who just came out of seclusion."

    Dojo Master Si was taken aback. "Skyze Dojo?"

    As she stared at Lu Yin, her expression quickly dimmed. "Who are you?"

    There had always been an intense rivalry between Skyze Dojo and Water God Dojo, so she should be aware of anyone of any significance from Skyze Dojo. Also, with Lu Yin¡¯s desated appearance, she felt like he was likely trying to disguise his appearance, which waspletely true.

    "Skyze Dojo¡¯s Lie Yanzi," Lu Yin replied.

    Si Xiao''er blinked; Lie Yanzi? This was her first time hearing Lu Yin say any name at all.

    Dojo Master Si instantly took action, and Lu Yin was surrounded by streams of water. The Envoy instantly demanded, "Who are you? Skyze Dojo has no one by that name!"

    "There¡¯s me." Lu Yin remained stubborn.

    Dojo Master Si shouted, "Tell me! Who are you?"

    "Lie Yanzi."

    The old woman suddenly eximed, "I remember now! There was someone with the name of Lie Yanzi in Skyze Dojo¡¯s history, and he once fought for the position of dojo master, but he failed and died. Are you that Lie Yanzi?"

    Lu Yin found this quite odd. Really? He had just randomly chosen a name, as it did not matter whether he used an urate name or not. With Skyze Dojo destroyed, it was impossible for Dojo Master Si to verify anything at all, and even if Lu Yin was proven to be a fraud, it would not be a big deal for him to simply leave.

    There was a certain truth that Lu Yin fully understood, which was that he first had to convince himself that what he was saying was true before he could sessfully lie to others. He had already convinced himself that he was Lie Yanzi, so how could anyone from Water God Dojo deny him? This was Lu Yin''s line of reasoning.

    Dojo Master Si had naturally known that there had been such a Lie Yanzi in Skyze Dojo, and she had merely been testing this neer. Besides, it was a known fact that Lie Yanzi had died long ago, so how could he possibly reappear?

    "Lie Yanzi¡¯s been dead for many years, and not even Tian Yanzi was born when Lie Yanzi died. You im to be him, but why should we believe you?" Dojo Master Si remained cautious, and she was ready to instantly use her Water God¡¯s Tears.

    Lu Yin answered quietly, "I didn''t really die back then, but was rather seriously injured so I went into seclusion. I¡¯ve remained in the depths of the mes beneath Skyze Dojo and only recently left. You can ask your disciple where she met me."

    Dojo Master Si looked at Si Xiao''er, and the young woman quickly shared the story of how she had met Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also brought out the Skyze Stone at the appropriate time, as Dojo Master Si was familiar with the stone. "That¡¯s the treasure of Skyze Dojo. Why do you have it?"

    "No idea. When I came out of seclusion, I found it in the middle of the mes deep beneath the surface," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Dojo Master Si stared into Lu Yin''s eyes before finally retracting her water. She then said in a sad voice, "It doesn¡¯t actually matter whether or not you are Lie Yanzi. Our Starfall Sea has fallen to the Aeternals, and since you are human, there¡¯s no need for us to fight against each other."

    She still did not believe Lu Yin was really Lie Yanzi, but given their situation, she could not think of a single reason for this person to pose as someone from Skyze Dojo, or what he might want from her Water God Dojo.

    While the Aeternals did nothing to restrict the humans¡¯ freedom, everyone was still aware that the Aeternals were the ones in control of everything. Even powerhouses like the master of Water God Dojo or the East City Master were no different. Adding in one more expert from Skyze Dojo would do nothing to change the current situation.

    Lu Yin remained within Water God Dojo and acted as if he had always expected to do so.

    The Sea King¡¯s Dome had beenpletely leveled for the Aeternus Kingdom to be established. Lu Yin could only imagine the pain that the Sea King, Hai Qiqi, and the others from the Sea King¡¯s Dome would feel when they learned of this change.

    This Aeternus Kingdom had a very simr appearance to the Aeternus Nation Lu Yin had visited in the Neoverse. All of the buildings were skyscrapers, there was a monotony and solitude to the city¡¯s appearance that dominated the atmosphere and gave it a suppressive ambience.

    Fortunately, this Aeternus Kingdom had a great deal more life than the Aeternus Nation that Lu Yin had visited. There were a lot of human beings, and some alternative styles of architecture could asionally be seen, breaking up the monotony. This showed the resilience of humans; as long as they were given enough time, they could adapt to nearly anything.

    Water God Dojo covered arge area of the city, and even as a guest, Lu Yin was given his own courtyard.

    The old woman asionally stared at Lu Yin¡¯s courtyard with incredibly suspicious eyes. Si Xiao''er tried to visit Lu Yin several times, but each time, she was stopped.

    A day and a night soon passed.

    When night fell, a massive crescent moon hung in the sky. It looked as though it rose up out of the Starfall Sea and would return to the waters, but if felt as though a pair of eyes was looking down upon the city from the tallest tower, observing everyone.

    Lu Yin looked up at the huge crescent moon, though his thoughts were anyone¡¯s guess.

    Si Xiao''er approached and sat down next to him. "Senior, are you really Lie Yanzi?"

    "Yes."

    Si Xiao''er cupped her chin with a hand. "I don''t know why, but Master and the others just don''t believe you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s because, ording to all of the records, Lie Yanzi was dead, and I even died long ago. It¡¯s nothing strange to not believe me."

    "You¡¯re even older than my master and the others that I know. Can you tell me what Grayweed Continent was like in your youth?" Si Xiao''er asked curiously.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. How was he supposed to know the answer to this question? He started speaking in a nostalgic manner, ¡°Back then¡­¡±

    Si Xiao¡¯er leaned forward.

    "I can¡¯t remember."

    Si Xiao''er blinked. "What?"

    Lu Yin calmly stated, "I¡¯ve forgotten about it."

    Si Xiao''er stunned. "Forgotten? Forgotten? How could you forget?"

    Lu Yin replied with a question of his own, "What, do you not forget things? That was a long time ago. Can you remember everything from when you were three years old?"

    Si Xiao''er was honest and shook her head.

    "Exactly, and that was just a few decades ago, but what about me? How many years have passed since I was young? It would be abnormal to be able to remember everything, so isn¡¯t it perfectly normal to have forgotten some things?" Lu Yin asked in a matter-of-fact manner.

 Chapter 1816: Sense Of Existence

    Chapter 1816: Sense Of Existence

    Si Xiao¡¯er felt that while Lu Yin¡¯s words seemed to make sense, there was something that just felt off.

    She was usually good at remaining calm, so she quickly figured out where the issue was. She was just about to speak up when Lu Yin suddenly asked, "What did your master promise Yang Kong?"

    Si Xiao''er''s eyes instantly dimmed, and her mood seemed ruined. "Master promised Yang Kong that she would apany him into Burial Garden¡¯s gate."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Into Burial Garden¡¯s gate? Didn¡¯t you say that the Aeternals have announced that those are death gates and that humans aren¡¯t allowed to enter them?"

    Si Xiao''er replied, "Yes, but Yang Kong knows that they¡¯re really Burial Garden¡¯s gates, and my master knows that they need to enter one of the gates in order toplete a task that the Aeternals assigned. Yang Kong was ced in charge of this task, and he was told to put together a team to enter a gate."

    "And your master was chosen?"

    "Well, my master¡¯s an Envoy, and she¡¯s also the second most powerful person in the East City after the city master, so naturally she was one of his first choices. However, she refused, and the Aeternals didn¡¯t make any moves to force her. Thus, Yang Kong made a bet with Master. If she won, Master would have been free to choose whatever she wanted, but if she lost, she agreed to enter the gate with Yang Kong."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Aeternals had assigned Yang Kong a task, but they had not tried to press Dojo Master Si into participating. Instead, everything was left entirely up to Yang Kong, and he seemed to be very proactive inpleting his task.

    Lu Yin remembered that corpse kings could not enter any of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, as doing so would result in them dying without fail. This had been quickly discovered as soon as the gates first appeared, so why was Yang Kong willing to enter? He had clearly used a Corpse King Transformation, so was it possible that the Aeternals had developed the Corpse King Transformation to the point where regr humans could use it?

    If Yang Kong was stillpletely human and not someone who had undergone any of the Aeternals¡¯ transformations, then there was a big problem with his reported death. He might not have actually been resurrected from death, but very likely never died at all. In that case, what had actually happened?

    The only way to get an answer was to get close to Yang Kong. However, Lu Yin¡¯s top priority was to enter Burial Garden¡¯s gate. The only way to aplish both of these two goals was to gain Yang Kong¡¯s attention and be selected as one of the people chosen to assist him with his assigned task.

    "Are they controlling your master somehow?" Lu Yin asked.

    Si Xiao''er¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper, "She¡¯s been poisoned. If she doesn¡¯t get an antidote regrly, she¡¯ll die. Even her strength as an Envoy can¡¯t help her. It¡¯s some sort of poison that the Aeternals developed that humanity doesn¡¯t have any treatment for."

    "Vitality Poison?" Lu Yin was startled.

    Si Xiao''er shook her head. "I don''t know. How does Senior know about that poison?"

    "I ran into it once in my youth.¡± He then stood and stretched. ¡°Apany me to the West City tomorrow."

    Si Xiao''er was startled by this request. "The West City? Senior, why are you going there? There are corpse kings there!"

    Lu Yin grew serious. "That¡¯s why I want to go take a look. Only by knowing yourself and your opponent can you achieve victory. When I wasst active, corpse kings were rare. I didn''t expect the entire Starfall Sea to fall to the Neohuman Alliance before I left seclusion. I have no idea if you juniors will be able to take back the Starfall Sea, but I want to visit the West City and see just how many corpse kings there are."

    "Not because of the gate?" Si Xiao''er was not stupid, so she nervously questioned Lu Yin¡¯s motives.

    Lu Yin looked at her and smiled. "Is the gate in the middle of a street?"

    Si Xiao''er shook her head.

    "Then how will I even get close to it? Force my way in? I¡¯m not seeking death. Alright, head on back for now." Lu Yin waved Si Xiao''er out.

    When Si Xiao''er left Lu Yin''s courtyard, the old woman approached her. "How did it go? What did you ask?"

    Si Xiao''er repeated everything that Lu Yin had said. "I didn''t really ask anything, but he''s nning to go visit the West City with me tomorrow."

    The old woman was stunned. "The West City? What does he want to do there? What did he tell you?"

    Si Xiao''er nodded. "And he wants me to apany him."

    "No! Absolutely not! The West City is too dangerous! If those corpse kings are really all under control and can keep themselves from hurting humans, then why does the West City prohibit them from leaving the city, and why don¡¯t any humans have the courage to enter the West City? If he wants to go, then let him. That¡¯s his business," the old woman said tly.

    Si Xiao''er bit her lip. "I also want to go and see the West City."

    "No." Dojo Master Si suddenly stepped out of the void, her face solemn. "You are not allowed to visit the West City. Let him go by himself if he wants to go."

    Si Xiao''er grew stubborn. "Master, this disciple wants to learn about the corpse kings. Since this Aeternus Kingdom has two cities, and the corpse kings are stuck in the West City due to being strictly forbidden to leave, it means that the Aeternals don''t really want to hurt us humans here in the East City. If we don¡¯t visit the West City, then if they attack and we have no understanding of them, how can we fight them?"

    Dojo Master Si suddenly shouted, "Shut up! What do you know?"

    She then ordered the old woman, "Take her back. She isn¡¯t allowed out, or to go anywhere at all!"

    Si Xiao''er wanted to say something else, but the old woman dragged her away.

    Dojo Master Si stared towards Lu Yin''s courtyard, and Lu Yin also happened to be looking out. The two were far apart from each other and were even blocked by walls, but they still both seemed to see each other''s eyes.

    One was a weak character who had sumbed to a strong enemy and was only able to act meek while enduring.

    The other possessed an overbearing personality and was eager to explore and move forward and excelled at breaking free of a current stalemate.

    They were twopletely different people.

    Lu Yin had heard the conversation that Dojo Master Si had held with the others, but he did not me them for their choices. Needless resistance was nothing more than asking to die. If Lu Yin were in Dojo Master Si¡¯s position, he also would not be willing to take risks because of an unknown person.

    For Lu Yin¡¯s hosts, living peaceful lives was enough for them. Even if their dignity was stomped upon, they would endure as long as they could survive.

    The next day, Lu Yin went to visit the West City, and Si Xiao''er was right next to him.

    She had been snuck out by Lu Yin. He could have visited the corpse kings¡¯ city on his own, but since Si Xiao''er wanted to join him, Lu Yin had taken her out of the dojo.

    Si Xiao''er already knew that Lu Yin was very powerful, but she had not thought that he would be strong enough to get her out of Water God Dojo without raising any fuss at all. Not even her master had sensed anything.

    "Senior, what realm has your cultivation reached?" Si Xiao''er asked.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "About the same as your master¡¯s."

    "I don''t believe you! You were able to sneak me out of Water God Dojo under her nose, and you were in seclusion at the deepest depths of Skyze Dojo. It¡¯s said that not even Tian Yanzi dared to go that deep. One time, my master once said that a person would need a power level of at least 600,000 if they wanted to go that far down into the mes," Si Xiao''er retorted.

    Lu Yin paused. "We¡¯ve made it to the West City."

    At the moment, the two were at the peak of a small mountain. The Aeternus Kingdom was split it two by a short mountain that split the metropolis into the eastern and western cities. At the moment, Lu Yin and Si Xiao''er were at the top of this mountain, and they were staring towards the west.

    The two cities¡¯ architectural styles were quite simr in design, but the corpse kings¡¯ West City was dead silent whenpared to the humans¡¯ East City. There were still many people out on the streets, but they were like the ones that Lu Yin had seen in the Neoverse¡¯s Aeternus Nation. These figures were dead and lifeless. When they moved, it was as though they were walking solely for the sake of walking.

    There was no noise throughout the entire city, and the only asional sound was a disturbing chewing noise.

    Lu Yin had heard this same sound once before, in the Neoverse¡¯s Aeternus Nation.

    "Has anyone else ever visited the West City before?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I don''t know. Our city master should have since he¡¯s the city master of the East City."

    Lu Yin took Si Xiao''er and jumped down from the mountain. They stepped into the West City and immediately confronted a corpse king.

    The corpse king stared at Lu Yin and Si Xiao''er with its cold, slitted, scarlet eyes.

    Si Xiao''er grew pale and swallowed hard.

    After a moment, the corpse king walked away without doing a single thing to the two humans.

    Lu Yin led Si Xiao''er further into the West City.

    Given the Aeternals¡¯ current n, Lu Yin and Si Xiao¡¯er¡¯s safety was absolutely guaranteed. The reason why they had entered the West City was not mere curiosity, but also so that they would attract certain people¡¯s attention.

    The humans in the East City did not dare to step foot in the West City, but Lu Yin had done exactly that. This was enough to attract the attention of people from both the eastern and the western cities.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s appearance after using Extremes Must Be Reversed, no one was able to recognize him, and he did not need to hide any of his strength either. He was Lie Yanzi at this moment. A powerhouse from Skyze Dojo who had once failed to win the position of sect master and who had then entered seclusion for countless years to ultimately be an Envoy-level powerhouse.

    Si Xiao''er stayed very close to Lu Yin as they moved through the West City.

    The buildings on either side of the street made her think that she was back in the East City, as the two were nearly identical. She even saw the same buildings that her Water God Dojo used, as they could also be found in the West City.

    A corpse king passed by the two humans, which was frightening. It was chewing on something, but there was no way to know what the creature was eating.

    Si Xiao''er constantly felt as though a corpse king was staring straight at them.

    Lu Yin seemed much more rxed. "Don''t worry. The Aeternals have spent so much time and resources to build the eastern and western cities while also forbidding the corpse kings from leaving the West City. They are clearly trying to create an image that corpse kings and humans can coexist, so there¡¯s no way that they¡¯ll allow us to suffer any idents. Do you want to know more about the corpse kings?"

    Lu Yin then stretched out a hand and grabbed a random corpse king that had been passing by. Si Xiao¡¯er was startled, as she had not expected Lu Yin to be so bold.

    The corpse king was simrly startled, and its scarlet eyes stared at Si Xiao''er in a horrible manner as it growled softly. It kept trying to break free, but it could not get loose from Lu Yin¡¯s grip.

    Many of the other corpse kings on the street turned to stare at themotion, and Si Xiao¡¯er instantly grew pale. "Senior, let him go! Let him go!"

    Lu Yin threw the corpse king away.

    Afternding, it whirled around and roared, clearly wanting to attack. However, in the end, nothing at all happened.

    Lu Yin nced around and then suddenly looked up to stare into the distance. He was staring at a pair of slitted scarlet eyes that caused him to feel an incredible amount of pressure. This creature was an absolute expert and was not an opponent that Lu Yin could deal with.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes tightened as he stared into the scarlet eyes for a moment. He suddenly turned around. "Time to go. Let¡¯s head back to the East City."

    Si Xiao''er felt utterly confused. "We¡¯re going back?"

    "Do you want to stick around to visit?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Si Xiao''er instantly caught up to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had only gone to visit the West City to make sure that people took notice of his existence, and he had seeded. He was someone who had dared to step into the West City, and he had even attacked a corpse king. This would absolutely draw the attention of Aeternus Kingdom¡¯s top officials.

    That night, Lu Yin was staring up at the crescent moon high above him in the sky again when his eyes shifted and he looked behind him. Right at that moment, a figure stepped out of the void and threw an attack at him.

    This attack was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin, as Yang Kong was attacking. Or rather, Bu Kong.

    This palm that Bu Kong threw out was no different from the first attack that he hadunched at Dojo Master Si during their match.

    The hand was about to strike. Bu Kong was absolutely certain that his attack would strike true, and he saw a dead person when he stared at Lu Yin.

    At that moment, Lu Yin disappeared. He had entered the true universe.

    Yang Kong''s attack failed, but the force of the palm strike struck the ground and caused the East City to tremble. The terrifying power of the attack crushed the buildings of Water God Dojo.

    Many of the dojo¡¯s people were caught up in the attack, and some people even had their legs shattered.

    Dojo Master Si was furious, and she instantly appeared and red at Yang Kong. "What are you doing?"

    However, Yang Kongpletely ignored Dojo Master Si. A terrifying aura burst forth from his body, powerful enough to distort the sky above Aeternus Kingdom as Yang Kong¡¯s eyes turned green.

    He stepped forward and instantly entered the true universe.

 Chapter 1817: Means Of Control

    Chapter 1817: Means Of Control

    Dojo Master Si''s expression changed, as she realized that Yang Kong was attacking her unknown guest.

    At an unseen point within the void, mes churned and swept across the sky, pushing back the darkness that covered Aeternus Kingdom.

    A fierce orb that looked like the sun rose high into the sky while scorching the earth.

    Yang Kong emerged from the true universe, and Lu Yin did so at the same time. However, Lu Yin¡¯s aura was much moreposed whenpared with Yang Kong¡¯s.

    The zing sun that scorched Aeternus Kingdom was then shattered by an invisible force that was truly terrifying.

    Lu Yin looked around in shock. "Who was that?"

    "That was my father," Yang Kong replied as he stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin and Yang Kong stared at each other, and fear filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "I¡¯m Lie Yanzi, from Skyze Dojo."

    Yang Kong frowned. "Skyze Dojo? Wasn''t that ce destroyed? Who¡¯s Lie Yanzi?"

    He nced at Dojo Master Si in a doubtful manner. "Do you know him?"

    Dojo Master Si answered solemnly, "I''m not sure if he is who he ims to be, but he is indeed using Skyze Dojo¡¯s battle techniques, and he also possesses their unique treasure, the Skyze Stone"

    Yang Kong looked back at Lu Yin and carefully observed him. "What''s the deal with your body?"

    Lu Yin grew upset at this question. "You attacked me for no reason, and now you¡¯re questioning me? Do you think you¡¯re above everyone in this Starfall Sea?"

    Yang Kong sneered. "You''d better answer, or else my father will step in, and he¡¯s not as polite as me."

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "Then I¡¯d better ask the East City Master toe out!"

    "Lie Yanzi, the East City Master won¡¯t show himself for such a trivial matter. At the moment, the Aeternals control the entire Starfall Sea, and regardless of who you are or where youe from, your past means nothing. You should answer Yang Kong¡¯s question," Dojo Master Si said, offering a warning to Lu Yin.

    Yang Kong stared at Lu Yin. He did not care whether or not this person was actually Lie Yanzi, as that meant nothing to Yang Kong. His only concern was this person¡¯s strength. As for his body, it seemed somewhat special and rather bizarre.

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists. "I was burned during my stellr tribtion."

    This answer caught Dojo Master Si off guard.

    Yang Kong was simrly confused. "Burned during your tribtion? To be an Envoy?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low as he exined, "That¡¯s right. Since I¡¯m someone from Skyze Dojo, during my tribtion to be an Envoy, my stellr tribtion was mes. However, the heat far surpassed even the mes beneath Skyze Dojo, and it evaporated all of the water from my body, cooking me. I was dried up and almost burned to ash. Even though I eventually survived and became an Envoy, my body has never recovered.¡±

    There was no one who could prove that Lu Yin was lying, as there had been countless different stellr tribtion from the beginning of time, and no one knew what they would encounter during their tribtion.

    Yang Kong stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "Lie Yanzi, as someone from Skyze Dojo, how did you manage to survive when the Sixth Maind attacked the Fifth Maind and Tian Yanzi died?"

    "I¡¯ve always been in seclusion in the deepest mes beneath Skyze Dojo," Lu Yin exined.

    Si Xiao''er butted in, "I can verify that I met this senior in the heart of the mes beneath Skyze Dojo."

    Yang Kong nced over at Si Xiao''er before indifferently stating, "Everyone, leave."

    Dojo Master Si waved a hand to dismiss everyone from Water God Dojo, and many of the disciples left to receive treatment.

    Given the destructive power of an Envoy, the disciples were not able to endure even the aftershocks from such a battle. In fact, it was not only Water God Dojo¡¯s disciples who had been injured, as many nearby humans had also been affected. Fortunately, almost all of the humans in the city were cultivators.

    Soon, only Yang Kong, Lu Yin, and Dojo Master Si remained.

    "Join me on a mission," Yang Kong said bluntly.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are you talking to me?"

    "Who else do you see here?" Yang Kong''s tone remained as arrogant as ever, and Lu Yin thought that he sounded like he needed a beating.

    "No." Lu Yin instantly refused.

    Yang Kong sneered. "You¡¯re in no ce to refuse! This is a mission given by the Aeternals, and if the mission is sessfullypleted, you¡¯ll return to a reward of unimaginable resources! If you try to refuse, I¡¯ll just force you through other means. Just ask Dojo Master Si. She didn¡¯t want to go either, but she eventually agreed."

    Lu Yin looked at Dojo Master Si, who shrugged. ¡°I lost and was forced to admit defeat."

    "In other words, I don¡¯t need to go if I beat you?" Lu Yin asked Yang Kong.

    Yang Kong raised his chin. "You can''t beat me."

    "Why?" Lu Yin became upset.

    "Just based on our exchange just now, I can promise that you can¡¯t beat me," Yang Kong proimed arrogantly.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand, and a me appeared over his hand that quickly took on the form of a sword. "Let¡¯s give it a try."

    Yang Kong shook his head. "I just want you to join me on a mission. Why be so stubborn? Isn''t cultivation all in order to grow stronger and live longer? As long as this mission¡¯s sessful, you¡¯ll get enough resources from the Aeternals tost you until you reach a power level of a million."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Resources to allow me to reach a power level of a million?"

    Yang Kong sped his hands behind his back. "Not only you, but also Dojo Master Si and everyone else who participates in this mission. You''ll all receive endless resources from the Aeternals as a reward when weplete our mission ande back. As long as you have enough talent, you won¡¯t just be able to reach a power level of a million¡ªyou can even be a Semi-Progenitor!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand dropped, and the mes dispersed as excitement filled his eyes.

    Dojo Master Si stared at Yang Kong, as she had been given the same promise when he had first approached her, but she had not been deceived. Endless resources? So what? No matter what this mission was supposed to aplish, as long as it was for the Aeternals, it could only be something that harmed humanity. It would lead to a future where she would only be apanied by corpse kings; why would she desire to reach a power level of a million if that was going to be her future?

    She was only going because it was herst resort. However, it looked like this Lie Yanzi had already been won over.

    At this thought, Dojo Master Si¡¯s eyes grew cold as she stared at Lu Yin, and contempt could clearly be seen in her eyes.

    She had already looked into everything that was known about Lie Yanzi. He had been known as a talented individual who hadpeted to be Skyze Dojo¡¯s dojo master, but he had eventually lost. However, he had actually almost been expelled from the dojo because of the despicable methods that he had used during the contest to be the dojo master.

    Everything that Dojo Master Si had learned about Lie Yanzi¡¯s history lined up with the reaction of the man in front of her when faced with Yang Kong¡¯s proposal. Maybe he really was who he imed to be.

    "I¡¯ve reached a bottleneck in my cultivation, and I¡¯m also short on resources since Skyze Dojo has been destroyed. I actually don¡¯t have any source of cultivation resources anymore. Can you provide me with some?" Lu Yin asked as he stared intently at Yang Kong.

    A smile spread across Yang Kong''s face. "Of course."

    "I mean right now. I¡¯ll promise to join you on your mission, but I need you to provide me with some resources so that I can strengthen myself and be of more help during this mission afterpleting my breakthrough," Lu Yin said.

    Yang Kong considered this proposal for a bit. "Alright. What do you need?"

    Lu Yin answered without any hesitation, "Star essence."

    Yang Kong felt confused. "You¡¯re an Envoy. What do you need star essence to aplish?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The battle technique that you just saw me use is called Skyze Sun. Theoretically, there¡¯s no limit to the temperature that it can reach, but it takes way too much stellr energy to use, and it¡¯s easy to push too far and suffer bacsh from the true universe. That¡¯s why it¡¯s better to use star essence for the technique, and the more star essence that¡¯s used, the more powerful the attack and the hotter the mes. With enough star essence, I can create a me that¡¯s powerful enough to even burn an Envoy with a power level of over 700,000."

    Yang Kong was taken aback. "This technique can even affect those with a power level of 700,000?"

    Lu Yin confidently replied, "That¡¯s right, and that¡¯s why I can help you."

    Yang Kong spent some time thinking about this matter. "Alright, deal. Just tell me, how much star essence do you want?"

    "How much do you have?"

    "We still have a bit of time before the mission, about five days. How much star essence can you use up in five days?"

    "How much do you have?"

    Yang Kong¡¯s eyebrows started to climb. "Are you that confident of being able to use whatever you¡¯re given?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands clenched into tight fists. "Absolutely confident."

    Yang Kong nodded. "Alright, just wait."

    He then disappeared.

    Lu Yin started to be short of breath. Money wasing! Money wasing! Money was finallying! He had a hunch that he was going to be given a huge sum this time around.

    Yang Kong could not be med for being deceived. There were real, simr battle techniques to what Lu Yin described that were cultivated. For example, the Hui family¡¯s golden meteors were able to be cultivated without limit. The Sixth Maind also had simr techniques, and Lu Yin had actually just used the technique that he had described.

    However, Lu Yin had not used the Skyze Sun, but rather the ze Realm¡¯s zing Sun.

    After conquering the ze Realm, Lu Yin had perused their battle techniques, and he had seen their zing Sun, Karmic Sword, and even their Poison me technique. Given the fact that Lu Yin was impersonating someone from Skyze Dojo, the ze Realm¡¯s battle techniques were his best options at this moment.

    zing Sun was indeed a technique that theoretically had no limit to the temperature that the mes could reach, so it was perfectly normal for Yang Kong to be tricked.

    Dojo Master Si stared at Lu Yin. "Skyze Dojo doesn¡¯t have a battle technique called Skyze Sun."

    "I created it," Lu Yin indifferently replied.

    Dojo Master Si quietly responded, "No matter what your motives might be, don¡¯t think that you can take advantage of them! Since you¡¯ve agreed to join this mission, they will definitely force that poison onto you. It¡¯s something from the Aeternals, and only they can remove it from your body."

    After giving her warning, Dojo Master Si turned away.

    None of the people present were fools, and Yang Kong was far from stupid. It was absolutely impossible for him to provide Lu Yin with resources without having some means of controlling him, and poison was the most effective means of control avable.

    However, Lu Yin had no choice. He wanted to leave the Starfall Sea through Burial Garden¡¯s gate, which meant that this was his only option. Without doing this, his only other path would be to force his way into the West City and fight his way to the gate there. This was also why he had gone to visit the West City to attract attention; he wanted to see if it was even possible to get to the gate without attracting any attention, but the scarlet eyes that he had seen had dissuaded him from that path.

    As for poison, if they really did infect him with Vitality Poison, he would just go and see Ming Yan, and the white-haired Ming Yan would see it as a powerful tonic. If it were any other poison, then it was impossible for it to be stronger than Vitality Poison. If that were a real possibility, then the Aeternals¡¯ poison research was beyond terrifying. Even if all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations were off, no poison could exceed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed, and thereiny his true confidence in proceeding forward. Not to mention, Shaman God would never allow Lu Yin to die from poison.

    Still, it would be optimal if Lu Yin could avoid being poisoned in the first ce.

    Yang Kong quickly returned, and Lu Yin watched with great expectations as the young man stretched out a hand. Yang Kong held two drops of transparent liquid in his hand, and one of them was clearly Vitality Poison. Lu Yin instantly recognized it due to his extensive interactions with the poison. As for the other one, he blinked, as he recognized it as well. Was that Samaritan¡¯s Tears?

    Lu Yin had bought a vial of this poison from the ninth floor of Yi''s Emporium when visiting the Divine Venom Dynasty, and he had been told that the poison was powerful enough to even kill powerful Envoys. He had also been told the poison was known as Samaritan¡¯s Tears and that while it was incredibly toxic, it was not undetectable like Transience.

    Lu Yin had not expected Yang Kong to bring out a poison like Samaritan¡¯s Tears.

    "Open your hand," Yang Kong indifferently ordered.

    Lu Yin instinctively opened his hand.

    The two drops of liquid were wrapped with a gentle force and pushed into Lu Yin¡¯s palm.

    "This is a poison that the Aeternals developed, and once it erupts, it can even kill an Envoy. Since there is no way to maintain control while we¡¯re out on our mission, and since you even wanting to receive payment in advance, this is our guarantee,¡± Yang Kong exined, "However, there¡¯s no need to worry. As long as you don''t betray us, the poison won''t erupt."

 Chapter 1818: Full Of Wealth

    Chapter 1818: Full Of Wealth

    Lu Yin stared at the palm of his hand where the two drops of poison had just entered his body.

    "Don''t think that you can find someone to get rid of the toxin. It¡¯s something thates from the Aeternals, and not even the Hall of Honor can help you remove it," Yang Kong warned.

    Lu Yin looked over at Dojo Master Si, and the woman nodded to him.

    "Where¡¯s my star essence?" Lu Yin asked.

    As soon as the poison entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, a look of relief appeared on Yang Kong¡¯s face as he looked at Lu Yin. In fact, Yang Kong looked as though he was looking at one of his own followers. This was because he was absolutely confident in the poison that he had just given Lu Yin. Yang Kong¡¯s confidence also came from the fact that he had not only given Lu Yin Vitality Poison, but also Samaritan¡¯s Tears. It was impossible to know what would happen when these two poisonsbined.

    However, regardless of how strong a poison might be, it was impossible for any to surpass a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique. Progenitor Ku had been known as a very powerful Progenitor who had researched the mysteries of aging and immortality. Extremes Must Be Reversed had allowed Lu Yin to recover from injuries that a Semi-Progenitor had inflicted upon him, so this poison should not be an issue.

    "Come with me," Yang Kong ordered as he started moving away.

    Lu Yin quickly followed.

    Lu Yin actually knew almost nothing about how the Aeternals cultivated and what sorts of resources they used. He had suspected that he might make out well from this deal, but what met him far exceeded his expectations.

    He waspletely stunned, as he was staring at an endless amount of star essence. "This- this is?"

    He had followed Yang Kong deep beneath the Aeternus Kingdom. Lu Yin had expected to find another pit that transformed humans into corpse kings, and he certainly had not expected to instead find a storage area for countless resources. Naturally, there was not as much star essence as what he had seen on the Junior Progenitors, but it was still a very impressive sight. There had to be tens or even hundreds of billions of star essence here!

    He nkly stared ahead, and it almost looked as though he was seeing the world for the first time.

    Yang Kong waspletely unmoved by the sight. "Just take it."

    Lu Yin looked over at the young man. "Are the Aeternals this rich?"

    Yang Kong answered solemnly, "This isn¡¯t from the Aeternals. Everything that¡¯s been gathered here is from the Starfall Sea."

    Lu Yin instantly understood why there was such a mountain of resources in this ce; it was the total sum of the Starfall Sea¡¯s resources, and if all of the various powers in such arge ce pooled their resources together, it would be an astronomical amount, much like if the entire Innerverse¡¯s resources werepiled.

    "Can I take all of it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yang Kong became contemptuous. "Do what you want. I¡¯ll wait for you in the West City.¡±

    He turned around and left while still speaking.

    Lu Yin was left alone in the storage space.

    He could not believe that they were being so casual with such a massive amount of wealth! Could he really just take it?

    There was no one watching him! This should be impossible.

    However, Lu Yin could also understand Yang Kong''s mindset regarding this matter. It all stemmed from the fact that everyone assumed that Lu Yin was an Envoy. Even if he could use star essence for his battle techniques, there was no need to take too much star essence. After all, taking too much would be pointless, and besides, how much could his cosmic ring possibly hold?

    Lu Yin licked his lips, and excitement lit up his eyes. Since this was real, then he would happily help himself! With this thought, he buried himself beneath the mounds of star essence. If he was going to take as much as he could, then he would naturally try to keep anyone from observing his actions.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, this was the first time that he had felt this content with his avable resources. Everyone hoped for others to be generous, but despite all the time he had spent cultivating, Lu Yin realized that this was the first time that he had been given such a gift. It felt absolutely amazing.

    For Lu Yin, acquiring enough resources for all of his various needs was a massive, never-ending struggle.

    He continuously stuffed star essence into his cosmic ring, all the time painfully aware of the fact that this was nothing.

    There actually was not nearly as much star essence as Lu Yin had assumed, but because the underground space was so sprawling, it had given him the illusion of there being an endless amount of star essence.

    He ended up taking more than 30 billion star essence. That was more than 30 billion, not 30 million.

    It was an amount that made his heart tremble.

    Never before had Lu Yin carried so much wealth in his cosmic ring. In fact, it was questionable if all of the star essence that he had obtained over his entire life so far would amount to what he had just taken.

    He had more than 30 billion star essence on him, and Lu Yin was already thinking about how to best spend it.

    However, after he had learned that all of the wealth in the Starfall Sea had been gathered by the Aeternals, he realized that this was not enough to ount for all that had been taken. There had to be a great deal more elsewhere.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before turning around and leaving. He moved quickly, hoping to avoid attracting any attention.

    When Lu Yin saw Yang Kong again, he could not help but feel that Yang Kong was quite pleasing to look at. The young man was truly a god of wealth.

    Yang Kong looked at Lu Yin in a questioning manner. "Did you get enough?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯ll work."

    "Go ahead and take more. As long as you contribute to our mission, you¡¯ll have as many resources as you can dream of when we get back," Yang Kong said.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist and said, "Sounds good to me."

    The truth was that he did not need any more, as he had not left much star essence behind.

    Lu Yin did not wander around the West City like he had before, but was instead led to an isted area where he saw the gate to Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin was almost unable to resist charging straight through the gate.

    "This is a gate of death. In the Human Domain, they¡¯re also known as Burial Garden¡¯s gates. Passing through a gate will take you into Burial Garden, which I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of before." Yang Kong looked at Lu Yin as he calmly exined the situation.

    Lu Yin answered in a somber tone, "One of the Three Dark Hands?"

    "Burial Garden has opened up, and there are many inheritances that can be found inside. Our mission is to hunt down people who have found an inheritance and steal the inheritances. If we can¡¯t, then we need to kill the people, especially anyone with an ancient bloodline," Yang Kong became very serious as he continued to exin.

    Lu Yin was surprised by this bit of news. "Ancient bloodlines?"

    Yang Kong shared a bit of information about how people with ancient bloodlines were being chased and killed by desated corpses. "There were also some ancient bloodlines in the Starfall Sea, but they¡¯ve already been cleaned up. The existence of people with ancient bloodlines might open up an inheritance that could harm the Aeternals, so make sure you attack and kill anyone you meet with an ancient bloodline. Doing so will earn you merit, and when the Aeternals conquer the Fifth Maind, such aplishments might be enough for you to remain human."

    Dojo Master Si had never mentioned any details regarding the mission that she had been given, and Si Xiao¡¯er was not able to ask about such a thing either. But at this moment, Lu Yin was finally learning that all of them were being sent into Burial Garden to hunt down anyone with an ancient bloodline.

    The Aeternals¡¯ corpse kings were unable to enter Burial Garden. It was a forbidden ce for all corpse kings, as entering would invariably lead to their deaths. Only humans could hunt down and kill the possessors of ancient bloodlines once they entered Burial Garden. This was why the Aeternals needed some human minions.

    "Conquer the Fifth Maind? I heard that there are three Progenitors standing guard at the passage to the Fifth Maind. How can the Aeternals possibly get in?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Yang Kong simply said, "That¡¯s not something that you need to worry about. All you need to know is that the Aeternals will definitely take over the Fifth Maind in the future. All you need to worry about ispleting the mission that you¡¯ve been given and eliminating as many ancient bloodlines as possible.

    ¡°Oh, and also," As Yang Dong continued, he suddenly looked up. ¡°While you¡¯re in Burial Garden keep an eye out for a young man named Lu Yin."

    "Lu Yin? Who¡¯s that?" Lu Yin acted ignorant.

    Yang Kong¡¯s voice grew cold. "Don¡¯t worry about that either. Just keep an eye out for him, and also, make sure that you¡¯re careful and don¡¯t get found by him. There¡¯s no way that kid¡¯s any weaker than you."

    Lu Yin showed a face of surprise. "Is he an Envoy?"

    "No, but he¡¯s even more terrifying than a regr Envoy." Yang Kong became very solemn, though excitement danced in his eyes.

    Lu Yin also became very serious. "Got it. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for him."

    Yang Kong snorted derisively. "That kid¡¯s the most powerful youth of his entire generation in the Fifth Maind, and he¡¯s able to fight against Envoys while being an Enlighter, just like me. I must erase the shame of my defeat by finding him again!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes focused intently; had Yang Kong been defeated by him before? That confirmed it: Yang Kong was definitely Bu Kong. Lu Yin had never fought against anyone named Yang Kong, but he had beaten Bu Kong before.

    Even though Lu Yin had already been confident that he knew Yang Kong¡¯s real identity, this was just more proof that Yang Kong was really Bu Kong.

    As he processed Yang Kong¡¯sment about how the Aeternals would eventually conquer the Fifth Maind, as well as where he was, Lu Yin suddenly had a terrible guess.

    Bang!

    He heard a metal chain, and he turned to see what it was. There was a corpse king nearby dragging a group of chained people. The corpse king turned to stare at Lu Yin with its hideous scarlet eyes that zed with cruelty.

    Lu Yin watched as the chained-up people slowly approached them.

    "These are people who came out of this gate and were captured. They¡¯re now also candidates to be sent back into Burial Garden with us. If they prove useful, we¡¯ll keep them," Yang Kong casuallymented.

    The prisoners quickly arrived.

    Lu Yin stared at two of the people in absolute amazement. One was a woman with disheveled hair, fierce eyes, and who wore green clothes. Was that really Lulu Mavis? The other person was Ku Lei.

    Could Lu Yin go anywhere at all without meeting people he knew?

    There were a total of sixteen prisoners. Some seemed frightened while others remained calm, and there were also some who were angry and cussing.

    "Pick out a few and take them with you. Find a way to get them to cooperate, or kill them if they refuse," Yang Kong coldly ordered.

    Lu Yin picked out Lulu Mavis and Ku Lei without hesitation, and he ended up taking four people with him in total.

    There were still four days left before it was time to enter Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin did not return to Water God Dojo, as it was clear that Dojo Master Si was not happy with him. There was no need to make the situation more awkward.

    The West City was massive, and Lu Yin found a random ce to toss Ku Lei and the other two aside before taking Lulu away to speak with her alone.

    "I won''t help you, you traitor!" Lulu stared at Lu Yin with pure spite. Her eyes zed as she gritted her teeth.

    Lu Yin grinned back at the girl. "Your luck is really terrible to have ended up in the Starfall Sea."

    Lulu snorted. She had no desire to speak to this person.

    "It looks like they don¡¯t know you¡¯re a part of the Mavis family," Lu Yin remarked.

    Those words brought about an instant change in Lulu¡¯s expression, and her eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "What did you just say?"

    "I said that you¡¯re a part of the Mavis family." Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Lulu could not believe her ears. "You- how do you know?"

    There had been several announcements during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion that all members of the Mavis family were to be captured alive as they held a unique status in both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. If Yang Kong were aware that Lulu was part of the Mavis family, there was no way he would have allowed Lu Yin to take her. That was for certain.

    Lu Yin moved closer to Lulu, but there was no moisture left within his body. He looked no different from a desated corpse, making his appearance both terrifying and disgusting. She reflexively took a step back, and her eyes nervously flitted about as she stared at Lu Yin. "Who are you?"

    "We made an agreement that you would lend me some money and that I would then help you get something from Astral-10, remember? ssmate Lulu Mavis." Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Lulu¡¯s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open in disbelief. "Lu- Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled and spread his arms out wide. "It¡¯s been a long time, Lulu. Come give me a hug!"

    Lulu squeaked. Lu Yin truly looked disturbing at this moment, and all the hair on her body stood on end. "You- are you really Lu Yin?"

    "There¡¯s no way I¡¯m a fake." Lu Yinughed. It was quite entertaining to scare this girl.

    Lulu shook her head and blew out a puff of air. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! How can you be Lu Yin?"

    "I am, as who else knows about our agreement? Actually, you never told me what it is that you wanted from Astral-10," Lu Yin replied.

    Lulu felt terribly confused. "Are you really Lu Yin?"

    "Absolutely."

    "Then tell me if you paid back the money you borrowed from me!"

    "I paid it all back."

    Lulu instantly shouted, "No, you didn''t pay me back!"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re a member of the Mavis family¡¯s main branch, so it¡¯s really not good to go back on your word. We agreed that I would let you freely explore the Great Yu Empire¡¯s imperial pce so that you could search for the Undying Manual, which was also why you went to Earth for the trial. You agreed to that instead of money. Are you really going to im that I never paid you back?"

 Chapter 1819: Progenitor Kuâ€™s Power Of Time

    Chapter 1819: Progenitor Ku¡¯s Power Of Time

    Lulu started to get excited as she listened to Lu Yin''s words. ¡°You¡¯re really Lu Yin?¡±

    She leaped up and embraced him fiercely. "You really are Lu Yin! This is great! It¡¯s you, Lu Yin!"

    Lu Yin hugged Lulu back. "Alright, calm down. We need to hurry up."

    Lulu quickly calmed herself, though her face was still flushed from the excitement. "Lu Yin, why are you here?"

    Suddenly, her expression changedpletely, and her eyes grew fierce once more. "Did you betray humanity?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "What are you talking about? No one here knows who I am, so don¡¯t expose me!"

    Lulu felt confused. "No one knows who you are?"

    Lu Yin lifted his chin. "I¡¯m Lie Yanzi! I¡¯m from one of Grayweed Continent¡¯s seventy two dojos: Skyze Dojo. Make sure to refer to me as Senior Lie Yanzi for now."

    Lulu waspletely baffled. "You¡¯re Lie Yanzi? What in the world¡¯s going on?"

    Lu Yin coughed. "Why do you have so many questions? Basically, don¡¯t let anyone know who I am or else neither of us will be able to escape."

    Lulu suddenly understood, and she pointed a finger at Lu Yin. "Were you also unlucky enough to go through the wrong exit gate?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "I did it deliberately in order to take some risks and enjoy some excitement. Got it?"

    "You were just unlucky like the rest of us, only you didn¡¯t get caught,¡± Lulu stated firmly.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Anyways, that¡¯s enough about that. Just keep my identity a secret and don¡¯t expose me."

    Lulu nodded obediently.

    "In four days, we¡¯re going to go through the gate that you came out of, so just act like you¡¯re a part of the group," Lu Yin said. He made no attempt to ask Lulu about what she had experienced in Burial Garden.

    Lulu pouted. "That¡¯s just stupid! They won¡¯t let us do that without being able to control us somehow."

    "Yep, poison," Lu Yin agreed. "I¡¯ve already been poisoned."

    Lulu''s expression changed. "Then you¡¯re done for. No one can remove the Aeternals¡¯ poison. Lu Yin, you¡¯re already dead."

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand and flicked her forehead. "Who says that I''m dead? I¡¯ve got a n, though there¡¯s no real guarantee that it¡¯ll work. Still, there¡¯s a good chance to have the poison removed. What about you? What are you going to do now? Risk being poisoned along with me, or wait here to be ughtered? You could also reveal that you¡¯re a part of the Mavis family, and that guy might not kill you."

    Lulu immediately replied, "I''m going to get poisoned too."

    "Aren''t you afraid?"

    "Didn''t you just say you¡¯ve got a n to get rid of the poison?"

    "I also said that there¡¯s no guarantee."

    "That can''t be helped, and it¡¯s still better than dying right now. At least we can put up a fight."

    ¡­

    For Lulu, Lu Yin¡¯s appearance was like the rising dawn. This was going to be just like when all of Astral-10¡¯s students had gone to Chaos Flowzone and the Starfall Sea! Even if they were about to be poisoned and eventually die, Lulu was still happy to see Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Ku Lei was experiencing theplete opposite emotions of Lulu.

    "You recognized me." This was the very first thing that Lu Yin said to Ku Lei when the two of them met.

    Ku Lei''s eyes flickered. "Who are you? I don''t know you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "When you first saw me outside Burial Garden¡¯s gate, your eyes changed. You weren¡¯t able to hide that from me, and no one can get you out of here other than me. What do you think will happen to you without me? Your choices were to either die or betray humanity, and the second option has been taken away because I¡¯ll kill you right now myself."

    Ku Lei''s eyes narrowed, and a cold glint appeared in their depths, though he remained silent.

    Lu Yin stared at him. "Do you still not want to admit it? It looks like you want to die, so I¡¯ll help you along.¡±

    Lu Yin raised a hand and swung his hand down. Just as he was about to strike Ku Lei, the young man shouted, "Lu Yin!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand instantly stopped. The wind from his movement caused Ku Lei¡¯s hair to flutter, and he was even pushed a few steps back. "You really did recognize me."

    Ku Lei''s eyes flickered. He knew that Lu Yin was testing him, but he was also certain that Lu Yin would not hesitate to actually kill him. Lu Yin was both a cultivator and a ruler of countless people. Ku Lei could not afford to gamble with his only life with such a person.

    "How did you recognize me?" Lu Yin asked. He was very curious about this, as not even Envoys were able to see past his current appearance. Lulu, who had been his close ssmate, had not recognized him either. Despite that, Ku Lei had recognized Lu Yin despite the two only seeing each other a handful of times.

    Ku Lei softly said, "You¡¯re using our ancestor¡¯s battle technique. If I¡¯m right, it should be the legendary Extremes Must Be Reversed."

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide as he remembered that the Ku family was Progenitor Ku¡¯s descendants.

    "You can recognize Extremes Must Be Reversed? Does your Ku family still have this battle technique?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Ku Lei shook his head, and envy filled his eyes as he looked at Lu Yin. "No, we don¡¯t. If we did, we would have never been forced into a corner where we don¡¯t even have the right to deal with a member of our own family!"

    He was referring to Ku Wei and how the Ku family had wanted to punish Ku Wei, but Lu Yin used the Lockbreakers Society to force them to release Ku Wei.

    "It sounds like you¡¯re saying that, if your Ku family gets this technique, they won¡¯t have to submit to even the Lockbreakers Society, right?" Lu Yin sneered.

    Ku Lei remained stoic. "Even if you¡¯ve trained in the technique, you still don¡¯t know much about the technique itself. Lu Yin, make a deal. If you give my Ku family Extremes Must Be Reversed, you can have all of the resources at our disposal! Anything you want, so long as we have it, it will be given to you!"

    Lu Yinughed. "Can you represent the entire Ku family?"

    Ku Lei was dead serious. "Yes, as long as you agree to return the battle technique to us."

    Lu Yin put up a hand to interrupt Ku Lei. "Alright, the first thing that we need to do is fix your phrasing. I never took anything from you at all. I happened to learn this technique, and at best, it¡¯s an inheritance from Progenitor Ku that has nothing to do with your Ku family."

    Ku Lei said, "Regardless, Progenitor Ku is my Ku family¡¯s ancestor, so it¡¯s only natural for his battle techniques to be returned to my family."

    "Then it''s also only natural for me to kill you right now. What the hell gave you the balls to speak back to me at this ce?" Lu Yin asked coldly.

    Ku Lei was rendered speechless.

    After a period of silence, he replied, "Let¡¯s make a trade. Lu Yin, you won''t suffer from giving us Extremes Must Be Reversed. After all, you¡¯ve already learned it, and after you teach it to my Ku family, you can ask for the Ku family¡¯s entire wealth. Do you want star essence? My family has loads of it."

    Lu Yin said, "Let''s not talk about this for now. You just told me that I don¡¯t even have a real understanding of the technique, so I still need to train it further. You also said that gaining this technique would allow your family to ignore the Lockbreakers Society. So tell me, just how powerful is Extremes Must Be Reversed?¡±

    Ku Lei frowned.

    "What? Do you not want to talk now? Then no deal. I¡¯ve always been wondering just how valuable this technique that I picked up is, so don¡¯t try to keep this from me. Back then, it wasn¡¯t just the Lockbreakers Society that interfered with Ku Wei¡¯s matter, but rather the president of the entire Lockbreakers Society, Xiu Ming himself. He¡¯s an Array Grandmaster, which ces him on the same level as a Semi-Progenitor. This means that this Extremes Must Be Reversed will give your family the leverage to ignore a Semi-Progenitor, which means that you¡¯ll step onto the same level as the Xia family. Why? The Xia family has their status because they descended from Progenitor Chen," Lu Yin spoke slowly, his voice dripping with contempt for Ku Lei¡¯s attempt to hide things.

    Ku Lei was an arrogant person, and he sneered at Lu Yin''s words. "What about Progenitor Chen? Progenitor Ku and the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor Chen each controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which means that their status was equal! Progenitor Chen was considered invincible just because of his nine clones, but Progenitor Ku was also very powerful as he possessed the power of time."

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such a rumor regarding Progenitor Ku, but he remembered that someone in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Ream had once mentioned that the more powerful the Progenitor was, the further within the Dominion Realm their territory would be. Progenitor Ku¡¯s territory had been close to the edge of the Mother Tree, which indicated that he had not been particrly powerful. However, Ku Lei was saying that Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Lu Yin had once believed that the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were nothing more than a showpiece that Progenitor Hui had left behind to deceive the Aeternals and the Sixth Maind. Butter, Lu Yin had entered a part of the Mountains and Seas in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. There, he had learned that the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas truly did contain the inheritances of Progenitors.

    Had Progenitor Ku been one of those Progenitors?

    If that was true, then Progenitor Ku had certainly not been weak.

    "What¡¯s the power of time?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Lei hesitated for a while, but he finally said, "I don''t know the details, but my Ku family is absolutely certain of one thing: when the Daosource Sect still stood, Progenitor Ku¡¯s position was not at all inferior to Progenitor Chen¡¯s. If Progenitor Ku¡¯s inheritance had been perfectly preserved, then the Xia family might not have ended up the leaders of the Seven Courts."

    In truth, Lu Yin did not believe this. The Sixth Maind actually denied acknowledging Progenitor Chen¡¯s mere existence and had tried to blot him out of history. That required a level of invincibility that no one else couldpare to. However, if Progenitor Ku really did have the power of time, then things might not be so straightforward.

    There was Progenitor Ku, Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and more. With so many peerless experts, it made absolutely no sense for the Fifth Maind to have lost to the Sixth Maind.

    "Brother Lu, my Ku family will be open and honest when negotiating with you," Ku Lei said as he looked at Lu Yin with a powerful anticipation lighting his eyes.

    Lu Yin did not agree to making a deal, but he also did not refuse. This was how he had managed to drag the Wen family along for so long, and he intended to do the same thing to the Ku family.

    However, in order to work with the Ku family, Lu Yin first needed to get word back to the family, which meant that Ku Lei could not die and had to return to his family.

    "We¡¯ll set the battle technique aside for now, as any sort of deal means nothing if we can¡¯t get back," Lu Yin said.

    It was only then that Ku Lei remembered he was in the Starfall Sea and that he had been captured by the Aeternals. This really was not the time to be lusting after Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    There were only two options avable to everyone who came out of the exit gate in the Aeternal Kingdom: cooperation or death.

    In the end, Ku Lei could only choose to cooperate. However, Lu Yin made no mention about the possibility of removing the poison to Ku Lei. The young man knew that he would die, but he was determined to send a message back to his family. As for whether or not he also shared Yang Kong¡¯s matter with them, Lu Yin did not care. Yang Kong¡¯s life meant nothing to Lu Yin.

    Also, Lu Yin was under no illusions that Yang Kong would ever provide him with the antidote to the poisons.

    The other two people also chose to cooperate and be poisoned, as they feared death as well.

    ¡­

    Only two days remained before the appointed time to enter Burial Garden.

    The day before the nned excursion, Lu Yin received word from Yang Kong that everyone who hade out from the gate needed to be eliminated.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Eliminated? What are you talking about?"

    Yang Kong solemnly said, "We don''t need any of them."

    "But they¡¯re willing to ept the poison. I even convinced them like you said," Lu Yin protested.

    "There¡¯s no need. After all, they could easily expose us, so we need to get rid of them all. These are my father''s orders." Yang Kong immediately hung up.

    Lu Yin suspected that this decision had not been made by the city master, but rather by the Aeternals, as they were extremely cautious.

    They had built up the Neohuman Alliance in the Fifth Maind and cultivated Redbacks and traitors in the Perennial World. The Aeternals had always excelled at remaining hidden, and sure enough, Ku Lei intended to inform his family of Extremes Must Be Reversed and the Aeternals¡¯ ns to hunt down the ancient bloodlines within Burial Gate as soon as he returned.

    It was also possible that other people had the same intention, and if Lu Yin were in the Aeternals¡¯ position, he would also rather kill some people than risk them leaking sensitive information.

 Chapter 1820: Re-entering

    Chapter 1820: Re-entering

    There was no other choice. Lu Yin took care of the two people who had been willing to hunt down the ancient bloodlines for the Aeternals, as he had verified that the two were genuinely willing to cooperate with the Aeternals. He had no qualms about killing such people.

    After that, he went to see Ku Lei and Lulu.

    "What¡¯s this?" Lulu eximed as she stared at Zenith Mountain. At the moment, it was only half a meter tall and it looked like a model of an actual mountain.

    "There¡¯s no other choice. If you don¡¯t enter the mountain, you won¡¯t be able to go back.¡± Lu Yin shrugged and then smiled at the two. "But the good news is that you don''t have to be poisoned now."

    Ku Lei arched a brow. "Why didn''t you bring this up to begin with?"

    Lulu also turned to look at Lu Yin. "Yeah! Couldn¡¯t we have gone back by using this from the beginning?"

    Lu Yin coughed. "Don''t worry about the details. All you need to know is that you two can get back safely by using this. But!¡±

    He eyed them both in a very serious manner. ¡°It costs a great deal of resources to activate this Zenith Mountain. Do you understand?"

    Ku Lei waspletely lost.

    Lulu just snorted contemptuously. "How much?"

    Lu Yin looked at her with shining eyes. "A lot."

    "How much is ¡®a lot?¡¯"

    "How much do you have?"

    Lulu instantly grew wary. "What are you talking about? Are you going to determine the cost of activating this thing based on how much I have? Lu Yin, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to pull! My Mavis family is wealthy, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we can be frivolous with our spending!"

    Lu Yin set a hand on Lulu''s shoulder and said in a very serious tone, "I¡¯m saving your life."

    Lulu opened her mouth to retort but found that she actually did not have anything that she could say, as Lu Yin was absolutely correct. Without him, she would have already died. This thought made her feel a bit dejected. "I¡¯ve got 20 million star essence on me at the moment."

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. He then thought of the funds that he had just acquired, and he realized that he was just wasting his energy on this nonsense. "Give me everything you have, but honestly, it''s not enough."

    Lulu felt frustrated at this. "How much do you need?"

    Lu Yin snorted disdainfully. "These star essence are what determines the level of attacks that this thing can protect you from. 20 million star essence? It¡¯s not even enough to activate the defenses."

    He then nced over at Ku Lei, who grew embarrassed. "I- I only have 10 million."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "Are you two really that broke?"

    In reality, 30 million star essence was arge amount for anyone to possess, not to mention people like Ku Lei and Lulu who were not even Enlighters. This was actually a significant amount of money. The problem was that Lu Yin simply had too much at this moment, and almost everything paled inparison to his over 30 billion star essence.

    However, he did not mention anything about this to either of them, as he did not want to scare them. Also, Lu Yin was getting anxious to leave.

    "By the way, I¡¯m going to warn you that there are some other people already on Zenith Mountain, so get along with them and don¡¯t start any fights. Otherwise, you¡¯ll get hurt," Lu Yin cautioned as he threw Lulu and Ku Lei into Zenith Mountain.

    There were already five people on Zenith Mountain: Long Xi, Wen Diyi, Crown Prince Gui Qian, Yun Tingting, and Liu Hao. Quite simply, all of them were much stronger than Lulu and Ku Lei.

    While Zenith Mountain looked small, it was only possible to truly understand its massive size after entering the mountain, though both Lulu and Ku Lei were aware that this was the same mountain that ZENITH had taken ce on.

    Lu Yin sent Lulu to a ce not far from Yun Tingting. Yun Tingting had a peaceful personality, and she would not do anything to Lulu.

    On the other hand, Ku Lei was close to Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    Ku Lei looked around the gloomy area that he had arrived at. It felt a bit cold.

    "Who are you?" A low, disturbing voice spoke up. Naturally, it was Crown Prince Gui Qian.

    Ku Lei frowned and looked around but found no one. He snorted derisively and opened a hand, causing lightning to shoot out in every direction. ¡°Who are you? Show yourself!"

    The lightning was powerful, and it erupted in all directions, but it instantly disappeared the moment it touched the death energy that suddenly appeared.

    Ku Lei was startled. "Death energy? Someone from the Specter n?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian opened his golden eyes and instantly appeared directly in front of Ku Lei. Their eyes locked, and a roar echoed through Ku Lei''s brain as he was ovee by an uncontroble fear.

    Ku Lei was very powerful. He was one of the Seven Courts¡¯ inheritors, and he had once beenparable to the Ten Arbiters even though he had recently been on a long losing streak. However, at the moment, Ku Lei was facing Crown Prince Gui Qian, who had already opened his lower meridian point. This person was even stronger than Ku Lei¡¯s master.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian, Long Xi, and Nong Sanniang were all about as strong as each other, and they far surpassed the Ten Arbiters, let alone Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei was suppressed by the golden eyes. He tried to free himself with his nine lined battle force, but the death energy overpowered his battle force, and he found himselfpletely helpless to fight back.

    "Who are you?" Crown Prince Gui Qian demanded. Despitepletely suppressing Ku Lei, the prince was not overly ruthless with his actions. Anyone sent to Zenith Mountain was someone Lu Yin deemed valuable, so Crown Prince Gui Qian did not dare to push too far.

    Ku Lei gritted his teeth. He did not dare to look back into those golden eyes. Sweat poured from his forehead as he gasped for air.

    Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain away again. He had no worries about Ku Lei¡¯s safety, as he knew that Crown Prince Gui Qian would not push too far. This was why Lu Yin had taken advantage of this opportunity to suppress Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei was too arrogant and rash, and although Lu Yin was inclined to simply kill the man, he was still quite useful. He could be used as Lu Yin¡¯s messenger to the Ku family to let them know that he possessed Extremes Must Be Reversed. On top of that, Ku Lei was someone who had refused to betray humanity even in the face of death. He had lines that he would not cross, and Lu Yin was forced to begrudgingly respect that.

    The following day, Lu Yin arrived at the gate to Burial Garden at the scheduled hour.

    He was not alone, as there was also Dojo Master Si and several Enlighters. Each person was someone at the cusp of bing an Envoy, and they were all more than qualified to hunt down people with ancient bloodlines.

    After a while, Yang Kong also arrived, and he started handing outmunications crystals.

    Lu Yin stared at the crystal in his hand, as these items were what the Perennial World used formunication, but surprisingly, he was looking at them in the Starfall Sea.

    "What you¡¯re all holding are calledmunication crystals, and you can use them tomunicate with others while in Burial Garden. Gadgets don¡¯t work in there," Yang Kong exined before instructing everyone on how to use themunications crystals.

    Lu Yin followed along with the instructions while acting as though this was his first time using one of the crystals.

    Soon, Yang Kong led everyone into the gate and into Burial Garden.

    When entering Burial Garden, even if two people held hands, they would each appear in a random location.

    This time, Lu Yin found himself in a wastnd. The moment he arrived, he found himself face to face with another person. They were actually less than a meter from each other.

    The man stared at Lu Yin and absently blinked. "Um, hello."

    Lu Yin stared at the young man. No, this was simply someone with a youthful appearance, but his eyes were too cloudy to belong to an actual youth.

    "Hello," Lu Yin replied.

    The man warily kept an eye on Lu Yin, and there was a hint of fear in his expression. Lu Yin¡¯s withered appearance was just too disturbing. "Well, goodbye."

    The man rushed off at top speed, and he even used a battle technique that caused the void to twist. The man¡¯s actions were almost instantaneous.

    Lu Yin smiled and stepped forward, disappearing from where he had stood. He immediately appeared in front of the fleeing man, once again less than a meter away.

    The man came to a stop when he crashed into Lu Yin. His expression twisted terribly when he saw who was standing in front of him, and he instinctively sped a weapon in his hand as he stared at Lu Yin. "Um, um, are you a wandering corpse?"

    Lu Yin nced around. "Where is this?"

    The man swallowed. "I don''t know. I''m also just passing through, so can you stop chasing me? I''m in a hurry."

    "I also have something urgent that I need to take care of," Lu Yin replied in an indifferent tone.

    The man grimaced. "Then why are you chasing me?"

    "Because I want to know what¡¯s been happening in Burial Garden recently," Lu Yin replied, still as calm as ever.

    The man was startled by this. "Aren''t you a wandering corpse?"

    "Can a wandering corpse talk?" Lu Yin shot back.

    "Yes! There''ve already been reports of a wandering corpse speaking!" the man eximed.

    Lu Yin was taken aback by this. "Is there really a talking corpse?"

    "That¡¯s what they say."

    Lu Yin kept the man pinned in ce. "Come now, tell me what¡¯s happened in Burial Garden recently."

    The man realized that Lu Yin was insistent, and he did not even try to resist this powerhouse. He had realized how much stronger Lu Yin was just from the difference in their speeds. This person was an absolute monster. The man shrugged. "I don''t know much."

    "What do you know?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Half a dayter, the man fled as fast as he could.

    Lu Yin was left thinking. Burial Garden had be increasingly active while he was in the Starfall Sea, mostly because many people with ancient bloodlines had entered and found various inheritances. Some other people had also seen Progenitor Chen, so it seemed that Lu Yin had not been mistaken; he really had seen Progenitor Chen in this ce.

    People with ancient bloodlines continued to pour into Burial Garden, and inheritances continued to appear. There were so many inheritances that experts continued to be lured into Burial Garden, which was also the reason why the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had been attacked.

    There was one detail that greatly intrigued Lu Yin, as it concerned Unseen Light.

    There were rumors that Unseen Light had picked up an inheritance and then managed to escape from a powerful Envoy, which had shocked countless people. This was the second time anyone had ever heard of an Enlighter confronting an Envoy and sessfully escaping or fighting.

    Lu Yin was naturally the first Enlighter who had fought an Envoy, and he had not even fled, but had rather defeated them.

    Lu Yin was curious as to what sort of inheritance Unseen Light had picked up that could allow him to fight against an Envoy.

    Lu Yin had encountered his own extraordinary opportunities to reach his current level of strength, and Unseen Light was steadily chasing after him. There was no way that Unseen Light was the only one either.

    Themunication crystal trembled, and an image appeared in the air in front of Lu Yin. "Lie Yanzi, where are you?"

    "No idea. Where are you?"

    Yang Kong replied, "We will each carry out the mission individually. Remember, the more you aplish, the greater the rewards you¡¯ll receive. You¡¯ll be given endless resources for your efforts."

    With that, the call ended.

    Lu Yin sneered. Endless resources? There was no way he would believe that. In fact, he was not confident that he could satisfy his die even if he gathered up all the star essence in the entire Fifth Maind.

    What he needed to do was find an exit gate and leave Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin chose a direction and started moving. He traveled in the same direction as the man who had just left. After all, Lu Yin had no idea where he should go, so he might as well follow that person.

    ¡­

    In zing Mist Flowzone, at the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Wei Rong helplessly put down his gadget. "I still can''t get in touch with him."

    Qiong Xi''er was at the side, and she rolled her eyes. "If you can¡¯t, then just forget about it. Wang Wen dug this hole himself, so he¡¯ll need to dig himself out of it."

    Wei Rong gave a small smile. "This isn¡¯t guaranteed to be a disaster. It¡¯s possible that another powerful Envoy might soon be added to our numbers."

    Xia Yi was tied up beneath the fortress, and there was a spear piercing through his body, pinning him to a wall. His eyes were closed, and blood trickled down the spear.

    At this moment, a figure emerged from the void and approached Xia Yi. ¡°So the patriarch of the Seven Courts¡¯ renowned Xia family is actually in this sort of state."

    Xia Yi opened his eyes to reveal bloodshot sclera as he stared at the person who had just arrived. "Who are you?"

    "Someone who¡¯s going to help you."

 Chapter 1821: Praying To A Statue

    Chapter 1821: Praying To A Statue

    Xia Yi looked up at the person who had just appeared and sneered. "Help me? Why?"

    "Simply because I don¡¯t like the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Xia Yi stared at the person. "Can you even save me? Don''t bother wasting your time. There are masters in zing Mist Flowzone with power levels of over a million. You can¡¯t save me."

    "I can briefly restore you to your peak strength. The Great Eastern Alliance hasn¡¯t dispersed your stellr energy vortex, which means that you should be able to escape on your own." At that moment, the person raised a hand, and a green light enveloped Xia Yi.

    About an hourter, the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress trembled and then cracked. Xia Yi shot out, nervousness clouding his face. He nced around and then charged to the south.

    An rm instantly sounded in the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Xia Yi''s escape presented a grave threat to the Great Eastern Alliance. If news of the Great Eastern Alliance imprisoning the Xia family''s patriarch leaked, the Xia family would not be willing to quietly endure such an insult. Lu Yin was currently absent, so this matter had to be kept hidden.

    Wei Rong immediately called Liu Huang and the Second Nightking in hopes that the two would be able to stop Xia Yi.

    Xia Yi had fled at his fastest possible speed, so Wei Rong did not know if even the two powerhouses could stop him. Xia Yi was not some average Envoy, but rather the patriarch of the Xia family. He definitely had some tricks hidden up his sleeves.

    Xia Yi''s escape shook zing Mist Flowzone, and both Liu Huang and the Second Nightking abandoned the exit gate they had been protecting just to chase after the fugitive.

    At the same time, a figure appeared just outside of Lu Yin¡¯s botanical garden and walked in. The big tree was still trying to escape. The intruder raised a foot and moved past the defensive boundary and to the escaping tree. Through the branches, it was possible to see Sapling, which was sleeping soundly within the big tree¡¯s canopy. The person¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and they stretched out a hand to grab Sapling from the big tree.

    Sapling waspletely clueless, but just as the person¡¯s hand was about to make contact, the big tree¡¯s branches moved and wrapped around them.

    The ground shattered, and a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions, stirring up the entire garden.

    Bror, who oversaw the botanical garden, was sted back by the shockwave, and he fell off of his bed. He rubbed his head and looked out of his quarters.

    The big tree was very famous throughout the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, so everyone just assumed that the tree had gone berserk and tried to escape again.

    No one noticed a figure hidden in a corner of the garden who was staring in the direction that the big tree had fled in disbelief. After a moment, the person coughed up blood.

    ***

    In Burial Garden, Lu Yin was ignorant of everything that had happened within the Great Eastern Alliance, and he had no idea that the big tree had sessfully escaped from the garden while carrying Sapling.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was making his way through a wastnd and approaching an abandoned settlement. All he could see were dpidated buildings, and it was clear that the city had been abandoned for a very long time.

    Lu Yin entered the forsaken city. He reached out to touch a wall, but his touch did not cause the building to crumble to dust.

    He also noticed footprints on the ground, which meant that he was not the first person to visit this ce.

    He slowly moved into the city. He could not figure out why, but this city gave him a familiar sensation, though he could not quite ce it.

    He eventually made his way to the center of the city.

    There was a bang, and he looked to see that an abandoned long spear had fallen nearby and that the noise hade from it striking the ground.

    Lu Yin nced over, but he was unconcerned, so he kept moving. However, he did not take another step, but rather remained frozen as he slowly turned his head to re-examine the spear.

    The shaft was riddled with holes that made it look ancient, but oddly enough, there was no trace of any corrosion. The pits and holes had not been caused by decay, but instead seemed like they had formed as the material naturally fell away from the shaft of the spear.

    This strange sight reminded Lu Yin of the ruins that he had once seen from the Rune Civilization. He hade across a knife that had be pitted from age, but not from rust or corrosion. Instead, it had be pitted because some of its runes had vanished due to the passage of time.

    Everything that he had seen in those ruins had been created from runes, and this spear looked almost exactly the same.

    While considering this, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he started to look around. He was shocked by what met his eyes, as he was once again able to see runes, but only within the small forsaken city. This ce was another ruin of Rune Technology.

    Excitement lit up Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, as these ruins belonged to the civilization that the Rune Progenitor had created. Lu Yin practiced Truesight, and it had been of great help to him throughout his life and had saved him on multiple asions. He had wanted to improve his mastery of Truesight for some time, but he had reached a bottleneck.

    The only way to break through this bottleneck was for him to visit Gods¡¯ Origin.

    In the Outerverse, Lu Yin had learned that Amethyst Exchange¡¯s Zi family had been ordered by Gods¡¯ Origin to search for any remnants of Rune Technology or the Rune Progenitor¡¯s civilization. They had found four such remnants, and all of them had been taken to the Neoverse by Gods¡¯ Origin. Breakthroughs in Truesight were only possible with the assistance of remnants of Rune Technology.

    Lu Yin had already been nning to make a trip to Gods¡¯ Origin, and he certainly had not expected to stumble upon ruins of Rune Technology in Burial Garden.

    When he looked across the small town, he noticed that the greatest concentration of runes was at the southeast.

    He slowly approached the area, and he soon saw a statue of an ordinary looking man with nothing special about his appearance. However, Lu Yin¡¯s transformed pupils twitched the moment he looked at the statue, and he gravitated towards it as though something was dragging him closer.

    He noticed arge crowd of people kneeling in front of the statue, all looking as though they were praying to the statue, but these people were also statues themselves.

    This was not an unfamiliar scene to Lu Yin, as he had seen a simr sight in thest Rune Technology ruins that he had visited. All of the people who had died and been reduced to bone had died in a posture of prayer. However, the statue that Lu Yin had seen in thest ruins had only been half of its body, while the statue he saw at this moment was whole.

    Lu Yin approached one step at a time, worried that the statue or the praying figures might turn to dust if he disturbed them too much.

    The closer he moved, the more indistinct the statue¡¯s details. Lu Yin felt as though there was a veil concealing the statue¡¯s features, and he no longer felt like he was looking at a face, but rather at a rune.

    Lu Yin nced around at the kneeling statues that were in positions of prayer. Who had carved so many peculiar statues in this ce? What had happened to everyone who had visited this abandoned town before Lu Yin?

    He looked down at his feet. There were other tracks on the ground, which showed that other people had visited this town, but all of the prints simply ended in the za with the statue.

    Had the people disappeared? Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Was this ce dangerous? He remembered what he had seen in the tea hills, and he immediately turned to leave. It would be better to let someone else explore this ce first.

    However, he was already toote. Lu Yin had never noticed that the statue that all of the figures were praying to was not actually a statue. Rather, it was a wandering corpse that was covered with some kind of shell that made it look like a statue.

    The moment that Lu Yin turned away, the wandering corpse made its move. It instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin without him sensing anything, and he could only watch on in horror as it reached out a hand to grab him.

    His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and Lu Yin instantly took out the blood-red bell. He would never hesitate to use his most powerful means against a wandering corpse this powerful.

    Unfortunately, he never even had the chance to ring the bell before the wandering corpse grabbed his shoulder. The world spun, and when Lu Yin could see clearly again, he could no longer move his body.

    His eyes spun about, and he tried to move, but it was impossible. He looked forward and saw kneeling statues around him. Based on his own position, Lu Yin finally understood. None of these figures were statues, but were rather all people who had visited the abandoned town before him.

    It was no wonder why the footprints just stopped in this za¡ªeveryone who entered this ce had been turned into a statue. They were doomed to eternally worship the statue of what might have been the Rune Progenitor himself.

    As for the blood-red bell, it had fallen to the ground where Lu Yin had been grabbed.

    This ce was no different from the tea hills! One wandering corpse nted people like tea bushes while this one forced people to be statues that worshiped another statue.

    Lu Yin had managed to escape from the first one, but he had not been as lucky the second time around.

    He tried to move around, but it waspletely impossible.

    His pupils transformed into runes, and he observed the entire area. The stone shell covering the wandering corpse that made it look like a statue was actually formed from runes, and when Lu Yin tried to erase a portion of the runes, he failed. It was clear that the wandering corpse had been a master of Truesight.

    Suddenly, a jolt shot through Lu Yin''s brain, his eyes became confused as he stared at the statue being worshiped by all of the kneeling figures. The face suddenly turned clear, and Lu Yin saw a strange sight as the number of runes started surging. He was looking at the next level of Truesight: Knowing.

    A few people that participated in ZENITH had managed to reach the Knowing level of Truesight, but Lu Yin had no clue how he could reach that level ofprehension.

    Truesight was not a cultivation art that required a person toprehend it on their own like other techniques, but was rather aplete technology that had been used to found an entire civilization by the Rune Progenitor himself. He had been a Progenitor who was erased from history. No one was able to master Truesight on their own, and the only way to advance was to find an inheritance.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was finally able to catch a glimpse of the Knowing realm of Truesight. Did he need to master that level before he could leave this ce?

    What about the other people who had been captured by the wandering corpse? Was it only possible for those who had trained in Truesight to leave this ce?

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He already knew how to train, so he would simply do so where he was.

    Half a month quickly passed, and a new statue appeared next to Lu Yin. It was another person who had stumbled upon the abandoned town and been turned into a statue by the wandering corpse.

    Training in Truesight was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin, and its difficultyy in how challenging its profound depths were toprehend. Once that was done, the cultivation itself was not too difficult.

    It seemed possible that this was the main reason why the Rune Progenitor had been able to stand up against the Sixth Maind by relying only on the members of the civilization that he had established. Just how many powerhouses had risen up within that civilization? Lu Yin could not even imagine it.

    The Sixth Maind had refused to keep any records of Progenitor Chen because Progenitor Chen had been an invincible powerhouse even amongst Progenitors. As for the Rune Progenitor, the Sixth Maind had simply refused to admit that the powerhouse even existed. From this, it seemed quite likely that the Rune Progenitor had posed an even greater threat to the Sixth Maind than Progenitor Chen.

    Soon, another half a month passed. Lu Yin had been practicing here for a month, and his experience in the Knowing realm was steadily increasing. Since Jin He and God Taiyi could reach this realm, he could too.

    Two more statues were added beside him.

    Ten days passed and then another ten days passed.

    On this day, a man came and slowly approached the statue.

    Lu Yin was able to move his eyes, and his position allowed him to see where he had entered the za, the blood-red bell lying on the ground, as well as a bit further beyond.

    He was startled when he saw who had entered the za. Was it really him?

    This man was Mr. Lifeview, one of the Sixth Maind''s Four Empyreans. He was the master of the Sage Martial Realm''s Higher Temple, as well as also Xiao Qing¡¯s master.

    Lu Yin was shocked that such a powerhouse had actually entered Burial Garden. Something truly amazing must have been found if even the Four Empyreans were willing to enter.

    Mr. Lifeview saw the central statue, as well as the various kneeling figures, and he immediately stopped moving.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He could not decide if he actually wanted Mr. Lifeview to enter the za or not. He had no idea how strong the wandering corpse pretending to be a statue actually was, and while the various people would most likely be saved if Mr. Lifeview was stronger than the wandering corpse, that would not necessarily work out in Lu Yin''s favor.

 Chapter 1822: Infinity Realm

    Chapter 1822: Infinity Realm

    Lu Yin had known about the Knowing realm of Truesight, but he had been clueless as to how to reach it himself. If Mr. Lifeview destroyed the statue, Lu Yin might lose this opportunity. On top of that, there was an extremely high likelihood that Mr. Lifeview would simply attack if he discovered Lu Yin.

    On the other hand, if the wandering corpse was powerful enough to be able to capture even Mr. Lifeview, then it would not be a bad situation for Lu Yin either. At least the Sixth Maind would lose a powerhouse.

    Would Mr. Lifeview enter the za or not? This was the biggest question at the moment.

    Mr. Lifeview remained standing, and he stared at the za for a long time without moving. Lu Yin felt disappointed, as it looked like the Empyrean Imprinter did not intend to enter the za.

    At this moment, a breeze blew by and kicked up some dust from the ground. This revealed the blood-red bell that Lu Yin had dropped.

    Mr. Lifeview noticed the bell, and shock could be seen in his eyes. He immediately stepped forward and started walking towards the bell.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he grew terrified. Would this guy take his bell? That was a life saving treasure as well as a status symbol. The more Lu Yin thought about losing the bell, the more anxious he became, but there was not a single thing he could do about it.

    Mr. Lifeview walked over to the blood-red bell, bent down, and reached for it.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. Don''t pick it up! Don''t pick it up! Don''t pick it up¡­

    No matter how he prayed, Mr. Lifeview still ended up touching the bell, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped. His treasure was lost.

    The exact moment that Mr. Lifeview made contact with the blood-red bell, everything in the ruins changed. The wandering corpse disguised as a statue disappeared from where it had been standing, and it instantly reappeared behind Mr. Lifeview with a single hand stretched out.

    Mr. Lifeview''s gaze focused, and the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint appeared behind him as a sword formed from stellr energy. A martial print appeared on the edge of the de while a terrifying aura surged out. An Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s full might was on full disy within Burial Garden at this moment.

    Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper was their only Semi-Progenitor, so Mr. Lifeview had thought that there would not be a single powerhouse within Burial Garden that could threaten him.

    However, the edge of the sword started to disappear, stunning Mr. Lifeview. He could not believe his eyes as he watched his sword formed from stellr energy disappear into nothingness as soon as it passed within ten centimeters of the wandering corpse. The sword truly became nothing, as though it had been erased from existence. This was beyond his understanding.

    The wandering corpse continued to stretch out its hand, and a momentter, there was another statue kneeling on its knees in the za, and the blood-red bell fell back to the ground with a gentle ng.

    Lu Yin watched the entire exchange take ce. Mr. Lifeview had not been strong enough to even put up a fight against the wandering corpse. He had been right, and the wandering corpse was definitely a Semi-Progenitor who had once trained in Truesight. The corpse¡¯s strength was unfathomable, and within the realms of the Rune Civilization¡¯s ruins, it could practically be considered invincible.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief, though he also felt rather nervous. He could not remain trapped in this ce forever. No matter what it took, he had to master the Knowing realm of Truesight.

    ¡­

    Another month passed. Lu Yin had been trapped in the za for more than two months already.

    One day, his pupils transformed into an ever-changing rune when he opened his eyes. He was ecstatic, as he had finally reached the Knowing realm of Truesight.

    Knowing. This realm was referred to as Knowing because, at this level, Truesight cultivators were able to deny something from affecting the universe. For example, during ZENITH, when Jin He and Fan Shun had fought, Jin He had not made any attempt to evade Fan Shun¡¯s attacks. Rather, he had decided to face the attacks head on because he knew that he would not be harmed at all. The Knowing realm of Truesight had allowed Jin He to deny Fan Shun¡¯s attacks from affecting a certain region. The attacks had been so weak that they could not even harm the dirt beneath Jin He¡¯s feet, so how could such an attack have harmed him?

    This was what Knowing meant.

    No one who did not train in Truesight would ever be able toprehend the power of the Knowing realm, and they would never be able to understand the magic of Rune Technology either.

    Lu Yin believed that Mr. Lifeview¡¯s sword had been erased by the wandering corpse, but he had not been able to understand how it had happened. An attack could be resisted or negated, but how could an attack simply be erased? This was only possible with Truesight.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of Truesight reached the Knowing realm, he also learned of the next level: Infinity.

    It was an even more miraculous realm, but Lu Yin¡¯s current understanding of Truesight did not allow him to even fathom what the Infinity realm was capable of doing. In this za, Lu Yin was confident that he could achieve the Infinity realm if time was not an issue, but he could not afford the amount of time needed for that.

    It was arge leap to rise from the Knowing to the Infinity realm of Truesight, and it would naturally take a very long time to aplish that. Lu Yin did not want to stay in the za for that long.

    Therefore, Lu Yin started using his new mastery of Truesight to try to erase the statue in front of him that had trapped him, as he wanted to escape.

    Half an hourter, Lu Yin''s face had gone pale, though it was impossible to tell because of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    If he was not able to escape, then it meant that the Knowing realm of Truesight was not sufficient. Did he have to reach the Infinity realm? Could the requirement be even higher than that?

    Lu Yin felt frustrated after trying, but his Knowing realm of Truesight simply was not enough to even disturb the statue that had trapped Lu Yin. Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s hopes of escaping with his current mastery of Truesight were shattered. The wandering corpse had even captured an Empyrean Imprinter, which indicated that no one could escape from this za unless they were at least a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin grew bitter, as he did not want to remain trapped here in the abandoned town. Even if he eventually achieved true mastery of Truesight, it would not matter if too much time passed and the Great Eastern Alliance disappeared.

    Suddenly, he remembered to try reciting the Origin Sutra. Whenever Lu Yin encountered an odd situation, he had made it a habit to recite the sutra. It had proven to be of great assistance in training in the Cosmic Art, so could it possibly also help with training Truesight?

    Lu Yin immediately tried it out. He began silently reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. As he did so, he tried various things with Truesight to escape from the statue.

    As Lu Yin continued reciting, his kneeling statue began to shake, and soon, all of the other kneeling statues also started to tremble. Eventually, even the erect statue of the person who might have been the Rune Progenitor began to shake.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, as it was clearly working. He continued to recite the sutra.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin was doing everything silently, a faint voice could be heard in the Rune Civilization¡¯s ruins. A pair of eyes opened in a far-off corner of Burial Garden. They flickered between confusion and rity as they stared towards the Rune Technology ruins. After a moment, an earth-shattering roar was released.

    As it roared, the figure shot through space and flew towards the ruins. The wandering corpse disguised as a statue opened its eyes and waved a hand, erasing the roar into nothingness. The next moment, the statue turned to face Lu Yin and waved its hand again, sting Lu Yin out of the ruins.

    As Lu Yin was thrown away, he snagged the blood-red bell with the Yu Secret Art. When he mmed into the ground far away, his bones snapped with a crisp sound.

    He raised his head and looked back towards the ruins that were still nearby. Lu Yin let out augh, as he had escaped. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was far too useful, and it had actually allowed him to break free from that terrifying trap. He put the bell away and caught his breath. His smile would not leave his face. He had reached the Knowing realm of Truesight, and he had even managed to gain a flicker of insight regarding the Infinity realm. That insight could possibly allow him to break through another level of Truesight in the future.

    Fear, nervousness, and tion all tumbled about within Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Just as he was about to leave, he felt that something was wrong. He was well aware of his body¡¯s strength, and although the wandering corpse had thrown him out with a tremendous amount of force, Lu Yin should not have been harmed even if he had smashed into a weapon, let alone the ground. So why had his bones been damaged?

    Lu Yin looked down and saw a small ck bump that looked like the calf of a human. He frowned and pressed a hand down, shattering the earth so that he could see what he had mmed into. It turned out to be a corpse.

    The corpse had been buried just a few meters underground, and nothing about it seemed unusual at first nce. If not for the fact that he had mmed into it and been hurt, Lu Yin would not have paid any attention to this corpse even if he had found it with his domain.

    However, things had changed. mming into this corpse had actually injured Lu Yin despite his powerful physique. He had almost shattered his bones, but this corpse was still fully intact. Something was clearly wrong.

    Even if an Envoy with a power level of over 700,000 died, its corpse still would not have been hard enough to hurt Lu Yin this badly after he mmed into it.

    Lu Yin started examining the corpse carefully.

    He could not determine how long the corpse had existed for. The facial features were still clear, and itsplexion was just like that of a normal person. It looked like the person had just died, but the clothes were weathered as though they had endured the ravages of time passing.

    Lu Yin tried to smash the corpse apart as he wanted to see how much this body could endure, only to find that he was unable to do a thing to the corpse. He could not cause the slightest bit of damage with either Hollow Palm or the Thirteen Swords. Even more terrifyingly, he was not able to harm the clothes either.

    Finally, Lu Yin noticed that the corpse¡¯s clothes were able to easily endure his most powerful attacks.

    He sucked in a breath of cold air. This corpse¡¯s clothes were no different from a set of armor that could resist attacks with a power level of 800,000 or even 900,000! Despite that, the clothes were extremely worn and faded. Lu Yin did not believe that this sort of aging could have happened even after hundreds of millions of years, so just how long had this corpse been around? Why was it next to the ruins of the Rune Civilization?

    He flipped the corpse over, and a cosmic ring fell out. His eyes lit up as he picked the ring up. It looked ancient and did not match any design that he had ever seen before.

    If there was a cosmic ring, then it had to be holding something.

    Lu Yin became excited, and he tried various means to damage the corpse so that he could use its blood to open the ring.

    Someone approached the area at this time, so Lu Yin hid alongside the corpse.

    A whileter, a heavily breathing man approached. It looked like he was being pursued, as he kept ncing behind him.

    Lu Yin hid in the void and looked far behind the approaching man. There was another man far away, clearly intent on chasing down and killing the man next to Lu Yin. They were both only Hunters, so Lu Yin was unconcerned.

    It was not long before the fleeing man entered the abandoned town, and there were no surprises as he was captured and turned into a kneeling statue. His pursuer also entered the ruins and became a statue.

    Lu Yin was not a bad person, but he also was not a saint. He had seen no reason to warn either of the two men. Each person would find their own opportunities, and since these two had decided to be cultivators, they were responsible for their own lives and deaths.

    It was even possible for them toprehend Truesight after bing statues. Thus, it was impossible to say what the future held for the two men.

    Lu Yin put the corpse into his own cosmic ring and moved away from the ruins.

    One dayter, he was lucky enough to find an exit gate, so he hurried over towards it.

    The distant gate had more than a dozen people surrounding it. A woman approached them and offered a respectful bow. "This one hails from the Cosmic Sea. Might I ask you seniors to allow me through this gate?"

    One of the people surrounding the gate replied, "This gate leads to the Outerverse¡¯s Umbral Butterfly Weave. Are you sure you want to use it?"

    The woman''s expression remained unchanged even after hearing his words. She simply bowed once again. "Thank you, Senior, for telling me. This junior won¡¯t continue bothering you."

    She moved to leave, but before she was able to take more than a few steps, the man spoke up again. "Since you''re here, you need to leave something behind."

 Chapter 1823: Hua Wu

    Chapter 1823: Hua Wu

    The woman turned around, her face already growing pale. "This junior didn¡¯t manage to find anything in Burial Garden, so Seniors, I beg you to let me go."

    "Didn''t get anything? Open up your cosmic ring and dump everything out for me to check!" the man demanded.

    This had be the normal state inside Burial Garden. At the moment, not only were there people gathered outside of the gates who were searching everyone exiting, but the inside of the gates were also being controlled. Everyone was doing their best to grab what they could, and even if the people being searched had not found anything in Burial Garden, they still needed to turn over their cosmic rings to be searched.

    This was not a good situation for the people exploring Burial Garden. Unless they came from a powerful enough organization or were sufficiently powerful themselves, everything depended on luck.

    The woman felt frustrated and offended. "Senior, this junior swears that she did not find anything! I¡¯ve seen the dangers in Burial Garden, and I just want to leave."

    "Cut the bullshit and open your ring!" Someone next to the gate leaped to their feet and almost instantly appeared next to the woman and snatched her cosmic ring.

    Her face flushed red, and she raised a hand to fight back, only to have her arm instantly broken when she touched the man. One of the man¡¯s hands grabbed her ring while the other reached for her neck.

    The man was ruthless and did not care about whether the woman lived or died. All he cared about was if she had anything valuable.

    If the woman was not strong enough, this attack would kill her.

    The woman felt a chill at her neck, and she started to despair. Was she about to die? She should have listened to her father and not entered Burial Garden. She had not found anything, and even when she was about to die, she could not say anything.

    Suddenly, an invisible force swept through the group of people, and all of them, including the woman and the man who had attacked her, were stunned. Many of the people instantly fell unconscious, and even those who retained their senses fell to the ground and felt their vision grow blurry. Was this a domain?

    The man who had attacked the woman saw a burry figure appear in front of him and crouch down. A voice spoke. ¡°Tell me, where does this exit from Burial Garden lead to?"

    The man¡¯s brain was still in a fog due to the pressure ced on him by the domain. He could not stop his body from trembling, and he struggled to even speak. "Out- Outerverse. Umbral- Umbral Butterfly Weave."

    After answering, the man fainted.

    Lu Yin stood up. These were people from the Sixth Maind, and this gate led to the Umbral Butterfly Weave, which currently belonged to the Sixth Maind. If he went out through this gate, he would immediately be captured by the Sixth Maind, which was not an ideal situation. On top of that, the Outerverse was quite a long way from the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin decided to continue searching for another exit from Burial Garden.

    He looked over at the woman and then waved a hand to move her a bit further away from the gate and the people guarding it, which was essentially saving her life.

    Despite many of the exit gates from Burial Garden leading to known locations, Lu Yin was still quite nervous about finding an exit that led to the Neoverse. He had been trapped by the statue for more than two months, and Yang Kong had tried and failed to get in touch with Lu Yin during this time.

    Lu Yin had no idea how long the poison would remain dormant within his body, and while he was fairly confident that he could deal with it, he did not want to take such a risk.

    ***

    Elsewhere in Burial Garden, Yang Kong released his hand, and an old man slowly fell to the ground. There were several other people around, but all of them were already dead.

    The old man had been someone with an ancient bloodline. A desated corpse had been chasing after him, but after he was rescued, he had been forced to enter Burial Garden. He had been lucky enough to find a stone in Burial Garden, and the words written on the stone had entered his mind and given him the power to release vocalization attacks.

    However, he had been seen during this encounter, and word of it had spread, which had eventually led to the old man¡¯s death at Yang Kong¡¯s hands.

    His entire mission was to ughter anyone with an ancient bloodline and cut off any inheritances from ancient times.

    Yang Kong wiped his hands clean, unconcerned with what had just happened.

    "You- aren¡¯t you Bu Kong?" A weak voice spoke up.

    Yang Kong¡¯s expression grew sharp, and he looked over at a nearby person who should have already died.

    The old man had been ganged up on by this person and all of the other dead people, as they had been trying to steal his inheritance. However, all of them had ended up dying at Yang Kong¡¯s hands.

    "Bu Kong, aren''t you dead? How are you still alive?" The person could not believe what they were seeing and could not understand the situation.

    Yang Kong walked over to the man. "What¡¯s the point in telling you anything? You¡¯re already dead."

    He stomped on the man¡¯s body and walked away.

    More and more bearers of ancient bloodlines were finding their way into Burial Garden, and the ce seemed to be undergoing greater and greater changes.

    There were even people in the Human Domain who were not eliminating the dried up corpses, but instead using them to hunt down people with ancient bloodlines so that they could use them to explore Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin still knew nothing about these events. He was also quite lucky, as after just a few more days, he came upon another exit gate. This time, there was no one guarding it despite it being readily visible. That was because this gate stood within a sourcebox array.

    The more rumors about Burial Garden that spread, the more the ce became known, and the more that certain dangers were also discovered.

    Many of the people entering Burial Garden were bing increasingly cautious, and with an obvious sourcebox array surrounding this gate, it was seen as a ce to avoid despite the fact it was an exit gate.

    Lu Yin arrived, but he was in no hurry to examine the sourcebox array. He had already noticed that there were several other people hiding in the area, all waiting for someone else to step forward and investigate the sourcebox array.

    This was the exact same situation as what he had encountered in the tea hills.

    One, two, three, four. Lu Yin found four hidden people when he nced around, though not one of them noticed him.

    He considered tossing them into the array to probe it, but at that moment, he noticed another person approaching through his domain. This person looked very young and quite worried, though he held his nose high and had a rather odd appearance.

    Immediately, the four other people leaped out, startling the man, who unconsciously started rubbing the bridge of his nose and licking his lips. "Little- little brother Hua Wu pays his respect to these big brothers. I didn¡¯t know that you big brothers were resting here, and your little brother ended up disturbing you. Here¡¯s a gift to apologize to you big brothers."

    As he spoke, he emptied his entire cosmic ring. He made no attempt to hide anything at all.

    The four men nced at each other, and one of them smiled. "You¡¯re quite direct."

    The young man named Hua Wu replied, "I didn''t see you big brothers here, and you startled me with your prowess when you came out. I know that you big brothers only have a bit of time, so I don¡¯t want to waste my big brothers¡¯ precious time. You might be able to use this time to find an inheritance, so dying you all would really be a sin. You little brother isn¡¯t very talented, and I don¡¯t deserve to hold onto anything valuable, as that would be a case of handing pearls to swine. You big brothers can instead use it to a much greater effect, and if you be stronger, that¡¯s already enough to help out your little brother. I really want to thank you again.

    Lu Yin was left speechless by this monologue as he watched from a distance. This guy had a slick tongue, and he really knew how to tter people. He did not stop after he got started, and he never once repeated himself. It was impressive to watch.

    The four people surrounding Hua Wu were stunned speechless, and a couple of them grew embarrassed. "How can we ept this? These are your possessions, so how can you just give them to us?"

    Hua Wu acted angry. "Third Brother, that¡¯s just wrong! How can this stuff be mine? All of this belongs to my big brothers! Please don''t act polite."

    "Third- third brother?" The man who had spoken felt confused.

    Hua Wu quickly continued, "Of course you¡¯re Third Brother! Third brother is powerful and domineering! Just a nce is enough to know you¡¯re a direct and upfront person."

    The man was caught off guard, and heughed a few times. So he was domineering? That sounded pretty good.

    Hua Wu turned to face a different man. "You¡¯re Eldest Brother. You¡¯re the eldest, and you¡¯re amazing at strategizing and can see things from thousands of miles away. I really admire the wisdom in your eyes!"

    The man puffed his chest out. Eldest brother? Strategist? How did this kid see how smart I am?

    Hua Wu then turned to the man on his right. "Second Brother, your little brother really admires your confidence! The only woman in the entire universe who could be worthy of you is Starsibyl!"

    The second brother''s eyes lit up, and swung his long hair behind his head. "My little brother is right!"

    Hua Wu grew excited as he finally looked at the man who stood behind him. "Fourth Brother, when I look at you, your little brother is instantly reminded of Lu Yin! Excuse me, but are you possibly Lu Yin?"

    The man who was called fourth brother was startled. "I- do I look like Lu Yin?"

    Hua Wu shouted, "Of course! If you aren¡¯t Lu Yin, then who is?"

    "Hahaha, Little Brother, don''t be so silly! You need to be careful, as you might be overheard by someone from the Great Eastern Alliance, haha."

    "Little brother Hua Wu formally submits himself to his big brothers." Hua Wu stepped back and bowed low.

    The four men who had surrounded him all quickly moved forward to help him back up. "You''re wee with us, Fifth Brother."

    "Fifth Brother, you¡¯re one of us! There¡¯s no need for this."

    "You¡¯re our fifth brother."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was there something wrong with them? Were those menplete idiots? Were they just ying around and messing with Hua Wu? No, judging by their eyes, it seemed like they fully believed everything they said. Why? Lu Yin did not believe that someone could trick people so easily with just a few words. This was something beyond even Kui Luo.

    He watched as the five people chatted with each other as Hua Wu was warmly weed into the group. In the end, they actually did not even know what Hua Wu said. They had intended to attack and rob him, but instead, they had offered him gifts and seen him off safely. They never even once considered why they had first surrounded the young man.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he kept an eye on Hua Wu with his domain as he observed the four men left behind.

    They should have forced Hua Wu to check the sourcebox array surrounding the exit gate for them, but reality had yed out very differently. Something had gone wrong.

    After Hua Wu was a good ways away, the four suddenly reacted. "Where¡¯d that kid go?"

    "What did we just do?"

    "Bro, what''s the matter?"

    "Get lost! Who¡¯s your brother? We were scammed! Find that kid!"

    "He¡¯s gone! I can''t find him!"

    "Bastard! He already left. We need to go find him!"

    "Second Brother, help me!"

    "Scram! Who¡¯s your second brother?"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stepped out and disappeared to chase after Hua Wu.

    Far away, Hua Wu pped a hand to his chest. "Those idiots! Thankfully, none of them were strong enough, or else I wouldn¡¯t have been able to trick them. Go be a strategist! Go get your Starsibyl and your Lu Yin! Go get your fifth brother!"

    "Even if you curse someone, it¡¯s not good to drag others into it. Besides, Lu Yin didn¡¯t do anything to you." A voice entered Hua Wu''s ear.

    Hua Wu retorted, "I¡¯ve already offended too many people! Even if Lu Yin were right here, I¡¯d still curse him!"

    Right at that moment, Hua Wu froze. He slowly turned around and saw a figure next to him. This figure had a dried up appearance, and it looked just like a dried up corpse.

 Chapter 1824: Man Of My Word

    Chapter 1824: Man Of My Word

    Hua Wu¡¯s mouth fell open. "Ah~~!"

    Lu Yin frowned and clicked his tongue. Hua Wu''s scream was snuffed out, and his legs grew soft to the point where he nearly copsed.

    He stared at Lu Yin in terror. "A desated corpse? Can they hunt us down even here?"

    Lu Yin remained calm and stared at the young man. "What did you just do?"

    Hua Wu''s eyes flickered when he heard Lu Yin speak, and the fear and panic that had filled his eyes began to dim. ¡°Aren¡¯t you one of those desated corpses trying to hunt me down?"

    "Do you have an ancient bloodline?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Hua Wu''s eyes darted about for a moment. He took a few deep breaths, and then a rxed smile appeared on his face as he looked at Lu Yin. "Of course not! I''m Hua Wu, just an ordinary person. Big Brother, as soon as I saw you, I was amazed by your appearance! Look at the muscles on your body and your majestic figure! That¡¯s right, you must be Lu Yin, right? Aside from him, this little brother can''t think of anyone else who could be as impressive as you, Big Brother. Here, a gift for you, Big Brother."

    As Hua Wu spoke, he emptied his cosmic ring. "Everything that this little brother owns is yours, Big Brother! Only a hero like you is worthy to pick up the universe¡¯s treasures. I wasn¡¯t able to find anything good, but if Big Brother can check and see if your little brother missed something. I would never refuse to offer anything that you might need! The treasures in this universe must be¡­"

    "How many times have you spouted this same spiel?" Lu Yin asked in an odd tone.

    Hua Wu blinked. "What are you talking about, Big Brother? I only mentioned that your little brother feels that others are trash inparison to you. Be honest: Big Brother, are you really Lu Yin? Aside from him, I really can¡¯t think of anyone else who could be as talented as you, Big Brother."

    "I am Lu Yin," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Hua Wu was momentarily stunned. "You- you are Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin nodded in apletely serious manner. "That¡¯s right."

    Hua Wu turned red. What¡¯s going on? Why does this guy actually believe that? Is the secret technique useless? That¡¯s impossible. Those four idiots just now were all deceived and confused, so it¡¯s clearly working. But why is this shameless guy actually iming to be Lu Yin? If you¡¯re Lu Yin, then I¡¯m Lu Yin¡¯s father!

    "So you¡¯re Alliance Leader Lu! Your little brother¡¯s been rude, but I have to tell you¡ªaside from the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, who could else be as talented as you, Big Brother? Your little brother didn¡¯t see wrong! You really are the alliance leader! Your little brother would be eternally grateful if you could take care of me. It¡¯s true that only Alliance Leader Lu is¡­"

    Lu Yin set a hand onto Hua Wu''s shoulder. "I just heard you curse me."

    Hua Wu was taken aback. "Nope. Definitely not."

    "I heard what you said," Lu Yin insisted.

    The corner of Hua Wu¡¯s mouth twitched. This guy really believed himself to be Lu Yin! "Cough, It¡¯s really not true. Alliance Leader Lu, Big Brother Lu, you have you believe that your little brother¡¯s admiration for you is greater than the size of this entire Burial Garden! I admire you as much as anyone in the Great Eastern Alliance¡ªno! More! Your little brother¡­"

    "What did you just do to those four men?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hua Wu grew confused. "What did who do?"

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. He grabbed hold of Hua Wu and instantly tore through the void to return to the exit gate that stood in the middle of the sourcebox array.

    When they arrived, Lu Yin happened to see someone entering the sourcebox array, so he dragged Hua Wu a bit away to watch.

    The person who was approaching the sourcebox array was one of the four men who had previously surrounded Hua Wu. To be precise, he was the youngest of the four.

    The man who had been called Fourth Brother looked quite scared as he stepped into the sourcebox array. He felt like his entire being was being seen through. Entering the sourcebox array felt like he was being observed by a legendary powerhouse, though Fourth Brother had nevere into contact with such an expert in his entire life. After all, how many people had met a true powerhouse?

    Before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, most people had never even heard of a sourcebox array. After the invasion, the rise of Lu Yin and the broadcast of ZENITH had gradually spread knowledge of sourcebox arrays, and the universe had slowly learned about a terrifying fighting style.

    However, didn¡¯t that mean that there were very few sourcebox arrays? It was even rare for powerful Lockbreakers toprehend sourcebox arrays, and yet there was one surrounding the exit. Fourth Brother was being forced to investigate it, and as far as he was concerned, this was a life-or-death matter.

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s vision changed, and a terrible pain erupted at his back. He smashed into the ground, and the wind was knocked out of him.

    Where am I? The man rolled over onto his back after being mmed into the ground. When he sat up, he looked around. He immediately noticed Lu Yin and Hua Wu staring at him, and Fourth Brother¡¯s expression became enraged when he saw Hua Wu next to Lu Yin. ¡°It¡¯s you, brat!¡±

    The man wanted to say more, but he finally took notice of Lu Yin¡¯s appearance as he stood next to Hua Wu, and Fourth Brother instantly suppressed his words.

    Hua Wu blinked. What just happened? How did he get here from so far away?

    Lu Yin was staring at the sourcebox array surrounding the exit gate off in the distance. It was easy to know which sourcebox array he was looking at.

    Lockbreaking required Lockbreakers to risk their lives while fighting against the universe and unlocking sourceboxes. Sourceboxes contained unpredictable dangers, and it was also possible for Lockbreakers toe across a rare, natural sourcebox array. Many Lockbreakers lost their lives while trying to unravel these sourcebox arrays.

    Lu Yin was notfortable trying to probe an unknown sourcebox array on his own, but things were much easier now that he knew what this sourcebox array actually did.

    Although Lu Yin knew the sourcebox array¡¯s function, the same was not true of the three men standing outside of the array. They had just seen the youngest of the four of them disappear, and they all grew pale. They all believed that the man had been erased, and their legs grew weak as they quickly retreated.

    "Let''s get out of here! Let¡¯s leave and never see each other again!" one person said as he fled as fast as possible without ever turning around.

    The other two nced at each other before taking off in two different directions. None of them had the courage to return to the sourcebox array as they were all terrified that some powerhouse would suddenly appear and force them into the sourcebox array to test it out. Then, their lives would be forfeit.

    Fourth Brother also wanted to escape, but Lu Yin gestured for him to move closer.

    Fourth Brother nervously swallowed. He hadnded a fair distance from Lu Yin and Hua Wu, so the man turned and fled without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin shook his head and wiggled a finger. Star energy fell down like the sky was copsing, and space shattered in front of Fourth Brother.

    The man¡¯s pupils shrank at this amazing sight, and he slowly turned around to stare at Lu Yin. This person was an unfathomable powerhouse.

    Lu Yin waved the man over again.

    This time, Fourth Brother immediately obeyed, and he acted very respectfully as he stood in front of Lu Yin, though sweat was dripping from the man¡¯s forehead. "Um, Senior, were you looking for me?"

    Lu Yin pointed over at Hua Wu. "Do you remember him?"

    Fourth Brother and Hua Wu nced at each other, and the man started to act excited. "Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother, it''s really you! Damn, this is so lucky! You managed to meet such a powerful expert? Fourth Brother is so happy for you, Fifth Brother."

    Hua Wu felt that this was a bit awkward, as this man believed that Lu Yin was Hua Wu¡¯s backer, which was why the man known as Fourth Brother had started acting so strangely. It was really quite disturbing to see.

    "Since you two know each other, you can both die," Lu Yin stated in a cold voice.

    Hua Wu was startled, and Fourth Brother¡¯s scalp went numb. In an instant, he kicked at Hua Wu. "Senior, I don''t know him! I promise that I don¡¯t know him at all!¡±

    He pointed at Hua Wu and shouted, "This bastard tricked all of us, though I have no idea what he did. He somehow made the four of us believe his bullshit and be sworn brothers! Senior, I swear that this is only the second time this junior has even seen this man, and I beg you to look into what happened!"

    Hua Wu gritted his teeth from the pain of the kick. The bastard had not been gentle.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss Fourth Brother. "You can go."

    Fourth Brother turned right around and took off as though he had just escaped from death. He did not even dare to look back.

    Lu Yin looked at Hua Wu with greater interest. "Well, it''s time for us to talk."

    Hua Wu rubbed his waist where he had been kicked and sneered. "Brother Lu, what do you want to talk about?"

    Lu Yin stared at the young man. "I don''t believe that there are any idiots in this universe who would unconditionally trust someone else after just exchanging a few words, and I find the likelihood of that even less when the people involved are cultivators. What¡¯s more, it was even a group of four people. How did you do it?"

    Hua Wu rolled his eyes and pointed towards Fourth Brother who was still running away. He started talking in a bitter tone. "Brother Lu, don''t believe him! The truth is that we¡¯ve known each other for a long time, but-"

    "I want to hear the truth, and I don''t want to waste any more time. If I don''t believe every word thates out of your mouth the next time you open it, you¡¯ll die.¡± Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly turned cold.

    Hua Wu met Lu Yin''s cold gaze, and his heart dropped. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but a chill came over his entire body, and he felt like he saw his own death. While he had no idea who the person in front of him was or why he was pretending to be Lu Yin, most cultivators were ruthless and decisive and had nothing holding them back from killing people with whom they had no rtionship.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew increasingly colder.

    Hua Wu shrugged and closed his eyes. He let out a sigh, and then reluctantly opened his eyes and started speaking. "Secret technique: Man of My Word."

    Lu Yin waspletely confused. "What?"

    Hua Wu¡¯s voice was earnest as he continued, "I stumbled upon an inheritance when I entered Burial Garden. It¡¯s a secret technique called Man of My Word. Anything I say to another person is considered absolutely true, as long as their cultivation doesn¡¯t exceed mine by too much. As for you, you¡¯re way too strong for this to do anything at all to you, which means that Senior should at least be an Enlighter."

    Lu Yin stared intently at Hua Wu. "Is this a joke?"

    Hua Wu''s heart skipped a beat and he turned pale. "Senior, this junior is being honest! It really is a secret technique! You saw what happened to those four guys, and you already mentioned how it¡¯s impossible for people to simply believe a person that they just met. Their reactions were all because of this secret technique!"

    Lu Yin still did not believe that such a ridiculous secret technique had been created. Who would do that?

    Secret techniques were exclusively created by Progenitors. Lu Yin was rather aware of the different secret techniques that existed in the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but in ancient times, there had been four more Mainds that had eventually been destroyed. How many Progenitors had those Mainds possessed?

    Just how many Progenitors had been born over the eons?

    It was not an exaggeration to say that, if all of the secret techniques that had ever existed werepiled into a single book, Lu Yin would still refuse to believe that such a ridiculous secret technique would be found in the pages.

    Which Progenitor would be petty enough to create such a secret technique?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was reminded of Kui Luo, and his expression grew weird. If Kui Luo one day became a Progenitor, just what kind of secret technique would he end up creating?

    Was this a coincidence? This sort of secret technique was the exact sort of technique that Kui Luo would create. Since there was such a person alive, it was possible that someone with a simr personality had lived in ancient times as well.

    "Which Progenitor created the secret technique that you received?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hua Wu''s face twitched. "Um, I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" Lu Yin arched a brow, and his eyes grew cold once more.

    Hua Wu dropped to his knees. "Senior, I really don¡¯t know! All I know is that the bridge of my nose grew longer after I learned this secret technique!"

 Chapter 1825: Poison Triggered

    Chapter 1825: Poison Triggered

    Lu Yin stared at Hua Wu''s nose. "You weren¡¯t born like that?"

    "No, absolutely not! I used to have a normal appearance, but my nose turned into this after I learned the secret technique. Senior, I really don¡¯t know who created this secret technique. Something identally smacked my head, and I suddenly learned this technique. I never saw or learned anything at all about the person who made it." Hua Wu spoke honestly and practically swore that he was telling the truth.

    Lu Yin believed that Hua Wu did not have the courage to lie at this moment.

    "Since you have an ancient bloodline, what sort of legacy does your family have?"

    "Senior, I swear that if my family has any legacy at all, this secret technique will never be used again!" Hua Wu loudly dered.

    Lu Yin was left speechless at this reaction, as he had only been mildly curious.

    He then moved over next to the sourcebox array with Hua Wu. "Wait here, and I¡¯ll take you out with me."

    He then stepped forward and entered the sourcebox array.

    Hua Wu''s eyes shed, and he debated with himself over whether or not he should try to escape. Was this guy testing him?

    Lu Yin actually did not care if Hua Wu left or not. If the man left, it was no problem, and if he stayed, then Lu Yin would take Hua Wu through the exit. After all, Hua Wu was someone with an ancient bloodline, as was Lu Yin. Their meeting was a bit of fate.

    After all these years, the sourcebox array was not as powerful as it had once been, and Lu Yin only needed half a day to unlock it. He looked back and saw that Hua Wu was still waiting for him.

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin grabbed Hua Wu and passed through the exit gate to leave.

    The next instant, they arrived somewhere with a brilliant, star-filled sky overhead. They were surrounded by people who were warily staring at the gate and holding weapons. Nearby, there were even powerhouses who were at the cusp of bing Envoys, which Lu Yin easily determined based on the number of runes he saw.

    "State your names and turn over your cosmic rings!" Amand was shouted by the most powerful Enlighter present.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile, took a step, and vanished.

    All of the guards were stunned.

    The Enlighter¡¯s expression changed drastically, though he also felt a powerful sense of relief. They had run into a true powerhouse who had to have at least been an Envoy. Luckily, the expert had not bothered himself with them, as otherwise, they would not have even known how they died.

    Lu Yin and Hua Wu appeared at the bottom of a skyscraper. They were in a roaming city. Lu Yin released his domain and was pleasantly surprised to learn that they were in the Neoverse.

    He had exited a gate that had taken him straight out of Burial Garden and into the Neoverse.

    "You can head out by yourself. We¡¯re in the Neoverse," Lu Yin said as he released Hua Wu.

    Hua Wu could not believe his ears. "I- I can go?"

    "Were you thinking of something else?" Lu Yin asked back.

    Hua Wu pursed his lips. "So can I leave?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze suddenly focused. "Unless you want me to introduce you to a master?"

    Hua Wu was startled, and he quickly replied, "Senior doesn¡¯t need to do that! This junior enjoys his wild ways and freedom. I just can¡¯t attach myself to a master, so I¡¯ll take my leave!"

    He then quickly fled.

    A small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. He found Hua Wu to be quite interesting. Lu Yin had genuinely wanted to introduce the young man to a master: Kui Luo. However, it seemed that Hua Wu had misunderstood something.

    Hua Wu had misread Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. It was not an umon urrence for a master to steal an inheritance that their disciple found. Hua Wu had mistakenly thought that those were Lu Yin¡¯s intentions and that Lu Yin coveted the Man of My Word secret technique. He was also afraid that Lu Yin would react poorly if he did not get the secret technique.

    However, Hua Wu had overthought the matter. Lu Yin was aware that secret techniques could not be easily spread from one person to another, and he even knew of one secret technique that only a single person could know at a time, which was the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    As for the master that Lu Yin had offered to find for Hua Wu, it had naturally been Kui Luo. If that man learned that someone had inherited something like Man of My Word, his interest would absolutely be roused. Unfortunately, Hua Wu had walked away from the chance to have a Semi-Progenitor as his master.

    Hua Wu left, and Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain to release someone: Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei was quite miserable at this time, as he had been tortured by Crown Prince Gui Qian during his entire time on Zenith Mountain. He had not been able to defeat the prince, nor had he been able to escape. Only a few months had passed, but Ku Lei had lost so much weight that Lu Yin had nearly failed to recognize the young man when he saw him.

    "You can leave now. We¡¯re in the Neoverse," Lu Yin stated.

    Ku Lei grew excited. "The Neoverse? I''m back?"

    Lu Yin said, "Go on."

    Ku Lei stared at Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring for a long moment, resentment building up in his eyes. He would not forget the debt that Crown Prince Gui Qian owed him, and Ku Lei was determined to repay the torture that he had suffered over these few months.

    After releasing Ku Lei, Lu Yin wanted to report what had happened, but he quickly decided to do so after he visited ck Street.

    Fortunately, the exit that Lu Yin hade out through was rather close to ck Street, as it was already in the northern region of the Neoverse.

    ck Street was quite famous, and Lu Yin had also visited the ce before. Thus, it was not difficult for him to find it.

    Shortly after he left the roaming city, a pair of ck eyes swept through the region and locked onto Lu Yin¡¯s path. It was one of the desated corpses.

    Given the corpse¡¯s speed, it shouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up to Lu Yin, but it was coincidentally situated in front of Lu Yin¡¯s path.

    After just half an hour, Lu Yin ran into the corpse.

    "Ancient bloodline detected. Target acquired: kill." The corpse''s eyes were locked onto Lu Yin, and it shot towards him with a hand raised to grab him.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, though not by the desated corpse. He was surprised because there were several figures behind the corpse who were staring at him.

    Just as the corpse tried to grab Lu Yin, several cultivators moved as one. Two of them went after the desated corpse while the third one targeted Lu Yin. "Follow us."

    He tried to pull Lu Yin away several times but soon found that it was impossible. The man looked at Lu Yin in surprise, and it was only then that he got a good look at Lu Yin¡¯s face and realized that this person looked very simr to the desated corpse. The man reflexively released Lu Yin. "What the hell?"

    The other nearby cultivators also turned to stare at Lu Yin in surprise, though the two who were keeping the corpse upied continued to fight it.

    The corpse only had a power level of about 200,000, and the people who had been following it were all Enlighters.

    "What are you doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    The cultivator who had tried to drag Lu Yin away just stared at him. "You can talk? Aren''t you a corpse?"

    Lu Yin nced over at the dried up corpse and understood the situation. "You guys are fishing with those corpses, huh. Are you looking for ancient bloodlines?"

    "I¡¯m d that you figured it out, soe with us. We¡¯re sending you into Burial Garden." The man tried to pull Lu Yin away once again.

    Lu Yin shook his head and disappeared. Right after that, the desated corpse stopped moving.

    The group of people were all startled, and they nced at each other. They all realized that they had just targeted a true powerhouse.

    "We¡¯re lucky that he didn¡¯t attack us! He cleared the corpse¡¯s detection range in an instant. That¡¯s not someone we can go up against." One person was terrified by what had happened.

    "What now? Keep going?"

    "Of course we continue! He didn¡¯t attack us, which basically means that he approves of us fishing for more ancient bloodlines with the corpse. What are you so afraid of? Aren¡¯t all the most powerful organizations in the universe doing the same thing? If we don¡¯t flush out the ancient bloodlines, then how can we make sure that the inheritances in Burial Garden will activate?"

    "Those people are the most ruthless there are. You and I might be grabbing the people with ancient bloodlines, but those powers are the ones controlling us."

    "You don¡¯t need to say it out loud! No one likes to hear that. Let¡¯s just keep going. There are many people with ancient bloodlines, and we can always find more."

    ¡­

    Of course, Lu Yin was indeed hoping that more people with ancient bloodlines would appear. Even though people were sneaky and clever enough toe up with ways to control the people with ancient bloodlines and force them to enter Burial Garden, those people were still obtaining many unique inheritances in Burial Garden. Hua Wu and Unseen Light were both examples of that.

    Standing at different heights allowed people to see different perspectives.

    An ordinary cultivator would hope for the people at the top to make decisions that benefited them, especially regarding the ancient bloodlines. However, the people standing at the top were not seeing individual gains and losses, but rather what would benefit the entire Fifth Maind.

    The more inheritances that appeared, the better it would be for the Fifth Maind, regardless of who obtained them. In particr, those who knew about the Aeternals had this bigger picture in mind. It did not matter who obtained the inheritances, as all of humanity had amon enemy: the Aeternals.

    The more inheritances that were acquired, the greater the blow to the Aeternals. This was the entire reason why Burial Garden had opened.

    The ancient bloodlines were the key, and the people with those bloodlines could either obtain an inheritance for themselves or be used by others. It was all dependent on their destiny.

    This was the way of the universe.

    Lu Yin had no intention to act as a guardian for the ancient bloodlines. He did not have the energy to attempt such a thing. If he happened to stumble upon a situation, he would help if possible, but he would not make himself into an enemy of the entire universe just to help the people.

    In fact, Lu Yin even had hopes that the ancient bloodlines would be found and that their bearers would be tossed into Burial Garden. That was the only way that even more inheritances could be released and used to deal with the Aeternals.

    The thinking of those at the top had always been different from that of ordinary people, and it was because their perspectives were different.

    Still, Lu Yin had always maintained a bottom line. For example, in order to establish a battlefield for the Sixth Maind to fight upon, he had given up Ironblood Weave. He would one day take the weave back and fulfill the promise that he had made to the defenders of the weave. This was Lu Yin¡¯s bottom line. He was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good, but whatever he sacrificed would have to one day be taken back.

    As these thoughts ran through his mind, he arrived at ck Street.

    ¡­

    Back in Burial Garden, Dojo Master Si stared off into the distance at the enormous wandering corpse of an astral beast that was carrying a pce upon its back. A terrible killing intent red up in her eyes, and water flowed out of the void to surround a group of people who were following the giant corpse. The water quickly took on the form of the Water God¡¯s Tears.

    By the time the giant waspletely out of sight, rivers of blood flowed across the ground.

    Yang Kong emerged from the void. "As expected of the master of Water God Dojo. You¡¯re quite ruthless with your attacks."

    Dojo Master Si replied indifferently, "If they don''t die, I will."

    Yang Kong smiled. "If only that Lie Yanzi could be as smart as you."

    Dojo Master Si grew puzzled. "What happened to him?"

    Yang Kong looked upwards. "I mentioned before we entered Burial Garden that none of you could leave Burial Garden and that you had to first speak with me if you wanted to leave. No one would be allowed to leave without my consent. Unfortunately, Lie Yanzi did exactly that, so he¡¯s going to die."

    "How do you know that he left Burial Garden?" Dojo Master Si wondered.

    Yang Kong casually replied, "Themunication crystals won¡¯t connect, which means that he has either been destroyed, or he¡¯s left. Regardless, it means that his life is over."

    Dojo Master Si¡¯s eyes narrowed. Yang Kong was casually speaking about an Envoy¡¯s death, and his words truly did mean that Lie Yanzi would die. Yang Kong was clearly far more ruthless than Dojo Master Si, and he handled his affairs in the same manner as the Aeternals.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Ming Yan were reunited in ck Street, though his appearance startled her quite badly. He was forced to exin himself multiple times before Ming Yan actually believed that Lu Yin was who he imed to be.

    Suddenly, the poisons in his body erupted.

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood, and he felt his life fading. His expression changedpletely. "This is bad!"

    As he spoke, he quickly consumed some medicinal pills to help him survive.

    Ming Yan was startled, and she grabbed Lu Yin tightly. "Brother Lu, what''s wrong?"

    "Bring out your white-haired self! I¡¯ve been poisoned with Vitality Poison," Lu Yin said in a low voice. He had not expected the poison to erupt so suddenly and without any sort of warning.

 Chapter 1826: Completing More Cycles

    Chapter 1826: Completing More Cycles

    Ming Yan''s hair turned white very quickly. The personality of the white-haired Ming Yan waspletely different from her ck-haired self.

    The girl¡¯s eyes grew cold after she grabbed Lu Yin''s wrist with a hand. "You have been afflicted with Vitality Poison, but there are also other poisons. How did you get poisoned?"

    Lu Yin felt his vitality flowing away, and his body was ovee with a feeling of powerlessness. It was an odd sensation, as if he was turning to liquid, and it was very difficult to move his star energy. Vitality flowed into his body from his upper meridian point and the sprout that was in there, but the amount could notpare to the speed of the poisons in Lu Yin¡¯s body. After all, there was not only the Vitality Poison, but also Samaritan¡¯s Tears. The two poisons worked together to ravage his already dried out body.

    The white-haired Ming Yan ced Lu Yin''s finger in her mouth and bit down. Lu Yin stared at her in shock. "You?"

    White-haired Ming Yan bit down on Lu Yin''s finger, and blood spilled out from his finger and her lips. The next moment, Lu Yin could feel something within his body being sucked away by Ming Yan, and his vitality also stopped draining from his body.

    "I removed the Vitality Poison, but I can''t do anything about the other poison," Ming Yan said quickly as she stared at Lu Yin in a rather helpless manner. She represented all of Ming Yan''s negative emotions, and she had never shown such a reaction to Lu Yin before, so he was quite surprised to see this.

    Also, Lu Yin had not thought that the Samaritan¡¯s Tears would actually be just as potent as the Vitality Poison. Just how many poisons had the Aeternals developed?

    With the removal of the Vitality Poison, Lu Yin¡¯s vitality was no longer draining away. But instead, his hair had started to be white at a clearly noticeable rate. The remaining poison was not affecting his vitality, but rather seemed to be speeding up time for his body.

    Lu Yin could not believe that Samaritan¡¯s Tears was actually capable of such a thing. How could such a poison even exist?

    The white-haired Ming Yan put Lu Yin''s finger back in her mouth, but Lu Yin pulled back. He instead reached out to hold her face. "Don''t worry. I know how to deal with this."

    The young woman¡¯s eyes were already bloodshot. "Really?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Head on out first."

    Ming Yan gritted her teeth and replied, "If you die, I¡¯ll be sure to avenge you!"

    Right after that, her hair turned back to ck, and the original Ming Yan appeared. Her eyes also turned bright red. "Big Brother Lu!"

    "It¡¯s ok, go on out." Lu Yin tried to reassure her.

    Ming Yan nodded and slowly walked out of the room.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He lifted a hand and brought out his die to tap it.

    One by one, his hair turned white.

    Lu Yin stared at his die. It stopped on Pilfer, and something useless fell out. He rolled the die again, only to get Enhance. Continue.

    The fourth roll got him four pips, and the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he entered the Timestop Space.

    Upon entering the space, Lu Yin instantly extended his time in the space to about a year and then started focusing on fixing things.

    He had clearly underestimated the Aeternals. He had been confident that Extremes Must Be Reversed would be enough to protect him from even Vitality Poison, and he certainly had not expected the Samaritan¡¯s Tears to be so shockingly potent.

    It was not that the technique was ineffective, but rather that Lu Yin¡¯s recovery speed was not enough to offset the effects of Samaritan Tears. The only thing that he could think of was to recite the Origin Sutra.

    As soon as the indistinct voice rose up, the surface of Lu Yin¡¯s withered body began to shine. Within his body, the Samaritan¡¯s Tears was destroying his body, but Extremes Must Be Reversed eventually managed to surpass the speed at which the poison ravaged Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he slowly began to recover.

    ¡°Never underestimate the Aeternals.¡± Many people had said this, and Lu Yin had thought that he was more than cautious and wary enough. But in the end, he had still underestimated the Aeternals.

    Vitality Poison was not their most potent poison. They had even more terrifying toxins at their disposal.

    This was a poison that normally could not be dealt with or countered.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was a legendary healing and recovery technique that had been created by a Progenitor, which meant that it should have been powerful enough to even allow Semi-Progenitors to recover, and yet it had nearly failed to help Lu Yin deal with a poison, which waspletely out of Lu Yin''s expectations.

    Lu Yin spent more than half a year within the Timestop Space topletely remove the poison from his body and turn it into a powerful tonic for his recovery.

    This was the basis of Extremes Must Be Reversed. As long as an attack did not surpass what the technique was capable of handling, the attack would actually restore whatever one suffered, which meant that they would not be injured. Instead, the more damage they suffered, the more power they would umte within their body.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief, as he knew that he had been lucky to survive the poison.

    His mind calmed down. He knew that he had underestimated the Aeternals this time. He had known that Vitality Poison was incredibly powerful, but he had not expected there to be other, even more ruthless poisons.

    A thought urred to Lu Yin, and he pulled out his own vial of Samaritan¡¯s Tears from his cosmic ring.

    When he had first bought it, Yi''s Emporium had told him that the poison was able to kill even an Envoy with a power level of 700,000. Lu Yin had not actually believed them at that time, but at the moment, he had a new question. Just how in the world had Yi''s Emporium managed to get their hands on Samaritan¡¯s Tears?

    The Divine Venom Dynasty needed to look into just what the Neohuman Alliance had been researching in Venom Flowzone in addition to Vitality Poison.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time soon ran out, and he left the Timestop Space. He went to meet with Ming Yan, reassured her that he was fine, and then returned to seclusion.

    Since he had managed to acquire a new batch of funds, it was time to improve his cultivation. He still had quite a few mes stored in the Skyze Stone, and he hoped to raise his cultivation as much as possible.

    Ten days quickly passed, and he rolled his die again. The first roll ended up being Timestop, which was wonderful to see.

    He was resolute in his actions as he pulled out over a billion star essence and the Skyze Stone. The temperature in the Timestop Space soared, and the star essence melted. Stars appeared and began to revolve around Lu Yin. This time, Lu Yin was also reciting the Origin Sutra, which sped up the rate at which he could absorb the star essence even more.

    Lu Yin was quite confident that no one was capable of cultivating faster than him.

    He had alreadypleted forty one cycles, so after absorbing 300 million star essence, he finished his forty second cycle and continued on without stopping.

    He could never stay in the Timestop Space for a full year, as such an amount of time would cost too much.

    He had no idea if it was pure luck or what, but after his time in the Timestop Space ended, his very next roll ended up being four pips once again.

    All Lu Yin knew was that this was very unusual. He had actually assumed that he would roll Possession or something along those lines.

    These two trips into the Timestop Space was enough for Lu Yin toplete forty three cycles, but he felt that this was still not enough, so he continued.

    ¡­

    The die slowly stopped to show Gift Copy. Again. Pilfer. Again.

    Lu Yin was forced to rest for ten days before rolling his die again.

    During this cultivation session, his goal was to drain all of the heat and mes from the Skyze Stone to see how high he could push his cultivation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength was high enough that there was no such thing as cultivating too quickly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed when he saw Possession on his die, but fortunately, he had already set his cosmic ring aside. Given the incredible amount of star essence that he had in his ring, he had no idea how far away the target of his Possession would be. It was possible for him to Possess someone in the Perennial World, or even the Aeternal¡¯s native regions. However, his funds would only support one such Possession.

    He would definitely have time to take advantage of Possessionter, but not right now.

    Again.

    ¡­

    ck Street was as calm as ever. It was a different sort of calm that could be found in the outside world. This was a calm that belonged to ck Street alone.

    Cruel and dark affairs were conducted in this ce at every minute of every hour of every day. This was a unique feature of ck Street.

    Disgust filled Ming Yan¡¯s eyes as she stared out at the filthy region of ck Street thaty off in the distance. She hated this entire ce, but she had to stay. If she left, Big Brother Lu would have no source of ie and would lose his source of raw materials.

    Unwanted refuse from all parts of the Neoverse ended up in ck Street, but that trash might possibly be great treasures for Lu Yin. Even if such things were only rarely found, it still made sense for Ming Yan to stay.

    "The recently collected items have all been sorted." Ming Yu approached Ming Yan from behind and whispered a report.

    Ming Yan sighed. "Has anyone else tried making trouble?"

    This question caused Ming Yu''s body to tremble. "No. There have been none."

    When the desated corpses had been chasing down people with ancient bloodlines, some of them had fled to ck Street. The corpses had been used by people to uncover ancient bloodlines, and their appearance caused a period of chaos in ck Street. However, the white-haired Ming Yan had revealed an iron fist, suppressing and cleansing ck Street in short order. She had even dealt with the people who caused problems for Bu Laoweng. In the end, there was no one who contested Ming Yan¡¯s absolute control over ck Street.

    During her cleanup operations, more than 10,000 people had died. Ming Yu had been truly terrified by the methods that the white-haired Ming Yan had employed. The young woman was bing increasingly intimidating in Ming Yu¡¯s eyes, and it was not just the white-haired Ming Yan. The ck-haired version was also growing stronger by the day.

    Lu Yin emerged from the void, and Ming Yu bowed her head and backed away when she saw him. He had already regained his normal appearance, as his previous physique would have badly frightened Ming Yu.

    On the other hand, Ming Yan¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw Lu Yin appear. "Brother Lu, are you finished?"

    Lu Yin nodded and casually put an arm around Ming Yan''s waist. She rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the rare moment of warmth.

    During hisst retreat into Timestop Space, Lu Yin hadpleted his forty-fifth cycle. In total, he had absorbed 1.7 billion star essence. If not for the Skyze Stone running out of mes, Lu Yin would not have exited seclusion. After all, he still had more than 30 billion star essence in his possession.

    Completing his forty-fifth cycle as an Enlighter had only slightly improved Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but with the addition of Hollow Palm, his new level of Truesight, and his other improvements, he was now capable of dealing with second-tribtion Envoys, and he could even face off against experts with power levels of 700,000. He even had a hope of escaping from a monster with a power level of a million. All of this was also without taking his bodysuit armor into ount. If he considered that as well, he was absolutely able to go head-to-head against Envoys with power levels of 700,000.

    "Brother Lu, these are the things that we prepared for you." Ming Yan offered the various items that ck Street had collected that could possibly contain rareponents to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten all about this request. He knew that he could easily Dpose all of these items when he next went into seclusion, but there was no rush. He would simply deal with this the next time he rolled his die. "Yan''er, do you still not want to leave this ce?"

    Ming Yan shook her head and firmly replied, "ck Street is able to gather all sorts of news and rumors from the entire Neoverse. Brother Lu, would you like to know how Yang Ji became an overseer?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "How did you find out about that?"

    Yang Ji was the master of the Light World, and he was a powerhouse who was about as strong as Cang Zhou had been, or possibly slightly weaker. Throughout history, there had never once been anyone from the Honor Zone¡¯s 3,000 hidden worlds who had be an overseer, but Yang Ji had aplished just that.

    Lu Yin had thought that the man had been given his position because the Hall of Honor intended to keep a closer eye on the 3,000 hidden worlds, but Ming Yan was suggesting that there was something else to the man¡¯s appointment.

    She smiled at Lu Yin. "Yang Ji provided a gift."

    "A gift?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ming Yan nodded. "He gave a gift to Arch-Elder Zen himself. I have no idea what the gift actually was, but after that, Arch-Elder Zen agreed to make Yang Ji an overseer."

    Lu Yin found this quite odd. Arch-Elder Zen was a Semi-Progenitor, and he was naturally removed from most worldly affairs. He was someone who should be immune to being bribed with gifts.

    "I only found out about this by ident, but Yang Ji made a bet with some people that he could be an overseer despite there being no precedent for anyone from the 3,000 hidden worlds being given such a post. Even gaining the approval of all of the other overseers would not have helped Yang Ji achieve his goal. Whatever he gave to Arch-Elder Zen could not have been a small price¡­" Ming Yan took some time to exin it a bit more for Lu Yin.

    It was only then that Lu Yin understood that Yang Ji had no real interest in the position of overseer. Rather, he had been elevated to that post so that he would have adequate prestige.

    "Also, an elder from the Cosmic Sect who¡¯s a powerful Lockbreaker, Yuan Miao, has a thing for Sect Master Yuan Qiong," Ming Yan whispered.

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless. "Where did you get that info?"

 Chapter 1827: Ancestor Tortoise

    Chapter 1827: Ancestor Tortoise

    "A lot of news makes its way into ck Street. A lot of it also can¡¯t be spread in the outside world, which is why it ends up in ck Street, as the powerhouse involved can¡¯te to ck Street. Here, the information gets locked up and then doesn¡¯t spread anywhere." Ming Yan was quite proud of herself.

    "Oh, and also¡­"

    Lu Yin was thrilled as he listened to Ming Yan proudly share all kinds of gossip. He hugged and kissed her, making her blush. Most of the information that made it to ck Street was unreliable, but when enough information waspiled andbined, it was possible to learn some secrets.

    Lu Yin asked Ming Yan to get in touch with En Ya so that ck Street¡¯s information could be collected and shared with the Great Eastern Alliance in the future.

    Lu Yin left after spending just a few days at ck Street. He could not afford to stay at ck Street for long. Burial Garden¡¯s gates made everything uncertain, and no one knew who might suddenlye out of an exit.

    Xia Yi had arrived in the heart of the Great Eastern Alliance after exiting Burial Garden, but fortunately, the Sea King had appeared. If not for that, the Great Eastern Alliance would have suffered severe losses, and both Chen Huang and Emperor Luo would have died without question.

    After leaving ck Street, Lu Yin called the Sea King. He had tried to get through to Wang Wen while on his way to ck Street, but he had not been able to connect. Instead, Lu Yin had been updated on the recent happenings of the Great Eastern Alliance through Wei Rong. There were a few matters that Wei Rong did not know how to handle, so he had put them off until hearing from Lu Yin or Wang Wen.

    There were certain things that had to be taken care of quickly.

    "Give me a good exnation." Lu Yin heard a low voice when the call connected.

    Lu Yin coughed. "What is Senior talking about?"

    The Sea King shouted angrily, "That bastard Wang Wen who¡¯s under yourmand dared to try to hook up with my Qiqi! He¡¯s yours, isn¡¯t he?"

    "Hook up with Qiqi? That¡¯s impossible, Senior. This junior knows Wang Wen. He¡¯s a talented and well-disciplined young man with integrity, morals, and wisdom. How could he possibly have pursued Qiqi?" Lu Yin retorted.

    The Sea King just snorted. "Cut the bullshit and give me an answer."

    "Where''s Wang Wen? I want to talk to him," Lu Yin replied.

    The Sea King spat back, "I locked him up. When did I go soft and start letting things go?"

    "Where''s Qiqi?" Lu Yin continued.

    The Sea King suddenly sounded frustrated. "I don''t know."

    "Senior, this is all your fault! You broke up a happy couple with a good rtionship."

    "Good rtionship my ass! That kid¡¯s too arrogant! He set a trap and made a bet that if Qiqi loses she¡¯ll have to marry him! When has anyone toyed with my daughter like this?" the Sea King roared.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Listening to this old man was giving him a headache. He hung up and instead called Hai Qiqi.

    Hai Qiqi did not want to answer, but Lu Yin did not relent until she finally had no choice but to answer. "State your matters, or else you may take your leave."

    "Qiqi, Wang Wen¡¯s been tortured very badly," Lu Yin quietly informed her.

    Hai Qiqi yelled back, ¡°He deserves it! Who made him so ugly? I¡¯d marry him if he were handsome, but he sucks! On top of that, he called me a chesspiece! Bastard!¡±

    "It¡¯s about his appearance?" Lu Yin asked. He purposely ignored herment about Wang Wen¡¯s insults, as Hai Qiqi¡¯s tongue was just as sharp as Wang Wen¡¯s.

    "Yes, it''s his face!" Hai Qiqi said.

    Lu Yin retorted, "Then your taste is the problem."

    Hai Qiqi screamed, "That¡¯s ridiculous! He¡¯s even uglier than you!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Honestly, Wang Wen¡¯s cared for you for quite a while, and he¡¯s currently being tortured by your father. Even if you don''t feel anything for him, you still shouldn''t let him suffer like this. Think about it."

    Lu Yin hung up without waiting for a reply.

    Lu Yin did not know what Wang Wen was thinking. Lu Yin could still remember a conversation that the two of them once had, and Wang Wen would not have purposely flirted with Hai Qiqi. After all, he wanted the Sea King to step in and lead the Lu Elite Troops.

    Lu Yin decided to forget about the whole thing. This was not a situation that he could do much about.

    As for what Hai Qiqi felt towards Wang Wen, that was not for Lu Yin to consider, as he did not even know where to begin. No matter what may have happened between the two young people, Lu Yin knew that the Sea King would not actually kill Wang Wen. At most, he would teach the youth a lesson.

    Lu Yin released Lulu from Zenith Mountain. "Let''s go. We¡¯ll take a trip to see your Mavis family."

    While Lulu was leading Lu Yin to visit the Mavis family, images of Yang Kong and the others in his group had been exposed and spread across the Fifth Maind¡¯swork. All of them were denounced as traitors who had betrayed humanity, as they had clearly only entered Burial Garden to hunt down the ancient bloodlines.

    Lu Yin was the one who had released this information, as he was determined to ruin every n that the Aeternals tried to enact.

    However, this matter naturally led to an even greater scandal, which was Yang Kong''s identity.

    Many people recognized that Yang Kong was actually Bu Kong, and this revtion stirred up waves ofmotion in both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    After ZENITH, Bu Kong''s death had been confirmed, but it was just been revealed that Bu Kong had actually betrayed humanity and was currently hunting down people with ancient bloodlines under the Aeternals¡¯ orders! This was something that no one in either the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind could understand.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention, and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect even sent someone to speak to the Progenitor of Secret Arts himself and ask about the authenticity of Yang Kong¡¯s true identity being Bu Kong. However, they were firmly told that Bu Kong was dead and that Yang Kong was not Bu Kong.

    The universe started boiling because of the information that Lu Yin had exposed, but Lu Yin himself was quietly traveling with Lulu to visit the Mavis family.

    The Mavis family was located in the eastern region of the Neoverse, which was in the same general area as ck Street, so the two were not far apart. However, the Mavis family could not be found in outer space, but were instead crawling through the mountains of the Honor Zone.

    "Actually, they¡¯re not in the eastern region, but rather on the eastern side," Lulu corrected.

    "Eastern side?" Lu Yin had to ask.

    Lulu lifted her head up high. "My Mavis family lives on the back of our Ancestor Tortoise, and the Ancestor Tortoise roams about the entire Neoverse. My Mavis family is always with the Ancestor Tortoise, so our home doesn¡¯t have a fixed location."

    "What if it wanders over to Mt. Microcosms?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lulu froze for a moment and then rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re a really amazing conversationalist, aren¡¯t you?."

    However, Lu Yin had not been messing around. He genuinely wanted to know what would happen if the Ancestor Tortoise tried to climb Mt. Microcosms. Would the Hall of Honor kick the Mavis family out?

    As Lu Yin stared out at the wilderness of the Honor Zone, he sighed. He always found the Honor Zone¡¯sndscape to be amazing. He truly could not understand how the Fifth Maind had once been an actual continent, and even had something to do with bing a Progenitor.

    "Oh, Lulu, what happened to that Explorer-level turtle you tamed back on Earth?" Lu Yin suddenly remembered and asked.

    A gloomy look appeared on Lulu''s face. "It¡¯s dead."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "What happened?"

    Lulu sighed. "I wanted to take it back home to my family, but it ended up dying in a storm on the way back."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "How long will it take us to get to your family from here?"

    "More than a month," Lulu calcted, "But that¡¯s also assuming that we can find aiu. If we don¡¯t get one, we won¡¯t be able to move nearly as fast through the Honor Zone."

    "Then let¡¯s find aiu."

    "We¡¯re not at one of the Honor Zone¡¯s ports, so it won¡¯t be easy to find one, and even if we do, it will be someone else¡¯s mount."

    Someone else¡¯s mount? Lu Yin had no understanding of such a concept.

    Three dayster, Lu Yin and Lulu rode away on aiu, continuing on their way towards the Mavis family. They left behind an entire group of cultivators who were all gnashing their teeth and cursing at the two. They had been robbed.

    "You''re too embarrassing," Lulu sneered.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Hey, we¡¯re right at the edge of the Honor Zone, so they¡¯ll only be dyed a few days without theiriu. It¡¯s not a big deal."

    Lulu stared at Lu Yin in a very serious manner. "You¡¯repletely different from when you first entered the academy with me."

    Lu Yin just smiled. When he had first joined Astral-10, he had never experienced being treated as white meat or nearly dying in the Technocracy. He had not lived through betrayal, and neither had he seen how the strong preyed upon the weak. Since then, he had experienced all that.

    People had to learn to change.

    "Lulu, how many people are in your Mavis family?"

    "You''ll know when we get there."

    "How much money do you guys have?"

    "Why are you asking that? Don¡¯t be an idiot."

    "I think too much."

    "Humph!"

    "Hey, be nice! I saved your life, and you invited me to see your family."

    "So what? You think you¡¯re amazing?"

    "I¡¯m not bad, I¡¯d say."

    ¡­

    After traveling on theiu for a bit less than half a month, Lulu suddenly pointed to a ck dot off in the distance. She was happily surprised to see it. "The Ancestor Tortoise! That¡¯s the Ancestor Tortoise!"

    Lu Yin looked over, but all he could see was a ck spot. He could not make out any details at all. "Are you sure?"

    "You''ll see it yourself in a few days," Lulu said excitedly. Since the Ancestor Tortoise did not remain in a single location, even the members of the Mavis family had to search for it.

    Lu Yin blinked. A few days? They could already see the ck dot, so why would it take them a few days to see the tortoise¡¯s details?

    However, two dayster, Lu Yin finally understood Lulu¡¯sment.

    The Ancestor Tortoise was simply far too massive. The ck spot that they had first seen was not even the tortoise, but rather a massive tree that grew on its back. The tree wasrge enough to have stars in its branches, and the Mavis family referred to it as the divine tree. It was only at this time that Lu Yin was able to see the Ancestor Tortoise itself.

    He had never even dreamed of seeing such arge tortoise. It looked just like a tortoise, but it wasrge enough to swallow a star whole.

    The Ancestor Tortoise was gray, but its form was exactly the same as amon tortoise¡¯s. The only difference was in size, as the tortoise¡¯s shell alone wasrge enough to be a continent. A few stars hung in front of the tortoise¡¯s eyes, and there were also a few brilliant stars shining above its head. Lu Yin could do nothing but stare at the sight before his eyes.

    The closer theiu got to the Ancestor Tortoise, the more frightened the creature became. It eventually reached the point where theiu refused to take a single step forward.

    "Now we¡¯ll need to go on our own. Every creature bes terrified when they get close to the Ancestor Tortoise," Lulu stated.

    Lu Yin eximed, "It¡¯s still alive?"

    "Of course! Lu Yin, you¡¯re being too rude! Don¡¯t say that kind of crap when visiting my family. This is the Ancestor Tortoise! It gave birth to my Mavis family!" Lulu angrily scolded.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized. "But I thought that your Mavis family was born from the divine tree?"

    "The divine tree did give birth to us, but the Ancestor Tortoise has carried us for countless years. Without the Ancestor Tortoise, there¡¯s no divine tree. It¡¯s our ancestor." Lulu stared at the Ancestor Tortoise with bright eyes.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "So, just how strong is your Ancestor Tortoise?"

    Lulu shook her head. "I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Lulu nodded. "There have been many people since ancient times who wanted to find out how strong the Ancestor Tortoise is, but Ancestor Lingzhi stopped them in their tracks. I don¡¯t think that even the Hall of Honor has any idea how strong the Ancestor Tortoise is."

    "It can¡¯t be as strong as a Progenitor, right?" Lu Yin was speechless, but then heughed. As strong as a Progenitor? How could that be possible? If that was the case, then why would it carry a tree and the Mavis family on its back?

    Lulu rolled her eyes. "Let''s go. Everyone is waiting."

    Lu Yin grabbed Lulu with a hand. He tore through the void and headed straight for the Ancestor Tortoise.

    It was only possible for experts with power levels of more than 300,000 to travel through the void in the Honor Zone, but Lu Yin had far surpassed that.

    There were many people waiting to speak with the Mavis family.

    Lu Yin stared at all the people trailing behind the Ancestor Tortoise. ¡°Do all of them hope to speak with your Mavis family?"

    Lulu answered proudly, "My Mavis family controls the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s economy! Countless peoplee to visit us every day, so this is nothing strange. Still, very, very few are qualified to step onto the Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back. You should be grateful."

    Lu Yinughed and looked up. They were very close to the enormous tortoise.

 Chapter 1828: A Meeting Gift

    Chapter 1828: A Meeting Gift

    The giant tortoise was massive enough to swallow stars, which left Lu Yinpletely shocked. It made him wonder if big Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had been thisrge as well.

    There was a shining tree growing on the back of the tortoise¡¯s shell. This was the tree that the Mavis family called the divine tree, and it had given birth to the entire Mavis family.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, as he wanted to see the number of runes that the Mavis family had. However, just like on Eversky Ind and in the Hall of Honor, Lu Yin found that he could not see runes at any of the Neoverse¡¯s top powers.

    Just as Lu Yin and Lulu were approaching the Ancestor Tortoise, the originally motionless creature suddenly moved its eyes, and the tortoise¡¯s long neck twisted so that it could look towards Lu Yin and Lulu.

    The entire Mavis family was stunned.

    Above the divine tree, members of the Mavis family appeared one after another to stare in shock.

    "The Ancestor Tortoise is actually looking back? What''s going on?"

    "Throughout history, the Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s always only looked ahead! It¡¯s never changed the direction it looks in! Go look! What is it looking at?"

    The people trailing behind the Ancestor Tortoise were simrly stunned. They were all familiar with the history of the Mavis family, and thus they knew that the Ancestor Tortoise had only ever looked forward since the ancient era. However, it had just turned its head around to look back. This was an incident that would shock the entire Neoverse.

    Lulu stared at the Ancestor Tortoise''s huge eyeballs that were locked onto her. She was so ovee with excitement that she had no idea how to react. "The Ancestor Tortoise, is the Ancestor Tortoise looking at me?"

    Lu Yin frowned and stared into the Ancestor Tortoise''s eyes. The creature was looking at him. Sure enough, the creature was staring straight at Lu Yin, but what did he see in the creature¡¯s eyes? Confusion? Contemtion?

    A chill ran down Lu Yin¡¯s back, and he felt an unbearable sense of tension. This creature was beyond massive, and no one knew how strong it might be, but luckily, Lu Yin could not sense any hostility from the tortoise. When the tortoise looked back at him, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest fear had been that the creature would be hostile towards him in the same manner that some of the Fifth Maind¡¯s people were hostile towards him. If that were true, Lu Yin would be in deep trouble.

    The Ancestor Tortoise stared at Lu Yin for ten breaths¡¯ of time before turning back to look forwards and freezing once more.

    Members of the Mavis family emerged from the void, all of them excitedly staring at Lulu.

    "Lulu, child, did the Ancestor Tortoise just look at you?" A silver-haired old woman stepped forward to grab hold of Lulu''s hand as she excitedly asked her question.

    All the members of the Mavis family eagerly stared at Lulu.

    The Ancestor Tortoise had carried the Mavis family and their divine tree for too long. They had tried their best tomunicate with the Ancestor Tortoise, but from the very beginning, the Ancestor Tortoise had alwayspletely ignored them. This was the first time that the Ancestor Tortoise had actually moved, so everyone was incredibly excited, and they were eager to see if they could establishmunications with it.

    Lulu was taken aback. "I don''t know. I really don''t know."

    "It was definitely looking at you! Be a good child and hurry up and go talk to Lord Ancestor Tortoise. Go move up to the front." The old woman grabbed Lulu and disappeared. It was as if she had never even seen Lu Yin.

    The other members of the Mavis family also excitedly followed behind the old woman.

    Lu Yin blinked. Had he just been dropped? What about being their honored guest?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, wee to my Mavis family¡¯s home." A voice spoke from beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was startled, as he had not noticed anyone nearby. He turned his head and found another old woman who was looking at him with a kind smile.

    This was a true expert! Lu Yin was stunned and quickly bowed. "Junior Lu Yin greets Senior Mavis."

    The old woman smiled. "Are you visiting my Mavis family as a junior? In that case, let me offer you a gift."

    As she spoke, the woman pulled out a gray Mavis Bank card from her cosmic ring and handed it to Lu Yin, who took it.

    "That card contains 5 billion star essence that you can withdraw at any time. It will also allow you to get an emergency loan of up to 20 billion star essence. It¡¯s a gift from an olddy." The old woman smiled.

    Lu Yin was startled, and waves billowed in his heart. He was meeting rich people. Real, authentic rich people! Just a greeting gift was already 5 billion star essence! This was too much wealth. Lu Yin rarely ever came across so much money before he went to the Starfall Sea, and the woman was even offering him an emergency loan of up to 20 billion star essence. That was almost his entire worth!

    This old woman¡¯s generosity left Lu Yinpletely stunned, and he looked at her with an unprecedented degree of affection in his eyes. The first thing that popped into his mind was to ask himself why he had not visited this family sooner!

    He quickly put the card away and bowed again to the old woman. ¡°Thank you, Senior, for your gift. This junior really has nothing to offer you in exchange, so I must apologize."

    "Haha, it''s already exceptional to have Alliance Leader Lu as my Mavis family¡¯s guest, so how can I not offer you a wee gift? I am the Mavis family¡¯s momentary chief elder, Yunying Mavis," the old woman kindly introduced herself with a gentle smile.

    Lu Yin felt even more grateful. "Thank you, Senior Yunying."

    In the Mavis family, Yunying Mavis had been second to only Lingzhi Mavis, and after the Semi-Progenitor had failed her breakthrough to be a Progenitor, Yunying Mavis had be the matriarch of the family. This was the most important figure in the Mavis family who Lu Yin had wanted to meet this day.

    Lu Yin had actually been wondering how he should behave when meeting the Mavis family, but the gift from Yunying Mavis had thrown such considerations out of his mind. The Mavis family was being very polite to him.

    While the Mavis family was exceptionally wealthy, not everyone qualified to receive a wee gift when visiting, let alone such a generous one.

    Truthfully, it was too much. Lu Yin¡¯s mouth actually went dry as he thought about the 5 billion star essence that he had just been handed.

    As Lu Yin followed Yunying Mavis onto the Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, he saw the strange environment that was the Mavis family¡¯s home.

    The Ancestor Tortoise wasrge enough to swallow stars, and its back was no different from a massivendmass that held the divine tree.

    "Most outsiders are hosted beneath the divine tree when theye to visit my Mavis family, as only a few are qualified to climb the divine tree. Alliance Leader Lu, please." Yunying Mavisughed.

    Lu Yin nodded when he saw that he was being genuinely weed. His status in the Fifth Maind certainly qualified him to be able to climb the divine tree.

    Few outsiders ever saw the inside of the canopy of the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. The fact that Lu Yin was climbing the divine tree drew the attention of arge number of people from the Mavis family, and they finally turned to look at him.

    The Ancestor Tortoise wasrge enough that it used stars as light sources, and the divine tree wasrge enough to cover the entire Ancestor Tortoise. This was the tree that had given birth to the Mavis family.

    Lu Yin felt as though the divine tree seemed more like an umbre for the Ancestor Tortoise. As for the Mavis family themselves, the tortoise might see them as tiny bugs.

    The members of the Mavis family were scattered throughout the divine tree. Lu Yin followed Yunying Mavis up the tree, and they soon arrived at a branch that was quite high up. While it was called a branch, it was more like and mass. Each of the divine tree¡¯s branches wasrge enough to hold entire stars.

    "It''s truly impressive," Lu Yin praised as he followed Yunying Mavis.

    Yunying Mavis led Lu Yin to a wooden house. It was very simple and seemedpletely at odds with the expected living conditions for someone from the Mavis family that controlled the Fifth Maind¡¯s economy.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, taste this tea from the divine tree¡¯s leaves." Yunying Mavis gestured for Lu Yin to help himself.

    He quickly epted the cup. "Thank you, Senior."

    He then took a sip, and a fragrant smell filled the air. On top of that, he felt as though his body had undergone some sort of baptism as a cool energy rose up from within. He could not stop himself from voicing his admiration. "It¡¯s excellent tea."

    Yunying Mavis smiled. "It¡¯s made from the divine tree¡¯s bark that¡¯s been dried. If you enjoy it, you can take some with you when you go."

    Lu Yin smiled back at the woman. "Thank you so much, Senior."

    He set his teacup down. "Why didn''t Senior apany Lulu to speak to the Ancestor Tortoise?"

    "There¡¯s no reason to keep a distinguished guest waiting."

    Lu Yin remained humble. "I¡¯m simply visiting. I¡¯m no honored guest that a senior like you needs to treat me so carefully."

    Lu Yin felt that Yunying Mavis had noticed the details and knew that the Ancestor Tortoise had not been looking at Lulu, but rather at him. He felt that this was why the matriarch had stayed to y host to Lu Yin instead of apanying Lulu to speak to the Ancestor Tortoise. If not for this possibility, Lu Yin could not think of any reason for the Mavis family to treat him with such care, or even Arch-Elder Zen, for that matter. For this family, no one was more important than their Ancestor Tortoise.

    Yunying Mavis sipped her own tea, but she did not continue discussing the Ancestor Tortoise with Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, did you just mention that you find the divine tree to be impressive?"

    Lu Yin nodded and shared his admiration once again. "Such a massive tree is quite magnificent. Its branches can carry stars while it also gave birth to the Mavis family. It truly is a unique specimen."

    "This should not be thergest tree you¡¯ve ever seen, Alliance Leader," Yunying Mavis said.

    Lu Yin set his cup down once more and let out a sigh. "The Mother Tree is indeed thergest tree this junior has ever seen. When ced next to the Mother Tree, both the divine tree and the Ancestor Tortoise can only walk on its branches."

    "The divine tree itself is sorge as to be unbelievable. I simply can¡¯t imagine the sight of something like the Mother Tree in that ce. If the divine tree gave birth to my Mavis family, then the Mother Tree gave birth to all of human civilization." Yunying Mavis also let out a sigh.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Gave birth to all of human civilization? No, at best, just part of humanity."

    "Do you happen to know why that tree is called the Mother Tree?" Yunying Mavis suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. In the Perennial World, he had heard that the Mother Tree had given life to all of human civilization. But as far as Lu Yin was concerned, despite the Mother Tree¡¯s size, it was impossible for it to have given rise to all of humanity. There were the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, as well as the other four Mainds that had already beenpletely destroyed. How could the Mother Tree have nurtured all of that?

    Yunying Mavis gave a small smile, and the tea in her cup formed a stream that trickled into the air to form a model of five irregrly shapedndmasses that extended from a centralndmass. Above the primaryndmass, the tea took on the shape of a tree sorge that it covered almost all thendmasses below it.

    Lu Yin was surprised by what he saw.

    "This is what the universe looked like when the first human civilization appeared. The Mother Tree grew from thendmass that was known as the First Maind. When the First Maind copsed, the Mother Tree attached itself to the Fifth Maind. The Second, Third, and Fourth Mainds eventually all disappeared one after another. Later, some people from the Fifth Maind left with the Mother Tree, abandoning the Fifth Maind and establishing the Perennial World that you visited," Yunying Mavis slowly exined. When she finished speaking, she waved a hand and dispersed the image made from tea leaves.

    This was the first time that anyone had shared such an image with Lu Yin. The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind had revealed to the public that humanity had once inhabited six Mainds, but very few people knew anything at all about how the Mainds had been arranged. Lu Yin himself had only just learned of it.

    "Is that really what human civilization looked like at the beginning?" Lu Yin hesitantly asked.

    Yunying Mavis nodded. "My Mavis n has been around for a long, long time. Much longer than even the Hall of Honor. I myself have experienced many things, and what I just showed you is what the universe looked like at the dawn of humanity. The Mother Tree sprouted from the First Maind and covered the six Mainds, each of which had their own Daosource Sect."

    "How did the other Mainds disappear?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Yunying Mavis.

    The old woman just shook her head. "I¡¯ve already told you all I know. If Elder Lingzhi were alive, she might be able to answer such a question, but with her death, a great deal of my Mavis family¡¯s history was buried. This is a history that even the Hall of Honor would want to learn. It¡¯s really a pity."

 Chapter 1829: An Alliance

    Chapter 1829: An Alliance

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious. "There aren¡¯t any records?"

    Yunying Mavis gave Lu Yin a peculiar look. "There are certain things that cannot be recorded, and there are also certain pieces of information that are inconvenient to record down."

    "Is this somehow connected to the Aeternals?" Lu Yin asked, though it truly seemed as though every major event was rted to them.

    The old woman replied, "It must be rted to them, but I honestly don¡¯t know anyone who would be able to give you more details."

    There was a moment of silence.

    Lu Yin took another sip of tea. "May I ask, why did your Mavis family invite me for a visit?"

    Yunying Mavis leaned forward and grew more serious. "It''s nothing big. We simply wish to form an alliance."

    Lu Yin was startled. "An alliance?"

    Yunying Mavis nodded and continued with a smile, "Yes, we wish to form an alliance. I, and my Mavis family, would like to establish an alliance with you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin waspletely caught off guard, and he looked into Yunying Mavis'' eyes with a great deal of confusion. "An alliance with me? Do you mean with the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Yunying Mavis shook her head. She was very somber at this moment. "We don¡¯t wish for an alliance with the Great Eastern Alliance, but rather with you, Lu Yin. I, Yunying Mavis, can represent the entire Mavis family to agree to an alliance with you. We will advance or retreat together, and I will also promise to do my best to help you. In return, you must do everything you can to protect my Mavis family."

    Lu Yin could not understand any part of this proposal. While he believed that he had a very powerful foundation and a great deal of influence, especially after uniting the Outerverse and the Innerverse with potential to move on to the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse, that still was not enough to intimidate the Mavis family at all. They were the Mavis family! Even if they had lost their Semi-Progenitor, they definitely still had a powerhouse on a simr level as the Chief Justice or at least the First Protector. And this was not even mentioning their Ancestor Turtle, whose strength no one knew.

    In truth, Lu Yin had realized that he had absolutely no idea how to convince the Mavis family to join the Great Eastern Alliance at any point in the future after seeing the Ancestor Turtle. He had previously envisioned various ns for dealing with the Neoverse¡¯s behemoths, but all such thoughts had vanished at the first sight of the Ancestor Turtle.

    And yet despite that, Yunying Mavis was saying that she wanted to establish an alliance with him.

    "Is there anything at all that a junior like me can offer your Mavis family for you to wish to form an alliance with me?" Lu Yin asked. He really could not understand the motives for this proposal.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance has united both the Outerverse and the Innerverse, and my Mavis Bank has branches all over the universe. Naturally, I would ask the Great Eastern Alliance to take care of us."

    "In that case, wouldn¡¯t forming an alliance directly with the Great Eastern Alliance be more beneficial for you?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Yunying Mavis shook her head. "Without you, Lu Yin, the Great Eastern Alliance is nothing more than loose sand that will quickly disintegrate. There is no one aside from you who is capable of controlling such arge alliance, and that is why my Mavis family wishes to instead form an alliance with you. What do you say, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin had no reason to refuse. An alliance with the Mavis family would be extremely beneficial for him. Even if he gained nothing else, it would be more than enough if he was able to take out a loan from the Mavis Bank that had no interest. How much money did the Mavis Bank possess? Lu Yin did not dare to even think about it.

    If he could be put in a position where he could freely spend money without any worries¡­ Just the thought of it excited him.

    Yunying Mavis smiled and presented the terms for the proposed alliance for Lu Yin to peruse.

    The terms were perfectly normal, and it was a simple proposal for amon alliance. Lu Yin could not see any problems, but he still felt like a pie had fallen from the sky, so he shared the terms of the proposal with Huan Sha, En Ya, and Wei Rong to receive their opinions.

    Yunying Mavis was unbothered by Lu Yin¡¯s diligence, and she actually invited Yuhua Mavis over. "Show Alliance Leader Lu around the divine tree and arrange some quarters for him to use during his stay. Make sure that no one disturbs him while he¡¯s visiting."

    "Yes, Great Elder." Yuhua Mavis nced at Lu Yin before respectfully responding to her elder.

    Some timeter, as Yuhua Mavis was leading Lu Yin on a walk at the top of the divine tree, he looked up at a glowing fruit that hung overhead like a star, and he eximed, "I thought that was a!"

    Yuhua Mavis indifferently replied, "You think too much."

    Lu Yin could tell that the young woman was not happy about leading him around, but he was unconcerned. He had deliberately antagonized her on Zenith Mountain one time when he had asked for a spar, and during that fight, Yuhua Mavis had been renderedpletely helpless against Lu Yin. "Doesn¡¯t your Mavis family have some kind of fruit that, if eaten, will temporarily increase your power level?"

    Yuhua Mavis gave him a nk look. "Those things are useless to outsiders, so you should just forget about them."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I was just asking."

    "Given your reputation, nothing goodes from your questions," Yuhua Mavis casually retorted.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Something¡¯s clearly wrong with your attitude. I¡¯m your family¡¯s distinguished guest."

    "Yep."

    "I¡¯m going to be your Mavis family¡¯s ally."

    These words finally triggered a reaction from Yuhua Mavis, as she was stunned. She stared at Lu Yin in shock. "An ally?"

    Lu Yin nodded and proudly stated, "Elder Yunying just proposed making an alliance, and not even with the Great Eastern Alliance, but with me personally."

    Yuhua Mavis frowned. "Why would we form an alliance with you?"

    "No idea. Maybe because it''s me?" Lu Yin guessed.

    Yuhua Mavis then quickly settled the matter of Lu Yin¡¯s quarters and hurried away.

    Lu Yin watched as she left. She had been clueless about the proposed alliance, and it was possible that the other family members were also ignorant. In that case, Yunying Mavis had made this decision without informing her nsmen. That indicated that this proposed alliance was either a trivial matter for the family or something that Yunying Mavis could not exin.

    Judging by Yuhua Mavis''s reaction to hearing about the proposed alliance, it seemed more likely that Elder Yunying could not exin the motives behind this proposition to others. In that case, why propose an alliance at all? The Mavis family had no reason to fear the Great Eastern Alliance, and it seemed even more improbable for her to want Lu Yin¡¯s assistance in the Mavis Bank¡¯s standard development.

    Even if the Great Eastern Alliance fully united the Innerverse and Outerverse, it would still be impossible for them to move against the Mavis Bank, as doing so would incite chaos throughout the entire Fifth Maind.

    In that case, what was the real motivation behind this proposed alliance?

    Lu Yin raised his hand to call Huan Sha.

    "Alliance Leader, there really isn¡¯t anything wrong with the proposed terms. This is a perfectly normal alliance agreement, and there are actually some terms that are clearly in our favor," Huan Sha replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped a bit, "Are you sure? Check again. Maybe there¡¯s some small print that even you can¡¯t see."

    Huan Sha was left speechless. "Alliance Leader, we¡¯ve already checked everything."

    Lu Yin then called En Ya, as well as Wei Rong, and even Shui Chuanxiao. Each of them gave him the same answer: there was no problem with the proposed terms.

    Wei Rong even showed a bit of surprise. "Why would the Mavis family¡¯s matriarch take the initiative to ask for an alliance with you? These terms clearly offer them very little, and the protection terms that they¡¯re requesting are basically irrelevant. What sort of protection can you offer a force as powerful as the Mavis family?"

    This waspletely true. At least in the short term, Lu Yin did not possess the strength to offer the Mavis family any sort of protection. Were they looking at his backing? That was even more unlikely. The Mavis family was strong enough to not fear anyone in the Fifth Maind aside from Semi-Progenitors, and Lu Yin was not someone who could order such powerhouses around.

    Neither Arch-Elder Zen nor the Chief Justice would listen to Lu Yin¡¯s requests. If either of them decided to attack the Mavis family, Lu Yin alone would be far from enough to convince them to change their ns.

    However, the more the terms of the alliance proposal seemed to favor Lu Yin, the more ufortable he became with the whole thing. Eventually, he simply called Arch-Elder Zen.

    After not being able to get through to the old man, Lu Yin instead called Mu En to ask to speak to the Chief Justice, but he was again unable to get through. Lu Yin was so worried about this alliance proposal that he almost wanted to speak with Shaman God and get another opinion.

    Elsewhere, Lulu had already returned to the divine tree, though she was still surrounded by members of her family. All of them believed that the Ancestor Turtle had turned to look at her.

    However, Lulu had already started to consider the possibility that the Ancestor Turtle had not been looking at her, but rather at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin decided to spend a few days on the divine tree. The very next day, he tried to call Arch-Elder Zen again. The old man picked up this time, but he did not have a clear opinion on the Mavis family¡¯s alliance proposal, and he simply said that the decision was Lu Yin¡¯s to make.

    Lu Yin finally was able to get in touch with the Chief Justice.

    "This is your business.¡± The Chief Justice waspletely indifferent to the matter.

    Lu Yinined, "But Senior Brother, the Mavis family specifically sought me out to ask for an alliance! I can¡¯t help but feel that there has to be something wrong, and I really don¡¯t want to get tricked."

    The Chief Justice remained silent for a bit, and just when Lu Yin thought the man was about to say something, the call simply ended.

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. His senior brother was really irresponsible.

    Yunying Mavis stopped by to speak with Lu Yin. "Well, Alliance Leader Lu, what do you say? Do you want to form an alliance with us?"

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and he once again weighed the pros and cons. However, no matter what, he simply could not resist the temptation of so much money. ¡°Let¡¯s do this."

    Yunying Mavis seemed quite amused by Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. "This proposal doesn¡¯t benefit my Mavis family, but rather greatly favors you. Why is there so much hesitation, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Since you¡¯ve asked, Elder Yunying, I¡¯ll be honest and forthright. I just can¡¯t understand why you would want to establish an alliance with me. Also, it seems like the other members of your family don¡¯t know about this."

    Yunying Mavis smiled. "Though there are indeed other members of my family who can weigh in on various matters, I am the family¡¯s great elder and therefore have the authority to make decisions regarding all important affairs. Why should I discuss such things with them?"

    "Then tell me, what benefits can your Mavis family receive from forming an alliance with me?"

    "Nothing at all."

    "Then why ask for an alliance?"

    Yunying Mavis¡¯s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "Because of you."

    Lu Yin became even more confused.

    Yunying Mavis thought for a while before continuing. "Allow me to put things this way: it¡¯s because you¡¯ve received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance."

    Lu Yin''s expression tightened. "The God of Death¡¯s inheritance?"

    Yunying Mavis stared out at the Ancestor Turtle''s long neck that stretched out into the distance as she delved into old memories. "When Elder Lingzhi was still alive, I vaguely remember her saying something about how the God of Death indeed existed during the time of the ancient war."

    Lu Yin listened in silence.

    "The God of Death was an iparably powerful Ancient Progenitor, though the Ancient Progenitors have always been treated as legends, and no one has ever been able to prove their existence. In fact, even though I thought that the elder was speaking of myths, after watching thest match of ZENITH, I became fully convinced.¡± At this point, Yunying Mavis looked back at Lu Yin. "The God of Death did indeed once live, which is why I now believe that the other legends that Elder Lingzhi spoke of were true as well."

    "ording to Elder Lingzhi, the God of Death was unfathomably powerful. The Progenitors of that ancient era were iparable to the Progenitors of our time. If you truly do possess the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, then I am absolutely confident that if you be a Progenitor, you will be the most powerful person in the entire universe. This is because, even in legends, the God of Death was considered to be one of the most powerful Ancient Progenitors."

    "So, are you saying that you¡¯re betting on my future? You¡¯re really forming an alliance with future me?" Lu Yin felt like he finally understood.

    Yunying Mavis nodded. "I am investing in your future. No matter if I consider your inheritance from the God of Death or the likelihood that you possess a peerless innate gift, either one is worthy of my investment."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. "You know of my Lu surname."

    Yunying Mavis smiled. "It''s just a primeval surname. While this ce hates those with primeval surnames, the bearers of those names are not hunted down and killed. In essence, while the primeval surnames did indeed abandon the Fifth Maind, they are not the actual enemies."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Let''s make an alliance."

    Yunying Mavis also smiled. "Let¡¯s make an alliance."

    Lu Yin had not heard anything suspicious in Yunying Mavis'' words. He had been testing her at the end, but it did not seem like she was aware that he was a direct descendant of the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family. This was good, as if she became aware of such a thing, the Mavis family might lose all interest in forming an alliance with Lu Yin. After all, a rtionship with a member of the Lu family was not too beneficial for them.

 Chapter 1830: Dismissal

    Chapter 1830: Dismissal

    Yunying Mavis must have heard all about the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family and the four ruling powers from Yuhua Mavis. So if Yunying Mavis was aware that Lu Yin was a direct descendant of the Lu family, proposing an alliance with him would have been equivalent to deliberately creating problems for the Mavis family.

    Lu Yin felt grateful to Arch-Elder Zen for not telling the Mavis family about those details.

    Lingzhi Mavis was dead, which meant that the Mavis family had lost their only Semi-Progenitor. Thus, theycked ess to the highest level of information, and Lu Yin had been able to take advantage of this particr loophole.

    There was no ceremony necessary for this alliance, and the Mavis family¡¯s agreement with Lu Yin had nothing to do with the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin was perfectly happy to keep this entire matter hidden.

    This was simr to how, when the Sword Sect had first joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had kept the matter hidden so well that not even the Lingling n or the Divine Grade Hall had learned about it.

    With the Mavis family secretly allying with him, Lu Yin had no idea whom he could take advantage of with this new-found alliance.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s something that I must mention." After formalizing the alliance, Yunying Mavis gazed at Lu Yin with warmer eyes as she spoke. "Try to not enter Burial Garden."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by this request. "Why?"

    Yunying Mavis grew serious. "Burial Garden, as the name suggests, is essentially a cemetery. When the first four mainds were destroyed and the Mother Tree attached itself to the Fifth Maind, many areas that were previously connected to the Mother Tree were integrated into Burial Garden. There are simply too many dangers in that ce. Have you ever asked yourself why the Aeternals have never tried to deal with Burial Garden despite the number of inheritances that it possesses? It¡¯s because there are dangers hidden in there that can even pose a threat to a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin thought of the tea hills and the Rune Technology ruins. He absolutely agreed with Yunying Mavis¡¯s assessment. "It truly is a dangerous ce. By the way, why can Burial Garden¡¯s gates appear everywhere in the entire Fifth Maind? Is Burial Garden really that terrifyingly powerful?"

    His biggest question was why Burial Garden¡¯s gates had still opened in the Starfall Sea. Burial Garden should not possess the ability to break through the defenses of the three Progenitors who were guarding the pass.

    Yunying Mavis replied, "Burial Garden boasts a history just as long as the Mavis family. Who knows just how many gates Burial Garden might have hidden throughout the ages. It¡¯s also perfectly reasonable that not all the gates have been opened."

    "Why can Burial Garden¡¯s gates allow people to travel throughout the universe?" Lu Yin asked again.

    "I don''t know much about that particr topic, but historically, the Daosource Sect has been capable of doing the same thing. No matter where a person might be, as long as they have a futon, they can enter the Daosource Sect. It¡¯s possible that Burial Garden uses the same principles as the Daosource Sect."

    "Senior Yunying, would you be able to tell me about what happened when Senior Lingzhi Mavis attempted her breakthrough?"

    "Oh, back then¡­"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin learned of many things through his conversation with Yunying Mavis. If possible, he would love to spend more time visiting the Mavis family and interact with the Ancestor Tortoise again. It might be possible for Lu Yin to actuallymunicate with the tortoise, but a sudden piece of information had thrown his nning into disarray.

    The Hall of Honor decided to dismiss Liu Ran from his position as an overseer, and Leaf King took his ce.

    Lu Yin immediately decided to return to Mt. Microcosms when he learned of this news.

    Liu Ran had represented the Sword Sect. When the Sword Sect first joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin had already known that Liu Ran would not be able to remain as an overseer for much longer. The same thing had happened with Nightking Zhengye. However, against all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, Mr. You still had not been removed from his post yet, and Liu Ran had actually been removed first. On top of that, Liu Ran was being reced by Leaf King, which was something that Lu Yin absolutely could not ept.

    He immediately contacted Bu Laoweng, San Liang, and the other overseers in an attempt to dy the overseers¡¯ meeting while Lu Yin rushed back to Mt. Microcosms.

    In the Honor Zone, on Mt. Microcosms, the overseers¡¯ meeting had been scheduled to be held in two days, but it was abruptly dyed due to Bu Laowenging down with a sudden illness.

    Nan Yuan immediately went to visit Bu Laoweng in his home.

    The old man was lying on his bed, clearly weak and surrounded by fluorescent medicinal pills, a nutrient solution, and more. There were even various healers caring for him.

    "It¡¯s rare for a cultivator toe down with a mdy. Even if you became sick, you can only dy Liu Ran''s dismissal by a few days," Nan Yuan casually stated from outside Bu Laoweng¡¯s home.

    The old man replied weakly, "Overseer Nan Yuan, I¡¯m a weak old man, and I am unable to participate at this time."

    Nan Yuan sneered. "I know that you''re stalling. ording to the council''s principles, Liu Ran must be removed from his post. What you''re doing is useless, Bu Laoweng. Even though you lost your privilege as an overseer after Highsage Wudi suppressed you back then, don¡¯t you have any sort of backbone left?"

    Bu Laoweng remained silent.

    Nan Yuan continued, "You¡¯ve bing timid in your old age. You won¡¯t be able to keep your position for much longer.¡±

    Nan Yuan left, but someone else soon arrived to visit Bu Laoweng. It was Leaf King.

    "I heard that Overseer Bu Laoweng fell ill, so I made a point to stop by with some of my Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s more powerful medications. I hope that you will ept them, Overseer Laoweng." Leaf King also spoke from outside Bu Laoweng¡¯s door.

    The old man feebly replied, "I must thank you, Leaf King, for your kindness. I will be sure to express my gratitude in person as soon as my condition improves."

    Leaf King also left.

    Mr. You made a visit as well, and he said simr things as Nan Yuan, but Bu Laoweng was more open about his disdain for Mr. You and simply ignored the visiting overseer.

    One person after another visited Bu Laoweng. All of them were Nan Yuan¡¯s associates, but it quickly became clear that Bu Laoweng¡¯s condition was not good at all.

    Nan Yuan went to meet with Leaf King.

    "That old man¡¯s efforts to stall are useless. No matter what, the overseers¡¯ council will eventually meet, and Liu Ran will absolutely be dismissed from his post," Nan Yuan stated with absolute confidence.

    Leaf King frowned. "Why is he trying to stall?"

    Nan Yuan had no answer. No one was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s whereabouts, as the Mavis family had purposely not announced Lu Yin¡¯s visit. This meant that no one knew that Lu Yin was already in the Honor Zone and was currently racing back to Mt. Microcosms.

    "No matter what he¡¯s waiting for, nothing can change the current situation. That is something that I can promise you, Brother Leaf King." Nan Yuan looked at Leaf King and smiled as he spoke. "I paid a steep price to Arch-Elder Zen to ensure that Liu Ran will be dismissed, and I have a feeling that his attitude towards Lu Yin has changed recently. While it is nothing overt, I was still able to pick up on something.¡±

    Leaf King''s eyes shed. "His attitude changed?"

    Nan Yuan nodded. "It''s very subtle, but I''m rather certain that Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s feelings towards Lu Yin have indeed changed. He no longer offers Lu Yin as much support, which is also why Liu Ran is being dismissed. There needs to be someone representing the Innerverse as an overseer, but the powers controlling the eight great flowzones have all fallen in with the Great Eastern Alliance aside from the Wen family. However, they do not dare to openly stand against the Great Eastern Alliance. This means that you, Brother Leaf King, are the only one who can take the position of overseer while representing the Innerverse. Congrattions!"

    Leaf King smiled. "Once I be an overseer, I will never forget Brother Nan''s kindness. I will be sure to fulfill the promise I made to the Xia family."

    Nan Yuanughed. "No need to worry about that, haha."

    Although Bu Laoweng did his best to buy some time, he was not able to dy the meeting by much. However, Old Man San Shang also fell ill afterwards.

    Nan Yuan was furious and began cursing, but there was nothing to indicate that San Shang was trying to postpone the meeting like Bu Laoweng, as he was truly very old.

    First Bu Laoweng got sick, and then San Shang also fell ill. Nan Yuan could not take the dys any more, so he rushed over to San Shang¡¯s home to give the man a tongueshing. It was clear to anyone that one overseer after another was having health issues.

    Leaf King looked upset, and he was bing increasingly uneasy. He urged Nan Yuan to convene a council meeting as soon as possible.

    In the end, the overseers decided that their meeting would be held in three days, regardless of whether anyone else became sick.

    This was the situation when Lu Yin arrived at Mt. Microcosms. The moment he arrived, the entire Hall of Honor was aware of it.

    Nan Yuan was shocked. "How did Lu Yin get here? Isn''t he supposed to be in Burial Garden?"

    Leaf King''s expression was not good. He had been wondering what the overseers were stalling, but he had not expected them to have been waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    It was impossible to reach the Neoverse from the Innerverse in such a short amount of time, and it would have been impossible for anyone to get in touch with Lu Yin if he had been in Burial Garden. Despite all these obstacles, he had still rushed over to Mt. Microcosms. His appearance created many waves.

    At this time, no one could ignore the young man. He had already conquered the Innerverse, and he actually had more than ten Envoys under hismand. No matter how one looked at the situation, Lu Yin had be a big yer in the universe.

    In fact, he had reached a level where he was greeted by one of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ Envoy-level protectors upon arriving, and the powerhouse personally escorted Lu Yin into Mt. Microcosms.

    After arriving, Lu Yin first went to visit Overseer Xin Jiao.

    Xin Jiao shrugged. "A proposal was put forth to relieve Liu Ran of his post after the Sword Sect joined the Great Eastern Alliance. This is something that cannot be changed. Liu Ran must be removed, so please don¡¯t make things hard for me, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Xin Jiao was absolutely willing to do something to cause Lu Yin to owe her a favor, but there was no way to overturn Liu Ran''s dismissal.

    Lu Yin smiled at the woman. "Of course I wouldn¡¯t do that to you, Overseer Xin Jiao. However, I do have a suggestion to offer."

    ¡­

    Many eyes were locked onto Lu Yin when he left Xin Jiao''s residence. He made his way straight towards CyNet World, as he intended to visit each of the overseers individually.

    Nan Yuan started to get nervous, and he quickly proposed to hold a council meeting as soon as possible, and his proposal was easily approved. In fact, it went so well that Nan Yuan suspected that something was going on.

    It was perfectly natural for all the overseers to attend a meeting involving something as important as the dismissal of one of their own.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers gathered, though they were joined by Leaf King. In fact, he was the only outsider present.

    Liu Ran instantly became angry when he saw Leaf King attending the council meeting. "Are outsiders allowed to attend the overseers¡¯ council meetings?"

    Nan Yuan answered calmly, "Overseer Liu Ran, there¡¯s no need to bother hiding anything. His Excellency Leaf King is about to rece you as overseer, so how is he an outsider?"

    Liu Ran righteously retorted, "Even if you want to rece me, he still has not officially assumed his post. Isn¡¯t it rather presumptuous of him to attend a meeting at this time?"

    "Yes," Bu Laoweng spoke up in a weak voice. "All attendees of council meetings must be overseers. As you are not yet an overseer, please wait outside."

    Leaf King smiled and nodded towards Overseer Nan Yuan before walking out of the room.

    Overseer Nan Yuan was simrly unbothered by this demand. After all, it was nothing more than Liu Ran''s dying struggle. So what if Lu Yin had personallye? How could the overseers¡¯ councils¡¯ countless years of tradition be changed so easily? Nan Yuan was rather confident in his belief that Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had already changed.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude represented the attitude of the entire Hall of Honor. The moment the old man¡¯s attitude changed, Lu Yin would cease having such a loud voice within the Hall of Honor. Liu Ran would absolutely be dismissed.

    Overseer Nan Yuan made to speak, but San Liang spoke up first. "With the start of our council meeting, the first matter to be discussed is a dismissal."

    He paused for a moment and looked at Liu Ran, quite surprising the man.

    Nan Yuan was simrly astonished that the word ¡°dismissal¡± had been brought up by San Liang. Was the man even more concerned than Nan Yuan? Could Leaf King have offered gifts to San Liang? Or could someone else be pulling the overseer¡¯s strings?

    Overseer Nan Yuan was not alone, as Mr. You, Xin Jiao, Zi Jing, and all the other overseers had the same reaction. They had not realized that San Liang was in favor of dismissing Liu Ran before this meeting. He had also called in sick before.

    No one was stupid, and San Liang''s performance so far had convinced everyone that he supported Lu Yin.

    "The dismissal of Mr. You as an overseer." San Liang slowly finished his sentence as he turned to stare at Mr. You.

    The man was stunned, but then he grew furious. "What did you just say?"

 Chapter 1831: Lu Yin And Leaf King

    Chapter 1831: Lu Yin And Leaf King

    San Liang indifferently replied, "Everyone here should still remember the war in the Cosmic Sea. That matter caused a great deal of damage to the Cosmic Sea, and it also had a wide-spread impact. The Longevity Brigade instigated the entire matter, and Mr. You, you are a member of that same Longevity Brigade. Naturally, you are unqualified to hold the post of an overseer.¡±

    Nan Yuan had not expected San Liang to immediately target Mr. You, and of course, Mr. You had not considered such a possibility either. "San Liang, why are you, a new, junior overseer, proposing to dismiss me? You¡¯re overstepping yourself!"

    San Liang gave a small smile. "While you¡¯re right in saying that you are my senior, as you indeed joined the council before me, that is an entirely separate matter from whether you are qualified to retain your position. Mr. You, do you still remember the responsibilities of an overseer and the oath that you swore when you joined this council?"

    Mr. You red. "Of course I remember!"

    San Liang raised his hand and caused a disy to appear in the air. "This is a joint letter from twenty eight inds of the Cosmic Sea, expressing their wish to have Mr. You removed from his position as an overseer. Additionally, nine crews, including Leon¡¯s Armada, have added their signatures to the letter. They state here that they refuse to acknowledge that Mr. You can represent the rights and interests of the Cosmic Sea. Given this, how can Mr. You retain his post?"

    Mr. You immediately grew pale. He had assumed that this meeting would be to remove Liu Ran from serving as an overseer, and he had not even considered that he might be sacked first. How did this happen?

    Suddenly, Mr. You thought of Lu Yin, and his expression turned grim. This had to be Lu Yin¡¯s doing, as no one else could move so quickly.

    Mr. You¡¯s guess was quite right. Lu Yin was indeed behind this attack. He had started making arrangements while on his way to Mt. Microcosms.

    There was no way to avoid Liu Ran being removed from his position. This was a basic rule of the overseers¡¯ council. However, Liu Ran being removed would mean one less person speaking for Lu Yin on the overseers¡¯ council. Thus, he had to remove one of his enemies¡¯ pawns as well.

    Also, it was indisputable that Mr. You needed to be removed from his office. This was another unavoidable inevitability.

    At the moment, Leon¡¯s Armada was the dominant force in the Cosmic Sea. As long as Highsage Leon did not acknowledge Mr. You, any resistance that Mr. You attempted to put up would be useless.

    Nan Yuan¡¯s expression fell. He had not expected to suffer the first loss during a meeting that everyone knew was being held to remove Liu Ran from his post.

    Mr. You was supposed to represent the interests of the Cosmic Sea to the Hall of Honor, and if the Cosmic Sea did not recognize him as their representative, how could he be epted?

    Mr. You had lost all standing and authority in an instant.

    Yang Ji nced at San Liang, Bu Laoweng, and Liu Ran. Of the Hall of Honor¡¯s nine overseers, how many were working for Lu Yin? How did such a young man aplish this? Yang Ji could not understand any of this.

    It turned out that the rumors were true. The young man had Arch-Elder Zen in his corner. How else could the old man allow someone to control the overseers¡¯ council?

    At the top of Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen was quietly watching the council with aplicated expression.

    Ever since he had learned that Lu Yin was a member of the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family and the Perennial World¡¯s current situation, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin had somewhat changed. This was not because the Semi-Progenitor felt that Lu Yin was a bad person, but rather because the old man did not want to see Lu Yin amass too much influence in the Fifth Maind. Humanity would not stand to benefit from the Fifth Maind bing enemies with the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers.

    This was why Arch-Elder Zen had agreed to dismiss Liu Ran from his post and had supported Nan Yuan¡¯s proposal. This was supposed to be Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s first step in curbing Lu Yin¡¯s influence. After that, he also intended to remove Bu Laoweng and San Liang in order to return the overseers¡¯ council to a state where the Hall of Honor was in control. This would also prevent Lu Yin from entering the Neoverse.

    However, Arch-Elder Zen was quickly realizing that his goals were not as easy to aplish as he had initially assumed. He had already given Lu Yin too much leeway, which made it difficult to remove Lu Yin¡¯s people and his influence after they had already been put in ce. The easiest solution was to erase all of Lu Yin¡¯s rights within the Hall of Honor, but that would be no different from turning his back entirely on the youth.

    Lu Yin alone was not worth the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s concern, not even if the youth did have a strong chance of bing a Progenitor in the future. No matter what, Lu Yin was of no threat at the moment. Besides, regardless of how ruthless and ambitious Lu Yin might be, he also had a bottom line that he would not cross. Even if Arch-Elder Zen one day ended up as Lu Yin¡¯s enemy due to various circumstances, that future was not written in stone.

    No, what Arch-Elder Zen was more concerned about were the people behind Lu Yin. First, there was Qing Ping, but far more importantly, there was that other person.

    The Semi-Progenitor let out a sigh at the thought of that person. He really did not have the courage to be enemies with that person. He was impossible to see through. No matter what, that person was aplete mystery to Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Arch-Elder Zen.¡± Shang Qing, Lei N¨¹, and Shu Jing walked up behind the Semi-Progenitor and gave him a respectful bow.

    They were the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen. They were the future of the Hall of Honor and were already its representatives, to a degree. In particr, Shang Qing was the only person capable of using the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. If he matured, he was guaranteed to be a peerless expert like Progenitor Chen. Shang Qing alone was able to suppress all of his peers from the Sixth Maind.

    "What are your thoughts regarding Lu Yin?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Shu Jing was surprised by the question. Despite their impressive power for their ages, they were still far too young to have any say or even opinions concerning the Hall of Honor¡¯s decisions. On top of that, this was a question concerning Lu Yin, so why was Arch-Elder Zen asking the three of them?

    Wait a second, isn¡¯t Lu Yin the same age as us?

    Lu Yin had aplished so many things and had be so impressive that many people had forgotten that he was still a mere youth. He was actually still one of the Ten Arbiters!

    "Lu Yin is truly peerless within his generation," Lei N¨¹ answered sinctly. She offered a single sentence and then stopped speaking.

    Shu Jing considered the matter for a bit before answering. "He¡¯s incredibly ambitious, but he¡¯s not a bad person. He¡¯s able to get along with others, and he¡¯s done great things for humanity as a whole. He¡¯s someone who will stand on the frontlines against the Neohuman Alliance."

    Arch-Elder Zen then looked at Shang Qing. This was the opinion that the old man cared about the most.

    Shang Qing remained thoughtful for a bit before looking at the old man. ¡°He saved my life in Burial Garden."

    This information shocked Arch-Elder Zen. "When did that happen?"

    Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing were simrly surprised, as they had not heard about this. Shang Qing had kept the matter entirely to himself.

    Shang Qing replied, "It was a few months ago, just a bit after Burial Garden first opened. There was an Envoy chasing me down, and Lu Yin saved me."

    "Where''s your Voidsoul Umbre?" Arch-Elder Zen quickly asked.

    "I still have it."

    Arch-Elder Zen let out a sigh of relief. The Voidsoul Umbre was a Progenitor-level power vessel that Shang Qing had picked up in the Perennial World.

    Truthfully, if Arch-Elder Zen had known that Lu Yin was a descendant of the Perennial World¡¯s Lu family, he would have never given the youth Zenith Mountain. In fact, Arch-Elder Zen still regretted that matter a bit.

    "Head on back for now." Arch-Elder Zen waved a hand to dismiss the youths, who all retreated.

    More and moreplicated and conflicting emotions emerged in the old man¡¯s eyes as he stared at the disy showing the overseers¡¯ council meeting. So Lu Yin had saved Shang Qing? How should the Hall of Honor treat Lu Yin? It would simply be irresponsible to bet the fate of the entire Fifth Maind on the youth and agree to join him in fighting against the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers.

    What to do?

    The old man felt increasingly confused.

    Arch-Elder Zen then remembered the First Protector, and he quickly decided to ask the man about Lu Yin after his return. This was the first time that Arch-Elder Zen had felt so torn.

    Regardless of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s thoughts, the meeting proceeded normally, and Mr. You was relieved of his position. Nan Yuan asked to dy the implementation of the decision, but his efforts were useless as everyone else was in favor of removing Mr. You.

    Even though Liu Ran was also about to be dismissed, for the moment, he was still an overseer and was fully qualified to participate in this vote.

    Nan Yuan¡¯s teeth itched at how things were progressing, and he was forced to take a step back. If Liu Ran had been removed from his post first, then the bnce of the votes might not have been the same. While Mr. You would have still inevitably been removed, there might have been a small buffer that could have allowed Nan Yuan to find a recement. He had been surprised, and being so caught off guard had forced him to take a step back.

    Mr. You left the council meeting trembling. He had lost his status, and his only option at this point was to beg the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family for refuge. After all, Mr. You had originally followed the captain of the Longevity Brigade, Ji Qiang, who had been one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones.

    Leaf King was still waiting outside the council¡¯s meeting room, and he looked at Mr. You in surprise. "Why have youe out, Mr. You?"

    Mr. You took a deep breath and softly answered, "Don''t let Lu Yin feel like he¡¯s won, please.¡±

    He then bowed low.

    Leaf King was an intelligent person and instantly understood what had happened.

    It had only been a matter of time before Mr. You was removed from his post. This was something that many people had been aware of, though Leaf King had not expected Mr. You to lose his seat before he entered the council. Leaf King suddenly became far more wary of Lu Yin.

    Had Mr. You been dismissed because of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival at Mt. Microcosms?

    Without warning, Leaf King suddenly had a bad premonition.

    It was also at this moment that Lu Yin suddenly appeared.

    Hatred red up in Mr. You¡¯s eyes the moment he saw Lu Yin, though he did not dare to express anything. Instead, he dropped his head low and walked in another direction. He did not dare to risk letting Lu Yin seeing the hatred in his gaze, as Mr. You feared for his life. He had no doubts that Lu Yin was capable of killing him even in the Honor Zone.

    Lu Yin no longer cared about Mr. You. There was no need to waste time with such a minor character. Instead, his eyes fell onto Leaf King, and Lu Yin looked quite surprised to see the man.

    Leaf King was a devilishly handsome man whose appearance even surpassed that of the Celestial Demon, Yuan Xuan. In fact, Leaf King looked even younger than the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s crown prince, which was something that Lu Yin had not expected. This was because there were no pictures of Leaf King on the Human Domain¡¯swork.

    There were many rumors and stories about Leaf King throughout the universe, and even more within Shamrock Enterprise. There were people who imed that he was the epitome of creativity and healing, or in brief, practically a god.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting Leaf King.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader, Lu Yin." Leaf King and Lu Yin gazed at each other as Leaf King greeted Lu Yin with a gentle voice and a faint smile. It was an appearance that would be veryforting to most people.

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Leaf King."

    "I¡¯ve long since wanted to meet you, Alliance Leader Lu," Leaf King said with a smile. To outsiders, Shamrock Enterprise and the Great Eastern Alliance were friendly with each other. Even if people were aware of the incident involving Lu Yin and Yu Mu, everything had seemed to end with Yu Mu''s death.

    To date, Shamrock Enterprise had provided a tremendous amount of assistance to the Great Eastern Alliance. Qiong Xi¡¯er and Balsam were still negotiating the purchase of stellr energy pills and the two powers jointly researching immortality.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "I¡¯ve heard of Leaf King far too many times, and I¡¯ve wanted to meet you for a long time. Today, I¡¯ve finally gotten the chance."

    Leaf King was a handsome man with an easy-going temperament who seemed very personable. "Balsam told me that you are interested in researching immortality, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "That¡¯s true. I¡¯ve wanted to research it for quite some time, and that¡¯s also why I¡¯ve gathered all kinds of unique and exotic nts from across the universe as a foundation to research immortality," Lu Yin excitedly announced.

    Leaf King smiled. "Immortality is too elusive a goal. Progenitors might be capable of living forever, but even the most powerful Progenitors have failed to aplish that. Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Progenitor Wushang, and even the Ancient Progenitors¡ªnot a single one of them has ever been said to have achieved eternal life."

    "This is precisely why it needs to be studied. Balsam suggested that I visit your Shamrock Enterprise to conduct some research. I wonder, do you have any interest in a coborative project, Leaf King?"

    "Absolutely. My Shamrock Enterprise would be lucky to research such a topic with Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Then it''s settled. After settling things here, I¡¯ll make a point to visit Shamrock Enterprise," Lu Yin politely replied.

    The two chatted very amiably, though internally they were far from friendly.

    Even though it was absolutely impossible for Liu Ran to retain his position as an overseer, San Liang and several others still fought to keep him as though there were a real possibility. Even Nan Yuan struggled to ovee the resistance, as the votes were equal.

    Liu Ran¡¯s dismissal was supported by Yang Ji, Nan Yuan, Si Hong, and Zi Jing while those who pushed for him to remain were Xin Jiao, Old Man San Shang, San Liang, and Bu Laoweng.

 Chapter 1832: The New Overseer

    Chapter 1832: The New Overseer

    The votes were even at four in favor and four against, which meant that some negotiating was needed.

    This was also why San Liang had immediately pushed for Mr. You¡¯s dismissal at the beginning of the meeting, as the loss of an ally made things more difficult for Nan Yuan. If Mr. You were still present, there would be no deadlock, as it would be five votes to four.

    Zi Jing, Yang Ji, and Si Hong had no enmity with Lu Yin, but they also intended to abide by the principles of the overseers¡¯ council.

    This vote also clearly demonstrated which of the overseers were Lu Yin¡¯s staunch supporters. One surprise to Nan Yuan was the realization that Old Man San Shang was one of Lu Yin¡¯s firm supporters.

    Xin Jiao¡¯s support was no surprise, as she was the overseer representing the Cosmic Sea. At the moment, Leon¡¯s Armada was indisputably the dominant power in the Cosmic Sea, so Xin Jiao would likely face the same fate as Mr. You if she did not support Lu Yin. Mr. You¡¯s dismissal had served as a powerful incentive for Xin Jiao to cast her lot in with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had surpassed the point where he needed to draw people to his side to support him, and at the moment, Lu Yin could bluntly threaten people into supporting him.

    Given the deadlock, Liu Ran¡¯s dismissal merited further discussion.

    While the council¡¯s meeting room grew noisy, Leaf King and Lu Yin were still happily chatting away with each other just outside the room.

    Regardless of how the two men truly felt about each other, neither would reveal a single thing openly.

    Lu Yin carefully examined Leaf King, feeling curiosity and confusion; was this man really the same sort of creature as Sapling?

    After leaving Burial Garden, while on his way to ck Street, Lu Yin had learned that someone had attacked the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress and that both Xia Yi and the big tree had escaped.

    Even though there was no evidence that anyone had attacked Lu Yin¡¯s garden, Wei Rong and several others were convinced that the big tree had hidden its true strength and had fled when amotion had erupted. Lu Yin did not believe any of that. He felt that it was far more likely that hispanion outside the overseers¡¯ council had secretly attacked the garden by using Xia Yi¡¯s escape as a diversionary tactic.

    Lu Yin¡¯s biggest question was just how the big tree had managed to escape from Leaf King along with Sapling. Leaf King was powerful enough to escape from Liu Huang¡¯s attack, which was more than enough proof of the man¡¯s strength.

    Actually, after considering the matter a bit more objectively, Lu Yin felt that there was something quite suspicious about the big tree that had constantly tried to escape.

    The answers were with the man right in front of Lu Yin, but unfortunately, there was no way to get any answers from Leaf King.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you have any thoughts about Liu Ran¡¯s dismissal?" Leaf King suddenly asked. He stared at Lu Yin with a charming and handsome face, but he was unable to see through the youth¡¯s thoughts.

    Lu Yin actedpletely unconcerned. "That¡¯s the council''s business. I really don¡¯t have an opinion."

    "Then why are you here, Alliance Leader Lu?" Leaf King felt quite puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s presence.

    Lu Yin turned to face Leaf King and gave the man a brilliant smile. "I¡¯m about to rece Liu Ran to be the new overseer."

    Hearing these words caused Leaf King¡¯s expression topletely change.

    At the same time, the overseers finally managed toe to an agreement to dismiss Liu Ran from his post as an Overseer and appoint a different person to represent the Innerverse on the overseers¡¯ council.

    Liu Ran exited the overseers¡¯ meeting just as Mr. You had done. However, in stark contrast, Liu Ran did not look discouraged like the other former overseer.

    Instead, Liu Ran faced Lu Yin and gave the young man a deep bow.

    Lu Yin nodded, and then Liu Ran walked away. He looked quite rxed.

    If Liu Ran was being honest, he had never wanted to be an overseer as he had only ever been the Sword Sect¡¯s puppet. Liu Qianjue had made all the decisions, and Liu Ran had merely been Liu Qianjue¡¯s mouthpiece on the overseers¡¯ council.

    Liu Ran¡¯s dismissal meant that he would be generouslypensated by the Great Eastern Alliance, and after he returned to the Sword Sect, he would enjoy a very respected status. Liu Ran essentially considered himself a pensioner.

    "The new overseer needs to be someone with a great deal of influence in the Innerverse, and they must also be supported by many different powers. I propose that Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Leaf King take the vacant overseer position to represent the Innerverse. Any thoughts?" Nan Yuan immediately spoke up in the overseers¡¯ meeting room, and he started staring at all of his colleagues when he finished speaking.

    Everyone had long since known about this appointment.

    The Great Eastern Alliance utterly dominated the Innerverse, and Shamrock Enterprise was the only option for an overseer if there was a requirement that the overseer had to be someone from outside the Great Eastern Alliance. Nan Yuan¡¯s choice was very obvious to everyone.

    The Great Eastern Alliance controlled the Innerverse while Leon¡¯s Armada controlled the Cosmic Sea. While this made it look like Mr. You and Leaf King were in very simr positions, the key difference was that Mr. You was no different from a stray dog while Leaf King controlled Shamrock Enterprise. Such tremendous influence, wealth, and power made Leaf King perfectly qualified to be an overseer.

    Mr. You had also once enjoyed the support of a powerful force in the Cosmic Sea, and even if the Longevity Brigade no longer existed, he was not someone who should have been removed so unceremoniously. For example, no one had suggested that Xin Jiao be dismissed from her post, and even if Lu Yin wanted to do so, he would have to plot and scheme quite a bit to make it happen.

    San Liang looked up. "Overseer Nan Yuan has proposed a candidate, so I will do the same: the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin."

    Nan Yuan''s expression instantly changed. "What did you just say?"

    San Liang repeated, "I propose that the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin, rece Liu Ran as the new overseer."

    "Seconded," Bu Laoweng quietly said.

    "Seconded," Old Man San Shang repeated.

    "Seconded," Xin Jiao said.

    Nan Yuan''s face contorted. "Lu Yin is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance! How can he be allowed to be an overseer?"

    Yang Ji arched a brow. "What do you mean? Can the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance not be an overseer? Then what about me? I¡¯m the leader of the Light World."

    Nan Yuan hastened to exin himself, "Overseer Yang Ji, I didn''t mean it like that."

    Yang Ji gave a derisive snort. "Seconded!"

    Nan Yuan quickly said, "Overseer Yang Ji, you-"

    "Seconded," From the other side of the table, Zi Jing also voiced her support.

    Nan Yuan''s pupils shrank. Already, five of the overseers had agreed to appoint Lu Yin as an overseer, so even if Si Hong disagreed, there was nothing that Nan Yuan could do about it.

    "Seconded," Si Hong said.

    Nan Yuan¡¯s vote meant absolutely nothing. Of the current seven overseers, six had already voiced their support of Lu Yin bing an overseer. There was nothing that Nan Yuan could do to stop this.

    San Liang smiled at Nan Yuan. "Overseer Nan Yuan, it''s your vote. Do you support appointing the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader Lu Yin to be the new overseer?"

    Nan Yuan''s eyes turned stony. He gritted his teeth and softly said, "I don''t support this."

    San Liang happily stated, "Very well, six in favor and one against. Lu Yin is to be our newest overseer. Let¡¯s wee the overseer to our ranks."

    The door was opened by the stationed protector as soon as San Liang finished speaking. The man had already watched Mr. You be forcefully ousted from his seat and had clearly seen Lu Yin¡¯s control of the overseers¡¯ council.

    As Lu Yin passed through the door, the protector bowed low. "Congrattions to the overseer."

    San Liang and the other overseers all stood up. This was a show of respect that was given to new overseers, and even Nan Yuan was forced to follow suit. He needed to at least adhere to the minimum required decorum.

    In the room behind Lu Yin, Leaf King appeared to still be perfectly calm. So this was the goal of Bu Laoweng and the other overseers feigning sickness. They had made a gross miscalction. Leaf King had not expected Lu Yin to actually reach for the position of overseer himself, and there was no doubt in Leaf King¡¯s mind that the final vote had been six to one in favor of Lu Yin¡¯s appointment.

    Leaf King averted his eyes and rose to take his leave.

    At the top of Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen quietly watched as Lu Yin entered the council¡¯s meeting room. A person appeared behind the Semi-Progenitor. ¡°Reporting to Arch-Elder Zen! The overseers¡¯ council¡¯s Mr. You and Liu Ran have been dismissed from their posts. The newest overseer is the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin."

    "What do you think of Lu Yin?" Arch-Elder Zen suddenly asked.

    The person who had arrived to make the report was none other than the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Da Qiu.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s current Honor Chosen were Shang Qing and the others of his generation, but Da Qiu was someone from a previous generation of Honor Chosen.

    Throughout the years, the Hall of Honor had had many, many Honor Chosen, though very few of the selected youths ever managed to be Envoys. The moment they passed that particr threshold, their status in the Hall of Honor would transform. This was what had happened to Da Qiu.

    He was already considered as the Hall of Honor¡¯s fourth Judicial Commissioner, and Arch-Elder Zen greatly favored the newly risen Envoy. In fact, Da Qiu was the youngster that Arch-Elder Zen favored the most highly, aside from Shang Qing.

    "Lu Yin?" Da Qiu was caught off guard by the question.

    Arch-Elder Zen indifferently exined, "You traveled a bit with him once, so what do you think of him?"

    Da Qiu did not hesitate to consider the question at all. ¡°Lu Yin is this subordinate¡¯s friend. He helped me with my breakthrough to be an Envoy, and without him, your subordinate would not have survived to this day. I owe him greatly."

    Arch-Elder Zen was left speechless. This was not the first time that he had asked this question, but apparently, Shang Qing and now Da Qiu both openly viewed Lu Yin as their benefactor. How could he have expected this?

    Shang Qing and Da Qiu represented the future of the Hall of Honor, and yet both of them were close to Lu Yin and felt that they owed him a favor. How was Arch-Elder Zen supposed to treat Lu Yin after learning about this? This was not even considering the fact that the Chief Justice, Qing Ping, was Lu Yin''s senior disciple brother!

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen felt incredibly fatigued. He had never dreamed that the day mighte where he would lose control of the Hall of Honor, but that day was upon him.

    Even if he tried to suppress Lu Yin at this time, all such efforts would prove useless. No matter what, Lu Yin would be able to reach the top in the future. He had the charm and skill required to do so. Additionally, Lu Yin was treated as the Lockbreakers Society¡¯s darling, and old man Xiu Ming was quite fond of the youth and greatly appreciated his talent.

    "Let''s take a step back," Arch-Elder Zen said tiredly.

    Da Qiu felt a bit confused, but he slowly backed away and left.

    There were certain people that could only be dealt with early, as they would be unstoppable once they built up enough momentum. This perfectly described Lu Yin.

    No one was aware of the fact the Lu Yin had reached the point where not even Arch-Elder Zen could suppress him, as Lu Yin¡¯s influence had spread too far.

    Inside the council¡¯s meeting room, Lu Yin took his seat and examined the room. "I assumed that you all held your meetings in some sort of special ce, but this room is perfectly ordinary."

    San Liang smiled. "This is the room where the first overseers council was held back when the Hall of Honor was first established. This room holds a special significance to the Hall of Honor."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I may call you Overseer Lu in the future, haha!" Yang Jiughed.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Overseer Lu doesn''t have a very pleasant ring to it, so just call me Brother Lu. There¡¯s no reason to maintain distance between us."

    "Alright, Brother Lu." Yang Ji smiled brightly, though his true thoughts were known only to himself.

    Lu Yin had actually contacted many of the overseers on his way to Mt. Microcosms, and Lu Yin had actually threatened Yang Ji with the knowledge that he had gained his seat as an overseer by offering a gift. If this news ever leaked, Yang Ji¡¯s reputation would be damaged badly, which was why Yang Ji had be willing to support Lu Yin, though only once.

    This stiption did not bother Lu Yin, as he had sufficient support from the other overseers even without Yang Ji.

    "I haven''t seen you for a while, but you¡¯re bing more and more active, Brother Lu." Zi Jing smiled.

    Lu Yin smiled back at the woman. "Naturally. As for you, you¡¯re bing more and more beautiful."

    Zi Jingughed. "Brother Lu is as entertaining as ever. How abouting to my ce to enjoy some tea once this meeting is over?"

    "Sure."

    "This old man also has some good tea to share," Old Man San Shang spoke up as he smiled at Lu Yin. It was impossible to tell that the old man was merely a puppet.

    Lu Yin nodded to San Shang.

    The atmosphere hadpletely changed in the meeting room the moment that Lu Yin entered. The somber feeling had disappeared, and it felt more like a ce to visit and chat about tea.

    Nan Yuan stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, but the man was powerless to do a single thing. Except for Nan Yuan, not a single one of the other overseers dared to offend Lu Yin, even if they did not unterally support him.

    Lu Yin''s gaze suddenly fell onto Nan Yuan. "Is there some issue that Overseer Nan Yuan would like to bring up? This is my first day as an overseer, so I admit that I¡¯m quite curious about everything."

    Nan Yuan''s expression instantly changed, and he casually replied, "There¡¯s no issue to address on my part. Is there something that you would like to discuss, Alliance Leader Lu? You can just speak your mind."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Actually, there is."

    He looked around. "This council needs to have nine overseers to avoid a deadlock, like what happened just a bit ago. Deadlocks aplish nothing and only waste time and energy, so I propose that the council bepleted with the appointment of Lei Qingqing as the final overseer."

 Chapter 1833: Reminder

    Chapter 1833: Reminder

    "I object!" Nan Yuan spoke up immediately, his eyes fixated on Lu Yin. "Overseer Lu has only just been appointed, so you may not be clear on how this council operates. Please take a moment to present your proposed candidate for the final overseer position."

    Lu Yin and Nan Yuan stared at each other. "Are you questioning my candidate, Overseer Nan Yuan?"

    "Yes." Nan Yuan was direct with his answer. He represented the Seven Courts and the Xia family, which meant that he was able topletely disregard Lu Yin¡¯s influence. Regardless of how much clout Lu Yin amassed within the overseers¡¯ council, it was impossible for Nan Yuan to be removed from his position. Arch-Elder Zen would never allow such a thing, as it would create too many conflicts with the Seven Courts.

    This was what gave Nan Yuan the confidence to directly confront Lu Yin.

    "Overseer Nan Yuan, do you even know who Lei Qingqing is?" Lu Yin asked in an odd tone. He suspected that Nan Yuan had no idea who Lei Qingqing was. In fact, Lu Yin was confident that no one in the entire room had ever heard Lei Qingqing¡¯s name before.

    Nan Yuan simply replied, "I don''t."

    Lu Yin then looked over at Yang Ji, Si Hong, and the other overseers. "Do any of you?"

    The all shook their heads as they nkly stared at Lu Yin.

    Nan Yuan sneered. "An overseer is supposed to represent an entire region of the Human Domain! How can an unknown person ever be allowed to be an overseer?"

    "Lei Qingqing is the leader of a group of mercenaries in the Cosmic Sea. She¡¯s also known as Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s Big Sis. Her real name is Lei Qingqing," Xin Jiao slowly stated.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten that Xin Jiao was also someone from the Cosmic Sea, so she would naturally know about the influential people from the same region. However, she was the only overseer who had heard of Lei Qingqing before. However, this was nothing strange, as there were very few people even in Leon¡¯s Armada who had heard the name ¡°Lei Qingqing¡± before.

    Clearly, no one had any idea who Lei Qingqing was, but Big Sis was far from an unknown name. She was one of the biggest reasons behind Lu Yin¡¯s first rise to power.

    "So she¡¯s just an interster pirate! In what era could a pirate qualify to be an overseer?" Nan Yuan mocked.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "She¡¯s a mercenary. An interster mercenary. Big Sis¡¯s crew is a formally registered mercenary team."

    He stared at Nan Yuan. "Overseer Nan Yuan, you just insulted a mercenary group by calling them pirates. That will upset the mercenary association."

    Nan Yuan''s expression turned grim, and he slightly leaned forward. "Big Sis¡¯s mercenary squad belongs to Leon¡¯s Armada, and everyone knows what they are!"

    "Oh? What are they? Tell me." Lu Yin smiled as he stared at the man.

    Nan Yuan wanted toment about how Leon¡¯s Armada was a pirate crew, but he suddenly stopped himself. There was actually no evidence that Leon¡¯s Armada was a pirate crew. While everyone was aware that Highsage Leon was the Pirate King, who would provide real evidence to support usations against the man? A Pirate King was not something one chose to be, but was rather a title that was given by others.

    Nan Yuan desperately wanted to use Leon¡¯s Armada of being a pirate crew, but doing so would be no different from validating a position held by a powerful man who was idealized by countless people. This was not a reasonable thing to do.

    How could a title that was nothing more than a concept that had never been formally recognized or bestowed be treated as a real thing?

    Nan Yuan spent a good bit of time struggling to find the right words.

    Highsage Leon had repeatedly proimed himself as the Pirate King, but what of it? Was Nan Yuan supposed to drag Highsage Leon before the overseers¡¯ council and force him to admit such a thing? The threat of death was what kept Nan Yuan¡¯s mouth shut, as he was terrified that Highsage Leon would kill him with a single p.

    In his desperation, Nan Yuan had no choice but to say, "We have dismissed two overseers today, as well as confirmed a new one. Such sudden changes to the overseers¡¯ council are rare throughout the council¡¯s entire history. Any further proposals for dismissals or new appointments of overseers need to be dyed. None, none of us want an unknown person to join us as our final overseer."

    His words held a great deal of merit.

    Si Hong was the first to agree to Nan Yuan¡¯s proposal. Si Hong was not one of Lu Yin¡¯s people, and while he had fully supported San Liang bing an overseer, Si Hong did not actually belong to any faction on the council.

    Yang Ji also quickly agreed.

    Right after that, Zi Jing voiced her approval as well.

    The rest of the overseers were all Lu Yin''s people, so he could attempt to force his proposal, but that would be no different from publicly announcing that hepletely controlled the overseers¡¯ council. Lu Yin was worried that doing so would incite Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s ire.

    The meeting ended with the proposal to raise Lei Qingqing up as an overseer being postponed, and the Hall of Honor prepared to send someone to investigate the woman. The proposal would only be addressed after the investigation waspleted.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Nan Yuan would take this time to search for a potential candidate to rece Mr. You on the overseers¡¯ council.

    At the moment, Leon¡¯s Armada reigned over almost the entire Cosmic Sea, so it would not be an easy task to find an overseer who could represent the Cosmic Sea while not being under Highsage Leon¡¯s thumb. The only possibility that Lu Yin could think of was the mysterious Soldier Crew.

    The meeting concluded with Liu Ran and Mr. You both being removed from their positions while Lu Yin became a new overseer.

    These results shocked everyone once word of the meeting¡¯s results spread.

    Mt. Microcosms was the first ce to receive word of what had transpired. No one had expected Lu Yin to suddenly be an overseer. It wasmon knowledge that, while all the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers were influential people, they were also people without any real power. Yang Ji had been the sole exception, but at this moment, Lu Yin had overturned the entire board.

    The overseers¡¯ council had changed.

    When the news spread out from Mt. Microcosms and reached the various Neoverse powers, there were different reactions from each organization.

    The person who found this matter the most bizarre was Yunying Mavis. She had already had her own ns in mind when she proposed an alliance to Lu Yin. She had believed that Lu Yin¡¯s chances of getting his Great Eastern Alliance into the Neoverse were nonexistent.

    After all, the Neoverse was not the Innerverse. Not only were the two separated by the Cosmic Sea, but the behemoth powers of the Neoverse were also not easy to deal with. Any organization that was qualified to maintain a ce in the Neoverse could not be simple.

    Even if Lu Yin did manage to lead his Great Eastern Alliance into the Neoverse, it would take him a very long time.

    Naturally, Yunying Mavis had not expected Lu Yin to be an overseer right after leaving her Mavis family. It was not an easy task to be an overseer, and this suggested that Lu Yin actually controlled the overseers¡¯ council. This meant that it was entirely possible for him to lead the Great Eastern Alliance into the Neoverse.

    What sort of impact would this have on the Neoverse? Yunying Mavis could not even begin to guess.

    Why was Arch-Elder Zen so lenient with Lu Yin? Was the situation really as the rumors described it? Was Arch-Elder Zen supporting Lu Yin?

    If he really is able to bring the Great Eastern Alliance into the Neoverse, then¡­ Yunying Mavis looked at the agreement she had signed with Lu Yin. It was clear that the value of this alliance to Lu Yin was simply too great, but just how would he take advantage of it?

    Yunying Mavis had a sudden headache.

    As soon as the Mavis family learned that Lu Yin had be an overseer, many of them hurried over to speak with their matriarch.

    "Even if we had known that he was about to be an overseer, we still needed to establish an alliance with him. This is something that had to happen regardless," Yunying Mavis stated very firmly while being confronted by many members of her family.

    ¡­

    After bing an overseer, Lu Yin¡¯s first stop was to meet with Arch-Elder Zen, but Lu Yin was informed that the Semi-Progenitor had gone into seclusion. Lu Yin wondered if the old man simply did not want to see him.

    Lu Yin felt a bit uncertain, so he made a trip to the Arbitration World to speak with the Chief Justice, but his senior brother was also in seclusion.

    In the end, Lu Yin spoke to Mu En.

    Mu En was solemn when he spoke to Lu Yin. "The Chief Justice has been in seclusion ever since he returned from Venom Flowzone. He has note out a single time."

    "Really?" Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This had to be rted to the ck crystal that had been found. The Chief Justice had answered Lu Yin¡¯s call once during this time, though he had ended up ignoring Lu Yin instead of giving him an actual answer.

    Mu En felt rather curious. "Lu-"

    He suddenly stopped, as he no longer knew how to refer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "Judicial Commissioner, you can just call me-"

    He intended to say that Mu En could call him Little Seven, but as soon as Lu Yin thought about his rtionship with Mu En, he no longer knew what to suggest.

    Both of the men suddenly stopped talking.

    Mu En pursed his lips. "Overseer Lu, I have a question, but I¡¯m not sure how to bring it up."

    "Please speak freely, Judicial Commissioner," Lu Yin spoke politely.

    Mu En still took a while to process his thoughts. "After the Chief Justice returned from Venom Flowzone, he did not inform anyone where he was headed to next. Is there a chance our Chief Justice got injured while he was in Venom Flowzone?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by this question. "Why would you think that?"

    Mu En grew somber. "My Interster Supreme Court has people everywhere in the universe. While the Chief Justice was gone, a strange phenomenon was observed in Venom Flowzone where a starry expanse of space changed into a brightly light sky. This is very simr to the phenomenon that appears when our Chief Justice takes action. Many people have begun specting that our lord was fighting against a powerful opponent in Venom Flowzone, which was why people were able to see such a thing. If this is true, his opponent must have been a terrifying powerhouse.¡±

    Mu En¡¯s voice suddenly dropped very low. ¡°It would have most likely have been one of the Seven Skygods."

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted. "Each of the Seven Skygods are Semi-Progenitors."

    Mu En shook his head. ¡°So what if they are Semi-Progenitors? The strength of the members of the Interster Supreme Court cannot be judged by the standards of their peers, and the best example of this is the Shadow of Death. For the Chief Justice to have disyed his power in such a fashion, he most likely faced one of the Seven Skygods. Though, his opponent may have also been another Semi-Progenitor, such as one from the Sixth Maind."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I¡¯m sorry, but the Chief Justice told me to keep that matter to myself, so I can¡¯t tell you anything."

    Mu En smiled. "In that case, I¡¯ll stop with my questions. I would like to thank Overseer Lu on behalf of Da Qiu. If it is not for you, Da Qiu certainly would have failed to be an Envoy, and my Interster Supreme Court would have lost an expert."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I only helped as much as I was able to.

    ¡°I should head on out."

    Mu En nodded, but after Lu Yin had only gone a short ways, the Judicial Commissioner suddenly said, "Overseer Lu, I heard that the Sea King is currently in your Great Eastern Alliance, no?"

    Lu Yin stopped and turned around to look at Mu En, wondering why the man had mentioned the Sea King. "That¡¯s right."

    "It¡¯s just a small matter, but there is a bit of a disagreement between the Sea King and the Chief Justice. Keeping the Sea King close might strain matters between you and the Chief Justice," Mu En stated.

    Lu Yin instantly became curious. "How could the Sea King have any sort of disagreement with the Chief Justice? They aren¡¯t from the same generation, are they?"

    Mu En sighed. "The Sea King¡¯s father, the former master of the Starfall Sea, was from the same era as the Chief Justice. The two of them had a falling out, and that matter continued on to the next generation. However, it is a matter that is difficult to resolve, so keeping the Sea King close may create tension between you and the Chief Justice. It¡¯s not my ce to say anything further, but you should be careful about this."

    "Thank you for the warning." Lu Yin felt truly grateful. Mu En had not needed to mention anything at all to Lu Yin, but he had deliberately done so anyway. Lu Yin was someone whom the Chief Justice had openly taken care of and had a good rtionship with. Mu En had never considered that the two could be fellow disciples. This rtionship meant that nothing would change between the two even if the Sea King ended up bing Lu Yin¡¯s father-inw.

    After leaving the Arbitration World, Lu Yin made his way to CyNet World to speak with Zi Jing for quite a long time. After that, he went to see Li.

    Li started to panic when he saw Lu Yin approaching, as he assumed that Lu Yin wasing to make trouble. Why else would Lu Yin seek out someone like Li? The protector could not understand why such a lofty figure would be so petty as toe after him.

    "Where is the First Protector? I want to speak with him," Lu Yin stated after finding Li.

    Li started to panic even more. Is he going to file aint about him?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this lowly one was the one who was blind and foolish! I shouldn''t have offended you! Please, show mercy and let this lowly one go! I promise that I will never cross you or step in your path again! I promise-"

    Lu Yin raised a hand to cut the man off. "I¡¯m looking to speak with the First Protector. I don¡¯t have the time to make things difficult for you, so can you just tell me where your senior is?"

    Li released a sigh of relief. So Lu Yin was not looking to make trouble for him! "The First- the First Protector has gone into seclusion."

    Lu Yin stared at Li. "What was that?"

    Li trembled. "The First- the First Protector gave us orders to let the world know that he¡¯s gone into seclusion for the moment."

 Chapter 1834: Crisis

    Chapter 1834: Crisis

    Lu Yin was at aplete loss for words. Arch-Elder Zen seemed to be avoiding him, Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, the Chief Justice, was studying the ck crystals that he had found, and finally, the First Protector had gone into seclusion!

    "Is he really in seclusion?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Li was freaking out by this point. "The First Protector really did tell us that he is in seclusion! I would not dare to lie to you, Alliance Leader Lu!"

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do, so he left. Everyone was in seclusion!

    Lu Yin decided to make a trip to the Lockbreakers World to see if President Xiu Ming was also in seclusion.

    Finally, Lu Yin had a bit of luck. Xiu Ming, Lockbreaker Society¡¯s president, was not in seclusion, so Lu Yin was able to meet with the old man. When he did, Lu Yin also met Aurora Enterprises¡¯ Director Zhi.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s been a long time." Director Zhi smiled politely as he greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was taken aback at the man¡¯s presence. "Why is Director Zhi here?"

    Director Zhi smiled. "I needed to ask the president here about some things, though I did not expect to meet you here."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s quite a coincidence. I also have some things to discuss with the president."

    "In that case, I¡¯ll leave first, as I¡¯ve already addressed everything I needed to discuss." Director Zhi turned to bow to Xiu Ming. "This junior will take his leave."

    Xiu Ming nodded.

    After Director Zhi left, Lu Yin turned to face Xiu Ming. "President, have you ever seen a humanoid sourcebox before?"

    Xiu Ming''s expression instantly changed. "You know about humanoid sourceboxes?"

    Lu Yin nodded and then pulled out a number of humanoid sourceboxes from his cosmic ring. Xiu Ming was surprised by the sight, and he checked them all one by one. "Where did all of thesee from?"

    "Burial Garden," Lu Yin replied.

    Xiu Ming was amazed. "It really is true that that ce holds countless inheritances. It even had humanoid sourceboxes, and so many of them at that!"

    "President Xiu, just what are humanoid sourceboxes?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Xiu Ming stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "Did Xiao Shi tell you not to open one if you came across one?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "He told me that more than just once."

    Xiu Ming solemnly exined, "I actually don''t know what these humanoid sourceboxes are, as they are simply too old, and the Hall of Honor has no records about them. The few mentions of them that can be found are unclear. For example, the Mavis family is old enough to know of such things, but their records are iplete, and they have gone through various changes.

    "From the Mavis family¡¯s records, the only thing that can be conclusively determined is that humanoid sourceboxes have some connection to the Fourth Maind."

    "The Fourth Maind?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Xiu Ming continued, "The Fourth Maind is from the ancient era. It seems that these humanoid sourceboxes may havee from that ce before it was destroyed."

    "You haven¡¯t unlocked one, President?" Lu Yin was surprised at what he was being told. He had visited the Mavis family and asked them various questions, but apparently, he should have also asked about humanoid sourceboxes.

    Xiu Ming took out another humanoid sourcebox from his own cosmic ring. It was practically identical to the one that Lu Yin had brought out. "The information the Mavis family shared with us stated the same thing that Xiao Shi said: do not open them. Because of that, I have held off from unlocking one, though I once wanted to do so. Humanoid sourceboxes are quite curious, but there are historical warnings about them. Ignoring such historical records can bring about catastrophes, so I have stopped myself from opening this sourcebox. In fact, if you had not brought this matter up to me, I most likely would have forgotten all about it."

    Even Xiu Ming was extremely hesitant to unlock a humanoid sourcebox, and Lu Yin felt that the string tied to the series of humanoid sourceboxes was likely something terrible. He had no idea which idiot had found them and pulled them out. "President, I¡¯d like to give you all of these sourceboxes that are tied together with the string."

    Xiu Ming¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. "To me?"

    Lu Yin offered, "A donation to the Lockbreakers Society."

    Xiu Mingughed. "Do you want to trade them for something of equal value that my Lockbreakers Society has?"

    Lu Yin grew embarrassed, but still answered, "Would that be okay?"

    Xiu Mingughed and shook his head. "Everyone in this universe says that Alliance Leader Lu loves wealth, and it turns out to be true! I¡¯ll give you enough star essence for you to be quite happy."

    Lu Yin''s expression remained pure and unruffled. "This junior isn¡¯t a greedy person. There¡¯s no need to offer any star essence."

    Xiu Ming was taken aback. "You don''t want star essence?"

    He felt that he must have heard wrong. Lu Yin was someone who loved money; was there anyone in the entire universe who did not know about this? Had something changed?

    Lu Yin continued in a serious tone, "This junior is focused on my cultivation, so how could I lust after for money? Those are nothing but rumors spread by those who hate me. President Xiu, you shouldn¡¯t believe such things."

    "In that case, would you prefer to receive a sourcebox of the same grade?" Xiu Ming was no longer confident in what to offer Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin awkwardly asked, "Is there anything else? Like, maybe a page of True Insight or something?"

    Xiu Ming was left speechless. "You want to trade a bunch of useless humanoid sourceboxes for some pages of True Insight? You¡¯re overestimating the value of these things."

    Lu Yin grew even more embarrassed.

    "While you did indeed return a page of True Insight to us in the past, and we rewarded you for that, several of the thirty-six pages of True Insight are still missing. So, it¡¯s impossible to lend out any of the pages for you to research and study," Xiu Ming stated.

    Lu Yin reflexively touched his ring, which still held five pages of True Insight. Unfortunately, all of those sourcebox arrays were too difficult for him toprehend.

    After everything was said and done, Lu Yin managed to walk away with some rare materials in exchange for the humanoid sourceboxes that he had turned over to the Lockbreakers Society. Lu Yin had no idea what any of the materials were used for, and judging from Xiu Ming¡¯s reaction, the old man was simrly ignorant. Regardless, Lu Yin just took what he was offered, despite feeling like he had suffered a loss.

    Still, it was not important, as hanging on to the humanoid sourceboxes would do nothing at all for Lu Yin. In the end, it was better to hand all of them over to Xiu Ming.

    When it came to lockbreaking, Lu Yin was far, far away from being able topare to someone like Xiu Ming.

    After leaving the Lockbreakers World without running into the Chi Shi Duo, Lu Yin ran into Director Zhi just outside the hidden world. Apparently, the man had been waiting for Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, thest time we parted ways, we agreed to cooperate, and yet we have never done so." Director Zhi spoke politely, but he was clearly hoping to get some rare materials from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had always been conscientious of Aurora Enterprises, as he was still waiting for their microarray technology to be sessfully developed. "It¡¯s been quite a while since then, but if Director Zhi needs some rare materials, I have quite a bit with me right now."

    Director Zhi''s eyes lit up. "This is wonderful! Do you happen to have some time now, Alliance Leader Lu? Why don¡¯t youe visit my Aurora Fortress for a bit?"

    Microarray technology still had not been fully developed yet, and Lu Yin was not sure that he would be able to hide a meeting with Wan Gong if he did visit Aurora Fortress. Thus, he had no desire to make the trip. "Now isn¡¯t the best time. I really need to get back to the Innerverse. With Burial Garden open, every open gate poses a grave danger. I¡¯m sure you understand, Director Zhi."

    Director Zhi felt that this was a pity. "That''s truly too bad. When do you intend to return to the Innerverse?"

    "Right now."

    "Then let''s walk to the exit together, as we¡¯re headed in the same direction."

    "That would be great. I was actually hoping to ask Director Zhi a few questions about the Neoverse."

    ¡­

    Normally, the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers were not allowed to leave Mt. Microcosms. Throughout the ages, the overseers had been people with a great deal of influence but little personal power. It was nearly impossible to guarantee their safety if they left Mt. Microcosms. This was also why Mr. You had been escorted by Li when he had gone to visit Venom Flowzone.

    However, Lu Yin was different. He had broken the council¡¯s conventions, which was something that left Nan Yuan grinding his teeth.

    Lu Yin and Director Zhi made their way to the Honor Zone¡¯s entrance, chatting as they moved along. Most of the time, Lu Yin asked about the Neoverse, while Director Zhi expressed a great deal of interest in the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Soon, half a month passed, and they were quickly approaching the entrance to the Honor Zone and were about to go their separate ways. Lu Yin was headed towards the west and the Cosmic Sect, while Director Zhi was headed towards Aurora Fortress in the northern region of the Neoverse.

    Before parting ways, Lu Yin suddenly asked, "What are Director Zhi¡¯s thoughts concerning the Cosmic Sect?"

    Director Zhi felt a bit confused by the question. "Why this question? The Cosmic Sect is an absolute monster here in the Neoverse, but they are a far way away from my Aurora Fortress. Honestly, I don''t know much about them."

    "I was just curious." Lu Yin did not give much of an exnation.

    However, he fell into deep thought as he watched Director Zhi leave. Wan Gong had told Lu Yin some time ago that there was someone in Aurora Enterprises who had connections to the Cosmic Sect. This detail had stood out to Lu Yin, and when San Liang had been in contact with Wan Gong, he had also been secretly investigating any possible connections between the two organizations, but he had failed to find amon thread.

    Lu Yin had only mentioned the Cosmic Sect to Director Zhi as a casual test, but the man¡¯s reaction had been perfectly normal.

    Was it just a coincidence? Or had Wan Gong been wrong?

    After leaving the Honor Zone, Lu Yin plotted a course for the Cosmic Sect in the western region of the Neoverse.

    As he traveled, his gadget suddenly beeped, and when Lu Yin looked down, he saw it was a call from First Edition City.

    "Do you recognize this person?" A voice came through as a picture of a human appeared on the disy.

    Lu Yin nced at the picture, and he instantly grew pale. Was that Bai Laogui?

    "Where is he?" Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    "He was at Sky Creation Academy more than half a month ago, but he has since disappeared."

    Both Bai Laogui and Wang Si had been trapped in a spatialyer in the Technocracy by the Master Brain¡¯s materialized thoughts. If Bai Laogui had broken free, then Wang Si clearly had as well. "Was he alone?"

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Bai Laogui had shown himself at Sky Creation Academy before disappearing, which meant he had most likely returned to the Perennial World. In that case, where was Wang Si?

    "You didn''t miss anyone?" Lu Yin confirmed.

    "Absolutely not. He was the only person to appear at Sky Creation Academy. You asked us to monitor the ce, and he was someone powerful and unknown. So, we reported this matter to you."

    "Why didn''t you tell me sooner?" Lu Yin''s voice dropped low as frustration appeared across his face. Bai Laogui had been at Sky Creation Academy more than a month ago, which meant that Wang Si could have been causing trouble for more than fifteen days! While traveling from one domain to another was difficult, it was not a huge challenge to a Semi-Progenitor.

    "We''ve been trying to reach you, but we haven¡¯t been able to get through until just now."

    Lu Yin then realized that, more than half a month ago, he had been traveling from the Mavis family to Mt. Microcosms. It was impossible to use a gadget freely in the Honor Zone, so First Edition City had not been able to get through to Lu Yin until this very moment.

    "I understand. Keep an eye on Sky Creation Academy," Lu Yin said solemnly.

    After hanging up, Lu Yin resumed his course. He had no idea where Wang Si was headed at the moment. But given the Perennial World¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin, the old woman had most likely not returned to the Perennial World, but was instead trying to hunt Lu Yin down.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not been particrly worried. Even if Wang Si was a Semi-Progenitor, she was not powerful enough to determine Lu Yin¡¯s location. However, things had changed after Lu Yin had be an overseer. His whereabouts were being somewhat monitored, and the fact that he had left Mt. Microcosms was widely known. If Wang Si was hunting Lu Yin, it was impossible for her not to know that he had left the Honor Zone, and it was possible that she was already traveling towards him.

    Lu Yin had no confidence that he would not be attacked by Wang Si on his way to the Cosmic Sect, and if that happened, Elder Gong would most likely not have the chance to rescue Lu Yin. This was not a risk that Lu Yin wasfortable taking, and after calcting the distance he still needed to travel, the only safe option was to return to Mt. Microcosms for the time being.

    As soon as he turned around, Lu Yin tried to call Arch-Elder Zen again, but he was still unable to get in touch with the old man. Instead, Lu Yin called Yuan Qiong. Recently, he hade across a few Semi-Progenitors, and he needed to find someone who could keep him safe at any time. The best options were either Kui Luo or Gong Gong. It was impossible for Arch-Elder Zen or Highsage Grandmaster to stay close to Lu Yin to keep him safe.

    "What''s the matter?" Yuan Qiong spoke the moment the call connected.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to answer, his ship exploded. Before he had a chance to even react, he felt a pressure that suppressed the entire area, and he lost consciousness. A figure emerged from the void, grabbed Lu Yin, and left.

 Chapter 1835: Struggle

    Chapter 1835: Struggle

    In the Cosmic Sect, Yuan Qiong leaped to his feet when the call was cut short. Something had clearly happened, so he raced away to find Elder Gong.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had no idea how much time passed, but he was awakened by a stinging pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was on a barren with an enormous maelstrom covering the sky. It was a yellow cyclone that stretched out of sight.

    What had happened? Why was he in this ce? Lu Yin''s mind raced as he tried to figure out what had happened.

    The earth was stained red, and when Lu Yin looked down, he saw that it was due to the blood streaming from his own right leg. It had been badly injured and was also the source of the stinging pain that had woken him.

    "Unbelievable." A hoarse and t voice spoke up from behind Lu Yin. He was stillying on the ground, staring at his bleeding right leg, and remaining absolutely still as he recalled what had happened. He had been speaking with the Cosmic Sect¡¯s master, Yuan Qiong, when he had instantly lost consciousness. A true powerhouse had attacked him.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, not even Envoys with power levels of 800,000 or 900,000 could instantly deal with him. While he was not able to defeat Envoys with power levels of 700,000, he could still put up a fight without losing. At the moment, even if Lu Yin faced off against someone as strong as Cang Zhou, he would still be able to put up a fight. However, he had not been able to mount any sort of resistance at all against the person who had attacked him, and Lu Yin did not even know how he had lost consciousness.

    Who was speaking to him? The voice was not familiar.

    "You¡¯re only an Enlighter, and yet your body possesses a physical strength that surpasses what most Envoys are capable of even after reaching a power level of 600,000. This is simply incredible. It¡¯s no wonder you were able to create so much trouble in this Forsaken Land and establish that Great Eastern Alliance." The t, hoarse voice continued.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. The Perennial World called the Fifth Maind the Forsaken Land.

    "Still pretending to be unconscious?" A terrible pain shot through Lu Yin¡¯s left leg, and more blood dripped onto the ground. Off in the distance, the maelstrom picked up sand and rocks into the air, and it looked as though the sky above him was about to drop down and crush him.

    Lu Yin wiggled his fingers and slowly sat up. He turned his head and saw a blurry figure. It was impossible to see who the person was, if they were male or female, or even if they were fat or skinny. This blurred image seemed to block Lu Yin¡¯s sight somehow.

    His pupils transformed into runes, and he stared at the person, but what he saw was a number of runes that could not even match up to an Envoy with a power level of 600,000.

    This was impossible. There was no way that an Envoy with that sort of power level could possibly be strong enough to defeat Lu Yin so easily.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin warily asked.

    The figure looked at Lu Yin. "It''s time to end this, Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. He gritted his teeth and solemnly asked, "Who did the Perennial World send after me? Even if you want me dead, at least tell me who¡¯s killing me."

    "Dead men don¡¯t need to know such things." As they spoke, the blurry figure waved their right arm like it was a de. It sliced through the air, the ground, and apparently, even a. The pressure of the attack suppressed Lu Yin even as his skin tore open from the de-like attack.

    An iparably sharp edge descended. This was a more powerful attack than Lu Yin had ever faced before.

    As though by reflex, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved.

    The only abilities that Lu Yin could use against Envoys were his physical strength, his spiritual force, his domain, and his battle force. Absolutely any technique or ability that used star energy in any form could not be used, and yet his secret technique somehow seeded. Even though the sharp attack that had beenunched at Lu Yin was overwhelming, it had not suppressed any of the star energy in the area.

    After Lu Yin moved away, his eyes flickered, and he moved again. This time, he attempted to enter the true universe to escape.

    The blurry figure instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, moving far faster than Lu Yin and blocking his path. The sharp attack appeared again, and this time, the runes that Lu Yin saw exceeded a power level of 700,000. Clearly, this hidden person did not merely have a power level of 600,000, but was instead doing something to hide their strength.

    Lu Yin instantly left the true universe by dodging the attack with the Ce Secret Art. He focused on the space in front of him, and the moment the blurry figure appeared, Lu Yin released a Hollow Palm.

    Hollow Palm was not a purely physical attack like Vacuum Palm, as it incorporated everything that a person was capable of unleashing, such as domain, battle force, and more. A single Hollow Palm was the same as being struck by Lu Yin¡¯s most powerful attack that used star energy.

    It was difficult to know if Lu Yin would have struggled this much against Jiu Han if he had possessed the Hollow Palm back then. She had been quite weak to spiritual force attacks and domain attacks, and just a single Hollow Palm might have been enough to force out the woman¡¯s trump cards.

    However, Lu Yin''s Hollow Palm failed him. While the attack didnd on the blurry figure, it did not cause any damage at all. Instead, the person just voiced a bit of surprise. ¡°Impressive palm attack! It carries a variety of different energies, and anyone weaker than you would definitely be injured. Very good."

    The figure then raised an arm and swung it down, releasing another sharp attack that swept forward like a de.

    It looked like this was the only attack method that this person intended to use.

    However, Lu Yin did not want to avoid this attack. Instead, his pupils transformed into runes, and he started to weaken the attack while simultaneously setting up a Channeling Diagram.

    Against this sharp attack, Truesight managed to erase a tremendous number of runes, but the attack still struck the sourcebox array and sliced through the Channeling Diagram before continuing on towards Lu Yin.

    He quickly retreated to dodge the attack, and the sharp slice swept past his side, tearing through the void and space as it passed by.

    Just what was this mysterious person thinking? This was clearly a powerful attack, but it was very easy to dodge. It was also obvious that Lu Yin¡¯s attacker was powerful enough to instantly deal with Lu Yin and also suppress his star energy, and yet they had not done so. Just what was this person¡¯s goal?

    Since star energy was not being suppressed, Lu Yin decided to do his best. He formed a sword with his star energy and released the Fourteenth Sword.

    "Oh? A sword technique that surpasses the Thirteenth Sword? Unfortunately, the gap between us is too vast for this to be able to hurt me." The blurry figure said as they once more shed down with their arm. Lu Yin was feeling more and more stifled.

    Determination filled Lu Yin''s eyes, and he released Daynight Praises next in an attempt to overwhelm his attacker with spiritual force. But once again, all efforts proved useless.

    This person was clearly allowing Lu Yin to use everything at his disposal, which felt very simr to what Mister Mu had done when he had epted Lu Yin as his disciple. However, at the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was actually trying to kill him. Lu Yin could sense the power of the de-like attacks, and the strength behind them never changed at all. If he was ever cornered or slipped up, Lu Yin would die. This person was simply toying with him.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out the Champions¡¯ Stage. ¡°With my name, I summon a champion."

    Finally, the blurry figure¡¯s arm hesitated while swinging down. "The Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage? Who did you summon?"

    It was pointless for Lu Yin to summon a champion with his star energy. His only option was to summon champions with his death energy: Cang Zhou, Long Yi, and finally, Jiu Han.

    The three Envoys charged the blurry figure as Lu Yin stared at his opponent. He wanted to see just how powerful this person actually was.

    "Useless." After uttering a single word, the blurred figure attacked the champions in the exact same manner that they had attacked Lu Yin. The de-like attack swept out, and Cang Zhou, Long Yi, and Jiu Han were all sliced in half at the same time. Death energy recoiled within Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and he retreated a few steps, slightly weakened. He stared at his opponent in shock.

    "While merely an Enlighter, you¡¯re able to summon Envoys from your Champions¡¯ Stage, and there are even champions with power levels of more than 700,000. Quite impressive, but unfortunately, Lu Xiaoxuan, you will still die. When you see your Lu family again, say hello for me." The blurry figure raised a hand once more and sent out another shing attack.

    Lu Yin''s zed, and the astral chessboard reappeared beneath his feet. However, this time, he did not try to dodge, but instead moved himself directly behind his attack. He threw out another Hollow Palm, and this time, numerous Hollow Palms rained down upon the blurry figure. An arm swept up and down, releasing shing attacks to counter Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palms, but Lu Yin did not retreat. He instead appeared on the other side of his attacker with the Teleportation Formation. At the same time, he pulled out the Void Rip sourcebox array and released the attack.

    Two points were connected by a line, and the Void Rip swept forward. However, the Void Rip did not cause any damage to the blurry figure, as the sourcebox array had only contained the first part of the technique.

    "Is this all you have?" The blurry figure raised an arm high. "Then you can go to hell."

    Lu Yin suddenly sneered. "Too bad, but I can''t die yet. You should take care of yourself first."

    The blurry figure felt puzzled, but they hesitated just as they were about to drop their arm. They stared at their arm just in time to see a drop of some sort of transparent liquid melting into their skin. "Poison?"

    "That¡¯s not even an ordinary poison, so go save your life," Lu Yin said as an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He moved, trying again to escape.

    When Lu Yin had appeared behind his attacker for the second time, which was when he had used the Teleportation Formation, he had left a drop of Samaritan¡¯s Tears in the air. The moment the blurry figure had spun around to attack, their raised arm hade into contact with the poison, which was precisely what Lu Yin had predicted.

    His attacker was simply too confident. Every time they attacked, their arm followed the exact same movements, which just went to show how little they regarded Lu Yin. After all, Samaritan¡¯s Tears were not invisible or undetectable. Just when Lu Yin had thought that all of his options were useless, a poison had finally managed to prove effective.

    Yi¡¯s Emporium had imed that Samaritan¡¯s Tears was Venom Flowzone¡¯s most potent poison, and they had even imed that an Envoy with a power level of 700,000 had once been killed by the poison. Lu Yin had then Enhanced the poison with his die, which meant that it should be deadly even to experts with power levels of 900,000. Even more importantly, Lu Yin had learned that Samaritan¡¯s Tears was developed by the Neohuman Alliance, just like Vitality Poison. Thus, its toxicity could not be evaluated merely by its power level.

    In fact, Lu Yin had nearly died to Samaritan¡¯s Tears despite using Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Lu Yin had spent nearly 2 billion star essence Enhancing this poison, so even if the blurry figure was a master with a power level of a million, they still might meet their death from this poison.

    At the moment, all that Lu Yin could do was try to escape, and the further, the better.

    Back where Lu Yin had awoken, the blurry figure stared at their arm. "This poison is so vicious even after all this time! How could that child have such a thing?"

    The figure then disappeared.

    Lu Yin turned his head back, but he saw that the overwhelming number of runes had disappeared. He nced around in all directions, afraid that his attacker might strike from the true universe.

    Luckily, the blurry figure had truly left.

    The Samaritan¡¯s Tears had proven powerful enough that Lu Yin felt truly lucky.

    He nced down at his wrist and saw that his gadget had not been damaged during the scuffle. He tried to call Yuan Qiong, only to learn that there was no signal. This barren was apparently in some sort of pocket dimension or isted space.

    Lu Yin jumped into the air, intending to leave the.

    He charged into the maelstrom that looked like a copsing sky. The storm looked like it could destroy anything, but it posed no danger to Lu Yin. He easily pierced through the storm. However, he was not met by outer space on the other side of the storm, but rather by a white mist. As he looked around, there was a massive pir, and thendmass that he had been atop of was nothing more than the top of that pir.

 Chapter 1836: Test

    Chapter 1836: Test

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. There were more erect pirs that stretched out for as far as he could see, each one topped by andmass and covered with some sort of natural disaster. He saw storms, mes, tsunamis, and more. There were even some pirs that had ck holes devouring everything near the top of the pirs.

    Where the hell was he?

    He looked down, but he could not see anything below him. The pirs extend deep into the white fog, which seemed to be exactly what it appeared to be: just fog. It was possible that there wasnd beneath the fog and that he was on a, but what was this massive?

    Lu Yin didn''t know where he was. After thinking about it, he flew into the distance. Since he didn''t know where he was, he could only go in the direction of the pirs. These pirs were obviously man-made, and perhaps they led to an exit.

    ***

    In the Neoverse, a spacecraft that was packed with people cruised towards the west.

    "Is that someone out in open space? Is that- That¡¯s someone from the Interster Supreme Court!" One of the upants eximed, quickly drawing the attention of everyone else aboard.

    Outside the vessel stood Mu En, Da Qiu, and many other members of the Interster Supreme Court. Across from them were the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Yuan Qiong and a seemingly innocuous elder.

    The ship¡¯s passengers could not hear a word that was being said.

    Outside, an ugly expression painted Yuan Qiong''s face. "He had to have been taken by someone who was able to suppress him instantly! They had to at least have been an Envoy, so check into all the possible suspects."

    Mu En growled, "They dare to kidnap one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers? This person is clearly not an average Envoy."

    Da Qiu was quite anxious. "What could have happened to Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Yuan Qiong was actually even more worked up than Da Qiu, as Lu Yin was the sole source of the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest inheritance. He had no idea what would happen to the pattern on the sole of Lu Yin¡¯s foot if he died. The sect master nced over at the old man apanying him.

    Elder Gong¡¯s expression was solemn. It was an expression that Yuan Qiong had never seen before on the man¡¯s face.

    "Elder, have you found any clues?" Yuan Qiong asked.

    Mu En and everyone else looked over at Elder Gong. Everyone present was aware that the old man was one of the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, which made him one of the most powerful individuals in the universe. They had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s abduction to pull out such a powerful individual.

    Elder Gong''s eyes suddenly grew more focused. "I can feel the energy from an inner world."

    Yuan Qiong''s pupils instantly shrank. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    Elder Gong frowned. "I¡¯m not sure."

    He then immediately moved out to visit Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin possessed a unique status, and Elder Gong needed to discuss this matter with Arch-Elder Zen. This was not only about the Cosmic Sect¡¯s inheritance, but also about the people who stood behind Lu Yin.

    Elder Gong somewhat suspected that someone from that ce might havee to the Fifth Maind.

    The spacecraft slowly flew by as it continued on towards the west. Many of the upants were busy discussing what they had seen, as none of them could understand why people from both the Interster Supreme Court and the Cosmic Sect had been standing in the middle of nowhere. Regardless, it was fairly obvious that something major had happened.

    Within the onlookers, there was an old woman who was staring at her gadget with riveted interest. This woman was Wang Si. She had left the Technocracy, and she had recently learned that Lu Yin had be one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers. This had led her toe to the Neoverse to hunt him down, but she had not found him. Instead, her interest had been drawn to Burial Garden.

    Wang Si was browsing through her gadget, soaking up everything rted to Burial Garden. "Tea mountains? Could that person be the Eastern Mountains Tea King who used to like raising tea bushes from people? He¡¯s from an incredibly long time ago."

    Another video appeared. This one was of a younger girl who kept pping down on the air with a hand. The video showed her pping down on a person¡¯s head and smashing it apart. It was a disturbing video to watch.

    Wang Si stared at the image of a wandering corpse with a young girl''s image. This sight startled the woman. ¡°She seems so familiar! I feel that she might be a powerhouse from the Second Maind who was mentioned in an ancient record. I believe she had some sort of connection to Progenitor Y¨­u."

    Wang Si continued to browse through the videos and images. There were many posts to go through, and many included information about inheritances that people had found.

    There was a video of a massive wandering corpse that pounded the ground, another one of a wandering corpse that made tripod-shaped objects that it then stomped on and smashed, and even a blind wandering corpse that crawled and rolled over the ground. She also saw a video of someone who found a human blood fruit, a strange power vessel, and even an image of a pir of tribtion crystals.

    When it came to mere rumors, there were countless more, and Wang Si even found posts from people who imed to have seen Progenitor Chen.

    This was shocking news to Wang Si. Why would there be anything at all from that particr era in Burial Garden? She was quite certain that she had seen things rted to the Second, Third, and Fourth Mainds in the pictures and videos from Burial Garden, as well as rumors about things connected to Progenitor Chen''s time. There were numerous news of things rted to the ancient era.

    Of everything that Wang Si saw, the Eastern Mountains Tea King was one of the oldest.

    When Wang Si closed her gadget, she was far more subdued than before. She had believed that the Forsaken Land was a worthless ce, but it looked like the truth was far different from that. This Burial Garden was clearly hiding some secrets, and if there were any inheritances rted to those legendary figures, it would be a waste to leave them for the residents of the Forsaken Land.

    It was time for the four ruling powers to descend upon the Forsaken Land. The primeval surnames may have abandoned the ce, but the hatred and hostility that this ce carried for the primeval surnames was something that could not be allowed to continue. On top of that, how could such trash deserve those ancient inheritances? After thinking for a bit, Wang Si suddenly vanished.

    ¡­

    In another ce in the universe, the master of the Starsibyl Sect, the man who Lu Yin referred to as Senior Zhu, wrote the word ¡°Murkiness¡± in the air in front of himself.

    "I¡¯m supposed to perform a divination on this word?" Senior Zhu muttered to himself as he stared at the character and his eyes grew unfocused.

    Before long, his body trembled, and the word ¡°Murkiness¡± burned into the void. ¡°Why did I see that one?"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had no idea how long he traveled for, but he finallynded atop a pir that was riddled with spatial cracks. Each one was dangerous enough to slice through an Enlighter.

    He had no idea how many pirs he had passed by, but there was still no end in sight. All he could do was grit his teeth and continue on.

    His body flew through the air as he stepped forward, continuing in the same direction that he had been traveling.

    Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared up in front of Lu Yin. His expression changed drastically, and he instantly froze. "You- you¡¯re all right?"

    The blurred figure stood facing Lu Yin and replied in a cold tone, "That was a potent poison, but still too weak. So, one of the glorious Lu family¡¯s descendants fell so low as to use a method as despicable as poison. You¡¯ve disgraced your ancestors."

    As the figure spoke, they raised an arm and dropped it down in the exact same manner as before. Also as before, there was no attempt to suppress Lu Yin¡¯s star energy.

    Lu Yin dodged as he shouted, "What do you want? Who are you?"

    There was no way his attacker was actually someone from the Perennial World despite them repeatedly referring to Lu Yin as Lu Xiaoxuan. It was clear this person wanted Lu Yin to believe that they were from the Perennial World, but they clearly had no idea that Wang Si was already in the Fifth Maind. Since a Semi-Progenitor had already been sent to hunt Lu Yin down, there was no reason for the Perennial World to send anyone else. Of course, it was still possible that this blurry figure was someone from the Perennial World, just not from one of the four ruling powers, but that possibility was beyond remote.

    Kui Luo had used Wang Yun to get to the Fifth Maind, and after that, it was guaranteed that the four ruling powers had locked down the passage that led from the Perennial World to Sky Creation Academy. It was practically impossible for anyone not from one of the four ruling powers to have made it to the Fifth Maind.

    However, if Lu Yin¡¯s attacker was not someone from the Perennial World, but they still knew of his identity as Lu Xiaoxuan, then there was only one exnation. They must have learned of this through Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Yin believed that the First Protector would not say a word without Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s consent, and Arch-Elder Zen would only tell his peers about Lu Yin¡¯s identity, which were the Fifth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors.

    Any Semi-Progenitor could easily suppress Lu Yin, and it would also take them no more than a few days to deal with a poison as potent as Samaritan¡¯s Tears. In fact, that was something that only a Semi-Progenitor could possibly do.

    At the moment, the Human Domain had six Semi-Progenitors: Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, Tombkeeper, Xia Ji, but Lu Yin didn¡¯t know thest person. He had forgotten to ask about the final Semi-Progenitor¡¯s identity, but could his attacker be that person? Was this the Semi-Progenitor that Lu Yin had never heard of?

    Actually, there was also another possibility. Lu Yin stared at the blurry figure. Could this person actually be Xia Ji?

    Out of the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, the only one who viewed Lu Yin with any sort of hostility was Xia Ji. While others might not know precisely when Lu Yin left the Honor Zone, Xia Ji absolutely could have known, as he could have found out from Nan Yuan.

    In fact, as Lu Yin and Director Zhi had been leaving the Honor Zone, Director Zhi had been speaking to Nan Yuan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart fell as his mind raced. If he was really facing Xia Ji, then Lu Yin¡¯s luck was much worse than he had believed. He had no idea where he was, and no one would even know if he died. A Semi-Progenitor could easily deal with Lu Yin, and there was absolutely nothing that Lu Yin could do about it.

    The blurry figure clearly had no intention of speaking with Lu Yin, and they merely raised a hand and swung it down.

    Lu Yin again evaded the attack. If his attacker truly was Xia Ji, then why attack at all? Because of the overseers¡¯ council? That was impossible. What else could there be?

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as the sharp attack shot out once again.

    Why was this person not simply killing Lu Yin? Why were they letting him resist?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin figured it out: the Cosmic Art. Xia Ji was trying to force Lu Yin to use the Cosmic Art.

    The war that had ravaged the Cosmic Sea was the result of countless years of Xia Ji''s nning. He had seeded in stealing the Skystar Jade Wall, but the man¡¯s ultimate goal was the pattern that had originally been a part of that treasure. That pattern was the most vital part of Progenitor Chen¡¯s inheritance. However, despite all the time that Xia Ji had possessed the Skystar Jade Wall for, he had received nothing from it at all. During this same time, Lu Yin¡¯s status within the Cosmic Sect hadpletely transformed, and his progress in cultivating the Cosmic Art had been exceptional.

    The Xia family had always kept an eye on Lu Yin. Also, Xia Ji had escaped from the Great Eastern Alliance. Before that, he had attacked Lu Yin within Burial Garden, and Lu Yin had attacked by using the Celestial Sword Technique to unleash the Fourteenth Sword. Xia Yi had definitely noticed the attack, and he had most likely reported the matter to Xia Ji after returning home. This would have piqued Xia Ji¡¯s curiosity and sparked some questions in the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s mind.

    This was what had most likely led to Lu Yin¡¯s current situation. Xia Ji was trying to force Lu Yin to use the Cosmic Art so that the old man could determine whether Lu Yin possessed Progenitor Chen¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin kept dodging the blurry figure¡¯s attacks. If this person really was Xia Ji, then Lu Yin could not allow himself to use the Cosmic Art. Wait, that was not quite right. If Lu Yin refused to use the Cosmic Art, wouldn¡¯t that just prolong the current situation? If Lu Yin wanted proof that he was being attacked by Xia Ji, then he could find out by using the Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin kept avoiding the attacks as he slowly retreated. If this person truly was Xia Ji, then he would never actually kill Lu Yin. The fight had suddenly be a battle of patience.

    Lu Yin continuously retreated, and the blurry figure never let up on their attacks. Lu Yin kept moving along the pirs that continued out of sight.

    The blurry figure was in no hurry, as there was no way for Lu Yin to escape from the current situation.

    One day. Two days. Three days¡­ Ten days.

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily. He had managed to evade the blurry figure¡¯s attacks for ten days, but he was reaching his limits. Fortunately, thest stone pir was finally in sight, and past it, Lu Yin saw buildings.

    He became excited and he rushed towards the buildings.

    The blurry figure suddenly appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s path. "All of your efforts mean nothing. Why don¡¯t you start again."

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly widened, and 10,000 stars instantly appeared around his body, covering a vast area as they started to revolve around his body.

    The blurry figure froze and stopped moving for a bit while staring at Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art.

    This person had never once stopped attacking Lu Yin no matter what Lu Yin had said or done, but at this moment, they finally stopped.

 Chapter 1837: Means Of Escape

    Chapter 1837: Means Of Escape

    Lu Yin once again started racing towards the buildings, and the simted stars moved with him.

    The blurry figure instantly blocked him. "Move, and you''ll die."

    Lu Yin sneered. "In your dreams!"

    He suddenly pulled out the blood-stained clothes that he had picked up in Burial Garden. The moment he touched them, all the death energy in his body surged. The sky behind him boiled, and a figure appeared that covered the sky. There was a scythe in the figure''s hand, and it shed out at the blurry figure.

    Lu Yin''s kidnapper was horrified; what kind of power was this?

    A long knife appeared in front of the blurry figure, and in that moment, space itself changed. Lu Yin merely felt as though the blurry figure had suddenly be the master of space in that area. Lu Yin''s eyes were drawn to the knife that had appeared. There was a simr feeling to when the Chief Justice had fought against the Forgotten Ruins God. This was a power that came from an inner world.

    The blurry figure faced the iing scythe with a sh of their long knife.

    There was a deafening bang, and the long knifepletely shattered. Space warped, and a devastating shockwave swept out from the impact. All the nearby pirs instantly shattered, as did the distant buildings. Lu Yin seized this opportunity; an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet as he moved. He next appeared past the blurry figure and near where the buildings had stood.

    The blurry figure held the hilt of a broken knife. This waspletely unbelievable! How could a mere Enlighter damage a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world? Had that figure who had just appeared been the legendary God of Death? The God of Death was the only powerhouse who had ever used a weapon as odd as a scythe.

    At this thought, the blurry figure''s eyes lit up. The Cosmic Art and the God of Death''s inheritance? Neither were things that the Semi-Progenitor could let go. Boy, you can''t escape!

    Lu Yin recklessly charged straight into the area where the buildings had stood. Unfortunately, because of the shockwave, all the buildings had been destroyed.

    There was no one to be seen no matter where Lu Yin looked. All he could see were some distant buildings that had survived, so he hurried over to them.

    However, even in that ce, Lu Yin could not find a single person. He looked off into the distance. Could he be in an abandoned city?

    The blurry figure appeared nearby. "I must admit that you are truly amazing."

    Lu Yin stared at his opponent. He had already done his absolute best. Was escape really impossible?

    "Are you desperate yet? Even if you had a power level of a million, you would still be helpless right now. You''re truly unlucky to have met me." The blurry figure spoke in a casual manner while openly expressing their admiration.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin demanded.

    "Give me the God of Death''s inheritance and the Cosmic Art''s inheritance, and I can agree to fulfill yourst wish," the blurry figure stated. The person was bing more and more talkative.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed sharply. "You''re Xia Ji!"

    The blurry figure fell silent for a bit, and then the blurriness that had been hiding their appearance disappeared before Lu Yin''s eyes, and he was met with the sight of Xia Ji.

    Lu Yin spat, "A Semi-Progenitor actually stooped low enough to attack a mere Enlighter like me. You damned old man, you really have no shame."

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    Xia Ji instead praised Lu Yin, "Throughout all of human history, there has never been an Enlighter capable of what you''ve done. You''re actually able to force a Semi-Progenitor to put forth a bit of effort."

    "That''s only because you''ve been trying to force me to use the Cosmic Art. You kept pushing me, forcing me to reveal everything I''m capable of. If not for that, you would have instantly dealt with me like you did when you captured me," Lu Yin mocked the old man.

    Xia Ji indifferently replied, "I already told you. Give me the Cosmic Art''s inheritance and the God of Death''s inheritance, and I''ll fulfill yourst wish."

    "Aren''t you afraid of Arch-Elder Zen or the others finding out and making things difficult for you?" Lu Yin still could not ept his fate.

    Xia Jiughed. "Maybe in the past, but you are Lu Xiaoxuan. The people from that ce all want you dead, so who wille after me for your sake? Maybe I can even use your head to gain some sort of reward from that ce."

    "You''ve been nning this from the moment you learned that I''m Lu Xiaoxuan," Lu Yin used.

    "Like I said, there''s nothing you can do. No one knows where you are, and no one can save you. Even you don''t know where you are, so why keep struggling? Just give me the inheritances, and I will fulfill whatever yourst wish may be, as long as it''s nothing shameful. I swear it."

    Lu Yinughed loudly. "You''ll stop at nothing to get your hands on that inheritance! You''re even willing to swear to fulfill a promise to a measly Enlighter!"

    Xia Ji sped his hands behind his back. "If you refuse, I won''t kill you, but will instead keep you here and torture you for the next 1,000 years. I willpletely destroy your Great Eastern Alliance and torture and kill all of your friends, family, and lovers. I am a Semi-Progenitor! I can aplish all of this, and there is no one who can stop me!"

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists. At this moment, his eyes were colder than they had ever been before, and they burned with an overflowing killing intent.

    "Do you hate me? Given enough time, even if I am a Semi-Progenitor, you might be able to rise up high enough to get revenge on me. Unfortunately, you won''t have the time. For thest time, give me the Cosmic Art''s inheritance and the God of Death''s inheritance, and I promise to fulfill yourst wish. If not, everyone you love and cherish will die, so don''t even try to escape!" Every word Xia Ji spoke was a threat, and he stared at Lu Yin as though he were looking at a corpse.

    Lu Yin felt incredibly frustrated, and he was ovee with despair. "I never thought that I would meet my end like this. I''ve cultivated and wandered the universe, surviving near-death encounters numerous times, only to fall at your hands."

    "It''s nothing to regret. After all, not every Enlighter qualifies to force a Semi-Progenitor to make a move. Are you going to agree or not?" Xia Ji coldly demanded.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. Some timeter, they opened again, and determination filled his eyes as he stared at Xia Ji. "Will you really fulfill myst wish?"please visit

    "Yes." A flicker of excitement burned in the depths of Xia Ji''s eyes. He had already pushed Lu Yin to the brink, and he was about to finally achieve his goal. Even if his expression seemed rather indifferent, his actions and behavior betrayed his anxious state of mind.

    He was absolutely,pletely obsessed with the inheritance that Progenitor Chen had left behind in the Cosmic Art. Lu Yin was the person with the closest connection to numerous legendary figures, and regardless of whether it was the Cosmic Art''s inheritance or the God of Death''s, Xia Ji had to acquire them! With them, he would be one of the most terrifying Progenitors in history after he broke through, and it was even possible that Xia Ji would be able to surpass Progenitor Chen!

    The more the old man thought about the future, the more excited he became as he stared at Lu Yin. "What is yourst wish?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, but he hesitated to speak.

    "Let''s go!" Xia Ji shouted.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "I- I want to leave the Lu family''s bloodline behind."

    Xia Ji arched a brow. "Leave your bloodline behind?"

    Lu Yin softly continued, "The four ruling powers have banished my Lu family, leaving me the only one left alive. If I die, my entire Lu family will be gone, so I want to leave a trace of the Lu bloodline behind."

    Xia Ji frowned and started thinking about something.

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    Lu Yin quickly continued, saying, "Such a bloodline doesn''t need to keep the Lu surname, though they will be able to keep the family''s innate gift of the Champions'' Stage. You should understand what this means."

    Xia Ji''s heart skipped a beat. This was true, people carrying the Lu family''s bloodline did not necessarily have to carry the family''s name! They could instead have the Xia surname, for example. However, if the bloodline retained the Lu family''s innate gift of the Champions'' Stage, the Fifth Maind''s Xia family would eventually have members with Champions'' Stages, which would allow their family''s strength to skyrocket. The Champions'' Stage was a truly terrifying innate gift.

    This meant that not only would Xia Ji''s family be able to acquire the Champions'' Stage innate gift, but he would also personally take the Cosmic Art and God of Death''s inheritances! Those inheritances,bined with the Lu family''s innate gift, meant that the Fifth Maind''s Xia family might eventually be able to surpass the main family in the Perennial World and be the true main line of the Xia family.

    Xia Ji''s eyes zed as he looked at Lu Yin. This was a condition that the Semi-Progenitor could not say no to. "I''ll find you a woman right now."

    He turned to leave, but he suddenly thought of something and turned back to leave Lu Yin unconscious while he was gone. However, when the old man turned around, he caught the sight of a yellow futon. Xia Ji instantly made a mental connection, and he shouted, "STOP!"

    Unfortunately, he was toote. Lu Yin had been ready to take out the futon the moment he had decided to try to tempt Xia Ji with the Lu family''s Champions'' Stage. He sat on the futon and simultaneously rang the blood-red bell.

    That bell held the Chief Justice''s power, and there was suddenly the sensation of a massive hand crushing down on the area.

    Xia Ji roared, and he used his inner world to try to capture Lu Yin, but he shed with the power of the bell. The blood-red bell shattered, and Lu Yin disappeared from Xia Ji''s sight to enter the ruins of the Fifth Maind''s Daosource Sect.

    Xia Ji stared at the ground that was empty aside from some red fragments of a small bell, and he let out a roar of fury, as he knew that he had been tricked. He was aware of the function of the futons and how they allowed a person to visit the Daosource Sect. Lu Yin would return to the ce that he had disappeared from within no more than a month. However, during that time, Lu Yin would have numerous ways to leak word that he had been attacked by Xia Ji. Arch-Elder Zen, Elder Gong, and Highsage Grandmaster would all definitely look to make trouble for Xia Ji.

    He also had no guarantee that those people would not be able to find where he had taken Lu Yin.

    Xia Ji clenched his hands into tight fists. He was a powerful Semi-Progenitor who was always in control of everything! It had been countless years since he hadst felt so powerless. Even during the war in the Cosmic Sea, Xia Ji had ultimately been sessful, due to various reasons. However, he had actually miscalcted when facing a mere Enlighter.

    Lu Yin was a cautious person who had an excellent grasp of timing. He had considered every step of his n, and he had ultimately managed to escape from a Semi-Progenitor! This was despicable! Hateful!

    Given the inheritances that Lu Yin possessed, Xia Ji was horribly tempted to stay and wait for the youth to return, but there was a very low chance of sess if he did so.

    "Boy, you were lucky this time, but next time, you won''t be able to escape!" Xia Ji muttered to himself. His eyes grew dark as he left.

    ¡­

    In the Daosource Sect''s ruins, Lu Yin appeared in a za. He nced around and soon let out a sigh of relief. He had finally managed to escape. Facing a Semi-Progenitor was terrifying.

    No one would ever believe that Lu Yin had managed to escape from a Semi-Progenitor on his own, but he had aplished just that.

    He had actually considered trying to use his futon to escape the moment he had regained consciousness, but the opportunity had never presented itself. Even when Xia Ji had been poisoned by the Samaritan''s Tears and had left him alone for a while, Lu Yin had not tried to use the futon. After all, he had not known whether his kidnapper had still been keeping an eye on him. If the roles were reversed, Lu Yin would have absolutely kept an eye on his captive to ensure that there was no chance of escape no matter what.

    Lu Yin had actually dismissed the prospect of escaping from Xia Ji by using the futon when XIa Ji was distracted. However, after a few moments of consideration, using the futon in front of Xia Ji would give him the greatest chance of escape.

    While he had sessfully escaped, it had cost Lu Yin quite a bit. He looked at the shards of the red bell that were still in his hand. It had been a wonderful treasure to have, but it was now gone.

    Suddenly, hatred appeared in Lu Yin''s eyes, and he gritted his teeth. Xia Ji had forced Lu Yin to suffer unprecedented losses. He had used his Samaritan''s Tears, the blood-stained clothes from the God of Death, and even the Chief Justice''s blood-red bell. Those three things had been Lu Yin''s trump cards against true powerhouses, but all of them had been destroyed and lost while facing Xia Ji. Lu Yin''s losses had been terrible, and Xia Ji needed to pay back what he owed.

    Still, the most important thing at the moment was how to proceed to remove the danger that would still face Lu Yin upon his return.

    It was very unlikely that Xia Ji would remain where Lu Yin had disappeared and wait for his return. Lu Yin knew that the old man would assume that Lu Yin would find a way while in the Daosource Sect''s ruins to expose what had happened. This was the only way for Lu Yin to remove the danger that still gued him.

    Lu Yin had no idea where he had been taken and imprisoned, and the only person who could reveal Lu Yin''s whereabouts was Xia Ji himself.

    Lu Yin stood up, as he already had an idea.

 Chapter 1838: Why Is Your Surname Lu?

    Chapter 1838: Why Is Your Surname Lu?

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, his eye twitched, and he froze in ce. He slowly turned his head to look at a particr corner of the za. There was a man there who was practicing some sort of battle technique.

    In the massive za, there was only Lu Yin and this man.

    While it was perfectly normal for a cultivator to practice in such a manner, this man had nced over at Lu Yin several times already. As a cultivator, Lu Yin had keen senses, and he instantly was put on guard when he looked at this man. He certainly was not weak.

    More importantly, Lu Yin had not changed his appearance, which meant that this man might have recognized him. This thought prompted Lu Yin to walk over towards the man.

    The man continued with what he had been doing, and only after Lu Yin reached the man¡¯s side did the man finally look over. ¡°Is there something wrong?"

    "Nothing much. I¡¯m just going to kill you." Lu Yin then suddenly released an attack. The man¡¯s eyes shed, and an imprint appeared behind him as a terrifying aura swept out.

    Lu Yin was shocked. He had only been probing the man with his attack, and he had not expected to encounter a powerhouse. ¡°Imprinter."

    "You really did show up, Lu Yin. Since you¡¯re here, you can forget about leaving!" The man shouted. He had actually been ordered to stay in the za just in case Lu Yin appeared.

    Lu Yin had obtained the inheritance from the Nine Cauldrons Region, and even after this was discovered, he had returned several times. Four of the cauldrons had already been broken, and the Sixth Maind could not endure this. Not only had powerhouses been sent to protect the Nine Cauldrons, but people had also been sent to keep an eye on the zas where people came in. Quite a bit of time had passed, and everyone was aware that Lu Yin might change his appearance before visiting the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. As such, the Imprinter stationed in the entrance za had been ordered to report anyone arriving with an altered appearance.

    The Imprinter had already reported many people who had entered the ruins with altered appearances, and he had actually never expected Lu Yin to arrive using his own face. Still, he had been waiting for Lu Yin for a long time. His only task was to immediately report Lu Yin''s arrival.

    This was not a dangerous task. If Lu Yin arrived with an altered appearance, the Imprinter would not be able to attack someone just because they had altered their appearance, but Lu Yin had not changed anything about his face. The Imprinter had been observing Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had felt it likely that he had been recognized, so he felt forced to take action.

    Boom!

    There was a bang, and the Imprinter was forced to retreat more than ten steps, his hand numb. He looked up at Lu Yin in horror. "What?"

    Lu Yin threw out another Hollow Palm, but the Imprinter could not even see the attack. He had only just be an Envoy, and his power level barely surpassed 500,000. Forget Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm¡ªthis man would not even be able to block a Vacuum Palm.

    Puff!

    He spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately tried to escape by fleeing into the true universe, but Lu Yin was already blocking the man¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin released all of his anger and frustrations from dealing with Xia Ji, venting on the Imprinter.

    The man was quickly defeated, and one arm was badly broken. It was the location of his stellr energy vortex.

    Lu Yin walked up to the Imprinter. "I ced some hidden energy at your stellr vortex. If you don¡¯t want to be crippled, then when you leave, contact this person. Tell him that I¡¯m in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and give him this name: Xia Ji."

    The Imprinter stared at Lu Yin in horror. Blood painted his entire body. "I understand! I get it! I¡¯ll definitely call him, so please, just remove the hidden energy!"

    How could Lu Yin hide any energy in the Imprinter¡¯s body? This was nothing more than an empty threat. Still, cultivators cared more about their cultivation than their lives. This was why Lu Yin was not afraid of letting the man go. Even if the Sixth Maind learned that Lu Yin was in the Daosource Sect, what did it matter? How many powerhouses could they send in after him? Their own Daosource Sect had recently been attacked by the Neohuman Alliance, and with the experts who had been sent into Burial Garden, the Sixth Maind was too busy to deal with Lu Yin or pay any attention to what he was doing.

    As for the contact information that the Imprinter had been given, it had been Yuan Qiong¡¯s.

    At this time, the only people truly willing to help Lu Yin were the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind. The Cosmic Sect wanted to protect him because he alone possessed the inheritance of their Cosmic Art while Eversky Ind cared about Lu Yin because of Highsage Leon. At this time, Lu Yin could only count on Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster.

    "That person will help you remove the hidden energy, so make sure you speak to him," Lu Yin ordered in an indifferent tone. He then altered his appearance, took a step forward, and vanished.

    The Imprinter had no idea whether Lu Yin had actually left any energy hidden within his body, but the man did not dare to take the risk. If he lost such a gamble, he would lose all of his cultivation.

    Cultivators fought the universe and other people for their lives. This Imprinter had left behind countless corpses and enemies in his wake, and if his cultivation was destroyed, his family and he would both suffer tragic endings. There was no way the man would risk such an oue.

    However, timing was key for Lu Yin to save himself. If the Imprinter had only been in the ruins for half a month or less, then even if he did get in touch with Yuan Qiong after leaving, Elder Gong would not have much time to try to find Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not leave his fate to only one or two people.

    He rushed through the First Divine Gate and Budding Terrace and then began to frantically search for people who were about to leave the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. He threatened and bribed people, trying everything possible to get numerous people to call Yuan Qiong and Highsage Leon.

    The more people Lu Yin sent out to deliver a message, the more likely he was to be revealed to the Sixth Maind, but there was no other option. This was the only means for Lu Yin to save himself.

    Half a month passed, and Lu Yin had lost count of how many people he had sent to deliver messages. All that he knew was that there had to be an Imprinter hunting for him in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. The Sixth Maind cultivators all seemed to be a bit nervous, so Lu Yin decided to go visit the Mountains and Seas to check the inheritances in there.

    Lu Yin was ignorant of just how much influence he wielded in the outside world. After a Sixth Maind cultivator left the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, he weakly made a call to Yuan Qiong.

    "Who is this?" Yuan Qiong demanded. It was a call request from an unknown contact. He was the sect master of the Cosmic Sect, so it was highly unlikely for anyone unknown to obtain his contact information.

    "Xia Ji- Xia Ji took him!" a weak voice said.

    Yuan Qiong felt terribly confused. "What did you say?"

    "I don''t know! That person just told me to contact you and tell you that Xia Ji took him!" the weak voice answered in a helpless manner. The man had only been told this much, and he knew nothing more.

    Yuan Qiong suddenly became highly focused. "Who are you? What person are you talking about? Where did they tell you this?"

    "I was in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins. I have no idea who that person is, but he told me to tell you that message and that if I did, you¡¯d give me the antidote. He said that you¡¯re the only one with the antidote that can save me," the weak voice exined.

    At this time, another call request came through, and it was another unknown contact.

    "It''s Xia Ji! Xia Ji took him!" This voice sounded terribly frightened. "Give me the antidote! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to be devoured by poisonous bugs!"

    "Who told you to give me this message?" Yuan Qiong already had his suspicions.

    "I don''t know, but I don''t want to die! Give me the antidote!" A rising panic could be heard in the desperate voice.

    ¡­

    Far away, in the Cosmic Sea, Highsage Leon was getting simr calls from all different unknown contacts. "It''s that old fart Xia Ji again! I¡¯ll kill him one day!"

    Neither man was stupid, and they both quickly understood that Lu Yin had escaped to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and was sending requests for help. Leon immediately reached out to Eversky Ind and asked Highsage Grandmaster to step out to confront Xia Ji.

    Yuan Qiong simrly made a request of Elder Gong, and many people quickly became active.

    Elder Gong¡¯s expression was solemn. "Xia Ji must have figured out that there¡¯s some connection between Lu Yin and the Cosmic Art¡¯s inheritance."

    "Elder, Lu Yin won''t be able to stay in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins for very long." Yuan Qiong was very anxious. The Cosmic Art¡¯s inheritance could not be lost while he was the sect master. The Cosmic Sect had already been forced to share the Cosmic Art with the Xia family after the Skystar Jade Wall had been stolen. If the Cosmic Art¡¯s inheritance was also lost, then Yuan Qiong would be cursed for eternity by the Cosmic Art. He could not allow his Cosmic Sect to suffer such a tragedy.

    Elder Gong immediately left the Cosmic Sect, and Highsage Grandmaster simrly left Eversky Ind.

    ¡­

    In the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Lu Yin let out a sigh at the edge of the sea. He had failed again.

    He had entered a mountain and seen the mes again, only to fail. He had then moved onto another mountain and sea, and seen the spring of water, but he had failed again.

    He really could not understand what was going wrong and why he was failing the trials.

    A figure appeared in the distance. They moved towards the sea and traveled alone.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see this person. "Xin N¨¹?"

    Xin N¨¹ had arrived, and she looked over when Lu Yin called out and was surprised to see him. "Lu Yin?"

    "You can still recognize me?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "It¡¯s your eyes."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Really?"

    He walked over closer to Xin N¨¹.

    "Sure enough, it¡¯s you. Recently, people have been talking about a lunatic wandering the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, forcing them to send crazy messages after they left. It looks like you¡¯re in some kind of trouble." Xin N¨¹ stared at Lu Yin as she spoke.

    Lu Yin responded with a bitter smile. "That old bastard Xia Ji came after me, so I¡¯ve been doing what I can to survive."

    "Xia Ji?" Xin Nu had no idea who that was. Xia Ji was one of the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and not many people from the Human Domain had ever heard of him, let alone someone like Xin N¨¹ who was from the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin shared some information about who Xia Ji was.

    Xin N¨¹''s expression turned solemn. "How shameful for such a person to go after you."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I never said it wasn¡¯t, but sooner orter, I¡¯m going to force that old bastard to repay this debt a hundredfold."

    "Are you sure you¡¯ll be ok?"

    Xin N¨¹ was a bit worried about Lu Yin, and he was also not entire confident himself. ¡°I should be. I¡¯m 80-90% certain."

    Xin N¨¹ nodded and said nothing in response. The two of them sat there in silence for a while.

    Lu Yin and Xin N¨¹ had enjoyed a very good rtionship for quite some time. They both felt an inexplicable connection towards each other, even if they came from enemy mainds. Xin N¨¹ would rather betray her own homnd than risk Lu Yin being put in danger, and Lu Yin had actually rescued Xin N¨¹ during ZENITH. There was no exining it, but the two were absolutely friends.

    Also, they both had something inmon: amnesia.

    "Lu Yin," Xin N¨¹ said.

    Lu Yin looked over.

    "Why is your surname Lu?" Xin N¨¹ asked as she turned to look at Lu Yin. The wind picked up and blew through her hair, carrying a faint scent.

    Lu Yin automatically replied, "Do I have a choice?"

    Xin N¨¹ turned back to stare at some distant mountains. "Lu''s an unusual surname."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Why unusual? Just because it¡¯s a primeval surname?"

    Xin N¨¹ mumbled, "It¡¯s a very powerful surname. Actually, it¡¯s also my surname."

    Lu Yin was stunned by this. "Is your surname also Lu?"

    Xin N¨¹ nodded. "My memories have returned, and I¡¯ve remembered that I¡¯m Lu Xin. I¡¯m from an ancient family."

    Lu Yin stared nkly at hispanion. "Is the ancient family you¡¯re talking about the Lu family?"

    Xin N¨¹ replied, "You can''t possibly understand what the Lu surname actually means. It represents time, control, ancient legends, and more."

    After a short pause, she whispered, "Invincible."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. "Invincible? Why invincible? How can a surname represent invincibility?"

    Xin Nu took a deep breath and stared off into the distance again before standing up. ¡°I¡¯ve already said a lot. I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m telling you about this. We¡¯re from different eras."

    She moved to leave, as she felt she had said too much. Even if she had a good rtionship with Lu Yin, there were certain things that could not be spoken.

    "Champions¡¯ Stage," Lu Yin suddenly spoke up and uttered two words.

 Chapter 1839: Direct Family And Branch Families

    Chapter 1839: Direct Family And Branch Families

    Xin N¨¹''s body froze in ce. She suddenly whirled around to stare at Lu Yin. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin met Xin N¨¹''s eyes and quietly said, "Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Xin N¨¹ waspletely incredulous as she stared at Lu Yin. "How do you know about that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "The top ten finalists of ZENITH were sent to another ce in the universe. There, there was an ancient and powerful family with the Lu surname. They¡¯re known for their invincible innate gift that¡¯s known as the Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Xin N¨¹ grew excited. "Have you seen that family? Do you know how to get there?"

    "Are you from the Lu family with the Champions¡¯ Stages?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xin N¨¹ nodded and grew increasingly excited. "I''m from that Lu family! Lu Yin, tell me how to get there!"

    Lu Yin stared at the young woman. "Why should I believe that you¡¯re from that Lu family?"

    Xin N¨¹ felt confused. "Why wouldn¡¯t you believe me?"

    Suddenly, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped. "You- your surname is Lu! Are you?"

    Lu Yin spread his hands. "Make me believe that you¡¯re from that Lu family."

    "Why should I believe you¡¯re from that Lu family?" Xin N¨¹ countered.

    Lu Yin sat back down. "Believe me or don¡¯t. I don''t care."

    Xin N¨¹ stared at Lu Yin withplicated emotions churning in her eyes. "Are you really from that Lu family?"

    Lu Yin said nothing at all and instead stared out at the sea. He looked perfectly calm, but his heart was in turmoil. He actually already believed that Xin N¨¹ was from his Lu family, as what else could exin the implicit trust he felt for her that had absolutely no reason behind it? When the two had first met, neither of them had even heard of the Lu family or the Champions¡¯ Stage. There had been no one to vouch for Lu Yin at that time, and it was impossible for anyone to have known that he was Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Even if she wanted to plot against him, what could Xin N¨¹ do to him?

    Xin N¨¹ stared at Lu Yin''s back. "No wonder I felt like I could trust you from the first time I saw you. You want me to prove I¡¯m from the Lu family? Alright."

    As she spoke, she raised a hand and released a palm strike. As the attack moved away, the palm print grew more and more corporeal until the moment it struck the sea.

    "This is the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm. It¡¯s a technique that¡¯s exclusive to my Lu family¡¯s branch families. Is this enough to prove myself?" Xin N¨¹ said, her tone very calm.

    Lu Yin stared at where the palm print had disappeared in the distance. It was very simr to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Gap Between Heaven and Human. ¡°Can this attack steal the opponent¡¯s life force?"

    Xin N¨¹ solemnly replied, "Yes. The Lifeseizer Palm is a technique that¡¯s exclusive to the Lu family, and it can steal an enemy¡¯s life force."

    This Lifeseizer Palm was very simr to the Gap Between Heaven and Human, but it was supposed to be a battle technique that was exclusive to the Lu family. This meant that the Celestial Frost Sect had stolen one of the Lu family¡¯s exclusive techniques, which was far from impossible. The Celestial Frost Sect had many secret techniques, including the Yu Secret Art, so it was not very surprising for them to also have the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm.

    "That¡¯s not enough," Lu Yin stated.

    Xin N¨¹ retorted, "Make me believe you¡¯re from the Lu family."

    Lu Yin smiled and the Champions¡¯ Stage suddenly appeared in front of him. There was nothing else that could prove his identity easier than his inherited innate gift.

    Xin N¨¹ went stiff when she saw the Champions¡¯ Stage suddenly appear, and her pupils shrank to points. "The Champions¡¯ Stage? You¡¯re a direct descendant!"

    "Prove to me that you¡¯re from the Lu family."

    Xin N¨¹ again became excited. "Okay!"

    Space behind her began to distort, and Lu Yin felt an unusual energy. He looked behind her, and he saw a life-like animal foot appear in the air, and it was quickly followed by a leg that looked like an elephant¡¯s. A creature continued to gradually appear, and once it fully formed, it roared at the sky with a voice that produced visible sound waves that broke open the sky and radiated into the distance.

    The earth trembled, and the sea boiled. The phenomenon that appeared behind Xin N¨¹ caused her aura to spike, in much the same manner as an imprint.

    Lu Yin stared the creature that simultaneously appeared to be both real and illusory. As he did, he recalled a voice in his mind. ''Little Seven, this is one of my Lu family''s visualizations. What do you think? Isn¡¯t it spectacr!''

    ''Second Brother, it''s amazing! I want one, too.¡¯

    ''Haha, there¡¯s no need for that. That¡¯s the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant that¡¯s the visualization method used by one of the branch families. We¡¯re part of the main family, and we use another, more powerful visualization method.''

    ''Really? Second Brother, I want to visualize! Teach me how to visualize!¡¯

    ¡®Don''t worry, Little Seven, first practice the Hidden Needle.¡¯

    The arrival of the voice brought about a terrible pain on Lu Yin¡¯s back. His seal was activating. All of his fingers tore out gouges in the stone beneath him as he stared at the creature that had appeared behind Xin N¨¹. The voices he had heard were his past memories. He wanted to be able to recall them.

    Suddenly, bones snapped inside his body, and Lu Yin¡¯s breathing was cut short. He tumbled into the sea.

    Xin N¨¹ quickly grabbed him¡ªwhat in the world had just happened? Lu Yin¡¯s energy had just be terribly unstable.

    The voices disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s head, and he found himself again sitting atop the cliff, breathing heavily and dripping with sweat.

    "What''s wrong with you?" Xin N¨¹ was quite worried.

    A more serious expression was on Lu Yin¡¯s face at this moment, and a strong frustration filled his eyes. His memories, cultivation, and even his innate gift had all been sealed. The crazy headmaster, the desated corpse, and even Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood had unlocked multipleyers of his seal, but there was still more.

    It was inevitable that the seal would act up during his breakthrough to the Envoy realm, which meant that he would face even greater dangers than other people during his breakthrough.

    Everyone faced their first stellr tribtion when bing an Envoy. However, Lu Yin also had his seal, which was no different from a death sentence from the four ruling powers. However, he wouldpletely break free of the seal one day, and he would wee back his Lu family.

    "Immovable Heavenly King Elephant," Lu Yin forced out in a quiet but hoarse voice.

    The image disappeared from behind Xin N¨¹. "This should be enough to prove my identity."

    Although Lu Yin''s memory had not been fully restored yet, the voice that he had heard when looking at Xin N¨¹¡¯s visualization had told him that it was the visualization of a branch family of the Lu family. It was the same concept as the four ruling powers¡¯ visualization methods.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that someone had once said that the four ruling powers had also stolen their visualization methods from the Lu family and that the Lu family was the originator of all visualization methods.

    "I am both Lu Yin and Lu Xiaoxuan," Lu Yin stated.

    Xin N¨¹ asked, "Is Lu Xiaoxuan your real name?"

    Lu Yin exined, "It was my name from before I lost my memory."

    "You still haven¡¯t recovered your memories?" Xin N¨¹ was taken aback. Given Lu Yin''s cultivation level, it seemed very odd for him not to have recovered his memories.

    Lu Yin coldly stated, "My memories were sealed."

    "By who?" A chill entered Xin N¨¹''s voice as well.

    Lu Yin shared with Xin N¨¹ everything that had happened in the Perennial World. It was information that many people were already aware of, so there was no need to hide such things, especially from someone from his same Lu family.

    Xin N¨¹''s expression grew colder and colder. After hearing Lu Yin''s story, hatred zed in her eyes. "If we had known before that those families would betray us, they would have never been given a single chance."

    "What era are you from? You¡¯ve never heard my name before, so you must be from a long time ago, but you don¡¯t look very old," Lu Yin asked.

    Xin N¨¹ solemnly replied, "Ie from the Daosource Sect¡¯s era."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "The Daosource Sect¡¯s era? And you¡¯re still alive now?"

    Xin N¨¹ began to reminisce. "Back then, you could still see the Mother Tree, and everyone was under the Daosource Sect¡¯s authority. In the Fifth Maind, there were the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. However, everything changed because of that war."

    "The war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds?" Lu Yin interjected.

    "Yes, the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. That war brought about an unprecedented disaster to the Fifth Maind, and countless people died. Progenitors fell, the heavens wept, and the Daosource Sect copsed. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were broken.

    ¡°Back then, I was nothing more than an insignificant Hunter, and I fought on a battlefield that couldn¡¯t even count as the tip of the iceberg, and yet I saw several Progenitors be wounded."

    The weight of her memories caused Xin N¨¹ to slowly squat down. She was remembering a terrifying scene, and fear and mourning could be seen in her eyes. ¡°During those years of war, enough blood was shed to destroy the universe. No one knew what ces were safe, or if you would live for even another second. No one was sure.¡±

    "I said that I was just a tiny Hunter back then, but even Envoys and Semi-Progenitors could get drawn into a battle and killed at any moment as coteral damage. The Mother Tree trembled, and everything was painted red. I saw massive corpses floating through space that were devoured by enormous beasts. I saw old Progenitors look up at the sky and cry. I saw countless eyes filled with despair, and¡­" Xin N¨¹ started to shake as she thought back to that ancient war, and her face grew pale.

    Lu Yin quickly reached out and grabbed her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, Xin N¨¹! Xin N¨¹!"

    He shouted, and the young woman quivered, and her breathing grew ragged before she slowly calmed back down.

    "I''m sorry." Xin N¨¹''s voice was wooden and uncertain. It was clear that she was still traumatized by the war. If even someone from a branch of the Lu family had suffered so badly, one could only imagine how horrifying that ancient war must have been.

    Lu Yin had fought in wars. He had first fought on the border warfront in Erudite Flowzone, andter on in Ironblood Weave and Endless Weave as well. He had fought in a war in the Cosmic Sea, and many others. However, all the wars and battles that Lu Yin had participated in were still far fromparing to the one war that Xin N¨¹ had participated in. That was a war that had involved Progenitors.

    "So, the Fifth Maind with its Nine Mountains and Eight Seas still lost to the Sixth Maind?" Lu Yin slowly asked.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s hands clenched into fists as she gritted her teeth and angrily replied, "No! The Sixth Maind has always been far inferior to the Fifth Maind! Any one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors could have overwhelmed their peers in the Sixth Maind with the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. It was those monsters! The Fifth Maind lost to those monsters!"

    "The Aeternals?" Lu Yin''s voice dropped low.

    Xin N¨¹ could not remain sitting. "Yes, the Aeternals! The Sixth Maind was nothing more than a hoodwinked tool of the Aeternals! They were the ones who actually entered our Daosource Sect and fought against our Progenitors with the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. However, the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion took up half of the Fifth Maind¡¯s strength, which was why we were defeated by the Aeternals! One by one, our Progenitors sacrificed themselves. I was also affected by some power and sealed in stone. I have no idea what happened after that."

    This did not surprise Lu Yin, as there were already various hints that the Sixth Maind had been deceived. "Why were they tricked?"

    Xin N¨¹ shook her head. "That I don''t know."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed, but Xin N¨¹ had only been a Hunter back then, so how could she have been privy to such secrets?

    "I did hear that it had something to do with the Wang family," Xin N¨¹ hesitantly said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Did you hear any details?"

    Xin N¨¹ frowned. "No, but one thing I¡¯m sure of is that when the Fifth and Sixth Mainds went to war, the Fifth Maind was the one to attack, and Progenitor Chen led the charge."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "Progenitor Chen led the attack?"

    Xin N¨¹ nodded. "Back then, he was one of the Progenitors who controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he held the highest status in my Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. His actions caused the two Mainds to go to war, though I don¡¯t know why he attacked.¡±

    Xin N¨¹ shared everything that she remembered, but aside from the fact that Progenitor Chen had been the first one to attack and that he had actually triggered the war, nothing else that Xin N¨¹ mentioned was too surprising. "Which Progenitors controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    This was something that Lu Yin had always wondered about.

 Chapter 1840: Immovable Heavenly King Elephant

    Chapter 1840: Immovable Heavenly King Elephant

    Xin N¨¹ considered the question for a while. "While others may not know this, I am still a member of a branch of the Lu family, so I¡¯ve heard of it before. First, there was my Lu family¡¯s ancestor, Lu Tianyi, the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor Chen, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Wangyuan, the Wang family¡¯s Wang Fan, Progenitor Hui, the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Ku, and Progenitor Smoke."

    "That¡¯s only eight people."

    "Progenitor Chen controlled two Mountains and a Sea."

    While this amazed Lu Yin, it was expected that the invincible Progenitor Chen had been able to seize more than just one.

    "Lu Tianyi was my Lu family¡¯s ancestor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xin N¨¹ corrected him, saying, "Progenitor Lu Tianyi was merely the current ancestor of the Lu family. Our Lu family has a very long history, as do the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Before the Progenitors that I just mentioned, others controlled the Mountains and Seas, but they were the ones during my time. There were rumors that, at the weakest moment of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, there were only one or two Progenitors who managed to be recognized by the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.¡±

    "What sort of person was Progenitor Smoke?" Lu Yin asked. Of everyone that Xin N¨¹ had mentioned, Progenitor Smoke was the one that Lu Yin had heard the least about, though this was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time hearing the name. Progenitor Smoke¡¯s smoke was truly miraculous. Both Eversky Ind and Smoke-Eater Peaks possessed a bit of the smoke. While Progenitor Smoke was not particrly famous, they had left behind many legacies.

    Xin N¨¹¡¯s smile turned bitter. "I only ever heard a bit about the powerhouses at the Progenitor level. There were stories that imed that Progenitor Smoke liked to create all kinds of smoke, but I don¡¯t really know anything more than that."

    "Did you hear of Progenitor Wushang back then?" Lu Yin eagerly asked. This was his first time meeting someone from the ancient era, and he wanted to learn everything possible.

    Xin N¨¹ replied, "Progenitor Wushang was another powerful Progenitor from my Fifth Maind, and he also fought in the war."

    Lu Yin stared at Xin N¨¹, waiting for her to continue, but she stayed silent. She had not been a part of the main battle, and she had even been sealed in stone halfway through the war. On top of that, because of how weak she had been at the time, she had not known about many matters. It was actually quite impressive that she knew this much about the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Lu Yin asked a few more questions, but Xin N¨¹ was not really able to answer anything more.

    Given Lu Yin''s status and perspective in the Fifth Maind, the questions that he asked were all regarding matters at the heart of the ancient war, and Xin N¨¹¡¯s status had been far from high enough for her to know about such things. All she could do was share some rumors that she had heard, but they were essentially meaningless.

    Still, Lu Yin felt quite satisfied, as he had at least learned about some of the general details regarding the first war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    The two ended up talking for a long time without even realizing it. "Is the visualization method unique to my Lu family?"

    "Not unique, but at least it wasn¡¯t something that those traitors possessed."

    ¡°Did the Sixth Maind have imprints back then?"

    "No."

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    "Since you still don¡¯t have your memories, you aren¡¯t able to use a visualization method, are you? I can teach you, though the only method that I know is my branch family¡¯s Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. The Lu family¡¯s direct line has a different visualization method, but that¡¯s not something that I can help you with,¡± Xin N¨¹ offered.

    Lu Yin considered the proposal. "Okay."

    "The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant was a creature from ancient times. It was said to be one of thergest creatures in the entire universe, and at the moment of its birth, the universe itself roared, and the six Mainds all shook. The ancestors of our Lu family watched that first Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and used it to create this visualization method. This method of copying powers formed the path to help our family develop an invincible style of fighting." As Xin N¨¹ spoke, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind her. "This visualization is the result of that."

    Lu Yin stared intently at the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and immediately began to follow Xin N¨¹¡¯s instructions toprehend the visualization method.

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, just beyond the Xia family¡¯s sword-shaped maind, Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster both appeared. "Xia Ji,e out!"

    There was a shout loud enough to shake the entire region controlled by the Seven Courts.

    The various powers that formed the Court of Seven Names upied a circr region that surrounded Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    The old man¡¯s fierce shout prompted various eyes to open within the various Seven Courts. They were the individual families¡¯ strongest powerhouses.

    Of the seven different territories, the two old men were closest to the Xia family¡¯s.

    Xia Meng¡¯s eyes opened. Semi-Progenitors? Why are they here?

    Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster had done nothing to hide their strength, and the power of two Semi-Progenitors caused the Xia family¡¯s maind to shake.

    Xia Ji soon appeared, looking perfectly calm. "Have you twoe to my Seven Courts to put on a demonstration?"

    Elder Gong stepped forward, his old face no longer appearing indifferent to worldly affairs. There was steel in his gaze. "Xia Ji, where is Lu Yin?"

    Xia Ji¡¯s expression changed. While he had expected someone to confront him in an attempt to rescue Lu Yin, Xia Ji had not expected two Semi-Progenitors to show up at once. In particr, Elder Gong¡¯s attitude left Xia Ji more convinced than ever that Lu Yin had some sort of extraordinary rtionship with the Cosmic Sect. "Is this a joke? Two respected Semi-Progenitors havee to see me just because of some child?"

    "You''re a respected Semi-Progenitor yourself, and yet you actually went and attacked a child! Tell me, which sounds more like a joke?" Elder Gong retorted.

    Xia Ji''s eyes flickered. "Just what is Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with your Cosmic Sect? What is it about him that makes him worthy of the sect¡¯s Supreme Elder stepping out to save him?"

    "So do you admit that you kidnapped Lu Yin?" Elder Gong would not be distracted.

    Xia Ji replied indifferently, "I didn¡¯t kidnap him. I simply wanted to ask him about something, and I intended to release him afterwards."

    "Where is he now?" Elder Gong demanded.

    "He already left, so go find him yourselves."

    "He¡¯s currently in the ruins of the Daosource Sect, so tell us, where will he appear once he leaves that ce?" Highsage Grandmaster spoke up.

    Xia Ji looked over at the Grandmaster. "I already allowed him to leave. Figure out where he¡¯ll return on your own."

    "Xia Ji, do you really want to force my Cosmic Sect to go to war with your Xia family?" Elder Gong suddenly shouted, and countless stars appeared around his body and reced the universe that surrounded the three men. This was Elder Gong¡¯s inner world.

    Each star was massive, and some of them even smashed into true stars and formed ck holes.

    A long knife appeared before Xia Ji as he stared at Elder Gong. He did not want to fight these two despite pulling off a victory before. He had taken advantage of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s Thousand Rivers Return to Sea secret technique to steal a win, but Xia Ji knew that he could not defeat the two together when it came to true strength. On top of that, Xia Ji was currently injured.

    "Does your Cosmic Sect wants to start a war with my Seven Courts just because of Lu Yin? Why is he so important to you?" Xia Ji held his knife and pointed it at Elder Gong.

    Highsage Grandmaster looked up. "Every disciple from Eversky Ind is my child. If there is a fight between them their peers, I will not interfere. However, Xia Ji, you are a Semi-Progenitor and yet you went after one of my Eversky Ind¡¯s children. I cannot ignore this."

    Xia Ji¡¯s eyes flickered.

    The three Semi-Progenitors¡¯ inner worlds collided, and space within the Seven Courts¡¯ territory began to shatter.

    At this moment, Xia Meng suddenly appeared. "Ancestor, Arch-Elder Zen is calling you."

    Xia Ji lowered his knife and took the offered gadget. He immediately saw Arch-Elder Zen. "Where is Lu Yin?"

    Xia Ji quietly replied, "I let him go."

    The two stared at each other for a while, and then Arch-Elder Zen asked, ¡°Did you really let him go?"

    Xia Ji¡¯s voice grew cold. "He¡¯s gone."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "I believe you, though I hope that you aren¡¯t lying to me. You cannot touch Lu Yin."

    Xia Ji subconsciously nced over at Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster. "Just because of the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind? Do not forget that his true identity will bring disaster to the Fifth Maind."

    "There is someone else behind him," Arch-Elder Zen stated. "That person is someone whom you and I cannot afford to offend. I will be blunt: I cannot cross that person."

    Xia Ji was startled, as he was very familiar with Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s personality. It was impossible for the man to try to scare Xia Ji into releasing Lu Yin, which meant that these words had to be true. "Who?¡±

    "All you need to know is that you cannot touch Lu Yin, or else no one will be able to protect you." Arch-Elder Zen immediately ended the call.

    Xia Ji tossed the gadget back to Xia Meng before turning back to face Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster. "If I tell you I let him go, then I don¡¯t have him. He won¡¯t encounter any trouble from me."

    Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster nced at each other, as neither was certain that Xia Ji was being truthful.

    "In that case, we believe you," Highsage Grandmaster dered.

    Elder Gong then spoke up, "By the way, how long has it been since west visited the Seven Courts? We should take a look again."

    Highsage Grandmaster smiled. "I quite enjoy the sight of the Netherworld River."

    "I find that I enjoy the mountains and rivers on the Xia family¡¯s maind."

    "Then let¡¯s stay and visit for a while."

    Xia Ji¡¯s brows climbed high. While these two old men said they trusted him, they clearly wanted to keep an eye on him! They were going to monitor him. "I¡¯ll apany you."

    At the moment, there was no reason to make another move, but there was also no way that Xia Ji could simply let Lu Yin go. The old man had plotted for so long and had even fought off two Semi-Progenitors in order to acquire Progenitor Chen¡¯s inheritance, and he was now almostpletely certain that Lu Yin possessed that inheritance. It was impossible for Xia Ji to forget about Lu Yin.

    ***

    In Burial Garden, water rained down from the sky to form Water God¡¯s Tears as it surrounded Liu Feng. Dojo Master Si was covered in blood, but she still raised a hand and caused the stream of water to form two cliffs that were about to fall.

    Liu Feng appeared as calm as ever despite being trapped by the Water God¡¯s Tears. There was not even a hint of panic to be seen. Instead, the edge of his sword twitched, and a sword sh swept out.

    The Water God¡¯s Tears was sliced through, and the sword qi continued on straight towards Dojo Master Si. Her hands dropped, and the cliffs of water formed from her innate gift fell. Not only was Liu Feng¡¯s sword qi shattered, but he was also pressed to the ground. "Go! Now!"

    One of Burial Garden¡¯s exit gates stood nearby, and Yang Kong was standing next to it. However, when he started moving, he suddenly charged at Liu Feng. "Why would I leave? I¡¯m going to kill him."

    "Watch out!" Dojo Master Si shouted. Liu Feng had been suppressed beneath the two cliffs of water, but he still flipped his sword around, and a sh sped across the sky, slicing through space and into the true universe as it approached Yang Kong. The young man had not expected Liu Feng to still be able to fight back after being trapped by Dojo Master Si, so Yang Kong was caught off guard, and his arm was almost cut off.

    At this moment, a beam of light shot through the sky towards the three people from the distance. It was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Envoy-level androids.

    Yang Kong''s face twisted.

    "Someone else has arrived. We¡¯ve been branded as public enemies. We need to find our way back to the Starfall Sea." Dojo Master Si coughed up blood as she spoke.

    But how could Yang Kong possibly know where the gate that led to the Starfall Sea was? They had never nned to return so quickly after entering Burial Garden, but that was because Yang Kong had not expected to be exposed so quickly. It had to have been that bastard Lie Yanzi, as there was no other option.

    However, Lie Yanzi also had to already be dead, as no one could survive the Aeternals¡¯ poisons.

    "Go!" Yang Kong spun around and prepared to flee.

    Liu Feng shed at the two cliffs of water with his sword at just the right time. He stared at both Dojo Master Si and Yang Kong while clenching the hilt of his sword before shing out again.

    Dojo Master Si was furious, and she turned around to defend against the attack with her water while simultaneously trying to extract the water from Liu Feng''s body. However, the swordsman¡¯s strength surpassed Dojo Master Si¡¯s, and Liu Feng passed by the woman and attacked Yang Kong.

    However, Yang Kong¡¯s eyes turned green. This was a Green Eyes Transformation.

    A strange light flickered within the android¡¯s eyes, and it instantly attacked Yang Kong, who retaliated with a punch that drove the android back.

    Right when Yang Kong turned around and was about to leave through the gate, the space around him was cut off, and he was surrounded by something ck. It was the secret technique: ck Coffin. Unseen Light had arrived.

    Countless sharp spikes stabbed into the ck coffin, and a roar shook the skies. The coffin shattered with a bang to reveal Yang Kong. There were wounds across his entire body, and his clothes were stained with blood. He moved forward and instantly entered the true universe to attack Unseen Light.

 Chapter 1841: Dream

    Chapter 1841: Dream

    Unseen Light frowned when he saw the person approaching him. Green eyes? This was clearly a corpse king¡¯s transformation, but how could a corpse king enter Burial Garden?

    Before Unseen Light had another second to think about it, he opened his eyes while facing the approaching Yang Kong. A terrifying domain appeared as space froze in the area. Then, a ck spot suddenly appeared ten meters in front of Unseen Light. It was his innate gift: Dark Gravity.

    Yang Kong emerged from the true universe and attacked Unseen Light with a palm strike. However, the attack was drawn to the gravity ball, so the course of the attack was diverted.

    Unseen Light raised his hand and pped them together. There was a snap, as though countless hands had pped at the same time. "Let all colors be lost."

    Yang Kong waved a hand, unleashing enough power to destroy the gravity ball. He then turned to look at Unseen Light, just in time to see the young man turn gray. After that, everything nearby: the earth, sky, and everything else, also turned gray. Yang Kong¡¯s green eyes shed as he attacked Unseen Light again.

    Unseen Light¡¯s domain had reached a level where it had practically materialized, and he was also able to use it to predict attacks. Despite that, the domain did nothing to halt or even slow Yang Kong''s palm strike. The domain was torn apart, and Unseen light was sent flying.

    However, Yang Kong did not give chase. He instead looked around in confusion. His vision waspletely devoid of all color, and he had lost the ability to distinguish certain things by sight. Even though the Envoy-level android attacked by firing a beam of light, Yang Kong did not notice anything at all.

    A sword stabbed into Dojo Master Si, and she spat blood onto Liu Feng. The swordsman twisted his sword, and beheaded Dojo Master Si.

    The beam of light struck Yang Kong, but it failed to pierce through his body. After undergoing a Green Eyes Transformation, his physical prowess had be too high.

    Still, while the attack failed to harm Yang Kong, it did rouse him from his daze. He gritted his teeth and grunted, "Despicable."

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ imprint appeared behind him, and he immediately used the Secret Technique of Resurrection to heal all of his injuries.

    Liu Feng''s expression changed drastically. "So you really are Bu Kong."

    Bu Kong''s eyes swept through the area and locked onto Unseen Light. Bu Kong then quickly brought out a power vessel, and after ncing at Liu Feng and the android, he raced towards the exit gate.

    Unseen Light was lying on the ground, clutching his abdomen as blood leaked from his mouth. He had not been able to stop even a single attack from Yang Kong, though Unseen Light¡¯s efforts had prevented Yang Kong from joining back up Dojo Master Si, which meant that the woman would die.

    Unseen Light stared at the exit gate. ¡°He really is Bu Kong. He didn¡¯t die back then, and he¡¯s even using the Aeternals¡¯ battle techniques now. But is he a corpse king, or are humans able to use a corpse king transformation now? Does this mean that they can enter Burial Garden? This is bad."

    There was a weave in the Outerverse that was known as the Sacred Weave, and when the Sixth Maind took over the Outerverse, the Sage Martial Realm had upied the Sacred Weave.

    The Sacred Weave was rather unknown to most of the Fifth Maind¡¯s people, and even after the Sixth Maind had taken over the Outerverse, most of their people had never heard of the weave either. It was an odd ce.

    Almost all of the cultivators in the Sacred Weave were asleep, which was very strange. This was the same both before and after the Fifth Maind ceded the Outerverse to the Sixth Maind.

    Xiao Qing nced around with curiosity, only to be left rather dumbfounded. "They¡¯re really all sleeping."

    There was a lovely girl standing next to Xiao Qing, and she smiled at Xiao Qing¡¯s words. "It''s quite interesting."

    Xiao Qing smiled back. "But what if the enemy appears?"

    "That doesn''t matter, since we¡¯re able to fight even in our dreams." The girl seemed very happy as she held Xiao Qing''s hand. "Xiao Qing, you can¡¯t imagine how bored I¡¯ve been! Let''s go y in Burial Garden! Let''s go!"

    Xiao Qing blinked, but then her eyes lit up. "Burial Garden? Is there a gate nearby?"

    "Of course!" the girl proudly dered.

    "But will your father and the others allow it? I¡¯ve heard that Burial Garden is a very dangerous ce." Xiao Qing hesitated.

    The girl looked up. "I¡¯ll be going with Xiao Qing! You even defeated one of the Daosource Three Skies, so they won¡¯t worry at all."

    Xiao Qing rolled her eyes. "Don¡¯t say it like that. I didn¡¯t really beat Bu Kong. I was just lucky enough to trick him."

    "Winning is winning, regardless of how it¡¯s done. Xiao Qing, let''s go! Let''s go through the gate and enter Burial Garden!¡± The girl was incredibly energetic. She was Meng Ru, and she was the Sacred Weave¡¯s little princess who also happened to be good friends with Xiao Qing.

    Meng Ru quickly led Xiao Qing to the gate to Burial Garden that was in the Sacred Weave. Xiao Qing was left speechless when they arrived, as even the people guarding the gate were mostly sleeping. This was a unique characteristic of the Sacred Weave.

    "Xiao Qing, let''s go!" Meng Ru dragged Xiao Qing along, and they were just about to enter the gate when a man blocked their path. ¡°Don''t go."

    Meng Ru''s expression turned bitter. "Why not, Father? Xiao Qing¡¯s going as well, and she can protect me."

    The man remained somber. "People are randomly sent to different locations when they enter Burial Garden, so going with someone for protection is useless. Stay here with me."

    Meng Ru started begging, but it was useless.

    Suddenly, a figure stumbled through the gate,ing out from Burial Garden. They were a bleeding mess, and their hair waspletely disheveled. The moment the person emerged, they fled.

    The man who had prevented Meng Ru from entering Burial Garden instantly ordered, "Stop!"

    Even as the man spoke, invisible waves swept out.

    The man¡¯s power level was about the same as Yang Kong¡¯s, but hisbat strength was greatly inferior.

    Yang Kong had not expected to emerge in the Sacred Weave. He had heard of this ce before, and he made sure not to reveal anything that would expose his true identity. He retaliated against the iing attack with a palm strike, and the attack carried enough pressure to paralyze the middle-aged man.

    Fortunately for the man, Xiao Qing shoved him away, saving his life.

    While the man had the same power level as Yang Kong, the two¡¯sbat strength were too far apart.

    At this time, Yang Kong¡¯s vision finally returned to normal, which caused him to let out a sigh of relief. He looked around, and he instantly noticed Xiao Qing staring at him.

    It¡¯s her? Yang Kong did not look back again as he raced away in an attempt to escape.

    Ripples spread through the void. "Since a distinguished guest hase calling, you must stay for a while."

    The voice caused Yang Kong¡¯s body to shake, and he was suddenly ovee with drowsiness. He bit his tongue to stay awake, but he could not resist sleeping. Ultimately, he fell to the ground and was grabbed by the guards of the Sacred Weave.

    Xiao Qing stared Yang Kong''s face and was surprised by what she saw. "Bu Kong?"

    Meng Ru was confused. "What¡¯s not empty?"1

    The middle-aged man grew solemn. "He was one of the Daosource Three Skies: the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s Bu Kong. There were rumors that he changed his name to Yang Kong, joined with the Neohuman Alliance, and recently entered Burial Garden to attack people who managed to obtain inheritances. The Neohuman Alliance is truly impressive. I never thought that those rumors would actually be true."

    This thought caused the man to suddenly turn grim. "Be careful with him."

    He then quickly left.

    Meng Ru stared at Yang Kong with open curiosity as he slept on the ground. She asionally also looked back up at Xiao Qing. "One of the Daosource Three Skies? Didn¡¯t they say that he died? Is he really as strong as they said? Are those three really able to be our Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouse one day?"

    Xiao Qing nodded as she recalled, "All of them are absolutely amazing, especially Bu Kong. He was the youngest participant in ZENITH, and yet he was almost as strong as Lu Yin, who became the champion. He¡¯s mastered various secret techniques, has a powerful innate gift, and has practically no weaknesses."

    "And yet he still didn¡¯t be the champion? I¡¯m still frustrated that I wasn¡¯t able to see it. I was sleeping at the time, and when I tried to watch itter on, there were no videos of thest battle to be found on thework! Xiao Qing, tell me about ZENITH!" Meng Ru whined.

    Xiao Qing shrugged. "Alright. ZENITH¡¯sst battle¡­"

    ¡­

    Meng Ru¡¯s father returned a short whileter. ¡°The ancestor is sleeping."

    Hearing his words, Xiao Qing could not help but feel like something sounded wrong. These words could almost be used as a curse, but they weremonly heard in the Sacred Weave.

    "Bu Kong''s identity is a sensitive matter, so I¡¯ve already reported this matter to the second master." The man then looked at Xiao Qing. "We need to send him to the Higher Temple."

    Xiao Qing was from the Higher Temple.

    "But my master isn''t here right now." Xiao Qing felt embarrassed.

    The man replied, "Mr. Lifeview could return at any moment. Please, understand how sensitive this person''s identity is."

    Xiao Qing briefly hesitated, but then she nodded. "I''ll take him there."

    Shortly after that, a group of cultivators escorted Bu Kong through the Outerverse. All of the guards who had been present at the Burial Garden gate were ced on lockdown and were forbidden to speak a single word regarding Bu Kong.

    Xiao Qing had assumed that escorting Bu Kong to the Higher Temple would be easy, but they were attacked when they were only halfway there. The attacker was no weakling, but fortunately, the escort was apanied by Meng Erye, who was an Imprinter. The Imprinter took action, which saved Bu Kong¡¯s life.

    "We can¡¯t be careless! Someone¡¯s leaked Bu Kong''s identity, and there are some people who are unable to resisting after him!" Meng Erye shouted.

    Xiao Qing regretted agreeing to help transfer Bu Kong to the Higher Temple, since he had clearly joined up with the Neohuman Alliance. Rumors about that matter had spread, and suspicions had appeared. People were starting to question if Bu Kong had been resurrected from the dead, or if he had possibly even faked his own death. There were even some questions raised regarding the Progenitor of Secret Arts; just what role had the Progenitor yed in the whole affair? Nobody knew.

    After the news that Bu Kong had entered Burial Garden under the name of Yang Kong leaked onto the Human Domain¡¯swork, people from the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s Territory and the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ Territory had both started to be a little more cautious around people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. Some of them even spected that many of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory¡¯s denizens had already joined the Neohuman Alliance.

    This was also why the Sacred Weave had been unwilling to keep Bu Kong in their territory. They could not afford the associated risks.

    However, the master was not in the Higher Temple, and the Higher Temple could also not afford to take on such a burden. Upon thinking of this, Xiao Qing could only find the Meng n¡¯s second master and say that Bu Kong would have to be taken somewhere else for the time being.

    But before Meng Erye could say a thing, everyone in the entire group passed out without being able to put up any resistance.

    "The Dream Sutra? I might be an old man, but I¡¯m still finding interesting things. This Sacred Weave isn¡¯t bad at all, hehe." It seemed as if space itself was speaking, and then Meng Erye and all of the others disappeared.

    ¡­

    In the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, Xin N¨¹ was still next to the sea, but at the moment, she was staring at the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant that had appeared behind Lu Yin in shock. How much time had passed? Lu Yin had only been training with the visualization technique for a few days! Even when Xin N¨¹ considered the entire history of the Lu family that she knew, she had never heard of anyone cultivating this visualization method so quickly. Even though it was only the visualization method of a branch family, it was still something that powers like the Celestial Frost Sect that did not used to have any visualization methods had always been envious of. How could such a treasured technique be easy to learn?

    Still, seeding in cultivating the technique was one matter. Actually utilizing its power was an entirely different one. The next step was to teach Lu Yin how to actually use the power of visualization.

    At this moment, a surge of power appeared on the horizon. The sky began to burn, and the void started to shatter everywhere.

    Xin N¨¹''s expression drastically changed. "An Imprinter."

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the disturbance. This person was an extraordinary Imprinter who was even more powerful than Jiu Han. Even if this person¡¯s power level did not quite reach 700,000, it was still at around that level. With their imprint, this person might actually beparable to Cang Zhou.

    An old man approached the two youths. He was surrounded by a fiery red coat of mes that continuously changed shape, but it eventually settled on the image of a ferocious beast that sat in the air. The man immediately pressured Lu Yin with his aura. "Who are you?"

    Aside from the Imprinter that Lu Yin had encountered in the futon za, everyone else from the Sixth Maind whom he had run into and coerced into sending a message for him had been ignorant of his name. It appeared that the Imprinter had never said a word about Lu Yin¡¯s arrival out of fear of death.

    Lu Yin looked at the ming beast that zed in the sky. It asionally flickered in and out of existence. A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin''s mouth. "I was just looking for someone to practice with."

    Although Lu Yin did not appear to move at all after he spoke, the ming beast was suddenly struck by an invisible force.

    [1] Just a reminder, Bu Kong means "not empty," which works in Chinese to mean puffed up/arrogant. ?

 Chapter 1842: Again?

    Chapter 1842: Again?

    The old man sneered and raised a hand, but just as he was about to attack, his body was forced a few steps back. His face alternated between blue and white, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Spiritual force?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the fact that his Hollow Palm had been ineffective. After all, even if this Imprinter¡¯s power level was more impressive than Jiu Han¡¯s, there was no way that the old man had as many life-saving treasures. Still, given his age, neither the old man¡¯s spiritual force nor his body were actually weak.

    "You¡¯re Lu Yin!" the old man shouted. "The only Enlighter in the entire universe who can defeat someone with my strength is you. I didn¡¯t expect to run into you."

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "Old man, quit wasting your breath. Keeping if you want to die."

    The old man was actually afraid and did not want to fight Lu Yin. Despite the youth only being an Enlighter, he was a monstrous existence who was qualified to even speak to the Four Empyreans. There was no telling what sort of means this child might have for protection.

    However, the Imprinter also understood Lu Yin¡¯s significance for their Sixth Maind, especially when the Nine Cauldrons¡¯ inheritance was considered. That technique was extremely important.

    To go, or not to go?

    "He¡¯s hesitating! Let¡¯s get out of here!" Xin N¨¹ whispered. She did not want to take any risks at this moment. After all, this old man was a powerful Imprinter.

    Lu Yin gently replied, "Not only has he seen and identified me, but he¡¯s also seen you. We can¡¯t let him leave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide as he unleashed Daynight Praises.

    Spiritual force filled the sky, enveloping the old man in an instant. mes covered his body, but it was impossible for him topletely iste himself from the spiritual force, and he quickly fell into Daynight Praises¡¯ illusion.

    The Imprinter looked up to see the Progenitor of Bloodlines about to crush him with a hand while the beast of mes whose bloodline he had absorbed suddenly retaliated and started to incinerate his body. ¡°You can¡¯t even control your own bloodline, so you should just die."

    "No! Progenitor of Bloodlines, I don¡¯t want to die! Progenitor-" the old man screamed, and the mes surrounding his body surged into the sky. His body morphed and twisted to take on the shape of an odd ming beast that suddenly broke free from Lu Yin¡¯s Daynight Praises.

    Daynight Praises was renowned for being an invincible battle technique, but that was only when considering opponents within the same realm or slightly stronger. However, Lu Yin frequently faced opponents whose strength far surpassed his own. Not even an invincible battle technique like Daynight Praises was guaranteed topletely trap and suppress such opponents.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had learned it instead of Night¡¯s End, Daybreak; thetter technique would have never pulled the old man into an illusion, as the gap between them was just toorge.

    Still, even though the old man had broken free of the illusion, he had been injured by it. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he red at Lu Yin. "I want you dead!"

    An imprint appeared behind the old man, and his hand swung down as the ming beast stomped down upon Lu Yin.

    The heat from the mes caused the water to evaporate from the sea, and all of the star energy in Xin N¨¹''s body was suppressed. She started suffering from the unimaginably high temperature, and she felt like she was about to be burned to a crisp.

    All star energy in the area had been suppressed by the Imprinter, which meant that Lu Yin and Xin N¨¹ could only use their physical bodies to resist the heat that was high enough to burn mountains and evaporate the seas.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold, and the massive foot of a beast suddenly appeared behind him, quickly followed by the rest of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. The elephantpletely dwarfed the me beast.

    The moment the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared, an incredible and majestic power entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, and he quickly threw out another Hollow Palm. This one far surpassed the ones that he had used before, as his power had increased tremendously while using the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    There was actually no need for Xin N¨¹ to teach Lu Yin how to utilize the visualization method, as he instinctively understood how to use it.

    The Hollow Palm shot straight through the me beast and struck the old man¡¯s chest, causing him to cough up blood as his body was sent flying. There was a visible dent on the man¡¯s chest, and the image of a hand with five fingers could even be seen protruding from his back. Pieces of his organs were actually mixed in with the blood that he had spat out.

    The Imprinter was in utter disbelief. How could an Enlighter be capable of such a shocking disy of strength?

    In fact, Lu Yin had not expected to experience such a boost in strength from using the visualization method. The me beastpletely dispersed, and Lu Yin stepped forward to enter the true universe.

    Seeing that, the old man''s expression changed. This youth was unstoppable! The old man fled without another thought, racing away as fast as possible.

    However, Lu Yin suddenly appeared in the Imprinter¡¯s path. There was a sword in the young man¡¯s hand, and he released a single attack: the Fourteenth Sword.

    This attack could not be avoided, and the old man suffered another terrible wound to his chest. He stared at Lu Yin. "You sent people out of the Daosource Sect to send a message, but we captured all of them."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "What did you say?"

    The old man gasped for air. "How much are you looking down on my Sixth Maind? Do you really think that those people were at your mercy? The first thing that they did after leaving was to report the matter to their elders. An announcement¡¯s already been made across the entire Sixth Maind that no one is allowed to deliver the message for you, or to even speak the name ¡®Xia Ji.¡¯"

    Lu Yin became furious. "You¡¯re just asking to die!"

    The old man sneered. "I¡¯m the only one who can help you right now. As long as you let me go, I¡¯ll have someone send the message for you after I leave. Otherwise, you¡¯re done for!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he started thinking about his situation.

    The old man let out a sigh of relief. "I can swear an oath for you. You should understand the importance of such a thing for us cultivators. Given your current level, you should already know how important one¡¯s state of mind is for cultivating, and how we cannot allow any ws to enter our mentality. I can swear that I will have someone send your message for you when I leave, but that¡¯s only possible if you let me go."

    The sword formed from star energy disappeared from Lu Yin''s hand. He naturally understood what the old man was talking about. In fact, the reason why Lu Yin had brought up certain topics when speaking to Arch-Elder Zen was to verify that his Lu family had not actually abandoned the Fifth Maind, but had rather gone to block the Aeternals and protect the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin needed this assurance for his own mental state to be in the proper condition. The higher one¡¯s cultivation was, the more important their state of mind would be.

    If this old Imprinter swore to send a message for Lu Yin, even though there might still be some loopholes, Lu Yin had other means to enforce the old man¡¯s promise.

    Another sigh of relief escaped from the old man when he saw the sword disappear from Lu Yin¡¯s hand. "The life of an old man like me means nothing to you, but if let me go, I¡¯ll swear to do as you ask."

    Lu Yin was being cornered. "Swear it."

    The old man''s face twitched. If he really did swear such a thing, he would have to follow through on his promise, as doing otherwise would negatively affect his mental state. Weaker cultivators might not care about this, but it was very important to people at the Imprinter¡¯s level. He had already lied to Lu Yin, which meant that this oath would also be a lie, but a w in his mental state was better than dying, at least in the old man¡¯s mind. ¡°I swear-¡±

    The Imprinter only spoke two words when he suffered a terrible attack that pierced through his entire body and sttered his blood across the sky.

    It was another Hollow Palm, and it had struck exactly where Lu Yin¡¯s previous Hollow Palm hadnded. The first attack had weakened the Imprinter enough for the second to pass straight through the old man¡¯s body.

    The old man could not believe that he had just been attacked. "You- Why?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice waspletely indifferent. "Did you really think that I believed the crap you were spouting? Dumbass! From what you said when you first saw me, I knew that everything you just told me was a lie. While there might be some people from the Sixth Maind who know that I¡¯m Lu Yin, you certainly didn¡¯t. Also, if your people truly didn¡¯t fear death and were really the type to ignore the risks to report to their elders, how could my Fifth Maind have ever fought against your Sixth Maind?¡±

    The old man''s eyes went wide, and his face grew pale. He plummeted into the sea below, already dead.

    Xin N¨¹ approached, still shaken. "He was just trying to mess with your head in order to save his own skin. Still, even if what he said is true, it¡¯s impossible for everyone from the Sixth Maind to not have reported the situation to their elders. Are you really not worried that no one might have taken such a risk?"

    Lu Yin just smiled. "I was actually being honest. There¡¯s already someone in the Sixth Maind who knows I¡¯m Lu Yin. If he really did report the matter to his elders, the first thing the old man said shouldn''t have been ¡®Who are you?¡¯ but rather ¡®It¡¯s you, Lu Yin.¡¯¡±

    "On top of that, the old man was still hesitant even after realizing my identity, which showed his cautious nature. If such a person had known who I was, they would have waited for others to arrive so that they could surround and take me down together instead of confronting me on his own."

    Xin N¨¹ nodded. "Are you really certain?"

    "Don''t worry, there are some people who be increasingly careful as they get older, and Xia Ji is one of them. He must have already guessed that I¡¯d find a way to expose him from within the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and that someone would question him. Even if that hasn¡¯t happened, he still wouldn¡¯t wait around for me to return."

    "How much longer before you leave?" Xin N¨¹ asked.

    Lu Yin quickly calcted the time. "A few more days."

    Xin N¨¹ shrugged. "I¡¯ll be leaving after you, so I can''t help you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I already told you that I¡¯ve dealt with the old fart, so don¡¯t worry. Still, you should move on, as this ce is going to attract a lot of attention from a lot of people."

    Several dayster, Lu Yin left the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    Xin N¨¹ intended to remain in the Sixth Maind for a while longer. She imed that there might still be other members of the Lu family who had awakened, as many people had been sealed in stone during the ancient war. She wanted to find more formerrades.

    Even though Lu Yin had not managed to gain any more cauldron energy during this trip to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, he had still managed to reconnect with Xin N¨¹ and learn that she was a member of his Lu family. On top of that, he had even managed to learn the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method, which had improved hisbat strength tremendously. This trip certainly had not been a waste of time, and Lu Yin merely hoped that he was not about to return to Xia Ji and that Elder Gong had managed to lend a hand and pressure Xia Ji.

    The scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he returned to the abandoned city.

    The moment he appeared, he looked around, but there was no one around. His pupils transformed into runes, and he looked around again, but there was still no one in sight. He put the futon away and stood up, but suddenly, a shadow appeared on the ground. Lu Yin¡¯s pupils instantly shrank, and he slowly turned around. However, he was not able to see anyone before passing out. Again?

    Lu Yin had no idea how much time had passed when he next woke up. He rubbed his head and sat up, only to see that he was on a meteorite drifting through space above a sea. The meteorite was actually zipping along calmly.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head, as he felt quite confused. What had happened? The person who had knocked him out could not have been Xia Ji, as there was no reason for the old man to hide himself from Lu Yin anymore. It had to have been another top powerhouse who was cooperating with Xia Ji.

    In that case, why had that person knocked Lu Yin out and left him in such a ce?

    Lu Yin looked at his gadget and tried calling Elder Gong, and he was surprised to see the old man actually answer.

    "Lu Yin?" Elder Gong tentatively asked.

    Lu Yin looked up. "It¡¯s me, Elder Gong."

    "Where are you?" Elder Gong quickly asked.

    "I actually don''t know. I¡¯m on a meteorite flying above a sea."

    "Figure out where you are, and I¡¯ll go get you," the old man said.

    "What about Xia Ji?"

    "Don''t worry about him¡ªwe¡¯re keeping an eye on him."

    "¡®We¡¯?"

    "I¡¯m with Highsage Grandmaster."

    Lu Yin felt quite touched. "Thank you, Senior, and please thank Highsage Grandmaster for me as well."

    "Hurry up and determine your location so that you can let us know. We¡¯ll go get you," Elder Gong repeated.

    Lu Yin agreed and hung up.

    A mysterious expert had helped Xia Ji by moving Lu Yin from where he had been to this sea, but that only brought up more questions. Who was the powerhouse that had cooperated with Xia Ji? It was clear that they did not want Lu Yin to figure out where he had been taken after being kidnapped. Could that person have been one of Xia Ji''s clones? If that was the case, then why had they not questioned Lu Yin about the Cosmic Art¡¯s inheritance or the God of Death¡¯s?

    It had to be because Xia Ji was suffering from too much pressure at this moment. Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster were in the Xia family¡¯s territory, and Xia Ji did not want to create too much trouble. If anything happened to Lu Yin, even while Xia Ji was being watched, the Semi-Progenitor would still be the top suspect, as everyone knew that Xia Ji had clones now.

 Chapter 1843: Wu Tianâ€™s Legacy

    Chapter 1843: Wu Tian¡¯s Legacy

    Given what had happened, Lu Yin became incredibly curious about the ce that he had been taken to after being kidnapped. It was clear that Xia Ji did not want Lu Yin to know about that ce, and it definitely had something to do with his clone, which was why Lu Yin could not be allowed to know about it.

    Lu Yin remembered what he had seen in that ce. So, he drew some pictures and decided to have a divination done on them after he reunited with the Starsibyl Sect. When he figured out where that ce was, he might be able to deduce where Xia Ji¡¯s clone was located, as well as the clone¡¯s identity.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and looked around. Then, he stood and stretched his neck before leaping off the meteorite and entering the true universe. He started searching for people, and he intended to simply find the strongest person around.

    There were still some ces in the universe where gadgets could not determine a person¡¯s location.

    Rain fell from the sky. Lu Yin was standing on a remote ind, staring at the rain up ahead of him. Was that really rain?

    There were countless delicate lines falling down, and each one absorbed star energy from the nearby area. After a moment, the lines would shatter and release raindrops that fell down to the sea. Every so often, the thin lines would fall all the way to the sea before shattering, and each burst in the sea killed many fish.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin was seeing such an odd thing, and only one ce popped into mind: the Cosmic Sea. That was only ce that had such odd weather phenomena.

    After confirming that he was in the Cosmic Sea, Lu Yin nned to get in touch with Big Sis and the others in her mercenary crew.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s impressive strength, the universe was vast, and he had no idea what he might encounter. Even if Lu Yin was confident that he could get through the Cosmic Sea, it would take him a long time to do so. So, it was better to reunite with Big Sis and ask her people for a route out of the Cosmic Sea, or even to ask them to just take him out. There was no need to trouble Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster with this matter, and Lu Yin also wanted to see Big Sis again.

    A ck dot appeared in the distance, and it started to growrger. The sight caused Lu Yin''s eyes to light up, as it was a warship. It looked massive, and he soon saw that there was someone at the ship¡¯s bow holding the weird rain back. They were clearly no weakling, and they seemed to be an Enlighter.

    He lowered his gadget and dismissed his thoughts of calling Big Sis and the others for the time being. He could just meet up with this crew and figure out his location from them.

    It did not take long for the warship to arrive at the ind and dock.

    Judging from the number of rune lines that he could see, Lu Yin could tell that the most powerful person on the warship was only an Enlighter with a power level of a bit more than 300,000. There was no one even close to Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength, so he could easily maintain control of the situation.

    However, it was not easy to sail on the Cosmic Sea, so Lu Yin did not intend to immediately show himself.

    The warship moored at the ind, and the crew started to disembark one by one. "There¡¯s no one on this ind."

    "There are many inds like this that pop up in the Cosmic Sea every year. Some of them rise up from the sea bed, and those can actually hold a lot of ancient treasures. Let¡¯s search the ce."

    "Stop dreaming! Do you really think people like us would ever be that lucky?"

    "It¡¯s not just dreaming! Make sure that you don¡¯t say anything like that in front of the captain and upset him. Our Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s no worse than anyone else, so why can¡¯t we get lucky?"

    "Haha, let¡¯s get a drink first and warm up. This weather¡¯s shit."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin leaned against a stone cliff as he listened to the crew talk. The Arcadian Arrow Crew? He remembered that a few people from this crew had been invited to participate during the Tournament of the Strongest. One of the invitees had not been too powerful, but Lu Yin had heard that one had visited the Sword Sect to make their name known. However, one had been defeated by Liu Shaoqiu and the other by Lu Yin. In the end, neither of the people from the Arcadian Arrow Crew had participated in the tournament.

    There were more than just the Four Pirate Crews in the Cosmic Sea, and the Arcadian Arrow Crew was actually ranked quite highly. Lu Yin understood why when he saw that they had an Enlighter with a power level of more than 300,000. This was strong enough to be amander of one of the regiments of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    "Nate, hurry up and use your domain to find out what¡¯s on the ind. We don¡¯t want anyone surprising us with an ambush," someone suggested.

    A young man nodded and released his domain. He was Nate, the youth who had lost to Liu Shaoqiu in Astral-3. He had been quite arrogant at that time, but he had since matured and be much more subdued.

    Nate''s domain swept across the ind. It covered an impressive area, but even though it passed by Lu Yin, Nate found nothing.

    Some timeter, the Enlighter who had been standing guard at the ship¡¯s bow left the ship tond on the ind. "I''m exhausted from this damn weather! And to think that it was sunny just an hour ago."

    "First Mate, has the captain considered it yet? Do you want to join Leon¡¯s Armada? I¡¯ve heard that several other crews have already joined their fleet," someone whispered.

    Everyone else around looked over.

    The first mate just shrugged. "No idea. Captain didn¡¯t say anything about it to me."

    "If you want my opinion, we shouldn¡¯t. Even if our Arcadian Arrow Crew isn¡¯t that strong, we¡¯re still able to stay alive in the Cosmic Sea. As long as we don¡¯t go trying to recruit more crew members, we won¡¯t offend anyone. Even if Leon¡¯s Armada is looking to make trouble, we can just send some tribute," someone muttered.

    Many of the other crew members agreed. "It¡¯s better to be on our own."

    "Still, I wouldn¡¯t mind joining Leon¡¯s Armada, as that would ensure our safety."

    "I agree. It¡¯s better to be protected."

    ¡­

    The first mate casually roasted some meat as he listened to the crew go back and forth.

    At this moment, a man appeared at the ship¡¯s bow, which caused everyone to fall silent. ¡°The captain came out."

    "Shh!"

    The man jumped down from the ship and moved over next to the first mate. He sat down, grabbed a bit of meat, and began to eat. "What''s all this noise about? We¡¯ll just wait to see if Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s going to make trouble for us. If we can¡¯t avoid it, we¡¯ll join them, but if we can, we¡¯ll continue on our own."

    "Captain, have you ever thought about just leaving the Cosmic Sea?" someone suddenly asked, which caused many of the other crew members to start arguing.

    "Little Jiuzi, what¡¯s this crap? Leave the Cosmic Sea? This ce is the foundation of our Arcadian Arrow Crew!"

    "That¡¯s right! We¡¯ll never leave the Cosmic Sea!"

    "If we leave the Cosmic Sea, we¡¯ll be nothing. The reason why those different Innerverse powers fear us is because we control some of the routes to the Neoverse. Without that, nobody would pay any attention to us at all."

    The captain tossed some bones away and cleaned his mouth. "Cut the crap! It¡¯s up to me, and it¡¯s none of your business, so just eat your meat."

    Everyone stopped talking.

    Lu Yin was still leaning against the cliff, and he nced up at the sky. Of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews, only the Soldier Crew and Leon¡¯s Armada were still around. The Soldier Crew was a mysterious group, and few people could even speak to them. Lu Yin had looked into the crew, but he had not found any useful information. No matter what, no outsider could join the Soldier Crew. However, if Leon''s Armada really intended to unite the Cosmic Sea, they would eventually have to force the Soldier Crew to join them.

    As Lu Yin considered this development, his body flickered, and he suddenly appeared at the captain¡¯s side. Lu Yin grabbed a piece of meat, put it on the fire, and casually started grilling it.

    No one noticed a thing for a while.

    Many of the crew members were either drinking, bragging, or training, so no one noticed Lu Yin within their numbers until they heard a shout. "Lu Yin?"

    The captain who had been sitting beside Lu Yin leaped to his feet, his hair standing on end as he stared at Lu Yin casually roasting some meat. The captain looked like he was staring at a ghost. When had Lu Yin appeared?

    The first mate and the rest of the crew all stared in disbelief. Why was Lu Yin with them?

    Lu Yin kept cooking his food. "Sorry, I was just passing by."

    He looked at the captain and offered a smile. "I didn''t mean to startle you."

    Bullshit! I thought I was looking at a ghost! The captain internally swore, but he said nothing aloud. He was familiar with Leon¡¯s Armada, the Great Eastern Alliance, and Lu Yin, as they were all connected. The captain knew of Lu Yin¡¯s reputation for being ruthless, as well as his absurd power. Rumors imed that despite being an Enlighter, not even Envoys would stand up to Lu Yin.

    "Why is Alliance Leader Lu in the Cosmic Sea?" the captain choked out. Many of the nearby crew members slowly backed as far away from Lu Yin as possible. Fear filled many of their eyes.

    Lu Yin set his meat down. "I was passing through and didn¡¯t expect to run into an old acquaintance."

    He turned towards Nate. "It¡¯s been a long time."

    Nate''s eyes flickered, but he had no idea how to respond.

    "I remember that you were with someone¡­ Silus? Where¡¯s he?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nate''s eyes dimmed. "He¡¯s dead. Died when the Sixth Maind invaded the Cosmic Sea."

    Lu Yin nodded, but he did not say anything more. People died during wars. It was expected.

    Silence reigned for a bit. The captain wanted to say something, but he had no idea why Lu Yin had approached them.

    "Ah, right." Lu Yin suddenly spoke up and looked at the captain. ¡°Please take me to Leon¡¯s Armada. I seem to be lost."

    Every single member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew waspletely dumbfounded. Lost?

    "You¡¯re lost?" Even the captain was caught off guard.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Yeah, I''m lost. But you shouldn''t be too far from Leon¡¯s Armada."

    "We¡¯re not close," the captain replied.

    Lu Yin smiled. "That works too. I can just take in the sights of the Cosmic Sea."

    The captain and the first mate nced at each other. Neither seemed to have any idea how to refuse Lu Yin¡¯s request, and they were also nervous to actually refuse.

    It was not long before the Arcadian Arrow Crew set sail in a different direction.

    Lu Yin was very curious about the warship. It was made of an odd material that seemed to be a bit slippery and hydrophobic. He gave it a bit of a squeeze, and there was a clicking sound as a bit of the ship shattered.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please be careful!" The captain panicked and quickly shouted for Lu Yin to be more cautious, and the rest of the crew just stared at Lu Yin.

    Their warship was their only means of survival in the Cosmic Sea. Without their ship, there would be no Arcadian Arrow Crew.

    Lu Yin quickly apologized.

    Since Lu Yin had managed to find the Arcadian Arrow Crew, he no longer needed to worry about how he would meet up with Leon¡¯s Armada. After growing bored, Lu Yin started browsing through thework.

    Suddenly, he leaped to his feet. How was this possible?

    He had stumbled upon a widely distributed post: ''The legend reappears! Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance! Who can defeat me?''

    Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance? Lu Yin quickly skimmed through the post, and then he lowered gadget. He really did not know how to feel about this. He had never heard of Wu Tian in any of the Fifth Maind¡¯s legends, but Wu Tian had been an Ancient Progenitor, just like the God of Death and Destiny. These were legends of legends! Names that not even Envoys may have heard of, let alonemon people, and yet he had just read about Wu Tian on a public post on thework.

    At first, Lu Yin had thought that the name was just a coincidence, but after reading the post, he realized that this was not the case. The Wu Tian that was mentioned in the post was the same Wu Tian that he had heard of.

    Someone had stumbled upon Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance in Burial Garden, and although no one seemed to know who that person was, all of Burial Garden had shaken when that had happened, and that scene had been captured in a video.

    A Hunter had managed to record a video, and the moment he saw a stone tablet, the name Wu Tian had mysteriously appeared in his mind.

    It was impossible for a Hunter to have heard of Wu Tian before. The moment the words appeared, they had seemed to resonate with heaven and earth. This scene that had yed out when the inheritance was acquired made everyone believe that Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance had been obtained by someone in Burial Garden.

    Wu Tian¡¯s legend was also dug up and revealed by some schrs who studied ancient records. Even though there were only a few words written down, it was still enough to expose the value of this particr inheritance, as Wu Tian had been someone on the same level as the God of Death.

    This matter had made great waves on thework, and countless people had poured into Burial Garden, hoping to be lucky enough to find some sort of inheritance. There were even some people whopared Lu Yin with Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance, as they brought up how Lu Yin had be peerless within his generation after receiving the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. These spections steeled more and more people¡¯s determination.

 Chapter 1844: Soldier Crew

    Chapter 1844: Soldier Crew

    Lu Yin stared out at the Cosmic Sea as the waves rose and fell.

    It was quite reasonable to think that someone had acquired Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance, as why else would a mere Hunter have heard about Wu Tian''s name? Lu Yin had not known of the ancient powerhouse even after bing the most powerful in his generation. He had only learned about the mysterious Ancient Progenitor in the Perennial World.

    If someone had really obtained Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance, then Lu Yin had no idea if it was a good or bad thing, regardless of whether the person was a friend or enemy.

    There were reports of many other recent developments in addition to the appearance of Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance. The most concerning report to Lu Yin was that the Wen family had suffered a bad blow. A powerhouse had emerged from one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates in Erudite Flowzone, and the person had attacked the Wen family before leaving.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. If even an Empyrean Imprinter like Mr. Lifeview had been tempted to enter Burial Garden, then it would not be surprising for another expert to enter. With Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance revealed, it was possible that even Semi-Progenitors might be tempted to enter Burial Garden. No, it could even tempt Progenitors.

    Even if both were Progenitors, there was still a difference between them. The legendary Ancient Progenitors were figures whom modern Progenitors could notpare to.

    Burial Garden¡¯s opening had created a situation where people coulde into contact with legacies from ancient times, and anyone who obtained such an inheritance would definitely have a brilliant future.

    In that case, what¡¯s the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s reaction to all this? Will they just sit back and allow things to continue as they are? Lu Yin rubbed his chin.

    "We are still a long way away from Leon¡¯s Armada, so if you¡¯re bored, you can always fish, Alliance Leader Lu.¡± The first mate approached Lu Yin and offered a suggestion.

    The man¡¯s name was Hai Dalu, and he was the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s first mate.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It has been quite boring. First Mate Hai, please tell me about the Soldier Crew."

    "Soldier Crew? Do you have some interest in them, Alliance Leader Lu?" Hai Dalu was surprised by this request.

    Lu Yin exined, "The Cosmic Sea used to have the Four Pirate Crews, but right now, only Leon¡¯s Armada and the Soldier Crew still exist. Of course I¡¯m interested in them."

    He stood up and stretched. "It¡¯s possible that Leon¡¯s Armada will soon be able to unite the entire Cosmic Sea. Wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful?"

    Hai Dalu had no idea how to respond to that. Wonderful? It would naturally be wonderful for Leon¡¯s Armada, as well as for Lu Yin and his Great Eastern Alliance, but it definitely would not be good for the various crews that had been surviving in the cracks.

    "The Soldier Crew is aplete mystery, and we actually don¡¯t know any more about them than the outside world. The Cosmic Sea is quiterge, and even though there were the Four Pirate Crews, they each kept their own set territory, and those were the areas that they knew best. With the Longevity Brigade and the Ignition Crew now gone, Leon¡¯s Armada has expanded their territory, but the Soldier Crew has not moved out of their original territory at all.

    "They¡¯re very odd. The Soldier Crew has never taken the initiative to antagonize anyone, but whenever anyone¡¯s provoked them, it never ends well¡­" Hai Dalu exined.

    Lu Yin quietly listened to Hai Dalu and stared off into the distance as he sank deep into thought.

    During ZENITH, there had been a participant from the Soldier Crew, and the man had had a very odd name: No. 0007. Even though the man had not been particrly powerful, he had possessed an incredibly firm will that had left a deep impression on Lu Yin.

    Since they were called the Soldier Crew, were all of the crew members soldiers?

    "If we''re lucky, we might actually be able to see the Soldier Crew on this trip," Hai Dalu said.

    This surprised Lu Yin. "See the Soldier Crew? What do you mean?"

    Hai Dalu essed his gadget and brought up a star chart. ¡°We¡¯re actually not that far from the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory right now. If you want to get to Leon¡¯s Armada, we need to pass around a bit of the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory. They patrol their region at all times, so if you¡¯re lucky, we¡¯ll run into them.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the map. "Why don''t you just go straight across their territory? It looks like it would save a lot of time and effort."

    Hai Dalu showed a dry smile. "The Soldier Crew has a rule that no outsiders are allowed to enter their territory and that all trespassers will be killed. This led to fights with the Ignition Crew and Leon¡¯s Armada in the past, and it evenpletely wiped out some smaller crews. We don¡¯t dare to step foot into their territory."

    "Just how strong is the Soldier Crew?"

    "That¡¯s not something that we would know, Alliance Leader Lu. You can ask Highsage Leon, as his armada¡¯s fought the Soldier Crew once before, so he should be able to answer that question."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. There was no way that the Soldier Crew was in any way weak if they had managed to maintain their status as one of the Four Pirate Crews even after fighting against Leon¡¯s Armada. At the very least, they had a powerhouse who was on par with Leon. Lu Yin still could not handle powerhouses at that level.

    It was also possible that Hai Dalu was worried that Lu Yin would try to force the Arcadian Arrow Crew to pass through the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory. So, he quickly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, the Soldier Crew is very perceptive, and they¡¯ll discover everyone who enters their territory. No one¡¯s ever managed to slip through with luck."

    "Don''t worry, I won''t force you to go there," Lu Yin said.

    Hai Dalu let out a sigh of relief.

    "So, your Arcadian Arrow Crew has been active in this particr area because you¡¯re worried about running into people from Leon¡¯s Armada." Lu Yin suddenly remembered something.

    Hai Dalu''s expression changed, but he just shrugged and nodded. "If we can¡¯t handle something, we¡¯ll just avoid it. The strong eat the weak, so we can only stay away from them."

    Lu Yin did not have much to say. After he finished unifying the Innerverse, his next goal was to go straight to the Neoverse. He feltfortable leaving the Cosmic Sea to Leon¡¯s Armada, and he did not have much interest in finding out what Leon¡¯s Armada was nning to do.

    The weather changed yet again, and suddenly, there was purple lightning shooting across the sky.

    Every member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew hid within the cabins and stared up at the sky in horror.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you shoulde in and avoid the weather. The purple lightning is very powerful."

    Lu Yin did not refuse, and he entered the ship. He looked up at the sky, and his pupils transformed into runes as the purple lightning swept by.

    Purple lightning filled the sky, and he saw its associated runes, but this lightning was not overly powerful; it could onlypare to an attack from an Enlighter with a power level of about 400,000. Still, this was an unapproachable power to most of the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s members.

    There was a boom as a bolt of purple lightning struck the sea and electricity coursed through the sea water. Many people shuddered as the lightning passed by the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s ship, and a powerful fear filled some eyes. However, most of the crew members remained calm, as they had survived even more terrifying situations in the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance without moving. When he had checked the runes of the purple lightning in the sky, he had inadvertently seen an impressive number of runes off in the distance. Those runes were moving closer and closer, and Lu Yin soon saw a huge, ancient warship moving towards them. It looked like a ghost ship as it was entirely ck with a hull that was worn, scratched all over, and stained with dried blood from past battles.

    As the warship approached, a chill swept over the Arcadian Arrow Crew that far surpassed what they had felt from the purple lightning.

    "Sol- Soldier- Soldier Crew- It¡¯s the Soldier Crew!" someone shouted in horror.

    The captain snapped back, "What are you panicking for? Shut up!"

    The purple lightning illuminated the nearby region of the Cosmic Sea as the Arcadian Arrow Crew watched the enormous warship slowly draw closer. Its approach made them feel like they were about to be consumed by an evil spirit, and many people grew pale as their eyes nervously darted about.

    Hai Dalu stared intently at the approaching warship, and then he nced over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood up and walked out of the ship, his eyes never leaving the approaching warship.

    The Soldier Crew¡¯s warship was hundreds of timesrger than the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s, and it almost looked as though they were approaching an ind.

    Purple lightning continued to fall from the sky, and it lit up the deck of the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship. There was a group of cold-faced cultivators standing there, all of them wielding weapons as they stared at Lu Yin. There looked to be thousands of people, and all of them faced the purple thunder without flinching or blinking their stern eyes.

    A cold aura spread out despite the continuous sts of purple lightning.

    There was a dull thud. It was from the thousands of members of the Soldier Crew mming their weapons down as one. There was only a single sound, as all the weapons had struck the deck at the same time.

    Lu Yin observed the Soldier Crew with great interest as the two ships approached each other before passing by.

    "Lu Yin of the Great Eastern Alliance asks to meet with themander of the Soldier Crew!" Lu Yin called out. His voice became a powerful st that swept across the members of the Soldier Crew.

    However, the crew remainedpletely silent as the warship moved away. Lu Yin waspletely ignored.

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Just as the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship left, the weather suddenly improved, and the sky turned clear. It looked as though the dark sky filled with purple lightning had never even existed. In the sea below, colorful fish were swimming about, creating beautiful ripples in the sea.

    Lu Yin looked back up at the horizon, but the massive warship was already gone.

    After the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship left, every single member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew let out a sigh of relief.

    The captain quickly exited the cabin and looked out at the Cosmic Sea. ¡°Luckily, we didn¡¯t move into their territory, or else we would have been finished.¡±

    He looked up and saw that Lu Yin was still staring at the horizon. The captain quickly spoke up, as he was afraid Lu Yin was about to do something. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, that¡¯s how the Soldier Crew is always like. They never allow anyone to visit or evenmunicate with outsiders."

    "Then how do they recruit people?" Lu Yin was quite curious, as the thousands of people on the deck had not been powerful cultivators, and none of them could have too long of a life expectancy. It was not possible that they had all been sealed in stone like Xin N¨¹, as it would be pointless to seal such people.

    The captain had no idea how to answer Lu Yin¡¯s question, and he simply said, ¡°If you want to visit the Soldier Crew, you should first meet up with Highsage Leon and talk to him about it. He should know a bit more about the Soldier Crew."

    ¡­

    Several days passed after the encounter with the Soldier Crew, and Lu Yin continued to watch the Cosmic Sea¡¯s ever-shifting weather patterns.

    He once saw arge mountain rise up from the sea bed, only to explode into shards. This was actually also considered a shift in the Cosmic Sea¡¯s astral phenomenon.

    "We¡¯re not too far from Leon¡¯s Armada¡¯s territory now," Hai Dalu said. He had be rather familiar with Lu Yin during this trip as the captain did not want to interact with Lu Yin and the rest of the crew members were scared of the youth. That left only the first mate to speak with Lu Yin.

    "Hey, where''s the ind?" Hai Dalu asked, looking rather startled as he stared at the horizon with a frown on his face.

    Lu Yin asked, "What ind?"

    "There used to be an ind here that was known as Breakwater Ind. Where¡¯d it go?" Hai Dalu said before quickly leaving to find the captain.

    They had originally nned to dock at the ind and restock their supplies.

    "It must have sunk. Change course. The closest ind now should be Lofty Lotus Ind. We¡¯ll restock there," the captain quickly decided. The battleship instantly altered course.

    Lu Yin stared down at the sea bed. He saw people there, and more than just one.

    "It¡¯s actually pretty normal for inds in the Cosmic Sea to sink. Depending on the size of the ind, people will dive to the sea bed to scavenge for any valuables." Hai Dalu looked at the sea bed with bright eyes. "We used to enjoy diving and searching for treasure, but it¡¯s too hard to find anything worthwhile, and it¡¯s basically a waste of time.¡±

    Shortly after the battleship left, a fierce fight broke out in the sea where the ind had once stood. Hai Dalu was surprised by themotion. "It looks like they found something pretty good."

    Lu Yin looked back and saw several people far away engaged in a fierce fight atop the sea. Suddenly his expression changed, and he disappeared.

    Hai Dalu was taken aback, and he looked back at the fight. What could be worth Lu Yin¡¯s interest?

    There were several people fighting above the sea. One tightly clenched something in a hand while trying to escape. However, after breaking free once, he was quickly surrounded. "You can''t hang onto that, so just hand it over."

    "Treasures belong to those who find them! You¡¯re just robbing me!"

 Chapter 1845: Cause

    Chapter 1845: Cause

    "So what? Everyone in Leon¡¯s Armada is a pirate, so give us what you found!" The pursuers had already caught up to the fleeing man, and one of them instantly attacked with a long knife.

    The escaping man turned pale, and he screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll give it to you!"

    "Toote!" There was no hesitation as the de continued to descend. However, there was a ringing sound, and the knife suddenly snapped. It broke at the hilt and harmlessly flew past the frightened man¡¯s neck.

    The man¡¯s attacker was horrified by this development, and he quickly nced around. "Who¡¯s interfering?"

    Lu Yin emerged from the void. He took a few light steps through the air, and a gust of wind blew all the attackers away with an irresistible strength. Fortunately, Lu Yin was not vicious with his attack, or else everyone here would have already died.

    Regr cultivators were simply not strong enough to wander around the Cosmic Sea, and Lu Yin¡¯s casual attack was more than enough for the people here to realize that Lu Yin¡¯s strength far surpassed their own.

    The targeted man had escaped death. He gasped for air as he looked over at Lu Yin and quickly thanked him.

    "There¡¯s no need to thank me. Just give me what you¡¯re holding in your hand. That will count as thanks," Lu Yin indifferently replied.

    The man barely hesitated before he stretched out his hand. "It''s yours."

    A certain nearby cultivator was clearly in the same group as the man who had been targeted, and it was also clear that thispanion was unwilling to let their prize be given away. Still, the man did not dare to say anything, as Lu Yin¡¯s strength far surpassed anything they could handle.

    "I¡¯m taking something from you, so here¡¯s somepensation." Lu Yin tossed out a hundred star essence before he disappeared.

    There was a thump as the hundred star essence fell into the sea. The man whom Lu Yin had saved was momentarily startled, but he quickly recovered and grabbed the star essence.

    "Boss, he gave you this much star essence? This is enough for all of us!" The man¡¯spanion saw what Lu Yin had done and was shocked by the generosity.

    The man gulped. He had originally wanted to sell the treasure that he had found, and he would have considered it a win if he had gotten a dozen or so star essence for it. He had just been robbed, and he had not expected the thief to be generous enough to pay such an exorbitant amount of star essence.

    "Second Bro, we just met someone very important," the man said in a dry tone as he did his best to suppress the excitement in his eyes while he quickly put the star essence away. "Let¡¯s go!"

    "Boss, why do I feel like that person looked a bit familiar? I feel like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before."

    "I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s someone important, so don¡¯t bother worrying about it. His status has nothing to do with us, so let¡¯s just focus on avoiding our pursuers for now."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin reappeared back on the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s battleship. He opened his hand, and a surprised smile appeared on his face.

    He was looking at a grain of fatesand! He really had not expected toe across more of this in the Cosmic Sea; perhaps it really was fate.

    Hai Dalu stared at what Lu Yin was holding, and he was also shocked by what he saw. ¡°Is that fatesand?"

    "I was lucky."

    Hai Dalu was genuinely impressed. "I''ve only ever heard of fatesand before, and I certainly didn¡¯t expect to see any today! This is an impressive opportunity!"

    Lu Yin quickly put the fatesand away. "I¡¯m actually collecting the stuff, so if you hear of any more, let me know and I¡¯ll make it worth your while."

    Hai Dalu smiled. "If I find out anything, I¡¯ll definitely let you know. Actually, I really want to ask you for some help, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin nced at the man. From the time that Lu Yin had first stepped foot on the battleship, all the other crew members had been avoiding him, even the captain. However, the first mate had stuck close to Lu Yin, and there seemed to be a motive behind his actions.

    "I¡¯m not sure if you might remember Zhang Chiting, Alliance Leader Lu?" Hai Dalu quietly asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed, and his head spun around to stare at Hai Dalu as though he were seeing the man for the very first time. "Are you from the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Hai Dalu nodded. "I wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you, but I¡¯ve been hesitant this whole time. Yes, I¡¯m part of the Hidden Earth Society."

    Lu Yin had not expected to run into someone from the Hidden Earth Society here. He had first learned about the group from Huo Qingshan, but even after that, Lu Yin had only ever managed to learn a tiny bit more. In fact, all he knew was that the organization tried to protect Earth and was associated with the primeval surnames.

    Due to a Possession, Lu Yin had learned that the Hidden Earth Society also existed in the Perennial World. However, the organization seemed to be far more powerful in the Perennial World than in the Fifth Maind, though it was shrouded in fog of mystery in both ces.

    Lu Yin had already learned about the history behind the primeval surnames in the Fifth Maind, but what about the Hidden Earth Society? What about the Primeval Surname Alliance? What was the story behind those two organizations?

    "Since you¡¯re from the Hidden Earth Society, please do me the same favor as Zhang Chiting," Lu Yin requested.

    Hai Dalu sighed. "It won''t be long before Earth experiences another extinction cycle."

    The man grew somber as he stared at Lu Yin. "We are helpless and can¡¯t do anything to help Earth. The only one who can is you! Alliance Leader Lu, I beg you, help Earth!"

    "Tell me everything you know about the Hidden Earth Society," Lu Yin replied.

    Hai Dalu showed no hesitation and easily revealed everything he knew.

    The first mate¡¯s knowledge of the Hidden Earth Society was the same as what Lu Yin had learned from Huo Qingshan and Zhang Chiting. None of them knew how the society had started, and no one knew what was in Jupiter, which was disappointing to Lu Yin.

    "How many people are part of the Hidden Earth Society right now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Dalu revealed a bitter smile upon hearing this question. "I know of about a dozen people, all of them under me. I¡¯m not sure how many others there are, as we don¡¯t have any real centralized leadership. There are some people who enter Jupiter, others who leave, and yet more who just stay on Earth. Alliance Leader Lu, if you think that you can use the Hidden Earth Society for your own use, I can tell you right now that it¡¯s pointless.

    "By the way, there¡¯s something you should know: I was the one who took Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Seruzen away."

    Once again, Lu Yin was surprised by his conversation with Hai Dalu. "You took them?"

    Hai Dalu nodded. "I wanted to intervene at the end of the trial on Earth, but there were too many people present. On top of the people from the Great Yu Empire, there were also people from the Daynight n and the Mavis n. It was truly incredible. At that time, I saw Alliance Leader Lu turn the tide and save Earth, and then I watched as Zhang Dingtian and the others left with you.

    "I followed all of you into the Great Yu Empire. While you were in the Astral Combat Academy, I grabbed Zhang Dingtian and the others and took them away, as none of them had any future if they stayed in the Great Yu Empire. Back then, I had no idea that you would one day reach your current level, as there was actually no reason to take any of them."

    Lu Yin was well aware that Hai Dalu was an Enlighter, and it would have been all too easy for him to take a few people away from the Great Yu Empire. The only person in the entire empire who might have been able to do anything about it had been Undying Yushan, but the former emperor had been masquerading as a Hunter at that time, so it would have been impossible for him to do anything at all.

    "All of them were talented youths, so I wanted to take them out into the universe to gain experience. I left Zhang Dingtian on Grayweed Continent when I passed through the Starfall Sea, Xu San was brought to the Cosmic Sea, Seruzen was dropped off in the Innerverse, and Bai Xue was left in the Outerverse. I firmly believe that Earthlings are not people who will easily fail or fall and that each one would find their own opportunities."

    "You caused Bai Xue to be controlled by someone, Xu San nearly died, and Seruzen¡¯spletely disappeared. Zhang Dingtian was the only one to have slightly better luck, as he received the cktop Dojo¡¯s inheritance andter joined Mt. Stacks Dojo," Lu Yin saidmented.

    Haidalu''s eyes lit up. "That''s wonderful! If one of them was able to rise up, that¡¯s plenty."

    Lu Yin shook his head, as his thoughts did not align with Hai Dalu¡¯s at all, though he also could not say that the man waspletely wrong.

    Earth was apletely average and had no ability to offer its people exceptional opportunities or even provide its cultivators enough resources. Lu Yin had managed to rise from an ordinary human to an Enlighter, but that was not an easy path to take in the universe. Also, Lu Yin¡¯s mind worked differently from most people¡¯s.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re someone who¡¯s spent some time living on Earth, so if possible, please save Earth!" Hai Dalu repeated his request.

    Lu Yin felt curious about something. "You never revealed yourself before, so why now?"

    Hai Dalu''s eyes flickered. "Because you gave that personpensation."

    "Just because of that?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Hai Dalu grew solemn. "After leaving Earth, you have risen step by step until you¡¯ve reached the Enlighter realm. This path is unimaginable for most people. I¡¯m also someone who¡¯s never received outside support, and it¡¯s difficult to find friends and family in situations like ours. I¡¯ve seen an unimaginable amount of hypocrisy, and I¡¯m someone who¡¯s also survived my own share of desperate moments, which is why I believe myself to be someone with a talent for reading through people. Alliance Leader Lu, you saved that man¡¯s life and then were also willing topensate him with star essence for the fatesand. At the very least, this tells me that you have a bottom line that you will not cross."

    Lu Yinughed. "Is that supposed to be apliment?"

    "I''m not in any position to praise you, and I¡¯m simply stating the truth," Hai Dalu replied.

    With their ties to the Hidden Earth Society, the two¡¯s rtionship imperceptibly grew closer. Lu Yin had never viewed the Hidden Earth Society as a threat because he viewed Earth as his second home.

    The truth was that manys would do their best to protect themselves after they joined the greater universe and became part of the cultivation civilization. In essence, each would form their own organization in hopes of carving out a ce for themselves in the universe. Unfortunately, most failed to aplish this.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was an alliance, as the various members all belonged to different regions of the Innerverse and Outerverse while the Hidden Earth Society was essentially aary alliance for Earth.

    "After we pass through this upside-down sea, we¡¯ll enter Leon''s Armada¡¯s territory," Hai Dalu stated as he pointed to an area up ahead. That area was not an endless sea like the one they had been sailing across, but rather two seas, and the second was upside-down. Another ship was sailing closer to the upside-down sea, and the moment it came in contact with the reversed area, the ship flipped over. It was a very strange sight.

    This area also had more ships around it, as well as numerous small inds.

    "Leon¡¯s Armada controls most of the Cosmic Sea, and the people who care for various regions within their territory are given a corresponding amount of resources as payment for their work. As for actual protection, that¡¯s left up to Leon''s Armada itself¡­" Hai Dalu exined.

    Lu Yin was quite impressed, as this was a very lively area. The people he saw were not afraid of Leon¡¯s Armada. Rather, it was quite clear that Leon¡¯s Armada was admired by these people.

    Upon entering the upside-down sea, the Arcadian Arrow Crew¡¯s battleship also turned upside down as it continued sailing across the blue sea.

    Right after they entered the new region, the weather shifted, and red raindrops began to fall, dying the entire sea red.

    No one hid or anything, as this red rain was quitemon in the Cosmic Sea.

    The arrival of the Arcadian Arrow Crew drew a bit of attention, but no one moved to stop them. They continued sailing along without issue until they approached a warship from Leon¡¯s Armada.

    At this point, the captain and the other crew members all stepped out to say goodbye to Lu Yin, as they all wanted him to leave. However, a smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "You have other guests on board, so even if you want to leave, you should first greet your guests."

    The captain and the others were all taken aback. Guests? None of them had noticed a thing.

    "Cap- Captain! Behind you!" someone squeezed out.

    The captain spun around. The red rain was still falling, but it was bouncing off of a humanoid figure behind him, revealing this hidden guest.

 Chapter 1846: Cocky

    Chapter 1846: Cocky

    The captain''s expression changed, and his tone was low as he asked, "Dare I ask who is boarding my ship?"

    Under everyone''s attention, a figure gradually became clear. "Arcadian Arrow Crew, do you want to join my Leon''s Armada?"

    The captain became very on edge the moment he saw who was on the deck of his battleship. "Reuben."

    It was indeed Uncle Reuben from Big Sis''s mercenaries.

    Uncle Reuben stared at the captain of the Arcadian Arrow Crew. "Have you thought it through yet? Our boss is getting impatient. Or perhaps do you hope to have Big Sise out to talk to you?"

    Sweat poured from the captain¡¯s forehead. He looked fierce, but it was nothing more than an act. Fear had caused him to carry Lu Yin across the Cosmic Sea, and when confronted with Reuben and the terrifying Big Sis, the captain was terribly frightened.

    Hai Dalu stepped forward. "Brother Reuben, we¡¯re here to deliver Alliance Leader Lu."

    Reuben did not seem to hear the first mate, and he continued to stare at the captain.

    The expressions of the nearby crew members all turned ugly, as none of them knew what was about to happen. Were they going to be forced to join Leon''s Armada?

    Hai Dalu nced over at Lu Yin for some help.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Uncle Reuben, let it go for today. You can discuss thister. Besides, there¡¯s no ce for them to run in the Cosmic Sea."

    Uncle Reuben finally looked away and turned his attention to Lu Yin. As he did, the man¡¯s cold eyes were filled with warmth. "You''re alright. Boss has been very worried about you."

    "Let¡¯s go," Lu Yin said.

    Uncle Reuben thenpletely ignored everyone from the Arcadian Arrow Crew. He stepped away and returned to the warship from Leon''s Armada.

    Lu Yin turned around to smile at the entire Arcadian Arrow Crew. "I''ve troubled you to bring me this far.¡±

    He then faced Hai Dalu and gave the man a long look. ¡°Goodbye, until fate lets us meet again.¡±

    Lu Yin then also stepped out and disappeared.

    As soon as Lu Yin and Uncle Reuben were gone, the captain felt a rush of relief, and he ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    He had absolutely no desire to see Highsage Leon. The Pirate King was a domineering person, and if that man asked the Arcadian Arrow Crew to join Leon''s Armada, there would be no way for the captain to refuse his request.

    Hai Dalu¡¯s mood was quiteplicated at this moment. Based on what Reuben had said, it sounded like it was just a matter of time until the Arcadian Arrow Crew joined Leon''s Armada. However, this did not actually matter to Hai Dalu, as he had realized that he was destined to be used by Lu Yin the moment that he had revealed his connection to the Hidden Earth Society.

    Truly, there was some matter of fate between Lu Yin and the Hidden Earth Society.

    The warship that belonged to Leon''s Armada was evenrger than the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship that Lu Yin had seen. The moment Lu Yin stepped aboard the warship, everyone stared at him with respect and excitement.

    Everyone on the entire warship knew exactly who Lu Yin was and all that he had aplished. In fact, he was in some ways regarded as the prince of Leon''s Armada.

    Thump!

    There was a loud noise, and the red rain was pushed back across the sky. The upside-down sea shook, and everyone felt their hearts skip a beat. They looked towards the warship of Leon¡¯s Armada that had suddenly seemed to be the center of the universe.

    Lu Yin looked up. That sound hade from Highsage Leon¡¯s massive sword. As the thump rang out, an invisible force apanied it. This force was the unparalleled, domineering strength of Highsage Leon. This was not battle force, domain, or spiritual force, but rather an indomitable spirit that had developed over the many years that Highsage Leon had trained in the Overlord¡¯s sh.

    This force could even cause the average Envoy to tremble. Highsage Leon did not cultivate anything else, as his Overlord¡¯s sh was enough for him to face off against even Ji Qiang and Jin Mie at the same time. This technique had allowed him to dominate the Cosmic Sea and had impressed even Liu Ye and Fei Hua. This was the power that had allowed Highsage Leon to suppress the universe¡¯s pirates until none of them dared to not follow him.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment as this oppressive aura swept by, and then he just smiled and continued forward.

    Thump!

    There was another loud noise, and this one sounded like lightning falling from the sky and sting the earth open. Everyone who heard it felt their hearts stop as their breathing stifled. Lu Yin looked up and took another step. As his foot descended, he exerted the Oveying Stacks Path, which produced its own deafening sound. As that sound spread out, everyone who had found themselves unable to breath caught their breaths again.

    Everyone grew pale as they tried to catch their breath. Just what was going on? Had Highsage Leon gone crazy? Was he about to kill everyone?

    Even the members of Leon''s Armada were afraid at this moment. If any more time had passed, they wondered if they would have died of heart failure.

    Suddenly, the crew members started looking at Lu Yin not only with admiration, but also with adoration. Lu Yin had allowed them to recover, and in their eyes, saved them.

    Suddenly, a massive figure shot out from a cabin. A massive de was hefted and swept out to point straight at Lu Yin.

    The young man¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he created a sword from his star energy that he swept up from down below.

    There was a tremendous ringing sound as the two des struck each other. The warship became the epicenter of a shockwave that erupted in all directions and shattered the void like broken ss.

    Every single ck line that appeared avoided every person and object. Despite the horrifying shockwave, not a single person was affected.

    Everyone rapidly fell back as they looked over in terror. This was not a fight that they could approach, as this was an Envoys¡¯ battlefield. The only person in Leon¡¯s Armada who might be able to join this particr battle was Liu Feng, the captain of the Lightning Sword Regiment, but even he would most likely be injured, so he retreated with everyone else.

    Lu Yin was only an Enlighter, but despite that, he was actually able to stand up to Highsage Leon!?

    However, the crew members were overthinking things. It was impossible for Lu Yin to be strong enough to stand up to Highsage Leon. Highsage Leon was simply trying to reinforce Lu Yin¡¯s reputation in the armada. Their hierarchy was based on strength, and Highsage Leon was trying to tell everyone that Lu Yin was the second strongest person in the entire armada.

    The red rain disappeared from the sky, and the heavens grew clear once more.

    An exasperated voice called out of a cabin, "You almost killed me! Do you really think that just anyone can stand up to that big sword of yours?"

    Big Sis was speaking up. She emerged from the cabin as she spoke. At this moment, she had the appearance of a charming and elegant beauty, though her mouth was still as crude as ever.

    Lu Yin stared nkly. He had no idea if he should dismiss his sword or not.

    Highsage Leon spun his saber around to point it at Lu Yin¡¯s sword briefly before putting the de away. ¡°I know, I know!"

    Big Sis angrily red at the man before turning onto Lu Yin. "Little Seven, are you threatening your Big Sis?"

    Lu Yin was startled at her question, and he quickly dissipated his sword and put on an ingratiating smile. "Big Sis! Your face! You¡¯re beautiful again! Congrattions! When will this be done with?"

    "Knock it off!" Big Sis moved over in front of Lu Yin and grabbed him. "Have you be cockytely, even going against a Semi-Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin grinned. "Nope! I got attacked."

    "A Semi-Progenitor felt the need to attack you?"

    "I''m that great!"

    "You really did be cocky, huh?"

    "Not really."

    "Are you talking back to me?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare!"

    ¡­

    Many of the people on the deck of the warship looked away, and not one of them had the guts to get involved. All of them knew better than to mess with Big Sis.

    She dragged Lu Yin back into the cabin that she hade out of, and inside, Lu Yin saw that Ghost Doc, Sister Fei, Kidney, and Brother Hao were already present.

    "Where''s Liu Feng?" Lu Yin asked. He rubbed his head as he asked. Big Sis was as violent as ever.

    Highsage Leon took a seat and drank some liquor. "He headed into Burial Garden. He wanted to give it a shot."

    Lu Yin instantly grew solemn. "Burial Garden isn¡¯t easy to deal with. If you can, get him out of there as soon as you can."

    "We already know that Burial Garden holds some great opportunities for people with ancient bloodlines, but others won¡¯t necessarily gain anything at all. Even people with primeval surnames don¡¯t necessarily carry an ancient bloodline, but unfortunately, Liu Feng wouldn¡¯t listen to us. He insisted on going in to try his luck." Sister Fei shrugged as she exined the situation.

    Liu Feng was the captain of the Lightning Sword Regiment, and he was also someone originally from the Sword Sect¡¯s Liu family, but he had left his family due to various disagreements.

    The Liu family had not expected Liu Feng to ever be an Envoy after he left the family, and when they discovered that he had done so, they regretted their previous actions. They asked Liu Feng to return, but the man had refused. His ultimate goal was to find someone who possessed a sword technique superior to the Thirteen Swords so that he could rub it in the Sword Sect¡¯s face.

    Many people seemed to possess this same obsession. Not to mention Liu Feng, but many people in the Sword Sect itself hoped to develop a Fourteenth Sword that surpassed the Thirteenth Sword.

    "What''s the deal with Xia Ji?" Highsage Leon asked Lu Yin. The mood instantly grew more somber than ever before, and a powerful killing intent zed in Highsage Leon¡¯s eyes.

    Everyone else in the room instantly looked at Lu Yin. Xia Ji was a Semi-Progenitor. It was incredible to even think that he had gone after Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "He wanted to steal a technique that I picked up, but I managed to pull one over on him."

    He proudly dered, "He should be injured!!"

    Highsage Leon¡¯s eyebrows rose at that im.

    Big Sis got extremely upset, and she smacked Lu Yin¡¯s head. "You hurt a Semi-Progenitor? There¡¯s no reason for pointless bragging here. We¡¯re all people who know better."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. He really had injured Xia Ji, and more than once at that. The first time, he had used the Samaritan¡¯s Tears, and the second time it had been due to the bloodstained clothes. However, no one seemed to believe Lu Yin¡¯s im.

    "Still, it¡¯s a fact that Lu Yin did manage to escape," Brother Hao spoke up, "Not just anyone can escape from a Semi-Progenitor. Even if you scour the entire universe, just how many people would dare to im that they can escape from a Semi-Progenitor. That¡¯s something even Boss can¡¯t do."

    "That¡¯s really not bad," Sister Fei agreed as she gave Lu Yin a look of admiration.

    Highsage Leon rolled his eyes. "I¡¯m going to ruin that old bastard one day."

    The feud between Leon''s Armada and Xia Ji was not a small one. First, Big Sis¡¯ mercenaries had been chased down, and many of them had been killed at Xia Ji''s orders. Later, during the war in the Cosmic Sea, Xia Ji had hoped to destroy Leon''s Armada to start a war. At that time, everyone had been treated as Xia Ji''s pawns, and that was something that Highsage Leon would never let go of.

    Most recently, Lu Yin had been personally attacked by Xia Ji.

    New hatreds wereyered upon old grudges. If the opportunity arose, Leon''s Armada would destroy Xia Jipletely and without any hesitation.

    "So how did you get to the Cosmic Sea?" Kidney asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know. When Xia Ji kidnapped me, I managed to distract him and escape to the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins and ask for help. When I returned from the Daosource Sect, someone ambushed me and knocked me out. When I came to, I was already in the Cosmic Sea. That person should have been Xia Ji because he probably doesn¡¯t want me to know where he took me. That ce most likely has some connection to some secret of his."

    Big Sis snorted derisively. "He doesn¡¯t have any secrets other than his clones. That old bastard cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique, so who knows just how many other clones he¡¯s got hidden out there. People from the Xia family are a pain in the ass."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. He did not want to think about Xia Ji¡¯s other clones. That ce had definitely been in the Neoverse, so was it possible that Xia Ji had a clone in one of the Neoverse¡¯s top powers? When Lu Yin considered the fact that there were only a handful of organizations that qualified to be considered as such, was it really possible that one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones was hidden in such an organization? Could he have a clone in each of those monstrous organizations?

    This was something that became trickier the more Lu Yin thought about it.

    Lu Yin became lost in thought as Sister Fei and others began discussing affairs regarding Leon''s Armada. They made no efforts to hide anything, as Lu Yin was one of them.

    After a while, everyone started to break away one by one. Soon, Highsage Leon was left alone with Lu Yin. "What are your ns for the Cosmic Sea?"

    Lu Yin asked. "Should I have ns for it?"

    Highsage Leon gave azy smile. "You¡¯ve already united the Innerverse and the Outerverse, so the next step is naturally the Cosmic Sea."

    Lu Yin stared at the older man. "Is there a need for me to even bother with this ce?"

 Chapter 1847: My Lord

    Chapter 1847: My Lord

    Highsage Leon and Lu Yin stared at each other for a while. After a bit, the Pirate King grinned. "Good, you¡¯re not speaking to me all stuffy-like! If you ever try to be formal, I¡¯ll kick your ass. Remember, you¡¯ve always been a part of Leon''s Armada, and this ce is your family. You never need to be polite to us."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never made any ns for the Cosmic Sea."

    "It''s time that you did. I¡¯m not the only one here," Highsage Leon retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he was reminded of this. "I almost forgot about that. What¡¯s the deal with the Soldier Crew? I met one of their ships on the way here, but theypletely ignored me."

    "It¡¯s just bullshit. That¡¯s how they treat everyone. They don¡¯t pay any attention to anything, and all they do is patrol their chosen territory. It seems like they¡¯re guarding something." Highsage Leon pulled up his gadget and shared a map that indicated the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory of the Cosmic Sea. ¡°Anyone who enters that region gets their ass beat.¡±

    "I heard that the Ignition Crew got beat before."

    "Not just them. The same thing happened to the Longevity Brigade, and even some people from the Hall of Honor were kicked out. I don¡¯t actually know what happened with the people from the Hall of Honor, so maybe they learned about something and decided not to do anything about the situation and just leave the Soldier Crew in their little area."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Just how strong is the Soldier Crew?"

    Highsage Leon''s eyes narrowed. "They¡¯re a bit strong. While they don¡¯t have any real powerhouses, they coordinate with each other andunch joint attacks like a military formation. Honestly, all of them act like veterans from a war."

    "Can they stop you?"

    "Bullshit! How could they force me back?" Highsage Leon became upset.

    Lu Yin stared at the map demarcating the Soldier Crew''s territory. Were they really guarding something?

    "Anyway, as long as you don''t enter that region, you''ll be fine. The Soldier Crew has never left that ce. Don¡¯t provoke them, and they won¡¯t mess with you. That''s how it works," Highsage Leon said.

    Beep beep beep!

    There was a soft sound from Lu Yin¡¯s gadget. He looked down and saw that it was actually a call from First Edition City, so he quickly answered.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the person you asked us to look for has appeared." Lu Yin heard the voice of the vice city master, Little Bear.

    Lu Yin''s gaze turned sharp. "The old woman?"

    "Yes. She went to Sky Creation Academy."

    "And then?"

    "She disappeared and has yet to be seen since."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Wang Si was gone. She should have headed back to the Perennial World. Bai Laogui had already left, so Lu Yin was safe for the moment.

    He truly had no ability to protect himself from a Semi-Progenitor. Originally, he had intended to reach out to Kui Luo to ask the old man to be his protector, but with Wang Si gone, Lu Yin no longer needed to look for Kui Luo.

    Lu Yin had actually tried to call Kui Luo before he ran into the Arcadian Arrow Crew, but he had not been able to connect to the old man. Lu Yin had no idea what the old man was doing at the moment.

    Lu Yin stayed with Leon¡¯s Armada for the next few days, growing more familiar with the Cosmic Sea. He also spent time with Big Sis and discussed his rmendation for her to be an overseer with her, but she refused without any hesitation. In her own words, being an overseer meant losing her freedom, and she preferred to roam about the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin verbally agreed with her, but the truth was that the overseers¡¯ council needed to have a full roster of members, but Lu Yin could not think of a single suitable candidate to be the final member aside from Big Sis. Whether or not Big Sis was willing was not something that Lu Yin could afford to consider, as he needed to focus on the bigger picture.

    After several days, Leon''s Armada set out and made their way towards the west. They were on their way to drop Lu Yin off at Gaia''s Swamp.

    Lu Yin was out of death energy, and he desperately needed to replenish his reserves.

    After more than half a month of travel, the warship arrived at a ce close to Gaia''s Swamp. Lu Yin then said goodbye to Highsage Leon and Big Sis and continued on to Gaia''s Swamp by himself.

    He had spent nearly a month with Leon''s Armada. During that time, he had dealt with daily tongueshings from Big Sis while Highsage Leon had forced Lu Yin to drink and had beaten up the youth twice. Still, Lu Yin was in a great mood, as that time was spent with the people whom he considered his family.

    Outsiders saw how fierce and vicious Leon''s Armada was, as well as the fact that Highsage Leon was the Pirate King. However, Lu Yin found them to be kind and considerate.

    During this one month period, countless shes marred Lu Yin¡¯s body. Every single one of them was from Highsage Leon¡¯s massive saber. Lu Yin had not been allowed to use any sort of medication on his wounds, so he could only wait for them to slowly and naturally recover.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stared at Gaia¡¯s Swamp from a few million miles away. This was already his third time visiting the prison.

    His first visit had been during the prison riot. The second time was right after Gaia''s Swamp had been attacked. Lu Yin had no idea what this third visit might hold.

    This thought actually caused Lu Yin to feel a bit apologetic, as the Warden had most likely already learned that Liu Huang and the Second Nightking were with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s assumption was quite urate, as the Warden was indeed aware of this.

    The entire Daynight n had joined the Great Eastern Alliance while the Second Nightking and Liu Huang were both active powerhouses within the Great Eastern Alliance. When the Warden learned of this, he actually wanted to personally go to the Innerverse, recapture the two prisoners, and drag them back to Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Unfortunately, that would have to stay as a dream for him, as he was aware of the fact that he could defeat neither of the two powerhouses.

    When Lu Yin stepped into the Warden¡¯s castle, the ground was shaking from the sound of the giant¡¯s snoring, and massive jugs crashed to the ground one after another.

    Lu Yin pushed a jug away and looked up, but all he could see was the Warden¡¯s toes.

    "It¡¯s been some time, Warden."

    The snoring continued.

    Lu Yin continued, "There were some unavoidable matters, so I beg Senior¡¯s forgiveness. This junior had no intention of bringing harm to Gaia''s Swamp."

    The snoring continued.

    "This is some wine that this junior brought you from the Cosmic Sea. I hope Senior enjoys it."

    The snoring continued.

    Lu Yin had said what needed to be said, so he turned around and left. He had only stopped by Gaia''s Swamp in order to absorb some death energy.

    After leaving the castle, Lu Yin released his domain. He noticed that Lord Piggy had buried himself in the swamp in order to avoid being seen by Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not go after the pig, and instead went to a random location in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Some timeter, the death energy in the prison surged as it was absorbed by Lu Yin.

    The Warden stood up inside his castle. He rubbed his head and looked out into the swamp with an odd expression on his face. ¡°Is the kid not afraid of killing himself from absorbing so much death energy? Not even the Specter n can survive that much. I hope he doesn¡¯t end up losing his mind.¡±

    The Warden then picked up the jar of wine that had been left next to him and took a big drink. "It''s not bad, but you can¡¯t smooth over what happened back then with just something like this. Huh? Why am I getting so sleepy? Is the wine really that strong?"

    The colossal giant then turned his head to the side and fell back asleep.

    Out in Gaia''s Swamp, Lu Yin quickly absorbed arge amount of death energy. As his cultivation improved, the amount of ck and white mist that he could store in his chest also increased, which naturally meant that he was able to absorb more death energy.

    Lord Piggy watched in horror as the death energy in the swamp churned. This was just too frightening! This person was nothing less than a monster! Lord Piggy immediately decided that he would never see Lu Yin again.

    The newly increased amount of death energy led to a thicker ck and white mist within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. Fortunately, he still had the fatesand to conceal it.

    It was not long before Lu Yin started to approach his limits. The river of death energy that he had been absorbing reduced to a trickle.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin saw a face smiling at him. It belonged to an absolutely beautiful and stunning woman with a very sensual appearance. He stared at the face across Gaia¡¯s Swamp and saw that the woman had golden eyes. What was with that?

    Lu Yin soon descended to the ground and went to meet the woman. He had never seen this woman before, and she was not bound with any chains, which indicated that she was not a prisoner. "Who are you?"

    The woman smiled at Lu Yin and gave him a small bow. "The Specter n¡¯s Tong Yu greets the lord."

    Lu Yin instantly became serious. Tong Yu? Where had he heard this name before?

    Seeing the woman¡¯s golden irises, a thought shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he blurted out, "The Dark Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Judicial Commissioner Tong Yu?"

    Tong Yu lifted her head back up and smiled at Lu Yin. "I¡¯m honored that you¡¯ve remembered the name Tong Yu, My Lord."

    Lu Yin instinctively took a step back and kept a wary eye on the woman. He had remembered her name because she was the one who had previously attacked Gaia''s Swamp. "Why are you here?"

    Tong Yu replied, "I¡¯ve been waiting for you, My Lord. Gaia''s Swamp is full of death energy, and My Lord would eventuallye here to replenish your death energy, so this was the best choice."

    "Waiting for me? Also, don''t call me ¡®My Lord.¡¯ I don¡¯t have anything to do with the Specter n," Lu Yin refuted.

    Tong Yu blinked. "You are the lord of death energy, so how could I call you anything else?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he did not disagree with the woman. In fact, it was impossible for him to do so. This woman had almost killed the Warden. That giant was practically invincible within Gaia¡¯s Swamp, which meant that Lu Yin stood absolutely no chance against this woman.

    "For you, My Lord, it¡¯s possible that death energy is merely another kind of power, but for us members of my Specter n, death energy is our religion and purpose." Tong Yu calmly stared at Lu Yin. "For us, being without death energy is no different from another cultivator being without star energy. Without it, there is no means of cultivation or survival. The creator of death energy was the legendary God of Death, and you, My Lord, are the God of Death¡¯s heir."

    "So I can order you to do things," Lu Yin said bluntly.

    Tong Yu smiled. "Of course. No matter what My Lord¡¯s orders may be."

    "I want money. A lot of it." Lu Yin spoke rudely, but this woman had been waiting for him in Gaia¡¯s Swamp for a reason, so he figured that he would push things as far as possible to test things out.

    Tong Yu twined a bit of hair around a finger. She lookedpletely confused. "Money? You want a lot? I''ll find a way to get that for you."

    "Are you broke despite being a great Deputy Chief Justice?" Lu Yin did not believe her.

    Tong Yu shrugged. "When you mention money, My Lord, I believe that you should be talking about star essence. That¡¯s valuable to most cultivators because they can absorb the star energy from it, but that¡¯s useless for us."

    Lu Yin was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly realized the truth of her words. Sure enough, star essence would be useless to members of the Specter n.

    "My Lord, I''m curious. Why do you desire so much money?" Tong Yu was genuinely quite curious, and her golden eyes sparkled. With her fingers toying with her hair and her head cocked to the side, she did not look like an old monster, but rather like a naive little girl.

    Lu Yin grew more and more on guard. The more this woman acted innocently and tried to get him to rx, the more nervous Lu Yin became. Still, no matter how on edge he was, it would be useless, as this woman could crush him like a bug with no more than a single finger.

    "Everyone has some kind of hobby" was all that Lu Yin could find to say.

    Tong Yuughed. "Very well, I will try my best to find some money for you, My Lord. The more, the better. In that case, I will steal from the Mavis family when I have an opportunity."

    "What are you doing here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Yu finally released her hair. "Nothing really. I just wanted to meet you, My Lord, and also determine how powerful your absorption of death energy has be."

    "Oh? How did I do?"

    "Amazing." Tong Yu gave him a thumbs up as she eximed, "You are truly amazing, My Lord! You can absorb death energy faster than anyone else. It did not even seem like you were absorbing death energy, but rather star energy."

    "Isn¡¯t absorbing death energy the same thing as absorbing star energy for members of the Specter n?"

    "It¡¯s not the same as drinking water," Tong Yu muttered as she rolled her eyes at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Well, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going to head out, and you can leave now too.¡±

    Being so close to an expert who could easily kill him was extremely nerve racking for Lu Yin, especially since he could not determine if this woman was a friend or foe. It was extremely ufortable.

 Chapter 1848: The Origin Of The Arcane Art

    Chapter 1848: The Origin Of The Arcane Art

    "Wait!" Tong Yu shouted, looked at Lu Yin, and then seriously said, "My Lord, whether you believe it or not, you will eventually be the lord of my Specter n."

    "I believe you," Lu Yin replied.

    Tong Yu blinked. "You don''t believe me."

    "I believe you," Lu Yin repeated.

    Tong Yu hesitated, but then a stubborn expression appeared on her face. "You don''t believe me."

    Lu Yin was stunned at the woman¡¯s reaction. "I just told you that I believed you."

    Tong Yu pursed her lips. "You don''t really believe it."

    "What should I say to convince you that I believe you?" He really had no idea what to do. While he truly did not believe what Tong Yu had said about him bing the Specter n¡¯s lord, Lu Yin just wanted to get away from the woman as fast as possible.

    Tong Yu considered his question for a bit. She looked genuinely confused. ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that I get the feeling that you don¡¯t believe me, and I was given the task of convincing you that you are the Specter n¡¯s lord and that we are willing to follow and serve you."

    "Task?" Lu Yin became curious. "Who gave you this task?"

    "The Chief Justice," Tong Yu replied.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. The woman¡¯s answer had nearly given him a misunderstanding, as he had automatically thought of his senior disciple brother, the Chief Justice. However, Tong Yu was speaking of the Chief Justice of the Dark Interster Supreme Court.

    "Is the Chief Justice the patriarch of your Specter n?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Yu nodded. "That¡¯s right, and he asked me to visit you and verify that you believe in our Specter n¡¯s sincerity in wanting to follow you."

    "What if I just don''t believe you?" Lu Yin asked back.

    Tong Yu remained stubborn. "Then I¡¯ll follow My Lord until you believe it."

    Lu Yin pressed a bit, "You won''t attack me?"

    Tong Yuughed loudly. "My Lord is so funny! You are the lord of our Specter n, so how could any of us attack you? Haha."

    "What if I want you to attack someone else?"

    "I don''t know how to fight," Tong Yu responded in a perfectly natural tone, but just as Lu Yin was about to say something, she added on, "I only kill."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Well, this is where we end things today. If I don¡¯t return, the Warden will be suspicious."

    "Then I¡¯ll kill him," Tong Yu stated in apletely indifferent manner.

    Lu Yin''s gaze grew sharp as he stared at Tong Yu. "I don''t believe it. Are you really going to follow me?"

    Tong Yu nodded and then smiled at Lu Yin. "Don''t worry, My Lord, no one will discover anything at all."

    Lu Yin came down with a headache. He could not tell if Tong Yu was telling the truth or not. If this woman really did start following him around, then his life would be veryplicated and difficult, as there were just too many secrets that he could not allow others to see. "How strong are you?"

    A yful smile slowly crept across Tong Yu''s face. Her golden eyes glittered. ¡°I¡¯m at around the same level as one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. This was a level of strength that only the Second Nightking could stand up to, and even then only at his peak. However, given the strangeness of the Specter n, it was possible that not even the Second Nightking was capable of standing up to Tong Yu. Lu Yin¡¯s only options to get rid of this woman were either enlisting the help of a Semi-Progenitor or entering Burial Garden.

    Was he going to have to return to Burial Garden?

    "What are you thinking about, My Lord?" Tong Yu felt quite curious as she smiled and stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. She was not ignorant of the ways of the universe, and she certainly was not unfamiliar with Lu Yin, especially after seeing what he had aplished during thest battle of ZENITH when he used the God of Death Transformation. That scene had had such an incredible impact on the Specter n that they had been forced to stop themselves from chasing after Lu Yin as fast as possible. After all, the Aeternals were still watching them.

    While Tong Yu had no idea what their Chief Justice was thinking, it did not particrly matter, as she was quite intrigued by Lu Yin anyways.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, before looking back at Tong Yu. "If you want me to believe you, then I need you to answer a few questions for me."

    "My Lord, please tell me." Tong Yu smiled.

    "Between me and the Aeternals, which will you choose?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tong Yu was caught off guard. "My Lord, you ask a very direct question that gets straight to the point."

    Lu Yin just stared into Tong Yu''s eyes.

    The woman fell silent for a bit. "Personally, I will choose you, My Lord. Since the Chief Justice asked me toe to you, My Lord, I believe that he will also choose you. However, there are many members of the Specter n, and we might not represent the decisions of the majority of our n members. Just like how many humans are willing to turn to the Aeternals, the same is true of my Specter n."

    This sounded like a very honest answer, so Lu Yin continued with his next question. "After ZENITH finished, the Seven Skygods wanted to kill me. Did your n know about that?"

    "We knew."

    "And yet there was no reaction? If I had died, the God of Death¡¯s inheritance that you believed me to have would have most likely disappeared." Lu Yin continued to carefully watch Tong Yu.

    The woman just shrugged. "What were we supposed to do? We don¡¯t have any powerhouses who can stand up to the Seven Skygods. My Lord, you must understand¡ªif my n had an expert at that level, how could we have ever lost to the Xie family?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "That''s another thing I¡¯ve been wondering about: how did the Xie family ever manage to defeat the Specter n?"

    When this question was brought up, Tong Yu''s expression finally turned solemn. "It wasn¡¯t just the Xie family, but the entire Seven Courts and even the Hall of Honor acting against us. If not for that, how could the Xie family alone have managed to defeat my Specter n?"

    This was a perfectly reasonable answer. In the Perennial World, the Xie family had beenpletely eradicated long ago by Specter Abyss, and Specter Abyss was nothing more than another branch of the Specter n.

    The truth was that Lu Yin did believe that there were people from the Specter n who were willing to acknowledge him. In the Perennial World, a powerhouse from Specter Abyss had sacrificed himself in order to allow Lu Yin to escape. However, Lu Yin did not trust this Chief Justice of the Dark Interster Court or their Judicial Commissioners. These people had spent untold years cultivating and improving their strength. They had fought against fate and had even joined hands with the Neohuman Alliance to survive and continue on. How could such people be willing to entrust their future and their existence to a stranger?

    "What exactly does my existence mean for your Specter n? Don¡¯t repeat that bit about me being your lord because of the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, as there¡¯s absolutely no evidence that the God of Death ever even existed," Lu Yin remained solemn.

    Tong Yu smiled. "You seem to have developed a bit of trust in me from my answers so far. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have asked me this question. Still, this is something that I can tell you, My Lord."

    Suddenly, the woman turned serious as she stared at Lu Yin more intently. "The death energy here in Gaia¡¯s Swamp has shrunk down to a few million miles, and the death energy beneath Aeternus Nation is also decreasing. If therees a day when there is no longer any death energy in the universe, what will my Specter n do?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was death energy diminishing? He had never even considered that possibility.

    "If the dayes when this universe no longer holds any death energy, my Specter n will also disappear. We are only able to use death energy while you, our Lord, are the only one able to create death energy.

    "Your mere existence guarantees that death energy will eventually be created once again, which will ensure the survival of my Specter n. This is what your existence means to us. You promise the survival of our entire n."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands clenched into fists. "I can¡¯t create death energy."

    "But you¡¯re the person closest to being able to do so," Tong Yu retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly grew suspicious. "Have you all never considered just taking the inheritance from me?"

    Tong Yu suddenly fell silent and dropped her head. Lu Yin instantly was put on guard, and he took a few steps back. He regretted voicing that question, as it was an extremely sensitive topic. What if this woman suddenly attacked him? Even though she was not a Semi-Progenitor, she was not far from that level. To Lu Yin, Tong Yu was an unstoppable powerhouse.

    He had been stupid to ask that particr question.

    There was a smile on Tong Yu¡¯s face that was hidden by the fact that she had lowered her head. She actually looked incredibly happy, and her whole body was trembling. She looked like she had just heard the greatest joke.

    Lu Yin took a few more steps back, his vignce rising higher than ever.

    Tong Yu lifted her head to show her brilliant smile. The golden eyes had disappeared, and her eyes appeared normal. Because of how hard she wasughing, her hair had be a bit messy. "The God of Death is someone only spoken of in legends, and there is no evidence to suggest that that person ever even existed, as not even death energy can do that. There¡¯s no way to prove that death energy was created by the God of Death. Have you considered this before, My Lord? If the God of Death truly existed, then how could all traces of such a powerful person have been erased? Both the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Chen left inheritances behind, and there are also records of them. But what about the God of Death? There is absolutely nothing."

    Tong Yu smiled and stared at Lu Yin. "That''s because the God of Death¡¯s inheritance is not something that can actually be regarded as an inheritance at all, but rather a matter of fate. Only specific people can sessfully cultivate the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. My Specter n has the most knowledge about the God of Death out of anyone in the universe, so we are absolutely certain that no one can take the inheritance from you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, but he just listened quietly.

    "If the God of Death¡¯s inheritance could be taken from someone, do you really believe that you would have enjoyed all these years of peace? Forget the Neohuman Alliance¡ªeven my Specter n would have attacked you. I don¡¯t deny that at all. If your power could be taken away, why would we have waited until now to approach you?¡± Tong Yu¡¯s exnation continued, ¡°It¡¯s because this power cannot be taken from you or even passed on to another person. Even if your offspring wish to receive this inheritance from you, it is impossible. Or, is it possible that you know how you managed to receive the inheritance, My Lord?"

    Did Lu Yin know this? What a joke! He had no idea what he had done, and he only had a few guesses about what had sparked the formation of the ck and white mist in his chest. How could he pass anything at all onto someone else? Beat them to death and try to get them to use the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival? If that was possible, it would already have been done.

    "My Lord, you should be someone who has managed to cultivate the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival," Tong Yu suddenly said as she stared at Lu Yin with bright eyes.

    His expression changed drastically. "How did you know that?"

    "Because my Specter n was the one to release the Arcane Art!"

    Lu Yin was startled.

    "The Arcane Art is the only evidence supporting the God of Death¡¯s existence. This is because it is an inheritance passed down by my Specter n, and it came from death energy itself.

    ¡°Once, long ago, one of our ancestors died while crazily absorbing death energy. However, they managed to achieve a moment of rity right before they died. During that moment, our ancestor left behind the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival. After that, before they could say another word, they were reduced to mere bones. This is why only my Specter n knows that the Arcane Art came from death energy and that it is actually the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. It is the God of Death¡¯s mark,¡± Tong Yu exined.

    A light flickered in Lu Yin''s eyes. So this cultivation art came from death energy? He suddenly remembered the back of the figure that he had once seen while absorbing death energy. That figure might have been the God of Death themselves. Others might not believe Tong Yu¡¯s story, but Lu Yin did.

    "The Arcane Art is the only thing supporting the idea that the God of Death may have truly once lived, and my Specter n once believed that we had finally received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. However, no matter how many years passed, not one person from my n has ever managed to sessfully cultivate the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival. It requires a person to resurrect from death, and a person must literally die in order to cultivate this art. However, death is final, so who could ever seed?¡±

    Sadness entered Tong Yu¡¯s voice. ¡°There was a time when my Specter n was so powerful and impressive that even the Daosource Sect had to take notice of us, but because of the appearance of the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival, many of our ancestors perished. As a result, our strength withered and has only fallen from that time until now.

    "Despite the passage of countless years, not a single person has ever managed to sessfully cultivate Fatal Revival. Some of our ancestors suggested that the n spread the cultivation art into the rest of the universe so that more people could try cultivating it. Then, we could simply find anyone who seeded, take them back to our n, and have them absorb death energy, turning them into a member of the Specter n.

    "Wepletely believe that the Arcane Art is the God of Death¡¯s inheritance and that sessfully cultivating it will naturally allow a person to absorb death energy and be part of the Specter n. However, after all these years and the Arcane Art spreading throughout the universe, no one has ever managed to cultivate it. Over time, we even began to forget about it and abandoned all hope.¡±

    Excitement suddenly blossomed in Tong Yu¡¯s eyes as she suddenly looked at Lu Yin. "My Lord, you are the only person to ever seed in cultivating Fatal Revival throughout the eons!"

 Chapter 1849: A Change In Situation And A Surprise

    Chapter 1849: A Change In Situation And A Surprise

    Lu Yin finally understood why so many people knew the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival; there was the grandpa on Driftcharge, Brother Hui Kong, even some people from the Perennial World. It was all because the Specter n had purposefully spread the cultivation art around to see who could sessfully cultivate it. Lu Yin also realized why the Specter n was so certain that the God of Death¡¯s inheritance could not be stolen, as it was the Arcane Art itself that was the inheritance.

    "Does My Lord believe me now? We bear you no ill will. You are the only person who has ever sessfully cultivated the Arcane Art, and you will eventually be able to create death energy. You are the future of our Specter n and the one who will allow our n to continue existing." Tong Yu said. This was her greatest motivation in looking for Lu Yin: to inform him of where his inheritance hade from and to assure him that the Specter n was not his enemy.

    While Lu Yin was still wary of Tong Yu, he somewhat believed her now. The Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival was not something that could be faked, and it did form the foundation for his God of Death Transformation. It was also utterly impossible to take either of those things from Lu Yin.

    Still, he maintained some level of wariness towards the Specter n. It was impossible for him to be convinced of their goodwill so easily. "If I¡¯m that important to you, then why haven¡¯t you done anything during any of the numerous times that I¡¯ve been in danger?"

    Tong Yu blinked. "Because of Fatal Revival."

    Lu Yin waspletely taken aback. That¡­ actually madeplete sense. He had almost died several times, and he had only survived precisely because of the miraculous nature of Fatal Revival, though he had always felt like there was something wrong with that.

    Tong Yu sighed. "My Lord, you must understand my Specter n¡¯s position. To begin with, we are always being watched by humanity after we allied ourselves with the Neohuman Alliance. On top of that, we also are unable to send out any Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouses to actually protect or save you.

    "Still, we have done what we can to help you. For example, the Neohuman Alliance has ordered the Dark Interster Supreme Court on several asions to eliminate you, but we have never attacked you, have we?¡± Tong Yu pped her hands. "Ah, also, after ZENITH, we received other orders from them. That time, they wanted us to travel to Zenyu Star and Earth to capture you from one of those ces. If that was impossible, we were to destroy both of those ces. We never moved against you or thoses."

    Lu Yin was startled. "Really? Zenyu Star and Earth?"

    Tong Yu nodded. "It¡¯s known that you care about those two ces the most, but we never touched them. When the Great Eastern Alliance attacked the Daynight n, I also sent Silver to you to tell you about a location with a great deal of death energy. All of these are matters that we have done to express our true feelings to you. While we haven¡¯t been able to do anything openly, we have done all that we can within our abilities, so I ask that you remember these favors."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. He had no idea if Tong Yu was being truthful or not, but he did know that he should be thankful that the Dark Interster Supreme Court had never moved against him, as there was no way that either Earth or Zenyu Star could have survived such a thing.

    Tong Yu patted her chest. "I''ve told you everything I should. We have been aware that you were worried about someone trying to steal your inheritance, My Lord, but you should understand that the members of our Specter n are the least likely to go after you. You should believe this, My Lord."

    Lu Yin stared at Tong Yu, but there was not nearly as much wariness in his eyes as when he had first encountered the woman. "You came to find me because you wanted to tell me about this."

    Tong Yu nodded. She felt a bit embarrassed. "If I had volunteered such information, you would have most likely not believed me, My Lord. Fortunately, you brought it up yourself."

    "I need to think about this. There¡¯s no need for you to follow me for now. I really do believe you," Lu Yin said.

    Tong Yu stepped forward to get closer to Lu Yin. At this moment, she was only about ten centimeters away, which was quite close. He picked up an odd fragrance that was quite pleasant.

    Still, Lu Yin was not used to being so close to others, and he really wanted to increase the distance between them.

    Tong Yu stared at him for a moment before finally nodding. "This time, I believe you when you say that, My Lord.¡±

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s y chess!¡± She waved a hand and caused a chessboard to appear on the ground.

    Lu Yin was rather dumbfounded at this development. "What are you talking about?"

    Tong Yu was already sitting on the ground. Shepletely disregarded her own image, as she sat right down, cross-legged, and plopped a hand in her chin. She absently blinked at Lu Yin. ¡°Let¡¯s y chess. It''s not time yet."

    "Not time yet for what?" Lu Yin felt his heart twitch.

    Tong Yu pursed her lips and then smiled. "This has nothing to do with you, My Lord. I still have a bit to say to you, but it will have to wait until after this game is over."

    "Just tell me what you want to say," Lu Yin growled.

    Tong Yu smiled and gestured for Lu Yin to sit down with her.

    Lu Yin snapped, "I''ve already been here with you for a long time! The Warden¡¯s going to find out!"

    "No, he won''t. I put him to sleep," Tong Yu happily replied. "I want to spend a bit more time with you, My Lord."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What do you mean?"

    Tong Yu again gestured for Lu Yin to have a seat. She blinked at him and asked in a rather pitiful manner, "My Lord, please y a game of chess with me."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He really did not want to leave, but he was surrounded by death energy that had isted this area from the surrounding space. Lu Yin knew that he could not leave even if he wanted to. Helpless, he sat down. "You should know that I really don¡¯t like being forced into things.

    "I know. I wouldn¡¯t dare force you, My Lord, but you¡¯ll soon understand." Tong Yuughed, and then excitedly took her move. She then eagerly waited to see what Lu Yin would do.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman for a minute. Finally, he raised a hand and made his move.

    Shortly after Lu Yin and Tong Yu started their chess match, Y¨­u Qi was traveling along in Burial Garden, carrying a war banner above his head.

    Suddenly, there was a bang. His entire body had exploded into a stream of light.

    Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper¡¯s eyes snapped open, and his expressionpletely changed. ¡°Not good!¡±

    He stepped out and instantly arrived at where Y¨­u Qi¡¯s body had exploded. He saw evidence of a sourcebox array, and his pupils constricted. ¡°A teleportation array?¡±

    Reflexively, he lifted a hand and pressed against the sourcebox array.

    The next instant, a bronze-colored hand appeared from the sourceboxes to counter Tombkeeper¡¯s hand.

    There was a boom that shook all of Burial Garden.

    "I found it! Tombkeeper, you can''t stop us!" A voice spoke from within the sourcebox array. It sounded like grinding metal, and was very harsh on the ears. Still, it was also very powerful, and the voice spread across all of Burial Garden.

    "Ancient God, it''s you!" Tombkeeper shouted.

    Suddenly, there was a strangeugh. ¡°Kakaka, it¡¯s been quite some time, Tombkeeper."

    It was Shaman God.

    Tombkeeper¡¯s expression changed drastically. There were two of the Seven Skygods! No, three!

    Inside the sourcebox array, Tombkeeper saw a bronze-colored corpse king, a small doll, and an old hunchback with messy ck hair that hung all the way to the figure¡¯s feet. The hunchback sighed. "Are we going to fight again? How annoying. I just want to sleep."

    Tombkeeper''s expression changed yet again. "Ancient God, Shaman God, Undying God, you actually dare enter my Burial Garden? You¡¯re seeking death!"

    Ancient God looked up at the man. "You¡¯re the one who will die today."

    As the Skygod spoke, a terrifying impact caused all of Burial Garden to tremble. The sky tore open to reveal a spatial crack filled with deep darkness that looked like a ck eye staring down at everyone. Everyone inside Burial Garden was startled.

    The sourcebox array did not disappear even after the three figures appeared, as two more figures emerged soon after. One immediately took on a massive size after leaving the array while the other was a stunningly beautiful woman who had the emblem of Progenitor Chen on one side of her face. It was Corpse God and Forgotten Ruins God.

    Burial Garden had been formed from an amalgamation of various differentndmasses, and the entire thing was surrounded by a yellow sea that everyone referred to as the Yellow Springs. Whenever any corpse king tried to enter Burial Garden, they would be swept away by the Yellow Springs without even any bones remaining afterwards.

    This was why the Neohuman Alliance could not enter Burial Garden.

    With the Seven Skygods¡¯ appearance, the Yellow Springs surged to sweep them all away, but Ancient God scattered the approaching waters.

    At this same time, Shaman God and Undying God attacked Tombkeeper.

    As all of this was happening, a loud note rang out from within the Yellow Springs as strange sedan chairs swayed in the water. Sheets of paper, as well as straw figures both in front and behind the sedan chairs appeared. All of these items moved with the Yellow Springs to attack the Seven Skygods.

    ¡°The suona summons forth hell.¡±

    ¡°The dead travel on sedans.¡±

    ¡°A paper thin life.¡±

    ¡°Rice straws protect tombs.¡±

    "The leaders of Burial Garden¡¯s Death Regiments are nothing but bugs!" Shaman God let out its strangeugh.

    Forgotten Ruins God frowned. "They might be ants, but they are still strong enough to fight off both of us with the support of the Yellow Springs. Don¡¯t look down on them!"

    "That''s just you," Shaman God¡¯s doll revealed an odd smile. "You use shells that are just too weak. Leave them to me, kaka."

    Tombkeeper shouted in fury, ¡°This is Burial Garden! This is nowhere for you monsters to act so brazenly! You are looking down on our Yellow Springs!"

    He spread his arms open as he spoke, and the entire Yellow Springs began to churn. Pirs of water that looked like yellow dragons rose high into the sky as they stretched out towards the Seven Skygods.

    A pir of yellow water twined around Shaman God and threw them somewhere else in Burial Garden.

    Another column of yellow water wrapped around Undying God and threw them somewhere else.

    A pir of yellow water surrounded Ancient God and threw them to yet another ce.

    A fourth and fifth column of water from the Yellow Springs surged towards Corpse God and Forgotten Ruins God.

    Corpse God¡¯s huge body was smashed to pieces by the pir of yellow water, and the same fate befell Forgotten Ruins God. Neither of them were able to put up any sort of fight.

    Shaman God and Undying God also had no way to resist being thrown away by the columns of yellow water. In the end, Ancient God alone managed to break free from his column of water.

    "You can''t do it." Tombkeeper rushed Ancient God.

    In a far-off ce in Burial Garden, Shaman God was smashed into the ground by a pir of yellow water. The doll let out a disdainful snort. "Is that all there is to it?¡±

    They prepared to rush back, only to find that their body was still trapped by the yellow water. They looked down. Huh? A cauldron? Why does it look so familiar?

    A shadow fell upon Shaman God, and it looked up to see a foot smashing down.

    "It''s you?" Shaman God eximed. The doll was instantly smashed to pieces by an ordinary looking man. He was actually a wandering corpse, and he did not even seem to notice that he had stomped Shaman God to death. The wandering corpse lowered his head and remade the smashed cauldron. He repeated the same actions that he took every single day.

    Elsewhere, Undying God also found themselves trapped by the yellow water after being smashed into the ground.

    Undying God had been thrown to some tea hills. If Lu Yin saw this ce, he would instantly recognize it as the ce where the wandering corpse nted people and raised them as tea bushes. Undying God had crashed right into the middle of the hills, crushing some bushes.

    The moment Undying God struck the ground, the ancient wandering corpse that was in the hills high above straightened up and gestured towards Undying God.

    The body of the Skygod who had been trapped by the yellow water shot through the air towards the wandering corpse. "You look familiar. We¡¯ve met before."

    The ancient wandering corpse seemed unable to speak, and he only grew tea bushes. Undying God was nted in the dirt, and their body instantly started to change.

    "I remember now. You¡¯re the Eastern Mountains Tea King. It''s been a truly long time. Old friend, so you¡¯re here too? Ah, right. This is your grave.

    "What are you doing? nting tea? Are you going to raise me as a tea bush? Escaping won¡¯t be easy. I¡¯m already being trapped by the Yellow Springs, and I can¡¯t break free anytime soon, so do your best.

    "This really is quite difficult, and my body¡¯s already starting to change. This shell will definitely end up as a tea bush, but there¡¯s no rush. I won¡¯t fight this. I actually wanted to sleep a bit more, so I¡¯ll just treat this body as a tea nt. It was quite an interesting experience.¡±

    Undying God¡¯s body soonpletely transformed into a tea bush, just like the thousands of others decorating the hills. The leaves swayed in the breeze, and inside the leaves, there was a face that looked like it was sleeping.

 Chapter 1850: A Disc And A Knife

    Chapter 1850: A Disc And A Knife

    The Neohuman Alliance had attacked Burial Garden with the full strength of the Seven Skygods. And yet, the bodies of Undying God, Corpse God, Shaman God, and Forgotten Ruins God had all been either shattered by the Yellow Springs or thrown to the far reaches of Burial Garden and killed by wandering corpses. Only Ancient God had managed to resist to fight with Tombkeeper.

    However, there was still the Yellow Springs to deal with. Even if Ancient God was incredibly powerful, it was impossible for them to defeat Tombkeeper while being suppressed by the Yellow Springs.

    "I''ve been waiting for you for a long time." Tombkeeper¡¯s voice was hoarse, and blood leaked from his lips as the Yellow Springs surged.

    The yellow water struck Ancient God and forced them back as cracks appeared on their body. It was as though not even an inner world was enough to resist the Yellow Springs¡¯ suppression. "Waiting for us? You expected us to attack Burial Garden?"

    "Burial Garden is open right now, and the ancient bloodlines have been entering. How could you monsters tolerate such a thing? And yet, you have underestimated Burial Garden! Today is the day that the Seven Skygods shall all fall!" Tombkeeper¡¯s voice rang out like the death knell of the Neohuman Alliance.

    The ringing sound smashed into Ancient God¡¯s inner world in unison with the Yellow Springs. ¡°Today you die, Ancient God!"

    "Sure enough, there are times when you humans are simply too arrogant. You actually think that you can predict us. Progenitor Hui was the same way back then, and you¡¯re doing it again now. Burial Garden will be destroyed today." After they finished speaking, Ancient God was wrapped up in the yellow waters and forcibly dragged to the bottom of the sea.

    Tombkeeper¡¯s eyes flickered. There was no way for Ancient God to escape from the Yellow Springs. Although Ancient God was only held back by a millionth of the Yellow Springs¡¯ power, even a Semi-Progenitor would not be able to escape. In that case, why was Ancient God so confident that Burial Garden was about to be destroyed? Wait, what about Whiteless God? Could it have something to do with her?

    The exact moment that Ancient God was buried at the bottom of the Yellow Springs, a disc suddenly appeared in the Innerverse. It appeared in the Starfall Sea, and it shot towards Burial Garden.

    The entire Innerverse shook the moment the disc appeared, and space everywhere shattered without end. The spatial tears looked like a ck rain was falling on the Innerverse.

    The Second Nightking looked up. His face was pale, and a powerful fear filled his eyes. He unconsciously bent over, as though he could not endure the pressure of the sky.

    Liu Huang showed the exact same reaction. The more powerful a person was, the more clearly they would feel this peerless pressure. It felt as though the sky in a region of space had been reced, putting them under the rule of a new sky.

    On the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Wei Rong and several others all stared out at space in amazement as they watched the countless spatial tears fall.s and spaceships all suffered terrible damage and losses in this storm, but there was nothing that could be done. The Innerverse¡¯s sky had changed.

    The Cosmic Sea began to roil and surge. The Neoverse began to shake.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors all turned to look towards the Innerverse in a daze. This was the power of a Progenitor.

    The disc sliced through space and fell upon Burial Garden in a blink of an eye. Everyone who was inside Burial Garden looked up and stared as the disc broke into Burial Garden and appeared. All of the wandering corpses stopped what they were doing and froze. In this instance, all of Burial Garden¡¯s gates began to crack at the exact same time.

    Tombkeeper stared at the disc. His eyes shed and his face turned pale. "A Progenitor? Is this the power of a Progenitor? Who is it?

    "My Burial Garden cannot be destroyed! These inheritances cannot be lost! Which Progenitor is it? Who? Who has betrayed humanity?!" Tombkeeper roared as the Yellow Springs surged in an attempt to block the disc.

    However, there was nothing that the yellow waters could do against the strength of a Progenitor.

    Just outside the ck hole that protected the Fifth Maind, the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines both were both staring at the Progenitor of Secret Arts in shock. "Yi Ren, what are you doing?"

    Yi Ren was the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ name.

    At this time, the Progenitor¡¯s hand was stretched into the Innerverse while he looked at the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "It¡¯s just a matter of time before humanity is defeated. It¡¯s better to simply elerate the process. This is inevitable."

    The Progenitor of Combat was furious. "Have you betrayed mankind?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines'' eyes turned cold, and he instantly attacked, ignoring any sort of nonsense. At the same time, a cold voice spoke from nearby. "Yi Ren has turned to seek refuge with my Aeternals. In the future, he will be the master of humanity. Jiu Xiang, Xue Manzi, you two should do the same. See the inevitable future. Since the ancient era, the Mainds have all been destroyed, and even the Ancient Progenitors like the God of Death and Wu Tian fell. There is no need to even mention the two of you. However, if you turn to my Aeternus, you can both be true masters in the future. My Aeternus will create a ce where humans can coexist with us."

    "Ridiculous! ckless God, you will die here today!" Xue Manzi pulled back his hand and instead reached out for ckless God with a wed grip.

    ckless God sneered. "You¡¯re out of options! The Sixth Maind waged war against the Fifth, and you¡¯ve umted countless blood debts. Progenitor Hui schemed against your Sixth Maind, which caused it to be upied by my Aeternus! The hatred that the Fifth Maind holds towards you is almost the same as what they hold towards us! Why don¡¯t you join us Aeternals and gain true immortality? Even the one you worship has not achieved true eternal life! Only our Aeternals¡¯ True God can can live forever and bestow eternal life!¡±

    "Get lost!" the Progenitor of Combat shouted fiercely.

    "You clueless soul." ckless God sneered. "No matter¡ªour purpose has already been achieved. Yi Ren, are you not finished yet?"

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ face was locked in focus. "The Yellow Springs is blocking me."

    Inside Burial Garden, the Yellow Springs was continuously being pushed back as it tried to stop the encroaching disc. Once the disc fully entered Burial Garden, the Progenitor of Secret Arts would be able to rece Burial Garden¡¯s sky and take over Burial Garden.

    Tombkeeper could not allow such a thing to happen, and he shouted, ¡°Even if I die, I will still use everyst drop of my blood to defend Burial Garden!"

    He then leaped up towards the disc like a moth to the me. The four captains of the Death Regiments charged out as well, each of them shrouded with the water of the Yellow Springs. They were determined to force the disc out of Burial Garden.

    As far as the four captains were concerned, this disc was the executioner¡¯s de. Not even a Semi-Progenitor like Tombkeeper was able to stop the disc, so the four captains merely wanted to dy the disc for a second or even an instant.

    The First Protector, Lan Si, Shang Qing, and many others were in Burial Garden at this time. There were countless experts from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, and all of them were looking up and watching this impossible scene.

    At one ce on the coast of the Yellow Springs, a pair of eyes opened. There were no ripples in these eyes, and they were calm like an ancient well. However, the Yellow Springs rolled back from this person¡¯s side. Suddenly, a knife appeared at the coast. It was a very simple and ordinary knife.

    ng!

    A deafening noise rang out, and all of Burial Garden froze. Then, as countless people watched in utter disbelief, the disc began to crack before it was ultimately sliced through by the simple knife. The cut continued on after exiting Burial Garden, and it shot straight at the Starfall Sea.

    As it passed through the Innerverse, this knife sh shattered the sky that the Progenitor of Secret Arts had put in ce. At this moment, the knife had be the center of the Fifth Maind.

    The knife became the token of faith that countless people prayed towards.

    Arch-Elder Zen and other Semi-Progenitors were left stupefied as soon as they saw the knife attack appear.

    The sh did not cut through the void, but simply traveled at an unbelievable speed. It crossed through the Innerverse in an instant to arrive at the border of the Starfall Sea and the horizontal ck hole. It went straight for Yi Ren, the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    The Progenitor¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he stared nkly at the knife sh that approached him. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "How- how is this possible?"

    He was not alone, as the Progenitor of Combat, Progenitor of Bloodlines, and ckless God were all staring at the knife sh in pure disbelief.

    "Xia Shang''s knife!" the Progenitor of Bloodlines whispered in a soft voice.

    The attack went straight for the Progenitor of Secret Arts, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Xia Shang, are you not dead?"

    The knife struck true as the Progenitor spoke, and the knife¡¯s tip pierced through his body in three different ces. The Progenitor spat out blood that incinerated the void. ckless God gritted their teeth as a pair of pupils and three dark lines appeared and ovepped upon each other to form a star-like pattern. A palm then pped the side of the knife, and the de slowly shattered, one inch at a time.

    The Progenitor spat out more blood, and ckless God grabbed the man. "Let¡¯s go!"

    The Progenitor of Combat wanted to give chase, but he was stopped by Xue Manzi. "It¡¯s more important for us to stay here."

    The Progenitor of Combat was beyond furious at this moment. "Yi Ren, you traitor! I¡¯ll kill you!"

    No one else knew what had happened, but the sky over the Innerverse had constantly changed. When the knife shattered, things finally calmed back down.

    However, even as that happened, every single one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates copsed. Besides the various entrances, even everyst exit disappeared. At this time, not even Tombkeeper himself could leave Burial Garden.

    Burial Garden had bepletely sealed off. Not only were Burial Garden¡¯s people trapped inside, but so were the First Protector, Shang Qing, Lan Si, and everyone else who had been in Burial Garden when it was sealed.

    At this moment, back in Gaia''s Swamp, Lu Yin was still staring at the sky in a bit of a daze. He had just seen a disc shoot by, and the pressure that he had felt from above had almost been enough to force him to bow. Right at that moment, a knife had sliced out, and it had been even more terrifying than the disc. What Lu Yin had felt from that knife had defied his imagination.

    Once everything calmed down, Lu Yin looked back down. He and Tong Yu had not even made it halfway through their game of chess.

    A chess piece fell from Tong Yu''s hand. Sweat dripped from her forehead, and she was panting heavily.

    She had suffered in the exact same manner as the Second Nightking when the disc had first appeared. The pressure that she had felt had beeen difficult to resist. Still, she had been a bit better off whenpared to the Second Nightking, as she cultivated with death energy.

    "What just happened? We better be able to have that talk now," Lu Yin said as he stared at Tong Yu.

    Tong Yu forced out a smile as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I actually don''t even know anymore."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted with a fierce light. "You forced me to y a game of chess with you in order to keep me here. To what end?"

    Tong Yu pointed upwards. "That was unexpected."

    Lu Yin waspletely confused.

    Tong Yu shrugged and said, "I no longer know what is happening with Burial Garden. Originally, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods were nning to attack Burial Garden because that ce holds too many ancient inheritances. I was keeping you here to prevent you from stumbling into Burial Garden at this time."

    Lu Yin leaped to his feet, an angry expression on his face. "The Seven Skygods attacked Burial Garden? Didn''t Corpse God and Forgotten Ruins God both die recently? How did they find new shells so quickly?"

    Tong Yu was surprised at this question. "You already know so much, My Lord. You know about their shells for this ce?"

    Lu Yin''s face twitched, as he realized that he had let something slip that he should not have. "What happened with that disc?"

    Tong Yu suddenly grew solemn as she replied. Her tone carried a strong lingering fear. "That should have been a Progenitor. I really don¡¯t know, as all that the Chief Justice told me was that the Neohuman Alliance was going to attack Burial Garden and that I needed to keep an eye on you and make sure that you did not get caught up in any of that mess. But how could a Progenitor have appeared? Not only that, but there was also more than one!"

    Lu Yin was already well aware that the knife had been far more terrifying than the disc. If the disc had been part of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s attack on Burial Garden, then the knife had been an attack that had beenunched to help Burial Garden.

    Thinking back to the knife, Lu Yin suddenly thought of Progenitor Chen. Could it have been him? Would he have made a move? Lu Yin would never forget how he had already seen Progenitor Chen in Burial Garden near the sea.

    While there was no way to know whether or not Progenitor Chen was a wandering corpse, if he was not, then Progenitor Chen was truly inside Burial Garden. Anyone who dared to attack that ce would be dooming themselves.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped. He nced down and saw a message from Wei Rong: ''All of Burial Garden¡¯s gates in the Great Eastern Alliance have copsed.''

    Lu Yin frowned. "Burial Garden¡¯s gates have all copsed."

    Tong Yu nodded. "Apparently, the Neohuman Alliance seeded."

    Another message immediately came through as well, followed by another.

    Lu Yin checked each one, but his expression grew worse with each message he read. Things were bad.

    The disc that they had seen was the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ attack. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor had betrayed humanity, joined the Aeternals, and attacked Burial Garden. Fortunately, that knife had appeared to save Burial Garden at thest moment, but the ce had still beenpletely sealed off. No one could find an entrance, and if none was found, then not even Tombkeeper would be able to leave.

 Chapter 1851: Sneak Attack

    Chapter 1851: Sneak Attack

    The announcement that the Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity caused the Sixth Maind to descend into chaos. The Daosource Sect began to thoroughly investigate people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, and Bu Kong¡¯s betrayal was also brought to light.

    At the same time, the Fifth Maind did not remain idle. They needed to immediately respond to the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal, as he had betrayed all of humanity, not merely the Sixth Maind.

    The overseers¡¯ council had to hold an emergency meeting, and Lu Yin received a message from Arch-Elder Zen to participate in the emergency council meeting.

    The Hall of Honor could not get involved in anything rted to the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts, but those in the Outerverse who were loyal to the Progenitor all needed to be strictly investigated. Even more importantly, the Seven Skygods had failed in their attack on Burial Garden. With the sole exception of Whiteless God, all of the Skygods were dead for the moment. Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s intention when calling for the emergency council meeting was to have the overseers call upon the entire Fifth Maind to attack the Neohuman Alliance.

    The Hall of Honor had already located many of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strongholds. Most of the Skygods were dead at the moment, and Whiteless God alone would not be able to aplish too much. The Neohuman Alliance needed to be culled as much and as quickly as possible.

    There were numerous things that needed to be dealt with, and Lu Yin¡¯s gadget received countless messages. By the time he looked up, Tong Yu had already disappeared.

    A massive amount of information had been sent to Lu Yin, but he had long since mentally prepared himself. Many suspicions had formed in his mind after he learned that Bu Kong had taken on the identity of Yang Kong.

    Even though the Progenitor of Secret Arts''s betrayal was a shocking event, Lu Yin had not found it unbelievable. He had already known that Bu Kong was not dead, and it was not much of a stretch from there to guess that the Progenitor of Secret Arts'' attack on Aeternus Nation was nothing more than a farce. Fortunately, some form of Progenitor Chen¡¯s strength had been inside Burial Garden, or else the ce would have been destroyed and all of the inheritances that it held would have been lost forever.

    Burial Garden was currently sealed, but that did not mean that it was impossible for it to open once again in the future. Still, no one knew what had happened to the unfortunate ones who had been trapped within Burial Garden.

    Lu Yin activated his gadget, and the disy almost instantly showed all of the other overseers. Arch-Elder Zen had called for the council to convene immediately, and given the current situation, Lu Yin did not dare ck off.

    In a rare show of unity, there was no dissent during the overseers¡¯ meeting. All of them were in agreement on what needed to be done. The Sixth Maind needed to be contacted, and people needed to be sent out to keep an eye on the ck hole that protected the Fifth Maind. At the same time, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s various strongholds were revealed to the universe, and they all needed to be eradicated as soon as possible.

    The council sent out numerous edicts as fast as possible.

    At the same time, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect showed a simrly quick reaction in the Outerverse. The three Semi-Progenitors who had been hidden within the Daosource Sect all moved out, and every cultivator from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory was ordered to stay put. A cursory nce would see chaos reigning over the entire Fifth Maind, but there was an order to this chaos.

    After only a few days, many of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases had been destroyed. The Hall of Honor had already known about all of these ces, but they had left untouched due to fear of retaliation from the Seven Skygods. At this time, the Hall of Honor could act boldly.

    In Gaia''s Swamp, Lu Yin and the Warden sat across from each other.

    The Warden was so enormous that Lu Yin could not even see the colossal giant¡¯s head. In fact, all Lu Yin could see were the Warden¡¯s toes.

    Next to Lu Yin was a jug, but it was simrly massive and looked more like a house.

    There was a bang as another jug mmed into the ground. The Warden let out a long breath. "So, you weren¡¯t the one who nned the Second Nightking''s prison break?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course not! At best, I simply harvested from someone else¡¯sbor, but you can¡¯t me me for that. I even warned you about the escape attempt before anything happened."

    This was something that the Warden did not want to hear, as Lu Yin had indeed given the Warden fair warning before the riot started, and Lu Yin had even been quite clear on who was involved in the scheme. The Warden really could not me Lu Yin for what had happened, and he could only me himself for not being powerful enough to stop the prisoners from escaping.

    The more the Warden thought about this, the worse he felt. He hefted the jug of liquor and downed a massive gulp. Lu Yin had no idea if it was intentional or not, but when the Warden drank, a great deal of the liquor spilled and fell onto the floor of the castle. As the alcohol rained down, each drop wasrge enough to drown Lu Yin.

    He pursed his lips and simply forced the rain of liquor aside. "Where''s L¨¸ Cha? Is she noting back?"

    The Warden mmed the jug back onto the floor. "The Specter n attacked and killed L¨¸ Yan because he told you about the location of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Innerverse headquarters. Thanks to you, that woman nearly killed me."

    Lu Yin coughed. "That can¡¯t be med on me, as I have a duty to eliminate the Neohuman Alliance."

    The Warden was still upset, and he took another drink.

    Lu Yin felt no remorse for his actions, but he did wonder if the Warden would be able to hold himself back if he learned that he had slept for so long because of Lu Yin.

    "Why did youe back here? There should be nothing in Gaia¡¯s Swamp that can interest you, and L¨¸ Cha won''t being back," the Warden grumpily demanded.

    Lu Yin replied, "I came here to absorb some death energy."

    He made no attempt to conceal this fact.

    The Warden was stunned. If anyone else had said this, they would have been captured and locked up long ago, but there was no way that the Warden could move against Lu Yin for such behavior. He had already been investigated by the Interster Supreme Court, and it had been determined that Lu Yin could absorb death energy without negative consequences.

    "If you don¡¯t have anything else to do here, then just leave. Catastrophe always seems to strike whenever you visit me." The Warden was still quite upset.

    Lu Yin politely excused himself and left. He had no more time to waste at Gaia''s Swamp. It was important for the Great Eastern Alliance to participate in exterminating the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases, and there was also all the items that had been stole- no, the items that had been purchased from the people who had emerged from Burial Garden through the exits in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. Lu Yin was certain that there was some good stuff to be found.

    Only a few days had passed, and yet many of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strongholds had been wiped out. Both the Fifth and Sixth Maind had been bold in their actions.

    As far as Arch-Elder Zen and the others were concerned, Whiteless God was the only one of the Seven Skygods left, and that meant that there was essentially no threat.

    However, all of them had underestimated Whiteless God. After all, Whiteless God was the only one of the Skygods to have ess to Aeterna, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s list of human traitors.

    ¡­

    The Fifth Maind had pulled out of the Outerverse¡¯s Ironblood Weave because of Lu Yin¡¯s n. The Sixth Maind had subsequently sent people to protect the weave and stop the Astral Beast Domain from invading the Outerverse. Fortunately, they had promptly sent out someone to rece the false Ancestor Autumnfrost; without that precaution, the Astral Beast Domain would have already invaded the Outerverse.

    Ancestor Autumnfrost had been reced by an Imprinter by the name of Qiu Xu. While he was not a World Imprinter, he was right at the cusp of bing one, and he had managed to block the assault of an astral beast with a power level of more than 800,000 that the Celestial Demon Empire had sent to Ironblood Weave.

    Recently, Cemetery Keeper had also arrived in Ironblood Weave, and he had be the most powerful expert in the entire weave. Qiu Xu had joined forces with Cemetery Keeper, and the two of them had almost managed to force the Astral Beast Domain out of Ironblood Weave.

    The Sixth Maind was not the same as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain. The Sixth Maind had more experts and more resources, and they were also innately able to suppress cultivators from the Fifth Maind.

    Countless astral beasts fought against people from the Sixth Maind in outer space. Bloodstaineds and uncountable corpses floated about. Ironblood Weave¡¯s fortresses had all been destroyed.

    The fortresses had once been important barriers that allowed the Fifth Maind to block the astral beasts¡¯ invasion, but the Sixth Maind did not bother to rebuild them. Their goal was to force their way into the Primal Zone andunch an invasion on the Astral Beast Domain instead of remaining on the defensive.

    Cemetery Keeper was calmly standing tall in space. There was a corpse on his back.

    No one nearby dared to approach the man, as his battlefield was one for those with the strength of a World Imprinter. Cemetery Keeper was actually engaged in a fierce battle with an astral beast that looked like a praying mantis, though a greatly erged one. It was astoundingly fast, and Qiu Xu had already been injured by the creature. If Cemetery Keeper had not stepped forward, Qiu Xu would have already died.

    There was a boom, but the corpse on Cemetery Keeper¡¯s back blocked an attack from the right side. The astral beast shed at the corpse with an invisible attack, and it continued traveling past the corpse, slicing everything that it touched to pieces.

    This attack already surpassed a power level of 800,000, and yet it could not destroy the corpse.

    Cemetery Keeper moved forward, and one corpse after another suddenly began to appear. One of them was suddenly struck by something. Cemetery Keeper instantly switched ces with that corpse andshed out with a palm strike. A ck palm print twisted the void as it shot out and struck the head of the astral beast that looked like a praying mantis.

    This single palm strike managed to beat the creature back, and its wings cracked. "What an interesting creature."

    Cemetery Keeper¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he stepped forward again. He continuously switched ces with the numerous corpses that were sprinkled throughout this region of space.

    The astral beast wanted to dice the corpses to bits, but doing so was too difficult. Each corpse was incredibly tough, and they could even bepared to power vessels.

    Before long, the astral beast disappeared, and Cemetery Keeper started to collect his corpses that had been scattered across outer space. The Sixth Maind had won this battle as well, and it would not be long before they forced their way into the Primal Zone.

    Qiu Xu appeared behind Cemetery Keeper. The Imprinter¡¯s face was a bit pale. "We¡¯re not far from the Primal Zone. We should gather our strength and push forward!"

    Cemetery Keeper replied in a cold voice, "The Celestial Beast Empire is not an easy opponent. If not, there is no way the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor would have been content to remain on the defense and not press their own assault."

    "The Fifth Maind can¡¯tpare to our Sixth Maind at all." Qiu Xu contemptuously spat out as he stood beside Cemetery Keeper, who frowned. He was not ustomed to having living beings so close to him, though fortunately, there was half a meter between the two men. "The Progenitor of Secret Arts betrayed humanity, and there is a Neohuman Alliance fortress rather close to Ironblood Weave. Go wipe it out."

    Qiu Xu agreed, "No problem."

    He then turned around to leave, but then he suddenly swung a hand to attack Cemetery Keeper. Cemetery Keeper was startled, and he reflexively raised his own hand and released a Dead Man''s Palm.

    Boom!

    The noise was loud enough to cause the void to tremble, and many cultivators looked over.

    The Dead Man¡¯s Palm blew Qiu Xu away, and the ck energy from the attack entered the Imprinter¡¯s body. His skin was quickly riddled with dark spots of corrosion.

    Cemetery Keeper red at the man with cold eyes. "What are you nning?"

    Qiu Xu spat out blood, but he still sneered. "Cemetery Keeper, you''re dead!"

    The man then forced his injured body to move, and he fled Ironblood Weave.

    Cemetery Keeper was about to give chase, but his expression suddenly and drastically changed. There was something very wrong, and he quickly realized that he had been poisoned! His body began to quickly age. He pulled out numerous corpses to protect him, and the area becamepletely filled with corpses.

    One of the corpses suddenly aged and started to decay. It was eventually reduced to nothing more than dust, and another corpse quickly followed suit. Cemetery Keeper gritted his teeth. "Everyone from Justice Manor, bring out your full corpse inventory!"

    Corpses began to appear everywhere in space. There were thousands of them, and their numbers only rose. However, the more that appeared, the more that became dust. As this happened, the cultivators from Justice Manor quickly refined the fresh corpses in space into their corpse puppets. The process was slow, but it was the only way that they could maintain their inventory of corpses.

    In a blink of an eye, thousands of corpses had been reduced to dust, and Cemetery Keeper¡¯s hair had turned white. A crazed look appeared in his eyes. Just what poison could be this terrifying? He was not even able to transfer it!

    When people from Justice Manor refined corpses, the corpses were basically an extension of the cultivator¡¯s body. It wasmon knowledge in the Sixth Maind that there was no point in trying to poison people from Justice Manor, as they could transfer even the most toxic venom to one of their corpse puppets.

    The corpse puppets were extensions of their bodies, so it was usually a simple matter to transfer poison into a corpse. This process should have been even easier for someone like Cemetery Keeper, as he was a powerhouse at the cusp of bing a Cosmic Imprinter.

 Chapter 1852: Crisis In The North

    Chapter 1852: Crisis In The North

    Even though Cemetery Keeper could normally remove any kind of poison from his body without a problem, the one that Qiu Xu had inflicted upon him proved nearly impossible to resist. Not only were all of Cemetery Keeper¡¯s corpses consumed in the process, but so too were all the corpses that belonged to his underlings from Justice Manor. Without their corpse puppets, theirbat strength took a sharp drop.

    Finally, after all the corpse puppets were destroyed, Cemetery Keeper barely managed to gain a minor level of control over the poison. He then immediately returned to Justice Manor and proceeded to use the entire inventory of corpse puppets there topletely dispel the poison. He did not hesitate to leave Ironblood Weave; even if he had stayed, he was in no condition to hold back the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces.

    While leaving, Cemetery Keeper made a point to contact the Daosource Sect and request that another powerhouse be sent to protect Ironblood Weave. While he did this, he made sure to report Qiu Xu¡¯s betrayal as well.

    Cemetery Keeper¡¯s departure led to the copse of Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenses. The enormous praying mantis casually ughtered countless defenders from the Sixth Maind who had stayed behind in Ironblood Weave, and it led countless astral beasts forward as they flooded out of Ironblood Weave. It was like a dam had burst, and the astral beasts flooded into the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves as they raced away from Ironblood Weave.

    At this time, Lu Yin was making his way back to zing Mist Flowzone, but he was immediately contacted with the breaking news.

    "What? Ironblood Weave was overrun?" Lu Yin was shocked, and his expression instantly soured.

    He was on a video call with Shui Chuanxiao, who softly said, "ording to the reports, Qiu Xu was cooperating with Corpse Keeper and the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces to defend Ironblood Weave. However, Qiu Xu suddenly attacked and poisoned Corpse Keeper, forcing the man to retreat to Justice Manor. With both of them suddenly abandoning Ironblood Weave, the results were catastrophic, and all the defenders were ughtered. Not a single person managed to escape. The astral beasts now control Ironblood Weave, and they¡¯ve been rushing out into the asteroid field and Eastly Weave. From there, they¡¯ll definitely push into Northcastle, Grandtop, and Forested Weaves."

    After that, they would reach Frostwave Weave! Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew darker and darker. Frostwave Weave was his bottom line. Nothing could be allowed to happen to that ce.

    He immediately ended the call with Shui Chuanxiao and called someone in the Celestial Beast Empire.

    Before the Human Domain had evacuated their forces from Ironblood Weave, the overseers¡¯ council had notified the Celestial Beast Empire, as only the overseers had the means to directly speak to the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s upper echelons.

    Lu Yin called a Void Thunderbeast named Xu Qing. He was the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯smander-in-chief, and his status was equivalent to what Shui Chuanxiao used to hold in the Human Domain. However, if Xu Qing waspared to Shui Chuanxiao, the Void Thunderbeast was far, far stronger. After all, the Astral Beast Domain was a ce that respected personal strength more than anything, and ording to the overseers¡¯ records, Xu Qing had a power level of at least a million.

    When Ironblood Weave had been evacuated, Lu Yin¡¯s interaction with Xu Qing had been nothing more than a simple message that was delivered through the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers¡¯ council rather than an individual person. At this moment, Lu Yin was making a personal call.

    "Commander Xu Qing, I''m Lu Yin." Lu Yin looked at the image of a man that appeared on his gadget¡¯s disy. This person was clearly a Void Thunderbeast, but he always appeared in a human form. He was reported to frequently im that it was impossible to conquer humans without understanding humans.

    The Astral Beast Domain had their Celestial Vanquisher''s List, which was a list of every notable human that the astral beasts wished to be killed. The Human Domain had aparable list, and Xu Qing was ranked very highly on it.

    Xu Qing¡¯s human avatar had a majestic appearance and deep eyes. This form gave off a simr impression as Shui Chuanxiao, which led Lu Yin to believe that Xu Qing had used Shui Chuanxiao as a model for his human appearance. "So it¡¯s the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader. I¡¯ve heard of you for a long time.¡±

    "I''ve also long since admired Commander Xu Qing¡¯s reputation," Lu Yin replied. He kept his voice rather light as he spoke.

    Xu Qing looked at Lu Yin with clear intrigue. "This is actually not our first time interacting with each other. When your Human Domain left Ironblood Weave, the message informing me of that matter should have originated from you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "It¡¯s impossible to hide anything from Commander Xu Qing. You¡¯re right¡ªI¡¯m the one who nned Ironblood Weave¡¯s evacuation and informed you of the matter." Lu Yin hid nothing.

    Xu Qing sneered. "What a farce! You wanted to use my Astral Beast Domain to distract the Sixth Maind. Even if I had publicly announced your intentions, it would have been useless. Many astral beasts have be obsessed with the idea of conquering Ironblood Weave. The truth is that you forced my Astral Beast Domain to be enemies with the Sixth Maind in order to create a battlefield during a time of peace."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I can¡¯t be med for that. The Sixth Maind took over the Outerverse, and seeing as how Ironblood Weave is a part of the Outerverse, it had to be handed over to them as well. How can my Fifth Maind be expected to defend the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory? On top of that, the Sixth Maind has been enemies with my Fifth Maind for a long time, which includes your Astral Beast Domain. I don¡¯t believe that Commander Xu Qing has already forgotten about the invasion that urred about a decade ago. Your Astral Beast Domain was also invaded by the Sixth Maind, and they caused quite a bit of damage to you."

    Xu Qing nodded. "That''s true. This also means that you withdrawing your forces from Ironblood Weave was simply a matter of business. Naturally, we don¡¯t owe you a thing for that matter, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched, as Xu Qing had just gotten one over on him. As expected of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Commander, Xu Qing must have anticipated the reason for Lu Yin¡¯s call, and he was already refusing before Lu Yin said a thing. "Abandoning Ironblood Weave was indeed a business matter, though I must tell you, Commander, if you continue to advance, it will no longer be just a matter of business."

    Xu Qing smiled. "In the past, you used my Astral Beast Domain to force the Sixth Maind to fight on a new battlefield. Back then, I gave a promise, Alliance Leader Lu: we would not attack ordinary humans, and there would be no debts between you and I."

    "I want the same thing from you now. Your Astral Beast Domain has already taken Ironblood Weave, so I ask that you continue as before and do not attack ordinary humans," Lu Yin stated. This was the primary motivation for his call to Xu Qing. The Ironblood Weave had fallen, and countless astral beasts had already entered the surrounding asteroid field and the Eastly Weave. Soon, they would enter the Northcastle, Grandtop, and Forested Weaves. Not even Frostwave Weave would be able to escape from the invasion unscathed. If the astral beasts started attacking ordinary humans, the ughter would be more than terrifying.

    Xu Qing took a moment to stare at Lu Yin. Finally, themander smiled and shook his head. "Alliance Leader Lu, I did originally promise not to attack ordinary humans, but much time has passed since then, and you had nothing at all to do with our victory in Ironblood Weave this time. We were the ones who defeated the Sixth Maind and annihted their entire army, destroying Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenses. You can¡¯t expect a one-time agreement to be a permanent arrangement.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "If I had not passed that message to you, then not only would the Sixth Maind have been able to defend Ironblood Weave, but given the strength of Ancestor Autumnfrost and Cemetery Keeper, they would have also ughtered everyone in the Primal Zone, and your losses would have been catastrophic."

    Xu Qing smiled. "That doesn''t matter. Anyone who enters the Primal Zone must be prepared to die. Isn''t it the same for Ironblood Weave? All of your cultivators in Ironblood Weave are prepared to die. If one fears death, they can¡¯t step onto a battlefield. I see that you don¡¯t understand the phrase ¡®fight to the death,¡¯ Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    "A so-called ¡®fight to the death¡¯ is actually a fight after death, as everyone fighting already considers themselves to be among the dead rather than part of the living."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew hard. "I''m talking about losses, not willingness to fight. The Primal Zone would have been wiped out. Then what could your Astral Beast Domain have used to attack Ironblood Weave?"

    Xu Qing waspletely unconcerned. "If that had happened, we would have pushed forward one step at a time. I, Skymender, and even the emperor would have joined the battlefield, and we would have taken the Primal Zone back step by step. This is war. If you are so concerned about the humans, why did you not prepare sooner, Alliance Leader Lu? Did you really believe that we would never break through Ironblood Weave?¡±

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice suddenly grew harsh. ¡°This is an insult to the entire Astral Beast Domain! In our eyes, Ironblood Weave and all the surrounding weaves are a battlefield! There are times when you humans are too hypocritical."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze sharpened, and a killing intent flickered in the depths of his eyes.

    Xu Qing and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly, the topic changed, and Xu Qing¡¯s voice became more gentle once more. "However, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t give the promise that you¡¯re asking for, as long as you fulfill one condition of mine."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped, "Say it."

    Xu Qing looked into Lu Yin''s cold eyes and slowly spoke each word, ¡°I want the power you demonstrated during thest final battle of ZENITH."

    The God of Death Transformation? Lu Yin arched a brow. There were so many people eying him for the power that he had disyed during ZENITH, and it only made sense that some beings from the Astral Beast Domain would be among those envious eyes. At the end of ZENITH, Shang Qing¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had looked invincible, and he had tried to provoke all the other contestants to join forces against him. However, the Progenitor of Combat had personally stopped his n. After that, Shang Qing had been defeated by Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation, and the sight of the God of Death¡¯s power had left a deep impression in countless people¡¯s hearts.

    It did not matter if people had heard of the God of Death or not, all of them desired the God of Death¡¯s power.

    "How about it, Alliance Leader Lu? This is a matter that depends on your own morals. Do all of those ordinary humans mean more to you than a single technique?" Xu Qing spoke arrogantly. He looked like he had already won.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. "What if I say no?"

    Xu Qing sneered. "Then I can''t make any promises about what will happen in the Outerverse. Beasts have an animalistic nature. I just hope that you can live with the final oue."

    Themander immediately ended the call after saying that.

    The moment that Corpse Keeper had abandoned Ironblood Weave, the Astral Beast Domain seized the initiative, and humans were unable to find even a single foothold to resist.

    While it was true that the Outerverse had been given to the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin could not simply abandon it. It was the ce where the Great Eastern Alliance had been founded, and Frostwave Weave was still there. That weave belonged to Lu Yin, not the Sixth Maind, and it held Zenyu Star, and even more importantly, Earth.

    As soon as the astral beasts started ughtering humans, Earth would be finished. Everyone there would die. That was not an oue that Lu Yin could ept.

    Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned with the Sixth Maind¡¯s reaction; all he cared about was protecting Frostwave Weave.

    He should not have been so impatient and contacted Xu Qing so soon. Lu Yin¡¯s actions had forced him into a passive position, but caring deeply for something tended to make people impatient and illogical.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and calmed himself down. After that, he called Xin Jiao and the other overseers and asked them to speak with the Sixth Maind to find out what the Sixth Maind intended to do in response to the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion.

    Before long, Lu Yin received an answer: nothing. The Sixth Maind would do nothing for the time being.

    The Sixth Maind waspletely unconcerned about whether the people in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves lived or died. Rather, they were more concerned about dealing with the Neohuman Alliance and the people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. Anything and everything else could wait for the time being.

    At this time, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped. Elder Lohar was calling him.

    Lu Yin answered, and he instantly saw Elder Lohar''s haggard face on the disy. "Alliance Leader Lu, Ironblood Weave has fallen."

    "I know." Lu Yin¡¯s voice was soft.

    Elder Lohar''s eyes dropped. "I¡¯ve already reached out to Mt. Microcosms, but-" He hesitated before continuing to say, "Mt. Microcosms replied that the Outerverse now belongs to the Sixth Maind and that our Fifth Maind has nothing to do with it any longer. As for the Sixth Maind, what will they do? Do they even care? "

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s reaction did not surprise Lu Yin in the least.

    "Does the Outerverse really have nothing to do with us?" Elder Lohar quietly raged. There was a hint of a crazed glint in his eyes. "How many people have defended Ironblood Weave over the generations? That ce is our very life and humanity¡¯s line of defense! The name of the weave has been burnt into the memories of countless people and imed countless lives! We cannot allow it to fall! Overseer Lu, can you understand our feelings?

    "Ironblood Weave is not simply a ce to us, but a living being. It is crying! Untold numbers of our ancestors have been buried there, and their spirits are also crying!"

 Chapter 1853: I Will Take Charge

    Chapter 1853: I Will Take Charge

    Lu Yin froze at Elder Lohar''s words. This was a feeling that Lu Yin simply could notprehend. To him, Ironblood Weave was nothing more than a line of defense, which was why it had been so easy for him to order Elder Lohar and the others to withdraw. In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s reason for contacting Xu Qing had been due to his worry over Frostwave Weave, not Ironblood Weave.

    It seemed possible that Elder Lohar and the others viewed Ironblood Weave as both their hometown and their final destination.

    Elder Lohar could not speak these words to outsiders, as they could not understand them. A ce that had been given over to the Sixth Maind should have nothing to do with the Human Domain any longer. They had already left that ckhole of death, so why should they care about it? Not even the Sixth Maind could understand such worries.

    This feeling was exclusive to the defenders who had spent so much time in Ironblood Weave, devoting their lives and deaths to the defense of the ce. It was a feeling that had been imprinted upon their very souls.

    As Elder Lohar had just said, Ironblood Weave was alive, and it was crying.

    "What do you want from me?" Lu Yin said quietly.

    Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin. "You are an overseer."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It¡¯s no use. Something massive happened in the Fifth Maind, and the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect have both focused all their attention on it. Inparison, Ironblood Weave is utterly insignificant."

    Elder Lohar was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s remark, and he gave a wry smile. True, it was insignificant, and Elder Lohar understood that Lu Yin was not only referring to Ironblood Weave, but also to people like Elder Lohar and the other defenders from Ironblood Weave.

    Even the most powerful among them were only Enlighters. What did such people amount to in the grand scheme of things? There were nothing more than ants.

    Suddenly, Elder Lohar looked as if he had aged ten years. No one could understand them. Absolutely no one. "Excuse me, Overseer Lu."

    Elder Lohar''s voice was calm, but his heart was bleeding.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew firm. "While it''s insignificant to them, it''s different for me. Both Ironblood Weave and the entire Outerverse once belonged to me, and I will take it back one day. Because of this, I won¡¯t allow anyone to destroy it."

    Elder Lohar had been about to end the call, but excitement blossomed in his eyes when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. "What did you just say, Overseer Lu?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. "Bring all of your men to Frostwave Weave. Even if the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect don¡¯t care, I, and the Great Eastern Alliance, will take care of this. I will take charge."

    Elder Lohar instantly cheered up, and excitement was written all over his face. "Yes, Overseer!"

    Lu Yin quickly ended the call and reached out to Shui Chuanxiao. "Here are your orders: immediately mobilize the Giants¡¯ Army, the Lu Elite Troops, and the Redemption Army and send them to Frostwave Weave in the Outerverse. Also, do the same for the Allied Forces¡¯ Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions. We¡¯re preparing to go to war with the Astral Beast Domain."

    Shui Chuanxiao''s eyes lit up. "Yes, Alliance Leader!"

    There was a respect in the man¡¯s voice that Lu Yin had never heard before.

    Few people had the courage to be the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s enemy. The Hall of Honor no longer had any authority over the Outerverse, as it had been given to the Sixth Maind, even if the handover was a slow and ongoing process. Still, it was unrealistic to expect the Great Eastern Alliance to do anything about the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. Despite that, Lu Yin did just that.

    Shui Chuanxiao had initially joined the Great Eastern Alliance in order to repay Lu Yin''s kindness, but at this moment, the former Grand Marshal felt that he had made the correct choice.

    So what if the Outerverse had already been given to the Sixth Maind? Could people just ignore what was happening? If the residents of the Outerverse were given a choice, none of them would be willing to be ruled over by the Sixth Maind. However, the Fifth Maind was unable to protect them, so they had been handed over to the Sixth Maind. However, those people were in danger again, but at this moment, the Sixth Maind could not protect them. Lu Yin was willing to protect them, as the people of the Outerverse would always be his people.

    Those were people¡¯s lives. They were invaluable. Life was life. What was the purpose of cultivating? Was it only to gain longevity? The idea of giving up on all those humans was no different than abandoning one¡¯s humanity. If that happened, what was the point in living a longer life? One might as well just go and join the Aeternals.

    As soon as Xu Qing refused Lu Yin¡¯s deal, Lu Yin had already decided that war was the only option.

    Lu Yin could not agree to abandon the lives of countless people. The Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind might not care about them, but Lu Yin did.

    After his call with Shui Chuanxiao, Lu Yin reached out to the Sea King, Liu Qianjue, and others in quick session.

    Naturally, Liu Qianjue and the others were unwilling to take action on behalf of the Outerverse. As long as the Astral Beast Domain did not touch the Innerverse, they were unwilling to move against them. However, Lu Yin coerced, bribed, and threatened them until they all agreed to go the Outerverse and fight against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion.

    Despite being the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, it was impossible for Lu Yin to force Liu Qianjue into obedience. He had to pay a steep price to convince the Innerverse powers to go to the Outerverse.

    His gadget beeped incessantly with calls from members of the Great Eastern Alliance, as well as other people and many unknown contacts. There was no way for Lu Yin to answer all these call requests, but there were some that he could not ignore.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what do you intend to do with the Great Eastern Alliance?" Xin Jiao asked. She was another overseer, so Lu Yin needed to answer her call.

    He answered, "We are preparing to face the Astral Beast Domain."

    He did not hide his actions. The Great Eastern Alliance had always been closely watched, and everyone would know as soon as their military forces mobilized. On top of that, it was also impossible to hide the movements of Liu Qianjue and the other Innerverse forces from the Hall of Honor.

    Xin Jiao¡¯s voice dropped low, "Does the Great Eastern Alliance intends to fight against the Astral Beast Domain? Alliance Leader Lu, don''t make any unnecessary sacrifices. The Outerverse already belongs to the Sixth Maind, and the Sixth Maind will take care of itself. If you interfere, you will end up bearing the brunt of this war, and your losses will be steep."

    Lu Yin was already aware of this, but he did not believe that the Sixth Maind would take any sort of action. How much time would pass before they moved? At the moment, the Sixth Maind was preupied with purging itself after the Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity. What would remain of the eastern weaves by the time the Sixth Maind was finally ready to react? Cemetery Keeper was a perfect example, as he had not hesitated to abandon Ironblood Weave. Lu Yin did not even dare to think about the humans in the various weaves that were being ughtered by the astral beasts. ¡°The Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t care about those weaves. They need to be protected."

    Xin Jiao shrugged. "This is just how war is. Do you believe that your Great Eastern Alliance can actually win against the Astral Beast Domain? You are just sending your people to die. The Celestial Beast Empire has been fighting against our entire Human Domain for countless years. Your Great Eastern Alliance can¡¯t stand up to them."

    "So are you saying that we should abandon all these people?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xin Jiao could not deny the usation, but there were certain things that could only be considered and never spoken, as speaking them aloud would vite an individual¡¯s bottom line.

    Xin Jiao did not care about the life and death of the people in the Outerverse at all. There were actually many people in both the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse who did not even know about the Outerverse¡¯s existence. Rather, they viewed the region as part of the Astral Wilderness.

    She had wanted to persuade Lu Yin to change his mind in order to ensure the stability of the current universe. After all, she did not want the Great Eastern Alliance to be defeated in this war, and she did not want Lu Yin to die from it either. This was not because of anything like personal feelings, but rather either event would introduce a new round of changes in the overseers¡¯ council, and it was even possible that some people might me the council if Lu Yin died. Such a thing waspletely uneptable to Xin Jiao.

    Even more importantly, an entire group of the Innerverse¡¯s Envoys were being sent out to fight in the Outerverse because of Lu Yin¡¯s actions. If those people died, the Innerverse would suffer a terrible blow, as would the Fifth Maind on the whole. Such a loss would make it far more difficult for them to face the threat of the Sixth Maind in the future.

    None of the overseers were ordinary people. All of them could clearly see that the hatred between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds had not faded or disappeared, and a war was looming on the horizon. This was also why the overseers¡¯ council had agreed to pull Elder Lohar and the rest of Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenders out, as they wanted to incite a war between the Celestial Beast Empire and the Sixth Maind.

    They would be happy to watch as the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind fought each other to the death, but the overseers were absolutely unwilling to see the Fifth Maind fall.

    Lu Yin ended the call. He waspletely unconcerned about Xin Jiao¡¯s opinion. Instead, Lu Yin was worried about Arch-Elder Zen. If the old man forbade the Great Eastern Alliance from protecting the Outerverse, what could Lu Yin do?

    As soon as he thought about Arch-Elder Zen, the Semi-Progenitor called Lu Yin.

    "Do you really want to lead the Great Eastern Alliance to fight to their deaths against the Astral Beast Domain?" Arch-Elder Zen asked. Lu Yin could not read anything from the man¡¯s tone of voice.

    Still, he answered without the slightest hesitation, "Yes."

    "Why?" Arch-Elder Zen''s voice dropped a bit lower.

    Lu Yin spent a moment considering his response. "We have already abandoned them once. We can¡¯t do so a second time."

    "They''re not your people." Arch-Elder Zen let out a sigh.

    "They cheered for me, bowed to me, and called me their lord. That is a connection that the astral beasts cannot destroy," Lu Yin rebutted.

    "Trading the lives of countless powerhouses from the Great Eastern Alliance might not be worth what you gain from this. Will it be worth this sacrifice?" Arch-Elder Zen continued his questions.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "It''s not worth the sacrifice, but it should be."

    "Why?" The old man¡¯s voice fell much lower than before.

    "Because I am human!" Just four simple words. There was no greater reason, but these words exposed the truest thoughts in Lu Yin''s heart.

    Not a single sound came through from the other end for a bit.

    Some timeter, Arch-Elder Zen said, "The Progenitor of Secret Arts has betrayed humanity, and his actions have shaken the entire Sixth Maind. Right now, we should focus on retaliating against the Neohuman Alliance and destroying as many of their strongholds as possible. The Hall of Honor will not be able to spare anything at all to support your endeavors, but I can also promise you that no Semi-Progenitors from the Astral Beast Domain will make a move. If you want to save those people in the Outerverse, you will have to do so on your own.¡±

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have chosen this path, so don¡¯t regret your choices if they lead to your death."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I will never regret this!"

    Arch-Elder Zen ended the call, and a smile suddenly appeared on the old man¡¯s face. At this moment, all the resentment that he had felt towards Lu Yin disappeared entirely.

    Who imed that Lu Yin was not of the Fifth Maind? He cared more about the Fifth Maind than anyone else! He might be Lu Xiaoxuan, but before that, he was Lu Yin. He was a child who had restarted his cultivation from nothing in the Fifth Maind, and he was willing to die for the Fifth Maind.

    Since you are willing to die for the Fifth Maind, then the Fifth Maind will never abandon you!

    Lu Yin stared nkly at his gadget after the call ended. Unless he had heard wrong, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯sst words had sounded concerned. Could the old man be worried about Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin shook his head. This was not the time to consider such things.

    He turned his attention back to his gadget and looked at Yuan Qiong¡¯s name in his contact list. Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed; should he inform the Cosmic Sect? He decided to go ahead anyway, since he had the sect¡¯s skill on his sole.

    A short timeter, Yuan Qiong''s roar could be heard from the Cosmic Sect.

    Lu Yin¡¯s movements did not only cause the Cosmic Sect to erupt, but also the entire Fifth Maind.

    ¡­

    In the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast Empire, Xu Qing stood in outer space. He waved a hand towards a horde of countless astral beasts that were headed towards the Primal Zone. Morale was soaring. "Starting from the moment we set foot in the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse, it will belong to us forever!"

    Countless astral beasts roared. None of them doubted theirmander¡¯s words.

    Xu Qing had never expected Lu Yin to agree to hand over the God of Death Transformation, nor had he ever considered abandoning his ns for the Outerverse. The Celestial Beast Empire had dreamed of defeating the humans for eons.

 Chapter 1854: War In The North

    Chapter 1854: War In The North

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and at the same time, almost all Seven Skygods had fallen. Thus, not only did the Fifth Maind need to send people to protect the pass leading to the Aeternals¡¯ region, but they also needed to prepare for the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s counterattack. At this same time, the Sixth Maind needed to root out any hidden dangers that the Progenitor of Secret Arts might have left behind. Never before had humanity been so ripe for the plucking.

    This was a unique opportunity, so Xu Qing could not let it go.

    As for Lu Yin, he did not care about what was happening. Regardless of what sort of status he achieved, it was impossible for the entire Fifth Maind to offer him support. Even more importantly, Qiu Xu had attacked Cemetery Keeper. This attack had not been at the orders of the Astral Beast Domain, which meant that they had been helped by the Aeternals.

    While the Astral Beast Domain was also enemies with the Aeternals, the two had not reached the point where only one could exist. The astral beasts were perfectly willing to split the Fifth Maind with Aeternus.

    In the southern reaches of the Outerverse, within the Daosource Sect:

    "The Ironblood Weave has fallen. We need to send people there as soon as possible to drive those beasts out and set up defenses again," someone stated. He was a middle-aged man who gave off the impression of someone with a refined demeanor. His name was Jiu Yao, and he was the Semi-Progenitor in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect who was the closest to bing a Progenitor. He was also the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s eldest son.

    After he finished speaking, Jiu Yao looked to the side. There was an isted space in that direction that was filled with magma with a body floating within. It was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman, but the truth was that the figure was not even a human body, but something formed from the magma itself. "There¡¯s no rush. We should first finish cleaning up the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. In fact, wouldn¡¯t it be best if those animals cleaned out the territory for us?"

    Jiu Yao frowned, but then he looked elsewhere. In the new direction, all that could be seen was a cherry blossom floating in space. "What do you say?"

    There was no response even after he waited for a long time.

    The furrows in Jiu Yao''s brows deepened. Each of hispanions was weirder than the next. "Then after we deal with the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, we will either drive those animals out, or one of us will visit the Astral Beast Domain to talk to them."

    With that, everything became calm once again.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, the asteroid field and Eastly Weave were very close to Ironblood Weave. As soon as one passed through the asteroid field, they would be in Northcastle Weave.

    Ten days had passed since Ironblood Weave had fallen, and yet the Sixth Maind had not shown any response to the loss of Ironblood Weave because they were upied with cleaning up the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. Some astral beasts had already slipped into Eastly Weave, and others had made their way into Northcastle Weave.

    A weave covered a massive region, and it typically took half a month to a month for the average astral beast with the strength of an Explorer to cross a single weave. There were some species that could travel through outer space before reaching the Explorer level, but their speed was much worse. They might need a month or two to cover such a distance, and this was even taking wormholes into consideration.

    As for the individuals who had managed to pass through the asteroid field that was nearly the size of a weave and enter Northcastle Weave within ten days, they were at least among the most powerful of Explorers.

    There was an excited roar, and a three-colored me burnt the void as it shot towards a distant spaceship. An instantter, the spaceship was nothing more than ash, and regardless of the number of people that had been inside, they had all disappeared.

    This creature was a Fei Yan, a soaring firebeast. This species was ranked tenth on the Celestial Beast List, which showed how powerful they were in the Astral Beast Domain.

    Any species that could be added to the Celestial Beast List had to be extremely powerful. After all, even the sound monsters were only able to rank eleventh.

    Fei Yan was as strong as a Hunter, and the beast raised its head to let out a roar, causing tri-colored mes to illuminate the nearby region of space.

    Somewhat nearby, another astral beast appeared. This one looked somewhat simr to a centipede, though it had wings.

    After that, one astral beast after another started to appear in Northcastle Weave. Each one was at least as strong as an Explorer.

    These beasts were far too excited. Humans had long since dreamed of conquering the Astral Beast Domain, and the inhabitants of the Astral Beast Domain had simrly dreamed of conquering the Human Domain. The excitement of finally fulfilling their dream caused the beasts to start destroying everything they saw.

    Fei Yannded upon a in Northcastle Weave, and the beast¡¯s sharp ws pierced into the center of the, causing the entire to start cracking apart.

    This¡¯s technology had only developed as far as cold weapons, and even their most powerful individuals were only able to cut through a building, which could not be considered as stepping upon the path of cultivation. They had no ability to resist at all, and their quickly shattered.

    A bit further away, a fiery red light struck the centipede-looking beast. This beam came from a technological weapon that had been developed by a that had just started exploring nearby gxies. This beam was a weapon that the civilization used for warfare.

    The inhabitants of the had panicked the moment they discovered the giant centipede, and they had not hesitated to attack it with their most powerful weapons. However, their efforts were useless, as there was not even a single scratch to be seen on the centipede.

    The giant centipede became aggressive, and it flew straight towards the and tore it apart. Countless people wailed as they were consumed byva or ck holes. There was a sh of light that lit up the universe before quickly disappearing.

    The mes of war quickly engulfed Northcastle Weave. Multiples were destroyed one after another, and spaceships exploded without end.

    A man with a pale face stood in outer space and watched as the various astral beasts unleashed their destruction upon thes in the distance. Just when the man was about to make a move, there was a soft beep from his gadget. This man was a Cruiser, and he was from Northcastle Weave.

    Northcastle Weave had many cultivators, though very few of them could roam through outer space on their own.

    The Greatsword Dynasty was the power that controlled Northcastle Weave, and they had summoned every cultivator in the entire Northcastle Weave to gather together in order tobat their current crisis.

    The Greatsword Dynasty had ruled Northcastle Weave for countless years. With the astral beasts¡¯ invasion, cultivators had started to congregate in the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s capital. They looked up at the imperial pce, waiting for the leader of the dynasty to show himself. Northcastle Weave was their home, as well as the home of their friends and families. It was impossible for those people to get to safety in time, which meant that the astral beasts had to be driven back.

    The gate began to open, and all the gathered cultivators stared at the imperial pce. They saw a man in imperial robes and with a haggard expression on his face. He was the lord of the Greatsword Dynasty. The young man who had once been threatened and controlled by Aegis had since grown up.

    "Our nation mourns. I feel the pain of our people, and I will use our full strength against these invaders! We will be fearless! Fearless against these foreign enemies! I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!"

    Many of the cultivators became excited, and they echoed the man, "I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!"

    "I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!"

    "I swear to defend Northcastle Weave!"

    ¡­

    Ding Xing stood nearby. His eyes looked conflicted. These people wanted to defend, but how? The Astral Beast Domain itself was invading, and just how many people could actually help protect Northcastle Weave?

    The Great Eastern Alliance had reached an agreement with the Sixth Maind: the Sixth Maind had given the Great Eastern Alliance three years to retreat to the Innerverse. Therefore, this was also the condition that the people of Northcastle Weave had been given. Only about 6,000 cultivators remained. About 40% of their numbers had already left for the Innerverse, and those who remained were unwilling to leave the weave or had been kept behind by the Greatsword Dynasty for some reason or another.

    In essence, it was because their leader did not want to leave.

    The Greatsword Dynasty had already survived the threat of having their nation destroyed, and yet they had eventually managed to reestablish their government and stabilize their nation with Lu Yin¡¯s help. However, they had paid a hefty price for that help. The Greatsword Dynasty was no longer fully independent.

    It was not that the Greatsword Dynasty did not want to resist. They truly did want their independence, even if only a small bit, but they did not dare to speak of such things when faced with the increasingly powerful Great Eastern Alliance.

    When the Sixth Maind had been given the Outerverse, the Greatsword Dynasty had seen this change as an opportunity. Even though they would still be ruled by someone else, they had already suffered through a worse situation. No matter what happened under the Sixth Maind, it could not be worse than what the Greatsword Dynasty had already endured. Besides, the Sixth Maind also needed the Greatsword Dynasty¡¯s help.

    These were the thoughts of the Greatsword Dynasty, and so their imperial family had not retreated to the Innerverse, and many of the dynasty¡¯s cultivators had been forced to stay behind through various means.

    Lu Yin had been aware of the situation, but he had not had the time to deal with it.

    Are we doing the right thing? Ding Xing stared out at the crowd of people who were currently united as one, all eager to fight against the Astral Beast Domain. Ding Xing let out a helpless sigh. He had previously ventured out into the greater universe, and he had some idea of its vastness. He could only hope that not all of these people would die to the astral beasts.

    Right when Ding Xing was thinking this, the capital city was overwhelmed by a horrifying heat as a three-colored me began to burn the Greatsword Dynasty. "Humans, enjoy your deaths."

    Ding Xing was startled, "Your Majesty, RUN!"

    All of the gathered people began to scream, but at that time, a sword was unsheathed in a corner of the capital city. A woman emerged from the void to face Fei Yan with a sword held in her upraised hand. "10,000 Swords As One."

    The sword cut into Fei Yan''s body, and blood appeared. "Who?"

    The woman stared at the beast with cold eyes. "The one who will kill you!"

    She stepped forward as she spoke, and her sword fell again.

    Ding Xing became excited. "Your Majesty, it''s Madam He! Rumors im that she cultivated in the Innerverse¡¯s Myriad Swords Peak. She returned long ago, and although many people sought to take her on as their master, none could find her. I never thought that she would still be here in the imperial city."

    "Wonderful! With her taking action, this astral beast will certainly die. She¡¯s a powerful Hunter who¡¯s managed to establish an impressive reputation in the Innerverse!" the emperor of the Greatsword Dynasty grew excited as well.

    The three-colored mes shed with Madam He¡¯s sword, and the imperial city was instantly destroyed as mes shot covered the sky.

    Madam He was already breathing heavily, and half of her body had caught on fire while her long sword had be twisted. Humans held no advantage when fighting against astral beasts, let alone one whose species ranked within the top ten of the Celestial Beast List.

    "Human, go to hell!" Fei Yan raised a paw to grab the woman, and mes that could incinerate even the void swept towards Madam He.

    Her eyes began to ze. "10,000 Swords As One."

    As her voice fell, she stepped forward with her sword. The de pierced through the mes to stab Fei Yan''s body. The sword qi shot through the creature¡¯s body and erupted into the sky.

    The many cultivators in the imperial city became excited. They had won! They had actually won!

    Before Madam He, Fei Yan''s body was so hot that her skin burnt. When she lifted her head, Fei Yan''s massive eyes opened again. The beast opened its mouth and bit down.

    This was the day that the Greatsword Dynasty was destroyed. It was Northcastle Weave¡¯s saddest day. Countless people throughout the weave died tragic deaths, and many of them were used as rations for the invading astral beasts. There was no way to even tally the death toll.

    More and more astral beasts began to pour into Northcastle Weave, unleashing wanton destruction wherever they went. Northcastle Weave began to break, and with that, the astral beasts looked to the south, towards Frostwave Weave.

    ¡­

    Terrible screams echoed out in every direction. The city had already been destroyed, and a woman clutched her child as she screamed. A shadow covered her, and the body of an enormous astral beast swept by. Its mere passage caused the entire city to disappear.

    The city sat at the border between Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves. An astral beast had already pushed this far into the Outerverse. It was the forerunner, and it had destroyed severals so far. Once it rose from the wreckage, it continued traveling south.

    The creature became thrilled when it saw mores and space stations up ahead. It loved hearing the desperate wails of humans as they died, and it enjoyed seeing blood flow in rivers. The sight always caused the creature¡¯s blood to surge and its heart to beat faster. The beast sped up to move forward even quicker. It would be the first astral beast to enter Frostwave Weave.

 Chapter 1855: Determination

    Chapter 1855: Determination

    Suddenly, the void distorted, and a long arrow sliced through space and stabbed straight into the middle of the astral beast¡¯s head before exploding.

    Half of the beast''s body exploded, and it instantly perished. However, its body continued barreling forward due to its momentum.

    Far off in the distance, Gong Ke lowered his hand. His eyes were cold.

    Many other astral beasts swarmed towards Frostwave Weave after that, but all of them were killed at the border before they could enter the weave. All of them died to Gong Ke.

    Eventually, some of the more powerful creatures who had destroyed Northcastle Weave learned of what was happening, and they started to make their way towards Frostwave Weave one after another.

    "Amethyst Beast, are you headed for Frostwave Weave?" An enormous fish swam through Northcastle Weave as it spoke up. It was Loach Monster. It had been staying in the Primal Zone after the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s attack on Ironblood Weave, and the fish had not returned to the Astral Beast Domain even when the Sixth Maind had pushed into the Primal Zone. After Ironblood Weave had fallen, Loach Monster had also moved into Northcastle Weave.

    Loach Monster had been speaking to an Amethyst Beast, as the two had been in the Primal Zone at the same time.

    "Are you not going?" Amethyst Beast replied.

    Loach Monsterzily answered, "I won''t go there."

    The Amethyst Beast let out a disdainful snort. "If you want to gain any sort of resources from the Empire, you¡¯ll need to aplish something during this invasion. Old Loach Monster, you¡¯re too cautious. I¡¯ll catch up to you sooner orter."

    The Amethyst Beast then took off and headed south.

    Loach Monster stared at the disappearing back of the departing Amethyst Beast and then spat out, "Idiot! Frostwave Weave is different from Northcastle Weave. That¡¯s the only weave in the eastern Outerverse that belongs to the Great Eastern Alliance. Even the Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t dare to touch that ce. There are many powerhouses there, and a lot of others are direct descendants of various powers within the Great Eastern Alliance. Going there is just asking to die."

    After finishing its rant, the fishzily rolled over and fell asleep.

    ***

    More than a month had passed since the astral beasts had started invading the Human Domain.

    Lu Yin arrived in the Outerverse with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces, and the various armies surged into Frostwave Weave.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was terribly anxious. Northcastle, Eastly, and Forested Weaves had all suffered unprecedented disasters. He wanted to immediately drive the astral beasts in those weaves away, but it was impossible at the moment.

    When the Amethyst Beast arrived at the border between Frostwave and Northcastle Weaves, it tried to use its incredible defenses to force its way into Frostwave Weave. However, it was greeted by an illusion of eternally sinking beneath an icy ocean.

    Zhuo Daynight had attacked. Even though her actual power level was substantially inferior to the Amethyst Beast¡¯s, Night''s End, Daybreak was a terrifying enough technique to make up for the difference. When that illusion wasbined with Cool Sis¡¯ Icy Crystallization, the Amethyst Beast was almost instantly frozen. Finally, the creature died to Smoker, the assassin.

    When news of the Amethyst Beast''s death returned to the Astral Beast Domain, countless creatures became furious, and many of them made their way towards Frostwave Weave.

    The first to arrive was an astral beast that resembled a horse, though it had two legs and four hands. All four of its hands held giant hammers that it swung towards Frostwave Weave.

    The monstrous creature had the strength of an Envoy, and in the Primal Zone, it had been second in strength only to the mantis-like astral beast.

    The giant mantis had also started moving towards the border of Eastly Weave, and it soon entered Northcastle Weave.

    Four hands were raised high as the four warhammers mmed down, shaking Frostwave Weave. The strength of an Envoy was enough to shatter space across all of Frostwave Weave, making the weave look as though it had cracked.

    At that moment, a long trident shot out of the true universe and stabbed through the astral beast without slowing down at all. The incredible force behind the weapon not only shoved the creature out of Frostwave Weave, but it evenunched the trident deep into Northcastle Weave. Many astral beasts in the path of the weapon were stunned by what they saw, and even Fei Yan¡¯s body was shattered by the shockwave.

    The Sea King emerged from the void, his face gloomy. He raised a hand, and the trident returned to his grasp.

    Loach Monster stared at the corpse of the Envoy-level astral beast, and the massive fish was so startled that it immediately turned around and left Northcastle Weave. The beast had decided to return to the Primal Zone. Apparently, Frostwave Weave would not be the main battlefield, but instead Northcastle Weave. Monster Loach had no desire to remain at the warfront.

    The beast had a power level of over 300,000, but that was neither high nor low. If it stepped onto the battlefield, it would easily draw the attention of the humans¡¯ powerhouses, and then it could easily die. After all, there was no one protecting Monster Loach, and it needed to save itself.

    The Sea King had eliminated the Envoy-level astral beast with a single attack, which thoroughly intimidated the Astral Beasts who had invaded the Human Domain. None of the beasts dared to set their eyes on Frostwave Weave, and for the moment, Frostwave Weave enjoyed peace once again.

    To the east, in Forested Weave, the giant mantis swung its des about. They sliced through the void, and its attacks swept the entire weave. It was impossible to even estimate just how manys were destroyed by this one attack.

    The knowledge that there was an Envoy protecting Frostwave Weave enraged the mantis-like creature, and it swung its des furiously. It wanted to destroy the entire Forested Weave.

    At that moment, a willow leaf appeared and blocked the mantis¡¯s attack.

    The astral beast shed its des forward, its eyes cold. When it saw a man and a woman appear, it screeched, "Humans, you court death!"

    The two who had appeared in Forested Weave were none other than Liu Ye and Fei Hua. They had gone to Mt. Microcosms after parting ways with Lu Yin, but they had only stayed there for a short time before they were allowed to leave. They had coincidentally been in Forested Weave when it had been attacked, and they had no longer been able to endure and do nothing when the mantis had attacked.

    Neither Liu Ye nor Fei Hua were the mantis¡¯s opponent on their own, but the two were far more powerful when they worked together. Thus, they were able to perfectly counter the mantis and render it harmless.

    Back in the Astral Beast Domain, Xu Qing quickly received word of the new developments, and his face fell. "So, there are powerhouses in both Frostwave Weave and Forested Weave? Stand by for now and do nothing in either of those ces. We will be there soon."

    The creatures in the Astral Beast Domain did not use gadgets, but insteadmunicated through specially bred Void Wanderers.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes turned grim as he watched the Void Wanderer slip into the void. These people were able to stop the astral beasts that had invaded the Human Domain from the Primal Zone, and they could even stop the giant mantis. This proved that these powerhouses were exceptional. Had the Sixth Maind actually reacted so quickly? Or could it be that the Human Domain¡¯s Hall of Honor had made a move? Xu Qing had heard that the Hall of Honor had stationed some super expert named Yuan Shi in the Outerverse, and the man was reported to have a power level of over a million.

    As he considered the recent reports, Xu Qing quickly reached out to the Celestial Beast Empire and asked for more experts to be sent as reinforcements.

    Xu Qing had originally thought that the astral beasts¡¯ force would not encounter much resistance when invading the Human Domain; at worst, they would run into some resistance from the remnants of the Great Eastern Alliance that remained in the Outerverse. Still, those remnants should have been easily eliminated, so it appeared that there were other forces interfering in the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion efforts.

    Still, even if that was the case, it did not matter. The request for reinforcements was merely a precaution, but Xu Qing¡¯s request was answered by nearly half of the species on the Celestial Beast List. Such numbers were sufficient to not just wreak havoc in the Human Domain, but rather fully upy the eastern regions of the Outerverse.

    ¡­

    The fighting between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone had not stopped in eons, so matters rted to those ces no longer attracted much attention. Even if some of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces¡¯ divisions moved to the Outerverse, it would not attract much attention.

    At the moment, the Sixth Maind was focused on investigating and purging the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory while the Fifth Maind was rooting out as many of the Neohuman Alliances¡¯ strongholds as possible and sending people to defend the pass to the Starfall Sea. The Fifth Maind was also in no position to pay any attention to the eastern stretches of the Outerverse.

    During this period, when the region was being ignored, the biggest war that the Great Eastern Alliance had engaged in since the moment of its founding broke out in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves.

    It was not long before three divisions of the Allied Forces gathered in Frostwave Weave. Their numbers totaled 30 million Seekers for the ordinary soldiers, and on top of that, there were also more than 1.5 million Sentinels, over 10,000 Limiteers, and more than 2 million soldiers who were Explorers or above. Besides that, there were also 150,000rge spaceships and 6,000 battleships.

    This was just the members of the Allied Forces, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s three special militaries had also all moved to the Outerverse. The Giants¡¯ Army, the Lu Elite Troops, and the Redemption Army were in Frostwave Weave, as well as all the Envoys under Lu Yin. Never before had such a terrifying army and gathering of experts assembled in the weave.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the three divisions of the Allied Forces moved out from Frostwave Weave and into Northcastle Weave.

    Many of the astral beasts gathered in Northcastle Weave stared nkly at the endless battleships that flew towards them from the neighboring weave. They turned and fled, but a sharp sword qi suddenly swept through outer space, and all the fleeing astral beasts found themselves unable to escape. A volley was fired from the battleships, and after a moment, not even corpses remained.

    Due to time constraints, Lu Yin had not been able to gather the strength of the entire Innerverse. If he had, there would be more than a hundred Enlighters at hismand rather than just the mere dozens that were present.

    All the Enlighters currently in the Outerverse were those directly under Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    In the entire Innerverse, even the smallest flowzones would have more than a single Enlighter. If Lu Yin had been able to gather all of those Enlighters, he was confident in being able to break into the Astral Beast Domain instead of merely driving the astral beasts out of the Outerverse.

    There were numerous astral beasts in Northcastle Weave, and there were even more headed towards Northcastle Weave from the asteroid field.

    The arrival of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces pushed the astral beasts back across Northcastle Weave. Within just ten days, nearly half of the astral beasts who had invaded the weave had been exterminated.

    The Redemption Army paved the way, and they wiped out most of the creatures that they encountered. If not for the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s slow pace, all of Northcastle Weave would already have been cleared.

    Given the new circumstances, the astral beasts in the asteroid field who were not at the Explore realm immediately turned around and retreated back to Ironblood Weave. There were no true powerhouses inmand of the beasts, and regardless of their numbers, it was impossible for them to do anything against the Great Eastern Alliance.

    In Forested Weave, the giant praying mantis had been fighting against Liu Ye and Fei Hua the entire time, but even after ten days, there was still no conclusive victor. The beast was too fast, and Liu Ye and Fei Hua were unable to do anything to it either. As for the mantis, it was unable to break through the couple¡¯s defenses.

    There was no way for the mantis to send a message to anyone while it was fighting, so all it could do was retreat back to Ironblood Weave.

    In Northcastle Weave, within the fleet¡¯s gship, Lu Yin looked somber. Even though the Allied Forces were making smooth progress through Northcastle Weave at the moment, they were just fighting against the astral beasts who had moved into the Human Domain from the Primal Zone. When it came to the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s actual army, Lu Yin had no doubts that there would be many powerful beasts. Luckily, his Great Eastern Alliance was far from weak themselves.

    It looked like, as long as the astral beasts were driven back to the Primal Zone, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s task would bepleted, and the Sixth Maind would then be able to take over from there on.

    However, if that was really how this affair concluded, Lu Yin would lose too much. The Sixth Maind had been willing to sacrifice all the lives in the eastern weaves, but Lu Yin had not been able to sit back and watch such a ughter take ce. His choice was going to lead to both the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain suffering terrible losses.

    Lu Yin would never allow himself to be the one to suffer losses. Even the most desperate of situations would have an opportunity. Lu Yin just needed to find it, and it was vital that he do so.

    Beep beep beep!

    There was an alert from his gadget, and Lu Yin froze when he looked down, as it was a call request from Xu Qing.

    Xu Qing''s voice came through as soon as the call connected. "Alliance Leader Lu, it appears that you¡¯ve made your decision. If you fight my Astral Beast Domain to the death, do you not fear dragging your entire alliance into a catastrophe?"

    Lu Yin answered in a deep voice, "The Great Eastern Alliance was originally founded in order to protect all the alliance members. If any of them are threatened, my only choice is to take action."

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice grew cold. "Do you understand what you are doing? Do you understand just how determined the Astral Beast Domain is to move into the Outerverse at this moment? Your little Great Eastern Alliance can''t do anything to stop us!"

    "Even if it¡¯s impossible, we will still stop you. Countless people have died in Eastly, Northcastle, and Forested Weaves in just a mere month. I will force you to repay this debt of blood,¡± Lu Yin coldly dered.

 Chapter 1856: Officially Started

    Chapter 1856: Officially Started

    Xu Qing spat back, "Are you insane? Do you really see yourself as some kind of savior? Can you even save those people? I can tell you right now that if a war starts, your Great Eastern Alliance will be finished! How many people are you willing to send to their deaths? All your efforts will be in vain."

    "How much do you know about my Great Eastern Alliance?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Qing firmly replied, "There¡¯s no need to know anything at all! My opponent has always been the entire Human Domain! Regardless of how powerful your Great Eastern Alliance may be, can you summon the strength of the entire Human Domain? The Hall of Honor is in no position to pay attention to you or what you¡¯re doing. It¡¯s still not toote¡ªgive me that technique, and I will order the invading beasts to leave the ordinary humans unharmed as much as possible.¡±

    "As much as possible?"

    "That is already the limit of my abilities. I did not lie to you before. Astral beasts have bestial instincts. On top of that, it¡¯s quitemon fors to be destroyed during battles, and the casualties from such destruction is impossible to even estimate. This is nothing more than a fact of interster war. Consider this matter carefully, as this is yourst chance! I am already in the Primal Zone, and the only reason why I have not left yet is to give you a chance."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. So Xu Qing had already arrived in the Primal Zone? That meant that the battlefield would be the asteroid field. "There¡¯s no need for you to give me anything. The moment you initiated a ughter in the Human Domain, it¡¯s either you or I who will perish first."

    "Then you will be crushed!" Xu Qing ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand. Both Liu Huang and the Second Nightking stood behind him.

    "Tell me, am I doing the right thing?" Lu Yin asked as he calmly stared out into space.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Liu Huang did not have the same reservations. "It is likely that the Great Eastern Alliance will be defeated in this war. Have you thought this all through carefully?"

    Lu Yin gave an easy smile. "Of course."

    "You are not behaving like a ruler," the Second Nightking stated in an odd tone. His understanding of Lu Yin had constantly shifted and changed. At first, he had found the youth to be a cruel and shameless person, but then he had seen Lu Yin conquer the Innerverse. At that time, the Second Nightking had believed Lu Yin to be ambitious and cunning. He had actually viewed the young man as a heroic figure who wasparable to the First Nightking. However, Lu Yin¡¯s decision to wage a war against the Astral Beast Domain had shown the Second Nightking that Lu Yin was not some hero, but simply an idiot.

    There were countless deaths during interster wars. This waspletely normal. If the Second Nightking were in Lu Yin¡¯s position, he would not care about the deaths of some people in the Outerverse at all. There were simply too many people in the universe, and even the countless deaths in the three weaves over the past month were nothing more than a drop in the ocean. The Great Eastern Alliance would suffer greatly from this war, and it was simply not worth the cost.

    Still, Lu Yin had gone ahead with the war regardless of the costs. The Second Nightking had literally not believed Lu Yin¡¯s decision when he first learned of it. Who would be so stupid as to wage a war against the Astral Beast Domain with their own wealth? Even if Lu Yin won the war, the Sixth Maind would be the one to reap the benefits. On the other hand, if Lu Yin lost, he would lose absolutely everything while the Sixth Maind would lose nothing at all. There were no benefits to be had from this decision.

    Based on the Second Nightking¡¯s understanding of Lu Yin, the youth was not a person to ever put himself at a disadvantage, and yet that was exactly what he had done.

    Lu Yin smiled and stretched his waist. "Yeah, I¡¯m not acting like a ruler, but rather like an idiot, haha!"

    Liu Huang showed a rare smile. "An admirable idiot."

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look at the Second Nightking. "The Third Nightking¡¯s still in the Profound Void Realm. Maybe this war will provide the chance for him to be freed."

    The Second Nightking responded in an indifferent tone, "Don''t tempt me. The chances of winning this war are minuscule, and both of us might die. What can we even do to rescue him?"

    "That might not be the case. What if there¡¯s a turning point?" Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled into a smile and his eyes grew bright.

    No one could tell what Lu Yin''s true thoughts might be. Behind a seemingly impulsive decisiony a set of well-thought-out ns. Regardless of whether this war was won or lost, Lu Yin needed to see it through.

    The Envoys who apanied the Great Eastern Alliance suddenly scattered in all directions.

    Liu Qianjue quietly gazed out. He would not benefit from fighting in this war against the Astral Beast Domain. The reason why the sect master was even present was because his Sword Sect had joined the Great Eastern Alliance and therefore needed to participate. On top of that, there was also Liu Hao. Lu Yin had promised to send Liu Hao to the Sword Sect after the war concluded as long as Liu Qianjue participated.

    How could Liu Qianjue not be moved by the Perennial World? He was very interested in the Sword Monument, and Liu Qianjue could not allow Liu Hao to slip through his fingers.

    Lu Yin had assembled the full power of the Great Eastern Alliance. Even though they were up against the Astral Beast Domain, Liu Qianjue did not think that they were guaranteed to lose.

    If loss proved inevitable, then the sect master would simply leave to save himself. There was no way that Liu Qianjue would actually fight to the death for Lu Yin¡¯s sake. This was not only Liu Qianjue''s intentions, but also those of Ling Qiu, Mountain God, and the other Envoys. None of them had any desire to die for the sake of regr humans in the Outerverse.

    A few dayster, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s 150,000 strong spacecraft army entered the asteroid field. At the same time, untold numbers of astral beasts roared at the border between the asteroid field and Ironblood Weave. The war would be waged in the asteroid field.

    The asteroids in the region varied greatly. Some were small and around the same size as a spaceship while others were massive and could even outsss.

    A wisp of white smoke drifted through outer space. It wrapped around an asteroid, and the rock started moving towards the northeast. After it went a certain distance, the smoke dissipated briefly before enveloping another asteroid. That one also moved slightly in the same direction as the previous one.

    No one noticed the white smoke drifting along.

    This smoke was moving through the southern region of the asteroid field, and it was continuously moving to the northeast. Suddenly, an asteroid froze briefly before shattering.

    A bit away from the shards, Smoker¡¯s eyes snapped open. "I can''t see them. Those Creepers really are hidden beasts¡ªthey¡¯re already here."

    Smoker then turned around and fled.

    Space warped as invisible astral beastsnded on the asteroid and quickly spread out. Further to the northeast, countless astral beasts were making their way southwest. Among them were Void Thunderbeasts, Celestial Ice Phoenixes, soaring firebeasts, and Void Wanderers. There were also many other bizarre astral beasts that humanity had no record of. None of the beasts made a sound as they shot through space, but their eyes zed with excitement and killing intent.

    To the southwest, Lu Yin was waiting within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Fleet. He received Smoker¡¯s report of astral beasts hiding within the asteroid field. ¡°There are creepers, Void Wanderers, and possibly even stranger creatures. Pass down the orders tounch a salvo of attacks."

    Since they were facing the Astral Beast Domain and all of their bizarre creatures and abilities, Lu Yin was not willing to gamble with the lives of his troops. His n was to use the weapons on the battleships to clear a path and to unleash a barrage of endless cannon sts.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s order was given, the battleships all moved to arrange themselves in a specific formation that Shui Chuanxiao had trained them in. As soon as they were all in position: ¡°Attack."

    The order was spoken, and beams of light lit up the universe as the asteroid field was relentlessly bombarded.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    ¡­

    The entire region was lit up by the attacks, and numerous asteroids were shattered. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet started making its way northeast. They spanned a vast area, and they did not allow anything to escape from their assault. Anytime an astral beast approached the fleet, it would be targeted and annihted by the ships¡¯ weapons.

    Each round of fire cleared an area, and the fleet would then continue forward, further to the north.

    Up ahead of the fleet, but just outside the weapons¡¯ range, space twisted to reveal a pair of eyes that overflowed with pure fear. The eyes looked as though they were alone and unconnected to a body. They quickly turned towards the northeast and fled.

    The fleet continued moving onward, and every time they covered a certain distance, they would fire off another round of attacks. There were 6,000 battleships, so each volley was the same as 6,000 Explorers attacking, and they also covered a massive area. Using this method to attack with so many battleships was unheard of, and the cost was astronomical. Despite that, Lu Yin continued.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet drew closer and closer to the horde of astral beasts. Humans were certainly inferior to astral beasts when it came to things like their senses. For example, Xu Qing knew exactly where the fleet was and their numbers, but the Great Eastern Alliance was ignorant of such information for the astral beasts. Lu Yin knew that the creatures had to be further to the northeast, but anything more precise was impossible.

    Space was too vast, and the fleet was only traveling along one of the avable paths. If they were forced to cover the entire asteroid belt, the fleet would end up being almostpletely scattered.

    Theck of intelligence led to the humans being in a passive position.

    Xu Qing ordered the astral beasts to stop advancing, as he did not n to attack the fleet head on.

    "Commander Xu Qing, is there any need for us to be so wary of the Great Eastern Alliance? Just a few of us are enough to ughter the entire fleet,¡± said one of the soaring mebeasts with the strength of an Envoy. The Celestial Beast Empire was treating this war as a priority, and almost all of the soaring mebeasts had been sent out, as well as many creepers, sound monsters, and more. Not even Xu Qing knew the full strength of the reinforcements that had been sent to him to conquer the Outerverse, and this was because many hidden powerhouses had been sent out as well.

    This was also why he was so confident in his victory.

    "Lu Yin is not the real threat. Even though the Great Eastern Alliance is nothing to fear, we still need to test out their strength. What if this is all one of the humans¡¯ schemes?" Xu Qing replied.

    "A scheme? What did you see to suggest that?" Another voice rose from one of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. The voice was sweet and clear, though it was also full of arrogance.

    Xu Qing replied in a low voice, "Just do as I say."

    What had happened in Ironblood Weave was too odd. The person who had poisoned Cemetery Keeper had not done so at the behest of the Astral Beast Domain, so why had he poisoned Cemetery Keeper at such a time? It was impossible to do such a thing over something as petty as a personal grudge, so the Celestial Beast Empire suspected that the Neohuman Alliance had been behind the attack, but there was no certainty. This was Xu Qing¡¯s biggest worry.

    On top of that, the Great Eastern Alliance had been too decisive in their support for Lu Yin¡¯s decision, which also caused Xu Qing to hesitate slightly.

    He did not believe that Lu Yin was an idiot, and it was impossible for him to willingly destroy the Great Eastern Alliance that he had struggled so much to establish and grow. So, why had Lu Yin taken the initiative to start this war?

    Xu Qing was afraid that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect were actually colluding to trap the astral beasts. Thus, he knew that there was a hidden powerhouse among his troops who had been sent by the empire to do their best to minimize the casualties.

    "Lu Yin, if you want to y, then I¡¯ll y with you! Let''s see who can afford to take more risks," Xu Qing muttered to himself as his eyes glittered coldly with killing intent.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet advanced to the northeast in an orderly manner, firing a series of attacks every so often to ensure that the astral beasts could not set up any ambushes along the fleet¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin frowned. From Smoker¡¯s report, they should have already reached the area with the hidden astral beasts, so why had they not found any yet? Had Xu Qing pulled his troops back?

    Suddenly, an rm red, and a disy popped up in front of Lu Yin. "Master, the back of the fleet was attacked by a huge white skeleton."

    Another disy appeared. "Alliance Leader, the fleet¡¯s right nk was just attacked."

    "Alliance Leader, the left nk was just attacked."

    Lu Yin''s expression firmed. "Act ording to the n. Let¡¯s go!"

    He punched the center of the console, and the war officially began.

    Behind the fleet, an enormous white skeleton careened towards the humans. It waspletely covered with a species of self-exploding bugs. Once the bugs exploded, their blood would also explode, leading to a series of chain explosions. The skeleton had also been covered with poison, so as soon as the bugs exploded, the resulting poison cloud would envelop the entire fleet in a short amount of time.

 Chapter 1857: Shadow Assassination

    Chapter 1857: Shadow Assassination

    Normally, it would be impossible for anyone to detect the poison covering the skeleton until the explosion, but the astral beasts were ignorant of the fact that there were people from Venom Flowzone sprinkled throughout the fleet. No matter what formation the ships took or what direction they faced, there were always some vessels on the outside edge that were equipped with a substance that the Divine Venom Dynasty had specially designed to detect toxins.

    As soon as the skeleton drew close to the back of the fleet, King Qing Li appeared from the void. He raised a hand, and space rippled.

    The moment the skeleton moved a bit closer, it exploded with a loud boom, which was followed by multiple softer explosions that were not particrly powerful.

    There were some astral beasts hidden nearby, and they stared at the explosion, waiting for the toxins to erupt.

    However, even after they waited for a good bit of time, nothing happened aside from the explosions. What had happened?

    On the fleet¡¯s right nk, several Void Thunderbeasts shot out bolts of lightning at the ships, and simultaneously, the soaring mebeasts shot out mes.

    As soon as the lightning and mes began to fall upon the fleet, space froze, and the affected area quickly spread. The Frost Emperor appeared after freezing the lightning and the mes, as well as the space around the attacking creatures.

    On the left nk, dozens of creepers charged forward. They were confident in sessfully attacking the fleet, but they had underestimated Shui Chuanxiao''s understanding of the Astral Beast Domain. The creepers were discovered the moment they made a move, and Mountain God¡¯s massive form blocked them from getting close to the fleet as the creepers just mmed into the mountain.

    Xu Qing had attempted to attack the fleet from all sides. He had not only wanted to disrupt the humans¡¯ formation, but also force their powerhouses out from hiding.

    Xu Qing stared at the human fleet and at Mountain God¡¯s massive form. He waved a hand. "It''s your turn."

    Countless astral beasts roared, and the sound caused space itself to tremble.

    Lu Yin looked forward and saw arge group of truly enormous beasts rushing towards the front of the fleet. "Attack!"

    The battleships fired a barrage of attacks, but they were all useless. The massive astral beasts pulled their legs and feet in, bing balls that continued to shoot forward. The creatures¡¯ defensive were absolutely amazing.

    Liu Qianjue stepped forward, and his sword sliced through space, warping the void as it passed. However, all of his attacks were sessfully blocked, as the astral beasts were actually able to withstand his powerful attack.

    Liu Qianjue was surprised, and heshed out again, only for all of his sword strikes to be absorbed yet again.

    Off in the distance, Xu Qing sneered. How could those beasts be killed so easily?

    "There are essence eaters behind them," Shui Chuanxiao spoke up, "They¡¯re ranked fourth on the Celestial Beast List, and they can redirect any attack that has a power level of less than 200,000, which is why Liu Qianjue''s attacks aren¡¯t doing anything to them. He needs to be careful."

    Lu Yin quickly passed the message onto Liu Qianjue.

    The swordsman clenched the hilt of his sword. No wonder it had looked so familiar. His attack had not been absorbed, but rather diverted.

    The astral beasts that had rolled into balls were about to strike the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet. As soon as their attacknded, the entire fleet would be scattered.

    The essence eaters continuously diverted attacks that approached the rolled-up astral beasts, but due to the small size of the essence eaters, they could not be found.

    "Chen Huang!" Lu Yin called out.

    The colossal giants in the middle of the fleet straightened up one after another and moved forward. They stood at the front of the fleet and faced the balled-up astral beasts. Battle force covered the giants¡¯ bodies as they roared.

    Xu Qing was genuinely surprised. "Those are actual giants!"

    When the rolled-up beasts were about to hit the fleet, Chen Huang took the initiative to grab a creature with a hand. Pain blossomed in his shoulder, which was caused by an attack from a hidden essence eater. At the same time, Liu Qianjue attacked with his sword; with both Chen Huang and Liu Qianjue attacking at the same time, even an essence eater could do nothing more than divert Liu Qianjue''s sword.

    Chen Huang endured the spherical astral beast¡¯s impact, but the giant was still knocked back. Even though the living balls did not have the strength of Envoys, their defenses were incredible. The Celestial Beast Empire had specially bred these creatures to shatter the humans¡¯ formations.

    This was Xu Qing¡¯s first move, and he had thought that he would be able to break through, but he had not expected the Great Eastern Alliance to actually include colossal giants in their armed forces. If one giant was unable to withstand an attack, then two would work together. If that was still not enough, yet another would join them

    Chen Huang had blocked one of the living balls on his own, and he let out a roar as he hefted it and threw it back in the direction that it hade from.

    The other giants, such as Chen Ling, Chen Jian, and Chen Ji, were not able to throw the creatures back, so they could only push them away.

    Xu Qing''s expression grew ugly. "Four Envoys have revealed themselves! The Great Eastern Alliance is certainlymitted."

    He then waved a hand. "That should be pretty much all of them. They might still be hiding one or two Envoys at best, but there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. Also, keep an eye on Lu Yin. Supposedly, he¡¯s actually able to fight against Envoys."

    "Heh, leave him to me." A shadow twisted and disappeared.

    At Xu Qing''s order, countless astral beasts charged at the human fleet. Lu Yin stared out at them and simply stated, "Fire."

    All the battleships unleashed their attacks at once, and the beams of light filled the area as they bombarded the encroaching horde of astral beasts. However, most of the creatures were stronger than Explorers, which meant that the battleships were unable to do much damage. Before long, the astral beasts collided with the fleet head on.

    Boom!

    There was a deafening noise as all the vessels trembled. This was the first true sh of the war, and countless astral beasts perished in space. Most were species that were capable of traveling through outer space before reaching the Explorer level due to their special bodies. Just the three special armies ended up ughtering many of the astral beasts.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet also ended up suffering. The horde of astral beasts charged straight into the fleet and damaged over a thousand transport ships. Fortunately, Lu Yin had made sure to provide all soldiers under the Explorer realm with universal armor. Thus, even if they were thrown out of their spaceships, the soldiers could still survive.

    An overhead view of the fleet appeared on a disy. There was red all around the humans¡¯ fleet, and one ship after another was being destroyed. Outer space was filled with an endless sea of astral beast corpses.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He had already fought in two wars against the astral beasts. The first time had been at the border of Erudite Flowzone, but that had been a rtively small battlefront, and it had been nothing more than a small corner of the border.

    The second time had been in Ironblood Weave. There, Lu Yin had seen the tides of the war change and witnessed the true cruelty of the battlefield.

    This was his third time, though this was his first time facing the Astral Beast Domain by himself instead of fighting with the rest of the Human Domain. This war would notst for long, but the casualties would exceed anything that the participants had ever seen before.

    "Do we not need to step out?" Liu Huang could not stop from checking.

    Lu Yin quietly answered, "There¡¯s no rush."

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet was facing off against countless astral beasts. Beasts with the strength of Envoys appeared; there was a soaring mebeast, a Void Thunderbeast, and a Celestial Ice Phoenix. Ling Qiu, Abel Phoenix, and Elder He all appeared at the same time.

    Every time another Envoy-level astral beast appeared, another Envoy from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet appeared, which left Xu Qingpletely dumbfounded. "How is this possible? How can the Great Eastern Alliance have so many Envoys?"

    He had actually expected to shatter the fleet with a single charge, and he had never considered the possibility that so many Envoys would be present on the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s side.

    When the next status report was delivered, Xu Qing¡¯s expression was ugly as he read it.

    Most of the Envoys who had appeared were the leaders of the Innerverse powers that ruled the eight great flowzones. Xu Qing had heard rumors that Lu Yin''s Great Eastern Alliance had united both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and surprisingly, those rumors proved to be true. It was incredible that Lu Yin had managed to mobilize so many Envoys.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes zed as he stared off into the distance. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had been willing to start this war, but did he really think that this number of Envoys would be enough to stop the Astral Beast Domain?

    "Kill Lu Yin," Xu Qing ordered.

    The sudden outbreak of war in the asteroid field drew the attention of the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. The Sixth Maind was actually the more interested of the two parties, as they did not believe that the Great Eastern Alliance possessed the strength to go up against the Astral Beast Domain.

    At best, the Daosource Sect had expected the Astral Beast Domain to send out three or four Envoys and the Great Eastern Alliance to do the same. The entire war was expected to be decided with the participation of no more than eight Envoys.

    However, what actually ended up happening was that the very first battle in the asteroid belt saw more than ten Envoys show themselves, which made the Sixth Maind do a double take. Not only had the Astral Beast Domain revealed greater strength than expected, but the Great Eastern Alliance had also surpassed all expectations.

    Enlighters were already considered to be powerhouses in the universe, and yet an organization with less than ten years of establishment had just sent out multiple Envoys to participate in a war. This had defied the Sixth Maind expectations.

    Even many people in the Hall of Honor were surprised by the news, and they realized that the war might be a bigger matter than they had initially believed.

    From the very first battle, this was a war on a major scale.

    All the humans had underestimated the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s desire to conquer the Human Domain, but they had also underestimated Lu Yin''s determination to stop the invaders.

    The purpose behind the war had changed the moment Lu Yin heard about the countless people who had been ughtered in Northcastle, Forested, and Eastly Weaves. No longer was Lu Yin content with driving the astral beasts out of the Outerverse¡ªhe was out for revenge.

    ¡­

    A massive paw appeared in the asteroid field near the edge of the fleet, and it tore right through a battleship. Two Limiteers who had been inside the vessel nced at each other before retaliating against the beast. Soon, the creature was dead and floating through outer space, though the ship had also been reduced to scrap. The survivors were floating through outer space, but a strong gust of wind swept through and blew everyone away.

    Many of the people were mmed into an asteroid. Some spat out blood while others simply died.

    Battles broke out everywhere on the asteroids around the fleet. There were tens of millions of humans and even more astral beasts participating in this war, and all of them were concentrated within this single asteroid field.

    There were spatial cracks opening everywhere, and corpses littered the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin stared at a disy. Red was spreading across the disy, which indicated that the fleet¡¯s losses were increasing.

    "We have a guest." The Second Nightking looked up.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and both the Second Nightking and Liu Huang stepped back.

    Lu Yin was still unfamiliar with the Astral Beast Domain, and no human seemed certain as to just what the astral beasts were capable of. Xu Qing would learn about the two powerhouses¡¯ presence the moment they made a move. Even if they did wipe out all the astral beasts in the asteroid field, it was not worth it at this point in time.

    This war was about resources, but it was also about trump cards. Liu Huang and the Second Nightking were Lu Yin¡¯s hidden reserves, and Lu Yin knew that whoever revealed their reserves first would be in a passive position.

    Everyone left themand center.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were sped behind his back as he stared out at space. He saw runes appear everywhere.

    A shadow on the wall twisted and slowly approached Lu Yin without a single sound.

    Lu Yin still had not noticed it, as he was focused staring outside the ship.

    The shadow suddenly condensed and formed a sharp spike that shot at Lu Yin. The spike struck Lu Yin without any issue, but it only managed to pierce through his clothes. There was not a single drop of blood.

    The shadow changed form once again, this time turning into a curtain that covered Lu Yin.

    "I''ve read a lot of reports concerning the Astral Beast Domain, and if I remember correctly, you¡¯re called Shadowbeast," Lu Yin casually remarked as the curtain enveloped him.

    This attack was somewhat simr to the ck Coffin secret technique that Unseen Light had used, but ck Coffin was a secret technique whereas this was Shadowbeast¡¯s natural abilities. Additionally, the creature was barely at the Envoy level, which meant that this attack could not even touch Lu Yin.

    Only Shadowbeast knew what happened inside the curtain, but when the shadows faded, Lu Yin waspletely uninjured.

    This was the Knowing realm of Truesight. Lu Yin had used the floor beneath his feet as the point of reference, and he had dered that no damage could be done in that area. As long as Lu Yin was in that space, he could not be harmed. This cultivation method waspletely iprehensible to anyone who did not practice it themselves.

 Chapter 1858: Blitzkrieg

    Chapter 1858: Blitzkrieg

    Shadowbeast was startled. "Impossible!"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Only a power level of 500,000? You only just reached the Envoy level. You¡¯re just asking to die."

    Shadowbeast could not see what Lu Yin was doing as he spoke, but the creature was suddenly struck by a powerful and invisible palm strike that scattered the beast¡¯s shadows.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a hint of danger, and he reflexively tried to move, only to discover that Shadowbeast had locked Lu Yin¡¯s body down at some point, preventing him from moving. On top of that, the star energy in Lu Yin¡¯s body was also suppressed and rendered useless.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, ourmander tasked me with delivering a message: ¡®You can''t afford this game.¡¯"

    After the voice spoke, a ck shadow struck at Lu Yin''s forehead to pierce through his head.

    This ck shadow was Shadowbeast¡¯s main body. The creature was a shadow, which meant that it could break off portions of itself and rbine with them. The astral beast¡¯s full strength had a power level of more than 800,000 while even its fragments had a power level of over 500,000. Additionally, it was impossible for others to distinguish the difference between the two.

    This was why Xu Qing had allowed Shadowbeast to attack Lu Yin and assassinate him. It could not be revealed that a being with a power level of more than 800,000 had attacked Lu Yin, and on top of that, Shadowbeast¡¯s techniques were truly bizarre.

    Just when the spike was about to stab into Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, a sword slid out of the void and stopped the spike when it was three inches from Lu Yin''s head. The sword trembled, and the vibration caused the shadow to shift, as Shadowbeast found himself unable to control his form.

    The creature was shocked. "A powerhouse?"

    It unhesitatingly fled. However, since Liu Huang had shown himself, there was no way he would allow the astral beast to escape. The swordsman¡¯s strength had already recovered to a power level of over a million, and Shadowbeast was instantly sliced into countless pieces. Every single shadow was destroyed despite the creature attempting to split itself apart and flee in every direction.

    Lu Yin''s expression was not good at this moment. The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s assassination methods were very odd. There were no records of a creature like Shadowbeast, and they even had records of freakish beasts that were living ck holes. There was no telling what sort of astral beasts they might encounter over the course of this war. Lu Yin knew that he needed to be more cautious.

    Liu Huang soon returned, but he did not look happy.

    "You weren¡¯t able to finish it off?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Huang replied, "I don''t actually know. All the shadows that I could sense were eliminated, but I have a feeling that the creature is not that easy to eliminate."

    "Don''t worry about it too much," Lu Yin said.

    "I''ve exposed myself, so do you want me to attack?" Liu Huang asked.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "Move out and destroy all the powerful beasts that have appeared as quickly as possible."

    Liu Huang disappeared. Since he had revealed himself, there was no reason to bother hiding any longer.

    Liu Huang emerged from the void and slowly raised his sword. In that instance, space froze, and countless people felt an indescribable sharpness descend upon them. A cold chill covered their entire bodies.

    Xu Qing¡¯s expression drastically changed from his distant vantage point. "Not good!"

    The Void Thunderbeast vanished.

    Liu Huang swept his sword out, and five shes appeared simultaneously. Each one shot towards a different astral beast that were at the Envoy level.

    The essence eater was the first to lose its head. It attempted to divert the sword sh, but Liu Huang¡¯s strength far surpassed Liu Qianjue¡¯s, and how could the beast divert an attack with a power level of over a million? The second to lose its head was the soaring mebeast who was fighting against the Frost Emperor. Both it and the Void Thunderbeast had broken free from the Frost Emperor¡¯s ice and started fighting him, but Liu Huang¡¯s sword severed the beast¡¯s head without slowing down.

    The third, fourth, and fifth sword shes were all blocked by a Void Thunderbeast. Xu Qing had returned to his original form, and he personally shot through space towards Liu Huang. "You are courting death!"

    Liu Huang''s eyes turned cold. There was actually a powerhouse among the astral beasts that had a power level of over a million. He stepped through space to confront the Void Thunderbeast.

    The two experts each had a power level of over a million, and Lu Yin immediately ordered the fleet to retreat as the two monsters faced off against each other.

    Liu Huang¡¯s presence terrified countless astral beasts, and they fled at the same time that the humans¡¯ fleet pulled back.

    The war underwent a qualitative change the moment that monsters with power levels of over a million entered the fray. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was fully focused on the war at this point, as they had never imagined the Great Eastern Alliance could have such a powerhouse among their forces.

    Xu Qing and Liu Huang fought without regard for the consequences of their battle. Liu Huangshed out at Xu Qing with the Fourteenth Sword, which caused Xu Qing to vomit blood. As for Xu Qing, he left a permanent injury on Liu Huang with his lightning.

    The battle came to a temporary halt for the moment. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet retreated to the southwest, and at the same time, countless astral beasts fled to the northeast. The two sidespletely ceased allbat.

    Xu Qing had never imagined that Lu Yin¡¯s Great Eastern Alliance would actually be this powerful, and this battle had led the Astral Beast Domain to suffer terrible losses. In particr, the presence of a super powerhouse had truly flipped Xu Qing¡¯s predictions on their head. He quickly requested an investigation into the Great Eastern Alliance.

    He had not cared about the alliance at all in the past, but he had realized that he needed to clearly understand his enemy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fleet had also suffered harsh casualties, but fortunately, not a single Envoy had died.

    Still, even though no Envoy had died, all of them were terrified, particrly Mountain God. He went to speak with Ling Qiu right after the battle ended.

    "You want to leave?" Ling Qiu was taken aback.

    Mountain God answered quietly, "You also saw Liu Huang attack and instantly kill those two Envoys! What if that Void Thunderbeast had been the first to attack instead of Liu Huang? Could any of us survive such a thing?"

    Ling Qiu considered this.

    Mountain God continued, saying, "We shouldn''t even be fighting in this war. If the Astral Beast Domain invades the Innerverse, of course we should face them, and if the worst happens, then we die. However, it¡¯s not worth risking our lives for this war. The Astral Beast Domain has been fighting against the entire Human Domain for so many years, so there¡¯s no way that all of their powerhouses are here. If that were actually the case, then the Neoverse freaks would have wiped the beasts out long ago.

    "There¡¯s no way you would want to die a miserable death here."

    Ling Qiu stared back at Mountain God. "What did Lu Yin offer you when you agreed to fight in this war?"

    Mountain God hesitated for a moment, but then he said, "A power vessel. A defensive one that can withstand attacks with power levels of 700,000."

    Ling Qiu''s eyes flickered. "It looks like he offered the same conditions to everyone."

    "Definitely not," Mountain God countered. "The Sword Sect''s conditions for fighting here arepletely different from what you and I are getting."

    At this moment, Mountain God suddenly remembered that the Lingling n also had Ling Taizu, who was another, even more powerful Envoy. "Actually, you must have also been given something different from me."

    Ling Qiu did not answer, instead saying, "If you try to leave now, regardless of whether you can actually escape from this battlefield, how will you face Lu Yin in the future? Do you believe that he¡¯s destined to die in this war? Remember that the Second Nightking still has not shown himself, and Yuan Shi is also in the Outerverse. On top of that, no one knows just what kind of support Lu Yin has from the Neoverse, but there¡¯s at least one backer that is certain¡ªthe Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice."

    Mountain God¡¯s heart sank a bit further with every name that Ling Qiu mentioned. When he heard the words "Chief Justice," he simply turned around and left. Escape from the war? That was impossible at the moment, and that would only change if they faced a true life-or-death crisis.

    At the moment, the humans had gained the upper hand.

    Word that Mountain God had met with Ling Qiu quickly reached Lu Yin, but he did not care. He knew that none of the Envoys with him actually wanted to fight in this war, so it was normal for them to want to escape. However, whether they actually did so depended on if they had the courage to do so.

    Shui Chuanxiao appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s disy. The former Grand Marshal had a solemn expression on his face. "Our casualties from this battle were not light: 1.2 million soldiers beneath the Explorer realm, 263 Explorers, 99 Cruisers, 35 Hunters, and 18 Enlighters. These numbers include the losses from the three special armies, with most of thoseing from the deaths of cultivators above the Explorer realm. Of the three armies, the Lu Elite Troops suffered the worst, as they lost a great number of Explorer-level androids.

    ¡°Additionally, we lost about 12,000 transport ships and 725 battleships¡­"

    Lu Yin listened to Shui Chuanxiao''s report in silence, and an idea started to blossom in his mind. When hepared the battle that had just been fought with the battles that he had fought in Ironblood Weave, there was noparison at all.

    In the past, Ironblood Weave had never suffered many casualties among the Enlighters stationed there. This was mostly because none of the fortresses had that many Enlighters defending them.

    The most recent battle had included more than a hundred Enlighters.

    What did more than a hundred Enlighters mean? It was a force that could easily sweep through both the Outerverse and Innerverse.

    Of note was that, as painful as the humans¡¯ casualties were, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s losses were absolutely worse. After all, they had lost two Envoy level beasts. If Shadowbeast was actually dead, then they had lost three powerhouses.

    These deaths alone far surpassed everything that the Great Eastern Alliance had suffered.

    They were at war, and this was not a children¡¯s game. This was a level that ordinary people could not even fathom.

    Lu Yin''s understanding of the aftermath of the battle was fairly urate. At this moment, Xu Qing''s face was ashen. The deaths of the weaker astral beasts was of no consequence, as there were some astral beasts that reproduced much faster than humans, such as the Void Wanderers. In just this battle alone, more than 10 million Void Wanderers had died, but that did not matter at all. What did matter were the deaths of the two Envoy-level astral beasts.

    "It''s good you made it back. If I had lost you as well, I would not be able to exin myself to the Celestial Beast Emperor," Xu Qing said quietly as he looked at a shadow on the ground.

    Shadowbeast¡¯s voice was incredibly weak. "I almost couldn''t. Xu Qing, you were the greatest mistake in this battle. You didn''t understand the strength of the Great Eastern Alliance andunched the war without proper authorization. I will definitely report this matter to the Celestial Beast Emperor."

    Xu Qing remained silent. Multiple emotions swirled through his eyes as he stared towards the southwest. "I have fought so many wars in my life, and yet I did not suffer such a humiliating defeat even against the Sixth Maind. They were able to crush us with pure strength, but they never managed to defeat us through mere strategy. I truly underestimated this Great Eastern Alliance to a tragic degree. I am willing to ept any punishment after I finish this war and return to the Empire.¡±

    Shadowbeast disappeared when Xu Qing stopped talking.

    Themander remained standing calmly on an asteroid. He was in no hurry to resume fighting the war. He had already suffered a harsh lesson, and he wanted to understand his opponent before resuming the war. He needed to understand their true strength.

    While Xu Qing was in no hurry to resume the conflict, Lu Yin absolutely was. He was aware that, after such a loss, Xu Qing would be trying to gather as much information on the Great Eastern Alliance as fast as possible. Thus, he needed to take advantage of the current opportunity to thin out the astral beasts¡¯ numbers as much as possible.

    The battleships fired, and the war continued.

    Countless astral beasts let out roars of fury.

    Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, Mountain God, Chen Huang, the Frost Emperor, and all the Envoys appeared one after another as Liu Huang led them to the northeast through the asteroid field. The power of all these Envoys caused the asteroid field to boil.

    Xu Qing looked up, anger visible on his face. He leaped out, and three Void Thunderbeasts suddenly appeared alongside him. Xu Qing confronted Liu Huang, but the other two Void Thunderbeasts possessed power levels that barely surpassed 500,000, and they were left to face Mountain God, Chen Huang. The Celestial Ice Phoenix moved to stop Ling Qiu while the hidden essence eater attacked Liu Qianjue.

    Xu Qing did his best to position the Envoys¡¯ battlefield in the middle of the fleet¡¯s path, as he wanted to make it impossible for the Great Eastern Alliance to engage the astral beasts in a direct confrontation.

    Lu Yin frowned, and Ling Taizu, Elder He, and Abel Phoenix suddenly appeared. They traveled through the true universe and only emerged once they were in the middle of the horde of astral beasts, where they started wantonly ughtering all the beasts.

    Xu Qing was furious. He had not expected the Great Eastern Alliance to keep three more Envoys in reserve during theirst battle. Just how did Lu Yin havemand of so many Envoys?

    Xu Qing had believed that the seven Envoy-level astral beasts he had brought with him were plenty for this invasion into the Outerverse, especially if he also personally stepped onto the battlefield. ording to his initial estimations, unless the Sixth Maind sent out at least two Cosmic Imprinters, the humans would be renderedpletely helpless. He had never expected the Great Eastern Alliance to not only be able to withstand the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion force, but also slightly overpower them.

 Chapter 1859: Guess My Bottom Line

    Chapter 1859: Guess My Bottom Line

    The Envoys¡¯ battle caused the asteroid field to start copsing, especially the shockwaves that spread out from the battle between Liu Huang and Xu Qing. Their fight not only affected the asteroid field, but also Eastly and Northcastle Weaves.

    As long as nothing else happened, Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys would be able to wipe out countless astral beasts.

    Lu Yin had been waiting for this opportunity. If the Great Eastern Alliance was going to eke out a victory, then the only way to do so was by using their greater number of Envoys to surprise the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, the humans¡¯ advantage did notst for very long. A horrendous scream soon echoed through the region. Space was pushed back, and asteroids shattered. The fighting paused everywhere as the variousbatants were forced to cover their ears. Not even Liu Huang was exempt from this.

    Ripples spread through space, and the soundwaves rose and fell like a tsunami as everyone started to hallucinate. They saw an enormous Celestial Demon descend to crush and subdue everyone. It was trying to leave an imprint on their very souls.

    Liu Qianjue, Ling Taizu, and even Liu Huang were unable to endure this terrifying spiritual force.

    Lu Yin tightly clenched the console in front of him and began to recite the Origin Sutra. His face grew pale despite reciting the sutra. Most people on the battlefield had already lost consciousness, and those who remained conscious were little better than living corpses.

    Celestial Demons were born with the strength of a Hunter, and they devoured spiritual force. They looked like humans, but with bat wings. They were the imperial family of the Celestial Beast Empire.

    Throughout the eons, during all the wars between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain, the creature that humans feared encountering on the battlefield the most were Celestial Demons. Their peerless spiritual force had ughtered countless humans throughout history.

    The Second Nightking stepped out. His eyes were cold, but his aura surged as he stared into the distance.

    Two spiritual forces shed, and the impact created a true, physical explosion. A sound like thunder swept out in a shockwave, as if a star had exploded.

    Vessels shattered, and cultivators passed out one after another. Astral beasts also lost consciousness, though many wailed as they were knocked out.

    These two spiritual forces fought each other for ten breaths¡¯ time, but it ended with the defeat of the Celestial Demon.

    Even though the Celestial Demon had been defeated, the Second Nightking had note out unscathed.

    The Daynight n excelled at techniques that required spiritual force, but that did not provide them with any sort of advantage against the Celestial Demons. These creatures fed on spiritual force itself, and if the Second Nightking had not surpassed the Celestial Demon in strength, it would have been difficult to determine who would have won.

    "Retreat! Now!" Lu Yin yelled. The fleet quickly pulled back to the southwest, and Liu Qianjue and the other Envoys also retreated. Unfortunately, Ling Taizu, Abel Phoenix, and Elder He were unable to retreat. They had charged into the depths of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces, and although they ughtered countless beasts, the three were eventually caught.

    Xu Qing had greatly underestimated Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had also greatly underestimated the Celestial Beast Empire.

    Lu Yin had not expected his enemies to just sit back and watch as Liu Huang had attacked and ughtered two Envoy-level astral beasts. He had also assumed that the astral beasts had kept some powerhouses in reserve, which was why he had sent Ling Taizu and the other two out into the depths of the astral beast horde; Lu Yin wanted to forced out the hidden powerhouses. With the Second Nightking as his own hidden reserve, Lu Yin had been unafraid of anything that the astral beasts might have kept hidden.

    Yet, even after so much careful analysis and calction, Lu Yin had not been able to determine the depths of the astral beasts¡¯ hidden strength. Shockingly, it had turned out to be a Celestial Demon. The creature¡¯s overwhelming spiritual force meant that Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys had not been able to even mount any resistance before they were stunned and captured.

    The human fleet withdrew, but the loss of Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys was a crushing defeat for the Great Eastern Alliance.

    If those three Envoys were killed, the alliance¡¯s losses would exceed what the Astral Beast Domain had suffered.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew downcast. Ling Qiu instantly approached, and she nervously asked, "Lu Yin, what happened to my great-grandfather?"

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Ling Qiu shouted angrily, "Lu Yin, I asked you a question!"

    Lu Yin looked up and quietly replied, ¡°He¡¯s been captured, but he¡¯s not dead yet."

    "Being captured by those animals could be a fate worse than death! We need to resume fighting right now so that we can rescue Grandpa!" Ling Qiu anxiously dered as she red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced over. "Even if we resume fighting, we can¡¯t save them. I¡¯m more bothered by this than you."

    Ling Qiu ground her teeth. She looked positively furious. "We agreed to participate in this war because of you! If my great-grandfather dies, then we, the Lingling n, will never forgive you!"

    Lu Yin turned to look to the northeast. Ling Taizu was not the only one who had been captured, as the same thing had happened to the Phoenix family¡¯s Abel Phoenix and the Sea King¡¯s Elder He. Every single one of the Envoys was important. No, this battle was far too important.

    Lu Yin had been not worried at all as he had thought that keeping the Second Nightking hidden in reserve would be enough. It had been Lu Yin¡¯s own mistake to send Ling Taizu and the other Envoys to attack in the middle of the enemy''s forces.

    Shui Chuanxiao arrived. "Alliance Leader, we need to calcte our wins and losses from this battle as quickly as possible, and the astral beasts will soon contact you. You need to consider what your bottom line will be in negotiating for the three captured Envoys."

    Ling Qiu heard his words and snapped, "What bottom line? There isn¡¯t a bottom line! We must get my great-grandfather back!"

    Shui Chuanxiao calmly stated, "This woman is in no condition to be here right now"

    Ling Qiu was enraged by this. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin frowned and turned to re at Ling Qiu. "I''m themander on this battlefield. You did not join this war because you wanted to protect the humans of the Outerverse, but because what I offered to pay you was enticing enough. You¡¯re part of a war, and every war will have casualties. Were you treating this as just a game?"

    Ling Qiu started breathing heavily. Her fists clenched tightly, and her eyes grew colder and colder.

    After staring at the woman for a moment, Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss her. "Leave now. I promise that I¡¯ll deal with this and do my best to save them."

    Ling Qiu took a deep breath and then let out a derisive snort before turning and leaving.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He turned to look at Shui Chuanxiao. "What sort of terms do you think they¡¯ll ask for?"

    Shui Chuanxiao¡¯s voice dropped, "From what I know about Xu Qing, he won¡¯t just provide us with terms. Instead, he¡¯ll use these negotiations as a weapon against us."

    "What do you mean?" This did not make sense to Lu Yin.

    Shui Chuanxiao exined, "Xu Qing is the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s General because the empire is constantly at war. In order topletely defeat an opponent, one must be able to defeat them both on and off the battlefield. Xu Qing is someone who uses methods that normal people won¡¯t even think of, but they are also very difficult to deal with."

    "So what do you think he¡¯ll do?" Lu Yin frowned.

    Shui Chuanxiao thought for a bit. "You would be better off asking Wei Rong that question."

    Lu Yin immediately ended the call with themander and called Wei Rong instead.

    Wei Rong was currently at Zenyu Star. As the Great Eastern Alliance had gathered forces to fight a war, Wei Rong had also traveled back to the Outerverse at this time. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you need me for something?"

    Lu Yin shared all that had happened on the battlefield and finished by asking, "If you were Xu Qing, how would you go about taking advantage of the captives when speaking to me? How would you deal with the situation?"

    Wei Rong was caught off guard. "Me?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he exined, "Commander Shui Chuanxiao tells me that Xu Qing is someone simr to you, and he is a scheming individual. So, if you were in Xu Qing¡¯s position, what would you do?"

    Wei Rong took a moment to consider the matter, and he quickly looked back at Lu Yin and quietly said, "I¡¯d give the three Envoys to the army. First, have them kill the one with the least importance, and then start slowly torturing the others to death. This would instill my army with an understanding of how ruthless I am while also provoking my enemy into trying to rescue the captives."

    Cutting flesh with a blunt knife. This was the phrase that popped into Lu Yin''s mind at Wei Rong¡¯s response. "It¡¯s not particrly brilliant, and it¡¯s actually a verymon response."

    It could be said that many people would use this method.

    Wei Rong smiled. "True, it is quitemon. That¡¯s why I would next transmit a video of Ling Taizu being tortured to the Human Domain. I would make sure that it was sent to the Lingling n and many others. At the same time, I¡¯d start spreading rumors that if the Great Eastern Alliance didn¡¯t save the captives, the Lingling n would get upset with the alliance. I¡¯d even go so far as to spread rumors that the Great Eastern Alliance was doing this in order to eliminate internal instabilities.

    "Just think about it: the Great Eastern Alliance has unified the Innerverse, but the Envoys who lead the eight great flowzones are far more powerful than the actual alliance. In fact, why did the Great Eastern Alliance make a move when the Astral Beast Domain invaded the Outerverse? Why is the Innerverse fighting in this war and sacrificing their powerhouses, when it¡¯s the Outerverse and not them being invaded?

    "Most cultivators are both ruthless and only concerned for themselves. Put bluntly, they¡¯re selfish. Who will believe that the Great Eastern Alliance really went out of its way to start this war just to save a bunch of ordinary people living at the fringes of the Human Domain?"

    The furrows in Lu Yin''s brows grew deeper and deeper. This was ying the hearts of the factions involved. The Great Eastern Alliance had left the Innerverse to protect the eastern weaves of the Outerverse, and many people found this reason both ridiculous and unreasonable. They could not understand why the alliance was fighting against the Astral Beast Domain.

    If Xu Qing really did enact Wei Rong¡¯s n, Lu Yin had no idea how things would turn out on the battlefield, but the Innerverse would absolutely erupt. The Lingling n would be the first to revolt, and even the Hall of Honor would get involved.

    Lu Yin would then be forced to fight a very protracted war. Mountain God and the other Envoys had already expressed the desire to leave, so something like this would end up having an adverse effect on the entire army.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Is there any way to counter this?"

    Wei Rong¡¯s eyes grew hard. "Either find a way to rescue them or find a way to eliminate them. Either way, we can¡¯t let Xu Qing use the captives against us, or else we will absolutely be defeated in this war, and our Great Eastern Alliance will even lose the Innerverse and be sent to the absolute bottom."

    Wei Rong left the fact that he had never once been optimistic about the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s chances against the Astral Beast Domain unsaid. His pessimism was precisely because it was too easy to shake the alliance¡¯s foundation. The Sixth Maind was in no hurry to upy the Outerverse, but the Great Eastern Alliance was eager to move into the Innerverse. If Wei Rong were facing the Great Eastern Alliance, he would absolutely make sure to create as much chaos in the alliance¡¯s homnd as possible.

    The fact that the Astral Beast Domain had captured three of the alliance¡¯s Envoys was a heaven sent opportunity. As long as Xu Qing was not an idiot, then the war was already won, as it was simply too easy to take advantage of this situation.

    Lu Yin started thinking. Neither saving nor killing the Envoys would be an easy task.

    "Alliance Leader, there¡¯s actually another way, but it involves a great deal more risk," Wei Rong said.

    Lu Yin looked at him. "Tell me."

    Wei Rong spoke calmly, "The leaders of most of the eight great flowzones are currently in the asteroid field with you. If you want to take over those flowzonespletely, get rid of those people. Capture them, kill them¡ªdo whatever it takes to force the great flowzones to silence them. As for what happens in the asteroid field, lock down all news. When the war¡¯s over, no one will know how many people were killed during the battle or how many survived. As long as the Innerverse¡¯s influence over the fleet is removed, it won¡¯t matter what the Astral Beast Domain does, as it will aplish nothing at all."

    Lu Yin immediately hung up. Wei Rong''s suggestion was far too ruthless, and it was essentially no different from forcing the Great Eastern Alliance into a dead end. If Ling Qiu and the other Envoys all died, Lu Yin would indeed have total control of the Innerverse and would be able tomand it with a simple word. However, was he willing to kill Ling Qiu, Liu Qianjue, and the others to aplish that? Impossible. While the Astral Beast Domain was an enemy of humanity, Aeternus was an even greater enemy, and Lu Yin had further goals for this war.

    "I''m in apletely passive position," Lu Yin muttered to himself as he stared to the northeast. Just what would Xu Qing choose to do? After thinking the matter over a bit more, Lu Yin smiled wryly. Regardless of Xu Qing¡¯s decision, Lu Yin had already been given the worst case scenario by Wei Rong. Lu Yin knew his bottom line, so he just had to wait for Xu Qing to contact him.

    Lu Yin did not need to wait long. His gadget soon beeped, and Lu Yin looked over to see that Xu Qing was calling.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was calm as he epted the call.

    Xu Qing appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s disy, and he stared at Lu Yin with clear interest. The Void Thunderbeast was in an excellent mood at this moment. He had lost his frustration from his previous loss, and he was even chipper enough to crack a joke when he saw Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, you don¡¯t look so well. Tell me what¡¯s wrong."

 Chapter 1860: His Back

    Chapter 1860: His Back

    Lu Yin felt the need to retaliate the moment he saw Xu Qing''s rxed expression. "General Xu Qing, it looks like you didn¡¯t know that an expert from the Celestial Demons was following you. It would appear that the Celestial Beast Empire doesn''t trust you very much."

    It was important to say a few words before starting the negotiations.

    Xu Qing was taken aback, but he quickly let out augh. "You are really an interesting person, Alliance Leader Lu. Even in your current situation, you still have the time to try your hand at psychological warfare. There¡¯s no reason for me to not tell you that the Emperor was quite clear to me that there would be a hidden powerhouse following me, but I will admit that I did not expect that expert to be a Celestial Demon. It was quite the surprise, no?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, "If you say so. Anyways, tell me, what did you call me for, General Xu Qing?"

    The general¡¯s tone remained light. "It¡¯s nothing too important. I just wanted to ask you if you still want those three Envoys. Many of my soldiers are rather gluttonous, and they particrly love the meat of Envoys."

    "Of course I do. Let¡¯s hear your terms," Lu Yin said directly.

    Xu Qing was surprised by this response. "You¡¯re certainly direct, Alliance Leader Lu. Very well, I¡¯ll state our conditions, though not like this. I want you toe see me. I will tell you in person."

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing. "What do you mean?"

    A smile slowly crept across Xu Qing''s face. "I want you toe see me alone, Alliance Leader Lu. Then, I¡¯ll tell you my terms. Do you dare? There¡¯s no need to worry, as I promise to ensure your safety. I will uphold the practice of not killing the emissary of someone we are at war with."

    Lu Yin took a long look at Xu Qing as Shui Chuanxiao''s words echoed in his mind. Xu Qing was someone who excelled at scheming, both on and off the battlefield. He was someone who could always suppress his enemy. Clearly, Xu Qing was trying to take advantage of Lu Yin.

    Wei Rong had already told Lu Yin the worst case scenario, and yet Xu Qing had made an even more ruthless move. Themander had not forgotten to try to suppress Lu Yin before even offering to negotiate the terms regarding the three captured Envoys. Lu Yin had the choice to go alone or to not meet with Xu Qing. However, if Lu Yin refused, Xu Qing would hold the upper hand in every future interaction. The general wanted to break the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s morale with the three captured Envoys, and on top of that, Xu Qing was trying to make sure that he held the absolute advantage during any and all negotiations.

    Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, but how would he be able to control the alliance if he was publicly suppressed during this war?

    Xu Qing was even more ruthless than Wei Rong. The young man was still too young.

    Lu Yin and Xu Qing stared at each other intently for a moment. "Okay, I''ll go."

    Xu Qing''s eyes instantly narrowed, but he eximed, "As expected of the person who managed to unite both the Innerverse and Outerverse and is unmatched by any peers. You have your pride. I¡¯ll be waiting for you."

    Xu Qing immediately ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his arm. From behind, the Second Nightking expressed his surprise. "Are you actually going?"

    Lu Yin answered in an indifferent manner, "I won¡¯t be able to do anything if I don''t go."

    The Second Nightking''s eyes flickered. "You¡¯re going up against astral beasts, not humans. They don''t follow any rules. Are you really certain that you want to go?"

    Lu Yin stared into the distance. "If I don¡¯t go, Xu Qing will have already won. No one will listen to a leader who doesn¡¯t even have the courage to approach the negotiation table."

    Lu Yin then looked at the Second Nightking and smiled. "Honestly, I¡¯d prefer to have you go in my ce."

    The Second Nightking was unconcerned. "It doesn¡¯t matter. I can kill them if I go."

    "Even if that Celestial Demon is there?" Lu Yin asked.

    "That beast can''t stop me."

    "Alright, that¡¯s what I needed to hear," Lu Yin said.

    The Second Nightking was left puzzled.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the old man. "This time, if I die, so will you."

    The Second Nightking¡¯s pupils constricted, and a powerful killing intent flickered in the depths of his eyes. "Do you want me to die with you?"

    Lu Yin exined, "The only way toe out on top in this situation is to rescue those three Envoys. I¡¯m going to need you to take action, but I''m afraid that you won''t try your best. You just told me that the Celestial Demon can''t stop you, and you¡¯re the only one who can get me back here safely. If I don¡¯te back, then that means that it¡¯s because you don¡¯t want me to survive. In that case, I¡¯ll make sure to take you with me to my grave.¡±

    The Second Nightking¡¯s cheek twitched, but he stayed where he was. "What do you want to do?"

    Lu Yin turned to look towards the northeast. "We have to take our chances."

    War was not a game. This was what Lu Yin had told Ling Qiu. Still, even if he felt that he had a deep understanding of warfare, he had never expected to face billions of astral beasts all alone. He was like amb walking to the ughter as he faced all those ferocious and terrifying astral beasts.

    Back within the fleet, Ling Qiu looked conflicted. She had not expected Lu Yin to willingly walk into the depths of the enemy army on his own. That was something that few people had the courage to do.

    Regardless of whether Ling Taizu could be rescued, Ling Qiu realized that she would not be able to hold a grudge against Lu Yin for this matter. This was because she was staring at his lonely back, as he resolutely strode forward.

    Lu Yin passed through outer space along as he made his way towards the horde of countless astral beasts in the northeast. Behind him, the entire Great Eastern Alliance stared at his back as he left them. No matter why any of them had originally joined the Great Eastern Alliance, at this moment, Lu Yin won the hearts of everyone. They could not help but respect his courage.

    There was a great distance between the first astral beast that Lu Yin encountered to where Xu Qing was waiting. Lu Yin was not sure if Xu Qing had purposely arranged it, but every single creature in Lu Yin¡¯s path was absolutely massive. Some of them even stood directly in his path with their limbs spread apart so that Lu Yin would need to pass beneath them in order to proceed, which was insulting.

    Lu Yin looked up. This whole situation felt rather familiar. After all, this was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time passing through an enemy army, as he had done the same thing with the Technocracy¡¯s Lost Course Army. At this moment, Lu Yin was facing a tremendous amount of hatred, but so what? He had not even arrived at his destination yet.

    An astral beast in his path let out a great roar and stepped forward, crushing an asteroid with its four legs. "Human, pass through!"

    The countless astral beasts surrounding the area also roared. "Pass through, Human!"

    "Pass through!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin calmly looked at the astral beast blocking his path, but the creature only had the strength of an Enlighter. He continued walking forward, but with every step he took, his domain and spiritual force increased in strength, suppressing the astral beasts surrounding him. In particr, the beast blocking Lu Yin¡¯s path felt as though he was being crushed by an invisible power, and its massive eyes began to show terror.

    A st of wind swept through the entire area, and all the astral beasts were blown away. The sole exceptions were two Void Thunderbeasts who stood in front of Lu Yin and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stepped upon an astral beast as he continued to slowly approach the two Void Thunderbeasts.

    He had not even noticed that Yao Gu was watching from a distance, staring at Lu Yin in absolute shock. The human who had once been a bug undeserving of Yao Gu¡¯s notice had already reached a level where he was qualified to directly speak with Yao Gu¡¯s patriarch. This rate of growth was unbelievable.

    Lu Yin stepped onto an asteroid and continued approaching the two Void Thunderbeasts one step at a time.

    Those two Void Thunderbeasts stared at Lu Yin with murder in their eyes. If possible, they absolutely wanted to kill this human, but they could only dream of doing such a thing. The more powerful the astral beast species, the more rules they had to follow. There were times when a species¡¯ rules would be even stricter than those of humans. On top of that, they viewed themselves as superior to humans, so they would not try to make a move in this situation.

    Lu Yin continued to move closer, and when he saw the killing intent in their eyes, he arched a brow andmanded, ¡°Move."

    One of the two Void Thunderbeasts took a step forward, lightning flickering around its body. "What did you say, Human?"

    Lu Yin ignored the beast and simply continued moving forward as though the Void Thunderbeasts did not even exist.

    They remained in his path, and lightning suddenly surged. It was powerful enough to distort space. The creature loomed over Lu Yin and flickered back and forth between the visible universe and the true universe.

    Lu Yin walked right up to the Void Thunderbeast and ran into it without any sign of pausing or hesitating.

    Lightning exploded, and there was a surge of power, but the Void Thunderbeast was knocked back by Lu Yin. The shockwave from the impact shattered a nearby asteroid and crushed a group of astral beasts.

    A roar caused space to tremble, and it was even felt by the distant human fleet. Countless individuals heard it, and their expressions all changed, as none of them knew what Lu Yin was facing at this moment.

    The Void Thunderbeast who had been shoved out of the way by Lu Yin could not ept what had happened, and its eyes went wide. Lightning flickered and it moved back, intent on resisting Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Trash."

    Even as he spoke, he stepped forward without any change in his pace.

    There was a click, and then space shattered. The Void Thunderbeast used all of its strength and lightning to resist Lu Yin''s power. There was a bang, and another asteroid shattered and exploded. Lu Yin¡¯s hair was ruffled, but the Void Thunderbeast was forced back once again. It was pushed back with every step that Lu Yin took, which waspletely humiliating to the astral beast.

    The other Void Thunderbeast wanted to help, but it held itself back. It could not make a move. If two Void Thunderbeasts at the Envoy level worked together, they would be humiliated regardless of whether they suppressed an Enlighter. If word of such a thing spread, the Void Thunderbeast n would be mocked relentlessly.

    The Astral Beast Domain was not a monolithic force, and there was internal strife there as well. Thepetition for the Celestial Beast List was also bloody.

    Further back, Xu Qing stood atop a mountain on arge asteroid. At the moment, he was staring off into the distance. There was an extremely handsome young man and a noble looking, middle-aged woman standing with the general.

    The young man was the Celestial Demon whose spiritual force was strong enough to stand up to even the Second Nightking. He was an expert with a power level that surpassed a million.

    The woman was one of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes.

    The Celestial Ice Phoenixes ranked seventh on the Celestial Beast List. They controlled both an impervious ice and a tri-colored light that could burn through anything. However, if that was all that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes boasted of, the woman would not be qualified to stand with Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon.

    Very few astral beasts were aware of the fact that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes had previously received preferential treatment from Progenitor Wushang. Supposedly, they had been given a mission that they needed to carry out, and this gave the Celestial Ice Phoenixes a very high status within the Astral Beast Domain, though it also exacerbated the Celestial Ice Phoenixes¡¯ arrogance.

    "This Lu Yin truly is impressive. Even Yao Xuan can¡¯te close toparing to him." The Celestial Demon admired Lu Yin, though his eyes contained killing intent.

    On the other side of Xu Qing, the female Celestial Ice Phoenix coldly dered, "Unless something happens, this child will be a terrible enemy of our Celestial Beast Empire once he bes an Envoy. If possible, it would be best to kill him now."

    Xu Qing shook his head. "Our armies are the ones fighting. We can¡¯t kill him unless he attacks us first."

    The Celestial Demon sneered. "He''s no fool! Why would he try to attack us aftering here? If he did that, then forget about the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet¡ªnot even one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Semi-Progenitors would be able to save him!"

    Xu Qing nced at the man who had spoken. This Celestial Demon was far too arrogant. A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s strength was something that they could notprehend, and saying that had only revealed the Celestial Demon¡¯s ignorance. Still, a Celestial Demon was a Celestial Demon. Even a fool like this was able to achieve such an impressive level of strength. It truly defied all understanding.

    "How is your research going on the Great Eastern Alliance?" the Celestial Demon suddenly asked.

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice remained indifferent. "The reports that we¡¯ve received say that the Great Eastern Alliance has united both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Most of the Envoys we¡¯ve seen among their forces are the rulers of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones, and that one powerhouse is a genius from the Sword Sect who should have died long ago, Liu Huang. As for the other one¡­¡±

    Themander hesitated for a moment. He looked far more serious than before. ¡°He¡¯s the Second Nightking."

    "The Second Nightking?" the Celestial Demon and the Celestial Ice Phoenix both eximed.

    The Daynight n was famous throughout the universe, so they both understood exactly what "Second Nightking" meant.

    The Celestial Demon quickly sneered. "No wonder he managed to block my spiritual force! So he¡¯s the Second Nightking. That old freak isn¡¯t dead yet?"

 Chapter 1861: Face-Off

    Chapter 1861: Face-Off

    "Not only did he not die, but he¡¯s even stronger than in the past. If he were as strong as before, he would not be close to being our opponent," Xu Qing said.

    The Celestial Demon frowned. "He will be buried on this battlefield."

    The lightning finally dissipated in the distance, though the Void Thunderbeast was still unable to slow Lu Yin''s progress or impede him in any way. Lu Yin¡¯s strength stunned the creature, and it moved out of Lu Yin¡¯s way. The young man stared off into the distance. and his eyes locked onto Xu Qing.

    "Do you two intend to remain to chat with the young man?" Xu Qing asked.

    The Celestial Demon disdainfully spat, "Since he¡¯s here, he can forget about living to leave his battlefield. There¡¯s nothing to say."

    With that, he left.

    On the other hand, the Celestial Ice Phoenix did not leave.

    Xu Qing made no attempt to chase either of them away, and he simply stood atop the mountain on the asteroid and waited for Lu Yin to arrive.

    After passing by the two Void Thunderbeasts, no other astral beast tried to block Lu Yin¡¯s path. He moved quickly and crossed the distance in an instant to appear at the top of the mountain. He looked up, and Xu Qing looked down.

    At this moment, the mountain on the asteroid cracked and shattered. Xu Qing and the Celestial Ice Phoenix both descended andnded on the resulting gravel to face Lu Yin.

    "General Xu Qing, we finally meet." Lu Yin smiled. He did not look at all like he was behind enemy lines or even had an agenda.

    Xu Qing observed Lu Yin andmented, "You really are a youth who deserves admiration. The times change too quickly, and we elders are being overtaken by you before we can even react."

    "General, you¡¯re being too humble. No matter how fast things change, the truly strong will never be eliminated, let alone a powerhouse like you." Lu Yin showed a rare disy of humility.

    The Celestial Ice Phoenix kept staring at Lu Yin with bright eyes. She could not understand what was going through this youth¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the woman. "Who is this?"

    Xu Qing introduced her, "She is Feng Lin, of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve heard about you for a long time," Feng Lin calmly said as she continued to observe Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin and Feng Lin faced each other. He remembered that this Celestial Ice Phoenix was the one who had fought against Ling Qiu during their earlier battle. The fact that she was able to stand up to Ling Qiu meant that she was truly powerful. "So you¡¯re a senior from the Celestial Ice Phoenixes? You¡¯re being too polite."

    Feng Lin''s eyes lit up. "This isn¡¯t the first time that you¡¯ve faced one of our Celestial Ice Phoenixes, is it?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "I fought against Feng Jiu during the Tournament of the Strongest. I saw your battle earlier as well, and I must admit that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes are all geniuses. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any weaklings."

    Feng Lin lifted her head higher. "I can agree with that."

    Lu Yin''s smile remained unchanged. The Celestial Ice Phoenixes were notoriously arrogant, so her answer did not surprise him.

    "However, our youths are still unable topare to you, Alliance Leader Lu," Feng Lin suddenly said.

    Lu Yin wanted to remain polite, but the woman¡¯s next words caught him off guard. "Could you release the Ghost Monkey? I wish to speak to him."

    Xu Qing frowned. They were currently on a battlefield, and they were even in their own territory where Xu Qing intended to intimidate and suppress Lu Yin. The general did not want to let Lu Yin chat with Feng Lin. He wanted to interrupt, but upon seeing Feng Lin''s expression, Xu Qing remained silent. It seemed this matter might be incredibly important to the Celestial Ice Phoenixes.

    Xu Qing was correct, as the Ghost Monkey was truly important to the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. They had not originally held any interest in the monkey that had been one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s five Academy Masters. Of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, only Feng Jiu had interacted with the Ghost Monkey, though that had ended when the monkey had been captured.

    However, after that, Skymender himself had sought out the Celestial Ice Phoenixes and revealed some secrets. They had then learned that the Ghost Monkey had some unexinable rtionship with them. While they did not know any of the details, they did know that the matter somehow involved Progenitor Wushang, and that alone meant that they could not ignore the matter.

    During ZENITH, Skymender had ordered Yao Xuan and the other contestants from the Astral Beast Domain to take the Ghost Monkey back, but they had failed. Feng Lin had traveled to the Outerverse to fight in the war solely to try to take the Ghost Monkey back.

    No one in the Astral Beast Domain was aware that the Ghost Monkey had been stolen from Lu Yin by Shaman God, and Lu Yin had never said a thing.

    "The Ghost Monkey? What do you want to talk to him about?" Lu Yin felt quite curious.

    Feng Lin''s expression did not shift at all, "Feng Jiu and the Ghost Monkey were ssmates, and I have something that I need to ask the Ghost Monkey."

    Lu Yin was amused by this response. This woman was pretending that Feng Jiu had been quite close to the Ghost Monkey in order to provide a reasonable excuse. "The Ghost Monkey is quite treacherous, so if you have any questions, Senior, just tell me, and I¡¯ll pass them on to the Ghost Monkey."

    Feng Lin frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, I hope that you can show me some face and allow me to speak with the Ghost Monkey. Please don¡¯t worry. Although our armies are at war, as long as you don¡¯t attack me, I cannot do anything to you."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I''m sorry, Senior, but the Ghost Monkey isn¡¯t with me."

    Feng Lin was surprised. "He isn''t with you?"

    Lu Yin somberly replied, "I have locked up somewhere that no one else knows about. That guy¡¯s like an ancient treasure, and he seems to know about everything. I keep feeling like he¡¯s hiding some great secret, so I haven¡¯t mentioned him to anyone, though I do go and visit him every so often to beat, torture, and ask him some questions."

    Only an idiot would believe such an answer. Xu Qing looked over at Feng Lin, and the woman¡¯s eyes betrayed her wrath. Clearly, she did not believe Lu Yin. The only reason why the Celestial Ice Phoenixes cared about the Ghost Monkey was because Skymender had mentioned a connection to Progenitor Wushang, but how could Lu Yin value the monkey at all? The Ghost Monkey was no fool, and it was impossible for him to have mentioned Progenitor Wushang to Lu Yin.

    Aside from Progenitor Wushang, what else could the Ghost Monkey, who had not even obtained the strength of an Explorer, have done to arouse Lu Yin''s interest? Lu Yin was tantly trying to lie to them.

    "It appears that Alliance Leader Lu doesn''t wish to show my Celestial Ice Phoenixes any face at all." A terrible chill entered Feng Lin''s voice.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Senior, do you want to do something to me?"

    He looked over at Xu Qing. "General, we still haven''t even spoken to each other."

    Xu Qing quietly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, you can treat Feng Lin''s request as one of our conditions. As long as you allow her to speak with the Ghost Monkey, I will not torture the captive Envoys for now. How about it?"

    Feng Lin suddenly interjected, "As long as you give me the Ghost Monkey, you can select one of the Envoys to be freed."

    Xu Qing instantly became furious, and he turned to re at Feng Lin. "What nonsense is this?"

    Feng Lin calmly looked back at Xu Qing. "We Celestial Ice Phoenixes will give you an exnation for this. You have my word."

    Xu Qing¡¯s frown deepened. "This is a matter regarding this war. This is not a minor issue."

    "I understand that. I promise you that I will give you an exnation that will fully satisfy you." Feng Lin was dead serious.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he still would not agree.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Xu Qing would easily agree to such terms. If this astral beast really did have the same sort of mind as Wei Rong, then the three captive Envoys could not only allow Xu Qing to win this war, but he could also incite tremendous chaos in the Innerverse. This war was far too important to the Astral Beast Domain, so how could Xu Qing possibly be willing to give up such an advantage just because of the Ghost Monkey?

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated the Celestial Ice Phoenixes¡¯ status within the Astral Beast Domain. It was also possible that Feng Lin said something to Xu Qing in secret, but the general¡¯s expression changed. He eventually gritted his teeth and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Give Feng Lin the Ghost Monkey, and I can offer you one of the Envoys aside from Ling Taizu."

    Lu Yin was surprised, but he quickly smiled. "Give me all three of them."

    Xu Qing instantly became furious. "You must be joking!"

    Feng Lin frowned and red at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, we are offering the limits of what we can ept. Trading that worthless Ghost Monkey for an Envoy is greatly in your favor. I can honestly tell you that the only reason why we even want the Ghost Monkey is because Feng Jiu remembers him fondly, and he could even be said to be Feng Jiu''s lover. Without him, Feng Jiu''s cultivation has stagnated, and she has been adversely affected to a great extent. My Celestial Ice Phoenixes are rare, and I don''t want Feng Jiu to suffer any mishap. However, don¡¯t think that you can try to take advantage of this and ask for a ridiculous offer.

    "If not for our generosity, not even Feng Jiu herself would qualify to be traded for one of those Envoys."

    Lu Yin quite admired Feng Lin''s ability to spout such bullshit with a straight face. This woman was even more skilled than Lu Yin himself! She had actually painted Feng Jiu as the Ghost Monkey¡¯s lover and invented a love story in an attempt to deceive Lu Yin. He could almost believe that there had been some history between the Ghost Monkey and Feng Jiu.

    Lu Yin had not initially realized that this woman somewhat resembled Kui Luo, as she was able to weave such tall tales while remaining so stone-faced.

    Feng Lin''s face truly did lookpletely serious. She acted as though every word that she had said was true.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Other people''s love affairs have nothing to do with me. All I can say is that you can either give me all three or forget any deals. What¡¯s the point of just taking one back with me? The families of the other two will definitely be a massive headache."

    Xu Qing''s gaze turned cold, as this had actually been his entire purpose in agreeing to Feng Lin¡¯s request. He had not only wanted to give the Celestial Ice Phoenixes a bit of face, but he had also wanted to use this exchange to instigate trouble. Each of the three Envoys were supported by powerful groups, and if only one was rescued, the other two would absolutely develop a powerful resentment towards Lu Yin. That,bined with what he nned to do next, would be enough to crush the Great Eastern Alliance, but Lu Yin had not been deceived.

    Feng Lin also came to her senses, and she nced over at Xu Qing. She had actually thought that the general had been agreeing out of respect for her and the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. It had never crossed her mind that he had actually done so to instantly dig a trap for Lu Yin. These people were too adept at scheming.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this is a matter that concerns this war. I do not have the authority to actually make any decisions. You can ask me for our terms, and as long as it is within the means of my Celestial Ice Phoenixes, we will agree. I just hope that you will return the Ghost Monkey to me so that I can send him to Feng Jiu, the poor girl," Feng Lin said helplessly. Her tone had softened a great deal.

    Lu Yin pursed her lips. This woman was a phenomenal actor. "There¡¯s nothing else that I want from you. All I desire are those three Envoys."

    Feng Lin was so infuriated that she no longer had any thoughts as to what to say, but she wanted to say something. However, Xu Qing raised a hand to stop her. "Leave for now, and I''ll speak to Alliance Leader Lu."

    Feng Lin stared at the general. His tone left no question to the fact that this was amand. ¡°Step back for now.¡±

    While Xu Qing had shown the Celestial Ice Phoenixes a great deal of respect by allowing Feng Lin to speak with Lu Yin for so long during his negotiations and had even allowed one of his prisoners to be used as a bargaining chip, respect still had been shown. Also, Feng Lin had not been able to reach an agreement. It was Xu Qing¡¯s turn at the negotiating table.

    Feng Lin felt helpless, and she was unwilling to ept this oue, but she had no choice. After onest nce at Lu Yin, she left.

    Only Xu Qing and Lu Yin remained on the asteroid.

    As soon as he was facing Xu Qing, Lu Yin grew much more solemn. This was his true opponent in this war. At this moment, he smelled blood.

    "I truly did not expect Alliance Leader Lu toe visit me all alone," Xu Qingmented.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There was no choice. You are holding my people in the palm of your hand, so I can¡¯t be the aggressor right now."

    Xu Qing smiled. "In that case, what price are you willing to pay for them, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "I¡¯m not sure. That depends on what you hope to get, General Xu Qing."

    A smile appeared on Xu Qing''s face. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you understand the value that these captives hold as pieces for me to use?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    "Only by understanding their value can we agree upon a price.¡± Xu Qing¡¯s expression grew more fierce. ¡°I can tell you that I intend to use those three Envoys as bait, not only to lure out your Great Eastern Alliance in an attempt to rescue them, but also to capture those would-be rescuers. I will then broadcast that event throughout your Fifth Maind, particrly in the Innerverse. I wonder, how you would exin such a matter to the Innerverse?¡±

    "Why did youe to the Outerverse to wage this war against my Astral Beast Domain? This should be the Sixth Maind¡¯s concern. Why was no one else captured except for the ancestors of the Lingling n and the Phoenix family? Why did you want to go to war? Do you not care about their lives? How will you address these questions, Alliance Leader Lu?¡±

 Chapter 1862: Saving People

    Chapter 1862: Saving People

    When Lu Yin heard Xu Qing''s exnation, he inwardly acknowledged that this was exactly what Wei Rong had said he would do. However, Lu Yin put on a show of being shocked, and his pupils constricted to pinpricks as he gritted his teeth. "General Xu Qing, I respect you as a senior, and you have behaved in a respectable manner on the battlefield. What do you mean by using such despicable methods?"

    Xu Qing shook his head and smiled. "There are no rules or morals in war. Doing what it takes to win is the most important rule, no?"

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists and quickly grew pale as he stared at Xu Qing. "Despicable!"

    Xu Qingughed. "I¡¯ve heard that Shui Chuanxiao has joined your Great Eastern Alliance. Did he not tell you about me?"

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "He spoke of you, and Shui Chuanxiao said that you have employed various methods and strategies both on and off the battlefield. Still, I never expected you to be willing to stoop so low. I actually believed you and Shui Chuanxiao to be the same kind of people."

    Xu Qing sneered. "He and I are the same type! Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know how and why your Human Domain was able to create aprehensivework! Shui Chuanxiao is even more ruthless than I could ever be! He sacrificed half of Endless Weave to give your Human Domain a universalwork. If not for his efforts, we would have already taken over half of your Outerverse when it was first cut off from the Innerverse.

    "No matter how you look at it, Shui Chuanxiao is far more ruthless person than me. I could never manage to do such a thing."

    "But you are crueler than him," Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Qing sped his hands behind his back. "Young man, let me teach you a lesson: war is war. There is nothing cruel or immoral about it. If you achieve victory, a general can be famous throughout time immemorial. If you lose, you will be cursed for thousands of years. I carry no less of a burden than you. Now that you understand these details, tell me, how much are those Envoys worth in my hands?"

    Lu Yin struggled, as he did not know what to do.

    Xu Qing spoke in a rxed manner, "It looks like you now understand and are quite clear on the consequences of what I just told you. So, tell me, what are you willing to pay to exchange for the three captives."

    "Are you truly willing to allow me to pay for their freedom?" Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing as he asked this question. He no longer showed the calmness he had originally disyed, but rather anxiousness.

    Xu Qing nodded. He was as calm as ever. "Why else would I have asked you toe discuss this?"

    "What is it that you want?" Lu Yin asked nervously.

    Xu Qing felt he held the upper hand, so he said bluntly, "First, give the Ghost Monkey to Feng Lin."

    Lu Yin did not refuse.

    "Second, turn over the inheritance that you received that provided you with the invincible skills you showed during the end of ZENITH."

    Lu Yin still did not refuse.

    Xu Qing continued, "Third, leave the Outerverse. I can allow you to retreat in peace. These are the only three conditions."

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing, unwillingness filling his eyes. "Do you believe that you can force me to submit just because you captured three Envoys?"

    Xu Qing sneered. "You don''t have to agree. Go back and talk to Shui Chuanxiao. Go find out if you can bear the consequences of what I will do. As soon as it is done, your Great Eastern Alliance will copse, and you will surely lose this war."

    Lu Yin had been aware of the consequences of not agreeing to Xu Qing¡¯s terms from the moment that Wei Rong had exined this scenario. However, Lu Yin also was not convinced that things were as serious as they were being made out to be. As long as the Hall of Honor did not turn against him and he went to speak with Xu Qing alone, the situation in the Innerverse would not reach rock bottom. There would still be chaos, but he had already exined himself.

    "I don''t understand. You should already know that I used death energy at the end of ZENITH, so why would you want that? Does your Astral Beast Domain even have death energy?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Xu Qing''s eyes flickered. "So it¡¯s death energy? That¡¯s not very valuable."

    Lu Yin''s eyes remained fixed on Xu Qing''s eyes.

    "Still, that doesn¡¯t matter. Our main purpose is to force you out of the Outerverse. That inheritance is merely a gift," Xu Qing casually exined.

    Lu Yin could not tell whether Xu Qing was lying about this point. Could there be death energy in the Astral Beast Domain? Lu Yin did not know. In the end, Xu Qing was still the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s General, and he was not someone who would let his expressions be easily read.

    "I want to see the three captives." Lu Yin weakly tried to put up a bit of resistance.

    "So you agree?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands clenched. "It''s difficult to pass my skills onto others."

    "No matter how difficult it may be, that is one of the conditions. After all, that inheritance allowed you to be invincible and gave you the strength to defeat even the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. You could also try asking the Hall of Honor to give the Tri-Yang Technique to me, and I will ept that as well." Xu Qing spoke with great confidence, but also with great anticipation.

    Lu Yin answered in a bitter voice, "You think too highly of me. I agree to all your terms, but allow me to see the three Envoys first. How do I know if they¡¯re dead or not? After all, they were captured by you astral beasts."

    Xu Qing''s voice turned cold. "You humans are also beasts. You have rules, and we do as well."

    "You have rules and yet you¡¯ll use such despicable methods," Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Qing snorted disdainfully. "Na?ve."

    After he spoke, space nearby fluctuated, but there was nothing to be seen.

    "Take Alliance Leader Lu to see the captives," Xu Qing ordered.

    Lu Yin looked over in surprise. "You¡¯re letting a creeper take me?"

    Xu Qing indifferently replied, "If I remember correctly, you also use the Rune Progenitor¡¯s technique, Alliance Leader Lu, so you can see the creeper."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Alright."

    Xu Qing had ordered a creeper to escort Lu Yin to the captives, but the creeper¡¯s task was actually to keep an eye on Lu Yin. There was no better observer than a creeper.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Did the astral beast that attacked me die?"

    "No."

    Lu Yin felt a bit of disappointment as he left with the creeper.

    Feng Lin quickly approached Xu Qing when she saw Lu Yin leave. "What do he say?"

    Xu Qing confidently replied, "Just wait for the Ghost Monkey."

    Feng Lin was overjoyed. "He agreed?"

    Xu Qing nodded, but then he gave Feng Lin a harsh look and scolded her, "You are too worked up about this! Why didn''t you speak to me about this in advance? You not only lost the initiative to him, but you also showed him just how important the Ghost Monkey is to you. If not for the current situation, you would never be able to get the Ghost Monkey from him!¡±

    Feng Lin had also realized that she had been overly anxious this time. "I''m sorry, Senior. I was too nervous."

    Xu Qing had to ask, "Is that mere Ghost Monkey really so important?"

    Feng Lin grew very serious. "We were told this by Skymender, so you must forgive me for not speaking more clearly. All that I can tell you right now is that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes will give you an eptable exnation about this in the future, Senior."

    This was what Xu Qing had wanted to hear. Two Envoys had been killed during an earlier battle, so he was under tremendous pressure at this time. If the Celestial Ice Phoenixes stood by him, then he would not need to fear the Celestial Beast Empire when he returned.

    Without them, he might be subjected to harsh questioning, and while that would not cause him any real harm, it would be humiliating and a loss of respect.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had justid eyes on Ling Taizu, Abel Phoenix, and Elder He.

    Even though the three were still alive, they were all seriously injured. Two Void Thunderbeast stood in front of the Envoys, and they were the same beasts that had tried to block Lu Yin¡¯s path before.

    Lu Yin became furious at what he saw, and he red at the Void Thunderbeasts. "You even attack people who are defenseless?"

    One of the Void Thunderbeasts sneered. "No matter what, they¡¯re still Envoys. It will be very difficult to catch them if they try to escape, and it¡¯s fine as long as we don¡¯t kill them."

    "We can quickly just find their stellr energy vortexes, and then we can talk again after they¡¯re crippled," the other Void Thunderbeast indifferently suggested.

    Lu Yin was so angry that he shot forward and suddenly appeared in between the two Void Thunderbeasts. He raised his hands, intending to push the two away, only to suddenly feel a threat of danger. The Envoy-level creeper had moved in front of Lu Yin.

    "Human, do you really dare to try something?" One of the Void Thunderbeasts sneered as it grabbed hold of Ling Taizu with a paw.

    The Envoy was already seriously injured, and if he was smashed by the beast¡¯s paw, even if he managed to survive, his stellr energy vortex would possibly be destroyed.

    Lu Yin fiercely shouted, "Stop!"

    His spiritual force burst forth and enveloped the area, only for an even more terrifying spiritual force to overpower him. It was like a tsunami sweeping over a river, and it utterly suppressed Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force. He was shocked, and forced back dozens of steps. He spat out blood and was left in a bit of a daze.

    The Celestial Demon with the appearance of a handsome young man appeared and coldly stared down at Lu Yin. "Kid, who gave you the courage to act so boldly?"

    Lu Yin looked up. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the Void Thunderbeast that was about to attack. He hoarsely threatened, ¡°If any one of them is injured one bit more, I promise that the deal with Xu Qing will be forfeit!"

    The Celestial Demon just sneered. He waspletely unconcerned by Lu Yin¡¯s threat.

    However, the Void Thunderbeast who had intended to attack Ling Taizu stopped. Although it made a few more taunts, it did not move to actually attack. Xu Qing was the Void Thunderbeasts¡¯ patriarch, so these two did not dare to do something that might affect their patriarch¡¯s agreement.

    Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys saw Lu Yin, and Elder He hoarsely called out, "A- Alliance Leader Lu, don''t make a deal. This is war, so our deaths don''t matter."

    Lu Yin sighed. "But this is my war, not yours. You shouldn''t have to die for this."

    Elder He replied, "This is a war for the entire human race! Alliance Leader Lu, don''t agree to any deal."

    Lu Yin looked at Ling Taizu, and then at Abel Phoenix. These two clearly did not want to die.

    "It was my mistake that led to your capture, not yours." Lu Yin turned his head and stared at the Celestial Demon. "Your Astral Beast Domain will never win."

    The Celestial Demon spat back, "Child, you think too highly of yourself! Our opponents are the Sixth Maind and your Human Domain¡¯s Hall of Honor. You don¡¯t qualify."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, "So the majestic Celestial Demons resort to sneak attacks? I¡¯ve heard that the Celestial Demons rule the Astral Beast Domain, but is this how they control their empire? Starting things off with sneak attacks?"

    The Celestial Demon frowned as he stared at Lu Yin. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

    Lu Yin stared back at the man without showing any hint of weakness.

    After staring back for a while, the Celestial Demon let out a disdainful snort. "You saved Yao Xuan''s life, so I won¡¯t bother with you. Otherwise, you would not be able to leave today.¡±

    The man then turned and left.

    Lu Yin watched as the Celestial Demon entered the void and disappeared. He then quickly took out Zenith Mountain from his cosmic ring and threw it down. At that instance, the creeper that had been watching Lu Yin attacked. There was no hesitation as the astral beastshed out at Lu Yin, but the human¡¯s expression did not even twitch as his pupils transformed into runes, and he utilized the power of the Knowing realm of Truesight.

    The creeper¡¯s attack was powerful yet utterly useless.

    And at this moment, the Second Nightking and Liu Huang appeared before the stunned gazes of the creeper and many other nearby astral beasts. Liu Huang released a sword attack in all directions. It was the Fourteenth Sword.

    Off in the distance, Xu Qing was still watching Lu Yin, and his pupils instantly constricted. "Not good!"

    He leaped forward and returned to his form as a Void Thunderbeast. Lightning flickered as he disappeared.

    Liu Huang shed at the creeper and the two Void Thunderbeasts at the Envoy level. The creeper received greater attention, and it instantly lost its head to the sword.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and released Ling Taizu and the other two. "Get into Zenith Mountain!"

    The three Envoys did not hesitate as they shot into Zenith Mountain.

    At this moment, Xu Qing, the Celestial Demon, and Feng Lin all showed themselves as they attacked Lu Yin.

 Chapter 1863: Breathe Fire

    Chapter 1863: Breathe Fire

    "Lu Yin, you¡¯re courting death!" Xu Qing roared angrily.

    The Celestial Demon man¡¯s expression turned ugly. He had actually been one of the individuals guarding the three captive Envoys, but he had been driven away by Lu Yin''sment. It was now clear that Lu Yin had done so deliberately.

    Of course it had all been a part of Lu Yin¡¯s n. Given the reaction speed of an expert with a power level of a million, Lu Yin knew that he might not even be able to pull out Zenith Mountain before him. So, he had needed to find a way to drive the Celestial Demon away. Lu Yin hade up with a lot of differentments, and he had not expected the astral beast to leave so easily.

    The Second Nightking showed up a wicked grin. His spiritual force burst out ceaselessly, kicking up winds and moving clouds. The massive figure of Xu Qing appeared behind the Second Nightking, and both the Celestial Demon and Feng Jin appeared in front of him. The Second Nightking unleashed Skybreaker.

    Spiritual force shot out, and Feng Lin spat out a mouthful of blood as she flipped over. The Celestial Demon opened his mouth and let out a terrible howl, and spiritual force surged in front of him. ¡°Force Explosion."

    Boom!

    The asteroid shattered, and countless astral beasts nearby were shredded by the debris. Lu Yin started to lose consciousness, but he quickly started to recite the Origin Sutra as he put Zenith Mountain away and shouted, ¡°RETREAT!"

    The Second Nightking¡¯s battle with Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon was so intense that no one was able to approach them. Liu Huang grabbed Lu Yin and shot towards the southwest, beheading countless astral beasts as he passed by. There was no creature that could block Liu Huang''s sword.

    Xu Qing was beyond furious, and his lightning grew even more intense. His body shot through space like a bolt of lightning, ignoring the pressure of the surging spiritual force. He quickly caught up to Liu Huang and struck out with a paw.

    Liu Huang¡¯s eyes grew stern as he whirled around and countered with his sword. The de struck the iing ws, but the shockwave retained the ws¡¯ sharpness and pierced through to Lu Yin. He was unable to stop from vomiting blood from his injuries.

    Xu Qing''s eyes zed, and his lightning rained down on Liu Huang. "Humans, you are courting death!"

    Liu Huang''s sword spun, and cuts appeared all across Xu Qing''s body. "Get lost!"

    Xu Qing raised his paw again and struck out. Lu Yin looked up and stared at Xu Qing while using the Knowing realm of Truesight to weaken the approaching attack as much as he could.

    Xu Qing had actually calcted things quite precisely. He had attacked in a manner where his attack would reach Lu Yin just before Liu Huang¡¯s attack struck the astral beast. Liu Huang could not abandon Lu Yin, and this attack would force Liu Huang to divert his sword. On top of that, even the shockwave from Xu Qing¡¯s attack would be powerful enough to severely injure or even kill Lu Yin. How could a youth possibly endure even the aftershocks of an attack from an expert with a power level of a million?

    However, Lu Yin cultivated Truesight and had reached the Knowing realm. This allowed him to weaken even Xu Qing¡¯s attack, though not by much. The weakening was barely noticeable, and it was still more than enough to easily kill Lu Yin, but the weakening had also slowed Xu Qing¡¯s attack. While it was only a tiny bit slower than before, every inch could prove fatal in a battle between powerhouses at his level.

    Liu Huang''s sword was faster than Xu Qing''s attack, and as the Void Thunderbeast watched in disbelief, the sword pierced through his paw and stabbed towards his head.

    Xu Qing had no choice but to pull back. Sword qi wreaked havoc in his body, and he needed to suppress it as soon as possible. He could do nothing but watch as Liu Huang fled with Lu Yin.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to let out a sigh of relief, countless runes suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision. Someone was emerging from the true universe, and he quickly shouted, "Watch out!"

    Liu Huang only turned his head, and his sword swept out. Terrifying mes fell and enveloped the two humans. The temperature clearly surpassed a power level of 700,000, but such an attack was no threat at all to Liu Huang.

    The moment Liu Huang¡¯s sword swept out, arge, chymifier appeared from a different direction. Its green eyes were locked onto Lu Yin as it shot through the true universe with its mouth open and ready to bite.

    Despite the chymifier¡¯s speed, it was impossible for the creature to hide from Liu Huang. The gap in strength was simply too vast. Liu Huang easily blocked the chymifier with the back of his sword. He had expected to slice through the beast, but unexpectedly, the chymifier bit down on the sword, stunning Liu Huang. This was not a style ofbat he had ever seen before.

    Lu Yin recognized the chymifier. "A chymifier. They¡¯re said to be able to devour anything."

    Lu Yin had recognized the chymifier because one of the species¡¯ members had been one of the Spiritual Academy¡¯s Academy Masters. Hua Yishou had participated in the Tournament of the Strongest, and Lu Yin had heard that his father had once eaten members of the Phoenix family, which had triggered an eternal hatred.

    Liu Huang''s eyes turned cold. He put more force into the sword that had just been bitten, and he shed through half of the chymifier¡¯s body.

    The mes shot out from another direction. Liu Huang had already badly injured the chymifier, and his sword swept out once more. The de sliced through space and cut apart a Karmic me Sable that was about the same size as the chymifier.

    These two astral beasts had attacked Liu Huang, and while they posed no threat at all to the swordsman, they were still able to stall him for a moment, which allowed Xu Qing to catch up.

    Xu Qing had already given up on chasing Lu Yin down, as he had not expected there to be still more hidden experts. These two astral beasts must have also been sent by the imperial family, the Celestial Demons.

    However, Xu Qing did not have time to consider the implications behind this. Lightning covered a paw, and he reached out for Liu Huang.

    It was at this time that the Second Nightking rushed over. His appearance startled Xu Qing so badly that he instantly pulled back. He did not have the confidence to face both Liu Huang and the Second Nightking on his own.

    The Second Nightking stood behind Liu Huang and looked to the northeast. He released another Skybreaker and then he and Liu Huang led Lu Yin to the southwest.

    Xu Qing''s eyes went wide, and he let out an angry roar. The wonderful opportunity that he had received and that he had believed to be the key to victory in this war had just been ruined. The three captive Envoys, who had been the key to everything, had just been rescued right from under his nose. He was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s General, and he had survived countless battles and life or death crises, but at this moment, he was unable to stop himself from letting out a roar of pure rage.

    This was an absolute disgrace, the greatest humiliation of his life.

    The Celestial Demon¡¯s expression was also horribly contorted. This loss was actually greatly his fault. If he had not left the prisoners without permission, Lu Yin might not have been able to rescue the three Envoys. Humans are despicable!

    Feng Lin also mourned the Envoys¡¯ rescue. Who would have considered that the human had had living people hiding within his cosmic ring? That defied allmon sense! Without that, the Envoys would have never been rescued.

    Feng Lin could only see the fact that the Ghost Monkey had almost been in her hands, and she could no longer see any possibility of getting him again in the future.

    Compared to the angry roars from the astral beasts, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet was cheering.

    Liu Qianjue and others stared in admiration as Lu Yin returned. They had seeded. They had actually seeded! The Human Domain had been at war with the Astral Beast Domain for countless years, and yet even throughout all that history, this was a magnificent achievement for the Human Domain.

    After all, the current battlefield had four monsters with power levels of over a million, as well as more than twenty Envoys. This was an unimaginable scale that far surpassed any border war. In fact, never had so many powerhouses participated in a war even when the Sixth Maind and Technocracy had invaded Endless Weave.

    If the rest of the universe were not so busy dealing with the Neohuman Alliance, this war would absolutely have drawn everyone¡¯s eye. Even as things were, countless people were focused on the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves and waiting for the results.

    Lu Yin took Zenith Mountain back out and released the three Envoys. He then ordered the fleet to be on guard against a crazed counterattack from the astral beasts and led Abel Phoenix into a spaceship.

    Everyone became curious about this, as Abel Phoenix had never interacted with Lu Yin before, so why was Lu Yin meeting with the man alone? Should Lu Yin not be focused on healing his own wounds?

    Abel Phoenix was also confused, but he followed Lu Yin into a cabin. There, he saw Lu Yin take out a red stone, though Lu Yin¡¯s next words made Abel Phoenix question his entire life. ¡°Alright, breathe some fire on it."

    Abel Phoenix saw anticipation in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes when he looked at the young man. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin exined, "This is the Skyme Stone, and it can absorb mes. I need those mes, and the more and hotter, the better."

    Abel Phoenix finally understood, though he still was at a loss for words. Breathe fire? He was not an astral beast! This way of putting things made the Envoy a bit ufortable. "Will a battle technique work?"

    Lu Yin was getting impatient. "Do it however you want, but fill it with mes. The hotter the better, but I need it to at least exceed a power level of 700,000."

    Abel Phoenix was startled. "Alliance Leader Lu, I only have a power level of a bit more than 500,000. How am I supposed to create mes hot enough topare to a power level of over 700,000?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Are you really that weak?"

    Abel Phoenix was offended, and he wanted to p Lu Yin for the rudement, but it only took an instant for the thought to leave his mind. The Envoy could not defeat Lu Yin, so he did not dare to attack the young man. "I¡¯ve disappointed you."

    Lu Yin frowned and looked to the northeast. He had actually forgotten that Abel Phoenix was only a weak Envoy. If he had remembered sooner, Lu Yin would have captured the Karmic me Sable. Those mes had absolutely exceeded a power level of 700,000. What a pity.

    "Does your Phoenix family have ess to some sort of extreme heat source? Something that not even you can endure?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes. The entire reason why my Phoenix family remains in Daynight Flowzone is because our ancestral home has a source of extreme heat. We actually don¡¯t even know how hot it can get. If it weren¡¯t for that, we would have long since left with how oppressive the Daynight n is."

    Lu Yin then dismissed Abel Phoenix before taking out a pill he had Enhanced to treat his injuries. Fortunately, his bodysuit armor only had a few minor cracks. Even though he had been struck by some shockwaves from the powerhouses¡¯ battle, Lu Yin had only suffered a few flesh wounds, and he quickly recovered.

    He had wanted to use Abel Phoenix¡¯s mes in order to cultivate, but unfortunately, Lu Yin had miscalcted.

    Space trembled as countless astral beasts attacked. The vanguard was none other than the Celestial Demon, and he led with his species¡¯ most powerful battle technique: Force Explosion.

    The Second Nightking appeared to confront the Celestial Demon. "Where did you summon the courage toe here? You¡¯ve already been defeated."

    The Celestial Demon growled, "All you despicable humans will be our food!"

    Even as he spoke, he exploded with more spiritual force.

    Countless astral beasts attacked and shed with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet. The Envoys had their own battlefield while the fleet fought against the weaker astral beasts.

    Once again, Xu Qing faced off against Liu Huang.

    When Lu Yin emerged from the ship, he saw an endless battlefield.

    The Great Eastern Alliance originally had more Envoys than the Astral Beast Domain, but the appearance of Shadowbeast, the Karmic me Sable, and the chymifier had evened the odds.

    Each of the additional astral beast powerhouses had a power level of about 800,000, with the exception of Shadowbeast after it had survived being beheaded by Liu Huang. On top of that, Ling Taizu had been seriously injured, so this battle was not looking good for the Great Eastern Alliance. This was also why Xu Qing dared tounch such a crazed counterattack.

    Lu Yin nced across the battlefield, and he quickly focused on the location that was filled with mes that were pouring out from the true universe to scorch the human fleet. That was where the Karmic me Sable was fighting.

    Lu Yin entered the true universe, and sword qi shot past his face. It came from where Liu Qianjue was fighting Shadowbeast.

    Xu Qing was actually the one who was the most shocked to see Lu Yin appear in the true universe. He remembered that Lu Yin had been struck by the shockwaves from his own attack. He had a power level of over a million, so how could Lu Yin be fine? Even a gentle touch from him should have been enough to leave someone at Lu Yin¡¯s level seriously injured.

    Liu Huang nced over, but he was unfazed by Lu Yin¡¯s appearance. The youth had too many secrets, and if Liu Huang was being honest, he doubted that Lu Yin would die even after being attacked by a Semi-Progenitor. The kid¡¯s background was just too mysterious.

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin''s feet, and he moved over to where Ling Qiu was fighting the Karmic me Sable, and he attacked the beast with a Hollow Palm.

 Chapter 1864: Endless Fear

    Chapter 1864: Endless Fear

    The Karmic me Sable had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly attack it, and its mes abruptly formed a curtain that shielded the beast from all directions. Still, the sable was a bit too slow, and the Hollow Palm smashed into it, sending the creature¡¯s body tumbling away.

    The Karmic me Sable was furious, and it shrieked at Lu Yin. The beast¡¯s eyes zed with killing intent, and mes surged crazily from its body. It was clearly quite small, but in the blink of an eye, a mountain-sized me had appeared around it. The astral beast raised its paws and pped one at Lu Yin while attacking Ling Qiu with the other.

    When it came to simple power level, Ling Qiu could notpare to the Karmic me Sable. However, she was a part of the Lingling n, and both her innate gift and battle techniques were unparalleled. The Lingling n had the Soulsplitting Technique, which allowed a person to split into three clones. Each clone was just as strong as the original body until they were destroyed. This technique alone made anyone from the Lingling n a challenge to face.

    When Ling Taizu had fought against Liu Huang, Ling Taizu had been utterly crushed, as Liu Huang had a power level of over a million while Ling Taizu¡¯s was only at around 800,000. During the recent battle, the Celestial Demon with a power level of more than a million hadunched a sneak attack, and Ling Taizu had once again beenpletely powerless.

    Still, these losses were no reason to underestimate someone from the Lingling n. When fighting against someone with an equal power level, people from the Lingling n were practically invincible.

    The Karmic me Sable''s power level clearly surpassed Ling Qiu''s, but the two were nheless still in a stalemate. This was also why Ling Qiu was confident that she could deal with the astral beast.

    The Soulsplitting Technique gave Ling Qiu the ability to restrain the Karmic me Sable and keep itpletely upied.

    Ling Qiu dodged the burning w as she stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t need your help. It¡¯s just a beast. I can handle it."

    Lu Yin was not helping her specifically, but rather capturing the Karmic me Sable alive for himself. Still, that looked to be a rather difficult task.

    Ling Qiu''s words enraged the Karmic me Sable. Regardless of how the words were spoken, they sounded like an insult. As the astral beast¡¯s fury raged, its mes surged in all directions. Ling Qiu was caught off guard, and the fires burned her to ashes.

    Although only a clone from the Soulsplitting Technique had fallen, Ling Qiu¡¯s attacks became far fiercer. Drifting leaves floated through space as the Envoy had activated her innate gift.

    The most terrifying aspect of people from the Lingling n was their innate gift. The result ofbining ten different innate gifts could be truly incredible.

    Ling Qiu''s talent was autumnal, just like her name. The falling leaves were from autumn, and although they looked like nothing more than fallen leaves, the Karmic me Sable¡¯s fires could not burn them. The leaves fell like rain, and unbelievably, they smothered the sable¡¯s mes that had formed a mountain.

    The Karmic me Sable raised its head, and a sharp whistling sound pierced through the air, full of the creature¡¯s anger as it red at Ling Qiu.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, allowing him to move.

    He appeared directly above the Karmic me Sable''s head, and as Ling Qiu watched on in astonishment, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method appeared as his palm dropped down: Hollow Palm.

    Initially, the Karmic me Sable had not cared about Lu Yin at all and had beenpletely focused on Ling Qiu, especially when the woman started using her innate gift. However, the beast felt an even stronger sense of danger from this attack of Lu Yin¡¯s, which left the sable stunned. Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm was incredibly powerful, and even if the Karmic me Sable had a power level of more than 700,000, it still would not be able to endure this strike. Unsurprisingly, it was smacked into the true universe.

    Lu Yin seized the opportunity and shouted, ¡°Do it!¡±

    His hand fell again, not giving the sable any chance to mount a defense. Ling Qiu also had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike to be so powerful. Also, what was that image behind him? An elephant?

    Ling Qiu did not have any time to think about what she had just seen. She quickly formed a spear with her stellr energy and stabbed it into the Karmic me Sable.

    The astral beast was pierced through, and blood sprayed out. The excruciating pain woke it from its daze, but only in time for it to see Lu Yin¡¯s next attacknd. The Hollow Palm incorporated Lu Yin¡¯s domain and spiritual force. While the sable might have the physical strength to endure Lu Yin¡¯s Oveying Stacks and even his domain, the beast was weak to spiritual force. The unexpected and mixed nature of Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palms left the Karmic me Sable in a stunned state, and it waspletely unable to fight back.

    Off in the distance, Feng Lin had returned to her form as a Celestial Ice Phoenix. She rose high above the battlefield, and her tricolored rays swept out.

    Lu Yin grabbed the Karmic me Sable and used it as a shield. When the tricolored rays arrived, Lu Yin and the sable were both blown back.

    Feng Lin''s power level was only a bit over 600,000, which meant that it was impossible for her to breach Lu Yin¡¯s defenses, but the ray still managed to scorch the sable¡¯s fur.

    "Despicable!" Feng Lin raged.

    Across from her, the Frost Emperor raised a hand. A wreath of five interlocking plum blossoms appeared and shot out. ¡°See if you can melt this."

    Feng Lin turned to re at the Frost Emperor. "Our tricolored ray can melt anything! It¡¯s impossible for you to defeat me!"

    She fired off another ray even as she spoke.

    The Karmic me Sable was caught in an unending onught from both Lu Yin and Ling Qiu. It was suppressed to the point where it could not fight back at all.

    Suddenly, a shadow appeared and wrapped around the Karmic me Sable and tried to pull the creature away.

    It was Shadowbeast.

    Lu Yin instantly became upset. Shadowbeast wanted to steal his prey? Lu Yin immediately formed a sword from his star energy and shed out, but he could not cut through Shadowbeast¡¯s shadow.

    At the same time, Liu Qianjue''s sword struck from the distance, instantly slicing through the shadow and disrupting Shadowbeast¡¯s control. Ling Qiu took advantage of the opening to stab the shadow with her spear, nailing it in ce.

    Still, Shadowbeast''s interference had given the Karmic me Sable a moment to breathe, and it quickly regained control of its faculties after being dazed by Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm. mes erupted from its body and shot at Lu Yin. At this moment, the sable hated Lu Yin far more than it did Ling Qiu.

    Even if Ling Qiu''s fallen leaves reappeared, she would not be able topletely suppress these mes.

    However, Lu Yin did not feel any fear against these mes. His bodysuit armor was more than capable of protecting him, and even though it had cracked, the heat that could seep through those openings would not be too fierce. Besides, Lu Yin usually cultivated with the assistance of hot mes, so he had developed a high resistance to heat.

    Still, Lu Yin remained cautious, as his goal was to capture the Karmic me Sable alive. If he could not aplish that, then he would have wasted his time and should have just left this beast for Ling Qiu to fight on her own.

    As Lu Yin thought about his, the ck and white mist seeped out of his chest and formed arge cocoon that enveloped him. Ling Qiu suddenly appeared in front of him, and she swept the encroaching mes away. That done, she turned to look at the ck and white cocoon in surprise. What was this?

    At the same time, countless others looked over: Feng Lin, the Frost Emperor, Liu Qianjue, Shadowbeast, Liu Huang, Xu Qing, the Celestial Demon, the Second Nightking, and more. This was because the moment the dual-colored mist appeared, an ancient aura had filled the area, and its appearance caused everyone to reflexively look over.

    The Karmic me Sable stared at the ck and white cocoon, and fear appeared in the depths of the beast¡¯s eyes. It did not fear Lu Yin, but it was very afraid of this new power that had just appeared. While this new power might not exceed the astral beast¡¯s power level, for some reason, just the sight of it elicited an inexplicable fear from the bottom of the sable¡¯s heart. It was almost as if its species was suppressed by this power on a primal level.

    The sable was not the only astral beast feeling this, as every single astral beast on the entire battlefield had frozen at the same time.

    There was one detail that Lu Yin had never even thought about; as he grew stronger, the aura of the God of Death that he gave off also grew stronger, and he became more simr to the God of Death. That ancient powerhouse had faced off against humans, astral beasts, and even the Aeternals. There was an indelible mark on the very souls of the creatures who had faced the God of Death.

    The fear that gripped the astral beasts¡¯ hearts was essentially an instinct, and it would only grow more and more pronounced as time passed.

    The ck and white cocoon broke open, and Lu Yin reappeared. His hair hung to his waist, and ck and white mists twined about him. He had used the God of Death Transformation.

    When he looked up, his eyes were pure ck, and anyone that looked into them would feel endless fear.

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked very different from normal.

    He shook his hands; he felt much stronger than before. Every time he improved his cultivation or absorbed more death energy, it seemed that his God of Death Transformation would be stronger as well. Lu Yin had never this stronger before, and this increase was far from small.

    "Out of my way," Lu Yin growled. He nced at Ling Qiu before quickly stepping forward. He raised a hand, and the massive scythe shed at the Karmic me Sable.

    The astral beast seemed frozen in ce as it stared at the approaching scythe. Surprisingly, it never moved at all, and the scythe sliced through half of the sable¡¯s body, spilling its blood into space.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Is this guy stupid? Why didn¡¯t it do anything?

    Some distance away, Shadowbeast''s shadow twisted as he tried to drag the Karmic me Sable away once again, but this time, Lu Yin was prepared. The scythe swept out again, this time towards Shadowbeast, and Lu Yin actually managed to block the shadow.

    Despite the incredible difference in power level, Lu Yin had actually managed to block the shadow.

    Shadowbeast was startled, as this was simply impossible. His power level meant that it should have been impossible for someone as weak as Lu Yin to block him no matter what Lu Yin did. That scythe was odd, and there was also something strange about Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Shadowbeast was actually feeling a bit fearful, and he did not dare to look directly into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The Karmic me Sable finally reacted, and it forced itself to endure its terrible injuries to escape. Lu Yin entered the true universe and chased after the sable. His chains shot out and captured the Karmic me Sable before he turned around and raced towards the human fleet. "Stop them."

    From the moment Lu Yin entered the cocoon to when he captured the Karmic me Sable, only a few seconds had passed. Still, the shock that his actions brought to the battlefield was unmatched. All the astral beasts werepletely stunned, both from the innate fear towards Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation and from the sight of Lu Yin blocking Shadowbeast.

    The Celestial Demons were arrogant creatures that devoured spiritual force. They saw themselves as the rulers of the Astral Beast Domain, and they looked down upon all humans. However, the moment the Celestial Demon saw Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation, the Celestial Demon had felt an instinctive fear well up. He did not fear Lu Yin, but rather the power that Lu Yin controlled.

    Just what was that power? It actually transcended cultivation and power levels to induce a fear in one¡¯s very soul!

    Xu Qing stared at Lu Yin''s back, and the Void Thundbeast¡¯s eyes zed. This was the power that he wanted! This was it! This was the strength that suppressed all peers, and Xu Qing had to obtain it.

    Once Lu Yin waspletely out of sight, the countless astral beasts finally reacted. The Karmic me Sable had been captured.

    Xu Qing screamed, "Lu Yin, let the Karmic me Sable go!"

    As he yelled, he tried to force his way closer to the humans¡¯ fleet in vain, but Liu Huang stopped the astral beasts¡¯ general. Xu Qing nced around, and he saw that none of the astral beasts had any fighting spirit left at all, and their loss of morale caused Xu Qing¡¯s heart to sink. Even someone at Xu Qing¡¯s level had been scared by Lu Yin, so there was no need to mention any of the others. Realizing this, Xu Qing ordered an immediate retreat. Continuing the fight at this point would only cause the astral beasts to suffer more casualties, especially since they had lost a powerhouse.

    The retreat of the horde of astral beasts indicated the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s victory.

    In fact, as far as the Great Eastern Alliance was concerned, they were victorious as long as they were not forced to retreat.

    However, there were odd expressions on the faces of Liu Huang and the other powerhouses. Winning was winning, so why had Lu Yin captured the Karmic me Sable and fled from the battlefield?

    No one could understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions aside from Abel Phoenix, who had somewhat of an idea.

    In the center of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet, Lu Yin emerged from the true universe. His chains still bound the Karmic me Sable, who struggled frantically. Unfortunately, it had already been injured by Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm and Ling Qiu¡¯s attacks before being severely wounded by Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation. At the moment, the sable¡¯s strength had been reduced to that of a new Envoy, and it waspletely unable to escape from Lu Yin, let alone when Lu Yin was using the God of Death Transformation.

    Lu Yin took out the Skyze Stone and ced it in front of the Karmic me Sable''s mouth. "Breathe fire."

    The sable''s little eyes red at Lu Yin, burning with killing intent. However, there was also an inexplicable fear deep in the beast¡¯s eyes.

    "I said, breathe fire!" Lu Yin yelled.

    "Human, are you trying to humiliate me?" For the first time, the Karmic me Sable spoke. Its voice was as sharp as its eyes, and it sounded like grinding metal.

    Lu Yin calmly stated, "If you don''t breathe fire, you¡¯ll die."

    The Karmic me Sable raged, "We captured three of you humans¡¯ Envoys, and yet we never killed any of them!"

    "That¡¯s just because not enough time passed. Xu Qing was nning to use them to destroy my Great Eastern Alliance''s morale, which is even more despicable than just killing them. I entered your army on my own to meet with Xu Qing and to rescue them. Tell me, does Xu Qing have the courage to do the same for you? Would you?" Lu Yin mocked.

 Chapter 1865: Image

    Chapter 1865: Image

    The Karmic me Sable became even more furious when it heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. "That''s only because you were able to take those two freaks with you!"

    "Even if I couldn¡¯t have done that, I still would have gone to meet Xu Qing," Lu Yin stated.

    The Karmic me Sable gave a derisive snort. "Human, I won¡¯t believe a word you say! You¡¯re too despicable! I¡¯ve heard of you before, Lu Yin! Greedy, ambitious, despicable, andpletely shameless!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow before smacking the sable on the head. "Who told you that?"

    This made Lu Yin angry. Was this how he was perceived in the Astral Beast Domain? Someone had to be deliberately sabotaging his image! This was terrible! How would he be able to conquer the Astral Beast Domain in the future?

    The Karmic me Sable''s fierce little eyes flickered with a cold glint. "The entire Celestial Beast Empire knows this much. Let me tell you, I didn¡¯t actually need to fight in this war, but because you reached out to Xu Qing, the Celestial Demon Emperor made a special point to send us in as secret reinforcements. It¡¯s all because of you! He said that you¡¯re a despicable human and that we absolutely cannot afford to be unprepared for this war. He ordered all of us to kill you if at all possible.¡±

    This information surprised Lu Yin, but it also exined why not even Xu Qing had known which powerhouses would be sent as hidden reserves. They had been sent here specifically to take care of Lu Yin. It seemed that the Celestial Demon Emperor knew Lu Yin quite well.

    "The Celestial Demon Emperor was right! You really arepletely despicable! If not for us, Xu Qing would havepletely lost that second battle. Forget keeping control of the asteroid field¡ªwe would have been lucky to defend even the Primal Zone. Every detail of these battles is being reported back to the Celestial Demon Emperor. He knows how the two battles have been lost, as well as how you rescued those three Envoys. He won¡¯t give up because of this! y it smart and leave now, or else you¡¯ll be finished!" The Karmic me Sable threatened Lu Yin nonstop, and the creature¡¯s eyes grew more and more fierce.

    Lu Yin was actually amused by this. "Your mouth¡¯s so small, and yet you talk so big. I want to see who your Celestial Beast Empire is going to send here as reinforcements next."

    The Karmic me Sable gritted its teeth and continued ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s pure ck eyes suddenly locked onto the Karmic me Sable, and Lu Yin¡¯s energy spiked as he raised the scythe high.

    His movements startled the Karmic me Sable, and it was frozen speechless by the fear that blossomed from its very soul. The sable lost all will to resist, and at this moment, its behavior suddenly seemed to match its appearance and size as it started shaking.

    Lu Yin seemed to grow taller in the creature¡¯s eyes.

    The astral beast was unable to stop itself from trembling. "Wha- what kind of power is this? There¡¯s no way it¡¯s your power! This is not the strength of a human!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. It seemed that the God of Death Transformation was especially effective against the astral beasts. He remembered the vision that he had seen when absorbing death energy in the Bizarre Sect. In it, the God of Death seemed to havepletely suppressed the astral beasts in ancient times.

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang were waiting for Lu Yin outside the spacecraft that he was using. ¡°Second Nightking,e in."

    The old man entered and looked at Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation. Shock and excitement filled the man¡¯s eyes, as he was looking at something that confirmed the legends as real.

    Everyone thought that the God of Death was nothing more than a legend, and almost no one actually believed that such a powerhouse had ever lived. In fact, the Daynight n had never believed in the legends, but the entire reason why the Daynight n had not gone to the Perennial World was because the Bai family had ordered the Daynight n to remain in the Fifth Maind and gather fatesand and anything at all rted to Destiny. If Destiny had been real, then the God of Death would have also lived.

    The Daynight n had not believed the legends for their own sake, but rather because of the Bai family¡¯s convictions.

    When the Second Nightking first met Lu Yin, Mr. Feng had mentioned that Lu Yin possessed the power of the God of Death. The Second Nightking had not been in a rush to act at that time, resulting in the Chief Justice acting first.

    The Second Nightking had always wanted to see Lu Yin''s God of Death Transformation.

    Lu Yin''s pure ck eyes stared back at the Second Nightking for a second. The death energy that filled the air around his body disappeared; the transformation had ended.

    The moment the God of Death Transformation faded away, the Karmic me Sable shot away. However, the instant it started to move, its mind went nk, and it fell like a stone.

    Lu Yin was amused, and he stepped forward to ce his foot on the astral beast. It was only the size of his hand, and a single foot was enough to pin it down. "Where do you think you are? Do you really think that you can run away?"

    The Karmic me Sable''s eyes were unfocused, and it took a while for it to regain consciousness. When it did so, the beast shot a nce of fear towards the Second Nightking before turning to stare at Lu Yin. "What do you want, human?"

    Lu Yin put the Skyze Stone by the sable¡¯s mouth once again. "Breathe fire."

    The Karmic me Sable became furious, just like before. "Human, I¡¯m a powerful Envoy, not your pet! If you think that you can humiliate me and the Celestial Beast Empire with this, you can stop dreaming!"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "You¡¯re overthinking. This has absolutely nothing to do with your Celestial Beast Empire. Just hurry up and blow out some fire for me."

    The Karmic me Sable shrieked and cursed, but it refused to release any fire at all. Lu Yin was helpless to do anything. After all, anyone who was able to reach the Envoy level could not be coerced through intimidation. He had to use other means.

    The Second Nightking had to ask, "Why do you need it to breathe fire?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This Skyze Stone stores high temperature mes, and I need it to be filled up. The hotter the mes, the better."

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes shed. "I can get that."

    With that, spiritual force wrapped around the Karmic me Sable.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. Right, why had he not thought of that? Illusions would absolutely work, though it was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities as the sable was an Envoy. Even with Daynight Praises, Lu Yin would only be able to control the beast for a short while, and it would be impossible for him topletely fill the Skyze Stone.

    A short whileter, the still dazed Karmic me Sable opened its mouth began spewing fire at the Skyze Stone. The more fire the creature released, the more excited it became. Even when the cut from Lu Yin¡¯s scythe opened up and started to bleed again, the creature did not care and continued as though it was incinerating an enemy.

    Lu Yin quickly had the Second Nightking stop the creature before giving it an Enhanced pill to treat its injuries. Given the sable''s current strength, the mes were nowhere close to hot enough to actually harm Lu Yin.

    ***

    To the northeast, Xu Qing''s order to retreat had dealt a heavy blow to the astral beasts. The general had expected to either win or lose the war, but he had never expected Lu Yin''s God of Death Transformation to have such an incredible impact on the astral beasts.

    "I have already contacted the Celestial Demon Emperor, and more support is being sent," the Celestial Demon informed Xu Qing. The arrogant astral beast looked quite upset at the moment.

    Xu Qing asked, "How bad are things in the imperial city?"

    The Celestial Demon hesitated for a moment, but then he replied, "They all feel that this is a war that we must win, and they also believe that the Great Eastern Alliance is something that should be easily taken out. You¡¯ve repeatedly lost and asked for greater support, so many people are condemning you."

    Xu Qing sneered. "Allowing such individuals toe here will only make things worse."

    The Celestial Demon could not deny that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s strength had defied all their expectations. Before the Astral Beast Domain investigated the Great Eastern Alliance, they had thought that the Hall of Honor must have used the Great Eastern Alliance as a disguise tounch a secret attack on the Astral Beast Domain. How else could a mere Enlighter and a power that had existed for barely a decade stand up to the power of the entire Astral Beast Domain?

    However, their investigation had revealed how shockingly powerful the Great Eastern Alliance truly was. They had united both the Innerverse and the Outerverse under a single banner, and they had not even sent out all of their Envoys yet. This was something that those back in the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s imperial city did not know. They were ignorant of the war¡¯s details, and it was impossible for them to believe the truth if it was reported. That was just how things were.

    Xu Qing was not wrong.

    He had been cautious from the very beginning when going up against the Great Eastern Alliance. It was just that the situation on the battlefield had changed too quickly, and Lu Yin, who was a mere human, had hidden his cards too well.

    "How are you going to save the Karmic me Sable?" An astral beast approached. It was only the size of a hand, but it quickly took on a human form, and it turned out the beast was a female. However, her human form was rather homely looking.

    Xu Qing frowned. "I¡¯ll find a way."

    "Reach out to the humans!" the chymifier said anxiously. She had a very good rtionship with the Karmic me Sable.

    Xu Qing growled, "That is my task, while yours is to guard the perimeter and not let any humansunch a sneak attack."

    "The battle just ended, and those humans will need to recuperate for a bit. There won¡¯t be any fighting for now. I hope that you can get the Karmic me Sable back as soon as possible," the chymifier said anxiously.

    The Celestial Demon suddenly shouted, ¡°Leave! This is none of your concern!"

    The chymifier wanted to say something else, but the pressure from both Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon caused her to restrain herself. She was much, much weaker than either of these two powerhouses. The chymifier soon left.

    Xu Qing became more and more irritated. He had to somehow undo this defeat and rescue the Karmic me Sable, but both of those things would be incredibly difficult.

    The few interactions that Xu Qing had had with Lu Yin had given the astral beast general what he considered to be an understanding of Lu Yin. Typically, Lu Yin would simply kill the Karmic me Sable on the battlefield. Since he had instead captured it, the beast had to have some sort of use to him. There was no point in contacting Lu Yin at this time as Xu Qing was suddenly the one who had been forced into a passive state.

    Fortunately, the Karmic me Sable was without friends or allies within the Celestial Beast Empire aside from the chymifier. If it were a more popr beast, the situation would have been far moreplicated. After all, powerful Envoys could directly approach the Celestial Demon Emperor.

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, on Mt. Microcosms, the Arbitration World was practically empty at this time, as the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s forces had been deployed to eliminate the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases. Most of the Guardian Force had also been transferred to the Starfall Sea to prevent the pass from falling and the Aeternals from entering the Innerverse.

    The Neoverse was constantly drafting more cultivators and sending them to protect the pass in the Starfall Sea, and the same was happening in the Sixth Maind. Hundreds of millions of cultivators had gathered there, as both the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind feared that the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines would not be able to defend the pass. If that happened, every single part of the Fifth Maind would be thrust into catastrophe.

    There were two matters that were being focused on: wiping out the Neohuman Alliance and gathering strength in the Starfall Sea. These were humanity¡¯s main priorities at the moment.

    Elsewhere on Mt. Microcosms, Zi Jing met with Arch-Elder Zen.

    "What¡¯s the general consensus on thework?" Arch-Elder Zen asked. His back was facing Zi Jing as he stared off into the distance.

    Zi Jing respectfully replied, "There is a mix of both praise and criticism. The Outerverse praises the Great Eastern Alliance, but the Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse are all condemning them. They im that the Great Eastern Alliance has secretly colluded with the Sixth Maind and that Lu Yin has already gone over to the Sixth Maind and be one of them."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression remained unchanged. The moment the Great Eastern Alliance had decided to protect the Outerverse, someone had already made such ims. The Sixth Maind was also praising the Great Eastern Alliance and acting as though the alliance was already part of them.

    The more the Sixth Maind behaved in this manner, the angrier the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s critics would be. There were very few who could see the current situation clearly.

    "Publicize the ughters that took ce in Northcastle, Forested, and Eastly Weaves. Those people need to wake up," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Zi Jing respectfully assented.

    After Zi Jing left, Arch-Elder Zen disappeared. When he reappeared, he was just outside the Lockbreakers World, and he quickly entered the hidden world.

    Xiu Ming frowned. "Even if Mt. Microcosms belongs to you, you shouldn''t be so rude. You could easily startle somebody."

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Xiu Ming. "The Lockbreaker Society should take action. Lu Yin may not be able to hold out."

    Xiu Ming shrugged. "If I could, I would. I wanted to do so long ago."

    Arch-Elder Zen grew puzzled, and Xiu Ming grew solemn. "I¡¯ve lost control of the society."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression instantly changed. "Lost control? Didn''t you say that that was impossible?"

    Xiu Ming shrugged. "Logically, it should have been impossible. Someone took action, and you should already know who it was."

    "Whiteless God," Arch-Elder Zen grumbled.

    Xiu Ming and Arch-Elder Zen both looked at each other. "I have always felt that Whiteless God is the greatest threat of all of the Seven Skygods. When they suffered a loss, we were nervous about what they would do for a long time, and yet the Neohuman Alliance did nothing until they attacked Burial Garden. Now that the Sixth Maind and the Hall of Honor are trying to wipe out the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s bases, Whiteless God has taken action. What happened in Ironblood Weave should be her doing."

 Chapter 1866: Peak Enlighter

    Chapter 1866: Peak Enlighter

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s frown deepened. "She¡¯s probably trying to use Ironblood Weave to carry out her schemes and alleviate some of the pressure on the Neohuman Alliance. If the ce that you¡¯re protecting is truly out of your control, I can¡¯t say what will happen. It¡¯s possible that something even worse than the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion is ahead of us."

    "I will do my best to not lose control, but you''d better find Whiteless God as soon as possible," Xiu Ming said.

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded and left, his heart heavy. He had thought that the incident with Burial Garden would be a turning point for the Fifth Maind in dealing with the Aeternals. However, who would have thought that, even if six of the Seven Skygods were gone, Whiteless God alone would present such a terrible threat? She had been hiding her abilities for so many years, waiting for this moment to erupt.

    No one knew who Whiteless God was, and the Fifth Maind could not endure her schemes.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin''s Great Eastern Alliance had already simplified many things for the Hall of Honor. Without the alliance, the Innerverse and Outerverse would still be fractured and disjointed. How could a fractured force possibly stand up to the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion?

    Arch-Elder Zen nced at the battle report from the asteroid field once again. Just how long could the Great Eastern Alliance endure for?

    ¡­

    In the Outerverse¡¯s Tyrannical Weave, Cemetery Keeper finally exited his seclusion.

    The poison that had afflicted him in Ironblood Weave had not only forced him to use up all of the corpse puppets in Ironblood Weave, but also all of the corpse puppets in Justice Manor as well. Cemetery Keeper had used those corpse puppets as soon as he returned to Justice Manor, and they had allowed him to just barely remove the poison from his system.

    Never before had he witnessed such a toxic poison before. This lone poison could be said to have reduced the overall strength of Justice Manor by 70%, as all of the disciples needed to refine their corpse puppets anew.

    As Cemetery Keeper exited his seclusion, Corpse Looter gave the elder man a respectful bow. "Master."

    Cemetery Keeper said, "What happened in Ironblood Weave?"

    Corpse Looter replied in an indifferent tone, "All who fought to defend Ironblood Weave died. There were no survivors."

    This was of no concern to Cemetery Keeper, not even if those people had died because of him. "Has the Astral Beast Domain entered the Outerverse?"

    Corpse Looter replied, "Yes. At the moment, the Astral Beast Domain is entrenched in the asteroid field, and some have also entered Eastly Weave, Forested Weave¡­"

    Corpse Looter provided a brief exnation of the eastern weaves¡¯ current situation.

    Cemetery Keeper listened quietly, and a bitter, he remarked, "It would seem that the Great Eastern Alliance has been terribly underestimated. They¡¯ve actually stopped the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion in their tracks. The Daosource Sect was ruthless enough topletely abandon the eastern weaves. Without the Great Eastern Alliance, I don¡¯t know just how many people there would have died.¡±

    At thisment, Cemetery Keeper¡¯s eyes lit up. The eastern weaves were a good ce to refine corpse puppets right now.

    "Master, what should we do?" Corpse Looter asked.

    Cemetery Keeper indifferently replied, "Don''t worry about it. Let the Great Eastern Alliance fight the Astral Beast Domain, and once the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory has been cleansed thoroughly, someone will handle this situation."

    "Yes, Master," Corpse Looter respectfully acknowledged.

    Cemetery Keeper stared eastward. He had thought that Lu Yin was a person of great aplishments, but unfortunately, he was still too soft-hearted. What did it matter if the Great Eastern Alliance actually managed to defeat the Astral Beast Domain? Those weaves would still belong to the Sixth Maind, but the Great Eastern Alliance was paying the price to save them. The gains could not outweigh the losses.

    ¡­

    Some people admired Lu Yin, others mocked him, but at this moment, Lu Yin did not care about what the outside world thought about him at all. He was just staring at the Karmic me Sable. "Its recovery speed is quite quick."

    The Second Nightking said, "Astral beasts typically have a faster recovery speed than humans. There are some astral beasts that focus on recovery and don¡¯t use any medications at all. For those, the first time they use a pill, they heal remarkably fast."

    Lu Yin had spent three days keeping an eye on the Karmic me Sable. When he saw that those three days were enough for most of the beast¡¯s injuries to recover, he could not hold his admiration back.

    The Karmic me Sable woke up and looked around in a daze. All it heard was ¡°Alright¡± before it was lost in an illusion that it could not escape.

    The Second Nightking soon left the spacecraft, dragging the Karmic me Sable behind him as he left. At the same time, Lu Yin announced that he was going into seclusion.

    This was something that no one would do in the middle of a battlefield, but Lu Yin could do it because of his die¡¯s Timestop. Nearly a whole year¡¯s worth of secluded training could be done in a single second.

    After making sure that no one was watching, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die. He tapped it and eagerly watched as it spun around.

    His first roll was six pips. His vision went dark for a moment before returning to normal. He felt quite relieved that he had set his cosmic ring aside; otherwise, he would have entered that strange space with the glowing orbs.

    Again.

    The second roll resulted in three pips, which was pretty lucky, but unfortunately, Lu Yin had nothing to Enhance at this time. Given his current cultivation realm, he wanted to Enhance a formcast model so that he could use it for his uing breakthrough to the Envoy realm, but he had already run the calctions. While it had only cost him 8,000 star essence to Enhance a formcast model to six stages, the price to create a seven-stage formcast model was 100 million star essence. Thus, enhancing one to eight stages would likely cost him trillions of star essence. That waspletely beyond his means, so he could only forget about it.

    There was nothing else that Lu Yin needed to Enhance. He realized that hecked a powerful weapon, but all of the weapons that he owned had already been upgraded to the limit, and yet they were useless for his current level.

    He shrugged and rolled the die again

    This time, he rolled four pips, and he quickly picked up his cosmic ring before entering the Timestop Space. Almost immediately, the scenery changed before his eyes.

    He let out a long breath and brought out the Skyze Stone. It was time for Lu Yin to reach the peak of the Enlighter realm.

    The temperature soared within the space, and star essence vaporized. Stars appeared around Lu Yin and started to revolve around his body as he recited the Origin Sutra. With everything set up, he absorbed star energy at a speed that would shatter the understanding of almost anyone who saw him.

    When the scenery around Lu Yin changed, he had spent almost a year in the Timestop Space, but the scorching mes had disappeared long before his time had run out.

    The heat of the Karmic me Sable''s mes exceeded a power level of 700,000, which meant that it was just hot enough for Lu Yin¡¯s use.

    He hadpleted his forty sixth cycle.

    After resting for a few days and stabilizing himself, Lu Yin called the Second Nightking back.

    The Second Nightking gave Lu Yin an odd look. Wasn¡¯t this person supposed to be in seclusion? How had he finished after just a few days?

    Lu Yin took out his Skyze Stone and held it near the Karmic me Sable''s mouth. "Let¡¯s go. Have it breath out more fire."

    The Second Nightking waspletely confused, but he could only follow Lu Yin¡¯s lead.

    After the Second Nightking left, Lu Yin resumed rolling his die. He was lucky enough to roll Timestop on his first roll. After his time ran out again, he called the Second Nightking back once more to have the ancient expert make the Karmic me Sable spit out yet more fire. They continued this cycle repeatedly.

    Every ten days, Lu Yin would roll his die.

    A bit more than a monthter, Lu Yinpleted his forty ninth cycle, though he had absorbed more than 2 billion star essence to do so. It was an astronomical sum.

    However, at this point, the sable¡¯s mes were almost useless to Lu Yin.

    He has reached the peak of the Enlighter realm, and hisbat strength was high enough for him to go against Envoys with power levels of more than 700,000. The Karmic me Sable¡¯s mes were naturally no longer enough to assist Lu Yin, but they were also now unnecessary. After all, at the Envoy realm, Lu Yin would need to absorb stellr energy instead of star energy.

    He had finally reached the end of his cultivating shortcut.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of regret as he stared at the Skyze Stone in his hand. It would be useless as a cultivation aid after he became an Envoy, but he could always Enhance the Skyze Stone and find out if a fire dragon or something else would appear.

    There had been no fighting on the battlefield for more than a month. Both armies had shown great restraint.

    However, Shui Chuanxiao could no longer wait. He was absolutely certain that the Astral Beast Domain was waiting for reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire, so he repeatedly begged to meet with Lu Yin, as themander wanted to reignite the mes of war. He was quite frustrated with Lu Yin at this time.

    Shui Chuanxiao was supposed to be the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s General, which meant that he was supposed to have the authority to make such decisions. Having twomanding officers in a single army was a situation that would result in defeat, and thus it was forbidden for any to do so.

    Naturally, Lu Yin was aware of this, and he would never have done so in normal circumstances. In most wars, Lu Yin would give Shui Chuanxiao free reign to do as he saw fit, but there were too many Envoys fighting in this war. Such powerhouses were also participating unwillingly, so it would have been nearly impossible to leave themand of the Envoys to Shui Chuanxiao. Even when two people were of simr strength, powerhouses would resist taking orders, let alone when themander was much weaker than them, like Shui Chuanxiao.

    This was why Shui Chuanxiao could not retain fullmand over the fleet and was unable to dictate the overall flow of the battlefield.

    Xu Qing, like Shui Chuanxiao, was a famous tactician, but he had already lost several battles in a row. He had managed to retain hismand of the astral beasts due to his overwhelming strength, not his tactics.

    Xu Qing was still waiting for reinforcements to arrive from the Celestial Beast Empire while Lu Yin was waiting for Fifth Maind to regain a bit of internal stability.

    As long as the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s various bases were cleaned out and the Sixth Maind finished investigating the people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, Lu Yin would receive support in the eastern weaves. Even if that meant that the Great Eastern Alliance needed to vacate the weaves, that was still fine.

    This mutual waiting led to a stable calm in the war.

    Shui Chuanxiao immediately went to speak to Lu Yin when he exited his seclusion. "We can''t wait any longer! As soon as the reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire arrive, they¡¯ll immediately attack. Then, our chances of victory will be almost nothing."

    Lu Yin could sense Shui Chuanxiao''s frustrations, and he quietly said, "Changingmanders in the middle of a battle is something to avoid at almost all costs, and the same is true of having twomanders of a single army. While I¡¯m aware of this, our situation is a bit special. Also, even if we start fighting again, we¡¯ll just be weakening each other."

    "So should we wait for the enemy reinforcements to arrive and wipe us out?" Shui Chuanxiao asked bluntly.

    Lu Yin did not be angry. "I know where you¡¯reing from, but you don¡¯t need to worry. I know that the Celestial Beast Empire is sending reinforcements over. I¡¯m not an idiot. However, Commander Shui, you can¡¯t forget that you are the General of my Great Eastern Alliance, which means that the interests of the alliance shoulde first. Our entire purpose in fighting this war is to defend the eastern weaves and stop the astral beasts from ughtering all the humans there. However, if the Great Eastern Alliance fights against the Astral Beast Domain with our full strength, we¡¯ll both be weakened, and that will only benefit the Sixth Maind and our other enemies."

    Shui Chuanxiao sighed. At this time, his perspective waspletely different from Lu Yin¡¯s. Shui Chuanxiao was seeing the war and the battlefield, and he simply wanted to achieve victory here. If he looked at the bigger perspective, he was someone who would sacrifice a weave or even himself for humanity. Lu Yin was another person who could see the big picture, but Lu Yin also looked at things from the perspective of his position as the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and he always considered what was best for them.

    If the fleetunched an attack, they might be able to win the war, but the Great Eastern Alliance would suffer terrible losses. This was not something that Lu Yin wanted to see happen. He wanted to protect the humans in the eastern weaves and drive the astral beasts back into their own domain. This was not the right time to wage an all-out war against the astral beasts.

    "I once promised Ironblood Weave¡¯s defenders that I would lead them in a counterattack against the Astral Beast Domain and that we would force our way into the Primal Zone one day. They imed that this enmity will never be forgotten, but this is not the time,¡± Lu Yin said slowly, ¡°I can ignore how the Sixth Maind mocks me. Do you really think I don¡¯t know what people are saying? I know that they¡¯re calling me the Sixth Maind¡¯spdog, but I don¡¯t care. All I want is to protect the people of the Outerverse. However, that does not mean that I can sacrifice the Great Eastern Alliance. Do you understand?¡±

    Shui Chuanxiao and Lu Yin stared at each other, and themander¡¯s tone softened. "I was hasty. It was already unexpected for you to lead the Great Eastern Alliance to stop the Astral Beast Domain."

    Lu Yin knew what Shui Chuanxiao was thinking, and he grew serious. "I¡¯ll say it again today: one day, I will force my way into the Primal Zone, and we will collect the blood debt that we are owed and force the Astral Beast Domain back. But for now, we need to wait. Nothing more."

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded. "Understood."

    After a moment, he asked, "However, as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯smander, I need to have an understanding of our total fighting strength, as without that, I can¡¯t make any reasonable ns."

    Shui Chuanxiao left a short timeter. His expression was as solemn as ever, and no one could see what he was thinking.

    The Second Nightking went to see Lu Yin once again with the Karmic me Sable.

 Chapter 1867: Sole Of My Foot

    Chapter 1867: Sole Of My Foot

    Lu Yin no longer needed the Karmic me Sable, but the creature was still strong and had a power level of over 700,000. "Can we subdue it?"

    The Second Nightking shook his head. "It''s very tenacious. Unless it¡¯s suppressed by illusions at all times, it will find a way to escape."

    "Keep it under control for now," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking to step away, and he then raised his hand and essed his gadget to call Xu Qing.

    Xu Qing had tried to call Lu Yin twice during his seclusion.

    "Commander Xu Qing, were you looking for me?" Lu Yin asked in a rxed tone.

    Xu Qing indifferently replied, "Alliance Leader Lu, how has your recovery progressed?"

    Lu Yin had gone into seclusion by publicly stating that he was recuperating from injuries. ¡°Much better now. I¡¯ll have to ask you to take care of me in the future, General. You have my thanks for going easy on me."

    "You won¡¯t be so lucky next time," Xu Qing coldly stated.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Did you call me just for this, Commander?"

    Xu Qing remained silent for a while. "I¡¯ll cut to the chase: give me the Ghost Monkey and the Karmic me Sable, and I can retreat from Forested and Eastly Weaves."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze suddenly grew sharp. "Are you offering me a deal?"

    "You can see it that way, or as a threat," Xu Qing said.

    "What if I refuse?" Lu Yin''s voice dropped low.

    Xu Qing sneered. "You won''t. Will you really send the full strength of your Great Eastern Alliance here just to save the people in the eastern weaves? Both Forested and Eastly Weaves are also ces that you¡¯re trying to protect, so if you refuse, we will resume ughtering the humans in those two weaves. You can¡¯t afford to refuse."

    Lu Yin''s eyes chilled. From the time that he had first stepped onto the battlefield, every time he spoke to Xu Qing, he had avoided mentioning the other eastern weaves. As soon as those ces were brought up, Lu Yin would be put at a disadvantage. He genuinely wanted to send people to drive the astral beasts out of those other two weaves, but it simply was not realistic. The only option that Lu Yin had was to face Xu Qing head on in an attempt to gain a superior position and force the other astral beasts in the Outerverse to move to the battlefield to support Xu Qing¡¯s forces.

    However, they had already fought several battles, but Lu Yin had not managed to gain a clear advantage yet. Both sides had celebrated victories and suffered defeats. It was very difficult to force things to a point where Xu Qing had to recall all the astral beasts in the Outerverse to fight on the main battlefield.

    Fortunately, there had not been too many deaths in the other two weaves. Liu Ye and Fei Hua had unexpectedly appeared and blocked the giant praying mantis, which had relieved Lu Yin of a great deal of anxiety. It was unexpected for Xu Qing to suddenly threaten Lu Yin with the other two weaves, but if the astral beasts in those ces really did resume their previous activities, the number of human casualties would be shocking.

    "The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s majesticmander-in-chief is actually trying to intimidate me by threatening me with the lives of ordinary humans. Is this really how you do things?" Lu Yin asked as he suppressed his anger.

    Xu Qing sneered. "It¡¯s true that ordinary people shouldn¡¯t be involved in a war, but the fact is that we are the invaders."

    Themander stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, giving off a menacing vibe. "Lu Yin, don''t forget that this is an invasion, not a war. You and us are two different species. While I can abide by the most basic rules of warfare, I will not fight you while crippling myself. This is how I fight a war. Shui Chuanxiao hasn¡¯t taught you enough yet."

    Lu Yin lifted his head and icily stared at him.

    Xu Qing averted his eyes and suddenly calmed down and spoke casually, "It¡¯s clearly impossible for us to simply threaten you and leave you in peace as you retreat, but I can promise to leave your Great Eastern Alliance untouched as long as you return the Ghost Monkey and the Karmic me Sable to us. You can even shatter the sable¡¯s stellr vortex and cripple it so that it¡¯s no longer any threat to you.¡±

    "So you really just want the Ghost Monkey," Lu Yinmented softly.

    Xu Qing nodded. "That''s right. The Celestial Ice Phoenixes have specifically requested the Ghost Monkey¡¯s return, so as long as you send him to me, I will immediately call all the astral beasts in Forested and Eastly Weaves to pull out. Additionally, they will never attack those ces again unless we win this war."

    These conditions were not actually excessive. If Lu Yin still had the Ghost Monkey and did not know about the monkey¡¯s importance to Skymender, he would have readily handed the beast over, as doing so would not really affect Lu Yin. However, the Ghost Monkey was not with Lu Yin, but even if he revealed this, there was no way that Xu Qing would believe such a thing.

    "Your request isn¡¯t overboard." Lu Yin let out a long breath as he replied.

    Xu Qing''s expression froze. "Do you agree?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I must refuse."

    Xu Qing frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, are you willing to sacrifice countless lives just for the Ghost Monkey? Then why did you evene here and fight this war?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not, the Ghost Monkey isn¡¯t with me anymore."

    "What did you say? The Ghost Monkey isn¡¯t with you?" Feng Lin suddenly shouted. She had been next to Xu Qing this entire time.

    Xu Qing quietly asked, "The Ghost Monkey isn¡¯t with you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "If he were, I¡¯d happily hand him over, as he holds no value to me. But unfortunately, he was taken from me."

    "Impossible! The Ghost Monkey is your tamed beast! There¡¯s a brand on your arm! We know this very well! How could he be taken from you?" Feng Lin demanded.

    Lu Yin exined, "I was once captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and they were the ones who took the Ghost Monkey from me."

    "Who was it?" Feng Lin asked. She did not believe a word that Lu Yin said.

    "The Seven Skygods¡¯ Shaman God."

    His gadget remained silent for a while, but eventually, Lu Yin heard Xu Qing''s voice again. "Shaman God? Were you attacked by Shaman God back then?"

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "The Hall of Honor is already fully aware of this matter. The Neohuman Alliance wanted to transform me into a corpse king, but unfortunately for them, they failed. Still, Shaman God took the Ghost Monkey from me, and I don¡¯t have any idea where he might be. If you want him, you¡¯re going to have to go check with the Neohuman Alliance."

    "Do you think we¡¯ll believe this?" Xu Qing retorted.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Believe it or don¡¯t. I''m ready to start fighting on a second battlefield. You should have already investigated my Great Eastern Alliance, which means that you know that we¡¯ve unified both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. Not all of our Envoys have appeared yet. If you¡¯re going to order the astral beasts in the other eastern weaves to start a massacre, all I can do is send the rest of our Envoys to those weaves. There are always casualties in war, and since I don¡¯t want the civilians to get involved, all I can do is my best to protect them.

    ¡°Commander Xu Qing, I¡¯ll see you on the battlefield." Lu Yin then hung up.

    Xu Qing had not been bluffing, as he waspletely willing to send out orders to ughter the regr humans. The astral beasts saw absolutely no value in human life.

    At this time, of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Envoys, Emperor Luo, the Sea King, Madam Y¨­u, and Elder Lianxin still had not stepped onto the battlefield. There were also a few hidden powerhouses that Lu Yin had not used yet, such as Yuan Shi and the Y¨­u family¡¯s Elder Su.

    Lu Yin sent Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin to Eastly Weave. Elder Lianxin was still unwilling to obey Lu Yin¡¯s orders, so he sent her somece far away from him, which made her quite happy.

    The Sea King and Madam Y¨­u were both standing guard in Northcastle Weave.

    The fighting resumed a few dayster, and this time, it was the Great Eastern Alliance thatunched the attack. Lu Yin had no choice but to take action.

    At Xu Qing¡¯s orders, astral beasts were constantly being sent out from the asteroid field into the eastern weaves, and there were no attempts to try to hide these movements at all. The astral beasts were tantly threatening Lu Yin, and so all he could do was quicklyunch an attack to try to suppress the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces.

    Fighting erupted again, and the asteroid field was shattered. If one looked at the entire asteroid field, they would discover that half the asteroids had been shattered into fragments that drifted through space. With all of the dust and debris, the fleet waspletely unable to move without using the light beams to clear a bath.

    This battlested for half a month. The two sides understood each other quite well, and without any outside assistance, it would be difficult for either side to achieve victory.

    Xu Qing was particrly wary of Lu Yin. The astral beasts¡¯ general was not afraid of Liu Huang or the Second Nightking, but he did fear people like Lu Yin who did not followmon sense.

    This was why every time Lu Yin stepped onto the battlefield, Xu Qing would personally interfere, and his arrival would immediately force Lu Yin to retreat.

    Unsurprisingly, Eastly Weave became a second battlefield. Despite Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin¡¯scking strength, they were still enough to handle the situation.

    In Forested Weave, the giant praying mantis was still locked in a stalemate with Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Their battle had already been going on for two months.

    Lu Yin had not expected the two Envoys to be willing to fight in Forested Weave for so long. After all, they were from the Perennial World, not the Fifth Maind, and they also did not care about the lives of ordinary humans. The only possibility that Lu Yin could think of was that the two had been intimidated by the Hall of Honor or that they had made some sort of promise when they were allowed to leave Mt. Microcosms.

    Another half a month passed, and the fighting still had not stopped at this time. This was not what Lu Yin had wanted when he initiated the second wave of fights, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and keep fighting.

    On a screen that showed the overall situation of the battlefield, nearly half of the human fleet had turned red. This meant that about 70,000 transport vessels and 3,000 warships had been damaged. The death toll was something that Lu Yin did not dare to even look at.

    More and more people in the Innerverse were bing upset with Lu Yin, especially those from the eight great flowzones. Fortunately, the Great Eastern Alliance had already suppressed every flowzone in the Innerverse.

    As for the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin had already reached out to them several times using his status as an overseer. He hoped to have them take over the battlefield, and while they did not refuse, they also did not make any moves. It was clear that they intended to leave the Great Eastern Alliance right where they were.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. From the moment he had first started cultivating, this was his first time being used by others in such a manner. He did not allow himself to be used as a tool by others without being able to resist.

    Beep beep beep beep!

    His gadget alerted him to a call from Wei Rong.

    "How are things?" Lu Yin asked softly.

    Wei Rong sounded exhausted. "Not well, but we have to continue for a while."

    "Don''t worry, but don''t let the Sixth Maind know," Lu Yin said.

    Wei Rong agreed and hung up.

    Lu Yin punched the console of the ship, his eyes cold. If the Sixth Maind wanted to use him, then they could not me him for dropping the courtesies. They would see who used who in the end.

    The war in the asteroid field had alreadysted for almost three months when the Great Eastern Alliance lost its first Envoy: Emperor Luo.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression twisted when he received this report.

    Emperor Luo and Elder Lianxin had been fighting in Eastly Weave, and he had died from an attack from the giant praying mantis.

    The mantis had been held up by Liu Ye and Fei Hua in Forested Weave, but it had suddenly fled the weave and retreated towards Xu Qing, killing Emperor Luo in passing.

    Emperor Luo had not possessed the strength to mount any sort of resistance and had been sliced to pieces.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. War meant people died, but he had not expected Emperor Luo to be the first to die.

    What a pity.

    There was a roar outside the spacecraft, and Chen Huang''s huge body flew by, tumbling as it flew. Lu Yin froze for a moment before hurrying out.

    He saw Chen Huang off in the distance, coughing up blood. The colossal giant¡¯s battle force had been ripped through, as had his flesh. He looked terrible.

    Further away, Lu Yin saw an astral beast that had the form of a praying mantis, and it brandished two des as it rushed towards Chen Huang. The giant¡¯s pupils constricted. It was impossible for him to stop the astral beast.

    Lu Yin was nervous, and his pupils transformed into runes as he attempted to reduce the mantis¡¯s speed, but the difference in strength was too great. Even if Lu Yin managed to weaken the beast a bit, it was not enough to affect anything.

    "The sole of my foot!" Lu Yin shouted. He was very anxious, as Chen Huang was about to die.

    Suddenly, the entire battlefield shook, and countless stars appeared. Everyone reflexively froze, and the giant praying mantis that was attacking Chen Huang was blown back by the stars that had appeared. It fled with a shocking speed, as it had sensed danger.

 Chapter 1868: Strange Corpse

    Chapter 1868: Strange Corpse

    Xu Qing''s expression drastically changed. "The Cosmic Art?"

    This was a war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain. No one had expected to see the terrifying Cosmic Art suddenly appear. After all, that was the symbol of the Cosmic Sect.

    Elder Jiu Shen appeared in outer space, an ugly expression on his face as he shot a fierce re towards Lu Yin. "Boy, what nonsense are you spouting?"

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. That had almost been the end! The giant praying mantis was too fast and dangerous, making it a grave threat. Thinking of this, Lu Yin quickly said, "Elder, please handle that praying mantis. That thing¡¯s a major threat."

    Elder Jiu Shen angrily retorted, "I''m not your thug!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "I''m sorry to trouble you, Elder."

    Jiu Shen snorted derisively. He looked very immature at this moment, and yet Xu Qing stared at the neer as though seeing a ghost. "The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen? Why are you here?"

    Elder Jiu Shen turned his head so that he could look at Xu Qing. "I was just passing by."

    Xu Qing''s expression changed once more, and this time it was because he was angry. Passing by? Was Jiu Shen treating Xu Qing like an idiot? Who ¡°passed by¡± a battlefield?

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang were unsurprised to see Jiu Shen. He had arrived half a month before but had kept himself hidden. While others had not been able to sense the powerhouse¡¯s presence, the two of them had.

    Elder Jiu Shen nced at the Second Nightking in a very unfriendly manner. He had nearly been killed by the Second Nightking when they encountered each other in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. If it had been a normal fight, Jiu Shen would have had noints, but at the time, he had been badly wounded after being affected by a Progenitor¡¯s strength. Jiu Shen really wanted to get revenge when he saw the Second Nightking again.

    As for the Second Nightking, he was unconcerned, as his strength was equal to Jiu Shen¡¯s.

    "Elder Jiu Shen, why is an elder from the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect joining this Outerverse war?" Xu Qing asked as he warily looked at the elder. The arrival of such a powerful expert put an incredible amount of pressure on the astral beasts.

    Elder Jiu Shen stared at Void Thunderbeast. "Who said that this is an Outerverse war? This is a war between our two Domains. Also, I just told you I was just merely passing by."

    Xu Qing became furious. "If Elder Jiu Shen insists on joining this battle, you must be prepared to die here!"

    Elder Jiu Shen''s eyes flickered with killing intent.

    Right at this moment, Lu Yin spoke up. "Senior, that guy just threatened you! Kill him!"

    Elder Jiu Shen shot a vicious re towards Lu Yin. "You need to stop spouting so much bullshit! If you mess with me like that again, see if I don¡¯t just kill you!"

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, but he was inwardly cursing the old man for being too petty. Xia Ji had already targeted Lu Yin in order to get the pattern, so there was no longer any need to keep the pattern on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot a secret.

    Elder Jiu Shen looked back at Xu Qing. "If you¡¯re bold enough to threaten me, then you must have something to rely on. Show yourself! Let me see which old friend is here."

    Xu Qing''s expression grew dark.

    Off in the distance, a pair of eyes opened. The next moment, everyone stared on in shock as space was sliced open while a massive, dark green long sword appeared. It was pointed straight at Elder Jiu Shen.

    The elder¡¯s expression changed slightly. "Is that- is that Sword King?"

    Liu Huang had been keeping Xu Qing upied, but thisment startled him. ¡°Sword King? The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s swordmaster?"

    Lu Yin immediately grew curious. Were there swordmasters in the Astral Beast Domain?

    Jiu Shen sneered when he saw the enormous sword approaching him like the sky itself was crashing down. ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time, old friend. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t kill you on the battlefield back then."

    As the elder spoke, the stars revolving around him converged to form a sword: Celestial Sword.

    There was a bang that shook the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin was finally able to see the Sword King. He was a dark green, humanoid astral beast with an inverted triangr head and two horns. His two eyes took up nearly half of his head, making him quite disturbing to look at.

    "Jiu Shen, today, I will defeat your Celestial Sword!" Sword King dered in a loud but deep voice that gave many people a headache.

    Elder Jiu Shenughed loudly. "Bold words! Don¡¯t embarrass yourself."

    Liu Huang tightly clenched his sword hilt. Rather than the Celestial Sword Technique, the Sword Sect''s Thirteen Swords should be what all swordsmen strove to contend with. Liu Huang wanted to fight Sword King.

    Elder Jiu Shen had appeared to reinforce the Great Eastern Alliance, but Sword King had simrly appeared to support the Astral Beast Domain. Also, he was not alone, as countless astral beasts rushed into the asteroid field from Ironblood Weave. The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s reinforcements had arrived.

    Lu Yin frowned. The Great Eastern Alliance did not have many forces that could be sent to reinforce them. Fortunately, they did have quite a few Envoys. Rather than sheer numbers like the astral beasts, Lu Yin had instead focused on quality in his reinforcements.

    The Sea King and Yuan Shi arrived, which added two more powerhouses to Lu Yin¡¯s forces at once. Their arrival caused Xu Qing''s eye to twitch, and he ground his teeth. The Envoy-level reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire had also arrived, and they had actually received three more powerhouses.

    A battle that shook the entire Fifth Maind erupted.

    There were already more than thirty Envoys fighting in this war, which was unprecedented. The Hall of Honor and the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect were both intently focused on the eastern Outerverse.

    This moment demonstrated the full extent of Lu Yin''s influence. He had actually managed to gather all these Envoys and have them fight with him in this war, and there were even four old monsters with power levels of more than a million. This level of warfare shocked countless people.

    Lu Yin had never expected a terrible battle to break out so suddenly, and he immediately ordered the fleet to pull back. When Envoys fought, even the tiniest moment of carelessness could end up affecting the fleet, and Lu Yin did not want his forces to be reduced to nothing more than cannon fodder.

    The same was true for the horde of astral beasts that Xu Qingmanded, and they also fell back as a fierce battle broke out between the Envoys.

    Lu Yin''s opponent was a giant octopus-looking astral beast. It was not considered a powerful creature, but it did possess an amazing level of defense. Not only could it endure Lu Yin¡¯s physical attacks, but the octopus also seemed to have robust defenses for both Lu Yin¡¯s domain and spiritual force.

    His Hollow Palm proved ineffective, and even though he had already finished forty nine cycles and was a peak Enlighter, he still could not harm the beast. The giant octopus had a power level of over 700,000, but Lu Yin felt that it might even be able to block Liu Qianjue''s sword.

    The Astral Beast Domain was home to far too many different species of strange creatures. The moment that Lu Yin stepped onto the battlefield, the octopus had already focused on him. It seemed that it had been sent over specifically to deal with him.

    Lu Yin''s greatest advantages were the power of his Hollow Palm and his God of Death Transformation. However, even though the octopus had no battle techniques, it was able to suppress all star energy in the area, freeze space, and its defensive abilities were absolutely monstrous.

    A long time passed with Lu Yin unable to do anything to the octopus, though he had to remain very cautious to avoid the astral beast¡¯s attacks.

    As more and more fights broke out on the battlefield, Xu Qing grew increasingly apprehensive of Lu Yin. The giant octopus was able to lock down someone like Liu Qianjue, but a powerhouse at Ling Taizu''s level could still eliminate the octopus. Despite this, the octopus had been tasked with keeping Lu Yin tied down, which showed just how wary Xu Qing was of the youth.

    One thing had not changed for Lu Yin, and that was the fact that the reserves of death energy in his chest were not enough for him to use that power multiple times.

    Soon, Lu Yin received another report: Abel Phoenix had died to a sneak attack from the giant praying mantis.

    The giant mantis was fighting against the Sea King, but the Sea King¡¯s power level was weaker than the mantis, and he could notpletely block the creature¡¯s attacks. This had led to Abel Phoenix being attacked and summarily cut down. The Sea King was enraged, but he was unable to defeat his opponent.

    Lu Yin red at the enormous praying mantis with eyes that burned with murder, but the astral beast was too powerful for Lu Yin to do anything to it.

    If Liu Ye and Fei Hua arrived, they would be able to deal with the mantis, but without them, who could deal with it?

    Yuan Shi and the other top powerhouses all had their own opponents.

    Suddenly, the giant praying mantis nced at Lu Yin with its cold eyes. In a sh, the creature had disappeared. Xu Qing had given the mantis an order to kill Lu Yin.

    A cold sweat covered Lu Yin''s back. He could not use the Ce Secret Art, so he tore into the true universe as fast as he could. The giant octopus¡¯s tentacles reached into the true universe, only for them to be sliced off by the giant mantis¡¯s des. Blood spurted out.

    The mantis swept its des at Lu Yin, and at the same time, the Sea King thrust his trident forward, only to be pushed back by the praying mantis¡¯s des.

    "Boy, RUN!" the Sea King yelled.

    The mantis''s right de shed down, cutting through space. As the attack passed by, many astral beasts and spacecraft were sliced through, and Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpricks. Given the terrifying power of this attack, his bodysuit armor would not be able to protect him.

    In the distance, Elder Jiu Shen was about to use the Star Transference secret technique, but Sword King''s massive sword fell in front of the elder right when he was about to leave.

    If Elder Jiu Shen used Star Transference, Lu Yin would not end up facing the mantis¡¯s des, but rather Sword King¡¯s sword. The two were not on the same level at all. Desperate, Jiu Shen¡¯s revolving stars exploded in front of the giant mantis, shaking the beast. It was pushed back, and its des cracked.

    However, Elder Jiu Shen himself was not doing well, and he spat out blood after Sword King¡¯s de fell down.

    The giant praying mantis did not fall back, but instead continued to attack Lu Yin. The Sea King arrived, and he employed a battle technique that caused what looked like ocean currents to surround the mantis as he stabbed his trident at the astral beast¡¯s back.

    The giant praying mantis was caught off guard and was finally pushed back. The ferocious light in its eyes instantly disappeared and was reced with surprise and confusion.

    The Sea King¡¯s face twisted as he looked back. "Boy, RUN!"

    Lu Yin saw the move that the Sea King had used against the mantis, and it seemed to be the Envoy¡¯s innate gift. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the Sea King¡¯s innate gift.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the mantis would stay to fight the Sea King, but unexpectedly, the creature continued chasing after Lu Yin.

    The astral beast appeared in front of Lu Yin. It moved so quickly that Lu Yin could not even see the des move as they shed. Lu Yin was cut deeply, and his blood sprayed into outer space.

    This strike did not kill Lu Yin, so the giant mantis rushed forward once again. Lu Yin gritted his teeth, but the giant octopus¡¯s tentacles struck down towards his head. The star energy in the area was suppressed, and Lu Yin could not dodge.

    At this critical moment, the tip of a trident shot past Lu Yin¡¯s neck and stabbed at the giant praying mantis.

    The creature used its right de to block the Sea King¡¯s trident while the mantis¡¯s left de continued to slice towards Lu Yin. It looked like Lu Yin was about to die.

    Nothing that Lu Yin had could stop the mantis at this point in time. Not his secret techniques, battle techniques, sourcebox arrays, or even Truesight. Lu Yin was too weakpared to this beast. It was a powerful astral beast that had managed to fight against both Liu Ye and Fei Hua without losing. The mantis had a power level of 800,000 to 900,000, which meant that it was not an opponent that Lu Yin could handle.

    On top of that, the mantis¡¯s attacks surpassed the threshold of what Lu Yin¡¯s bodysuit armor could block.

    Elder Jiu Shen, Yuan Shi, the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and the other powerhouses were all too busy to offer Lu Yin any assistance.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was at death¡¯s door. This was almost exactly like when Wang Si had chased after him. Lu Yin felt a terrifying power approach, so he pulled out the corpse that he had picked up in Burial Garden that he had not been able to damage no matter what he had tried.

    There was a loud bang as the giant praying mantis¡¯s de struck the corpse¡¯s neck. The attack shattered the void, and a shockwave swept across the battlefield, crushing numerous battleships and astral beasts.

    The Second Nightking and the other experts all stared at Lu Yin. Some were worried while others were excited. Some were panicking while others were ready to celebrate.

    The Sea King almost instantly appeared behind Lu Yin, only to stare nkly at Lu Yin, who was hiding behind a corpse. The corpse waspletely unharmed. Although the mantis¡¯s de hadnded on the corpse¡¯s neck, the Sea King could clearly see that there was not even the smallest mark on the corpse¡¯s neck. What the hell?

 Chapter 1869: Intimidated Comrades

    Chapter 1869: Intimidated Comrades

    The giant praying mantis''s ferocious expression changed as it stared at the corpse in disbelief. Had this corpse actually managed to block its attack? That was absurd!

    Lu Yin seized this opportunity to pull out Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide and hold it up to the mantis¡¯s eyes.

    The astral beast was dazed for the moment and was unable to move.

    "Sea King, attack! Three inches below its abdomen!" Lu Yin yelled. His pupils transformed into runes, and he stared at a point three inches down the mantis¡¯s abdomen while using Truesight to weaken the beast.

    The Sea King instantly reacted, and he thrust his trident forward to attack. He struck exactly three inches down the beast¡¯s abdomen, and the powerful force behind it drove the trident deep into the mantis¡¯s body and pushed it back. Blood spurted out as the creature was flung away.

    Lu Yin coughed and quickly put Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide away again. He gasped for breath. He had almost been done for just then.

    Fortunately, he still had that corpse on him. That body had beenpletely impervious to even the giant praying mantis¡¯s des. It was clearly just a corpse, but Lu Yin could not even begin to imagine how powerful the man must have been when still alive.

    The mantis had been severely injured by the Sea King¡¯s attack, and it did not return to attack Lu Yin again.

    Xu Qing saw that not even the mantis had been able to kill Lu Yin, so he immediately called for the battle to stop.

    Lu Yin had been badly injured and desperately needed to treat his injuries. On top of that, he was afraid that the mantis wouldunch a sneak attack to assassinate the human Envoys, so he did not try to chase after the retreating astral beasts. The two sides tacitly agreed to put a stop to the battle for the moment.

    The moment Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft, Elder Jiu Shen arrived and angrily started scolding Lu Yin, "Boy, leave this war now!"

    Lu Yin acted as though he had been scared by Elder Jiu Shen, and he clutched at his chest and started coughing without letting up.

    Elder Jiu Shen''s eyes grew more and more heated. "Kid, listen to me! This war is none of your concern! You need to leave now."

    Lu Yin weakly replied, "Elder, this junior- this junior needs to rest."

    Elder Jiu Shen became enraged all over again. "Don''t give me that act!"

    The Second Nightking and Liu Huang suddenly appeared, and when they saw Elder Jiu Shen''s expression, they both quickly moved to stand in front of Lu Yin.

    Elder Jiu Shen red at the Second Nightking. "Move!"

    The Second Nightking only listened to Lu Yin because the young man controlled the Second Nightking¡¯s fate, so he would not easily back down even against Elder Jiu Shen. "That¡¯s a rather presumptuous way to speak to me."

    "I¡¯ve put up with you for a long time, Second Nightking! In the past, there were some people who feared your Daynight n and didn''t want you to enter the Neoverse, but I don''t fear you," Elder Jiu Shen said sharply.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Why don¡¯t you try it?"

    Long ago, the Daynight n had been persecuted by Neoverse powers, which had earned the Neoverse the hatred of the entire Daynight n. Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s words were no different from igniting a fuse.

    Liu Huang frowned. "You two, we are currently facing a powerful enemy. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves."

    Elder Jiu Shen nced over at Liu Huang, but then he immediately returned to ring at the Second Nightking before looking at Lu Yin. "Boy, I''m not joking with you. This war has nothing to do with you, and the Celestial Demon Empire is far moreplex than what you know. If they were as simple as they appeared to be, we would have wiped them out long ago. Remember that the Human Domain has seven Semi-Progenitors while the Celestial Demon Empire only has one. Despite that, they¡¯ve always managed to fight against us evenly. Do you really think that they only relied on superior strategies to fight against the Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. When the Mountain and Sea Zone had exploded and the Aeternals¡¯ attention had been redirected to the Sixth Maind, the truth of the matter had eventually been revealed, and people had learned that everything had been part of Progenitor Hui''s n.

    Progenitor Hui had foreseen the future and used the Mountains and Seas Zone as bait, and the war between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain had also been concocted to convince both the Sixth Maind and the Aeternals that the Fifth Maind was ignorant of the truth. The constant infighting in the Human Domain had been left alone to lure the Neohuman Alliance into attacking key locations, which had triggered Progenitor Hui''s final n.

    The war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain had originally just been part of Progenitor Hui¡¯s scheme, but at this moment, Lu Yin was hearing Elder Jiu Shen suggest that there was another reason why the Astral Beast Domain and the Celestial Demon Empire had not been destroyed.

    The Second Nightking frowned. His Daynight n had been used as a pawn in war against the Astral Beast Domain, but they actually did not know much about the Celestial Demon Empire. He carefully listened to everything that Jiu Shen said, as he wanted to learn if there was any connection to the First Nightking¡¯s death or how they could rescue the Third Nightking.

    "Since the ancient era, humanity has moved from the original six Mainds, to the Daosource Sect¡¯s peak, and then to the shattering of the five Mainds. We have experienced too much throughout the eons, but the oldest records suggest that while humans and astral beasts coexisted on the six Mainds, the Fourth Maind only held astral beasts and no humans, as they were all forced out of that Maind. This is one of the oldest legends in existence, and it also ims that the Astral Beast Domain is mostly made up of species that survived the shattering of the Fourth Maind.

    "No one knows what the Astral Beast Domain might be hiding or what the Celestial Beast Empire may have inherited from the Fourth Maind, but during the war between our Daosource Sect and the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain produced Progenitor Wushang, who was hailed as invincible. When the Fifth Maind shattered and the Mother Tree was taken away, the Astral Beast Domain suffered from the same catastrophe as our Human Domain. We managed to survive since then, but so have they.

    "The war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain was fought not only to deceive the Aeternals and the Sixth Maind, but also because the Astral Beast Domain wanted to deceive those two as well. Do you think that they would have cooperated with us otherwise? Do not underestimate the Astral Beast Domain, and do not underestimate the Celestial Demon Empire," Elder Jiu Shen said in one long breath.

    His audience could hear that the elder had shared everything he knew, whether it was the ancient legends or his own deductions. While he had apanied his exnation with threats and intimidation, it was clear that Jiu Shen¡¯s only desire was for Lu Yin to retreat from the war.

    Elder Jiu Shen''s exnation caused the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and even the newly arrived Yuan Shi to all fall deep into thought. Lu Yin remembered what he had seen when he had Possessed the creeper. Untold numbers of the Celestial Demon Empire¡¯s top powerhouses had been worshiping a statue, and Lu Yin had also seen countless humanoid sourceboxes.

    The Astral Beast Domain was definitely hiding something.

    Elder Jiu Shen was not exaggerating. He was truly afraid.

    "Besides all that, the only other thing that I want to say is that we humans have our own way of doing things, and the astral beasts have their own way as well. Don''t think that you can seed after you¡¯ve stopped the Astral Beast Domain for this little bit of time. If you continue with this, even I can¡¯t be certain that I¡¯ll be able to protect you. Just now, if you hadn¡¯t managed to block that mantis, you would have died." Elder Jiu Shen let out a sigh of relief as he solemnly finished talking.

    Lu Yin bowed to Elder Jiu Shen and matched the old man¡¯s somber attitude. "Thank you for your advice, Senior. This junior is not trying to be brave, nor am I trying to fight against the Astral Beast Domain. However, this junior is unable to abandon the lives of the countless people living in the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves. My name is Lu Xiaoxuan, but it is also Lu Yin. I traveled from the Cosmic Sea to the Innerverse and then settled down in the Outerverse. I started cultivating on Earth and proceeded one step at a time to reach where I am now. I consider Earth to be one of my homes. Tell me, if the Cosmic Sect was going to be ughtered by the Astral Beast Domain, would you be able to act as you are telling me to now, Senior?¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen held his forehead, thinking that all he had said had just gone down the drain.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first decided to fight in this war, many people had tried to persuade him to give up on the Outerverse. And yet, all of them had been left speechless by Lu Yin''s exnation. Were cultivators truly heartless? Could they really view human lives as worthless? That was not necessarily the case. After all, if cultivators were truly heartless, then why would they fight in wars? Wars were not only fought in order to gain various benefits, but also to protect people.

    If Progenitor Chen had not cared about the Fifth Maind and the countless lives that it held, why would he have ever fought to the death?

    Why would the Perennial World fight against Aeternus? In truth, the essence of the Perennial World¡¯s war was protection.

    "If Lu Yin faces death, then I''m willing to die for him," Yuan Shi said as he gave Lu Yin an admiring look. There was a smile on the old man¡¯s face as he spoke.

    Elder Jiu Shen directed a vicious re at Yuan Shi. "Stop getting involved! This is none of your business."

    Yuan Shi smiled back at the elder. "You¡¯re still the same as ever. No matter what happens, you prefer to keep yourself safe."

    Elder Jiu Shen retorted, "That¡¯s better than you, who hasn¡¯t improved even after so many years! I can now send you away with a single p!"

    "But I have protected many people." Yuan Shi¡¯s smile never faded, instead growing prouder.

    Elder Jiu Shen sucked in a sharp breath. "Don''t bring that stuff up. You still haven¡¯t changed after all these years, and it¡¯s revolting to even look at you.¡±

    He then turned back to Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ve done what I can to persuade you, and I¡¯ve already given you a proper warning, so don¡¯t bother trying to say anything pointless now. If you die, I¡¯ll take that back with me.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes grew sharp as he continued speaking, and when he finished, his body disappeared.

    Yuan Shi shook his head. "Still the same as before."

    Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking and Liu Huang to leave. He then turned to Yuan Shi and apologized. "Senior, the war situation might not be as optimistic as I had imagined. This junior is at fault for getting you involved."

    Yuan Shi waved a hand dismissively, and he instead looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "The fact that I am here has nothing to do with you. I am here because of the countless lives at risk. Even if you had not reached out to me, I would havee here. However, I did not expect you to be willing to take the risk toe here and fight. I had actually assumed that I would be on my own when I arrived."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "No matter what, all of these weaves used to belong to the Great Eastern Alliance. It¡¯s still my home, and countless people from here referred to me as the alliance leader. I can¡¯t abandon them."

    Yuan Shi sighed. "I understand. I can¡¯t abandon them either, which means that fighting is the only option. Even if I die, I will do so with no regrets."

    Lu Yin walked to the center console and looked at the fleet disy and all the shing red dots. "We¡¯ve already lost more than half of our forces. After this, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s strength will be greatly reduced. Still, that¡¯s not the important part. I¡¯m more afraid that I won¡¯t be able to hold the Astral Beast Domain back. Are they really as terrifying as Elder Jiu Shen made them out to be?"

    Yuan Shi grew solemn. "You need to remember that humans are the most pervasive creatures in the universe. If the Astral Beast Domain were in any way ipetent, regardless of how, humanity would have enved them all long ago."

    Even though Yuan Shi did not share as many details as Elder Jiu Shen, Lu Yin still understood that Yuan Shi was saying the same thing: the Astral Beast Domain was not easy to deal with.

    "Honestly, if you hadn¡¯t brought the Great Eastern Alliance, I had every intention of fighting the Astral Beast Domain alone. Even if I die, you¡¯ve already saved my life." Yuan Shiughed. He seemed very cheerful.

    Lu Yin alsoughed. "We¡¯re clearly winning this war, and yet it feels like we¡¯re losing. Elder Jiu Shen is amazing at discouraging his own people. He¡¯s really not someone you want at your side in a fight."

    "Hahahaha, you just figured that out? Back when I first met him, he was exactly the same. He has always been better at keeping himself safe than working hard, and there are times when he infuriates his own allies. If not for his innate gift, he would have been hung up and beaten long ago." Yuan Shiughed.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Senior, can you tell me what it is?"

    Yuan Shi was caught off guard. "Let''s treat your injuries first. You look seriously injured."

    Lu Yin replied in an indifferent tone, "I¡¯ll be fine very soon.¡±

    The sprout in his third meridian point was constantly releasing vitality into his body. That, whenbined with an Enhanced pill that he had taken, meant that he really was able to heal quite quickly. Lu Yin never fearedparing his endurance to others¡¯, but unfortunately, he always fought against opponents whom he could either crush or who could crush him. He never fought against someone in a battle of endurance.

    One dayter, the Frost Emperor was forced to withdraw from the battlefield due to his injuries.

    Over the course of the recent battles, his opponent had always been Feng Lin, and the Envoy¡¯s injuries were also from Feng Lin.

    Lu Yin had no doubt that it had been done deliberately.

    The Frost Emperor had always been at a bit of a disadvantage against Feng Lin. While both of them used ice, Feng Lin also had the Celestial Ice Phoenixes¡¯ tricolored ray that could melt anything.

    The Frost Emperor¡¯s withdrawal motivated Mountain God to do the same. He had nearly died during thest battle. There were simply too many powerhouses participating in this war, and Mountain God was not confident in being able to survive despite being an Envoy.

 Chapter 1870: Multi-Layered Trap

    Chapter 1870: Multi-Layered Trap

    Lu Yin felt quite intrigued as he looked at Mountain God. "I''m surprised that you are actually bold enough to ask me to dismiss you from the war."

    Mountain God usually took on the appearance of Bai Wanshan, but he did not dare to have such a massive form on this battlefield. Bai Wanshan was far too big, and that form would only make Mountain God a target. He would most likely die the moment that he stepped onto the battlefield in that form, so he had always fought with his own appearance during this war. It turned out that he was just a little old man.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s not that I want to leave, but that I have to. There are internal conflicts within the Divine Grade Hall, and I need to go back and settle things there as soon as possible." Mountain God tried to provide an excuse.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, "Since your Divine Grade Hall is dealing with some internal turmoil, it should absolutely be put down. However-" At this point, he stared straight at Mountain God and saw the man¡¯s anticipation. "I¡¯ll send the Allied Forces¡¯ Eighth Division to handle things for you."

    The Eighth Division wasposed of members of the Daynight n and cultivators from the Outerverse. Yan Yan was themander, and they were supposed to be stationed in Erudite Flowzone, but the Wen family still had not joined the Great Eastern Alliance. Thus, the Eighth Division had been stationed in Beast Tamers Flowzone in the meantime.

    Mountain God¡¯s expressionpletely changed. "Alliance Leader Lu, when we joined this alliance, the agreement was that the Allied Forces would not interfere in the internal affairs of alliance members. Do you intend to vite that agreement?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course not. This is just something that you requested, so the alliance will do its best to handle this matter for you, Mountain God. You clearly don¡¯t have the time to deal with these internal conflicts, as you are upied here on the battlefield. So, in this situation, it would be best for the Eighth Division to step in on your behalf. Don¡¯t you agree, Mountain God?¡±

    Mountain God''s anger was disyed on his face. When had he ever asked for the alliance¡¯s support? Lu Yin was simply trying to pull the wool over the old man¡¯s eyes and ramble on while insisting on forcing Mountain God to his death. This thought prompted Mountain God to grit his teeth and firmly state, "Alliance Leader Lu, this needs to remain an internal matter for the Divine Grade Hall-¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly pped a hand to his forehead. ¡°I almost forgot! Your Divine Grade Hall¡¯s losses were quite harsh recently, so the Eighth Division will be sent not only to settle the ongoing conflict, but also to provide relief assistance. How did your Divine Grade Hall suffer such harm?"

    Mountain God''s heart dropped. The Divine Grade Hall¡¯s recent casualties had been because they had kept a second exit from Burial Garden open. He had assumed that Lu Yin had not known about that incident, but the truth was that Lu Yin simply had not mentioned the matter.

    Lu Yin had deliberately reached out to all eight great flowzones and ordered them to only keep one exit from Burial Garden open each, and the Divine Grade Hall had been no exception. Mountain God had reported that Beast Tamers Flowzone only had a single exit gate, but an incident had urred at the secret second exit, and most of the Divine Grade Hall¡¯s younger generation had been wiped out.

    If this matter was made known, Lu Yin would have a valid excuse to deal with Mountain God.

    The Envoy realized that he was trapped. "Thank you very much, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded, though his eyes flickered as he watched Mountain God leave.

    Mountain God was not the only Envoy who wanted to leave. There was also Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu¡ªactually, who did not want to leave? Lu Yin had realized this, which was why Mountain God could not be allowed to leave. As soon as one person was given permission, they would all demand the same, and Lu Yin would be unable to stop their departures.

    The fleet retreated again and again, but more and more reinforcements kept appearing from the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s side. Lu Yin looked to the northeast. He just hoped that Wei Rong would have enough time.

    A few days passed, and fighting broke out once more. Combat continued on and off for more than a month, and this battle that included so many Envoys had long since be the focus of countless people throughout the Fifth Maind.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had suffered repeated losses. Abel Phoenix had died, and then the Frost Emperor had withdrawn from battle due to his injuries. Even though Madam Y¨­u had been added to the fray, Lu Yin could not stop the downward spiral. Mountain God and the other Innerverse powerhouses were not fighting so much as stalling, and this forced the battlefield to move back across the asteroid field and into Northcastle Weave.

    Lu Yin had been attacked by the giant praying mantis several times, but Lu Yin had learned to be cautious. He never strayed far from the experts with power levels of over a million, such as Jiu Shen. With the asional help from those powerhouses, Lu Yin managed to survive.

    Finally, the Hall of Honor also released an announcement, and they had sent two androids with the strength of Envoys, as well as a fleet to help. The fleet was much smaller than what the Great Eastern Alliance had sent, but Xu Qing was worried about the humans receiving reinforcements. The fighting calmed down, and Xu Qing carefully observed the situation to see how things would proceed. He was concerned that the Hall of Honor would send more reinforcements over, which would lead to the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s defeat or possibly a stalemate.

    If a true war broke out between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain, it would create a ck hole of death. This was why only a small number of powerhouses and almost no Envoys had been stationed at Ironblood Weave and Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border warfronts. The two sides had long sincee to a tacit understanding.

    The Astral Beast Domain''srge-scale invasion had only beenunched because of two crucial conditions: the Sixth Maind did not care about the eastern weaves, and the Hall of Honor could no longer intervene. This was why the astral beasts hadunched their invasion. However, they had never expected to be stymied by the Great Eastern Alliance.

    At this moment, the astral beasts were fighting against the Great Eastern Alliance, but if the alliance were to be reced by the Hall of Honor, the Astral Beast Domain absolutely would not continue fighting to the death, but would instead turn Northcastle Weave into the new Ironblood Weave.

    ¡­

    More than half a month passed by. By this time, the war hadsted for about five months. No one had expected the Great Eastern Alliance tost this long.

    Xu Qing certainly had not expected it, and the stress was actually making his hair turn white. The longer he looked to the southwest, the angrier he became. He really wanted to make a call on his gadget, but he resisted the urge.

    He truly wished to kill Lu Yin with his own hands. Without that bastard stepping in, the Astral Beast Domain would have already conquered the eastern weaves of the Outerverse, and they would have started building defenses in anticipation of the Sixth Maind''s eventual counterattack.

    There was a bang as Xu Qing clenched a fist with enough force to shake the void. "Attack!"

    The fighting resumed.

    Countless of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s soldiers had be numb to the fighting, and people died every day. Also, the Envoys on either side were bing more and more familiar with each other.

    For example, as soon as Mountain God entered the battlefield, he would focus on an astral beast who possessed a simr level of strength, and the creature would also focus on Mountain God.

    Most living creatures feared death, and them being human or astral beast did not change this.

    Elder Jiu Shen continued to fight against Sword King. The Second Nightking had already fought against the Celestial Demon on many asions. While the Second Nightking was powerful enough to defeat the Celestial Demon, he was not strong enough to easily kill the astral beast. On top of that, any attack that the Celestial Demonunched could wreak havoc on the entire battlefield and cause both sides to suffer terrible casualties.

    Therefore, the Second Nightking could not allow the Celestial Demon to attack, and simrly, the Celestial Demon could not allow the Second Nightking to attack either.

    Lu Yin stared out at space. Each Envoy had their own opponent, and this war was still rather even.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he looked down. How odd; it was Zhou Shan.

    Although Zhou Shan had Lu Yin¡¯s contact information, he had never called Lu Yin before. This was the first time.

    Lu Yin answered, and a disy appeared in the air. It showed Zhou Shan''s pale face. "Something¡¯s happened to Earth!"

    He immediately pointed to another disy in the background.

    Lu Yin stared, and his expression drastically changed; was that an astral beast?

    He saw many astral beasts surrounding Earth and attacking it. It looked like a miniature version of the battlefield that Lu Yin was standing on. Much of the had been destroyed, and half of Jinlin was in ruins. Just this was not enough to rm Lu Yin, but as he stared at the images of the region surrounding Earth, he suddenly saw a familiar looking astral beast¡ªit was the octopus.

    This was the astral beast with impressive defensive abilities whom Lu Yin had fought against before. Had the beast actually gone to Earth?

    It was no wonder why Lu Yin had not seen the creature during thest two battles.

    His focus was on the praying mantis, so he had forgotten about the other creature.

    "I know that you¡¯re currently fighting a war, but the appearance of these creatures is probably connected to your war, and I had no other options. Everyone avable is already fighting, but I don¡¯t know if we can save Earth," Zhou Quan softly reported.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "I''ll be there as soon as I can."

    He then immediately hung up and stared out into space.

    The octopus was strong enough to easily destroy Earth, but it had not done anything at all. It was clearly trying to lure Lu Yin over. This was a trap, and not even a hidden one.

    Even though he knew that it was a trap, Lu Yin still had no choice but to enter it. If not, Earth would definitely be destroyed.

    The fighting was fierce in space, and each powerhouse had their own opponent, which meant that no one was able to leave.

    Lu Yin frowned. Xu Qing had initiated a new battle at this time just to keep everyone upied while setting the trap for Lu Yin.

    "Commander Shui, I¡¯m entrusting you withmand of the battlefield," Lu Yin stated before leaving the fleet on his own and making his way south.

    Earth was in the northern region of Frostwave Weave, which meant that it was very close to Northcastle Weave. Lu Yin¡¯s speed allowed him to quickly cross over Northcastle Weave and enter Frostwave Weave.

    Xu Qing and Liu Huang continued fighting, but Xu Qing kept ncing southwards past the human fleet. Would Lu Yin go? Xu Qing was not certain, as it all depended on just what the meant to Lu Yin.

    After half a day of fighting, Xu Qing shoved Liu Huang''s sword back. Excitement filled the Void Thunderbeast¡¯s eyes. He had just received word that Lu Yin had arrived at Earth.

    ¡­

    In Frostwave Weave, Lu Yin emerged from the void above a beautiful blue. A flurry of Hollow Palms were thrown out, attacking and killing all of the astral beasts in the area, except for the giant octopus.

    Down on the surface of Earth, countless humans stared up at the starry sky and watched as the giant octopus wrapped itself around Lu Yin.

    A mountainous astral beasty beneath Zhou Shan¡¯s foot. Although it looked massive, it had only been at the Limiteer level, which meant that even Zhou Shan could kill it. Astral beasts had invaded everynd and ocean on Earth, and they had caused uncountable deaths and immeasurable damage to the entire.

    However, this was not the time to dwell on such things. Defending Earth needed toe first.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time fighting against the octopus. It was a very difficult opponent, and Lu Yin had no idea how to go about killing the creature.

    It was also impossible that Xu Qing had only sent the octopus to deal with Lu Yin, so he remained highly cautious.

    The fight between Lu Yin and the giant octopus shattered space, and the shockwaves caused Earth''s oceans to churn. No one questioned that Earth could be destroyed at any moment.

    Slowly, Lu Yin led the octopus away from Earth and led it towards Jupiter.

    There was a bang as the observation station at Jupiter exploded, but everyone had already evacuated the ce.

    Lu Yin stood amidst the ruins of the observation station as the octopus mmed into him from the front. Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he turned to observe his surroundings. He saw nothing at all. This should be impossible! Had the octopus really been sent to deal with Lu Yin by itself?

    Lu Yin fell back, and as soon as he did, the observation station shattered into small pieces.

    A short distance away, in a ce in space where no one was paying any attention to, a creature no bigger than a fingernail slowly moved towards Lu Yin. It was a carrion beetle. These bugs were ranked second on the Celestial Beast List, and their innate ability to ignore physical defenses was said to be because they had been born from the body of an ancient powerhouse. On top of that, they were also extremely durable and fast.

    Even if there were very few carrion beetles in existence, their strength still allowed them to rank second on the Celestial Beast List, which showed how highly they were regarded in the Astral Beast Domain.

    This carrion beetle was Xu Qing''s n to eliminate Lu Yin.

    A carrion beetle had once participated in ZENITH as well, but Liquor Hero had used her Creation level of star energy control to deal with the bug. That was truthfully the most effective manner to deal with a carrion beetle, as actually defeating the bugs with anything else would be too difficult.

    This Envoy-level carrion beetle and the giant octopus were enough to kill Lu Yin. This was the trap that Xu Qing had set up.

 Chapter 1871: A Helping Hand

    Chapter 1871: A Helping Hand

    The carrion beetle had arrived in the Outerverse at the same time as Sword King, but it had always remained hidden in order to carry out an assassination at a critical moment.

    Although Xu Qing regretted that he would not be able to obtain Lu Yin''s inheritance of the God of Death, the astral beasts¡¯ general had no choice but to use this trap to remove Lu Yin and clear a path for their grand n.

    The carrion beetle was ready to attack at any moment. With its speed and Envoy-level strength, there was no possibility of Lu Yin dodging, let alone when the octopus was suppressing all the star energy in the area. It was impossible for Lu Yin to escape.

    Just as the carrion beetle was about to charge forward, the giant octopuspletely disappeared.

    The carrion beetle was startled. Where¡¯s the octopus? It disappeared?

    The carrion beetle had watched the octopus fall towards the gas, but it had nevere back out. How could that have happened? It should have been impossible for Lu Yin to kill the octopus.

    Just above Jupiter, Lu Yin let out a long breath. He had thrown the octopus into Jupiter, and once someone entered Jupiter, they could forget about ever leaving. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, he did not dare to go into Jupitor, and that was even knowing that it could be a passage to the Perennial World.

    Xu Qing had never imagined that such a ce could exist so close to Earth. Lu Yin had never actually needed to defeat the giant octopus; he simply needed to use a trick to get rid of it.

    The carrion beetle was stunned for a while, but no matter how long it waited, the giant octopus never reappeared.

    Lu Yin nced around. This was just too strange. It was impossible that the only astral beast waiting for him in this trap was the giant octopus, so where were the other astral beasts?

    One individual was searching while the other was stunned.

    A bitter, Lu Yin shook his head and decided to leave. He reappeared just above Earth. Just as he was about to enter the atmosphere, he felt danger. The carrion beetle mmed into Lu Yin¡¯s back and smashed him down to the ground.

    There was a boom as he smashed into a high-rise with the speed of a meteor. He shot through the building and pierced deep into the ground. The earth shattered from the impact, and ripples spread out across the city from the building that Lu Yin had struck.

    He felt a terrible pain in his back. Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he picked himself up, only for a stone to m into his head, which caused another bang.

    He reached up and touched the back of his head, only to find that he was bleeding as blood dripped down onto his clothes.

    Lu Yin looked up and jumped upwards. He shot out of the ground and scanned the sky. Only at this moment did he finally see rune lines that corresponded to an expert with a power level of almost 600,000. Was that a carrion beetle?

    A jolt of fear ran through Lu Yin when he saw what he was up against. He was lucky that he had thrown the giant octopus into Jupiter earlier, as he would be in deep trouble if he had to face the two astral beasts at the same time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s bodysuit armor was broken, so he no longer had anything to protect his body with. Fortunately, the carrion beetle was not capable of unleashing overly powerful attacks; otherwise, the beetle would have pierced straight through Lu Yin¡¯s body. Still, despite everything else, the unique abilities of the carrion beetle posed quite a threat to Lu Yin.

    Carrion beetles were fast and could ignore their opponent¡¯s physical defenses. This was essentially Lu Yin¡¯s perfect counter.

    Still, it was not apletely hopeless situation.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes. As long as this bug was not overwhelmingly stronger than him, he could handle it.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin turned his head to look elsewhere. In that direction, he saw a familiar cluster of runes, though it was also a terrifying number; it was the giant praying mantis.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank as he saw the two des sh out. This was Xu Qing¡¯s real trap for Lu Yin. Earth had clearly been a trap, and the mantis was Xu Qing¡¯s guarantee.

    The trapid for Lu Yin at Earth had been too obvious, so Xu Qing had to overprepare.

    The giant octopus had lured Lu Yin to Earth, the carrion beetle had sneak attacked him to draw out any hidden trump cards, and the mantis was the final, true killing blow.

    The mantis was simply too fast, and Lu Yin could not dodge.

    It was the exact same scenario as before, as Lu Yin waspletely unable to evade the mantis¡¯s attack. He saw the des swing down, but then the attack mysteriously disappeared. Lu Yin was blown back by the shockwave, but he waspletely unharmed.

    The mantis¡¯s ferocious gaze was once again painted with shock. It looked around and saw that another person was in the sky with them. An old man had appeared, and although there was nothing special to be seen, he had diverted the mantis¡¯s attack a moment ago.

    He had used the Yu Secret Art: Void Transfer. This old man was Elder Su. He was the old man who had led the Yu family from the Neoverse to the Outerverse while being pursued by one of the Seven Skygods, and he had managed to survive all that as well.

    Lu Yin would never charge straight into a trap on his own, so he had first gone to find Elder Su and woken up the old man before traveling to Earth together.

    Fortunately, the ce where the Yu family lived in istion was not far from Earth.

    Lu Yin gasped for breath, still feeling a flicker of fear. Fortunately, Elder Su had not disappointed Lu Yin. Anyone who could escape from one of the Seven Skygods was truly powerful.

    Actually, Lu Yin needed to thank First Edition City for reminding him of Elder Su.

    When the Technocracy had worked together with the Sixth Maind to attack the Outerverse, First Edition City had sent an Envoy-level android through the Astral Wilderness to Frostwave Weave, but Elder Su had driven the android off. First Edition City had always remembered this incident, and they had brought it up to Lu Yin while he had been in the Technocracy. Without that reminder, Lu Yin might not have thought of the old man.

    Cough cough!

    Elder Su looked terrible. "I can''t give you much help. My injury from the Skygod back then is too difficult for me to recover from, so don¡¯t expect too much."

    Lu Yin pointed at the giant praying mantis. "Can you deal with that one, Senior?"

    Elder Su looked at the giant praying mantis and answered, "I can try."

    The giant praying mantis let out a piercing whistling sound as it charged towards Lu Yin. The astral beast was so fast that Lu Yin could not even react.

    Elder Su was much better qualified to deal with the mantis than the Sea King. He did not even need to match the mantis¡¯s speed, just stop its attacks.

    The carrion beetle disappeared from sight. When it reappeared, it was already right in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. Already, he had been attacked by three different astral beasts with the strength of Envoys here. As long as no surprises appeared, they would have been more than enough to deal with Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin was going to take this opportunity to eliminate all three of these astral beasts.

    If these three were dealt with, the pressure that Xu Qing''s forces could exert on the Great Eastern Alliance would be much less.

    Boom!

    The carrion beetle violently mmed into Lu Yin''s body, and Lu Yin was knocked back without being able to do anything. He had already known that he would not be able to stand up to the carrion beetle¡¯s charge.

    He was about to retaliate, only to realize that he could not find the carrion beetle.

    He was then struck from the side. The carrion beetle was so fast that Lu Yin could not even track its movements. He was unable to use his Hollow Palm, as he simply could not find the bug.

    Stars appeared and began to revolve around Lu Yin. There were tens of thousands of stars, and they spread across the entire city. The numerous inhabitants were all fleeing at this moment as they were terrified by the sudden appearance of the stars, and no one dared to touch any of them.

    A shadow flickered in the corner of Lu Yin¡¯s vision, and he reflexivelyshed out with a Hollow Palm. The palm strike brushed past the carrion beetle, shattering space as it passed. Lu Yin was hit once again, but he still could not even catch a glimpse of the carrion beetle.

    Lu Yin used everything he could, including both his domain and his spiritual force, but he was still unable to catch a trace of the carrion beetle.

    Fortunately, the carrion beetle¡¯s attacks were unable to do much to Lu Yin, so it looked as if they had entered a stalemate. Lu Yin was not certain that he could catch the carrion beetle if he used the God of Death Transformation, but he wanted to give it a try.

    Suddenly, he heard Elder Su¡¯s voice in his ear. ¡°Child, I won¡¯t be able to hold out any longer."

    Lu Yin was startled, and he looked up into space, only to see that while the mantis was continuously charging towards Earth, it was stopped every single time by Elder Su employing various methods. ¡°Senior, what did you just say?"

    "Child, I already told you that I was badly wounded by Shaman God and that I had entered cryostasis in order to recover. This astral beast is incredibly fast and powerful, and it¡¯s difficult for an old man like me to stop it," Elder Su exined in a helpless manner.

    Lu Yin was suddenly under a great deal of pressure to hurry up. If Elder Su could not stop the mantis, then Lu Yin would die. "Senior, can you find some way to kill it?"

    "That¡¯s very difficult. At my peak, I could do so easily, but my wounds are too severe," Elder Su helplessly exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What if you had a Progenitor¡¯s item? Something that could force the mantis to instantly freeze."

    Elder Su was taken aback. "You have a Progenitor¡¯s item? We can certainly try then."

    The next time the carrion beetle attacked, Lu Yin took advantage of the opportunity to pull out Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide from this cosmic ring, and he gave it to Elder Su with the Yu Secret Art. "Senior, don''t look at it! It¡¯s Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide."

    Up in outer space, Elder Su made a casual gesture, and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide appeared in his hand.

    The moment the hide appeared, the carrion beetle became unable to move. It was as if it had sensed something dangerous.

    The mantis¡¯s eyes that had zed with rage earlier were now showing fear and confusion at this moment. Both astral beasts were innately suppressed by the aura that they felt from Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    Elder Su looked at the giant mantis and stepped through outer space. He kept Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide in his hand and aimed directly down at the giant mantis¡¯s head. The beast stopped moving for a moment, and then it plummeted down to Earth andnded in mountains and rivers.

    Elder Su was exhausted. "Child, that astral beast has been seriously injured, and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide is covering it so that it cannot pose any threat to you. I¡¯m leaving now. Don¡¯t break the promise that you made me."

    Elder Su then turned and left.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the giant praying mantis lying on the ground. He could see that the creature¡¯s runes were rapidly dwindling. It had been badly injured and was unable to move. Thus, Lu Yin just needed to finish up with the carrion beetle.

    Wait, where was that bug?

    The carrion beetle had stopped attacking ever since Lu Yin took out Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Something was wrong.

    Suddenly, something urred to Lu Yin, and he rushed over to where the mantis had fallen.

    The carrion beetle looked like a mere bug, but it was a creature that had cultivated for many, many years. It was far from being a mindless animal. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had defeated the mantis, but how could the carrion beetle not have seen what had happened? The two were working together, and the carrion beetle could not aplish the mission on its own.

    Lu Yin tore through the void and arrived in the mountains by the river. He looked down just in time to see a pair of blood-thirsty eyes staring up at him and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide falling to the ground. The carrion beetle was already there.

    Elder Su had left too quickly.

    Not good! As soon as the thought appeared in his mind, Lu Yin was already being knocked back by a powerful impact. The carrion beetle had struck again. Right then, the mantis¡¯s des appeared above Lu Yin and fell down towards him.

    The beast had been seriously injured by Elder Su, and its body had been pierced through, greatly diminishing its strength. However, the mantis was not much slower from before. The des fell towards Lu Yin, and he instinctively pulled out the corpse from his cosmic ring. There was a bang, but the corpse was unharmed.

    Forget when it was badly wounded¡ªthe mantis had not been able to leave a mark on the corpse even at its peak strength.

    While the corpse was unharmed, Lu Yin was sent flying from the impact, and hended on an ind in the sea.

    He spun around and rose to his feet. A ck and white mist emanated from his body, and he was soon wrapped within arge cocoon.

    The carrion beetle mmed into the cocoon and knocked it into the sea.

    Back in Jinling, Zhou Shan had no idea what was happening with Lu Yin. Astral beasts had attacked Earth, and the was facing another apocalypse. In outer space, all the observational equipment and satellites had been destroyed, so Zhou Shan had no idea where Lu Yin was even fighting.

    Billions of people all around the were panicking.

    Down at the bottom of the sea, Lu Yin hadpleted the God of Death Transformation. ck and white mist twined around his body as he leaped out of the sea and rose to the surface. The endless fear that rose from the astral beasts¡¯ souls in the presence of the death energy onlysted for a moment, which was not enough to change the situation of the battle. The mantis¡¯s des fell in front of Lu Yin yet again, but this time, Lu Yin raised his left arm. A shield formed from the white mist, and it blocked the des. There was a bang as Lu Yin was pushed back.

    However, he had just blocked the mantis¡¯s attack.

 Chapter 1872: New Gardener

    Chapter 1872: New Gardener

    The mantis had already been seriously injured, which caused its strength to plummet. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to fight against a being whose power level was so much higher than his own, even with the God of Death Transformation.

    The carrion beetle charged at Lu Yin from behind, and he sensed danger. The God of Death Transformation meant that Lu Yin was unable to use the Knowing realm of Truesight, which forced him to physically resist the carrion beetle¡¯s body ms.

    However, Lu Yin was now able to track the carrion beetle¡¯s movements.

    The bug had to move into the region around Lu Yin¡¯s body that was filled with the ck and white mist, and as soon as it entered that area, it would be affected by the death energy, and its speed would drop instantly. This was Lu Yin¡¯s only chance to catch the bug.

    The first time, Lu Yin used his white shield on his left arm to block the carrion beetle.

    The second time, he directly shed out with his scythe. He struck the bug and sent it flying.

    Behind him, the giant mantis¡¯s des shed down again. Lu Yin had just sent the carrion beetle flying, and before he could defend himself, he was struck by the mantis¡¯s des. The impact sent him tumbling across the ground, and hended in a city, which incited new waves of panic.

    Lu Yin ground his teeth. He was currently facing two extremely fast astral beasts at the same time. While one of them was wounded, its attacks were still incredibly powerful. Also, it was very difficult for Lu Yin to break through the mantis¡¯s defenses even though it was wounded. As for the carrion beetle, even though Lu Yin was finally able to track the creature¡¯s movements, he was unable to harm the bug at all. The hardness of the carrion beetle¡¯s carapace defied his expectations.

    Thebination of the two astral beasts had rendered Lu Yin unable to do anything at all.

    Lu Yin pulled the corpse back out and carried it with him as he attacked with his scythe. There was a bang as he shed with the giant praying mantis¡¯s des. The carrion beetle struck him from the side, but it ran into the corpse. Still, the impact stunned Lu Yin, and he shed his scythe to the side, sending the carrion beetle flying from the impact. On Lu Yin¡¯s other side, the mantis attacked again, but its des were blocked by the corpse again.

    Lu Yin carried the corpse as he fought, and he entered a bit of a daze, as he was evenly matched with the two astral beasts.

    The corpse wasrge enough to block attacks in a wide area while the shield on Lu Yin¡¯s left arm was small and difficult to block the mantis¡¯s attacks with.

    This battlested for half an hour. There was no opportunity for Lu Yin to take a break, and the mantis¡¯s eyes only grew more and more angry as time passed.

    Finally, Lu Yin had almost depleted his death energy, so he took the initiative to end his God of Death Transformation as he felt that it was important to keep some death energy in reserve as a precaution. The moment Lu Yin ended the transformation, he was sent flying by the carrion beetle.

    He smashed into the ground, and a statue tumbled over on top of him. There was a bang as he was struck, and a cloud of dust kicked up.

    Even as Lu Yin gasped for breath, the carrion beetle appeared in front of Lu Yin. The bug did not want to give Lu Yin any chance to catch his breath. In this situation, Lu Yin realized that his only hope was to find some way to send another one of the two astral beasts into Jupiter.

    His pupils transformed into runes. He did not know if the Knowing realm of Truesight would work against the carrion beetle¡¯s attacks, but he intended to find out.

    The moment the carrion beetle struck Lu Yin, lightning flickered in the sky as a massive body mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. It stepped on the carrion beetle and shot up into iyter space, carrying an endless amount of lightning with it as it flickered across the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open in shock; was that a rabbit?

    Sure enough, a lightning-covered rabbit had appeared, stepped on the carrion beetle, and then charged into space. Before it disappeared, the beast turned around and grinned at Lu Yin, revealing two gleaming front teeth.

    This sudden changepletely topped Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the universe.

    It did not even matter if Lu Yin ever found out how the rabbit had suddenly appeared without any warning, as he would never be able to match the creature¡¯s speed. Lu Yin could tell that the rabbit had just as many runes as the mantis had at its peak. But even then, the mantis had never been able toe and go without warning like that rabbit. How had the rabbit suddenly appeared? Had it really appeared out of nowhere?

    Also, that rabbit looked familiar. Lu Yin had actually seen it before, as it was the rabbit that had stepped on Elder Lohar, and it had also just stepped on the carrion beetle.

    The rabbit¡¯s stomp stunned the carrion beetle, which actually helped Lu Yin avoid taking an attack.

    The rabbit had just run away into space when a human appeared out of nowhere. "You damn rabbit, how dare you run away! Father¡¯s already angry enough as it is, and if you run away again, he¡¯ll catch you himself!"

    The person screamed out at space the moment he appeared, but he almost instantly felt a bit stunned. Something was clearly wrong, so he slowly looked around. "Why is there so much rubble?"

    "Jiang Chen?" Lu Yin asked.

    The figure turned his head to look at Lu Yin. The man blinked, but then he quickly smiled. "Yo, my friend! Long time no see!"

    "Watch out¡­" Lu Yin''s expression changed, as the giant praying mantis was rushing over, wielding its des as though it wanted to kill Jiang Chen.

    Jiang Chen turned around and saw the mantis¡¯s des approaching, and he let out a strange little scream.

    The des flickered, and Jiang Chen was thrown back. The mantis¡¯s des did not stop or slow as they continued on, also aiming for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin used the corpse to protect his front side as the mantis¡¯s des struck, and he was sent flying again. He ended upnding right next to Jiang Chen.

    "Jiang Chen!" Lu Yin yelled. His heart sank. Jiang Chen had been hit head-on by the mantis, and there was no way such a blow would not kill the young man.

    ¡°Cough cough!¡± Jiang Chen coughed twice, rubbed his chest, and then grinned as he looked up and spat some sand out of his mouth. "What the hell was that?"

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, though he was also shocked. He stared at Jiang Chen, only to realize that he could not see any runes at all. How was that possible? Also, how had Jiang Chen not been hurt by the mantis? If he was actually stronger than the mantis, then how had he been hit in the first ce? The person was very strange.

    Jiang Chen looked up at the giant praying mantis in the distance, still waving its fierce des around. The young man let out a gasp. "Hey, is that thing your enemy?"

    "Watch out!" Lu Yin shouted a second time. He had seen the blur of the carrion beetle in the corner of his eye. At this moment, Lu Yin could not clearly see the bug.

    Jiang Chen reflexively curled himself up into a ball. He waited for a while, but surprisingly, nothing struck him. When he looked up, he saw Lu Yin act as though he was struck by something, but Jiang Chen could not make anything out. How was Lu Yin¡¯s opponent moving so quickly?

    The distant praying mantis approached again, still attacking with its des.

    The Knowing realm of Truesight allowed Lu Yin to withstand the carrion beetle¡¯s attacks, but he did not dare to attempt the same thing with the giant mantis. The creature was much stronger than Lu Yin despite its serious injuries. Even if Lu Yin felt like he could probably block the attacks with Truesight, he would not take that risk.

    When Lu Yin saw that the mantis was attacking again, his only option was to pull the corpse back out and use it as a shield.

    Jiang Chen was stunned by everything he saw, and he simply stared at Lu Yin. This was one against two? No, two against one? Wait, Lu Yin was carrying a corpse, so did that make it two against two? Jian Chen had never seen anyone fight in such an odd manner.

    "Help me!" Lu Yin shouted as he nced over at Jiang Chen.

    Jiang Chen blinked. "How can I help?"

    "Deal with one of them!"

    Jiang Chen was faced with a dilemma. "That¡¯s not easy. They¡¯re both too fast. I can''t beat either one."

    "So you want to just escape by yourself likest time?" Lu Yin shouted. He was referring to when the two of them had been attacked at Jupiter¡¯s observatory. At that time, Jiang Chen had mysteriously disappeared while Lu Yin had been sucked into Jupiter and then moved to the Perennial World.

    Jiang Chen became upset. "Escape? I¡¯ll help you block an attack, so don¡¯t make it sound like I¡¯m fleeing for my life!¡±

    Lu Yin pulled his neck back after almost being sliced by the mantis¡¯s des. He rolled his eyes at Jiang Chen¡¯s remark. "Bro, I know that you¡¯ve got a way. Help me out, and I¡¯ll give you Luo Shen''s contact informationter."

    Jiang Chen''s eyes instantly lit up as the graceful figure of a dancing woman appeared in his mind. He unconsciously swallowed. "Really?"

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Of course! After all, without your help, I¡¯m done for!¡±

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he was smacked away by a powerful blow.

    Jiang Chen wiped the corner of his mouth. "It¡¯s impossible for me to fight with you, as I can¡¯t beat either of these things. Why don¡¯t I take one of them away? My family needs a gardener."

    "Kid, you¡¯re courting death!" The mantis spoke up for the first time. Its voice was harsh and sharp to listen to.

    Jiang Chen was taken aback, and he stared at the giant praying mantis in surprise. "You can talk?"

    The mantis nced at Jiang Chen with its cold eyes. "Leave!"

    It spoke while continuing to attack Lu Yin, raining down blows upon the corpse that Lu Yin was using as a shield. Elder Su had left the mantis severely wounded, or else it would have already sliced Lu Yin up long ago.

    "That thing¡¯s nasty! Hey, buddy! Don¡¯t forget to give me Luo Shen¡¯s contact details! Father, I¡¯m bringing you a pet! This one can talk!" Jiang Chen yelled as he charged at the mantis in a desperate manner.

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he nkly stared at Jiang Chen as he rushed through the sky. "What are you doing?"

    The mantis was furious, as Jiang Chen was acting as if the astral beast did not even exist. Its des shed towards Jiang Chen, but then the astral beast suddenly disappeared.

    Jiang Chen and the giant praying mantis both disappeared at the same time. It was as if neither had ever even existed.

    Both Lu Yin and the carrion beetle werepletely stunned, and they both stared intently at where the mantis and Jiang Chen had just stood. Where had they gone?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. A parallel universe. They had definitely gone to a parallel universe. Jiang Chen had previously mentioned that he could freely travel across parallel universes and urately choose whichever one he wanted to go to. Could he have taken the mantis to another parallel universe?

    Father? Pet? Did he take it to his dad? Can his father defeat that mantis? This won''t cause problems, will it? Lu Yin had too many questions, but Jiang Chen had indeed taken the giant praying mantis away, which had solved Lu Yin¡¯s crisis. The carrion beetle alone could not deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remembered his opponent, and he started looking around for the bug. However, he could not find it.

    "I know that you''re here, but there''s no need to bother looking for the mantis. It won¡¯t being back,¡± Lu Yin spoke as though to himself. He put the corpse away and started using the Knowing realm of Truesight again. ¡°Leave."

    Lu Yin had no idea if the bug had actually left or not. He moved over to where the mantis hadnded on the ground after its face was covered with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Lu Yin was relieved to see that the hide was luckily still there.

    All of a sudden, the carrion beetle shot forward. It was aiming for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide as it wanted to steal it.

    Lu Yin sneered. He had thought that he was about to die earlier, which was why he had not taken Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide back, but there was no way he would let it go at this point in time.

    He immediately stored the hide away, and the carrion beetle smashed into Lu Yin¡¯s body. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to leave? You can¡¯t do anything to me."

    A voice filled the air, "Boy, that¡¯s Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, isn¡¯t it?"

    "What of it?" Lu Yin denied nothing.

    The carrion beetle stayed silent for a moment. "Give it to me."

    Lu Yinughed. "Did you hit your head or something? Why would I give it to you?"

    The carrion beetle¡¯s voice dropped, "Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide belongs to my carrion beetles. Who else do you think has the ability to tear apart Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide aside from us carrion beetles?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. This was his first time hearing about where Progenitor Wushang''s hide hade from. "So, you carrion beetles know where Progenitor Wushang''s body is?"

    "Boy, give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide! If you don¡¯t, I will haunt you forever, and my species¡¯ ancestors will also chase you down. They are powerful enough to easily kill you, and no one can stop them, not even a Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. He might not care about threats from others, not even Semi-Progenitors, but the carrion beetles were different. Fighting against one had shown Lu Yin the horror of these bugs. This carrion beetle¡¯s power level was notparable to that of the octopus that Lu Yin had fought against before, but Lu Yin had been smacked around without any ability to retaliate. On top of that, Lu Yin had not been able to pierce the bug¡¯s defenses or cause any sort of injuries at all.

    Lu Yin had almost never encountered such a situation throughout his entire time cultivating. He had clearly been strong enough to face this particr opponent, but he had not been able to win.

 Chapter 1873: A Deal

    Chapter 1873: A Deal

    When Lu Yin thought about it, he realized that Liquor Hero¡¯s method of using her Creation level star energy control to defeat the carrion beetle in ZENITH was really the only way to deal with these creatures. Not even Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation could hurt the bugs.

    Anyone would be terrified to know that they were being targeted by carrion beetles.

    "Boy, I''m not joking! Give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide!" the carrion beetle said threateningly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Go ahead and try it if you want to make trouble for me. Not even a Semi-Progenitor was able to kill me, so what are you bugs going to do?"

    "I hope that you live long enough to leave the battlefield." The carrion beetle¡¯s voice turned cold.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin could not sense any trace of the astral beast in the area. It should have finally left.

    He heaved a sigh of relief and copsed onto the ground. The trap that Xu Qing had set for Lu Yin had beenpletely ruthless, and Lu Yin had nearly died. On top of that, Elder Su had not been a reliable ally. If Lu Yin had known how things would turn out with Elder Su, he would have taken the Sea King along to fight against the mantis instead. The weak link in Lu Yin¡¯s n had been Elder Su. Fortunately, Jiang Chen had randomly appeared.

    Lu Yin was also surprised to learn that Jiang Chen still had not caught the rabbit after all this time.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and activated his gadget to call Shui Chuanxiao.

    "Alliance Leader, how are you?" Shui Chuanxiao asked anxiously.

    "I¡¯m fine now. How are things on the battlefield?"

    There was only one thing that Shui Chuanxiao could say. "We¡¯re still slowly but steadily retreating."

    "The giant praying mantis ambushed me here, so you should have the upper hand on the battlefield right now. Why are you still being forced back?"

    "The sable escaped."

    Lu Yin frowned. If he had known that this would happen, he would have simply killed the Karmic me Sable instead of capturing it. "This war should end soon if Xu Qing set a trap for me."

    "Alliance Leader, you are too reckless," Shui Chuanxiao said bluntly, "I understand Xu Qing, and his traps almost always seed. On top of that, the sable¡¯s escape was timed too precisely."

    Lu Yin started to get nervous. "He really is a terrible threat. We should find a way to eliminate him during this war."

    Shui Chuanxiao countered, "But he is also one of the rare few in the Celestial Beast Empire who¡¯s capable of logical thought. If he dies, the recement general may not have that same trait."

    Lu Yin realized that this was quite urate after thinking about it. Xu Qing and Lu Yin had tacitly agreed to minimize the losses on both sides during this war, which had worked very well for the Great Eastern Alliance. If a new general stepped in, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet might bepletely wiped out.

    It was not that Xu Qing¡¯s tactics were wrong, but rather that he wanted to minimize his own losses in preparation to deal with either the Sixth Maind or the Hall of Honor¡¯s hidden strength next.

    The more intelligent the individual was, the warier they would be, and Xu Qing¡¯s wariness worked to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s advantage.

    Lu Yin gained a headache as he thought of such matters. "I''ll be back soon."

    He then hung up.

    Lu Yin soon arrived at Jinling and met with Zhou Shan, who was overjoyed to see Lu Yin. "Are you alright?"

    Lu Yin nodded, though his face looked solemn. "Earth has suffered because of me, but don''t worry. This sort of thing won''t happen again."

    Zhou Shan shook his head. "If not for you, Earth¡¯s poption would have been forced to be cannon fodder long ago, so don''t overthink things. Everyone here feels grateful to you."

    Lu Yin sighed. "I need to leave now, but I¡¯lle back after the war¡¯s over."

    As he watched Lu Yin leave, Zhou Shan said in a kind yet bitter tone, "I''m sorry I couldn''t help you. We keep causing trouble for you."

    While a crisis had been dealt with, Lu Yin was not optimistic about the situation. Xu Qing had caught hold of Lu Yin¡¯s weakness.

    After threatening Lu Yin with Earth once, Xu Qing could certainly do it again.

    The fighting stopped on the battlefield, though the Great Eastern Alliance fleet continued to retreat southwards, leaving behind countless corpses littering outer space. Innumerable astral beasts let out roars.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was dark when he returned to the fleet.

    His fleet could not endure many more battles. It was time to call in the other divisions of the Allied forces from the Innerverse. This was a war that involved the entire Great Eastern Alliance, and there were still many of the Allied Forces¡¯ divisions in the Innerverse.

    This would deal with the problems of the weakening fleet, but Lu Yin¡¯s biggest problem at this time were the Envoys, especially Mountain God and those like him. Such people had no intention of even fighting, and they simply gave ground the entire time they were on the battlefield.

    The more he thought about this, the more annoyed Lu Yin became. He wanted to just kill an Envoy to set an example, but he was worried that doing so would rebound and create even moreplications in the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget and could not stop himself from calling Wei Rong. "How long do you need?"

    "It¡¯ll take another three months, at the earliest."

    "I can''t wait that long. Pick up the speed," Lu Yin ordered. He had told Wei Rong that there was no real hurry, but Lu Yin had ignored both human nature and the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s reinforcements in his previous calctions.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s original predictions, this part of his n would only be implemented after the astral beasts¡¯ third round of reinforcements arrived. He had not expected to be forced to reveal all of his cards after the first batch of reinforcements. In fact, Xu Qing even had the freedom to set traps for Lu Yin. If the Great Eastern Alliance fell back any further, they would enter Frostwave Weave.

    Most of the people living in Northcastle Weave had already been evacuated and sent to Frostwave Weave, but due to the time constraints, there were still many people who had not yet escaped.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to worry even more.

    "Understood," Wei Rong replied.

    Lu Yin ended the call, but as soon as he lowered his hand, the gadget beeped. It was a call from Xu Qing.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, congrattions! You¡¯ve managed to escape a catastrophe." Xu Qing''s voice sounded quite rxed.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Commander Xu Qing, why do you sound so happy? Two of your Envoy-level powerhouses have disappeared. I wonder how you¡¯ll be able to exin that loss to the Celestial Beast Empire?"

    "Simple. It¡¯s actually why I reached out to you, Alliance Leader Lu. I heard that you are in possession of a piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Give it to me, and I will use that to retreat and offer an exnation," Xu Qing said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. Was the carrion beetle actually that close to Xu Qing? Had that bug actually told the Void Thunderbeast about Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide? That should be impossible!

    "The carrion beetle told you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Qing was taken aback. "The carrion beetle found out about it? Then it is true. Alliance Leader Lu, you are truly blessed. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide has always remained within the Celestial Beast Empire, so I wonder, how did youe to possess it?"

    "How did you find out that I have it, Commander?" Lu Yin wondered.

    "You used it to save yourself on the battlefield, and I saw it then."

    Lu Yin immediately understood that he had been spotted when he had blocked the giant praying mantis¡¯s attack. At that time, Lu Yin had used the corpse to block the mantis¡¯s attack while simultaneously using Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to stun the astral beast. It turned out that his actions had been seen by Xu Qing, as he was always observing Lu Yin.

    "I''m sorry to cause you so much trouble, Commander Xu Qing. You actually have to make time to keep an eye on me even on the battlefield," Lu Yin mocked.

    Xu Qing smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''ll be straight with you: give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, and I can spare the humans who haven¡¯t evacuated from Northcastle Weave yet."

    Lu Yinughed. "Are you threatening me with the lives of those insignificant people?"

    "Insignificant? If I remember correctly, the entire reason why you stepped into this war was to save those insignificant people," Xu Qing retorted with a smile.

    Lu Yin casually replied, "Yes, it was indeed to save them, but it¡¯s impossible for me to sacrifice myself for them. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide is a Progenitor item, and yet you want me to trade it for their lives? What gave you the confidence that this was a good idea?"

    The truth was that Xu Qing was not confident in offering this deal. After all, as far as Xu Qing was concerned, trading Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide for the lives of regr humans was an absurd deal. The universe was a cruel ce, and who would sacrifice themselves for others?

    "In that case, what about Earth?" Xu Qing pressed.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "What? Do you want to set another trap for me?"

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice grew cold. "Earth and Zenyu Star are both ces in the Outerverse that you care deeply for. Give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, or I¡¯ll have the carrion beetle destroy both Earth and Zenyu Star."

    Lu Yin had knowingly stepped into an obvious trap without any hesitation for the sake of Earth. Xu Qing had already caught hold of this weakness. Because of this, there was also no reason for Lu Yin to hide anything, as Xu Qing was not foolish enough to believe such lies.

    "The carrion beetle is already on Earth. Do you want to test me?" Xu Qing said lightly.

    Even an Explorer could destroy a like Earth, let alone something as powerful as the carrion beetle.

    "One year," Lu Yin stated softly.

    Xu Qing grew puzzled. "What?"

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "My conditions are that you do not resume fighting this war for a year. You must give up on the Outerverse for this time, and you must also stop threatening me with the lives of ordinary humans. Only then will I give you Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide."

    "That¡¯s impossible. A year is too long. Even if I agreed, the Celestial Demon Emperor will not. A month is the best I can do," Xu Qing replied, "That¡¯s the best that I¡¯m authorized to do with my position as the general."

    "Half a year," Lu Yin pressed.

    Xu Qing shook his head. "I can push it to two months, but you don¡¯t seem to understand: this is not a negotiation. You don¡¯t have a choice but to agree."

    Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "We will make the trade in ten days as I need that time to recover. We¡¯ll make the trade in xen Weave. I¡¯ll give you the exact coordinates when it¡¯s time."

    "xen Weave? Why have the trade there?" Xu Qing wondered.

    "How else can I make sure that this isn¡¯t just another trap?" Lu Yin asked warily.

    Xu Qing stared at a star chart for a moment, but he saw nothing wrong with the border between xen and Northcastle Weaves. "Deal."

    Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was not actually very useful to Lu Yin. If not for the fact that his blood-red bell had been shattered, Lu Yin would have never bothered to use Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. However, it waspletely different for the Astral Beast Domain.

    Progenitor Wushang had been the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Progenitor, and the astral beasts practically worshiped the Progenitor in much the same way that the Human Domain revered Progenitor Chen. Xia Ji had done everything that he could to steal the Skystar Jade Wall, and it was entirely because of Progenitor Chen''s inheritance. Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide might have a connection to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s inheritance.

    The Ghost Monkey had told Lu Yin that Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb could be found through his hide. Lu Yin had not believed that im before, and even now, he still did not believe it. However, that did not mean that creatures from the Astral Beast Domain did not believe it.

    The fact that Xu Qing had agreed to the deal showed just how important Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was to the astral beasts.

    After Lu Yin finished speaking with Xu Qing, he essed his gadget again and brought up Qing Hua''s contact information.

    The man¡¯s voice was soon heard. "Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin looked very serious as he looked at the disy. "Senior Qing Hua, how have you been recently?"

    The manzily answered, "Not very good. After all, I¡¯m someone from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory."

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and the entire Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory was being investigated by the Sixth Maind. Even Master Qing Hua, who was an Empyrean Imprinter, could not escape this investigation, and he had instantly lost his status as one of the Four Empyreans.

    Upon hearing this, Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was that the Four Empyreans were gone.

    Of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans, Bluedome Elder had died, Mr. Lifeview had been trapped inside Burial Garden, and thest two had both been from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. If Qing Hua had been stripped of his position, there was no way that Herb Immortal had kept his.

    At the Sixth Maind¡¯s peak, the Four Empyreans and Ten Venerables had been enough to intimidate the Fifth Maind, but the Sixth Maind had fallen greatly since that time.

    "Since you were able to answer my call, you must have passed the investigation, Senior," Lu Yinmented.

    Qing Hua took a sip of wine. "Doesn''t matter. What do you want? Let me tell you, regardless of what you want, I can¡¯t help you since I¡¯ve lost my position."

    There was no need for the man to say that he had lost his position, as he would not have been able to help Lu Yin with anything even if he were still one of the Four Empyreans.

    Lu Yin had initially believed that exposing Bluedome Elder¡¯s n to suppress Qing Hua would cause the man to confront Bluedome Elder and incite some conflict in the Sixth Maind. That way, Lu Yin would have had a bit more leeway to work with. However, Lu Yin had never expected Qing Hua to do nothing at all. The man¡¯s image represented him perfectly: azy, alcoholic slob.

 Chapter 1874: The Void Wanderer Ancestor

    Chapter 1874: The Void Wanderer Ancestor

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin had learned a secret about Qing Hua from Fan Shun while in Burial Garden, Lu Yin would havepletely disregarded the Empyrean Imprinter.

    "Senior, this favor is definitely something that you can help me with," Lu Yin said.

    However, he was immediately interrupted by Master Qing Hua. "I can''t help you, Alliance Leader Lu. We have never had anything to do with each other, so there¡¯s no reason you should be thinking of getting any assistance from me. Well, if you catch those two idiots again, that¡¯s an entirely different matter."

    Lu Yin answered indifferently, "What if it''s about a Progenitor item?"

    Master Qing Hua fell silent for a while. "I can''t help you."

    He then instantly ended the call.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression stiffened. The old man was certainly decisive enough, but there was no chance of the man refusing since Lu Yin was confident enough to call the Empyrean Imprinter. Lu Yin immediately tried to call Qing Hua back, but the old man refused to ept any iing calls. In the end, Lu Yin sent a message that was about a paragraph of text.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget soon beeped, and he was not surprised when he nced down and saw that Master Qing Hua was calling.

    "Senior, this junior thought that your gadget might have been broken. I was about to try to send someone to repair it," Lu Yin mocked.

    The old man¡¯s tone waspletely different from before. "How did you know?"

    "It wasn¡¯t anything difficult. After all, this junior was the master of the Outerverse, and I know many things regarding the Outerverse, including details that your Sixth Maind doesn¡¯t know about.¡± Lu Yin soundedpletely rxed. He had expected Qing Hua to react like this, but it was even stronger than what Lu Yin had anticipated.

    "Who else knows?" Master Qing Hua asked in a low voice.

    Lu Yin smiled. "So, is Senior willing to help?"

    Qing Hua felt cornered. "Alliance Leader Lu, have you been observing me for a long time?"

    "That''s not the case. This is nothing more than a coincidence. Having said that, helping me will also help you, Senior. Since there¡¯s finally a powerhouse in the Sixth Maind who¡¯s willing to help me, I absolutely won¡¯t try to hurt you, understand?"

    "What do you need?"

    Lu Yin instantly turned serious. "Senior, you should understand what¡¯s happening in the war in Northcastle Weave. This junior¡¯s made a deal with Xu Qing, and in ten days, I will give him Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide in xen Weave. At that time, I hope that some experts from your Sixth Maind will appear and eliminate Xu Qing and his forces in one go."

    Master Qing Hua was shocked. "Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide? Is that the Progenitor item you were talking about?"

    "That''s right. Your Sixth Maind should already understand just how powerful Progenitor Wushang was," Lu Yin replied.

    Qing Hua sighed. "Progenitor Wushang was once a practically invincible powerhouse, and he was just as famous as Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor in my Sixth Maind. Are you offering Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide in exchange for my Sixth Maind¡¯s assistance?"

    "This is not assistance. The Outerverse belongs to your Sixth Maind, and you have the responsibility to fight the Astral Beast Domain. This junior hopes that the Sixth Maind willpletely take over defending the Outerverse. In exchange, I will offer you Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. There are three Semi-Progenitors in your Daosource Sect, and I believe that they will not be willing to abandon this opportunity. You will have to take over this fight sooner orter, so why not do so now?" Lu Yin said.

    Qing Hua said, "I can contact the Semi-Progenitors, but whether they agree will depend on your luck."

    ¡­

    To the north, Xu Qing lowered his gadget. The Celestial Demon who had been sent to participate in the invasion stood next to the astral beasts¡¯mander. "Do you really believe that he will do as he says and give us Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide?"

    Xu Qing replied, "I believe that he will, but it won¡¯t be a straightforward matter. He was willing to take tremendous risks for that, so there¡¯s no chance that he¡¯ll risk that ce in this transaction. That¡¯s why he¡¯ll definitely give me Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. However, regarding anything that happens after that, he can im that it has nothing to do with him."

    "The Hall of Honor?" the Celestial Demon guessed.

    Xu Qing''s eyes shed. "The Sixth Maind."

    The Celestial Demon frowned. "Would he really cooperate with the Sixth Maind?"

    Xu Qing stared southwards. "The Outerverse was already given to the Sixth Maind."

    ¡­

    The ten days passed quickly, and on the ninth day, the horde of astral bests started another battle. This battle was no smaller than any of the previous ones, though there was a hole due to a missing participant.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to see Xu Qing start a battle at this time. The astral beast general was using this battle to force out Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking, and the other powerhouses to prevent them from hiding in Lu Yin¡¯s Zenith Mountain andunching an ambush in xen Weave. Xu Qing had suffered such a loss once, and he would not allow it to happen a second time.

    Dealing with smart people was always troublesome, as not only was it difficult to scheme against them, but one also had to prepare against their schemes.

    Liu Huang was the only one to apany Lu Yin on his way to xen Weave.

    As for the Astral Beast Domain, Xu Qing was the only powerhouse missing from the battlefield. All of the known experts were present, including the carrion beetle. The bug¡¯s presence on the battlefield had once again tipped the advantage in favor of the astral beasts.

    The xen Weavey just to the west of Northcastle Weave.

    With Liu Huang¡¯s protection, Lu Yin arrived in the Long Gxy, which was located in the westernmost region of xen Weave. Any further west and one would reach Armament Weave. The western border of Armament Weave formed part of the border between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Sixth Maind. It was the ce where Yuan Shi had been standing guard.

    "It looks like this weave has been abandoned. There are many emptys, as well as quite a few damaged spaceships," Liu Huang voiced his suspicions as a reminder to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grunted and descended towards a gaseous.

    The had no solid ground, but there were many rock fragments orbiting the within theyers of gas.

    Lu Yinnded on one of the fragments. Above his head was a powerful air current that was actually strong enough to tear a spacecraft apart. From time to time, it would also radiate a high temperature that was hot enough to melt metal, though it had absolutely no effect on the two humans.

    They stayed there, waiting quietly.

    Half a dayter, lightning flickered, and Xu Qing descended. He stopped and showed himself a hundred meters in front of Lu Yin and Liu Huang. Xu Qing¡¯s hands were sped behind his back, and he nced around. "You didn¡¯t set a trap for me, did you Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and a smile spread across his face. "Even if I had, you would stille, wouldn¡¯t you, Commander Xu Qing?"

    Xu Qing and Lu Yin stared at each other. "If there¡¯s a trap, then there¡¯s no deal."

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing and smiled at him. "Of course there¡¯s no trap. All of my people are fighting on the battlefield right now. You should already know that, Commander."

    Xu Qing''s eyes flickered, and he stretched out a hand. "Show me."

    Lu Yin took out Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. At this moment, even Liu Huang, who was standing next to Lu Yin, was drawn closer. He had known beforehand that Lu Yin was trading away a Progenitor item, and even Liu Huang was jealous. After all, who did not want to be a Progenitor? With the assistance of a Progenitor item, while they did not guarantee that one could be a Progenitor, they could greatly help one¡¯s cultivation and offer a much better chance of bing a Semi-Progenitor. It was a pity to give such a thing to an astral beast.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and Progenitor Wushang''s hide vanished. When it reappeared, it was in Xu Qing''s hands.

    Xu Qing did not dare stare at Progenitor Wushang''s hide, as he feared being stunned and attacked. Still, just touching it roused Xu Qing¡¯s excitement. He immediately put the hide away while staring at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, shall we return together?"

    "There¡¯s no need. I''m afraid that you might go back on your promise and send some powerhouse to ambush me on the way, so you can leave first," Lu Yin bluntly refused.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed as he carefully observed Lu Yin. "It will be very difficult for the two of us to meet again on a battlefield after today. I hope that you live, Alliance Leader Lu, as I really want to crush you on the battlefield one day."

    Lightning then flickered, and Xu Qing disappeared.

    Liu Huang frowned. "Are you just going to let him go? It¡¯s really too bad that we¡¯re giving up on a Progenitor item."

    Lu Yin looked eastwards. At this point, the matter was out of his hands.

    None of the people who had participated in this deal were stupid, and Xu Qing''sst words showed that he had already guessed what Lu Yin¡¯s n was. Lu Yin was actually eager to see what the astral beast general had prepared as a backup that had given him the courage to arrive andplete the transaction.

    Lightning flickered through space as Xu Qing traveled to the east at his top speed. He knew that there was something wrong, as there was no way that Lu Yin would willingly give up Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    The Void Thunderbeast¡¯s expression grew more and more serious as time passed. Just when he was about to try to speed up again, a massive wooden stick appeared in front of him whose end he could not even see.

    Xu Qing''s pupils shrank, and a chill ran down his back. This was dangerous.

    The stick suddenly shrank and swept towards the astral beast.

    Xu Qing returned to the form of a Void Thunderbeast and pped the stick away with a paw. There was a loud bang, and ripples swept through space, which soon shattered from the force. An old, unkempt man emerged. He was Master Qing Hua.

    Qing Hua calmly stared at Xu Qing. "You cannot leave now."

    The wooden staff rose up and swung down at Xu Qing, and lightning erupted from the astral beast. "The Sixth Maind¡¯s Master Qing Hua. You can''t stop me!"

    Lu Yin and Liu Huang watched the exchange from a distance.

    "Master Qing Hua is very powerful, and while he can defeat Xu Qing, it won¡¯t be easy for him to stop Xu Qing from leaving. After all, he''s a Void Thunderbeast," Liu Huangmented.

    "That¡¯s up to you," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Huang stared, and then a sword formed from stellr energy appeared in his hand.

    Master Qing Hua exerted the full strength of an Empyrean Imprinter. Even without the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ imprint, the man was still able to overpower Xu Qing. The astral beast soon spat out blood.

    Xu Qing let out a roar and activated all of his lightning. He was trying to escape through the void.

    xen Weavey right next to Northcastle Weave, and Xu Qing¡¯s top speed meant that he could return to the battlefield in a small amount of time. Not even Qing Hua was capable of catching up to Xu Qing if he slipped away.

    But at this moment, Liu Huang¡¯s sword swept out: Fourteenth Sword.

    There were only two methods to shatter a Void Thunderbeast¡¯s lightning. One was to crush it with overwhelming strength, and the other was to prevent the Void Thunderbeast from using its lightning. This was why Liu Huang was Xu Qing''s nemesis.

    Puff!

    Xu Qing spat out blood. He turned to gaze into the distance with his massive eyes that zed with anger. "Lu Yin, you¡¯re despicable!"

    Lu Yin stared back. Despicable? Which of the most famous tacticians in the universe were not despicable? Shui Chuanxiao, Wei Rong, Wang Wen, and even Xu Qing himself¡ªwho had been clean with the methods they had employed? This was war.

    There was always another battlefield beyond the current battlefield.

    The wooden staff dropped down from above Xu Qing''s head. Without his lightning, Xu Qing could not stop Master Qing Hua.

    No battle techniques could be seen in the movements of the staff, though it moved in a way that could not be evaded.

    Liu Huang grew nervous, and he carefully watched Qing Hua.

    All of a sudden, Lu Yin yelled, "Watch out!"

    He was staring at a ce behind Qing Hua. A terrifying number of runes had appeared there, so many that they actually reced space. Suddenly, everything nearby disappeared. Qing Hua, his staff, and even Xu Qing all vanished.

    Lu Yin and Liu Huang stared nkly. The ce before them looked the same as ever, but it was upied by an invisible creature: a Void Wanderer.

    Void Wanderers were verymon astral beasts, and many of them had appeared on the battlefield between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain. These astral beasts were able to freely travel through the void, and they saw space as their yground.

    However, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time ever seeing such a massive Void Wanderer. In fact, this was thergest one that even Liu Huang had ever seen.

    "The Void Wanderer ancestor¡­" Liu Huang could not believe his eyes.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. "Void Wanderer ancestor? Is that the Void Wanderer elder?"

    "It must be. Besides the Void Wanderer elder, what other Void Wanderer could be this massive? That creature just swallowed an Empyrean Imprinter with a single bite!" Liu Huang was shocked by what he was seeing. He raised a hand and shed out with his sword to attack the Void Wanderer.

    However, the creature¡¯s invisible body suddenly disappeared entirely.

 Chapter 1875: Hidden Means

    Chapter 1875: Hidden Means

    The Void Wanderer was sorge that not even Lu Yin and Liu Huang were able to see the creature¡¯s end. It could easily swallow an entire, and it could also instantly phase into the void. Liu Huang had no way of injuring the creature.

    Liu Huang struck out dozens times in a row with his sword, but not a single attack even touched the Void Wanderer.

    Liu Huang was a true expert with a power level of over a million. Even if he was not quite as powerful as one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Empyrean Imprinters, he could absolutely fight against those powerhouses. Despite that, Liu Huang was unable to touch this Void Wanderer.

    The Void Wanderer elder shot through the void and disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already behind Lu Yin and Liu Huang. The astral beast¡¯s passage crushed space and shattereds. It opened its mouth as it faced Lu Yin. Then, lightning flickered as the Void Thunderbeast appeared and let out a roar as his ws fell. "Lu Yin, you can forget about returning alive!"

    Liu Huang used his sword to block Xu Qing, but suddenly, the Void Wanderer swept past Xu Qing like a phantom and continued, moving past Liu Huang. The beast swallowed Lu Yin in a single pass and thenpletely disappeared again.

    The creature really coulde and go without a trace.

    Liu Huang moved his sword to block Xu Qing''s ws, but the human¡¯s body was suddenly smacked back by an overpowering strength. Liu Huang nced over at the Void Wanderer elder who had reappeared with a great deal of surprise, as well as other, conflicting emotions.

    Xu Qing stared at Liu Huang, who was standing before him. "Lu Yin is already finished. There¡¯s no way for him to escape, so he¡¯ll be taken back to the Celestial Beast Empire. Once he¡¯s gone, you will no longer have any reason to fight this war against my Astral Beast Domain. After all, an Outerverse war is none of your business."

    Liu Huang frowned and nced over at the Void Wanderer before looking back at Xu Qing. "You intend to just let me leave?"

    Xu Qing loudly proimed, "The Great Eastern Alliance was formed with Lu Yin as its core. While another person could technically be elected as alliance leader, it¡¯s impossible for anyone else to take that position as long as he is around. It is his organization, not yours. If Lu Yin disappears, the Great Eastern Alliance will be disbanded, but the Innerverse will remain as the Innerverse. Your Sword Sect will likely be the strongest power in the entire Innerverse due to your existence, and it is not impossible for you to lead them into the Neoverse in the future.

    "Isn''t that what your Sword Sect has always hoped for? How many humans actually wish to fight this war aside from Lu Yin? If others genuinely wanted to fight against my Astral Beast Domain, then how could you humans have been beaten back again and again?"

    Liu Huang stayed silent.

    "You are one of the Sword Sect¡¯s greatest geniuses. You¡¯ve created the Fourteenth Sword, and it¡¯s not impossible for you to be a Progenitor in the future. Are you really willing to lower yourself to work under Lu Yin? Are you willing to submit to him? Does this follow the teachings of your Sword Sect?" Xu Qing asked.

    From Liu Huang¡¯s perspective, everything that Xu Qing had said was quite urate. Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin was the strongest, the Second Nightking, Liu Qianjue, and Ling Taizu all listened to him. Why else would they have joined this war? This was something that Xu Qing had recognized, so as long as Lu Yin was captured, the war would be over.

    Xu Qing had already known that the deal that Lu Yin had offered would be a trap, but so what? Xu Qing had been willing to take this risk precisely because this was the quickest way to end this war.

    ***

    Inside the Void Wanderer''s stomach, Lu Yin was unable to hear anything in the outside world. He nced around the massive space, but he could not find Qing Hua anywhere he looked. Lu Yin was not even able to see the Empyrean Imprinter¡¯s runes.

    While there was a fast space in the Void Wanderer¡¯s stomach, there had to be a limit. Lu Yin stuck out with a Hollow Palm, but there was no reaction aside from a few spatial ripples.

    Even Qing Hua had not managed to immediately escape, so what chance did Lu Yin have?

    Unexpectedly, Xu Qing had kept the Void Wanderer elder hidden this entire time. This showed the astral beast general¡¯s ruthlessness and patience.

    Back in the outside world, Liu Huang was almost convinced. He had initially listened to Lu Yin because he had wanted to repay Lu Yin¡¯s kindness for getting him out of Gaia''s Swamp, but the Sword Sect had already repaid that debt by joining the Great Eastern Alliance. At the moment, Liu Huang was only participating in this war because he had seen no reason to refuse, and also because he had been confident that he could keep himself safe.

    The old swordsman had no confidence that he could rescue Lu Yin. Additionally, this oue seemed like it would be a better option for the Innerverse. However, Liu Huang had spent a long time with Lu Yin, and after getting to know the youth, Liu Huang questioned whether or not Qing Hua was the only trump care that Lu Yin had kept hidden.

    Master Qing Hua was an Empyrean Imprinter, and he was certainly qualified to be Lu Yin¡¯s trump card, but Liu Huang had suspected that Lu Yin had something more nned.

    "Liu Huang, Lu Yin has been captured, which means that the Great Eastern Alliance will be disbanded. This war has be meaningless, so just step back!" Xu Qing shouted in a stern tone.

    Liu Huang stared at the Void Thunderbeast. "Why didn¡¯t you have the Void Wanderer elder swallow me as well?"

    Xu Qing''s pupils red. "You¡¯re courting death!"

    Liu Huang clenched the hilt of his sword a bit tighter. "I want to see if this Void Wanderer elder can swallow me as well. I feel that swallowing Master Qing Hua was already the beast¡¯s limit."

    Liu Huang immediately hefted his sword and attacked the Void Wanderer elder.

    Xu Qing became furious, as Liu Huang¡¯s guess was quite urate. The Void Wanderer elder was truly powerful due to how long it had lived for, and it was right at the cusp of bing a Semi-Progenitor, but it was also a Void Wanderer, which meant that the ancient astral beast had no means of attacking. It was only able to incapacitate super powerhouses, but the Void Wanderer was already at its limit after swallowing an Empyrean Imprinter like Qing Hua. It had also swallowed Lu Yin, but that did not matter as Lu Yin¡¯s strength was negligible to the Void Wanderer. However, if it also tried to swallow Liu Huang, the swordsman would be able to cooperate with Master Qing Hua, and the Void Wanderer elder would not be able to keep both humans suppressed.

    This was precisely why the Void Wanderer elder had avoided swallowing Liu Huang.

    There was a loud bang as Xu Qing collided with Liu Huang. "If you don¡¯t let this go, you will die on this battlefield!"

    Xu Qing then ordered, "Get back to the Celestial Beast Empire!"

    Themand was for the Void Wanderer elder. The massive astral beast¡¯s body twisted as he prepared to leave.

    Liu Huang¡¯s eyebrows rose high. He wanted to save Lu Yin, but he also did not. The swordsman was truly conflicted at this moment, but it also did not matter. He waspletely incapable of stopping the Void Wanderer from leaving, so it did not really matter even if Liu Huang had decided to rescue Lu Yin.

    The Void Wanderer drifted into the void and slipped through it as though it were swimming.

    After swimming for a bit, the Void Wanderer emerged at the border between xen Weave and Northcastle Weave. After entering the void and swimming around for a second time, it appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

    Sword King had a massive body that towered high above as he crushed a spacecraft like an ant and caused it to explode. However, Sword King was nothingpared to the massive Void Wanderer elder who suddenly appeared, as its body dwarfed the entire battlefield.

    Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking, and all the other powerhouses stared at it inplete shock.

    The Void Wanderer elder was about to submerge into the void a third time to swim away, as this would allow it to reach the asteroid field. Then, a fourth trip through the void would bring it through Ironblood Weave and into the Primal Zone, which would mean that it would be back in the Astral Beast Domain.

    Suddenly, the Void Wanderer elder froze and let out a pained sound. At the same time, countless Void Wanderers across the battlefield copsed and were easily crushed to death.

    "What just happened?" Elder Jiu Shen was confused. Everyone stared at the Void Wanderer elder and listened to its wails of agony. Suddenly, the astral beast opened its mouth, and a wooden staff was tossed out at Sword King. He swept his sword out, and although he did not manage to smash the staff, he was able to send it flying.

    Master Qing Hua charged out of the Void Wanderer''s mouth. Right after that, a green light appeared, and Lu Yin was seen being carried out of the Void Wanderer¡¯s mouth by a middle-aged woman.

    The eyes of Elder Jiu Shen and the others all went wide. "Lu Yin?"

    No one had expected Lu Yin to suddenly emerge from the Void Wanderer elder¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was carried along by the middle-aged woman, and he was breathing heavily. He had been quite shaken up from being swallowed, but luckily, he had had a backup n in ce. Without that, he would not have been able to escape.

    This middle-aged woman was wearing a leaf-green dress. It was a style of clothing that was unique to the Mavis family. Her name was Ya Mavis, a powerhouse only second to Yunying Mavis with a power level of over a million.

    The Mavis family had unfathomably deep foundations, but even they did not have many people with power levels of more than a million.

    Xu Qing knew how to hide his strength and trump cards, but Lu Yin was capable of doing the same.

    Ya Mavis was a powerhouse that Lu Yin had kept hidden. She had arrived shortly after Lu Yin returned to the battlefield from Earth, but she had not made a single move until saving Lu Yin just now.

    The Mavis family had allied themselves with Lu Yin, and there was no way he would forget such a thing during this war.

    Thus far, Lu Yin had managed to mobilize six experts with power levels of at least a million: the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, Yuan Shi, Jiu Shen, Ya Mavis, and finally, Master Qing Hua.

    The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces were also far from weak. They had the Celestial Demon, Xu Qing, Sword King, the Void Wanderer elder, and more.

    There were more than ten individuals participating in this war with power levels in excess of a million. This was a rare urrence even throughout all of human history.

    The fact that there were more than twenty Envoys participating was already enough to draw the attention of the entire Fifth Maind.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s no wonder why you asked my Mavis family for help. This war is certainly not a minor scuffle," Ya Mavismented. She was truly stunned by what she saw as she nced around at the Second Nightking, Jiu Shen, Sword King, and the Void Wanderer elder. She was secretly amazed at Lu Yin''s influence.

    Lightning suddenly flickered. Xu Qing had returned. He solemnly stared at Ya Mavis, and his fingers trembled slightly. How had Lu Yin managed to keep such a powerhouse hidden for so long? Xu Qing had felt that he had been truly cunning and thorough in this war, but he had failed time and time again as his opponent outperformed him.

    In the future, Lu Yin would be a true catastrophe for the Astral Beast Domain if he were not eliminated.

    Liu Huang also arrived, and he immediately stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. He had been right in his judgment of Lu Yin; the youth indeed had more tricks that he had kept hidden.

    Master Qing Hua suddenly attacked, and his wooden staff swung at Xu Qing. He needed to get Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    Sword King raised his sword and attacked Qing Hua. Elder Jiu Shen also took action, and stars appeared and began to revolve around his body. He used the Celestial Sword Technique to attack, and at the same time, the Second Nightking and the Celestial Demon went after each other.

    In a split second, nearly all of the experts with power levels of a million or more took action, and all of Northcastle Weave trembled. Countlesss shattered, and the damage even spread to some of the nearby weaves.

    Lu Yin asked Ya Mavis and the others to hold the astral beasts back as he quickly ordered the fleet to flee. A battle at this level was something that none of the weaker humans could hope to survive if they stuck around.

    "Xu Qing, do you intend to go back on your word? The fighting should have already stopped!" Lu Yin yelled.

    Xu Qing sneered. "I should be the one saying that to you! Qing Hua isn¡¯t part of your Great Eastern Alliance, and yet you¡¯re helping him, which is deliberately pushing this war to continue. Our deal is invalid!"

    Lu Yin shouted back, "Fine, we¡¯ll stop! This matter is between you and Master Qing Hua."

    Lu Yin then immediately ordered everyone from the Great Eastern Alliance to retreat from the battlefield.

    The Second Nightking and everyone else was simrly startled. Were they really supposed to just retreat?

    Ya Mavis was also surprised. She had assumed that Lu Yin had invited Qing Hua to help the Great Eastern Alliance fight this war. Was that not the case?

    No one could understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, not even people like Liu Qianjue, who did not want to keep fighting. Everyone was dumbfounded.

    Xu Qing was also stunned. Was Lu Yin really going to retreat?

    On the other hand, Qing Hua showed no surprise. "Xu Qing, hand over your possessions!"

    Even as the man spoke, his staff swung down.

    Sword King was instantly enraged. "You old busybody! You dare to attack us on your own? You¡¯re stepping into your own grave!"

    Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon worked together to attack Qing Hua.

    As for the Great Eastern Alliance, countless people turned to look at Lu Yin. Was he really not going to do anything at all?

    Lu Yin quietly stared at the north as Qing Hua confronted the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s various powerhouses on his own. How was he supposed to make a move, and why? Lu Yin¡¯s agreement with Qing Hua had been for the Sixth Maind to acquire Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide in exchange for them taking over the war with the Astral Beast Domain. As for how they acquired the hide, that was none of Lu Yin¡¯s business.

    Besides, Qing Hua was no fool. He was notoriouslyzy, and despite the fact that he was not particrly interested in Progenitor Wushang''s hide, he had taken the initiative to try to take it. Clearly, someone had ordered him to do so.

    Lu Yin was not the only one who had realized this, as many of the informed people thought the same, including Xu Qing.

    Sword King and the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s other powerhouses all ganged up on Qing Hua. Only the Void Wanderer elder stayed out of the fray, lurking in the void, as it kept a wary eye out.

 Chapter 1876: Lan Xian

    Chapter 1876: Lan Xian

    No one knew when it started; it might have been going on for a long time, or it might have just started. Regardless, everyone¡¯s ears picked up the sound of plucked instruments and vague chants. The music slowly started to speed up.

    Jiu Shen was the first to notice it, and the Second Nightking, Sword King, and the other top powerhouses all noticed it a momentter. Lu Yin heard the music right after Yuan Shi.

    Lu Yin thought that the music sounded quite pleasant, but when had it started?

    Boom!

    Sword King''s massive weapon smashed into the wooden staff, and the two retreated in unison. Surprise decorated Sword King¡¯s face, and his head snapped to look to the west.

    At that same moment, Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking, the Celestial Demon, and all of the other experts turned to look westward as well.

    The sky in that direction was bright.

    Outer space was extremely dark, and yet it turned pink at this moment as cherry blossoms drifted through the empty expanse. A woman stepped out. She was wearing a simple, pure-white dress that danced in a breeze. Her bare feet stepped upon the cherry petals, and her long blue hair was tied up in aplicated bun. There was an almost divine quality to her. A delicate cloth wrapped around her upper body, and she was holding a three-stringed music instrument in her hand. She slowly walked through space.

    It was impossible to see the woman¡¯s face, as the delicate cloth was embroidered with a cat-like pattern. It gave her both a mysterious and an incredibly wild look that somehow resonated with her ethereal aura.

    No one could say how long the woman had been there for, just as no one could say how long the music had been ying. It was only when the tune grew more aggressive and cheerful that anyone had noticed it, though no one could understand why that was the case.

    Lu Yin watched as the woman transformed space around her. Cherry blossoms started flying everywhere, and Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb as a terrible sense of danger roused him from his daze. His pupils transformed into runes, but his eyes were instantly ovee by a stinging pain, and he quickly covered them up.

    The pain came from the overwhelming number of runes that he had just seen. He had felt this sensation before, but given Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength, he could even see the runes of Empyrean Imprinters without feeling pain. Despite that, this woman was painful to look at. The only possibility was that this woman was even stronger than an Empyrean Imprinter, which meant that she was a Semi-Progenitor.

    "The Sixth Maind¡¯s Lan Xian," Yuan Shi solemnly stated. He looked utterly serious, and both fear and disbelief could be seen on his face. He seemed to feel as if he should not be seeing the woman before him.

    Lu Yin was a bit confused. "Lan Xian? One of the Semi-Progenitors who stays in the Daosource Sect?"

    Yuan Shi answered quietly. "That''s right. When the Neohuman Alliance attacked the Daosource Sect, even Jiu San died, and only three Semi-Progenitors survived. She¡¯s one of those survivors, as well as the only woman."

    Jiu Shen¡¯s eyes narrowed. A Semi-Progenitor was a powerhouse at the same level as his senior brother, and encountering one made him feel a terrible sense of danger. This person was on an entirely different level from him.

    Across the battlefield, Sword King fell back while staring at Lan Xian as she approached. The astral beast reflexively clenched the hilt of his sword tighter due to the fear that overwhelmed him. Only a Semi-Progenitor could do this to him. ¡°A Semi-Progenitor."

    Xu Qing''s expression had grown ugly. "One of the three Semi-Progenitors who has stayed hidden in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect hase out, surprisingly."

    He then thought of something and turned to look at Qing Hua. It was no wonder why the Empyrean Imprinter had possessed the courage to face all of the astral beasts; he was being supported by a Semi-Progenitor. However, when had the Semi-Progenitor arrived?

    Everything stopped on the entire battlefield the moment the Semi-Progenitor appeared. Everyone stared at her.

    Not even the most unruly and arrogant astral beast dared to make the slightest of sounds at this moment, and all of them warily stared at the west as they were overwhelmed with fear. They all watched as the pink sky gradually overtook them.

    Master Qing Hua held his staff in his hand as he stepped forward and moved through the void. He appeared a short distance from Lan Xian, already within her pink realm.

    "It''s quite rare to see such an impressive battlefield," Lan Xianmented. She had a gentle voice that had a softness to it like a flowing stream. Listening to it would cause anyone to rx and drift off.

    Lu Yin was the same. It was his first time hearing such an intoxicating voice, and he instantly wanted to see the hidden face.

    This voice caused all of the aggression in the eyes of everyone present to disappear. This simple sentencepletely changed the atmosphere of the battlefield, though there was no hint of a battle technique being used. It was nothing more than the woman¡¯s voice.

    There were times when sound itself could be a weapon.

    Lan Xian did not look at anyone, and yet she also seemed to be looking at everyone. "I''ll y a song for everyone so that this trip was not made in vain."

    As she spoke, her beautiful fingers slid down the strings of her three-stringed instrument, and sound echoed through space once again. It was the same plucking sound that everyone had heard before, but the very first note ignited mes in everyone¡¯s hearts. No order was given, and yet the battle instantlymenced once again.

    Everyone seemed to be hypnotized. The fighting grew increasingly heated, as everyone seemed intent on either killing their enemy or dragging their enemy down with them.

    Lu Yin wanted to stop it, but he was stopped by Jiu Shen. "There¡¯s nothing that you can do. This is Lan Xian''s power."

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet started attacking the astral beasts, as only those with the strength of Envoys were able to resist the desire to start fighting.

    As the music grew in intensity, Mountain God was finally unable to withstand it, and he charged onto the battlefield. Ling Qiu, the Sea King, Liu Qianjue and the other Envoys also rushed onto the battlefield one after another.

    The Envoy-level astral beasts were no different, and they also rushed onto the battlefield.

    The fires of war raged within Lu Yin''s chest, and he was nearly ovee by the desire to fight. He needed to release this pressure, but he was suppressed by a trace of reasoning that remained. He was actually held back by Elder Jiu Shen. Without the elder, Lu Yin would have also rushed out onto the battlefield.

    Lan Xian was providing apaniment for a war, and each time she plucked the strings, the individuals on the battlefield felt the mes of war mount higher and higher. Countless corpses decorated the region.

    Master Qing Hua stared across the battlefield into the distance, and his eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Lu Yin just stared at the Empyrean Imprinter and opened his mouth to say something.

    Master Qing Hua shrugged and then softly said, "Lan Xian, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was offered as a condition for a deal proposed by Lu Yin. In exchange, the Sixth Maind has to enter the fray with the Astral Beast Domain."

    The man¡¯s meaning was quite simple: Lan Xian was doing nothing less than using the Great Eastern Alliance as cannon fodder. She was forcing them to fight to the death against the Astral Beast Domain, which was not allowed ording to the agreement that had been reached with Lu Yin.

    Qing Hua had voiced a reminder, but Lan Xian did not stop. In fact, the music grew louder and louder.

    Battleships exploded, and the number of corpses increased.

    Lu Yin was beyond furious. If things continue in this manner, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet would bepletely wiped out, and his n would fail. No, this could not be allowed.

    He nced over at Elder Jiu Shen and the Second Nightking. If the two took action, they might be able to stop Lan Xian''s music, but that would be no different from picking a fight with a Semi-Progenitor. That was supposed to be left to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin stared at Lan Xian as she stood within her pink world that was filled with blooming cherry blossoms while controlling the distant battlefield. Lu Yin gritted his teeth and opened his mouth. He immediately started reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. "When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancientnds is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards... Leap into the cosmos and crouch... Harmonious with themon people... Devour the hundreds of rivers... Leap into the boundless skies and crouch¡­"1

    The sutra cut through the music like a hot knife through butter. Just like how no one had initially noticed Lan Xian¡¯s music with it having seemingly always been there, Lu Yin¡¯s recitation slowly filled the area. Those who heard it started to feel as though they were being enlightened and their spiritual force was being strengthened by this odd rhythm that sounded like something from ancient times.

    The sound was not loud, yet everyone could hear it, including Lan Xian.

    The sound of her three-stringed instrument suddenly stopped, and a string broke. Confusion filled her eyes as she nced around. Just what was that sound? It had actually prated her inner world, resonated in her mind, and reced her thoughts. She had actually been dazed for a moment.

    Suddenly, the Void Wanderer elder appeared above her head and mmed straight into her. In the distance, Sword King, the Celestial Demon, and Xu Qing all attacked together.

    They had no idea whether or not Lan Xian was an enemy of the Great Eastern Alliance, but she was definitely their enemy.

    The Astral Beast Domain had invaded the Outerverse, and once the Great Eastern Alliance withdrew, the Sixth Maind would take over. Lan Xian had wanted to force the Astral Beast Domain and the Great Eastern Alliance to fight each other to the death, which Lu Yin had been aware of. That was why he had tried to stop Lan Xian. Xu Qing had been aware of the same thing, but he had been helpless to stop the Semi-Progenitor.

    The moment that Lan Xian showed an opening, Xu Qing had decisively ordered everyone to attack her. He hoped to use the element of surprise to deal with the woman. Even if they could not kill a Semi-Progenitor, forcing her to retreat would be good enough.

    Xu Qing had never thought that a Semi-Progenitor would be drawn into this war.

    Lan Xian¡¯s arrival on the battlefield had ruined the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s strategy, and Xu Qing had to salvage whatever he could.

    The pink world that was filled with cherry blossoms was attacked multiple times as the astral beasts tried to shatter the seemingly peaceful fairnd that had reignited the war.

    Qing Hua stepped back.

    Lan Xian looked up. Her eyes were beautiful and bright, but they were also unspeakably cold.

    When she saw the various attacks approaching her, the cherry blossoms shot up from beneath her feet. The pink world continuously expanded until it enveloped the entire battlefield. Everyone was inside it, including Lu Yin and those with him.

    Both the sky and the ground were filled with drifting cherry blossoms. It was a truly beautiful sight, but Lu Yin and everyone else found it terrifying. Each petal gave people the impression that it was a sharp de ready to strike.

    This suspended de did not fall upon Lu Yin and the other humans, instead attacking Sword King and the other astral beast powerhouses.

    The Void Wanderer elder, Sword King¡¯s de, and the Celestial Demon¡¯s spiritual force were just about to touch Lan Xian, but it seemed as though she was an entire universe away. It was a distance that could not be crossed.

    The cherry blossoms tangled around Sword King''s massive sword, and he watched as his sword shattered and his body was wrapped up in cherry blossoms. He let out a roar as his blood spilled and stained the area around him. The cheery petals had sliced his body open, and blood was dripping from every inch of his body. He looked absolutely miserable.

    The same fate befell the Celestial Demon. His spiritual force and battle techniques were trapped and frozen by the cherry blossoms before they could harm Lan Xian in the slightest. The blossoms rose up from below, slicing everything apart like sharp des, and the Celestial Demon was nearly bisected.

    It only took an instant for two of the astral beasts¡¯ top powerhouses to be severely injured.

    This showed the difference between a Semi-Progenitor and those beneath them. Regardless of how powerful a cultivator was, they would be helpless when facing a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world.

    Blood stained the cherry blossoms red.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he was ovee with shock.

    This was not his first time seeing a Semi-Progenitor attacking with their inner world, and he had even been attacked by a Semi-Progenitor himself once. He had also seen two inner worlds sh against each other, but this was the first time that Lu Yin had actually entered a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world and experienced the terror of having someone else control his life.

    If Lan Xian wished it, a single cherry blossom could destroy Lu Yin.

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s hand clenched into a fist, and he barely managed to resist manifesting his simted stars. He was also a powerhouse, and he simrly could not ept someone else having control over his life or death.

    He was much more familiar with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, and his senior brother had once said that no matter what, Jiu Shen could never allow himself to enter a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world. Once a person entered, their fate would no longer be their own.

    Jiu Shen wanted to break free from the inner world and escape, but the fates of Sword King and the Celestial Demon terrified the Cosmic Sect elder. If he reacted at all, he was not certain if Lan Xian would not attack him as well.

    However, the chances of her attacking Jiu Shen were very low.

    Xu Qing''s expressionpletely changed, and the fluttering cherry blossoms that surrounded him gave him the chills. He looked up and nced over at the fleeing Void Wanderer elder. "Use it!"

    Right as he spoke, a cherry blossom sliced off his arm.

    Lan Xian fixed her bewitching eyes onto Xu Qing. She was curious as to what else these astral beasts could have possibly kept hidden. What could they possess that could be useful against her?

    Master Qing Hua watched as Lan Xian easily suppressed all of the powerhouses and shook his head in a helpless manner. A Semi-Progenitor was a Semi-Progenitor, and they were beings that stood at another level. It did not matter that Lan Xian was actually much younger than him.

    When Qing Hua had first be a Cosmic Imprinter, Lan Xian had just started bing famous. She had been one of the Daosource Three Skies of her generation. However, when Qing Hua became an Empyrean Imprinter, Lan Xian had reached the same level as him. At present, Qing Hua was still an Empyrean Imprinter, but Lan Xian was already a Semi-Progenitor.

    [1] This is the first time that the Origin Progenito''s Sutra has appeared sopletely, and this allowed us to finally be able to urately trante the various disjointed phrases of the Stonewall Scriptures, so all of the bits from the past have been reworked based off of this pleted" section. ?

 Chapter 1877: Stellular Tribulation

    Chapter 1877: Stellr Tribtion

    Lan Xian was not the most powerful of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and neither was she the closest to bing an Progenitor. However, she was the youngest and most talented.

    Even azy person like Qing Hua asionally envied Lan Xian''s talent.

    She was his junior in the Sixth Maind, but her cultivation already surpassed countless others. She had risen to be one of the most powerful people in the entire Sixth Maind and was only under the three Progenitors.

    Anyone from Lan Xian¡¯s generation In the Sixth Maind would only have one phrase to describe her with: peerless within her generation.

    Her white dress fluttered in a breeze as cherry blossoms filled the sky and painted space red. Meanwhile, her hands plucked at her three-stringed instrument to control an entire battlefield. This was Lan Xian.

    Xu Qing half dropped to his knees. Sweat poured down his face as he stared into the void. The Void Wanderer elder''s body twisted, and then, as Xu Qing eagerly watched, the massive astral beast pulled out a piece of leather. It was Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    Lu Yin had only possessed a single piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide, but the Progenitor¡¯s full hide was absolutely massive, as Progenitor Wushang had been an enormous astral beast.

    At this moment, arge piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide covered the entire body of the Void Wanderer elder.

    At that instance, everyone looking over was frozen stiff, including Lan Xian. Both the hide and the Void Wanderer elder were too massive, and everyone could clearly see Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide. Even Master Qing Hua, who was the furthest away, saw it and became frozen.

    No one had expected the Void Wanderer elder to be in possession of such a massive piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide.

    Lu Yin was also frozen and staring nkly at the sight. This was such an enormous piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide, and it was also Xu Qing''sst resort. He was using a Progenitor item.

    With the Void Wanderer elder donning Progenitor Wushang''s hide, the pink world filled with cherry blossoms shook and then cracked.

    Lan Xian was frozen stiff as she stared straight at the hide. The Void Wanderer elder barreled into her, and since she was stunned by the massive piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide, Lan Xian made no attempt to dodge. She was struck, and blood stained her veil.

    An inner world was not only a Semi-Progenitor''s strongest weapon, but it was also their greatest weakness. If their inner world was ever damaged, the Semi-Progenitor would be instantly injured.

    Lan Xian had not been injured by being struck by the Void Wanderer, but rather because her inner world had cracked.

    The only two people present who were not frozen at this moment were Xu Qing and Sword King.

    The moment that Lan Xian''s inner world had cracked and her body knocked back, Sword King''s wounded body had started to move. He formed a star from star energy and instantly attacked. However, he did not attack Lan Xian, but rather Lu Yin.

    No one had expected Sword King to suddenly attack Lu Yin. Not even Lan Xian had expected it. Elder Jiu Shen and others had not expected it either, and not even Lu Yin himself had considered it. This was Xu Qing''s entire n.

    He had already known that it would be impossible for them to kill a Semi-Progenitor like Lan Xian, even with Progenitor Wushang''s hide. Instead, Progenitor Wushang''s hide could allow the Void Wanderer elder to escape and ensure that the hide did not fall into Lan Xian¡¯s hands. Additionally, the moment before the Void Wanderer fled, the massive piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that would shroud the beast¡¯s body would freeze everyone on the battlefield, and that moment could let them aplish many things.

    Xu Qing¡¯s first priority was to kill Lu Yin.

    Throughout the war, Xu Qing had developed a very clear understanding of Lu Yin, and if Lu Yin did not die, the only possibility was for him to be an enemy of the Astral Beast Domain in the future. It was very likely that Lu Yin would be a Progenitor, and once that happened, the Astral Beast Domain would be done for.

    Even if he did not obtain the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, Lu Yin needed to be eliminated. As long as he died, the Great Eastern Alliance fleet would break apart, and Xu Qing would also not have to fulfill his side of the bargain that he had struck with Lu Yin. In fact, it might even be possible to secure a portion of the Outerverse before the Sixth Maind took over defending the Outerverse.

    This was Xu Qing¡¯s n. The moment that Lan Xian had appeared on the battlefield, the astral beast¡¯s general had known that victory was impossible. However, that did not mean that he could not eliminate Lu Yin.

    Xu Qing did not believe that a powerful Semi-Progenitor like Lan Xian would remain on the battlefield for long. This was not a ce that deserved a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attention.

    As long as Lu Yin died and the Void Wanderer elder escaped back to the Astral Beast Domain with Progenitor Wushang''s hide, everything would be worth it. Even if Xu Qing himself died, it would be worth it. Besides, after Lan Xian appeared, Xu Qing no longer was the one in control of his own life or death, so the best choice was to eliminate Lu Yin, who presented the biggest threat to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Xu Qing was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s General, and he was naturally able to clearly read the situation even under the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor and choose the best option avable.

    Lu Yin, you have to die! If you want to me someone, then you can only me yourself for being too outstanding. Your talent is too terrifying, and you should not exist in this universe!

    Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking, and the other human powerhouses were all still frozen due to Progenitor Wushang''s hide, and they could only watch as Sword King¡¯s sword shed towards Lu Yin. This was the most powerful attack that Sword King was capable of unleashing at this moment, and this attack surpassed a power level of a million.

    A sword sh with a power level of a million shot towards Lu Yin. Even if he still had his bodysuit armor, it would still be useless, as it would not stop an attack this powerful. Besides, Lu Yin did not even have any armor at this moment.

    His pupils shrank to pinpricks. He had not anticipated this attack. Was he about to die? He watched as the sword fell. He had no strength to resist and no way to escape.

    Master! Master! Master! Lu Yin shouted internally.

    Bang!

    The sword dropped, and there was a deafening noise. Sword King looked to see what had happened, as his sword had been blocked. It had been stopped by a cherry blossom.

    Sword King turned to look to the west. Lan Xian had actually blocked his attack with a cherry blossom, saving Lu Yin''s life.

    No one had thought that Lan Xian would save Lu Yin.

    No one had expected Xu Qing to order Lu Yin¡¯s death, and by the same token, Lan Xian protecting Lu Yin waspletely unexpected as well.

    Naturally, Lan Xian was the first person to recover after being frozen by Progenitor Wushang''s hide. She was a Semi-Progenitor afterall.

    Xu Qing''s eyes zed with anger when he saw that Sword King''s attack had been blocked. Did he really need to use that option? As expected, Skymender had not been mistaken. This thought prompted Xu Qing to pull a book out of his cosmic ring. As he stared at Lu Yin, the astral beast general shouted, "Void Wanderer elder!"

    The Void Wanderer elder spun around and mmed its body into Lan Xian again. The astral beast was relying on Progenitor Wushang''s hide that covered his body to protect him. Lan Xian was also helpless to deal with it, as her cherry blossoms could not break through the hide, and she also could not even look at it without being momentarily frozen.

    At this moment, Sword King lifted his sword once again and shed down.

    Lan Xian frowned, and her fingertips flickered. Sword King¡¯s de was raised high as he brought it down with all his might. Just as he was about tounch another attack at Lu Yin, the cherry blossoms twined around his massive sword, just as before. Then, they continued along to cover his body as well. Blood sttered, and Sword King died.

    Blood sprinkled onto Lu Yin, Elder Jiu Shen, and others, painting both them and the battleships behind them red.

    Sword King had been a massive astral beast, and his huge body copsed. A true powerhouse had just perished.

    Xu Qing''s eyes grew cold. He tossed the book in his hand out, and it moved by itself, opening up to reveal a massive sword on a page. It looked exactly like Sword King''s enormous sword.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire body was covered with chills when he saw this weapon, and he felt a sense of extreme danger.

    At this same moment, the Void Wanderer elder charged into Lan Xian once again, blocking her sight of the book, the sword, and Lu Yin.

    The sword in the book came to life, gradually taking form from the book¡¯s pages and forming in space. It appeared behind Lu Yin and dropped down. While there was no technique, the attack was just as powerful as Sword King''s final attack.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. His body suddenly moved. He had started reciting the Origin Sutra the moment he was immobilized by Progenitor Wushang''s hide. No one else, not even Elder Jiu Shen, could move at this moment, but Lu Yin could.

    But what did it matter? Sword King¡¯s attack had locked Lu Yin down, so even if he had managed to recover from seeing Progenitor Wushang''s hide, he was still locked in ce by the sword attack. Lu Yin could not even turn around. He was helpless as the sword fell.

    The gap between him and an attack with a power level of a million was just too vast.

    Desperate, Lu Yin closed his eyes, and the nearby star energy surged into his body at a shocking rate. The moment the sword dropped down, Lu Yin¡¯s internal star energy finished his forty ninth cycle, and he reached the true peak of the Enlighter realm. This triggered his stellr tribtion.

    The greatest challenge that Lu Yin faced in surviving his stellr tribtion and bing an Envoy was the seal that had been ced on him.

    While Lu Yin knew that he had been sealed, he did not know how manyyers there were to the seal.

    When the seal had first appeared, the crazy headmaster of Astral-10 had helped Lu Yin break the seal, which had allowed him to be a Melder. The second time the seal had appeared, a desated corpse had been attacking Lu Yin and had broken the seal. This had given Lu Yin the opportunity to be an Explorer. The thirdyer of the seal had been broken by Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, and Lu Yin had then be a Hunter.

    At this moment, it would be the fourthyer of the seal. Each sessiveyer became increasingly difficult to break.

    Lu Yin did not know how strong the globe of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood that had broken the thirdyer of the seal had been, but he believed that he would need a power level of at least 800,000 or 900,000 to break through the fourthyer of the seal, and possibly even a power level of a million. This seal could act as a shield to protect Lu Yin from Sword King''s attack.

    Lu Yin wanted to use Sword King¡¯s attack the same way he had used the desated corpse when he had broken through to the Explorer realm. As for a formcast model, Lu Yin did not have one anymore. He simply did not have the necessary funds to Enhance an eight-stage formcast model.

    When Lu Yin reached the true peak of the Enlighter realm, a massive tree appeared in space, and mysterious runes appeared behind him. These runes were his seal, and it was trying to bind Lu Yin and suppress his breakthrough.

    The sword fell the same moment the seal appeared. There was a tremendous bang that shook the entire region of space and shattered the void in a wide-spreading crack.

    Elder Jiu Shen and the others were all blown away by the shockwave.

    The Void Wanderer elder twisted its body around and vanished into the void. It needed to leave quickly as if it dallied for too long, Lan Xian would either be ustomed to the suppression of Progenitor Wushang''s hide or find a way to avoid it. If either happened, the Void Wanderer elder would be suppressed, or worse, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide might be stolen.

    Lan Xian was unable to stop the Void Wanderer elder from leaving, and besides that, at this moment, she was staring at Lu Yin with a rare fluctuation of emotion in her eyes.

    Xu Qing was also staring at Lu Yin. The Void Thunderbeast had thought that this sword would kill Lu Yin, especially since this was what Skymender had divined. The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s imperial teacher had said that there was a 90% chance that the sword would kill Lu Yin, and yet the attack had failed. Xu Qing had no idea what had appeared behind Lu Yin, but it had stopped the sword.

    Lan Xian was also startled to see an Enlighter block an attack with a power level of over a million. Not even Progenitor Chen would have been capable of such a feat when he had been an Enlighter. This was something that waspletely unprecedented throughout all of time.

    As the Void Wanderer elder left, Elder Jiu Shen, Ya Mavis, and everyone else managed to regain control of their bodies and senses. As soon as they recovered, they all turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up to see that the space above him had already changed. A massive vortex was gradually growing and spreading out into the distance above his head. This vortex wasrger than any that Lu Yin had ever seen before.

    Lightning flickered within the dark vortex, and no end could be seen to its depths. The sounds emanating from the vortex were disturbing, and the faces of all those who witnessed this scene grew pale.

    "Stellr tribtion! It¡¯s a stellr tribtion! He¡¯s trying to pass his tribtion! Everyone, get back!" Elder Jiu Shen shouted. He was also the first one to flee the scene.

    Regardless of which person a stellr tribtion appeared for, everyone else would be caught up in it as long as they were within a certain range, and that range depended on the person¡¯s strength. Jiu Shen had no desire to get caught up in Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion, especially after he saw the vortex that had appeared above Lu Yin. This did not look like what other Enlighters experienced when breaking through to the Envoy realm as it was just too big.

    Jiu Shen was not alone, as the Second Nightking, Qing Hua, and everyone else with the necessary knowledge could tell that this stellr tribtion looked far toorge for someone breaking through to the Envoy realm.

    Even Lan Xian retreated. Forget a Semi-Progenitor¡ªeven a Progenitor would suffer if they were dragged into this stellr tribtion.

 Chapter 1878: Growing

    Chapter 1878: Growing

    At this moment, even the people who genuinely cared about Lu Yin, such as Yuan Shi and Sea King, were forced to retreat. Any attempt on their part to help would only make things worse.

    Across the battlefield, Xu Qing and the astral beasts all pulled back as well. Not a single individual dared to get close to Lu Yin at this moment.

    As the vortex forming the stellr tribtion grewrger andrger, everyone moved further and further away from Lu Yin.

    "Why is it still growing? My stellr tribtion wasn¡¯t even half this size!" someonemented in shock.

    Elder Jiu Shen''s eye twitched, as Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion had already reached a size that was three time asrge as Jiu Shen¡¯s, but Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion was still growingrger andrger without any end in sight.

    The Celestial Demon was shocked. "This is just too big! How is it still growing?"

    Xu Qing answered softly, "This child is beyond talented, and so his stellr tribtion will simrly surpass anything that others might face. We need to leave."

    They soon stopped moving back.

    Qing Hua was stunned. "This is just too big!"

    Lan Xian''s eyes flickered as she looked upwards. This tribtion was indeed far toorge, and it vastly exceeded the size of her own stellr tribtion. In fact, the only time she had ever seen aparable stellr tribtion was when one of the three Progenitors had passed their final tribtion.

    Lu Yin was not happy when he saw that he was about to face his first stellr tribtion. His seal had not beenpletely broken by Sword King¡¯s attack, but had merely disappeared. This meant that it would definitely reappearter, and Lu Yin was worried that it might even show up in the middle of his tribtion.

    Thunder crackled overhead, and countless people were practically in a trance as they watched. Many of the people and astral beasts who were too close passed out. It was a suppression of spiritual force.

    "Further back!" the Sea King yelled. Everyone fled further away as spiritual force appeared within the vortex and created a storm that looked to join the universe both above and below Lu Yin. It was like looking at a monster that surpassed the size of even the Void Wanderer elder, and Lu Yin was stuck in the middle of it.

    Right after the maelstrom of spiritual force appeared, lightning swept through the entire Northcastle Weave.

    The Celestial Demon was shocked yet again. "Physically manifested spiritual force? This is something that we Celestial Demons often face during our stellr tribtions. Why is he facing it?"

    Xu Qing was solemn as he answered again, "Lu Yin''s spiritual force surpasses all of his peers, and even one of you Celestial Demons might not be his match at the same cultivation level."

    The Celestial Demon had nothing to say in response.

    On the humans¡¯ side, the maelstrom did not surprise the Second Nightking. He had already witnessed Lu Yin withstand arge portion of his spiritual force pressure. Even though the Second Nightking had been putting on an act when attacking the youth in Venom Flowzone, he had stillunched a powerful spiritual force attack that should have even incapacitated an Envoy with a power level of 700,000. Despite that, Lu Yin had endured it. The youth¡¯s spiritual force was terrifyingly powerful for his cultivation level.

    The spiritual force formed a storm that spat out bolts of lightning that rained down upon Lu Yin, and at the same time, the maelstrom raged and tried to tear him apart.

    Lu Yin made no attempt to recite the Origin Sutra. This was only the beginning of his stellr tribtion, and this level of spiritual force did not evenpare to an attack with a power level of 600,000. Even the lightning had only reached a power level of a maximum of 700,000. This was not enough to threaten Lu Yin at all.

    Although Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force was not as powerful as this oing storm, his steady practice of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra had transformed his spiritual force. It had solidified and be as tough as a stone. The storm swept over Lu Yin, and although it jostled him around, it was unable to harm him. He was just like a rock in a flood.

    Boom!

    There was another explosion, and the lightning above Lu Yin began to coalesce into the shape of a bat, and it quickly released a shrill shriek.

    "A Celestial Demon?" This change startled Ling Qiu. She stared into the far away sky as the manifested spiritual force suddenly formed the image of a massive Celestial Demon thatpletely covered Lu Yin as it stared down at him.

    Celestial Demons were considered to be the greatest masters of spiritual force, and their species was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s imperial family. They actually fed upon and devoured spiritual force.

    Whenever Celestial Demons were mentioned, everybody would immediately think of spiritual force, as it was publicly acknowledged that nobody could surpass the species¡¯ dominance in that particr aspect. By this token, Celestial Demons simrly came to mind whenever spiritual force was mentioned.

    The Celestial Demon that had fought on the battlefield was not as powerful as the Second Nightking, and he was closer to Liu Huang¡¯s level of strength. However, the astral beast¡¯s terrifying spiritual force was more than enough for him to stand up to the Second Nightking and force a stalemate while simultaneously posing a massive threat to the rest of the battlefield. Without the Second Nightking¡¯s presence on the battlefield, the Great Eastern Alliance would have struggled to survive this long.

    The fact that the spiritual force from Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had taken on the form of a Celestial Demon amply demonstrated the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, as the tribtion had clearly taken on the form of the most powerful masters of spiritual force to deal with Lu Yin.

    Xu Qing and the other astral beast powerhouses were all shocked, and they reflexively nced over at the Celestial Demon in their midst.

    The Celestial Demon himself frowned. A mere human had forced his stellr tribtion to form a Celestial Demon. This clearly showed just how terrifying Lu Yin was for his level.

    A stellr tribtion was not merely based on power level. Otherwise, if every tribtion sent a trial for a power level of over a million, nobody would be able to survive.

    The strength of each stellr tribtion was rted to the strength of the person who triggered it. Stellr tribtions could almost be considered sapient, but they also seemed to follow fixed rules. Despite that, no one could guess what form a tribtion would take.

    A stellr tribtion could be as simple as a blunt attack of stellr energy, or it could be a battle technique that had once existed in the universe. There was also the possibility of the tribtion manifesting as a replica of a creature or individual who had once lived. This perfect copy would then try to kill the one facing the stellr tribtion.

    No one knew what sort of tribtion they would face during their tribtion.

    At this moment, Lu Yin shed with the Celestial Demon. The creature that Lu Yin was fighting against was formed from spiritual force and lightning, but it was absolutely a copy of a creature who had once lived, and it might even be someone who was still alive.

    "Human, you should be happy that you¡¯re talented enough to have the honor of being killed by one of our Celestial Demons," Feng Lin casually stated.

    The real Celestial Demon¡¯s expression rxed a bit at that moment. It was true¡ªeven if the fact that a mere human had managed to trigger a tribtion with the form of a Celestial Demon made him ufortable, realizing that Lu Yin would die to an image of a Celestial Demon caused the astral beast to rx.

    Yuan Shi and the other humans all grew increasingly nervous. Celestial Demons were regarded as invincible among those with the same level of strength. The fact that Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had taken this form indicated that Lu Yin had no path towards survival.

    The Celestial Demon above Lu Yin grew more and more substantial. It eventually turned to face Lu Yin and opened its mouth. Space instantly shattered, and countless people started bleeding from their seven orifices and wailing in agony. They had already moved far away from Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion, but they were still affected by it. They had no choice but to move even further away.

    Lu Yin faced the spiritual force attack of the Celestial Demon with a frown. Sure enough, the strength of his tribtion was determined by his own strength. He set up an Inception Array, as it was a sourcebox array that protected one from spiritual force attacks.

    The Inception Array blocked a portion of the Celestial Demon¡¯s spiritual force attack, and the part that broke through the sourcebox array was too weak to pose any threat to Lu Yin.

    However, the next moment, the spiritual force of the raging storm around Lu Yin started to condense into a visible sphere right above Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin''splexion changed. This was bad! This was Force Explosion, the signature spiritual force battle technique of the Celestial Demons. Yao Xuan had used this technique during ZENITH, and its power had terrified Lu Yin.

    The Celestial Demon sneered as he watched Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion. Force Explosion was the Celestial Demons¡¯ greatest technique. Lu Yin had only managed to block the spiritual force maelstrom with the use of a sourcebox array, which indicated that it would be impossible for him to block this Force Explosion.

    "You can only me yourself for cultivating spiritual force! Your level of strength has invited a disaster upon yourself due to you thinking that you canpare to the spiritual force tribtions of my Celestial Demons!¡± It would be impossible for even a Celestial Demon to survive a stellr tribtion that had such a powerful Force Explosion attack. In that case, who could possibly survive? The tribtion had judged Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force to beparable to that of a Celestial Demon, or even greater than that.

    The Celestial Demons could ept defeat, but not when it came to spiritual force. It was impossible for their species to admit that a human could surpass them in this aspect, and that meant that Lu Yin had to die from this Force Explosion.

    Lu Yin did not hold back since he was facing the Celestial Demons¡¯ greatest battle technique. He immediately started reciting the Origin Sutra. His spiritual force solidified, and Lu Yin became as immovable as a mountain in the face of the Force Explosion.

    Boom!

    The Force Explosion erupted, and spiritual force swept out in all directions. Space shattered, and ripples swept across all of Northcastle Weave before spreading out even further.

    The Second Nightking moved in front of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet to stop the spiritual force from affecting them. On the other side of the battlefield, the Celestial Demon did the same for the astral beast horde.

    This shockwave of spiritual force that had erupted was more than enough to destroy the minds of most individuals on the battlefield. Even for some of the Envoys, such as Elder He, it was too much.

    Was this really a stellr tribtion for a breakthrough to the Envoy realm? The Second Nightking could not believe what he was seeing. Who could possibly trigger such a powerful tribtion? There was absolutely no chance of anyone surviving this.

    Ya Mavis stared at Lu Yin as she recalled her Mavis family¡¯s records. They had records of countless stellr tribtions that humans had faced, and yet not a single one mentioned a person facing this level of power at the beginning of their tribtion, not even in ancient times.

    She remembered thest battle of ZENITH and Lu Yin''s God of Death Transformation. If this youth had truly received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, then the strength of his stellr tribtion was not actually that surprising.

    Peace slowly returned to the spot in the universe that everyone was staring at. The stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex was still there, and Lu Yin was standing below it. He looked a bit miserable, but his face was as calm as ever, and he had actually survived the Force Explosion.

    Lu Yin had faced a spiritual force attack that should have necessitated him being protected by the Second Nightking or some other powerhouse, and yet he had survived all on his own.

    The Celestial Demon¡¯s pupils instantly constricted. "Impossible!"

    Xu Qing''s expression also grew ugly, as he simrly felt like he was witnessing something impossible. How had Lu Yin managed to survive? Even someone like Xu Qing had been shocked by the power of that Force Explosion, as the attack had been strong enough to wound an Envoy with a power level of 800,000. Despite that, it had not been enough to kill a mere Enlighter. How was this possible? It defied all reason.

    Lu Yin was not truly strong enough to face an attack with a power level of 800,000, but spiritual force was an exception to this rule. By relying on the Origin Sutra, it was possible for Lu Yin to face even stronger spiritual force attacks and survive.

    "Sess." Mountain God muttered to himself. He felt quite disappointed that Lu Yin had survived. This meant that the war would resume, and also that the Innerverse would remain under the control of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Close by, Ling Taizu softly said, "It''s still not over."

    Mountain God was shocked; the tribtion was not over? How could that be? He was certain that he could not survive the Force Explosion they had all just witnessed. How was that not the end of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion?

    Lu Yin looked up. This was just the start, so how horrifying would his tribtion be as it continued?

    Kui Luo had told Lu Yin that Bai Xian''er''s stellr tribtion had shaken the entire Perennial World and that it had drawn the attention of Progenitors while also inciting the Aeternals to attack. In that case, what would Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion be like? Would it be weaker than Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s? Or would it be even more impressive? Lu Yin could not even begin to guess.

    The vortex looked quite calm, but something was clearly brewing inside. Whatever it was, it caused the hearts of the Sea King and some others dropped. They were all aware of how stellr tribtions worked, and they knew not to fear when a stellr tribtion surged but instead when it fell silent. This was because the calmer a tribtion became, the more terrifying the next attack would be. It signified that the tribtion was searching for an attack that could kill the individual who had triggered it.

    "Look, it''s growing again!" someone shouted in a panicked voice.

    Everyone looked up at the vortex. Sure enough, it was indeed spreading and growing evenrger.

    Liu Huang''s expression changed drastically. "Fall back! Back further! Move NOW!"

    The astral beasts also fled in fear. After all, astral beasts tended to be more sensitive to danger than humans.

    Qing Hua was stunned. "I¡¯ve never heard of a stellr tribtion growing stronger between stages."

    Lan Xian replied, "It¡¯s happened before, but only very rarely. The Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ tribtion did this."

    Qing Hua was even more startled. "The stellr tribtion grew stronger in the middle for the Progenitor of Bloodlines?"

    Lan Xian exined, "That¡¯s what he said, but I don¡¯t know for certain. We need to move back.¡±

    The Semi-Progenitor disappeared as she fled from the growing tribtion.

 Chapter 1879: One Punch

    Chapter 1879: One Punch

    Lu Yin could no longer see anyone. His tribtion had grown toorge, and it had already crossed the earlier battlefield. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet had been forced to flee into Frostwave Weave.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was all alone as he faced the horrifyingly powerful stellr tribtion. He let out a long breath as he stared upwards. "I can¡¯t even fathom how powerful this is going to be."

    As soon as he finished speaking, the space above him started to burn, and an unbearable pressure assaulted him. It was so bad that Lu Yin spat out blood.

    He was terrified by what he felt: was that aurelian force?

    Off in the distance, Chen Huang looked up and loudlymented, ¡°This feels familiar¡­"

    Everyone was able to see the stellr tribtion, and they all saw how space itself was burning and churning. An intense pressure swept out and covered the entire surrounding area.

    Liu Huang raised a hand to touch the power that approached them. "Battle force?"

    "That''s aurelian force!" The Second Nightking''s voice was soft, but it betrayed his shock. ¡°It''s actually aurelian force, which is only those who havepletely mastered battle force canprehend. This is a truly invincible power."

    Chen Huang grew excited. "My bloodline is resonating! This is the strength of our people!"

    Ku Wei was on top of the colossal giant¡¯s shoulder, and he also felt his blood surge within his body. He stared at the tribtion. "Master, something¡¯s wrong! You must endure!"

    Across the battlefield, there were also astral beasts who recognized the aurelian fore. Even though this power had disappeared from the Fifth Maind, there were still a few individuals who recognized it, and Feng Lin was one of them. She was stunned by why she felt. "This is aurelian force! There¡¯s no way for him to survive this."

    Elsewhere Lan Xian was simrly startled. ¡°Aurelian force? The child must have also cultivated battle force. What a pity."

    The moment the aurelian force appeared, Lu Yin''s heart had dropped to the bottom. There was no one in this ce who better understood the horror of aurelian force than him. This was an invincible power that could burn space and shatter the void simply by existing.

    A fist appeared above Lu Yin. It was massive enough to rece the universe in his sight, and it dropped down towards him.

    Lu Yin was already struggling to endure the pressure of the aurelian force, and he reacted purely out of reflex when he saw the descending fist. He retaliated with his own punch that was reinforced with his golden battle force.

    Bang!

    A deafening noise shook the area, and Lu Yin¡¯s body was smashed down by the fist, and cracks started to spread across his skin. All of Northcastle Weave was shaken by this blow, and countless people felt their hearts tremble. Many people were even killed by the sudden shock to their hearts.

    They stared across the distance at the iparably massive fist. It was as if they were looking at an ant confronting a tree.

    Were humans the masters of the universe? People had believed that to be true in the past, but as they stared at the enormous fist and the oppressive and invincible aurelian force that shattered space, they found themselves unable to even speak. They felt as small as ants.

    Countless astral beasts stared at this fist that seemed to suppress the universe itself in terror.

    Lan Xian was startled. "That fist?"

    Qing Hua looked solemn as he stared at the tribtion. "It''s Chen Fan¡¯s."

    "Chen Fan? The one who crossed realms to kill a Semi-Progenitor?" Lan Xian was shocked. She was the only Semi-Progenitor present, but she was still younger than Qing Hua, and thus there were many things that she did not know.

    Master Qing Hua nodded. "He was a colossal giant who was considered a disgrace by the giants, though he still managed to cultivate aurelian force. He challenged a Semi-Progenitor who was as strong as an Empyrean Imprinter and killed the powerhouse, proving himself to be a Realmbreaker. He fought against our Sixth Maind on behalf of the Fifth Maind and aplished great things, but he was eventually killed by a different Semi-Progenitor."

    Lan Xian was amazed. It was amazing for anyone to cross realms to kill a Semi-Progenitor. She had casually killed Sword King. But Chen Fan had been someone at the same power level as the astral beast, and yet he had supposedly managed to kill a Semi-Progenitor. This was indeed a feat worthy of being recorded down in history.

    "Chen Fan''s aurelian force was peerless during his era. He was the only one who was able to break an inner world with aurelian force. It¡¯s surprising to see this stellr tribtion manifest his power. That fist does not even seem to be a copy of his strength from when he first became an Envoy, but rather from when he reached a power level of 600,000 or even 700,000. Lu Yin is being forced to cross realms to face Chen Fan''s aurelian force. I have no idea how he will handle this," Qing Hua continued.

    While the Empyrean Imprinter was dazzled by Lu Yin¡¯s talent, the youth was facing off against opponents who were famous throughout history and who had been admired through the ages. Still, Qing Hua could not deny that Lu Yin was qualified to face such opponents. Not even Chen Fan would have been able to go against people with power levels of 700,000 while only an Enlighter.

    Chen Fan had be a peerless powerhouseter on in life, which meant that Lu Yin was not facing apletely helpless situation.

    Lu Yin was in a terrible situation at this moment. His golden battle force had shattered the moment it met the massive fist, and his body was being continuously pressed down. Fortunately, his physical strength was extremely high, and his mastery of the Oveying Stacks Path was enough to keep him from beingpletely overwhelmed.

    This was not his first time facing the terror of aurelian force. He had actually faced it multiple times when training with the Warden in Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Back then, Lu Yin had been struck numerous times by aurelian force, but if he were topare the Warden¡¯s aurelian force to the fist in his stellr tribtion, the fist¡¯s was more condensed andpletely unshakeable.

    The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind Lu Yin as he used his visualization method, and the massive creature appeared before everyone''s eyes.

    Qing Hua blurted, "An imprint? No¡­ is that? Is that an Immovable Heavenly King Elephant?"

    Lan Xian''s eyes flickered and lit up as she stared at Lu Yin. "The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant? The technique of the Lu family from back then?"

    Thisment startled Qing Hua. Lu Yin¡­ Is he from the Lu family?

    The appearance of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant had caught Qing Huapletely off guard, but the appearance also shocked Lu Yin himself.

    While this was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time using the visualization method, its manifestation waspletely different from the previous times. This time, Lu Yin heard a roar echoing from ancient times. It was the roar of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, and in that single moment, he felt as though he had traveled to the past; he saw an unfathomablerge pir standing in space. The top could not even be seen, and the pir seemed to support the entire universe.

    There was a man standing in front of the celestial pir, his back to Lu Yin as he cheered in delight. While Lu Yin could not hear anything that the man said, he could sense the man¡¯s happiness and excitement. There was a blood connection between them.

    Suddenly, the man leaped up, and Lu Yin saw the lower half of the man¡¯s face. The man looked a great deal like Lu Yin.

    While Lu Yin was feeling confused, he felt something pull at his body, and he rose up higher along with the man. Suddenly, Lu Yin was able to see more clearly; the pir was not a pir, but rather the leg of an elephant. It was the leg of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    Lu Yin rose up higher, and he saw someone sitting upon the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. The man had 90% of Lu Yin¡¯s facial features, and he patted the elephant excitedly while still chatting. This vision seemed to have allowed Lu Yin to peer into the past, but everything quickly dissipated as though it were nothing more than a dream.

    Terrible pain wracked Lu Yin¡¯s body as he was struck by a huge fist that pressed down upon him, pushing him further down through the sky.

    Everyone was shocked. Lu Yin had failed. He could not endure.

    Xu Qing and other astral beasts were all ecstatic. Anyone who failed their stellr tribtion would die.

    The Sea King and many humans had ugly expressions on their faces, and Ku Wei looked as though he was staring at his dead father. The Second Nightking and Liu Huang were both calm while Mountain God could not resist growing excited.

    Lan Xian and Qing Hua both appeared calm, and it was impossible to know what either was thinking.

    Lu Yin stared at his tribtion.

    Suddenly, a roar echoed out, powerful enough to cause space to tremble. Everyone stared in shock at the visualized Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. At this moment, it did not resemble an imprint, but rather a genuine, living creature.

    It grewrger andrger, and in the blink of an eye, it was already bigger than the fist. It let out a roar, and there was a bang.

    The fist was forced back.

    Blood covered Lu Yin, his eyes bloodshot. He bit down on his lips and punched back at the enormous fist with all his might. The power of this punch was enough to terrify people, and many of the onlookers felt their hearts begin to race. They watched in horrified fascination as Lu Yin began his counterattack. They stared as the aurelian force was shattered by Lu Yin¡¯s punch.

    Boom!

    Lu Yin¡¯s right fist rose to the pinnacle, and his attack sted out. The shockwave sliced through space, quickly reaching both the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet and the astral beast horde.

    The giant fist shattered. Lu Yin hadpletely unraveled the aurelian force.

    The Sea King suddenly shot forward. He stretched out a hand to touch the shockwave as it swept through, and his body was forced back by an overwhelming power. The Envoy lookedpletely horrified. He had only touched the shockwave, and yet he been forced back. Just how powerful was Lu Yin¡¯s punch just now?

    The Immovable Heavenly Elephant King was one of the Lu family¡¯s visualization methods that had been coveted by countless powers. How could it merely double the power of an attack?

    Visualization methods were the Lu family¡¯s unique power that had been coveted by the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers, and each of the family¡¯s methods had its own unique aspects.

    The true visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant when used by someone with the Lu family¡¯s bloodline was able to increase the power of an attack by tenfold.

    In the past, Lu Yin had only employed the visualization method without stimting his blood. At this moment, possibly because Sword King¡¯s attack had struck Lu Yin¡¯s seal or because of the blood that covered his body, Lu Yin was able to utilize the true power of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method. Thus, his attack had been amplified ten times over.

    After it was magnified tenfold, Lu Yin¡¯s punch instantly shattered even aurelian force.

    Lu Yin stood alone in space with his arms at his sides. He was working to catch his breath as the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant slowly disappeared from behind him.

    He looked up at the vortex that formed his stellr tribtion, and his pupils constricted when he saw that it was still not disappearing. This tribtion really wanted to see him dead!

    His body was covered with blood, but the tribtion still was not over.

    Xu Qing and the countless spectating astral beasts who all wanted to see Lu Yin fail could not even get excited when they saw that Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion was not over. The Celestial Demon¡¯s Force Explosion and Chen Fan¡¯s aurelian force were each powerful enough to wipe out almost every single individual on the battlefield, and very few of them had the confidence to face these attacks. But despite that, Lu Yin had survived both of them.

    And yet, his tribtion continued.

    All living creatures were treated equally by stellr tribtions, and all creatures would be forced to face a tribtion when their strength reached the required threshold. At this moment, even Xu Qing felt a sense of sadness.

    Cultivating was a matter of going against the universe itself, and once someone surpassed their tribtion, they would be capable of absorbing stellr energy. However, that would also earn them the enmity of the true universe. Cultivators¡¯ true enemy was the universe itself, and stellr tribtions meant that they could go against any power, force, or individual who had ever appeared in the true universe.

    Across the way, Qing Hua''s eyes flickered. "That was the strength of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. He used that to shatter aurelian force, and Chen Fan''s aurelian force at that."

    Lan Xian stared intently at Lu Yin. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

    The entire region fell silent as everyone stared at the vortex of the stellr tribtion. It had not begun to dissipate yet, which meant that Lu Yin still had not finished. What would the tribtion throw at him next?

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly. He felt that this was going as expected. After all, neither the Celestial Demon nor the aurelian force that he had just faced were enough to reach the same level as Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s tribtion that had drawn the attention of even Progenitors. Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion continued to grow, and he intended to see it do so until it drew the attention of Progenitors and the entire Fifth Maind.

    Come on! Lu Yin¡¯s eyes zed as he stared at his stellr tribtion. He was eager to see what would appear next.

    Countless individuals watched in silence as a figure formed from the stellr tribtion vortex. The person slowly descended and stood there quietly. This figure did not make any impressive movements, and yet everyone who saw it grew pale.

    Lan Xian froze stiff. This was a humanoid tribtion.

    Of all of the various forms of stellr tribtions, humanoid ones were the most dangerous. The appearance of such a tribtion indicated that the tribtion was certain of its victory against the challenger, and everyone intuitively sensed this fact.

 Chapter 1880: Invincibility

    Chapter 1880: Invincibility

    The faces of the Sea King and the other humans spectating Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion were all aghast. Lu Yin was actually facing a humanoid stellr tribtion! Throughout time, whenever a humanoid tribtion appeared, the chances of anybody passing them was less than one in 10,000. The appearance of such a tribtion indicated that the level of talent of the person attempting the breakthrough was unbelievably high, and yet, even then, the survival rate was unbelievably low. It was clear just how horrifying these humanoid tribtions were. Also, no one could tell who this particr humanoid stellr tribtion was copying.

    Lu Yin stared at the slowly approaching figure.

    The stellr tribtion had manifested this figure, but it had not revealed a face. Lu Yin was very wary, and his battle force instantly covered his body as the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant reappeared behind him. He felt an unprecedented sense of danger. This opponent was incredibly threatening.

    This person had been brought into existence by the stellr tribtion, and a bolt of lightning pierced through space to connect the vortex overhead to the humanoid tribtion.

    Lu Yin had the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant behind him, and his pupils transformed into runes. However, when he stared at the figure before him, he was confused. Why were there so few runes?

    This figure was part of a stellr tribtion, which meant that it was impossible for there to be any curios like cloakstone. The only possibility was that the person whom this figure had copied had been able to conceal their own power level.

    A massive asteroid shot through the battlefield and the tribtion region, and it quickly arrived between Lu Yin and the figure.

    The moment the asteroid passed by, both Lu Yin and the humanoid tribtion vanished.

    Everyone was stunned. Suddenly the asteroid shattered, and Lu Yin and the humanoid figure fell back as one.

    Lu Yin was shocked¡ªaurelian force?

    It had only been an instant, but the figure had used aurelian force against Lu Yin¡¯s Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    Across from Lu Yin, space burned and roiled around the humanoid tribtion as the aurelian force spread out. Countless onlookers started to react to this sight.

    Qing Hua eximed, "So it''s aurelian force again? I wonder who this humanoid tribtion is copying. Throughout time, very few people have grasped aurelian force and been able to surpass Chen Fan."

    Lan Xian''s eyes lit up. Aurelian force was a terrifying power, and yet Lu Yin was able to go up against aurelian force despite only cultivating to the level of peak battle force. This just went to show how much more terrifying Lu Yin¡¯s potential was.

    Lu Yin raised his head high. So what if he was facing aurelian force? The fist from a moment ago had been unable to do anything to Lu Yin, and this person would be no different. Lu Yin moved his hand to attack: Hollow Palm.

    With the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, a tenfold increase in power meant that Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm beyond intimidating. In the past, he had been able to make Envoys with power levels of over 600,000 cough up blood and frighten experts with power levels of 700,000. At this moment, a single Hollow Palm was strong enough to cause even an Envoy with a power level of more than 700,000 to spit up blood.

    This tenfold increase in power had brought about a qualitative change in Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm.

    The humanoid tribtion was struck head on by the Hollow Palm, and the body tumbled over. Not even the figure¡¯s aurelian force was able to arrest its momentum.

    Just as the humanoid tribtion was forced to retreat, its body trembled, and a second figure emerged from the first. The second figure raised a hand, and stars appeared and began to revolve around the figure.

    This sight caused Lu Yin¡¯s expression topletely change. The Cosmic Art? No, two people who were one person? Was this the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    To the south, Jiu Shen was left dazed. "Progenitor Chen¡­"

    The moment he spoke the name, everyone was startled.

    Ya Mavis could not believe her ears. "Elder Jiu Shen, what did you just say?"

    Everyone turned to look at the old man.

    Jiu Shen gritted his teeth. His eyes zed with a fanatical light, and his breathing grew ragged as he stared at the humanoid tribtion. ¡°Clones and the Cosmic Art. There has only ever been one person throughout history who has possessed both of those techniques at the same time, and that is Progenitor Chen! Those simted stars are formed from star energy, not stellr energy. Which other Enlighter in history could be capable of facing Lu Yin at his level? That humanoid tribtion is a copy of Progenitor Chen!"

    On the other side of the tribtion, Xu Qing''s pupils fluctuated. "The humans¡¯ Nine Clones Secret Technique and the Cosmic Art? Could it be?"

    "Progenitor Chen." The Celestial Demon who stood next to Xu Qing looked quite upset at this moment.

    Elsewhere, Qing Hua was shocked by what he saw, and Lan Xian''splexion had also changed. From the perspective of those from the Sixth Maind, Progenitor Chen had not been a hero, but even they were unable to deny his power and invincibility.

    Progenitor Chen had been the symbol of his era. At one point, the Ancient Progenitors had be mere legends, and people had started to believe that more recent Progenitors were unable topare to the Progenitors of the ancient past. It had been believed that humans had regressed. However, Progenitor Chen had been a Progenitor from a more recent era who had lived during the era of the Daosource Sect, and who would im that Progenitor Chen was an example of humanity¡¯s regression?

    During his time, Progenitor Chen¡¯s name had been synonymous with invincibility. He had ughtered multiple Progenitors at the same time, and the Sixth Maind had eventually refused to even write down his name. Progenitor Chen had monopolized two Mountains and one Sea and had been regarded as invincible in the entire universe. Invincibility. It was a word that seemed to have been made specifically for Progenitor Chen.

    After winning ZENITH, Lu Yin had been regarded as peerless. After he returned from the Perennial World, he had crossed realms to challenge Envoys. As his cultivation improved, he had eventually reached the point where he could challenge Envoys with power levels of around 700,000. Had anyone else in all of history ever managed to do the same? It was possible, but there were no records of such deeds.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion, he had faced both a Celestial Demon and a fist shrouded with aurelian force. Both of those tribtions had been copied from Envoys. However, at the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was very clearly not an Envoy

    Throughout all of time, just how many humans had possessed the strength to fight against Lu Yin before bing an Envoy?

    This was something that not even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat or Progenitor of Bloodlines could say with confidence, and neither could the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors. Just how strong had those powerhouses been while they were in the Enlighter realm?

    Progenitor Chen was able to contend against Lu Yin. The man who had been regarded as invincible across the ages was the only one who couldpare to Lu Yin.

    It was impossible to say if the stellr tribtion had copied Progenitor Chen, or if Progenitor Chen had taken advantage of the tribtion to challenge Lu Yin across space and time.

    The only thing that anyone watching knew was that they were witnessing the battle of the two most powerful Enlighters throughout all of history. Even if one looked back at the ancient era, it would be practically impossible to find any Enlighterparable to the two who were fighting at this moment.

    In the middle of outer space, beneath the vortex that was the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin stood and stared intently at his humanoid tribtion as his breathing grew ragged. He was looking at a figure who was using the Cosmic Art, and it was a clone of the first figure Lu Yin had faced. An uncontroble arrogance surged up within Lu Yin. ¡°Progenitor Chen! You¡¯re Progenitor Chen!"

    He looked up at his stellr tribtion andughed heartily. Aside from Progenitor Chen, who else could stop him?

    Lu Yin had heard of Progenitor Chen countless times before, and every time he had heard about the man, he had been referred to as invincible. It seemed that Progenitor Chen¡¯s name could never be separated from the concept of invincibility.

    Lu Yin had no idea whether or not anyone had ever defeated Progenitor Chen, but Lu Yin had to do just that. Only by defeating Progenitor Chen could Lu Yinplete his breakthrough and be an Envoy.

    They were both Enlighters, and eons separated them, and yet this stellr tribtion had brought the two together.

    During ZENITH, Lu Yin had only managed to endure and eventually defeat Shang Qing''s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique because of the God of Death Transformation. That was also after considering the fact that Shang Qing had only been able to summon two of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. For his tribtion, Lu Yin was facing Progenitor Chen at the peak of the Enlighter realm and at full power.

    Soon, it would be made clear whether Progenitor Chen was truly invincible or if Lu Yin was indeed peerless.

    Boom boom boom¡­

    The stars exploded. Progenitor Chen was the creator of the Cosmic Art, and at this moment, the figure showed his ability to move and control the stars, which meant that Progenitor Chen had already created the Cosmic Art while only an Enlighter. While there were not as many stars as what Lu Yin was able to simte, that was only because Lu Yin had used his Timestop ability and the Origin Sutra to elerate his mastery of the Cosmic Art. Still, Progenitor Chen was the original creator of the Cosmic Art, and naturally, hisprehension of the art vastly outstripped Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Every single star seemed to be alive.

    Elder Jiu Shen eximed, "The Cosmic Nature Realm! I only managed to reach this level of mastery after surpassing my fourth tribtion, and yet Progenitor Chen reached this level while only an Enlighter? Amazing!"

    "Progenitor Chen was the founder of the technique in the first ce," Liu Huang said admiringly.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s appearance hadpletely eclipsed the fact that he was literally Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. Everyone¡¯s attention had been diverted from Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion to his match with Progenitor Chen.

    Even the people that were the most confident in Lu Yin did not believe he could pass his tribtion at this moment, and it was solely because he was facing Progenitor Chen. Progenitor Chen was hailed as invincible throughout his life, and he had never suffered defeat. It was impossible for someone at the same level to defeat Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin simply did not stand a chance.

    Lu Yin suddenly started using the Cosmic Art himself. While he was able to simte a greater number of stars, the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art was onlyparable to that of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone.

    In the end, Lu Yin¡¯sprehension of the technique could notpare to Progenitor Chen''s.

    One of the clones used the Cosmic Art, and the stars coalesced to form a sword as the clone used the Celestial Sword Technique to instantly attack.

    Simultaneously, Lu Yin used the same Celestial Sword.

    The two Celestial Swords struck in the middle of space, twisting the void and causing spatial cracks to spread out from the point of impact. All of a sudden, another clone emerged. It took control of the Celestial Sword Technique and instantly attacked Lu Yin by using the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will.

    This sh of the Xia family''s Triple de Will had already been merged into a single attack, and the Celestial Sword swept across the sky. The spectators felt as if they could not look directly at the sharp edge.

    Lu Yin raised his sword and retaliated: Fourteenth Sword.

    Both sides were using the Celestial Sword as their weapon, but one used the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will while reforming the Celestial Sword into the shape of a knife to perfectly utilize the technique. The other side used the Fourteenth Sword, which was an even more advanced sword technique than the Celestial Sword. The des struck in a contest of swordsmanship, but the spectators could only see space being sliced apart.

    Countless mouths fell open. Was this really a fight between Enlighters?

    One of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones appeared above Lu Yin¡¯s head, releasing a punch that was strengthened by aurelian force. It was the first clone that had appeared during this tribtion. So far, three of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had appeared.

    Lu Yin released a Hollow Palm when he saw the aurelian force, and the invisible palm sent Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone tumbling backwards yet again. No matter if it was the Cosmic Art, swordsmanship, or physical power, Lu Yin was not inferior to Progenitor Chen in any aspect, and he even somewhat surpassed the young Progenitor. This was something that most people had not expected.

    Who was it that said that modern cultivators could notpare to ancient powerhouses?

    At that moment, Lu Yin felt a sense of crisis from behind, as well as a sharp pain in his back. He then remembered that Progenitor Chen had also had an invisible clone.

    At this thought, an astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he moved.

    As that happened, the invisible clone chased after Lu Yin, and the clone using the Cosmic Art caused the stars to move and impede Lu Yin¡¯s speed.

    Lu Yin reappeared a short distance away, and the clone that used aurelian force suddenly started to grow, which caused the aurelian force to spread out, seemingly without end. This clone was the one with the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline.

    Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art to escape once again, but this time, it somehow failed. It was the Xia Secret Art: Nullify. It was the secret art that could see through all techniques.

    The invisible clone closed in and then fused with one of the other clones before raising a hand to attack with the Triple de Will. A fist covered with aurelian force dropped down from above, and it was no weaker than Chen Fan¡¯s fist that Lu Yin had faced earlier in his tribtion. In fact, Progenitor Chen¡¯s aurelian force was even more powerful than what Lu Yin had faced from Chen Fan.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. He was surrounded by four of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones. Lu Yin was actually fighting against the true power of Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin¡¯s strength had given him the confidence to fight against any Enlighter, and yet he had been forced onto the back foot against Progenitor Chen. The invincible powerhouse lived up to his reputation.

    A smile tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s mouth. This was interesting.

    At that moment, he used Truesight and utilized it at the Knowing realm.

    Boom!

    The fist dropped down at the same time that the Triple de Will struck.

    However, Lu Yin was perfectly fine, aside from a few wrinkles that had appeared on his clothes.

    Countless people stared, wide-eyed andpletely confused.

    To the south, Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s eyebrows rose high. The Knowing realm of Truesight. The Rune Progenitor truly created a miraculous technique.

    Lan Xian''s eyes flickered. "The method created by another powerhouse who was denied by history despite creating an entire cultivation civilization. The Rune Progenitor against Progenitor Chen. This is wonderful!"

    She was a Semi-Progenitor, and she had never expected to be enthralled by a battle between mere Enlighters.

 Chapter 1881: Chaotic Time And Space

    Chapter 1881: Chaotic Time And Space

    Knowing: the Knowing realm of Truesight allowed a person to understand how to deny the influence of certain things on a specific location in the universe.

    Lu Yin denied the influence of Progenitor Chen''s attack on his immediate surroundings. Any attack that reached the Explorer level would be able to influence space, and in order for such influence to be denied, the attack had to be below the strength of an Explorer. Such an attack would have absolutely no effect on Lu Yin.

    His eyes shed, and a great number of runes were erased. He then threw out three quick Hollow Palms in session, forcing back the colossal giant clone, the invisible clone that had merged with the clone that used the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, and the clone using the Cosmic Art. Lu Yin''s attack even managed to shatter a bit of the clone using the Cosmic Art, which badly damaged it.

    Before finishing his attack, Lu Yin turned towards the giant andshed out with multiple attacks to shatter the aurelian force.

    The colossal giant was also struck hard.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s invisible clone attacked with its knife again, but the Knowing realm of Truesight rendered the attackpletely useless. It looked as though the Knowing realm of Truesight had made Lu Yin truly invincible. Countless onlookers were stunned and confused by what they saw.

    Lu Yin was very, very strong, but many people could not believe that anyone could defeat Progenitor Chen while in the same realm of cultivation. Despite that, Lu Yin clearly held the advantage in this fight.

    At this time, another clone stepped out of the invisible clone and approached Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew wary. Progenitor Chen had nine clones, and only four clones had appeared so far. Each one was using aspects and battle techniques that Progenitor Chen had been famous for, such as the Cosmic Art, the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, secret techniques, invisibility, and a colossal giant clone. What else was there?

    It was not just Lu Yin, as everyone else was simrly curious. They had already seen everything that they knew about Progenitor Chen.

    Elder Jiu Shen''s eyes zed with fanaticism. "Progenitor Chen was invincible throughout the entire universe, and each and every one of his clones was exceptionally powerful. Today, I can finally see his power for myself!"

    Far away, the astral beasts such as Feng Lin, Xu Qing, and the Celestial Demon found their breathing growing ragged. They also wanted to see what other clones the invincible Progenitor Chen had possessed.

    Elsewhere, Lan Xian looked up. Progenitor Chen had ughtered too many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses, even several of their Progenitors. At that time, the Sixth Maind¡¯s prospects had looked bleak, and they had only improved after Progenitor Chen disappeared. No one knew if the Progenitor had died, and the only traces that remained of him was the single palm print in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect which was rumored to hide the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    The Sixth Maind had long since forgotten the details about Progenitor Chen, but at this moment, Lan Xian was able to personally see the Progenitor¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin continued to maintain the Knowing realm of Truesight as he watched the clone move closer. He did not believe that any Enlighter could ovee his state of invulnerability from using Truesight unless it was the Rune Progenitor himself.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone moved closer one step at a time. However, the closer the clone approached Lu Yin, the further it appeared to be. Lu Yin frowned and stared more intently. Was the clone walking towards Lu Yin? No, it was walking backwards and moving away. As the clone stepped back, it moved closer to Lu Yin. Why did these movements look so familiar?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered Qian Zou, a cultivator from the Neoverse who had participated in thepetition for the Astral Tower. At that time, Lu Yin and Qian Zou had entered the tablet world, and Lu Yin had seen the man use this sort of footwork there. Qian Zou had referred to the movement technique as Inverse Step. Did Progenitor Chen also know the Inverse Step Technique?

    The further Progenitor Chen''s clone retreated, the closer he moved to Lu Yin, though the clone could not actually approach Lu Yin.

    At this moment, the Xia family''s Triple Will de shed out, and Lu Yin instantly had a feeling that his Knowing realm of Truesight would not be able to stop this attack.

    His intuition proved correct, and he looked down to see a wound appear on his arm. If he had not moved to dodge at thest moment, more than just his arm would have been wounded.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone had broken through Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight with Inverse Step, but how did that even work? Lu Yin could not understand what was happening, and the same was true for most of the spectators. They saw the clone retreating and advancing; it was approaching Lu Yin yet also unable to move close to him. Lu Yin could not understand Progenitor Chen¡¯s footwork, so he simplyshed out with a Hollow Palm as the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant let out a roar behind Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Chen''s clone instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. So fast? What just happened?

    From the distance, Lan Xian looked solemn. "Time and space have fallen into disorder."

    Qing Hua felt confused. "What do you mean?"

    Lan Xian was genuinely shocked by what she was seeing. "This Inverse Step is able to rearrange time and space and allow the clone to not only find the weaknesses in Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques, but also all the battle techniques used against this clone."

    Qing Hua was left horrified, and he turned back to stare at Progenitor Chen''s clone. This technique allowed one to see through all battle techniques? How was that even possible?

    Progenitor Chen''s clone once again moved to approach Lu Yin. The clone was still retreating and yet also approaching.

    Lu Yin quickly fell back. Not even the Knowing realm of Truesight could protect him. Just what sort of miraculous technique was this movement technique?

    Another clone appeared, instantly drawing everyone''s attention. Every single one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had been a peerless and powerful existence, so what would this one reveal?

    This new clone did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, it raised a hand and manifested a bit of water over its hand. The water shot through space and struck the severely injured colossal giant clone and the clone that used the Cosmic Art. Instantly, both of the wounded clonespletely recovered.

    All who saw this felt their scalps go numb. This was clearly a healing technique, and not a normal one at that. The clones had just recovered even faster than users of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Secret Technique of Resurrection, and judging by how it was used, this technique seemed to have no negative side effects.

    Progenitor Chen was powerful enough to be considered invincible, but was he also able to heal his clones? How could anyone fight against such a person?

    Finally, everyone understood what invincibility truly meant and what an undefeatable powerhouse looked like.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at the new clone and the water floating within its palm. Was that not the same water that Lu Yin had seen in one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    Lu Yin had visited the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that were still in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins. Each of them had a Progenitor¡¯s inheritance, and yet Lu Yin had been left utterly confused by the inheritance tests. Surprisingly, Progenitor Chen had already mastered one of those inheritances before bing an Envoy.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the new clone. From the moment that Lu Yin had be capable of fighting against Envoys, he had believed himself to be far above his peers and every other Enlighter. This had be even more true after he became capable of facing Envoys with power levels of 600,000 and 700,000. His confidence in his own strength had surged, and he had felt that even the legendary Ancient Progenitors could not have been his equal in the Enlighter realm.

    Lu Yin had not been concerned when he had not received an inheritance from Burial Garden, and he had not even been bothered when he heard that someone else had received Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance. This was because of Lu Yin¡¯s endless self-confidence.

    However, he was leftpletely shocked by Progenitor Chen''s invincible strength at this moment, particrly by the freakish movement technique and the water from the inheritance of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. These two things had truly opened Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    A long-forgotten excitement was reignited within Lu Yin. How long had it been? He looked up and nced around at all of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones that had appeared. How long had it been since Lu Yin had encountered an actual peer at his level? This was a battle that surpassed time and ages. Lu Yin was facing the invincible Progenitor Chen, and he had to win. "Come, show me just how invincible Progenitor Chen is!"

    A finger pointed forward, and a sourcebox array appeared around Lu Yin. He stepped forward and shot towards the invisible clone.

    This clone had already merged with the clone that used the Triple de Will, and the knife instantly flickered when the clone saw Lu Yin dash forward.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art. The knife attack was shifted, and it struck the colossal giant. The massive clone¡¯s aurelian force was still burning space, but it was sted back after being struck by the Triple de Will.

    Lu Yin seized the opening to attack with his Hollow Palm.

    Dozens of palm strikes shot out at all of Progenitor Chen''s clones. Stars exploded, and time and space were inverted, which caused many of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks to miss. Still, some of the attacks managed tond on the Cosmic Art clone, the colossal giant, and even the clone that used the healing water.

    Lu Yin''s Hollow Palm was incredibly powerful, and with the boost of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, even Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones struggled to endure direct attacks. All three clones were instantly badly injured.

    The individuals watching this were stunned. Who else aside from Lu Yin could push Progenitor Chen to this extent? Lu Yin was facing six of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones!

    The people from the Fifth Maind did not feel as overwhelmed by this scene as Lan Xian and Qing Hua. During the war in the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, Progenitor Chen had fought against multiple Progenitors at the same time by using his nine clones. Practically every single one of the nine clones had been able to fight a Progenitor on its own. No one had ever heard of a single individual managing to face six of Progenitor Chen''s clones at the same time. Such a person had never existed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s achievement at this moment was something to be marked down in history.

    Still, this was not enough. It was far from enough for Lu Yin.

    The water shot into the wounded clones again, and all of them quickly recoveredpletely. Lu Yin breathed in deeply and resumed his attack.

    His pupils transformed into runes, and he weakened all of the clones while alsoshing out with dozens of palm strikes. His Hollow Palm contained the full power of his battle force, spiritual force, domain, and physical might, and each one easily injured any one of Progenitor Chen''s clones. The only one that Lu Yin struggled to deal with was the clone that used Inverse Step.

    The colossal giant with aurelian force was truly powerful, and itshed out to attack Lu Yin. Lu Yin once again used the Yu Secret Art to redirect a Triple de Will over to the giant, but the redirected knife attack was undone by the Xia Secret Art.

    The clone that used Inverse Step suddenly appeared behind Lu Yin by using the chaotic time and space that was produced through the movement technique. The clone immediately merged with the colossal giant, and thebined clone punched at Lu Yin without pausing.

    In front of Lu Yin was a Triple de Will and an explosion of the stars from the Cosmic Art, which was a crisis Lu Yin could not ignore. Meanwhile, from behind, the merged colossal giant hadunched a punch at Lu Yin, but this punch was dealt with by the Channeling Diagram sourcebox array that Lu Yin had set up beforehand, and the terrifying attack was directed along thin lines and diverted into various directions.

    The countless threads of force shot to the south, and space was shredded as the threads passed by. Liu Huang moved forward. His sword swept out, slicing through the various threads.

    To the north, the Celestial Demon moved to stop the lines of force that had appeared there.

    Lu Yin had managed to block Progenitor Chen¡¯s punch with the Channeling Diagram, but Lu Yin was still sent tumbling forward by the overpowering force. Suddenly, ck lines appeared in space, and they twined around Lu Yin¡¯s limbs like ropes and bound him in ce.

    Lu Yin was startled. Was this the Wang family¡¯s Confinement?

    Lu Yin had been trapped by this secret technique in the Perennial World, so he recognized it as it was identical to what he had faced before. But why did Progenitor Chen have the Wang family¡¯s secret technique?

    A palm strike from one of the clones suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin, momentarily confusing him. When he recovered from his brief daze, a Triple de Will and a punch reinforced by aurelian force bothnded on his body.

    Puff!

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. Stars appeared behind him, and another Triple de Will was sent out.

    Determination filled Lu Yin''s eyes, and he suddenly disappeared. This time, he was using the Teleportation Formation, and he reappeared a thousand meters away. However, when Lu Yin appeared, the clone using Inverse Step was already next to him.

    This clone followed Lu Yin like a shadow, and it was even able to invalidate Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight, which was extremely frustrating for Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s other clones all charged forward, determined to not give Lu Yin a single moment to catch his breath. Lu Yin¡¯s hand swept out to grab the clone using Inverse Step. The view before him abruptly became further away, and at the same time, it seemed like he was moving forward very quickly. This caused Lu Yin to spit out blood once again. But right after that, with a flip of Lu Yin¡¯s palm, the clone that he had captured suddenly vanished.

    All of the other clones came to an abrupt stop. The clone that had been using Inverse Step was gone.

    To the west, Lan Xian eximed, "The Creation level of star energy control? He just forced the clone that was seeing through all of his techniques to enter a world of star energy. With that one gone, Lu Yin will be untouchable with his technique from the Rune Progenitor."

 Chapter 1882: Heavenâ€™s Furnace

    Chapter 1882: Heaven¡¯s Furnace

    Many of the other onlookers had also seen what Lu Yin had done, and the carrion beetle had taken particr notice of what had happened and started making sounds of annoyance.

    A young carrion beetle had participated in ZENITH, only to fail after being trapped by Liquor Hero within a star energy world that she had created with her Creation level star energy control. The carrion beetles had all been furious and humiliated by the loss.

    Lu Yin did not believe that he could keep the clone trapped for long. His Creation realm of star energy control would only be able to briefly trap the clone, and it would soon escape. If it were that simple to trap Progenitor Chen, he would have never been regarded as utterly invincible.

    It was also important to note that Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones could merge with each other, and even if a clone could not escape, it could simply merge with another one and then separate again.

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath, raised a hand, and summoned his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    With how far things had developed, he no longer feared being recognized by people. He had already exposed himself to the entire universe when he revealed the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method.

    The expression of Lan Xian, who had recognized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method from before, drastically changed the moment the Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and she blurted out, "He¡¯s a direct descendant of the Lu family?"

    The Fifth Maind had lost many records and much of its history when its sky had changed and the primeval surnames had abandoned the maind, but the Sixth Maind was different. Lan Xian had recognized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, and she also instantly identified the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    She had assumed that Lu Yin was a descendant of one of the Lu family¡¯s side branches, as she could notprehend a situation where a member of the main family would use the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method.

    Suddenly, Lan Xian¡¯s eyes zed as she stared at Lu Yin.

    "With my name, I summon a champion," Lu Yin spoke slowly. As he spoke, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone that used Inverse Step reappeared, and the invisible clone also separated from the knife-wielding clone. Seven clones surrounded Lu Yin to create a that was impressive enough to shock even a Semi-Progenitor.

    A confrontation had broken out in the Fifth Maind between Progenitor Chen and a direct descendant of the Lu family¡¯s main line.

    Two figures appeared from the Champions¡¯ Stage, and as they did so, all seven of the clones attacked. One clone sent the healing water shooting towards all of the other clones while the clones using Inverse Step instantly appeared next to Lu Yin, as Inverse Step was able to negate Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight and render Lu Yin vulnerable to the various attacks. A fist with aurelian force dropped down from overhead as ck ropes appeared from every direction. It was the Wang family¡¯s secret technique: Confinement.

    Nobody breathed as they watched in amazement. Each of the clones was powerful enough to deal with an Envoy with a power level of 600,000 to 700,000. In other words, Lu Yin was essentially fighting against seven equally powerful Envoys at once.

    There were clones for attack, control, defending, and even healing. It is perfect. It was aplete and perfect system. This was the power of Progenitor Chen who had ughtered many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors. This was the invincible powerhouse who had left countless people feeling helpless and lost in despair.

    A figure appeared in front of Lu Yin, and this person raised a hand, pointed a finger, and dropped it down. Misty clouds appeared in space and fell upon all of the clones at the same time. Every single clone was trapped at this moment. It was the secret technique: Cloud Fall.

    Bai Shaohong was the champion that Lu Yin had summoned.

    Recently, every opponent that Lu Yin had faced had been an Envoy, which meant that summoning an Enlighter like Bai Shaohong was essentially pointless. At the moment, Lu Yin was facing Progenitor Chen, who was also an Enlighter, and this had provided a unique opportunity. Lu Yin had summoned Bai Shaohong for his secret technique and nothing more. He simply wanted to create an opening.

    Bai Shaohong was nowhere near strong enough to fight against any of Progenitor Chen''s clones, but Cloud Fall was a secret technique. All of the clones had been instantly trapped by Bai Shaohong, and they would be immobilized for at least a few breaths¡¯ worth of time. Lu Yin was also trapped by Cloud Fall, but he had summoned two champions, and for the second, he had tapped into his death energy to summon Cang Zhou. He was the only one of Lu Yin¡¯s champions with a power level of more than 700,000, and this meant that he was able to pose a threat even to Progenitor Chen''s clones.

    Both Lu Yin and all of Progenitor Chen''s clones were trapped at this moment, and Cang Zhou erupted with his full strength and targeted the clone with the healing water. Cang Zhou released his most powerful attack and severely injured the clone.

    Lu Yin quickly broke free from Cloud Fall, and he immediately reactivated the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant while simultaneously reciting the Origin Sutra. An ancient voice resonated through the area as Lu Yin unleashed a storm of Hollow Palms. The clone that used the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will and the colossal giant both broke free from Cloud Fall, but Lu Yin acted as though neither one even existed as he used his Hollow Palm to eliminate the other clones, particrly focusing on the one with the healing water.

    Lu Yin knew that it would be nearly impossible to achieve victory while Progenitor Chen was able to heal his clones.

    Utilizing Bai Shaohong and his secret technique had given Lu Yin an opportunity to remove one of the clones he was facing.

    While it appeared that Lu Yin was in a battle that was one versus seven, he was also able to increase his own numbers with his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Lu Yin still had not broken through to the Envoy realm, which meant that he had no stellr energy. The moment he achieved his breakthrough, he would no longer have to use his precious death energy reserve to summon Envoy-level champions. Lu Yin would then be able to freely summon people such as Cang Zhou, Jiu Han, and Long Yi. Lu Yin¡¯s battle strength would instantly skyrocket.

    This was the Lu family¡¯s innate gift. This power allowed one person to be as strong as a nation; one person to lord over all.

    If Lu Yin werepared to other direct descendants of the Lu family who had cultivated in a more traditional manner, he was not doing things properly at all. He was facing his stellr tribtion, and yet he only had a few images in his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    To the west, Qing Hua was taken aback by what Lu Yin had just done. "The person who pointed their finger forward was able to trap all of Progenitor Chen''s clones at once. That should have been a secret technique, but I don¡¯t recognize the technique or the person who used it. He must have been an incredible genius, but he was clearly killed by Lu Yin."

    Lan Xian''s eyes glittered brilliantly as she stared at Lu Yin. The Lu family! He¡¯s someone from the Lu family! This is the Lu family¡¯s bloodline!

    Lu Yin had managed to eliminate five of Progenitor Chen''s clones, but he did not growcent or confident. After all, Progenitor Chen had nine clones.

    No one else believed that Lu Yin had won, either. Even though they had seen a level ofbat strength from Progenitor Chen that was enough to defy all understanding, it was still not enough. This was Progenitor Chen, the eternally invincible Progenitor.

    "It should being out now," Lan Xian murmured to herself. She was recalling what she had once heard the Progenitor of Bloodlines say regarding Progenitor Chen. Everyone was aware of the fact that Progenitor Chen had possessed nine clones, that he had created the Cosmic Art, and that he had even be a colossal giant. He was hailed as invincible across the ages. But despite all of that, no one had ever mentioned Progenitor Chen''s innate gift.

    Did Progenitor Chen have an innate gift? It was a question that countless people had disregarded, but Lan Xian had heard the Progenitor of Bloodlines say that yes, Progenitor Chen had possessed an innate gift. Additionally, it was so powerful and terrifying that Lan Xian had seen fear in the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ eyes when he spoke about it. Progenitor Chen¡¯s innate gift was much like the Rune Progenitor¡¯s civilization: they had both been so frighteningly powerful that they had been erased from history due to the fact that no one wanted to even mention such things.

    Lan Xian stared intently at Progenitor Chen''s clone. He was about to reveal his innate gift.

    Innate gifts were incredibly important for people who had just started cultivating. In fact, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Universe Youth Council unconditionally epted any youth with an innate gift as one of their members. This demonstrated the value and power of an innate gift.

    However, as cultivators progressed, innate gifts seemed to be less and less important. Instead, battle techniques or bloodlines seemed to be what dominated the higher levels of cultivation.

    Still, it was never possible to simply ignore an innate gift.

    As Lu Yin stared at the remaining two clones, he suddenly thought of innate gifts. Progenitor Chen, do you have an innate gift?

    There was a whoosh as another clone emerged from the two remaining clones, bringing their total number to three. This new clone faced Lu Yin, as well as Bai Shaohong and Cang Zhou from the Champions¡¯ Stage. The new clone raised its hands, forming a circle over its head while making a gesture that looked as though it was embracing the entire universe.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, as he was ovee by a sense of danger. Without any hesitation, he released a Hollow Palm and fled as fast as he could.

    The Hollow Palm was blocked by aurelian force, but Lu Yin¡¯s body kept moving, and he had Bai Shaohong and Cang Zhou both attack the newest clone from two different directions at the same time.

    There was a crack as the clone pped its hands together. Space quivered, and Lu Yin suddenly heard a shout that was filled with utter disbelief, ¡°Over your head! Look up!"

    Lu Yin did look up, and his pupils instantly shrank. He was supposed to be in the middle of outer space, but he suddenly saw that he seemed to be within a cauldron. It looked as though the universe itself had beenpressed and refined to form this cauldron. It looked like a pill furnace, and itpletely enveloped him on all sides, even overhead. He was trapped within the cauldron, but how was that possible? When had he been trapped?

    Lan Xian was stunned. "Heaven''s Furnace."

    Qing Hua had never known about Progenitor Chen''s innate gift. He had lived for a truly long time, but he only knew of what he was qualified to learn about. In the Sixth Maind, only the three Progenitors knew anything regarding Progenitor Chen¡¯s innate gift.

    "Heaven''s Furnace?" Qing Hua asked in confusion.

    Lan Xian¡¯s mouth waspletely dry as she exined, "Progenitor Chen''s innate gift is this Heaven''s Furnace. He was able to use it to obliterate absolutely anything. It did not burn, but rather obliterated all that entered it. It was also impossible to escape from it. Once anything or anyone entered that cauldron, that was it for them. Progenitor Chenunched the Fifth Maind¡¯s initial attack on my Sixth Maind during the ancient war, and he did so by refining Progenitor Nan in the Heaven''s Furnace, reducing Progenitor Nan to nothing more than ash."

    Master Qing Hua was horrified. This innate gift could obliterate a Progenitor?

    No one knew of this incident. How pitiful was it that Progenitor Nan had been obliterated by Progenitor Chen? Progenitor Nan had actually beenpletely removed from history by the Sixth Maind, but it was because his mere existence served to glorify Progenitor Chen¡¯s power while simultaneously discrediting the Sixth Maind.

    "Watch, and you will soon understand why Progenitor Nan was erased from history. It was not only because of the humiliation the Sixth Maind suffered, but also because of the unspeakable pain and despair that he endured," Lan Xian spoke bitterly.

    Lan Xian was actually not the only one to recognize Progenitor Chen''s innate gift, as so had the Second Nightking.

    He had been born during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, which was when the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had still stood and before the Mother Tree had been moved. In a simr manner to how Lu Yin had heard countless mentions of Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, in his younger years, the Second Nightking had heard mostly about Progenitor Chen.

    The Daynight n had initially been subservient to the Celestial Frost Sect, and they had even been enved by the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. The Second Nightking had not heard much more than rumors about Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor until after the Celestial Frost Sect left the Fifth Maind and the First Nightking had unraveled the Sealed Cage Technique. Only after all that had the Daynight n started to rise.

    Still, even though the Second Nightking had not heard much about Progenitor Chen, he had still heard of the Heaven''s Furnace.

    "Heaven''s Furnace! It¡¯s said that more than one Progenitor was obliterated in that cauldron¡­¡± the Second Nightking muttered inplete shock. His words left everyone feeling numb after hearing this information about Progenitor Chen.

    The Sea King¡¯s eyes flickered, and he turned back to look at Lu Yin. He had already known that Progenitor Chen was invincible. Absolutely no one could defeat Progenitor Chen, and no matter how talented Lu Yin might be, everything was over after Heaven''s Furnace appeared.

    The Sea King felt conflicted at this moment. He had once used Progenitor Chen''s bloodstained clothes to force the Upper Three Gates open. At this moment, was he going to have to watch as Progenitor Chen killed Lu Yin? Would Lu Yin never be able to break free from the Enlighter realm? That would be the greatest tragedy.

    Unfortunately, there was no way to force Heaven''s Furnace to open after it had beenpletely manifested.

    Lu Yin continued tounch Hollow Palms as he attempted to break free from Heaven''s Furnace, but the furnace would not budge. He also tried to escape with the Ce Secret Art, but Heaven''s Furnace was an innate gift that was formed from the universe itself, and the inside waspletely cut off from the outside universe.

    The secret technique and the Teleportation Formation sourcebox array both failed to let Lu Yin escape.

 Chapter 1883: Who Is Truly Invincible?

    Chapter 1883: Who Is Truly Invincible?

    Lu Yin was suddenly struck by a boundless pressure. His body trembled as his skin broke open. He barely managed to resist spitting out blood as the pressure tried to break his body apart. There was a snap as his Champions¡¯ Stage disappeared, as well as Bai Shaohong. Almost immediately after that, Cang Zhou was also unable to endure the mounting pressure.

    This pressure was unlike anything that Lu Yin had ever experienced before. It really did feel like he was being refined by heaven and earth. He clenched his fists and wrapped his battle force around his body even as his skin continued to crack and break. His battle force eventually shattered, causing the pressure he felt to suddenly increase.

    The countless people watching the battle were stunned. They could see inside the cauldron, and it was clear that space had copsed within the Heaven and Earth Cauldron. It looked as though that part of the universe had returned to a primordial state with only Lu Yin existing as an anomaly that vainly tried to escape destruction.

    How difficult was it to break open the universe? Lu Yin was already covered in blood, and he was growing desperate. He started reciting the Origin Sutra, and although it let him rx slightly as the ancient voice called out, the pressure did not fade or diminish. Instead, it started to grow even stronger than ever.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin understood why his stellr tribtion had manifested Progenitor Chen as an Enlighter. Lu Yin was facing a crisis. His opponent really did seem to be invincible.

    Lu Yin had believed himself to be peerless. After all, he was an Enlighter who could fight against Envoys with power levels exceeding 700,000. This was something practically unheard of throughout history, but Progenitor Chen had been capable of doing the same thing.

    Blood ran down Lu Yin¡¯s body and dripped into space. He looked terrible.

    To the west, Lan Xian was startled, and she slowlymented, "Progenitor Nan was refined right in front of the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate by Progenitor Chen¡¯s Heaven and Earth Furnace. Countless people were forced to watch, unable to do a thing as the Progenitor was refined. It was a terrible tragedy."

    Qing Hua knew that if the Progenitor of Combat or the Progenitor of Bloodlines were to be refined in the current era, the Sixth Maind would face an unimaginable disaster. The situation had not been very different back when Progenitor Nan had been refined.

    Heaven''s Furnace was not opaque, so everyone could clearly see everything within it. This was what had made Progenitor Nan¡¯s fate even more tragic, and it made the event aplete humiliation for the Sixth Maind. What had happened back then? What had instigated Progenitor Chen into acting so domineeringly?

    Regardless of the motivations behind Progenitor Chen¡¯s actions, the event had been a humiliation that the Sixth Maind had erased from history, and Progenitor Nan¡¯s disgraceful end had forced him to be erased from history as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s blood continued to leak into Heaven''s Furnace, and he was starting to weaken. He stumbled when he lost the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, but his pupils still transformed into runes as he tried to use the Knowing realm of Truesight.

    All of the pressure that Lu Yin felt instantly disappeared, but the cauldron did not break or disappear. The Knowing realm of Truesight could make Lu Yin temporarily invincible and unable to feel the pressure from the cauldron.

    However, Lu Yin would not be able to maintain the Knowing realm of Truesight for too long. Truesight was still a technique, and it was impossible to use it without limits.

    There should have only been three of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones left outside of Heaven''s Furnace, but they quickly became seven. No, there was one more who had appeared, which meant there were eight clones present.

    The eighth clone immediately stared straight at Lu Yin after it appeared.

    Lu Yin stared back at the clone and then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The longer the fight with Progenitor Chensted, the more helpless Lu Yin felt.

    He had always heard that Progenitor Chen was invincible, and everyone had always admired the man, but they had also secretly wished to one day fight Progenitor Chen to see just how invincible he had been.

    Only when actually fighting against Progenitor Chen could one understand such a level of powerlessness.

    Everyone who was watching also felt hopeless. Although it was only a battle between Enlighters, it even left powerhouses like the Second Nightking breathless.

    Even though Lu Yin had obtained nearly an endless number of opportunities, he had already used up almost everything at his disposal. This thought brought a smile to his face. ¡°This has been so much fun. Progenitor Chen, I hope that one day in the future, I¡¯ll have the chance to face you for real.¡±

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, his skin began to dry up. He had just used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    This was a truly miraculous technique that allowed the user who had reached an extreme state to be reverted back. Activating the technique would cause a person¡¯s body to be desated, but their body would also gradually recover as they were attacked. The stronger the attack was, the faster the person would recover and umte strength.

    Lu Yin had not wanted the technique when he first obtained it. He had not felt that Progenitor Ku had been a very impressive powerhouse. Although the man had been a Progenitor, his reputation was practically nonexistent. In the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, Progenitor Ku¡¯s territory had been located rather deep, and Lu Yin had once heard someone say that the further away from the center of the Mother Tree their territory was, the more powerful the Progenitor had been.

    When Lu Yin had obtained Progenitor Ku¡¯s technique, he had thought the Progenitor to be average at best.

    Time had passed, and Lu Yin had learned that he had been horribly mistaken. Extremes Must Be Reversed had allowed Lu Yin to heal from the injuries that the Semi-Progenitor Wang Si had inflicted upon him, and it had also allowed him to survive being poisoned by the Aeternals, despite the poison targeting something like a person¡¯s time. On top of that, Lu Yin had learned from Xin N¨¹ that Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expectations for Extremes Must Be Reversed hadpletely transformed, as it was the battle technique that had been stored in the Voidsoul Pce in the same ce as Progenitor Ku¡¯s secret technique. Lu Yin had initially thought that Extremes Must Be Reversed was a useless technique, but he hadter discovered it to be the most precious treasure in the Voidsoul Pce. Its value even surpassed the Ku Secret Art.

    Luckily, Lu Yin had been the one to obtain Extremes Must Be Reversed, as without it, he would have almost no chance against the cauldron that he was trapped within.

    Lu Yin was almost unable to endure the pressure from the cauldron, but it was not enough to instantly overwhelm him, which made it perfect for Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Everyone outside the cauldron watched as Lu Yin suddenly seemed to ignore the pressure from Heaven''s Furnace, but then they saw his body dry up. No one had any idea what Lu Yin was doing.

    Everyone had heard of Progenitor Chen before, and countless people admired him. In contrast, Progenitor Ku was practically unknown, and not even Lan Xian had heard the Progenitor of Bloodlines mention the Progenitor before, let alone Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Not a single person watching had any idea what Lu Yin was doing.

    Once his body waspletely desated, he undid the Knowing realm of Truesight and allowed the pressure to return.

    As soon as the pressure returned, Lu Yin¡¯s body recovered halfway back to normal almost immediately. He quickly used Extremes Must Be Reversed again, which caused him to dry back up. The pressure continued to mount, which led to an endless cycle of Lu Yin recovering, drying up, recovering, and drying up yet again.

    No one knew what Lu Yin was doing, nor did any of them understand it. Even Lan Xian, a Semi-Progenitor, was clueless.

    Still, not understanding did not reduce the amazement that they all felt by what Lu Yin was doing.

    Heaven''s Furnace was a truly terrifying and legendary thing, but what Lu Yin was doing within it was even more absurd. He was going against Heaven''s Furnace, which was an innate gift freakish enough to refine even Progenitors. Back then, both Progenitor Nan and Progenitor Chen had been Progenitors, and yet Progenitor Nan had been refined by this cauldron. Simrly, both Progenitor Chen and Lu Yin were Enlighters, and yet Lu Yin was able to resist Heaven''s Furnace.

    Lan Xian grew increasingly excited as she watched. "Is there really a person who can directly face Progenitor Chen?"

    One day. Two days. Three days¡­ Seven days passed with the same cycle repeating itself over and over. It looked like this cycle would never end.

    On the ninth day, space distorted, and Heaven''s Furnace faded away. Not even Progenitor Chen was able to maintain his innate gift indefinitely.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin. He was still sitting cross-legged in the same ce as ever, and his body waspletely dry. What had happened? He was not dead, was he?

    Boom!

    Progenitor Chen did not wait, and the colossal giant with aurelian force that burned the void punched at Lu Yin, sending him flying. Right after that, ck ropes stretched across space and bound Lu Yin up. It was the Wang family¡¯s secret technique, Confinement.

    The Xia family''s Triple de Will. The Cosmic Art. One attack after another appeared, and all of them fell directly on Lu Yin. He was like a sandbag that was being beaten by all of Progenitor Chen''s clones.

    Everyone stared in confusion. Had Lu Yin given up?

    Lan Xian also felt rather confused, but then she noticed something. Every time Lu Yin was attacked, his body recovered a bit. What was this? What technique had he learned?

    Lu Yin looked pathetic with blood covering his entire body. His skin waspletely dry, and it also looked like it was cracking.

    Many people gave up on Lu Yin when they saw him being beaten by Progenitor Chen''s clones without fighting back or even defending himself. There were only a few people whose sight was a bit more discerning, and they were able to see that, even though Lu Yin was being attacked, there were no injuries on him whatsoever, which was very odd.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body slowly and miraculously recovered, and then his eyes opened. A terrifying aura swept out, throwing all eight of Progenitor Chen''s clones back.

    The eight clones suddenly merged together, and a knife of star energy appeared and shed out in a single attack. All eight clones had merged into one, and Progenitor Chen had unleashed his strongest Triple de Will yet straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed. His foot rose, and then he shot forward. There were no battle techniques or fancy moves, just a simple, direct punch. It shattered the Triple de Will and continued on to Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin finally came to a stop a thousand meters past Progenitor Chen, and he rxed his fist. "It''s over."

    Behind Lu Yin, Progenitor Chen''s body slowly faded away. He transformed into bolts of lighting that drifted up and returned to the vortex that was the stellr tribtion.

    Everyone was bbergasted. He won? Had Lu Yin actually defeated Progenitor Chen?

    No one had expected the battle to undergo a sudden reversal. Had Lu Yin actually defeated Progenitor Chen? No one could understand what had happened.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. He had been suppressed in Heaven''s Furnace for nine days, and during that entire time, he had been using Extremes Must Be Reversed and gathering power. Thatst attack had released the stored power, and it had been enough to utterly defeat Progenitor Chen.

    He turned around and stared back at his humanoid tribtion as Progenitor Chen disappeared. There was a solemn expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face. Progenitor Chen had been as invincible as Lu Yin had expected, and he was the only person who could challenge Lu Yin within the same realm.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin frowned. Eight clones. Only eight of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had appeared, but everyone knew that Progenitor Chen had possessed nine clones. What had happened to the ninth clone? Why had it never appeared?

    It should not have been that there was not enough time for it to appear. Lu Yin had spent days umting power with Extremes Must Be Reversed, and his final punch had done nothing less than release the full power of Heaven''s Furnace umted over the course of those nine days in a single attack. Without that umtion of power, Lu Yin would have been stuck in a very difficult battle, and he most likely would have been forced to use the God of Death Transformation to end things.

    This realization caused Lu Yin tough. He had not expected Progenitor Chen to inadvertently help him release his most powerful attack ever. Still, Lu Yin was incredibly curious about Progenitor Chen''s ninth clone.

    Progenitor Chen was the representative of the Xia family while Lu Yin represented the Lu family. The Lu family had always suppressed the Xia family, but Progenitor Chen had been different. He had been an absolute genius and utterly invincible within his generation. No one from the Lu family had been able topare to Progenitor Chen, and yet Lu Yin had defeated him.

    After countless years of Progenitor Chen being acknowledged as invincible, Lu Yin had defeated the man. This stunned everyone to the point where even a Semi-Progenitor like Lan Xian was staring at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Progenitor Chen had demonstrated an inconceivable level ofbat power, but Lu Yin had been even more unfathomable.

    Lan Xian then remembered that the Progenitor of Bloodlines had once said that Progenitor Chen was unique throughout the ages. Who could everpare to him? That person had finally appeared. Even though Lu Yin was still just an Enlighter, who could foresee the future?

    "This was truly the most desperate stellr tribtion ever," some people remarked. No one could deny it. Encountering Progenitor Chen during a stellr tribtion was absolutely the unluckiest one could be, but it also indicated that the person who had triggered the tribtion was unprecedentedly powerful. How many people were qualified to face Progenitor Chen?

    "It''s over. Lu Yin has passed his tribtion! I can¡¯t even imagine what hisbat strength will rise to from here." Elder He smiled and let out a long sigh of relief.

    Ling Qiu responded with a wry smile. He had never expected Lu Yin to survive this tribtion and actually beat Progenitor Chen. The youth would be the next Progenitor Chen. If Lu Yin became a Progenitor, it meant that joining the Great Eastern Alliance would actually be an incredible opportunity.

 Chapter 1884: Opening And Sealing

    Chapter 1884: Opening And Sealing

    Liu Qianjue and many others stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. The scene that they had just witnessed hadpletely changed their mentality.

    Before, they had been forced to be part of the Great Eastern Alliance, but at this moment, after seeing Lu Yin defeat Progenitor Chen, they had a new perspective on their situation. They had truly joined the Great Eastern Alliance in their hearts and be Lu Yin''s subordinates. In the future, when Lu Yin became a Progenitor, the benefits that they would receive from following him would be immeasurable.

    "Congrattions to the alliance leader on passing your tribtion!" Mountain God shouted. He was the first to speak to Lu Yin, which shocked Elder He and the other Envoys.

    Right after him, Liu Qianjue, Ling Qiu, and Madam Y¨­u all spoke up and congratted Lu Yin as well.

    Across the battlefield, Xu Qing''s expression hadpletely soured. "He actually managed to survive such an overwhelming tribtion. Hisbat strength is going to surge as soon as he bes an Envoy, and he might even be able to protect himself on a battlefield like this one. It¡¯s going to be incredibly difficult to kill him in the future."

    The Celestial Demon replied, ¡°Since he was able to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same power level, he may very well be the Fifth Maind¡¯s first Progenitor."

    These words caused Xu Qing''s face to contort even more. Progenitors were indeed terrifying existences, but they were not necessarily able to induce despair. However, Lu Yin was also the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. The young man not only had an incredible talent for cultivation, but he was also skilled at tactics and strategy. Xu Qing could remember what Lu Yin had said before the war had started. If he eventually became a Progenitor, how would he treat the Astral Beast Domain?

    This youth absolutely had to die, or else the Astral Beast Domain would suffer an absolute catastrophe in the future.

    Lu Yin''s stellr tribtion could be seen as the most difficult tribtion that had ever been ovee. Progenitor Chen represented the most powerful Enlighter in history. Even Envoys with a power level of 700,000 would have found it difficult to challenge Progenitor Chen when he had been an Enlighter, and yet Lu Yin had defeated the invincible powerhouse and passed his tribtion.

    The star energy within Lu Yin''s body all dissipated. Then, stellr energy began to surge out of the tribtion¡¯s vortex and into Lu Yin.

    This was his reward for surviving his stellr tribtion. His breakthrough had seeded, and he would be an Envoy, which meant he would now be able to use stellr energy instead of star energy.

    Each person¡¯s stellr tribtion was unique due to how each person had a different star energy reserve, which subsequently affected how much stellr energy a person could absorb right after they passed their tribtion. The stronger the cultivator was, the more stellr energy they could absorb right after their breakthrough. However, this also meant that they would have to deal with even more hostility from the true universe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s horrifying star energy reserves had prompted the tribtion of the true universe to manifest Progenitor Chen as a humanoid tribtion, which had been the most dangerous tribtion ever. If the true universe had a face, there would have been an ugly expression on it at this moment.

    A smile tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s mouth as he thought of something else.

    In the past, Kui Luo had mentioned that Bai Xian''er¡¯s stellr tribtion had shaken the entire Perennial World and that even Progenitors had taken notice of it. How had she managed to do that? Had her tribtion been too big and noticeable, or had her tribtion also matched her up against a Progenitor?

    Lu Yin felt that the second option was the more likely possibility. He was not arrogant, but he was certain that he had definitely reached the pinnacle of strength possible for an Enlighter, just as Progenitor Chen had done. If Lu Yin were a disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect, or if the Lu family were still in a position of power, his stellr tribtion where he had defeated Progenitor Chen would have absolutely attracted the attention of a Progenitor and earned the ire of the Aeternals.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s level of self-confidence. He truly felt that the greatest difference between him and Bai Xian¡¯er was nothing more than their backing.

    Lu Yin looked northwards. It was possible that, at this moment, Xu Qing¡¯s desire to kill Lu Yin had reached the same level that the Aeternals had felt towards Bai Xian''er after she passed her own stellr tribtion!

    Lu Yin shook his head and dismissed such thoughts from his mind. Only after he absorbed all of the stellr energy that he could andpletely reced his star energy reserves could he be regarded as having fully passed his stellr tribtion.

    The first time that stellr energy entered an individual¡¯s body, they would have to choose where they wanted their stellr energy vortex to be located. This was something that Lu Yin had already considered, and he ced his own vortex right next to the ck and white mist inside his chest, where it just happened to be covered by fatesand.

    The stellr energy circted through Lu Yin¡¯s body in the exact same circuit that he used to cycle his star energy, and he was able to sense the changes taking ce within his body. Breaking through to the Envoy realm would transform cultivators¡¯ bodies. It was at this point that all cultivators would gain the ability to enter the true universe, which demanded the user to have immense physical power.

    Even the most average cultivator would have their physical might be raised to a level where they would be able to enter the true universe. But for someone like Lu Yin, who had long since surpassed that level, he had no idea how much his physical strength would improve by. All he knew was that he could feel his body changing.

    The stellr energy quickly passed through his body and entered Lu Yin¡¯s opened lower meridian point. It then continued on and entered the middle meridian point before finally passing onto the upper meridian point. Finally, it entered Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and right next to the ck and white mist, a stellr energy vortex began to form and expand, pulling in more and more stellr energy.

    Still, not a single person dared to approach Lu Yin. Even though the stellr tribtion had finished, approaching someone who was absorbing stellr energy could trigger another stellr tribtion. Technically, what Lu Yin was doing at this moment was still part of his tribtion.

    Risks went hand in hand with rewards. This was something that had never changed over the countless passing of ages. It was not that no one had ever attempted to approach a person when they were absorbing stellr energy after a tribtion, but rather that people had discovered that doing so would trigger a tribtion targeted at them.

    The only thing that anyone could do at this moment was watch as Lu Yin absorbed the stellr energy and officially became an Envoy. Only after he finished would the stellr tribtion truly be over.

    After an average cultivator passed their tribtion, they would only need a few moments to absorb stellr energy, establish their stellr energy vortex, and transform their bodies to be able to enter the true universe. Everyone expected Lu Yin to finish this stage very quickly as well because, even though his star energy reserves had been utterly monstrous, when a cultivator absorbed stellr energy for the first time, there was no risk involved. They would be able to freely absorb the stellr energy in the same manner that they had previously absorbed star energy.

    However, people quickly realized something was wrong. Lu Yin still had not stopped absorbing stellr energy. Just how much star energy had he possessed before his breakthrough?

    No one had ever heard Lu Yinment on how much star energy he possessed, but at this moment, they were able to see for themselves.

    Even after enough time passed for an entire stick of incense to burn, Lu Yin was still absorbing stellr energy.

    The time for two sticks of incense to burn soon passed, and yet Lu Yin was still absorbing stellr energy. The stellr energy beneath the vortex that had been Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion formed a stream that continuously poured into his body.

    Everyone was dumbfounded, particrly the gathered Envoys. They stared at Lu Yin as though gazing at a monster.

    Qing Huamented, "Sure enough, he cannotpare to ordinary people. His body must have held star energy reserves a hundred times more than an ordinary cultivator. Even the most talented of cultivators from my Sixth Maind are vastly inferior to him."

    Lan Xian looked up, her eyes still glistening. "No matter what, he is a member of the Lu family, and even a direct descendant at that. It¡¯s only to be expected that his star energy reserves would be a hundred times more than other cultivators. He should be finishing soon."

    However, enough time passed for yet another stick of incense to burn, but Lu Yin was still absorbing stellr energy.

    Lan Xian''s expression changed. If Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves had only been a hundred times what average cultivators possessed, then he would have already finished. Why was he still absorbing more stellr energy?

    To the north, Xu Qing''s expression was growing worse and worse as his killing intent mounted higher and higher. He feltpletely helpless. The more stellr energy that Lu Yin absorbed, the more powerful the youth would be, and yet he was already shockingly powerful.

    In contrast, the Celestial Demon next to Xu Qing began tough. "This is great!"

    Xu Qing felt lost. "What do you mean?"

    The Celestial Demon sneered. "Stellr energy is not the same as star energy. Regardless of how much star energy Lu Yin had, he could absorb it without qualms as long as he had sufficient star essence. But stellr energy? You and I need to be extremely careful when absorbing stellr energy in order to avoid the true universe¡¯s notice and suffer having our stellr energy drained from our bodies. What about Lu Yin?"

    This remark caused excitement to fill Xu Qing''s eyes. "That''s right! The more stellr energy he needs to improve his cultivation, the more likely he is to draw the true universe¡¯s notice. Even if he manages to avoid that, it¡¯s impossible to estimate how much time he will need to improve his cultivation given the amount of stellr energy he needs to absorb."

    "Even more important is his sixth stellr tribtion, when he tries to break through the power level threshold of a million. The more stellr energy one possesses, the more terrifying their tribtion will be. He just fought Progenitor Chen! His sixth tribtion may see him face Progenitor Chen once again, but will he be able to defeat Progenitor Chen as a peak Envoy? He might even need to face additional Progenitors for that tribtion. He has no chance of a future.¡± The Celestial Demon soundedpletely rxed as he spoke, and his words caused Feng Lin, the carrion beetle, and the other astral beast powerhouses to rx as well. It was well known that, the more stellr energy one possessed, the more difficult it would be to cultivate, and the stronger the tribtion to reach a power level of a million would be.

    The astral beasts were not the only ones thinking such things, as simr thoughts had also urred to Yuan Shi and the human powerhouses. Their faces fell further and further as they watched Lu Yin continue to absorb more and more stellr energy.

    After enough time had passed for a fourth stick of incense to burn, the stellr energy vortex in Lu Yin''s chest was no longer able to absorb any more stellr energy, and the vortex over his head started to shrink. Everyone finally felt that they could begin to rx. The tribtion was finally over.

    Lu Yin probed the strange feeling of having a stellr energy vortex in his chest. He had absorbed so much stellr energy, and he could feel it wandering through his body along the same paths that star energy had circted once before. Both his physical body and his spiritual force had undergone some tremendous changes, and although he could sense the transformation, he had no idea what level his strength had now reached. He really wanted to test it out.

    While stellr tribtions were catastrophes, they also induced a transformation in cultivators. They were miraculous phenomena.

    Absorbing stellr energy for the first time did not usually cause a person¡¯s strength to rise by an extreme amount. Lu Yin stared up at the fading stellr tribtion. Was the transformation that he had just experienced really the limit of what the tribtion could provide? That indicated that absorbing more stellr energy would bring about ever greater changes. Stopping at this point was a pity, but the amount of stellr energy that a person could absorb for the first time was determined by their previous star energy reserves. With Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortex fully formed, he could no longer absorb any more stellr energy from his tribtion vortex.

    Lu Yin started to get anxious when he saw the stream of stellr energy connecting to his body dwindle and weaken. He had a sudden thought: his star energy and stellr energy circted through his three meridian points. Since he had been able to open them, could he also close them again? If he could close them, could he seal stellr energy within his meridian points?

    When Yuan Shi and the other Envoys saw the fading stream of stellr energy, they prepared to approach Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly pulled out a bit of the ck and white mist in his chest and used it to seal the path from his upper meridian point to his chest. He had opened up this upper meridian point with Origin Matter, and he was trying to use the ck and white mist to seal it back up because he had no other resources avable. As Lu Yin worked to block the path, he also used some of the ck and white mist to encapste his newly formed stellr energy vortex. He was attempting to hide his first vortex from the true universe.

    The true universe only looked at stellr energy. Death energy had no connection whatsoever to the true universe.

    As soon as the ck and white mist sealed the path connecting Lu Yin¡¯s upper meridian point to his chest and surrounded his stellr energy vortex, Lu Yin sucked in a sharp breath. The stream of stellr energy entering his body that had nearly disappeared entirely instantly surged again, dumping stellr energy into Lu Yin¡¯s body at the same incredible rate as before.

    Lu Yin''s eyes twitched in excitement. So it actually was possible?

    Yuan Shi quickly retreated back to where he had been previously been standing. He stared at the youth in confusion as Lu Yin resumed absorbing more stellr energy. How could he keep going?

    Everyone was simrly stunned. Lu Yin had clearly just finished absorbing stellr energy, so why had more stellr energy suddenly started pouring into his body once again?

    Lan Xian was just as confused as everyone else. Why had she never heard of such a thing before?

    Lu Yin was the only one feeling incredibly excited. Opening his three meridian points had caused his strength to surge in the past, and at this moment, as he resealed the upper meridian point with the ck and white mist, he was able to absorb more stellr energy into it. Could he do the same with the others? He had never heard of such a possibility before.

    Not everyone had received the opportunity to open all three of their meridian points, and doing so was also extremely difficult. Naturally, resealing them was just as difficult to aplish. After all, not everyone possessed the God of Death¡¯s power.

 Chapter 1885: Repeat

    Chapter 1885: Repeat

    People stared in disbelief as Lu Yin continued absorbing even more stellr energy. One stick of incense. Two. Three. Enough time passed for four sticks of incense to burn. By now, the stellr energy vortex in Lu Yin¡¯s upper meridian point had reached the same size as the one hidden in his chest. The stream of stellr energy from the tribtion vortex above Lu Yin started to dwindle again, so Lu Yin used a bit more of the ck and white mist in his chest to seal the path connecting his middle meridian point to his upper meridian point. The stellr energy stream grewrger once again, and a third stellr energy vortex began to form in Lu Yin¡¯s middle meridian point.

    Lu Yin¡¯s excitement mounted further than ever. As he absorbed the stellr energy and formed his vortices, his body was continually being transformed by the stellr energy entering his body.

    Everyone watching felt like their entire understanding of the world was being shattered. How was he still going?

    Every stage of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had destroyed people¡¯s understanding of the phenomenon. Even a Semi-Progenitor like Lan Xian was left at a loss.

    Everyone had seen for the first time just how terrifying a stellr tribtion could be, and also just how long stellr energy could be absorbed for the first time following a tribtion.

    Enough time passed for another four sticks of incense to burn, and Lu Yin repeated the same trick as before. The ck and white mist sealed the pathway leading from his lower meridian point to his middle meridian point, and he continued to absorb more stellr energy.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. Everyone stared nkly at the miracle that he had created. At this time, no one noticed that the stellr tribtion vortex above Lu Yin¡¯s head had started to churn and grow. It expanded more and more and more¡­

    Suddenly someone screamed, "Quick, get back! Retreat! The tribtion¡¯s right above us!"

    Everyone looked up, and their expressions instantly and drastically changed. None of them had noticed that the vortex had grown to the point where it now covered even the spectators. Even worse, it was still growing.

    Everyone was startled, and they felt their scalps turn numb. At this terrifying moment, everyone, no matter if they were human, astral beast, or even a Semi-Progenitor, felt fear as they fled. Not one person dared to stay close to Lu Yin.

    Countless people screamed and cursed. The stellr tribtion had clearly finished, and yet they had nearly been dragged into the cmity. Looking up, it was clear that the stellr tribtion was enraged. Too much stellr energy had been stolen, and the vortex would not let such a loss go unpunished.

    Lu Yin also saw what was happening above his head, and his eye twitched. He felt like cursing. A stellr tribtion? Where is thising from? Wasn¡¯t it already over? What the hell! I just absorbed a bit of extra stellr energy!

    "Lu Yin, stop now!" the Sea King shouted as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to reply. He did not want to stop. His fourth stellr energy vortex had already started to form, and he had a premonition that if he let this opportunity go, he would never encounter it again in the future. The stellr tribtion to be an Envoy was the only time he would ever encounter such a chance. The next time he would face this kind of tribtion was when he tried to break through to a power level of a million. In between those two tribtions, all the other stellr tribtions would beparatively minor and would be easily passed. However, they also would not provide any benefits at all.

    When Lu Yin saw how the vortex was continuing to expand, he gritted his teeth and slowed down the rate at which he was absorbing stellr energy. Unfortunately, doing so made no difference whatsoever, as the vortex continued to expand at the same rate as before. There was no sign of it fading away.

    "All of you, get back! NOW!" Lu Yin shouted. He would not be able to get away from this tribtion, and although it was still growing, it was doing so at a slower speed. By this point, Lu Yin would have to face the tribtion even if he stopped absorbing the stellr energy.

    If he had known that this was going to happen, he would not have tried to form a stellr energy vortex in his lower meridian point. The vortex overhead had grown sorge that Lu Yin was starting to panic. He had no idea what to expect. How was he supposed to survive this?

    No one would ever want to face such a tribtion. It was far too big. Its size caused even Qing Hua to panic, as it wasrger than the tribtion that he had faced to reach a power level of a million! What the hell did that kid do? How is it that everything he does changes history?

    Xu Qing became ecstatic. "Everyone get back! He¡¯s going to die now, hahahaha!"

    The Celestial Demon fled without a word. Even ten lives would not be enough for him to survive if he was implicated by Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion. Was another Progenitor going to appear and attack Lu Yin?

    To the west, Lan Xian was stunned, and she shook her head. "It can be considered a crime to be too talented. How did he absorb so much stellr energy?"

    No one could even guess at what Lu Yin had done. He was most likely the only person to have aplished such a thing. Using the God of Death¡¯s death energy to iste his stellr energy vortices and reseal his meridian points meant that Lu Yin hadbined twopletely different cultivation methods.

    However, he was growing increasingly anxious as he looked up at the boundless vortex that had spread out over his head. Vaguely, he heard an indistinct roar. Was that the true universe roaring?

    Not only in Northcastle Weave, but the entire Outerverse trembled. The disturbance also spread into the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even reached the Neoverse.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Elder Gong, and the other Semi-Progenitors all stared to the north with shock on their faces. The true universe was changing, and it originated from the north.

    In the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked to the northwest with an odd expression.

    The changes taking ce in the true universe drew the attention of countless powerhouses from across the universe. Even the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat were startled as they stood guard in the Starfall Sea, at the pass through the barrier protecting the Fifth Maind. They both turned to look in the direction of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse. "What''s happening? There¡¯s a surge rippling through the true universe! Could someone have broken through to be a Progenitor?"

    "No, this is more like a change brought about by stellr energy being agitated, but who could have done such a thing?"

    "Let me go check."

    ¡­

    In Northcastle Weave, the vortex above Lu Yin¡¯s head began to tremble with increasing strength. This was an iprehensible stellr tribtion, and Lu Yin was feeling so scared that he was struggling to hold still. How was he supposed to survive this? What should he do? There was no way to deal with such a thing. He did not dare to use Truesight to observe the tribtion, but he could tell that this was much too powerful for him to survive on his own.

    This is it, game over. Lu Yin helplessly nced around. Master? You might be the only one who can save me! Where are you Mister Mu?

    Boom!

    There was an explosion, and just the sound of it caused Lu Yin¡¯s ears to bleed. He had just been injured by mere noise.

    The aura that he felt from the tribtion made Lu Yin feel as though he was facing a Progenitor.

    Everyone had already fled far out of sight.

    The vortex that formed the stellr tribtion finally stopped expanding. A seemingly infinite lightning bolt appeared beneath the vortex. Its color was indiscernible, as it seemed to be devoid of color, and yet it also seemed to have a never-before-seen color. It reced everything in vision, and it felt like divine punishment had been meted out.

    Everyone who saw this lightning bolt felt endless fear, including Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian. She had no idea how powerful this lightning was, but it had a majestic aura that gave her an urge to prostrate and worship that she had not felt even when facing the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly constricted. He pulled out his yellow futon, thinking that he could try to hide in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, but it was impossible. His futon was reduced to ash the moment he pulled it out. His face turned pale, but he did not have any time to mourn his loss at this moment. Next, he pulled out the corpse that he had found in Burial Garden and hid beneath it, holding the corpse over his head.

    There was a tremendous boom, and Lu Yin felt extremely dizzy. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying downwards. A bit of the lightning electrocuted the corpse and Lu Yin¡¯s arm, instantly numbing his entire limb.

    The attacksted for no more than a moment, but it felt like an eternity to Lu Yin.

    The lightning disappeared after the solitary attack, and the vortex of the stellr tribtion quickly shrank and disappeared before Lu Yin could even react. It was as though it feared that Lu Yin would try to absorb even more stellr energy.

    Far away, all the spectators saw the tribtion vortex vanish and space return to normal. No one reacted for a while, and no one dared to approach where Lu Yin had been.

    Lu Yin was still hiding under the corpse. His right arm was stillpletely numb and deprived of all sensation, and he could clearly see where the lightning had struck him. He quickly peeked around the corpse to nce upwards. Had the stellr tribtion finally disappeared?

    Lu Yin let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw that space had returned to normal. He checked the corpse and was startled to see that there was no damage on it whatsoever. His eyes flickered, and he quickly put the corpse away again.

    At this time, an illusory tree seemed to sprout and grow. It quickly grew bigger and spread out without end. It was a phenomenon induced by Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough.

    A simr phenomena had appeared when Lu Yin had broken through to be both an Explorer and a Hunter. But this time, the tree was much, muchrger, and it was also much more substantial.

    The tree continued to growrger andrger. It covered both Frostwave and Northcastle Weaves, and yet it continued to growrger.

    Yuan Shi and everyone else could do nothing but nkly stare on. What the hell was this?

    They could no longer feel any shock from Lu Yin¡¯s actions. After all, he had suddenly triggered a secondary stellr tribtion. What could possibly be more absurd than that?

    To the west, Lan Xian''s eyes lit up. "It¡¯s a phenomenon! Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough seeded."

    Master Qing Hua was shocked. "How is that possible? How could he have survived that tribtion just now?"

    No one had thought that Lu Yin could survive. However, a phenomenon had appeared, and it clearly had not been triggered by the stellr tribtion.

    Suddenly, an overbearing pressure fell down. At this time, a majestic power descended, and Lan Xian looked up as she trembled. "Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    Everyone trembled when the Progenitor¡¯s power swept through the region.

    The expressions of Second Nightking, Jiu Shen, and the other top powerhouses all instantly changed. A Progenitor? Who was it? Was it the Progenitor of Combat or the Progenitor of Bloodlines?

    Progenitors stood at the peak, and it was a distinction that everyone could feel.

    Lu Yin also sensed the Progenitor¡¯s arrival, and it startled him badly. There were only two Progenitors who could appear in this ce: the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Had one of theme to eliminate him?

    The phenomenon of the massive tree continued to grow. It was far, farrger than when Lu Yin had broken through to the Hunter realm. The branches hung low, and a magical light filled the tree. Finally, strange items began to appear within the tree, as if they had grown there.

    These objects were much more distinct this time, and they even looked as though they could be plucked from the branches. They appeared to be fruits of various shapes.

    The phenomenon began to distort space, and this caused ever more bizarre scenes to appear and ovep in space. An evenrger tree appeared. This one enveloped the entire universe¡ªit was the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared. The Mother Tree?

    Everyone who saw the Mother Tree appear was stunned by the sight. The Semi-Progenitor, Lan Xian, was no different. These people all recognized the Mother Tree, but how could the tree that was only mentioned in the most ancient texts suddenly appear here?

    In the Perennial World, Lu Yin¡¯s phenomenon appeared, and the Mother Tree itself trembled for a bit. To the north, space seemed to ovep, and Lu Yin and his tree of phenomenon appeared.

    At the same time, Lu Yin was able to see the Mother Tree and the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm. Countless people in the Higher Realm were able to see Lu Yin as well.

    Two trees ovepped from two different ces.

    On Dragon Mountain, the patriarch, Long Ke, looked to the north. When he saw Lu Yin, he was ovee with shock. How was this possible? Had the youth actually caused the Mother Tree to quiver and space to ovep? Even if Lu Yin was a descendant of the Lu family¡¯s main family and was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, this should be impossible.

    Ni Huang stepped out and red at Lu Yin with murderous rage. He looked as if he wanted to devour Lu Yin. ¡°The child must have broken through after surviving a stellr tribtion and induced a phenomenon. His talent is truly amazing, and he was even able to cause the Mother Tree to tremble. Still, he has humiliated my White Dragon n! Contact Wang Si and tell her that I and the White Dragon n agree to her request."

    At Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Xing¡¯s eyes flickered from beneath the imprisoned Jiao. He stared to the north, and nearby, Xia Taili¡¯s mouth had dropped open in disbelief. She had never seen such a thing. Can the Mother Tree actually tremble? Is that an illusion, or am I looking at reality? What did Long Qi do? Wait, he¡¯s actually Lu Xiaoxuan.

    A smile appeared on Luo Zhong''s face. "That¡¯s amazing, Brother Lu! We¡¯ll meet again soon."

    Luo Zhong was actually Xia Luo. He had entered Shenwu''s Sky under the alias of Luo Zhong.

 Chapter 1886: Waiting

    Chapter 1886: Waiting

    There was a hand floating in the sky. It was the home of the Wang family.

    Wang Si''s eyes cracked open. They were filled with a powerful fear and disbelief. "Throughout all of time, only very rarely has the Mother Tree ever reacted. He has to die! That child must be eliminated! If he is not killed, we will face a cmity!"

    She quickly looked up and dropped to her knees. "Ancestor, my Wang family cannot be destroyed by this child! Ancestor¡­"

    Bai Teng was the master of the Celestial Frost Sect, and his eyes turned vicious as he looked at the ovepping images. ¡°He truly is a genius if he is able to make the Mother Tree tremble and cause space to ovep so that his image appears here from that ce. Unfortunately for him, he cannot be allowed to live. Our Progenitor has decided to take care of this matter himself, and when he goes to the Forsaken Land, no one can save you! The more impressive and talented you are, the sooner you will die! Shaohong will soon be avenged."

    At this time, a pair of eyes appeared behind Lu Yin. They were cloudy eyes that clearly belonged to an old man, but they also contained an unmatched dignity.

    The appearance of these eyes caused Bai Teng''s pupils to shrink¡ªa Progenitor?

    Wang Si, Long Ke, and everyone else in the Perennial World who was looking at this scene felt simrly shocked. Only a Progenitor could cause them to feel such pressure. Was there a Progenitor supporting Lu Yin?

    Bai Teng''s expression grew ugly, and he punched the ground. How could there be a Progenitor in the Forsaken Land helping that child? This meant that even if the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitor went to the Forsaken Land, it would be pointless.

    "Sect Master, that Lu bastard is being protected by a Progenitor. Agree to Wang Si''s request to conquer the Forsaken Land," a voice said to Bai Teng.

    Bai Teng''s eyes flickered. This could work. Even if it would be inconvenient for a Progenitor to personally make a move, conquering the Forsaken Land would still ultimately result in the youth¡¯s death. In that case, they absolutely had to conquer the Forsaken Land! They must water its grounds with blood and bury it with Shaohong!

    ***

    Lu Yin was no longer staring at the Higher Realm. He had noticed the pair of eyes that were calmly staring at him. These eyes could not have been any more familiar to Lu Yin as he often saw them whenever he slept or lost consciousness. A burning killing intent rose up within Lu Yin. It nearly overwhelmed him, and he barely held himself back from saying, ¡°Bold!¡±

    The eyes that Lu Yin were staring at were devoid of all emotion. They were the coldest and most terrifying eyes that he had ever seen.

    Before long, the ovepping space began to disappear.

    Lu Yin stared into the eyes and lifted his right hand. It opened and then squeezed tight in a gesture that looked as if Lu Yin was grabbing the entire Perennial World. He then turned his hand over, pressed it down, and spoke a single word. ¡°Wait."

    He was speaking to the owner of the eyes, but also to the entire Perennial World. He was stirring up the entire Perennial World and provoking the four ruling powers.

    As the ovepping space disappeared, the Perennial World began to boil. Lu Yin''s antagonizing appearance had been etched into everyone''s minds. Innumerable people started to shout and curse, and just as many grew excited. There were people who wanted to kill Lu Yin while others celebrated the return of the Lu family. Peace had left the Perennial World.

    ¡­

    "That was that ce." A hoarse voice spoke up from behind Lu Yin. He dropped his hand and spun around, startled. An old man had appeared behind Lu Yin at some point in time, but he was merely gazing at Lu Yin with a smile on his face.

    Lu Yin had not noticed the old man¡¯s presence in the slightest, but with the tree of phenomenon gone, Lu Yin was suddenly able to sense the old man¡¯s unfathomable power.

    ¡°Progenitor?¡± Lu Yin said. He could feel the strength of a Progenitor. He had sensed this kind of strength several times before, and he could feel it from this old man as well.

    The old man nodded as he looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "This old man is Xue Manzi."

    Xue Manzi? Lu Yin blinked. "The Progenitor of Bloodlines?"

    The old man smiled. "Xue Manzi is my name. You can call me the Progenitor of Bloodlines if you prefer. It¡¯s your choice."

    This old man really was a Progenitor! Lu Yin suppressed his shock and slowly bowed. "This junior is Lu Yin. I greet the Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines gazed at Lu Yin with a bit of surprise. "Were you the one who caused the change in the true universe? How did you do so?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. How was he supposed to answer that question? This old man was a Progenitor, and even if Lu Yin believed that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors were greatly inferior to Progenitor Chen, they were still Progenitors. He was one of the Progenitors who had changed the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky and suppressed the Fifth Maind. Could Lu Yin lie? Could he get away with such a thing? On the other hand, it was absolutely impossible for Lu Yin to answer truthfully.

    He had no idea what response to give.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines spoke up once again. "Everyone has their own secrets. If you don''t wish to say, you don¡¯t need to."

    "Thank you, Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines." Lu Yin felt like letting out a sigh of relief. He had just escaped a catastrophe.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines continued to say, "The phenomenon from your breakthrough caused the true universe to churn, and it even incited the Mother Tree. Child, you are very impressive."

    Lu Yin quickly bowed again. "This junior has merely been lucky. I don¡¯t deserve to be praised by the Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines smiled. "No need to be so afraid. I¡¯m not Jiu Xiang, and even if he hates the Fifth Maind, he wouldn¡¯t act against a junior like you."

    Lu Yin gave a wry smile. He could do nothing at all against a Progenitor, but he also could not help but wonder if the Progenitor of Bloodlines had watched as Lu Yin used the corpse to block the stellr tribtion.

    "Did you see Zhi Yi in that ce?" Xue Manzi asked while staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered quickly, "No. I swear that I never saw Zhi Yi."

    The old man sighed. "It would seem that I am destined to never see that child again."

    Lu Yin truly had never seen Zhi Yi in the Perennial World. He knew that the top ten finalists of ZENITH had been sent there, but he had never seen Zhi Yi or Liquor Hero. He had only ever seen Qiu Shi from a distance, and she had been trapped in a golden wheat field in Seed Garden.

    "Child, would you like to be this old man''s disciple?" Xue Manzi suddenly asked while smiling at Lu Yin.

    The question startled Lu Yin, but he quickly replied, "This junior has already epted a master, and he has taken good care of me. When I was first epted as a disciple, I swore that I would only ever have a single master in my life, so I must refuse your kindness, Senior."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines found this quite amusing. "That¡¯s your choice.¡±

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s expression changed, and he disappeared.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief when he saw the Progenitor of Bloodlines leave.

    Even though the Progenitor of Bloodlines had never used his strength as a Progenitor to suppress Lu Yin, it was still too stressful to speak with a Progenitor.

    Also, such an offer was truly tempting. Zhi Yi had already offered to help Lu Yin ask to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple, but he had refused her as well. No matter what, Lu Yin¡¯s master was Mister Mu, and Mister Mu was definitely a Progenitor. Though, Lu Yin had no idea just how powerful his master was. Still, he should at least be more powerful than the Progenitor of Bloodlines!

    The disappearance of the tree phenomenon indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had ended. He had finally be an Envoy.

    However, a key difference between Lu Yin and other Envoys was that Lu Yin had four stellr energy vortices, three of which were hidden within his meridian points. He had no idea if anyone else had ever done such a thing before, but he thought that it was highly unlikely.

    When he recalled the power of the stellr tribtion¡¯sst attack, a flicker of fear shed through Lu Yin once again. Forget him, even a top expert with a power level of a million would most likely not have been able to survive that attack. It had clearly not been a stellr tribtion, but rather a punishment.

    In that case, how had Lu Yin managed to survive the attack with the help of the corpse? Lu Yin¡¯s mind started to churn.

    Lan Xian and Master Qing Hua both appeared from the west while Jiu Shen and the Second Nightking appeared from the south. Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon arrived from the north, and more and more powerhouses began to appear in front of Lu Yin.

    Everyone stared at him oddly, though also with amazement. They were all trying to understand what had happened to him.

    They had all been shocked to see the stellr tribtion manifest Progenitor Chen to fight against Lu Yin, but after that, his absorption of stellr energy had triggered a reaction from the true universe, which had then incited a phenomenon and brought over the Progenitor of Bloodlines to investigate. Everyone wanted to find out what had happened, but they were also too scared to approach Lu Yin. They were still afraid of what they had witnessed, and who knew if Lu Yin had undergone any changes.

    Lan Xian was the first to speak up. Her eyes glittered as she stared at Lu Yin. She looked as though she was seeing a peerless treasure. "Greetings, leader of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Lu Yin frowned as he faced Lan Xian. He had no idea how to treat this woman or how to act around her. She had every temptation that a man could ever dream of: a bewitching voice, a stunning figure, enchanting music, and eyes that could capture one¡¯s soul. However, she was also a Semi-Progenitor, and she had arrived at the battlefield with the intention of using the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces as cannon fodder in the war against the Astral Beast Domain. To that end, she had taken control of the entire army with her three-stringed instrument.

    She would have seeded too, if not for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    Logically, she should be an enemy of both the Great Eastern Alliance and Lu Yin. Even if she was not an enemy, she was clearly not an ally. Despite that, she had saved Lu Yin from being cut down by Sword King¡¯s first attack, and she had done sopletely unprompted.

    Lu Yin had not expected to receive the woman¡¯s assistance at that time, and yet she had saved him.

    She was an enemy, yet also not. A savior, yet not that either. Lu Yin felt all kinds of conflicting emotions as he stared at Lan Xian. In the end, this woman was a Semi-Progenitor, and he needed to show her due respect. He finally answered in a low voice, "I greet Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian."

    Everyone on the battlefield had already felt Lan Xian¡¯s power, and it could be said that she could decide the fate of everyone present.

    The Void Wanderer elder had been able to stand up to Lan Xian after donning its piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, but it had eventually fled. No one on the battlefield couldpare to Lan Xian.

    "Was that the Progenitor of Bloodlines who was here just now?" Lan Xian asked.

    Everyone instantly grew serious as they stared at Lu Yin. The Progenitor of Bloodlines was a powerhouse who surpassed everyone and everything in the current Fifth Maind, and he was also currently protecting the Fifth Maind from being invaded by the Aeternals. Everyone respected the man, and that included the enemy, this was the respect given for any human who reached the apex of cultivation.

    Lu Yin nodded. "The Progenitor of Bloodlines was here, but he has already left."

    "Did he say anything to you?" Lan Xian was curious.

    Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "He wanted me to be his disciple."

    Everyone was stunned.

    "He wanted you as his disciple?" Xu Qing shouted in disbelief, as well as overwhelming fear and rage.

    Lu Yin looked at the astral beast general and nodded. "Yes, he wanted me to be his disciple."

    "So? Are you now the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple?" Xu Qing asked anxiously.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Not yet. There was an emergency, and he had to leave, but he¡¯ll be back to speak with me."

    Xu Qing''s eye twitched. The Progenitor of Bloodlines'' disciple? Really, a disciple? Is Lu Yin a Progenitor¡¯s disciple now?

    If Lu Yin really did be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple, the situation would be very tricky for the Astral Beast Domain, and they would no longer be allowed to kill Lu Yin. If he died, there was no telling how the Progenitor of Bloodlines would retaliate against the Astral Beast Domain.

    The Astral Beast Domain was daring enough to go to war against the Sixth Maind, but just the thought of facing a Progenitor was enough to leave all the astral beasts trembling in fear.

    "Are you really going to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple?" The Celestial Demon pressed.

    Lu Yin looked over. ¡°What? Do I not qualify?"

    There was no one present, not even Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian, who could im that Lu Yin was unworthy of such an honor. Even if Lan Xian could not qualify, Lu Yin could. After all, Lu Yin had defeated the invincible Progenitor Chen while at the same cultivation level. After that, he had be an Envoy by triggering a phenomenon. Such a person bing a Progenitor¡¯s disciple could only be expected.

    In fact, it would be more strange if such an exceptional person did not be the disciple of a Progenitor.

    Xu Qing never questioned Lu Yin¡¯s qualifications. Why else would the Progenitor of Bloodlines havee? The only answer was to take Lu Yin in as a disciple. Lu Yin¡¯s talent had reached a level where even Progenitors needed to pay attention to him.

    Lu Yin looked away. He had technically only spoken the truth, as the Progenitor of Bloodlines had asked Lu Yin to be a disciple. The only detail that Lu Yin had left out was that he had denied the request. However, there was no need to mention thatst bit to the people before him.

 Chapter 1887: Jiu Chi

    Chapter 1887: Jiu Chi

    The expressions of Elder Jiu Shen and the others from the Fifth Maind changed when they heard Lu Yin¡¯sment. If Lu Yin became a disciple of the Progenitor of Bloodlines, would he be considered part of the Sixth or Fifth Maind?

    The Second Nightking was stunned. He understood that Lu Yin was a direct descendant of the main branch of the Lu family, and he had seen a few members of that family in his youth. Back then, the Lu family had beenpletely invincible. Even if the Xia family had Progenitor Chen, they still had been unable to surpass the Lu family. The brilliance of the Champions¡¯ Stage had once swept through the entire Celestial Frost Sect, and that incident had left a deep impression on the Second Nightking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s future would have no limits after he epted the Progenitor of Bloodlines as his master.

    "Commander Xu Qing, don''t forget about our deal. You¡¯ve already taken Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide," Lu Yin reminded Xu Qing as he stared at the astral beastmander-in-chief.

    Xu Qing''s eyes flickered, but it was impossible to see through his thoughts.

    "All of you leave. I wish to have a private conversation with Alliance Leader Lu," Lan Xian suddenly stated.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he warily stared at Lan Xian. "If you have anything to say, please say it, Senior."

    Lan Xianughed. "There¡¯s no need to be so nervous towards me. If I wanted to attack you, could these people stop me?"

    Lu Yin then said, "The Progenitor of Bloodlines wants to ept this junior as his disciple."

    "I know. I just want to say a few words," Lan Xian said casually.

    Xu Qing and the other astral beasts immediately left. They were terrified of this Semi-Progenitor. They were no longer considering invading the Outerverse, but instead how to interact with Lan Xian. If she wanted to attack, they would bepletely helpless.

    Elder Jiu Shen and the other human powerhouses nced at each other, but they simrly had no choice but to step back. Trying to stay would not help Lu Yin.

    Even Qing Hua retreated, which left Lan Xian alone with Lu Yin in the middle of space.

    "What do you think of the Daosource Sect?" Lan Xian asked as she stared at Lu Yin with her sparkling eyes.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "The Daosource Sect? You mean the ruins?"

    "It is the Daosource Sect. From ancient times until now, the Daosource Sect has always ruled humanity. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you this. What do you think of the Daosource Sect?" Lan Xian asked again.

    Lu Yin had no idea why Lan Xian was asking him this particr question, but his intuition told him that odd questions would always have a specific motivation behind them. Thus, he tried to answer cautiously. "I don''t have any opinions. It¡¯s all history for me."

    "In that case, would you like to see it for yourself? My Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect still stands," Lan Xian offered in a tempting manner.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Senior, what do you mean?"

    "There¡¯s nothing hidden in this offer. I¡¯m asking you to visit my Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect as a guest. Right now, it¡¯s located in Southside Weave, which you should already be quite familiar with." Lan Xian smiled, unconsciously causing the nearby cherry blossoms to open into full bloom. It was a truly beautiful sight, but Lu Yin felt his heart drop.

    "Senior, what does a Semi-Progenitor want with a mere Enlighter like me?"

    "You¡¯re an Envoy now," Lan Xian corrected. Cherry blossoms moved beneath Lu Yin''s feet and twirled around them. He was then pulled closer to Lan Xian without any control over his movements. Lu Yin had be an Envoy and had four stellr energy vortices, which was beyond most people¡¯s imaginations. Even though all that stellr energy had transformed his body, it was all still useless against a Semi-Progenitor.

    This was the strength of an inner world. This was a power that Lu Yin could not resist.

    "Senior, this junior will be epted as the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple!" Lu Yin shouted, trying to intimidate Lan Xian.

    Lan Xian just found his behavior amusing. "I am very familiar with Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines. If he was going to take you as his disciple, you wouldn¡¯t be here right now. Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s no need to worry. I won¡¯t do anything untowards to you, and you will be treated as a guest."

    Lan Xian was a stunningly beautiful woman, but in Lu Yin''s eyes, she was more like a beautiful snake at this moment. The closer he moved to her, the more panicked he became. There was absolutely nothing that he could do at all with Lan Xian present.

    Drip

    "Senior, what do you intend to do to me by capturing me?"

    "You¡¯re going to be a guest of the Daosource Sect."

    Drip drip

    "Senior, aren''t you concerned about Arch-Elder Zen and the others? Some time ago, Xia Ji attacked this junior, and Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster personally went to confront him in the Seven Courts."

    "If they dare toe, we¡¯ll let them."

    "Senior-" Lu Yin did not get a chance to say anything more. Lan Xian had suddenly frozen in ce and was gazing upwards. Something in the region had changed at an unknown point in time, as an urn had appeared. On top of that, things had also changed beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, as ake had appeared and started recing all of the cherry blossoms.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. He had not noticed when any of these changes had taken ce. He took the chance to catch his breath. Wait, was this wine? Was that an urn of wine?

    Drip

    A drop of wine fell down and floated over in front of Lan Xian. It then transformed into a human figure, and even the facial features were perfectly clear. The man took a drink of wine and hupped. "Want a drink?"

    Lan Xian stared at the man who was standing less than a meter away from her who had appeared from the drop of wine. ¡°Jiu Chi."1

    "Want a drink?" The person formed from wine repeated.

    Lan Xian frowned, and her cherry blossoms danced about, causing the urn of wine to quiver. Lu Yin saw that the clear urn of wine had been filled with cherry blossoms, and it looked about ready to burst.

    "You¡¯re young, yet so irritable. Be careful, or else you¡¯ll never get married." The figure of wine hupped again and then suddenly appeared right next to Lu Yin. "Child, let''s go."

    With that, the urn of wine exploded, space distorted in all directions, and the disturbance quickly spread out.

    The Second Nightking and the other powerhouses were all stunned when they felt the ripples of power, as it forced them all to retreat. They turned pale; had another Semi-Progenitor appeared?

    In the epicenter of the spatial disturbance, Lan Xian waved a hand. Her cherry blossoms swirled about, and her three-stringed instrument suddenly appeared in her hand as she stared off into the distance.

    Lu Yin reappeared. There was wine swirling next to him, and he also saw an ordinary-looking old man. The man¡¯s nose was bright red, and he kept hupping, making him look both drunk and hungover, and he also stank of alcohol.

    The fact that this man had managed to get Lu Yin out of Lan Xian¡¯s inner world proved that the old drunk had to be a Semi-Progenitor, but Lu Yin had never heard of such a person before.

    Music rang out from Lan Xian¡¯s three-stringed instrument, and it echoed throughout space. The eyes of the old man next to Lu Yin grew a bit wider. ¡°You¡¯re still not giving up? Yinyang Trisage Technique."

    A surge of power swept out, and it even passed through Lan Xian''s inner world to m into her three-stringed instrument, instantly cutting off her music.

    Her expression changed, and she froze. Silence reigned in the region.

    "Why push this matter? Aren¡¯t you embarrassed to attack a mere child as a Semi-Progenitor? I¡¯m an old man, and I¡¯d feel embarrassed to attack you.¡± A belch erupted from the old man. He rubbed at his nose as he addressed Lan Xian.

    Lan Xian frowned. "I merely invited him to be our guest. I won''t do anything to harm him."

    The old man shook his head. "That won¡¯t happen unless you can outdrink me, hahahaha!"

    The man rubbed at his nose even more vigorously as he spoke, and Lu Yin started to suspect that the redness might be self-induced.

    Lan Xian ignored the old man and instead looked at Lu Yin. "Let''s make a deal."

    Her three-stringed instrument disappeared, and she raised three fingers. "Three drops of blood. Give me just three drops of blood, and I can have the Sixth Maind take over this war. It¡¯s not even impossible for me to personally eliminate those beasts."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Blood? Did she want Progenitor Chen''s blood? How could she know that he had Progenitor Chen''s blood?

    "It''s just three drops of blood. That can¡¯t affect you at all. You lost far more than that while surviving your stellr tribtion." Lan Xian continued to try to convince Lu Yin after seeing his hesitation.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. She did not want Progenitor Chen''s blood, but his? What did she want to do with his blood? Lu Yin did not even need to consider this matter, and he was ready to immediately refuse. How could he casually give away his blood? "Senior, this junior only just broke through to the Envoy realm. I¡¯m still far from bing a Progenitor. What could you want with my blood?"

    "I have my own use for it. It¡¯s just three drops."

    The old man next to Lu Yin burped yet again as he rolled his eyes. "My goodness, are you an idiot cultivator? You clearly want it so badly that only an idiot would give you what you¡¯re asking for. Couldn¡¯t you have been a bit more subtle?"

    Lan Xian appeared calm. "From the moment I first started cultivating, I have always asked for everything I want openly and honestly. I have never hidden any of my intentions. Alliance Leader Lu, you will not suffer from this transaction."

    "What if I say no?" Lu Yin countered.

    Lan Xian casually replied, "Then the Sixth Maind won¡¯t get involved in this war with the Astral Beast Domain, and the people in this entire region will all be ughtered."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression hardened. Hearing the word "ughter" had removed all of his fear of this Semi-Progenitor. "Do the lives of ordinary humans mean nothing to you?"

    "Of course not," Lan Xian replied.

    "Then I refuse," Lu Yin instantly answered.

    Lan Xian stayed quiet for a moment as she stared at the youth. "Are you certain? If my Sixth Maind does not take over this war, your Great Eastern Alliance will eventually have its strength exhausted, and the Astral Beast Domain will eventually gain control of the eastern Outerverse and begin ughtering all the humans living here. All of your efforts and sacrifices will be for vain. Is it really worth refusing me these three drops of blood?"

    Lu Yin waspletely somber as he replied, "It''s because of your attitude. Your Sixth Maind doesn''t care about the people living here, and even a Semi-Progenitor like you can casually let countless people die. I can¡¯t trust you with the eastern weaves, not now nor in the future. This ce no longer belongs to your Sixth Maind."

    The old man nced over at Lu Yin. This was a bold im! The entire Outerverse had been given to the Sixth Maind by the Hall of Honor itself. How could one person possibly revoke this decision? It was impossible for the Hall of Honor to support Lu Yin¡¯s decision. Did he want to start a war with the Sixth Maind after just fighting one with the Astral Beast Domain? And all to regain a few weaves in the eastern Outerverse?

    Lan Xian found Lu Yin¡¯s response humorous. "While the Progenitor of Bloodlines didn''t ept you as his disciple, he did acknowledge you. Did you be conceited because of that? Deal with the Astral Beast Domain first. You aren¡¯t qualified to deal with my Sixth Maind."

    She then immediately turned around and left.

    A sigh of relief escaped Lu Yin as he saw Lan Xian leave. He turned to face the old man at his side and offered a respectful bow. "Thank you, Senior, for saving me. You have Lu Yin¡¯s gratitude."

    The old man rubbed his nose. "By the way, child, you spoke rather boldly just now. Do you really not intend to give these eastern weaves to the Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin somberly answered, "Not anymore."

    The old man found this strange. "Why? You¡¯ve been repeatedly forced to retreat in front of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, and even if you are lucky enough to force them back, how do you intend to deal with the Sixth Maind? The Hall of Honor gave the entire Outerverse to the Sixth Maind, and they have every right to fight you for it if you try to stop them. The Sixth Maind cannotpare to the Astral Beast Domain."

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "That¡¯s actually why I didn¡¯t want to fight a war with the Astral Beast Domain."

    This answer surprised the old man, but he also did not give it much thought. He took another drink from the jug of wine in his hands and then happily wiped his mouth clean. ¡°You kids who like topete with your brains are exhausting to deal with. You¡¯re the same as my disciple. She is clearly talented with regards to cultivation, but she doesn¡¯t like to train and acts irresponsibly.

    "Even if my disciple is extremely talented, she just can¡¯t seem to grasp the Yinyang Trisage Technique, which makes me worry about her.¡± The old man then took another drink of his wine.

    The Yinyang Trisage Technique? Lu Yin kept thinking that this name sounded very familiar.

    After wracking his brain for a bit, his eyes went wide. He finally remembered that this was the name of Qiong Xi''er''s battle technique.

    When Millions City had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Qiong Xi¡¯er had been ced in charge of the alliance¡¯s economy. Lu Yin had asionally spoken to the young woman, and she had mentioned her Yinyang Trisage Technique. It had stood out to Lu Yin because the name was so overbearing, and he had actually asked her to show him the technique one time. However, Qiong Xi¡¯er had bluntly refused because, in her words, she was afraid of Lu Yin trying to steal it from her.

    [1] Jiu Chi means "alcohol crazy," so we''ve got a drunk Semi-Progenitor. ?

 Chapter 1888: Attitude

    Chapter 1888: Attitude

    Zhu San had also mentioned the Yinyang Trisage Technique before. He had even used Combat Tactics to try to learn the beginning of the Yinyang Trisage Technique, but he had only ever managed to learn the initial portions. However, that was iparable to the true Yinyang Trisage Technique.

    Even Qiong Xi''er herself had only brushed against the border of the true Yinyang Trisage Technique.

    Apparently, Lu Yin had just seen the old man break through Lan Xian''s inner world with the Yinyang Trisage Technique.

    "Are you Qiong Xi''er''s master?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man hupped. "Did she mention me?"

    "No, but I heard her mention the Yinyang Trisage Technique that you just spoke of," Lu Yin replied.

    The old man gave a disdainful snort. "That girl has absolutely no intention of cultivating at all! What''s the use of toying around with the economy all day long and thinking about how to make more money? Her elder disciple¡¯s been studying star energy all this time, but now she¡¯s gone missing."

    The old man suddenly turned to look at Lu Yin. "Did you see my older disciple in that ce?"

    "Your older disciple?" Lu Yin felt utterly confused.

    "Liquor Hero." The old man took another drink of his wine.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Liquor Hero¡¯s your disciple?"

    The old man wiped his mouth clean again. "Yeah, did you see her? She never came back after going to the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin waspletely surprised. Was this old man both Liquor Hero and Qiong Xi''er¡¯s master? No matter how one looked at the two, there were no simrities at all! To begin with, the difference in strength between the two was too much. One had been one of the Ten Arbiters and had finished among the top ten of ZENITH while the other was entirely devoted to acquiring ever greater wealth. There was no need to even mention Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s strength, as just like the old man had said, she waspletely casual about her cultivation. No one would ever believe the two women had the same master, not to mention a master who was a Semi-Progenitor.

    If Lu Yin had previously known that Qiong Xi''er''s master was a Semi-Progenitor, he would have never had been so brazen when acting against Millions City. Back then, forget a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin had only rarely encountered Envoys, which had been one of the reasons that Millions City had had been coveted by all. The first reason was the city¡¯s wealth, while the second reason was that it had been built upon a mobile fortress that could unleash attacks with the power of an Envoy.

    Still, even Millions City¡¯s most powerful st would not even be enough to ruffle a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s hair. Lu Yin had never considered that Millions City¡¯s greatest treasure was not the city itself, but rather Qiong Xi''er.

    "Senior, this junior never saw Liquor Hero there," Lu Yin replied.

    The old man sighed. "My elder disciple, the only one qualified to inherit my mantle is gone, which means that the only one who can take over when this old man passes on is thatzy little disciple, eh¡­"

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up. "Even if you can''t live forever as a Semi-Progenitor, you should still have many great years remaining. On top of that, you might even be able to break through now and be a Progenitor, which would effectively mean bing immortal, Senior."

    The old man cracked a grin upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words. "You¡¯ve got a slick tongue, but unfortunately, breaking through and bing a Progenitor is too difficult of an obstacle. That old broad Lingzhi already died trying to do it, and I have no idea which one of us will be next.¡±

    He patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Really, the one with the greatest chance of bing a Progenitor is you. Kid, keep working hard. After you be a Progenitor, you¡¯ll be invincible in the entire universe. We¡¯re all waiting to see that day.¡±

    The old drunk then wandered off.

    Lu Yin stared at the empty space that the old man had just been standing in. He had heard the longing in the man¡¯s voice at the end, and it felt like the old man was not far from death. Could he be arranging his attempt to break through and be a Progenitor?

    This old man was the one of the Human Domain¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin had never met or heard of before, Jiu Chi. Surprisingly, the old man had been the one to save Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly called Qiong Xi''er, and the first thing out of his mouth was, "Is your master Jiu Chi?"

    Qiong Xi''er was taken aback. "How do you know that? Did you meet him?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Why haven¡¯t you ever mentioned him before?"

    Qiong Xi''er felt confused. "Why would I bother mentioning him? He¡¯s just a drunk. Did he say something to offend you, Alliance Leader Lu? Please don¡¯t take any offense. Drunks often say too much when intoxicated, so there¡¯s no need to treat anything he says to heart."

    "What did he say to you about me?"

    "Nothing much, just somement about finding the time to beat you up a bit. What a joke! He can¡¯t evene close toparing to your strength, Alliance Leader Lu, hehe."

    Lu Yin choked and coughed. "Do you know how strong your master is?"

    Instead of a response, Lu Yin heard the sounds ofughsing through the call, and he even vaguely heard the maid, Nana¡¯s, soft voice. "What was that? Alliance Leader Lu, could you repeat that?"

    Lu Yin struggled to remain calm. "Do you know how strong your master, Jiu Chi, is?"

    "Of course! He¡¯s an Enlighter," Qiong Xi''er replied.

    Lu Yinughed. "Alright, just act like he¡¯s an Enlighter. Make sure to treat your master well, and if possible, get him to stick around in the Great Eastern Alliance. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be good if an old man like him wandered off. If he stays around in the Great Eastern Alliance, we¡¯ll make sure to treat him well with the best food and wine, and we¡¯ll also make sure to get him plenty of wine.¡±

    He then ended the call.

    On the other end, Qiong Xi''er was embracing Nana. She felt a bit confused by the call, but she was intelligent and quickly put some pieces together. ¡°Is my worthless drunk of a master actually a powerhouse? This is great! Haha, Nana,e here and let this young master give you a kiss to celebrate!"

    "Young Master, you¡¯re so annoying." Nana was trapped. "With how bad things have been in the war in the Outerverse, we¡¯ll look bad if we don¡¯t go join them."

    Qiong Xi¡¯er just rolled her eyes. "Don''t worry. This young master knows Lu Yin better than anyone. There¡¯s no way that guy will ever take a loss. He must have someone already lined up to take over the war, so there¡¯s no need to worry. Your young master isn¡¯t going anywhere, haha."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stood in space at the border between Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves. In front of him stood the Sea King.

    Boom!

    Lu Yin threw out a Hollow Palm, and it mmed right into the Sea King, sending him tumbling backwards. When he finally came to a stop, he bent over and coughed. When he straightened back up, he stared at Lu Yin in utter shock. "You¡¯ve gotten this much stronger?"

    Before passing his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had been strong enough to fight against Envoys with power levels of over 700,000, but he had needed to use various special techniques to do so, such as the visualization method and his God of Death Transformation. At the moment, Lu Yin had used nothing more than pure physical strength when attacking the Sea King, and yet he had been able to knock the older man back.

    It had to be remembered that the Sea King was no ordinary powerhouse. He was just like Highsage Leon. Both of them were Realmbreakers who could fight against Envoys with power levels of 800,000.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength had spiked after surviving his stellr tribtion, and he was now able to beat the Sea King back with a single attack. In other words, he could go up against fourth tribtion Envoys, which meant that he could fight against World Imprinters.

    This greatly excited Lu Yin. All the stellr energy that he had absorbed after surviving his tribtion had transformed his body, and this was his level of strength in a normal state. In fact, Lu Yin was much weaker than he should be, as he had resealed all three of his meridian points, lowering his strength. However, the transformation that his body had undergone from the stellr energy was too exaggerated. Even in his current, sealed condition, his physical strength couldpare to that of a four tribtion Envoy. If he reopened his three meridian points and unsealed all four of his stellr energy vortexes, he had no idea what level his strength would reach.

    "Let¡¯s go again!" the Sea King yelled as he shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the Sea King. "This is enough, Senior. I just wanted to test my strength out for a bit. I don¡¯t want to have a match right now. After all, there¡¯s still a threat just to the north of us."

    The Sea King grew furious. "You pped me and want to stop with just that?"

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "What do you want me to do? I just suffered an attack from Lan Xian, and I¡¯m quite injured right now. We¡¯ll have a match after I recover."

    Lu Yin then quickly left the area.

    The Sea King snorted contemptuously. As if Lan Xian needed to hide her attacks!

    When Lu Yin returned to the gship, he was met by Elder Jiu Shen. Shock could still be seen within the old man¡¯s eyes.

    The Cosmic Art formed the very foundation of the Cosmic Sect, and the Cosmic Art had been created by Progenitor Chen. However, Lu Yin had just defeated Progenitor Chen while both of them were at the Enlighter realm, which was beyond shocking to Jiu Shen.

    Still, the most startling piece of information was that Progenitor Chen had actually started developing the Cosmic Art while only an Enlighter. This was something that no one had known about before.

    "It''s time for you to improve your mastery of the Cosmic Art. Fighting Progenitor Chen should have greatly aided your understanding of the cultivation art," Elder Jiu Shen said.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Progenitor Chen was absolutely amazingly talented. It¡¯s unbelievable that he managed to create the Cosmic Art while only an Enlighter, and his mastery of the art also far surpasses my own."

    "Brown-noser." Elder Jiu Shen rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and achieve mastery of the Cosmic Art and then return my Cosmic Sect¡¯s inheritance to us. This war should be over now, and the Sixth Maind will take over things from here."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Senior, do you want to go back?"

    "I had nothing to do with this in the first ce," Elder Jiu Shen growled. He waspletely fed up with being led around by the nose by Lu Yin, but the inheritance that was on the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s foot was too important to ignore.

    "Senior, please wait a bit longer, and this junior will soon give you an answer," Lu Yin said.

    Elder Jiu Shen left.

    Lu Yin wanted to call Xu Qing next. Lu Yin had aprehensive strategy for this war, and things had finally entered the final stage. The hardest part of his n had been for the Great Eastern Alliance to endure through the early stages of the war.

    Since Lu Yin had managed to aplish that, he had gained the initiative.

    Before Lu Yin could make the call, he received a call request from Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Senior," Lu Yin instantly called out in a very respectful tone as he answered the call.

    Arch-Elder Zen was clearly in no rush, and the call remained silent for a while before the old man spoke. ¡°Progenitor Chen is an incredibly difficult opponent."

    Lu Yin had already known that Arch-Elder Zen was calling because of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. The Semi-Progenitor would not be the only one to do so either, as everyone who knew Lu Yin and learned of his battle with Progenitor Chen would try to call him. ¡°It was a very difficult fight. I almost lost."

    "Throughout all of human history, going back to the beginning of time, there have been too few who were capable of facing Progenitor Chen. I¡¯m not convinced that even the Ancient Progenitors would have been able to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm. Your victory over him in the same realm of cultivation is something that deserves to be recorded down in history," Arch-Elder Zen dered.

    Lu Yin quickly and humbly answered, "This junior was merely lucky."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled at that. "How is the war going? Can you continue?"

    Lu Yin decisively replied, "Yes."

    This caught Arch-Elder Zen off guard. ording to what he knew of Lu Yin, this should have been the time when Lu Yin startedining and finagling to gain the Hall of Honor¡¯s support. Why in the world was Lu Yin answering so bluntly?

    "Do you need any assistance? Perhaps some supplies?" Arch-Elder Zen asked very gently. He was treating Lu Yin in the exact same manner that he had before Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan had been exposed.

    Lu Yin clearly sensed this shift. No matter what, even if Arch-Elder Zen was the leader of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor, he was still a pragmatic person. Lu Yin had defeated Progenitor Chen during his stellr tribtion, and if Lu Yin eventually became a Progenitor, he would be truly invincible in the entire universe. This was the reason behind the change in Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s behavior.

    As for the offered support, even though Lu Yin was already an Envoy, his die still needed star essence, and an endless supply at that. "Supplies would be of tremendous assistance."

    Arch-Elder Zen gave a small smile, but his tone almost immediately changed after that. "This was merely your first stellr tribtion to be an Envoy, and yet you faced Progenitor Chen and also absorbed a hundred times more stellr energy than an average Envoy. Do you understand the implications of that?"

    Lu Yin became confused. "What are you saying, Senior?"

    Arch-Elder Zen solemnly exined, "It means that it will be incredibly difficult for you to continue cultivating."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose, but he remained silent.

    Arch-Elder Zen then continued, "An Envoy needs to absorb stellr energy in order to progress, but stellr energy is not the same as star energy. It is nowhere near as easy to absorb, and it also takes a great deal more time. The time it takes to absorb more stellr energy is typically measured in years, and you may not survive long enough to reach your next breakthrough. Even if you do reach that breakthrough, you will face more after that. If you try to absorb stellr energy too quickly, you could easily draw the attention of the true universe. What¡¯s more, this is not something that can bepletely avoided through the use of curios, as you need far too much stellr energy."

    This was not an issue that Lu Yin had considered before his stellr tribtion, but his heart sank lower and lower as he listened to Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s exnation. It waspletely true; he needed far too much stellr energy.

    Before his breakthrough, his reserves had contained about 200 times more star energy than that of an average Enlighter at his cultivation level. That was why Lu Yin had scrounged around for star essence and had used heat sources to speed up his cultivation, as thebination had given him a shortcut to quickly improve his cultivation with.

    However, were there any simr means to elerate his cultivation speed now that Lu Yin was an Envoy?

 Chapter 1889: Flawed State Of Mind

    Chapter 1889: wed State Of Mind

    There was something else that Arch-Elder Zen was ignorant of; the amount of stellr energy that Lu Yin possessed far exceeded everyone¡¯s understanding because Lu Yin had four stellr energy vortices.

    This reminder instantly gave Lu Yin a headache. It might not be necessary for him to saturate all four of his vortices to reach his next breakthrough. However, extrapting from the amount of star energy that he had possessed as an Enlighter suggested that Lu Yin had to absorb as much stellr energy as 200 average Envoys for a single vortex.

    This meant that, in the best case scenario, he would have to cultivate for as long as 200 average Envoysbined. This was also cultivating by absorbing stellr energy, not star energy. Just thinking about it was enough to scare Lu Yin senseless.

    He had initially been very proud of forming four stellr vortices, as they provided him with stellr energy reserves that far exceeded that of any other Envoy at aparable power level. But this new revtion left Lu Yin covered with chills from head to toe.

    It felt as though his second stellr tribtion was moving further and further away. He was already almost unable to even see it anymore.

    "It appears that this thought has not urred to you yet. Your second stellr tribtion, your third¡ªall the way until the sixth. You will need more stellr energy than you can even imagine to reach those thresholds, and you will also need to find a way to extend your life expectancy so that you can survive long enough to even reach your tribtions. I will send out orders to have the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins in Daynight Flowzone be sealed off. That way, you can take advantage of the Celestial Frost Pond there, as it will be able to help you," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Senior, why are you helping this junior so much?"

    Arch-Elder Zen grew a bit emotional. "Not everyone would be willing to fight the war that you picked up. Not everyone is willing to treat ordinary people as human beings. Regardless of whether you are Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin, your choice to fight the Astral Beast Domain for the reasons that you did means that you are part of my Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Take your time training, and do not try to rush along.¡±

    Lu Yin had thought that Arch-Elder Zen''s change in attitude had been because of his stellr tribtion, but apparently, the old man¡¯s shift in behavior hade from something else entirely.

    Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had been shocking, and the strength that he had revealed during it was mind-blowing. However, these achievements also meant that he would have a much harder time reaching his next breakthrough, as well as each subsequent one after that. Not even Lu Yin could see a way to continue cultivating, let alone anyone else.

    Highly talented people would usually be sought out and protected by countless people, but if one¡¯s talent reached a level that left no hope at all for the future, then the opposite would became true.

    It was possible that Xu Qing was currentlyughing at Lu Yin and his hopeless future.

    Was there really no shortcut that could be taken? Lu Yin lowered his gadget and rubbed his cosmic ring, bringing out the stellr liquid that he had picked up. He had no idea how much stellr liquid the four ruling powers had tucked away back in the Perennial World. He suddenly felt the desire to go and visit that ce once again.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped again and again. More people were learning about Lu Yin¡¯s sessful tribtion, and they were all sending their congrattions, remarks of surprise, and general ttery.

    It was not long before Lu Yin received a call from Highsage Leon, who threatened to fight Lu Yin in order to test out the strength that had managed to defeat Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had a bitter smile during that call.

    Big Sis, the Hall of Honor¡¯s various overseers, Astral-10¡¯s mentors, Judicial Commissioner Mu En, Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Leaf King. Everyone called Lu Yin to congratte him.

    Lu Yin was quite annoyed at this, but everyone who learned about his tribtion this quickly possessed identities that he could not ignore, either because of his rtionship with them or because they were important enough that he needed to be polite.

    What was this?

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget in surprise, as he was receiving a call request from an unknown contact. Given Lu Yin¡¯s status, most random calls were automatically filtered out so that he would not be disturbed.

    "How did you defeat Progenitor Chen?" A deep and terrifying voice growled out a question in a way that sounded like a threat.

    Lu Yin instantly recognized Xia Ji¡¯s voice.

    "Regardless of what realm his cultivation reached, Progenitor Chen was always invincible to anybody with aparable cultivation realm. How did you defeat him?" Xia Ji''s voice was soft, but it was evident that the man was suppressing either his rage or his disbelief. He sounded like someone whose faith had shattered.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned cold. "Is it that you can¡¯t believe it, or that you simply don¡¯t want to?"

    Xia Ji screamed, "Progenitor Chen created the Cosmic Art on his own! He received the inheritance of the Triple de Will and various other secret techniques! He had a clone that was a colossal giant who mastered aurelian force, another that could make time and space chaotic, as well as one that could heal every wound! How could you defeat him!?

    "Despite being a member of the Xia family, he even managed to acquire the Wang family¡¯s Forgotten Ruins technique and their secret technique! How could you ever win? His innate gift, the Heaven¡¯s Furnace, was able to destroy even a Progenitor, so how could you have survived? Boy, you could not have faced Progenitor Chen, as his strength as a peak Enlighter is not something that you could have ever defeated! It¡¯s impossible!"

    Lu Yin answered in a cold and arrogant manner, "I have also learned the Cosmic Art and have simted 10,000 stars. I¡¯ve mastered several different sourcebox arrays, as well as secret techniques. I have the Hollow Palm, which no one can face head on, as well as the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. I have my Champions¡¯ Stage, as well as the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight. I have also mastered a peerless healing method, as well as received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. I¡¯ve even managed to injure a mighty Semi-Progenitor like you."

    "You used foreign objects!" Xia Ji shouted back in fury.

    Lu Yinughed. "It would seem that you hold Progenitor Chen in exceptionally high regard, and the fact that I managed to defeat him has shattered your very beliefs. Xia Ji, I believed you to be a bold cultivator, but I could have never known that your heart was this fragile. I merely passed my first stellr tribtion and became an Envoy, and yet doing so has created a barrier that will forever prevent you from bing a Progenitor."

    "Boy, don¡¯t say something that you¡¯ll regret!" Xia Ji''s voice became incredibly cold.

    Lu Yin was not merely mouthing off, but genuinely stating what he believed. A Progenitor was a powerhouse capable of changing the very sky, and they had to have an unshakeable heart. Progenitor Chen¡¯s defeat, even as a manifestation for a stellr tribtion, had shaken Xia Ji. He had clearly ced Progenitor Chen on a pedestal within his heart, and he had truly believed the Progenitor to bepletely invincible throughout all of time. Xia Ji had believed that if his ancestor, Progenitor Chen, had been invincible, then Xia Ji himself could reach the same level and be the second Progenitor Chen. He hade to see himself as Progenitor Chen''s recement, and Progenitor Chen¡¯s defeat had shattered Xia Ji¡¯s entire worldview.

    It was much the same as how viting an oath would create a w in one¡¯s mindset. How could someone with a wed mind be a Progenitor?

    There were both strong and weak Progenitors, but regardless of their power, each Progenitor had to have a set of core beliefs that were invible. Whether those beliefs were true or not did not actually matter.

    For Xia Ji, with his beliefs broken, he no longer had the boldness to be a Progenitor, which meant that he was forever cut off from reaching the peak.

    Naturally, all of this was merely Lu Yin¡¯s interpretation of the situation, and he did not know Progenitor Chen. However, there was nothing preventing Lu Yin from setting a psychological trap for Xia Ji.

    "Old man, I can hear it in your voice. You called me just to verify that the legendary Progenitor Chen is still invincible and undefeated throughout time. You want me to tell you that I did not face Progenitor Chen with an equal level of cultivation. Well then, let me tell you that I faced Progenitor Chen when he was a Limiteer. He is stillpletely invincible and peerless. Happy?" Lu Yin spoke in a casual manner.

    Xia Ji became even more enraged than before. While Progenitor Chen had always been invincible throughout the universe, no matter how powerful he may have been while a Limiteer, there was no way his strength could have measured up to Lu Yin¡¯s when he was facing his first stellr tribtion. This bastard was messing with his head!

    "You will pay for what you¡¯ve said," Xia Ji said through gritted teeth. Resentment dripped from his voice.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "I just said whatever it is that you wanted to hear. If you¡¯re still not happy with it, why don¡¯t we make a deal: I¡¯ll say whatever it is that you want to hear, and you¡¯ll give me the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Deal?"

    Xia Ji instantly disconnected. He did not want to keep speaking with Lu Yin, and he even regretted making the call. It had been an impulsive mistake to contact Lu Yin. The child showed absolutely no respect for the fact that Xia Ji was a Semi-Progenitor, and he also had absolutely no fear.

    As Lu Yin lowered his gadget, he realized just how massive the ripples from this event were. Lu Yin had defeated Progenitor Chen, and once word of this spread out and reached the weaker cultivators, the effects would be even more pronounced, though mostly to his benefit. However, there would also be violent reactions from a few people who blindly worshiped Progenitor Chen. Xia Ji was the most obvious example.

    Lu Yin shook his head. It did not matter how agitated people became from this, as they were not worth paying any attention to. He saw them as worthless and greatly inferior to Elder Lohar and those who had followed him to protect Ironblood Weave. Those people had actually been integrated into the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet, and their conviction had firmed and inspired others in the Allied Forces.

    While the war had been quite short, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet had already drastically changed. They had not initially acknowledged the war that they were fighting, but they had graduallye to ept and adjust to it. Many people had fallen, and many others had aplished great deeds.

    Well, it was time to end things.

    Lu Yin returned his attention to his gadget and called Xu Qing.

    At this moment, Xu Qing was situated to the north of Lu Yin, and he was facing quite the dilemma. He simply had no idea how to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s position regarding Lu Yin was very clear: the youth needed to die. It was of such importance that Skymender had conducted a divination to determine a way to kill Lu Yin that was almost guaranteed, though it had failed.

    In the current situation, Lu Yin had be an Envoy and was also about to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple. Thus, he could no longer be killed, as the Astral Beast Domain could not afford to suffer the wrath of a Progenitor.

    In that case, what could they do to the Great Eastern Alliance?

    There was no denying the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance Fleet had to be eliminated, as there was no way to invade the Outerverse with the alliance present. Conquering the Outerverse was one of the Celestial Beast Alliance¡¯s longest held dreams. Since they were at the edge of sess, they could not give up when they were so close.

    However, the Great Eastern Alliance was a thorny obstacle.

    The sheer number of powerhouses at their disposal made Lu Yin a difficult opponent from the very beginning, but with the youth¡¯s recent breakthrough, Xu Qing had no idea just how powerful Lu Yin might have be. It was also possible that he could gain support from the Sixth Maind given his new identity as the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple. Troubles just kept piling on for Xu Qing.

    If the Great Eastern Alliance teamed up with the Sixth Maind, even additional reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire would not be enough to achieve victory.

    Xu Qing¡¯s greatest concern at this point in time was no longer how to conquer the Outerverse, but rather how to protect his remaining forces.

    Sword King was dead, and the Void Wanderer elder had already returned to the Celestial Demon Empire. What could Xu Qing use to stand up to the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces?

    As Xu Qing was wrestling with such thoughts, he received a call request from Lu Yin. He hesitated for a moment after seeing it, but then he answered

    "Commander Xu Qing, the war is about to kick off again, so take care of yourself." Lu Yin¡¯s opening words left Xu Qing feeling terribly confused. Just what did Lu Yin mean? Was he cautioning Xu Qing? Why would anyone ever do that? In what war would a general ever caution their opponent? Xu Qing had fought countless wars, but this was his first time ever encountering such a situation, so he really did not know how to respond.

    "What do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?" Xu Qing asked in a low voice. He was truly confused by Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I just wanted to offer you a friendly reminder. I really don¡¯t know if you still have the ability to stop my Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts."

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice dropped to a growl. "Are you threatening me?"

    "Of course not. Like I said, I just wanted to offer a friendly reminder," Lu Yin said.

    Xu Qing did not understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions at all. "Alliance Leader Lu, is there something that you wish to say?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Sometimes people just can¡¯t understand a person¡¯s kindness. Commander Xu Qing, Sword King¡¯s dead, and the Void Wanderer elder¡¯s already gone. There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to stop the Great Eastern Alliance when the fighting resumes. That''s right, isn¡¯t it?"

    "Why don¡¯t you try it," Xu Qing coldly retorted.

    Lu Yinughed. "Alright, let¡¯s do that then!"

    He then simply hung up.

    Xu Qing stared nkly at his gadget, not knowing how to react. What was Lu Yin doing with this call? Was it a trick? A show of force? A threat? Just what was the youth trying to do? Xu Qing had no clue and was unable to understand what had just happened.

    The one thing he was certain of was that Lu Yin absolutely did not want the fighting to resume, as why else would he have offered a word of caution?

    At this thought, Xu Qing brought his gadget back out and called Lu Yin back.

    To the south, a small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face inside a spaceship as he answered the call request. "What''s wrong, Commander Xu Qing? You should be preparing for battle."

 Chapter 1890: Strategy Fulfilled

    Chapter 1890: Strategy Fulfilled

    "Alliance Leader Lu, exactly what is it that you want?" Xu Qing asked in a low voice.

    Lu Yin replied in a very rxed manner, "Commander Xu Qing, I just want to see if you are confident of standing up to my Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet. It¡¯s time to see, isn¡¯t it?"

    Xu Qing''s eyes red, and he immediately became angry. Sure enough, he had just been yed by Lu Yin. He had been in a rush to call the human, but it was clear that the Great Eastern Alliance did not want the fighting to resume. After all, the astral beasts were the invaders, and the only reason why the invaders would not want to resume fighting was ack of confidence. ¡°You certainly live up to your reputation as being the one to have united the Outerverse. I¡¯m embarrassed at my own hesitation. We¡¯ll meet again on the battlefield."

    Lu Yin smiled, "There¡¯s no need for you to worry, Commander Xu Qing. Have you already forgotten our deal?"

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice grew cold. "You started this war, not me."

    "Truthfully, I don¡¯t want to fight you, and it¡¯s also clear to you that many of the powerhouses fighting for me also don¡¯t want to fight. If that weren¡¯t the case, we wouldn¡¯t have been pushed all the way to the border of the Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves. This is why I intend to push this war off onto the Sixth Maind and have them take over defending the Outerverse. While that¡¯s happening, you can take advantage of the time to wait for reinforcements to arrive from the Celestial Beast Empire. The timing for both things should be around the same. What do you think?" Lu Yin casually asked.

    Xu Qing''s expression instantly changed. "You want to give the eastern weaves to the Sixth Maind?"

    "Of course. The Outerverse belongs to them, so control should be given back to them," Lu Yin replied.

    Xu Qing''s expression grew dark. "I initially epted Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide in exchange for two months of peace. Not only did you try to use that deal to lure me out so that I could be attacked and killed by Qing Hua, but also so that you could gain these two months of peace. Do you really want to hand everything over to the Sixth Maind?"

    "Commander, please don''t misunderstand me. I didn''t arrange for you to be assassinated by Master Qing Hua, and I don¡¯t even know why he showed up."

    It was only at this moment that Xu Qing understood just how key Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide was to the war. Its mere existence hadin multiple traps, and it would bepletely impossible for the Astral Beast Domain to resume their invasion if the Sixth Maind took over the defense of the Outerverse.

    The astral beasts had believed that their invasion would seed only because of the exact timing that they had used. They had taken advantage of the opportunity that had appeared due to the Sixth Maind being busy dealing with the aftermath of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal, and they wanted to take over as much of the Outerverse as possible. However, that invasion had been blocked by Lu Yin. The Sixth Maind was not the same as the Great Eastern Alliance, and it was possible that a Semi-Progenitor might make a move to stop the invasion.

    "It seems that this will be ourst conversation, Commander Xu Qing. You¡¯ll be facing the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces next. Will it be the Ten Venerables? Or the Four Empyreans? Maybe a Semi-Progenitor?" Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Xu Qing spoke softly, "I never expected our invasion to be stopped by you, Alliance Leader Lu. You are an outstanding human even when viewed in the context of all of history. During the time that you¡¯ve been fighting against my Astral Beast Domain and after passing your stellr tribtion, you¡¯ve managed to be the top ranked human on the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List. Congrattions."

    This did not bother Lu Yin at all. Even though the Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List was the Celestial Beast Domain¡¯s list of humans who were considered must-kill targets, Lu Yin did not need to be as cautious as he had been in the past. Unless a Semi-Progenitor was sent against him, Lu Yin would not have any problems staying alive.

    "Unfortunately for you, you¡¯ve proven to be far too talented, and not even the true universe can ept your existence. This will be the end for you. Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯ll meet again, though this will be the end for now," Xu Qing said calmly while admitting that the astral beasts had lost the war.

    He had not been able to break through the Great Eastern Alliance, and the Sixth Maind would be an even more difficult obstacle. Lu Yin had managed to stall the war out, and the astral beasts¡¯ efforts would be pointless once the Sixth Maind took over.

    "Commander Xu Qing, what do you think? With your invasion failing, will the Sixth Maind be content to simply resume passively defending the Outerverse, or will they push to counter and invade the Astral Beast Domain?" Lu Yin suddenly posed a question.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed. If he were given such a choice, he would definitely try to counter and invade. The Celestial Beast Empire had fought too hard against the Great Eastern Alliance while the Sixth Maind had been focused on scouring the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. Xu Qing had received reports that many of the people who had been investigated had been drafted into the Sixth Maind¡¯s military. Since they could not be trusted, their only use was as cannon fodder.

    The astral beasts were about to face a crazed counterattack from the Sixth Maind.

    "The Sixth Maind''s been focused on cleaning out the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory due to their panic from the Progenitor¡¯s betrayal, but as soon as the situation calms down, they will definitely push the warfront into the Primal Zone. If I were in your ce, I wouldn¡¯t give them that chance. Fight now! You should push the warfront and extend it to at least to the western region of the Outerverse instead of passively waiting for the Sixth Maind¡¯s counterattack. What do you think, Commander?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Xu Qing froze. "So this is what you wanted to say. What exactly is it that you want?"

    Lu Yin suddenly grew serious. "Let''s make another deal. I won''t give the eastern weaves over to the Sixth Maind, and I will even open a path to allow you ess rom Northcastle Weave to Armament Weave that you can use without fear of retaliation while you face the Sixth Maind."

    Xu Qing was taken aback. This was too insane! Lu Yin was suggesting that he wouldpletely break things off with the Sixth Maind.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had taken over the defense of the eastern Outerverse, which had caused both them and the Astral Beast Domain to jointly suffer harsh losses. The Sixth Maind had never been concerned because they believed that they could take back control of the eastern weaves whenever they wished to. At this moment, Lu Yin was revealing that he had no intention of ever returning control of the eastern weaves to the Sixth Maind, which was no different from turning his back on the Sixth Maind. This could start a war! This meant that the Great Eastern Alliance would have to face both the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind at the same time.

    "Aren''t you afraid that your Great Eastern Alliance will be destroyed first? You and the Sixth Maind are already enemies," Xu Qing said.

    A smile returned to Lu Yin''s face. "If we are wiped out, then the Sixth Maind will regain control of these eastern weaves, and then you¡¯ll stand no chance at all. By staying, we will also promise to never take the initiative to start a fight with the Astral Beast Domain, and we will not be the ones to trigger a war. You will only face the Sixth Maind as your enemy, and we will provide a buffer here in these eastern weaves. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to deal with a counterattack from the entire Outerverse.¡±

    "I''m offering you a hand."

    Xu Qing sneered. "You¡¯re simply trying to use us to hold back the Sixth Maind so that you can aplish your goal of taking over the eastern Outerverse. Your motivations are too obvious, Lu Yin."

    "So, do you agree?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Qing fell silent. Did he agree? He did not have any choice, not unless he was capable of defeating the Great Eastern Alliance. However, that was impossible. If Xu Qing did not ept this deal, then the Celestial Beast Empire would have to face the full might of the Sixth Maind¡¯s furious counterattack, and they might not even be able to retain control of the Primal Zone.

    Such an oue waspletely uneptable for Xu Qing. He was already responsible for the deaths of too many powerhouses, and he was going to face a severe bacsh after returning to the Celestial Beast Empire. In particr, Sword King¡¯s death had caused opinions to turn against Xu Qing far more than ever before. If the astral beasts also lost control of the Primal Zone, Xu Qing would bepletely discredited, and he would be treated as a joke.

    Agreeing to Lu Yin''s deal meant that Xu Qing would be able to lead countless astral beasts to attack the Sixth Maind. He had no hope of gaining any territory in the Outerverse for the Astral Beast Domain through these efforts as he was no idiot. However, he did hope to be the sole general in the history of the Astral Beast Domain to invade the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves. Such an aplishment would offset the damage that his reputation had suffered so far during this invasion, and it would also give the Celestial Demon Emperor a justifiable reason to leave Xu Qing inmand.

    This was also why Lu Yin was so confident in proposing this deal. The Astral Beast Domain had a good understanding of the Human Domain. Xu Qing had at one point thought to use Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys to foment a rebellion against Lu Yin in the Innerverse, showing his understanding of matters in the Human Domain. By the same token, the Human Domain understood the Astral Beast Domain. Lu Yin was perfectly clear on just how precarious Xu Qing¡¯s position was at this moment, which was why Lu Yin was confident in extending this offer.

    Xu Qing could not afford to refuse unless he believed that he could defeat the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet. His only other option was to aplish something impressive in a very short period of time to offset his recent losses.

    Still, despite Lu Yin¡¯s confidence that Xu Qing would agree to this proposal, Lu Yin¡¯s primary goal was to instigate more chaos by pitting the Astral Beast Domain against the Sixth Maind.

    "Before long, the Sixth Maind will be plunged into even greater chaos, and that will be your chance. You might not just enter the central weaves, but even the western region." Lu Yin tried to further tempt Xu Qing.

    Xu Qing''s eyes instantly grew hard. "Invade the western region? Alliance Leader Lu, do you take me for a fool?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "All I can tell you is that things will soon bepletely chaotic within the Sixth Maind. How you take advantage of that is entirely up to you, but regardless of whether or not you can push into the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves, you will still go down in history as the astral beastmander to push the furthest into the Human Domain¡¯s Outerverse in all of history."

    It did not matter if a creature was a human or an astral beast¡ªno sapient being could resist the desire of having their name be recorded down in history, and Xu Qing was no exception. While he had no choice but to ept this offer, Xu Qing was no idiot, and he also had his own misgivings. "Alliance Leader Lu, if we try to push that deep into the Outerverse, we¡¯ll be attacked on two sides by you and the Sixth Maind. This is not an opportunity, but rather stupidity."

    Lu Yinughed. "You already said it yourself! I¡¯m also enemies with the Sixth Maind! The Sixth Maind already took advantage of me by allowing my Great Eastern Alliance to face off against you. Do you really think that I¡¯ll offer them any help at all? Why do you think I told you when I was abandoning Ironblood Weave? You shouldn¡¯t have already forgotten about that, Commander."

    Xu Qing''s eyes shed. Theoretically, it was impossible for Lu Yin to cooperate with the Sixth Maind, but Xu Qing remained hesitant. A single mistake at this point would cost him everything. This was not a game, but war.

    "If you¡¯re still hesitating, then I can also swear to never move against the Celestial Beast Domain¡¯s astral beasts when theye to invade the Outerverse. How about that?" Lu Yin said.

    Xu Qing finally epted Lu Yin''s offer. Swearing an oath was something that was held in high importance by cultivators, especially by those with exceptional talent like Lu Yin who had a chance of eventually bing a Progenitor. This was enough for Xu Qing to believe that Lu Yin would not cooperate with the Sixth Maind.

    Besides, there was no foundation for any such cooperation to begin with. The Sixth Maind had already destroyed the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and they had even upied the remaining ruins. The Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind had also created countless blood debts. Given the enmity between the two Mainds, would they ever be able to cooperate?

    Furthermore, Xu Qing was convinced that Lu Yin wanted to retain control of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves. Given that, it made perfect sense for Lu Yin to want to pit the astral beasts against the Sixth Maind to mutually restrict his two enemies. Xu Qing did not believe that the Sixth Maind would willingly hand over the eastern weaves to Lu Yin in order to force Lu Yin to defend against the Astral Beast Domain.

    Not long after that, Lu Yin lowered his gadget and let out a long breath. His strategy had beenpleted.

    He had been tense from the moment that he had first learned that the Astral Beast Domain was invading the Outerverse. From that time on, he had gathered the strength of the entire Great Eastern Alliance to defend the Outerverse, and he had coerced numerous powerhouses to join the war efforts through threats and bribes. He had also consulted both Shui Chuanxiao and Wei Rong on what direction to lead the war in, and his overarching goal had just been aplished.

    Wei Rong had been busy transferring the residents of both Armament and xen Weaves, which was why he had not been present at the battlefront. The path that Lu Yin had offered Xu Qing to the center of the Outerverse was also something that Wei Rong had prepared to specifically be used in war.

 Chapter 1891: Simulation

    Chapter 1891: Simtion

    Lu Yin had never been one to remain passive and sacrifice himself for others. Still, it was undeniable that he had led the Great Eastern Alliance to take over the defense of the Outerverse for the Sixth Maind and stop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. It was also undeniable that both the Astral Beast Domain and the Great Eastern Alliance had suffered terrible casualties and that there was no way for either of them to recuperate such losses. Lu Yin had only been willing to suffer such losses because of the people living in the eastern reaches of the Outerverse. They had once followed him, admired him, and praised him, and he could not bring himself to abandon them to their deaths.

    Still, even though Lu Yin had taken over the war for the Sixth Maind, there was no denying the casualties that his forces had suffered. However, that did not mean that Lu Yin needed to suffer a loss after paying such a price. No matter how bad a situation in a war might seem to be, there would always be a turning point. Circumstances were never so hopeless that there was no path to victory, and Lu Yin was at the turning point of his war.

    The Sixth Maind had believed that they controlled the Great Eastern Alliance. For months, the Sixth Maind had watched the show like a joke, and countless people in the Innerverse and Neoverse had mocked and ridiculed Lu Yin for his decision. The Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s hatred for Lu Yin had reached unprecedented levels, and the overall war expenses made Lu Yin¡¯s heart bleed. However, after all this suffering, he currently held control of the board.

    This thought put a smile on his face, and he evenughed out loud from the incredible relief that he felt.

    Elder Jiu Shen grew suspicious and entered the room to give Lu Yin an odd look. "Boy, have you finally lost your mind?"

    Lu Yin faced Elder Jiu Shen and smiled at the old man. "Senior, this junior still doesn''t quite understand the Cosmic Art. Would you be willing to stay here and guide my practice of the Cosmic Art?"

    Elder Jiu Shen was instantly infuriated. "I may have to keep an eye on you, but don¡¯t think that you can push things too far, boy!"

    Lu Yin quickly continued, "Senior, you¡¯ve misunderstood me. The war is over. I just came to an agreement with Xu Qing, and the war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain is finished."

    Jiu Shen was stunned. "It¡¯s over? Are you sure?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "The war is over. It doesn''t matter if you remain here or return to the Cosmic Sect, Senior, so why don¡¯t you stay here and guide my training with the Cosmic Art? This junior promises that my progress will be quick, which I know is that you wish for, Senior. This will help expedite things." As Lu Yin spoke, he wiggled his foot.

    Jiu Shen¡¯s face twitched, and he wanted to get angry, but there was no ce for him to vent. In the end, he merely let out a long sigh. ¡°Just go ahead and ask me about anything that you don¡¯t understand."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "What is the Cosmic Nature Realm?"

    Over the following days, Lu Yin continued to ask Jiu Shen about details regarding the Cosmic Art. On top of that, he also asked the elder to help him simte more of the Oveying Stacks Path.

    While Oveying Stacks was not a technique that Jiu Shen focused on, such a matter was trivial to a powerhouse who was inferior only to Semi-Progenitors.

    However, Jiu Shen did not readily help Lu Yin with his Oveying Stacks. The old man¡¯s wish was for Lu Yin to focus exclusively on the Cosmic Art so that he would master the cultivation art as soon as possible.

    A 1,000 Stacks was the limit of what Jiu Shen could deduce. Simting more stacks would require not only a powerhouse as strong as Jiu Shen, but one who focused on the Oveying Stacks Path. They could not just be someone who had just be an Envoy, and even a three or four tribtion Envoy might not have a powerful enough physique to unleash a 1,000 Stacks. It required an unbelievable level of toughness.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current level of strength, Elder Jiu Shen had assumed that he would only need to help Lu Yin simte 500 to 600 Stacks, and he had even thought that this was overestimating Lu Yin. He had managed to simte a full 300 Stacks before his stellr tribtion, and another 100 Stacks would be an impressive increase. After all, each subsequent Stack was more difficult and had harsher requirements on one¡¯s strength than the previous Stacks.

    Who would have thought that Lu Yin would prove capable of withstanding every single Stack that Jiu Shen was capable of helping simte? At the end, the elder was left staring at Lu Yin as though he were looking at a monster.

    If Lu Yin had undergone a normal stellr tribtion and breakthrough, there was no way his body would be able to endure such overwhelming forces, but Lu Yin had absorbed enough stellr energy to form four unique stellr vortices. This unprecedented amount of stellr energy hadpletely transformed his body. Every Envoy underwent this process when they broke through to the Envoy realm, as this was what allowed one to enter the true universe. Typically, each subsequent tribtion would transform an individual¡¯s body a bit further, which would lead to small, repeated transformations.

    This was the rule of the universe: tribtions would be matched with rewards.

    However, Lu Yin had absorbed enough stellr energy to form four vortices after his initial breakthrough, which meant that his body had transformed as much as someone who had passed their fourth stellr tribtion. Stealing so much stellr energy at once had induced a retaliation from the true universe, and it had tried to utterly destroy Lu Yin. That had not been a tribtion, but rather a will of utter destruction because he had broken the rules of the universe. In the end, he had only managed to survive because it was possible to use external aides in a stellr tribtion, and Lu Yin had received help.

    There had not been anyone around Lu Yin with the strength to help him block the punishment, and this was because people had thought the punishment to be a stellr tribtion, and tribtions did not allow for any outside sources of help. This was why Semi-Progenitors and even Progenitors would have refused to help Lu Yin. However, he had luckily picked up a corpse that had been able to block the punishment, and it was the only reason why he had survived the punishment from the true universe.

    All of thatbined had led to Lu Yin¡¯s body undergoing an unimaginably thorough transformation.

    Jiu Shen was also amazed by the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm, as a single strike was enough to take out an Envoy with a power level of 700,000, and even those with a power level of 800,000 would not dare to face such an attack head on.

    Lu Yin had already defied people¡¯s understanding of how strong one could be within a given realm as an Enlighter. But after his first stellr tribtion, he had be even more absurd. Even Jiu Shen looked at the young man as though he was seeing a freak.

    Besides the increase in the number of Stacks that his body could endure, Lu Yin also believed that there had been a tremendous change in the amount of death energy that he could absorb. He had no idea if his God of Death Transformation had changed, but he first needed to replenish his reserves of death energy, as there was absolutely no ck and white mist remaining in his body.

    Suddenly, he felt that it was very unfortunate that Sword King had died without bing his Champion. It was too much of a pity to have lost the opportunity to obtain such a Champion.

    Lu Yin looked to the west. The war would eventually resume, but this time, it would be the Sixth Maind fighting against the Astral Beast Domain. Many powerhouses would die there, so it might be possible for Lu Yin to sneak onto the battlefield and add a few more Champions to his Champions¡¯ Stage. He needed to show the Fifth Maind the meaning of the expression, ¡°One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all.¡±

    Lu Yin went into seclusion, which surprised no one at all. Almost anyone would do the same after bing an Envoy in order to familiarize themselves with their new strength. Using stellr energy was quite different from using star energy, and one¡¯s fighting style would therefore have to change. The most important change was the fact that the true universe ignored star energy, but would try to steal stellr energy back whenever it appeared. Such a thing was a terrible fate for any Envoy.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die. There was no better method of going into seclusion than using Timestop. His finger moved forward and tapped the die. Three pips.

    He stared at the two screens made of light, and he rubbed at his cosmic ring. He had a few Roots of Intelligence in it, and while he did not know how it would react to being Enhanced, he felt that it should be possible to make them as effective as one of the true Roots of Intelligence that had been left behind by Progenitor Hui. There might be some fundamental differences between the two roots, but it was not impossible for Lu Yin to attempt bridging that gap. After all, Lu Yin had received five roots from Hui Kong. Brother Hui had been quite generous.

    Lu Yin did not think about the matter any further and simply threw one of the Roots of Intelligence onto the upper screen along with a million star essence. Such a small amount of money was not even worth considering.

    The root instantly dropped out the bottom, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. This root really was nothing more than a fake.

    When he had Enhanced a true Root of Intelligence, just the first upgrade had cost him tens of millions of star essence. The less money that something consumed while being Enhanced, the lower its value. When Lu Yin looked, there was actually still some star essence sitting on the upper screen, which meant that the first Enhance had not even cost him a million star essence. The difference in value between this root and the original roots was enough to leave a person speechless.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh, and then grabbed the Enhanced root to resume the process.

    It fell through a second time, but not the third. It had already reached its limit.

    Three upgrades had cost Lu Yin exactly one million star essence, which was a simr cost as Enhancing Vitality Poison: Regression No. 91. However, that had been the cost of merely Enhancing the Vitality Poison a single time.

    It cost Lu Yin 5 million star essence to upgrade all five Roots of Intelligence to the limit.

    He stared at the five roots in his hand. They looked quite impressive, but they were still far fromparable to a real Root of Intelligence. Still, these were much better than the roots that the Hui family had ess to.

    The Hui family had said that their Roots of Intelligence were merely able to help one concentrate better while in meditation, but Lu Yin hoped that his Enhanced roots would be a bit better than that.

    He raised a hand and brought out his stellr energy, simting water with it. He used it to make some tea and took a sip. His mind cleared, and his heart calmed. He felt as though he was able to see through many things.

    Still, this was not anywhere close to the effect of a real Root of Intelligence, as they allowed a person to see through everything. Regardless, Lu Yin still felt pretty good at the moment.

    Lu Yin was using a fully Enhanced Root of Intelligence, and yet its effects were barely eptable to him. It was quite possible that the Hui family¡¯s current Roots of Intelligence would have absolutely no effect on Lu Yin, which was exactly what Hui Kong had told him.

    He continued rolling his die.

    One pip. A simple looking box fell out, and his eyes lit up. He opened it and found a piece of metal, but it shattered after enduring only a small bit of Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    It was tough enough to withstand an attack from most Enlighters, but Lu Yin was able to crush it with little effort. This item that was a treasure to countless cultivators was useless to him.

    The next roll of the die gave him Timestop, and the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The first thing that he did upon entering was to extend his time to nearly a year. That done, stars appeared and began to revolve around his body. He recited the Origin Sutra while also practicing the Cosmic Art.

    After bing an Envoy, Lu Yin was now able to push the Cosmic Art to a new level. This was something that Jiu Shen had spent several days exining to Lu Yin in great detail, as he hoped that Lu Yin would be able topletely master the cultivation art as soon as possible.

    The treatment that Lu Yin received from Jiu Shen would leave all the other Cosmic Sect¡¯s disciples extremely jealous, but Lu Yin alone was able to enjoy such privileges. There was no other option, as his foot bore the Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest treasure.

    When Lu Yin had fought against the peak Enlighter realm Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin had simted more stars than the manifested Progenitor, but the strength of the two¡¯s Cosmic Arts had been simr. Jiu Shen had exined that this gap stemmed from how Progenitor Chen had created the Cosmic Art, and hisprehension of it had far, far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s. Progenitor Chen¡¯s mastery had reached what Jiu Shen referred to as the Cosmic Nature Realm, and Lu Yin had personally felt this difference inprehension during the fight in the way that Progenitor Chen¡¯s simted stars had moved. After hearing Jiu Shen¡¯s exnation, Lu Yin was confident that he would be able to quickly reach a higher level of mastery over the Cosmic Art.

    After the year passed, Lu Yin left the Timestop Space and rested for ten days before continuing to roll his die.

    It was not long before Lu Yin returned to his Timestop Space, and after he emerged, he repeated the pattern again.

    After a month, he had entered the Timestop Space five times, and he had practiced the Cosmic Art for nearly five years. This had allowed him to simte a terrifying 90,000 stars.

    Previously, even with the Origin Sutra¡¯s support, Lu Yin had only been able to increase his number of simted stars by 4,000 over the course of a year. But now, he had just increased his mastery by 80,000 stars in just five years. This was quite a bit more than an increase of 10,000 stars each year. The understanding that he had gained from fighting against Progenitor Chen and hearing Jiu Shen¡¯s exnations had been further amplified by the boost that Lu Yin received from the Origin Sutra.

    Lu Yin had found that he was also able to recite a bit more of the Origin Sutra after bing an Envoy, and the effect of the sutra was also a bit more pronounced.

    90,000 stars was not far off from the limit of the current level of the Cosmic Art, which was 99,000 for the fifth level. As long as Lu Yin rolled Timestop one more time, he would be able to fully master the fifth level of the Cosmic Art. After that, he would be able to begin training in the sixth level.

    He wondered if he would be able to receive the benefit of the pattern on the bottom of his foot at that time.

    He would never be able to forget Elder Gong¡¯s words. ''How can you be certain that the you¡¯re standing on was not created by the Cosmic Art?''

    These words hadpletely changed Lu Yin¡¯s perception of the universe. Once the Cosmic Art was raised to the limit and the person cultivating it did the same, they would be able to change the universe itself and make the stars that they manifested be real.

    This was the greatest treasure that Progenitor Chen had left for the Cosmic Sect, and it was also the peak of mastery of the Cosmic Art.

 Chapter 1892: Lu Yins Attitude

    Chapter 1892: Lu Yin''s Attitude

    Given the vastness of the universe, how many stars might have been created by the Cosmic Art? One? 10,000? Maybe hundreds of millions? Who knew?

    The Rune Progenitor had changed the universe itself, which made runes visible and usable. He had also created an entire civilization based off of those very runes, and there were still powerful groups that had emerged from the vestiges that lingered on, such as Gods¡¯ Origin, which focused on cultivating Truesight. Progenitor Chen had also changed the universe, and he had done so by leaving behind new stars that remained in the universe.

    It was possible that, after a person reached the peak of the Cosmic Art, they would be able to utilize the stars that Progenitor Chen had left behind, which would grant them an incredible power to alter the universe.

    Xia Ji certainly knew this secret, which was why he had plotted and schemed in the dark for so many years despite being a Semi-Progenitor, and it was also why he had not hesitated to go to war against both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind at the same time. All of it had been in an attempt to grab the Skystar Jade Wall and Progenitor Chen''s inheritance that had been left behind at the Cosmic Sect. This was enough to demonstrate the value of this inheritance.

    If possible, Lu Yin wanted to practice the Cosmic Art in the Timestop Space until he fully mastered the entire cultivation art, but that was impossible. Not only was it too difficult, but cultivating the Cosmic Art also required a person to do more than just simte stars. Their strength also had to be able to support the stars that they simted.

    Bing an Envoy had increased Lu Yin¡¯s limits in regards to the Cosmic Art by leaps and bounds, so what would happen if he reached a power level of a million? Given his progress so far, it was possible that Lu Yin would be able to fully master the cultivation art at that time.

    However, that goal was too far away, though he only needed to simte a total of 99,000 stars toplete the fifth level of the Cosmic Art. However, the sixth level required him to simte 380,000 stars, which was a massive increase.

    Having 380,000 stars revolving around him would be no different than the universe itself being simted by Lu Yin from many other people¡¯s perspectives. He did not even dare to imagine what the seventh level would be like.

    On top of that, Progenitor Chen''s mastery of the cultivation art had to have beenpletely unimaginable.

    Lu Yin wanted to keep training until he reached full mastery of the fifth level of the Cosmic Art, but visitors from the Sixth Maind had appeared, and they were not people whom Lu Yin could ignore.

    There were four powerhouses who had arrived: the Cloud Valley Master, Ancestor Sightless, Nong Laohan, and a three-inch tall powerhouse.

    There were three Cosmic Imprinters, as well as an Empyrean Imprinter. Even when considering the entire Sixth Maind, these four were below only the Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin personally weed the four men, along with the Second Nightking, Jiu Shen, Liu Huang, Yuan Shi, and Ya Mavis. Lu Yin¡¯s sidepletely outssed the visitors, no matter if it was in terms of quantity or quality.

    Two groups people stood in the middle of outer space facing each other.

    Lu Yin looked calm, and there was even a faint smile on his face, though he was surprised to see the tiny powerhouse.

    The man facing Lu Yin also appeared to be calm. He was only three inches tall, so he was known as Master San Cun.

    Lu Yin was indeed surprised to see this man, as he was indeed no more than three inches tall. This small? Humanity had both giants and dwarfs, and Master San Cun was a typical dwarf. However, he was also a bit different from the dwarfs who lived in Forested Weave, as there was a somewhat timeless aura to the Empyrean Imprinter.

    The Cloud Valley Master seemed sharp and energetic, and Ancestor Sightless appeared solemn as he stared intently at Lu Yin. As for Nong Laohan, he was calm, much like Master San Cun, and he even smiled when he saw Lu Yin look at him. The old man looked very simple and honest.

    However, Lu Yin would never underestimate the old man.

    "Everyone, you came from so far away to see me, but I was in seclusion. I apologize for leaving you all waiting for so long," Lu Yin said casually.

    Master San Cun was an Empyrean Imprinter, and seniority dictated that he should be the one to lead the negotiations, and yet the Cloud Valley Master stepped forward to address Lu Yin. ¡°Your Great Eastern Alliance has fought against the Astral Beast Domain for so long and done well! It¡¯s time to hand it over to the Sixth Maind. We are ready to immediately take over this war, so you can rest assured that the Astral Beast Domain is already doomed, Alliance Leader Lu. They will not be able to enter the Outerverse."

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled. "But they''re already here."

    The Cloud Valley Master replied, "We will push them back! Not just to the Primal Zone, but into the Astral Beast Domain itself. My Sixth Maind will make them know the price for their arrogance."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then I have no need to worry. In fact, I wanted to ask Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines to destroy the astral beasts when I saw him since he¡¯s a powerful Progenitor. But since you¡¯re so confident, I¡¯ll leave it to you instead and put in a good word for you the next time I see Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    Lu Yin¡¯s casual reference to the Progenitor of Bloodlines caused the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s expression to change drastically. All four of the powerhouses had heard about how the Progenitor wished to ept Lu Yin as a disciple, so they felt a bit torn when speaking with Lu Yin. They were hostile yet also wary. It was exactly the same way Xu Qing had confronted Lu Yin.

    Master San Cun still appearedpletely indifferent to everything that was being said.

    Nong Laohan still looked calm, though he pursed his lips.

    The Cloud Valley Master replied, "There¡¯s no need for concern, Alliance Leader Lu. We will make sure that the Celestial Beast Domain pays a steep price, so initiate the handover as soon as possible. The Celestial Beast Empire''s reinforcements are already on the way, and the fighting will soon resume. We need toplete the handover before that happens."

    "Handover? What handover?" Lu Yin looked surprised.

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s eyes shed, and he felt a bad premonition. "Naturally, we are going to take over this war for your Great Eastern Alliance. What? Do you still want to fight against the Astral Beast Domain, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin earnestly answered, "Of course! We¡¯re duty-bound to fight against those animals! They¡¯ve created countless blood debts in the Northcastle, Eastly, Forested, and Frostwave Weaves! I intend to collect payment for these debts myself."

    The Cloud Valley Master stared intently at Lu Yin. "So, does the Great Eastern Alliance intend to upy the eastern Outerverse and wage war against the Astral Beast Domain?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "What ¡®upy?¡¯ We¡¯re merely borrowing the area."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. My Sixth Maind is taking over this war." Ancestor Sightless spoke up, and there was nothing polite about his tone. He had never had a good impression of Lu Yin. When the Sixth Maind had attempted to invade the Outerverse through the Astral River, the Sightless n had formed the core of the invasion¡¯s forces, but Lu Yin had caused their attack to fail. Ancestor Sightless had always carried a grudge over this incident.

    The Cloud Valley Master red at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, the Outerverse already belongs to my Sixth Maind, and this war is something that we should handle. Frankly, it has nothing to do with you at all, so you can leave now. Don''t worry, Frostwave Weave still belongs to you. We will keep it safe, so you can pull back into Frostwave Weave from everywhere. There¡¯s no longer any need for you to fight, and you can just watch for now."

    Lu Yin replied with a slight smile, "Most of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet is already at the border of the Frostwave and Northcastle Weaves, which means that we aren¡¯t in any position that will affect the Sixth Maind''s assault on the Astral Beast Domain. You can go from Armament Weave to xen Weave, and then to Northcastle Weave from there. Your path is clear and smooth, and we won¡¯t impede your passage at all."

    Ancestor Sightless frowned as his voice grew harsh. "Does your Great Eastern Alliance not n to withdraw? Do you n to ignore the agreement that the Hall of Honor made with my Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Ancestor Sightless, and his expression soured. "Are you the one talking, or the Cloud Valley Master? You¡¯re randomly interrupting as though you¡¯ve never received any education."

    This response enraged Ancestor Sightless. "What did you just say?"

    He took a step forward, but just as he did so, Yuan Shi and Ya Mavis did the same.

    Master San Cun nced over, and Jiu Shen and the Second Nightking responded in kind.

    Nong Laohan was left speechless. Every time someone on their side made a move, two people would respond from the other side. The Sixth Maind was beingpletely suppressed.

    Ancestor Sightless was furious, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ imprint appeared behind the man. An overbearing aura swept out.

    Lu Yin nced over at Liu Huang.

    The swordsman instantly drew his sword and attacked Ancestor Sightless.

    No one had expected Liu Huang to attack so directly, not even Elder Jiu Shen and the others from the Fifth Maind. This sword was too much of a shock.

    Ancestor Sightless also had not expected to be instantly attacked, and he raised a hand to shatter the sword qi. Liu Huang¡¯s sword turned sideways, and the Cloud Valley Master yelled, "Stop!"

    As he spoke, his sword also moved, and sword qi shed against sword qi. There was a bang, and ripples swept through space as invisible des shot out and shattered the void in the nearby area.

    Master San Cun was suddenly standing in front of the Cloud Valley Master while the Second Nightking had appeared before Liu Huang. A battle was about to break out.

    The Cloud Valley Master stared at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, what are your intentions? Does your Great Eastern Alliance wish to go to war against my Sixth Maind?"

    The Cloud Valley Master had first met Lu Yin at the border between the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory in the Outerverse and the Sixth Maind¡¯s domain. At that time, the Cloud Valley Master had threatened Lu Yin andpletely disregarded the youth as a mere junior. However, that junior had subsequently created a battlefield for the Sixth Maind in Ironblood Weave, and he had nearly done the same in the Technocracy.

    At this moment, the swordsman had apletely different attitude towards Lu Yin, and the Cloud Valley Master could even be said to bepletely passive.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s overall strength truly did surpass the Fifth Maind, but as time passed, some major incidents like the conflicts with the Neohuman Alliance and the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal had greatly weakened the Sixth Maind. Only the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors were still able to pressure the Fifth Maind, as the Fifth Maind greatly surpassed the Sixth even when it came to the number of Semi-Progenitors that they had.

    The Sixth Maind had lost the vast majority of the advantage that they had initially held against the Hall of Honor, and the situation was only getting worse. The Sixth Maind had even abandoned their intentions of starting a war against the Fifth Maind, as it was clear that they would lose unless their Progenitors participated.

    In the past, the Cloud Valley Master had been able to shout threats of war without worry, but he had lost the confidence to do so.

    Another matter was the fact that the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse was a difficult matter. The Astral Beast Domain was not an easy opponent.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s goal in taking over the war against the Astral Beast Domain was to use this external conflict to resolve the internal conflicts that had arisen from cleaning out the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. On top of that, they had received word that the Celestial Beast Empire were sending over reinforcements that the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces were not able to hold out against. They were thus worried that the Great Eastern Alliance would simply retreat, and then the astral beasts would be difficult to root out once they became entrenched in the eastern weaves.

    The Sixth Maind had no concern for the people who lived in the eastern weaves, but they had also underestimated how much Lu Yin valued ordinary humans, which was why the Sixth Maind did not dare to take such a risk.

    Too many times in a person¡¯s life would they be given a chance to take a chance at something, but it all depended on whether or not they could afford to take the loss.

    The Sixth Maind could not afford the loss of letting the Astral Beast Domain upy any part of the Outerverse. Thus, it was vital that they take over the war that the Great Eastern Alliance had initiated so that they could use the full, united strength of the Outerverse to push back the Astral Beast Domain.

    They wanted to transform their internal conflicts into external conflicts, as if they failed to aplish that, the Sixth Maind would suffer from civil war.

    However, something that they had assumed would be easy to aplish had just be extremely difficult.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the Second Nightking and all of the others backed up a bit. "Cloud Valley Master, the Great Eastern Alliance and I have no desire to go to war with you, but your people are too overbearing. They need to learn to have the proper attitude when speaking to me."

    He looked over at Ancestor Sightless. "Acknowledge yourself and your position, or else you won¡¯t be as lucky next time we meet."

    Ancestor Sightless twitched. He was a dignified Cosmic Imprinter, and yet he had just been threatened by a junior whom he felt he could easily crush like a bug. Rage boiled over in the man¡¯s heart.

    Nong Laohanughed and moved to stand in front of Ancestor Sightless to address Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, it¡¯s perfectly understandable that a young man like you would get upset, but this business is very important."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he focused on the Cloud Valley Master once again. "My mood¡¯s been ruined. Leave for now. We¡¯ll talk more next time."

 Chapter 1893: Who Would Have Thought?

    Chapter 1893: Who Would Have Thought?

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s words, the Cloud Valley Master anxiously spoke up. "Alliance Leader Lu, the entire Outerverse belongs to my Sixth Maind. It''s inappropriate for you to do this at this time."

    Lu Yin left without so much as turning his head. He waspletely unconcerned by the Cloud Valley Master. In fact, he was unconcerned about all four powerhouses who had been sent to meet with him.

    The Sixth Maind had been invaded and overrun by the Aeternals, and after they had arrived in the Outerverse, they had also been attacked by the Neohuman Alliance. Their Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory had been purged. At this moment, the Sixth Maind was in a very fragile state, and Lu Yin wanted to gain an unassable position over them.

    When Lu Yin showed his back to the four Imprinters, it meant that unless one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors suddenly appeared, there was absolutely no one in the entire Sixth Maind who could sway Lu Yin¡¯s decision. At this time, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet had proven that it was powerful enough to stand up to the a nearly full powered Astral Beast Domain. Even though the months of fighting had weakened the Great Eastern Alliance, the deaths of the astral beasts¡¯ top powerhouses like Sword King meant that it was impossible for the astral beasts to force their way through the Great Eastern Alliance. At this moment, the Outerverse had already entered a three-way bnce, though many people, such as the Cloud Valley Master, were unable to see the new circumstances and were naive enough to want to take back control of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves.

    These four powerhouses did not know Lu Yin, but he understood their situation better than anyone.

    The Cloud Valley Master felt incredibly offended. He was a glorious Cosmic Imprinter! When had he ever suffered such humiliating treatment before? However, when he looked at the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts stopping him and the other Imprinters, he realized that he was helpless to do anything.

    Master San Cun also stared at Lu Yin''s back. He was simrly helpless at this moment. So what if he was an Empyrean Imprinter? He was not even qualified to speak up on the current battlefield.

    Lu Yin¡¯s behavior concerning the possession of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves did not make any sense, but the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s only option was to reach out to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor. Naturally, it was impossible for the man to contact Arch-Elder Zen himself, but he was at least able to contact the overseers¡¯ council.

    Lu Yin would also be informed when the Cloud Valley Master spoke to the overseers, but the Cosmic Imprinter did not care about that.

    Anyone who knew of the Hall of Honor also knew that the overseers¡¯ council wielded a great deal of power as they were able to influence the wars within the Fifth Maind. Still, the Cloud Valley Master did not believe that the overseers could actually sway the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin himself was an overseer, and the Sixth Maind had learned through Qing Tan just how thoroughly Lu Yin controlled the overseers¡¯ council.

    The overseers¡¯ council had opposed the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s actions against the Astral Beast Domain from the very beginning, but their opinion had meant nothing to Lu Yin. The Cloud Valley Master was only reaching out to the overseers¡¯ council as a means of contacting Arch-Elder Zen.

    The man did seed in obtaining the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s contact information, but he was unable to get through to the man no matter how many times he tried calling. The Cloud Valley Master soon learned that Arch-Elder Zen had gone into seclusion.

    The Cloud Valley Master was furious. Seclusion? Now? Who would believe that?

    It was clear that Arch-Elder Zen simply did not wish to speak with the Cloud Valley Master, and the Cosmic Imprinter was left with no choice but to reach out to Herb Immortal and ask the man to personally speak to Arch-Elder Zen.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans were predominantly Empyrean Imprinters, but one of the four had always been mysteriously powerful: Herb Immortal.

    Logically, Herb Immortal should have been another Empyrean Imprinter like the other Four Empyreans, but the Cloud Valley Master knew that Herb Immortal had been able to speak with Semi-Progenitors like Jiu San and Mr. Lifeview as equals. Even Bluedome Elder had never shown any disrespect towards Herb Immortal, which meant that Herb Immortal was most likely another Semi-Progenitor. There was no way to know the old man¡¯s strength for sure, but at the very least, Herb Immortal clearly enjoyed a higher status than the other Four Empyreans.

    Also, while Herb Immortal typically refrained from participating in any of the Four Empyreans¡¯ decision-making, the current situation was different. The Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and Herb Immortal was from the Rock Realm, which had been part of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. Master San Cun was another powerhouse from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, and both powerhouses were trying to help the Sixth Maind after their Progenitor had betrayed humanity. Still, Herb Immortal was no longer one of the Four Empyreans.

    The Cloud Valley Master was forced to wait a long time, but Herb Immortal finally sent a message, though it was merely a single word: wait.

    "Wait?" The Cloud Valley Master felt confused.

    Herb Immortal spoke in a rxed tone. "Arch-Elder Zen said that he will speak to Lu Yin and ask the Great Eastern Alliance to withdraw from the Outerverse, so you just need to wait."

    The Cloud Valley Master arched a brow. Was Herb Immortal actually ignorant, or was this all just an act? Being told to wait was no different from being told that nothing would happen. When the Hall of Honor had contacted the Sixth Maind and asked them to immediately send people to Northcastle Weave to stop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, the Sixth Maind¡¯s answer had been to tell the Hall of Honor to wait. The tables had turned.

    The Cloud Valley Master wanted to say something more to Herb Immortal, but at this moment, his gadget beeped to inform him of a call request. He was shocked when he looked down to see that Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian was calling!

    The Cloud Valley Master quickly answered the call, and he respectfully greeted the woman on the other end. "Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian, what orders do you have?"

    "Don''t take over the war with the Astral Beast Domain," Lan Xian said. Her voice was cold, much like the indifferent tone that Lu Yin and the others had heard when she first appeared on the battlefield before them all.

    The Cloud Valley Master was taken aback to hear that even Lan Xian was helping Lu Yin. Were the rumors true? Did the Progenitor of Bloodlines really intend to take Lu Yin on as a disciple? The Cloud Valley Master had heard that Lan Xian had been present when Lu Yin had passed his stellr tribtion, and she should have therefore seen the Progenitor of Bloodlines and spoken with him, making her the clearest on the Progenitor¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin. Why else would a Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind try to help Lu Yin?

    After receiving orders from a Semi-Progenitor, the Cloud Valley Master had no choice but to give up. While the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves were important, they were not worth offending Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian. The woman was not the Sixth Maind¡¯s most powerful Semi-Progenitor, but she was the most talented.

    The Cloud Valley Master was utterly clueless that Lan Xian¡¯s orders to leave the war with the Astral Beast Domain to the Great Eastern Alliance were motivated entirely by a desire to suppress Lu Yin and force his Great Eastern Alliance to suffer further losses, not to help Lu Yin. ording to Lan Xian''s understanding, Lu Yin had used the information regarding Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to coerce the Sixth Maind into taking over the war against the Astral Beast Domain because the Great Eastern Alliance was losing ground and could not stop the astral beast invasion any longer.

    In this situation, threatening Lu Yin with the very survival of his Great Eastern Alliance would be the most effective means of moving against the youth, but none of them knew that Lu Yin had outyed them all. He had never intended to use Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide to force the Sixth Maind into joining the war, but rather as an excuse to justify his actions.

    Lu Yin was inside a gship within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet, and the news that he received surprised him. "The Sixth Maindpletely pulled back?"

    Shui Chuanxiao nodded. He sounded wary as he continued to say, "It''s quite odd. They were too decisive in giving up."

    Lu Yin started mulling over this new development. How could the Sixth Maind give up so easily when it came to controlling the Outerverse¡¯s eastern region? If they were going to give up so easily, then why had the Cloud Valley Master even bothered contacting the overseers¡¯ council? Was there a reason behind this waste of time?

    Was there some sort of scheme behind all this?

    This sudden change left Lu Yin feeling rather uneasy, so he contacted Xu Qing. "When do you n to start fighting in the central weaves?"

    Xu Qing was stunned, as it was odd for Lu Yin to be pushing him for this. It was normal for a general to be pressured into moving quicker during a war, but this was Xu Qing¡¯s first time being urged forward by an enemy. "We¡¯re waiting for reinforcements."

    "If you don''t start soon, it will be toote. I¡¯ll tell you now that the Sixth Maind has already sent over several Cosmic Imprinters, and they have even sent an Empyrean Imprinter to put some pressure on me, but I stopped them for now. They¡¯ll be going after you next, so be careful," Lu Yin said before promptly hanging up.

    Next to Lu Yin, Shui Chuanxiao was left utterly speechless by what he had just heard. This must be a first in the endless war that had been fought between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain for countless years. It looked as though Lu Yin was eager for the astral beasts to attack the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves.

    Back when the Sixth Maind had first started threatening the Great Eastern Alliance to leave the entire Outerverse, Lu Yin had used Ironblood Weave to create a new battlefield for the Sixth Maind. At the moment, Lu Yin had taken over defending the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves, but he had actually opened up a path in Armament Weave for the astral beasts to attack the central weaves so that they could fight against the Sixth Maind. He was actually giving free passage into the Human Domain to an enemy domain.

    As far as the Astral Beast Domain was concerned, the Sixth Maind was an enemy that had to be fought. On the other hand, they would only fight the Great Eastern Alliance if victory was possible. If the astral beasts were not assured of a win, then there was no need to go to war with the alliance to gain control of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves.

    This was the current three-way bnce that Lu Yin had established in the Outerverse, and this was why he had specifically made sure to force the Sixth Maind to fight a war, which was the same thing that he had done when initially leaving the Outerverse to their control.

    Things were developing in a beneficial direction to Lu Yin, and he was getting the results that he had been after, though everything was going smoother than he had anticipated, which left him terribly nervous. This was why he continued to press the Astral Beast Domain to take action.

    In the end, ten days passed and the Astral Beast Domain finished assembling their forces and began making their way towards xen Weave. They were determined to attack the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves.

    Xu Qing¡¯s reputation in the Celestial Beast Empire had been spiraling out of control, so he had not hesitated to keep his agreement with Lu Yin a secret while asking for more reinforcements from the empire. His only goal was to attack the central weaves; as long as he managed to aplish that, his sess or failure would no longer matter, as simply reaching that deep into the Human Domain would be enough for him to earn a ce in history.

    Each step he took deeper into the Outerverse was another historic achievement.

    The Great Eastern Alliance became a spectator when the Astral Beast Domain began their attack, and the Sixth Maind was forced to take over the war.

    The Cloud Valley Master confronted Xu Qing, and the swordsman¡¯s expression was ugly. He had assumed that the Astral Beast Domain would attack the eastern weaves to continue their war against the Great Eastern Alliance, and he had never expected them to move past xen Weave tounch a surprise attack on Armament Weave. On top of that, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet that was stationed in xen Weave had done absolutely nothing to impede the astral beasts¡¯ passage through the eastern weaves.

    Even the greatest idiot would recognize that something was going on.

    The Cloud Valley Master was furious, and his sword swept out at Xu Qing. "Has your Astral Beast Domain made a truce with the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Xu Qing was no fool. How could he admit to such a thing? If he admitted to such, the Celestial Beast Empire would have proof of his scheme, and that would defeat his entire purpose in agreeing to work with Lu Yin. "How could you humans qualify to negotiate a truce with us?¡±

    He instantly raised a paw and started attacking the Cloud Valley Master.

    Bang!

    Massive spatial cracks spread across the region.

    Ancestor Sightless and Nong Laohan had their own opponents. The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces had received many reinforcements this time, and their strength matched what they had fielded at the peak of the battle against the Great Eastern Alliance. Xu Qing had no confidence that these forces would be enough to break through the Great Eastern Alliance in a short amount of time, but the Sixth Maind was different. Despite the fact that the Sixth Maind had more powerhouses than the Great Eastern Alliance, the Sixth Maind was not a unified front, but rather various scattered powers.

    Everything had started when Cemetery Keeper had abandoned his post in Ironblood Weave. He had ignored the overall situation in order to save himself, and that had caused the Sixth Maind to lose control of Ironblood Weave along with the deaths of countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind. It was a decision that perfectly demonstrated the Sixth Maind¡¯s fractured state.

    The Great Eastern Alliance waspletely under Lu Yin¡¯s control. Even if Liu Qianjue and the other powerhouses were unwilling to give their best, they had still stayed on the battlefield, which had ensured the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s survival. The Sixth Maind was different. Upon facing a difficult situation, many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses would do the same as Cemetery Keeper. They would favor their personal safety above all else. Unless the Sixth Maind managed to gain the upper hand in a manner where they could absolutely crush the Astral Beast Domain, the situation would continue to shift in the astral beasts¡¯ favor.

    Besides, Xu Qing had no actual intentions of truly conquering the central weaves. His only goal was to aplish an unprecedented feat for the Astral Beast Domain and have his name go down in history. Even if he had to quickly abandon whatever weaves he conquered, the brilliance of invading the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves would not be diminished.

    Xu Qing was practically crazed at this time. For the sake of leaving behind a legacy, he was desperate to achieve his goals. The fighting did not abate a single moment for half a month, and many of the Sixth Maind cultivators doubted that they would be able to survive.

    Within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet, Elder Lohar observed a battle report regarding the war between the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind. He emotionallymented, "This is no different from the war in Ironblood Weave! The fighting there never stopped for a moment, and this war will simrly never let up. This is no different from a border warfront."

    "Being passive in war is never the path to victory," Lu Yin replied.

    Elder Lohar quickly bowed when he saw Lu Yin arrive. ¡°I greet Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin quickly helped Elder Lohar back up and smiled at the older man. "Senior, you took good care of me when I was in Ironblood Weave back then. There¡¯s no need for you to be so formal before me."

 Chapter 1894: A Harvest And A Champion

    Chapter 1894: A Harvest And A Champion

    Complicated emotions flickered through Elder Lohar''s eyes. In the past? No, considering Elder Lohar¡¯s years, the dozen years that had passed were less than a blink of an eye. In that time, the young man who had only been able to rely on an existing sourcebox array to defend a fortress in Ironblood Weave had already be a top powerhouse who was able to ignore millions of powerful experts. A single sentence from Lu Yin was enough to determine who controlled Ironblood Weave. A single phrase could decide a war.

    Who from back then would have thought that such a thing would be possible?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, is this war over for us?" Elder Lohar asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "You can treat it like that."

    Elder Lohar nodded but said nothing.

    Before long, Lu Yin received a call from Wang Wen.

    "I thought that you were dead," Lu Yin joked. He was in a good mood.

    Wang Wen¡¯s tone was bitter. "I¡¯m half dead. That can¡¯t be considered alive."

    "What happened?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Wang Wen shrugged. "I wanted to entice a powerhouse to lead the Lu Elite Troops for you, but I almost screwed myself over. I ended up being mocked by that girl, and then the Sea King nearly skinned me alive."

    "Do you actually like Qiqi?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Wang Wen sighed. "A bit, but she doesn¡¯t care for me.¡±

    He then immediately changed the subject and grew more serious. "I¡¯ve read the battle reports. Your Royal Chesspiece, you¡¯re ying with fire."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed.

    "I can guess what your ultimate goal most likely is, and all I can say is that while there¡¯s a chance of sess, this is very, very dangerous. If you fail to pull this off, the Great Eastern Alliance will disappear," Wang Wen solemnly warned.

    "I know."

    "In that case, I want to know your true motivation for stepping into this war. Did you do it for this scheme, or did you really step out to protect the ordinary humans?" Wang Wen asked seriously.

    Lu Yin remained silent for a while. "It¡¯s both. I couldn¡¯t abandon those people, but I also did not want to go all out against the Astral Beast Domain and let the Sixth Maind benefit from this."

    "So that¡¯s the reason for this n? There are three sides in a fragile bnce right now, and if we aren¡¯t careful, we could be devoured by either one. Even if we seed, we¡¯re going to be dragged down by what¡¯s happening in the Outerverse. What of the Cosmic Sea? What of the Neoverse? Even more importantly, what of that ce?" Wang Wen asked three quick questions.

    Lu Yin replied with his own question, "Tell me this: what¡¯s the difference between the Great Eastern Alliance right now and the alliance before the war?"

    Wang Wen took a bit to respond. "So you are able to see it clearly."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "This war was a baptism. The Great Eastern Alliance has been aplete mess from beginning to end. Without this war, my title as alliance leader would be nothing more than a decoration. Even an ancient enemy like the Astral Beast Domain wasn¡¯t enough to unite them, which meant that I could nevermand any of them. Liu Qianjue and the other Envoys¡ªhow would they ever be willing to face even more powerful enemies in the future?

    "At this moment, I can say that the Great Eastern Alliance has be a sharp de I can wield as I wish. I can pick it up, put it aside, or use it to kill an enemy."

    Wang Wen smiled. "There are many people who im that Wei Rong, Qiong Xi''er, and I are the three most intelligent people from the Outerverse, but they¡¯re all wrong. Your Highness, you¡¯re smarter than us all, and your vision extends further as well. You will gain far more than anyone can even imagine from this war. Congrattions, you truly have acquired the means to protect yourself."

    A hardness entered Lu Yin''s eyes. "That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve gained the means to counterattack!"

    This war had caused the Great Eastern Alliance to suffer terrible casualties, but they had also gained a great deal from it. An unblooded military waspletely different from a veteran force. Humans were quite miraculous beings, and as long as they followedmands once, they would do so a second time.

    This was particrly true of the various Envoys. If Lu Yin had not been able tomand them against even the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, how would he ever truly utilize the power of the Great Eastern Alliance in the future? It was no exaggeration to say that the Great Eastern Alliance had only just fallen under Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    Lu Yin did not want an alliance that only existed in name, but rather a truly powerful Great Eastern Alliance. His goal was a Great Eastern Alliance that would make everyone tremble from fear and surrender.

    He believed that, at this moment, the entire universe had recognized the power of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin was absolutely right. The Great Eastern Alliance had faced off against the full might of the Astral Beast Domain. They had fielded more than a dozen Envoys as well as multiple experts with power levels of over a million. This was a level of power that was shocking even to the monstrous powers in the Neoverse. In fact, only the Hall of Honor could confidently im to be more powerful than the Great Eastern Alliance. The alliance had be a power that was truly feared by the entire Fifth Maind at this moment.

    Even people as sharp as Wang Wen and Wei Rong were unable to see the full benefits that Lu Yin had reaped from this war. Herb Immortal had reached out to Arch-Elder Zen, and yet Arch-Elder Zen never tried to contact Lu Yin regardless of the pressure that the Sixth Maind put upon the Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor had epted Lu Yin¡¯s position.

    This was a subtle change, as Lu Yin¡¯s identity had not been made clear to the public, but this change in attitude indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan was no longer an obstacle.

    And these benefits did not even consider the fact that Lu Yin had managed to use the war to be an Envoy.

    However, Lu Yin wanted to gain even more. With the Second Nightking apanying him, Lu Yin secretly went to the battlefield where the Astral Beast Domain was fighting against the Sixth Maind.

    ¡­

    Corpses filled the vastness of space as far as the eye could see, and the universe had even been dyed a dark red.

    Lu Yinmented, "Xu Qing¡¯s gone nuts! The fighting here has already gone on for almost twenty days without any breaks. Both sides have suffered greater losses than the entire war that we fought with the astral beasts. If Xu Qing had led his troops like this against us, the Great Eastern Alliance might not have been able to survive."

    The Second Nightking asked softly, "What are we to do now? Who should we attack?"

    Lu Yin nced over. "Neither of us will be attacking. Just keep an eye out for me while I check who¡¯s dead. I¡¯m going to get a few more Champions."

    The Second Nightking arched a brow. ¡°Neither of us are going to target anyone?"

    Lu Yin said, "Of course not! Even if the Sixth Maind is our enemy, they¡¯re still all humans. How could we target fellow humans when they¡¯re fighting against the astral beasts?"

    This was something the Second Nightking understood, but he had also grown even more nervous after learning of Lu Yin¡¯s goal. The Champions¡¯ Stage might be something that was practically unknown in contemporary times, but when the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had still stood, the Champions¡¯ Stage had been synonymous with nightmares.

    The Lu family¡¯s direct descendants had been able to summon Champions, which gave people nightmares for both their lives and their deaths. The easiest way to exin this was absolute control. Once someone died, their enemy could summon them and force them to keep on fighting. Any Champion would be a powerhouse, but how many of those Champions had left behind family and friends?

    The Champions¡¯ Stage alone had been a major reason why the Lu family had had so many loyal followers, but also why they had had so many enemies.

    The Lu family had never had any prejudices regarding using friends or enemies as Champions. This was a nightmare that the Second Nightking had thought had vanished into history, and he had never expected to see it return. He could already envision countless Champions being summoned along with the resurgence of the phrase, ¡°One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all.¡±

    The Second Nightking felt chills at this thought, and his desire to resist Lu Yin in his heart became even more muted than ever.

    "Here we go." Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he disappeared. The Second Nightking chased after the youth, as his task was to keep Lu Yin hidden and undetected from both the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind.

    An astral beast copsed onto a at the edge of the battlefield. Half of its body had been melted by an Enlighter from the Sixth Maind. While the beast was in agony, it was nowhere close to death.

    "Go to hell, beast!" The Enlighter raised a hand and smashed the astral beast to the center of the. There were many other astral beasts fighting against humans nearby. This particr was about to copse.

    Bits of ming meteors fell from above, and even corpses asionally rained down.

    The Enlighter from the Sixth Maind sat down, gasping for breath. He looked up, panic in his eyes. Just how long would this war continue for?

    Boom!

    There was a deafening noise as the Enlighter¡¯s head shattered. He had been attacked by a creeper. Three swords fell from outer space and onto the creeper on the, but sound waves rang out from a ce near the creeper and blocked the attack. It was a soundseeker, a creature that frequently teamed up with the creepers.

    Lu Yin traveled to the¡¯s core and approached the astral beast that had been killed. He raised a hand and brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage. ¡°By my name, I anoint a champion.¡±

    As his voice fell, an unseen wind blew by, and an image of the astral beast appeared on the Champions¡¯ Stage. The beast only had the strength of an Enlighter, which was worthless to Lu Yin, but such beings could be very effective inrge numbers. This was the entire purpose of Champions.

    After anointing the astral beast, Lu Yin immediately moved to the¡¯s surface. Space twisted as he also anointed the Enlighter from the Sixth Maind. He had just gained two Enlighter Champions at once.

    Lu Yin continued to flit about the battlefield, constantly anointing more Champions. Every one of them was at least as strong as an Enlighter.

    Over the course of a few days, Lu Yin managed to gain over twenty Enlighter Champions. Most of them were astral beasts, but there were also a few humans from the Sixth Maind mixed in.

    Lu Yin was a bit pale as he stood In a distant corner of the battlefield. It cost him energy to anoint each Champion, and he had done so repeatedly over thest few days. Thus, he needed some time to recover.

    The Second Nightking looked at Lu Yin with a sense of growing fear. If he died, he would also be anointed. The more he thought about this, the more frightened the old man became.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look at the Second Nightking. "What are you thinking about?"

    The Second Nightking immediately looked elsewhere. "I¡¯m looking for another Enlighter about to die."

    Lu Yin asked, "From what you remember, what was the Lu family¡¯s most powerful Champion?"

    The Second Nightking considered the question for a bit. "I never saw it. Back then, my Daynight n was nothing more than the ves of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. The Fifth Maind was fighting against the Sixth Maind, and only after the Celestial Frost Sect left the Fifth Maind did we gradually rise up. Back then, I was not qualified to meet with anyone from the Lu family."

    "You didn¡¯t hear of them?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking shook his head. "The Bai family was very strict with us, and they liberally used the Sealed Cage Technique to control us at every turn. This forced us to not even dare to listen to many things, especially regarding the Lu family. The Bai family never mentioned anything openly, but I had the sense that they were hostile towards the Lu family."

    Lu Yin frowned. It seemed that the Celestial Frost Sect had wanted to rebel against the Lu family as far back as the Daosource Sect era. The Lu family¡¯s patriarch back then had either been careless or overconfident. They must have never even considered that the four ruling powers would unite against the Lu family; if the Lu family had made any preparations at all, there was no way the four ruling powers would have been able to suppress the Lu family.

    The four ruling powers had managed to exile the entire Lu family because of the White Dragon Rolls Over, not their own strength.

    Lu Yin looked up and stared off into space. Is the Lu family still alive? Probably.

    "There¡¯s an Envoy who just perished," the Second Nightking spoke up.

    Lu Yin followed the older man¡¯s gaze, and he saw an Amethyst Beast¡¯s head explode after being struck by an arrow that had flown through space.

    Man Li was a powerful Envoy from the East Realm¡¯s Arrow Sect. He had once stood guard over the Nine Cauldrons Region, but he had been knocked out by Lu Yin. Lu Yin had not expected to see the Envoy on this battlefield.

    The sect master of the Arrow Sect was the Arrow God of Wilderness, who had tried to take control of the Neo-Vestige Sect, which should have made the man Lu Yin¡¯s enemy. As the Sixth Maind had suffered and weakened, the Arrow Sect had done the same.

    With the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal, the entire Arrow Sect had been forced onto the battlefield, and not even Man Li had been exempt. The only path to survival was to fight, but no one would care about those who died.

 Chapter 1895: Arrow Sects Desperate Situation

    Chapter 1895: Arrow Sect''s Desperate Situation

    Man Li was gasping for breath as he had been seriously injured. The Amethyst Beast had not been weak, especially in its amethyst form. If Man Li had not managed to gain a bit of distance, he would have died.

    Man Li did not continue killing more astral beasts after ying the Amethyst Beast. Instead, he found a deste to copse onto and avoid the raging battle for a spell.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to visit the Amethyst Beast¡¯s corpse. "By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    He became ecstatic when he saw the image of the Amethyst Beast appear on the side of his Champions¡¯ Stage. This Amethyst Beast was the fourth Envoy that Lu Yin had managed to anoint as a Champion. He fully believed that if he continued to strive forward, he would one day be able to summon many Envoy-level Champions. It would be amazing if his number of Envoy-level Champions surpassed the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s number of Envoys.

    Dozens of Envoys would fight for him!

    "We were noticed," the Second Nightking said quietly, "By the giant."

    Lu Yin looked at a barren, and he happened to look straight at Man Li.

    Man Li was staring at Lu Yin in utter shock. He had never expected Lu Yin to appear on the battlefield, let alone anoint the Amethyst Beast as a Champion.

    It was very normal that when someone defeated a powerful opponent, they would gaze at the corpse, especially on a battlefield. Man Li had just happened to be staring at the Amethyst Beast¡¯s corpse when Lu Yin had anointed it as his Champion.

    Man Li froze stiff when he noticed Lu Yin staring at him, and the giant instantly nocked an arrow and loosed it. The arrow pierced through space, shooting straight for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and killing intent surged. He did not want to attack Man Li, as this was still a war between humans and astral beasts. However, Man Li had first attacked Lu Yin before in the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins, and word that Lu Yin was anointing Champions from the fallen on the battlefield could not be leaked. Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation evaporated. ¡°Kill."

    The Second Nightking looked over and then took Lu Yin straight to the deste.

    The battlefield that the Sixth Maind and Astral Beast Domain were fighting upon was massive, and it epassed countlesss as it spread across several gxy clusters.

    An envoy¡¯s strength was enough to destroy a region of space that an ordinary human could not cross in their entire life, which was one reason why Envoys typically restricted their fights to the true universe. However, the Envoys¡¯ standard battlefield was almost empty at this moment.

    Still, Envoys were able to observe the entire battlefield without much difficulty.

    The that Man Li had found had a few creatures living on it. They looked like lizards, and they lived in the sand. Thergest of them were asrge as a mountain.

    Thatrgest lizard¡¯s tongue shot out as Lu Yin and the Second Nightking appeared, and it moved towards them. Suddenly, the animal froze and fell to the ground. It was already dead. Instantly, countless smaller lizards appeared, and they all rushed forward to devour the massive lizard. It was a disturbing sight.

    Man Li saw this happen, and his pupils constricted. He nced back at Lu Yin, clenched his fists, and then immediately fell to one knee and dropped his head.

    The Second Nightking had been ready to kill Man Li, but he hesitated when he saw the man¡¯s actions, and he instead turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was simrly stunned. Was Man Li surrendering? This was an Imprinter with a power level of over 700,000. In the past, when he had possessed an imprint from the Arrow God of Wilderness, Man Li had been powerful enough to even fight against experts like Liu Qianjue. Man Li had lost his imprint, but his power level still surpassed that of both Ling Qiu and the Frost Emperor. While it was unlikely he could defeat either of those people, if power level alone was considered, Man Li surpassed both Envoys.

    How could an Envoy with a power level that exceeded 700,000 surrender so easily?

    "What do you want to say?" Lu Yin asked. The Second Nightking stood behind Lu Yin, and the old man twisted space around them so that no one could clearly see what was happening. At the very least, no one on the battlefield would be able to observe what happened.

    Man Li lifted his head and looked at Lu Yin. He simply stated, "I hope that you can ept me as a follower."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression became far more focused as he stared intently at Man Li.

    Man Li stared straight at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes did not dart about, but rather remained firm. He looked to be begging. If his situation were not terribly dire, how could he beg a former enemy for mercy?

    "Just because you fear death?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    Man Li knees smashed onto the ground as he growled out, "For revenge!"

    "Speak clearly," Lu Yin ordered.

    Man Li gritted his teeth. "My Arrow Sect descended from the East Realm¡¯s lesser giants. The Arrow God of Wilderness was not originally the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Corpse God, but the Skygod killed the Arrow God of Wilderness and impersonated him. After Master Jiu San killed Corpse God, the Daosource Sect has been constantly monitoring us lesser giants, especially after the Progenitor of Secret Arts betrayed humanity. Since then, we¡¯ve been targeted and eliminated.¡±

    "We once had a poption of 100 million, but now there are less than 10 million of us."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Were you cleared?"

    Man Li¡¯s voice remained low. "After this war with the Astral Beast Domain started, almost every cultivator from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory was sent here to fight to the death. It¡¯s not only us lesser giants, as countless other cultivators have been sentenced to the same fate. People from the Brahman and Rock Realms have also suffered countless casualties. The Daosource Sect is worried that all of us will chase after the Progenitor of Secret Arts and betray humanity as well, so we¡¯re all being treated as cannon fodder on this battlefield. If we can¡¯t find a path forward, we will have no future."

    At this moment, hope glinted in the giant¡¯s eye as he stared at Lu Yin, and he continued on in a more excited manner. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, please ept us! Please! You¡¯ve already taken in the colossal giants, which shows that you are not one to hold to racial prejudices. Please, take us in and give us a future! I beg you!" As Man Li spoke, he lowered his head and banged it onto the ground with enough force to leave the shuddering.

    Lu Yin indifferently retorted, "If you¡¯re so willing to follow me, why did you just attack me?"

    Man Li looked up and immediately apologized, "That wasn''t intentional! I¡¯ve been fighting on this battlefield for almost a month. It¡¯s been nothing but battle this entire time, and it¡¯s be a reflex to attack an enemy. I simply acted on instinct when I saw you, and there was no thought behind my actions. I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu. Please, take us in!"

    The Second Nightking frowned. If not for the Sealed Cage Technique, his Daynight tribe would have suffered the same fate as Man Li and his people. The Great Eastern Alliance had already formed the Redemption Army from those who had been defeated, and the Daynight n would have absolutely be the primary soldiers in the Redemption Army and been sent out to serve as cannon fodder in the war against the Astral Beast Domain.

    When Lu Yin had first defeated the Daynight n, the Second Nightking had been sent to Gaia''s Swamp. At that time, he would not have known anything even if the entire Daynight n had been wiped out.

    At this point, the Second Nightking even felt a bit of gratitude towards the Celestial Frost Sect for creating the Sealed Cage Technique.

    As soon as the thought urred to the Second Nightking, he no longer knew whether to feel gratitude or hatred. All he knew was that he could fully sympathize with Man Li. If this man had not been forced into a corner, he would have never sought refuge from an enemy.

    Lu Yin could also sense Man Li¡¯s helplessness and despair. "How many of your n members are on this battlefield?"

    Man Li grew excited. "Less than 10 million. Some of us were sent elsewhere to fight."

    Lu Yin faced a dilemma. "Even if I¡¯m willing to ept you, it¡¯s impossible for me to take you off of this battlefield."

    Man Li''s face froze, and the light dimmed from his eyes. This made sense. While the Great Eastern Alliance was willing to ept Man Li¡¯s people, they had to first find a way to reach the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. Man Li¡¯s strength was far from enough for him to evacuate all the lesser giants from the battlefield, and even if Lu Yin was willing to help, it still might not be possible to aplish such a task with the three of them. The Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses would not be willing to simply let their cannon fodder flee.

    "Actually, there is a way." Lu Yin stared at Man Li. "Bring your people here, and I can put them all into Zenith Mountain and store them in my cosmic ring to smuggle them out."

    "Put them in your cosmic ring?" Man Li was taken aback. Since when could living people be stored in a cosmic ring?

    Lu Yin took Zenith Mountain out and entered it along with Man Li in order to demonstrate it for the man.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I will notify all the members of the Arrow Sect to gather here!" Man Li excitedly dered. There was finally a trace of hope for them to leave this battlefield. Without this opportunity, the entire race of lesser giants would perish.

    Lu Yin replied, "Make sure you consider this carefully. I might not be able to take all the lesser giants away. I¡¯ll collect as many of them as possible before their movements are discovered. Those who are left behind won¡¯t only have to deal with the stigma of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal, but also the fact that they will be considered traitors to the Sixth Maind who defected to the Fifth. They will have no chance to survive."

    Man Li clenched his fists as he bitterly stated, "We¡¯ve already lost our path to survival! All we need is a path forward for a remnant of our lesser giants to survive. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu!"

    Lu Yin nodded and then watched as Man Li left. Lu Yin did not care what method Man Li used to tell his people to gather at Lu Yin¡¯s location. Regardless, Lu Yin would simply flee if he was discovered, though he would also take as many of the lesser giants with him as possible.

    "Aren''t you afraid that some of them will betray you? They are people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory, and Corpse God was hiding in their sect as the Arrow God of the Wilderness for who knows how long. On top of that, they¡¯ve been your enemies up until now," the Second Nightking inquired.

    Lu Yin casually replied, "As cautious as you are about them, the Sixth Maind can only be worse. Still, they were sent to the battlefield instead of simply being executed. If there were any traitors among them, they would have been weeded out and killed long ago. No traitor could have survived long enough to even stand on this battlefield. After all, traitors could simply seek refuge with the Aeternals through the Astral Beast Domain, and the Sixth Maind cannot afford to take such a risk.

    "The fact that these people were sent to this battlefield is proof that they are innocent, but the Daosource Sect still needs to provide a demonstration for the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory and the Progenitor of Combat Territory as a warning. These people are nothing more than victims of the Sixth Maind¡¯s internal conflicts."

    The Second Nightking''s eyes flickered. Victims?

    Lu Yin nced over at the old man. "They¡¯re much the same as the Dayking¡¯s descendants."

    The Second Nightking''s eye flickered again, but he remained silent.

    In truth, the Dayking n¡¯s fate had been even more pitiful than that of the residents of the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory. Not only had the members of the Dayking n been treated as cannon fodder, but they had also been enved. In contrast, it was impossible for all the cultivators from the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory to be sent to the battlefield. Even though all of the people were being suppressed and discriminated against, they were still able to live normal lives, which was much better than what the Dayking n had dealt with.

    The Arrow Sect was nothing more than the starting point. After all the turmoil that the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ Territory suffered through, the survivors would not harbor a small amount of resentment for the treatment they had suffered. The Sixth Maind had already passed its peak and was slowly declining.

    It was time to add some fuel to the fire.

    As time passed, Lu Yin continued to move around the battlefield under the Second Nightking¡¯s direction and protection, gathering Champions as the Arrow Sect¡¯s lesser giants congregated on the deste.

    There were many tens of millions ofbatants from the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind fighting on the battlefield. The scope of this war had already exceeded that of the war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain, and more fighters were constantly entering the fray. The departure of the lesser giants did not attract much attention with so many individuals fighting on the battlefield. However, it was unavoidable that some of the lesser giants failed to make it to the designated, as they were simply too far away.

    Half a month passed, and more than two million lesser giants had been gathered on Zenith Mountain. However, many of the lesser giants had also perished while trying to get to the meeting point. Man Li nervously watched everything, but he could not make a move. As soon as he took action, he would definitely be targeted by an astral beast with the strength of an Envoy.

    Lu Yin managed to anoint more than a dozen Enlighter realm Champions during this time, as well as a single Envoy from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Rock Realm.

    The Rock Realm was different from the Sixth Maind¡¯s other realms. All of the realms from both the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory and the Progenitor of Combat Territory had massive poptions, and even the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory¡¯s East Realm and Brahman Realm hadrge powers. However, the Rock Realm did not.

 Chapter 1896: A Different Fate

    Chapter 1896: A Different Fate

    The Rock Realm was an out of the way ce that mostly consisted of independent cultivators. There were very fewrge and powerful organizations that ever appeared there, and those that did rise up were usually dismantled by the independent cultivators. It was a very odd situation.

    It was also not as simple as powerful groups from the Sixth Maind¡¯s other realms ignoring the Rock Realm, as not even the Progenitor of Secret Arts had ever been able to do much to the Rock Realm. This was inrge part due therge number of powerhouses present, as the Rock Realm was actually home to two Empyrean Imprinters: Master San Cun and Herb Immortal. Of those two, Herb Immortal had been the first of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans. The man¡¯s true level of strength had always been a mystery.

    Even the powerhouses in the Rock Realm were independent cultivators.

    Not many people from the Rock Realm were fighting in the war against the Astral Beast Domain. Given theck ofrge organizations there, it was far more difficult for traitors or rebels to appear.

    The Envoy from the Rock Realm who had been anointed by Lu Yin had only possessed a power level of just over 500,000, and they had been killed by an astral beast.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose when he nced down at this gadget and saw a call request from Xu Qing, but he quickly answered. ¡°How do you have the time to be calling me while fighting a war, Commander Xu Qing?¡±

    Xu Qing answered in a low voice, "Alliance Leader Lu, didn''t you tell me that some major incident will soon disrupt the Sixth Maind? Where¡¯s the chaos that you promised me? All I¡¯ve seen so far are countless cultivators reinforcing the Sixth Maind on the battlefield. If this keeps up, I won¡¯t be able to continue this invasion."

    Lu Yinughed. "Why are you so insistent on not taking a break from the fighting, Commander?"

    Xu Qing¡¯s voice grew hard, "Even if I wanted to pause things, the Sixth Maind has no intention of obliging. The people they¡¯re sending onto the battlefield are all from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, and they¡¯re being used as nothing more than cannon fodder against us. The Sixth Maind is using us to remove any hidden danger that may exist."

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. This was exactly what he had believed to be happening as well. "Don''t worry, Commander. Something big is about to happen."

    "I hope so, Alliance Leader Lu. If I can''t hold back and am forced to retreat, it will mean that we will be unable to continue to invade the Outerverse, but we can still defend Ironblood Weave that we¡¯ve taken over. At worst, we¡¯ll simply pull back into the Primal Zone. However, you don¡¯t have that luxury. The Sixth Maind¡¯s next goal will be you, and they have endless numbers that they can throw at you by pulling from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. They¡¯ll be happy to use you the same way that they¡¯re using us to clean up their mess." As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qing hung up.

    Lu Yin shrugged. It seemed that the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind would not continue to destroy each other for much longer. It was even possible that Xu Qing had just lied to Lu Yin, but even if the astral beasts insisted on continuing for as long as possible, the current pace could not be sustained for much longer.

    "A powerhouse has arrived," the Second Nightking warned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced around. Anyone qualified to be addressed in such a manner by the Second Nightking had to possess a power level of over a million.

    A figure appeared in space, and they looked at the deste and Lu Yin and the Second Nightking who were standing on it.

    This person was a calm, middle-aged man. Nothing about him seemed special or out of the ordinary, but the number of runes that he possessed were terrifying. This man was as powerful as Liu Huang.

    The Second Nightking stepped forward as he stared at the new arrival with a tight frown. Logically, the Second Nightking should not be afraid of a weaker cultivator, but he felt a sense of danger from this man for some inexplicable reason.

    Lu Yin looked at the middle-aged man, and he noticed the man¡¯s eyes in particr. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed slightly. "Ancestor Lingtong."

    The man who had just arrived was indeed Ancestor Lingtong. He had the innate gift of dual pupils, and his innate gift had allowed him to see through the Arrow God of the Wilderness¡¯s appearance and notice that the man had been a corpse king in disguise. At that time, Ancestor Lingtong had merely been a Cosmic Imprinter, and yet he had been bold enough to cooperate with Ancestor Sightless to try to take down one of the Seven Skygods. This was an utterly ruthless man.

    Lu Yin had been in contact with Xu San, and he had thus learned about how Ancestor Lingtong had survived hisst stellr tribtion. The old man must have started nning for his tribtion the moment he had firstid eyes on Xu San. The tribtion had nearly killed Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s disciple. The old man was clearly not as peaceful and harmless as he first appeared to be.

    "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s leader, Lu Yin," Ancestor Lingtong said as hended on the deste. He looked at Lu Yin with open interest.

    Lu Yin smiled at the man. ¡°I heard of Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s fame a long time ago, and I¡¯ve sincee to admire the man who recently became an Empyrean Imprinter and who even managed to uncover one of the Seven Skygods in hiding."

    Ancestor Lingtong responded with a small smile and then turned to look at the Second Nightking, eximing, "Someone from the ancient era: Senior Second Nightking."

    The Second Nightking said nothing. This man was clearly very dangerous.

    "The Arrow Sect¡¯s lesser giants keep moving this way, even when doing so requires them to go through a more dangerous region of the battlefield. I found it strange when I saw it, but I now see that Alliance Leader Lu has been waiting for them here. Do you intend to help the Astral Beast Domain work against my Sixth Maind?¡± Ancestor Lingtong asked as he stared at Lu Yin. It was impossible to tell the older man¡¯s feelings about the situation.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Of course not. I wouldn¡¯t do anything to help those beasts fight against other humans. I¡¯m simply taking away the members of the Arrow Sect."

    Ancestor Lingtong arched a brow. "The Arrow Sect carries a heavy burden on this battlefield. Taking them away makes things much more difficult for us."

    Lu Yin showed no concern for this matter. "You already have too much cannon fodder present, so it¡¯s impossible for these few people from the Arrow Sect to make much of a difference. Why don¡¯t I eliminate an astral beast Envoy and alleviate a bit of the pressure you¡¯re facing?"

    Ancestor Lingtong stared at Lu Yin. "Why are you taking the Arrow Sect away, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Killing intent flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes for a moment. "Some time ago, the Arrow Sect took a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple by the name of Shao Zisong away from the Great Eastern Alliance by force. Man Li was the one who carried that out, and the Arrow Sect¡¯s lesser giants need to be taken away so that the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s inheritance can be returned."

    Ancestor Lingtong had not expected to learn of such an incident. "Really?"

    "You can look into this yourself, Senior," Lu Yin replied. It waspletely true that Man Li had taken Shao Zisong away from the Neo-Vestige Sect, and while Shao Zisong had died during the cleansing of the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, so no cross examination could be done. All that could be confirmed was exactly what Lu Yin had said: the Arrow Sect had taken Shao Zisong away from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Ancestor Lingtong''s eyes flickered. He did not want to be entangled with this matter. "Even if Alliance Leader Lu desires an ounting for that matter, such things should not be addressed at this time. My Sixth Maind is at war with the Astral Beast Domain, and if you take away the Arrow Sect, how will anyone be willing to step onto the battlefield?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold. ¡°That has nothing to do with me. If the Sixth Maind wasn¡¯t at war with the Astral Beast Domain, how would I be able to take away the members of the Arrow Sect? How would I grab Man Li?"

    There was no straightforward answer to this issue. Lu Yin was absolutely correct; how could the Sixth Maind agree to let Lu Yin take the Arrow Sect away if they were not upied with a war?

    Ancestor Lingtong''s double pupils flickered. If Lu Yin were alone, the Empyrean Imprinter would have already attacked, but he was cautious due to the Second Nightking¡¯s presence.

    At this time, Man Li appeared from space, and hended on the surface of the with a bang. Just as he opened his mouth to speak to Lu Yin, he suddenly noticed Ancestor Lingtong, and the giant¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    Ancestor Lingtong also saw Man Li, and a frown appeared on the man¡¯s face. "Man Li, did you ever take away one of the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s disciples?"

    Man Li was taken aback by the question, and he reflexively nced over at Lu Yin, but he could discern nothing from theck of expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    "Man Li, I asked you a question." Ancestor Lingtong''s voice dropped, and his dual pupils exerted a mysterious pressure that terrified Man Li.

    "Yes, I took one."

    "Their name?" Ancestor Lingtong continued.

    Man Li nced back at Lu Yin, but he still replied, "Shao Zisong."

    Ancestor Lingtong frowned. It was true. After all, it was impossible for Lu Yin to have known of Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s arrival and prepare an alibi with Man Li in advance. In other words, Lu Yin¡¯s story was likely true. While taking the Arrow Sect away from the battlefield was offending the Sixth Maind, Lu Yin also had a valid reason to do so. Additionally, without this war, there would have been no chance for Lu Yin to ever move against the Arrow Sect. Truly, everything made sense.

    The only discrepancy was that something as minor as recovering the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s inheritance was not worth Lu Yin stepping onto this battlefield.

    Man Li saw Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s frown, and the giant let out a sigh of relief, as this meant that he had given the correct response. He took a few steps back to move to Lu Yin''s side.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if your worries are something as simple as a concern that the disciple taken from the Neo-Vestige Sect will leak your Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s secrets or the Neo-Vestige Sect¡¯s inheritance, I can promise you that not a single person from the Arrow Sect will live to leave this battlefield. What do you say?" Ancestor Lingtong calmly offered.

    While his tone of voice was perfectly casual, his words were nothing but cruel and heartless.

    Man Li¡¯s eyes red open. "Ancestor Lingtong, what did you just say?"

    Ancestor Lingtongpletely ignored Man Li. This man was not even a World Imprinter, and he had already lost his own imprint. He posed no threat at all.

    Lu Yin stared back at Ancestor Lingtong. "I must take these people away."

    Ancestor Lingtong indifferently replied, "Wouldn''t it be better to use theirst bit of strength here and have them die with the astral beasts?"

    Man Li was absolutely infuriated by these words, and he red at Ancestor Lingtong.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped, "I already said that I must take them away."

    Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s dual pupils moved, and the atmosphere grew tense for a bit. A bit of wind was stirred up beneath the Second Nightking¡¯s feet as his spiritual force spread out. Lu Yin stared straight at Ancestor Lingtong, and his pupils transformed into runes.

    Ancestor Lingtong stared back at Lu Yin, and then he finally let out augh. "Since you need to take the lesser giants away, I¡¯ll give you some face, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Thank you."

    Ancestor Lingtong gave a small smile. "You''re wee. However, since I was able to notice their movements, others will be able to do so as well. It¡¯s possible that old man Sightless has already noticed, so be careful, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    Ancestor Lingtong turned around and prepared to leave, but then he quickly mentioned, ¡°I¡¯m quite happy with my disciple Xu San."

    The Empyrean Imprinter turned back to face Lu Yin and smiled at him. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, the two of us share a bit of fate."

    The man then vanished.

    A small frown appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. Apparently, Ancestor Lingtong was aware of Xu San¡¯s situation. Xu San had thought that he had been smart and cautious, but how could his actions have escaped Ancestor Lingtong?

    However, what did thatstment mean?

    Resentment and helplessness filled Man Li''s eyes. Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s attitude towards the lesser giants perfectly represented the Sixth Maind¡¯s attitude. There was no one that cared about the Arrow Sect or the lesser giants. They were all destined to die on this battlefield.

    "Man Li, let''s go. We can¡¯t wait here any longer," Lu Yin said.

    Man Li again dropped down to one knee. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu! Thank you for taking us in!"

    Lu Yin looked at the giant. "How many of your lesser giants are left?"

    Man Li quivered. Only about four million of the lesser giants had made it to the. Another million had died on the battlefield, which meant that four to five million were still alive. ¡°Not many, Alliance Leader. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    His words were abandoning all of the lesser giants still on the battlefield, and Man Li¡¯s voice was full of his resentment for that fact.

    Lu Yin sighed. He knew that many of the lesser giants were still fighting on the battlefield, but they really could not afford to wait any longer. If Ancestor Lingtong had noticed the movements, then others would as well. Even if Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were not attacked, it was still possible for the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses to simply stop the lesser giants from gathering at the meeting point. There was no point in waiting any longer.

    "Let''s go," Lu Yin said. He pulled Man Li onto Zenith Mountain and started moving to the east as the Second Nightking kept them both hidden.

    Shortly after Lu Yin left, a spacecraft with dozens of lesser giants shook and crashed onto the deste. The lesser giants all excitedly piled out of the ship, expecting to be greeted with a path towards survival, but all they found was a deste inhabited byrge lizards. Man Li was nowhere in sight, and neither was any other human.

    This was simply a matter of fate. A single step taken earlier orter could lead topletely different oues.

    Ancestor Sightless appeared in space above the. Strange¡­ all those lesser giants were gathering towards this point, but just where are they?

 Chapter 1897: Painful News

    Chapter 1897: Painful News

    The war between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain had raged on for more than a month, and during this time, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s defenses had undergone aplete change.

    The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Divisions had moved to rece the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions. The Allied Forces remained stationed in the eastern weaves of the Outerverse, and they kept a wary eye on the war to the west.

    Lu Yin had vanished for more than a month. He had publicly announced that he was in seclusion, but no one, not even Shui Chuanxiao, knew where he had gone. All anyone knew was that Lu Yin had left.

    When Lu Yin returned, he brought more than four million lesser giants back with him.

    Shui Chuanxiao stared nkly at the numerous lesser giants. "Did you just take a trip to pick at the Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "Of course not. This is just a coincidence."

    "A coincidence led you to bringing back more than four million people?" Shui Chuanxiao gave Lu Yin an odd look. It was as though themander viewed Lu Yin as some sort of thief.

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively as he handed the lesser giants over to Shui Chuanxiao so that the man could make proper arrangements. It was impossible to incorporate the lesser giants into the Allied Forces for the moment, but they could still be added to a division.

    All of the lesser giants were members of the Arrow Sect, which meant that all of them were cultivators. Naturally, most of the Arrow Sect¡¯s members had not even been Explorers, but the ones who had made it across the battlefield to be collected by Lu Yin had all been Explorers at the very least. Man Li had also officially joined the Great Eastern Alliance, which filled the empty spot left behind by Emperor Luo¡¯s death.

    The arrival of the lesser giants also drew the attention of the colossal giants. Both of them were giants, and there seemed to be some sort of innate connection that they could sense.

    Nearly half of the Arrow Sect¡¯s surviving members had been taken away from the battlefield, weakening the Sixth Maind¡¯s position and increasing the pressure that they were facing. Still, the battlefield was mainly in the central weaves, and the Sixth Maind was able to send more reinforcements over at almost any time.

    A few dayster, Xu Qing reached out to Lu Yin once more, asking about the chaos that Lu Yin imed was going to affect the Sixth Maind.

    All Lu Yin could do was offer a bit offort, which led to Xu Qing delivering more threats before hanging up.

    Several days after that, Xu Qing called Lu Yin yet again. The astral beastmander was bing truly anxious.

    There was no longer any other choice, so Lu Yin quickly made a call. "Old man, you can start now."

    Kui Luo answered Lu Yin through the call, "Boy, you owe me big for this one."

    The call instantly cut off.

    ¡­

    The war between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain had gone on for two months without a single day of rest now. The entire Fifth Maind was focused on this war.

    Only the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain were capable of sustaining such a pace and such casualties. If the Great Eastern Alliance were to fight with such abandon, then forget two months¡ªthey would not be able to endure for even half a month.

    The astral beast horde had received a tremendous number of reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire during this time, and the Sixth Maind was trying to use the war to redirect internal conflicts into an external one while simultaneously eliminating certain instabilities that had arisen from cleansing the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory.

    There was no end in sight for this war.

    The Outerverse¡¯s Sacred Weave was currently being upied by the Sage Martial Realm¡¯s Meng n. They were practitioners of the miraculous Dream Sutra that allowed most of them to train and cultivate in their sleep. This was a normal urrence for the Meng n.

    When Meng Qiye woke up, someone delivered a report regarding the war in Armament Weave. The man gained a headache from the report because it also informed him that the Meng n was being required to send reinforcements to the battlefield.

    It was also clear that this war was not as simple as it first appeared to be. This was the first time in countless years that the Astral Beast Domain had gained an opportunity to invade the Outerverse, and they were taking advantage of the inner turmoil that had riddled the Sixth Maind. The astral beasts were putting their full efforts into this war, and anyone who was sent to the battlefield could be considered unlucky. Everyone hoped to avoid that ce.

    Meng Erye had disappeared, and Meng Qiye had no idea where the man had gone, but Meng Erye¡¯s absence meant that Men Qiye was solely responsible for the Meng n. As a result, his life of sleep and dreaming had been ripped away from him.

    There was a beep from his gadget.

    Meng Qiye nced down at it and frowned. He was still not very used to using these gadgets, though he did have to admit that they were extremely convenient. However, when the man saw the message that he had received, his pupils shrank, and he released a roar that shook the universe.

    The entire Meng n was startled by this, including Meng Fuzi, the n¡¯s ancestor.

    Meng Fuzi was staring at his own gadget¡¯s disy at this moment, and it was showing two old men who were moving in a casual manner and each of them walked into a room. There was a woman in each of the rooms, deep asleep on a bed. One of the old menughed as he disrobed, and the other man quickly did the same.

    The two old men were in the Meng n.

    While the members of the Meng n trained in the Dream Sutra, they were not really any different from other people while cultivating. Any disturbance or sudden movement would instantly wake them up, and it was impossible for anyone to suffer such abuse without noticing.

    The two old men left one room and moved on to another. They moved about asfortably as though they were wandering about their own home. Meng Fuzi¡¯s entire body quivered, and his breath grew ragged.

    "The Meng n really is a paradise for us, Brother, hahahaha!"

    "This is the life! If not for the fact that we both trained in Deep Meditation, how could we be sofortable? Not even that old man Meng Fuzi can notice a thing. We¡¯ve managed to enjoy all of the Meng n¡¯s beauties over the years, and who knows how many of their descendants belong to us! Hahahaha."

    "We¡¯ve had a good time here, but Meng Fuzi could break through to be a Cosmic Imprinter any time. After that, he might notice us. It¡¯d be best to move on to the Mojiang n. That little girl there¡¯s grown up, and she¡¯d be fun to go visit."

    "We can also go back to Justice Manor."

    "Are your tastes that strange? All those women in Justice Manor have corpse puppets."

    "It just adds to the novelty, haha."

    ¡­

    Puff-

    Meng Fuzi spat out blood, and his face grew pale. His eyes were even protruding from his head due to his anger. "Green and White Sages, I¡¯ll make sure to kill you! Puff."

    "Ancestor!¡± Meng Qiye was shocked at the old man¡¯s condition, and he hurried over to help Meng Fuzi.

    The Meng n were not the only people to receive this video, as nearly all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses had received the same message. Everyone felt their scalps go numb as they watched the video.

    The two old men were elders from the Daosource Sect, and due to their excellent synergy and the fact that they always wore green and white clothes, they were known as the Green and White Sages. They typically looked simple and rxed, and whenbined with their strength as World Imprinters, they gave others the impression of being true experts. No one had expected them to be such lowlifes.

    Not only had the two vited the women of the Meng n, but they had also mentioned both the Mojiang n and Justice Manor. Their behavior and words showed that the three were absolutely not the only victims. Just how many families in the Sixth Maind had these two preyed upon?

    Any family that the Green and White Sages had visited before felt horrified by the video. What else might have happened when the two old men visited them?

    This single message stirred up the entire Sixth Maind.

    The Green and White Sages had been far away in Southside Weave, and they also received the message. Their expression instantly changed when they saw the contents of the video, and they immediately fled the Daosource Sect. Who could have sent that video? Who had been spying on them? Not only had they been recorded while visiting the Meng n, but even their voices had been captured. Whoever was behind this was a powerhouse, and that meant that they were being targeted by a monster.

    ***

    In a restaurant on a busy street on a perfectly average in the Outerverse, Kui Luo let out a bizarreugh that was so disturbing that many people started to move away due to their difort.

    Even the owner of the restaurant went out to warn Kui Luo to keep his voice down.

    Across from Kui Luo sat four people: Madam Hong, Xiao Qing, Meng Erye, and Yang Kong. Actually, after the Progenitor of Secret Arts had been exposed as a traitor, Yang Kong¡¯s identity had been undeniably revealed as Bu Kong.

    At this time, Meng Erye¡¯s entire body was trembling from rage as he watched the video. He was truly furious.

    "Hey, little guy, don''t rock the table! You¡¯re bothering me." Kui Luo let out the same creepyugh again.

    Meng Erye clenched his fists. "Senior, can you let this junior return? You¡¯ve exposed those two beasts, and my Meng n will do our absolute best to repay you for this matter."

    Kui Luo sneered. "What can your puny Meng n do to repay me? You might even be one of those two old men¡¯s whelps, haha."

    Meng Erye became even more enraged, but even though he red at Kui Luo, he did not dare to say a word.

    Bu Kong appeared perfectly calm. Such matters did not concern him at all. His identity had been exposed, and it would make perfect sense for anyone from the Sixth Maind to curse and hate him, but none of that mattered. As far as Bu Kong was concerned, the only thing that he needed to worry about was how to escape from this old man.

    The old monster was a Semi-Progenitor.

    Xiao Qing blushed even as she heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, she had not spent much time with the Meng n, and her master was also one of the Four Empyreans, which meant that those two old perverts would never have dared to touch her. How could she bear to live if things had gone differently?

    Kui Luo suddenly turned to stare at Madam Hong. "Girl, you look like something¡¯s wrong. What is it? Did those two perverts also move against you?"

    Everyone instantly turned to look at Madam Hong, and she quickly replied, "No, I have never been in contact with the Green and White Sages."

    "Really?" Kui Luo asked, suddenly very interested.

    Madam Hong shrugged. "Really. Still, this is too shocking."

    Kui Luo let out his oddugh again. "Shocking? This is nowhere near enough, not yet! Hahahaha, let¡¯s keep going!"

    Even as he spoke, he sent out another message.

    The Green and White Sages¡¯ behavior had thoroughly enraged the entire Meng n, and Meng Fuzi contacted the Daosource Sect and demanded that the two World Imprinters be handed over to him and killed.

    When Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao learned of what had happened, the Green and White Sages had already escaped from the Daosource Sect. Kui Luo had actually sent the two old men the message first before sharing it with other people. This had been deliberate, as it allowed the two old men to escape, which incited even greater chaos.

    Jiu Yao was utterly furious. If he had known of this matter before, he would have captured the two men and carved them up as an example. However, he had no idea where the two had fled to. They were both World Imprinters, and it would be very difficult to track such experts down.

    Suddenly, another bit of news leaked out. It was another video, though this one was of an old man and a middle-aged man. Many people recognized the middle-aged man as Fan Yu, an Imprinter and the Fan family¡¯s patriarch. As for the old man, only some of the oldest powerhouses recognized him.

    The old man was Fan Chen, the Fan family¡¯s grand elder. He was also a Cosmic Imprinter.

    Only during Fan Yu¡¯s generation had the Fan family started to decline.

    "Even after all this time, you still can''t break through and be a World Imprinter. Are you not receiving enough resources from the family? How many times have I taught you how to better absorb stellr energy? If you want women, the family will provide you with thousands. Is that what you want? If it¡¯s sword techniques, then I¡¯ll scour the Sixth Maind and ask my friends to help you find one that¡¯s most suitable for you. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t hesitate to capture the Cloud Valley¡¯s previous master, Jian Zhibei, and force him to cough up the Cloud Valley¡¯s sword technique to you. What more do you want from me?

    "Recently, my Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory has suffered a purge, and our family is in danger. If anything happens to me, how will you be able to protect the Brahman Realm when you don¡¯t even have the strength of a World Imprinter?"

    The middle-aged man started to panic. "Elder, the Cloud Valley¡¯s sword technique is truly not very suitable for me. Perhaps the Higher Temple¡¯s sword technique would be a better match for me."

    Fan Chen angrily snapped, "The Higher Temple is protected by Mr. Lifeview, one of the Four Empyreans! Do you want me to try to deal with him?"

    The middle-aged man¡¯s voice dropped low. "The rumors say that Mr. Lifeview never returned after he went into Burial Garden. It¡¯s been sealed off now, and no one can get in or out. The Higher Temple is nothing more than a name right now."

    Fan Chen considered this information for a moment. "Wait a bit longer. If Mr. Lifeview does not show himself within a year, I¡¯ll go to the Higher Temple to get you their sword technique."

    "Thank you, Elder."

    ¡­

 Chapter 1898: Chaos

    Chapter 1898: Chaos

    This second video instantly caused the Cloud Valley to erupt. Even though the Cloud Valley Master was currently fighting in the war in Armament Weave, he was infuriated by the revtion, and he promptly contacted the Daosource Sect and demanded that Fan Chen be brought to trial.

    Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao was already dealing with the headache created by the Green and White Sages incident when this new incident suddenly popped up. Fan Chen had actually secretly captured the previous Cloud Valley Master. The Cloud Valley would never let this matter go, and the Fan family would also never be willing to give up Fan Chen. Regardless of the decision that Jiu Yao made, the Sixth Maind would lose a Cosmic Imprinter and a powerful force, and it was even possible that the Higher Temple would take action.

    Who was behind all this?

    Jiu Yao''s eyes grew hard, and he quickly ordered an investigation into who had released the messages.

    Wherever people gathered, so too would conflict. The Sixth Maind¡¯s various forces had fought against each other for countless years, and too many grudges and enmities had been created to even count. The Fifth Maind was no different in this regard.

    However, such hidden matters had been brought to light. Both of the videos that had been released were undoctored.

    It had not been a big deal when the video of the Green and White Sages had been released, as the two were merely World Imprinters, but Fan Chen was a Cosmic Imprinter. Despite his strength, he had not even realized that he was being observed and recorded, which indicated that the person who had recorded the videos was at least as strong as an Empyrean Imprinter, and they might even be as strong as a Semi-Progenitor.

    This thought caused Jiu Yao''s eyes to flicker. This person was most likely a Semi-Progenitor, as not even an Empyrean Imprinter would have been able topletely evade Fan Chen¡¯s notice while observing and recording the man.

    However, which Semi-Progenitor would be so bored as to waste their time with such a trivial matter?

    Most powerhouses who became Semi-Progenitors spent their time preparing to break through to the Progenitor realm, and thus most Semi-Progenitors had no concern for these mundane matters. Let alone small-scale conflicts like what were being exposed, most Semi-Progenitors could not even be bothered to move out forrge-scale wars.

    None of the Semi-Progenitors could even be bothered to get involved in the war between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, if there really was such a petty Semi-Progenitor who was sticking their nose into such frivolous matters, it would spell disaster for the Sixth Maind.

    Suddenly, Jiu Yao thought of a certain person.

    Around the same time that the Neohuman Alliance''s Seven Skygods had attacked the Daosource Sect and killed Jiu San, another Semi-Progenitor had forced their way into the Daosource Sect. Could this be that same person?

    Where had that Semi-Progenitore from? They were clearly hostile to the Sixth Maind, so could they be from the Fifth Maind?

    This possibility prompted Jiu Yao to immediately contact Arch-Elder Zen. That old man had to know who this Semi-Progenitor was.

    The strength that a Semi-Progenitor possessed meant that if one deliberately acted against the Sixth Maind, the entire ce would be thrown into chaos.

    Of course, Arch-Elder Zen was already aware of what had happened within the Sixth Maind. He had even seen the videos that had been released, and his first thought had been of Kui Luo. Who else would waste their time using their power on such mundane affairs?

    Arch-Elder Zen had learned of Kui Luo''s reputation in the Perennial World from Liu Ye and Fei Hua, so the old man was already aware that Kui Luo had been hated and reviled in the Perennial World. There, he had even targeted the four ruling powers and worked to damage their fame and influence.

    Even after Liu Ye and Fei Hua arrived in the Fifth Maind, they had still asked Lu Yin about what had happened in the past with Kui Luo, which showed just how infuriating Kui Luo could be.

    Arch-Elder Zen had let out a sigh of relief after seeing the videos that had been released. They were truly lucky that Kui Luo had not gone after the Fifth Maind as that would have forced the various Semi-Progenitors to work together to hunt Kui Luo down, which might even bepletely impossible.

    Even Arch-Elder Zen, who was incredibly patient and old, could understand the fury that Kui Luo could induce in people.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped, and he was amused to see it was a call from Jiu Yao. He went ahead and answered the call.

    "Old Zen, I want to know who¡¯s doing these things," Jiu Yao stated in a low voice. "Even the Progenitor of Combat is taking notice of this matter."

    Arch-Elder Zen just shrugged. "I don''t know, but I know that it¡¯s not anyone from here."

    Jiu Yao¡¯s eyes narrowed. "This isn¡¯t someone from your Fifth Maind?"

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Tombkeeper is unable to leave Burial Garden, Lingzhi attempted to break through to the Progenitor realm but failed. As for Elder Gong, Highsage Grandmaster, Xia Ji, or Jiu Chi, would any of them do such a thing?"

    Jiu Yao thought for a bit. "Would that idiot Jiu Chi do this?"

    "He likes to drink, but he doesn¡¯t act like a drunk. There¡¯s no way it¡¯s him. I can promise you that."

    Jiu Yao¡¯s voice dropped low, ¡°Arch-Elder Zen, I¡¯m not trying to intimidate you, but both the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines are paying attention to this matter. As soon as the culprit is found, they will be killed and shown no mercy. I do not wish to see this matter lead to a war between us."

    Arch-Elder Zen solemnly said, "There¡¯s no need for such concerns. Do as you see fit in this matter. I won¡¯t get involved."

    "Very well." Jiu Yao hung up and frowned. Who could be behind these messages and videos? It did not seem to be someone from the Fifth Maind, so could it be a Semi-Progenitor from the Astral Beast Domain? That was even more impossible. Their only Semi-Progenitor was the Celestial Demon Emperor, and how could the emperor sneak deep into the Outerverse in order to do rile up chaos?

    Jiu Yao¡¯s headache was only growing worse.

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, in the eastern weaves, Lu Yin was watching the video andughing in one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet¡¯s ships. Shui Chuanxiao and Wei Rong were present as well, as were the Second Nightking and several others. Each of them had an odd expression on their faces.

    Who would do such a thing? Was this any different than voyeurism? Despite many of the gathered powerhouses¡¯ countless years of cultivation, they had never witnessed such a thing before.

    Lu Yin already understood the frustrations felt by countless people in the Perennial World, and he was certain that the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Semi-Progenitors were feeling the most frustrated out of anyone at this moment. A dignified Semi-Progenitor was sneaking around spying on people, so what secrets could stay safe? The Sixth Maind was facing a true crisis.

    The Meng n had demanded that the Green and White Sages be called to ount for their actions, and Justice Manor and other powers had joined the search for the two World Imprinters. The Cloud Valley would never be willing to see Fan Chen go free, and there were definitely more exciting scandals to be unveiled. There was no way that Kui Luo would leave things at just this.

    Sure enough, it was not long before Lu Yin received another message. This one was actually just a list, but it named various moles hiding in different Sixth Maind organizations.

    The Sixth Maind was not some monolithic entity. It had internal wars and conflicts just like the Fifth Maind.

    It was perfectly normal for the various families and powers to have moles hidden within their members, as everyone employed such spies. However, it was unusual for those spies to be exposed en masse.

    This time, it was not the various powerhouses who received the message, but the moles themselves. Each of them looked at the list that they had been sent, and they could even note their mission listed beside their names. They all felt a chill, and they fled from their posts without another thought.

    Each of them wanted to escape and return home, but to do so, they also had to provide some information or treasure of sufficient value. Whatever was taken away would naturally be of immense importance to the ce where the spies had been hidden.

    When the Sixth Maind¡¯s major powers received this batch of information, they each moved as quickly as possible to capture the spies only to discover they were already toote. Their only option was to try to hunt the escaped spies down.

    It took only half a day for the Sixth Maind to descend into utter chaos.

    Only a short bit of time passed before many of the Sixth Maind cultivators received an additional message. It was another list, but this one was a list of dead people.

    More specifically, this list detailed the dead and who had killed them, and the details were quite explicit.

    The impact of this list was even more powerful, and many people moved out to get revenge after learning who had wronged them.

    Out of everyone who took action, the most noticeable was Semi-Progenitor Xue Laogui.

    There were only three Semi-Progenitors left in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect: Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Xue Laogui.

    Xue Laogui had no familial connection to the Progenitor of Bloodlines, as he was someone who had risen to power by treading a path of endless ughter and enmity, and his reputation had earned him the name Xue Laogui.

    Shockingly, the list that Kui Luo hadpiled and spread out listed several different powers who had acted against Xue Laogui in the past, and among them was the Toolcasting family.

    The Toolcasting family boasted a history that extended far before Xue Laogui had been born, and they also bore the lion¡¯s share of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s old blood debts.

    Xue Laogui had thought that he had already gotten revenge for his old grudges, but the information revealed in Kui Luo¡¯s list sent the Semi-Progenitor out of the Daosource Sect and straight for the Toolcasting family. Disaster descended upon the n.

    Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao quickly issued an order to the entire Sixth Maind that banned gadgets as well as ess to the Human Domain¡¯swork. This was an attempt to avoid the distribution of any further messages.

    Chaos reigned in the Outerverse.

    The Meng n, Justice Manor, and many other powers were searching for the Green and White Sages. The Cloud Valley was trying to get their revenge on the Fan family. Many ns and sects were trying to chase down and capture escaped spies that had been uncovered and recover their losses. Many, many people had also set out to get revenge.

    Not even a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Yao could stop these things from ying out. All he could hope to do was find the person who had incited all of this chaos, capture him, and skin him alive.

    The chaotic situation led to the Astral Beast Domain intensifying their assault on Armament Weave.

    Xu Qing had also seen the various messages, and he was both shocked and excited by it. The greater the chaos within the Sixth Maind, the greater the chances that the astral beasts¡¯ invasion would seed. As expected, Lu Yin had not lied, and the Sixth Maind was indeed experiencing great changes.

    At the same time, Xu Qing felt himself bing even more frightened of Lu Yin. Just what sort of power stood behind the youth? Clearly, there was a Semi-Progenitor, and that idea alone was enough to give one the chills.

    Xu Qing was facing off against the Cloud Valley Master on the battlefield, but at this moment, the human was too preupied to focus on the fight. All he wanted to do was save Jian Zhibei and destroy the Fan family.

    The chaos that had erupted throughout the Sixth Maind had caused the battlefield to be unstable, and reinforcements and supplies were no longer delivered on time, which quickly led to the Sixth Maind¡¯s defeat. The Astral Beast Domain managed to push the Sixth Maind out of Armament Weave and press on to the west.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was still within the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet and was speaking to Kui Luo.

    "I might be old, but I still haven¡¯t shown all I¡¯m capable of, and yet the Sixth Maind has already started to panic, hahahaha! What do you think? You owe me a huge favor now!" Kui Luo was proud of what he had aplished. Madam Hong and several others were standing in front of the Semi-Progenitor, and hisments left them speechless. This man was an absolute psychopath!

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Your actions were certainly ruthless enough, but they were not quite thorough."

    "Boy, are you still unsatisfied?"

    "It was very close, but just missed."

    "Hehe, that old boy Jiu Yao reacted quite quickly, I have to hand it to him. Still, I¡¯ve got my hand in a few different things. If needed, I can share the Sightless n¡¯s cultivation art with the Swifteyes n. I can also publicly release the Dream Sutra to the entire universe so that anyone can use it. How¡¯s that sound?" Kui Luo asked in a tempting manner.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly grew sharper. "That sounds interesting."

    "Hahahaha, you can stop dreaming now! I won''t do any of that! That¡¯s too much even for me!" Kui Luo loudly dered.

    Lu Yin was stunned speechless. "It wouldn¡¯t be the first time you¡¯ve done something like that."

    "What do you know? I¡¯ve always known that I¡¯ll eventually get caught, and those secrets are some of my trump cards to make sure that I can stay alive," Kui Luo proudly exined.

    The old man had been hunted across the entire Perennial World for so many years, and he had built up countless experiences and had developed all kinds of different methods to stay alive and safe. Lu Yin did not find his statement to be surprising.

    "Just curious, but when do you n to attempt your breakthrough to be a Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo fell silent for some time. "Why¡¯d you have to bring that up? You just killed the mood."

    The call suddenly cut off.

    Lu Yin found this reaction odd. Did Kui Luo not intend to attempt his final breakthrough? If not, then why did he take Lu Yin¡¯s Origin Matter back in the Technocracy? Lu Yin could not understand the old man at all.

    He lowered his gadget and stared to the west. Things were going to be quite interesting in the Sixth Maind for some time.

    ¡­

    Kui Luo¡¯s actions not only stirred up internal conflicts and chaos within the Sixth Maind, but it also caused their defeat in the war against the astral beasts. Countless people abandoned the battlefield to seek their newly learned enemies. Many people had also learned that those fighting with them on the battlefield were actually enemies, and after attacking the astral beasts, people quickly turned on their fellow humans.

    After reaching a certain level, hatred could transcend race, region, or even life and death.

    Many people became blinded by their hatred, and that led to tremendous changes on the battlefield.

    The Astral Beast Domain continued to push westward, and the Sixth Maind was unable to do anything to stop them.

    The people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory also did not want to die on the battlefield.

    This led to the Astral Beast Domain reaching as far as Tyrannical Weave and Justice Manor itself.

 Chapter 1899: Setting Off

    Chapter 1899: Setting Off

    Justice Manor actually uprooted itself and fled westward, which temporarily put the war on a hiatus.

    By this time, the Astral Beast Domain had managed to take control of ten of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves, which shocked both the Fifth Maind and the Celestial Beast Empire.

    In the past, who could have imagined that the Celestial Beast Empire would ever be able to drive so deep into the Outerverse? No one. Xu Qing¡¯s aplishment was unprecedented.

    Xu Qing was overflowing with energy as he gazed to the west. He would have a ce in history as the onlymander in the entire history of the Celestial Beast Empire to have conquered the central weaves of the Outerverse. His previous losses no longer mattered, and his current achievement was enough to erase any mistakes.

    "Commander, why are we stopping? The Sixth Maind¡¯s already been defeated, so we can keep pushing deeper and reach the western border!" excitedly said the Celestial Demon apanying the invasion. He had also been a part of this invasion, which meant that he would also have a ce in the historical records.

    Many astral beasts wanted to keep pushing deeper into the Outerverse and resume the invasion, as their progress had been unbelievably smooth.

    Xu Qing shook his head and grew solemn. "Enough is enough. We won¡¯t fight any longer."

    The Celestial Demon was left confused. "Why? Are you worried about the Sixth Maind''s Semi-Progenitors?"

    Xu Qing said, "That¡¯s part of it. While the Semi-Progenitors aren¡¯t willing to interfere in this war, if we go too far, we will draw their attention. Our current progress is the limit of what we can do, and if we try to push any further, it will reignite the full war efforts we faced before. If the Sixth Maind retaliates with its full strength, we¡¯ll be defeated."

    Xu Qing was themander, and he would not be deceived easily. Besides, the most important thing for him had already been aplished: an achievement impressive enough to wipe away his previous failures.

    Xu Qing was under no illusions that the Astral Beast Domain would be able to truly retain control over the weaves that he had just conquered. The Sixth Maind was incredibly powerful, and once its internal chaos calmed down, the astral beasts would not be able to stop the humans. Any random Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind was more than enough to ughter the entire horde.

    Beep beep beep!

    Xu Qing¡¯s gadget beeped, and his eyebrows rose when he nced down and saw a call request from Lu Yin.

    "Congrattions, Commander Xu Qing! You¡¯ve made it into Tyrannical Weave! You¡¯ve conquered the central weaves, and you¡¯ll be remembered throughout history. Any further and you¡¯ll be in the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves. Invading the western weaves is apletely different level from invading the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves. You have this junior¡¯s congrattions," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Xu Qing indifferently replied, "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, but I need to recuperate for now. We''ll talkter."

    The astral beastmander then immediately hung up.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at his gadget, and Shui Chuanxiao spoke up from behind, ¡°The Astral Beast Domain has stopped pushing their invasion, and they probably don¡¯t intend to continue past this point. Xu Qing¡¯s quite sharp, and he can clearly understand the current situation."

    Lu Yinughed. "True, he¡¯s very smart, and he¡¯s not tempted to invade the western weaves, but this is already enough for us. Right now, the Sixth Maind should start to react, which means that it¡¯s our turn to make a move."

    Shui Chuanxiao stared at Lu Yin. "The inteced ns were already set in motion a long time ago. If I were in Xu Qing shoes, I would not be able to do anything against it at all."

    Lu Yin finally looked up. ¡°He has to keep going, as if he doesn¡¯t, he¡¯ll have to return to the Celestial Beast Empire, and he can¡¯t bear the losses that he¡¯s responsible for. Right now, we¡¯re the ones who¡¯ll decide what happens next.¡±

    Lu Yin then used his gadget to make another call. ¡°Master of Cloud Valley, I would like to make you an offer¡­"

    A short whileter, Lu Yin lowered his gadget. His eyes glinted, and he ordered, ¡°Go!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s order saw the entire Great Eastern Alliance fleet start making its way towards xen Weave.

    Further west, in Tyrannical Weave, Xu Qing was studying a star chart and considering how best to slowly retreat without suffering too many losses once the Sixth Maindunched their counterattack. At this point in time, his entire focus was on how to best preserve the Celestial Beast Empire''s aplishment of this invasion into the Outerverse. He wanted his record to be as glorious as possible when recorded down in history.

    Suddenly, a creeper delivered a report, "Commander, the Great Eastern Alliance has begun to move!"

    Xu Qing was stunned. "What?"

    The Great Eastern Alliance had remained inactive for thest two months of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse, but when they finally started moving, they did not attack the astral beasts at all. Instead, they simply upied sixs in xen Weave.

    These sixs were evenly distributed across the route that the astral beasts had taken when pushing west, and they were just close enough for Yuan Shi and the other powerhouses in the Great Eastern Alliance to quickly shuttle between them. Effectively, the path back to the Astral Beast Domain and the Primal Zone had been cut off.

    As soon as Xu Qing heard that the Great Eastern Alliance had started to move, he checked thes they had upied on a star chart, and his expression sank. He immediately called Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re breaking our agreement!"

    Lu Yin responded with total confusion, "Breaking our agreement? When?"

    Xu Qing angrily exined, "You¡¯ve cut off my retreat to the Astral Beast Domain! Are you working with the Sixth Maind?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Commander Xu Qing, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I haven¡¯t cut off your path of retreat. This is nothing more than a standard military transfer. xen Weave is also one of the eastern weaves of the Outerverse, so there¡¯s no need for me to discuss how I handle it with you. On top of that, we¡¯ve already agreed that the Great Eastern Alliance won¡¯t take any actions against you, and you can rest assured that I won¡¯t be the first to break our agreement."

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes shed with a dangerous light and his voice grew cold. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is a despicable move!"

    He had fallen right into the trap that Lu Yin hadid out in the wording of their agreement. Lu Yin had specified that the Great Eastern Alliance would not make any moves against the Astral Beast Domain and that the astral beasts would also do the same. However, with Lu Yin effectively cutting off their one path to retreat, Xu Qing was being forced to attack, and as soon as Xu Qing¡¯s forces turned aggressive, Lu Yin could do as he wished without viting their agreement in any way.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the Sixth Maind already holds a terrible hatred towards you, so why help them? Is this just because of some sort of racial loyalty?" Xu Qing asked as he tried to suppress his rage.

    A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin''s face. "I already suggested that you push into the western weaves, but you didn¡¯t listen to me, Commander. I had no choice but to give you a bit of a nudge. I have absolutely no desire to offer the Sixth Maind any assistance."

    Xu Qing instantly understood that Lu Yin would remain impassive if the astral beasts pushed on with their invasion into the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves, but since they had stopped, Lu Yin had correctly read the situation as the Astral Beast Domain was about to retreat from the Outerverse. If this happened, the Sixth Maind would not suffer much and would not have to deal with too many losses. What was the purpose of this invasion? Was it to aplish nothing more than to give Xu Qing the opportunity to erase his previous losses and reim his standing within the Celestial Beast Empire? Was it to simply give the Sixth Maind a stage to use to redirect the turmoil of their internal conflicts?

    Lu Yin had paid a steep price, so how could he possibly allow the astral beasts to retreat so easily? As soon as the Astral Beast Domain pulled out of the Outerverse, the Great Eastern Alliance would be left to face the Sixth Maind alone. How would they be able to defend the eastern weaves from such an opponent?

    Xu Qing was truly frustrated. Lu Yin¡¯s intentions were all too clear to see. He should have been leading the astral beasts through each stage of this invasion one step at a time. They should have next put on a show of attacking the western weaves while secretly starting to retreat to the Primal Zone. Not only would this have preserved the majority of their forces, but Xu Qing would have also had a justifiable exnation for such a retreat, as he could have reported to the Celestial Beast Empire that the Great Eastern Alliance was about to team up with the Sixth Maind to attack the astral beast invasion from both sides in a perfectly ced pincer attack. However, Xu Qing had lost the opportunity for this path out of sheer carelessness.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, there is a saying that you should already understand: there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. If my Astral Beast Domain approaches the Sixth Maind right now to negotiate an agreement for us to safely return to the Primal Zone in exchange for us not setting foot in the Outerverse for the next thousand years, what do you think the Sixth Maind¡¯s reaction will be? Will they agree? What if we instead join hands and both start attacking your Great Eastern Alliance? Can you survive that?" Xu Qing threatened.

    Lu Yin justughed. "As expected of the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯smander! It¡¯s a bold n. You¡¯ve been fighting against the Sixth Maind so violently for thest two months, but you want to cooperate with them in such a casual way now? Does this mean that you¡¯ve forgotten my position, Commander? Don''t forget that the Progenitor of Bloodlines has already approached me."

    Xu Qing''s expression changed once again, and it grew increasingly contorted.

    It was true that the Progenitor of Bloodlines had appeared after Lu Yin passed his stellr tribtion, and ording to Lu Yin, the Progenitor had appeared with the intention of epting Lu Yin as a disciple. Xu Qing was not the only one aware of this, as the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian had learned of it as well. What¡¯s more, after she left the battlefield, the Sixth Maind had not tried to force Lu Yin to return the eastern weaves to their control.

    Given this understanding, only an idiot would expect to see the Sixth Maind cooperate with an enemy in order to deal with the Progenitor of Bloodlines prospective disciple. As far as the Sixth Maind was concerned, cooperating with the Astral Beast Domain was the same as cooperating with the Great Eastern Alliance. Even if the Sixth Maind wanted to take back the eastern weaves, there was no need for them to team up with the astral beasts.

    The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion force had fallen into apletely passive state.

    Suddenly, another beast arrived and reported that the Sixth Maind had justunched a counterattack. It was even being led by Qing Hua and Herb Immortal, two Empyrean Imprinters. The participation of the two powerhouses more thanpensated for the Sixth Maind¡¯scking numbers on the battlefield due to the countless deserters.

    The astral beasts were able to deal with the counterattack for some time, but it was not long before it became impossible for them to resist the continuous reinforcements that the Sixth Maind poured onto the battlefield.

    No matter what may have happened, the astral beasts had invaded the Outerverse, which was the Sixth Maind¡¯s demesne. Any one of the three territories could field a tremendous number of cultivators, and it was also possible for one of the three Semi-Progenitors to make an appearance at any moment.

    A few days passed, and Xu Qing gazed eastwards. He needed to order a retreat, as his forces would bepletely wiped out if he tried to stubbornly persist in fighting against the Sixth Maind.

    Xu Qing was the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯smander, and he was skilled enough to face off against Shui Chuanxiao in military tactics. Xu Qing would never fight a battle with a questionable oue. It did not matter how enticing Lu Yin¡¯s promises had been, as Xu Qing had always been prepared for the worst.

    Their path through xen Weave had been blocked off, but this did not mean that there was no path back to the Astral Beast Domain: there was still the Astral Wilderness.

    The Astral Beast Domain had dreamed of invading the Outerverse for countless years, and so, aside from the Primal Zone, they had also explored the Astral Wilderness. Over the years, they had mapped out a route, and they would use it to return.

    This route had been mapped out with the intention ofunching a surprise attack on the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves, but Xu Qing was being forced to use this path to escape.

    ¡®Alliance Leader Lu, you and I have faced each other, and we¡¯ve each had some wins and some losses. This invasion is over, but I look forward to seeing you on the next battlefield.¡¯

    Lu Yin frowned as he read the message that Xu Qing had just sent.

    "This means that they¡¯re retreating. The invasion was led by Xu Qing, and he would never be foolish enough to strike so deep into enemy territory without having alternative roads of retreat," Shui Chuanxiaomented as he also read the message.

    Lu Yin opened a star chart and looked at the region connecting Tyrannical Weave to Armament Weave and on to xen Weave. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the Astral Wilderness. If there was anythingpletely out of Lu Yin¡¯s control, it was the Astral Wilderness.

    This region was aplete mystery to humanity, and even though many people had explored the ce over a period of countless years, it was not suitable for habitation. The star energy there was thin, there was no signal to connect to thework, and there were constantly unpredictable threats. That was the Astral Wilderness.

    The situation was no different for the astral beasts.

    Still, it appeared that the Celestial Beast Empire and the Astral Beast Domain were ahead of the Human Domain when it came to exploring and utilizing the Astral Wilderness.

    "Commander Shui, just how big is the Astral Wilderness?" Lu Yin asked suddenly.

    Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. "No one knows."

    "Is it part of the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin continued.

    However, Shui Chuanxiao remained silent. Naturally, he did not know the answer to this, as he was privy to far fewer secrets of the ancient times than even Lu Yin.

    There had been the Six Mainds in the ancient era, but what had existed beyond them? Had that been the Astral Wilderness?

    Xu Qing was very decisive in his actions, and he left behind a few astral beasts on the battlefield while leading the majority into the Astral Wilderness.

    The dangers that one faced in the Astral Wilderness were unpredictable, so the Sixth Maind was unwilling to take the risk of chasing after the astral beasts. Instead, the humans traveled towards xen Weave by making their way through the Outerverse. They intended to eradicate all of the astral beasts from the entire Outerverse, take back control of Ironblood Weave, and then push into the Primal Zone.

 Chapter 1900: Absolute Beast Cage

    Chapter 1900: Absolute Beast Cage

    The Sixth Maind cultivators were not stopped or even dyed when they arrived at xen Weave.

    On a in the weave, Lu Yin watched as countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind flooded through in various spacecraft on their way to Ironblood Weave. There was fear in his eyes as he watched.

    The Sixth Maind had too much war potential. If the Sixth Maind had not been destroyed by the Aeternals and then forced through a series of catastrophes, such as the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal and the purging of the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, it would have never fallen to such a state.

    When the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth Maind, only half of the Sixth Maind¡¯s realms had participated in the invasion, which amply demonstrated how powerful they had been at that time.

    In truth, most of the credit for the Sixth Maind¡¯s decline could beid at Progenitor Hui¡¯s feet. He had put in ce a scheme that had spanned eons to target the Sixth Maind and reduce them to their current state.

    The Cloud Valley Master drifted through space, but he stopped andnded on the when he noticed Lu Yin.

    "I offered your Sixth Maind some assistance this time, so I wonder, how do you intend to thank me, Senior?" Lu Yin said with a smile.

    The Cloud Valley Master was infuriated by Lu Yin, but then he remembered that Lu Yin might soon be epted as the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple. What¡¯s more, even Lan Xian had made a point to order that Lu Yin¡¯s control of the eastern weaves not be disturbed. It was clear that the intention of those higher up was to leave the eastern weaves to Lu Yin.

    When even Semi-Progenitors showed this youth their favor, the Cloud Valley Master felt that he had no ce to show his unhappiness, so he forced a smile onto his face. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. If not for your Great Eastern Alliance cutting off the path back to the Astral Beast Domain, we might not have had such an easy time routing the beasts."

    Lu Yinughed. "Senior, you¡¯re being too polite. I just hope that the Sixth Maind can protect Ironblood Weave and ensure that such a thing won¡¯t happen again. After all, our Great Eastern Alliance sits just behind Ironblood Weave."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s face twitched, and he wanted to say that the entire Outerverse belonged to his Sixth Maind, but his previous thoughts prevented him from voicing such a thing. The fact that even a Semi-Progenitor had to be polite to Lu Yin kept the smile on the older man¡¯s face. "No, they will never have another opportunity. We will take over even the Primal Zone this time."

    Lu Yin was impressed. "That¡¯s certainly ambitious enough! In that case, I won¡¯t trouble you any longer, Senior."

    The Cloud Valley Master quickly left again.

    No one from the Sixth Maind had ever even considered that a person could resist the temptation to be a Progenitor¡¯s disciple, not even if the person in question was the most arrogant individual from the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire purpose in speaking to the Cloud Valley Master had been to reconfirm the Sixth Maind¡¯s attitude towards him. He kept feeling like the Cloud Valley Master and other powerhouses were in too much of a hurry to get away from him. Did they really not care about the eastern weaves? Or were they that certain that Lu Yin would be the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple?

    Could there be something more to it that Lu Yin was ignorant of?

    Still, regardless of how wild Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts ran, the course of the war hadpletely reversed. Xu Qing had led the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s invasion force into the Astral Wilderness in order to escape and avoid total annihtion.

    Only a month had passed, but the Sixth Maind had gone from being devastated by the invading astral beasts to entering Ironblood Weave and preparing to invade the Primal Zone.

    ¡­

    A mass of red appeared above a very average in the Outerverse. The red mass looked likeva, and space twisted near it and even began burning.

    Theva took on a human form, and it looked like a sinister-looking old man. He stared at the for a long time and eventually transformed back intova and fell towards the like a meteor.

    On the¡¯s surface, Kui Luo, Xiao Qing, Bu Kong, and Meng Erye were ying the image of a family in a ce with a beautiful view.

    That was where they were when theva fell down like a meteor.

    Kui Luo nced up, and a smile spread across his face. ¡°Take a picture! Hurry up! Don¡¯t miss this, grandson! Hurry and get a picture of Grandpa!"

    Bu Kong¡¯s face twitched. He feltpletely humiliated.

    ¡­

    There were not too many astral beasts in Ironblood Weave, but the Primal Zone waspletely different. It was the gate to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Countless cultivators from the Sixth Maind attacked the Primal Zone, and a great battle erupted.

    The Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses had assumed that, with Xu Qing''s group of masters absent, it would be easy to take control of the Primal Zone, and possibly even counter-invade the Astral Beast Domain.

    They had not even considered encountering obstacles.

    Humanity would always have rules andws in ce, and the Astral Beast Domain had their own equivalent rules.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Gaia''s Swamp was their strictest prison, and each one of the inmates there was a powerful individual. Any random prisoner being released could potentially create chaos in an entire region of the universe. Liu Huang had once been a prisoner there, and he had a power level of over a million.

    As for the Astral Beast Domain, they had a ce called the Absolute Beast Cage, and as the name suggested, 10,000 beasts were imprisoned there.

    Each of the 10,000 caged astral beasts were very powerful, just like Gaia''s Swamp¡¯s prisoners.

    At the moment, the Sixth Maind was being blocked from entering the Primal Zone from Ironblood Weave by the Absolute Beast Cage.

    Unlike Gaia¡¯s Swamp, the Absolute Beast Cage was mobile. It was shaped like a birdcage, but it was so massive that it could be used as a fence or barricade.

    The border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone was not particrlyrge, and the Absolute Beast Cage was able to cover most of it. It effectively prevented the Sixth Maind from attacking the Primal Zone.

    The beasts imprisoned within the cage viewed the Celestial Beast Empire as their enemy, and they would happily allow the Sixth Maind cultivators to pass, but the Celestial Beast Empire stimted the astral beasts¡¯ primal nature until the prisoners saw every living creature as an enemy. All they knew anymore was how to kill.

    There were even many beasts who possessed power levels of over a million, and due to their animalistic natures being instigated, they no longer feared death or pain. Their presence was like a mountain that blocked the Sixth Maind¡¯s passage.

    If that were all, then some Empyrean Imprinters like Qing Hua and Master San Cun could eliminate the savage astral beasts, but the Absolute Beast Cage itself was a majorplication.

    The Human Domain¡¯s Gaia''s Swamp corroded its prisoners with death energy, while the Absolute Beast Cage had been made from an odd metal that was unique to the Astral Beast Domain. This metal could absorb flesh and blood to be more robust, making it a magical and almost living metal. The more flesh and blood that it consumed, the harder the metal would be, and it would even increase its mass. The metal itself behaved like a greedy beast.

    This was the greatest obstacle facing the Sixth Maind, as even if the Empyrean Imprinters wanted to destroy the Absolute Beast Cage, it would be very difficult for them to do so.

    Lu Yin studied some images taken of the border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone, and he arched a brow. "What''s the deal with this Absolute Beast Cage? It seems that even the Empyrean Imprinters are struggling to deal with it."

    Ya Mavis looked very somber. "There are ancient records that cite the Fourth Maind once facing a disaster that resulted in the deaths of countless astral beasts, including even beasts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors. Eventually, a Progenitor was forced to take action, and only then was the catastrophe averted. That catastrophe was caused by a strange metal, and you¡¯d be right if you guessed that that metal is the same that was used to form the Absolute Beast Cage."

    This information left Lu Yin stunned. "The metal killed all those astral beasts?"

    "More precisely, it devoured them," Ya Mavis answered with clear fear in her voice. "Do you know why humans first established the Daosource Sect? The assumption is that humanity faced endless disasters in those ancient days and people were forced to unite in order to survive, much like ordinary humans having to band together to survive a disaster like a tsunami. There are times when cultivators also face iprehensible disasters."

    Lu Yin understood, and he looked back at the images. "Your Mavis family has records about that metal, so how can the Celestial Beast Empire not? If they know what it is, why would they dare to use something so dangerous?"

    Ya Mavis replied, "This beast cage is very small. The metal that caused that ancient disaster was recorded to have beenrge enough to epass half of the Outerverse. It¡¯s possible that it was discovered toote.

    "The cage is currently small enough for an Empyrean Imprinter to handle, but the imprisoned beasts pose a new problem. Each one that dies will cause the cage to growrger and stronger, and it¡¯s impossible to break through without killing the beasts. The Astral Beast Domain has been forced to pay an absurdly high price for their invasion of the Outerverse.¡±

    "Still, this should not stop the Sixth Maind for too long."

    Beep beep beep!

    An alert sounded from Lu Yin''s gadget, and a nce revealed that the call was from First Edition City¡¯s deputy city master, Little Bear.

    Lu Yin had not heard from First Edition City for quite some time. When they hadst reached out to Lu Yin, it had been to send someone to deliver some ancient relics for Lu Yin to Dpose back to their baseponents.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, a rare metal has appeared in the Primal Zone, and we would like to ask for your help in acquiring some of it." The vice city master sounded quite anxious.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "That beast cage?"

    "Correct. It¡¯s made of a very rare metal. We hope that you can find a way to bring our First Edition City some of it. You can present any conditions that you desire for this favor," Little Bear said in a very serious voice.

    Lu Yin nced over at Ya Mavis. Without the information she had provided, he would have never known about the origins of this Absolute Beast Cage. "Deputy City Master Bear, might I ask, why are you so eager to obtain this metal?"

    Little Bear replied, "It¡¯s a metal from ancient times, and it has the property of being able to devour flesh and blood to increase its hardness and mass. It¡¯s something that can reinforce our androids, and it has long since believed to have disappeared. It¡¯s unexpected to learn that the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s Absolute Beast Cage was made from this lost material. Alliance Leader Lu, I must beg you for this."

    "I can only do my best. You¡¯re able to see the value of the metal, and the Sixth Maind won¡¯t fail to see the same. I might not be able to get any for you," Lu Yin said.

    Little Bear remained grateful. "I must ask Alliance Leader Lu to help us if at all possible. You can ask whatever you wish aspensation, as long as it is something within our power to fulfill."

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. He was not surprised by the fact that the Technocracy was watching what was happening all the way across the Outerverse in the Primal Zone, but this call had been made too quickly. It was clear that the Technocracy ced a great deal of importance on this metal that formed this Absolute Beast Cage.

    "Do many people know this metal¡¯s origin?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ya Mavis replied, "That shouldn¡¯t be the case. After all, it happened too long ago, and the Fifth Maind has since survived many wars and even being shattered. It¡¯s possible that not even the Hall of Honor knows this story."

    If the Hall of Honor did not know, then it seemed equally likely that First Edition City was simrly ignorant. However, if that was the case, then why were they so eager to obtain the metal?

    Lu Yin stared northwards. He was quite intrigued by the Absolute Beast Cage.

    It was made from a metal that had brought disaster to the ancient Fourth Maind and had even forced a Progenitor to step out to resolve it. This was evidence that this metal was incredibly strong and resilient. If it was Enhanced, just how far would Lu Yin be able to take this metal?

    On the border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone, Master San Cun and other Empyrean Imprinters started to attack and ughter all the astral beasts imprisoned within the cage. Blood mixed with flesh and was devoured by the Absolute Beast Cage. The cage started to grow, and it soon spread across almost the entire length of the border while also creeping into both Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone.

    Flesh and blood seemed to stimte the metal that formed the cage, and both astral beasts and humans were instantly devoured the moment they came into contact with the metal.

    The durability of the metal proved challenging to even the Empyrean Imprinters, but luckily, the metal was notpletely indestructible.

    The Absolute Beast Cage thwarted the Sixth Maind¡¯s advancement for five days. After those five dayster, the cage shattered, and the Sixth Maind cultivators charged into the Primal Zone tounch their counterattack upon the Astral Beast Domain.

    They faced countless astral beasts that had poured into the Primal Zone, reinforcing the ce while the Sixth Maind had been stalled by the obstacle in their path.

    However, these reinforcements were not enough to hold the Sixth Maind back. Before too long, the Sixth Maind arrived at the border between the Primal Zone and the Astral Beast Domain. Any further, and they would officially enter the Astral Beast Domain.

    Behind them, Lu Yin entered Ironblood Weave while being kept hidden by the Second Nightking. He intended to gather the shattered shards of the Absolute Beast Cage.

    The Absolute Beast Cage had been stupendouslyrge, as it had lined the entire border between the Primal Zone and Ironblood Weave. After it was destroyed, fragments had been scattered everywhere. Lu Yin was not the only one picking up the pieces, as many others were doing the same.

 Chapter 1901: That Which Should Not Be Seen

    Chapter 1901: That Which Should Not Be Seen

    Many people were gathering the shattered remains of the Absolute Beast Cage in order to make weapons from them. Since this was a metal that even Empyrean Imprinters had struggled to break, it would definitely make for powerful weapons.

    However, they were all disappointed by the results. The shattered remains of the Absolute Beast Cage were simr to a corpse after a creature¡¯s vitality had been lost. Forget Empyrean Imprinters¡ªeven Explorers could easily crush the shards of the cage. While it was still good enough for Limiteers to use as weapons, it was useless to anyone with the strength of an Explorer or above.

    Lu Yin found a massive fragment of metal from the shattered cage that still stunk of blood. He let out a breath, and the fragment shattered even though he didn¡¯t use any strength at all.

    Did First Edition City really need such a thing?

    He quickly called the deputy city master and told Little Bear what he had learned. Despite the news, Little Bear insisted that they still wanted the metal as badly as ever.

    Since the Technocracy wanted it so badly, Lu Yin would gather it for them. Still, there were too many fragments for Lu Yin to gather everything into his cosmic ring. He was left with no choice but to reach out to the Cloud Valley Master and ask the man to send some Sixth Maind cultivators to help him gather up the broken pieces of metal.

    The Cloud Valley Master initially thought that he had misheard Lu Yin''s request. The Sixth Maind was still in the middle of a battle with the Astral Beast Domain and were pushing forward to counterattack the astral beasts. What was Lu Yin thinking? Why would he ever ask him to send people back to help Lu Yin pick up some broken scraps? If even a Cosmic Imprinter had submitted such a request, the Cloud Valley Master would have cursed them to death for such a thing. However, he had to show Lu Yin some face.

    Unable to refuse, the Cloud Valley Master sent some spacecraft with cultivators of little to nobat strength to return and help Lu Yin collect the metal scraps that were drifting through space. Everything was then dumped into Frostwave Weave.

    The fact that the Cloud Valley Master had agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s request made the young man feel that something was off. He wondered what had happened. Had the Progenitor of Bloodlines said something to the Sixth Maind as a whole? That seemed highly unlikely. In that case, what about Lan Xian? That woman wanted to see Lu Yin suffer as much as possible, so just what had happened?

    Aside from the shards of the broken Absolute Beast Cage, Lu Yin wanted one more thing to take back: the piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide that he had left on the face of the desated corpse that had chased Lu Yin down and attacked him when he had broken through to the Explorer realm.

    The piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide that Lu Yin had picked up from the Ghost Monkey was very small, and he had lost it in the Primal Zone when he left it on the face of a desated corpse. Lu Yin was nning to make a trip into the Primal Zone to retrieve it.

    He had lost therge piece of Progenitor Wushang''s hide for good, so he at least needed to get the small piece back.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, on the same average-looking, Kui Luo licked his lips as he stared greedily at a table full of food. "Come, grandchildren! Let''s dig in!"

    Bu Kong¡¯s felt his scalp go numb. Grandchildren? It felt like a swear word, but he was already bing used to it.

    Xiao Qing rolled her eyes. "Grandpa Kui Luo, when can we leave?"

    Meng Erye also looked up, his eyes filled with expectation.

    Kui Luo continued to enjoy a bite of a refreshing side dish as he let out a long breath. "Leave? Is grandpa treating you badly? Are you unhappy spending time with your grandpa? Why do you want to leave?"

    Xiao Qing was frustrated. "But I want to get back to cultivating."

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "What¡¯s the use of cultivating? Youths should spend their time enjoying life, not bothering with boring things like cultivating."

    Xiao Qing gritted her teeth. This old man had be a Semi-Progenitor through cultivating, but he no longer cared about such things. He was acting in a typical manner by refusing to help those weaker than himself after gaining what he wanted for himself. Such a person deserved to be beaten!

    The door opened, and an old man wearing dark red robes walked in.

    Several nearby people nced over. It was very unusual for an old person to wear clothes of such a color, so it stood out.

    The red-robed old man walked right up behind Kui Luo and looked down at him.

    Kui Luo seemed to not notice as he continued to enjoy his food.

    Across the table, the faces of Madam Hong and the others all changed drastically when they saw the old man standing behind Kui Luo. While ordinary people could not sense a thing, these people were all cultivators, and just a nce from this old man caused an unfathomable pressure to envelop them. He feltrger than they couldprehend, as though he had reced the sky itself and was taking over the entire world.

    Just a look from the red-robed old man caused Madam Hong to spit out a mouthful of blood that painted the entire table red.

    Right after that, Meng Erye, Bu Kong, and Xiao Qing all did the same.

    The restaurant owner was stunned into silence. Vomiting blood from eating? This was the end! His business was doomed!

    Kui Luo had extended his hand to grab some vegetables, but all of the food was suddenly painted over with blood. He pped the table in anger, and the owner of the restaurant hurried over in order to cate his customers. Kui Luo turned around and stared at the old man in the red robes. "Are you looking for trouble?"

    The old man stared back at Kui Luo. "Who are you?"

    Kui Luo sneered and stepped onto his seat. "And who are you?"

    "Xue Laogui," the old man answered indifferently.

    Madam Hong was startled. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    Meng Erye and the others had not originally even known of Xue Laogui¡¯s existence, but too many things had befallen the Sixth Maind in recent years. At one point, the Seven Skygods had even attacked the Daosource Sect. The names of the Semi-Progenitors still hidden within the Daosource Sect had almost be public knowledge, and one of those three was named Xue Laogui.

    Had a Semi-Progenitore after them? Bu Kong''s face went white. This was the end of the line.

    Kui Luo stared at Xue Laogui for a long time. Finally, he said, "You guys made a mistake.¡±

    Xue Laogui arched a brow. "Tell me.¡±

    "You can¡¯t catch me!" With those words, Kui Luo suddenly disappeared.

    A cold glint shed through Xue Laogui''s eyes. He did not even nce at Meng Erye and the others, but simply tore through space and vanished.

    The owner of the restaurant turned white, as though he had just seen a ghost. Where did the man go? Had he just disappeared?

    Meng Erye and the others nced at each other, and Bu Kong reflexively moved to flee, but Meng Erye set a hand on the youth¡¯s shoulder. "Come with me, traitor."

    He then left with Bu Kong and Xiao Qing, leaving only Madam Hong at the table.

    With Kui Luo gone, Meng Erye and the others had regained their freedom, but Madam Hong still had not. Her stellr energy had been sealed away by Kui Luo, and the only way for her to release it was with his assistance. She had no choice but to stay behind on the and wait for his return.

    ***

    Red filled the entire area. With a wave of Xue Laogui¡¯s hand, the redva that had appeared in outer space turned white. The terrifyingly high temperature reduced countlesss to ash, and it even started to incinerate space and expose the true universe. This level of destruction was horrifying to witness.

    Kui Luo let out a strangled cry as he shot out and patted his clothes. "You old bastard! Don¡¯t destroy the entire region! Don¡¯t you have any morals?¡±

    He continued to shout as he fled, and Xue Laogui''s eyes grew hard. "Come with me, and I may not be forced to kill you."

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "You sure talk a big game for someone so young. Just catch me if you think you¡¯re all that!"

    Kui Luo then shot across space, making his way east.

    Xue Laogui gave a disdainful snort. The whiteva formed itself into threads as fine as silk that shot into the distance. Everything that the threads touched as they passed was reduced to ash. It looked as though someone was slicing through the Outerverse.

    Semi-Progenitors had their own inner worlds, which meant that they did not rely on stellr energy very much. Their inner worlds were something born only after their cultivation reached a sufficient level.

    A person''s inner world basically embodied everything that they were or possessed, including things like their battle techniques and spiritual force.

    Xue Laogui¡¯s inner world consisted ofva. It was an infinite amount ofva that would burn everything without exception, and even Kui Luo was afraid of the endless heat. Theva was hot enough to render everything ash, and it was not something that living creatures could endure.

    The white-hot threads ofva sped up behind Kui Luo, and space shattered wherever the threads passed by.

    He turned around and poked a finger at the threads, but he almost immediately pulled back with lightning-quick reflexes before blowing at his finger while whining, "It''s so hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!"

    Xue Laogui hesitated when he saw the endless fear growing in Kui Luo''s eyes. Wait, something was not right. There was something wrong with this old man. He had just touched Xue Laogui¡¯s whiteva, which meant that their two inner worlds had just collided, but somehow, he had not suffered any damage.

    When Semi-Progenitors fought each other, there were times when the battle would be conducted via their inner worlds. One example of this was when Forgotten Ruins God had fought against the Chief Justice, or when Lan Xian had fought Jiu Chi. Both of those incidents had been that of Semi-Progenitors demonstrating the power of their inner worlds.

    Jiu Chi had destroyed Lan Xian''s cherry blossoms with a drop of wine, and that wine had been Jiu Chi''s inner world.

    However, Kui Luo had not revealed his inner world or even a battle technique. He had just moved a finger, but that alone had left Xue Laogui¡¯s inner world helpless. He had only ever experienced something simr when facing Jiu Yao.

    Xue Laogui briefly stopped, and he gazed at Kui Luo in a much more serious manner. "You- you¡¯ve opened your third meridian point?"

    Kui Luo was still blowing on his finger. When he heard Xue Laogui¡¯s words, the sides of his mouth twitched upwards. "Nope."

    Xue Laogui might not have believed Kui Luo if the old man had said yes, but the answer ¡°No¡± convinced Xue Laogui that his suspicion was correct. This person had indeed opened his third meridian point, which put him on the same level as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor and Jiu Yao.

    Things had just be problematic. The reason why the Sixth Maind was so wary of the Fifth Maind was because each of their Semi-Progenitors had the potential to be a Progenitor.

    No one from the Sixth Maind understood how the Fifth Maind had acquired so much Origin Matter, but it was clear that each of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors still had the possibility to be a Progenitor.

    On the other hand, Xue Laogui was different. He had not opened his third meridian point, which meant that he would never be able to step into the Progenitor realm.

    Despite facing a Semi-Progenitor who had opened his third meridian point, Xue Laogui still felt like he could not lose. "Who are you? Why have you targeted my Sixth Maind?"

    Kui Luo stared intently at Xue Laogui for a moment. "You should thank me, old man. If not for me, how would you have ever learned who your enemies are?"

    Xue Laogui frowned. It was true that he had taken revenge due to information that Kui Luo had released by visiting and then destroying the Toolcasting family. However, as punishment for his actions, Jiu Yao had sent Xue Laogui to hunt down the person behind all the chaos. "Why did you make such a mess of my Sixth Maind?"

    ¡°A mess? I don¡¯t think so. It was nothing more than tending to some matters of injustice and righting those wrongs. How many people were saved by those messages? In particr, I should be praised just for exposing what was happening with the Meng n. If not for me, those two old men would have filled that entire n with their own bastards. Don¡¯t you think that they should be thanking me?" Kui Luo replied in a matter-of-factly tone.

    "As for the Cloud Valley, without me letting them know that their previous leader was captured by the Fan family, they would have never learned that they could still get him back. They should also be praising me. Actually, the ones who should be thanking me the most right now are Jiu Xiang and Xue Manzi."

    Xue Laogui''s expression instantly changed, and he screamed, "Shut up! Do not disrespect the Progenitors!"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "If not for the fact that I exposed those two perverts, how many of the women in your Daosource Sect would have suffered? Actually, why don¡¯t you go check on your granddaughter-inw and your great-granddaughter-inw to see if anything unusual happened to either of them."

    Xue Laogui became furious, and his whiteva instantly filled everything in sight. Space itself was burning.

    Kui Luo became upset. "We were just chatting! Why are you attacking me? You don¡¯t understand the concept of gratitude, and you even act so rude as well. Just remember to go back and check on them. For all you know, your family¡¯s carrying those creeps¡¯ bastards."

    Xue Laogui was livid. Enormous hands stretched out from the whiteva to grab hold of Kui Luo. Each of the hands was hot enough to burn an Empyrean Imprinter.

    Kui Luo groaned. "This is too hot! Time to go!"

    With that, he disappeared.

    Xue Laogui continued to chase after his quarry. He did not believe that he could overpower this mysterious Semi-Progenitor by himself, so it was important for Xue Laogui to keep an eye on the culprit while waiting for Jiu Yao.

    Kui Luo had not only stirred up trouble for the Sixth Maind, but he had also sneaked into the Daosource Sect. He had seen things he should not have, and that was what the Sixth Maind feared the most. If Kui Luo leaked what he had learned there, it would expose the Daosource Sect¡¯s greatest secret. He simply could not be allowed to escape.

 Chapter 1902: Who Is This?

    Chapter 1902: Who Is This?

    One dayter, Lu Yin arrived in the Primal Zone.

    Already, cultivators like the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cloud Valley Master were making their way towards the eastern side of the Primal Zone, and Lu Yin wanted to find the where he had left the desated corpse in a stunned state so that he could retrieve the piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin and the Second Nightking stopped in ce, and they nced at each other at the same time. They had both sensed that something was off: it felt as though they were being watched.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force was incredibly powerful, and he was a monstrously strong powerhouse, so it was no surprise that he had managed to notice something.

    As for Lu Yin, it was nothing more than a gut feeling. After he had be an Envoy, his instincts had be much sharper.

    "Who¡¯s there? Come out," Lu Yin ordered as his gaze swept the area.

    The Second Nightking had turned very serious. While it was unlikely that they were wrong, as they had both sensed someone¡¯s eyes at the same time, the fact that this person was able to remain hidden from even the Second Nightking indicated a very powerful person.

    Space twisted a short ways away from the two men, and a kind looking old man appeared. He gave Lu Yin a small smile as curiosity and admiration filled his eyes.

    He was well dressed, and he gave those near him a feeling offort. There was a strange but refreshing medicine fragrance that appeared when he revealed himself.

    "If I¡¯m right, you should be Herb Immortal, one of the Four Empyreans, Senior" Lu Yin spoke in a respectful manner.

    The old man nodded. "I¡¯ve admired you from a distance for quite some time, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin was struck by a feeling of dread. "I don¡¯t dare ept such apliment. I¡¯m nothing more than a junior to you, Senior."

    "Hehe, there¡¯s no need for such modesty. You¡¯re the only newly risen Envoy in the entire universe who¡¯s able to sense this old man¡¯s presence. You even managed to sense me at the same time as the man from the Daynight beside you." Herb Immortal smiled as he looked at Lu Yin with growing admiration.

    Lu Yin stared at Herb Immortal. Regardless of how kind this man looked or how heplimented Lu Yin, he was still one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans. The fact that the Second Nightking had not been able to find the man spoke of his power.

    The Second Nightking stared at Herb Immortal. "You must be a Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze grew even more wary as he stared at Herb Immortal.

    Herb Immortal smiled, neither denying nor admitting to anything. "Alliance Leader Lu, there are rumors that you are a direct descendant of the Lu family and that you possess the family¡¯s innate gift, the Champions'' Stage. Could you show it to this old man?"

    Lu Yin felt increasingly nervous. "What do you mean, Senior?"

    Herb Immortal quickly apologized. "I¡¯m sorry for my rudeness, but I¡¯m merely curious and have no further intentions. The Champions¡¯ Stage is simply too famous, and I heard of it many times in my youth, though I was never able to see one for myself. I already have one foot in the grave, and there¡¯s no telling when I might pass. I only asked to fulfill an old dream, so I hope you won¡¯t take any offense from my words, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin had no idea whether or not he could trust Herb Immortal. He nced over at the Second Nightking, only to see the old man had taken a step forward and was growing increasingly vignt.

    Herb Immortal continued to give Lu Yin a faint smile, showing no hostility from the beginning.

    Lu Yin hesitated a bit as he considered the old man¡¯s request further. ¡°If you want to see it, I don¡¯t have a problem with it, Senior.¡±

    The Champions'' Stage appeared in front of him.

    Herb Immortal''s eyes red when the Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and he eximed, "This is the Lu family¡¯s hereditary innate gift, the Champions'' Stage? This is the power that can make one person as strong as an entire nation? Are those markings on it those who have been anointed?"

    Lu Yin quickly dismissed the Champions'' Stage and said, "They¡¯re merely some patterns."

    He did not make a habit of revealing his trump cards. He had recently fought quite a few people, and thus did not want to expose any more of his techniques than necessary.

    Herb Immortal gave a small smile and sighed. "Back then, the Lu family''s Champions'' Stage was considered invincible. Any one of them who possessed it was able to suppress an entire battlefield. Everyone who saw a Champions'' Stage would lose all will to fight, no matter if they were an enemy or even arade-in-arms. It was an invincible power that could deter anyone."

    Lu Yin was puzzled: back then?

    Herb Immortal raised a hand and tossed a thin, translucent paper over to Lu Yin. No, it seemed to be a piece of skin.

    The Second NightKing reached out and took it.

    "This outer skin of a pill is a coincidental by-product from refining some pills. It¡¯s not very useful, but it does possess a decent degree of toughness, as it can withstand attacks with power levels of over a million without issue. This is my thanks for fulfilling an old man¡¯s wish," Herb Immortal exined.

    Lu Yin was amazed as he took the skin from the Second Nightking. His pupils transformed into runes, and he saw a shocking number or rune lines from the skin that wereparable to what Yuan Shi possessed, despite the skin being as thin as a cicada''s wings. He used his full strength to try to tear the skin, but nothing at all happened to it. It really could endure attacks with power levels of over a million.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of making some clothing with this skin. If he had a bit more of it, he could fashion some clothes to wear, and then he would be able to brashly roam about as he wished. He looked back up and was about to say something, only to discover that Herb Immortal was already gone.

    "Where¡¯d he go?"

    "He left," the Second Nightking replied.

    No shit! That¡¯s obvious! "Which way did he go?"

    The Second Nightking looked to the east.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as he put away the pill skin. He remembered Herb Immortal¡¯s earlier words: ¡°Back then.¡± The old man had spoken as though it had been something he had witnessed himself. Wait, what if that was exactly what had happened?

    Herb Immortal was someone from the Rock Realm, and Xin N¨¹ had mentioned that many people from the Rock Realm had previously been sealed within stone. Could Herb Immortal be someone who had been sealed in stone during a battle in that ancient war as well, only to be unsealed much earlier than Xin N¨¹? It could even be possible that the two had lived during the same era.

    It was actually a possibility.

    "Let''s go." Just as Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were moving to continue searching for the where Lu Yin had suppressed the desate corpse, a terrifying aura spread out from far to the east. It shook both the Primal Zone and Ironblood Weave before spreading even further.

    Lu Yin turned to look to the east in shock. "A Semi-Progenitor!"

    At the eastern border of the Primal Zone, the people of the Sixth Maind were preparing to push into the Astral Beast Domain. This was to be the first step of their counterattack.

    However, a middle-aged man in a ck robe suddenly appeared before the army. At the exact same time, Herb Immortal appeared as well. Two terrifying forces shed and tore space apart.

    This collision of Semi-Progenitors¡¯ strength sent a shockwave sweeping through the Primal Zone, leaving only destruction in its wake.

    Everyone from the Sixth Maind retreated.

    Herb Immortal¡¯s expression grew ugly. "Yao Di."

    The ck-clothed middle-aged man who had appeared at the border of the Primal Zone was the Celestial Demon Emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire. The Astral Beast Domain¡¯s only known Semi-Progenitor.

    It was no surprise that Yao Di had made an appearance. Xu Qing was somewhere that he could not be contacted, and the Sixth Maind had invaded the Primal Zone and was pushing into the Astral Beast Domain. Apart from Yao Di, there was no one else who could stop the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    At this moment, Herb Immortal revealed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, confirming the rumors that he had reached that level.

    However, not even a Semi-Progenitor was able to stop Yao Di. Herb Immortal was overwhelmed during their sh.

    "Leave the Primal Zone. This war ends here." Yao Di had the appearance of a man in his thirties, and he was just as good looking as Yao Xuan. The emperor¡¯s eyes held a majestic and refined quality, though it did not detract from his arrogance. He held his ce like an immovable mountain, blocking all of the Sixth Maind cultivators from proceeding any further.

    Herb Immortal refused to retreat. "Your Astral Beast Domain invaded the Outerverse, yet you now want this war to start at your whim? You think too highly of yourself."

    Yao Di nced at Herb Immortal. "Killing you is only too easy."

    A glint flickered across Herb Immortal''s eyes. "Try it."

    As he spoke, he gestured for Yao Di to proceed. Qing Hua and others quickly backed away from behind Herb Immortal. This had be a Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battlefield.

    A terrifying spiritual force materialized and created a storm that swept through space and crashed towards Herb Immortal. The void was distorted in front of the man. It was the appearance of a famous battle technique: Herb King Dispersion. Everyone who had fought Herb Immortal before had learned that entering his Herb King Dispersion meant defeat was a certainty.

    His Herb King Dispersion had just made another appearance, and it colliding directly with Yao Di¡¯s terrifying spiritual force.

    Howling winds formed from the force of the spiritual force. As it touched upon the Herb King Dispersion, Yao Di¡¯s battle technique dissipated. Herb Immortal''s face turned pale, and he was slowly pushed further back into the Primal Zone.

    Qing Hua and other powerhouses from the Sixth Maind were all startled. How was it possible that Herb Immortal, a Semi-Progenitor, was unable to stand up to Yao Di''s spiritual force?

    Yao Di raised a hand and pointed a finger forward. The maelstrom of spiritual force condensed, releasing a terrible pressure.

    Herb Immortal''s pupils instantly constricted. A medicinal cauldron appeared in space, and it sealed off Yao Di''s spiritual force. This was Herb Immortal''s inner world, and anything that was sealed within it would be incinerated.

    Yao Di¡¯s brows rose. "Force Explosion."

    The moment he spoke, the medicinal cauldron shuddered, and a crack appeared that started to spread.

    Herb Immortal trembled violently and spat out blood. The difference in strength between him and his opponent was simply too vast. Compared to Yao Di, Herb Immortal was as weak as an Imprinter up against a Semi-Progenitor. Yao Di had absolutely opened his third meridian point.

    Yao Di was the only Semi-Progenitor in the entire Astral Beast Domain, and the Astral Beast Domain possessed the Fourth Maind¡¯s inheritances as well, which was what had allowed the emperor to open his third meridian point.

    Herb Immortal''s face turned ashen as he questioned whether or not he would die in this battle. Of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, only Jiu Yao could face Yao Di.

    "As I said, killing you is too easy," Yao Di¡¯s voice was rxed, yet the crack in the medicinal cauldron widened, and a trace of spiritual force leaked out. With a wave of the Celestial Demon Emperor¡¯s hand, the spiritual force gathered in one ce beforeshing out at Herb Immortal. This attack seemed able to draw in all things, and even space itself was parted like a curtain of water.

    From the perspective of Qing Hua and others, it looked as though the entire Astral Beast Domain had just been focused into a single point that had been sent crashing into Herb Immortal.

    The medicinal cauldron quickly moved in front of the man to act as a shield. However, a bit of the spiritual force pierced the cauldron and continued on towards Herb Immortal.

    Just as the man believed his life to be over, he heard an exmation. "Is this the spiritual force the Celestial Demons possess? It truly is terrifying."

    Boom

    Countless people watching from outside the Primal Zone were left stunned as space shattered and cracks spread throughout the Primal Zone and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Yao Di''s expression froze and he looked up to stare into the distance. Someone had managed to stop his spiritual force.

    Herb Immortal stood within the Primal Zone, blood leaking from a corner of his mouth. At some unknown time, a person had appeared in front of him. This man was Kui Luo.

    A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s speed meant that they were able to easily cross vast distances almost instantaneously, and Kui Luo had been able to travel to the Primal Zone very quickly.

    His arrival had coincidentally helped Herb Immortal block a killing blow.

    The next moment, Xue Laogui appeared. He stared nkly at the scene before him, unsure of what was going on. He arrived at the Primal Zone by chasing Kui Luo, and thus had witnessed Kui Luo blocking Yao Di''s attack and saving Herb Immortal. Was this man not an enemy of the Sixth Maind? Why had he helped Herb Immortal?

    "Who are you?" Herb Immortal and Yao Di asked in unison.

    Kui Luo stared at Yao Di in amazement. "As expected from the stories, you¡¯re a creature that¡¯s most suited for cultivating spiritual force. Even in ancient times, the Celestial Demons were the top species in the Fourth Maind. Truly impressive."

    Yao Di was much more solemn when facing Kui Luo than he had been when confronting Herb Immortal. "Who are you?"

    "Just an outsider who has nothing to do with this war. My hands just got itchy when I saw your spiritual force and I wanted to give it a go," Kui Luo replied in a cheeky tone.

    Yao Di frowned. He had assumed this man had to be one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s hidden powerhouses, but he was nothing but an outsider and an idiot!

    However, Xue Laogui¡¯s appearance drew a bit of Yao Di¡¯s attention as well. Three human Semi-Progenitors were present, and Kui Luo was even capable of blocking the astral beast emperor¡¯s spiritual force. This battle looked to be much more challenging than he had assumed.

    Herb Immortal also felt confused by the arrival of Xue Laogui and the mysterious Semi-Progenitor. "Who is this?"

 Chapter 1903: Whats The Big Deal?

    Chapter 1903: What''s The Big Deal?

    Xue Laogui was facing a dilemma. Kui Luo had just helped to block Yao Di''s attack, but the man was also an enemy of the Sixth Maind himself! If this was revealed and the old man teamed up with Yao Di, Xue Laogui and Herb Immortal were doomed.

    Xue Laogui remained silent for a long time.

    Kui Luo nced at Xue Laogui, Herb Immortal, and Yao Di, and he also remained silent. The battlefield in the Primal Zone battlefield had grown eerily quiet.

    Yao Di¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Kui Luo. "Are you from the Sixth Maind?"

    Kui Luo shook his head.

    Yao Di frowned. "The Human Domain?"

    Kui Luo shook his head again.

    Yao Di frowned, and he growled, "It doesn¡¯t matter who you are! This war ends here!"

    Faced with three Semi-Progenitors, he no longer tried to demand the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces withdraw from the Primal Zone. An unfathomable powerhouse had appeared, and Yao Di had no confidence that he would be able to threaten the humans any longer.

    Kui Luo quickly spoke up, "Don''t stop. This war is entirely your business and it has nothing to do with me. I was just passing by, so please, continue.¡±

    After speaking, he stepped into the void and shot back towards Ironblood Weave.

    Xue Laogui instinctively wanted to give chase, but Herb Immortal quickly stopped him. "Xue Laogui, do you want to watch as I die?"

    Xue Laogui hesitated, and his cold gaze swept past Herb Immortal and eventually stopped on Yao Di. If Herb Immortal was abandoned at this moment, then not only Herb Immortal, but everyone from the Sixth Maind would be condemned to die. Yao Di would be unstoppable. Still, capturing that old man remained the top priority.

    Xue Laogui stared at the Celestial Demon Emperor intently for a moment before agreeing. "The war ends here."

    Yao Di sneered inwardly. He was able to tell that the old man from before was not from the Sixth Maind, and that he even held a grudge against them. "It can end after you pull out of the Primal Zone.¡±

    Xue Laogui''s eyes grew cold. He was just about to agree, but he suddenly paused and nced back at the Cloud Valley Master. The man had just sent a voice transmission to Xue Laogui, insisting that they could not abandon the Primal Zone, at least for the moment.

    The fighting between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone would never end. The war that Yao Di was saying needed to end was not the end of the fighting between the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain, but merely the end of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse. After the Semi-Progenitors left, the fighting in Ironblood Weave would continue, and the Astral Beast Domain would continue to attempt an invasion.

    Yao Di had only shown up to stop the current battle, not end all wars.

    In fact, his primary objective for appearing in the Primal Zone at this moment was to conceal the return of the invasion force.

    The horde of astral beasts that had fled after invading the Outerverse had escaped into the Astral Wilderness in order to return to the Astral Beast Domain, and thest section of their journey would see them pass through the Primal Zone. The survival of the returning astral beasts would be determined by whoever controlled the Primal Zone.

    This was what controlling the Primal Zone meant at this time, and it was also the only reason Herb Immortal had taken just a risk for the control of the territory.

    Yao Di had appeared in order to rendezvous with Xu Qing''s returning astral beasts and escort them into the Astral Beast Domain.

    That horde of astral beasts was too powerful a force, and the loss of such numbers and powerhouses would see the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s strength drop by nearly half. As long as those beasts were all eliminated, Ironblood Weave would remain safe for the foreseeable future.

    The Sixth Maind had no intention of simply remaining in the Outerverse forever. Their goal had always been the entire Fifth Maind, and despite setbacks like the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal which had lowered the strength of the entire Sixth Maind, their self-confidence was quickly being regained.

    They would definitely have to fight against the Hall of Honor in the future, and they could not do so with the threat of an invasion appearing through Ironblood Weave. The Sixth Maind needed this peace of mind for the sake of their future endeavors. This was simply too important to ignore.

    This was a matter that could determine the sess of the goals of the entire Sixth Maind. This was why they could not abandon the Primal Zone. If they retreated at this time, the least that they had to ensure was that they gained some advantage over the Astral Beast Domain by utilizing Xu Qing''s horde of astral beasts. If they could not even do that, the Sixth Maind would end up as nothing more than a tool that had been used throughout the entire war. Not only had they been invaded by the Astral Beast Domain, they would also lose a region of their territory.

    While Xue Laogui hesitated, Kui Luopletely disappeared. Xue Laogui would no longer be able to catch up no matter how hard he tried.

    "This war is over. Leave the Primal Zone now, or else you will never be able to leave this ce alive," Yao Di threatened while staring straight at Xue Laogui.

    Xue Laogui and Herb Immortal looked at each other. "Can we stop him if we cooperate?"

    "We can at least try. As long as we can keep the Celestial Demon Empire here for a while, our Sixth Maind will be able to grab Xu Qing''s horde," Herb Immortal suggested.

    "Alright," Xue Laogui replied and looked back at Yao Di. "I¡¯ve heard that the Celestial Demons are powerful, and I hope to see how true those ims are."

    Whiteva appeared throughout the surroundings, an Herb Immortal simultaneously attacked. His medicinal cauldron reappeared and it coordinated with the whiteva to smash into Yao Di.

    Yao Di contemptuously said, "You¡¯ve both chosen death."

    A fight between Semi-Progenitors would shatter the universe, and Qing Hua and others continuously fled back.

    Further away, Lu Yinpletely left the Primal Zone and pulled up his gadget to call Kui Luo, but failed to do so even after multiple attempts.

    All Lu Yin could do was reach out to Shui Chuanxiao for the time being and give him orders to have the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s fleet withdraw from Northcastle Weave and make their way into the asteroid field. The fighting had already reached the critical point, and the fate of the eastern weaves hung in the bnce.

    Although the Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses from the Sixth Maind had all been very polite to Lu Yin. They had not demanded that the eastern weaves be returned to the Sixth Maind¡¯s control, and though everything had looked to be going smoothly, Lu Yin could not rx. He continued to feel that there was something outside of his control, and so he was determined to stick to his original n.

    "Hey, what a coincidence," Kui Luo spoke up from behind Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking whirled around, startled. Unlike when Herb Immortal had approached, the Second Nightking had not been able to sense anything at all when Kui Luo had been nearby.

    Lu Yin was also startled, and when he looked at Kui Luo, he muttered, "Would it kill you to show up like a normal person?"

    "Why? You do something you should be feeling guilty about? What are you so afraid of?" Kui Luo casually asked.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Where¡¯ve you been?"

    Kui Luo replied, "I was being chased, which left me with no choice but to lure that guy over here. I showed up just in time to see a Celestial Demon Semi-Progenitor attacking, and I couldn¡¯t resist getting involved, so I saved one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor while I was there."

    "Herb Immortal?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "No idea. He still hasn¡¯t opened his three meridian points, and he¡¯s too weak. If not for me stepping in, he would¡¯ve died," Kui Luo said.

    Lu Yin asked, "Is Yao Di that powerful?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "Very powerful. No matter what, he¡¯s a Celestial Demon, and that species was considered very powerful even back in the ancient Fourth Maind. There were records about them in your Lu family''s ancient texts. They¡¯ve had Progenitors of their own before.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. "It doesn¡¯t sound like Herb Immortal will be able to stay alive without you."

    Kui Luo just rolled his eyes. "That¡¯s not my business. He¡¯s not my kid."

    Kui Luo suddenly hesitated and looked to the south. "It¡¯s getting quite busy here. Another Semi-Progenitor just showed up."

    Lu Yin was taken aback by this. "Another Semi-Progenitor? Who?"

    "Some woman. She¡¯s quite fetching and doesn¡¯t seem very old," Kui Luo replied.

    Lu Yin immediately knew this person was Lan Xian. She was the Sixth Maind''s true n for dealing with Yao Di. Xue Laogui¡¯s appearance had been nothing more than a coincidence. The original n had been for Lan Xian to work together with Herb Immortal People to fight Yao Di.

    The Sixth Maind had a rtively clear understanding of Yao Di¡¯s strength, and they had already known that Herb Immortal alone would stand no chance. However, they had still been a step behind. Herb Immortal had nearly died, and Lan Xian would never be able to stop Yao Di on her own. With three Semi-Progenitors working together, it was impossible to know if Yao Di would win or lose.

    Lu Yin soon saw enough runes to cover the entire region. They were moving to the north and passing through Ironblood Weave. They belonged to Lan Xian.

    Kui Luo kept all three of the men hidden, so Lan Xian was unable to sense anything.

    "Can those three Semi-Progenitors stop Yao Di together?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo smirked. "None of them have managed to open their third meridian point. That woman isn¡¯t bad, as she¡¯s opened both the lower and middle meridian points, but she didn''t have the Origin Matter to open her upper meridian point. They¡¯ll soon learn just how big of a gap thatst step creates. Actually, why is the Sixth Maind so short on Origin Matter?"

    This was something that Lu Yin did not understand either. Every single one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had Origin Matter and had opened all three meridian points. The Sixth Maind¡¯s overall strength far surpassed that of the Fifth Maind, yet they seemed to have basically no Origin Matter. When considering all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, there were the three currently fighting Yao Di and then Jiu Yao, and yet only Jiu Yao possessed any Origin Matter. It was unknown if the dead Jiu San had possessed any Origin Matter.

    It was possible that this shortage was due to the Perennial World. Each time that the Perennial World held a Yuanlun Festival, the Fifth Maind would send their most talented youths to the Perennial World to seek out Origin Matter. After so many years, it made sense for the Fifth Maind to have gathered a bit of Origin Matter.

    "The Sixth Maind is quite an interesting ce. I¡¯m going to go y with them again and uncover more of their secrets." Kui Luo¡¯s eyes sparkled in excitement.

    The Second Nightking''s eyes shed. This old man was the one behind the Sixth Maind¡¯s secrets that had been published? Suddenly, the Second Nightking viewed Kui Luo in a different light.

    There was no one who could stop a Semi-Progenitor from doing such a despicable thing, and it could only be said that the Sixth Maind was unlucky enough that this particr Semi-Progenitor was unreasonably powerful.

    Lu Yin spoke up quickly when he saw that Kui Luo was about to leave. "There¡¯s no hurry to get back to that. Just wait around for a bit."

    "Wait for what? You want me to stick around to chat with you?" Kui Luo rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin inquired about something that had surprised him, "You mentioned that you don''t intend to try to break through to be Progenitor, yet you previously suggested that you¡¯ve already opened your three meridian points. What did you need the Origin Matter for?"

    Kui Luo blinked. "You misheard me. I¡¯ve only opened two meridian points, not three."

    Lu Yin sighed at the old bastard¡¯s response. "Don''t leave quite yet. The war¡¯s about to end, and I might face some situation outside of my control. It¡¯s possible that another war will break out, or I might just achieve my goals. Regardless, both the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Maind have Semi-Progenitors present. I can only feel safe with you nearby."

    Kui Luo became upset. "I¡¯m a man who goes with the wind! I can¡¯t stay tied down for too long."

    "Just a little while. Things are almost done," Lu Yin murmured as he stared to the north.

    ¡°What a pain.¡±

    "By the way, Wang Si should have alreadye back to find me, but she never managed to track me down."

    ¡°That old bat¡¯s a difficult opponent.¡±

    "I know. One more thing: I managed to be an Envoy."

    ¡°Obviously. You think I¡¯m blind?¡±

    "After my breakthrough, a phenomenon appeared, and it was a tree. Even people in the Perennial World were able to see it."

    Kui Luo froze, and his head slowly turned back to stare at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- what did you say?"

    Lu Yin replied casually, "My breakthrough to the Envoy realm produced a phenomenon that resonated with the Mother Tree. Many people in the Perennial World should have seen me when that happened. What''s wrong?"

    Kui Luo was dumbfounded and his mouth hung agape. "You¡¯re saying a phenomenon appeared after your breakthrough, and it was a tree that resonated with the Mother Tree itself? Wait a second, was the disturbance in the true universe back that caused by you to?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It wasn¡¯t a big deal."

    Kui Luo mocked Lu Yin¡¯s words, "Wasn¡¯t a big deal? Why didn''t you say anything about this to me sooner? Give people a bit of warning! You nearly caused me to faint! I¡¯m an old man, remember!"

    Lu Yin was taken aback by the old man¡¯s reaction. "Is it really that serious?¡±

    Kui Luo looked Lu Yin up and down. He felt like he was staring at a monster. "Almost all Progenitors produce a phenomenon when they be an Envoy, so that¡¯s just a given. After all, which person who¡¯s able to be a Progenitor isn¡¯t insanely talented? However, having the phenomenon resonate with the Mother Tree and inducing a situation where the Perennial World can peer into the Forsaken Land? How can you possibly think that¡¯s a small matter? Such a phenomenon is unheard of! Wait no, I might have heard of it once before..."

 Chapter 1904: The Legend Of The Origin Progenitor

    Chapter 1904: The Legend Of The Origin Progenitor

    Kui Luo tried to remember for a bit before finally pping himself in the head. "The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Xian''er!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Bai Xian''er?"

    Kui Luo grew solemn. "When she became an Envoy, her phenomenon created a sensation that spread throughout the entire Perennial World, and the Mother Tree even swayed. That incident prompted a massive attack from Aeternus, and countless Redbacks raced over to the Celestial Frost Sect to kill her. Your phenomenon was clearly no smaller than hers, and likely was even bigger. You¡¯re in hot water now, as the Perennial World witnessed your phenomenon and they¡¯ll never let you go now."

    Lu Yin replied, "I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve got some people keeping an eye on Sky Creation Academy."

    ¡°The Aeternals will never allow you to get away, either," Kui Luo warned.

    Lu Yin was not too worried about that. While his talent and strength might be enough to make the Aeternals wary, the stronger he became, the greater his chances when fighting the four ruling powers.

    "Don''t worry about that too much. That''s something for me to worry aboutter. Help me resolve this war for now," Lu Yin encouraged.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes again. "This is ridiculous! How can such a tiny war be of any importance to you?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There¡¯s no way out of it. This region has to be protected."

    Kui Luo¡¯s mind became filled with thoughts of how Lu Yin''s breakthrough had produced a phenomenon. The more the old man thought about it, the more unhappy he became. This whole thing should be Lu Yin¡¯s problem, and yet Kui Luo somehow found himself getting worked up about it and even dragged in. This was not how he usually handled things. He deliberately chose his next words, "By the way, there¡¯s something I need to tell you as well."

    "What¡¯s that?" Lu Yin grew curious.

    Kui Luo spoke in an exaggeratedly casual tone, "It''s not a big deal, but when I visited the Daosource Sect, I found a statue that should be of the legendary Origin Progenitor. The Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors often worship that statue."

    Lu Yin thought he must have misheard. "Say that again?"

    The corners of Kui Luo''s mouth curled up into a smile, and his voice grew proud. "It''s nothing. It¡¯s just a minor detail."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "The three Progenitors all worship this statue? How could that possibly be a minor detail?

    ¡°Oh, and what¡¯s the Origin Progenitor?"

    Kui Luo was taken aback. "You don''t know?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and then nced over at the Second Nightking, who also had a nk look on his face.

    Kui Luo sighed in disappointment. "Both of you are severelycking in education! How can you both be so ignorant? One of you¡¯s a direct descendant of the Lu family and even inherited the God of Death¡¯s power, while the other¡¯s lived longer than anyone?"

    The old man cleared his throat and took some time internally organizing his exnation. "Listen carefully: legends im that the Origin Progenitor lived at the dawn of humanity. I have no idea if he was the first person to live, or simply the first person who cultivated. Regardless, there are various versions of the legends.

    "The story says that this Origin Progenitor founded the Daosource Sect and became the first human Progenitor. He spread his wisdom to countless people, which paved the way for human civilization to practice cultivation. Yearster, powerful Progenitors such as the God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian rose to power.

    ¡°Whenever new generations of cultivators step onto their path, they are supposed to worship the Origin Progenitor, as he is the foundation of all of humanity¡¯s faith.

    "When exploring the Daosource Sect, I found a statue that had a giant python wrapped around the figure¡¯s waist, as well as an eagle perched on his shoulders. That is very simr to the image painted by the legends, and it was also enshrined in the deepest regions of the Daosource Sect. This makes it very likely that it was a statue of the Origin Progenitor."

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were both stunned by this story. The legends they had heard regarding the God of Death and Destiny had already been exaggerated enough, and if it were not for the fact that traces of those two Ancient Progenitors¡¯ power still existed, Lu Yin would struggle to ept that such people had ever lived. However, he was being told an even more ancient legend about some Origin Progenitor who founded human cultivation and even established the Daosource Sect. It sounded as though this person had created the known universe.

    "Did the Origin Progenitor really live?" the Second Nightking asked. He was unable to shake off his disbelief.

    Kui Luo shrugged. "That¡¯s what the legends say, but how would I know for sure? You can try asking the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors. They should believe in whoever it is they¡¯re worshiping."

    The Second Nightking nearly choked at hearing those words.

    "Actually, you¡¯ve lived longer than anyone, and I even heard that you were around before the Mother Tree was taken from the Forsaken Land. So why don''t you know anything?" Kui Luo asked the Second Nightking with open contempt.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s face twitched. The history of his Daynight n was not something glorious. During those ancient times, they had been an obscure n that had been enved to the Bai family.

    "But do you believe they did?" Lu Yin asked. This legend about the Origin Progenitor sounded more like fantasy. It defied belief that there was such a powerhouse from a time before even the God of Death.

    Kui Luo said, "It doesn¡¯t matter if I believe it or not, as it doesn¡¯t make any difference. Even if the man did exist, he would have died ages ago. Supposedly, he¡¯s the one who nted the Mother Tree, but who knows?"

    Even legends could be categorized into different levels.

    For ordinary people, cultivators who were able to tear through space, enter the void, or move mountains and seas were seen as legends.

    For cultivators, the inner worlds that Semi-Progenitors possessed were legends.

    So, what would be a legend for a Semi-Progenitor? The God of Death and Destiny could both be considered legends, as could the Origin Progenitor.

    Legends might be true, but such things were at a level that was too far removed from people that they simply could not believe them.

    If the Origin Progenitor had truly existed, how strong had he been? There had to be a reason for that statue to be enshrined within the Daosource Sect.

    The oldest organization in the universe was not the Hall of Honor, nor the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers, but rather the Daosource Sect. Even after the Sixth Maind had been separated from other Mainds, the Daosource Sect¡¯s legacy that had been passed down from time immemorial had continued. No one could know just how long that statue had existed.

    Progenitor Chen had been considered to be invincible, yet other Progenitors had never worshiped him.

    Since the Origin Progenitor had worshippers, the legends might just be true.

    ¡­

    Shockwaves from the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle swept through the Primal Zone and Ironblood Weave. Even with Herb Immortal cooperating with Xue Laogui to fight Yao Di, the two humans were still being overpowered. The Cloud Valley Master and others who were watching were forced to retreat time and time again, and fear filled their hearts.

    "Have you discovered any traces of Xu Qing and the invasion force?" A voice spoke up.

    Those watching the battle looked over and became ecstatic when they saw who had just spoken. "Lan Xian?"

    Lan Xian stared eastwards. Yao Di''s strength was beyond terrifying. Herb Immortal and Xue Laogui would not be able to endure for much longer, and she was getting anxious to join them.

    Xue Laogui¡¯s presence was a lucky happenstance, as it was clear that it would have been impossible for Lan Xian and Herb Immortal to have put up any sort of resistance against Yao Di.

    "Nothing¡¯s been discovered yet, but they are definitely on their way back to the Astral Beast Domain, and they will have to pass through the Primal Zone," the Cloud Valley Master answered respectfully.

    Lan Xian''s eyes shed. "Get the Great Eastern Alliance to join this war."

    The Cloud Valley Master felt puzzled. "The Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Lan Xian replied, "Offer them permanent control of the eastern weaves as an incentive to work with us. Then, after Xu Qing and his horde are destroyed, we will take those weaves back."

    The Cloud Valley Master and the others felt thoroughly confused. They had previously provided Lu Yin with assistance and had allowed him to take the eastern weaves, so why were they suddenly changing things and trying to act against the Great Eastern Alliance at this time?

    Lan Xian silently stifled her annoyance. She had been deceived. When Lu Yin had forced the Sixth Maind to take over the war against the invading astral beasts, he had used Progenitor Wushang''s hide as leverage. At that time, Lan Xian had believed that the Great Eastern Alliance was trying to leave, and thus the Sixth Maind had threatened to leave the Great Eastern Alliance with the eastern weaves in order to make Lu Yin suffer. Lan Xian had never considered that Lu Yin would have no intention of leaving the eastern weaves at all. Everything he had done had been part of an borate plot.

    She had believed she could control Lu Yin, but instead had ended up falling into his trap. She had actually personally delivered the eastern weaves into his possession.

    As these thoughts shed through her mind, Lan Xian could not help regretting her previous choices.

    Lu Yin had wanted to use Progenitor Wushang''s hide to entice the Sixth Maind into killing Xu Qing, but Lan Xian had only been able to understand the truth of the matter after she had seen the Astral Beast Domain sessfully push their invasion into Tyrannical Weave while the Great Eastern Alliance made no moves at all.

    That Lu Yin was a vile bastard!

    Lan Xian had never felt so frustrated. From the moment she had first started cultivating, her natural talent had attracted the attention of the Daosource Sect. That had eventually led to her bing one of the Daosource Three Skies of her generation, and eventually reaching the realm of a Semi-Progenitor. It was only a matter of time before she obtained some Origin Matter for herself and became a Progenitor. Everything had been going so well for her throughout her entire life, and it was impossible for her to even imagine that everything could be ruined by a single junior.

    A flinty glint appeared in Lan Xian''s eyes. "Find a way to force the Great Eastern Alliance to join the fighting. Those eastern weaves need to be ours."

    After she spoke, cherry blossoms filled the sky and she stepped out to join the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle.

    A twinkle appeared in the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s eyes as he watched Lan Xian leave. Apparently, the Progenitor of Bloodlines no longer intended to take Lu Yin as a disciple. There was no other reason for a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin to have changed so much. The kid was again the Sixth Maind¡¯s enemy.

    The Cloud Valley Master had always disliked Lu Yin, so he was d to have a justifiable reason to act against the youth. Still, it was not yet the right time. Dealing with both the Astral Beast Domain and the Great Eastern Alliance simultaneously would be too difficult. The Fifth Maind possessed the greatest number of Semi-Progenitors, so the Sixth Maind would avoid such a war if at all possible.

    The first thing to do was to force the Great Eastern Alliance onto the current battlefield. They would then wait until Xu Qing and his horde were wiped out and Ironblood Weave¡¯s position was stabilized. Only then could the Sixth Maind turn its focus onto the Great Eastern Alliance. The Outerverse had already been given to the Sixth Maind, so it was reasonable for them to take the eastern weaves back. The rest of the Fifth Maind had no right to interfere in the situation.

    Yao Di was still at the Primal Zone¡¯s border, and he showed a trace of surprise. "Three Semi-Progenitors? The Sixth Maind truly thinks quite highly of me."

    Herb Immortal was alreadypletely exhausted, and his face was pale. As for Xue Laogui, there was an ugly expression on his face. Lan Xian stood between the two men and just in front of them. While she was the youngest of them all, she had once been one of her generation¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, she possessed a powerful innate gift, and had already opened two meridian points. She was stronger than even Xue Laogui.

    "Yao Di, since we¡¯ve decided to attack your Astral Beast Domain, there¡¯s no reason for us to retreat," Lan Xian stated. The sound of her three-stringed instrument resounded through the space that was filled with cherry blossoms.

    Yao Di¡¯s eyes tightened with focus. The astral beasts with Xu Qing could not be lost! If they were eliminated, the Astral Beast Domain would not gain the strength to attempt another invasion of the Outerverse for at least 10,000 years. "Leave the Primal Zone, or else we will all die."

    He then raised a hand and his spiritual force converged to form ck dots that shot to attack Lan Xian.

    An instantter, four Semi-Progenitors were locked in a battle that shook the very universe.

    The Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses led the rest of the Sixth Mainders to fall back even further from the fight, and the Cloud Valley Master also took this opportunity to call Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin found it odd that the Cloud Valley Master would call as soon as Lu Yin had arrived in the asteroid field. What reason could this man be calling Lu Yin for?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Yao Di has brought reinforcements, and they are about to meet with Xu Qing. We don¡¯t have the strength to stop them from doing so. We would like to ask the Great Eastern Alliance for its support. In exchange, we will offer you the eastern weaves," the Cloud Valley Master spoke bluntly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I saw that some Semi-Progenitor have gone to the Primal Zone. Not even three Semi-Progenitors are able to stop Yao Di and his reinforcements?"

    "They¡¯re struggling. Yao Di''s strength is unfathomable, and the Celestial Beast Empire has several experts with power levels of over a million supporting them on the battlefield. If Xu Qing and his forces are added to the mix, we won¡¯t be able to stop them," the Cloud Valley Master said with clear frustration.

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    "Don¡¯t you want the eastern weaves, Alliance Leader Lu? If we lose here, we will no longer have the strength to defend Ironblood Weave. If that happens, your Great Eastern Alliance will be forced to fight against the astral beasts anyways, so why not work with us now to defeat the Astral Beast Domain in one fell swoop?" Confidence filled the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Your Sixth Maind still possesses more than enough strength to reinforce the battlefield."

    The Cloud Valley Master sounded helpless as he continued. "I don''t know where you heard that, but right now, my Sixth Maind is fractured from internal conflicts, so it¡¯s impossible for any reinforcements to be sent at this time. Alliance Leader Lu, I wouldn¡¯t ask you for your help if I could get any other reinforcements. I¡¯m begging you, please help us."

    For a Cosmic Imprinter to literally beg for help, it seemed that the man was truly without any other options.

    "You¡¯re in a tough ce, Senior," Lu Yin expressed his sympathies.

 Chapter 1905: Remove Your Veil

    Chapter 1905: Remove Your Veil

    A fierce glint flickered in the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s eyes. It was more than insulting to be forced to beg a junior, and he swore to make this youth pay for it.

    "In that case, let''s sign an agreement," Lu Yin said.

    The Cloud Valley Master was taken aback. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin spoke confidently as he exined, "We¡¯ll sign an agreement that the eastern weaves will be ceded to the Great Eastern Alliance in exchange for our assistance. However, I don¡¯t want you to sign this for me, but rather a Semi-Progenitor."

    The Cloud Valley Master¡¯s rage nearly exploded. "Alliance Leader Lu, I have already said that you will be given the eastern weaves! Do you not trust me?"

    "I can''t," Lu Yin replied bluntly.

    The Cloud Valley Master felt like he was about to burst a vessel. "Given the prestige of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s identity, how could any of them agree to sign this with a junior like you? Alliance Leader Lu, reinforcing us is also helping yourself. If we lose, you won¡¯t only have to face the Astral Beast Domain as your enemy, but also my Sixth Maind. Do you think the Daosource Sect will let you go after this?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "If that¡¯s the case, we are already enemies. Sorry, but I will never show mercy when dealing with enemies. You canpletely forget about receiving our support. You can also forget about receiving further reinforcements from the Sixth Maind. Let me make things perfectly clear: even if Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao tries to support you, he won¡¯t be able to make it to you.¡±

    The Cloud Valley Master''s expression changed. "You have a Semi-Progenitor?"

    "What a joke! The Fifth Maind has the most Semi-Progenitors - a total of six. Do the math," Lu Yin answered mockingly.

    The Cloud Valley Master had not expected to be readily rejected by Lu Yin. "Consider this matter carefully. Do you really want to be an enemy of my Sixth Maind? The Progenitor of Combat and Progenitor of Bloodlines can both easily destroy you."

    "And Progenitor Chen can destroy them just as easily," Lu Yin snorted.

    The Cloud Valley Master becamepletely confused. "Progenitor Chen?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Have you already forgotten what happened when the Progenitor of Secret Arts betrayed humanity and tried to destroy Burial Garden? He was eventually defeated when Progenitor Chen retaliated. Both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat are already aware that if they dare attack me, Progenitor Chen will not remain silent. Do you seriously think your Sixth Maind can invade my Fifth Maind again? Just try it!"

    The Cloud Valley Master frowned and subconsciously nced over at Qing Hua, who was standing nearby.

    Qing Hua somberly said, "It¡¯s true that Progenitor Chen took action back then. Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian mentioned it."

    The Cloud Valley Master''s heart dropped. Progenitor Chen was still alive? If that was true, then the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines would not be able to do a thing, and if the Progenitors did not take action, who could threaten Lu Yin? He was able to ignore even Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao.

    "Please ask Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao toe to a decision. Matters concerning my Great Eastern Alliance are not something we are qualified to handle," Qing Hua said. He was once again being shown how difficult it was to deal with Lu Yin. Qing Hu had already learned this when he had watched Lu Yin scheme against Madam Hong and others, but the Empyrean Imprinter had not expected the youth to move so quickly at this time.

    The most important detail was that no one could counter Lu Yin¡¯s im. Progenitor Chen had indeed taken action in the past, but no one could confirm whether or not he actually supported Lu Yin. Logically speaking, the Progenitor should protect Lu Yin as the youth was the most likely candidate to be the Fifth Maind¡¯s next Progenitor. It would not make any sense for Lu Yin to not receive support.

    Lu Yin was nowhere close to being intelligent enough to control everyone he dealt with. He was able to seed entirely due to his own abilities. If a Fifth Maind expert with a power level of over a million made the same ims as Lu Yin, no one would believe them, but when Lu Yin said such things, people tended to be convinced he spoke the truth. This was in part because of Lu Yin¡¯s natural charisma.

    However, the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s words had not been lies, either. Yao Di had brought reinforcements to the Primal Zone, and if the Celestial Beast Emperor was able to hold back Lan Xian and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind, then the reinforcements he had brought would join up with Xu Qing¡¯s returning horde and would deal the Sixth Maind a fierce blow.

    Still even if the Great Eastern Alliance did not provide the requested assistance, the Cloud Valley Master still had time to get other reinforcements, but things would be far more difficult if the Great Eastern Alliance decided to hinder those reinforcements from traveling through the eastern weaves to Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone.

    The Cloud Valley Master was facing a dilemma. Given the current situation, the Fifth Maind no longer feared the Sixth Maind. There was actually an easy way to resolve this situation, which was to give up on the Primal Zone and allow Xu Qing to safely return to the Astral Beast Domain and end the war. However, was the Cloud Valley Master allowed to make such a decision? This was something that only a Semi-Progenitor was qualified to do.

    Lu Yin was also wanting to see if the Sixth Maind would be willing to abandon the Primal Zone.

    If the Sixth Maind turned away from the Primal Zone, the Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses would then be able to attack the Great Eastern Alliance, and most of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces would also return to the Celestial Beast Empire. Only one powerhouse with a power level of over a million would be needed to protect Ironblood Weave.

    That would not be a good situation for Lu Yin.

    The current bnce that he had established in the Outerverse was also based on the premise that there would be a decisive battle in the Primal Zone.

    The Cloud Valley Master waited for Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao¡¯s response while Lu Yin waited for the Cloud Valley Master¡¯s answer. During this time, Lu Yin also stopped the Sixth Maind¡¯s reinforcements from passing through the eastern weaves, isting the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces in the same manner he had done to Xu Qing.

    The eastern weaves held a strategic location that had allowed Lu Yin to cut Xu Qing off from support from the Astral Beast Domain, as well as hinder the Sixth Maind¡¯s reinforcements from reaching the Cloud Valley Master.

    Location could prove a determining factor in war.

    Lu Yin believed that the Astral Beast Domain would no longer be able to force their way through the eastern weaves after this war if they wanted to conduct another invasion. Doing so would be no different from delivering themselves into the hands of an enemy.

    The battle between Yao Di and the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Semi-Progenitors did notst very long. The Cloud Valley Master soon received a reply from Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, and the Imprinter heaved a sigh of relief and immediately contacted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately answered.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, when you decided to stop my Sixth Maind¡¯s reinforcements from joining us, did it ever cross your mind that regardless of the hatred between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, we are both still humans? Despite that, you chose to help those beasts," the Cloud Valley Master spoke slowly.

    Lu Yin replied indifferently, "In that case, have you ever considered that when my Great Eastern Alliance took over the defense of the eastern weaves when those same astral beasts were ughtering all of the inhabitants of this ce, that those dying were also humans?"

    The Cloud Valley Master fell silent for a moment. "My Sixth Maind can sign an agreement with you to temporarily cede the eastern weaves over to your Great Eastern Alliance. This will be for a duration of 10,000 years, and there will be other conditions. Yao Di must first be driven back, and also, we must not lose even a single Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Yin frowned. "10,000 years is too short."

    "If you don¡¯t agree, then we will simply withdraw from both the Primal Zone and Ironblood Weave, leaving both ces as well as the eastern weaves in the care of your Great Eastern Alliance. I¡¯m not sure if the Great Eastern Alliance has the strength to handle that?¡± the Cloud Valley Master asked coldly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. That was not part of his ns. If the Sixth Maindpletely withdrew from that area, the Great Eastern Alliance would be forced to step into Ironblood Weave, and then Lu Yin would be pinned down.

    "Very well, 10,000 years it is. Who will sign the agreement?" Lu Yin asked. He decided to leave his problems for 10,000 years in the future. After all, who knew what would happen to him after so much time?

    The Cloud Valley Master replied, "Herb Immortal, one of the Four Empyreans."

    Lu Yin could ept this choice. Not only was Herb Immortal one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Four Empyreans, he was also a Semi-Progenitor. His status was sufficient.

    After reaching an agreement with the Cloud Valley Master, Lu Yin spent a long time coaxing Kui Luo to return to the Primal Zone to ensure that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors all survived and that Yao Di was forced back.

    Kui Luo was very reluctant to go, but a singlement Lu Yin made sent the Semi-Progenitor leaving in a hurry: "That Lan Xian is quite interesting."

    At that time, excitement and anticipation had been in Lu Yin¡¯s voice. Kui Luo was a loyal vassal of the Lu family, and to his understanding, Lu Yin must have developed an infatuation. This was a very big deal for someone like Kui Luo. In addition to learning all of the Sixth Maind¡¯s dirty secrets, finding Lu Yin a qualified woman was something just as important to aplish.

    As Kui Luo passed through Ironblood Weave, he made mention of how important it was for Lu Yin to leave descendants behind, and how it was imperative for the Lu family to flourish.

    Lan Xian, I need to learn whether or not you are qualified to be part of the Lu family''s glorious future.

    As he watched Kui Luo make his way north, Lu Yin became very d he had never mentioned Ming Yan¡¯s existence to Kui Luo, as this provided him with the means to control Kui Luo¡¯s actions a bit in the future.

    Lu Yin knew that one of the reasons Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao had added the requirement to any agreement that Yao Di be forced back was a means of testing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had just threatened to block the Sixth Maind from sending any reinforcements through the eastern weaves, including even Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao himself. If Lu Yin was unable to send a Semi-Progenitor to help fight against Yao Di, it would show that he was incapable of carrying out that threat, which would expose the youth¡¯s lies. There would be no agreement if Lu Yin did not have the necessary strength.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor had alreadye to an agreement with the Sixth Maind, so as long as the Fifth Maind¡¯s bottom line was not crossed, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors would not take any action against the Sixth Maind. This meant that the only Semi-Progenitor Lu Yin could even try to get to take action. However, as soon as Kui Luo took action, it would also show that the Semi-Progenitor who had sneaked into the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect and who had uncovered their secrets was someone allied with Lu Yin. That would create a whole new mess for Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin did not care as it would also be impossible for the Sixth Maind to be willing to risk a falling out with him.

    The strength that Yao Di had revealed had provided Lu Yin with a great deal of assurance. He did not know how powerful Kui Luo was, but if the man was forced into a deathmatch with the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, the Sixth Maind would lose miserably, and the Sixth Maind was already aware of this.

    A Celestial Demon stood tall and arrogant at the border of the Primal Zone. He wielded an obsidian star that looked like a catastrophe that would befall any who opposed this creature. This dark star was the manifestation of Yao Di¡¯s inner world. His spiritual force was so dense that it created a cloud of destruction that was crushing Herb Immortal, Xue Laogui, and Lan Xian to the point they vomited blood.

    None of them were able to even manifest their own inner worlds. Before Yao Di¡¯s power, they were only barely able to endure.

    Yao Di¡¯s body transformed into the form of a Celestial Demon. His gazed locked onto the obsidian star, and he casually waved a hand. Before anyone had the chance to even blink, Xue Laogui''s abdomen was torn open.

    Lan Xian gritted her teeth, and she started ying her three-stringed instrument with even greater intensity. The blooming cherry blossoms surged in an attempt to protect the three humans from the obsidian star.

    Within the manifestation of Lan Xian''s inner world, Herb Immortal''s medicinal cauldron shed against Xue Laogui''s whiteva. There was a deafening bang, and space warped and shattered. However, the obsidian star remained unshaken.

    Yao Di was terrifyingly strong, and both Lan Xian and those watching the fight descended into despair. This was the power of the astral beasts who had once reigned at the top of the Fourth Maind, and who currently ruled the Astral Beast Domain.

    When Yao Di raised a hand, the pressure the three humans suffered grew even more intense, and the obsidian star seemed to growrger.

    Xue Laogui roared. His whiteva enveloped the medicinal cauldron as the two attacked yet again. As the attacked moved closer to their opponent, whiteva poured down from the cracked cauldron and the cherry blossoms that were Lan Xian¡¯s inner world trembled without end, and she spat out blood.

    "This is yourst chance! Leave the Primal Zone!" Yao Di bellowed. He had no intention of fighting the Sixth Maind to the end. Even if he killed these three Semi-Progenitors, the Sixth Maind still had their far more powerful Progenitors as well. Thest thing the Celestial Demon Emperor wanted was for a Progenitor to show up at his imperial city.

    The three humans exchanged nces. None of them felt that it was worth sacrificing even one of their lives to keep the Primal Zone. They were about to answer when they heard a strangeugh.

    "This old man wants to experience the strength of the Celestial Demons¡¯ spiritual force once again!" Kui Luo revealed himself and confronted the obsidian star. The old man¡¯s spiritual force erupted, and it pushed the dark star back that had been suppressing the three human Semi-Progenitors.

    Yao Di¡¯s confident appearance disappeared. This person was a true powerhouse. "Who the hell are you?"

    Kui Luo shot Yao Di a dirty look, and then suddenly turned to face Lan Xian. "Hey, baby-doll, take off that veil."

    Both Herb Immortal and Xue Laogui were left speechless, and Lan Xian could not find a single response to give to such an absurd demand. They were being brutally beaten by their opponent, so just what was this old man saying?

 Chapter 1906: Dragon Gate Realm

    Chapter 1906: Dragon Gate Realm

    Kui Luo started to get impatient. "Hurry up and take off that veil! I really have no idea why a baby-doll like you¡¯s wearing a veil for no reason!"

    Lan Xian forcefully suppressed her irritation. "Might I ask who you are, Senior?"

    "Never mind that. Tell me, are you married?" Kui Luo asked with an expectant glint in his eyes.

    Lan Xian waspletely speechless.

    "Do you have a boyfriend?

    "It must have taken you quite a while to be a Semi-Progenitor. Are you still a virgin?"

    Kui Luo¡¯sst questionpletely ignited Lan Xian''s rage. On the other hand, both Herb Immortal and Xue Laogui were leftpletely confused; was this old man trying to harass Lan Xian?

    "Senior, I may not be your opponent, but this is a humiliation and I will fight you even if it leads to my death!" Lan Xian had never felt so offended in all her life. Even being tricked by Lu Yin had notpared to what she felt at this moment. The only thing she could think about was how to kill this disgusting old man before her.

    Kui Luo waved his arms and grinned in an apologetic manner. "Baby-doll you¡¯re misunderstanding me. I¡¯m not insulting you, I¡¯m just asking some questions. After all, if you want to marry into the Lu family, your family background doesn¡¯t matter at all, but your purity is an absolute necessity. This old man has to do some screening to see if you are even eligible.

    "At first nce, you aren¡¯t bad! You¡¯ve gotrge breasts and a big ass that¡¯s ideal for giving birth. Hmm¡­ actually those hips aren¡¯t really wide enough... Baby-doll, don''t hold back and go ahead and show your true nature. Let me see what you¡¯re really like so I can determine whether or not you¡¯re qualified to marry that boy.

    "You¡¯ll need to have some kids in the future. There¡¯s no need for too many, just a hundred or so will be plenty. There¡¯re always at least a few who awaken their innate gifts. After they leave, you can then work to rebuild the family. What do you say? Of course, this is all dependent on the premise that you qualify. Come, let this old man see how big your butt is."

    This was thest straw, Lan Xian lost control. She instantly attacked Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo retreated. "Baby-doll, what are you trying to do? I¡¯m only doing this for your own good! Loads of people would beg for this opportunity, so don¡¯t make the wrong decision and end up living with regret!"

    Some distance away, Yao Di frowned as he watched Lan Xian go after Kui Luo. The Celestial Demon then jumped up and merged with his ck star. In an instant, the power of the obsidian star spiked. It felt as though the universe itself was distorting beneath this overwhelming spiritual force. Kui Luo and the others were all crushed beneath the pressure.

    Lan Xian¡¯s body jerked to a stop, and she threw up her arms to protect her head. Neither Herb Immortal nor Xue Laogui were able to endure this spiritual force, and they could only watch in horror at the massive obsidian star that covered all they could see. How could Yao Di¡¯s true strength be so insane?

    Kui Luo looked up and wiped his brow with a sleeve. "As expected of the Celestial Demons. If I hadn''t been reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra all the time, I would never have been able to hold out against this. Since you want to y, let¡¯s raise the stakes. Let''s see if you Celestial Demons can jump over the Dragon Gate.¡±

    Kui Luo¡¯s foot rose up, and he stomped it down. The world of cherry blossoms shattered, and a wave of his hand transported the other three Semi-Progenitors deep into the Primal Zone. He then turned to focus on the obsidian star. No one had noticed, but at some point, the entire region of space had fallen to the bottom of a cascade.

    Kui Luo stood above the waterfall. There was an ancient door beneath his feet, and further downy a pool of water.

    The ck star had fallen down below, and it had mysteriously appeared within the pool. Yao Di¡¯s head whipped up and he stared in shock.

    Kui Luo spoke in a patronizing tone, "Celestial Demon, if you can¡¯t jump over my Dragon Gate, you won¡¯t be able to break out of this inner world. This is the Dragon Gate Realm.¡±

    The Perennial World possessed a level of strength that far exceeded either the Fifth or the Sixth Maind. Not only did the Perennial World have multiple Progenitors, they also had a great number of Semi-Progenitors. Out of those Semi-Progenitors, some had already opened their three meridian points.

    Additionally, there were quite a few Semi-Progenitors who had been hunting for Kui Luo. There were two reasons he had always managed to escape to safety. The first was that Kui Luo was actually two people¡ªKui and Luo¡ªwhile the second was the man¡¯s own strength.

    If he were a Semi-Progenitor at the same level as Herb Immortal or Xue Laogui, it would not matter if Kui Luo was two or even three people, as they would never be able to stand up to a Semi-Progenitor who had opened all three meridian points, especially one from the Perennial World. Despite the odds, Kui Luo had managed to survive for countless years, and no one even knew that the name represented two different people after so much time.

    This was only possible because of the man¡¯s own strength.

    Aside from the Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World who had chased after Kui Luo, no one knew just how strong the man truly was. This first time the man revealed his power in the Fifth Maind, even Yao Di was forced to jump over the Dragon Gate, as he would not be able to so much as touch Kui Luo without doing so.

    Deep in the Primal Zone, Lan Xian and the others were left dumbfounded as they watched the battle develop. The fact that this old man had managed to yank Yao Di down and push him and his obsidian star into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall proved just how terrifyingly powerful this old man was.

    Xue Laogui felt frustrated. This old man had previously put on a show about how difficult a time he had faced in trying to escape from Xue Laogui, yet the strength that had just been shown proved that the old man had never needed to escape and had only ever been toying with Xue Laogui.

    No one had expected this old man who had popped up out of nowhere to be able to force Yao Di down.

    The obsidian star was further pushed down to the bottom of the pool. Yao Di stared up at the waterfall, and he tried to force his way up by ramming his dark star against the cascade, yet every attempt proved in vain. His only option was to move against the flow of the waterfall and act like a fish leaping over a dragon gate.

    Yao Di became furious. He was the patriarch of the Celestial Demons and the emperor of the Astral Beast Domain. Who could force him jump over a dragon gate? Who was qualified to look down on him? Unforgivable! His ck star surged in power yet again as he tried to break free of the Dragon Gate Realm. "It¡¯s merely an inner world, so what if I simply destroy it?"

    A flicker of fear shed across Kui Luo¡¯s eyes. This creature truly lived up to the reputation of the Celestial Demons. "Why don¡¯t you try?"

    Space trembled, and the vibrations radiated from the Primal Zone into Ironblood Weave, the asteroid field, and even into Northcastle Weave. An entire region of the universe shuddered, and countless people turned to look to the north. They were all afraid of an impending catastrophe would soon kill them all.

    The battle continued for several days before Yao Di finally retreated. He never managed to break free of the Dragon Gate Realm, and Kui Luo never managed to extinguish the obsidian star.

    On top of that, there was one more reason for the Celestial Demon¡¯s retreat: Xu Qing had already returned to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin, the Cloud Valley Master and everyone else had guessed wrong. Xu Qing had not returned through the Primal Zone, but had instead traveled further through the Astral Wilderness to directly enter the Astral Beast Domain. This had been done by taking a huge risk, and no one knew just what Xu Qing had sacrificed to aplish this, but it was still better than entering the Primal Zone.

    With Kui Luo holding back Yao Di, any one of the other three human Semi-Progenitors could have easily dealt with Xu Qing and his returning horde, if they had been spotted.

    The fact that Semi-Progenitors had stepped onto the battlefield meant the war had greatly escted, and Xu Qing and the others at his level were no longer the main yers.

    "Just who the hell are you? Our fight is already over for now, so why not tell me your identity?" Yao Di asked as stood in the Primal Zone and stared at Kui Luo. The Celestial Beast Emperor knew of all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and the Sixth Maind only had Jiu Yao who Yai Di had not yet met. It was impossible that this strange old man who had suddenly popped up was Jiu Yao.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Just take a guess."

    Yao Di stared at Kui Luo with steely eyes. "You are the only human who can withstand my spiritual force with your own. You should give me your name."

    Kui Luo stubbornly refused. ¡°Guess.¡±

    Lan Xian and the others listening in all itched to beat this obnoxious old man.

    The Astral Beast Domain retreated from the Primal Zone. Xu Qing and his retreating invasion force entered the Celestial Beast Empire. Though the fighting in the Primal Zone had not stopped, the scale of the battle would diminish drastically. Forget the Semi-Progenitors, not even any of the Empyrean Imprinters nned to stay.

    After seeing Yao Di retreat, Kui Luo turned around and shot a friendly grin at Lan Xian. At least, the old man believed it to look friendly. On the contrary, Lan Xian only found the smile to be quite creepy and stifled an urge to try to grind the old man into mincemeat.

    "Baby-doll, do you need some more time? How ¡®bout I introduce you to a talented young man?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lan Xian clenched her fists. "Get lost!"

    Kui Luo was taken aback, and he suddenly considered following that Lu bastard¡¯s example and kidnap this woman. It would continue the Lu family¡¯s glorious tradition¡­

    After looking at all three of the Semi-Progenitors, Kui Luo thought for a moment before finally deciding to restrain himself for the moment. It would be better not to take this woman when everyone was watching. He would instead make a moveter and when she was alone.

    Baby-doll, do your best not to separate from the others, Kui Luo quietly thought to himself as he left.

    His departure allowed everyone from the Sixth Maind to let out a collective sigh of relief.

    "That old man has made a huge mess for my Sixth Maind. He¡¯s the one who leaked all the information that led to the current chaos we¡¯re dealing with," Xue Laogui mentioned in a hoarse voice. He had been badly seriously injured.

    "That was all him?" Lan Xian was startled.

    Xue Laogui turned to give Lan Xian an intense stare. "What was he talking about just now?"

    "Is that old busy-body trying to set you up on a blind date? Are you two¡­?" Herb Immortal asked.

    "I don¡¯t know him!" Lan Xian interrupted him and let out a sigh. Seeing the skepticism still in Herb Immortal and Xue Laogui¡¯s eyes, she felt helpless. "I really have no clue who that old man is, but if I ever get the chance, I¡¯ll kill him!¡±

    Herb Immortal and Xue Laogui looked at each other, utterly unconvinced. Why would that man have said such things and helped them if there was no connection between those two? Why else would such a powerhouse be trying to set Lan Xian up on a blind date? While his words bordered on harassment, they had also shown his concern. No stranger would act in such a manner, and the old man was clearly not insane.

    When everything was said and done, Lan Xian was the youngest of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. She cultivated for a far shorter amount of time than Herb Immortal, yet she was already a Semi-Progenitor. She had enjoyed a smooth path throughout her life.

    Was that old man her protector? That seemed quite likely.

    "What should we do now? The Celestial Demon Emperor won''t return to seize control of the Primal Zone, will he?" Herb Immortal wondered.

    Lan Xian answered, "Let¡¯s wait here for now. We can return together after we recuperate."

    She was not actually worried about Yao Di, but about Kui Luo. That old guy was both disturbing and incredibly dangerous.

    Xue Laogui nodded in agreement.

    At this moment, the Cloud Valley Master arrived to discuss the agreement that needed to be signed between one of the Semi-Progenitors and Lu Yin. This was when the three finally learned of Kui Luo¡¯s affiliation.

    "Lu Yin was actually able to ask such a terrifying Semi-Progenitor to make a move for him? Just what is his background? He was only an Explorer when he first established the Great Eastern Alliance, and he then only needed a decade to unite the Outerverse. Right now, he controls the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers¡¯ council, and he¡¯s supported by both the Cosmic Sect and the Mavis family. Does the Lu family somehow control the Fifth Maind?" Xue Laogui shook his head in confusion.

    All three of the Semi-Progenitors were already aware that Lu Yin was a direct descendant of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin¡¯s story could only be described as miraculous. If not for the Lu family¡¯s backing, how could anyone manage to dominate the Outerverse when merely an Explorer? How could a youth have dealt with so many powerful enemies? There was no exnation for such an achievement.

    "Could that ¡®talented young man¡¯ the old man wants to set you up with on a blind date be Lu Yin?" Herb Immortal suddenly seemed to reach an epiphany and he looked over at Lan Xian.

    The Cloud Valley Master became thoroughly lost. Set up? Talented young man? Blind date?

    Lan Xian¡¯s brow furrowed in displeasure and she shot Herb Immortal a re that could have killed.

    Herb Immortal felt a bit embarrassed. "Erm, well, since the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s withdrawn their forces and Yao Di was pushed back by us relying on Lu Yin¡¯s reinforcements, I guess I¡¯ll have to sign the agreement. 10,000 years isn¡¯t too long."

    The Cloud Valley Master nodded in acknowledgement.

    ¡­

    Exactly one year had passed from the time that it was first learned that the Astral Beast Domain had invaded the Outerverse to when Yao Di was finally forced to retreat back to the Celestial Beast Empire. Over the course of this year, the fighting had never let up in the Outerverse. First, the war had been fought by the Great Eastern Alliance, and then by the Sixth Maind. Too many lives had been lost.

    After the agreement was signed by both Herb Immortal and Lu Yin, the war officially came to an end.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, could you share with me that old man¡¯s name?" Herb Immortal inquired after signing the agreement.

    Lu Yin knew the question was referring to Kui Luo. "I''m sorry, Senior, but it¡¯s a bit inconvenient for me to reveal his identity."

    Herb Immortal did not seem to take any offense. "Then forget I asked. That old man saved our lives, and I hope you can pass our thanks to him on my behalf."

    "I will be sure to do that," Lu Yin agreed.

    Herb Immortal nodded, but then hesitated for a moment. Lu Yin looked at the man with confusion, and finally Herb Immortal slowly asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, could you possibly be interested in Lan Xian?"

 Chapter 1907: Nan Yuanâ€™s Removal

    Chapter 1907: Nan Yuan¡¯s Removal

    After Herb Immortal posed his question, Lu Yin stared nkly at the man and blinked several times before finally managing to form a response. "Senior, what are you asking?"

    Herb Immortal smiled. "After that old man fought off Yao Di in the Primal Zone, he mentioned that he wanted to introduce Lan Xian to a talented young man. I was merely assuming he was referring to you, Alliance Leader Lu. That¡¯s why I wanted to ask if you truly do have any interest in Lan Xian?"

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless. Just what exactly had Kui Luo said while he had been in the Primal Zone? Herb Immortal had heard such a thing, which meant that Lan Xian must have heard as well. Given Kui Luo¡¯s obnoxiously big mouth, it was possible that even the Sixth Maind¡¯s foot soldiers had heard about this and that the matter would soon spread across the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin simply prayed nothing would reach Ming Yan¡¯s ears.

    Lu Yin had only wanted to convince Kui Luo to enter the Primal Zone. How could Lu Yin actually harbor any feelings for Lan Xian? She was one of his enemies and she wanted him dead!

    "Senior, you must have misunderstood. There¡¯s no way that old man was referring to me," Lu Yin quickly denied the allegations.

    Herb Immortal looked amused. "I don¡¯t think it''s a bad thing. From the time she first started cultivating, Lan Xian has never had a partner. If you like her, you can certainly try to win her over. Age isn¡¯t any big deal for cultivators. What do you think?"

    Just as Lu Yin was about to shoot the offer down, Kui Luo appeared and stared at Herb Immortal with eyes that were overflowing with excitement. "She¡¯s never had a partner? Her body¡¯s untainted?"

    Herb Immortal had already expected Kui Luo to make an appearance. "Of course. Her body is absolutely pure, I can assure you of that."

    Kui Luo gazed at Herb Immortal with open admiration. "You¡¯re pretty good. Come, tell me more about that baby-doll. After all, this is a big deal. I need to learn more about her: are her elders still alive? What¡¯s her family background? Don¡¯t worry about it, as family background doesn¡¯t actually matter too much, but I do need to know how many brothers and sisters she has.¡±

    "As an elder, it''s perfectly normal to worry about such things. I know a bit about Lan Xian''s situation, so I can share that with you. However, you can''t mention anything to Lan Xian about thising from me," Herb Immortal said.

    "Of course! Do I look like someone who would do such a thing?"

    "Of course not, sir."

    "Hahahaha, you have good eyes! You and I are really hitting it off."

    "Why don''t we discuss this over some wine?¡±

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to call the two men back, but the words remained stuck in his throat. He could not bring himself to tell the two that he hadpletely feigned all interest in Lan Xian, as how would he be able to get Kui Luo to take any action in the future? However, Lu Yin was simrly confused by Herb Immortal¡¯s motivation. The old man seemed to care a great deal about ying matchmaker to Lu Yin and Lan Xian. However, Lan Xian was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, so how could the old man befortable betraying his own people?

    Herb Immortal had always been someone unconcerned with worldly affairs, and he had maintained his low profile attitude even after bing a Semi-Progenitor. Even Qing Hua, another of the Four Empyreans, had been uncertain as to Herb Immortal¡¯s exact level of strength, let alone other people. Whenever the Daosource Sect had responded to major events, Herb Immortal had remained almostpletely hands off and had preferred to allow others to handle such matters. However, at this moment, he was deliberately being proactive in this matter, and his actions had destroyed the impressions Lu Yin had of the old man.

    ¡­

    From the first moment that the Great Eastern Alliance had been forced to take action to defend the eastern weaves, everything had proceeded ording to Lu Yin''s ns, despite the inherent risks that had been involved. He had also underestimated the Astral Beast Domain and overestimated the Sixth Maind, but fortunately, the results remained unchanged.

    For the next 10,000 years, the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves would remain under Lu Yin¡¯s control. In order for the Sixth Maind to take the region back, the only option was war. However, if a war broke out, Lu Yin would not need to fight alone, as the entire Fifth Maind would be involved.

    This was all from the same line of reasoning as how after the Hall of Honor had reached an agreement with the Sixth Maind to hand over control of the Outerverse, the Great Eastern Alliance would have needed to go to war if they had insisted on taking back the Outerverse. The Fifth Maind as a whole would never have stepped up to bear the burden of participating in such a war.

    The results of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion were the best that could have been hoped for. The Sixth Maind had not only driven the invading astral beasts out, but had also learned of the secret route through the Astral Wilderness, which provided them with the knowledge that such a path might be used in the future. On top of that, humans had taken control of the Primal Zone, which meant that Ironblood Weave was no longer the border warfront. The battle lines had been shifted into the Primal Zone.

    These were not only the best results for the Sixth Maind, but also for Lu Yin.

    Since the Sixth Maind had taken up the task of protecting the border to the north of the Great Eastern Alliance, the alliance no longer needed to maintain their forces there. Lu Yin was able to instead return his attention to the Innerverse and beyond.

    "While this war was being fought in the Outerverse, the Hall of Honor conducted a massive purge throughout the entire Fifth Maind. Most of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s strongholds were wiped out, and more than a thousand organizations that had been cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance in the Innerverse were purged. All of them were from the minor flowzones..."

    Lu Yin stared up at the stars as he listened to Huan Sha''s report. Most of the Neohuman Alliance''s influence in the Fifth Maind had been eliminated, though they still had some hidden bases. What left Lu Yin truly nervous was Aeternus Nation. Just where could it be located?

    "As for the Starfall Sea, the Hall of Honor has drafted a billion cultivators, a million warships, and fifteen Envoys from the Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse to hold the defensive line. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect is also sending an additional 200 million cultivators, 300,000 warships, and twenty-two Envoys," Huan Sha continued.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "A billion cultivators? A million warships?"

    This far surpassed anything the Great Eastern Alliance could mobilize. The Hall of Honor was showing its true strength. Once they drafted cultivators from the entire Human Domain, they were able to summon a truly massive army.

    At the moment, the Great Eastern Alliance was able to gather hundreds of millions of cultivators to join a war effort, if they were really pressed to do so. The Allied Forces¡¯ ten Divisions also amounted to simr numbers, and these were forces that did not consist of weaklings and cannon fodder. However, a million warships was something that was still far out of Lu Yin¡¯s reach.

    All the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s warships added together totaled less than 30,000, yet the Hall of Honor had managed to requisition far more than the alliance could even touch. The Hall of Honor had not requisitioned everyst warship in the entire Innerverse, right?

    "Your Highness, 5,000 of the Allied Forces¡¯s warships are among those that have been requisitioned," Huan Sha stated. "Additionally, transport ships in the amount of 200,000 have been requisitioned..."

    Unsurprisingly, the Great Eastern Alliance had been included in the draft notice, but due to their war efforts in the Outerverse, only a few people had been conscripted, none of whom were cultivators.

    The number of draftees recruited from the Innerverse had exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations.

    Together, the Hall of Honor and the Daosource Sect had mobilized more than a billion cultivators and thirty-seven Envoys. All of these people were being sent to the Starfall Sea just to defend against a potential invasion.

    Furthermore, the conscriptions were not over, as both the Daosource Sect and the Hall of Honor were continuing to search for ways to increase their manpower in the Starfall Sea.

    If the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines failed in the Starfall Sea and Aeternus initiated an invasion, no one would be able to escape. If it could help them avoid the worst-case scenario, both the Hall of Honor and the Daosource Sect would dly exhaust all their resources.

    In particr, the Daosource Sect had very recently experienced the despair of having the Sixth Maind overrun and destroyed, and they had no intention to experience such a loss again. They no longer had any path to escape. If they were defeated again, all of their people would either die or end up as ves.

    Beep beep beep

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget started beeping, so he had Huan Sha to pause her report after ncing down and seeing that Xu Qing was calling.

    "Congrattions, Alliance Leader Lu. You¡¯ve finally gained control of the eastern weaves," Xu Qing said. He sounded calm, and no emotions could be heard in his voice.

    Lu Yin smiled as he answered, "Commander Xu Qing, you¡¯re being too polite. This is merely a coincidence."

    "Is that true? Or was everything nned by you from the beginning?" Xu Qing countered.

    "Of course not. Why would you give me so much credit, Commander? No one could have predicted this oue. I, Lu Yin, do best when taking things as theye. I have to thank you for your mercy, as without it I wouldn¡¯t be alive right now," Lu Yin replied.

    "If no Semi-Progenitor had appeared to stop Yao Di, I would believe you. However, the fact that you managed to bring out such a powerful Semi-Progenitor indicates that you never would have suffered any defeat from the very beginning. I¡¯ve learned an important lesson from you, Alliance Leader Lu. However, there is one thing I need to remind you of: we will never be the true enemy of you humans." Xu Qing then immediately hung up.

    Lu Yin grimaced. Of course, this was something that Lu Yin was already aware of. While the astral beasts could conduct massive ughters, and humanity could be defeated, they could not be conquered by the Astral Beast Domain. This was a key reason as to why Aeternus remained humanity¡¯s greatest enemy.

    However, why had Xu Qing specifically called to mention such a thing?

    Lu Yin fell into deep thought.

    Huan Sha was in no hurry to continue her report.

    Soon, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped again, but this time to give a summary of an overseers¡¯ meeting. As Lu Yin read the summary, his eyes grew cold. Nan Yuan had proposed to conscript the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s cultivators to stand guard at the Starfall Sea. Both the alliance¡¯s ordinary cultivators and its Envoys fell within this conscription. Furthermore, the Envoys from all of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones would be drafted as well.

    If this proposal passed, Lu Yin would retain control of less than a third of his powerhouses.

    Also, chances were very high that this proposal would be passed.

    While Lu Yin did control the overseers¡¯ council, there were certain proposals that simply could not be vetoed, and this was one of them.

    It was not wrong to conscript experts to protect against an invasion from the Starfall Sea, so how could Lu Yin refuse? Even if he tried to do so, at least half of his forces would be forced to go to Starfall Sea, unless someone specifically said otherwise.

    Nan Yuan had been wanting to cull the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s experts for quite some time, and he had deliberately waited for the war in the Outerverse to end before bringing up his proposal. He had done so deliberately in an attempt to aggravate Lu Yin.

    It was undeniable that the man had seeded. Lu Yin could not veto this proposal, though he could dy it. After all, the Great Eastern Alliance had just fought one war, and they needed to recover from their losses.

    He called Wei Rong.

    "Your Highness?"

    "Eliminate Nan Yuan." There were only three words spoken before the call ended.

    Nan Yuan was like a bug that had been irritating Lu Yin¡¯s skin for a long time already, and he was done with putting up with the annoyance.

    After the call ended so suddenly, Wei Rong was momentarily surprised, but he soon chuckled. It seemed that Nan Yuan had finally gone too far. In that case, it was time to get rid of him.

    There were certain people who were able to piece together seemingly ordinary information to forge an intangible weapon. Wei Rong was one of them.

    In the Neoverse¡¯s ck Street, Ming Yu received a call that surprised her. After considering what she heard, she quickly reported the matter to Ming Yan.

    "He asked you to do this? Then just do it," Ming Yan replied.

    Ming Yu hesitated. "Should we report this to the Alliance Leader?"

    Ming Yan shook her head. "There¡¯s no need. This isn¡¯t a big deal."

    Ming Yu was skeptical of that. How could anything rted to overseers not be a big deal? However, it seemed that from the Alliance Leader¡¯s position, this was not anything to be overly concerned about. Lu Yin was able to control the overseers to some degree, and he already wielded an impressive amount of influence.

    It was not long before a vessel left ck Street on its way to the Honor Zone. There was a child on the vessel, and he stared out at the starry sky in confusion. There was an old woman apanying the child. "Don''t worry, Bo. You¡¯ll soon be reunited with your grandfather."

    The child was Bo; San Shang¡¯s grandson.

    However, Bo¡¯s mood did not improve after hearing the old woman¡¯s words. Was it even possible for him to be reunited with his grandpa? Five years had already passed since he had started living on ck Street, and he had matured during that time. He was no longer naive enough to believe others would help him out of the goodness of their hearts.

    Bo was well aware that he was nothing more than a tool. Whoever got their hands on him would be able to control his grandfather, who was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers. Bo was leaving ck Street, but where would he end up next? The child nced at the old woman¡¯s reflection in a mirror and was ovee by a wave of sadness. He did not believe a word the old woman said.

 Chapter 1908: Higher Pursuits

    Chapter 1908: Higher Pursuits

    After passing off the task of removing Nan Yuan to Wei Rong, Lu Yin gathered his courage and called Big Sis.

    ¡°Burp~~, what''s the matter Little Seven?¡± Big Sis sounded sluggish when she answered the call. More precisely, she sounded drunk.

    Lu Yin spoke cautiously, "Big Sis, um, what do you think about bing an overseer?"

    Big Sis belched again. "What a stupid idea. Bing an overseer means losing my freedom. Mt. Microcosms isn¡¯t fit for human habitation.¡±

    Lu Yin was left without any response to give. Big Sis was basically cursing the Hall of Honor. "Well, the overseers aren¡¯t actually controlled too much, and you can head out if you want. There¡¯s no need to actually stay on Mt. Microcosms.¡±

    "Head out? You think I¡¯m stupid? Why would someone leave? It¡¯s hard to be an overseer, so obviously it¡¯d be best to stay on Mt. Microcosms to dominate others and enjoy the respect thates with such a status. Only idiots would leave." Big Sis shared some thoughts she had buried her heart as she spoke incoherently.

    "So you mean you agree to be an overseer?"

    "Are you drunk? When did I agree?"

    "Didn''t you say that you want to stay on Mt. Microcosms to dominate others and enjoy holding a position of respect? Don''t worry, tons of people will show you their respect."

    "Don''t try to tempt me. Thisdy doesn¡¯t want to be respected, I want to rob people. This is the glorious tradition of Leon''s Armada!"

    "Fine, if you stay in Mt. Microcosms, you can rob people, if that¡¯s what you want. Just don''t go too far."

    "You really are an idiot! Why didn¡¯t you just stay at Mt. Microcosms and wait for others to offer you their respects? You¡¯re so stupid. How did you manage to survive until now and even win that war? Ridiculous."

    Lu Yin angrily hung up. Only an idiot would try to discuss things with a drunk. He decided to call her backter.

    One dayter, Lu Yin''s gadget beeped. Big Sis was calling him.

    "Little Seven, why do I have the feeling you hung up on me?" Big Sis immediately asked.

    Lu Yin said firmly, "Nope, wouldn¡¯t happen. I would never dare hang up on you, Big Sis.¡±

    "You didn¡¯t?" Big Sis wondered. "Didn¡¯t you call me yesterday?"

    "I did call you, but you hung up on me, Big Sis. Think about it, not even a Semi-Progenitor would dare hang up on you. It¡¯s absolutely impossible for me to do that. Just think about it." Lu Yin was getting nervous.

    Big Sis remained suspicious and muttered to herself for a while. "Whatever. What did we talk about?"

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath of relief. "We were talking about you wanting to be an overseer."

    "That¡¯s dumb. I¡¯ve never considered bing an overseer. Don''t think I be some idiot when I''m drunk," Big Sis admonished.

    Lu Yin put on his best salesperson tone. "You said being an overseer on Mt. Microcosms would mean that you can make demands of others and enjoy holding a respectable position."

    Big Sis was taken aback for a moment. She vaguely remembered saying something along those lines.

    "You also said that it¡¯s a superior method of robbery. It¡¯s civilized, family-friendly, elegant, and elevates your life goals. You¡¯ll soon surpass Highsage Leon and be the next pirate king."

    Lu Yin¡¯s enthusiasm started to infect Big Sis. "Did I really say all that?"

    "Who else would have such ambitious goals?" Lu Yin flipped the question.

    Big Sis swallowed. Her eyes started to shine. Surpassing Highsage Leon and bing the Pirate King with a superior form of looting. Yep, that was definitely something she had said. "Alright, I agree. I¡¯ll have a fun time being an overseer."

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Thank you, Big Sis! You¡¯ll definitely leave your legacy behind on Mt. Microcosms."

    "Hahahaha, what nonsense are you spouting? I am ady!" Big Sis beamed.

    Lu Yin ttered her a bit more before saying goodbye and then letting out a sigh of relief. It was done.

    Just outside, Ku Wei had been about to submit a report, but his expression had turned somber after overhearing Lu Yin¡¯s conversation with Big Sis. Ku Wei was truly unable topare to his master in any way. Even when it came to kissing ass, his master was more impressive.

    "Who is it?" Lu Yin called out.

    Ku Wei''s expression instantly changed. "Master, it¡¯s your beloved Little Wei!" he announced as he entered the room.

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, on Mt. Microcosms, someone emerged from the Arbitration World, which drew the attention of Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors. The man who had appeared was Qing Shaohuang.

    During the chaos in the Divine Venom Dynasty, Qing Shaohuang had been taken away by the Chief Justice to be put to trial. In the end, though the emperor had not been convicted of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance, there was no denying that Yuan Taishi had been his subordinate. Qing Shaohuang had been interrogated, and ultimately banned from ruling Venom Flowzone for the rest of his life. He was instead being sent to the Starfall Sea to serve as a guard for 10,000 years.

    Having even a passing association to the crime of colluding with the Neohuman Alliance was still a serious offense, and this was why it was practically impossible for Qing Shaohuang, despite having a power level of nearly 800,000, to remain unpunished. This demonstrated the Hall of Honor¡¯s attitude towards the Neohuman Alliance, and Qing Shaohuang was only being allowed to live because they could not find any motive for him to join hands with the Neohuman Alliance. If even a single shred of evidence had been found, Qing Shaohuang would have been instantly eliminated, even if things wereter proven to be false.

    Another reason he was being sent to serve at the defensive line was due to the manpower shortage in the Starfall Sea.

    "Depart for the Starfall Sea," a voice rumbled from Qing Shaohuang''s own shadow. It was the Judicial Commissioner, Shadow of Death. He was responsible for ensuring Qing Shaohuang arrived at the Starfall Sea.

    "Judicial Commissioner, may I first see my son?" Qing Shaohuang asked.

    ¡°Do so quickly.¡±

    "Thank you, Judicial Commissioner," Qing Shaohuang said gratefully. He contacted Qing Sheng, who was still in the Lockbreakers World.

    Qing Shaohuang¡¯s trial had already finished long ago. After he had been found innocent of any collusion, he had been imprisoned. However, he had not been kept isted from news of the universe. He had managed to determine Qing Sheng¡¯s location, and had also been following along with what had been happening with the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Qing Shaohuang had been arrested and investigated entirely because of Lu Yin, so the Envoy had constantly been paying close attention to the Great Eastern Alliance.

    He had been ecstatic when he had first heard that the Great Eastern Alliance was going to take over the defense of the Outerverse against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. As an Envoy, he had fought in wars against the Astral Beast Domain, so he was aware that they were not an easy opponent. He had thus believed that the Great Eastern Alliance would suffer terrible losses regardless of victory or defeat.

    Sure enough, just as he had expected, the war had escted, and at one point, the number of Envoys participating in the fighting had exceeded thirty. Even Empyrean Imprinters had shown up, which had been truly shocking.

    It was expected for the Astral Beast Domain to have such powerhouses, but why did the Great Eastern Alliance have such powerful experts as well? Onlyter had Qing Shaohuang learned that the Second Nightking was following Lu Yin.

    After learning that the Second Nightking was one of Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates, Qing Shaohuang had nearly gone insane. That bastard Lu Yin had sent the Second Nightking to negotiate with Qing Shaohuang to attack Lu Yin while he had been in the Divine Venom Dynasty, but the Second Nightking had actually been working for Lu Yin the entire time! What an immoral and shameless bastard!

    The Second Nightking, Yuan Shi, Ya Mavis, Liu Huang, Jiu Shen, and other powerful individuals had then appeared one after another to support the Great Eastern Alliance. Qing Shaohuang had felt his willpower to get revenge slowly drain away. How could he do anything when faced with such a powerful opponent?

    Qing Shaohuang had also learned that the war in the Outerverse was over, and that the Great Eastern Alliance had taken control of the eastern weaves. Even the Sixth Maind had been forced to ept a loss. The former emperor had thus buried his hatred even deeper in his heart even as he cursed his own weakness. For the moment, he was far from being Lu Yin''s opponent.

    Even if Qing Shaohuang intended to take back control of the Divine Venom Dynasty in the future, there was only one possible result: he would be eliminated by Lu Yin. Just the Second Nightking alone was more than capable ofpleting such a task.

    Qing Sheng arrived while his father was reviewing recent events. The young man stopped a hundred meters away from Qing Shaohuang, and aplicated expression could be seen on his face as he looked at his father.

    Despite being the crown prince of the Divine Venom Dynasty, Qing Sheng had run away from home. He had once been Qing Shaohuang¡¯s favorite child, and the two had once been inseparable.

    Still, regardless of their own, personal conflicts, Qing Sheng was the only family member Qing Shaohuang was able to visit at this moment.

    "Go back and take charge of the Divine Venom Dynasty. Have our Dynasty join the Great Eastern Alliance," Qing Shaohuang spoke in a bitter tone. Only he could know just how frustrated and helpless he felt while speaking those words aloud. However, there was no other way. If the Divine Venom Dynasty refused to join the Great Eastern Alliance, their fate was already sealed.

    Qing Shaohuang knew that his brother, Qing Li, had already announced this decision on behalf of the Divine Venom Dynasty, but Qing Li was not the rightful ruler of the Dynasty. Qing Shaohuang wanted the Divine Venom Dynasty to officially join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Even whenpared to the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, of the other Innerverse powers, Qing Shaohuang was the person with the deepest understanding of Lu Yin''s methods, and he was also the one who feared the youth the most.

    Since Qing Shaohuang intended to have his empire join the alliance, he naturally intended to go all in. This would make it more difficult for the Great Eastern Alliance to create problems for the Divine Venom Dynasty in the future.

    Qing Sheng spoke slowly as he asked, "Where are you going?"

    Qing Shaohuang nced at his shadow. "The Starfall Sea."

    "Is there anything else I can do?" Qing Shen asked.

    Qing Shaohuang stared at Casanova. "Take care of your sister, and don''t hate Lu Yin. He has his own reasons for doing things, and he did nothing wrong."

    The man did not want his son to hate Lu Yin, as such feelings would only lead to disaster. It was enough for Qing Shaohuang to suffer such indignation alone, even though he might never have a chance to get revenge.

    Qing Shen was no fool, and he understood Qing Shaohuang¡¯s intentions. Did Qing Sheng hate Lu Yin? Maybe, maybe not. He was not sure himself.

    He frequently remembered his first meeting with Lu Yin. There were times when Qing Sheng regretted not killing Lu Yin back then, though, at the time, it had been nothing more than a passing thought. Since he had harbored such a whim, it was possible that he did hold some animosity towards Lu Yin, though not to the extent of his father¡¯s hatred.

    Qing Shen watched as Qing Shaohuang left. His father¡¯s silhouette grew smaller and smaller before eventually vanishing into the distance. No one could tell what was on the young man¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin had already learned of Qing Shaohuang¡¯s punishment and posting long ago. After all, Lu Yin had ess to all of the insider knowledge of what happened on Mt. Microcosms. After all, Lu Yin controlled the overseers¡¯ council.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Qing Shaohuang is sending Qing Shen to take control of the Divine Venom Dynasty and wants to have the Dynasty officially join the Great Eastern Alliance. It appears he has be clear-headed and is able to make proper decisions." San Liang''s voice held a great deal more respect than it had in the past.

    The war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain had firmly established Lu Yin''s power and influence. Hemanded more than a dozen Envoys, and even Elder Jiu Shen had shown his willingness to help Lu Yin. There were even rumors that Lu Yin was being supported by a Semi-Progenitor. The power this young man had at his disposal was simply mind-blowing.

    The war had also led to the residents of the Outerverseing to idolize Lu Yin, and almost every in any of the eastern weaves had a civilization that had erected a statue of Lu Yin. He was currently the most respected person in the Outerverse.

    Before the war, countless people had argued over Lu Yin¡¯s decision, and many had mocked him. If the Great Eastern Alliance had suffered a defeat and heavy losses, those who opposed Lu Yin would have kicked him while he was down and made sure he would never recover. However, since he had won, public opinion hadpletely changed to open adoration. Everyone was heaping praises on Lu Yin. It was only human nature.

    Lu Yin had gained both power and prestige from this war. It had also allowed him to gainplete control of the Allied Forces. If he wanted to go to war in the future, all he would need to do would be to give the order, and no one would be able to gainsay him. Liu Qianjue, San Liang, and many others werepletely in awe of Lu Yin.

    "Got it." Lu Yin ended the call and stared out at the stars.

    Qing Shaohuang had made the smart decision to not try to trigger the poison he had ced on the Escaping Orb after being captured by the Chief Justice. This decision had instead left open an alternative path where Qing Shaohuang could instead develop a good rtionship with Lu Yin.

    After being released from prison, the first thing Qing Shaohuang had done was get the Divine Venom Dynasty to officially join the Great Eastern Alliance and persuade Qing Sheng to take over ruling the Divine Venom Dynasty. This was a move that demonstrated extraordinary foresight. Qing Li¡¯s abilities wereckingpared to his brother¡¯s.

    Would Qing Shen actually take over and rule the Divine Venom Dynasty? Lu Yin was curious to see what would happen.

 Chapter 1909: The Crazy Big Tree

    Chapter 1909: The Crazy Big Tree

    After the war in the Outerverse finally ended, Lu Yin began to receive hundreds of messages each day. That was even after most of them had been filtered by En Ya, Huan Sha, Wei Rong, Wang Wen, and others, which meant that these hundreds were the most important messages. Lu Yin was left with no time at all to cultivate.

    Still, this was not a bad thing. Lu Yin had only just be an Envoy, so he needed some time for his increased cultivation to stabilize.

    After poring through the messages one after another, Lu Yin suddenly stood up. The big tree had been found.

    The big tree had previously escaped from Lu Yin¡¯s botanical garden he had created on the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. No one had been able to understand how the tree had managed to escape, and its whereabouts had remained a mystery. Countless people from the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had searched, but their efforts had been fruitless.

    Logically, the tree should have still been on the mobile fortress, as there was no way for it to travel through outer space, yet no one had been able to find it.

    Finally, the tree had been located in Blue Flowzone, a tiny, inconspicuous flowzone several flowzones away from zing Mist Flowzone.

    Lu Yin immediately made his way for the Innerverse.

    Even if he decided to let the big tree go free, Lu Yin absolutely had to retrieve Sapling. If that little tree was found by Leaf King, Lu Yin would be put in a very tight position.

    Unbeknownst to Lu Yin, Leaf King was already in Blue Flowzone and had even spent thest few days observing the big tree and Sapling.

    Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s intelligencework in the Innerverse far surpassed what the newly arrived Great Eastern Alliance had ess to. Leaf King had received word regarding the location of the big tree and Sapling as much as a month before, but he had not dared to do anything since that time.

    When Leaf King had tried to make a move in the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, the big tree had left him spitting out blood after the man had tried to grab Sapling. He still clearly remembered what had happened, and he was genuinely scared of that big tree.

    The big tree was near Leaf King, standing quietly in a forested park. At the top of the tree, a small sapling darted around. It looked as though the moving nt was ying a game of hide-and-seek.

    Leaf King sat on a park bench while staring at the tree. Once the little sapling moved out of the big tree¡¯s range, he would capture it.

    The average level of cultivation on this was quite high. Despite being located in a minor flowzone, the had given birth to an Enlighter, several Hunters, and quite a few Explorers. This was the equivalent of the strength of an entire weave in the Outerverse.

    Out of nowhere, a person raced into the park. He seemed panicked, yet his movements were deliberate. He studied the area before running straight towards the mobile tree. As Leaf King watched in astonishment, the man leaped onto the big tree and hid within its canopy.

    Leaf King blinked twice and his handsome features contorted. What the hell? Was it really that easy? He had repeatedly tried to get close to the big tree over the past month, but had not once seeded due to sensing a strange danger. On the other hand, this person who had just appeared had seeded without any issue despite only being a mere Cruiser?

    The person who had leaped into the big tree¡¯s canopy saw Leaf King, and their eyes met. The man then gestured for Leaf King to stay silent and threw a bit of star essence toward the older man.

    Leaf King reflexively grabbed it.

    At this moment, a group of people led by a furious looking Hunter arrived just outside the park. Given the Hunter¡¯s strength, just his footsteps alone were enough to overturn rivers andpletely destroy the entire. He seemed to be suppressing his anger as he entered the park. He ordered, "Find him! You have to find that bastard!"

    "Yes, Patriarch!" The entire group answered and they then scattered to carry out their order.

    One of them walked towards Leaf King and looked down at the man in a condescending manner. "Did you see anyone enter this park?"

    Leaf King¡¯s eyes flickered to the top of the big tree. "No."

    "Are you sure?" the man pressed, sounding upset. He stretched out a hand and pressed it upon Leaf King''s shoulder. Just as the man was about to exert a bit of strength, the Hunter called from the distance. "He¡¯s just an ordinary person; how could he have seen any trace of that bastard?"

    The person who had been interrogating Leaf King quickly moved on to search elsewhere.

    Despite giving birth to several experts, no one on the dared to recklessly use their strength. At most, people were able to use a Melder¡¯s level of strength, and this was because anything more could easily destroy the, and it was home to an Enlighter. That powerhouse would not allow anyone to destroy his home.

    This was also why the Hunter was only able to organize a search party to hunt down his quarry.

    Leaf King remained sitting quietly on the bench, staring out at theke in the park.

    The man they were searching for had decent capabilities. Not even the Hunter was able to find the man, despite being so close. The othersbed the entire park, but could not find anything at all. Leaf King could tell with a single nce that the fugitive was quite experienced at this.

    "Reporting to the Patriarch: he¡¯s not here."

    ¡°Reporting: he¡¯s not here.¡±

    ¡°Not here.¡±

    ¡­

    The Hunter¡¯s expression became ugly. "Let¡¯s go!¡±

    He led his people out of the park.

    The person hiding in the big tree¡¯s canopy let out a sigh of relief, though he continued hiding. Based on previous experiences, it was possible that the search party would turn back after pretending to leave.

    While the man was thinking about this, the big tree moved.

    The man was startled. Was this an earthquake?

    The tree moved again.

    The man was quite shaken, and he quickly looked down. Did the tree just move? At this moment, something brushed the back of his head. The man was absolutely terrified. How had he not noticed anyone else¡¯s presence? He whipped around, only to be greeted by the sight of a branch. It was Sapling, and he had just identally squashed it.

    The tree moved?

    The man was stunned. Had this nt reached the level of being a natural treasure?

    The big tree pulled two of its thick roots out of the soil, and then began frantically running. It somehow resembled a human as it moved. The ground shook as it raced out of the park with just a few steps, and it sprinted onto the street. It left holes in the ground with every step, and the noise it made as it moved attracted attention from numerous people. The man hidden in the canopy felt his stomach drop. Since when could trees move about like this?

    "Patriarch, over there!" someone shouted.

    The Hunter looked over and his eyes narrowed. "Bastard, I¡¯ve found you now! Get down from there!¡±

    The man grabbed a door and swung it at the big tree.

    The tree quickly dodged to the right, barely avoiding the attack, and the door smashed into the ground.

    "Get over here right now!" The Hunter yelled in fury as he chased after the tree.

    Countless people raced after the tree and moved to intercept it.

    The big tree fled.

    Leaf King was not surprised by this sight. This big tree was very odd. It could stay quietly in one ce for a while, and then would break into random bouts of hysteria without any warning at all. If anyone managed to grab the tree, it would effortlessly escape without injuring the person. It was truly mysterious.

    The whole street began to be active as the big tree desperately fled and countless people chased after it and tried to block its path.

    "Hurry up and send word to the Alliance Leader! The big tree¡¯s trying to escape! I¡¯m keeping an eye on it!" One man submitted a report into his gadget.

    Leaf King heard the man and instantly killed the man with a single p. Since the man was from the Great Eastern Alliance, it meant that Lu Yin had to already know of the big tree¡¯s whereabouts. Things would be troublesome if Lu Yin arrived. The sapling had to be taken away quickly.

    "Get down from there right now!" the Hunter shouted. He pulled out a long knife from his cosmic ring and shed it down. The attack tore through the void as it shot towards the big tree.

    The man hidden in the tree¡¯s branches urged the tree, "Quick! Run away!"

    The big tree¡¯s trunk twisted, and it dodged the sh by using a movement that mimicked a dancer¡¯s pose. Everyone who saw this felt their jaws drop.

    That pose had some kind of seductiveness to it. How could a tree be seductive?

    Sapling danced around the big tree¡¯s branches in a delighted manner.

    The man hiding in the canopy was also stunned. This was still a tree, right?

    A stern looking old man appeared in the sky above themotion. "Who dares act so brazenly here? You will be punished for using the strength of an Explorer!"

    The Hunter looked terrified, and the knife dropped from his hand as he quickly began begging, ¡°Teacher, your disciple''s been careless! Please forgive me!"

    This old man was the only Enlighter on the, and he was the one who had enforced the rules for all on the. He was the reason so many cultivators had risen from this ce.

    All of the cultivators on this were the old man¡¯s disciples.

    The old man ignored the Hunter and instead stared at the escaping tree. "Interesting."

    He moved a finger to catch the big tree.

    Suddenly, a terrifying force shook the entire, and the old man''s pupils constricted as his body was mmed to the ground. This was not good! There was a true powerhouse!

    Leaf King had made his move. He reached for the big tree¡¯s canopy with a hand and tried to grab Sapling.

    The man hiding in the big tree¡¯s branches was scared stiff by the overwhelming strength that had appeared. He had experienced such strength before, and this person was definitely an Envoy. Since when had an Envoy been on this?

    A hand stretched out of the true universe. Leaf King showed himself as he reached for Sapling.

    The fugitive was startled when he saw Leaf King. "It¡¯s you?"

    He had never imagined the person he had tried to bribe with a bit of star essence would actually be an Envoy. Why was an Envoy hiding here?

    Right when Leaf King¡¯s hand was about to touch Sapling, a branch twined around his arm and snapped like a whip. There was a deafening crack as the arm was torn off and Leaf King¡¯s body was sent flying away and tumbling head over heels. The force of the retaliation Leaf King had faced blew a hole in the¡¯s atmosphere, and even shattered a barren far away.

    Leaf King had instantly been severely injured. He turned and shot into the true universe to vanish from sight.

    Everything had happened in less than an instant. The old Enlighter had felt Leaf King¡¯s power, and though the other cultivators present had felt it as well, they had mistaken it for the Enlighter¡¯s strength.

    Only the person hiding in the big tree¡¯s canopy was aware of what had happened, and he was utterly terrified by what he had just witnessed.

    An Envoy had just been sent flying by a tree! And he had actually dared to climb to the top of that same tree! What kind of tree was he in? Was it even a tree?

    The man trembled uncontrobly, nearly soiling himself from his fear.

    The big tree resumed its mad dash before suddenlying to a sudden stop. It then firmly inserted its roots into the ground after it stopped moving.

    The person in the canopy looked left and right. Was it done? The big tree had decided to stop in the middle of a street!

    Everyone looked at the tree with odd expressions. Was this tree some sort of natural treasure?

    Someone wanted to move closer to the big tree, but they were stopped by the old Enlighter. At his orders, the street was sealed off and no one was allowed anywhere close to the tree. Anyone who tried to approach would be driven away.

    The Enlighter felt rather confident that he knew what had just happened, though he had not been able to see any of the details. The Envoy who had suddenly revealed themselves might have been the tree itself.

    The old man had traveled to many ces in the universe while cultivating to be an Enlighter, and he knew that it was not impossible for a big tree to have the strength of an Envoy.

    He considered how to deal with this matter, and even considered reporting this incident to the Hall of Honor.

    An ordinary-looking face popped out of the big tree¡¯s leaves. There was a pleading look on the man¡¯s face as he stared at the old Enlighter from within the big tree¡¯s branches.

    The old Enlighter was startled when he saw the man, and he then bowed low. It turned out that the Envoy was a person and not the big tree itself. "I was presumptuous and disturbed you, Senior. Do you have any requests? This junior will do his best to fulfill them.¡±

    The man in the tree was drowning in despair, and he wanted to beg for help, but just as he was about to speak, branches started to twine about his neck. It was Sapling.

    Sapling was in a yful mood, but from the man¡¯s perspective, the little tree was threatening him. These branches could easily choke him to death. Was this tree stopping him from speaking?

    The man wanted to weep. He had merely stolen a single item, so why was his punishment so harsh? He had even gotten involved with an Envoy! The Innerverse was just too much for the man. He wanted to go back to the Neoverse.

    ¡­

 Chapter 1910: Uncle Tree

    Chapter 1910: Uncle Tree

    The big tree seemed to have taken root, and it remained unmoving for several days.

    Up within the tree¡¯s canopy, Sapling had made a new friend, the man who had hidden in the big tree¡¯s branches.

    At the moment, that man had sumbed to despair. The big tree was simply too terrifying! The man had just watched as the tree had overpowered an Envoy, and he was feeling quite depressed about his situation. As for Sapling, the man assumed it to be part of the big tree. Because of this, regardless of anything Sapling did, the man was determined to apany Sapling without any resistance, as he was scared of identally offending the tree.

    The old Enlighter remained near the big tree on the same. The old man did not dare do anything that might disturb the man in the tree in any form. At the same time, the Enlighter hoped to gain the favor of this Envoy and receive something for his efforts that might allow his cultivation to take a step forward.

    The entire street had been sealed off. There were cracks in the ground that radiated from where the big tree had settled, and it stood alone in the street with its branches swaying in the breeze.

    It then began to rain.

    The old Enlighter hastily waved a hand to disperse the clouds in order to ensure the sun continued to shine down on the tree.

    Suddenly, space twisted next to the old man, and Lu Yin stepped out.

    He had rushed over as soon as he had received news about Sapling, and he had just arrived.

    "This tree¡¯s stayed here the whole time and hasn¡¯t moved?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old Enlighter answered, "Yes, that¡¯s the tree..."

    He suddenly twitched and his head snapped around to stare at Lu Yin in astonishment. "You- you..."

    He wanted to ask who Lu Yin was, but still was too stunned by how Lu Yin had managed to arrive so close without the old Enlighter sensing anything at all. On top of that, the longer he looked at Lu Yin, the more he felt this young man looked familiar. The Enlighter¡¯s thoughts were aplete mess as he struggled to find any words to say.

    Lu Yin simply ignored the man and casuallymented, "There are signs of a fight."

    He reached out and pinched his fingers. "Are there any videos of the Envoy''s fight? Show any you have."

    The old Enlighter continued to stare nkly at Lu Yin. Finally, realization hit him and he nearly jumped in fright. "Lu- Lu Yin? No, Alliance Leader Lu!"

    Lu Yin looked at the man and gave him a slight smile. "Do you have any videos of what happened?"

    The old Enlighter¡¯s mouth was hanging open. This was Lu Yin, the Alliance Leader of the Great Eastern Alliance! The person who had unified the entire Innerverse! The old man had never dreamed of getting close enough to speak to such a person in his entire lifetime. He had only ever seen Lu Yin as someone who stood upon a shining stage. The Tournament of the Strongest, ZENITH, and most recently, the war in the Outerverse. It was said that there had been dozens of Envoys on that battlefield. Though the fact that the old man was an Enlighter made him a powerhouse in the universe, he could only dream of interacting with such a prestigious person.

    He had heard that hundreds of Enlighters had participated in the Outerverse war.

    The old manpletely forgot his words when he realized that such a powerful person was standing right next to him. He quickly bowed low. "Fraser¡¯s Zang Nan greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin repeated his question, "Are there any videos of the battle that took ce?"

    Some time passed, as Zang Nan could still not gather his wits for a bit after being spoken to by Lu Yin himself. Finally, the man hurriedly replied, "No there aren¡¯t. The battle happened too suddenly. Not to mention any monitoring equipment, even I wasn¡¯t able to see anything clearly, and I was right there when it happened."

    "Oh? What did you see?" Lu Yin grew curious.

    The Innerverse was truly impressive. Even small flowzones were able to give rise to Enlighters. When the Outerverse had been cut off from the rest of the Human Domain, Lu Yin had only rarelye across any Enlighters. At that time, he had considered Enlighters to be powerhouses.

    An Enlighter could be considered a top expert in the Outerverse, but in the Innerverse, even every minor flowzone had at least one.

    Zang Nan answered respectfully, "I really was not able to see any details. It all happened far too quickly. The only thing I managed to see was a shadow rushing toward the big tree, and then it was sent flying away. I never managed to see what form the shadow actually took."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. "Did the figure rush towards the big tree, or its canopy?"

    Zang Nan considered the question carefully while biting his cheek. "The canopy."

    "Are you sure?" Lu Yin pressed. His voice sounded casual, but given Lu Yin¡¯s status, Zang Nan knew his answer would determine whether or not he would survive this encounter, as well as his future.

    He firmly stated, "I''m sure, because the shadow was thrown away from the tree¡¯s canopy."

    Lu Yin turned back to look at the big tree. That person who had attacked had to have been Leaf King again. Who else would pay any attention to the big tree other than that man? On top of that, Leaf King was an Envoy.

    It seemed that there was something more to the big tree than met the eye. It was able to send even Leaf King flying, and he was someone with a power level of at least 800,000. With such strength, how was it possible that the Ordnance Mercenaries had managed to capture the big tree in the first ce? Lu Yin would never forget the scene when Qi Jin had entered the botanical garden with the big tree. At that time, Lu Yin had assumed it was just a big, ordinary tree.

    He casually tossed Zang Nan a natural treasure that had reached the level of avoiding danger. As Zang Nan expressed his gratitude, Lu Yin approached the big tree one step at a time. He was soon only 100 meters away from the big tree.

    Up in the tree¡¯s canopy, Sapling seemed to sense something and it suddenly raised its branches. It slowly turned towards Lu Yin, and then happily leaped down.

    Lu Yin hugged Sapling, stroking its branches and leaves with a grin on his face. "You rascal.¡±

    The cheerful little tree radiated a warm light and tightly wrapped its branches around Lu Yin''s fingers. It looked incredibly content.

    A short distance away, up in the big tree¡¯s canopy, a man¡¯s eyes went wide as he stared down at Lu Yin. It¡¯s him?

    Lu Yin looked up. He initially focused on the big tree, but then caught a glimpse of a person up in the canopy. "Qian Zou?"

    The man who had been chased for stealing and who had hidden in the big tree¡¯s canopy was none other than Qian Zou, who Lu Yin had previously met in the Neoverse. During Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion, he had faced Progenitor Chen, and one of the eight clones had used Inverse Step. Lu Yin had first seen Qian Zou using Inverse Step, and while he had been impressed by the technique, he had not cared too much about it. However, Progenitor Chen''s clone which had had the same level of cultivation as Lu Yin had used the movement technique to circumvent Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight. That incident had left Lu Yin stunned, and it had also reignited his interest in Qian Zou.

    After he had passed his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had ordered a search for Qian Zou. He never expected to meet the young man on this.

    Qian Zou strained his neck towards Lu Yin, his face the picture of misery. "Um, brother? I mean Seventh Bro. Save me please, I''m scared¡­"

    Lu Yinughed. He had expected he would need to expend a great deal of time and energy tracking down Qian Zao. Who could have expected that Lu Yin would find the man without any effort at all? "What are you doing in the Innerverse?"

    Qian Zou answered, "I¡¯ve just been traveling around. I¡¯d heard about the Innerverse and the Outerverse long ago, and I also had a bit of interest in exploring the Cosmic Sea, so I came over."

    "You mean you got caught stealing something in the Neoverse, so you came here because you had nowhere else to hide," Lu Yin bluntly countered.

    Qian Zou coughed in embarrassment. "So, erm, Seventh Bro, can you save me?"

    "How did you get up there?"

    ¡°I climbed.¡±

    "Then climb back down."

    Qian Zou was about to have a mental breakdown. "Uncle Tree¡¯s an Envoy! I don¡¯t dare try to leave!"

    Lu Yin used a reassuring tone, "Don''t worry. Uncle Tree won''t attack anyone who doesn¡¯t threaten it."

    "Really?" Qian Zou remained skeptical.

    Lu Yin exined, "How else do you think you managed to climb up there? You wouldn¡¯t be alive right now if it was dangerous."

    Qian Zou thought about this and felt it made sense. Still, he was unable to muster the necessary courage. "Seventh Bro, you have to protect me! Your little brother¡¯s counting on you!"

    Lu Yin made a cating gesture.

    Qian Zou gulped and then slowly and deliberately climbed down the big tree. Each movement was made with the utmost caution, as he was terrified of identally offending the big tree and getting smacked dead. Even an Envoy had been seriously injured after getting struck by one of these branches, so Qian Zou had no confidence at all.

    When Qian Zou¡¯s feet finally touched the ground, he did not dare believe it to be true. He slowly backed away from the big tree, and once he was just over ten meters away, he suddenly sprinted toward Lu Yin and instantly hid behind him. When he saw the big tree remained stationary, Qian Zou nearly copsed in relief. He had survived!

    It was also at that moment that Zang Nan realized that Qian Zou was not an Envoy. The youth was not even a Hunter! Zang Nan felt wronged. He had acted so respectful and deferential to this young man, but had actually been scammed. The old man looked at Qian Zou with a hint of malice in his eyes.

    Qian Zou patted his chest, thankful to have survived his narrow escape.

    Lu Yin squatted and stroked Sapling¡¯s tender green leaves. ¡°Good kid, you¡¯ve had your fun. Shall we go home now?"

    Sapling jumped up and down in excitement, catching Qian Zou off guard.

    He was no stranger to Sapling, and he had even yed with the little tree while being trapped in the big tree¡¯s canopy. Qian Zou had assumed the small sapling to be part of the Envoy-strength tree¡¯s body, yet apparently the big tree was an entirely separate entity. Qina Zou had been tricked into living in terror for several days. His eyes grew cold as he gazed at Sapling.

    "Can you bring the big tree back, too?" Lu Yin asked Sapling.

    Sapling curved its branches and spread its leaves. It looked like it was struggling to understand what Lu Yin meant.

    However, while Sapling may not have understood, the big tree certainly did. It uprooted itself in a manner reminiscent of ady hiking up her skirts, and it then frantically started running away.

    Several Limiteers in the area rushed over to capture the big tree.

    It was then that a strange situation urred. When Leaf King had tried to capture Sapling, the big tree had sent the Envoy flying away with the flick of a single branch. However when faced with several Limiteers, the big tree was unable to break free. Just a few people were able to tie the tree up and carry it back on their shoulders. Its branches swayed about wildly in a panic, but it was unable to escape.

    Qian Zou''s eye twitched. This big tree was clearly just messing around! Those were Limiteers, right? But unless all of them were secretly Envoys, how could they possibly catch that big tree so easily? How did these people have the guts to assault the tree?

    Lu Yin was relieved to see his assumption had been right. People who were not a threat to the big tree would be fine regardless of how they touched it. As for people like Leaf King, the big tree would brutally attack them.

    After waving goodbye, the cultivators carried the big tree onto a spaceship and made their way back to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. They nned to lock the big tree back in the botanical garden.

    One of Sapling¡¯s branches rubbed against Lu Yin''s face. It seemed to be worried.

    Lu Yin gave Sapling a reassuring smile as he said, "Don''t worry, the big tree is fine. They won''t hurt it."

    Sapling regained its previous cheerfulness and started dancing and hopping around Lu Yin.

    Qian Zou showed an embarrassed smile. "Erm, Seventh Bro, I''m going to head out now. Thank you for saving me. If there¡¯s anything you need me to do for you in the future, just give me a call.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and patted Zian Zou¡¯s shoulder. "There¡¯s no need to wait for that. You can help me right now."

    Qian Zou¡¯s face twitched and his smile turned to one of begging. "Seventh Bro, your little brother¡¯s already exhausted. Can I just rest for a few days first?"

    Lu Yin opened his hand to reveal a pill. "Eat this, and you will recover in no time."

    Qian Zou was left speechless. Eventually, he cautiously asked, "What is it that I can help you with, Seventh Bro?"

    Lu Yin put a bit more strength into the hand that he had set on Qian Zou''s shoulder as he solemnly said, "I don''t have anything I need you to do, but I would like to make a deal with you. I¡¯m actually quite interested in your Inverse Step."

    This caught Qian Zou by surprise. "Inverse Step? Seventh Bro, are you actually interested in that?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Qian Zou found this quite odd. Lu Yin had known Qian Zou for much longer than just a day or two. They had first met during the Astral Tower, and then againter during ZENITH. If Lu Yin was interested in Inverse Step, why had he not said so before? Quite a bit of time had passed since both of those previous encounters.

    "Seventh Bro, it''s not that I don''t want to teach you, but I actually don''t have a clue how to do so," Qian Zou said.

    This piqued Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity. "Why¡¯s that?"

    Qian Zou exined, "There are some battle techniques that are force application skills, others that utilize star energy, and still others that are movement techniques. Most techniques are easy to teach to someone else, but there are certain battle techniques that are imprinted directly onto a person¡¯s body, and those can¡¯t be taught to others. My Inverse Step is one of those techniques. Your little brother managed to learn it because of a jade I picked up, and I was able to immediately learn it.¡±

 Chapter 1911: Skyraiser City

    Chapter 1911: Skyraiser City

    Worried that Lu Yin would not believe him, Qian Zou quickly shared the tale of how he had been chased by someone, hidden in an auction house, and then picked up Inverse Step.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe the story. If this Inverse Step that Qian Zou used was the same as what Progenitor Chen''s clone had used, then it was as priceless as a secret technique. Naturally, it would also be difficult to learn. Lu Yin had learned Extremes Must Be Reversed from a jade slip as well, and he was simrly unable to teach anyone else the technique.

    However, just because Lu Yin could not learn the technique from Qian Zou did not mean that he would give up on obtaining the movement technique. One of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones had only used this movement technique, but it had been able to bypass Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight by creating a chaotic area of time and space with the technique. The application of a movement technique in this manner had stunned Lu Yin, and he would not abandon his attempts to learn it.

    "Take me to that auction house," Lu Yin ordered.

    Qian Zou was caught off guard. "Seventh Bro, Inverse Step really isn¡¯t anything special. It just looks weird while allowing a user to move faster. Is that really worth going all the way to the Neoverse?"

    There was no way that Lu Yin would answer truthfully. "There are some other things that I need to take care of in the Neoverse, so this just happens to coincide with my ns.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly nced over at Sapling. There was no way he could take the tree with him. Maybe it would be best to send it back to the big tree, as the big tree could at least keep Sapling safe.

    It was not long before Lu Yin and Qian Zou were on their way towards the Cosmic Sea while being escorted by the Second Nightking. As for Sapling, Lu Yin had put it back in the big tree¡¯s canopy before leaving.

    Only Semi-Progenitors were more powerful than the Second Nightking, so the trio shed through space with a speed that left Qian Zou doubting himself.

    Back when Lu Yin had been taken across the Cosmic Sea by Highsage Shenwei, he had had the same reaction.

    This was the strength of a top powerhouse, and distance lost all meaning to such experts.

    Mister Mu had instantly sent Lu Yin from Tempest Flowzone to Zhengyang Flowzone, which was a distance that spanned half of the Innerverse. Such an aplishment was mind-blowing to ordinary cultivators.

    Qian Zou''s understanding of the universe was being rewritten as they traveled.

    ¡­

    There was a roaming city in the Neoverse that was known as Skyraiser City, and it was home to thousands of auction houses, which made the city famous throughout the Neoverse.

    Skyraiser City was the metropolis with the most auction houses in the entire Fifth Maind. Every day, countless people brought items to the city to be auctioned off. Regardless of whether one was trying to sell items openly or on the ck market, anything could be sold. Additionally, the prices there were also the highest while themissions were absurdly low. This was because of the fiercepetition between the numerous auction houses.

    At the moment, Lu Yin and Qian Zou were wandering about Skyraiser City, taking in the city¡¯s unique atmosphere.

    Skyraiser City was bigger than any of the other drifting cities that Lu Yin had seen before, filled with densely packed buildings, and also had an impressive poption. When Lu Yin first arrived, he had discovered that there were no less than twenty Enlighters present with most of them in the tallest buildings in the city. On top of that, in the city¡¯s center, there was actually an Envoy.

    Envoys were rare powerhouses even in the Neoverse. While this particr Envoy did not appear to be overly powerful by the runes that Lu Yin saw, they were still an Envoy. Given that such a powerhouse was in charge, Skyraiser City absolutely qualified to rank among the top few drifting cities in the Neoverse.

    Countless people were on the streets trying to hawk something or other, and it was not long before a small auction was being held. It was quite normal to see this happen in the streets of Skyraiser City, as the city had a unique affinity for auctions.

    "Thergest auction house in the city is known as Gazemore Auction House. The owner is City Master Qing, who¡¯s also the city master. It¡¯s said that City Master Qing¡¯s extremely powerful and that even the masters of the 3,000 hidden worlds in the Honor Zone view him with a great deal of respect. Any powerhouse who visits Skyraiser City makes sure to show him respect and visit him personally." Qian Zou gave an introduction to the city, as he was quite familiar with the ce.

    "Look, Seventh Bro, that¡¯s Gazemore Auction House, the tallest building in Skyraiser City!¡±

    "Seventh Bro, that¡¯s Skyraiser City¡¯s restaurant alley. You can find countless, unimaginable ingredients there, many of which have been bought from soldiers who fight at the border warfront against the Astral Beast Domain.¡±

    "Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro! Look quick! An Azure Mansion!" Qian Zou excitedly shouted.

    Lu Yin was surprised. What? Azure Mansion?

    Off in the distance, a building constructed in an antique style descended from outer space. It was an Azure Mansion. These buildings drifted through the Neoverse were another major attraction, and each one of them drew in countless stares wherever they went. The most attractive feature of each building was their Flower Queen.

    Lu Yin had not expected an Azure Mansion to appear at Skyraiser City.

    There were only six Azure Mansions in the entire Neoverse, and this one should be the building that roamed about the Neoverse¡¯s northern regions since Skyraiser City also belonged to the northern regions.

    The Azure Mansion¡¯s arrival instantly caught the attention of countless people who turned to watch. In particr, they were hoping to see the Flower Queen appear. The suddenmotion that broke out was so intense that the city guards appeared in order to maintain a sense of order.

    "We¡¯re so lucky, Seventh Bro! Why don''t we go visit the Azure Mansion?" Qian Zou looked quite eager. If he was on his own, the best that he could manage was sneaking into an Azure Mansion to obtain a bit of information, but he would never try anything in one of those ces. Someone like him could not afford to offend such a powerful organization in the Neoverse. However, at the moment, an incredibly influential person was standing next to Qian Zou. Forget Azure Mansion¡ªif Lu Yin revealed himself, even the master of Skyraiser City would make a personal appearance to greet Lu Yin. How could the Flower Queen herself not appear to wait on Lu Yin if he visited the Azure Mansion?

    Qian Zou grew more and more excited the longer he thought about this. He really wanted to convince Lu Yin to make the visit.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Azure Mansion actually belonged to him, and Ming Yan already passed all of the profits from all six buildings onto Lu Yin. "I¡¯m not going."

    Qian Zou was crestfallen. "Seventh Bro, Azure Mansion¡¯s not a filthy establishment. They¡¯re actually quite virtuous! Visiting that ce can cleanse the soul and improve one''s morality. It¡¯s also possible to meet with many influential people in there.¡±

    "Are you saying that you can run into Envoys there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qian Zou was left speechless.

    "Hurry up and find the auction house. I don''t have much time to waste on this," Lu Yin urged.

    Qian Zou shrugged. "The auction house has already closed down, and I have no idea who bought it, so I need to go check into that."

    "Hurry up!" Lu Yin was getting annoyed.

    Azure Mansion¡¯s arrival at Skyraiser City drew even more visitors than normal to the drifting city. The arrival of an Azure Mansion could lure people anywhere, let alone a popr destination like Skyraiser City.

    At the center of Skyraiser City stood tworge buildings that upied a massive portion of the city. One was the city master¡¯s estate while the other was the Gazemore Auction House. They both belonged to the same person.

    There was one person in the city master¡¯s estate who was absolutely ecstatic at this moment. "The northern Azure Mansion is here? That''s great! Help change this young master¡¯s clothes! I haven¡¯t seen the northern Azure Mansion¡¯s Flower Queen Luo Mei for a long time. I must have her serve this young master today, hahahaha!"

    The person speaking was a pale young man who looked exceptionally excited. There were five girls nearby who were waiting upon him, though each one appeared to be quite anxious. It looked as if they were all afraid of offending the young man. His name was Qing Yu, and he was the son of the city master, City Master Qing.

    Suddenly, the door was thrown open and a strong wind blew in. A furious looking woman stood at the door. Although she had a beautiful face, her expression made her look evil and vicious.

    Qing Yu¡¯s expression changedpletely the moment he saw the woman. "Hong- Hong''er! You- why are you back?"

    The five girls who had been attending Qing Yu all grew terrified, and they dropped to their knees. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and not one of them dared to look up.

    The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed as she took in the room and red at Qing Yu. Then, she lifted a hand, causing five red flowers to magically appear in her palm. She waved that hand, and the necks of all five girls were sliced open. Before long, the scent of blood filled the room.

    Qing Yu''s legs grew weak, and he nearly copsed to the floor.

    "I''ve only been gone for a few days, and yet you already have the balls to fool around? Have you already forgotten what I told you?" the woman snapped.

    Qing Yu swallowed and then cautiously approached the woman while smiling in a ttering manner as he embraced the woman''s shoulders and spoke to her softly. "Hong''er, I didn''t do anything. I just had them wait on me and take care of dressing me. You shouldn¡¯t get jealous of something like that, but you¡¯ve already killed them all."

    The woman red at Qing Yu, and when she spoke, her voice was cold. "I already heard that you¡¯re heading to Azure Mansion to see that bitch Luo Mei."

    "Nope. Absolutely not, Hong''er." Qing Yu was startled, and his face grew pale.

    Space then twisted in the room, and a middle-aged man appeared. He was City Master Qing, Skyraiser City¡¯s master. This man was the Envoy that Lu Yin had noticed earlier.

    As soon as they noticed City Master Qing, the woman and Qing Yu both quickly bowed. "Father."

    City Master Qing let out a small sigh, and a small frown appeared after he nced at the room, and he looked over at Qing Yu. "Have you been ying around again? I told you that you are not allowed to touch any woman aside from Hong''er! Did you not hear me?"

    The woman snorted and red at Qing Yu.

    Qing Yu bowed again. "Father, I didn''t! I just had them here to wait on me and dress me. I didn''t do a thing!"

    City Master Qing then looked over at the woman, and his tone instantly softened as he smiled. "Hong''er, there¡¯s no need to worry. Father will keep an eye out for you. He won''t do anything."

    The woman nodded. "Thank you, Father. I came back because I forgot something, so I need to leave again. I¡¯ll have to ask you to look after him for me."

    City Master Qing nodded.

    The woman soon left.

    After Hong¡¯er was gone, Qing Yu heaved a sigh of relief, though his expression fell. He turned to his father, and rage blossomed in the young man¡¯s eyes. "I¡¯m going to kill that bitch sooner orter!"

    "Shut up!" City Master Qing shouted as he red at Qing Yu. "As long as Gods¡¯ Origin exists, she will remain your wife! If you dare to do anything to her at all, I will kill you myself."

    Qing Yu became upset. "There¡¯s something wrong with that woman! How many powerful men don¡¯t have a few extra women? She¡¯s too possessive! Not even the maids are allowed to touch me! Father, I¡¯ve had it with living like this."

    City Master Qing¡¯s eyes remained locked onto Qing Yu, and the Envoy coldly stated, "You agreed to this marriage, and you were even the one who first pursued her. You need to treat her well, unless you want to see Skyraiser City to be wiped out by Gods¡¯ Origin. If you do anything at all, you will have no chance of surviving. Remember that she is one of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s eighteen gods. She holds a high status there, so you need to remember that."

    "I understand, Father." Qing Yu had no choice. Compared to a monster like Gods¡¯ Origin, Skyraiser City was simply a bigger ant.

    Qing Yu had only chased after Yao Hong because he had wanted to get the protection of Gods¡¯ Origin, but who could have known that the woman would be so unreasonable?

    Whenever Qing Yu wanted to have a bit of fun, he needed to wait for his fianc¨¦e to leave. There were times when he felt the woman would actually kill him.

    Still, that did not matter at the moment. The crazy broad was gone, so Qing Yu would be able to go out to y for a bit. He needed to use these days to win over Luo Mei as he was determined to get a taste of the northern Flower Queen.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in Skyraiser City, Qian Zou had spent half a day before finally finding who was behind the auction house that he had acquired Inverse Step from.

    "Yadoor Auction House is where I picked up Inverse Step. It was bought by Silverjoss Auction House more than a decade ago, but the address is the same. In fact, the owner of Atour Action House stayed with it after it was bought, and he now works for the owner of Silverjoss Auction House for some reason. He¡¯s in a meeting with the current owners, and it¡¯ll be a few days before he gets back." Qian Zou reported the results of his investigation to Lu Yin.

    "So, in a few days, we¡¯ll be able to meet the previous owner of Yadoor Auction House?" Lu Yin confirmed.

    Qian Zou nodded. "That¡¯s the n. However, Seventh Bro, you need to remember that these auction houses handle a few hundred items every single day, and some of therger ones can go through tens of thousands of items. The fact that they didn¡¯te after me shows that they didn¡¯t care about the technique that I picked up, so it¡¯s unlikely that they¡¯ll know anything about where the Inverse Step came from."

    Lu Yin already knew all of this, but he was determined to do whatever it took to track down this particr movement technique. This was not a task that he could leave to anyone else. If Inverse Step was found, but someone else learned it instead, Lu Yin would suffer a terrible loss.

 Chapter 1912: Xi Shuang

    Chapter 1912: Xi Shuang

    After Lu Yin faced Progenitor Chen''s Inverse Step, he did not want to miss out on the opportunity to learn the movement technique, no matter what it took.

    At the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s only movement techniques were his original technique that relied on his physical strength and the Ce Secret Art. He really wascking a movement technique, and Inverse Step fit his needs perfectly despite the slim chance of finding it.

    There was a bang as a small, nearby auction house exploded. Several figures flew out andnded on the street. A fight instantly erupted after theynded.

    Qian Zou was surprised. "Is someone really daring enough to start a fight in the middle of the street in Skyraiser City? They must have some impressive backing."

    Lu Yin nced at the people fighting in the street. There were two distinctive groups: one of three people and the other of six. While the numbers were not equal, the two groups¡¯ strengths were evenly matched. The smaller group consisted of older cultivators.

    "Beat him! I¡¯ll take responsibility if you kill him!" A young man with a beautiful face and jade-like skin emerged from the broken remains of the auction house. Actually, although the youth was dressed as a man, a discerning eye would easily see that she was a woman, and an attractive one at that.

    A man who was part of the smaller group pushed his twopanions aside as seven-lined battle force shrouded his body. He threw a punch at the crossdressing woman. The woman remained indifferent to the attack, as someone eagerly blocked the attack, and more than one at that.

    Boom!

    A young man who had moved to protect the youth was sted away by a single punch. It was unusual for any member of the younger generation to have mastered seven lines of battle force. One of the people spat out blood and lost consciousness after taking just one punch, and another pulled the disguised youth back before turning to re at the attacker. "Do you know who she is? If you hurt her, even ten of your lives wouldn¡¯t be enough to pay for it!"

    The attacker sneered. "In that case, do you know who I am? I''m not ashamed to say it."

    The fighting was fierce, but no one fled from the area. Instead, they gathered around and excitedlymented on the fight while watching. It was highly unusual for such a fight to break out in Skyraiser City, as fighting was banned. The city guards were already on their way.

    In fact, the guards had arrived while the two sides were talking, proving their quick response time. They were led by a man with a scarred face with deep lines on it, though his eyes were even fiercer. Still, there was no sign of any anger. "Skyraiser City does not allow any fighting! Don''t you know the rules?"

    As he spoke, the guard captain red at everyone involved in the scuffle.

    Qian Zou spoke up, "Seventh Bro, that man¡¯s the captain of Skyraiser City¡¯s guards. He¡¯s known as Uncle Cut, and the rumors say that the knife scar on his face was left by City Master Qing. The city master didn¡¯t kill Uncle Cut after beating him, but instead forced him to serve Skyraiser City."

    Lu Yin took a sip of tea. This man had a power level of over 400,000, which would have made him a nearly invincible powerhouse in the Outerverse. Even in the Innerverse, he could have be the top expert of a minor flowzone, much like Northgate Taisui. In fact, Uncle Cut¡¯s strength was very simr to Northgate Taisu¡¯s.

    One of the men involved in the fight spoke up, ¡°We know the rules. The fine is 200 times the cost of the damage incurred. We are willing to pay half of that fee."

    "You¡¯ll pay it all," the young woman disguised as a man stated tly.

    The man became furious and shot a re at the youth. "You¡¯re the ones who attacked first! We¡¯re only willing to bear half the fine because we don¡¯t want to cause any trouble. Don''t try to make things difficult! My Red Prism World is not an easy target!"

    Many people started talking. The Red Prism World?

    Lu Yin was also surprised. The Red Prism World? That was one of the 3,000 hidden worlds located on Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin had heard of it before. There were only a few hidden worlds that were powerful enough to have Envoys, but the Light World, Jasper World, and Red Prism World were three that did. They were strong enough that even Lu Yin had taken note of them.

    Lu Yin had long since been wary of the Honor Zone¡¯s 3,000 hidden worlds. Of them, there were some that were very weak and could bepletely wiped out by a single drop of Vitality Poison, but there were others that were terrifyingly powerful. For example, when Lu Yin had been escorted across the Honor Zone by Judicial Commissioner Mu En, they had stumbled upon a hidden world that not even Mu En dared to touch. Lu Yin had looked into the matter a bit after that, but there were absolutely no records of that hidden world.

    While the 3,000 hidden worlds were located within the Honor Zone, it seemed like their people could act independently outside.

    After bing an overseer, Lu Yin had investigated the 3,000 hidden worlds once more, but he had discovered that some of the information was incredibly dated. It had quickly be clear to him that even the Hall of Honor struggled to fully ount for the situation in the 3,000 hidden worlds.

    Some of the hidden worlds had been gradually growing weaker and weaker, but others might have grown powerful beyond anyone¡¯s expectations.

    Still, regardless of any of the changes that may have urred, from what could be gleaned from the Hall of Honor¡¯s records, there were no more than ten Envoys within the 3,000 hidden worlds.

    "Are you followers of Master Yan from the Red Prism World?" Uncle Cut was also surprised at where the men came from, and he regarded them a bit more seriously despite their unimpressive strength.

    The man answered politely, "We are disciples of Master Yan. We are here in Skyraiser City to find some defensive power vessels for our master."

    Someone sneered. ¡°So you¡¯re Master Chen¡¯s minions. No wonder you¡¯re so arrogant."

    It was the youth disguised as a man who had spoken up.

    All three of Master Yan¡¯s disciples¡¯ expressions changed when they heard thisment. She clearly knew who Master Yan was, yet she still spoke in such a manner. Clearly, her background was not simple. "And you are?"

    An injured person quickly spoke up. "She is Miss Xi Shuang."

    Uncle Cut and Master Yan''s disciples were all stunned. "Xi Shuang? The granddaughter of the general of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Expeditionary Forces?"

    Some distance away, Qian Zou sneered. "They¡¯re all big shots. Given the size of the universe, there aren¡¯t many ces where all of these people can meet, but Skyraiser City is certainly one of them."

    Lu Yin stared at Xi Shuang. So she was Xi Gu''s granddaughter? That was interesting.

    Both parties had clearly identified themselves, and it was impossible for them to continue fighting. Skyraiser City, Red Prism World, and the Expeditionary Forces all had their own powerful Envoys supporting them. It was not long before the entire matter would dissipate.

    Lu Yin stood up. "Let¡¯s go."

    "Where are we going?" Qian Zou was curious.

    "Follow me," Lu Yin indifferently ordered. His eyes never left Xi Shuang once.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s Expeditionary Forces had once helped Cong Ying when he tried to deal with the colossal giants who followed Lu Yin. If not for the fact that Chen Huang had experienced a breakthrough to be an Envoy, the colossal giants would have beenpletely exterminated, which would have been a tragic loss for Lu Yin. Even though the matter had led to Cong Ying losing his seat as an overseer, Xi Gu had faced no consequences at all. Lu Yin had always remembered this matter, and now, he had just run into Xu Gu¡¯s granddaughter. Lu Yin was determined to speak to the girl no matter what.

    Skyraiser City had many interesting sights, and despite the crowds, it was a scenic ce.

    Lu Yin and Qian Zou followed Xi Shuang and her group for a long time as they toured the scenic hotspots of Skyraiser City. When it finally fell dark, they followed Xi Shuang to Azure Mansion.

    Lu Yin was left speechless as he stared at the Azure Mansion in front of him. Why had the woman stopped at this ce?

    Qian Zou''s eyes were positively zing. His opinion of Xi Shuang had soared. This woman was really elegant!

    "Seventh Bro, they''re going in," Qian Zou spoke up to remind Lu Yin and urge him forward.

    Lu Yin looked calm as he slowly walked into Azure Mansion.

    Azure Mansion was not a ce that sold physical pleasures, but was rather a ce of mental rxation. This was the reason why countless people visited the ce.

    In addition to countless other attractions, the women working at Azure Mansion were all extraordinary beauties. Even the lowest maid was a rare beauty whom people would stare at.

    Xi Shuang was greeted by the branch¡¯s madam the moment she entered. Xi Shuang¡¯s identity had already been made public, and this news had naturally spread to Azure Mansion as well. Actually, it was possible that Azure Mansion had known who she was before anything had even happened.

    "Young Master Xi, I¡¯ve heard of you for a long time." The madam treated Xi Shuang no differently than she would a man. There was no trace of surprise at seeing a woman visit Azure Mansion.

    Xi Shuang was very satisfied with such treatment. "You are?"

    "This lowly one is Qing Yun,1 the madam of the Azure Mansion¡¯s northern branch. I came out to greet Young Master Xi. I wonder, have any of our girls taken your fancy? I would be happy to make any arrangements necessary." Qing Yunughed softly. She was also a beautiful woman, and although the years were starting to show, she retained a certain charm. Many people would actually find the madam more appealing than some of the younger women.

    Xi Shuang raised her head high. "When visiting Azure Mansion, everyone naturally hopes to see the Flower Queen. She¡¯s the only one this young master is interested in seeing."

    Qing Yun faced a dilemma. "Young Master Xi, our Flower Queen is currently attending to Young Master Qing Yu, and I really can''t interfere. Why don¡¯t I make an appointment for you tomorrow? She will be reserved exclusively for you tomorrow."

    Xi Shuang remained unfazed. "I¡¯m not interested in having her attend to me¡ªI just want to see how beautiful this Flower Queen is. Let here out for this young master to see."

    Qing Yun was truly struggling. "Young Master Xi, this-"

    Suddenly a woman quickly approached Qing Yun and whispered a message to her. Qing Yun was shocked, and anger flickered across her eyes. She immediately ignored Xi Shuang and quickly turned to walk deeper into Azure Mansion.

    Xi Shuang was quite intrigued, and she followed along. Of course, Lu Yin was right behind them all.

    They soon arrived in one of Azure Mansion¡¯s courtyards, and they could hear a panicked voice shout from within, "Young Master Qing, I do not sell my body here in Azure Mansion! Please, don''t do this!"

    "You only sell your craft and not your body? Bah! You skank! You pretend to be all innocent to this young master, but your eyes light up whenever someone like Lu Yin or Shang Qing is mentioned. If they were here, you¡¯d have already stripped and served yourself to them! Are you saying that this young master is any worse than them? Get over here!"

    Madam Qing Yun angrily charged into the courtyard and locked Qing Yu down with a wave of her hand as she red at him. "Young Master Qing, you should be well aware of my Azure Mansion¡¯s rules! I can respect your position, so I can send her with you if you pay her redemption fee and marry her, but if you intend to use force, you will have to leave!"

    Quite a bit of noise had been made, which had drawn the attention of many people to the courtyard.

    Qing Yu had clearly drunk too much, and he answered with a sneer, "What of your Azure Mansion¡¯s girls? They''re just a bunch of sluts. Since you¡¯vee to Skyraiser City today, you can forget about leaving! If you want to leave, everyone in your Azure Mansion cane serve me! I¡¯ll strip you all naked, hahahaha!"

    Qing Yun was enraged, and she clenched her fists. "Young Master Qing, you¡¯ve had too much to drink."

    Qing Yu taunted the madam, "What? Are you able to get that Envoy supporting you toe out? Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know that Bu Laoweng is the one controlling Azure Mansion. Right now, that old fart¡¯s so scared of Lu Yin that he doesn¡¯t dare to let out a single fart! Your Azure Mansion doesn¡¯t even have any Envoys supporting it! You¡¯re nothing but a bunch of sluts who want to act as refined and pure as before, but if I tell you to strip, then you don¡¯t have a choice!"

    Xi Shuang frowned as she stared at Qing Yu. "Your mouth is so revolting. Just like all other men. Disgusting."

    Flower Queen Luo Mei raced behind Qing Yun and then red at Qing Yu.

    Many people had heard the young man¡¯s words, and suddenly, the eyes that looked at Azure Mansion¡¯s girls had a different glint to them. In the past, Azure Mansion had been considered a rtively powerful force in the Neoverse. This was because Bu Laoweng had been a very influential overseer whom no one had dared to offend. This was why, regardless of the number of guests, their strength, or background, no one dared to act up in an Azure Mansion.

    However, things had changed. Bu Laoweng¡¯s influence had been stripped away, and the Envoy who worked with him had not appeared in a long time, which meant that he must have been killed by Lu Yin. This meant that there was no longer any reason to act restrained around Azure Mansion.

    "Everyone, Azure Mansion¡¯s rules are going to change, starting today! It''s bullshit for a brothel to not sell flesh, so in the future, all the women in Azure Mansion will be stripped by this young master. Don''t you agree?" Qing Yu shouted. He was feeling incredibly empowered and greedy at this moment.

    Many people began tough wildly. "That¡¯s right, the young master is right! We should strip upon entering this ce from now on."

    "Strip before reception, hahaha!"

    [1] Here was have both Qing Yu (ÇæîÚ), who''s the son of the city master, and Qing Yun (ÇçÔÆ), who''s the madam of the northern Azure Mansion. Though both are "Qing," they are not the same characters in Chinese. ?

 Chapter 1913: Slaps

    Chapter 1913: ps

    Qing Yu cackled wildly, "In Skyraiser City, I have the final say! Your Azure Mansion can forget about leaving before every single man in Skyraiser City has been served and satisfied, hahahaha!"

    Madam Qing Yun''s face grew pale. This situation had already gotten out of control. She had unexpectedly run into a madman!

    Xi Shuang''s expression was also not good. No matter what, she was still a woman, and being around disgusting men like this sickened her. She could not stop herself from stepping forward. "Shut up! Men like you should be damned! You¡¯re all beasts!"

    Qing Yu swayed on his feet as he turned to stare at Xi Shuang with big eyes. He suddenly started to tease her, "Woah, a tranny! I¡¯m going to strip you as well and have you take care of me along with Luo Mei."

    He suddenly started charging at Xi Shuang.

    The young woman was shocked, and her guardians all shot forward. "Qing Yu, she is the granddaughter of Xi Gu, the Expeditionary Forces¡¯ general! You¡¯re going too far!"

    Qing Yu sneered as several people had already stepped forward to stop the men with Xi Shuang. "Xi Gu? Never heard of him! We¡¯re in Azure Mansion right now! How many girls are here? I want a count! I¡¯m going to strip them all and let all of you brothers see a treat!"

    "Okay, thank you, Young Master Qing."

    "Thank you, Young Master Qing."

    Qian Zou raged, "He¡¯s an animal! Seventh Bro, this Qing Yu is really trash!"

    Despite his words, Qian Zou¡¯s eyes were sparkling. He thought that he was about to see a rather exciting turn of events.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had grown cold, and a dangerous light flickered in them. Azure Mansion belonged to him!

    Suddenly, a distant voice shouted, "Qing Yu, how dare you act like this despite your talent?"

    The voice was thin, clear, and it obviously belonged to a woman, but to Qing Yu''s ears, it sounded a death knell.

    His entire body trembled, and all the blood drained from his face. "Xiao- Xiao Hong?"

    Space distorted and a woman stepped out. She coldly red at Qing Yu. "As soon as Azure Mansion arrived, I knew that you woulde here! I even went home to warn you, but I didn¡¯t expect you to remain so stubborn! I heard everything that you just said! Are the women here enough for you? Do you want me to go grab the other girls from the other brothels for you to y with?"

    Qing Yu was panicking. The smell of alcohol evaporated from him as his face twitched. "Xiao- Xiao Hong, I''m drunk! I''m just drunk."

    Yao Hong sneered. "I''ll settle things with you after we get home!"

    She then nced around the courtyard. Eventually, her eyes settled onto Luo Mei. "You really are quite beautiful. No wonder you cause men to get so excited. I wonder what it would feel like to ruin such a beautiful face¡­"

    A flower suddenly appeared in Yao Hong¡¯s hands.

    Actually, it merely looked like a flower, but it was an extremely sharp de. Yao Hong slowly spun the flower-de around, and the edge sliced through the void.

    Many people present were horrified by this, especially the women from Azure Mansion. This was not because of the strength Yao Hong had demonstrated, but rather because of the words she had spoken.

    Qing Yun quickly stepped forward and respectfully said, "Young Mistress, please take the young master back. He is drunk."

    Yao Hong shot Qing Yun a cold re. "He is drunk, but he was right about one thing: you¡¯re all just a bunch of sluts pretending to be refined while dancing around in a brothel."

    Anger shed across Qing Yun''s face, but she suppressed her rage. "Please take the young master back."

    A smile crept across Yao Hong''s face, and a dangerous light ignited in her eyes. She lifted a hand and pointed at Luo Mei. "Come here."

    Luo Mei''s heart dropped. She gazed at Yao Hong with nervousness and fear, particrly wary of the flower in the young woman¡¯s hand.

    Qing Yun stared at Yao Hong. "What does Young Mistress wish to do?"

    Yao Hong smiled. "It''s a pity for such a beautiful face to be cheapened as a disy piece for those men. I want to change her appearance to see if any of them will still like it afterwards."

    These words instantly terrified Luo Mei.

    Qing Yun''s pupils shrank, but her eyes never left Yao Hong. "Young Mistress, my Azure Mansion has built up many rtionships over the years, so even if we have been a bit weakened, you still need to give us a bit of face."

    Yao Hong was unconcerned. "You¡¯re just a bunch of sluts who spend your time seducing men. Give you some face? Do you really think that you deserve that? When Bu Laoweng still wielded power, you couldmand some measure of respect, but who will show you any now? Do you really think that those sluts you sold off to be married think well of you? Not only am I going to alter her face, but I¡¯m also going to fulfill my husband''s wish. I¡¯m going to strip all of you and have you serve all of the men in Skyraiser City. Let¡¯s see who will show you any face after that!"

    Qing Yun and the other women were both enraged and scared. There were Enlighters in Azure Mansion who acted as protectors for the women, but how could they stand up to the power of Skyraiser City?

    These people were mad! Qing Yu was insane, but this woman was even crazier.

    "Get over here!" Yao Hong ordered as she stared at Luo Mei. She was determined to humiliate both Luo Mei and Azure Mansion.

    Xi Shuang frowned. This woman was absolutely insane, but Xi Shuang was incapable of stopping her.

    Many of the nearby men who were guests of Azure Mansion started getting excited. These flowers were about to be plucked.

    "All these women in Azure Mansion are nothing more than sluts. From now on, the rules of Azure Mansion need to be changed." A smile appeared on Yao Hong''s cold face. She had held a grudge against Azure Mansion for a long time.

    Qing Yu''s eyes had regained their rity, and he was staring straight at Luo Mei. If he could not have her, then it was better to destroy her so that she no longer had any value. "Xiao Hong, let me cut her face to vent your anger for you."

    Yao Hong nced over. "Have you sobered up?"

    "I''m awake, but I don''t know how I got here." He stered a ttering smile on his face as he spoke. "Xiao Hong, I¡¯ll cut her face for you if it will make you happy."

    He then immediately turned to re at Luo Mei. "Bitch, you certainly know how to seduce a man! Get over here!"

    Qing Yun¡¯s entire body was trembling. This couple waspletely shameless!

    Yao Hong decided to ept this option. She arrogantly lifted her head and handed the flower-like de to Qing Yu. "I''ll be watching you, but I don¡¯t want to get my hands dirty."

    Qing Yu began to cheer up. "Don''t worry about it."

    Luo Mei lost all hope. She had never imagined that one of Azure Mansion¡¯s famed Flower Queens would one day be reduced to such a state.

    There was no one who could stop Qing Yu or Yao Hong, as they were in Skyraiser City.

    Luo Mei was terrified, but she had no choice other than to walk towards Qing Yu, step by step. If she did not go to him, all of Azure Mansion would be met with disaster.

    Qing Yu licked his lips as he thought, You bitch! It¡¯s too bad that you didn¡¯t listen earlier, as it would have been better to cut you up after ying with you. Well, if I can¡¯t have you, no one else can either!

    Luo Mei stopped less than three meters in front of Qing Yu and Yao Hong.

    Qing Yu frowned and his eyes turned dark. "Bitch, I told you toe here! Didn''t you hear me?"

    Luo Mei let out a long breath and looked behind herself. "Madam, Azure Mansion has suffered a catastrophe this day, but I would rather die than suffer such insults."

    She then raised a hand to p herself in the forehead.

    Yao Hong''s pupils transformed into runes as she stared at Luo Mei''s hand, weakening the force of the attack. Luo Mei¡¯s palm struck her head, but there was no force in it, which left her confused.

    Yao Hong sneered. "You want to die? You can forget that option with me here! I¡¯ll give you a life worse than death."

    Qing Yu suddenly moved for Luo Mei. "I¡¯m going to disfigure you!"

    Right when he was about to touch Luo Mei, a light pping noise rang out. It seemed like Qing Yu had been pped, as he was suddenly tumbling through the air. He crashed onto the ground.

    No one had seen what had just happened.

    Yao Hong stared as Qing Yu fell to the ground, and her expressionpletely changed. She ran over to pick him up, and when she turned him over, she saw a handprint on his face. Nearly half of his head had been crushed, and there was not a single tooth left in his mouth. Still, he had not lost consciousness and had merely been dazed.

    Yao Hong was furious, and she whirled around to re at Qing Yun and the other women from Azure Mansion. "Who was that? Show yourself!"

    p!

    There was another sound, but this time, Yao Hong was struck. However, this blow was much more gentle, and she was merely forced to kneel onto the ground. Half of her face swelled up as well, and she also did not faint.

    Qing Yu regained his senses, and he rose to his feet, muttering, "Who is it?"

    p!

    There was another impact, and Qing Yu was pped on the other side of the face. He wobbled on his feet and nearly copsed.

    Yao Hong was holding the half of her face that had been struck. She was about to lose her mind from the overwhelming rage. "Who the hell is it? Show yourself, if you have the balls!"

    p!

    p!

    p!

    ¡­

    Dozens of ps were heard, though each sound was quite gentle. Each one struck Qing Yu and Yao Hong''s faces, and they dropped to their knees in embarrassment.

    Qing Yu was beaten until he was ovee with fear. The people who protected them couldn''t move at all.

    Yao Hong''s eyes were merely slits by now, and she was utterly terrified. She and Qing Yu were being beaten like this in Skyraiser City, and yet City Master Qing had done nothing at all. The only exnation was that the city master was ignorant of what was happening. Someone had sealed off Azure Mansion.

    Who was it? Could it be some powerhouse who was supporting Azure Mansion? It was said that Bu Laoweng had abandoned Azure Mansion. Was there still someone else supporting it?

    Xi Shuang was simrly puzzled. She looked around. There was a true powerhouse present.

    Qing Yun¡¯s breath was ragged. She had no idea who had attacked the young couple. Who was protecting them?

    Yao Hong had been absolutely correct with herments. Ever since Bu Laoweng had been suppressed by Lu Yin, the lives of the women who had been married off by Azure Mansion had be difficult. At Azure Mansion¡¯s peak, any woman who was married off was seen as a marriage to Azure Mansion as well. So, anyone who tried to move against Azure Mansion would be offending a power supported by countless people. Unfortunately, everything was built off of the basis of Bu Laoweng¡¯s power and influence. With that gone, was there anyone left to support Azure Mansion?

    In the crowd of onlookers, Qian Zou blinked. "Seventh Bro, was that you?"

    Naturally, Lu Yin was the person who had pped the couple. Insulting Azure Mansion was almost the same as insulting Ming Yan, who ran it.

    "Is your Azure Mansion dering war on Skyraiser City and my Gods¡¯ Origin?" Yao Hong screamed.

    Qing Yun''s face grew pale. Skyraiser City was not a big deal, but Gods'' Origin was an absolute monster. Even in Azure Mansion¡¯s heyday, Bu Laoweng had never dared offend Gods'' Origin, and Yao Hong came from that ce.

    p!

    Another p struck Yao Hong''s face.

    This p drew City Master Qing¡¯s attention, as Lu Yin had stopped isting Azure Mansion; he wanted City Master Qing to learn of what had happened.

    City Master Qing heard the p from within the city master¡¯s estate. He froze for a moment and then entered the true universe. He raced over to Azure Mansion and saw Yao Hong and Qing Yu¡¯s pathetic state as soon as he arrived. A single twitch of the man¡¯s finger caused an overbearing pressure to descend upon all of Skyraiser City.

    Everyone inside of Azure Mansion was suppressed, and they found it difficult to even breathe.

    The sky above Skyraiser City changed.

    Everyone turned to look towards Azure Mansion when they felt the pressure and saw space change above the city. Space started twisting and warping around the city, and spacecraft even exploded.

    "Father! Father!¡± Qing Yu wailed.

    Yao Hong¡¯s eyes darted about wildly. "Who is it? Father, find that man! Skin him alive! I¡¯m going to torture him to death!"

    City Master Qing frowned. He had just examined the entire area, but he had not sensed the person who had attacked his son. That should be impossible. Any Enlighter would leave behind traces that City Master Qing would be able to sense. As for an Envoy, that was impossible. How could there be an Envoy secretly protecting Azure Mansion? City Master Qing spoke up, ¡°Who just attacked these juniors? Come out and show yourself!"

    He waspletely ignored.

    City Master Qing¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You¡¯re shameless enough to attack two children, but too embarrassed to show yourself?"

    Yao Hong nced around, resentment filling her eyes. Suddenly, they locked onto Luo Mei and grew wide. Yao Hong frantically screamed, "It''s that woman! Qing Yu was just about to cut her face when we were both suddenly beaten! Someone¡¯s protecting that woman!"

    Yao Hong was assuming that their attacker was too scared to show themselves with City Master Qing present. After all, he was an Envoy.

    How many Envoys were there even in the Neoverse? How could one of those rare powerhouses be secretly protecting Azure Mansion?

 Chapter 1914: Issue Settled

    Chapter 1914: Issue Settled

    Upon hearing Yao Hong''s words, City Master Qing gazed at Luo Mei with a somber expression. "You,e here."

    Luo Mei trembled as she stared at City Master Qing in fear.

    City Master Qing¡¯s eyes red. "I said,e here!"

    Luo Mei was terrified. City Master Qing''s face seemed to fill her entire vision. This man could kill her effortlessly, and she was too scared to even move.

    City Master Qing looked up. "Are you not going to show yourself? Very well!"

    As he spoke, he raised a hand to seize Luo Mei. He was thinking the same as Yao Hong, and he was naturally worried about the hidden attacker who had not shown themselves. City Master Qing had no idea how the hidden attacker was remaining undetected, but since they had deliberately protected this particr woman, City Master Qing would use her to force the attacker into making a move.

    Could an Envoy be secretly protecting Azure Mansion? That was impossible. Neither Yao Hong nor City Master Qing even considered such a possibility.

    Right when City Master Qing was about to grab hold of Luo Mei, a palm appeared in front of him, shooting out from the true universe. City Master Qing was able to see it clearly.

    The Envoy¡¯s expression changed drastically, and a long knife appeared in his hand. He shed the knife upwards, but there was a sudden bang as the knife shattered. The hand that had appeared then shot forward and pped City Master Qing''s face before the man could react. He was struck to the ground and sank deep beneath the surface.

    Everyone fell silent and stared nkly at the hole in the ground.

    City Master Qing had just been pped, not Qing Yu. City Master Qing, an Envoy, had actually just been pped into the ground!

    Yao Hong stared nkly at the hole in the ground. It was at this moment that she finally felt a flicker of fear. There was a powerhouse present. What sort of strength was needed to strike down City Master Qing with a single p? The city master had a power level of a bit more than 700,000! Just who was secretly protecting Azure Mansion?

    Not a single person dared to breathe loudly as they all stared at the ground.

    Deep underground, City Master Qing managed to slow his momentum and prevent himself from being sted through thendmass and into outer space. The moment he had been struck, he had sensed an irresistible power. That p had not only smacked him into the ground, but it had also woken him up. City Master Qing was a powerful cultivator, and yet he had not been able to react or resist that p.

    The city master was an intelligent person. He had established Skyraiser City, built it up, and also owned Gazemore Auction House. He was normally a calm and domineering person, but he also needed to maintain the saviness of a sessful businessman. This p had clearly shown him the gap between him and his hidden opponent.

    No dignity or respect was as important as staying alive.

    Was it difficult to suffer being pped? No, not for City Master Qing. If his opponent had used a little more strength, City Master Qing knew that he would have been struck dead. Knowing this, he valued his life more than suffering a bit of humiliation.

    This thought caused him to emerge from the hole in the ground and face Qing Yun, Luo Mei, and the other women of Azure Mansion. He bowed low. "I''ve offended you all, so I will offer a suitable exnation and rpense to Azure Mansion for today¡¯s events."

    The Envoy then grabbed Yao Hong and Qing Yu and silently left. Only after the three were already gone did anyone notice their sudden departure.

    Everyone remained utterly silent.

    The various men who had gathered quickly left. They had been encouraging Qing Yu just a moment before.

    Lu Yin also left.

    Qian Zou stared at Lu Yin in utter shock. "Seventh Bro, that was City Master Qing! Did you just p him?"

    "What else?" Lu Yin said lightly.

    Qian Zou swallowed. Was it really that simple? That man was City Master Qing! He was someone who did not need to show any respect to even the Expeditionary Forces! He was famous throughout the entire Neoverse, and yet he did not dare to retaliate in the slightest after being pped? Just how strong had Lu Yin be?

    Back in Azure Mansion, Xi Shuang was also left stunned. She was familiar with City Master Qing¡¯s strength, as before this trip, her grandfather had mentioned that he and City Master Qing possessed a simr level of strength. Despite that, Xi Shuang had just watched City Master Qing be pped. Just how many powerhouses in the universe were capable of doing that?

    She turned back to stare at Azure Mansion after walking away. How strong was the powerhouse protecting Azure Mansion? Was there someone other than Bu Laoweng behind Azure Mansion? Despite that person¡¯s strength, Bu Laoweng had still beenpletely suppressed by Lu Yin. In that case, just how strong was Lu Yin and his Great Eastern Alliance?

    There were rumors that imed that dozens of Envoys had appeared during the Outerverse war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain. It suddenly looked like there might be a bit of truth to those rumors.

    That final p had not only woken up City Master Qing and the others present, but also many of the Neoverse''s powerful organizations. The universe was not as simple as they had believed it to be, and even a fallen Azure Mansion still had powerhouses hidden in its shadows.

    The arrogant behavior of Qing Yu and his fianc¨¦e had exposed the dark side of many people, but the revtion that a powerhouse was still supporting Azure Mansion had forced them all to give up on their former intentions.

    As for Qing Yun and the other women of Azure Mansion, none of them were surprised by these people¡¯s behaviors or dark sides. The women had all seen too much evil, and things had gotten much, much worse for them in recent years. In fact, while they had been able to publicly maintain their virtue, they had not been able to do so behind the closed doors of Azure Mansion.

    These women had already seen the ugly side of humanity.

    Xi Shuang sat in a bar near Azure Mansion, and she had made sure to take a seat that allowed her to have a full view of Azure Mansion, including the courtyard where everything had just taken ce.

    This bar was not small, but it looked tinypared to the size of Azure Mansion. It was a popr ce for people attending the city¡¯s auctions to grab a bite to eat. There was no dining room in the bar, only private rooms, which made it more convenient for people to conduct their negotiations.

    "Sister Shuang, it''s nearly time to go back," one of Xi Shuang¡¯s protectors said.

    As soon as the man spoke up, another of them became upset. "Why are you pushing her? Sister Shuang has her own ns."

    "Don''t forget what the general ordered on this trip," the first protector growled.

    The second man said, "Even if you don''t head back yet, you should still make sure that you stay far away from Azure Mansion. Anyone who can p City Master Qing and scare him into such a passive state is extremely powerful and cannot be antagonized. I have no idea who that person might be or where they might be from, but if they learn of Sister Shuang''s identity, they might do something."

    These words left all of the protectors quiet. The Expeditionary Forces had offended too many people over the years. Of the Hall of Honor¡¯s three armed forces, the Beast Extermination Force fought the Astral Beast Domain at the border at all times, and the Guardian Force did nothing other than protect Mt. Microcosms. The Expeditionary Forces was the military that maintained the Fifth Maind¡¯s peace, and there was no way to determine just how many families and powers they had wiped out over the years.

    No one believed that Azure Mansion was capable of supporting such a powerhouse, so there had to be some other reason for such a person to be protecting Azure Mansion. If this expert had any grudges against the Expeditionary Forces, things could getplicated.

    These protectors were not Xi Shuang''s bodyguards, but rather her suitors. Over the years, they had each encountered far too many people who hated the Expeditionary Forces. In fact, it could even be said that one out of every ten powerhouses hated the Expeditionary Forces. The probability of encountering such a person was just too high.

    Xi Shuang impatiently ordered, "Leave for now."

    "Sister Shuang-" They wanted to say something more.

    Xi Shuang angrily demanded, "Get out!"

    Her escorts had no choice but to leave the private room with only Xi Shuang remaining behind. She continued to drink her wine while staring out at Azure Mansion.

    She had once believed herself to be someone important in the vast universe. She was like a princess to the Expeditionary Forces as everyone there pampered and protected her. She felt that such a treatment meant that no one in the entire universe would dare to go against her, which was why she had been so arrogant and domineering. Her suitors had all been men from powerful backgrounds, but she looked down on all of them, believing herself to be superior to them all.

    However, she had met multiple people on this trip who did not fear the Expeditionary Forces, and then she had met Qing Yu. He was apletely unhinged person who had shown the dark side of humanity to Xi Shuang.

    Still, the most shocking thing that she had seen so far had been that final p.

    Her grandpa had mentioned that City Master Qing possessed about the same level of strength as him, and yet City Master Qing had been pped on the face. This meant that whoever had attacked the city master could do the same to Xi Shuang¡¯s grandfather.

    Xi Shuang was not one to brood over matters, but she had still been badly startled by that p. She had realized that her grandfather was not invincible.

    "It''s boring to drink alone, so I''ll join you," a voice spoke from across the table.

    Xi Shuang was startled to hear someone speak to her, and when she turned to look, she saw an average looking young man sitting at her table. There was a smile on his face, and an unseen sense of dignity that he radiated. There was something about him that seemed a bit viinous, but there was also something charming about him. In particr, his eyes were captivating. They gave off the impression that they could stare into the depths of people''s hearts and see through all their thoughts.

    The man poured himself a ss of wine and then poured another for Xi Shuang. "This seems to be a pretty good wine."

    The jug thumped onto the table, causing Xi Shuang to jump, and she warily stared at the young man across from her. ¡°Who are you?"

    Even as she spoke, she pulled out a glowing, pale yellow power vessel from her cosmic ring.

    One side of the man¡¯s curled up into a smirk. "You don¡¯t recognize me? Look again.¡±

    He then took a drink from his ss of wine.

    Xi Shuang stared intently at the man and studied his eyes that felt quite familiar. Suddenly, the image of a certain face ovepped with that of the young man before her, and she blurted out, "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled and then raised the jug of wine to pour himself another ss. "And here I thought that you didn¡¯t recognize me."

    Xi Shuang was shocked. Lu Yin? It was him? She had heard about him far too many times, both from others and from her own grandfather. This person was brought up much too frequently to forget.

    Lu Yin was considered an enemy of the Expeditionary Forces, and also her grandpa¡¯s enemy. However, despite being an enemy, Lu Yin was an invincible existence.

    In Xi Shuang¡¯s limited understanding of the universe, the Expeditionary Forces and her grandpa were very powerful, but Lu Yin was someone they were both incredibly wary of and did not dare to cross. This had caused Xi Shuang to be very attentive to any news regarding Lu Yin.

    She had seen the reports iming that dozens of Envoys had participated in the Outerverse war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain, but Xi Shuang had not believed it. She was aware of how powerful her grandfather was, so how could it be possible for dozens of people at his strength to appear on a single battlefield?

    However, she had started to think that the reports could be true after leaving Azure Mansion. She had already realized that her grandpa was not invincible after seeing City Master Qing be pped by someone and then not daring to retaliate.

    "Was that you? Did you throw that p?" Xi Shuang asked as she stared at Lu Yin.

    He only responded with a slight smile.

    Xi Shuang instantly denied such a possibility. ¡°It couldn¡¯t have been you. That should have been one of the elders who supports you. I heard that you managed to get more than ten Envoys to participate in the Outerverse war."

    Lu Yin found her reaction rather amusing. "You were right on your first guess. Don¡¯t second guess yourself."

    His reaction caught Xi Shuang off guard. "It was actually you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That was me."

    Xi Shuang could not believe it. "Impossible! You¡¯re only a bit older than me! How could City Master Qing not dare to take any action after being pped by you? That¡¯s impossible! Grandpa told me you¡¯re strong, but you can¡¯t be that strong."

    Lu Yin lowered his ss. "Maybe. Why don¡¯t you go ask Xi Gu if it¡¯s possible or not. Or maybe I can take you back to meet him. Then, I can p him myself, and we can see if he can avoid it."

    Xi Shuang''s expression changed and she shot to her feet and stepped back, knocking her stool over in the process. "Lu Yin, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin just looked at the young woman. "As soon as you recognized me, there was hatred in your eyes. It looks like those are the feelings of the Expeditionary Forces, which is a disturbing thought. I¡¯ve never been merciful to my enemies."

    Xi Shuang was instantly terrified. Her movements in the private room alerted the men waiting for her outside, and they all charged in. As soon as they saw Lu Yin, one of them demanded, "Who are you? What did you do to Sister Shuang?"

    Lu Yin did not even look at the men. "Get out."

    The man who had spoken was about to reply, but he was stopped by two others. These two instead bowed low. "Overseer Lu, we¡¯ve offended you."

    They then quickly dragged theirpanion out of the room and closed the door.

    What of Xi Shuang? What of the Expeditionary Forces? Neither of them were as ruthless or terrifying as Lu Yin. He was someone who was capable of doing anything, and the men knew that this person was not someone whom they could afford to cross.

    When she saw the men who professed to love her and had dered their willingness to die for her flee without any hesitation, Xi Shuang¡¯s expression repeatedly changed. She did not feel safe even with the power vessel that her grandfather had given her.

    Lu Yin pointed at the table. "Sit down."

 Chapter 1915: A Warning

    Chapter 1915: A Warning

    Xi Shuang gritted her teeth. "Lu Yin, what do you want?"

    Lu Yin looked up at her. "I already said. Sit. Down."

    Xi Shuang''s expression changed yet again. Finally, she deted, picked up the overturned stool, and sat down.

    If this was back when she had first left the Expeditionary Forces, she would have never been so amodating given her arrogant nature. But seeing City Master Qing be pped had been like seeing her own grandfather be pped. City Master Qing had not had the courage or strength to do anything after being pped, which meant that her grandfather would be no different.

    That scene had been so shocking to Xi Shuang that it had forced her down from floating in the clouds to walking on the earth with mortals once again.

    Lu Yin had no interest in bullying a young woman, but there was someone who made Xi Shuang special.

    "Where is Xi Gu?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Shuang answered softly, "He¡¯s been sent to the pass in the Starfall Sea."

    "So even the Expeditionary Forces were sent there?" Lu Yin was surprised to learn of this. "What sort of attitude does the Expeditionary Forces hold towards me?"

    Xi Shuang did not know how to answer this question. It was impossible to lie, as she would never be able to deceive Lu Yin, but if she told the truth, how would he react?

    Xi Shuang''s face grew pale, and she lookedpletely helpless.

    Lu Yin justughed. "Forget it. I didn¡¯t mean to pick on you. Call Xi Gu."

    Xi Shuang pursed her lips. "What do you want?"

    "I want to talk. What? Are you worried that I¡¯ll reach through the screen and p him too?"

    Puff. Xi Shuang could not help letting out augh at Lu Yin¡¯s question, but then she caught herself and immediately red at Lu Yin. How could sheugh? He was an enemy who was talking about her grandpa! Xi Shuang felt ashamed that she hadughed.

    Lu Yin picked up the jug, poured himself another ss of wine, and then poured another one for Xi Shuang. "You aren¡¯t bad. You tried to protect the people of Azure Mansion. Also, you don''t need to worry. I¡¯m not in the habit of bullying girls."

    These words finally caused Xi Shuang to rx a bit. She boldly reached out and took a drink of her wine before ring at Lu Yin. "My grandpa¡¯s a good man!"

    Lu Yin found this an odd reaction. "You should try saying that to the people who hate him, like the technological giants or those orphaned by the ughters carried out by the Expeditionary Forces."

    "Those people deserve to die," Xi Shuang retorted. "The Expeditionary Forces uphold the peace of the Human Domain! Grandpa represents the Hall of Honor¡¯s justice."

    Lu Yin lowered his ss. "I¡¯m not idle enough to debate the topic of justice with you. Please just call Xi Gu."

    "Do you hate my grandpa?" Xi Shuang asked as she lifted her gadget.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Of course not."

    This answer surprised Xi Shuang. "Aren''t you enemies?"

    Lu Yin grew more serious as he looked at Xi Shuang. "He doesn¡¯t qualify."

    These words made Xi Shuang furious, and she bit her lips hard. She did not want to call her grandfather, but she was intimidated when she saw the steel in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. She finally let out a snort and called Xi Gu.

    A bit of time passed, but eventually, a disy appeared and showed a tired looking man. There was a deste behind him in the background. "Little Shuang, why did you call me? Are you already on your way back? What did you buy?"

    Xi Gu spoke very gently to his granddaughter. The man was clearly exhausted, but he put on a show of being rxed. The man did not appear old at all. At worst, he appeared to be a middle-aged man. Despite that, given the number of years he had lived, not only could he be a grandfather, but he could also be the ancestor of an entire n.

    Xi Shuang''s face was pale, and there was helplessness in her voice as she hesitantly replied, "Grandpa."

    Xi Gu really looked at Xi Shuang, and his expression quickly changed. He let out a roar, "Little Shuang, what happened? Who bullied you? Tell me! Your grandpa will kill them now!"

    "Can the Expeditionary Forces leave the pass in the Starfall Sea without permission? It seems that General Xi Gu is quite rxed."

    As this new voice spoke up, Xi Shuang shifted her disy to show Lu Yin, who raised a hand and waved. "It¡¯s been a long time, General Xi Gu."

    The general¡¯s pupils instantly constricted when he saw Lu Yin. "Lu Yin?"

    A smile appeared on the younger man¡¯s face. "Surprised?"

    Xi Gu leaned forward and stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, why are you with Little Shuang? What have you done to her?"

    Lu Yin maintained his innocence. "I just happened to run into her and joined her for a drink."

    As he spoke, he poured another ss of wine for both himself and Xi Shuang.

    "Little Shuang, don''t drink it!" Xi Gu was incredibly nervous.

    Xi Shuang pursed her lips. "Grandpa, it¡¯s my wine."

    Xi Gu was taken aback, and he turned back to look at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, what do you want? Don''t drag a child into our matters."

    Lu Yinughed. "She just said that she''s not much younger than me."

    Lu Yin suddenly turned towards Xi Shuang. "Actually, how old are you?"

    Xi Shuang dropped her head. She did not want to speak to Lu Yin.

    Xi Gu spoke up quietly, "Lu Yin, just what is it that you want?"

    Lu Yin stood. "Honestly, nothing. We just happened to run into each other and were just chatting a bit. I simply wanted to find out what¡¯s been happening with you, General Xi Gu, and the Expeditionary Forces. I can see that you¡¯re in good health and will live for a long time. Not bad, not bad."

    He then walked over next to Xi Shuang, and as Xi Gu watched in horror, Lu Yin patted the girl on the head and smiled at the general. "Your granddaughter¡¯s very cute. I¡¯ll make a point to see you again when I have the time.¡±

    Lu Yin then vanished from sight.

    "Lu Yin, stop! What did you do?" Xi Gu roared angrily, but Lu Yin was already long gone.

    Xi Gu quickly focused on Xi Shuang and anxiously asked, "Little Shuang, did anything in your body change? Do you have any pain? What happened? Quickly, tell me!"

    The man was truly worried.

    Xi Shuang touched her head, a bit dazed at her grandfather¡¯s reaction. "Grandpa, I''m fine."

    Xi Gu was still in a rush. How could Xi Shuang be perfectly fine? How could she have coincidentally run into Lu Yin? Every action that young man took had multiple intentions behind it, and he had deliberately patted Xi Shuang on the head. How could he not have done anything at all during that time?

    "Xiao Shuang, what''s going on? Tell me quickly!" Xi Gu anxiously demanded. He was about to rush over to the Neoverse. Lu Yin had to have done something, and a mere Cruiser like his granddaughter could not sense anything that an Envoy had done.

    There were times when people would overestimate their value. Xi Shuang saw Lu Yin and Xi Gu as enemies, and Xu Gi could only see that Lu Yin had deliberately hunted down Xi Shuang and done something to her to get to Xi Gu himself.

    However, Lu Yin really had not done anything at all. If he was forced to exin his actions, he would say that he had delivered a warning.

    Xi Gu was simply not worth Lu Yin viting his principles to do anything to Xi Shuang, but a small warning could be enough to intimidate Xi Gu into losing the courage to treat Lu Yin as an enemy.

    This was Lu Yin''s level of confidence.

    The Outerverse war had revealed Lu Yin¡¯s influence and the strength of the Great Eastern Alliance to the entire Fifth Maind. He possessed the ability to wage a war on absolutely anyone, and the Expeditionary Forces were too small to count as an opponent.

    Qian Zou stepped behind Lu Yin as soon as he left the bar. ¡°Seventh Bro, did you intimidate that chick?"

    Lu Yin ignored the question. "Find that auction house. There are other things I need to deal with."

    He then disappeared.

    This time, Lu Yin went to the city master¡¯s estate. He had not originally had any intention of having any dealings with City Master Qing, as Lu Yin had not anticipated pping the Envoy. After news of that p spread out, no one would dare touch Azure Mansion, as no one knew who was protecting the ce.

    However, Yao Hong had not given up on getting revenge. She had returned to Gods¡¯ Origin to gather reinforcements, and she was threatening topletely destroy Azure Mansion.

    This was not something that Lu Yin could let slide. He wanted to see who would step out from Gods¡¯ Origin to deal with this matter.

    In the city master¡¯s estate, City Master Qing was feeling anxious.

    "Don¡¯t worry, Father. Gods¡¯ Origin is a monster on the same level as the Cosmic Sect and the Mavis family. Forget Azure Mansion as they are now¡ªnot even at Bu Laoweng¡¯s peak would Azure Mansion have dared to offend Gods¡¯ Origin," Qing Yu said in a vicious tone.

    City Master Qing''s eyes flickered. It was natural that he was unwilling to simply ept being pped, and Yao Hong was even more enraged by what had happened. That was why she had returned to Gods¡¯ Origin to gather reinforcements.

    However, could even Gods¡¯ Origin deal with the powerhouse who had protected Azure Mansion? The most important detail was that the person¡¯s identity was aplete mystery. It was a terrible taboo to try to deal with someone without even knowing who they were. How should you go about handling such a person?

    Unfortunately, the matter was no longer in City Master Qing¡¯s hands. Yao Hong was one of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s Eighteen Gods, and yet she had been pped so many times while in Azure Mansion. This had not only insulted Yao Hong, but also Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Whenever the youths from the Neoverse¡¯s top powers went roaming about the universe, the forces behind them would never interfere in matters involving members of the same generation, but it was apletely different matter the moment someone from a senior generation made a move. Gods¡¯ Origin had to move out and force Azure Mansion to pay a sufficient price for this matter.

    Originally, Azure Mansion did not have any powerhouses strong enough to handle this situation.

    "Leave," City Master Qing softly said.

    Qing Yu was caughtpletely off guard. "What did you say, Father?"

    City Master Qing continued in the same soft voice. "Leave. Go now. You can¡¯t stay here."

    Qing Yu asked, "How can I leave? Father, if the experts from Gods¡¯ Origin show up and find out that I¡¯ve left, what will they think? Stop worrying, Father. How many people in the entire universe can stand up to Gods¡¯ Origin? It¡¯s better to stand with them against a ce like Azure Mansion.¡±

    Of course, City Master Qing understood this, but he was still nervous. He was well aware of the strength of Gods¡¯ Origin, as there was no other reason why he would allow Yao Hong to bully Qing Yu so much. However, City Master Qing was also aware that Gods¡¯ Origin was not invincible. He remembered the recent fight between the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family and the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind. That conflict had been nned for countless years, and everything had been instigated by various small matters.

    Could this entire situation be orchestrated by someone who wanted to deal with Gods¡¯ Origin? That was not impossible, and if true, City Master Qing wanted nothing to do with the matter at all.

    After thinking of this, the city master grabbed hold of his son and prepared to leave. Regardless of how things developed, he needed to disappear. If Gods¡¯ Origin managed to stomp on the person who was protecting Azure Mansion, then City Master Qing would return to make amends. After all, Yao Hong was his daughter-inw. Still, if things developed as City Master Qing feared, this would turn into a war between top powers, and he would be done for if he got mixed up in it.

    He only had one life.

    Just as City Master Qing was about to leave, a hand appeared upon his shoulder and pressed him back down.

    The Envoy¡¯s expressionpletely changed. Someone¡¯s here? Since when!

    City Master Qing held onto Qing Yu with one hand and slowly turned his head to see who was restricting him. He saw a young man gazing at him with cold eyes. "Where do you think you¡¯re going?"

    This youth immediately looked familiar to City Master Qing, and his pupils shrank the moment he made the connection. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu!"

    Lu Yin casually forced City Master Qing into the floor with a hand that rested on the city master¡¯s shoulder. There was a boom, and the entire building copsed. The overbearing force shoved half of City Master Qing¡¯s body into the floor.

    The pain came, and City Master Qing spat out a mouthful of blood. He did not dare to put up the slightest hint of resistance, and he even bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming. He let go of his son and threw Qing Yu away to prevent the youth from being dragged into the chaos.

    At the moment, half of City Master Qing''s body had been shoved into the floor, and Lu Yin¡¯s arm had been lowered, as it was still resting on City Master Qing¡¯s shoulder. From a distance, it looked as though City Master Qing was kneeling before Lu Yin.

    Qing Yu got to his feet and turned around to see what was happening. Fear painted his face, and he lost all hope as the blood drained from his face. He did not dare to make a single sound, as he was terrified of drawing Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin finally moved his hand and looked down at City Master Qing. "Are you trying to die?"

    City Master Qing coughed up blood. His internal organs had been shattered by Lu Yin''s overwhelming strength. "Overseer Lu, please forgive me for this matter."

    Lu Yin nced over at Qing Yu. "Your son shouldn''t be left alive."

    City Master Qing coughed up more blood, and his face fell. "Overseer Lu, I will shatter his limbs and ensure that he never leaves my home so that he can never harm anyone else again. I beg you, Overseer Lu, to let this go this one time. Please!"

 Chapter 1916: Reasonable Madmen

    Chapter 1916: Reasonable Madmen

    City Master Qing had not expected Lu Yin to be the person who was protecting Azure Mansion. This was not an opponent that even Gods'' Origin could deal with. Even if his status as one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers was ignored, the Great Eastern Alliance already had more Envoys than Gods'' Origin, let alone a lone powerhouse like City Master Qing. On top of that, Lu Yin was supported by the Cosmic Sect, Eversky Ind, and the Hall of Honor. Dozens of Envoys had fought in the Outerverse war, and there had even been six monsters with power levels of over a million. Even the Neoverse had been shaken when they had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s influence.

    Gods'' Origin was powerful, and it was a giant even in the Neoverse, but they could notpare to the Great Eastern Alliance any longer. There were even rumors that Semi-Progenitors had appeared during the Outerverse war, and if those rumors were true, Lu Yin¡¯s power was beyond what anyone had previously imagined.

    If City Master Qing had known that Lu Yin was the one who had pped him in Azure Mansion, he would have stopped Yao Hong even if had killed him in an attempt to thwart future problems. At this moment, City Master Qing was not facing a mere problem, but a hopeless situation.

    Lu Yin retracted his hand. "Did that woman go to ask Gods'' Origin for help?"

    City Master Qing was startled by the question. "Overseer Lu, I have nothing to do with that! She is God of Magnificence, one of the Eighteen Gods in Gods'' Origin. Even in that ce, she holds a high status and enjoys a tremendous amount of support, which is why she acts so fearlessly in my Skyraiser City. Not even I dare to reprimand her, as she is one of God of Mirrors¡¯ followers."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "God of Mirrors?"

    City Master Qing forcefully endured his pain to answer. "God of Mirrors is one of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s powerhouses, and he is second only to God of mes. Seeing as how God of mes is always training in seclusion, God of Mirrors is the one who oversees Gods¡¯ Origin. Nearly half of the Eighteen Gods are her disciples, and there will be a strong reaction to what happened here, as offending Yao Hong is essentially the same as offending half of Gods'' Origin. That¡¯s why no one ever dares to cross her."

    "What was Jin Mie''s position back when he was in Gods'' Origin?" Lu Yin asked.

    City Master Qing became confused. "Jin Mie?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "The leader of one of the Cosmic Sea¡¯s Four Pirate Crews. He was the leader of the Ignition Crew. Jin Mie."

    City Master Qing answered, "I''m not very familiar with the Cosmic Sea, let alone Jin Mie, but there were once rumors of a traitor who betrayed Gods'' Origin and who was being pursued by both God of Mirrors and God of Magenta,1 forcing the traitor to flee from the Neoverse. It¡¯s possible that person was Jin Mie. I remember that they were known as God of Embers.

    "That traitor is considered a forbidden topic in Gods'' Origin, as no one is allowed to speak of them. Even Yao Hong is unwilling to mention such things, so we really don''t know much of the matter. But wasn''t the Ignition Crew destroyed by Leon¡¯s Armada?"

    "I- I know a bit," Qing Yu spoke up from a little ways away with a voice that trembled. He was still staring at Lu Yin in terror.

    Lu Yin nced over. "You do? Tell me something worthwhile, and then maybe I¡¯ll consider letting you go."

    City Master Qing quickly encouraged his son, "Little Yu, share everything you know! Everything! Don¡¯t try to leave anything out."

    Qing Yu stammered, "I- I don''t know much. Yao Hong once spoke a bit about it when she got drunk. She said that the reason why God of Embers was considered a traitor to Gods¡¯ Origin was because he stole something from some Rune Technology ruins, and that was why God of Mirrors and God of Magenta tried to hunt God of Embers down. All she knew of that matter was that despite so many years passing, God of Mirrors and God of Magenta have never given up on capturing the traitor, and they still asionally make long trips to try to capture God of Embers."

    "Anything else?" City Master Qing pressed.

    Qing Yu shook his head. "No, nothing- Wait, there is something else! Yao Hong once said that when God of Magenta left a little while ago, he had gone out to find and kill Jin Mie, but during the war in the Cosmic Sea, Jin Mie escaped."

    City Master Qing stared at Lu Yin in a pleading manner as he awaited his fate to be decided.

    Lu Yin started thinking. What Qing Yu had just said added up. Jin Mie had indeed escaped from that battlefield, and it did not seem normal for Gods'' Origin to continue chasing after someone so relentlessly. Where could Jin Mie have hidden whatever it was that he had stolen? Was it possible that Leon¡¯s Armada had picked it up after the Ignition Crew had been destroyed?

    Although it was unlikely, Lu Yin still sent Big Sis a message to make sure.

    She soon answered, and Lu Yin was disappointed to see it was exactly as he had expected.

    Everything that Leon¡¯s Armada had picked up from the destroyed Ignition Crew had been ounted for, and there was nothing worth paying any special attention to, let alone something like an ancient relic from the Rune Civilization.

    Big Sis would not lie to Lu Yin, and there was no one in Leon¡¯s Armada who cultivated Truesight, so it was useless for them to keep such a thing a secret.

    That meant that Jin Mie had likely kept whatever he had stolen with him at all times. Whatever it was, it was so important that he could not risk losing it.

    Where was Jin Mie at the moment? Lu Yin stared out into outer space. The universe was truly vast, and given Jin Mie¡¯s strength, he could flee to anywhere. Gods¡¯ Origin was the most reliable means of tracking Jin Mie down, though it might also be possible for Lu Yin to use the Starsibyl Sect.

    Skyraiser City drifted about the northern reaches of the Neoverse, and Gods¡¯ Origin was located in the same area. It would only take a powerhouse a single day to get from Gods¡¯ Origin to Skyraiser City.

    The next day, City Master Qing was still half buried in the ground, and Qing Yu was lying on the ground nearby. Yao Hong returned, and she had brought an entire group of cultivators with her from Gods¡¯ Origin. Their arrival caused Skyraiser City to tremble.

    They were apanied by an old woman who was an Envoy. Her power level was greater than City Master Qing¡¯s, but even though they were both Envoys, they were not even close to equal. Someone who could use Truesight was iparable to an ordinary Envoy like City Master Qing.

    Yao Hong did not immediately move to help City Master Qing and Qing Yu when she saw their miserable state. Instead, she turned to respectfully address the old woman who had apanied the group to Skyraiser City. "This must have been done by the person who attacked us in Azure Mansion. Despite knowing that I am a disciple of Gods'' Origin, they still dared to act so arrogantly! They clearly are not showing my Gods¡¯ Origin the respect we are due!"

    The old woman''s pupils transformed into runes, and she nced around the city master¡¯s estate before staring in one particr direction. As soon as she noticed something, her expression changed drastically.

    She was looking at Lu Yin, who was sitting calmly in ce, clearly waiting for the people from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    The old woman instantly recognized Lu Yin, as this was not the first time that the two had met each other.

    Lu Yin also recognized the old woman. She was the Envoy who had shown up when Lu Yin had been chasing after some members of the Ignition Crew.

    "Senior, we must destroy Azure Mansion! We need to find the bastard supporting them who dares to go against our Gods¡¯ Origin." Yao Hong kept ranting. She had not even noticed Lu Yin¡¯s presence.

    She was not alone, as none of the other people from Gods'' Origin had seen Lu Yin. Only the old woman was looking at him.

    "Shut up!" the old woman shouted.

    Yao Hong was stunned, and she stared at the old woman in confusion. "Senior?"

    She realized the old woman was not looking at anyone nearby, but rather staring into the distance. Following the old woman¡¯s eyes, Yao Hong finally noticed a young man who was staring back at them with a small smile on his face.

    The young man looked perfectly average. There was nothing at all about him that stood out or seemed at all special. Still, Yao Hong was no idiot. She was one of the elite Eighteen Gods from Gods'' Origin.

    They were standing in the ce where the city master¡¯s estate had once stood, and the moremon a person appeared to be in this ce, the more extraordinary they most likely were. In particr, this young man looked incredibly familiar.

    The old woman approached Lu Yin and slowly bowed to him. "Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s God of Wind greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    This was apletely different attitude than the one the woman had shown when she first met Lu Yin. Back then, she had been startled by the strength demonstrated by Liu Ye and Fei Hua, but she had not been concerned by Lu Yin himself. She had even felt that Lu Yin should have worked to gain a better rtionship with Gods'' Origin, even if Lu Yin had helped to catch some members of the Ignition Crew. She was an Envoy, and thus she felt that such assistance was only natural for a junior to offer.

    However, the old woman¡¯s attitude hadpletely changed. A better rtionship with Gods'' Origin? Others might be eager for such a thing, but Lu Yin would not be swayed. On the contrary, Gods¡¯ Origin was eager to gain Lu Yin''s friendship.

    Many people were still ignorant of the details of what had happened during the war in the Outerverse, but Gods¡¯ Origin was aware that Lu Yin had mobilized six old freaks with power levels of over a million, and on top of that, not only had several Semi-Progenitors taken action, but the Progenitor of Bloodlines had also appeared for Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had brought out a manifestation of Progenitor Chen as a peak Enlighter, and yet Lu Yin had been victorious. Although only a select few people were aware of this, the shock that it had brought to all of them was unprecedented.

    On top of that, the turmoil that had disrupted the true universe had also been triggered by Lu Yin. This youth was truly able to upend the entire Fifth Maind, and his current influence was enough to change the bnce of power even in the Neoverse.

    When it came to both status and pure strength, the old woman could not measure up to Lu Yin. She had no choice but to greet the young man with near reverential respect when seeing him.

    Gods'' Origin was a power that had always been synonymous in the Fifth Maind with unparalleled arrogance. Outsiders saw members of Gods¡¯ Origin as madmen. After all, each person from Gods¡¯ Origin dered themselves to be a god! Still, what was a madman? Even insane people could be reasonable about certain things.

    They were indeed arrogant individuals, but they knew that they could not act like that before Lu Yin.

    After the old woman bowed to Lu Yin, all of the other people from Gods¡¯ Origin behind her bowed in unison.

    Alliance Leader Lu? There was only one person in the entire universe with that particr title, and it was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and the individual who was truly without equal among his peers: Lu Yin.

    Everything suddenly clicked for Yao Hong when she heard this name. Yes, this was Lu Yin. He was the one who had attacked them in Azure Mansion. It was no wonder why he was in the city master¡¯s estate. Everything made sense with Lu Yin being the hidden powerhouse.

    "I greet Overseer Lu," Yao Hong bowed extremely low.

    City Master Qing was still half buried in the ground, and bitterness filled his eyes as he watched the arrogant and insane cultivators from Gods'' Origin bow to a youth. Still, he also found the entire matter somewhat amusing, as this was a perfect example of the difference between people.

    Yao Hong was qualified to be rude and arrogant even to an Envoy, but to Lu Yin, who was also an Envoy, all of these people could only lower their heads. After thinking of this, City Master Qing stared at Lu Yin. Just how had the young man aplished so much? How many years had he spent to reach his current cultivation realm? This was a legend in the making. This was someone who would surpass even legends like Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor.

    Lu Yin looked up and quietly gazed at the old woman, but he said nothing.

    As long as Lu Yin remained silent, the old woman and everyone else could only continue bowing.

    A long timeter, Lu Yin finally spoke up, "I am neither your friend nor your enemy, but this time, you¡¯ve gone too far."

    The old woman rose back up and answered in an extremely respectful manner, "Alliance Leader Lu, this is all just a misunderstanding. Yao Hong did not know that Azure Mansion now belongs to you."

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop the woman. "Don¡¯t go around spreading nonsense. It doesn¡¯t belong to me."

    Everyone from Gods'' Origin felt confused.

    Lu Yin continued in an indifferent tone, "You may not know this, but Bu Laoweng has be my friend. Azure Mansion still belongs to him, but I had no choice but to step in when I saw my friend¡¯s business being abused. That¡¯s all that this was."

    The old woman nodded. "That''s perfectly understandable, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Some distance away, Qing Yu was still lying on the ground. The young man could not decide whether tough or cry. What was this? Since when did anyone from Gods'' Origin act so reasonably?

    "Since Alliance Leader Lu has stepped out, this matter will end here. I would also like to thank you, Alliance Leader, for showing mercy and sparing Yao Hong''s life," the old woman continued in a low voice.

    Yao Hong was standing behind the old woman, and she felt truly wronged. Despite being pped so many times, this matter was ending with her being forced to thank her attacker for showing mercy. Yao Hong was one of the Eighteen Gods from Gods¡¯ Origin. She held a status that was lofty enough to ignore most Envoys. When had she ever been forced to suffer such injustice?

    However, Yao Hong did not dare say a word. Gods¡¯ Origin was led by God of Mirrors, but that was merely in name. The truth was that God of Mirrors was constantly in secluded training, and Gods¡¯ Origin was actually run by God of Wind, and this old woman could act however she wished.

    Lu Yin stared at the old woman for a long moment. He knew that the people from Gods'' Origin were not actually insane. They knew to lower their heads when necessary, and they were actually quicker than almost anyone to submit when needed.

    ¡°I believe you, but I don''t believe her," Lu Yin replied as he looked over at Yao Hong.

    The old woman looked back, and she just happened to see the clear resentment and the unwillingness to ept this oue in Yao Hong''s eyes. God of Wind waved a hand, pping Yao Hong across the face, sending the young woman flying.

    Yao Hong was stunned. She had never expected to be struck, so she was not able to react for quite some time.

    [1] Previously tranted as Purple God, but changed to allow for consistency among all of the Eighteen Gods. ?

 Chapter 1917: Position

    Chapter 1917: Position

    The old woman turned back to face Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, will you be satisfied with this?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This woman was too ruthless and was being too sincere in her regard for Lu Yin. Her behavior made Lu Yin feel too embarrassed to stir up any more trouble.

    "God of Wind, you hit me?" Yao Hong screamed. Her eyes were filled with a crazed light. She was furious and resentful. This p hadpletely ignited her full hatred.

    The old woman turned back and locked a vicious re onto Yao Hong. "Silence!"

    Yao Hong started shrieking, "Why would you strike me? I am God of Mirrors¡¯ disciple while you are a disciple of God of Magenta. You are merely the administrator of Gods'' Origin, and yet you are not supporting your own people, but rather an outsider! I won¡¯t let this go! I¡¯ll report this matter to God of Mirrors!"

    The old woman became quite angry, and she lifted a hand and pped Yao Hong''s face even harder than before, leaving the girl unconscious.

    No one else from Gods'' Origin dared to speak a word.

    The old woman then turned back to Lu Yin and respectfully said, "Alliance Leader Lu, I will take all of my disciples back to Gods'' Origin now. I hope that you will not hold a grudge against us over this matter."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly became far more focused. This old woman was not acting as normal. While it was true that Lu Yin¡¯s current status and strength were quite impressive, it should not be to such an extreme level that Gods¡¯ Origin would feel forced to bow their heads and act so cowardly. This old woman seemed genuinely afraid that Lu Yin would pursue this matter, which did not make much sense. In fact, Lu Yin found Yao Hong¡¯s reaction to be much more reasonable for these people.

    An Envoy from Gods¡¯ Origin was not supporting her own people, but rather an outsider. If one viewed this matter kindly, the old woman was seeing therger picture, but if one wanted to be blunt, she was betraying her own people.

    Why was this old woman acting so humbly towards Lu Yin? He was not arrogant enough to believe that he could consider himself a powerhouse in the Neoverse. The entire reason why he had managed to gather so many experts during the Outerverse war was because many of the most powerful people had actuallye from the Neoverse, and many of them did not actually follow Lu Yin, but there was also the Hall of Honor¡¯s silence, which indicated their approval.

    "Is she truly a disciple of God of Mirrors?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old woman replied, "She merely received some lessons from God of Mirrors, so Alliance Leader Lu doesn''t need to worry about that."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Not worry? How is it possible? I¡¯ve heard God of Mirrors is extremely powerful, and it¡¯s quite clear that this woman does not intend to let this matter end here."

    The old woman''s face twisted. "Overseer Lu, my Gods¡¯ Origin has no desire to be your enemy. You have a quite good rtionship with God Taiyi, and we are very willing to establish a friendly rtionship with you. We readily acknowledge our mistake in this matter, so I beg you to not press this matter any further, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin tapped the void with a finger, which caused ripples to spread out that quickly reached the old woman and then passed by her.

    The old woman swayed on her feet and nearly fell down. Her expression grew worse by the moment. She had not been able to resist the ripples that had spread out from a single tap of Lu Yin¡¯s finger. This was a demonstration of his strength, the power of someone who was peerless within his own cultivation realm. This was the strength of one who had managed to defeat Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm.

    "You aren¡¯t someone who can decide the position of Gods'' Origin. Have God of Mirrors speak with me personally. I want him to personally promise that this matter will not go any further, or else I won¡¯t be able to rest peacefully. I¡¯ll constantly be on edge, worried about being attacked by your people," Lu Yin said casually.

    The old woman grew anxious, "Alliance Leader Lu, I promise you that everything will end here and be forgotten!"

    Lu Yin suddenly tapped the air again, this time with much greater force. The old woman was unable to stop herself from taking several steps back when the ripples passed over her. She felt the pressure squeeze her internal organs, and she barely managed to stop herself from spitting out blood.

    "Have God of Mirrors speak to me," Lu Yin¡¯s tone remained casual. "Or, I can also make a trip to Gods'' Origin."

    This was his actual intention, as he had always wanted to visit Gods¡¯ Origin. It was possible that he might be able to improve Truesight to the next level of mastery, which would be the Infinity realm.

    He was absolutely certain that Gods¡¯ Origin had powerhouses who had already reached the Infinity realm of Truesight, and God of Mirrors was likely one of them. Lu Yin was quite curious about the possibilities that the Infinity realm of Truesight might hold.

    The old woman''s eyes flickered. Finally, feeling she had no other options avable, she called God of Mirrors.

    Shortly after that, Yao Hong awoke. She was still in a bit of a daze, and half of her face was badly swollen, though she could not even feel it. She only managed to move slightly before losing consciousness again. The old woman had struck the girl quite hard, and she would be lucky to not suffer permanent brain damage.

    Lu Yin actually felt a bit sorry for the girl.

    Everyone quietly waited. Lu Yin was not in any hurry. He simply closed his eyes, and his body faded like a shadow as he slowly began to absorb stellr energy.

    This was how Envoys cultivated; they absorbed stellr energy from the true universe and added it to the stellr energy vortex that had formed within their body. Once the vortex reached a certain level of strength, the Envoy would trigger a stellr tribtion, and after surviving that tribtion, they would be able to resume absorbing more stellr energy into their vortex. This was the essence of an Envoy¡¯s cultivation method, and the Perennial World actually used the number of tribtions that one had survived as their way of differentiating between Envoys¡¯ cultivation levels.

    The Fifth Maind did not use this method of measuring an Envoy¡¯s strength, but if the Fifth Maind¡¯s power levels were used, Lu Yin believed that he currently possessed a power level of about 800,000 despite having only recently be an Envoy.

    His true cultivation level was a one-tribtion Envoy.

    Still, his only stellr tribtion had been rather odd, as Lu Yin possessed four stellr energy vortices.

    Remembering this fact instantly gave Lu Yin a headache.

    Envoys needed to be careful when cultivating and absorbing stellr energy, as a single mistake could pull the true universe¡¯s attention to the Envoy. It would take a long time for most Envoys to trigger their second tribtion after surviving their first one, and it was important for Envoys to slowly train one step at a time. If everything proceeded smoothly, an Envoy would be able to reach their seventh or even eighth stellr tribtion.

    However, that was only when considering normal cultivators. Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices were each muchrger than the average one, as the energy contained within an Envoy¡¯s vortex was determined by the amount of star energy that they had possessed as a peak Enlighter. At that time, Lu Yin¡¯s star energy reserves had been roughly 200 times that of an average Enlighter¡¯s.

    However, this meant that Lu Yin needed to also absorb multiple times more stellr energy as an Envoy, and to do so safely, he would need to take much, much longer to reach each of his breakthroughs.

    This was also not even considering the fact that Lu Yin had four stellr energy vortices, which meant that he required four times as much stellr energy than what anyone knew about. This was yet another reason for Lu Yin to feel frustrated by his future prospects.

    Lu Yin observed the true universe. It would be amazing if the true universe was not hostile to him. That would allow him to absorb stellr energy without reservations or fear, and that would mean that he could soon reach the requirements to trigger his second stellr tribtion!

    Just as Lu Yin was growing excited, he froze for a moment and turned to look towards the old woman. He watched as someone emerged from the true universe at the old woman¡¯s side. The man who appeared had gray hair, but a very youthful face. Still, it was possible to see the man¡¯s age in his eyes, and he radiated a certain dignity.

    The man¡¯s runes were only a bit less than the Sea King¡¯s, and Lu Yin felt that this man should be God of Mirrors.

    God of mes was the strongest powerhouse from Gods'' Origin, but God of mes had not emerged from seclusion in many years. There were people who believed that God of mes had actually died long ago while others believed that the powerhouse was in the process of breaking through to be a Semi-Progenitor. No one knew anything definitive regarding God of mes aside from the second most powerful expert from Gods¡¯ Origin, God of Magenta.

    God of Mirrors arrived in the ruins of the city master¡¯s estate, and he nced around. His eyes lingered on City Master Qing for a moment before he calmly focused on Lu Yin. "Overseer Lu, I have heard of you for a long time."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "Are you God of Mirrors?"

    God of Mirrors carefully observed Lu Yin, and horror bubbled up in the man¡¯s heart. How could this child¡¯s runes be even more numerous than his own? How was that even possible? Had Lu Yin not only recently be an Envoy?

    At this moment, Lu Yin was not trying to hide his power at all, and he was tantly revealing his strength. The old woman was also able to see Lu Yin¡¯s runes, and she could not help feeling even greater shock than before. This youth was truly peerless.

    The other people from Gods'' Origin felt their eyes sting when they observed Lu Yin¡¯s runes.

    Lu Yin was ustomed to being the one observing others¡¯ runes, but at this moment, he was the one being studied by people from Gods'' Origin, and what they saw left thempletely stunned.

    The person who was the most shocked was actually God of Mirrors. He had cultivated for countless years, and yet he was actually weaker than this child who had only cultivated for a few decades. The old man felt unspeakably depressed at this realization.

    "I am God of Mirrors. I''ve heard about what happened in Azure Mansion. What does Alliance Leader Lu wish to hear?" God of Mirrors asked. The man¡¯s initial calmness had vanished, and a powerful fear had blossomed in the depths of his eyes when he looked at Lu Yin.

    God of Mirrors had previously believed that, of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s powerhouses, only the Second Nightking could overpower him. He had not expected Lu Yin to actually surpass his own number of runes. Even though God of Mirrors was confident in his mastery of Truesight, he was also uncertain as to Lu Yin¡¯s background and backing. This young man was terrifying and unfathomable.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Honestly, there¡¯s no need for any further exnation. She¡¯s received the punishment warranted by her actions, and I only asked for you to step out to confirm that Gods'' Origin has no intention of taking revenge for this matter, God of Mirrors."

    The gray-haired man nodded. "There¡¯s no need to worry about that, Overseer Lu. Yao Hong was ruthless in her actions, and she will be dealt with strictly. Naturally, we will not allow any acts of retaliation for this matter, though I do ask that you don¡¯t nder my Gods¡¯ Origin to others. We do not teach our youths to act like viins."

    This was the proper attitude that Gods'' Origin should demonstrate. This was neither trying to offend anyone nor revealing any intimidation.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior God of Mirrors, I wonder, what level have you reached in your mastery of Truesight?"

    The expressions of everyone from Gods'' Origin changed a bit at this question, including even God of Mirrors. Asking about the details of another¡¯s cultivation was exceptionally rude.

    God of Mirrors frowned. "What are you trying to say, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "I¡¯m simply curious, and there¡¯s nothing more to it than that. You must understand that this junior has reached the Knowing realm of mastery, but I¡¯m at a loss as to how to proceed further with Truesight," Lu Yin exined.

    Most of the people from Gods'' Origin stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a monster, though the old woman and God of Mirrors were already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s realm of mastery of Truesight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the Envoy realm had already spread, as his stellr tribtion had been a manifestation of Progenitor Chen. Thus, many of Lu Yin¡¯s trump cards had been exposed, such as his Knowing realm of mastery of Truesight, which had been a truly shocking for Gods¡¯ Origin to learn of.

    They had never expected Lu Yin, who had never trained within Gods'' Origin, to have managed to achieve the Knowing realm. When they had learned of this, they had wanted to reach out to Lu Yin to ask if he had managed to find any of the Rune Civilization¡¯s ruins, as what else could exin his expertise?

    With Lu Yin himself bringing up this topic, God of Mirrors'' eyes flickered, and he waved a hand. "All of you, leave."

    The old woman respectfully acknowledged the orders, and she led everyone from Gods¡¯ Origin away, also making sure to take the unconscious Yao Hong with them.

    Lu Yin also asked them to take City Master Qing and his son away, leaving only God of Mirrors and Lu Yin behind.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, did you find some ruins from the Rune Civilization?" God of Mirrors got straight to the point.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Have you reached the Infinity realm, God of Mirrors?"

    God of Mirrors was momentarily stunned by the question, but he quickly nodded. "It appears that you have indeed stumbled upon some ruins, as it is otherwise impossible for any outsider to know about the Infinity realm of Truesight. There are not many who have heard of that realm of mastery even within Gods¡¯ Origin."

    "I did indeed find some ruins, and not only that, but I also trained there, and it¡¯s where I managed to reach the Knowing realm of mastery." Lu Yin made no attempts to hide anything.

    God of Mirrors became increasingly excited. "Alliance Leader Lu, let''s make a deal: give those ruins to my Gods¡¯ Origin, and I will take you to a unique ce in my Gods¡¯ Origin where you can train in the methods of Rune Technology. What do you say?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I can''t give you those ruins, as I can¡¯t move them. Especially that statue. From a distance, it seems easy to see the details, but everything bes less distinct the closer you move. The runes be more difficult to observe."

    God of Mirrors¡¯ eyes went wide, and he could not stop himself from taking several steps and moving right up to Lu Yin. The man anxiously demanded, "A statue? What statue?"

    "It¡¯s a statue that an entire group of people were praying to on their knees," Lu Yin recalled.

    God of Mirrors'' breathing grew ragged, and his eyes became bloodshot. "Overseer Lu, where are these ruins? Can you tell me?"

 Chapter 1918: Raining White Petals

    Chapter 1918: Raining White Petals

    Lu Yin stared at God of Mirrors for some time without saying a word.

    The gray-haired man was not stupid, and he quickly said, "We can offer you something in exchange. We have several ruins in my Gods¡¯ Origin where we all train. I will tell you that I have indeed reached the Infinity realm of Truesight, and I have done so with the ruins that we possess. Regardless of what level your cultivation has reached, it is practically impossible for any outsiders to reach the Infinity realm of Truesight. You must already understand the miraculous nature of Rune Technology and the civilization that was built upon it. Their cultivation method is impossible for others to grasp no matter how desperately they may wish to.

    "If you want to reach the Infinity realm of Truesight, you will need to train in Gods¡¯ Origin."

    Lu Yin considered this proposal. "What does the Infinity realm allow one to do?"

    He had learned of the Infinity realm¡¯s existence from the Rune Technology ruins that he had found in Burial Garden, but reaching that level would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens without further assistance. This was the reason why Lu Yin had wanted to speak to God of Mirrors. Lu Yin hoped to learn what Gods¡¯ Origin relied upon to train in Truesight, and if possible, Lu Yin wanted to visit Gods¡¯ Origin and train there as well.

    God of Mirrors stared intently at Lu Yin, fanaticism zing in the older man¡¯s eyes. "The Infinity realm follows the Knowing realm. At the Infinity realm, all battle techniques, skills, secret techniques, and innate gifts can be seen as runes with Truesight. Not only that, but Truesight allows one to do more than merely observe and weaken the runes at this level¡ªit can also force runes to change on the finest, most detailed level, which allows one to change the observed battle techniques and more.

    "Essentially, the Infinity realm of mastery is a transformative level for Truesight where the practitioner is able alter the most primitive observable state to nullify an opponent''s attack. Not only can a person create something out of nothing, but they will essentially be omnipotent."

    Lu Yin became incredibly excited by this exnation. "Please allow me to experience this myself."

    Even as Lu Yin spoke, he raised a hand and released a Hollow Palm, though he deliberately slowed the palm strike so that God of Mirrors would have no difficulty in seeing the invisible attack.

    God of Mirrors''s face twitched upon seeing this palm strike. This was a peerlessly powerful attack, and it incorporated Lu Yin¡¯s domain, spiritual force, and more. If any part of this attack struck home, God of Mirrors would suffer terrible injuries. The worst part of all was the sheer power behind this attack.

    The man continued to stare at Lu Yin, and the Hollow Palmpletely dissipated when it was less than one meter from the older man.

    This would not be unexpected in the past, as it was no different than if someone had weakened Lu Yin¡¯s attackpletely. However, God of Mirrors was not stronger than Lu Yin, and yet the man had been able to erase Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm. This was the power of the Infinity realm of Truesight.

    Lu Yin did not release another attack as God of Mirrors had already revealed enough. Given Lu Yin''s current level of strength, who could easily handle his Hollow Palm? However, God of Mirrors had simply erased the attack, which was quite terrifying.

    "When ites to the Infinity realm of Truesight, I¡¯ve only managed to scratch the surface. If God of mes makes a move, the miraculousness of Truesight can truly be seen. He can causes to disintegrate and be reassembled. He can transform someone else¡¯s battle technique into his own, or even copy an opponent''s battle technique. He can even copy an innate gift. That is the level of true mastery of the Infinity realm," God of Mirrors exined.

    Lu Yin eagerly anticipated reaching such a level of mastery. "I¡¯ll visit your Gods¡¯ Origin as soon as possible to observe your Rune Technology ruins, and when I arrive, I¡¯ll tell you where that statue can be found."

    God of Mirrors was also excited. "You can tell me now. Gods'' Origin will always be happy to wee you."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I''ll tell you in Gods'' Origin. It¡¯s still too soon."

    God of Mirrors shrugged. Gods¡¯ Origin yearned for any ruins of the Rune Civilization. They had sent out people across all parts of the Fifth Maind long ago to help search for more ruins. The Outerverse¡¯s Amethyst Exchange was one such group, and there were many others who had been sent to scour the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. There was no one more eager to master Truesight than these people.

    If anyone else tried to withhold such information, God of Mirrors would have already taken them away and interrogated them, but he did not have the courage or the strength to do so to Lu Yin.

    "Overseer Lu, I truly hope that you wille to visit my Gods¡¯ Origin as soon as possible. No matter when you visit, Gods'' Origin will wee you." God of Mirrors could not hide his eagerness.

    Lu Yin could inly feel the man¡¯s sincerity. This was no different from when he had dealt with the Wen family. Actually, Lu Yin realized that he had quite a few people eager to appease him. First the Wen family and the Ku family, and more recently, Gods¡¯ Origin. Actually, there was also the Sword Sect, as Lu Yin had already agreed to give them Liu Hao. He would negotiate that exchange when he returned to the Innerverse.

    "Don''t worry, I wille by as soon as possible," Lu Yin politely said to the older man.

    Before leaving, God of Mirrors could not resist saying, "Overseer Lu, you must take care of yourself. Your safety must remain your top priority."

    The man¡¯s words left the old woman and everyone else from Gods¡¯ Origin dumbfounded, and they all gave God of Mirrors odd looks.

    City Master Qing and his son were also stunned. Since when were people from Gods'' Origin so kind?

    Yao Hong had only just woken up, but she passed out yet again after hearing God of Mirrors¡¯ words.

    Lu Yin sighed. So many powerful people in the Neoverse were desperate to keep him safe, including the Cosmic Sect. With this, Gods¡¯ Origin had joined that group.

    Everyone from Gods'' Origin left, and they took Yao Hong with them, assuring Lu Yin that they would discipline her upon returning to Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Lu Yin remained where he was, as he was still waiting for Qian Zou¡¯s word.

    Since Lu Yin was staying in Skyraiser City, it was only natural for City Master Qing to y the host. Despite being badly abused by Lu Yin, since City Master Qing was not dead, he needed to personally entertain Lu Yin, and Qing Yu apanied his father to serve their ¡°guest.¡±

    The recent events hadpletely transformed Qing Yu¡¯s entire life. Although there was fear in his eyes when he looked at Lu Yin, there was also longing. For the first time in his life, Qing Yu desired to be a powerhouse. He had always been protected by his father, but even City Master Qing had to lower himself before Lu Yin. Qing Yu recognized that he needed to move forward with his own power.

    Lu Yin had not expected to have such an influence on Qing Yu, as the youth was not worthy of Lu Yin¡¯s concern or attention.

    A few days passed, and Qian Zou found Lu Yin. "I¡¯m back."

    Lu Yin nodded and bade his farewells to City Master Qing.

    The Envoy let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lu Yin leave. He had been quite worried that Lu Yin would kill him upon leaving. There were many ruthless people in the universe, and such people were even moremon among those at Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength.

    However, this was not a bad oue.

    "Father, what about Yao Hong?" Qing Yu asked.

    City Master Qing gritted his teeth, bing angry upon hearing the question. "Everything happened because that bitch provoked Lu Yin! If not for her, the two of us would have never been put in such a tight situation. Forget about her. It doesn¡¯t matter if she returns or not.¡±

    After speaking, City Master Qing held himself. His injuries were truly severe, and he had forcefully endured them for several days in order to wait upon Lu Yin. It was vital that City Master Qing retreat into seclusion as soon as possible to recuperate.

    "Be straight with me and don¡¯t make any trouble while I¡¯m gone. The universe is not as simple as you believe," City Master Qing warned his son before ordering someone to keep an eye on Qing Yu and not allowing him to leave. That done, the Envoy isted himself to heal his injuries.

    Elsewhere in the city, Lu Yin and Qian Zou met with the owner of Silverjoss Auction House.

    When it came to such a minor character, anything could be pulled out with just a little bit of effort.

    The owner of Silverjoss Auction House did not try to keep any secrets. Even if he had any, they would only be about his wealth.

    However, the former Yadoor Auction House had been caught with a huge secret. That person had found and taken control of a pocket dimension, simr to the space that concealed the Bizarre Sect. Inverse Step hade from this pocket dimension.

    There was an asteroid field a short distance away from Skyraiser City. This was the northern region¡¯s asteroid field, and Lu Yin and his little group appeared on one of the asteroids in this ce.

    The group consisted of Lu Yin, Qian Zou, and a little old man.

    "Is this it?" Qian Zou asked.

    The little old man was panicking. "Yes, this is it!"

    Lu Yin observed the asteroid that they were standing upon. It was massive and about the same size as a normal. They followed the little old man¡¯s lead and approached a certain location on the asteroid. After taking one more step, all three of them disappeared.

    This was not a particrlyrge pocket space, though that was only from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective; it actually epassed an area much greater than mosts. The entire ce was covered with a mist and a drizzle, and all of the mountains and fields in the space were covered with flowers.

    The flowers were everywhere, but Lu Yin trembled when he saw them, and his eyes glowed with excitement. This was the flower that appeared on Progenitor Chen''s emblem!

    "Where is it?" Lu Yin asked eagerly. When he looked out at the endless fields of flowers, he felt quite close to Progenitor Chen. In fact, he had not felt this close to the Progenitor even when exploring his tomb.

    The little old man pointed in a particr direction. "We spent a few months exploring this ce before we found it. It¡¯s in the middle of a field of flowers near a small river."

    Lu Yin grabbed both Qian Zou and the little old man before disappearing.

    The next instant, the three of them were standing next to the small river, and Lu Yin saw a small ruin nearly buried under some rocks.

    "This ce should be truly ancient, and the rocks have all copsed. When we first arrived, there was a wooden house here with rotten furniture and other sundries inside. We checked it all out, but other than the stone table, everything turned to dust when touched. All of it waspletely useless, so we haven¡¯t returned to this ce in quite some time," the little old man respectfully exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were drawn to the stone table after he heard the man¡¯s words, and he stepped over next to the table to study it.

    It had originally been buried under the copsed rocks before being dug out by the auction house¡¯s people. Fortunately, they had not used much force, as they could have easily destroyed the table.

    It was actually a perfectly ordinary stone table, but they had made a point to preserve it because of a line of text on it. Thenguage had been used during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, and although Lu Yin could not read it, he could recognize a few of the characters from the text he had seen in the ruins inside the giant centipede¡¯s corpse from all those years ago. It was the samenguage that had been written by the man who had been pinned to the ground by five spears.

    Lu Yin remembered the Ghost Monkey had tranted the text as ¡®My regret is not being able to protect our master awaiting for the rain to end! Hate! Hate! Hate!!''1

    The writing on this table had most likely been left behind by Progenitor Chen, and Lu Yin was able to recognize three of the characters since he had seen them before. They meant ¡°awaiting for the rain to end.¡±

    Seeing this, Lu Yin looked up at the sky. Rain was falling in this entire pocket dimension. The whole ce was covered with rain and mist, which gave the entire ce an indescribable beauty. Was there some connection between the weather and this text?

    Qian Zou grew curious. "Seventh Bro, what does this say?"

    The little old man also looked at Lu Yin with curiosity, but Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know."

    Qian Zou felt disappointed. "This is a very oldnguage, and after so many years, writing has changed so much that it will be difficult to trante this."

    "Was there anything else that you found in this ce? Where did you find the piece of jade?" Lu Yin turned to the old man and asked.

    The little old man was respectful as he replied, "Right here. It was right next to the stone table. We searched this entire ce for a long time and were very careful. Aside from the jade slip, there was nothing at all in this ce."

    Lu Yin frowned. Why would a ce where Progenitor Chen had possibly stayed be so ordinary? Logically speaking, any ce that a Progenitor stayed at should have been difficult for even someone like Lu Yin to enter, let alone a tiny auction house. A perfect example of this was Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. This pocket dimension was simply too ordinary. Lu Yin had even observed the ce with Truesight upon entering, but there was nothing to be seen even when observing the runes.

    There was no intelligent life in the pocket dimension. There were some fish in the little river and some bugs in the fields of flowers. It was enough life to form a stable ecosystem, but there was nothing here that could cultivate or even had any connection to such.

    If there was no connection to cultivation, then why leave that jade slip? The Inverse Step recorded in the jade had clearly been left behind as an inheritance, but this ce was so mundane that it was hard to make sense of.

    Qian Zou touched one of the white flowers. "These flowers are ordinary, but I must admit that they have a very pure appearance."

    Lu Yin looked out at the sea of flowers. The small blossoms shook when struck by raindrops, and they looked quite weak. Progenitor Chen''s emblem was of nine stars surrounding one of these white flowers. What did it mean? Did he want to protect these flowers?

    [1] This popped up in Chapter 461, and has since been somewhat reworded given new context and such to be more urate. ?

 Chapter 1919: Nearly Perfect, But Still One Flaw

    Chapter 1919: Nearly Perfect, But Still One w

    Lu Yin had once witnessed many of Progenitor Chen''s memories. Of them, the one that stood out the most was one where Progenitor Chen was staring out at a sea of flowers in a daze. That ce held a strong resemnce to this pocket dimension. Could it be?

    "Seventh Bro, do you want to look around?" Qian Zou asked. He had no idea what the origins of his Inverse Step was, so naturally, he was also clueless as to who this pocket dimension used to belong to.

    Lu Yin took Qian Zou and the little old man out of the pocket space and back to the asteroid, and then returned there on his own. Hepletely released his domain as he indeed wanted to search through the entire ce.

    The range of Lu Yin¡¯s domain had increased dramatically with his newly increased strength, and he quickly swept through the entire pocket dimension. In the end, the riverbed drew his attention, as he had found something there.

    The water in the river was cool as Lu Yin descended to the bottom. Once there, he squatted down and blew out, removing the sediment covering the riverbed and revealing ancient footprints. They were so old that they had fossilized. Could they be Progenitor Chen''s footprints?

    There was more than just a single footprint, but they seemed rather chaotic. Still, there was some hidden order that could be observed. Could it be¡­?

    A possibility urred to Lu Yin, and he tentatively stepped out and followed the footprints. Each step forward merged with another footprint, but there was no reaction. There were more than ten footprints, and when the possibility that they might need to be taken while walking backwards was also taken into ount, then there were numerous possible paths to take.

    After testing out just a few options, Lu Yin gave up. He had no idea how long it would take to test out every single option, and he had Qian Zou. So, Lu Yin went out to fetch the young man. Qian Zou waspletely confused as to what was happening.

    "Look at these footprints. Is this Inverse Step?" Lu Yin asked as he pointed at the footprints embedded on the riverbed.

    Qian Zou blinked and began to study the footprints. Finally, he nodded. "Yes, that¡¯s it."

    "Show me the correct order to take," Lu Yin said.

    Qian Zou carefully observed the footprints before marking out the proper path for Lu Yin. After that, Qian Zoumented, "Seventh Bro, even though this is the proper path to take when using Inverse Step,prehending the technique is more important than the order of the steps. Otherwise, you could have learned it by simply looking at it. Still, the initial mastery can only be gained by using that path. Are you still going to try to learn Inverse Step?"

    "Cut the crap," Lu Yin replied.

    Qian Zou pursed his lips as he stared at the footprints on the bottom of the river. He wondered just how long Lu Yin would need to learn this movement technique.

    Qian Zou had managed to almost instantly learn the technique as he had obtained it from a jade slip that he had picked up in that auction house. However, he felt like he had onlyprehended the first bit of the first level of Inverse Step. The movement technique certainly increased Qian Zou¡¯s speed substantially, but he still felt like he was missing the essence of the technique. Was Lu Yin going to stay here to study Inverse Step? Did that mean that Qian Zou would have to wait in this asteroid field for a long time?

    "Seventh Bro, can I go now? You¡¯ve found the ce and even the method to start learning Inverse Step," Qian Zou hesitantly asked.

    Lu Yin took Qian Zou back out to the asteroid. "Just wait here a bit longer."

    With that, Lu Yin returned to the pocket dimension.

    He had no worries that Qian Zou would try to leave. The mancked the necessary courage.

    Sure enough, Qian Zou did not dare to disobey Lu Yin¡¯s orders. Even though Qian Zou was constantly being chased, that was simply because of who was chasing after him. The thought of being pursued by Lu Yin made Qian Zou¡¯s scalp tingle. That would be no different than having the entire Fifth Maind after him.

    Lu Yin returned to the river, and he began following the footprints in the order that Qian Zou had marked out. Lu Yin was not walking forward, but rather backwards. He was learning Inverse Step, so clearly, he needed to move backwards and step back through wherever he wished to go.

    Afterpleting the path, there was a momentary disturbance in the air around Lu Yin. Although it was incredibly subtle, it encouraged him to continue practicing.

    The reaction increased Lu Yin¡¯s excitement. He had been missing a movement technique inbat, and Inverse Step could not have fit his needs more perfectly. This was a technique that Progenitor Chen had dedicated a single clone to mastering.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin had be very proficient in following the steps. All that he was missing now was the necessary understanding of the technique. If he kept training in this fashion, he should be able to slowlyprehend the technique from what he had observed in Qian Zou¡¯s movements. While Qian Zou had gained hisprehension from the jade slip, Lu Yin could only improve his understanding in a slower, more thorough exploration of the movement technique.

    This would take a great deal of time.

    Lu Yin exited the pocket dimension, stepped back onto the asteroid, and was greeted by Qian Zou''s expectant gaze. "You can leave."

    Qian Zou was thrilled. "Thank you, Seventh Bro!"

    "Take him with you. Don¡¯t let him say anything stupid,¡± Lu Yin ordered, indicating towards the little old man.

    The old man quickly spoke up. "My lord, this lowly one would never dare to say a thing. After all these years, if my lord had not brought this matter up to me, I would have already forgotten all about it. Huh? Where am I? What am I doing here? Who are you!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This man was quite sharp.

    Qian Zou led the old man away while warning the old man that if he did not wish to die, he had to keep his mouth shut. The universe was a very cruel ce.

    "If you don¡¯t want him to talk, I can take care of that," the Second Nightking offered. He had always been present, merely keeping himself hidden the entire time.

    "That''s not necessary." Lu Yin was not a murderer.

    As Lu Yin rejected the Second Nightking¡¯s suggestion, a disy appeared with a bit of text on it. ¡°What does this say?"

    The Second Nightking was someone from the era of Daosource Sect, so he should be able to read the ancient characters.

    The old man was surprised by what he observed in the image. ¡°Ancient characters?"

    "Are these not from your era?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The Second Nightking shook his head. "No, this manner of writing far outdates me and my era. I¡¯ll need to study this for a moment."

    Lu Yin nodded and waited quietly.

    Even though the Daynight n had been ves of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family, the Daynight n still boasted a long history, and they had also managed to acquire a portion of the Bai family¡¯s inheritance. Despite that, the Second Nightking was able to unravel the meaning of the ancient text.

    "Even if the heavens and the earth are destroyed, even if the infamy is left forever, I only want to wait for you after the rain ends," the Second Nightking slowly read out, "This is what the text says."

    Wait for you after the rain ends? Was it really that simple? Who had Progenitor Chen been waiting for? Did it refer to the white flowers? Lu Yin suddenly thought of Forgotten Ruins God and of how she had Progenitor Chen¡¯s emblem upon her face. Could this be referring to her?

    That was not very likely. Forgotten Ruins God was much, much older than even Progenitor Chen.

    "It''s a love poem," the Second Nightkingmented.

    Lu Yin was taken aback for a moment, but then he remembered that Ku Wei had mentioned stumbling across some writings when he had been alone in Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. Although they had doubts back then, it was evident that those writings were nothing more than love poems.

    Lu Yin soon returned to the pocket dimension and revisited the riverbed. He saw no reason to get caught up in Progenitor Chen¡¯s personal affairs. Any one of those matters would be ancient, and Lu Yin needed to focus on practicing Inverse Step.

    Cultivating was a terribly time-consuming endeavor, but that was exactly what Lu Yin feared the least. He lifted a hand and brought out his die. After he tapped it, it slowly stopped on four pips. His luck was incredible this time.

    His die innate gift was truly miraculous, and Timestop had provided Lu Yin with a means of cultivating at a freakish speed. Even without the Timestop Space, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed was abnormal, and with it, he defied all understanding. But the only shoring was that he was able to absorb neither star energy nor stellr energy. Otherwise he could cultivate in the space for as long as he liked.

    Feeling a little regretful regarding this w, Lu Yin started training Inverse Step.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in the Neoverse, just outside of Mt. Microcosms, a strong wind blew as aiu rushed by. As it passed through, yellow sand hid its passage.

    There was a figure within the powerful wind before theiu, and the beast slowed to a stop, crushing the ground with each step.

    "My lord, I brought him," an old woman spoke from atop theiu''s back.

    The figure leaped onto theiu and gazed upon a boy who was also there. When the figure lifted their head, they revealed themselves to be Nan Yuan.

    "Child, what''s your name?" Nan Yuan asked softly.

    The boy warily looked at Nan Yuan. "Bo."

    "Bo? That¡¯s a very good name. Who else is in your family?" Nan Yuan continued asking questions.

    Bo dropped his head. He was not sure how to answer this question.

    Nan Yuan squatted down and smiled at Bo. "What¡¯s your connection to old man San Shang?"

    Bo¡¯s eyes moved over to Nan Yuan, and the boy gathered his courage. "He is my grandfather."

    Nan Yuan was caught off guard. "Your grandfather? Then why aren¡¯t you living with him?"

    Bo¡¯s eyes flushed red when he heard this question. "Because of him! That person named Lu Yin! He captured me in order to control Grandpa!"

    "How do you know this?" Nan Yuan pressed.

    Bo replied, "He didn''t even try to hide it! He threatened Grandpa right in front of me!"

    Nan Yuan smiled as he looked at the vicious glint in Bo''s eyes. The old man was quite satisfied with what he was hearing. "In that case, do you want to see your grandpa?"

    Bo leaned closer to Nan Yuan. "Can you take me to him?"

    "Of course, child. You¡¯re the grandson of one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers who¡¯s one of the most respected people in the entire universe. How can you remain separated from him and allow him to be controlled by others? Don''t worry, I will help you." Nan Yuan was growing increasingly excited.

    The old woman stood nearby, and a smile spread across her face as heard Nan Yuan¡¯s words.

    A short whileter, theiu continued on towards Mt. Microcosms.

    The sand drifting about in the sky grew still, and Mt. Microcosms became clear on the horizon. Bo''s eyes lit up as he recognized this sight. It was Mt. Microcosms, his birthce and where he had grown up. It was also where he had been captured, and it was about to be where he reunited with his grandpa.

    Nan Yuan sat atop theiu, his back to Bo. There was acent expression on the old man¡¯s face. With Bo in hand, old man San Shang wouldpletely be in Nan Yuan¡¯s pocket. Even though this was notparable to Lu Yin''s influence among the overseers, it would still be incredibly useful in critical moments. After all, San Shang was an overseer.

    Nan Yuan felt incredibly lucky that his people had identally discovered this child and secretly brought him to Nan Yuan. Lu Yin¡¯s carelessness would cost him dearly.

    ¡­

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm, there was a mountain valley that was shaped like it had been formed by a massive hand. At this moment, it was densely packed with cultivators. They numbered at least a million, and more cultivators were on their way.

    "Brother Rong, are you here too?" A person racing through a forest called out in a tone of surprise to someone nearby.

    The second figure stopped. They were a young man, and he looked towards the person who had called out to him as joy quickly covered his face. "Brother Wei?"

    "Haha, Brother Rong, I knew that you¡¯de, but I didn''t expect to meet you so quickly!" Brother Wei answered excitedly.

    "Of course! How could I fail to show up for something like eliminating thest bastard of the Lu family? Long ago, one of my Rong family¡¯s most talented ancestors was anointed as a Champion by someone from the Lu family, which humiliated my Rong family. I must avenge that humiliation!" Brother Rong gritted his teeth as he spoke.

    Brother Wei sighed. "It¡¯s true, the Lu family offended too many people. The four ruling powers took advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over to exile the Lu family, but no one expected that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan to still be alive. He even managed to stir up the entire universe! He has to be chopped into a thousand pieces in order to appease our ancestors."

    "The Lu family hasmitted too many sins. Of the millions of cultivators in this valley, who doesn''t hate the Lu family? Who doesn''t want to personally kill Lu Xiaoxuan?" Brother Rong asked excitedly.

    As the two spoke, Brother Rong was dazed by someone stepping on his head. They forced half of his body into the ground, and he was unable to react at all.

    Only the word ¡°Sorry¡± was shouted behind, as the culprit was already long gone.

    Brother Rong was left stunned, and his eyes had zed over. It took him a bit to recover. "Wei- Brother Wei, what just happened?"

    Brother Wei¡¯s cheek twitched. "Um¡­ someone just stepped on you."

 Chapter 1920: Follow Lu Yin

    Chapter 1920: Follow Lu Yin

    Brother Rong became furious, and he leaped out of the ground. "Who was it? Who dared to step on me?"

    "I¡¯m pretty sure that that was Xia Taili," Brother Wei hesitantly replied.

    Brother Rong was taken aback. "Xia Taili? The Xia family¡¯s little princess?"

    Brother Wei nodded.

    Brother Rong felt helpless. There was absolutely nothing that he could do if Xia Taili had really stepped on him. He could only ept that he had been stepped on. After all, when it came to Xia Taili, even if he ignored her background, he was no match for her personal strength, and he really could do nothing about getting revenge.

    "Brother Rong, look! Isn''t that Xia Shenfei, one of the four Junior Progenitors?" Brother Wei eximed.

    Brother Rong quickly looked over, and he was far from the only one who looked up. Millions of others did the same thing as three people appeared overhead. They were Xia Shenfei, Wang Su, and Long Tian. Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong had died, but the other three had been rescued, and they had all arrived.

    "Rumors im that Lu Xiaoxuan, under the alias of Long Qi, ruthlessly suppressed all four of the Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm. Not only did he kill Bai Shaohong, but he also stripped all four of them and stole a lot of treasures. He really is brutal," someonemented.

    "Yeah, even though I hate the Lu family, I have to admit that Lu Xiaoxuan was certainly powerful enough. Even the four Junior Progenitors were like little kids when facing him."

    "He was so young back then, but Lu Xiaoxuan was still much older than the Junior Progenitors. He was one of the Seven Heroes, who were from the same generation as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s fairy, Bai Xian¡¯er. I have no idea what happened for him to be like he is now."

    "For the four Junior Progenitors to show up here and now, they must want to get revenge."

    "By the way, who just said that those four got stripped? Does that mean that even Wang Su was stripped?"

    "Shhh! You¡¯re asking to die!"

    In the sky above, there was a stern expression on Long Tian¡¯s face. Xia Shenfei was swinging a gourd full of wine around while looking around for a ce tond. As for Wang Su, she looked calm, and it was impossible to know what was on her mind.

    A group of people appeared outside the mountain valley. They were led by Elder Luo Zhong, and there was also arge number of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples following him, including both Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge looked down at the valley. Were they about to go back? The war¡¯s about to begin, Brother Lu, and we¡¯ll meet each other once more.

    Yu Chen¡¯s eyes were terribly cold. After Bai Shaohong had died, her status within the Celestial Frost Sect had plummeted. Now, she was nothing more than a mere maid.

    Further up, Bai Laogui met with Wang Si.

    "At first, our Progenitor intended to make a move, but when that little bastard broke through to be an Envoy and caused space to ovep, we all saw that he was being supported by a Progenitor. So, our ancestor had no choice but to abandon that n. Instead, we will conquer the Forsaken Land and force them to hand that little beast over. This is not some simple idle talk, so your Wang family needs to be ready to take action," Bai Laogui said.

    Wang Si''s eyes flickered with a cold light. "I want that bastard dead even more than you, but his death is not our only goal. A ce called Burial Garden opened, and that ce contains ancient inheritances. That ce is also another goal."

    "I never expected the Forsaken Land to possess a bit of a background. Even inheritances of the legendary Ancient Progenitors showed up! Still, we need to crush that little bastard before all else."

    "Naturally."

    Elsewhere in the mountain valley, Wang Dashuai was surrounded by numerous guards and felt quite miserable.

    He felt that his life was too pitiful, especially after he ran into Long Qi. It was almost as if he had fallen into a cesspit. It would have been much better for him if he had just stayed in the Yinshan District and bickered with Mo Gaohe. Ah, those times had been wonderful. Wang Dashuai missed Mo Gaohe¡­

    Was the ancestors¡¯ tomb perhaps dug up? Wang Dashuai had an evil thought that his Wang family¡¯s tomb had been ransacked.

    There was a p as Wang Yun smacked Wang Dashuai on the head. "What are you looking at, traitor?"

    Wang Dashuai pulled his head back, and he did not dare to say anything at all in reply. When had he even looked at her? What horseshit!

    Wang Yun snorted and looked around the valley. ¡°There are people from the Nong and Liu families here. Some of them have to be secretly helping that Lu Xiaoxuan. I have no idea if anyone from Specter Abyss has managed to sneak in either."

    "They must have," Wang Su replied.

    Wang Yun was startled to hear the response, and she excitedly turned to see Wang Su. "Sister Su!"

    Wang Su nodded. "There are definitely people from the Nong family keeping an eye on things, but we can also use them to determine Lu Xiaoxuan''s whereabouts."

    She then nced over at Wang Dashuai. "You also have a chance to redeem yourself here. You never helped Lu Xiaoxuan after he was exposed and everyone started to curse and condemn him. If you manage to aplish something worthwhile, you can even earn your freedom back."

    Wang Dashuai became ecstatic at this news. "Really? Junior Progenitor Su, you don¡¯t need to worry! I¡¯ll definitely find that Long Qi!"

    Wang Yun hated this fatty¡­

    ***

    In the Neoverse, Lu Yin suddenly appeared at the bottom of a river.

    He had spent nearly a year training in the Timestop Space, though only a single second had passed in the outside world.

    Inverse Step was not an easy technique to train, and Lu Yin had no idea how long Progenitor Chen must have trained to reach such an impressive level of mastery. Lu Yin had not made much progress over the course of thest year, but he had at least surpassed Qian Zou.

    Merely achieving the same level as Qian Zou would not make Inverse Step worthy of Lu Yin¡¯s time and efforts. No, his goal was to recreate the chaotic time and space in his surroundings, just as Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had done. Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight had been bypassed with Inverse Step while Progenitor Chen had merely been an Enlighter.

    He needed to keep going. Lu Yin looked up and raised a hand. His die slowly stopped spinning, and itnded six pips.

    His eyes lit up. He had not removed his cosmic ring and set it aside before rolling his die this time as he had no qualms about rolling Possession.

    He entered that strange, dark space filled with the numerous glowing balls at varying levels of brightness. He immediately chose the brightest orb and merged with it.

    He opened his eyes. Where was he? In the Astral River on the ark?

    "This Astral River is quite impressive. It doesn¡¯t even fall behind the middle ocean,¡± an emotional voicemented.

    Lu Yin was stunned. The Middle Ocean? He turned and looked into a familiar face. Sister Fei Hua? I actually Possessed Liu Ye!

    "What''s wrong?" Sister Fei Hua stretched out a hand to gently caress ¡°Liu Ye¡¯s¡± face.

    ¡°Liu Ye¡± twitched when he saw the affectionate look on Fei Hua¡¯s face, and it took Lu Yin a moment to ept what he was looking at. Was this woman really the fierce Fei Hua that he had once known?

    "It''s nothing. I''m just a bit tired," ¡°Liu Ye¡± replied.

    Fei Hua agreed. "It was indeed quite exhausting to fight against that massive praying mantis a bit ago, but we didn¡¯t have any choice. We have to follow the conditions that we agreed to before leaving Mt. Microcosms, or else we would have never been allowed to go free. I just never expected the Great Eastern Alliance to actually endure. I still find it hard to believe that they managed to push the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion back."

    ¡°Liu Ye¡± said nothing as Lu Yin was currently processing a flood of memories, all of which belonged to Liu Ye. Lu Yin caught some glimpses of what Liu Ye had experienced throughout his life, experienced the man¡¯s feelings, and even gained some insight into the man¡¯s rtionship with Fei Hua. Lu Yin instantly grew ufortable. There were some memories that were very unsuitable for any outsiders to see.

    Hurry up! Lu Yin did not want Fei Hua to get bored or impatient with hisck of response.

    "Honestly, I feel like Lu Yin¡¯s rather impressive. What do you think?" "Liu Ye" asked Fei Hua.

    The woman was taken aback for a moment, and she replied, "Him? Rather impressive?"

    ¡°Liu Ye¡± became very serious as he exined, "Even if you look everywhere in this ce, or even across the entire universe, who else is as talented and impressive? Who else has a bright a future? You also saw how dozens of Envoys appeared on the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s side when they tried to invade the Outerverse, but despite having several monsters with power levels of over a million, they were still repelled by the Great Eastern Alliance that Lu Yin leads. Honestly, there¡¯s no one who canpare to the youth even from where we¡¯re from.

    "The four Junior Progenitors each relied on the powers behind them to reach their level of strength, but Lu Yin rose up to surpass them despite starting on an ordinary and only cultivating for a few decades. Even I can¡¯t help but have some respect for him."

    Fei Hua gave Liu Ye an odd look and could not help herself from reaching out and pressing a hand to her partner¡¯s forehead. "Are you sure that you¡¯re feeling alright? That kid¡¯s sneaky and maniptive, not to mention Kui Luo¡¯s heir. How much has that old man done to us? It¡¯s not easy to get rid of that kid, but you¡¯re not saying that you want to continue relying on him, are you?"

    ¡°Liu Ye¡± set a hand on Fei Hua''s shoulder and somberly replied, "It¡¯s better to follow someone who has a bright future. Huahua, we both know that we can¡¯t go back, and our only way forward in this Fifth Maind is by following Lu Yin. Otherwise, our only option will be to constantly be watched by that Hall of Honor, and any mistakes that we make will incur consequences countless times more severe than they should be."

    "Why must we follow him? Given our strength, we can definitely live in hiding. No one would be able to disturb us." Fei Hua was very unhappy with the direction of this conversation, and she felt that Liu Ye¡¯s behavior was very unusual, and he was also looking at her oddly.

    ¡°Liu Ye¡± frowned. Was there something wrong with what he had said?

    "Regardless, I''ve decided to follow Lu Yin. Only by doing so can we return to the Perennial World. Don¡¯t you want to go back home?"

    "I do, but no matter how powerful he bes, he will never have the courage to go near the Perennial World again. The four ruling powers will absolutely kill him, which means that it¡¯s impossible for us to ever return."

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough! I¡¯ve already made the decision!" "Liu Ye" shouted as he shot a fierce stare at Fei Hua. Suddenly, Lu Yin lost consciousness and then returned to the strange, dark space for a moment before returning to his own body.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and blew out a long breath. How much weight would the words that he had spoken from Liu Ye¡¯s mouth be? He won¡¯t get his ass kicked by Sister Fei Hua, will he? Eh, it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s got nothing to do with me, and I can also count this as a win for Liu Ye.

    From the memories that Lu Yin had seen, Liu Ye normally followed Fei Hua¡¯s desires in most matters.

    However, the memories that Lu Yin had essed had also given him information about one ce that he was quite concerned about: Specter Abyss.

    Specter Abyss was the Perennial World¡¯s equivalent of the Specter n. Their exact location was a secret in the Perennial World, and only some of the most powerful groups were aware of that information. Most cultivators were not qualified to know where Specter Abyssy hidden.

    However, Liu Ye and Fei Hua had been to Specter Abyss and even escaped from there.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought his die back out. He put the previous matter out of mind as he needed to continue his own training. He tapped the die, and it slowly stopped. Six pips.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Back-to-back Possessions? That almost never happened!

    His consciousness returned to the dark space, and he did not hesitate at all to choose the closest and brightest orb that he could see. When his vision cleared, he found himself next to a pond.

    This ce looked rather familiar¡­ Wait, isn¡¯t this the pond in the Sword Sect?

    Memories poured into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he was left speechless when he realized that he had Possessed Liu Qianjue.

    However, after a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin realized that Liu Qianjue had a very simr power level to Liu Ye and Fei Hua. Given Lu Yin¡¯s increase in strength from his recent breakthrough, these powerhouses really were the most suited targets for his Possession ability.

    The fishing rod in his hands twitched, and ¡°Liu Qianjue¡± instinctively reeled in what had been caught. He ended up pulling in a strange, green-eyed creature that resembled a frog that was very aggressive.

    "Sect Master, our sect''s reputation has increased greatly after joining the Great Eastern Alliance. While many of our disciples died during the Outerverse war, many others have experienced breakthroughs. Even Elder Lianxin is seeing signs of a breakthrough, and she reports that she will likely face her second stellr tribtion soon." Elder Li stood behind Liu Qianjue as he respectfully delivered a report on the Sword Sect¡¯s affairs.

    "Liu Qianjue" replied, "A battlefield where people risk their lives is the best ce to rapidly advance one¡¯s strength andprehension. There¡¯s nothing wrong with acknowledging our ce within the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Elder Li was taken aback at this response, and he gazed at Liu Qianjue''s back in confusion. Hasn¡¯t Sect Master always held a grudge against the Great Eastern Alliance? Why is he saying that it¡¯s not bad to recognize our position?

 Chapter 1921: Strange Metal

    Chapter 1921: Strange Metal

    "Liu Qianjue" tossed the violent frog-like creature back into the pond and calmly said, "Immediately put together a list of our most outstanding disciples and deliver it to the Great Eastern Alliance. This war in the Outerverse not only ended with the Great Eastern Alliance stopping the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, but they also wrested control of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves back from the Sixth Maind. Dozens of Envoys were mobilized for this war, and nothing can stop Lu Yin¡¯s progress anymore. Given the situation, my Sword Sect cannot fall behind any others.

    "Release an announcement to the entire sect that we will henceforth be known as the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Sword Sect. The name of the Great Eastern Alliance needs to be added to our own."

    Elder Li was truly stunned. "Sect Master, this-"

    "Liu Qianjue" turned his head back to stare at Elder Li, and the Envoy¡¯s powerful aura instantly overwhelmed Elder Li. "What? Do you not want to do as you¡¯re told?"

    Elder Li dropped to his knees, sweat beading on his forehead. "I don¡¯t dare! This disciple will take care of this immediately."

    "Liu Qianjue" nodded with satisfaction. "Also, tell Lianxin that if she insists on not joining the Great Eastern Alliance, then she must remove herself from the Sword Sect. We will not indulge her any longer."

    With that, Lu Yin''s consciousness separated from the Possession and returned to his own body. He felt quite refreshed by what he had just done.

    Elder Li would probably bepletely befuddled, and if the elder carried out the orders that Lu Yin had just given, that confusion would be passed on to the entire Sword Sect. No, it would extend to the entire Innerverse. In particr, what Lu Yin had said regarding Elder Lianxin would have serious consequences. The woman was clearly devoted to the Sword Sect, but she would be pushed away from it and forced to be an independent cultivator.

    These two Possessions had burned through about 100 million star essence. It was not much for Lu Yin, but both Possessions had been of people within the Innerverse. If Lu Yin had instead Possessed someone from the Perennial World, it would have consumed an astronomical amount of star essence.

    Lu Yin was in no rush to roll his die again, and he quietly sat on the riverbed for ten days, resting before he was able to roll his die again.

    Timestop was an easy roll to get on Lu Yin¡¯s die, as Pilfer was the only result that came up more often.

    When Lu Yin returned to the Timestop Space, he did not rush to resume training Inverse Step, but instead continued rolling his die. He had remembered that there was something that he wanted to Enhance: the pill skin that he had received from Herb Immortal. The Semi-Progenitor had mentioned that the pill skin was already able to defend against attacks with power levels of a million, and Lu Yin had recently lost his bodysuit armor. If he ran into a powerful opponent, he would be in danger, especially since only old freaks with power levels of over a million could pose any real threat given his current strength.

    Given the fact that Lu Yin was already in the Timestop Space, there was no chance that he would not be able to roll three pips.

    His first roll was Gift Copy, which was useless at the moment.

    Next, he rolled Pilfer, which was also useless.

    The third roll was ckhole Disassembly, and while Lu Yin did not initially intend to use it, it reminded him of all the items that First Edition City had sent him to be Disassembled.

    Then, Lu Yin remembered something else as well: the metal from the Absolute Beast Cage.

    The cage had been made from a strange metal that had once nearly destroyed the entire Fourth Maind, and Lu Yin wondered if the shards that he had gathered could be Disassembled. So, he quickly pulled out a fragment from his cosmic ring.

    He had asked the Sixth Maind to gather a bunch of fragments of the shattered Absolute Beast Cage for him. Of those fragments, he had stored some away in his cosmic ring, sent some to be stored in Frostwave Weave, and then sent another batch to First Edition City, as the Technocracy was very anxious to acquire this particr metal.

    Since the cage had been made of metal, it should be possible to Disassemble it. Lu Yin took the piece that he had pulled out and ced it on the vortex in front of him, but the metal simply fell to the ground. It could not be Disassembled after all.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin¡¯s ckhole Disassembly had failed, and it indicated that the fragment was either not actually metal or was already in its purest state and could not be Disassembled to a more refined state.

    Was it actually metal? Lu Yin stared at the shard in his hand. If it could not be Disassembled, then could it be Enhanced?

    He spent ten days in the Timestop Space resting before rolling his die again. His luck was good, and the roll was three pips.

    Lu Yin pulled the pill skin back out and set it atop the upper light screen while wondering if the odd substance could be Enhanced. He threw out a massive amount of star essence; he had a feeling that, if the pill skin could be improved, it would cost an absurd amount.

    10 million. 50 million. 100 million. Star essence was consumed voraciously before the pill skin finally dropped down slightly. Though it had barely moved, the fact that it had moved at all proved that it could be Enhanced.

    Lu Yin did some rough estimates, and based on how far the pill skin had fallen, it would cost him at least 4 billion star essence to finish this first upgrade.

    How insane!

    The further Lu Yin¡¯s strength progressed, the more valuable the items he picked up, and subsequently, the more expensive it became to Enhance those items.

    It was not unreasonable for Lu Yin to possess an item that could affect a battle that involved cultivators with power levels of over a million, and paying 4 billion star essence to acquire such an item was not uneptable. This thought removed Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation. Besides, he still had almost 30 billion star essence, and he could get even more from the Mavis Bank, which meant that he was far from being short on funds for the time being.

    4 billion star essence was consumed, and the pill skin finally fell down from the two screens of light. Lu Yin picked it up and squeezed it with a great deal of strength, but he was unable to do anything to it at all.

    Before being Enhanced, the pill skin had been able to endure attacks with power levels of a million, but afterwards, it was no longer able to even be damaged by such attacks.

    A power level of 1 million was a milestone, and breaking past that point was far more difficult than breaking through to the Envoy realm.

    It should be possible to Enhance the pill skin yet again, so Lu Yin threw it back out and started dumping more star essence on the screens. This second upgrade cost him more than 7 billion star essence, for a total of almost 12 billion star essence. The pill skin had be thicker, and while it was still quite ugly: it looked like a poncho.

    Lu Yin did not know if the pill skin could be upgraded any further, but he put it away for the time being and instead pulled out a shard from the Absolute Beast Cage and started tossing out star essence to improve it. He watched with both curiosity and high expectations.

    The metal of the beast cage could indeed be improved, which made Lu Yin''s eyes light up. He started to crazily throw out massive amounts of star essence.

    200 million. It took a full 200 million star essence to Enhance a single shard of the metal from the Absolute Beast Cage once. The metal showed no real changes aside from bing a bit bigger.

    Lu Yin actually had no idea what he could gain from this metal, and he was merely curious. He wanted to see for himself what sort of thing had once brought a catastrophe upon the Fourth Maind, as there was no way that the modern Absolute Beast Cage resembled that ancient terror.

    He continued to upgrade the metal.

    The second upgrade cost him 400 million star essence.

    The third, 800 million.

    The fourth, 1.5 billion.

    The fifth, 3.2 billion.

    The metal grew a bit bigger every time it was improved, and after the fifth upgrade, it twisted upon itself to form a ring before beginning to radiate a dim light.

    Lu Yin quietly observed the ring, and at this moment, it seemed more like something alive than a piece of metal.

    Suddenly, the metal from the Absolute Beast Cage jolted and shot towards Lu Yin. He raised a hand and grabbed it out of the air, only to feel a bit of pain from his palm. After looking, he saw sharp spines protruding from the ring, clearly trying to pierce through his skin. However, Lu Yin¡¯s physique was too powerful, and the spines could not break through his skin. All that they could do was induce a bit of pain, though the spines were sharp enough to stab through most Envoys.

    Lu Yin remembered that this metal was supposedly able to grow and be stronger by consuming flesh and blood.

    The massive Absolute Beast Cage had been tough enough that even Empyrean Imprinters had struggled to destroy it, and the legends imed that the piece of metal that had threatened the Fourth Maind had been asrge as half of the entire Outerverse.

    At least, this was what Lu Yin had heard from Ya Mavis, who had obtained the information from the Mavis family¡¯s ancient records. Lu Yin did not actually know how true the information was.

    As he stared at the piece of metal, Lu Yin could sense that it only desired to consume his flesh and blood.

    This thing was a scourge. His eyes turned hard, and he wanted to destroy the bit of metal, but then he remembered something that caused a smile to slowly spread across his face. This metal had been a disaster for the Fourth Maind, and it could do the same elsewhere. The key aspect was how this scourge was used.

    Besides, Lu Yin had just spent around 6 billion star essence upgrading this piece of metal, so simply destroying it would be a waste of his funds.

    After putting the ring away, Lu Yin checked his cosmic ring. What he discovered put an ugly expression on his face. Enhancing just two items had burned through more than half of his funds. Although he still had more than 10 billion star essence left, it was insufficient for his current level.

    Also, he realized that it was important to find an evenrger cosmic ring so that he could store more resources. The bigger, the better.

    Despite bing an Envoy, Lu Yin realized that his need for star essence had not diminished in the slightest. Instead, it had grown evenrger than before, which was truly a ridiculous concept.

    It was time to train, so Lu Yin returned to practicing Inverse Step.

    The feats he had seen Progenitor Chen''s clone aplish with this movement technique had made Lu Yin obsessed with it.

    After almost another year of training in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin rolled his die once more and continued training.

    Over the next two weeks. Lu Yin rolled his die repeatedly, and he ended up using Timestop five times. He rarely trained this frantically, and all of this time was spent focusing on Inverse Step.

    Using Timestop five times meant that Lu Yin had practiced the movement technique for nearly five consecutive years.

    After this time, Qian Zou could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s own mastery of Inverse Step, and Lu Yin had actually reached the level of being able to create a small area of chaotic space. He had actually reached the same level of mastery that Progenitor Chen had aplished as a peak Enlighter. However, everyoneprehended techniques in their own unique way, so Lu Yin had no idea if there was some difference in his use of Inverse Step and what Progenitor Chen had achieved.

    Lu Yin started to carefully review what he had seen when Progenitor Chen''s clone had used Inverse Step during the stellr tribtion. Right, Lu Yin had also forgotten that he still had some Roots of Intelligence. Even if they were merely rip-offs, they were still able to calm his mind and help him focus.

    Lu Yin drank a cup of tea that he prepared from a Root of Intelligence, and he started to review his battle against Progenitor Chen again.

    After training in the movement technique and also facing it in battle, Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of Inverse Step was lightyears apartpared to when he had first observed the technique.

    He closed his eyes and focused on his memories of his stellr tribtion. Specifically, he returned to the first time he had seen Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone approach him with Inverse Step. Everything around the clone had grown chaotic and changed, even space itself. Even¡­ time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. Time? Yes, time had also been influenced.

    Truesight was a truly miraculous cultivation art, and it was incredibly difficult to ovee it once a practitioner reached the Knowing realm of mastery. And yet, not only had Progenitor Chen¡¯s use of Inverse Step affected the nearby space, but he had also managed to reverse time, which had disrupted Lu Yin¡¯s use of Truesight, even though it had reached the Knowing realm of mastery.

    Time was something that everyone was aware of, but it was also something that no one could influence or even touch. It was a vague and powerful concept. After all, who could control time?

    Wendy Yushan''s innate gift was Rewind, and it actually rewound time itself.

    That was all she did, and yet during ZENITH, Wendy had managed to shatter Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi despite the Daosourse Three Skies outssing Wendy Yushan multiple times over.

    Time was also connected to divination. Everyone wished to master the power of time, and Inverse Step could allow one to touch time.

    Lu Yin started thinking. For Progenitor Chen to reach such a high level of mastery at the peak of the Enlighter realm, just how long had he trained Inverse Step?

    Lu Yin needed to keep practicing. If he was not able to match Progenitor Chen¡¯s aplishment with five years of training, then he would do so with ten years. If that was insufficient, then he would train for twenty years. Lu Yin did not believe that it was impossible for him to achieve the same thing as Progenitor Chen.

    Progenitor Chen was extremely talented, but he had also relied on the Nine Clones Secret Technique. One of those nine clones had beenpletely dedicated to mastering Inverse Step. As such, Lu Yin believed that, without the Nine Clones Secret Technique, Progenitor Chen would not have been able to master Inverse Step so thoroughly as just an Enlighter.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique was almost as much of a cheat tool as Lu Yin¡¯s own Timestop.

    Lu Yin wanted to keep rolling his die, but he suddenly received a message from the overseers¡¯ council. However, since Lu Yin was in a pocket dimension, he was not able to ess the contents of the message.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin left the pocket space and returned to the asteroid field. He essed his gadget only to find messages and missed calls from many people. Most importantly, Big Sis had met with Nan Yuan.

    While Lu Yin had been training in Inverse Step, Lei Qingqing, Big Sis, had arrived at Mt. Microcosms.

 Chapter 1922: Hot-Headed Big Sis

    Chapter 1922: Hot-Headed Big Sis

    Big Sis had already promised Lu Yin that she would be an overseer. Specifically, the prospect of using that position to fleece people in a manner that surpassed the Pirate King had left Big Sis quite excited about her uing time on Mt. Microcosms.

    However, she had run into Nan Yuan almost immediately after arriving at Mt. Microcosms.

    Lu Yin had already proposed to have Lei Qingqing be given a seat as an overseer, but Nan Yuan had objected before even knowing who Lei Qingqing actually was. However, he had since learned exactly who held that name.

    Naturally, Nan Yuan had started mocking Big Sis when he saw her step onto Mt. Microcosms.

    Nan Yuan believed that everyone he interacted with had to be someone of status. Even if everyone he knew was constantly plotting and scheming against each other, they all maintained a certain sense of public decorum and kept their skeletons safely hidden from view. However, Nan Yuan had misunderstood Big Sis. She could notpare to the people whom Nan Yuan was used to interacting with. Big Sis was part of Leon¡¯s Armada, and she was actually the captain of one of his subordinate crews. In particr, Big Sis was someone who truly idolized the position of the Pirate King. How could anyone who was chasing after the title of Pirate King allow another person to publicly humiliate them?

    Thus, Big Sis had retaliated, and she had instantly tried to kill Nan Yuan. In fact, he would have died without question if Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors had not acted so quickly.

    No one had even imagined that Big Sis¡¯s temper would be so bad. Even on Mt. Microcosms, she had attacked the moment she had been insulted, and this was despite the fact that she was fully aware that she could not be considered a powerhouse at such a ce and was far from untouchable.

    Even though Nan Yuan did not end up dying, he was badly wounded. Big Sis had knocked all of the man¡¯s teeth out of his head, and he had lost all of his dignity as an overseer. When had he ever met such a lunatic before? Hadn¡¯t he only taunted the woman a bit? It had only been a bit of wordy and posturing, so why had that woman acted so violently?

    The incident left Nan Yuanpletely furious, and he immediatelyunched a frenzied mission to get revenge. He even went so far as to immediately send Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors to arrest Big Sis.

    However, Big Sis was not an easy opponent. Not only was she supported by Lu Yin, but she also had Eversky Ind behind her. Various overseers stepped forward, and they quickly reached a deadlock on the issue.

    Nan Yuan was the overseer who represented the Court of Seven Names. How could he silently ept such an insult? He immediately put forth a proposal to the overseers¡¯ council to have Big Sis punished for her actions. After all, Nan Yuan was one of the overseers, and if any one of them was pped down in such a manner, it would demean the entire council and be a p in the face to the Hall of Honor itself.

    Not even San Liang could deny this logic. It was indisputable that Big Sis had pped Overseer Nan Yuan in the head, and her attack had even been witnessed by many people.

    For this reason, both San Liang and Bu Laoweng called in ¡°sick,¡± and their condition was much worse than before. It was said that the two were but a single breath away from death.

    Nan Yuan was enraged at their behavior as it was clear the two were merely employing crude dying tactics to put off the meeting. Nan Yuan had no other choice but to order Big Sis to be kept under close supervision. At the same time, he said some brazen things, like that if no word was soon given regarding this matter, he would stoop as low as to his overseer¡¯s privilege to force Big Sis to receive punishment.

    Big Sis had publicly struck Overseer Nan Yuan, and this was an issue that was difficult for her to get out of. After all, if there was no ounting for this tant show of disrespect, the overseers¡¯ council would be demeaned in the public eye.

    Zi Jing, Yang Ji, and Si Hong would not help Lu Yin with this matter, as there was too much on the line.

    Lu Yin was rather speechless when he received the report. Big Sis''s fiery temper was unlike anyone else¡¯s, and Nan Yuan had really been unlucky this time. While antagonizing others would not necessarily be a good choice, he had made the grievous mistake of provoking Big Sis. The man was truly lucky to have kept his life.

    All of the overseers had tried to call Lu Yin, and Nan Yuan had sent more than ten messages, each one urging Lu Yin to return to Mt. Microcosms to participate in an overseers¡¯ meeting.

    Lu Yin quickly called San Liang.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m d to finally hear from you." San Liang heaved a sigh of relief.

    Lu Yin said, "How are things going? Is Lei Qingqing okay?"

    "She''s fine. She¡¯s being watched by Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors, and while she has been imprisoned, she¡¯s been given excellent treatment and food. But Boss, this Big Sis of yours is too vicious! You haven¡¯t seen how badly she beat Nan Yuan! He¡¯s truly lucky to be alive." San Liang was scared of Lu Yin, but he was not trying to hide the fact that he was also quite upset with Big Sis¡¯s behavior.

    Overseers were supposed to be people of high means and dignity, not brutes who dealt out brutal beatings. This woman was clearly unsuited to bing an overseer.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, "That¡¯s none of your concern. She¡¯s my senior, and you¡¯ll call her Big Sis whenever you meet her in the future."

    San Liang was stunned. Big Sis? Was he supposed to call her that even on Mt. Microcosms? He wanted to refuse, but he did not dare to actually speak back to Lu Yin.

    Even in the past, San Liang had not had the courage to stand up to Lu Yin, and he had only grown warier of the youth as time passed. The war between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain had shocked the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin wielded enough power to challenge even the Astral Beast Domain. Throughout the entire Human Domain, not even monstrous powers like the Cosmic Sect and others in the Neoverse couldpare to Lu Yin. His power and influence had climbed too high.

    "Understood, Alliance Leader Lu," San Liang replied. "In that case, what are we going to do about Big Sis?"

    "I¡¯ve got this covered," Lu Yin said before ending the call. He thought for a bit and then called Nan Yuan.

    At this moment, Nan Yuan was in an excellent mood. While he had initially been furious that he had been attacked by Lei Qingqing, he had eventually realized what an excellent opportunity her actions had given him. After this, how would she ever be able to be an overseer? No matter what sort of pull Lu Yin might possess, it would be impossible for him to thrust the woman into the position of overseer. Not only would Nan Yuan not need to fight against the woman¡¯s bid to be an overseer, but he could also use her attack against her. After all, who would ever believe that such a thuggish woman was not a pirate?

    As Nan Yuan was thinking of such ns, his gadget beeped. He nced at it, arched a brow, but then a smug grin spread across his face. ¡°Overseer Lu, it¡¯s been quite a while."

    "Overseer Nan Yuan, I heard that you got beaten?" Lu Yin said, sounding a bit surprised.

    Nan Yuan sneered, "Did you not hear, Overseer Lu? I was attacked by that Lei Qingqing that you rmended to be the final overseer. That woman¡¯s a brute! She attacked me as soon as I spoke just a few words! I wonder, what do you think of this?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "What else could I think? I find it a true pity."

    Nan Yuan showed a small smile. "That''s perfectly urate. It¡¯s such a pity that your best candidate to be an overseer turned out to be such a person, Overseer Lu."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face as well. "That''s not what I meant at all. I meant that it¡¯s a pity that you didn¡¯t die."

    Nan Yuan''s expression instantly changed, and his voice dropped low. "Honestly, I also find it quite a pity that you weren¡¯t devoured by those beasts when they attacked the Outerverse."

    "Too bad for you. You''d better suck up what happened with Lei Qingqing, or else you¡¯ll end uppletely out of luck," Lu Yin threatened.

    Nan Yuan sneered. "Lu Yin, you¡¯ve be far too arrogant after your fight with the Astral Beast Domain. Do you really think that you can go against my Seven Courts just because you were able to stop the Astral Beast Domain? You received outside support from the Cosmic Sect, the Mavis family, and even the Hall of Honor. Do you actually think that you pulled that off with your own abilities? My Seven Courts couldn¡¯t care less about your Great Eastern Alliance!¡±

    "Then go ahead and try. I better hear that Lei Qingqing is safe and sound when I get to Mt. Microcosms, or else you¡¯ll have to pay the price.¡± With that, Lu Yin hung up. The smile grew bigger and bigger on his face, as he was absolutely certain that Nan Yuan had to be raging at this moment.

    On Mt. Microcosms, Nan Yuan was indeed furious at this moment, and he smashed his table with a hand, anger burning in his eyes. "Lu Yin, you¡¯re too hateful! You had me beat in public, and now you¡¯re demanding that I silently ept it? Do you really believe that you can cover the sky with one hand? I want to see just how you¡¯re going to protect Lei Qingqing!"

    He then nced towards a certain courtyard. It happened to be the ce where Bo was currently walking about.

    Nan Yuan''s expression changed once again, and his smile returned. Lu Yin, you¡¯re not the only one manipting the council!

    Given the current situation, San Liang and Bu Laoweng would not be able to keep up the act of being incapacitated for very long, which meant that Lu Yin needed to make his way to Mt. Microcosms as soon as possible.

    Not only did he want to deal with the matters regarding the overseers¡¯ council, but he also wanted to check on Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude towards him.

    After Lu Yin had passed his stellr tribtion, space had ovepped, and the Perennial World¡¯s desire to kill Lu Yin had increased more than ever. They would soonunch their war on the Fifth Maind, and that war would be far more dangerous than the one that Lu Yin had waged against the Astral Beast Domain. It was vital that Lu Yin determine Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attitude.

    ¡­

    With the Second Nightking leading him, Lu Yin was able to reach Mt. Microcosms at the fastest speed possible.

    Both Bu Laoweng and San Liang were miraculously cured as soon as Lu Yin arrived, and the overseers were able to hold a standard meeting.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second time participating in an overseers¡¯ council in person on Mt. Microcosms. His first time had been when Nan Yuan had tried to propose that Leaf King take the empty overseer post as the Innerverse representative, and this second time was also because of Nan Yuan¡¯s machinations.

    There would not be a third time.

    One by one, the overseers took their seats. Lu Yin was thest one to step into the room.

    Instantly, the atmosphere in the room became a bit more tense.

    Zi Jing was the first to speak. "Alliance Leader Lu, congrattions on your victory in the Outerverse war. Not only did you stop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, but you also managed to reim control of the eastern weaves."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you. I also would like to offer my gratitude to your CyNet for all the help during the war."

    When the Great Eastern Alliance had stepped out to defend the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, countless people on thework had started mocking the alliance and Lu Yin. CyNet had blocked many ounts belonging to the naysayers, and those actions had prevented public opinion frompletely destroying Lu Yin and the alliance. After the astral beasts had been routed, praise for Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance was all that could be found anywhere on thework, and this was also due to CyNet¡¯s efforts.

    Zi Jing smiled back. "We only did as we should. The Great Eastern Alliance was out there fighting to the death to defend the people of the Outerverse, and while we did not step onto the battlefield, we still had to do our part."

    Lu Yin replied, "CyNet helped us tremendously, and such support was far better than the actions of others who tried to hamstring us."

    San Liang dutifully turned to nce at Nan Yuan at this time, and his movement caused the other overseers to turn and look at Nan Yuan as well.

    The man¡¯s expression twisted; what had he done? He had never tried to make things difficult for the Great Eastern Alliance during the war¡ªeven if he had wanted to, he would not have seeded. He had absolutely no ability to affect the Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough small talk. Let¡¯s get to why we¡¯re here today.¡±

    Nan Yuan opened his mouth to continue, but suddenly, someone else spoke up. "I propose to dismiss Nan Yuan from his position as an overseer."

    These unexpected words left Nan Yuan stunned, and Zi Jing, Yang Ji, Si Hong, and the others were no different. None of them had received any warning of this development.

    Nan Yuan instantly realized that he was being thwarted once again. Every time he tried to do anything, he would be blocked! He red at San Liang. "What are you going on about? Dismiss me? San Liang, have you gone mad?"

    Old Man San Shang said, "Overseer San Liang, you must have a reason for this proposal, as an overseer cannot be dismissed from their position without just cause. You interrupted Overseer Nan Yuan, and you even want to have him removed from his post. I will not allow such a thing to proceed without a reasonable exnation. You need to ount for your words."

    Xin Jiao frowned. Why had Old Man San Shang suddenly spoken up in support of Nan Yuan?

    San Liang held his head high as he turned to look at Nan Yuan. "Of course there¡¯s a reason to dismiss Nan Yuan, and it¡¯s even quite simple: Overseer Nan Yuan is suspected of kidnapping Overseer San Shang¡¯s grandson in a bid to control Senior Overseer San Shang and gain control of the overseers¡¯ council."

    Everyone was startled at this usation.

    Lu Yin instantly erupted and shouted, "Nan Yuan, how dare you try to control the overseers¡¯ council!"

    Nan Yuan''s mind was in turmoil. How did anyone know of this matter?

    Xin Jiao first looked at Nan Yuan and then at Lu Yin. San Liang was under Lu Yin¡¯s control, so everyone immediately understood that Lu Yin was the one who was really instigating this matter. Not to mention, Lu Yin was speaking in such a righteous manner despite personally controlling five of the overseers on the council. It was truly jarring to hear such hypocrisy spoken aloud.

    Quickly, Xin Jiao turned to look at Old Man San Shang, and the other overseers all did the same.

    San Shang frowned, and he stared at San Liang as though he were both dazed and confused by what had just been said. It looked as though San Shang was curious about how San Liang could have learned of this particr matter.

    "San Liang, don''t try to nder people!" Nan Yuan shouted in a rage. If such usations were verified, there was no way he could retain his seat as an overseer.

    San Liang casually lifted his gadget and brought out a disy to share with everyone else present. Everyone focused on the disy in the air.

    It did not show anything unusual or unknown, but rather Nan Yuan¡¯s home.

    Nan Yuan''s expression instantly changed drastically, and he leaped to his feet while screaming, "San Liang, you dare to spy on me?"

    San Liang smiled. "That''s not it at all, but rather that I¡¯ve been making sure to pay careful attention to you after I learned about Senior San Shang¡¯s grandson."

 Chapter 1923: Is It Still Far?

    Chapter 1923: Is It Still Far?

    "This is ridiculous!" Nan Yuan''s expression looked terrible after he heard San Liang¡¯s words, but just as he was about to continue speaking, the disy in the middle of the room changed. Numerous people charged into the originally quiet residence, and a fierce battle broke out between them and the people from the residence. Instantly several of the buildings werepletely destroyed.

    Nan Yuan''s eyes went wide. He was truly furious, but he did nothing. In fact, there was nothing that he could do while in the meeting room.

    The attacking cultivators quickly found Bo, and as they did so, Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors appeared and arrested all of the people who had participated in the attack on Nan Yuan''s residence. The man himself had quickly received a report, but he had no time to concern himself with dealing with his home.

    "Overseer Nan Yuan, please exin why San Shang''s grandson was in your home," San Liang said with a faint smile. Everyone else in the room was also staring at Nan Yuan at this moment.

    Old Man San Shang¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. In their depths, there was exhaustion and regret. He regretted pursuing the position of overseer for the third time and regretted chasing after power as doing so had led to his family¡¯s ruin.

    The times had already changed. In the past, no one would ever have dared to offend an overseer. San Shang had been able to alter the path of the entire Human Domain with a single sentence, leaving even Envoys quaking in terror. Whenever he had traveled about the universe, he had been looked at with respect and admiration. These were also what had caused the old man to lose his focus. He had be drunk on that feeling of power and had been unable to ept not being an overseer.

    He had used his reputation and dignity to reim the seat of an overseer again and again. No one had ever held the position for as many terms as San Shang. He had actually set a record for the overseers¡¯ council.

    However, the times had changed. FIrst, the Sixth Maind had sent someone to control the old man, and then he was controlled by Lu Yin, a mere junior. After that, even Nan Yuan had tried to manipte San Shang in a bid to counter Lu Yin¡¯s influence. The old man was exhausted and no longer wished to deal with such things. All that he wanted to do was enjoy hisst years in peace while spending time with his grandson.

    Facing the using eyes of everyone else at the table, Nan Yuan stared straight at San Shang. "I was not the one who kidnapped San Shang''s grandson, but rather Lu Yin. He kidnapped that child!"

    Nan Yuan suddenly turned to stare at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s right, you kidnapped the child in order to control the old man while I rescued him and gave him a better home!"

    Lu Yin said nothing. This man was not worth Lu Yin¡¯s time.

    "Overseer Nan Yuan, you say that Overseer Lu kidnapped the child, but what evidence do you have to prove this? Also, if you rescued the child, why didn''t you send him back to me, his grandfather, instead of keeping him in your own home?" San Shang slowly asked.

    Nan Yuan softly answered, "Lu Yin is cunning and skilled at ying tricks. I was afraid to send the child home as I was concerned that he would only be captured once again. That was why I had no choice but to keep the child with me. I already spoke to you about this, San Shang."

    Everyone turned to look at the old man.

    San Shang let out a long breath. His face suddenly looked older and more exhausted than ever, though there was also a flicker of hope that could be seen in his eyes. That hope was because of Bo. As long as Bo was not dead, San Shang had a reason to live. "Overseer Nan Yuan did indeed reach out to me."

    Nan Yuan instantly looked relieved.

    Lu Yin''s expression did not change in the slightest, and he even shifted his attention to his gadget and started checking the breaking news.

    "However, he contacted me not because he wanted to protect Bo, as he just imed, but rather to demand my unconditional support behind all of his proposals to this council," San Shang continued to slowly say.

    A smile began to spread across San Liang''s face.

    Nan Yuan''s pupils shrank, and he screamed, "San Shang, what is this nonsense that you¡¯re spouting?"

    San Shang just sighed. "Nan Yuan, you and I have worked together for many years, but such ploys are unworthy of the Seven Courts. You tried to manipte me into doing your bidding by capturing Bo, and I was left with no choice but to ask Overseer San Liang to help me rescue my grandchild. You are the one who first captured him!"

    Nan Yuan''s body swayed, and his vision grew fuzzy.

    The disy in the air was still showing what was happening at Nan Yuan¡¯s home, and Bo was being questioned by Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors. At this moment, his trembling answer could be heard, "That¡¯s right, Overseer Nan Yuan killed my parents and kidnapped me in order to use me to control Grandpa! I beg you, please save me! Save me and save Grandpa!"

    Nan Yuan was in a daze as he stared at the disy. He watched as Bo burst into tears. Anyone would believe the child¡¯s story.

    It was over. This was the end of everything. Kidnapping an overseer¡¯s family member in order to control the overseer and the council was a terrible crime. Nan Yuan also knew that this matter would not simply end with his dismissal, as the Seven Courts would not let him go. He would be punished for his stupidity.

    That was the only way to describe his actions: stupid. All strength left Nan Yuan¡¯s body, and all of his followers who had tried to protect his home had broken down the moment he had been sold out.

    This entire situation had been a setup from the very beginning.

    Some time ago, when Nan Yuan had suddenly received word regarding Bo, the information had been passed along through Nan Yuan¡¯s own informationwork that he had worked to establish. The information had made him very excited, as controlling another overseer would not only increase the weight of his words on the overseers¡¯ council and improve his position there, but it would also improve his standing within the Seven Courts. The most important detail was that Nan Yuan merely needed to rescue San Shang¡¯s grandson, which meant that there would be no actions taken against the old man at all.

    Nan Yuan¡¯s n had been to save Bo, allow the child to meet with his grandfather, and after receiving San Shang¡¯s gratitude, Nan Yuan would gain control of the ancient overseer. The entire n had been so simple.

    Nan Yuan had never even considered that he might have fallen into another¡¯s trap. Bo had been nothing more than bait, bait that Nan Yuan had eagerly devoured. He had been a fish that had purposely ced itself on the fisherman¡¯s hook.

    Everything that Nan Yuan had learned regarding Bo had been true, and it had even been true that San Shang was being controlled by the ones who held Bo captive. If the details had not been true, then it would have been impossible to convince Nan Yuan to make a move, but everything had been part of a greater n. Nan Yuan had only seen the surfaceyer, and he had failed to see through to the depths of this scheme.

    Both Nan Yuan and San Shang were nothing more than pawns to be yed with by others. Even if Bo was returned to San Shang, the old overseer would still be under the control of the one who had arranged everything.

    Nan Yuan looked over at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was not paying the slightest attention to the former overseer. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, Nan Yuan no longer even existed.

    "Nan Yuan, do you have anything else to say?" San Liang''s expression changed as he stared at Nan Yuan with a somber expression and started shouting.

    Xin Jiao could not help herself, and she turned to look at Lu Yin. Anyone with a discerning eye would realize that Nan Yuan had been manipted, but who would help him? There was no way to help the man. The evidence against him was irond, and his time as an overseer had alreadye to an end.

    Lu Yin was bing more and more difficult to see through.

    Nan Yuan smiled wryly, and he could not help himself from pping. "Wonderful. Truly, absolutely wonderful. Such an easy win over a fellow overseer. This is indeed worthy of you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin finally lifted his head from his gadget and looked up at Nan Yuan. "What does this have to do with me?"

    Nan Yuan looked up and blew out a long breath. "I¡¯ve lost, and I can only me myself for being too stupid. However, Alliance Leader Lu, don''t forget that, even if I leave, my seat at this table will not go to you. This seat will always be reserved for the Seven Courts, and they will always have a voice here."

    As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the room was shoved open, and Mt. Microcosms¡¯ protectors flooded in to arrest Nan Yuan and take him away.

    The man was not just being removed from his position, as he also needed to be interrogated. Even though his punishment would not be too harsh given his affiliation with the Seven Courts, it was still necessary to follow certain protocols.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if youpletely control the overseers¡¯ council, aren¡¯t you afraid that people will use you of being a dictator? Do you really think that the entire Human Domain will fall under your Lu surname?" Nan Yuan''s voice slowly faded as he was led away.

    Many people heard the former overseer¡¯s words, and they all turned to look at Lu Yin withplicated emotions.

    Would the Fifth Maind fall under the Lu surname?

    It was something that they had not thought of before, but they suddenly realized that it was very close to happening.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had already united both the Innerverse and Outerverse, and it had also led a war against the Astral Beast Domain. Dozens of Envoys had joined that war.

    On top of that, Lu Yin himself had be an overseer, and he had seized control of the overseers¡¯ council, which allowed him to easily decide the fates of the other overseers. The overseers were the ones responsible for the administration and oversight of the Human Domain. Their decisions were unquestionable and affected the fates of bothrge and small organizations, altering the path of the entire Human Domain. To a certain degree, they could even sway Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s decisions.

    The fact that Lu Yin controlled the overseers¡¯ council essentially meant that he controlled the means by which the Hall of Honor made decisions concerning the rest of the universe.

    Lu Yin had both the position and the actual power needed.

    As for the Cosmic Sea, it posed no obstacle to Lu Yin. Once the Great Eastern Alliance finally entered the Neoverse, who would be able to stop them? Was the Fifth Maind really that close to falling under the Lu surname¡¯s control?

    There were certain things that were not terrifying to carry out, but rather were terrifying to think about. The more one considered such matters, the more frightening they became.

    Lu Yin had not expected Nan Yuan to leave such ament as he was being dragged off. Given the current situation and the circumstances under which Nan Yuan had been taken down, his final words were easily able to cause many people to start thinking hard.

    The room fellpletely silent, and the atmosphere grew rather awkward.

    At this moment, there was more movement from outside the room, and the door was pushed back open. Big Sis boldly entered the meeting room.

    Due to her cultivation art, Big Sis¡¯s appearance frequently changed, which caused Lu Yin no end of stress as he never knew what the woman was going to look like.

    When he saw her enter the room, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, Big Sis had a normal appearance this time. Lu Yin quickly stood from his chair and gave Big Sis an ingratiating smile. ¡°Big Sis, you''re here."

    The other overseers were all taken aback, as they had never seen Lu Yin act so submissively to anyone at all.

    Big Sis let out a derisive snort. "Quit putting on a show and acting so dumb in front of me. Where¡¯s Nan Yuan?"

    "He was just taken away and locked up. He¡¯s done for," Lu Yin replied.

    Big Sis nodded, her eyes cold. ¡°He got lucky then.¡±

    With that, the overseers all stared in astonishment as she kicked Nan Yuan¡¯s chair and shattered it. ¡°Get a new one. This one¡¯s dirty."

    San Liang quickly stood up and called out, "Get us a new chair!"

    The man could read the scene.

    A short whileter, Big Sis deliberately sat down where Nan Yuan had previously sat at the table. She nced around at everyone else present. ¡°It appears that I¡¯m the new overseer, right? Anyone have any objections?"

    Zi Jing pursed her lips and smiled.

    Yang Ji and the others werepletely speechless at this deration. The overseers always voted to approve new members of the council, and no one had ever presented themselves in such a manner. This Big Sis waspletely overbearing.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course there aren¡¯t any objections. Big Sis, you¡¯re an overseer from now on."

    Big Sis arched a brow and waved arge hand dismissively. ¡°Alright then, just leave this ce to me from now on. You take care of your things, and I¡¯ll deal with this ce for you."

    Lu Yin¡­

    Big Sis¡¯s addition to the overseers¡¯ councilpletely changed the council¡¯s manner of conducting business. No one could tell if these changes were good or bad, and as for Lu Yin, he did not care. He actually left the council before the meeting was even halfway done, as Big Sis had presented more than eighty different proposals. That development made Lu Yin''s heart tremble. He had no idea that Big Sis had been so well prepared.

    The other overseers werepletely dumbfounded by Big Sis¡¯s behavior. Who had ever brought up so many matters at the same time? They would not be able to cover everything even if their meeting went on for three days and three nights!

    Lu Yin was automatically assumed to agree with Big Sis¡¯s position on every matter, so she simply booted him out the door. When the door closed behind him, the overseers¡¯ council was not the same as it had been before.

    ***

    Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the Envoy realm had not only increased hisbat strength, but it had also affected his lockbreaking skills. Logically, the ability of Envoys to suppress star energy through their maniption of stellr energy would allow them the ability to manipte sourceboxes, but if it were truly that simple, then every Envoy would also be a Lockbreaker.

    After Lu Yin left the overseers¡¯ council, he headed straight to the Lockbreakers World, as he wanted to find out how lockbreaking changed once one entered the Envoy realm.

    However, Lu Yin soon learned that all of the Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers were absent from the Lockbreakers World, and even President Xiu Ming was gone. He had simply left some time before and never returned.

    Lu Yin left the Lockbreakers World, and he started making his way to the Arbitration World to meet with his senior brother, hoping that the Chief Justice had not gone into seclusion.

    Lu Yin did not make it very far across Mt. Microcosms when the air in front of him warped and a person appeared, surprising Lu Yin. "Arch-Elder Zen?"

    "Do you have a moment to speak with me?" Arch-Elder Zen asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was very respectful to the old man. "I was actually hoping to speak with you, Senior."

    Arch-Elder Zenughed and then led Lu Yin to the very top of Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin was unable to see anything when he looked down as they were too high up. All that could be seen was a sea of pure white.

 Chapter 1924: Peacewater Planet

    Chapter 1924: Peacewater

    "If you were the one to decide the fate of the Sixth Maind, what would you do?" Arch-Elder Zen asked with his back to Lu Yin. The man was staring out at the endless sea of white.

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "This junior doesn¡¯t understand."

    Arch-Elder Zen returned to himself. Stones suddenly rose up from the ground to form a go board. "Can you y Go?"

    "I¡¯m not very good at it," Lu Yin replied. "There¡¯s no way that I canpare to you, Senior."

    Arch-Elder Zen casually sat down on the ground, cross-legged. He had no sense of dignity as he sat there and pulled out the game pieces and set them on the board. "Then we¡¯ll just y casually."

    Lu Yin also sat down on the ground cross-legged.

    "Long ago, Progenitor Hui made predictions that spanned eons that led to the Sixth Maind being destroyed by the Aeternals. However, even his perfect calction had certain ws. To be more precise, there were certain mistakes and a few details that were missed. Right now, there is a passage in the Starfall Sea that connects my Fifth Maind to the Sixth Maind. Their three Progenitors threatened us, and we were forced to hand over possession of our Outerverse. Even thinking about it now, I don¡¯t see any alternatives. However, if it had been up to you, what would you have done?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    In a game of Go, just a few simple moves could allow one to make a decision. Lu Yin was far from being a master of the game, but he was still a cultivator, and it was normal for them to run thousands of mental calctions in a moment. So, ying such strategy games were normally pointless to those who had reached Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength. After all, winning was not only determined by one¡¯s skills, but also on their mental calctions.

    "If it were up to this junior, I would have moved to give the Sixth Maind control of the Technocracy,¡± Lu Yin replied. This was a matter that he had considered in the past. After all, he had long seen the Outerverse as his own territory, and he had never once abandoned his desire to drive the Sixth Maind away.

    Given that Lu Yin wanted the Sixth Maind to leave the Outerverse, the Technocracy was naturally his first choice for their destination. In fact, there was not even really a choice in the matter as the Astral Beast Domain was too far away from the Outerverse.

    Arch-Elder Zen was not surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s response. After all, there were few choices avable in the Fifth Maind. "The Technocracy would not be willing to allow the Sixth Maind entry, so why should we try to push them there?"

    "The Sixth Maind originally had three Progenitors, so forget about them wanting to take over the Outerverse¡ªthey could have easily taken the Outerverse, Innerverse, and even the Cosmic Sea. In that case, why did they agree to only upy the Outerverse? They must have some hesitation towards us, and since that¡¯s the case, it gives us some leeway. The Technocracy and my Human Domain have been at war for many years, and this junior is aware that even Semi-Progenitors are hesitant to enter the Technocracy. Even if all the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors worked together, they likely wouldn¡¯t be able to upy the entire Technocracy. However, they most likely could have taken control of half of it, which would have been enough," Lu Yin said. He kept his eyes on the game board as he spoke, and he continued to y the game.

    "You¡¯ve witnessed the Technocracy¡¯s strength for yourself, and you should know that even if all seven of my Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had worked together, there would be nothing that we could do against the Technocracy," Arch-Elder Zen admitted with a shrug.

    Lu Yin finally looked up at the old man. "Doesn¡¯t the Sixth Maind have three Progenitors?"

    Arch-Elder Zen''s hand froze as he was about to ce a stone, and he nced up at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°You would try to use even them?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Sess is determined by those who can keep calm and those who are more confident."

    "That¡¯s a risk that we could not afford to take," the old man retorted.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Why ask this question to me, Senior?"

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "It¡¯s better to leave the risk-taking to young people after you get old."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "It¡¯s important to act cautiously when trying to protect humanity. Senior made the best decision."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the board. It was already covered with pieces, though a winner had not been decided yet. ¡°Right now, the Fifth Maind is in a simr state as our game here. Things look stable, but in reality, there are too many hidden dangers. The more stable things seem, the more important it is to keep such dangers hidden."

    Lu Yin still could not understand Arch-Elder Zen''s motivation for this particr conversation. "Senior, do you want this junior to uncover these dangers?"

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "We can only patiently wait. Of the Seven Skygods, Whiteless God is still out there, hidden in the Human Domain with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. We have no idea who or where she might be. All we know is that she has strange abilities and that she can attack us from unpredictable directions, such as the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. "Does that mean that Qiu Xu from the Sixth Maind is a traitor to humanity?"

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "That is how Whiteless God works, though she has more than just one method. Lu Yin, as you are now, you qualify to be let in on most of my Human Domain¡¯s secrets. Thus, I can tell you that there is a certain danger facing us right now. You just went to visit the Lockbreakers World. Xiu Ming and the other Advanced Lockbreakers all went to the same ce. That ce was supposed to be secure, but Whiteless God targeted that ce as well. If that ce is destroyed, the consequences will be catastrophic.¡±

    "Xiu Ming''s presence there can keep things stable for the time being, but it might be necessary for you to contribute your strength to the cause as well. After all, you are also a Lockbreaker."

    "Where is this ce?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen fell into silent contemtion for a moment. "That¡¯s not something that I can exin to you clearly. You will only understand after you see it for yourself."

    "And it¡¯s probably toote for this junior to see it," Lu Yin guessed.

    Arch-Elder Zen shrugged. "I am a guardian, but that does not make me humanity¡¯s guiding light. Continue to work hard. The Perennial World is also a part of my Fifth Maind, and you may be the one to show humanity the path forward in the future."

    Lu Yin could hear the bitterness and helplessness in the old man¡¯s voice. Although Arch-Elder Zen had protected the Human Domain for countless years, he had be more and more lost as time passed. The old man no longer knew whether or not he was making the proper decisions. Lu Yin had not seen an opportunity or even thought about making a different decision when he had taken over the defense of the Outerverse against the astral beasts by waging what was seen as an impossible war. However, in the end, not only had he protected the humans living in the Outerverse, but he had also regained control of the Outerverse¡¯s eastern weaves by wresting them away from the Sixth Maind.

    This was something that Arch-Elder Zen had considered impossible before Lu Yin aplished it.

    Lu Yin had established the Great Eastern Alliance, takenplete control of the overseers¡¯ council, defeated the Astral Beast Domain, and even forced the Sixth Maind to take a step back. All of these aplishments had left Arch-Elder Zen doubting his own decisions.

    There was no denying the fact that the old man was qualified to be humanity¡¯s guardian and protector, but that did not equate to him being able to lead humanity forward into the future.

    This was the old man¡¯s real motivation for speaking to Lu Yin; he wanted to understand the difference between the two of them.

    He had since learned that there was a big difference.

    It was impossible to know who was right and who was wrong, as only time would reveal the truth.

    Lu Yin had voluntarily stepped out to take over the defense against the astral beasts¡¯ invasion in order to protect the ordinary residents of the Outerverse. This decision had led Arch-Elder Zen topletely change his understanding of the youth, and the old man was no longer fixated on the matter of Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan. While Lu Yin¡¯s victory in the war would never be enough for Arch-Elder Zne to fully support Lu Yin, the Semi-Progenitor was willing to wait and watch Lu Yin for a time.

    But what Lu Yincked the most was time. As long as the youth was given enough time, he would be able to pull the entire Human Domain under his Lu surname.

    "Aside from wanting to chat with you for a bit, there¡¯s another matter that I wanted to address with you: Aeternus Nation. I¡¯ve found it," Arch-Elder Zen dered as he ced his stone down with a loud click.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Aeternus Nation? The one hidden here in the Neoverse?"

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded with a small smile. "Interested?"

    Lu Yin became very excited. "Where is it?"

    "Go see Qing Ping. He¡¯ll lead you to the ce so that it can be destroyed. There¡¯s death energy in Aeternus Nation, so it makes sense for you to go there," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior will take his leave."

    After watching Lu Yin leave, Arch-Elder Zen looked back at the board. It was covered with stones, but what would the child have done with his next move?

    ¡­

    Lu Yin soon arrived at the entrance to the Arbitration World, where he ran into Da Qiu.

    "Alliance Leader Lu? Why are you here?" Da Qiu asked.

    "Where is the Chief Justice?" Lu Yin asked.

    Da Qiu pointed into the hidden world. Lu Yin thanked the man and then entered the Arbitration World.

    The Chief Justice always seemed to be shrouded within an imprable darkness. When Lu Yin arrived, he found not only the Chief Justice, but also Judicial Commissioner Shadow of Death as well as five Envoys.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many Envoys belonged to the Hall of Honor, but he was certain that there were more than ten, especially if he included the Envoy-strength androids.

    The Hall of Honor had also sent some of those powerful androids to support the Great Eastern Alliance during their war against the Astral Beast Domain in the Outerverse.

    Given the Hall of Honor¡¯s unfathomable background and power, Lu Yin fully believed that they were capable of churning out numerous androids at the Envoy level as long as they were provided with sufficient raw materials.

    "Everyone, let''s go," the Chief Justice said softly, but Lu Yin was given no opportunity to speak to the man alone before they were all led out of the hidden world and away from Mt. Microcosms. In the blink of an eye, the entire group was gone and headed towards the southern region of the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin was not the only one who had been taken along, as the Chief Justice had even dragged the Second Nightking with them.

    Fear overcame the Second Nightking when he looked at the Chief Justice. He would never be able to forget being judged. Even though the Chief Justice was not a Semi-Progenitor, he was strong enough to fight against such powerhouses. The Second Nightking had witnessed that for himself in Venom Flowzone.

    "You areing with us." The Chief Justice''s statement left no opening for a refusal.

    The Second Nightking was confused as to what was happening, so Lu Yin quickly filled the man in on some things. The old man was genuinely surprised. ¡°Aeternus Nation actually exists?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "You¡¯re not familiar with it?"

    The Second Nightking shook his head. "The Neohuman Alliance only popped up after the Daosource Sect¡¯s era. By that time, the Celestial Frost Sect had already left the Fifth Maind, and the Mother Tree had also been taken away. That was also when I started staying in that pocket dimension to cultivate.

    "However, I previously heard that the Aeternals wished to establish a kingdom where they can coexist with humans, and the ce was referred to as Aeternus Kingdom. I never thought that they would have already seeded with that project."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew incredibly cold. "That evil ce needs to be destroyed!"

    The Neoverse¡¯s southern region was where the Seven Courts were located, and it was also considered the most chaotic region in the entire Neoverse. This was also where Aeternus Nation had been found.

    The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Aeternus Nation was the filthiest, cruelest, and darkest ce that Lu Yin could ever imagine. The entire ce had a facade of happiness and sunshine, but it was all a ploy to hide inhumane atrocities. The humans living in that ce had long since given in to despair. Lu Yin still struggled to believe that such a ce actually existed.

    The most terrible fate was not death itself, but rather to long for death without being able to touch it.

    There were many humans who had been captured and sent to Aeternus Nation. However, they were not transformed, but rather forced to live alongside corpse kings. There, they would be eaten alive by the corpse kings and forced to linger on as creatures much like ghosts.

    The southern region of the Neoverse was massive, and the Seven Courts merely upied the northernmost portion of the region. The Chief Justice led everyone to the eastern reaches of the region, almost to the border with the Neoverse¡¯s eastern region.

    In this area, there only seemed to be a perfectly average-looking in front of the group. This was known as Peacewater. There were spacecraft taking off andnding, as well as cultivators asionally appearing in outer space above the. No matter how one looked at it, there was nothing special about this.

    "Let''s go," softly said Judicial Commissioner Shadow of Death as he then led the five Envoys down onto the. Afternding, they all scattered and went in various directions.

    "Senior Brother, Aeternus Nation is in a parallel universe that¡¯s focused on this, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Behind him, the Second Nightking was left in a daze. Senior Brother?

    "Pretty much," the Chief Justice casually replied.

    The Second Nightking remained stunned. Senior Brother?

    He stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. Was the Chief Justice of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Interster Supreme Court actually Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother? Hell, it¡¯s no wonder why he kicked my ass so badly back then, and it¡¯s also no surprise why he didn¡¯t even react when I was exposed. He¡¯s actually his senior brother! This kid¡¯s background is too freakish.

    Lu Yin paid no attention to the Second Nightking¡¯s reaction to this new revtion. Regardless of Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship with the Chief Justice, there was nothing that the Second Nightking could do to Lu Yin.

    "Are we not going in yet?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "Just wait."

    "What are we waiting for?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "We can¡¯t get in on our own. Aeternus Nation is in a parallel universe, and we haven¡¯t been able to determine the exact coordinate. Without that information, it¡¯s difficult to pinpoint Aeternus Nation."

 Chapter 1925: Mask of Death

    Chapter 1925: Mask of Death

    Lu Yin understood what the Chief Justice was talking about, as he had already heard from Jiang Chen that there were many, many parallel universes. A parallel universe might only reflect a given, or it could reflect the entire universe. Both time and space could be different in a parallel universe.

    This was also why Jiang Chen had struggled to chase down the lightning rabbit so much, as the creature could easily and urately travel between parallel universes, which was too difficult to deal with.

    Pocket dimensions like where the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins were hidden were somehow different from parallel universes, but Lu Yin did not really understand the details.

    As for Jiang Chen, he was not actually able to break through to parallel universes by himself, instead doing so by relying on his father''s strength.

    "Senior Brother, is it difficult to urately pinpoint a parallel universe? I mean, I¡¯ve already visited that ce before, and now we just want to return to that ce," Lu Yin asked.

    The Chief Justice remained silent for a while. "I can''t do that."

    Lu Yin was curious about this matter. "What level of strength is needed to do that?"

    "I don¡¯t know."

    "Really? Could a Semi-Progenitor do it?" Lu Yin did not relent, and he continued to ask more questions. He was actually trying to understand how strong Jiang Chen''s father was. When Lu Yin hadst seen Jiang Chen, he had made ament that indicated that the powerful praying mantis astral beast that Lu Yin had been fighting against was only worthy to be a gardener in Jiang Chen''s perspective.

    The universe was far from being as straightforward and simple as it initially appeared. They were only able to perceive their own universe, but there were countless parallel universes, not to mention hidden worlds. It was quite possible that many things were not as they first appeared to be.

    "I don''t know." The Chief Justice merely repeated the same three words.

    Lu Yin shrugged.

    They needed to wait for a corpse king to emerge from Aeternus Nation. As long as one came out, the Chief Justice would be able to force his way into Aeternus Nation. As for returning, there was no need to worry about such a thing. They were naturally able to return to the universe that was their birthce. No matter how many parallel universes might exist, the one that gave birth to a person would always be like a brilliant lighthouse to them.

    However, how were the corpse kings able to return to Aeternus Nation after they left the parallel universe? This matter seemed quite odd.

    Despite the Chief Justice¡¯s strength, there was nothing that the man could do at this moment other than patiently wait. None of them had any idea how long they would have to wait for.

    Lu Yin began to absorb stellr energy.

    Pulling stellr energy out of the true universe was far from easy, as one needed to avoid being detected by the true universe while cultivating. Lu Yin had to enter the true universe in order to slowly absorb stellr energy.

    The Second Nightking saw Lu Yin¡¯s actions and secretly shook his head. There were people who were talented and who could achieve great things, but Lu Yin¡¯s talent was so exceptional that it was actually limiting his progress. There was no way to even estimate how long it would take Lu Yin to absorb enough stellr energy through the standard process to trigger his second stellr tribtion.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin emerged from the true universe with a bit of a headache from the frustration that he felt due to how slowly he absorbed stellr energy.

    He had used cheat-like methods to cultivate from almost the moment he started cultivating, so being forced to train slowly was agonizing for him.

    "Senior Brother, is there any more of that stellr liquid?" Lu Yin asked while licking his lips.

    The Chief Justice just ignored him.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior Brother, what did you take from Venom Flowzone?"

    The Chief Justice continued to ignore him.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. His senior brother was much colder than Mister Mu. Even though Lu Yin rarely saw Mister Mu, each meeting had been incredibly beneficial to Lu Yin.

    "Have your people search for as much of that stuff as possible," the Chief Justice finally replied.

    Lu Yin quickly asked, "So, what is it?"

    "We''ll talk about that after you¡¯ve passed through six tribtions," the Chief Justice said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This sounded somewhat familiar¡­

    Right, Kui Luo had once said that he would tell Lu Yin more about the Lu family after Lu Yin became an Envoy, but Lu Yin hadpletely forgotten about that matter. He needed to make sure that he brought this matter up with Kui Luo the next time he saw the old man.

    Waiting was boring.

    Lu Yin apanied the Chief Justice for more than ten days as they waited, but Lu Yin could not handle any more than that, so he decided to visit the beneath them.

    It was true that the quality of cultivators in the Neoverse was substantially higher than those in the Innerverse or the Outerverse. Just this single had three Enlighters and no less than twenty cultivators who were at least Explorers. A solitary boasted as much strength as an entire weave in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin wandered about the. Suddenly, he saw a familiar pair of cold eyes staring at him from within a crowd along with a foxish grin. It was Silver.

    Lu Yin had not expected Silver to be so bold. He had previously approached Lu Yin during the push to destroy the Daynight n, and he had reappeared when the Chief Justice was observing the.

    "Captain, are you here to deal with Aeternus Nation?" Silver asked with a smile. The crowd kept moving, but the two young men remained where they were, facing each other. They were separated by a few meters, and the entire situation seemed a bit odd.

    Lu Yin stared at Silver. "Aren''t you worried that you¡¯ll be noticed?"

    Silver just shrugged. "I''m just a nobody who was sent here to deliver a message to you, Captain. It doesn¡¯t matter if I get found out or not."

    "Who sent me a message?"

    "Judicial Commissioner Tong Yu."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Let¡¯s hear it."

    One side of Silver¡¯s mouth curled up into a smirk. "Actually, it''s not really much of a message. The Judicial Commissioner merely feels that your training time is valuable, Captain, and that it would be a pity to waste your time waiting toplete your current task. So, she sent me here to guide you to Aeternus Nation."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Aren''t you afraid that the Aeternals will learn of this?"

    Silver¡¯s smile grew brighter than ever. "Six of the Seven Skygods have already died, and while Whiteless God is still around, she¡¯s never shown herself in Aeternus Nation. Thus, she won¡¯t even know that we¡¯ve betrayed them. Compared to Aeternus, you¡¯re much more important, Captain. You are our future!"

    Lu Yin had heard these same words from Tong Yu, and he had even slightly believed her. However, there was absolutely no way Lu Yin would trust Silver at all. While this fellow seemed to hold a much lower status in the Specter n than Tong Yu, for some inexplicable reason, Lu Yin simply could not shake the urge to be rid of Silver every time they met.

    Lu Yin was able to understand Xia Luo¡¯s feelings better each time he saw Silver.

    "Captain, you can go in now," Silver stated with a smile.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw a familiar figure in outer space above him. It was Corpse Beast. Long ago, Silver had used Beast to hold back all of the Human Domain¡¯s most talented youths in the Mountain and Seas Zone. It had been unstoppable at that time.

    Beast moved closer to the and then suddenly disappeared. At that moment, the Chief Justice made his move, and a blood-red bell disappeared alongside Beast.

    Right after that, space warped and shattered. Countless humans on the looked up in shock to see the sky break open. Through the massive crack, they saw a city, as well as seven tall, dark towers. There was also a pair of slitted, scarlet eyes, and further in, there was surging death energy. The entire thing looked like a picture from hell.

    The blood-red bell shook and released a sharp ringing sound. Every single creature in Aeternus Nation, regardless of whether they were a corpse king or a regr human being held captive, felt as though a massive hand was reaching down to crush them. The people who had traveled with Lu Yin started charging into Aeternus Nation and massacring the corpse kings.

    The brightness of the universe swept away the haze that covered Aeternus Nation. The Chief Justice stood alone outside of a city. As he faced the seven towers, he raised a hand high before pressing down.

    The towers shattered, and Aeternus Nations was torn apart. Death energy started to rise up.

    "Lu Yin!" the Chief Justice shouted.

    Lu Yin leaped forward and approached his senior brother¡¯s side. He faced the surging death energy and began to absorb it.

    Lu Yin had absorbed death energy more than once before, but it had never caused a scene like the current one. The death energy that permeated the earth deep beneath Aeternus Nation had risen up to cover the ground and fill the sky. It snaked about like smoke, gradually merging back together to form a dark river that poured into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    There was a bang, and a roar struck Lu Yin''s brain. He peered down the long river of time to gaze upon the bleak and lonely back of a person holding a ck scythe in hand. Before the figure was an endless horde of astral beasts.

    There was a different aura to the figure this time as the God of Death that Lu Yin was looking at had an overbearing demeanor.

    Lu Yin wanted to see the Ancient Progenitor¡¯s face, but the figure moved further and further away, and the vision grew increasingly blurry.

    Lu Yin tried to catch up, and this caused him to unconsciously elerate the speed at which he absorbed the death energy.

    The ground across Aeternus Nationpletely shattered, and an endless flood of death energy filled the sky and surged towards Lu Yin, forming a vortex.

    The Second Nightking, Judicial Commissioner Shadow of Death, and everyone else present were allpletely shocked by this sight. They felt an oppressive pressure from the surging death energy, and an indescribable fear manifested within them. It felt as though death itself had appeared.

    Almost instantly, Lu Yin had managed to cover a vast distance within the vision, and he appeared in the God of Death¡¯s path. When Lu Yin looked up at the figure, his pupils shrank.

    He still could not see the God of Death¡¯s face, just a pale and expressionless mask that seemed to belong to a sculpture. Only a single thought entered Lu Yin¡¯s mind when he saw this sight: it was the mask of death.

    As Lu Yin stared, the God of Death raised his scythe and shed down with it.

    The vision that Lu Yin had fallen into suddenly disappeared. He opened his eyes and saw an endless flood of death energy pouring into his body. The ck and white mist in his chest had condensed more than ever before, and it had almost solidified as yet more death energy entered Lu Yin¡¯s body. This was the most death energy that he had ever absorbed even when all his previous sessions werebined.

    Lu Yin¡¯s tolerance for death energy had also greatly increased after he became an Envoy. He could tell that his strength would transform once again when he used the God of Death Transformation.

    A question suddenly popped into his head: if the typical cultivation path saw cultivators absorbing star energy first, and thenter on stellr energy once they became an Envoy and formed their stellr energy vortex, then was the ck and white fog in his chest the death energy equivalent to a stellr energy vortex? Did the cultivation of death energy follow a simr cultivation path of star energy in that it required a vortex to be formed from death energy? If this was urate, then Lu Yin had already surpassed countless others by reaching the Envoy realm with death energy as well.

    From this perspective, it could be said that Lu Yin had five vortices.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s mind wandered, the rate at which he absorbed death energy started to wane. He looked down below Aeternus Nation. Even though he had just absorbed a tremendous amount of death energy, it was practically nothingpared to what still remained underground.

    "Are you done?" the Chief Justice asked.

    Lu Yin had already absorbed the maximum amount of death energy that he could handle at his current strength. ¡°I¡¯m done."

    The Chief Justice then took action, and the ground shifted to cover up and conceal the remaining death energy.

    Arch-Elder Zen had asked Lu Yin to help handle the death energy that was expected to surge when they broke into Aeternus Nation. Given the Chief Justice¡¯s strength, death energy was nothing more than another kind of energy. As long as it was not being used by a powerhouse, the Chief Justice could easily subdue such energy.

    Aeternus Nation had already been destroyed, and countless corpse kings had been eliminated.

    The Second Nightking was currently facing Mr. Feng. The steward of Aeternus Nation had once attempted to make a deal with the Second Nightking. Although the man had protected Lu Yin in the past, Lu Yin had no desire to protect Mr. Feng in return.

    Mr. Feng had only protected Lu Yin because of Shaman God¡¯s nefarious scheme, and they were clearly on opposing sides and were enemies.

    As he looked at the ruins of Aeternus Nation, the tragic fate of the humans living there was once again witnessed by Lu Yin. Some of the people theremitted suicide while others lost their minds. All who were in the process of being transformed into corpse kings deep underground were killed without mercy.

    Not everyone could be like Lu Yin. Most people were unable to control death energy, and being exposed to it meant that they would inevitably be tools for ughter. It was only expected that such beings would be eliminated by those from the Interster Supreme Court.

    Lu Yin moved through Aeternus Nation and arrived at a street with the restaurant that Silver had visited with Lu Yin in the past. Lu Yin could still remember the sight of the woman buying blood. Everything had looked so normal, but in reality, the woman¡¯s internal organs had already all been harvested.

    This ce was hell, and it absolutely had to be destroyed. Lu Yin waspletely convinced of this fact.

    Mr. Feng was the only true powerhouse in the entire Aeternus Nation, and he was also the only expert with a power level of over a million.

    Lu Yin actually wanted to fight against a corpse king, but he never even saw a corpse king with the strength of an Envoy.

    Also, where had the Ghost Monkey gone to?

    It was not long before Lu Yin approached the seven shattered towers. Each one represented one of the Seven Skygods, and Lu Yin had previously been taken to Shaman God¡¯s tower.

 Chapter 1926: Great Seal

    Chapter 1926: Great Seal

    Step by step, Lu Yin approached the dark towers. He wanted to find the Ghost Monkey.

    There was a soft sound, and Lu Yin stopped. He slowly turned around to see a person emerge from a portion of the ruins.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed dramatically as he stared at the figure in surprise. "Undying Yushan."

    Sure enough, Undying Yushan had shown himself. The man had long since been considered dead, but Lu Yin had also started suspecting that the man was still alive some time ago.

    Once, when Lu Yin had Possessed a corpse king, he had seen Undying Yushan enter one of the seven dark towers, and that had confirmed to Lu Yin that the man was alive. Still, Lu Yin had not expected Undying Yushan to still be in Aeternus Nation.

    Undying Yushan slowly walked forward. He sighed as he looked at Lu Yin. "The child has already grown up. How should you refer to me?"

    Lu Yin looked at Undying Yushan with aplicated expression on his face. "Imperial Uncle."

    Undying Yushan nodded, clearly relieved. "I never expected someone who rose up from a tiny in the Outerverse to ever climb so high. Imperial Uncle is very happy with your progress."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. If he was being honest, Undying Yushan had treated him very, very well in the past. Ever since Lu Yin had arrived in the Great Yu Empire from Earth, Undying Yushan hadvished gifts and luxuries upon Lu Yin. While Lu Yin had never quite been able to see the older man as family as he had faked his identity as a member of the Zishan family, Lu Yin had still felt grateful and a good bit of respect for Undying Yushan.

    Lu Yin had been both sad and furious when he learned that Undying Yushan had been killed by the Neohuman Alliance, especially after the man passed the Yu Secret Art onto him. Undying Yushan had given Lu Yin a genuine secret technique, and Lu Yin had been able to feel true generosity and kindness from the man, and he hade to view him as a loved one.

    However, as soon as Ku Wei appeared, Undying Yushan¡¯s death had suddenlye into question, and Lu Yin¡¯s impression of the man had slowly changed. In particr, when Lu Yin had seen Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation as well as enter one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ towers, all respect had been lost for the man. From that point on, it had been reced with caution and wariness.

    "Didn¡¯t you die? Why are you here, Imperial Uncle?" Lu Yin asked.

    A small smile appeared on Undying Yushan¡¯s face as he looked at Lu Yin. "What do you think?"

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. "Imperial Uncle, you¡¯ve betrayed humanity!"

    Undying Yushan justughed. "It¡¯s only normal for you to think that, but I can tell you that that¡¯s not the case."

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Undying Yushan sincerely implored, "Your Imperial Uncle hasn¡¯t betrayed humanity. I never did; not now, and never in the future either."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Right. Uncle, quit messing around. If you haven¡¯t betrayed humanity, then how could you safely stay here in Aeternus Nation? Don¡¯t try to tell me that the Seven Skygods are weing hosts."

    Undying Yushan answered casually, "Aside from emotional attachments, people can also get along due to aligned interests. I¡¯ve been able to stay safe here in Aeternus Nation because my interests align with theirs. We are both very interested in you."

    Lu Yin lifted his head and said, "Exin."

    Undying Yushan stared at Lu Yin, and the man¡¯s eyes looked as though he was looking at a peerless treasure. "When speaking of the Fifth Maind, the most valuable treasure here is not the ce itself, the battle techniques that can be found here, or even the various Envoys or Semi-Progenitors, but rather you. You are the most valuable thing here, and I am worthy of the Seven Skygods¡¯ attention because of you. From now on, you will be my tool!"

    Suddenly, the former emperor¡¯s expression changed and became much darker than before.

    Lu Yin had no idea what the man did, but he was suddenly struck by a splitting headache. The pain originated from his own spiritual force.

    "You absorbed the spiritual force that was within Liuying Zishan, and that made you part of the Undying Manual!" Undying Yushan shouted as he pressed a hand down towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly started to recite the Origin Sutra, and the echoes of ancient voices drifted through time. Undying Yushan let out a short scream as his entire body started melting away. He could not believe what had just happened. "How is this possible? How can you resist being enved by the Undying Manual?"

    Lu Yin stared at the older man. "So is this the Undying Manual? It looks like you really did pick it up. That technique seems to allow you to use your spiritual force to control others. You really were the one in Gaia¡¯s Swamp back then, and you used your spiritual force to n a riot."

    Undying Yushan clutched his head as he howled. He gritted his teeth and red at Lu Yin. "So that was you! You killed my remnant there!"

    Lu Yin reached out to grab Undying Yushan''s neck, but his hand passed right through the man. Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. "This isn¡¯t your real body?"

    Undying Yushan gave a bitter smile. "Of course not! How could I be dumb enough to enter Aeternus Nation with my actual body? Boy, don¡¯t think that you can remove the Undying Manual¡ªit¡¯s impossible! You can never do it. You can¡¯t imagine the horror of the Undying Manual, and I will one day enve you through the technique!¡±

    With that, the body exploded.

    There was no flesh or blood, only an explosion of spiritual force.

    While Lu Yin was able to absorb this spiritual force, but he did not, as he was very wary of it.

    If not for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, Lu Yin would have truly fallen prey to Undying Yushan.

    In the end, Undying Yushan really had acquired the Undying Manual and had sessfully practiced the technique.

    "Creating a physical body with spiritual force. What a bizarre technique," the Chief Justice spoke up from behind Lu Yin.

    The young man turned around to face the Chief Justice, his expression somber. "That man was Undying Yushan. He¡¯s managed to cultivate the Undying Manual, and it allows him to control people with his spiritual force. He can separate his consciousness into thousands of people."

    The Chief Justice was genuinely surprised by this information. "The mythical art that appeared in the Starfall Sea? That Undying Manual?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "When rumors of the Undying Manual first appeared, the Hall of Honor also sent people to search for the technique, but they were unable to find anything. There were rumors that two men from the Outerverse known as the Undying Duo picked it up. He must have been one of those two," the Chief Justicemented.

    Lu Yin had not expected even the Chief Justice to have heard of the Undying Duo. "Senior Brother, is the Undying Manual really that impressive that even you were interested in it?"

    "When the Undying Manual first surfaced, it was apanied by rumors that training in the technique could grant one eternal life," the older man replied.

    Lu Yinughed. "It looks like a bunch of people believed those rumors. There were people from the Mavis family, the Specter n, and even the Seven Courts who made their way to the Outerverse¡¯s Great Yu Empire to search for the Undying Manual, but none of them found it."

    "It is indeed a miraculous technique, but gaining immortality from it is too absurd. Not even in our ancestralnd was anyone ever able to achieve eternal life," the Chief Justice replied.

    Suddenly, the ground beneath the man¡¯s feet broke open, and he dropped down.

    The more powerful the individual, the less likely they were to believe in something like immortality. If this were not the case, Undying Yushan would have never been able to safely return to the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin quickly followed the Chief Justice. It seemed that his senior brother had found something.

    The parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation was not a reflection of the entire universe, but rather only the that held the kingdom.

    The surface of Aeternus Nation continued to shatter as the Chief Justice descended underground. Finally, he arrived at what looked to be a box in the depths of the earth. It seemed to be made of stone or metal, nothing special. Despite that, it could not be destroyed by the Chief Justice¡¯s power.

    The man continued going further down until all that greeted them was the darkness of outer space. They had arrived at the bottom of Aeternus Nation.

    Lu Yin grew curious as he stared at the box floating in the middle of an empty chamber. "Senior Brother, what is that?"

    "The foundation."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "This simple looking thing is the foundation of Aeternus Nation?"

    "This is what allows the corpse kings to find this parallel universe."

    Lu Yin stared at the box. "It looks to be arge seal. What are those characters carved on it? Do you know thatnguage, Senior Brother?"

    "I don¡¯t."

    "You don''t even recognize them?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    The Chief Justice put the seal away. "Let¡¯s go-"

    "Wait!" Lu Yin quickly called out. "Senior Brother, if you take that away, doesn¡¯t that mean that we won¡¯t be able to go back to this ce again in the future?"

    "Yes."

    "Then, what¡¯s going to happen to all this death energy?"

    The Chief Justice remained silent.

    Lu Yin licked his lips and then smiled. "Um¡­ Senior Brother, could you leave it here for a bit longer? It¡¯s probably nothing more than an anchor for this ce, and it won¡¯t be of any use after its taken away. It¡¯d be better to leave it here so that I cane back again in the future to absorb the rest of the death energy. Senior Brother, could you just leave it here until I clear out the death energy and then take it? Would that work?"

    Lu Yin anxiously stared at the figure before him that was entirely shrouded in darkness.

    The big seal drifted out from the darkness, and Lu Yin took it in surprise.

    "Thank you, Senior Brother. By the way, how do I use this to find this Aeternus Nation in the future?"

    "Leave a mark of your own on it."

    "A mark?"

    "Blood, some sort of trace from a battle technique. Something. The stronger the trace that you can leave, the better. It will act as a beacon to this ce¡¯s location, so as long as you leave some trace of yourself on it, you¡¯ll be able to sense this parallel universe. However, before you do that, remove all of the existing marks on it."

    "How do I do that?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The Chief Justice took the box back, and a short whileter, it reappeared.

    Lu Yin took the box. It barely looked any different from before, and the only change that he could see was that it seemed to be a bit cleaner. When it had been marked before, someone must have used their blood, battle techniques, or other skills. Lu Yin had no idea how to remove those marks, but luckily, his senior brother was present.

    The Chief Justice then left. Lu Yin stared at the box in his hand, especially the writing on the bottom. He could not recognize any of the characters, and they looked even older than the ones used by the Wen family¡¯s Literary Prison. After all, not even the Chief Justice had recognized this writing. Lu Yin could show it to the Second Nightking, as the man had lived for a very long time, but the man was unlikely to recognize anything that even the Chief Justice was ignorant of.

    Mark the foundation, but how? With blood? No, the Lu family¡¯s blood was extraordinary, and this foundation was something that the Aeternals had created. Who knew what other functions it might have? The Chief Justice was truly powerful, but at best, he could onlypare to a Semi-Progenitor. There were many things the man might not be aware of.

    If blood was not an option, then only a battle technique could be used.

    Lu Yin thought about his options for a while as he stared at the box. Finally, he raised a hand and sent out a bit of death energy. The death energy roiled about in Lu Yin¡¯s hand and then covered his face. This was the Mask of Death. When Lu Yin had absorbed that massive amount of death energy earlier, he had seen the God of Death¡¯s face, or rather the Ancient Progenitor¡¯s mask. That experience had allowed him to understand the words ¡°Mask of Death,¡± as well as how to use the technique.

    The Mask of Death was a technique that covered a person¡¯s face with death energy, but beyond that, it also altered a person¡¯s appearance.

    This was an ability that Lu Yin was excited to use, as it was one of the God of Death¡¯s personal battle techniques. Lu Yin was curious to see if anyone would be able to see through it.

    This was his first time trying to use the technique, and it was not an easy technique to use or master. After all, this was something from the God of Death, and it naturally required delicate control of death energy to form the mask that was fixed to Lu Yin¡¯s face. After that, no one would be able to see the mask.

    Lu Yin spent five entire hours trying to use the technique, but it was difficult for him toplete the mask.

    Frustrated, he finally just pped a hand covered with death energy against the box, intending to use that as his mark. He then left the box in the chamber where it had been found so that it could continue acting as the anchor for Aeternus Nation. This parallel universe would be Lu Yin¡¯s private domain.

    When Lu Yin returned to the surface, he found that the Chief Justice had already left with the others from the Hall of Honor and that all of the corpse kings had been wiped out. Mr. Feng was gone, and Lu Yin had no idea if the man was dead or alive. As for the ordinary humans who had been living in Aeternus Nation, they had been left alive, but all of them had been taken away.

    All of Aeternus Nation was silent and empty of all life.

    Deep underground, there remained an entire sea of death energy.

 Chapter 1927: Knocking On The Door

    Chapter 1927: Knocking On The Door

    The Second Nightking was high above in the sky, but he appeared next to Lu Yin as soon as he saw the youth appear.

    "Let''s go," Lu Yin said.

    "What about this ce?"

    "It has nothing to do with us."

    The Second Nightking was taken aback. "You don¡¯t want the death energy beneath us?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No. We won¡¯t be able to find this parallel universe again after leaving here."

    The Second Nightking waspletely puzzled. This did not match with Lu Yin''s character at all. Since when would he ever abandon anything that he could benefit from? Did he really not want the death energy? Who would actually believe that!

    However, after the Second Nightking saw Lu Yin leave Aeternus Nation and watch the parallel universe vanish from sight, the old man finally epted that Lu Yin truly did not want the remaining death energy.

    After all, it was impossible to return to a parallel universe after it disappeared unless one had the means to pinpoint the location.

    "Where are you headed now?" the Second Nightking asked.

    "I¡¯m not in any hurry." Lu Yin lifted a hand towards an empty region in space and shed across it, tearing open the void. He instantly sensed his mark of death energy that he had left behind, and he stepped forward and vanished.

    The Second Nightking watched as Lu Yin disappeared, and the old man¡¯s eyes flickered. Clearly, Lu Yin had not actually abandoned the death energy, but how had he managed to locate Aeternus Nation again?

    Some timeter, Lu Yin calmly reappeared. There still was not a single living creature in Aeternus Nation, and Lu Yin was also the only one with a mark on the anchor deep underground. In essence, Aeternus Nation had be Lu Yin¡¯s private property. He had sole possession of an entire parallel universe! Although, this parallel universe was not asrge as a hidden world.

    Lu Yin¡¯s original ns were to make a visit to Aurora Enterprises and Gods¡¯ Origin, but both of those ces were located in the Neoverse¡¯s northern region while Lu Yin was currently in the southern region. Perhaps this was a good time to visit the Seven Courts¡­

    At the top of his list was a visit to the Ku family. He was more interested in Progenitor Ku than anyone else at the moment. The low-key but powerful Progenitor had been a master of one of the Mountains and Seas.

    Everyone in the entire universe knew of the invincible Progenitor Chen. Simrly, it was also known that the Rune Progenitor had created an entire civilization and that Progenitor Hui hadid out schemes that had unfolded countless yearster and that he had been truly peerless in his intelligence. Lu Yin had also heard legends about the God of Death, Wu Tian, and more. But not once had anyone spoken about Progenitor Ku.

    It was almost as if Progenitor Ku had never even existed.

    Even in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, Progenitor Ku¡¯s territory had been ced close to the center of the Mother Tree, which suggested that the man had been the weakest of the Progenitors.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s horizons had since expanded, and as more time passed, he had be increasingly certain that Progenitor Ku had been a terrifyingly powerful person.

    Among other things, Extremes Must Be Reverse was a miraculous technique on the same level as the Rune Civilization¡¯s Truesight. Lu Yin had used Progenitor Ku¡¯s technique to recover from an injury caused by a Semi-Progenitor while only an Enlighter. He had also managed to recover from the Aeternals¡¯ poison, and he had even ovee Progenitor Chen''s innate gift.

    Lu Yin had heard about how, after bing a Progenitor, Progenitor Chen had used his Heaven¡¯s Furnace to obliterate one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors. However, from what Lu Yin himself had experienced, it seemed that Progenitor Chen might not have been able to do the same to Progenitor Ku.

    Lu Yin had also heard rumors that Progenitor Ku had mastered the power of time, which was something else that he was eager to understand.

    Lu Yin looked down at the nearby, but Silver had already left, along with the Dark Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Tong Yu and their mysterious Chief Justice. Lu Yin was certain that he would eventually learn what the Specter n¡¯s true intentions were, and while he did believe that they would not harm him for the time being, he would never actually trust those people.

    "Let¡¯s head to the Seven Courts," Lu Yin said without any emotion.

    The Second Nightking was a bit surprised at this decision, but he said nothing. The only person in the entire Court of Seven Names who could pose any threat to Lu Yin was their Semi-Progenitor, Xia Ji.

    However, when Xia Ji had moved against Lu Yinst time, his actions had forced out both Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster. Given the fact that Lu Yin''s status had risen even higher than before, there was no chance of Xia Ji doing anything to Lu Yin.

    Still, regardless of whether or not the man would take action, it was not smart to reach out to a hostile Semi-Progenitor.

    Naturally, this was something that Lu Yin was also aware of, so he justified his visit to the Seven Courts with his position as one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, saying that he was visiting to exin Nan Yuan''s dismissal from his seat as an overseer to the Seven Courts.

    Lu Yin traveled across the southern region of the Neoverse, led by the Second Nightking. Given the powerhouse¡¯s speed, it did not take long before they arrived at the Seven Courts.

    Long ago, Shaman God had sent Lu Yin directly into Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, and after he emerged, Mu En had taken Lu Yin straight to Mt. Microcosms. Lu Yin had never been able to actually see the Seven Courts, so this was his first time properly observing their territory.

    The Seven Courts upied seven different territories that formed a ring around Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. There was the Y¨­u family¡¯s Netherworld River, the Ku family¡¯s Voidsoul Region, the Ce family¡¯s Starpiece Region, the Xia family¡¯s maind that looked like a sword, the Hui family¡¯s Nature¡¯s Manifestation, and the Xie family¡¯s Bone nes. Only the Yu family was missing from the Seven Courts, and their territory had been taken over by the other six families.

    Lu Yin remembered the legends that he had heard before as he stared at the Xia family¡¯s maind. It was said that this sword-likendmass was actually Progenitor Chen¡¯s de.

    It was difficult to observe runes in the Neoverse, as everyone had taken precautions against the people from Gods'' Origin.

    "If you proceed any further, you will be noticed by the Seven Courts,¡± the Second Nightking mentioned.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Then let¡¯s knock on the door."

    The Second Nightking was taken aback, but then he actually did raise a hand and make the motion of knocking on a door. As his hand moved forward, ripples spread through space and traveled towards the Xia family¡¯s maind.

    The Second Nightking''s strength was astonishing, as he was second only to a Semi-Progenitor. His power spread out, eventually shaking the entire Seven Courts.

    In the depths of the Xia family¡¯s maind, Xia Ji¡¯s eyes opened. They were cold, and a fierce killing intent flickered in their depths. ¡°How dare that childe here?"

    Lu Yin had passed his stellr tribtion, and in doing so, he had defeated a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm as him, which had shattered Progenitor Chen¡¯s legend of invincibility. This event had also shaken Xia Ji and caused him to lose hisposure. He had then contacted Lu Yin, only to be ridiculed by the youth.

    Lu Yin had not only taken control of the greatest inheritance that Progenitor Chen had left with the Cosmic Sect, but he had also created a wed state of mind in Xia Ji with his stellr tribtion. This had only deepened the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s hatred for Lu Yin. If it was ever possible, Xia Ji wished to kill Lu Yin.

    However, as a Semi-Progenitor, it was impossible for Xia Ji to openly attack an overseer who was visiting the Xia family. Dealing with one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers in such a manner would never be allowed, and Xia Ji could only suppress his desire to attack Lu Yin.

    No matter what, Xia Ji was still a Semi-Progenitor, which made him the pir of the Seven Courts. If he attacked Lu Yin, it would implicate the entire Seven Courts and invite disaster upon them. The Seven Courts could not allow anything to happen to Lu Yin while he was visiting them, since the Hui family and Ku family held very different stances regarding Lu Yin, aspared to the Xia Family.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Xia Ji closed his eyes again. He could put up with this situation. He had held himself back and plotted for many years to steal the Skystar Jade Wall, and he had not hesitated to attack even Big Sis¡¯s mercenaries. He could endure this current situation as well.

    The moment the Second Nightking announced his presence, he had drawn the attention of everyst one of the Xia family¡¯s powerhouses.

    Aside from the patriarch, Xia Yi, there was also Elder Xia Meng.

    A glint flickered in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes when he saw Xia Yi appear. The patriarch had emerged from Burial Garden through a gate in zing Mist Flowzone, and he had destroyed the gate to Burial Garden and even tried to kill Emperor Luo and Chen Huang. His actions had cost the Great Eastern Alliance quite dearly, and the patriarch had subsequently been imprisoned in the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    While Lu Yin could not be sure who had released Xia Yi, he believed that it must have been Leaf King.

    "So it''s the Second Nightking and Alliance Leader Lu. What brings you to my Xia family¡¯s homnd?" Xia Yi asked. He made no attempt to sound weing.

    The Second Nightking stepped back, and Lu Yin shed the patriarch a small smile. "Nan Yuan is someone under your Xia family, correct? He kidnapped an overseer¡¯s grandson in an attempt to control San Shang and the overseers¡¯ council. While the council has already notified your Xia family of the matter, I¡¯vee to offer an exnation."

    Xia Yi''s face remained calm. "There¡¯s no need for that. We already know what we need to do, and we will eventually send someone to rece Nan Yuan. There¡¯s no need for you to concern yourself with this matter any further, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin did not care at all about Xia Yi, as the man was merely the patriarch in name. Instead, Lu Yin turned to Xia Meng, who was gazing back at the young man.

    "Senior, it¡¯s been a long time," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Meng was respectful as she looked at Lu Yin. "You have changed a great deal. You were no more than a part of the junior generation when you schemed against Jiuyou, but you¡¯ve already achieved such a terrifying level of strength."

    Lu Yin was surprised by the woman¡¯s response. "How can you say that? I can¡¯te close toparing to seniors like you."

    Xia Meng stared at Lu Yin for an intense moment. "Did you meet him in that ce?"

    Lu Yin nodded, but just as he was about to continue, he nced at Xia Yi. "Patriarch Xia Yi, you must be busy, and there¡¯s no need for you to stay. I have no intention of visiting your Xia family¡¯s homnd without your wee."

    Xia Yi''s eyes red. "Xia Luo is my son. Am I unable to hear word of him?"

    "No," Lu Yin stated bluntly. He had gained the confidence to say no to anyone, and there were some people who did not need to be shown any respect.

    Xia Yi became furious. "Alliance Leader Lu, please listen to what I¡¯m saying: Xia Luo is my son!"

    "Patriarch, please return," Xia Meng said softly.

    Xia Yi shot a re at Xia Meng. "Why can I not hear of my son''s situation?"

    Xia Meng was disgusted by the man¡¯s actions. "Leave. Don¡¯t force me to do it for you."

    Xia Yi was enraged, but he did not dare try to act against the woman. Xia Meng¡¯s strength far surpassed his own, and he knew that he stood no chance against her.

    Xia Yi was helpless, and he had no choice but to leave. However, he shot a re full of resentment at Lu Yin before leaving. He should have killed the kid in Burial Garden.

    "Xia Yi is gone. Overseer Lu, please tell me," Xia Meng said as she turned back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said, "I did see Xia Luo before returning, and he was doing quite well for himself there. He joined Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and he did not seem to have a low position."

    Xia Meng nodded, uncertain whether or not to believe Lu Yin¡¯s words. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    In the entire Xia family, Xia Meng was the only person who actually cared for Xia Luo. She was also the only person who had wanted to save Xia Jiuyou, so Lu Yin held no ill will towards the woman despite knowing there was a high probability that they would be enemies.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, did youe here for anything else besides providing us with an exnation of what happened with Nan Yuan?" Xia Meng asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "I¡¯d also like to leave behind a bit of advice."

    ¡°Tell me.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression grew more somber. "While there will always be a seat on the overseers¡¯ council for the Seven Courts¡¯ representative, it¡¯s also a position that can be held by anyone, and the representative can be repeatedly reced. I simply hope that whoever is the next representative to rece Nan Yuan will not try to act against me, as such a headache would be very troublesome for me."

    Xia Meng casually replied, "I will pass your message on to the patriarch."

    "That¡¯s not necessary. Just give it to that old bastard Xia Ji. Xia Yi¡¯s nothing more than useless trash." As soon as he mentioned Xia Ji, Lu Yin''s entire demeanor changed, and he radiated open hostility.

    Xia Meng frowned. "Regardless of what may have happened, Xia Ji is my Xia family¡¯s ancestor, so I must ask you to be more polite, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Very well. For your sake, Senior, I won¡¯t insult members of your Xia family."

    Xia Meng could not figure out how to interact with Lu Yin. Despite being a mere youth, he was no longer someone whom she could manipte.

    He had to be the only person in history who had openly insulted a Semi-Progenitor from the Xia family right outside of the Xia family¡¯s maind.

    "Goodbye, Senior," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Meng responded in a rather emotionless voice, "Alliance Leader Lu, regardless of whether you¡¯re a friend or an enemy, you did save countless humans in the Outerverse. For that alone, you have my admiration.¡±

    With that said, the woman turned around and left.

 Chapter 1928: Great Wisdom Hidden Behind Stupidity*

    Chapter 1928: Great Wisdom Hidden Behind Stupidity*

    Xia Meng''s words caught Lu Yin off guard. There were very few people in the Neoverse who cared about the lives and deaths of the people of the Outerverse, and there were even quite a few who actually did not know about the Outerverse¡¯s existence. Many people believed that the Innerverse and Outerverse were the same thing and that such ces had nothing to do with experts whose power levels approached a million. Despite that, this woman who was a renowned beauty actually cared.

    Not all cultivators were cold-blooded.

    After leaving the Xia family¡¯s maind, the Second Nightking took Lu Yin to Nature¡¯s Manifestation. How could Lu Yin visit the Seven Courts without paying a visit to Brother Hui Kong?

    After the two arrived at the mountain range, Hui Kong''s heartyughter rang out before the Second Nightking could even ¡°knock.¡±

    "Brother Lu, I''ve been waiting a long time for you, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin looked up in surprise, and he immediately saw arge, bald head. He hurried forward. "Brother, I¡¯ve finallye to visit your home."

    Hui Kong patted his chest. "This Nature¡¯s Manifestation is also your home, Brother."

    Lu Yinughed.

    Hui Kong had not stepped out to greet Lu Yin alone, as he had brought out many people with him.

    "Come, let me introduce you around! This kid here is Hui Zhi, the current Hui patriarch," Hui Kong said as he pointed to an elegant-looking man behind him.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Patriarch Hui Zhi, we meet again."

    When Lu Yin had exited Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, he had met all of the leaders of the Court of Seven Names, and Hui Zhi had been one of them.

    The patriarch chuckled, but he was interrupted by Hui Kong just when he was just about to say something. "That kid¡¯s Hui Chi, a family elder."

    Lu Yin had noticed that Hui Zhi had tried to speak up right when Hui Kong had started introducing the family¡¯s elders, and Lu Yin did not know how to react.

    Hui Zhi had no choice but to interrupt. "Alliance Leader Lu, Elder Hui Chi had been very curious about you."

    Lu Yin was surprised by thisment, and he turned to Hui Chi. "What about me has piqued the elder¡¯s curiosity?"

    Hui Chi was an old man, and although his appearance was just as dignified as Hui Zhi¡¯s, his advanced age gave him a warmer appearance. "I¡¯m the old man responsible for growing the Roots of Intelligence here in Nature¡¯s Manifestation. I¡¯ve heard of your interest in them, Alliance Leader Lu, and so I wanted to ask if you have ever had a true Root of Intelligence."

    The Roots of Intelligence were considered the Hui family¡¯s greatest treasures, so not only was Hui Chi curious about this matter, but rather all of the members of the family.

    Lu Yin hid nothing at all. "I did consume one, and more than once even."

    Hui Kong was taken aback, and he patted a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Brother, I knew that you¡¯d had a Root of Intelligence before, but you never mentioned that you¡¯d done so more than once."

    Lu Yin spread his hands in a helpless manner. "Brother Hui, you never really pursued the matter, and I forgot to mention it."

    Hui Kong justughed. "Still, Brother Lu, the fact that you¡¯ve had more than one opportunity to have a Root of Intelligence shows that I was right about you¡ªyou really are talented!"

    Hui Zhi was left speechless; what did luck have to do with talent?

    Hui Chi quickly asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, where did you get your Roots of Intelligence?"

    "I got one from opening a sourcebox, and another from another ce from someone named Xiao Can." He kept the fact that he had received one from Mister Mu a secret, as there was no way for him to clearly exin just who Mister Mu was.

    Hui Zhi was stunned. "Another ce? Xiao Can? What was his surname?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I know that you¡¯re wondering if he¡¯s a descendant of Progenitor Hui from that ce, but unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t able to find out."

    Hui Zhi found this to be quite a pity.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough chit chat. Let''s go, Brother Lu! I¡¯m going to show you around Nature¡¯s Manifestation!" Hui Kong instantly put a hand on Lu Yin''s shoulder and dragged him towards the nearby mountain range.

    The two left behind Hui Santong and an entire group of people who were left utterly speechless. Was their ancestor not going to introduce them? Then why the hell had he dragged them all out to greet Lu Yin?

    Hui Santong in particr felt quite put out, as he was one of the few people present from the same generation as Lu Yin.

    The mountain range that was Nature¡¯s Manifestation was massive. Although Nature¡¯s Manifestation was supposed to refer to the mountain range, the name had most likely been chosen because of the Hui family¡¯s secret technique.

    "Brother Lu, I told you before that when I left my family, there was still an old ancestor living here. That old man was actually from the same generation as Xia Ji, and he almost managed to be a Semi-Progenitor, but unfortunately, he died. Right now, your brother is the top person in the entire Hui family.

    "Unfortunately, the Hui family has really fallen to a disgraceful level. The current patriarch isn¡¯t even an Envoy while our most powerful elder is only a three-tribtion Envoy who can¡¯t even stand up to you. Pathetic!

    "Brother Lu, just look at our Roots of Intelligence. They¡¯re terrible!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin followed Hui Kong around Nature''s Manifestation, and wherever they went, all of the Hui family¡¯s cultivators would bow to both of them. As a junior, receiving such treatment was quite embarrassing for Lu Yin.

    Still, his greatest interest in the Hui family centered on the Roots of Intelligence.

    An enormous stretch ofnd was dedicated to raising the Roots of Intelligence, but nothing could be seen at a casual nce, as the roots were growing underground. If not for Hui Kong pointing out the location, Lu Yin would never have known what was nted in those fields.

    "My Hui family sells a lot of roots every year, but they¡¯re really not worth too much. You¡¯ve used them yourself, and you should have noticed how they¡¯re not really useful for much aside from entering a meditative state. Fortunately, there are some cultivators who are unable to calm themselves down, or else my Hui family would have no source of ie. We¡¯re not like the Mavis family who have star crystal toilets." Hui Kong looked disgusted.

    "Brother Kong, is the only way to absorb stellr energy really from the true universe?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he stared at the impressive fields of Roots of Intelligence.

    Hui Kong nodded. "Yeah."

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Right, I heard that you had a monstrous stellr tribtion and that even a manifestation of Progenitor Chen showed up?"

    Lu Yin smiled wryly and then proceeded to share the details of his tribtion. Naturally, he hid the fact that he had formed four stellr energy vortices, but this was not because Lu Yin did not trust Hui Kong. Instead, it was because there were certain matters that could not be spoken of, and there was also no reason to share such information.

    "That sounds like a tribtion powerful enough to scare even a Progenitor. Brother Lu, you¡¯re not going to have an easy time of things in the future." Hui Kong let out a sigh.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "There¡¯s no other choice but to slowly move forward."

    Hui Kong shrugged. "I can''t help you with this, but luckily, you¡¯re already very powerful. You were able to handle someone like Hui Chi when you were still an Enlighter, and I¡¯m guessing you should be able to put up a fight against Envoys with power levels of more than 800,000 now, Brother Lu."

    "Just about."

    Hui Kong smiled. "That''s enough. The only truth that your brother¡¯s managed to learn over all these years is to be content with the current situation. Don¡¯t try to force or chase after things, but rather take them as theye. Fate is destined, and who knows if the path forward will be shrouded in darkness or not. Everything will eventually turn out alright."

    Lu Yin gave Hui Kong an odd look. "Brother Hui, your words are very strange."

    Hui Kong looked upwards and grew more emotional as he continued. ¡°When I first started cultivating, I thought that Explorers were the most powerful people, but after bing one myself, I realized that Envoys existed. Eventually, the day when I became an Envoy myself came, and I understood more clearly than ever how far I was from the realm of Progenitors. Who knows, could there even be something beyond the Progenitor realm?

    "It''s good enough to live a single lifetime if you can be happy with it. Why try to force things? Are Progenitors happy? Can they live forever? Then why did the Progenitor of Secret Arts betray humanity? Where are Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Hui? The longer you cultivate, the more difficult it bes to see through the depths of the universe. Since that¡¯s how things are, I simply abandoned the whole game."

    Every member of the Hui family was highly intelligent, but Hui Kong lived a carefree life free of all worries and responsibilities. The truth was that he lived ording to a different sort of wisdom. If one was both intelligent and carefree, they would be able to see the truth of their entire lives.

    Despite being an expert with a power level of a million, Hui Kong had epted Lu Yin as his younger brother after meeting him. The powerhouse had broken free from the shackles of social convention. The man did not care about status, seniority, age, or even cultivation strength at all. Hui Kong only cared about a heart-to-heart connection. This was what Hui Kong held to be important.

    He may not end up living the longest, but he was determined to live the happiest.

    He was someone who had managed to find peace and enjoy himself even in the depths of the Technocracy.

    "Brother Hui, if you don¡¯t want to force things, then why have you tried so hard to uncover why Progenitor Hui created the Technocracy?"

    "Everyone has their own hobbies! Some people like food and others sex. Brother, I just want to learn the truth of this matter, which is what I enjoy, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin stayed in Nature''s Manifestation for several days, and during this time, the nearby Ku family became increasingly anxious.

    Ku Lei had been rescued from the Starfall Sea by hiding on Lu Yin¡¯s Zenith Mountain. After he returned to his family, he had told them about seeing Lu Yin use Extremes Must Be Reversed, and the news had stunned the entire Ku family.

    Others were ignorant about Progenitor Ku, so they naturally would not care about Extremes Must Be Reversed, but the Ku family was well aware of the value of the battle technique.

    Still, Patriarch Ku Pu was no idiot. He was already aware of how Lu Yin had gained control of the Wen family by stringing them along, and Ku Pu had no desire to be manipted like the Wen family. Thus, the Ku family had restrained themselves and held back from reaching out to Lu Yin.

    Still, they were not able to endure for very long, and they soon called Lu Yin. There was no avoiding the fact that they were in the inferior position in this transaction, and no matter how long they waited to contact Lu Yin, their position in the following negotiations would not change.

    However, the connection had already been made, and Lu Yin was in no hurry to reel the Ku family in. He intended to string them along, just as he had done with the Wen family.

    Lu Yin was getting better and better at increasing people¡¯s desires.

    Knowing that Lu Yin was in Nature''s Manifestation and so close to the Voidsoul Region, Ku Pu could not stop himself from calling Lu Yin to invite him to visit the Ku family as well.

    When Lu Yin saw the call request from Ku Pu, a smile appeared on his face. He had been waiting for this particr call.

    "Patriarch Ku Pu, what can I do for you?" Lu Yin asked as he answered the call.

    Ku Pu smiled and put on a show of being rxed. "Overseer Lu, I heard that you are a guest in Nature''s Manifestation, right?"

    "That¡¯s right. Brother Hui Kong invited me to visit him several times, and I happened to be passing through the southern region, so I stopped by," Lu Yin said.

    "My Ku family''s Voidsoul Region is rather close to Nature¡¯s Manifestation. I¡¯d like to formally invite Overseer Lu to visit my family. I wonder, would you be willing to show us some face?" Ku Puughed.

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course. How could I possibly refuse an invitation from Patriarch Ku Pu? I will head over as soon as possible."

    "In that case, I will await your arrival with a weing party. We¡¯ll start preparing for it."

    Ku Pu then ended the call, and Lu Yin let out a long breath.

    "Ku Pu? The Ku family¡¯s patriarch?" Hui Kong had overheard the conversation. At the moment, he and Lu Yin were enjoying some tea. Naturally, it was made from the Hui family¡¯s Roots of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That was him."

    "Ku Pu invited you to visit the Voidsoul Region? That¡¯s out of character for the Ku family." Hui Kong was quite surprised.

    Lu Yin proudly stated, "I have something that they need."

    Hui Kong immediately understood. "That makes sense then. While the Ku family has always been rather closed off, they are more than simply arrogant. It¡¯s incredibly rare for them to invite anyone to be their guest. Brother Lu, you need to be careful with the Ku family."

    "Is there something wrong?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

    Hui Kong took a moment to reply. "The Ku family is not as simple as they seem. I remember hearing the old man once say that he heard Progenitor Hui mention Progenitor Ku. It was something along the lines that Progenitor Ku was not simple and that whoever underestimated him would suffer. Something like that¡­ I can¡¯t quite remember. What¡¯s wrong with me? I¡¯ve forgotten. Let me think about it for a moment."

    Lu Yin was in no hurry. "Have some tea, Brother Hui."

    Lu Yin had already known that Progenitor Ku had not been as simple as people understood, but Lu Yin also had not expected to find out that Hui Kong knew something about the Progenitor.

    "That¡¯s it!" Hui Kong suddenly smacked the table. "I remember now! The old man heard Progenitor Huiment that anyone could die, but that it would be impossible for Progenitor Ku to die."

    Lu Yin stared. "What is that supposed to mean?"

    Hui Kong shook his head. "I have no idea¡ªthat¡¯s all that the old man said. I didn¡¯t have any interest in Progenitor Ku back then, so I didn¡¯t ask any more questions. If not for you nning to go visit the Ku family, I wouldn¡¯t have even remembered that conversation."

    * This is a Chinese idiom that literally says "a great hero may appear timid, the wise may appear stupid."

 Chapter 1929: Guesses And Negotiations

    Chapter 1929: Guesses And Negotiations

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. With both Extremes Must Be Reversed and the power of time, it would indeed be incredibly difficult for Progenitor Ku to be killed. In fact, Lu Yin himself had already questioned whether the Progenitor might still be alive. Lu Yin had been able to use Extremes Must Be Reversed to ovee Progenitor Chen¡¯s innate gift, Heaven¡¯s Furnace, and he had used the umted power to instantly defeat a fusion of eight of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones with a single attack. Lu Yin really could not imagine what could possibly kill Progenitor Ku, especially since the man had once controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The power that the Progenitor had to wield was something that Lu Yin could not even imagine.

    The next day, Lu Yin met with Hui Zhi on his own.

    While Hui Kong was the Hui family¡¯s ancestor and held the status of an elder, there were certain things that Lu Yin did not want to share with his sworn brother. After all, elders were different from a family¡¯s patriarch, and most families were not like the Xia family where the position of patriarch held no power at all. In the case of the Xia family, Xia Ji was simply too oppressive. Hui Kong did not have a simr personality at all.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you have anything that you need to say to my Hui family, you can just speak to Elder Hui Kong, and he can make any necessary decisions." Hui Zhi poured a cup of tea for Lu Yin as he politely addressed the young man.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Personal rtionships need to be kept clear from business matters. My rtionship with Brother Hui doesn¡¯t have anything to do with your Hui family."

    Hui Zhi smiled. "In that case, what is it that you wish to speak to the Hui family about, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin picked up his teacup. "The imitations that you produce are far different from the true Roots of Intelligence."

    Hui Zhi shrugged. "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, but I can¡¯t offer you any authentic Roots of Intelligence. If we had any at all, Elder Hui Kong would not hold back with you."

    "I know." Lu Yin put his teacup back down. "But does the Hui family really have no true Roots of Intelligence?"

    Hui Zhi hesitated as he picked up his own teacup. He took a sip and then indifferently replied, "No."

    "Brother Hui Kong mentioned to me that when he left the Hui family many years ago, his family still had some Roots of Intelligence. Years ago, when I first heard of them, I was told that the Hui family should have some real Roots of Intelligence. Your Hui family has the impressive lineage of being the descendants of Progenitor Hui, so is it really possible that you have no Roots of Intelligence?" Lu Yin casually asked.

    Hui Zhiughed and then looked at Lu Yin. "Are you suspecting me or Elder Hui Kong of lying to you, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "There¡¯s no way my brother¡¯s aware of anything, as he would simply give me a root if there was one," Lu Yin replied.

    Hui Zhi twitched. "Still, my Hui family has no true Roots of Intelligence."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I''m happy to hear you say that, regardless of whether it¡¯s simply because you¡¯re worried Brother Hui Kong would simply give me one or because you truly don¡¯t have any."

    Hui Zhi said nothing, though he also did not deny Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions.

    No one could me the man. Hui Kong really was a generous man, and it was absolutely possible for him to simply give Lu Yin a true Root of Intelligence. Such a gift would be a terrible loss for the Hui family, but there was also no way for Hui Zhi to object to anything that Hui Kong did, so denying the existence of any Roots of Intelligence was really the patriarch¡¯s only option.

    "Patriarch, have you ever drank tea made with a true Root of Intelligence?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Desire shed across Hui Zhi''s eyes, and he mournfully shook his head as he let out a sigh. "Of course I¡¯ve never had the opportunity."

    "Then let me propose a deal to you, Patriarch. I¡¯ve heard that heart of teardust is needed in order to grow true Roots of Intelligence, and I just happen to have some," Lu Yin casually mentioned as he held his teacup.

    Across from him, Hui Zhi was left stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "What did you just say? You have heart of teardust?"

    Lu Yin pulled out the Enhanced teardust from his cosmic ring to show the man.

    While Lu Yin was not entirely certain that the Enhanced teardust had actually been upgraded to heart of teardust, it was clearly different from normal teardust.

    Hui Zhi looked at the jewel-like teardust that Lu Yin had taken out, and the older man¡¯s eyes went wide. Each individual piece looked like a work of art, and each was a perfect sphere. The entire pile together had a beautiful and shimmering appearance. "Yes, this is indeed heart of teardust, but¡­"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. But? Was something wrong?

    "But why is there so much of it?" Hui Zhi was in utter disbelief. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost as he nkly stared at Lu Yin. "While I don¡¯t know how much heart of teardust Progenitor Hui gathered in the past, from both our records and our own research, it¡¯s impossible for so much heart of teardust to appear at once."

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "Someone else gathered this long ago. I just picked it up."

    This was the only exnation that he offered.

    Hui Zhi stared at Lu Yin intently for a moment as he reviewed everything that his family had learned about Lu Yin.

    Rumors had started to circte about Lu Yin as far back as when the Outerverse and Innerverse had first been separated. At that time, Enlighters had tried to suppress Lu Yin, but he had revealed one treasure after another, whether they were power vessels, natural treasures, or some other valuable item. Everything that Lu Yin had revealed had allowed him to turn certain defeat into victory, and there had been a veritably endless stream of various items. Many people had started to wonder where Lu Yin could have acquired so many treasures, and many were certain that he must have received the full inheritance of some ancient and very powerful organization.

    However, Lu Yin had risen from the Outerverse. What kind of powerful ancient inheritance could he have acquired in such a ce?

    This had led nearly every organization in the entire universe to send people into the Great Eastern Alliance to try to uncover the truth of the matter, but all of them had failed. ording to Hui Zhi¡¯s analysis of the matter, this was most likely because the inheritance that Lu Yin had obtained most likely did note from the Outerverse, but was rather something along the lines of a hidden world.

    Regardless of where Lu Yin went, he always had power vessels that allowed him to fight against more powerful opponents. There was no end to the treasures that he had revealed, and the flow had never stopped regardless of where Lu Yin traveled. There was only one possible exnation, and that was that he carried everything that he possessed with him at all times.

    It was impossible to do that with a mere cosmic ring, and he had only been given Zenith Mountain after winning ZENITH, which meant that the mountain was not the hidden world that Lu Yin used. The only possibility was that Lu Yin had received aplete inheritance and that it included a massive and powerful hidden world.

    It was also highly likely that this hidden world had a connection to Lu Yin¡¯s desire for star essence.

    It made no sense at all for such a talented cultivator to treat mere wealth as something as important as their life.

    This summarized the Hui family''s assumptions regarding Lu Yin.

    Also, the Hui family had never shared their analysis of Lu Yin with anyone at all.

    Still, it was possible that the Hui family was not the only power to have arrived at such conclusions, but it was impossible for any other organization to have verified anything either. Everyone wanted proof, but there was no opportunity to do so.

    Lu Yin had climbed too high too fast, and at his current heights, even Semi-Progenitor would find it difficult to deal with the youth.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what sort of deal do you hope to make?" Hui Zhi looked up at Lu Yin as he asked this question. The patriarch forcefully suppressed his desire for the heart of teardust in front of him.

    However, regardless of how calmly the man acted, Lu Yin was able to sense his desire. For the Hui family, heart of teardust was as priceless as a secret technique. No, the material was even more priceless as heart of teardust represented a possibility to grow true Roots of Intelligence. This was the family¡¯s greatest wish throughout their entire existence. If they were able to produce authentic Roots of Intelligence, then the Hui family¡¯s status wouldpletely transform, and the entire universe would try to ingratiate themselves with the family.

    Even a tiny bit of heart of teardust presented infinite possibilities to the Hui family.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled upwards. "I would like to know just what the Hui Family can offer me."

    Hui Zhi and Lu Yin stared at each other. The young man was not merely a gifted cultivator, but also someone who stood at the absolute peak of power in the universe. It was possible that the Hui family could not afford what Lu Yin wanted from them.

    "What is it that you want, Alliance Leader Lu? A true Root of Intelligence?" Hui Zhi asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s a given condition to any deal. I¡¯d ept three Roots of Intelligence for half of this heart of teardust."

    "Three roots? Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re overestimating things. If my Hui family actually had three Roots of Intelligence, why would we hide it? Given the friendship between Elder Hui Kong and yourself, why not just offer you a single root?" Hui Zhi retorted.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and then began to go down the emotional path. "Patriarch, there¡¯s no need to speak of such things. I¡¯ll exin this matter to Brother Hui Kong myself. However, if your Hui family genuinely respected him as you im, then you won¡¯t hide this matter regarding the Roots of Intelligence. You may be willing to lie to him, but I¡¯m not. After we conclude our negotiations, I will speak to him about this matter, but I won¡¯t say anything yet, as I don¡¯t want my brother to get trapped in the middle."

    Hui Zhi¡¯s brows rose. "Regardless, three roots is simply too many. Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ll be blunt. My Hui family does not have three true Roots of Intelligence, and even if we did, you want to offer us only half of the heart of teardust that you brought¡¯ve out for three of them? Don¡¯t you feel that that¡¯s a bit too much?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. "Patriarch, you just mentioned that this is a great amount of heart of teardust, evenpared to the amount that Progenitor Hui was able to gather. Tell me, how many Roots of Intelligence did Progenitor Hui leave behind? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? I can only imagine just how many Roots of Intelligence can be grown from this much heart of teardust."

    "Earlier, myment was intended to refer to how it¡¯s impossible to acquire so much heart of teardust at a single time. That¡¯s simply beyond anyone¡¯s control. Still, given Progenitor Hui¡¯s abilities, even if he was not able to gather this much at once, he was still able to find heart of teardust twice, thrice, and possibly even countless times. Progenitor Hui cultivated the Roots of Intelligence, and he possessed an endless amount of teardust and heart of teardust," Hui Zhi countered. He had just realized that Lu Yin was as cunning as a fox, and he wouldtch on to any w, even if it was revealed in a single word.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Patriarch, you¡¯re wasting your breath, as your earlier reaction confirmed my conjectures. This is a tremendous amount of heart of teardust, which means that it¡¯s up to you whether or not you want to make this deal. If you don¡¯t want to, then just forget it."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, this heart of teardust is useless to you. Do you know how to grow Roots of Intelligence?" Hui Zhi asked softly.

    Lu Yin boldly replied, "Brother Hui Kong will teach me."

    Hui Zhi was left speechless. Given their ancestor¡¯s personality, he would absolutely be willing to share such information with Lu Yin. The entire Hui family had realized that they needed to treat Lu Yin as though he were their ancestor¡¯s own son.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, three Roots of Intelligence is simply too much. My family really doesn¡¯t have that much. I can also tell you inplete honesty that there is no other ce in the Fifth Maind that possesses a true Root of Intelligence, and that includes even the Hall of Honor,¡± Hui Zhi said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Patriarch, are you trying to use a Root of Intelligence to threaten me?"

    "Aren¡¯t you doing the same to me with the heart of teardust?" Hui Zhi shot back.

    The two fell silent for a while, but it was not long before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes rose back up to stare at Hui Zhi. "Because of Brother Hui Kong, I¡¯ll reduce it to two Roots of Intelligence, as well as 20 billion star essence."

    Hui Zhi nearly spat out his tea into Lu Yin''s face. 20 billion star essence was a tremendous sum. Even though it was an amount that his Hui family could pay, the new terms that Lu Yin was offering was essentially setting the value of a single true Root of Intelligence at 20 billion star essence. Was this a reasonable price? It was impossible to say.

    For a normal cultivator, a root would never be worth such a price. Forget 20 billion star essence¡ªa true Root of Intelligence would not even be worth 200 million star essence. After all, the roots were not secret techniques, and they could only be used to make a tea, of which there would only be three sips. This tea could allow a person toprehend whatever they put their minds to, but that also depended entirely on the person in question. For a genius like Shang Qing, the price might be reasonable. After all, the deeper a person¡¯s foundation was, the greater the value a true Root of Intelligence would hold for them.

    This was particrly true for Semi-Progenitors, as they needed toprehend the path that they needed to take to be a Progenitor. This ced the value of a Root of Intelligence far higher than 20 billion star essence for such people.

    However, the Hui family was not being offered the chance to buy Roots of Intelligence, but rather the heart of teardust, and they were also being told to pay two Roots of Intelligence for just half of the heart of teardust in Lu Yin¡¯s possession. Hui Zhi did not know how to negotiate with Lu Yin.

    Hui Zhi took a sip of his tea and then helplessly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, Elder Hui Kong has a special rtionship with you, so I won''t beat around the bush anymore."

    The man hesitated and looked down at the heart of teardust between them. "This is indeed a tremendous amount of heart of teardust, and I have no idea how you acquired so much. Still, true Roots of Intelligence cannot be grown with this alone. Many other precious materials are needed as well. Even if the heart of teardust alone could allow us to grow Roots of Intelligence, the amount here would only allow us to grow five roots at best. The deal that you¡¯re proposing is one that I can¡¯t even consider, as even a perfect harvest would incur a loss for my Hui family.

    "If you insist on pushing this particr trade, I can only ask you to remain nothing more than our guest." The patriarch continued sipping his tea.

    Lu Yin could not determine if Hui Zhi was telling the truth or not. The members of the Hui family were all highly intelligent, and Lu Yin could not get a read on Hui Zhi.

    Also, Lu Yin did not actually know what the value of the heart of teardust in his possession was, as it was genuinely useless to him. On the other hand, he desperately needed Roots of Intelligence in order to increase hisprehension of Inverse Step. He wanted to revisit what he had seen when Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had used the technique, so this was extremely tempting for him.

 Chapter 1930: Strange Lightning

    Chapter 1930: Strange Lightning

    Also, teardust itself was not that rare, and Lu Yin could simply Enhance some more teardust to get more heart of teardust.

    After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin let out a long breath and sincerely said, ¡°I can feel your honestly, Patriarch Hui Zhi. Very well, one Root of Intelligence and 20 billion star essence for all of this heart of teardust."

    Hui Zhi was taken aback, and he stared at Lu Yin in surprise. Was that it? Was Lu Yin giving in so easily?

    Lu Yin spoke earnestly, "I¡¯m not merely looking to make a deal with you, but also trying to establish a friendly rtionship with your Hui family with this transaction. While the Seven Courts are considered one of the Three Dark Hands, you¡¯re not guilty of any evil deeds. As for the people who see me as an enemy, it¡¯s just the Xia family so far, and I hope that the Hui family won¡¯t side against me just because of the Xia family."

    Hui Zhi nodded. "There¡¯s no need to worry about that, Alliance Leader Lu. While I¡¯m not sure why the Xia family is so hostile towards you, my Hui family is not a part of the Xia family. The only reason why the Court of Seven Names ever united was to protect Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Alright then."

    He then pushed the pile of heart of teardust over to Hui Zhi.

    The patriarch was excited, and he carefully took the pile while staring at the heart of teardust as though seeing a peerless treasure.

    The man had not been entirely open with Lu Yin. While it was true that it took a great number of rare substances to grow a true Root of Intelligence, the Hui family had gathered a great deal of the various materials over the years, and they were only missing the heart of teardust. Since they had just obtained that, the Hui family would finally be able to cultivate some true Roots of Intelligence, and while it took a very long time to raise a single root, they could afford to wait. After all, they had already been waiting for so many years.

    After collecting the heart of teardust, Hui Zhi left for a bit, but he soon returned and handed Lu Yin an authentic Root of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he quickly put the root away with a very satisfied smile.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, here is the 20 billion star essence as well. We¡¯ve stored it for you." Hui Zhi handed Lu Yin ten cosmic rings as he spoke, agony clearly visible on the man¡¯s face.

    This was the wealth of the Hui family. While it might be impossible for other families to gather so many funds in an instant, as this was an absurd amount, the Hui family¡¯s business was selling Roots of Intelligence. On top of that, the family was known for their intelligence, and they had managed to gather a tremendous amount of resources over the years. Still, Lu Yin was taking away arge percentage of their umted wealth, and Hui Zhi could not help but show an ugly expression.

    Lu Yin took the cosmic rings, and he realized that there were ten rings. These cosmic rings were too small, and he actually felt a bit disgusted at their size.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I have an ufortable request, though I hope that you will agree," Hui Zhi said.

    Lu Yin was in a great mood. "Tell me."

    Hui Zhi coughed awkwardly. "I¡¯m hoping that you can keep this matter from Elder Hui Kong, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin looked back at the man and nodded. "I also don¡¯t want to embarrass my brother. This matter is simply between me and the Hui family. It has nothing to do with my brother."

    Hui Zhi heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    After finishing his negotiations with Hui Zhi, Lu Yin returned to the region of Nature¡¯s Manifestation where the Hui family grew their Roots of Intelligence to meet back up with Hui Kong.

    Hui Kong was sitting on the ground. He had a straw hat on his head and was sipping on tea made from a Root of Intelligence. He looked incredibly rxed.

    The man patted the ground next to him when he saw Lu Yin approaching.

    Lu Yin smiled and sat next to the older man.

    "Brother Hui, I''m heading out."

    "Off to see the Ku family?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "Want me to go with you?"

    "Worried that I''ll be in danger?"

    "Not at all. That old man, the Second Nightking, is going with you, so the Ku family won¡¯t be able to do a thing. Still, they¡¯re a part of the Seven Courts, just like us, and when ites to matters of seniority, Ku Pu needs to call me ancestor, which can make things easier for you."

    "Haha, there¡¯s no need for that," Lu Yinughed. "I don''t want to see Ku Pu¡¯s mournful expression."

    "What are you talking about? What¡¯s this bullshit? I¡¯m not going to die soon!" Hui Kong angrily retorted.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. "Brother Hui, does your Hui family have any teardust?"

    Hui Kong was caught off guard. "Teardust? Why are you asking about that? Do you want some? It¡¯s useless, as only heart of teardust is actually useful."

    "Bring me some. I¡¯m rather curious about it," Lu Yin said without giving any real exnation.

    He had wanted to get more teardust from First Edition City, but it was possible that they would not have any. Even though heart of teardust was the most important substance for growing Roots of Intelligence, normal teardust was still an extremely rare substance. It seemed much more likely for the Hui family to have some, as the family had always been searching for heart of teardust.

    Hui Kong did not hesitate at all. He stood up, dusted off the seat of his pants, and simply left. About half an hourter, he returned and tossed Lu Yin a bit of teardust. "Those guys are too fussy. Just take this, as it clearly doesn¡¯t have any use."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as he had just been given twice as much teardust as he had acquired before. "Thank you, Brother Hui!"

    Even as he spoke, Lu Yin pulled out a cosmic ring and tossed it over to Hui Kong, who grabbed it by reflex, but he was puzzled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    "That should be a bit of help to you, Brother Hui," Lu Yin said.

    Hui Kong frowned. "What are you doing? Are you trying to pay me for something between us brothers?"

    "Of course not, but isn¡¯t it normal for a younger brother to give their older brother a gift?" Lu Yin replied.

    Hui Kong rubbed his bald head. "Alright, if it¡¯s a gift from you, then I can¡¯t say no, Brother Lu."

    It was only a short whileter that Lu Yin left Nature¡¯s Manifestation.

    It was only then that Hui Kong checked to see what was in the cosmic ring: heart of teardust.

    Lu Yin had not given all the heart of teardust that he had obtained to Hui Zhi during their transaction, instead deliberately saving some for Hui Kong.

    ¡­

    After leaving the Hui family¡¯s territory, Lu Yin and the Second Nightking entered the Voidsoul Region.

    Ku Pu led an entire group of the Ku family out to wee Lu Yin.

    Back when Lu Yin had emerged from Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, he had been surrounded by people from all of the Seven Courts¡¯ families, and they had all stared at him with open suspicion. The way that these people looked at Lu Yin had changed drastically in the present.

    Ku Pu had initially been quite hostile towards Lu Yin, but at the moment, the patriarch was being almost overly polite.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, wee to the Voidsoul Region." Ku Pu stepped forward and greeted Lu Yin with a polite smile.

    Lu Yin responded with a simr degree of formality. "I, Lu Yin, feel truly honored to visit the home of Progenitor Ku¡¯s descendants."

    Lu Yin then looked past Ku Pu and at an old man who stood behind the patriarch. The two men looked quite simr to each other, but the older man¡¯s aura felt immeasurable. Lu Yin would only get this feeling from experts with power levels of at least a million.

    However, this was only to be expected from one of the Seven Courts¡¯ families. The Xia family had a Semi-Progenitor while the Hui family had Hui Kong. As for the Ku family, they had this old man. This was the true power of one of the Three Dark Hands.

    It was believed that the Seven Courts possessed as many as five old monsters with a power level of at least a million, as well as Semi-Progenitor Xia Ji. As for Envoys, they had to have at least six or seven such powerhouses with the same level of strength as Ling Qiu. This was the level of strength needed to guard Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    Despite the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s increased strength, they still could notpare to the Seven Courts when it came to sheer strength. This was even including the absence of the Yu family and after the Y¨­u n had split. The power of the Seven Courts at its peak could only be imagined.

    Of the Three Dark Hands, the Court of Seven Names possessed a simr level of power to Burial Garden. Burial Garden also had a Semi-Progenitor as well as the four captains of the Dead Regiment, each of whom possessed a power level of over a million.

    This was the strength of one of the Neoverse behemoths. Inparison, the Great Eastern Alliance still had a long way to go.

    "This is my Ku family¡¯s elder, Ku Rong." After seeing Lu Yin observing the old man who was the Ku family¡¯s strongest powerhouse, Ku Pu quickly proceeded with the introductions.

    Ku Rong continued to simply stare at Lu Yin, but when the old man heard Ku Pu''s introduction, he slowly said, "As expected, you are a member of the younger generation whom not even us old men can see through."

    Lu Yin showed a slight smile. "Is there something that Senior wanted to see through?"

    Ku Rong shook his head as he sighed. "I can''t see anything. If my Ku family¡¯s juniors had even half of your talent, there would be no worries for us, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Thispliment to Lu Yin caused Ku Lei to flush bright red from where he stood at the back of the weingmittee, but there was nothing that he could do or say.

    It was undeniable that Lu Yin was already an Envoy. Ku Lei felt somethingpletely different when he looked at Lu Yin at this moment, as though Ku Lei was in the presence of a true powerhouse. Although Lu Yin had been terrifyingly powerful in the past, Ku Lei had never felt such a sensation from Lu Yin before.

    They were no longer even close to standing on the same level.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, yourpliment is too exaggerated. This junior fought with Ku Lei in the past in the Mountain and Seas Zone, and your junior is far from weak. He¡¯s also built up quite the reputation in the Neoverse."

    Ku Rong shook his head, unwilling to say anything more, though he frowned when he nced at the Second Nightking standing behind Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking greatly surpassed both Ku Rong and Hui Kong in age and strength, and yet because he stood behind Lu Yin, people unconsciously ignored the old man. This was a terrifying phenomenon, as it indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s brilliance was more than able topensate for his owncking strength.

    This was something far more frightening than mere personal strength.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please introduce us to the gentleman behind you," Ku Rong requested.

    The Second Nightking looked up at Ku Rong, and for a moment, the Ku family¡¯s elder felt a tremendous amount of pressure that caused his expression to subtly change.

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively, and the Second Nightking''s body suddenly disappeared.

    "Introductions are unnecessary, as he¡¯s merely a loser who tried to enter the Neoverse but failed," Lu Yin replied. "Senior, this junior is very interested in your Voidsoul Region. Could I ask you to show me around?"

    Lu Yin was already ignoring Ku Pu, who was the family¡¯s patriarch.

    When it came to knowledge regarding Progenitor Ku, who in the Ku family couldpare to an old monster like Ku Rong? The only thing of value that the Ku family possessed to Lu Yin was knowledge of Progenitor Ku, which made Ku Pu worthless to Lu Yin.

    The Ku family patriarch was unbothered by such treatment, and he quietly stood to the side and watched the interactions unfold.

    Ku Rong nodded. "If you¡¯re interested, I don¡¯t mind escorting you, Alliance Leader Lu, though you¡¯ll have to forgive an old man for moving slowly."

    "Thank you, Senior."

    There was a very high level of star energy in the Voidsoul Region, and it caused everything to grow extravagantly and the entire ce to look very beautiful. However, due to constant lightning strikes, dead trees could be seen everywhere. These trees were also not cleared away, but rather left where they stood. The older the tree that was struck by lightning, the more valuable the wood that would be produced. These dead trees were the raw materials used to produce the Ku family¡¯s Withered Bark.

    There was a crack, and despite the sky being clear and sunny, a bolt of lightning fell down, striking an ancient tree and burning it.

    "Ku Wei mentioned that the Voidsoul Region constantly has lightning falling without any warning, and I see that it¡¯s true. Senior, where does the lightninge from?" Lu Yin asked as he followed Ku Rong around the Voidsoul Region.

    Ku Rong replied, "It''s just a natural urrence. There¡¯s nothing mysterious behind it."

    "Really?" Lu Yin stared out at the burning tree in the distance. Was this lightning really nothing more than a natural phenomenon? How could that be? The lightning had struck so suddenly that not even Lu Yin had been able to sense it. Given his current might, let alone mere lightning, Lu Yin was able to easily sense astral phenomena and avoid catastrophes in outer space.

    However, it was clear that Ku Rong did not want to say anything more, so Lu Yin dropped the matter.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I heard from one of my family¡¯s youths that you¡¯ve learned Extremes Must Be Reversed," Ku Rong bluntly asked.

    "That''s true. You must already know, Senior, that this junior visited another ce, and it was there that I learned Extremes Must Be Reversed. I was even able to visit the Voidsoul Pce where Progenitor Ku himself once lived."

    "Could you tell me more about that?" Ku Rong asked. There seemed to be absolutely no change in the man¡¯s emotional state.

    Lu Yin hid nothing as he spoke of his time in the Perennial World, particrly in the Dominion Realm. He focused on the desated army that they had faced, as well as the battles that had taken ce in the Voidsoul Pce.

    It had not been an overlyplicated experience, so it did not take Lu Yin long to tell his story.

    Ku Rongughed. "I didn¡¯t expect those people to still believe Progenitor Ku to be the weakest! They actually gave him a position in the center of the Dominion Realm!"

 Chapter 1931: Alternative Brilliance

    Chapter 1931: Alternative Brilliance

    "You seem to be familiar with the details of the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy, Senior." Lu Yin was intrigued by this.

    Ku Rong replied, "I''ve been there myself, and I¡¯ve also heard about it."

    Lu Yin understood. This man had also been a trespasser in the Perennial World as had the Chief Justice. Lu Yin was not sure how many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had been to the Perennial World, but it was possible that all of them had made the trip in the past.

    "When this junior first arrived in the Withered Glory Region, the Junior Progenitors from the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family both mentioned that Progenitor Ku had been one of the weakest Progenitors and that his secret technique is one of merely healing. They even said that that aspect of the secret technique is inferior to what one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones was capable of doing," Lu Yin spoke with strong emotion.

    Ku Rong was actually amused by Lu Yin¡¯s words. "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m old and no longer so excitable. Your words aren¡¯t enough to get me to argue with you."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Such old men were a pain to deal with, as their mentality was too stable.

    "I already know what you want to know. Honestly, no one has truly wanted to learn about our ancestor. Since you are interested, I won¡¯t hide anything from you, Alliance Leader Lu," Ku Rong continued.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Senior, please tell me."

    Ku Rong sped his hands behind his back. Lightning once again fell from the clear sky, sparking a fire on the mountain down below. ¡°Our ancestor was actually desated from birth, and he was discriminated against so badly that even his own parents did not want to touch him. That was why he was named ¡®Ku.¡¯ As for his talent for cultivation¡­¡± A wry smile suddenly appeared on the old man¡¯s face at this moment. ¡°It was pretty terrible."

    This surprised Lu Yin. Had Progenitor Ku possessed poor talent for cultivation? This was something that Lu Yin had never heard of before. Progenitors were always considered to be synonymous with peerless talent.

    "However, despite his poor talent, our ancestor never gave up. Even if his path of cultivation was full of ups and downs, he never gave up and never epted his fate. His transformation all began when he started training Waning Zen.

    "Our ancestor did not create Waning Zen himself, but rather acquired it from an ancient inheritance. It was not some powerful battle technique, but it did match our ancestor¡¯s state of mind most perfectly. It was entirely because he trained Waning Zen that our ancestor was eventually able to sit down and create Extremes Must Be Reversed. Without that, our ancestor would have fossilized at that time."

    Lu Yin was shocked. He could not even imagine the determination that a person needed to train a technique to the point where they were about to turn to stone.

    The world of cultivation was ruled by thew of the jungle where the strong preyed upon the weak. Thievery and death could be found everywhere.

    When Lu Yin had used Extremes Must Be Reversed to change the appearance of his body and look withered, many people had been wary or even outright hostile towards him. Given the information that Progenitor Ku had possessed such an appearance from birth led Lu Yin to believe that the Progenitor¡¯s perseverance had far exceeded what most people could even imagine.

    Lu Yin felt like he could see a shriveled young man stumbling his way forward year after year with nothing more than his own determination.

    "Extremes Must Be Reversed was an unprecedented technique that allowed our ancestor to obtain a normal appearance for the first time in his life. Finally, he was able to blend in when walking down the street, and he could openly show himself. From that point forward, our ancestor maintained a low profile and essentially disappeared.

    ¡°During that same era, Progenitor Chen was seen as invincible, and his fame spread throughout the universe. The Daosource Sect was still the ruler of all of humanity while the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Wushang, as well as the Progenitors from the Lu, Wang, Bai families and more had not yet be Progenitors, though they were all already on their way towards bing well known. Only our ancestor remained unknown."

    At this point in his story, Ku Rong''s voice grew much more passionate. "It was never that our ancestor was unable topare to his peers, but rather that he did not wish to do so. Given our ancestor¡¯s personality, he was more than happy to maintain a low profile.

    "Progenitor Chen remained invincible and the Rune Progenitor mysterious. One after another, our ancestor¡¯s peers became Progenitors, and they even gained control of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. All of the major families were eager to see who would be the next to be a Progenitor, but no one even considered that Progenitor Ku, who waspletely unknown, would be a contender. However, our ancestor managed to surpass all other creatures and be a Progenitor, and he was able to do so entirely because of Extremes Must Be Reversed.¡±

    Ku Rong stared at Lu Yin. "Extremes Must Be Reversed not only provided the opportunity that our ancestor needed to be a Progenitor, but it was also the reason why my Ku family was able to exist in the first ce. Without it, our ancestor would have died long before finding our family.¡±

    ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, this is the story of our ancestor. It is not an exciting story, instead being as nondescript as our ancestor himself. He maintained a low profile, but his contributions to humanity are in no way inferior to those of any other Progenitor. During the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, my ancestor did not participate, but it was because he went out alone to ughter the Aeternals."

    This information left Lu Yin shocked. "The Aeternals?"

    Ku Rong closed his eyes, pain appearing on his face. "That¡¯s right. Our ancestor went to confront the Aeternals alone, and he never returned. Of everyone alive back then, only the Aeternals know just how powerful our ancestor was back then because he never revealed his power before humanity. Still, he was far from weak, as he fought against all Seven Skygods, as they were the only powerhouses from Aeternus that had the strength to stand up to our ancestor."

    Lu Yin had never imagined that Progenitor Ku would have disappeared in such a manner. "Then what about the Voidsoul Pce in the Dominion Realm? It¡¯s said that Progenitor Ku died there."

    Ku Rong shook his head. "Our ancestor never even went there. It¡¯s possible that one of his disciples died there, but our ancestor went to attack the Aeternals, and his fate remains a mystery."

    "Why did Progenitor Ku go attack the Aeternals?" Lu Yin found this to be puzzling, as not even Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, or the Progenitors from the Lu, Wang, and Bai families had done such a thing. Why had Progenitor Ku made such a choice?

    "That I don''t know. His descendants are all useless, and we haven¡¯t even been able to determine whether our ancestor is dead or alive," Ku Rong answered in a bitter tone.

    As Ku Rong had just said, Progenitor Ku had kept himself too far under the radar. Not even the Progenitors of his era had possessed any understanding of his strength, and if not for the fact that Xin N¨¹ had told Lu Yin that Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, Lu Yin would have never known about that detail.

    What did the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas represent? Only the most powerful experts had been able to control them, and only a few Progenitors had qualified.

    During the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, the Fifth Maind had always had more than just a single Progenitor at any given time, but there had been many times when not a single one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been controlled. Only during Progenitor Chen''s time had all of them had a master.

    Lu Yin could only imagine how surprised both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds must have been when Progenitor Ku had first be a Progenitor, let alone the shock that must have rippled out when he had managed to take control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. People must have questioned reality itself.

    The fact that Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas indicated that the man had indeed been extremely outstanding amongst his peers, but he had done so in his own subdued manner.

    It defied imagination that anyone would keep such a low profile after bing a Progenitor, but Progenitor Ku had managed to aplish just that. If Ku Rong¡¯s story was urate, then Progenitor Ku had gone to attack the Aeternals on his own, and his contributions to humanity were in no way inferior to what Progenitor Chen or other such powerhouses had aplished. In fact, Progenitor Ku was even more admirable.

    Ku Rong grew solemn as he turned to face Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m well aware that my family has no manner of friendship with you, and from what I hear from Ku Pu, there seems to be a bit of history between the two of you. And yet, he still is shameless enough to ask you for a favor. Regardless of what conditions you may put forth, as long as it is within our means, our Ku family will pay any price you ask. I¡¯m not a shrewd negotiator, so all I can do is express my sincerity to you."

    Lu Yin was facing a dilemma. This old man was indeed being sincere, and it was not easy to deal with such a person.

    Hui Zhi had kept the fact that his family still had Roots of Intelligence a secret from even Hui Kong, but Lu Yin was able to negotiate with people like that, and he felt no guilt about presenting offensive terms and saying all kinds of things to tempt the other party into agreeing to a deal. However, Lu Yin found it difficult to deal with an open and honest person, especially after hearing the story of Progenitor Ku and feeling genuine admiration for the man.

    It was no wonder why Ku Pu had not tried to stay close to Lu Yin. The Ku patriarch was aware of the bad blood between himself and Lu Yin, and if he had participated in the negotiations with Lu Yin, the Ku family was destined to suffer an unending barrage of temptation and exploitation while Lu Yin offered them their Progenitor¡¯s technique that they desired so badly.

    "Senior, I would like to ask you a question: how am I supposed to teach this technique to your family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Rong was taken aback. "Just tell me how you train in the technique."

    "But I don''t know that myself," Lu Yin helplessly exined.

    Ku Rong stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, but Lu Yin did not look away at all and willingly met the old man¡¯s gaze.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you really not know how to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed?" Ku Rong did not quite believe this, but he was not entirely certain.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior already shared how I found and learned Extremes Must Be Reversed. I obtained the technique from a piece of jade, and it was directly transferred into my mind. It¡¯s essentially an instinct, and I don¡¯t understand how to share it with anyone else. How else can I exin it?¡±

    ¡°Senior, you should understand that the Y¨­u Secret Art is something that can only be passed onto a single person, and there are other secret techniques that cannot be shared with more than a single person. What I received is essentially the same.¡± As Lu Yin spoke, he brought out a zing Sun.

    "This is a battle technique that was very easy for me to learn, but no one else can learn it because of a special energy that¡¯s needed to learn or use this particr battle technique."

    Ku Rong frowned. Given the amount of time that he had cultivated for, how could he not be familiar with such situations? He had actually already considered that this exact situation might apply to the Extremes Must Be Reversed that Lu Yin had learned, but it did not matter. Regardless of anything else, they needed to approach Lu Yin about this battle technique. Still, reality had proven that the worst case scenario was indeed the case.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I have already heard about the Wen family¡¯s circumstances," Ku Rong tly stated.

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    "If you wish to lead my Ku family along with Extremes Must Be Reversed as you did to the Wen family with their Literary Prison, there¡¯s no point. My Ku family can only offer you so much," Ku Rong softly exined.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Senior, do you want this junior to swear an oath to speak the truth?"

    Ku Rong stared at Lu Yin for a long moment, but then he helplessly shook his head. "I¡¯m just an old man, and I¡¯m not qualified to demand that you swear anything, Alliance Leader Lu. There¡¯s no need for you to do such a thing for my Ku family."

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do to clear up the situation; he genuinely did not have any way to teach Extremes Must Be Reversed to anyone else. Before meeting with the Ku family, Lu Yin had indeed just wanted to string them along just as he had done with the Wen family, but when dealing with someone like Ku Rong, Lu Yin could not do anything aside from be truthful. More importantly, Lu Yin felt true admiration for Progenitor Ku.

    If Ku Rong¡¯s story was urate, then Progenitor Ku was an unsung hero, a nameless powerhouse who had given everything for humanity while receiving nothing in return, not even recognition or a ce in history.

    Lu Yin could not bring himself to be as ruthless as normal when dealing with the descendants of such an admirable figure.

    Ku Rong sighed. "Alliance Leader Lu, I just want to say one more thing."

    He stared off into the distance as a fire slowly died on a mountain. "Earlier, you asked me where this lightninges from. I can tell you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    "The lightning that you see here alles from Withered Bark," Ku Rong said.

    "Withered Bark?" Lu Yin was confused for a moment, but then he remembered that Withered Bark was the unique power vessel of the Ku family. When an Enlighter from the Daynight n hadunched a sneak attack on Lu Yin and Ku Wei in the Outerverse, Ku Wei had used Withered Bark to protect himself. Ku Lei had done the same thing in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum in order to survive an attack from the Giant Emperor.

    Each of the families that made up the Seven Courts had their own unique power vessels, and the Ku family¡¯s was Withered Bark.

    "This lightning alles from the Withered Bark that was left by our ancestor, and it actually contains the power of Progenitor Ku," Ku Rong solemnly dered.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Progenitor Ku¡¯s power?"

    Ku Rong nodded. "You should be aware of the strength of a Progenitor, Alliance Leader Lu. I was thinking that our ancestor¡¯s Withered Bark might be able to help you understand how to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed. This is the most that my family can offer in order to show you our sincerity."

    Lu Yin was truly moved. The power of a Progenitor was unfathomable, let alone the power of someone like Progenitor Ku who had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and been an exceptional powerhouse even among Progenitors. Even a remnant of Progenitor Ku¡¯s strength would be enough for Lu Yin to protect himself from even Semi-Progenitors without a problem.

    "I¡¯d be lying if I told you that I don¡¯t want the Withered Bark, but I really don¡¯t know how to teach anyone Extremes Must Be Reversed," Lu Yin replied in a bitter voice. His resignation to losing out this opportunity was readily apparent in his voice.

 Chapter 1932: The Source

    Chapter 1932: The Source

    Lu Yin''s answer caused Ku Rong''s heart to drop. Even something as rare and exceptional as a treasure left behind by Progenitor Ku was not enough to impress this youth! Lu Yin must either want to take more than what the Ku family could even offer or he truly had no idea how to teach Extremes Must Be Reversed to another person.

    Of the two options, Ku Rong believed the second to be true. If it was a simple matter to pass Extremes Must Be Reversed to another person, Progenitor Ku would have left the battle technique with the Ku family, and it would have been impossible for not even his disciples to have learned the technique.

    This was such a pity!

    "Senior, could you sell me the Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku left behind?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. "I can offer you some very good things."

    Ku Rong¡¯s mood had already been ruined. "Alliance Leader Lu, I need to get some rest, so I¡¯ll head back first. As for the treasures left for us by our ancestor, there¡¯s no way that we would ever sell them."

    As the man spoke, he turned back to look at Lu Yin once more. "While it might be impossible for you to pass on Extremes Must Be Reversed to anyone else given your current strength, that doesn¡¯t mean that it will remain impossible in the future. I hope that you will allow my Ku family this bit of hope, and we will continue to be open and forthright with you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    The old man then stepped through the sky to leave.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. It was pretty clear that the old man was in a rotten mood.

    After Ku Rong left, Ku Pu approached. After all, Lu Yin was a guest of the Ku family, so it made sense for Ku Pu to y host for him.

    Ku Pu had already been informed that Lu Yin could not or would not pass the Ku family Extremes Must Be Reversed, but despite that, the patriarch remained weing and polite to Lu Yin. The Ku family needed a bit of hope, and Lu Yin was happy to offer them that much.

    This waspletely different from how Lu Yin had strung the Wen family along. After all, the advanced method of using Literary Prison was real and in Lu Yin¡¯s possession whereas the Ku family really did have nothing more than a simple hope of acquiring their ancestor¡¯s technique.

    Ku Pu hadpletely forgotten about his grudge against Lu Yin, and the man led Lu Yin around the Voidsoul Region. As they moved around, the patriarch shared what he knew about Progenitor Ku with Lu Yin, and even Ku Wei was asionally mentioned in the two men¡¯s conversation.

    Ku Wei was the only link that existed between the Ku family and Lu Yin. Aside from him, the only thing that the two parties shared were somemon interests.

    Ku Pu had never dreamed that he would one day be forced to take advantage of Ku Wei¡¯s existence in order to strengthen a rtionship with someone.

    Fortunately, the Ku family had agreed to release Ku Wei into Lu Yin¡¯s care in the past, as if they had not, the family¡¯s rtionship with Lu Yin would likely be simr to his rtionship with the Xia family. Then, it would be nearly impossible for them to recover from such a situation.

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking spent some time in the Voidsoul Region, as Lu Yin was quite interested in the lightning that fell upon thend.

    This lightning came from the Withered Bark that had been left behind by a Progenitor, and while the lightning was not very powerful, the Withered Bark produced an endless amount of the lightning, and the lightning strikes produced treasured materials for the Ku family.

    One day, Lu Yin politely refused Ku Pu¡¯s offer to show him around the Voidsoul region again, as Lu Yin wanted to wander about on his own.

    Lightning fell from the sky, and it struck a river down below.

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared at the location, and he squatted down to stick a hand in the river. He felt a slight numbness but nothing very strong. The lightning was not even as powerful as an attack from an Enlighter, and he could not sense anything unique about the lightning either.

    Another bolt of lightning fell in the distance.

    Lu Yin entered the void and disappeared.

    Lu Yin''s activities could not be hidden from Ku Rong. Ku Pu stood behind the elder in a respectful manner, and they both stared out towards Lu Yin.

    "Elder, is it really impossible for him to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed?" Ku Pu could not resist asking.

    Ku Rong shrugged. "I can¡¯t say. I can¡¯t get a read on the child."

    Ku Pu frowned. Even one of the families that made up the powerful and majestic Seven Courts was unable to handle a single youth. This was truly frustrating.

    "It doesn''t matter whether or not he can teach others the technique right now. As long as he continues to gain strength, the day when he will be able to teach us Extremes Must Be Reversed will eventuallye. It¡¯s highly likely that he will eventually reach the same level as Progenitor Ku, so we must make sure that we maintain a friendly rtionship with him," Ku Rong stated solemnly.

    Ku Pu was caught off guard. "Can he really be a Progenitor?"

    Ku Rong nced over at Ku Pu. "That child defeated a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same level of cultivation as him in order to pass his first stellr tribtion. Regardless of how strong any Progenitor might have been, Progenitor Chen was always recognized as being invincible. When this boy bes a Progenitor, it¡¯s highly likely that he will reach the same level of strength as Progenitor Chen, and there¡¯s no way that he will still be unable to give us Extremes Must Be Reversed at that time. We need to y the long game here. The reason why Lu Yin is constantly protected by the Hall of Honor is because they can see his future potential.¡±

    "The Seven Courts is not some permanent organization, and we are only working together because of Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, though the same things might tear us apart. It¡¯s impossible to know the future, but we need options to ensure a path forward for our family."

    "Understood," Ku Pu said respectfully.

    Ku Rong casually ordered, "Give him one of the five Withered Barks from the ancestor."

    Ku Pu''s expressionpletely changed, and his reluctance was quite clear. Still, he answered, ¡°Understood."

    ¡­

    The story of Progenitor Ku had piqued Lu Yin¡¯s interest in the Voidsoul Region, but while he wanted to uncover more regarding Progenitor Ku''s past, Lu Yin could not remain in the Voidsoul Region forever.

    Also, the members of the Ku family were very respectful towards Lu Yin, and Ku Lei even bowed every time he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his gadget to make a call. He was reaching out to Madam Y¨­u.

    The Y¨­u n was actually one of Lu Yin¡¯s strongest motivations for visiting the Seven Courts. Running into Undying Yushan in Aeternus Nation had been quite upsetting to Lu Yin, and he had already been told that there was a connection between Undying Yushan and a certain person: Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    The Ancient Progenitor was in the Y¨­u n¡¯s ancestry, and so the only way to learn about Y¨­u Ming was through the Y¨­u n.

    The Y¨­u n had already split apart, and the Y¨­u Secret Art had been hidden in the Innerverse. There had to be some reason for this move, though the Sword Sect had failed to find it. Lu Yin had to uncover the reason quickly.

    Madam Y¨­u had joined the Great Eastern Alliance in the war against the Astral Beast Domain, and she had done well during the fighting. This meant that the Sword Sect could not do anything to the Y¨­u family for the time being, which had given the Y¨­u family a bit of peace, though they knew that such peace would notst very long.

    Madam Y¨­u had already felt an increasing change in the Sword Sect¡¯s attitude towards her family.

    The most obvious indication was how the Sword Sect¡¯s Elder Li came and went through the Y¨­u family¡¯s territory as though it was an uninhabitednd. He clearly did not care about the existence of an Envoy like Madam Y¨­u at all, which left the woman with a bad premonition.

    When such actions werebined with what was happening to the Y¨­u n, Madam Y¨­u was very worried.

    "Mother, has there been any word from the main house?" Y¨­u Ye''er visited Madam Y¨­u and anxiously probed.

    Madam Y¨­u''s expression grew ugly. "Go focus on your training. That¡¯s none of your concern!"

    "If the main house is in trouble, we¡¯re losing our foundation. The Sword Sect''s treatment of us has only gotten increasingly worse. Mother, you just fought in the war against the astral beasts, and yet they¡¯re already treating us so badly. They¡¯re being too overbearing," Y¨­u Ye''er angrilyined.

    Madam Y¨­u''s eyes turned cold. The Sword Sect''s treatment of the Y¨­u family was an indication of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s attitude, or more precisely, Lu Yin¡¯s attitude.

    Madam Y¨­u had tried speaking with Lu Yin on multiple asions, but he had never once agreed to support the Y¨­u family. All of her previous attempts had failed, and there was no chance of sess without revealing everything to the young man.

    But could she take that risk? Madam Y¨­u grew increasingly anxious and worried. Lu Yin had gained apletely different status from when she had first spoken to him. Originally, she had only wished to join the Great Eastern Alliance to take advantage of Lu Yin¡¯s impressive influence and background, but the youth himself had posed no threat to Madam Y¨­u. He had been a safer option than the Sword Sect, but that had since changed. At the moment, Lu Yin was far, far more dangerous than the Sword Sect had ever been.

    If the Y¨­u family was in the same position as it had been in the past, not even the threat of the Sword Sect would be enough for Madam Y¨­u to risk telling Lu Yin anything sensitive, but everything had changed. At the moment, the Y¨­u family was under theplete control of the Sword Sect, and Y¨­u Ye''er was even being monitored at all times by them. If not for Madam Y¨­u¡¯s participation in the war against the Astral Beast Domain, Y¨­u Ye''er would never have been released.

    The Y¨­u family no longer needed simple protection, but a chance to simply survive. Their situation had changed so quickly that Madam Y¨­u had no idea how to proceed.

    At this moment, her gadget beeped, and Madam Y¨­u was stunned when she looked down to see who was calling: Lu Yin?

    Y¨­u Ye''er also saw the caller ID. "Mother, it¡¯s Lu Yin!"

    Madam Y¨­u gestured for her daughter to stay silent, and then took a deep breath before answering the call. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, what can I do for you?"

    Lu Yin was wandering about the Voidsoul Region, observing the dead trees that were strewn about. He calmly replied, "How have things been for youtely? Is the Sword Sect still making things difficult for you?"

    Madam Y¨­u had no idea why Lu Yin would ask such a thing. It was impossible for him to be ignorant of what the Sword Sect was doing. What did this young man want?

    "Things are still the same as before," Madam Y¨­u replied. She found Lu Yin to be far more terrifying than the Sword Sect. She was subconsciously on edge, but her circumstances did not allow her to simply avoid Lu Yin, whichplicated the situation and left her uncertain as to how she should speak to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heard the stiffness in Madam Y¨­u''s response. "Alright, I understand. That¡¯s all."

    With that, he simply ended the call.

    He wanted information about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, but it was possible that Madam Y¨­u would not be honest with him. The wariness that he had just heard in her voice told Lu Yin it would be difficult to get any of the information he wanted from the woman, so the best choice was to have the Sword Sect handle the dirty work for him.

    Lu Yin was about to send Liu Qianjue a message, asking the Sword Sect to make things more difficult for the Y¨­u family, but he almost instantly received a call request from Madam Y¨­u. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you help us?"

    Madam Y¨­u¡¯s face was pale, and she lookedpletely out of options as she spoke to Lu Yin. Y¨­u Yu¡¯er stood just behind her mother, her fists clenched. The young woman looked as upset as her mother. Things were not going well for their Y¨­u family, and if they were not careful, they might soon follow in the Yu family¡¯s footsteps.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the sudden call. "Didn''t you just tell me that things are no different from before? You should still be fine."

    Madam Y¨­u quietly answered, "I¡¯m not asking for the Y¨­u family, but for the Y¨­u n."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "You¡¯re going to have to exin that."

    Madam Y¨­u fell silent for a while. "Before the Astral Beast Domain invaded the Outerverse, something was discovered in Burial Garden. Reports im that the Seven Skygods attacked Burial Garden and that attack was even what led to the Progenitor of Secret Arts to betray humanity. The Seven Skygods were able to enter Burial Garden by following Y¨­u Qi."

    "Y¨­u Qi?" Lu Yin was momentarily confused, but then he quickly remembered. "Isn¡¯t he the younger brother of the Y¨­u n¡¯s Y¨­u Qin? The dark knight-looking guy who was able to summon the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords when he fought me in the Mountains and Seas Zone?"

    "That''s right." Madam Y¨­u was not surprised to learn that Lu Yin was already aware of what had happened in Burial Garden. His current status allowed him ess to too much information. "His body acted as a beacon for the Seven Skygods. After Burial Garden was sealed, the Hall of Honorunched an investigation into the Y¨­u n, and the Interster Supreme Court has sealed them offpletely. It¡¯s possible that the Y¨­u n is in serious trouble right now. Alliance Leader Lu, I don¡¯t know if the Y¨­u n really did cooperate with the Neohuman Alliance, and I can only hope that it¡¯s not true. It¡¯s possible that Y¨­u Qi acted entirely alone, but I simply hope that this matter won¡¯t destroy the Y¨­u n, let alone my Y¨­u family."

    Lu Yin had known almost nothing about the incident regarding Burial Garden after the ce had been closed off, as he had not been paying attention to it. Learning that Y¨­u Qi had been the key to the Neohuman Alliance gaining entrance was a surprise to him.

    "There have already been rumors of a traitor to humanity in the Seven Courts. Does this mean that it was Y¨­u Qi?" Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Y¨­u''s voice grew bitter. "I don''t know, but that¡¯s not very likely. The Neohuman Alliance was able to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum even before Y¨­u Qi was born, so he should not be the traitor from those rumors."

    "But he¡¯s the reason why the Interster Supreme Court is investigating the Y¨­u n." Lu Yin understood that Y¨­u Qi might be a traitor, but there was no way that he was the only traitor within the Seven Courts. In that case, who was the person behind Y¨­u Qi?

    When Lu Yin had exited Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, the Seven Courts had already guessed that the Neohuman Alliance had been given the coordinates for the tomb by an inside traitor. This was also the reason why Lu Yin had first butted heads with Xia Yi.

    When Lu Yin thought back to that time, the matriarch of the Y¨­u n, Y¨­u Kexin, had spoken up to defend him. She had done so because Lu Yin had already been a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, and Lockbreakers were notorious for protecting each other.

    If it turned out that there were no traitors within the Y¨­u n, then Lu Yin needed to repay that favor.

    Just a reminder, but in order to keep things as clear and understandable as possible, the Y¨­u n is the group that remained behind in the Neoverse, while the Y¨­u family is the group that broke away and fled to the Innerverse.

 Chapter 1933: Everchanging You Ming

    Chapter 1933: Everchanging You Ming

    "Why should I help the Y¨­u n?" Lu Yin asked bluntly. He already knew that he wanted to try to help Y¨­u Kexin, but he would never admit that to Madam Y¨­u.

    The woman bitterly responded, "I don¡¯t know what my Y¨­u family can offer you for this, Alliance Leader Lu."

    The Sword Sect was keeping the Y¨­u family contained and suppressed, but regardless of how it might have happened, the Sword Sect and the Y¨­u family were both members of the Great Eastern Alliance, and they both needed to listen to Lu Yin. Madam Y¨­u really could not think of anything she could offer for Lu Yin''s help.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "I want to know why your Y¨­u family split away from the Y¨­u n, as well as more information about the Y¨­u Secret Art."

    Madam Y¨­u was not surprised by this demand, as this was the only thing that both Lu Yin and the Sword Sect might be interested in that her Y¨­u family possessed.

    Y¨­u Ye''er pursed her lips and nced at Madam Y¨­u. There was only one path that they could take moving forward. Without this, there was no telling if the Y¨­u family would even be able to survive this disaster. There were no other options before them.

    Madam Y¨­u thought for a moment before letting out a long breath. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Y¨­u family broke away from the Y¨­u n because of the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    "The Y¨­u Secret Art is something that only a single person can possess at a time. While it¡¯s called a secret technique, it¡¯s actually-¡± Madam Y¨­u suddenly fell silent for a long time. She really did not want to share this information, but would they be able to survive if she continued to protect this secret? They had begged Lu Yin for his help multiple times, but he had never agreed to help them. This might be theirst chance. Without Lu Yin¡¯s aid, not to mention the Y¨­u n, but even the Y¨­u Secret Art might disappear. What would be the purpose in trying to protect this secret then?

    They had broken away from the Y¨­u n because they had feared that this secret would be leaked, but letting just Lu Yin know would not make much of a difference.

    "The truth is that the Y¨­u Secret art is not merely a secret technique, but also a treasure of time." Each word was slowly enunciated by Madam Y¨­u, and her expression was solemn as she spoke. However, she found herself rxing after she unveiled this secret.

    Y¨­u Ye''er closed her eyes. Her family¡¯s deepest secret was about to be exposed.

    Back in the Voidsoul Region, Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. "What? What do you mean by a treasure of time?"

    Madam Y¨­u continued, "The Y¨­u Secret Art was created by Ancient Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, who is my Y¨­u n¡¯s ancestor. It¡¯s a secret technique with no ability to attack, defend, or even heal. While it¡¯s a secret technique, it has absolutely no use in a fight, and at best, it can be used to keep the user hidden. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er¡¯s strength hasn¡¯t risen over the years because of the Y¨­u Secret Art. Instead, it rose naturally and was simply kept hidden by the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    "While this secret technique has no use in battle, it¡¯s actually because it¡¯s not a true secret technique, but rather a treasure. Those who practice the secret art might asionally gain something from it, possibly due to simple coincidence or because of the passage of time. Battle techniques can be acquired, and they are the battle techniques of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, such as the Heart-killer Lotus that Ye''er used during ZENITH."

    Lu Yin was stunned. So this was the truth behind the Y¨­u Secret Art. It was no wonder why not a single person in the entire Fifth Maind had ever heard of the Heart-killer Lotus before, including even the members of the Y¨­u n. It ended up being something that Y¨­u Ye¡¯er had picked up from the Y¨­u Secret Art that had been created by Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. The battle technique had to be extremely ancient and powerful, or else it would not have been created by an Ancient Progenitor.

    Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been an Ancient Progenitor, and Lu Yin had no idea how she measured up to the God of Death or Destiny.

    "The Y¨­u Secret Art is also why my Y¨­u n has always been on thin ice throughout the years. We have always sensed someone observing us, no matter if it was during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, or more recently when the Hall of Honor hase to power. Every generation, someone from my Y¨­u n has inherited this secret technique, and every single leader of our family has felt these eyes on us. We have no idea who is watching us or where they are, but that cold gaze has never left us." Madam Y¨­u''s voice was trembling as she spoke. "This gaze is also why we were left with no choice but to separate ourselves from the Y¨­u n and take the secret technique away."

    "How did that work out for you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Y¨­u hesitated for a moment. "It seems to have worked, but we can¡¯t be certain. We no longer sense those eyes on us, but we aren¡¯t really sure that it¡¯s gone."

    "You never considered that it might have been safer for you to stay within the Seven Courts? There you would have had Xia Ji, who¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor," Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Madam Y¨­u grew bitter. "Xia Ji? He¡¯s the Xia family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor, which means nothing to my Y¨­u n. If the secret of Y¨­u Secret Art was ever exposed, Xia Ji could very well be the first toe after us."

    Lu Yin nodded, as this was not in any way inurate. Xia Ji was an unscrupulous person, and it was highly likely that he would attack the Y¨­u family if there was anything to be gained from it.

    "In that case, why are you telling me about this now? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯lle after you?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Madam Y¨­u mournfully replied, "I don¡¯t have any choice but to tell you. The Y¨­u n is facing a true crisis while my Y¨­u family is being held captive by the Sword Sect. So what if we share this information with you? What need do you have of the peerless battle techniques that can be acquired from the Y¨­u Secret Art? You are already peerless and were even able to defeat a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm when you passed your stellr tribtion. When you be a Progenitor, you¡¯ll be invincible, not even our Progenitor may be able to defeat you, so why would you need our Y¨­u Secret Art?"

    Regardless of how talented a person might be, it was always best to not diversify and learn too many techniques. Madam Y¨­u found it safer to share the information about the Y¨­u Secret Art with Lu Yin than the Sword Sect or some other power.

    Lu Yin already had too many techniques, and he had even received the legendary God of Death¡¯s inheritance. Thus, he would not be as greedy for Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s battle techniques.

    Madam Y¨­u was quite urate in her understanding of the situation, as Lu Yin truly was not interested in the Y¨­u Secret Art, especially since it was something that could only be learned by a single person at a time. He had no idea what risks might be involved in trying to learn the Y¨­u Secret Art, and he already had too much on his te. He had the God of Death''s inheritance, Progenitor Chen''s Inverse Step, the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight, and more, such as the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, which was said to be an invincible technique. Lu Yin could not afford to try learning anything else.

    "I''m not interested in your Y¨­u Secret Art, but I do want to know more about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming," Lu Yin said.

    Madam Y¨­u was relieved to hear that Lu Yin had no interest in the Y¨­u Secret Art, but she became puzzled by his interest in Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. "Are you curious about our ancestor, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Tell me everything you know about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming," Lu Yin said.

    After passing his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had found that he was starting to interact with more information at the Progenitor level rather than Envoy or Semi-Progenitor realms.

    He had faced the strength of Progenitor Chen''s nine clones, learned the story of Progenitor Ku, and now, he was about to learn about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. He was being exposed to more and more regarding Progenitors.

    However, this ced Madam Y¨­u in a difficult position. "Alliance Leader Lu, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming lived too long ago, when the Six Mainds had not yet broken apart. We only assume that we are her descendants, as we have no basis for it aside from the Y¨­u Secret Art that has been passed down. We really know almost nothing about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming aside from the fact that she came from the Second Maind and that she had a title: Everchanging Y¨­u Ming. There¡¯s nothing else that we know.¡±

    Everchanging Y¨­u Ming? Lu Yin had never heard this before. "What about her battle techniques? What were Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s known battle techniques?"

    "I don''t know anything about that either," Madam Y¨­u answered helplessly.

    "I do," Y¨­u Ye''er suddenly spoke up.

    Madam Y¨­u turned to look at her daughter in surprise. She had not expected the girl to interrupt this conversation.

    "You do, Y¨­u Ye¡¯er?" Lu Yin was also surprised.

    Madam Y¨­u stared at Y¨­u Ye''er with a face that betrayed her confusion and doubt.

    Y¨­u Ye''er walked up next to Madam Y¨­u and spoke into the gadget. "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming practiced a technique known as the Impious Sutra, which she created from countless battle techniques. The Heart-killing Lotus I know is a chapter from the Impious Sutra, but I don¡¯t know much about the other techniques.¡±

    "What about the Undying Manual?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Y¨­u Ye''er became confused. "The Undying Manual? I don¡¯t know about that, though I think I¡¯ve heard of it before."

    On the other hand, Madam Y¨­u was stunned. "The ancient technique rumored to have been found in the Starfall Sea? Supposedly, those who sessfully cultivate the Undying Manual can obtain immortality, which is why the Xia family sent people to the Outerverse and the Great Yu Empire. Does our ancestor have some connection to the Undying Manual?"

    Hearing the genuine confusion in both women¡¯s voices, Lu Yin looked away from the disy. Less than ten meters away from him, a bolt of lightning fell, illuminating his face.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯ve told you everything we know. Please help the Y¨­u n," Madam Y¨­u begged.

    Y¨­u Ye''er also spoke up, "I also beg you to help the Y¨­u n, Alliance Leader Lu. Ye''er promises to tell you if I gain any other battle techniques or any information from the Y¨­u Secret Art. I won¡¯t hide anything from you."

    Lu Yin asked, "Does the Y¨­u n have any information about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming? ces connected to her, rumors, or anything she may have left behind?"

    Madam Y¨­u answered, "Our Y¨­u n is only seen as Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s descendents because of the Y¨­u Secret Art. The only thing we have that is as old as the Y¨­u Secret Art is the Great Abyss, as it has been around at least since the Daosource Sect¡¯s era. Even back then, my Y¨­u family lived in the middle of that river, and ites from an even older era than that. For as long as the records of my Y¨­u n go back, we have always lived in the Great Abyss. We have never been anywhere else."

    "I understand.¡±

    Lu Yin then ended the call.

    Each of the families that formed the Court of Seven Names had a unique secret technique, and by tracing back those secret techniques, it was possible to determine the Progenitor that was each families¡¯ ancestor. So far, Lu Yin had received some information regarding the Y¨­u n¡¯s ancestor, Progenitor Ku, the Ce family¡¯s Progenitor Ce Wangtian, the Hui family¡¯s Progenitor Hui, and the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor Chen. The only families¡¯ ancestors whom Lu Yin still knew nothing about were the ones from the Yu and Xie families.

    Lu Yin had already gained more than he had expected from his visit to the Seven Courts, and he had already decided to visit the Y¨­u n next. After that, should he go see the Xie or the Ce family?

    He was curious about the irreconcble hatred that existed between the Xie family and the Specter n. Their territory was known as the Bone ins, and their battle technique that incorporated bones was quite interesting. Even though the Xie family was considered the weakest of the Seven Courts, they had once fought against the Specter n, and the family clearly had not been weak in the past. At their peak, it was possible that the Xie family had been second only to the Xia family.

    As for the Ce family, Lu Yin was curious about their Combat Doctrine. Back in Millions City, Lu Yin had heard from Qiong Xi''er that Zhu San had tried to copy Qiu Chi¡¯s Yinyang Trisage Technique with the Ce family¡¯s Combat Doctrine, and he had actually managed to obtain the first portion of the technique. On top of that, Lu Yin would never forget the vision of Ce Wangtian that he had seen when he obtained the Ce family¡¯s secret technique.

    ¡°Hahahaha, I, Ce Wangtian, have finally created a secret technique: Astral Chessboard. After ying chess for decades. I¡¯m the only person in the universe who can take a move back! Nobody can rewind their life, but if I want to do so, then only I can take my move back! Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard.¡±

    At the time, Lu Yin had felt that Ce Wangtian¡¯s words were indicative of his arrogance and roguish personality, but as time passed, Lu Yin felt that the Progenitor¡¯s words were actually representative of his domineeringness. Ce Wangtian could reverse actions not only done by himself, but rather events that had urred.

    This was fundamentally different from what Lu Yin had originally understood.

    There was no purpose served by humans regretting something that had already happened, as the moment had already passed. However, Ce Wangtian had felt like he could take back a ¡°move.¡± Did this mean that the man had been able to reverse time?

    When Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art, his surroundings became an astral chessboard while the individuals and objects in the area became chess pieces. The scope of this secret technique surpassed any other that Lu Yin had ever seen, but it was still far from allowing a person to reverse a move that had already urred. This meant that Lu Yin¡¯sprehension of the Ce Secret Art was still insufficient. If possible, he really wanted to revisit that vision andprehend the secret technique once more.

    Was that possible? Lu Yin was eager to find out.

 Chapter 1934: Not Giving Face

    Chapter 1934: Not Giving Face

    The next day, Ku Pu went to find Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I won¡¯t be able to apany you for the next while. How would you feel about having Ku Lei keep youpany?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "If you¡¯re going to be busy, Patriarch Ku, there¡¯s no need for you to find anyone to apany me. In fact, I¡¯m about to leave myself."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please don¡¯t be bothered. You are wee to stay a few more days here in the Voidsoul Region, so please feel free to allow my Ku family to host you a bit longer. With Ku Wei as your disciple, we are already family," Ku Pu said with a smile.

    Lu Yin found it funny how thick-skinned this man was. If Lu Yin had not utilized the influence of the Lockbreakers Society to pressure the Ku family into allowing Ku Wei to be his disciple, Ku Lei would have killed Ku Wei.

    "That¡¯s true, but if we¡¯re family, then there¡¯s no need for you to be so polite, Patriarch Ku,¡± Lu Yin replied. He remained polite to the man and kept a smile on his face.

    Ku Pu¡¯s smile grew even brighter. "Honestly, if not for what¡¯s happening with the Y¨­u n, I would love to continue our conversation, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "What about the Y¨­u n?" Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked about the matter. ¡°Did something happen to them?"

    Ku Pu instantly grew solemn. "A little while ago, when the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Seven Skygods broke into Burial Garden in the attack that forced the ce to close and all the gates to disappear, they gained ess to the ce through Y¨­u Qi, who used to be a member of the Y¨­u n.¡±

    "The boy clearly died some time ago, but Burial Garden held him in high regard, so they resurrected him after he died. Well, that¡¯s actually impossible, so it would be better to say that Burial Garden rescued him and then epted him as a disciple. With what happened, there are now many questions rted to his death, as well as who and what allowed him to join Burial Garden. Who knows if the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s spies were behind that entire matter. These questions all need to be investigated, and the Y¨­u n has be the primary suspect.

    "The Y¨­u n is about to be questioned and investigated by a tribunal formed by the rest of the Seven Courts and overseen by the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Judicial Commissioner Mu Tianlun."

    This information quite surprised Lu Yin. "So there¡¯s most likely a traitor in the Y¨­u n. Back when Shaman God sent me into Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, the fact that the Neohuman Alliance had the exact coordinates led me to believe that they had a spy within the Seven Courts, and I remember that Patriarch Xia Yi was quite upset when I brought up the possibility and questioned him."

    Ku Pu¡¯s voice dropped low, "We all had our own doubts, as Xia Yi reacted far too strongly back then, though it now seems that the Y¨­u n is the more likely culprit."

    "If no evidence supporting the suspicions that the Y¨­u n cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance appears, what will happen to them?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Pu shook his head. "That¡¯s hard to say. The entire reason why the Seven Courts have been able to retain control of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum despite the pressure of the Hall of Honor is not only because they are wary of our strength, but also because the tomb is not worth fighting us over. After all, the tomb should belong to Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendants, which are the Xia family. The Hall of Honor is the overlord of the Human Domain, and if they started a war with us over such a matter, it would leave many other forces worried that they might also be targeted one day.

    "However, things arepletely different now that the Neohuman Alliance is involved. If we make any attempt to try to cover for the Y¨­u n, there is no way that the Hall of Honor will not take action. On top of that, it¡¯s impossible for my Seven Courts to allow any of our people to collude with the Neohuman Alliance. The Y¨­u n is in deep trouble this time.

    "Even if no evidence of collusion can be found, the Y¨­u n will still have to pay a steep price. Each member of the n will be individually investigated, including Matriarch Y¨­u Kexin, and they might even be taken to the Interster Supreme Court to be interrogated, which would destroy the n."

    Lu Yin sighed. "This is what happens when one works with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if it is nothing more than a possibility, any suspicion must be treated seriously. The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s Qing Shaohuang was also taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated after one of his subjects cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance."

    "It¡¯s true, there¡¯s no way out of this for Y¨­u Kexin," Ku Pu said.

    "Patriarch Ku Pu, could I apany you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ku Pu was taken aback, and his eyes flickered as he thought of the Y¨­u family and how they had split from the Y¨­u n. The Y¨­u family had originally enjoyed a close rtionship with the Sword Sect, but the exposure of the Y¨­u Secret Art had ced the family in a precarious position. By all ounts, the Y¨­u family should be a part of the Great Eastern Alliance, so what was Lu Yin¡¯s goal?

    "Would that be inconvenient?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Ku Pu quickly answered, "Of course not. If you want to go, then we¡¯ll make the trip together, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Thank you."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking followed Ku Pu and left the Voidsoul Region, making their way to the Great Abyss.

    From a distance, the Great Abyss shone like a mirror that stretched across a region of space. At the center of the river was the Y¨­u n¡¯s home.

    The Ku family¡¯s Voidsoul Region was not far from the Great Abyss, so the three men soon arrived.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you see that boat?" Ku Pu asked. Lu Yin followed the man¡¯s gaze and saw a small wooden boat floating on the river by itself. It even had oars, which was rather odd. It looked positively ancient.

    "It¡¯s a simple wooden boat, though very old," Lu Yin said. For some reason, looking at the boat gave him the impression that there was an old man sitting in it and casually paddling about while singing some nameless tune.

    "The Y¨­u n¡¯s elder used to row everyone across the river with that boat. Everyone always referred to him as Y¨­u Lao. However, even that old man¡¯s been arrested," Ku Pumented.

    He then climbed into the wooden boat. "Alliance Leader Lu, let''s go."

    Lu Yin nodded and climbed into the boat as well, and the three men started to row across the Great Abyss.

    When they drew close to the Y¨­u n¡¯s home, Ku Pu hesitated for a moment before pulling out a cosmic ring that he handed to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve traveled a long way to visit my Ku family, and our elder asked me to give you this as a wee gift. Please ept it."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Patriarch, this isn¡¯t quite appropriate. Given the fact that Ku Wei is my apprentice, we are essentially family. There¡¯s no need for you to offer any wee gifts for my visit."

    Ku Pu smiled. "It''s because we can be thought of as family that I wish to give you this. I¡¯ll ask you to watch over Ku Wei from now on, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin epted the cosmic ring and offered a polite word of thanks.

    "It holds a piece of Withered Bark, and it¡¯s one of the pieces that was left behind by our ancestor. It¡¯s powerful enough to defend against an attack with a power level of over a million, and it also contains the properties of time." Ku Pu stared at the cosmic ring. "To be honest, not even I qualify to use that, even with my position as patriarch."

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. He did not even think to question the truth of Ku Pu''s words, as what Lu Yin possessed was simply invaluable for the Ku family. It was not unreasonable for them to give him even something as priceless as a piece of their Progenitor¡¯s Withered Bark.

    "Thank you, Patriarch, and please share my thanks with Elder Ku Rong," Lu Yin said. He was truly grateful for this gift. The Ku family had just given him a piece of their second most valuable treasure.

    Ku Pu was actually suffering from giving Lu Yin such a priceless gift, but the man still forced out a smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, you''re truly wee. Remember, we''re family."

    "True, family." Lu Yin''s eyes were practically glowing. The Seven Courts really was a blessed ce for him. He had already received a true Root of Intelligence from the Hui family, and now, he had gotten a piece of ancient Withered Bark from the Ku family as well. At that moment, Lu Yin became determined to visit both the Ce and Xie families. What could he get from them?

    If he had tried to visit all of the Seven Courts¡¯ families in the past, it was highly possible that he would not have been allowed in, let alone weed. However, things had since changed. Lu Yin was determined to gather anything that could benefit him, and he was not willing to allow any opportunities to slip through his fingers.

    He found it a true pity that the Xia family was his enemy, as he really wanted to see if there was any way to get the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to learn it from them. It really was too bad.

    Actually, Starsybil had also learned the secret technique. Lu Yin forcefully suppressed his desire for the technique, but he could not deny that he wanted to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Because he had been ying host to Lu Yin, Ku Pu was thest of the Seven Courts¡¯ patriarchs to arrive at the Y¨­u n¡¯s home.

    When they arrived, they found that not only were there thousands of cultivators from the Seven Courts¡¯ various families, but also hundreds of cultivators from the Interster Supreme Court.

    The members of the Y¨­u n all looked either sad or angry, and each one was being held separately while being monitored by three to five cultivators each. Not a single person from the Y¨­u n had the slightest bit of privacy at this moment.

    Their matriarch, Y¨­u Kexin, her daughter, Y¨­u Qin, Elder Y¨­u Ren, and a total of a dozen of the members of the Y¨­u n formed a circle with their backs to the center so that none of them could see each other. They were also isted so that they could not hear each other, but everyone surrounding them was able to observe and hear everything from all twelve people.

    Everyst person from the Y¨­u n had been arrested and was being watched. It was humiliating for the family, but there was no other way to do it. The Hall of Honor was somewhat wary of the Seven Courts; if almost any other family had been implicated in such a manner, the entire n would have been captured and dragged to the Arbitration World, and who knew what fate might await the prisoners in that ce.

    Qing Shaohuang had absolutely hated Lu Yin, especially after learning that the Second Nightking had been following Lu Yin even before the ancient powerhouse approached Qing Shaohuang. And yet the former emperor¡¯s overwhelming hatred had washed away after his trial in the Arbitration World. He no longer had the courage to do anything at all to Lu Yin, which indicated just how memorable his time with the Interster Supreme Court had been.

    Ku Pu¡¯s arrival meant that all six of the Court of Seven Names¡¯ family leaders had reunited. They were also joined by Mu Tianlun and Lu Yin.

    No one had expected Lu Yin to appear.

    Mu Tianlun''s eyes shed when he noticed Lu Yin, though a faint smile appeared on his face as he spoke up. "What brings Alliance Leader Lu to the Seven Courts? Ah, I had actually forgotten that you entered Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum thest time it opened after you were captured by the Neohuman Alliance."

    Lu Yin looked back at Mu Tianlun. Lu Yin was notfortable with this Judicial Commissioner. The man had previously supported the Daynight n, and he had even wanted to assist the Daynight n when Leon¡¯s Armada had attacked their flowzone. Later, when Lu Yin had been found to cultivate death energy, Mu Tianlun had repeatedly asked the Chief Justice to condemn Lu Yin. Even after the Chief Justice had ruled that Lu Yin¡¯s death energy would not allow him to be controlled by the Specter n, Mu Tianlun had reported the matter to Arch-Elder Zen, hoping to see the Semi-Progenitor move against Lu Yin.

    If not for Mu Tianlun, Lu Yin¡¯s first time at Mt. Microcosms would have been much easier. It was clear that this Judicial Commissioner held a strong hatred towards Lu Yin.

    "Is there something that you want to say? Just spit it out. I don¡¯t want to listen to bullshit," Lu Yin casually retorted.

    Hui Zhi and the other Seven Courts¡¯ patriarchs were caught off guard by this antagonistic interaction.

    Mu Tianlun¡¯s brows rose. "Alliance Leader Lu, you seem to be upset with me."

    Lu Yin stared back at Mu Tianlun. "I¡¯m not upset, I¡¯m very upset. Honestly, the sight of you revolts me."

    Mu Tianlun''s expression fell, and his eyes zed with killing intent.

    "Impudent! How dare you insult the Judicial Commissioner?" a middle-aged man shouted at Lu Yin from behind Mu Tianlun.

    Lu Yin frowned.

    Snap!

    There was a crack of noise, and the middle-aged man was instantly sent flying. The Second Nightking had taken action, instantly knocking the man out and shattering the bones in half of his face. He lookedpletely pathetic.

    Mu Tianlun was enraged by the sight. "Lu Yin, how dare you!"

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "I don''t like being interrupted when I¡¯m speaking. He was merely taught a small lesson. There are some people who can¡¯t understand their position properly, and they won¡¯t even be able to regret their actions before they die."

    Mu Tianlun¡¯s eyes glinted with a cold light as he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you threatening me, Alliance Leader Lu? I am one of the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Judicial Commissioners! Do you understand the consequences of threatening a Judicial Commissioner?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do you know the penalties for ndering an overseer?"

    Mu Tianlun''s eye twitched, but he said nothing in reply.

    Hui Zhi smiled. "You two, we are here right now to investigate the Y¨­u n, so please calm yourselves down and have a seat. This entire tribunal would lose all respect if people saw such antics."

    Lu Yin merely gave a careless smile, walked over and took his seat.

 Chapter 1935: Trial

    Chapter 1935: Trial

    Not every member of the Y¨­u n was qualified to be questioned by the tribunal. As for the tribunal itself, even if someone was brought over by a patriarch like Ku Pu, they would only be allowed to stand to the side and observe. Only those who were seated, the representatives of the Seven Courts¡¯ families, were qualified to question the members of the Y¨­u n, but Lu Yin held a special status. He was one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, which qualified him to participate in the tribunal and ask questions.

    When Mu Tianlun saw Lu Yin take a seat, the Judicial Commissioner¡¯s expression rxed. His eyes no longer contained a cold glint, returning to normal as he took his own seat.

    The previous scuffle had been seen by Y¨­u Kexin. Before the members of the tribunal took their seats, Lu Yin and Mu Tianlun had happened to argue in front of Y¨­u Kexin, and thus, she had seen the conflict between the two.

    The top members of the Y¨­u n were surrounded by important people. Those within the circle had been positioned facing away from each other in a circle, with each of them facing outwards. Meanwhile, Lu Yin and the other members of the tribunal formed arger circle that surrounded those being questioned.

    In front of Lu Yin stood Y¨­u Kexin''s daughter, Y¨­u Qin.

    Y¨­u Qin stared back at Lu Yin withplicated emotions. This person was from the same generation as her, and she had evenpeted with him once. However, at this moment, Lu Yin stood far, far above Y¨­u Qin, and he was even qualified to question and interrogate any member of the Y¨­u n. Seeing this change in position was very ufortable for Y¨­u Qin, especially when she remembered that Lu Yin had once defeated her brother, Y¨­u Qi, in a direct fight. Many people had been shocked by the results of that match, but none more than Y¨­u Qin. She had once believed Y¨­u Qi to be invincible among their peers.

    "Y¨­u Kexin, tell us about Y¨­u Qi''s childhood and everything that he experienced while growing up," Hui Zhi said. This tribunal was being led by the Hui family while Mu Tianlun was just supervising the proceedings to prevent the Seven Courts from covering anything up.

    Y¨­u Kexin looked up at Hui Zhi. "There¡¯s nothing more to say. Every detail about him has already been carefully investigated."

    Hui Zhi frowned. "Y¨­u Kexin, I hope you understand the seriousness of this matter. At the moment, this is still just an internal trial of the Seven Courts, but things will be much different if you are taken away to be questioned by the Interster Supreme Court."

    "That¡¯s true. Sister Kexin, just answer our questions." Xie Ahua rubbed her chin and blinked as she spoke. She then turned to look at Lu Yin, shooting him a charming smile.

    Lu Yin nced at the woman, particrly noticing her attire, as her clothes were exceptionally revealing. They reminded him of Xie Xiaoxian, whom Lu Yin had encountered in the Mountains and Seas Zone and whom he had seen borrow other people¡¯s battle techniques.

    Y¨­u Kexin spoke indifferently as she shared everything she knew regarding Y¨­u Qi.

    Y¨­u Qi''s childhood was not aplicated story, especially since what everyone was truly interested in was who he had been in contact with, as that might be an indication of who the hidden traitor in the Seven Courts was. They were looking for an opening that could provide ess to one of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s weaknesses.

    Y¨­u Kexin spent half a day recounting the details about Y¨­u Qi¡¯s childhood.

    "You¡¯re his mother, so tell us how he died," Hui Zhi pressed.

    A flicker of pain shed across Y¨­u Kexin''s eyes. "He didn¡¯t die."

    Hui Zhi was caught off guard by this denial. "He didn¡¯t die?"

    Y¨­u Kexin replied, "He never died. How could anyone be resurrected after dying?"

    "So are you saying that he faked his death?" Hui Zhi asked.

    Y¨­u Kexin stared back at Hui Zhi. "Regardless of whether or not that happened, he¡¯s dead now."

    "Tell us about what happened when his death was faked," Hui Zhi said.

    Y¨­u Kexin casually replied, "I''ve already told you this."

    "Tell us again, in detail." Mu Tianlun spoke up sharply.

    Y¨­u Kexin fell silent for a bit. She was normally an arrogant and indifferent person, and that was even discounting the fact that she was being ordered to drudge up the memories of her own son¡¯s death, which was difficult.

    In a low voice, Mu Tianlun said, "It seems that this interrogation is unnecessary. I¡¯ll take her back to the Arbitration World. She will reveal everything there."

    Hui Zhi, Ce Laoyan, and the other patriarchs all frowned. Y¨­u Kexin was the Y¨­u n¡¯s matriarch, which made her the representative of one of the Seven Courts. The entire Seven Courts would be humiliated if Y¨­u Kexin was taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated.

    They were all hoping to use this tribunal to prove that the Y¨­u n had not colluded with the Neohuman Alliance so that they could avoid letting the Interster Supreme Court get involved. However, Y¨­u Kexin''s attitude was making it difficult for the tribunal to help the Y¨­u n despite their best efforts.

    "Y¨­u Lao, do you know much about Y¨­u Qi?" Hui Zhi redirected his attention to another person, the Y¨­u n¡¯s oldest member.

    Lu Yin looked over at a tired-looking old man with calluses on his hands and a kind face. This man had been the owner of the wooden boat that Lu Yin had used to cross the Great Abyss.

    "Y¨­u Qi? He¡¯s a good child," Y¨­u Lao replied. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he seemed rather confused. He acted as though he had not figured out exactly what was happening quite yet.

    However, the old man¡¯s words left Hui Zhi speechless; a good child? Would a good child betray humanity?

    "Y¨­u Lao, you need to get a grip on what¡¯s happening! Y¨­u Qi betrayed humanity! He¡¯s a traitor!" Mu Tianlun sternly shouted.

    Y¨­u Lao looked over in surprise. "A traitor? No, not that child."

    Mu Tianlun frowned and looked over at Hui Zhi. This old man was ying the fool. It was clear just how powerful he was.

    At this moment, Lu Yin spoke up. "Y¨­u Lao, why are you saying that Y¨­u Qi is a good child?"

    Mu Tianlun became upset. "Alliance Leader Lu, Y¨­u Qi betrayed humanity by providing the Neohuman Alliance with the coordinates that allowed them ess to Burial Garden! You can¡¯t possibly think that such a person isn¡¯t a traitor."

    Lu Yin replied indifferently, "I''m the one asking a question, so how is this any of your business? Just shut up and listen."

    Mu Tianlun was extremely angered. Lu Yin was not showing even the slightest bit of respect for a Judicial Commissioner.

    Xie Ahua smiled coquettishly. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re quite overbearing."

    Ku Pu, Hui Zhi, and the other patriarchs nced around at each other. Lu Yin was indeed bing more and more overbearing, and he clearly was not giving Mu Tianlun any face at all.

    Xia Yi spoke up for the first time. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are also a Lockbreaker. Is this why you are trying to support the Y¨­u n? Everyone, we can¡¯t forget that when this child came out of Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, Y¨­u Kexin actively supported him and spoke up for him simply because they are both Lockbreakers."

    Mu Tianlun''s eyes grew cold. "Patriarch Xia Yi, are you referring to the time when Alliance Leader Lu was captured by the Neohuman Alliance?"

    "That''s right, when Alliance Leader Lu was held captive by the Neohuman Alliance," Xia Yi agreed.

    These two were in perfect harmony, as they were both suggesting that there was a possibility that Lu Yin had cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance. Even if he could not be controlled by the death energy that he cultivated, it did not mean that he was not actively colluding with the Neohuman Alliance.

    Even though such usations would not be able to actually do anything to Lu Yin, the two men wanted to at least raise some suspicions that Lu Yin had a connection to humanity¡¯s enemy.

    Naturally, their efforts werepletely useless, as Ku Pu and the other patriarchs saw through these efforts as nothing more than an attempt to insult Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shifted his legs. "An idiot and a piece of trash are copying each other and singing the same song."

    "What did you just say?" Xia Yi became furious.

    Mu Tianlun leaped to his feet, gritting his teeth as he spat out in a cold voice, "Alliance Leader Lu, you just personally insulted the two of us! I will lodge a formalint against you to the Interster Supreme Court! I am a Judicial Commissioner, and Xia Yi is also the Xia family¡¯s patriarch."

    Lu Yin just rolled his eyes. "I just mentioned an idiot and a piece of trash. What does that have to do with either of you? How is it my fault if you think that I¡¯m talking about you?"

    "You¡­" Xia Yi also rose to his feet and red at Lu Yin.

    "Alright, everyone. Let¡¯s not forget our purpose here," Hui Zhi interjected in a deep voice as he looked at Mu Tianlun. "Your Excellency, the Interster Supreme Court is already ying the role of a judge. Are you going to change this tribunal to a trial just like that?"

    Mu Tianlun shot Hui Zhi a dirty look as the patriarch was being quite rude with this question.

    "Brother Xia, you should sit back down. Honestly, you aren¡¯t Alliance Leader Lu¡¯s match," Xie Ahua said with a smile, though herment only made Xia Yi even angrier.

    Ku Pu also spoke up. "Brother Xia, don¡¯t forget that we are all part of the Court of Seven Names."

    Xia Yi red at Lu Yin as he helplessly sat back down.

    While the Xia family was considered the head of the Seven Courts, that did not mean that the other families would simply follow whatever the Xia family said. While they would listen to Xia Ji, that had nothing to do with Xia Yi, especially since Xia Yi was merely a puppet patriarch with no real power that could be removed at a whim.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please continue with your question," Hui Zhi politely said to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded and looked back at Y¨­u Lao. "Elder, can you tell us why you say that Y¨­u Qi is a good child?"

    Y¨­u Lao had been ced directly in front of Mu Tianlun, and after hearing Lu Yin''s question, the old man lifted his head and looked at Mu Tianlun. "Are you done arguing? Who won? Grandpa will give you a treat."

    Everyone was speechless.

    Lu Yin found this rather amusing, and Y¨­u Lao¡¯s behavior reminded Lu Yin of Astral-10¡¯s Trialmaster. "Elder, what do you think about Y¨­u Qi?"

    Y¨­u Lao stroked his beard. "Y¨­u Qi¡¯s a good child, but he¡¯s too stubborn. He¡¯s been stubborn ever since he was a child. If others trained for ten hours, he would train for eleven. He trained hard, loved his sister, and was loyal to his mother. He also always made time to chat with an old man like me.

    "His innate gift is quite impressive as he can use the techniques of the dead as his own. Unfortunately, he was never able to ept the Y¨­u Secret Art. Because of that, he roamed the universe on his own in an attempt to prove himself as the Y¨­u n¡¯s true heir¡­"

    Y¨­u Kexin had a much better understanding of this matter than Y¨­u Lao. How could she not know such details about her own child?

    "Thest time I saw the child, he said that he wanted to eradicate a scourge, but he never returned," Y¨­u Lao said with a shrug.

    "Where did he go? What scourge did he want to eradicate?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Lao thought for a moment. "I believe that it was some ce called Peacewater."

    "Peacewater?" Lu Yin leaped to his feet, shock covering his face.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what''s wrong?" Hui Zhi asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed with a dangerous glint. Peacewater was the where the parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation was located. It was the where Lu Yin had met with Silver, and it was also where space had torn open to expose the hidden Aeternus Nation.

    "Elder, are you sure that he mentioned Peacewater?" Lu Yin asked, clearly excited.

    Y¨­u Lao thought for a bit before nodding. "Yes, it was Peacewater. I remember that clearly."

    "What else did Y¨­u Qi say at that time?" Lu Yin pressed. Complicated emotions danced through his eyes. If he was right with this guess, then everyone might have misunderstood Y¨­u Qi.

    The old man sighed, regret filling his eyes. "He said that the Y¨­u n¡¯s heir could not be considered a true heir without the Y¨­u Secret Art. He also mentioned that the might hold humanity¡¯s greatest disaster. What danger could the hold? I did not care about the matter, but I never expected him to never return, ah¡ª"

    Lu Yin moved a hand to seal off Y¨­u Lao again so that the old man would not hear the next question. Lu Yin then turned to Y¨­u Kexin. "Matriarch Y¨­u, please tell us about when Y¨­u Qi died, or rather, what everything around the time when you were convinced that he did not die. I know that these memories are painful for you, but this is extremely important for this tribunal to hear."

    Y¨­u Kexin''s tone remained indifferent. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you promise that my Y¨­u n will be given apletely fair trial?"

    "I, Lu Yin, give you my promise as both an overseer and a Lockbreaker," Lu Yin loudly dered.

    Everyone was taken aback. Lu Yin seemed to be too concerned with the fate of the Y¨­u n.

    Y¨­u Kexin then continued in a more rxed manner, "I already said that we received a message from Y¨­u Qi right before we received the news of his death. We never saw any trace of him again until the Astral Towerpetition.

    ¡°However, thatst message was not the only thing we received, as there was also a final video sent of him. I have it saved on my gadget."

    Hui Santong walked forward and handed the matriarch¡¯s gadget to Lu Yin, who then tossed it over to Y¨­u Kexin.

 Chapter 1936: The Truth

    Chapter 1936: The Truth

    Y¨­u Kexin activated her gadget and projected a disy in the air above them. The image wobbled a bit and the surroundings zoomed past continuously. It was clear that the person recording this video had been fleeing. Suddenly, there was a spray of blood and then the video dropped down to reveal Y¨­u Qi¡¯s face without a flicker of life in his eyes.

    Y¨­u Kexin just stared at the video without any reaction. She was a mother, and seeing the image of her son¡¯s death was incredibly difficult for her. But because she had already watched this video countless times, she was able to remain calm as she viewed it yet again.

    The disy finally disappeared, and Hui Santong retrieved the gadget from Y¨­u Kexin.

    "Matriarch Y¨­u, do you know where that video was taken?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Kexin shook her head. "I don''t know. The video wasn¡¯t enough for me to determine that at all."

    Lu Yin gestured to seal Y¨­u Kexin off and immediately turned back to Y¨­u Lao. "Elder, did you ever mention Peacewater to Matriarch Y¨­u?"

    Elder Y¨­u shook his head. "No. After we received word of Y¨­u Qi¡¯s death, I personally went to visit Peacewater, but everything there waspletely normal. I stayed there for half a year, but I never found a thing."

    "Do you believe that the region near Peacewater looks rather simr to the area in the video of Y¨­u Qi¡¯s death?"

    "They¡¯re not simr. It¡¯s the same ce."

    "Then why didn''t you mention this to Matriarch Y¨­u?"

    "There was no reason to. Even someone like me wasn¡¯t able to find anything in that ce, so what would be the purpose in anyone else going?" Y¨­u Lao sighed.

    There were far too many Cruisers in the universe, and the video of Y¨­u Qi¡¯s death did not even show his attacker. There were not even any signs of a fight. It was impossible to determine who had attacked the young man from the video alone, and Peacewater was indeed a perfectly average.

    That was precisely why it had been able to hide Aeternus Nation.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve repeatedly brought up Peacewater, and you even leaped to your feet when you first heard its name be mentioned. Is there something significant about the ce?" Ce Laoyan asked.

    Lu Yin immediately started taking precautions. "Everyone, please dismiss those with you. This matter is something that can not be spoken of to anyone, as doing so will cause you to be put to trial by the Interster Supreme Court."

    Mu Tianlun was stunned. Lu Yin was an overseer, which granted him some indirect influence on the Interster Supreme Court, but that was not nearly enough for him to be able to determine who could be put to trial. It took the entire overseers¡¯ council to make such a decision. Despite that, Lu Yin had confidently stated such a thing publicly. In other words, this matter was so important that anything rted to it could actually skip past the overseers¡¯ council and have the Interster Supreme Court immediately move to arrest someone.

    Hui Zhi and the others instantly grew somber, and they each waved back those apanying them. Soon, only the Seven Courts¡¯ patriarchs and Mu Tianlun were able to hear Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Peacewater is the door to Aeternus Nation."

    Everyone''s expressions instantly and drastically changed.

    "Aeternus Nation? The Neohuman Alliance¡¯s Aeternus Nation?" Hui Zhi was horrified.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right. Aeternus Nation was hidden in a parallel universe centered around Peacewater. That ce was the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters and the Seven Skygods¡¯ base for eons."

    No one had expected to hear such information, and they all gave Lu Yin odd looks with obvious confusion.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you¡¯re aware that Peacewater is the entrance to Aeternus Nation, why haven¡¯t you reported this to the Hall of Honor?" Mu Tianlun shouted angrily.

    Lu Yin looked at the man as though he was an idiot. "I wasn¡¯t the one to find out about this. I was told this by the Chief Justice."

    Mu Tianlun was stunned. The Chief Justice?

    Hui Zhi solemnly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, please clear this up for us."

    Lu Yin then shared how the Chief Justice had led him and several others on a mission to destroy Aeternus Nation. While quite a few people had already learned of this matter, it had not spread. Mu Tianlun would have naturally learned of it after returning to the Arbitration World, so there was no need for Lu Yin to hide any of this.

    "Aeternus Nation has already been destroyed. Because it was in a parallel universe, no one was ever able to find it. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask the Chief Justice to verify what I¡¯ve just said," Lu Yin said.

    Everyone nced around at each other withplicated expressions. They had all been aware that the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters had been hidden in the Neoverse, but none of them had expected it to be so close to them. They had essentially been neighbors.

    Mu Tianlun¡¯s thoughts moved along different lines. The Interster Supreme Court had taken action, but the Chief Justice would have been able to destroy all of Aeternus Nation on his own, so why had Lu Yin been taken along? What was the Chief Justice¡¯s rtionship with Lu Yin?

    Hui Zhi''s eyes flickered. "If Peacewater was the ess point for the parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation, then does that mean that the ¡®scourge¡¯ Y¨­u Qi mentioned was Aeternus Nation?"

    Lu Yin replied, "That seems very likely. If Y¨­u Qi betrayed humanity, why would he have ever said a single word to Y¨­u Lao regarding Peacewater? He should have been afraid that Y¨­u Lao would mention the ce to the Y¨­u n and that the Y¨­u n would send people to Peacewater. There¡¯s no way that Y¨­u Qi could have known that Y¨­u Lao wouldn¡¯t say anything, and there also wouldn¡¯t have been any reason to stage a death scene. The reason why he died¡ªno, the reason his death was faked was most likely so that the Neohuman Alliance could manipte the situation in some way and get Y¨­u Qi into Burial Garden.

    "If my guess is correct, Y¨­u Qi never intended to betray mankind at all.

    "Naturally, there¡¯s also another possibility, which is that Y¨­u Qi actually did predict that Y¨­u Lao wouldn¡¯t say anything and that Peacewater wouldn¡¯t be found. As for why he would do any of the things that he did¡­" Lu Yin paused as he spread his hands wide. "There¡¯s nothing that I can think of."

    Everyone turned to stare at Y¨­u Kexin. Lu Yin¡¯s words were quite urate. Y¨­u Qi¡¯s actions did seem pointless if he had been a traitor. Why would Y¨­u Qi try to lure Y¨­u Lao to Peacewater? This did not make any sense. If Y¨­u Qi had intended to betray humanity, there was no need to tell Y¨­u Lao about that. Instead, the most likely reason why he had said anything was because Y¨­u Qi had managed to uncover some secret rted to Peacewater and had wanted to investigate it on his own. Him mentioning it to Y¨­u Lao was purely coincidental.

    However, Y¨­u Qi had overestimated himself and had instead been controlled by the Neohuman Alliance and sent into Burial Garden, where he had acted as a homing beacon.

    Not even Mu Tianlun could argue against the fact that Aeternus Nation had been the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s headquarters. There was no secret big enough to justify using Aeternus Nation as bait, and even if there was a goal that warranted such a sacrifice, what would it be? Y¨­u Lao¡¯s death? The entire Y¨­u family? Impossible.

    The moment that Y¨­u Lao had mentioned Peacewater, Lu Yin had already realized that it was not very likely for Y¨­u Qi to be a traitor.

    Mu Tianlun spoke up in a low voice. "Alliance Leader Lu, even if what you say makes sense, as long as there remains even the smallest possibility, we can¡¯t be hasty in deciding that the Y¨­u n hasn¡¯t colluded with the Neohuman Alliance."

    "Of course." Lu Yin looked over at Mu Tianlun. "After all, Y¨­u Qi was the beacon that allowed the Neohuman Alliance entry into Burial Garden. That remains a fact. It¡¯s possible that he did betray humanity and collude with the Neohuman Alliance but simply didn''t know anything about Peacewater''s secret. It might be nothing more than a coincidence, even if the chances of that are quite small."

    Mu Tianlun''s expression grew ugly, and he stopped talking.

    Hui Zhi asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, in your opinion, how should this tribunal handle this matter?"

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment. "Everyone, if I¡¯m right, then not only did Y¨­u Qi not betray mankind, but he also made an incredible contribution towards eradicating the Neohuman Alliance and died for humanity. If this is true, then we cannot let this tribunal assume the worst. In essence, we should maintain the subjective belief that the Y¨­u n has not coborated with the Neohuman Alliance."

    He noticed that Mu Tianlun was about to speak up, so Lu Yin continued, saying, "Of course, we can¡¯t simply ignore any other possibilities, so the investigation of the Y¨­u n will need to continue. However, the manner in which the investigation is conducted can be changed. At the very least, the Y¨­u n will need to be given a basic level of respect."

    "I agree with Alliance Leader Lu''s proposal. Hui Zhi was the first to speak up.

    "Agreed," Ku Pu said.

    Xie Ahua and Ce Laoyan also agreed, and Lu Yin turned to look at Xia Yi.

    Xia Yi softly said, "Agreed."

    Despite his enmity with Lu Yin, Xia Yi understood that the Y¨­u n was also a part of the Seven Courts. The Yu family was already missing, and if the Y¨­u n was lost as well, the Court of Seven Names would be reduced to only five families, which would drastically reduce their strength.

    As a member of the Seven Courts, Xia Yi had no choice but to agree with Lu Yin.

    Only Mu Tianlun¡¯s stance remained unknown. He was representing the Interster Supreme Court as a supervisor of the Seven Courts¡¯ internal tribunal. If he disagreed, the Y¨­u n might still be arrested and interrogated, which would add further troubles to the Seven Courts.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are you suggesting that the Y¨­u n should no longer be restricted with a lockdown? What if they use this to try to escape?" Mu Tianlun stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Escape?"

    Mu Tianlun¡¯s eyes narrowed. He really wanted to force Lu Yin to say something that could be used to implicate the young man or suggest a possible collusion between the Y¨­u n and the Neohuman Alliance.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "It''s none of my business if they escape."

    Everyone was left stunned by this response.

    Mu Tianlun''s eyes went wide. "This is your proposal!"

    "You¡¯re wee to make your own. If it¡¯s good, we can agree to it instead.¡± Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Mu Tianlun¡¯s eye twitched. How could he possibly suggest something different with all of the Seven Courts¡¯ leaders staring at him? Without Lu Yin¡¯s presence, a Judicial Commissioner like Mu Tianlun could have demanded that an investigation be conducted by the Interster Supreme Court until they were fully satisfied with the results. However, Lu Yin was present, and he was also a representative of the overseers¡¯ council. On top of that, he had the unanimous support of the patriarchs of the Seven Courts. Thus, even if Mu Tianlun disagreed with this proposal, it would not be easy for him to demand that there be a new investigation headed by the Interster Supreme Court. Besides, doing so would make him an enemy of the entire Seven Courts.

    While a Judicial Commissioner of the Interster Supreme Court had no need to fear the Seven Courts, there was also no need to instigate new enmities.

    "I can agree with Alliance Leader Lu''s proposal based on what has appeared during this interrogation. However, I will also report this entire matter to the Chief Justice. If the Y¨­u n takes advantage of the reduced surveince to escape, you will not be able to escape responsibility for it, Alliance Leader Lu," Mu Tianlun stated in a deep voice. After making his position known, the man left without giving Lu Yin a chance to respond.

    After the Judicial Commissioner left, Lu Yin turned to Hui Zhi. "Although there¡¯s a small possibility that the Y¨­u n betrayed humanity, they will still need to be watched. It¡¯s impossible to know that this was all just a coincidence for sure. There is still a possibility, and it¡¯s also impossible to know if the Neohuman Alliance might have an even deeper n behind all this. So, the Y¨­u n cannot be left unattended."

    Hui Zhi replied, "We understand that even if the Hall of Honor doesn''t step in, we need to take action against the Y¨­u n ourselves. For at least 100 years, no member of the Y¨­u n will be permitted to leave the Seven Courts¡¯ territory, and they will be observed at all times."

    Lu Yin nodded. The Neohuman Alliance was humanity¡¯s greatest enemy. They were not merely the enemy of the Hall of Honor, but also of the Seven Courts. After all, they were both part of the human race.

    This decision signaled the end of the tribunal, which allowed everyone in the Y¨­u n to let out a sigh of relief.

    Y¨­u Kexin was left puzzled; was it over already? On top of that, the tribunal had ended in the Y¨­u n¡¯s favor! Not only had Y¨­u Kexin not been taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated as the matriarch of the Y¨­u n, but her n had also not been overly restricted. In fact, aside from the fact that none of them could leave the Seven Courts¡¯ territory, nothing had changed for the Y¨­u npared to before.

    She could not understand such an oue, unless something unexpected hade out during the tribunal¡¯s investigation.

    This thought caused the matriarch to turn to look at Lu Yin. He was the only person who could have caused the investigation to have such a surprising oue.

    "Sister Y¨­u, you should be grateful to Alliance Leader Lu. If not for his contributions to this investigation, your Y¨­u n would have ended up in deep trouble," Xie Ahua said with a smile. She then gave one more enchanting smile to Lu Yin before leaving.

 Chapter 1937: Lu Yins Inclination

    Chapter 1937: Lu Yin''s Inclination

    Ce Laoyan, Ku Pu, and the other patriarchs also left one after another. Lu Yin had already told Ku Pu that he intended to stay in the Y¨­u n¡¯s territory and that he would not return to the Voidsoul Region.

    Although all of the patriarchs had left, around half of the people stayed behind to lock down the Y¨­u n as they still needed to be monitored, though not as strictly as before.

    Hui Zhi looked at Y¨­u Kexin. "I don''t know why your Y¨­u n purposely separated themselves, and I also am not sure whether or not you¡¯ve cooperated with the Neohuman Alliance. However, all you can do is prove your innocence."

    With that, the man nodded to Lu Yin and left.

    After everyone left, Y¨­u Kexin turned to Lu Yin. Numerous emotions were swirling through the woman¡¯s heart at this moment. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Behind Y¨­u Kexin, every member of the Y¨­u n bowed in unison. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin raised a hand. "There''s no need for such thanks, Matriarch Y¨­u. I simply participated in the investigation. If there was evidence that the Y¨­u n really had betrayed humanity by working with the Neohuman Alliance, I would have been the first to destroy your Y¨­u n."

    While such a statement left the entire Y¨­u n rather unhappy, they could not deny that this was right and true. Silence reigned for a bit.

    Y¨­u Lao returned to his wooden boat while singing some unknown song.

    Y¨­u Kexin walked along the Great Abyss with Lu Yin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, Y¨­u Keyan sought you out, didn¡¯t she?" Y¨­u Kexin asked.

    Y¨­u Keyan was the name of Madam Y¨­u, the Y¨­u family''s matriarch.

    "That''s right. She asked me toe here and ensure a fair investigation for you," Lu Yin said.

    Y¨­u Kexin stared out at the Great Abyss with a bitter smile on her face. "I never thought that, even after leaving the Y¨­u n, she would still surpass me. She even ended up being the one to save the Y¨­u n."

    "Wrong. Y¨­u Qi was the one who saved the Y¨­u n on his own, though there was also a good bit of luck involved," Lu Yin retorted. If not for the fact that the hidden location of Aeternus Nation had been recently uncovered, Lu Yin also would not have known about the secret behind Peacewater. In that case, he would not have been able to help the Y¨­u n. Even though they were still technically imprisoned, as long as no evidence of their cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance surfaced, things would eventually return to normal for the Y¨­u n.

    The Human Domain''s attitude regarding the Neohuman Alliance was so inflexible that there was no way for anyone to escape their investigation if suspicions of collusion appeared. It did not matter who they were or who stood behind them. The only reason why the Y¨­u n had not been immediately captured and interrogated was partly out of respect for the Seven Courts, but also because Y¨­u Qi had been a part of Burial Garden. The Y¨­u n had treated him as a dead person, and if not for that, Y¨­u Kexin would have already been taken to the Arbitration World to be interrogated.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you can¡¯t really be afraid that all of this was merely a coincidence. Do you really believe that Y¨­u Qi was truly a traitor or that he was controlled?" Y¨­u Kexin asked.

    Even a child could determine the Y¨­u family''s innocence from what had been seen, regardless of the numerous coincidences.

    Lu Yin stared out at the Great Abyss. "Sometimes the truth is not actually what¡¯s important, but rather the results."

    He could either state that the Y¨­u n was innocent or use Qing Shaohuang of being guilty, both guesses, but what will actually sway his decision? It all depended on his status, his power, and his inclination.

    Whether or not there were actually traitors within the Y¨­u n was business that Lu Yin could leave for the Seven Courts and the Hall of Honor to resolve. After all, Mu Tianlun would never let this matter go like that. All Lu Yin needed to do was gain the favor of the Y¨­u n, nothing more.

    However, there was one thing that seemed very odd to Lu Yin: why had the Chief Justice not personally appeared? Why had only Mu Tianlun been sent here? The Y¨­u n had powerful elders and a deep foundation, and Mu Tianlun would never be able to force them to do anything by himself. Y¨­u Lao alone was an unfathomable powerhouse.

    Despite that, the Chief Justice had note to the Seven Courts. Also, Xia Ji had remained in seclusion. Everyone¡¯s attention had been focused on Y¨­u Qi and whether or not he had betrayed humanity, and no one had even once suspected Y¨­u Lao. However, the fact remained that Y¨­u Qi had only ever mentioned Peacewater to Y¨­u Lao, who was also the only source of that information. If the old man was lying, then there was nothing else that supported the Y¨­u n¡¯s innocence.

    The nameless tune grew louder as it got closer and closer. When Lu Yin looked out into the Great Abyss, he saw the wooden boat that Y¨­u Lao was rowing along approaching him. "Would you like to go for a boat ride?"

    Lu Yin stared at Y¨­u Lao for a moment before smiling. "Sure."

    As soon as he agreed, Lu Yin leaped into the wooden boat.

    Surprisingly, Y¨­u Kexin also entered the boat where she bowed to Y¨­u Lao. "I''m sorry to trouble you, Elder."

    Y¨­u Lao just chuckled. He remained the only one in the boat¡¯s bow and resumed paddling along.

    It was a small boat that moved across the Great Abyss, and Lu Yin could not help but think that it would be great if he could rece Y¨­u Kexin with Yan''er.

    "What price did Y¨­u Keyan pay, Alliance Leader Lu? What did she offer that could motivate you?" Y¨­u Kexin asked, though she did not look at Lu Yin, instead continuing to stare at the Great Abyss.

    Lu Yin replied, "What do you think the Y¨­u family could offer me, Matriarch Y¨­u? The entire You family is already part of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    Y¨­u Kexin turned to look at Lu Yin. "That''s why I¡¯m so curious. Could she have given you herself?"

    Lu Yin spluttered and coughed before frowning at Y¨­u Kexin. "That¡¯s not a funny joke."

    Y¨­u Kexin offered a small smile. "I hate Y¨­u Keyan."

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    "She¡¯s surpassed me in everything since we were children. She¡¯s always been one step ahead, and she even became the Y¨­u n¡¯s matriarch. However, despite gaining that position, she gave it up. When I took her ce, I hated her while also feeling grateful to her.

    "That is, until I learned that she took the Y¨­u Secret Art away. I no longer felt grateful towards her after that¡­" Y¨­u Kexin spoke slowly and revealed a bit of the Y¨­u n¡¯s recent history.

    "I may be the Y¨­u n¡¯s matriarch, but Y¨­u Keyan will always be the rightful leader of the family. What is the Y¨­u n without the Y¨­u Secret Art? The true Y¨­u n will always be wherever the Y¨­u Secret Art is. Just as Y¨­u Keyan surpassed me, Ye''er is simrly better than Y¨­u Qin. I really hate Y¨­u Keyan and her daughter. If not for them, Y¨­u Qi would have never felt the need to prove himself to others that he was the true heir of the Y¨­u n.

    "Why did Y¨­u Ye''er receive the Y¨­u Secret Art? Why did Y¨­u Keyan take our secret technique away?"

    Seeing the grief on Y¨­u Kexin''s face, Lu Yin did not know what to say. There was a cause and an effect to everything, and while Y¨­u Keyan and her daughter could not truly be held ountable for Y¨­u Qi''s death, from Y¨­u Kexin''s perspective, who else could she me? Lu Yin felt that he had no ce to judge without having gone through a simr experience.

    There was a sigh, and Y¨­u Lao slowly sat down. He then raised a hand and ced it on top of Y¨­u Kexin''s heart. "You¡¯re a good child, and you are not inferior to anyone at all."

    Y¨­u Kexin began to weep loudly. Shepletely let all of the pain and sadness that she had withheld for so many years out. As a cultivator, she felt like she could notpare to Y¨­u Keyan. As a mother, she had not been able to obtain the best inheritances for her children. Her family had continued to fracture, especially after her son¡¯s death, not to mention the fact that there was never even a single clue regarding his murderer. And when her son reappeared, she had not even been able to meet with him before he died yet again, and that second death had plunged her entire n to the verge of total copse.

    Such pain was truly unbearable.

    Y¨­u Kexin had endured too much and suffered for too long.

    Y¨­u Lao just sat there and held Y¨­u Kexin as though he wereforting a child.

    Lu Yin grew a bit embarrassed, though he also empathized with the woman.

    Some timeter, Y¨­u Kexin finally regained control of herself. "My apologies, Elder."

    Y¨­u Lao shook his head. "You¡¯re a good child. The members of our family have been forced to make sacrifices, and you must remember that her sacrifices are no less than your own. At the very least, you are still acknowledged as a member of our family."

    A quiver ran through Y¨­u Kexin''s body, and most of her hatred and anger towards Y¨­u Keyan melted away at that instant. There was no punishment worse than being erased from the family tree. Y¨­u Keyan might have gained everything, but she had still lost her Y¨­u n.

    Y¨­u Lao resumed paddling the boat.

    Y¨­u Kexin slowly bowed to Lu Yin. "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu, I went overboard just now."

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the woman from proceeding. "It¡¯s fine, as long as you¡¯re better now."

    A slight smile appeared on Y¨­u Kexin¡¯s face. "I¡¯m much better. Alliance Leader Lu, I would truly like to know what Y¨­u Keyan offered you. After all, not just anything can interest someone like you."

    Lu Yin replied, "She didn¡¯t pay me anything. I can¡¯t get the Y¨­u Secret Art since it can only be inherited by a single person at a time, and such techniques are also usually rted to one¡¯s bloodline, which means that no one outside of your Y¨­u n can ever obtain it. That secret technique is your greatest treasure, and other than that, they have nothing at all that they can offer me."

    "Still, I have some understanding of you, Alliance Leader Lu. While the Y¨­u Secret Art might be priceless to most others, it may not hold much of an appeal to you, Alliance Leader Lu. What is it that you want from my Y¨­u n?" Y¨­u Kexin stared at Lu Yin as she recovered the typical calmness and wisdom that she disyed as the Y¨­u matriarch.

    Lu Yin leaned back against the side of the boat and calmly answered, "Everything you know about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming."

    The wooden boat suddenly stopped moving.

    Y¨­u Kexin stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    Y¨­u Lao slowly turned his head around to also stare at Lu Yin with his aged eyes.

    Lu Yin looked back at Y¨­u Lao. "This junior is very curious about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, the secret regarding the Y¨­u family, and why the Y¨­u n separated. While I was able to learn almost everything from Madam Y¨­u and others in the Y¨­u family, there¡¯s one thing that they could not answer, which is about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s Impious Sutra."

    Y¨­u Kexin was confused, as she actually knew much less about the Y¨­u Secret Art than even Madam Y¨­u and Y¨­u Ye''er. After all, Y¨­u Kexin had never received the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    However, Y¨­u Lao was different. He was the Y¨­u n¡¯s oldest and most powerful member, and Lu Yin suspected that the old man had likely inherited the Y¨­u Secret Art in the past. Thus, it was likely that the old man¡¯s understanding of the Y¨­u Secret Art far surpassed what Y¨­u Ye''er knew.

    This was precisely why Lu Yin had stepped onto the wooden boat.

    Y¨­u Lao lowered the oars. "So it turns out that Alliance Leader Lu is interested in our ancestor."

    Lu Yin solemnly responded, "More precisely, I¡¯m interested in the Undying Manual."

    Y¨­u Lao shook his head. "The Undying Manual? The technique rumored to have appeared in the Starfall Sea that can grant immortality? What does that have to do with our ancestor?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed in an instant. "Senior, do you really not know?"

    "I really don''t."

    Lu Yin stared out at the Great Abyss, lost in his own thoughts.

    He felt that the Starsibyl Sect''s divination should be trustworthy, and they had determined that there was some sort of connection between Undying Yushan and Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. Undying Yushan had cultivated the Undying Manual, and that was the only thing that Lu Yin could think of that might be connected to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. There seemed to not even be any other possibility.

    "Senior, what sort of rtionship was there between the Yu family and the Y¨­u n?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    This was something that Y¨­u Kexin absolutely would not know much about, as the Yu family had already left the Seven Courts when she had be the matriarch of the Y¨­u n. Thus, Y¨­u Lao was the only person who could answer Lu Yin¡¯s question.

    Y¨­u Lao thought back. "The Yu family? Our rtionship with them was the same as it was with the other families of the Seven Courts. We worked as one to protect Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, but we didn¡¯t ever really have any other ties between us aside from that."

    "Did the Yu family evere into contact with the Y¨­u Secret Art?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Kexin instantly replied, "Of course not! The Y¨­u Secret Art has always been passed down through the family in a direct line, so how could anyone from the Yu family havee into contact with our secret technique?"

    Y¨­u Lao stared at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ve heard that you have a strong rtionship with the remnants of the Yu family and that you¡¯ve also learned their secret technique. But now, you¡¯re asking me about my Y¨­u n and our ancestor. Can you tell me why?"

    Lu Yin thought for a bit, but finally said, "There¡¯s a member of the Yu family known as Undying Yushan, and he¡¯s trained in the Undying Manual. This junior once asked the Starsibyl Sect to perform a divination on that man, but the only thing that their divination could determine was some sort of connection between Undying Yushan and your Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. This is something that I¡¯ve been questioning ever since I heard of it."

    Y¨­u Lao and Y¨­u Kexin nced at each other. "How could that be possible? How could someone from the Yu family have any connection to our Y¨­u n¡¯s Progenitor?"

    "That is exactly what I would like to know," Lu Yin replied.

 Chapter 1938: Netherworld River

    Chapter 1938: Netherworld River

    Y¨­u Lao immediately understood the seriousness of the situation that Lu Yin was describing. "If what you¡¯re saying is true, then there might actually be something wrong with the Undying Manual."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    Y¨­u Lao¡¯s voice dropped low, "Our ancestor lived much too long ago. The truth is that we know nothing about our ancestor aside from the fact that they possessed the Y¨­u Secret Art. Without that secret technique, even we would not believe that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming ever existed. Everything that we¡¯ve learned about our ancestor hase from the Y¨­u Secret Art, such as the fact that she was known as Ever-Changing Y¨­u Ming."

    Lu Yin nodded. Y¨­u Keyan had previously mentioned the title of Ever-Changing Y¨­u Ming.

    "Our ancestor¡¯s cultivation art was known as the Impious Sutra, and it epasses everything. No one knows what its various chapters contain, and it¡¯s possible that the Undying Manual is one of the Impious Sutra¡¯s chapters," Y¨­u Lao exined.

    Lu Yin suddenly had a headache. If this was true, then Undying Yushan was going to be incredibly difficult to deal with.

    Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been one of the Ancient Progenitors, and the Starsibyl Sect had told Lu Yin that she had most likely lived during the same era as the God of Death.

    "Senior, would you believe that your ancestor might still be alive?" Lu Yin asked suddenly.

    Y¨­u Lao looked up at Lu Yin. "Because of the Undying Manual?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "If the Undying Manual really is a chapter from the Impious Sutra, and since it¡¯s said that the Undying Manual can grant immortality, then could Progenitor Y¨­u Ming still be immortal? Could she still be alive somewhere?"

    Y¨­u Lao shook his head. "It¡¯s possible. If our ancestor is still alive, it would be wonderful for my Y¨­u n."

    "Could it be that the eyes that have been observing your family belong to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?" Lu Yin asked again.

    This question startled Y¨­u Lao quite badly, and Y¨­u Kexin suddenly felt chills cover her body. She felt as though that gaze was looking at her once more, and she suddenly found that the Great Abyss looked much more sinister than before.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are you teasing me?" Y¨­u Kexin''s face had turned pale. Such a thought would cause just about anyone to panic. If their ancestor was still alive and watching their family, then that would be simply too terrifying.

    Seeing that the matriarch was genuinely terrified and not putting on an act, Lu Yin indifferently replied, "Whether that gaze belongs to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming or not, that watcher hasn¡¯t done anything to your family despite the passage of so many years. Honestly, I¡¯d be more worried about Xia Ji. After all, you¡¯re both part of the same Seven Courts. There¡¯s also the possibility that the gaze is nothing more than an illusion."

    "Impossible," Y¨­u Kexin instantly refuted.

    Lu Yin looked down at the Great Abyss. He could not see the bottom, so he reached out to touch it. The Great Abyss was not a normal river by any means, and its waters had a corrosive property. Normally, people would not dare to even touch the river, though such a thing could not pose any threat to Lu Yin. "Have you ever considered how the eyes watching you mighty at the bottom of the Great Abyss?"

    Y¨­u Lao was taken aback. "You also thought of that?"

    Lu Yin was startled, and he turned to look at Y¨­u Lao. "Do you also think that that¡¯s possible, Senior?"

    The old man¡¯s voice grew emotional. "From the moment that that gaze first locked onto us, my entire Y¨­u n has worried for countless years, and our family¡¯s entire territory has been thoroughly searched. The only remaining possibility is the bottom of the Great Abyss."

    "And?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Y¨­u Lao replied, "Nothing unusual was found at all. The Great Abyss is itself a powerful treasure, and my Y¨­u n''s power vessel, the Netherworld River, is born from it. However, despite going down to the bottom of the river countless times, I haven¡¯t been able to find a single thing. In fact, the reason why I¡¯m always out on this boat and paddling about is because if there really is someone hiding at the bottom of the Great Abyss, I¡¯ll be the first to know when they ever appear, or at least the first to die."

    Lu Yin stared at Y¨­u Lao with genuine respect. This old man would dly sacrifice himself to save his family. "If your Y¨­u n agrees, then this junior is willing to investigate the bottom of the Great Abyss as well."

    "Of course, Alliance Leader Lu. Please do as you wish." Y¨­u Lao instantly agreed.

    Y¨­u Kexin also nodded. "Absolutely."

    Lu Yin actually started to panic a bit at the two¡¯s instant and straightforward approval. His only advantage over Y¨­u Lao was that he could observe runes. However, that advantage did not really exist in the Neoverse as most ces had precautions against Gods¡¯ Origin. The only other means at Lu Yin¡¯s disposal to investigate the Great Abyss were his domain and his spiritual force. Given the fact that Y¨­u Lao had repeatedly investigated the depths of the Great Abyss and been unable to find anything, Lu Yin would also fail to discover anything given his inferior strength.

    "Let¡¯s have the Second Nightking go down," Lu Yin said.

    The elder did not refuse this suggestion.

    Lu Yin called out the Second Nightking, and the old man felt rather awkward when he was informed that he needed to dive to the bottom of the Great Abyss. Several juniors were rxing in a boat floating on top of the river while the Second Nightking was being sent down into the depths like an errand boy. Such treatment would leave anyone a bit disgruntled.

    Still, the Second Nightking could not refute Lu Yin¡¯s orders.

    Once the Second Nightking descended into the depths of the Great Abyss, Y¨­u Lao started to get quite anxious.

    "Senior, tell me about the Ce family. How much do you know about them?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Kexin was surprised by this change in topic. "The Ce family?"

    After seeing that Y¨­u Lao was ignoring him and simply staring at the bottom of the Great Abyss, Lu Yin turned to look at Y¨­u Kexin. "That''s right. I intend to visit the Ce family next."

    Y¨­u Kexin replied, "It looks as though you intend to visit all the families of the Seven Courts, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "Just about," Lu Yin admitted.

    "There¡¯s nothing much to say about the Ce family. Their ancestor was Ce Wangtian, another rather ancient Progenitor. Still,pared to my Y¨­u n''s Progenitor, there are many more detailed records concerning Progenitor Ce Wangtian. He created the Ce Secret Art, the Astral Chessboard, and he also created the battle technique Combat Doctrine. This is allmon knowledge.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up at the woman. Common knowledge? No, that was only from the point of view of people at the level of the Seven Courts¡¯ patriarchs.

    If not for an incredible coincidence that had let Mister Mu use the blood of a member of the Zhu family as a guiding medium, Lu Yin would have never been able to learn the Ce Secret Art. He might not have even heard of Progenitor Ce Wangtian until after bing an Enlighter.

    "Combat Doctrine incentivizes the members of the Ce family to continuously learn and test out more battle techniques. They¡¯re thought to possess the greatest number of battle techniques out of any of the Seven Courts. On top of that, because they want toprehend the Ce Secret Art, they constantly try to y chess with everyone. They¡¯re verypetitive with the Hui family because the Hui family is regarded as the most intelligent people in all the Seven Courts while the members of the Ce family believe themselves to be the smartest. This causes them to be incredibly arrogant, so if you intend to visit the Ce family, you should be aware that things might not go as smoothly for you as when you¡¯ve visited the other families, Alliance Leader Lu," Y¨­u Kexin exined.

    Lu Yin understood that Y¨­u Kexin was referring to the fact that Lu Yin was essentially trying to visit the Ce family while being aplete stranger to them. Actually, that was notpletely true. At the very least, Lu Yin hadprehended the Ce Secret Art, which had be public knowledge. On top of that, since he had ruined the Ce family¡¯s plot to take over Millions City, it was quite likely that the Ce family would not view Lu Yin as a friend.

    "Has anyone ever studied the Ce family¡¯s chessboard?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Kexin shook her head, but then she suddenly realized something that surprised her. "You can¡¯t possibly want to study the Immovable Chessboard that their ancestor left behind, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded as though such a thing were only natural.

    Y¨­u Kexin was left speechless. "You realize that the Ce family¡¯s understanding of the Ce Secret Artes exclusively from the Immovable Chessboard, right? They also copy that treasure to produce their exclusive power vessels, which are inferior Immovable Chessboards. Their power vessels are named the same as their greatest treasure, and those Immovable Chessboards are the Ce family¡¯s equivalent of my Y¨­u n¡¯s Netherworld River or the Ku family¡¯s Withered Bark. How could they possibly allow you to study that?"

    Lu Yin started considering this as he stared towards the bottom of the Great Abyss. This was quite a good question. How could he get permission to observe the Immovable Chessboard?

    "It''s not impossible. Another outsider has been allowed to study the Immovable Chessboard before," Y¨­u Lao calmly mentioned, his eyes never shifting from staring at the bottom of the river.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Who?"

    Y¨­u Lao casually replied, "The Chief Justice."

    "The Chief Justice?" Y¨­u Kexin eximed.

    The Chief Justice that he had mentioned could only be the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice. Everyone harbored a deep fear for the Chief Justice, not only because he wielded the Hall of Honor¡¯s most powerful sword, but also because of his own, personal strength. The Chief Justice was monstrously powerful, and no one could deny that fact.

    In the current era, Semi-Progenitors stood at the peak of the Fifth Maind, but even Semi-Progenitor had to be respectful towards the Chief Justice.

    "The Chief Justice visited the Ce family and observed the Immovable Chessboard?" Lu Yin was also surprised.

    Y¨­u Lao finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "Yes. It happened many, many years ago."

    "How did he pull that off?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Lao could clearly still remember that moment. "He overwhelmed them."

    "He overwhelmed them?" Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    Y¨­u Lao solemnly stated. "Anyone who manages to overwhelm the Ce family is able to observe the Immovable Chessboard. The Ce family can be seen as a bully who fears those stronger than themselves. They consider themselves to be strategists who do their best to weigh the potential oues before making any decision, so they typically will not trulymit to a fight. When the Chief Justice appeared, they backed down because their opponent was too strong."

    Lu Yin blinked. Too strong? Was that really how things had yed out? This was really quite interesting, though unfortunately, such an option was still out of Lu Yin¡¯s reach. The Ce family definitely had an elder with a power level of over a million, and Lu Yin still could not do a thing against such a powerhouse. If he tried to rely on the Second Nightking, it would be seen as relying on an external power.

    "How powerful was the Chief Justice for him to be able to overwhelm the Ce family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Lao answered, "I don''t know, as no one has ever seen through the Chief Justice¡¯s strength, but it is known that he had already survived several stellr tribtions. Even if his power level had not reached a million back then, he must have been about there."

    Lu Yin nodded. He had only passed a single stellr tribtion so far. Even if he had managed to form an additional three stellr energy vortices by resealing his meridian points to give himself a strength approaching that of a four-tribtion Envoy, he had also lost his advantages that he had gained from opening his three meridian points. However, once he reopened his meridian points and exposed all four of his stellr energy vortices, his strength would soar to unknown levels.

    Y¨­u Kexin stared at Lu Yin and then at Y¨­u Lao. She was confused. This was something even she had been ignorant of, so why had her elder shared it with Lu Yin?

    It was at this time that the Second Nightking burst up from the depths of the Great Abyss. All three people in the wooden boat looked at the old man, who stated, "There¡¯s nothing unusual down there aside from a few strange currents that swirl through the river in a way that seems to ignore spatial properties."

    "Those are the Netherworld River," Y¨­u Lao replied. He then waved a hand, causing the Great Abyss to violently churn before a stream of water was brought up before Lu Yin, who looked at the swirling water in confusion. "Alliance Leader Lu, this is a Netherworld River which is my Y¨­u n''s unique power vessel. Although this one is not an exceptionally powerful power vessel, it¡¯s still been strengthened within the Great Abyss for many years. This is my gift to you."

    Not only had Lu Yin heard of the Y¨­u n¡¯s unique power vessels known as the Netherworld River, but he had also seen them be used in person. In particr, he had seen Ce Jiu use a Netherworld River in Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, and he had been deeply impressed by the power vessel.

    "Ordinary Netherworld Rivers are only able to move one through the visible universe, but this one can actually function even in the true universe, and it can carry you a vast distance. These are precious even to Envoys," Y¨­u Kexin was actually quite envious, as not even she possessed a Netherworld River of this quality.

    The Netherworld Rivers were birthed from the Great Abyss, and the longer they remained within the Great Abyss, the more powerful the Netherworld River would be. The one that Ce Jiu had used had been one of the mostmonce Netherworld Rivers, but just that had already been able to help him tremendously. As for the one that Lu Yin had just been given, it was one of the most powerful power vessels in the Y¨­u n¡¯s, and not even their matriarch, Y¨­u Kexin, was qualified to use one.

    This power vessel was being given to Lu Yin by the Y¨­u n as thanks for his help in saving them.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he quickly put away the Netherworld River and thanked Y¨­u Lao.

    His time visiting the various families of the Seven Courts had increased Lu Yin¡¯s wealth by incredible levels. He had already acquired one of the Hui family¡¯s true Roots of Intelligence, a piece of the Ku family¡¯s inherited Withered Barks, and at this moment, the Y¨­u n¡¯s Netherworld River. He next intended to visit the Ce family, as only by continuing his rounds would he reap the greatest profit possible from this visit to the Seven Courts.

 Chapter 1939: Starpiece Region

    Chapter 1939: Starpiece Region

    It was impossible for the Ce family to willingly allow Lu Yin to observe their Immovable Chessboard, so would he need to follow his senior brother¡¯s example? However, it was also impossible for Lu Yin to imitate the Chief Justice¡¯s achievement at the moment.

    Y¨­u Kexin left, and Y¨­u Lao continued to paddle the boat along the Great Abyss while Lu Yin sat alone and stared out at the river drifting by.

    The Starpiece Region was a rather unique ce. The Ce family had controlled this ce for countless years, and they had arranged the stars in the region like chess pieces, which made the entire Starpiece Region look like a chessboard. No matter from which angle one looked at it, the Starpiece Region looked like a neatly arranged chess game.

    The further back one observed the Seven Courts¡¯ territory from, the more amazingly bizarre the Seven Courts appeared.

    The Y¨­u n¡¯s Great Abyss looked like a giant mirror hanging in space that brilliantly reflected all light. The Ku family¡¯s Voidsoul Region glimmered with lightning, and the Ce family¡¯s Starpiece Region looked like a chessboard that had been set up for giants to y with. The Hui family¡¯s Nature¡¯s Manifestation was a mountain range that held countless golden meteors that shed through the area. The Xia family¡¯s maind looked like a sword dominating space,pletely untouchable. As for the Xie family¡¯s Bone ins, they were covered with bones and filled with a dark energy.

    The Seven Courts surrounded Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, and together, they were the most terrifying power in the southern region of the Neoverse.

    ***

    On a within the Starpiece Region, Zhu San was drinking while feeling depressed. By now, his vision had already gone blurry from the alcohol. He was in a brothel, and there were beautiful women everywhere, but not a single one of them paid any attention to Zhu San.

    At this time, sounds of excitement could be heard throughout the entire brothel. In a courtyard in the rear, beautiful women flooded into a room and then filled the area outside the room as well. All of them gazed into the room with bright eyes.

    Several young gentlemen with humble expressions had entered that room, though it was impossible for them to hide the arrogance that filled their eyes. After entering the brothel, they each put their arms around two beautiful women and began tough and y around, inciting the envy of the other clients nearby.

    "That''s Qian Ye, the leader of the Fantasy Traders Co. He''s a very impressive person who is considered a genius as he was able to help the Ce family establish the Illusionary Business Alliance. Eventually, he managed to gain total control of the Fantasy Traders Co.," someonemented without any attempt to keep their voice quiet.

    When one of the young men with his arms around two beautiful women heard thisment, a triumphant smile appeared on his face, and he started acting more and more entitled. It was coupled with the lovely sweet nothings that were whispered into his ears by thedies.

    "There¡¯s Qian Ye, who heads the Fantasy Traders Co., Zi Shu, the director of the Yonderlight Finance, and Ming Tai, who married the Sealed Qi World¡¯s princess. Those three men are some of the most outstanding geniuses in the entire Ce family. My Ce family focuses primarily on one¡¯s mastery of Combat Doctrine rather than overwhelming strength. Obtaining the greatest advantage for the least effort is what¡¯s appreciated, and those three have taken total control of the Fantasy Traders Co., the Yonderlight Finance, and the Sealed Qi World for the family. They also regard each other as true brothers, so even young master Ce Jiu needs to be respectful to them if he sees them."

    "It¡¯s true. Even though the Ce family has hundreds of thousands of outside surnames, too few people canpare to these three¡¯s aplishments. However, I¡¯ve heard that there are other people from families with even more impressive histories who are nning big things."

    "That¡¯s nothing more than a rumor. Who¡¯d believe that? Those three have aplished everything without using any of the Ce family¡¯s resources, which is the best that anyone can possibly achieve. They were also only able to do that much because all three of them supported each other. But look at that drunk! Zhu San¡¯s another person with an outside surname, as he¡¯s from the Zhu family. He was also supposed to improve the family, but he failed to grab some city in the Outerverse before he came running back here.¡±

    "That¡¯s Zhu San? I¡¯ve heard that the Ce family had high expectations for him and that they even allowed him to learn Combat Doctrine, but despite that, he still failed? It was even in some trash heap like the Outerverse, which is really embarrassing."

    "I heard that he went into Burial Garden but fled almost immediately! He¡¯s as timid as a mouse! Inparison, Mr. Qian Ye and the others are too impressive."

    Qian Ye, who had been walking into the room with two beautiful women in his arms, suddenly froze and turned around. He saw the already drunk Zhu San sitting at a table, and something flickered through Qian Ye¡¯s eyes. Then, he turned back, the two women still in his arms, and walked towards Zhu San.

    His two friends nced at each other but followed behind Qian Ye.

    In just a moment, the air around Zhu San had a heavy lingering scent of perfume.

    "Brother Zhu, it''s depressing to drink all alone. Why don¡¯t we join you?" Qian Ye sat down across from Zhu San, looking at the drunk young man with a great deal of interest.

    Zhu San''s eyes were hazy, and he couldn¡¯t even see clearly. "Who are you?"

    "Brother Zhu¡¯s so drunk that he can¡¯t even recognize the three of us!" Zi Shuughed loudly as he walked behind Zhu San, grabbed him by the hair, and lifted his head up.

    Pain erupted in the back of Zhu San¡¯s neck, and he reflexively pped out at Zi Shu. The young man¡¯s eyes grew fierce, and he moved to dodge the attack while throwing out a kick in response. Although they were both Explorers and Zhu San was quite drunk, he was able to easily deflect Zi Shu''s kick by utilizing Combat Doctrine.

    Zhu San turned around and raised a finger. He moved his finger in an odd pattern before thrusting it at Zi Shu.

    The young man¡¯s pupils shrank sharply, as he did not know where to even begin to evade this attack. It felt as though it covered every path he could take, and no matter what he did, he could not dodge.

    At that moment, Ming Tai pulled out a strange, gun-like weapon and shot it at Zhu San. Zhu San''s body froze, and his fingertips stopped just before they touched Zi Shu''s forehead as they were unable to move any closer.

    "I¡¯ve locked down his movements! Zi Shu, are you okay?" Ming Tai asked.

    There was an ugly expression on Zi Shu''s face as he had been almost instantly taken out of the fight. He stared at Zhu San, who was still drunk, and Zi Shu could not contain his rage. He kicked Zhu San and sent him flying.

    Zhu San violently mmed into a wall and spat out a mouthful of blood. He then continued vomiting after that, which caused everyone nearby to step back in disgust.

    After purging all the alcohol from his stomach, Zhu San leaned against the wall, finally sober. At the same time, he was ovee by an incredible pain from his abdomen.

    He held his belly as he looked forward.

    Qian Ye, Zi Shu, and Mister Ming Tai were also staring down at Zhu San on the floor.

    "Brother Zhu, are you finally awake?" Qian Ye asked as he stared at Zhu San with cold eyes.

    Zhu San could not understand what was happening.

    Zi Shu sneered. "It looks like I¡¯ll need to kick you again."

    These words instantly snapped Zhu San out of his daze. He wiped the blood away from the corner of his mouth and struggled to his feet. He then stared straight at Zi Shu. "Did you kick me?"

    Zi Shu remainedpletely unfazed.

    Ming Tai casually replied, "Brother Zhu, you¡¯re drunk and have been causing trouble in this brothel. We didn''t want your Zhu family''s reputation ruined, so we made sure to stop you."

    He then loudly asked the nearby people, "Isn¡¯t that so?"

    Nearly everyone quickly responded, "That¡¯s right! Zhu San, you should be thanking these three young masters, as without them, your Zhu family would have been humiliated."

    "That''s right! Thank these three young masters, and then stop making trouble."

    "What an embarrassment."

    "He¡¯s still not thanking them¡­"

    ¡­

    Despite being drunk, Zhu San had never fallen unconscious, and hearing the people around him talking had jogged the young man¡¯s memory of exactly what had just happened. A cold light flickered in the depths of his eyes as he nced at the three young men in front of him, but then he simply turned around and walked out of the room.

    The trio nced at each other, indicating that they did not want to just let Zhu San off.

    The truth was that the three of them had been very optimistic when they returned to the Ce family from the outside world as they had believed themselves to be the most outstanding members of their generation.

    But then, they had met Zhu San.

    Even though Zhu San had failed to capture Millions City and was considered a loser, his personal strength was quite impressive. At least to them. His mastery of Combat Doctrine, and more importantly, the first moves of the Yinyang Trisage Technique was not something that the other three could stand up to. It also had to be mentioned that the first portion of the Yinyang Trisage Technique that Zhu San had acquired was considered important enough topensate for his failure to take control of Millions City. In fact, Zhu San had even been rewarded for his contribution.

    This was something that all three of them had always held a grudge about.

    The three of them were from side branches of the Ce family that possessed outside surnames, but their families still far surpassed Zhu San¡¯s. However, Zhu San was the only surviving member of his family, which meant that they were not allowed to do anything to him. As time passed, Zhu San had remained a low profile.

    Still, regardless of how low a profile Zhu San maintained, it was undeniable that he surpassed the three young masters. Combat Doctrine was a battle technique that was restricted to those with the Ce surname, and yet Zhu San had learned it, which drove the other three crazy with jealousy.

    The trio raced out of the brothel and moved to block Zhu San¡¯s path.

    "Zhu San, we just helped you out, so why are you leaving like this?" Zi Shu asked angrily.

    Zhu San stared back with cold eyes. "What do you want?"

    The three young masters nced at each other, but before they were able to say anything, Zhu San continued, saying, "How about I share Combat Doctrine with you?"

    The three were momentarily startled, but then they almost instantly became ecstatic.

    Zhu San mockingly asked, "I¡¯m willing to teach it to you, but do you dare to try to learn it?"

    These words caused the trio¡¯s faces to all change, and they started struggling internally. Did they dare learn Combat Doctrine? Of course not! Only members of the actual Ce family were allowed to learn it. But in that case, why had Zhu San been allowed to learn it? All three of them were eager to learn Combat Doctrine as only those who had received the technique could be considered true members of the Ce family. The three of them would be able to use Combat Doctrine to imitate others¡¯ battle techniques, which would allow them to rise as high as they could possibly wish.

    "If you don¡¯t have the guts to learn it, then just get out of my way." Zhu San shoved through the three men, clearly intending to leave.

    "This bastard¡¯s just messing with us!" Zi Shu realized. Zhu San had publicly offered to teach them Combat Doctrine, but how could they ever agree? Doing so would be just asking to die! Clearly, Zhu San had never actually intended to teach them a thing.

    Qian Ye and Ming Tai also finally reacted, and all three of the young masters became furious at Zhu San¡¯s trickery.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Even as they spoke, all three attacked Zhu San.

    Zhu San could defeat any one of the three in a one on one, but when they teamed up, he was doomed. After all, the three saw each other as brothers, and they cooperated very well together. On top of that, Zhu San had already been injured, and not even Combat Doctrine and the Yinyang Trisage Technique couldpensate for the difference in the two sides¡¯ strength.

    The three young masters had been operating in the Neoverse for their entire lives, which meant that their base level started at a much higher level than Zhu San¡¯s.

    "You piece of trash! So what if you picked up Combat Doctrine? I heard that you were tricked into wearing women''s clothing while you were in the Outerverse. How humiliating for my Ce family!" Zhu San was blown away by a kick.

    Zi Shu then stepped forward and viciously stomped down on Zhu San with a foot. "Trash! Let me see you wear women''s clothing again! Put it on! I want you to act as a woman in this brothel!"

    "That sounds good! You struggled and fought toplete your task, but unfortunately, you¡¯re too stupid," Ming Tai mocked as he pped Zhu San¡¯s face.

    Everyone in the street watched, but no one moved to help Zhu San.

    Given its location in the Starpiece Region, arge number of people with outside surnames lived on this. Of them, Qian Ye¡¯s little trio were considered the most outstanding youths among those with outside surnames, and they even had their families¡¯ elders supporting them. On the other hand, Zhu San had no one aside from himself, so how could he ever be considered the three young masters¡¯ opponent? This was why no one dared to intervene.

    Zhu San coughed up blood as anger and hatred built up within his heart. He had not cared about being cast aside after he had outlived his usefulness to the Ce family. He had entered Burial Garden in an attempt to open a new future, but he had been chased down and nearly killed before running into Lu Yin. He had been left with no choice but to leave Burial Garden in terror. Looking back at that moment, Zhu San felt that it would have been better for him to have remained in Burial Garden than return to be bullied in the Starpiece Region.

    As the beating continued, a massive ruler1 fell from the sky, knocking Qian Ye and the other two back. The weapon released a powerful aura that instantly suppressed the trio to the point where they nearly spat out blood.

    "Who?" The three looked up, only to realize that a young man had appeared at some point in time, and he was standing in the sky above them while looking down at them all with cold eyes.

    The three were stunned when they saw who it was in the sky, and they quickly bowed. ¡°We greet the young master."

    Everyone on the entire street quickly followed suit and bowed as well. ¡°We greet the young master."

    "We greet the young master."

    ¡­

    Ce Jiu had shown up. No one had ever imagined that he would ever appear in this ce, as no one from the Ce family usually visited this, not to mention Ce Jiu, who was the Ce family¡¯s inheritor.

    [1] This is referring to a Chinese ruler, which is basically a deless sword like this. ?

 Chapter 1940: Lu Yinâ€™s Visit

    Chapter 1940: Lu Yin¡¯s Visit

    Zhu San spat out blood and looked up at the sky.

    Ce Jiu''s eyes fell onto the injured youth, and he frowned. "Are you Zhu San?"

    Zhu San struggled to his feet and slowly bowed. "Zhu San greets the young master."

    Ce Jiu indifferently responded, "You have half an hour to wash up and prepare to see the patriarch with me."

    He then dropped a pill, and the scent that emanated from it made it clear that it was not somemon bit of medicine.

    Qian Ye''s mouth fell open, and his mind was shaken by this sight. He recognized the pill that had just been tossed out; it was the Ce family¡¯s best medicine, and only direct descendants of the Ce family were able to use it when they were seriously injured. How could Zhu San have been given such a treasure? Even though Zhu San looked to be in terrible shape, he was not actually that badly injured, and this sort of medicine waspletely unnecessary.

    Zhu San was also taken aback, and he looked up at Ce Jiu in confusion.

    Ce Jiu just said, "Hurry up."

    Zhu San¡¯s surprise did not abate. "Understood."

    Half an hourter, as Qian Ye and hispanions watched with anxious confusion, Zhu San followed Ce Jiu to leave the. The two quickly made their way towards the center of the Starpiece Region to meet with the patriarch, Ce Laoyan.

    Still on the same street as before, many people looked at Qian Ye and hispanions with gloating eyes. The three young men had repeatedly beaten and bullied Zhu San, but based on what they had all just seen, it appeared that Zhu San may have turned over a new leaf. If this was true, then the lives of the three young men might be quite difficult in the future.

    While the three young men had aplished some things for the Ce family, their contributions still left them far behind the statuses of the Ce family¡¯s direct descendants, and Zhu San had just been taken away by young master Ce Jiu himself. They had all watched Ce Jiu be quite polite to Zhu San, which meant that the situation was not simple.

    Qian Ye and his two friends all looked at each other, weakness oveing their bodies. They could feel an imminent disaster on the horizon. They knew of the rumors that imed that young master Ce Jiu treated the three of them with courtesy when he saw them because of their high social status. However, the young master of the Ce family had just personallye to pick up Zhu San and even given him a precious pill.

    Who could have imagined that Zhu San, who had remained silent for many years, would suddenly start to rise once more?

    Some distance away, in space, Ce Jiu used his domain to form a ruler as he led Zhu San towards the center of the Starpiece Region.

    Zhu San nervously asked, "Young master, might I ask what the patriarch wants me for?"

    He did not believe that he qualified to meet with the patriarch, nor that he possessed sufficient value to the family.

    Ce Jiu nced over. "You¡­ know Lu Yin."

    Zhu San was caught off guard. "Lu Yin?"

    Seeing that Ce Jiu continued to stare at him, Zhu San thought for a bit before saying, "I failed in my attempt to take control of Millions City because of Lu Yin''s meddling¡­"

    Zhu San shared most of the details of what had happened.

    The truth was that he had submitted a detailed report with all of this information when he had first returned to the Ce family, as they required such things regardless of the failure or sess of a mission.

    Looking forward, Zhu San saw a massive and impressive up ahead. This was the center of the Starpiece Region, and it was where Patriarch Ce Laoyan lived.

    "Lu Yin wishes to visit my Ce family, and the reason that he¡¯s given is that he wants to see a friend whom he hasn¡¯t seen for a long time. So, we need to get ready," Ce Jiu casually stated as he moved towards the.

    As for Zhu San, he remained where he was, stunned. Lu Yin? Lu Yin? This was actually because of him?

    It was no wonder why Ce Jiu had personally gone to pick up Zhu San, Lu Yin was the one who wanted to see him.

    But when had Zhu San be friends with Lu Yin? Why did he want to visit a friend after a long time?

    ¡­

    Outside the Starpiece Region, Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were standing still in outer space, and in front of them was the Ce family¡¯s patriarch, Ce Laoyan.

    "I did not expect Alliance Leader Lu to visit my Ce family. You truly honor the Starpiece Region," Ce Laoyan said very politely with a smile on his face, but no enthusiasm could be felt in his words at all. Instead, the man seemed rather indifferent.

    Ce Laoyan greeted Lu Yin with many members of the Ce family in a show of respect for Lu Yin''s status, but this did not mean that they were weing him. At the very least, Ce Yue, who was the Ce family¡¯s elder, was not present.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and smiled. "I''ve taken the liberty to pay you a visit, so I ask that you not be offended by my actions, Patriarch Ce."

    Ce Laoyan smiled back. "After the tribunal held for the Y¨­u n, I actually wanted to invite you to be a guest of our Ce family, but I was afraid that you would be too busy, so I said nothing. Naturally, if Alliance Leader Lu is able to pay us a visit, my Ce family will wee you. Why would we be offended?"

    "That''s wonderful," Lu Yin answered with a smile. As he spoke, he nced at the group of people gathered behind Ce Laoyan. There was one person who stood there with his head bowed, clearly nervous and ufortable. He was Zhu San.

    "Zhu San, Alliance Leader Lu came here specifically to see you. Why don¡¯t you step forward?" Ce Laoyan asked.

    Zhu San was still standing next to Ce Jiu within the gathered crowd of members of the Ce family, and these words caused the young man¡¯s heart to tremble. He stepped forward. He had no idea why Lu Yin had sought him out specifically. The two of them were clearly not friends, but Lu Yin would not visit the Ce family just to make trouble for Zhu San, would he? No, that should be impossible.

    Ce Jiu was riddled with conflicting emotions as he looked at Lu Yin in front of him. In the past, the two of them had been consideredpetitors, and Lu Yin had been nothing more than a random youth to the Ce family. However, after such a short while, Lu Yin had climbed so high that the entire Ce family needed to step out to wee him.

    Zhu San stepped forward until he was just behind Ce Laoyan, and he nervously looked up at Lu Yin. He had no idea what to say.

    Lu Yin let out a loudugh. "Brother Zhu, when we said our goodbyes in Burial Garden, you invited me to the Starpiece Region to be your guest. Why haven¡¯t I heard from you since then?"

    Everyone turned to stare at Zhu San.

    Zhu San¡¯s mouth fell open. It did not seem that Lu Yin hade to make trouble for Zhu San, but why was he acting like they were so close?

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s bright smile and friendly demeanor, Zhu San was quite familiar with Lu Yin. It was impossible for Lu Yin to visit him without some ulterior motive. On top of that, Lu Yin was acting overly friendly despite the two of them not really knowing each other.

    "I forgot, I¡¯m sorry," Zhu San let out a dryugh.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Well, I took it upon myself toe find you so that you didn¡¯t need to call me over."

    Despite Zhu San¡¯s nervousness and wariness, he had still been the Zhu family¡¯s young master in the past, and he had even been bold enough to plot to steal control of Millions City. Even though he could not figure out Lu Yin¡¯s goal in this visit, Zhu San was still able to quickly recover and paste a smile on his face. "Of course you¡¯re wee here, but given your little brother¡¯s status here in the Starpiece Region, I''m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to be your host, Brother Lu."

    Ce Laoyan spoke up, "Alliance Leader Lu is our guest here in the Starpiece Region, so why would you not be able to act as his host? Come, let¡¯s stop chatting here at the entrance. Alliance Leader Lu, pleasee in."

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile before following the Ce family into the Starpiece Region.

    Ce Laoyan gestured for Zhu San to stay close to Lu Yin.

    Theyout of the Starpiece Region reminded Lu Yin of the Starsibyl Sect, as the stars ands in both ces had been arranged in a very deliberate manner.

    As they moved along, he asked a great number of questions about the Starpiece Region. He acted as though he was merely very curious. No one could see through his words to determine his motivation for this unexpected visit or if he really was just stopping by to visit them.

    After weing Lu Yin, Ce Laoyan quickly contacted Hui Zhi and Ku Pu in an attempt to uncover the reason behind Lu Yin¡¯s unexpected visit, but the patriarch was unable to determine anything at all.

    Lu Yin could no longer be considered a member of the younger generation, and the Ce family was suffering from a great deal of pressure due to him. If not for the fact that the Seven Courts had Semi-Progenitor Xia Ji, Lu Yin¡¯s status and influence would have been enough to pressure the entire Seven Courts.

    Despite being the patriarch of the Ce family, Ce Laoyan had personally stepped out to wee Lu Yin and escort him into the Starpiece Region. Along with him, Zhu San, Ce Jiu, and other members of the family followed behind. Only after an entire day passed did Ce Laoyan ask Zhu San to take over hosting Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin had said that he hade to visit Zhu San.

    The Second Nightking continued to follow behind Lu Yin. The Ce family was wary of Lu Yin''s status and influence, but his personal strength could not move them. Only the Second Nightking was strong enough to trigger the Ce family''s vignce, but fortunately, the Second Nightking had kept his strength suppressed the entire time and appeared to be apletely ordinary human.

    "Father, why haven¡¯t you asked Lu Yin about how he learned the Ce Secret Art?" Ce Jiu could not hold back from asking this question after they separated from Lu Yin.

    Ce Laoyan replied indifferently, "What do you think of the rtionship between Lu Yin and Zhu San?"

    Ce Jiu considered the matter for a while. "They don¡¯t seem to be too familiar with each other."

    "Then why did hee here to visit Zhu San?" Ce Laoyan pressed.

    Ce Jiu answered, "Your child has been considering this. Could it be that he is using Zhu San as an excuse to visit my Ce family?"

    Ce Lao Yan grew solemn. "Lu Yin is someone who ns ahead and who always has some sort of scheme behind his actions. He¡¯s clearly using Zhu San as an excuse to enter our Ce family¡¯s territory, and he¡¯s definitely prepared to do something."

    "So, you don¡¯t want to take any rash actions before you¡¯re able to clearly understand his reason foring here?" Ce Jiu suddenly understood.

    Ce Laoyan turned his head to stare in the direction Lu Yin had gone. "There¡¯s no time limit to this game of chess that we y in this universe, and it alles down to who can endure the longest. It¡¯s impossible for Lu Yin to stay here for very long, so he will soon reveal his reason foring here, and then we¡¯ll know how to respond.¡±

    The patriarch then ordered, ¡°Go retrieve everything we have on Zhu San."

    "Yes, Father."

    After Ce Laoyan and the others left, Lu Yin was left with only the Second Nightking and Zhu San.

    Lu Yin stared at Zhu San. "Did you think that I wouldn¡¯te see you?"

    Zhu San felt confused, and his nervousness and wariness spiked. "Lu-, Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s really nothing between us, so why did youe to see me?"

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand and slowly set it onto Zhu San''s shoulder, patting him. "Let¡¯s talk as we move. Show me around this Starpiece Region and the you live on."

    Zhu San did not understand, but he did as Lu Yin asked and took Lu Yin to the where he lived.

    Zhu San¡¯s home was not very far from the street with the brothel that he had been drinking in recently. When Zhu San saw the bustling street and all the beautiful women decked out in colorful clothes outside the brothel, his eyes flickered, and hended in the middle of the street along with Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, my home is nearby, but going straight there might attract too much attention, so let¡¯s walk from here."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sure."

    Zhu San breathed in deeply and then led Lu Yin down the street where he was often picked on and bullied. This particr was for people from the Ce family, but mainly those with outside surnames to live and y in. There were only a few capable people on this, and the most noticeable ones were Qian Ye and his friends.

    Although Zhu San had failed to seize control of Millions City, he had still managed to umte a great deal of resources during his years in Millions City. Thus, he frequently visited this particr street and spent his money there, so most of the people knew him.

    His purpose in bringing Lu Yin to this particr street was quite simple: It was a ssic example of a fox that borrowed the majesty of a tiger.

    Despite not knowing Lu Yin¡¯s purpose in visiting him, Zhu San did not particrly care. Even if he was going to be used by Lu Yin, Zhu San was determined to charge some interest up front and take advantage of Lu Yin¡¯s presence right away.

    People were not stupid, and Zhu San was quite intelligent and skilled at seizing the moment.

    Long ago, he had even been willing to dress up as a woman in order to take control of Millions City, so there was nothing that Zhu San would not dare to try.

    The street was bustling, and the people in it were talking loudly, many of them apanied by beautiful women. There were also people asionally making expensive purchases, causing others to let out loud exmations.

    As Zhu San led Lu Yin and the Second Nightking down the street, their presence instantly drew many people¡¯s attention.

    At this moment, Qian Ye and his two friends were upset and drinking on the fifth floor of the brothel. They had stayed here overnight, not leaving since the day before. All of them were upset as they had a bad premonition.

    "Brothers, what should we do if Zhu San really does try to rely on the young master?" Ming Tai asked quietly.

    Zi Shu frowned. "Ever since Zhu San returned here from the Outerverse, we¡¯ve picked on him relentlessly. We might not be able to make amends with him."

 Chapter 1941

    <h4>Chapter 1941</h4>

    Qian Ye mmed his ss onto the table, a fierce light in his eyes. "It''s just bad luck! Maybe the young master just got tricked. After all, everyone else in the entire Zhu family died, and Zhu San failed his mission. Why would he be called over by the young master?"

    "But he also knows Combat Doctrine, and he¡¯s also supposedly turned in a very powerful battle technique," Ming Tai hesitantlymented.

    All three young men fell silent.

    Zi Shu suddenly spoke up. "We¡¯ve always known that he failed his mission, but do either of you know what that mission actually was?"

    Qian Ye and Ming Tai nced at each other, as neither of them had any idea. After all, how could people with their status know anything about the missions given out by the Ce family?

    "While I don''t know what his mission was, it was in the Outerverse, so it shouldn¡¯t have been anything too important or difficult," Ming Tai guessed.

    Zi Shu''s eyes shed. "It¡¯s natural to assume that a mission in the Outerverse is greatly inferior to any mission here in the Neoverse. However, the Zhu family was actually given Combat Doctrine to aplish their mission, which is something that you and I, brothers, could never dream of. So, why did Zhu San get it? There¡¯s only one possibility, which is that the mission given to the Zhu family was much more important than the tasks that we received."

    Ming Tai felt quite puzzled. "I remembered that there was a time thousands of years ago when someone with a foreign surname was given a mission and also Combat Doctrine. Supposedly, their mission involved an Envoy, which meant that it was incredibly important."

    "Are there any Envoys in the Outerverse?" Qian Ye asked in surprise.

    Zi Shu''s eyes shed. "When the Outerverse¡¯s mentioned, what¡¯s the first thing thates to mind?"

    "The Great Eastern Alliance," both Ming Tai and Qian Ye replied in unison. They nced at each other and then back at Zi Shu.

    Zi Shu¡¯s voice dropped low. "It¡¯s not impossible for Zhu San''s mission to have had something to do with Lu Yin. Looking back, Zhu San only came back to the Starpiece Region after the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse, and that was after the Great Eastern Alliance unified the Outerverse."

    "Impossible! How could Zhu San have any connection to Lu Yin? He¡¯s the strongest youth in the entire universe! He¡¯s the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and someone who can shake the entire universe with a stomp of his feet," Qian Ye refuted.

    At this time, they noticed amotion drawing closer to them, and they were finally able to vaguely make out Zhu San¡¯s outline.

    The three nced at each other, and their expressions all changed drastically.

    They looked out and saw Zhu San slowly walking down the street with Lu Yin and the Second Nightking, as well as the countless people on the street who were shocked by the sight. While no one knew who the Second Nightking was, they all recognized Lu Yin. After all, his appearance was something that had been deeply engrained in the public¡¯s hearts.

    No one had imagined that Lu Yin would one day visit their.

    Qian Ye and the others saw the three men on the street as well, and their faces turned ashen. It was true. Zhu San was really connected to Lu Yin. They finally believed that the Zhu family¡¯s mission was connected to Lu Yin. They all remembered how Zhu San had been given Combat Doctrine, and more importantly, how Zhu San had looked at them with eyes full of hatred.

    For a moment, terror overwhelmed the three young men.

    They were also not alone, as everyone who had previously ridiculed and insulted Zhu San had started to panic and turn desperate at this moment.

    All the brothel¡¯s beauties were stunned as they watched Zhu San calmly pass by. Not one of them dared to make a sound.

    At this moment, Zhu San had been thrust to the peak of the Starpiece Region.

    Although they only walked a short distance, the half an hour passed in a daze for Zhu San.

    Finally, he stopped in front of a courtyard. "Alliance Leader Lu, this is my humble home."

    Lu Yin looked at Zhu San and gave the man a half-smile. "Satisfied?"

    Zhu San bowed low to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu."

    He had always been aware that it was impossible to trick Lu Yin, but Zhu San was still quite satisfied. The frustrations and resentment that had built up after being bullied for so many years had finally been released. Seeing those people panic and desperate, as well as Qian Ye and the other two¡¯s ridiculous behavior, who had not even realized that they had spilled the drinks in their hands, had been invigorating for Zhu San.

    The entire stroll down the street had reminded Zhu San of the arrogant and unrestrained life that he had lived when he had been acting as a spoiled rich kid in Millions City in the past.

    This was how Zhu San should live. He could not understand just how he had survived so far.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face as he entered the courtyard.

    After entering the courtyard, Zhu San suddenly dropped to one knee.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "What are you doing?"

    The Second Nightking nced over at Zhu San, but he did not find the scene to be unfamiliar. Man Li had also kneeled to Lu Yin in a simr manner, and as Lu Yin¡¯s status continued to rise higher and higher, it would be more and moremon for people to kneel before him. After all, Lu Yin was already standing at heights that most people could not evenprehend.

    Zhu San''s eyes were steady as he grabbed a bit of dirt with his right hand and clenched it tightly. "I don''t know what you want with me, Alliance Leader Lu, but I, Zhu San, want to return to the time when I was in Millions City. I have nothing to do with my life any longer other than being bullied by others, and I¡¯m at the mercy of Ce family.¡±

    "I used to think that returning to the Seven Courts would send me to the top and allow me to surpass most others, and I didn¡¯t even care about the Ten Arbiters. However, I was wrong. The Seven Courts¡¯ status doesn¡¯t matter, as I, Zhu San, am nothing but a minion. It¡¯s possible that they¡¯ll send me on a mission that will kill me one day, or I might just spend the rest of my life aplishing absolutely nothing here in the Starpiece Region.¡±

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I will admit that when I left Million City to return to the Ce family, I was thinking of getting revenge against you. You¡¯re the reason why my Zhu family failed to seize control of Millions City, but I dismissed that thought long ago. I, Zhu San, am just a small person, and I can¡¯tpete with you, Alliance Leader Lu. I merely hope that you can ept me and allow me to return to the Great Eastern Alliance.¡± Zhu San finally lifted his head and looked at Lu Yin with eyes zing with hope, boundless faith, and powerful determination. "Regardless of what you ask me to do, I, Zhu San, have no desire to remain here in the Starpiece Region, and I also don¡¯t want to die an unknown death in some random corner of the universe.¡±

    "I beg you to ept me, Alliance Leader Lu." When he finished speaking, Zhu San dropped his other knee down and prostrated himself before Lu Yin.

    Without experiencing various things, people would never grow up.

    When Lu Yin had first met Zhu San, he had been arrogant and conceited, brazenly challenging anyone who crossed him. Zhu San had kept his true thoughts hidden, but he had chased after Qiong Xi''er with the desire to marry her, while also plotting to seize control of Millions City. However, he had ultimately failed and all of his dreams and ambitions had been shattered. He had returned to the Seven Courts full of hatred and envy.

    However, he had eventuallye to regret his decision to return.

    His mission had been a failure, but did that mean that the Ce family could reuse him as a disposable pawn? He was a Zhu, not a Ce. He was not part of the Ce family, but rather an outside member. There were countless people in the same position as him serving the Ce family.

    Zhu San had initially believed that his family were the descendants of the Ce family who had coincidentally arrived in Millions City. However, it was only after returning to the Starpiece Region that he had understood that everything had been a part of the Ce family¡¯s n and that there were simply too many people who had gone through simr experiences.

    Zhu San was nothing more than another pitiful person who had failed his mission. He was not considered worthy of even being used as cannon fodder.

    However, Zhu San¡¯s ambitions exceeded those of the other losers, which was why he had raced into Burial Garden¡¯s gate as soon as it had appeared. But when Xia Yi had chased after Lu Yin and tried to kill him, Zhu San had been forced to escape back to the Neoverse, as anything else would likely have resulted in his death.

    All the resentment and frustrations that had umted during Zhu San¡¯s time in the Starpiece Region had beenpletely released at this moment.

    Seeing Zhu San''s submission gave Lu Yin a bit of a headache. He had actually wanted to use Zhu San to steal the Yinyang Trisage Technique and create a bit of trouble for the Ce family so that he could create an opportunity to observe the family¡¯s Immovable Chessboard. However, Zhu San¡¯s submission put Lu Yin in a position where he no longer feltfortable creating trouble for Zhu San. Still, Zhu San was a part of the Ce family, and if Lu Yin was eventually able to implicitly trust the young man, he would be able to provide incredible help in the future.

    Also, deep in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, he wanted to return the favor that he had received from the Zhu family. The entire reason why he had been able toprehend the Ce Secret Art was entirely because of the Zhu family¡¯s blood, and that secret technique had saved Lu Yin¡¯s life countless times over the years.

    "Why should I trust you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zhu San looked up. "I can give you Combat Doctrine, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Combat Doctrine was the Ce family¡¯s inherited battle technique, and it allowed a person to break down and understand different battle techniques. The entire reason why Zhu San had been able to understand the first portion of the Yinyang Trisage Technique was because he had been able toprehend it with Combat Doctrine. In general, Combat Doctrine would not widely spread as it was difficult for people to even receive the opportunity to learn it, and if they did learn it, they would have to worry about the Ce family¡¯s retaliation.

    However, this was not what Lu Yin feared. Instead, regardless of whether he managed to actually learn Combat Doctrine, Zhu San would instantly be implicated, and such a betrayal to the Ce family would result in the death penalty.

    As soon as Combat Doctrine was leaked, Zhu San would be seen as the Ce family¡¯s sworn enemy, and he would never be able to return to the family again. This offer of Zhu San¡¯s was even more convincing than if he had sworn an oath.

    "Let¡¯s go see Ce Laoyan," Lu Yin answered casually.

    Zhu San was puzzled, and he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back and then started to speak slowly¡­

    That night, Zhu San met with Ce Jiu.

    "Where''s Lu Yin? What''s his purpose in visiting my Ce family?" Ce Jiu demanded.

    Zhu San quickly replied, "Young Master, I needed to quickly report to you that you need to hide the Yinyang Trisage Technique."

    Ce Jiu was left puzzled. "What are you talking about? The Yinyang Trisage Technique? Isn¡¯t that the battle technique that you picked up by observing Qiong Xi''er?"

    Zhu San''s face grew pale. "I actually barely know Lu Yin at all, and I was even working against him in the past because of our efforts to take Millions City. Lu Yin is not here as a guest, but rather because he has a n."

    Ce Jiu''s expression did not change at all, as he had already realized this, as had the entire Ce family. They had all noticed that Zhu San was not particrly close to Lu Yin, which was precisely why Ce Jiu had sought out Zhu San.

    "Exin," Ce Jiu''s voice dropped low. If Lu Yin was targeting them, them even the Ce family would have a difficult time ahead of them.

    Zhu San answered with a simrly low voice, "This is all my fault! I used Combat Doctrine back then to copy the first portion of the Yinyang Trisage Technique, which I then passed onto the Ce family, but that¡¯s precisely why Lu Yin¡¯s here right now. He wants to make trouble for the Ce family, and while I¡¯m not sure what his goal is, I know that his n involves the Yinyang Trisage Technique."

    "Why are you so certain of this?" Ce Jiu wondered.

    Zhu San gritted his teeth. "I¡¯m not close to Lu Yin, but I understand him all too well, and I can already guess what he¡¯s trying to obtain with whatever he does."

    Ce Jiu frowned as he stared intently at Zhu San. "Are you able to see through Lu Yin?"

    Zhu San smiled wryly. "I can probably even guess what he''s thinking."

    "And yet you can¡¯t determine what he wants from us?" Ce Jiu was reluctant to let this go.

    Zhu San contemted the question for a bit. "If I¡¯m guessing correctly, it¡¯s something to do with the Ce family¡¯s Immovable Chessboard."

    Ce Jiu immediately denied such a possibility. "That¡¯s impossible. Lu Yin already knows our secret technique, so there¡¯s no reason for him to observe the Immovable Chessboard."

    Zhu San firmly replied, "It''s definitely rted to the Immovable Chessboard. I understand Lu Yin very well. I beg you to pass this message to the patriarch, Young Master. Lu Yin will never give up after he¡¯s chosen a target, so please hurry and hide the Yinyang Trisage Technique. Send everyone who¡¯s learned it away, as we can¡¯t provide him with any openings.¡±

    Having delivered his report, Zhu San turned to leave, but he first said, ¡°Young Master, from what I know of Lu Yin, his goal here definitely has something to do with the Immovable Chessboard, so you must be cautious.¡±

    A short timeter, Ce Jiu shared the entire conversation with Ce Laoyan. The Ce family patriarch frowned and stared out into outer space with his hands sped behind his back. "Do you believe Zhu San¡¯s suspicions to be correct?"

    Ce Jiu answered, "It''s ridiculous! The Immovable Chessboard can only be used toprehend the Ce Secret Art, and Lu Yin¡¯s already done that. It doesn¡¯t make sense for him to make trouble for us with that as his goal. It¡¯s impossible for him to want to study the Immovable Chessboard."

    Ce Laoyan also thought that this was an impossibility. "Then what other goal could he have?"

 Chapter 1942

    <h4>Chapter 1942</h4>

    Ce Jiu started guessing. "Could he be after Combat Doctrine? Or some resources? I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s quite a money grubber."

    Ce Laoyan shook his head. "Given his current status, he has countless resources at his fingertips. There¡¯s no need to bother our Ce family over something like that. Could it be¡­?¡± Ce Laoyan started considering the Great Eastern Alliance.

    The Great Eastern Alliance had already united both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and it had be powerful enough to even face the Astral Beast Domain head on. Their next step should be the Cosmic Sea, but the Cosmic Sea was already dominated by Leon¡¯s Armada, and Lu Yin was considered part of their family. There was no need to even think about if the Great Eastern Alliance wanted to take control of the Cosmic Sea, which meant that their next goal was the Neoverse.

    Was it possible that Lu Yin wanted to stir up trouble for the Ce family as a part of his n to push into the Neoverse?

    Ce Laoyanughed. That was impossible! He had to be overthinking things. The Neoverse was nothing like the Innerverse or the Outerverse.

    The only reason why the Great Eastern Alliance had been able to face off against the Astral Beast Domain head-on was because the Cosmic Sect and the Hall of Honor had both reinforced the Great Eastern Alliance. Without their help, the alliance would havepletely failed.

    The Neoverse was home to the Seven Courts, the Cosmis Sect, the Mavis family, Aurora Enterprises, Gods¡¯ Origin, and many more. Which of the Neoverse¡¯s powers was easy to deal with? The Neoverse was also home to several Semi-Progenitors, so how could the Great Eastern Alliance even dream of unifying it?

    Even after considering the matter for a long time, Ce Laoyan was unable to guess at Lu Yin¡¯s purpose in visiting them.

    "Let¡¯s not worry about him. Since he has a goal, he will definitely make it known, so we simply need to wait for him," Ce Laoyan stated confidently.

    Ce Jiu asked, "What about the Yinyang Trisage Technique? Many members of our Ce family have already learned it."

    There was only one answer Ce Laoyan could give. "While that battle technique is truly exquisite, it is still iplete, and we only possess the initial portion. What of it? If he hopes to use the technique to try to stir up trouble for my Ce family, he¡¯s grossly underestimating us."

    ¡­

    Zhu San led Lu Yin to explore the Starpiece Region, which left almost the entire Ce family shocked. The entire family started talking about this matter.

    Two days had already passed, but Lu Yin was still hanging around the Ce family. The family¡¯s disciples enjoyed sparring, and Lu Yin watched many of the Ce family¡¯s disciples¡¯ matches.

    Ce Jiu also arrived to apany Lu Yin.

    "The Ce family¡¯s Combat Doctrine is truly impressive, given how effectively it allows one toprehend other battle techniques. It¡¯s no wonder why people say that the Ce family has the most extensive library of battle techniques out of the Seven Courts. That reputation appears to be well-deserved," Lu Yin voiced his admiration.

    Zhu San nced over at Ce Jiu.

    Ce Jiu answered with a smile, "These people are merely show-offs, and they possess nothing that canpare to Alliance Leader Lu''s Vacuum Palm. Even Envoys fear your palm strikes."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "You¡¯re going too far, Brother Ce. I only just became an Envoy, and yet you¡¯re making me sound as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor, haha."

    Ce Jiu said nothing and only replied with a slight smile.

    The match between two members of the Ce family was in full swing in front of them. The two fighters had simr cultivation levels, and they were also both members of the Ce family. Even though they were not direct descendants, they were still quite skilled.

    Suddenly, one of them raised a hand, and his fingers twisted to form an odd pattern that was pointed at the man¡¯s opponent.

    Lu Yin suddenly took a step forward and blurted out, "The Yinyang Trisage Technique?"

    Ce Jiu''s eyes froze. "Brother Lu, is something the matter?"

    Lu Yin turned to stare at Ce Jiu with an ugly expression that barely concealed his anger. "Brother Ce, that''s the Yinyang Trisage Technique. How does your Ce family have that?"

    Ce Jiu frowned. "I¡¯m not sure what the Yinyang Trisage Technique is, but that¡¯s just one of the numerous battle techniques that my Ce family has copied."

    "Who copied it?" Lu Yin loudly demanded. His agitation was starting to draw many people''s attention.

    Ce Jiu¡¯s voice dropped low as he replied, "Brother Lu, while I can respect you as a guest and for your aplishments, you are being inappropriate right now."

    Lu Yin remained stern. "That Yinyang Trisage Technique belongs to a senior I know. When I was discussing cultivation and battle techniques with that senior, I asked him for advice. This is an exquisite technique that very few people in the entire universe even know of it. Can you exin how your Ce family acquired this? On top of that, you¡¯re even spreading it around? Your Ce family needs to give me an exnation for this!"

    Ce Jiu subconsciously nced over at Zhu San. Sure enough, the young man did understand Lu Yin, and he was indeed trying to attack the Ce family with the Yinyang Trisage Technique.

    "Since you¡¯re upset about this, I will ask my father toe out and speak to you about it, Alliance Leader Lu," Ce Jiu stated rather bluntly before leading Lu Yin away to speak with Ce Laoyan.

    Many members of the Ce family gathered together, and they all stared at Lu Yin and the Second Nightking when they arrived.

    The atmosphere became a bit tense.

    Lu Yin looked a bit ufortable with the situation as he stared at Ce Laoyan. "Patriarch Ce, I, Lu Yin, am not an unreasonable person. If this were my own battle technique that you had picked up, I would just forget about it, but this technique belongs to a senior. It is the result of his painstaking effort and the culmination of his entire life. He has only passed it down to his personal disciples, but now, your Ce family is openly and tantly providing it for all of your n members to learn. This is disrespecting that senior far too much, as this is simply stealing from him."

    Ce Laoyan frowned. "Alliance Leader Lu, everyone knows that my Ce family''s Combat Doctrine allows us to copy the battle techniques of our opponents. So regardless of who faces the members of my family, they should all be aware that it¡¯s necessary to limit the use of their battle techniques as much as possible and to stick to other skills if they don¡¯t want us to take them for our own. This ismon knowledge, and the Yinyang Trisage Technique that you¡¯re referring to is something that we copied, which means that it¡¯s your senior''s problem rather than ours. Why are you trying to bother my Ce family?"

    "So does the Ce family have no intention to provide an exnation for this?" Lu Yin looked upset.

    Ce Laoyan sped his hands behind his back. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are a guest of my Ce family, and we have treated you with every courtesy thus far. However, if you decide to mistreat our hospitality, we will not be intimidated."

    As he spoke, an old man appeared nearby. He was the Ce family¡¯s elder, Ce Yue. He was an old monster with a power level of over a million, and at this time, he was holding an Immovable Chessboard power vessel and warily staring at the Second Nightking.

    Everyone present from the Ce family tensed up and started radiating powerful killing intent.

    Lu Yin just sneered in response. "You sure are worthy of being part of the Seven Courts! You aren¡¯t even intimidated by a Semi-Progenitor!"

    The faces of everyone from the Ce family instantly changed.

    Ce Laoyan was taken aback. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin ignored the patriarch and focused on Ce Yue. "Senior, have you ever heard of the Yingyang Trisage Technique?"

    The old man felt confused. "I haven¡¯t."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, what about Jiu Chi?"

    Ce Yue''s expression changed drastically. "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi?"

    Ce Laoyan¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "Alliance Leader Lu, what are you saying?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head high. "The Yinyang Trisage Technique is Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi¡¯s unique technique that he passed on to his disciple, Qiong Xi''er. And yet, right now, your Ce family is freely and tantly distributing it amongst yourselves. Patriarch Ce, it looks as though your family intends to cross Jiu Chi and that you¡¯ve already made your first move."

    Ce Laoyan''s face twisted horribly, and Ce Yue turned to look at the patriarch. "What''s going on?"

    Everyone from the Ce family looked quite miserable at this moment.

    Not one of them had been aware that the Yinyang Trisage Technique was something that had been personally created by a Semi-Progenitor! If they had known this, they would have never been brazen enough to spread it so freely among themselves, even under threat of death.

    Ce Jiu was utterly shocked. That technique actually belonged to a Semi-Progenitor?

    Not even Zhu San had known about this, as he had merely believed himself to have copied Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s techniques. Was it possible that Qiong Xi''er was actually a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s disciple? How could that be possible? Why was she so weak if she had a Semi-Progenitor as a master?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you really believe that you can threaten my Ce family by attributing this Yinyang Trisage Technique to Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi? How can you even prove that this battle technique belongs to the Semi-Progenitor?" Ce Laoyan sharply demanded. He had not initially been concerned with Lu Yin at all, not even when the young man had started acting up about this particr battle technique. However, if it really did belong to a Semi-Progenitor, then the situation would be very different.

    A small smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Go ask Xia Ji."

    Ce Laoyan''s heart dropped when he saw Lu Yin''s confidence. Could they really have taken a Semi-Progenitor''s battle technique?

    Ce Yue''s eyes flickered. While asking Xia Ji was indeed the most reliable way to determine the truth of this matter, it meant that Lu Yin would not be the only one holding a knife to the Ce family¡¯s throat, and so too would the Xia family. The Seven Courts were not nearly as harmonious as they appeared from outside.

    "Leave," Ce Yue ordered quietly as he pushed everyone back except for Ce Laoyan.

    When he saw everyone else leave, Lu Yin knew he had already seeded. The Ce family would never have the courage to ask Xia Ji to verify this matter. Besides, that would not even change anything, as the Yinyang Trisage Technique was indeed Jiu Chi¡¯s battle technique, so there was no problem.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, how do you want to settle this matter?" Ce Yue asked as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin and Ce Yue studied each other. "Senior, do you believe that the Yinyang Trisage Technique really is a Semi-Progenitor technique?"

    "Let''s say yes," Ce Yue said.

    "Isn¡¯t it best to have proof, Senior?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Ce Yue frowned. "Despite being in seclusion most of the time, even I have heard of your meteoric rise, Alliance Leader Lu. You¡¯ve united both the Outerverse and the Innerverse, and you are already staring at the Neoverse from a distance. You led your Great Eastern Alliance to stop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion and passed a stellr tribtion in such a manner that you caused the true universe to boil, which attracted the attention of even the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Your aplishments are truly impressive, and my Ce family has never treated you rudely, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    "I¡¯ve heard that you have also learned my Ce family¡¯s Ce Secret Art. Despite that, have we even once caused any trouble for you about it during your time here in the Starpiece Region, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin earnestly answered, "Learning the Ce Secret Art was a coincidence that I stumbled upon. Senior, if you stumbled upon the Xia family¡¯s secret technique, or one that belonged to the Hall of Honor, would you pass it by out of fear of the Xia family or the Hall of Honor? Also, I can tell you truthfully that I did not know that the Ce Secret Art belonged to your Ce family when I learned it. Back then, I did not even qualify to interact with the Seven Courts. In fact, I hadn¡¯t even heard of it back then.¡±

    Ce Laoyan interrupted, saying, "Still, it¡¯s true that you¡¯ve learned the Ce Secret Art, is it not, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin stared at Ce Laoyan. "I alone learned the Ce Secret Art, yet your entire Ce family is tantly spreading and using a Semi-Progenitor''s battle technique. You cane after me for learning the Ce Secret Art, as is your right. But right now, I want to deal with the matter regarding the Semi-Progenitor''s battle technique."

    "What is it that you want?" Ce Laoyan ground out between his teeth. In the end, the one with the bigger fist woulde out on top. If Lu Yin were some nobody, how would he have the guts to say such a thing? Rather, he would not even have the courage to admit to knowing the Ce Secret Art. On the other hand, the Ce family had offended a Semi-Progenitor. If they had known of this possibility, they would have never dared to share the Yinyang Trisage Technique even internally. However, they had long since passed that point, and their only option was to try to seal Lu Yin''s mouth.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold, and then he turned back to look at Ce Yue. "Actually, as long as you and I don¡¯t say anything and the members of your Ce family who¡¯ve learned the technique are forbidden from using the Yinyang Trisage Technique, the Semi-Progenitor should note after your family. Jiu Chi is a drunk, so as long as no one deliberately says anything to him, there¡¯s no way for him to learn about this."

    Ce Yue stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "For what reason would you keep such a thing from Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "That¡¯s quite simple. This junior would like to observe the Immovable Chessboard that was left behind by your family¡¯s ancestor."

    Ce Yue felt puzzled by this request. "Haven¡¯t you already learned the secret technique? The only function of the Immovable Chessboard is that it makes it possible for some people to learn the Ce Secret Art, which makes it useless to you."

    "I want you to know that this junior has absolutely no desire to hurt your Ce family. As you said, Senior, I came here already knowing your family¡¯s secret technique, and yet none of you have caused any trouble for me because of that. Instead, the Ce family has treated this junior as a friend, and I will naturally try to not harm my friends," Lu Yin casually answered.

    Ce Yue felt quite confused, as he still could not understand what Lu Yin was after.

    As for Ce Laoyan, not only was he confused, but he was also stunned, as Lu Yin¡¯s words showed that Zhu San had urately deduced Lu Yin¡¯s goal. Did Zhu San really have such an incredible understanding of Lu Yin? If that was the case, then Zhu San was going to be invaluable.

 Chapter 1943

    <h4>Chapter 1943</h4>

    Lu Yin stood at the peak of the Fifth Maind and not even the Seven Courts would dare to im that they could avoid contact with him in the future. If they had conflicts, or even wars, what would happen once Lu Yin reached a power level of a million, or even became a Semi-Progenitor? Would the Seven Courts still be untouchable to Lu Yin? At that point, not even Xia Ji would be able to threaten Lu Yin.

    They had to be prepared for when that time came.

    Ce Yue eventually agreed to allow Lu Yin to study the Immovable Chessboard. It did not really matter as Lu Yin had alreadyprehended the Ce Secret Art, which meant that he could gain nothing by observing their greatest treasure.

    The Ce family¡¯s greatest treasure was the Immovable Chessboard that had been left behind by their ancestor, Progenitor Ce Wangtian. They kept their treasured inheritance within their ancestral home.

    Ce Yue personally led Lu Yin to the Ce family''s ancestral home.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please enter," Ce Yue said in a deep voice that seemed devoid of all emotion.

    Lu Yin observed the family¡¯s ancestral home. "Thank you."

    He then took a step and entered the building.

    The Ce family¡¯s ancestral home was notrge, and it was actually no different from the house of an ordinary person. Ce Wangtian was someone who had risen to power from nothing, and this ancestral home represented the Ce family¡¯s rise from theirmon origins.

    Long ago, Mister Mu had used Zhu Tiezhu¡¯s blood to allow Lu Yin to peer through the long river of time to observe the Immovable Chessboard. Had Ce Wangtian lived in this ce? Or was it simply the ancestral home of the Ce family that was part of the Seven Courts?

    The Ce family¡¯s ancestral home included a hut that waspletely dark. Lu Yin pushed the door open and entered the hut before closing the door behind him. There was a dusty chessboard in the middle of the room, and moonlight from nowhere illuminated it.

    This was a very familiar scene to Lu Yin, as it was the same scene that he had seen when he had observed the vision of Ce Wangtian.

    Step by step, Lu Yin moved closer to the dusty chessboard. When he had first seen this ce in the vision, he had stood to the side and observed the chess game. But this time, he walked right up and sat down in the seat for one of the yers. Regardless of who the opponent might be, he was willing to participate, even if it was a game of strategy.

    Lu Yin had already defeated Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm as him, so he felt no fear when facing anyone at all.

    An unseen breeze blew through, removing the dust from the chessboard. Lu Yin stared down at the chessboard and then subconsciously raised a hand to pick up one of the chess pieces. Suddenly, his body trembled, and his eyes went nk. He next found himself in space, surrounded by chess pieces. In fact, Lu Yin himself was a pawn.

    He looked up and saw two massive figures sitting on either side of the game board, and one of themughed loudly. "You¡¯re destined to lose this time, hahahaha!"

    "It¡¯s impossible for you to beat me. You¡¯re just too terrible at ying chess," another voice replied. The voices were so deafening that Lu Yin¡¯s head almost cracked.

    Lu Yin stared up at the two huge figures in shock, but he was not able to see either of their faces clearly. Down on the game board with him, chess pieces began moving. Someone was ying chess.

    Are they ying chess? Why am I a pawn? Clearly I should be a yer!

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to call out only to find that it was impossible.

    "Hahahaha, how about this move? I¡¯ll win!"

    "Ce Wangtian, when ites to chess, you¡¯ll always this lousy. You can¡¯t even beat an ordinary person."

    "Hmph! I never n ahead and simply y chess in the moment. I make every move at the moment instead of nning ahead. I don¡¯t y like you, where you observe the entire game with each nce. Where¡¯s the fun in that?"

    "There is no pleasure in ying chess for people like us. I don¡¯t want to y with you."

    "You have to, unless you manage to beat me."

    "What''s the point? It¡¯s impossible for you to win as long as you y in this manner."

    "Bullshit! I¡¯m invincible! Who says that I can¡¯t win? I¡¯m going to beat you!"

    Lu Yin tried to escape from the chess game, but all of his efforts were fruitless. He did not know what this game of chess was supposed to represent, or why people who were supposed to have died during the ancient era were able to trap him, but he knew that he should not be a chess piece, but rather one of the yers.

    "Ce Wangtian, you are going to lose."

    "Impossible! I¡¯ve never lost to anyone in my entire life! Wait, I made a mistake¡­ I need to take that back."

    "No, you can''t take back a move."

    "I made a mistake. I need to redo it."

    "You can''t take back a move in a game. You¡¯ve already lost."

    "Bullshit! I''m positive that I''ll win! I just made a mistake with that one move, so I need to take it back."

    "No."

    "Re-do."

    "No."

    "Yu De, you know me, right? Well, who says that I can¡¯t take a move back? I¡¯m going to manipte this board, and there¡¯s nothing that you can do about it!"

    After that, Lu Yin watched as space copsed and the entire game was destroyed. Space twisted in odd ways in the surrounding area, and Lu Yin felt something odd.

    Lu Yin had no idea how much time passed, but eventually, space returned to a normal state, and he heard a crazedugh enter his ears. "Hahahaha, I, Ce Wangtian, have finally created a secret technique: Astral Chessboard. After ying chess for decades. I¡¯m the only person in the universe who can take back a move! Nobody can rewind their life, but if I want to do so, then only I can take back my move! Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard.¡±

    There was a snap, and Lu Yin''s eyes widened. He found himself staring down at a dusty chess board. He had not moved at all. When he looked around, he was no longer in outer space, but rather back in the Ce family¡¯s ancestral home. There was no one ying chess, and he was no longer someone¡¯s chess piece.

    What had he just witnessed? Could that vision have been from the ancient times? Had he just been witness to the reason why Ce Wangtian had created the Ce Secret Art?

    Lu Yin stared down at the chessboard, a bit speechless. Had Ce Wangtian really only created his secret technique in order to y chess and take a move back? What did it mean to manipte the game so brazenly and tantly?

    Staring at the chess pieces on the board, Lu Yin closed his eyes and reviewed what he had just seen. He especially focused what he had felt when Ce Wangtian had seemed to go crazy because he wanted to take back his move and space had started to get agitated.

    One day. Two days. Three days¡­

    Lu Yin stayed in the ancestral home for nearly half a month, and outside, Ce Yue grew increasingly solemn.

    "Elder, how is Lu Yin?" Ce Laoyan asked as he arrived just outside the ancestral home.

    Ce Yue answered softly, "He should be gaining enlightenment."

    Ce Laoyan was caught off guard. "He¡¯s alreadyprehended the Ce Secret Art, so what could he be gaining enlightenment about?"

    Ce Yue seemed to drift off. "Do you believe that the Ce Secret Art is as simple as how we use it?"

    Ce Laoyan felt rather confused.

    "We descendants have all been disappointments, as none of us have been able to truly master our ancestor¡¯s secret technique. There are rumors that when our ancestor created the Astral Chessboard, the highest level of mastery was Board Maniption," Ce Yue solemnly stated.

    Ce Laoyan''s eyes flickered. "Board Maniption? True, when Iprehended the secret technique, I do seem to recall hearing something about taking back a move."

    "Board Maniption is supposed to be the ability to undo a move or action and return things to a previous state. Time might be involved in this ability, but that¡¯s unknown as no one has ever managed to reach such a level of mastery of Astral Chessboard after our ancestor created it.¡± As he spoke, Ce Yue¡¯s expression grew increasingly dark as he stared at their ancestral home. ¡°It¡¯s possible that Lu Yin is currentlyprehending Board Maniption."

    An ugly expression appeared on Ce Laoyan''s face. Board Maniption was a level of mastery that no one in the entire history of their Ce family had managed to achieve, so why was Lu Yin able to aplish such a thing? If Lu Yin could reallyprehend Board Maniption, the Ce family would be utterly humiliated.

    Lu Yin sat next to the chessboard for half a month before he finally opened his eyes in confusion.

    He could not clearly grasp what he had sensed earlier in that vision. He needed more time.

    However, this was definitely not the ce for it.

    He raised a hand and brought out his die. After tapping it, the die slowly stopped spinning to show five pips. Useless.

    He rolled the die again, and it slowly stopped on six pips. Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, and his vision shifted as his consciousness suddenly appeared in that strange, dark space that was filled with orbs of light in every direction.

    He was rolling his die within the Ce family''s ancestral home, so it was impossible to know if Elder Ce Yue would simply charge in at some point. Lu Yin needed to hurry, so he immediately merged with the closest and brightest ball of light.

    His vision changed yet again, and when it grew clear once more, he saw a mountain valley that was filled with a crowd of people. There were no less than a million people crammed into the valley, and every singlest one of them was a cultivator.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had not Possessed some ordinary cultivator. The moment he had Possessed this body, he had felt several terrifying auras pass by. How could there be so many experts with a power level of over a million? Could this be somewhere along the defensive line in the Starfall Sea?

    Memories began to pour in.

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly changed, and he finally managed to calm down. He immediately understood why so many terrifying powerhouses had gathered in one ce: he was in the Perennial World! This was the gathering point of an expedition that was going to invade the Fifth Maind. This force was led by ten Envoys and included tens of thousands of powerhouses who were Explorers or above, as well as nearly a million weaker cultivators.

    This was the first time that the Perennial World would have any real interactions with the Fifth Maind after the decisive battle during the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds back during the Daosource Sect¡¯s Era. This first contact was also going to be an invasion.

    On top of all of that, Lu Yin had actually Possessed Long Quan.

    Long Quan was someone who had once qualified topete with Long Ke for the position of patriarch of the entire White Dragon n.

    When the direct family line had been eliminated, Long Ke¡¯s branch family had taken the position of authority over the n, which was something that Long Quan had always regretted. He never believed that his own branch family was any weaker than Long Ke¡¯s; in his view, the timing had merely not been right for them. This was why Long Quan had always tried to overpower and supnt Long Ke¡¯s family.

    When news hade out regarding what had happened to Long Tian and Long Xi in the Dominion Realm, Long Quan had made his move. He had wanted to suppress the main family by suppressing them with Lu Yin when he had been pretending to be the main family¡¯s son-inw and acting as Long Qi. When Lu Yin had arrived at Dragon Mountain, Long Quan had made a point to send some youths to deliberately antagonize Lu Yin.

    On top of all of that, Long Quan was also the member of the White Dragon n who led the n¡¯s efforts to harvest stellr liquid.

    Lu Yin had not expected to Possess someone like Long Quan.

    When Lu Yin had still been in the Perennial World, people like Long Quan had been untouchable to Lu Yin. It would have been easy for an expert with a power level of 800,000 to kill Lu Yin at a whim, but he had already reached a level of strength where he could Possess such a powerhouse. In other words, he could also determine this person¡¯s life or death at his whim.

    Lu Yin continued to review Long Quan¡¯s memories as he stared down at the dense crowd of cultivators who had gathered in the valley, and Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank lower and lower by the moment.

    There were four Semi-Progenitors and dozens of Envoys, which was enough tounch a terrible war on the Fifth Maind. This gathering was also nothing more than the excess strength of the four ruling powers, and most of their strength remained focused on the rear battlefield with a bit more held back for the Higher Realm. Despite the forces that were already upied, the four ruling powers were still able to summon such a terrifying army.

    If the four ruling powers expanded their efforts and recruited from the Middle Realm as well, Lu Yin believed that they would be able to quickly double their numbers. While it was difficult to determine how many Semi-Progenitors could be added, at the very least, the number of Envoys participating could easily double.

    From what Long Quan had been told, the Wang family had already contacted Sky Creation Academy, and the invasion force was just about to make their way into the Fifth Maind via Sky Creation Academy. As soon as that happened, the invasion would start. Of course, this did not mean that an all-out war would happen immediately.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He had expected the four ruling powers to move against him soon, but he still had not expected them to be quite this fast. He was not ready yet, but the war was already at his doorstep.

    No, he had to buy some time. He had to at least have the chance to gather his forces to defend against this invasion, but how?

    Lu Yin continued to peer through Long Quan''s eyes, scanning the mountain valley while trying to find a way to handle this matter. He did not even care about the rapidly disappearing star essence in his cosmic ring at this moment, as all of his thoughts were focused on stalling this invasion for a bit longer.

    The only known path to the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World exited at Sky Creation Academy. The path was known as the New Corridor, and it was very close to this mountain valley in the Perennial World.

 Chapter 1944

    <h4>Chapter 1944</h4>

    The best way for Lu Yin to buy time for the Fifth Maind was to simply destroy the New Corridor. However, there was definitely a Semi-Progenitor protecting it.

    No one from the Perennial World would underestimate the Lu family¡¯s influence. Even if the family had been exiled from the Perennial World, there were still many devout supporters who were more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Lu family. Lu Yin was in a very difficult position at this moment.

    Even if he was in Long Quan¡¯s body at the moment, it was impossible for him to approach the New Corridor. Anyone who moved close to that ce would die without question.

    The New Corridor was a dead end.

    Lu Yin nced around the entire valley. Suddenly, he focused on a certain ce in the valley where an odd creature was speaking to elders from the Wang family. The Wang family was not the only one with a presence in that ce, as there were also people from the Bai family, the Xia family, and the White Dragon n. He even saw Elder Long Kui.

    The strange creature that Lu Yin had noticed was from Sky Creation Academy, and it was their representative in the negotiation with the four ruling powers. As long as the rtionship between the two sides remained positive, the invasion force would be able to easily enter the Fifth Maind through the New Corridor.

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly lit up, and he entered the void, vanishing from where he had stood. When he reappeared, he was close to the gathering of people from the four ruling powers.

    He did not rush over to them, but rather slowly walked over one step at a time, as though he were deliberately trying to gain their notice before arriving.

    "You¡¯re demanding too many supplies! It''s not like you don''t understand the state of things for us here. The consumption of resources that the rear battlefield needs is astronomical, and if we divert a massive amount of supplies to you here, then it will have an impact on that battlefield." Wang Shang was speaking. He was an elder from the Wang family who had been sent to the Fifth Maind by himself to kill Lu Yin only to end up being beaten back by Hui Kong.

    This elder was also the same person who had forced Hui Kong to use up all of the golden meteors that he had stored up during his time in the Technocracy, which had forced the old man to return to the Human Domain.

    The strange creature that the elder was speaking to was indescribable. It looked like a piece of metal with five sensory organs, including a pair of extraordinary eyes. It spoke in a clear voice, saying, "Headmaster Senn has put forth this condition, and the New Corridor will not open unless you agree to this."

    "Us attacking the Forsaken Land¡¯s Human Domain should be a good thing for your Sky Creation Academy," the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Elder Qing Xing interjected.

    The metallic creature replied, "Our Sky Creation Academy is not fighting against the Human Domain, but rather First Edition City. We have maintained a good rtionship with the Human Domain."

    "As far as this old man understands, Lu Xiaoxuan holds a very high status within the Human Domain, and he even appeared in your Sophic Rift some time ago after entering First Edition City. It would appear that he has already managed to establish a good rtionship with this First Edition City, and if the two of them join forces to deal with your Sky Creation Academy, then things will be very difficult for you," Wang Shang countered.

    That strange creature replied, "These are our conditions. If you do not agree, the New Corridor will not open."

    Everyone was running out of options.

    It was impossible for a Semi-Progenitor to lower themselves to speak with Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative, which meant that, out of everyone present, Wang Shang was the best person to represent the Perennial World for these negotiations. After all, the Wang family had always been the one to interact with Sky Creation Academy.

    To the side, Long Kui''s calm eyes belied the man¡¯splicated emotions. He was remembering seeing Long Qi¡ªno, it was Lu Xiaoxuan who had masked his identity and used the name of Long Qi. Long Kui remembered seeing that youth when space had ovepped to reveal the Forsaken Land. It would have been wonderful if that youth truly were Long Qi instead of Lu Xiaoxuan¡­

    It was at this moment that ¡°Long Quan¡± approached. Several people nced at him, but his arrival did not raise anyone¡¯s concern.

    Long Kui''s expression betrayed his difort. The two different family lines werepeting within the White Dragon n. Long Kui was a part of Long Ke''s family, so he was naturally antagonistic towards Long Quan.

    "Senior." ¡°Long Quan¡± faced Wang Shang and gave the man a respectful bow.

    Wang Shang replied, "What are you doing here?"

    "Long Quan" respectfully answered, "I bring a message from our Great Elder."

    He then turned to look at the odd creature from Sky Creation Academy. "It¡¯s intended for our guest."

    Wang Shang grew curious; what sort of message could Elder Ni Huang have sent?

    While the Wang family was the primary force behind the invasion, seeing as they were the ones with ess to the path to the Forsaken Land, the strongest powerhouse involved in this endeavor was the White Dragon n¡¯s Elder Ni Huang. He was right at the cusp of bing a Progenitor, which meant that his strength wasparable to what Ancestor Wan Zhiyi had reached in the past.

    Even other Semi-Progenitors needed to show Ni Huang respect.

    "If you have a message from Senior Ni Huang, then just speak," Wang Shang replied.

    "Long Quan" looked somewhat embarrassed as he hesitated.

    Wang Shang''s eyes flickered, and he turned to leave as he understood that "Long Quan" wished to speak with Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative alone. Wang Shang held no doubts concerning Long Quan himself, as he was quite familiar with the man.

    Everyone else took their leave as well.

    Long Kui frowned. Why had Elder Ni Huang entrusted a message to Long Quan? Did their elder intend to support Long Quan¡¯s branch family?

    The Great Elder did not care about who held the position of being the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch. During the ceremony to worship their ancestors, Great Elder Ni Huang had announced Long Qi¡¯s position as an heir of the White Dragon n while ignoring Long Ke''s position and feelings on the matter. On top of that, the elder had announced Long Qi¡¯s engagement to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s princess, which had erased any and all advantage that Long Ke''s family might have held over Long Quan''s branch family.

    Everyone understood that, as far as Elder Ni Huang was concerned, anyone could serve as the n¡¯s patriarch.

    Regardless of his personal desires, Log Kui could only step away and leave "Long Quan" alone with Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative.

    "Regardless of what you say, our conditions remain unchanged," The strange creature squinted its eyes as it spoke to "Long Quan."

    "Long Quan" stared back at the odd creature. "I''m sorry."

    With that, he smashed a hand into the creature, shattering it into countless pieces without any difficulty.

    Countless people were startled by what they saw.

    Wang Shang reacted first, and his expression changed drastically as he screamed, "Long Quan, what are you doing?"

    People stared from both near and far.

    "Long Quan" angrily shouted back, "Everything about Lu Xiaoxuan and Lu Yin is sheer nonsense! It¡¯s nothing but a ploy created by the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, and Shenwu''s Sky to act against my White Dragon n! Progenitor Mu Xie was going to ept Long Qi as his disciple, and his talent for lockbreaking even impressed a Realm Array Master. All of this caused the three of you to grow afraid of my White Dragon n rising up to surpass you, so you devised this scheme to give Long Qi the identity of a dead man! You are trying to suppress my White Dragon n, but I refuse! Even if it requires my death, I, Long Quan, will expose your lies!"

    "Long Quan¡¯s" words forced Wang Shang to hesitate for a moment just as he had been about to attack. Was this man willing to die just to expose a lie? Generally speaking, people who dered such things were not lying and truly did not fear death. Why lie when you would most likely be forced to follow through on your words? However, who could push Long Quan to prove himself? He was someone with a high enough status topete for the position of the entire White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch as well as a powerhouse who had passed through four stellr tribtions. Even more importantly, were these words Long Quan¡¯s or Elder Ni Huang¡¯s?

    "Elder Long Quan, what are you saying?" Long Kui shouted.

    "Long Quan" firmly shouted back, "Be silent! All of you have been deceived! Long Qi is Long Qi, not Lu Xiaoxuan. The Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift that was seen and the ¡®proof¡¯ provided by the Wang family in him were both faked. Three of the majestic four ruling powers have united to work against us, and they were even able to deceive my White Dragon n! Only I, Long Quan, managed to uncover the truth."

    At this point, "Long Quan" roared to the sky, "Grand Elder, this junior knows that you are watching! I beg you to uncover the truth! Long Qi is Long Qi! Where could Lu Xiaoxuan havee from? That youth is Long Qi, the son-inw of my White Dragon n¡¯s main family line! I am unwilling to suffer this attack against us, as he will be the foundation that will see my White Dragon n rise up!"

    "How dare you spout this nonsense here!" Wang Si appeared, fury filling her eyes as she raised a hand to deal with Long Quan.

    However, Elder Ni Huang also appeared, and he stopped Wang Si. "Wait a moment."

    The old man turned to look at Long Quan, his emotions clear on his face. "Do you understand what you¡¯ve just said? The truth of the matter was exposed during the ceremony to worship the ancestors, and even Long Qi himself admitted to everything when he was being chased. He admitted to not only being Lu Xiaoxuan, but also being a trespasser from the Forsaken Land. Who did not see the disturbance that he created when breaking through to the Envoy realm just recently?"

    "Long Quan"mented, "He was betrayed by his own family, so how could he not retaliate after being hurt by our actions? Great Elder, Long Qi needs our family to protect him now more than ever, and yet, why is our family joining this expedition to kill him? How painful must this be for him?! All of this is part of a scheme designed by the Bai, Wang, and Xia families! They manipted all of the evidence, as how else could there be so many coincidences? Long Qi was exposed, but at the same time, the Progenitors were all forced away! They simply wanted to prevent our Progenitor from seeing the truth so that Long Qi could be killed! They are trying to force the death of my White Dragon n¡¯s greatest genius!

    "Great Elder, this junior is willing to prove this truth with my own death!" With that, as everyone watched in astonishment, ¡°Long Quan¡± mmed a hand onto his forehead, killing himself.

    Not even Elder Ni Huang had expected Long Quan to be so resolute. The man had said that he would die to support his ims, and he had done just that.

    Everyone was shocked to their core by the man¡¯s death.

    Could Long Quan¡¯s words actually be true? He had appeared to be nothing more than a distraught man who had been horribly wronged to the point where he was willing to die to prove himself.

    However, there was no denying that Long Qi was indeed Lu Xiaoxuan, as there was no other way that Elder Ni Huang would have been personally sent to participate in this invasion. After all, Long Qi had caused the White Dragon n to lose all face.

    Just what was going on?

    At this moment, even Semi-Progenitors like Ni Huang and Wang Si werepletely stunned.

    A person¡¯s death was the most important event of their entire lives, and the same was true of even an ant. However, Long Quan had not hesitated to sacrifice his very life in order to prove the veracity of his ims, which caused countless people to question this matter. Needless to say, the invasion army¡¯s momentum hadpletely dissipated.

    There was no way that the people at the bottom knew about the full details of what had happened regarding Long Qi, and Long Quan¡¯s death had roused everyone¡¯s suspicions. Many people already believed the dead man¡¯s ims. They had seen his death for themselves, and his ims were notpletely impossible.

    After thinking about the matter for a bit, many people came to the conclusion that since the Lu family had been eliminated, why would Lu Xiaoxuan still be alive?

    Silence reigned in the entire valley, and everyonepletely ignored the death of Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative as they were allpletely focused on Long Quan''s body.

    On this day, Long Quan had managed to shatter everything that the four ruling powers had thought to be true.

    Not only that, but Long Quan had also killed Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative. How were they supposed to exin this matter to Sky Creation Academy? They had already been in a deadlock in the negotiations regarding what resources would be exchanged, and things had just be far moreplicated.

    The invasion army had not even left their staging grounds yet, but they had already lost all of their momentum.

    Long Kui stared nkly at Long Quan''s body. Since when had this patriarch of a branch family be so stubbornly decisive?

    Far away, Lu Yin returned to himself after forcing Long Quan''s body to kill itself. The moment of death had been quite ufortable for Lu Yin, and after his consciousness returned to his own body from the strange dark space, he found the ck and white mist surging within his chest. It seemed it had been stimted by his actions, and he struggled to calm the churning energy.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled upwards. At this time, things were surely quite exciting in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Lu Xiaoxuan had been undeniably verified by the four ruling powers, and there was no way to even doubt the truth of that fact. However, Lu Yin had just used Long Quan to shatter that certainty and disrupt the four ruling powers. At the very least, his actions would buy the Fifth Maind some more time and cause the White Dragon n to pull away from the Perennial World¡¯s other three ruling powers. On top of that, conflicts would likely erupt between the other three families.

    Finally, the death of Sky Creation Academy¡¯s representative would further dy the invasion¡¯s negotiations.

    Lu Yin guessed that this disturbance might buy him as much as half a year¡¯s time. During this period, he absolutely had to find a way to deal with the invasion. If he could not do that, an all-out war would break out.

    He had to quickly determine the Hall of Honor¡¯s position on this matter.

 Chapter 1945

    <h4>Chapter 1945</h4>

    Given the Fifth Maind¡¯s strength, as long as they did not have to contend with a Progenitor, they should have no trouble dealing with Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. He could not afford to think about the Perennial World at this moment.

    However¡­

    He quickly checked his cosmic ring to see how much star essence his Possession had burned through. He had spent a lot of time in that mountain valley, and he had even forced Long Quan¡¯s body to kill itself.

    20 billion.

    Lu Yin''s face started twitching, and a terrible expression covered his face. There were not 20 billion star essence remaining in his cosmic ring; rather, he had used up 20 billion in his Possession.

    20 billion! All gone in an instant! Lu Yin closed his eyes from the agony of being broke once again.

    The onlyfort that he could feel was that the money had been well spent. In fact, he had absolutely gained more than the value of those funds.

    He lowered his cosmic ring again as he did not feel like he had lost out at all this time. He then lifted his hand and brought his die back out to roll it again. It was very important that he continue training.

    This roll was perfect, as the diended on four pips: Timestop.

    After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin immediately extended his time there to almost a year before he sat down cross-legged. He then began to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra as he tried to remember what he had felt when he saw Ce Wangtian performing Board Maniption during his game of chess, and Lu Yin tried to resume understanding what he had felt.

    One month. Two months. Three months. Eventually, half a year passed, and Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes. There was a nagging feeling that he was falling just a bit short from seeding even though the Origin Sutra had given him a bit more context. It was clear that if he wanted to fullyprehend what he had sensed, then it would take a good deal more time, but he did not have that luxury at this moment.

    Realizing his situation, Lu Yin painfully pulled out the Root of Intelligence. In the end, this was his only option.

    He simted some boiling water with his stellr energy, and the Root of Intelligence was used to make a cup of tea. Even a full-sized true Root of Intelligence could only produce three sips of tea.

    After taking the first sip, Lu Yin returned to the sensation that had surrounded him in the vision, and everything felt much clearer than before. It was as though he had returned to the moment of the vision itself and was reexperiencing it. The Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption was indeed connected to time, but it was not a direct connection. Instead, it was rted to space.

    After drinking the tea made from the Root of Intelligence, Lu Yin felt as though he had truly entered a moment of enlightenment. Even as he experienced this sensation, he continued to recite the Origin Sutra, which caused the sound of ancient chants to be heard in the area.

    Finally, Lu Yin had grabbed hold of a glimpse of the path forward, but it was still not enough. He took another sip of tea, rose to his feet, and then stretched out a hand. Space warped, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. ¡°Ce Secret Art: Astral Chessboard¡ªBoard Maniption.¡±

    He stared at the twisting space above the astral chessboard, and a thread of space returned to its previous state. The regression urred in an instant.

    Lu Yin had been the one to warp that portion of space, but then he had used the Ce Secret Art to perfectly restore it to its original state. This was the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption.

    Board Maniption allowed space to perfectly revert to a previous state by influencing space itself.

    Any move made by anyone at all would impact space, and even the weakest of ordinary humans would affect space around them with their movements. Board Maniption could undo these changes, and this was the ¡°taking back a move¡± that Ce Wangtian had referred to.

    Lu Yin had to admit that Ce Wangtian had been a true genius. He had managed to create a terribly powerful secret technique, but he had only used it to take back a move in a game¡­

    Lu Yin suddenly became very interested in Ce Wangtian.

    Lu Yin had seeded inprehending the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption, but he still had onest sip of the tea from the Root of Intelligence. After downing thest bit, resumed reciting the Origin Sutra, and then began training with the Cosmic Art.

    The Cosmic Art was an inherited cultivation art that had been left behind by Progenitor Chen, and Lu Yin wanted to fully master the technique as soon as possible so that he could unlock the secret of the pattern that was on the sole of his foot.

    Before Lu Yin became an Envoy, the Origin Sutra had allowed him to simte 10,000 stars with the Cosmic Art. With the assistance of the tea brewed from the Root of Intelligence, Lu Yin had no idea just how many stars he would be able to simte.

    ¡­

    As the scenery reverted in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he returned to Ce family''s ancestral home. Excitement was clear on his face.

    With the assistance of the Root of Intelligence, he had managed to simte 35,000 stars with the Cosmic Art. This was an increase of more than 20,000 stars! Thebination of the Root of Intelligence and the Origin Sutra had qualitatively transformed hisprehending speed in the cultivation art.

    With two more true Roots of Intelligence, Lu Yin was confident that he could almost immediatelypletelyprehend the fifth level of the Cosmic Art and even possibly move onto the sixth level.

    He had spent just a bit more than twenty years cultivating. Progenitor Chen had been the one to create the Cosmic Art, but it was a mystery as to how long the man had taken to simte more than 30,000 stars. Just how long had the man taken?

    While the predecessors nted trees, their descendants were able to take advantage of the resulting shade. It could be seen that Lu Yin was taking advantage of Progenitor Chen¡¯s efforts.

    He opened the door and left the small hut.

    Ce Yue and Ce Laoyan had stayed just outside the ancestral home this entire time, and they stared at Lu Yin when they saw him emerge.

    "You¡¯re both here? Is something wrong?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Ce Laoyan nervously nervously asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, did you just manage toprehend something?"

    Lu Yin did not hide anything. "It seems like it."

    "What did you achieve?" Ce Laoyan quickly asked. He felt both nervous and excited.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a stone appeared above his palm. He threw it away as an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. He then simply said, ¡°Ce Secret Art: Board Maniption,¡± causing the stone to return to his hand by passing through the space that it had already traveled through.

    While it did not look too special, both Ce Yue and Ce Laoyan werepletely shocked. This was because the stone had not returned, but rather been restored. This was just like the words that Lu Yin had spoken: Board Maniption.

    Being able to take back a move that had already been made and restoring something to a previous state: this was the essence of Board Maniption.

    Ce Yue was shocked. "I never expected to see someone reach the Board Maniption level in my entire lifetime."

    Lu Yin had to ask, "You haven¡¯tprehended Board Maniption?"

    He had assumed that at least some of the people from the Ce family had mastered Board Maniption. After all, they had possessed the Immovable Chessboard for eons, and people like Ce Yue were able to study the chessboard every day, so why would they not be able toprehend this level of the secret technique?

    Ce Yue shook his head. "My talent cannotpare to yours, Alliance Leader Lu. I have notprehended Board Maniption, and I am unaware of how to even go about reaching that level."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, how did youprehend Board Maniption?" Ce Laoyan asked eagerly.

    These two hadn¡¯t mastered Board Maniption? The Ce family did not even know how to attempt it? Lu Yin blinked, as this was an interesting development. "Ce Wangtian taught me."

    Ce Yue and Ce Laoyan were momentarily stunned to the point where they had to take a moment to process Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what did you just say?" Ce Laoyan asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "When I was looking at the chessboard, I heard a man named Ce Wangtian say that he regretted making a move in a game of chess. He was ying against someone named Yu De."

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin realized that the Yu De in the vision was most likely the Yu family¡¯s ancestor, Progenitor Yu. Who else but another Progenitor qualified to y chess against Ce Wangtian?

    There had been quite a few Progenitors throughout humanity¡¯s entire history. Even if each of the Six Mainds only had a handful of Progenitors, they still numbered a few dozen.

    Ce Yue and Ce Laoyan might not have believed Lu Yin¡¯s im that he had been taught by Ce Wangtian, but the youth had just spoken the names of two people ying a game of chess, which had removed any doubts that they might have held. ording to their family¡¯s ancient records, the Ce Secret Art had indeed been created because their ancestor had yed a game of chess against another Progenitor surnamed Yu. This was the origins of the Ce Secret Art, and it was one of the Ce family¡¯s greatest secrets. Not even members of the Yu family knew of this matter, let alone people from outside their two families.

    Ce Yue became incredibly excited. "Did you hear the voice of our ancestor?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I heard itst time as well, which was when I first managed toprehend the secret technique, but this time, his voice was much clearer."

    Ce Wangtian was the Ce family¡¯s ancestor, and Lu Yin had heard their ancestor¡¯s voice. This was something incredibly important to their family.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what else did you hear our ancestor say?" Ce Yue quickly asked.

    Lu Yin rubbed his chin. "He said quite a bit, but I don¡¯t remember that much. Please understand¡ªI was trying toprehend Board Maniption, so I wasn¡¯t really paying attention to what was being said at the time."

    Ce Yue anxiously said, "Ce Wangtian is our Ce family¡¯s ancestor, so I ask you to please carefully recall the matter, Alliance Leader Lu. My family would be very grateful if you shared anything with us."

    Ce Laoyan frowned, as these words had just given Lu Yin the upper hand with dealing with their family.

    Ce Yue was the Ce family¡¯s most powerful elder, and his high status made it difficult for even the patriarch to speak against him. However, even if Ce Yue wanted to know what their ancestor had said and hoped toprehend Board Maniption, this was not the best way to go about it.

    However, Ce Yue had already spoken, and his words meant that he would absolutely be led around by the nose when interacting with Lu Yin from this point forward.

    Ever since Lu Yin had started leading the Wen family along with the method toyer their Literary Prison, he had found a new method that he simply could not abandon. He had since used Liu Hao to entice the Sword Sect, the pattern on the sole of his foot to coerce the Cosmic Sect, and Extremes Must Be Reversed to tempt the Ku family. Even First Edition City had been brought over to Lu Yin¡¯s side with his agreement to Dpose ancient items into refined base materials for them At this moment, he found that he was going to be able to deal with the Ce family in a simr manner with words of their ancestor and the method toprehend Board Maniption. There was no one in the entire universe who could stop Lu Yin from fishing!

    No, it was not that he was fishing, but rather that he had already caught a bunch of massive fish.

    When he saw Lu Yin¡¯s expression change, Ce Laoyan¡¯s heart dropped. It was important to avoid showing weaknesses when dealing with a person like Lu Yin, as he would instantlytch on and take advantage of it. The Ce family had just been snagged by this youth.

    It was actually even possible for them to ignore the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption. After all, since Lu Yin had managed toprehend it, it was possible that someone from their Ce family would eventually be able to do the same thing in the future.

    No, it was their ancestor¡¯s words that held the greatest allure to the Ce family.

    What had their ancestor said? Had Lu Yin simply fabricated the whole thing? The most important detail about this was that since no one in their family had ever managed toprehend Board Maniption and they did not even understand how to attempt to do so, they had no way to hear their ancestor¡¯s words for themselves.

    It was actually highly unlikely that Lu Yin had fabricated his story, as he had already correctly identified the two yers in the game of chess that had given birth to the Ce Secret Art, and thisplicated matters. In truth, given his position as the Ce family patriarch, Ce Laoyan would rather remain ignorant of their ancestor¡¯s words than be forced into a passive position when dealing with Lu Yin.

    Unfortunately, Ce Yue, their family¡¯s most powerful elder, was too invested in this matter.

    "Senior, is there some ce where this junior could rest for a bit? I feel a bit dizzy, and your ancestor said many things, so I need to calm down and slowly review everything." Lu Yin spoke as though in pain.

    Ce Yue quickly agreed, "Alright, absolutely. We¡¯ll immediately arrange a ce for you to rest, Alliance Leader Lu. We won¡¯t mistreat you."

    Ce Laoyan could say nothing but, "Alliance Leader Lu, please follow me."

    "By the way, Senior, why do the members of your Ce family enjoy ying chess so much?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Ce Yue was taken aback, but then he grew solemn as he replied, "Our ancestor enjoyed chess and even lived for the game. It¡¯s clear that our ancestor wanted his descendants to understand the true meaning of life through chess. Thus, every member of our family studies chess and strategy."

    Ce Laoyan nodded in agreement. In fact, the Ce family was even able topare to the Hui family when it came to their family members¡¯ intelligence, and when it came to a family¡¯s influence, the Ce family even surpassed the Xia family¡¯s. This was because there were many Ce family members with foreign surnames, and all of them studied chess and strategy, which provided them with massive benefits.

    Only through ying chess could one understand strategy.

    Of course, there was another reason for their focus on chess, which was that it allowed the members of the Ce family to better understand the Ce Secret Art.

    Lu Yin simply replied with an ¡°Oh¡± before following Ce Laoyan away from the ancestral home. He struggled not tough at Ce Yue''s exnation.

    While Lu Yin did not know much about Ce Wangtian, it was not difficult to hear from the Progenitor¡¯s words that he had not yed chess to gain an understanding of some profound truth. Rather, he simply enjoyed the game despite being terrible at it. He had actually been in such a hurry when ying that he had made a mistake, and he had created the Ce Secret Art in order to take back a move during his game.

    People might have simple hobbies that ended up affecting the lives of future generations.

    It was possible to leave behind incredible achievements that were triggered by the most innocuous of motivations.

    That night, Zhu San met with Ce Laoyan once again.

    Ce Laoyan stared at the young man. "So you understand Lu Yin quite well?"

    Zhu San panicked, but he still managed to nod. "Yes, very well."

    Ce Laoyan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "If I wanted to gain specific information from Lu Yin, how should I go about it?"

    Zhu San hesitated for a moment, but then he mustered the courage to reply, "That depends on just how important the information is to you, Patriarch, and also whether or not Lu Yin understands that importance."

    "What if he already knows?" Ce Laoyan asked.

    Zhu San shook his head. "That would make things very difficult. Unless the Ce family has something that Lu Yin¡¯s desperate needs, such as information, the only other option is to pay a steep price. More importantly, even if you are willing to pay such a price, it might still take a long time to receive the information.

    "Unless I¡¯m wrong, Lu Yin will leave here tomorrow."

 Chapter 1946

    <h4>Chapter 1946</h4>

    "So soon?" Zhu San¡¯s guess caught Ce Laoyanpletely off guard.

    Zhu San remained firm in his answer. "He is definitely going to leave very soon. The more important this information is to you, Patriarch, the more anxious Lu Yin will be to leave. This is not because he fears our Ce family, but rather because he wants to whet our appetite. This is how Lu Yin usually handles matters."

    "So how can we obtain that information from him?" Ce Laoyan asked in a low voice.

    Zhu San considered the question for a moment. "Using the people around him is probably the best choice."

    "Exin."

    Zhu San replied, "Lu Yin¡¯s ambitions are beyond those of ordinary people, but his weaknesses are also quite clear because of that¡ªhe cares too much about the people close to him. He doesn''t want the people he cares about to be threatened, but rather treated as if he were in their ce."

    "So we should use an indirect approach." Ce Laoyan instantly understood.

    Zhu San nodded. "Unless our family possesses something that Lu Yin specifically needs, this is our only option. Well, it¡¯s also possible to simply wait, Patriarch as he will definitely ask us for help one day. If he didn¡¯t n on doing that, then he would have simply demanded a payment of resources and not bother stringing us along.¡±

    Ce Laoyan stared at Zhu San for a moment. "It seems that you really do have a very good understanding of Lu Yin."

    Zhu San gritted his teeth and bowed to Ce Laoyan. "Patriarch, this lowly one truly wishes to help our family. I once thought that I no longer had any opportunity to do so, but if our family wishes to deal with Lu Yin, then this lowly one has a way to do so, as I have one of my people already in ce."

    Ce Laoyan was taken aback. "You were able to ce someone near Lu Yin?"

    Zhu San replied, "I''m not that impressive, and I was not able to ce anyone right next to Lu Yin, but I am still able to ess a great deal of information concerning the Great Eastern Alliance through someone named Nana. She¡¯s Qiong Xi''er''s personal maid, but no one knows that she actually answers to me."

    After seeing that Ce Laoyan did not interrupt, Zhu San finally began to rx internally. It was clear that the patriarch found Zhu San¡¯s information valuable, so the young man quickly continued, saying, "Back when my Zhu family was trying to take control of Millions City, the easiest method for us to do so would have been for me to simply marry Qiong Xi''er. In order to impress her, I needed to get to know her, so I used everything at my disposal to ce Nana next to her. From Nana, I was able to track Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s every move. If our family wants to know about the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s affairs, I can just have Nana pay close attention to the situation."

    Ce Laoyan stared at Zhu San for a long moment. He had truthfully never expected this youth to be of any real use.

    Zhu San continued on in a quieter voice. "Lu Yin lied when he imed that the two of us are friends as he was simply using my name to have an excuse to visit the Ce family. It¡¯s now clear that he was actually plotting to move against our family, and now that he¡¯s aplished his goal, I will have no ce to stand once word of this matter spreads throughout our family. He never even thought about whether I would live or die when he was done with me, so I¡¯m now begging you, Patriarch, to give me a chance to get revenge."

    Not once did Ce Laoyan question Zhu San''s words. After all, Lu Yin had indeed used the Yinyang Trisage Technique to create an opportunity to observe the Immovable Chessboard. What¡¯s more, it was certain that once this matter became more well known, Zhu San would be the one to bear the brunt of the Ce family¡¯s frustrations as he had had given them the Yinyang Trisage Technique in the first ce. Even if he had done so with the best of intentions, no one would believe it. This was simply human nature.

    On top of that, people believed that Zhu San had a close friendship with Lu Yin, which was another incentive for the Ce family members to go after Zhu San and bully and abuse him.

    Ce Laoyan considered the matter for a bit before saying, ¡°Stay close to me for now and don¡¯t reach out to Nana for the time being."

    "Understood!" Zhu San answered excitedly. He truly was not acting at this moment, but not because Ce Laoyan was trying to use Zhu San, but rather because the patriarch¡¯s attitude was so clear.

    Typically, Ce Laoyan left capable people for his son Ce Jiu to deal with, but this was not the case with Zhu San, and there could only be one reason for this: Ce Laoyan was notpletely confident that he could deal with Lu Yin. If Ce Laoyan ended up ultimately losing, he did not want Ce Jiu to be dragged in.

    This was what made Zhu San excited. He had already decided to follow Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had offered Zhu San Nana as a bargaining chip with which to negotiate with the Ce family. Nana was basically being treated as a connection to the inner workings of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Early the next morning, Lu Yin bade his farewells to the Ce family and prepared to leave. The Perennial World¡¯s invasion force would soon arrive in the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin did not know how effective his stalling tactics would turn out to be. He could not afford to waste any time at all.

    Ce Laoyan had not expected Zhu San¡¯s predictions of Lu Yin¡¯s actions to be so urate, as he had even determined the time of Lu Yin¡¯s departure.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, why don''t you stay here for another couple days? It wouldn¡¯t be toote for you to leave after taking a tour of our Starpiece Region." Ce Yue was the most unwilling to see Lu Yin leave. If anyone else had been in Lu Yin¡¯s position, Ce Yue would have captured them and imprisoned them long ago, but their family was not capable of taking such actions against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "This junior also wishes to spend more time visiting your Ce family and learning more about what the descendants of such a powerful Progenitor are capable of, but unfortunately, I really do have too many urgent tasks waiting for me. Still, you don¡¯t have to worry, Senior. This junior will be sure to visit your family again."

    Ce Laoyan''s eyes flickered, as he did not know what Lu Yin''s words were hinting at.

    Ce Yue spoke at length in an attempt to convince Lu Yin to extend his stay, but Lu Yin refused all of the elder¡¯s efforts. Finally, the old man was left with no choice but to escort Lu Yin out of the Starpiece Region.

    After Lu Yin was gone, Ce Yue¡¯s expression turned darker. "We can¡¯t keep him here as long as the Second Nightking is apanying him."

    Ce Laoyan was stunned. "Elder, did you think about attacking him?"

    Ce Yue turned to look at his family¡¯s patriarch. "The Ce Secret Art only truly bes a secret technique once oneprehends Board Maniption. You need to remember that my Ce family is different from the Yu, Xie, and Hui families. Our ancestor, Ce Wangtian, was one of the most powerful Progenitors from the Third Maind, and he was peerless within the Progenitor realm during his era. Our Ce Secret Art is far more powerful than anyone imagines it to be, and if not for the Second Nightking, I absolutely would not hesitate for even a single moment to capture Lu Yin."

    Ce Laoyan let out a breath of relief at the Second Nightking¡¯s presence, as it had averted a massive disaster for their family.

    The patriarch shot a nce at Ce Yue. While the elder was indeed the most powerful person in their family, he had never been considered as a candidate to be the Ce family patriarch. Ce Laoyan had not understood why for a long time, but he had sincee to understand that Ce Yue did not have any of the Ce family¡¯s scheming nature. Instead, he behaved more like the people from the Xia family, particrly Xia Yi, as the elder was both impulsive and ruthless.

    It would indeed be simple to capture Lu Yin, but the people supporting him were not at all easy to deal with. When Xia Ji had captured Lu Yin, he had forced both Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster to take action. Lu Yin¡¯s status had risen even higher since then. Forget their Ce family, but not even thebined might of the Seven Courts would be enough to stop the people behind Lu Yin.

    Ce Laoyan smiled wryly. He had never expected to be relieved that his opponent was strong.

    Lu Yin appeared outside of the Starpiece Region. He wanted to discuss the Perennial World¡¯s invasion with Wang Wen and the others, but before he was able to go almost anywhere, he saw Xie Ahua, the matriarch of the Xie family.

    He had not expected to encounter her in this ce.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, did you enjoy yourself with the Ce family? This little girl¡¯s been waiting here for you for a long time." Xie Ahua wore extremely revealing clothes and possessed a beautiful smile, but it was useless against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had to ask, ¡°Matriarch Xie, why have you been waiting for me here?"

    Xie Ahua smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, have you ever considered visiting my Xie family?"

    Lu Yin blinked. The truth was that he had considered visiting them, but after seeing that the Perennial World was about tounch an invasion, he had realized that he had very little time. Thus, he had dropped his ns to visit the Xie family.

    After all, they possessed nothing that he desired.

    "It appears that Alliance Leader Lu really doesn¡¯t want to visit my Xie family. It looks like it was the right decision for this little girl to have waited for you here." Xie Ahua smiled cutely.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve forced your family to wait for quite some time for my visit, but unfortunately, I have some urgent tasks that I need to see to. So, I will have to postpone my visit to your Xie family until next time."

    Xie Ahua stared at Lu Yin with sparkling eyes. "Alliance Leader Lu visited the Seven Courts, and yet you won¡¯t visit my Xie family? If such rumors of this matter spread, people will believe that my Xie family holds a grudge against you, Alliance Leader Lu, which would not be good for us. Please do us this favor and stop by our home."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Matriarch Xie, you can be direct if there¡¯s something that you want to say to me. There¡¯s no need to wait for me to visit your home. Honestly, I really am in quite a rush right now."

    Xie Ahua lifted a hand and twined her hair about her finger. "It seems that my Xie family has nothing that can draw your interest, Alliance Leader Lu. However, you don¡¯t know much about my Xie family. We once had a massive war against the Specter n, and although we eventually came out victorious, we have continued to decline since that time. However¡­¡±

    The woman paused for a long moment before finally continuing, ¡°Despite our fall from glory, we still possess trophies from the past, all of which were won from the Specter n."

    Lu Yin''s heart finally moved. "The Specter n¡¯s treasures?"

    The corners of Xie Ahua''s mouth curled upwards. "That¡¯s right. We have a great, great many items from the Specter n, as well as a massive amount of death energy."

    Lu Yin was finally convinced.

    "Also, aside from death energy, my Xie family also possesses a massive collection of bones, which we¡¯ve gathered in a ce known as the Bone ins. There might even be bones there that would interest you, Alliance Leader Lu. For example¡­ the bones of a Progenitor?" Xie Ahua carefully enunciated.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "You possess the bones of a Progenitor?"

    Xie Ahua rolled her eyes. "It¡¯s possible, but I can¡¯t say for sure. Our collection of bones is something that has been passed down from before my family started to decline. During our peak, not even the Xia family would have dared im to be able topare to my Xie family. How powerful was the Specter n? Alliance Leader Lu, you should already be aware that my Xie family was able to fight the Specter n to the death as we were unable to coexist."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Since you are inviting me so kindly, Matriarch Xie, then I¡¯ll be disrespecting your Xie family if I don¡¯t visit your home."

    Xie Ahua smiled. "Please follow me, Alliance Leader Lu."

    The Second Nightking followed behind Lu Yin, and he continued to stare at Xie Ahua. The Xie family? I think I¡¯ve heard of it, but they weren¡¯t very famous in my era. The Specter n, on the other hand, was incredibly renowned. How was this Xie family actually able to fight against the Specter n?

    ording to the Second Nightking¡¯s memories, the Specter n had not been enemies of humanity during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, but rather had simply been a group of people with a unique cultivation method. However, in the current era, the Specter n had joined the Neohuman Alliance and was considered an enemy of humanity on the same level as the Neohuman Alliance.

    During the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, the Specter n had been incredibly powerful, and they had not fallen under the influence of the Celestial Frost Sect or of any other force. They had kept many secrets, but despite their strength, they had since vanished.

    Lu Yin followed Xie Ahua to the Bone ins, making no attempt to hide his actions from the Ce family.

    Both families were part of the same Seven Courts, and as long as Lu Yin remained within their territory, nothing he did could be hidden from any of the families.

    Even when considering the entire Fifth Maind, just how many people were able to visit each of the Seven Courts one after another as Lu Yin was doing? How many people could influence each of the Seven Courts? Lu Yin¡¯s status was already approaching the peak of the Fifth Maind.

    ¡­

    The Bone ins were stark white. This whiteness was not like that of snow, but rather a different shade of white. This was the whiteness of bones, though it was oddly bright.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing andmass formedpletely of bone. He could not understand what he was seeing; just how had the Xie family managed to gather so many bones?

    "Where did all of these bonese from?" Lu Yin voiced the question in his mind.

    Xie Ahua replied, "We¡¯ve collected them all. When my Xie family was at its peak, we had many members, as well as many other organizations which were loyal to us. Our members were expected to collect bones, and also, whenever anyone visited my Xie family, they would bring a gift of bones with them. It was the only gift that would be offered to us."

    "These aren¡¯t ordinary bones," Lu Yinmented.

    Xie Ahua smiled. "Of course not. All of these bones belonged to cultivators, as how else could they have deserved to be added to my Xie family¡¯s collection? This way, please, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin scanned the Bone ins again before following Xie Ahua onto thendmass.

    While the Xie family had been on a decline, they still possessed some powerhouses, though they still fell far behind the other Seven Courts. Their strongest elder was Xie Sen, but his power level did not even reach 900,000, which Lu Yin found rather disappointing.

    The Xie family still had many members, but the direct family line only had a single heir: Xie Xiaoxian.

 Chapter 1947

    <h4>Chapter 1947</h4>

    Lu Yin had originally assumed that, even if the Xie family had built their home upon the collection of bones that was the Bone ins, at the very least, the surface of the Bone ins would have a bit of covering, such as some soil on top of the bones.

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated the Xie family. The Bone ins were nothing more than a collection of real bones. He found it quite odd to travel across a in of bones.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are you tired? You don''t seem to have much energy." Xie Xiaoxian approached Lu Yin, a faint fragrance arriving with her.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Possibly."

    "Then I''ll wait for you to rest up," Xie Xiaoxian replied, her eyes sparkling.

    Lu Yin quickly refused. "Matriarch Xie, could you show me the collection of items that you have from the Specter n?"

    Xie Ahua smiled impishly. She nced at Xie Xiaoxian and then back at Lu Yin. "Are you in that much of a hurry, Alliance Leader Lu? Why don¡¯t you allow Xiaoxian to first show you some ce to rest for now? Then, we can go afterwards."

    "There¡¯s no need for that, as I really am in a bit of a hurry," Lu Yin urged.

    Xie Ahua looked disappointed. "In that case, please follow me, Alliance Leader Lu."

    She then shot a nce at Xie Sen, who suddenly disappeared.

    A short whileter, Xie Ahua and Xie Xiaoxian led Lu Yin to an empty location on the Bone ins, where Xie Sen was standing nearby.

    After Lu Yin and the others arrived, the bones beneath Xie Sen shifted to reveal a massive and bottomless pit.

    Xie Ahua moved over next to the hole in the ground. "Alliance Leader Lu, please."

    Lu Yin led the Second Nightking forward, and the two followed Xie Ahua into the pit.

    Of everyone in the Seven Courts, Xia Ji was the only person who could pose any threat to the Second Nightking at all. So, Lu Yin felt very rxed as he could not think of even a single reason for the Xie family to want to attack him.

    The hole led straight down to the center of the Bone ins, where Lu Yin discovered a massive chamber with what looked like a pce. Right in front of Lu Yin was a massive gate that looked like it was made of bronze.

    "Is this where you live?" Lu Yin asked.

    The bronze gate was a thousand meters tall, which caused him to consider howrge this chamber deep beneath the Bone ins actually was. Apparently, the Bone ins did not entirely consist of bone, as there was an enormous chamber beneath them.

    Upon arrival, Xie Ahua''s entire demeanor changed, and a solemn expression appeared on her face. Xie Xiaoxian demonstrated a simr change, and the two women acted as though they were on a sacred pilgrimage.

    "My Xie family lives atop the Bone ins, and this is where the treasures of the Specter n are kept." Xie Sen spoke for the first time, his voice heavy as he walked over to the gate. He then raised a hand and pressed it to the gate to slowly open them.

    Once the gate openedpletely, Lu Yin got a clear view of the inside.

    It really was a pce, and while it was not overly luxurious, it possessed an iparable majesty and grandeur. He could not see the entire structure from where he was, but the oddest thing about the ce was that there was absolutely no one present inside.

    The pce was automatically illuminated once the gate opened, and the light came from a strange stone that lit up. The stones were not bright, and their light did not give the pce a dazzling appearance, but instead a warm glow. Instantly, the coldness of the Bone ins dissipated.

    Xie Ahua stepped into the pce and then turned to face Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, this is where you will find the true Xie family."

    Lu Yin was intrigued. "The true Xie family? So, are you saying that what I find here willpletely change everything that I know about your Xie family?"

    A smile slowly spread across Xie Ahua''s face. "That¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had only asked casually, so Xie Ahua¡¯s response was actually unexpected. He did a double take towards the Xie matriarch.

    Xie Ahua was staring straight back at Lu Yin.

    After a moment of the two staring at each other, Lu Yin gave a small smile and then stepped into the pce as well.

    "Does this entire pce contain items from the Specter n?" Lu Yin asked. He refrained from releasing his domain as such actions were considered impolite.

    Long ago, in the Outerverse, Wendy Yushan had warned Lu Yin to not casually use his domain in the presence of others or in their territories, as doing so was considered rude and could easily create misunderstandings. He had always remembered her warning.

    Both Xie Sen and Xie Xiaoxian remained at the gate while Xie Ahua, Lu Yin, and the Second Nightking entered the pce on their own.

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s question, Xie Ahua unexpectedly asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, have you ever wondered why my Xie family fought against the Specter n? Or why we prefer to fight to the death rather than let the Specter n go?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. This was indeed something that he had thought about in the past. Aside from being interested in the Specter n¡¯s treasures that the Xie family possessed, as well as the possibility of them having the bones of a Progenitor, he had also wanted to uncover the reason behind the Xie n¡¯s enmity with the Specter n.

    "Why?" Lu Yin was quite curious.

    The sides of Xie Ahua''s mouth curled up to form a faint smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, you rose to fame during thest battle of ZENITH when you defeated all of your peers. The power that you used at that time seems very simr to what the Specter n uses to cultivate."

    Lu Yin froze and his eyes grew cold. "I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re saying, Matriarch Xie."

    The Second Nightking looked up, and his eyes locked onto Xie Ahua.

    "If my guess is right, the power that you used is indeed the same as what the Specter n uses, Alliance Leader Lu. Did you ever think that, since my Xie family holds so much hatred for the Specter n, that we would also view you the same?" Xie Ahua stared at Lu Yin,pletely disregarding the threat that the Second Nightking posed. "Alliance Leader Lu, are you that confident because of the old man next to you? Do you really believe that he can protect you?

    "My Xie family is known to have risked everything in order to defeat the Specter n. But even though you cultivate the same power as them, did you have even the slightest worry or hesitation to visit my Xie family?"

    Instantly, the Second Nightking took action, and he grabbed Xie Ahua''s neck, ring at her with murder in his eyes. "You¡¯re asking to die!"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. Xie Ahua''s questions had reminded him that he had never really considered his situation in connection to the Specter n. He had simply thought that since he had not been corrupted by the death energy, it meant that he had no connection at all to the Specter n. However, he had overlooked the fact that, as far as others were concerned, Lu Yin was still using the same power as the Specter n..

    Ignoring this matter had caused Lu Yin to be perfectly at ease with the prospect of visiting the Xie family.

    However, would anyone from the Specter n feelfortable visiting the Xie family¡¯s home?

    The Second Nightking held Xie Ahua by her throat, lifting her into the air and squeezing hard enough that her face flushed red.

    Compared to the Second Nightking, the Xie matriarch¡¯s strength was less than even that of a child.

    "Matriarch Xie, were you just threatening me? Does your Xie family really have the power to hold back or stop the Second Nightking?" Lu Yin asked. He no longer had anything to fear, so he unleashed his domain and swept it out across the entire Bone ins.

    His domain swept past both Xie Sen and Xie Xiaoxian. Although the two noticed it, neither one reacted at all. Lu Yin found this to be rather odd, and his wariness spiked.

    Xie Ahua waspletely unable to speak, so the Second Nightking rxed his grip a bit. ¡°Speak."

    Xie Ahua let out a few coughs, and the veins in her forehead were all bulging out. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, I already told you that you will meet the true Xie family here."

    "What an act!" the Second Nightking yelled. However, just as he was about to attack Xie Ahua again, an inexplicable, indescribable chill spread across his entire body. He instantly went stiff, and both Lu Yin and Xie Ahua disappeared from the old man¡¯s vision. All that he could see was a pair of golden eyes that had appeared a few meters in front of him. Those golden eyes filled his entire vision.

    Fear overwhelmed the Second King as he sensed a killing intent that pierced through his very bones. The old man¡¯s scalp went numb, and his pupils constricted tightly. His spiritual force surged forth as he released his full strength tobat the iparable danger that he had suddenly sensed.

    How many people in the entire universe could intimidate the Second Nightking so badly? He was someone who had cultivated for countless years and who was inferior to only Semi-Progenitors!

    The old man stared into the golden eyes, but the longer he stared, the greater the fear that he felt. Soon, that fear reced everything else, and he no longer sensed anything around him at all.

    Caw!

    Caw!

    Endless spiritual force burst forth from the Second Nightking, and his eyes gleamed brightly, though they were burning with a crazed light. He instantly arranged a sourcebox array: Ten Prison Formation. This was his strongest spiritual force attack.

    However, the golden eyes suddenly vanished, only to reappear behind the Second Nightking. They continued to stare at him, and the Second Nightking''s head almost exploded.

    He could not think about anything except those golden eyes. Lu Yin? The Xie family? The Bone ins? None of those things had anything to do with the Second Nightking at this moment. The only thing on his mind was the golden eyes and how he could escape from them.

    He was the Second Nightking, so why was he panicking?

    Right when the Ten Prison Formation was about to erupt, the pupils of the golden eyes suddenly shrank, and a person appeared. Their arrival was apanied by the sound of metal chains being dragged across the floor. They seemed to be wielded by a god of death as there was a stream of death energy swirling around them. The death energy sliced right through the Second Nightking¡¯s spiritual force and severed his ability to control his sourcebox array.

    The Second Nightking responded by raising a hand and pointing out with a finger. This was the Nightking Advent Immortal Finger, and it could freeze everything.

    The person who had inexplicably appeared lifted their head, and the ck death energy gathered before them. The Second Nightking''s attack struck the death energy, but it had no effect at all.

    "You rely on the strength that you¡¯ve umted over the years, but that will amount to nothing in the end." A hoarse voice spoke as the ck death energy formed into chains that wrapped around the Second Nightking''s finger. The old man was horrified by this sudden development, and he tried to break the chains binding him, only to discover that it waspletely impossible.

    The end result was that the Second Nightking was bound and incapacitated by the chains of death energy, and he was strung up in the air.

    At that moment, the area lit back up.

    The Second Nightking was finally able to see his surroundings again, and he found that he was in the same ce as before. He looked around and found Lu Yin, as well as Xie Ahua, who had a faint smile on her face.

    In the other direction, but still close to Lu Yin, a figure had appeared. The person was hidden by ck death energy until only their golden eyes could be seen.

    This was the person who had easily defeated the Second Nightking and bound him above the floor.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally saw that the Second Nightking had attacked. Lu Yin had not noticed anything until this moment, and when he was able to see what was happening, the Second Nightking had already been incapacitated.

    Lu Yin was stunned by this revtion. Who was capable of defeating the Second Nightking so easily? It had to be a Semi-Progenitor, as other than a powerhouse at that level, the only other person capable of doing such a thing was the Chief Justice himself. Could the Xie family actually have an expert who was as strong as Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother?

    Lu Yin whipped around, and when he saw the person with the golden eyes. He blurted out in confusion, "The Specter n?"

    Silence reigned in the pce, and Lu Yin could hear his own ragged breathing.

    He had not expected to run into someone from the Specter n while visiting the Seven Courts¡¯ Xie family, but those golden eyes were a unique trait of the Specter n.

    "Chief Justice." Xie Ahua offered a respectful bow.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, Chief Justice? Aside from the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice, there was only one other person who held such a title. They were indeed affiliated with the Specter n, as they were the Chief Justice of the Dark Interster Supreme Court.

    Lu Yin had started investigating the Dark Interster Supreme Court after Tong Yu had attacked Gaia''s Swamp.

    The so-called Dark Interster Supreme Court was an organization that answered to the Neohuman Alliance. It had not always existed, as it had only formed after the Specter n joined the Neohuman Alliance.

    The Dark Interster Supreme Court was actually the Specter n.

    Naturally, the Dark Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice was the Specter n¡¯s patriarch.

    The Second Nightking was still bound and hanging in the air, and he stared at the Chief Justice inplete shock. He could clearly sense that this person absolutely was not a Semi-Progenitor, and yet, they had been able to defeat the Second Nightking just as easily as the Hall of Honor¡¯s Chief Justice. This person was aplete monster.

    Lu Yin stared at the Dark Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice as the figure moved closer step by step. Every step that they took caused the death energy to dissipate a bit more, as though it was dissolving into space itself. When the person was only about three meters away from Lu Yin, the death energy hadpletely disappeared from their body, revealing an elegant-looking middle-aged man.

 Chapter 1948

    <h4>Chapter 1948</h4>

    It was impossible to describe the man¡¯s aura. He gave off an aura of elegant evilness, but there was also something that made him feel unspeakably trustworthy.

    His ck hair contained a few strands of white, and he was holding a ck scythe. There was also a chain wrapped around the man, and it nged as he walked forward.

    This was the Chief Justice of the Dark Interster Supreme Court.

    "My name is Tian Dou." The Chief Justice and Lu Yin stared at each other as the older man spoke slowly. His voice carried a heavy weight, but Lu Yin felt no pressure at all.

    Still, Lu Yin did not dare to rx his caution. This man was the Specter n¡¯s strongest powerhouse, and he had just proven that he was capable of instantly overpowering the Second Nightking.

    However, Lu Yin quickly realized that, regardless of how wary he might be of this man, it was all pointless. All he could do was me himself for being too careless and willingly entering the Specter n¡¯s nest on his own.

    "No one in the entire universe would ever imagine that the Xie family, which has long been mortal enemies with the Specter n, would actually be one of your bases. The Seven Courts themselves are hiding your presence in the Neoverse," Lu Yinmented.

    Chief Justice Tian Dou replied with a hint of a smile, "The more impossible something seems to be, the more important it is for us to do it. For example, no one would ever believe that the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, the person who protected the lives of countless people in the Outerverse, an overseer of the Hall of Honor who is praised by the entire Fifth Maind, is actually the lord of the Specter n."

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes went wide, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. This young man was actually the leader of the Specter n?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I never epted that."

    Tian Dou just smiled. "Tong Yu made the situation very clear for you."

    "She never mentioned that you were hiding within the Xie family¡¯s territory," Lu Yin said.

    Tian Dou just stared at Lu Yin. "Are you upset, my lord?"

    Lu Yin frowned.

    "You were not informed about this because we did not want to make things difficult for you, my lord. In order to survive, we were forced to join the Neohuman Alliance, and if you knew of our base, would you share it with the Hall of Honor, my lord? If you knew and did not report us, then would that mean that you were guilty of betraying humanity?" Tian Dou asked.

    Lu Yin retorted, "How can you be sure that I won''t tell the Hall of Honor about you now?"

    "Because you are our lord. The Specter n is loyal, and we aremitted to protecting and serving you, my lord, for the rest of your life. If we fall, it will not affect you, but as long as we exist, we can help you by taking care of tasks that would be inconvenient to leave to the Great Eastern Alliance. You will understand when you use us, my lord," Tian Dou exined.

    Lu Yin had never epted the Specter n¡¯s im that they were loyal to him just because he had received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. Lu Yin found it much more believable that the Specter n had made a point to approach him in order to steal any secrets rted to the God of Death''s inheritance.

    Lu Yin was the only person in the history of the universe to have sessfully cultivated the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival, so the secrets belonged to him alone.

    "If you¡¯re so worried about implicating me, then why are you revealing yourself to me now?" Lu Yin asked warily.

    Tian Dou smiled as he replied, "Because you need us, my lord."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Death energy spread out beneath Tian Dou and quickly formed a star chart of the Fifth Maind below them. "My lord, you have already taken control of the Innerverse, and Leon¡¯s Armada, which can be considered your family, controls the Cosmic Sea. Your next goal should be to either retake the Outerverse from the Sixth Maind and drive them out, or to push onwards to enter the Neoverse with the Great Eastern Alliance while targeting the Hall of Honor. Regardless of which target you choose, both options are currently beyond the abilities of your Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Only my Specter n is able to help youplete either of these tasks, and we will break ourselves in order to protect your interests, my lord. The Xie family can work openly as part of the Seven Courts, and you can freely use them, my lord, to either retake the Outerverse or to push into the Neoverse. Regardless of whether you wish to force the Sixth Maind out and start a war between the two mainds, take over the Hall of Honor, or even invade the Astral Beast Domain or the Technocracy, my Specter n will follow your orders. We dare not disobey your orders, my lord.¡± Tian Dou suddenly bent over to offer a deep bow to Lu Yin.

    It was shocking to see the Chief Justice of the Dark Interster Supreme Court bow to Lu Yin. This was a man who had easily defeated the Second Nightking, and whom Lu Yin suspected to be about as powerful as his senior brother, Qing Ping, who had also been able to easily suppress the Second Nightking. Both men possessed a terrifying level of strength, and yet Tian Dou had readily and willingly lowered himself before Lu Yin. Either this man had truly submitted himself to Lu Yin, or there was some plot that was so important that the man was willing to sacrifice his own dignity.

    Regardless of which option was true, Lu Yin did not dare refuse Tian Dou¡¯s show of fealty.

    Lu Yin therefore quickly stepped forward and used both hands to raise Tian Dou back up. "Senior, please stand."

    Tian Dou stood back up. "I know it''s not easy for you to trust us, my lord. After all, we have joined the Neohuman Alliance, and therefore it¡¯s only natural that only time can prove our loyalty to you. Still, I ask you to trust us, my lord, as we will never betray you no matter what. This is because you form the very foundation of our existence and our future."

    Suddenly the chains binding the Second Nightking in the air vanished, and the man moved to stand behind Lu Yin, where he warily stared at Tian Dou.

    Tian Dou looked at the old man. "The only reason why you possess your current strength is because of how long you have lived. Given your talent, you should have never reached your current level, though it is enough for you to protect our lord."

    Thisment enraged the Second Nightking. He had lived longer than anyone else, but to his incredible frustration, both of the Chief Justices had easily defeated him.

    "So your Specter n lives here now?" Lu Yin asked as he stared into the depths of the pce.

    "That¡¯s right."

    "What about her? Is she really part of the Xie family?" Lu Yin asked about Xie Ahua.

    Tian Dou exined, "The Xie family is still the Xie family, though they have fallen under my Specter n¡¯s control, and they use their identity to conceal our presence."

    "Aren''t you worried that Xia Ji will find out?" Lu Yin was curious about this.

    Tian Dou just smiled. "The Xie family is known to possess many treasures from my Specter n, as well as many of our people¡¯s bones. Thus, it¡¯s only to be expected for death energy to exist here. No one would ever think that the Xie family was defeated long ago and is being controlled by my Specter n. After all, everyone knows that we were defeated and were forced to escape to the Neohuman Alliance just to survive."

    Lu Yin nodded. This misunderstanding had changed everyone¡¯s thoughts on the matter. Xia Ji was indeed very powerful, but it was still impossible for him to see through everything.

    Lu Yin then followed Tian Dou into the pce. There, he discovered that even the pce was nothing but another cover. The members of the Specter n did not live in the pce itself, but rather inside a peaceful forest that could be found behind the pce. Actually, the forest was in a pocket dimension, just like the Bizarre Sect.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard when he saw the Specter n members living peaceful lives in pastoral mountains and forests. He had always had a preconception that the members of the Specter n lived in oppression and only focused on cultivating. He had thought that they led simr lives as members of organizations that trained assassins, such as Aegis, but the Specter n was nothing at all like Aegis.

    "There are only a few tens of thousands of members of my Specter n still alive. Most of the people here are those people¡¯s families, while the true members of the Specter n are either training or hiding somewhere in the outside world. Still, despite our pathetic numbers, our strength is not inferior to that of any major power.¡± Tian Dou shared a bit of information as they walked.

    Lu Yinughed. This was perfectly urate. After all, how could the Specter n ever lead peaceful lives? Cultivating to raise their strength was the very foundation of such a n.

    "What about death energy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tian Dou had been left with no choice but to absorb death energy from Aeternus Nation, but after that ce¡¯s destruction, he had no choice but to absorb death energy from Gaia¡¯s Swamp. The same was true of the rest of the members of the Specter n as well.

    Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit moved. While he was aware that Aeternus Nation had not truly vanished, he could not say anything about it. The Specter n did not deserve such trust, or rather, they did not deserve such trust at the moment. If the day when he could truly trust the Specter n came, he would allow them to live in Aeternus Nation. However, if that day never came, he would never breathe a single word about the parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation.

    The Xie family¡¯s Bone ins were actually the Specter n¡¯s secret base, but not many members of the Specter n could actually cultivate with death energy, and most of those who could were absent. Lu Yin did not see Tong Yu or Silver, but he did see an old acquaintance: Faceless. This person had once ranked seventh on the Top 100 Rankings, and Lu Yin had fought against him in the Sea King¡¯s Dome.

    At that time, Lu Yin had suppressed Faceless¡¯s death energy with Fatal Revival, which had caused Faceless to believe Lu Yin to be a high-ranking member of the Specter n, and he had eagerly obeyed Lu Yin¡¯s orders after that.

    Even back then, Lu Yin had already started making some guesses about the connection between the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival and the Specter n.

    Only recently had Lu Yin learned that the Specter n had been the ones to release and spread Fatal Revival and that it was a cultivation art that came from the God of Death.

    Lu Yin followed Tian Dou around the Specter n¡¯s territory, and when he passed by the ce where the members of the Specter n trained, he felt powerful auras. There were actually two Envoys.

    "Does the Neohuman Alliance know about this ce?" Lu Yin asked.

    "They know."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. Given the fact that the Specter n had so many people hidden here, it would be more surprising if the Neohuman Alliance had remained ignorant of the ce.

    "Since we are within the Seven Courts¡¯ territory and next to Xia Ji, the Neohuman Alliance has never been able to ess this ce. Before Aeternus Nation was destroyed, Tong Yu and I, as well as most of our most powerful people, all lived in Aeternus Nation. The Neohuman Alliance did not doubt us much then," Tian Dou exined.

    "Your Specter n¡¯s gone over to the Neohuman Alliance, so why should they doubt you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tian Dou said, "They were the ones who found us. When they approached us, we were truly at the end of the road. The only reason why we managed to gain control of the Xie family is through the help of the Neohuman Alliance."

    "How did you lose in the first ce? Was the Xie family really strong enough to defeat the Specter n?"

    "Of course not. It was actually the Hall of Honor that was the one attacking us, and the Xie family also gained the cooperation of the entire Seven Courts. How else could we have been defeated?"

    "What a pity."

    Tian Dou agreed. "Yes, it is quite a pity. At our peak, my Specter n would have been able to provide so much more assistance to you, my lord. It would not have been impossible for us to even face the Hall of Honor head-on."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin did not intend to spend much time at the Bone ins, and he also made sure not to ask Tian Dou any questions that were too delicate. When it came to the Specter n, Tian Dou was correct in saying that Lu Yin did not really want them dead. In the past, Lu Yin had dared to attack the Daynight n, and he had only achieved victory after dancing along the edge of a de. Lu Yin was far more confident than back then, and he was not afraid to deal with the Specter n.

    "If you wish to leave, my lord, your servants will not keep you here. However, before you leave, would you like to see our Specter n¡¯s battle techniques that we have studied and developed after many years to utilize our death energy?" Tian Dou made a very tempting offer, and Lu Yin immediately agreed. Battle techniques always held a powerful attraction.

    While Lu Yin was able to use the God of Death Transformation, his fighting style was very simple in that form as he did not possess even a single battle technique that used death energy. Only after absorbing death energy during the destruction of Aeternus Nation had Lu Yin learned the Mask of Death battle technique, but even then, it was a technique that could only be used to alter his appearance. It possessed nobat utility whatsoever.

    Lu Yin was very curious to see what sort of battle techniques the Specter n had developed.

    Wherever Lu Yin went, the Second Nightking followed, though Tian Dou waspletely unafraid of the Second Nightking. The old man could not use death energy, and his spiritual force techniques were nothing more than simple sts of air against Tian Dou; they were useless.

    The Specter n¡¯s battle techniques were recorded in simple books, but the n had no need to guard them. Everything that they possessed used death energy, and everyone who cultivated death energy was a part of the Specter n. In other words, all of their techniques were useless to anyone who did not possess death energy.

    Lu Yin flipped through the various books, checking out the Specter n¡¯s various battle techniques.

    While some techniques were quite impressive, unfortunately, they would not be of much help to Lu Yin in a fight, especially after he underwent the God of Death Transformation. That transformation provided him with a scythe in his right hand, a shield in his left hand, as well as chains that wrapped around his body. The battle techniques of the Specter n would be useless with thatbination.

    It was possible that the techniques he was looking at were quite useful to the members of the Specter n, but everything that he saw was useless to Lu Yin.

    On top of that, the Specter n did not possess very many battle techniques. In fact, they only had a bit more than ten different techniques.

 Chapter 1949

    <h4>Chapter 1949</h4>

    Lu Yin lowered thest book and shook his head. "Unfortunately, all of these battle techniques are useless to me."

    Tian Dou said, "My lord, these battle techniques are indeed a bit superfluous to you. However, this servant has another battle technique that might be of interest to you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Let¡¯s see it."

    Tian Dou was a powerhouse who stood on the same level as Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, Qing Ping. This man¡¯s battle techniques should be powerful enough to drive countless people crazy.

    Even the Second Nightking looked at Tian Dou with great anticipation.

    Death energy covered Tian Dou''s entire body, and it wrapped him up in what looked to be some sort of cocoon that enveloped him.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, as this looked very simr to his own appearance when he underwent the God of Death Transformation. Was it possible that Tian Dou could also use the God of Death Transformation?

    The cocoon of condensed death energy dissipated, and Tian Dou revealed a small smile. "My lord, what do you think?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "What do I think about what?"

    "My battle technique. What you just saw is called the Death Energy Guardian. Are you interested, my lord?"

    Lu Yin was leftpletely speechless. "Didn''t you just wrap yourself up with death energy?"

    Tian Dou smiled and turned to look at the Second Nightking.

    The old man looked incredibly somber. ¡°I can¡¯t break through the barrier that he just used."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "You can''t break through it?"

    Even though the Second Nightking had been easily suppressed by Tian Dou, it did not mean that the old man was useless. Rather, Tian Dou was simply too powerful. He had suppressed the Second Nightking with his golden eyes and death energy. When the Second Nightking had faced Qing Ping, the Chief Justice had used his innate gift. The truth was that the Second Nightking had not even been able to fight back against either of the Chief Justices, but that did not mean that his attack power was weak at all.

    It seemed impossible that the Second Nightking could not break through the simple cocoon that had surrounded Tian Dou, but the old man soon solemnly exined why to Lu Yin. "While I don¡¯t have much of an understanding of death energy, there seemed to be some odd transformation happening within that barrier we just saw, and it created an almost impervious defense. I can¡¯t think of anyone who could break through what I just felt aside from a Semi-Progenitor, though that is merely my impression."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Was the barrier really that powerful?

    Tian Dou raised a hand and condensed a drop of water over his palm. It fell to the ground and sttered apart, just like a normal drop of water.

    Right after that, the man condensed another drop of water, which also slowly fell to the ground. However, this second drop of water did not stter when it struck the ground. Instead, it pierced through the ground and even tore through space as it did so.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at where the drop of water had fallen. It had been very clear that they had both been drops of water with the exact same appearance, but the internal structure of the second droplet had been altered despite the two droplets having the same outward appearance. It was no exaggeration to say that the second drop of water could have killed an Envoy.

    "My lord, you are already very familiar with star energy. There are countless battle techniques throughout the universe that utilize star energy and transform its shape or properties. However, in the end, star energy is nothing more than an energy used for cultivation, and death energy is the same thing. Death energy can be manipted and transformed in the same manner as star energy. Have you ever considered manipting and transforming your death energy?" Tian Dou slowly asked while staring at Lu Yin.

    These words were enlightening to Lu Yin, and they opened up an entirely new world of thinking for him.

    Lu Yin had only ever used death energy in a very primitive fashion. In some sense, it could even be argued that he had never once used death energy. This was true of even when he used the God of Death Transformation. However, death energy was a cultivation energy, and thus, it could also be used to perform battle techniques. Tian Dou''s Death Energy Guardian was one such battle technique, and the Death God¡¯s Face that Lu Yin had learned when absorbing death energy was another.

    In a universe where everyone else used star energy for their cultivation, a battle technique that used death energy possessed unique advantages.

    Given what Lu Yin was hearing, was it possible to perform his normal battle techniques with death energy? Could he use death energy to perform the Cosmic Palm, the Thirteen Swords, or even the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

    At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly remembered the vision that he had seen in the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins when he had been absorbing death energy. He had seen a person whom he believed to be the God of Death gather a massive amount of death energy and use it to rece the entire sky before crushing a horde of astral beasts. Had that not been incredibly simr to the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

    "I understand," Lu Yin said, his eyes glittering with excitement. He could always at least attempt what he was thinking about.

    Tian Dou smiled. "In that case, are you interested in learning my Death Energy Guardian, my lord?"

    Lu Yin looked back at Tian Dou. "Of course."

    A short timeter, Tian Dou taught Lu Yin how to use the Death Energy Guardian and how to change the internal structure of the death energy into a barrier. It was not actually that difficult of a technique, as most of ity in the fact that Lu Yin could not control his death energy. He needed to increase his control over death energy until it reached the same level as his star energy control.

    Lu Yin believed that it would not take him too long to aplish such a thing. He already had a great deal of experience in training his star energy control, as he had reached the Creation realm of star energy control.

    "My lord, I¡¯ve prepared a small gift for you that I hope you like." After Tian Dou taught Lu Yin the battle technique, he brought out a bone that he held in the air. It did not look unusual, but it held death energy inside it. The bone looked quite simr to the one that Xie Xiaoxian had used for her bone armor technique that Lu Yin had once seen.

    "The Xie family spent many years fighting against my Specter n, and they possess the greatest understanding of us. Not only did they manage toe up with various ways to fight against death energy, but some of them also tried to use death energy to fight against us. I will readily admit that the Xie family has had their own geniuses, and their bone armor technique that uses death energy can even provide them with an advantage over my Specter n in a fight. This bone was produced with the Xie family''s bone armor technique, and the death energy in it will eventually be used up," Tian Dou said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "I won''t say no."

    As he observed his newly acquired bone, Lu Yin had to admit that the Xie family did indeed have their own tricks.

    Right after Lu Yin stored the bone away, Tian Dou pulled out a two-meter-tall bone. Wait, an egg?

    Lu Yin blinked and stared at the white ovoid before him. No matter how he looked at it, it was clearly an egg.

    Even the Second Nightking was caught off guard.

    Tian Dou solemnly stated, "My lord, this is an egg."

    "I can see that¡­"

    Tian Dou continued, "This dead egg wasid by a creature called a granosa. While the beast looks like a mere bug, it is an ancient and powerful species that once caused countless disasters for humanity. The defenses of a granosa are without equal, and ording to the legends, only a Progenitor can break through their defenses. Even their eggs are strong enough that cultivators with power levels of over a million will struggle to break them."

    Lu Yin was stunned. There was a bug that only Progenitors could deal with?

    He couldn''t help but touch the egg. He pushed hard, but the egg didn''t move at all.

    "This egg has been around for eons, and it has been dead for a long time. My Specter n has reworked it until nothing more than the shell has been left behind. This means that it can be used as a shield and that you can even hide inside it if you encounter a dangerous situation, my lord. Typically, even someone with the Second Nightking¡¯s strength would struggle to break through this egg to attack you," Tian Dou exined.

    Lu Yin also stored the egg. This was a valuable treasure, as he was always short on defensive items.

    After taking the egg, Lu Yin stared at Tian Dou with open anticipation. Since there had been a defensive treasure, there should also be an offensive one.

    Tian Dou did not disappoint Lu Yin, and a wave of his hand brought out a needle. Calling it a needle did not seem to be quite urate, as it was far too long at a full meter. Still, it was very thin and was shaped just like a needle.

    The moment the needle appeared, Lu Yin inexplicably felt a chill run down his back as a faint scent of blood permeated the air. It felt like space itself was a balloon that this needle could pop at any moment.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he stretched out a hand to touch the needle, only to find it cold to the touch.

    "This needle is a weapon, but it is not a power vessel. However, it did once kill a Semi-Progenitor," Tian Dou solemnly stated.

    Both Lu Yin and the Second Nightking werepletely shocked. This needle had killed a Semi-Progenitor?

    In an era devoid of Progenitors, Semi-Progenitors could be considered invincible. Aside from Senior Brother Qing Ping, Lu Yin had never even heard of anyone crossing realms to challenge Semi-Progenitor.

    "My lord, don''t underestimate this needle. It is made from a material that disappeared from the universe long ago. It is considered to be the hardest metal, and it was a rare treasure even during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era. I don''t know who made this needle from that metal, but even the full efforts of myself and the entire Specter n are not enough to melt this needle and refine the metal," Tian Dou dered.

    Lu Yin held the needle. While it was impossible for the Specter n to melt this needle down, Lu Yin was perfectly capable of Dposing it. Rolling two pips with his die would allow him to almost instantly extract the base materials from this metal needle.

    However, it would be a pity to destroy a needle that had once killed a Semi-Progenitor.

    Could it be Enhanced? Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly glowed brightly.

    Tian Dou had given Lu Yin three items, each one of which Lu Yin considered a treasure. This visit had definitely been worth his time, but he prepared to say goodbye to Tian Dou.

    Regardless of the Specter n¡¯s true feelings regarding Lu Yin and whether they were being sincere towards him, it was clear that they would at least not touch him for the time being. After verifying that the Specter n was not a current threat, Lu Yin decided that he could ask them for some assistance, such as providing him with some resources.

    "My lord, I¡¯ve heard that you require resources, and my Specter n has some reserves, so I wanted to ask how much you might need." Tian Dou spoke up and addressed the issue before Lu Yin could even say anything.

    Lu Yin instantly stopped what he had been about to say. "How much?"

    Tian Dou smiled. "My Specter n doesn¡¯t use star essence for cultivating, but we do possess many items and power vessels that require star essence, so we are not able to provide you with very much right now."

    Lu Yin understood this.

    "How would 50 billion star essence work for you for the time being, my lord?" Tian Dou asked.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched, Fifty- fifty billion?

    "Is that too little, my lord? Your servant will find a way to gather more as soon as possible and get it to you shortly, my lord. You don¡¯t need to worry about that." Tian Dou spoke quickly, as he was assuming that Lu Yin felt the amount was too small.

    Of course, Lu Yin did not find this to be a small amount by any means. Instead, he had never expected the Specter n to simply give him 50 billion star essence so casually. This was not 500 million¡ªit was a hundred times more than what Lu Yin had taken after defeating the ze Realm.

    Where had they gotten so much money from? Could they have taken it from the Xie family? That certainly was not impossible.

    "Ahem, alright. 50 billion is 50 billion. While it''s not much, it''s still enough for now." Lu Yin managed to keep his voice calm.

    Tian Dou let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good to hear. My lord, you don¡¯t need to worry. My Specter n will be sure to gather whatever you need as soon as possible, regardless of whether it¡¯s resources or battle techniques."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Do you happen to have any fatesand?"

    Tian Dou shook his head. "We haven¡¯t gathered any of that. Do you need some, my lord? I¡¯ll send out the order to immediately have our people gather what they can."

    "That¡¯s fine." Lu Yin was still overwhelmed after receiving 50 billion star essence, and he was struggling to suppress his excitement.

    This 50 billion would put his total assets up to 60 billion star essence. Not only had he reced the amount that he had just used up, but he had also doubled his previous funds!

    The greater one¡¯s strength, the faster they would be able to gather money. This seemed to be an immutable fact.

    As they moved to the gate of the pce, they found Xie Ahua and the other two people still waiting.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, he suddenly hesitated and turned back to look at Tian Dou. "Is this the only ce where your Specter n has gathered?"

    He had not intended to ask any questions concerning delicate matters or the Specter n¡¯s secrets. That way, he would not provide any openings in case Tian Dou decided to try to attack Lu Yin with any secrets that he kept from the Hall of Honor.

    However, after considering the matter a bit more, this should not be too much of a secret to ask for. Lu Yin would not even be able to tell if Tian Dou lied, as Lu Yin was simply too ignorant about the Specter n.

    Tian Dou smiled. "My lord, you¡¯ve just granted me tremendous peace of mind."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "There¡¯s no need to answer."

    Tian Dou raised a hand and brought out what looked to be a rather simple-looking stone. "My lord, do you recognize this?"

    Lu Yin felt the stone seemed rather familiar as he stared at it, but where could he have seen such a thing before? Despite his efforts to remember, Lu Yin wasing up dry, though he was certain that he had seen this stone before.

 Chapter 1950

    <h4>Chapter 1950</h4>

    "That¡¯s a foundation stone," the Second Nightking said in a low voice.

    A certain thought shed into Lu Yin''s mind. "The foundation stone that¡¯s needed to make a hidden world?"

    Tian Dou answered, "Yes, but more urately, this doesn¡¯t allow you to create a hidden world, but rather determine its location. It takes hundreds of millions of different materials to make a hidden world, and it needs to have a perfect ecosystem. A foundation stone simply allows you to find the location of the space around the hidden world. In fact, my Specter n once owned one of the 3,000 hidden worlds."

    Lu Yin did not know very much about the 3,000 hidden worlds, and that wasn¡¯t only because of his limited time researching them. The 3,000 worlds were not allowed to leave the Honor Zone, and thus, they had very little influence on the rest of the universe.

    "My lord, in ancient times, the universe was absolutely full of parallel universes. Most of them were hidden worlds or pocket dimensions, such as what the ancient sects used to hide themselves in space. Aeternus Nation, which you¡¯ve visited, can actually be considered a hidden world," Tian Dou exined, "The Hall of Honor rules the entire Fifth Maind, and to make overseeing easier, all the known hidden worlds are required to remain in the Honor Zone. Any who do disobey will be destroyed when found, but there are naturally far more than a mere 3,000 hidden worlds.

    "Still, the 3,000 hidden worlds in Mt. Microcosms are not allowed to move away, and the Hall of Honor actually oversees the production, sales, and administration of the hidden worlds. They even have a department called the World League, which supervises the self-government of the 3,000 hidden worlds. The World League essentially has the same responsibilities as the Interster Supreme Court, but only over the hidden worlds, rather than the entire Fifth Maind.

    "That ce is also referred to as the Hall of Honor¡¯s money-maker."

    Lu Yin was stunned, as this was his first time hearing about this department despite his multiple trips to Mt. Microcosms. Why had he never heard of it?

    While wondering about this, Lu Yin opened his gadget and essed the information pages avable to the overseers. Sure enough, he quickly found a page exining the function of the World League. He simply had not paid any attention to this organization before, but there really was such a department within the Hall of Honor.

    "It seems that you were not aware of this, my lord, but that doesn¡¯t really matter, as the World League is not able to influence the rest of the Fifth Maind. After all, even when all 3,000 hidden worlds are taken together, there will not be many Envoys, and thus they have a very limited amount of influence in the Hall of Honor. You don¡¯t need to be too concerned with them, my lord," Tian Dou said.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath, but he was still quite curious. "Why is it called the Hall of Honor¡¯s money-maker?"

    Tian Dou was not at all surprised that Lu Yin had focused in on thisment. "That¡¯s because selling hidden worlds is an exclusive business of the Neoverse, and it is even the most profitable business here. Even the mostmon and smallest hidden world is still worth hundreds of millions of star essence. Larger hidden worlds with better environments can be sold for hundreds of millions of star essence, or even multiple billions."

    "In that case, who buys the hidden worlds? Who can gather up that much money?" Lu Yin was amazed.

    Tian Dou smiled as he exined, "Typically, only thergest sects and organizations will buy a hidden world, and virtually no one else will. For example, my Specter n bought a hidden world before our fall, and it cost us 700 million star essence. Most Innerverse powers can gather this sum if they sell their various resources. It¡¯s not even close to an impossible sum.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. When he had conquered the ze Realm, he had only acquired 500 million star essence, but the resources that he had imed were worth far more than that. Additionally, the ze Realm had only controlled about a third of the zing Mist Flowzone. If arger power controlled an entire flowzone, they could easily sell off arge portion of their resources to gather the necessary funds to buy a hidden world.

    "On top of that, the Mavis Bank also provides loans for organizations to buy a hidden world," Tian Dou added.

    Lu Yin stared at the foundation stone in his hand. "If I provide you with the necessary materials, could you create a hidden world?"

    "Of course, but the Hall of Honor has dered that hidden worlds cannot be formed or moved outside of the Honor Zone. If you are discovered to have done so, my lord, you will be punished formitting a crime no less severe than colluding with the Neohuman Alliance. After all, it is simply too difficult to oversee the hidden worlds, and some are norger than a speck of dust. The Hall of Honor would never be able to find such a ce, and they are also unwilling to spend the effort needed to find those ces."

    "If the Neohuman Alliance holes up in a hidden world in the Innerverse or the Outerverse, we would never be able to find them at all, would we?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tian Dou replied, "That would be very unusual. The Neohuman Alliance is very aggressive while hidden worlds are typically desired by those who are more passive and focused on their own protection and survival. The Neohuman Alliance constantly needs to create more corpse kings, and they also need to stir up trouble for the Human Domain. They have a need to fight, so hidden worlds really don¡¯t suit them. Hiding for a while is fine, but they will always emerge and reveal themselves sooner orter.

    "There are indeed hidden worlds that belong to the Neohuman Alliance scattered throughout the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even the Cosmic Sea. Even if the Hall of Honor did manage to find all of them, they would not attack them. Actually, while your Great Eastern Alliance was fighting the war against the Astral Beast Domain, the Human Domain started a massive campaign against the Neohuman Alliance, and no fewer than ten hidden worlds were destroyed. Aeternus Nation was one of them even though they had remained hidden from the Hall of Honor for so many years."

    Lu Yin nodded, as he understood that the massive seal in Aeternus Nation was basically one of these foundation stones, which essentially made Aeternus Nation a hidden world, though it could not be moved around.

    "Senior Tian Dou, if I one day be a public enemy of all of humanity, will you still help me?" Lu Yin stared at Tian Dou as he asked onest question before leaving.

    The Second Nightking nced at Lu Yin. A public enemy of humanity?

    Tian Dou and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment, and then the older man smiled. "You are the lord of my Specter n."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, smiled, and then shook his head. He had actually forgotten that the Specter n had already joined the Neohuman Alliance, which meant that they were already considered humanity¡¯s enemy. If Lu Yin became an enemy of humanity, wouldn¡¯t that actually be better for the Specter n?

    "Let me reword that question." Lu Yin looked at Tian Dou with a smile. "If the dayes when I face certain death, will you still stand up to help me?"

    Tian Dou''s expression grew solemn. "Eventually, the death energy present in the universe will be exhausted, and that day will be the end of my Specter n. Instead of simply waiting for that day toe, it would be better to fight with you, my lord."

    The man then offered another deep bow. "I look forward to the day when you be the next God of Death, my lord, and when you rece stellr energy with death energy, changing the very universe."

    After Lu Yin walked out, the pce gates mmed shut, generating a breeze that blew through his hair. Xie Ahua and the other two Xie family members were still standing in front of Lu Yin and respectfully waiting for him. The attitude that they now demonstrated waspletely different from what they had disyed when escorting Lu Yin to the underground pce.

    Lu Yin looked at the three people with a strange expression. "Thank you for your hard work. You must be very tired."

    Xie Ahua answered respectfully, "It is my Xie family''s honor to serve our lord."

    Lu Yin shook his head, pitying the people.

    The Xie family had been mortal enemies with the Specter n, and yet they had be the Specter n¡¯s vassals, enved for all future generations. They had essentially be the Specter n¡¯s doorkeepers. Their fate was truly pitiful.

    Who could have imagined that the Xie family, one of the powerful members of the Seven Courts, would actually be in such a miserable situation?

    Xie Ahua escorted Lu Yin back into outer space. This was the conclusion to Lu Yin¡¯s visit to the Seven Courts. He stared in the direction of the Technocracy. He felt as though his vision was able to pierce through space, and he seemed to see Sky Creation Academy and the New Corridor. Peering through the New Corridor, he felt as though he was looking into that pair of murderous, hostile eyes.

    He had to create a force to counter the Perennial World¡¯s invasion as soon as possible. There was no way to avoid this war.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped with a call request from Wang Wen.

    Before visiting the Xie family, Lu Yin had already updated Wang Wen on the current situation, and he had also asked Wang Wen to find a way to deal with the situation. Wang Wen was calling Lu Yin back right after he left the Xie family.

    Lu Yin answered the call with a bit of excitement.

    "Are you certain about what you told me in yourst message?" Wang Wen''s voice sounded unprecedentedly serious.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to resume traveling, and he also did not try to send the Second Nightking away, as the old man was right beside him. Instead, Lu Yin simply and calmly replied, "Absolutely sure."

    "What about the timing?"

    "We might have as much as half a year."

    "Might?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew firm. "We have half a year."

    Wang Wen fell silent for a bit. "When you first came back from that ce, you said that they were your enemies and that we would have to fight them sooner orter. Still, I didn¡¯t expect it to happen so soon."

    "Is there a way?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen shrugged. "I''m not a god, and we¡¯re looking at facing at least four Semi-Progenitors, dozens of Envoys, and a force that can challenge the entire Fifth Maind. We might even have to deal with a Progenitor. This ispletely iparable to dealing with the Astral Beast Domain. The level of this next war is too much of a spike for us to handle."

    "I know, and that''s why I asked you about this."

    "Even though I want to tell you there¡¯s no chance, even the most desperate of situations can be survived if they¡¯re handled correctly," Wang Wen answered.

    Lu Yin listened in silence.

    "There¡¯s only one way for us to fight against an invasion force with four Semi-Progenitors: we either get a Progenitor to take action or use the full strength of the Fifth Maind. Our Fifth Maind has six Semi-Progenitors, and there¡¯s also another one that supports you. Seven Semi-Progenitors is definitely enough. In that case, we need to find a way to unite the entire Fifth Maind behind you and be willing to die together." As Wang Wen continued to speak, his voice started to take on a higher pitch, and clear excitement could be heard.

    "That¡¯s naturally something I¡¯ve been thinking about, but how am I supposed to get the Fifth Maind behind me? Arch-Elder Zen might be rather favorable towards me, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯ll support this war. He told me a long time ago that humans cannot fight amongst ourselves. Honestly, it¡¯s possible that not even Eversky Ind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor will be willing to fight for me. And although I have got some leverage over the Cosmic Sect, if they end up facing possible annihtion, they¡¯ll dump me faster than anyone else." Lu Yin had a headache from the whole thing.

    Wang Wen replied, "You can¡¯t be na?ve. I¡¯ll run through this again, but as long as we can gather the overall interests of the Fifth Maind, we¡¯ll be fine. If you die, the entire Fifth Maind will suffer, so we¡¯ll see just who won¡¯t be willing to protect you."

    With that, Wang Wen hung up and ended the call.

    Lu Yin''s heart weighed heavily as he lowered his hands.

    He had expected to eventually face this day after he fled to the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World, which was the reason why he had never once dared to ck off for even a moment. He had constantly tried to improve and increase the strength of the Great Eastern Alliance, and this was also why he had fought against the Astral Beast Domain. The alliance had be incredibly strong, but a threat like the Perennial World was still a terrifying prospect.

    The Perennial World could simply mobilize too powerful a war force. Even while manning the rear battlefield, they were able to spare four Semi-Progenitors to assault the Fifth Maind.

    Compared to the Perennial World, the Fifth Maind truly was a forsakennd.

    Even with half a year, Lu Yin still had no idea how he could establish a united interest for the Fifth Maind. Especially not now that Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors knew Lu Yin¡¯s other identity and what that implied. After all, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors were far from stupid.

    Lu Yin was not naive enough to think that the Fifth Maind would unterally protect him. In fact, he felt morefortable believing in the protection from the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s plot or the expectations that the Specter n imed to have for him.

    There were times when people did not want to lower themselves, but were rather forced to.

    What should Lu Yin do if he was truly cornered? Chased by the Perennial World, abandoned by the Fifth Maind, and the Great Eastern Alliance utterly defeated? He wanted to get revenge. He wanted to bring his Lu family back. He wanted to destroy the Aeternals. He wanted to protect those whom he cared about. Lu Yin had too many desires.

    Thus, he could not allow himself to die.

 Chapter 1951

    <h4>Chapter 1951</h4>

    If one observed the Seven Courts from a distance, the Xia n¡¯s sword-shaped maind possessed a peerless energy, which reminded people of Progenitor Chen and his invincibility that the Sixth Maind had removed from their historical records.

    The mountains of Nature¡¯s Manifestation were where the Roots of Intelligence were grown, and they were full of life and energy. Progenitor Hui had been able to calcte the future with such uracy that he had hatched a scheme that had only been carried out after the passage of possibly hundreds of millions of years.

    The Voidsoul Region glowed with glimmering lightning, but Progenitor Ku had been almostpletely unknown even during his own time. He had stepped out to fight against the Aeternals by himself, only to never be seen again and forgotten. He did not need anyone to remember or praise him in his feats, all he wanted was to have a clear conscience and fight to his death.

    Even a Progenitor could die in battle, let alone one facing multiple opponents.

    Enemies, family, surrendering, struggling. Too many thoughts tumbled through Lu Yin¡¯s mind in a single moment, until it was all released in a tremendous roar that he unleashed into the emptiness of outer space.

    He was a child of the Lu family, as well as a part of the human race. He had risen up as a nameless person from Earth until he stood above all of his peers and was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin¡¯s life defied what people could ept.

    He would not ce his life into anyone else¡¯s hands, and he would not expect charity from anyone.

    Only by seizing the initiative could he possibly hope to have a chance.

    While Lu Yin was visiting the Seven Courts, the Xia family had been nervous, the Hui family had acted as a friend, and the Ku, Ce, Y¨­u, and even the Xie families had all ced their hopes in Lu Yin. Just judging by the Seven Courts¡¯ attitudes, Lu Yin felt confident that they would support him in his fight against the Perennial World. However, how could he rally such support from more powers?

    Lu Yin remained exactly where he was for two entire days.

    During these two days, no one disturbed him, and he did not speak to anyone. He simply stood where he was and stared at the Seven Courts¡¯ territories in the distance.

    Finally, two dayster, Lu Yin returned to his senses and let out a long breath. He then pulled up his gadget. "Wang Wen, let''s start ying a game that includes the whole universe."

    ¡­

    A spacecraft headed in Lu Yin¡¯s direction from far away. It hade from the Xia family¡¯s territory.

    There was a young man on the vessel with his hands sped behind his back as he stared out at the passing stars, watching as the Seven Courts territory grew smaller and smaller in the distance. He lifted a hand before him, as though hoping to grab the entire Seven Courts within his grasp.

    "Young Master, you shouldn''t do that." The voice of an old man spoke up from behind the young man. The old man was slightly stooped over, and he looked quite somber as he addressed the young man.

    The young man lowered his hand and offered an apologetic smile. "I''m sorry, Uncle Jiang, I got carried away for a moment. It won¡¯t happen again."

    Uncle Jiang continued scolding in a solemn manner. "We¡®ve only just taken our first step, and although we might possess high statuses, we are still nothing more than puppets. Young Master, you still have a long way to go."

    The young man nodded. "I know that."

    The young man was Xia Sheng, and he was one of the Xia family¡¯s descendants. He was currently on his way to Mt. Microcosms to take Nan Yuan¡¯s ce as the overseer representing the Seven Courts.

    One of the nine overseers¡¯ seats was perpetually reserved for the Seven Courts, and more specifically, for someone sent by the Xia family. If the Xia family did not have a suitable candidate within their own numbers, then they would simply nominate a representative. Xia Sheng was the candidate that the Xia family had selected.

    In fact, he was Xia Meng¡¯s suggestion.

    An alert sounded through the spacecraft, and there was soon a report. "Young Master, there are some people up ahead."

    Uncle Jiang frowned. "Then go around them. Why bother reporting something like this?"

    The crewmembers wiped some sweat from his forehead as he respectfully replied, "One of them looks like Lu Yin."

    Uncle Jiang''s expression instantly changed. "Lu Yin? The overseer and leader of the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    The man nodded.

    Xia Sheng''s expression grew solemn as he instantly mentally reviewed everything that he knew about Lu Yin. Each of Lu Yin¡¯s achievements had been extremely astonishing and were things Xia Sheng could only dream of doing.

    Uncle Jiang looked at Xia Sheng. "Young Master, this is an opportunity before you."

    Xia Sheng felt puzzled.

    Uncle Jiang exined in a low voice, "Lu Yin is at odds with our patriarch, but he has close ties with the other families of the Seven Courts. I recently received word that he just left after visiting the Xie family two days ago. He recently visited all of the families in the Seven Courts, spending a noticeable amount of time with the Hui family in particr. Hui Kong, the family¡¯s strongest elder, has some sort of inseparable rtionship with Lu Yin. As long as you receive Lu Yin''s support, you will be able to take the next step."

    Xia Sheng took a deep breath and quickly straightened his clothes. "Then let¡¯s go meet this legendary champion."

    As their vessel moved closer and closer to Lu Yin, Xia Sheng grew more and more nervous. He had tremendous ambitions, but hecked the necessary strength to see those ambitions fulfilled. The young man was very simr to Lu Yin, but a key difference was that Lu Yin had the strength needed to pursue his ambitions.

    As he saw Lu Yin¡¯s figure grow more and more clear in front of them, Xia Sheng¡¯s breathing grew ragged even as the ambition started burning brighter and brighter in his eyes. One day, he would also reach that step¡ªthere was no question about it. At that time, he would return all of the oppression and unfairness that he had suffered to the Xia n back to them.

    Lu Yin was a crucial step in Xia Sheng¡¯s ns.

    "Young Master, let''s go," Uncle Jiang spoke softly.

    Xia Sheng nodded, but just as the two were about to exit their vessel to go speak to Lu Yin, the young man vanished.

    Xia Sheng was left staring nkly at an empty stretch of outer space. Just where had his target gone?

    Despite the chaotic emotions that had been warring within Xia Sheng as he approached Lu Yin, Lu Yin had noticed nothing at all.

    Instead, Lu Yin had just received a message from Little R1O, so he started making his way straight to the Neoverse¡¯s northern region in order to visit Aurora Fortress.

    Lu Yin had once visited the Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City while under disguise, and he had managed to form a friendship with Little R1O. Afterwards, even though Lu Yin¡¯s true identity had been exposed, he had still managed to negotiate a cooperative rtionship with First Edition City, as well as Little R1O. Thus, he had been in touch with the young researcher on multiple asions.

    Lu Yin had just received a call from Little R1O that stated that he had recently identally developed a new type of universal armor. Not only was this new style of armor able to keep someone safe and able to travel through the emptiness of outer space, but it was also able to elerate a person¡¯s movements.

    Even a Limiteer would experience a substantial increase in their speed. If an ordinary human tried to wear the universal armor, the increased speed might be too much for them to handle. Without the innate protection of the universal armor, just its mere eleration could crush an ordinary human to death.

    The Second Nightking led Lu Yin northwards while the young man studied the designs for the new universal armor.

    Not only did this new universal armor design improve the wearer¡¯s speed, but it also possessed the ability tounch its own attack, which was apletely new feature not found in any other model.

    Little R1O focused on designing androids, and he was the most brilliant and innovative mind in First Edition City. Everything that he developed, even by ident, could be invaluable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought when he saw this new design was one that he had had before: if this universal armor could be integrated with the white smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks and the developing microarray technology, then even a single Limiteer could potentially challenge an Explorer. No, the destructive potential of the microarray technology could even be enough to kill Explorers.

    The more he thought about the future prospects, the more excited Lu Yin became, and eventually, he could not resist urging the Second Nightking to speed up.

    ¡­

    Aurora Fortress carried out an important function for Lu Yin: they were secretly developing the microarray technology that he so desperately desired.

    He had provided them with the means to elerate their research shortly after returning from the Perennial World. Now, after ignoring them for so long, Lu Yin felt that it was time to check on their progress.

    Lu Yin did not give any advance notice of his arrival, so Director Zhi was startled when he was informed that Lu Yin was visiting. In a rush, he gathered some members of Aurora Enterprises¡¯ senior management to greet Lu Yin.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status, he was treated in this manner no matter where he went.

    Director Zhi smiled and apologized as soon as heid eyes on Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, why didn''t you tell me that you wereing? I could have prepared better for your visit. We didn¡¯t know that you wereing until you were already in sight, and we were unable to act as proper hosts."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You¡¯re being too polite, Director Zhi. I just happened to be passing by, so I thought that I¡¯d stop in and rest here for a bit."

    "Haha, there¡¯s no need to even mention needing to rest! You¡¯ll be fine living for another 800,000 years or so! Please, Alliance Leader Lu, follow me." Director Zhi was openly ttering Lu Yin this time.

    Lu Yin followed the man and entered Aurora Fortress once again.

    When he hadst visited, Lu Yin had been escorted by Liu Ye and Fei Hua, but at the moment, the Second Nightking was apanying Lu Yin, which was an even more overbearing disy of power.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s presence put an incredible amount of stress on the people of Aurora Fortress, though a powerhouse at the Second Nightking¡¯s level would exert this pressure wherever they went.

    Director Zhi nced at the Second Nightking several times, but Lu Yin made no sign of introducing the old man, so Director Zhi refrained from asking.

    "They have an expert with a power level of over a million," the Second Nightking informed Lu Yin with a voice transmission.

    Lu Yin nced over in the direction that the Second Nightking was looking at. Even during his first visit, Lu Yin had felt danger from this fortress, and that feeling had most likelye from the super powerhouse the Second Nightking had just noticed.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to learn that Aurora Enterprises had such an expert around. After all, they were thergest spaceship manufacturingpany in the universe and had also made a ce for themselves in the Neoverse.

    In the past, Lu Yin would have been amazed by the existence of such an expert, but a power could no longer pressure him unless they were led by a Semi-Progenitor.

    As long as the Second Nightking wanted to, Aurora Fortress could be easily erased from existence.

    If one only considered those beneath the Semi-Progenitor realm in the Fifth Maind, then the Second Nightking could easily rank among the top ten strongest, which meant that he was an absolute monster.

    During this visit, Zhi Shao apanied his father to greet Lu Yin. This young master from Aurora Enterprises had also participated in the Astral Towerpetition, but unfortunately, he had not done anything noteworthy. It had been the same during ZENITH as well. The sight of the young man reminded Lu Yin of racing cars.

    There were many engineers stationed on Aurora Fortress, and Director Zhi introduced Lu Yin to Biao Zi, who was the chief engineer at Aurora Fortress. The man seemed rather old, and he was a full three meters tall. His name was a bit odd, and it did not match his job at all, though it did fit his appearance.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m the one who built your bodysuit armor." The stout, three-meter tall engineer grinned, revealing a mouth full of ck teeth as he spoke in a cheery tone.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the man¡¯s appearance. "Are you a lesser giant?"

    Biao Zi nodded, which caused his mostly burnt meter-long beard to move. "That¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I didn''t know that there were still lesser giants in the Fifth Maind. What is your rtionship with the lesser giants from the Sixth Maind?"

    Biao Zi became curious. ¡°Are there also lesser giants from the Sixth Maind?"

    "Yes, they have congregated in the Arrow Sect," Lu Yin replied.

    Biao Zi shook his head. "No idea, but we should have different origins."

    It wasmon for people from different ces to follow simr paths of development, so Lu Yin did not press the issue. The Sixth Maind not only had lesser giants, but also colossal giants. This was perfectly normal.

    "Director Zhi, aside from passing by, I did stop by for one other reason as well. Do you happen to remember our agreement fromst time?" Lu Yin asked.

    The man¡¯s eyes lit up. "Are you referring to the cooperative rtionship that was mentioned? If you provide us with rare materials, my Aurora Enterprises will design and build you a standard vessel for your forces."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Let¡¯s change that a bit. In addition to the design for a standard ship, I also need this to be made."

    Lu Yin then pulled up and shared Little R1O''s design for the new universal armor. After staring at it for a bit, Director Zhi¡¯s eyes went wide. "Is this¡­?"

    Biao Zi was much taller than Director Zhi, which let him see the designs even though he was standing behind the director. Almost immediately, the big man snatched the designs away. "A new design for universal armor? Interesting¡­ This actually incorporates new equipment to provide substantial eleration, and yet it doesn¡¯t put much stress on the armor itself. The coreponents and the metal required to make them can be procured for around 10,000 star crystal, but it would be better to use material worth 20,000 as the extra cost will reduce battle damage even further. The metal for the rest of the armor would cost about 7,000 star crystals all together. I am honestly surprised to see that someone is still studying such a dead-end subject. This is really well done."

    Director Zhi quickly apologized to Lu Yin. "I''m sorry, Alliance Leader Lu. Mr. Biao is obsessed with technology, so he was fascinated the moment he saw these new blueprints. Please don''t mind him."

 Chapter 1952

    <h4>Chapter 1952</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled at Director Zhi¡¯s apology. "Of course not. I would actually like to ask Aurora Enterprises to help me mass produce this universal armor. We can negotiate the price without any issues, as long as you are agreeable to producing it."

    Before Director Zhi could even speak, Biao Zi threw the blueprints into the director¡¯s arms. "Not only are there still people studying and improving universal armor, but you also want to mass produce it, Alliance Leader Lu? Do you realize that there¡¯s no reason to make this? Universal armor is only necessary to let ordinary humans go into outer space for things like mining, so it¡¯s unrealistic to expect people to fight with this. It¡¯s impossible for Limiteers to use this armor to cross realms to fight against Explorers.

    "And even if it was possible, how many people would bother paying for this? It¡¯s pointless to bother making this. A normal universal armor only costs around ten star crystals while each set of this armor would cost more than a thousand times that. This is far outside most people¡¯s means."

    Lu Yin replied, "What if I said that I wanted to use even better quality materials and incorporate some additional functions? Then how much would it cost?"

    Biao Zi ran some rough mental calctions, but then he rolled his eyes. "That would depend entirely on what you wanted to add in, but we can approximate it at a tenfold increase."

    "So are you saying that it would cost as much as a single star essence to make one of these armors?" Lu Yin asked.

    Director Zhi grew curious. "Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to make this?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s difficult for anyone weaker than an Explorer to contribute on a higher level battlefield, but this sort of armor could give Limiteers the strength to challenge Explorers. Regardless of the cost, it would be worth it for this sort of utility."

    "Impossible." Biao Zi instantly shot Lu Yin down. "Limiteers challenging Explorers? Not even an armor that can improve their strength in every single aspect would be enough to give a Limiteer that edge unless they were already an incredible genius. Forget adapting to such speed¡ªthey¡¯d find it impossible to even run away, let alone fight."

    "Mr. Biao!" Director Zhi shouted in frustration. It was not a big deal to disagree with someone like Lu Yin once or twice, but almost anyone would be upset after being shot down multiple times in a row.

    However, Lu Yin was unconcerned as the chief engineer¡¯sments were quite urate. Under normal circumstances, Limiteers would never be able to challenge Explorers, not even with this new style of universal armor. The gap between the realms was toorge. But things might be different if the microarray technology wasbined with the smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    In such a fight, half of the battle depended on the cultivator¡¯s skills while the other half depended on their equipment. Both needed to be at a sufficiently high level for a Limiteer to challenge an Explorer.

    This was no different from wanting to use items to lift an average cultivator into a genius Realmbreaker who could challenge Explorers. Lu Yin had been one of those geniuses when he had been a Limiteer, so he could understand this gap in strength.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin told Director Zhi and the other senior executives of Aurora Enterprises his thoughts, and he also asked them to find a way to integrate Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke into the armor design.

    Director Zhi was stunned. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you really get Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ strange smoke in batches? That¡¯s truly impressive."

    Smoke-Eater Peaks had sold their smoke to outsiders for some time now, as it could indeed be used as a life-saving measure at a critical moment. However, Lu Yin was actually able to purchase their smoke in entire batches, which was what left Director Zhi so impressed.

    Lu Yin then pulled out tens of millions of star essence and handed it all to Director Zhi. "This is a down payment. I would like to have yourpany develop this new universal armor as soon as possible. I want it mass produced, and the final price won¡¯t change that."

    Director Zhi took the money. "Don''t worry, Alliance Leader Lu, I agree to your terms on behalf of Aurora Enterprises."

    Aurora Enterprises was apany, and as long as there was money to be made, they would study anything Lu Yin wanted. Even if Lu Yin wanted them to design lunchboxes, they would agree if there was profit to be made.

    It was not that Lu Yin had not considered leaving this research to Ban Jiu, but rather, the man could notpare to Aurora Enterprises¡¯ abilities. No matter what, Ban Jiu was just a single man from the Outerverse, while it was impossible to know what sort of geniuses Aurora Enterprises had under their employ.

    Additionally, they had ess to many technologies from ancient times.

    However, the most important thing was that Lu Yin was extremely short on time.

    ***

    Wan Gong casually turned on the lights as he copsed onto his bed in exhaustion. He was in a sealed room with no windows, no view to the outside, and no ess to thework through a gadget. He was in istion, the same as many other people.

    Everyone who was researching microarray technology for Aurora Enterprises was treated like this.

    Wan Gong heard a soft voice from outside his door, and he said, "Come in."

    Two women entered. One was young and beautiful with a shy smile on her face, while the other was quite the opposite. She wore revealing clothes that showed off her voluptuous body, and she was already blinking bedroom eyes at Wan Gong.

    Wan Gong gulped.

    Wan Gong could enjoy anything he wanted in this ce, pleasures that had always been out of his reach before. As long as he was willing to request it, Aurora Enterprises was willing to fulfill it. The only stiption was that Wan Gong could not have any contact with the outside world whatsoever.

    An hourter, the two women left. Wan Gong was more exhausted than ever, but he was in an excellent mood.

    Someone else knocked on his door, this time to deliver a massive meal. Wan Gong was quite hungry, so he proceeded to eat on his own.

    "It looks like you¡¯re having a good day," a nd voicemented from behind Wan Gong.

    The man¡¯s expression drastically changed, and he found a familiar face when he turned his head. His food dropped out of his mouth, and he shot to his feet. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin observed the massive meal that Wan Gong had been working on. "Every ingredient in that meal is quite rare. Do you realize that one meal is worth a full year of an Explorer¡¯s ie?"

    Wan Gong quickly cleaned his mouth and bitterly answered, "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯d rather not enjoy any of these luxuries and be able to go back. I¡¯ve been cut off from the outside world ever since I started working on the microarray technology. Even just a short while ago, I was still able to at least asionally get in touch with Overseer San Liang, but after some of the recent breakthroughs, I¡¯m no longer able to make any calls at all. I¡¯m done living like this. I haven¡¯t even seen my son in ages. Alliance Leader Lu, can you help me get out of here?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "How¡¯s the microarray technology research going?"

    "We¡¯ve already finished."

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide. "Sess?"

    Wan Gong nodded. "While we were sessful in developing the technology, we haven¡¯t been able to find anything that¡¯s sturdy enough to handle the technology. If the metal is hard enough to endure, then it isn¡¯t able to ept the energy. If the metal isn¡¯t hard enough, then it just breaks. Any harder, and it¡¯ll disrupt the energy release process. We need to find something that can endure the pressure of the energy, handle its sudden release, and also not impede that release. It¡¯s too difficult to find something like that.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, could you let me look at that temte that you showed me before again?"

    Lu Yin took out the Void Rip sourcebox array.

    Wan Gong quickly grabbed it and started carefully touching it and examining it. After a long time, he shook his head. "I haven¡¯t been able to find this kind of material anywhere, and this isn¡¯t something I¡¯ve ever seen before. Honestly, after we finished developing the technology, Aurora Enterprises¡¯ full focus has been on searching for various materials. Every day I test more and more materials, but we still haven¡¯t been able to find anything suitable.¡±

    "Try this." Lu Yin took out a piece of bark and tossed it over to Wan Gong. It was bark from the Mother Tree.

    After examining it, Wan Gong¡¯s eyes lit up. "Is this the right material? It feels like it¡­"

    He touched the Void Rip sourcebox array again, his eyes flickering. He nced up at Lu Yin in surprise. "These two are very simr."

    "Go try it out," Lu Yin suggested.

    Wan Gong raced away to test the bark.

    Until he left or was dismissed from the team, Wan Gong was considered the leader of the microarray technology research, so no one could question his actions within the research center.

    Also, as long as the Second Nightking kept him hidden, not even other experts with power levels of over a million would be able to find Lu Yin.

    After half a day, Wan Gong carefully held out a microarray that had been produced with the bark Lu Yin had provided. "Alliance Leader Lu, whichbat technique would you like to be stored in here?"

    Lu Yin asked, "How powerful of a battle technique can this thing hold?"

    "Since we¡¯re still in the research phase, the sourcebox array that Realm Array Master Yuan has set up can only handle the strength of an Explorer," Wan Gong exined.

    Realm Array Master Yuan was most likely the top powerhouse hiding in Aurora Fortress.

    Lu Yin did not care about some expert with a power level of over a million, as the Second Nightking could easily deal with such people. However, Master Yuan¡¯s identity as a Realm Array Master was a different matter entirely. It would be difficult for people to uncover what such a person might have set up within Aurora Fortress.

    Lu Yin had actually almost forgotten that a Realm Array Master was in Aurora Fortress.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and casually waved it. The First Sword of the Thirteen Swords appeared and shot into the microarray, instantly disappearing.

    Wan Gong sucked in a deep breath, turned away from Lu Yin, and released the stored attack.

    The two men then saw sword qi sweep through the air.

    "Sess! It''s a sess!" Wan Gong was ecstatic and immediately got carried away with his excitement. "Finally, sess!"

    He turned to look at Lu Yin with growing excitement. "Alliance Leader, we''ve seeded! We''ve seeded!"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face, and his eyes lit up more than ever before. Had they really finally seeded?

    He could already imagine tens of thousands of soldiers wearing the newly designed universal armor while being protected by white smoke and unleashing attacks from microarrays. How could anyone imagine a scene of tens of thousands of soldiers releasing attacks from microarrays that couldpare to the strength of an Enlighter?

    This was something that not even the Perennial World could fathom. Despite their countless powerhouses, it was impossible for the Perennial World to gather tens of thousands of Enlighters at a single time.

    What a spectacr scene that would be.

    Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Possibly millions?

    It was no longer impossible for humans to fight against the Aeternals! What was humanity¡¯s greatest strength? Their intelligence, and from that intelligence, their creativity.

    Microarray technology, newly designed universal armor, the white smoke. On top of all of that, other things could be added as well, such as¡­ poison.

    The more Lu Yin thought about the future, the more excited he became. He felt as though he had just ushered in a new era.

    Attacks could be stored in the microarrays, but what else?

    In the past, Truesight had been the only means to create something out of nothing. Now, with microarray technology, such an ability could be spread out amongst even ordinary people. This was something that could absolutely revolutionize things for all of humanity!

    After using a hand to hold down the excited Wan Gong, Lu Yin stared at the man. "You¡¯ve just ushered in a new era."

    Wan Gong''s pupils fluctuated. "Ushered in an era?"

    A smile returned to Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Work hard, and humanity¡¯s future will continue to improve. This entire universe will eventually belong to us humans. Human creativity is able to create anything and can ovee even the most powerful enemies."

    Wan Gong nodded heavily, but then he suddenly remembered something. He dropped down to one knee. "Alliance Leader Lu, thank you! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to usher in a new era."

    Lu Yin helped Wan Gong stand back up.

    Next, it was time for his confrontation with Director Zhi.

    Microarray technology could not be left with just Aurora Enterprises, as it needed to be spread throughout all of humanity. Lu Yin intended to poprize this technology in order to truly establish a new era. It would be an era that bore his name.

    However, despite the technology being sessfully developed, there were still quite a number of problems to resolve. For starters, the material.

    Lu Yin did not have much of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, and while each microarray did not require a great deal of it, he only had enough to produce a few hundred microarrays.

    This meant that he needed to find some way to get more of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark.

    Also, the microarrays were only able to store up to four attacks. What could they do with the microarray after the attacks were released? This was something Lu Yin had not even considered before.

    Lu Yin brought this up with Wan Gong, who replied, "We can remove the traces of the previous sourcebox array and ask Realm Array Master Jie Yuan to set up another sourcebox array. Unless the material itself is somehow damaged, it can continue to be reused."

    Lu Yin asked a few more questions about the microarray technology before finally asking, "Were you able to find out anything about a rtionship between Aurora Enterprises and the Cosmic Sect?"

 Chapter 1953

    <h4>Chapter 1953</h4>

    Lu Yin''s question caused a sudden change in Wan Gong''s expression. "Alliance Leader Lu, there¡¯s an odd rtionship between Aurora Enterprises and the Cosmic Sect. I know this because I saw someone visit the microarray research center."

    Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity grew stronger.

    Wan Gong solemnly stated, "Yuan Qiong."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. "The sect master of the Cosmic Sect? That Yuan Qiong?"

    Wan Gong nodded. "I happened to see a picture of Yuan Qiong decades ago, so I¡¯m absolutely certain that I recently saw the sect master of the Cosmic Sect. Only a few people in the research department saw him, but all of them were core members of the microarray technology research team that I¡¯m a part of. I believe that if I was still allowed tomunicate with the outside world, I would have never been allowed to see Yuan Qiong."

    Lu Yin unconsciously started tapping a finger in the air as he sank deep into thought. He found it quite interesting that the sect master of the majestic Cosmic Sect would secretly visit Aurora Fortress and that his visit would even be to the core of the microarray research center.

    "Has there been anything else?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wan Gong replied, "Nothing else, though Director Zhi was very respectful towards Yuan Qiong when the sect master was here."

    Lu Yin nodded and told Wan Gong to return to his quarters. The youth then left the microarray research department and returned to the quarters that he had been given, constantly hidden by the Second Nightking.

    Shortly after Lu Yin left, Director Zhi arrived in the research center.

    How could Wan Gong possibly try testing the microarray technology without Director Zhi being aware of it? Still, Director Zhi only knew that the experiment had been sessful as there were traces of a finished product, but he was clueless as to just how sessful the tests had been or what battle technique might have been released.

    Upon seeing the signs of a sessful test, Director Zhi became even more excited than Wan Gong. "What was the material that you used?"

    Wan Gong replied, "I don''t know. I actually wanted to rest, but I was unable to sleep, so I came here to run some tests. I grabbed a bit of materials and started running tests. I didn''t expect one of them to be sessful."

    Director Zhi instantly ordered a full inventory of all of the materials in the research center. They absolutely had to determine exactly which substance had resulted in a sessful test of microarray technology.

    At that moment, a middle-aged man with a gloomy expression emerged from the void.

    Director Zhi and the others all offered the man a bow as soon as they saw him. "Master Xuan."

    This man was indeed the powerhouse that Aurora Enterprises kept in the fortress who had a power level of over a million. He was also the Realm Array Master who was present.

    Even Director Zhi, who oversaw the entire Aurora Fortress, had to be respectful to Master Xuan, and the director did not show the slightest bit of disrespect.

    Master Xuan¡¯s eyes swept across the microarray technology research center. "Sword technique."

    Director Zhi nced over at Wan Gong.

    The engineer¡¯s heart dropped.

    Master Xuan stared at Wan Gong for a moment. "The test that was conducted used a sword technique. Have you ever studied swordsmanship?"

    Wan Gong answered respectfully, "I¡¯ve learned just a bit."

    "Is that right? Show me." Master Xuan stared at Wan Gong. There was no anger in the powerhouse¡¯s eyes, though there was absolute authority. Normal people could not refuse an order from an expert at this man¡¯s level.

    Wan Gong swallowed drily, and his star energy formed a sword that he shed through the air.

    Master Xuan''s eyes turned cold. "Presumptuous! You actually lied to me."

    Wan Gong was startled, and all strength left his legs. He was barely able to stay upright when facing the pressure of an expert with a power level of over a million.

    Director Zhi stared at Wan Gong with cold eyes. "Wan Gong, I and Aurora Enterprises have treated you well. What have you done? Who was just here?"

    After speaking, Director Zhi could not help but frown and nce over at Master Xuan. Everyone involved knew just how important the microarray technology research was, so Master Xuan would never be far from the research center. How could anyone gain ess to this ce without Master Xuan knowing about it?

    Suddenly, Director Zhi thought of Lu Yin and the Second Nightking.

    At the same time, Master Xuan thought of the same thing, and his expression turned ugly as he exchanged nces with Director Zhi.

    Out of everyone present on Aurora Fortress, only Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were capable of hiding their movements from Master Xuan to be able to enter the microarray research center.

    At that moment, the air rippled in front of Director Zhi, and the Second Nightking escorted Lu Yin out. Lu Yin looked at Director Zhi. "Don''t me him. He wasn¡¯t given any choice in the matter."

    Lu Yin knew that he would not be able to hide the matter from Director Zhi as soon as they conducted a sessful test of the microarray technology, but Lu Yin had not expected the Realm Array Master to appear so quickly. The powerhouse had instantly determined what sort of attack had been used for the test, and he had even seen through Wan Gong¡¯s lies.

    Director Zhi clenched his hands into fists and tried to suppress his anger. "Alliance Leader Lu, I openly weed you as a guest, and yet this is how you repay us?"

    Master Xuan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at the Second Nightking. He felt a terrible pressure from this old man, but Master Xuan was still a Realm Array Master, and they were also in Aurora Fortress, which was his home base.

    As for the Second Nightking, the man just looked at Master Xuan with cold eyes.

    Lu Yinughed. "Without me, your so-called microarray technology would still be nothing more than a joke! Wan Gong, tell your boss where the breakthrough that allowed you to finish researching the microarray technology came from!"

    Director Zhi looked at Wan Gong, and the nervous engineer said in a trembling voice, "I honestly had no idea how to even proceed with the research, but Alliance Leader Lu provided me with a finished product that used microarray technology. That insight enabled me to find a breakthrough and sessfully create a finished product. Actually, he also provided the material that resulted in a sessful test."

    Director Zhi was taken aback. "Both the material and the technology came from Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Wan Gong nced at Lu Yin before nodding to Director Zhi. "That¡¯s right."

    Director Zhi frowned and looked at Lu Yin withplicated emotions.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "As I already said, Director Zhi, you should thank me. Without me, you would still be throwing endless amounts of money into the trash every year, and even if you had somehow managed to reach a breakthrough in the research, it would have been utterly useless without the material that I provided. I can promise you that you won¡¯t be able to find a proper material even if you search through the entire Fifth Maind. I¡¯m the only one who has it."

    Director Zhi let out a long breath. "Alliance Leader Lu, we need to talk."

    Aurora Fortress was more of a city than it was a fortress. It had aplete civilization, and there were many ordinary people who lived there. To these ordinary people, Aurora Fortress was a haven.

    Director Zhi led Lu Yin to thergest waterfall in the northern region of Aurora Fortress. There was a gazebo beneath the waterfall with stone benches and tables around it. There were already bottles of wine and some refreshments prepared beforehand. Only Director Zhi and Lu Yin were present, as both Master Xuan and the Second Nightking had retreated.

    Director Zhi poured a ss of wine for Lu Yin. "I don''t enjoy drinking, but I heard that you do, Alliance Leader Lu, so I made a point to prepare this. Try it. It¡¯s a wine that¡¯s been produced right here in my Aurora Fortress."

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop Director Zhi from pouring any wine for himself. "Actually, I don''t like drinking much either. I prefer tea over wine."

    Director Zhi set his wine ss back down and pulled a teapot out from his cosmic ring. "Wine drinkers tend to be emotional while tea drinkers are more rational. Alliance Leader Lu, we didn''t know anything about each other when we first met, but we have a good understanding of each other now."

    Lu Yin turned to look at the nearby waterfall. "That¡¯s true. By now, we know each other quite well. Aurora Enterprises invests ten percent of its annual profits into the microarray research center, and this never varies at all. This is an incredible sum, and in the Innerverse, it would be enough to establish a force on par with the ze Realm or the Ross Empire."

    Director Zhi stared at Lu Yin. "If my guess is right, you pulled Wan Gong under your sway during yourst visit."

    Lu Yin nodded. He did not see the need to hide anything. "Not bad."

    Director Zhiughed. "Five years have passed, and yet we never noticed anything! It was no wonder why Wan Gong was able to make such a massive breakthrough in microarray research just a short while after you left us back then.

    "I''m quite curious. I understand Wan Gong''s character very well, so how did you manage to earn his trust so quickly, Alliance Leader Lu? He clearly didn''t hesitate to sell out my Aurora Enterprises. Back then, you really could notpare to thispany¡¯s strength or influence at all."

    Lu Yin reached out, took a teacup, and swirled the tea. "Noment."

    Director Zhi sipped his tea. "Microarray technology is Aurora Enterprises¡¯ greatest secret, and it can even be said that the technology is the entire reason why Aurora Enterprises even exists. We have constantly been researching microarray technology, so you can understand its importance to us, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin said nothing and merely listened.

    "Over the years, my predecessors from Aurora Enterprises have all invested astronomical figures to research microarray technology, but we¡¯ve only managed to seed in my generation. Can you understand my feelings? My parents, grandparents, and so many other people''s expectations are riding on this, and at this moment, we are only a single step away from sess. Alliance Leader Lu, what do you think I should do?" Director Zhi grew increasingly excited as he spoke, and his eyes never left Lu Yin. "If you were in my shoes, would you want to share the sess with others, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin mmed his cup down onto the stone table. "Director Zhi, if not for me, not even your grandchildren would have managed to achieve any sess in this research."

    "Then we¡¯d keep going!" Director Zhi yelled. Veins protruded from the man¡¯s forehead as he gnashed his teeth. "This is the very life of my Aurora Enterprises! No matter how long it takes us, no matter what price we must pay, this research must seed!

    "We can¡¯t share our sess with outsiders, and we won¡¯t! Alliance Leader Lu, you are going too far!"

    Lu Yin sighed as he looked at Director Zhi. "And here I thought that you were a sensible person."

    Director Zhi¡¯s eyes narrowed and started twitching. "I am, which is why I wanted to speak with you and why I brought you to this ce, Alliance Leader Lu. No one else has ever visited this ce, not even my own son. You are the first."

    "What sort of negotiations do you want to conduct?" Lu Yin slowly asked.

    He had never thought that it would be easy to take advantage of Aurora Enterprises. After all, the microarray technology was the greatest goal of the entirepany.

    Lu Yin had grown ustomed to controlling other people with their weaknesses. For example, the Sword Sect could be controlled with the Thirteen Swords, the Ku family with Extremes Must Be Reversed, and the Wen family with the method toyer the Literary Prison. At this moment, microarray technology was the weakness that could give him control of Aurora Enterprises.

    However, Aurora Enterprises was a bit different whenpared to the Ku or Wen families, as thepany would never let go of their obsession with microarray technology. The Wen family had never even considered the possibility ofyering their Literary Prison before Lu Yin had returned from the Perennial World, and while the Thirteen Swords were vital to the Sword Sect, they already possessed theplete technique.

    The ones in a position most simr to Aurora Enterprises was the Ce family. They longed to obtain theplete secret technique that their ancestor had created, but even then, they had not been able to dedicate resources or manpower into researching the matter, as it was impossible to do so.

    Aurora Enterprises was unique. They had researched microarray technology for far too long, and their obsession ran deep. In fact, their obsession could easily drive them mad.

    Director Zhi¡¯s breathing grew ragged. "In order for you to forget everything about microarray technology, I am willing to offer you 80 billion star essence, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and shock could be seen in the depths of his eyes. 80 billion? How much money did Aurora Enterprises have? Just their opening offer was already 80 billion star essence!

    Lu Yin had to admit that this number made him hesitate. Who would be able to remainpletely firm in front of such wealth? 80 billion star essence could literally crush even the Sword Sect¡¯s mountain.

    However, whenpared to microarray technology, such money was insignificant as this development could usher in a new era. Lu Yin could not even imagine what this technology would facilitate in the future.

 Chapter 1954

    <h4>Chapter 1954</h4>

    "It¡¯s been nearly five years. I¡¯ve been watching your microarray technology for almost five years. Half of the credit for this sess should belong to me. Are you really trying to send me packing with just 80 billion star essence, Director Zhi?" Lu Yin replied.

    Director Zhi¡¯s voice dropped low. "Alliance Leader Lu, you should be aware of just how much 80 billion star essence is. Not even the Mavis Bank would casually lend out 80 billion to someone. Paying this much will severely hurt my Aurora Enterprises, which just goes to show how much we¡¯ve built up over the years. This can also be seen as uspensating you for your help and paying for the materials that you¡¯ve provided us."

    Lu Yin found this so amusing that heughed out loud.

    "What are youughing at?" Director Zhi''s voice dropped lower and lower as the conversation continued.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. "Director Zhi, do you think that I¡¯m an idiot?"

    Director Zhi¡¯s eyes flickered, and his eye twitched became much worse.

    "Microarray technology will usher in a new era. The more it¡¯s researched, the more it will be able to change human life and this entire era. Do you really think that 80 billion star essence is enough to buy the rights to an entire era?" Lu Yin smiled at Director Zhi.

    Director Zhi took a deep breath. "It seems that there¡¯s nothing for us to talk about."

    The smile lingered on Lu Yin''s face. "Your Aurora Fortress isn¡¯t able to deal with me. I might as well tell you that there¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor supporting me, Director Zhi."

    Director Zhi closed his eyes and dropped his head as his mind started racing.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. Given his current status, he really had nothing to fear from Aurora Enterprises. In fact, forget Aurora Enterprises¡ªeven if Gods¡¯ Origin was added into the mix, it still would not matter. As long as a Semi-Progenitor did not get involved, Lu Yin would not be worried.

    "I¡¯ll let you talk to someone else." Director Zhi suddenly stood up, turned around, and left.

    Lu Yin was stunned; was Director Zhi that decisive? Was Lu Yin going to talk to someone else now? Who else in Aurora Enterprises held a higher authority than Director Zhi? Could it be Master Xuan?

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt a familiar aura approach. He looked up, his eyes flickering. Was that Elder Jiu Shen?

    Simultaneously, in a ce close to the waterfall on Aurora Fortress, the Second Nightking also noticed Elder Jiu Shen, and he was quite surprised. Why would someone from the Cosmic Sect suddenly show up here?

    Elder Jiu Shen appeared out of nowhere, only to vanish an instantter. When he reappeared, he was already in the gazebo, looking at Lu Yin with a sour expression. The old man looked thoroughly upset.

    Lu Yin remembered what Wan Gong had mentioned about Yuan Qiong¡¯s visit. Just what was the connection between Aurora Enterprises and the Cosmic Sect?

    "Boy, you really are my Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest annoyance," Elder Jiu Shen spat out through gritted teeth while looking quite constipated.

    A corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. "Elder, what are you saying? This disciple doesn''t understand."

    Elder Jiu Shen snorted. "Let''s talk."

    "What are you talking about?" Lu Yin feltpletely confused.

    "The microarray technology,¡± Elder Jiu Shen spat out.

    Lu Yin blinked. "You also know about that?"

    "Boy, stop acting dumb! Do you really not know?" Elder Jiu Shen red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grimaced. "I¡¯ve got a few guesses, but I really don¡¯t know any of the details. What¡¯s the connection between Aurora Enterprises and the Cosmic Sect? Can you tell me, Elder?"

    Elder Jiu Shen let out a long breath. "Aurora Enterprises is a property of our Cosmic Sect."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This was highly unexpected. "It¡¯s yourpany?"

    Elder Jiu Shen lifted his head high. It was highly unusual for him to hold the advantage in a conversation with Lu Yin. "What? You don¡¯t understand?"

    Lu Yin had considered many possibilities, such as an alliance or a marriage. He had even thought that Aurora Enterprises might be paying a yearly fee to the Cosmic Sect for protection, but he had never thought that the Cosmic Sect would actually own Aurora Enterprises outright. One was an ancient monster that stood head and shoulders above almost every other power in the Neoverse while the other stood at the forefront of technological development. Why could the two not be united?

    "This- how is this possible?" Lu Yin stared at Elder Jiu Shen. The old man most likely was not simply toying with Lu Yin.

    Elder Jiu Shen rolled his eyes. "Is this something impossible? Of course, we¡¯re not the only investors. It¡¯s a joint venture between my Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind."

    "Does Eversky Ind own a share as well?" Each sentence surprised Lu Yin more and more.

    Elder Jiu Shen nced at Lu Yin. Both suspicion and contempt filled the old man¡¯s eyes. "Where do you think Eversky Ind¡¯s resources havee from over all these years? Did you really think that they¡¯ve only been supplied by Highsage Leon¡¯s plundering and the few floating cities they¡¯re tied to them? Don¡¯t be absurd."

    Only now did Lu Yin realize that while Eversky Ind had a Semi-Progenitor, he had never heard of the ce having any businesses or ie at all. The most that he had heard about was their support for a few floating cities, but that could not possibly be enough to supply all the necessary cultivation resources for a ce like Eversky Ind.

    In contrast, the Cosmic Sect had countless disciples, and they upied a massive region of the Neoverse. This was not only because they needed the space to cultivate, but also to harvest various resources. Certain disciples were tasked with gathering more resources for the sect, just like the Innerverse¡¯s Sword Sect and Wen family. Both of those two Innerverse powers upied a major flowzone and harvested resources from that particr flowzone.

    The most famous example was the contest between the Sword Sect and the Daynight n where they had fought for control over the resources of the minor flowzone thaty between them. Lu Yin had even taken advantage of their fighting there at one point.

    However, Eversky Ind only had a few people, and regardless of how powerful Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei might be, they would never earn enough money if they simply worked as hired protectors. Despite that, Eversky Ind had never seemed tock resources.

    Only at this moment did Lu Yin understand that they received those resources from Aurora Enterprises.

    Who in the entire universe would believe that a colossus of the Neoverse, Aurora Enterprises, was actually the pocketbook for both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind?

    "What''s the deal here?" Lu Yin could not help himself from asking this question.

    Elder Jiu Shen replied, "It''s notplicated. Highsage Grandmaster coincidentally obtained an iplete version of microarray technology after opening a sourcebox one time. After studying it with my senior brother Elder Gong, they realized that the technology possessed the potential to usher in a new era, so they wanted to study it. However, it was too expensive for them to research microarray technology on their own. Still, they had acquired a great deal of ancient technology through unlocking numerous sourceboxes, such as the energy conversion devices that can be incorporated into spacecraft. Thus, the two joined forces and established Aurora Enterprises."

    "No one else knows about this?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Elder Jiu Shen answered, "Back then, they also found a man named Zhi Xing, who was working for the Hall of Honor at the time. He was the brightest and most famous scientist in the universe at the time, and Aurora Enterprises was established under his name. My Cosmic Sect provided the initial investment and secretly protected thepany, and Eversky Ind provided some protection as well. This was how Aurora Enterprises was established.¡±

    "You can even say that thepany was founded by these three different groups solely to research microarray technology."

    Lu Yin nodded. It was only at this moment that he realized just how big of a secret this entire thing was. Now it made sense for the sect master of the Cosmic Sect to personally visit Aurora Fortress to check on the progress of the microarray technology research, as the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind were the ones who initially desired to research the technology.

    "Now that you know everything you need to, let''s talk, boy." Elder Jiu Shen stared at Lu Yin, still clearly unhappy with the young man.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Talk? What are you talking about? We¡¯re all part of the same family here. There¡¯s nothing to talk about."

    Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s brows climbed high up his forehead. "We need to talk. There¡¯s almost nothing between us. I don¡¯t care about your rtionship with Eversky Ind, but as far as my Cosmic Sect is concerned, while you are a disciple, you¡¯re merely an outer disciple."

    Lu Yin became upset when he heard this. "Elder, outer disciples are still disciples! Why do you want to treat me differently because of this?"

    As Lu Yin spoke, he lifted a leg and wiggled his foot.

    Elder Jiu Shen''s mouth twitched, and he wanted tosh out to release his anger. However, he could not do so due to what was on the bottom of this little bastard¡¯s foot.

    "The Zhi family has spent multiple generations studying microarray technology. Zhi Xing died before he even became an Enlighter. If not for his time spent researching microarray technology, he could easily have lived for at least a few thousand years. While my Cosmic Sect has secretly protected Aurora Enterprises, the Zhi family¡¯s contributions make our own negligible. As for Eversky Ind, they only helped with the initial startup, and they barely invested anything at all. Microarray technology is everything to the Zhi family. Boy, you can¡¯t mess around with this," Elder Jiu Shen said in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin replied, "Elder, are you misunderstanding this disciple? This disciple has never once thought of taking the microarray technology away."

    "In that case¡­?" Elder Jiu Shen gave Lu Yin a sideways nce. He was too familiar with Lu Yin, and it was impossible for this person to willingly let go of something valuable.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "This technology can create an entirely new era. If used properly, it can transform all of human society. If we were in a time of peace, I would definitely find a way to monopolize microarray technology to personally achieve incredible things, but the situation is different right now. We¡¯re dealing with the Sixth Maind, and the Astral Beast Domain is a constant enemy, not to mention how Aeternus is always watching us. Given our circumstances, the best option for humanity is to utilize microarray technology as best as possible.

    "If this disciple wanted to both monopolize microarray technology and change our entire civilization, it¡¯s impossible to even guess how long that would take. It¡¯s possible that we¡¯d face defeat and annihtion at the hands of the Aeternals before I ever seeded, in which case, the Aeternals would be the only ones to benefit from the development of microarray technology."

    Elder Jiu Shen was caught off guard. "So you can still consider a bit of the big picture."

    Lu Yin earnestly replied, "This junior won¡¯t try to steal or monopolize microarray technology, but I want to receive preferential treatment. Besides, the Great Eastern Alliance will provide the greatest assistance in further research of microarray technology, which would greatly benefit from additional development and promotional efforts. I think that this should align with the desires of Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong.¡±

    Elder Jiu Shen nodded. "That''s true. From the very beginning, both my senior brother and Highsage Grandmaster intended to make microarray technologymonce rather than monopolize it, but sharing is different from giving it away. Anyone who wants to use this technology needs to pay for it, which is not too much to ask for."

    "This disciple understands the concept of a patent," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    Elder Jiu Shen replied, "It¡¯s important for you to understand the overall concept."

    As he spoke, Jiu Shen waved for the distant Director Zhi to approach.

    The director¡¯s expression was still quite sour when he returned to the gazebo.

    Elder Jiu Shen said, "This child has no intention of stealing the microarray technology from us, but he will need to be given priority ess to it, and¡­"

    Elder Jiu Shen suddenly fell silent as he thought for a bit. "It¡¯s true that the research was only sessful because of his assistance. Once microarray technology is spread out and used by all of humanity, he can be given 20% of the profits.¡±

    Director Zhi frowned. He stared at Elder Jiu Shen before looking back at Lu Yin, but then he finally nodded helplessly. "I understand."

    Lu Yinughed. "Director Zhi, did you think that I wanted to steal the microarray technology from you?"

    Director Zhi felt offended. "Everyone knows your character, Alliance Leader Lu. You can¡¯t me me for harboring such thoughts."

    A glint shed across Lu Yin''s eyes. "What of my character? Tell me."

    Director Zhi wanted to answer, but he said nothing after thinking for a moment. While Aurora Enterprises was backed by both the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind, each of them had experts with power levels of over a million. Thus, something about the situation felt off to the man.

    In particr, he was uncertain about the Cosmic Sect''s attitude towards Lu Yin, but they seemed to be very close. If Director Zhi offended Lu Yin, he suspected that he would have a difficult life in the future.

    Elder Jiu Shen grew impatient. "Alright, quite messing around. Boy, you¡¯ve been toying with him for five years! You can¡¯t me him for being a bit resentful!"

 Chapter 1955

    <h4>Chapter 1955</h4>

    Lu Yin revealed a small smile and stopped aggravating the man. "Director Zhi, do you remember the design for the new universal armor that I shared with you? I want you to add microarray technology to it."

    In an instant, Director Zhi''s attention waspletely diverted. "You want to integrate microarray technology into something else?"

    Lu Yin grew serious. "I want that armor design to include both Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke and microarray technology. I¡¯m going to build an invincible army."

    "You started nning this five years ago, didn¡¯t you?" Director Zhi blurted.

    Lu Yin casually replied, "Don¡¯t worry about that. All you need to focus on is making eighty microarrays for me that can be added to the sets of universal armor that I¡¯ve already ordered. What¡¯s the most powerful attack that you can add to the arrays?"

    Director Zhi considered the question for a while. "Given our current materials, we can have each array release four full powered attacks that each have a maximum output of a power level of 200,000, but it won¡¯t be cheap."

    Lu Yin said, "Then lower the strength of the attacks."

    Director Zhi was momentarily stunned by this response, as he had expected that Lu Yin would want to store the most powerful attacks possible. Why would anyone want a weak attack in the universal armors?

    "What¡¯s the point in including Hunter-level attacks?" Elder Jiu Shen was simrly puzzled.

    "It''s cheaper," Lu Yin replied.

    Director Zhi was stunned. Cheaper? Then it would be better to just have the soldiers attack with their own strength! What was the point in using microarray technology then?

    Naturally, Lu Yin could not tell either of the men that he could use his die to Enhance the microarrays and universal armors to improve their overall strength.

    He had already tried Enhancing the Void Rip sourcebox array that he had taken from Bai Shaohong, but the presence of the sourcebox array made that endeavor impossible. However, as long as the sourcebox array was not added on by Master Xuan, Lu Yin would be able to Enhance the universal armors and the base mechanism of the microarrays.

    It would be best to first upgrade the materials and the bases for the microarrays until they could handle the strength of Enlighters or even stronger powerhouses, such as two-tribtion Envoys before then adding the sourcebox arrays as the final step.

    "How powerful of an attack can Master Xuan¡¯s sourcebox arrays hold if we don¡¯t take the strength of the necessary materials into ount?" Lu Yin looked at Director Zhi with eyes filled with hope.

    Director Zhi answered, "An Enlighter¡¯s attack. A power level of about 200,000."

    Lu Yin was disappointed. That power level was too weak, which meant that there was no reason for him to Enhance the microarray bases. Regardless of how much he improved the base materials, the sourcebox arrays would be too weak to take advantage of the improved durability. On top of that, the cost to Enhance the base materials would most likely be the same as or more expensive than outright paying Aurora Enterprises to manufacture the more powerful microarrays from the start. Just having Aurora Enterprises do all the work would actually be the better option, as these sourcebox arrays were actually the weak point of the entire design.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity that Master Xuan had not yet had the chance to study the Void Rip sourcebox array. His skills would probably dramatically improve if he was able to study the sourcebox array.

    It did not really matter if Lu Yin studied the sourcebox array. Thus, it would be better to give it to Master Xuan.

    After thinking of such, Lu Yin pulled out the Void Rip sourcebox array from his cosmic ring. This was the one that he had picked up from the treasury in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. This sourcebox array still had a single attack left. "Give this to Master Xuan for me. This sourcebox array is able to handle attacks equal to a two-tribtion Envoy, which is pretty scary."

    Director Zhi''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he snatched the sourcebox array out of Lu Yin''s hand. "Was this what gave Wan Gong the opportunity to make a breakthrough in our research?"

    Lu Yin neither admitted nor denied anything. "Go ahead and have the microarrays be built to hold the most powerful attacks that you¡¯re capable of storing. I hope that by studying that sourcebox array, Master Xuan will be able to find a way to store more powerful attacks so that we can use the microarray technology even more effectively against the Aeternals. Oh, and there¡¯s also this."

    As Lu Yin finished speaking, he handed Dong Zhi all of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark that he still had on him.

    Elder Jiu Shen was taken aback. "This is-?"

    Director Zhi grew increasingly excited. "Is this the material that was sessful?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "This should be enough for you to make a few hundred microarrays. I only need 80 of them, and I won¡¯t ask you to return the leftover material, so you can keep it for further research."

    "It feels like bark," Director Zhimented as he took it. He felt a little confused.

    Elder Jiu Shen stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "It''s nearly impossible to find this material even if you scoured the entire Fifth Maind."

    Director Zhi was caught off guard. "Senior, you recognize this substance?"

    Elder Jiu Shen was second only to Elder Gong in the Cosmic Sect, so it was no surprise that he had recognized the Mother Tree¡¯s bark.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ll find a way to get more. It¡¯s notpletely impossible."

    Elder Jiu Shen shook his head. "That¡¯s going to be very difficult."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, what is this material? Where does ite from? My Aurora Enterprises has spread across the entire universe, so we should be able to find more of it," Director Zhi said.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. He was just about to answer when he suddenly remembered something. He quickly took out a stack of white paper. "Director Zhi, these papers are made from the same material as the bark that you were given before. See if you can use this as well."

    Director Zhi feltpletely lost. How could someone use the bark if it had already been processed into paper?

    "Try it. It might work out," Lu Yin suggested. He still had a lot of paper left, and there was likely even more on Zenith Mountain on Long Xi and the others. If the paper could be used for the microarray technology, it would be wonderful.

    Director Zhi had no choice but to deliver the white paper to Wan Gong.

    After Director Zhi left, Elder Jiu Shenmented, "I never imagined that the most crucial material for this project would actually be the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. You brought that back from that ce?"

    "I actually picked it up from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins." Lu Yin did not bother hiding anything.

    Elder Jiu Shenmented, "If you were able to pick that up from those ruins, then it might not be the only ce in the Fifth Maind where it can be found. We should keep looking for more bark."

    "That¡¯s not very likely," Lu Yin said.

    The two continued to wait for the test results where they were.

    After a long time, Lu Yin could no longer bear the silence. It had be rather awkward after the two sat there for so long without saying a single word, so Lu Yin broke the silence. "Elder, is the rtionship between the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind really so close that they even share such intimate secrets?"

    Elder Jiu Shen replied, "Eversky Ind¡¯s disciples are able to participate in the challenges to be true disciples of my Cosmic Sect. You tell me if we¡¯re close or not."

    "That''s true. Also, the Cosmic Sect disciples are allowed to cross the Eversky Bridge on Eversky Ind," Lu Yin recalled.

    Suddenly he thought of something else. ¡°Elder, what do we know about Progenitor Smog?"

    Elder Jiu Shen was caught off guard. "Progenitor Smog? You mean Progenitor Smoke, don¡¯t you?"

    "Long ago, Progenitor Smog controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas," Lu Yin replied. This was what he had heard from Xin N¨¹.

    "Progenitor Smog, Progenitor Smoke¡ªboth names are used. Some people called him Progenitor Smoke, while others called him Progenitor Smog," Elder Jiu Shen said.

    "The smoke on Eversky Bridge should havee from Progenitor Smog."

    Elder Jiu Shen said, "That¡¯s true, but I don''t know much about Progenitor Smoke. All I know is that the Progenitor had a habit of making all different kinds of smoke, many of which had miraculous effects. However, no one has any idea why. Only some traces of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s power have been found in lucky chances, as Progenitor Smoke had no descendants."

    Lu Yin found this to be quite a pity. After all, for Progenitor Smog to have been able to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, the Progenitor had definitely been exceptional even among Progenitors.

    "Elder, do you know what sort of power each of Progenitor Chen''s nine clones cultivated?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Elder Jiu Shen shook his head. "I don''t."

    "You must already know that the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas really do have Progenitors¡¯ inheritances."

    Elder Jiu Shen was stunned. "Truly?"

    Lu Yin was shocked. "You really didn¡¯t know, Senior?"

    Elder Jiu Shen rolled his eyes. "How would I know about that?"

    "Do you know who¡¯s the strongest expert within Aeternus?"

    "I have no idea."

    "Have you heard of the Origin Progenitor?"

    "You actually believe in a myth like that?"

    "I do."

    "There¡¯s nothing known about that."

    "Do you know-"

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more questions, but Elder Jiu Shen lost his patience and snapped, "Alright, alright! You know more than me! Quit it with the questions! Let''s go!"

    The man then left in a huff.

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless. So impatient! How had the man managed to cultivate to his current level? Yuan Shi¡¯sment about Jiu Shen had been quite urate. One could not judge the man by his cultivation realm, as he was quite touchy and sensitive. All that he had to show for was his cultivation realm at the moment.

    A short timeter, Director Zhi finally returned to Lu Yin. The man was clearly excited. "Alliance Leader Lu, you were right!"

    Lu Yin was thrilled. "It works?"

    Director Zhi gave a heavy nod. "It works, but it¡¯s expensive."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin quickly asked.

    Director Zhi exined, "It takes five sheets of the white paper to rece a single piece of bark in the manufacturing process."

    "Five sheets?" Lu Yin was surprised. Since these pieces of paper could be used to form many different objects that were usually used for flying, such as birds, other animals, and even spaceships, each piece was massive. Theypletely outsized a piece of bark, but it still took five sheets of paper to rece a tiny piece of bark.

    "It¡¯s the only way. While the paper is made from the bark, it¡¯s impossible to reverse the process. All we can do is extract the neededpound and bind it to other materials to form a new substance. It¡¯s no longer bark, but it can still hold a microarray. It takes about five sheets of paper to extract the necessary amount of the needed substance to hold a single microarray," Director Zhi exined. He was hoping to get more from Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, how much of this white paper do you have?"

    Lu Yin checked his stores. "A bit more than two hundred sheets."

    "Where did you get it?"

    "I found it."

    Director Zhi choked. He really did not know how to respond to such an answer, but he knew that it would be impossible to force Lu Yin to reveal how he had acquired the pieces of paper.

    Not to mention the white paper, Director Zhi desperately wanted to know where the bark came from as well, but no one would answer him.

    Lu Yin ran some numbers. "130."

    Director Zhi was confused by the number. "What?"

    Lu Yin turned to face Director Zhi. "I¡¯ll give you all of the bark and paper I have, and you¡¯ll provide me with 130 microarrays, all of which will be incorporated into the new universal armors."

    Director Zhi frowned. "Are you trying to get Aurora Enterprises to work for you?"

    "The leftover bark and paper are payment for your services. Without me, you would have never been able to achieve that breakthrough and develop the microarray technology, and even if you had pulled that off without me, you don¡¯t have the necessary materials you need to actually produce anything. Basically, your years of effort would have all been for nothing without me. I¡¯m providing you with my own technology and materials for you to use to produce a product. The remaining materials are a reasonable payment for your work," Lu Yin said.

    Director Zhi hesitated. While this all sounded quite reasonable, it still meant that Aurora Enterprises would be working for Lu Yin. Instead, Director Zhi was hoping that it would be possible to directly purchase all of the technology and materials outright from Lu Yin.

    "Still unwilling?" Lu Yin arched a brow. "If I remember correctly, Director Zhi, your son doesn''t really like to spend any effort on cultivating."

    These words triggered an instant and drastic reaction from Director Zhi, and he red at Lu Yin in a fury. "What are you going to do? Threaten me with my son?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Rx! That¡¯s not at all what I meant. I actually just wanted to give you something to give your son to keep him alive."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin pulled out the life-extending butterfly and tossed it over to Director Zhi.

    The man took it, but his anger had not quite fully dissipated. He frowned as he stared at the life-extending butterfly, and after a moment, his eyes grew wide. "Is this a jincan?"

    "Have you heard of life-extending butterflies?" Lu Yin smiled at Director Zhi.

    Director Zhi wracked his brain for a moment, and then he hesitantly took a guess. "Is this the Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s jincan that can save a person¡¯s life a single time? Is this the life-extending butterfly?"

    "Since you already know what it is, I don¡¯t need to say anything more. This is a personal reward for you. This will keep your son alive as long as he isn¡¯t instantly killed twice in a row. This is a demonstration of my sincerity," Lu Yin said.

    The man considered the gift for a moment, but he soon epted the jincan. "This life-extending butterfly, the bark, and the white paper are suitablepensation for producing the microarrays. However, the cost of research and development of the new universal armor, as well as the incorporation of the smoke and microarrays into the new armors, will still need to be calcted separately."

    "Of course," Lu Yin answered with a smile. Since he currently had money, he wanted to use it to purchase as many of the new universal armors as possible.

 Chapter 1956

    <h4>Chapter 1956</h4>

    The newly designed universal armors would also have four attacks stored in a microarray, each at the Enlighter level, and the protection of the white smoke. With this, even a Limiteer would be able to move around in outer space and have a chance to take down Enlighters. It would be just like when Lu Yin had once killed Enlighters with his Enhanced gun.

    However, the numbers were just too low. 130 armors would only be able to equip 130 people, which was too few to actually be effective.

    However, there was still Long Xi and the others.

    ¡­

    Director Zhi went to check on the production of microarrays, but before the man left, Lu Yin suggested that it would be best to not target Wan Gong or make things difficult for the man.

    Director Zhi reassured Lu Yin that, even if he wanted to make things difficult for the researcher, it would be a challenge. It turned out that Wan Gong was the only person who could produce a sessful microarray except. Not even the chief engineer, Biao Zi, was able to produce them, as Wan Gong had not yet shared the process with anyone at all.

    Lu Yin felt relieved at this news.

    Wan Gong was no fool. On the contrary, he was a brilliant researcher who had escaped from the Hidden Earth Society and had tried to erase all traces of his past. He had known that his treachery would be exposed the moment the microarray technology was sessfully developed.

    After returning to his quarters, Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and entered it to meet with Long Xi.

    Long Xi and the others had already been trapped here for several years, and they had long since be ustomed to their situation. No one was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s visits any more.

    Lu Yin felt apologetic every time he saw Long Xi, or rather, he felt nervous. He had deceived the woman, but she had taught and cared for him during that time. More importantly, Long Xi seemed to have been around during the Seven Heroes¡¯ era, and she had even had a crush on Lu Xiaoxun. In fact, it seemed that she still had feelings for Lu Xiaoxun, and thus Lu Yin felt rather ufortable whenever he spoke with Long Xi. Even now, he still did not have the courage to reveal himself to her.

    "How have you been doing recently? Have you had any breakthroughs in your cultivation?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi calmly looked back at Lu Yin. "What''s wrong? Just tell me."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Well, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a certain type of white paper in the Perennial World that has rather special properties. Do you have any?"

    Long Xi waved a hand, and an entire stack of therge sheets of paper appeared on the ground. Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. There had to be hundreds of sheets here, which was wonderful. "Is this everything that you have?"

    Long Xi gave Lu Yin an odd look. "This paper isn¡¯t particrly useful, and I just keep a bit on me for emergencies. Do you want a bunch of it?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "That¡¯s all I have," Long Xi casually replied.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless by her reaction, so he turned around and moved to leave.

    "Wait," Long Xi called out. Lu Yin turned back around to face her.

    She stared at him for a bit. "Your aura¡¯s changed. Did you manage to break through and be an Envoy?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head, feeling a bit proud of himself. "That''s right."

    While he normally had no desire to show off to anyone, for some reason, he always wanted to leave Long Xi with a good impression.

    She just stared at Lu Yin. "You were already able to fight against Envoys before, so how powerful of an opponent can you fight against now?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I can defeat four or even five-tribtion Envoys."

    Long Xi frowned. "Just leave."

    You don¡¯t believe me? Lu Yin arched a brow. "I¡¯m really not lying! Even if I had to face your father, Long Ke might not be able to beat me."

    Long Xi''s expression finally changed at the mention of Long Ke. She would probably never see her father again in her life!

    This thought shattered Long Xi''s calm state of mind, and she red at Lu Yin with open anger.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned by her sudden change in mood, but then he forced out a smile. "Well, um, keep doing whatever you¡¯re doing. I''m leaving."

    With that, he fled. Lu Yin found it odd that he panicked whenever Long Xi became angry. Was this because of his time spent as Long Qi, or was it something from his previous life?

    Besides Long Xi, Wen Yi, Crown Prince Gui Qian, Yun Tingting, and Liu Hao were also held captive on Zenith Mountain.

    After visiting everyone, Lu Yin managed to gather more than 400 sheets of paper, and while that was not much, it was at least something. After all, he had managed to get more than 200 sheets of paper from Bai Shaohuang alone, which made Lu Yin¡¯s current harvest a bit pitiful.

    If he had known that he would eventually need them, he would have frantically stored up as many paper sheets as possible while he was still in the Perennial World, to the point where he would have forced the price of the paper to spike sky-high.

    The 400-plus sheets of paper were delivered to Director Zhi, who was then asked to provide an additional eighty new universal armors for a total of 210. This was still not very many, but it was much better.

    Actually, there was also Liu Ye and Fei Hua.

    Lu Yin eagerly reached out to Liu Ye.

    At this time, there were two people on a rather close to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress. Liu Ye and Fei Hua were sitting in a rotating restaurant that was surrounded on all sides by an endless sea.

    This revolving restaurant was the most exclusive establishment on the entire.

    "Have you thought it through yet? Let¡¯s find Lu Yin again, though it won¡¯t be easy to get away from him again. Given the number of powerhouses that fought in that war in the Outerverse, we probably don¡¯t even qualify to rank among the top three in the Great Eastern Alliance," Fei Huamented as she sipped her drink.

    Across from her, Liu Ye was staring out at the sea withplicated emotions flickering through his eyes.

    It was not that he wanted to go to Lu Yin again, but rather that he felt destined to do so.

    During the couple¡¯s time on the Astral River Ark, Fei Hua imed that Liu Ye had brought up Lu Yin, repeatedly praised the youth, and even threatened to follow him. Liu Ye had absolutely no memory of the event, but it seemed to be true.

    Just thinking about that situation sent chills running across Liu Ye¡¯s entire body, as he simply could not understand what had happened. The man had absolutely no memory of the entire conversation, and it was as though he had been apletely different person at the time.

    Many times, Fei Hua had asked him about the conversation, but Liu Ye was only able to try to brush her questions off by saying that he did not remember the matter.

    He was not even lying, as he truly could not remember the incident at all.

    Ever since then, Liu Ye had felt as though he was losing his mind, and he had reyed everything that Fei Hua had told him about that missing conversation about Lu Yin. What could have happened at that moment to have caused such a huge change in him? What had been controlling his body? The more Liu Ye thought about the matter, the more terrifying and mysterious he found it to be.

    In the end, he had decided to throw his lot in with Lu Yin, just as he had said during that missing conversation. This was not because of the future, nor for the possibility of returning to the Perennial World, but rather simply to uncover the truth of what had happened.

    Liu Ye was certain that the only way to find out the truth about what had happened to him was to get closer to Lu Yin.

    "Did you hear me?" Fei Hua became frustrated at theck of response, and she raised her voice, which caused many people to turn and look at the couple.

    Liu Ye was startled by his partner¡¯sment. "What was that?"

    Fei Hua snorted and turned to stare out at the sea. "Just do whatever you want."

    At this moment, a gadget beeped.

    Both of the Envoys looked down at the same time. "Lu Yin?"

    They nced up at each other and saw the astonishment in the other''s eyes.

    They had not heard anything at all from Lu Yin after parting ways with him, so why was he calling them now?

    Fei Hua merely felt puzzled by the call, but Liu Ye felt chills run down his back. He was once again reminded of that strange incident, and sweat beaded on his forehead and started dripping down.

    "What''s wrong? Answer the call!" Fei Hua urged. Regardless of whether or not they decided to follow Lu Yin, she did not want to offend him. The Great Eastern Alliance was a monster that defied belief, and the two of them had a better understanding of the alliance¡¯s strength than most people in the Fifth Maind, which made it even more intimidating.

    This was also not even considering the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s chances of eventually bing a Progenitor were as high as 99%. It was critical to not offend such a person if at all possible.

    Truthfully, Fei Hua simply wanted to be free. She would be happy to live in istion.

    Liu Ye took a deep breath and answered the call. "Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin instantly replied, "Liu Ye, I''m really sorry to bother you."

    Liu Ye forced a smile onto his face. "You don¡¯t need to worry about that, Alliance Leader Lu. What seems to be the problem?"

    "I wanted to ask if you had any sheets of the white paper left."

    Liu Ye found this request unexpected, and he nced over at Fei Hua. "Paper?"

    "That¡¯s right, I need that special paper, and the more the better. I¡¯ll happily buy all that you have.¡±

    Liu Ye felt confused. He could not understand why Lu Yin wanted these sheets of paper, as most people in the Forsaken Land traveled around in spaceships, which were actually much morefortable. However, Lu Yin''s strength meant that he could simply fly through outer space with his own strength. He did not need the paper or a spacecraft. ¡°Yes, I have some. How much do you need?"

    "The more the better." Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised to learn he could get more paper.

    Liu Ye replied, "I have more than 300 sheets with me."

    He looked up at Sister Fei Hua as he spoke, and she said, "I have a bit more than 200."

    "Alliance Leader Lu,bined, we have more than 500 sheets on us."

    "That¡¯s great!" Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Where are you? I¡¯ll send someone to get it from you right away."

    "Where are you, Alliance Leader Lu? We¡¯ll deliver the paper to you ourselves."

    Within Aurora Fortress, Lu Yin was stunned. "You¡¯ll deliver it to me yourselves?"

    Liu Ye continued, saying, "There¡¯s something that I would like to speak with you about."

    "That would be great. I¡¯m in the Neoverse at Aurora Fortress."

    "Alright. We¡¯ll rush over as soon as possible. We¡¯ll see you at Aurora Fortress, Alliance Leader Lu." With that, Liu Ye ended the call.

    Lu Yin could not help but wonder why Liu Ye was being so enthusiastic. Personally delivering? This waspletely different from how the man had been so eager to escape from Lu Yin in the past. Could this have something to do with when Lu Yin had Possessed Liu Ye¡¯s body? Did the man really want to throw his lot in with Lu Yin?

    However, Lu Yin thought that this was ridiculous after considering it for just a moment. His Possession ability only allowed him to ess a person¡¯s memories and manipte their body for a short while. Lu Yin had absolutely no way to alter a person¡¯s very thoughts. Liu Ye and Fei Hua had wanted to stay as far away from Lu Yin as possible, so why were they so eager to see him now?

    Since he needed to stay at Aurora Fortress to wait for the new universal armors to be developed and manufactured as well as receive Liu Ye, Lu Yin estimated that he had at least a month to himself. In that case, it was time to roll his die again and Enhance something.

    He had greatly benefited from his trip to the Seven Courts, and he had picked up a great deal of resources and a number of valuable treasures. It would be a pity not to Enhance as much as possible.

    After having the Second Nightking stand guard, Lu Yin stated that he would be going into seclusion. This news left the Second Nightking disgusted. After all, when others went into seclusion, even Explorers would train for at least a few years. But Lu Yin usually spent just a few days in istion at most. How did he have the face to call that seclusion?

    Lu Yin''s secluded training sessions had already be a topic of great interest within the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin looked up as he brought out his die, and it slowly spun in front of him. Lu Yin tapped it, unconcerned with whether he rolled a six or a four. He would leave it up to fate.

    The die slowly came to a stop on four pips, and the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he entered the Timestop Space.

    In this ce, it was just a matter of time before he rolled Enhance.

    Once, twice, three times. It took three attempts for Lu Yin to roll three pips.

    When he saw the two screens of light appear, the first thing that Lu Yin intended to Enhance was the needle that had supposedly killed a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had run out of appropriate weapons with his newly improved strength, and he desperately needed something powerful enough for him to wield.

    After setting the needle on the upper screen, Lu Yin immediately threw out 100 million star essence. The needle dropped down a tiny bit. The movement was so small that it was practically undetectable.

    Lu Yin blinked. Given what he was seeing, it cost hundreds of billions of star essence to fully upgrade this needle. Why so much?

    Lu Yin quickly put the weapon away, as he did not have the necessary funds to fully Enhance it.

    He had just picked up another item that would cost an impossible sum to Enhance. He already had Zenith Mountain, the froststone, and the formcast model that were too expensive to improve any further. Now, there was also the needle.

    Given that it was too expensive to Enhance the needle, Lu Yin next pulled out the Withered Bark that the Ku family had given him. This particr Withered Bark supposedly contained the power of time, so it definitely would not be cheap to Enhance the power vessel.

 Chapter 1957

    <h4>Chapter 1957</h4>

    Lu Yin ced the Withered Bark that contained the power of time onto the upper light screen and then started throwing out countless star essence.

    Although Lu Yin had no idea how powerful the Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku had left behind for his descendants might be, it did not change Lu Yin¡¯s desire to improve the power vessel. Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he had also been courageous enough to fight against the full strength of the Aeternals on his own.

    The quieter the person was, the more determined they tended to be.

    The Withered Bark could indeed be Enhanced, but it cost an obscene amount to do so. Just the first upgrade alone cost Lu Yin 6 billion star essence.

    This was understandable, as the Ku family had told Lu Yin that this was one of the most powerful Withered Barks in their possession that had supposedly been left behind by Progenitor Ku himself. Apparently, it was able to defend its user against attacks with power levels of over a million.

    It only made sense for something so powerful to be so expensive to Enhance.

    Still, Lu Yin did not hesitate at all to upgrade the Withered Bark again, and the second Enhance cost him over 10 billion star essence.

    The second improvement slightly changed the look of the Withered Bark, and Lu Yin could see that the space around the power vessel was now blurring and warping. He had no idea how strong an attack the power vessel could resist at this time, or whether it had developed any additional effects.

    He wanted to Enhance the Withered Bark a third time, but after considering it, Lu Yin ultimately decided not to. After all, if he improved it a third time, he would not be able to Enhance anything else.

    Next was the Netherworld River.

    Lu Yin needed something offensive the most, as he already had both the pill skin and the Withered Bark to protect himself with. Still, the Netherworld River could be used to escape, and that was a very useful ability.

    Lu Yin stared at the Netherworld River. It looked like a little stream just a few meters long, but it was actually a power vessel. The universe was vast, and it held all kinds of bizarre treasures.

    The Netherworld River allowed its user to instantly travel a vast distance. This meant that it could not only be used for escape, but also for traveling. However, the problem with the second option was that there was no way to determine the destination. If the Netherworld River dropped a person off somewhere where they were surrounded by enemies, they would be doomed.

    The Netherworld River was Enhanced three times for a total cost of 26 billion star essence. It was a price that pained Lu Yin greatly.

    Still, he needed to move on. He had less than 20 billion star essence remaining in his cosmic ring, and he was burning through his funds too quickly. Despite the heartache, he had managed to upgrade two of his new treasures.

    Lu Yin was not in a rush to Enhance any of his other treasures since he had less than 20 billion star essence remaining; instead, he wanted to improve the teardust. This was something that did not cost too much to Enhance, though that was only whenpared to things like the Withered Bark that held the power of time.

    When he previously Enhanced the teardust that he had obtained from First Edition City eleven times, it had cost him two billion star essence. Hui Kong had given Lu Yin twice as much teardust as before, which meant that it should take four billion star essence to Enhance it into heart of teardust.

    When had Lu Yin started thinking of four billion star essence as not too expensive? He realized that he really did burn through star essence far too quickly. No one would believe him if he shared how quickly he could use up his funds.

    Since he did not have enough star essence to improve anything else, it was time to train.

    Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra as he started practicing the Cosmic Art.

    ¡­

    In the Innerverse, not very far from zing Mist Flowzone, there was Northline Flowzone. At this moment, there was less than a month to go before the nextpetition to determine the flowzone¡¯s leader would be held on the Northline tform.

    Thepetition on the Northline tform was held every fifteen years. However, the separation of the Innerverse and the Outerverse, the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s push into the Innerverse had all caused thepetition to be dyed.

    The Northgate, Lily, and Barthe Jacques families were all in a sensitive meeting at this particr moment.

    "We¡¯ve always invited various powerhouses to attend each of the Northgate tformpetitions. Patriarch Northgate, who do you intend to invite this time?" the patriarch of the Barthe Jacques family, Henry, asked. Their previous patriarch, Harold, had died during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, as well as half of the Scarlet Mercenaries that the family employed.

    The Lily family¡¯s matriarch, Lily Liana, was also curious, and she turned to look at Northgate Kong. Lily Anne and Lily Shu''er stood behind the matriarch.

    Northgate Kong answered in a low voice, "The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Ku Wei."

    Lily Liana and Henry were both caught off guard, and even Northgate Lie, who was standing behind Northgate Kong, was surprised.

    "Ku Wei? Thatcky?" Lily Liana asked in surprise.

    Northgate Kong nodded. "Don''t underestimate him. While he might indeed be ackey, he¡¯s still someone from the Seven Courts, and he¡¯s very powerful despite his young age. I don''t understand how, but hemands the army of giants. Also, he¡¯s Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking disciple, which makes him a perfect guest for ourpetition."

    Henrymented, "I know that he¡¯s incredibly arrogant, but he has the strength to back it up. Even during ZENITH, he was able to perform well even if he didn¡¯t enter the top ten. He was defeated in the firstyer, but that was only because of Wang Yi. Even if hepletely fawns over Lu Yin, he¡¯s beyond arrogant around everyone else."

    "How did you manage to invite him, Patriarch Northgate?"

    Northgate Kong replied, "He likes to show off, and by making him the top VIP guest, it wasn¡¯t difficult to get him to agree. More importantly, the Ten Arbiters¡¯ Council¡¯s representative for ourstpetition was Lu Yin, and since his master was our guest once, as Lu Yin¡¯s apprentice, Ku Wei naturally wants to attend ourpetition as well."

    "It would be wonderful if we could invite Lu Yin to watch thepetition." Lily Liana said with a sigh.

    Henry justughed. Lu Yin? What sort of status did that youth have at the moment? How could they possibly get him to show up in their tiny Northline Flowzone to attend theirpetition? Forget theirpetition at Northgate tform¡ªeven the power struggles within the forces that ruled over the eight great flowzones probably did not interest Lu Yin any longer.

    "Where is Ah Fan?" Northgate Kong suddenly asked.

    Lily Liana answered, "He¡¯s leading the training session for some students from Shangwu Academy."

    Ah Fan had originally been an average student from Shangwu Academy who had not warranted the attention of any of the patriarchs, but Ah Fan had managed to get close to Lu Yin, which had eventually given him a unique status in Northline Flowzone.

    "We¡¯ll have him be the official for the Northgate tformpetition," Northgate Kong stated.

    Neither of the other two patriarchs objected.

    After the meeting, Lily Liana met with Lily Anne alone. "Mother, were you looking for me?"

    Lily Liana looked at Lily Anne in an apologetic manner. "Do you still remember the gift that I promised you before?"

    Lily Anne felt rather confused and took a bit to try to remember. "Fatesand?"

    Lily Liana nodded and pulled a box out of her cosmic ring that she solemnly opened. It contained a single piece of fatesand.

    Lily Anne was thrilled by the sight. "Mother, how did you find this?"

    This was a true treasure, something that even the powers that controlled the eight great flowzones would struggle to find, let alone their tiny Lily family.

    Lily Liana replied, "I didn''t. Xiao Yi did."

    "Xiao Yi? Isn''t she dead?" Lily Anne felt confused.

    Lily Liana''s eyes flickered. "Xiao Yi brought this out of Burial Garden, but she died shortly after her return to the family."

    Lily Anne''er stared nkly at the fatesand in the box. The face of a stubborn girl appeared in her mind. That girl¡¯s name was Xiao Yi, and she had been one of the many foster children that Lily Liana had adopted. However, Xiao Yi had died unexpectedly. "I remember when she finally returned to our family after half a month. Even though she had been seriously injured, she refused to die."

    Lily Liana said, "You don''t need to worry about that. Anyway, after all the hard work to get this from Burial Garden, you can give this fatesand to Lu Yin."

    Lily Anne was again confused.

    Lily Liana tried to avoid her daughter¡¯s eyes as she softly asked, "Do you remember?"

    Lily Anne stared at Lily Liana and then looked down at the fatesand. Something finally urred to her, and she turned pale. "Mother, Xiao Yi-"

    "There is no such person! The moment she died, no such person ever existed in our Lily family. You brought the fatesand out of Burial Garden after facing untold hardships and struggles. The Great Eastern Alliance has been searching for fatesand, so when Lu Yin returns, you will personally give this to him. This is the best opportunity for my Lily family to rise higher and get closer to him. Make sure you remember this!" Lily Liana said in a very harsh voice.

    Lily Anne nodded silently. "Your daughter understands."

    Lily Liana¡¯s eyes were filled with bitterness as she watched Lily Anne walk away. The matriarch was willing to sacrifice everything for her family and her daughter. The fatesand had originally intended to be a gift for An''er, and it had not been Lily Liana who had wanted that, but Xiao Yi herself. The girl had had a very good rtionship with Lily Anne, and Xiao Yi had been forced to flee from the western region of the Innerverse and escape from the flowzone she had found herself upon exiting Burial Garden, all in order to personally give An¡¯er her gift.

    But how could suchraderypare to the affairs of the entire family? Xiao Yi, don''t me me.

    Lily Anne was despondent when she arrived at a certain courtyard. This had once been the home of a stubborn girl. Despite clearly not having any talent, she had insisted on cultivating. She and Xiao Yi had grown up together, but they had eventually been forced to separate. The fatesand felt hot in Lily Anne¡¯s hands, and she could not hold it any longer.

    If not for the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance had started collecting fatesand, Xiao Yi would not have died! She would have given her gift to Lily Anne herself, along with a beautiful smile.

    Lily Anne stared up at the sky with eyes filled withplex emotions. A young man whom she had met by mere chance had ascended to the clouds and reached an unattainable height. Countless people were willing to sacrifice treasures and things that they held dear just for the chance to see him. This was real power!

    One day, Lily Anne would reach those same heights, and then everyone would stare up at her. She would do it for herself as well as for Xiao Yi!

    Beep beep beep!

    Her gadget beeped, and Lily Anne¡¯s expression changed dramatically after she nced down at it. She then raced back where she hade from.

    Lily Liana was in a study at the moment, and she was solemnly staring at a disy in front of her.

    Lily Anne rushed into the office and stared at the video as well.

    It showed a spacecraft being attacked. The vessel belonged to Shangwu Academy, and there were several corpse kings attacking the academy instructors. Numerous people fell, already dead.

    The video kept moving around and shifting. Panting could be heard, and it was clear that whoever had recorded the video had been trying to escape, as they were moving further and further away from the spaceship.

    There was a bang as the vessel finally exploded. There were still many Shangwu Academy students inside it, but they were all immediately incinerated, dying miserable deaths alongside their instructors. Only one person managed to rush out from the burning wreckage, and he lifted a hand and knocked back a corpse king back with a palm strike. The attack used Oveying Stacks as well as battle force. Countless people had begun to copy Lu Yin¡¯s fighting style as he rose to ever greater fame.

    The man¡¯s multiple desperate attacks forced the corpse king back as he continued trying to make his own escape. Before fleeing, the man stared at the remnants of the spaceship. "I''m sorry that I wasn¡¯t able to teach you any battle techniques. I''m so sorry."

    The man then took off.

    The end of the video showed slitted pupils in scarlet eyes growingrger andrger as they approached the person who had been recording the video. It was clear that the person behind the camera had not been able to survive.

    This was just a short video clip and was nothing special. Such events were simply toomon in the universe, and this particr video only managed to attract a certain amount of attention because the vessel had been attacked by corpse kings.

    "Only Ah Fan managed to escape," Lily Liana reported in a soft voice.

    Lily Anne let out a sigh of relief. "It''s good that he survived. When did this happen?"

    Lily Liana turned to look at Lily Anne. "Just a little while ago. Honestly, this video isn¡¯t terribly important. Over a thousand students from Shangwu Academy die every year. There¡¯s no such thing as perfect safety for cultivators, but this video has gone viral on thework, and countless people are arguing about it. You can see why for yourself."

    Lily Anne was a bit surprised. Why would this particr video generate any realmotion?

 Chapter 1958

    <h4>Chapter 1958</h4>

    Lily Anne activated her own gadget and started looking around. She almost instantly found that that video was trending on the entirework. Actually, it was not the video itself that had garnered such attention. Rather, it was the words that Ah Fan had spoken at the very end before escaping. "I''m sorry that I wasn¡¯t able to teach you any battle techniques. I''m so sorry."

    His words had triggered countless people who all believed that if the teachers and students from Shangwu Academy had been allowed to learn Ah Fan''s battle techniques, they would not have died so tragically. This theory had attracted further spection from the entire Human Domainwork.

    In particr, the independent cultivators were frantically supporting the idea that the deaths could have been avoided. If the students had had ess to proper battle techniques and resources, they would not have been so badly outssed. There were countless people who dreamed about the various sects and powers in the universe releasing even a few battle techniques for them to learn, but none of them were holding their breath.

    More and more people joined the discussion, and some even uploaded additional videos, all of which were examples of tragic deaths where people were killed by corpse kings, astral beasts, or even cosmic phenomena.

    Each and every video incited further discussion with many peoplementing on how if the people in the videos had been able to learn some proper battle techniques, they would not have died. Also, if they had been able to get a hold of some real resources, they would have had a chance of survival as well.

    It felt like only a moment passed, but the entire Fifth Maind was already participating in this discussion.

    Disciples from powerful sects also jumped in on the discussions, and they tried to counter the prevailing opinion. After all, battle techniques and resources were the property of the various powers who held them, so why should they share what was theirs? There were even some disciples from powerful sects who mocked the independent cultivators for being useless and merely coveting others¡¯ strength.

    The discussion spread until it was being addressed in every part of thework. There were far too many people participating or following the discussion, particrly the endless numbers of independent cultivators who united in hopes that the Hall of Honor and some of the other various powers would be pressured into publicly releasing some battle techniques, even if they were only the techniques typically given to outer disciples.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was also brought up by countless people. After all, Ah Fan had only escaped by relying on battle techniques that he had received from Lu Yin.

    Battle force and the Oveying Stacks was recognized as Lu Yin''s method of fighting, and Ah Fan''sment indicated that he had been forbidden from teaching those methods to anyone else by Lu Yin. Lu Yin became a topic of discussion for countless people.

    "Mother, what¡¯s going on?" Lily Anne felt utterly confused by the massive reaction.

    Lily Liana solemnly answered, "Things have be quite serious. Ah Fan''s words in that video pointed straight at Lu Yin, and now many people are ming his selfishness for the deaths of those Shangwu Academy students and teachers. If Lu Yin retaliates to these usations, our Northline Flowzone will end up suffering."

    Lily Anne''s face grew pale. "Then what should we do about this? Is someone targeting us? Or maybe trying to use Ah Fan to go after Lu Yin?"

    Lily Liana shook her head. "It''s difficult to say, but there is definitely a guiding hand behind all of this. All we can do now is wait and see how things progress while making sure that the entire Northline Flowzone is united and ready to defend Lu Yin regardless of what happens. This argument needs to be shut down."

    However, Northline Flowzone was overestimating themselves. It was impossible for them to suppress the raging discussion as even the entire Innerverse was incapable of doing anything about it. The issue at the heart of this matter affected too many people in too much of the Fifth Maind.

    More and more videos were posted online, most of which were videos of people dying to the Neohuman Alliance.

    Bit by bit, the horror seeped into the hearts of people.

    ***

    In the Neoverse, on Mt. Microcosms, in the CyNet World, Zi Jing was enjoying the scenery of the hidden world with a calm expression on her face.

    Xin Jiao approached. "Overseer Zi Jing, why hasn¡¯t your CyNet shut down this ridiculous discussion?"

    Zi Jing turned to look at Xin Jiao. "There''s no way we can possibly stop it. Can you erase the words that have already been spoken or the thoughts in people¡¯s minds?"

    Xin Jiao frowned. "We still can¡¯t allow an overseer to be ndered in this manner. The various sects and powers of the universe did not struggle to establish themselves only to see it all go to waste! Their ancestors went through life and death for them to have their current positions, so why should they be forced to allow outsiders push them around? These discussions have gone too far."

    Zi Jing turned back to stare out at thendscape again. "The times are changing. Thosemon independent cultivators probably just want to take advantage of the current turmoil to gain ess to the various organizations¡¯ battle techniques. Just ignore them. They won¡¯t be able to change how the universe operates, so all they can do is vent. However, you and I are aware of just what humanity is currently facing. The danger and crisis that exists in the Starfall Sea is drawing closer, and if humanity falls, all of those battle techniques will simply disappear into history."

    "What do you mean by that?" Xin Jiao was puzzled.

    Zi Jing''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Inheritances being passed down is the very essence of humanity, as we are only able to grow stronger due to the efforts of the past."

    Xin Jiao shook her head. "No one will agree with such thinking. It¡¯s impossible for even the Hall of Honor to share their battle techniques without just cause."

    Zi Jing said nothing, and she simply continued to stare at thendscape.

    ***

    Several days passed, and the fervor on thework only increased. Countless people raged and begged for the various human powers to share some battle techniques with the public. More and more videos were published, and while many people were moved by what they saw, none of the various sects were swayed.

    After all, they had only reached their current heights due to their own efforts. They had not relied on the charity of others.

    No one could say that they were wrong to keep what was theirs.

    But it also could not be said that true powerhouses had never risen from the ranks of independent cultivators.

    Ku Pu simply scoffed at the raging debate on thework. Not only had their ancestor, Progenitor Ku, initially been an independent cultivator, but he had also been ridiculed by other independent cultivators. After rising up to be a Progenitor, had Progenitor Ku tried to push the various powers to give away their battle techniques? The very idea was nothing more than ridiculous.

    However, when Ku Pu saw the countlessments made about Lu Yin, the patriarch¡¯s eyes flickered. It was impossible to guess what was going through the man¡¯s head.

    ***

    In Aurora Fortress, Lu Yin emerged from his seclusion after just ten days.

    Upon seeing this, the Second Nightking¡¯s face twitched. Sure enough, Lu Yin was only gone for less than half a month. How could that even be considered secluded training?

    Lu Yin had managed to increase his mastery of the Cosmic Art to 38,000 stars during his time in Timestop. After his time ran out, he had not tried to roll four pips again, instead simply resting for several days.

    He was perfectly clear on what was happening on thework.

    His gadget had practically exploded from all the messages that he had received during these days as people had tried to contact him, but he had not answered anyone.

    After exiting from his seclusion, the first thing that Lu Yin did was call Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Senior, what do you think about the arguments taking ce online?" Lu Yin asked.

    From where he sat on Mt. Microcosms, Arch-Elder Zen answered, "The Hall of Honor will release a few battle techniques for independent cultivators to use. You don¡¯t need to worry about this."

    "Are you really not concerned?" Lu Yin asked quietly. "If we were living in a time of peace, I also wouldn¡¯t care, and no one else would either. However, we¡¯re facing a crisis in the Starfall Sea, and while the people stirring up this issue are clueless about all that, some of what they¡¯re saying isn¡¯t unreasonable. If the teachers and students on that ship had learned the same battle techniques as Ah Fan, while not all of them would have escaped for sure, at least a few more would have. It¡¯s possible that one of those survivors might have be an Envoy one day, or even a Semi-Progenitor or a Progenitor. It¡¯s impossible to say what opportunities were lost with their deaths."

    "So what do you want to do?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "I didn''t think about this much before, but now, I want to try something by imitating one of our ancestors. I remember once hearing someone say that in the earliest days, the Six Mainds suffered from a continuous series of disasters and that humans struggled to even survive. The legends im that in those days, the Origin Progenitor established the Daosource Sect and spread the enlightenment that he had achieved. While I¡¯m just Lu Yin and can¡¯tpare to the Origin Progenitor, I would like to try copying him."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes grewrge. "So what do you want to do?"

    Lu Yin grew serious. "I would like to gather everything that I¡¯ve learned and leave it in a single location where anyone can face challenges for the opportunity to learn them. If they seed, they¡¯ll be given the chance to learn everything that I¡¯ve received. I want to provide a chance for the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators to learn more techniques and receive a better education."

    Arch-Elder Zen was surprised. "Are you really willing to do this?"

    "If we were at peace, there¡¯s no way I would do this. But now? There¡¯s no other choice. If Aeternus invades, what we have now is all the strength that humanity has to muster against them. This junior really can¡¯t think of any way for us to win. Senior, we humans have always been on the defensive on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, and if not for the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array, they would have broken through long ago. This is the situation even in the Perennial World, so there¡¯s no need to mention our Fifth Maind," Lu Yin said, "Of course, this junior would also request that the Hall of Honor also offer some battle techniques, and possibly even secret techniques."

    "Very well. As long as you are willing to do this, my Hall of Honor will naturally contribute to the effort!" Arch-Elder Zen shouted. As the master of the Hall of Honor, Arch-Elder Zen had to consider what was best for the entire Fifth Maind and all of humanity. No one else had ever had the same perspective as the old man, but Lu Yin had finally appeared with the same vision as Arch-Elder Zen.

    Regardless of the motives behind the online discord, it was imperative that humanity¡¯s strength be improved so that they could eventually face the disaster that were the Aeternals.

    "Senior, many of this junior¡¯s battle techniquese from various sects, and there will be many unhappy people when I offer them up to the public¡­" Lu Yin started.

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. "I understand. I¡¯ll handle that matter."

    In Aurora Fortress, Lu Yin smiled at the old man. "Then I will have to trouble you with this, Senior. This junior has been thinking about this for a bit, and the ce will be called the Tower of the Fifth."

    With that, Lu Yin hung up.

    Arch-Elder Zen sat in ce, lost in thought. The Tower of the Fifth? This would be a tower of inheritance for the entire Fifth Maind.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin called Wang Wen.

    "How¡¯s it going? Ah Fan did pretty good, didn¡¯t he?" Wang Wen asked proudly.

    Lu Yin said. "It''s fine, but those people from Shangwu Academy need to be kept perfectly hidden. No one can be allowed to find them."

    "Don''t worry about it," Wang Wen said reassuringly.

    The attack on Shangwu Academy¡¯s spacecraft by the corpse kings had actually been an act put on by Wang Wen. The entire thing had been staged from start to finish. The entire goal had been to instigate thements online and trigger a massive debate to bring Lu Yin to the forefront of the Human Domain¡¯s attention. Then, he would be able to have the necessary conversation with Arch-Elder Zen.

    The fact that Lu Yin had taken the initiative to defend the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion had given Arch-Elder Zen an excellent impression of Lu Yin. At that time, Lu Yin had risked everything to do what was right and protect humanity rather than his own interests. The old man felt like he could hand the Fifth Maind over to Lu Yin¡¯s care, and Lu Yin wanted to see just who would have the guts to suggest turning him over to the Perennial World when they invaded.

    Even if Arch-Elder Zen and others wanted to hand Lu Yin over, they would not be able to do so, as it wouldpletely ruin their reputations for thousands of years.

    Of course, that was all just a side benefit. Lu Yin¡¯s true motive was to seize the initiative. He was not willing to leave his own life in the hands of anyone else. Once the Perennial Worldunched their invasion, would the people of the Fifth Maind be pressured so much that they turned him over to the invaders? However, after the Tower of the Fifth was established, who would be willing to lose it and the battle techniques that he would make avable there? Not to mention, there were also the secrets that he held that the Sword Sect, the Ku, Ce, and Wen family all deeply desired. Which of these families would not send their descendants there to learn the techniques? All of the people who would be eager to see Lu Yin remain in the Fifth Maind were powers with deep foundations. Even if all of them disappeared, Lu Yin was eager to see who would propose to hand him over to the invaders.

    This was the only n that Lu Yin had been able toe up with. The entire Fifth Maind would be drawn to the Tower of the Fifth and the inheritances it held. What¡¯s more, people would also quicklye to believe that the Hall of Honor¡¯s support of the tower indicated that they would pay attention to those who received inheritances from the tower as geniuses who deserved to be supported. Those geniuses would eventually be an era of the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses, and Lu Yin intended to take all of them under his wing. The Fifth Maind was riddled with weaknesses, and those fractures would pose a serious problem when the Perennial World attacked.

    Lu Yin was trying to seize the initiative, but he knew that it was still not enough. Any war between humans would only serve to benefit Aeternus, which meant that Lu Yin had to find a way to drag the Aeternals into the fray, not to mention the Astral Beast Domain. Countless thoughts flickered through Lu Yin¡¯s mind in a sh.

    "Do you actually want to share your battle techniques? This is basically letting people take advantage of you instead of getting something from them. You should give me some benefits too" Wang Wen quipped.

    Lu Yin responded with a slight smile, "Even if I share some things, most people won¡¯t be able to learn any of what will be made avable. Also, honestly, the danger posed by the Aeternals is incredibly serious. I¡¯m hoping that by sharing some of my battle techniques, it will be the first step in motivating others to share their own techniques and improve the strength of all of humanity."

    "You¡¯re making yourself sound like some sort of savior." Wang Wen rolled his eyes.

 Chapter 1959

    <h4>Chapter 1959</h4>

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "I¡¯m not trying to be some sort of savior, but I¡¯ll do what I can. Humanity¡¯s final fate depends on me, but it¡¯s also my own life. Regardless of how much work I end up doing for the Fifth Maind, it¡¯s possible that no one will appreciate it."

    "It''s good that you realize that. Humans are fickle creatures. Don''t expect anyone to feel grateful to you in your lifetime, though there will be people who understand how to be grateful. It all depends on the perspective. Will Arch-Elder Zen feel grateful to you?" Wang Wen asked.

    "Who knows? I just don''t want to be forced to take thest step. Let¡¯s get started. Now it¡¯s your turn to take action. We need to first design the Tower of the Fifth. I¡¯ll supply you with the materials," Lu Yin stated. This was actually connected to Lu Yin¡¯sst resort, so it was very important to get all of those people caught up in the Tower of the Fifth.

    Wang Wen smiled. "Stop worrying. Besides, regardless of whether you do turn out to be some sort of savior, I¡¯ll make sure that everyone treats you like one. Your Highness, you just need to wait a bit to see countless people erecting monuments to you."

    Wang Wen ended the call.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget. It was an immense relief to have Wang Wen to handle such matters.

    After ending his call with Wang Wen, Lu Yin went to find Director Zhi.

    Director Zhi and many others on Aurora Fortress did not care about any of the major events taking ce in the outside universe, as they werepletely focused on producing microarrays.

    This technology had been the ultimate goal of Aurora Enterprises for countless years, and they had finally achieved it. Even if Lu Yin''s meddling had forced them to suddenly work for him, there was nothing that could suppress their fanatical devotion to developing the microarray technology.

    Master Xuan was exhausted. He was continuously setting up more and more sourcebox arrays on the microarrays, and he was going at a pace that was too much even for a Realm Array Master.

    The production of a microarray was actually not thatplicated, especially since Aurora Enterprises had already put so much effort into preparing for this exact situation early on. They had essentially set up an assembly line in anticipation, and they had just been missing the primary material needed for the creation of the microarrays.

    Director Zhi watched a cultivator who was experimenting with a microarray, his eyes shining. He understood that their technology would eventually change things for all of humanity, and his name would go down in history because of it.

    "How many have you made?" Lu Yin spoke up from behind the man.

    Director Zhi was surprised at Lu Yin¡¯s presence. "Have you already finished your seclusion?"

    Lu Yin answered, "That¡¯s pretty normal. How many microarrays have you made?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s casual response shocked Director Zhi, but the question also reminded him that all of these microarrays were going to be given to Lu Yin, which left Director Zhi rather ufortable. "Maybe a few dozen."

    "Where''s the new universal armor?" Lu Yin asked again.

    "I don''t know. I gave that project to Old Biao, so you¡¯ll need to ask him."

    Lu Yin continued, "Help me out with this batch as quickly as possible, as another batch of materials is on its way."

    Director Zhi was pleasantly surprised to hear this. "More bark?"

    "Paper."

    Director Zhi felt disappointed. "That¡¯s a pity. It would be nice to get more of the bark."

    "It¡¯s really difficult to get that bark, so don¡¯t expect any for now. The paper still works," Lu Yin said. He was also eager to get more of the bark. There was simply too much of it avable in the Perennial World, as the Mother Tree constantly shed its bark. Even independent cultivators in the Perennial World could get the paper made from the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, and thinking about this left Lu Yin feeling frustrated. There was simply too much bark being wasted there.

    "How much will it be?" Director Zhi asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "A bit more than 500 sheets. You¡¯ll get some to use for your own research, and you¡¯ll need to make 100 microarrays for me with the rest."

    Director Zhi frowned and turned to look at Lu Yin. The older man really wanted to say something, but he kept his mouth shut.

    Lu Yin knew what the man was thinking. Even though microarray technology had already been sessfully developed, only Aurora Enterprises was capable of mass-producing it. Thepany had devoted themselves to the development of the technology and the preparations to manufacture it; they simply had too much of an information advantage.

    It was unrealistic to hope to have Aurora Enterprises fall under Lu Yin¡¯s control. "As for payment, give me a total price for everything."

    Director Zhi''s eyes flickered. "Tell me where that barkes from, and my Aurora Enterprises will make your microarrays for free for a set period of time. Within that time frame, we¡¯ll make as many microarrays as you supply materials for."

    "Why didn''t you just ask Elder Jiu Shen?" Lu Yin caught off guard.

    Director Zhi shook his head. "If my ancestor was still alive, he would be able to speak with Elder Jiu Shen, but as for me, I can at most ask for help. Elder Jiu Shen won''t speak to me."

    Lu Yin understood that powerhouses from older generations were typically proud and arrogant individuals, especially those like Elder Jiu Shen who were mainly focused on staying alive. While the man was not evil or malicious, he could not be bothered to speak to anyone too weak. "Alright, five years. I¡¯ll provide you with more materials within a year, and you¡¯ll give me the microarrays for the next five years. I¡¯ll also share the source of the bark with you and how to get more.¡±

    "Two years," Director Zhi instantly countered, "You¡¯re only giving me some information. Having my Aurora Enterprises provide you with two years of work for just a bit of information is already a lot."

    "Then just forget it. I''ll keep giving you more materials, and you can just send me a bill." Lu Yin turned around and left.

    Director Zhi was left speechless. Were they not even going to discuss it? He was a businessman who was ustomed to negotiating, but Lu Yin was different. Lu Yin knew that he was the only person who could provide Aurora Enterprises with the information that they needed, which gave him aplete monopoly.

    In the end, Director Zhi was forced to give in, and he promised to make microarrays for Lu Yin for free for the next five years. Naturally, Lu Yin had to provide all the core materials, and Aurora Enterprises would not front any funds or resources for him.

    "It¡¯s the Mother Tree. The barkes from the Mother Tree," Lu Yin exined.

    Director Zhi waspletely lost. "What mother tree?"

    Lu Yin knew that the man did not understand. Regardless of how rich or influential Director Zhi might be, he was too weak to be privy to certain pieces of information. In fact, forget Director Zhi¡ªeven monsters with power levels of over a million might not have heard about the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin gave a brief exnation about the Mother Tree and the Daosource Sect while also sharing a bit about the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds as an aside.

    Only after all of that did Director Zhi understand what the Mother Tree was.

    "You said that there¡¯s a way to get more of the bark?" Director Zhi asked eagerly.

    "Arch-Elder Zen. Go speak with him, and he can send you to the Perennial World. That¡¯s how you can get more bark."

    Director Zhi''s cheek twitched. He felt like Lu Yin had just pulled one over him. The director had not even known about the Mother Tree before this conversation, so how could he possibly have the qualifications to speak to Arch-Elder Zen or ask to be sent to the Perennial World?

    If Lu Yin¡¯s information was correct, then the Perennial World was much, much stronger than the Fifth Maind. So, what was the point in going to that ce?

    After leaving the microarray production center, Lu Yin went to find Chief Engineer Biao to check on the development of the new universal armor. Lu Yin quickly discovered that the research had already beenpleted and that there was a finished product avable.

    Lu Yin then immediately called Director Zhi and asked for a universal armor to be integrated with a microarray. He needed the finished product, which was a universal armor that included both a microarray and the white smoke. He needed a battle-ready universal armor.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something else, and he called Ban Jiu.

    "Make abat simtor as soon as possible.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s order was for the scientist to create a virtual game where people could fight in a simtor with the new universal armors and train with them. There was no way that Lu Yin could get enough microarrays to let the soldiers train with them in the real world.

    This was not a difficult task, and it would be easy for Ban Jiu toplete the simtor.

    "I can have it ready in no more than ten days," the man promised Lu Yin.

    The call ended, and Lu Yin stared westward.

    The Perennial World wasing for him, and he was quickly running out of time. He had to finish all of his preparations.

    The debate continued to rage online, and things were bing more and more intense. Even as various major powers tried to step in and suppress the discontent, it was impossible to keep the entire universe from speaking. Independent cultivators would always have a disadvantage whenpared to people associated with powerful organizations. Even if the Hall of Honor was willing to share a few battle techniques, the independent cultivators would not be easily cated.

    This was the situation in the Human Domain when the Great Eastern Alliance published an announcement that shocked the entire Fifth Maind, including even the Sixth Maind in the Outerverse and the Astral Beast Domain.

    "In order to raise the strength of all of humanity, Lu Yin, the overseer of the Hall of Honor and leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, will construct the Tower of the Fifth in the Cosmic Sea to house inheritances. The ce will be made freely avable to all humans for them to learn, explore, and study."

    This announcement caused the entire Fifth Maind to erupt. Beneath the announcement was additional information sharing the size of the Tower of the Fifth, as well as the inheritances that it would contain. Everyone in the entire universe who saw the announcement was left staring at the ns for the Tower of the Fifth in shock.

    The Tower of the Fifth would have nine floors, and each floor would contain battle techniques, cultivation arts, resources, power vessels, and more. The further up the tower one went, the more there would be. Additionally, more treasures would constantly be added to the tower. This information left countless people stunned.

    Even just the first floor would hold thirty cultivation arts, including a method to train battle force, information about tribtion crystals, the different levels of mastery of battle force, domains, and more. The greatest treasure of the first floor was going to be the first level of the Cosmic Art.

    The second floor was ted to contain methods to improve and cultivate a domain, the Oveying Stacks Path, but the greatest treasure was the First Sword of the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    Not everyone was capable of learning the Thirteen Swords, but the First Sword would still be made avable in the Tower of the Fifth for everyone to see if they couldprehend the technique.

    The third floor would house the first 100 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path, as well as the Inception Array sourcebox array. The greatest treasure there would be the Daynight Restoration Technique.

    The fourth floor would have the Channeling Diagram sourcebox array. Even though it was only a single sourcebox array, the power of Channeling Diagram had been demonstrated during ZENITH, and it had enticed countless people.

    On the fifth floor, one would be able to experience what golden battle force felt like, as well as the Creation realm of star energy control.

    The sixth floor would contain 300 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path, as well as another sourcebox array: Teleportation Formation. The core inheritance was going to be Lu Yin''s most famous battle technique: Vacuum Palm.

    The seventh floor would hold the full Thirteen Swords inheritance, the Yu Secret Art, and the greatest treasure would be the Nightking n¡¯s Skybreaker.

    On the eighth floor, one would be able to experience the Ce Secret Art, as well as what Board Maniption felt like. The greatest treasure there would be Inverse Step. As for Inverse Step, the provided exnation stated that it had been the primary technique of one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s nine invincible clones.

    On the final ninth floor, one would find Extremes Must Be Reversed and the God of Death Transformation.

    Each floor contained an inheritance that belonged to Lu Yin, and the highest floor would even hold his God of Death Transformation. Practically everyone could remember seeing Lu Yin¡¯s invincible state during the final battle of ZENITH, and they knew that that had been the God of Death Transformation.

    The numerous inheritances avable in the Tower of the Fifth caused countless people throughout the Fifth Maind to feel their blood surge and their eyes flush. Untold numbers of cultivators left their homes and started making their way to the Cosmic Sea.

    No one was worried that the announcement was fake because it was also stated that the Tower of the Fifth would be built and overseen by the Hall of Honor itself. This served as a guarantee that the announcement waspletely true. In other words, if people were able to climb to the top floor of the Tower of the Fifth, they would be able to receive all of Lu Yin''s inheritances.

    Who was Lu Yin? He was the champion of ZENITH. He was a peerless individual who had managed to unite both the Innerverse and Outerverse and who had gained control of the overseers¡¯ council despite cultivating for just a few decades.

    Who did not dream of being the next Lu Yin? This was the opportunity to fulfill that dream.

    The Tower of the Fifth was an opportunity avable for everyone.

    Throughout all of human history, no one had ever made their entire repertoire of techniques publicly avable for the entire universe to learn. Even the independent cultivators who had been guiding the public sentiments to try to force the various powerful organizations to share some of their battle techniques had never dreamed of receiving such an opportunity.

    However, this was how Lu Yin usually acted. He either did nothing at all, or he went all the way and held nothing back.

 Chapter 1960

    <h4>Chapter 1960</h4>

    The announcement regarding the Tower of the Fifthpletely transformed Lu Yin''s reputation. No matter what people had thought of him before, at this moment, countless people started praising him, worshiping him, and even praying for him. This was also just the beginning, as the Tower of the Fifth had not even been built yet. Once the tower was constructed and someone sessfully learned one of the battle techniques avable there, Lu Yin¡¯s reputation would rise to yet another level.

    When that happened, what Wang Wen had imed would be true: countless people would build monuments to Lu Yin, and he would receive the gratitude of countless people. He really would be regarded as a savior.

    Of course, this was only true for independent cultivators and average cultivators. Powerful organizations and sects saw things very differently. They were only able to maintain their dominance because of their strength, and thus they would be very difficult to coerce with a simple show of strength.

    However, luckily for them, everyone would be allowed ess to the Tower of the Fifth, even disciples of major sects and various organizations.

    On top of that, those disciples would have an easier time acquiring the avable inheritancespared to the independent cultivators.

    It would not be easy to acquire an inheritance from the Tower of the Fifth. Each floor would have its own tests. Each floor would also be massive enough to allow many, many people to enter and take the tests at the same time, which meant that people would also bepeting with each other.

    It would still be very difficult formon cultivators topete against the disciples of the major powers, but at least they would have a glimmer of hope.

    At this time, the ones who were the most upset were the Cosmic Sect and the Sword Sect, as their own core inheritances were going to be made avable in the Tower of the Fifth.

    Yuan Qiong was the first to reach out to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not ept the call request, instead sending a message to Arch-Elder Zen and asking the old man to speak with the Cosmic Sect.

    The next group to call Lu Yin was the Ce family, as their secret technique was going to be made avable on the eighth floor of the Tower of the Fifth.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, my Ce family doesn¡¯t care if you wish to provide training for all of humanity, but why are you sharing my family¡¯s secret art in your Tower of the Fifth? Doesn¡¯t this mean that everyone will be able to learn the Ce Secret Art? Alliance Leader Lu, what are you doing?" Ce Laoyan angrily demanded. Anyone forced into his position would be furious.

    Lu Yinforted the man. "Patriarch Ce, please don''t be upset. Please understand what this is a bit more clearly: I am only going to allow people to experience the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption, not provide the Ce Secret Art itself."

    Ce Laoyan was momentarily stunned, and Elder Ce Jiu who was beside the patriarch looked at the man and nodded.

    "The feeling of the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption?" Ce Laoyan could not understand.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I don¡¯t have the Immovable Chessboard, so please tell me, who will be able to learn the Ce Secret Art. Am I, Lu Yin, going to be able to teach it to anyone else? How? Please teach me, Patriarch Ce."

    Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Ce Laoyan gave a dry cough. "Alliance Leader Lu, you say that you are going to share the feeling of the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption on the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s eighth floor. Can you tell me what this means?"

    Lu Yin exined, "If a person doesn¡¯t already know the Ce Secret Art, this will bepletely useless, as it will merely provide them with the sensation of Board Maniption. In reality, this is a gift for the descendants of your Ce family. As long as the members of your Ce family are able to climb up to the eighth floor, they will be able to experience this feeling. Patriarch Ce, are you still unsatisfied?¡±

    Ce Laoyan was pleasantly surprised. Satisfied? Of course his family was satisfied! Lu Yin had observed the Immovable Chessboard and managed toprehend Board Maniption, but they had no idea how to go about getting such an insight from him. However, he was making his insights into their secret technique avable on the eighth floor of the Tower of the Fifth. While they already knew that it would not be easy to obtain, this was still much better than being strung along by Lu Yin.

    "So that''s what is happening. In that case, thank you, Alliance Leader Lu," Ce Laoyan said. "Given your intentions to openly provide your own techniques as a public inheritance, you have gained the admiration of my family. We are willing to offer several of our own battle techniques to be made avable in the Tower of the Fifth for anyone suitable enough to learn them."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This had been his goal all along! While he was going to build the Tower of the Fifth, he intended his contributions to merely be the start. Only by having other organization from the Fifth Maind join him and contribute their own battle techniques would the Tower of the Fifth truly be a ce that would house the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s inheritances. Even if the battle techniques that others shared were only mediocre ones, it would still be enough to draw in the most talented geniuses of the Fifth Maind.

    "Thank you, Patriarch Ce. I¡¯ll have someone add that to the tower¡¯s design and include your Ce family¡¯s contributions to the public announcement," Lu Yin said.

    Ce Laoyan smiled. "That''s not necessary."

    "Are you looking down on me, Patriarch Ce? The Ce family¡¯s contributions belong to your family alone! I, Lu Yin, am not trying to be greedy. All I need is for you to tell me the name of the techniques that you wish to contribute," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s words left Ce Laoyan too embarrassed to try to pass off some worthless battle techniques. Luckily, his Ce family had gathered numerous battle techniques and other techniques over countless years, so he was able to choose two top-quality techniques to share with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately passed the information on to Wang Wen, asking for them to be added to the design of the Tower of the Fifth.

    Only a short whileter, the online announcement for the Tower of the Fifth was updated, and two additional inheritances were added to the description of the tower: the Seven Swords Manual and the Middle Sky Technique. The Seven Swords Manual was going to be made avable on the second floor while Middle Sky Technique was added to the third floor. They were both marked as the Ce family¡¯s contributions

    This did not mean that Middle Sky Technique was something on the same level as the Daynight Restoration Technique or the Inception Array already avable on the third floor. Lu Yin¡¯s contributions remained the best avable on the floor.

    The Ce family was merely the first to make a move. Soon, with Wang Wen¡¯s hand manipting things, many Innerverse powers began to contribute various battle techniques and cultivation arts to be added to the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s second floor.

    After just half a day, hundreds of battle techniques and other inheritances had been added to the first floor, as well as countless resources.

    The Ku family had also reached out to Lu Yin to ask about the Extremes Must Be Reversed that was listed as avable in the Tower of the Fifth.

    Lu Yin had already told the Ku family that he was not able to share Extremes Must Be Reversed with them, as he did not understand it himself, and he had even dered as such to Ku Rong. However, he was making it avable in the Tower of the Fifth, which was too much of a p in the face to the Ku family. They were basically being humiliated by his earlier visit, and they felt like they were being treated as a joke.

    All that Lu Yin could share with them was that once things reached an extreme, they had to reverse themselves. This was not nearly enough for anyone to actually learn the technique. However, as Lu Yin¡¯s strength continued to rise, he might eventually be able to share the actual technique with others.

    The Ku family was dubious about his exnation, but even if they did not believe him at all, there was nothing that they could do to stop Lu Yin from cing Extremes Must Be Reversed on the ninth floor of the Tower of the Fifth.

    However, the fact that Extremes Must Be Reversed was being ced on the same floor of the tower as the God of Death Transformation was quite the show of respect for Progenitor Ku.

    While all the numerous inheritances that were going to be ced in the Tower of the Fifth could apparently be obtained through hard work, how much effort would actually be needed? The prices required for everything was entirely up to Lu Yin¡¯s discretion, which provided him with a different means of controlling the various powers of the universe. The simplest example of things in the tower not being what they appeared was the God of Death Transformation; could anyone even learn it if they acquired it? The prerequisite was the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival, which no one could learn to begin with.

    Next, Lu Yin also nned to include the method ofyering the Literary Prison, the Fourteenth Sword, as well as the location of the statue that Gods'' Origin was so eager to obtain. He would use his Tower of the Fifth to capture the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin was ying a game of chess, but he was also the only yer.

    As for the security of the Tower of the Fifth, Lu Yin had no worries. For one, Lu Yin had already negotiated an agreement with Arch-Elder Zen to have a Semi-Progenitor oversee the ce. On top of that, there was another insurance policy in y: if anyone tried to attack the Tower of the Fifth, all the inheritances within it could be instantly removed. This information was included in the online introduction as a means to dissuade any malicious designs that certain people might hold, such as Xia Ji or the Neohuman Alliance.

    Many valuable inheritances had already been announced to be in the Tower of the Fifth, and everyone was focused on something different. There were people who were excited about the Oveying Stacks while others took notice of the Cosmic Art. There were a few people who were very interested in the sourcebox arrays, but far more people were focused on the secret techniques and Vacuum Palm. The God of Death Transformation and Extremes Must Be Reversed incited endless spection, as people were curious as to why these two techniques were reserved for thest floor, which indicated that they were more valuable than even Inverse Step. After all, Inverse Step was one of the battle techniques that had been cultivated by one of the invincible Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones.

    It was not long before seven more battle techniques were announced that were contributed by the Hall of Honor, including even a secret technique: Banishment. This drew the attention of countless people.

    After that, the Mavis Bank contributed star essence. While none would be avable on the first floor of the tower, the second floor alone would already have 100 million star essence avable, and each floor after that would see an increase of an additional 100 million star essence. As for the ninth floor, it would hold a prize of a full billion star essence.

    Most ordinary cultivators did not even know what star essence was, as they had only ever dealt with star crystals. However, after they discovered the exchange rate of star crystals to star essence, countless people felt their heads explode, and a flood of people made their way to the Cosmic Sea.

    Some peoplecked battle techniques to train with, while otherscked resources. The Tower of the Fifth held both.

    The Human Domain¡¯swork exploded from the continuous updates, and everyone was talking about the Tower of the Fifth. There was nothing but endless praise offered to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin closed his gadget. He did not need to read anymore. Already, the Ce family, the Hall of Honor, and the Mavis Bank had provided additional contributions. The tower¡¯s treasures would only continue to rise until everyone was blinded and the endless desires for those treasures grew in the hearts of countless people.

    He knew that he had already seeded. The Tower of the Fifth would be built, and Lu Yin would hold the upper hand over the entire Fifth Maind. No one would want to see the inheritances of the Tower of the Fifth lost or for Lu Yin to take away the entire thing, not to mention the geniuses that he would gather under him through this tower.

    Lu Yin did not want to have to resort to such a threat, and he desperately hoped that no one would force him to do such a thing.

    Not to mention, building up a reputation of training and educating everyone in the Fifth Maind was not bad at all.

    Director Zhi went to find Lu Yin, and the man stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "Are you really going to build this Tower of the Fifth and share your techniques with the entire Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Surprised?"

    Director Zhi simply could not believe it. "This isn¡¯t like you."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Many people misunderstand me."

    Misunderstand? Director Zhiughed out loud. How could they be misunderstanding Lu Yin? Just the struggles that he had endured and the blood that the Great Eastern Alliance had shed to reach its current state showed Lu Yin¡¯s personality. On top of that, Director Zhi had just seen Lu Yin manipte things to get five years of freebor from Aurora Enterprises. It was quite clear who Lu Yin was, and there was no way it made sense for him to freely share anything that he possessed.

    "Director Zhi, humanity is currently facing the threat of the Aeternals. Raising the cultivation level andbat strength of everyone as a whole is really the only way that we can hope to deal with the Aeternals. Do you honestly believe that our fractured strength will be enough? You should already know that the Progenitor of Secret Arts has betrayed us. And while I don¡¯t believe that the talent avable in the current era is inferior to what humanity possessed in the past, it is undeniable that in ancient times people far surpassed our current strength. And yet, even with the strength that humanity possessed during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, four of the Six Mainds were destroyed. If we try to protect our own interests and keep our inheritances hidden, all that awaits us is annihtion," Lu Yin slowly exined as he poured himself a cup of tea.

    Director Zhi stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "My Aurora Enterprises is willing to contribute six eonlight-grade Auroras."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

    No one who was familiar with Lu Yin could see his intentions in building the Tower of the Fifth, and that was because no one aside from Lu Yin understood the threats that he was facing.

    Regardless of how anyone looked at the matter, the creation of the Tower of the Fifth would only benefit the Fifth Maind and not cause it any harm.

    "My Aurora Enterprises can also help with building the Tower of the Fifth," Director Zhi offered.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s not needed. Building the Tower of the Fifth won¡¯t be difficult. I will create the challenges for each floor through abination of virtual reality and true reality. I will do my best to ensure that everyone who emerges from the Tower of the Fifth will experience a transformation."

    "I hope so," Director Zhi said.

    A few dayster, Liu Ye and Fei Hua arrived at Aurora Fortress, and they brought Sapling with them.

    Lu Yin had asked the couple to bring Sapling with them, as his next destination was a certain hidden world: he was going to visit Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters.

    It was time to settle numerous things. With the impending threat of the Perennial World¡¯s attack, Lu Yin needed to set as many of his affairs in order as possible, one of which was Shamrock Enterprise.

 Chapter 1961

    <h4>Chapter 1961</h4>

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua also delivered more than 500 sheets of nk paper to Lu Yin, which would allow him to produce a total of 310 sets of the new universal armors. While it was not very many, it essentially meant that he was gaining 310 Enlighters, which was nothing to scoff at.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I would like to speak with you," Liu Ye solemnly requested of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sure."

    Liu Ye turned to look at Fei Hua. "I want to talk with Alliance Leader Lu privately."

    Fei Hua was taken aback for a moment. "Alone?"

    Liu Ye remainedpletely serious. "Alone."

    Fei Hua frowned, and she looked from Liu Ye to Lu Yin before slowly walking away.

    Lu Yin was surprised, but he said nothing.

    After making sure that Fei Hua was unable to hear them, Liu Ye brought out his gadget and shared a video. Surprisingly, it was a video of the conversation that had taken ce when Lu Yin had Possessed Liu Ye aboard the Astral River Ark.

    After quietly viewing the video, Lu Yin looked up at Liu Ye. "So what do you want to talk about?"

    Liu Ye stared at Lu Yin. "What happened? I have absolutely no memory of this event!"

    Lu Yin spread his hands helplessly. "Then there¡¯s probably someone that you¡¯re eager to meet with most of all."

    Liu Ye was left confused, and he stared at Lu Yin in a bewildered manner.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Kui Luo."

    Liu Ye¡¯s pupils shrank. "Kui Luo?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I can¡¯t think of a single other person who would be able to control you so casually and wipe your memory of the incident. He¡¯s the only one, and if it wasn¡¯t him, then I don¡¯t know what else to tell you."

    Liu Ye had considered many possibilities, but never Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo was a dignified Semi-Progenitor, so why would he bother controlling someone like Liu Ye? Just to have him say those few words? To what end? But if it had not been Kui Luo, then what other exnation was there?

    Kui Luo was extremely powerful, and he was even more of an elite in a ce like the Forsaken Land. There were very few people who were stronger than him, and as a Semi-Progenitor, he could easily control even an expert with a power level of over a million and wipe their memory of the event.

    Lu Yin lost interest after seeing Liu Ye sink into deep thought. No one would ever even consider the possibility that Lu Yin could Possess people with his innate gift of the die. This was something that not even a Semi-Progenitor could do.

    "Liu Ye, did you personallye to deliver the paper just so that you could ask me about this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Ye nodded. "If you were controlled by someone, you would also want to figure out what happened."

    "So, what are you nning to do next?" Lu Yin asked.

    Various emotions flickered through Liu Ye¡¯s eyes. ns? He actually did not know himself. Should he live in seclusion with Fei Hua? Or should they try to find a way to return to the Perennial World?

    "If you don¡¯t have anything already set up, then why not join the Great Eastern Alliance?" Lu Yin suggested.

    Liu Ye shook his head. "My wife doesn''t want to get tied down."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Liu Ye, have you heard about the Tower of the Fifth?"

    Liu Ye was caught off guard, and he stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "I¡¯m honestly impressed by the whole thing. I never thought that anyone would be willing to share their own inheritance with the entire poption. If things work out well, your name will shine brighter than any other in history. There will be a note about how you changed humanity."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Would you like to help out?"

    Liu Ye considered the idea. "The two of us have a few battle techniques that we can put up in the Tower of the Fifth."

    "That''s not what I was saying." Liu Ye looked confused, so Lu Yin exined further, saying, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to oversee the Tower of the Fifth."

    Liu Ye was stunned. "Oversee the Tower of the Fifth?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Once the tower is finalized, it will contain countless techniques epassing all possible cultivation methods, and there¡¯s no way that it won¡¯t trigger people¡¯s greed. Even though a Semi-Progenitor will be protecting the ce, there¡¯s no way that such a powerhouse will be able to constantly take action to deal with the troublesome small fries. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking if you and your wife would like to protect the Tower of the Fifth and the thousands of inheritances that it will hold, as long as you don¡¯t have any other ns."

    Liu Ye considered the proposal.

    Lu Yin continued, "Also, if I remember correctly, the two of you had some disciples who were left behind in the Perennial World, and it¡¯s possible that you¡¯ll never be able to see them again. The Tower of the Fifth will end up bing the gathering point for all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s most talented cultivators, and you can choose the best of them to receive your own teachings. More importantly, the Fifth Maind will definitely go down in history, and you¡¯ll be remembered as its earliest guardians."

    Liu Ye was moved by Lu Yin¡¯s words. The man was not concerned about being remembered by future generations, but he did not want to see his and his wife¡¯s legacy disappear with them.

    "I¡¯ll need to discuss this with my wife," Liu Ye replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. He had not expected Liu Ye to actually begin following him, but it would be convenient to have the couple protect the Tower of the Fifth. Otherwise, Lu Yin would be forced to send someone else.

    A short timeter, Liu Ye and Fei Hua informed Lu Yin that they were willing to oversee the Tower of the Fifth, which left Lu Yin overjoyed.

    The Tower of the Fifth was going to be built in the Cosmic Sea between the territories controlled by the Soldier Crew and Leon¡¯s Armada. It was essentially the center of the Cosmic Sea.

    In order to visit the Tower of the Fifth, people would first need to cross half of the Cosmic Sea, which could be considered the first test that the challengers would face.

    In the future, the Cosmic Sea would be the busiest ce in the entire Fifth Maind.

    A short timeter, Liu Ye and Fei Hua headed out towards the Cosmic Sea, and Lu Yin also left Aurora Fortress, along with Sapling and the Second Nightking. They made their way towards the Honor Zone.

    There were certain times when the Second Nightking felt incredibly really frustrated by his current life. He was forced to protect Lu Yin, a former enemy, and he was even relegated to acting as a chauffeur at times.

    At this moment, a personal spacecraft was shooting towards the Honor Zone, carrying Sapling and Lu Yin.

    Sapling was very curious about the universe and outer space, but it was also a bit scared of everything. Its branches were tightly twined around Lu Yin''s fingers, but a pleasant light was being released by the leaves. They gave a veryfortable feeling.

    Beep beep beep!

    Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped, and he looked down to see Liu Qianjue calling him.

    Given the fact that the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords had been announced as a technique to be stored in the Tower of the Fifth, Liu Qianjue should have reached out to Lu Yin long before now.

    "Sect Master Liu, I''ve been quite busytely. I''ll send Liu Hao to your Sword Sect as soon as I get back to the Innerverse." Lu Yin greeted the man.

    Lu Yin had already promised to send Liu Hao to the Sword Sect. This was part of the agreement to get the Sword Sect to participate in the war against the Astral Beast Domain. Without proper incentives, the Sword Sect would not have put forth any genuine efforts, and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s defenses would not have endured.

    Liu Qianjue said, "I¡¯ll thank you for that, Alliance Leader Lu, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m calling you about right now."

    "Is there something else?" Lu Yin acted confused.

    Liu Qianjue¡¯s voice dropped low as he replied, "Shouldn¡¯t you already know? When you announced the creation of your Tower of the Fifth¡¯s construction, you included the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords! Don¡¯t you owe my Sword Sect an exnation for this? The Thirteen Swords are the very foundation of my Sword Sect!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That was indeed my oversight, and I didn¡¯t offer you an exnation, Sect Master Liu. There is no one in the universe whose understanding of the Thirteen Swords canpare to your Sword Sect¡¯s, so let me ask you this: how many people in the Sword Sect currently know the Thirteen Swords?"

    "At the moment, there are only four," Liu Qianjue replied.

    Lu Yin added on, "There should be Senior Liu Huang, yourself, Sect Master Liu, and then from the younger generation, there should be Liu Tianmu and Liu Shaoqiu. Out of your sect¡¯s countless disciples who attempted to learn the Thirteen Swords, just how many of them are actually able toprehend them at all?"

    "That''s still not an excuse to publicize the Thirteen Swords!" Liu Qianjue retorted in a strained voice. As soon as he had seen the announcement regarding the Tower of the Fifth, he had reached out to Liu Huang to have the old man contact Lu Yin and demand an exnation. But Liu Huang had instead asked Liu Qianjue to wait and see if Lu Yin would take the initiative to contact the Sword Sect on his own.

    After some time passed, Liu Qianjue had no longer been able to endure, and he had finally directly called Lu Yin.

    It was an utter disaster for a sect¡¯s foundational techniques to be shared with the outside world. If this matter was not handled properly, the ripples could end up affecting the entire Great Eastern Alliance.

    "Sect Master Liu, only the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword is avable on the second floor of the Tower of the Fifth. If someone obtains that, I¡¯ll immediately know about it. The chances of anyoneprehending the technique are incredibly low, but if anyone is actually lucky enough to seed, I¡¯ll inform your Sword Sect of it immediately and ask you to take the people to your Sword Mountain. If you end up epting them, then they¡¯ll have received your recognition and there¡¯ll no longer be any need or desire for them to get the Thirteen Swords from the Tower of the Fifth," Lu Yin exined.

    Liu Qianjue nodded, "While I can understand your intentions that far, Alliance Leader Lu, the seventh floor is supposed to hold the full inheritance of the Thirteen Swords! What if someone manages to acquire the full inheritance from the seventh floor?"

    "So you have it, but your people can¡¯t learn it, and yet you won¡¯t pass it on. Sect Master Liu, just what do you think the chances that any outsiders will manage to get and then actuallyprehend your Thirteen Swords are?" Lu Yin countered.

    Liu Qianjue frowned. "Regardless, my Sword Sect is asking you to remove the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords. It¡¯s impossible to know what might happen. After all, didn¡¯t you fully master the Thirteen Swords?"

    Lu Yin could understand this concern, but the entire reason why he had gathered and ced so many battle techniques in the Tower of the Fifth was to prepare for the future and his possiblest measure. How could he possibly agree to the Sword Sect¡¯s request?

    "Sect Master Liu, what about this? The Thirteen Swords will remain in the Tower of the Fifth for just two years, and after that time passes, I¡¯ll remove it. I can promise you that it¡¯s almost impossible for anyone to even reach the seventh floor within these two years," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Qianjue wanted to push further, but before he could say anything, Lu Yin cut him off. "This is already the best that I can offer you. Think about this carefully¡ªthe inheritances in the Tower of the Fifth are all individual inheritances that can¡¯t be passed on, and besides, no one would be willing to give it to anyone else."

    Liu Qianjue had no option but to agree. "Very well. I will have to trust you on this two year agreement, but I must insist that you pay close attention to the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. He understood Liu Qianjue¡¯s intentions. If anyone made it to the seventh floor and managed to acquire the full Thirteen Swords, they would have to either join the Sword Sect or give the inheritance back to the Sword Sect. This was as far as the sect was willing to budge. "You don''t need to worry."

    "There is one other thing," Liu Qianjue hesitantly started, "Something odd happened to me, and it¡¯s rted to you, Alliance Leader Lu. I hope that you can exin it to me."

    Lu Yin arched a brow in a questioning manner, despite already knowing what Liu Qianjue was talking about.

    Lu Yin had Possessed Liu Qianjue, just as he had Liu Ye, and during that Possession, Lu Yin had given Elder Li a series of orders that had aroused Liu Qianjue''s suspicions.

    "Tell me," Lu Yin encouraged.

    Liu Qianjue spoke slowly, "There was a recent incident that waspletely erased from my memory, and yet during that time, I gave out several orders that did not match my personality. ording to Elder Li, I even ordered him to do something along the lines of banishing Elder Lianxin. Do you know anything about this?"

    Lu Yin replied, "How could I? I¡¯m in the distant Neoverse while you¡¯re in the Innerverse. If I was next to you when this happened, maybe then I¡¯d be able to tell you something."

    Liu Qianjue''s eyes flickered. He did not actually suspect Lu Yin of doing anything at all himself, as the young man had been too far away when the incident had taken ce. Instead, Liu Qianjue was suspicious of the people supporting Lu Yin, such as the Second Nightking. However, the Second Nightking was always shadowing Lu Yin and kept himself hidden.

    Only someone with a power level of at least a million could possibly control Liu Qianjue and wipe his memory of the incident. In the entire Great Eastern Alliance, there were only two such powerhouses.

    Who else was there aside from those two experts? Suddenly, Liu Qianjue froze. There was another powerhouse who supported Lu Yin: a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Sect Master Liu, I¡¯ll look into this for you, but I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯ll be able to uncover. Your story sounds rather bizarre," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Qianjue quickly replied, "I realize that. You can just act as if I never brought it up."

 Chapter 1962

    <h4>Chapter 1962</h4>

    After ending the call with Liu Qianjue, Lu Yin decided that in the future, he would need to limit his actions when Possessing someone. He should probably stick to just scanning their memories, as taking any abnormal actions would make it easy for the Possessed people to be suspicious about what had happened to them.

    Lu Yin knew that the universe had never stopped specting about him. First, people had thought that he had stumbled upon theplete inheritance of an ancient sect. Later, that had changed to the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. There were even a few who suspected that Lu Yin might have some unusual ability. After all, he possessed far, far too many powerful power vessels, and his rapid rise to power was aplete mystery.

    There were many things that were impossible to hide from people who were envious of him.

    The primary reason why Lu Yin had remained safe was that his status was too special and that he had too many powerhouses supporting him. If he was just some nobody, he would have been captured and interrogated long ago.

    It would take at least half a year for the Tower of the Fifth to be built, and Leon¡¯s Armada took on the responsibility of transporting all the construction materials. It would be a pity not to make use of the pirates, and even the Hall of Honor was contributing resources andbor. Even with all this help, the estimated time frame for the tower of inheritances to bepleted was close to a year.

    As long as Lu Yin was not forced into threatening to remove the Tower of the Fifth, it would remain a symbol of the Fifth Maind, as well as a symbol of Lu Yin. It would be a ce that was worshiped and admired by the entire Fifth Maind for many years.

    If there was a star chart that urately depicted the entire Fifth Maind, there would be a clear flood of people rushing towards the Cosmic Sea from the Outerverse, the Innerverse, and even the Neoverse. All of them were making the trip in anticipation of the Tower of the Fifth¡¯spletion.

    This tower would be the greatest opportunity ever for many people, as it was open to all people of every generation.

    Lu Yin had already known that establishing the Tower of the Fifth would have a great impact on the Fifth Maind, but even he could have never imagined just how massive that impact would be.

    ¡­

    From the outside, the hidden world that was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters looked like a shamrock. It had been ced in the Honor Zone near Mt. Microcosms in a tropical forest in a location that was surrounded by water. The people there could leave and enter Mt. Microcosms.

    A simple shamrock waspletely inconspicuous in a jungle, so who would ever think that it was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world?

    Lu Yin had already informed Balsam of his impending arrival.

    Half a day before Lu Yin was due to appear, Leaf King had already led Balsam and thepany¡¯s other senior executives to wait for Lu Yin¡¯s arrival. The excuse for the visit was to discuss the progress of the immortality research.

    Despite waiting for a long time, Lu Yin still did not arrive. Based on when he had contacted Balsam, Lu Yin should have already shown up.

    Leaf King''s face appeared calm. Shamrock World was home to over a hundred high-level executives, and all of them were standing in the jungle and waiting. Such a lineup was only possible for people who stood at the very peak of the Human Domain.

    Many of these executives had beenining about Lu Yin, as he had stolen Leaf King¡¯s opportunity to be an overseer.

    If not for Lu Yin, Leaf King would have already be one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, which would have allowed Shamrock Enterprise to proceed yet another step forward. The benefits that theirpany would have reaped from such an appointment were unimaginable.

    "Leaf King, Lu Yin still hasn''t arrived. Is there some sort of problem?" Balsam asked softly.

    Leaf King indifferently answered, "He¡¯s most likely been dyed by something. Is there a problem?"

    Balsam hesitated for a moment. "He should already know about you."

    Leaf King''s eyes flickered. He had repeatedly tried to capture the little moving tree that belonged to Lu Yin, only to fail. If that sapling was actually the stellr energy pill that Leaf King had lost control of, then Lu Yin had most likely already figured out that Leaf King was the one who had been trying to steal the little tree. "Know what? I haven¡¯t done anything. Lu Yin is one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and he understands the need to handle certain matters properly."

    Balsam frowned. "The new overseer, Lei Qingqing, has supposedly been acting quite unscrupulously after arriving at Mt. Microcosms. The rtionship between her and Lu Yin-"

    "That¡¯s enough. Just wait quietly," Leaf King interrupted the woman.

    Balsam was still concerned, but she kept her worries to herself. She stepped back slightly and resumed waiting quietly.

    At this moment, she was no longer able to understand what Leaf King was thinking about.

    A short distance from the forest, Lu Yin had stopped moving. This was not because he did not want to visit Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters, but rather because he was testing something: the wireless jincan.

    The wireless jincan was a bizarre jincan that had been developed in a small town in the Divine Venom Dynasty. Supposedly, it could be used tomunicate regardless of the distance between two people, and Lu Yin had be interested in it because he had realized that the wireless jincan was able tomunicate between the true universe and the visible universe. This was something that was impossible for a gadget.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s interest was aroused, he asked King Qing Li to send the vigers from the small town all throughout the entire Fifth Maind to test the limits of the wireless jincan¡¯smunication abilities.

    Lu Yin had just received a call from Qing Li himself, and he been asked to take out his own wireless jincan so that someone could try to call Lu Yin from the Astral Wilderness.

    At the moment, only eight of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s powerhouses had been given the special gadgets that were able to connect to the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even the Neoverse. This was proof of the support that CyNet was giving the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin watched as the wireless jincan twisted into various shapes with great surprise. As he watched on, he looked at his gadget, which showed the young man named Xiao Fa from the small town in the Divine Venom Dynasty. The young man was standing next to King Qing Li.

    "What does this mean?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Fa looked at the shapes that the wireless jincan was making on the disy on his end, and he excitedly replied, "They¡¯re greeting you!"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Where are they?"

    "I don''t know. Somewhere in the Astral Wilderness," Xiao Fa replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he looked back at the little tadpole in his hand with open amazement. Someone was actually able tomunicate with him from the Astral Wilderness, which waspletely impossible for a gadget to do.

    Even though the functionality of the wireless jincans was greatly inferior to a gadgets¡¯, the range that the wireless jincans could work atpletely outssed any gadget.

    "How many of these tadpoles are there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Fa muttered, "They¡¯re wireless jincan¡­"

    He gave the question a bit of thought. "We have hundreds of them at the moment."

    "That¡¯s not enough. Nowhere close. I need hundreds of millions of these," Lu Yin bluntly ordered.

    Xiao Fa was startled, and he quickly turned pale. "Hundreds- hundreds of millions?"

    Lu Yin stared at the researcher. "How long will that take?"

    Xiao Fa swallowed. "It doesn¡¯t take long to raise a wireless jincan, but doing so consumes a great deal of resources. This is-"

    Lu Yin raised a hand to cut off the exnation. "Just give me a price."

    Xiao Fa stared at Lu Yin, feeling a great deal of envy for this man¡¯s wealth. "I- I can¡¯t calcte that precisely right now, but it will be at least a million star essence. That¡¯s star essence, not star crystals. It¡¯s really expensive."

    "Qing Li," Lu Yin said.

    The man quickly spoke up, "Don''t worry, Alliance Leader Lu, we¡¯ll make sure that these wireless jincan are raised as quickly as possible. While we do that, we¡¯ll alsopile all of the 3,279 unique signals that the wireless jincan can connect to into a guide for the people of the Great Eastern Alliance to learn. It won¡¯t be long before the Great Eastern Alliance can use wireless jincan as amunicationwork that can ignore any distance."

    Lu Yin felt satisfied with this. "As long as this is handled properly, I¡¯ll do my best to take care of anything that you may need."

    King Qing Li smiled as he said, "I''m also a member of the Great Eastern Alliance, so I¡¯m naturally happy to handle such matters for you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Keep testing it out. I¡¯d like to see just what the limit of these wireless jincans¡¯ connection range is. I don¡¯t believe that they truly ignore any and all distance."

    Xiao Fa remained stubborn. "They can ignore all distance."

    Lu Yin just smiled and ended the call, but after that, he looked at the squirming little tadpole in his hand with bright eyes.

    During a war, an army¡¯smunicationwork would be targeted, and if possible, destroyed by the enemy as quickly as possible. For example, the Neohuman Alliance was too well informed about the Human Domain. When the Aeternals inevitably attacked the Fifth Maind, they would absolutely destroy thework as quickly as possible so as to eliminate humanity¡¯s ability tomunicate with each other. This would destroy humanity¡¯s cohesion.

    However, the very existence of the wireless jincan prevented this possibility.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was constantly improving.

    It was simply a pity that the wireless jincans were too simple in terms of their features and abilities.

    Lu Yin then put the little tadpole away and stored Sapling on Zenith Mountain. The Second Nightking resumed escorting Lu Yin forward, and they entered the forest, quickly meeting with Leaf King and his party.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin arrive, Leaf King hurried stepped forward with a smile. "Overseer Lu, wee to our Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world and headquarters."

    Lu Yin smiled back. "I know that I¡¯m inconveniencing you, but there''s nothing that I can do about that. I really crave immortality, and if not for how busy I¡¯ve beentely, I would havee to visit you here long ago."

    "It¡¯s no bother for me. I¡¯ve been waiting for you, Alliance Leader Lu." Leaf King then nced over at the Second Nightking and eximed, "This must be Senior Second Nightking from the Daynight n."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "Don''t worry about him. Let¡¯s talk about our own things. I¡¯ve heard that Shamrock Enterprise has gathered the greatest collection of exotic flowers and nts in the entire universe, and I¡¯m eager to see them, haha."

    "Of course! Alliance Leader Lu, pleasee inside." Leaf King made an inviting gesture.

    All of thepany¡¯s senior executives lined up on two sides and slowly bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. When it came to formality, Shamrock Enterprise surpassed any organization that Lu Yin had ever visited. It was not unusual for him to be greeted by a gathering of the organization''s top brass, but these people even bowed to Lu Yin.

    "Leaf King, this is too much." Lu Yin actually felt embarrassed.

    Leaf Kingughed. "Alliance Leader Lu, not only do you represent the Great Eastern Alliance, but you are also on the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers¡¯ council. This is only proper for a representative of the Hall of Honor."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and a smile appeared on his face. "Then I won''t refuse."

    "Please,e with me."

    Lu Yin nced at Balsam, whose head was also lowered. He walked past her and approached the green shamrock. With another step, Lu Yin¡¯s body flickered, and he entered the hidden world.

    He found himself in a magical space that waspletely filled with nts. They not only covered the ground, but also the sky. All of the nts were an emerald green hue, which created a very rxing view wherever one looked. It really felt as though they had entered the shamrock.

    This hidden world was home to an odd ecosystem that was entirely made up of nts.

    Leaf King quickly appeared next to Lu Yin, and there was a smile on the older man¡¯s face. He was very handsome, and he seemed to be at ease. "Alliance Leader Lu, this is the hidden world that is home to my Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters. Everything flying in the sky, crawling on the ground, or swimming in the water is a nt. There are nts that are mobile, as well as those that are fixed in ce. All of the food herees from nts as well.

    ¡°Let me show you around."

    Lu Yin nodded and then followed Leaf King as they explored the strange world that held only nts.

    It was not a veryrge hidden world, and even though someone with Lu Yin¡¯s strength could see everything in here in an instant, he still was amazed by what he saw. There seemed to be no end to the number of natural treasures that were able to avoid danger, and he also saw many weird fruits grown by various nts. There were also some aggressive nts, and they were far from weak.

    "I¡¯ve heard that Alliance Leader Lu also enjoys collecting strange mobile nts. Such things can be found everywhere in my hidden world, but there¡¯s one that I¡¯m sure will surprise you." Leaf King led Lu Yin across mountains and rivers until they arrived at a massive tree with low-hanging branches and leaves that gave off a soft light.

    Leaf King continued to lead Lu Yin further, and they arrived behind a waterfall. There, Lu Yin found a strange nt.

    It was a colorful flower that had petals that were each several meters long. It was certainly not a pretty nt, but the odd thing was that the flower was made of meat.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Flesh? Leaf King, didn''t you say that all the food in this hidden worldes from nts?"

    "That''s true, it all doese from nts. This meat is actually a part of this flower," Leaf King answered with a smile.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Flowers can grow meat? This even seems to be already cooked."

    He felt like Leaf King was treating him like an idiot. This was clearly a cooked dish and not a nt.

 Chapter 1963

    <h4>Chapter 1963</h4>

    Leaf King could hear that Lu Yin was unhappy, but Leaf King just answered with a smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, take a moment to observe this nt carefully. This flower is something that I¡¯ve never seen before¡ªno, it¡¯s actually something that has never even appeared in the records of ancient books. The oddest thing about it is that it can produce any type of food. I have no idea how it was formed, but just like how the innate gifts of us humans are unexinable, it¡¯s impossible to exin how this flower can produce any sort of food, including things like barbecued meat and elegant desserts.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. What else was possible?

    "On top of that, I¡¯ve examined all of the food that this flower has made, and the ingredients are all authentic. It¡¯s as if the food is not created, but rather transported here after someone else has prepared it," Leaf King exined.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "This is something that I want to see. How long do I need to wait?"

    "I''m not sure about that. You came here regarding a research project into immortality, and I can tell you that I don¡¯t have any information at all on that topic. However, we have learned a bit about space, and all of that information hase from this flower," Leaf King stated confidently.

    Lu Yin stared at Leaf King. "You study space through this flower?"

    Leaf King nodded. "How should I exin this? All of the research that I¡¯ve conducted so far hints at the idea that space may not actually exist, but is rather an illusion due to how we humans perceive things. It¡¯s just like this flower. I don''t believe that the food it createses from nothing. Rather, they should all be dishes that someone elsewhere prepared which is then brought to this ce. Essentially, space has no meaning to this flower.¡±

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of the wireless jincan and how space seemed to be ignored by the odd creatures.

    "Aside from simply seeing this miraculous flower, I brought you here so that we may study space together. To my understanding, you also possess something that is able to ignore space. Some kind of jincan, no?" Leaf King stared at Lu Yin as he spoke.

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted. "It¡¯s called a wireless jincan."

    "Some time ago, Balsam delivered a congrattory gift to Qing Shaohuang on behalf of my Shamrock Enterprise, and she was present to see your interest in the wireless jincan, Alliance Leader Lu. We looked into the matter a bit, and we know that you¡¯ve been studying the wireless jincan that was developed by a small town. Our interest was also piqued, but you moved first. If you feel that we could help, mypany would like to study these jincan with you," Leaf King suggested.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "That would be fine, though this research is rather costly."

    Leaf King smiled. "My Shamrock Enterprise will cover all of the costs. Why don¡¯t we start by allocating a billion star essence towards this project?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile grew bright. "Alright!"

    Leaf King smiled and took a seat. "Let''s wait here. There¡¯s a chance that you¡¯ll be able to see something, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin¡¯s visit had been made with the goal of dealing with Shamrock Enterprise, not studying something like space with them. Still, he did not mind wasting a bit of time.

    Leaf King had most likely already guessed Lu Yin¡¯s true purpose, which was why the man had so clearly stated Lu Yin¡¯s position as a representative of the Hall of Honor upon his arrival. At the moment, Leaf King was tempting Lu Yin with the prospect of researching space and even providing the necessary funds. How could Lu Yin not see through such attempts as an effort to deal with him?

    Lu Yin was also curious to see what Leaf King could do against the Second Nightking. At best, the man¡¯s strength wasparable to Liu Ye and Fei Hua, but that still put him far behind the Second Nightking.

    One day quickly passed, and the meat that the flower produced had already been thrown away by Leaf King. The man did not eat meat.

    After the two men waited for another two days, the flower¡¯s petals suddenly began to move, and then, as Lu Yin watched on in astonishment, food started to appear. Each bit of food was a finely prepared dish, and although Lu Yin could not determine their ingredients, the scent of the food would be clear to anyone.

    Lu Yin kept staring at the nt, but he could not see anything that exined how the food had appeared.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt like he was looking at something that was incredibly familiar. The flower, the food that had mysteriously appeared, and everything else in Lu Yin¡¯s vision started to blur. Instead, he suddenly had a vision of several people sitting together and chatting about something. They seemed to be waiting for something.

    The sight felt incredibly familiar, yet it also induced a powerful sense of sadness. What was this? Had Lu Yin seen this flower before? Was this vision from his previous life as Lu Xiaoxuan? Could those people be the Seven Heroes?

    "Overseer Lu," Leaf King called out as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was startled by the man¡¯s voice, and the blurry vision instantly disappeared. He saw Leaf King again, and Lu Yin let out a breath. "What''s wrong?"

    "Were you able to see it clearly?"

    Lu Yin was a bit confused. "See what?"

    "How the food appeared."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No."

    Leaf King looked disappointed. "It appears out of thin air, and it¡¯s impossible to determine if it is simply created on the spot or moved here from somewhere else. This is what I was talking about, Overseer Lu. If we can thoroughly study this flower, we might be able to obtain simr abilities."

    "The ability to create food?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up as he blurted out a response. It felt as though he had said the exact same thing before¡­

    Leaf King was taken aback. "Of course not creating food! I¡¯m talking about being able to control space!"

    The man could not help but find Lu Yin to be rather odd. What normal person would think of the ability to create food in this situation?

    Lu Yin stared at the flower in a bit of a daze as he recalled the blurry yet familiar vision that he had just seen. He remained a bit dazed for a bit.

    When he saw Lu Yin''s appearance, a cold light flickered in the depths of Leaf King''s eyes, and his fingers twitched.

    Suddenly, an entire roasted pig appeared on the flower. The fragrance was so powerful that it roused Lu Yin from his stupor.

    Lu Yin grabbed a leg from the roasted pig and devoured it. His mood rose until it could not improve any further. His previous memories were still sealed, and even if he was sometimes able to remember bits and pieces, those fragments only made him sad. Maybe his seal was not a terrible thing, as it allowed him to still feel happy.

    After he finished eating the bit of pork, Lu Yin stood up and casually cleaned his hands. ¡°Much better!"

    Leaf King was stunned. Lu Yin¡¯s personality seemedpletely different from earlier. Could this youth have a split personality?

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin turned around and walked away from the waterfall.

    Leaf King followed after him. "Alliance Leader Lu, let''s study space together. It really is a miraculous ability."

    Lu Yin did not respond to the request, instead asking, "It¡¯s said that you, Leaf King, represent both creation and healing. I understand that the healing is your Shamrock Enterprise, but what is the creation part?"

    Leaf King and Lu Yin stared at each other, and Leaf King finally replied with a smile, "What creation? It¡¯s just something said by some underlings to give me a more mysterious reputation. How else could my Shamrock Enterprise attract so much attention?"

    Lu Yin looked away. "That makes sense."

    At this time, someone flying through the air appeared in front of the two. She was a young girl with bright eyes and white teeth, giving her a beautiful appearance. Although her eyes had a cunning light to them, she still looked charming.

    "Yu Er greets Leaf King and Alliance Leader Lu." The girl respectfully bowed to the two men when she arrived before them.

    "Yu Er, what''s the matter?" Leaf King asked.

    Yu Er pursed her lips, but she still gave a slight smile. "All of ourpany''s materials regarding the medicinal research on immortality have been prepared."

    Leaf King turned to Lu Yin. "Overseer Lu is interested in immortality, but this is as much as my Shamrock Enterprise can do to help. I''ll take you over so that you can have a look."

    Lu Yin answered, "There¡¯s no rush."

    He then turned back to look at Yu Er. "Are you Yu Mu''s disciple?"

    Leaf King also looked at Yu Er.

    Yu Er gave another respectful bow. "I didn''t expect Alliance Leader Lu to know about a little girl. My master was rude to you, Alliance Leader, so this little girl must apologize for her master."

    After speaking, the girl offered yet another bow.

    Lu Yin said, "Yu Mu said that you¡¯re one of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds. He said that I should be careful around you."

    Yu Er was taken aback. "Be careful around me? Why? Is there something wrong with this little girl? Or could there be some misunderstanding created by my master?

    ¡°Oh, right!" Yu Er acted like she had suddenly remembered something, and she suddenly looked quite upset. "My master once asked me to leave with him, but I refused. That must have been why he said such things."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he turned back to Leaf King. "I''ve always been rather curious about your Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds. I wonder, are there any of your hidden seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Leaf King was stunned, but he answered in a low voice, "I don''t know what that traitor Yu Mu might have said to you, but the so-called ¡®hidden seeds¡¯ are nothing more than some talented cultivators that have been sponsored by mypany. I don¡¯t want to see such talent go to waste, but supporting them does not mean that we control them, let alone use them as spies. You¡¯re going a bit far with your insinuations, Alliance Leader Lu.¡±

    "And yet you didn''t answer my question." Lu Yin stared at Leaf King and repeated, "Are there any of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    Yu Er¡¯s eyes went wide as she watched the exchange in fascination.

    Leaf King was the absolute peak as far as Yu Er and those like her were concerned. Had anyone ever interrogated Leaf King in such a manner before? It was something that she had never dared to consider in the past, and seeing it y out before her was shocking.

    Leaf King frowned. "No."

    The two men continued to stare at each other for a while, but then Lu Yin smiled. "I believe you."

    Leaf King''s expression turned ugly. "Overseer Lu, I weed you into the hidden world that is my Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters, and I have been open and willing to share the research regarding both immortality and the flower that I believe to hold the secrets of controlling space. Despite that, it does not seem that you are returning my attempts at friendship.¡±

    "While my Shamrock Enterprise can¡¯tpare to your Great Eastern Alliance, we will not demean ourselves before you."

    Lu Yin put a smile back on his face. "Don''t get worked up about that, Leaf King. We still haven¡¯t discussed any real business matters yet."

    "You can take all of the research materials that mypany has acquired regarding immortality. We¡¯ll treat it as a gift. There¡¯s no need to discuss anything else," Leaf King replied, clearly upset.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Yourpany has spent many years gathering those materials. This is too much for a mere gift. You tter me."

    "I just hope that Alliance Leader Lu will not return my good intentions in a disappointing manner. If you are still willing to research space with me, then I will still wee you."

    "Of course I would love to, but there are a few things that need to be made clear first." Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he stared at Leaf King. "Xia Yi told me that you released him."

    Leaf King''s eyes red. "What is this about Xia Yi? I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about."

    Lu Yin just smiled. "You don¡¯t know? I was just visiting the Seven Courts, and I specifically asked Xia Yi about this. My Great Eastern Alliance captured the man and imprisoned him at the mobile fortress in the Ross Empire. You helped him escape."

    Leaf King¡¯s fingers twitched, and his expression soured more and more as Lu Yin spoke. ¡°So you¡¯re here to investigate some crime."

    Lu Yin suddenly looked up. "What happened doesn''t actually matter. Let¡¯s move on to why it happened. Perhaps, I won''t care?"

    Leaf King''s eye twitched. "I didn''t release him. You can have Xia Yie confront me himself. Besides, I have no reason to help him."

    "There¡¯s a reason." Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring and suddenly redirected his attention towards Yu Er. "Your Leaf King is said to represent both creation and healing. Do you know what that means?"

    Yu Er was startled, as she had not expected Lu Yin to speak to her. "I- No, I don''t."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s quite simple. Healing refers to Shamrock Enterprise, while creation-" Lu Yin paused as he looked back at Leaf King. "Refers to the stellr energy pills."

 Chapter 1964

    <h4>Chapter 1964</h4>

    The moment the words ¡°stellr energy pill¡± left Lu Yin¡¯s lips, Leaf King¡¯s hand was raised and attacking Lu Yin. The man showed absolutely no hesitation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s words had eliminated any restraint that Leaf King had previously felt, forcing a fight to break out.

    The Second Nightking instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin. The old man snorted disdainfully as he pointed a finger at Leaf King and released a Nightking Advent Immortal Finger. A terrible chill appeared that nearly froze the entire hidden world that was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters.

    This attack far surpassed anything that Leaf King could endure. The nearby Yu Er was frozen, and she fell to the ground.

    There was a snap as Leaf King pointed to his own forehead. The man¡¯s head cracked open, but oddly enough, there was no blood to be seen. The man¡¯s entire body split in two, one side of which transformed into a tree that moved to wrap around the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking dismissed the encroaching tree and simply wiggled his finger. Stellr energy shot through the air, shattering the void and leaving behind countless spatial cracks in the hidden world. Outside, in the Honor Zone, the shamrock started cracking on all three of its leaves. The hidden world was not able to endure the Second Nightking¡¯s might.

    Lu Yin continuously retreated. Shamrock Enterprise did not possess the strength to stand up to the Second Nightking. Instead, Lu Yin was focused on where he had seen that odd flower, as he had to take that nt away. Even though it was impossible toprehend anything about space by studying a flower, the nt had managed to trigger some of his sealed memories.

    Unexpectedly, the burst of stellr energy that the Second Nightking unleashed was not able to force back the tree that had appeared from half of Leaf King¡¯s body. Instead, the entire hidden world started to churn and writhe while all the countless nts in it started to converge and merge. Trees shot up from the ground, soaring high into the sky, surrounding the Second Nightking. They started to merge together, sealing the Second Nightking within a massive trunk.

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly changed. What kind of tree was this?

    There was a bang, and all of the nts in Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world vanished. All that remained was a single, truly enormous tree that had sealed the Second Nightking. The loud roar of the Second Nightking could be heard from within the tree¡¯s trunk, but the man was unable to break free.

    Lu Yin could not believe what he was seeing. What kind of tree could possibly trap the Second Nightking? Was this thing Leaf King''s final trump card?

    Behind him, space twisted, and Leaf King emerged, his face pale. His eyes were locked onto Lu Yin, and the man¡¯s originally handsome face was warped by open hatred. Determination filled his eyes.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at Leaf King. "What the hell are you?"

    Leaf King grinned. "Boy, you¡¯re too full of yourself. I didn''t want to tear myself apart because of you, but did you actually think that the Second Nightking¡¯s presence would allow you to do whatever you wanted? You wanted to know what creation referred to when talking about me. This is creation! Do you see it now?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "This isn¡¯t your strength."

    "Hahahaha, it doesn''t need to be my strength! The Second Nightking is trapped, and I can kill you before he escapes. While I might not understand how you can control that man, your death will remove him as well. He won¡¯t make any trouble for me, but will instead thank me," Leaf King shouted as he moved forward with a raised fist that he threw at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin struck out as well: Hollow Palm.

    Boom!

    The shockwave shattered the sky, and both men retreated at the same time.

    Leaf King was shocked. "So strong?"

    Lu Yin was actually even more stunned by the results of the exchange than Leaf King. Not only did Leaf King have enough physical strength to go up against Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm, but the man had also ignored the spiritual force and domain aspects of the attack. How was that even possible?

    After Lu Yin broke through to the Envoy realm, even if he had sealed off three of his stellr energy vortices, his body had been strengthened and transformed by the stellr energy that he had absorbed when forming the additional vortices. This caused his physical strength to beparable to an Envoy¡¯s with a power level of over 800,000. When it came to techniques that relied on physical might, such as the Oveying Stacks Path, Lu Yin had seen hisbat strength absolutely skyrocket. He had never expected to not have even the slightest edge over Leaf King when it came to pure strength.

    Lu Yin absolutely could not underestimate Leaf King. He had once managed to escape from even Liu Huang¡¯s sword, and he had just trapped the Second Nightking as well.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to raise his hand and continue attacking with another Hollow Palm. This time, he released the most powerful attack he was capable of with a Hollow Palm: 1,000 Stacks Hollow Palm.

    Leaf King aggressively charged at Lu Yin, allowing the Hollow Palm tond on him. The man was slowed, butpletely uninjured.

    Lu Yin had already fought countless battles, and from his experience and understanding, Leaf King''s true strength should be about the same as his. However, the man was somehow able to endure his Hollow Palms without a problem. This far exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. There was something strange about this man¡¯s body.

    "So what if you¡¯ve trapped the Second Nightking? I can still just leave!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Leaf King just sneered. "Unless you can actually destroy this hidden world, you can forget about leaving!"

    The man then growled and waved a hand. ¡°Starswitched Leaf.¡±

    Strange fluctuations swept across Lu Yin''s body, and all of the stellr energy that he had released was transformed into drifting leaves.

    This was a battle technique that Lu Yin had seen Little Leaf King use in both the Mountain and Seas Zone and during ZENITH. It was able to transform an opponent''s star energy into harmless drifting leaves. It had amazed Lu Yin when he first saw it, and at this moment, it had happened again. But this time, Leaf King had transformed stellr energy into drifting leaves.

    Envoys had the unique consideration of having to be cautious about how much energy they used during a battle. Even if they used a curio, they risked drawing the attention of the true universe, and now, Lu Yin was being further restricted by Leaf King''s Starswitched Leaf.

    Lu Yin raised a foot and took a step forward. However, the moment Leaf King approached him, Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled, and he took a step backwards.

    Leaf Kingshed out with a punch that shattered the void. His attack should havended on Lu Yin, but it had somehow missed. How?

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he used the Knowing realm of Truesight to weaken Leaf King.

    Leaf King''s expression drastically changed, and a chill struck his chest when he saw Lu Yin release another palm strike. The older man¡¯s eyes flickered, and suddenly, not only did Lu Yin¡¯s attack miss, but he found that his body had been sent flying without any visible exnation.

    "Secret technique Banishment?" Lu Yin stared at Leaf King in disbelief. "Are you from the Hall of Honor?"

    Leaf King sneered. "You don''t need to know about that. You¡¯re going to die today! There¡¯s an important difference between you and me."

    Even as the man spoke, he swept his hands out to the sides. He suddenly shouted and used Starswitched Leaf again, and at the same time, a golden meteor appeared and crashed down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was beyond startled. How was this possible? This was the Hui family¡¯s golden meteor technique! Not only did Leaf King know the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique Banishment, but he also apparently knew the Hui family¡¯s inherited battle technique!? How did any of this make any sense?

    Lu Yin could not understand anything about Leaf King at this moment.

    One after another, golden meteors rained down upon Lu Yin. Each and every single one of them had the strength of an attack from an Envoy with a power level of 800,000. This was a trump card that Leaf King had spent countless years preparing. It was second only to what he had used to trap the Second Nightking. Forget Lu Yin¡ªeven if dozens of Envoys invaded Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world at the same time, this meteor shower would destroy them all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only option upon facing such a powerful attack was to rely on the Knowing realm of Truesight to negate the damage.

    Leaf King sneered as he watched Lu Yin¡¯s actions. Then, to Lu Yin¡¯s increasing disbelief, Leaf King¡¯s own pupils transformed into runes. "Did you think that you were the only one to train in Truesight? I have as well!¡±

    As he stared at Lu Yin, Lu Yin felt himself weakening.

    Lu Yin was horrified. He had no time to consider why Leaf King knew Truesight, and he quickly retreated to evade the golden meteors.

    Each meteor that fell caused the entire hidden world to tremble. It was as though the apocalypse had arrived.

    There were a tremendous number of people living in Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world, and they had already started panicking when all of the nts in the hidden world had been absorbed into the massive tree, and the arrival of the golden meteors left them all trembling with fear, certain that they were about to die.

    Balsam¡¯s face was pale as she watched from a distance. Leaf King had finally disyed his true power.

    No one in the entire universe understood Leaf King¡¯s power, not even the Hall of Honor. Only she, Balsam, had gotten a glimpse of the man¡¯s strength, and she had willingly surrendered to him after that.

    The idea that Leaf King could actually trap the Second Nightking would be inconceivable to anyone else, but Balsam had been confident that Leaf King was capable of doing it. In this hidden world, Leaf King was invincible.

    Lu Yin had severely underestimated Leaf King. Lu Yin had assumed that it would not be overly difficult to defeat Leaf King, and the idea that Leaf King could actually trap the Second Nightking had never even been considered, let alone a difficult battle. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first true battle after bing an Envoy, and so he did not want to rely on any of his items.

    Leaf King was incredibly powerful, and this was Lu Yin¡¯s first true challenge after bing an Envoy.

    Lu Yin had certainly underestimated Leaf King, but Leaf King had also underestimated Lu Yin.

    He had thought that breaking Lu Yin¡¯s Truesight would be enough to defeat the young man with the golden meteors, or at the very least, that Lu Yin would be forced to reveal some of his trump cards, such as his power vessels. Leaf King had never expected Lu Yin to be able to evade the countless meteors with nothing more than a movement technique.

    The golden meteors were not true meteors, and Lu Yin easily avoided all of them. Each meteor had a power level of 800,000, which meant that each one wasparable to an all-out attack from a four-tribtion Envoy. How was he dodging these attacks so casually?

    Regardless, Lu Yin was aplishing just that, and he looked like he was not being pressured at all.

    Leaf King had no choice but to stop using the golden meteors. He stared at Lu Yin intently for a moment. "Where did you learn that movement technique? I¡¯ve never seen you use it before."

    Lu Yin lifted his head high. "There are many things that you haven¡¯t seen before. I¡¯ll be honest, I really underestimated you, but it all ends now. I¡¯m bing very interested in your secrets."

    Lu Yin¡¯s feet then started to step back incredibly quickly, and he moved closer to Leaf King at an astonishing speed while also surrounded by a region of chaotic space. Leaf King¡¯s own attack was thus foiled, and Lu Yin even manifested the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant to increase the power of his own attack ten times over as he struck out with yet another palm strike.

    Leaf King reacted by using Starswitched Leaf yet again. Facing the man made Lu Yin feel like he was still an Enlighter facing an Envoy. It made things difficult, but certainly not impossible.

    Leaf King gritted his teeth.

    "It all ends now? Then just try to take them!" He shouted as he raised a hand to block Lu Yin''s attack.

    Boom!

    The shockwave rocked the hidden world, and one of the three leaves of the shamrock was ripped apart in the tropical forest outside the Honor Zone.

    Everyone felt their brain being jostled by the shockwave, and everyone weaker than an Enlighter instantly lost consciousness. Some even died.

    Lu Yin and Leaf King each shook their hands as they retreated simultaneously.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank sharply. This was impossible! His strength had just increased tenfold! No one with a power level of less than a million should be able to stand up to his physical strength at this moment, unless they were a corpse king that had used the Corpse King Transformation.

    Leaf King shouted, "Everyone ims that Lu Yin has no peer when ites to physical strength. It turns out that it¡¯s true! You¡¯re the only person to even manage to match up to me throughout all these years!"

    Both men were amazed by their opponent¡¯s strength, and neither could understand how the other possessed such incredible might.

    "Who the hell are you?" Lu Yin yelled. Suddenly, his body disappeared. He instantly appeared further back by using the Teleportation Array. The next moment, 38,000 stars appeared and converged to form the Celestial Sword Technique, and at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he tried to erase some of Leaf King¡¯s runes.

    Leaf King responded by raising his hand and using Banishment, but he did not target Lu Yin, but rather the Celestial Sword. Even though Lu Yin was using the Celestial Sword Technique to execute the Fourteenth Sword, he still ended up aplishing nothing. Leaf King¡¯s mastery of Banishment far surpassed what Shang Qing and the others had achieved.

    Lu Yin opened his hand, and the Celestial Sword briefly reverted back into stars that surrounded him before he quicklyshed out with a Cosmic Palm.

    Leaf King''s pupils also transformed into runes. He looked into Lu Yin''s eyes, and they each tried to weaken the other. Palms struck out in unison, dozens of attacks flickering out every moment, but neither was able to do anything to the other.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a burst of pain. Up until now, he had not felt any pain regardless of the power of the attacks that had struck him. A certain thought urred to him. "You can even amplify the five senses?"

    Amplifying the five senses was another of the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques. Since Leaf King was able to use Banishment, it also made sense that he could amplify the five senses as well.

 Chapter 1965

    <h4>Chapter 1965</h4>

    Leaf King sneered. "I already told you¡ªyou aren¡¯t on the same level as me!"

    Even as the man spoke, his handsshed out and grabbed ahold of Lu Yin¡¯s hands while the youth attacked Leaf King. As Leaf King held Lu Yin down in ce, another Leaf King appeared. Lu Yin noticed the second Leaf King with his domain, and itpletely shocked him. "The Soulsplitting Technique? How is this possible!"

    Leaf King just smiled. ¡°This is the end.¡±

    The Leaf King behind Lu Yin released a palm strike aimed at the back of Lu Yin¡¯s head, but at thest moment, the attack was blocked by an invisible force.

    The second Leaf King''s attack had been extremely powerful, but a Channeling Diagram had managed to divert the attack into thousands of streams of force that shot out in all directions. As this happened, a third Leaf King appeared from the side.

    The Lingling n¡¯s Soulsplitting Technique could allow a person to split their body three times, and the third Leaf King had just appeared.

    The third Leaf King also attacked Lu Yin¡¯s head with a palm strike. The original Leaf King was still holding Lu Yin¡¯s hands in ce and preventing him from moving, and he had already used the Channeling Diagram to block the attack of the second Leaf King that had appeared behind him. So, as far as Leaf King could see, the attack of his third clone should be unavoidable.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious, and an astral chessboard suddenly appeared beneath his feet: Board Maniption.

    Shockingly, the third Leaf King''s attack returned back to him along the exact same path that it had taken towards Lu Yin. Everything was returned to its previous state.

    This was Board Maniption, which allowed a person to reverse events that had already yed out within a region of space. Whatever had impacted space would be returned to its previous state, and it would do so by perfectly reversing what it had just done. Everything within the affected space would be restored.

    Given Lu Yin''s current mastery of the Ce Secret Art, he was able to revert the third Leaf King¡¯s actions by a single second.

    One second was plenty.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were locked in front of him, and a small bit of stellr energy grewrger. This was the concept of the expression ¡°a flower was a world in and of itself.¡±

    The Leaf King who had been holding onto Lu Yin suddenly disappeared before suddenly reappearing. He had briefly been absorbed into a droplet of stellr energy by Lu Yin due to his Creation realm of star energy control. After bing an Envoy, Lu Yin had needed to spend some time to adapt to his newfound strength, but his stellr energy control had already reached the same level as his star energy control.

    Leaf King was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You actually-"

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and his simted stars coalesced once again. The Celestial Sword Technique reappeared, and the de shed out with the Fourteenth Sword. The two additional Leaf Kings who had appeared were torn apart, and the sword moved to point straight at the original Leaf King. ¡°That really was surprising. The Hall of Honor, the Hui family, and the Lingling n¡¯s techniques. Just who are you? It¡¯s somewhat understandable for you to have the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret technique and the Hui family¡¯s battle technique, but the Lingling n¡¯s Soulsplitting Technique is their inherited technique. It should be impossible for anyone to learn that technique without the n¡¯s bloodline, so how did you learn it?"

    Leaf King''s eyes grew cold. "There¡¯s no such thing as an inherited battle technique to me."

    The man¡¯s eyes suddenly went wide, and they positively shone with a zing excitement. "It¡¯s incredible that you¡¯ve reached this level with just a few decades of training. Your blood should be quite powerful and will be very valuable to study."

    Lu Yin nced at Leaf King, and then he looked at the massive tree that stood high in the sky. The Second Nightking was still trapped within the trunk, and Lu Yin could not tell if the man was actually trapped or simply faking it. Regardless, the Second Nightking had not yet emerged. Leaf King did not seem concerned about the ancient powerhouse at all, and he was even rxed enough to talk to Lu Yin. So, it did not seem that the Second Nightking was fighting to escape from the tree.

    Still, Lu Yin could not know that for certain.

    He was unwilling to use the Sealed Cage Technique on the Second Nightking to control or kill the man, which had given the old man an opportunity to potentially sit to the side and watch the current fight y out.

    "You¡¯ve only just be an Envoy, but you¡¯ve already reached this level. You are truly surprising, Lu Yin, but that¡¯s all that it is." Leaf King moved his arms as a smile appeared on his face. "I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re rather close to Yuan Shi. Do you know about the battle technique that he uses?"

    Lu Yin felt taken aback by the random question. Yuan Shi''s battle technique?

    "Shangwu''s Technique is quite weak at the initial stages of mastery. It¡¯s merely a technique that allows a person to study and analyze other people''s battle techniques while also helping the user improve the power of their own battle techniques. However, the more one masters Shangwu''s Technique and the more they study other battle techniques, the stronger the effect of the technique. Yuan Shi was actually able to survive his seventh stellr tribtion because of Shangwu''s Technique, but I can already tell you that his mastery of the technique can¡¯tpare to my own. I¡¯ll let you see the true power of Shangwu''s Technique!" Leaf King dered. He curled the fingers of a hand, and a strange fluctuation spread out in all directions, epassing the entire hidden world.

    This was the Starswitched Leaf yet again, but this time, Leaf King was not just using the technique on Lu Yin, but rather on the entire hidden world. At this moment, all of the star energy and stellr energy in the entire hidden world was transformed into leaves that drifted about the ce.

    It was an amazing sight, and it looked as though the air itself had been reced by drifting leaves. They flitted about as far as the eye could see in every direction.

    Suddenly, Leaf King charged at Lu Yin. He moved forward with strange steps that almost looked like Inverse Step, which startled Lu Yin. The man almost instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin with a hand outstretched to grab hold of Lu Yin. Given the fact that Lu Yin was unable to use any of his battle techniques, such as the Cosmic Art, his only option was to rely on his physical strength. However, the same was also true for Leaf King.

    Lu Yin had never been afraid of going up against anyone in apetition of physical might.

    Bang bang bang!

    Deafening sounds rang out without end. Each bang was another collision between Lu Yin and Leaf King.

    Such an exchange should have gone on for a long time, but Lu Yin suddenly felt a strange numbness in his hand. This was not due to the secret technique that amplified the five senses, and it also was not due to Lu Yin being overpowered by Leaf King. Even after ten more exchanges, Lu Yin could not understand why his right hand had gonepletely numb, but he was forced to rely solely on his left hand to fight.

    There was another bang, and Lu Yin retreated dozens of meters. He looked down at his hand in astonishment before ncing up at Leaf King. "You¡ªdid you find Hollow Palm¡¯s weakness?"

    Leaf King sneered. "Every battle technique has a weakness. The Hui family''s secret technique Omnibreak can see through anything and find its weaknesses, but Shangwu''s Technique is able to surpass even the Hui family''s secret technique after one fully masters it. And yet despite that, no one other than Yuan Shi has ever tried to learn this technique. It really is a treasure that¡¯s been left to gather dust. Lu Yin, you must be the most talented person to die to Shangwu''s Technique."

    Leaf King shot forward once more.

    Lu Yin dodged with Inverse Step. Even he had not known that Hollow Palm had a weakness, but Leaf King had discovered one. While it was an invisible attack, it could still be observed and studied with Shangwu''s Technique. The power of the battle technique that Leaf King was using was truly startling, as the longer he fought, the more he would see through Lu Yin¡¯s techniques and injure the younger man.

    Starswitched Leaf truly synergized with Shangwu''s Technique, and if a person was stuck within the hidden world and unable to simply overpower and crush Leaf King, they would eventually be defeated by Leaf King.

    Lu Yin continuously evaded with Inverse Step, constantly chased after by Leaf King. The two were moving faster and faster as Leaf King studied Inverse Step with Shangwu''s Technique.

    However, Lu Yin refused to believe that Leaf King could fully analyze Inverse Step.

    Leaf King¡¯s expression changed as he chased after Lu Yin who fled with Inverse Step. Why? Why could he not see through this movement technique? Leaf King had absolute confidence in Shangwu''s Technique, but for some reason, he could not see through this movement technique. Lu Yin was clearly stepping backwards, yet also moving forwards. Was he manipting the void? Or space and time?

    This thought caused Leaf King¡¯s eyes to go wide. From his perspective, Lu Yin was nothing less than an absolute treasure! This youth had so many valuable battle techniques, skills, and even secret techniques. At this moment, Leaf King was looking at a movement technique that somehow used the concepts of both time and space!

    If Leaf King had known that Lu Yin held such priceless secrets, there would have been no need to wait until Lu Yin had pushed too far. Instead, Leaf King would have moved to kill Lu Yin the moment the young man had entered Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters.

    "How is it? Have you thoroughly analyzed it yet?" Lu Yin looked back and asked.

    Leaf King was caught off guard. "You¡¯ve been deliberately allowing me to study your movement technique?"

    Lu Yin answered calmly, "I wanted to see the limits of Shangwu''s Technique."

    Leaf King remarked, "I can''t actually can¡¯t see through your technique, so I¡¯ll make you a deal. There¡¯s actually no real reason for us to kill each other. The Second Nightking is trapped, so you can''t kill me, and your movement technique means that I might not be able to kill you either. Why don¡¯t we work together? I can teach you anything that you wish to learn and even support you with Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s resources. All you need to do is give me that little tree. What do you say?"

    Lu Yin justughed. "What? Are you no longer confident that you can kill me with Shangwu''s Technique?"

    Leaf King¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Given enough time, Shangwu''s Technique will certainly see through your technique, so if you insist on seeing this fight through, it will all depend on whether or not you can survive long enough for the Second Nightking to escape. Do you really want to gamble on whether my Shangwu''s Technique seeds faster than he can escape?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and let out a breath. "It looks like you really don¡¯t have any confidence in being able to analyze this technique, so your question¡¯s pointless. Instead, answer this question: have you ever heard of the Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    As Lu Yin spoke, his Champions¡¯ Stage appeared in front of him, startling Leaf King. ¡°A Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    The older man¡¯s expression changed drastically. "The Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    Lu Yin''s expression also changed. Leaf King actually knew about this innate gift? This was something that very few people knew about, especially in the Fifth Maind. After the primeval surnames left the Fifth Maind, many efforts had been made to erase all records of them. The Fifth Maind hated the primeval surnames, and with the exception of a very few people, no one was aware of the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. In fact, not even the masters of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones knew about this innate gift, so how did Leaf King recognize it?

    It was bing increasingly clear that Leaf King¡¯s identity was not simple. This man had learned many techniques, and yet he had always kept his strength hidden.

    "I''m growing even more curious about you. You know about my Lu family, so just who are you, Leaf King?" Lu Yin was bing increasingly wary and curious about his opponent.

    Leaf King acted like he finally understood Lu Yin for the first time, and he stared at the young man for a long moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be a member of the Lu family, let alone have the Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯ve been able to improve so quickly¡ªyou have the Lu family supporting you. It seems that the primeval surnames actually haven¡¯t forgotten about this ce. They have ns for this ce, don¡¯t they?"

    Leaf King¡¯s words gave Lu Yin a sense of relief. Clearly, the man did not know everything, which showed that he was not in touch with Arch-Elder Zen. On top of that, it sounded that Leaf King was ignorant of the recent developments in the Perennial World, which meant that everything the man most likely only knew about the Lu family from ancient records.

    Of course, it was also possible that Leaf King was someone like the Chief Justice who had personally visited the Perennial World in the past. Back then, the Lu family had still been in power, and the four ruling powers had not yet existed.

    "It seems like you know quite a bit about my Lu family," Lu Yin calmly replied without revealing anything.

    A quick look at /2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

    Leaf King''s eyes flickered, and his heart dropped. He did not care about how high Lu Yin¡¯s status might be in the Fifth Maind, but everything changed if the Lu family was behind the youth. The Lu family was an absolute monster, and to Leaf King¡¯s knowledge, the Lu family had always stood at the top of the Fifth Maind, holding absolute sway. No one dared to stand against them.

    In particr, everyone from the Lu family who possessed a Champions¡¯ Stage was an invincible powerhouse.

    Leaf King had never dreamed that Lu Yin would actually be part of the true Lu family. There were many people in the universe with the Lu surname, but how many of them were part of that Lu family?

    No, even if Lu Yin was a part of the Lu family, there was nothing to fear. The Fifth Maind hated the primeval surnames, and even if the Lu family¡¯s strength was terrifying, they were not able to control the Fifth Maind. Leaf King was familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s history, and even though the young man¡¯s story was miraculous, he had still almost died on several asions. If he was truly supported by the Lu family, then how could he have suffered so badly?

 Chapter 1966

    <h4>Chapter 1966</h4>

    Any randomly selected expert from the Lu family could easily crush the entire Fifth Maind underfoot.

    After realizing the situation, Leaf King¡¯s eyes zed as he looked at Lu Yin. The man was more excited than ever. "The Hall of Honor shouldn¡¯t know that you¡¯re a member of the Lu family, as they would have had someone kill you if they didn¡¯t just do it themselves. You should have ended up here by ident, as why else would a direct descendant of the Lu family be in this ce?¡±

    "Actually, there¡¯s another possibility, which is that you¡¯ve been exiled here after the Lu Familymitted some terrible crime."

    Lu Yin sneered. "You sure have a vivid imagination."

    Leaf King¡¯s voice turned cold. "Regardless of whether or not anyone from the Lu family is protecting you, you¡¯re still going to die here today. Keeping you alive will just invite a disaster, so why shouldn¡¯t I fight to the end? If someone from the Lu family showed up to protect you, I¡¯ll readily admit my defeat."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You don¡¯t need to worry about the Lu family, as you won¡¯t stand a chance after I use the Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Leaf King sneered. "Even members of the Lu family need to use stellr energy to use the Champions¡¯ Stage, and besides, given your strength, how many champions can you even summon? Stop bragging and just die!¡±

    Before seeing the Champions¡¯ Stage, Leaf King had still been hoping to negotiate a cooperative rtionship with Lu Yin, but the fact that Lu Yin was a member of the Lu family changed everything. Lu Yin¡¯s blood was far too valuable to Leaf King, and he was desperate to obtain it. Besides, the Second Nightking still had not made a single move, and while Lu Yin might not know that, Leaf King was well aware that the ancient powerhouse had made no attempts to escape.

    There were twoyers to the tree that imprisoned the Second Nightking, and the man should have already broken free from the inneryer. However, despite so much time passing, nothing had happened. This gave Leaf King some understanding of the Second Nightking, and thus, Leaf King became even more eager to kill Lu Yin and take his blood.

    Lu Yin just felt contempt for Leaf King. Almost none of Lu Yin¡¯s true strength had been used so far. Not to mention the God of Death Transformation, he had not even reopened his three meridian points. He was simply testing out another battle strategy, and he wanted to summon his champions with death energy instead of stellr energy.

    Lu Yin was hoping to expand upon what he had learned about death energy from Tian Dou.

    "With my name, I summon a Champion," Lu Yin called out, and there was a click as a series of figures appeared above the Champions'' Stage. Lu Yin had just summoned five Envoy realm champions with his death energy: an Amethyst Beast, Cang Zhou, Long Yi, Jiu Han, and the Imprinter from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Rock Realm.

    Leaf King was horrified at the lineup before him. "Impossible! How can you summon one let alone five champions without stellr energy? Each of these champions should require stellr energy!"

    Lu Yin could not be bothered to exin anything. While each of the summoned champions was much weaker than Leaf King, the man was unable to use stellr energy himself due to using his Starswitched Leaf technique. Thus, Leaf King was restricted to techniques that relied on his own physical might, and given the immortality of the summoned champions, they were more than capable of putting up a fight against Leaf King.

    At Lu Yin''smand, all five Envoys shot towards Leaf King.

    The man casually pierced through Long Yi¡¯s body. The sylvan dragon was incapable of putting up any resistance at all, but he quickly reappeared and continued charging at Leaf King.

    The five Envoys were continuously killed by Leaf King, but they were still able to keep him busy.

    While this happened, Lu Yin tried to use the Death Energy Guardian, the defensive battle technique that he had learned from Tian Dou.

    It was not long before death energy formed what looked like an eggshell around Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Leaf King crashed through the blockade formed by the five summoned Envoys and mmed a full-strength palm against the barrier protecting Lu Yin. It was a direct hit, but an expression of shock appeared on Leaf King¡¯s face as he took a step back. What was this?

    Behind him, the five Envoys had already reformed and caught back up to him.

    Leaf King felt incredibly frustrated, but there was nothing he could do. This was the power of the Lu family''s Champions¡¯ Stage. A champion would never die after being summoned unless either the summoner died or the energy used to summon the champion waspletely exhausted.

    Leaf King had already figured out the situation: Lu Yin had not used stellr energy to activate the Champions¡¯ Stage, but rather death energy.

    There were rumors circting that imed that Lu Yin had received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance and that he could cultivate with death energy. There had even been a hugemotion in the Neoverse when the Neohuman Alliance had captured Lu Yin and attempted to transform him with death energy.

    "You are infuriating!" Leaf King spat out between his gritted teeth.

    Lu Yin appeared, his head held high. "Now, it''s my turn."

    As he spoke, death energy moved to wrap around his body, and he stepped out with an outstretched hand. He used Inverse Step to approach Leaf King and try to grab him. Leaf King reflexively threw out a hand to counter Lu Yin¡¯s grab as the older man retreated. The two hands struck, and once again, both men were forced back by the impact. But this time, death energy wrapped around Leaf King¡¯s hand, and he watched in astonishment as the death energy formed chains that started to wrap around him.

    Leaf King tried to escape, but the death energy eroded everything that it touched, so how could it possibly be easy to remove? Lu Yin dismissed the Champions¡¯ tform as he pulled Leaf King over. A sword formed from death energy appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s right hand, and he swept the de out.

    There was a slicing sound, and half of Leaf King''s body was cut open. However, once again, there was not a drop of blood to be seen, which still surprised Lu Yin. "I really want to find out just what you are."

    The chains of death energy continued to twine around Leaf King as Lu Yin went after the man with the sword of death energy.

    Not only was the death energy eroding at Leaf King''s body, but the chains were also restricting his movements. Death energy waspletely different from stellr energy, and while Leaf King¡¯s body was strong enough to endure Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm, he could do little against the sword of death energy.

    Stellr energy and death energy were simplypletely different forms of energy.

    "Lu Yin, are you really going to push for one of us to die here?" Leaf King roared.

    Lu Yin sneered. "You think you¡¯re on my level? Let¡¯s find out!"

    As Leaf King fled, he canceled the Starswitched Leaf technique, allowing him to once again use stellr energy. He raised a hand to use Banishment to force Lu Yin back, but while he seeded in forcing Lu Yin back, Leaf King was still wrapped up in the chains of death energy. It did not seem to matter how far away Lu Yin moved, as the death energy never rxed its grip on Leaf King.

    It would be useless even if the man cut off his own arm, as he had been cut by the sword of death energy, which meant death energy had already invaded Leaf King¡¯s body.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood just how terrifying death energy could be.

    In the past, he had only ever used death energy to perform the God of Death Transformation, but that always quickly consumed Lu Yin¡¯s reserves of death energy, which made the technique nothing more than an explosive burst of strength. However, the battle had quickly shifted when Lu Yin tried utilizing death energy instead of stellr energy in his battle techniques, and the death energy waspletely suppressing Leaf King.

    It was not as simple as death energy being superior to stellr energy. Rather, Leaf King had no means with which to resist this unique form of energy.

    If Qing Ping were to face the same situation as the Leaf King, there was no guarantee that the death energy would have any advantage whatsoever. After all, any advantages that Lu Yin enjoyed from using death energy all depended on the abilities of the person facing it.

    Leaf King had already been branded with death energy, and he knew that he would not be able to defeat Lu Yin regardless of what happened now. At the same time, the tree that imprisoned the Second Nightking some distance away started to crack. Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. Had the Second Nightking really been trapped? When Lu Yin had been pushed back by Leaf King, there had been no sign of the Second Nightking breaking free, but once Lu Yin seized the advantage, the Second Nightking had started to move, which strengthened Lu Yin¡¯s doubts.

    Leaf King''s face contorted into an ugly expression. The Second Nightking must have noticed that Leaf King had no hope of winning, so the old man was breaking free. Seeing this made Leaf King want to escape from his hidden world and run to Mt. Microcosms. Only there would he be safe. He had donated countless pills and medicines to the Hall of Honor over the years, and he had also contributed greatly to the development of Mt. Microcosms. As long as Leaf King could escape to Mt. Microcosms, he was confident of surviving.

    A crack appeared in the sky of the hidden world, and Leaf King shot through it and disappeared.

    At the same moment, the Second Nightking broke free of the tree and stepped out.

    A cold glint flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet.

    The crack in the sky suddenly disappeared, and Leaf King seemed to be dragged back by some invisible power. The Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption was simply too terrifying. It was no wonder why no one from the Ce family had been able toprehend the power even after so many years. Their secret technique surpassed that of an ordinary Progenitor, and the ability to revert space to a previous state reminded Lu Yin of the miraculous power of Progenitor Ku¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Even though the two techniques usedpletely different concepts, they were both simr in how unbelievable they were.

    Leaf King was dragged back into the hidden world with the Ce Secret Art, and the Second Nightking quickly took action and pointed a finger at the other man.

    Leaf King no longer had the strength to stand up to the Second Nightking, and the finger knocked Leaf King out of the sky and pressed him against the ground. His entire body was covered with cracks, but there still was no blood.

    Lu Yinnded on the ground and looked down at Leaf King, who was lying on the ground. Leaf King red back at Lu Yin and the Second Nightking.

    There was no path to escape anywhere in the entire hidden world for Leaf King.

    The man slowly lifted his head to stare at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s entire body was falling apart. "You- you can''t kill me! I¡¯ve made countless contributions to the Hall of Honor! I¡¯ve supported your Great Eastern Alliance! I¡¯ve never been your enemy."

    "Forget you, I even dared to hold Xia Yi prisoner. You tried to take advantage of Yu Mu¡¯s betrayal to give me a stellr energy pill to use against me. If I hadn¡¯t happened to produce Sapling, I would still be ignorant about the danger that those pills hold. Tell me,¡± Lu Yin asked as he studied Leaf King, "Just what the hell are you?"

    Leaf King panted for breath as his eyes darted about.

    Lu Yin sneered at the man. "Consider your words carefully, because if I don¡¯t buy them, you¡¯ll suffer a worse fate than death. You know the Hui family¡¯s inherited technique, the Hall of Honor¡¯s secret techniques, and even the Lingling n''s inherited battle technique. On top of it all, you even know the truth of the history behind the primeval surnames and the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. You better give me a story I believe, as otherwise I¡¯ll teach you the meaning of despair."

    Leaf King stared at Lu Yin and gritted his teeth. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

    Lu Yin squatted down to look at Leaf King from up closer. "That depends on whether or not keeping you alive has any value."

    Leaf King''s eyes went wide. "Of course it does! I can use the stellr energy pills to help you monitor the locations of everyone who has one, and I can even cause the pills to explode. Even if the target is as strong as you, they¡¯ll definitely die from the explosion. This is how I killed Yu Mu."

    Lu Yin nodded when he confirmed what had caused Yu Mu''s death. "That¡¯s quite useful. Keep going. Also, let me just remind you that Balsam is still in this hidden world, and while I¡¯m not sure how much she might know about you, if your stories don¡¯t line up, you¡¯ll be the one to suffer."

    Leaf King''s expression changed yet again. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "The techniques from the Hui family, the Hall of Honor, the Lingling n, and even Truesight are all things that I¡¯ve learned over the years because of my innate gift."

    This was an unexpected answer. "Your innate gift?"

    Leaf King exined in a bitter tone, "I really am human, or at least I was. My innate gift is absorption, and it allowed me to transform my body by absorbing a certain substance from the Mother Tree. My absorption ability is also what allows me to use the Lingling n¡¯s inherited technique. I obtained various inherited battle techniques and also acquired other techniques with this ability, and it even allowed me to raise my mastery of Shangwu¡¯s Technique to a level that surpasses Yuan Shi¡¯s.

    "The stellr energy pills are actually seeds made from my current body. They aren¡¯t even pills, but rather a condensation of my own power, and they retain a trace of me in them. This means that I can locate every single one of the stellr energy pills. I sent Balsam after you to tempt you with more pills because I lost control of one of the pills that you were given.

    "Honestly, I started off as nothing special. The only reason why I know about the primeval surnames and your Lu family is because I lived during the Daosource Sect era. Back then, I was just a new, weak cultivator who had just started training. That was when I managed to obtain a piece of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, and I absorbed it, which led to the transformation into my current state. However, it took many, many years toplete that process. If not for that process taking so long, I would be far stronger than I am now. I would have a power level of at least a million, or might have even be a Semi-Progenitor by now. Transforming my body has provided me with unlimited potential, but it also greatly slowed the speed of my cultivation, I¡­"

    Lu Yin quietly listened to Leaf King''s story without interrupting. He said nothing at all until Leaf King hadpletely finished speaking. "What kind of tree did you use to trap the Second Nightking?"

 Chapter 1967: The Little Mother Tree

    Chapter 1967: The Little Mother Tree

    Leaf King''s eye twitched, as he did not want to answer, but as Lu Yin stared at him, the man finally answered. ¡°I kept the Mother Tree¡¯s bark that I picked up back then and used my innate gift to nourish it until it became a treasure that I could use as ast resort."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he looked off into the distance. He was desperate to gather as much of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark as possible at this moment. "So, are you a human or a tree now?"

    Leaf King gave a bitter smile. "I don''t actually know. I can be considered both a person and a tree."

    "If you got a hold of Sapling, what would you do with it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Leaf King''s eyes shed. "I naturally want to nurture it and wait for it to fully mature."

    "Why?"

    "I could use it as my clone. The Lingling n¡¯s Soulsplitting Technique isn¡¯t a real cloning technique, but rather a short-term battle technique. I want a technique simr to Progenitor Chen''s nine clones. I want to understand how that sapling came to be so that I can raise more saplings and develop countless clones. This will allow me to keep my main body safe and let me continuously cultivate until I reach the Semi-Progenitor level. After that, who in the Fifth Maind could be my opponent?" Leaf King gushed. He started flushing from his mounting excitement as he continued speaking.

    While Leaf King¡¯s answer sounded fine, Lu Yin still felt that something about it was off. He nced over at the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking had spent a long time following Lu Yin, and thus he naturally understood what Lu Yin wanted from that nce. Lu Yin wanted the Second Nightking to use his spiritual force to create an illusion that would force the truth out of Leaf King.

    Given the Second Nightking¡¯s strength, there was absolutely nothing that Leaf King could do to resist the Second Nightking¡¯s illusions.

    Leaf King¡¯s eyes quickly turned dull, and he repeated the exact same response that he had already given Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Why were you so desperate to get Sapling as soon as possible?"

    Even though Leaf King''s eyes remained dull, his expression became incredibly animated. "I want to use it as a clone so that I can research how to produce more clones! In the future, I¡¯ll be invincible in this Fifth Maind, and everyone will have to respect me! What Hall of Honor? What Daosource Sect? All will bow before me! I will be the Mother Tree, and I will be everything in this universe."

    Lu Yin looked away from the man to check with the Second Nightking.

    The old man nodded, confirming that Leaf King was still lost in the illusion, which meant that he was speaking the truth.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Apparently, he had been overthinking the situation. However, right when Lu Yin was about to have the Second Nightking dispel the illusion, footsteps approached from behind. They belonged to Yu Er.

    She had been hiding underground. Although she had initially been frozen, luckily for her, she had been at the very edge of the battlefield, and she had not gotten caught up in the rest of the fight. Otherwise, even a shockwave would have killed her.

    "He lied," Yu Er spoke up.

    Lu Yin was startled by her voice, and he turned around to look at the girl. "What was that?"

    The girl blinked at him. Her face was gray from the dirt that covered it, but the filth just made her look more yful and cute than normal. "Leaf King just lied. He once said that regardless of how powerful his opponent was, any and all spiritual force techniques would be useless against him."

    "Useless? Why?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Yu Er shook her head. "I don''t know why, but that¡¯s what he said."

    As she spoke, Yu Er wiped her face to clean it.

    Lu Yin slowly turned his head back around to look at Leaf King again. The man¡¯s eyes were still dull, indicating that he was still lost in the illusion.

    Lu Yin stared at Leaf King for a long time. For some reason, he found himself believing Yu Er over Leaf King. Yu Er simply wanted to survive, and the girl had no enmity with Lu Yin. In fact, she probably wanted to rely on Lu Yin to survive, so it was not very likely that she would lie to Lu Yin.

    However, there was no proof supporting Yu Er''s im that Leaf King was immune to even the Second Nightking¡¯s spirit force techniques.

    Lu Yin started thinking as he nced around. Far in the distance, he saw Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters. There were countless people trembling in that area, as well as many unconscious on the ground. Little Leaf King was among the people who had copsed, and it was impossible to know whether he was dead or alive.

    Lu Yin also saw Balsam, and as he noticed her, she looked up at Lu Yin, and their eyes met.

    "Come here," Lu Yin casually ordered.

    Balsam frowned, but after thinking about the situation for a moment, she walked through the sky to approach Lu Yin. She saw Leaf King''s dull eyes, and Balsam¡¯s expression showed sadness and despair.

    "What do you want with me, Alliance Leader Lu?" Balsam asked quietly.

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, "I want to see you."

    "I don''t understand." Balsam remained perfectly calm.

    Lu Yin exined, "How much do you know about Leaf King?"

    Balsam did not even look at Lu Yin, but continued to just stare at Leaf King. "I don''t know anything about Leaf King at all."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Aren''t you afraid to die?"

    Balsam slowly walked closer to Leaf King and knelt down before slowly embracing the man. "He saved me and gave me everything."

    Lu Yin frowned. This created a new problem, though it also supported the idea that Leaf King might be lying. Lu Yin had previously threatened Leaf King by saying that he wouldpare his story to Balsam''s, but that suddenly seemed impossible with Balsam refusing to say anything at all. Threatening Leaf King any further would likely only ensure that Lu Yin received a slightlyrger percentage of the truth.

    To make people want to believe a lie, it was usually important to make the lie 90% true and only 10% false. Leaf King should have left at least 10% of his story as a lie.

    "What a pity. If you had told me everything, things would be fine, but since you won¡¯t say anything, I can¡¯t believe Leaf King''s story," Lu Yin stated.

    Balsam closed her eyes, clearly suffering.

    "I''d rather kill someone and be wrong than make a mistake in letting them go," Lu Yin continued. He waved a hand. "Get rid of him."

    The Second Nightking¡¯s strength instantly spiked.

    Leaf King''s dull eyes immediately regained rity. ¡°Wait!¡±

    He shoved Balsam away and then looked at Lu Yin and started pleading, "Don''t kill me! I¡¯ve been alive since the Daosource Sect era, and as long as I can live a bit longer, I really will be able to achieve immortality! Alliance Leader Lu, please don''t kill me! I can be of value to you! I can make you immortal!"

    Lu Yin smirked and casually replied, "Do you really think that I care about immortality? That was never anything more than an excuse."

    Leaf King started begging. "But I really do have a method to allow you to live forever! It¡¯s impossible for humans to live forever, but there are already many immortal creatures in the universe, and the Mother Tree is one of them. Throughout all of human history, many things have been destroyed and lost, but the Mother Tree has never fallen. I¡¯ve absorbed a bit of the Mother Tree, and given a bit of time, I can add that substance into your body as well. You¡¯ll have the Mother Tree added to your body, just like me, which will make you immortal! Alliance Leader Lu, it is true immortality."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You want me to be a tree like you? If I¡¯m going to abandon my humanity identity, then why don''t I just be a corpse king and join Aeternus? They also promised me immortality."

    Leaf King gritted his teeth. "Those creatures are nothing more than emotionless bits of flesh and blood. So what if they can live forever?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand and created a sharp de that sliced off one of Leaf King''s arms while knocking the man back. "Look at you. You don¡¯t even have flesh or blood anymore. One option requires a person to abandon their emotions while the other makes them abandon their very flesh and blood. Neither option remains human, and I simply want to be human, not some monster."

    Both of Leaf King''s arms were useless, so he struggled to get to his feet. "I can help you study the concept of space! That flower really can be studied."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "My understanding of the Ce Secret Art already incorporates the concept of space, and it¡¯s far more useful than your flower."

    "I can help you absorb other people''s strength! Alliance Leader Lu, when you and I were first fighting, the reason why I was able to defend against your Hollow Palm was because I had already absorbed some of your strength!" Leaf King shouted.

    Lu Yin was puzzled by this statement. "What does that mean?"

    Leaf King¡¯s breath was ragged, and he softly exined, ¡°I already knew that you wereing here to make trouble. I never thought that I would be able to keep my attempts to steal that little sapling hidden from you, so I made some arrangements early on. When we were observing that flower, you sat in a ce where I was able to absorb your power. I used that chance to absorb your physical strength and incorporate it into my own body, which was what allowed me to temporarily possess enough strength to stand up to your Hollow Palm.¡±

    "The tree that imprisoned the Second Nightking is actually my true body while this one is nothing more than a form that I sent my consciousness into. I truly have no way to match your physical strength, so my only option was to absorb it and gain the means from you. You were only able to remove my arms with a single attack because I¡¯ve already used up all of the strength that I absorbed from you."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "That¡¯s a very useful innate gift."

    Leaf King let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, very useful. As long as you don''t kill me, I can help you absorb others¡¯ powers and let you walk down the road of true invincibility. Let''s study both space and immortality together! My Shamrock Enterprise can even help you by providing you with tremendous amounts of resources. Alliance Leader Lu, my death won¡¯t help you at all, but keeping me alive can provide you with many benefits."

    The Second Nightking nced over at Lu Yin. The old man actually felt quite convinced, as Leaf King seemed far too useful. On top of that, no one knew better than the Second Nightking just how difficult it was to survive the Daosource Sect era, and it seemed that Leaf King might truly be immortal.

    After a long period of silence, Lu Yin finally sped his hands behind his back. "You¡¯re very convincing."

    Leaf King''s eyes lit up.

    "Unfortunately," Lu Yin continued in a frosty voice, "You¡¯re definitely still hiding something. Being able to live since the Daosource Sect era does demonstrate your worth, but it also shows how resourceful you are, and you are clearly not my friend.¡±

    Lu Yin did not continue, but his intentions were crystal clear. He was wary of Leaf King, and the man was not going to survive.

    Once again, the Second Nightking¡¯s aura spiked, and he stared at Leaf King as though he were already looking at a corpse.

    Leaf King''s expression changedpletely. "Wait! I wanted to take that sapling away from you because it¡¯s the Mother Tree!"

    Leaf King¡¯s words shocked both Lu Yin and the Second Nightking. Balsam and Yu Er had no idea what the Mother Tree was, but the two men certainly did.

    "What did you say?" Both men spoke in unison, disbelief clear in their voices.

    Leaf King acted as though his words had drained everyst bit of his strength away. His head hung low, and he let out a few dry chuckles. It was impossible to know if he wasughing at himself or someone else.

    Lu Yin made no effort to rush the man, and he simply waited patiently.

    Leaf King finally lifted his head slowly and let out a breath. "I absorbed a substance from the Mother Tree, and it transformed me into a half-human, half-tree being. The stellr energy pills aren¡¯t just a condensation of my own strength, but also a condensation of a power thates from the substance that I absorbed from the Mother Tree. That little sapling grew from a stellr energy pill, and one possibility is that it is relying on the material from the Mother Tree to grow. I have no idea what you did to cause it to grow, and logically, it should be impossible for any saplings to grow and produce more of the substance that I absorbed from the Mother Tree, but somehow, it appeared.¡±

    "I don''t understand the process, but since it happened, it can only mean that there will be another Mother Tree. If I can get ahold of that sapling, I will obtain control of a Mother Tree. I can even get it to take root in the true universe, absorb stellr energy for me, and even protect me. I could also use it to absorb more of the substance that I took from the Mother Tree to further improve my own body. That sapling is invaluable to me. Honestly, who would not care about another Mother Tree appearing? Throughout all of history, there has only ever been one Mother Tree, and it gave birth to everything, which is why it is impossible for there to be another one. And yet, a sprout has appeared. That sapling is true immortality.¡±

    "I can try to possess it to be a real Mother Tree myself, achieving eternal life!"

    Leaf King said everything in a single breath, sharing his greatest secret as he stared at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, with that sapling and me helping you, you can truly live forever! It¡¯s absolutely possible! Even if you don¡¯t want to be transformed into a tree, I can still study that substance so that we can elerate the sapling¡¯s growth until it truly bes the second Mother Tree."

 Chapter 1968: Absorption

    Chapter 1968: Absorption

    Lu Yin suddenly stared at his cosmic ring, which held Zenith Mountain, which was where he had left Sapling.

    Was it¡­? Was it really a Mother Tree?

    Based on what Lu Yin had just heard from Leaf King, it did not seem impossible. When Lu Yin had Enhanced the stellr energy pill, it seemed highly likely that he had been improving or increasing the amount of the substance from the Mother Tree that had been present in the pill. Was Enhancing that substance what had caused Sapling to sprout?

    "Is it difficult to extract this substance from the Mother Tree?" Lu Yin stared at Leaf King as he asked this question.

    Leaf King let out a sigh of relief. Hearing this question from Lu Yin gave Leaf King a glimmer of hope that he could survive. His life held value. "I¡¯ve been trying to do that for countless years, but there seems to be no way to do it other than to use my innate gift to absorb it.¡±

    "I would even go so far as to say that if I die, there will be no one left in the entire universe who can extract that substance from the Mother Tree. There will be no one to help you obtain immortality, Lu Yin."

    Leaf King focused on what he believed to be his greatest value to Lu Yin: his innate gift of absorption.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I believe you. If it were possible to extract that substance through some other means, it would have already spread out a long time ago. In that case, show me just how valuable your innate gift of absorption really is."

    Leaf King let out another sigh of relief. If Lu Yin was convinced, then he would not have to die. Thinking about this, Leaf King suddenly looked over at Yu Er, and his arm that had been removed suddenly twisted so that he could ce a hand onto Yu Er''s back, terrifying the girl. She shouted, "Alliance Leader Lu, help me!"

    Lu Yin did not move. Leaf King had not struck the girl very hard, and it was clear that he was not trying to kill her, but rather showing the use of his innate gift of absorption.

    As for Yu Er, Lu Yin had already heard about her from Yu Mu. The man might have been biased against the girl, but Lu Yin had also seen the girl not hesitated at all to betray Leaf King. She possessed no loyalty to anyone, so Lu Yin did not hesitate to use the offered opportunity to scare the girl.

    Yu Er''s face grew pale, and she crumpled to the ground. Leaf King''s arm that had been sliced off then flew back to him, and his cracked body slightly recovered. "This is absorption. I just absorbed a bit of her vitality."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "If there were enough people avable, could youpletely heal in one go?"

    Leaf King shook his head. "It''s not that easy, and most people can''t endure the process. If she were an Envoy, I would be able to heal more from absorbing her vitality."

    "So, does this mean that only you can extract the things that you have absorbed into your own body?" Lu Yin asked.

    Leaf King agreed, "That''s right. Anything that I extract can only be used by myself."

    Lu Yin felt quite disappointed. "Get rid of him."

    Leaf King was stunned. "Alliance Lea-"

    The man did not even finish speaking before the Second Nightking¡¯s attack was released. The old man did not hesitate, and a finger attack shot through Leaf King¡¯s body, instantly killing him. At the same time, the massive tree that had trapped the Second Nightking was broken. Leaf King waspletely dead.

    Lu Yin sighed. If the man¡¯s innate gift of absorption was not limited to benefiting himself, then Lu Yin could have borrowed it with his die¡¯s Gift Copy. Leaf King would then not have been killed, but rather simply imprisoned on Zenith Mountain. However, since the innate gift could only be used by Leaf King himself, it held no value to Lu Yin.

    Even if Sapling really was a sprout of the Mother Tree, it could not yet take root in the true universe and absorb the stellr energy there. Lu Yin had no idea how long the nt would need to aplish that, but the materials that Lu Yin had received from Leaf King would not be enough to help Sapling grow to such an extent. Also, Lu Yin had no interest in trying to raise more sprouts like Sapling. This meant that there was only one option to nurture Sapling: have the little tree directly extract the substance from Leaf King''s own body.

    Lu Yin clearly remembered how Sapling had grown a noticeable amount after devouring a few stellr energy pills.

    This thought encouraged Lu Yin to pull out Zenith Mountain and bring Sapling out, but before he proceeded, his Champions¡¯ Stage reappeared. ¡°By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    After speaking those words, the image of Leaf King appeared on the Champions¡¯ Stage. Lu Yin finally had a true powerhouse that he could summon.

    Leaf King had possessed a power level on par with Liu Ye and Fei Hua¡¯s, but Lu Yin was confident that neither of the two could stand up to Leaf King on their own.

    When he saw the detailed image of Leaf King on his Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin stared at the stage for a long moment.

    There were times when he considered the implications of a summoned champion. There were people who imed that the Lu family¡¯s anointment of champions was inhumane, and that the Champions¡¯ Stage encouraged the Lu family members to kill their opponents in order to use them forever. This was a belief that had instigated a great deal of hatred against the family.

    However, was this belief valid?

    Lu Yin looked over at Leaf King''s corpse. Even after Lu Yin had anointed the man as a new champion, nothing had changed about Leaf King¡¯s body at all. None of the bodies of those anointed by a Champions¡¯ Stage ever changed. A champion was not a corpse puppet, but rather a construct of energy. There was absolutely no flesh and blood to them at all. Lu Yin had thought about his champions many times, and he believed that the Lu family¡¯s innate gift was something more like a duplication of a dead cultivator.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage seemed to act like a copy machine during a battle. Anyone who had been anointed by a Champions'' Stage would have their actions, battle techniques, skills, innate gifts, and even secret techniques perfectly copied, and the champion would then be able to utilize those abilities when summoned.

    The most convincing evidence was the fact that the summoned champions were never able to use battle techniques that the cultivators had not used during their lives. It was impossible for champions to learn anything new. The true function of the Champions¡¯ Stage was a copier or a recorded copy of the past. The champions definitely were not ves.

    The reason why so many people hated and feared the Champions'' Stage was because each anointed champion¡¯s appearance would be perfectly duplicated. Who could endure the idea of their own parents, family, or n members being enved? Even if what they were looking at was merely a copy and not a ve.

    Lu Yin quickly dismissed his train of thought and brought Sapling out.

    The moment Sapling was released, it looked around and found Lu Yin. The leaves started to happily dance about as Sapling jumped onto Lu Yin. Lu Yin let out a loudugh. "Alright, enough ying. Check that out."

    Leaf King was dead, while his body had been slightly dismembered, there was still no blood to be seen. Instead, his body looked more like a tree that had been torn apart.

    Sapling¡¯s leaves trembled, and it leaped over next to Leaf King''s corpse and began circling the body. Eventually, a branch reached out and touched the corpse, and while no one could understand what Sapling did next, it started to grow at a visible rate.

    The Second Nightking was startled, as this shattered his understanding of how the universe functioned.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, as it was actually working. Leaf King had absorbed some sort of substance from the Mother Tree, and Sapling had sprouted from that very same substance. Naturally, Sapling was able to absorb the substance from Leaf King¡¯s corpse.

    That substance had finally returned to the Mother Tree, though it was not the same Mother Tree.

    Inexplicably, Lu Yin started considering Leaf King''s words. Just what kind of substance could grant immortality so easily? Regardless of how Leaf King¡¯s body had transformed, the substance that he had absorbed had never altered even the slightest. No matter if it had been in his body, condensed into a stellr energy pill, or absorbed by Sapling, that particr substance had never changed at all.

    Just what was it? Could the Mother Tree really live forever? If people managed to truly absorb that substance, would they also be immortal?

    Lu Yin had to admit that he was somewhat moved by the thought, though he had no desire to be a tree.

    He watched as Sapling grew more and more. It had already be dozens of feet tall, and yet it continued to grow even more.

    Lu Yin nced over at Balsam. "Just how big was Leaf King¡¯s real body?"

    Balsam''s face was ashen as she stared at Leaf King''s broken body. "Alliance Leader Lu, I pose no threat to you. Could you simply allow me to remain in this broken world to stand watch over Leaf King¡¯s spirit?"

    Lu Yin quietly turned to watch as Sapling grewrger andrger. He had no idea just how tall the tree would grow, but it had already stopped being cute and could be considered a true tree.

    "If you allow me to do so, I can give you the resources that Shamrock Enterprise has gathered over the years. Leaf King normally did not wear a cosmic ring, and only he and I were aware of where he kept his wealth stored," Balsam continued.

    Lu Yin finally looked over. "Are you threatening me?"

    Balsam calmly replied, "I¡¯m merely stating the truth."

    It was clear that the woman¡¯s heart was broken, and it was useless to threaten such a person.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "I can let you live as long as you don¡¯t leave this hidden world."

    Balsam was not surprised by this answer. After all, it was better for Lu Yin to obtain a vast amount of wealth rather than simply kill her. Anyone could easily understand that Shamrock Enterprise must have gathered a tremendous amount of wealth over the years, and their resources far surpassed what even the powers that ruled the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones had managed to gather.

    After all, those other organizations were not businesses. Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s pharmaceuticals were sold all across the entire Fifth Maind, and while they might not beparable to the Mavis Bank, thepany was still absurdly wealthy.

    Lu Yin was eager to obtain Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s vast wealth, yet he continued to watch Sapling grow. Soon, Sapling had grown to match the full height of the hidden world, and yet, it continued to grow even further. Lu Yin started to worry that the hidden world might not berge enough to hold Sapling.

    Fortunately, they soon saw that Sapling was able to control its size, as instead of growingrger, the tree started to shrink even though it was still absorbing more nutrients from Leaf King''s body.

    There was no telling just how much Leaf King had absorbed from the Mother Tree over the years.

    The tree that Leaf King had brought out that had trapped the Second Nightking had truly been quite terrifying, but Lu Yin believed that Sapling would be capable of doing far more with the mysterious substance than anything Leaf King had ever managed.

    In the end, Leaf King had been a human who had absorbed the substance and incorporated it into his body with his innate gift, while Sapling was a lifeform that had been formed from that substance.

    Also, if Sapling was able to take root in the true universe and absorb stellr energy, did that mean that it would start to produce stellr energy liquid?

    Lu Yin suddenly found himself short of breath as he finally felt like he was seeing a sliver of hope for cultivating and proceeding through the Envoy realm.

    Wait, I feel like I¡¯ve forgotten something¡­ Lu Yin looked around for a moment before his eyes locked onto the tree that had trapped the Second Nightking. Lu Yin instantly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was next to the broken tree.

    Despite being shattered, Lu Yin could see that this tree was no different from the Mother Tree. His eyespletely lit up. Just how many microarrays would they be able to produce from such arge tree? Again, Lu Yin became short of breath, as he was not looking at potentially dozens or even hundreds of microarrays, but tens of thousands at the very least!

    He felt as though he could already envision himself leading the Lu Elite Troops and watching the soldiers release the attacks stored in the microarrays to cause tens of thousands of Enlighter level attacks to sweep through space.

    While even tens of thousands of Enlighter-level attacks would not be able to do anything to an Envoy, that was only when one considered pure destructive power. If the top experts on each side of a battle kept each other restrained, then tens of thousands of Enlighter-level attacks were almost guaranteed to determine the victor of a war.

    Regardless of how powerful an individual person might be, they remained an individual. While an individual might be able to be invincible, wanting to conquer an entire civilization by themself would always remain impossible for an individual.

    This was also just the beginning. Once there were tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of microarrays, Lu Yin was confident that he could obtain victory even if he led his army against the Aeternals on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin immediately reached out to Aurora Enterprises to ask them to send someone to Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world to collect the broken tree.

    When Director Zhi saw the image of the shattered tree, he was no less excited than Lu Yin. Even though Aurora Enterprises had already agreed to produce microarrays for Lu Yin and also for his newly designed universal armor, they were still entitled to keep a portion of the materials that they were given.

    Those materials were crucial for their ongoing research.

    Even after hearing the truth about the Mother Tree, Director Zhi had not stopped researching and searching for a material that could rece the Mother Tree as the coreponent of the microarrays.

    Lu Yin stared at Sapling and stroked his chin. If this guy was also a Mother Tree and had grown this big, then its branches should also be a suitable material to produce some microarrays with!

    It was impossible to know if Sapling somehow picked up on Lu Yin''s dangerous thoughts, but Sapling suddenly shrank back down until it was the same size that it had been when it first sprouted. It then leaped up and jumped onto Lu Yin''s shoulder, acting very happy.

    Lu Yin marveled, "Even after absorbing so much, it still hasn''t changed at all?"

    Sapling acted very happily as it bounced and jumped about. Its green leaves took on a brighter and verdant hue, and just looking at the moving nt gave people a feeling offort.

 Chapter 1969: A Hundred Billion

    Chapter 1969: A Hundred Billion

    "Can you grow bigger again?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sapling jumped back from Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and as it fell, its body suddenly grew, only to shrink again. Its size fluctuated as it bounced around Lu Yin in a little dance, making Lu Yin start growing dizzy.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough. Stop with the circles." Lu Yin grabbed Sapling and grew serious as he looked at it. "I wonder, are you already able to enter the true universe and absorb stellr energy?"

    Two of Sapling¡¯s little branches swayed. It clearly did not understand what Lu Yin was asking, and it also wanted to keep jumping around. Sapling felt as though it had grown a little at this moment.

    Lu Yin did not know how to proceed, but after thinking for a bit, he simply entered the true universe and looked at Sapling.

    Sapling was clearly startled; had Lu Yin disappeared? The little nt started to panic, and its branches trembled. It wanted to find Lu Yin. It spun around for a moment and then suddenly faced Lu Yin. Sapling gave a happy little leap and vanished.

    Yu Er was the only person paying attention who was not an Envoy, and her mouth fell open as she watched. What the hell? Did that tree just enter the true universe?

    After entering the true universe, Sapling leaped straight into Lu Yin''s arms once again.

    Lu Yinughed loudly. "So I was right¡ªyou can enter the true universe. It was definitely a good idea to let you absorb so much of Leaf King¡¯s body. Otherwise, I would have been raising you for nothing, hahahaha."

    Sapling rubbed its bright green leaves against Lu Yin''s face. It was also very happy.

    "Do what I do," Lu Yin ordered. He began to slowly absorb stellr energy from the true universe.

    Sapling hung off of Lu Yin¡¯s body. It did not seem to quite understand what was happening or what Lu Yin wanted, but it was definitely entertained by Lu Yin¡¯s actions. Eventually, a bit of stellr energy started to gather, but it was absorbed by Sapling instead of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. Sapling was absorbing stellr energy! Sure enough, Sapling was able to absorb stellr energy, which meant that it would eventually start to hold stellr liquid within itself, just like the Mother Tree.

    This was really wonderful. Lu Yin could finally see some hope for passing through the Envoy realm.

    However, there was a new problem; how was he supposed to get Sapling to constantly absorb stellr energy? Also, would Sapling be noticed by the true universe if it absorbed too much too quickly? Lu Yin was already getting a headache.

    However, it turned out that his worries werepletely unfounded, as it quickly became apparent that Sapling enjoyed absorbing stellr energy, and it did so seemingly by instinct.

    Humans instinctively acquired nutrients to live and grow by eating food. When Sapling started absorbing stellr energy, it was gathering nutrients for itself. It also needed to live and grow, and this was its method of doing so.

    Lu Yin spent a long time apanying Sapling as it absorbed stellr energy from the true universe. He had no idea how much stellr energy Sapling had managed to absorb during this time. While he felt that it was much more than what he had absorbed himself, Lu Yin had no way of determining a concrete answer.

    In light of this development, he decided to put Sapling somece where it could continuously absorb stellr energy without being disturbed, but where?

    After considering the options for a while, Lu Yin settled on the mobile fortress in the Ross Empire. Sapling could stay with the big tree that had escaped once, as long as someone kept an eye on the two nts. Lu Yin had considered putting Sapling in the pocket dimension that had once held Aeternus Nation, but Sapling did not like being alone. It was a rather active and social nt.

    Lu Yin could not treat Sapling as a nt, and he preferred to think of it like a child. Sapling was like a yful child who wanted to act up and y around.

    After getting Sapling to absorb stellr energy in the true universe, Lu Yin returned to the visible universe. There was a problem that he needed to deal with: how was he going to exin Leaf King''s death to the Hall of Honor?

    Leaf King had not been a part of the Hall of Honor, but he had made enormous contributions to the Hall of Honor over many years.

    "How many Honor Points does Leaf King have?" Lu Yin asked as he nced over at Balsam who was still holding onto Leaf King¡¯s corpse. It had been a long time since Lu Yin had even thought about Honor Points, but he needed to consider them given his current situation. The Hall of Honor had to give the outside world an answer, and it could not afford to break their own rules.

    Balsam answered in a t voice, "Thirty points."

    Lu Yin frowned. As soon as someone had more than twenty Honor Points, their death would be investigated by the Interster Supreme Court. The cause of death and the person responsible for the death would have to be revealed.

    As an overseer, Lu Yin did not normally have to worry about people with more than twenty Honor Points, but things were different with Leaf King. His Shamrock Enterprise had too much influence, and an exnation would have to be given to the Hall of Honor.

    "Ahem, Alliance Leader Lu, Leaf King has been in seclusion for many years, and essentially, no one¡¯s ever seen him¡­" Yu Er hesitantly spoke up in a weak voice. She had been left nearly crippled after Leaf King''s demonstration of his innate gift of absorption.

    Hearing Yu Er¡¯s words put a frown on Lu Yin¡¯s face. She was right in saying that Leaf King was known to always be in seclusion and that no one ever saw him. Who would actually know that he had died, as long as no report was made?

    Lu Yin gave Yu Er an admiring nce. The girl might be ruthless and have no sense of loyalty, but she was quite sharp. As long as this sort of person was kept safe and given the opportunity to climb higher, they would not betray anyone, but if they were ever knocked down, they would not hesitate to betray anyone.

    In that case, there was no need for Lu Yin to take this girl under his wing; he would just use her.

    "You¡¯re pretty good," Lu Yinplimented her.

    Yu Er anxiously replied, "Yu Er is greatly honored to serve the alliance leader."

    "Many people want to work for me. Why should I ept you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Er had already expected this question. "Shamrock Enterprise covers the entire Fifth Maind, and its administration is quiteplex. This lowly one has spent many years in different branch offices, so I will be able to manage these matters for you without anyone noticing a thing. On top of that, I¡¯ve alreadye up with a way to deceive Yan. Both Leaf King and Balsam were usually in seclusion, so Yan is the main person who actually oversees the main operations of Shamrock Enterprise. As long as he¡¯s controlled, there won¡¯t be any issues, and thepany will function normally.¡±

    "Finally, this lowly one is familiar with the identities of many of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds, which I believe would be of help to you."

    Lu Yin nced over at Balsam. She could no longer be used or manipted, but Yu Er could be left in Shamrock Enterprise. Since she was only an Enlighter, she would not be able to do much harm to Lu Yin even if she did betray him.

    Truthfully, Lu Yin was not very concerned about Shamrock Enterprise beyond the resources that had been left behind by Leaf King¡¯s death.

    All the natural treasures and precious nts that had been in the hidden world had been absorbed by the tree as soon as it appeared. The sole exception in the entire ce was that one strange flower.

    Lu Yin looked towards where it was hidden behind the waterfall. He was going to take that flower away with him.

    His domain swept across the hidden world, and he brought Yan and the unconscious Little Leaf King before him.

    Yan was incredibly pale as he looked at Leaf King¡¯s body that was still being held by Balsam. He was still stunned by all that had happened, and he felt quite nervous, as he had no idea what fate awaited him.

    "Deal with things yourself," Lu Yin ordered in a cold voice as he looked at Yu Er.

    Yu Er gasped and climbed to her feet to approach Yan. She smiled at the man. "Secretary Yan."

    Yan looked up at the girl. He had known her for a long time. She had started as a pure and innocent girl who had been ignorant to the brutal truth of the universe, but she had eventually be the most ruthless out of all of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds. Truthfully, Yan felt a chill every time he interacted with Yu Er, as she gave off the feeling that she would readily kill anyone.

    It was highly unusual for anyone to make Yan afraid. No matter what, he was an Enlighter with a power level of over 400,000, as well as the secretary to Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s president. He normally would not be intimidated by anyone who was not an Envoy, let alone someone weaker than him, but Yu Er was an exception.

    Yan had no idea what Yu Er had experienced while she was away from Shamrock Enterprise. At a nce, she looked like a harmless girl who could never harm a human or even an animal, but in truth, she was a butcher.

    "Secretary Yan, do you want to live?" Yu Er asked. Curiosity filled her eyes, and she looked like an eager student asking a question about her studies.

    Yan''s eyes flickered, and he reflexively shot a nce over at Lu Yin. The fight between Lu Yin and Leaf King had gone far beyond anything that Yan could understand, and even the slightest stray attack from that battle could have instantly killed him. Did he want to live? Of course he did!

    "What do you think?" Yan retorted.

    Yu Er rolled her eyes. "Alliance Leader Lu can allow you to live, but he doesn''t trust you. You seem too loyal to Leaf King and Balsam."

    Yan swallowed dryly. "I was simply doing my job. I¡¯m the president''s secretary, but that has nothing to do with my loyalty."

    "Really?" Yu Er lifted a finger to point at Balsam. The woman was a little ways away, and her back was facing Yan and Yu Er. ¡°Your boss is right there, so as she watches, please kill Little Leaf King."

    Yan''s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

    Although her back was to Yu Er, Balsam trembled, and she slowly turned around to re at the girl with cold rage filling her eyes.

    Yu Er looked over Balsam and simply smiled. "I''m sorry, Big Sis, but I also want to live. Look, even you gave up Leaf King¡¯s wealth to buy your life, right? Little Leaf King is just another resource."

    Balsam said nothing as she continued to stare at Yu Er.

    Lu Yin took a long look at Yu Er. The girl really was cutthroat. It was no wonder why Yu Mu had warned Lu Yin to be careful of her. If Lu Yin were still an Enlighter, he likely would not feelfortable leaving Yu Er alive, but he had be an Envoy. Regardless of what the girl did, she would not be able to genuinely harm Lu Yin. Still, her ruthless actions and the way she treated her enemies showed Lu Yin that she would easily turn on him as well one day. At least for the moment, she could not be allowed to leave the hidden world.

    Being ordered to kill Little Leaf King waspletely outside of Yan¡¯s expectations. Suddenly, he remembered something, and he looked over at Lu Yin.

    Yan had been brought over at the same time as Little Leaf King, so what did that mean? Had Yu Er told Lu Yin about her ns for Yan? Or had the whole thing been Lu Yin¡¯s idea?

    The more Yan analyzed the situation, the more he despaired.

    Lu Yin was curious about something. "Is Little Leaf King really Leaf King¡¯s son?"

    Yu Er answered, "This lowly one can¡¯t answer that, but I do know that Leaf King cared greatly about Little Leaf King. He acted like Little Leaf King was deeply loved."

    Lu Yin looked over at Balsam, but the woman remained silent and gave nothing away.

    Lu Yin also said nothing. He did not really care about who Little Leaf King was. It was possible that he really was Leaf King¡¯s son who had been born before Leaf King had absorbed the substance from the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. It only made sense that it was impossible for Leaf King to have a son after his transformation. How could a tree have a human child?

    There were rumors that imed that Little Leaf King had been in cryostasis for a thousand years, or even thousands of years, but regardless, it was impossible for him to have survived since the Daosource Sect era.

    There was no way that Little Leaf King was Leaf King''s true son. Thus, if the man had deeply cared for the youth, it was far more likely that Little Leaf King had been adopted to serve some sort of purpose.

    Yan looked at Yu Er, then Lu Yin, and finally at Balsam.

    Balsam continued to re at Yu Er, and the woman¡¯s fists began to clench.

    Yan understood that killing Little Leaf King would mean aplete and total betrayal of both Leaf King and Balsam. Yan would be no different from Yu Er, and he would never be able to return to his previous life.

    "What? Are you unwilling to do it, Secretary Yan? Then I can only ask someone else." Yu Er rubbed her chin and blinked as she spoke. She lookedpletely innocent and naive.

    Yan wanted to vomit when he saw her behavior, and he fought the urge to tear the monster¡¯s mask off. "I understand."

    Lu Yin paid no further attention to the matter, and he instead moved to a distant corner of the hidden world. Leaf King had not kept his wealth stored in a cosmic ring, but rather in a secure treasury, much like what Lu Yin had found in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins.

    Lu Yin had already expected Leaf King to have umted a tremendous amount of wealth, but reality still defied all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    He felt like he had gone back in time and was looking at the mountains of star essence and star crystals on the transport mainds that had been sent back to the Sixth Maind. Back then, Lu Yin had seen endless mountains of wealthposed entirely of star essence. He still had no idea how much money had been there.

    Back then, he had guessed that there had been at least a billion star essence, possibly a bit more than 10 billion, but in retrospect, he realized it had been far, far more.

    As for the wealth that Leaf King had umted in the hidden world¡¯s treasury, it absolutely exceeded 100 billion star essence.

 Chapter 1970: Abyss Of The Sea

    Chapter 1970: Abyss Of The Sea

    This was 100 billion star essence! It formed mountains and rivers on the ground! This was an absurd amount of wealth, and Lu Yin instantly understood why Balsam had been so rxed about her fate. If she had been in any danger of being killed by Lu Yin, all she needed to do was simply mention the 100 billion star essence. Then, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to still kill her.

    Balsam had been utterly confident that she could buy her own life with 100 billion star essence.

    How could Leaf King have left behind so much star essence? Lu Yin was quite curious about this. While it was true that Shamrock Enterprise conducted business across the entire Ffith Maind and was a monstrous corporation, their liquid assets should not have exceeded the wealth of the forces that ruled the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. There was simply too much money in the treasury for Lu Yin to ept.

    The ze Realm had only possessed 500 million star essence while even the Daynight n had only possessed 1.7 billion. Even the wealthiest, the sylvan dragon n, had only possessed 3.5 billion star essence. So how had Shamrock Enterprise umted so much?

    It was important to remember that when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, they had piged the Innerverse, and all eight great flowzones had been evacuated. The loss of resources that they had suffered back then could not be calcted. The star essence that Lu Yin had seen on the transport maind heading to the Sixth Maind had all been stolen from the Innerverse, and a considerable percentage of it had belonged to the eight great flowzones. In fact, Lu Yin had been told by an elder from the ze Realm that if not for the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the ze Realm¡¯s treasury would not have been so pathetic.

    The Innerverse had suffered terribly during that invasion, but Shamrock Enterprise had not. Their hidden world had always been safe in the Honor Zone in the Neoverse, far from the Sixth Maind¡¯s reach.

    More importantly, Shamrock Enterprise''s ounting records showed that they were constantly investing into stellr energy pill research, much like how Aurora Enterprises had been researching microarray technology. However, the stellr energy pills had never required any research at all, as they had been produced by Leaf King''s own strength.

    This meant that all the resources that had been earmarked for the stellr energy pills had been sent directly into Leaf King¡¯s pockets, and over time, it was inevitable for a monstrous amount to umte.

    If all the resources that had been used for Aurora Enterprises'' microarray research were brought out at the same time, it would definitely far surpass the amount that Leaf King had gathered here. Even Director Zhi¡¯s first offer to buy out Lu Yin had been 80 billion star essence.

    Each of these Neoverse behemoths were wealthier than anyone could imagine, and all of it only made Lu Yin increasingly eager to find out just how much money the Mavis family possessed.

    It was possible that they counted their star essence in units of trillions! After all, they owned the bank that oversaw the economy of the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin swallowed and shook his head. He could not afford to think about the Mavis family. He could not rob them, so it was better to simply focus on collecting the resources in front of him.

    In addition to the tremendous amount of star essence, the treasury also held countless pills, natural treasures, power vessels, and much more.

    Lu Yin¡¯s next stop would be to head to the Cosmic Sea to oversee the construction of the Tower of the Fifth. After arriving, he would be able to train in peace, and he could take his time rolling his die. This should be enough to Possess someone from the Perennial World.

    The amount of wealth that Lu Yin had just picked up would be enough for him to spend without worries for quite some time.

    ¡­

    After the establishment of the Tower of the Fifth had been announced and the Great Eastern Alliance had released further information on the design and contents of the tower, countless cultivators had started making their way to the Cosmic Sea. They all hoped to be being the first to challenge the tower and gain the inheritances within, even though construction had not even started yet.

    No one had even considered for a moment that the whole thing might be a sham created by the Great Eastern Alliance, as the Hall of Honor was also backing the construction.

    At this moment, the Cosmic Sea was exploding.

    The Cosmic Sea had never been a peaceful ce, but with countless people flooding in, the Cosmic Sea had be the busiest and bloodiest proving ground in the entire Fifth Maind.

    Even countless people from the Sixth Maind tried to sneak in.

    The Tower of the Fifth was going to be built between the territories controlled by Leon¡¯s Armada and the Soldier Crew, which was essentially the center of the Cosmic Sea. Specifically, it was to be built in a ce known as the Abyss of the Sea.

    The Abyss of the Sea, which was also known as the Eye of the Sea, was the Cosmic Sea¡¯srgest whirlpool. The massive region was filled with various whirlpools, but at the center of it all was a huge ck vortex that swallowed the seawater. Despite the passage of countless years, there was still no sign of the Abyss of the Sea filling up, and no one could say where the seawater went.

    It was consideredmon knowledge in the Cosmic Sea that the Abyss of the Sea was a mystery, but no one cared because nothing valuable that could be found in that ce. On top of that, if anyone fell in, they would not even leave a corpse behind, so there was only risk without any rewards to be found.

    The Abyss of the Sea had been a part of the Ignition Crew¡¯s territory, but the pirate crew had never visited the ce.

    When the Arcadian Arrow Crew had taken Lu Yin across the Cosmic Sea to reunite with Leon¡¯s Armada, they had made it a point to avoid going anywhere close to the Abyss of the Sea.

    But now, people were making their way towards the Abyss of the Sea from every direction imaginable. Many of the vessels belonged to pirates, who were actually responsible for delivering the construction materials.

    The Great Eastern Alliance was responsible for part of the construction of the Tower of the Fifth while the Hall of Honor was responsible for another. As for Leon¡¯s Armada, they were responsible for most of the transportation and deliveries.

    A few regions away from the Abyss of the Sea in the Cosmic Sea, the Arcadian Arrow Crew was resting on a deserted ind. The ground was damp and covered with seaweed, as it was a newly risen ind.

    "Captain, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s announcement has caused everyone in the entire universe to start gathering here, and we can¡¯t act as freely as we did in the past. The chances of running into a powerhouse make things too dangerous," someone worriedlyined.

    "That''s right, Captain. I think that we shouldy low for a bit," someone else agreed.

    Someone at the side jumped in as well. "It doesn¡¯t matter how powerful the outsiders might be, as they still have to listen to us here in the Cosmic Sea. Without us, they can''t even find the Abyss of the Sea. The weather here in the Cosmic Sea is unpredictable, and even the Hall of Honor has to ask us for help."

    "Come on, that only means that, if they don¡¯t have the help of a powerhouse like an Envoy, they¡¯ll need our help crossing the sea."

    "What? Do you think Envoys are asmon as Explorers to run errands like that?"

    "That all depends on the situation. That Tower of the Fifth¡¯s going to have way too many inheritances. Aside from Lu Yin''s inheritance, there¡¯s also going to be inheritances from the Hall of Honor, the Sword Sect, and even the Neoverse¡¯s Cosmic Sect, Seven Courts, and more. Who doesn¡¯t want to go check it out?"

    "That''s true. It¡¯s easy enough to threaten ordinary cultivators, but anyone who¡¯s confident in their ability to obtain one of those inheritances could be a disciple of some powerful organization, and we can¡¯t afford to offend those people. Should we just keep an eye on the tower for now and wait until it opens up, Captain? Maybe try to be among the first to get in?" Another crew member was feeling greedy.

    It was not just the crew members who were considering entering the tower, as even their captain was considering it.

    While no information concerning the rules of entry for the Tower of the Fifth had been released, everyone assumed that Enlighters would be allowed in. No one knew what would be decided concerning Envoys, and such matters did not even concern the vast majority of the universe. As long as an Enlighter could get into the tower, they would have a chance of receiving Lu Yin¡¯s inheritance.

    Many people still remembered watching thest battle of ZENITH when Lu Yin had faced off against all the other finalists on his own. At that time, he had been invincible and had stood far above all the other participants. His strange transformation had been unforgettable, and many people dreamed of obtaining that inheritance.

    Each person was thinking about how they had to get Lu Yin¡¯s inheritance.

    The captain¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared in the direction of the Abyss of the Sea. "Everyone, you don''t need to worry about anything. The Tower of the Fifth hasn''t even been built yet, but once it''s up, we''ll find out what the rules to get in are."

    "That¡¯s right, Captain! Not to mention all the techniques, the Mavis Bank¡¯s also putting up a bunch of money, and getting that alone would make a trip into the tower worthwhile."

    "Captain, we¡¯ll get an inheritance!"

    "You¡¯re going to get an inheritance, Captain!"

    ¡­

    Hai Dalu, the first mate of the Sky Arrow Squad, was lost in thought. He had spent some time with Lu Yin and gotten to know him a bit. While Hai Dalu certainly felt that Lu Yin was not a bad or evil person, he also had not given off the impression of being a selfless person. So why was he building the Tower of the Fifth?

    The man could not understand the motive behind this, and he was far from the only one feeling such confusion. Even Arch-Elder Zen was curious about this. The more the old man learned about what Lu Yin was doing, the less the Semi-Progenitor felt like he could see through Lu Yin¡¯s motivations.

    What could Lu Yin possibly gain from the Tower of the Fifth? Was it really as simple as he had said? That the Fifth Maind needed more strength to face off against the corpse kings? Was Lu Yin really just trying to raise the power of humanity?

    There were many smaller crews in the Cosmic Sea in addition to the Four Pirate Crews, and one of the most famous of the smaller crews was the Unyielding Corps.

    Ye Xingchen was sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the sea, staring towards the Abyss of the Sea.

    He absolutely had to go to the Tower of the Fifth. While it was impossible for him to actuallypete with Lu Yin, if Ye Xingchen could obtain an inheritance, then it would absolutely improve his situation in the Cosmic Sea and prevent his crew from being subjugated by another crew.

    "You¡¯ve already arrived at an unreachable height." Ye Xingchen sighed. He was not even referring to Lu Yin''s strength, but rather his ambition and goals. There were not many people who were altruistic enough to sacrifice their own improvements in order to benefit the entire human race.

    Just how many people had acquired some sort of great power and kept it secret? Humans were innately selfish.

    Ye Xingchen quite admired Lu Yin¡¯s selflessness and his dedication to the big picture.

    Lu Yin had visited the Unyielding Corpse after exiting one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates, and before returning, Lu Yin had advised Ye Xingchen to either destroy the gate or move away from it.

    Ye Xingchen had listened to the advice, and his crew had moved away from the gate. Only a short whileter, the gate had been destroyed, and the crew that had moved to take over the gate had beenpletely wiped out.

    "Lu Yin, I owe you my life and the lives of my entire crew," Ye Xingchen muttered to himself, "I hope to one day be able to repay your kindness."

    ***

    It was impossible to see the other side of the vortex at the center of the Abyss of the Sea. This ce was the center of the Cosmic Sea, and endless amounts of seawater drained into the hole every second.

    The closer one moved to the Abyss of the Sea, the stronger they would feel the sensation of being swallowed.

    There were numerous warships anchored to the west of the Abyss of the Sea, led by a massive warship from Leon¡¯s Armada that was poised like a giant looking down at the Abyss of the Sea. All of these vessels belonged to Leon¡¯s Armada.

    On the deck of one ship, Sister Fei and Kidney were both looking at the Abyss of the Sea. "What do you think Little Seven wants to get from this?"

    Kidney just rolled his eyes. "I don''t know, but it''s definitely not something as charitable as he¡¯s saying."

    "You¡¯re that certain?" Sister Fei was surprised.

    Kidney shed her a bright smile and winked at her. "Because he¡¯s part of Leon¡¯s Armada!"

    Sister Fei felt grossed out. "Don''t wink at me."

    "What? Are you being affected by my handsomeness?" Kidney asked in an exaggerated fashion.

    Sister Fei was left speechless.

    ¡°Ahem.¡± Ghost Doc walked up behind the two. The man was so hunched over that he looked like he was about to copse at any moment.

    Both people¡¯s expressions changed when they saw Ghost Doc. They not only respected the man, but they were also scared of him. This old man¡¯s strength was second only to Liu Feng, but his techniques were much more vicious than anything Liu Feng used. This old man was incredibly tricky.

    "Little Seven¡¯s purposes in building this Tower of the Fifth are his own. He is different from the rest of us, and you need to learn from him." Ghost Doc spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and odd.

    Kidney twitched. "I know. I was just cracking a joke."

    There was a ssh, and the Merman Regiment started leaping into the water some distance away before making their way towards the Abyss of the Sea.

    While the vortex looked absolutely terrifying, as long as a person had just a bit of strength, it was possible to swim out of the vortex, so it was not an absolute death trap.

    "Ghost Doc, what are we waiting for? Has the captain said anything?" Sister Fei asked.

    Ghost Doc walked over to the railing of the warship and stared at the distant Abyss. "We¡¯re waiting for someone."

    "Who?" The other two were both curious.

    Ghost Doc grew increasingly solemn. "Someone who can change the Abyss of the Sea and ce the foundation for the Tower of the Fifth."

    "The captain¡¯s not going to do that?" Sister Fei was caught off guard.

    Ghost Doc shook his head. "While our captain can do it, his status isn¡¯t enough for this task. The Tower of the Fifth will represent the entire Fifth Maind."

    "You¡¯re not saying a Semi-Progenitor¡¯sing, right?" Kidney shouted.

    Ghost Doc nced over at the man. ¡°You got it."

 Chapter 1971: God Of Disaster

    Chapter 1971: God Of Disaster

    The two people turned to stare at each other in shock. They were both part of Leon''s Armada, and they knew that they were backed by Eversky Ind and had the support of a powerful Semi-Progenitor. However, they had never seen that expert before. They bragged about being backed by a Semi-Progenitor, but it was nothing more than talk. They had never actually thought that they would one day see an elite powerhouse at the Semi-Progenitor level.

    Unexpectedly, to build the Tower of the Fifth, Little Seven was even able to ask a Semi-Progenitor for help.

    As Ghost Doc had mentioned, the Fifth Maind would survive regardless of if the Tower of the Fifth was built or not. However, if it was built, then it needed to be a dazzling beacon for the entire Fifth Maind from the very start. Nothing could be more impressive and convincing than having a Semi-Progenitory its foundation, especially when the powerhouse was Arch-Elder Zen himself.

    Arch-Elder Zen was not merely a Semi-Progenitor, but also the master of the Hall of Honor. His identity and status were so high that his intervention ensured that the Fifth Pagoda would not be ordinary. After the foundation was set in ce, the Tower of the Fifth would officially be recognized by the Hall of Honor. It would be a ce of training for all humans, and it would stand as an eternal symbol of the Fifth Maind.

    At this moment, Leon''s Armada, together with its seventh regiment and countless other ships from the entire Cosmic Sea, were all waiting for Arch-Elder Zen to set the foundation in ce. After that, they would begin constructing the Tower of the Fifth.

    "It''s too bad that Liu Feng was trapped in Burial Garden and that he couldn¡¯t get out. Now he can¡¯t see the Semi-Progenitor. What a pity," Kidneyined.

    Ghost Doc calmly replied, "Everyone has their own fate. It¡¯s possible that Liu Feng will have his own adventure within Burial Garden."

    Half a dayter, Highsage Leon appeared with a massive de in his hand, and he stared out across the sea.

    At this moment, everyone near the Abyss of the Sea was staring at it.

    They could see that someone had appeared above the Eye of the Sea at this moment. They were all looking at an old man, Arch-Elder Zen.

    The Semi-Progenitor was standing in the air above the sea, looking down at it. He then opened a hand as though he wanted to grab a hold of the entire Cosmic Sea. As the solitary hand descended, the universe trembled. Everyone watching felt as though they were witnessing the end of the universe. Everything in existence seemed to be trembling, and the vortex in the middle of the sea began to slow down as well.

    Right after that, from a distance so far that no one could see where, a solid mass of dirt appeared, pulled over by Arch-Elder Zen. It started to pile up at the center of thergest whirlpool in the Abyss of the Sea that devoured untold amounts of seawater every day. More and more of the dirt appeared, and eventually, it seemed as though an entire continent was flying through space.

    There were strands of soil that connected the entire Neoverse. Apparently, this dirt was what was left after the destruction of the Fifth Maind. Countless cultivators in the Neoverse would find a ce on the dirt to cultivate, and supposedly, this was the only way for one to be a Progenitor.

    This dirt was incredibly important to the Fifth Maind, and yet it was being used as the foundation of the Tower of the Fifth.

    Arch-Elder Zen used a tremendous amount of power to pull the soil from the Neoverse in order to build a foundation in the Abyss of the Sea. Eventually, the entire pit was filled with soil, which formed an iparablyrge ind at the center of the Cosmic Sea.

    Once Arch-Elder Zen finished, all of the dirt still in the sky miraculously returned to the Neoverse while the soil that had been used to form the ind solidified. Countless people could see that the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s foundation had beenid.

    The vortex reappeared in the sea, but it could no longer devour any seawater. Instead, the currents crashed against the foundation of the Tower of the Fifth, which caused more currents to emerge. Both the speed and strength of the currents that appeared greatly surpassed what had existed in the Abyss of the Sea in the past.

    The climate of the Abyss of the Sea hadpletely changed.

    Countless people were stunned by the sight. This was the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, someone who could alter the universe at a whim.

    Highsage Leon¡¯s eyes tightened. A Semi-Progenitor was an unfathomably far level of strength, but he was fully convinced that he would eventually be able to reach that level.

    After this thought flickered through his mind, he looked back towards the new foundation and waved a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go, kids."

    The members of Leon''s Armada let out a loud cheer, but not because they were about to build the Tower of the Fifth. These people were not that altruistic or selfless. They had no thoughts about improving the overall strength of the entire Fifth Maind at all. No, they were cheering because when the Great Eastern Alliance had contacted Leon¡¯s Armada about helping with building the Tower of the Fifth, the pirates had been promised that they would be allowed to enter the tower first.

    When it came to the members of Leon''s Armada and the Great Eastern Alliance, Lu Yin would never be inclined to treat them badly, and he was already nning to make some of the battle techniques in the Tower of the Fifth readily avable for those people.

    The Tower of the Fifth contained both Lu Yin¡¯s selfishness and selflessness. He truly did want to improve the overall strength of humanity, as he had no desire to see the Fifth Maind hold a weaker position in the future, regardless of whether they faced the Perennial World or Aeternus.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had already left the hidden world that was Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s headquarters. Not only had he taken care of Leaf King, but he had also obtained astronomical amounts of wealth. Even more importantly, Lu Yin had found a cultivation path to tread as he passed through the Envoy realm.

    This thought caused him to pay even more attention to Sapling and feel more and more attached to the nt, and he could not help but y with it a bit.

    Sapling was happier than ever at the increased attention, and it kept jumping around on Lu Yin''s shoulders in its own little dance.

    "It would be great if you could talk," Lu Yin said regretfully. He had not yet forgotten about the stellr energy pills. Since Leaf King had been able to sense and control the pills, Sapling should be capable of doing the same thing. However, Lu Yin had no idea how to convey this idea to Sapling.

    Before leaving the hidden world, Lu Yin had looked at the list of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s seeds, and he could not help but be impressed by Leaf King''s capability. There were thousands of seeds and hidden seeds, each of whom was a cultivator with an innate gift. His former ssmate, Hei Xu, had been a seed, and he had possessed an innate gift that allowed him to cause the void to explode.

    Numerous hidden seeds had been sent to many of the Fifth Maind¡¯s major powers.

    Lu Yin had already sent the list to Wang Wen, who would indirectly control the seeds through Shamrock Enterprise, which meant that Wei Rong had been given a path into many of the major powers.

    Taking over Shamrock Enterprise meant nothing less than also taking over everything that thepany had built up over countless years, which would provide incredible help in progressing Lu Yin¡¯s forces.

    For the foreseeable future, he needed to devote himself to overseeing the construction of the Tower of the Fifth, as well as helping out whenever needed. He was certain that many people from various major organizations in the Fifth Maind were already preparing themselves to make a trip to the Cosmic Sea. As soon as the Tower of the Fifth opened its doors, countless people would instantly charge towards it in order to seize an inheritance.

    The tower had to bepleted before the Perennial World invaded the Fifth Maind, or else his intentions would most likely be uncovered when the Perennial World¡¯s forces started hunting him down. After all, that was when the Fifth Maind would start feeling the pressure into turning Lu Yin over to the invaders.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s expression was quite ugly as he carried a spaceship towards the Cosmic Sea. It was not long before they left the Honor Zone and entered the northern region of the Neoverse.

    Sapling was still bouncing around over Lu Yin''s head as he stared off into space, thinking about how to lure more people into the Tower of the Fifth. What about making a contribution memorial and cing it next to the Tower of the Fifth? Whoever had the greatest contributions towards the tower would have their name ced highest on the memorial.

    There were many people who cared about fame and reputation, and the Tower of the Fifth wouldst until the Fifth Maind itself was entirely destroyed. That meant that the memorial would essentially be preserved forever, and those listed on it would enjoy eternal fame. This was actually one way for people to leave their names down in history.

    The more he considered the option, the more realistic it felt to Lu Yin. He ended up sharing the idea with Wang Wen to have the man handle the details.

    Calling such a memorial the Contribution tform would be too simple. It needed a more majestic name.

    As he was thinking about this, Lu Yin caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, but when he did a double take, the person had already disappeared.

    The Second Nightking was moving too quickly through space, and they had already gone far past the person that Lu Yin had seen.

    "Stop!" Lu Yin called out quickly. ¡°Go slightly back to where we were just now."

    The Second Nightking felt rather puzzled, but he followed along with Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    Regarding the Second Nightking, Lu Yin was not certain if the man had truly been trapped in Leaf King¡¯s tree or if he had merely been pretending. Because of this, Lu Yin could not punish the old man.

    Still, the timing of the old man¡¯s escape from the tree had been too coincidental, as he had broken free right when Leaf King had been about to escape.

    No matter if the Second Nightking had truly been trapped or not, Lu Yin would never trust the man. As soon as he found someone who could rece the Second Nightking, or as soon as Lu Yin¡¯s own strength reached aparable level, he would no longer need to rely on the old man as much. If a simr situation happened again, Lu Yin might simply kill the old man.

    The Second Nightking quickly led Lu Yin back along the path they had traveled, and Lu Yin quickly looked south. ¡°Chase after the man who went that way."

    The Second Nightking stopped retracing his steps, and instead shot southwards with the spacecraft still in tow. In a blink of an eye, they saw a vessel that was rushing towards the Honor Zone at an incredible speed. It was an oddly-shaped ship that was clearly a custom design.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were not drawn to the ship so much as they were to the person lying on top of it: Xuan Jiu.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Grab the guy stuck to the spaceship."

    The Second Nightking disappeared.

    Stars and space were shooting past him, and Xuan Jiu gritted his teeth. Anger painted his features. Rarely in his entire life had he ever felt so enraged.

    He had been enjoying himself while wandering around, and he had recently decided that he would take a trip to Mt. Microcosms to see if he could find anyone who shared a bit of fate with him. However, who would have thought that he would suddenly be struck by a spaceship?

    He had wanted to get out of the way, but after performing some calctions, he had found that getting hit would apparently be a good thing. So, Xuan Jiu had remained where he was and been ingloriously rammed into by a spacecraft. The impact had almost snapped him in half.

    Fortunately, at that critical moment, he had managed to grab onto the ship, and he was determined to hang on. They wanted to escape after hitting someone? What a joke! He was Xuan Jiu! When had Grandpa Jiu ever allowed anyone to take advantage of him? Would he step back after being struck? Impossible!

    Xuan Jiu had originally wanted to use his own strength to cow the upants of the vessel, but after considering histest divination, he decided to just let nature take its course. It was possible that the ship would take him to a good ce¡­

    Regardless of where he ended up, his divination indicated that this was a wonderful opportunity.

    As he rubbed his sore waist, he pulled his signboard out. Regardless of where he went, he could never be without his signboard. It was a part of his identity!

    As Xuan Jiu was imagining where the ship would take him, his vision started spinning and space changed. Suddenly, the ship was gone, and so was his signboard! He was actually being dragged through space by the neck like a chicken.

    Xuan Jiu was utterly confused. What was going on? Where was he? What was happening?

    He slowly looked up, only to see an expressionless face that caused Xuan Jiu¡¯s mouth to fall open. "No, No! The Second Nightking?"

    The Second Nightking looked down, surprised to actually be recognized.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Xuan Jiu." A familiar voice spoke from behind the old man.

    The sound of it left Xuan Jiu positively terrified, and he slowly turned his head around. There was a smile on the old man¡¯s face that was uglier than any crying face he could possibly make. "Lu- Lu Yin."

    Why did this person have to be the one who captured him?! Xuan Jiu cursed his recent fantasies of a good opportunity awaiting him. What good thing? This was clearly the worst oue possible! He was with Lu Yin, the god of disaster himself! This was the end. Any involvement with Lu Yin would strengthen the fate thaty between the youth and Xuan Jiu. There was a mystery behind this that Xuan Jiu could not uncover.

    Xuan Jiu had never expected his divinations to even deceive himself!

    When he performed divinations for others, positive predictions could turn out to be terrible ones, which was why Xuan Jiu had a horrible reputation as a fortune teller. However, he quite enjoyed his reputation, though he had never thought that he would fall victim to himself.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was thrilled to run into Xuan Jiu.

    Lu Yin had once thought that the old man was a fraud and a chatan, as that was his reputation. However, after Xuan Jiu had vomited blood when trying to perform a divination on Lu Yin¡¯s family, his opinion of the fortune teller hadpletely changed. Lu Yin hadter learned from the Starsibyl Sect that Xuan Jiu really had learned Heaven¡¯s Enigma, though there had apparently been some issues with the technique for a time. Lu Yin felt that Xuan Jiu was quite useful, and he had even asked the old man to take on the role of national advisor for the Great Eastern Alliance during ZENTIH.

    However, once the position became avable, Xuan Jiu had disappeared. When Lu Yin hadst heard from the old man, it had been a call to Lu Yin when he had been at the mobile fortress in the Ross Empire. At that time, Xuan Jiu had mentioned a very mysterious topic: Bad Luck and Destiny.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was desperate to find the Starsibyl Sect and have them do some divinations for him. He had not been able to find any traces of the Starsibyl Sect yet, but he had stumbled upon Xuan Jiu.

    The universe was beyond massive, and yet Lu Yin had managed to personally run into this old man. Lu Yin felt as though his luck was truly heaven-defying.

    In contrast, Xuan Jiu felt that his luck was simply the worst. His expression grew more and more miserable as he looked at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, what a coincidence. Um, can you let the Second Nightking let me go? There¡¯s something urgent that I need to take care of. Some child owes me a debt, but they tried to run away, so I need to chase them down. I¡¯ll visit you when I have the chance."

 Chapter 1972: Karmic Cause, Effect And Kindness

    Chapter 1972: Karmic Cause, Effect And Kindness

    Lu Yin blinked. "Are you talking about the person in that spaceship just now?"

    Xuan Jiu quickly nodded and agreed, "Yes!"

    He then put on a show of being both sad and angry. "That damn kid didn¡¯t offer anypensation after running into me with a spaceship! It¡¯s despicable! Hurry up and have the Second Nightking release me! I want to chase them down!"

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s no need for that. That vessel¡¯s from the Light World. I recognize the emblem on it, so let me just contact Yang Ji. Actually, let me call him right now and find out who it was for you."

    Xuan Jiu''s face grew pale. "Don''t! Lu Yin, you don''t understand! When ites to matters involving divination, it¡¯s absolutely forbidden to let others intervene, as that will mess with the karmic cause and effect. I need to go by myself."

    "By yourself? Can you even handle this? We¡¯re talking about the Light World, and Yang Ji has a power level of over 700,000. Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯ll give you a hand. We¡¯re friends, and we have a good rtionship." Lu Yin smiled at the old man as he enthusiastically offered to help out.

    Xuan Jiu really felt like he was about to break down into tears. "Lu Yin, quit messing around! Don¡¯t get involved with my business, I¡¯m begging you! Just let me go¡ªI really don''t want to get involved with you, so why don¡¯t we just pretend that we never saw each other, alright?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "What¡¯s wrong? We¡¯ve known each other for a long time and have a decent rtionship. If I¡¯ve done something to offend you, just tell me so that I can fix things. There¡¯s no need to pretend that we don¡¯t know each other."

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s voice grew bitter. "When west spoke, I clearly told you that anyone who gets involved with you is going to suffer terribly. Their future will be horribly unlucky. You¡¯ve already established a great connection with Destiny, and you¡¯re being watched.¡±

    The old man actually retreated a few steps. ¡°Just telling you about that caused me to vomit blood!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "What does you vomiting some blood have to do with me?"

    "Destiny caused me to vomit blood! You must have drawn Destiny¡¯s attention onto yourself!" Xuan Jiu shouted through gritted teeth.

    Lu Yin was somewhat convinced, as this reminded him of what had happened in Astral-10. The Starmaster there had also mentioned that Lu Yin had likely triggered Destiny. Was that what Xuan Jiu was talking about?

    "Lu Yin, just let me go! Just act like we don¡¯t know each other at all!" Xuan Jiu was actually begging. He was genuinely afraid, and the more he came to understand Destiny, the more afraid of them the old man became.

    Lu Yin could see Xuan Jiu''s fear, and he sighed. "Given the fact that we¡¯re friends, if my future¡¯s really so terrible, don¡¯t you want to help me out?"

    Xuan Jiu could only say one thing, "I can''t help, or else I wouldn¡¯t try to run away from even seeing you."

    "When west spoke, you told me that, even if I don¡¯t give you my fatesand, I absolutely can¡¯t give it to Starsibyl. You also mentioned that some people aren¡¯t what they appear to be. What did you mean?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu was momentarily taken aback before beingpletely stunned. ¡°I actually said that?"

    "That¡¯s what you told me."

    Xuan Jiu shook his head. "You¡¯re remembering things wrong. There¡¯s no way I would say that. I couldn¡¯t. I¡¯m Starsibyl¡¯s ninth grandpa¡ªhow could a grandfather speak of their granddaughter in that way?"

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless by this response. It seemed that Xuan Jiu really did regard himself as a grandfather. "Either clearly exin what you said to me, or you can forget about leaving. I¡¯m quite happy to reunite with an old friend, and maybe you can help me figure out something regarding my family, or something like that."

    Xuan Jiu literally trembled at Lu Yin¡¯s response, and a long-forgotten fear welled up in his heart. Anger appeared in the old man¡¯s eyes when he looked at Lu Yin. "Don''t try to threaten me! I won¡¯t divine anything of that sort."

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Xuan Jiu''s shoulder. "My friend, you don¡¯t get to decide if a divination is going to be performed or not."

    Xuan Jiu flushed red, and he stared at Lu Yin for a moment before finally dropping his head in a helpless manner. "I should have known that running into you wouldn¡¯t lead to anything good. Boy, you¡¯re building the Tower of the Fifth, which will help hundreds of millions of people, which should improve your karma a bit. However, your personality is still as rotten as ever.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "What do you mean? Will building the Tower of the Fifth make my future less miserable?"

    Xuan Jiu looked towards the Cosmic Sea before answering in a conflicted manner, "People talk about karma, but what really is karma? Who can actually calcte karma? It''s simply too mysterious. By normal people''s understanding, you reap what you sow, and that is karma.

    "You¡¯ve managed to conquer both the Outerverse and the Innerverse. You¡¯ve acted on your ambitions and defeated powerful enemies. You¡¯ve be very powerful, but you previously demonstrated no kindness or righteousness. If you faced a dilemma, who would step forward to help you?" Xuan Jiu stared at Lu Yin. "However, things have recently changed. By building this Tower of the Fifth, the entire Fifth Maind now sees you as a benefactor, and if you face difficulties in the future, many people will be willing to help you. This has practically eliminated the disaster looming in your future."

    "Is this from a divination?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Xuan Jiu shook his head. "That¡¯s unnecessary. People will help someone who helps themon man. After all, kindness is rtive. While I don''t know your real reason for building the Tower of the Fifth, your actions will help many people in the future, and there will be rewards for that."

    After delivering these mysterious and profound-sounding words, Xuan Jiu turned around and moved to leave.

    Only to be ruthlessly dragged back by the Second Nightking.

    An ugly expression appeared on Xuan Jiu¡¯s face as he shot a dirty look at the Second Nightking. "Your future ispletely miserable."

    A dangerous glint flickered in the Second Nightking¡¯s eyes, and Xuan Jiu''s legs went weak from fear. He silently chided himself for being petty, and a hideous smile returned to his face.

    Lu Yin stared at Xuan Jiu. He could not tell if the old man was trying to be deceptive or honest, but it sounded that building the Tower of the Fifth would grant Lu Yin even more benefits than he had anticipated.

    Educating people was inherently good. Elder Zen was willing to helpy the foundation for the fifth tower, and to a certain extent, he approved of the increase in Lu Yin¡¯s reputation. This was the effect of the Tower of the Fifth. Before, Lu Yin had been worried about the Outerverse being ughtered, so he had taken the initiative to bear the burden of the war against the Astral Beast Domain, allowing Zen Lao to resolve his grudge against Lu Xiaoxuan''s identity.

    People should be kind to each other, but as Xuan Jiu had just said, kindness was rtive.

    Naturally, this did not mean that Lu Yin would change his mind regarding his enemies. He would still kill them all as soon as possible. Still, these recent experiences have given him a sense of righteousness, and he wanted to do his best to act in a more moral manner.

    It did not matter what Xuan Jiu said, as Lu Yin simply wanted to live up to his own standards.

    "You still haven''t answered my question¡ªwhat did you mean when you mentioned Starsibyl?" Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were fixed onto Xuan Jiu as he repeated the question.

    The corner of Xuan Jiu''s mouth twitched. "You misheard me."

    "I already told you that you can forget about leaving until you answer me," Lu Yin replied. He then suddenly smiled. "You just said that my future isn¡¯t as bleak as it was before, so it shouldn¡¯t be too bad for you to stick with me, right? You just said so yourself."

    Xuan Jiu felt quite aggrieved. "Saying so is one thing, but that still doesn¡¯t mean that I want to get involved with you. More importantly, I don¡¯t want to get tangled up with Destiny. Destiny is the most terrifying person to have ever existed."

    "Worse than the God of Death I got my inheritance from?" Lu Yin countered.

    Xuan Jiu sighed. "You don''t understand. Honestly, I don''t understand it myself, but only those who explore the same mysteries as me can have any idea of how terrifying Destiny is. How can I exin this? The God of Death was a powerful warrior while Destiny was an inescapable force. You can¡¯t really fight against Destiny, but at the same time you can¡±

    Lu Yin understood nothing that the old man said. "That still doesn¡¯t change anything. You won¡¯t leave until you¡¯ve exined things clearly."

    Xuan Jiu was trapped. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    He let out a long breath, and his voice dropped low as he asked, "Do you know why I left the Starsibyl Sect?"

    "You were driven out," Lu Yin answered automatically.

    Xuan Jiu red at him. "I left on my own! There¡¯s something wrong with the Starsibyl Sect."

    "What?" Lu Yin asked, instantly solemn.

    "I don''t know the exact reason, but I do know that they¡¯ve always had a single goal, which is to get in contact with Destiny."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but he remained silent.

    Xuan Jiu frowned. "The more one practices divination, the more they¡¯lle to fear Destiny. It¡¯s impossible to know for sure if Destiny ever truly lived, and I¡¯d guess that Starsibyl told you that she doesn''t believe in Destiny."

    There was a short pause. "The truth is that the members of the Starsibyl Sect believe in Destiny more than anyone else. In the same way that each of the Seven Courts descended from different Progenitors, the Starsibyl Sect believes that they are Destiny¡¯s inheritors, which makes them incredibly dangerous."

    Xuan Jiu was iparably serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "Destiny¡¯s mere existence is incredibly dangerous, and things can end in an instant if you aren¡¯t careful."

    "Don¡¯t you trigger Destiny whenever you perform your own divinations?" Lu Yin felt quite puzzled.

    Xuan Jiu rolled his eyes. "When have I ever performed a divination?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. While there was nothing wrong with these words, it sounded strange no matter how the old man worded things. Was this any different from damning his own reliability?

    "Hey, where''s my signboard?" Xuan Jiu suddenly remembered something, and he started panting for breath as he frantically looked around. "It''s gone again!"

    "You still haven''t said why you want me to be so careful of Starsibyl," Lu Yin reminded the old man.

    Xuan Jiu answered, "They believe that Destiny chooses their heirs, and you have fatesand. What do you think?"

    Lu Yin instantly understood. This was the same as the Specter n and the God of Death. Even if the Specter n had made a show of submitting to Lu Yin and treating him as their lord, he did not believe for a moment that an ancient power like the Specter n would ept some random outsider as their leader. If the Starsibyl Sect simrly believed that those who possessed fatesand were Destiny¡¯s heirs, then it was clear how they would view someone like Lu Yin who possessed so much fatesand. The Starsibyl Sect likely regarded Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand simrly to how the Specter n viewed Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death¡¯s inheritance.

    Xuan Jiu looked up. "Don''t overthink things. I don''t really know what the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s goal is, as how else would I have been able to survive this long if I did?"

    The man looked back at Lu Yin. "I''ve told you everything that I needed to, so let me go. I won¡¯t see you ever again in my lifetime.¡±

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°It was very difficult to meet you this time, and yet you want to leave this quickly?"

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s mouth fell open, and then hepletely lost his temper. ¡°Lu Yin, you said that you¡¯d let me go! Kid, don¡¯t be a fool! Watch out, or else Grandpa Jiu will curse you to death!"

    Lu Yin wrapped an arm around Xuan Jiu''s shoulders. "Don''t say that! Just do me a favor and do a divination on a location. Then, you can leave."

    Xuan Jiu red at Lu Yin. "Don''t mess with me!"

    "Do you not want to leave?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Xuan Jiu''s heart dropped, and he let out a long sigh. All he could do was agree. ¡°Where is this ce? Hurry up and tell me about it. There are some things and ces that I can¡¯t see, but I can try if you want me to find your future wife or something like that."

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and created an image out of star energy. It was an image of the ce where Xia Ji had taken Lu Yin after kidnapping him, the ce with the massive pirs. "Find out where this is for me."

    Xuan Jiu looked at the image. "Why do you want to know about this ce?"

    "That¡¯s where Xia Ji took me when he captured me," Lu Yin answered openly.

    Xuan Jiu was immediately taken aback. "The Seven Courts¡¯ Semi-Progenitor? He¡¯s actually connected to Gods'' Origin?"

    "Gods'' Origin?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Xuan Jiu nodded. "That ce is God¡¯s Origin¡¯s tform of Trials. You didn¡¯t know?"

    Lu Yin stared at the image that he had created for a long time. ¡°Are you sure?"

    Xuan Jiu replied, "I''ve been there before. Each of those pirs is huge, like the size of a maind, and the situation on top of each one is different, right?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. Trials in sects and the wild were prettymon, which meant that they were easy to learn about. Xia Ji should not have taken Lu Yin to such a ce, unless being exposed was not a problem for the Semi-Progenitor. However, if that was the case, then why had he knocked Lu Yin out when he was bringing him to and from that ce, eventually dumping him in the Cosmic Sea? Xia Ji obviously did not want people to know that he had a connection with Gods'' Origin.

    In fact, ording to Lu Yin¡¯s basic reasoning, Xia Ji should have never exposed his connection to Gods'' Origin.

 Chapter 1973: One Word

    Chapter 1973: One Word

    "Are you sure that that¡¯s Gods¡¯ Origins¡¯ tform of Trials?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Xuan Jiu grumpily answered, "Absolutely."

    "Do a divination," Lu Yinmanded.

    Xuan Jiu was speechless, and he stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Do you really not believe me?"

    Lu Yin exined, "Xia Ji wouldn¡¯t easily reveal a connection to Gods¡¯ Origin if he had one. Even if there is something, he¡¯s not stupid enough to take me to a ce as easily discovered as their tform of Trials."

    With this, Xuan Jiu understood. "You¡¯re misunderstanding. This tform of Trials is different from what you¡¯re used to. This one¡¯s only avable to Envoys."

    Lu Yin was even more confused.

    Xuan Jiu continued, saying, "The greatest difference between the Neoverse, the Innerverse, and the Outerverse is that it¡¯s not too difficult for the Neoverse powers to produce Envoys. Every Neoverse power has their own tform of Trials that¡¯s exclusively reserved for Envoys. The Cosmic Sect, Eversky Ind, and the Hall of Honor all have one, and Gods'' Origin is no exception. Even though I say that it¡¯s not too difficult to produce an Envoy, that¡¯s only inparison to the other ces in the Fifth Maind. Even a ce asrge and powerful as Gods'' Origin only has a few Envoys, so naturally, only a few people have ever seen their tform of Trials.

    "If not for a certain coincidence, I would have never seen it. Then, you would not have been able to find out where you were taken no matter how badly you tried."

    Lu Yin understood that, in the Innerverse, Envoys were the top powerhouses. Even the Sword Sect only had two Envoys, so it was impossible for the Innerverse powers to have a tform of Trials dedicated solely to Envoys. Another detail was that Xia Ji had not expected Lu Yin to injure him, escape, or leave the tform of Trials.

    The strength of a Semi-Progenitor meant that Xia Ji should have had an easy time controlling Lu Yin on the tform of Trials. If he had not rushed away and moved away, he would have never known that he had been atop an enormous pir.

    Xia Ji had actually been very cautious. Any other Semi-Progenitor who was even remotely more self-confident would have simply taken Lu Yin to their own territory.

    However, this information brought up a new question: what was the connection between Xia Ji and Gods'' Origin?

    The fact that Xia Ji had taken Lu Yin to Gods¡¯ Origin after capturing him showed that the Semi-Progenitor was very familiar with Gods¡¯ Origin. Was it possible that one of his clones held a high position in Gods'' Origin?

    However, it was also not impossible for Xia Ji to have simply randomly chosen a rtively secure ce where he could question Lu Yin. The man was able to go wherever he wished as he was a Semi-Progenitor. However, this idea was contradicted by the fact that Lu Yin had been knocked unconscious and dumped in the middle of the Cosmic Sea when Xia Ji had been forced to release him.

    If Xia Ji had simply chosen a ce at random, he would not have cared if Lu Yin had found out that he had been taken to Gods¡¯ Origin, and he might have even revealed the information himself.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s biggest question at this time.

    It seemed highly likely that Xia Ji had a clone in Gods'' Origin.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the image. Regardless of whether or not Xia Ji had a clone hidden in Gods'' Origin, Lu Yin still needed to visit the ce. He also needed to take a look at their tform of Trials to check it out himself.

    Lu Yin had been intending to visit Gods'' Origin for some time now, and it seemed like this trip to the Neoverse would settle everything that he needed to do there.

    He had already visited the Seven Courts, the Mavis family, Aurora Enterprises, and the Cosmic Sect. Right now, he was also quite close to Gods'' Origin. He wanted to visit them not only to investigate his capture and Xia Ji, but also to study Rune Technology. He had previously received a few invitations from Gods'' Origin.

    "It looks like you¡¯ve got quite a few enemies in the Neoverse. There¡¯s that Semi-Progenitor from the Seven Courts, and now also someone from Gods¡¯ Origin. You¡¯re not going to have an easy time of things." Xuan Jiu sighed and remembered the divination that he had performed in the past. Lu Yin¡¯s list of potential enemies had been muchrger in the past, but even the recent developments did not seem to have been enough to remove all the hazards from the young man¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It will probably be difficult, which is why I need help from my friends."

    Xuan Jiu instantly grew wary when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words. "I''m leaving."

    "Leaving?" Lu Yin looked confused.

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s face twitched. "You just said that as long as I divined a location for you, you¡¯d let me go! I just told you that that ce is in Gods¡¯ Origin. What? Are you not going to keep your word?"

    Lu Yin smiled and settled an arm around Xuan Jiu''s shoulders once again. "You told me that you¡¯ve already seen that ce. You didn¡¯t do a divination."

    Xuan Jiu was stunned. "What does that matter?"

    Lu Yin became very serious. "I asked you to help me perform a divination about a ce, but you simply told me about a ce you¡¯ve seen. You didn¡¯t do any divination, so you¡¯ve only fulfilled half of my request."

    Xuan Jiu raged, "Boy, you''re toying with me! You didn¡¯t care if I did a divination¡ªyou just wanted to find out where that ce is! You¡¯re going too far, and you¡¯re rotten to the core!"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There¡¯s no need to quibble over who¡¯s right or wrong. I just need you to do a divination."

    "Fine! Grandpa Jiu will do a divination for you and confirm what I already told you!"

    Xuan Jiu was in a rush, so he prepared to do the divination immediately, but Lu Yin grabbed the older man¡¯s wrist. "There¡¯s no need to get so worked up. We¡¯re old friends who¡¯ve fallen out of touch. That doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t believe you, but that I simply want to admire your Heaven¡¯s Enigma. Tell you what, I won¡¯t embarrass you by asking you to verify your own words. Instead, you can just do a divination on a single word. It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with anyone, as I just want to see Heaven¡¯s Enigma at work.¡±

    With Lu Yin holding Xuan Jiu''s wrist, the man could not move his hand an inch. He stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "Just one word? Alright, sure."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Just one word, and since you¡¯ve alreadypleted the other half of my conditions for letting you go, doing this much should be easy. You can also leave after this divination."

    Xuan Jiu kept feeling like something was wrong, but there was nothing that he could pinpoint. If it was only a single word, then what could the word possibly be?

    "This word can¡¯t be connected with a powerhouse, so no primeval surnames, or words like ¡®Chen,¡¯ ¡®Rune,¡¯ or anything else. No connections at all, got it?" Xuan Jiu said as he stared at Lu Yin. He was not going to let Lu Yin force him into doing a divination on a Progenitor, as that would not turn out well at all for Xuan Jiu.

    Lu Yin instantly agreed. "Sure, it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with anyone at all. I just want to see Heaven¡¯s Enigma."

    "That''s easy to do. I¡¯ll share the method with you, and you can do the divination yourself. That¡¯s far more exciting than watching someone else do a divination," Xuan Jiu gushed in a single breath.

    However, Lu Yin refused. "How can anyone do a divination on themselves? Are you messing with me?"

    Xuan Jiu felt more and more trapped. ¡°If you just wanted to see Heaven¡¯s Enigma, then I¡¯ll just use a random word that I choose."

    "I want to be the one to pick," Lu Yin said. He was not giving Xuan Jiu any freedom in this matter.

    "What¡¯s the word?" Xuan Jiu asked helplessly. He still looked very wary, as the suspicion that something was wrong would not leave.

    Lu Yin wrote a single word in between them: Murkiness.

    Xuan Jiu stared at the word, and he frantically tried to remember if this word had any connections to any powerhouse at all. Murkiness, murkiness, murkiness¡­

    He could not think of a single powerhouse, so the word did not seem to be rted to anyone powerful. Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s God of mes had a name that was somewhat simr, but it was different enough to not matter.

    Could it be connected to someone from so long ago that I don¡¯t know about them? Xuan Jiu kept trying to consider every option, as he did not want to be tricked by Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin remained still and perfectly calm.

    Xuan Jiu stared at the young man. "What does the word mean?"

    "Are you asking for the definition?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Pick a different word."

    Lu Yin became upset. "Now you¡¯re messing with me! I asked you to divine a specific word, and now you¡¯re asking me to change it? No deal! I chose this word, and I won¡¯t change it."

    Xuan Jiu''s eyes flickered. "Lu Yin, we¡¯ve gotten to know each other quite well, so don''t lie to me. Divination is not some trivial matter. I¡¯m going to ask you onest time¡ªwhat does this word mean?"

    Lu Yin answered somberly, "It really doesn¡¯t have any special meaning to it. I chose it at random."

    "For real?"

    "For real."

    "I don¡¯t believe you."

    Lu Yin looked offended. "Are you serious?"

    The Second Nightking was bored of watching the two men¡¯s interactions. In the nearby spacecraft, Sapling was leaning against a window, and it looked eager to leave the ship.

    Xuan Jiu swallowed. "It can''t be the God of Death¡¯s name."

    Lu Yin stunned. "Did you think that the God of Death would have such a dirty name?"

    "No idea," Xuan Jiu replied.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Just forget it. If you don¡¯t want to do the divination, then let¡¯s head out. You can go with me to Gods¡¯ Origin, and then we¡¯ll move on to the Cosmic Sea. I¡¯ll ask you for a divination after Ie up with something that I want to check into."

    Xuan Jiu gritted his teeth. "Fine! I¡¯ll do it, but let me give you onest reminder that divination is no small matter! When I did that divination on your family members, I instantly spat out blood, and it took me an entire year to recover. I don¡¯t want anything like that to happen from divining this word."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It¡¯s just a random word that I thought of, so any idents have nothing to do with me."

    Xuan Jiu puffed heavily. "Out of the way."

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking both stepped back to watch as Xuan Jiu divined the word ¡°murkiness.¡± Lu Yin was extremely nervous.

    Did the word have a connection to a powerhouse? It absolutely did, but it was not the name of an expert. Instead, it was the name of a n. It was the name of Aeternus¡¯s n.

    Mister Mu had been investigating this particr n, but he had not been able to find anything about it at all. If Lu Yin had guessed correctly, then not even the Seven Skygods were aware of this n; if they were, then there was no way for Mister Mu to not even have a clue about it.

    How powerful was Mister Mu? How powerful was the person who had created this n? It was possible that both of them were much stronger than most Progenitors.

    Lu Yin stared at Xuan Jiu''s thin body. Old man, good luck!

    Xuan Jiu was being extremely cautious. Before performing the divination, he made it a point to recall everything that he could about anything rted to the word ¡°murkiness¡± to make sure that there was no connection at all to any powerhouse. He could determine nothing special about the word, so he proceeded with the divination.

    However, he did not even do a divination on the word ¡°murkiness¡± itself. Rather, he used Heaven¡¯s Enigma to calcte what was rted to the word.

    However, the moment Xuan Jiu started, he spat out blood and copsed.

    Lu Yin was startled by the sudden change, and he rushed forward to grab Xuan Jiu. Lu Yin found that the man¡¯s face waspletely white, and his body was trembling incessantly. Terror filled the man¡¯s eyes, and cracks could be seen spreading across his body. It was as though he had been struck by an unimaginable invisible power, like how Envoys were invisible to a typical Enlighter.

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were both horrified, as neither of them had sensed a thing. Just what had happened to Xuan Jiu?

    Most of the blood drained from the man¡¯s body, and yet he spat out another mouthful of blood.

    "Xuan Jiu! Xuan Jiu!" Lu Yin yelled frantically while feeding the old man pills.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes darted about. He had not sensed a single thing and could not find anything nearby. A chill slowly spread across his body, and he could not help but nervously swallow.

    Xuan Jiu was just a single breath away from death, and he struggled to stay alive. Time passed, and he eventually stopped trembling. His eyes that had been ssy and unfocused regained some rity, though the absolute fear remained strong. "This- this-"

    Lu Yin spoke in a very soft voice, "I''m sorry. You¡¯re hurt because of me."

    Xuan Jiu blinked and nkly stared at Lu Yin. The old man was initially confused, but then he was quickly ovee by pure rage. He forced his weak voice out and started cursing, "You- you- you rotten goods! You killed me! You killed me! I¡¯m dead! Cough cough."

    Lu Yin looked at the man apologetically. "I''m sorry."

    Xuan Jiu just kept backing away until he reached the side of the spacecraft. His eyes never left Lu Yin, and the old man never stopped dripping blood from his mouth. "You killed me! Do you have any idea what just happened? I just touched an unimaginably powerful strength! That¡¯s a level of power that you and I can¡¯t even fathom! Luckily, I was smart and didn¡¯t try to directly divine that word with Heaven¡¯s Enigma, as that would have instantly killed me! You¡¯re rotten goods! Nothing but rotten goods! Where did you even find that word?¡±

 Chapter 1974: Never Seen Before

    Chapter 1974: Never Seen Before

    The word ¡°murkiness¡± was perfectlymon, and even ignorant children wrote it down as they were learning how to write. However, Heaven¡¯s Enigma was a divination method that focused on the most important events in the universe that were rted to whatever was being divined. Naturally, the most important thing rted to the word ¡°murkiness¡± was Aeternus¡¯s n that Mister Mu had asked Lu Yin to investigate.

    "I just thought of it." Lu Yin felt quite guilty.

    Xuan Jiu roared, "Are you still lying to me?! You rotten goods, you¡¯ll really kill me one day! I¡¯m leaving, and I¡¯ll never see you again in this life."

    As the man spoke, he forced himself up while using the spacecraft as a support. Coincidentally, Xuan Jiu came face to face with Sapling, which was in the vessel.

    Xuan Jiu stared nkly at Sapling, and Sapling looked back. Neither moved for a bit.

    Only when Sapling jumped up did Xuan Jiu return to his senses, and he turned back around to look at Lu Yin. He pointed at the nt. "What is that?"

    Lu Yin moved closer to Xuan Jiu. "I¡¯m really sorry. I didn''t expect this to happen, but what did you just see?"

    Xuan Jiu wiped away some of the blood on his body. "I already told you¡ªI just felt an unfathomable power that nearly destroyed me.¡±

    He gave Lu Yin a very serious look. ¡°I don¡¯t care where you came across that word, but why did you ask me to divine that one? I¡¯ll be blunt. You should stay away from that word and anything connected to it. Never, ever touch it. That¡¯s not something that you can get involved with. I know that you¡¯re being watched and that you have a connection to Destiny, but this power is in no way weaker than Destiny or the God of Death.¡±

    ¡°Boy, I¡¯m not messing around this time. I¡¯ll never see you again in this lifetime. See you in the next life." Xuan Jiu then fled as fast as he could without altering his direction at all.

    The man had been seriously injured, but he still forced himself to endure his injuries and flee. He wanted to get as far away from Lu Yin as possible.

    Lu Yin no longer made any moves to stop Xuan Jiu from leaving. He was genuinely apologetic to the old man, though he had be envious after hearing Xuan Jiu¡¯s warning. Murkiness was rted to Aeternus and Mister Mu. It was true that it was at a level that Lu Yin could not touch for the time being.

    Still, that did not mean that Lu Yin would stop trying to get more information about Murkiness. This was something that made even Mister Mu be serious about, and Xuan Jiu had just said that the divination that he had performed showed that it was connected to an unimaginable power. Anything connected to Murkiness was incredibly serious, and it could even be connected to the fate of all humanity. Lu Yin had no desire to act like some sort of savior, but if humanity was destroyed, then what would his purpose be even if he survived?

    As for the Second Nightking, he was giving Lu Yin a very odd look. The youth had only given Xuan Jiu a single word, so it seemed incredibly strange for Xuan Jiu¡¯s divination to have had such a strong bacsh.

    At this moment, a cosmic ring flew towards the two from the distance. Lu Yin grabbed the ring, along with a drop of Xuan Jiu''s blood that had been sent back. Lu Yin used the blood to open the cosmic ring, and in it he found three pieces of fatesand, as well as a note.

    ''Rotten goods, I¡¯ve only managed to collect three pieces of fatesand, and I''m giving you all of them. Don¡¯t look for me ever again. We don¡¯t know each other, and we won¡¯t see each other ever again in this life.''

    Lu Yin quickly stored the fatesand away. It seemed that Xuan Jiu waspletely serious this time. The old man had originally tried to get Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand from him, but he had just given away all the fatesand that he had gathered over the years. This was simply because Xuan Jiu did not want Lu Yin to try to find him ever again.

    Fatesand carried apletely different meaning for Xuan Jiu than it did for other people. Whatever the old man had seen in his divination of Murkiness had absolutely terrified him.

    Would they really never see each other again in this life?

    Far away, Xuan Jiu was still coughing up blood. He finally found a tond on, but after thinking about things for a moment, he decided to keep moving. He could not allow those rotten goods to chase after him.

    What absolute godawful luck! I actually tricked myself this time. I was expecting something good, but something so terrible happened. I even lost all of my fatesand. Still, that¡¯s fine, as I also lost all of my connections to Destiny, as well as any connections to those rotten goods.

    As soon as he remembered the word that he had just divined, Xuan Jiu panicked yet again. The strength that he had felt had surpassed anything that he could ever imagine. He had never known that such terrifying power even existed in the universe, and he would make sure to never see those rotten goods ever again.

    The incident with Xuan Jiu made Lu Yin feel as though his future that had be a bit brighter because of the Tower of the Fifth to be once more smothered in a haze.

    Still, the good news was that the tower was apparently going to bring him some unexpected benefits.

    In ancient times, the Progenitors had established the Daosource Sect, and at this moment, Lu Yin was working to build the Tower of the Fifth. As the years passed, would both of these establishments be spoken of on the same level? Lu Yin was eager to find out.

    Sapling was jumping around on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders. He took out Zenith Mountain and took Sapling in before looking for Long Xi.

    Lu Yin was not able to take Sapling back for the time being, so he felt like it would be better to leave the little tree with Long Xi, as she was the only person whom he feltfortable trusting with Sapling.

    Long Xi stared at Sapling, which was hiding behind Lu Yin, in surprise. "Can that tree move?"

    Lu Yin had no fear of Long Xi ever figuring out what Sapling was, as the truth was impossible for anyone to even consider due to how far-fetched it was. Who would believe that the little tree was actually another Mother Tree?

    Thinking of this caused a new question to pop up in Lu Yin¡¯s mind: since Sapling was able to run about and move, what about the original Mother Tree?

    "Help me take care of it for a bit." Lu Yin grabbed Sapling and handed it over to Long Xi. It was an oddly warm scene to anyone watching.

    Long Xi did not agree. "Why should I take care of it? Are you going to die?"

    "Of course not, but I¡¯ll be going into seclusion for a while."

    Sapling¡¯s branches were tightly wrapped around Lu Yin''s fingers, and its green leaves released a faint light that was both beautiful andforting.

    Long Xi found herself quite drawn to the little tree after watching it for a bit, but she was always rather cold. So, shepletely ignored Lu Yin after receiving Sapling.

    Lu Yin soon put Zenith Mountain back away. He looked ahead and saw that they had already arrived at Gods'' Origin.

    Lu Yin and the Second Nightking had been in the northern region of the Neoverse earlier, so they had been rather close to Gods¡¯ Origin. With the Second Nightking¡¯s speed, it had not taken them long to arrive at all.

    ¡­

    After arriving at Gods'' Origin with the Second Nightking, the sight that met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes left himpletely stunned.

    Gods'' Origin had been built atop the backs of enormous human statues, each of which was down on both knees and showing devout expressions. The backs of the statues held mountains, rivers, andnd. There were rainbows in the sky, as well as clouds and mist, ringing bells, and numerous sights that Lu Yin had never seen before. It was a beautiful ce, with gorgeous birds and beasts frolicking about. There was even a pleasant scent that drifted into outer space beyond Gods¡¯ Origin.

    The entire ce looked like it was a heavenly pce or a paradise. It was no wonder why the ce was called Gods'' Origin, and it also made sense for the upants of such a ce to be known as madmen.

    Outsiders typically saw the members of Gods¡¯ Origin as insane because the cultivators from the ce were arrogant beyond measure. They felt that it was reasonable to refer to themselves as gods given the fact that they could create things from nothing. Even the elites of their younger generation were referred to as the eighteen gods, which was an irritating title to others.

    Originally, Lu Yin had not had any real opinions on the matter, and he had a rather decent impression of God Taiyi, but the more Lu Yin learned about Gods¡¯ Origin, the more he understood the prevailing opinion of the ce.

    That understanding grew more than ever when heid eyes on people facing Gods¡¯ Origin and kneeling on the ground. Some even knelt then bowed along the way.

    In fact, the mostmon action that these people took was kneeling.

    As Lu Yin looked at the massive statues, the countless people kneeling and worshiping the statues, he could see that Gods¡¯ Origin was a ce where people had either a high status or a low status. The difference between the two was much more exaggerated than normal.

    The devout expressions of the faces of those kneeling perfectly mirrored the expressions on the enormous statues.

    These people were bent over in worship as though they were praying to true gods rather than the disciples of Gods'' Origin. Even a Limiteer realm disciple had many people kneeling to them, and each of the disciples looked proud and satisfied with the treatment that they received.

    Lu Yin did not like what he was seeing. He was absolutely certain that these worshippers would dly die for any of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s disciples.

    It was no wonder why other people saw Gods'' Origin as a ce full of madmen.

    Being raised in such an environment inculcated arrogance into these people from youth, and they would undoubtedly see themselves as superior to all others. Actually, Lu Yin suddenly had a realization that God Taiyi could actually be considered a very humble disciple from Gods¡¯ Origin. Yao Hong, whom Lu Yin had met in Skyraiser City, was a much more normal disciple from Gods¡¯ Origin.

    Actually, even that God of Wind was rather odd¡­

    "What¡¯s your impression of Gods'' Origin?" Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking.

    The old man softly replied, "What you see."

    "Have you been here before?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking nodded. "Long ago, the First Nightking led my Daynight n in an attempt to enter the Neoverse, and we visited all of the greatest forces in the Neoverse, including Gods¡¯ Origin. However, we were not even allowed inside. Theypletely look down on all outsiders."

    Lu Yin nodded. The iparably miraculous cultivation system that the Rune Progenitor had created allowed those who had mastered Truesight to create something out of nothing; in other words, they could make their imaginatione to life. Such an incredible ability could only be considered god-like, especially by ordinary humans. Even cultivators found themselves drawn to the miraculous abilities demonstrated by Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s people, and it was understandable why these people referred to themselves as gods.

    From this more objective standpoint, it became easy to understand where Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s arrogance hade from.

    "Knock on the door. I¡¯ll get you inside this time," Lu Yin said indifferently.

    The Second Nightking was normally a calm person, but thisment riled even him up. He needed someone to get inside this ce? There was no powerhouse in all of Gods¡¯ Origin who could keep him out!

    Ripples spread out and quickly entered Gods'' Origin.

    While the ordinary disciples did not notice anything, God of Mirrors quickly rose to his feet, his face solemn. This was a true powerhouse. He quickly moved out.

    At the same time, God of Wind also noticed the ripples, and she moved out as well.

    All of Gods¡¯ Origin suddenly changed, and there was a reaction as if they were facing some kind of crisis, which caught Lu Yin off guard.

    Gods¡¯ Origin had an incredible history and a strong foundation, and Lu Yin had no idea how powerful God of mes was. The strongest existence in Gods¡¯ Origin had been in seclusion for many years without revealing themselves. Many people even believed that God of mes was dead, though he was definitely still alive. It was said that he was inferior only to a Semi-Progenitor, though it was possible that the miraculous abilities of Truesight could allow the man to cross realms and challenge Semi-Progenitors, much like Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother Qing Ping.

    Two people emerged from the void in front of Lu Yin. They were God of Mirrors and God of Wind.

    When they saw Lu Yin, both people let out sighs of relief.

    God of Wind smiled and said, "So it¡¯s Alliance Leader Lu. Why didn¡¯t you let us know that you wereing so that we could prepare to wee you?"

    Lu Yin smiled back. "I was just passing by and just happened to stop in to visit you."

    God of Wind kept up her smile as she replied. "We would be honored to wee you into Gods¡¯ Origin. Please,e in, Alliance Leader Lu."

    As the woman spoke, all of the disciples turned to face Lu Yin, and they slowly bowed to him.

    Lu Yin was shocked to see this.

    God of Wind exined, "This is how we greet our distinguished guests. Throughout the history of my Gods¡¯ Origin, this etiquette has not been used very often."

    "You¡¯re being too polite."

    Gods¡¯ Origin was only being this polite to Lu Yin because they wanted him to share the location of the statue that he had mentioned. They were much better with ttery than any of the Seven Courts¡¯ families.

    While members of Gods¡¯ Origin were arrogant when dealing with outsiders, when they encountered people or situations where they needed to lower themselves, they did so very quickly.

    These people were not actually madmen.

    The Second Nightking''s eyes flickered. When he had visited this ce with the First Nightking, the two of them had traveled with the Dayking and the Third Nightking. But even then, they had not been able to step through the door. This was not due to them having insufficient strength, but rather because Gods¡¯ Origin had wanted to make their attitude clear and demonstrate that they would not wee the Daynight n into the Neoverse.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s Great Eastern Alliance had simrly shown intentions to enter the Neoverse, but Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s attitude waspletely different from what the Second Nightking had encountered in the past.

    It all came down to the fact that there was a vast difference in strength. The Daynight n of the past had been far inferior to the current Great Eastern Alliance.

    The disciples of Gods'' Origin all bowed towards Lu Yin, and the ordinary humans knelt downpletely and kowtowed three times to Lu Yin, and then nine times more.

    Lu Yin looked down at the crowds from high above as countless people bowed to him. It would be easy to get caught up in such a feeling.

    "Let''s go. I¡¯ve admired your Gods'' Origin for a long time," Lu Yin said to God of Mirrors. He refused to let himself be swayed by the people''s worship.

    God of Wind¡¯s eyes flickered. "This way, please, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded and did not refuse. He entered Gods'' Origin.

 Chapter 1975: Godsâ€™ Origin

    <h4>Chapter 1975: Gods¡¯ Origin</h4>

    "Senior God of Mirrors, do those statues of giants depict one of the giant races?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    God of Wind was the one to answer. "Of course not. Normal giants are not that big. Those are just giant statues that we created from runes. They only hold a symbolic significance and have nothing to do with giants."

    Lu Yin stared at the kneeling statues that were holding all of Gods'' Origin on their backs. "Each face is different."

    "Yes. The giants are symbolic, and the statues¡¯ faces are those of my Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s enemies. Every enemy that we kill will be made into a giant statue to hold up my Gods¡¯ Origin to serve as an atonement. They can only be dismissed after many years have gone by, or when a greater enemy is killed and their face is reced," God of Wind exined.

    Lu Yin frowned. This reminded him of the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage.

    The Lu family anointed dead cultivators as champions of their Champions¡¯ Stage in order to build up a fighting force. It was not something that was done to purposefully humiliate people, or at least, not for Lu Yin. However, the only purpose behind Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s statues was to humiliate their defeated foes. It was no wonder why people saw them as insane.

    "If I one day identally be an enemy of Gods'' Origin and end up dead, will I be treated in the same manner?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    God of Wind was taken aback, but she quickly replied, "Alliance Leader Lu, please don''t create any misunderstandings. How could you and my Gods¡¯ Origin be enemies? Even ignoring your friendship with God Taiyi, you¡¯ve already met with God of Mirrors several times, and you¡¯ve gained his admiration. You aren¡¯t our enemy, and you won¡¯t be one in the future."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You¡¯re being too polite, Senior. I was merely joking."

    As they spoke, Lu Yin noticed the face of one of the giant statues. "Is that Jin Mie?"

    God of Wind followed Lu Yin''s gaze, and her expression fell. "Yes, that''s Jin Mie, the traitor! My Gods¡¯ Origin raised him and taught him Truesight, but he ungratefully stole our treasures, and he even went so far as to try infiltrating God of mes¡¯ training ce and spying on him. That traitor will remain there forever to pay for his sins. He will never be forgiven!"

    "I heard that God of mes has been in seclusion for a very long time. Though, I would love to meet him. I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s a senior from the same generation as Arch-Elder Zen and that he¡¯s in seclusion to push for the Semi-Progenitor level," Lu Yin said as the entire group stepped onto andmass held up by one of the giant statues. There was a majestic pce floating in front of them, and thend and sky was filled with various creatures that Lu Yin had never seen before.

    However, there was a shared aspect among all of the creatures; they all gave off a sacred feeling, as though they had stepped out of holy scriptures.

    Gods'' Origin gave off a vivid sense of both sacredness and ruthlessness with the paradisiacalnd they had created.

    God of Wind was leading the way while God Taiyi and many other people of high status within Gods¡¯ Origin had already gathered up and were waiting to greet Lu Yin. The eighteen gods were all present, including Yao Hong, though she was standing at the back with her head hung low. She did not even dare to look up at Lu Yin.

    After hearing Lu Yin mention God of mes, God of Wind grew apologetic. "My Gods¡¯ Origin has nothing to hide from you, Alliance Leader Lu, so I¡¯ll be honest. It¡¯s extremely difficult to be a Semi-Progenitor, and although God of mes has been in seclusion for a very long time and stated that he would not return until he bes a Semi-Progenitor, we have heard nothing from him this entire time. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s be of God of mes, though we do know for certain that he¡¯s at least not dead.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The man was not dead? For some time now, rumors had been circting that God of mes had died, but this was something that Gods¡¯ Origin would never admit to. God of mes¡¯ mere existence allowed Gods¡¯ Origin to remain a Neoverse behemoth. While God of Mirrors had a power level of over 700,000, it was impossible for him to preserve Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s status on his own with such strength, regardless of how incredible Truesight was.

    "Is it more difficult to be a Semi-Progenitor through Truesight?" Lu Yin asked.

    God of Mirrors led Lu Yin into Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s main hall as he replied, "It''s very difficult. If you train exclusively in Truesight, then let alone the Semi-Progenitor realm, it¡¯s practically impossible to reach a power level of a million. Out of everyone in Gods¡¯ Origin, only God of mes has managed to aplish that, and he¡¯s reached the cusp of bing a Semi-Progenitor with his incredible talent. He¡¯s already passed through eight tribtions, but it¡¯s just too difficult to be a Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    "From what we¡¯ve learned about the Rune Civilization from our research, this might have something to do with the Rune Progenitor himself. Originally, when the Rune Progenitor was present, there were many powerhouses at the peak of the Rune Civilizations. However, after the Progenitor disappeared, something seems to have gone missing.¡±

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he started looking around. He instantly noticed that the odd creatures, beautiful pces, and everything else in Gods¡¯ Origin had been created from runes. The entire ce was an odd world of runes, and the runes could even be freely altered. In other words, the buildings, the mountains, rivers,nd, and even the creatures could be transformed into other forms.

    The pces could transform into mountains or rivers. Water could be earth or fire, and the creatures could be changed into white clouds. This was Gods¡¯ Origin.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, will the Tower of the Fifth house any inheritances rted to Truesight?" God of Mirrors asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "While I wanted to include that as well, I have no idea how to go about it. I only started training in Truesight and entered the Awakening level after climbing the Sky tform in the Astral Combat Academy."

    "I can¡¯t help but admire you greatly. The creation of the Tower of the Fifth will lead to the entire human race enjoying incredible benefits. You are truly selfless. Even when ites to your cultivation talent, despite not being part of my Gods¡¯ Origin, you¡¯ve already reached the Knowing level of Truesight. Our people spend all of their time focused on cultivating Truesight, and yet we can¡¯t even match your speed ofprehension." God of Mirrors firstplimented Lu Yin before giving ament that may or may not have been made intentionally.

    The man¡¯s words were a bit vague, but it was easy to understand his intentions. He simply wanted to negotiate with Lu Yin over the location of the statue with the Truesight inheritance that Lu Yin had found. "Jin He was the most talented cultivator of his generation when it came to Truesight. He was the first in his entire generation to reach the Knowing realm."

    God of Wind''s expression turned ugly. "He¡¯s just another traitor! That traitor Jin Mie stole a treasure from my Gods¡¯ Origin, which was the only reason why he was able to reach such a high level. Without that, hmph!"

    "God Taiyi greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    "God Qingguang greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    "God Xiaobai greets Alliance Leader Lu."

    "God of Windhua¡­"

    ¡­

    The eighteen gods all had the word ¡°god¡± in their names, and they were the most talented youths in Gods'' Origin. The elites of the older generation were the eight gods, and they consisted of God of Mirrors, God of Magenta, God of Wind, and a few others.

    Lu Yin made a point to ask if there were eighteen gods for each generation in Gods¡¯ Origin, but it seemed that only a few people were able to stand out to the very end.

    For example, God of Wind had been exceptional among her past generation of the eighteen gods.

    Lu Yin smiled and said, "It¡¯s good to see you, Brother Taiyi. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve seen each other."

    God Taiyi lifted his head to look at Lu Yin and revealed a wry smile. "You¡¯re moving ahead way too fast, Alliance Leader Lu. This little brother can''t keep up with you."

    Lu Yin had a very good impression of God Taiyi. Regardless of Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s reputation, Lu Yin had never seen anything resembling insanity from God Taiyi, and the man had even helped Lu Yin in the past. In fact, Lu Yin had learned about the Leo family working indirectly under Xia Ji¡¯s orders as part of the massive scheme to start a war in the Cosmic Sea from him.

    During that same war, Lu Yin had managed to drag Gods¡¯ Origin into the chaos precisely because of God Taiyi.

    "Well, I''m here now. If you¡¯re free, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could show me around Gods¡¯ Origin, Brother Taiyi," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    God Taiyi nced over at God of Mirrors, and the elder gave a slight nod.

    The young man then stepped forward with a smile. "As long as you don¡¯t get bored, I¡¯d be happy to do so."

    At the back of the gathered crowd, Yao Hong¡¯s head was still hanging low. The arrogant attitude that she had demonstrated in Skyraiser City was nowhere to be seen.

    God of Wind had pped the young woman¡¯s face right in front of Lu Yin. After returning to Gods'' Origin, Yao Hong had been given even greater punishments, but what hurt her the most was that God Taiyi had started to ignore her. In the past, they had been quite close, but Yao Hong had been cut off because of Lu Yin.

    It was only after all this that Yao Hong had finally understood just whom she had offended. Lu Yin stood far, far above her.

    The young woman had changed, and she now regretted how she had not dedicated herself to training in the past, as well as her oppressive arrogance. At the same time, she was terrified that Lu Yin would want to settle things with her once and for all.

    However, Yao Hong was overthinking things. Lu Yin had already forgotten all about her.

    With God Taiyi ying host to Lu Yin, God of Mirrors offered a few more polite words to Lu Yin before leaving to entertain the Second Nightking. God Taiyi was much better suited for chatting with someone of Lu Yin¡¯s age than the old man.

    God of Wind also left.

    However, one other person followed behind Lu Yin and God Taiyi, God Xiaobai. She was a cute and energetic girl, and she was the also the closest person to God Taiyi.

    However, when he saw God Xiaobai trying to sneakily tag along, God Taiyi scolded her. "What are you doing here? Go on back."

    God Xiaobai stuck out her tongue and then begged, "Brother Taiyi, please let mee along! I want to get to know Alliance Leader Lu."

    God Taiyi red at the girl. "Head on back. Don¡¯t be a nuisance to Alliance Leader Lu."

    God Xiaobai felt rather wistful, and she looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled at her. "Let her tag along if she wants. She¡¯s a pretty girl, and she¡¯s much better to look at than you."

    God Taiyi smiled ruefully and then he turned to warn God Xiaobai. "Don''t cause any problems."

    God Xiaobai was thrilled to be given permission. "You don¡¯t need to worry about that!¡±

    She then turned back to Lu Yin and smiled at him. ¡°"Brother Lu, I''ll show you around! Brother Taiyi doesn''t know anything about this ce, but I''m different since I¡¯ve explored it all."

    "I just told you not to cause problems!" God Taiyi scolded the girl again.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s fine. Brother Taiyi, you are being too serious. You weren¡¯t like this before. Gu Xiao¡¯er even told me that you introduced God Xiaobai to him."

    God Taiyi''s expression instantly changed.

    God Xiaobai¡¯s eyes grew sharp, and she turned to stare at God Taiyi before asking in a dangerous voice, "Brother Taiyi, is that true? Did you actually agree to introduce me to that idiotic Gu Xiao¡¯er?"

    God Taiyi was feeling very awkward. "It¡¯s nothing. We just were making random conversation after drinking too much."

    "Hmph! Introduce me to Brother Lu if you got what it takes." God Xiaobai rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Why did he get mentioned, too?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s strength and status continued to climb, his old friends and acquaintances had gradually started to show different attitudes towards him. Luckily, this time, the awkward atmosphere had been broken by a small joke, and with God Xiaobai present, God Taiyi was able to slowly rx and refer to Lu Yin as Brother Lu once more, instead of Alliance Leader Lu.

    Lu Yin did not care what God Taiyi called him. In the end, Lu Yin was happier to have more friends rather than business partners whose interests aligned with his own.

    Actually, after thinking about it, Lu Yin realized that he did not have very many friends, but his family was quiterge. There was Leon¡¯s Armada, Wendy Yushan, Brother Hui Kong, his senior brother the Chief Justice, and more. Lu Yin was not alone.

    God Xiaobai was a bit different from the other eighteen gods, and she showed none of the arrogance that the others possessed. She was basically a yful girl, and she was perfectly happy to give Lu Yin and God Taiyi a tour of Gods'' Origin.

    "It looks like Gods¡¯ Origin doesn¡¯t have too many visitors," Lu Yinmented while watching God Xiaobai prattle on.

    God Taiyi nodded. "You know how most people view us, Brother Lu. There aren¡¯t many people who like the atmosphere of my Gods¡¯ Origin."

    Lu Yin pointed downwards. "That must scare away most people, but also, no one dares to offend Gods'' Origin."

 Chapter 1976: The Location

    <h4>Chapter 1976: The Location</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯sment caused God Taiyi''s expression to change. "Brother Lu, don''t worry about what happened with Yao Hong a little while ago. She¡¯s changed since then, and she won¡¯t cause you any trouble when she goes out."

    "Yao Hong?" Lu Yin took a moment to catch up, and when he finally understood God Taiyi¡¯sment, Lu Yinughed. "Who do you think I am? Why would I be bothered by her?"

    God Taiyi replied, "I of course know that Brother Lu was never really put out by Yao Hong, but I still want to apologize for what she did. Many of the disciples here in Gods'' Origin aren¡¯t bad-natured, but the atmosphere has a clear distinction between those in superior and inferior positions. Thus, it bes very difficult to lose yourself.¡±

    "If not for thepetition during the Astral Tower that made me realize the truth of the matter, it¡¯s possible that Yao Hong wouldn¡¯t have been the only one to offend you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s just a matter of fate. It means that you and I were destined to be friends."

    God Taiyi''s eyes lit up. "True enough! With you as my friend, I, God Taiyi, will have a life with no regrets."

    "Hey! What are you two tough guys talking about? Are you still trying to avoid me? Hurry up, Brother Lu! I want to show you the biggest tform of Trials here in Gods¡¯ Origin." God Xiaobai waved at the two men from a distance.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered¡ªthergest tform of Trials?

    "Brother Lu, let''s go with her. We¡¯ll check out the tform of Trials first, and then you can spend some time practicing Truesight. I¡¯ll take you to some of the ruins that we¡¯ve gathered in a bit," God Taiyi suggested.

    Lu Yin nodded and then followed God Taiyi to catch up with God Xiaobai. The three of them made their way to a region that was on the back of another giant.

    It was not long before the three of them arrived at a screen of solid blue light. God Xiaobai started to exin, "Brother Lu, this is the entrance to the biggest tform of Trials in Gods¡¯ Origin. Most people aren¡¯t allowed to see it, but I¡¯ll show it to you."

    The girl then picked up a foot and moved to step into the blue light.

    However, God Xiaobai ended up striking an invisible barrier.

    She was confused. "Why can''t I go in?"

    God Taiyi frowned and approached the entrance as well. He reached out with a hand and touched the blue light with a finger, only for him to also be knocked back a few steps. He was quite surprised, and he nced over at God Xiaobai. Neither of them had ever encountered something like this before.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered.

    "I¡¯m going to ask God of Wind toe out. The entrance¡¯s broken," God Xiaobai said as she moved to call her elder.

    "There¡¯s no need. I''m here." God of Wind stepped out from behind the light screen. She looked calm as her gaze swept past God Xiaobai and God Taiyi to look at Lu Yin. She politely said, "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m truly sorry, but God of Magenta has recently returned and is training on the tform of Trials. So, it¡¯s closed to others for the moment."

    God Xiaobai was surprised by the news. "Uncle God of Magenta is back?"

    God of Wind confirmed it. "He¡¯s back."

    God Taiyi frowned. "The tform of Trials is enormous, so even if God of Magenta is using it, he can only use one section. I¡¯ll show Brother Lu around from a distance. We won¡¯t disturb God of Magenta''s training."

    God of Wind looked at God Taiyi, a firm warning deep in her eyes. "The traitor Jin Mie that God of Magenta was chasing after seriously injured him, and he cannot disturbed at all."

    The woman then turned back to Lu Yin and gave him a slow bow. "My sincere apologies, Alliance Leader Lu."

    "We¡¯ll just take a quick look, okay? I just told Alliance Leader Lu that we¡¯de take a look," God Xiaobai begged.

    God of Wind just bowed again. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''m sorry."

    God Xiaobai shot a look of helplessness towards Lu Yin.

    God Taiyi gave God of Wind an odd look, but then he turned to speak to Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, why don''t I show you the Rune Technology ruins for now?"

    Lu Yin gave God of Wind a long look. ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind. Whatever you want."

    "Brother Lu, let¡¯s go this way." God Taiyi gestured for Lu Yin to follow him and started leading them elsewhere.

    After she saw that Lu Yin and the others were gone, God of Wind heaved a sigh of relief.

    A figure wearing a purple robe stepped out of the blue screen of light behind God of Wind. This person was God of Magenta. The man had left a deep impression on Lu Yin during the war in the Cosmic Sea when he had fought against Jin Mie.

    God of Wind turned around and spoke in a very respectful manner, "They''re gone."

    "Did they question anything?" God of Magenta asked softly.

    God of Wind shook her head. "They shouldn¡¯t have."

    God of Magenta gave a word of caution. "Don''t let your guard down. That kid is sharp. You can¡¯t let him see the tform of Trials, and don''t even let him ess the buildings that might have any records about the tform of Trials."

    "This disciple understands," God of Wind acquiesced.

    God of Magenta frowned. If he had known that this day woulde, he would have never taken Lu Yin into Gods'' Origin. He had assumed that the youth would never be able to escape from him, but he had done just that. Even if Lu Yin had only been taken to the tform of Trials that only elders and core disciples of Gods¡¯ Origin could enter that the ordinary disciples never saw, if Lu Yin ever got a single glimpse of the ce, he would instantly realize God of Magenta¡¯s connection to Xia Ji, and that would be a problem.

    Lu Yin could never be allowed to see that ce.

    ***

    "Brother Lu, Gods¡¯ Origin has gathered seventeen ruins that have Rune Technology, including cities, battlefields, and worlds that were hidden in pocket dimensions or parallel universes. They were found throughout the Cosmic Sea, Outerverse, Innerverse, and Neoverse. Do you want to just visit them one by one, or is there something specific that you¡¯d like to see?" God Taiyi asked.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Can I see them all?"

    God Taiyi suddenly looked solemn. "Of course. I can show you anything, as long as God of Mirrors doesn¡¯t outright object."

    God Xiaobai jumped in, "I can show you around too, Big Brother Lu. God of Mirrors won¡¯t say no."

    Lu Yin nodded and then followed the two to visit the first of the ruins.

    They entered an abandoned city that looked simr to the one that Lu Yin had seen in the Outerverse, onlyrger and moreplete.

    He saw various weapons formed solely from runes. These weapons were simply casuallyying around on the ground, and disciples from Gods¡¯ Origin could be seen wandering about from time to time, and they would bow whenever they saw Lu Yin and the others.

    "These ruins are essentially my Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s equivalent of a battle technique catalog that other powers might have. In these ces, we can study and learn from the long-gone Rune Civilization. Even a broken brick or a rag of cloth might be able to grant people inspiration, and the entire ruins are a treasure," God Taiyi exined in a pious tone.

    God Xiaobai nodded in agreement. "I spent a long time staring at a jade hairpin, and eventually, I was able to reach the rity level of Truesight."

    Comprehension and breakthroughs rted to Truesight could not be aplished with a single day in the ruins, but Lu Yin did not expect to reach the Infinity realm anytime soon. He was visiting the ruins more so because of his curiosity regarding the era when the Rune Civilization had flourished. It was impossible to thoroughly explore all these ruins in a short amount of time.

    Over the course of two days, God Taiyi took Lu Yin to visit four of the ruins, but Lu Yin did not continue after that. This was not due to ack of interest, but rather ack of time.

    It was certainly possible for him to reach the Infinity level of Truesight with the ruins in Gods¡¯ Origin, but that would not happen for some time.

    On the third day of Lu Yin¡¯s visit, God of Mirrors met with him to formally ask for the location of the statue that Lu Yin had mentioned.

    During the two days that God Taiyi showed Lu Yin around the different ruins. Lu Yin had noticed that none of the ruins apparently hadplete statues, and some had no statues at all. The statues that he had seen were all broken, just like what he had seen in the ruins in the Outerverse.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you previously told me that you would share the location of that statue when you came to visit our Gods¡¯ Origin," God of Mirrors said.

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    God of Mirrors could not hold himself from continuing, saying, "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯ve gotten to know my Gods¡¯ Origin a bit better these two days. Honestly, even if you don¡¯t share the information of that statue with us, for the sake of your friendship with God Taiyi, we will still allow you to visit all of the ruins."

    Lu Yin finally looked up at God of Mirrors. "I can tell you where it is, but I have one condition."

    God of Mirrors became very excited. "Please tell me what it is!"

    ¡­

    A short timeter, God of Mirrors left, and God Taiyi and God Xiaobai returned to see Lu Yin. They had hoped to continue touring around Gods¡¯ Origin, but Lu Yin told them that he needed to leave.

    "Brother Lu, why are you leaving so soon?" God Xiaobai was surprised.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I need to go to the Cosmic Sea and oversee the construction of the Tower of the Fifth. I can¡¯t stay any longer given my currentmitments."

    God Taiyi was impressed. "Brother Lu, you¡¯re building that Tower of the Fifth and opening a path to allow the entire Fifth Maind to grow stronger. It¡¯s really admirable."

    God Xiaobai started jumping up and down. "Brother Lu, can I visit the Tower of the Fifth?"

    Lu Yin smiled at the girl. "Of course. It will have many inheritances, and even if you aren¡¯t interested in any of them, there will be many resources avable."

    "How could anyone not be interested?" God Xiaobai was extremely excited. "These are your inheritances we¡¯re talking about, Big Brother Lu! There¡¯s the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, Hollow Palm, sourcebox arrays, and even your unique golden battle force that everyone¡¯s so jealous of."

    Lu Yinughed. "That golden battle force is far from unique, and you¡¯ll understand more once you get there. The Tower of the Fifth will be open to everyone from the Fifth Maind, but it won¡¯t be easy to grab any of the inheritances.¡±

    "Alright, I need to head out. I¡¯ll see you at the Tower of the Fifth."

    God Taiyi nodded and solemnly bid farewell. "See you at the Tower of the Fifth."

    God Xiaobai was reluctant to say goodbye. "Brother Lu, I¡¯ll see you at the Tower of the Fifth as well."

    After Lu Yin left Gods'' Origin, all of the disciples offered him another bow, and the ordinary humans knelt down and bowed towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not used to such treatment, so he merely offered some polite words to God of Mirrors and quickly left.

    After Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were gone, God Xiaobai said, "Brother Taiyi, Brother Lu isn''t that bad. You made him sound like a viin."

    God Taiyi¡¯s voice grew emotional as he replied, "He sees us as his friends, but you¡¯ll see his cruelty once he faces an enemy."

    God of Mirrors interjected, "Don''t underestimate Lu Yin. He crushed and suppressed City Lord Qing. He is someone who does not show mercy to his enemies."

    The elder then turned to re at God Xiaobai. "Especially you! Don¡¯t go making a mess of things and copy Yao Hong¡¯s mistakes."

    God Xiaobai stuck out her tongue. "I know."

    God of Mirrors gave the girl another look of warning before returning to Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s main hall.

    A short whileter, God of Magenta arrived. "Did Lu Yin tell you where that statue is?"

    God of Mirrors nodded. "I spoke to him. Fortunately, God Taiyi showed him around the various ruins, and I didn¡¯t do anything to stop them. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have had such an easy time of things. The Wen family¡¯s still being strung along by that kid."

    "Where is it?" God of Magenta had no interest in listening to God of Mirrors¡¯ rambling.

    God of Wind struggled with himself. "He told me, but he had a condition to sharing the information. He insisted that no one know about it other than me. He made me swear to follow this condition."

    God of Magenta''s expression changed. "Are you saying that you won''t tell me?"

    God of Mirrors replied, "Don''t worry about it. I¡¯ll bring the statue back here as soon as possible, and then you¡¯ll be able to see it."

    God of Magenta frowned. "Even if we¡¯ve never been able to obtain aplete statue for Gods¡¯ Origin, you might not be able to seed. Tell me the location, and we¡¯ll go together."

    God of Wind was getting annoyed. "I already told him that I would keep the information to myself, and I even swore an oath. Breaking my word will impact my state of mind, so drop it. I¡¯ll go fetch the statue."

    God of Magenta''s eyes turned cold, but he turned and left.

    God of Mirrors frowned. God of Magenta was bing more and more overbearing. He had spent all of his time chasing after Jin Mie, making him absent from Gods¡¯ Origin. The man had done very little for their home, yet he was still so arrogant.

    After spending a brief bit of time settling matters, God of Mirrors verified the location that Lu Yin had given him, and he was ready to leave after just half a day.

    At this time, God of Wind approached and respectfully said, "God of Mirrors, I need to report something."

 Chapter 1977: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 1977: Attack</h4>

    "What''s wrong?" God of Mirrors asked.

    Suddenly, God of Magenta appeared as well. "You don''t need to tell me where you¡¯re going¡ªI''ll just go along with you. As long as you don''t tell me the location, you won¡¯t be viting your oath."

    God of Mirrors was bing more and more upset with the other man. "God of Magenta, you-"

    Right at that moment, God of Magenta''s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at God of Mirrors, weakening the man. As his eyes locked onto God of Mirrors and weakened him, something was suddenly created out of nothing. A newly appeared de stabbed into God of Mirrors¡¯ heart so suddenly that the man could not even react.

    He simply could not believe what was happening.

    At this same instant, all of the mirrors in Gods¡¯ Origin shattered. God of Mirrors had been given his title because his innate gift was Mirror World, and it allowed him to travel through mirrors.

    God of Wind had destroyed all of the mirrors in Gods¡¯ Origin.

    God of Mirrors vomited a massive amount of blood as the sharp de in the heart disappeared nearly instantly. Truesight was truly a miraculous ability.

    God of Magenta sneered, and as he did so, someone stepped out of the void next to him. It was a person with a familiar face, a face that was hated by everyone in Gods'' Origin: Jin Mie.

    God of Mirrors'' pupils shrank. His face was incredibly pale, and he struggled to remain standing on his feet. He stared at Jin Mie, and then looked at God of Magenta. "You- why?"

    Jin Mie sneered. "I told you that he¡¯d be shocked."

    God of Magenta stared at God of Mirrors. "Tell me the location. You don¡¯t have to worry about your cultivation being impacted by breaking your oath any longer. Tell me the location, and I¡¯ll save you, and you can join us. You will remain as you have been here in Gods¡¯ Origin. Nothing will change for you, God of Mirrors."

    God of Mirrors gritted his teeth as he red at God of Magenta. "You¡¯ve betrayed Gods'' Origin!"

    He then looked back at God of Wind. "You¡¯ve also be a traitor."

    "She can¡¯t be considered a traitor, as she¡¯s always followed me," God of Magenta retorted indifferently.

    God of Mirrors stared at God of Magenta. "Why?"

    God of Magenta''s eyes flickered. "Tell me the location."

    "Why did you betray Gods'' Origin? Why are you working with Jin Mie?" God of Mirrors started shouting as his eyes flickered between God of Magenta, Jin Mie, and God of Wind. Both God of Magenta and God of Wind took a step back, but half of God of Wind''s body suddenly vanished, gone without a sound. It seemed that she did not even realize what had happened to her body.

    There had been no signs of an attack, but this was how Truesight worked and how those who followed the cultivation system of Rune Technology fought.

    Even an Envoy could disappear without a trace.

    God of Magentaid a hand on God of Wind''s shoulder and started reforming her body. Meanwhile, Jin Mie waved a hand, causing a sharp de to appear. As the weapon moved to attack God of Mirrors, it twitched and shifted back as though it was about to attack Jin Mie instead. Jin Mie grew serious, and the de started shifting back and forth between God of Mirrors and Jin Mie.

    Cough!

    God of Mirrors vomited more blood. God of Magenta stared at the man¡¯s injury with a chilling light in his eyes. Almost without notice, the wound on God of Mirrors¡¯ chest started to grow, and the flesh and blood there vanished as runes were erased. The man instantly utilized the absolute defense of the Knowing realm of Truesight to block God of Magenta''s attack.

    While none of the people present were moving, they were in the midst of a chilling battle.

    Most of God of Wind''s body was restored, and she stood there, trembling and pale. She had almost been unmade in that instant. If she hadpletely disappeared, she would have been gone forever. Unless an even more powerful Truesight practitioner took action, it would spell her death.

    Suddenly, God of Mirrors'' injury worsened, and he started gasping for breath.

    "How long can you endure?" Jin Mie sneered. He looked up, and sharp des appeared all around God of Mirrors, cutting off all paths of escape in the air and on the ground.

    God of Mirrors stared at God of Magenta alone. "Why are you working with that traitor? God of mes never treated you badly."

    God of Magenta said nothing.

    "Why?" God of Mirrors roared. He still could not believe this bizarre development.

    "Stop your ranting. Either tell us the location, or a traitor of Gods'' Origin. Once you¡¯re dead, your face will rece mine," Jin Mie said impatiently.

    God of Mirrors'' expression changedpletely. Having his face ced upon one of those giant statues wouldbel him as a traitor to Gods¡¯ Origin, which was a shame that could never be erased. "Jin Mie, you¡¯re the traitor! All of you are traitors! Just wait! God of mes will leave seclusion, and none of you will be able to escape!"

    Jin Mie justughed. "God of mes? You''re overthinking things. I went to where he¡¯s in seclusion to see him, and let me tell you what I found there.¡±

    As the man spoke, a smile appeared on his face. ¡°There was no one. No God of mes. No one in seclusion there at all. He cultivated into nothingness and disappeared." Jin Mie smirked.

    God of Mirrors'' eyes grewrge. "Impossible! God of mes has been in seclusion to be a Semi-Progenitor and to master a higher level of Truesight."

    Jin Mie shook his head and nced over at God of Magenta.

    God of Magenta spoke up, "He¡¯s really gone. If not, how would we dare to do anything here? God of mes failed to achieve his breakthrough, and he disappeared while in seclusion. Isn¡¯t that what you just tried to do to God of Wind? Make her disappear?"

    God of Mirrors clenched his hands into fists. "I don''t believe you!"

    God of Magenta replied, "That¡¯s enough. Give us the location and die easily, or you can join us and live. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die and bebeled a traitor to Gods'' Origin. Even if Jin Mie is here, no one knows that I¡¯ve been working with him, so nothing will happen to us.¡±

    God of Mirrors was mourning Gods¡¯ Origin. At their peak, they had stood on the same level as the Cosmic Sect and the Mavis family, practically peerless in the Fifth Maind. No one had dared go against them. However, one traitor had appeared after another within their midst, and it was possible that God of mes really was gone. If not, why else would Jin Mie and God of Magenta have the courage to move against Gods'' Origin?

    "Brother Magenta, it looks like he still won¡¯t agree, so just forget about convincing him. Besides, Truesight isn¡¯t your primary strength," Jin Mie said.

    God of Magenta frowned as he stared at God of Mirrors. "Last chance."

    God of Mirrors red at God of Magenta with bloodshot eyes. "I just want to know why you betrayed us. You were given everything here in Gods'' Origin."

    God of Magenta shook his head. "It looks like you simply want to die."

    "He won''t tell, but I will." A new voice suddenly spoke up, and hearing it caused both God of Magenta and Jin Mie¡¯s expressions topletely change. Everyone present turned to look in the same direction, and they all saw that Lu Yin had appeared at some point in time, and he was simply leaning against the wall, watching them as though he was enjoying a very interesting show. There was even a smile on his face that reached his eyes.

    God of Magenta''s pupils constricted. "Lu Yin?"

    Jin Mie''s expression twisted, and his heart sank.

    Lu Yin started apuding. "This was wonderful, really wonderful! I didn''t expect to stumble upon such a great show! This has been great!"

    God of Mirrors had also not expected to see Lu Yin. He struggled to believe his eyes. ¡°Alliance Leader Lu, why are you here again?"

    Lu Yin focused on God of Mirrors. "Do you want to know why God of Magenta betrayed you? That¡¯s because his name is actually Xia Ji."

    God of Mirrors was stunned. He could not believe this at all. "The Semi-Progenitor from the Seven Courts¡¯ Xia family?"

    Lu Yin turned to look at God of Magenta. "Isn¡¯t that right, old man?"

    God of Magenta''s expression had soured, but he was frighteningly calm. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to respond to such nonsense."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Some time ago, I was kidnapped by Xia Ji himself, as he wanted to force me to give him a secret regarding the Cosmic Art, and he even tried to pry the God of Death¡¯s inheritance from me. The ce that he took me to was your Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s Envoy-level tform of Trials, which is why God of Magenta ordered God of Wind to prevent me from visiting that ce and recognizing it. Am I right?"

    God of Magenta''s expression grew worse and worse as Lu Yin spoke. "Junior, it doesn¡¯t matter if you insist on using me of being Xia Ji, but why don¡¯t you go confront the Xia family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor to get your revenge if you¡¯re able? I won¡¯t entertain your nonsense here."

    The man then tore through the void as he and Jin Mie both entered the true universe in an attempt to escape.

    They would not care about Lu Yin if he were alone, but Lu Yin was never far from the Second Nightking, and no one present was an opponent for that old monster.

    However, one had to be capable of escaping before they could do so. A terrifying powerhouse who was inferior only to Semi-Progenitors within the Human Domain was present while these two men only had a power level that was slightly higher than 700,000. They were both instantly smacked out of the true universe, and the Second Nightking appeared with a raised hand. The two men were locked in ce, unable to move at all.

    Fury covered God of Magenta''s face, and a terrifying aura erupted from him. His power level instantly shot past 700,000, approaching a level of a million.

    Jin Mie showed no surprise, and instead he turned to stare at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he attempted to erase Lu Yin from existence.

    Lu Yin had never lowered his guard. If God of Magenta was Xia Ji¡¯s clone, then even if the clone was weaker than the original body, his power level should still be at least a million. How could a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s clone only possess a power level of 700,000? Once God of Magenta revealed his full strength, he started attacking the Second Nightking, which meant that Lu Yin was left with Jin Mie as his opponent.

    Jin Mie favored sneak attacks. He had first ambushed God of Mirrors, and he had also just tried to do the same to Lu Yin.

    God of Mirrors instantly retaliated, and the two men shed with Truesight right in front of Lu Yin. There was a st of wind that ruffled Lu Yin¡¯s hair.

    Jin Mie shot a cold re at God of Mirrors before decisively turning to run away. Regardless of how much God of Magenta¡¯s strength had surged, it was impossible for him to measure up to the Second Nightking, so Jin Mie wanted to get as far away as possible.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and released a Hollow Palm.

    Jin Mie''s entire body was protected by Truesight, and the Hollow Palm was instantly weakened when it touched the protective barrier. Still, a portion of the palm strikended on Jin Mie, causing him to stumble.

    The man was horrified. How had Lu Yin managed to be so powerful? He had clearly been a weakling just a short time ago during the war in the Cosmic Sea.

    Given Lu Yin''s current strength, how could Jin Mie possibly escape?

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet, and he suddenly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Jin Mie. The man had entered the true universe, but he was still blocked by Lu Yin.

    "Move!" Jin Mie screamed when he saw Lu Yin in his path. Blood and tears streamed down from man¡¯s eyes as he tried to erase Lu Yin¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin just sneered as a horrifying surge of strength erupted from him. The number of Lu Yin¡¯s runes increased without end. While Truesight was a miraculous cultivation system, it was impossible to surpass overwhelming strength. On top of that, Lu Yin also practiced Truesight, rendering Jin Mie¡¯s attack useless.

    Lu Yin calmly raised a hand andshed out again.

    Jin Mie quickly tried to utilize the Knowing realm of Truesight, which was Truesight¡¯s most powerful defense.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he stepped backwards. As he stepped backwards, he moved closer and closer to Jin Mie.

    The man was initially confused by what he saw, but when he realized that Lu Yin was getting closer, Jin Mie sensed a bit of turbulence in space that made him ufortable. He was suddenly unable to maintain the Knowing realm¡¯s absolute defense.

    Inverse Step had allowed Lu Yin to instantly shatter Jin Mie¡¯s Knowing realm mastery of Truesight.

    Jin Mie could not believe this sudden change. How could a mere movement technique shatter Truesight?

    In the past, Lu Yin had felt a simr sense of disbelief when Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had done the same thing to his own defense erected by Knowing realm. However, Lu Yin was the one shattering Truesight now. It was a wonderful feeling.

    Boom!

    There was a deafening sound as Jin Mie''s body was sted out of the true universe. Half of the man¡¯s body was crushed, and he smashed into the floor of the main hall of Gods'' Origin. He could not even pick himself off of the ground as he bled on the floor.

    Jin Mie was pale, and blood leaked from his mouth as he stared at Lu Yin with eyes that could not ept his situation.

 Chapter 1978: Revenge Will Be Exacted

    <h4>Chapter 1978: Revenge Will Be Exacted</h4>

    Lu Yin looked down at the wounded man in a condescending manner. "You managed to escape in the Cosmic Sea, but that was only because God of Magenta let you escape. This time, it¡¯s over for you."

    Jin Mie¡¯s face twitched, and he answered in a hoarse voice, "I can submit to you."

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look into the distance where God of Magenta was trying to fight against the Second Nightking and escape. However, the difference between the two¡¯s strength was simply too vast. Even if God of Magenta was one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones that had cultivated Truesight to the point where he possessed a power level of almost a million, it still was not enough to stand up to the Second Nightking.

    A power level of almost a million waspletely different from actually achieving a power level of a million. This clone of Xia Ji''s was simply too weak.

    However, even if God of Magenta was not the Second Nightking¡¯s opponent, his mastery of both the Knowing and Infinity realms of Truesight allowed him to drag out the fight with the Second Nightking.

    "Come with me." The Second Nightking¡¯s overwhelming power swept out, and God of Magenta was pushed to his limit. He was about to fall.

    Suddenly, a candle emerged, and God of Magenta lit it. The entire area was instantly filled with runes that were entirely under God of Magenta¡¯s control, and he shot a vicious attack at the Second Nightking.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    He was able to see that the number of runes that had appeared were basically at the Semi-Progenitor level.

    The Second Nightking also sensed the danger that had suddenly appeared despite not being able to see the number of runes. The oppressive sense of danger caused him to continuously retreat, and as he did so, a tear appeared in space.

    God of Magenta turned to shoot Lu Yin a vicious re. A Netherworld River appeared beneath the man¡¯s feet, and he reached for the candle, clearly trying to flee.

    Lu Yin arched a brow, and an astral chessboard reappeared beneath his feet. It spread out until it was also beneath God of Magenta''s feet. Lu Yin was not trying to move himself, as not even the Second Nightking was strong enough to stand up to the level of strength of the runes that had just appeared. There was no chance Lu Yin would be able to either.

    He just wanted to steal that candle.

    God of Magenta grabbed the candle with a hand and then turned around to flee. At this moment, Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open: Ce Secret Art: Board Maniption.

    Inexplicably, God of Magenta moved back where he had just been, and he let go of the candle he had just grabbed.

    He was utterly stunned by this change.

    Time had not changed, but space had. The attack that God of Magenta had released with the candle had onlysted for a split second, but as that attack ended, God of Magenta had failed to escape and had even failed to grab the candle.

    Lu Yin yelled, "Second Nightking!"

    The Second Nightking spun around and pointed a finger forward: Nightking Advent Immortal Finger. The cold froze even space.

    God of Magenta was absolutely furious. He wanted to take that candle with him, but the Second Nightking had already attacked. God of Magenta could not afford to hesitate, not even to take that candle. However, it was also impossible for him to escape on his own.

    In a moment of desperation, the man lit the candle to release the explosion of runes again and then turned and fled with the Netherworld River in his hand.

    It was impossible for God of Magenta¡¯s speed topare to the Second Nightking¡¯s, but the Netherworld Riverpensated for the difference.

    Even though Lu Yin also had a Netherworld River, it only could increase his speed to match the Second Nightking¡¯s, which meant that it would be of no use at all to the Second Nightking.

    Furthermore, God of Magenta had released a second attack from the candle to create an opening to use to escape.

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do in this situation. In the end, God of Magenta was one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones, and such a powerhouse would never be easy to trap.

    The Second Nightking was unwilling to see someone with a power level of less than a million escape, as it was humiliating for someone at his level.

    From beginning to the end, God of Mirrors was merely a spectator, never doing anything more than suppressing God of Wind.

    Lu Yin did not care about Envoys like God of Wind, as he could easily handle such people with a single casual attack.

    Lu Yin was instead focused on the candle that was still burning in space, staring at it in amazement. It was able to release such an incredible number of runes the moment is was lit; just what was it?

    God of Mirrors was also looking at the candle with a strong desire.

    Lu Yin saw that, so he stretched out a hand. The candle was extinguished, and it fell into Lu Yin¡¯s hand. He then calmly put it away and turned to face Jin Mie.

    God of Mirrors opened his mouth to say something, only to find that he did not know how to phrase what he wanted to say.

    All four of Jin Mie''s limbs had been crippled, so he was lying on the floor in a miserable manner. His eyes radiated fear, showing his desire to not die.

    Lu Yin¡¯s indifferent eyes looked down at the man.

    Long ago, Xia Ji and the Ignition Crew had built up a blood debt by targeting people with the Lu surname and ending seventy two lives. Jin He had already died, and the Ignition crew had been wiped out. At this moment, Lu Yin had Jin Mie in his hands, which left only Xia Ji.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I surrender to you and will be a part of your Great Eastern Alliance! I¡¯m far from weak, as you already know," Jin Mie said. His words were cut short, and his voice was weak. He was literally begging, as he did not want to die.

    All the man had ever wanted to do was reach a higher level of mastery of Truesight. This was the reason why he had not hesitated to betray Gods'' Origin and had even risked his life to sneak into God of mes¡¯ seclusion area. Jin Mie was nothing if not persistent in pursuing his ambition.

    "You traitor! First you betrayed my Gods¡¯ Origin, and now you want to betray Xia Ji and submit to Alliance Leader Lu? What next? Will you betray the Great Eastern Alliance? Alliance Leader Lu, don''t believe a thing that he says!" God of Mirrors quickly spoke up as soon as Jin Mie started begging. Someone who could change sides so casually would make anyone nervous.

    Jin Mie¡¯s voice grew firm. "Xia Ji and I were only ever using each other, and I didn¡¯t even know that I was working with him at first. Ji Qiang was the person who asked me to work with him, and he told me to help him destroy Leon¡¯s Armada. I never imagined that he was actually Xia Ji from the very start. There was something else to his ns, and the Semi-Progenitor was just using me. As for Gods'' Origin, I only ever wanted to gain a greater mastery of Truesight. I would never have betrayed you all, but you forced me!"

    God of Mirrors became furious. "You¡¯re a traitor, and yet you still have the gall to me us? You stole a treasure from Gods¡¯ Origin and even sneaked into God of mes¡¯ seclusion area! How do you exin that?"

    Jin Mie gritted his teeth. "Stole a treasure? I never touched any treasure that¡¯s the God of mes¡¯."

    God of Mirrors frowned. "What are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin turned to look at Jin Mie.

    Jin Mie was breathing heavily, and he coughed a few times before he replied. Blood was dripping out of the corner of his mouth. "I- I snuck into God of mes'' training ce, but God of mes was not there! I''m not lying! God of mes disappeared a long time ago, and all that was left was a candle."

    God of Mirrors looked over at Lu Yin, who pulled out the candle that he had just grabbed. "This candle?"

    Jin Mie nodded and turned to face God of Mirrors. "You can¡¯t have forgotten why God of mes was called God of mes, right?"

    Lu Yin nced over. God of Mirrors¡¯ expression instantly changed, and he forced himself to exin when he noticed Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "He is called God of mes because his innate gift is a candle. When that candle is lit, it lights up the world. That¡¯s why he¡¯s called God of mes."

    Jin Mie agreed, "That''s right! But God of mes hasn¡¯t been in seclusion at all, as only that candle was left in his training location. I believe that he caused himself to be erased while training Truesight, reduced to only the candle you see here."

    Lu Yin looked at the candle in his hand and felt a moment of panic; was this thing God of mes?

    God of Mirrors stared at the candle in Lu Yin''s hand and immediately begged, "Alliance Leader Lu, can you give me that candle? If it really is God of mes, it¡¯s possible that I might one day be able to resurrect him with Truesight."

    Lu Yin arched a brow and then bluntly stored the candle away. Even though the idea was rather frightening, God of Magenta had used that candle to release an attack that had forced back even the Second Nightking. How could Lu Yin not want such a powerful treasure? "Senior God of Mirrors, I can see how confused you must be, but tell me, how can a man be a candle?"

    God of Mirrors realized that Jin Mie¡¯s story sounded absurd, but he remained determined. "Truesight is a miraculous system, and no one knows what level God of mes might have reached. It¡¯s possible that he had already mastered Truesight to the Semi-Progenitor level, so it might not be impossible for him to have be a candle."

    Lu Yin still refused. "That¡¯s ridiculous."

    God of Mirrors frowned. He desperately wanted to get that candle back, but after seeing Lu Yin''s attitude, the man knew that it would be impossible. "Alliance Leader Lu, we can allow you to study all of the ruins here in Gods¡¯ Origin."

    "You already told me that when I told you the location of the statue. Actually, the location I told you was a lie."

    God of Mirrors was stunned. "It¡¯s fake?"

    Jin Mie was also taken aback.

    Lu Yin looked over at Jin Mie. "I already knew that God of Magenta was Xia Ji''s clone, so I told you that lie in order to lure him into making a move."

    Lu Yin then turned to smile at God of Mirrors. ¡°Your Gods¡¯ Origin owes me a favor."

    God of Mirrors was stunned. Lu Yin¡¯s words sounded urate, but something about them felt very wrong.

    Jin Mie felt worse than ever. He and God of Magenta had been tricked! The whole thing had been a scam. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had given away the location of the statue so easily. Such behavior was not at all in line with Lu Yin¡¯s character.

    Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned with God of Mirrors¡¯ feelings at this moment, as he was using his gadget to call Big Sis.

    It was not long before her image appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s disy. This time, she looked like a dwarf with a long beard. Seeing her startled Lu Yin for a moment.

    "Little Seven, what''s the matter?" Big Sis asked as she flicked her beard out of the way.

    Lu Yin did not know how to deal with her new appearance, so he simply shifted the video to show Jin Mie. "Big Sis, look who I found."

    Big Sis stared at the screen and quickly leaped to her feet. "Jin Mie?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Jin Mie stared at the disy showing Big Sis, and his eyes started to dart about as he nervously asked, "Are you- are you Lei Qingqing?"

    Big Sis stare Jin Mie with cold eyes for a moment before sneering. "Little Seven, did you capture him?"

    "How do you want me to deal with him?"

    Jin Mie stared at Big Sis. "Lei Qingqing, what happened back then has nothing to do with me! We only followed Ji Qiang¡¯s orders! It was all his n, and I had nothing to do with it!"

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes glinted as she tipped her head. She and her mercenaries had been chased through the Innerverse, and even in the Outerverse. That terrifying experience was something that she would never be able to forget.

    The people who had left Leon¡¯s Armada and the Cosmic Sea with Big Sis at that time had all been family members, and she could still clearly see the faces of those who had died. Despite not saying a word, she had never abandoned her pursuit of getting revenge on Jin Mie. Xia Ji might be the target of most of Big Sis¡¯s hatred, but the Ignition Crew had been the ones to actually take action against Big Sis and her family.

    Jin Mie had delivered the order to Jin He that had led to the judgment of the list of people surnamed Lu.

    Big Sis would never forget the hatred that had risen from the helplessness, sadness, and despair that she had felt at that time.

    "Little Seven, it¡¯s time to collect our debts," Big Sis stated indifferently.

    Jin Mie''s expression changed drastically, and he turned to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, I can help you! Don''t kill me! I can help you reach the Infinity level of Truesight! I¡¯ve hidden vast amounts of wealth! I-¡±

    While the man was still talking, Lu Yin casually swatted out with a hand, ending the man¡¯s life.

    A powerhouse who would submit to him. The Infinity level of Truesight. Vast wealth that had been hidden. These were certainly tempting conditions to even Lu Yin, but no matter what he was offered, nothing couldpensate for the seventy two lives that had been lost.

    Lu Yin was the reason why Big Sis and her mercenaries had been driven out of the Innerverse, and if they had abandoned him, nothing would have happened to them, and none of them would have died. Lu Yin was the sole reason why those people had died, as he was the excuse that their enemy had used. At the beginning, because of him, Big Sis¡¯s mercenary group had merely been expelled from the Innerverse. If those people were willing to give up on him, they would not have had any idents, and they would not have died so miserably. Those people had died because of him. He needed to repay his debt.

    Jin Mie had been dealt with, but that did not mean that things were finished. Xia Ji had been the one to instigate everything.

    "Big Sis, we will eventually get revenge on everyone," Lu Yin said.

    Big Sis just looked away and ended the call.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage appeared in front of Lu Yin. "By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    There was no longer any reason for Lu Yin to hide his Champions¡¯ Stage. Those who knew about his identity were already aware, and anyone who did not know would not understand.

    God of Mirrors was one who did not understand, and he stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage in amazement. What was this thing?

    God of Mirrors had wanted Jin Mie to be punished and executed by Gods¡¯ Origin, but he had not dared to say a word as he watched Lu Yin¡¯s cold attitude while performing the killing blow.

 Chapter 1979: Comparing Strength

    <h4>Chapter 1979: Comparing Strength</h4>

    As Lu Yin stared at the image of Jin Mie that had appeared on his Champions¡¯ Stage, he started considering his champions. He had anointed quite a few now, including seven Envoys. The most powerful of his generals should be Leaf King and Jin Mie, but neither of the two had a reliable form of strength.

    The Leaf King that Lu Yin summoned was one without the body that had absorbed that mysterious substance from the Mother Tree. While the man had learned many battle techniques, there was no way for the champion to possess the same level of strength that had allowed the man to fight against Lu Yin.

    As for Jin Mie, the man had mostly cultivated Truesight, which was a cultivation system that could not be used in many locations, such as Perennial World.

    It would be wonderful if Lu Yin could anoint a top powerhouse as a champion, such as Xia Ji.

    Of course, that was nothing more than a dream. Given the fact that Xia Ji was a Semi-Progenitor, even if the man was dead, Lu Yin had no idea if he would be able to anoint the man as a champion.

    Jin Mie¡¯s death had unraveled an old knot in Big Sis¡¯s heart, and the man had even been dealt with by Lu Yin, which eased the woman¡¯s feelings even more. As for the man¡¯s corpse, Gods¡¯ Origin might make some sort of fuss about it, but that was none of Lu Yin¡¯s business.

    He said to God of Mirrors, "I''ll give you Jin Mie''s body, but your Gods¡¯ Origin owes me another favor."

    God of Mirrors had already recovered enough to respond. "Alliance Leader Lu, you just said that the location of the statue that you originally gave me was false. Can you tell me where it really is?"

    Lu Yin had wanted to leave Gods¡¯ Origin hanging on for a bit longer, but after considering the situation, Lu Yin had already used God of Mirrors to force God of Magenta to expose himself, and Lu Yin had even taken away that candle that might be God of mes. Lu Yin felt embarrassed by the idea of toying with God of Mirrors any longer.

    "I can do that, but that simply settles one matter. I¡¯ll tell you the location to make up for lying to you about it before, but what about the fact that I just saved your Gods¡¯ Origin or helped you deal with Jin Mie?" Lu Yin said.

    God of Mirrors felt frustrated by Lu Yin¡¯s attitude and was about to reply, but Lu Yin quickly continued. "Actually forget that. I have a good rtionship with Gods¡¯ Origin, so let¡¯s just treat this whole matter as friends helping each other out."

    God of Mirrors swallowed the words that he had been about to say. As for the candle, the man felt that it would be too awkward to ask for it.

    "The statue is in Burial Garden," Lu Yin stated.

    God of Mirrors was surprised. "Burial Garden?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Whenever Burial Garden reopens, you can send someone in to look for the statue, but I should warn you that there¡¯s a true powerhouse trapped there. He¡¯s at least as strong as the Second Nightking, and he might even be a Semi-Progenitor. He was forced to kneel in worship and was transformed into a statue worshiping the main statue, so you¡¯ll need to be very careful."

    God of Mirrors gave a wry smile. The statue was in Burial Garden? When would they even be able to see it, let alone move it to Gods¡¯ Origin?

    Lu Yin might as well have not said anything at all.

    A battle had been fought in the main hall of Gods'' Origin, and all of the mirrors in Gods¡¯ Origin had been shattered. There was no way that the people outside the hall would not notice themotion, but no one had been able to enter the main hall.

    After Lu Yin and the Second Nightking left Gods¡¯ Origin for the second time, God Taiyi and the other disciples were finally able to enter the main hall. When they saw Jin Mie''s body on the floor, all of the disciples were shocked. "God of Mirrors, is that traitor Jin Mie?"

    God of Mirrors nodded. His face was still a little pale. Behind him stood God of Wind with her head hung low. She had only managed to avoid execution because Gods'' Origin could not afford to lose two Envoys at the same time. If such a drop in strength became public, they would likely be targeted by their enemies.

    "Why is Jin Mie here?" God Xiaobai was terrified to see the man¡¯s corpse.

    The other Gods'' Origin disciples who had entered the main hall all looked at God of Mirrors as well, and the man gave a brusque answer. "I don''t know how the traitor managed to sneak in, but he tried to ambush me. I killed him, and we will hang his body outside Gods'' Origin. Any traitor to my Gods¡¯ Origin will be treated as an enemy, and we will never let them go!"

    "Yes!" All of the Gods¡¯ Origin disciples became excited at the exnation that they were given.

    God of Mirrors let out a long breath as he watched the excited disciples stream out of the main hall. Lu Yin had left, but he had also taken the candle with him. It was critical for them to retrieve the candle, but what could be done about it?

    At the moment, Gods¡¯ Origin was far weaker than the Great Eastern Alliance, let alone everything else that was supporting Lu Yin.

    "We will speak of your crimester. What happened today cannot be leaked. Understand?" God of Mirrors asked in a cold voice.

    God of Wind dropped to her knees. "I understand."

    Lu Yin left Gods'' Origin without any dys this time, and he continued straight towards the Cosmic Sea.

    He was well aware that Xia Ji had to be absolutely furious at the moment, and the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s hatred and desire to kill Lu Yin must have spiked to entirely new levels. However, this did not phase Lu Yin at all, as Xia Ji could not do anything to him, and the man was also most likely worried that Lu Yin would expose the secret of God of Magenta being another one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones.

    At the moment, the most important thing to focus on was the Perennial World¡¯s invasion.

    Lu Yin had already made every possible preparation, and his efforts to strengthen the Fifth Maind were proceeding ording to n. There was nothing critical that Lu Yin had to take care of at this moment, and he simply needed to wait for the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s construction to finish. At that point in time, his name would ring out across the Fifth Maind and be made known.

    Also, while he was waiting for the Tower of the Fifth to finish, he could spend his time rolling his die.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s strength had increased, the value of Possession had be more and more noticeable.

    The cultivation world was structured like a pyramid, and the higher one climbed, the fewer people there were. Lu Yin¡¯s current strength allowed him to Possess many top experts, which gave him ess to many of the universe¡¯s secrets. He felt like he had a good chance of Possessing someone participating in the Perennial World¡¯s invasion, which could provide him with another opportunity to further dy the invasion.

    The Second Nightking was capable of incredible speed, and it was not long before they had covered a vast distance and arrived at the Cosmic Sea.

    The Tower of the Fifth was being built at the center of the Cosmic Sea in the middle of the Abyss of the Sea

    Already, construction on the Tower of the Fifth had started. Despite its massive size, it was being built by cultivators from the Hall of Honor, Leon¡¯s Armada, and the Great Eastern Alliance. It would only take a month, or two at the most, for it to finish.

    This was even after considering that the builders were being forced to wait for materials to be delivered. If enough materials were readily avable at the construction site, the Tower of the Fifth would bepleted even faster.

    Powerful cultivators were capable of moving mountains to fill seas and shatter space, so using such power in construction efforts was naturally quite efficient.

    There were countless ships anchored around the Abyss of the Sea. As the Tower of the Fifth was being built, many savvy people had started to build artificial inds, docks, and more. The Abyss of the Sea was guaranteed to soon be one of the busiest and most prosperous locations in the universe.

    Anyone with a brain would want to start a business in such a ce, but everyone who wanted to do so needed to pay a fee to Leon¡¯s Armada. In the end, the Abyss of the Sea was within their region of control. Actually, it was more urate to say that the entire Cosmic Sea belonged to Leon¡¯s Armada, with the sole exception of the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory.

    None of the crews in the Cosmic Sea were allowed to bring people to the Abyss of the Sea, and doing so would earn them the enmity of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    This was an irond rule that even the most powerful forces of the Neoverse had to follow.

    Lu Yinnded on the deck of one of the warships belonging to Leon¡¯s Armada with a bang. Everyone on board grew wary at the sudden sound, but they warmly greeted Lu Yin as soon as they saw who had arrived.

    There was a whoosh as a massive war de shed out from a cabin.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "Captain, you really don¡¯t need to do this every time we see each other.¡±

    Even as he spoke, Lu Yin grabbed the war de. Highsage Leon almost instantly appeared, and he also grabbed the war de as he tried to press it down upon Lu Yin.

    Highsage Leon¡¯s power level wasparable to the Sea King¡¯s, and both men were also Realmbreakers who were capable of challenging Envoys with power levels of 800,000 or even 900,000. At this moment, Highsage Leon did not release his full strength, taking the affair rather casually.

    While Lu Yin would be able to hold his own against Highsage Leon in an all-out fight, he felt powerless at this moment, as he was being forced topete in physical strength. Lu Yin¡¯s physique had improved to a level where even old monsters with power levels of a million might not be stronger than him.

    However, he also needed to give his captain a bit of face. At this thought, Lu Yin took a step back, his face flushed red. "Captain, I can''t hold on any longer."

    Highsage Leon suddenly whipped his war de up and mmed it down onto the deck of the warship with enough force to cause the entire Abyss to tremble. "Little Seven, since when did you be such a hypocrite? You¡¯ve already surpassed me."

    Everyone who heard this statement was shocked, and they all turned to stare at Lu Yin in disbelief. How old was Lu Yin, and yet had he already surpassed their captain?

    Further away, countless people who had gathered outside of the Abyss of the Sea were staring at the warship, and they saw an intimidating man three meters tall standing on the deck, as well as theparatively tiny Lu Yin. That little Lu Yin had already stepped past Highsage Leon to be one of the most powerful figures in the Fifth Maind.

    Liu Shaoqiu was among those outside the Abyss of the Sea at this time, and he stared at the warship within Leon¡¯s Armada withplicated emotions. Long ago, he hadpeted with Lu Yin, but that was no longer a possibility. There could be nopetition whatsoever.

    Liu Shaoqiu was only present for the sake of the Sword Sect and to try to take the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords away from the Tower of the Fifth.

    Ling Gong was also present, but she kept herself hidden. She let out a cold snort as she stared across the sea at Lu Yin. She had made the trip here to learn more about battle force. She had a great interest in the power, as it matched with her spear skills extremely well.

    Wen Sansi, Wen Qian''er, and many others from the Wen family had arrived in the Cosmic Sea as well. They hoped to take away the Literary Prison inheritance.

    The Tower of the Fifth had announced far too many inheritances, and there were countless people, both famous and unknown, who had gathered in the Cosmic Sea from the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even the Neoverse. All of them were waiting for the Tower of the Fifth to open.

    Lu Yin had arrived at the Abyss of the Sea to the sight of the massive gathering. This was exactly what he had been hoping for.

    If the Perennial World did not force him to use thisst resort, the Tower of the Fifth would be the greatest contribution that he could offer to the Fifth Maind. As Xuan Jiu had said, offering training to the entire universe might alter Lu Yin¡¯s future.

    Everyone considered doing good deeds, but too few actually followed through on those thoughts. Only after doing so could one understand just how wonderful the feeling was.

    The Tower of the Fifth was still in its construction phase, but Lu Yin was already enjoying that feeling. He merely hoped that he would not be forced to use his final card.

    Everyone was selfish. Lu Yin could offer his abilities to the entire universe, but he also did not want to be abandoned by them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival caused Leon¡¯s Armada to grow quite rowdy, and the leaders of the various regiments started to gather.

    "Captain, we haven''t thanked Little Seven for what he did during that Cosmic Sea war yet. If not for him, I wouldn¡¯t be here any longer, and Leon¡¯s Armada wouldn¡¯t be ruling the entire Cosmic Sea! Little Seven, here¡¯s a toast to you!" In a cabin, the captain of the Merman Regiment, Brother Hao, stood and spoke.

    Lu Yin quickly responded, "I''m also a member of Leon¡¯s Armada, so it was only right for me to do that."

    "Little Seven, your sister here has to offer you a toast as well. I also would have died during that war if you hadn¡¯t saved me." Sister Fei also stood, her beautiful face flushed, as she expressed her gratitude to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered her as well. "It''s just a pity that Elephant King and Rocky couldn''t be saved."

    He could still remember the simple and honest Elephant King whose birth had been apanied by a phenomena, as well as the man who had been covered with stone. Both of them had died during that war.

    "Life and death are both a matter of fate, and that was their fate," Ghost Doc said in his hoarse voice. His back was as hunched as ever, but he gazed at Lu Yin in a very approving manner. ¡°Picking you up back then was the right choice."

    "That damn girl Qingqing ran away in a huff back then, and she even dragged you away with her after losing her temper. She almost wasn¡¯t able to make it back to us," Sister Feiined angrily.

    Kidney just smiled. "Speaking of Qingqing, I heard that she¡¯s been having a great time on Mt. Microcosms."

    Highsage Leon mmed his ss onto the table with a bang. "That damn girl! Don¡¯t make me worry and just stay where I can see you! She better not make trouble on Mt. Microcosms and get tossed out."

    Sister Fei snorted derisively. "I¡¯d like to see who has the guts to do that."

    Lu Yin was surrounded by everyone''s cheerful banter. He loved this sort of atmosphere.

    Before too long, Highsage Leon waved everyone out of the cabin, but Lu Yin spoke up. "Wait a minute."

    Everyone looked at him in a questioning manner, but he summoned his Champions¡¯ Stage. "With my name, I summon a champion."

 Chapter 1980: Multiple Possessions

    <h4>Chapter 1980: Multiple Possessions</h4>

    Right after Lu Yin spoke, Jin Mie appeared in front of everyone, his body forming out of stellr energy.

    Everyone was shocked. "Jin Mie?"

    Highsage Leon¡¯s eyes tightened and flickered with a dangerously cold light as he looked at the summoned Jin Mie.

    Even though it had been said that the deaths of Elephant King, Rocky, and the other people from his regiments was fated to happen, how could anyone in Leon¡¯s Armada not care about these deaths? They had spent years together as a family, so it was naturally difficult for them to let go.

    Cultivators might be ruthless, but they still had emotions. This was true of Big Sis, and of everyone else in Leon¡¯s Armada as well.

    "Little Seven, what¡¯s this?" Sister Fei was puzzled.

    Highsage Leon replied, "This is Little Seven''s innate gift. Jin Mie¡¯s already dead."

    "I happened to run into him right before I came here. It turns out that he was hiding in Gods'' Origin," Lu Yin exined in a deep voice.

    Ghost Doc nodded. "Revenge. Revenge¡­"

    He ambled out of the room while still talking to himself slowly.

    Sister Fei and the others gave Lu Yin looks of gratitude before they also all left the cabin.

    After the Champions¡¯ Stage disappeared, Highsage Leon gave Lu Yin a serious look. "I don''t know your real reason behind why you¡¯re building this Tower of the Fifth, but if you have any problems, you need to tell us. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be considered a member of Leon¡¯s Armada any longer. Also, be careful of that Second Nightking. A powerhouse like that won¡¯t be happy serving someone like he¡¯s been doing for you."

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, "I know."

    After leaving Leon¡¯s Armada, Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking to iste a region of space on the seabed close to the Abyss of the Sea. He needed to go into seclusion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal during this period of time was to Possess the body of a powerhouse from the Perennial World¡¯s invasion force and hopefully further dy their ns.

    Before entering seclusion, Lu Yin brought Sapling out. "Behave yourself and absorb some stellr energy."

    Sapling¡¯s branches tightly wrapped around Lu Yin, and it was clearly reluctant to leave him alone. The light from the small tree¡¯s leaves even flickered, as if it was contemting Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin spent a bit more time coaxing Sapling to listen to him, and eventually, Sapling entered the true universe and began to absorb stellr energy.

    Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin would eventually get stellr liquid from Sapling, it would always be good for the tree to absorb stellr energy.

    After Sapling was taken care of and a region of space was isted, Lu Yin set up a sourcebox array and raised a hand. His die appeared, and he tapped it, internally begging six pips to appear.

    When the die stopped, Lu Yin saw three pips.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and quickly rolled his die again.

    He actually did have things to Enhance, but he could not do it here, as the Second Nightking might be able to sense his actions. It was best to use Enhance in the Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin¡¯s second roll resulted in Pilfer, and a sword tumbled out. He picked it up and squeezed it lightly, instantly shattering it. It was trash.

    Continue.

    The third roll was four pips, and the scenery changed around Lu Yin as he entered the Timestop Space.

    After he increased his time in it to almost a year, Lu Yin began to train in the Cosmic Art.

    Out of everything in Lu Yin¡¯s repertoire at the moment, it made the most sense for him to train the Cosmic Art. He was very eager to increase his mastery of the cultivation art and eventually be able to use the pattern on the bottom of his foot. Then, he would find out what exactly Progenitor Chen had left behind.

    Time passed quickly as Lu Yin recited the Origin Sutra and practiced the Cosmic Art.

    After he simted 42,000 stars, he saw that he only had a short amount of time left before he would leave the Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and brought his die out. He tapped it, but he only managed to roll another Pilfer.

    After resting the necessary ten days, his next roll was two pips, which was useless. Finally, after resting again, he managed to roll three pips, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up at this sight.

    The two screens of light appeared, and he set the eggshell that he had received from Tian Dou on the top screen. After getting more funds, Lu Yin wanted to Enhance as many defensive treasures as possible, as he never knew when he might need to use them.

    The eggshell could supposedly block an attack from someone with a power level of a million, so Lu Yin expected even its first Enhancement to be quite expensive.

    Sure enough, the first upgrade cost nearly seven billion star essence alone. It was a lot, but it cost about as much as the upgrade for the Withered Bark or the Netherworld River that Lu Yin had already Enhanced. All of these treasures could affect battles with experts with power levels of over a million.

    The second upgrade cost almost 14 billion star essence, which made the total that Lu Yin had spent on the eggshelle to around 20 billion star essence. There was no way that he could upgrade it a third time.

    As Lu Yin stared at the eggshell, he suspected that it would be able to defend against attacks with power levels of almost 1.2 million. In other words, even the Second Nightking might struggle to break through the eggshell after its Enhancement.

    After putting the eggshell away, Lu Yin pulled out his Withered Bark that contained properties of time. He had already upgraded it twice, and he was hoping to improve it a third time to see what would happen to it.

    After throwing out a river of star essence, the Withered Bark slowly fell through the two screens of light, finallying out the bottom.

    Lu Yin stared at it and found that the power vessel had be rather blurry to look at. He reached out to touch it, but it felt like his hand could not touch it at first. He realized that it was not distorted light that was making the Withered Bark look blurry, but rather distorted time.

    This was the property of time that the Withered Bark held.

    After it had been Enhanced two times, Lu Yin had noticed that time itself had twisted around the Withered Bark, even if it had not been by very much. Still, this was the power of time, which was beyond theprehension of even a powerhouse on the level of the Second Nightking. Just what sort of power had Progenitor Ku left behind?

    Thinking about this made Lu Yin want to Enhance the Withered Bark yet again.

    However, he hesitated right when he was about to try. While he had obtained 100 billion star essence from Shamrock Enterprise, just upgrading two items had depleted 40 billion. Another upgrade would likelypletely exhaust Lu Yin¡¯s funds, and how would he be able to Possess anyone after that?

    Feeling frustrated, Lu Yin put the Withered Bark away yet again. He needed to put it off until he ran into another windfall. What a pity.

    He soon left the Timestop Space, though only a second had passed in the outside world.

    Lu Yin had managed to simte 42,000 stars of the Cosmic Art, which was still less than halfway through the cultivation art¡¯s fifth level.

    Neither Progenitor Chen, who had created the cultivation art, nor anyone who had ever trained in the art, had ever managed to cultivate the Cosmic Art as quickly as Lu Yin.

    He had only been training in the cultivation art for around twenty years, and in that short amount of time, even a talented disciple like Qiu Shi could only simte less than a thousand stars. Still, Lu Yin had to admit that he had no idea how many stars Qiu Shi was able to simte at the moment, but he was absolutely certain that she had not perfected the fourth level of the Cosmic Art yet.

    These thoughts drifted through Lu Yin¡¯s mind and left him excited as he rolled his die again.

    After spinning, it slowly came to a stop on six pips, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. He became excited as his consciousness entered the strange space that was filled with orbs of light.

    He looked around, quickly found a dazzlingly bright ball, shot over to it, and merged with it.

    Lu Yin had Possessed many people, and given his experience, the brilliant orb that he had merged with should represent an expert with a power level of over 900,000, possibly even approaching a million. Such a person would be regarded as an expert wherever they went in the entire universe.

    Lu Yin felt excited as his Possession started.

    Countless memories flooded into his mind as Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. He saw an unfamiliar ce. He was in the Meng n¡¯s territory in the Sacred Weave.

    Lu Yin had managed to Possess Meng Fuzi. This man was the most powerful expert in the Meng n, as he was a five-tribtion Envoy. He was indeed an expert with a power level of over 900,000.

    However, the Meng n was a strange group, as everyone in it cultivated the Dream Sutra, which meant that all of them spent most of their time sleeping.

    This was also how the Green and White Sages had managed to infiltrate the Meng n and defile so many of their women.

    Kui Luo had publicized their actions, which had sent a massive shockwave through the entire Sixth Maind. The Green and White Sages had fled from the Daosource Sect after their actions were exposed, and no one knew where they had gone.

    Lu Yin had Possessed Meng Fuzi, and when he came across the man¡¯s memory of this recent event, he felt the man¡¯s hatred. It had not dimmed in the least.

    The entire Meng n had been investigated, and they found that the Green and White Sages had defiled many of their women. The n was full of people who did not actually possess the Meng n¡¯s blood. This scandal had taught them a tragic lesson.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Anyone who suffered such this level of disgrace and humiliation would experience the emotions of the man that he had Possessed.

    However, Lu Yin could not gain much from Possessing Meng Fuzi. This elder spent almost all of his time sleeping and cultivating, which meant that he barely interacted with anyone.

    Lu Yin quickly ended the Possession. After all, the more powerful the target was, the more costly the Possession would be. He did not want to waste all of his star essence on Possessing such a person.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had felt Meng Fuzi¡¯s hatred for the Green and White Sages, and having the same emotion well up within himself due to the Possession was a very ufortable sensation.

    Still, Lu Yin had learned the Dream Sutra.

    He recalled that this was the same cultivation art that Sleeping Prince, who had ranked 100 on the Top 100 Rankings of the Innerverse, had used. Lu Yin had no idea who had the moreplete version of the cultivation art, or how it had even managed to be distributed to both Mainds.

    His consciousness returned to his own body, and he quickly checked his cosmic ring, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw that only around 3 billion star essence had been used.

    While 3 billion star essence sounded like an astronomical sum, as far as Lu Yin was concerned, it was a bargain for the opportunity to Possess an expert with a power level of over 900,000. Such a Possession would burn through star essence at a shocking rate, and even a single second could use up hundreds of millions of star essence.

    Six pips was incredibly expensive to roll.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt that the resources that he had taken from Shamrock Enterprise was not enough.

    It was possible that the only forces in the entire Fifth Maind that could support Lu Yin¡¯s expenditures were the Hall of Honor and the Mavis family.

    After a brief recovery, Lu Yin raised his hand to continue rolling his die. He tapped it with a finger, and it slowly spun around before eventually stopping on five pips.

    Gift Copy was a useless roll, and this was also Lu Yin¡¯s fourth roll, which meant that he needed to rest for ten days.

    He used this time to truly rest. When considering his time in the Timestop Space, he had been training for almost an entire year, so a ten day break was not unreasonable.

    Those ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Lu Yin lifted his head, watched as his die appeared, and then resumed rolling.

    As it gradually came to a stop, he saw three pips. Again. One pip. A piece of paper fell out, and Lu Yin checked it. It turned out to be a loan agreement, but for a loan that had already been repaid. Why had the contract not been returned to the client? What was their name?

    Seeing that the name was merely a code, Lu Yin realized that he was wasting his time, so he tossed the paper away and resumed rolling his die.

    His next roll was Gift Copy again, which was still useless. Finally, he rolled Timestop, and he returned to the Timestop Space.

    With that, Lu Yin immediately resumed training the Cosmic Art. This cultivation art took an extremely long time to master.

    Almost a yearter, Lu Yin exited the Timestop Space after managing to simte 46,000 stars.

    He had once again rolled his die four times, which meant that he needed to rest for another ten days.

    A short distance away, the Second Nightking nced over to where Lu Yin was isted. This was rather odd; if the youth was training, then why were there no stellr energy fluctuations?

    The old man looked elsewhere at Sapling who had happily taken root in the true universe and was contentedly absorbing stellr energy. Regardless of how much stellr energy the tree sucked up, there was no reaction from the true universe at all.

    Seeing this roused the Second Nightking¡¯s envy. Who would not wish to be able to absorb stellr energy so boldly?

    This sapling was so lucky.

    The Second Nightking once again realized that Lu Yin possessed many bizarre treasures.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin raised a hand and brought his die back out to continue rolling.

    Three pips. Five pips. Six pips.

    Lu Yin was just about to roll the die again when he realized that he had just rolled Possession. His consciousness quickly returned to that strange space.

    He looked around and quickly found a bright orb that was rather close by. This ball was neither too bright nor too dim, and it most likely belonged to someone with a power level of about 800,000, which suited Lu Yin perfectly.

    Seeing this, Lu Yin did not hesitate to merge into the light.

 Chapter 1981

    <h4>Chapter 1981</h4>

    When Lu Yin opened his eyes again, he saw a massive fleet of spaceships surrounding him. The sight was shocking, but just where was he?

    Memories quickly started to pour into his mind, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. He quickly looked down and finally saw the body that he had Possessed. There were not many experts at this level of strength, so it was not unexpected for Lu Yin to Possess someone he was familiar with. However, beyond all expectations, he had actually Possessed the White Sage.

    The Green and White Sages had been elders in the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. They had been respected for both their humble lifestyles and their strength; both men were four-tribtion Envoys.

    However, despite their gleaming reputation, the Green and White Sages hadmitted countless terrible crimes by taking advantage of their Deep Meditation cultivation art. Still, their crimes had eventually been exposed by Kui Luo, and they had subsequently fled and disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯sst Possession had been of Meng Fuzi, and he clearly felt the old man¡¯s burning hatred for the Green and White Sages. Lu Yin had not expected to Possess the White Sage with his very next Possession. This seemed like fate.

    "My lords, they are arriving now, so please pay attention," a voice spoke up from behind Lu Yin.

    Next to him, Green Sage grunted. "Don''t worry, we can already sense them.¡±

    He then nced over at Lu Yin¡ªno, he looked over at ¡°White Sage.¡±

    "White Sage" nodded. "There are a lot of them."

    There was an odd-looking mechanical lifeform behind the two men. They were at Sky Creation Academy.

    After the Green and White Sages fled from the Daosource Sect, they had gone straight to the Technocracy and joined Sky Creation Academy. They had done this in order to avoid being chased down and killed by Jiu Yao.

    The Technocracy had actually been the two men¡¯s only option.

    More and more memories entered Lu Yin''s mind, and his expression kept changing. The most unexpected thing he learned was not regarding the Green and White Sages or that they had joined Sky Creation Academy. Rather, it was that Sky Creation Academy had already finished its negotiations with the Perennial World.

    During hisst seclusion, Lu Yin had Possessed Long Quan. He had used the man¡¯s body to attack and kill Sky Creation Academy¡¯s ambassador to the Perennial World beforemitting suicide. At the moment of the man¡¯s death, he had also announced a massive lie in an attempt to dy the Perennial World¡¯s invasion of the Fifth Maind through the New Corridor.

    Lu Yin had thought that his efforts would have bought him half a year¡¯s worth of time, but unexpectedly, the Perennial World had already finished its negotiations with Sky Creation Academy after just a quarter year. On top of that, the invasion force had already entered the New Corridor and was about to arrive in the Fifth Maind.

    This was too fast! The Tower of the Fifth had not been finished yet, so it was impossible to unite the Human Domain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as he processed this information, and he caused White Sage¡¯s body to move forward.

    Green Sage shouted, "Get back here. We need to wait here."

    "White Sage" acted curious. "I want to see what this New Corridor is and where those people who once abandoned the Fifth Maind live."

    Green Sage frowned. "Sky Creation Academy doesn''t trust us, so we need to wait here. If we move any closer, they¡¯ll get suspicious of us. We can¡¯t go back to the Daosource Sect, and I don¡¯t want to get kicked out of Sky Creation Academy."

    "White Sage" did not like this restriction. "Sky Creation Academy doesn''t trust these neers, so why did they allow them toe here but leave us here to keep an eye on them? You should remember that these people are also the Fifth Maind¡¯s true elites, as the ancient war between the two mainds was mostly fought against those primeval surnames."

    Green Sage waspletely unfazed. "So what? Countless years have passed since then, and the Sixth Maind¡¯s actually moved into the Fifth Maind. What¡¯s more, the primeval surnames aren¡¯t evening for the Sixth Maind, but rather for some kid named Lu Yin."

    "How can a youth be worth all this effort, even if they are from the Lu family?" "White Sage" wondered.

    Green Sage looked over. "You¡¯re talking a lot today."

    "White Sage" looked back and shook his head. "It''s just a pity that we were discovered after so many years and that our reputations were ruined. If not for that, you and I might have been able to cross our fifth or even our sixth tribtions in the Daosource Sect. Don¡¯t forget that our goal was always to be able to see that ce."

    Lu Yin had already seen White Sage''s memories and the man¡¯s past, as well as what the man had hoped for while in the Daosource Sect. Furthermore, Lu Yin had seen the man¡¯s deepest desires. Foremost among them was the Green and White Sages¡¯ desire to visit the core of the Daosource Sect, where not even the sect¡¯s elders were allowed to visit.

    Actually, Lu Yin already knew what was in that ce. Kui Luo had broken into the Daosource Sect, and he had seen a statue in the sect¡¯s depths, but this information had been kept secret from the Green and White Sages.

    For many years, they had frequently seen various people going into the depths of the Daosource Sect to worship something, especially the three Progenitors, and this activity made the two men very curious.

    White Sage¡¯s words drew out a sigh from Green Sage. "That¡¯s impossible for us now. If I had known what would happen, I would have stopped long ago. It wasn¡¯t the sex that drew us, but rather the excitement of the unknown."

    "Not to mention the thrill of seeing the various direct descendants of the big powers and knowing that they¡¯re your own offspring," "White Sage" replied. These were White Sage¡¯s true feelings that Lu Yin was speaking. The Green and White Sages had been born into bad circumstances and were bullied in their childhood. Their cultivation path had been a difficult one, and they had frequently been oppressed by people from variousrge families and powerful organizations. They had survived dire ordeals that would be impossible for most people, and this was why they had startedmitting such crimes; they wanted to take revenge on the various powerful forces.

    Green Sage sneered. "Alright, that¡¯s enough. Someone will arrive soon, so we should try to find a way to earn Sky Creation Academy¡¯s trust and then eventually pass through this New Corridor and reach that other ce. Then we will be able to be at peace."

    "White Sage" nodded. "Let¡¯s move closer so that we can get a good look at this New Corridor."

    Green Sage said nothing, and White Sage continued to move closer and closer to the New Corridor.

    There was a blurry line some distance away in space. From far away, it looked like a long snake moving through space. Both its beginning and end were too blurry to see, but this was the passage that connected the two ces.

    The New Corridor was not veryrge, and it was only wide enough for a hundred people to pass through while walking side by side. However, it was not easy to traverse the New Corridor, and if one was not careful, they could easily fall out of the passage and be torn up by the chaotic space around it. It was important to be careful when passing through the New Corridor, and thus, people usually limited themselves to only letting fifty people pass through at a time in order to avoid idents that could easily ur withrger groups.

    Green Sage and ¡°White Sage¡± moved closer to the New Corridor, and their actions drew the attention of the mechanical lifeforms from Sky Creation Academy. Still, the two humans stopped before they got too close.

    Even though Sky Creation Academy had put on a show of weing the two Envoys, it was just a show, and the two were thought of as nothing more than hired guards. After all, experts with power levels of over 800,000 were very useful, and thus the men had been given the basic level of respect, but they were not allowed ess to any sensitive information.

    "White Sage" stared at the New Corridor and observed everything before him very carefully. The most noticeable things around them was a nearby mechanical giant, which was actually themander of the Lost Course Army. It was an android as strong as an expert with a power level of over a million. Additionally, there were some other androids around themander, both humanoid and odd looking ones.

    For all of them to be arranged side by side, they should have around the same level of strength.

    "White Sage" frowned. Their presence created a problem; how could the New Corridor be destroyed? It was vital that the Perennial World¡¯s invasion be dyed at least a bit longer.

    Lu Yin started to get anxious when he saw a person appear within the New Corridor. Hurry up! Hurry up!

    For every moment that he Possessed White Sage¡¯s body, more and more star essence was being consumed.

    Before long, a person exited the New Corridor. They were Wang Shang, the Wang family powerhouse who had first been sent to the Fifth Maind through the New Corridor, only to be beaten back by Hui Kong.

    Behind Wang Shang appeared someone who was wearing the robes of an elder from the Celestial Frost Sect. Even if the person was not a six-tribtion Envoy, they had to have at least passed four or five tribtions.

    One cultivator after another emerged, until more than sixty people had appeared.

    The moment that Wang Shang appeared, he was greeted by the mechanical lifeforms of Sky Creation Academy, and the two parties immediately started discussing something.

    From everyone in the group who had arrived from the Perennial World, Wang Yun was the only person aside from Wang Shang who had visited the Fifth Maind before. Thus, most of the neers were looking around with a great deal of curiosity. The members of the Wang family were the only ones who were not particrly curious about the mechanical lifeforms, as they had a long history of interacting with the Technocracy¡¯s Sky Creation Academy as well as the mechanical lifeforms.

    For most of the others, this was their first time seeing such bizarre creatures.

    Everyone waspletely focused on Wang Shang at this moment, and Lu Yin knew that he could not wait any longer. He had no idea when his star essence stores would be exhausted.

    There were numerous powerhouses around, so despite having a power level of over 800,000, it was impossible for White Sage to do anything against the people from the Perennial World. The best option given the current situation would be to assassinate someone after sneaking into the group without being detected. Deep Meditation was a terrifying cultivation art used by most of the Sixth Maind¡¯s assassination groups because of how it excelled in making people difficult to detect.

    The Green and White Sages had managed to reach their current strength through Deep Meditation as well.

    By using White Sage''s memory, Lu Yin easily used Deep Meditation with the Possessed body, and White Sage instantly vanished.

    The first person to notice anything at all was Green Sage. He nced around in confusion; where had White Sage gone?

    Right after that, Wang Shang¡¯s expression changed in the middle of his conversation with the mechanical creatures from Sky Creation Academy. He suddenly turned to look over where Wang Yun and the rest of the people from the Perennial World were gathered. ¡°Be careful!"

    Despite the elder¡¯s sharp warning, Wang Yun and others did not react. "White Sage" attacked, pping down a hand upon an entire group of people from the Perennial World. None of those targeted could do anything when attacked by an expert with a power level of over 800,000, including even an Envoy or two who had only passed one or two tribtions.

    White Sage¡¯s descending palm froze in mid-air, and an angry voice growled, "My Sky Creation Academy was kind enough to take you in, and yet you dare to act like this? You must want to die!"

    "White Sage" violently spat out blood, absolutely stunned. As expected of the Technocracy¡ªdespite releasing a full-powered attack as an Envoy with a power level of more than 800,000, he had been instantly stopped and incapacitated.

    Still, even though the attack had been stopped before it waspleted, a powerful shockwave that shattered space still rippled past many of the people from the Perennial World.

    The first people sent over from the Perennial World were not weak by any means, as each of them was at least an Enlighter. However, the shockwave that swept over them was the blocked attack of an Envoy with a power level of over 800,000. Even if it was only a fraction of the attack¡¯s full power, it still was not something that Enlighters could withstand. In particr, it was far beyond Wang Yun¡¯s capabilities. She had been standing the closest to White Sage when he attacked, and she suffered the strongest part of the shockwave. Her entire body had been crushed, and she had instantly died.

    The rest of the shockwave had swept over the rest of the people from the Perennial World, and it killed at least another dozen people, including even an Envoy.

    Lu Yin was frustrated by the current situation. He had assumed that White Sage would be instantly killed, which would have given everyone the impression that he wasunching a suicide attack against the Perennial World. Sky Creation Academy would then have a very difficult time exining the situation, and it would most likely destroy the agreement that had been negotiated.

    Fortunately, Wang Yun had died, so it might be possible to stall the invasion for at least a short while.

    After being captured, it was impossible for Lu Yin tomit suicide with White Sage''s body even if he wanted to. Lu Yin prepared to end the Possession, but suddenly, his expression changed. He had just seen someone use one of the Lu family¡¯s inherited techniques: the Hidden Needle.

    Some distance away from White Sage, there was a man in the robes of the Celestial Frost Sect. The man opened a hand, and a needle stabbed into his palm, which allowed him to recover from all of his injuries.

 Chapter 1982

    <h4>Chapter 1982</h4>

    That was clearly Hidden Needle! There was no chance that Lu Yin had been mistaken. The body that Lu Yin had Possessed trembled as he stared at the man who had used the Lu family technique. Just who was that man?

    The Possession ended in an instant, and Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body.

    He was not at all optimistic about the oue of his actions in Sky Creation Academy as his attempt had clearly failed. Instead, Lu Yin thought back to the man who had just used Hidden Needle.

    Lu Yin had actually seen that man before, and while Lu Yin had no idea what the man¡¯s name was, his face was very familiar. The first time that Lu Yin had seen the man had not been in person, but rather in Astral-10¡¯s Stargazing Deck. At that time, Lu Yin had seen a dpidated courtyard that had not been cleaned in a long time. There had also been a Champions¡¯ Stage, which Lu Yin had recognized, as well as a man kneeling on the ground. That kneeling man was the same person that Lu Yin had just seen use Hidden Needle.

    Both in the vision and during his Possession, this man had felt very familiar to Lu Yin, but he seemed unable to remember anything at all.

    That man clearly had some sort of connection to both the Lu family and Lu Yin himself, as there was no other reason for the man to seem so familiar.

    This man was definitely connected to Lu Xiaoxuan, and yet he was also a member of the Celestial Frost Sect. Thus, the man must either be a Celestial Frost Sect disciple who had left a deep impression on Lu Xiaoxuan, or the man could have been a follower of the Lu family who had turned to the Celestial Frost Sect. It was very possible that the man was a traitor.

    Lu Yin had always believed that there was a group of people who had to have betrayed the Lu family, as how else could they have been banished? The Lu family had previously suppressed all four of the current ruling powers on its own.

    However, it was also clear that, even if there had been traitors, the man whom Lu Yin had just seen did not qualify to be one.

    In that case, who was that man?

    After mulling the matter over for a while, Lu Yin just stopped thinking about it. It did not matter who the man was. He had entered the Fifth Maind, so Lu Yin just needed to meet the man in person and get the truth then.

    Seeing the man had also reminded Lu Yin of Kui Luo.

    Lu Yin created an image of the man that he had just seen and sent the picture to Kui Luo to see if the old man might know who the man was.

    Kui Luo did not reply, and Lu Yin had no idea where the Semi-Progenitor might be or what he was doing.

    Lu Yin then nervously checked his cosmic ring. He had Possessed White Sage¡¯s body for quite a bit of time.

    30 billion. He had consumed a full 30 billion star essence with this Possession.

    While it sounded like an exorbitant sum, Lu Yin actually felt relieved, as he had feared that it had bankrupted him again. He was lucky to still have more than 40 billion star essence remaining, which was enough for him.

    This rtively small expenditure was all thanks to the close proximity of those whom Lu Yin had Possessed. Despite Possessing Long Quan for a short time, it had burned through 20 billion star essence, so Lu Yin felt that trading 30 billion for that much time was perfectly eptable.

    Lu Yin had consumed nearly 100 billion star essence in the blink of an eye. Even if one looked through the entire universe¡¯s history, had there ever been someone who could spend money as quickly as Lu Yin? Still, he was not too bothered, as no one else knew of hisvish expenditures.

    However, if Lu Yin continued to act like this for too long, it was possible that he might create economic problems for the Fifth Maind. He really was using up far too much star essence.

    There was a beep from his gadget.

    Lu Yin quickly checked, and he saw that Kui Luo was sending him a response.

    ¡®I don''t know who that is. He looks like some weakling, so how should I have any idea who he is?¡¯ Kui Luo replied.

    Lu Yin immediately called the old man, and after a short while, Kui Luo answered.

    "You once promised me that you¡¯d tell me everything about my Lu family after I became an Envoy," Lu Yin stated.

    Kui Luo answered with a chuckle, "Did you really believe me? I¡¯ll be honest with you¡ªI don¡¯t actually know much about the Lu family. They saved me and my brother, and they were the only reason why we managed to survive for so long. However, given the tasks that we were entrusted with, we couldn¡¯t be seen with the Lu family. So, we really never learned that much about them. We only had some sparse interactions with some of the top people in the family, such as the bastard who¡¯s your father. Your grandfather died long ago on the rear battlefield, and I have no idea about anyone from older generations. I can¡¯t even tell you how many direct descendants the Lu family had, as I only ever spoke to a few people."

    "That¡¯s it?" Lu Yin could not believe what he was hearing.

    Kui Luo shrugged. ¡°Me and my brother were always kept hidden, as not even the Lu family would have been able to protect us if those people from the Celestial Frost Sect had ever found out about our connection to your family."

    "Have you ever heard of Lu Tianyi?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo''s voice suddenly grew solemn. "He was one of your family¡¯s most powerful Progenitors, and he controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. He should be one of your direct ancestors."

    "One of my family¡¯s Progenitors?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Did we have more than one Progenitor?"

    Kui Luo¡¯s voice dropped low. "Of course. How else could your family have suppressed monstrous powers like the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, and the Xia family? Even whenpared to those monsters, your Lu family towered over them. There was always more than just one or two Progenitors at a time. On top of that, the members of the direct family line have the Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift. It¡¯s said that any Progenitor from the Lu family is exceptional even among Progenitors, so you can just imagine how terrifying your family was.¡±

    "If not for their trickery, even the united might of the four ruling powers would not have been able to defeat your Lu family, and that¡¯s not even mentioning that legendary figure in your family."

    Lu Yin was getting more and more excited. The more powerhouses that there were in his family, the more likely it was that they had managed to survive being banished. After all, they had been banished, not killed.

    Lu Yin had once believed that his entire family was dead, and he had constantly been on edge and worried about them. However, he had since calmed down considerably. "What legendary figure?"

    Kui Luo let out a long breath. "I don''t really know how to exin that one to you, as no one knows if they ever really lived or are just a myth. You know what, I¡¯m not even gonna bother telling you for now."

    Lu Yin got quite worked up at this. "Old man, you could choke to death if you leave things half-said! Hurry up and tell me!"

    Kui Luo just responded by rolling his eyes. "If they never even existed, then telling you will only be toying with you. Leave an old man in peace. Not even your Lu family has ever been able to prove that that person ever existed due to how long ago they were supposed to have lived. It¡¯s just a legend that your family used to defend their authority over others. Actually, now that I think about it, the four ruling powers probably exiled the Lu family in order to stop being taken advantage of by you guys.

    "Alright, enough with the questions. I¡¯ve already told you everything I should. When your family was around, me and my brother kept ourselves hidden, so I never really got to know your Lu family at all."

    Kui Luo then abruptly hung up.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at his gadget, feeling helpless. He had a rather decent understanding of Kui Luo, and Lu Yin was clear that the old man would not say anything more on this subject no matter how Lu Yin begged or pleaded.

    Still, Lu Yin had been greatly inspired by the little bit that he had managed to get from the old man. Lu Yin looked up towards the surface of the sea; his Lu family had more than a single Progenitor! Lu Tianyi had been a Progenitor with a Champions¡¯ Stage, and he had even been able to summon Progenitor champions! Just how powerful had the Lu family been at their peak?

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands tightened into fists. He did not believe that a family as powerful as his Lu family would be wiped out so easily. The day woulde when Lu Yin would lead his family back to rule over the Fifth Maind and all of humanity. He would lead the human race in their war against Aeternus and suppress all of the traitors.

    The day was inevitable.

    Excitement filled Lu Yin''s eyes.

    ¡­

    Far away, at the Technocracy¡¯s Sky Creation Academy, Wang Shang had a terrible expression on his face as he silently stared at Wang Yun''s body.

    A short distance away, White Sage was frantically screaming, "I didn''t do it! I didn''t do it! I didn''t!"

    Wang Shang was beyond furious, and he looked over at White Sage. A single handshed out, and half of White Sage¡¯s face was instantly pulverized. The man spat out blood. His eyes were bloodshot, and his normally casual andid back demeanor was nowhere to be seen. "I- I really didn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t do that."

    A verymon looking android suddenly appeared, but all of the mechanical lifeforms from Sky Creation Academy in the area instantly bowed to them. ¡°Headmaster."

    This android was Headmaster Senn, the leader of Sky Creation Academy.

    Headmaster Senn approached White Sage and stared into the man¡¯s eyes that were brimming with pure fear. "Head- Headmaster! I didn''t do it! It really wasn¡¯t me!"

    The eyes of Headmaster Senn''s android body were red, and they swept over White Sage. "There is nothing wrong with your body."

    White Sage fell into despair. "But I really don''t remember doing anything at all! Some master must have been controlling my body! I really didn¡¯t do it."

    Headmaster Senn looked to the side where Green Sage had been captured and subdued as well. The man was ring resentfully at White Sage. Why did that bastard attack someone from that ce?! You asshole!

    When he saw Headmaster Senn looking over, Green Sage instantly panicked. "Headmaster, I waspletely ignorant of his intentions, and I have no idea why he attacked those people. He never said a thing to me."

    "Green Sage, I didn''t do it!" White Sage roared.

    Green Sage snapped back, "You did do it! Everyone saw you! Do you still want to argue about it, White Sage? What¡¯s wrong with you? Why did you do that? Do you even have anything against those people?"

    White Sage vomited blood from his mounting rage. He could not even breathe properly.

    Wang Shang''s expression was terrible as he looked at both Green Sage and White Sage. He actually was not concerned about White Sage¡¯s sneak attack, as it was not a big deal if a few people died.

    More importantly, Wang Yun had died. She had been Elder Wang Si¡¯s favorite grandchild, and she was not supposed to pass through the New Corridor in the first batch, but she had been to the Fifth Maind before, which was the only reason why she had been sent at all. Before the excursion had set out, Wang Shang had been entrusted with ensuring Wang Yun¡¯s safety. He had not expected the girl to die before they even truly arrived.

    What was Wang Shang supposed to say to Wang Si when he returned?

    The problems were only increasing. First, Long Quan hadmitted suicide after killing Sky Creation Academy¡¯s ambassador, and Wang Shang had been standing right next to the man. At this moment, some bastard had killed Wang Yun while she was with Wang Shang. The man really wanted to cough up blood. Why was he suffering such terrible luck?

    "Elder Wang Shang, none of us wished to see this happen. Please rest assured that I will thoroughly investigate this incident, and we will provide you with an appropriate exnation," Headmaster Senn said.

    Wang Shang''s expression was truly ugly, and he was unwilling to even look at Headmaster Senn. It was clear that Sky Creation Academy did not actually care about the deaths of those from the Perennial World, but Wang Shang was in a position where he had to work with Sky Creation Academy in order for the Perennial World¡¯s invasion force to pass through the New Corridor.

    They had already lost an Envoy.

    The four ruling powers had had to pay a steep price to reach an agreement so quickly, and Wang Shang was well aware of it. Given the price paid, he did not have the confidence to pursue the matter of the sneak attack, as if he stirred up trouble, how would the invasion force be able to cross the New Corridor? They really could not demand anything from Sky Creation Academy at this moment.

    "I will inform the Great Elder of this matter, and I hope to hear an exnation from Sky Creation Academy as soon as possible." This was all that Wang Shang could say, as he did not dare to show any anger towards Headmaster Senn.

    The android just nodded and looked back at White Sage.

    This was a very strange incident, especially since White Sage did not seem to be lying. Even if the man had a terrible grudge against the Perennial World, no one would be stupid enough tounch an attack at this ce. And where did his hatred towards the primeval surnames stem from? It didn¡¯t make any sense. Regardless, Headmaster Senn was determined to not get involved in any way.

    However, if White Sage had not been the one to attack, then what had happened? Had the man been controlled? Who could covertly control an Envoy while so close to so many powerhouses? After all, they were in the Technocracy, which was a ce that even Semi-Progenitors feared.

    Unless, a Progenitor had taken action.

    This possibility instantly left Headmaster Senn feeling wary. He remembered why the Green and White Sages had sought refuge from the Sixth Maind, but was it possible that the whole thing was a conspiracy? Could the two men have been deliberately sent to the Technocracy? Could a Progenitor have been controlling White Sage just now? Could there be an even bigger conspiracy behind everything?

    Numerous thoughts and vague suspicions flitted through Headmaster Senn¡¯s mind. In the end, he concluded that this incident was a Progenitor giving a warning to his Sky Creation Academy that the people from the Perennial World were not wee in the Fifth Maind. If this was true, then there were going to be problems.

    Headmaster Senn suddenly hesitated. The threat of a Progenitor was not something that could be ignored.

    ¡­

 Chapter 1983

    <h4>Chapter 1983</h4>

    After resting for ten days, Lu Yin forced down his excitement and rolled his die again.

    He had no idea if he had used up his luck or what, but all four rolls turned out to be Gift Copy. He had never encountered this situation before, and it was very unusual for him to not even roll Timestop.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to rest for another ten days before trying again.

    Ten dayster, he watched as his die slowly came to a stop, revealing four pips. He quickly appeared in the Timestop Space.

    The only thing that Lu Yin needed to focus on in this space was cultivating the Cosmic Art. That was what he most urgently needed to master.

    Almost a year soon passed by, and the scenery before Lu Yin''s eyes changed as he left the Timestop Space.

    He had managed to simte 50,000 stars with the Cosmic Art, but it was still far from enough. He needed to keep going.

    His next roll was a Pilfer, and a colorful piece of paper fell out. It was covered with various printed advertisements.

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he tore the paper up. Who would store an advertisement in their cosmic ring? Had it been saved because of nostalgia?

    Another Pilfer, and a bottle of some sort of drink fell out.

    Two pips. Worthless.

    He had already rolled four times, so Lu Yin needed to rest for another ten days.

    He had already been in seclusion for a month, and the Tower of the Fifth would quickly finish construction as the workers were in full swing. A quick estimate said that it would be finished in about a month or so.

    While the construction was proceeding, battles had also broken out around the rising Tower of the Fifth.

    Despite the numerous inheritances that would be avable in the Tower of the Fifth, there were nowhere near enough for everyone to receive an inheritance. To increase one¡¯s chances of obtaining an inheritance, it was best to eliminate as much of thepetition as possible.

    This was just like the Astral Towerpetition that had urred in the Mountains and Seas Zone before, and battles were constantly breaking out around the rising Tower of the Fifth.

    Many cultivators formed small groups that intended to enter the Tower of the Fifth together.

    Little Mountain God, Kuang Wang, Yue Xianzi, and Ling Que, Xi Yue, and a few others were fighting a fierce battle with another group of people. The second group was made up of people from the Cosmic Sea. Some of the smaller crews in the Cosmic Sea had banded together.

    Ling Que and the others had assumed that their opponents would be easily dealt with, but something did not feel quite right.

    "These guys are pretty difficult to deal with. A few of them are even using the same sort of attacks. They don¡¯t seem like they¡¯re from the Cosmic Sea." As Ling Que spoke, his opponent opened his mouth and let out a loud roar that forced Ling Que back.

    Ling Que''s expression turned ugly. "Damn, your mouth really stinks!"

    The man just sneered as he shot towards Ling Que. This man was a Hunter, and he was pushing Ling Que in an intense fight.

    Ling Que was feeling rather frustrated. Even though he was still a Cruiser, he was just a single step away from bing a Hunter. With his highbat ability and innate gift, he was usually able topete with Hunters, or even hold out against Enlighters for a bit. Despite that, he was being overpowered by this opponent.

    Little Mountain God was also feeling pressured. He was fighting against two women, and they used cooperative battle techniques that had sealed off any path towards victory. He was someone powerful enough topete with the Ten Arbiters, even if Little Mountain God was not at Ling Que¡¯s level. ¡°No, these guys aren¡¯t from the Cosmic Sea or even the Neoverse. They came from the north, which means that they should be from the Sixth Maind."

    "Shut up, you stupid rock!" one of the women yelled as her assault on Little Mountain God grew even more intense.

    Little Mountain God just swayed to the side as he shouted, "Wait a minute, I''m right! Hey,e see this! People from the Sixth Maind are actually trying to steal inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth!"

    Ling Que also started shouting, "Everyone,e look at this! These guys are pretending to be a crew from the Cosmic Sea! Look at this!"

    Kuang Wang, Yue Xianzi, and the others in the group all lookedpletely confused. Were their opponents really from the Sixth Maind?

    One of the women fighting with Little Mountain God became furious. "We¡¯re from Jasper World! Stop spouting shit!"

    Little Mountain God sneered. "Blow it out of your ass! You¡¯re from the Sixth Maind!"

    The woman became angrier than ever, and her attacks grew even more violent.

    Suddenly, an old man appeared nearby. He was an Enlighter, and he stared at the womanshing out at Little Mountain God. "Girl, the Sixth Maind is not wee here, so leave.¡±

    The old man then started to force the women back, and their expressions turned ugly, "You old bastard, stop this shit!"

    More and more people started to appear at this particr battlefield. "Go back to the Sixth Maind!"

    "Why are people from the Sixth Maind here?"

    "Leave!"

    Just a short timeter, the entire group was driven off.

    Little Mountain God stood proudly, and Ling Que leaned closer. "Are they really from the Sixth Maind?"

    Little Mountain God blinked absently., "How should I know? Isn¡¯t that what you said?"

    Ling Que was speechless. "You said it!"

    Little Mountain God was confused. "Really? Eh, just forget about it. It¡¯s not worth worrying about. Some old farts will get involved and deal with it."

    The old Enlighter was still nearby, and he easily overheard the two¡¯s conversation. He turned to re at Little Mountain God.

    Little Mountain God just sneered at the old man before turning back to Ling Que. "I''m not afraid of that old man, but there¡¯s also no reason to start another fight. I wonder what¡¯s going to happen inside the Tower of the Fifth."

    Ling Que felt like he was seeing the real Little Mountain God for the first time. "I had no idea that despite looking so honest and simple, you¡¯re actually quite scheming and cunning. I¡¯m d that I didn¡¯t run into you during the war in zing Mist Flowzone."

    Some time ago, there had been a war in zing Mist Flowzone, and the Sword Sect had cooperated with Beast Tamers Flowzone to fight against the Lingling n and the Wen family, so the two men had been enemies during that time.

    Little Mountain God rolled his eyes. "You aren¡¯t good enough to challenge me, so go find your sister."

    Ling Que sneered. "When my sister shows up, you¡¯ll be done for."

    Little Mountain God refused to ept his inferiority.

    There were simr battles taking ce everywhere around the Abyss of the Sea, as everyone wanted to monopolize the inheritances that would be avable in the Tower of the Fifth.

    However, it was not just youths who had gathered and were fighting. The qualifications for people to enter the Tower of the Fifth still had not been announced, and many older experts had also appeared. There were even Envoys hiding themselves as they anxiously waited for the announcement.

    Lu Yin''s inheritance was far too tempting for many people, especially the God of Death Transformation that would be on the tower¡¯s ninth floor. That technique would grant invincibility to anyone who received it, and they would be able to sweep away all of their peers.

    As for Extremes Must Be Reversed, no one even recognized the name of the technique, with the exception of a few people from the Ku family, so almost everyone ignored it.

    Still, it was something that had been ced on the ninth floor of the tower, so everyone still wanted to get it.

    Aside from reducing thepetition for the inheritances, there was one other thing that had gained a great deal of attention, which was the Inheritance Ranking.

    This so-called ¡°Inheritance Ranking¡± was actually the list of contributors that Lu Yin had considered before. Everyone who provided an inheritance for the Tower of the Fifth was treated as making a contribution to the Fifth Maind. The Hall of Honor was keeping track of all this, and a list had been made that ranked the contributors by the value of their donations.

    This list, just like the Tower of the Fifth itself, would stand in the Fifth Maind forever. As long as the Fifth Maind existed, so too would the Tower of the Fifth and the Inheritance Ranking.

    This was a record that wouldst forever, and any who managed to get their name on the Inheritance Ranking would leave their mark down in history.

    There were many cultivators in the universe who had failed to find suitable sessors and who were reaching the end of their lives. The Tower of the Fifth had provided those experts with an opportunity to pass their inheritance on to qualified sessors while also letting them leave their names down in history so that others could learn of their deeds.

    The Inheritance Ranking had created an entirely new function for the Tower of the Fifth.

    The appearance of the Inheritance Ranking meant that the Tower of the Fifth was no longer something that belonged to Lu Yin alone, as it was now the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s legacy.

    This Inheritance Ranking had elevated the prestige of the Tower of the Fifth even further than before.

    Of course, the list was onlyposed of the names of individual people, and the names of sects and other powers were not included. Instead, organizations had their names incorporated into the design of the Tower of the Fifth itself, and the information regarding the tower and the inheritances that would be avable had already be famous throughout the universe.

    However, the Inheritance Ranking had only just started, and it held no names. After all, the Tower of the Fifth had not beenpleted yet.

    Once the Tower of the Fifth was finished, the Hall of Honor would assign a specific person who would be responsible for verifying the value of inheritances provided by individuals so that they could be ranked on the Inheritance Ranking.

    More and more people continued to gather in the Cosmic Sea, all of them waiting for the Tower of the Fifth to bepleted.

    There were even many cultivators who left seclusion to look at the Cosmic Sea with eagerness. They were all just waiting for the tower to open its doors.

    It felt like ten days passed in a sh. Lu Yin looked away from the rising Tower of the Fifth and lifted his hand to continue rolling his die.

    This time, his luck was quite good, as his first roll was Possession.

    Lu Yin was starting to run low on star essence. He wanted to Possess someone else from the Perennial World¡¯s expedition, but he also did not want to burn through too much of his finances, which was rather contradictory.

    His consciousness returned to that strange, dark space, and he saw orbs of light both near and far. He immediately shot towards a bright ball of light that was rather close to him.

    While this light was bright, it was not brilliant. Lu Yin felt that this person should be about as strong as he was.

    As his consciousness merged into another body, Lu Yin felt a chill enter him from his feet. He opened his eyes, only to see a vast, white field of ice. Where was he?

    "Master, we¡¯ve received word from Xu Feng that Master Gui Junheng has already gone there to check on things. We don¡¯t need to go." Lu Yin heard a clear voice speak up from behind him. A woman who looked quite young was speaking to him. Despite her apparent youth, she was already an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin froze as memories started to appear.

    Yi Dishui stopped moving behind Lu Yin, surprised at his behavior. "Master?"

    There was no response.

    Yi Dishui was taken aback, and she stepped forward to get a look at the old man from the front. ¡°Master? What¡¯s wrong?"

    rity returned to the old man''s eyes, and he casually replied, "It''s nothing."

    Yi Dishui was caught off guard by the old man¡¯s behavior, but she stopped asking any further questions.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath, as he had just found out whom he had Possessed this time. He was in the body of Hao Yue, who was a Realm Array Master from the Lockbreakers Society. This man was a very old Realm Array Master.

    Lu Yin had not expected to Possess a Realm Array Master. But more importantly, this old man was in the location that Arch-Elder Zen had previously mentioned to Lu Yin when he had said that Lu Yin might need to help out since he was a Lockbreaker himself.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and stared off into the distance. The vast field of ice on which he stood was actually the surface of a frozen. As he looked out, he could see that the field of ice continued far past the; outer space around the was also frozen, and it spread out to distants, each of them frozen as well.

    Being on a frozen was not a big deal, but when Lu Yin looked down, there was a ferocious face staring back at him from beneath his feet. As Lu Yin moved closer to the ice, bloodthirst and killing intent were emanating from the face of the frozen person. The body was clearly frozen solid, but the eyes were still ruthless and violent. The frozen body belonged to a corpse king.

    Lu Yin looked up and examined the frozen field on the where he stood and beyond. Everywhere, the ice sealed up other beings, and he could see faces and creatures that were frozen in ce. There were not only corpse kings, but also astral beasts and even humans.

    This ce had once been a battlefield that had been frozen for countless years.

    Lu Yin would have been able to determine this even if he had visited this ce in his own body.

    However, this ce was not merely a field of ice, as it was actually a sourcebox. After it had first been discovered, the Lockbreakers Sodiety had posted Lockbreakers on the ice field to constantly work towards unlocking the sourcebox, and multipleyers had been removed. However, after they reached the finalyer of ice, they did not have the courage to continue any further.

    Corpse kings and astral beasts could clearly be seen within the ice, and no one knew what would happen when the sourcebox was fully unlocked. Once the sourcebox was opened, it was possible that everyone who had been sealed within it would die, but it was just as likely for them all to return to life.

    This ce was an ancient battlefield, and no one could guess just how powerful the beings frozen within the sourcebox might be, but ording to Hao Yue¡¯s memories, Arch-Elder Zen and several other Semi-Progenitors had visited this sourcebox before. During then, they had sensed that there were multiple inner worlds frozen within the sourcebox.

    The presence of frozen inner worlds not only meant that the ice sealing the battlefield was terrifying, but it also indicated that there were at least two Semi-Progenitors sealed within the sourcebox.

    This was a battlefield where Semi-Progenitors had fought, and this was why the Lockbreakers did not dare open it. Most of the frozen bodies belonged to corpse kings, and who knew what would happen to the Human Domain if so many of these creatures were released.

    Even then, this was just one of the many reasons for the battlefield to remain sealed.

    The fact that the entire battlefield had be a sourcebox proved that it was ancient beyond belief and that it hailed from an age before even the Daosource Sect era. And back then, different materials had been present, and the sealed creatures possessed items whose effects on the current universe were impossible to know.

 Chapter 1984

    <h4>Chapter 1984</h4>

    Ultimately, Arch-Elder Zen and the Human Domain¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors had decided to seal off the sourcebox, and the Lockbreakers Society was given the task of protecting the ce and ensuring that it remained a secret.

    Everything had gone well, and as long as the battlefield remained undisturbed for a period of time, the sourcebox would eventually recover. Even though that would take a tremendous amount of time, it was still better than the risk involved in opening the sourcebox.

    However, something had changed a bit more than a decade ago; the Neohuman Alliance had learned of the sourcebox, and they had started trying to forcefully unlock the sourcebox and release the ancient beings sealed within it.

    The Neohuman Alliance had learned of the ce through Geoffrey.

    Lu Yin looked around. He remembered that the Lockbreakers Society¡¯s Outerverse headquarters on Sourcepeak had been attacked after the Outerverse had been cut off from the Innerverse. During the battle that had been initiated by Wei Rong, the Neohuman Alliance had made a move, and they had stolen quite a few things from Geoffrey¡¯s secret room.

    Lu Yin had managed to pick up a page of True Insight from that hidden room, but the other items had all been taken by a corpse king.

    After the Innerverse reconnected to the Outerverse, Geoffrey had spoken to Lu Yin about the attack and asked some questions, and Lu Yin had also been questioned by the Lockbreakers Society multiple times, but Lu Yin had never been told anything about the other items that had been stored in Geoffrey¡¯s hidden room, though he had heard hints that there may have been a star chart of some kind.

    He had not expected that star chart to be a map leading to this frozen ce.

    It was no wonder why Geoffrey had oncemented that having the star chart stolen might prove to be a blessing or a curse.

    The Neohuman Alliance was hoping to open the sourcebox and release the beings sealed within, but no one knew if doing so would be a blessing or a curse. It was possible that a powerful corpse king had been sealed away and that its release would lead to the destruction of the Human Domain. However, it was also possible that a powerful human had been sealed away and that releasing them would return an ancient heritage to humanity. It was impossible to know for sure.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s perspective was that he wanted to protect humanity, and thus, he was unwilling to take such a risk. Just like when he had yed the game of Chinese Chess with Lu Yin, the old man felt that humanity could not afford to gamble.

    "Master, is President Shang Yang still pushing to unlock the sourcebox?" The young woman in front of Lu Yin spoke again. Her name was Yi Dishui, and she was Hao Yue''s disciple. She looked young, but she had already been cultivating for hundreds of years.

    "Hao Yue" replied, "That''s his business, and it has nothing to do with us."

    Yi Dishui looked frustrated. "Master, you¡¯ve been stationed here for so many years, protecting this ce and preventing anyone from unlocking it. If President Shang Yang can persuade President Xiu Ming to open this sourcebox and release the creatures sealed within it, then won¡¯t it make the years that you¡¯ve spent here be for nothing?"

    "Hao Yue" ignored the younger woman and walked off on his own. As he gazed into the ice beneath his feet, he saw countless creatures, some of which were so massive that he could not even see their full forms. There was nothing but this frozen field of ice as far as the eye could see.

    Could this battlefield be from the same time as when Xin N¨¹ had been sealed away?

    It did not seem possible. Xin N¨¹ had been sealed during the Daosource Sect era, during the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. That was not an ancient era, as that time was not much older than Arch-Elder Zen and the Fifth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors. Thus, it could not be considered truly ancient.

    Also, the fact that Xin N¨¹ had broken free indicated that she had merely been sealed away by some technique whereas this entire battlefield had been turned into a massive sourcebox.

    Just what was involved in the formation of a sourcebox? It was a process that took countless years to finish.

    Not to mention, this was an unbelievably massive battlefield that had beenpletely turned into a sourcebox.

    "Master, what will happen if this ce really is unsealed? I heard President Geoffrey identally mention that cultivation during ancient times was most likely very different from what we do now. Do you think that¡¯s true?" Yi Dishui asked curiously.

    Lu Yin frowned. This woman was quite annoying, and he could not say anything to her.

    "President Geoffrey once argued with President Shang Yang, insisting that releasing these ancient beings could only be harmful or at best useless. President Shang Yang argued that releasing them could be a turning point in human history. He imed that humanity has been regressing and that cultivators were much more powerful during ancient times than we are now." Yi Dishui continued to hound Lu Yin, but he still did not respond to anything that she said.

    Yi Dishui rolled her eyes. "Also, Master, what about Junior Brother Shan Ku?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback by this question. Shan Kun? Why was that name so familiar? Lu Yin felt certain that he had heard it before.

    "That Great Eastern Alliance is too arrogant! They actually dared to imprison Junior Brother Shan Ku! Regardless of what he might have done, Junior Brother Shan Ku is still a member of our Lockbreakers Society! You should be the one to punish him for his mistakes, Master. What gives the Great Eastern Alliance the right?" Yi Dishui ranted.

    Only now did Lu Yin remember that Shan Kun was the Lockbreaker who hade out of one of Burial Garden¡¯s gates in the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. He had tried to fight his way out, but he had eventually been subdued and captured by Emperor Luo, and the Lockbreaker was still imprisoned within the Great Eastern Alliance.

    It turned out that Shan Ku was one of Master Hao Yue¡¯s disciples, and Master Hao Yue was a Realm Array Master, which was not a person easily dealt with.

    Fortunately, Hao Yue had been stationed at this ice field for many years, and he never left the ce. The universe as a whole had almost no knowledge of the man. On top of that, while Yi Dishui had mentioned Shan Ku¡¯s situation several times after she learned about it, Hao Yue had never responded at all.

    A Realm Array Master was only a single level below an Array Grandmaster. Both the Outerverse and Innerverse presidents of the Lockbreakers Society, Geoffrey and Shang Yang, were Realm Array Masters.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and proceeded topletely ignore Yi Dishui as he started to review Master Hao Yue''s lockbreaking experiences. Before long, Lu Yin ended the Possession, and his consciousness returned to his own body.

    As Lu Yin had expected, a Realm Array Master was someone with incredibly extensive lockbreaking experience.

    It had taken Lu Yin some time to even ess all of the man¡¯s memories, and if he wanted to fully review everything, it would take much longer. In fact, the longer Lu Yin spent reviewing the memories, the greater his understanding of lockbreaking would be.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation had risen, the advantages of his die¡¯s Possession were bing more and more apparent. Thisst Possession had even informed him of a ce jointly guarded by the Hall of Honor and the Lockbreakers Society that was held in utter secrecy.

    If the day eventually came that Lu Yin became a Progenitor, would the universe still hold any secrets from him?

    As he focused on digesting Realm Array Master Hao Yue¡¯s lockbreaking experience, Lu Yin did not rush to roll his die again. Instead, he closed his eyes and reviewed his newly acquired memories and experiences.

    Several days passed before Lu Yin reopened his eyes. At present, Lu Yin was a two-star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, but he had also already mastered multiple sourcebox arrays. His official ranking could not properly register his lockbreaking abilities.

    Lu Yin was severelycking when it came to actual lockbreaking experience, but when it came to sourcebox arrays, his mastery far surpassed what Boundless Advanced Lockbreakers possessed, and it even encroached on the level of Realm Array Masters.

    A Lockbreaker was required to master three sourcebox arrays to qualify as a Realm Array Master, and Lu Yin fulfilled that qualification. However, his lockbreaking experience was terribly insufficient.

    On the other hand, Hao Yue was a fully qualified Realm Array Master.

    Reviewing Hao Yu¡¯s memories and lockbreaking experience was basically a shortcut for Lu Yin, which was why he had been so eager to absorb it all. Now, Lu Yin was fully confident that he qualified to be a five-star Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker, so he needed to find the time and opportunity to officially raise his ranking.

    It was impossible to do so at the moment, as even if Lu Yin had the time to go take an assessment, President Xiu Ming and all the other high-ranking Lockbreakers were all absent. There were not very many powerful Lockbreakers who had stayed behind in the Lockbreakers World.

    Also, Lu Yin had learned that, apparently, Wu Dan had been trapped in Burial Garden when it had been sealed off, as Hao Yue had overheard President Xiu Ming mention the matter.

    Lu Yin checked his cosmic ring and found that he had only used up about a billion star essence, which was most of his remaining funds.

    Lu Yin had learned that the amount of star essence consumed by his die¡¯s Possession ability was not only rted to the distance between him and the body he Possessed, but also the strength of the person who was Possessed.

    When he had been in the Perennial World, he had Possessed San Liang when the man had been in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse, but that Possession had burned through much fewer star essence than Lu Yin¡¯stest Possession.

    It was possible that if Lu Yin was able to Possess someone with a power level of over a million, it might burn through hundreds of millions or even billions of star essence even when Lu Yin was right next to the person he Possessed.

    It seemed that Lu Yin¡¯s die¡¯s ability to devour his money had not been fully realized in the past, and all of Lu Yin¡¯s previous expenditures could only be regarded as a small warm-up.

    He raised his hand, and Lu Yin¡¯s die reappeared. It was time to continue rolling the die, as he might not have the time to do so after the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s construction finished.

    He tapped the die and stared at it as it slowly came to a stop on one pip. A long gun fell out. Lu Yin picked it up and exerted a bit of strength, which instantly caused cracks to cover the gun.

    Lu Yin shook his head and returned his attention to the die.

    Gift Copy. Worthless. Gift Copy again. Still worthless. Enhance.

    Lu Yin lowered his hand, as he needed to rest for ten more days.

    After that time passed, Lu Yin brought out his die again. All four of his previous rolls had been worthless, and his current attempt still did notnd on six, but his fourth roll did give him Timestop, which was at least useful.

    Sure enough, the more frequently Lu Yin used his die, the more difficult it was to roll Possession or Enhance.

    After almost a year of training in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin had increased his mastery of the Cosmic Art to 54,000 simted stars.

    Intending to roll his die yet again, Lu Yin rested for the next ten days.

    Lu Yin was fully invested in rolling his die during this time. Thest time he had spent so much time rolling had been in the Perennial World.

    He tapped the die again and watched as it slowly came to a stop on four pips.

    The scenery before him changed, and Lu Yin returned to the Timestop Space.

    During this stint of rolling his die, Lu Yin had spent almost four years training in Timestop. While this could not be considered a very long training session for most cultivators, it was a very long to Lu Yin.

    By the time he returned from the Timestop Space, Lu Yin had managed to simte nearly 60,000 stars.

    He was slowly but surely approaching mastery of the fifth level of the Cosmic Art, and he was anticipatingpletion more and more as time passed.

    He reached out and tapped his die again.

    Three pips. Useless. Again. Gift Copy. Again.

    Lu Yin felt like he had a very low chance of rolling Possession again, so it was a happy surprise for him to see six pips on his die as it came to a stop on his fourth roll.

    When his consciousness entered the dark space, Lu Yin looked around but found no bright balls of light. He moved further in, but there was still nothing.

    Despite searching for a while, Lu Yin failed to find any bright lights.

    This was his first time encountering this situation, but the higher Lu Yin¡¯s strength rose, the fewer people there were at the same level of strength as him. This had not made much of a difference in the past, but Lu Yin finally realized that when he achieved a power level of a million, or even became a Semi-Progenitor, it would not be easy for him to find others with his level of strength to Possess.

    Also, he was well aware that the longer he stayed in the strange dark space, the more star essence he would burn through. Feeling trapped, Lu Yin simply merged into the brightest orb that he could find. It was quite dim to him, but it was clearly the brightest light one around.

    As his consciousness merged into a different body, Lu Yin felt a quiver before his vision cleared. He saw many cultivators neatly lined up in front of him, looking towards him.

    "If you really want to join the war efforts after you enter the Forsaken Land, you must make sure to keep these people close to you at all times," a familiar voice spoke up.

    Lu Yin was in a bit of a daze as he turned his head to look at the speaker and absentmindedly blinked when he saw her. Yu- Yu Chen?

    Lu Yin was standing next to Yu Chen, who had previously been Bai Shaohong''s maid. On the other side of the woman stood Liu Shaoge.

    "Understood," Liu Shaoge answered Yu Chen with a smile tugging at his mouth.

    The memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched as his eyes danced about for a moment. Oddly enough, he had actually Possessed Elder Qing Xing''s body.

    Elder Qing Xing was no stranger to Lu Yin. When Lu Yin had first met Long Xi, Elder Qing Xing had been present as a representative of the Celestial Frost Sect. At that time, the elder had deliberately made things difficult for Lu Yin. The elder¡¯s presence had also been the reason why Long Xi had falsified the blood test to ¡°prove¡± to everyone that Lu Yin was a member of the White Dragon n.

 Chapter 1985

    <h4>Chapter 1985</h4>

    Actually, after thinking about how things had yed out, Lu Yin became uncertain of whether or not he should actually thank Elder Qing Xing instead.

    The elder was a two-tribtion Envoy, but due to Bai Shaohong¡¯s previous status, the elder had obeyed Yu Chen, who was a mere maid.

    When the assassins from Realmless had attacked Lu Yin in the Perennial World, Qing Xing had apparently been the one to make the arrangements for Yu Chen.

    Logically, Lu Yin should hold a grudge against the elder, but he had just received a startling memory: Elder Qing Xing was actually from the Hidden Earth Society.

    Indeed, it was the same Hidden Earth Society that Lu Yin was familiar with.

    Lu Yin had once Possessed the body of an assassin who had been sent after a man named Lei Wu, but the target had actually threatened the assassin with the Hidden Earth Society. In fact, Lei Wu had imed that even if the assassin hid on Dragon Mountain, he would not be able to escape from the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s reach.

    In the Fifth Maind, the Hidden Earth Society was a minor organization with almost no real influence or power. However, they were apparently very powerful in the Perennial World.

    This was because the members of the Hidden Earth Society were able to enter the Perennial World through Jupiter and also because anyone in the Perennial World who came from the Fifth Maind was viewed as a trespasser. Any trespassers who were discovered would meet a bad end. Since people from Earth had a much higher likelihood of awakening an innate gift for some mysterious reason, after arriving in a ce like the Perennial World that had an advanced cultivation culture, it was rtively easy for talented people to stand out.

    As time passed, the Hidden Earth Society had eventually inserted arge number of powerhouses into the Perennial World. These people had a unique connection to the Hidden Earth Society, and their existence had also given rise to a powerful secret society.

    Lu Yin had actually thought that Lei Wu had merely been boasting. Would a person not be able to escape from the Hidden Earth Society even on Dragon Mountain? How could that be possible?

    However, after looking through Elder Qing Xing''s memories, Lu Yin hade to understand just how much influence the Hidden Earth Society wielded in the Perennial World.

    The society truly did have people on Dragon Mountain, as well as within the other ruling powers, Humility¡¯s Gate, various powers in the Middle Realm, and even Root.

    When people from Earth passed through Jupiter and entered the Perennial World, each of them would arrive in a different ce, which naturally led each of them to end up joining different organizations. The Hidden Earth Society was the only unifying factor behind all of these people, but they made the society a power that could not be ignored.

    The Hidden Earth Society did not have any sort of influence in the Fifth Maind, but they had thrived in the Perennial World. In particr, they were aware of the Perennial World''s attitude towards trespassers from the Fifth Maind, so each member of the society kept themselves hidden better than anyone could imagine.

    Even Elder Qing Xing, an Envoy from the Celestial Frost Sect, did not know the identities of any other members of the Hidden Earth Society.

    Lu Yin found this incredibly funny. What a bizarre coincidence. He had never thought that there woulde a day when he would be able to use the power of the Hidden Earth Society.

    Also, after going through Qing Xing¡¯s memories, the question of why the people of Earth had such a high likelihood of gaining innate gifts deepened even further. Why were there so many families with primeval surnames living there? What was the connection between the Primeval Surnames Alliance and the Perennial World? Lu Yin had actually forgotten all about the Primeval Surnames Alliance.

    "All of the guards who protected Jade Valley have been taken away and sent to the rear battlefield. What should we do about Jade Valley?" Liu Shaoge asked.

    Lu Yin nced around.

    Yu Chen¡¯s expression soured. "Our young master is dead, so there¡¯s no longer any need for Jade Valley to exist."

    The woman then turned around and left without another word.

    Liu Shaoge stared at Yu Chen¡¯s back as she left and then nced over at Elder Qing Xing with a sharp glint in the young man¡¯s eyes. "We need to keep an eye on her. She¡¯s too smart, and it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s noticed some of our activities."

    "Elder Qing Xing" was taken aback. "Does she already know?"

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s voice dropped low as he answered, "I''m not sure, but she has her guard up around me now. She must either know that our Hidden Earth Society''s been making moves, or it must be because of Elder Xi Zi."

    Lu Yin kept filtering through Elder Qing Xing¡¯s memories, and the more Lu Yin saw, the more shocked he became. He gave Liu Shaoge a long look.

    This guy truly was gifted. He had managed to join the Celestial Frost Sect by relying on nothing more than his own talent. Then, he had deliberately exposed his scheming nature to Yu Chen in a gamble to get closer to the maid. After that, Liu Shaoge had taken advantage of information that he had received from the Hidden Earth Society to connect with Elder Qing Xing, and eventually, not only had Yu Chene to believe that Liu Shaoge was connected to many members of the Hidden Earth Society, but she had also be convinced that Liu Shaoge was able to act as the society¡¯s representative to a certain degree.

    After Bai Shaohong died, Yu Chen had fallen out of favor with the senior elders of the Celestial Frost Sect. In the end, she was nothing more than a maid. Liu Shaoge had taken advantage of that developing situation to grab Elder Xi Zi¡¯s attention, and the elder had ordered Liu Shaoge to keep an eye on Yu Chen. Liu Shaoge had even managed to meet with Semi-Progenitor Bai Laogui once.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that if Yu Chen died, Liu Shaoge would take her ce and soon gain the status of a high-ranking disciple within the Celestial Frost Sect. With the support of both Elder Xi Zi and the Hidden Earth Society, Liu Shaoge would have an easy path to sess in the Perennial World.

    This was proof of Liu Shaoge¡¯s abilities. Out of everyone who had left Earth, he was the most cunning and resilient of them all. Lu Yin had tried to kill Liu Shaoge on several asions, but all of his attempts had failed.

    Out of everyone that Lu Yin had met on Earth, aside from Silver, Lu Yin was the wariest of Liu Shaoge. Even Bai Qian, who was considered the most talented Earthling, was greatly inferior to Liu Shaoge as far as Lu Yin was concerned.

    The man was smart and cunning, and while it seemed like his luck was not very good, he was always able to keep himself alive.

    However, right now, Liu Shaoge was in the open, while Lu Yin remained hidden. This meant that Lu Yin would be able to deal with Liu Shaoge regardless of whatever schemes he might employ.

    "How has Elder Xi Zi been treating you?" "Elder Qing Xing" asked.

    Liu Shaoge replied, "Very well. I¡¯ll keep working hard to make sure that I be his disciple. As for the jade butterflies-¡± As Liu Shaoge continued, he nced over at the thousands of cultivators. ¡°I actually want to treat them as members of the Hidden Earth Society."

    "Elder Qing Xing" was rather puzzled by this decision. "What do you mean by that?"

    Liu Shaoge grew serious. "While our Hidden Earth Society has a lot of influence in the Perennial World, everything is kept hidden and secret. It¡¯s time that we built up some forces that can be seen and acknowledged in the open."

    "But all of them are part of the Celestial Frost Sect," "Elder Qing Xing" countered.

    Liu Shaogeughed. "All of them have been raised and trained in the Jade Valley since they were born. They have almost no connection or loyalty to the Celestial Frost Sect. This war will be the best opportunity for us to hide them away for our own use."

    Liu Shaoge suddenly nced over to look at Elder Qing Xing before continuing in a somber manner. "I know that all of you want to keep yourselves hidden and avoid attention, but this can¡¯t continue on forever. More and more people from the Hidden Earth Societye here from Jupiter every year, and how many of those people have risen to power? After all, you were lucky enough to climb to your current strength and status, but if we can have a ce to train and house people who arrive from Earth, it will only help them more.¡±

    "Elder Qing Xing" was torn by indecision. "If we do that, it will be much easier for us to be noticed and found. The Hidden Earth Society has only been able to grow and develop to its current status by remaining hidden. If we¡¯re exposed, we could be easily wiped out. Let me think this over for a bit."

    Liu Shaoge nodded. "I understand."

    "Do you think that this will lead to war?" "Elder Qing Xing" suddenly asked.

    Liu Shaoge stared off into the distance where there were densely packed cultivators milling about. ¡°That all depends on what sort of status Lu Xiaoxuan holds in the Fifth Maind. If the Fifth Maind is still willing to protect him, then war is inevitable. However, I feel that the strength that the Perennial World is sending will prove overwhelming. The Fifth Maind might not be willing to protect him.¡±

    "Still, it would be great if I could use this opportunity to visit Earth and take a look at things there."

    Lu Yin twitched. Liu Shaoge was too devious. He had managed to win over the trust of many members of the Hidden Earth Society due to his impressive acting of how much he missed his home of Earth, which resonated with many of the people.

    "Elder Qing Xing" patted Liu Shaoge on the shoulder. "You¡¯ll get a chance once the fighting starts, so take care of yourself."

    Liu Shaoge answered in a gentle voice, "I know."

    With their conversation concluded, Liu Shaoge left. Lu Yin continued to browse through Elder Qing Xing¡¯s memories before ending the Possession and returning to his own body.

    This Possession had been aplete surprise. Lu Yin had learned the method to make contact with members of the Hidden Earth Society in the Perennial World, and this would allow him to make use of the members there.

    When Lu Yin had Possessed White Sage in the Technocracy, the trouble that Lu Yin had caused had caused the delicate agreement that had been brokered between the two parties to be canceled. What¡¯s more, Headmaster Senn was the one who had taken the initiative to revoke the agreement.

    While Lu Yin had no idea why the headmaster had made such a decision, it had worked out well for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were gleaming as he thought, Liu Shaoge, Liu Shaoge, I really hope that you can keep doing well in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Liu Shaoge would stay hidden in the Perennial World during the invasion of the Fifth Maind, as he had to keep himself hidden. There were too many obvious weaknesses that Lu Yin could employ to take control of Liu Shaoge.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. Liu Shaoge would give him a lot of help.

    Also¡­

    Lu Yin quickly checked his cosmic ring. He had spent more time controlling Long Quan and making the man kill himself, and that Possession had cost about 20 billion star essence. Therefore, Lu Yin felt that this Possession should be a bit cheaper.

    17 billion star essence had been used, which was eptable.

    This meant that Lu Yin only had 24.5 billion star essence remaining. During his seclusion, Lu Yin had consumed over 100 billion star essence. This was a terrifying sum, as it was equivalent to all the profits that the mammothpany Shamrock Enterprise had managed to umte after operating in the entire Fifth Maind for so long.

    Lu Yin¡¯s remaining funds could not be considered too much or too little, but he decided not to continue staying in seclusion. He felt it would be best to keep his remaining funds in reserve for emergencies.

    He stood up and left the isted space that he had created.

    In the Second Nightking''s perspective, Lu Yin had only been in seclusion for about three months, which was nothing to an old freak who had remained in seclusion practically since the Daosource Sect era.

    Still, Lu Yin had undergone tremendous changes over this time, regardless of whether one considered his battle techniques, equipment, or lockbreaking experience. He had improved in many different aspects. Unfortunately, none of this was visible to the Second Nightking.

    It had been two months since Lu Yin had checked on the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s construction progress. He looked up from the bottom of the Cosmic Sea and observed the Abyss of the Sea.

    There was a massive tower standing tall at the center of the Abyss of the Sea. Even though the tower only upied the center of the Abyss of the Sea and blocked the massive vortex that had once existed in that ce, it was still thousands of timesrger than any of the nearby inds.

    Eight floors of the Tower of the Fifth had already been constructed, and it looked like an enormous monster that looked down upon the Abyss of the Sea.

    The entire tower was colored a lustrous ck. All of the materials used to build it had been provided by the Hall of Honor, and everything was strong enough to withstand Hunter-level attacks without suffering any damage. As for the interior, not only had tough and rare materials been used, but various screens with different types of technology had also been incorporated to weaken people¡¯s attacks and further reinforce the structure of the tower.

    Furthermore, the entire tower was being constantly monitored.

    The entire ce was a seamlessbination of technology and cultivation.

    At first, after the Tower of the Fifth had been announced, the overseers¡¯ council had discussed the design, and a proposal had been put forth to purchase hidden worlds from the World Alliance and have each floor act as a separate hidden world. This would allow the trial takers to fight without having to hold back while also keeping the tower safe.

    However, one problem with this idea was that the Tower of the Fifth would be built in the middle of the Cosmic Sea, which meant that using hidden worlds would vite the Hall of Honor¡¯s regtions that restricted hidden worlds to only the Honor Zone. Another was that Lu Yin was unwilling to use this option.

    After all, if each floor was a separate hidden world, then how would he keep track of everything?

    More importantly, he would have no means with which to enact his final option.

    The proposal was ultimately rejected by the council, and not a single overseer voted in favor of it. Even Yang Ji, who had proposed using hidden worlds, voted against it after seeing Bu Laoweng and all the others oppose it. Even the new overseer, Xia Sheng, voted against using hidden worlds.

    Yang Ji was aware that Bu Laoweng and other overseers all belonged to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not worry at all about Xia Sheng, as one person could not create any real issues on the overseers¡¯ council. Even a senior overseer like Nan Yuan had been removed from his position by Lu Yin, and there were rumors that the former overseer was suffering greatly, as the Xia family was dissatisfied by his performance as an overseer.

 Chapter 1986

    <h4>Chapter 1986</h4>

    Despite being the Seven Courts¡¯ representative on the overseers¡¯ council and even being rumored to be Xia Ji¡¯s illegitimate son, Xia Sheng had surprised Bu Laoweng and the other overseers by showing a friendly attitude towards Lu Yin. It had even surprised Lu Yin.

    Despite being aware of Xia Sheng¡¯s friendliness, Lu Yin did not really care much about it. There were too many people who wanted to use him or take advantage of him, and it did not matter if there was one more. Even if this person was an overseer, it made no real difference.

    As the Tower of the Fifth nearedpletion, more and more people gathered in the nearby Cosmic Sea.

    Anyone who was capable of reaching the Abyss of the Sea was not an ordinary cultivator.

    The Cosmic Sea remained the same Cosmic Sea as ever, and it would never be gentle just because of the number of people inhabiting it.

    If the monstrous powers from the Neoverse did not send out a powerhouse to lead their disciples, their only way of crossing the Cosmic Sea was to rely on one of the various crews that roamed about the sea. The Cosmic Sea was a cruel ce, and at this moment, almost all of the native crews were waiting around the Abyss of the Sea. How could any of them have the spare time to escort more cultivators across the Cosmic Sea? The crews were also all eager to be among the first to enter the Tower of the Fifth and receive an inheritance. The fewer people present, the lesspetition there would be upon entry.

    Given the current situation, the only way to arrive at the Abyss of the Sea was without the guidance of a Cosmic Sea crew. However, one could only imagine the struggles and sacrifices needed for such people to reach the Abyss of the Sea.

    Lu Yin had already foreseen this situation.

    While the purpose of the Tower of the Fifth was to educate humanity and improve the overall strength of the Fifth Maind, not everyone was qualified to enter. The Cosmic Sea was the first obstacle that needed to be passed. Just reaching the Abyss of the Sea itself was an indication that people had passed the first trial, and the next trial was to cross over the Abyss of the Sea and enter the Tower of the Fifth. This was yet another challenge.

    However, at the moment, surviving the battles raging just outside the Abyss of the Sea could be considered the second trial before they could enter the Tower of the Fifth to seek an inheritance.

    Everyone was hoping to eliminate a few others, so the fighting never ceased.

    It was also worth mentioning that the Mavis Bank, Aurora Enterprises, Shamrock Enterprise, and other simr mammoth corporations had already established branch offices just outside the Abyss of the Sea.

    After Lu Yin rose up from the seabed, his first task was to visit the local branch of the Mavis Bank that had been built on a new ind just outside the Abyss of the Sea.

    There was the same towering tree as always, decorated with universal currency that fluttered in the breeze. The bank radiated a feeling of peerless wealth.

    Lu Yin still remembered the first time that he had seen one of the Mavis Bank¡¯s branch offices in the Great Yu Empire on Zhenyu Star. His shock at beholding such a sight remained fresh in his memory even after so many years.

    During his first visit to the Mavis Bank, the sight of seeing them literally throwing money away had been such a foreign concept that he could not understand it at all. However, tossing around cash for others to pick off of the ground did indeed exude a sense of abundance and nobility.

    At the current moment, the tree covered with cash somehow seemed ordinary to Lu Yin.

    Given the exchange rate between star essence and universal currency, the people who were able to reach the Abyss of the Sea could not be bothered to pick up the money that littered the ground on the ind.

    Every single branch of the Mavis Bank gave off the same atmosphere as all the others. Lu Yin emerged from the void to step into the bank, only to see that there was not a single customer in the building.

    Lu Yin''s arrival caused everyone in the Mavis Bank to rise to their feet in surprise, and they all looked at him with admiration and respect.

    "Lu Yin?" someone eximed.

    Lu Yin turned his head and gave a small smile. "Lulu, I didn''t expect you to be running this ce."

    Lulu Mavis was the one who had called out to Lu Yin, and she was apanied by another familiar face: Grandini Mavis.

    The two of them had been put in charge of this branch of the bank.

    "Student Lu, it¡¯s been a long time." Grandini Mavis greeted Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin nodded. "So are you two in charge of this ce?"

    Lulu rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what the elders are thinking, giving the two of us responsibilities like this."

    Grandini Mavis justughed. "Of course they¡¯re worried about you being inexperienced, which is why I¡¯m here¡ªto keep an eye on you."

    Lulu bared her teeth. "I''m already overseeing more than twenty branches! Do you want to start a fight, Grandini?"

    The older girl rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin found the entire exchange rather funny. He had not seen the two young women together since their time in the Astral Combat Academy. "I''m here to make a withdrawal. What¡¯s the maximum withdrawal that this branch allows?"

    Lulu and Grandini both turned to look at Lu Yin. "How much do you want to take out?"

    "What¡¯s the limit?" Lu Yin repeated.

    Grandini Mavis replied, "A billion star essence."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "That much?"

    It was already impressive for a typical branch office of the Mavis Bank to allow someone to withdraw 100,000 star essence, and the main branches in each of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones allowed withdrawals in the tens of millions. Even most of the important branch offices only allowed someone to take out a few tens of millions of star essence in a single transaction.

    However, this branch had a limit of one billion star essence per withdrawal.

    Lulu exined, "We¡¯re next to the Tower of the Fifth, which is currently the most popr ce in the entire Fifth Maind. Countless people have flocked here from all over the Fifth Maind. It¡¯s only natural that we¡¯ve gathered enough liquid assets here to avoid the possibility of our funds here being overdrawn. So? What¡¯s it going to be? Is a billion star essence enough for you?"

    Lu Yin smiled as he pulled out the gray crystal card that he had received from Yunying Mavis. "I''m sorry, but that¡¯s not going to be enough."

    "A gray crystal card?" Grandini eximed.

    Lulu was also caught off guard. She had been visiting the Ancestor Tortoise when Yunying Mavis had given this crystal card to Lu Yin, so she had not seen it before.

    "This card had 5 billion star essence on its ount, and it also allows one to take out an emergency loan of 20 billion. I want all of that. By the way, could you ask Elder Yunying Mavis a question for me? What¡¯s the maximum loan that I can take out from your bank given my status?" Lu Yin asked as he sped his hands behind his back.

    Every number that he mentioned left the girls in shock, and even the bank employees eavesdropping on the conversation were stunned.

    Everyone sent to this particr branch had been selected because of their experience and capabilities. They routinely handled tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of star essence, but Lu Yin was casually discussing a transaction over billions of star essence as soon as he arrived. This one person could potentially clean out the entire branch¡¯s funds.

    Lulu grew serious. "Are you sure that you want to take out that much?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He did not really have a choice, as his expenditure rate was just too excessive. "Please ask for me."

    Lulu nodded before turning and leaving around.

    At this moment, fighting could be heard from outside the Mavis Bank.

    Lu Yin''s domain spread out. Given his current strength, there were few people who could detect Lu Yin¡¯s domain.

    He found there were quite a few people fighting outside the bank, as well as an acquaintance: the Wen family¡¯s Wen Yao.

    Lu Yin grew curious after seeing Wen Yao, so he moved over to the bank¡¯s entrance. An employee moved behind him to set up a table and some chairs before preparing some tea.

    Lu Yin epted the courtesy and sat down.

    The Second Nightking remained hidden in the void, but Grandini apanied Lu Yin.

    "Do you not mind that people are fighting right outside your bank?" Lu Yin asked.

    Grandini shrugged. "It happens far too often. Everyone wants to get rid of some of thepetition, and right now, every ce around the Abyss of the Sea is a battlefield. There are times when the fighting has even spilled over into my bank."

    Lu Yin found this quite entertaining.

    Just outside the bank, Wen Yao was facing off against a middle-aged Enlighter. While the man¡¯s cultivation was at a simr level to Wen Yao¡¯s, he was overpowering Wen Yao. In fact, if not for the Literary Prison, Wen Yao would have already lost.

    Within the range of his domain, Lu Yin could not see anyone else from the Wen family who could use Literary Prison aside from Wen Yao. The battlefield was quite chaotic, and it looked like it was mostly filled with independent cultivators.

    Grandini spoke up to say, "The Wen family is the only Innerverse power from any of the eight great flowzones that hasn¡¯t joined the Great Eastern Alliance. They¡¯ve started cooperating with independent cultivators who¡¯ve gathered around the Tower of the Fifth to form amon interest group. Right now, they¡¯re fighting against people from the World League."

    Lu Yin found this surprising. "The World League? The cooperative formed from the 3,000 hidden worlds?"

    Grandini nodded. "Do you see that young man just outside the battlefield with two maids next to him? That¡¯s Yan Chen from the Red Prism World. He¡¯s typically called Prince Yan."

    Prince Yan? Lu Yin had heard this name before, as it had been mentioned during a fight in Skyraiser City that had taken ce between Xi Gu''s granddaughter, Xi Shuang, and some people who belonged to Prince Yan.

    "The World League is rather united, and given thepetition surrounding the Tower of the Fifth, they¡¯ve fully banded together. They aren¡¯t relying on any of the major Neoverse powers, but they also aren¡¯t afraid. As for the Wen family, they can''t rely on the Great Eastern Alliance, so their only option is to try to pull over the independent cultivators. There aren¡¯t many powerhouses, but there are a lot of average cultivators among the independent cultivators, and they also have a great number of eyes and ears. There are a lot of other groups that havee together around the Abyss of the Sea so far, both big and small. Thergest one is the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s group," Grandini said, while ncing over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin found this unexpected. "There¡¯s even a group from the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    He truly had not known about this, as he had already provided the means of the Oveying Stacks Path and battle force cultivating method to many of the high-ranking members of the Great Eastern Alliance. However, after the Great Eastern Alliance had dominated the Outerverse, countless organizations had joined it since, but may not have been directly managed by the Great Eastern Alliance as core members However, they would all unite when faced with outsiders.

    "The group from the Great Eastern Alliance is currently thergest group in the Abyss of the Sea. While their overall strength isn¡¯t very impressive, no one dares to move against them. After all, you¡¯re the leader of the alliance, and also the one who started the Tower of the Fifth," Grandini exined.

    The battle outside the bank ended rather quickly with Wen Yao and others being defeated. Many of the independent cultivators had been seriously injured or had even died. Wen Yao himself had been forced to run away.

    Outside the battlefield, Prince Yan sneered at the oue. "Just a mob."

    One of the beautiful maids behind him quickly handed him a piece of fruit whileplimenting the young man.

    "Prince Yan, after we clean things up, you can proceed." The middle-aged man who had fought against Wen Yao approached Prince Yan and spoke to the young man in a very respectful manner.

    Prince Yan was dismissive. "They were just unlucky to run into us. Keep an eye on the Wen family. If they dare to offend this prince, they¡¯ll never be allowed to enter this branch of the Mavis Bank ever again."

    The middle-aged man nodded.

    Prince Yan moved towards the Mavis Bank step by step. A bit of universal currency drifted down, carried by the breeze, andnded on his head. He simply reached up and tossed it aside. To someone like Prince Yan, universal currency was no different from simple paper. No, it was worth even less, as paper could at least be used for writing and still had a bit of use.

    As Prince Yan moved closer to the Mavis Bank, his eyes were instinctively drawn to a young man who was sitting in the lobby and casually sipping on some tea. Prince Yan frowned at this sight; who was arrogant enough to watch his business?

    However, after he caught a clear view of the lounging man, Prince Yan¡¯s body trembled, and all of the arrogance disappeared from his eyes. He spoke softly and dismissed both of his maids before hurrying into the bank. He approached the man sipping on tea and respectfully greeted him. ¡°So Alliance Leader Lu is here. Yan Chen offers his greetings."

    Lu Yin looked at Prince Yan. The World League oversaw the 3,000 hidden worlds, and there were various Envoys and powerhouses among those hidden worlds. In fact, Prince Yan''s father, Lord Yan, was one of them.

    An Envoy was a powerhouse in the Fifth Maind, so it was perfectly normal for someone like Prince Yan to be rather arrogant.

    "I''ve heard of you several times before, Prince Yan." Lu Yin stood up and calmly observed Yan Chen.

    Yan Chen was startled by this admission, and although he looked terrified, he remained respectful towards Lu Yin. ¡°I am honored that you have heard of me, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Grandini nced at Yan Chen. Prince Yan was absolutely insane. He acted arrogantly when visiting the Mavis Bank, and even going so far as to disregard Grandini and Lulu. This was the first time that Grandini had seen the young man act so humbly.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just now, you¡­"

    He hesitated in the middle of speaking, and Yan Chen dropped his head even lower. He nervously looked at Lu Yin''s feet, as he had no idea what Lu Yin was about to say.

 Chapter 1987

    <h4>Chapter 1987</h4>

    Yan Chen believed that he had just insulted the Wen family, and the Wen family was a power that reigned over one of the Innerverse¡¯s eight great flowzones. It should be a given that the Wen family had a closer connection to Lu Yin than Yan Chen, which was what worried the young man.

    Still, the Wen family had not joined the Great Eastern Alliance, which was the only reason why Yan Chen had dared to push them around as he had.

    The middle-aged man was currently standing behind Yan Chen, and the other people from the World League were all growing nervous, as they were terrified that they might have identally offended Lu Yin.

    One sentence from Lu Yin could shake the entire World Alliance.

    "¡­didn¡¯t do too badly," Lu Yin finished in a casual tone.

    Yan Chen''s eyes lit up, and he grew excited. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu, for your praise. Your little brother knows what to do."

    Lu Yin nodded and patted the man¡¯s shoulder.

    Yan Chen was truly excited, as he understood that Lu Yin was encouraging him to move against the Wen family.

    The Wen family was the only remaining power in the Innerverse that had not yet joined the Great Eastern Alliance. It appeared that Lu Yin was not very happy about the situation.

    Grandini quietly watched the exchange take ce, feeling that Lu Yin had just sentenced the Wen family to death. They would need to either join the Great Eastern Alliance, or else they would no longer have a ce in the Innerverse.

    As long as Lu Yin voiced dissatisfaction towards the Wen family, there would be countless people from the Outerverse, Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse who would be willing to act as his pawns to deal with the Wen family. The Wen family would essentially be an enemy of the entire Human Domain with a word from Lu Yin. Grandini was a member of the Mavis family, and she needed to assess the risks associated with what she had just seen and submit a report to her family. They needed to settle the Wen family¡¯s ounts as soon as possible to prevent the Mavis Bank from suffering losses when the Wen family was destroyed.

    In business, it was important to bet on people rather than transactions. The more savvy the businessman was, the more they understood how to read people and the better they were atmunicating and seeing the flow of the times.

    Only by being able to see the overall current of the entire universe was it possible to generate a profit.

    Was Lu Yin frustrated with the Wen family? Of course he was. As long as the Wen family did not join the Great Eastern Alliance, the Innerverse could not truly be considered united. Lu Yin had no time to deal with the Wen family, and that had not changed. So, he would just leave that task for others to handle.

    Once the Wen family''s path was blocked, where would they be able to turn?

    "Are you also here for a withdrawal, Prince Yan?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yan Chen quickly answered, "Yes. This little brother is nning to take out some star essence to serve as an emergency stash."

    "This is quite embarrassing, but you won¡¯t be able to. I¡¯m a step ahead of you, and I¡¯ve already taken out all the star essence that this branch has right now," Lu Yin said.

    Yan Chen was startled, as he had heard that this particr branch of the Mavis Bank had made it a point to pad their coffers extensively, and it was said that they had around a billion star essence here. Had Lu Yin taken everything?

    Grandini spoke up as well. "I apologize, Prince Yan. Please wait for just a few days. At this moment, all of our star essence has truly been taken by Alliance Leader Lu."

    Yan Chen answered with a smile. "In that case, I¡¯ll just wait a bit. I¡¯m not in any particr hurry.¡±

    The young man¡¯s eyes then moved back to Lu Yin. "If you need help with anything, Alliance Leader Lu, just let me know. I have some star essence with me to use.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Yan Chen with greater appreciation in his eyes. "There¡¯s no need for that, as I have enough for now. I appreciate the offer. Put in greater effort after you enter the Tower of the Fifth so that you can gain a greater inheritance."

    Yan Chen quickly gave a bow. "This little brother understands and will never let down Alliance Leader Lu''s expectations."

    The young man left soon after that, and everyone else from the World League left with him. The moment they exited the Mavis Bank, Prince Yan asked the middle-aged man to make more trouble for the Wen family. Yan Chen did not try to hide what he said, which made it clear that he intended Lu Yin to overhear.

    Lu Yin showed a slight smile. "He''s pretty interesting."

    Grandini responded with her own little smile. "If he wasn¡¯t speaking with you, he would have been apletely different person."

    Lu Yin nced over. "It¡¯s useful to have such an ability, isn¡¯t it?"

    Grandini gave Lu Yin a long look.

    She had not had many interactions with Lu Yin after they both left the Astral Combat Academy, but it seemed that he had changed a great deal since that time. He actually gave the impression that he had be a new person.

    The energetic youth who had once been a student had now risen to be a powerful figure at the top of the Human Domain. He had risen to a level where even her Mavis family had taken the initiative to form an alliance with Lu Yin.

    "By the way, where¡¯s Yuhua Mavis? Did she note?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Grandini Mavis replied, "Sister Yuhua is in seclusion right now. My Mavis family has our own cultivation art, so we don¡¯t need to bother other people about getting anything from the outside world."

    These words reminded Lu Yin of the Ancestor Tortoise. The Mavis family held many secrets.

    It was at this moment that Lulu returned. "Elder Yunying said that in addition to the 20 billion star essence that you can borrow with that crystal card, she¡¯s also willing to lend you an additional 80 billion star essence, interest free."

    Grandini was not surprised to hear this. Their family had already formed an alliance with Lu Yin, so how could they charge him interest on a loan?

    However, Lu Yin was considering a different detail: he could borrow 80 billion star essence without having to pay back any interest. This indicated that handing out 80 billion star essence would not put any pressure on the Mavis Bank.

    What did this mean? It meant that the Mavis Bank¡¯s funds were beyond ridiculous. Ridiculous enough that they could lend out 80 billion star essence as a mere favor.

    Lu Yin was able to casually receive 100 billion star essence from the Mavis Bank. That was the same amount as the profits that Shamrock Enterprise had umted from years of profit.

    Sure enough, the Mavis Bank was the richest organization in the universe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "When will I be able to collect the money?"

    This was even Lulu¡¯s first time facilitating such arge transaction. "The n will send someone to deliver it to you, but it will take a while."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I understand. I won¡¯t be leaving the Cosmic Sea anytime soon."

    With that, he left.

    Grandini was stunned ever after Lu Yin was gone. "Lulu, why do you think he wants so much money?"

    Lulu mouth curled upwards to show a smile. "I have no idea, but from what our family¡¯s calcted, from the time he first started cultivating until now, he¡¯s publicly obtained more than ten billion star essence, but it¡¯s also clear that most of his ie has not been recorded. There¡¯s spection that he¡¯s gathered hundreds of billions of star essence, and yet he¡¯s still trying to get more from us. Who knows what he wants with it?"

    Naturally, it was impossible for anyone to guess what Lu Yin did with his wealth.

    The Perennial World was in the process ofunching a massive attack in a bid to force the Fifth Maind to hand Lu Yin over. Naturally, Lu Yin was doing all he could to reap every benefit he possibly could in the event that his efforts to prevent that from happening proved fruitless and the Fifth Maind really did try to give him to the Perennial World.

    Wang Wen was the only other person in the entire Fifth Maind who was aware of the crisis facing Lu Yin at this time.

    It was also time to speak with Wang Wen, as he was the one responsible for designing the tests for the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s inheritances.

    After the disy popped up on Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, he saw Wang Wen wearily opening his eyes. It looked like the man had just woken up. "Alliance Leader, you really know how to pick the times you call me."

    Wang Wen was clearly exhausted, and Lu Yin apologized to him. "You¡¯ve been working hard for a long time."

    Wang Wen rubbed his eyes and then quickly shed a bright smile. "Hard work is just hard work. This has been an interesting and challenging task."

    Lu Yin leaned forward. "How have things been going?"

    "Are you asking about the Tower of the Fifth or about the preparations for the uing fight?"

    "The Tower of the Fifth."

    "Hey, aren¡¯t you interested in our war preparations?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Our enemy is hidden while we¡¯re out in the open. I gave you an opportunity to prepare as much as possible, and there¡¯s no reason to expect you to disappoint me, and there¡¯s also nothing that I can add to what you¡¯ve been doing. Are Wei Rong and Shui Chuanxiao aware of things?"

    Wang Wen let out a long breath. "I haven¡¯t let them in on it yet. Wei Rong¡¯s too cunning and maniptive, and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s actually changed at all over all these years. I can¡¯t be sure of what he¡¯s thinking. As for Shui Chuanxiao, he¡¯s too worried about the bigger picture, so we can¡¯t tell him. All I can tell either of them is what you told me from the beginning: an enemy will show up from Sky Creation Academy."

    Lu Yin nodded. "What about the trials for the inheritances of the Tower of the Fifth? Construction¡¯s almost done."

    Wang Wen lifted his head high. "There are numerous tests that need to be created, but I won¡¯t bore you by going over them all. I¡¯ll just make a few points instead.¡± Wang Wen paused for a moment as he organized his thoughts and nned out what he wanted to say. ¡°The Tower of the Fifth is going to be ourst resort, which is why it¡¯s so important, but only you and I know about this. The most obvious purpose behind building it is to improve the overall strength of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators, so the tests can¡¯t be overly hard. Still, we can¡¯t make things too easy.¡±

    "After considering everything, regardless of who enters the tower, anyone who wants to take an inheritance needs to leave one as well. It doesn¡¯t need to be something of the same value, as it¡¯s impossible for most people to have anythingparable to what¡¯s in the Tower of the Fifth. My reason behind wanting this exchange is because I don¡¯t want anyone to feel like they¡¯re getting something for free, or that they¡¯re taking advantage of our Great Eastern Alliance. If they get used to receiving hand-outs, once we stop doing so in the future, we¡¯ll create a massive amount of resentment.¡±

    Lu Yin understood this aspect of human nature. If people were freely given things for a long time and then were suddenly cut off, not only would the recipients feel entitled an as though they no longer needed to repay the favor, but they would also resent and hate the ones who stopped the hand-outs. After all, those gifts had been too easy to acquire.

    "Also, while the Tower of the Fifth can be a means of improving the strength of the entire Fifth Maind, we can also use it as a means of strengthening our Great Eastern Alliance. I n to send the Lu Elite Troops into the tower to act as a part of the trials for some of the inheritances. To get those inheritances, a person will need to defeat one, two, or multiple soldiers in the Lu Elite Troops, though they will all be fully decked out in their new equipment, which includes the new universal armor with the white smoke, microarray technology, the wireless Gu, and even the Money Bombs.¡±

    "A fully-equipped member of the Lu Elite Troops is able to easily defeat even geniuses at aparable cultivation level, and they can even surpass their cultivation realm to defeat those stronger than them," Wang Wen exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up as he heard this. "Not only will this help train our troops, but it will also help us recruit more people."

    Wang Wen pped his hands. "Exactly! Anyone who sees the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ equipment will be envious, and joining the Great Eastern Alliance will be something that they want and yearn for."

    Lu Yin was impressed. "Smart."

    Wang Wen just rolled his eyes. "This will only make people intrigued and consider joining the Great Eastern Alliance. It might not be enough to cause that many people to enlist. After all, any of the disciples from powerful organizations won¡¯t be interested, so don''t have too high a hope. This will really be nothing more than an opportunity to train our troops a bit, though we will likely be able to recruit a few people with some potential."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There are too many cultivators in the Fifth Maind, and all of them from every part of the universe are going to make their way to the Tower of the Fifth. Just getting there will cause them to suffer and endure. All of them will be elites during the journey, so all of them will be worth recruiting."

    Wang Wen nodded in agreement. "There¡¯s one more important detail.¡±

    He leveled a focused gaze onto Lu Yin. ¡°You established the Tower of the Fifth, so there needs to be a statue of you outside of it. This isn¡¯t optional. You¡¯re the one providing the core inheritances on each floor of the Tower of the Fifth, and you¡¯ll be viewed as half a master to anyone who acquires those inheritance."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Half a master?"

    Wang Wen nodded. "That''s right. This statue will be built to show you as a partial teacher for those who obtain an inheritance, so it¡¯s not just to glorify your achievements."

    Lu Yin had never considered being thought of as half a master to anyone. He had cultivated for years, and despite his strength, he had never acted as a teacher. While Ku Wei was technically Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, Ku Wei was really just ackey whom Lu Yin had never taught a thing.

    As for his own teachers, Lu Yin had only ever recognized Mister Mu as his master. Still, Lu Yin could count his interactions with Mister Mu on two hands, so he did not have a profound understanding of a master-disciple rtionship.

 Chapter 1988

    <h4>Chapter 1988</h4>

    The truth of the matter was that regardless of the person or the ce, the teachings of one¡¯s master created a unique bond. It was invisible, but carried tremendous weight.

    Betraying one¡¯s master was not a crime, but it was a terrible disgrace. Anyone who did such a thing would be a universal outcast when others learned of their actions.

    The bond one had with their master was very simr to the bond one had with their own family, and both rtionships could be used to judge a person¡¯s character.

    The rtionship with one¡¯s master also formed the very foundation of the existence of a sect. Without a master teaching their disciples, how could a sect even start? How could traitorous disciples even exist?

    An elite family was bound by their shared blood, while a sect was bound together by the shared teachings of a master. Both carried equal weight.

    "By providing training and teaching people techniques and providing them with inheritances, it¡¯s really not too much to see you as a half-master to anyone who benefits from the Tower of the Fifth. Unless they are pushed into a corner, those people also won¡¯t be willing to be your enemies, and even if they do try to cross you, they¡¯ll be sneaky about it. This gives us an absolute advantage,¡± Wang Wen continued. ¡°Don''t underestimate people¡¯s sense of righteousness. Everyone has their own drive and ambitions, whether they pursue power, wealth, or something else. Still, everyone also has lines that they won¡¯t cross, even though those lines are different for everyone. Regardless, being seen as a half-master is enough for a great number of people to feel morally bound to not betray you."

    Lu Yin understood what Wang Wen was saying. The Astral Combat Academy¡¯s mentors were not true masters to the academy¡¯s students, but also teachers who were considered half-masters. However, if Lu Yin was ever asked to attack the mentors, he would not be able to force himself to do it. Unless the mentors betrayed humanity, Lu Yin would never be able to attack them.

    Furthermore, if Lu Yin was able to force himself to attack the mentors, his reputation would be permanently ruined. No one would ever willingly follow such an untrustworthy person, as no one would be willing to even associate with someone who had betrayed their teacher.

    Dealing with people was simultaneously bothplicated and simple.

    "Is it possible to set me up as a half-master to the people to receive inheritances from the tower?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen scratched his head. "It''s more tricky than impossible. So long as no one objects, it¡¯s easy enough to handle, but if some powerhouse speaks against it, things be very difficult. After all, this would be making you a half-master to potentially countless cultivators, not just one or two. In particr, powerful sects and families are not very likely to allow their youths to admit to such a thing, as it would ce too many restrictions on them.

    "Building the Tower of the Fifth will already ensure that your name goes down in history forever, and there are other benefits you¡¯ll reap from it as well. If you also try to be recognized as a half-master to those who gain inheritances from the tower, there will be people who aren¡¯t able to ept it."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "Whether or not they can ept it, let¡¯s go for it and get this done before anyone has a chance to object. We won¡¯t need to deal with everyone¡¯s objections."

    Wang Wen nodded. "That was what I was thinking as well. Even if someone does try to object, it will take a bit, and during that window of opportunity, the most talented people will already have entered the Tower of the Fifth and gotten their inheritances, and there will definitely be some who pick up your inheritances. Being acknowledged as those people¡¯s half-master will already be enough."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''m really looking forward to this."

    Days passed one after another, and soon, half a month had already passed. The most important thing that happened during this time was that the first batch of the new universal armors were delivered by Aurora Enterprises.

    There were only a hundred outfits in the first batch, but the second batch would be delivered in another half a month.

    Aurora Enterprises had actually intended to finish producing all of the armors for Lu Yin before delivering them to him, but Lu Yin was not able to wait any longer. As soon as the Tower of the Fifth waspleted, it would be open and the trials for the various inheritances would need to be activated. The Lu Elite Troops with their new equipment were intended to participate in some of the trials. As Wang Wen had mentioned, this would provide the Great Eastern Alliance with an opportunity to train their troops while also recruiting new soldiers.

    One day, Yuhua Mavis arrived just outside the Abyss of the Sea. She found Lu Yin, and delivered a massive amount of money: a total of 105 billion star essence.

    "I have no idea why you bothered asking for so much money, but the Great Elder asked me to remind you to not destroy the economy." Yuhua Mavis had a cold expression on her face as she confronted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don¡¯t have any interest in something like that. Also, aren¡¯t you supposed to be in seclusion? How do you have the time to make this trip?"

    Yuhua Mavis looked the same as the first time Lu Yin had seen her, and grass grew everywhere she passed, which left quite an impression. ¡°I came to see this Tower of the Fifth and the inheritances you¡¯ve left there."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Are you interested in one of them?"

    Yuhua Mavis expressed her surprise at Lu Yin¡¯s actions, "You¡¯re not exactly a selfless person. Are those inheritances real?"

    "Of course they¡¯re real! The Hall of Honor is supervising everything. What? You think I managed to bribe the Hall of Honor or something?" Lu Yin snapped back. It was possible that Yuhua Mavis remembered being crushed by Lu Yin on Zenith Mountain, as she did not sound very friendly towards him at this time.

    She stared at Lu Yin in a daze, before frowning. "Bribe the Hall of Honor¡­?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "You really think I¡¯d do that?"

    Yuhua Mavis''s eyes drifted down to Lu Yin''s cosmic ring. This was actually the only possibility she coulde up with for why Lu Yin might need such an incredible amount of liquid assets. Even though it was well within the Mavis Bank¡¯s means to provide such a loan, that did not mean it was easy to get one. As for those who did qualify for such a loan, people could not spend so much. It was impossible for ordinary people, and even for Semi-Progenitors, so there was no need to even consider Lu Yin. After all, he was an Envoy, and he needed to cultivate with stellr energy, not star energy.

    Star energy carried almost no value for Envoys. Furthermore, Lu Yin was the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, and the Great Eastern Alliance owned Continental Shipping, as well as controlled Giant Consortium and the Outerverse¡¯s four great corporations. This was enough to provide financial security for the entire alliance, so there was no need for their leader to search everywhere for more money.

    The more Yuhua Mavis considered Lu Yin¡¯s situation, the stranger she found it.

    Lu Yin was amused by the obvious spections. "Don''t try to be stupid. Would 100 billion star essence be enough to buy off the Hall of Honor? Not even a trillion would be enough."

    Yuhua Mavis calmly turned her head away. It had merely been a sudden thought, and not anything she considered actually possible. Even if Lu Yin was able to bribe the overseers, it would be impossible to bribe Arch-Elder Zen.

    Three days after Lu Yin received the money from Yuhua Mavis, the Tower of the Fifth was officiallypleted.

    All of the fighting around the Abyss of the Sea had stopped a few days before the tower was finished, and everyone had simply waited for it to open. They were all anticipating the mysterious trials that they would face, and so no one wanted to make any trouble or take any risks. Everyone felt as though they were only a single step away from receiving an inheritance.

    The Wen family was the group suffering the worst at this moment, as both the World League and the Great Eastern Alliance had worked to make trouble for the Wen family. Almost all of the independent cultivators they had managed to recruit had fled, and the Wen family had been left with no path but that of retreat.

    They had not been intimidated by the World League, but the Great Eastern Alliance was a different animal. Even though the people who had targeted the Wen family had only represented a few of the smaller powers in the Great Eastern Alliance, they were still official members of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    While the Tower of the Fifth was being built, many people had arrived from the Great Eastern Alliance, including the Giants¡¯ Army and the lesser giants. Man Li was in charge of all of them, and he red at everyone around the construction site, terrifying many people.

    The moment there was news that the Tower of the Fifth was finished, the Abyss of the Sea instantly grew quiet. Everyone stared at the center of the sea with zing eyes. They could see the massive tower that stood there, as well as a statue of Lu Yin that stood in front of it.

    Lu Yin stepped out and stood in front of the tower. He looked around the area from high in the sky. "I know all of you have been waiting for the Tower of the Fifth to open its doors so that you can get its inheritances and raise your strength to new heights, but there are a few things I need to say first."

    No one dared to make the slightest sound, not even any of the Envoys who were hiding themselves.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and raised his head up proudly. "I am human! The most intelligent species in the universe! We also believe ourselves to be the most powerful, and despite any differing opinions, I, Lu Yin, believe this to be true!. Despite our race¡¯s strength, we face outside enemies. Stepping into the Tower of the Fifth will give you ess to information that you would not normally have ess to, such as the identity of humanity¡¯s enemy. This ce will expand your knowledge, as I want all of you to understand why I built the Tower of the Fifth.

    "This tower was established to increase the power of all of humanity! This ce was not merely built for you, but also for all future generations. The foundation of humanity lies within our inheritances. I, Lu Yin, graduated from the Astral Combat Academy. I have provided an inheritance of all that I have learned to train and raise up anyone who can ept it. My wish is that those who enter this tower will not be selfish and simply take an inheritance away, but that you will also leave an inheritance behind. Not to improve the Tower of the Fifth, but to strength the entire human race.

    "I, Lu Yin, swear here and now that even if I want to obtain any of the inheritances within the Tower of the Fifth, I must pass the trials put in ce for them."

    Lu Yin then dropped down to the ground.

    Many of the people gathered around the Abyss of the Sea nced at each other. They were expected to leave an inheritance in order to take an inheritance? What was the meaning in that? If they possessed something with the same value as the treasures within the Tower of the Fifth, why would they even think of challenging the tower?

    "Hurry up and check the rules and trials! They¡¯ve been released on the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s page!" someone eximed. Everyone quickly checked their gadgets and thework.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin returned to the sea. The Tower of the Fifth was officially open.

    He stared up at the huge tower. Only half a year had passed since he had first conceived the possibility of building the tower, and at that time, had he had any idea of the massive impact such a colossal endeavor would have? He had merely intended to entice some talented cultivators and create a final resort that he could use if he was backed into a corner, but as time had passed, everything that Lu Yin thought, saw, or experienced told him that the Tower of the Fifth was vitally important.

    It was possible that this was the same way that the original Daosource Sect had been established!

    Ce Wangtian had managed to create the Ce Secret Art and Board Maniption simply because he wanted to brazenly cheat when ying chess with others. Many of humanity¡¯s greatest achievements had been motivated by simrly petty reasons.

    This was true of the reason the Tower of the Fifth had been built, it might also be true of the Daosource Sect.

    Lu Yin had no idea what would eventually be of the Tower of the Fifth. It might be able to stand for a thousand years, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of years. As for humans living hundreds of millions of years in the future, they might regard the Tower of the Fifth as the legacy of the current era, just as humanity currently viewed the Daosource Sect era.

    Lu Yin might have just created a new era by his own ambition and his own actions.

    "Arch-Elder Zen, when will Senior Jiu Chi arrive?" Lu Yin called Arch-Elder Zen to check on this matter.

    Arch-Elder Zenughed as he replied, "Soon! Since that old man agreed, he¡¯ll definitely be there. He hopes to be able to help train some people."

    "That''s good."

    Arch-Elder Zen continued, "This can only be seen as the initial opening of the Tower of the Fifth, and can even be treated as a test run. Things will only truly start once more and more people start adding their own inheritances to the tower. The day wille when the Inheritance Ranking will hold countless names, and only then will it be a true sess. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin answered solemnly, "This junior knows this."

    As Lu Yin spoke to Arch-Elder Zen, the people surrounding the Abyss of the Sea had started to move towards the Tower of the Fifth.

    Anyone who wanted to enter the tower was first required to swim through the Abyss of the Sea to reach the tower. No one who traveled through the sky would be allowed entry.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and stared off into the distance. Countless people were swimming towards the Tower of the Fifth from every direction. Because the Abyss of the Sea was filled with vortices, the sea water was chaotic and turbulent. Most cultivators were not able to deal with the power of the currents, and they were either thrown out of the Abyss of the Sea, or sucked under the Tower of the Fifth towards its foundation.

    For a time, the air was filled with the screams of countless people.

    However, there was a limit to the strength of the currents in the Abyss of the Sea, and soon, the first person managed to step onto the foundation of the Tower of the Fifth. The first person was none other than Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei¡¯s entire reason for challenging the tower was to reach the ninth floor and take away the inheritance rted to Extremes Must Be Reversed.

 Chapter 1989

    <h4>Chapter 1989</h4>

    The Ku family had reached out to Lu Yin when they had learned that Extremes Must Be Reversed was avable on the ninth floor of the Tower of the Fifth, but that conversation had not gone very well.

    When Lu Yin had visited the Ku family, he had clearly stated that he had no idea how to teach anyone else how to learn Extremes Must Be Reversed, and yet he had ced that technique on the final floor of the Tower of the Fifth. Was this some kind of joke?

    However, Lu Yin had given a very simple answer: the tower would not hold the actual technique. Any who received that inheritance would not receive the technique, but rather Lu Yin¡¯s promise that he would teach them the technique when he was able to. Nothing that Lu Yin had told the Ku family had been a lie.

    This was why Ku Lei had traveled to the Tower of the Fifth. He needed to climb to the ninth floor and get Lu Yin¡¯s promise that he would teach Extremes Must Be Reversed in the future. The Ku family had to be the first and only ones to receive that promise.

    Ku Lei was the first person to climb onto the base of the tower, and he immediately started walking towards the entrance. There was an enormous statue of Lu Yin in front of the tower, as well as a lesser giant sitting cross-legged on the ground. It was Man Li.

    Lu Yin had not been able to fully trust Man Li after the lesser giants had taken refuge from the Sixth Maind with the Great Eastern Alliance, which was why Lu Yin felt that it would be best to send Man Li to act as the gatekeeper of the Tower of the Fifth.

    There was no reason to fear that Man Li would try to steal any of the inheritances in the Tower of the Fifth, as the true guardian of the ce would be Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi. On top of that, Liu Ye and Fei Hua would also be hidden protectors of the tower.

    Ku Lei nced at the statue of Lu Yin before walking straight into the Tower of the Fifth without showing any respect for the statue.

    Right after Ku Lei entered the tower, Xing Kai jumped out of the water and also made his way into the Tower of the Fifth.

    After that, many other famous people entered the Tower of the Fifth one after the other, including Yuhua Mavis. There were also various people who appeared who no one could name, and these people were clearly older cultivators.

    When one certain middle-aged man stepped onto the base of the tower, Man Li¡¯s eyes finally opened. "Do you know the rules?"

    The middle-aged man looked at the lesser giant. "I do."

    "Goal?"

    The middle-aged man immediately answered, "The experience on how to obtain golden battle force."

    He then proceeded to walk into the tower.

    Several more people had already risen from the sea behind the man, and one of them was surprised to see the middle-aged man enter the tower. "Isn''t that Senior Guan?"

    "Who?" Another person had no idea who that was.

    The first person replied, "Senior Guan¡¯s an Envoy from the Neoverse. He was asked to join the Hall of Honor a few times, but he refused and insisted on remaining an independent cultivator."

    "I know that there are very few independent cultivators who are able to be Envoys. I heard he refused to join the Hall of Honor just to be able to remain unaffiliated because there are so many independent cultivators who look up to him."

    "That''s right. That was him just now."

    "I didn''t think that even people like Senior Guan woulde here. I have no idea what he might want. The ess each realm of cultivators have to the Tower of the Fifth is different, and Envoys have to deal with a lot more restrictions. For one, they can¡¯t interact with anyone who¡¯s not an Envoy. Also, it seems that they have to report which inheritance they are after, but even if they get it, the inheritance they leave behind has to be one of sufficient value.¡±

    "That''s right. The Tower of the Fifth is pretty harsh on Envoys, but that¡¯s only normal. Envoys are already powerhouses in the Fifth Maind, and it would be too much if they were allowed to enter the tower and fight for everything in it without restrictions. Who would be able topete with them? I wonder what Senior Guan might be after."

    "Probably the golden battle force inheritance. There are rumors that he managed to be an Envoy by gradually improving his battle force and using that. He¡¯s an independent cultivator, so he doesn¡¯t have any powerful battle techniques or skills, so all he¡¯s been able to rely on is his battle force."

    "That''s got to be it. I¡¯ve never seen golden battle force before. Who knew that there was another level beyond nine lined battle force? Let¡¯s head on it. There¡¯s information about battle force avable on the first floor of the tower, so maybe it will exin some things about the different levels."

    "Right, let¡¯s hurry up."

    There were no age restrictions on who was allowed entry to the Tower of the Fifth. Theck of this restriction was stated to be absent so that any cultivator would be able to gain strength from the tower. Still, there were restrictions ced on the strength of those allowed entry, as well as how many times a person could enter the Tower of the Fifth. All of this had been established by Wang Wen.

    It was impossible to allow anyone to freely enter the Tower of the Fifth, and Envoys in particr were given a great number of extra rules, as well as very different trials for the different inheritances.

    Lu Yin was not afraid of people publicizing the inheritances they picked up from the Tower of the Fifth. For starters, all of the inheritances were recorded onto slips of jade, so there was no written record of anything. Second, people were selfish. Who would put forth all of the effort needed to pick up an inheritance from the tower just to make it public?

    A screen popped up just outside the Abyss of the Sea, and it showed what was happening inside the Tower of the Fifth.

    Every part of the tower was under surveince. Fights to the death and murder were forbidden within its walls. Lu Yin had established the tower for his own benefit and to strengthen the Great Eastern Alliance, not to give other powers an opportunity.

    For example, if the descendants of the Seven Courts worked together, who would be able to stand up to them?

    Additionally, any Envoy challenging the tower would be closely monitored, but there should not be any Envoys entering quite yet.

    Wait, there was an Envoy?

    Lu Yin was surprised to see an Envoy had entered so quickly. He checked the man¡¯s entrance on a part of the disy. The man was looking for the golden battle force?

    Cultivating battle force was dependent on breaking free of certain restrictions that limited a person¡¯s heart. While it was possible to cultivate battle force in the Fifth Maind, because it wasmon knowledge that nine lined battle force was the limit, even determined people with strong wills were unable to break past that level. If people did not know there was another level avable, how could they reach it?

    Lu Yin had managed to surpass nine lined battle force because he had managed to prove himself stronger than all of his peers, and he had not consciously done anything to break through to a higher level of battle force. However, how many people throughout history were capable of matching such a feat?

    The middle-aged Envoy had likely achieved nine lined battle force long ago, which was why he hoped to learn how to push on to obtain golden battle force.

    The fact of the matter was that the Envoy only needed to acquire the introduction to battle force that was avable on the first floor of the tower, as that information included information about the existence of aurelian force.

    There was a great deal of information avable on the first floor, and it covered topics like Aeternus, and the histories of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. As Lu Yin had said when he had spoken in front of the tower, he wanted the people who entered the tower to learn why humanity needed to raise their overall strength.

    The golden battle force inheritance was avable up on the fifth floor of the tower. Theoretically, an Envoy was plenty strong enough to reach that level, but climbing to a higher floor of the tower required both strength and luck.

    Most people who challenged the tower would first need to find the stairs to the next floor, and then have the strength to climb it and break through the barrier that restricted each floor.

    As Lu Yin was considering this, the screen showed Ku Lei inside the tower.

    The unlucky young man had been the first person to enter the Tower of the Fifth, and he had also been the first person to break through the barrier separating the first and second floors. His strength had allowed him to easily step onto the second floor. At this moment, Ku Lei was about to challenge the second barrier that blocked passage to the third floor. This was already a challenge some people would never be able to see.

    Right when Ku Lei was about to break through the barrier to the third floor, his body froze, as did space around him. This was Ye Gui¡¯s innate gift. This innate gift had caused Lu Yin a bit of suffering in the past, and at this moment, Ku Lei needed to deal with it.

    Ku Lei looked down to see sword qi mysteriously appear. It was powerful, and extremely fast. It was actually stronger than some Enlighters¡¯ attacks.

    Still, the attack did not exceed the power of an Enlighter. A chill appeared in Ku Lei¡¯s eyes, and lightning shed and instantly shattered the approaching sword qi in an instant.

    At that same time, a person emerged from the void in front of Ku Lei and pped out with a palm strike. It was impossible to see what this person looked like, as they were entirely hidden within a universal armor.

    Ye Gui¡¯s innate gift was not enough to keep Ku Lei trapped, and he turned to face his mysterious opponent¡¯s palm strike, and retaliated with a Finger Tap.

    Finger Tap was not only a terrifyingly powerful attack, it was also able to eliminate a person¡¯s motivations and desire to fight.

    There was a bang as the person was struck down by Ku Lei, but he let out a gasp as he watched the person fall. The universal armor had not been broken?

    Ku Lei was powerful enough that even his casual attacks were as strong as most Enlighters¡¯ full-strength attacks, and the fact that he had not been able to destroy the universal armor showed just how impressive it was.

    Hidden beneath the floor, Ye Gui let out a sharp breath as he looked up in surprise. This first challenger was already so powerful? While Ye Gui knew that whoever was at the forefront had to be a talented cultivator, this person had been so young that Ye Gui had not really cared about him. This had caused Ye Gui to lose the advantage.

    "Interesting." Ku Lei''s body flickered, and only lightning could be seen in the air. His body was already on the ground. He grabbed a hold of Ye Gui, and said, "Let me see who you are."

    Ye Gui raised a hand, and a Money Bomb appeared that fired straight at Ku Lei.

    Ku Lei casually swatted at the attack. A Money Bomb only had the firepower of an Enlighter with a power level of about 200,000, which was no threat to Ku Lei. "You have a lot of toys."

    At this moment, several more sword qi attacks appeared in the distance, and each one shot towards Ku Lei.

    The young man frowned and kicked Ye Gui away with a foot before turning to confront the sword qi attacks. A hand rose, and lightning shed. It tore through the sword qi, and Ku Lei waved a hand. A gust of wind shot out with enough force to twist the void. It seemed that all of the sword qi attacks carried the strength of an Enlighter, but where had it alle from? Why were there so many Enlighter swordsmen?

    Five more people appeared before Ku Lei, each of them wearing a universal armor.

    As Ku Lei tore through the sword qi, these five people raised their hands in unison to reveal a Money Bomb in each hand, and five Money Bombs sted at Ku Lei.

    Attacks with a power level of only 200,000 were not enough for Ku Lei to even care about, but he was extremely concerned with the fact that these five people were only Explorers. Explorers were able to use items to not only release explosions with the strength of an Enlighter¡¯s attack, but could also unleash sword qi attacks with the same level of strength? This was very odd.

    "I want to see who you are." Ku Lei pointed out five fingers on a hand, and lightning shot out. Each bolt of lightning pierced through the void and smashed into the five cultivators.

    The universal armors were instantly torn open. Ku Lei possessed a level of strength that was on par with the Ten Arbiters, which he had shown during the Astral Towerpetition in the Mountains and Seas Zone. He was able to defeat an average Enlighter with a power level of over 400,000. How could these universal armors withstand his attacks?

    Ku Lei shot towards the five people, only to watch as they raised their hands again and mysteriously released five sword qi attacks.

    Ku Lei''s pupils shrank. How was this possible? They could release sword qi from their hands? What the hell was this?

    As far as Ku Lei was concerned, Explorers were nothing more than ants, and yet these strange universal armors allowed such ants to not only endure his attacks, but also to retaliate. This flew in the face of everything Ku Lei knew.

    There was something off with these armors.

    Ku Lei sternly shouted, "Leave me be!"

    As he shouted, lightning wrapped around his body before shattering the approaching sword qi attacks, and Ku Lei then grabbed his opponents.

    Ye Gui felt frustrated. This was the strength of a Neoverse expert. Ye Gui and those with him were quite good, but they could never be such a person¡¯s opponents.

    At this moment, the air in the distance filled with mes, and a phoenix¡¯s cry rang out. Serati Phoenix appeared, wielding the mes. The ze shed with the lightning, and the lightning was forced back.

    Ku Lei stared at the young man who had just appeared. "Serati Phoenix? What is one of the Ten Arbiters doing here?"

    Serati Phoenix just gave a hint of a smile. "I¡¯m one of the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s trials.¡±

    He was a member of the Phoenix n, and his n had already joined the Great Eastern Alliance. Wang Wen had recruited Serati and many other members of the Great Eastern Alliance to act as examiners for the trials in the Tower of the Fifth.

 Chapter 1990

    <h4>Chapter 1990</h4>

    Serati Phoenix¡¯s words caused Ku Lei to sneer. "So that''s how it is. In addition to the barriers here, there¡¯s also you people working as the trials in this Tower of the Fifth."

    As he spoke, he nced at the people behind Serati, and then over at Ye Gui. ¡°So who are these people? More from the Great Eastern Alliance?"

    "Ku Lei, if you want to get an inheritance of the Tower of the Fifth, you must pass the trials in ce. Are you confident that you can defeat me?" Serati answered indifferently.

    Ku Lei remained as disdainful as ever. "Lu Yin is such a hypocrite! While he puts on a show of using the inheritances in this tower to improve the strength of humanity, he has you people here to stop us from getting anything. Why didn¡¯t he just send out the Second Nightking to stop me?"

    Serati shook his head. "All prizes must be paid for. There will be people who benefit from the inheritances in this Tower of the Fifth, and there will be others who leave with nothing. This is perfectly normal. In particr, people like you who aim for the top floor alone, you¡¯ll be forced to pass more difficult challenges than normal."

    "You want to stop me by yourself? Just try!" Ku Lei roared and lightning erupted, shooting straight for Serati Phoenix.

    A smile spread across Serati¡¯s face as his mes surged through the air and shed with the lightning.

    Just outside the Abyss of the Sea, Lu Yin was observing everything on the disy. There were certain people who wanted to demand fairness, but fairness never existed anywhere. The Tower of the Fifth was no different. There would be lucky people who would be able to easily grab an inheritance while strolling along, while others would not be able to get one no matter how hard they tried. Ye Gui had actually attacked just because he did not like the looks of Ku Lei. Lu Yin had not given any specific orders to the man.

    The Tower of the Fifth operated under its own rules to give out its inheritances, but it was clear that Ku Lei wanted to break those rules. Thus, he needed to be driven out.

    If the middle-aged Envoy had attempted to charge straight for the ninth floor, someone would have appeared to stop him as well. However, the Envoy had proven himself to be quite smart, and he had remained wandering about the first floor. If he was lucky, he would eventually find the stairs to the second floor, and this was why no one would show up to stop the man from ascending.

    However, once a person rose to the sixth floor or higher, things changed. At those levels, a price needed to be paid for anyone to obtain an inheritance.

    Lu Yin was able to observe a few weaknesses of the Lu Elite Troops through the brief exchange with Ku Lei. While the soldiers were able to cross realms to challenge average cultivators with greater strength, geniuses who had received excessive resources, such as Ku Lei, remained untouchable.

    The defensive capabilities of the universal armors needed to be further improved, as it should take at least an Envoy to break them.

    Wang Wen had done quite well, as this was excellent training for the troops.

    While Lu Yin was examining the Lu Elite Troops'' weaknesses, he was ignorant to the fact that Ku Lei was feeling extraordinarily frustrated at this moment.

    Who was Ku Lei? He was one of the top geniuses of the Neoverse! He was a direct descendant of the Seven Courts¡¯ Ku family! He had been able to ignore even the Ten Arbiters. He stood above almost everyone in his generation and could crush all, aside from his few peers.

    However, he had not been able to quickly defeat an average Enlighter, albeit with an odd innate gift, and five Explorers! They had even been able to counter attack during the brief battle! Such a situation would have always been impossible to even consider, and yet he had just experienced such a fight.

    More importantly, Ku Lei had not merely seen manufactured Realmbreakers, but the possibility of doing such on a massive scale. All five of those people had worn the exact same universal armor and had released the exact same attacks. What if there were not just a few people given such equipment, but dozens, hundreds, or even thousands? Who would be able to fight against the Great Eastern Alliance?

    The Great Eastern Alliance would be absolutely invincible beneath a certain level of individual power.

    Despite being in the middle of fighting Serati Phoenix, Ku Lei was growing increasingly curious about his former opponents.

    Finally, he went ahead and asked.

    "The Lu Elite Troops?" Ku Lei pulled back a full thousand meters, utterly shocked. Troops? An army?

    mes spread out behind Serati Phoenix. "That''s right. They¡¯re soldiers from the Lu Elite Troops, which is an armyposed entirely of cultivators at the Explorer realm or above. They¡¯re one of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s strongest armies."

    Ku Lei''s eye twitched. "How many are in the army?"

    A smile appeared on Serati''s face. "Ask them yourself."

    There was no reason to bother hiding the Lu Elite Troops. Making the army more well known was actually another of Wang Wen''s goals, as their fame would work as yet another deterrent to the various powers in the Fifth Maind, while also encouraging more people to enlist.

    The entire focus of the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ participation in the Tower of the Fifth was both training and recruitment.

    Lu Yin had no interest in watching the battle between Ku Lei and Serati Phoenix. The two had simr levels of strength, though Ku Lei might hold the edge in a fair fight. However, Serati Phoenix had also been outfitted with a universal armor that included the standard white smoke, Money Bomb, microarray attacks, and more. There was no chance Ku Lei would be able to win.

    Lu Yin had made the right decision to have Ban Jiu create the battle simtor after learning that the microarray technology had been perfected in Aurora Fortress. The simtor had allowed the Lu Elite Troops the opportunity to practice with the armors so that they were able to effectively use them as soon as they obtained their new equipment. There was no need for a lengthy training program to adjust to the new equipment.

    Instead, Lu Yin¡¯s attention was drawn elsewhere.

    He focused on a scene from the first floor of the tower, where someone had already found an inheritance.

    There were numerous inheritances throughout the Tower of the Fifth, as how would the tower help to enhance the strength of humanity itself if there were not enough opportunities avable?

    Lu Yin had been extremely generous. On the first floor alone, there were tens of thousands of copies of the information about battle force, as well as thousands of copies providing 30 Stacks of the Oveying Stacks Path. Still, the mostmon things that could be found on the first floor of the tower were hundreds of thousands of information packets that provided an introduction to the existence and importance of tribtion crystals, Aeternus, and various details regarding the history of humanity. As long as one¡¯s luck was not terrible, nearly everyone who entered the tower would encounter these information packets.

    At this moment, the first person lucky enough to run into an actual inheritance had appeared, and they had even stumbled upon the first level of the Cosmic Art.

    The core inheritance on the first floor of the Tower of the Fifth was nothing less than the full first level of the Cosmic Art, which would allow a person to simte up to eight stars at full mastery. This exact cultivation art had been what Lu Yin had relied on the most when he had first started cultivating. There was no denying that he had benefited greatly over the years from learning the Cosmic Art.

    This cultivation art could be useful to anyone who obtained it, even Hunters or Enlighters.

    There were only a few hundred copies of the Cosmic Art scattered across the first floor of the tower, and yet one of them had been found so quickly despite requiring a truly odd means of finding it: digging in the dirt.

    There was a man with a simple and honest looking face on the first floor of the Tower of the Fifth, breathing heavily. He kept ncing down at a jade slip on the floor, and then in front of himself.

    He was the lucky person who had discovered the first copy of the Cosmic Art by digging in the dirt. In front of the man was a soldier from the Lu Elite Troops.

    "Well, I dug that up, so let me have it, alright?" The simple-looking young man scratched his head as he looked at the armored figure.

    In front of him, the soldier was rather speechless. He was supposed to act as one of the inheritance trials, and he was responsible for guarding this copy of the Cosmic Art. The copy had been stored on a slip of jade that would move about randomly beneath the ground, and the soldier remained hiding beneath the slip of jade. His task was to challenge and attack whoever found the jade.

    Not all of the inheritances actually had trials that needed to be passed. Was the man who had found the first copy of the Cosmic Art lucky or unlucky? The soldier could not decide.

    It was unbelievable that the man had been able to find an inheritance by randomly digging in the ground, which could only be seen as lucky, and yet there was no possibility of the man passing the trial to actually obtain the inheritance. Was this lucky or unlucky?

    "Just leave. You can¡¯t get this inheritance," the soldier said rather sympathetically.

    The simple-looking young man shrugged. He possessed a rather impressive level of strength for his age. He was already an Explorer, and had even managed to be ranked within the top fifty of the current Top 100 Rankings. This was the strength that had allowed him to travel to the Tower of the Fifth.

    The armored figure before the young man was smoking, and though he did not know what that smoke meant, the person in the armor seemed powerful, and their absolute confidence was disturbing.

    He could not afford to give in to fear, as there was an inheritance right in front of him! If he did not fight, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

    "I want to try." The young man shot towards the soldier while taking out arge from his cosmic ring that was thrown forward. The was absolutely covered with what looked to be shellfish. The young man had picked this up at an auction, and each of the shells could release a powerful suction force that made it very difficult to escape the once a person fell into its range. If someone was caught within the, how would they be able to fight back?

    The was massive, but the result surprised the young man. He had used this same trick many times before, and it was extremely difficult for Explorers to break free of the.

    However, the soldier did not even want to run away. When he saw that the was about to fall on him, his white smoke filled the air before him and stopped the. The soldier then took a few quick steps, moving so quickly that the young man was not even able to see where the soldier had gone.

    The young man was startled; this person was so fast?

    This was the speed provided by the newly designed universal armor. They allowed the users to move at a speed that Explorers could not even track, even if they were in the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings.

    Boom

    The honest-looking young man was caught off guard when a punchnded on his back. It even carried three Stacks, as many of the soldiers in the Lu Elite Troops had trained in the Oveying Stacks Path.

    The blow sent the young man to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he fell. He felt as though his body was about to break apart.

    The soldier stood quietly where he was. "I already told you that you can¡¯t get this inheritance."

    Outside the Abyss of the Sea, Lu Yin''s eyes were zing. He had already found out who that young man was as he had checked as soon as possible.

    This exchange proved that not even the talented youths in the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings were able to fight against the Explorers in the Lu Elite Troops, which was very reassuring for Lu Yin to see.

    The young man bared his teeth as he looked up at the soldier from the dirt. He had been defeated without this armored figure even using any battle techniques. "Who are you? You¡¯re someone with a high status in the Great Eastern Alliance, right? To think that an elite from the Lu Elite Troops was sent to guard this inheritance. Your leader is certainly excessive."

    A cold light glinted in the eyes of the soldier. "Don''t talk about our leader so flippantly. I¡¯m just a soldier; one of the basic grunts."

    The young man sneered at this answer; A grunt? Who¡¯d believe that! You¡¯re clearly an expert, probably a hidden one, and your cultivation is definitely more than being an Explorer. Given your strength, you might even be one of the heirs from a big sect or something. However, I¡¯m not weak!

    At this time, three people appeared some distance away, making their way closer. The young man saw the people, and he quickly called out to them, "Hey, you guys! Get over here! There¡¯s an inheritance!"

    The three far-off people had simply been curious about the fight, but after hearing the young man¡¯s words, they nced at each other and hurried closer.

    There were two men and a woman, all Cruisers. These people were not youths, but did not seem to be very old, either.

    The moment they saw the jade slip on the ground, their eyes lit up.

    "That''s the inheritance! The first floor¡¯s core inheritance! We can get it if we work together to defeat this person." The young man was no idiot, and he immediately tried to get the three people to attack the armored figure.

    The two men and the woman all warily measured the soldier from the Lu Elite Troops. "Who are you?"

    Despite being confronted by three Cruisers, the soldier was still fearless. "I¡¯m the guardian of this inheritance. It will only be yours if you can defeat me."

    "Attack!" one of the men yelled, without any hesitation. These three were from the Neoverse, and they believed themselves to be superior to people from other regions of the Fifth Maind. They were already dismissing the young man who had called them over, and the three of them nned to take the inheritance for themselves after defeating the soldier.

    The universal armor increased the soldier¡¯s speed to a level that even the three Cruisers struggled to keep track of their opponent. Still, they had much better sess than the young man. At the very least, they would not go down easily.

    Lu Yin watched everything, bing more and more invested in the situation. An Explorer from the Lu Elite Troops was using his new armor to battle three Cruisers. Obtaining a victory would not be difficult, as the armor included microarrays and Money Bombs, but those sorts of attacks were too powerful to use in the current situation and would cause casualties. Lu Yin was eager to see the effectiveness of the armor in a battle without all of the provided boosts.

 Chapter 1991

    <h4>Chapter 1991</h4>

    Cruisers from the Neoverse were not weak, especially when three of them worked together to watch every direction. Regardless of how quickly the soldier from the Lu Elite Troops could move, he would not be able to get behind these three people, which hamstrung hisbat strength. His best option was to use the white smoke to incapacitate the three Cruisers, which simply led to a draw.

    The soldier had wanted to use his Money Bombs to deal with these Cruisers, but had been ordered not to. He had no choice but to try his best with what he was allowed to use.

    None of the four people noticed that the young man had already disappeared, and by the time they did notice, it was already far toote.

    The three Cruisers and the soldier were all stunned.

    The soldier was especially startled, as he discovered that his hiding ce had disappeared.

    There should have been a hollow stone in the ground, which was his base while within the Tower of the Fifth. He was supposed to remain hidden within it until challenging someone who found a jade slip, but even if the soldier lost and the jade slip was taken, new ones would be added to the first floor of the tower, and so his job would continue. His job was to be the trial to obtain a jade slip.

    It turned out that the young man who had such an honest face had hidden within the hollow stone. That stone was made to move about randomly, so it had taken the young man away, along with the hollow rock and the jade slip.

    The three Cruisers were absolutely furious. "Who was that bastard?"

    "I saw that he¡¯s ranked forty-seventh on the Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings. Apparently he¡¯s rather famous around the Abyss of the Sea."

    "We¡¯re going to find him! He actually had the balls to trick us!"

    The soldier from the Lu Elite Troops was rather dumbfounded, but with the inheritance gone, there was no longer any reason to fight.

    The soldier watched the Cruisers leave and wondered where he was supposed to go.

    Lu Yin found the whole thing hrious. That young man had a face that looked so simple and honest, but the youth was actually quite cunning and his appearance was rather deceptive.

    This was only to be expected of someone capable of entering the Innerverse¡¯s Top 100 Rankings.

    The young man had been thrown into an impossible situation, and yet he had managed to get out of it. This had been through abination of luck and intelligence, but it had given him the first level of the Cosmic Art, which would allow him to go farther than ever before. It was possible that he might be someone famous in the entire Human Domain in a few more years.

    A short whileter, the young man burst up out of the ground. He nced around, but found no one. He let out a sigh of relief and took off.

    He excitedly checked the jade slip he had picked up. His eyes glittered, despite not knowing what the jade actually held. Realizing this, he quickly pushed some star energy into the jade, only for a strange expression to appear on his face.

    The teachings of a half-master?

    He had learned from the jade slip that it held the first level of the Cosmic Art, but that if he wanted to obtain it, he first needed to ept that receiving Lu Yin¡¯s teachings made Lu Yin a half-master to the recipient. Essentially, by learning the Cosmic Art, the young man was acknowledging Lu Yin as his half-master.

    After a moment or two to think about it, the young man grinned. "A half-master is a half-master. It¡¯s true that I got the inheritance from him, and-¡±

    The young man had no desire to leave the Tower of the Fifth so quickly. The ce held too many inheritances, and he wanted to explore it and fight for more. Maybe make his way up to the second floor, where the Ce family¡¯s Seven Swords and the First Sword from the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords could be found. There was so much avable in the tower.

    In addition to epting Lu Yin as a half-master, the young man also left behind one of his own battle techniques. This was another of the rules of the Tower of the Fifth: take an inheritance and leave one behind.

    The young man¡¯s heart ached a bit as he looked at where he had buried a bamboo slip. After a moment, he shook his head and put it out of his mind.

    Given the fact that he was in the top fifty of the Top 100 Rankings, the young man had not left behind a weak inheritance. It was impossible to know who would find it and take it from the Tower of the Fifth.

    In the sea outside the Abyss of the Sea, Lu Yin¡¯s attention shifted away. The young man had acknowledged Lu Yin as a half-master and had also left behind an inheritance of his own. The Tower of the Fifth had officially started fulfilling its task of strengthening the Fifth Maind.

    As soon as Yuhua Mavis entered the Tower of the Fifth, her eyes flickered and she started moving with a speed that far surpassed what most Enlighters were capable of. She snatched up a jade slip with a hand, but it only held information about cultivating battle force.

    It seemed like learning the cultivation of battle force did not have the requirements to acknowledge Lu Yin as a half-master, or to leave an inheritance of their own behind.

    Yuhua Mavis had already visited the Perennial World, and so she was already aware that there were levels of battle force above nine lines, but this jade slip did not hold any information regarding how to reach such levels, and that was what she was searching for.

    She opened her hand and dropped the jade slip. She then looked up towards the second floor. She jumped up and easily entered the second floor, and also casually continued on to the third floor without any difficulty.

    But right when Yuhua Mavis was about to continue on to the fourth floor, something appeared to block her path: arrows shot at her from far away.

    Yuhua Mavis avoided the attacks. When she observed her attacker, he seemed to be a lesser giant Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000.

    Yuhua Mavis had neither the desire to fight the lesser giant, nor to rush upwards to the fourth floor. She was happy to just wander about the third floor.

    Only a few days had passed since the Tower of the Fifth had opened, and yet already over 10,000 people had entered the tower. More than a hundred inheritances had also been picked up by various people.

    Additionally, public knowledge of the Tower of the Fifth had greatly increased, and the strength that the soldiers of the Lu Elite Troops could exhibit with their equipment had roused the envy of countless people. Many people were already eager to get such equipment for themselves and were eager to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Some people had already received the Cosmic Art, and they had exhibited a noticeable increase in strength. The most visible example of this was the young man who had picked up a copy of the Cosmic Art first. He had been ranked forty-seventh on the Top 100 Rankings, and yet he had already defeated the fortieth ranked person, which had boosted his rankings by nearly ten ces, which was unbelievable.

    Other people had picked up some of the star essence avable in the tower, as well as the Oveying Stacks inheritances, and much more.

    As all of this had happened, some people had also acknowledged Lu Yin as their half-master.

    This particr detain had triggered intense debates on thework. There were people who felt that Lu Yin was going too far by asking to be acknowledged as a half-master. He had indeed established the Tower of the Fifth to strength the entire Fifth Maind, which had gained him the admiration of countless people and the support and recognition of the Hall of Honor. Still, asking to be seen as a half-master was too much, as far as these people were concerned.

    There were others who felt that Lu Yin was perfectly entitled to such an honor. Not everyone who possessed or acquired inheritances was willing to share them with others, but the inheritances that Lu Yin had donated to the Tower of the Fifth would strengthen numerous people, and that number would only rise as time passed.

    The other matter that had incited the most attention was actually the information from the ancient times that Lu Yin had made avable. The people of the Fifth Maind had already learned that there were forms of battle force above nine lines, as well as the spirit manifestation and the void god realms of mastery of a domain. Even more importantly was the fact that people had learned that humanity¡¯s greatest enemy was not the Astral Beast Domain, nor was it the Technocracy, but Aeternus.

    The Hall of Honor made no moves to suppress this spread of information. In the past, the Aeternals had been a distant threat, and thus the Hall of Honor had not wanted most people to worry about such matters, and so the information had been kept restricted. However, the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ betrayal had changed everything. No one knew how long the Aeternals would be kept in the Starfall Sea despite the countless people who had been stationed there to defend the sole passage.

    Disaster would befall the Fifth Maind as soon as the defenses in the Starfall Sea fell. It had be better for people to learn the truth so that they would be aware of the approaching danger.

    The Tower of the Fifth was not only intended to strengthen humanity, but also to educate them and expand the perspective of the people of the Fifth Maind so that they would be aware of some of the truths of the universe.

    Thepletion of the Tower of the Fifth introduced a new era to the Fifth Maind. Ignorance had be a thing of the past, and humanity needed to be aware of the crisis they faced so that they could prepare for the difficulties facing them.

    During this new era, humanity would either be eradicated, or they would rise to new heights.

    The greater the crisis, the more potential that could be forced out.

    Another half a month passed. Lu Yin had no idea what was happening at Sky Creation Academy. It was possible that another agreement had already been reached!

    The second batch of the universal armors had been delivered during this time as well. Production had sped up a bit, though not by much. Lu Yin was given almost 200 new sets of armor.

    The Mother Tree¡¯s bark that had been acquired from Leaf King had been enough to produce tens of thousands of the new armors, which would be enough to equip the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s entire Lu Elite Troops.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had been too optimistic about things. It was impossible for him to keep all of the best things for himself. There were already a debate raging online over whether or not Lu Yin should be acknowledged as a half-master to those who acquired his inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth, and more and more people had started objecting to the matter. After that picked up momentum, Lu Yin received a call from Zi Jing. She reached out to Lu Yin to ask him about the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ new armor, and particrly about the microarrays that were incorporated in them.

    Lu Yin had already known that he would not be able to monopolize the microarray technology for very long. There was no chance that the Hall of Honor would do nothing after they learned of it. No matter what, it was a technology that could change an era.

    Zi Jing''s call had only happened because Arch-Elder Zen had asked her to.

    Reluctantly, Lu Yin went ahead and called Arch-Elder Zen on his own.

    "No wonder. So this is the culmination of Aurora Enterprises¡¯ years of dedicated research?", Arch-Elder Zen sighed. Naturally, he had been aware of the fact that Aurora Enterprises had been running a secret research project, but he had not known any of the details of the matter.

    Lu Yin said, "Microarray technology is able to bring about a new era, though there¡¯s a serious shortage of the required materials."

    "Then it needs to be used where it will be of the best use, such as dealing with outside enemies," the old man replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were the same, though the two men were thinking about different enemies. Arch-Elder Zen had to be referring to Aeternus, while Lu Yin had been thinking about the Perennial World.

    "Lu Yin, do you have any idea how many people have gathered to defend the passage to the Starfall Sea? All of those people have only one mission: do whatever it takes to stop the Aeternals from entering the Fifth Maind," Arch-Elder Zen said softly.

    Lu Yin said, "Arch-Elder Zen, I understand what you¡¯re saying, but microarray technology hasn¡¯t been perfected quite yet. Even if all of those defenders are decked out with microarrays, it won¡¯t be anywhere near enough."

    "I¡¯ve already learned that tens of thousands of microarrays can be made with the materials that are in Aurora Fortress, and that means tens of thousands of defenders can soon be capable of releasing four attacks with the power of an Enlighter. Those are numbers that can wipe out a tremendous number of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings. Lu Yin, it¡¯s most important that the bigger picture be focused on. I will promise you that your contribution of these microarrays will be enough for my Hall of Honor to protect your Great Eastern Alliance. You want these microarrays to strengthen your Great Eastern Alliance, but this is a strength that my Hall of Honor can utilize better," the old man replied.

    Lu Yin frowned, but could not think of anything to say to counter what the Semi-Progenitor was saying. Lu Yin could not say anything about the fact that the Perennial World was about to invade, and it was even more impossible for him to admit that he did not trust the Fifth Maind not to hand him over to the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin believed that he had to have gratitude, but he also felt it was best to always prepare for the worst possible oue.

    "At this time, a rule has been implemented in the Fifth Maind that all of the best equipment needs to be sent to the Starfall Sea. Once Aeternuses, that ce will be our first line of defense, and they will also be the first to die," Arch-Elder Zen continued.

    "I know of your agreement with Aurora Fortress, so my Hall of Honor will buy the armors from you."

    Lu Yin sighed. "I understand."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "Thank you."

    Lu Yin had done enough that it truly was proper for the old man to express his thanks.

    "However, the best way to use the microarrays is with the new universal armor that have been developed. The Lu Elite Troops have spent several months training to use their new armors. Even if the universal armors are sent to the defense forces in the Starfall Sea, they won¡¯t be able to use them. Because of this, I¡¯ve already asked Ban Jiu to share the training simtor with the defense force so that the defenders can have a few months to train and prepare for the new equipment. During this time, the armors that are produced will continue to be shipped here to the Tower of the Fifth. How does that sound?" Lu Yin countered. He was hoping to buy a bit of time, and even just a few months should be enough. The Perennial World would not be able to wait longer than that.

    Arch-Elder Zen could not understand Lu Yin''s intentions. Was there any reason to buy a few more months?

    "If you insist, that will be fine." Arch-Elder Zen was already feeling rather bad for Lu Yin because of what he was having to do to the young man, and this minor request would not make any difference. Aeternus would not be able to break through during these few months, and even if the defenders had the universal armors, it would not benefit them at all. The armors were only of use to cultivators beneath the Enlighter realm, but they were not at all easy to adapt to.

    On top of that, even the addition of the universal armors would not change much on that battlefield. It was impossible to gain the upper hand against the Aeternals. Still, every little bit added up.

    Arch-Elder Zen was right, and regardless of whether it was the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind, all of the best equipment and medicines were given a priority status and sent to the Starfall Sea. This was the new rule.

 Chapter 1992

    <h4>Chapter 1992</h4>

    Right when the old man was about to hang up, Arch-Elder Zen remembered something else. "One more thing; someone has mentioned their opinion about you being treated as a half-master to the people benefiting from the Tower of the Fifth."

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. The tower had only been open for half a month, and yet even Arch-Elder Zen had already be concerned about this matter. "Who?"

    "Xia Ji."

    Lu Yin instantly had a headache. It would be useless if almost anyone else objected to Lu Yin¡¯s actions and wanted to make trouble, but Xia Ji was different. He was a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Senior, are you asking this junior to stop asking for those who receive my inheritances to treat me as a half-master?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "That had been my intention, but you just agreed to donate tens of thousands of universal armors, so I¡¯ll handle this for you."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You¡¯ll handle it for me, Senior?"

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Throughout human history, who else has selflessly offered up the inheritances that they have gathered? Founding this Tower of the Fifth is simr to when the Daosource Sect was created in ancient times. Its existence acts as an incredible benefit to mankind. So what if it involves a rtionship of a mere half-master to those who benefit from the inheritances."

    Lu Yin had not anticipated to receive an unexpected benefit. He had not nned on giving away the universal armors, and it would be impossible to ask Arch-Elder Zen to return the armors when the Perennial World invaded, which had been why Lu Yin had already been scheming to find a way to keep the armors, which was why he had tried to dy the delivery by a few months.

    This development made Lu Yin feel a bit ufortable about his plotting.

    No, forget it. If the Fifth Maind did not turn on him, then the armors would all be given to the Hall of Honor after the matter with the Perennial World was resolved.

    "Thank you, Senior," Lu Yin replied while feeling torn.

    Arch-Elder Zen justughed. "Your existence is creating more and more changes to the universe. Let¡¯s assume that the incident with Leaf King never even happened."

    Lu Yin remained calm. He had already known that this matter could never be kept hidden from Arch-Elder Zen. "Thank you, Senior."

    "However, I do want to remind you that Shamrock Enterprise can¡¯t change. They are thergest supplier of medicines to the Starfall Sea, and those shipments cannot stop," Arch-Elder Zen warned in a serious manner.

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior understands. The absence of Leaf King will be the only change that Shamrock Enterprise will experience. There is no need for you to worry about this, Senior."

    "That''s good."

    With that, Arch-Elder Zen hung up.

    Lu Yin lowered his arm and stared up at the sky. The attitude that Arch-Elder Zen had demonstrated had made Lu Yin feel more confident in the Fifth Maind. He desperately hoped he would not be forced to use hisst resort.

    However, Xia Ji was going to remain a huge problem.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. He needed to deal with this issue permanently, but only a Semi-Progenitor could hope to deal with a Semi-Progenitor.

    From the moment Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had offended countless people as he had raised his strength. He had be extremely skilled at diverting problems.

    At the moment, Xia Ji, much like the Daynight n in the past, possessed enough strength to leave Lu Yin without any strength to resist. However, ack of strength did not mean that there was no way to handle such an issue.

    A figure emerged from the void just outside the Tower of the Fifth. Their appearance caused many of the people swimming through the Abyss of the Sea to look up; how dare anyone break the rules of the Tower of the Fifth?

    Man Li¡¯s eyes opened, a dangerous light igniting in their depths.

    However, the person in the sky did notnd on the tower¡¯s base, but instead raised a hand and threw out something thatnded close to the Tower of the Fifth. Then, the man simply turned and left.

    Shortly after that, the first name appeared on the Inheritance Ranking: De Yi. He had offered up a battle technique known as Lightning Sealing Technique.

    De Yi was the first name to appear on the Inheritance Ranking. This was not because no one had wanted to get their name listed, but because none of the donated battle techniques had been of a high enough quality to justify such a thing.

    Not just any battle technique that was offered to the Tower of the Fifth could get a person¡¯s name on the Inheritance Ranking.

    After being evaluated, De Yi¡¯s Lightning Sealing Technique was determined to be no less valuable than the Ce family¡¯s Middle Sky Technique. The technique was quite famous throughout the Cosmic Sea, as even Highsage Leon had taken note of it before.

    De Yi was simrly famous for being an independent cultivator in the Cosmic Sea who was at the cusp of bing an Envoy.

    Getting one¡¯s name on the Inheritance Ranking of the Tower of the Fifth was incredibly appealing, but very few people were willing to freely share their own inheritance. Doing so took a tremendous amount of courage, and on top of that, even if someone was willing, their donation might not qualify to get their name on the Inheritance Ranking.

    Lightning Sealing Technique was the first battle technique to qualify for an entry on the Inheritance Ranking.

    Countless people focused on the name De Yi.

    Highsage Leon stood on the deck of one of his warships and stared at De Yi¡¯s back as the man disappeared into the distance. Leon had actually tried to recruit the man in the past, but unfortunately, De Yi was dedicated to protecting the ind where he had been born, and he was unwilling to join up with any organization at all. The man was quite stubborn, which was a pity. Having the man join Leon¡¯s Armada would have eventually given them yet another Envoy.

    Things continued in the Tower of the Fifth; people found and received inheritance, others passed various trials, and the first name and battle technique had appeared on the Inheritance Ranking. With the help and support of Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin was able to withstand all of the various pressures from the outside world, and everything was proceeding apace ording to n.

    It was at this time, unbeknownst to anyone, that Wang Si arrived at Sky Creation Academy.

    A few months had passed since Lu Yin had Possessed White Sage¡¯s body and attacked and killed some of the people in the first batch to arrive in the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World. He had even managed to eliminate Wang Yun, which had instigated further friction between Sky Creation Academy and the Perennial World, stalling the invasion for several additional months.

    However, Wang Si had arrived as part of the second batch of the invasion force to be sent to Sky Creation Academy. Her appearance demonstrated the four ruling powers¡¯ determination to kill Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as take the inheritances in Burial Garden and intimidate the Forsaken Land with a show of absolute power.

    No matter what happened, the four ruling powers were not longer willing to dy. They had been waiting for too long already.

    Lu Yin was soon informed of Wang Si¡¯s arrival, as First Edition City sent him a message.

    Lu Yin lowered his gadget and took a deep breath. The expected event had finallye. Wang Si¡¯s arrival meant that the four ruling powers¡¯ full-force invasion would soon be sent, and they would immediately start pressuring the Fifth Maind to turn Lu Yin over to them.

    Lu Yin looked up to stare at the sky. Would the Fifth Maind offer him up?

    Lu Yin had spent a tremendous amount of effort preparing for this day. He had moved to fight a war against the Astral Beast Domain, built the Tower of the Fifth, helped to eliminate much of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s power, helped develop new universal armors, and more. Everything he had done had been in preparation for this day, and it had finally arrived.

    Lu Yin had no idea how the Fifth Maind would choose to react.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin realized that all of his preparations were still not enough. Could the Fifth Maind gather the will to fight against the Perennial World just because of what Lu Yin had done for the Fifth Maind? Would the Tower of the Fifth be enough to counter the pressure the four ruling powers would bring to bear on the Human Domain? That was not certain.

    People always needed to rely on themselves, so it was important to act first.

    "Initiate the n," Lu Yin spoke three words into his gadget.

    ...

    The Innerverse¡¯s Erudite Flowzone was ruled by the Wen family.

    This flowzone was the only one of the eight great flowzones to still not join the Great Eastern Alliance, and they had managed to endure a great deal of pressure from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Wen Zizai received daily reports informing him that Erudite Flowzone cultivators were constantly being harassed by people from the Great Eastern Alliance. Erudite Flowzone had beenpletely cut off from the rest of the Innerverse. Trade, finance, supplies, nothing at all could be sent to or from Erudite Flowzone. No one was allowed to cross the border.

    Every single member of the Wen family was nervous, as they all felt as though they were surrounded by wolves. Even the Mavis Bank had moved to settle the Wen family¡¯s ounts.

    Wen Zizai was personally sweeping the grounds. It was impossible to know what thoughts were in the man¡¯s head.

    The Wen family¡¯s Han Lao and Lu Jing stood atop a distant mountain, and one of them let out a sigh. "I don''t know how much longer the Wen family can hold out."

    Lu Jing was a schr who was part of the Wen family, though he had a primeval surname. The Lu surname was rare in the Fifth Maind, but this man had no connection at all to Lu Yin. ¡°The Great Eastern Alliance has grand ambitions, and they already have a powerful connection with Highsage Leon. That means that they must already have their sights on the Neoverse, but the Wen family must join them before they move on the Neoverse, or else there¡¯s no telling what sort of tragic fate awaits them."

    Han Lao frowned. "The Daynight n was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, and they were almost wiped out. Now, that ancient powerhouse the Second Nightking himself acts as Lu Yin¡¯s bodyguard and is treated as basically a ve. The Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s emperor tried to act against Lu Yin, only to be taken to the Interster Supreme Court to be interrogated. He¡¯s been sent to the Starfall Sea, and he will never be able to return to his position as emperor. On top of that, the Divine Venom Dynasty has officially joined the Great Eastern Alliance. No one in the Innerverse can avoid bing part of the Great Eastern Alliance, and that includes the Wen family."

    "The patriarch has his own ns. It¡¯s possible that he just wants to get a better deal."

    "Theyered Literary Prison?"

    "That depends on whether or not Lu Yin is willing to negotiate."

    Han Lao looked away and coincidentally saw something odd. "That¡¯s Wen Zhaocheng."

    Lu Jing followed the other man¡¯s gaze, and saw Wen Zhaocheng bent over in the shadow of a distant mountain. He was bowing to a young man whom both Han Lao and Lu Jing had met before, but he was just an ordinary disciple of the Wen family who had a different surname

    The two old men nced at each other to see simr wariness and surprise in each other¡¯s eyes. Something about this scene was wrong.

    In the distance, after another half an hour, Wen Zhaocheng turned and left, and the other young man took his leave as well. At that moment, Han Lao took action and captured the young man, startling him. When he saw that he had been captured by Han Lao, the young man¡¯s pupils shrank. "Elder?"

    Han Lao stared at the young man. "Who are you? Why are you able tomand Wen Zhaocheng?"

    The young man looked at Elder Han with confusion. "I don''t know what you are speaking of, Elder."

    Han Lao frowned. "You¡¯re still wanting to y dumb?¡±

    Suddenly, a thought urred to the old man, and his eyes instantly widened. ¡°You¡¯ve been sent by Lu Yin, haven¡¯t you?"

    The young man rolled his eyes and lifted his head. "Exactly. This disciple belongs to Alliance Leader Lu. Elder Han, the Wen family had shown that they¡¯re determined to not submit to the Great Eastern Alliance. Wen Zhaocheng and I know each other, and we¡¯ve already reached an agreement. You need to stop being delusional; Alliance Leader Lu isn¡¯t going to let things slide."

    Han Lao''s expression fell. If this person really did belong to Lu Yin, he would refer to Lu Yin as ¡°our alliance leader,¡± not ¡°Alliance Leader Lu.¡± This was a simple difference, but it showed how a person subconsciously viewed Lu Yin. This young man had referred to Lu Yin as ¡°Alliance Leader Lu¡± twice, which was not right.

    Lu Yin appeared from the distance. "Someone¡¯s controlling Wen Zhaocheng. His expressions are stiff, and he¡¯s clearly been poisoned. There¡¯s something wrong with this youth you¡¯ve captured."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, the youth attacked Han Lao. "Celestial Being Shows the Way."

    A wave of Han Lao''s hand tore the young man''s arm apart, and his body mmed against the side of the mountain where he spat out blood. The young man gritted his teeth as he red at Han Lao. "You dare attack me? Alliance Leader Lu won¡¯t let you go! Your Wen family will be buried with me!¡±

    After shouting his threat, the young man¡¯s eyes turned dim and he crumpled to the ground.

    Lu Jing hurried over. "Not good!"

    He picked the young man up by his neck, but the youth was already dead.

    "Poison. The kid was only an Explorer, and he wasn¡¯t able tost for even a second."

    Han Lao approached. "I didn''t think Lu Yin would already have a mole nted within the Wen family."

    "You really think this was Lu Yin?" Lu Jing retorted.

    Han Lao frowned. "What do you mean?"

    "Let''s report this to the patriarch first."

    One dayter, Wen Zizai, Han Lao, and Lu Jing were confronting Wen Zhaocheng.

    Wen Zhaocheng lookedpletely confused. "Patriarch, why am I here?"

    "Do you remember what happened yesterday?" Wen Zizai stared intently at Wen Zhaocheng as he asked the question.

    Wen Zhaocheng shook his head, but then frowned. "Yesterday? I had a dream. Three words kept repeating over and over."

    "What were they?" Han Lao asked.

    Wen Zhaocheng hesitated a moment. "Celestial Frost Sect."

 Chapter 1993

    <h4>Chapter 1993</h4>

    Han Lao and Lu Jing were left at a loss. Celestial Frost Sect? They had never heard of it.

    On the other hand, Wen Zizai''s expression changed drastically. He knew that the Celestial Frost Sect had once ruled Daynight Flowzone, and it had also been one of the top powers in the Fifth Maind during the Daosource Sect era. While the patriarch did not know much about the sect, he had ess to many of the Wen family¡¯s ancient records.

    "Are you sure it was the Celestial Frost Sect?" Wen Zizai asked solemnly.

    Wen Zhaocheng nodded. "Absolutely. Those three words kept repeating over and over in my head."

    "Patriarch, what is this Celestial Frost Sect?" Lu Jing was quite curious.

    Wen Zizai did not exin anything, and instead asked the two other men to leave. Wen Zhaocheng waspletely under the control of the poison, and so he was not acting of his own free will. The young man who had poisoned Wen Zhaocheng was also dead, so Wen Zizai needed to look into exactly what had happened to Wen Zhaocheng.

    As soon as he was alone again, Wen Zizai called the Lost Radiance Academy¡¯s Dean Han.

    "The Celestial Frost Sect?" Dean Han was stunned. "Didn¡¯t that sect disappear long ago? How could it have returned?"

    Wen Zizai answered quietly, "They didn''t disappear, but went elsewhere. They went to that ce that Lu Yin mentioned before."

    Dean Han said, "I know that, but since they¡¯re in that ce, why have they suddenly popped back up here? How could that young man have been a Celestial Frost Sect disciple? Why bother trying to control Wen Zhaocheng?"

    "That¡¯s what I don''t understand, either. It¡¯s possible that the young man stumbled upon some sort of inheritance from the Celestial Frost Sect, but that¡¯s quite far-fetched. Also, there was no way for him to survive his mission. He was carrying out someone¡¯s orders, and the most likely culprit is the Celestial Frost Sect."

    "Could Lu Yin be behind this?"

    "That¡¯s unlikely. There¡¯s no reason for him to frame the Celestial Frost Sect since they don¡¯t even have a presence here in the Fifth Maind."

    The two men fell silent for a bit. "Regardless, I need to examine my Wen family to find out exactly what Wen Zhaocheng did while he was being controlled. All we can do about that mention of the Celestial Frost Sect is lock it down."

    "That''s all we can do about it. Who would try to frame the Celestial Frost Sect since they don¡¯t even exist here in the Fifth Maind?"

    Elsewhere, Wen Zhaocheng had returned to his own home, though Han Lao and Lu Jing kept an eye on the young man at all times.

    Wen Zhaocheng was nervous. Had he been controlled? What had happened? If he were just a normal member of the Wen family, he would not be concerned in the slightest, as he would not be capable of doing almost anything to the Wen family no matter what he tried. However, though he was not an elder, Wen Zhaocheng did have a unique identity: he was a traitor to humanity loyal to the Technocracy, and he was terrified that he might get found out by the Wen family.

    What had gone wrong?

    ...

    In the Cosmic Sea, in a ce far away from the Abyss of the Sea, there was a group of people sailing across the water.

    "Miss Xi Shuang, the weather here in the Cosmic Sea is chaotic and can change without warning! Please move into the cabin," someone called out.

    Xi Shuang was calmly standing on the deck of the ship, staring out at the calm sea. She was asionally surprised by bizarre fish she watched swim by. ¡°Stop worrying. I can take care of myself."

    There was a squad from the Expeditionary Army on the deck of the ship, as well as the young men who had apanied Xi Shuang to Skyraiser City when she had run into Lu Yin. These youths had been ordered by their families to stay with Xi Shuang wherever she went. If any of them could manage to win the girl over, it would be a massive benefit to their family.

    The Fifth Maind did not have many Envoys, so gaining a connection to an Envoy, even through marriage, would elevate a family to a higher status.

    Xi Shuang had long since be ustomed to being surrounded by such a group, but when she looked at her hangers-on, all she could think of was Lu Yin. He had been somanding, and he had sent all of these men running with just a single look. None of them had been able to summon the courage to speak back against Lu Yin, and even Xi Shuang¡¯s grandfather was intimidated by Lu Yin. The young woman still felt a bit lost by such thoughts.

    Suddenly, the void twisted, and a cold-eyed woman stepped out. She looked straight at Xi Shuang. "Come with me."

    The woman pped her hands, which pushed back everyone around Xi Shuang who had moved to protect the girl. "My Wang family¡¯s Four Arts are not something you can fight back against."

    The woman then reached out to grab Xi Shuang.

    Xi Shuang''s face grew pale, but just as the woman was about to capture the girl, the void was torn open again, this time in front of the woman, and a sharp de shed out. The woman was no weakling, but she was still just a Hunter. The old man who had suddenly appeared managed to stab the woman, and she fell into the sea.

    The old man who had just appeared stared down at the woman. "How dare you attack Miss Xi Shuang! Who are you?"

    The woman held her wounded shoulder. Blood was spilling into the sea as she red up at the old man. "Tell Xi Gu to follow my Wang family''s orders! We can make him a three-tribtion Envoy and allow him to rule this Forsaken Land as its master!"

    The old man feltpletely confused. "Who the hell are you?"

    The woman turned around and fled.

    The old man wanted to stop the woman from escaping, but she pulled something out and vanished into the true universe, which badly startled the old man.

    He quickly called Xi Gu to give a report.

    Xi Gu was furious at the news. "Why didn''t you capture her?"

    The old man remained respectful. "I wasn¡¯t able to. She managed to break into the true universe and escape."

    Xi Gu''s expression instantly changed. "She was an Envoy? No, you wouldn¡¯t be able to injure any Envoy."

    The old man repeated the woman''s message, but Xi Gu was also confused. "The Wang family? They can make me a three-tribtion Envoy? Which Wang family?"

    ...

    Simr episodes struck more than just the Wen family and Xi Shuang, as many people throughout the Innerverse, Outerverse, Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse were contacted by the four ruling powers. However, none of the events was serious, so no real waves were made despite the numerous incidents.

    Most powers in the Fifth Maind werepletely ignorant of the four ruling powers¡¯ existence, as well as the truth of why the primeval surnames were universally reviled. After all, the primeval surnames were no longer based in the Fifth Maind, so there was no real way to target them or act against them within the Fifth Maind.

    Wei Rong was the puppeteer behind all of these events.

    Lu Yin had publicly created a shining reputation for himself in the Fifth Maind, but in secret, he had ordered people to incite conflicts between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    There was nothing to show for these efforts yet, but once the Perennial World arrived in full force to intimidate the Fifth Maind into giving them Lu Yin, everything woulde together and it would be impossible for anyone to unravel the truth of these various little incidents. This would permanently color all impressions people had of the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin had already done everything he could think of to unite the Fifth Maind to fight against the Perennial World. Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and others had also worked their hardest toe up with various ploys to use as well. It was impossible to predict how everything would turn out.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was just waiting for the Perennial World to emerge from the Technocracy and confront the Hall of Honor.

    ¡­

    One particr day, Lu Yin suddenly received a report that one of the ck crystals he had been searching for had been quietly found, and it was the size of a like the others had been.

    No one knew if there were more of these ck crystals elsewhere in the universe.

    The Hall of Honor and the Great Eastern Alliance had never stopped searching for the ck crystals, but they had not been able to find any traces for a long time. It was easy to see just how secretive the Neohuman Alliance had been to cover up all traces of the ck crystals.

    In fact, only a coincidence had led to them discovering the ck crystal this time, though it was also rather inevitable.

    There was a small flowzone in the Innerverse that the natives referred to as just Yan, but which everyone referred to as Chroma Flowzone. It was in the easternmost region of the Innerverse, close to the section of the Astral River that separated the Human Domain from the Astral Beast Domain. There was a certain ce within this small flowzone that no one had visited for hundreds of thousands of years.

    The flowzone was controlled by the Yan family, and they had always been the dominant power in Chroma Flowzone.

    The person who had stumbled upon the recently discovered ck crystal was the bastard son of the Yan patriarch who had been born from the patriarch¡¯s maid. Yan Xiao had always been bullied, and had finally run away after reaching his limits, and he had identally joined the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Eachrge family would have their own rules and internal factions. Yan Xiao was the child of the family¡¯s patriarch and a mere maid, which had caused him to be hated and bullied from childhood. This was not something unique to the Yan family, but was true of countless families throughout the entire universe. No one cared about the son of a maid.

    After reaching adulthood, Yan Xiao had no longer been able to endure, and he had run away from his family after his mother had died. Due to his fear, he had fled all the way to the Outerverse, and after cultivating for a hundred years, he had be an Explorer. He had eventually be the number three in the Allied Forces¡¯ Seventh Division, answering only to themander, Duane Daynight, and the deputymander.

    Yan Xiao had been in high spirits as he had led the Seventh Division into Chroma Flowzone, eager to get revenge on those who had oppressed him. Yan Xiao had immediately gone after the family¡¯s patriarch and taken the position of the family¡¯s heir.

    After bing the heir, Yan Xiao had gained ess to the Yan family¡¯s ie sources, as well as some of their secrets. The secrets of a family like the Yan family held no value to the Great Eastern Alliance, as they were nothing important, yet Yan Xiao found one bit of information that made him incredibly excited: the location of a ck crystal.

    He had never dreamed that his Yan family would know where a ck crystal was hidden. This information came from records from the family¡¯s ancestors.

    The ck crystal was in the Astral River that separated the Human Domain from the Astral Beast Domain. It was held in ce by massive metal chains that extended into the Innerverse from the-sized crystal.

    The ce where the chainy in the Innerverse was the sole forbidden region in Chroma Flowzone. Anyone who entered that region died.

    Yan Xiao had no idea how his ancestor had managed to see such a thing, but he sent a report to Wang Wen as soon as he found the family record, and Wang Wen passed the information on to Lu Yin.

    Upon seeing the report, Lu Yin immediately stood up and looked towards the Innerverse. "Second Nightking, take me to Chroma Flowzone."

    The Great Eastern Alliance had extended its influence everywhere. They had first stopped the Astral Beast Domain from invading the Outerverse, and then built the Tower of the Fifth. At this moment, they had managed to locate another ck crystal.

    Many cultivators in the universe hated therge organizations and believed that so long as they climbed to the peak they would be able to erase everything. After all, an expert with a power level of a million, or even a single Envoy, could determine the oue of a major interster war.

    However, power was not only determined by power level, but also by influence.

    Lu Yin would never have been able to locate this ck crystal without the Great Eastern Alliance. Not even the Hall of Honor had been able to find it. This was the importance of influence.

    Naturally, Lu Yin still needed to verify the report and investigate it.

    Yan Xiao remained in Chroma Flowzone, and was waiting for Lu Yin to arrive.

    If the Innerverse was pictured as a city, then Chroma Flowzone would be the neighborhood closest to the city walls that were furthest from the gate to the city. It was a ce no one ever visited.

    The Yan family¡¯s strength was not on par with the rest of the Innerverse at all, and they were greatly inferior to Northline Flowzone. Lu Yin had never before considered visiting this tiny flowzone.

    It was not long before Lu Yin arrived at the location where he had agreed to meet with Yan Xiao.

    Yan Xiao was a middle-aged man with a stoic face. He stood alone in space while maintaining a very respectful attitude.

    The Second Nightking escorted Lu Yin right over to the waiting man.

    "You¡¯re Yan Xiao?" Lu Yin said.

    Yan Xiao bowed as soon as he saw Lu Yin. Fanaticism and reverence could be seen in the man¡¯s eyes. "Yan Xiao of the Allied Forces¡¯ Seventh Division greets the alliance leader!"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Lead the way."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader." Yan Xiao was very respectful as he led Lu Yin through the flowzone. Chroma Flowzone was quite small, and it did not take them long to reach the forbidden zone.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, but all he could see was a dark region of space that looked no different than anywhere else. Far off, he was able to see the massive Astral River that marked the border of the Human Domain. So long as he crossed it, he would be in the Astral Beast Domain.

 Chapter 1994

    <h4>Chapter 1994</h4>

    There were always cultivators standing guard along the Astral River, but Chroma Flowzone¡¯s forbidden zone was an exception, as anyone who entered the area would die.

    "Alliance Leader, this is Chroma Flowzone¡¯s forbidden zone. ording to my family¡¯s ancient records, no one has been able toe back out alive. There were once even Envoys sent in by the Hall of Honor, but they did not return, either. The only person to ever return was my ancestor who followed the Hall of Honor¡¯s people. He was also the only person to have ever seen the ck crystal," Yan Xiao exined.

    Lu Yin asked, "How did all of those people die?"

    He had been assuming that everyone had been killed by a corpse king, just the same as Venom Flowzone¡¯s forbidden zone. These ck crystals were incredibly important to the Aeternals, so it was impossible for them not to be protected.

    However, how could the Hall of Honor have left this ce alone if there was a corpse king?

    "ording to my ancestor¡¯s ount, there¡¯s a strange, massive fish in there, and they were almost devoured by the fish. This entire region is that fish¡¯s nest," Yan Xiao replied.

    This was unexpected. "A strange fish?"

    Yan Xiao quickly pulled out the ancient records of his Yan family from his cosmic ring. Lu Yin checked it, and immediately saw that it did indeed describe a strange and massive fish. It had been powerful enough to cause even the Hall of Honor to abandon the idea of investigating the area and leaving it to the fish without worries of hidden danger, which indicated that the fish was very powerful.

    It''s not a corpse king? Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. No wonder Aeternus had been sofortable leaving the ck crystal in this ce. The Hall of Honor would not have any concerns about some weird fish, and the creature could even help guard the border of the Human Domain.

    "I see. This is a massive contribution you¡¯ve made. From now on, you¡¯re the deputymander of the Seventh Division," Lu Yin said before asking Yan Xiao to return.

    Yan Xiao suppressed his excitement and left after giving another respectful bow.

    He did not know what was about to happen, but it did not concern him. Yan Xiao was thinking about how he had just been promoted from being the number three in the Seventh Division of the Allied Forces, to being the deputymander!

    Forget Chroma Flowzone, a deputymander of the Allied Forces could walk sideways through Northline and Tempest Flowzones.

    "Your turn." Lu Yin nced back at the Second Nightking, and the old man moved forward into the forbidden zone.

    Lu Yin had no desire to take any risks at this time. He knew he would be safe with the Second Nightking¡¯s protection, but it was still better to avoid unnecessary risks.

    Just a short whileter, space shattered in the forbidden zone, and a faint roar could be heard.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly focused; the Second Nightking had just made his move.

    It was impossible that this odd fish was something beyond the Hall of Honor¡¯s abilities to deal with, which meant that they had simply not seen the need to bother. Lu Yin knew this to be true since the Yan family¡¯s ancestor had been able to escape. This showed that the fish was not impossibly strong, and also indicated that the Second Nightking was more than enough to handle the creature.

    Before long, the Second Nightking emerged from the forbidden zone, dragging the strange fish behind him.

    It was indeed massive, but Lu Yin had seen the Python Ancestor before, so there was no shock when seeing aparatively tiny fish.

    "It was pretty strong. Power level of more than 700,000," the Second Nightkingmented while keeping the fishpletely suppressed. The creature¡¯s furious eyes kept darting about before ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just nced at the fish before moving into the forbidden zone.

    The Yan family¡¯s ancient records mentioned a specific location, and once Lu Yin arrived there, he found a huge chain that was all tangled up forming what looked to be something like a nest.

    "This fish was stuck on the end of that chain," the Second Nightking said.

    Lu Yin ordered, "Pull it."

    The old man¡¯s eyes tightened, but he moved forward and grabbed the chain with a hand and started pulling. Link by link, the chain was pulled from the Astral River into Chroma Flowzone. Lu Yin could not figure out what the chain was made of, but despite its obvious age, there were no signs of any sort of corrosion.

    Lu Yin watched the chain move, and felt a bit surprised that the Aeternals were unconcerned of the possibility of the creatures living in the Astral River eating or damaging the ck crystal. The Astral River was not a peaceful ce, and there were some very powerful creatures that lived within it.

    Soon, an enormous ck crystal was dragged out of the Astral River. The outside of the crystal looked identical to the one Lu Yin had seen in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory in the Outerverse: it was pitted and aged, looking quite worn out.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this really was the same sort of crystal that he had been searching for. They had found another one.

    As for the Second Nightking, a flicker of fear appeared in the depths of his eyes. Sure enough, this was the same sort of crystal as they had encountered before.

    The old man would never be able to forget how the ck crystal they had found in the Outerverse had made the Neohuman Alliance go insane when it had been destroyed. They had reacted so recklessly that one of the Seven Skygods had died, and then they had attacked the Sixth Maind in a fury that had produced heavy casualties that included even the death of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Just why were these ck crystals so important?

    Lu Yin stared at the ck crystal the size of a. He instantly assumed that the center of this crystal had to contain another bubble with that strange liquid.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin called First Edition City¡¯s deputy city master, Little Bear, and asked for his location to be leaked to Wang Si and the other humans at Sky Creation Academy.

    Lu Yin had spent a great deal of time thinking about how to deal with the Perennial World¡¯s eventual attack, as well as how to drag Aeternus into the conflict once a war broke out. Whatever happened, Aeternus had to suffer a loss.

    However, he had not been able toe up with a solution even after the Tower of the Fifth had beenpleted and opened.

    The Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers would never give up on killing Lu Yin. If the Fifth Maind wanted to protect him, war would be the only possibility. If the Fifth Maind did not try to protect Lu Yin, they would try to capture him to turn him over, and Lu Yin would never allow that. This meant that war was inevitable. In that case, Aeternus could not be left watching from the sidelines.

    The discovery of this ck crystal had given Lu Yin the confidence to pull the Aeternals into the war.

    Lu Yin knew his own value to Aeternus, as he understood his importance to Shaman God¡¯s n. However, the ck crystals were also clearly very important. That one crystal that had been found in the Outerverse had quickly led to the deaths of several very powerful corpse kings, not to mention the death a Skygod and one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. It was very clear that these ck crystals were extremely important.

    In that case, it was time to test just how important they were to the Aeternals¡­

    ***

    More people from the Perennial World arrived at Sky Creation Academy after passing through the New Corridor.

    Wang Si stared eastwards, her eyes brimming with excitement and a powerful killing intent. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time. She had been impatient to kill Long Qi from the moment she had learned that he was really Lu Xiaoxuan. His death would eliminate the final root of the Lu family, which would eradicate a great deal of future trouble, not only for the four ruling powers, but more importantly, for Wang Si herself. She absolutely hated the Lu family¡ªevery single one of them¡ªbut especially that little bastard Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Things would end soon, as it was impossible the Forsaken Land would be willing to fight the Perennial World¡¯s invasion force for the sake of Lu Xiaoxuan. Even though the Forsaken Land hated the primeval surnames for abandoning the Fifth Maind, strength trumped everything else, and the Forsaken Land could notpare to the power of the Perennial World. They did not have any powerhouseparable to Elder Ni Huang who was at the absolute cusp of bing a Progenitor.

    At this moment, Sky Creation Academy¡¯s Headmaster Senn approached. "There¡¯s something I need to tell you."

    Wang Si looked at the android with frigid eyes. White Sage had killed Wang Yun, and thus Wang Si¡¯s first actions upon arriving at Sky Creation Academy had been to interrogate White Sage. However, the man had absolutely no memory of the event, and it had quickly be clear that the man had been controlled. There were only a handful of powerhouses in or near Sky Creation Academy with the strength to control White Sage. Headmaster Senn had been the first individual toe to Wang Si¡¯s mind when she had realized this, but he had denied his involvement, and Wang Si could not think of any reason for the android to do such a thing.

    The attack remained aplete mystery, which meant that White Sage could not die. He had to be kept alive so that they could pursue the investigation.

    "What''s wrong?" Wang Si asked in a sour tone. The Perennial World had been able to pass through the New Corridor not because of Sky Creation Academy¡¯s cooperation, but because the Perennial World had paid an astronomical price. Things had grown worse after White Sage¡¯s attack, and Headmaster Senn was rather afraid to allow them passage to travel to the Fifth Maind. If not for the exorbitant price that they have paid, Headmaster Senn would not have changed his mind and continue allowing them passage.

    Headmaster Senn answered softly, "We¡¯ve received news about Lu Yin."

    Wang Si whipped her head around to stare at the android, and she eagerly demanded, "Where is he?"

    "The Innerverse. Chroma Flowzone," Headmaster Senn said before opening a star chart and indicating the location.

    Wang Si stare at the star chart and quickly asked, "How did you find out about this?"

    "We learned about this from First Edition City. They established an alliance with Lu Yin, and coincidentally, they were arranging to send a new batch of items to him to be dposed, and so they were given his location," Headmaster Senn exined.

    Wang Si became ecstatic. This was wonderful!

    The Semi-Progenitor had learned that the bastard Lu Xiaoxuan had built something known as the Tower of the Fifth as soon as she had arrived at Sky Creation Academy. This tower was to raise up the entire Fifth Maind by sharing multiple inheritances and gather people from across the entire Forsaken Land. Anyone who received an inheritance would also acknowledge the bastard as a half-master. This news had allowed Wang Si to instantly see through everything to Lu Xiaoxuan''s motivations behind all of this: he wanted to entrench himself as an irreceable figure in the Forsaken Land.

    If she was honest, Wang Si had to admit that the idea had a great deal of merit, but what she had not been able to understand was why Lu Xiaoxuan had even done such a thing, unless¡­ Could he have known that the four ruling powers were about to attack the Forsaken Land? But how could that be possible?

    It was at the moment that she heard news of Lu Yin from Headmaster Senn that everything fit together in Wang Si¡¯s mind: if Sky Creation Academy was able to learn of Lu Xiaoxuan''s location from this First Edition City, and that city was simrly able to spy on Sky Creation Academy.

    This realization caused Wang Si to shoot a cold re at Headmaster Senn before she turned and left.

    The Tower of the Fifth had already beenpleted and opened to the public, which had given that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan an unprecedented status in the Forsaken Land. It had be highly unlikely that the Forsaken Land would be willing to deliver Lu Xiaoxuan to the Perennial World through mere negotiations. Even if the Forsaken Land was willing to do so, it was unlikely that they would actually take the initiative to act against Lu Xiaoxuan. The best choice would be to simply go and capture Lu Xiaoxuan immediately.

    If they could capture him, it would be best, and even if they failed, they could simply open negotiations with the Forsaken Land.

    It was impossible for Wang Si to move out on her own. She could never forget what she had seen when Lu Yin had had his breakthrough to be an Envoy and how he had caused the true universe to tremble and had caused a resonance that had allowed the entire Perennial World to see him. That bastard most likely had a Progenitor backing him, and this was the reason why the Perennial World did not send their Progenitors here.

    Wang Si was not entirely confident of being able to take Lu Xiaoxuan away if she encountered one of the Forsaken Land¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, which meant that she would need to move together with Elder Ni Huang.

    It was only short timeter that Wang Si and Ni Huang left the Technocracy on their way to the Innerverse¡¯s Chroma Flowzone.

    There was a dark expression on Ni Huang''s face. While the old man knew that he should be eager for Lu Yin¡¯s death, the words of Long Quan still rang out in the old man¡¯s mind. Those words made Ni Huang feel like he was losing his mind. It was undeniable that Long Qi was Lu Xiaoxuan, and the existence of the Champions¡¯ Stage was irrefutable proof, and yet Long Quan¡¯s deration as he died caused Elder Ni Huang to hesitate a bit. The man¡¯s crazed rant before he had killed himself had almostpletely dissipated Ni Huang¡¯s killing intent for Lu Yin, and the Semi-Progenitor found himself frequently thinking back to what had happened on Dragon Mountain. If Long Qi had not been exposed at that time, how differently would things have turned out from what had actually happened?

    Regardless, the first thing that needed to be done was to capture Lu Xiaoxuan.

    ...

    In Chroma Flowzone, Lu Yin had ordered the Second Nightking to destroy the ck crystal as soon as his location was leaked.

    As long as people from four ruling powers came to Chroma Flowzone, they would take the me for shattering the ck crystal, and that would cause Aeternus to start making trouble for the four ruling powers.

    There was no way the Aeternals could be ignored, and it was vital that humanity not fight among themselves if they wanted to deal with Aeternus.

    "Be careful," Lu Yin warned.

    The Second Nightking waved a hand, and the ck crystal shattered and exploded in all directions.

 Chapter 1995: Melting

    Chapter 1995: Melting

    Lu Yin stared at the center of the countless shards of ck crystal, and sure enough, he saw a bubble there, and there was the same reddish liquid in it. The bubble was the same size as the one he had seen in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory.

    Lu Yin put the bubble away without any hesitation. "Let''s go."

    Just as the Second Nightking was about to lead Lu Yin out of the forbidden zone, when they were but a single step away from leaving Chroma Flowzone, their surroundings suddenly turnedpletely white. It was as though the Second White King had just stepped into a different universe.

    The old man instantly froze in ce, and he looked around in disbelief.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. What was this?

    Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but white. This was not merely the color white, but a white that was so pure that it was more the absence of any other color. This white glowed, and he also saw mountains and seas. They were in a white world, and there were white mountains and white oceans.

    "An inner world¡­" the Second Nightking said through gritted teeth. "We¡¯ve fallen into a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world!"

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. It was impossible for the four ruling powers to have arrived so quickly, so who had found them? Lu Yin had already met all of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, aside from Jiu Yao, but that man had no reason to target Lu Yin. Who else could it be? The Seven Skygods were all supposed to be dead-

    Wait, Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. Not all of the Skygods were dead, as there was one who had never shown themselves at all: Whiteless God.

    Everything they could see was pure white, and even a nearby had been transformed into a pure white world. Lu Yin had no idea if the people on that were able to even notice the change that had afflicted them.

    How could they be so fast? An ugly expression painted Lu Yin''s face.

    Lu Yin had considered the situation, and he had believed that the four ruling powers would be able to arrive in Chroma Flowzone faster than the Aeternals. This was why he had believed that all he needed to do was escape and pin the destruction of the ck crystal onto the Perennial World, even if they ended up being a bit slower than the Aeternals, the Aeternals would still be suspicious that the Perennial World had destroyed the crystal.

    Lu Yin needed to get out. He had to escape!

    But what was his current situation? Whiteless God had already arrived and trapped Lu Yin, which was a huge problem.

    "I looked around, but I couldn¡¯t find what I was looking for. Alliance Leader Lu, can you return that thing to me?" A pleasant voice filled the vast white world.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s eyes darted about as he tried to find the speaker, but he could find nothing at all.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Are you Whiteless God?"

    "This is our first time meeting, Alliance Leader Lu. I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for a long time," Whiteless God replied. Although the voice was pleasant, it waspletely void of all emotions. This was theplete opposite of Forgotten Ruins God, though Lu Yin had to admit that Whiteless God¡¯s voice was still quite nice. It sounded a bit like Lan Xian¡¯s voice.

    "I don''t understand what you''re talking about. I didn''t take anything from you," Lu Yin warily replied.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯m well aware of your strategic importance, so I won''t attack you unless it proves to be absolutely necessary. However, you also can''t test my patience. I¡¯ll thank you to return that to me," Whiteless God continued.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands clenched into fists. "You¡¯re talking about Aeternus Nation? Fine, I can give that back to you."

    Silence reigned in the white world for a few seconds, but then, suddenly, the Second Nightking felt something from his lower body. His head snapped to look down, and his pupils shrank. "My leg?"

    Lu Yin looked over, and his face grew pale.

    Mysteriously, the Second Nightking''s leg had disappeared at the calf. No, it had not disappeared, but had melted and turned white. The old man¡¯s lower leg had be the same white as the universe surrounding them, and then simply vanished.

    The Second Nightking roared and shot forwards, as he desperately tried to leave the realm of white.

    He no longer cared about Lu Yin. Even if Lu Yin tried to use the Sealed Cage Technique to control or even kill the Second Nightking, it would still be a better fate than remaining to be melted away.

    However, it was impossible for the Second Nightking to escape. There might have been people who were capable of crossing realms to challenge Semi-Progenitors, but the Second Nightking was not one of those people.

    A white mountain crashed down from overhead. No matter how the Second Nightking tried to move, he could not avoid being struck by that mountain, and it pressed down upon him. The old man spat out blood, powerless to resist.

    Lu Yin just watched. He feltpletely powerless at this moment.

    The Second Nightking was so powerful, and yet he waspletely helpless when facing Whiteless God.

    The Second Nightking let out a scream as he felt his thighs start melting. The pain overpowered the fear he felt, and yet the fear never disappeared. At this moment, the Second Nightking, a powerhouse who had survived since the Daosource Sect era, was ovee by fear, despair, and pain, and he let out a miserable scream.

    A chill crept up Lu Yin¡¯s body from the bottoms of his feet. This was the same sensation he had felt when he had first seen the truth hidden within Aeternus Nation.

    He could do nothing but watch as the Second Nightking was melted¡ªor perhaps it was better to say eaten¡ªby the white world.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I won''t hurt you, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll do that. You don¡¯t have to worry and you can rest assured of your own importance, but this man is different. The Second Nightking was once a ve of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. If a mere ve dies, no one cares, do they?" Whiteless God''s voice still sounded as pleasant as ever, yet to Lu Yin¡¯s perception, it permeated all of existence.

    The Second Nightking was being crushed beneath the White Mountain. He stared at Lu Yin and started begging in a hoarse voice, "Help me! Save me! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die!"

    Lu Yin''s fingers trembled, and he gritted his teeth so tightly that they nearly cracked. He looked out and shouted, "Come out, Whiteless God! Even if you¡¯re demanding I give you something, you should at least show yourself and meet with me in person!"

    "You want to see me? Why?" Whiteless God grew rather curious.

    Lu Yin ground his teeth as he shouted back, "I¡¯ve heard that Ancient God leads the Seven Skygods, yet Whiteless God is the most mysterious of them all. I want to see who the mysterious Whiteless God is! What do you look like? Show yourself to me, and I can give you something."

    Whiteless God answered in an indifferent tone, "There will be a day when we meet, but not today."

    "You have that list known as Aeterna, right?" Lu Yin yelled. He was just trying to stall until the people from the four ruling powers showed up. He had never thought there woulde a day when he was so eager to see his enemies appear, but at this moment, Lu Yin was desperately hoping that people would show up from anywhere at all.

    "Humans can be so shallow. Just a few words are able to win the loyalty of so many people, and it¡¯s been that way forever. Even in ancient times, there were even many Progenitors who betrayed humanity. Alliance Leader Lu, do you really want to see Aeterna?" Whiteless God asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Yes, I want to see it."

    "Alright, but¡­¡± Whiteless God hesitated a moment. ¡°I have a single condition: your name must first be added to that list."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You want me to betray humanity? You actually think that¡¯s possible?"

    "Everyone has a price at which they can be bought, and your Lu family is no exception," Whiteless God retorted.

    Lu Yin frowned. What was Whiteless God actually saying? Were these words suggesting that Lu Yin could actually be coerced into betraying humanity, or were they indicating that a member of the Lu family had already betrayed humanity?

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if you don''t give that to me, he will die," Whiteless God reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at the Second Nightking. By this time, half of the Second Nightking''s body had already melted away. The old man¡¯s eyes were full of despair and pleading. He was suffering from an incredible amount of pain.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "Let him go, and I¡¯ll give it to you."

    "Very well. Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. I don''t care for liars, so if you lie to me, he will die," Whiteless God cautioned as the white world vanished.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s body stopped melting away. He spat out more blood, and shakily rose up. He looked down and saw that half of his body had vanished, which gave him a miserable appearance. However, this was not a fatal injury for someone with the Second Nightking¡¯s strength, but simply a terrible wound.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. His efforts in Chroma Flowzone had proven pointless, but luckily, he still had that other bubble with the red liquid. He could still use that to point the Aeternals towards the four ruling powers.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to pull out the bubble, a bit of ck suddenly appeared in the white world. Strips of ck started shooting through the white. "Who¡¯s acting like some sort of ghost?"

    It was Wang Si''s voice. She sounded harsh and cold, yet Lu Yin thought her voice sounded far more beautiful than Whiteless God''s voice.

    No, if Wang Si¡¯s here, what do I do? This thought put an ugly expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    It was at this moment that the white world started retreating, and Lu Yin was dragged along with it.

    The next moment, the streaks of ck stabbed through the entire white world. This was the Wang family¡¯s secret technique: Confinement. It trapped a person and could also attack them.

    Wang Si entered the white world and looked around with cold eyes. "Who are you? A Semi-Progenitor from the Forsaken Land?"

    All the mountains, rivers, and oceans that made up the white world suddenly attacked Wang Si, and the woman raised a hand to retaliate, but at that moment, Elder Ni Huang appeared. There was a solemn expression on his face as he raised his right hand and unleashed a single punch.

    The white mountains, rivers, and oceans shattered in every direction, and fractures appeared throughout the white world.

    Wang Si was stunned. This was the strength of the White Dragon n¡¯s Great Elder Ni Huang.

    She had heard that he was the Semi-Progenitors closest to bing a Progenitor. In the past, the All-Dao family¡¯s Wan Dao had held that title, and Elder Ni Huang had been given the same recognition.

    Wang Si had not believed that there was much of a difference in their strength, but the punch she had just seen had allowed her to feel how much stronger the man was than her.

    Great Elder Ni Huang shattered the inner world with a single punch. Despite entering a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, the old man had appeared quite rxed.

    The inner world shattered, the endless white quickly disappeared.

    Wang Si stared into a certain direction. "You want to escape?"

    However, when she was just about to attack, she realized that her opponent was already gone. Right before the Semi-Progenitor had disappeared, a terrifying burst of energy had swept towards the Cosmic Sea.

    Ni Huang''s expression changed. "That felt quite familiar."

    Wang Si was unable to detect Whiteless God anywhere, so she asked, "Who was that?"

    Ni Huang frowned.

    "If you want to know, then ask him.¡± The grand elder looked at the Second Nightking as he spoke.

    The Second Nightking looked truly miserable at this time. Half of his body had already melted away, and Ni Huang¡¯s attack had also caught the Second Nightking up within it, which had led to many more wounds appearing on the man¡¯s body.

    The Second Nightking had lost all hope. He had not expected to end up in such a terrible situation after leaving his long seclusion.

    The old man had initially hated Lu Yin, but that hatred had eventually given way to indifference. However, that initial hatred had reignited. That little bastard had disappeared without suffering a single injury, while the Second Nightking had suffered so horribly.

    Ni Huang and Wang Si both looked at the broken man.

    The Second Nightking knew he could not escape these two, so he dragged himself over to the two and offered the most respectful bow possible. ¡°This junior is known as the Second Nightking. I greet the two seniors."

    Wang Si was stunned. "Nightking? Why have I heard that name before?"

    Ni Huang answered indifferently, "They were a ve family to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family."

    "That¡¯s right." Wang Si looked back at the Second Nightking. "You were abandoned here by the Bai family."

    As the woman spoke, she carefully observed the Second Nightking. "However, you are no weakling. You¡¯re actually only a single step away from your breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor."

    Ni Huang also stared at the Second Nightking in amazement. "A mere ve was able to grow so strong? You shouldn¡¯t be a nobody in this Forsaken Land. Who was that Semi-Progenitor who just attacked you?¡±

    Although Wang Si had already visited the Fifth Maind, she had not been able to learn too much about Lu Yin, and she had never heard about the Second Nightking following Lu Yin. There were very few people who even knew of the old man¡¯s existence.

 Chapter 1996: Long-lost Friend

    Chapter 1996: Long-lost Friend

    Despite hearing both Ni Huang and Wang Si repeatedly refer to him as a ve, the Second Nightking did not dare get upset at their words. Both of these people were Semi-Progenitors, so the Second Nightking answered them in a respectful tone, "That person just now was the Aeternals¡¯ Whiteless God. She was the one who attacked this junior."

    "Whiteless God?" Ni Huang and Wang Si were both shocked.

    "Of the Seven Skygods, Whiteless God is the most mysterious. I didn''t expect to run into her just now," Ni Huangmented.

    Wang Si grew curious. "Why did Whiteless God attack you? Why are you even here?"

    The Second Nightking did not try to hide anything, as he knew it would be impossible. "It''s all because of Lu Yin, that hateful wretch."

    Wang Si¡¯s eyebrows rose high.

    "Lu Yin happened to learn the Sealed Cage Technique the Bai family used to use to control my Daynight n in the Celestial Frost Sect. He used that to control this junior and turn me into his ve. Whiteless God was actually trying to capture Lu Yin and force him to give something to her, but her inner world was shattered by you two seniors. This junior would like to thank the two of you for saving me."

    "Where is Lu Yin?" Wang Si asked in an icy voice.

    The Second Nightking replied, "This junior doesn''t know. It¡¯s possible that he was taken by Whiteless God."

    Ni Huang was the one to answer quietly, "That¡¯s impossible. She did not have a chance to take Lu Yin anywhere. I shattered her inner world, and there was no living person within it."

    This information caught the Second Nightkingpletely off guard. "He wasn¡¯t taken? Then this junior has no idea where he could have gone. I was being tortured by Whiteless God, and if not for you two seniors attacking her, I would have died. I would again like to thank you for your help."

    Ni Huang¡¯s gaze swept past the Second Nightking and he scanned the area.

    Wang Si coldly demanded, "Since you¡¯ve been following Lu Yin, you should know all about him, correct?"

    They Second Nightking remained as courteous as ever. ¡°Yes, this junior knows him quite well. If there is anything you would like to know, Senior, this junior will tell you everything."

    Wang Si said nothing, for while the Second Nightking was being very respectful, he was still someone who was controlled by Lu Yin with the Sealed Cage Technique, and so the man¡¯s words could not be trusted. She decided it would be best to take the Second Nightking back to the Celestial Frost Sect so that the Bai family could take control of the man once again so that there would be no chance of him speaking any lies.

    "If Lu Yin wasn¡¯t taken by Whiteless God, then he has to be hiding nearby." As Ni Huang looked around, he saw manys in the area, including two with human civilization.

    Wang Si coldly demanded, "Destroy them now. No matter where that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan might be hiding, he¡¯ll die!"

    Ni Huang frowned. Destroying thes was too cruel, as it would kill countless people. "Given our strength, it¡¯s impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to hide from us, so let''s just search thes one by one. There¡¯s no need for pointless deaths."

    Wang Si was not happy with this decision, but after seeing Ni Huang''s strength, she feltpelled to agree. "Very well."

    Just as the two were about to search the nearbys, Ni Huang''s expression changed. "Someone¡¯sing. It¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor, and he just took everyone from one of thoses into his inner world."

    As Ni Huang spoke, he waved a hand. As he did, everyone on the in front of the old man vanished.

    Wang Si did the same thing.

    After all of the nearby humans were taken away, a person stepped out of the void. There was a gourd of wine in one hand. This person was Jiu Chi.

    It was easy to detect a Semi-Progenitors'' battle, especially since Whiteless God hadunched an attack on the Cosmic Sea before she had disappeared. Her entire purpose in doing that had been to alert other Semi-Progenitors and lure them to Chroma Flowzone.

    Lu Yin was a vital piece in the Aeternals¡¯ strategy against the humans. Given the strength that Whiteless God possessed in the Fifth Maind, she would struggle to fight against Ni Huang, and it was impossible for her to get Lu Yin away. The only option at the time had been to lure over the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    Jiu Chi had been on his way to the Tower of the Fifth, so he had been the closest to Chroma Flowzone, and so he had naturally arrived first.

    The man became incredibly solemn as soon as he saw Ni Huang and Wang Si. "Where did you twoe from?"

    Wang Si answered arrogantly, "My surname is Wang."

    Jiu Chi was taken aback. "So you¡¯re from that ce. What brought you two back here?"

    Wang Si red at Jiu Chi. "That¡¯s none of your business. Leave."

    Jiu Chi looked past Wang Si and saw the Second Nightking, which caused the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression to instantly change. "Where is Lu Yin?"

    Wang Si sneered. "His name is Lu Xiaoxuan; didn¡¯t you know?"

    "What about the others?" Jiu Chi''s voice dropped low. He was already aware of the hatred between Lu Yin and the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers. If the Second Nightking had been reduced to such a pathetic state, there was no way that Lu Yin was fine.

    "I told you to leave! This has nothing to do with you," Wang Si ordered.

    Ni Huang stepped forward to face Jiu Chi. "We are also looking for Lu Xiaoxuan. Since you¡¯vee here and met us, let''s talk."

    Jiu Chi put away his wine and stared at Ni Huang in an unprecedentedly serious manner. He felt a tremendous pressure from this man, which had never happened before in the Fifth Maind. "Who might you be, sir?"

    "I¡¯m the White Dragon n¡¯s Great Elder Ni Huang."

    Jiu Chi nodded. "So you are from the White Dragon n. You two don¡¯t know where Lu Yin is?"

    "No, we don¡¯t, so please help us find him. As a show of our gratitude, the four ruling powers are willing to ept some cultivators from your Fifth Maind to train in our Perennial World. You won¡¯t need to sneak them in," Ni Huang offered. These were conditions that the four ruling powers had already agreed to offer the Fifth Maind.

    They had already paid an unbelievable price to Sky Creation Academy in order to enter the Fifth Maind, and they had also known that they would need to offer more in order to negotiate with the Fifth Maind.

    The Fifth Maind had sent people into the Perennial World after each Yuanlun Festival with the goal of getting Origin Matter. Thus, the four ruling powers believed that by offering the Fifth Maind the chance to openly enter the Perennial World andpete for Origin Matter, it would be worth far more than Lu Xiaoxuan.

    From the four ruling powers'' perspective, it was impossible for the Fifth Maind to go against the Perennial World just for Lu Xiaoxuan. So what if the Fifth Maind hated the primeval surnames?

    Wang Si was absolutely confident. While Lu Xiaoxuan had done many things to help the Fifth Maind, how could hepare to the benefits the four ruling powers were offering?

    Jiu Chi said nothing, and merely waited quietly.

    Ni Huang and Wang Si looked at each other. It was clear that the man was waiting for the rest of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. It was already known that the Forsaken Land had more than just one Semi-Progenitor, and it was time to start negotiations with the movers and shakers of the Fifth Maind. They needed these people to help find Lu Xiaoxuan.

    A whileter, Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong arrived together. They both first looked at Ni Huang and observed the man.

    Every realm of cultivation had people who were powerful and weak. As for Ni Huang, he stood at the peak of Semi-Progenitors, and was truly at the cusp of bing a Progenitor. It was a transformationpared to those weaker than him.

    Ni Huang had been able to easily shatter Whiteless God''s inner world, which was impossible for any normal Semi-Progenitor.

    While the bodies of the Seven Skygods in the Fifth Maind were merely vessels, each one of them still possessed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. Without such a level of strength, it would have been impossible for them to break into the Daosource Sect and kill Semi-Progenitor Jiu San.

    Wang Si grew a little more subdued after seeing two more Semi-Progenitors appear on behalf of the Fifth Maind. Still, the numbers did not matter. The difference in strength was clear, and Ni Huang alone was able to defeat all three of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    "This is a bit of an issue," Highsage Grandmaster muttered as he shot an intimidated nce towards Ni Huang.

    Jiu Chi just shrugged. "He¡¯s the White Dragon n¡¯s Grand Elder Ni Huang. The old man¡¯s been around for a long time, and he was even around during the Daosource Sect era."

    "The White Dragon n can boast a long history that far exceeds anything normal people canpete with. Grand Elder Ni Huang witnessed the start of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, as well as how times have changed since then. Even you and I won¡¯t be able to stand up to him," Elder Gong replied.

    "Whye back here after leaving this ce? Is it just because of Lu Yin?" Highsage Grandmaster shook his head emotionally.

    Elder Gong¡¯s expression grew far more somber. The Lu family had ruled the Fifth Maind. During ancient times, the family had been second only to the Daosource Sect. After the sect had fallen, the Lu family had moved away with the Mother Tree. That showed the strength of the Lu family. Lu Yin alone was not enough for anyone to see the power of his family, but once Lu Yin became a Semi-Progenitor, let alone a full Progenitor, who would be able to stand up to him?

    The four ruling powers had not only rebelled against the Lu family as an entity, but also against every single person in the Lu family, especially the direct descendants.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage. One person is as strong as a nation; one person can lord over all. Any direct descendant of the Lu family who possessed a Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift would be universally feared. Furthermore, that terrifying innate gift was not all that Lu Yin possessed, as he had also received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. He could be considered truly without peers within his cultivation realm.

    A long knife shed through space and rapidly approached from a great distance before suddenly stopping where the various Semi-Progenitors all waited. It was Xia Ji.

    Xia Ji radiated an aggressive aura as he stood a short distance apart from the others in space. He stared at Ni Huang and Wang Si from a short ways away.

    Wang Si sneered. "Arrogant."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang simply observed Xia Ji for a moment before calmly stating, "It¡¯s quite unwise for a Semi-Progenitor to release their restraints in such a manner, though that de energy clearly belongs to the Xia family."

    Wang Si¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. "The Xia family left people behind here? And one of them even became a Semi-Progenitor?"

    While the four ruling powers had joined forces to overthrow the Lu family, the four were far from united. They actually had various struggles and conflicts between them.

    The Wang family, the White Dragon n, and the Bai family had not left any of their family members behind in the Fifth Maind. That was something that only the Xia family had done, and yet the family left behind had given birth to a Semi-Progenitor. This was not good news for Wang Si or Ni Huang.

    Xia Ji put his knife away while warily staring at Ni Huang with a frown on his face. Xia Ji could sense that this man was terrifyingly strong. While the man¡¯s aura seemed perfectly ordinary, Xia Ji had not been able to cause the slightest impact with his knife.

    However, a more exquisite aura slowly permeated the entire area.

    In the end, it was Arch-Elder Zen who stood at the true peak.

    Arch-Elder Zen had never revealed his true strength to the outside world. It was universally epted that the Hall of Honor ruled the Fifth Maind, but why? Was it simply because of the number of powerhouses affiliated with the Hall of Honor? Even if there were countless experts, how had so many been gathered under a single banner? Also, regardless of the number of experts, how could their numbers ever be able topensate for the strength of a single Semi-Progenitor?

    Lu Yin had wondered why the Hall of Honor was regarded as the master of the Fifth Maind from the time he had first started cultivating. As time had passed, the question had been forgotten, as Lu Yin had simply started epting the status-quo.

    However, at this moment, Ni Huang learned the true answer: it was all because of Arch-Elder Zen.

    The moment Arch-Elder Zen appeared, the seemingly ordinary aura that Ni Huang had filled the area with started to quickly dissipate. Grand Elder Ni Huang was startled, and he stared in shock as Arch-Elder Zen emerged from the void.

    How was this possible?

    Wang Si was able to feel what had happened as well, and she stared at the neer in stupefaction. This man made Wang Si feel the same way that Wan Dao had long ago. This man was someone who stood at the same level as Wan Dao and Grand Elder Ni Huang.

    Xia Ji and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind remained unflustered, as they had already known the power of the master of the Hall of Honor.

    It was because of the different levels of strength that existed among Semi-Progenitors that Arch-Elder Zen had been able to suppress all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors on his own. This was how the man had been able to create the Hall of Honor and rule the Fifth Maind: Arch-Elder Zen was a powerhouse who was right at the absolute cusp of bing a Progenitor. If the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky had not been reced by the Sixth Maind, Arch-Elder Zen might have already be a Progenitor.

    At the moment, it was instead the Fifth Maind holding Arch-Elder Zen back from attempting to reach the next level. He feared his failure could have catastrophic consequences for the Human Domain.

    A person with such responsibilities could not move forward on his own recklessly, and Arch-Elder Zen could not put things down, and this was the w that would not allow a sessful breakthrough if he tried to ignore things and push for it.

    "The White Dragon n¡¯s Great Elder Ni Huang?" Arch-Elder Zenmented, though he appeared perfectly calm.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang stared at his counterpart in surprise. "And you are¡­?"

    Arch-Elder Zen gave a small smile. "The two of us once met, but while I clearly remember you, it¡¯s quite likely that you have no memory of me."

    "I would like to hear about it," Grand Elder Ni Huang stated solemnly.

    OMA''s Thoughts

 Chapter 1997: Right Or Wrong

    Chapter 1997: Right Or Wrong

    Arch-Elder Zen sped his hands behind his back and looked as if he was reminiscing. "During the Daosource Sect era, do you happen to remember the group of independent cultivators during the deciding battle against the Sixth Maind who faced their enemies knowing that only death awaited them?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang initially felt a bit confused, but then his expression changed and he simply stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Were you one of them?"

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded and let out a sigh. "When the Sixth Maind invaded, no one in the Fifth Maind was able to stay safe. Even children who had only started cultivating were forced to take up arms and fight, and independent cultivators were no exception. There was actually an army of independent cultivators whose strength was terrible, and who were considered nothing more than cannon fodder when they stepped onto the battlefield. Fortunately, I happened to meet the person leading the White Dragon n¡¯s forces on that battlefield. That battle nearly wiped us all out.¡±

    As Arch-Elder Zen continued, he stared at Grand Elder Ni Huang. "This junior still remembers your words, Elder, when you roused us and encouraged us before that fight."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang eximed, "I had only just be an Envoy back then!"

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. "And this junior was a mere Limiteer."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang nodded, and when he next spoke, his admiration was clearly expressed, "I remember that army. There were only a few hundred thousand members, and almost all of them ended up perishing. Still, their determination was inspiring."

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. "We merelyid eyes on each other then. Our army faced the Sixth Maind¡¯s Envoys, and we independent cultivators weren¡¯t able to endure for even a breath¡¯s worth of time, which must have been a joke to someone like the Grand Elder."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang remained solemn. "Anyone willing to step onto that battlefield and face such odds deserves the respect of the entire White Dragon n."

    Highsage Grandmaster and the other Fifth Maind Semi-Progenitors had not imagined Arch-Elder Zen had lived such a life. The man had never shared such details regarding his past, and truthfully, no one knew almost anything about the master of the Hall of Honor. From the time that all of them had first started cultivating, Arch-Elder Zen had already existed and held his same position. He was much, much older than any of the other Semi-Progenitors.

    Still, no one had imagined that Arch-Elder Zen might have actually been part of the Fifth Maind¡¯s most decisive battle against the Sixth Maind so many years ago, even if he had only been a Limiteer at that time.

    Grand Elder Ni Huangughed. "I never thought I might meet a formerrade-in-arms in this Forsaken Land. What a pleasant surprise. After we settle this matter, I would love to speak with you further. There are too few of us still alive who lived through that war back then."

    Arch-Elder Zen grew sorrowful. "Yes, far too few."

    Wang Si frowned as she stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Where is your Forsaken Land¡¯s Progenitor? Why have they note out?"

    Arch-Elder Zen felt quite puzzled. "Our Progenitor?"

    Wang Si answered coldly, "There was a Progenitor seen standing behind Lu Xiaoxuan during his breakthrough. Such a powerhouse must have been teaching him for him to have reached his current level. Call that person out, please, as we wish to speak with them."

    Arch-Elder Zen feltpletely confused; A Progenitor behind Lu Yin? During his breakthrough? Could it be?

    Suddenly, the old man thought of Mister Mu. Could Mister Mu have been with Lu Yin during his breakthrough to be an Envoy? If that was the case, no wonder the boy had been fine despite the churning turmoil that had spread throughout the true universe. It had been because of that man¡¯s help.

    "We can''t contact that person," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    Wang Si''s eyes shed. "You can¡¯t speak to your own Forsaken Land¡¯s Progenitor?"

    Xia Ji started to get upset. "Why do you keep referring to this ce as the Forsaken Land? This is the Fifth Maind."

    Wang Si sneered in response. "This ce was only the Fifth Maind with the Mother Tree here. Without the Mother Tree, this ce became nothing but the Forsaken Land. You even had your sky reced by the Sixth Maind."

    Highsage Grandmaster spoke up, "If you people hadn''t fled, our sky would never have changed. Rather than calling this ce the Forsaken Land, it¡¯s more urate to call you all a bunch of deserters."

    Wang Si¡¯s eyebrows started to climb. "What did you just say?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang raised a hand to stop Wang Si from saying anything more. "The decision back then was made by the Lu family, and they were also the ones to decide to move the Mother Tree. You should all be aware that the Lu family ruled everything back then. They were the true masters, and none of us were able to gainsay them. If you hold such hate for their decision back then, that hate should carry over to their descendent, which is the person you all know as Lu Yin. We are here to take him away."

    Elder Gong spoke up, "Lu Yin is Lu Yin. Where is this usation of him being a descendent of the Lu familying from?"

    Wang Si sneered. "Don''t try to y dumb! How could you not know? His identity was exposed some time ago in the Technocracy! What? Did he kill everyone present to keep his secret and keep his true identity hidden?"

    Elder Gong looked over at Wang Si. "I don''t care who he might have been before. He grew up in this ce, and he has done much for the Fifth Maind. He has saved countless people, and also established the Tower of the Fifth to selflessly raise up this entire ce. Lu Yin is a person from my Fifth Maind, so please return to where you came from."

    Wang Si''s voice grew icy, "It looks like you want to protect the Lu family¡¯s descendent."

    Highsage Grandmaster looked at Wang Si. "If you¡¯ve already eliminated the Lu family and have already seeded in taking control, what need is there to deal with Lu Yin? Are you truly afraid that he will be able to deal with your four ruling powers all by himself?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang spoke up, "It''s not that simple."

    He nced at Arch-Elder Zen. "You send people from this Forsaken Land to sneak into the Perennial World after each Yuanlun Festival so that they can get some Origin Matter. When yourtest batch was sent, not only did that child of the Lu family get sent in, he posed as a member of my White Dragon n. He eventually humiliated my entire White Dragon n on Dragon Mountain before the entire world, which caused us to lose face. After suffering such an embarrassment, Lu Xiaoxuan must be given to my White Dragon n."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Dragon Mountain is the home of your White Dragon n where you, Grand Elder Ni Huang, stand guard. How could a mere Enlighter have the courage to act unscrupulously on Dragon Mountain? Unless someone were forced into a corner without any escape, they would never try such a thing. Clearly, this was not done by choice."

    Ni Huang¡¯s voice dropped low, "I know you hate the primeval surnames and all the rest of us for abandoning you. Since that is true, why do you insist on protecting thatst survivor of the Lu family? The Lu family was who abandoned you to begin with. They moved the Mother Tree and isted your Fifth Maind. Their actions are why your sky was reced by the Sixth Maind. The Lu family should bear the greatest weight of your hatred. There¡¯s simply no need for you to fight us because of Lu Xiaoxuan.

    "Additionally, we are willing to let you send people from this Forsaken Land to asionally train in the Perennial World, and even openlypete for Origin Matter. You can consider this to be the greatest improvement in our treatment of you."

    Xia Ji''s eyes shed. "Truly?"

    "Of course," Wang Si replied.

    Xia Ji stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Lu Yin is indeed Lu Xiaoxuan, and he is a descendent of the Lu family. This is about the entire Human Domain. There¡¯s no need for us to interfere."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Xia Ji for a long moment, and Xia Ji started to panic. "If your Xia family had seized the initiative to stop the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion and saved the lives of countless humans, or built the Tower of the Fifth to raise up humanity to new levels of strength, you would indeed hold the qualifications to say such a thing."

    Xia Ji did not like Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s response, and got ready to respond, only to be sharply cut off by Arch-Elder Zen, "Xia Ji, if you are guaranteed to be a Progenitor and act to protect this Fifth Maind, that will also qualify you to say such things."

    Xia Ji''s expression instantly changed. How could he possibly guarantee that he would be a Progenitor?

    Arch-Elder Zen turned back to look at Grand Elder Ni Huang. "Given the fact that you fought in that great battle during the Daosource Sect era, you should understand that that war did not only involve the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but also Aeternus. Humanity should not be fighting against itself."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang''s eyes grew incredibly sharp.

    "If humans fight each other, the only ones who will benefit will be Aeternus. Lu Yin has a good chance of eventually bing a Progenitor¡ªa very good chance. He is someone the Aeternals are eager to kill, so why are you acting as their knife toe and kill one of your own?" Arch-Elder Zen loudly used.

    Wang Si yelled in rage, "Nonsense! The Lu family is everyone¡¯s enemy! Everyst one of the Lu family members deserves to die! They¡¯re even more despicable than the Aeternals!"

    "Wang Si!" Ni Huang shouted sharply to silence the woman.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s head raised high. "Is this the position of the four ruling powers? Do you all truly view the Lu family as more hateful than Aeternus? Then tell me, who were the ones to hold back the Aeternals? Who protected all of you? Regardless of how much you may hate the Lu family, even if you moved to eliminate all of them, back then, that family held the front lines in the fight against the Aeternals, and they have shed blood throughout the universe. Grand Elder Ni Huang, that is not something you could have forgotten.

    "One after another, their Champions¡¯ Stages shattered. The Lu family ruled over the Fifth Maind, but they were also the first to fall to the Aeternals during the war. You held nothing back in order to eliminate that family, and now you¡¯re actually wanting to kill Lu Yin, who has such a strong chance of bing a Progenitor?¡±

    Ni Huang shrugged. "I will admit that Lu Xiaoxuan has an exceptional talent, and it¡¯s indeed true that he has a very good chance of bing a Progenitor. But tell me, once he bes a Progenitor, will the first ones that he will strike down be the Aeternals, or my four ruling powers?

    "Can you promise me that Lu Xiaoxuan will not work to get revenge on the four ruling powers in the future?"

    Arch-Elder Zen could say nothing to this. He was looking at things from the perspective of all of humanity, but from the perspective of the four ruling powers, Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World who had been sent to the Fifth Maind were doing the right thing. The four ruling powers had destroyed the entire family, and this had created an enmity that Lu Yin would not be able toy down. Arch-Elder Zen knew Lu Yin, and understood the young man quite well. While he had indeed built the Tower of the Fifth to strength in the Fifth Maind, Arch-Elder Zen knew that Lu Yin would never be able to let go of the hatred in his heart, and he would never be able to give up all hope and abandon his revenge to live in peace.

    "While it¡¯s unfortunate for humanity to lose a Progenitor, for my four ruling powers, that loss means eliminating one more enemy," Grand Elder Ni Huang said. "The Lu family once held back the Aeternals and stood on the front lines, and now, my four ruling powers have taken on that task. No matter if it was right or wrong to eliminate the Lu family, everything has already been settled. Do you really want to see Lu Xiaoxuan attack us after he bes a Progenitor and initiate a war among humans?

    "Because he is still an Envoy, there¡¯s no need to take any risks in eliminating him. This is what is best for humanity."

    There was nothing that Arch-Elder Zen could say. The hatred between Lu Yin and four ruling powers was something that could not be resolved. Unless the Lu family returned, a civil war was inevitable.

    Arch-Elder Zen tried to do what was right and best for all of mankind in the Fifth Maind, and thus he desperately wanted to prevent four ruling powers from killing Lu Yin. However, Ni Huang was also trying to do what was best for mankind in the Perennial World, and thus wanted to kill Lu Yin. Who was right? Who was wrong? It was impossible to say, as in this situation, there was no right or wrong.

    "Tell me, do you still want to protect Lu Xiaoxuan?" Ni Huang asked softly as he stared at Arch-Elder Zen.

    The old man instantly thought of everything Lu Yin had done. He nced in the direction of the Cosmic Sea, where the Tower of the Fifth had just beenpleted. In just a few years, it would house the Fifth Maind¡¯s greatest treasure trove of inheritances. Lu Yin had done too much for the Fifth Maind, and everything that he had done made it too difficult for Arch-Elder Zen to agree to abandon Lu Yin.

    How good would it have been if the four ruling powers had visited the Fifth Maind the moment they had learned that Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan? At that time, Arch-Elder Zen could have given them Lu Yin without any hesitation, and a war between humans would have been averted.

    But at this moment, how could Arch-Elder Zen agree to deliver Lu Yin to his enemies?

    Countless people throughout the Outerverse had built statues tomemorate Lu Yin.

    Countless people from the Innerverse relied on him.

    There were countless people throughout the entire Fifth Maind who felt grateful to Lu Yin, and countless more who would ept him as a half-master. How could Arch-Elder Zen betray such a person?

    Highsage Grandmaster, Gong Elder, and Jiu Chi were also unable to agree to betray Lu Yin.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang frowned. Even after all that had been said, these people were still not willing to turn Lu Xiaoxuan over to the four ruling powers? Just what had the child done while in the Forsaken Land? Why was everyone bent on protecting him?

 Chapter 1998: Hes Drunk

    Chapter 1998: He''s Drunk

    It was clear that Semi-Progenitors like Arch-Elder Zen were deeply attached to what was best for humanity. Even when threatened with war, it was not enough to convince these men to betray Lu Yin. It did not matter that he was really Lu Xiaoxuan, one of the Seven Heroes who had been famous throughout the entire Perennial World for being one of the most extraordinary geniuses.

    Even if Lu Xiaoxuan had lost his memory and been thrown to the Forsaken Land, the entire Fifth Maind was stepping up to protect him.

    Regardless of how many talented youths Grand Elder Ni Huang had seen over the eons, he still had to admire Lu Xiaoxuan''s achievements. If not for the fact that he was a descendent of the Lu family, the child would definitely be a beacon of hope for mankind.

    Inexplicably, Ni Huang suddenly was reminded of Long Quan''s words as he had died. The grand elder could not help wishing such ims were true.

    Wang Si shouted harshly, "Just tell us where Lu Xiaoxuan is! You don''t need to give him to us; we¡¯ll get him ourselves, so you will have nothing to do with the matter."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Grand Elder Ni Huang. "I want to do everything possible to convince Lu Yin to set aside his hatred for your four ruling powers. Is this possible?"

    "No," Wang Si instantly refused, as she red straight at Arch-Elder Zen. "Lu Xiaoxuan lost his memories and was cast down to this Forsaken Land, yet he still rose up once more to stand above all of his peers and be respected by all. Such a person can¡¯t be suppressed regardless of the means used, so he must be destroyed."

    Arch-Elder Zen answered softly, "I don''t want to see humans fighting each other, but I also can¡¯t agree to give you Lu Yin just to avoid this war."

    "So you¡¯re saying we can''te to an agreement?" Wang Si''s voice dropped low, but it was dripping with contempt and arrogance.

    Jiu Chi finally turned to look at Wang Si. "You¡¯re ugly."

    Wang Si was stunned.

    Highsage Grandmaster, Arch-Elder Zen, and everyone else present was simrly shocked, and they all gave Jiu Chi strange looks.

    Jiu Chi was constantly drinking, yet despite being a drunk, he never spoke very much. This was why his suddenment left everyone stunned.

    Even Grand Elder Ni Huang was caught off guard.

    Wang Si was momentarily dazed, but then she grew furious. "What are you talking about? You¡¯re seeking death!"

    The woman immediately attacked, only to have Grand Elder Ni Huang suppress her. The man then gave Jiu Chi a cold look. ¡°You¡¯re a Semi-Progenitor, yet you are so rude. You¡¯re just embarrassing yourself."

    Jiu Chi drank some of his wine. "I only told the truth. I¡¯m no liar."

    This was Grand Elder Ni Huang¡¯s first time encountering such a Semi-Progenitor, so the old man actually did not know how to respond.

    Not a liar? No one even asked you if she was ugly! Why did you suddenly say such a thing?

    Wang Si''s eyes burned with rage. "Old man, you¡¯re seeking death!"

    Jiu Chi was perfectly calm as he looked at her. "The longer I look, the uglier you be. Did you actually look like this when you were younger, too?"

    Wang Si''s eyes red, and she attacked again. This time, Grand Elder Ni Huang did not hold the woman back, but instead gave Jiu Chi a cold re. The man was really going too far.

    Arch-Elder Zen instead took action and stopped Wang Si¡¯s attack. "I just want to know why you are even here."

    Wang Si roared, madness ring in her eyes. "Out of my way! I''m going to kill that old thing!"

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. "He just drank too much and is drunk."

    Wang Si screamed, "Move, Forsaken Land trash!"

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression grew darker.

    Even Grand Elder Ni Huang''s expression changed, and he pulled the woman back. "What are you spouting?"

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes grew icy. "It looks like you only ever truly see us as inferior people. No wonder you refer to this ce as the Forsaken Land."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang quickly replied, "The Forsaken Land is the name the Lu family gave this ce. We were never the ones to name it."

    Jiu Chi sneered. "It¡¯s always the same line from you: it¡¯s the Lu family¡¯s fault. The Lu family abandoned the Fifth Maind. The Lu family called this ce the Forsaken Land. The Lu family¡¯s gone. That ugly woman even said this whole thing is the Lu family''s problem?

    "You already imed that your four ruling powers stand at the frontlines to protect mankind. The Aeternals are about to invade from the Starfall Sea, and yet your entire focus is only on Lu Xiaoxuan. Is this also a problem created by the Lu family? Even if Lu Xiaoxuan wants to get revenge on you in the future, that¡¯s a long ways off. If you really are trying to act in humanity¡¯s best interests, then I would ask you to deal with Aeternus in the Starfall Sea."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang''s expression grew ugly. The negotiations had initially been going well, even if the Fifth Maind was insisting on protecting Lu Xiaoxuan, yet Jiu Chi¡¯s words left Ni Huangpletely speechless. He simply stared at Jiu Chi, as the grand elder could not think of a single thing to say in response to such usations.

    Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, Xia Ji, everyone from the Fifth Maind stared at Jiu Chi with odd expressions. They had never seen the man be so talkative. He had actually insulted that woman Wang Si to the point that she had lost all control. If not for the fact that she had referred to the people of the Fifth Maind as trash, they really would have had no grounds on which to criticize Grand Elder Ni Huang.

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, "Jiu Chi is correct. Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin tries to take action against you in the future, at least for the moment, he is no threat. Since you are here, please help us deal with Aeternus in the Starfall Sea first. We are truly facing a crisis, and the Fifth Maind could be ughtered at any moment."

    Wang Si sneered, "What concern of ours is it if you all die?"

    "Shut up!" Elder Ni Huang yelled as he shot a vicious re at Wang Si.

    While Wang Si was intimidated by Grand Elder Ni Huang, she did not fear him. She was a member of the Wang family, not the White Dragon n. ¡°What else do you want to say? It¡¯s quite clear that they want to protect thatst survivor of the Lu family, and since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s just deal with these people. As long as we get rid of them, we¡¯ll be able to enve the entire Forsaken Land."

    "You sure can talk big. You want to enve our home? Looks like wanting to deal with Lu Yin is just a front and you¡¯re really here to try to enve my Fifth Maind." Jiu Chi wiped his mouth clean as he stared at Wang Si. "I think you¡¯re not only wanting to enve us, but also capture us and force us to fight Aeternus on the rear battlefield to act as your cannon fodder."

    Wang Si arched a brow. This had never urred to her, as her intentions had merely been a whim, and they had never gone further than enving the people in this ce to act as the Wang family¡¯s servants, but she was arrogant and felt that it was beneath her to even deny such an usation. "What of it?"

    Arch-Elder Zen let out a long breath. "So your visit always held bad intentions for us. Lu Yin was never anything more than an excuse."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang had not expected things to suddenly take such a turn. Their entire goal was simply to capture Lu Yin, so how had things devolved to the point that the envement of the Forsaken Land had be the purpose in their trip from the Perennial World? What did such a wretched ce even hold that was worth enving?

    Seeing the reaction of Arch-Elder Zen made it clear to Ni Huang that any further discussion would be futile. There was nothing more to say at this time. ¡°Let''s stop here for now. We don¡¯t want a war, and right or wrong, the final decision depends on the Progenitor supporting Lu Xiaoxuan. The bottom line of my four ruling powers is that we must take Lu Xiaoxuan away. Even if he is not executed, he must at least be imprisoned. I hope you don¡¯t make a mistake.¡±

    With that, the old man took Wang Si and the Second Nightking and left.

    He regretted bringing the woman with him. Her temper was too vtile, and she lost control too easily. She had ruined Ni Huang¡¯s attempts at negotiations.

    As he watched Ni Huang and the other two leave, Arch-Elder Zen nced over at Jiu Chi. "Where is Lu Yin? Did you see him?"

    Jiu Chi shook his head. "I only saw those two when I got here."

    "The Second Nightking is inseparable from Lu Yin. If they have him, they should also have Lu Yin!" Highsage Grandmaster was quite concerned.

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "If they already had him, they wouldn¡¯t have needed to say anything to us at all."

    There was a moment of silence, and Arch-Elder Zen and all of the other Semi-Progenitors turned to stare at Jiu Chi. "You¡¯ve been unusually chatty today."

    Jiu Chi took a sip of his wine. "I had nothing to do with what I said. I was just repeating someone else¡¯s words."

    The Semi-Progenitors were caught off guard by this, especially Arch-Elder Zen, as he had not noticed any other people nearby. "Who was it?"

    Jiu Chi replied, "That Semi-Progenitor who¡¯s close to Lu Yin. He told me he had a way to anger those two into leaving."

    Arch-Elder Zen was left speechless. So it had been Kui Luo all along. Jiu Chi¡¯s words really did sound like what that scoundrel would say.

    It also seemed quite clear that Kui Luo cared deeply about Lu Yin and would do everything he could to protect the youth. However, Kui Luo was not strong enough to avoid Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s detection. Either the man had been hiding his strength, or he had some special means at his disposal.

    As the Semi-Progenitors looked past Jiu Chi, they saw Kui Luo appear in the distance behind the drunk man. Oddly, this time there was a serious expression on Kui Luo¡¯s face, and he even looked to be rather upset.

    "You¡¯re familiar with those two, and so you knew how to deal with them," Arch-Elder Zen addressed Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo quietly asked, "Where¡¯s the kid?"

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "I don''t know."

    Kui Luo nced over at Jiu Chi, who also shook his head. "I arrived first, yet I only saw them with the Second Nightking. I never saw the child."

    Kui Luo looked towards the Technocracy. He was feeling increasingly uneasy. He was afraid Lu Yin had been taken, but logically, if Lu Yin had already been captured, there would have been no reason for Ni Huang and Wang Si to spend so much time negotiating. Those two did not fear the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    Even if a desperate fight had broken out, Ni Huang was powerful enough to be able to escape.

    Where did the kid go? The Second Nightking was even badly injured¡­ That kid better not have died!

    "Forget about where Lu Yin might be for the moment; it¡¯s not good that we have people here from the Perennial World. If they aren¡¯t able to find Lu Yin, they¡¯ll think we¡¯ve hidden him, and that will most likely trigger a war," Highsage Grandmaster spoke up.

    Xia Ji interjected in a cold voice, "I knew that kid would cause trouble for us! A war between humans will only help out Aeternus. I still think the best choice is to give that kid to the Perennial World."

    "Bullshit! Fuck off!" Kui Luo red at Xia Ji as he screamed loud enough to make everyone jump.

    Xia Ji became enraged. "What was that?"

    Kui Luo did not back down at all. "Why don¡¯t we give them your kid? That child is more important than your offspring and even your entire Xia family. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve done to that kid. Just wait, old man. You¡¯ll be fine if he ends up being safe, but if anything happens to that kid, I¡¯ll spend the rest of my life making trouble for you, and your life will be worse than death! You won¡¯t have a moment of peace, not even when youy down to sleep! You¡¯ll feel exposed, whether you¡¯re naked or not."

    These words infuriated Xia Ji, and his breathing grew ragged. He wanted tosh out, and a long knife appeared in his hand.

    Arch-Elder Zen felt helpless. Kui Luo truly had perfected his ability to piss people off. "Enough. Even if we do as Xia Ji suggests, they will still treat us like a wastnd. We are the Fifth Maind, and not even the destruction of our Maind was enough to take that away from us. If word of their threats leak out, we will be reviled by countless people from the Human Domain.¡±

    Xia Ji¡¯s hand tightened on the handle of his knife as he red at Kui Luo. That bastard would have to die one day.

    Kui Luo stared right back at Xia Ji. Kui Luo had not been just spouting off. If anything did happen to Lu Yin, Kui Luo really would do everything he could to make Xia Ji¡¯s life miserable. Kui Luo had despised this man from beginning to end.

    "I''m leaving. If you find that kid, don''te looking for me if he¡¯s fighting with the primeval surnames or something. I won¡¯t help," Xia Ji said indifferently before stepping through space to leave.

    Kui Luo sneered. "Won''t help? Old man, I''ll spend the rest of my life going after you to kill you!"

    Xia Ji shot a final cold re at Kui Luo before leaving.

    "We¡¯re leaving, too. We¡¯ll do all we can to find the child," Highsage Grandmaster said.

    There was no need to even mention Elder Gong, as he was quite worried about the sole of Lu Yin''s foot...

    Jiu Chi felt like he had to say something. "All of this is happening right after the Tower of the Fifth was finished, ah¡ª"

    He then turned to make his way towards the Cosmic Sea.

    There were no real intentions behind his words, but someone who heard them was startled by certain implications.

    Arch-Elder Zen was startled by Jiu Chi¡¯sment: the Perennial World showed up and demanded Lu Yin right after the Tower of the Fifth had opened? Was this really just a coincidence? Or was this something put into y long ago?

 Chapter 1999: Gaze

    Chapter 1999: Gaze

    Everything Lu Yin had done over the years flickered through Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mind. Regardless of how one viewed Lu Yin¡¯s actions, the child was not someone selfless enough to share his strength with others to help them improve, and yet that was exactly what he had done. Lu Yin had established the Tower of the Fifth, and its existence drew the most talented cultivators from the entire Fifth Maind. However, everyone who received one of Lu Yin¡¯s inheritances had to acknowledge him as a half-master.

    Arch-Elder Zen had initially believed that Lu Yin simply did not want to deal with certain troubles, but at the moment, it suddenly looked as if Lu Yin had already known that the Perennial World would send people searching for him and demanding he be given to them. Viewed in this light, all of Lu Yin¡¯s actions became reasonable and logical.

    Arch-Elder Zen had not been able to understand why Lu Yin had bargained to keep the new universal armors at the Tower of the Fifth for a few extra months before delivering them to the Hall of Honor, but if the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s suspicions were correct, then Lu Yin had pushed for such a thing because the universal armor could prove important to the Fifth Maind refusing to turn him over to the Perennial World.

    Many things instantly fit together in Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mind, though they all led to an even bigger question: how could Lu Yin have known what the Perennial World was doing?

    It was the Perennial World. Not even the Hall of Honor could spy on that ce, and logically, it should be impossible for Lu Yin as well. Even if he had people there watching things, there should be no way for them to contact Lu Yin.

    Construction had started on the Tower of the Fifth more than half a year ago, and it should have been impossible for Lu Yin to know of the Perennial World¡¯s ns so long ago.

    Strange. Very strange¡­

    "Hey, what are you thinking about? You aren¡¯t actually thinking of not protecting the kid, are you?" Kui Luo stared into Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes as he shot out a question.

    Arch-Elder Zen justughed. "I said I won¡¯t turn him over, and so I won¡¯t."

    Kui Luo had to ask, "Just because he stopped the astral beasts¡¯ invasion and built the Tower of the Fifth?"

    "Isn''t that enough?" Arch-Elder Zen countered.

    Kui Luo did not know how to respond. From his perspective, such things were far from sufficient, but that was because Kui Luo and Arch-Elder Zen werepletely different people.

    Kui Luo was a selfish person who wanted to toy with the entire universe and who seldom considered anyone other than himself. On the other hand, Arch-Elder Zen was someone who always took the perspective of what was best for all of mankind. His selflessness had created a barrier for Arch-Elder Zen to try to break through to be a Progenitor. The two wereplete opposites.

    "That child has saved the lives of countless people in the Outerverse, and also blessed the entire Fifth Maind. He is truly talented, and he has a very good chance of eventually bing a Progenitor. Such a person ispletely qualified for my protection," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Of course, there was also another reason: that man and the Chief Justice.

    Arch-Elder Zen had no way of knowing how Mister Mu would feel about the current situation, but since he had epted Lu Yin as a disciple, Lu Yin had to be protected.

    Chief Justice Qing Ping¡¯s attitude had already been made very clear: Lu Yin was his junior brother. If Arch-Elder Zen decided to sacrifice Lu Yin for the good of mankind, Qing Ping would not agree. If Lu Yin created strife within humanity which aggravated the Aeternals¡¯ attacks, then Qing Ping would deal with Lu Yin himself. That was Qing Ping''s position on the matter.

    Arch-Elder Zen could not ignore Qing Ping.

    There were too many people in the Fifth Maind who cared about Lu Yin. Why Lu Yin had built the Tower of the Fifth did not matter. He had not betrayed the Fifth Maind, and so Arch-Elder Zen could not betray Lu Yin.

    Kui Luo nodded. "I hope you really will protect him. I¡¯ll offer you another reason why you need to protect him."

    Arch-Elder Zen grew curious.

    Kui Luo became far more serious than before. "The Lu family isn¡¯t dead."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes went wide in disbelief. "What?"

    Kui Luo continued, "The Lu family wasn¡¯t killed, but were simply exiled. The four ruling powers have never been capable of eliminating the Lu family."

    Arch-Elder Zen struggled to believe what he was hearing. "If the four ruling powers united, they would certainly have more Progenitors than the Lu family, so why wouldn¡¯t they be able to destroy the Lu family?"

    "You are also someone from that era. Have you forgotten the Lu family legend?" Kui Luo asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s body trembled. Was the man referring to that legend about the Lu family?

    Memories kept tumbling through Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s head, and his eyes flickered about before he finally turned back to Kui Luo. "Are you saying the legend is true? Is there really someone like that in the Lu family?"

    Kui Luo was solemn as he replied, "I don''t know if there is or isn¡¯t, but I am certain that the Lu family still lives. Lu Xiaoxuan is the only one able to bring the Lu family back, which means protecting him is the same as protecting his entire family. Once the Lu family returns, this ce will no longer be the Forsaken Land. The Fifth Maind is wherever the Lu family is, as the Lu family is the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen stared upwards into space. "The Lu family may have ruled the Fifth Maind, but that doesn''t make them the Fifth Maind. Only the Daosource Sect and its countless members can truly represent the Fifth Maind."

    Kui Luo did not argue. "If you don''t believe me, I can swear an oath that the Lu family was merely exiled and not wiped out."

    Arch-Elder Zen raised a hand to stop Kui Luo from doing as he offered. "I believe you, don''t worry. Besides, I already said I¡¯ll protect the child, so I will do so no matter how high the price climbs."

    The old man then looked in the direction of the Outerverse, and bitterlymented, "After the war with the Sixth Maind, we had to make space for them to migrate over. But now, because of the Perennial World, we actually need them to join forces with us to chase the people of the four ruling powers away. As ironic as it seems, fate is destined, and people are helpless to fight it."

    Kui Luo left, intending to search everywhere for Lu Yin. Kui Luo had already tried to call Lu Yin, but there had been no connection to the kid¡¯s gadget. Where could the kid have gone?

    A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s strength meant that searching all of Chroma Flowzone was an easy task.

    Kui Luo entered the flowzone¡¯s forbidden region, and immediately found the shards of the ck crystal. Instantly, he thought of the Neohuman Alliance, and so he immediately called Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen was surprised. Even the Neohuman Alliance was involved in this matter?

    Ni Huang had already driven Whiteless God off before Jiu Chi had arrived, and everything had happened at the border of Chroma Flowzone, so no one had noticed the flowzone¡¯s forbidden area.

    The Second Nightking had not spoken a single word while the Semi-Progenitors had been meeting. It would have been impossible for him to send any message to Arch-Elder Zen and the others in front of Wang Si and Ni Huang.

    "Could he actually have been captured by the Neohuman Alliance? Could it have been that Wang Si and the old man weren¡¯t the ones to injure the Second Nightking, but the Neohuman Alliance?" Kui Luo turned pale. Such a thing would not be even a tiny bit better than if Lu Yin had been Wang Si and the Perennial World.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "The only one in the Neohuman Alliance who could beat the Second Nightking is one of the Seven Skygods, and the only one of them still alive for now is Whiteless God. Let¡¯s leave it at that and investigate first. There¡¯s no need for random spection, so we¡¯ll discuss thingster."

    This really was the only option. Kui Luo was not able to investigate Sky Creation Academy, and there was also no way of him tracking down Whiteless God.

    ...

    The Hall of Honor started searching for Lu Yin, as did a few of the core members of the Great Eastern Alliance. On top of that, Xia Ji was searching for Lu Yin as well.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was standing on a barren, surrounded by a massive crowd of people. Everyone present was panicking, and hopelessness painted their faces.

    They were in the Technocracy, and Wang Si and Ni Huang were moving about above the, as well as many people from the Sixth Maind.

    As soon as Wang Si and Ni Huang had appeared, Whiteless God had sent Lu Yin onto a in Chroma Flowzone so that Lu Yin would not be found.

    Whiteless God''s action had been a bit brute forced, as Lu Yin had been left dazed afternding on the. Fortunately, Lu Yin had quickly recovered, and had been up and moving before Wang Si had pulled the poption of the into her inner world.

    This was different from when Lu Yin had been captured by Xia Ji. Xia Ji had not restricted Lu Yin with his inner world or tried to kill him, and so Lu Yin had been able to find a chance to escape by using his futon to enter the Daosource Sect¡¯s ruins.

    On the other hand, Wang Si had carefully monitored everyone on the, including Lu Yin. He would have instantly been noticed if he had tried to use the futon again to escape.

    Lu Yin had been trapped within Wang Si''s inner world, and the woman had quickly released a great deal of pressure, knocking everyone unconscious, including Lu Yin. However, he had managed to use the Mask of Death to alter his appearance before losing consciousness, as he had seen no other options. He could not do anything to alert Wang Si while within her inner world.

    When Lu Yin had woken up, he had already been moved to the he was currently standing on.

    Looking up, Lu Yin could recognize that he had been taken to the Technocracy. He had ended up being captured by Wang Si.

    Lu Yin was quite worried, as he was terrified Wang Si would find him. He had no idea how reliable the Mask of Death might be, but since it was one of the God of Death¡¯s battle techniques, it should be pretty effective. The Mask of Death was not only able to hide a person¡¯s appearance, but also hide their stellr energy vortex with death energy. After all, death energy was apletely different power from stellr energy.

    High above the, Wang Si''s expression grew dark. Lu Xiaoxuan was not among any of the people she had captured. Just where had that brat gone hiding?

    "Was Lu Xiaoxuan really there right before we arrived?" Wang Si asked again.

    The Second Nightking''s body had already recovered a lot, though he still was in pretty bad condition. He answered respectfully, "Yes."

    Wang Si stared at the man with cold eyes, not believing a word the Second Nightking said. She called Wang Shang over and ordered the man to escort the Second Nightking back to the Celestial Frost Sect so that the Bai family could deal with him.

    The Second Nightking¡¯s fingers shook. Wang Si treated the man far worse than Lu Yin ever had. This woman truly regarded the man as nothing more than a ve.

    "Elder, what should we do with all of these people?" Another Envoy who was an elder from the Wang family approached and asked Wang Si.

    Wang Si felt disgusted by the people¡¯s mere existence. "They¡¯re untouchables from the Forsaken Land. There¡¯s no need to concern yourself with taking care of them."

    She then turned and left.

    The Wang family elder did not sense anything odd about the people on the, so he also left.

    Lu Yin had only nced up when he had first awoken, as he had not dared allow his gaze to linger out of fear that he would rouse Wang Si¡¯s attention.

    One day. Two days. Three days passed, and yet no one paid any attention to the people on the barren.

    Most of the people were ordinary humans. The atmosphere on the was thin, and many people started to demonstrate bizarre conditions. The greatest suffering was from hunger and thirst. No one paid any attention to the people, and there were very few cultivators among them. Furthermore, very few of those cultivators had cosmic rings, and so there was a very small amount of food avable even from those sources.

    Lu Yin hated what he was seeing, and he wanted to save the people around him, but he was not able to even protect himself.

    Finally, on the fifth day, some people arrived from Sky Creation Academy. They were actual humans, and not androids.

    There were many humans who lived in the Technocracy. There had been numerous people who had betrayed humanity even in ancient times, and those traitors had taken refuge in the Technocracy, so it was only to be expected that there were quite a few humans living there.

    The visitor was an Enlighter, and he led hundreds of other cultivators to distribute food to the people on the. Everyone was informed that they would never again return to Chroma Flowzone and that they would have to live out the rest of their lives in the Technocracy.

    Five days had passed before anyone had arrived to care for the captured humans, and half of them had already died from starvation or dehydration. The survivors could not care less whether or not they returned to Chroma Flowzone. All that mattered was that they could survive.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. It appeared that his Mask of Death had sessfully hidden him from Wang Si and the others who had been searching for him.

    He had no idea if he had escaped because the Mask of Death was so effective, or if it had simply been because Wang Si was too arrogant. Lu Yin assumed that if Wang Si saw Lu Yin alone and up close, she would be able to see through his disguise. After all, he had only recently be an Envoy.

    All that could be said was that Lu Yin had been lucky.

    The people numbly boarded a spacecraft under the supervision of the people from the Technocracy, but just as the ship was about to take off, it suddenly stopped.

    There was no exnation given as everyone was driven off the vessel and back onto the.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. Just what had happened this time?

    A group of cultivators appeared in the sky overhead, and they arrogantly started checking everyone on the ground. The appearance of one particr person in the sky startled Lu Yin. Liu Shaoge?

    He had not expected Liu Shaoge to suddenly show up. He even seemed to be leading the most recent group to arrive.

    As Lu Yin was looking at Liu Shaoge, Liu Shaoge suddenly nced over at Lu Yin.

    Their eyes briefly met, and at that instant, Liu Shaoge''s pupils constricted the smallest bit before he looked elsewhere.

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Shaoge. He must have been recognized! Lu Yin had altered his appearance, but it was hard to alter a person¡¯s eyes. The more familiar a person was with another, the more likely they would recognize someone¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 2000: Replacing Liu Shaoge

    Chapter 2000: Recing Liu Shaoge

    Liu Shaoge was a very cunning person, and he had elevated himself from originally being just an ordinary person to his current position. He had managed to join the Celestial Frost Sect, and even get the attention of Semi-Progenitor Bai Laogui. He had been able to suppress Yu Chen, and get in contact with the Hidden Earth Society. He was clearly no less intelligent or capable than Wei Rong.

    Lu Yin absolutely believed that he had been recognized by Liu Shaoge, but that Liu Shaoge did not dare expose Lu Yin out of fear of being exposed himself in turn.

    Liu Shaoge was fully aware that if his background was exposed, he would at the very least lose everything he had gained, and might even be killed. He would never risk such an oue.

    However, just because Liu Shaoge was unwilling to take a risk did not mean that Lu Yin held the same hesitation.

    Lu Yin felt that it would be better to head off with the people from the Perennial World instead of being sent to a random human in the Technocracy. Regardless, so long as Lu Yin was within the Technocracy, he would be within the Master Brain¡¯s surveince, so it would be difficult to escape regardless of where he went.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Liu Shaoge, and the stare grew increasingly intense.

    "Hey, you! Watcha lookin¡¯ at?" A cultivator noticed Lu Yin and shouted at him.

    Everyone else was being obedient, and Lu Yin was actually following orders as well, though he did not stop staring at Liu Shaoge.

    "Hey! What are you staring at?" The man raised a hand and formed a whip out of his star energy that he used to strike at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pretended to fall after being struck.

    The sudden movement caught Liu Shaoge''s eye, and he looked back at Lu Yin once again. When Liu Shaoge saw Lu Yin still staring at him, his heart dropped. "Grab him, too."

    "Understood." The man was respectful towards Liu Shaoge, and his whip quickly wrapped around Lu Yin and pulled him up onto the massive boat made from a sheet of white paper.

    There were already a hundred people on the paper boat, and all of them were being taken away from the rest of the captured humans.

    Everyone else was taken back to the spaceship they had previously boarded, and the vessel soon took off towards an inhabited.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin and Liu Shaoge were staring at each other. Surprise clear in each young man¡¯s eyes.

    "I assumed you were originally from Earth. I never thought you¡¯d actually be one of the Lu family¡¯s direct descendants," Liu Shaoge spoke first.

    Lu Yin replied, "I never thought you¡¯d be able to climb so high. It looks like you were even able to overtake Yu Chen."

    Liu Shaoge sighed as he pulled out a pair of wine sses from his cosmic ring. He poured two drinks and casually handed one to Lu Yin. "Regardless of where I go, I still prefer to drink wine from Earth. There¡¯s just something about it."

    Lu Yin swirled the wine in his ss as he sat down. "So, no one¡¯s noticed I¡¯m here?"

    Liu Shaogeughed. "Of course not! How would I possibly be able to exin myself to the invading army? You do know we¡¯re all here because of you, right?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There should be more to it than that. If they just wanted to deal with me, sending a single Semi-Progenitor should be enough."

    Liu Shaoge sat down across from Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, we should talk."

    Lu Yin set his wine ss down on the table. "I¡¯d like to hear more about what¡¯s been going on with you."

    Liu Shaoge looked upwards. "It hasn¡¯t been easy for me to get to where I am now. I hope you¡¯ll be willing to let me go, Brother Lu."

    Lu Yin was surprised by this request. "Brother Liu, what are you talking about? I¡¯ve never moved against you before."

    Liu Shaogeughed. "We could have just pretended to not know each other, so why did you want me to get you away from that? Wouldn''t it have been better for you to stay far away from Wang Si and the rest?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s true, except I don¡¯t want to stay far away from them. After all, how would I deal with them if I¡¯m not nearby?"

    Liu Shaoge helplessly shook his head. "So you want to drag me down to die with you, Brother Lu?"

    "Quit being so over-dramatic. We haven¡¯t gotten to that point yet. Both of use from Earth, so we should help each other out," Lu Yin retorted with a smile. He retrieved his wine ss once again and took a sip. "You are right. The wine from Earth is very good."

    Liu Shaoge raised his hand that held his own wine ss, and then slowly swirled it. "Brother Lu, do you have any idea what sort of price I¡¯ve paid to get to where I am? You should already know that I only went to the Perennial World because I was left without any options. You¡¯ve always been rather antagonistic towards me, and if I hadn¡¯t fled when I did, I would have died here in this Fifth Maind.

    "I helped you once when we were both in the Perennial World, and you said that would erase all debts between us. I hope you remember saying that."

    Lu Yin answered solemnly, "I, Lu Yin, remember every word I say. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t see you as an enemy any longer. Any grudges that might have existed between us were washed away."

    "I hope you¡¯ll leave as soon as possible. I¡¯ll help you find a way," Liu Shaoge offered as he stared at Lu Yin.

    A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Do you have a way to send me away?"

    "There are rumors spreading that Lu Xiaoxuan has gone missing, so Semi-Progenitor Wang Si and the other powerhouses will definitely start sending some people into the Fifth Maind to start searching. That will be your chance. Of course, if you¡¯re worried about the Fifth Maind giving you up and being treated as a public enemy of the whole Human Domain, I can also find an opportunity to get you back to the Perennial World," Liu Shaoge replied.

    Lu Yin continued to smile at Liu Shaoge. "Honestly, there are very few people on my list that I admire. You¡¯re name is half-written there now."

    Liu Shaoge grew wary.

    Lu Yin continued, "There are extremely few people who could reach your same position after starting out as a regr human. You started with no resources, no backing, no powerful innate gift, and not even some sort of exceptional opportunity. Everything you¡¯ve achieved has been aplished through your own efforts. You absolutely deserve my admiration. However, your intentions are always impure."

    "What are you talking about?" Liu Shaoge was puzzled.

    Lu Yin stood and stared out into space. "Someone who really deserves to be admired is Progenitor Ku. He climbed up from being someone with a handicap, to bing a normal person, and then continued on step by step until he became a Progenitor. Progenitor Chen had his famous clone that became a colossal giant and challenged the entire Daosource Sect because of it. The Rune Progenitor established an entire civilization that used an alternative cultivation method. Those people deserve to be admired. Compared to them, people like the two of us have selfish motives and are impure."

    Liu Shaoge remained silent.

    "Everyone has their own path, and you¡¯ve faced your own difficulties. You can''t be Progenitor Ku or Progenitor Chen, and the same¡¯s true for me," Lu Yin said as he turned back to face Liu Shaoge. "All I want to say to you is that even if you and I are on different sides, or if you end up being an enemy instead of a friend, just remember that you¡¯re human, and so am I."

    Liu Shaoge frowned. "I can¡¯t follow along with you, Brother Lu."

    Lu Yinughed. "Maybe I¡¯m just overthinking. I don''t know why, but when I look back and then see where you are now, I just get the feeling that you¡¯ll eventually betray mankind."

    Liu Shaoge went stiff for a moment. "Brother Lu, are you trying toe up with an excuse to kill me?"

    "Don¡¯t take it so seriously and just tell me what it is that you want." Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively.

    Liu Shaoge took a deep breath. "Given the current situation, at best I can get you out of the Technocracy, but I can¡¯t do anything beyond that. Your best bet is to stay here for now and stay hidden. I¡¯ll let you know when it¡¯s the right time."

    Lu Yin suddenly lifted a hand and pointed a finger at Liu Shaoge''s forehead. "There¡¯s no need for you to let me know. I¡¯ll go see for myself."

    He then knocked Liu Shaoge unconscious, pulled out Zenith Mountain, and threw the man in.

    He had already made a point of marking a certain location on Zenith Mountain, and that was where Liu Shaoge was sent.

    Long Xi and the others saw that Liu Shaoge was thrown in, but none of them recognized him. They simply ignored him.

    Adopting Liu Shaoge¡¯s image, Lu Yin easily went and picked up a gadget from Sky Creation Academy that could connect him to the Human Domain¡¯swork.

    This showed what Sky Creation Academy was capable of.

    Most people assumed that the Technocracy could not connect to the Human Domain¡¯swork, but that was nothing more than a fantasy.

    It was impossible for humans to connect to the Technocracy¡¯swork, but the Technocracy had multiple means to connect to the Human Domain¡¯swork.

    Lu Yin pulled out the bubble he had that contained the reddish liquid, and he shared a picture of it on the Human Domain¡¯swork. It was almost instantly lost within millions of other posts.

    After that, Lu Yin pulled out his wireless jincan and called Xiao Fa.

    While a wireless jincan did not have many features and was a bit awkward to use tomunicate, it was not restricted by distance in the same way that gadgets were, and it was also something that the Technocracy should not be aware of.

    In the Innerverse, on the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Wang Wen was losing his mind.

    Everyone was searching for Lu Yin, but who knew where he might have gone? Wang Wen was also looking for Lu Yin.

    Word of Lu Yin''s disappearance was something that could not be made public, but Wang Wen had no idea how long he would be able to keep the matter a secret. It was really a massive problem.

    At this time, his gadget beeped, and he nced to check it. Divine Venom Dynasty¡¯s King Qing Li?

    The call connected, and Wang Wen quickly heard Qing Li¡¯s voice, "There¡¯s been word from the alliance leader."

    Wang Wen was stunned. "Where is he?"

    Someone else spoke up in a stuttering voice. It was Xiaofa. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu called me with his wireless jincan, and he asked me to give you a message."

    The call ended a little whileter, but Wang Wen¡¯s mood was not much improved. He still had no idea where Lu Yin was, but the fact that he had used a wireless jincan to make a call suggested he was not in a very good situation, and he was likely being monitored.

    Forget it. If Lu Yin did not want to give away his location, it meant that he did not need help. Wang Wen instead essed thework and quickly found the image Lu Yin had posted from Liu Shaoge''s gadget. Wang Wen saw it was a picture of a bubble with something a bit reddish inside it. What in the world was it?

    Lu Yin had asked Wang Wen to confirm that the image had been taken at Sky Creation Academy.

    Wait a second¡­ Wang Wen¡¯s head snapped up. Could Lu Yin be at Sky Creation Academy? Had he actually been captured by people from that ce? But if that was the case, then why was Lu Yin able to make calls?

    Not even Wang Wen could figure out what Lu Yin was doing! The man¡¯s only option was to follow along with Lu Yin¡¯s request. The picture was promoted online, as well as the fact that it was taken at Sky Creation Academy. Wang Wen used the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s resources to make sure the picture got tremendous coverage.

    When Lu Yin rolled six pips on his die he was able to ess information that defied other people¡¯s very imagination.

    He had been able to organize a plot to counter the Perennial World¡¯s invasion without Arch-Elder Zen or any other Semi-Progenitor having a single clue as to what was happening. At the same time, the Great Eastern Alliance had given Lu Yin the means to find where one of the massive ck crystals had been hidden.

    Lu Yin¡¯s original n had been to smash the ck crystal and then me its destruction on the Perennial World. Once the Aeternals learned of it, a war would start between Aeternus and the Perennial World¡¯s invasion force that was still based at Sky Creation Academy. However, Whiteless God had arrived too quickly. Truly, she had been too quick, almost as if she had been right next to Lu Yin all along.

    Semi-Progenitors could almost instantly travel absurd distances, but even then, Whiteless God had arrived too quickly. Lu Yin had simply shattered the crystal before turning to leave, and had not taken any extra time at all, and yet he had been caught before even a single minute had passed. Exceptional speed was one thing, but Whiteless God had definitely been very close by to begin with.

    Chroma Flowzone was in the Innerverse, and Whiteless God had clearly been nearby. This meant that she had been in the Innerverse, which was the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s territory. In other words, Whiteless God was likely part of the Great Eastern Alliance, and possibly even someone Lu Yin was familiar with.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reason for asking Wang Wen to spread the picture was to tell Whiteless God the bubble with the reddish liquid was at Sky Creation Academy.

    Lu Yin understood just how important those ck crystals were to the Neohuman Alliance. But it was possible that the only ones that knew about the bubbles with the liquid that were hidden at the center of the ck crystal were Lu Yin and the Neohuman Alliance. Although Senior Brother Qing Ping had taken a perfect sample of it, it was possible he would not break the crystal open.

    Lu Yin was just trying in hopes of luring Whiteless God to Sky Creation Academy. He hoped to force the Neohuman Alliance to weaken their forces in the Fifth Maind by fighting against the Perennial World¡¯s forces. Humans could not afford to fight themselves with such an enemy facing them, or at the very least, the Neohuman Alliance had to be dragged into the scuffle.

    Also, Lu Yin felt that it was possible to probe the depths of Sky Creation Academy¡¯s strength with this move.

 Chapter 2001: The Truth

    Chapter 2001: The Truth

    Of course, Lu Yin was merely specting about everything. It was possible that Whiteless God had just happened to be near Chroma Flowzone. Lu Yin was far from omnipotent, and he certainly could not predict the future. He could only do his best and follow fate.

    All Lu Yin had to do next was wait until the Perennial World¡¯s invasion actually entered the Fifth Continent before leaving. Until then, he might be able to run into some old friends or collect some resources, such as the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, though he had no idea who might have something like that.

    Given Liu Shaoge''s current status in theCelestial Frost Sect, Lu Yin had no worries that he might cross paths with a true expert.

    After a few days, Yu Chen went looking for Liu Shaoge. The woman looked rather pathetic.

    "Liu Shaoge, I know Elder Xizi told you to keep an eye on me, and I also know you want to rece me to gain power within the Celestial Frost Sect. I can help you," Yu Chen announced the moment she saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin found this a strange coincidence. After he had fallen into the Perennial World, he had taken on the identity of Long Qi by pure chance and had found himself pitted against Yu Chen. The woman had plotted against him for his entire time in the Perennial World, and yet the woman had since been manipted by Liu Shaoge. Despite her situation, she seemed willing to help Liu Shaoge gain power. "Why?"

    Yu Chen¡¯s hands clenched into fists as a furious expression appeared on her face. "After that Bai Zen found a Semi-Progenitor to follow, he dared suggest that I be his maid! That bastard! How dare some merecky and traitor try to make me his maid."

    Bai Zen? Lu Yin had no idea who that was. He could not remember anyone with that name from Elder Qing Xing¡¯s memories, nor from the memories he had essed when he had Possessed Yu Chen¡¯s previous bodyguard in the Perennial World.

    "I am the young master''s maid, and I will only serve him for the rest of my life. I refuse to serve anyone else," Yu Chen dered, sounding absolutely determined.

    Lu Yin nced at the woman. "So how do you want me to help you?"

    Yu Chen met ¡°Liu Shaoge¡¯s¡± eyes. She felt something was off in the man¡¯s expression at this moment. "You¡¯re a bit odd today."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. Liu Shaoge had been able to instantly identify Lu Yin through his disguise because of his eyes, and Yu Chen was someone who stood on the same level as Liu Shaoge, at least when it came to intelligence. Both of the two were extraordinarily perceptive, and they were able to easily notice Lu Yin¡¯s attempts at deception. Luckily, Yu Chen had not personally interacted with Lu Yin much in the past. "I''ve figured a few things out. How do you want to deal with Bai Zen?"

    Yu Chen felt puzzled by the change she saw in Liu Shaoge''s eyes, but was distracted from her train of thought at the mention of Bai Zen. "There isn¡¯t any way to deal with him. The man¡¯s be some kind of symbol. Even if the young master were still around, he would need to show him a modicum of respect. All I can do is work with you and help you improve your status. On the surface, I will act as your maid, but our true rtionship will be that of allies."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What do you want with me?"

    Yu Chen let out a helpless sigh. "Who else can I work with within the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    She stared intensely into ¡°Liu Shaoge¡¯s¡± eyes once again. Lu Yin found her stare quite ufortable, but did not avert his gaze. Doing so would make the woman even more suspicious of him.

    "You and I are the same kind of people. Most people in the Perennial World focus solely on cultivation, but you¡¯re different. You make ns, but you also possess the ambition to see them through to the end. I can see that while something¡¯s changed in your eyes today, your ambition to climb higher has only grown.¡± A trace of fierce determination burned in the woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°I need that sort of ambition. I can help you, and I¡¯m the only one who can help you. I know Elder Xi Zi asked you to watch me and also that you have a good rtionship with Elder Qing Xing, but they only regard you as a disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect Sect. They can¡¯t help you. Only I can."

    "In what way?" Lu Yin grew curious.

    Yu Chen answered solemnly, "From disciples to elders, I know all sorts of secrets within this sect. As long as you agree to work with me, I can share those secrets with you to ensure that you will face no obstacles moving forward. I can even find a way for you to learn a secret technique. Aside from the Celestial Frost Sect, I even know secrets regarding the others of the four ruling powers. I secretly control a group of people who do my bidding, and you will also be able to use them in the future."

    Lu Yin was convinced. Yu Chen¡¯s cooperation was invaluable. She had once acted as Bai Shaohong''s maid, and at that time, even Elder Qing Xing had needed to follow the woman¡¯s orders. It was not strange at all for her to be privy to all sorts of secrets concerning the Celestial Frost Sect.

    When Lu Yin had worked with Humility''s Gate in Huaiyuan, he had once intercepted a group of children with innate gifts who had been secretly kidnapped by the Celestial Frost Sect. Those children were being taken to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Jade Valley to be trained into bing Yu Chen¡¯s jade butterflies. Given what Lu Yin had learned at that time, there had to be an unbelievable number of people with innate gifts under Yu Chen¡¯s control. The numbers likely rivaled Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds. Lu Yin fully believed the woman¡¯s ims.

    Liu Shaoge himself would also agree to cooperate with Yu Chen, as such an agreement would do nothing to harm him. Unfortunately for Yu Chen, she was speaking with Lu Yin disguised as Liu Shaoge. Lu Yin hoped to be able to eventually control Yu Chen in order to take advantage of her capabilities for his own benefit, but it was not yet time to try for that.

    ¡°You should go back," Lu Yin said.

    Yu Chen was stunned. She had never imagined that Liu Shaoge might actually refuse her proposal. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin looked at Yu Chen. "I said, you should go back. I''ll think about what you¡¯ve said."

    Yu Chen stared at ¡°Liu Shaoge¡± in disbelief. "You¡¯re refusing me?"

    Lu Yin shrugged, and then turned around without another word and stared up at the stars.

    Yu Chen was unable to process what had just happened. "What the hell did Elder Xi Zi say to you? Apart from spying on me, he must have you doing some other task for him, as there¡¯s no other way you would refuse my help."

    Lu Yin remained silent while facing away from Yu Chen.

    Yu Chen took a deep breath, and then continued in a softer voice. "Alright, it does indeed appear like I¡¯ve indeed betrayed everyone close to me. Even the young master is dead. I can already guess what sort of fate awaits me. Since this is how things are, will you still refuse to work with me if I tell you I have a way to get in touch with Mistress Xian''er?"

    Lu Yin whipped around and stared at Yu Chen. "What?"

    Yu Chen muttered, "Mistress Xian''er. There¡¯s no one in the entire Celestial Frost Sect who can get in touch with her directly, not even the sect master. However, I have a way to reach out to her."

    Lu Yin stared at Yu Chen in a daze. "You can actually contact Bai Xian''er?"

    Yu Chen''s pupils shrank a nearly imperceptible amount, but then quickly returned to normal. She pushed her hair back. "I can only try, and I can¡¯t say it will actually work. Think about it, Liu Shaoge. I truly do want to cooperate with you. I''lle back to speak with you tomorrow."

    She then moved to leave.

    Lu Yin set a hand on Yu Chen''s shoulder. "What¡¯s the rush? I can work with you. Give me some more details on how you¡¯re hoping we can work together and how you can help me."

    Yu Chen went stiff, and then slowly turned back around before answering in a rather monotone voice, "With my help, you¡¯ll be able to learn a secret technique within ten years, and will be able to reach close to Dong Shan''s level of strength. You will rise to be my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s top disciple."

    "Ten years is too long." Lu Yin shook his head.

    Yu Chen replied, "Your cultivation is too low right now, which is the biggest issue. There¡¯s too much of a gap between you and Dong Shan. I can provide you with resources and a few shortcuts as you improve your level of cultivation, but ten years is already as fast as we can hope for.

    "I¡¯ve said too much, and I need to go now. It wouldn¡¯t be good if someone sees me spending so much time with you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s funny, since it''s toote for you to leave now."

    Yu Chen looked confused. "What does that mean, Liu Shaoge?"

    Lu Yin pulled out Zenith Mountain, grabbed Yu Chen, and then tossed her right in. "Liu Shaoge is already over there, so go chat with him."

    On Zenith Mountain, Long Xi opened her eyes and looked up to see that a woman had just been thrown in. Long Xi did not pay much attention to the neer at first, as it was rathermon for people to be sent into Zenith Mountain, or pulled back out. However, Long Xi leaped to her feet once she noticed who had been thrown in this time. "Yu Chen?"

    Long Xi was not the only one to show such a strong reaction, as Yun Tingting, Liu Hao, Wen Diyi, and Crown Prince Gui Qian were all bug-eyed at this moment. Yu Chen was famous in the Perennial World, as everyone knew she acted on behalf of Bai Shaohong.

    She had apletely different status than Liu Shaoge. No one from the Perennial World had expected to see Yu Chen get tossed into Zenith Mountain. Did this mean Lu Yin was back in the Perennial World?

    Boom

    Yu Chen gracelessly crashed into Zenith Mountain rather close to Liu Shaoge. He was leaning against a cliff, but watched Yu Chen¡¯s arrival with open interest.

    Yu Chen rose to her feet. She was in a terrible condition, but her expressionpletely changed as soon as she saw Liu Shaoge. She looked around to see the massive mountain rising up above her, as well as the barrier isting her. "Where are we?"

    Liu Shaoge rolled his eyes. "Lu Yin''s private prison."

    "Lu Yin? You mean Lu Xiaoxuan?" Yu Chen gnashed her teeth and suddenly red at Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge spread his hands in a helpless manner. "Don''t look at me. I¡¯m a prisoner, too."

    Yu Chen looked up and screamed as loud as she could, "Lu Xiaoxuan, you despicable and shameless bastard! Let me out!"

    Liu Shaoge justughed. "Yu Chen, you¡¯re a smart person. Do you really think you¡¯ll be able to leave now that you¡¯re here?"

    Yu Chen¡¯s breathing grew ragged, and her jaw clenched tightly. "That despicable, shameless bastard! He actually disguised himself as you to talk to me!"

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyebrows rose up. "You wanted to talk to me? Let me guess, you figured things out and wanted to cooperate?"

    Yu Chen stared at Liu Shaoge in shock. "How did you know?"

    Liu Shaoge sneered. "That¡¯s your only option."

    Yu Chen''s expression grew dark.

    "Looks like you told Lu Yin your terms to cooperate with me. Must have been pretty valuable, as there¡¯s no other reason for him to risk capturing you at this time. What did you tell him? I¡¯m quite curious," Liu Shaoge asked, his eyes zing with interest.

    Yu Chen said nothing. She was already feeling miserable about her situation, and she was not in the mood to say a thing after getting tricked by her greatest enemy.

    At this moment, Long Xi appeared outside the barrier that isted Yu Chen.

    Yu Chen stared at the young woman in surprise. "Long Xi?"

    Long Xi raised a hand as she stared at Yu Chen. There was a barrier separating the two, and while Long Xi knew she could shatter the barrier, she decided not to. It was clear that Lu Yin did not want them toe into close contact with Yu Chen. ¡°What happened out there? Why did Long Qi capture you?"

    Yu Chen gave Long Xi a very odd look. "Why are you here?"

    Long Xi¡¯s brow furrowed. "I¡¯ve been stuck here ever since we went to the Dominion Realm."

    "That doesn¡¯t seem right," Yu Chen muttered. "Why would Lu Xiaoxuan capture you?"

    Long Xi became confused. "Wait, what are you talking about? Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Yu Chen and Long Xi stared at each other for a long time. Finally, realization swept over Yu Chen, and she doubled overughing. "So you don''t know? Actually, that¡¯s right! He lost his memory and you¡¯ve been imprisoned this whole time, so of course you wouldn¡¯t know! Hahahaha, this is perfect! He¡¯ll live without his memories for the rest of his life! He¡¯ll never remember his past! This is karma, hahaha!¡±

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes shed, and she shot forward, destroying the barrier with a single fist to instantly reach Yu Chen. She grabbed a fistful of Yu Chen¡¯s hair and coldly demanded, "What are you talking about? What about Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Wen Diyi and the others watched from a distance. All of them were confused.

    Yu Chen sneered. "What? Your Long Qi didn¡¯t tell you he¡¯s actually Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Long Xi''s pupils instantly shrank in disbelief.

    Yu Chenughed wildly. "You rejected my young master and gave your entire heart to Lu Xiaoxuan. Did you think the young master wouldn''t know about that? This is perfect! Your beloved Lu Xiaoxuan doesn''t give a shit about you any longer and even locked you up in here for years! How do you like that? Hahahaha, this is perfect! This is karma!"

    Long Xi stumbled backwards, losing herposure. "Long Qi¡­ Lu Xiaoxuan? How? Is it really him?"

    Long Xi reviewed every tiny detail of her time with Lu Yin. It was true that Long Qi looked very simr to Lu Xiaoxuan, but were they actually the same person? How could that be possible?

 Chapter 2002: Another Replacement

    Chapter 2002: Another Recement

    Seeing how badly Long Xi had been shaken by this revtion, Liu Shaoge spoke up in a casual manner, "Long Qi is Lu Yin, and Lu Yin is Liu Xiaoxuan. He lost his memories and all of his cultivation before ending up in the Fifth Maind. Heter returned to the Perennial World and happened to meet you there. Nothing¡¯s impossible, and it all depends on fate. There are certain people who are simply destined to meet each other."

    He nced at Long Xi. "You should be happy. The person you¡¯ve been missing is back."

    Long Xi''s pupils fluctuated as she grew increasingly pale. Long Qi was Lu Xiaoxuan¡­?

    Her head suddenly snapped up and she shouted, "Come out, Long Qi! Long Qi¡­¡±

    Off in the distance, Wen Diyi and the others nced at each other in disbelief. "Long Qi is Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Liu Hao was absolutely shocked. "One of the Seven Heroes is actually still alive? And it¡¯s even Lu Xiaoxuan, of all people? How did he pull that off? On top of that, no one knew about it?"

    Yun Tingting grewpletely terrified. The Lu family was a horrifying monster that had once ruled the entire Perennial World. She had never imagined Long Qi could actually be Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian''s expression grewplicated. This was not good for his Specter Abyss. They could ept an ordinary person bing their lord, but they could not ept anyone from the Lu family¡¯s main line. That was no different from being ruled by the Lu family! If that was what Specter Abyss wanted, they would have fallen under the Lu family long before. Why wait?

    Unexpectedly, after countless years of waiting had passed, the lord that Specter Abyss had been waiting for turned out to still be someone from the Lu family. This seemed to be their inescapable fate.

    "Long Qi,e out!" Long Xi shouted. She had been infatuated with Lu Xiaoxuan from childhood when she had watched the rise of the Seven Heroes. When everything had happened to the Lu family, it had been said that Lu Xiaoxuan had died, and she had spent years mourning his death. Simply because Lu Xiaoxuan had enjoyed herughter, Long Xi hadughed a great deal when she had been younger, but her smile had faded away with Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s disappearance.

    Her smile was only for Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Learning that that bastard Long Qi who had kept her locked up for so long was actually Lu Xiaoxuan had put Long Xi¡¯s mind on the brink of copse. How was she supposed to face him? Was she supposed to be happy? Sad? At this moment, Long Xi feltpletely lost.

    Enjoying the pleasure of revenge, Yu Chen watched Long Xi as though triumphant. Yu Chen felt as though she had finally seeded in getting revenge for Bai Shaohong.

    Liu Shaoge ndly stated, "It¡¯s useless to shout for him. His memories are gone."

    Long Xi''s body trembled, and she dropped her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Yes, he had lost his memory, so could she hold anything against him? He was Lu Xiaoxuan, but he was also Long Qi. No, he was Lu Yin, who lost his memories. His life had beenpletely reset and he had long since lost any connection to his past with Long Xi.

    Yu Chen shot Liu Shaoge a cold re.

    Liu Shaoge just shrugged. He was not helping Lu Yin or Long Xi, but simply reminding the woman of the current situation. While Yu Chen was happy to ignore the consequences of her current actions, Liu Shaoge would rather get on Lu Yin¡¯s good side. At least that way Lu Yin would be less likely to kill him from a whim. Liu Shaoge had no means of protecting himself from Lu Yin at this time.

    Finally, Long Xi walked away in silence.

    "Yu Chen, what¡¯s going on outside? How did you get locked up?" Wen Diyi asked.

    It was only at this moment that Yu Chen noticed Wen Diyi and the other prisoners. "So you¡¯ve all been stuck here? How absurd. Everyone thinks you all died in the Dominion Realm."

    "What happened?" Liu Hao raised his voice.

    Yu Chen answered with a coldugh, "Lu Xiaoxuan is already dead. The Perennial World formed an army led by four Semi-Progenitors, and they¡¯ve all been sent to the Forsaken Land, vowing to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. He has no chance of surviving. Even the White Dragon n¡¯s Grand Elder Ni Huang got sent. There¡¯s no Semi-Progenitors who can stand up to him."

    Long Xi heard the exnation, and her hands balled up into fists so tight that her nails dug into her palms. She had heard many stories about the grand elder¡¯s incredible strength. He was someone who was just a hair¡¯s breadth away from the Progenitor realm. How had Lu Xiaoxuan been forced into such a terrible situation?

    "And what about you? Why were you here?" Wen Diyi continued his questions.

    Yu Chen remained silent.

    Liu Shaoge started to slowly exin some things.

    In the world outside, Lu Yin paid no attention to what was happening in Zenith Mountain. He was worried that the mountain would be noticed if it stayed out of his cosmic ring for very long, and so he had made sure to quickly put it away after tossing Yu Chen in.

    As soon as Lu Yin had sent Yu Chen to Zenith Mountain, he had known that Long Xi and the others would eventually learn the truth. It did not matter, and it was about time for them to know the truth. It was even possible that Lu Yin would be able to learn something about Lu Xiaoxuan from Long Xi.

    ¡­

    In Sky Creation Academy¡¯s territory, just outside the New Corridor, thest Semi-Progenitor finally arrived. The Perennial World¡¯s invasion army was fully ounted for at Sky Creation Academy.

    The army was led by four Semi-Progenitors.

    "What? Even though the two of you moved out, Lu Xiaoxuan still managed to escape?" Thest Semi-Progenitor was Xia De. When he had been younger, he had enjoyed introducing himself by calling himself a hero, and many people had started calling him Hero Xia. The nickname eventually stuck.

    Wang Si answered in a frosty tone, "The Forsaken Land must be hiding him, as there¡¯s non other way that bastard of the Lu family could have escaped from us."

    Ni Huang¡¯s brow furrowed. "But you and I arrived even before the Forsaken Land¡¯s Semi-Progenitor of."

    Bai Laogui grumbled, "It''s still not impossible. You should know how cunning that Lu bastard is. He worked with Kui Luo to wreak havoc throughout the Middle and Higher Realms. Even now, Humility''s Gate isn¡¯t happy with us because of what happened back then. My Perennial World has stood strong and united for years, yet he managed to create a rift all on his own. Even Specter Abyss has started to move. He can¡¯t be allowed to live.¡±

    Ni Huang felt rather puzzled. Could the Forsaken Land really have hidden Lu Xiaoxuan?

    "Regardless of whether or not the Forsaken Land has hidden him, we will make them find him. I don''t believe the Forsaken Land would dare start a war with us over some measly Envoy," Bai Laogui said sternly.

    Xia De frowned. "If at all possible, we should avoid fighting. It¡¯s never good when there¡¯s infighting among humans. Don''t forget, back then, the Fifth Maind was defeated because the Sixth Maind managed to hold us back."

    Wang Si snapped back, "We¡¯re not the ones pushing for a fight right now, but the Forsaken Land! Lu Xiaoxuan must die! That¡¯s our bottom line. Since we¡¯re all here, we¡¯ll just face them with a show of strength."

    She then turned to Xia De. "I almost forgot; there¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor who¡¯s a descendent of the Xia family branch your family left here in the Forsaken Land. He¡¯s also willing to give us Lu Xiaoxuan.¡±

    Xia De showed no surprise. "It''s only expected for my Xia family to produce a Semi-Progenitor. Do you want me to contact him?"

    Ni Huang spoke up, "The Forsaken Land¡¯s Semi-Progenitors can be counted on a single hand. Our chances of winning will increase greatly if we can get one of them to join us."

    "Wait." Bai Laogui arched a brow in a questioning manner as he turned his focus onto Ni Huang. "Are you saying we don¡¯t have any chance of victory without the Xia family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor changing sides? Senior, your strength is second only to the Progenitors. You¡¯re as famous as the All Dao family¡¯s ancestor, Wan Zhiyi, was at his peak. Surely you alone are enough to deal with these people."

    Wang Si''s expression sank.

    Ni Huang let out a sigh. "The Forsaken Land won¡¯t be an easy opponent. They also have someone at the same level as me. At the very least, it will be impossible for me to quickly defeat him."

    The two Semi-Progenitors who were learning of the strength of their opponents were rmed by these words.

    "By the way, what about that Burial Garden? Didn''t you say you wanted to take the ancient inheritances from that ce?" Xia De suddenly asked.

    Wang Si answered grumpily, "Burial Garden¡¯s gone. It closed up during a fight with Aeternus and can¡¯t be reopened."

    Xia De was frustrated. "Aeternus again? How are they everywhere?"

    Bai Laogui gave a crooked smile and pointed towards the Starfall Sea. "Aeternus is here as well, and the Seven Skygods even personally took action. One of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor even defected to them. The situation here¡¯s only getting worse and worse.¡±

    Xia De''s face twitched. "Even a Progenitor turned traitor?"

    Ni Huang spoke up, "There¡¯s no need to worry about Aeternus. Their strength has almostpletely been wiped out in the Forsaken Land."

    Wang Si interjected, "Let''s deal with that Lu bastard first, then we can talk about other matters. Let¡¯s send some people into the Forsaken Land right away to look for Lu Xiaoxuan, focusing on the Innerverse. I heard Lu Xiaoxuan was the one to start the Great Eastern Alliance, so I''ll capture the people close to him from there one by one. Let¡¯s see how long he can stay hidden."

    The Semi-Progenitors¡¯ orders were quickly disseminated, and the Perennial World¡¯s invasion army prepared to leave the Technocracy and push into the Forsaken Land to capture their target.

    Lu Yin also received orders, and he grimaced when he saw them. However, he quickly changed his expression and turned to face Elder Qing Xing who was in front of him.

    "Let''s go. The Semi-Progenitor wants to personally meet with you. I presume he has certain expectations of you and Yu Chen. Right, where is Yu Chen?" Elder Qing Xing asked.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor, Bai Laogui, to call for a meeting with him and Yu Chen. Well, the man wanted to meet with Liu Shaoge, rather than the current imposter.

    "Elder, what happened?" Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Qing Xing replied, "The Semi-Progenitors have ordered us to capture several of the leaders of the Great Eastern Alliance that Lu Xiaoxuan created. Both you and Yu Chen have skills that are needed for this. We aren¡¯t going to war, so we need to carefully consider the methods we are going to use. This is something that Yu Chen and you have both shown yourselves to be quite skilled at."

    A cold light flickered through Lu Yin''s eyes. The Perennial World was finally starting to move against the Great Eastern Alliance. Fortunately, he had already made preparations well in advance.

    "Hurry up and go see the Semi-Progenitor. I''ll find Yu Chen," Elder Qing Xing urged before leaving.

    There was no way in hell Lu Yin would meet with Bai Laogui or get close to any Semi-Progenitor at this time. He had no confidence his disguise would stand up to such scrutiny. Regardless of how mysterious the Mask of Death was, it could not be overpowered enough to trick a Semi-Progenitor.

    He needed to find someone else to rece, and quickly.

    Whoever Lu Yin reced could not have too high or too low of a status. They needed to be someone who drew almost no attention, but who was also able to leave the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin soon found his target: Wang Yi.

    Wang Yi had not been seen since ZENITH, and rumors imed that he had been seriously injured the Seven Skygods¡¯ attacks on the finalists. After that, Wang Yi had returned to the Wang family in the Perennial World and spent all of his time in istion to train. If Wang Yi had not gone into seclusion, the Fifth Maind¡¯s trespassers in the Perennial World would have been discovered long before they actually were.

    "Brother Wang!" Lu Yin called out.

    Wang Yi was moving through space, and he turned to see who had called out to him, only to see ¡°Liu Shaoge.¡± "Who are you?"

    Although Liu Shaoge had done quite well for himself in the Celestial Frost Sect, he had only started to be well known within the sect itself. Wang Yi was part of the Wang family, and was second only to Wang Su, their Junior Progenitor.

    ¡°This little brother is Liu Shaoge. I would like to ask for Brother Wang¡¯s advise on a certain matter," Lu Yin courteously requested.

    Wang Yi waspletely uninterested. "I don¡¯t have time."

    He immediately turned to leave after giving a curt response.

    Lu Yin quickly added, "It¡¯s about Lu Yin."

    Wang Yi froze and turned back to look at ¡°Liu Shaoge,¡± curious. "Go ahead.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for Wang Yi to follow him.

    Wang Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed and he gave ¡°Liu Shaoge¡± a contemptuous look. Still, Wang Yi eventually approached and entered the small private area that Lu Yin had created with a bit of the white paper that allowed people to travel through space.

    "Just say whatever it is you want to say," Wang Yi ordered. He had no interest in someone like Liu Shaoge, who was only a hunter.

    Liu Shaoge was both brilliant and cunning, but he had not yet managed to be an Enlighter. After all, he was a rather typical cultivator, and could notpare to Lu Yin, who had essentially used cheats to speed up his cultivation.

    The truth was that someone like Liu Shaoge would typically be considered incredibly talented. He was a single generation behind the Ten Arbiters, and he was more than qualified to join the Universe Youth Council in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain.

    Unfortunately, Liu Shaoge¡¯s progress was far from outstanding in the Perennial World, as even the Ten Arbiters would all struggle in a fight with Wang Yi.

    Lu Yin gave Wang Yi a big smile.

    Wang Yi frowned, and then just felt a sharp pain from behind before he lost consciousness.

 Chapter 2003

    <h4>Chapter 2003</h4>

    Lu Yin''s body started to twist as the Mask of Death was used to cause him to take on Wang Yi¡¯s appearance. Zenith Mountain made a quick appearance as Wang was also tossed in before Lu Yin stepped back out from the small shelter made from the white paper.

    While Wang Yi was a direct descendant of the Wang family¡¯s main line, and thus held a high status, his strength and the fact that he was a youth made it very unlikely that any Semi-Progenitor would summon him. However, his status also meant that he was easily able to travel to the Fifth Maind, especially since he had already been there once before, which made him an ideal candidate.

    On Zenith Mountain, Wang Yi crashed to the ground close to Yu Chen.

    Wen Diyi and the others gawked when they saw that Wang Yi had also been thrown in.

    Lu Yin had not tried to cause any harm to Wang Yi, merely to leave him unable to fight back. Thus, Wang Yi was able to react almost as soon as he struck the ground, and he quickly jumped back to his feet, though he still had a sharp pain in his back.

    When he looked around, the first thing he saw was Yu Chen, but before he could even feel any surprise, he also saw Liu Shaoge. Wang Yi instantly grew wary and quickly prepared himself for a fight.

    Liu Shaoge was terrified Wang Yi would immediately attack, so he quickly asked, "Did you just get attacked by me?"

    Wang Yi frowned. "I never thought the Celestial Frost Sect would keep secrets so well hidden for them to even have someone like you."

    Liu Shaoge raised his hands up in surrender. "That wasn¡¯t me! It was Lu Yin."

    Wang Yi was confused. "What¡¯s that?"

    Liu Shaoge sighed. "I have no idea why Lu Yin came to the Technocracy, but he used some sort of disguise that even a Semi-Progenitor would have trouble seeing through to rece me. He then captured Yu Chen the same way he did you.¡±

    Wang Yi nced over at Yu Chen, who nodded. The atmosphere was calming by the moment.

    Wang Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed. It was very unexpected that he had actually been attacked by Lu Yin. Wang Yi¡¯s initial impression of the man was from ZENITH, and seeing Lu Yin prove himself to be invincible within the same realm had badly shaken Wang Yi. He had seen that Lu Yin had beenparable to the four peerless Junior Progenitors at that time, and it had hadpletely overturned his view of the Forsaken Land. After he had left seclusion, Wang Yi¡¯s impression of Lu Yin had been upended yet again.

    Wang Yi had only then learned that Lu Yin was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, and yet with just the strength of an Enlighter, Lu Yin had stirred up an incredible amount of chaos within the Perennial World. Later, he had caused a resonance with the Perennial World during his breakthrough to be an Envoy, and his mere existence had prompted the four ruling powers into building an army to send from the Fifth Maind just to deal with him. Lu Yin had proven himself to be a peerless talent, and his talent as a troublemaker was also unmatched.

    Wang Yi had expected it would be difficult for him to meet with Lu Yin once again and have a match. After all, Lu Yin had already be an Envoy, which meant that his strength was no longer just a single level above Wang Yi. Still, he had not expected that he would be instantly defeated as soon as he met Lu Yin without even being able to make a sound. Realizing hisparative weakness was utterly frustrating to Wang Yi.

    Liu Shaoge looked up at the sky, wondering how many more people would end up being captured. He was about to be famous.

    Hang on. A thought struck him, and Liu Shaoge turned back to Wang Yi. "Why did Lu Yin attack you?"

    Wang Yi answered indifferently, "I have no idea."

    "He didn''t say anything?" Liu Shaoge was surprised.

    Wang Yi shook his head, and a knowing smile spread across Liu Shaoge¡¯s face. "That''s good."

    Wang Yi had no clue what Liu Shaoge was talking about.

    Liu Shaoge proceeded to exin, "If you had seen him and noticed some w in his disguise, it would make sense for him to attack you. Instead, he attacked you without any warning, which leaves only one exnation."

    Liu Shaoge started gloating. "He¡¯s going to rece you."

    Wang Yi''s face twitched. "He¡¯s going to pretend to be me?"

    Liu Shaoge nodded. "Congrattions! You¡¯re about to be famous."

    A truly hideous expression appeared on Wang Yi¡¯s face. He was generally a rather stoic person who was not very good with words. Despite that, he was fighting a nearly irresistible urge to start swearing. It was at this moment that he finally understood why so many people hated Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as his identity as Lu Yin. Not even Wang Dashuai could tolerate the man. The bastard was beyond infuriating.

    In the outside world, Lu Yin pretended to be Wang Yi and swaggered around the region. He felt it would only be a short bit of time before he was sent out of the Technocracy.

    However, Wang Su suddenly showed up.

    The Perennial World¡¯s army had remained confined within a certain area, and aside from Semi-Progenitors and those with power levels of over a million, everyone else was restricted to the area. This made it unsurprising when Lu Yin ran into someone else.

    ¡°Wang Yi,e with me. The elder wants to see us," Wang Su ordered as soon as she saw Wang Yi.

    Lu Yin blinked. "The elder? Which elder?"

    Wang Su gave Wang Yi an odd look. "Elder Wang Si, of course."

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. Another Semi-Progenitor was asking to see him? Damn, how was it that everyone was being told to meet with Semi-Progenitors? Since when were Semi-Progenitors so easy to speak with?

    "Why is the elder looking for me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Su became increasingly suspicious, as this was very abnormal behavior for Wang Yi. She kept a wary eye on him. "You wouldn¡¯t normally ask about something like that. What''s going on?"

    Lu Yin reacted with an expression of pain. "I need to go into seclusion for a few days. My old injury¡¯s ring up."

    Wang Su knitted her brow tightly. "Come with me.¡±

    She then grabbed hold of Lu Yin''s shoulder and led him towards a distant where the Wang family''s cultivators had settled.

    There were people from many different organizations in the Perennial World, but the four ruling powers were each given their own territory.

    Wang Su kept a tight grip on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder as she led him to a deep canyon on the. They eventually reached a ce that was pitch ck and devoid of all light.

    There was a cold expression on Wang Su¡¯s face as she turned back to Lu Yin, and then attacked him without any warning. ck ropes shot out from the void to bind Lu Yin''s limbs. Wang Su had realized that there was something wrong with Wang Yi, but regardless of what was going on, she needed to capture him before figuring anything more out.

    Lu Yin was left with no choice but to respond with violence. He took a step forward to move Wang Su. There was a single palm strike, and Wang Su''s became frozen in horror as she crumpled to the ground.

    "Why did you have to be so smart? You made me move against you. The more people I capture, the more likely I¡¯ll get caught. This is really a pain, especially since I can¡¯t rece you," Lu Yin muttered incoherently to himself. He then took Zenith Mountain back out and tossed Wang Su in.

    Wang Su was incredibly powerful, as she was qualified to be one of the four Junior Progenitors, but there was still a massive gap between her and Lu Yin¡¯s new strength that was impossible for Wang Su to surpass.

    He had already caught quite a few people, and Wang Si had even asked for Wang Yi by name. Wang Yi was no longer a suitable identity for Lu Yin to use, and he needed to hurry up to find another.

    The next person he would pose as needed to be someone with a low enough of a position that there would be absolutely no chance of them meeting a Semi-Progenitor. Musing to himself, Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain away and left the canyon.

    In Zenith Mountain, Wen Diyi and the others watched as Wang Su fell towards them. They had already grown numb to the shock of who was being sent in to apany them in their prison. While they were still a bit surprised to see Wang Su, who was a Junior Progenitor, Lu Yin¡¯s strength meant that it was a pretty mild surprise.

    Wang Su quickly recovered, and the first person she saw was Wang Yi, which made her reflexively get ready to fight, only to have Wang Yi quickly speak up to stop her, "You were attacked by Lu Yin!"

    After a moment, a cloud of confusion fogging Wang Su¡¯s head cleared away. "So it was him."

    Wang Yi looked rather indifferent to the development, and he clearly did not want to say anything more. Wang Su looked past him toward Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge. "What''s going on?"

    Liu Shaoge repeated his previous exnation.

    Wang Su''s face contorted in an unsightly fashion. She could note up with any reason why Lu Yin had appeared in the Technocracy, so she instead started reying the earlier events in her head. How could such a wide gap have opened up between them? When they had fought in the Dominion Realm, they had possessed almostparable power.

    In the outside world, Lu Yin traversed the entire with an impressive speed.

    The was notpletely barren, and there were even a few factories operating.

    Lu Yin soon met some people from the Wang family, and he even saw someone quite familiar: Wang Dashuai.

    Wang Dashuai was by himself, leaning against a mountain cliff and muttering incoherently to himself. He looked miserable, as there were clear bruises marring his face. For some reason, he had not gotten himself healed or even cleaned up, which gave him a pathetic appearance.

    "Even though I got sent to the Yinshan District¡¯s Humility''s Gate for causing trouble, I was still quite respected within the family. How dare those bastards attack me! Back then, even Envoy realm Elders had to be polite when they met me! I¡¯m in the top ten of the entire Wang family¡¯s younger generation, but just because of that Long Qi¡ªbah! He¡¯s actually Lu Xiaoxuan! That bastard tricked me again and again!

    "I just kept blindly trusting him, and even started treating him as my boss! How pathetic is that..."

    As Lu Yin approached, he started being able to make out what Wang Dashuai was muttering to himself. Lu Yin actually felt quite apologetic towards Wang Dashuai after hearing him gripe about what he had gone through. It was true that Lu Yin had dragged Wang Dashuai into multiple problems. Truthfully, the fatty was pretty resilient, as most people would have ended up in a much worse mental state after suffering as Wang Dashuai had.

    After hearing a bit of Wang Dashuai''s suffering, Lu Yin offered a silent apology, as he intended to adopt the fatty¡¯s identity next.

    Wang Dashuai was the best candidate for Lu Yin¡¯s purposes. The entire Wang family despised Wang Dashuai, and no Semi-Progenitor would ever even nce at him. As long as Lu Yin acted miserable, no one would suspect a thing. Lu Yin even strongly suspected that the fatty had been dragged along with the army because of his connection to Lu Yin, so it was absolutely certain that he would be sent into the Human Domain.

    This would also give Lu Yin the chance to take Wang Dashuai away and save him from his miserable fate.

    That was it; Lu Yin was acting on behalf of Wang Dashuai in order to save him from his terrible situation. This was a good deed. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he walked forward.

    Wang Dashuai noticed Wang Yi looking at him with a condescending expression, and the fatty hurried to his feet and offered a tight smile. "Young Master Yi, I didn''t see you there. I¡¯m so sorry if I disturbed you. I will take my leave now."

    Lu Yin sighed. "I''ll try to be nicer to you."

    Those were thest words Wang Dashuai heard before falling unconscious. When he next opened his eyes, he was again looking at Wang Yi.

    Wang Dashuai blinked twice before sitting up. His back was hurting badly, and he looked at Wang Yi in a pitiful manner. "Young Master Yi, why did you hit me?"

    The fatty was used to being bullied by many members of the Wang family, but Wang Yi had never been one of them. Rather, Wang Yipletely ignored both the fatty and all of the Wang family¡¯s other disciples in the exact same manner.

    Wang Yi answered indifferently, "It wasn¡¯t me."

    Wang Dashuai was left confused, and it was only after Wang Yi spoke that the fatty started to observe his surroundings. "Hey, where are we?"

    He then noticed Wang Su, Yu Chen, and Liu Shaoge, whose presence left Wang Dashuai stunned. "Why are all of you here?"

    No one even answered the fatty, not even Liu Shaoge. No one could be bothered to speak to him.

    Wang Dashuai hid in a corner and resumed pouting. He continued to me his fate on Lu Yin while cursing him.

    Just like that, Lu Yin took on Wang Dashuai¡¯s appearance and resumed wandering about the. Just a single dayter, he returned to where he had first seen the fatty muttering to himself, and Lu Yin did not move from that ce again.

    Unfortunately, the fatty was just too hated by everyone. Just taking a casual stroll saw him attacked by multiple people who each insulted him and beat him. Lu Yin had finally understood Wang Dashuai¡¯s resentment, and Lu Yin felt more apologetic than ever towards the man. Still, things were not really Lu Yin¡¯s fault, but rather a matter of fate.

    At this time, Bai Laogui was quite upset. He had very clearly told Elder Qing Xing to send Liu Shaoge to see him, yet Liu Shaoge had never shown up.

    Wang Si had simrly summoned both Wang Su and Wang Yi, yet those two had also failed to appear.

    Right when Wang Si was about to go search for the two youths herself, Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, and Jiu Chi arrived at the border of the Technocracy, asking to meet with the Perennial World¡¯s representatives.

    Ni Huang immediately led the other Semi-Progenitors to the border to meet with their counterparts from the Fifth Maind.

    "What? Are you finally willing to give us Lu Xiaoxuan?" Wang Si started making demands as soon as the meeting with Arch-Elder Zen and the others began.

    Jiu Chi leveled his gaze onto Wang Si. "My Fifth Maind is ve to no one."

    Wang Si¡¯s brow furrowed. She still remembered what Jiu Chi had said to her thest time they had met, and her temper red. Fortunately, Ni Huang quickly stepped forward to face Arch-Elder Zen. "If we wanted to enve you, we wouldn¡¯t have waited this long, and we wouldn¡¯t be the only ones sent here. Let''s make this clear: are you delivering Lu Xiaoxuan to us or not?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "We really don''t know where Lu Yin is right now, so we have no way to give him to you."

    "Then you can just sit back and wait for the war. We¡¯ll see just how much your Forsaken Land can handle," Wang Si sneered.

    Arch-Elder Zen shot a re towards Wang Si. "Do the four ruling powers only know how to fight other humans? First, you eliminated the Lu family, and now you want to destroy us. Every time you open your mouth, you try to push for a war. All I can see is that it looks like you¡¯re a spy sent by Aeternus."

    Wang Si was furious at such an usation. "You!"

 Chapter 2004

    <h4>Chapter 2004</h4>

    Bai Laogui¡¯s voice grew cold. "War? This is the Forsaken Land, so it won¡¯t even be a war. You people aren¡¯t qualified to fight a war against us. Even if you do have five Semi-Progenitors, our four ruling powers alone can easily dispatch ten Semi-Progenitors, or even Progenitors, at any time."

    ¡°Try it. When the Sixth Maind invaded my Fifth Maind, the Progenitor of Combat took action, only to suffer a disastrous defeat," Highsage Grandmaster retorted.

    Elder Gong¡¯s gaze swept over Ni Huang and the other three. "This is the Fifth Maind, your ancestralnd. Humans have Progenitors, and ces have their ancestors. Don''t underestimate your ancestralnd."

    Xia De asked, "Where is my Xia family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor? Why did he note?"

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Xia De. "There was no need for him toe. There are four of you and four of us. This is just right."

    "Do you really want to start a war?" Ni Huang asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Ni Huang stared at each other. "Obviously not. We came here because we needed to check something. Did you notice anything strange when dealing with Sky Creation Academy?"

    Ni Huang and the others grew puzzled. "What sort of strangeness?"

    Arch-Elder Zen grew solemn. "It¡¯s very likely that Sky Creation Academy is a nest for Aeternus."

    Ni Huang and the others were all startled, but Wang Si quickly grew derisive. "What a joke! If you think that you can save Lu Xiaoxuan by relying on such nder, you¡¯re too na?ve. We are Semi-Progenitor, not ants! If Sky Creation Academy had a connection to Aeternus, then how could we have not noticed?¡±

    Ni Huang shook his head. "Don''t bother trying to divide us. Such things are unnecessary. You''re being too na?ve."

    Arch-Elder Zen tapped his gadget and brought up a video. It was the exact same one that Lu Yin had shown to Arch-Elder Zen before.

    This was the video that recorded a certain corpse king¡¯s final words: ¡°Return to Sky Creation Academy.¡±

    "This video led my Hall of Honor to send people deep into the Technocracy to investigate. I even happened to visit First Edition City, but the investigation proved fruitless. However, this video is unaltered. If you don¡¯t believe me, check it yourselves. Your families rule over various civilizations, and there should be some technologically advanced ones among them,¡± said Arch-Elder Zen.

    The atmosphere surrounding Ni Huang and the others grew somber. Arch-Elder Zen would not stoop to trying to deceive them with a fake video.

    Wang Si also had no way to retort. If the video was real, then did Sky Creation Academy really have some sort of connection to Aeternus? Why else would a corpse king say, ¡°Return to Sky Creation Academy?¡±

    "The video is real, but the corpse king might not be," Bai Laogui stated coldly.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at the man. "This video has been around for quite some time already. Actually, it was taken before you even met Lu Xiaoxuan on the Sophic Rift battlefield. The reason why they were even there was because of this video. It was only after you met him that we learned that Lu Yin is Lu Xiaoxuan.¡±

    "Before that time?" Wang Si was surprised.

    Ni Huang looked at her. "Is that when you two came here before?"

    Wang Si''s expression grew dark. "That''s right. Bai Laogui and I met Lu Xiaoxuan on the Sophic Rift battlefield. Thinking back, the people here had no idea that he was Lu Xiaoxuan when we arrived.¡±

    Xia De grew solemn. "Then it seems that the timings align, which indicates that this video is real. Since Aeternus would never suffer from any sort of infighting, then if the corpse king really said it, Sky Creation Academy most likely really is rted to Aeternus.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen said, "We wouldn¡¯t risk sending our people into the Technocracy to investigate if not for that. Lu Yin already represented the peak of our Fifth Maind¡¯s youth at that time, and we also did not know of his identity as Lu Xiaoxuan. Would you let your direct descendants risk investigating such a dangerous ce? There is nowhere to hide in the entire Technocracy, and only one out of ten people who enter are able to escape alive. Even your Semi-Progenitors were trapped here.¡±

    For a while, everyone remained silent as various thoughts ran through their minds.

    "A single video is not conclusive proof that Sky Creation Academy is rted to Aeternus." Wang Si finally broke the silence.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Of course, which is why I am hoping that you can investigate Sky Creation Academy. You were able to travel to the Fifth Maind because you received their help, but it¡¯s very possible that Sky Creation Academy had already hid all traces of their coboration with Aeternus before reaching an agreement with you.¡±

    "Lu Xiaoxuan is very important, and I can understand your determination to capture him. However, Aeternus is far more important, and I¡¯m certain that you don¡¯t want to risk a future where Aeternus works against you through Sky Creation Academy.¡±

    Ni Huang exchanged looks with the other Semi-Progenitors. They all remembered the strange events that they had run into during their negotiations with Sky Creation Academy after passing through the New Corridor. For example, first, White Sage had attacked Wang Yun and some others, andter, Sky Creation Academy had hesitated to grant passage through the New Corridor. Could these events have anything to do with Aeternus? Could Sky Creation Academy¡¯s dys have actually been to cover up them erasing evidence of Aeternus¡¯s presence?

    That did not seem impossible.

    At this moment, the same possibility urred to Ni Huang, Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Xia De. There was no other exnation for White Sage''s sudden attack, and how else could they exin Headmaster Senn''s hesitation to work with the Perennial World?

    The puzzle pieces fit together perfectly.

    At that moment, they all turned to face Sky Creation Academy, and they felt as though the temperature had suddenly dropped rather drastically.

    ***

    Far away, in the Neoverse, at the top of Mt. Microcosms, Mu Tianlun returned to the Arbitration World and continued into the depths of the hidden world.

    ¡°Judicial Commissioner Mu Tianlun requests a meeting.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Mu Tianlun spoke in a respectful tone, "Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s Leaf King is dead. I''m here to make a report."

    ¡°Who caused his death?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin,¡± replied Mu Tianlun in a deep voice.

    ¡°Reason?¡±

    Mu Tianlun answered, "I don''t know yet, but Leaf King died half a year ago. The news has been suppressed until just now. Lord Chief Justice, Leaf King was given more than thirty Honor Points. Since he was killed by Lu Yin, should Lu Yin be arrested and judged?"

    "Yes," Chief Justice¡¯s voice resounded.

    Mu Tianlun respectfully replied, "Your subordinate will go now."

    He then turned and left the Arbitration World. After leaving, he looked up at Mt. Microcosms¡¯ peak.

    At this moment, Da Qiu also emerged from the Arbitration World, and he gave Mu Tianlun a slow bow. "I have met with the Chief Justice.¡±

    Mu Tianlun looked at Da Qiu, "Are you heading out?"

    Da Qiu replied, "Yes. It appears that another stronghold of the Neohuman Alliance has appeared."

    Mu Tianlun nodded. "Then go.¡±

    Da Qiu quickly left Mt. Microcosms.

    A cold glint flickered across Mu Tianlun''s eyes as he stared at Da Qiu¡¯s back. "Consider yourself lucky."

    He then took out several sourceboxes from his cosmic ring. They arranged themselves automatically, which attracted a fair bit of attention.

    One person after another opened their eyes on Mt. Microcosms and turned to look towards the entrance to the Arbitration World. "What''s going on? Is someone attacking Mt. Microcosms? Is it Highsage Wudi again?"

    Li also turned to look at the entrance to the Arbitration World. When he saw Mu Tianlun, he shot through the air. "Lord Judicial Commissioner, what are you do-?"

    Before Li could even finish speaking, he heard an eerie peal ofughter. "Sure enough, he¡¯s not here! I didn¡¯t stay hidden in the Perennial World for nothing! The Hall of Honor can finally meet its end today, hahahaha!"

    Li¡¯s expression changed drastically. "Who¡¯s there?".

    Several people stepped out from the sourcebox array in front of Mu Tianlun. They were led by one of the Seven Skygods: Ancient God. Following behind him was Shaman God, Forgotten Ruins God, and Undying God. Four of the Seven Skygods descended onto Mt. Microcosms. Instantly, space started shattering around the mountain.

    The Hall of Honor had endured many massive changes throughout time, but from the moment it had first been established, no one had ever sessfully invaded it. Even if Ancient God destroyed other key locations in the Human Domain, Arch-Elder Zen had already been prepared for such attacks. At this moment, the Seven Skygods had descended upon Mt. Microcosms, which shocked the entire Honor Zone.

    Li felt his scalp tingle when he saw the four Skygods.

    Undying God nced at the protector, and Li¡¯s body disintegrated into ashes.

    "Attack quickly. Mt Microcosms is not a simple ce. I even feel a familiar power here," Ancient God growled. He then took a step forward and shot into the Arbitration World.

    Shaman God, Undying God, and Forgotten Ruins God followed right behind him.

    Mu Tianlun looked up as one Envoy after another appeared. These people were the elite protectors of Mt. Microcosms, and six of them were even androids. This was the strength of Mt. Microcosms. The Hall of Honor had not managed to keep control of the Fifth Maind because of Arch-Elder Zen alone, but also because of the number of Envoys who belonged to the Hall of Honor.

    Mu Tianlun just sneered before shooting into the Arbitration World.

    ***

    Back at the border of the Technocracy, shock appeared on Arch-Elder Zen''s face the moment the Seven Skygods showed themselves. "Not good! Mt. Microcosms is being attacked!¡±

    He turned to Highsage Grandmaster. "Quick! Send me back to Mt. Microcosms!¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster raced to arrange a sourcebox array, as that was the only way to instantly teleport a person to Mt. Microcosms. "I need a bit of time. At least half an incense¡¯s stick¡¯s worth. A teleportation sourcebox array isn¡¯t easy to set up."

    There was nothing that Arch-Elder Zen could do but wait impatiently. He regretted leaving. The deaths of the Seven Skygods in the Fifth Maind had made the old man careless, and he had forgotten that the Perennial World also had Seven Skygods with the strength of Semi-Progenitors.

    The Perennial World had already sent their army to the Fifth Maind, which meant that Aeternus¡¯s experts, as well as the Seven Skygods who were hiding within the Perennial World, had an opportunity to make the trip as well.

    Arch-Elder Zen was growing increasingly nervous. Mt. Microcosms could not defend against any one of the Seven Skygods on their own, let alone several of them all at once.

    Why had the Seven Skygods suddenly attacked Mt. Microcosms? The Seven Skygods had never openly revealed themselves for so many years. Even if they did fight against the Human Domain¡¯s experts, the Skygods would always finish the battles quickly. They had only attacked Mt. Microcosms once, and that was when they had targeted the Human Domain¡¯s various nodes. However, their attempt had been foiled by Progenitor Hui¡¯s n, so why had they returned at this time?

    At this moment, Mt. Microcosms was the weakest it had ever been throughout all of history. Arch-Elder Zen was absent, as was Xiu Ming, and even the First Protector was missing. Qing Ping had gone to look into that matter. Could it be? Arch-Elder Zen suddenly thought of something, and his eyes grew bloodshot. He had underestimated the Seven Skygods'' desire for that thing.

    "What''s going on?" Ni Huang suddenly asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at the other man and softly replied, "The Seven Skygods have appeared on Mt. Microcosms."

    Ni Huang''s expression changed. "The Seven Skygods? Are they in this ce too?"

    Arch-Elder Zen answered, "The Seven Skygods in the Human Domain were almost all killed when Burial Garden was sealed. The Skygods attacking Mt. Microcosms should be from your ce."

    Xia De found the matter rather odd. "Why would they attack your Mt. Microcosms?"

    Arch-Elder Zen remained silent as his mind raced. He was guessing that this attack was rted to the ck crystal that Qing Ping had taken back. Aeternus seemed to be more concerned with that item than they could have imagined. Just what the hell was it?

    In the Arbitration World, Ancient God had already arrived in the depths of the hidden world, and he reached out with a grasping hand. "Qing Ping, get out here!"

    As the voice rang out, a pair of scales emerged from the darkness and moved so that one side was under Ancient God¡¯s feet.

    "Judgment: Rule¡ªForce. Let¡¯s see if you have the strength to suppress me." Qing Ping''s voice echoed.

    Ancient God held his head high as his right foot touched the scales. The moment he made contact, his eyes changed from gray to green, and then to red. The aura he gave off soared higher and higher, and he even used the Assimtion secret technique. He roared as hepleted the fourth level of the Corpse King Transformation: Specter Eye Transformation.

    "Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper relied on the power of Yellow Springs to match up to one of my Semi-Progenitor incarnations, yet you dare try to cross realms to challenge someone like me? Since you want to be crushed, I will crush you!"

    As Ancient God spoke, the scales beneath his feet cracked. The cracks spread into the darkness to reveal a young and heroic face.

    The face belonged to none other than the Chief Justice, Qing Ping.

 Chapter 2005: Launching the Plan In Advance

    Chapter 2005: Launching the n In Advance

    Who would have thought that the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court would look so young and noble? He had a face that looked like it had been chiseled for a statue! Forgotten Ruins God could not resistmenting, "You are the most talented person of this era. There have been very few throughout all of history who have ever dared to challenge a Semi-Progenitor as an Envoy. You¡¯re qualified to be one of the Heavens Sect''s gate masters, but unfortunately, you will die here."

    As she spoke, a mountain shot out from her forehead to pin Qing Ping down.

    Shaman God let out its disturbingugh, but instead of attacking Qing Ping, it was arranging something.

    Undying God shook his head and sighed. "The universe is going to lose another peerless talent. How tragic. This is a matter that deserves to be mourned."

    Ring ring ring!

    A blood-red bell rang out. Qing Ping¡¯s expression remained steely as he spoke to Ancient God. "You cannot defeat me. So what if your cultivation is a realm above my own? As long as your true body doesn¡¯t appear, you can forget about defeating me. No one can do it.¡±

    The crack in the scales grew wider, but the scales did not break.

    Ancient God turned back to look at Qing Ping, his eyes dancing with specters. "I must admit, your innate gift is truly one-of-a-kind, and your talent is evenparable to Xia Shang and Ku Jie¡¯s when they were alive. Unfortunately, it all ends now.¡±

    He then raised his right arm and pointed forward with an incredible amount of force. A beam shot through the void and stabbed into Qing Ping''s body, causing blood to spill into space.

    Blood leaked from the side of Qing Ping''s mouth. The coldness in his eyes changed as his pupils shrank. The piercing cry of an eagle rang out, and an illusory eagle appeared behind the man.

    The Seven Skygods were shocked by the sight. "The Mother Tree¡¯s eagle?¡±

    As the eagle cried out, Qing Ping''s eyes transformed into yellow rings that surrounded ck pupils, looking just like the eyes of an eagle. A terrifying aura erupted, and the cracks on the scales mended at a visible speed. At the same time, cracks started to appear on Ancient God''s body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been Judged.

    Forgotten Ruins God was astonished. It was already an extraordinary aplishment for an Envoy to cross realms and challenge a Semi-Progenitor, but for an Envoy to go toe-to-toe with Ancient God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor incarnation was simply inconceivable.

    Ancient God was the chief of the Seven Skygods, and his strength was limitless. From ancient times to now, the only ones who could call themselves Ancient God¡¯s opponents were Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and a few other famous individuals. In ancient times, those few had included the Progenitors from both the Y¨­u n and the Ce family. At this moment, Qing Ping had added his name to that list as well.

    However, there was one important detail: Ancient God had not yet revealed his inner world. Thus far, he had only used the Corpse King Transformation battle technique, which meant that he had only revealed a tenth of his full strength.

    While Qing Ping confronted Ancient God, the Arbitration World was facing a massacre.

    Undying God wept as he went about ughtering indiscriminately, leaving the Arbitration World in a bloodbath.

    "Lord Chief Justice-" A desperate howl broke through the noisy melee. Qing Ping looked towards the voice, only to witness Judicial Commissioner Shadow of Death be shredded to pieces.

    Qing Ping''s expression did not change at all, but his eyes grew much colder.

    "Hehe, your Chief Justice can¡¯t even protect himself!" Forgotten Ruins God struck Qing Ping with a palm strike, and her towering mountain put even more pressure on him.

    The eagle behind Qing Ping¡¯s back spread its wings. "I know what you want, so let it be destroyed."

    As the Chief Justice spoke in a calm tone, he stopped his attack and turned around.

    Ancient God¡¯s eyes widened as his pupils transformed yet again, and his body suddenly vanished as he instantly disappeared from the scales and reappeared behind Qing Ping. Spots of some sort of purple-ck substance had materialized over Ancient God¡¯s hands. "A mere child dares to act so arrogantly in front of me?"

    Qing Pingpletely ignored Ancient God''s attack and instead lifted a hand. "Skyless."

    As the Chief Justice¡¯s voice faded, the darkness surrounding him instantly vanished, and space shattered. The entire Arbitration World started to disintegrate.

    Somewhere within the depths of the hidden world, the-sized ck crystal shattered.

    Ancient God struck Qing Ping¡¯s forehead, but his attention was no longer on the Chief Justice. Instead, Ancient God waspletely focused on the shattered crystal. There was a bubble with a drop of some sort of strange liquid that appeared within the shards of the shattered crystal.

    Undying God, Forgotten Ruins God, and Shaman God all turned to stare into the depths of the Arbitration World. The bubble popped, and the drop of reddish liquid was exposed. Instantaneously, all of the Skygods present lookedpletely horrified. ¡°Not good!¡±

    Everything had happened so quickly that they had been unable to stop this events from unfolding, not even mentioning how Qing Ping had been determined to shatter the ck crystal regardless of the cost.

    People would normally avoid Ancient God''s attack, but Qing Ping had not.

    ¡°It¡¯s out!" Forgotten Ruins God muttered under her breath.

    Ancient God clenched his fists. The scales beneath his feet vanished. He watched as Qing Ping''s body fell and felt the urge to strike the human once more. Ancient God had underestimated this person.

    Suddenly, Qing Ping¡¯s eyes opened back up, and the injury that Ancient God had considered fatal disappeared. At the same time, Ancient God¡¯s body mysteriously vanished as well. This was the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption.

    Qing Ping had assumed that Ancient God would continue to press his attack, but Ancient God instead remained frozen in ce. All of the Skygods in the Arbitration World did the same. They were simply staring into the depths of the hidden world. In that ce, within the shattered ruins of the Arbitration World, a tremble started to spread out. In the outside world, on Mt. Microcosms, a drop of reddish liquid emerged from the entrance of the hidden world.

    The next moment, that seemingly ordinary liquid stopped in the air, and then something unimaginable unfolded. The true universe started to twist and boil, and the drop of liquid began absorbing ster energy at an ever-increasing rate until a powerful vortex was formed. The distortion enveloped the entire Arbitration World before continuing to spread out, visible to the naked eye.

    Qing Ping could not believe what he was seeing. This liquid was absorbing stellr energy faster than he was capable of, and even faster than what Arch-Elder Zen could handle. How was this possible? This liquid was absorbing stellr energy as fast as a Progenitor!

    The drastic changes urring within the Arbitration World caused distortions to appear on Mt. Microcosms, and even the wider Neoverse was affected.

    Endless amounts of stellr energy surged across the Neoverse towards Mt. Microcosms to be absorbed by the drop of liquid. Despite being a mere drop, it seemed to hold an entire universe.

    Countless people looked up, but none of them could understand what was happening.

    The Seven Courts¡¯ Xia Ji shot to his feet. "This much¡­ Could there be a new Progenitor breaking through?"

    The Cosmic Sect, Aurora Fortress, Gods'' Origin, and the other Neoverse powers all had people turn and stare in the direction of Mt. Microcosms.

    The Mavis family¡¯s Ancestor Tortoise also turned to look. No one noticed that there was no longer any dullness to its eyes, andplicated emotions appeared that made the creature look as though it felt slightly ufortable.

    The Arbitration Worldpletely shattered, and once everyone was exposed on Mt. Microcosms, Shaman God shouted, "Get ready!"

    Ancient God gave Qing Ping a severe look. "You¡¯ve destroyed humanity with your own hands. beunched in advance."

    His body then disappeared. He reappeared close to Shaman God, who had been preparing a sourcebox array. It was a super long-distance Teleportation Formation, just like the one that Highsage Grandmaster was setting up at the same time.

    The scales beneath Qing Ping''s feet spread out as he attempted to stop the Skygods from leaving. He hoped to buy some time so that Arch-Elder Zen could arrive and eliminate all of the Skygods in one fell swoop.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll blocked the scales. "Kid, I''ll y with you, gagagaga."

    Blood dripped from Qing Ping¡¯s mouth as he red in frustration at Ancient God, Forgotten Ruins God, and Undying God as they disappeared into the Teleportation Formation.

    The same moment the Skygods left, Arch-Elder Zen suddenly appeared. His face went pale when he saw the liquid hungrily consuming all of the stellr energy. What was that thing?

    Shaman God just shrugged when it saw Arch-Elder Zen appear. "Well, that¡¯s another avatar that¡¯s done for. It¡¯s a pain to create a Semi-Progenitor incarnation, you know. What a pain¡­¡±

    The doll then self-destructed before Arch-Elder Zen could even move.

    Arch-Elder Zen met Qing Ping¡¯s eyes. "What happened?"

    Qing Ping¡¯s expression tightened as he stared at the droplet of mysterious liquid that was ravenously devouring all of the stellr energy. "I don''t actually know. Ancient God just said, ¡®The n will beunched in advance.¡¯"

    Arch-Elder Zen instantly grew nervous. Just what sort of n was this?

    He was the guardian of the Fifth Maind and the master of the Hall of Honor, but all of the Seven Skygods were Progenitors, and truly ancient ones at that. Their ns were not things that ordinary people could even begin to fathom.

    The Neohuman Alliance had existed in the Fifth Maind for countless years, and Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors were aware there was some underlying reason. The Fifth Maind had recently managed to avert one catastrophe, but who could have imagined that there would still be another n in the works?

    At this moment, the stellr energy throughout the entire Neoverse roiled and churned. If the stellr energy throughout the entire universe was like a sea, then the drop of liquid above Mt. Microcosms was the center of a vortex that was madly swallowing all of the seawater.

    Arch-Elder Zen attacked the droplet in an attempt to stop things, but nothing happened.

    At the same time, Undying God appeared at the Neoverse¡¯s ck Street. This was the ce where all of the Neoverse¡¯s trash gathered, and it was also the headquarters of Azure Mansion.

    Throughout the years, an unimaginable amount of debris had umted here.

    Undying God raised a hand, and a mass of garbagerge enough to bury an entire separated from the rest to reveal a ck crystal. He then casually waved his hand, shattering the ck crystal and revealing a bubble with some kind of liquid within it.

    The liquid drifted into space and immediately began to madly devour stellr energy. The Neoverse¡¯s stellr energy was suddenly pulled in two separate directions.

    Ming Yan looked over from the distance, and she saw the liquid that was devouring stellr energy at a frightful pace. What was that?

    Ancient God suddenly appeared in the Cosmic Sea, also transferred there with the help of Shaman God¡¯s Teleportation Formation. He raised a hand and pressed down, causing another ck crystal to rise up from the deep seabed below. Ancient God frowned as he looked at the crystal, but he still waved his hand as well. The ck crystal shattered to expose another bubble with the same liquid. "Too soon, but it should still work."

    There was a bang as the bubble erupted, and the liquid slowly floated upwards. The void then warped as the liquid started absorbing stellr energy. A maelstrom formed from the surging energy, and the entire Cosmic Sea changed.

    At the Tower of the Fifth, Liu Ye and Fei Hua emerged and stared at the center of the vortex in amazement. "What''s going on?"

    Only people who were at least Envoys were able to sense the changes that were urring within the true universe.

    In the Outerverse, Forgotten Ruins God shattered another ck crystal that was in the Morrow Weave.

    Stellr energy was now being sucked from the true universe in the Neoverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Outerverse at a frightening speed by the various droplets. It was no different from three Progenitors absorbing stellr energy from the true universe.

    Naturally, themotion taking ce in the Fifth Maind was noticed by Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World, but none of them had any understanding of what was happening.

    Typically, cultivators absorbed star energy as they trained, but after bing Envoys, they would instead absorb stellr energy. To cultivators, the true universe held the same concept as the sky was to a primitive civilization. On this day, it was as though the sky had copsed. This waspletely different from when the Sixth Maind had reced the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, as no matter what the Sixth Maind might have been capable of, they could not do anything to the true universe.

    At this moment, Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors were all able to sense that something was horribly wrong. The true universe had be extremely turbulent, and all of the stellr energy was being drawn to something.

    Furthermore, the entire process was only just beginning. The Technocracy was far away from the droplets, so only Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors were able to feel the change. None of the Envoys could sense a thing.

    However, half an hourter, a simr droplet appeared at the western edge of the Outerverse, and it also began to frantically devour stellr energy.

    Right after that, another droplet appeared to the north of Chaos Flowzone within the Innerverse.

    Another appeared in the Cosmic Sea.

    Another appeared in the Technocracy, not far from Ni Huang and the others. They hurried over to see what was happening.

    A droplet appeared in the Astral Wilderness.

    Multiple droplets of strange liquid appeared throughout the Fifth Maind, and their influence spread across the universe as they continued to absorb stellr energy.

    Even Envoys were able to sense what was happening now.

    ¡°What is this? That thing is absorbing ster energy at a speedparable to a Progenitor!" Xia De was shocked.

    Ni Huang''s face grew ugly. He tried to absorb stellr energy, but nothing entered his body. Everything was wrested away by the droplet of strange liquid. He then tried attacking the liquid, but that also proved useless. The attack had no effect whatsoever. "All of you, try to absorb stellr energy."

    Wang Si and others immediately did so. "It¡¯s no use! We can¡¯t fight it!"

 Chapter 2006: Drain

    Chapter 2006: Drain

    Bai Laogui frowned. "Something¡¯s not right. Looking at everything, this must be part of Aeternus¡¯s n. But just what are they trying to do?"

    Ni Huang grew extremely serious. "Why do Envoys face bacsh if they absorb stellr energy too quickly? Why are there stellr tribtions? It¡¯s all because the true universe prevents too much stellr energy from being extracted at a given time. People have studied the true universe for eons, and the conclusion that they¡¯ve reached is that there is a limited amount of stellr energy in the universe. It is not infinite.¡±

    "Are you saying that these droplets are somehow trying to drain stellr energy from the true universe?" Xia De instantly grew rmed.

    Ni Huang nodded. "That seems quite likely.¡±

    "What will happen to us cultivators once the true universe runs out of stellr energy? Not only will this affect stellr energy, but also star energy whiches from stellr energy. Without stellr energy, how will humans continue cultivating? If stellr energy is taken away, won¡¯t we be no different from ordinary humans?" Bai Laogui asked hoarsely.

    Ni Huang turned to look towards the Human Domain. "Something big just happened. Send a report to the ancestors right now."

    Chaos had descended upon the Fifth Maind. Sixteen drops of liquid had spread across the entire Fifth Maind, and each one of them was swallowing stellr energy at an absurd rate.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the rest of the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors hade to simr conclusions about Aeternus¡¯s intentions, but there was simply nothing that they could do. Their only option was to trust that the mighty Progenitors would be able to destroy the droplets.

    Outside the barrier in the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines were fighting a losing battle. ckless God alone was overpowering both of the humans. They were panting, and both of them were in bad shape. In the past, all three of the Sixth Maind''s Progenitors had worked together to hold ckless God back, and the two were unable to do so on their own.

    They were already aware of what had happened in the Fifth Maind, but ckless God''s attack had been precisely timed to prevent the two human Progenitors from moving out to resolve the issue.

    Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Progenitor of Secret Arts broke past the two Progenitors¡¯ defense and shot into the Fifth Maind.

    A Progenitor¡¯s strength was enough to level the entire Fifth Maind.

    The moment the Progenitor of Secret Arts, Yi Ren, arrived in the Fifth Maind, an unimaginably powerful force smashed down on him. He was blown back, and most of his body was shattered.

    The Progenitor of Combat and Progenitor of Bloodlines were both shocked. While they had not seen who had attacked, they had their own suspicions.

    ckless God''s expression changed. "So what if you protect this ce? Old man, I want to see how long you can keep it up!¡±

    The Skygod then simply retreated.

    The Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines both let out sighs of relief. They were aware of who their savior was, but they were unable to find any traces despite searching.

    Some distance away, Mister Mu was staring at the Astral River. "Is this it? Murkiness? In the end, we were still toote."

    The man disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already north of Chaos Flowzone at the closest droplet. He studied the drop of strange liquid. Even though it was within reach, not even he could destroy it.

    A tiny, insignificant drop of some strange liquid was able to destroy humanity.

    ¡­

    The sixteen droplets continued to consume all of the stellr energy in the true universe. As time passed, even Limiteers and Melders were able to feel that something was wrong. They were no longer able to easily absorb star energy. The sensation was simr to how ordinary people would find it difficult to breathe on a with low oxygen levels.

    It was under these circumstances that countless corpse kings suddenly appeared in all corners of the universe andunched an indiscriminate attack on humanity.

    In the Cosmic Sea, on an ind not far from the Abyss of the Sea of the Sea, there were several children ying andughing. This particr area had once been rather deste with few visitors, but the founding of the Tower of the Fifth had converted this ind into a supply transit point. Over the course of just a few short months, it had been transformed into a prosperous city. Major corporations had set up branches on the ind, and even multiple auction houses had started to sprout up.

    The ind¡¯s natives felt as though they had a bright future before them.

    However, when a pair of scarlet eyes with slitted pupils suddenly appeared, that bright future was torn apart and reced with a blood-stained sky.

    There was a hidden world on the ind that contained countless numbers of the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings. Many other hidden worlds had been scattered across the Fifth Maind.

    After the majority of the Seven Skygods had been wiped out in the Fifth Maind, the Hall of Honor had cooperated with various major powers to go after the Neohuman Alliance. They had struck hard, and the Neohuman Alliance had suffered heavy casualties. The situation had reached a point where Whiteless God had been left with no choice but to take action, and that was why she had coerced the Astral Beast Domain into invading the Human Domain. However, the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s true strength had remained hidden within the various hidden worlds.

    Countless corpse kings raced toward the Tower of the Fifth.

    There were a number of corpse kings with power levels in the hundreds of thousands who led the charge, and they attacked the Tower of the Fifth.

    Liu Ye appeared to protect the tower.

    Liu Ye and Fei Hua gazed into the distance and were left astonished. "Where did so many corpse kingse from?"

    "Be careful! It¡¯s difficult to absorb stellr energy right now," Fei Hua warned.

    Liu Ye let out a breath. "It¡¯s going to be tough if we can''t replenish our stellr energy reserves. I¡¯ve never dealt with something like this, so we¡¯ll need to be very careful."

    Fei Hua nodded.

    An arrow shot through the sky. Man Li was taking action, and his arrow proved urate as it struck a corpse king. However, the corpse king was only momentarily slowed, and it quickly yanked the arrow out and continued its mad charge.

    Man Li yelled, "Prepare for battle!"

    Simr attacks urred throughout the Cosmic Sea, the Innerverse, and the Outerverse¡ªcorpse kings appeared everywhere. There was no warning as this unprecedented war broke out, and just a few minutes earlier, no one would have been able to imagine this sudden turn.

    The Neohuman Alliance had waited patiently while hiding for too many years. They had induced great harm and suffering for humanity, but they had never made a direct move against the Human Domain. This was the day that the Aeternals finally made their move, and an endless swarm of corpse kings enveloped the Human Domain like a ck cloud.

    ***

    In the Astral Beast Domain, at the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s capital, a woman requested to meet with Yao Di.

    "Xin Yu, what do you need?" Yao Di asked gently.

    The woman was Xin Yu. Although she looked young, she was actually someone from the same generation as Xu Qing. She was an Envoy with a power level of 600,000, and she was one of the humans who had fled to the Astral Beast Domain and sought refuge there long ago.

    "I offer my respects to Your Majesty, Yao Di. Does Your Majesty know about the drastic changes happening in the Human Domain?" Xin Yu asked very respectfully.

    Yao Di''s brow creased. "Yes. I don¡¯t know how Aeternus did it, but stellr energy is being rapidly sucked out of the true universe."

    Although he sounded calm, he could not keep the worry from seeping into his voice. Many astral beasts also cultivated by absorbing stellr energy, and he was afraid that Aeternus would use the same method to attack the Astral Beast Domain.

    Xin Yu nced at Yao Di. "Is Your Majesty worried that Aeternus will attack my Astral Beast Domain in the same way?"

    Yao Di was about to speak, but a thought sent a jolt through his heart. He stared intently into Xin Yu¡¯s eyes. "What are you saying?"

    Xin Yu remained respectful. "Your Majesty, the time hase to attack the Human Domain."

    Yao Di¡¯s eyes narrowed to slits.

    "Our Astral Beast Domain has coveted the Human Domain for as long as I can remember. General Xu Qing was able to reach the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves, but that was our limit at that time. However, we can take this opportunity right now to upy the Human Domain! Without stellr energy, the humans are practically sitting ducks," Xin Yu persuaded.

    Yao Di rose to his feet and slowly walked closer to Xin Yu while calmly staring at her.

    Xin Yu felt a twinge of fear and reflexively lowered her head.

    "I thought that it was strange when you asked to join my Celestial Beast Empire, but as the years passed, you never once did anything abnormal. I always assumed that you were a fake traitor sent to be the Human Domain¡¯s mole, but I now see that I was overthinking things," Yao Di said.

    Xin Yuughed in relief and replied, "Since your subordinate has betrayed the Human Domain, I can no longer turn back."

    "In that case, who are you representing?" Yao Di¡¯s voice sounded like a crack of thunder, and he red at Xin Yu.

    The pressure of a Semi-Progenitor was too much, and panic overtook Xin Yu. She dropped to her knees. "The Neohuman Alliance."

    Yao Di was not surprised. "So, the Neohuman Alliance sent you to join my Celestial Beast Empire?"

    "Yes." Xin Yu decided not to hide anything.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    "To serve as a bridge formunication between the two sides. I am merely a messenger," Yu Xin replied.

    Yao Di looked at the woman. "Did the Neohuman Alliance ask you to pass on this message?"

    Yu Xin grew flustered. "Yes, but it''s also this subordinate¡¯s sincere opinion. Human beings are nothing without stellr energy. If our Astral Beast Domain invades right now, there are only benefits and no downsides."

    For a short time, the pressure grew heavier as the room remainedpletely silent. Finally, Yao Di broke the silence. "You can leave."

    Yu Xin swallowed and respectfully left.

    Just as she arrived at the door, another individual stepped in the room. It was the imperial advisor, Skymender.

    Yuxin offered Skymender a respectful bow.

    Skymender took a step past her, and Yu Xin went stiff. The next instant, blood painted the four walls of the room as her body exploded with a loud noise.

    Yao Di looked at Skymender. "Why did you kill her?"

    Skymender answered indifferently, "She deserved to die for wanting to use my Celestial Beast Empire in their plot."

    Yao Di shook his head. "She had a point. There¡¯s no disadvantage if we attack the Human Domain right now."

    Skymender turned serious as he looked at Yao Di. "Has Your Majesty already forgotten what we have been waiting for all this time?"

    Yao Di wearily replied, "We¡¯ve been waiting for too long already."

    "That doesn¡¯t matter. We need to keep waiting. This is not about you or me, but rather about my Fourth Maind. For the sake of my Fourth Maind¡¯s long-cherished wish, how can we afford to be dazzled by Aeternus? Has Your Majesty forgotten? Our ancestors suffered as they waited for so many years¡ªhow can all that they did be for the mere destruction of the Human Domain?!" Skymender angrily retorted.

    Yao Di smiled bitterly. "Imperial Advisor, there¡¯s no need for this. I haven¡¯t forgotten. Don''t worry, the Celestial Beast Empire will not attack. We still need the Human Domain to fight off Aeternus, as it would be foolish for us to face Aeternus head on without them.¡±

    ¡­

    Outside the Technocracy, more and more spaceships continued to line up; they contained the Perennial World¡¯s army. These people had arrived in the Forsaken Land expecting a war with the Human Domain, but they were instead about to fight against corpse kings.

    Lu Yin had also not expected to see such drastic changes devour the entire universe so quickly.

    He also attempted to absorb stellr energy but found it to be extremely difficult. The solitary droplet that had appeared in the Technocracy was devouring the vast majority of the stellr energy here.

    Once the true universe was emptied, there would only be one ending for humanity: annihtion.

    Lu Yin would be fine, as he could also use death energy, but what about normal cultivators? How would they be able to keep fighting the corpse kings? Once their reserves of star energy were depleted, they would have no way to recover aside from star crystals or star essence. That was truly a worst-case scenario.

    Countless corpse kings charged through outer space, but Grand Elder Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors did nothing. These corpse kings could be left for the army to deal with as a form of training. It was more important to first lead them away from Sky Creation Academy.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s suspicions made sense. If Sky Creation Academy really did have a connection to Aeternus, then leaving the army there was a very dangerous move.

    Lu Yin acted as Wang Dashuai and kept a very low profile.

    Some distance away, Wang Si was surprised that both Wang Su and Wang Yi were still missing. Could Sky Creation Academy have captured them?

    Bai Laogui was thinking simr thoughts, as both Liu Shaoge and Yu Chen had vanished.

    Although the Neohuman Alliance had a massive number of corpse kings, their forces were not enough to fight against the full strength of the Human Domain. These corpse kings were essentially cannon fodder intended to force the humans to use up their star energy or stellr energy reserves by overwhelming the humans with sheer numbers.

    Many cultivators were already no longer able to attack as freely as normal, as they could not recover their energy as quickly as they were ustomed to. Humans were dealing with a truly brutal handicap.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao made a trip to the Starfall Sea, and he asked to see the Progenitor of Combat, hoping that the Progenitor could destroy the droplets. The answer was disappointing: not even a Progenitor could destroy that liquid.

    For several days, Lu Yin acted as Wang Dashuai while fighting against the Neohuman Alliance.

 Chapter 2007: Going Down Together

    Chapter 2007: Going Down Together

    Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors spread out to search for any evidence that would prove that Aeternus had been coborating with Sky Creation Academy. While most of them worked on this, Xia De kept an eye on the New Corridor.

    Everyone had assumed that dealing with the horde of corpse kings would grant them a reprieve during which they could find a way to deal with the droplets scattered across the Fifth Maind, but great changes had also struck the Starfall Sea. Corpse God, one of the Seven Skygods, had appeared there, and instead of sending one of his Semi-Progenitor incarnations, he had appeared with his true body, just like ckless God had done before. Corpse God demonstrated the full power of a Progenitor here. He used his enormous body to forcibly erge the passage connecting the Starfall Sea to the Fifth Maind, basically opening the floodgates as Aeternus¡¯s forces swarmed through the passage in full force and ughtered their way across the Fifth Maind.

    The Fifth and Sixth Mainds¡¯ forces stationed in the Starfall Sea were forced to bear the brunt of the corpse king invasion.

    An endless tide of corpse kings flooded through, leaving a trail of death and despair in their wake.

    In addition to the ordinary corpse kings, there were no fewer than five that had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. One had a human form while another had the shape of an astral beast.

    The appearance of these five Semi-Progenitor corpse kings immediately turned the tide of the battle. Aeternus¡¯s momentum seemed unstoppable after Corpse God took control of the passage in the Starfall Sea. Not even the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines were able to leave a scratch on his massive body as wave after wave of corpse kings flooded through the passage. There was absolutely no end to them in sight.

    Qing Shaohuang''s scalp went numb as he stared at this horrendous sight. Many of the corpse kings pouring into the Fifth Maind had very impressivebat strength. He would not normally be afraid of a fight, but since the stellr energy in the true universe had been severely depleted, causing him to be unable to replenish his reserves, Qing Shaohuang knew that only death awaited him once he used his remaining stellr energy.

    He could not ept dying in such a disgraceful manner, and so he automatically set himself up to be able to escape.

    A short distance away, Xi Gu was shouting, "Qing Shaohuang, anyone caught fleeing before battle will be treated as a traitor!"

    Qing Shaohuang red at the man in indignation. "I¡¯m sure that you don''t want to die right now either. It won''t be toote for us to fight after the true universe recovers. Do you really want both of us to die here for nothing?"

    Xi Gu answered with a voice that burned with passion, "This is our responsibility!"

    He may have colluded with Overseer Cong Ying, and he may have also had his own schemes in y, but he was still themander of the Hall of Honor¡¯s Expeditionary Forces. Above all else, he could always be counted on to prioritize his responsibilities. This was why the overseers and Arch-Elder Zen had allowed Xi Gu to remain as themander of the Expeditionary forces; they hadplete trust in the man. Despite his wed character, his duty asmander always came first. Even if death was staring him in the face, he would not retreat.

    Qing Shaohuang grew sullen. He saw the eyes of the corpse king in front of him turn gray, and after itpleted its Corpse King Transformation, it threw a fist at the man.

    This was the sort of opponent that Qing Shaohuang feared the most. The corpse king had already been a formidable opponent before, but after its transformation that increased its toughness and strength tenfold, Qing Shaohuang had no idea how to defeat it.

    There was a thud as the punchnded squarely on Qing Shaohuang¡¯s right shoulder. His body was sent tumbling backwards, and hended with a crash. There was an ugly expression on his face as he spat out a mouthful of blood. What terrible luck. His stellr energy vortex was coincidentally located in his right shoulder, and that single punch had dissipated nearly a third of his stellr energy reserves. All of that precious energy had beenpletely wasted. Even as Qing Shaohuangmented his fate, a two-headed centipede appeared and mmed into the corpse king.

    The two-headed centipede wrapped its body around the corpse king and injected venom into its body, though it was ineffective against this corpse king.

    Qing Shaohuang panted heavily. His stellr energy reserves were being rapidly depleted.

    A good distance away, the Expeditionary Forces¡¯ soldiers were constantly dropping. Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters died one after another as they struggled to their dying breaths against the corpse kings. This was just a single, small corner of the entire battlefield that had broken out in the Starfall Sea. A bit further away, countless Imprinters were dying. There were bursts of intense light and heat from exploding spaceships that created a constant flicker and scattered shrapnel across the battlefield. Technological might had little effect on a battle of this scale, but each explosion meant the deaths of everyone who had been aboard the spaceship.

    A veritable sea of corpses had gathered in space, and it was rapidly growing.

    Gray-white beams shed across the sky. This was Xi Gu''s final attack. The beams pierced through an Envoy-level corpse king¡¯s body, but it still failed to kill it.

    The corpse king moved forward, and two enormous hands closed around Xi Gu''s body. They proceeded to violently pull the man apart.

    Xi Gu screamed in agony. Soldiers from the Expeditionary Forces immediately roared and charged forward to save theirmander, but all of their attempts were futile. Without stellr energy, Xi Gu was as weak as a child before the corpse king, and his body was easily torn in two.

    Qing Shaohuang''s face grew deathly pale. His mouth went dry, and his breathing became ragged.

    He was unafraid of death, but dying in this ce? In that fashion? It was simply not worth it.

    After painstakingly cultivating for so many years, thest way Qing Shaohuang wanted to die was from ack of stellr energy.

    The two-headed centipede screeched, and the corpse king¡¯s body was torn apart. Qing Shaohuang gritted his teeth, turned around, and fled. He refused to die on this battlefield.

    While the man wanted to leave, his opponent had no intentions of allowing the human to escape. Its gray eyes turned green, and its physical strength increased another tenfold. This time, the creature¡¯s speed was boosted as well, and less than a second passed when it appeared just inches in front of Qing Shaohuang. The man¡¯s heart skipped a beat as pure terror overcame him. Thest thing he saw was a pair of disturbing green eyes. Before he could even react, his abdomen was skewered through, and his head was shattered. His lifeless body motionlessly drifted through space.

    The corpse king did not hesitate to look for its next target.

    After the corpse king left, the pieces of Qing Shaohuang¡¯s head mysteriously joined back together, and life returned to his dead body. This was the result of his Life-Prolonging Butterfly. Fortunately for him, the corpse king had not destroyed the stellr energy vortex within Qing Shaohuang¡¯s shoulder, which gave him the opportunity to escape. He needed to get away from this battlefield.

    As soon as Qing Shaohuang started to move, his head was separated from his body again. A sh swept across the true universe, indiscriminately cutting through everything in its path. Cultivators, corpse kings, and stars were all sliced apart, and Qing Shaohuang was no exception.

    The Life-Prolonging Butterfly was able to grant a person an extra life, but even that was not enough to allow Qing Shaohuang to escape death on this battlefield.

    This battlefield was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg in the entire war. Countless lives had already been extinguished, and more were constantly being reaped. Across the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, Envoys died with every passing moment, further reducing humanity¡¯s strength.

    Despite humanity¡¯s best efforts, they were not able to make the slightest dent in the number of corpse kings.

    On the border of the Technocracy, Lu Yin and many others retreated under the protection of Bai Laogui. In front of them, Bai Laogui fought against two Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing a Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king aside from the Seven Skygods or the Twelve Marquises. Just how many powerhouses did Aeternus possess?

    Bai Laogui was unable to defend against the two corpse kings¡¯ attacks. One had already used a Green Eyed Transformation, and if it was able to transform just one more time, Bai Laogui knew that he would be done for.

    Lu Yin had not expected things to turn out in such a manner. Aeternus hadunched a full-scale invasion. Was there any hope for humanity at all?

    Ni Huang arrived, and when he did, a giant beast with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor also appeared off in the distance. The creature then let out a roar that transformed all of the stars in the region. Space itself changed from ck to gold.

    "Everyone, move further back!¡± Wang Shang screamed in warning as he led a group of the Perennial World¡¯s army to retreat towards the Technocracy.

    ¡°Elder, where are we going? " someone asked.

    Wang Shang¡¯s tone was grave, "We¡¯re retreating to the Perennial World right away."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he reflexively asked, "What about this ce?"

    Wang Shang shot a sideways nce at the youth asking more questions. "No matter what happens here, it¡¯s the Forsaken Land¡¯s business. We won¡¯t stick around to die.¡±

    Lu Yin''s face was gloomy as he peered into the distance. While he had no idea just how many corpse kings had flooded into the Fifth Maind, Arch-Elder Zen and other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind had not arrived to deal with these Semi-Progenitor corpse kings, which meant that they were currently preupied elsewhere. This also meant that Ni Huang and the others staying in the Fifth Maind would be of great help to Arch-Elder Zen, as the Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitors could relieve a bit of Aeternus¡¯s pressure on the Fifth Maind. If the Perennial World¡¯s forces left, the Fifth Maind would be ced in grave danger.

    The Sixth Maind only had three Semi-Progenitors, and the Astral Beast Domain could not be counted on for help.

    No, Lu Yin could not let Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World leave.

    Wang Shang moved behind the rest of the retreating army to help block any approaching corpse kings. They were already quite close to the Technocracy, which the corpse kings had no intentions of invading, which made the Perennial World¡¯s forces quite safe.

    Lu Yin called Wang Wen on his gadget, and he soon heard an excited voice. "Your Highness! You¡¯re finally back! There¡¯s trouble¡ªI just received word that the Starfall Sea has been breached and that Aeternus hasunched an all-out invasion."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was low. "I know. Assemble all of the Great Eastern Alliance troops right now and have them return to zing Mist Flowzone."

    "The army was gathered a long time ago as we were preparing to deal with the Perennial World¡¯s army. Wei Rong fomented enmity between a bunch of different groups and the four ruling powers, but all those efforts have been in vain." Wang Wen sounded helpless.

    "How are things going at the Tower of the Fifth?"

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in contact with them. Things are stable there for now, but everything depends on whether or not the defenses in the Starfall Sea can hold off Aeternus¡¯s invasion."

    Unfortunately, that was quite unlikely. Since Aeternus was attacking in full force and had even decided to use those droplets to absorb stellr energy, there was no way that they would give up easily.

    Lu Yin had no time to casually chat with Wang Wen, and he quickly moved on to call Ming Yan. "Yan''er, get to zing Mist Flowzone right now!"

    ¡°Brother Lu, I understand," Ming Yan replied without any hesitation. She was clear on just how serious the situation was. "By the way, Brother Lu, there are Semi-Progenitors fighting here."

    Lu Yin was thrown for an emotional loop, and he was instantly ovee with worry. "Are you alright? Hurry up and get out of there!"

    ¡°Mmhmm. Don''t worry, I''m fine, and I¡¯m about to leave."

    Lu Yin hung up. Sure enough, the full strength of the Seven Skygods and the new Semi-Progenitor corpse king that had just appeared had given Aeternus more than enough strength to overpower the Human Domain¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. If Ni Huang and the Perennial World¡¯s forces left, the power bnce would be broken. No matter what, Lu Yin could not allow Ni Huang and the others to leave the battlefield.

    This was a catastrophe facing all of humanity, not just the Fifth Maind.

    The four ruling powers had formed an entire army just to kill Lu Yin, so he fully intended to use that army to deal with Aeternus.

    Lu Yin sent a message to Arch-Elder Zen and Kui Luo before his eyes swept across the numerous spaceships carrying the invasion army. He clenched his fists. Sorry in advance, but we¡¯re going down together!

    ¡°Fatty Wang, get over here and get me some water!" someone from the Wang family ordered.

    The entire army looked quite rxed. None of them cared about the Fifth Maind¡¯s plight in the slightest. If not for the fact that Lu Yin had fled to the Fifth Maind, none of these people would ever have even known that a ce called the Forsaken Land existed. As the name suggested, it was a ce that had beenpletely abandoned long ago.

    Lu Yin stered a smile on his face. "Got it."

    He approached the person and poured him a ss of water.

    "Not bad. Get some water for my brothers," the man ordered. The distance between the ships and the Technocracy was constantly shrinking.

    Lu Yin said, "I''ll go get Elder some first."

    "Yo, smart call. Get moving."

    Lu Yin approached one of the Wang family¡¯s elders. This man was the strongest elder present, after Wang Shang. He was a three-tribtion Envoy.

    The elder furrowed his brow and impatiently snapped, "I don¡¯t need water! Scram!"

    Lu Yin continued over to the elder¡¯s side. "Elder, do you hate Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Everyone who overheard Lu Yin¡¯s words looked at him oddly. No one could understand why Wang Dashuai would ask such a question at this moment.

    The elder looked over in confusion as well. "Why would you ask that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Because your answer will decide how much strength this junior uses."

    "What?" The elder waspletely confused. Suddenly, Lu Yin vanished, and the elder lost consciousness.

    Wang Shang was the rear-guard, which made this three-tribtion Envoy the most powerful expert within the spaceship, but he was easily dealt with by Lu Yin. Right after that, Lu Yin knocked out the rest of the members of the Wang family who were on the vessel and tossed them all onto Zenith Mountain.

    Wang Dashuai stared nkly at a person who had fallen right in front of him. "E- elder?"

    After the elder, one person after another fell down onto Zenith Mountain like rain. Every single person was someone from the Wang family.

    Liu Shaoge was dumbfounded. Had Lu Yin lost his mind? Just what was he doing?

    No one could understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, and all they could do was stare ck-jawed at the sky.

 Chapter 2008: Showdown

    Chapter 2008: Showdown

    Once the vessel waspletely emptied, Lu Yin moved on to the next one. Fortunately, the Xia family¡¯s strongest elder, who was a six-tribtion Envoy, had joined Wang Shang at the army¡¯s rearguard. Lu Yin disguised himself as the Wang family elder that he had already captured, and he went searching for the Xia family elder on the vessel. As soon as the man was found, Lu Yin knocked him out and threw him onto Zenith Mountain.

    Yu Chen, Wang Su, Wang Yi, and the others quickly recognized the next batch of neers. This time, the people were all from the Xia family. Xia Tailinded with her head nted in the ground, and her limbs were all askew in odd angles that looked rather indecent. Luo Zhong¡ªor rather, Xia Luo¡ªdid not manage to escape either. Lu Yin recognized him, but he did not have time to reminisce about old times. He needed to capture everyone.

    Strangely, Xia Shenfei was not on the ship, and Lu Yin could not remember ever seeing Long Tian either. Had Lu Yin incorrectly heard that all of the Junior Progenitors had been sent to the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin soon moved onto the White Dragon n. They had not sent any six-tribtion Envoys, and Long Kui was their most powerful expert for this expedition. Originally, Long Quan had been sent as well, but he was already dead.

    On Zenith Mountain, there was a nk look on Long Kui¡¯s face as he observed the unfamiliar surroundings.

    "You woke up really fast! No one else has woken up yet," Wang Dashuaimented in surprise.

    Liu Shaoge gave a small smile. "He¡¯s Elder Long Kui from the White Dragon n. He has a good rtionship with Lu Yin."

    Long Kui became even more confused. "Lu Yin? What are you talking about? Where are we?"

    Wang Dashuai was familiar with Long Kui, as they had met on more than one asion, so he exined the situation while silently taking pleasure in the older man¡¯s misfortune.

    Long Kui was stunned by what he learned. "Were all of you captured and sent here by Long Qi?"

    ¡°He¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan!" Wang Su retorted coldly. She was in a terrible mood at the moment. In the Dominion Realm, she had fallen to Lu Yin¡¯s schemes, and shortly after she recovered, she had been tricked by Lu Yin yet again and captured. The whole ordeal made her want to die from the humiliation. Her only relief was that he was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, one of the Seven Heroes.

    Long Kui smiled bitterly. "This army was formed to kill Lu Xiaoxuan, but we all ended up being caught by him instead. What a joke."

    "Seventh Bro is amazing! I, Fatty Wang, already knew from the start that there¡¯s no one else who¡¯s Seventh Bro¡¯s match!" Wang Dashuai yelled feverishly, startling Long Kui and the others.

    Wang Yi gave the fatty the stink-eye. This guy¡¯s loyalty swayed wherever the wind blew.

    The Perennial World¡¯s army had been formed from cultivators from the four ruling powers, as well as various independent cultivators. People from both the Middle Realm¡¯s Liu family and the Nong family had been supposed to join, but they had not shown up at thest moment. The only ones who had been taken to the border of the Technocracy to train had been the four ruling powers¡¯ people. None of the independent cultivators had been qualified to join. A considerable number of those people had been sent out to search for Lu Yin while others had stayed behind to serve as servants.

    Last was the Bai family.

    This time, things were rather difficult for Lu Yin. The Bai family¡¯s Elder Qing Xing had not decided to join the rearguard, instead remaining on the vessel along with two six-tribtion Envoys who apanied him. Elder Qing Xing was a seven-tribtion Envoy, and he intended to act as the vanguard. Still, this was within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, though it put him in a bind.

    He could not fight against a seven-tribtion Envoy, and besides that, the Second Nightking was present, and Lu Yin had no idea which side the man was on at the moment. Lu Yin could not tell whether or not the Sealed Cage Technique that he had ced on the Second Nightking was still effective, and the old man remained inscrutable, revealing no reaction whatsoever.

    Lu Yin always preferred to err on the side of caution, so whenever he was unsure about something, he would always assume that it was a variable out of his control and n for the worst-case scenario.

    Based on what Lu Yin knew, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s vessel was carrying not only Elder Qing Xing, who was a seven-tribtion Envoy, but also the Second Nightking, who was right below the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. How could Lu Yin handle this? If he was unlucky, he might even be recognized by the Second Nightking.

    In the end, Lu Yin chose to give up. He took out his futon and sat in the air while hovering less than a centimeter above it. Next, he pulled out the candle that he had taken from God of Magenta and lit it. Then, he took out the egg that he had received from Tian Dou and Enhanced and held it above his head. Finally, Lu Yin held his Netherworld River in one hand and the Withered Bark in the other. After checking everything over, he felt some of his anxiety fade away. With all of these items, even a Semi-Progenitor would struggle to capture Lu Yin.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin returned to his original appearance. He looked out of the spaceship, and his pupils transformed into runes.

    Boom!

    The spaceship exploded.

    Behind the convoy of spaceships, the Xia family elder and Wang Shang were both startled. They quickly searched for the source of themotion.

    Lu Yin sat within the wreckage of the spaceship and smiled brightly out at Wang Shang through the shattered hull.

    Wang Shang stared nkly at Lu Yin, the old man¡¯s mouth agape. "Lu- Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    The Xia family¡¯s elder was at a loss. "Lu Xiaoxuan? Is that him?"

    Wang Shang''s expression turned from dazed to cold. "Lu Xiaoxuan, why are you here?"

    Even as he spoke, he waved a hand, and a powerful gust tore through the remnants of the spaceship. There was not a single person from the Wang family to be found.

    At this same time, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s vessel came to a halt at the front of the convoy, and Elder Qing Xing and the rest of the people on that ship turned to look back.

    Lu Yin turned his head and beamed at the people in front as well. "Everyone, it¡¯s been a long time! I heard that you¡¯ve been looking for me, no?"

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin. The silence was deafening, as no one knew how to reply.

    No one could grasp the current situation. How was Lu Xiaoxuan in their midst? Also, what had happened to the Wang family? The Xia family? The people from the White Dragon n? Where had everyone gone?

    Luo Zhong was also inside the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ship, and his eyes were zing. He needed to challenge Lu Xiaoxuan! Luo Zhong had once made an oath to never face his second stellr tribtion, but that was dependent on Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s death. After Lu Yin¡¯s identity had been exposed, Luo Zhong no longer needed to hold himself back. After the battle in the Higher Realm against Lu Yin, Luo Zhong had easily passed his second stellr tribtion and be a three-tribtion Envoy. In the long years leading up to that moment, Luo Zhong had umted vast reserves of strength, so he had quickly grown in strength after his breakthrough.

    At this moment, Luo Zhong was restless to fight Lu Yin.

    A short distance away from Luo Zhong, there was a person staring vacantly at Lu Yin''s smiling face. The man¡¯s body had gone rigid from terror. It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him! Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s really alive! Why isn¡¯t he dead?

    The Second Nightking was also aboard the spaceship. When he saw Lu Yin''s happy face, the old man knew that everything was already decided.

    After following Lu Yin for so long, the Second Nightking had developed a good understanding of the young man. Since Lu Yin had shown himself and was even smiling, it meant that he was inplete control of the situation. At the very least, Lu Yin was confident that he could get out of this situation without being harmed.

    As the wreckage was moved aside and the items surrounding Lu Yin came into view, the Second Nightking''s eye twitched.

    A Netherworld River, Withered Bark, and that candle that could unleash runes with a power that matched the Second Nightking¡¯s own strength. Everyst one of these items was an extraordinary treasure. The old man was not even looking at the futon; if anything went wrong, Lu Yin simply had to drop down the slightest bit, and he would instantly disappear. Who could stop him from doing that? The man was clearly overprepared.

    There was a brief silence, and then Lu Yin spoke. "Didn''t you alle here to look for me? I''m here now, which means I¡¯ve already done the hard part for you. The Fifth Maind is practically a wilderness, and it covers a massive area, but now, there¡¯s no need to tire yourselves out running around. You can just rely on me, Lu Yin! I¡¯m happy to take the Wang family, the Xia family, and the White Dragon n safely around to tour the Fifth Maind."

    The moment he registered Lu Yin¡¯s words, Wang Shang returned to his senses. "Lu Xiaoxuan, what have you done?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Nothing much, I¡¯ve just taken those people¡­" He paused for a moment as his smile turned a bit sinister. "¡­right out from under your noses."

    Elder Qing Xing instantlyunched an attack, disregarding everyone else¡¯s lives. Lu Xiaoxuan was right in front of him, and as long as the bastard was killed, he would have made a huge aplishment. The Celestial Frost Sect would definitely find the means to raise Qing Xing up to be a Semi-Progenitor. This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity.

    Lu Yin had always been on guard against an attack from Elder Qing Xing. He was aware that the people from the Celestial Frost Sect would never care about the lives of anyone from the other powers.

    The me of the candle flickered. Elder Qing Xing had pointed a finger forward, but he ended up being sted by an invisible force that was powerful enough to push him back several steps. The man was horrified.

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Attack me again, and I¡¯ll eliminate the Wang and Xia families, as well as the White Dragon n."

    Elder Qing Xing red. The man was fully prepared to continue attacking.

    However, the Xia family¡¯s elder instantly shouted, "Qing Xing, consider your actions carefully! He has Princess Taili!"

    Elder Qing Xing slowly opened his clenched fist. He might not care about the lives that Lu Yin held in his hand, but Xia Taili was one of the Xia family¡¯s direct descendants. If she died, the Xia family would absolutely take revenge on the Celestial Frost Sect. Qing Xing could not make the decision to take such a risk for his sect. It was reasonable that his sect would only pretend to punish him, but he most likely would not be able to endure the Xia family''s revenge. It was not worth taking the risk.

    "Wang Su and Wang Yi are also with you, aren¡¯t they?" Wang Shang asked quietly. His eyes never strayed from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just smiled in response.

    Elder Qing Xing let out a long breath. He was lucky that he had stopped when he had. If Wang Su, Wang Yi, and Xia Taili had all died because of him, he would be absolutely done for.

    "Not just them either." Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept over his audience. "I¡¯ll be clear. Right now, Long Xi, Wen Diyi, and Liu Hao are also my guests."

    Wang Shang arched a brow. "You captured Long Xi? When?"

    "Isn¡¯t that obvious? When I was in the Perennial World," Lu Yin answered.

    The Xia elder red daggers at Lu Yin. "Stop the bullshit, Lu Xiaoxuan! What do you want?¡±

    Lu Yin turned to look at Elder Qing Xing. "What¡¯s wrong? Aren¡¯t you going to attack?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s taunt incited a flicker of anger to sh across Elder Qing Xing¡¯s face, but how could he possibly attack at this moment? Direct descendants of the Wang family, Xia family, and White Dragon n were all in Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s hands. There were even people from Virtue Archives and the Liu family. If anything happened to all of these valued youths, he would be in truly deep trouble.

    Qing Xing knew that his sect would still want him to attack, as the Celestial Frost Sect would benefit wonderfully if they were able to trade the lives of the other powers¡¯ youths for Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s. However, Qing Xin did not have the courage to be the enemy of three of the four ruling powers. Not even a Semi-Progenitor would be so brash.

    "There¡¯s no point in talking to you guys. Go and call a Semi-Progenitor over. I want to talk to one," Lu Yin drawled.

    Wang Shang scoffed, "What? You actually have the guts to meet with a Semi-Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Wang Si¡¯s already tried to ambush me several times, but I¡¯m still fine. What do I need to be afraid of?"

    "Very well, we¡¯ll ask Elder Wang Si toe then," Elder Qing Xing replied. Of the four Semi-Progenitors who had traveled to the Forsaken Land, there was no doubt that Wang Si was the one who wished for Lu Yin¡¯s death the most.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I want to meet with Xia De."

    "Why?" The Xia elder was taken aback.

    Lu Yin sniggered. Xia De was a much better option than Wang Si or Bai Laogui, and he was also not as stubborn as Ni Huang, who passionately hated Lu Yin. "It has to be Xia De. I won¡¯t speak with anyone besides him. If you try to force things, I¡¯ll start killing captives.¡±

    With such a threat looming over their heads, Wang Shang and the others had no choice but to obediently send a report to Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors while also asking Semi-Progenitor Xia De to meet with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The fact that Lu Yin had been right under their nosespletely blew everyone¡¯s minds.

    Wang Si was so angry that she wanted to immediately return, but she was currently entangled inbat with a Semi-Progenitor corpse king.

    Ni Huang was fighting off two enemies, so he was also unable to extricate himself from the battle.

    Bai Laogui was simrly trapped.

    Only Xia De was able to leave to meet with Lu Yin.

    An hourter, Xia De arrived, and he gazed at Lu Yin in amazement. "Even if we look through all of history, you are unquestionably an unmatched genius, Lu Xiaoxuan. Just how did you hide yourself here?"

    Lu Yin had a pleased expression on his face. "Hero Xia, I¡¯ve admired you for a long time."

    Xia De shook his head. "We¡¯ve met before."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Xia De continued, "Back when you were still Lu Xiaoxuan, you met not only me, but also Bai Laogui, Ni Huang, and Wang Si. You met all of us in the past."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s certainly possible, but I didn¡¯t ask you toe here to reminisce about the old days. Let''s make a deal: you all stay here and work with our Fifth Maind to hold back Aeternus''s invasion, and in return, I won¡¯t harm any of the people that I¡¯ve captured, and you can even try to capture me after this is all over. Of course, whether or not you actually do catch me all depends on you."

    Xia De shook his head. "We can¡¯t stay here. It¡¯s impossible for our forces here to stop Aeternus. Even my Perennial World is forced to rely on the rear battlefield and the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array to resist their invasion. Without those things, we¡¯d be just as defenseless as you. It¡¯s a hopeless situation."

    "If I die, my captives will die too," Lu Yin coldly threatened.

 Chapter 2009: Unease

    Chapter 2009: Unease

    Xia De replied, "I can only promise to take your people back to the Perennial World and protect them from this catastrophe."

    "What about the rest of the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia De sighed. "As fellow humans, we would like to save them as well, but we simply can¡¯t. Keeping the Perennial World safe is already considered eptable. You should know that in the past there were the Six Mainds, but now, only this broken Fifth Maind remains. Even the Fifth Maind will soon disappear. Humans are simply not Aeternus¡¯s opponent. We can''t help you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile had already disappeared. "It''s a shame that people call you Hero Xia. You are actually meeker than anyone."

    Xia Deughed. "I would willingly die to protect the Perennial World, but not this Forsaken Land. Lu Xiaoxuan, I know that you want to threaten us with the people you¡¯ve captured, but you¡¯re being too naive. A new child is born into the major families every few decades, or at worst, every few hundred years. The people that you¡¯ve captured are not invaluable. Our bottom line is to allow your people to escape into the Perennial World. Forget about trying to drag us into this war.

    "The Perennial World is humanity¡¯sst line of defense. Why did Progenitor Hui deploy the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array in the Perennial World instead of here in the Fifth Maind? Because he clearly foresaw that the Fifth Maind would fall.¡±

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "That¡¯s nonsense. Progenitor Hui didn¡¯t ce Ceaseless Impetus in the Perennial World, but behind the Mother Tree. You¡¯re the ones who moved the Mother Tree away from here."

    Xia De indifferently answered, "That was the Lu family, which makes it your problem, not ours."

    "Fine. Just do as you promise. Let people from my Fifth Maind take refuge in the Perennial World." Lu Yin did not bother continuing to argue. In the past, the Lu family had indeed ruled over the Fifth Maind, and only the Lu family knew the truth behind their actions.

    Xia De nodded. "Absolutely. I can agree to this much. We¡¯ll allow a group from your Fifth Maind to travel to the Perennial World. You can join them."

    Lu Yin threw back his head andughed loudly. "I¡¯d simply be marching to my death!"

    "If you stay here, you¡¯ll still die." Xia De did not deny that the four ruling powers would continue to go after Lu Yin, as it was impossible for them to ignore Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin alone was worth much more than all of the people he had captured.

    Lu Yin sighed. "So in the end, my death is still inevitable."

    Shortly after their conversation, Lu Yin left to make his way to the Innerverse, his heart heavy.

    Aeternus had invaded, and stellr energy was being drained from the true universe. All humans were suffering from a terrible loss in strength, and Lu Yin was powerless to stop it. All he could do was make sure that some people were able to safely escape to the Perennial World with him.

    However, Lu Yin had no intention of going to the Perennial World through the passage at Sky Creation Academy. He would get there through Jupiter.

    How could he just give up and ept his own death? He nned to take the Great Eastern Alliance with him and hide out in the Perennial World. A day would eventuallye when he and his alliance would rise again.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors could only go through Sky Creation Academy. Lu Yin prayed that more people would be able to find a means of escape and that the various seeds would be able to pass on the Fifth Maind¡¯s legacy.

    However, there was no choice but to fight tooth and nail before they escaped from their homnd. None of the Semi-Progenitors would flee without putting up a fight either. Escaping was thest resort, and the Fifth Maind would use every means avable to resist this disaster. Lu Yin had the same determination. Even if he knew that he would lose and that he might have to pay with his very life, he simply could not retreat without putting up a fight.

    "Do you no longer want the Second Nightking?" Kui Luo''s voice entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears. The old man had appeared at Lu Yin¡¯s side after he left the Technocracy.

    Earlier, Lu Yin had sent a message to Kui Luo through a wireless jincan, informing the old man that he was in the Technocracy. There was no other way that Kui Luo could have found Lu Yin so quickly.

    Lu Yin had been confident enough to meet with Xia De for several reasons. To begin with, Lu Yin did not fear Xia De. Second, he knew he could escape at any time. Last, but most importantly, Kui Luo had been nearby. Even if Lu Yin had been forced to escape to the Daosource Sect ruins, he would have eventually returned to the exact same ce that he had left. The Perennial World¡¯s four Semi-Progenitors would make sure to catch him when he reappeared, so Kui Luo had been Lu Yin¡¯s true means of escape.

    Lu Yinmented, "The Second Nightking wasn¡¯t working for me willingly, but rather was being controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique. Since he¡¯s been in contact with the Bai family, he¡¯s most likely fallen back under their control, so I wasn¡¯t confident in trying that."

    Kui Luo understood such worries.

    "Besides." Lu Yin frowned. "He showed that he couldn¡¯t be trusted when we were in Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden world. That was when I decided that I needed to find someone to rece him."

    "True enough. You can¡¯t use someone who isn¡¯t loyal. You do need to look for a recement." Kui Luo sighed. As he was speaking, he realized where the conversation was leading, and he shot Lu Yin a disgruntled look. "What are you trying to pull by telling me this? You can¡¯t be thinking of getting me to act as his recement."

    Lu Yin¡¯s face was the definition of innocence. "I would never do that. Why would you think such a thing of me? You¡¯re my most respected senior.¡±

    Kui Luo stared at Lu Yin for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Boy, don¡¯t even bother. When this old man was toying around with the four ruling powers, you were still figuring out where to drink milk. I can see right through your lies. Let me tell you now: don¡¯t even dream of me ever recing the Second Nightking as your bodyguard. It¡¯s impossible.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, you think too much."

    "Humph!" Kui Luo snorted disdainfully.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This old guy was really smart. Lu Yin could only inwardly curse himself for saying too much.

    Of course, the more powerful his bodyguard was, the better. It was impossible for Lu Yin to use a bodyguard who was weaker than his previous one. First, there had been Liu Ye and Fei Hua, and then the Second Nightking. The next person had to be a Semi-Progenitor. It was too bad that Kui Luo was too smart. Lu Yin needed to find someone who was a bit less astute.

    "Where are you going now?" Kui Luo''s voice sounded less than friendly. He felt that Lu Yin kept treating him as a bodyguard. Even when the Lu family had been enjoying their prime, Kui Luo had never acted as Liu Xiaoxuan¡¯s bodyguard, so there was no need to mention Lu Yin. At best, Kui Luo would offer a bit of protection when the asion required it, but he was first and foremost a free man. He would never bind himself to another¡¯s service.

    Lu Yin looked to the south. "The Neoverse. There¡¯s someone I want to pick up.¡±

    "No. There are Semi-Progenitors fighting all across the Fifth Maind. It¡¯s too dangerous everywhere, no matter if you try to go to the Neoverse, the Cosmic Sea, or even the Outerverse. I¡¯m nning to take you to the Perennial World and preserve thest me of the Lu family. As difficult as it was to listen to Xia De''s words, he was being honest. We can no longer stay in this ce," Kui Luo said softly.

    Lu Yin raised his chin. "Even if that¡¯s the case, I have to go. I need to pick up my woman."

    Kui Luo arched a brow. "Lan Xian? Isn''t she still in the Outerverse? Right, we¡¯d better move quickly and bring Lan Xian over. We can¡¯t risk her getting killed by any of the Seven Skygods."

    "Not Lan Xian. I''m not interested in her. My true wife is named Ming Yan, and she¡¯s currently in the Neoverse."

    "Wife? You¡¯re married?"

    "Not yet, but we will be soon."

    "What about Lan Xian?"

    "When you see Ming Yan, don''t mention Lan Xian. Not a single word. I never once had anything to do with Lan Xian, and we only met once."

    Kui Luo muttered to himself, "Sure enough, you¡¯ve got the same bit of lust and greed as your old man. I remember hearing him say things like that back then too."

    Lu Yin was stupefied. Kui Luo could never be trusted to watch what he said. If there was literally any other choice at all, Lu Yin would never allow Kui Luo to get anywhere close to Ming Yan due to the old man¡¯s love of stirring up trouble. Unfortunately, the old man was the only way to move Ming Yan out of the Neoverse.

    Kui Luo was a Semi-Progenitor, and thus his speed was iparable to the Second Nightking¡¯s. Kui Luo was able to reach Chaos Flowzone in a blink of an eye, and he instantly shot by Chaosgod Mountain.

    As they passed by, Lu Yin saw that Chaosgod Mountain had already been reduced to ruins. Chaos Flowzoney close to the Starfall Sea, and it had already be a battlefield.

    Lu Yin stared at the ruins of what had once been Chaosgod Mountain. He had asked Thousand Eyes to keep an eye on Chaosgod Mountain, but he had no idea what had happened to the man in recent days. Hopefully, he had been able to escape.

    All the corpse kings that the Neohuman Alliance had kept hidden within the Fifth Maind had been sent out to participate in the war, and the ensuing chaos covered the entire Human Domain. Without receiving any support from outside the Starfall Sea, the Neohuman Alliance would have eventually been destroyed within the Fifth Maind, but things had changed. The levels of stellr energy and star energy were dropping, which was weakening all the humans in the Fifth Maind. As the fighting dragged on, humanity faced a worsening situation.

    After passing by Chaosgod Mountain, Kui Luo led Lu Yin into the Cosmic Sea, and continued right on towards the Neoverse.

    As they moved towards the Neoverse, Lu Yin tried to call Ming Yan, but he was unable to connect. His heart dropped, and he started to panic.

    "Hurry, Senior! Faster, faster, faster!" Lu Yin urged.

    Kui Luo grew puzzled. "What''s wrong?"

    "I can''t get a hold of Ming Yan! She¡¯s in ck Street, which is where the Semi-Progenitors are fighting." Lu Yin was badly flustered.

    Kui Luo was startled. "The Semi-Progenitors? That¡¯s a problem. A battle between Semi-Progenitors will spread out too far."

    He gritted his teeth and shot across the Cosmic Ocean, making his way towards ck Street at his top speed.

    Interster waste that had been scattered across the universe had been gathered in the Neoverse¡¯s eastern region. The masses of trash had numerous slice marks through them, and the spatial fabric of the Neoverse seemed like it was on the verge ofpletely shattering. This was the result of many powerful cuts.

    In the distance, Undying God looked up, the samezy expression on his face as usual. He faced an iing de head-on, not bothering to even dodge. The de brushed against his body, but it was unable to cause even the slightest bit of damage.

    "Your sword skills aren¡¯t bad, and I can even see a shadow of Xia Shang¡¯s abilities." Undying God casually moved about without attacking or retreating.

    Xia Ji was facing the Skygod, and the human clenched the hilt of his knife. He had already known that the Seven Skygods were difficult opponents. They were all ancient monsters, and no one knew how strong any of them were, or even the full extent of their skills. However, Xia Ji had not expected to struggle so much even against a Semi-Progenitor incarnation of one of the Skygods.

    Space was upended, and a gigantic de appeared. It wasrge enough to block out the stars, and it dropped down in a vicious attack.

    Undying God just sighed when he saw it. "Why bother? Even Xia Shang''s knife skills were useless against me, so there¡¯s no need to mention yours. If he were still alive, I¡¯m sure that he would warn you to not use weapons in a fight against me."

    Xia Ji¡¯s inner world merged with his Triple de Will, and the sh caused the entire eastern region of the Neoverse to tremble.

    Outside the eastern region, Kui Luo waved a hand to disperse the shockwaves from the attack. "What a violent attack."

    Lu Yin''s pupils fluctuated. If an attack like thatnded on ck Street, how could anything block it?

    "Hurry up! Get to ck Street!" Lu Yin pressed.

    Kui Luo grew solemn as he did his best to hide himself before he entered the eastern region of the Neoverse. He beelined straight for ck Street.

    The endless de continued its descent. Xia Ji had steeled his resolve. He was determined to finish this fight against Undying God.

    Finally, Lu Yin arrived at ck Street, carried by Kui Luo. A single nce showed him that ck Street had been destroyed, and it had even been sliced apart into four or five different chunks. de energy filled the area, and countless spatial cracks were constantly opening and closing. Space could no longer stabilize itself.

    Overhead, a droplet of the mysterious liquid was continuing to absorb stellr energy. It still showed no sign of slowing.

    All of the color drained away from Lu Yin''s face. He immediately released his domain in all directions. He turned to see an Azure Mansion, but this building had alreadypletely copsed.

    He rushed straight over and found Ming Yu lying outside the ruins of the Azure Mansion. She was surrounded by the dead and dying whose bodies were covered with terrible wounds. ck Street had beenpletely wiped out.

    Lu Yin suddenly hesitated. He did not have the courage to move closer after seeing Ming Yu''s body.

    Kui Luo waved a hand, and the remaining debris of the former Azure Mansion rose. Scarlet blood stains and a pale, bloodless face were fully revealed. It was none other than Ming Yan.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly constricted, and he crossed the distance between him and Ming Yan in a sh. He dropped down and carefully picked her up into his warm embrace. Her hands were as cold as ice, and she was stiff like a corpse. Although she weighed very little, Lu Yin felt as though he was holding a mountain as he cradled her motionless body.

    At that moment, Lu Yin''s mind had gonepletely nk. He stared at Ming Yan in a daze. He could not figure out what he should do, or even what sound to make.

    Was she dead?

 Chapter 2010: Frozen

    Chapter 2010: Frozen

    Kui Luo appeared beside Lu Yin, and the old man frowned. "While she is still breathing, she isn¡¯t far from death. Her body is full of de energy, and it looks like Xia Ji¡¯s. If she were some ordinary cultivator, or even someone as powerful as the Second Nightking, she would¡¯ve already perished. However, there¡¯s a mysterious power in her body that is resisting the de energy. I can''t tell what that power is exactly, but it won¡¯t be able to hold out for much longer. She will die soon."

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with rage. So it was Xia Ji''s de energy.

    Lu Yin understood that Xia Ji had most likely not intentionally attacked Ming Yan. She had simply been a bit of coteral damage. Still, why did the fight have to be in this ce? Why in the middle of ck Street? Why did it have to affect Ming Yan?

    Lu Yin''s body trembled in anger and despair as he held Ming Yan. Right, the jade talisman! He hurriedly retrieved the jade from his cosmic ring and crushed it. Only Mister Mu could save Ming Yan!

    "If you truly care for her, just kill her. Every inch of her body is being ravaged by de energy. She¡¯s suffering from thousands of cuts but is unable to die. The pain that she¡¯s experiencing is worse than death," Kui Luo said quietly as he looked at Ming Yan sympathetically.

    Lu Yin''s body quivered as he caressed Ming Yan¡¯s head. Even at the verge of death, Ming Yan¡¯s forehead was creased as she endured unimaginable pain. His heart ached for her as he asked softly, "Is there any way to ease her pain?"

    Kui Luo sighed. "The only option would be to freeze her injuries as well as the de energy ripping her apart. That will buy some time, but you¡¯ll need to use that opportunity to find a peak expert to help her. Otherwise, she can¡¯t be saved."

    "A Progenitor?" A bit of hope entered Lu Yin¡¯s voice.

    Kui Luo could not bear the idea of extinguishing Lu Yin¡¯s faint hope, but he firmed his resolve and continued, "Not even Progenitors are omnipotent. They can¡¯t live forever, let alone grant others eternal life. Right now, this child is experiencing thousands of shes repeatedly shing every inch of her body. That is the definition of being ravaged by de energy. I¡¯m not a Progenitor, but I do know that ordinary Progenitors can¡¯t save her. However, that¡¯s something that you can deal withter. Even if you manage to find a true expert who¡¯s willing to save her, you still need to first freeze her injuries. At best, she has half an incense stick¡¯s worth of time remaining. After that, not even the Origin Progenitor will be able to do anything for her."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Half an incense¡¯s time. Mister Mu should arrive by that point in time. No, he had to arrive by then.

    Lu Yin held Ming Yan, and she suffered in pure agony as blood flowed from her injuries.

    Kui Luo continued speaking. "She''s being tortured. If you don''t have any way to freeze her wounds, then you need to end her pain yourself. Do you really want to see her be tortured to death?¡±

    A thought urred to Lu Yin, and he gently set Ming Yan down as took out the froststone from his cosmic ring. The Frost Emperor had once said that there was a legend that imed that froststones could reach a level of strength where they could freeze all wounds, even those of a dead person. Lu Yin had not initially believed that story, but after Enhancing his froststone several times, he had changed his mind. This was because Enhancing the froststone cost a ridiculous amount of money.

    If there was anything capable of freezing Ming Yan''s injuries, it was the froststone.

    Kui Luo looked at the froststone that Lu Yin had pulled out and shook his head. "That¡¯s not enough. That thing can''t freeze wounds made by a Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin had no time to exin. He raised his hand and brought out his die before tapping it. At a time like this, he could no longer bother with hiding his innate gift.

    The die slowly stopped on ckhole Disassembly, so Lu Yin immediately tapped it again. Hurry, hurry!

    Kui Luo¡¯s interest was piqued by the sight of the die. "What¡¯s that? Your innate gift? Do you have double innate gifts?"

    Enhance! The two screens of light appeared, and Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He ced the froststone on the upper screen and threw out a massive amount of star essence onto it as well.

    For Kui Luo, he had thought that he would no longer be surprised by anything as he was a Semi-Progenitor, but right now, he felt as though he was witnessing a miracle.

    He could not describe what he was seeing, but he could feel the chill from the stone increase each time it dropped down a bit further.

    Lu Yin had spent 400 million star essence to upgrade the froststone seven times already. The eighth upgrade cost him 800 million, the ninth 1.5 billion, the tenth cost 3.3 billion¡­ The thirteenth Enhance cost him 30 billion star essence.

    After the froststone fell through the lower screen for the thirteenth time, the void next to the stone froze. Kui Luo instantly moved, and he shifted the froststone over to Ming Yan with a finger.

    "Move,¡± he ordered.

    Lu Yin scrambled out of the way.

    The moment the froststone touched Ming Yan, thin threads of frozen air expanded and started to spread out. Theypletely enveloped Ming Yan and left her utterly frozen.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes never left Ming Yan for even a single moment. Inside the ice, her pained expression began to rx a bit.

    "Yan''er," Lu Yin called out.

    Kui Luo interjected, "There¡¯s no point in calling to her, as she can''t hear you. She¡¯s in cryostasis right now, no different from people who are cryopreserved. This cold is enough to freeze even a Semi-Progenitor''s wound. As long as one breaks this ice open, you and I will probably die of old age before she wakes up on her own."

    "So is she fine now?" Lu Yin asked expectantly.

    Kui Luo replied, "Of course not! It¡¯s just that her injuries have been frozen so that they won¡¯t get any worse. If no one heals her, she¡¯ll die the moment she awakens."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief, as this meant that Ming Yan would be able to endure until Mister Mu arrived.

    Kui Luo gave Lu Yin a curious look. The old man¡¯s eyes contained surprise, puzzlement, and confusion.

    Lu Yin felt the probing gaze. "What?"

    "That thing just now was a die, right? Is that your innate gift?" Kui Luo asked inquisitively.

    Lu Yin replied indifferently, "You must¡¯ve seen wrong.¡±

    Kui Luo¡¯s face twitched. "I''m not stupid."

    "I know.¡±

    "Then what was that just now?"

    A de attack shot through space near the two, cutting open the void in the distance. Another sharp sh shot towards where Lu Yin and Kui Luo were waiting.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold. If he were not present, these two attacks would have ended Ming Yan.

    Kui Luo blocked the approaching attack with a hand.

    Some distance away, both Xia Ji and Undying God looked over and saw Kui Luo.

    Undying God was surprised. "Another Semi-Progenitor? You look a bit familiar¡­"

    When Xia Ji noticed Lu Yin, the old man¡¯s expression grew stiff. Still, he did not say anything at all and just continued attacking Undying God.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression hardened. Xia Ji might not have intentionally attacked Ming Yan, but he was a Semi-Progenitor, and he had clearly attacked recklessly and without any care for his surroundings. The people who had been living on ck Street had almost all been killed, and this could have been prevented if Xia Ji had simply controlling his attacks. He had treated the lives of all the people here as dirt. This was something that Lu Yin could not forgive.

    Sooner orter, he would find Xia Ji and settle their grudges, both new and old. However, this was not the time.

    Slowly, Xia Ji''s battle with Undying God moved further away.

    Lu Yin remained where he was, waiting for Mister Mu. A stick of incense¡¯s time passed, and then half a day. Still, Lu Yin¡¯s master had not arrived.

    Mister Mu was likely busy fighting as well.

    Given the fact that the Starfall Sea had just be a massive warfront, there was no way that Mister Mu would sit back and just watch. Not even he could stop Aeternus. The situation was far more serious than Lu Yin had ever imagined.

    He finally understood the severity that he had ignored so far. Actually, if even Mister Mu was unable to do anything about this catastrophe, what hope was there for the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin decided to return to the Innerverse and lead everyone to Jupiter. He would figure everything out after they arrived and were safe.

    "This is bad. Xia Ji can''t hold out any longer," Kui Luo eximed.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the battle, and he saw that the runes in the distance belonging to Xia Ji had started to fade, while the runes belonging to Undying God had spiked.

    How were Undying God¡¯s runes increasing in number? What was going on?

    Kui Luo''s expression grew ugly. "Xia Ji vastly underestimated the Seven Skygods. Aeternus¡¯s schemes run too deep. If the Seven Skygods have revealed their true strength, then something disastrous is about to happen."

    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Lu Yin asked as he moved Ming Yan¡¯s frozen body to somewhere safe. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He quickly reviewed everything he knew about both the Neohuman Alliance and Aeternus, and he quickly found some things that did not add up.

    His deepest impression of the Seven Skygods was after ZENITH, when they had attacked Lu Yin and the other top ten finalists. However, Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors had managed to stop those attacks. At that time, Lu Yin had not thought much of the matter. After all, both sides of each fight had been Semi-Progenitors, so it only made sense that humans would possess the strength to stand up to the Seven Skygods.

    However, when Lu Yin looked back at that incident with all the information he had gained since then, something seemed off about the whole matter. There were different levels of strength between Semi-Progenitors. For example, Yao Di alone had been able to crush Lan Xian, Herb Immortal, and Xue Laogui despite the three humans cooperating while Kui Luo had been the only person who was able to go toe to toe with Yao Di. If Kui Luo said that the Seven Skygods were extremely strong, then how could the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors possibly possess the strength to repel the Seven Skygods? Each side had possessed the same number of experts.

    Lu Yin found it hard to believe that Jiu Chi and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind possessed the same level of strength as the Seven Skygods. Even though Jiu Chi and the others all possessed Origin Matter and were among the strongest Semi-Progenitors, it was not possible for every single one of them to be at Kui Luo¡¯s level. After all, Kui Luo was an expert who had cultivated in the Perennial World, opened his three meridian points, and possessed Origin Matter.

    When Kui Luo had traded blows with Xia Ji, Lu Yin had been able to feel that Xia Ji¡¯s strength was a bitcking inparison to Kui Luo¡¯s.

    Kui Luo looked pensive. "Since ancient times, humans have always imed to be intelligent, but we may not be the most intelligent. The Aeternals are also intelligent. After all, they were born from humans. There are even corpse kings who were once humans who took the initiative to undergo the transformation. Due to the fact that corpse kings have much longer lifespans, the schemes that they can concoct are also different from what we humans can imagine.

    "Humanity has an expression that says that it isn¡¯t toote for a gentleman to get revenge even after ten years. However, ten years for a human is the equivalent of tens of millions of years for a corpse king."

    Xia Ji¡¯s de shattered, and he was forced to retreat further and further. He let out a cry of disbelief. "Your strength¡­ How is this possible? How could your Triple de Will surpass the ancestor''s Triple de Will? You actually know the technique? This is impossible!"

    Kui Luo looked up. "The Seven Skygods are seven ancient monsters. Each of them was born long ago, and they rank among the strongest of Progenitors. That¡¯s what your Lu family¡¯s ancestor told me. It¡¯s impossible for regr Semi-Progenitors to stand up to even the Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor incarnations. Here in the Forsaken Land, they¡¯ve mostly remained in the shadows while concealing their true strength, even if it meant reducing their forces here. This was done intentionally to lower humanity¡¯s caution towards them. The scale of their ns is so vast that they didn¡¯t dare risk attracting any unwanted attention that could possibly interfere with their ns¡¯ sess. Given their abilities, they could¡¯ve easily erased the Forsaken Land whenever they wanted, but as long as their ns were still unfolding, there was simply no need for them to go through that extra trouble.¡±

    Lu Yin stared into the distance in a trance as Xia Ji coughed up blood uncontrobly. Undying God had disyed his mastery of the Triple de Will.

    "The Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies are all monsters. They are able to send out Semi-Progenitor incarnations to various regions of the universe, which is something impossible for ordinary Progenitors. I¡¯ll step in now." Kui Luo moved forward, but he did not attack. Xia Ji¡¯s situation was not optimistic.

    Although Lu Yin hated Xia Ji, this was not the time for infighting.

    Off in the distance, Undying God''s expression no longer looked asid back as before. He casually raised his sword and rested it on his shoulder. "I didn¡¯t n on ying around with you, but you woke me up. Sorry, but please die now."

    After speaking, Undying God¡¯s withered gray hair stood on end. He released a single stroke that cut through space. This was still the Triple de Will, yet not. The de energy was overpoweringly fierce, and this attack followed an indescribable path. It seemed as though it was crossing through time to slice through the timeline itself. This de was in the present, yet it was also in the past. This was an iprehensible attack.

    Xia Ji had practiced Triple de Will to the point where his mastery was at the same level as Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, so Xia Ji had believed himself to beparable to the past Progenitor Chen. At this moment, when facing an attack from an unknown point in time, Xia Ji felt powerless. His eyes numbly traced the falling attack. Suddenly, he heard a buzzing noise in his ear, and the path of the attack grew crystal clear.

 Chapter 2011: Wu Xing

    Chapter 2011: Wu Xing

    Moments before the attack reached his body, Xia Ji¡¯s vision cleared up. He managed to narrowly dodge, and the attack missed his vitals. Instead, a gaping wound opened on his arm. He stumbled backwards, crushings with every step. A vast expanse of space had been sliced open.

    Undying God revealed an expression of surprise as he watched. He nced sideways. "Someone¡¯s trying to get in the way."

    There was a somber expression on Kui Luo¡¯s face. That earlier attack had been noughing matter. If not for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, Xia Ji would have already died. "The Seven Skygods are famous throughout the entire universe, yet few have seen them truly attack. This old man got lucky today."

    Undying God hefted his sword onto his shoulder as he observed Kui Luo. "You truly are lucky. Thest person who forced me to use my true strength was Ku Jie. I¡¯ve been sleeping ever since then and only just woke up. Although this is only a Semi-Progenitor incarnation, this is still pretty interesting, hahaha."

    Undying God¡¯s chortle elicited a dubious look from Lu Yin. This person felt like they werepletely different from earlier. Could Undying God have a dual personality like Yan''er?

    Kui Luo asked, "What do you mean by you¡¯ve been asleep? Are you saying that all the Undying God incarnations were moving around while you were sleeping?"

    Undying God hefted his long sword and pointed it at Kui Luo. "I''ll tell you if you beat me."

    With that, afterimages started to appear. Undying God¡¯s body seemed to move backwards, yet he actually moved forward. This was Inverse Step.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Inverse Step? How could this be?

    Undying God¡¯s use of Inverse Step waspletely different from how Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had used the movement technique. If one tried to describe the differences in simple terms, then if the universe was a single image, then Undying God was able to perfectly grasp a certain portion of that image with Inverse Step. He was clearly standing right in front of Kui Luo, yet he was able to instantly shift his location to materialize right behind Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo considered himself someone with extensivebat experience, and he had managed to evade the pursuit of numerous Semi-Progenitors in the Perennial World. Despite that, dozens of wounds appeared on his back before he could even blink when Undying God used Inverse Step. Amidst crazedughter, Undying God aimed a stab at Kui Luo¡¯s head. "Trash.¡±

    Xia Ji''s long knife shot over Kui Luo¡¯s head, and he swept the de upwards as heunched a sneak attack on Undying God. However, not even Undying God¡¯s shadow was touched by the attack.

    This opponent was simply too fast.

    Lu Yin could barely believe his eyes. This was not a matter of speed, but rather time. Kui Luo simply could not block Undying God¡¯s attack. No matter what method the old man used, everything was instantly undone. This was the power of Inverse Step. Even if Kui Luo and Xia Ji worked together, Lu Yin could not see any hope of them oveing Inverse Step. Lu Yin was the only person present who understood the true terror of this movement technique, aside from Undying God himself.

    It deserved to be called an invincible technique.

    Lu Yin had already known that Progenitor Chen had learned Inverse Step from someone else rather than create it himself. The mastery of the technique that Progenitor Chen had demonstrated within the Enlighter realm had revealed a bit of time maniption, which was not something that Enlighters were capable of creating. This meant that Progenitor Chen must have learned the technique from another person. Lu Yin had not expected Undying God to have also mastered this technique.

    Just who had created Inverse Step?

    Kui Luo was forced to use his inner world to lock down Undying God in the pool beneath the waterfall. A condescending voice echoed down to the Skygod. "This is the Dragon Gate Realm. If you want to challenge me, you must first jump over the Dragon Gate."

    Undying God looked up, expressing a bit of interest. "Sounds fun. Destroying inner worlds is one of my favorite pastimes. I remember that there was this one guy who wanted to pass my assessment who had a simr inner world. What was it called¡­? Ah yes, Four Arts: Celestial de Realm. I shattered that with a single stroke.¡±

    The sword rose once more, and reality twisted at the edge of the de as desperate wails seemed to arise from the distortion. They sounded as though the innocent souls who had died to this de were crying out.

    This sh seemed to connect everything with a vertical line, from the ground to the top of Dragon Gate Realm, and it even continued on to the highest point in space before hacking back down toward Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo clenched his jaw and raised both hands high. "Dragon Gate Realm, drown him!"

    There was a whoosh as the de crashed against the dragon gate. The impact caused spatial cracks to appear everywhere. Not even Xia Ji was left unscathed, and he quickly fell back.

    Kui Luo panted heavily. Looking down, he saw that his Dragon Gate Realm was still holding strong even after blocking the attack.

    The sword in Undying God¡¯s hand had shattered. He looked at the hilt and then looked up. "If we were in that era, I would¡¯ve allowed you to pass my test and observe the Sword Monument. Unfortunately, you are not a youth, and I am no longer an examiner."

    As he spoke, what looked like strands of withered yellow hair grew up from beneath his feet in the pond and started to climb upwards. Outside the pond, the strands grew out of the waterfall and started climbing the dragon gate. It was a bizarre and terrifying power.

    Kui Luo was ovee with rm, and he inwardly cursed even as he rushed over to Lu Yin''s side. "We need to go now! We can¡¯t beat him.¡±

    One of the Seven Skygods was releasing their full strength. Anyone who could fight on equal footing against such an individual would be a powerhouse famous throughout history.

    Lu Yin finally gained a bit of understanding of just how powerful Progenitor Ku had been. That Progenitor had always only viewed the Seven Skygods as his opponents.

    Xia Ji was also preparing to escape. Hepletely regretted trying to fight against Undying God. Not only had he wasted his stellr energy, but he had also awakened a legendary killer.

    The withered strands finally tore through the Dragon Gate Realm. When Undying God emerged, he ignored Xia Ji and focused solely on Kui Luo and Lu Yin. The yellow strands stretched across space like an evil spirit to entrap the two humans.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. He pulled out the Netherworld River and the Withered Bark in case the worst-case scenario urred. "Run!¡±

    Kui Luo¡¯s overwhelming spiritual force swept out. While it wasmon sense to never use spiritual force against a corpse king, this was Kui Luo¡¯s most powerful attack.

    The spiritual force started to press down upon Undying God, and the withered strands¡¯ speed slowed.

    Kui Luo was stunned that his attack had proved effective. "It actually worked? Isn''t this old guy a corpse king?"

    Suddenly, all movement froze. Whether it was Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force, Undying God¡¯s withered strands, the orbits of the nearby astral bodies, or Xia Ji who was escaping into the distance, everything came to a standstill and turned gray.

    Lu Yin became ecstatic. "Master!"

    Only Mister Mu could create this particr phenomenon.

    Sure enough, Mister Mu emerged, looking perfectly calm.

    Upon seeing Mister Mu, Lu Yin hurried forward. He brought out the frozen Ming Yan and started earnestly begging, "Master, she¡¯s dying! Please save her!"

    Mister Mu nced at Ming Yan and then looked at Lu Yin. "There are certain roads that you must walk on your own. Your master cannot help you."

    Lu Yin''s heart lurched. "Master, what do you mean? Can you not save her?"

    It had never urred to him that Mister Mu might not be able to save Ming Yan. If not even Lu Yin¡¯s master could save Ming Yan, then no one could.

    Mister Mu spoke softly, "I can save her, but times have changed. We cannot not waste any power or show any weakness."

    Lu Yin heard the words clearly, but he could not understand his master¡¯s meaning.

    Mister Mu sighed. Then, for the first time, his eyes grew tender. "My disciple, I am very satisfied with you. I¡¯ve told you before that everyone must take their own path and that they must do so resolutely without ever straying from it. It is possible that you will also one day reach the Immemorial Citadel and walk beside those select few toward an unknown end. Before that day arrives, I cannot provide you with much assistance as your master.¡±

    Lu Yin was left thoroughly confused. "Master, what¡¯s the Immemorial Citadel? What are you talking about?"

    Mister Mu looked to the west. "There arews that regte the development of humanity. Whether we prosper or face extinction, there are always some unavoidable factors. I seldom interfere with this process, not even when the Daosource Sect broke or when the Lu family was exiled. However, this time is different. Since he has taken action, I will also be making my move."

    He then turned back to Lu Yin and grew solemn. "Listen well: there is a battlefield in the Fifth Maind that is frozen in time by a sourcebox. Go ahead and open it. I cannot determine whether the results will be good or bad, but it is the only chance that you all have against Aeternus."

    Mister Mu¡¯s words reminded Lu Yin of the ce where many Lockbreakers had gathered. Could that be what his master was referring to?

    President Xiu Ming and the other most powerful Lockbreakers had moved there to stand guard over that ce, as they were afraid someone would try to unlock that sourcebox and that doing so would release powerful enemies.

    "Master, what about Yan''er?" Lu Yin was growing anxious.

    Mister Mu replied, "Others will soon appear, and I cannot save her. You can only rely on yourself for this. I believe that your strength will one day reach heights that will allow you to save her yourself."

    Lu Yin felt dejected. Without Mister Mu¡¯s help, he would have no choice but to rely on himself. He felt all the strength drain from his body as he stored Ming Yan¡¯s frozen form away again.

    Mister Mu¡¯s head suddenly whipped around to stare at Undying God. "Wu Xing, stop pretending. I know that you can hear me."

    Lu Yin looked over in shock. He followed Mister Mu''s gaze to stare at Undying God. Could the Skygod hear them?

    During the few times that Lu Yin had met with Mister Mu, no one had been able to see Lu Yin¡¯s master aside from himself. Not even Semi-Progenitors had been exempt from this limitation. Despite that, was Undying God able to see Mister Mu?

    Across space, the supposedly frozen Undying God rolled his eyes at Mister Mu. "So it''s you."

    Mister Mu spoke casually, "I warned Wu Tian back then that the child he had picked up had sinister eyes and would easily go astray. He thought too highly of himself, or maybe he was just reluctant to abandon you. Not only did he teach and groom you, but he even allowed you to guard the Sword Monument. After years of being nurtured by the martial stele, you became such a disaster. You bring shame upon Wu Tian.¡±

    Undying God grinned in response. "This is my path. You just told your little apprentice that everyone has to travel their own path."

    Mister Mu¡¯s voice dropped low. "You are unworthy of the name that Wu Tian bestowed upon you. He named you Wu Xing not only in hopes that you would ovee the side effects of your innate gift, but also because he hoped that you would rid yourself of the evil in your heart and turn over a new leaf. Unfortunately, you still ended up bing a monster. If Wu Tian were here, he would be disappointed in you."

    "Nothing but bullshit,¡± Undying God spat out contemptuously.

    Mister Mu waved a hand, and Undying God disintegrated into ashes that scattered into nothingness.

    No matter how powerful the Skygod might be as a Semi-Progenitor incarnation, he was still nothing more than an ant before Mister Mu.

    After eliminating Undying God, Mister Mu turned back to Lu Yin. "The Seven Skygods have ancient origins, and each one of them is far from simple. That was but one of his Semi-Progenitor incarnations. The true Seven Skygods are eachparable to Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and other famous individuals. The Starfall Sea¡¯s defenses were breached because Corpse God¡¯s main body appeared, and even I had a difficult time fighting against him. Corpse God was the one who fought against Xia Shang back then."

    Wariness blossomed in Lu Yin''s eyes. "Are all the Seven Skygods at Progenitor Chen¡¯s level of power?"

    Mister Mu replied, "Aeternus can overpower humanity, and the Seven Skygods are second only to Aeternus¡¯s True God. What do you think?"

    "Does that Wu Xing just now have some sort of connection to Wu Tian? Wasn''t Wu Tian just a legend?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu said, "The God of Death, Destiny, Wu Tian, and the Origin Progenitor¡ªnone of them are mere myths. When he was a child, Wu Xing was adopted by Wu Tian, who then tasked him with guarding the martial stele and assessing those who wanted to observe it. Unfortunately, he was lured by Aeternus, and he eventually became one of the Seven Skygods. You will understand more in the future. If you reach certain heights, you will definitely meet me again. But for now, we must each go our separate ways. Truly, man cannot fight his own fate, and I was still a step behind."

    "Are you referring to ''Murkiness?'' Is this ''Murkiness?¡¯" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 2012: A Space-Time Battle Technique

    Chapter 2012: A Space-Time Battle Technique

    "It¡¯s possible. He personally took action in this matter, which is why even I am unable to counter it. If we want to survive this crisis and eventually defeat Aeternus, then we can only rely on a source of power other than stellr energy,¡± Mister Mu said

    "He?" Lu Yin¡¯s mind was filling up with unanswered questions.

    Mister Mu continued as though Lu Yin had not even spoken. "I''ve been your master for some time, and yet I have not taught you a single one of my own battle techniques. I¡¯ll offer you two battle techniques to choose from: one is Ancient Origin Tracing, while the other is the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation."

    "The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?" Lu Yin had never imagined that one of his choices would be that technique.

    Mister Mu looked a bit amused. "The same as you¡¯ve already started learning: the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation."

    "So, is there some difference?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Mister Mu did not answer, and he merely calmly gazed at Lu Yin while patiently waiting for a decision.

    Lu Yin hade to know his master rather well. While Lu Yin had already learned the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, the fact that Mister Mu would still choose to offer the battle technique proved that there had to be some key distinguishing factor.

    Lu Yin considered the legend of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation that had been kept in the Daosource Sect. It had been regarded as an invincible battle technique hidden within the Nine Cauldrons. The Sixth Maind desperately wanted to acquire the technique, but they had failed to seed after countless years. Unexpectedly, the technique was one that belonged to Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin had not used the technique for quite some time. As his strength improved, it had outgrown the power of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. However, just a few words from Mister Mu had caused Lu Yin''s confidence in the battle technique to surge once more.

    "Master, what kind of battle technique is Ancient Origin Tracing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu gazed directly at Lu Yin. "It¡¯s a space-time battle technique."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank in shock. Space-time?

    "You have already experienced Ancient Origin Tracing. Back then, it was the Ancient Origin Tracing technique that allowed you to learn the Ce Secret Technique. If I had not used it to let you learn the Ce Secret Technique, but instead offered to teach it to you as a battle technique, you would have be able to attack your enemies across a certain period of time. It¡¯s a technique that can allow you to cross both time and space to attack," Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin almost instantly picked Ancient Origin Tracing after hearing such a thing. This was a miraculous space-time battle technique that could allow a person to strike down their enemies across both time and space!

    While Lu Yin did not know just how strong the battle technique¡¯s attacks might be, it had to be somethingparable to the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, seeing as Mister Mu was offering the two as equally valuable options.

    Lu Yin was faced with an excruciating dilemma. Ancient Origin Tracing was incredibly tempting. Throughout the Fifth Maind, he only knew one person who had anything close to a technique rted to time and space: Wendy Yushan. Her innate gift was Rewind, and it gave her the power to rewind time. However, it was publicly stated that her innate gift was nothing more than the ability to heal injuries.

    Wendy had been able to use Rewind to ovee Zhi Yi''s Vitality Qi during ZENITH. One needed to remember that when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, Zhi Yi had easily overwhelmed all of the Ten Arbiters with her Vitality Qi.

    This showed the power of time.

    "Master, your disciple has actually already learned the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. As for the Ancient Origin Tracing¡­" He felt a powerful urge to ask to be able to learn both techniques.

    "You can only choose one," Mister Mu affirmed.

    Lu Yin maintained a straight face, though he was internally in turmoil. Ancient Origin Tracing, Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, Ancient Origin Tracing, Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation¡­ Which should he choose? He was torn.

    Finally, Lu Yin let out a breath that he had not realized he had been holding. "This disciple chooses the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation."

    Despite being greatly tempted by Ancient Origin Tracing, Lu Yin already possessed too many battle techniques, not to mention several secret techniques and sourcebox arrays. Even if he used his die¡¯s Timestop to elerate his training, hecked the energy to master everything. This led to his decision to ultimately choose the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, as he was already familiar with it.

    Half an hourter, Mister Mu left.

    Lu Yin stared off into space with aplicated expression on his face. So was this the true form of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation? What he had learned to date had only been the technique¡¯s most primitive form. Unfortunately, Mister Mu had only taught Lu Yin the attacks of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, but he had not provided him with any cauldron energy. If Lu Yin wanted to obtain more cauldron energy, his only option was to return to the Daosource Sect ruins and absorb it from the remaining cauldrons.

    As for the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, Lu Yin had only one thought after the Mister Mu¡¯s lesson: there was no limit to the power of the technique¡¯s attack.

    That was not only Lu Yin¡¯s opinion, but also what Mister Mu had confirmed.

    ording to Mister Mu, no one could find any limits to how powerful this battle technique could be. It could uncover space and unravel the universe itself. In other words, it could change the sky.

    "Where''s Undying God?" Kui Luo eximed once the region returned to normal. "Huh? Roots of Intelligence?"

    Lu Yin put away two Roots of Intelligence that were floating in front of him. They were a gift from Mister Mu before the man had left. The jade talisman was gone, which meant that Lu Yin would no longer be able to contact Mister Mu. If he had understood correctly, Lu Yin would only meet his master again once he reached a certain level of strength.

    "Where did you get those Roots of Intelligence? It¡¯s not just one, but two of them at that! Those things are invaluable!" Kui Luo''s eyes were bright. "Also, where did Undying God go?"

    Lu Yin kept a straight face. "I don''t know."

    Kui Luo studied Lu Yin¡¯s expression. "You don''t know?"

    Lu Yin replied casually, "If even you don''t know, then how could I?"

    Kui Luo¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply. "Something¡¯s not right. This is the same sensation that I felt when we mysteriously got out of that trouble back in the Technocracy. Something must¡¯ve happened. Are you hiding something from me?"

    Lu Yin replied nonchntly, "If even a Semi-Progenitor like you has no idea what happened, how would I have any clue?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Two Roots of Intelligence show up right in front of your face, and Undying God¡¯s gone. Only an idiot would believe that it has nothing to do with you. Forget it, if you¡¯re not willing to say, then I won¡¯t force you. It¡¯s for the best if Undying God is dead.

    "Let''s get to the Perennial World. This old man will figure out a way to keep you from being found."

    Lu Yin nced at the ruins of what had once been ck Street, as well as the wreckage of the Azure Mansion. Ming Yu and the others were all already dead. His mood was terrible. There were times when human life really held no value at all. Well, corpse kings never cared about the value of human lives, and there were some people who had the same mindset.

    ***

    The southern region of the Neoverse was where the Seven Courts were located. Y¨­u Lao, Ku Rong, Hui Kong, Ce Yue, and several other experts with power levels of over a million protected the area. Space was littered with the still bodies of corpse kings. This area had also been attacked by the Neohuman Alliance, but it had been easily protected.

    A droplet of the mysterious liquid was also in the southern region of the Neoverse, which meant that there were a total of four droplets absorbing stellr energy from the Neoverse.

    At this moment, the patriarchs of the Court of Seven Names were locked in a heated discussion. Each of them looked incredibly serious, and arguments kept erupting.

    "My Xie family doesn''t have many cultivators, so I can''t send that many!" Xie Ahua said in frustration.

    Xia Yi retorted, "This isn¡¯t the time to be selfish! Cultivators from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds are desperately trying to hold back the invaders at the border of the Starfall Sea right now. Our Semi-Progenitors and Envoys are already fighting on their own battlefields, so once the defenses fail, Aeternus will flood in, and our Fifth Maind will be done for. Everyone will die."

    Hui Zhi added, "That''s true. Even Senior Xia Ji has already moved out. Based on what I know of the Fifth Maind, our only way out of this predicament is for us topletely rout Aeternus and drive them out."

    Ce Laoyan jumped in as well. "In the past, the overall strength of the Sixth Maind far surpassed that of our Fifth Maind. However, they have already been defeated, and they were forced to retreat here. Now, our stellr energy can no longer be replenished, which means that in a battle between Envoys, we will automatically lose. This situation is much worse than what the Sixth Maind faced. I insist that we unite the Neoverse to drive Aeternus out.¡±

    "You want to abandon the rest of the Fifth Maind?" Ku Pu questioned.

    Ce Laoyan gave the other man a hard look. "Do you have a better idea?"

    "Ce Laoyan''s proposal has merit." Y¨­u Kexin¡¯s eyes swept over everyone present. "The Starfall Sea will soon be lost, and forcing Aeternus out of the Starfall Sea is an unrealistic goal. Everyone already knows that the reason why we were able to maintain a stalemate so far is inrge part due to the Perennial World¡¯s army that was sent here to kill Lu Yin. That army can return to the Perennial World at any moment, and the Fifth Maind and Sixth Maind cannot deal with all of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors on our own.¡±

    "It looks like I need to thank Lu Yin," Xia Yi snorted disdainfully.

    Hui Zhi nced sideways at the man. "I won''t pin my hopes on the Perennial World saving us, but it''s also a bad idea to stay here in the Neoverse. Right now, the only regions with a stable true universe are the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones and the Astral Beast Domain. Even if we do manage to establish a stronghold, it has to be within one of those areas. Otherwise, our defenses will eventually fail as well.¡±

    Ce Laoyan had no objections to this proposal, and neither did any of the other patriarchs.

    With the stellr energy quickly draining from the true universe, humans would only get weaker with each progressive battle. None of the patriarchs held much hope of defeating Aeternus, and most felt that the only possibility of survival was self-preservation. With the help of the Fifth Maind¡¯s five Semi-Progenitors, it might just be possible to protect a single region.

    "Then, what about the Sixth Maind?" Xie Ahua asked.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions shifted. They could defend a region against Aeternus, but that was on the premise that their enemy only sent out Semi-Progenitors. However, Aeternus did notck mighty Progenitors. The only reason why those powerhouses had not appeared yet was because the Sixth Maind¡¯s two Progenitors were holding them off. If the Fifth Maind abandoned their support for the Sixth Maind and prioritized self-preservation, those two Progenitors could just as easily abandon the Fifth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind was even more likely to choose to protect just itself than even the Fifth Maind.

    As everyone considered the possibilities, the mood grew gloomy.

    The Cosmic Sect, Gods'' Origin, Aurora Fortress, and the other Neoverse behemoths were all facing simr dilemmas at this moment. If they sent reinforcements to the Starfall Sea, there was a high possibility that those people would never return, which would lead to their own strength falling. However, if they did not dispatch any reinforcements, it meant that they were basically giving up on the war against Aeternus. The Fifth and Sixth Mainds would then both be taken over by Aeternus.

    The people in charge of these organizations were not stupid. If the true universe was in a normal condition, then they would spare no expense in their fight against this enemy. Doing so otherwise would mean abandoning the Fifth Maind and surrendering without a fight. The main problem that everyone was facing was that even if they all joined forces, they would not be able to alter the final oue of the war. Simply put, no one believed that they could defeat Aeternus.

    Given the current circumstances, everyone¡¯s first thought was to protect themselves alone.

    While the Seven Courts were continuing their negotiations, Aurora Enterprises was busy preparing to travel to the Innerverse.

    Even if they wanted to protect themselves, they needed to first move to a safe location.

    At the moment, only the true universe in the eastern region of the Innerverse could be considered stable. This was due to Lu Yin preemptively discovering the droplets that had been hidden in the Chroma and Venom Flowzones. His actions allowed the Innerverse to avoid the worst-case scenario of having four droplets devouring all of its stellr energy, which would have made the Innerverse no different from the Neoverse.

    At the moment, the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones were the only ces where humanity had a possibility of survival and protecting themselves.

    Relocating from the Neoverse to the Innerverse was a monumental task. In addition to the major powers¡¯ cultivators, they also needed to move their cities, ordinary humans, and many other items and resources.

    Mt. Microcosms could not be easily moved, and the same was true for the Cosmic Sect and Gods'' Origin.

    Once the corpse kings that the Neohuman Alliance had hidden within the Neoverse started to appear, countless people had begged Gods'' Origin for protection. Truesight remained as powerful as ever, and Gods'' Origin proved itself able to meet people¡¯s expectations.

    However, Gods'' Origin was only a single, rtively small force. It was impossible for them to protect the entire Fifth Maind. If they were capable of doing so, humans would not have anything to fear even if the true universe was sucked dry.

    ¡­

    A roar echoed through the Starfall Sea, inducing panic and trepidation in all who heard it.

    The roar came from Corpse God, who had expanded the passage connecting the Starfall Sea and the Fifth Maind even wider than before.

    With that, a veritable tsunami of corpse kings surged through, and any semnce of an organized defense copsed. Mountains of human corpses piled up in moments, and the resulting sea of blood stretched all the way to Chaos Flowzone.

    Corpse God tore the sky apart and shattered the ground, widening the entrance to the Fifth Maind. Instantly, humanity was cornered and faced with a truly desperate situation. With this, no one could stop Aeternus.

 Chapter 2013

    <h4>Chapter 2013</h4>

    Even as Ni Huang was fighting against a Semi-Progenitor level corpse king, he was urging Xia De to hurry Lu Yin. They had to return to the Perennial World as soon as possible, or else it would be toote for regrets once their chances of survival fell to zero. Ni Huang¡¯s sudden impatience had been triggered by the appearance of an old acquaintance. Once this individual showed up, Ni Huang hadpletely lost allposure.

    "Marquis Green Bamboo?" Ni Huang was shocked.

    Sure enough, one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises, Marquis Green Bamboo, had appeared at the border between the Human Domain and the Technocracy. He met Ni Huang¡¯s gaze and smiled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s quite interesting to see the White Dragon n¡¯s grand elder here in the Forsaken Land. You must be destined to die at my hands."

    Panic overcame Ni Huang, and he immediately reached out to Xia De yet again. They needed to leave immediately! The appearance of one of the Twelve Marquises indicated that the Forsaken Land had just be one of Aeternus¡¯s main battlefields, second only to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. The situation was dire, as Ni Huang and the others had practically fallen to the New World. They were basically sitting ducks that could be surrounded by Aeternus at any moment.

    In addition to the Twelve Marquises, there was also a chance that a Progenitor-level corpse king would reveal themselves as well. The Sixth Maind¡¯s two Progenitors were already far from sufficient.

    "How many of you Twelve Marquises are here?" Ni Huang angrily demanded while keeping his eyes fixed on Marquis Green Bamboo.

    A smile slowly spread across Marquis Green Bamboo''s face. Given his gentle demeanor and the bamboo flute he carried, no one would never guess that he was one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. "Let me think¡­ probably three or four?"

    Ni Huang''s expression changed. If the Seven Skygods were considered Aeternus¡¯s most powerful Progenitors level experts, then the Twelve Marquises were the most powerful of their Semi-Progenitors. Each was just as strong as Ni Huang himself, but they were much, much older. While Ni Huang had relied on the innate vitality of the White Dragon n to survive for so long, living since the Daosource Sect era, the Twelve Marquises had already been experts when he had been born, or even earlier.

    No one could understand why the ancient beings known as the Twelve Marquises chose not to break through to be Progenitors, but everyone was clear on the fact that they were monstrous experts among Semi-Progenitors and that they could not be underestimated.

    If three or four of the Twelve Marquises had arrived in the Forsaken Land, then the ce was truly doomed. Even if none of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitors stepped onto this battlefield, it was already a lost cause. There was no reason to keep waiting.

    Ni Huang sent a voice transmission to Wang Si and Bai Laogui, intending to immediately return to the Perennial World. However, they quickly received bad news from Xia De: the New Corridor had been destroyed.

    "What¡¯s that? The New Corridor¡¯s been destroyed? Who did it?" Wang Si screeched, her expression rather unsightly. She remembered hearing Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Forsaken Land once mentioning that Sky Creation Academy might be cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance. Had those suspicions been true after all? They had asked Xia De to protect the New Corridor from the Neohuman Alliance, but he had been lured away by Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was always behind everything!

    Xia De answered softly, "It wasn¡¯t Sky Creation Academy. It was destroyed from the other side."

    Wang Si waspletely stunned at this revtion. "Has something happened in the Perennial World?"

    "What is Sky Creation Academy saying? Can it be fixed?" Bai Laogui anxiously pressed.

    Xia De replied, "It should be possible, but no one has any idea how long it will take."

    Ni Huang''s face sank. They were in deep trouble. They were left with no choice but to face this disaster together with the Forsaken Land.

    The Twelve Marquises by themselves were already difficult opponents, but with it also being impossible to recover stellr energy and humans weakening with every battle, there was not much hope for victory.

    ¡­

    The countless vertically slitted, scarlet eyes brought despair to humanity as hordes of corpse kings poured out of the Starfall Sea. However, shortly after they started to appear, an endless army of mechanical ants started to emerge from the Technocracy.

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen was fighting against a Semi-Progenitor corpse king at the edge of the Starfall Sea.

    The various fights that were taking ce at the Semi-Progenitor and Envoy levels were not looking good for humanity. The addition of the near-infinite army of corpse kings joining the fray presented a bleak future.

    As the endless swarm of mechanical ants poured out from the Technocracy, a spark of hope ignited in Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes. He watched as the ants moved forward and shed with the corpse kings. What was going on?

    A staggering number of corpse kings and mechanical ants seemed to fill the entire universe with an indistinguishable mass.

    Two torrents collided. At the border where the Technocracy met the Starfall Sea, an unprecedentedly brutal fight broke out that left Ni Huang and everyone else utterly stunned.

    Inside the Technocracy, aplete transformation urred. Both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy moved and started making their way towards the Sophic Rift. The two mechanical armies that had been locked in battle instantly stopped fighting at the same moment, and the forces started moving towards the Human Domain.

    ¡­

    At this exact same moment, Lu Yin was being led across the Cosmic Sea by Kui Luo. They quickly arrived at their destination, which was just outside the Tower of the Fifth.

    The Cosmic Sea had filled up with the dead bodies of both humans and corpse kings.

    The inds had been left in ruins, which presented a stark contrast to what Lu Yin had seen when traveling through the Cosmic Sea in the past.

    Even the Mavis Bank¡¯srge tree had been felled. Every person in the entire area had already experienced the full horror of this war, and only after much difficulty had they managed finally to eliminate all the corpse kings in their area.

    "Even Semi-Progenitors are fighting to the east. Fierce battles have broken out everywhere. How troublesome," Kui Luomented bitterly.

    As soon as Lu Yin appeared outside the Tower of the Fifth, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Man Li hurried out to see him. The Lu Elite Troops also emerged from every direction, as well as Big Sis¡¯s mercenaries and the rest of Leon''s Armada.

    Highsage Leon appeared nearby, panting heavily. His massive war de was tightly clenched in one hand.

    He had just fought an entire series of intense battles. Several exceptionally powerful corpse kings had appeared, and it was likely that the Tower of the Fifth would have fallen without Highsage Leon¡¯s presence.

    "Is anyone still in the tower?" Lu Yin asked.

    Man Li answered somberly, "No one. The iing monsters were intercepted by the Lu Elite Troops who were working as trial givers. Everyone inside had to evacuate."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept over everyone who had gathered at the Tower of the Fifth. He spotted several familiar faces: Yuhua Mavis, Lulu Mavis, the Hall of Honor¡¯s Shu Jing, Light World¡¯s Lightson, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Mu Ziying, and the Innerverse¡¯s Hua Xiao were all present. Additionally, Lu Yin recognized Liu Tianmu, Liu Shaoqiu, Ling Gong, and others.

    All of these people were survivors of this war. Some of them were calling their sects or families, while others seemed to be lost in thought. Everyone looked nervous.

    Lu Yin faced the crowd and loudly announced, "The only ce in the Fifth Maind that¡¯s still suitable for us to stay in is the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones. I¡¯ve decided to move the Tower of the Fifth there, as we can¡¯t allow it to be taken by Aeternus.

    "Anyone who are willing to continue the tower¡¯s trials are wee to go back in, as this move won¡¯t affect you."

    Mu Ziying quickly spoke up, "Senior Brother Lu, what about the Cosmic Sect? Will they go to the Innerverse?"

    Lu Yin answered, "I¡¯m not sure."

    "Why don''t we go to Mt. Microcosms?" Shu Jing could not help asking.

    Lu Yin nced over. "Stellr energy can''t be recovered anywhere in the Neoverse.¡±

    "But the Honor Zone has the 3,000 hidden worlds! It¡¯s the ce in the Human Domain with the deepest foundations, and Mt. Microcosms even has its own defense army!" Lightson countered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed irritably. "I wasn¡¯t asking for opinions. I was merely informing you."

    "Then we¡¯ll return on our own," Lightson replied coldly. They had already tried to return to the Neoverse earlier, but they had been stopped.

    Lu Yin smirked. "That¡¯s not possible".

    All the people gathered around the Tower of the Fifth looked at Lu Yin in confusion. These people hade from all across the Fifth Maind, and there were even some Sixth Maind cultivators who had hidden themselves here. Lu Yin actually dared to say these people were not allowed to leave?

    Lu Yin raised his voice and dered, "Humanity is facing annihtion! Everyone who¡¯s managed to make their way here to the Tower of the Fifth are elites¡ªthe trash has long since been eliminated. Since you are the ones who will be the Fifth Maind¡¯s future, I can¡¯t allow any of you to be lost. Why was the Tower of the Fifth built? To identify the Fifth Maind¡¯s elites from out of countless cultivators. Now that you have been found, there¡¯s no reason to send you to your graves.¡±

    Everyone was stunned. While Lu Yin¡¯s words sounded nice, something seemed off about them.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s gadget beeped with a notification. After ncing at it, his expression changed, and he looked to the west. Was this why the Technocracy had been established?

    All along, no one had ever understood just why Progenitor Hui had created the Technocracy. It had always been aplete mystery, and this mystery was also why Hui Kong had gone to the Technocracy on his own, as he had wanted to uncover the truth.

    Twice, Lu Yin had Possessed the body of a mechanical ant, and he had seen their endless numbers. The second time he had Possessed an ant, he had seen the scavengers and started to develop a guess about why the Technocracy existed. At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions had been confirmed.

    The Technocracy existed solely to make as many mechanical ants that were intended to fight against corpse kings as possible. The resources needed to make the ants had been contributed by both the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World.

    Why had First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy always waged war against each other? Without a war, they would have no reason to ask for more materials. Only by fighting a war could they brazenly request materials from both the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World while cooperating with each side.

    The army of mechanical ants had been constructed with the materials that periodically vanished from the Technocracy¡¯s battlefields, as well as the additional materials that the two powers allied with the Technocracy had gathered.

    From the moment of its inception, the Technocracy had always been nothing more than a front to leech materials from the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World. The true reason for its existence had always been to serve as a counter to Aeternus.

    The Human Domain, the Sixth Maind, and the Perennial World had all been nothing more than chess pieces that had been unknowingly cooperating in this grand scheme.

    Progenitor Hui had entrusted the Technocracy solely with the sole purpose of fighting against Aeternus.

    This invasion had spread the fighting across the entire Fifth Maind, and it was finally time for the Technocracy to unveil its preparations.

    Not a single individual, human or Aeternal, had possessed even the slightest inkling that such a n existed. Otherwise, Hui Kong would have never needed to remain within the Technocracy for so long.

    Progenitor Hui must have calcted numerous possible scenarios for the future far before he started toy the foundations of his intricate ns. His goal had always been to have the Sixth Maind pay the consequences of its past actions while protecting the Fifth Maind. He had even created the Technocracy within the Fifth Maind to give humanity a way to fight against Aeternus. Even the Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array in the Perennial World had reportedly been created by Progenitor Hui.

    Without Progenitor Hui, humanity most likely would have fallen to Aeternus long ago.

    Humanity¡¯s greatest strength was their wisdom and creativity, and Progenitor Hui represented the pinnacle of human wisdom. It was no exaggeration to say that he had been both an exceptional historian and an incredible innovator. He had not used divination, but rather wisdom to predict the future.

    Brother Hui Kong, you can finally rest at ease!

    Although the Technocracy had revealed itself and had moved to the front lines to fight against the Aeternals, Lu Yin could still not breathe easy quite yet.

    If it was that simple to deal with the Aeternals, then human beings would have never been left with only a single maind, and a broken one at that.

    Although endless waves of mechanical ants had already been manufactured, the Technocracy had never ceased production. This indicated that Progenitor Hui had believed that no number of mechanical ants would ever be sufficient. In that case, how long would the mechanical ants be able to hold out for?

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and allowed it to increase in size.

    As one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s greatest treasures, Zenith Mountain was a wondrous item that was able to change size ording to its owner¡¯s wishes. When small, it could be carried in a cosmic ring while still holding living creatures. Whenrge, it could even carrys. Something the size of the Tower of the Fifth could be easily stored on the mountain.

    Lu Yin sowed the Tower of the Fifth and everyone near it onto Zenith Mountain, shocking the people who had already been captured by him.

    Highsage Leon was the only person to not enter the mountain.

    ¡°Captain?" Lu Yin was puzzled by the man¡¯s actions.

    Highsage Leon resolutely replied, "I''m going back to Eversky Ind.¡±

    Lu Yin tried to persuade the man, "There are only a few people still on Eversky Ind, and they can all easily move to the Innerverse. We should go on ahead of them."

    Highsage Leon shook his head. He looked at Lu Yin and spoke softly, "Little Seven, it¡¯s only been a few decades, but you¡¯ve already aplished so much. You¡¯ve achieved things that most likely no one else in history could have done. You are my pride and joy. Help me take care of my armada. If possible, I¡¯ll go to the Innerverse with Master and the others and look for you there. If not¡­¡± Highsage Leon paused, his voice thick with emotion. ¡°Take care.¡±

    Without waiting for a reply, Highsage Leon shot off towards the Neoverse.

 Chapter 2014

    <h4>Chapter 2014</h4>

    Although Lu Yin was reluctant to let Highsage Leon go, he had no good reason to stop the man. As long as Highsage Grandmaster remained at Eversky Ind, there was no way that Highsage Leon could abandon it.

    Highsage Leon made his way towards the Neoverse, and Big Sis was still on Mt. Microcosms. The three of them had been separated. Lu Yin just prayed that the defensive line would be able to hold out for a little longer, at least until they could meet again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was heavy. It was unlikely that Mt. Microcosms could be moved.

    ¡°How strange," Kui Luo muttered to himself while facing east.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "What is?"

    Kui Luo replied, "You and I have seen the Seven Skygods¡¯ power. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors clearlyck the strength needed to stop them one-on-one, so why hasn¡¯t a winner been determined yet?¡±

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. This was a critical insight! Undying God most likely was not the strongest of the Seven Skygods, but he was alreadypletely terrifying. If Ancient God and Forgotten Ruins God released their full strength, then they would certainly be more than what Semi-Progenitor Jiu Chi could withstand. Arch-Elder Zen might be able to hold such experts back, but Elder Gong and the other Semi-Progenitors who were about as strong as Xia Ji would bepletely overwhelmed. How had they managed to hold back the Seven Skygods for so long?

    Unless, the Seven Skygods were allowing the humans to do so.

    "Forget it. Let''s go," Kui Luo gave up on guessing at Aeternus¡¯s intentions.

    "Wait.¡± While Kui Luo was unable to understand the n, Lu Yin had a vague idea of what Aeternus was plotting.

    What was the Fifth Maind¡¯s top priority at this moment? It was either to stop the Aeternals¡¯ invasion or for the various human powers to protect themselves. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was right, Aeternus was waiting for humans to gather together in an attempt to protect themselves before eliminating all of humanity in one single move. This would be much faster than searching and clearing out the scattered remnants of the Fifth Maind.

    The Aeternals¡¯ goal was not just to eradicate arge percentage of humans, but also to raise a portion in captivity so that they could contribute to Aeternus.

    The humans living in the Starfall Sea had been imprisoned in an Aeternus Kingdom built upon the Sea King''s Dome. Instead of chasing down all the humans, it would be better to let the humans gather together and lull them into a false sense of security. This would save them a great deal of time.

    Although he could not confirm anything, Lu Yin felt confident in his intuition. If he were in the Seven Skygods¡¯ position, this was exactly what he would do.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had no way to foil these ns, despite knowing of them. On top of that, humanity¡¯s scattered forces would face tremendous difficulties trying to mount any sort of resistance against Aeternus. All Lu Yin could do was lead a group from the Fifth Maind away with before Aeternus was able to enve them.

    A thought suddenly urred to Lu Yin, and he quickly tried to call Arch-Elder Zen.

    Unsurprisingly, the call did not connect. Every single Semi-Progenitor was busy with their own opponents.

    Lu Yin did not give up, and he continued to call Arch-Elder Zen until the man finally answered.

    "What is it?" Arch-Elder Zen asked impatiently. Lu Yin could hear a vague roar in the background.

    Lu Yin stated, "Senior, you once told me that there¡¯s a ce where I may need to lend my assistance and that it¡¯s where President Xiu Ming and the other Lockbreakers have gone."

    "I don''t have the time to deal with that!" Arch-Elder Zen was getting annoyed.

    "Go ahead and have them unlock it, Senior."

    Arch-Elder Zen was stunned by the conviction that he heard in Lu Yin¡¯s voice. "Do you know something?"

    Lu Yin answered, "This junior can''t really exin it, but that¡¯s the only chance for our Fifth Maind to emerge victorious. Kui Luo and Xia Ji just fought against Undying God, and they werepletely overpowered. The Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor incarnations are already terrifying enough, but the reason why they haven¡¯t gone all out yet is because they¡¯re waiting for us humans to all gather together so they can seize a decisive victory in one fell swoop. The Fifth Maind can''t do anything to stop the Seven Skygods on our own, and our chances aren¡¯t much better even if we get help from the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World¡¯s army. Unlocking that sourcebox is our only chance at survival.¡±

    "Do you know why no one has ever been allowed to unseal that ce? Locked within it are countless corpse kings hailing from ancient times! That ce is basically an entire battlefield that¡¯s been frozen in time. Once the sourcebox is opened, no one can guess what will appear. It¡¯s possible that Progenitor-level corpse kings will emerge and that our chance of victory will drop even lower." Arch-Elder Zen remained doubtful.

    Lu Yin remained firm. "Senior, trust me. Open it."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at his gadget, confused. "Why?"

    Lu Yin lifted his chin. "My master said to."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes went wide. "That man? What exactly did he say?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Master said that he can''t help humanity right now, but that opening that ce is our only opportunity for victory. It¡¯s possible that humanity will still perish, but we also just might be able to make aeback."

    Arch-Elder Zen silently contemted these words.

    Lu Yin started to grow anxious. "Senior, Undying God is someone from Wu Tian''s era who was adopted by Wu Tian as a child. He¡¯s an absolute monster, and I can''t think of a single Semi-Progenitor who can defeat him! While it might be difficult to admit, there were simply too many powerful experts born in the ancient eras. That ce might hold experts who are able to fight against the Seven Skygods. Instead of waiting around to die, it''s better to take this gamble for a possibility of winning.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen still hesitated. To risk it all or not? As a Semi-Progenitor, he rarely even considered such matters, as people who shied away from risks were seldom able to cultivate to such a high level. However, these stakes were sky-high. Arch-Elder Zen alone carried the hopes of the entire Fifth Maind on his back. This was an unimaginably heavy burden. If he lost this bet and humanity was wiped away from the Fifth Maind, he would be a sinner in history.

    The more worries one had, the less they were willing to take risks. This perfectly summarized Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s position.

    Lu Yin shouted, "Senior, didn¡¯t you approve of Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao''s decision to sacrifice half of Endless Weave to integrate the Human Domain¡¯swork?"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s heart stirred.

    "Didn¡¯t you support the Sea King¡¯s actions when he broke open the Upper Three Gates and when he tore aside the false sky put in ce by the Sixth Maind?"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression grew conflicted.

    Lu Yin continued passionately, "You once asked this junior how I would deal with the Sixth Maind asking for the Outerverse if I were in your ce. I already gave you my answer: you overthink things."

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s forehead creased. Was he just overthinking?

    "Humanity doesn''t need you to carry all of its burdens! You still aren¡¯t a Progenitor! You¡¯re just a Semi-Progenitor! You can¡¯t yet hold the responsibility for humanity¡¯s future!" Lu Yin yelled.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes froze. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take this bet. At worst, my life will be forfeit. I know that you have a n, so if we lose this bet and it brings a greater cmity down upon the Fifth Maind, just run. Flee as far as you can and keep the hope of humanity alive."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. He believed in Mister Mu, and all Lu Yin could do at this moment was trust his master. "This junior understands."

    ¡­

    In a vast field of pristine white ice, Xiu Ming¡¯s eyes opened as he sneaked the asional nce at his gadget.

    The situation in the outside world had triggered an intense debate. There were some Lockbreakers who wanted to join the fight against Aeternus while others wanted to remain where they were.

    Xiu Ming himself was not sure what to do, so he had decided to wait for Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s instructions. Though, if he were honest, Xiu Ming would much rather stay where he was.

    While Lockbreakers were individually powerful, their numbers were insignificant whenpared to the scale of Aeternus¡¯s invasion. Even the full strength of all the Lockbreakers here would not be of much use. Their most important task was to prevent any idents from happening where they had been sent. The Neohuman Alliance had their own Lockbreakers, and this location would likely be a target.

    Beep beep beep!

    Xiu Ming quickly essed his beeping gadget.

    "Prepare to unlock the sourcebox. I want that entire ce unlocked." Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s voice came through.

    Xiu Ming thought that he must have misheard. "What did you say? Unlock it?"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s voice was serious, "There are many enemies here, and I don¡¯t have time to exin. Unlock that whole ce. Whether it proves to be a blessing or a curse, we just need to bear the consequences."

    Xiu Ming''s expression turned grave. "Have things have already reached such a stage?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed helplessly. After he ended his call with Lu Yin, he had spoken with Xia Ji and confirmed Undying God¡¯s strength. If that represented the Seven Skygods¡¯ true strength, then stopping them was nothing more than a dream. Even Kui Luo had been suppressed. Even if Arch-Elder Zen or Ni Huang had been in Kui Luo¡¯s position, chances of victory would have still been slim.

    Not even Arch-Elder Zen or Ni Huang could stop the Seven Skygods, and there were still the Twelve Marquises waiting beyond the current battlefield. The situation had already deteriorated to this state, so their only option was to risk it all on a huge gamble.

    Xiu Ming hung up and looked around at the endless field of white. When those terrible monsters were freed, what would they do? Would things be even worse? He had no idea. However, since Arch-Elder Zen had given his orders to unlock the sourcebox, Xiu Ming would obey. This gamble was their only path to victory.

    At Xiu Ming¡¯smand, all the Lockbreakers stationed on the frozen battlefield started preparing to unlock the enormous sourcebox. As soon as Arch-Elder Zen passed down the order, they would begin.

    As soon as Hao Yue got the notification from Xiu Ming, he simrly believed that he must have misheard, and he asked Xiu Ming multiple times for rification.

    "Master, are we really opening the sourcebox?" Yi Dishui was stunned.

    Hao Yue sighed. "Let¡¯s just unlock it. Humanity is facing a catastrophe, and there are times when all we can do is take a risk.¡±

    Yi Dishui stared down beneath her feet. A pair of terrifying eyes stared back at her. They seemed to be looking into space above her, yearning for freedom.

    She gulped, forcefully suppressed her fear, and prepared to start lockbreaking.

    ¡­

    The most tragic battlefield was the area just beyond the Starfall Sea, Chaos Flowzone, and the border of the Technocracy.

    Lu Yin had already ordered the Great Eastern Alliance to gather in zing Mist Flowzone.

    He had intended to return to zing Mist Flowzone in the Innerverse along with Kui Luo, but a sudden call for help came from Smoke-Eater Peaks. They were located at the border of the Neoverse and Cosmic Sea.

    "There are Semi-Progenitors fighting in that direction. You can''t go there," Kui Luo said seriously.

    Lu Yin insisted, "I just want to take a closer look. If we can¡¯t save them, then we¡¯ll just leave, but we need to save as many people as possible. Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke is also very important, and they helped me during the war in the Cosmic Sea.¡±

    Kui Luo felt incredibly frustrated. "Do you actually think that you can save everyone? You need to understand that many people are going to die during this catastrophe and that no one can stop that from happening!"

    ¡°But that time isn¡¯t here yet.¡± Lu Yin refused to back down.

    Kui Luo ended up losing the argument and took Lu Yin towards Smoke-Eater Peaks. The old man felt an urge to drop Lu Yin off somewhere and leave the youth to fend for himself. However, since he was the sole remaining descendant of the Lu family, Kui Luo ultimately decided to let things go. At the very least, this was still within the limits of his tolerance.

    "Listen carefully: the moment I appear, one of the Seven Skygods fighting against Jiu Chi might release their true strength, which means that I cannot attack. As soon as I decide that there¡¯s nothing to be done, we have to turn and run," Kui Luo reminded Lu Yin yet again before carefully taking Lu Yin east.

    Lu Yin was naturally aware of the situation, and he did treasure his own life. While Smoke-Eater Peaks was important, it was not worth him dying for. Still, the area might not have yet be a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s battlefield, even if Smoke-Eater Peaks was in the same direction. If the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle had shifted closer, then it was already toote to save anyone.

    At the border between the Neoverse and the eastern edge of the Cosmic Sea, a mountain range that resembled a cigarette butt slowly sank towards the bottom of the sea. This was Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    Within Smoke-Eater Peaks, Gu Laogui''s roars echoed as he used his battle techniques to utilize his white smoke and bombard the forces oppressing his mountain. However, the attacking forces remained unaffected.

    Disciples of Smoke-Eater Peaks continuously drew out more white smoke for Gu Laogui to use.

    Gu Xiao''er was also within the crowd, and he felt like he was about to cry. Everything had been going just fine only a short while before; they had been nning to travel to the Innerverse and join up with the Great Eastern Alliance. However, as soon as they reached this particr area, a strange power had sted the mountain. After that initial attack, the power had not dissipated at all, instead continuing to oppress Smoke-Eater Peaks. If they were not able to counter this force, Smoke-Eater Peaks would be shoved down to the bottom of the sea, and they would be forced to abandon their homnd.

    Smoke-Eater Peaks had never encountered such a crisis before despite existing for many years. No one was willing to give up.

    The seawater was already almost at the top of the mountains, leaving only a small area clear of water. Further up ahead was a burning me that constantly zed while spitting out more white smoke.

    "Father, are you done? I can''t hold on any longer!" Gu Xiao¡¯er wailed.

 Chapter 2015

    <h4>Chapter 2015</h4>

    Gu Xiao¡¯er was surrounded by the other disciples of Smoke-Eater Peaks. They were trapped between the burning mes above and the seawater below, and terror was visible on everyone¡¯s faces. Although they were not in any immediate danger, the force pressing down upon them could easily spread out and crush them to death at any moment.

    Gu Laogui gritted his teeth. The power that was pressing them down on them from above remained unchanged despite his best attempts. He was just not strong enough to break free.

    Kui Luo¡¯s speed meant that he and Lu Yin reached the Cosmic Sea in a blink of an eye.

    "That¡¯s the strength of one of the Seven Skygods! We need to leave." Kui Luo decided to flee after a single nce.

    Lu Yin did not budge. "Look again. That¡¯s nothing more than the aftermath. "

    Kui Luo¡¯s face scrunched up. "Even if it¡¯s just the aftermath, they¡¯ll still be able to sense if anyone messes with it."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Then you¡¯d better not do anything."

    He moved towards Smoke-Eater Peaks and arrived next to the disciples with a single step.

    Gu Laogui became ecstatic the moment he saw Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re here!"

    Gu Xiao''er saw Lu Yin at the same time, and he started hysterically yelling, "Brother Lu! Brother Lu! Hurry! Save us!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes as he studied the power from below. Although the force was nothing more than the aftermath of an attack, it still contained a power level of about a million. Lu Yin¡¯s strength alone would not be enough to deal with this, but he had that candle.

    The candle was an incredibly useful tool. Once it was lit, it would release a number of runes that wasparable to what the Second Nightking himself possessed.

    Lu Yin took out the candle, lit it, and directed the countless runes toward the power that was suppressing Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    There was a deafening boom as a massive explosion rocked the Cosmic Sea.

    This explosion shoved Smoke-Eater Peaks down into the sea, and it also threw Lu Yin up into the air. It took him a while to regain control of himself.

    Kui Luo was left speechless after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s sess. How did this kid manage to get so many random yet powerful treasures?

    Before long, Smoke-Eater Peaks resurfaced.

    After the mountain range was submerged, the mes at the top no longer zed as brightly as before, much like a cigarette that had been rained on. Gu Xiao''er and others felt quite embarrassed by the sight.

    Lu Yin dropped back down upon Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    Gu Laogui quickly offered his gratitude. "Thank you for saving us, Alliance Leader Lu. Without your aid, we would have lost our ancestral home."

    ¡°It¡¯s just something that should be done. After all, we are allies," Lu Yin replied.

    Gu Laogui thanked the heavens that he had chosen to cooperate with Lu Yin in the past.

    "Brother Lu, it''s great that you¡¯re here! Hurry up and take us with you! We can¡¯t stay in the Neoverse any longer. Almost half of Dad¡¯s stellr energy was used up while fighting a corpse king, and he can¡¯t rece any of it. He only has half of his strength left,¡± Gu Xiao''er whined pathetically. Gu Laogui almost lost hisposure as he inwardly cursed. That idiot bbermouth! If an enemy overheard talk about such a weakness, we¡¯ll all be done for.

    Lu Yin was already aware that any Envoy who had fought against the current invasion was no longer in top condition. Still, it was unexpected for Gu Laogui¡¯s strength to have been reduced by half.

    "Boy, stop wasting time! Run!" Kui Luo yelled.

    Lu Yin looked up. Fearsome runes filled the space above, slowly descending towards them.

    A figure stumbled out of the void. Unexpectedly, it was Jiu Chi.

    Jiu Chi nced around in panic. He was clearly in a terrible condition; his wine gourd had been broken, and half his body was covered in blood. It was clear that he was on the verge of defeat.

    From another direction, Ancient God suddenly appeared. His body looked metallic, and a powerful aura swept out from him across the entire area, suppressing Lu Yin to the point where he could barely breathe.

    All the color drained from Gu Laogui''s face. This was his first time experiencing such a terrifying level of power. He was far from the Semi-Progenitor level.

    Kui Luo cursed. He had had a hunch that something would go wrong, and he had been proven correct.

    Lu Yin had not expected to attract Ancient God¡¯s attention just by dissipating the aftermath of an attack.

    Given the fact that he led the Seven Skygods, it was only to be expected that Ancient God¡¯s strength would be on apletely different level whenpared to Undying God¡¯s. This was a true walking disaster.

    When Jiu Chi saw Lu Yin and the others beneath him, his eyes went wide. "Hurry up and leave! This has nothing to do with you!"

    Without wasting another breath, Gu Laogui immediately prepared to move Smoke-Eater Peaks away from the fight.

    Kui Luo became entirely focused on Ancient God, worried about a sudden attack.

    However, instead ofunching an attack, Ancient God looked to the south in evident confusion.

    The next moment, Kui Luo¡¯s attention also shifted to the south. He felt the awakening of an obscure and ancient aura. It was as though a dusty tomb had just been opened to reveal years of decay. This aura was lifeless, yet it also contained endless vitality.

    Jiu Chi was the third to look south.

    Right after that, both Lu Yin and Gu Laogui looked southwards as well. They were able to feel a shadow approaching.

    Runes appeared in such endless numbers that they seemed to rece space itself. After that, a colossal head appeared. It wasrge enough to dwarf absolutely everything in the region.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Ancestor Tortoise?"

    Kui Luo¡¯s jaw dropped; what a ridiculously big turtle!

    Jiu Chi let out a sigh of relief. So it was the Mavis family.

    Ancient God stood motionless in ce. His eyes grew dimmer as he stared at the approaching Ancestor Tortoise.

    Ancestor Tortoise moved closer to the mountain range. The creature looked like it was walking slowly, but its actual speed was unbelievably fast.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Ancestor Tortoise. He remembered the many people who had been chasing after Ancestor Tortoise when he had visited the Mavis family. Although no one had been able to catch up to the massive beast, some had been rather close. However, at this moment, Ancestor Tortoise''s movements were nothing like what Lu Yin had seen before.

    Semi-Progenitors such as Ancient God, Kui Luo, and Jiu Chi had been able to sense Ancestor Tortoise much sooner than Lu Yin, and the difference between the fastest and the slowest of them had only been a split second. Ancient God was the quickest, but even he had only been able to sense Ancestor Tortoise when it was less than two seconds away.

    This meant that the distance that Ancestor Tortoise traversed every second was essentially the limit of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s senses. This creature was able to practically step across the entire universe.

    The massive sacred tree still sat upon Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, looking like a pir that held up the sky. It was so tall that it was impossible to see where it ended. The tree held luminous fruits that glowed like stars and illuminated the Cosmic Sea.

    The members of the Mavis family looked out at the Cosmic Sea and saw Ancient God, Kui Luo, Lu Yin, and the others.

    After the family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor had died while attempting to break through to the Progenitor realm, the family had no longer had the courage to directlypete with anyone at the Semi-Progenitor level. However, despite Ancient God¡¯s presence ahead of them, there was no fear.

    Yunying Mavis stated, "There¡¯s no need to alter our direction. Full speed ahead."

    Ancestor Tortoise quickly entered the Cosmic Sea, and it stuck its head down into the seawater to slurp some up.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body flickered. He tore through the void to arrive next to Ancestor Tortoise. He nced at the sacred tree that was still far away, and spoke to Yunying Mavis, "One of the Seven Skygods is up ahead.¡±

    Yunying Mavis replied, "I know.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. It appeared that his warning had been unnecessary. The Mavis family was confident they could handle this.

    Kui Luo and Jiu Chi kept wary eyes on Ancient God.

    Smoke-Eater Peaks bobbed and swayed precariously in the sea, getting dangerously close to being swallowed by Ancestor Tortoise. Gu Laogui quickly moved the mountain range and caused it to rise up into the air.

    Smoke-Eater Peaks was not evenrge enough for Ancestor Tortoise to use it as a toothpick.

    This was the first time that Gu Xiao''er hadid eyes on Ancestor Tortoise, and he was overawed. "Dad, what did this thing grow up on?"

    Gu Laogui almost had a heart attack and sent his son flying with a kick. "Stop your nonsense! That''s Lord Ancestor Tortoise."

    Ancient God had not moved a muscle once Ancestor Tortoise appeared while carrying the Mavis family. He stared at Ancestor Tortoise as it drank the seawater, and then he looked further back at the sacred tree and at Yunying Mavis. "After Lingzhi died, is there no one left in the Mavis family? You don¡¯t even have a Semi-Progenitor any longer.¡±

    Yunying Mavis nervously looked back at Ancient God. Although she was not afraid, she had no intention of provoking this person. The further back a family¡¯s history stretched, the more they understood just how terrifying the Seven Skygods truly were, and the Mavis family had a truly long history. Although there were no detailed records about them, the Seven Skygods had been mentioned in every era, even during the oldest and most questionable times.

    They were seven ancient monsters whose capabilities could not be fathomed.

    Ancient God turned back to look at Ancestor Tortoise, who was still busy guzzling seawater. Then, he slowly raised a hand.

    Kui Luo and Jiu Chi immediately went on high alert.

    Ancient God pped at Ancestor Tortoise, inciting panic among the Mavis family.

    Yunying Mavis clenched her hands into tight fists as she stared at the point where Ancient God¡¯s attack hadnded.

    Despite being struck by Ancient God¡¯s palm, Ancestor Tortoise''s neck lookedpletely unharmed. Instead, there was a horizontal spatial tear that cut across the Cosmic Sea. All thes and stars in its path were swallowed; this was the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. Lu Yin felt that he might not be able to stop such an attack even if he used everything at his disposal, and yet Ancestor Tortoise waspletely unfazed. The creature continued to slurp up water as though nothing had happened.

    Everyone from the Mavis family was relieved to see that Ancestor Tortoise was perfectly fine.

    Yunying Mavis¡¯s eyes flickered, and she addressed Ancient God. "Are you trying to provoke Lord Ancestor Tortoise?"

    Normally, she would not say such a thing. However, there was a line in their ancestral records that stated that whenever someone attacked Ancestor Tortoise, they only needed to speak this one line, and any issue would be resolved.

    Sure enough, as soon as thest word left Yunying Mavis¡¯s lips, Ancient God lowered his hand. "The number of my old friends is getting smaller as the years pass. While this creature is just a pet, it can still be considered one of my old friends. The fact that the Lu family left him to you shows that they must have viewed your family as highly important. You are truly worthy of being the Lu family¡¯s purse."

    Yunying Mavis'' expression twisted, and she shot an odd look towards Lu Yin.

    He blinked, confused by what he had just heard. Pet? The Lu family''s purse?

    He looked back at Yunying Mavis, and their eyes met.

    Yunying Mavis quickly looked away, a guilty expression suddenly appearing.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. The words he had just heard continued to echo in his mind. ¡°The Lu family''s purse¡­ The Lu family''s purse¡­ The Lu family''s purse¡­¡±

    He had a strong suspicion that he had been tricked.

    At that moment, Ancestor Tortoise let out a sudden burp of satisfaction. Such a trivial action caused the Cosmic Sea to vibrate.

    Ancestor Tortoise suddenly shifted his attention to Ancient God. The tortoise¡¯s head slowly moved closer, seemingly very curious about him.

    Ancient God¡¯s brow furrowed. He shot onest intense nce at Lu Yin before instantly vanishing.

    With Ancient God¡¯s disappearance, Ancestor Tortoise momentarily froze before returning to its normal, rather sluggish state.

    Lu Yin no longer had any worries about Ancient God, and he unceremoniously climbed onto Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back.

    Typically, one could only do such a thing after receiving the Mavis family¡¯s consent, but Lu Yin was far past caring. He was not in a good mood at this moment.

    Some of the people from the Mavis family tried to block his path, but Yunying Mavis had them all stand down. She met Lu Yin with an unnatural expression on her face and a somewhat forced voice. "Alliance Leader Lu, what a coincidence."

    Lu Yin briefly stared at Yunying Mavis. "Why are you here, Senior?"

    The woman replied, "I came to pick up some people. After all, they were training in the Tower of the Fifth."

    "Is that so? Then you don¡¯t need to worry about it any longer, as I¡¯ve already collected them all. I have them on Zenith Mountain." Lu Yin spoke calmly, but his turbulent emotions could be heard in his voice.

    Yunying Mavis praised, "Unless I¡¯m wrong, I believe that Alliance Leader Lu must have also brought the Tower of the Fifth along as well. You are truly a worthy leader who acts decisively."

    Lu Yin casually responded, "I¡¯m still not as decisive as the Mavis family. Humanity is facing annihtion, and given the direction you¡¯re heading in, I¡¯m guessing that you weren¡¯t just nning on collecting those people, but also taking them to the Innerverse, right?¡±

    Yunying Mavis¡¯ eyes flickered. "Of course. Stellr energy can no longer be recovered, and the Fifth Maind is facing an impending disaster. Only the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones still have a stable true universe, so we need to go there. I expect that all of the Neoverse¡¯s major powers will soon start heading that way, but we should arrive a bit earlier than them.¡±

 Chapter 2016

    <h4>Chapter 2016</h4>

    After hearing Yunying Mavis¡¯s words, Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s something that I could never understand before now: the Mavis family doesn¡¯t act like businessmen, so how were you able to control the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire economy with only one Semi-Progenitor?"

    Without even waiting for a response, Lu Yin continued, saying, "Bu now I understand." He stared at Yunying Mavis. "That was all an act. The truth is that you¡¯re the most shrewd businessmen of them all.¡±

    Yunying Mavis looked confused. "I believe Alliance Leader Lu has misunderstood my Mavis family."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Senior, you can drop the act. Ancient God already made it quite clear that your Mavis family is my Lu family¡¯s purse. Furthermore," He paused as he pointed at his feet, "Your Ancestor Tortoise is something that my Lu family left to you. I finally understand why you were so eager to form an alliance with me. Not with the Great Eastern Alliance, but with me alone. The reason was to alter the rtionship between our families by taking advantage of me.¡±

    "You are my Lu family''s purse, yet you sought to ally yourselves with a direct descendant of the Lu family. Your motives are crystal clear."

    Yunying Mavis coughed a few times before softly saying, "Alliance Leader Lu, that line of thinking means that you¡¯ve fallen into Ancient God¡¯s trap. He¡¯s trying to incite conflict between us."

    Lu Yinughed in disbelief at the woman¡¯s shamelessness. "At this moment, humanity is in a truly desperate situation. Why would he need to incite any conflict at all?¡±

    "We¡¯re talking about Aeternus. All of them are incredibly cunning," Yunying said with a somber expression.

    Lu Yin let out a disdainful snort. He would have never known that he was a victim of the Mavis family¡¯s scheming without Ancient God. It was no wonder why they had been so generous, giving him five billion star essence at their first meeting. That had been Lu Yin¡¯s first time witnessing the generosity of a truly wealthy power in the Fifth Maind, and it had left him awestruck. On top of that, they had even given him the authority to freely borrow 20 billion star essence at his convenience.

    When he had asked to borrow money from the Mavis family, the transaction had proceeded very smoothly, quick and hassle-free. When he had asked them for manpower, they had sent Ya Mavis, who possessed a power level of over a million, to help him without asking a single question.

    Before this moment, Lu Yin had been particrly grateful to the Mavis family for their generosity with both their wealth and their manpower. However, he had finally learned that there was no such thing as pure generosity without any hidden motives. There was a good reason why the Mavis family had treated him so well. If Ancient God was telling the truth, then they were trying to make amends.

    The Lu family had given the Mavis family their Ancestor Tortoise while also allowing them to remain in the safety of the Fifth Maind where they eventually became the monstrous entity that controlled the Fifth Maind''s entire economy. They had no worries and lived inpletefort. While no Progenitors had risen from their n, they also had not needed to fight on the battlefield behind the Perennial World. And how had they thanked the Lu family? They had plotted against a direct descendant of the Lu family and attempted to alter their rtionship from a subservient n to allies that stood on equal footing.

    The more he thought about it, the angrier Lu Yin became. More than once, he had dreamed of having the Mavis family as his financier to funnel endless resources to him. His dream had finallye true, though toote.

    "Ahem, Alliance Leader Lu, this isn¡¯t a good ce to talk. Let¡¯s first get to zing Mist Flowzone." Yunying Mavis quickly changed the subject.

    Lu Yin suppressed his displeasure and had Kui Luond on Ancestor Tortoise. They then continued on towards the Innerverse along with Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    Yunying Mavis did not try to remove Lu Yin.

    The luminous fruits of the sacred tree were used to lure Ancestor Tortoise to move in the desired direction.

    Another thing that Lu Yin finally understood was why Ancestor Tortoise had stared straight at him when he had visited the Mavis family. It was because Ancestor Tortoise could sense that Lu Yin was a part of the Lu family.

    What a fantastic bodyguard! Even Ancient God had been helpless before the tortoise, and it could even travel around. Lu Yin could not understand why the Lu family had chosen to leave this creature to the Mavis family.

    "Hoho, there are treasures everywhere", Kui Luo eximed as he roamed about the sacred tree.

    There were several members of the Mavis family who followed behind Kui Luo. They stared at him in disgust, as though watching a thief wander about in their own backyard.

    Kui Luo eventually sat down beside Lu Yin. "What''s going on? You seem very upset."

    "Have you heard of the Mavis family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo replied, "I''ve heard them mentioned several times in that ce, but never any details.¡±

    "Did anyone from the Lu family ever say anything about them?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo said, "I don¡¯t think so. They might have mentioned them to others, but not to me. Like I said before, although the Lu family took care of me, we did notmunicate with each other much. My knowledge of the Lu family is not very extensive.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a bit of stuffiness in his chest. That alliance agreement had shattered one of his dreams. When was thest time that he had suffered such a terrible loss?

    Yunying Mavis approached the two men.

    Kui Luo turned around.

    Yunying Mavis slowly bowed to the old man. "Greetings, Senior Semi-Progenitor."

    Kui Luo dismissed her greeting. "There¡¯s no need to stand on ceremony. By the way, can I have one of those fruits?"

    "My apologies, but that won¡¯t be possible," Yunying Mavis said in an apologetic tone.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "How stingy."

    "Senior, could this junior have a moment with Alliance Leader Lu?" Yunying Mavis asked politely.

    Kui Luo nced at Lu Yin before turning around and leaving.

    Yunying Mavis thanked the old man as he left.

    Once Kui Luo was no longer in earshot, Yunying Mavis spoke to Lu Yin''s back. "The All-Dao family, Qiming family, and Mavis family were the three subordinate families under the Lu family back then. When the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds broke out and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect fell, the Lu family worked with the primeval surnames to uproot the mother tree and transnt it into the Perennial World. This ce then gradually became the Forsaken Land. The Lu family took the All-Dao and Qiming families with them while leaving my Mavis family here on our own. My Mavis family has never had any interaction with the Lu family since then."

    Lu Yin turned around to face Mavis Yunying. "Did the Lu family abandon you?"

    Yunying Mavis replied, "No. My Mavis family was willing to stay behind."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "If that''s the case, then why did you break away from the Lu family if they didn''t abandon you?"

    "Instead of saying that we broke away, it would be more urate to call it a dissolution of cooperation," Yunying Mavis solemnly stated.

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Yunying Mavis exined, "My Mavis family is different from the All-Dao and Qiming families. The Lu family gave those two families everything that they possessed, which led them to bing entirely dependent on the Lu family. That was not the case for my Mavis family. My Mavis family has a long and ancient past, but we eventually experienced a decline because of Aeternus. However, we were able to notpletely fade away thanks to the Lu family, who saved us. In order to repay that kindness, the Mavis family willingly served the Lu family for hundreds of millions of years, and we were even treated as the Lu family''s purse. However, both sides had acknowledged from the very beginning that the Mavis family would one day break away from the Lu family.

    "Although it''s not exactly an alliance, we are still allies. My Mavis family never betrayed you or your Lu family."

    Lu Yinughed mirthlessly. "You deliberately hid this from me from the very beginning. Even when Ancient God mentioned it, you tried to cover it up. How can you expect me to believe your story now?"

    Yunying Mavis sighed. "If you didn¡¯t suffer from amnesia, there would be no need for me to exin anything, but given your memory loss, all we can do is offer you as much support as is possible for us. However, we can''t be your subordinates, nor be subservient to the Lu family. That string of fate between my Mavis family and the Lu family has already reached its end. If we meet again, it will be as friends or allies."

    Lu Yin had no idea if Yunying Mavis was being truthful or not. "What about Ancestor Tortoise? If you were eventually separating from my Lu family, why would the Lu family ce Ancestor Tortoise under your care?¡±

    Yunying Mavis chuckled. "The Lu family did not voluntarily leave it to us¡ªrather, they didn¡¯t have a choice. Ancestor Tortoise loves to eat the fruit of our sacred tree."

    Lu Yin peered up at the luminous fruits that shone like stars. "Are you talking about those?"

    "That''s right. Those fruits are Ancestor Tortoise''s favorite food, and the tree is also my Mavis family¡¯s ancestral home. The Lu family actually wanted to take Ancestor Tortoise with them, but Ancestor Tortoise refused to go. They were left with no choice but to leave Ancestor Tortoise behind. It now carries the sacred tree wherever it goes,¡± Yunying Mavis said with a hint of pride.

    Lu Yin felt stifled. So the tortoise was nothing but a glutton. The Lu family back then had really beenpletely useless. If he had been in their position, he would have seized control of the sacred tree. He would have liked to see how the Mavis family would refuse to follow his family in that situation.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I¡¯ve already exined everything. Regardless of what our rtionship may have been in the past, you and I are currently allies, and this will remain true in the future. The support that our Mavis family will provide you will not be reduced at all," Yunying Mavis said sincerely.

    Lu Yin looked the woman in the eye. "Can I trust you?"

    Yunying Mavis solemnly replied, "If my Mavis family had betrayed the Lu family, we would not havested until now."

    After thinking things through, Lu Yin felt that herst answer made sense. Given the Lu family¡¯s strength, as well as the passing of so many years, they would have long exacted punishment if they had deemed it necessary.

    "There¡¯s one thing that I''m still curious about." Lu Yin stared at Yunying Mavis. "Just how much money does your n have?"

    Yunying Mavis¡¯ face twitched. She gave Lu Yin a pained look. "Not much."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "If we¡¯re still allies, then it won¡¯t hurt to satisfy my curiosity."

    Yunying Mavis gave a bitter smile. "The Lu family¡¯s direct descendants are all bottomless pits when ites to consuming money. My Mavis family did not originally generate any profits. We were once very simr to the Cosmic Sect and the other forces and were simply regarded as a family of cultivators. However, your Lu family forced us to be your purse."

    "So, your family knows a lot about the Lu family?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    Yunying Mavis answered, "Our Great Elder knew them very well, but my generation does not have much of that knowledge. Most of what we knowes from what our Great Elder passed down orally, or from our ancient records. If you would like to learn more about the Lu family, you can take a look at our family¡¯s ancient records. We are still allies, so please feel free to browse through them at your leisure."

    As they spoke, Ancestor Tortoise had already crossed the Cosmic Sea and entered the Innerverse. At this moment, they were somewhere between First Flowzone and Beast Tamers Flowzone.

    Hordes of corpse kings had popped out from hidden worlds, and their numbers caused them to cover the entire Fifth Maind. Still, there were noticeably more of them in the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse.

    Lu Yin stood on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back and watched ass engulfed in mes gradually disappeared behind them. A solid ck spaceship carrying corpse kings sped off into the distance.

    Ya Mavis released an attack, casually crushing the vessel and eliminating all the corpse kings aboard.

    Any corpse kings that they encountered on their way were destroyed.

    Some distance away, outside First Flowzone¡¯s Sword Mountain, numerous corpse kings were crushed and killed beneath the sword array.

    In Beast Tamers Flowzone, the Second-Grade Hall and First-Grade Hall both retreated to the Divine Grade Hall, gathering their forces together to fight against the corpse kings.

    The entire Innerverse was working to eliminate all the corpse kings that had appeared.

    As the corpse kings were being slowly eliminated, it appeared that peace would soon return. Only a few were aware that the true crisis had yet toe. Once the situation at the defensive lines in the Starfall Sea shifted, the trajectory of the invasion wouldpletely change.

    Apart from the defensive line in the Starfall Sea, the battlefields that received the most attention at this time were the various Semi-Progenitors¡¯ fights.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Jiu Chi, Ni Huang, Wang Si, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Jiu Yao and Lan Xian, as well as a few others, each faced their own opponents. Ordinary cultivators had no knowledge of these battles. Even organizations like the Sword Sect remained ignorant.

 Chapter 2017

    <h4>Chapter 2017</h4>

    Although the Great Eastern Alliance had managed to unite the Innerverse, it had also been forced to shrink its defensive perimeter. At the moment, they controlled the eastern portion of zing Mist Flowzone, half of Venom Flowzone, First Flowzone, Beast Tamers Flowzone, and so on.

    Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s sudden appearance astonished everyone from the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Upon returning to the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, the first thing that Lu Yin did was to contact the forces that controlled the Innerverse¡¯s eight major flowzones.

    On Sword Mountain, Liu Qianjue looked at the image of Lu Yin with an ugly expression on his face. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Sword Sect cannot agree to this! Sword Mountain has always been the very foundation of my Sword Sect. From the moment we first seized control of First Flowzone all those years ago, we have never once left. Even if I give you my word to abandon Sword Mountain and flee to zing Mist Flowzone, my sect¡¯s disciples will never agree to it."

    Lu Yin answered in a deep voice, "I am not asking you to abandon Sword Mountain. Once this catastrophe is over, you can return."

    Liu Qianjue shook his head. "Of my Sword Sect¡¯s tens of millions of disciples, hundreds of thousands of them are willing to die protecting Sword Mountain. Countless disciples have already been buried beneath this mountain, and it is a part of Sword Sect¡¯s beliefs."

    "Even if you will be destroyed with your Sword Mountain?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Qianjue answered firmly, "Even if that is the case, I will not leave."

    Lu Yin had a headache. Talks with the Sword Sect, the Divine Grade Hall, and the Divine Venom Dynasty were not going well, especially with the Divine Venom Dynasty. Their faith in Venom Flowzone¡¯s protection was nigh unshakeable. Since the flowzone had protected them from even the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, their confidence had soared higher than ever, and nothing could persuade them to leave Venom Flowzone.

    Once humanity lost to the current invasion, their only option to survive would be to rely on a stronghold. So far, the most suitable region in the entire Fifth Maind for such a stronghold was in the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones.

    While Lu Yin did not maintain much hope for humanity to sessfully hold back Aeternus¡¯s invasion, he refused to give up without a fight. At this moment, he was waiting to learn of the results of the various Semi-Progenitors¡¯ fights. If the humans managed to win those battles, they would immediatelyunch a counterattack. However, Lu Yin did not believe that the human Semi-Progenitors would win their battles, which was also why Lu Yin was proactively trying to gather all the major forces in zing Mist Flowzone. Once the Fifth Maind lost all hope, he would make a beeline for Jupiter with everyone.

    The entire Fifth Maind seemed to be holding its breath as they all waited for the winners of the Semi-Progenitor battles to be decided. At the same time, Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors were biding their time, waiting for the moment that all the humans assembled in one location. This showed the level of confidence that the Aeternals possessed.

    The moment Aeternus bared its fangs, the final battle would begin. Once that happened, the fate of the Fifth Maind would be tied to the oues of the Semi-Progenitor fights.

    Lu Yin nned to gather the entire Great Eastern Alliance and unite all of their avable forces. They would either be the primary counterattack against Aeternus, or they would all be led to the Perennial world to deal with the four ruling powers.

    ¡­

    The Semi-Progenitor fights were scattered across the Fifth Maind. In the Outerverse, a short distance away from the Daosource Sect, a fierce battle was being fought between Jiu Yao and Forgotten Ruins God, and it shook the heavens and the earth. In the Innerverse, at the border of the Starfall Sea, Arch-Elder Zen had almost defeated his first opponent: a Semi-Progenitor corpse king. Unfortunately, Arch-Elder Zen had then been dragged into a battle with one of the Twelve Marquises, which drained a great deal of the old man¡¯s strength.

    Ni Huang was fighting against Marquis Green Bamboo while Wang Si, Highsage Grandmaster, and the others all faced their own opponents.

    As time passed, the disadvantage that humanity suffered grew increasingly apparent. Being unable to replenish their stellr energy was starting to take a serious toll on the humans.

    Aside from the Semi-Progenitor battles, the fierce battle between the countless swarm of mechanical ants and the horde of corpse kings was reaching a conclusion. Just a few days after the battle began at the edge of the Starfall Sea, it was about to end.

    It was also after these few days that Lu Yin learned that the New Corridor had been destroyed, as well as news of Aeternus¡¯s imminent victory.

    "It would be great if the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power returned," Ling Qiu muttered to herself.

    The Lingling n¡¯s Soulseal Flowzone was located in the western-central region of the Innerverse. When the stellr energy first started being drained from the true universe, Ling Taizu had instantly made the decision to evacuate his n to a flowzone further east in the Innerverse. The more one understood Aeternus, the more they feared them.

    The Sword Sect and other forces were able to use their locations to replenish their stellr energy, so they were not afraid of a fight, but the Lingling n could not do the same.

    For humans, losing their stellr energy meant losing all of theirbat strength.

    When Lu Yin heard Ling Qiu''s words, his heart stirred. When the Sixth Maind had invaded, the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power had forced all the cultivators to suppress their cultivation to the Enlighter realm. Even though the Sixth Maind had still possessed more Enlighters than the Fifth Maind, this suppression had greatly reduced the Sixth Maind¡¯s advantage.

    If the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power returned, it would only be good for humanity.

    However, Lu Yin believed that this was a very unlikely oue. The Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant strength could not appear without limit. At the end of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion, the power had already been drastically weakened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s guess was right, and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power did not appear. Instead, an unexpected power was unveiled¡ªthe Technocracy¡¯s Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts.

    When Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Kui Luo had all appeared on the battlefield in the Technocracy that was known as the Sophic Rift, the sudden appearance of powerful Semi-Progenitors had alerted the Master Brain. As a result, it had trapped all the humans present at that time.

    Even back then, Lu Yin had held certain suspicions regarding the truth behind the Technocracy¡¯s creation. At the present moment, the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts stretched out from the Technocracy across more of the Fifth Maind. It quickly epassed the battlefield in the Starfall Sea before extending further east.

    Arch-Elder Zen and others looked up at the mentalwork,pletely confused by what they saw.

    In front of Arch-Elder Zen stood a gloomy-looking man who wielded a long sword. He looked to be in his fifties, and he wore a tattered coat with jagged tears in it. The man looked quite odd.

    Still, he was one of the Twelve Marquises, and Arch-Elder Zen had been on the back foot for their entire battle.

    "That power that¡¯s appeared is rather interesting," the swordsman mused as he studied the mentalwork. His pupils glowed with a faint, dark red before he let loose a sh of his sword.

    Although Arch-Elder Zen looked calm, his opponent¡¯s sword skills left him sweating. He had never seen such a bizarre sword skill before. It somehow resembled both a sword technique and a secret technique. It was much harder to deal with than even the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords.

    When the sword sh struck the mentalwork, the surface of the Master Brain¡¯s thoughts undted like ripples on water. The next moment, an invisible force hauled the swordsman up and trapped him within the mentalwork. This was the exact same thing that had happened to Kui Luo and Lu Yin when they had been trapped.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the scene in disbelief. He was well aware of just how strong his opponent was, and he possessed little confidence of victory in a drawn-out battle. Despite that, the swordsman had just been easily restrained.

    At the border of the Technocracy, Wang Si and Bai Laogui exchanged nces. "Be careful and don''t attack it. This mentalwork can trap any of us."

    Ni Huang looked up in surprise. Marquis Green Bamboo reflexively froze his attack and looked at Wang Si in a questioning manner.

    Wang Si''s face turned dour. "This formless power was able to easily able to trap me, Bai Laogui, and Kui Luo. We struggled to escape."

    "The Forsaken Land actually holds such a power?" There was a hint of surprise in Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s voice.

    Both humanity and Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors became much more cautious of disturbing the mentalwork after witnessing Marquis Wu Yi being captured by it. Envoys simrly grew cautious, and no one dared to probe the mental construct with any attacks.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Ni Huang took advantage of this opportunity to team up and move towards the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones. As for the battlefield at the edge of the Starfall Sea, there were only a few participants still there, aside from corpse kings and the Technocracy¡¯s mechanical ants. The Technocracy had not sent out any additional forces besides the mechanical ants to fight against the invasion, and the mechanical ants were solely intended to exhaust the corpse kings¡¯ overwhelming numbers.

    Most of the cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds that had been stationed there to defend the passage had already died. Only a few had managed to escape alive.

    At the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, Lu Yin looked up at the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts withplicated feelings.

    Humanity¡¯s ancestors had left them with multiple inheritances to preserve the human race. When the Rune Progenitor¡¯s strength had been exhausted, Progenitor Hui¡¯s preparations had emerged. It was unknown whether another power would show up after Progenitor Hui¡¯s preparations lost strength.

    During the assault on Burial Garden, Progenitor Chen had released an attack when the Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity. However, Lu Yin remained uncertain as to whether that had been remnants of the Progenitor¡¯s strength or something else.

    Those people were the Progenitors who had been most admired by the human race. If humanity managed to avoid extinction, it was quite possible that Lu Yin would also leave something behind for humanity¡¯s future after he became a Progenitor.

    After observing the manifested thoughts for a while, Lu Yin smiled bitterly. Regardless of whether this catastrophe could be surpassed was yet to be determined. Even if he escaped to the Perennial World, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in that ce. Dealing with the four ruling powers would not be much easier than dealing with Aeternus.

    Before long, people started to appear above the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress.

    Kui Luo was the first to look up, and he gasped in surprise when he saw six Semi-Progenitors approaching them.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, Ni Huang, and the other Semi-Progenitors had all appeared above the fortress.

    When Lu Yin saw Ni Huang and the others, he asked Kui Luo to take him over to the Mavis family.

    Kui Luo wasted no time at all, and he silently moved Lu Yin as requested.

    Wang Si had already subconsciously prepared herself to attack Lu Yin, but Ni Huang quickly stopped her and pointed to the power that hung overhead.

    A jolt of shock suddenly ran through Wang Si¡¯s mind. The instant she saw Lu Xiaoxuan, rage and hatred had clouded her mind, and she had forgotten about her surroundings.

    "Is that the Lu family¡¯s Ancestor Tortoise?" Bai Laogui¡¯s eyes followed Kui Luo¡¯s path as he moved Lu Yin and instantly saw a huge creature lying nearby. Truthfully, it was impossible to miss the tortoise given its size.

    Ni Huang and the others also looked at Ancestor Tortoise. "That''s right. We all found it strange when the Lu family did not take Ancestor Tortoise with them. So it was here all along."

    ¡°They left it for their purse," Xia Demented.

    Wang Si¡¯s eyes narrowed. "That Lu bastard¡¯s hiding on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back. Even if this power above us wasn¡¯t around, we wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him."

    Ni Huang shook his head and sighed. "Let''s find a way to deal with our current crisis first."

    Xia De had to hand it to the youth; Lu Xiaoxuan was too well-prepared. They had no chance to deal with him, given the current situation, and yet he never lowered his caution around them at all. He had even fled to Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back for protection the moment they had seen each other. It was no wonder how the youth had been able to survive for so long.

    Arch-Elder Zen nced around. "Everyone, humanity is currently facing a crisis on an unprecedented scale. We have all agreed to temporarily set aside our differences and not fight with each other. Please remember your promise."

    Ni Huang replied, "Don''t worry. Even if we wanted to attack, we would first need to worry about the power above us."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. He exchanged a look with Highsage Grandmaster, and Highsage Grandmaster immediately moved a short distance away and began setting up a sourcebox array.

    Arch-Elder Zen then led Ni Huang and the others closer to Ancestor Tortoise.

    Lu Yin stood on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back with his hands sped behind his back while facing the approaching people. Behind him, the glowing fruits of the sacred tree seemed to create an atmosphere of holiness.

    The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Envoys then started to appear one after another. Liu Ye and Fei Hua, Man Li, the Sea King, Elder He, the Frost Emperor, Ling Taizu, and Ling Qiu all stood to face Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors.

    Further back, the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces had assembled. There was the Giants Army along with the lesser giants, the Lu Elite Troops, and more. They all took up positions in outer space as countless warships moved to the west.

    The entire Great Eastern Alliance had mobilized for war.

    This would be an awe-inspiring spectacle for most humans, but Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World had fought on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. Most of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s cultivators did not even possess the necessary strength to step onto that battlefield, and any who did qualify would be nothing more than cannon fodder on that battlefield.

    "Don''t worry, they won''t attack you," Arch-Elder Zen told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin appeared calm. "I don''t believe that at all."

    A vein throbbed at Wang Si¡¯s temple.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "They aren¡¯t that foolish. No one knows just how strong of an attack the force above us will allow us tounch. Everyone is afraid of being captured."

 Chapter 2018

    <h4>Chapter 2018</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen. "Senior, you think too highly of them. The stupidity of the four ruling powers is beyond anything that you can imagine. If they weren''t so stupid, they wouldn''t have dug their own graves by starting a civil war between humans. It¡¯s all thanks to them that Aeternus is having such an easy time right now. Honestly, I expect a good number of them to be Redbacks."

    "You Lu bastard, you¡¯re going too far!" Wang Si said threateningly.

    Ni Huang spoke up. "Why did you pretend to be from the White Dragon n?"

    This was the first time that Great Elder Ni Huang had seen Lu Yin after learning of his true identity. When Lu Yin''s identity had been revealed in the Perennial World, fighting had instantly broken out, and he had never had any chance to speak to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met Elder Ni Huang¡¯s gaze without any hesitation. "It was simply a coincidence."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang¡¯s voice held a trace of sadness as he continued, "I had honestly hoped that you were one of my nsmen. Unfortunately, you have let me down. You used and deceived the White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin remained unfazed. "If the White Dragon n hadn''t borrowed the White Dragon Rolls Over, my Lu family would have never been exiled. No matter what, you and I are already enemies."

    "Well spoken." Ni Huang¡¯s expression grew cold. "You and I have always been enemies. Even if the Forsaken Land manages to survive this disaster, that will not change."

    "That¡¯s justmon sense," Lu Yin scoffed.

    Ni Huang clenched a fist. There were very few who dared to speak to him in such a tone. Even other Semi-Progenitors would not be so audacious.

    Bai Laogui¡¯s eyes were icy. "Little bastard, you killed my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor and antagonized my entire Celestial Frost Sect. This isn¡¯t a debt that will be easily settled!¡±

    Lu Yin shot the man a quick re. "There¡¯s no need to worry about that, as I¡¯ll eventuallypletely annihte your Celestial Frost Sect. I¡¯ll wait for the remnants of your Celestial Frost Sect toe and try to settle debts with me.¡±

    Bai Laogui was left furious.

    Xia De sighed to himself as he watched the two sides argue. These Semi-Progenitors were skilled at battle, but they were no match for this youth in a verbal spar. This was not even mentioning that Kui Luo, arguably the person with the most vicious tongue in the entire universe, was standing right next to the kid.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you should already know that the New Corridor has been destroyed." Xia De finally spoke up to interrupt the bickering.

    Lu Yin honestly answered, "That¡¯s right."

    "This puts us in the same boat now. Only by working together will we stand any sort of fighting chance against Aeternus. How about letting our forces go? They will be of great help to us all," Xia De suggested.

    Ni Huang and the others carefully observed Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. Alright, I promise to release them."

    Xia De was unsure what expression to make. Was it really that easy?

    Even Arch-Elder Zen was stunned. The more he came to understand Lu Yin¡¯s personality, the more clearly Arch-Elder Zen understood that, while Lu Yin truly did have humanity¡¯s best interests at heart, the kid would never forget to make sure to maximize his personal gains.

    The most likely reason why he had established the Tower of the Fifth and had Aurora Fortress start manufacturing those new universal armors with microarray technology was in preparation for the Perennial World¡¯s invasion. While Arch-Elder Zen had no idea just how Lu Yin had been able to learn about the army¡¯s movements in advance, he was a hundred percent certain that whenever Lu Yin made a move, he would never take any losses.

    Agreeing to release the Perennial World¡¯s army so easily waspletely unlike Lu Yin.

    "I don¡¯t have an issue with that, but they will only be released on the battlefield," Lu Yin rified.

    Ni Huang¡¯s brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

    Lu Yin proceeded to exin, "If I let them out right now, who knows if you¡¯ll run off and hide or find some way to escape back to the Perennial World? Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to work together to fight against Aeternus? That¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll release your people on the battlefield with Aeternus, and then everyone can fight together."

    "Screw you!" Xia De swore, unable to help himself. "Throwing them onto a battlefield is no different from just killing them! You¡¯re despicable!"

    Lu Yin remained indifferent as he responded, "I hadn¡¯t intended to do that, but since you just reminded me that there¡¯s still that option, I guess I can just do that."

    "You insolent brat!" Wang Si screamed.

    Ni Huang looked at Arch-Elder Zen, suddenly appearing rather aggressive. "Is this what you meant when you said that we needed to let go of our hatred and face this catastrophe together? Lu Xiaoxuan is clearly prioritizing personal revenge."

    Arch-Elder Zen was feeling rather helpless. If Lu Yin actually intended to do as he was threatening, he would have just done so from the beginning, or at least kept such thoughts to himself. The fact that he had verbalized matters ced Arch-Elder Zen in a tricky position.

    Before Arch-Elder Zen could even try to cate the people from the Perennial World, Lu Yin interrupted them. "You don''t need to worry about that. I''m not evil enough to toss people into the middle of a fight. After all, that would mean that I¡¯d need to be there too. I don¡¯t n to throw my own life away."

    Ni Huang''s expression improved slightly after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    "However¡­" Lu Yin smirked. "I might end up facing a bit of danger myself before I¡¯m able to release them all, so I can¡¯t just let them out whenever. I need to find the right opportunity, and to do that, I need a bit of capital to protect myself. Do you understand?"

    Ni Huang was leftpletely confused. What was this kid talking about?

    Arch-Elder Zen finally understood Lu Yin¡¯s earlier actions. Sure enough, the kid never forgot to find a way to profit from every situation.

    Xia De was also puzzled. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin looked upset. "Did you all be idiots after cultivating for so long? I guess that your brains must have rotted from age."

    Bai Laogui spoke up in a cold tone. "Just tell us what you want. However, don''t get your hopes up. We only intended to invade the Forsaken Land, not cultivate here. None of us brought anything valuable."

    "If you want a battle technique, you can just forget about it," Wang Si added.

    It was only then that Ni Huang and Xia De finally understood what was happening. This method of bargaining felt very familiar, as it was the same manner in which the Lu family handled all matters. They all looked at Lu Yin with odd expressions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s chin rose up. "I don''t give a damn about your battle techniques. Just give me your star essence."

    Any Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind or anyone who had a passing understanding of Lu Yin would have been surprised to hear such a condition. Star essence was practically useless to an Envoy.

    However, everyone from the Perennial World acted as though such a thing was only to be expected. They all understood the Lu family very well.

    Any direct descendant of the Lu family needed dozens or even hundreds of times more star energy than ordinary cultivators. On top of that, they also used star energy to summon champions from their Champions'' Stage. Lu Yin had already be an Envoy, which meant that he cultivated with stellr energy, but he still used star energy to summon his champions that were beneath the Envoy realm.

    The Lu family''s cultivation and innate gift consumed a ridiculous amount of resources.

    "I can give you star essence, but you need to release all of those people right now. Otherwise, they will be at a disadvantage if they get released in the middle of a fight," Ni Huang countered.

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Bai Laogui stepped in. "The Forsaken Land''s true universe is already almost empty. This won¡¯t only affect stellr energy, but also star energy. Right now, this is the only region that is rtively stable. Those people can only adequately prepare themselves if you let them out now."

    Arch-Elder Zen also agreed. "Exactly, and that is precisely why we are here right now. Soon, more Semi-Progenitors and Envoys will gather here as well, and when that happens, we will prepare tounch a counterattack to drive Aeternus out and reseal the barrier in the Starfall Sea as quickly as possible. All of our forces need to be given sufficient time to prepare."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Fine, I agree."

    Xia De immediately offered, "I have 600 million star essence on me. You can have all of it."

    Lu Yin suddenly looked rather skeptical. "That¡¯s it?"

    Xia De was taken aback. "Isn¡¯t that enough? I''m a Semi-Progenitor, so star essence is useless to me. I only have this much on me in case I needed to buy something or give some to my descendants."

    He suddenly seemed to realize something, and he looked at Lu Yin in a more serious manner. "If even 600 million star essence isn¡¯t enough for you, then apparently you¡¯ve reaped quite the profit from this Forsaken Land."

    Arch-Elder Zen nced at Lu Yin. No one had ever been able to figure out just how much money Lu Yin had managed to gather. All that anyone knew was that it was an exorbitant sum.

    Not even Lu Yin himself had ever added up everything that he had ever earned. Even if he just added up his most recent gains, he had still acquired more than 200 billion star essence. Unfortunately, most of that had already been used up, so he only had around 70 billion star essence left in his cosmic ring.

    Although it was not very much, it was still better than nothing, so Lu Yin epted Xia De¡¯s star essence before pointedly looking at the other three Semi-Progenitors, indicating that it was their turn.

    Ni Huang turned over 900 million while Bai Laogui gave him 800 million star essence. Finally, Lu Yin turned to Wang Si.

    The woman gave him a look of pure disgust and rage as she begrudgingly handed over 300 million star essence. She was barely able to restrain herself from attacking during the exchange.

    Lu Yin managed to pocket a neat 2.6 billion star essence from four Semi-Progenitors. Not too shabby.

    "Despite your poverty, I¡¯ll still follow through on my end of the deal," Lu Yin said reluctantly. Zenith Mountain appeared, and countless people started falling out one after another, and all of themnded on a nearby.

    Everyone who appeared stared nkly at their new surroundings.

    Seeing the dazed expressions, Wang Si vented her frustrations on the army. "What are you looking around for? Start recovering your strength now!"

    Still inside Zenith Mountain, Wang Dashuai watched as everyone around him disappeared one by one, even the Envoys. He eagerly awaited his own turn.

    However, the fatty¡¯s turn never arrived. He, Yu Chen, Liu Shaoge, Wang Su, Xia Taili, and the other more important people all remained even after Zenith Mountain was put back away.

    "Where are Wang Su and Wang Yi ?" Wang Si demanded fiercely.

    Xia De then quickly scanned the area as well. "Xia Taili also isn¡¯t here."

    Lu Yin replied matter-of-factly, "I¡¯m keeping them in order to prevent you from ying any tricks."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare you lie to me!" Wang Si was incensed.

    Lu Yin somberly responded, "As long as I survive this disaster, I¡¯ll let them go. Sorry, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll release any of them before that. I can¡¯t trust any of you to follow through on what you¡¯ve said, especially you, you despicable old hag."

    Wang Si gritted her teeth while barely keeping herself from killing Lu Yin right then and there.

    "It¡¯s ready," Highsage Grandmaster called out from the distance.

    Lu Yin and everyone else looked over to be greeted by the sight of an enormous sourcebox array that had been set up in the middle of outer space.

    "This sourcebox array is unique to Eversky Ind. It was created by Highsage Grandmaster, and it is able to pull in stellr energy for a certain bit of time. This sourcebox array even hides this transfer from the true universe,¡± Arch-Elder Zen exined. He then turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Call all of your Envoys over right now to have them recover their stellr energy with this sourcebox array. We¡¯ll begin our counterattack as soon as possible."

    Lu Yin nodded and then had Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and all the others enter the sourcebox array.

    One by one, the Envoys from the Perennial World¡¯s army also proceeded to enter the sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin then called Liu Qianjue and all the other major powers of the Innerverse, informing them to dispatch their elite Envoys here to use the sourcebox array to restore their stellr energy while everyone else prepared for war.

    Arch-Elder Zen released an announcement to all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s major forces, including the Sixth Maind that remained in the Outerverse. Everyone was told to send their elites to the Innerverse¡¯s western flowzones where they were to wait for the counterattack to start.

    At this moment, the most pressing issue was to determine the limits of the attacks that the mentalwork would allow, which was closely followed by ensuring that all the human Envoys regained their full strength.

    At the border of the Starfall Sea, Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings continued grinding away against the mechanical ants.

    One day passed. Then two, then three¡­

    After a full ten days passed, the mechanical ants were utterly wiped out. However, the corpse kings did not move out to attack arger region. Instead, they remained concentrated at the border of the Starfall Sea.

    At the same time, all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors gathered in zing Mist Flowzone, along with any Envoys that they brought with them. Dozens of Envoy gathered within the sourcebox array, which made for an impressive sight.

 Chapter 2019

    <h4>Chapter 2019</h4>

    Lu Yin had also entered the sourcebox array, along with Kui Luo and the other Semi-Progenitors. They all needed to recover to their peak condition as well.

    A total of fifteen top experts were nning on participating in the attack: fourteen Semi-progenitors, plus Chief Justice Qing Ping, who could hold his own against a Semi-Progenitor.

    Arch-Elder Zen finally spoke up. "We can wait no longer. Once the Technocracy¡¯s mechanical ants are eliminated, it will be our turn. Before that happens, we must unite to fight Aeternus.

    "What about the two Progenitor seniors from the Sixth Maind?"

    There were four Semi-Progenitors present from the Sixth Maind: Jiu Yao, Xue Laogui, Herb Immortal, and Lan Xian.

    Lan Xian¡¯s face looked perfectly serene. A delicate tulle veil was draped over her face, and it gave her an ethereal, fairy-like appearance. She actually paid no heed to the other Semi-Progenitors, instead sneaking nces at Lu Yin from some distance away from time to time.

    Jiu Yao answered Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s question. "Their situation isn¡¯t great. Although ckless God disappeared for some unknown reason, our two Progenitors are still unable to destroy Corpse God''s body and reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea.¡±

    Xia Ji¡¯s forehead creased. "If we can¡¯t seal that passage, then what''s the point in starting a decisive battle? Even if we wipe out all the corpse kings currently in the Fifth Maind, more will just take their ce."

    "Do you mean to me the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines?" Jiu Yao¡¯s tone instantly soured.

    Xia Ji snorted coldly, but he said nothing further. Regardless of the current results, the two Progenitors had already done great things for humanity by holding the line in the Starfall Sea.

    Arch-Elder Zen continued, saying, "Even if we are unable to reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea, battle is inevitable. We have no choice in this matter. However, let me assure you all that I have the means to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea, as long as we can get close to it.¡± He then looked at Ni Huang. ¡°We will be relying on everyone¡¯s efforts to win this war. You know more about Aeternus than we do. As for the power limit of the mentalwork, we will need to conduct some tests.¡±

    "Please tell us what you know about our opponents."

    Everyone turned their attention to Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World, even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. They were quite curious about the Fifth Maind¡¯s primeval surnames.

    "Do you really have a way to reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea? What¡¯s your n?" Jiu Yao asked Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen thought for a while before replying, "Does anyone here know of the Sky Pir?"

    Wang Si and almost everyone else had never heard of it, but Ni Huang eximed, "The pir that was the central support of the Daosource Sect?"

    Jiu Yao said, "I do remember that there was indeed such a pir, but why bring it up now?"

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Jiu Yao and sympathetically answered, "While your Sixth Maind won that ancient war, victory was bought at a tragic cost. Many invaluable inheritances were destroyed back then, and even knowledge of the Sky Pir was lost."

    Jiu Yao''s expression grew dark. Although the Sixth Maind had won the ancient war, even recing the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky in the aftermath, it had been a pyrhhic victory that was not worth celebrating. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had been almostpletely destroyed by that lunatic Xia Shang. Even though most of it had been unharmed, over half of the experts guarding the Daosource Sect had died, and many precious inheritances had been lost.

    Jia Yao had not expected to learn that the pir that had supported the entire Daosource Sect would still be useful, as neither the Progenitor of Combat nor the Progenitor of Bloodlines possessed much knowledge about it.

    Arch-Elder Zen continued in a lighter tone, saying, "The Sky Pir, which once supported the Daosource Sect, is no ordinary item. I have no idea what material it is made from, but legend ims that it was made by the Origin Progenitor himself. It is indestructible, and it can even change its size.¡±

    "Zenith Mountain?" the Chief Justice blurted out.

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "Zenith Mountain appears to be a refined power vessel, but in reality, it is a piece of the Sky Pir. No one knows how it was removed from the rest of the pir. ording to our records, even Progenitors would struggle terribly to damage the Sky Pir, and it has endured through various ancient wars. The fact that it still exists even today is a testament to its tenacity. My n is to push Corpse God away and then use the Sky Pir to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea, therebypletely cutting off Aeternus¡¯ path to the Fifth Maind."

    An awkward silence filled the group, as all of them felt that this n was not actually feasible. Just to begin with, just how exactly were they supposed to force Corpse God back?

    Bai Laogui voiced the question on everyone¡¯s mind. "The Forsaken Land only has two Progenitors, and they are barely holding on. Even within the same realm, Progenitors can possess different levels of strength, and those two simply aren¡¯t strong enough to force Corpse God back. If even they can¡¯t do it, there¡¯s no need to mention us."

    Arch-Elder Zen said in a gravelly voice, "As long as the Sky Pir is pushed into the passage to the Starfall Sea, there will be a way. It was thanks to Progenitor Hui that my Hall of Honor was established. Even if you don¡¯t believe in me, you should believe in him.¡±

    No one could refute such words. While Jiu Yao and the others from the Sixth Maind all hated Progenitor Hui, they had to admit that his wisdom really was far beyond theirprehension. It was indeed possible that there was a way for the Sky Pir to block the passage to the Starfall Sea. At least, it was the only n that they had at the moment.

    "Where is the Sky Pir?" Ni Huang asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Mt. Microcosms is the Sky Pir."

    "So your Hall of Honor¡¯s Mt. Microcosms was the Sky Pir this whole time. It¡¯s no wonder why the Hall of Honor ims to be the legitimate ruler of the Human Domain." Xia Ji was surprised.

    "Then who is going to ce the Sky Pir in the passage to the Starfall Sea?" Jiu Yao asked.

    Lan Xian could not resist taking another nce at Lu Yin. She was not even the slightest bit interested in the current conversation.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin felt her eyesnd on him, and he instantly grew wary.

    "Wait a moment," Bai Laogui interrupted and turned to look at Chief Justice Qing Ping. "This person isn¡¯t a Semi-Progenitor. How is he qualified to join this discussion?"

    The Chief Justice said nothing. Instead Arch-Elder Zen exined, "He is strong enough to challenge Semi-Progenitors.¡±

    Bai Laogui sneered, "Challenge Semi-Progenitors? Since when did people like that appear in your Forsaken Land? Do you know what power levels a Semi-Progenitor has? In the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, such people were candidates to be potential gatekeepers of Tian Men."

    Arch-Elder Zen said, "His name is Qing Ping. I believe that you have heard of him".

    Bai Laogui had no recollection of the name, but Xia De shot Chief Justice a look of genuine surprise. "The person who sneaked into my Perennial World, suppressed the geniuses of his generation, and snatched Origin Matter? That Qing Ping?"

    Ni Huang was startled. "I remember now. He was the only person who seeded in taking away any Origin Matter from the Dominion Realm. Everyone else on that expedition failed, including even the Lu family''s descendant."

    The Chief Justice remained silent.

    Arch-Elder Zen answered, "Yes, that¡¯s indeed him. He is currently extremely close to bing a Semi-Progenitor himself, but his strength is enough for him to cross realms and challenge Semi-Progenitors. He once fought Forgotten Ruins God, as well as Ancient God on Mt. Microcosms."

    Bai Laogui no longer doubted the man¡¯s strength. No one understood the terrifying strength of the Lu family better than the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers. Qing Ping had not only defeated the Lu family''s descendant in the Dominion Realm, but also every other genius of that generation. At the time, besides the four ruling powers¡¯ disciples, people from the Liu and Nong families had also joined in. The fact that everyone had been defeated by this man proved that his strength was no joke.

    "Since we¡¯re done discussing the n regarding the Sky Pir, let''s move onto the next topic. Senior Ni Huang, please tell us more about our enemy," Arch-Elder Zen said to Ni Huang.

    Ni Huang gave Qing Ping a long look before sping his hands behind his back. "Corpse God is forcibly keeping the passage to the Starfall Sea open while ckless God has vanished. All of the opponents that we will face at this time are Semi-Progenitors. Of them, the Seven Skygods and the Twelve Marquises are our most mysterious enemies. Have you encountered the Seven Skygods before?"

    Jiu Chi took a sip of his wine. His pale face showed that he had yet to recover from his previous injuries. "I met Ancient God."

    Jiu Yao chimed in, "I met Forgotten Ruins God."

    Xia Ji looked at Kui Luo, who responded with a roll of his eyes. "Why are you looking at this old man? Fine, fine. I won¡¯t tell them how you cried like a baby after getting your ass handed to you by Undying God."

    Xia Ji erupted in anger, "You old bastard! Don¡¯t spout bullshit!¡±

    Kui Luo grinned mischievously. "Which part of that was bullshit? You could have held him off longer, but Undying God used some sort of fancy attack that nearly ended you. If not for me, you would¡¯ve been done for."

    Xia Ji''s face was stormy, but he had no way of refuting Kui Luo¡¯s story. After experiencing Undying God¡¯s strength for himself, Xia Ji had finally understood why the Seven Skygods were so notorious.

    Ni Huang spoke up, "The fact that you¡¯ve managed to face the Seven Skygods and survive is already an achievement in itself. Every single one of them is an absolute monster. To be honest, I don''t really know much about them. At best, I can simply give you a bit of information about the Twelve Marquises.

    "After Marquis Wu Yi was trapped, I ran into Marquis Green Bamboo, as he was my next opponent. Aside from him, I don¡¯t know if any of the other Marquises have joined this war."

    Lan Xian interjected, "We met Marquis Wang."

    Ni Huang was momentarily stunned. "You survived meeting Marquis Wang?"

    Herb Immortal sighed. "All three of us were together when we met him. We wouldn''t have survived if we hadn''t worked together. Even then, we were still overpowered."

    Kui Luo chimed in sarcastically to say, "When you were up against the Celestial Demon Semi-Progenitor from the Celestial Beast Empire, the three of you were also nearly done in even after teaming up. What have you guys even been doing with your lives? Aren¡¯t you all rather useless?¡±

    Xue Laogui felt his blood boil, and he turned to re at Kui Luo. "You¡¯re talking about one of the Twelve Marquises!"

    Kui Luo gave the man a strange grin. "It sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of the Twelve Marquises."

    "Enough, Kui Luo. Can¡¯t you just shut up for once? Your voice is revolting," Wang Si said in annoyance. Kui Luo was infamous throughout the entire Perennial World and had the absolute worst reputation. Given the fact that he had started following Lu Xiaoxuan, Wang Si felt more irritated than ever when sheid eyes on the old man.

    This time, Kui Luo got irritated. "You old bitch, do you seriously think that I''m afraid of you just because you had an affair with Bai Laogui? Both of you cane at me together! This old man has never been scared of a fight."

    Wang Si stomped forward in a rage, her hand raised to strike.

    Bai Laogui also moved forward. "Kui Luo, quit spouting bullshit!"

    Kui Luo sneered. "You still don¡¯t dare admit what you¡¯ve done? Isn¡¯t that girl Wang Yun your descendant?"

    Xia De covered his mouth after hearing such a juicy bit of gossip. "Bai Laogui, I didn¡¯t know that you still had it in you.¡±

    Bai Laogui¡¯s anger took over. "Kui Luo, you must be tired of living!¡±

    Ni Huang and Arch-Elder Zen both took action at the same time; one moved to block Wang Si and Bai Laogui while the other appeared in front of Kui Luo. "Humanity is facing a disaster, and we¡¯ve already agreed before this gathering that, no matter what past hatred or grudges you may have against each other, they will be set aside for now."

    Ni Huang red at Kui Luo with cold eyes. "Stop talking so much."

    Arch-Elder Zen nced over at Kui Luo as well and added, "Whether such things are true or false, this is not the time to speak of them."

    Wang Si¡¯s eyebrows climbed up her forehead. "Old man, what is that supposed to mean?"

    Arch-Elder Zen met the woman¡¯s gaze without any sign of backing down.

    Bai Laogui also red aggressively at Arch-Elder Zen. Tensions quickly spiked.

    Jiu Yao broke the silence with a shout. "If we need to worry about you fighting each other after we came here to join forces with you, we might as well go our separate ways."

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Without uniting, we will easily be defeated one by one. I would like to ask everyone present here: who here is confident in facing Aeternus? Stellr energy can¡¯t be recovered, which leaves us at a severe disadvantage. Also, not a single one of us has the ability to take the Sky Pir to where it needs to be with so many of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors blocking the area."

    Ni Huang red at Wang Si and Bai Laogui. "Put aside your hatred for now. Only by defeating Aeternus can youter get your revenge. If you don¡¯t, we will all die together, and I¡¯m sure that you don¡¯t want to be buried in the same grave as that person."

    Kui Luo was just about to continue taunting the two, but Arch-Elder Zen interrupted with a voice that brooked no arguments. "I don¡¯t care what might have happened to you nor what you¡¯ve done in the past. Right now, the bigger picture needs to be our top priority.¡±

 Chapter 2020

    <h4>Chapter 2020</h4>

    Kui Luo gave a wolfish grin before turning to meet the furious eyes of various Semi-Progenitors one by one before throwing his hands up. "Fine, I get it! This old man isn¡¯t wee here. You guys can just decide things for yourselves. I¡¯m heading off.¡±

    "Every human Semi-Progenitor in this part of the universe is already here. Who will represent you if you leave?" Jiu Yao asked sternly.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes and then gestured for Lu Yin to move over. "Get over here and listen to them for me. Just pass on anything important to meter."

    He then spoke louder to address everyone. "Happy now? I can fight for humanity, but I don¡¯t have any interest in wasting my saliva on you lot.¡±

    He then turned and left.

    All the Semi-Progenitors present then shifted their attention onto Lu Yin.

    Even an expert with a power level of over a million would start trembling when ced in such a position. After all, Lu Yin was currently facing an entire group of Semi-Progenitors.

    However, Lu Yin merely sauntered over with a carefree attitude and took Kui Luo¡¯s ce. "Carry on.¡±

    "How is this little thing qualified to join this discussion? Is he also able to fight against a Semi-Progenitor?" Wang Si¡¯s voice dripped with contempt.

    Lu Yin gave the woman the stink eye. "Old bitch, you really are full of bullshit."

    He then turned to Bai Laogui and continued in the same contemptuous tone, "Are you actually attracted to something like that?¡±

    Bai Laogui''s anger red up even more intensely than before. No matter how much he might hate Kui Luo, they were at least peers from the same generation. However, this child, who was nothing more than a mere Envoy, dared to mock him.

    Wang Si also started to see red.

    Ni Huang quickly shouted, "Alright! That¡¯s enough nonsense from all of you!"

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I¡¯m not saying this because of our own issues, but objectively, you are not qualified to join this discussion. Right now, we need to choose amander to lead all of humanity¡¯s forces. Kui Luo wasn¡¯t qualified to begin with, so there¡¯s no need for you to be here as his recement. Please leave."

    Lu Yin raised his chin. ¡°I see. In that case, there¡¯s no need for any discussion. I¡¯m the best candidate.¡±

    Ni Huang and everyone else present just stared nkly at Lu Yin. For a moment, they simply could not process what he had just said.

    After that moment passed, Xue Laogui doubled over inughter. ¡°Juniors these days are really bold! They even dare to try tomand Semi-Progenitors! How absurd!"

    Arch-Elder Zen also stared at Lu Yin in shock. He had already intended to have Lu Yinmand a portion of the army, but certainly not the Semi-Progenitors.

    "Arrogant! Some Lu bastard wants tomand us? You¡¯ve lost your mind," Wang Si mocked.

    Lu Yinughed. "Why do you all believe that amander must have equal or greater strength than you?"

    He looked at Xue Laogui. "During the war in the Outerverse, I, Lu Yin, took back the eastern weaves from your Sixth Maind. You people sent out three Semi-Progenitors, and yet you were still unable to take those weaves back with brute force. We ended up signing an agreement for both of us topromise. Tell me, Senior, did that happen or not?"

    Xue Laogui derisively answered, "That¡¯s merely because we were having trouble with Yao Di. Without the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s interference, how would we have ever signed an agreement with you?"

    "Without the Astral Beast Domain, there wouldn¡¯t have even been a war. Can you even hear your own words?" Lu Yin¡¯s voice was thick with sarcasm.

    Xue Laogui¡¯s eyes suddenly zed with killing intent. "Our enemy is right in front of us. I won¡¯t bicker with a junior."

    Lu Yin sneered. "And yet this junior is exactly the one who stood up to the Astral Beast Domain in the Outerverse after your Sixth Maind retreated from them. You nned to have the Astral Beast Domain fight a bloody war against us so that you could eventually reap the benefits after both of us were weakened. I was the one who saw through your ns and even included it in my calctions. Please tell me, just what did any of that have to do with my cultivation realm?¡±

    Xue Laogui had no answer for that.

    Lu Yin then turned back to Wang Si. "Old bitch, I, Lu Yin, acted as Long Qi in the Perennial World and yed all of you like a fiddle. If not for the strange coincidence of Wang Yun recognizing me from meeting me in the Fifth Maind, I would be calling a Progenitor ¡®Master¡¯ right now. I did all of that right under your noses as well. To be blunt, I outmatch all of you when ites to intelligence.¡±

    Wang Si¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "You¡¯re just sly and cunning."

    Lu Yin moved on to look at Ni Huang, Xia De, and Bai Laogui in turn. "Just now, you said that Kui Luo isn¡¯t qualified to be themander. That¡¯s true. But looking at the overall situation, not one of you four qualify either."

    Ni Huang responded in a challenging manner. "Who here dares to im to surpass my strength? If you¡¯re speaking of qualifications tomand, I fought in the final war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. On top of that, I have the knowledge umted from fighting against Aeternus for countless years. I¡¯ve more or less met everyst one of the Twelve Marquises as well. How am I unqualified?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze remained steady as he met Ni Huang¡¯s eyes. "Like I just said, strength has nothing to do with one¡¯s ability tomand an army. Senior, did you evermand any troops during thatst war with the Sixth Maind? If so, you are unqualified because you lost that war. If you didn¡¯t, then yourck of experience makes you even less qualified tomand. This junior has met many seniors who have lived since the Daosource Sect era until now. You are not the only one. As for your knowledge of the Twelve Marquises, that¡¯s just knowledge, unless you intend to hide such information from us?"

    Ni Huang frowned. "Regardless, a junior has no right tomand us."

    Lu Yin suddenly gave Arch-Elder Zen a meaningful look. "Senior, may I ask who is the most famous person in the Fifth Maind?"

    This question left Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitorspletely stunned. How did one even quantify fame? Despite their status as Semi-Progenitors, none of the people present would consider themselves the most famous person in the Fifth Maind. After all, people usually interacted the most with those at simr levels of strength, which meant that average cultivators, and even Hunters, knew almost nothing about Semi-Progenitors. In fact, many people had most likely never even heard of those who were present at this meeting.

    A decade ago, there would have been no answer to such a question. Even if Arch-Elder Zen was the master of the Hall of Honor, how many people in the Fifth Maind actually knew about him?

    The more powerful the cultivator was, the lower a profile they would keep.

    However, at this moment, Arch-Elder Zen answered without any hesitation, "Of course that would be you, Lu Yin."

    Ni Huang¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Lu Yin smiled and confidently raised his chin before turning to look each and every Semi-Progenitor in the eyes. "That¡¯s right¡ªme, Lu Yin. My name has be universally known since the Astral Combat Tournament. ZENITH proved that I am peerless. I founded the Great Eastern Alliance and united the Outerverse. On top of all of that, how could anyone forget that I created the Tower of the Fifth to raise up the Fifth Maind? Is there a single cultivator anywhere who doesn¡¯t know of me, Lu Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin then spoke to Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World, "In this Fifth Maind, if I, Lu Yin speak, how much influence do you think it holds? Go and ask anywhere. Even before the seniors here, I am confident iming that this Fifth Maind hase under my Lu name."

    Not to mention Ni Huang¡¯s group, but even Jiu Yao and the others Semi-Progenitors were stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s words. Without them realizing it, Lu Yin had already reached the peak. He may not have caught up to them in terms of cultivation, but his influence far surpassed anyone else¡¯s.

    Could even the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect or the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hall of Honor dare to im to have greater influence on the universe than Lu Yin?

    Without any outside assistance, this youth had stopped the Astral Beast Domain, forced the Sixth Maind topromise with him, and altered the decisions of the Hall of Honor. He was someone who was known to everyone in the entire Fifth Maind.

    "If you¡¯re choosing amander, then who else is better suited for the role than me, Lu Yin?" Lu Yin asked his audience.

    Jiu Chi was the first to speak. "I agree."

    He had personally watched the war in the Outerverse between the Great Eastern Alliance and the Astral Beast Domain y out. He understood the type of people that Lu Yin hadmanded and controlled in the past. The youth¡¯s cultivation was absolutely not an obstacle in the least. Let alone Semi-Progenitors, Lu Yin was someone who would dare to evenmand Progenitors.

    "I agree as well," Highsage Grandmaster said.

    Elder Gong said, "I agree."

    Ni Huang and others looked at Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded and wistfully said, "In regards tomanding, no one canpare with this child."

    Xia Ji did not speak, but Lan Xian did, "I agree."

    Jiu Yao was caught off guard.

    Herb Immortal added, "I agree."

    The Chief Justice said, "I agree."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Adding in Kui Luo¡¯s vote, more than half the people here agree. Of course, you can still suggest someone else for the role, but I doubt that their qualifications will surpass my own."

    Jiu Yao shook his head. "Forget it. Leave it with him."

    He looked at Lu Yin. "Tell us your n, and we¡¯ll determine whether we will follow it. In case you don¡¯t already know, we can use the Sky Pir to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea. You don¡¯t need to know many details, and it¡¯s enough if you are aware that we have something that can seal that passage.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He was not naive enough to believe that these Semi-Progenitors would obey his orders without question. The reason why he had fought to be themander was simply because he refused to give control of his life to anyone else.

    Not to mention, none of these Semi-Progenitors were qualified to give him orders.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and tapped to open his gadget. "Wang Wen, how¡¯s the ning along?"

    "We alreadypleted it a long time ago. The current n is very simple, so I''ll send it to you now." Wang Wen hung up after saying his piece.

    Lu Yin soon received the battle ns that had been drafted by Wang Wen, Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao, and Wei Rong.

    "You need someone else to design your ns for you? Then why fight to be themander? Just have that person take it," Wang Si asked contemptuously. If any chance arose, she would dly kill Lu Yin. His death would not make much of a difference to this war.

    Lu Yin snorted derisively. "Just shut up and listen, or is even that too difficult for you?"

    Wang Si¡¯s killing intent spiked.

    Lu Yin drew an outline of the border between the Starfall Sea, the Innerverse, and the Technocracy in the air between them. "Right now, this is the region where most of Aeternus¡¯s monsters are fighting against the Technocracy. Honestly, there¡¯s no grand strategy for this next battle. We have just one goal: fight until they pull back. No matter what happens, we simply need to jump into the fight already taking ce, clear out the corpse kings, and then seal the passage to the Starfall Sea. This is our one and only goal for this battle.

    "This means that you shouldn¡¯t bother with the Semi-Progenitor corpse kings, the Seven Skygods, or the Twelve Marquises. Just focus on getting to this location." Lu Yin pointed to the passage to the Starfall Sea. "Even if Semi-Progenitor corpse kings rush towards the Daosource Sect or the Hall of Honor, it doesn''t matter. As long as we can reseal the Starfall Sea, we can deal with everything elseter.¡±

    Ni Huang looked unconvinced, "This is your n?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Like I said, our strategy is simple. Were you expecting me toe up with some grand scheme that would remain famous for eons toe? That¡¯s just not realistic. I just want everyone to follow this n and remember our one goal: to get to the entrance to the Starfall Sea and use that Sky Pir or whatever to seal it. We don¡¯t need to worry about anything else before that.¡±

    "This is everyone¡¯s mission. As for the countless corpse kings that will be rushing in, we¡¯ll transport our troops with hidden worlds."

    "Hidden worlds?" Arch-Elder Zen had not expected such a topic toe up.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know that the Hall of Honor doesn¡¯t allow any hidden worlds to leave the Honor Zone, but given our time constraints, our only option is to use hidden worlds to move our troops around. Even if my Great Eastern Alliance starts rushing forward right now, they will still need several months to reach the Starfall Sea. That¡¯s enough of a dy that corpse kings could spread across all the western flowzones, which will cause countless casualties."

    Arch-Elder Zen let out a long, heavy sigh.

 Chapter 2021

    <h4>Chapter 2021</h4>

    "Seniors, please settle any matters that you have as soon as possible. When we move against Aeternus, they¡¯ll try everything they can to lure you away from fighting in the battle at the Starfall Sea. They will also do their best to waste your stellr energy, just as they did when they firstunched their attack. There are battles raging everywhere right now in the Outerverse, Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse, which does not bode well for our Fifth Maind. We don''t need topletely surround our targeted battlefield. Rather, we just need to split up and strike it from three directions¡­" Lu Yin exined their current strategy in great detail. It was nothingplicated, but if the Semi-Progenitors deviated from what was proposed, the entire n would copse.

    Aeternus¡¯s goal was to separate the group of Semi-Progenitors to prevent them from influencing the battlefield at the entrance to the Starfall Sea.

    Wang Wen and the others strategists had already understood Aeternus¡¯s intention long before, which was why their n was to target the passage to the Starfall Sea at all costs.

    ¡­

    Half a dayter, the Semi-Progenitors all left the meeting one after another until only Kui Luo remained. Even the four Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World left for the Neoverse to help move some of the hidden worlds to the Outerverse and help with transferring some of the troops over. When the Sixth Maind had fallen from their previous heights and been forced to take refuge in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, they had lost all their hidden worlds or simr treasures. Thus, they were forced to rely on those of the Fifth Maind. Given the fact that humanity was about to face the endless horde that belonged to Aeternus, they needed to boost their own numbers as much as possible in order to put up a fight. The Sixth Maind¡¯s forces were indispensable.

    "Do you really believe that we can actually win this fight?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It¡¯s impossible to win given our current strength."

    He gazed into the distance. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Aeternus. With the Fifth Maind''s true universe drained, the human Semi-Progenitors are all suffering from a massive drop in strength as they continue fighting. If Aeternus doesn¡¯t take full advantage of this chance to take over the Fifth Maind, then the ns they¡¯ve prepared for countless years will alle to nothing. Still, I highly doubt that their schemes will be this fragile. There¡¯s no way that they don¡¯t have any backup ns.¡±

    "Then why even bother fighting?" Kui Luo asked quietly.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "Because we must. As long as we fight, we have a chance of winning, no matter how small that chance might be. It¡¯s possible that the Perennial World might suddenly put greater pressure on Aeternus at the battlefield behind the Mother Tree and in the New World, forcing the Twelve Marquises and Seven Skygods to strengthen those areas. Maybe unlocking whatever is unsealed in that frozen ce will introduce new variables into the ying field. No one knows for sure. There¡¯s even a chance that Burial Garden will reopen and Progenitor Chen will reveal himself as actually alive after all this time. If we don¡¯t fight, we stand no chance at all.¡±

    Kui Luo sighed. "If you take everything that you have right now over to the Perennial World with you, you just might be able to survive there."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Are you saying thaht I have the power to hold my own against Progenitors?"

    Kui Luo said nothing further. No matter how much power Lu Yin umted, he would never be anything more than an ant to a Progenitor until he stepped onto that same level himself. If he did decide to relocate his forces to the Perennial World, his enemies would be Progenitors. Such powerhouses stood on apletely different level than Semi-Progenitors. Even if he had Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors at his side, such support would be of extremely limited use.

    Even though the Fifth Maind had gathered under the Lu surname, there was no longer any ce in the Perennial World for the Lu family.

    With his remaining time, Lu Yin gathered everyone important to him onto Zenith Mountain, such as Wang Wen and Wei Rong. In just a single day, the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress was emptied, leaving behind only the original residents.

    Lu Yin would have taken everyone if possible, but even Zenith Mountain had its limits.

    All of his ns depended on the ultimate oue of this war. If the humans lost a decisive battle, Lu Yin would immediately flee from the Fifth Maind through Jupiter to hide in the Perennial World.

    That was hisst resort.

    After collecting his people from the Ross Empire¡¯s mobile fortress, he proceeded to do the same at Zenyu Star, and then at Earth.

    Apart from their leader, Leon''s Armada had also been taken into Zenith Mountain. All of these people would fight in the uing battle; as this crisis concerned all of humanity, no one could escape their duty.

    This was simrly true of the Astral Combat Academy.

    The next day, Lu Yin received word that he could start making his way towards the western flowzones. He proceeded to do so on the back of Ancestor Tortoise.

    The entire Mavis family was participating in this battle.

    "Is your family really not afraid of being wiped out in this battle?" Kui Luo asked Mavis Yunying.

    Yunying Mavis¡¯s cheek twitched. What a terrible way of wording things! "Ancestor Tortoise will protect us."

    "Wow! So strong! It can protect this old man too, right?" Kui Luo tried ttering the woman.

    Yunying Mavis created a bit of distance between herself and the man. How could a Semi-Progenitor be so shameless?

    Lu Yin looked calm. This battle would decide who would rule the Fifth Maind. Normally, something so important would make anyone incredibly nervous. But given the number of times that he had almost died, Lu Yin was basically immune to getting worked up about such things.

    Ancestor Tortoise soon delivered the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s Allied Forces to the Innerverse¡¯s western flowzones.

    Four Semi-Progenitors, including Jiu Yao, made their way towards the Innerverse and the Starfall Sea from the Outerverse, carrying several hidden worlds.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others carried hidden worlds with them from the Neoverse, simrly making their way to the Starfall Sea.

    At the passage to the Starfall Sea, the fight between Aeternus and the Technocracy¡¯s mechanical ants was reaching its conclusion. Flesh, blood, and mechanical shards filled this entire region of space.

    Marquis Wu Yi remained trapped within the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts. Several corpse kings had also been trapped there due to Aeternus¡¯s experiments in probing the limits of the mentalwork. They had eventually reached the conclusion that only an attack as strong as an eight-tribtion Envoy would be noticed. As long as attacks were kept at or below that level, there would be no reaction from the mentalwork.

    Anyone who unleashed an attack above that limit would be captured without exception.

    Additionally, Semi-Progenitors could no longer utilize their inner worlds. An inner world was the culmination of a Semi-Progenitor''s strength, cultivation, and everything that they could produce. Releasing one¡¯s inner world would instantly cause their power level to surpass the limit of an eight-tribtion Envoy¡¯s strength, which meant being instantly captured.

    ¡­

    It was a day worthy of being recorded down in the annals of human history, provided that humanity continued to exist in the Fifth Maind.

    From the Neoverse, Innerverse, and Outerverse, fifteen Semi-Progenitors led countless cultivators to the entrance of the Starfall Sea to fight a decisive battle against Aeternus. This would be a fight without any strategy, and the participants would have no choice but to fight to the death.

    To the north stood Jiu Yao, and countless cultivators emerged from hidden worlds at his location: Qing Hua, Ancestor Sightless, Nong Laohan, the Sword Valley¡¯s master, Master San Cun, Ancestor Lingtong, and many others. Familiar faces could be seen, some of which were enemies. Despite that, everyone marched into battle without any hesitation. Even Fan Shun, the Greenmen Duo, and many youths could be seen fighting corpse kings.

    An array of imprints illuminated the darkness of space, shining as bright as day. Lan Xian¡¯s three-stringed instrument echoed, apanying the cacophony of battle cries.

    To the south, Judicial Commissioner Mu En, Yang Ji, Master Yan, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Yao Shan, Elder Yuan Ke, and many others stormed the battlefield, meeting the slitted scarlet eyes head on.

    "With me, little ones!" Highsage Wudi shouted, still as domineering as he had been atop Mt. Microcosms itself.

    Highsage Shenwei was silent, but next to him, Highsage Leon shed out with his war de.

    Beams of ck and white shot across the battlefield, beheading corpse kings one after another. Those beams were ck and White.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, experts from the Seven Courts stepped forward. Hui Kong looked to the west, aplex expression on his face as his eyes were somewhat flushed. He had finally found an answer: the Technocracy was not humanity¡¯s enemy. Instead, it was a special force that Progenitor Hui had prepared to stand against Aeternus.

    He had not been mistaken! Their ancestor had never been an enemy of humanity!

    Lu Yin stood atop Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, studying the passage to the Starfall Sea thaty off in the distance. One after another, powerhouses were rushing onto the battlefield, and thousands of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s warships bombarded the enemy. However, a single corpse king that could undergo a Green Eyes Transformation could eliminate all of those vessels. After all, that had already happened to tens of millions of cultivators who had once stood guard at the passage to the Starfall Sea in the past.

    Numbers were rather meaningless against true experts.

    Liu Huang, Liu Qianjue, Wen Zizai, and the other leaders of the eight great flowzones moved out, as well as the Lost Radiance Academy¡¯s Dean Han. Even the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s mentors moved out. This battle was the Fifth Maind¡¯sst hope.

    Upon seeing the heavy losses suffered by the warships, Shui Chuanxiao sent down an order for all the battleships to pull back. For the humans, anybody who had reached the Explorer realm fought in space while any beneath that level fought on the surface of variouss. This scene could be described with a single word: a bloodbath.

    Ancestor Tortoise continued straight towards the battlefield. No corpse king could touch the creature. Although no one knew just how strong Ancestor Tortoise was, its body alone was enough to create a dent in Aeternus¡¯s forces. A Semi-Progenitor corpse king punched at Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s shell, only to be sent flying out of sight from the recoil, which led to a round of cheers from everyone atop the tortoise.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Although Aeternus had fielded a massive army, the Seven Skygods could not exert a level ofbat strength much greater than Xia Ji¡¯s due to the restraints of the mentalwork. As long as the humans managed to deal with Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, the battle was not entirely hopeless.

    "Ancestor Tortoise, take him down!" Lulu shouted. A glowing fruit from the sacred tree changed positions, and Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s head snapped around, coincidentally shooting towards Marquis Green Bamboo. The tortoise had already moved into the region where Ni Huang was fighting against Marquis Green Bamboo.

    Marquis Green Bamboo quickly moved to dodge the approaching head. "Is this the Lu family¡¯s pet?"

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Marquis Green Bamboo!" Lu Yin called out.

    Marquis Green Bamboo then noticed Lu Yin. "You? The Lu family¡¯s survivor?"

    Lu Yin sneered, "Lulu, have Ancestor Tortoise hit him. Hard."

    "Right! Get ¡®im!" Lulu moved another one of the glowing fruits. Ancestor Tortoise could not care less about what was happening around it, or even Marquis Green Bamboo since its favorite food was right there. The tortoise shot forward.

    Marquis Green Bamboo had no choice but to hurry to get out of the way once again.

    "You can''t escape!" Ni Huang raised a hand, which then took on the form of a strange w that tore at Marquis Green Bamboo. Marquis Green Bamboo mused, "It looks like you are determined to end this war. That isn¡¯t a bad idea, but unfortunately, you humans have a weakness: your emotions. I¡¯m going to kill those people from the Perennial World right now, and then we¡¯ll see how hard your determination holds."

    He then turned and left.

    Ni Huang''s expression changed, but he ignored Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s departure. This was precisely why Lu Yin had so strongly emphasized their goal over and over again, making sure to make things as clear as possible. If Ni Huang pursued Marquis Green Bamboo, not only would the two get bogged down in an extended battle, but such a thing would also consume Ni Huang¡¯s stellr energy and ultimately result in a loss. This was Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s entire intention.

    Ni Huang gave a silent apology to the people who were about to be ughtered by Marquis Green Bamboo and then rushed forward to the passage to the Starfall Sea. Once there, Ni Huang gave everything he had to ughter every nearby corpse king.

    Even if every single person on the battlefield died during this battle, it would not matter. As long as the corpse kings were also wiped out, it would mean that the Fifth Maind had managed to defend itself. Humanity would be able to continue moving forward, just like what had happened after the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    Ni Huang suddenly felt thankful to Lu Yin for keeping the most important people confined to Zenith Mountain. Otherwise, they would most likely die on this battlefield as well.

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s threat had not been an idle one. He chose an area of the battlefield and then waved a hand. Green bamboo stabbed through an entire group of cultivators from the Perennial World. Their deaths were both extremely agonizing and long.

    He looked back, only to realize that Ni Huang had not chased after him. Marquis Green Bamboo sighed. "It seems that this won¡¯t be easy.¡±

 Chapter 2022

    <h4>Chapter 2022</h4>

    The same scene yed out in many areas across the battlefield. Aeternus had fewer Semi-Progenitors than humanity, so they attempted to use all sorts of tricks to distract the human Semi-Progenitors and force them to expend their stellr energy. However, no matter what happened, the human Semi-Progenitors paid no heed as they continued to simply exterminate as many corpse kings as possible.

    Semi-Progenitor attacks swept the area, each one killing entire swaths of corpse kings. Still, Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors seemed unconcerned.

    "Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors are trying to buy time," Wang Wen said. Shui Chuanxiao, Wei Rong, and Wang Wen were in the safest possible location on the entire battlefield: Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin looked around at the raging battle taking ce in every direction. "Tell me, do you think that they know about our ns?"

    Wang Wen¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

    "You already know the answer in your heart, don¡¯t you?" Lu Yin said.

    Wang Wen quietly replied, "If they do know, it proves that there are traitors among the Semi-Progenitors."

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists. "I always n for the worst-case scenario. Victory is determined by the side that¡¯s better prepared."

    All of the human Semi-Progenitors charged towards the passage to the Starfall Sea. However, there was only one Sky Pir. Only Lu Yin knew who was carrying the Sky Pir. Not even Arch-Elder Zen or Wang Wen had any clue about this detail. This had been done to prevent any human traitors from leaking the n to Aeternus.

    If there were traitors within the human forces, they would definitely take action and try to prevent the Semi-Progenitors from reaching the passage.

    Lu Yin kept his eyes peeled open, but they had not yet seen any clues. He truly hoped that Aeternus was still in the dark about their n.

    ¡­

    The Semi-Progenitors who did not face any opponents with the strength to block their path were able to smoothly proceed to their destination.

    At the moment, Highsage Grandmaster and several other Semi-Progenitors were facing enemies who essentially possessed strength equal to their own. However, because the Aeternals had fewer Semi-Progenitors than the humans, Marquis Green Bamboo and Forgotten Ruins God did not try to engage Ni Huang or Jiu Yao in one-on-one matches. Instead, those two did their best to buy more time. This allowed the two human Semi-Progenitors to simply shoot straight to the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    Suddenly, six human Semi-Progenitors¡ªJiu Chi, Ni Huang, Jiu Yao, Xia Ji, Kui Luo, and the Chief Justice¡ªraced towards the passage in unison.

    Forgotten Ruins God smirked. "I don''t believe that you humans are able to control your emotions."

    She had found her targets: the people from the Sixth Maind who hade from the Outerverse. Pressure started to build as she brought a hand up, before it was suddenly mmed down.

    Everything within range of her attack waspletely ttened.s copsed, corpse kings disintegrated, and everyone from the Sixth Maind was squished. There was no discrimination between allies or enemies. Most notable among the countless casualties was Ancestor Sightless.

    Ancestor Sightless had never expected to meet his end while serving as nothing more than cannon fodder. He was unable to put up even the slightest bit of resistance when facing Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack. He did not even have the time to consider escaping before his life was taken.

    White Silkworm, the most talented descendent of the Sightless n, also died in this attack. He had been a proud cultivator who had been bold enough to even fight against Realmlings head-on, and he had been second only to ckblood Realm¡¯s Realmling, Shang Rong. But on the current battlefield, White Silkworm was less than an insignificant speck of dust.

    Jiu Yao witnessed this tragedy, but he did not turn back. He resolutely continued striding towards the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    Forgotten Ruins God was taken aback. "Hmph! Let''s see just how many of you can survive my attack."

    She casually flicked in a different direction. The master of the Cloud Valley sensed that he was being directly targeted, and he shouted, "RUN!¡±

    Sword Schr turned towards the shout. He had just cut off the head of an Enlighter realm corpse king when everything went ck and disappeared.

    The next moment, space shattered and all of the lifeless corpses were sucked in, including the ones belonging to the master of Cloud Valley, Sword Schr, and numerous others. Every single person from the Cloud Valley had disappeared in an instant.

    That included a certain sword attendant who had been secretly acting as Lu Yin¡¯s spy.

    Forgotten Ruins God massacred people from the Sixth Maind en masse while the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors decimated corpse kings in retaliation.

    Due to the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ wholehearted efforts, the number of corpse kings on the battlefield had significantly decreased.

    The first Semi-Progenitor to draw close to the passage to the Starfall Sea was Kui Luo. The moment he approached his goal, the old man felt that something was off. If he continued forward, he would face the Progenitor standing in the entrance. He nced at Corpse God¡¯s towering figure, and a chill ran down the human¡¯s spine. He froze in ce and nervously swallowed. "This isn¡¯t right. What about the others? Why am I the only one here?¡±

    At this moment, the Chief Justice appeared. "Let''s go."

    Kui Luo grinned toothily. "What¡¯s the rush? Let¡¯s wait a bit longer."

    The Chief Justice, who was shrouded within ck mist as usual, made his way towards the passage to the Starfall Sea without any hint of hesitation.

    In the distance, Lu Yin''s eyes froze.

    A figure appeared in front of the Chief Justice, blocking his path. It casually pointed a finger at the man, and a ck rope shot out from the void and tangled into the darkness, binding the Chief Justice in ce. This was the Wang family''s secret technique, Restriction.

    Lu Yin was stunned. The person who had stopped the Chief Justice was wrapped up within a white cloth from head to toe that made them look like a mummy, though they possessed a feminine figure. He had not expected this female to use the Wang family¡¯s secret technique.

    The darkness was blown away, and the Chief Justice¡¯s true body was revealed. His limbs were bound tightly with rope, rendering himpletely immobile.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the Chief Justice¡¯s youthful appearance, and he was slightly stunned.

    "That should be the Twelve Marquises¡¯ Marquis Wang," Wang Wen spoke up.

    Earlier on during Aeternus¡¯s invasion, Marquis Wang had appeared in the Outerverse, and she had single-handedly overpowered three Semi-Progenitors, including Lan Xian. The simr characteristics between the individual who had just appeared and Marquis Wang made this person¡¯s identity quite clear.

    Despite being bound with Confinement, a pair of scales appeared beneath the Chief Justice¡¯s feet, and Marquis Wang rose up. "Judgment, criteria: race."

    From behind, Kui Luo was left speechless. Could this man actually conduct a judgment based on race? The Chief Justice was human, so as long as his opponent was not human, they would suffer a cruel punishment.

    Everyone who heard the Chief Justice''s judgment criteria was left stunned. With such ridiculous rules, it was better to simply eliminate any rules.

    Despite the onlookers¡¯ expectations, the scales did not shift.

    The Chief Justice addressed Marquis Wang. "You are human."

    Marquis Wang raised a hand, and it moved through space to p the Chief Justice. His eyes grew slightly unfocused. "The Wang family¡¯s Sit and Forget."

    Suddenly, the area was plunged into darkness. The Chief Justice had used his battle technique Skyless, which crushed everything nearby, including Marquis Wang¡¯s Sit and Forget.

    "Why are you still here?" the Chief Justice yelled.

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth and shot forwards towards the Starfall Sea.

    From a different direction, Xia Ji and Jiu Chi had also arrived and were continuing on towards the Starfall Sea at this time.

    All of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors were preupied. Aside from Marquis Wang, there was no one else who was able to block their path to the passageway.

    Marquis Wang had intended to stop all three Semi-Progenitors, including Kui Luo, by herself, but surprisingly, she was held back by the Chief Justice.

    Lu Yin carefully watched these events unfold.

    Suddenly, a figure that was simrly wrapped up in white cloth stepped out from behind Marquis Wang. This individual moved to stand in Xia Ji and Jiu Chi¡¯s path.

    "The Nine Clones Secret Technique?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Xia Ji handled this revtion much worse than Lu Yin. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique? How is that possible?"

    He stared at Marquis Wang. "How do you know my Xia family''s Nine Clones Secret Technique?"

    Marquis Wang said nothing, instead simply bombarding the entire area with a flurry of attacks. Invisible ripples of power spread out as her Sit and Forget technique permeated the battlefield.

    Many fell into confusion andpletely forgot what they had been doing. Even Ni Huang and Arch-Elder Zen were affected, and their movements slowed.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked over in surprise. "This girl, her mastery of Sit and Forget is able to affect even me. She¡¯s rather gifted."

    Marquis Wang¡¯s abilities were not limited to just Sit and Forget. When the three Semi-Progenitors¡ªLan Xian, Herb Immortal, and Xue Laogui¡ªhad fought against her, no one understood what had happened, but all of the Semi-Progenitors had found their senses confused. At this moment, she sent out five palm strikes in a row, and all five of her opponents were pushed back.

    Lu Yin watched on in awe. He had already known that the difference in strength between different Semi-Progenitors could vary drastically. One only had topare Yao Di to Herb Immortal to see this discrepancy. Still, regardless of how great the difference might be, Lu Yin had not thought it possible for Marquis Wang to overpower five Semi-Progenitors by herself. This waspletely inconceivable to Lu Yin until he witnessed it for himself.

    Under the restriction of the mentalwork, Marquis Wang¡¯s attacks could not exceed the power of an eight-tribtion Envoy. The other Semi-Progenitors, including even Herb Immortal, could easily exert a level of power at that limit or even higher, which meant that the current restrictions forced both sides to have simr levels of brute strength. Despite that, the humans were still being easily suppressed.

    This was the power of the Twelve Marquises.

    A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s true strength depended on their inner world, but none of them could activate that power during the current battle. In this regard, Marquis Wang held an advantage; she knew secret techniques from both the Wang and Xia families, and her mastery of her techniques clearly surpassed that of the Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. If the Semi-Progenitors were able to release their full strength, then it might be impossible for Marquis Wang to suppress five opponents. After all, Jiu Chi and Xia Ji had both opened all three of their meridian points.

    Five Semi-Progenitors, including Xia Ji, had been stopped by Marquis Wang, but no one had managed to stop Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo continued to approach the passage to the Starfall Sea unobstructed.

    The closer he got, the greater the sense of dread that filled his heart. Just a short bit of time passed, and the man stopped again. He looked conflicted.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. There were only two possible reasons for Marquis Wang to not have tried to stop Kui Luo. She had either been certain that Kui Luo would not be able to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea on his own and had allowed him to go past because of that. Or, their n had been leaked, and she was confident that the Sky Pir was not being carried by Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo¡¯s expression made things painfully obvious. The closer he moved to the passageway, the more he hesitated. There was no hiding the fact that he did not have the Sky Pir.

    Kui Luo arrived at the passage to the Starfall Sea, but he had no way to seal it. He could only shift about in ce awkwardly, clearly embarrassed. Corpse God simply took a single nce at the man, and Kui Luo retreated in terror. That was one of the Seven Skygods, a powerhouse firmly in the Progenitor realm, and one of the Ancient Progenitors at that. Even though Corpse God was fully upied with holding the passage to the Starfall Sea open and appeared to bepletely immobilized, Kui Luo did not dare to get too close.

    "Senior Yunying, get Ancestor Tortoise over there!" Lu Yin ordered.

    Yunying Mavis nodded and gave Lulu an order. The young woman immediately waved at a glowing fruit, and it moved in the direction of their desired destination. They suddenly shot towards the Starfall Sea atop Ancestor Tortoise.

    Ni Huang moved forward, and he swiftly left the Chief Justice behind as he continued on to the passage to the Starfall Sea. Marquis Wang was already holding back five Semi-Progenitors, so it was utterly impossible for her to take on another opponent.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique did not mean that a person actually had nine clones, nor that each clone had the same level of power. Otherwise, the Xia family would have be invincible long ago.

    The four ruling powers had a good understanding of each other¡¯s abilities, and Ni Huang had fought against many opponents who had learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique, so he did not bother with Marquis Wang at all.

    The marquis¡¯s figure flickered, and another clone appeared. This one raced towards Ni Huang while walking in an odd manner. She was using Inverse Step.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly locked onto this sight. It was Inverse Step again! Was this movement technique actually quitemon?

    After Lu Yin had seen Progenitor Chen''s clone use Inverse Step during his stellr tribtion, this was the third individual that he had seen use Inverse Step. There was Progenitor Chen, Undying God, and finally Marquis Wang. What was the connection between these three?

    Marquis Wang used Inverse Step to block Ni Huang¡¯s path. He retaliated by raising his right arm up high. Vicious barbs materialized on the arm, and the man lunged at his opponent.

    Marquis Wang struck out with a palm. The void exploded as the two shed against each other, and Marquis Wang was thrown back.

    Ni Huang possessed a level of strength that was on the cusp of bing a Progenitor. He was much, much stronger than a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Chi. He stood on the same level as the Twelve Marquises themselves.

    "Do you think a mere clone can stop me? Dream on!" Ni Huang snorted and continued on his way.

    Marquis Wang did not move to stop the man, but simply watched as Ni Huang¡¯s figure gradually grew more distant. "Are you fit to hold the royal scepter?"

    This was the first time that Marquis Wang had spoken. Her voice was clear and pleasant to hear, which contrasted wildly to her appearance.

    Ni Huang did not hear Marquis Wang¡¯s words, and neither did anyone else.

 Chapter 2023

    <h4>Chapter 2023</h4>

    A simple looking royal scepter mysteriously appeared in Ni Huang¡¯s hand. He froze in ce and blinked in confusion. Even after trying to get rid of the thing in all sorts of ways, it remained stubbornly stuck to him. He red back at Marquis Wang in frustration when something suddenly appeared in his memory. The man¡¯s face twisted into an expression of disbelief. "You were the gatemaster of the Rainflower Gate. You¡¯re the one who became Marquis Wang?"

    Marquis Wang did not reply as she calmly stared back at the man. The next moment, the royal scepter shone brightly before violently erupting into a beam of light that pierced Ni Huang''s body. He heaved violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. He struggled to even remain upright as he clutched at the hole that had opened up in his chest. He was in agony, and his face was pale.

    Wang Si and the other Semi-Progenitors were all horrified. They had a good idea of just how strong Ni Huang was. He was at the cusp of bing a Progenitor, and no Semi-Progenitor in the Perennial World could defeat the man. It was unbelievable for him to have been so badly injured by someone within the same realm.

    Lu Yin''s hair stood on end. What the hell had just happened?

    Arch-Elder Zen also did not understand what had happened. He had been very young during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, and thus did not not have much knowledge of it.

    Only Jiu Yao seemed to understand something, and he stared at Marquis Wang with open fear.

    The sight of Ni Huang¡¯s terrible injuries meant that no one moved forward for some time. They were all unconsciously holding themselves back out of fear that they would be next.

    At the same time, Ancestor Tortoise sped up as it charged toward the Starfall Sea. The luminous fruit in front of the giant tortoise was particrly eye-catching.

    Marquis Wang turned to face the rapidly approaching tortoise, and her eyes fell on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was instantly covered with goosebumps. He had seen Ni Huang''s tragic fate. The scariest thing was not how powerful this woman was, but rather the mysterious method that she had used to injure Ni Huang.

    Lu Yin immediately brought out the candle and lit it. His pupils transformed into runes as he stared intensely at Marquis Wang. He refused to believe that the bizarre attack she had used had no runes, and as long as there were runes, he could use the candle to weaken the attack.

    Marquis Wang made no effort to block Ancestor Tortoise, and it smoothly moved past her and continued on towards the Starfall Sea.

    Far ahead of them, but still in their path, was a body that stretched from the ground far up into the sky. The ancient and absurdly powerful body belonged to Corpse God. This was the true body of one of the Seven Skygods.

    Wang Wen became increasingly anxious as they drew closer. "Are we really going to charge straight forward? Where¡¯s the Sky Pir?"

    "I have it," Lu Yin answered without any change in his expression.

    There was a moment of silence as Wang Wen slowly processed Lu Yin¡¯s words. He then burst out with a nervousugh. "You have it? You¡¯re joking, right?"

    Lu Yin said nothing.

    Wang Wenpletely lost hisst bit ofposure. "You''ve gone mad! You''re just an Envoy, for heaven¡¯s sake! How are you going to use the Sky Pir to seal off the Starfall Sea?"

    "My predictions were that, in the worst case scenario, someone would leak our n to Aeternus. If that happened, they would make sure to hold back all of the human Semi-Progenitors no matter what it cost. That¡¯s going to be my opening," Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Wang Wen could not remain nearly as calm. "Even if you make it to the passage, how are you going to seal it?"

    Lu Yin confidently answered, "I don¡¯t need to seal it. All I have to do is take the Sky Pir out, and then the Progenitor of Combat and Progenitor of Bloodlines will handle things from there."

    Wang Wen''s eye started to spasm. "I¡¯d always believed you to be a very rational, meticulous, and cautious person. But now, I realize that you also have a batshit crazy side!"

    Lu Yin let out a long sigh as they rapidly approached the passage to the Starfall Sea. Was he crazy? Not necessarily. The Seven Skygods should be aware of Shaman God''s n, so it was not likely that any of them would instantly kill Lu Yin. However, he was still facing Aeternus, so there were no guarantees. Lu Yin was definitely gambling with his life at this moment. Still, it was worth the risk. The people that he cared for were in the Fifth Maind, and this ce had given him a ce with a sense of belonging. Even if humanity¡¯s chances of victory dropped even lower, Lu Yin would still take this risk.

    Fleeing was the absolutest resort. Before that, he, just like everyone else, would use everything at his disposal to fight for the future of humanity in the Fifth Maind.

    The sight of Ancestor Tortoise racing towards the passageway at full speed baffled Ni Huang and the others. Was the Sky Pir on Ancestor Tortoise''s back?

    As Ancestor Tortoise moved closer to the passage to the Starfall Sea, Corpse God¡¯s features grew clearer, and his massive form loomed overhead.

    Kui Luo hopped onto Ancestor Tortoise. "Kid, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yin stared at the body that rose up from the ground and towered in the sky out of sight.s were nothing more than grains of sandpared to this figure. Even after witnessing some of Progenitor Chen¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had never thought that a living being could reach such a size. Corpse God was far, far bigger than Progenitor Chen had ever been.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    The beating of Corpse God''s heart sent fluctuations through space. His scarlet eyes fell onto Ancestor Tortoise.

    Ancestor Tortoise''s dull eyes suddenly gained rity. It stopped in its tracks and stared straight at Corpse God.

    Corpse God, who was holding open the passage to the Starfall Sea, slowly lowered his head. Then, he released a soul-piercing roar. A shockwave swept across the Fifth Maind, shatterings and disintegrating entire gxies. The Astral River started flowing in reverse as it parted like curtains.

    It struck Lu Yin like a punch to the head. His brain was rattled, and he nearly fell off of Ancestor Tortoise.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors spat out massive amounts of blood. The stronger the individual, the more severely they were affected by this roar.

    Ancestor Tortoise stared at the massive figure in front of it, and fear filled its enormous eyes. It then turned and fled.

    The Mavis family had never seen Ancestor Tortoise be so scared before. During its encounter with Ancient God, it had revealed absolutely no fear despite facing another one of the Seven Skygods. However, at the moment, the tortoise acted as though it had met its natural enemy.

    "Quick! We need to get off!" Lu Yin held onto Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth. Facing one of the Seven Skygods in their true, monstrous form was thest thing the old man wanted to do.

    "He can''t attack you! Progenitor Hui¡¯s power is restricting him!" Lu Yin yelled as he dragged Kui Luo along and leaped off of Ancestor Tortoise. Lu Yin pulled out the eggshell that he had received from Tian Dao. It was the egg of an ancient creature, and after being Enhanced twice, it could endure attacks from someone with the Second Nightking¡¯s strength.

    The Second Nightking was an eight-tribtion Envoy who possessed a power level of 1.2 million. This meant that the eggshell could withstand attacks stronger than what the mentalwork allowed. Anyone who wanted to break through the shell had to use a powerful attack that would immediately trigger the mentalwork and cause them to be trapped.

    Marquis Wang¡¯s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. She had not thought much of this person before, as she had only been paying attention to Ancestor Tortoise. However, after Corpse God¡¯s roar had frightened the beast into fleeing, Marquis Wang had noticed that a particr Envoy had stuck around. It was clear that this person was up to something.

    She suddenly heard Ancient God¡¯s voice in her ear. "Capture this child. Don''t kill him."

    Lu Yin entered the eggshell and told Kui Luo, "Throw me over!"

    Kui Luo blinked at Lu Yin¡¯s bizarre appearance.

    At this same time, Lu Yin threw out an Enhanced sh bomb. This was not an attack, but a signal.

    Before theyunched their attack, Lu Yin had informed all of the Semi-Progenitors that whoever released this particr signal would be the one carrying the Sky Pir, and everyone would then need to assist that person to get to the passage to the Starfall Sea. The Sky Pir would not be taken out before that person reached their destination to prevent Aeternus from figuring out the n.

    When they saw that Lu Yin was the one releasing the agreed-upon signal, Ni Huang and other Semi-Progenitors were all momentarily stunned.

    None of them had expected Lu Yin to be carrying the Sky Pir. A mere Envoy stepping onto a battlefield for Semi-Progenitors was simply digging their own grave.

    Jiu Chi, Lan Xian, Xue Laogui, Herb Immortal, Jiu Yao, and every other Semi-Progenitor immediately shot after Lu Yin to protect him as he advanced.

    Kui Luo''s spiritual force swept out, and arge portion of it moved towards Marquis Wang¡¯s direction, as she posed the greatest threat to them.

    Marquis Wang did not see Kui Luo¡¯s attack approaching her, and she was actually stunned by the terrifying spiritual force.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique did not always mean that a person had nine clones. One of her clones was caught up with the Chief Justice, a second was keeping an eye on Ni Huang, and a third was holding back five other Semi-Progenitors, including Jiu Chi. Kui Luo''s spiritual force managed to knock back all of the clones, which allowed Jiu Chi and everyone else to chase after Lu Yin and help him advance.

    Ancient God¡¯s expression changed. With all of the Semi-Progenitors protecting Lu Yin as he traveled to the passage to the Starfall Sea, it became clear that humanity had a feasible strategy to stop Aeternus. He could no longer remain a spectator. His hair grew longer, and a strange purplish-ck substance wrapped around his right arm and gave off a dim glow. After that, he attacked Arch-Elder Zen.

    This shing attack was not a battle technique, and it was just an ordinary attack. However, the purplish-ck substance gave Arch-Elder Zen a chill that pierced to his very bones. Years of dealing with life-or-death situations told the man that this substance was anything but ordinary.

    The closer Ancient God¡¯s attack came, the louder Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s instincts screamed that he was in an extremely dangerous situation. It was even worse than the dire situation during the final war in the Daosource Sect¡¯s era all those years ago.

    Arch-Elder Zen had built up and protected the Hall of Honor, which had only been made possible by fighting countless battles where he had put his life on the line. The instincts that he had honed over those years had already saved him on more than one asion.

    At this moment, those instincts were screaming that this was not an attack that could be blocked.

    Arch-Elder Zen raised a hand and used a secret technique: Banishment.

    Ancient God''s right arm swept down as he was sent ten thousand meters away. The void opened where the arm fell, cleanly torn open like a piece of paper that was cut by a sharp de.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared in horror. As his feeling of iparable danger slowly eased, he finally asked, "What sort of power is that?"

    In response, Ancient God reached for Arch-Elder Zen with his right arm.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s instincts red with warning once again. He did not dare to let Ancient God touch him. The old man let out a long breath, and a stream of qi slowly drifted out of his body before forming into a figure. The figure¡¯s eyes snapped open, and visible ripples swept towards Ancient God. "A Thousand Cmities."

    Ancient God hesitated in the middle of his attack. He had been trapped in an illusion, and terrible pain wracked his entire body. He looked down and saw countless tiny insects devouring his flesh and blood. The pain of being eaten alive was then magnified countless times over until not even he could bear it.

    Then, another stream of qi appeared behind Arch-Elder Zen. This stream took on Progenitor Hui¡¯s appearance, which then began frantically setting up a sourcebox array. This was the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    As the founder of the Hall of Honor, Arch-Elder Zen was the first person to sessfully cultivate the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    The cultivation realm of the technique¡¯s user determined the realm of the summons. The Progenitor Hui that Arch-Elder Zen had summoned was from when the man had been a Semi-Progenitor. The figure who was currently torturing Ancient God simrly had the same level of power.

    Ancient God and Arch-Elder Zen had both begun to reveal the true depths of their strength.

    The eggshell that Lu Yin was hiding within continued shooting towards the passage to the Starfall Sea while being escorted by a group of Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin red at Corpse God, and he refused to look away even when Corpse God locked eyes with him. However, Lu Yin¡¯s confidence was nothing more than a facade to hide his terrible anxiety at this moment. He was in front of an extremely ancient Progenitor who was the true body of one of the Seven Skygods. Forget the eggshell¡ªeven if Mister Mu was present, it would still be a very dangerous situation.

    All Corpse God needed to do was move a single hand and squish Lu Yin to a paste, or let out a roar that would st him dead.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt as though he was face to face with certain death.

    There was no backing out from this point. Even Ni Huang, who was from the Perennial World, was risking his life for the Fifth Maind, though the man may not have realized it. This was not because the man cared about the Fifth Maind even slightly, but rather because any human would naturally fight to the death when facing their ancient enemy.

    All enmity among the various humans had been forgotten at this moment. Everyone was entirely focused on humanity¡¯s worst enemy.

    Lu Yin arrived at the location where Ancestor Tortoise had reached before fleeing, but this time, he continued moving forward. He was getting closer and closer to Corpse God.

 Chapter 2024

    <h4>Chapter 2024</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers brushed his cosmic ring as he prepared to bring out the Sky Pir and make one final push forward with the help of the human Semi-Progenitors. As long as Corpse God did not make a move, it was very possible for them to seal off the Starfall Sea.

    Suddenly, without any warning, the royal scepter appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    His pupils shrank to pinpricks the moment he saw what he was holding.

    Ni Huang quickly yelled, "Get rid of it!"

    Lu Yin immediately tried to do so, but it was stuck to him like an extra limb. "How?"

    Kui Luo and the other Semi-Progenitors all felt their scalps go numb. This royal scepter was the thing that had grievously wounded Ni Huang.

    Lu Yin quickly sted the scepter with the runes from the candle, hoping to counter the scepter¡¯s runes.

    "Are you worthy to hold the royal scepter?" A melodious voice entered his ears.

    Lu Yin felt his blood run cold as he stared at the scepter in his hand like it was some sort of deadly beast. He felt as though he was reliving the scene of Ni Huang being pierced through by that bright light. Even one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors alive had been badly wounded by this thing. Was this the end for Lu Yin? He had never expected Marquis Wang to somehow be able to ignore the egg¡¯s protection. She truly deserved to be one of the Twelve Marquises.

    The Semi-Progenitors could already see the scepter splitting open in Lu Yin¡¯s hand and destroying his body.

    Lu Yin himself was picturing the scene as well. He even tried using the Yu Secret Art to get rid of the scepter. It was toote to relight the candle. Were these really his final moments?

    Everyone watched as the scepter started to emit a certain radiance that formed a stream of light that shot into Lu Yin''s body.

    Lu Yin felt time slow to a crawl as he waited for the attack to pierce through his body. His die appeared in his hand as he got ready to try to enter the Timestop Space where he could use Extremes Must Be Reversed to survive whatever injuries he was about to suffer.

    Strangely enough, his body remained perfectly fine. Not only was he uninjured, but an indescribable and terrifying power started to umte within his body. It was unlike anything that Lu Yin had ever felt before. He stared down at his hand in amazement, and he felt as though he could even kill the Second Nightking with a single p.

    Marquis Wang¡¯s expression turned toplete shock as she watched Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. How was this possible?

    Ni Huang and everyone else stared intently at Lu Yin, waiting to see what would happen to him.

    "Boy, how are you?" Kui Luo asked hoarsely. His mouth had gonepletely dry. He was terrified that Lu Yin was about to die.

    Lu Yin swallowed and continued to examine his condition for a bit. "I feel good. Better than ever, actually."

    "Have you gone nuts?" Lan Xian could not stop herself from asking. Even if Lu Yin died, she wanted to take back some of his blood for research.

    Ni Huang was stunned. "You feel fine?"

    "Yeah. I actually feel better than ever, and much, much stronger." Lu Yin turned to look back at Xia Ji. "I feel like I could kill you with one punch."

    Xia Ji¡¯s eyelid twitched from his sudden fury.

    "I understand¡­ Most of the people on this battlefield believe that you hold the qualifications to rule over them as king!" Ni Huang eximed.

    His words were met with nk stares.

    Ni Huang exined, "It¡¯s not a mistake. Marquis Wang was the Heavens Sect era''s gatemaster of the Rainflower Heavenly Gate, and her innate gift was Void Scepter. No one knows how that scepter forms, but it can sense the thoughts of everyone within a certain area. If the majority acknowledges the person holding the scepter as someone qualified to be a king and rule over them, then the scepter will grant that person the strength that this innate gift truly holds.

    "But if the person holding the scepter is not recognized by the majority, then it will strike them down instead. This is the power of Rainflower Heavenly Gate¡¯s gatemaster. Out of everyone who has ever been given this scepter by the gatemaster, few people have ever received such recognition, even going back to the very first records."

    Lu Yin finally understood what had happened. He shot Marquis Wang an odd look. The woman had truly pped herself in the face by trying to use this innate gift against him while he was in the Fifth Maind. Every single person in the Fifth Maind viewed Lu Yin as the person leading humanity in this war. Even if one considered his enemies from the Sixth Maind or Xia Ji, who absolutely hated Lu Yin, it did not change the fact that he was theirmander at this moment.

    Most of the humans on the battlefield came from the Fifth Maind, and everyone in the entire Fifth Maind had heard Lu Yin¡¯s name be mentioned countless times before, whether they had wanted to or not. This had only intensified after the Tower of the Fifth¡¯spletion. There was no way to deny Lu Yin¡¯s influence.

    That essentially meant that as long as Lu Yin was in the Fifth Maind, he was Marquis Wang¡¯s natural nemesis.

    With that thought, Lu Yin lifted his head up high. "Let¡¯s continue. Leave her be. She can''t do anything to me."

    Kui Luo shouted, "Go!"

    The group of Semi-Progenitors responded instantaneously, and they resumed their push towards the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    Suddenly, Herb Immortal froze. A sourcebox array had appeared around his body at some point in time, trapping him. Right after that, Lan Xian, Jiu Chi, Xia Ji, and all of the other Semi-Progenitors were trapped by simr sourcebox arrays.

    A figure stepped then appeared right in front of Lu Yin and raised a hand that pressed against the eggshell.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted sharply. "Whiteless God."

    Once again, Whiteless God had appeared right when everyone had forgotten about her. Besides her, all the other incarnations of the Seven Skygods that had been in the Fifth Maind had died when they attacked Burial Garden, which had led to the ce being sealed off. Whiteless God was the only one of the Skygods who had not taken action at that time, which had allowed her to avoid being killed or trapped when Burial Garden had closed. Since that time, she had kept the Fifth Maind¡¯s people in a state of constant fear by appearing at critical junctures. Each time, she had managed to tip the bnce into Aternus¡¯s favor.

    Lu Yin had thought that by ignoring Marquis Wang, he would be able to carry the Sky Pir all the way through. Then, he could use the restriction arranged by Progenitor Hui to push Corpse God aside and seal the passage to the Starfall Sea. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had still been too naive.

    Whiteless God was the final obstacle between them and the passage to the Starfall Sea. By using sourcebox arrays, she had managed to trap Kui Luo and all the other human Semi-Progenitors at the same time. This was something that not even Marquis Wang or Ancient God had been able to aplish.

    Boom!

    The scenery in front of Lu Yin suddenly raced away from him at a shocking speed. Thanks to him being protected by the egg shell, he remained unscathed, but he was still sent flying at an unbelievable speed by Whiteless God.

    All of the humans¡¯ earlier efforts had been countered in a single instant.

    All of humanity¡¯s Semi-Progenitors felt their hearts drop. This was the end.

    At that moment, the royal scepter reappeared, but this time it was in Xue Laogui''s hand. At the same moment, he heard a voice. "Are you worthy to hold the royal scepter?"

    All of the color drained from Xue Laogui''s face. He moved his hand and desperately tried to shake the scepter off, but everything was in vain. Not even Ni Huang had been able to get rid of the scepter, so there was no way for Xue Laogui to remove it.

    The royal scepter in his hand then turned into a beam of light that shot through the man¡¯s head.

    A powerful, respected Semi-Progenitor was dead before he could even react.

    If he had been able to release his inner world in time, he would not have died from a single attack, but rather just seriously injured and trapped within the manifested thoughts.

    Xue Laogui¡¯s death caused every single Semi-Progenitor present to go stiff. Each of them suddenly looked at Marquis Wang with fear.

    Kui Luo subconsciously balled his hands into fists, afraid that the scepter would suddenly appear in his own hand next. None of them here could ignore that item.

    After Whiteless God¡¯s p, Lu Yin struggled to steady himself, but he was already far, far away from the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    It was a distance that would normally be insignificant to a cultivator like Lu Yin, but at this moment, it was a path covered with thorns.

    Lu Yin¡¯s jaw clenched as he steeled himself to make another attempt. He refused to give up just yet. At that moment, a panicked scream echoed out, "The Progenitor of Combat¡­ his imprint is gone!"

    There were very few people from the Sixth Maind who were qualified to receive an imprint from the Progenitor of Combat. Most who were qualified were either former or current Realmlings or people who had a very important status within the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    Everyone who had received the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint felt their power disappear at that moment, and not a single imprint from the man could be seen anywhere on the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin felt his head spin when he saw corpse kings ughtering the panicked cultivators off in the distance. The massacre was quickly apanied by an unbelievable shout, "The Progenitor of Combat, he¡¯s dead!"

    Dead?

    The Progenitor of Combat was dead?

    Countless Sixth Maind cultivators trembled at once, and they all turned to look towards the Starfall Sea, ovee with a feeling of dread.

    Jiu Yao had also been staring at the Starfall Sea at the moment that the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s imprint disappeared. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face grew paler than ever before. "Ancestor Progenitor¡­"

    A flustered figure suddenly came out of the Starfall Sea. It was the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    He took a single nce at the battlefield and took off for the Outerverse without wasting a single single second.

    The people of the Sixth Maind felt as though the sky was copsing. The reason why they had been able to hold out for so long was entirely because of their absolute faith in the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Their Progenitors were fighting outside the passageway, which had made them fearless in their struggle for survival. However, they had just been abandoned by the Progenitor of Bloodlines who had fled from the war.

    The morale of all humanity dropped to the lowest point.

    People from the Sixth Maind upied half of the battlefield, and they had brought many more experts than the Fifth Maind. These sinking emotions had an immediate effect on all parts of the battlefield.

    Not a single human was able to reignite their fighting spirit. Reviving the Progenitor of Combat was the only way to give people the will to continue.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked across the battlefield with a grave expression. A trace of pain flickered across his face, and then his voice sounded across the battlefield. "Everyone, retreat!"

    With that simple order, the Fifth Maind¡¯s defeat had been set in stone.

    Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen. He did not want to retreat, but he could also not see any hope of victory.

    The longer the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s battles dragged out, the worse the situation would be for the humans involved. Even if the true universe were in a normal condition, at this moment, humanitycked the strength needed to ovee Aeternus.

    On top of that, an enemy powerful enough to kill the Progenitor of Combat could enter from the Starfall Sea at any moment. No human could see any hope of victory.

    Retreat.

    The word was etched into every human¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin saw Ancestor Tortoise heading towards him, and Yunying Mavis called out, "Alliance Leader Lu, over here!"

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath as he leaped onto Ancestor Tortoise. The Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s forces fell back, starting their retreat.

    Given the scale of this battle, it was impossible for everyone to safely retreat. Just pulling back all of the warships and the soldiers that had been deployed onto the surroundings was a monumental task.

    However, strangely enough, Aeternus did nothing to stop the humans, and they even retreated as well.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew increasingly solemn when he remembered his previous suspicions.

    The Aeternals¡¯ primary goal was to enve humans and establish Aeternus Kingdoms. As long as they held an absolute advantage over humanity, they would prefer to transform humans into corpse kings. This was why they let the humans escape to safety instead of ughtering them all.

    Humans were being allowed to retreat in safety not because of kindness, but because of Aeternus¡¯s long-term goals.

    It took a full day to withdraw from the battlefield. Aside from the final vestiges of the fight between the corpse kings and the mechanical ants, the brutal battlefield showed not a single bit of conflict.

    Ancient God silently watched as the humans retreated in three different directions. Not one of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors took action at this time.

    "There are quite a few people in the Forsaken Land. If we manage to take control of all of them, how many valuable corpse kings will we obtain?" Forgotten Ruins God showed a charming smile as her eyes followed Ancestor Tortoise. Her only regret during the entire war was not being able to y with that kid. It did not really matter though, as there would be plenty of opportunities soon.

    Marquis Green Bamboo twirled his bamboo flute. "With the Sixth Maind under our control, countless corpse kings will rise up within a few years. If we add the Fifth Maind to our territory, we will have a steady supply of corpse kings at our disposal."

    "What a pity that she was too heavy-handed. Every single Semi-Progenitor is a rare treasure."

    Ancient God indifferently answered, "Let¡¯s give them some time. Once they gather together in one ce, we can easily capture them. Only a small piece of an Aeternus Kingdom can be built right now, as we don¡¯t have enough of that. Right now, we can only establish a maximum of five Aeternus Kingdoms in the Forsaken Land.¡±

 Chapter 2025

    <h4>Chapter 2025</h4>

    Before long, Forgotten Ruins God and the other Semi-Progenitors from Aeternus left the gathering. Ancient God alone remained behind as he stood waiting. Before long, Whiteless God emerged from the void behind him.

    Ancient God turned towards her. "The rat is headed for the Outerverse, just as you said. He¡¯s nning to enter the Perennial World through that."

    "Let him. The Perennial World is extremely difficult for us to take down. If we enter through that, we will be scattered across the entire ce upon reaching the Perennial World. Since we can¡¯t control where we¡¯ll end up, that path is useless to us," Whiteless God nonchntly replied.

    Ancient God quietly answered, "After all these years, I never expected the Lu family to be left with just one little rat. We will never see the Lu family rise to the peak again."

    Then, he vanished.

    ¡­

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin spent a long time hesitating over a decision. Finally, he made up his mind after seeing the Astral River off in the distance. He essed his gadget and called Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Where are you?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Lu Yin responded, "This junior is going to Frostwave Weave in the Outerverse. Senior, we should go together."

    Arch-Elder Zen felt puzzled. "Frostwave Weave? Where are you headed ? The Astral Wilderness?"

    With all that had recently happened, Lu Yin no longer hid anything from the old man. "There¡¯s a gxy in Frostwave Weave known as the Milky Way. There¡¯s a there known as Earth, and close by, there¡¯s another known as Jupiter. Jupiter has a portal that leads straight to the Perennial World.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mouth fell open. "Did you just say a portal that leads directly to the Perennial World?"

    "Senior, have you forgotten that this junior once disappeared from Jupiter?" Lu Yin reminded him.

    Arch-Elder Zen thought back. "I remember that the Neohuman Alliance attacked you, and then all traces of you vanished after you arrived at Jupiter. The next time I saw you was when you returned from the Perennial World. So, you got there from Jupiter?¡±

    Lu Yin confirmed, "That''s right. The portal in Jupiter will take you straight to the Perennial World. Senior, I understand that it¡¯s tough to admit defeat, but there¡¯s no saving the Fifth Maind. We have to leave."

    Arch-Elder Zen stayed silent.

    Lu Yin urged, "This junior hates abandoning the people of our Fifth Maind, but we don¡¯t have any means of taking this ce back right now. This is just like what happened to the Sixth Maind. Despite their unwillingness to give up, they were still eventually forced to relocate to our Fifth Maind. In the past, the four mainds were also destroyed because of Aeternus. Staying here means that we will either be captured and transformed into corpse kings or die a pointless death."

    "If I¡¯m understanding your intentions correctly, you want us to meet you in Frostwave Weave and head to the Perennial World together through this Jupiter," Arch-Elder Zen rified.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Do you really think that it will be so easy? You might be able to go, but it will be impossible for us. Since you know that Jupiter holds a path to the Perennial World, Aeternus absolutely knows it as well. They might not stop you as you hold a pivotal role in their schemes, but do you seriously believe that they will let the rest of us head over and reinforce humanity¡¯s strength in the Perennial World?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow creased, and he turned to look to the west. Arch-Elder Zen was not wrong. Even if Lu Yin managed to take some people to the Perennial World with him, it would make sense for Aeternus to not stop him. However, they had no such reason to allow Arch-Elder Zen to leave. If Aeternus were actually willing to let such a thing happen, they would not have destroyed the New Corridor.

    The primary reason why Aeternus had destroyed the New Corridor had not been to prevent the Perennial World from sending reinforcements to the Fifth Maind. The Perennial World had its own battlefield behind the Mother Tree, and that was their focus. They had almost no incentive to help the Forsaken Land. No, the reason why the corridor had been destroyed was to prevent Arch-Elder Zen from traveling to the Perennial World.

    Aeternus was currently unable to breach the Perennial World¡¯s defense, which was why there was a battle of attrition taking ce behind the Mother Tree on a battlefield that had stood for ages. Allowing humanity to add additional Semi-Progenitors to their defenses would only further reduce Aeternus¡¯s chances of breaking through that battlefield.

    Lu Yin was different. His mere existence was a trigger that would incite civil war within humanity. The four ruling powers were eager to kill him, and so the more people he took with him to the Perennial World, therger the war that would break out in the Perennial World. Lu Yin would be a drain on mankind¡¯s strength, not an enhancement.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. He needed to determine his next moves very carefully.

    He could also understand how the people of the Sixth Maind had felt in the past, as well as what the residents of the other four mainds must have felt.

    Arch-Elder Zen bleakly said, "If you have the chance, then leave. Even though you are a part of the Lu family, you became a part of this Fifth Maind the moment you took over the war against the Astral Beast Domain. With the Tower of the Fifth, you can be considered half a master to many people in the Fifth Maind. The Fifth Maind has given you much, but you have also contributed greatly to our Fifth Maind. If you be a Progenitor one day, we might see a hope of retaking the Fifth Maind from Aeternus¡¯s hands."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as he felt a surge of emotions. The Fifth Maind was far more important to him than the Perennial World. Losing his memories as Lu Xiaoxuan had essentially allowed him to restart his entire life. The Fifth Maind was his true home.

    "Senior, even if I leave, you cannot simply wait around to die. If people scatter too much, it will just leave everyone as easy targets for Aeternus to pick off one by one."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled wryly. "Don''t worry. Have you forgotten how the top ten finalists of ZENITH were sent to the Perennial World? We have our own final resorts. Also, didn¡¯t you already convince me to open the sourcebox sealed in that ce? I¡¯ve already given Xiu Ming orders to start unlocking it immediately. No matter what bes of this decision, things can¡¯t get worse than they already are. This is the true reason why we separated¡ªit¡¯s to allow Aeternus to believe that they can easily pick us off. That way, they won¡¯t feel any need to rush and conquer us immediately. The time that we buy with this will allow us to finish opening that sourcebox. Of course, this is also a gamble that I¡¯ve chosen to take. "

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. That was right. Mister Mu had told Lu Yin to unlock that one sourcebox, and he had also mentioned that the Neoverse had their own ways to reach the Perennial World. "Since you have already thought everything through, Senior, then this junior can rest assured. Take care of yourself."

    "Take care," Arch-Elder Zen solemnly replied.

    As Lu Yin lowered his hand, a thought urred to him, and he lifted his hand back up to call Big Sis, Brother Hui Kong, and everyone else who was dearest to him.

    Suddenly, his gadget lost all signal.

    ¡°It looks like Aeternus shut down thework. Something must have happened in CyNet World," Wang Wenmented helplessly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had already anticipated that such a thing would eventually happen, so he did not spend any time getting upset about matters. Whatever had happened to CyNet World was beyond his control, and there was also no confirmation that anything had even happened in that ce. "What are our losses?"

    Wang Wen grew visibly sadder as he delivered the report, "More than half of our forces have been lost. Even though the fighting didn''tst long, many people didn¡¯t have the time to retreat, as our forces were spread out too thin. There were also too many true powerhouses on the battlefield. Even casual movements by those people were enough to destroys, and our battleships didn¡¯t stand a chance against them. Any shockwaves or missed attacks also wiped out entire ships and everyone on board.

    "Fortunately, the Lu Elite Troops and the Giants¡¯ Army are more or less intact. However, the Redemption Army suffered heavy losses, and Lightning Axe died. Of the Lu Elite troops, Ganggu Daynight, Ying Daynight, and Chen Ji are all dead. From the Allied Forces, Xueshan Auna, and Elder Tie¡­"

    Lu Yin interrupted Wang Wen when he was only halfway through his report. He had known beforehand that they would suffer terrible losses, but the results were even worse than his most exaggerated estimates. On top of that, Wang Wen had only reported the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s situation. How many people from Leon''s Armada remained alive? How many of the mentors from the Astral Combat Academy had died? What about the Mavis family, and all the other groups?

    From the moment that Lu Yin had stepped onto the battlefield, his focus had been entirely focused on the two sides¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, which had left him with no time to pay attention to anyone else at all. It was only when reading the after battle reports that he realized just how brutal the battle had been.

    "However, more than half of the corpse kings were also wiped out. I guess that we can consider that good news." Wang Wen attempted tofort him.

    Lu Yin remained bitter. "Losing that many corpse kings won¡¯t make any difference. Once theypletely take over the Fifth Maind, they¡¯ll have ess to an endless stream of corpse kings."

    Wang Wen did not know how to reply. Lu Yin was absolutely right. Aeternus would soon start to transform countless humans into corpse kings, which would change the nature of civilization itself. After several years of upying the Fifth Maind, any human left behind would undergo a massive change in both values and worldview.

    The most terrifying thing about this war was not the physical conquest, but the transformation in ideology.

    Lu Yin looked to the south. Would Arch-Elder Zen and the others be able to sneak their way into the Perennial World? He was uncertain. They might prefer to stay in the Fifth Maind to carry out a final struggle before dying with dignity.

    Until the Fifth Maind waspletely shattered like the previous four mainds, people would not give up on their home.

    Whoosh!

    Highsage Leon suddenly arrived at Lu Yin''s side along with ck and White. More than seven years had passed since Lu Yin hadst seen the twins, and they were already all grown up.

    ¡°Brother Lu!" ck and White greeted him excitedly as they stood behind Highsage Leon.

    Lu Yin felt his mood improve when he saw that the twins were well. "What? I¡¯m not Little Lu anymore?¡±

    White rolled her eyes. "Childish."

    ck stared at Lu Yin. "No wonder they say that men will always remain immature no matter how much they age."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Run along and find somewhere else to y."

    When the battlefield had been evacuated, Highsage Grandmaster had led a group from Eversky Ind to Ancestor Tortoise, and they had traveled towards the Outerverse with Lu Yin.

    It was quite likely that Highsage Leon had been the one to fight for that oue. There was no way the man could bear to leave either his people in Leon''s Armada or Lu Yin behind.

    "In the end, we were still defeated." Highsage Leon sighed and shook his head bitterly. "That Sea King guy was right. The Fifth Maind already lost once, so we¡¯ll be defeated a second time.¡±

    Lu Yin''s face remained calm. "I want to win just once. Just one victory is enough."

    Highsage Leon patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "We all saw what you did on the battlefield. I¡¯m proud of you."

    "We¡¯re also proud of you, Little Lu," ck and White said in unison.

    Lu Yin was speechless. They were already back to Little Lu? Who was the childish one now?

    Ancestor Tortoise headed towards the Outerverse, and then it made its way directly into the Astral River, bypassing the Astral River Ark. It quickly crossed the Astral River, arrived in the Outerverse, and headed for Zenyu Star.

    There were always people protecting Zenyu Star: Huan Sha, the Imperial Court''s Cab, Minister Gavin, and more. Zhao Ran and the others had been taken to Aurora Fortress long ago, so Lu Yin¡¯s current visit was to pick up a few important people from the Great Yu Empire, such as the Huo and Auna families, the staff from the Technology Department, as well as people from Yu Academy.

    Shortly after arriving, Ancestor Tortoise left.

    Back on Zenyu Star, countless people stared wide-eyed at Ancestor Tortoise. The tortoise was muchrger than their entire, which challenged everything that they knew.

    At this same time, Lu Yin was staring back at Zenyu Star, the Champions'' Stage beside him.

    This was the Champions'' Stage that the Hall of Honor had used to encourage the youths to fight for during the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. It hadter been taken away by Lu Yin, and it had stayed in an ocean on Zenyu Star ever since, but he decided to take it with him.

    He had no idea how this particr Champions'' Stage had remained in existence for so long. It was possible that Lu Yin¡¯s own innate gift simply had not reached such a formidable level yet.

    "Alliance Leader, someone would like to see you," En Ya respectfully announced.

    "En," Lu Yin grunted.

    A woman approached. She was beautiful, had a spirited nature, and had fiery red hair that hung all the way down to her waist. She was Huo Xiaoling.

    Lu Yin nced at the woman. "It''s been many years, but you barely look any different at all"

    Huo Xiaoling bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Your Highness."

    ¡°Why did you ask to see me?" Lu Yin went straight to the point.

    Huo Xiaoling responded with equal bluntness, "I want to stay on Zenyu Star".

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why?"

    Huo Xiaoling fell silent and stayed that way for a moment.

 Chapter 2026

    <h4>Chapter 2026</h4>

    Lu Yin eventually looked away. ¡°I won¡¯t force you if you aren¡¯t willing to say. You can go back.¡±

    ¡°You have my thanks, Your Highness. Xiaoxiao will be going with Your Highness.

    ¡°Forgive my audacity, but would you be willing to take her to where our father is, Your Highness?¡± Huo Xiaoling asked earnestly as she offered a deep bow.

    ¡°Huo Xiaoxiao? Isn¡¯t that your sister?¡± Lu Yin asked

    Huo Xiaoling nodded.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll take care of that.¡±

    ¡°You have my eternal gratitude, Your Highness. This one shall take her leave.¡± Huo Xiaoling bowed once more and turned to leave. Halfway through leaving, she hesitated and nced back at Lu Yin, clearly considering something.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    Conflicting emotions shed across Huo Xiaoling¡¯s face, and she eventually decided to tell him. ¡°Do you still remember Jenny Auna, Your Highness?¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°What about her?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling remained extremely respectful as she continued to say, ¡°She would also like to return to Zenyu Star. This one hopes that you can approve her request as well, Your Highness.¡±

    Lu Yin found this a bit strange. ¡°Both of you?¡±

    Huo Xiaoling replied, ¡°We¡¯ve known each other since childhood, and while we had our differences when we were younger, that¡¯s all in the past now. She wanted to ask you about this herself, Your Highness, but eventually chose not to.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You can take her with you.¡±

    ¡°Many thanks, Your Highness.¡± Huo Xiaoling smiled as she turned and left.

    Lu Yin gazed at Huo Xiaoling¡¯s retreating figure. Twenty-odd years had passed by in a sh.

    Twenty years ago, he had just started cultivating on Earth. Huo Xiaoling, Jenny Auna, Silver, Xia Luo, Lulu Mavis, and many others had all been a part of that initial journey. They had been in such high spirits as they left together at that time. Since then, everyone had gone their own separate ways, walking down their own unique paths of cultivation. Where would everyone be the next time they met?

    It was possible that they would be killed by Aeternus or transformed into corpse kings.

    Lu Yin had no right to choose people¡¯s future for them. Since these people wanted to stay, he would let them do as they wished. He had no desire to demand any sort of exnation, and he understood everyone that deserved the right to choose how they lived.

    It was possible that this would be theirst goodbye.

    After Lu Yin had be a cultivator, he had met and parted with too many people to even count, some of whom he had been toote to say a final goodbye to.

    The pirate who had been overseeing Chaosgod Mountain for Lu Yin, Thousand Eyes, had gonepletely silent. He was most likely dead.

    There was also An Shaohua, Linley, Xi Yue, and many others. Lu Yin had no idea if those people were dead or alive, as he had not attempted to take them with him. He did not have the ability to do so.

    On a more positive note, he had managed to confirm the safety of Wendy Yushan, Zhuo Daynight, Ku Wei, and Ling Que.

    That line of thought led him to look at his cosmic ring with a trace of tenderness in his eyes. Yan¡¯er was also safe with him.

    ¡­

    Ancestor Tortoise entered a sr system.

    All thes in this sr system that were upied by humans, including Earth, started bubbling with excitement.

    Everyone stared at Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s gargantuan figure with expressions of shock and awe. Once again, the creature¡¯s size pushed the boundaries of what people believed possible. No one had even imagined that the Neoverse held creatures of such size.

    The ordinary humans in this sr system had been blissfully unaware of the bloody battles that had been fought in the Innerverse.

    Everyone was watching Ancestor Tortoise, wondering if it could extinguish the sun with a single sneeze.

    If Lu Yin had not had the foresight to warn Earth of their impending visit ahead of time, these same people would have been panicking instead of cheering with excitement

    There were three droplets of the strange liquid in the Outerverse that were devouring stellr energy. One was in the Morrow Weave, and it had been put in ce by Forgotten Ruins God herself.

    ording to Aeternus¡¯s n, another droplet was supposed to have been ced in the central weaves. However, that ck crystal had been preemptively discovered in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory. Fortunately, Lu Yin had foiled the n, which had saved the Outerverse from suffering the same fate as the Neoverse where the rate of absorption was absolutely horrifying.

    Even so, it was still very difficult to recover stellr energy in the Outerverse.

    The closer one moved to the central weaves, the easier it became to recover stellr energy. However, the Sixth Maind had already upied the entire central region.

    Ancestor Tortoise stopped in an area not too far from Earth. Members of the Great Eastern Alliance did not make their way to Earth, remaining on its back

    Lu Yin alone went to visit Earth. There were people there he wanted to take with him, namely Zhou Shan and a few others.

    ¡°You almost gave me a heart attack! Where in the universe did you find such a huge tortoise?¡± Zhou Shan eximed as he stared up at the magnificent creature in outer space. Despite the astronomical distance between them, Ancestor Tortoise was still as dazzling and eye-catching as a star. It was bigger than any ordinary star, and it looked asrge as the sun.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s no shortage of strange creatures in the Neoverse.¡±

    ¡°Uncle Lu!¡± Zhou Xixi excitedly ran up to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled when the girl appeared. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you at school?¡±

    Zhou Xixi grinned. ¡°I¡¯m currently out gaining some real-world experience. I¡¯ve been sent to visit Ironblood Weave for a month.¡±

    At this time, Ironblood Weaved was in apletely different state from before. The Astral Beast Domain had been sessfully repelled after suffering disastrous losses during their invasion that hadsted half a year. It was now rare for fighting to break out in Ironblood Weave.

    The first time Lu Yin had visited Ironblood Weave, battles had been fought multiple times every day. Whether or not anyone was able to survive such an experience depended mostly on luck.

    Luck yed a huge role in determining who survived on battlefields of that scale. Only Enlighters had been strong enough to ensure their own survival in the old battles of Ironblood Weave, and in the most recent battle in the Starfall Sea, only Envoys had been able to confidently protect themselves.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go just now. Stick around for a bit,¡± Lu Yin instructed.

    Zhou Shan felt confused.

    Lu Yin then proceeded to exin that Aeternus had invaded, as well as how the battle with them had ultimately turned out. He was not sure when he would leave, so he gave Zhou Shan and his daughter advanced notice so that they could prepare for their own departure.

    Zhou Shan had not expected to hear such catastrophic news. Had the entire Human Domain fallen to the enemy?

    His view of the Human Domain was that it was an incredibly vast and wondrous ce in the universe. The distance between Earth and the Neoverse was so vast that he believed that he would never see that ce in his entire life. But he had never imagined that this entire region would fall into enemy hands.

    A long time passed before Zhou Shan was able to ept Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    ¡°Uncle Lu, is that really true?¡± Zhou Xixi simply could not believe what she had just heard. She had a much better understanding of the Human Domain than her father, and thus she could not understand how so many powerful experts had failed to hold off Aeternus.

    Lu Yin turned to the girl. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, uncle can take you somewhere else where you can start a new life.¡±

    The magnitude of the situation started to overwhelm Zhou Xixi, and she started to get anxious. A thought suddenly urred to her. ¡°What about my teachers? Where did the mentors from Astral-10 go? I haven¡¯t been able to reach them for several days.¡±

    ¡°The Astral Combat Academy also took part in the battle. Astral-10 might not have been on the main battlefield, but they probably fought the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s corpse kings somewhere else. Don¡¯t worry, they should still be fine,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Zhou Shan spoke up in a heavy voice. ¡°Xixi, leave us for a bit. I need to speak to Uncle Lu privately for a moment.¡±

    Zhou Xixi wanted to argue, but she reluctantly left while dragging her feet after receiving a stern re from her father.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why don¡¯t you want Xixi to hear this?¡±

    Zhou Shan¡¯s expression grew unnaturally serious. ¡°Help me see if there¡¯s anyone else nearby. I need you to be absolutely sure that there¡¯s no one eavesdropping on us.¡±

    Lu Yin grew even more curious. With Zhou Shan¡¯s status and cultivation level, the man should not have anything this important to discuss with Lu Yin. Still, since he had been asked, Lu Yin released his domain and checked their surroundings. ¡°It¡¯s safe for you to speak.¡±

    Zhou Shan raised a hand and tapped his gadget. A video started to y in the air.

    Lu Yin saw a forest at night. The moon was bright, and there were only a few stars visible in the night sky. Viaducts and neon lights could be seen lighting up a city in the distant sky.

    The video moved forward. There was nothing noticeable or off to be seen. It looked like a simple recording that someone had taken.

    However, the silence was broken by a strange noise. The video froze for a moment before the person recording resumed moving forward, this time advancing cautiously. Two still figures appeared in the video. Suddenly, one of the two fell to the ground, and a sphere of light emerged from his forehead.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. Undying Yushan?

    There was no mistake. That was an orb of spiritual force. The person who had absorbed the ball of light was either Undying Yushan himself or another one of his puppets, like the man that Lu Yin had found in Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    In the video, the person absorbing the ball of spiritual force abruptly spun around and red straight at Lu Yin and Zhou Shan. No, he red at the person who had been recording the video. Then, the video suddenly went dark.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Zhou Shan. He was waiting for an exnation.

    Zhou Shan began, ¡°What you just saw wasn¡¯t a video, but rather a scene that was recorded onto an eyeball. I was able to process it to retrieve that video.¡±

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Lu Yin felt confused.

    Zhou Shan exhaled. ¡°That video just now came from a man named Li Zhong. He was a Sentinel, and he was also my disciple. He might not have been very talented, but he possessed an innate gift called Image Inscription. What you just saw was precisely what he saw himself. Anything that he saw would be recorded into his own eye, and I was able to retrieve it from there. His innate gift was why I sent him out to patrol Jinlin. Unfortunately, it¡¯s also what killed him.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood. There had been another cultivator with an innate gift. While it unfortunately had not been of much help in a fight, that innate gift had still allowed the man to be Zhou Shan¡¯s disciple.

    Zhou Shan was the person with the greatest status on Earth. He was Earth¡¯s liaison to the outside universe and arger world. Because of his rtionship with Lu Yin, there was a long line of cultivators eager for Zhou Shan to ept them as his disciples, as they all hoped to get closer to Lu Yin. There were even Explorers and more powerful cultivators among those hopeful people.

    Li Zhong had managed to be epted as a disciple both because of his identity as an Earthling and his innate gift.

    ¡°His body was found a day after he died. I immediately retrieved thest things that he had seen from his eyes, and I found this particr scene. The man in that video is who killed him. He must not have thought that Li Zhong would have an innate gift like this,¡± Zhou Shan exined.

    ¡°After that, I kept an eye on the man without alerting him. His actions have been truly bizarre.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been watching him? And he hasn¡¯t suspected anything?¡±

    Zhou Shan exined, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m not able to do something like that. There are surveince and monitoring devices in every nook and cranny on Earth, and I¡¯m even able to monitor what happens beneath the surface. I didn¡¯t specifically watch him, but instead gathered all of the recordings that were incidentally taken of him. Even if he moved outside of our surveince range, there was no need for me to look for him. After all, I get reports on anyone who wants to leave Earth.

    ¡°As long as he remains on Earth, I have ways to keep track of him. However, I don¡¯t single him out as a target. Instead, I act as though he¡¯s just a normal person that I¡¯m checking on.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Zhou Shan had handled this matter quite well. Powerful cultivators were extremely sensitive to being watched by others. Forget Zhou Shan¡ªeven getting an Envoy to follow Undying Yushan was rather unrealistic. However, monitoring the man as if he was a normal citizen would be fine. Most surveince equipment reyed videos instead of providing a live feed for one to observe.

    Zhou Shan continued, saying, ¡°While monitoring the man, I noticed that his activities were extremely odd. He keeps using that orb of light to control other people, and he seems to be searching for something. Apart from him, there are actually many other people with unknown origins or unverified backgrounds on Earth right now. I believe that there are even people from the Neohuman Alliance among them, and they all seem to be looking for something.¡±

    Lu Yin found this rather odd. Earth was just a small, ordinary. The only thing of any possible interest to these people was most likely the Hidden Earth Society. Just what was Undying Yushan trying to find on Earth?

    ¡°Apart from these people, there¡¯s something else affecting Earthlings. There¡¯s a group that calls itself the Hidden Earth Society. I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯ve already heard of them.¡± Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not find it strange that Zhou Shan had learned of the Hidden Earth Society. After all, the man¡¯s status was second only to Lu Yin¡¯s on Earth.

 Chapter 2027

    <h4>Chapter 2027</h4>

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t look down on Earth. This has managed to draw in a fair number of weirdos and strange phenomena. I¡¯ve actually been hesitating over whether or not I should ask you to deal with these things. I don¡¯t have any confidence in my ability to deal with that one man, and I also don¡¯t want to try to talk to this Hidden Earth Society or those people from unknown ces either.¡± Zhou Shan massaged his temples. These were all matters that had been giving him headaches for quite a while.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Where is that man?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s called Yu Xiaohai. I haven¡¯t been actively keeping track of his location, as I just receive passive updates from the surveince system,¡± Zhou Shan replied as he handed Lu Yin a map. ¡°This is everywhere he¡¯s been. He¡¯s visited almost every corner of Earth, including seabeds and subterranean areas.¡±

    Lu Yin studied the map. Earth was quite small to cultivators, who could easily circle it. Regardless of whether this person was Undying Yushan himself or just a puppet, this trail showed that he had gone around Earth several times. He was clearly looking for something.

    What could Earth possibly hold that was worthy of such a thorough search?

    With the recent crisis of Aeternus¡¯ invasion, Lu Yin had long since dismissed any thoughts regarding Undying Yushan to the back of his mind. He had never expected to see him on Earth.

    ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± Zhou Shan asked.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. Even if this person was Undying Yushan himself, Lu Yin was pretty confident that he could handle the man, especially since there were two Semi-Progenitors apanying Lu Yin. However, if this person was nothing more than a puppet, there was not much point in spending such effort.

    Regardless, Lu Yin was quite curious about just what Undying Yushan was somitted to finding on Earth.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about him. Just keep doing what you¡¯ve been doing,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Zhou Shan felt conflicted. ¡°I¡¯ve actually lost count of the number of people he¡¯s taken control of with that orb of light that he has. I¡¯ve sent some specialists to check the ces he¡¯s visited, and the reports say that the people living in those areas have started to exhibit abnormal behavior. After night falls, they seem to lose control of themselves, and they walk out of their homes. If this continues¡­¡±

    Lu Yin interrupted the man with a raised hand. ¡°Rx. I know what he¡¯s using to control those people. This isn¡¯t a problem. Everything will be fine after I settle things with him in person.¡±

    After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s reassurance, Zhou Shan no longer pushed the matter.

    ¡°You mentioned that there might be some people from the Neohuman Alliance on Earth. Are there any particr suspects?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Zhou Shan replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a guess. Even if it¡¯s true, they aren¡¯t corpse kings, as those are too easy to spot.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a dull ache in his chest. No matter if it was the Fifth Maind or the Perennial World, there would always be people who chose to turn to Aeternus. As long as one was human, they would have desires. Humans were smart, but the more intelligent the person was, the greater their desires. It was simply thew of nature.

    Lu Yin actually had no idea if any of the people he had brought with him were spies for Aeternus. In order to prevent his ns from leaking, Lu Yin had not told a single soul that he had been the one carrying the Sky Pir. However, because of that, he also had not been able to uncover any traitors, though it was also possible that any such traitors were simply too well hidden.

    Only bypletely eradicating Aeternus from the universe could humanity be saved. If that day eventually came, the humans who had secretly defected to Aeternus would lose their reason to betray humanity, and they would then live out the rest of their lives as their public identity.

    Lu Yin stopped his thoughts from continuing to wander, and he chuckled bitterly to himself. Completely eradicating Aeternus was nothing more than a fantasy right now. At this moment, even survival could not be guaranteed.

    After that, Lu Yin remained on Earth for a bit while preparing to escape through Jupiter once Aeternus forced him into a corner.

    The Great Eastern Alliance began constructing defenses in the sr system.

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin stood in outer space, staring straight ahead. Ni Huang and the rest of the Perennial World¡¯s army had arrived and were just outside the sr system.

    At this moment, the Perennial World¡¯s forces had been reduced to about half of what they had sent to the Forsaken Land. They had lost more than half of their Envoys, and they looked rather miserable. Also within their numbers could be seen the Second Nightking, standing behind Bai Laogui.

    ¡°Why are you all here?¡± Lu Yin asked as he stared at the Second Nightking.

    Wang Si sneered. ¡°We¡¯re following you, of course. We just found out that you entered the Perennial World in a different way than any of the other trespassers.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned deeply, and his eyes grew cold as he continued to stare at the Second Nightking. ¡°Did they find out about this from you?¡±

    Bai Laogui red at Lu Yin. ¡°Everyone will do whatever it takes to survive a crisis. Tell us how to get there, Lu bastard. This Forsaken Land is already lost, and it will soon be added to Aeternus¡¯s territory. I¡¯m sure that you have no intention of bing a corpse king.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    He pointed at Jupiter. ¡°Go straight into that, and you¡¯ll get to the Perennial World.¡±

    Ni Huang and the others looked at Jupiter with a good bit of skepticism. The fact that Lu Yin had answered so readily made them question his exnation.

    ¡°You little bastard, are you trying to pull a fast one on us?¡± Wang Si had a dark expression.

    Lu Yin shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about it if you don¡¯t believe me. Regardless, I¡¯ve answered you.¡±

    Bai Laogui picked up a random cultivator and threw the man towards Jupiter to scout a path for them.

    After reaching a certain distance from Jupiter, the cultivator, who was a Cruiser, found himself unable to move any further forward. He could not enter the.

    Lu Yin had initially run into a simr problem, as he had also been unable to enter Jupiter. There was a defensive barrier surrounding the, and it could even prevent Enlighters from entering.

    The man tried to move forward several times, but he failed. He eventually returned in defeat.

    Ni Huang turned back to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you unwilling to let us go?¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Whether or not you believe me, that¡¯s how I got to the Perennial World. However, most people aren¡¯t able to get in. Oh, right. I should remind you that you shouldn¡¯t try forcing your way through, as you¡¯ll never be able to get back if you destroy that.¡±

    ¡°You little bastard, you can¡¯t bluff us this time! Do you want to stay here?¡± Wang Si coldly snorted.

    Lu Yin shot Wang Si an annoyed nce. ¡°You old bitch, one day I¡¯ll break everyst tooth in your mouth.¡±

    Wang Si immediately moved to attack. In response, Kui Luo moved to protect Lu Yin from the front, and Highsage Grandmaster also emerged from the void. In the distance, Ancestor Tortoise raised its head.

    Ni Huang grabbed Wang Si¡¯s arm. ¡°Stop now. This isn¡¯t the time for infighting.¡±

    Wang Si¡¯s rage had already reached the peak, and she red daggers at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll break every bone in your body and grind your body to ash! After that, I¡¯ll throw you into the Crimson Garden where you¡¯ll learn what it means to be tortured in an infinite cycle of death!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Crimson Garden was a ce of unspeakable horrors. Those who were imprisoned in that ce were definitely from the Lu family. ¡°Hag, I¡¯ll let you feel what it¡¯s like to be cut into ten thousand pieces¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough! There¡¯s no need for this argument,¡± Ni Huang interrupted Lu Yin, ¡°I won¡¯t deny that hatred runs deep between us. We will definitely eliminate you, should the chance arise, and you probably already have ns in ce to undermine us. It¡¯s impossible for us to coexist in harmony. Since that¡¯s the case, then why not just tell us how to leave this Forsaken Land? Or, you can leave first. This is the best course of action for both of us.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°As I¡¯ve just said, it¡¯s that right there. It¡¯s not my fault that you don¡¯t trust me.¡±

    Ni Huang struggled to reign in his anger. Given his temper, he would have pped this brat dead long ago if not for the Master Brain¡¯s mentalwork or Aeternus¡¯s threat. Even during the glory days of the Lu family, Ni Huang had possessed enough status and authority to discipline the family¡¯s direct descendants.

    ¡°Is that truly the path that you took?¡± Xia De had no choice but to try to smooth things over. Of the four Semi-Progenitors, he was the only one who was able to hold a civil conversation with Lu Yin. While the Xia Family was also one of the four ruling powers, Lu Yin''s rtionship with Xia Taili was not that bad, and Xia De himself did not hold much animosity towards Lu Yin, which waspletely different from Wang Si and Bai Laogui.

    Lu Yin cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll say this onest time: yes, that¡¯s the path. If you want to use it, then keep yourselves in check. We¡¯ll all be stranded here waiting for our death if that is destroyed.¡±

    They would eventually discover Jupiter¡¯s abnormalities, so he had decided to just tell them right away. It would also be best if he could prevent them from using excessive force.

    ¡°So are you not leaving?¡± Wang Si asked sarcastically.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°Since when has the Lu family feared death?¡±

    For a moment, Wang Si and the others did not know how to respond. It was true that the members of the Lu Family were fearless, but something sounded off about Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. Being unafraid of death had nothing to do with their current situation. The kid was getting better and better at spouting bullshit.

    Ni Huang shook his head. ¡°If you truly didn¡¯t fear death, then why did you escape from Dragon Mountain back then?¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at Ni Huang. ¡°You¡¯re all braindead.¡±

    Ni Huang¡¯s expression tightened. ¡°Child, the only reason why we¡¯re holding ourselves back from using force right now is Aeternus, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯ll take such provocations lying down!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Am I wrong? I wasn¡¯t talking about everyone here¡ªI was just referring to your White Dragon n.¡±

    Ni Huang became confused. ¡°Are you saying that our White Dragon n is brainless?¡±

    Lu Yin mocked the old man, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t agreed to force me to reveal myself as Lu Xiaoxuan with the other powers, I would still be seen as Long Qi, and I¡¯d have Progenitor Mu Xie as my master. I¡¯d be an apprentice to a Realm Array Master, and you¡¯d even be supported by Humility¡¯s Gate. If you had just used me, your White Dragon n would have been able to surpass the other three ruling powers. As for getting revenge on me, you could have kept that as an internal matter. I would have been under your control anyways, so you could have dealt with me however you wished.

    ¡°But instead, you guys just had to foolishly expose me on Dragon Mountain. Not only did that make you aughingstock, you also threw away all of the benefits that you could have gotten from simply using me. If I were you, I¡¯d rather kill myself than live after making such a stupid mistake.¡±

    Ni Huang was furious, but deep down, he had to admit that Lu Yin had just verbalized the thoughts that asionally gued the old man.

    After Lu Yin had escaped from the Perennial World, Ni Huang had often wondered about what would have happened if Lu Yin¡¯s identity had never been exposed. The old man had known that Long Qi had been a fake identity and that the person had been a trespasser, but given how skilled Long Qi had been at gaining supporters, he would have been able to help the White Dragon n rise above the other three ruling powers. Dealing with the youth would have also been a rather simple matter, as he had only been a mere Enlighter.

    It was truly unfortunate that Ni Huang had not considered other options back then. Looking back, he still carried some regrets. Out of everything, the old man¡¯s greatest regret was Long Quan¡¯sst words. They had indeed made a mistake that had cost them the opportunity of a lifetime.

    Wang Si snorted coldly. ¡°Little bastard, it¡¯s toote to try to sow discord among us. I¡¯ll settle the debt that you owe us after we get to Perennial World. Now, release Wang Su and the others.¡±

    Lu Yin still had not released everyone from the Perennial World that he had captured. Wang Su, Wang Yi, and Liu Shaoge were still imprisoned.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°And why should I listen to you?¡±

    Xie De spoke up. ¡°Lu boy, I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re keeping them as hostages to ensure your safety when you get to the Perennial World. How about this¡ªmy Xia family will promise not to take any hostile actions against you for a hundred years after you arrive in the Perennial World in exchange for Taili¡¯s release. What do you say?¡±

    ¡°Xia De, are you seriously considering letting thest remnant of the Lu family grow further? Don¡¯t forget the Champions¡¯ Stage!¡± Bai Laogui immediately protested.

    Wang Si also directed a cold re at Xia De.

    Xia De ignored both of the Semi-Progenitors and simply stared straight at Lu Yin while waiting for an answer.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a very tempting offer. I¡¯ll consider it.¡±

    Ni Huang knitted his brow. ¡°Our White Dragon n can also promise you a hundred years of peace between us in exchange for releasing Long Xi.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Lu Yin answered casually, stretching Ni Huang¡¯s patience to the limit.

    Xie De gave Lu Yin a long look before turning to Ni Huang. ¡°Senior, let¡¯s make arrangements to settle in for the time being. Lu Xiaoxuan will definitely leave, so we just need to keep an eye on him.¡±

    Ni Huang nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    The Perennial World¡¯s army thus decided to stay where they were for the time being while also keeping a careful eye on Lu Yin. As for Jupiter, they had no interest in examining the.

 Chapter 2028

    <h4>Chapter 2028</h4>

    Lu Yin might be enemies with the Perennial World¡¯s forces, but their presence would still be a great help if Aeternus decided to fight with Lu Yin in Earth¡¯s sr system. On top of that, if they traveled to the Perennial World through Jupiter, they would all end up in random locations. Regardless of how thoroughly they searched for him in the Perennial World, he would remain safely hidden with his Mask of Death.

    A thought popped up, and Lu Yin turned to Ancestor Tortoise. What should he do with this guy?

    Ancestor Tortoise was simply too big. Lu Yin had no options but to leave the creature in the Fifth Maind. Besides, not even the Seven Skygods were able to do much to the tortoise.

    ¡­

    Aside from the fighting that still raged at the border of the Technocracy, the fighting had mostly died down in the Fifth Maind. However, the more peaceful things became, the more on edge humans became.

    Another month passed. At this point, two months had passed since the great battle.

    The mechanical ants had already beenpletely wiped out, but Aeternus had not pushed to invade the Technocracy. Instead, they had been busy replenishing their numbers. They had taken control of a stretch of the Innerverse¡¯s western flowzones all the way to Chaos Flowzone, and they maintained a careful watch on the rest of the Fifth Maind.

    As many had already guessed, the Aeternals did not conduct a wanton ughter of humans. Instead, they moved to capture humans to be used as raw materials in the production of new corpse kings.

    This was the cruel reality of defeat.

    Death was the only way for a person to regain freedom, but who had the courage to choose death?

    Under such circumstances, Aeternus gained numerous human followers each day.

    Bu Kong once again publicly revealed himself. For a while, he had been living like a street rat, terrified of being exposed. However, he had started to once again hold his head high and strut about arrogantly.

    City Lord Yang from the Aeternus Kingdom in the Starfall Sea also revealed himself as the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ disciple. He had publicly faked his death during Aeternus¡¯s invasion of the Sixth Maind, but he had been cultivating in secret with Aeternus¡¯s support, which had allowed him to be a powerful Imprinter.

    A few dayster, a shocking piece of news swept through the Fifth Maind. An Aeternus Kingdom had been established atop the ruins of Chaosgod Mountain in Chaos Flowzone, and the master of that kingdom was Fan Chen.

    Fan Chen was a Cosmic Imprinter from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Brahman Realm. He was the supreme elder of a family in the Brahman Realm, and he was also extremely close to bing an Empyrean Imprinter.

    This news left many dumbfounded. The betrayal of a family from the Brahman Realm had a massive impact on humanity.

    This betrayal meant that their enemy had gained yet another expert, but even more importantly, it indicated that humanity had given up.

    The Fan family hadpletely given up on fighting back.

    Shortly after the Aeternus Kingdom was established on Chaosgod Mountain, Ancient God and the other Semi-Progenitors of Aeternus revealed themselves. They were headed towards the furthest reaches of the Fifth Maind.

    At this same time, several human strongholds were established across the Fifth Maind, each under the protection of several Semi-Progenitors.

    One of those strongholds was the sr system in Frostwave Weave, which was protected by a total of six Semi-Progenitors. Kui Luo and Highsage Grandmaster cooperated with the four Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World to form the bulk of the defenses.

    Another stronghold had been erected in the Neoverse in the Honor Zone. With the Hall of Honor leading the force, the Seven Courts, Aurora Enterprises, and the 3,000 hidden worlds had joined together to form a force to be reckoned with. Themanders were Arch-Elder Zen, Xia Ji, and Chief Justice Qing Ping.

    The Seven Courts were only willing to temporarily abandon Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum and move to the Honor Zone because of Aeternus¡¯s threat. They were well aware of the fact that they were no match for Aeternus on their own.

    The Neoverse had a second stronghold as well, which was led by Gods¡¯ Origin. It was located just a short distance from the Honor Zone.

    The Rune Technology that Gods¡¯ Origin used waspletely unaffected by the draining of stellr energy from the true universe, which made Gods¡¯ Origin a safe haven whose protection many people yearned for.

    The Cosmic Sect faced difficulties in moving to the Honor Zone, so they had instead joined with Gods¡¯ Origin, which was closer, along with many other forces. The Semi-Progenitors protecting this stronghold were Elder Gong and Jiu Chi.

    The Honor Zone and Gods¡¯ Origin could be viewed as a single stronghold, as the distance between the two could be quickly traversed by Semi-Progenitors. If not for the difficulties in traveling to the Honor Zone itself, many forces would have done that instead of staying a short distance away.

    As for the Sixth Maind, they had concentrated their forces at the center of the Outerverse. When the crystal in the Autumnfrost family¡¯s territory had been shattered, the droplet had not been exposed, and it was still inside of Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring. This meant that the center of the Outerverse did not experience any draining of its stellr energy, and humans could recover their stellr energy there for the time being.

    Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had also split up to locate all of the strongholds that had been established across the Fifth Maind. In the end, Ancient God made the decision to deal God¡¯s Origin¡¯s stronghold a devastating blow.

    Since the human Semi-Progenitors were no longer united, Aeternus intended to use this opportunity to eradicate them one by one. On top of that, since numerous humans had already gathered at the various strongholds, they had no need to hunt them down in small groups, as they could instead harvest massive numbers all at once.

    This was the obvious next step for them to take.

    Since Aeternus was able toe up with such an idea, Arch-Elder Zen had naturally seen his possibility as well. The current situation had urred simply because the humans were trying to buy a bit of time.

    Once the human strongholds appeared, Aeternus felt confident that their victory was already written in stone and that they just needed to wait for the humans to finish flocking towards their final bastions of strength, which gave humanity a bit of breathing room.

    Thus, the Fifth Maind received a two-month respite. Humanity did not merely use this time to recover, but also bet on a path to victory. All of their bets were relying on that ce.

    After two months, Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors started moving toward Gods'' Origin. By this time, Xiu Ming and the other Lockbreakers had also finally finished their lockbreaking task.

    ¡­

    A vast, white, icy in radiated a bone-deep cold. The ground began to crack open, and fissures gradually spread across the entire region. Torrents of cold air shot straight up from the gaps, tearing through space and freezing it.

    Xiu Ming''s expression was absolutely somber. He did not even dare to touch the cold energy that had appeared, as it was cold enough to freeze even Semi-Progenitors. This was the energy that had transformed this vast area into a sourcebox.

    Lockbreakers stumbled back as they retreated, all the while staring at the white ice in terror and shock as the fissures grew.

    Hao Yue stared at the slitted scarlet eyes which were encased in theyer of ice. He had insisted that they leave this ce sealed after he saw so many scarlet eyes sealed within the ice. No one knew which of the frozen forces was stronger. If the released Aeternals were more powerful than the humans, this reckless lockbreaking attempt would bring disaster down upon the Human Domain.

    However, given the Fifth Maind¡¯s desperate situation, that thought had already perished.

    The cold white energy continued to spew out from a series of geysers, freezing space solid.

    "Move back further," Geoffery ordered, unprecedentedly serious.

    Qing Zhiyu, Mi Wen, Dao Bo, and the other Lockbreakers who had arrived at this locationter on retreated along with Gui Junheng, Wu Sheng, Xu Feng, and Yi Dishui.

    There was a sudden bang, and a massive crack appeared. A pair of slitted scarlet eyes abruptly moved. Fingers twitched, and a body moved. A neck twisted, causing a hair-raising series of cks to fill the air. Then, another pair of eyes opened wide. A figure leaped up, releasing a frightening aura that emanated the pressure of a powerhouse from an ancient era. It was a corpse king.

    Xiu Ming shivered as the power filling the area oppressed him with a sense of wrongness. What kind of power was this?

    The corpse king roared at the sky while releasing an endless might.

    Geoffrey gritted his teeth. "This means trouble."

    The power that the corpse king had revealed hadpletely suppressed him. This pressure was very close to the level of strength a Progenitor might possess. Just as Geoffrey was about to take action, a stream of ck energy burst forth from the crack into the sky and bound the corpse king in ce. As the Lockbreakers watched in a daze, the corpse king was shredded.

    Xiu Ming and the others were blown away. "Death energy?"

    At this moment, the entire icy ins shook. Everyone felt as though an unimaginable power was about to appear.

    Xiu Ming was startled. "This is bad. There¡¯s another sourcebox array inside the one that we just opened, and it¡¯s about to blow up. We can''t control it!"

    He looked at his group of Lockbreakers. "Everyone, protect yourselves!"

    Even as his words echoed across the icy in, the ground shattered with a deafening explosion. The force of the st radiated out in all directions, disrupting the suppression of the mentalwork. The power of the explosion was so overwhelming that it overpowered the mental construct. The frozen beings were all sent flying, as well as the Lockbreakers. All of them were thrown back into spatial tears that had appeared, swallowing them whole.

    ¡­

    With Aeternus attacking Gods'' Origin, the ruins of the Rune Civilization were brought out to be used in battle. They were transformed into majestic rune lines that were sent out to eliminate the waves of corpse kings. These ruins had originally been created by powerful cultivators from the Rune Progenitor¡¯s era who had cultivated Truesight. Once activated, they unleashed an unfathomable power that continuously bombarded the Aeternals¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, including even Ancient God.

    A Semi-Progenitor corpse king was caught off guard, and both of its legs disappeared. They were slowly erased into nothingness.

    Marquis Green Bamboo gazed in amazement at the invisible runes that were attacking Aeternus¡¯s forces. "To be honest, to me, the Rune Progenitor was the most remarkable Progenitor. He created an entirely new cultivation method, and he even established a whole civilization. If he hadn¡¯t been killed during a siege after trying to take on the Sixth Maind all alone, who knows how strong he would have be."

    Ancient God''s eyes were icy. "Throughout human history, there have been more than a few people like the Rune Progenitor, but all of them were too foolish."

    Forgotten Ruins Godughed. "Back then, the Heavens Sect ruled over everything: Three Realms Six Dao, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and the Twelve Heaven¡¯s Gates. They held all of the power. Back then, humans stood at the apex. However, the more prosperous they became, the worse their fall."

    "Humans will never return to the glory of the Heavens Sect¡¯s era. It''s our turn." A purplish-ck substance covered Ancient God''s body. His hair grew out, and a hazy glow enveloped him. He looked over at Gods'' Origin and suddenly shot forwards at a breathtaking speed.

    There were seventeen ruins of the Rune Civilization in Gods'' Origin, each of which was a never-ending fount of runes that were fending off the Aeternals.

    Four of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had been dispatched, but they still had not broken into Gods'' Origin yet.

    When Ancient God reached Gods¡¯ Origin, he ran into a powerful barrier that directly impeded his forward charge. It wasposed entirely of invisible runes. Some distance away, God of Mirrors stared intently at the approaching Ancient God. ¡°Erase him.¡±

    Ancient God looked over. He was ovee by a strange sensation that covered his entire body. With a frown, he waved a hand and tore apart the void, including the runes that were blocking his path. This attack continued to travel on to the ruins, destroying all of them with a single strike.

    Elder Gong threw God of Mirrors out of the way. At the ce where the man from Gods¡¯ Origin had just been standing a moment before, there was now a line that stretched out of sight. Space had been sliced in two.

    God of Mirrors could not believe his eyes.

    Elder Gong looked at Ancient God. Elder Gong knew everything would end once the Seven Skygods decided to reveal their true power.

    Ancient God was an unstoppable force as he sted into Gods'' Origin. His first opponent was Jiu Chi. Ancient God struck out at the man with a palm that shattered the gourd of wine, and Jiu Chi was flying as he coughed up blood.

    "There is no one from the past or the future who can stop me! It''s time to end this," said Ancient God as he raised an arm to strike down at Jiu Chi.

    Ancient God¡¯s power was on apletely different level than Jiu Chi¡¯s. It was as if an Envoy was battling against an Enlighter.

    Jiu Chi watched as Ancient God¡¯s palm swung down. He sighed, and a drop of liquor fell from his lips. Itnded at his feet and then spread out like ripples across a pond. Theypletely enveloped Ancient God. This was Jiu Chi¡¯s inner world.

    Xue Laogui had already been killed by Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift before he even had the chance to utilize his inner world. However, it was not toote for Jiu Chi.

    He unleashed his inner world while focusing on Ancient God. "Let¡¯s go down together."

    He released everyst drop of his power. This was an all or nothing effort.

 Chapter 2029

    <h4>Chapter 2029</h4>

    Inner worlds were the manifestation of a Semi-Progenitor''s true power. After activating his inner world, Jiu Chi knew that he would be trapped by the mentalwork. However, Ancient God should suffer the same fate as well, as he would most likely be forced to use his own inner world to block Jiu Chi¡¯s.

    Ancient God remained indifferent. "I don''t know what to tell you."

    As he spoke, he raised up his right arm with his palm facing downwards. "My level of strength is different from yours."

    The hand then fell, instantly shattering Jiu Chi''s inner world and leaving the man seriously injured.

    Jiu Chi was shocked, but the next moment, his body was seized by the mentalwork, and he was dragged away and trapped, just like Marquis Wu Yi.

    The human Semi-Progenitor had wanted to unleash an explosive attack to drag Ancient God into the mentalwork with him, as there was no one who could stand up to Ancient God here. However, even after unleashing his inner world, Jiu Chi had still failed to be a match for Ancient God. The exchange just now was no different from Ancient God crossing realms to defeat a Semi-Progenitor.

    Furthermore, Jiu Chi was not an average Semi-Progenitor, as he had opened all three of his meridian points and absorbed Origin Matter. He was much stronger than Xian Lan, Xue Laogui, and many other Semi-Progenitors, but even then, Jiu Chi had been casually defeated by Ancient God who had essentially jumped realms to defeat him.

    Jiu Chi was not the only one startled by this turn of events, as Elder Gong had also witnessed Ancient God¡¯s strength. This was the power of the Seven Skygods.

    God of Mirrors, the others from Gods'' Origin, and various people who had fled to Gods'' Origin, including many people from the Neoverse¡¯s wandering cities, all stared at Ancient God with eyes full of fear.

    The strength that this person had just disyed far exceeded their understanding.

    Not to mention the weaker people¡ªeven Elder Gong could not fathom the power that Ancient God possessed. The man had truly crossed realms to defeat a Semi-Progenitor. Even when looking through all of history, only a few had ever been capable of aplishing such a feat.

    They could not stop this person. Actually, how could such a freak be stopped at all?

    God of Mirrors trembled. At first, he had believed that the Aeternals could be stopped with the aid of the Rune Civilization¡¯s ruins. After all, the drainage of stellr energy from the true universe had little effect on their strength. Gods¡¯ Origin thought that they were still strong enough to protect themselves, but clearly, such thoughts were too naive.

    Suddenly, God of Mirrors remembered that even during the Rune Progenitor¡¯s era, the Rune Civilization had been destroyed and razed into the current ruins that they possessed. The power of rune technology was not invincible.

    God of Wind¡¯s face had gone pale. Close by, the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Yao Shan and Elder Yuan Ke feltpletely helpless for the first time.

    Forgotten Ruins God approached from the distance, and she also destroyed some of the ruins. This was the power of the Seven Skygods.

    Ancient God''s eyes fell upon Elder Gong, and slowly, Ancient God¡¯s hand rose up to grab at the human Semi-Progenitor.

    It appeared that, to Ancient God, even Elder Gong was as weak as a child.

    Countless stars revolved around Elder Gong''s body. Against Ancient God, Elder Gong had no choice but to fight with everything he had. At this moment, a stream of energy swept through outer space, blocking the falling hand before forming a person who turned to face Ancient God.

    Ancient God frowned. "So it¡¯s the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique again."

    The figure that had just appeared was a manifestation of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    "Do you really believe that a mere battle technique can stop me?" Ancient God casually pped at the approaching figure. Snow fell from the hand of the figure as it retaliated with a terribly powerful attack, but it waspletely ineffective against Ancient God.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Xia Ji, and Qing Ping all appeared next to Elder Gong, their faces solemn.

    "Leave him to me while you deal with the others," Arch-Elder Zen stated as he faced Ancient God.

    Elder Gong softly replied, "Be careful. Jiu Chi was unable to do anything even though he unleashed his full strength."

    Arch-Elder Zen took a deep breath. "I know."

    Forgotten Ruins God approached while revealing a flirtatious smile. "This is quite interesting, but even if you block him, can you all stop me as well?"

    A pair of scales appeared beneath the Chief Justice''s feet and instantly spread out to appear beneath Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s feet. "Let¡¯s find out."

    Forgotten Ruins God suddenly looked gloomy. "Are you underestimating me because of our first battle, little guy?"

    The stars in the area flickered dimly, looking like they were about to copse at any moment. The kneeling statues that held up Gods'' Origin started to shatter one by one.

    When Semi-Progenitors fought, no one else could intervene.

    The Technocracy¡¯s mentalwork and the Ruin Civilization¡¯s ruins were able to stop ordinary Semi-Progenitors, but they could not block the Seven Skygods or the Twelve Marquises. After all, neither of them used the power of living people.

    After all seventeen of the ruins were destroyed, Gods'' Origin waspletely exposed to Aeternus¡¯s forces.

    Countless shoots of green bamboo rose up from below, piercing through every person they encountered. For as far as the eye could see, green bamboo fields were stained with blood.

    God of Wind¡¯s eyes went wide as she looked down in utter disbelief. Her body had also been impaled by a green bamboo shoot, and a terrible pain started to slowly overwhelm her mind. She did not want to die here. She desperately tried to break the bamboo shoot, but to someone like her, the bamboo was indestructible.

    More shoots of bamboo shot into the sky, and one of them stabbed through her head. Half of her body hung from the bamboo, and the ground below was dyed red.

    Countless people died to the bamboo. Gods'' Origin had Eighteen Gods, who were their most talented youths. Except for God Taiyi and God Xiaobai, who had gone to the Tower of the Fifth and been taken to the Outerverse by Lu Yin, all the others had died here.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Yao Ji had also been killed by a Semi-Progenitor level corpse king. He was just one of the many people who had died, and he had been crushed like an ant.

    Elder Yao Shan''s eyes grew bloodshot, and he charged at the Semi-Progenitor corpse king, only to also be obliterated.

    Human powerhouses fell one after another, and countless corpses drifted through outer space. Gods'' Origin was about to meet its end.

    Countless howls of mourning and despair did nothing to stop the massacre. While the Aeternals needed more corpse kings, there were more than enough humans around. Even a ce like Gods¡¯ Origin was nothing more than a drop of water in a vast ocean, and thus the people here could be massacred without restraint.

    Countless people died, most of whom were not even left with an intact corpse.

    Arch-Elder Zen had never felt so helpless before. He could do nothing to stop this. It was already amazing that he was able to hold back Ancient God.

    Ancient God stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Is this all that you have? Who is the third clone of your Tri-Yang Technique?"

    To Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s side stood the summoned Progenitor Hui, which was protected by a sourcebox array as it held back Ancient God. After Arch-Elder Zen heard Ancient God''s question, a third stream of qi appeared behind him. "It''s someone you¡¯re familiar with."

    Ancient God was surprised. "I see."

    At this moment, a massive spatial crack appeared above everyone. It looked as though the Fifth Maind itself had been cut in half.

    Ancient God, Arch-Elder Zen, and everyone else looked up at the same time.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes filled with anticipation and nervousness. Did this sudden change indicate that the lockbreaking attempt had seeded? After two months of all the Fifth Maind¡¯s most powerful Lockbreakers working on the sourcebox, that frozen battlefield had finally been opened. Whether this would prove to be a blessing or a curse was impossible to know.

    Arch-Elder Zen could only trust in Mister Mu''s words that this was humanity¡¯s only hope.

    Forgotten Ruins God also looked up, and she turned to the north as she followed the overhead fissure to its origin. A frown appeared on her face. Why did it feel like a familiar presence had just passed by?

    An astral beast fell out of the spatial tear, and it let out a ferocious roar. Marquis Green Bamboo moved a hand, and a shoot of bamboo shot through space to impale the creature. The astral beast possessed a power level of over a million, but it was less than an ant to someone like Marquis Green Bamboo.

    The astral beast¡¯s blood sttered through space. Due to the creature¡¯s massive size, the downpour of blood covered half of Gods'' Origin when its body was pierced. The blood fell like raindrops upon Gods'' Origin.

    Suddenly, Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s expression changed, and his bamboo snapped.

    The astral beast was already dead, but there were five other figures on its back, all in various positions of standing, squatting, and half-kneeling.

    These five individuals seemed to be in terrible shape, as most of their clothes were in tatters. Some of them held broken weapons, and one was even missing a good chunk of their body. But despite that, for some reason, everyone could feel these people¡¯s unyielding determination to fight the moment theyid eyes on them. These five possessed an indescribable iron will.

    Their aura instantly epassed the entire battlefield that surrounded Gods'' Origin, and not even the Semi-Progenitors were able to overpower this aura.

    Clearly, there were only five people, and they even looked half-dead. However, it was impossible to ignore any of them.

    One of the five had a broken shoot of bamboo beneath his feet and a smaller piece in their hand. It appeared that this person had shattered Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s attack.

    The marquis stared upwards, paying particr attention to the emblem on the man¡¯s clothes. Marquis Green Bamboo felt like he had seen that symbol somewhere before.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the five people in amazement. While they clearly possessed an iron will and were not weaklings, it was a pity that none of them were Semi-Progenitors. They were merely experts whose power levels were a bit more than a million, which would not be of much use on the current battlefield.

    The hope that Mister Mu had referred to could not be just these five individuals.

    "Team Resolution," Ancient God said slowly as he stared up at the five people.

    Arch-Elder Zen was startled. Did Ancient God know these people?

    Forgotten Ruins God was still a short distance away, but she was caught off guard by Ancient God¡¯sment. "Them? Hen Xin''s Team Resolution? How are they here? They should have disappeared long, long ago."

    Elder Gong and the rest of the human Semi-Progenitors all had nk expressions. Team Resolution? None of them had ever heard of this name.

    Even Arch-Elder Zen had never heard this name.

    Ancient God and Forgotten Ruins God were able to recognize these people, which showed that they were not nameless cultivators, but Arch-Elder Zen had read through all of the Hall of Honor¡¯s ancient records, as well as the Mavis family¡¯s records. Despite that, he had never encountered any mention of Team Resolution. Was Team Resolution even a name that had existed before?

    The astral beast¡¯s corpse moved through space as it slid down the shoot of green bamboo. On the back of the corpse, the confusion in the five people¡¯s eyes slowly faded as they got a clearer look at their surroundings.

    They were not surprised to find themselves on a battlefield, as they had stood upon battlefields from the moment of their birth, even when they had not been conscious.

    Of the five, the man who had been half-kneeling stood up. He raised the broken half of a greatsword that he wielded.

    The squatting man also rose. He moved his arms, revealing strange gloves on his hands that were covered with ferocious spikes.

    The eyes of all five swept the battlefield before they suddenly all focused on Ancient God. Their originally calm eyes revealedplete shock, and then they all dropped to their knees as one. ¡°Team Resolution greets the Dao Monarch."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s heart dropped. This was the end. These people were actually part of Aeternus.

    Ancient God remained perfectly calm. He had already anticipated this reaction.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked at herpanion in a yful manner.

    Elder Gong sighed. This was truly terrible luck. Apparently, quite a few of the people who had been released from that frozen battlefield were on the Aeternals¡¯ side. Even though they were clearly human, they were deferential towards Ancient God, which indicated that they had betrayed humanity and turned to Aeternus. This would do nothing to help humanity¡¯s morale.

    Ancient God quietly stared at the five people who were bowing to him before finally slowly asking, "Where is Hen Xin?"

    One of the five figures raised his head. He was the most badly wounded of the five, and half of his body was even missing, but the other four clearly followed him. "The gatemaster is missing, but he should not be far."

    The man looked at Ancient God with an odd expression. "Dao Monarch, what are you doing?"

    Forgotten Ruins Godughed in a delighted manner.

    All five of the new arrivals turned to look at her. The person who had just answered Ancient God frowned when he noticed Forgotten Ruins God. This woman looked very familiar.

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled as she looked at the five. She paid particr attention to their leader. "I remember you, though I¡¯ve forgotten your name. You followed Hen Xin back then and led Team Resolution, right?"

    "Who are you?" The man was confused.

    Forgotten Ruins God''s mouth curled up into a smile. "My name is Wang Miaomiao."

    The man was stunned. "The matriarch of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Wang family?"

    "Hehe, unfortunately, I¡¯m no longer the Wang family¡¯s matriarch.¡± Forgotten Ruins God continued to smile at the man. "I''m a part of Aeternus, one of the Seven Skygods. I¡¯m Forgotten Ruins God."

    The man had no idea what was going on. "What are the Seven Skygods?"

    Forgotten Ruins Godughed and pointed at Ancient God. "Your Dao Monarch has be Ancient God of the Aeternals. Hehe, this is truly interesting¡ªthe underlings who once worshiped him in the past are now finding out that he surrendered to humanity¡¯s most despised enemy. How do you feel about that, Ancient God?"

 Chapter 2030

    <h4>Chapter 2030</h4>

    All five people turned to stare at Ancient God in disbelief.

    "Dao Monarch, what is she saying?" The face of the five¡¯s leader grew ugly as he stared at Ancient God. He had actually already realized that something was wrong as soon as heid eyes on Ancient God. While the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s scarlet eyes were somewhat hidden, they were still noticeable, and those eyes were a defining feature of the Aeternals.

    Ancient God indifferently answered, "They¡¯re just ants. Even if their hearts are able to break through to the Progenitor realm, they¡¯re still nothing more than ants to me. There¡¯s no need to exin anything to ants."

    As he spoke, he pressed a hand down towards the five people. ¡°This is the end for you. You all should have vanished long ago."

    None of the five moved in the slightest. They merely watched as Ancient God''s hand fell down,pletely overwhelmed by shock.

    Upon seeing that the five people were about to be killed by Ancient God, Arch-Elder Zen used his final stream of qi to protect them. The qi took on the form of a person that raised a hand in an identical manner to Ancient God, and the hand stopped Ancient God¡¯s attack.

    Boom!

    The void shattered. Ancient God was astonished. Had his palm strike actually been blocked?

    Arch-Elder Zen panted heavily, but he still wanted to protect these five people.

    Thest of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s three summons from the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique stood before the five people. This summon had the appearance of a powerful middle-aged man.

    The man¡¯s appearance caught even Ancient God off guard. "Lu Tianyi?"

    Forgotten Ruins God eximed, "Lu Tianyi?"

    Thest summon of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Tri-Yang Technique was indeed an ancestor of the Lu family: Lu Tianyi. A master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Forgotten Ruins God was stunned. "How could you summon Lu Tianyi with your battle technique? He didn''t die back then, and he was still alive even when four ruling powers banished the Lu family."

    Ancient God was also curious. So far, nothing had fazed him, not even the appearance of the five people on the back of the astral beast. Only the appearance of Lu Tianyi¡¯s summon had managed to surprise Ancient God.

    Arch-Elder Zen gazed at Lu Tianyi''s back as he spoke in a reverent tone. "When the Daosource Sect fell, I was ordered by the Lu family to establish the Hall of Honor, and I received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique from senior Lu Tianyi. He not only taught me the technique, but also made sure that he would be one of my summons from the ancestral qi. I have been unwilling to use this technique for many years, as I did not want to disrespect my seniors, but I no longer have any other choice.¡±

    Marquis Green Bamboo admiringlymented, "One of the reasons why the Lu family was banished was because their Champions¡¯ Stage infuriated so many people. They believed that the Lu family did not even respect the dead, which offended many people. However, the Lu family would not spare themselves either. Even a majestic Progenitor was willing to allow himself to be used by an ant all the way back then. That is indeed the Lu family."

    Arch-Elder Zen was a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that all of his summons from the Tri-Yang Technique were summoned as Semi-Progenitors. One of the summons was the Sixth Maind¡¯s Xue Wuqing, who had been a perfectly average Progenitor who had died during the first battle during the war in the Daosource Sect era. The technique¡¯s second summon was Progenitor Hui, but unfortunately, Progenitor Hui had never excelled at battle. However, the third summon was an individual whom even Ancient God feared.

    No one from the Lu family could be underestimated. Lu Tianyi had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Even though he might not have received the inheritance of the Mountains and Seas when he had been a Semi-Progenitor, he had still possessed the various unique strengths of the Lu family, as well as their Champions¡¯ Stage.

    This was Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s ultimate move. With the Tri-Yang Technique¡¯s three summons, he was absolutely invincible within the Semi-Progenitor realm. Not even Ni Huang could be considered Lu TIanyi¡¯s opponent when the powerhouse had been a Semi-Progenitor, let alone when the powerhouse worked with Progenitor Hui and Xue Wuqing.

    For eons, Aeternus had not allowed anyone who hadprehended the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to live, as they wanted to prevent the Hall of Honor from obtaining a powerhouse like Arch-Elder Zen. And yet, he had revealed that fearful power at this precise moment.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked over at the five people. "I don''t know who you are, but the Dao Monarch you mentioned has be a monster of Aeternus. It seems that he betrayed humanity and joined them. He is currently trying to exterminate all of the humans in the Fifth Maind and enve all the surviving humans."

    "Impossible! The Dao Monarch is a Dao Monarch! How could he betray humanity? How could he betray the Origin Progenitor?" the man leading the five people shouted. As he spoke, the other four all red at Arch-Elder Zen, unwilling to believe his words.

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head as he shrugged. It did not matter if he failed to convince these five as they would not be of much help on this battlefield.

    "The Tri-Yang Technique is indeed very powerful, but how long can you endure without absorbing more stellr energy?" Ancient God asked lightly.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes flickered. This was indeed his greatest weakness. Even if he was able to stand up to Ancient God, Arch-Elder Zen was unable to endure for a prolonged period of time. It was impossible for him to continuously use the Tri-Yang Technique.

    "However, I don¡¯t want to fight any longer. We¡¯ll give you a bit of breathing space. Gather more of your experts. We would rather not hunt you down across the entire Fifth Maind," Ancient Godmented before turning around and walking away from Gods'' Origin.

    Forgotten Ruins God nced at Arch-Elder Zen and the others, shing a smile at the, before she also left.

    The departure of Aeternus¡¯s forces allowed the Semi-Progenitors and all the other people to let out sighs of relief.

    Arch-Elder Zen was left pondering. Ancient God should not be afraid of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique¡­ Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mind churned, and he turned to look at the five people. Were they the reason for the Aeternals¡¯ retreat?

    Once they were gone from Gods¡¯ Origin, Ancient God stopped and turned to Marquis Green Bamboo. "When did this happen?"

    "Just now. In an instant, a thread took an astral beast¡¯s life," Marquis Green Bamboo solemnly reported.

    Forgotten Ruins God was taken aback. "What''s wrong?"

    Marquis Green Bamboo exined, "I just received word that a thread took the life of a Semi-Progenitor astral beast."

    Forgotten Ruins God was stunned. "A thread?"

    Ancient God looked to the west and solemnly replied, "The power of Destiny."

    Forgotten Ruins God''s expression instantly changed. When it came to Destiny, even Ancient God needed to be absolutely serious. "Destiny still exists?"

    Ancient God answered, "I don''t know, but who else can you think of that is able to casually kill a Semi-Progenitor with just a single thread?"

    "Destina!" Forgotten Ruins God blurted out, "One of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Destina was a pawn of Destiny. She wields the thread of Destiny, where one end lives while the other dies. I didn''t expect her to also appear. She disappeared at the same time when an entire generation of the Heavens Sect was cut off. I always thought that that generation had simply died, but if they are reappearing now, then everything is going to change."

    Ancient God responded indifferently, "It doesn''t matter. They won''t affect the overall situation."

    As he spoke, he lifted his head. "As long as Progenitor Hui''s power disappears, we can instantly take control of this maind. Try to get that mouse to leave. His current location is unsuitable."

    ¡­

    Currently, Lu Yin was not thinking about the fighting in the Neoverse at all. Rather, he was standing above Earth and staring at a middle-aged man standing in outer space in wonder.

    This person had appeared very suddenly, and he had attracted everyone''s attention the moment he appeared. His power was vast and majestic, and he carried an aura that contained the sensation of an iparably fierce de. He had nearly destroyed Earth the moment he had appeared, but fortunately, Kui Luo had acted and blocked the force.

    The middle-aged man looked around himself with a nk expression. "Where is this?"

    Lu Yin frowned and softly asked, "Is he a Semi-Progenitor?"

    Kui Luo answered cautiously, "Definitely, and not some ordinary Semi-Progenitor at that. His strength is unfathomable. See?"

    The old man opened his hand to reveal a streak of blood on his palm.

    Kui Luo¡¯s strength meant that not many other Semi-Progenitors could hurt him. The fact that he had not recovered yet indicated that he either did not want to, or that he was unable to.

    "This guy is quite tricky, so be careful. Give your strength, you¡¯ll be killed by a single attack," Kui Luo warned.

    Highsage Grandmaster appeared in the distance, soon followed by Ni Huang and four other Semi-Progenitors. None of them wanted to see anything happen to Lu Yin at this time, as they were all hoping to follow him to the Perennial World.

    The middle-aged man looked over at Ancestor Tortoise and was surprised by the sight. "The tortoise is this big? When did that happen?"

    "Senior, might I be allowed to ask for your name?" Lu Yin asked.

    The middle-aged man nced at Lu Yin, but he said nothing. He nced around and then lifted his head. "A Progenitor¡¯s power is covering everything? What has happened to the true universe?"

    Seeing as the man was not answering, Lu Yin spoke up again, "Where did youe from, Senior?"

    The middle-aged man nced back at Lu Yin for a second time, and then spoke in a hoarse voice. "I would also like to know where I came from, as well as where I am right now."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He had already guessed that this person had been released from the frozen battlefield, as it was otherwise impossible for such a powerful Semi-Progenitor to appear out of nowhere. "Senior, do you know of the Daosource Sect?"

    The middle-aged man stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re but a little Envoy, and yet the Semi-Progenitors allow you to speak. It would seem that you are able to make such decisions."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I don¡¯t dare be so presumptuous. It¡¯s just that my seniors are being generous."

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. Generous? Wang Si and those others all want to kill you.

    Wang Si shot a cold re at Lu Yin. What a hypocritical little bastard!

    The middle-aged man''s aura slowly faded. "You just asked about the Daosource Sect? That is wrong. Since we are all humans, we should refer to it as Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yin had no idea what that was. "Heavens Sect?"

    The middle-aged man¡¯s eyebrows rose sharply. "You don''t know of the Heavens Sect? Then why do you know of the Daosource Sect? Wait a minute."

    He nced around, and his expression suddenly and drastically changed. "Where''s the Mother Tree? Why can¡¯t I see the Mother Tree?"

    "Senior, this is the Fifth Maind, but the Mother Tree has been moved elsewhere. It¡¯s possible that you aren¡¯t someone from my Fifth Maind, though all the other Six Mainds have been destroyed," Lu Yin exined softly.

    The middle-aged man stared at Lu Yin in astonishment for a moment before sneering. "Boy, how dare you lie to me? The Mother Tree is gone? Five of the Six Mainds have been destroyed? How is that possible? Who could do that?"

    "The Aeternals," Highsage Grandmaster replied.

    The middle-aged man sneered yet again. "They¡¯re nothing more than a group of failed monsters, and yet you still call them the Aeternals? They''re mere trash."

    As the man spoke, his eyes became exceptionally sharp. "You can''t beckeys of that trash. Right, I remember now. Something didn¡¯t feel right before thatst battle started. That trash actually had the gall to provoke us. What kind of plot are you all a part of?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Senior, please calm down. We¡¯ll exin everything to you. This universe haspletely changed."

    Just as he was about to continue, he suddenly remembered that many other ancient characters would likely be appearing soon. Clearly, the people released from the frozen battlefield were ignorant of the destruction that had befallen the Six Mainds, which was enough to prove that they hade from a long, long ago era. Lu Yin had no idea how long it would take to exin so much history to each and every one of them.

    He felt a bit of a headache at this thought, but then he turned to Bai Laogui, and said, "Release the Second Nightking to have him exin."

    Bai Laogui¡¯s brow furrowed. "Exin things yourself."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold. "He¡¯s someone who¡¯s lived since the Daosource Sect era when the Fifth and Sixth Mainds fought their great war. That¡¯s something far outside my experience."

    Bai Laogui responded with a sneer before simply ignoring Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he turned back to the middle-aged man. "Senior, the only person among us who can exin things to you is a man known as the Second Nightking. He has lived since the peak of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect until it fell, and then until now. Too much time has passed for the rest of us to adequately exin things to you."

    The middle-aged man turned to face Bai Laogui. "No matter who you are, bring out this Second Nightking."

    Bai Laogui stared back at the middle-aged man. "First, exin who you are."

    The middle-aged man''s eyes froze, and then his aura changed yet again. It felt like a long, sharp de that pierced the sky. It spread out, enveloping Ni Huang and all the other Semi-Progenitors.

 Chapter 2031

    <h4>Chapter 2031</h4>

    At this moment, the lingering wound on Kui Luo''s palm started to ache terribly. The sharp energy that he had been suppressing was erupting. Kui Luo stared at the middle-aged man. This person was truly terrifying.

    "I am Hen Xin, the Gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate," the middle-aged man stated.

    Nearly everyone present had no idea what this name or title meant, but Ni Huang alone eximed, "The Gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates of Heavens Sect?"

    Hen Xin then turned to look at Ni Huang. "Your reaction leads me to believe that there really is something wrong with the Heavens Sect. You are all human, and yet you don¡¯t know anything about the Twelve Heavenly Gates or the Heavens Sect. Tell me why."

    Ni Huang nced over at Bai Laogui and ordered, "Bring out the Second Nightking."

    Bai Laogui felt quite puzzled. "The Twelve Heavenly Gates? I feel like I read something about that in an ancient record, but there weren¡¯t twelve gates during the Daosource Sect era, just a handful."

    "Bring out the Second Nightking and have him exin things first," Ni Huang replied. He was also someone from the Daosource Sect era, and he knew even more than the Second Nightking, but it was impossible to exin such details to Hen Xin at this moment.

    Ni Huang opened his mouth again, but Bai Laogui did not see any reason to refuse, so he quickly brought out the Second Nightking.

    The Second Nightking nced around in a bit of a daze. When he saw Lu Yin''s cold eyes, the old man grew increasingly afraid. He had spent quite a bit of time with Lu Yin, and he hade to know the youth quite well. Lu Yin was of absolutely no threat to the Second Nightking in terms of personal strength, but when it came to scheming, the Second Nightking knew that even ten of him would not be enough to survive against Lu Yin. The man was utterly terrified that Lu Yin had thrown him into a trap.

    "Second Nightking, tell me everything that you know about human history," Ni Huang indifferently ordered.

    The Second Nightking was takenpletely off guard. "History?"

    "Just say whatever you want," Bai Laogui impatiently ordered.

    The Second Nightking recognized that he was surrounded by many Semi-Progenitors, and he took particr note of the unknown man standing somewhat separate from the others. This middle-aged man gave the Second Nightking a tremendous amount of pressure, and it far surpassed anything that of Bai Laogui or any of the other Semi-Progenitors. Despite his numerous questions, the Second Nightking recognized that he was not qualified to ask any questions at this moment. "My knowledge of human history starts with the Fifth Maind of the Celestial Frost Sect. At that time¡­"

    As everyone listened to the Second Nightking''s slow narration, Lu Yin had someone record it down. He was certain that more people from the same era as this Hen Xin would soon start showing up, and exining everything to each person one by one would be exhausting. Thus, Lu Yin had decided to just make a recording and let these people to just watch it by themselves.

    This was also the first time that Lu Yin had heard the Second Nightking recount what he knew of human history. Lu Yin did not have much understanding of the Daosource Sect era, and he essentially only knew that the Fifth Maind had been at war with the Sixth Maind and that Progenitor Chen had been the one to start the war. Beyond that, Lu Yin also knew that Progenitor Chen had been pursued by Daosource Sect after he cultivated a clone with the bloodline of the colossal giants.

    Basically, Lu Yin knew almost nothing of that time.

    The Second Nightking needed quite a long time to recount everything he knew of human history. Naturally, his prowess and position back then did not make him privy to any essential information, hence his knowledge was notprehensive.

    "Who was the Dao Monarch in that era? Is the Dao Monarch still the same?" Hen Xin asked.

    The Second Nightking did not understand the question or how to answer.

    "Is the Origin Progenitor still around?" Hen Xin asked again.

    The Second Nightking still had no idea how to respond, and this time, he was not alone. Not even Ni Huang knew how to respond. The Origin Progenitor? Wasn¡¯t that just a legend?

    "The Origin Progenitor has always been regarded as nothing more than a legend. Did the Origin Progenitor really exist?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hen Xin did not respond. "From what you¡¯re saying, is the Fifth Maind about to fall? The Aeternals have already invaded. Can you stop them?"

    Everyone remained silent.

    From what had been said so far, it was clear that Aeternus had been greatly inferior to humanity during Hen Xin¡¯s era. If that was true, then why had humanity lost every step of the way since then? What had happened?

    "Who else is here from your era? If there are many other powerhouses, it might be possible to work together to push back the Aeternals," Highsage Grandmaster said.

    Hen Xin turned to look to the south. "I''m going to confirm what you told me. If what you¡¯ve said is true, then I''ll find a way to destroy those monsters."

    As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave.

    Lu Yin quickly pulled out a wireless jincan and tossed it over. "Senior, use this to contact us."

    Hen Xin did not refuse, grabbing the wireless jincan before he left.

    Lu Yin wanted the man to stay, but he could not ask him to. The man needed to first validate things for himself.

    Still, Hen Xin was simply too reckless. In his era, Aeternus had been overpowered by humans, which caused him to look down upon the monsters. However, over time, those monsters had managed to methodically destroy five of the Six Mainds, destroy the Daosource Sect, and even reduce the Origin Progenitor to nothing more than a legend. Hen Xin was a Semi-Progenitor, but it was still easy for Lu Yin to imagine that things would not be good if the man was careless with his actions.

    "Senior Ni Huang, what were you talking about? The Twelve Heavenly Gates?" Lu Yin looked at Ni Huang and asked.

    Ni Huang made it clear that he had no intention to speak.

    "I know that you don''t wish to speak to me, Senior, but no one knows what might happen next. It''s best for everyone to be informed," Lu Yin pushed.

    Ni Huang thought for a moment and then slowly responded, "During humanity¡¯s peak, the Daosource Sect was also known as the Heavens Sect. It held what was known as the Three Realms Six Dao, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and the Twelve Heavenly Gates. As for the Twelve Heavenly Gates, they represented the peak of power within the Semi-Progenitor realm, and each of the twelve Semi-Progenitors that controlled a gate was an absolute powerhouse acknowledged to be able to break through and be a Progenitor. Each and every one of them was at the very cusp of bing a Progenitor, and they were heralded as the next generation of human powerhouses."

    Lu Yin was stunned. Three Realms Six Dao? Isn''t that the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s training realm? What¡¯s its connection with the Daosource Sect?

    "The Marquis Wang that we saw before was another gatemaster of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, though she came from a different generation than the man who just left. Still, while their eras were different, her strength should give you an idea of the strength of a gatemaster. The man who just left is at least at her level," Ni Huang said.

    "What is the Three Realms Six Dao?" Lu Yin quickly asked.

    Ni Huang looked away and grew more rxed. "The Three Realms Six Dao are merely legends. I¡¯ve only ever read about them in ancient records. When I was born, the Three Realms Six Dao no longer existed. The Dao Monarch who was just mentioned should have been one of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao, and as far as I know, that person was also the sect master of the Daosource Sect. However, that might have also been someone else entirely."

    Right, Lu Yin realized that, despite all that he had heard about the Daosource Sect, he had never once heard any mention of a sect master. How could a sect not have a leader?

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, as well as the Sixth Maind¡¯s, had never once revealed any mention of a sect master.

    "Senior, you were around when the Daosource Sect still existed. Who was the sect master?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ni Huang, Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Xia De all stared at Lu Yin.

    Wang Si sneered. "The sect master? A bastard of the Lu family will always be a bastard of the Lu family. Even after he¡¯s lost his memory, he still wants to use his ancestor''s name to get an advantage."

    Lu Yin waspletely confused.

    Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors all left without saying anything more.

    Kui Luo let out a few coughs. "Well, it''s said¡ªthough they¡¯re just rumors¡ªthat the master of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was your Lu family¡¯s Progenitor."

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. "My family¡¯s patriarch?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "Didn''t I already tell you that your Lu family has several powerful Progenitors, including Lu Tianyi? He controlled one of the Mountains and Seas, but there were other, even more ancient, figures of legend from your family. It¡¯s possible that the sect master was one of those older Progenitors from your Lu family, but those rumors have never been confirmed. Regardless, even an old man like me has never heard anything about the Daosource Sect having a sect master since I was born."

    Lu Yin then understood why Ni Huang and the others had given him such odd looks and been so disgruntled by his question. From what Kui Luo was saying, the Lu family had always ruled over the Fifth Maind, not only by relying on their own strength, but also because of their ancestor¡¯s legend.

    The sect master of the Daosource Sect must have been a frighteningly powerful figure. It was too bad that it was already toote. Lu Yin should have asked Hen Xin who the sect master of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was, just to confirm whether it had been the Lu family¡¯s ancestor.

    Fortunately, there would definitely be other people who would also appear from that era.

    "How could the sect master have never been mentioned?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Kui Luo shrugged. "Who knows? No matter if it¡¯s the Fifth or the Sixth Mainds, the Daosource Sect¡¯s masters have never revealed themselves, reverting the position to a legend. It must have happened long ago, and it most likely is somehow connected to the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin then left. He wanted to call the Astral Combat Academy to ask the mentors about the Three Realms Six Dao.

    The fact that the Three Realms Six Dao had existed during Hen Xin¡¯s era suggested that there was possibly a connection between the Astral Combat Academy and that ancient era. However, so much time had passed that there were no longer any records of those ancient times. Why would the Astral Combat Academy have something like the Three Realms Six Dao?

    Could that be because of the inheritance that Lu Yin had heard about?

    Lu Yin then remembered the insane headmaster¡¯s words. The Astral Combat Academy existed because of humanity¡¯s inheritance. Humans needed an inheritance. Could it be that the Three Realms Six Dao was that inheritance?

    If the Three Realms Six Dao had been relegated to legend, then why would the Astral Combat Academy keep the same name?

    ...

    When Hen Xin appeared before Lu Yin and the others, elsewhere in the Outerverse, in the central weaves, more humans appeared out of spatial cracks. Some of them fell ontos, some were badly wounded and were dying, and others drifted through space. There were even some who had been reduced to desated bones.

    A man appeared in outer space with a swirl of ck energy around his body. He looked to be searching for something. After a long time passed, he frowned. "Why not?"

    Right after he spoke, an oddly shaped spaceship slowly drew closer to the man.

    It was carrying people from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Cloud Valley.

    The Cloud Valley Master had died during the great battle, and even the previous master had died, as well as Sword Schr. Cloud Valley still had an Imprinter even after all of these losses, but the expert had left as soon as the Cloud Valley Master perished.

    The Cloud Valley had fallen so far that, when the Sixth Maind¡¯s major powers had been summoned to gather in the central weaves, the Cloud Valley had not had anyone left to lead them. This was why they were forced to travel so slowly.

    The strongest person inside the vessel only had a power level of about 400,000. At the moment, the Enlighter was nervously staring out into outer space, worried that they would run into the Aeternals¡¯ forces and bepletely wiped out.

    How magnificent the Cloud Valley had been during their heyday! As the elder in the Daosource Sect, the Cloud Valley Master had had four imprinters under hismand. However, they had since beenpletely abandoned.

    The Enlighter let out a sigh and turned to leave when his expression suddenly changed. At some unknown moment in time, a man had arrived behind the Enlighter, and the man was staring at the Enlighter with cold eyes.

    The Cloud Valley had once had hundreds of thousands of disciples, though only tens of thousands of them hade to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse from the Sixth Maind. At the moment, there were only a few disciples remaining who qualified to follow the Enlighter, and he was absolutely certain that this cold-eyed man was not one of them. When had this person appeared? The Enlighter had not noticed anything.

    "Who are you?" The Enlighter¡¯s guard rose, and fear filled his eyes.

    The man stared at the Enlighter. "Are you scared?"

    The Enlighter swallowed. "Senior, who might you be?"

    "I would like to know what year it is," the man slowly said.

    Some timeter, the man stared into outer space with his hands sped behind his back. The Enlighter remained standing where he was. Despite the fact that the stranger had only spoken two sentences and less than twenty words, the Enlighter had already realized that this man must have lived for an incredibly long time. Otherwise, how would he not even know what era it was? The man must have either been in cryostasis or had experienced something that the Enlighter did not dare try to imagine.

 Chapter 2032

    <h4>Chapter 2032</h4>

    Regardless of the current situation, the appearance of this stranger might be a new backer for Cloud Valley. Thinking of this, the Enlighter started to get excited. "Senior, my Cloud Valley would like to do our best to serve you. Please lead us through this disaster."

    The man who was being addressed looked surprised by what he had learned. "That bunch of ants from back then actually managed to take out five of the Six Mainds. It really was a mistake to dismiss those people. Their fears from back then have actually be reality."

    After a pause, the man asked the Enlighter, "Do you know about death energy?"

    The Enlighter was caught off guard. "Death energy? I¡¯ve heard of it. It¡¯s the power that¡¯s used by Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance."

    "Tell me more."

    The Enlighter took a moment to organize his thoughts before answering, "The Fifth Maind once hosted apetition called ZENITH, which was organized to select the strongest youths of our time and find a peerless individual. At first, my Sixth Maind was guaranteed to win with our Daosource Three Skies participating. However, all of them were defeated, and it was all because of death energy. Before that, this junior had never even heard of death energy.

    "After that, my Cloud Valley made a point of investigating the matter, and we found that death energy is the power of the Specter n and that ites from the legendary God of Death. However, a legend is nothing but a legend in the end. The God of Death could have never truly existed, and it is simply a myth that was most likely fabricated by the Specter n¡­"

    The man listened in silence, but his eyes started mocking the Enlighter. The God of Death never existed? Ridiculous!

    If even the God of Death was regarded as nothing more than a legend, then just how much time had passed? Was there anyone in the current era who remembered the man or his time?

    "That Lu Yin used his death energy, and his body transformed-" As soon as the Enlighter got this far, the man interrupted him.

    ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t need to say anything further."

    The man did not care at all about what had happened when Lu Yin had used death energy. When it came to using death energy, the man was confident that no one in the current era could match him. Even in his own time, there had been very few who were his equal. After all, he was one of the God of Death¡¯s disciples. "Where is that Lu Yin?"

    The Enlighter respectfully answered, "I don''t know. There was a massive battle that was just fought, so he may still be in the Innerverse."

    After that, the man disappeared before the Enlighter¡¯s eyes.

    The Enlighter quickly searched about, but he could not find anyone at all. He regretted answering the man¡¯s questions so readily, and he would not have said anything if he had known that this would happen.

    That man had to have been a true powerhouse. What a pity that he had left.

    ¡­

    In the Cosmic Sea, a scream ripped through space with enough force that the sea water began to boil.

    There was a woman on a deserted ind who was trembling as she stared at her image in a mirror, her face pale. "How could this be? How could this be? My face is aged, and my skin is dry! What happened? Ah-!"

    She started shouting again, "Wrinkles! I actually have wrinkles! How? No, I need to get my looks back! I can¡¯t end up bepared to that bitch! Where is a beautician? Where is the beautician? I have to find one!"

    After she finished speaking, the entire ind shattered as the woman tore through space and shot away.

    ...

    In the Neoverse, a gigantic monster that looked positively ferocious spread its wings across thousands of miles as it flew north.

    The astral beast¡¯s breath was enough to cause space itself to tremble, and everyone it passed by quivered in its wake.

    On the back of the creature was a bearded man sitting down cross-legged. His head was nodding in a very leisurely manner as he hummed some nameless tune. He was clearly in a good mood.

    "Zizi, it''s been so long, yet I''m still alive, hahahaha! Life is truly amazing." The bearded manughed cheerfully. In front of him, there was an entire group of cultivators squatting low. Among them was City Lord Qing, who was a powerful Envoy. Despite his strength, City Lord Qing was bent over while staring at the bearded man in fear.

    The bearded man kept browsing through a gadget. "This thing is quite interesting, haha."

    As he spoke, the man looked over at City Lord Qing. "Boy, what are you looking at? Have you never seen a heroic warrior like me before?"

    City Lord Qing forced out a smile, but he did not dare to answer.

    He remained speechless at his fate. He had been in a group of people who had been drafted to join the battle in the Starfall Sea in the Innerverse. After humanity had suffered defeat, City Lord Qing had been taken back to the Neoverse. He had then quickly gathered some resources from Skyraiser City, but as he started making his way towards the Honor Zone, he had run into a powerful corpse king and had spent a long time fighting it. Just when he had started to resume his journey, the bearded man had fallen out of the void.

    From that moment on, City Lord Qing had transformed from an elite and powerful Envoy into a simple servant. Not only was he forced to answer all kinds of random questions posed by the bearded man, but the Envoy was also forced to wait upon the odd man. Fortunately, the powerhouse was not a cruel person.

    City Lord Qing was acting this obediently because he had sensed the bearded man¡¯s terrifying strength. Forget the man himself¡ªjust the astral beast that they were riding upon was strong enough to leave City Lord Qing breathless.

    "It''s good to be away from that broken era¡ªthere were too many freaks back then. This era is much better, though five of the six Mainds have been destroyed by the Aeternals. Just how powerful have those monsters be? This is a bit difficult," the bearded man muttered to himself. He then turned and looked to the side. "Hey, why aren¡¯t you saying something? What are you ying at? You look like you¡¯re about to be overwhelmed by your emotions."

    In the direction that the bearded man was looking, at the very end of the astral beast¡¯s wing, stood a young man.

    Although his back was to the creature¡¯s back, City Lord Qing could feel a fathomless aura from the young man. It was a feeling that City Lord Qing had only ever felt from Lu Yin. It was as though the youth was a 10,000-year-old volcano that could erupt with unimaginable destructive power at any moment.

    This young man was wearing a white robe lined with golden thread. In the current era, this outfit meant nothing, and there were many clothes that were much more impressive looking. However, in the past, these clothes had indicated that the one wearing them held a special status: Dao Chosen.

    "What is there to say? Since we are here, we are destined to restore the glory of humanity to this current era." The young man spoke slowly as a smile appeared on his face. ¡°We will bring back the Heavens Sect era."

    The bearded man rolled his eyes. "As arrogant as ever. You are already aware of just how powerful our own era was, but the humanity of that time was still defeated by the Aeternals and was reduced to this current state. Do you really believe that you can reverse this situation all on your own?"

    "The Aeternals were only able to achieve such victories because they managed to cut off two eras of humanity. No matter how sessful they might be right now, without a sessor, they will also start to fade. Take the true universe right now¡ªEnvoys are unable to replenish their stellr energy. In such an environment, we can¡¯t help but be the underdog."

    The bearded man contemptuously spat, "Even if I can¡¯t replenish my stellr energy, I¡¯ll still win!"

    The young man lifted his head high. "The gap between this era and our own has cut off humanity¡¯s future, but since we have returned, the future can be restored, or at least, a new future can be created."

    "That all depends on whether you get the opportunity. Do you believe that the Aeternals will give you that chance? They aren¡¯t stupid," the bearded man said, but then he suddenly grinned. "I wonder what will happen if you meet with the Lu family¡¯s Dao Chosen right now. After all this time, he¡¯s definitely a true Progenitor."

    The young manughed. "True. If he¡¯s still alive, he¡¯d definitely be a Progenitor."

    The bearded man''s expression changed slightly. He continued to review the records of the current era. It was clear that the Daosource Sect had copsed long ago, and the Lu family had been reduced to being a reviled primeval surname. The people who had been gathered by the bearded man were ignorant of what had happened in the past, which meant that it was important to find someone with real authority and knowledge.

    However, the bearded man looked back down at the gadget he held. He was looking at a picture of someone. Was this man rted to the Lu family?

    The man was studying a picture of Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    In a flowzone in the western reaches of the Innerverse that was separated from the Aeternus Kingdom on Chaosgod Mountain by two tributary Astral Rivers, a strange white cloud drifted through outer space.

    It should be impossible for a cloud to exist in space, but the void was distorted around this cloud. It looked as though it was connected to a certain area, and the darkness of outer space was dotted with white specks.

    A touch of ck suddenly appeared among the white clouds, and a pleasant voice came from it, "They areing from several directions."

    When the voice finished speaking, the ck color vanished, only to be reced by a red one that was the color of blood. "No, is it too far away? Or, did it actually disappear?"

    The voice stopped again, and the red also vanished. A hand as white as jade stretched out from the white cloud. Its fingers were slender, and its palm was simply exquisite.

    When the hand stretched out, its palm facing upwards, there were some strange fluctuations that emanated from it. "There it is."

    The voice disappeared, and so did the fluctuations around the hand.

    At this moment, in the distance, a green bamboo shot towards the white clouds.

    The white cloud didn''t move, and the green bamboo simply turned into powder when it approached.

    Marquis Green Bamboo appeared in space, staring solemnly at the white cloud. "Who are you?"

    The white cloud did not move or respond at all.

    A Semi-Progenitor corpse king appeared on the other side, and scarlet eyes stared at the white cloud. The creature¡¯s hands suddenly sped together, and a huge phantom appeared behind the corpse king. It took on the form of a towering giant that smashed a hand down upon the white cloud. Space froze, and the area was squeezed with enough force that everything warped.

    Still, the white cloud did not move.

    The hand shattered the clouds, and absolutely nothing remained behind.

    Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s expression changed. What had happened? He had clearly confirmed that someone had been in this ce.

    Suddenly, a thread appeared behind the corpse king. It tied itself to the creature¡¯s wrist while the other end drifted off into nothingness. Then, only a beautiful white hand appeared.

    "Quick! Sever your arm!" Marquis Green Bamboo screamed.

    The Semi-Progenitor corpse king instantly sliced off its wrist. The creature believed that by doing so, it could remove the thread. However, the thread inexplicably reappeared at the top of the ruined arm. Blood continued to spill into outer space as the Semi-Progenitor corpse king took action again, this time removing the entire arm. Still, the thread returned, this time connected to the corpse king¡¯s heart.

    "It¡¯s a thread of Destiny. Break it if you can," a sweet voice called out, though there was no one to be seen.

    Marquis Green Bamboo was horrified. While he had lived for many, many years, he had not been around during humanity¡¯s most prosperous era. In that era, the Daosource Sect had been known as the Heavens Sect, and all creatures had been subservient to the sect. Humanity¡¯s cultivation had blossomed during that era, and they had pursued more than just the path of stellr energy. Back then, the creation of different cultivation methods had been encouraged.

    During that ancient era, who had cared if there was no stellr energy?

    The thread that had appeared had absolutely nothing to do with stellr energy. The Aeternals had wanted to deplete stellr energy from the true universe so that they could enve humans more easily. But while this was a useful method against the humans of the current era, it was practically useless to people from humanity¡¯s golden era.

    Many people had walked their own paths, and their cultivation methods were ones that they alone used.

    The Semi-Progenitor corpse king grabbed hold of the thread, but the closer the disappearing end of the thread moved to the corpse king, the more the creature¡¯s body fell apart. When the end of the thread arrived at the corpse king¡¯s body, its body also vanished.

    "Has cultivation fallenpared to before? Is that how you destroyed five of the Six Mainds?" The pleasant voice spoke again as the thread disappeared.

    Marquis Green Bamboo suddenly unleashed all his strength. Countless shoots of green bamboo pierced space in all directions. Then, the mentalwork enveloped the marquis, and he was dragged up and captured.

    He had done this on purpose. He had no means of protecting himself from that thread, so he would rather allow himself to be captured. While he had no idea how long he would remain trapped for, it was still better than death.

 Chapter 2033

    <h4>Chapter 2033</h4>

    Outer space returned to its previous state.

    Marquis Green Bamboo felt frustrated. Ancient God had ordered the Semi-Progenitors to move out in teams and to kill everyone who hade from that ancient era, but Marquis Green Bamboo¡¯s team had been wiped on their very first encounter. It was humiliating.

    This was the strength of a powerhouse from the Heavens Sect¡¯s era, which was also humanity¡¯s golden era. This woman had been the master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, and her strength was terrifying.

    Ancient God had wanted to eliminate those ancient powerhouses individually before they joined together, but he had overestimated his subordinates¡¯ strength.

    Even Marquis Green Bamboo had been pushed to the point where he could only hope to survive when faced with a gate master from Heavens Sect.

    ***

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin was nning on rolling his die in hopes of Possessing someone from the ancient era so that he could ess their memories of that time.

    The Fifth Maind was truly vast, so it might not be possible for him to purposefully seek out those ancient powerhouses. If they were as powerful as he suspected, then Lu Yin hoped that he would be able to get in contact with them in order to work together to deal with the Aeternals.

    Only people at the Semi-Progenitor level could actually decide the fate of the Fifth Maind. At the moment, all of humanity¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had gathered at various different strongholds, and the Human Domain¡¯swork had also been destroyed. At this time, it was very difficult to share and receive information with other locations, so Possession was the only option that Lu Yin could think of.

    While he did not have much hope, he at least needed to make an attempt.

    Rolling his die always depended on luck, but it had been several months since Lu Yin hadst rolled his die, so he felt like he had a rtively good chance of rolling six pips.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin tapped the die, and it started slowly spinning. Finally, it stopped on three pips.

    He had nothing to Enhance, and even if he did, Lu Yincked the funds. He only had a bit more than 70 billion star essence left, which was not enough to upgrade anything relevant.

    Again. This time, the die stopped on four pips: Timestop.

    After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin¡¯s top priority was to continue training in the Cosmic Art.

    However, unlike before, this time, he took out a Root of Intelligence. He was not far from fully mastering the fifth level of the Cosmic Art.

    In the past, when Lu Yin had practiced the Cosmic Art while reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, he had only been able to simte fewer than 4,000 stars a year. But this time, while Lu Yin did not know if it was simply because he drank the tea brewed from a Root of Intelligence, developed a deeper understanding of the Cosmic Art, or was simply stronger, but he had managed to simte a total of 75,000 stars. At this moment, he was not far off from the 99,000 stars that signifiedplete mastery of the fifth level of the Cosmic Art.

    He lifted his hand and brought out his die again to tap it with a finger.

    This time, the die stopped at five pips. Lu Yin pursed his lips, as this was a useless roll.

    Wait. Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. Isn¡¯t Kui Luo outside?

    Lu Yin instantly left his seclusion.

    He had gone into seclusion in Jinlin, and Kui Luo was also in the city, as Lu Yin had asked the old man to protect him. At this time, Kui Luo was the only person who was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift of the die, but Lu Yin had refrained from sharing any specifics with the old man.

    The moment he emerged from seclusion, Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept across Jinlin, and he instantly found Kui Luo sitting in a restaurant that served roast duck.

    The old man looked up nkly after Lu Yin had suddenly appeared. Kui Luo was still chewing on a duck leg.

    Lu Yin patted the old man¡¯s shoulder with a hand and somberly said, "Eat slowly."

    With that said, Lu Yin instantly left again.

    Kui Luo was in a daze the entire time Lu Yin was present. The old man even wondered if he had been hallucinating. He remained uncertain until someone nearby mentioned the incident. That Lu kid really had just shown up out of nowhere and patted him on the shoulder. What was that about?

    Lu Yin returned to where he had entered seclusion, feeling rather depressed. It turned out that Kui Luo did not have an innate gift, which exined why Lu Yin had never seen the old man use one. Lu Yin¡¯s efforts had been nothing more than a waste of energy.

    He needed to roll the die again.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and his die reappeared. He tapped it and stared as the die slowed and stopped. Four pips again: Timestop.

    He had no intention of using a Root of Intelligence this time, as there was only one left. It was better to save it for an emergency.

    When Lu Yin emerged from the Timestop Space again, he had managed to simte 80,000 stars. If he rolled Timestop a few more times and practiced the Cosmic Art, the fifth level of the cultivation art would be mastered.

    "Boy, what was that all about?" Kui Luo¡¯s voice appeared.

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "What was what about?"

    "I¡¯m an old man enjoying a roast duck. Why did youe and pat my shoulder?" Kui Luo asked. He was an old monster who had managed to survive despite being chased by the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers and thus was an exceptionally wary individual. If anyone other than Lu Yin had approached him, Kui Luo would have pped them away, even Ni Huang. This was why Kui Luo found Lu Yin¡¯s actions so odd. The stranger the behavior, the more suspicious it was. This was the belief that Kui Luo lived by.

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten about the little interaction with Kui Luo. Even though only a few seconds had passed, for Lu Yin, it had already been almost a year.

    "I just wanted to remind you to eat slowly," Lu Yin replied.

    Kui Luo fell silent for a moment. "What is that supposed to mean?"

    "Eat slowly. Don''t choke."

    "Boy, have you gone crazy?"

    "Finish your food."

    Still in the restaurant, Kui Lou was staring at the duck leg he held. He could not make himself eat more no matter what.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. What happened with Kui Luo did not matter; Lu Yin needed to roll his die again.

    Suddenly, an earth-shattering roar was heard, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. He immediately stepped into outer space.

    Throughout Earth¡¯s sr system, countless cultivators turned to look south.

    In that direction, a massive astral beast shrieked in space, and it was possible to see a person sitting on the creature¡¯s back. That person shouted, "Beast, you dare to fight back? Hold still!"

    The creature let out another shriek and spat out blood. The astral beast¡¯s vicious and frightening eyes grew dim.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. That person was Wang Si. He had no idea where the old bitch had found the astral beast, but unless Lu Yin was seeing things wrong, the creature was from the same era as Hen Xin. Wang Si was clearly hoping to gain more information about that ancient time from the beast.

    After a short while, Wang Si seeded in subduing the astral beast.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed, as he also wanted the astral beast. The entire reason why he had been rolling his die was to Possess an ancient cultivator and scan their memories. Unexpectedly, Wang Si had already managed to capture an ancient astral beast. The creature likely knew a great many things.

    "Senior, go listen in," Lu Yin said to Kui Luo, who had just arrived next to Lu Yin.

    The old man just rolled his eyes. "I¡¯m old and don''t want to get beaten."

    "Don''t you want to find out more about the ancient era? Back then, humans lived under what was known as the Heavens Sect, and they even looked down on the Aeternals. How did things change so drastically, leaving us in our current plight? What''s a Dao Monarch, the Twelve Heavenly Gates, and everything else that we heard about? Don¡¯t you want to know?" Lu Yin tried to tempt Kui Luo, as the old man loved gossip more than anything.

    However, Kui Luo just sneered. "You need to be a lot more subtle if you want to trick me. Let me tell you¡ªthe more you want to know something, the slower you need to move. You need to take your time."

    The old man then gave Lu Yin a strange smile before looking back at Wang Si and the others.

    Lu Yin understood that Kui Luo had already targeted Wang Si.

    Lu Yin returned to his ce of seclusion, and after resting for ten days, he rolled his die again.

    This time he was quite lucky, as his first roll was six pips.

    Excitedly, Lu Yin''s consciousness appeared in the dark space. He was a little surprised to see that there were several bright orbs of light nearby. Was he really that lucky?

    He only considered the matter for a moment before randomly selecting a ball and merging with it.

    He was greeted by a terrible roar that sted his ears as soon as he regained consciousness. Before Lu Yin could even react, an enormous ck figure appeared next to him, and it smacked him flying. He could vaguely hear various people shouting.

    Lu Yin mmed into the ground and let out a few coughs. He suppressed the pain that racked his body and looked up, where his eyes were met with a familiar sky. When he looked back, he saw the towering Mother Tree connecting the earth and sky. Was he on the rear battlefield?

    "Colonel Chun, are you alright?" someone shouted.

    "Colonel Chun?"

    Lu Yin was momentarily confused, but memories quickly started flooding in. His expression changed, as he immediately realized that he had Possessed themander of the second array base: Colonel Chun.

    Lu Yin remembered this man, as they had met before. When Lu Yin had been at the second array base, Colonel Chun was the person who had held back one of the massive corpse kings, preventing the creature frompletely destroying a defensive sourcebox array. The man was a four-tribtion Envoy, so it made sense why Lu Yin had Possessed the man.

    "Colonel Chun, you need to be careful!" someone shouted.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw a huge corpse king falling down from above, dropping towards him with a vicious stomp.

    Lu Yin quickly evaded, and the ground shook from the impact. The enormous corpse king pped out with a palm strike, and the overwhelming power behind it caused space itself to twist.

    Lu Yin kept dodging as he looked around. He was back at the second array base, but where was the defensive sourcebox array?

    Memories continued to pour in, and Lu Yin focused on checking the most recent one. His expression changed yet again. When had the fighting in the Perennial World gotten so extreme?

    About three months before, an unusually fierce fight had broken out on the rear battlefield. From the Dominion Realm, all the way down to the New World, fighting had erupted absolutely everywhere, and it had continued for a full month without abating.

    Shockingly, the humans had actually initiated this fierce fight. Publicly, they were fighting to take control of the New World, and that was all that Colonel Chun had heard. However, Lu Yin knew that the truth of the matter was that the Perennial World was trying to hold back Aeternus.

    This exined why, in the two months since the decisive battle in the Fifth Maind, the Aeternals had remained so quiet: they would not receive any reinforcements. The Perennial World hadunched a frenzied attack, but almost no progress had been made from the second array base¡¯s assault. From Colonel Chun¡¯s memories, the All-Dao family¡¯s ancestor had been sent to spearhead and lead the Forsaken Soldiers to break through Xiang City¡¯s blockade, and they had moved to attack the heart of the New World.

    Every so often, shockwaves would descend from the Progenitors¡¯ battle high above in the Dominion Realm. Ever since this fierce battle had started, all five of the colonels, as well as the hidden sixth colonel, had been fighting. Three of them had already died despite them being four or even five-tribtion Envoys.

    The other array bases had seen equally heavy casualties.

    Colonel Chun had no idea when the current battle would end.

    Lu Yin controlled the man¡¯s body and kept retreating before eventually ending the Possession. It was clear that if Lu Yin maintained the Possession, Colonel Chun would die.

    After his consciousness returned to his own body, Lu Yin quickly left seclusion and went to find Highsage Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin had already guessed that, when something happened to the Fifth Maind, the Perennial World would move to restrain Aeternus and prevent humanity¡¯s enemy from sending more experts to the Fifth Maind. However, that had only been a guess on Lu Yin¡¯s part. There had been no foundation for such thoughts.

    However, his guess had been verified, and Lu Yin knew of the situation in the Perennial World. Aeternus did not have any room to spare more experts to assist in their invasion of the Fifth Maind, so Lu Yin needed to take advantage of this time to cooperate with the ancient powerhouses who had appeared. They needed to quickly drive the Aeternals out, or else they would lose this rare opportunity.

    On the rear battlefield in the Perennial World, humanity had always been on the defensive. At this moment, the humans had been able to overpower the Aeternals because so many of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had been sent to the Fifth Maind. However, this situation would notst for long.

    As soon as the Aeternals were able to push back the humans in the Perennial World, they would send more powerhouses to deal with the Fifth Maind, and the situation would bepletely hopeless once more.

    "Senior, what happened to the sourcebox array you set up?" Lu Yin asked. Only Highsage Grandmaster was able to set up the super long-range teleportation array which had transported Arch-Elder Zen and the others to the Neoverse.

    The old man replied, "It''s still there, but it can only send people one way. I simply did not have the time to arrange a moreplete sourcebox array, so if you go to the Neoverse, you¡¯ll have to travel back yourself if you want to return here."

    Lu Yin nodded. He then looked towards the part of the sr system where the Wen family had settled.

 Chapter 2034

    <h4>Chapter 2034</h4>

    During the massive battle against Aeternus, Liu Qianjue, the Wen family, and many other forces had finally witnessed the horror of the Aeternals for themselves, which had erased their insistence on defending their homes. They had realized that remaining isted and separate was a choice without any hope of survival, and in their despair, their thoughts had changed. Thus, they had all followed Lu Yin to Earth¡¯s sr system.

    Humanity had fully united to fight against Aeternus, and Lu Yin did not turn away even the Wen family, despite the fact that they had continuously refused to join the Great Eastern Alliance.

    However, allowing them to follow was just one thing. They still had unfinished business remaining.

    Wen Zizai''s face turned ugly. "Alliance Leader Lu, my Wen family is willing to follow you to life or death. I ask that you please forget matters from the past."

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m assigning you a task, so you have to go. There¡¯s no need to say anything more."

    Wen Zizai hesitated.

    Lu Yin had gone to speak with the man with the intention of giving him a task. He was to carry a wireless jincan to the Neoverse, deliver it to Arch-Elder Zen, and then teach the old man how to use it so that there could be an easy means ofmunication between the two locations.

    However, how was Wen Zizai supposed to return after traveling to the Neoverse? He was aware that, even if Aeternus managed to conquer or destroy the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had traveled to the Outerverse because he had some means to ensure his survival. Lu Yin could lead them to safety, and yet he wanted to drive Wen Zizai away and into danger now.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, my Wen family is willing to contribute all of our wealth and resources, and I will readily obey you from now on. Please, just give us a way out of this." Wen Zizai spoke very respectfully, and even bowed low to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned as he stared at Wen Zizai. Lu Yin was not trying to chase the man away out of revenge. This was not the time for such trivialities.

    This was a mission that had to be carried out by a powerhouse, as anyone else might not be able to even find Arch-Elder Zen. Anyone beneath the Envoy realm would not have the necessary speed, so how could they reach Arch-Elder Zen?

    Naturally, the Envoys who followed Lu Yin were reluctant to take on this task, and the truth was that Wen Zizai was a more suitable candidate. The old man had constantly been fighting against Lu Yin, he had the necessary strength, and he was also present and avable.

    "Senior Wen, I am not denying you a way to survive. This task must be carried out by an Envoy. Who else aside from you do you think is suitable for this?" Lu Yin carefully countered.

    Wen Zizai simply did not want to go. If he left, he might not ever be able to return. No one knew what was happening with the Aeternals elsewhere in the universe. It was possible that the Neoverse had already been conquered.

    "Can you give an old man some time to consider this?" Wen Zizai asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "We¡¯re already out of time."

    It was at this moment that Dean Han approached. "Alliance Leader Lu, I have something to share with Brother Wen that I believe might make things easier for you."

    Lu Yin waved a hand.

    Once Wen Zizai and Dean Han were far enough away from Lu Yin, Wen Zizai said, "It¡¯s lucky that you¡¯re here. Lu Yin wants me to deliver a package to the Hall of Honor in the Neoverse!"

    Dean Han was taken aback. "He wants you to leave?"

    Wen Zizia sighed. "Who else? Do you think that he¡¯ll send one of his own people?"

    Dean Han could not stop himself from turning back to look at Lu Yin. The overall situation was veryplicated at this moment. There were four Semi-Progenitors and Ancestor Tortoise in Earth¡¯s sr system, but everyone was still worried that the Aeternals would attack them. Leaving this ce would also leave one¡¯s life and death questionable. ¡°It will be extremely difficult to get back after going to the Neoverse. What are you going to do?"

    Wen Zizai stared at Dean Han. "Do you remember that stone?"

    Dean Han''s expression fell. "Do you still want to use that stone to save yourself?"

    "Brother Han, when your Han family was in trouble, my Wen family acted to save you, and we even helped you open your Lost Radiance Academy. All this time, my Wen family has never asked you for anything at all. At first, I asked you to trade that stone with the painting on it as a means of repaying the kindness that my Wen family has shown your family for these many years. But in the end, Lu Yin only looked at the stone, and it was returned to you. This time, can you give it to him? This is my life on the line right now," Wen Zizai solemnly asked.

    Dean Han answered with a wry smile, "So in the end, am I still giving it to him?"

    "If not even that stone is able to save me from this mission, then it¡¯s fate," Wen Zizai answered helplessly.

    Dean Han looked back over at Lu Yin. The man took a step forward, appearing in front of Lu Yin. Dean Han lifted a hand, offering the stone that carried the painting. "Alliance Leader Lu, can you see fit to give this mission to another?"

    Lu Yin stared at the stone the man was holding out. "That stone has no use to me."

    "But it seems very useful for the Aeternals," Dean Han retorted.

    Lu Yin looked up at the man. "What''s this stone¡¯s story?"

    Dean Han shook his head. "I have never lied to you, Alliance Leader Lu¡ªI really don¡¯t know. My Han family only knows that we are responsible for protecting this stone. We know nothing at all about its use or where it came from. If you don¡¯t believe me, I¡¯m happy to swear an oath that this is all true."

    In the past, Lu Yin might have beenpletely clueless about the stone, but in the time since he had seen this painting, he had Possessed Realm Array Master Hao Yue and learned about the frozen battlefield. Lu Yin had also realized that the star chart that had been stolen from Geoffrey¡¯s vault had been a map to that massive sourcebox.

    Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of things had changed since he hadst seen this rock with the painting.

    There was a reason behind every action that the Aeternals took. They had stolen the star chart from Geoffrey¡¯s secret room in order to find a ce that even the Hall of Honor had been wary of, as it held the possibility of ending the Fifth Maind. Aeternus¡¯s forces had ced various ck crystals that held droplets of a liquid that could devour stellr energy and drain the true universe, which had brought about a disaster for humanity. There was always a deliberate purpose behind everything that Aeternus did, and they only moved when sess was nigh certain.

    In that case, what was so important about this stone with the painting?

    Aeternus wanted this painting badly enough that a corpse king had been dispatched to keep an eye on it, so Lu Yin did not dare to do anything without considering the matter carefully. He was far more cautious than when Geoffrey¡¯s secret room had been robbed all those years ago. Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of this stone¡¯s importance waspletely different from the value that he had ced on Geoffrey¡¯s room in the past.

    Lu Yin stared at the stone for a long time. Finally, he let out a sigh. "It looks like I need to find someone else."

    Dean Han watched as Lu Yin took the stone away, and the older man felt a pain that practically took his breath away. That painting was something that his Han family had protected for countless years, but in order to repay the kindness that they had received from the Wen family, they had no choice but to give the painting away.

    Highsage Grandmaster silently watched everything y out. He understood why Lu Yin had been so sessful in his various endeavors: it was because Lu Yin was absolutely clear on his purpose. Lu Yin had not tried to give Wen Zizai a task out of petty revenge or to gain something from the Wen family, but because Lu Yin had genuinely wanted to use Wen Zizai toplete this task. Highsage Grandmaster was absolutely certain that Lu Yin was able to keep the bigger picture in mind.

    However, because Lu Yin had revealed his purpose too early, people like Wen Zizai would be desperate to save their own skin and would find the means to protect themselves. Lu Yin was able to passively obtain a great deal, and each step that he took would pave the way for various ns. Even if Wen Zizai was no longer an option, Lu Yin had other ones.

    Lu Yin¡¯s behavior could be considered rather conniving.

    Highsage Grandmaster shook his head. This child would never reach the peak of lockbreaking, as his focus was too divided.

    Wen Zizai and Dean Han left. From this point onwards, the two were in the same boat as the Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and many other forces. They no longer had any choice but to follow Lu Yin and be a part of the Great Eastern Alliance without any objections. Well, unless the day came when Lu Yin was reced by someone even stronger.

    Lu Yin put away the stone and called Kui Luo. "Come with me. I need to find Wang Si."

    "Why do you want to see that old bitch?" Kui Luo felt curious.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don¡¯t you want to know what she learned from that ancient astral beast?"

    Kui Lou shook his head. "I already told you that there¡¯s no need to worry about that. There will always be a way, and I¡¯ll keep an eye on that matter. Just focus on taking things slowly."

    "I can''t wait any longer." Lu Yin immediately started making his way towards the Perennial World¡¯s forces by tearing into the void and vanishing.

    Kui Luo quickly chased after Lu Yin. "Don''t mess around! If you¡¯re not careful, they really will kill you."

    Although Lu Yin remained confident that Wang Si and the others from the Perennial World would not dare to touch him until they had a safe path back home, Lu Yin could still protect himself with the eggshell, just to be safe. Kui Luo felt a sudden jolt of realization when he noticed that his situation was getting worse and worse; he actually looked like the kid¡¯s bodyguard! Kui Luo was already following the kid everywhere he went.

    "Old whore! Get out here and talk to me!" Lu Yin shouted.

    A terrible st of pressure shot towards Lu Yin from in front of him, and Kui Luo blocked it.

    Lu Yin snorted disdainfully. "The pressure of a Semi-Progenitor is useless against me. There are plenty of Semi-Progenitors showing up these days."

    "You little bastard, what do you want?" Wang Si appeared in outer space, and she red at Lu Yin with cold eyes that openly expressed her desire to kill the young man.

    Lu Yin grinned. "I want to make a deal."

    "You don¡¯t have anything to offer me," Wang Si spat contemptuously.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "What? Do you not want Wang Su and Wang Yi back anymore?"

    Wang Si stared at Lu Yin. "Are you finally willing to release them?"

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Honestly, I¡¯m quite frustrated as well. There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been thinking about for a long time, and I just don''t know what I should do about it."

    He suddenly grew much more serious as he stared at Wang Si. "Wang Su is quite beautiful."

    Wang Si was momentarily stunned. It was almost as though she had misheard Lu Yin, as there was no reaction from the old woman.

    Kui Luo tilted his head to the side as he looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "What was that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I think that Wang Su is pretty. You¡¯re a man. You get what I¡¯m saying."

    Wang Si instantly became enraged, and she charged straight for Lu Yin while swinging down a hand to crush him. At the same time, ck ropes shot out of the void to bind Lu Yin.

    Kui Luo let out a strangled cry as he hurriedly blocked Wang Si. The old man¡¯s spiritual force was fully unleashed, and Wang Si was forced back.

    Lu Yin did not try to put up any resistance, and he simply allowed the secret technique to bind him. It did not really matter, as Wang Si could not hurt him.

    Also, it was very difficult to block this secret technique, as not even Lu Yin¡¯s eggshell was able to protect him. This was the power of a technique developed by a Progenitor.

    "Old fart, fuck off!" Wang Si roared angrily as she red at Lu Yin in a crazed manner.

    This reactionpletely exceeded anything that Lu Yin had expected. Wang Si¡¯s response was too intense. She was acting as if it was not Wang Su who had been captured, but rather Wang Si herself.

    Kui Luo was also taken aback. Wang Si''s attacks grew increasingly fierce, and Kui Luo was just about to release his inner world and trap both of them.

    Kui Luo quickly shouted, "Boy, cut this shit out! This old bitch has lost it!"

    It was at this moment that Ni Huang, Bai Laogui, Xia De, and Highsage Grandmaster all arrived.

    Lu Yin saw that things were turning quite serious, so he quickly said, "It was just apliment! What are you getting so worked up about?"

    Wang Si was breathing heavily as she stared at Lu Yin with open rage and hatred. "Those of my Wang family cannot have anything to do with the Lu family! None of them! Release Wang Su!"

    "What''s going on?" Ni Huang moved to stand between the two sides and turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not expected Wang Si to respond with such agitation, and he shrugged as he replied to Ni Huang. ¡°I just wanted to make a deal, but she went crazy."

    "What deal?" Ni Huang asked softly. Wang Si was a Semi-Progenitor, and it should not be easy for her to lose control in such a tant manner. Even Ni Huang had be curious about this incident.

    Envoys watched from the distance, but this was a matter that concerned Semi-Progenitors, so none of the Envoys dared to move any closer, despite wanting to.

    Lu Yin looked back at Wang Si. She was still clearly upset, and she looked as if she was about to devour someone. Still, the more worked up she became, the more likely the deal would be struck.

    "The deal¡¯s only for Wang Si," Lu Yin replied.

    Ni Huang frowned and turned to look at Wang Si.

    Wang Si took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. "Very well, tell me, and I''ll hear you out."

    Ni Huang, Bai Laogui, and Xia De all nced at each other and then slowly backed away.

    Soon, only Kui Luo remained standing between Lu Yin and Wang Si.

    Lu Yin said, "I want to trade Wang Su and Wang Yi for someone. I want the Second Nightking."

    Wang Si was caughtpletely off guard. "The Second Nightking? He¡¯s a part of the Celestial Frost Sect now."

 Chapter 2035

    <h4>Chapter 2035</h4>

    Lu Yin could not care less about Wang Si''s response, and he casually replied, "That''s your concern. Regardless, I want the Second Nightking to help me take care of a certain task. You can negotiate the details of the deal with Bai Laogui."

    Wang Si gritted her teeth and growled, "Since ancient times, there has never once been a junior who dared speak to an elder in this manner! Even back when you were Lu Xiaoxuan, you needed to show respect to me!"

    "Cut the bullshit. It¡¯s your decision whether you agree to the deal or not. Still, Wang Su is very beautiful. I''ve been considering whether I should have a kid with her. My Lu family''s bloodline needs an heir. Don''t worry, though, I¡¯ll take responsibility for her. I heard that my dad did the same thing before," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Kui Luo grinned. This kid really had a talent for these things.

    Wang Si''s eyes turned bloodshot, and her voice dropped low and grew hoarse. "The entire Lu family is the worst bunch of animals! Fine, I''ll make a deal with you, but you better let Wang Su and Wang Yi go after this, or I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to kill you."

    The old woman then turned around and made her way towards Bai Laogui.

    Kui Luo approached Lu Yin. There was an odd look on the old man¡¯s face. "Kid, do you really want to settle down with Wang Su?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "Of course not! I already have a wife. I''m just scaring her¡ªI¡¯m not that messed up."

    "Sure enough, you¡¯re the same as your father," Kui Luo remarked, though Lu Yin could not tell if this was apliment or an insulting from the old man.

    Lu Yin smiled. "What does it matter what sort of tricks I use to deal with a mortal enemy like Wang Si? No trick is too dirty, though I still have some lines that I won¡¯t cross. I know what I should and shouldn¡¯t do."

    Across the way, Bai Laogui was looking over at Lu Yin with clear doubts in his eyes as Wang Si spoke.

    Regardless of what Wang Si did, Lu Yin was taking the short end of this deal. As far as Bai Laogui was concerned, while it was true that the Second Nightking was quite powerful, he was still just a ve. The Wang family had plenty of means to use to convince Bai Laogui to agree to this deal.

    Before long, Wang Si returned along with Bai Laogui.

    "What task do you want to give the Second Nightking?" Bai Laogui asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s none of your business."

    "You!"

    Bai Laogui instantly became upset, but Wang Si let out a cold snort. "Old man, we already made an agreement."

    Biao Laogui dismissively waved a hand and called out, "Second Nightking! Come here!"

    The Second Nightking was standing some distance away, watching everything that happened. When he heard Bai Laogui call him over, the Second Nightking¡¯s heart sank. Once again, Lu Yin was dragging the old man in.

    The Second Nightking had been the one to give the Perennial World¡¯s forces information about Lu Yin, and with Lu Yin targeting him yet again, the Second Nightking knew that Lu Yin would never let him go.

    The Second Nightking knew Lu Yin, and the youth would never allow a traitor to escape.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s identity had been revealed, he had taken control of the Second Nightking with the Sealed Cage Technique, butter on, the technique had failed with Bai Laogui taking control of the Second Nightking.

    Given Bai Laogui''s strength, he had been able to easily overwhelm Lu Yin¡¯s Sealed Cage Technique. After all, the Bai family had developed the technique to begin with, and it was far more suitable to them than anyone else.

    It was also due to Bai Laogui¡¯s control over the Second Nightking and his information that the Perennial World¡¯s forces had been able to find Lu Yin and Earth.

    It was not entirely urate to say that the Second Nightking had betrayed Lu Yin, as no one wanted to die.

    "Let''s discuss the mission now," Bai Laogui told Lu Yin when he saw the Second Nightking approaching.

    The Second Nightking nervously stared at Lu Yin. Although the ancient powerhouse was incredibly strong, he had suffered miserably ever since he had left the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins. He was even being sent back to Lu Yin now, which made the Second Nightking feel as though he had lost all of his prestige.

    The more one knew Lu Yin, the more terrifying it was to be targeted by the young man. Lu Yin might only be an Envoy, but he was involved in many matters that far surpassed what he was qualified to partake in if he were judged based solely on strength.

    Lu Yin looked into the worried and nervous eyes of the Second Nightking and was amused by what he saw. "Don''t worry, this task isn¡¯t a death sentence."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he lifted a hand and brought out a wireless jincan. ¡°You already know how this works, so take it to Arch-Elder Zen. That''s the job."

    The Second Nightking''s eyes widened. "You want me to go to the Neoverse?"

    Lu Yin nodded and tossed the jincan over to the Second Nightking. "Easy, right?"

    The Second Nightking was no fool, and he naturally considered all the possibilities that had urred to Wen Zizai before.

    Staying with the Perennial World¡¯s forces meant that there was only one future for the Second Nightking: return to the Perennial World and be a ve to the Bai family in the Celestial Frost Sect forever. Still, that was a better oue than waiting for death. Leaving might mean running into Aeternus¡¯s forces the moment the Second Nightking started moving.

    Without being able to recover his stellr energy, the old man would definitely die after leaving the stronghold at Earth.

    He could not help but nce over at Bai Laogui.

    The Semi-Progenitor just frowned before turning around and leaving. He clearly agreed to sending the Second Nightking on this task.

    "Why are you hesitating? Isn''t it better to fight for your freedom than to follow them back to the Celestial Frost Sect to be a ve to the Bai family? After you get to the Neoverse, Bai Laogui will head to the Perennial World, and he won¡¯t be able to control you any longer," Lu Yin encouraged.

    The Second Nightking had no choice in the matter. "I understand."

    "Senior, I''m sorry for inconveniencing you," Lu Yin turned to Highsage Grandmaster.

    The Semi-Progenitor just nodded before leaving for the sourcebox array with the Second Nightking in tow.

    Wang Si remained where she was and red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pulled out Zenith Mountain and immediately released Wang Su and Wang Yi.

    The two were left in a bit of a daze after they appeared.

    "Get over here! You¡¯re acting disgracefully!" Wang Si shouted angrily.

    The two quickly started moving and stood behind Wang Si before looking up and seeing Lu Yin.

    Wang Yi''s eyes revealed a strong reluctance. He was typically a rather indifferent person, and his reaction indicated just how much of an impact his captivity had had on him.

    Wang Su stared at Lu Yin intensely for a moment, as though etching his image into her heart.

    Wang Si had nothing further to say to Lu Yin, so she led the two juniors away.

    "What a pity." Lu Yin felt rather disappointed. "I had to release such valuable hostages just for that. I really don¡¯t know if this trade was worth it or not."

    "Whether it was worth it or not, you still let them go," Kui Luo said as he carefully observed Lu Yin. ¡°Sometimes you really let your mouth run off.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I messed up, though. I had no idea she was absolutely nuts."

    "That¡¯s a talent in and of itself," Kui Luomented with a smile, "Unconsciously asking for a beating is the way of a king."

    Lu Yin did not want to discuss the matter with Kui Luo, as Lu Yin always felt like he was being corrupted by the old man. "I forgot to tell you about something¡ªI ran into someone who is almost perfectly suited to be your disciple."

    Kui Luo quickly straightened himself and waved a hand. "I¡¯m an old man who¡¯s used to being alone. I don''t need some disciple, and besides, no one qualifies."

    Lu Yin responded casually, "I think that that person would be good. He inherited a secret technique called ¡®Man Of My Word.¡¯ It causes people to believe anything the user says."

    Kui Luo gave Lu Yin an odd look. "I might be old, and I might have just given you apliment, but don¡¯t try to use those kinds of tricks on me. Do you think that I¡¯m stupid? How could there be such a pointless secret technique?"

    Lu Yin gave Kui Luo a very serious look. "I would have never believed it myself if I had not personally seen it. If I see him again, I¡¯ll make sure to introduce the two of you. He¡¯s a good guy."

    Lu Yin then moved away.

    Kui Luo was taken aback. Could there really be such a bizarre secret technique? Secret techniques were created by powerful Progenitors. Just how bored did a Progenitor have to be toe up with such a strange secret technique?

    Eh? Kui Luo¡¯s head whipped around to look to the south.

    Simultaneously, Ni Huang and all the other Semi-Progenitors looked to the south as well. They were able to feel the fluctuations of a battle that involved Semi-Progenitors.

    ***

    There was an astral beast at the edge of the Cosmic Sea heading towards the Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones. Lu Buzheng was sitting on the creature¡¯s back, leisurely enjoying some tea, when he suddenly looked to the west and immediately changed the astral beast¡¯s course. "It''s that guy, Hen Xin. It looks like he ran into a powerful opponent."

    A short timeter, the astral beast arrived at the border of Venom Flowzone. There was a figure standing within the churning poisonous gas that filled the flowzone, and there was blood streaming down his back.

    The wounded man calmly turned his head around to look at Lu Buzheng when the massive astral beast arrived.

    Lu Buzheng was surprised. "You¡¯re injured?"

    The person standing at the edge of Venom Flowzone was Hen Xin.

    The young man in the gold-trimmed white robe also riding on the back of the astral beast was taken aback as well. While the man was not a Semi-Progenitor himself, he was quite familiar with the strength of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Hen Xin had started off as an ordinary person with no innate gift or background, yet he had trained excessively topensate for his meager origins, training in three different cultivation systems until they reached an unbelievable level of mastery. This sort of person was one of the most difficult opponents to face.

    The truth was that not a single one of the Twelve Heavenly Gate Masters were simple.

    Regardless, Hen Xin had actually been injured. It should be impossible for him to have been injured by any of the Semi-Progenitors from the current era.

    Despite the brief time that they had been released from the sourcebox for, these ancient figures had already learned that the strength of humans in the current era was greatly inferior to what humans had possessed during the Heavens Gate era. Humanity¡¯s cultivation techniques had weakened, and an unimaginable amount of time had passed. Without both of these things, it would have been impossible for the Aeternals to invade, let alone destroyed five of the Six Mainds.

    However, the one who had been wounded was not a Semi-Progenitor from the current era, but rather one from the Heavens Sect era, one of the Twelve Heavenly Gate Masters: Hen Xin.

    Hen Xin emerged from Venom Flowzone and stepped onto the back of the astral beast with a somber expression. "I encountered two of the Aeternals¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, but one of them is a human with an odd innate gift. She was quite strong. Based on her battle techniques, she should be from the Wang family."

    Lu Buzheng frowned. "My Fifth Maind¡¯s Wang family?"

    Hen Xin continued solemnly, "On top of that, while she used the Wang family¡¯s secret techniques, she also used the guardian of the Sword Monument¡¯s movement technique."

    "Senior Wu Xing!" Lu Buzheng was stunned.

    Hen Xin¡¯s voice dropped low. "Many things have changed since our own era to this current time. Many people have died, and others have be traitors. We need to find out more about the current era."

    He then pulled out the wireless jincan he had been given. ¡°But first, we need to deal with these Aeternals. The Progenitors of the Aeternals can only unleash a strength equal to a Semi-Progenitor realm while fighting, which gives us the advantage. The two of us might not be able to achieve victory alone, so we need to reach out to the Semi-Progenitors of this era."

    Wireless jincans were able tomunicate with each other regardless of the distance between them, but unfortunately, they did not allow for audio or videomunications.

    Still, given the mental faculties of a cultivator, understanding how to use a wireless jincan was a simple matter, and Hen Xin quickly contacted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin saw a messagee over the wireless jincan, and he immediately called Kui Luo and Highsage Grandmaster over. "I just got a message from that ancient powerhouse that we met earlier. He fought with the Aeternals, and it seems his opponents were a Semi-Progenitor corpse king and Marquis Wang. Hen Xin was wounded."

    "Marquis Wang?" Highsage Grandmaster was surprised. "It would appear that these ancient Semi-Progenitors are more powerful than we understood. None of the Marquises are easy opponents, and only those with the strength of Arch-Elder Zen or Ni Huang can even escape from them."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Hen Xin was the one who won the battle. He forced Marquis Wang back after badly injuring the corpse king. If Marquis Wang hadn''t used her innate gift to hurt Hen Xin, he probably could have killed one of the two Semi-Progenitors he was fighting against."

    Both Highsage Grandmaster and Kui Luo fell silent. They had always believed that the people of the current era were in no way inferior to their ancestors. There were records of the past that recounted the strength of Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Wushang, and while they were all powerful experts with amazing innate gifts, they had all been Progenitors. When those experts had been Semi-Progenitors, they had actually been a bit inferior to the ancient powerhouses.

    Marquis Wang had been able to hold back five Semi-Progenitors on her own, but she had been defeated by Hen Xin. This was the strength of an ancient powerhouse who had been the gate master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    The wireless jincan continued transmitting more messages.

    Lu Yin observed the message, and excitement covered his face before he quickly sent back a reply of his own.

 Chapter 2036

    <h4>Chapter 2036</h4>

    Lu Yin had just received a message from Hen Xin that mentioned the man was with another master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. That second gatemaster was known as Lu Buzheng, and with his surname being Lu, Lu Yin immediately considered the idea that this person might be from the Lu family as well. Who else could have the Lu surname aside from a member of Lu Yin¡¯s family? On top of that, this man had been strong enough to be a top powerhouse within the Heavens Sect.

    Within the Innerverse, at the edge of Venom Flowzone, Hen Xin was taken aback. "His surname is also Lu?"

    Lu Buzheng looked up. "Whose surname is Lu?"

    Hen Xin replied, "The young man I ammunicating with also has the Lu surname. He¡¯s named Lu Yin."

    Lu Buzheng was pleasantly surprised by this. "Lu Yin? Come, let me speak with him! He should be a part of my Lu family."

    Nearby, the young man in the gold-trimmed white robe looked over at the wireless jincan. Lu Yin? The young man also knew this name. How could he not? It seemed that this Lu Yin was the most famous person in the entire universe in the current era, and he was recognized as being peerless within his generation. He had conquered almost half of the Fifth Maind, and of particr note was the fact that he had just recently be an Envoy.

    Whenever Lu Yin was mentioned, it seemed impossible for people to avoid mentioning that Lu Yin was invincible within his realm, or that he wielded extreme political power.

    While it was possible that Lu Yin was not personally weak, he was someone in a position of power, and that always introduced ws into a person¡¯s heart. It was impossible for such a person to reach the pinnacle of strength. It seemed that Lu Yin held a status that was simr to the Dao Chosen from the era of Heavens Sect, but this thought made the young man shake his head. There was no way that Lu Yin couldpare to a Dao Chosen. Such youths were the pinnacle of talent even during the era of the Heavens Sect, and the cultivators of the current era were greatly inferior to those of the past. Being a member of the Lu family was not enough to change that.

    Comparing Lu Yin to a Dao Chosen was vastly overestimating him. Given the strength of the current era¡¯s cultivators, as well as the fact that the true universe¡¯s stellr energy was being quickly devoured, it was impossible for Lu Yin to be on the same level as a Dao Chosen. Only other Dao Chosen couldpare the white-robed young man.

    "What? This thing has 3,279 possible connections that can be used? So many?" Lu Buzheng eximed.

    Hen Xin answered as indifferently as ever, "It''s simple."

    Lu Buzheng rolled his eyes. "Then hurry up and show me."

    Far away, Lu Yin was feeling exceptionally nervous. Anyone from the Lu family was part of the family. For as long as Lu Yin could remember, he had been alone and without any rtives. Although Big Sis and the others from her band of mercenaries were closer to him than rtives, they were not actually rted by blood. Lu Yincked any real blood rtives.

    At this moment, he was finally able to meet one. Although their eras were beyond distant from each other, the same blood flowed in both of their veins.

    After waiting for a while, the wireless jincan delivered a message. The first words that were transmitted from Lu Buzheng to Lu Yin initiated a conversation between two members of the Lu family across endless years. "My name is Lu Buzheng."

    Lu Yin became excited, and he quickly replied, "My name is Lu Yin."

    "Haha, are you a direct or branch member of the Lu family?" Lu Buzheng asked through the wireless jincan.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. This question meant that Lu Buzheng was absolutely a member of the same Lu family. "Direct descendant."

    "Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    "Yes."

    "No matter how many years might have passed, my Lu family will never fail to raise geniuses. I¡¯ve heard of you, Lu Yin. After I entered this era, I heard of you from the very first person I questioned. I¡¯m from a branch family, and while I don¡¯t have a Champions¡¯ Stage or the main family¡¯s visualization technique, I¡¯m not too bad myself, and I was able to be a gatemaster in the Heavens Sect, haha!"

    It seemed quite clear that Lu Buzheng was a cheerful person, which waspletely different from Hen Xin.

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "I''m in the Outerverse. Come meet me."

    "Of course, but not right now. Let''s deal with this Aeternal trash first. Hen Xin and I will move out together. I heard you also have several Semi-Progenitors with you, so let¡¯s all work together," Lu Buzheng sent.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he hastened to answer, "Don''t be in a rush. I''ve already contacted other Semi-Progenitors, and they¡¯re nning to move together, but Aeternus is not an easy opponent, especially the Seven Skygods."

    "What are the Seven Skygods? There was no such title during our era. But it doesn¡¯t matter. Don''t you need more people since you already have a few Semi-Progenitors with you? Juste over here with them. We¡¯ll show the people of this era the power of the Heavens Sect era and the true strength of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters."

    Lu Yin frowned. "You really shouldn¡¯t underestimate the Aeternals. Let''s talk about things after we join up."

    "I, Lu Buzheng, have never enjoyed fighting for material gains, and I am also a member of the Lu family. Our Lu family has always stood on the front lines. We will head out first, so just follow us. Don''t worry, even if I am up against five or six other Semi-Progenitors, I am confident in being able to fight them and win."

    Lu Yin frowned when the wireless jincan went silent. While they were both part of the Lu family, Lu Buzheng seemed to be a very energetic person, though it was also easy to see his arrogance. This was exactly the same as Hen Xin, who had insisted on moving on his own to investigate the current situation. Both of them looked down upon the strength of the current era.

    Still, none of that mattered. Since they were making a move, then the powerhouses with Lu Yin would need to keep up and offer their support.

    Both Kui Luo and the Highsage Grandmaster had seen and understood the messagesing through the wireless jincan.

    "People from that era are too arrogant, and they arepletely underestimating the Aeternals," Highsage Grandmastermented.

    Lu Yin said, "Let''s go. We can''t let those two try to deal with Ancient God on their own."

    He clearly remembered what he had seen in the Neoverse with Undying God and when Mister Mu had revealed the Skygod¡¯s backstory. Undying God was actually Wu Tian''s adopted child, and his name was Wu Xing. Undying God was another figure from that legendary era, which was the Heavens Sect¡¯s era, so what about Ancient God? The Seven Skygods should all be at about the same level.

    Even though Lu Buzheng and the others who had been released from the sourcebox were from the Heavens Sect era as well, they had only been masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates while Wu Tian had been a legendary Ancient Progenitor. His adopted child would definitely be an elite powerhouse from even that era.

    The figures leading the Aeternals were not from the current era, but were rather powerhouses from the same era as those who had been released from the sourcebox.

    While thinking about these things, Lu Yin, Kui Luo, and Highsage Grandmaster returned to Ancestor Tortoise. They instructed the Mavis family to direct the massive creature to go back to the Innerverse. While all this happened, Ni Huang and the other Perennial World Semi-Progenitors were informed of the recent developments, in hopes that the four experts would also make their way to the Innerverse and participate in the fight there.

    Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors moved to block Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s path. "Just two Semi-Progenitors from ancient times are not enough to defeat Aeternus. You have already seen the power of Aeternus''s Seven Skygods."

    "Arch-Elder Zen and our other Semi-Progenitors have already moved out," Lu Yin answered bluntly.

    Ni Huang was stunned. "They¡¯ve already moved out? So quickly?"

    Highsage Grandmaster nced over at Lu Yin. This kid could lie without batting an eye. How could the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces in the Neoverse move so quickly? Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s sourcebox array was not urate enough to directly teleport the Second Nightking straight to Arch-Elder Zen. While it was possible for the Second Nightking to have already met with Arch-Elder Zen, no message had been sent to the forces in the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin took out his own wireless jincan. "I just spoke with Arch-Elder Zen and Elder Gong. They¡¯ve already set out, and we¡¯re also going to team up with Hen Xin and the other ancient powerhouse. I¡¯ve also gotten in touch with the Sixth Maind."

    "How did you speak with the Sixth Maind? We''ve been watching you, and no one has left this sr system," Wang Si demanded.

    Lu Yin exined, "I formed an alliance with First Edition City, and they have a wireless jincan, as well as a line ofmunication with Sky Creation Academy and the Sixth Maind. I asked them to pass a message onto the Sixth Maind. The Sixth Maind should also be moving soon, so let''s go. If we don¡¯t move, we¡¯ll just be crushed by Aeternus.¡±

    Ni Huang and the others nced at each other. They had no idea how much of Lu Yin¡¯s exnation was true.

    "Go!" Lu Yin yelled, and in front of him, Yunying Mavis herself used a glowing fruit from the divine tree to lead Ancestor Tortoise towards the Innerverse.

    Ni Huang and the others had no choice but to follow along. They also wished to see Aeternus destroyed. While they werepletely unconcerned with the destruction and death of the Forsaken Land, Lu Yin could not die yet, as they needed him to show them the way back to the Perennial World.

    Ancestor Tortoise moved towards the Innerverse, and at the same time, a man arrived at the edge of Earth¡¯s sr system. This was the man who had visited the Cloud Valley¡¯s spacecraft.

    The man saw the back of the tortoise that was leaving. His eyes shed, and he took off again.

    Ancestor Tortoise was incredibly fast, and it arrived at the edge of the Astral River in a blink of an eye. There was no pause as the massive creature passed through the Astral River and continued on towards Chaos Flowzone.

    At this time, the wireless jincan received a message, and Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised to see it came from the wireless jincan that the Second Nightking had taken.

    "This is Arch-Elder Zen."

    Lu Yin immediately answered by using the proper sequence. "Senior, two gatemasters of the ancient Twelve Heavenly Gates are headed to the Starfall Sea to attack Aeternus. We¡¯re also headed that way."

    "Stop now! Don''t go!" Arch-Elder Zen was startled and instantly told Lu Yin to stop.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Why?"

    "Ancient God¡¯s true identity is the Heavens Sect''s Dao Monarch of the Third Maind! He was the master of one of the Three Realms Six Dao. His true name is Gu Yizhi, and he is an absolutely legendary powerhouse. Anyone who goes will die," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    Lu Yin''s expression changedpletely, and Kui Luo and Highsage Grandmaster had simr reactions as they saw the message. "Dao Monarch?"

    While this term might not have meant anything to them before, they had since learned of its significance after meeting with Hen Xin. They had learned many details regarding the Heavens Sect¡¯s era, and they had alsoe to understand that the Dao Monarchs were most likely the same as the sect masters of the six branches of the Daosource Sect.

    There had been six sect masters for the Six Mainds, and they had been the Dao Monarchs of the Three Realms Six Dao.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. What sort of figure was a Dao Monarch? He was notpletely sure, but he did know that regardless of how far their cultivation was suppressed, a Dao Monarch would be peerless. The only people who could rival a Dao Monarch was another Dao Monarch.

    In the past, Lu Yin had naively believed that once he became a Semi-Progenitor, he would be able to rival the Seven Skygods. Back then, the Seven Skygods had been suppressed by the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors and kept their true power hidden. However, after seeing Undying God fight, Lu Yin understood that the Seven Skygods were truly powerful. What they had revealed to humanity was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg.

    Undying God¡¯s true name was Wu Xing, but even he had not reached the level of strength that a Dao Monarch possessed. Ancient God¡¯s strength could only be imagined.

    In the worst possible case, Ancient God was a Realmbreaker who could defeat Semi-Progenitors with the strength of an Envoy. With the suppression in ce from the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts, the most strength that anyone could use was that of an Envoy. Semi-Progenitors could not release their full strength.

    This meant that if Ancient God was indeed capable of defeating Semi-Progenitors with the strength of an Envoy, he waspletely invincible.

    "Hurry up and get them to pull back! Jiu Chen could not do anything to Ancient God even after unleashing his inner world and being trapped! There is no one who is Ancient God¡¯s opponent here." Arch-Elder Zen anxiously sent another message.

    Lu Yin''s guess proved true. He immediately sent another message to Lu Buzheng, believing that as long as the ancient powerhouses were told Ancient God¡¯s true identity, they would not continue their attack.

    The people from the Heavens Sect era should be the most clear on the strength of a Dao Monarch.

    However, nothing happened even after sending the message several times. There was no response at all.

    "Move faster! No matter how powerful Ancient God might be, his Semi-Progenitor avatar can¡¯t defeat Ancestor Tortoise," Lu Yin urged. He felt very confident about Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s defensive abilities.

    Elsewhere in the Innerverse, an Aeternus Kingdom was being built atop Chaosgod Mountain.

    There was a massive astral beast flying towards the mountain from the distance.

    A young man in a gold-trimmed white robe looked out at countless corpse kings and frowned. "Back then, someone suggestedpletely wiping out the Aeternals, but the Progenitors rejected that proposal. After that, we only ever limited the number of the monsters and tried to stop their spread. To think that with the passage of time, they would have be the masters of this entire ce."

    Lu Buzheng''s expression had turned somber. "There really is a tremendous amount of them.¡±

    As he spoke, he looked up into space. "The power of a Progenitor is restricting us, which limits my strength, but that¡¯s still fine."

    As the man spoke, a strand of qi swirled behind his body.

 Chapter 2037

    <h4>Chapter 2037: The Workings Of Destiny</h4>

    If Lu Yin or Arch-Elder Zen saw the qi that had appeared behind Lu Buzheng, they would both be shocked, as this was the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Lu Buzheng had also mastered this technique.

    Hen Xin nced over at Lu Buzheng. "Every time I see you use this technique, I start sweating. You¡¯re incredibly bold. You actually had the courage trick Destiny, and you even pulled it off sessfully."

    Lu Buzheng grinned and arrogantly lifted his head high. "It was all thanks to Lord Dao Monarch helping me, but because of that, Destina tried to chase me down and kill me. That madwoman would even beat me up whenever she saw me, but just wait until I be a Progenitor! Then we¡¯ll see the difference between her and the real Destiny."

    Some distance away, the young man in the gold-trimmed white robe spoke up to offer a reminder. ¡°Here theye."

    There was a sea of scarlet eyes arranged before them, and the auras of many with the strength of Envoys could be sensed. There were also two auras that felt familiar. They belonged to Marquis Wang and the Semi-Progenitor corpse king that had attacked Hen Xin.

    "Only three Semi-Progenitors? In that case, I alone am enough." Lu Buzheng stepped forward. He looked small, but he certainly was not weak. He was someone who would even dare to fight against the main branch members of the Lu family, and this courage was why he had been able to acquire the Tri-Yang Technique.

    Countless corpse kings rushed forward like a rising sea.

    Hen Xin clenched his fists tightly, and then the void started to twist. The man waved his hand, andyers of space spread out like copsing skyscrapers. If no one blocked this attack, it would be enough to annihte all the corpse kings before them. This was the power of space.

    The white robed young man was stunned. Hen Xin, the master of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, had trained three cultivation methods to the pinnacle, despite his origin as an ordinary human. He had cultivated his domain, battle force, and spiritual force. He had also touched upon the concept of controlling space.

    A Dao Monarch had once said that if Hen Xin became a Progenitor, he would likely control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which would make him an elite even among Progenitors.

    This was the power of the man¡¯s resolution.

    In the distance, Ancient God stepped forward and appeared in front of the horde of corpse kings. He received the spatial attack that Hen Xin hadunched, raised a hand, and casually pressed down to suppress him. "Even when looking at the entire Heavens Sect, there are very few who were able to match yourprehension of space. You haven¡¯t disappointed me."

    Hen Xin''s expression instantly changed. Ancient God had not used force to dissolve the attack, but rather his own mastery of space. This showed that Ancient God''s understanding of space was at least on the same level as Hen Xin¡¯s.

    Who couldpare to Hen Xin when it came to hisprehension of space?

    When Hen Xin noticed Ancient God¡¯s appearance, the man¡¯s body trembled, and his originally indifferent attitude transformed into horror and disbelief. "You- you- Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Buzheng and the white-robed young man were also both staring nkly at Ancient God. They felt as though they were seeing the sky copse upon them. Their hearts were shaken, and they felt as though they were seeing the end of the universe.

    "The Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch¡­" Lu Buzheng muttered through dry lips. This was inconceivable.

    Hen Xin''s pupils fluctuated as he stared at Ancient God. The man¡¯s entire body was trembling.

    Ancient God calmly looked back at Hen Xin. "So we finally meet again, though for you, it might feel as though only a short amount of time has passed."

    Hen Xin stared at Ancient God before finally taking a few steps forward. The man was clearly overwhelmed by emotion. "Dao- Dao Monarch, it''s really you? This is impossible! You- how could you be such a monster?"

    Ancient God¡¯s scarlet eyes revealed no hint of either happiness or anger. "If it allows for eternal life, why wouldn¡¯t I?"

    Hen Xin could not believe what he was hearing. "Impossible! You must be an imposter! You must be pretending to be the Dao Monarch! You¡¯re a fake!"

    The man then shot forward, and his body shed across space so quickly that he left behind an afterimage where he had just been standing. It was as if space did not even exist, and he instantly appeared right in front of Ancient God and threw a palm strike at the man¡¯s head. A purplish-ck substance covered Hen Xin¡¯s arm, and it seemed as though space itself was as delicate as air, instantly being crushed by the attack.

    Ancient God just shook his head. "I taught you how to use battle force."

    As he spoke, he raised his own hand, which was also covered with the same purplish-ck substance.

    Boom!

    The void exploded, and Hen Xin was forced to retreat a few steps back. He waved his hand, and streaks of ck appeared from the void that suddenly shot towards Ancient God. It looked as though space itself was being ripped away.

    Ancient Godmented, "It¡¯s not easy for a person ofmon birth to reach your current level. The fact that you can toy with space and rip it away shows that you¡¯ve reached the pinnacle of what most people can even imagine achieving. Unfortunately, you are not facing most people.¡±

    Ancient God then stretched out a hand and clenched it, utterly crushing the spatial attack flying at him. Every shard that he shattered caused space to tremble, and if any one of these shards was casually tossed about, it would destroy a vast region of the universe.

    Lu Buzheng ground his teeth, his face twisted into a hideous expression. This was a huge problem. They were actually facing a Dao Monarch! This was something that Lu Buzheng had never even dreamed that they would be forced to deal with. What sort of powerhouse was a Dao Monarch? Was it not true that such individuals were on the same level as Lu Buzheng¡¯s own ancestor? The thought of fighting such a monster left the man trembling.

    Lu Buzheng worked hard to suppress his fear, and two streams of qi appeared around him. One took on the form of an astral beast while the other became the image of a middle-aged man. Both of the summoned figures instantly rushed towards Ancient God.

    As soon as Ancient God saw the two, space copsed. "We¡¯ll leave you here for now. Since we Aeternals have entered this ce, we will never leave."

    As he spoke, Ancient God punch forward, creating a ck hole in space. The void was pushed back as this ck hole moved forward. It casually swallowed the astral beast, but the summoned middle-aged man managed to evade the ck hole. He manipted space, revealing a deepprehension of space much like Hen Xin.

    However, if the summoned figure waspared to Hen Xin, then the summoned figure¡¯s mastery of space was not nearly as carefree and rxed.

    "I remember that you are able to summon Destiny as your third figure with your ancestral qi. Show me." Ancient God was unconcerned with Hen Xin''s terrifying attack, and the ancient powerhouse simply focused on Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng gritted his teeth. This opponent was too difficult for them to face. While both Lu Buzheng and Hen Xin were invincible among Semi-Progenitors, they were both being overwhelmed by their current opponent. What did the Dao Monarch eat growing up? Even though the two men were both from the Heavens Sect¡¯s era, they werepletely ignorant as to the history of the Dao Monarch¡¯s rise to power. It was as though the Dao Monarchs had always existed.

    "If you want to see it, I''ll show you." Lu Buzheng''s body became distorted by the third stream of ancestral qi. Suddenly, the man stopped, and he stared at Ancient God. "I''ll show youter."

    Ancient God''s eyes red wider. "You won¡¯t have the chance!"

    His body suddenly grewrger andrger, shooting upwards. He instantly became the size of a colossal giant, and yet he still continued to growrger.

    The young man in the gold-trimmed white robe was shocked. "There are rumors that im that the Third Maind¡¯s race of colossal giants was created in ancient times by their Dao Monarch. It looks like it¡¯s true."

    "It''s true, sure enough," Lu Buzheng agreed bitterly. He watched as Ancient God¡¯s form grewrger andrger, somehow not triggering the mentalwork. Then, when the manifested thoughts twisted and tried to act against Ancient God, it was unable to capture him.

    Lu Buzheng screamed, "The power of a Progenitor! He¡¯s using his strength as a Semi-Progenitor to match the power of a Progenitor! We need to leave!"

    Hen Xin was startled. He had been taught by this Dao Monarch, but he had never fought against the man, as he had never qualified to do so. The gap between their strength had always been too vast. Even at this moment, when they both possessed the strength of Semi-Progenitors, the gap was still too much. It was only at this time that Hen Xin understood what sort of strength the Dao Monarchs wielded.

    A Semi-Progenitor who could wield the power of a Progenitor was iparable to a Semi-Progenitor who was considered invincible. What Semi-Progenitor could even dream of challenging a Progenitor?

    Ancient God became iparably massive, and he swatted at Lu Buzheng with one hand.

    Lu Buzheng quickly grabbed the white-robed young man and fled. At the same time, City Lord Qing was grabbed by the figure formed from the stream of Ancestral Qi. The approaching hand looked like it was about to crush a few ants.

    Hen Xin looked upwards and embraced space. He instantly severed it and threw that portion of space at Ancient God.

    However, given his rise in strength, Ancient God only needed a single hand to destroy this attack.

    With the suppression of the mentalwork, Ancient God still had not yet used his strength of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The third stream of qi that swirled around Lu Buzheng''s body kept shifting, but he felt helpless. It was not that he did not want to summon Destiny, but rather that he was unable to do so. This was Destiny. Even if Lu Buzheng had managed to obtain this ability with the help of his ancestor, he had only had a small probability to summon the Ancient Progenitor.

    Given the man¡¯s level of strength, he would have to pay a steep price in order to summon Destiny at the same level of cultivation as him.

    Puff!

    Lu Buzheng spat out a mouthful of blood.

    There was a bang, and Hen Xin was sted away by Ancient God. The purplish-ck substance on the man¡¯s body cracked, leaving him with a pathetic appearance.

    Lu Buzheng''s eyes flushed red, and he let out a deep growl. The third stream of qi still failed to sessfully take on a form, but he was able to sense something from it, and he suddenly shot northwards.

    Hen Xin had been smacked to the east.

    Ancestor Tortoise was also to the east.

    The young man in the white robe wondered why they were headed north, but this was not the time to ask questions.

    Ancient God nced at Hen Xin, and then at Lu Buzheng. The massive figure lifted a foot and prepared to move to the north, but he was not quick.

    He was not able to truly release the strength of a Progenitor, as it was instead a strength that allowed him to resist the Progenitor-level suppression of the mentalwork. This was all that Ancient God wanted to do, as it allowed him to utilize the full strength of his Semi-Progenitor avatar.

    However, he had reached his limit, and he was about to copse. Before that happened, Ancient God had to make sure that he dealt with Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng possessed the ability to summon Destiny. While this might not be a powerful ability in battle, it could easily turn things around at a critical moment. Even Ancient God was rather fearful of Destiny, and only by dealing with Lu Buzheng would the Aeternals be able to deal with the others.

    Even a disciple of Destiny was merely a disciple while Lu Buzheng was able to summon Destiny herself.

    Lu Buzheng ground his teeth as he looked back. Ancient God¡¯s huge body was slowly drawing closer. The man was getting closer to a gxy, but he circled around it and shifted his direction while continuing to move north.

    Such a distance was nothing more than a few steps for Ancient God, but he just could not manage to catch up to Lu Buzheng, though the distance continued to shrink more and more.

    Ancient God watched as Lu Buzheng suddenly shot eastward, and he also noticed Ancestor Tortoise rapidly approaching from that direction.

    On the back of the giant tortoise, Lu Yin and the others were able to see Ancient God. The massive figure wasrge enough that even a star would be like a piece of gravel to him, and it was impossible to miss, much like Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s own body.

    Seeing the warping of the mentalwork around the colossal figure, even Ni Huang trembled at the sight. ¡°Stop! We can¡¯t go up against that! Stop!"

    Lu Yin saw Lu Buzheng up ahead. Although Lu Yin had never seen this man before, there was a sense of familiarity. This person had to be someone from the Lu family.

    At this moment, Ancient God suddenly stopped. An enormous hand rose up and clenched into a fist. Space itself trembled, and the mentalwork surged, but the giant kept resisting. Cracks appeared on his body. Even a Semi-Progenitor''s body could not resist any longer, and Ancient God was on the verge of copsing.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly constricted. Ancient God was preparing to use a battle technique, and he was about to attack. While this attack might not be enough to injure Ancestor Tortoise, it would definitely kill Lu Buzheng.

    There was still too much distance between Ancestor Tortoise and Lu Buzheng. There was simply not enough time to cover such a distance. Even if Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art, it would not be enough. On top of that, regardless of what Lu Yin tried to use, everything would be instantly crushed.

    A terrifying and overwhelming power surged between Ancient God and Lu Buzheng. It was impossible for almost anyone to influence this level of strength.

    Lu Buzheng turned his head. His face grew pale. This was the end. Was he just a single step too slow in the end? It seemed like Destiny had miscalcted.

    The young man in the white robes also turned pale. He still had not had a chance to shine in the current era yet. He was someone who would one day be a Dao Monarch and reestablish the Heavens Sect in the future. How could he die in this ce? No, that absolutely could not happen.

    But regardless of how unwilling the young man might be, there was nothing he could do against Ancient God¡¯s strength that could even resist the mentalwork.

 Chapter 2038

    <h4>Chapter 2038: The Name Of Garan</h4>

    The surface of Ancient God''s body continued to break apart even as he released a punch that shook the entire Fifth Maind. Far away in the Outerverse, the Progenitor of Bloodlines opened his eyes and stared southwards in shock. This power?

    Lu Buzheng stared at the attack that epassed everything he could see.

    Boom!

    A deafening sound filled the area as space was torn apart from side to side. The Astral River, the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even the Cosmic Sea were affected. If the Fifth Maind was a pond, then half of it had just been torn open.

    The moment Ni Huang and the others saw Ancient God preparing to attack, they had hidden themselves on the back of Ancestor Tortoise. Many members of the Mavis family quivered. They had never witnessed such a terrifying level of power before.

    In the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors suddenly looked up. Who did this power belong to? Was this one of the Aeternals or one of the ancient powerhouses?

    Lu Yin wasying on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back as well. He sucked in a few breaths before he lifted his head. He was not met by the sight of Ancient God, but rather a massive mountain that rose tall into the sky like a pir.

    Arch-Elder Zen had said that the Sky Pir had once supported the Daosource Sect and that it was tough enough to block the passage to the Starfall Sea. Thus, it was impossible for most Progenitors to break through the Sky Pir.

    At thest moment, Lu Yin had taken out the Sky Pir and moved it behind Lu Buzheng with the Yu Secret Art to block Ancient God¡¯s punch and save Lu Buzheng.

    Events proved Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s words to be true: the Sky Pir was indeed able to block even a Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    While Ancient God was able to exert a level of strength that allowed him to resist the mentalwork and approach the level of strength of a Progenitor, he was not actually able to utilize the strength of a Progenitor. After all, this was just a Semi-Progenitor avatar, and it did not have the strength to destroy the Sky Pir.

    Everyone on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back clearly saw the Sky Pir.

    Lu Buzheng was currently hiding behind the Sky Pir, looking at the mountain that had just blocked Ancient God¡¯s attack. The man felt beyond grateful, as he knew how close to death he had just been. He also thanked his ancestor for helping him to con Destiny, as the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique¡¯s summon had guided the man to safety.

    "Hurry! Get over here!" Lu Yin shouted. He waved a hand, causing the Sky Pir to shrink down as he collected it with the Yu Secret Art.

    Lu Buzheng raced over to Ancestor Tortoise. He had been given the time needed to escape.

    Off in the distance, Ancient God¡¯s huge body kept shrinking. The mentalwork was still pulling at him and trying to capture him as his scarlet eyes locked onto Ancestor Tortoise. Well, more urately, his eyes were fixed upon Lu Yin who was on the back of the tortoise. ¡°I thought that you were nothing more than an ant. I never thought that you would be the one to thwart me."

    Lu Yin heard Ancient God¡¯sment, and he looked over at him. "No matter how powerful you might have once been, you are now nothing more than a monster who betrayed humanity. Compared to me, you are the ant¡ªno, you¡¯re a vermin. Everyone wants to kill you."

    Ancient God remained calm, despite the cracks spreading across his body and it slowly broke down. ¡°Little ant, do you understand just how powerful the Heavens Sect was in ancient times?

    "Do you understand just how powerful the Three Realms Six Dao were in ancient times?

    "Do you understand just how powerful the various races were in ancient times?

    "You understand nothing. Even a race as powerful as the old humanity was eventually defeated by my Aeternus. This is inevitable. The pinnacle of living evolution is eternal life, but that end is beyond human ability. Not even the Origin Progenitor was able to aplish that, as only my Aeternus can. This is the future of all life forms, no matter if one is human, astral beast, or something else. All life must evolve. This is an incessant drive.

    "The moment life stops evolving, it will die. I have no desire to die, and neither do you. Unfortunately, you are limited by your own body. What of humans? What of monsters? Eternal life is the only thing that matters."

    Lu Buzheng stepped onto the Ancestral Tortoise and turned back to look at Ancient God with aplicated expression. "Is that why you, a Dao Monarch, betrayed humanity?"

    Lu Yin took a step forward as he stared at Ancient God. "The biggest difference between humans and other creatures is our intelligence. Humans possess the seven emotions and six desires, as well as countless emotional bonds. Humans are never alone! Every single life holds the same meaning as all other lives. If all life bes immortal, how can the universe endure?"

    Ancient God indifferently replied, "It¡¯s a matter of survival of the fittest. Not everyone qualifies to achieve eternal life. I possess it while you don¡¯t. Both of us were born from this same universe, but how can we determine the difference between us? If you one daye to understand, I can act as your guide and lead you to pursue eternal life."

    "Didn''t you just say that I''m not qualified?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Ancient God remainedpletely unruffled. "I can allow you to seize eternal life because I am a Dao Monarch."

    "No longer!" Lu Buzheng roared.

    Most of Ancient God''s body had already copsed. "The Heavens Sect has already disappeared, and it will never return. Without the Heavens Sect, humansck guidance. They will never ovee Aeternus. In the end, all of them will be cattle kept in captivity. There has only ever been one Origin Progenitor, and without him, what are you?¡±

    Ancient God¡¯s body was reduced to ash as he finished speaking.

    Lu Buzheng was furious, and he wanted to argue, but Ancient God was already gone.

    Lu Yin did not have any strong feelings about a Dao Monarch betraying humanity and bing Ancient God, as Lu Yin was not from that era.

    On the other hand, the betrayal struck Lu Buzheng to his core.

    The Dao Monarchs were the emblem of Lu Buzheng¡¯s era. No one had ever imagined that one of the Dao Monarchs would betray humanity.

    In the past, all of humanity had looked down upon the Aeternals, and they had never even imagined that a Dao Monarch would join Aeternus and be a monster.

    "The ancient Dao Monarch of the Third Maind walked down a path that reached the limits of the human body. He created the race of colossal giants and developed humanity¡¯s strongest body cultivation method. I never thought that he would betray us," the white-robed young man mourned.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "He created the colossal giant race?"

    The young man looked over at Lu Yin. "He established the colossal giant race, and he did so from the bodies of ordinary people. That is the power of a Dao Monarch. While I hate to admit it, unless there is a human with thebat strength to stand up to a Dao Monarch, we can never truly achieve victory."

    Lu Buzheng frowned. "I refuse to believe that all Three Realms Six Dao are dead. Even if other people have died, my Lu family¡¯s Progenitor will not, let alone Destiny. The existence of such legends will allow us to rebuild the Heavens Sect and eliminate the Aeternals."

    "We don''t need them to reestablish the Heavens Sect." The young man in the gold-trimmed white robe sped his hands behind his back. "My goal is to be a Dao Monarch, and I will definitely do so one day."

    Lu Buzheng snorted derisively. "That will only happen a long time in the future. We¡¯ll discuss that if we live that long."

    Lu Yin looked at the young man in surprise. Lu Buzheng had not refuted the young man¡¯s im, so did that mean that even Lu Buzheng believed that this person could eventually be a Dao Monarch?

    The young man nced over at Lu Yin, and a small smile appeared on his face. ¡°Let me introduce myself. I am Sky Garan, Dao Chosen of the Sixth Maind."

    Lu Yin felt lost. "Garan? Dao Chosen?"

    Sky Garan''s eyes shed. "You- you¡¯ve never heard of Garan?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Sky Garan''s expression grew dark. He had already learned a great deal about Lu Yin, and he knew that this person wielded the most political influence in the entire Fifth Maind. Despite that, Lu Yin had never heard of the Garan family. What had happened to his family¡¯s descendants? Sky Garan had thought that he had not heard word about his family because they held too lofty a status. Just like the Origin Progenitor, it was impossible for most people to have heard of the Garan family. However, if not even Lu Yin knew the name, then there was clearly a problem.

    "Have you really never heard of the Garan family?" Lu Buzheng was also taken aback. "The Garan family rules the Sixth Maind, just like how our Lu family rules the Fifth Maind. Actually, what about the Lu family?"

    It was at this moment that Hen Xin arrived.

    Highsage Grandmaster quickly spoke up. "This is not the time to reminisce about the old days. Let''s first drive Aeternus out. This is our best opportunity with Ancient God gone."

    Lu Yin also recovered himself. "Let¡¯s take this opportunity to deal with Aeternus, and then we can talk about these other matters."

    As he spoke, he suddenly thought of something, and he nced behind to check on Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind.

    He saw that they were all staring at Lu Buzheng with conflicted expressions.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. The four ruling powers had originally been subservient to the Lu family, which made their thoughts transparent as they stared at Lu Buzheng. What¡¯s more, this expert was even a gate master of one of the ancient Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    Still, this was not the time to think about such things, and it was definitely not the time to stir up internal conflicts.

    Lu Yin asked Yunying Mavis to direct Ancestor Tortoise towards the passage to the Starfall Sea so that they could use the Sky Pir to force Corpse God back and block the passage. This would be their second attempt.

    When Ancestor Tortoise approached the passage to the Starfall Sea, they were once again met by a sea of scarlet eyes with slitted pupils. It was a sight that would give anyone chills.

    In front of the horde stood Forgotten Ruins God, Marquis Wang, the Semi-Progenitor corpse king, and a Semi-Progenitor astral beast.

    By the raw number of experts, the Aeternals were at the disadvantage.

    "Charge through!" Lu Yin yelled loudly, but Ancestor Tortoise stopped. It stared at Corpse God, who was holding the passage to the Starfall Sea that was still some distance away open, and a bit of fear could be seen in the creature¡¯s dull eyes.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you can¡¯t rely on Ancestor Tortoise here," Yunying Mavis said helplessly.

    Lu Yin looked over at Lu Buzheng. "We can use the Sky Pir to block the passage, but who can get it there?"

    Lu Buzheng stared at the distant form of Corpse God, and a solemn expression appeared on the man¡¯s face. ¡°First, I want to know who that is."

    Ancient God was one of the ancient Dao Monarchs, and this revtion had terrified Lu Buzheng. Even if Corpse God was not on the same level as Ancient God, it was possible that this individual was not much weaker.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know Corpse God¡¯s identity, but there¡¯s another one of the Seven Skygods who¡¯s known as Undying God, and his real name is Wu Xing."

    "Wu Xing?" Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and Sky Garan all shouted in shock. It was clear that they recognized this name.

    Lu Yin responded, "It seems he¡¯s someone else famous from your time. Within Aeternus, the Seven Skygods rank second only to the legendary True God, which means that all of them have extraordinary statuses. I¡¯ll tell you more about all thister, but for now, we need to push forward and shove the Sky Pir into the passage to the Starfall Sea."

    "How do you intend to push this Corpse God away?" Hen Xin asked. There was no one among them with the strength to force back a Progenitor, let alone one of the Seven Skygods.

    So far, of the Seven Skygods, only Corpse God had revealed his true body. The aura that he gave off was enough to intimidate anyone.

    Lu Yin exined, "There¡¯s a sourcebox array in the Sky Pir that was put there by Progenitor Hui, and it¡¯s simr to the Perennial World¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus. The Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array is actually a more developed version of this sourcebox array, but so as long as the Sky Pir is pushed into the passage, Progenitor Hui¡¯s sourcebox array will be triggered, and that should be enough to push Corpse God away."

    "Are you sure? That person over there is clearly a powerful Progenitor," Lu Buzheng asked suspiciously.

    Kui Luo was left speechless. "Where''s all that arrogance that you had earlier?"

    Lu Buzheng nced at Kui Luo. This old man had a nasty tongue.

    Lu Yin replied, "It should work. There¡¯s a sourcebox array in the Perennial World that Progenitor Hui set up, and it¡¯s been able to block the all-out assault of the Aeternals for many years."

    Lu Buzheng was shocked. "Was there truly such an expert? I don¡¯t think that there was someone who mastered lockbreaking to that extent even during our time."

    "Do not underestimate the power of a Dao Monarch," Hen Xin retorted.

    Highsage Grandmaster spoke up. "This is our only option. If we can¡¯t aplish this, then the Fifth Maind will inevitably fall to Aeternus. They will be able to send an unending horde of their monsters over, and even Ancient God will return."

 Chapter 2039

    <h4>Chapter 2039</h4>

    Lu Buzheng was horrified by what he heard from Highsage Grandmaster. "Hen Xin, you go. Given your mastery of space, you¡¯ll definitely be able to reach the passage. Just leave these Semi-Progenitors to the rest of us."

    Hen Xin nodded and asked, "How do I activate the Sky Pir?"

    Lu Yin took out Mt. Microcosms. "I won''t mention the first method, as we don¡¯t have it, but the second method is-¡±

    He hesitated and turned to look at Lu Buzheng. "The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique."

    The truth was that Lu Yin had beenpletely shocked when he had seen Lu Buzheng use the Tri-Yang Technique. How did someone from the Lu family possess this technique? However, this development was also what had given Lu Yin the confidence to suggest using the Sky Pir to force Corpse God back, as otherwise, they would have had to wait for Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Yin had not made the trip here to deal with Aeternus, but rather to simply rescue Lu Buzheng and the other ancient powerhouses. He had not expected the events to y out as they had. Lu Yin had used Mt. Microcosms to block Ancient God¡¯s attack, and then the Skygod¡¯s body had copsed. If that had not happened, no one there could have stood up to Ancient God.

    Lu Buzheng was simrly startled. "The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique? What''s this all about?"

    "This really isn¡¯t the time to exin such things¡ªwe need to move. All you need to focus on is getting your part done. Leave the Semi-Progenitors up ahead to these guys.¡± Lu Yin then turned back to look at Ni Huang and the others. "It¡¯s your turn to move."

    Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and those with them only paid attention to Ni Huang and the others at this point in time. It was not that the ancient powerhouses had not noticed the other Semi-Progenitors, but rather that they did not care about them.

    Ni Huang and the other three moved forward, still giving Lu Buzheng odd looks before ncing at each other. "We''ll do our best."

    Highsage Grandmaster and Kui Luo also moved out. "With six against four, we shouldn¡¯t have any problems."

    "As long as there aren¡¯t anymore monsters with the strength of one of the ancient Dao Monarchs," Lu Buzheng countered.

    They then turned and saw a giant wolf head appear in space up ahead of them. It wasrge enough to cover everything in their field of view.

    The wolf head radiated a violent and bloodthirsty aura that surged forth like a tsunami, making even Ancestor Tortoise shrink back in fear. On top of that, just like Ancient God, this wolf head was resisting the suppression of the mentalwork.

    Lu Buzheng was stunned.

    Hen Xin, Kui Luo, Ni Huang, and all the other Semi-Progenitors were simrly startled. Was there someone else also at this level of power?

    Sky Garan waspletely blown away. How could there be so many Semi-Progenitors who were capable of resisting a Progenitor¡¯s suppression?

    Lu Yin ground his teeth. He had forgotten that Forgotten Ruins God was one of the Semi-Progenitors standing in their path and that she was also one of the Seven Skygods. Ancient God¡¯s invincible power had left everyone fighting for mankind feelingpletely helpless, so how could Forgotten Ruins God possibly be weak?

    Even if Forgotten Ruins God was not at the same level as Ancient God who was able to cross realms to challenge Progenitors, she was still a truly ancient being.

    Forgotten Ruins God''s voice called out as she gave Lu Yin and the other humans a flirtatious smile. "It looks like you thought that you had won. Hehe, how cute. We Seven Skygods are like seven treasure boxes¡ªeach one of us will constantly reveal more and more surprises as we show ourselves."

    Ugly expressions appeared on the faces of Lu Yin and all the others.

    Lu Buzheng''s eye twitched. "Now who¡¯s this?"

    Wang Si was trembling as she stared at the massive wolf head. "Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves! This is the vision of Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves! She is our ancestor!"

    "Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves?" Lu Buzheng was surprised.

    Hen Xin''s expression soured even further. "That''s the innate gift of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor. She¡¯s the original ancestor of the Wang family who dered that she would enter seclusion forever."

    Lu Buzheng was stupefied. "Is she also from the Heavens Sect era? Why are so many powerful people from that time showing up? Wasn''t the Wang family¡¯s ancestor in seclusion? How could she also betray humanity?¡±

    At this point, the man suddenly realized something, and he turned to look at Wang Si. "Are you also from the Wang family?"

    Wang Si''s face grew pale. She had beenpletely ignorant to the fact that her family¡¯s ancestor had joined Aeternus. She had only ever heard that one of her family¡¯s seniors from the Daosource Sect era had betrayed humanity. That person had been the greatest Redback of the generation, yet now an even older generation had revealed herself to betray humanity.

    "Hehe, so one of my descendants is here. Little girl,e here and greet your ancestor. I can help you be a Progenitor." Forgotten Ruins God smiled as she looked at Wang Si.

    Lu Yin found the current situation rather awkward. Wang Si had the appearance of an old woman, but Forgotten Ruins God currently had the form of Wang Miaomiao, a beautiful woman. She looked nothing at all like an old monster who has lived for so many years, and yet that stunning woman was calling Wang Si a little girl.

    "Lu Yin, what are you going to do now? Ancestor Tortoise is frozen stiff, and you can¡¯t get by with me here." Forgotten Ruins God looked at Lu Yin and smiled at him as she spoke.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Ancient God¡¯s strength had demonstrated that it waspletely impossible for any normal Semi-Progenitor to win against the Seven Skygods, and even the powerhouses released from the ancient era were rendered helpless.

    "Hey, tell me, aren¡¯t there any freaks in this era? They don¡¯t need to beparable to the Dao Monarchs, but isn¡¯t there at least one who¡¯s on the same level as the wielders of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? What about that Progenitor Hui that you mentioned?" Lu Buzheng struggled to find his words, and he sounded extremely put out.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "There were some, but they¡¯re all gone now."

    "In that case, you might as well have not said anything." Lu Buzheng felt incredibly frustrated.

    Hen Xin raised a foot. "No matter what, we need to at least try. She was never a Dao Monarch, so her strength isn¡¯t that far above ours."

    Lu Buzheng sighed as he looked around the area. "The two of us will see what we can do to break through, while the rest of you do your best to hold that Wang ancestor back. Even if you can¡¯t hold out for long, endure for as long as possible."

    As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Buzheng saw a scepter mysteriously appear in his hand, which left him rather confused.

    "Get rid of it!" Hen Xin yelled.

    Lu Yin moved and tried to take the scepter away to see if he could manipte it, but he was too naive. The scepter dissolved into a beam of light that pierced straight through Lu Buzheng''s shoulder. The man¡¯s eyes grewrge as his body tumbled back, mming into the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. He stared at his bleeding shoulder in disbelief. What the hell was that?

    Lu Yin stared at the distant Marquis Wang. Her innate gift really was unbelievable. Lu Buzheng was the master of one of the ancient era¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, but not even he had been able to break free from the scepter.

    Hen Xin instantly stopped the attack that he had been about to release. ¡°She¡¯s the one who injured me before."

    Lu Buzheng held his shoulder as he stood back up. The overwhelming pain caused beads of sweat to drip down his face from him alongside his blood. "If my body was not as powerful as it is, that would have almost killed me. That Semi-Progenitor is definitely not an easy opponent."

    Marquis Wang was standing behind Forgotten Ruins God. If Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s ability to resist the mentalwork¡¯s suppression was impressive, then the strength that Marquis Wang had just revealed was just as shocking.

    Marquis Wang and the other Semi-Progenitors had no intention of proactively attacking the humans¡¯ forces. To begin with, they knew that they could not overpower Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s defenses. Second, there was a detail that only Lu Yin was privy to: the Aeternals were waiting for the fighting at the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield to end so that reinforcements could be sent to the invasion of the Fifth Maind. As things were, Forgotten Ruins God alone would be enough to deal with Lu Buzheng and the rest.

    Ancient God¡¯s burst of power had been terrifying, but the limits of his abilities was eliminating Lu Buzheng, as Ancient God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar was not able to withstand the necessary strength.

    The Aeternals were currently trying to buy time. In contrast, the Fifth Maind had to drive Aeternus out before the battle in the Perennial World stopped, or else they would have to deal with even more reinforcements from Aeternus.

    Everyone felt stuck as they looked at Marquis Wang standing behind Forgotten Ruins God.

    Lu Yin was able to ignore Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift, but he was not a Semi-Progenitor. He did not possess the strength needed to go up against one of the Twelve Marquises, and none of his attacks would be able to affect the Twelve Marquises in the slightest.

    "There is no perfect power in the entire universe. We just need to find a way to ovee that Semi-Progenitor¡¯s innate gift, as none of us can endure that attack if it strikes us," Hen Xin spoke softly.

    An ugly expression painted Wang Si''s face. Forgotten Ruins God was her family¡¯s ancestor while Marquis Wang was another ancient powerhouse from the Wang family. Marquis Wang had been the greatest Redback in the Daosource Sect era, and she was the one who had triggered the massive war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. Her full name was Wang Xiaoyu, and during the Daosource Sect era, she had been the gatemaster of the Rainflower Heavenly Gate in the Fifth Maind.

    Furthermore, she had been Progenitor Chen¡¯s lover.

    Forgotten Ruins God and Marquis Wang stood together to block the way to the passage to the Starfall Sea, like absolute barriers.

    "I have a way to handle her," Sky Garan suddenly said. He had remained silent up to this point, and when everyone turned to look at him, he slowly exined, "I have an innate gift that allows me to transfer any attack that I encounter, and it affects even spiritual force and innate gifts. The moment any one of uses into contact with that scepter, I can transfer it to someone else."

    "You can transfer a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s innate gift?" Lu Yin was stunned. While he had the Yu Secret Art, he was not confident that he could use it to shift Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift.

    Those who had reached the Semi-Progenitor level seldom used secret techniques, and it was because once they reached that level, secret techniques were no longer very useful. For example, Ce Wangtian had created the Ce Secret Art just to take back his move in a game of chess.

    Sky Garan smiled as he replied, "It¡¯s simply apetition of innate gifts. So what if she¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor? I will one day be a Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin looked over at Lu Buzheng, but the man nodded in agreement. "You can try, but except for our Semi-Progenitors, anyone whoes into contact with that scepter will die."

    "Give it to me," Lu Yin suddenly interjected.

    Sky Garan and the others from the ancient era were all taken aback. "To you?"

    Despite being a Dao Chosen, Sky Garan had never gotten involved in a fight between Semi-Progenitors. But in the brief interaction earlier, he had noticed how Forgotten Ruins God, who was the founder of the Wang family, had looked at Lu Yin as though he was special while ignoring him, Sky Garan. This difference had disturbed the young man, as any Dao Chosen stood far above all others from the same generation, and he was confident that he was iparably stronger than his peers from the current era.

    Sky Garan¡¯s pride as a Dao Chosen was a motivating factor in his proposal. He refused to bepared to Lu Yin. After all, he was someone from the Heavens Sect era, and his strength was something that the people of the current era could notprehend.

    Sky Garan¡¯s proposal was supposed to allow him to overshadow Lu Yin. As long as Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift was sessfully transferred away from whoever was targeted, Sky Garan would im the most outstanding achievement in this battle. So what if Lu Yin was peerless in the current era? He would soon be overthrown by Sky Garan, as there was no hiding true strength.

    However, Sky Garan had never imagined that Lu Yin would actually speak up and ask for the scepter to be given to him. Did he think that he could handle such an attack?

    "Do you think that you can stop a Semi-Progenitor''s attack? That thing¡¯s an innate gift¡ªyou can¡¯t use items or equipment to stop it," Sky Garan responded indifferently, even as he carefully observed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had felt a hint of hostility from Sky Garan earlier, but he had assumed that the man was just condescending due to his overflowing arrogance. But Sky Garan¡¯s current tone as he asked his question made his hostility starker than ever.

    "Do you know who she is, what she¡¯s capable of, or how to deal with her attacks?" Lu Yin retorted while staring into outer space.

    Sky Garan was unconcerned, and he looked indifferent to such questions. "I don¡¯t need to know any of that, as I can just transfer it."

    "Are you saying that you¡¯re going to send the scepter from a Semi-Progenitor to someone weaker?" Lu Yin frowned, his voice dropping.

    Sky Garan sped his hands behind his back. "That¡¯s the way of things in the world of cultivators. What? Do you advocate for more kindness in this era? It¡¯s no wonder why the Aeternals defeated you."

    "Since you clearly don''t care about other people''s lives or deaths, there¡¯s no reason to worry about me. Just give me the scepter," Lu Yin said as he stared at Sky Garan with open displeasure. This guy was arrogant to his very bones. While Lu Buzheng and the others from the ancient era were arrogant as well, they were arrogant because of the difference in eras while Sky Garan had clearly been arrogant his entire life.

    Lu Buzheng hurriedly stepped in. "It can¡¯t be transferred to you, as you can''t handle it."

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, I already have."

    Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and Sky Garan all turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. "You¡¯ve already dealt with it? And you¡¯re fine?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head high. "It''s just a little trick."

    However, as he spoke, Lu Yin nced over at Sky Garan. If Sky Garan wanted to be arrogant, then Lu Yin must be even more arrogant than him.

 Chapter 2040

    <h4>Chapter 2040</h4>

    Sky Garan''s eyes flickered. "In that case, let¡¯s do it, Arbiter Lu."

    Lu Buzheng was not a person prone to hesitation. If anyone other than Lu Yin had offered to take on the scepter, Lu Buzheng would not have said a thing, as his attitude about the matter was the same as Sky Garan: being a cultivator meant being prepared for death. No one was exempt from this truth.

    On a Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battlefield, Envoys and ordinary cultivators were nothing more than cannon fodder, but on a Progenitors¡¯ battlefield, everyone was basically trash.

    "Attack!" Lu Buzheng yelled as he moved forward. Beside him, Hen Xin, Ni Huang, Xia De, Kui Luo, Highsage Grandmaster, Bai Laogui, and Wang Si all shot off of Ancestor Tortoise and raced towards Forgotten Ruins God and the rest.

    The Skygod watched on with cold eyes, though there was a smile on her face. It was an oddly chilling expression.

    She stepped forward, and enormous wolf heads shot upwards, one after another. Soon, they covered everything that could be seen above.

    The first wolf head opened its gaping maw to devour Lu Buzheng and all the other Semi-Progenitors with a single bite.

    Wang Si screamed, "The records say our first ancestor¡¯s Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves is impossibly powerful-!¡±

    Lu Buzheng immediately cut the woman off, ¡°Screw your records! Hold on!"

    Hen Xin took action, carving out a section of space and shoving it forward. At the same time, Highsage Grandmaster waved a hand, and sourceboxes flew out one after another to set up a sourcebox array that struck the wolf head. Sharp thorns covered Ni Huang¡¯s entire body, and he revealed the full power of one who was at the cusp of bing a Progenitor.

    Both Ni Huang and Arch-Elder Zen were powerhouses who stood at the very threshold of the Progenitor realm. If the Daosource Sect were still around, then the two of them would have absolutely qualified to be gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. This assault was essentially pitting the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from both modern and ancient times against the Wang family¡¯s founding ancestor.

    Spacepletely shattered. Even though these people had been restricted from utilizing the full power of a Semi-Progenitor, the terrifying fluctuations from this collision was still enough to trigger the mentalwork.

    Lu Yin was worried that the Master Brain¡¯s manifested thoughts would capture one of the Semi-Progenitors. While Forgotten Ruins God was able to resist the suppression of the mentalwork, that feat was most likely beyond the abilities of Lu Buzheng and the others. No, it was absolutely impossible for any of the human powerhouses to endure the mentalwork. None of them were actual Progenitors.

    At this moment, the scepter mysteriously appeared in Hen Xin¡¯s hand, as he was the one closest to Forgotten Ruins God.

    Sky Garan''s eyes instantly red as he stared at Marquis Wang and attempted to transfer the scepter, but the very next moment, Sky Garan''s expression changed. How was this possible; why couldn¡¯t he transfer the scepter?

    The scepter shattered and became a stream of light that pierced through Hen Xin''s body. Fortunately, the man had already prepared himself and had not ced all his faith in Sky Garan¡¯s abilities. If he had, the scepter would have done far more damage.

    Even so, Hen Xin was seriously injured.

    "What happened?" Lu Yin shouted sharply as he stared at Sky Garan.

    There was an ugly expression on the young man¡¯s face. ¡°I was one step behind. As soon as the scepter appeared, it was already stuck to Gate Master Hen Xin¡¯s hand!. Unless I can determine where the scepter will appear before it actually manifests, I won¡¯t be able to transfer it."

    "If I knew where it would appear, then why would I need you to transfer it to me?" Lu Yin shouted angrily.

    Sky Garan was incredibly frustrated, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin. While Sky Garan wanted to argue, there was nothing that he could say. The primary reason why he had failed was that he did not understand Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift. The Dao Chosen had thought that there were no powerhouses left in the current era. If it had been Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s innate gift instead of Marquis Wang¡¯s, Sky Garan would not have been nearly that overconfident in his own abilities.

    Lu Yin nced over at the various Semi-Progenitors who were still desperately charging towards the wolf head, hoping to find a way past Forgotten Ruins God. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes then locked onto Marquis Wang. If they were not able to deal with her, all of humanity¡¯s Semi-Progenitors on the scene would be killed one by one. Not even Lu Buzheng could withstand multiple attacks from her scepter.

    In a certain manner, Marquis Wang represented an even greater threat than Forgotten Ruins God.

    "Wait, so you just need to know where it will pop up before it appears?" Lu Buzheng shouted.

    Sky Garan clenched his fists. "That should be it."

    Lu Buzheng kept retreating until he was right on the top of Ni Huang. A stream of qi suddenly began to swirl around Lu Buzheng¡¯s body. This was the same stream of ancestral qi that was able to summon Destiny. Lu Buzheng wanted to use this qi to capture Marquis Wang¡¯s movements and predict where the scepter would appear.

    It was precisely because Lu Buzheng had the ability to summon Destiny that Ancient God had been so determined to crush the man, even at the cost of destroying a Semi-Progenitor avatar. Destiny was able to reverse situations even when things looked grim.

    "It''s targeting me again!" Lu Buzheng shouted in an odd tone. He turned his head to yell at Sky Garan. "It''s on me!"

    Sky Garan''s eyes instantly red as he stared at Lu Buzheng''s hands.

    The next moment, space twisted around Lu Buzheng''s hands, and his heart skipped a beat. He indistinctly saw Marquis Wang¡¯s scepter about to appear, but it suddenly disappeared, and it instead appeared in Lu Yin''s hand. Sky Garan had seeded.

    Sky Garan heaved a sigh of relief.

    Off in the distance, Marquis Wang was shocked. Someone had shifted her innate gift?

    Lu Buzheng was anxious as he stared at Lu Yin. Yunying Mavis and several others also stared at the young man.

    Only Kui Luo and the others who had been present during theirst assault on the Aeternals knew that Lu Yin would be fine.

    The scepter would epass the minds of everyone within a certain distance, and at this moment, the people closest to Lu Yin were the members of the Mavis family. It was impossible for anyone who knew Lu Yin''s background to im that he did not qualify to be a ruler. He was truly the perfect counter to Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift.

    The scepter suddenly transformed into a beam of light that shot into Lu Yin''s body.

    Lu Buzheng carefully watched Lu Yin, but he only saw that the scepter had not shattered, but rather transformed. What did that mean?

    Sky Garan was also staring at Lu Yin. How could this person ovee an innate gift that not even Semi-Progenitors could deal with?

    However, after seeing Lu Yin remain standing in ce without revealing the slightest hint of injury, Sky Garan was left stunned. What had Lu Yin done?

    What had Lu Yin done? Nothing at all. He had simply allowed the scepter to transform into an energy that entered his body. This process actually felt very good. Last time, after Lu Yin enjoyed this particr feeling, he had imed that it felt like he could kill Xia Ji with a single punch. At this moment, he nced over at Sky Garan. Lu Yin did not need this much strength to eliminate Sky Garan with a single punch.

    Sky Garan had finally found a way to participate on a Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battlefield, but when hepared his achievements with Lu Yin¡¯s at this moment, the Dao Chosen felt that he was still trailing a ways behind.

    Lu Buzhengughed wildly. "As expected of a descendant of my Lu family, hahahaha!"

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s expression changed, and he pointed a finger. "Him!"

    He was indicating towards Ni Huang. After Lu Buzheng fell back, Ni Huang and Hen Xin were the two holding the vanguard, and they had continued charging forward. Out of all the humans¡¯ Semi-Progenitors, Ni Huang was the one with the greatest momentum at this moment, so it was no surprise that Marquis Wang had targeted him.

    Sky Garan raced to transfer the scepter again, and it once more appeared in Lu Yin''s hand. He pursed his lips as he allowed the scepter to transform into a beam of light that flowed into his body. This power was a bit too much for him to handle, so after taking the situation into ount, he struck out with an attack, targeting Marquis Wang. Using Marquis Wang¡¯s power made this the most powerful that Lu Yin had ever unleashed, and it was not by a small amount.

    With Lu Buzheng, Sky Garan, and Lu Yin working together, Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift had been perfectly neutralized, and she no longer dared to use her scepter.

    However, Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift was so overpowering that everyone had forgotten that it was not the only ability that she possessed. She also knew the Nine Clones Secret Technique and Inverse Step.

    Marquis Wang split into two bodies, then three, and then five. All five of the figures shot forward onto the battlefield, and she easily stopped Highsage Grandmaster, Wang Si, and more of the humans¡¯ Semi-Progenitors. However, Forgotten Ruins God let out a contemptuous snort. "You don''t need to do anything. None of these people can get past me!"

    Instantly, Marquis Wang¡¯s clones vanished one after another.

    "I already told you that you don¡¯t need to do anything.¡± Forgotten Ruins God was clearly upset as she scolded Marquis Wang while one clone moved past Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s right side.

    Marquis Wang answered in an indifferent and emotionless voice, "That''s not my clone."

    Forgotten Ruins God was momentarily taken aback, and she spun around just in time to see one of Marquis Wang¡¯s clones shoot past her and race towards the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    As for Marquis Wang, she made no attempt to interfere at all. Instead, the Semi-Progenitor corpse king and astral beast hurriedly tried to stop the departing figure.

    "Arrogant!" Forgotten Ruins God was furious that she had been tricked, and countless ck ropes shot out from the void to trap the fake clone. This was the Wang family¡¯s secret technique, and it had actually been created by Forgotten Ruins God herself.

    Lu Yin stared at Marquis Wang¡¯s clone in a daze. Who the hell was that person? All the Semi-Progenitors were already ounted for, and yet this person was clearly a powerful Semi-Progenitor since they had actually been able to deceive even Forgotten Ruins God.

    Lu Yin watched as the fake clone of Marquis Wang was tied up by countless ck ropes. They pierced the body without any resistance, leaving just a swirl of ck energy in ce. It was¡­ death energy?

    The death energy moved further forward, and a face emerged from it. It was the ancient powerhouse who had followed Ancestor Tortoise all the way here from the Outerverse.

    "Jue Yi?" Hen Xin and Lu Buzheng were both surprised.

    Lu Yin was also startled, as this person was clearly using death energy. Could this person be from the Specter n? It was possible that this person was from the n¡¯s first generation.

    "Even he¡¯s here!" Sky Garan eximed.

    Lu Yin felt quite curious. "Who is that?"

    Sky Garan exined, "Jue Yi. He¡¯s the master of another one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. He¡¯s the First Maind¡¯s gate master, as well as a disciple of the God of Death."

    "The God of Death¡¯s disciple?" Lu Yin waspletely stunned. This was the first time he had received any conclusive evidence of the God of Death¡¯s existence, and it was someone from the ancient era of the Heavens Sect. "The God of Death had a disciple?"

    Sky Garan¡¯s voice dropped low, "How could anyone who¡¯s not the God of Death¡¯s disciple learn the Mask of Death that can deceive even the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor?"

    Far away, Jue Yi had not only seeded in deceiving Forgotten Ruins God, but he had also evaded her secret technique. He continued rushing towards the passage to the Starfall Sea with a strange movement technique, though it brought up a question: why was the man rushing forwards?

    Just as Lu Yin was wondering about that, a voice entered his ear. Hen Xin pulled out Mt. Microcosms, and Lu Yin waved a hand, using the Yu Secret Art. Mt. Microcosms disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was already in Jue Yi''s hands.

    Jue Yi held Mt. Microcosms as he raced towards the passage while Hen Xin and the others held back Forgotten Ruins God.

    Marquis Wang still did nothing at all to interfere.

    Lu Yin watched as Jue Yi charge forwards, when suddenly, something urred to him. "Watch out! There¡¯s another one of the Seven Skygods!"

    Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and Sky Garan all reflexively turned to look at Lu Yin, and a hint of despair appeared on their faces. Another one?

    Even these ancient figures had developed a bit of an instinctive fear towards the Seven Skygods.

    In particr, they could not forget Forgotten Ruins God''s words. "We Seven Skygods are like seven treasure boxes¡ªeach one of us will constantly reveal more and more surprises as we show ourselves."

    This was not simply surprising, but ratherpletely shocking to the people from the ancient era.

    People from the current era could notprehend what these ancient figures felt when facing the Seven Skygods. For the people who had been released from the frozen battlefield, their era was not some distant point in the past. Instead, they felt as though everything had changed in the blink of an eye. A venerable Dao Monarch and the ancestor of one of the most respected families in the universe had both betrayed humanity. This was something that they still could not process.

    "Who is it?" Sky Garan could not resist asking.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "One of the Seven Skygods is called Whiteless God, and she¡¯s the most mysterious. No one knows her true identity, but she is incredibly difficult to deal with."

    As Lu Yin spoke, a sourcebox array appeared in front of Jue Yi. He managed to dodge it by using an odd method that used death energy, but then a second sourcebox array appeared. Still, the man was able to evade, but very quickly, a third, a fourth, a fifth, and eventually an eighth sourcebox array appeared. It was impossible for him to avoid all of them.

    The speed at which Whiteless God arranged the sourcebox arrays left even Highsage Grandmaster ashamed of his lockbreaking abilities.

    Lu Yin had no idea how powerful Jue Yi was, but in the end, the man was just a Semi-Progenitor. How could he possibly pass through Whiteless God''s barricade?

    Lu Yin started to get worried. They had already lost one opportunity to seal the passage before, and if things continued as they were, everything would prove fruitless. At this rate, it was just a matter of time before Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors expended their stellr energy reserves. Then, there would be no point in even thinking about stopping Forgotten Ruins God, as the Semi-Progenitors would have trouble staying alive.

    Were they really about to fail in their second attempt to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea just like their first one?

    Three of the masters of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates had acted against Aeternus. Ancient God had fallen, and Marquis Wang¡¯s innate gift had been perfectly countered. If humanity¡¯s forces still failed despite having such an advantageous situation, victory was truly impossible for them.

 Chapter 2041

    <h4>Chapter 2041</h4>

    Eh? Suddenly, Lu Yin stared across the battlefield to a ce between Whiteless God and Jue Yi. Further back, there was a sea of slitted scarlet eyes, and within them, there was something familiar. Was Lu Yin really seeing correctly? Was that the Ghost Monkey?

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and he rubbed them. Sure enough, he was right. It was indeed the Ghost Monkey. He was ducking his head and hiding within the horde of corpse kings. How could the monkey be in that ce?

    At that moment, the Ghost Monkey locked eyes with Lu Yin.

    The truth was that the Ghost Monkey had been watching Lu Yin for a long time. He had not just been watching during this battle; even during the previous one, when Lu Yin had tried to break through Aeternus¡¯s forces to reach the passage to the Starfall Sea, the Ghost Monkey had been watching. He had seen everything at that time, as he had constantly been paying attention to Lu Yin.

    Because he had been taken under Shaman God¡¯s wing, the Ghost Monkey had been treated like Shaman God¡¯s pet. However, some time ago, all Seven Skygods aside from Whiteless God had had their avatars destroyed. Aeternus Nation had also been destroyed, and the Ghost Monkey had been in an awkward situation for a period of time. For a while, he had kept his head down and acted weak and submissive to the Aeternals. Even though the Ghost Monkey had wanted to find Lu Yin, the monkey had been too afraid of being discovered by Shaman God and suffering the Skygod¡¯s wrath. The Ghost Monkey was treated as one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ pet, so once the Aeternals initiated their invasion of the Fifth Maind, the Ghost Monkey had started to rx once again.

    While hiding among countless scarlet eyes, the Ghost Monkey had watched as humanity¡¯s forces had fought against the Aeternals as if he were watching a show. In particr, he had enjoyed watching Lu Yin fail. It felt amazing to see such a thing, and if the Ghost Monkey had not been terrified of instantly dying, he would have jumped forward and loudly taunted Little Lu.

    Luckily, the Ghost Monkey had managed to hold himself back. There were just too many Semi-Progenitors surrounding Little Lu. If any one of those powerhouses moved against the Ghost Monkey, he would instantly die. It was better to watch the show y out in silence. Still, Little Lu¡¯s expression was so sour, and it was so refreshing to see!

    The Ghost Monkey had been enjoying himself watching another show, and as soon as Little Lu and the other humans failed again, he would be able tough for three days. Suddenly, the Ghost Monkey met Little Lu¡¯s eyes.

    The Ghost Monkey blinked. He was not wrong¡ªhe and Little Lu had indeed locked eyes.

    Had Little Lu seen the Ghost Monkey?

    "Ghost Monkey, it''s you!" Lu Yin''s voice reached the Ghost Monkey''s ears across the entire distance.

    The Ghost Monkey reflexively denied it. "It''s not me!"

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the Ghost Monkey. He had never once considered that his oldpanion who had gone missing for so long would appear on this battlefield, let alone be so close to the passage to the Starfall Sea. This was humanity¡¯s chance!

    The Ghost Monkey saw Lu Yin''s mouth curl up into a smile, and at that moment, the monkey felt chills cover his entire body. He had followed Lu Yin for a long time, and the Ghost Monkey had watched Lu Yin unite the entire Outerverse, rising from an unknown individual to one famed throughout the known universe. The Ghost Monkey understood Lu Yin¡¯s current expression far too well.

    Whenever Lu Yin smiled like this, others would absolutely end up suffering.

    The Ghost Monkey instinctively fled deeper into the corpse king horde.

    "If you run right now, I¡¯ll steal the entire Celestial Ice Phoenix n and make them into my harem." Lu Yin''s vicious words entered the Ghost Monkey''s ears again. They sounded like a p of thunder to the Ghost Monkey. As far as the monkey was concerned, not much was terribly important, but the Celestial Ice Phoenixes were untouchable. They were his reverse scale.

    The Ghost Monkey instantly whirled around to re at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Lu, don¡¯t push things!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge. "What did you just call me? Okay, alright. Apparently. you¡¯ve grown a bit wild since Ist saw you."

    "You¡¯re wild! Your whole family¡¯s wild!" the Ghost Monkey roared angrily.

    Lu Yin sneered. "I waged a war against the entire Astral Beast Domain just a bit ago. Do you know why that war suddenly stopped?"

    The Ghost Monkey suddenly had no idea what was going on.

    "It¡¯s because I fell for the Celestial Ice Phoenix n! I told Yao Di to give me the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, and I would stop the war in return, so Yao Di agreed. With that, the war was half over for the Great Eastern Alliance. Mmmm¡­ Those Celestial Ice Phoenixes really are so beautiful¡­" Lu Yin reminisced.

    The Ghost Monkey was beyond furious at this moment, and his rage overwhelmed his reason. He reacted like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. "Little Lu, I¡¯ll fight you to the death!"

    "Fight if you¡¯re strong enough, but if I die, all the Celestial Ice Phoenixes will die with me, and they¡¯ll be mine in death," Lu Yin continued arrogantly.

    "The entire tribe of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes belong to me! Progenitor Wushang gave them to me to be my harem! No one can touch them, and I¡¯ll fight anyone who does to the death!" The Ghost Monkey was beyond furious.

    Lu Yin yelled back, "Fine. Toss something into the passage to the Starfall Sea for me, and I¡¯ll give you the Celestial Ice Phoenix n back. That beautiful Feng Liu, that majestic Feng Jiu, and all the other Celestial Ice Phoenix will be yours."

    "I won''t do it!" The Ghost Monkey was not stupid.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Then you can¡¯t say anything about me taking them. I heard that Xi Qi''s fish really likes Feng Liu. He¡¯s said that he¡¯s the only one who deserves her."

    "Bullshit! That¡¯s just a fish!" The Ghost Monkey¡¯s rage mounted even further. The Celestial Ice Phoenixes were what he held dearest in his heart, while the fish that rode atop Xi Qi''s head was the creature that the Ghost Monkey hated most in the entire universe. The thought of Feng Liu being given to that fish caused the Ghost Monkey to lose all control from his anger.

    "That fish can help me develop my lockbreaking abilities."

    "It''s just a fish! Just a fish! Fine, what do you have? Master Ghost Monkey will help you toss it over there."

    Lu Yin was secretly ecstatic. Just as the Ghost Monkey understood Lu Yin, Lu Yin also knew the Ghost Monkey very well. The monkey was smart and knew how to protect himself, but in the end, he was still an astral beast, and thus, he was bound by his instincts. The Ghost Monkey did not care about the overall picture, and he was quite self-centered.

    When Lu Yin heard the Ghost Monkey''s expected agreement, Lu Yin waved a hand to use the Yu Secret Art, whose range was Lu Yin¡¯s vision.

    While the Yu Secret Art was no longer of much help given the current level of Lu Yin¡¯s battles, there were still situations where it was exceptionally useful, particrly when it came to grabbing or delivering things.

    Mt. Microcosms disappeared from Jue Yi''s hand, and it instantly reappeared in front of the Ghost Monkey''s eyes. The Ghost Monkey then threw it into the passage to the Starfall Sea as though getting rid of a piece of garbage.

    The monkey was very intelligent, and he had immediately thrown Mt. Microcosms away. This way, even if he was confronted by the Aeternalster on, he could just say that he had no clue what the thing was and that he had thrown it away because he had been scared of the potential danger. As long as the Ghost Monkey acted without any hesitation, no one would realize that it had helped the humans, and he would keep his status as Shaman God¡¯s pet.

    Whiteless God was stopping Jue Yi, and she noticed Mt. Microcosms disappeared, but when she saw it again, Mt. Microcosms had already beenunched towards the passage to the Starfall Sea by the Ghost Monkey. It was even moving so quickly that it was closer to Corpse God than it had evere before.

    As soon as Whiteless God saw Mt. Microcosms new location, she moved to stop it. However, Jiu Yi also saw what had happened, and a wave of death energy swept over Whiteless God like a tsunami. Even the Seven Skygods feared death energy.

    "Are you still not going to do anything?" Forgotten Ruins God angrily demanded.

    Marquis Wang looked over, and then she disappeared as she moved to chase after Mt. Microcosms.

    Lu Yin kept his eyes on Marquis Wang. She was the only Semi-Progenitor who had not made a move in a while, but as soon as she took action, there were very few who were capable of stopping her.

    Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, and Ni Huang, who were the three most powerful Semi-Progenitors on the human side, were being stopped by Forgotten Ruins God, and all the other Semi-Progenitors would struggle to stop Marquis Wang.

    Upon seeing Marquis Wang move out, Lu Yin was left with no choice but to take out his candle and light it. He simultaneously activated Truesight and watched a shocking number of rune lines fill the area and shoot out towards Marquis Wang.

    This only managed to slightly dy Marquis Wang. If the other Semi-Progenitors were unable to stop her, then it was even more impossible for Lu Yin to do so. All he was trying to do was stall her for as long as possible, as every second gained was invaluable.

    At the same time that Lu Yinunched his attack, Xia De and Bai Laogui also attacked Marquis Wang. At this critical moment, Xia De unexpectedly released a clone, and the clone surprised Marquis Wang and raced past her to chase after Mt. Microcosms.

    Marquis Wang also released a clone at the same time as Xia De.

    It was a rare urrence to see the Xia family¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique go up against itself, but Marquis Wang¡¯s and Xia De¡¯s clones continued to emerge and face off against each other in a truly spectacr battle.

    However, Xia De was being pushed back in every single confrontation. He simply could notpare to Marquis Wang in any aspect, but luckily, Xia De¡¯s goal had never been to defeat Marquis Wang; he just needed to stall her.

    Xia De''s Nine Clones Secret Technique was very sessful in aplishing that goal.

    Mt. Microcosms flew into the passage to the Starfall Sea without meeting any hindrance, and then it began to growrger at a shocking speed. Countless slitted-pupil, scarlet-eyed corpse kings tried to stop it, but the streams of ancestral qi from the Tri-Yang Technique that were wrapped around Mt. Microcosms grew agitated. The sourcebox array was activating.

    One after another, massive gears erupted from Mt. Microcosms, and they started to turn. It looked like a power nt had been nted in the universe.

    Everyone stared as Mt. Microcosms grewrger andrger, reaching a truly massive size. It covered the sky and smashed against the passage to the Starfall Sea that Corpse God was still holding open.

    At this moment, everyone''s hearts had climbed into their throats, including Lu Yin¡¯s.

    The more he hade to understand the strength of the Seven Skygods, the less confident Lu Yin had be of this n.

    Each of the Seven Skygods was an exceptional powerhouse from ancient times, so would Mt. Microcosms and Progenitor Hui¡¯s sourcebox array really be able to oust Corpse God from his position? Lu Yin could not say, but this was the only n they had, and they had no choice but to at least try. Despite any uncertainty, they needed to press forward.

    At this moment, the Aeternals were unable to resist Mt. Microcosms¡¯ force, but by the same token, Lu Yin and the others were unable to strengthen Mt. Microcosms'' push.

    At this destined moment, everyone stared at Mt. Microcosms as it mmed into Corpse God.

    There was a bang, and as the deafening sound of an explosion reached Lu Yin. He was dazed for a bit, and blood dripped out of his ears. He was not alone, as everyone else showed the exact same symptoms, including the Semi-Progenitors.

    The explosion did not end there, as it was a long and drawn out sound that left everyone shocked. The hole between the Starfall Sea and the ck hole barrier that protected the rest of the Fifth Maind seemed to be torn apart by Mt. Microcosms. Many of the members of the Mavis family lost consciousness when the soundwaves reached them.

    Lu Yin covered his ears as he stared at the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    The towering figure of Corpse God was gone. Only Mt. Microcosms could be seen, still growing taller andrger as it quickly blocked off the entire passage to the Starfall Sea. The continued growth actually expanded the size of the passageway.

    Suddenly, a hand wedged itself between Mt. Microcosms and the ck hole barrier, trying to tear the barrier apart. This was Corpse God¡¯s hand.

    The appearance of the hand startled Lu Yin, and he just stared at it.

    A second passed, then two, and then three. Lu Yin was starting to pant. Would Corpse God tear the barrier protecting them apart? The answer was yes, Corpse God was indeed able to tear apart the barrier, as he would not have been able to expand the passage to the Starfall Sea otherwise. However, every single bit that Corpse God shifted the barrier was instantly filled as Mt. Microcosms grew evenrger. It constantly filled the entire passage, with the sole exception of where the hand was wedged.

    In the ancient era of the Heavens Sect, the Six Mainds had been ruled by the Heavens Sect, and Mt. Microcosms had been the Sky Pir that had held up the Heavens Sect.

    Only Lu Buzheng and the others from that ancient time had any idea just how big Mt. Microcosms might eventually be.

    When they saw that Mt. Microcosms had sessfully blocked off the passage to the Starfall Sea, all the humans let out sighs of relief. When it came toparing sizes, there was no need to mention Corpse God¡ªeven the ancient Dao Monarch who had created the race of colossal giants was dwarfed by Mt. Microcosms.

    All that anyone needed to worry about at this moment was whether Corpse God could shove the plug out of the passage from the other side of the barrier. That was dependent on whether the sourcebox array on Mt. Microcosms could hold back Corpse God.

    The arrogance that the ancient powerhouses felt towards the current era had already changed a great deal, and they all hoped that the Progenitor Hui they had heard about would prove to be astoundingly talented. The Progenitor did not need to beparable to a Dao Monarch, as it would be enough if Progenitor Hui was a powerhouse on the same level as the founder of the Wang family.

    Boom!

    There was another deafening explosion. It sounded like Corpse God was attacking Mt. Microcosms, trying to remove it from the passage.

    All across Mt. Microcosms, the huge gears started to spin quicker. Every time the mountain shifted even a slight bit, it would instantly push itself back into its former position with the power of a spinning gear.

    Lu Yin had no idea just how powerful the assault on Mt. Microcosms from the forces in the Starfall Sea had to be, but he did know that it was a level of power that was beyond his currentprehension.

 Chapter 2042

    <h4>Chapter 2042</h4>

    In the end, even after dozens of consecutive explosions, Mt. Microcosms remained firmly in ce, blocking the passage to the Starfall Sea. The sole exception was where Corpse God had wedged his hand in, but everything else was tightly sealed off. No matter how hard Corpse God battered at the mountain, all his attacks proved useless.

    Lu Buzheng and the others all let out sighs of relief. If Corpse God was able to push Mt. Microcosms out of the passage, he would already have done so. It appeared that the mountain had truly blocked off the passage to the Starfall Sea.

    No one knew Corpse God¡¯s true identity, but everyone felt a deep admiration for Progenitor Hui at this time. No matter what, he had been a powerful expert who had risen to be a Progenitor. Even in the ancient past, only the most outstandingly talented cultivators could aplish such a feat.

    In particr, the sourcebox array embedded within Mt. Microcosms contained countless creative ideas. The ancient cultivators could notprehend how Progenitor Hui had managed tobine modern technology with his sourcebox array.

    The echoing explosions stopped after some time. Corpse God was no longer attacking Mt. Microcosms.

    Forgotten Ruins God fixed her brilliant eyes onto Lu Yin. "As expected of the man whom I admire. You certainly are quite capable."

    Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s stare left chills running down Lu Yin¡¯s back. ¡°You¡¯replimenting me? Senior, shouldn¡¯t you be thinking about how to leave?"

    "Hehe, child, do you think I need to think about leaving? If my Aeternus were so easily defeated, then how could we have destroyed five of the Six Mainds?" Forgotten Ruins God shed a charming smile at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt confused.

    Suddenly, droplets of some liquid flew out from the gap that Corpse God¡¯s hand was holding open between Mt. Microcosms and the barrier. The droplets shot out into the depths of the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank. This was bad!

    He was not alone in this feeling, as everyone who recognized those droplets felt their scalps go numb. Those droplets were the same liquid that devoured stellr energy from the true universe.

    Right now, there were already eight droplets of the mysterious liquid devouring stellr energy from the true universe, and except for a few specific ces, it was nearly impossible to recover stellr energy in the entire Fifth Maind. At this moment, no less than ten more droplets had been shot into the Fifth Maind. Now, rather than stellr energy being simply devoured from the true universe, the stellr energy and star energy within people¡¯s bodies was actually being pulled out.

    No one could stop this from happening. The droplets entered the Fifth Maind exceptionally quickly, and as they did so, Lu Yin felt a pulse of power unlike anything he had ever felt before wash over him. With that feeling affecting him, he did not dare to even move as he watched the droplets fly away.

    A short timeter, the entire Fifth Maind quivered from the elerated rate at which stellr energy was being drained from the true universe.

    The Innerverse¡¯s eastern flowzones and the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves had both been ces where people could recover their stellr energy, but now, they were no different from any other ce in the Human Domain. Even the Neoverse¡¯s 3,000 hidden worlds¡¯ stellr energy was being pulled out of their pocket dimensions.

    At this time, the Fifth Maind had fully entered an era without even a single scrap of stellr energy.

    "Are youunching a sneak attack?" Lu Buzheng yelled. The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind him as he released a punch and smashed into the Semi-Progenitor corpse king. The corpse king¡¯s body was covered with ten lined battle force, though it was not golden.

    With the corpse king¡¯s already incredibly physical strength further boosted by ten lined battle force, the creature was able to physically suppress any opponent at a simr cultivation realm.

    However, the corpse king''s punch was sted back by Lu Buzheng. Not only was the corpse king forced back, but its arm also shattered.

    "Do you think that I, Lu Buzheng, can only rely on the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique?" As the man spoke, he lifted a hand. The void twisted and formed a needle that stabbed into Lu Buzheng¡¯s hand before flying towards the Semi-Progenitor corpse king. This was Hidden Needle, one of the Lu family¡¯s most famous battle techniques.

    However, the Hidden Needle did not travel very far before it gradually vanished.

    Lu Buzheng was shocked to see this, and he looked up to see a droplet of the mysterious liquid still crazily consuming more and more stellr energy. In the past, only the true universe¡¯s stellr energy had been affected, which had made it impossible for people to recover their energy reserves. However, at this moment, stellr energy was even being sapped away from battle techniques. How could anyone ovee this? Cultivators who relied on stellr energy had be helpless.

    Lu Yin frowned at the sight. What sort of problem would this mean for the future? In the current era, practically all cultivators depended on star energy and stellr energy. If these energiespletely disappeared, how would cultivators be able to fight? It was one thing to be unable to restore one¡¯s energy reserves, but being unable to fight at all was an entirely different matter.

    Lu Buzheng was cultivated with stellr energy, but fortunately for him, he was powerful even without stellr energy due to his visualization technique. However, the Envoys who followed Lu Yin were different. Upon losing the ability to use stellr energy, the strength of those Envoys plummeted. They no longer possessed the power of Envoys.

    "Hehe, so, what other methods do you have left now?" Forgotten Ruins God revealed an enchanting smile as her beautiful eyes swept across the gathered Semi-Progenitors fighting for humanity.

    Kui Luo gave the woman an odd look. "Don¡¯t you also use stellr energy?"

    Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s smile became a smirk. "If I only used stellr energy, what would the difference between you and me be?"

    All the Semi-Progenitors stared at the woman. Even at this time, Forgotten Ruins God had not revealed herself as anything other thanpletely human. She had used the Wang family¡¯s battle techniques, a human innate gift, and even stellr energy. If not for the fact that she was one of the Seven Skygods, who would even suspect her of being an Aeternal? She waspletely different from Ancient God.

    But at this moment, with all stellr energy being rendered useless, Forgotten Ruins God revealed another form of power that she had received after joining Aeternus.

    "Watch carefully. This is the power bestowed upon us by Aeternus¡¯s True God Wei Yi.1 We call this divine energy." As she spoke, Forgotten Ruins God''s normal-looking eyes grew dark as a new depth emerged in them. It was as though her eyes had reced the darkness of interster space, and the light that filled them was a vortex drawing in everyone''s attention.

    Her hair rose into the air, fluttering about as a stream of dark-red energy surged out from her body and began to spread out more and more. The energy epassed everyone before continuing to expand past them, filling the entire region of space around them with a dark-red color. It looked like the color of a dying star, and it gave off a feeling of worry, fear, and despair.

    Chillspletely covered Lu Yin¡¯s body. This was the same power that he had just sensed when the droplets had been shot into the Fifth Maind. The level was different, but the essence that Lu Yin felt was exactly the same. It had been this power.

    Was this the power of the Aeternals¡¯ True God?

    Every Progenitor was capable of influencing the universe. They were able to develop new cultivation methods or even open up pocket dimensions where humans and other creatures could live. This was the power of a Progenitor.

    The Rune Progenitor had created rune technology, which led to countless runes spreading across the universe.

    Progenitor Chen had created stars ands with his Cosmic Art.

    The legendary God of Death had created death energy.

    Every Progenitor was able to alter the universe in their own way, and True God was no exception. It was only at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood the power of the Aeternals¡¯ True God, and this realization heavily impacted Lu Yin.

    If death energy gave off a feeling of oddness and eminence, then this energy gave a feeling of oppression and despair as it tried topletely rece stellr energy.

    "Stellr energy? Such a thing no longer makes any sense. The Origin Progenitor is dead, so stellr energy is useless. You are idiots for still cultivating with it." Forgotten Ruins God continued to release more and more of the Aeternals¡¯ divine energy, and as she did so, both her voice and demeanor grew increasingly cold as her entire temperament noticeably changed. It was as if she were some princess who had emerged from hell as she raised a hand and her nine wolves let out roars.

    Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and Jue Yi moved together as they stared at Forgotten Ruins God. Fear filled their eyes. During their era, the Aeternals had been much, much weaker than humans, and no one had even bothered trying toprehend their unique power. This was why they also had no understanding of this so-called divine energy, just like Lu Yin and the others from the modern era.

    "Do it!" Hen Xin shouted as he shed space apart and attacked the Skygod with the portion of space that he removed. It did not matter what power Hen Xin faced, as he could simply fight with the power of space.

    Forgotten Ruins God sneered, and the energy that she had released pulled back like a tide as she suddenly andpletely vanished.

    Then, she reappeared at the ce where Corpse God¡¯s hand was wedged into the passage to the Starfall Sea. She shot through it and disappeared from the Fifth Maind.

    "They want to escape. Attack!" Lu Buzheng shouted as he released another attack at the Semi-Progenitor corpse king.

    The portion of space that Hen Xin had cut out had been intended to strike Forgotten Ruins God, but with her disappearance, he changed targets and forced the severed space to the side to attack the Semi-Progenitor astral beast. Hen Xin''s attack was far too fast, and his attack had already beenunched beforehand, so the astral beast had no time to react before it was torn in half by the spatial attack.

    However, the Semi-Progenitor corpse king was not that easy of an opponent. When the creature facing Lu Buzheng saw the approaching punch, the corpse king¡¯s full power exploded, causing it to be captured and dragged away by the mentalwork. This was the same tactic that Marquis Green Bamboo had employed against Destina.

    Once the corpse king was seized by the mentalwork, there was nothing that Lu Buzheng and the others could do, as none of them had the ability to break through the manifested thoughts.

    Lu Yin stood on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, stunned by the sudden change. Forgotten Ruins God clearly possessed the ability to fight back, and she had even held the advantage against them with the true universe being drained of all stellr energy. Why had she not taken any further action against humanity¡¯s forces?

    Over the course of his years cultivating, Lu Yin had dealt with Aeternus far too many times, and he knew that each of the Seven Skygods was craftier than the next. He would never risk underestimating Aeternus.

    There had to be a reason for Forgotten Ruins God''s sudden retreat. This was no different from how the Aeternals had not wantonly ughtered all the humans in the Fifth Maind after their initial victory. Instead, they had been content to wait for the humans to gather together.

    "A Semi-Progenitor astral beast died so simply, despite being a Semi-Progenitor." Mavis Yunying sighed as her voice rang in Lu Yin''s ear.

    Her words startled him, and Lu Yin stepped out into outer space and approached the astral beast¡¯s corpse that had been torn to pieces by Hen Xin¡¯s spatial attack. Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage appeared. ¡°By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    "Wait!" Lu Buzheng saw Lu Yin trying to anoint the Semi-Progenitor as a champion, and he hurriedly called out to stop Lu Yin, but it was already toote.

    Lu Yin anxiously stared at his Champions¡¯ Stage. He had no idea if he could actually anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion, so this was a very risky move. If he seeded, hisbat strength would undergo a qualitative leap forwards, as he would be able to summon a Semi-Progenitor to fight for him. If not¡­ He did not even want to consider the potential consequences. All he knew was that he had finally seen a Semi-Progenitor die, and the corpse was right in front of him. He had to try no matter what the potential consequences might be.

    However, as soon as he heard Lu Buzheng''s voice, Lu Yin''s heart dropped. This was not good.

    The next moment, he felt as though an invisible power had hammered his brain. He spat out arge mouthful of blood, and his face grew pale. At the same time, his Champions¡¯ Stage disappeared.

    Both Kui Luo and Lu Buzheng instantly appeared next to Lu Yin at the same time.

    "You are too ignorant! Has no one told you that you can never attempt to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion until you¡¯ve passed at least six tribtions? Even during the Heavens Sect¡¯s era, the Lu family¡¯s Dao Chosen only tried to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion after passing through six stellr tribtions!" Lu Buzheng scolded Lu Yin.

    Kui Luo stared at Lu Yin''s weakened state. "This won¡¯t kill him, right?"

    Lu Buzheng helped support Lu Yin. "No, but it will take him a long time before he¡¯ll be able to cultivate again because he just received a powerful bacsh from his innate gift. This isn¡¯t something that can be cured by medicine or elixirs. There¡¯s no external power that can help him with this. He needs to recover on his own."

    Lu Yin was assaulted by a splitting headache. He had truly acted too impulsively this time. When he saw that Semi-Progenitor¡¯s corpse, he had wanted to use it to strengthen himself.

    The truth was that Lu Yin had contributed almost nothing to any battle after the droplets of mysterious liquid had appeared and started devouring stellr energy from the true universe. Seeing his own helplessness had left Lu Yin eager to push hisbat strength to the Semi-Progenitor level so that he could help change humanity¡¯s crisis. His desire for power had grown so strong that he had ignored the difference in realms between him and his desired champion.

    "How long will I need to recover?" Lu Yin asked wearily.

    Lu Buzheng considered the question. "Why does it seem like you don¡¯t know anything about your own innate gift? Ignoring the fact that you just tried to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion despite being a one-tribtion Envoy, how do you not even know anything about your own innate gift¡¯s bacsh?"

    Lu Yin had no answer to give.

    Kui Luo was the one to unhappily reply, "The Lu family is gone. Who can teach him these things?"

    Lu Buzheng was stunned. "What was that? The Lu family is gone?"

    Hen Xin and Jue Yi both stared at Kui Luo at this moment, as did Sky Garan. All of them were openly incredulous.

    [1] Wei Yi means "the only one," but also is used as his name. All together, he is "the one and only true god." ?

 Chapter 2043: An Eraâ€™s Pride

    Chapter 2043: An Era¡¯s Pride

    The people who had been released from the sourcebox array had asked about many things after being released and entering the current era. However, the Lu family¡¯s unfortunate fate had urred in the Perennial World, so most people knew nothing about that. None of the ancient figures had learned anything about the Lu family yet as they only knew about the Fifth Maind¡¯s hatred for the primeval surnames.

    This shocking revtion concerning the Lu family left all the ancient people stupefied. Such a thing seemed impossible, given their experiences from the Heavens Sect era. This was exactly the same as Sky Garan being unable to ept that he had not been able to learn a single detail about his Garan family in the current era.

    "What are you talking about?" Lu Buzheng stared at Kui Luo and demanded rification.

    Kui Luo raised a hand and pointed at Ni Huang and the other three Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World. "Those four¡ªthe White Dragon n, the Wang family, the Bai family, and the Xia family¡ªare known as the four ruling powers. They took advantage of the White Dragon Rolling Over to banish the entire Lu family. We have heard nothing at all from them since that time."

    Lu Buzheng directed his re towards Ni Huang and the others. "Is this true?"

    Lu Buzheng had already recognized Wang Si as a member of the Wang family, which had initially caused the ancient powerhouse to feel a bit of a connection with the woman. After all, they were both cultivators from the Fifth Maind. Despite that, a powerful bloodlust rose up in Lu Buzheng¡¯s heart that he could not control. He quickly reached the point where he was about tosh out.

    The Lu family had always stood at the helm of the Fifth Maind, and the sect master of the Daosource Sect in the Fifth Maind, which was known as a Dao Monarch, had been one of the Lu family¡¯s Progenitors. The Wang family, the Bai family, and all the other primeval surnames had been subservient to the Lu family, which meant that Lu Buzheng¡¯s family had been betrayed by their own followers.

    Wang Si responded with a sneer, "The Lu family acted however they wished in the Fifth Maind, and they never saw any of us deserving of their regard. So what if we exiled them? It was retribution for your Lu family¡¯s behavior!"

    Her words further enraged Lu Buzheng, and he stepped forward. The visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind him, and he struck out at Wang Si with a palm strike while utilizing one of the Lu family''s unique techniques: Lifeseizer Palm.

    The Lifeseizer Palm was a technique that used stellr energy. So, the absorption aspect of the palm strike quickly disappeared as the stellr energy was sucked away by the nearby droplet. Even so, Lu Buzheng¡¯s physical might behind the palm strike was intimidating, and Wang Si was terrified of the approaching attack.

    She alsoshed out with a palm: Four Arts: Bear Stalwart.

    Boom!

    Palm shed against palm, and Wang Si retreated more than ten steps backward, her hand numb. Her entire arm was trembling, and a bit of blood could be seen leaking through her skin.

    The Wang family''s Four Arts: Bear Stalwart was a technique that focused on an explosive physical might while the Lu family''s Lifeseizer Palm focused on absorbing the opponent¡¯s vitality. The physical power of the Lifeseizer Palm should theoretically be inferior to Bear Stalwart, but Lu Buzheng''s Immovable Heavenly King Elephant had reinforced the attack¡¯s physical power to a shocking degree. His Lifeseizer Palm had immediately overpowered Wang Si''s counterattack.

    Furthermore, Lu Buzheng himself was a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from ancient times, as well as a Semi-Progenitor who was on the very cusp of bing a Progenitor. His strength waspletely iparable to Wang Si¡¯s.

    If not for the fact that Lu Buzheng had attacked with a Lifeseizer Palm, Wang Si would have at least lost her arm in the exchange.

    Lu Buzheng instantly attacked again, this time not using Lifeseizer Palm, but rather a punch that contained nothing more than pure physical power as he pressed his attack on Wang Si.

    Wang Si''s expression changed, and four ck ropes shot out from the void in an attempt to bind Lu Buzheng, but the man casually broke free.

    Streams of qi swirled around Lu Buzheng''s body, blocking the Forgotten Ruins technique. The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was a peerless technique, and it alone had allowed Shang Qing to surpass all others in the same generation.

    Lu Buzheng''s second stream of ancestral qi shot out to strike Wang Si, but because all the stellr energy was stolen from the ancestral qi, the qi strand disappeared before it was even able to close to Wang Si.

    At this time, Ni Huang appeared next to Lu Buzheng. Ni Huang stretched out his hands to grab hold of Lu Buzheng, and as that happened, the arms transformed into dragon scales.

    Kui Luo snorted derisively, and his spiritual force erupted between Ni Huang and Lu Buzheng, knocking both men back at the same time.

    "A sneak attack? Despicable!" Kui Luo shouted.

    Ni Huang answered quietly, "I just want to stop this fight."

    Lu Buzheng shot a re at Ni Huang. "You were too arrogant to betray my Lu family!"

    Bai Laogui looked on with cold eyes. "Your Lu family stood at the peak for too long, and it was time for a change. Ni Huang, don''t worry. The passage to the Starfall Sea had been blocked, so let¡¯s get rid of thesest two bastards of the Lu family now."

    "What a joke! Do you think that we¡¯re just here for show?" Kui Luo grabbed Lu Yin and threw him over onto Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin was still suffering from an unbearable headache and a terrible weakness that wracked his entire body. Still, he was conscious and aware as Yunying Mavis caught him. He panted for breath as he squatted down on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back as Bai Laogui tried to convince Ni Huang and Xia De to team with Wang Si and Bai Laogui to deal with Lu Buzheng and Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Buzheng did not wait for his opponents, and he attacked again. At the same time, Kui Luo went after Bai Laogui. Highsage Grandmaster did not remain on the sidelines, and he moved to confront Xia De.

    Of all the Semi-Progenitors present, only Hen Xin and Jue Yi did nothing. No one could tell what the two men¡¯s opinion of the current situation was.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you need to rest. You¡¯ll be perfectly safe here," Yunying Mavis said while watching the Semi-Progenitor battle take ce in outer space beyond Ancestor Tortoise. Off in the distance, there was still a sea of slitted scarlet eyes that were dispersing in all directions. And yet, Humanity was already being divided by internal strife. This change hade about too quickly.

    Lu Yin understood Lu Buzheng¡¯s reaction. From Lu Buzheng''s view, he had just recently been living in the Heavens Sect era, and the Lu family had stood at the peak of that era and ruled the entire Fifth Maind. The Wang, Xia, and Bai families had all served under the Lu family, and the Lu family had long since developed a sense of pride in their position. While countless years had passed since that era, it had not been a long time for Lu Buzheng, and it was impossible for him to ept that these people had rebelled against his Lu family.

    Still, this was not the time for internal strife. Corpse God¡¯s hand was still wedged in the passage to the Starfall Sea, pressed between Mt. Microcosms and the barrier to create a small gap. While it was not enough to allow the Aeternals tounch arge-scale invasion, powerhouses like the Seven Skygods and the Twelve Marquises could still freely enter and exit the Fifth Maind. Unless this hidden danger was removed, the Fifth Maind would never be safe.

    Humanity still faced a threat from the Starfall Sea. On top of that, both Forgotten Ruins God and Whiteless God were still within the Fifth Maind, and either one might attack at any moment.

    "Senior Yunying, can Ancestor Tortoise attack?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. He sounded exhausted.

    Yunying Mavis shook her head. "If that were possible, Ancestor the Tortoise would have participated in thest battle, but he has no way to attack."

    Lu Yin found this to be a pity. Given the current situation, as it seemed impossible for the two sides toe to a peaceful resolution. Perhaps Lu Yin could take advantage of this opportunity to deal with the people like Ni Huang, force them to be captured by the mentalwork, or even possibly subdue them. If this was not possible, humanity risked division erupting again at any moment, and Lu Yin also did not want to deal with the threat of the Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World.

    He preferred to cow the Perennial World¡¯s powerhouses so that they could work together to fight against the Aeternals, but that was very difficult to aplish. For the moment, the two sides were evenly matched.

    Ni Huang''s entire body had been covered with dragon scales, and he was hard-pressed to fight against Lu Buzheng''s Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method. The two men were evenly matched for the time being. Each of them were on the verge of breaking through to the Progenitor realm, and with all stellr energy being stolen away from the Fifth Maind, how would a winner be decided? It was difficult to say.

    If stellr energy continued to be consumed as this was happening, both sides of the current fight would be left helpless against any hidden Aeternal powerhouses remaining in the Fifth Maind. Right now, the fighters were quickly exhausting their stellr energy reserves.

    "Alliance Leader Lu," Yunying Mavis suddenly called out. "That man is here."

    Lu Yin turned his head and saw that Jue Yi had moved close to Ancestor Tortoise. The approaching expert was releasing a heavy aura of death energy. This was the man who had managed to deceive even Forgotten Ruins God with the Mask of Death, only to be blocked by Whiteless God once he got close to the passage to the Starfall Sea. Lu Yin was very wary of this person, but he was also curious about him. Given that he was another expert from ancient times, he had definitely met the God of Death before, and he was likely even the God of Death¡¯s disciple.

    "Let''s talk," the man calmly addressed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head as he nodded. "Alright."

    Jue Yi made to move onto Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, but Lu Yin raised a hand to stop him. "First help my Lu family deal with those traitors."

    Lu Yin no longer wanted to try to find a peaceful resolution. If there was an advantage avable, then it was better to remove any potential threats in one go.

    Jue Yi frowned. "I am no thug of the Lu family. Both you and I are descendants of the God of Death."

    "But I am first a son of the Lu family," Lu Yin said.

    Jue Yi clearly did not like this answer. "That has nothing to do with me."

    "Then we have nothing to talk about," Lu Yin directly replied.

    Jue Yi''s voice instantly grew cold. "Death energyes from the God of Death. The God of Death holds absolute control over the creation of death energy. I am one of the God of Death¡¯s disciples, and thus, all who cultivate with death energy must obey my orders. This is the power that the God of Death gave to me, and you are no exception to this."

    Lu Yinughed. "Are you saying that you want me to obey you?"

    Jue Yi¡¯s eyes tightened. "That''s right. The fact that you use death energy makes you an heir to the God of Death, and as the only remaining disciple of the God of Death, I alone can act as the master of all wielders of death energy. If you do not obey, I will strip you of your cultivation."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯m sorry, but times have changed. In this era, forget you, but even the God of Death is nothing more than a legend. Even if Senior God of Death himself appeared before me, I might not listen to him."

    Jue Yi¡¯s expression chilled further. "Are you trying to betray the God of Death¡¯s wishes?"

    Lu Yin spoke earnestly, "I¡¯ve already told you that the God of Death no longer exists. I received my death energy after barely surviving various crises, and no one helped me or gave it to me. Why should this mean that I have to obey you? While I respect you as a senior from ancient times, and even ignoring the time that you were in the sourcebox, you are still a Semi-Progenitor while I¡¯m an Envoy. Thus, there¡¯s clearly a gap between us."

    Death energy leaked out as Jue Yi''s aura expanded. "It would seem that it¡¯s impossible to discuss this with you. Since you have no desire to follow me, give me everything that you possess rted to death energy. Given your status as a descendant of the Lu family, I will not press matters further, but if you resist, I will personally strip you of your death energy."

    Lu Yin stared at Jue Yi, wanting to bothugh and get angry, but also feeling that neither reaction was appropriate. "For thest time, my death energy has nothing to do with you or even the God of Death. It''s just another form of power. If the God of Death truly wished for everyone who can use death energy to obey him, then this power would never have spread out. The fact that I was able to acquire death energy proves that the God of Death acknowledges that others can learn to use death energy, and you do not possess the right to make decisions on the God of Death¡¯s behalf."

    Jue Yi said nothing more, and he instead tried to barge onto Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back to capture Lu Yin. However, even Ancient God had not been able to aplish such a thing, and it was naturally beyond Jue Yi¡¯s abilities as well.

    However, Jue Yi''s actions were noticed by Lu Buzheng, who was still locked in fierce battle with Ni Huang. The man angrily demanded, "Jue Yi, what are you trying to do?"

    Jue Yi answered indifferently, "This child of your Lu family possesses the God of Death¡¯s power, yet he refuses to acknowledge the God of Death as his master. This is a betrayal, and just as you wish to annihte those who betrayed your Lu family, I intend to do the same for the God of Death."

    "You''re seeking death!" Lu Buzheng shouted. Ni Huang nced away from his battle to look over at Ancestor Tortoise, and his eyes flickered.

    The moment the foreign enemy disappeared, humanity¡¯s internal conflicts blossomed and moved to the top of people¡¯s list of priorities.

    Lu Buzheng could not allow the four ruling powers¡¯ betrayal of the Lu family to slide while the four ruling powers could not permit anyone from the Lu family to live.

    As for Jue Yi, he stubbornly believed that Lu Yin had to obey him and that any refusal was a betrayal to the God of Death.

    The people from the ancient era had their own values, and they would defend their own time¡¯s pride despite their anachronistic existence in between the past and the present.

    As for the four ruling powers, Lu Yin definitely hated them even more than Lu Buzheng, but Lu Yin understood that he had to endure his hatred for the time being. However, Lu Buzheng was not capable of such control, and this was another difference that was rted to the eras they were from.

    The same was true for Jue Yi. If he had been born in the current era, he might have held the same perception as Tian Dou, believing that Lu Yin would eventually be able to create death energy and eventually be a second God of Death, rather than demanding Lu Yin¡¯splete and total obedience.

    No matter what, fighting had already broken out, and it would not be easy to settle the disagreements that had broken out.

    Only Semi-Progenitors could settle a fight between Semi-Progenitors.

 Chapter 2044: From The Nan Family?

    Chapter 2044: From The Nan Family?

    It was at this moment that the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Semi-Progenitors arrived. Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal approached, and they all stared at the heated battles that had erupted between different human Semi-Progenitors with nk expressions.

    None of the neers recognized Lu Buzheng, but they acknowledged his obvious strength. Seeing an unknown man engaged in a brutal fight with Ni Huang led the three Semi-Progenitors to believe that Lu Buzheng was someone from Aeternus.

    This was precisely what Lu Yin feared, so he quickly called out to them, ¡°Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors have already been pushed back. We need to hurry and get rid of these corpse kings before they scatter and be a problem to deal with."

    "Who are those people?" Lan Xian asked curiously.

    Upon seeing Lan Xian, Kui Luo shouted at her, "Girl, help us deal with these people! All of them are traitors!"

    "You¡¯re the traitor! All survivors from the Lu family must die!" Wang Si screamed back.

    Jiu Yao nced across the region of space. "It appears that this is a matter of internal matter for your Fifth Maind, which has nothing to do with my Sixth Maind. You can settle things yourselves."

    He then shifted his attention over to the horde of corpse kings in the distance. Even though they had spread out a bit, they could not really leave, as they were surrounded by fighting Semi-Progenitor.

    Not all the corpse kings were intelligent, and most of the horde was waiting for orders. However, they had already been abandoned by Forgotten Ruins God and Whiteless God. Actually, it was possible that these corpse kings had not been abandoned, but were rather tools to further whittle down the human Semi-Progenitors¡¯ stellr energy reserves.

    Given the current situation, once someone used up their stellr energy, they would not be able to regain anymore. After losing their stellr energy, even Semi-Progenitors would experience a sharp decrease in strength, and their strength would continue to fall until they lost all of their viablebat strength.

    Aeternus had always excelled at wave tactics, as the lives of corpse kings were worth nothing to them.

    "In order to get rid of those monsters, we need to attack, but if we attack¡­" Lan Xian left thest bit unsaid, though her meaning was perfectly clear.

    Jiu Yao looked up and watched as the droplet of mysterious liquid crazily devoured stellr energy. He eventually shook his head. "We won''t do anything. Even if we are able to deal with this, we will do nothing. Leave this to those weaker than us."

    Herb Immortal frowned. If people weaker than Semi-Progenitors were forced to eliminate the corpse king horde, countless people would die. Still, there was no other option. The Semi-Progenitors had to maintain a certain level of fighting strength, or else Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors would easily eliminate all humans from the Sixth Maind.

    "Are you people from the Sixth Maind?" Sky Garan asked as he approached Jiu Yao and the other two.

    Lan Xian nced over at Sky Garan. "Who are you?"

    Sky Garan''s eyes flickered. "Do you know the Garan family?"

    The expressions of all three Semi-Progenitors changed, and they stared at Sky Garan. "Are you someone from the ancient era? Who are you?"

    Sky Garan had wanted to say that he was a member of the Garan family, but after witnessing Lu Buzheng''s rage and Ni Huang''s counterattack, the young man had be very wary.

    If even families like the Wang and Bai families had managed to rebel against the Lu family that had once ruled the Fifth Maind, was it possible that the Sixth Maind had also rebelled against the Garan n? Why else would there be absolutely no mention of the Garan n in the current era? On top of that, just his simple question had caused these Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind to ask if Sky Garan was someone from the ancient era. This made it quite clear that the Garan n truly no longer existed. What had happened to them?

    Sky Garan reacted quickly, and he changed his response. "I am indeed from the ancient era, but I¡¯m a member of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nan family. No one seems to know of the Garan family, but you clearly recognize it. It seems that you truly are from the Sixth Maind."

    "Are you testing us?" Lan Xian was taken aback.

    Just as Sky Garan was about to answer, Jiu Yao stepped forward and released a wave of pressure. The man¡¯s eyes were icy. "The Nan family? Are you from the Nan family?"

    Sky Garan was startled. It was clear that there was something wrong. "What''s wrong with the Nan family?"

    Herb Immortal slowly answered, "The reason why the Fifth Maind waged such a brutal war against my Sixth Maind was because of the Nan family¡¯s Progenitor Nan. It could be said that Progenitor Nan instigated the entire war, and that war is the reason why my Sixth Maind lost most of our powerhouses. More than half of the Daosource Sect was destroyed, and many of our inheritances were lost. Although the Fifth Maind was eventually defeated and we even changed the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, all of that happened because of the Aeternals¡¯ maniptions. Progenitor Nan was publicly reviled and condemned as a disgrace to all Progenitors."

    As he spoke, Herb Immortal shook his head. "The Nan family is the greatest shame of the Sixth Maind."

    Jiu Yao spoke up again, his voice as cold as ever. "Progenitor Nan is dead, and the Nan family has been wiped from existence. If you are from the Nan family, then you must simrly pay for Progenitor Nan¡¯s crimes."

    Sky Garan¡¯s face twitched. He had only casually selected the Nan family as his alias, as it had been a powerful family of the Sixth Maind during the Heavens Sect era, and Sky Garan had personally been close to the family. That was the extent of his rtionship with them, and he absolutely had not expected to encounter such a reaction.

    Xia De happened to overhear the conversation from where he was fighting against Highsage Grandmaster. Out of everyone in the entire universe, the Xia family¡¯s greatest hatred was absolutely not directed towards the Lu family, but rather the Nan family. The Nan family was the culprit behind Progenitor Chen, Xia Shang, attacking the Sixth Maind and leading to the two mainds¡¯ ultimate defeat at the hands of the Aeternals. The Lu family had then been forced to lead the remnant forces of the Fifth Maind to the Perennial World.

    If not for Progenitor Nan, Progenitor Chen would still be the most powerful person of the current era. Even if ancient legendary figures like the Lu family¡¯s Dao Monarch appeared, the Xia family would have never joined the Bai family in rebelling against the Lu family. If Progenitor Chen were present, the Xia family would have no reason to rebel, as everyone would be forced to show the Xia family a measure of respect. Progenitor Chen had been the symbol of the Daosource Sect era, and he had even single-handedly controlled two of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. That was a rare aplishment throughout all of history.

    Because of Progenitor Nan¡¯s actions, it was questionable whether Progenitor Chen was still alive, and the Xia family had fallen to the same level as the Wang and Bai families and the White Dragon n. During the Daosource Sect era, the existence of Progenitor Chen had allowed the Xia family to evenlypete with the Lu family for the position of the most dominant power in the Fifth Maind.

    "So you¡¯re a member of the Nan family? Then you can die for me!" Xia Depletely ignored everything else at the moment to attack Sky Garan.

    While Sky Garan had previously shared his identity with Lu Yin on the back of Ancestor Tortoise, and although he had clearly mentioned that he was part of the Garan n, at that time, Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors had all been focused on Lu Buzheng. They hadpletely ignored the young man. This was why Xia De believed Sky Garan¡¯s words that he was a member of the Nan family, which was the Xia family¡¯s greatest enemy.

    Sky Garan''s looked as though he had just swallowed a dead bug. Why was the Nan family so hated?

    Xia De attacked Sky Garan, but Lan Xian blocked the attack. "No matter who he might be, only my Sixth Maind can deal with him. You are not allowed to interfere."

    Lu Yin was still on the back of Ancestor Tortoise, but themotion had drawn his attention, and he could not help but ask, "Didn¡¯t you say that you were a part of the Garan n? When did you be part of the Nan family?"

    Sky Garan''s expression changed yet again, and he shot a cold re towards Lu Yin. This bastard had actually exposed his true identity! He had hoped to enter the Sixth Maind and surreptitiously learn about what had happened to the Garan n before deciding whether to reveal himself. With Lu Yin¡¯s words, Sky Garan was doomed if the Sixth Maind had rebelled against the Garan n.

    That Lu Yin bastard had someone to protect him, but Sky Garan had no one. He had only met Lu Buzheng by coincidence, and there was no real rtionship between the two. Hen Xin was from the Third Maind, and Jue Yi was from the First Maind. Sky Garan waspletely alone. What an asshole!

    Sky Garan turned to anxiously look at Jiu Yao, waiting for a reaction. The young man¡¯s identity had already been exposed, and there was nowhere he could hide.

    Xia De was stunned. "What do you mean, the Garan n? Isn''t he from the Nan family?"

    Jiu Yao stared at Sky Garan. "Are you from the Garan n or the Nan family?"

    "He''s from the Garan n!" Lu Yin called out. Sky Garan had been so arrogant that Lu Yin was happy to knock the man down a few pegs.

    An ugly expression appeared on Sky Garan''s face. Still, he met Jiu Yao''s eyes and raised his head high as he let out a breath and proudly proimed, "I am Sky Garan, the Dao Chosen of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan n."

    The three Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind just stared at Sky Garan in disbelief.

    ¡°Garan n¡± and ¡°Dao Chosen¡± were ancient terms from a time before anything that was known. The three had never expected to hear those words in the current era, let alone encounter someone who held those titles.

    "Do you- do you know of the Garan n?" Sky Garan shouted his greatest question as he stared at Jiu Yao, trying to see something in the man¡¯s eyes.

    Jiu Yao stared intently at Sky Garan and nodded. "The Garan n ruled my Sixth Maind, and I readily tell you that, as long as you can prove your identity, you will be acknowledged as my Sixth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    Sky Garan was thrilled, though he remained wary. He still was not certain if Jiu Yao was just trying to first take him away, but after a moment¡¯s thought, the young man realized that Jiu Yao had no need to put on such pretenses. It was impossible for Sky Garan to escape from three Semi-Progenitors.

    With his identity exposed and without any support or protection, Sky Garan let go of all of his reservations. "I will prove my identity. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect still exists, so let¡¯s go there."

    Jiu Yao nodded. "Please."

    Even Jiu Yao felt that he should show respect to the Garan n¡¯s Dao Chosen. The family had once ruled the Sixth Maind, and while the family had never been betrayed, they had disappeared on their own, and no one knew why. Given the fact that this young man had been given the title of Dao Chosen, it meant that he would eventually be a Progenitor, and at that time, he would be the most powerful individual in the entire universe. The Sixth Maind was willing to give Sky Garan a chance.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity, and the Progenitor of Combat had died. Only the Progenitor of Bloodlines still lived, and he had gone into hiding. The Sixth Maind was desperate for more powerhouses to rise up.

    Atop Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin was frustrated at how things had unfolded. He had wanted to create a challenge for Sky Garan, but unexpectedly, the young man had been acknowledged and readily epted.

    Sky Garan turned back to look at Lu Yin. "The Dao Chosen were without peers within the same realm during the Heavens Sect era, and that remains true even now. I will show you the difference in our eras. There is an insurmountable gap between you and I."

    When he finished speaking, Sky Garan moved behind Jiu Yao and prepared to leave.

    "He¡¯s far too arrogant! Seventh Bro, that bastard is actually looking down on you! You need to show him what¡¯s what!" The Ghost Monkey suddenly spoke up. He was right next to Ancestor Tortoise, as he hade to take refuge with Lu Yin.

    All of Aeternus¡¯s monsters were trapped in front of the passage to the Starfall Sea, just waiting to be wiped out. Regardless of whether the human Semi-Progenitors or someone else took action, their fate was sealed. The Ghost Monkey did not want to die with the corpse kings, so he had fled to Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin nced at the Ghost Monkey, but this was not the time to pay any attention to the astral beast: Jue Yi had already attacked Ancestor Tortoise.

    Death energy surged in outer space, and it gathered together to form a massive ck orb that bore down upon Ancestor Tortoise. Lu Yin had seen something simr before, as it was the same attack that he had seen in the vision that had appeared of the God of Death¡¯s back. This was the attack that had been used against the massive beast.

    Death energy, just like stellr energy, was nothing more than an energy that was used for cultivation, and everyone was capable of using the energies differently.

    Jue Yi had to focus his expertise in the usage of death energy, though Lu Yin had no idea if the man was truly the God of Death¡¯s disciple or not. Regardless, it was clear that Jue Yi¡¯s mastery of death energy far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s.

    It was not easy to gather this much death energy, but just like Lu Yin¡¯s Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, this technique was capable of exerting extraordinary power.

    The huge ck ball of death energy pressed up against Ancestor Tortoise, and the creature looked up at it with dull eyes. However, the tortoise did not move at all, and the orb of death energy suddenly struck the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. Lu Yin nervously watched as the tree was struck, only to see that the tree easily endured the blow, flinging the death energy away. The colossal tree remained standing as before, calm as could be.

    Jue Yi was dumbstruck, and his eyes shifted from Lu Yin to the divine tree. Slowly, his eyes went wide, as though seeing something unbelievable. ¡°The Mavis family¡¯s divine tree?"

 Chapter 2045: Heavy Injury

    Chapter 2045: Heavy Injury

    Lu Yin was shocked. Jue Yi actually recognized the divine tree? This meant that the Mavis family had been very famous even back during the Heavens Sect era.

    Lu Yin looked over at Yunying Mavis, but he saw that the woman showed no surprise at all. "Since you know of our divine tree, you should already understand how powerful it is."

    Jue Yi stared intently at the divine tree. "Correct. The Mavis family¡¯s divine tree is extremely powerful, and it used to cover the center of the Second Maind. The Mavis family controlled the entire maind. No one would dare to underestimate the divine tree. If this were the true divine tree, then let alone me, but not even a powerful Progenitor would likely be able to do anything to it. Unfortunately, this tree is fake."

    Yunying Mavis became furious. "How could my Mavis family live in a false divine tree?"

    Jue Yi''s eyes dimmed, and his death energy surged. It took on the form of a phantom that stood behind him. It was a massive figure that looked down on everyone from on high.

    Lu Yin was also familiar with this sight, as he had seen this figure both when absorbing death energy and in Burial Garden. This was the God of Death.

    The God of Death had appeared behind Jue Yi, proving that the man was indeed a disciple of the God of Death.

    "Even if the true divine tree of the Mavis family is iparable to the Mother Tree, it was stillrge enough to cover the center of the Second Maind. The divine tree granted the Mavis family control of all nts in the entire universe, and the family was in no way inferior to even the Lu family. While this tree does indeed possess a fragment of the divine tree¡¯s power, it feels as though it is still growing. The divine tree that stood at the center of the Second Maind is no more!" Jue Yi yelled as the enormous phantom of the God of Death that stood behind him transformed into a scythe that shed at the divine tree.

    Suddenly, Ancestor Tortoise moved his head, mming into the scythe formed out of the God of Death¡¯s figure. There was a bang, and sparks sprayed across space out of sight. Their passage caused the void to churn like a boilingke, and countless spatial cracks appeared.

    Jue Yi was bumped by Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s head, and he was forced further and further back, badly startling him.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Jue Yi was clearly unbelievably powerful, but luckily, even Ancient God had been wary of Ancestor Tortoise. For Jue Yi, it was likely that he would likely be helpless against Ancestor Tortoise even if he weren¡¯t under the suppression of the mentalwork and could unleash a full-powered attack.

    Yunying Mavis also let out a sigh of relief. The techniques and abilities of the newly arrived ancient powerhouses were startling. Even if the woman was confident in the strength of her family¡¯s divine tree and Ancestor Tortoise, she had still been nervous.

    "Don''t waste your time. Not even the Seven Skygods were able to do anything to that Ancestor Tortoise,¡± Wang Si suddenly spoke up, though her cold eyes did not leave Lu Buzheng. ¡°However, we can help you deal with it as long as you help us get rid of Lu Buzheng."

    Lu Buzheng angrily shouted, "You bitch, you¡¯re asking to die!"

    Ni Huang had not anticipated Wang Si attempt to coerce Jue Yi into joining them, but it was clear that the man¡¯s help would be immensely useful and would instantly reverse the current situation. Realizing this, Ni Huang quickly moved to lock down Lu Buzheng while quickly checking on Hen Xin once again. The man still looked like he had absolutely no intention of getting involved in the current conflict.

    Kui Luo suddenly shouted out some unexpected words. "You old whore, are you trying to hook up with yet another man? You already have two of your clients here, and now you¡¯re not even sparing people from the ancient era? This is just too much! He could be your ancestor!"

    Wang Si gritted her teeth. "Kui Luo, you bastard! You¡¯re about to die as well!"

    She then turned back to Jue Yi again. "You can only get to that kid by working with us."

    Jue Yi shot the old woman a cold nce. "If even I can''t breach this creature¡¯s defenses, how could you help me?"

    Wang Si sneered. "You don¡¯t need to overpower anything. I already have a way to get that brat to leave on his own."

    She then looked at Lu Yin with a smug expression. ¡°Boy, did you really think that we would be willing to just return to the Perennial World with you? We were given an important mission. You once captured our people, and there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll ever let those people you care about go. We already know about how important Earth is to you."

    Lu Yin''s expression finally changed. The way he viewed Wang Si had just changed on a fundamental level. While Lu Yin had always wanted to get revenge for his family and kill the traitors like Wang Si, Lu Yin could still see the bigger picture and suppress his hatred with the threat of Aeternus present. Lu Yin would even work together with mortal enemies if it was for the sake of defeating the Aeternals. Even at this moment, Lu Yin had not made any real moves to kill Ni Huang and the others, instead simply hoping to suppress them and then use their strength to work together to resist the Aeternals.

    This single sentence from Wang Si changed Lu Yin¡¯s mind on this matter. Even if they were being threatened by the Aeternals and humanity as a whole was in jeopardy, Lu Yin was determined to kill this bitch.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s overflowing bloodlust, Wang Si could not stop herself from feeling a quiver of fear. The youth¡¯s killing intent had left her, a Semi-Progenitor, terrified. She had already realized that Lu Yin posed a threat to her, and if he was allowed to continue to grow and develop, he would eventually be able to deal with not only Wang Si, but also the entire Wang family.

    This thought made Wang Si continue, her voice growing cold. "As long as you capture someone that kid cares about, it will be easy to make hime out on his own. There are billions of people on Earth, so just see how long he can endure once we start killing 100 million people a day. There are also many, many people who have joined his Great Eastern Alliance, and we can use all of them to force his hand."

    Lu Buzheng''s visualization of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant suddenly surged, growing more powerful until it nearly reached the strength of an inner world. "You bitch! You dare to threaten a descendant of my Lu family? I¡¯ll kill you!"

    Due to the rising levels of strength being used in the battle, more and more stellr energy was devoured by the nearby droplet, and at the same time, the mentalwork started to activate.

    Lu Yin shouted, "Stop!"

    The shout startled Lu Buzheng, and he nced over at Lu Yin, as did Kui Luo, Wang Si, Jue Yi, and even Hen Xin, who still had not made a single move. All of them stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was calmly staring at Wang Si. He seemed too calm, and it was a bit scary. "Your words just now have ensured that I will one day make your Wang family regret what you¡¯ve said for 10,000 years."

    Wang Si''s eye twitched, but she quickly answered with a sneer. "Let''s see if you can even survive first!"

    She turned to Jue Yi. "So? Do you want to work together?"

    Jue Yi just nced at Wang Si. "In the era of the Heavens Sect, humanity reached its peak. Progenitors were encouraged to create their own, unique forms of power, and thus many organizations that did not rely on stellr energy appeared. Peerless experts such as the masters of the Three Realms Six Daos rose to power.

    "During that time, the creation of new forms of energy and cultivation methods were greatly admired, schemes were always nothing more than the selfforting lies of the weak."

    Wang Si''s expression grew dark.

    Jue Yi continued, "There are people who are incapable of achieving strength themselves, and so they do their best to frame, threaten, lure, or use other such tricks to protect their own pathetic sense of value. Those are the types of people I hate the most.¡±

    He stared at Wang Si as he finished up by saying, ¡°That is the sort of person you are."

    Wang Si''s face twisted into a hideous expression. "You¡¯ll never get a hold of that bastard without our help."

    Jue Yi remained indifferent. "I don''t need to capture him. I simply want to clean things up a bit. Even if I can¡¯t deal with him now, I¡¯ll just strip him of his power once I be a Progenitor and the second God of Death."

    As Jue Yi spoke, he looked back at Lu Yin. "Whomever I allow to use death energy can use it, and whomever I forbid from using death energy can never touch it, even if it means that the power will vanish from the universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. While he hated Jue Yi''s condescension and iprehensible arrogance, the man himself did not seem despicable. He simply followed the way of the people from the Heavens Sect era.

    Every era possessed its own unique characteristics. After humans rose to prominence, there were times when a delicate figure was considered beautiful, and other times when thick, heavy bodies were seen as beautiful. There were eras that advocate strength and despised underhanded methods, and there were other eras that praised those who would do anything it took to achieve their goals. It was a matter of the perspective of the times.

    In the current era, it did not matter if one used pure strength or acted as though the ends justified the means. This was why Wang Si wasfortable threatening Lu Yin, and it was also how Lu Yin had managed to unite both the Innerverse and the Outerverse. However, such behavior was iprehensible to people from the Heavens Sect era.

    This was why Sky Garan felt contempt for Wang Si¡¯s tricks.

    People¡¯s perspective changed with the changing times. Humanity had reached its peak during the Heavens Sect era, and they had not dealt with any dire issues such as wars with outside powers. The Heavenly Sect had established a system to ensure the orderly development of humanity, which had firmly established the arrogance of personal power as the highest virtue. In the current era, humanity faced too many outside enemies.

    Sky Garan and the others were unable to understand the perspective of the current era while Lu Yin and the others failed to understand the mindset of the people from the past.

    Thus, Wang Si felt disgusted by Jue Yi¡¯s reaction. Her method was quite practical, and it would very likely seed. If Lu Yin saved himself while allowing Earth to be destroyed and everyone he held dear to perish, then it would permanently cripple his future progress. Why had Jue Yi objected? There was no downside to such actions, and yet not only had Jue Yi refused, but he had also openly mocked Wang Si for her n. Such a reaction infuriated the woman.

    Even Ni Huang felt that Jue Yi was rather old-fashioned, and the old man choked when he heard Jue Yi''s words.

    These words were clearly not simply mocking Wang Si. Jue Yi was mocking the current era, just like how Sky Garan had looked down upon Lu Yin.

    Jue Yi''s words left Wang Si and the others disgusted by his attitude, but his words had also distracted Bai Laogui and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors who were still fighting. Highsage Grandmaster grabbed hold of this opening to make his move. "Thousand Rivers Return to Sea."

    Bai Laogui was startled. He had no idea what this Thousand Rivers Return to Sea might be, but he would naturally try to defend against whatever trick Highsage Grandmaster had nned.

    However, Bai Laogui¡¯s reaction was exactly what Highsage Grandmaster was aiming for. He had been inspired by his battle with Xia Ji, and he had realized that the secret technique Thousand Rivers Return to Sea could actually be used deceptively. People who were ignorant of the secret technique would automatically try to defend themselves, and the secret technique would transform all battle techniques back into raw energy. In other words, defensive measures were pointless, but Highsage Grandmaster was also unable tounch any attacks.

    Xia Ji had exploited this secret technique to defeat Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong by taking them both by surprise. At this moment, Highsage Grandmaster wanted to simrly surprise his opponents by transforming all battle techniques into nothing.

    Of course, Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo were also affected.

    Even though everyone was doing their best to avoid using any techniques that utilized stellr energy at this time, it was instinct to rely on it in a critical moment. This was exactly the reaction that Highsage Grandmaster aimed to exploit.

    If Arch-Elder Zen or any other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind were present, they would have instantly been able to cooperate with Highsage Grandmaster tounch attacks against Ni Huang and the rest, but all of those people were elsewhere. The only ones present who understood the current situation were Highsage Grandmaster himself and Lu Yin.

    The moment Thousand Rivers Return to Sea was released, Lu Yin pulled out the needle-like weapon that he had received from Dark Chief Justice Tian Dou. Using the Yu Secret Art, the weapon instantly appeared right in front of Wang Si, and at the same time, a palm strike appeared. Countless palm prints filled the space in front of Wang Si, converging and merging to create a single, powerful palm attack that struck the back of the needle-like weapon. The weapon pierced through Wang Si¡¯s arm so quickly that she could not even react to it.

    The weapon stabbed through her entire body, and she was sent tumbling backwards through space, sttering blood everywhere as she flew along.

    Everyone was stunned by what had just happened. Highsage Grandmaster had been the one to release the palm attack. He had aimed at Wang Si at the same moment that he had unleashed Thousand Rivers Return to Sea. The needle-like weapon had simply appeared in the path of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s attack, and since everyone had beenpletely focused on the secret technique, not even Highsage Grandmaster had noticed the weapon. The appearance of the weapon was only noticed after Wang Si had been seriously injured.

    Given Wang Si¡¯s strength, it should have been very difficult for her to suffer such terrible wounds, and Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s palm attack had not carried nearly enough power by itself. However, the palm strike had traveled at an incredible speed, and it had pushed the weapon forward to produce a devastating attack.

 Chapter 2046: Fear

    Chapter 2046: Fear

    The palm strike that Highsage Grandmaster had used was one of the seven unique battle techniques that Eversky Ind possessed. While it was very powerful, it was far from being able to injure a Semi-Progenitor to this extent. In the end, it had been the needle-like weapon that had shattered Wang Si''s inner world, and an inner world was to a Semi-Progenitor like what a stellr energy vortex was to an Envoy.

    Highsage Grandmaster had not ever expected this needle to prove so powerful, but it had stabbed right through Wang Si''s body.

    Wang Si had also not expected Highsage Grandmaster to actually be able to locate her inner world so urately and then shatter it. This precision was the true reason why her wound was so serious.

    Ni Huang raced over to Wang Si''s side, as did Xia De and Bai Laogui. The three Semi-Progenitors protected their woundedrade from three different directions while warily staring at Highsage Grandmaster. In particr, they focused on the needle-like weapon in the man¡¯s hand.

    There were simply too few power vessels or other treasures that could threaten a Semi-Progenitor, and such items would only be encountered on rare asions. No one had imagined that Highsage Grandmaster had one.

    Wang Si struggled to recover and coughed up blood. She turned to stare at Highsage Grandmaster with a pale face. Resentment filled the old woman¡¯s eyes. "How did you find the location of my inner world?"

    Highsage Grandmaster said nothing.

    "I found it," Lu Yin interrupted.

    Wang Si and other Semi-Progenitors all looked over at the youth in shock. "You did?"

    Lu Yin answered in a deep voice, "Old bitch, you never even thought about it, but I found where your inner world was located, and that needle also belongs to me."

    "Impossible! How could you be responsible for locating my inner world!" Wang Si answered so quickly that she spat out even more blood. She had lost all face in this instant defeat, and her hatred for Lu Yin had intensified even more than before.

    "Have you been watching all of us?" Ni Huang stared at Lu Yin and slowly asked. If Lu Yin had spent his time during each battle staring at a single person, it would be rtively easy to find a w in that person. In particr, Envoys instinctively protected their stellr energy vortices, and so it was possible to locate such a weak point.

    Lu Yin looked over at Ni Huang. "You are my enemy."

    Ni Huang smiled, and when he next spoke, self-mockery and sarcasm could be heard in his voice. "I never thought that we would be toyed with by a junior as young as you after living for as long as we have. We plotted against you, and you did the same to us. From the moment we first stepped foot onto the battlefield together, you¡¯ve been watching us and analyzing our fights so that you could determine the locations of our inner worlds. Unless I¡¯ve guessed incorrectly, you didn¡¯t only find Wang Si¡¯s weakness, but you¡¯ve also seen through the other three of us as well."

    Xia De turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. If Ni Huang¡¯s words were true, then Lu Yin was beyond terrifying. His ability to predict the future had to be absolutely monstrous.

    Even Jue Yi suddenly became far more solemn than before.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I couldn¡¯t help it. I''m just a weak little Envoy, and my brain is the only thing that I can rely on topete against experts like you. You came to this Fifth Maind to kill me, so I naturally need to put in more effort than anyone else if I want to be able to protect myself."

    Ni Huang responded with a wry smile. "We¡¯ve been dealing with the threat of Aeternus and have repeatedly been on the verge of death and annihtion, and yet you still had the time to simply watch the four of us?"

    Lu Yin remained calm. "Most of the time, I didn¡¯t fight in the battles, as I¡¯m not strong enough to do so."

    Bai Laogui spoke up in an icy tone. "Lu bastard, you are beyond despicable!"

    Kui Luo shouted back, "This is what¡¯s calledbat wisdom. You just wanted to use hostages to force him out so that you can kill him¡ªdoesn¡¯t that make you despicable? The methods that you used to deal with the Lu family are 10,000 times more despicable than anything that whore Wang Si brought up."

    Wang Si resentfully red at Lu Yin. She could not ept that she had been yed by this most hateful child.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Lu Buzheng. "Catch Wang Si, and then we can talk about the other three."

    Wang Si was already seriously injured, so even if she wanted to use her inner world against Lu Yin, it was impossible. She could not even release enough power to trigger the mentalwork¡¯s restriction. The three protecting her were different, and Ni Huang and the other two were still able to escape or put up a desperate fight. If they found themselves trapped in an impossible situation, they could just escape by being captured by the mentalwork.

    There was no way the mentalwork wouldst forever, so there would naturally be a way to eventually escape.

    Lu Buzheng looked at Lu Yin with aplicated expression. While Lu Buzheng felt that the Lu family had no shortage of gifted strategists and brilliantly intelligent individuals, how many were on the same level as Lu Yin and able to scheme against Semi-Progenitors as just a one-tribtion Envoy? This was too rare an ability, and Lu Yin¡¯s value rose tremendously in Lu Buzheng¡¯s eyes.

    After all, most people from the Lu family did not rely on their minds for sess.

    "Do it!" Kui Luo yelled loudly as he enthusiasticallyunched an attack towards Ni Huang and the other two Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Buzheng used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method and then threw another punch.

    At the same time, Highsage Grandmaster made another move.

    At first, there had been four Semi-Progenitors on Ni Huang¡¯s side, but with Wang Si being taken out of the picture, they had instantly fallen to a disadvantage. Their trouble stemmed from the fact that they had to protect Wang Si, as well as the fact that all three of them relied on stellr energy far more than either Kui Luo or Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng possessed a terrifying strength with just his Immovable Heavenly King Elephant while Kui Luo could just fight with his spiritual force. On the other hand, Ni Huang, Bai Laogui, and Xia De were only able to use battle techniques that utilized stellr energy, which meant that they had no stamina in this fight. Any stellr energy that they expended would be lost forever.

    Upon seeing Lu Buzheng''s impending attack, Ni Huang wanted to escape.

    At this moment, Jue Yi moved, and his death energy formed chains that shot towards Lu Buzheng. "Lu Buzheng, I¡¯ll be your opponent."

    Lu Buzheng looked at Jue Yi while dodging the chains of death energy. "Don''t you hate deceptive tactics more than anything?"

    Jue Yi remained indifferent. "Hating them doesn''t mean that I''m an idiot. If those three people leave, how am I supposed to be able to clean house?"

    Ni Huang and his twopanions all heaved massive sighs of relief. They felt incredibly lucky that Jue Yi was not too stubborn.

    With Jue Yi holding Lu Buzheng back, the tides of the battlefield reversed yet again. Ni Huang and the other two hoped to just rece Wang Si with Jue Yi, but things almost instantly changed yet again: Lan Xian and Herb Immortal moved out to attack Jue Yi.

    No one had expected anyone from the Sixth Maind to suddenly jump in and help Lu Yin.

    Not even Lu Yin himself had expected this to happen. Everyone here should be trying to save their own stellr energy reserves, and any fighting would naturally leave people weaker than before.

    Lan Xian wanted Lu Yin''s blood, and Lu Yin finally understood that his blood might be even more important than he had previously considered if Lan Xian was so desperate to get her hands on it.

    In that case, what about Herb Immortal? What had dragged him into the fight?

    Music yed from the three-stringed instrument, and it was apanied by Lan Xian''s pleasant voice as her beautiful eyes swept over towards Lu Yin. "You owe me a drop of blood."

    Despite the fact that Lan Xian and Herb Immortal were both much weaker than Kui Luo and everyone else participating in the fight, the gap was not overly exaggerated when no one was able to use their inner world. Even if the two Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind were not able to hold back Jue Yi when working together, they were at least capable of handling Bai Laogui or Xia De, which freed up Kui Luo.

    As for Kui Luo, he was absolutely strong enough to block Ni Huang.

    The Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle caused everyone to forget about the horde of corpse kings gathered in front of the blocked passage to the Starfall Sea, and it did not take long for the countless corpse kings to start scattering and heading into the Fifth Maind in all different directions.

    Lu Yin had agreed to allow the Ghost Monkey onto the back of Ancestor Tortoise, and as soon as the monkey arrived there, he started endlessly ttering Lu Yin, and the name ¡°Seventh Bro¡± never stopped.

    "How many powerhouses are among those corpse kings?" Lu Yin suddenly asked in a sharp tone.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s head ducked back. "A lot. There are no less than fifty Envoys. I have no idea where the Aeternals managed to find so many freaks. If they scatter, the Fifth Maind is going to suffer a huge disaster."

    Lu Yin frowned, but this was still not the biggest disaster. He looked over into the passage to the Starfall Sea. There was still a hand firmly wedged in ce there, and it could open up enough of a gap to allow Aeternus¡¯s true experts to freely enter and leave the Fifth Maind.

    Something suddenly urred to Lu Yin, and he turned to look at Yunying Mavis. "Senior, all of humanity has themon responsibility of protecting the Fifth Maind, and not even your Mavis family is exempt from that, right?"

    Yunying Mavis instantly became wary. "What are you talking about?"

    "Have Ancestor Tortoise block that gap."

    "Impossible." Yunying Mavis instantly denied Lu Yin¡¯s proposition, but then she seemed to realize that her response did not sound good for her family, so she quickly exined, ¡°It''s not that we don''t want to, but rather that Ancestor Tortoise will refuse. You should already understand he won¡¯t move any closer to Corpse God."

    "Just give it a try. If you can plug that gap, your Mavis family will have made the greatest achievement in the entire Fifth Maind," Lu Yin said.

    Yunying Mavis had no choice but to try to get Ancestor Tortoise to move closer to the passage to the Starfall Sea. As they moved along, Lu Yin would instantly attack and kill any corpse king that drew close while also dealing with his pounding headache. Lu Buzheng had already mentioned that Lu Yin would suffer from his innate gift¡¯s bacsh for some time and that the pain would be excruciating; Lu Yin was starting to realize how much suffering he would have to endure.

    Every time he attacked, the pain in his head grew worse. He knew that he needed to quickly find a chance to enter seclusion so that he could retreat into the Timestop Space to rest and recover.

    A pair of slitted, scarlet eyes flickered up ahead, and a corpse king moved to block Lu Yin¡¯s path.

    His heart sank. He could not deal with a corpse king with a power level of a million. The corpse kings were continuing to scatter and sneak into the Fifth Maind. There was no telling what sort of disaster they would carry with them.

    Suddenly, a set of scales appeared beneath the powerful corpse king¡¯s feet, and then a monster with a power level of over a million instantly shattered.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. This was Judgement. The Chief Justice had finally arrived.

    The next moment, Arch-Elder Zen, Chief Justice Qing Ping, and Xia Ji all appeared. They saw Semi-Progenitors fighting in the distance, as well as a horde of corpse kings fleeing.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others did not move to attack anyone. Just like Jiu Yao and several others, the neers all understood that if they fought at this moment, they would deplete their stellr energy reserves, which would leave them too weak to do anything when the Aeternalsunched another invasion.

    Of course, Lu Yin also understood this matter. He had only been using Oveying Stacks to attack, and he had also held back from using anything that used stellr energy.

    The Aeternals had left this horde of corpse kings behind just to drain the humans¡¯ strength, and so they could only allow cultivators weaker than Semi-Progenitor to deal with the horde.

    "What are you looking at? Why don''t get over here and help?" Kui Luo called out to Arch-Elder Zen and the others.

    Bai Laogui instantly threatened, "The New Corridor that connects to Sky Creation Academy will soon be repaired, and once that happens, my Perennial World will be reconnected to your Forsaken Land. If you dare to attack us, you will be dealt with by the four ruling powers!"

    Lu Yin instantly mocked the old man, "Who¡¯s going to deal with us? Your Progenitors? Do you really think that we¡¯re stupid enough to not realize that your four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors will never make a move because they fear the Progenitor behind me? This is our ancestralnd! The Fifth Maind! The Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat tried to invade, and he was seriously injured. When their Progenitor of Secret Arts betrayed humanity and tried to attack Burial Garden, he was also badly wounded. The moment a Progenitor appears here, they will trigger the dormant power here, which is why no Progenitor is bold enough toe here. Why else would the Aeternals spend so much time and effort to defeat us instead of just sending in one of their Progenitors?"

    This was something that Lu Yin had only recently realized. He had previously been terrified that the four ruling powers would eventually ovee their wariness of the Progenitor that they believed to be supporting him and would send out one of their own Progenitors. They would then discover that there were no Progenitors in the Fifth Maind.

    However, with his recent revtion, Lu Yin would be shocked if a Progenitor entered the Fifth Maind.

    Each of the Seven Skygods was a peerless and powerful existence, and one of them had even been a Dao Monarch. Another was the founding ancestor of an ancient family, and they were all exceptional individuals from the most ancient of eras. ckless God was naturally no exception to this, so why had the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines been able to block ckless God and keep him out of the Fifth Maind?

    There were strong and weak individuals among Semi-Progenitors, and the same held true in the Progenitor realm. Lu Yin refused to believe that the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines were capable of standing up to ckless God, even if they worked together. No matter how much weaker ckless God might be, he still had to be nearly as powerful as Progenitor Chen had been, and Progenitor Chen had been able to face off against multiple Progenitors on his own.

    Clearly, it would not have been difficult for ckless God to force his way into the Fifth Maind, but he had never done so. Neither had Corpse God. He instead simply held the passage to the Starfall Sea open so that more of the Aeternals¡¯ weaker monsters could flood in from beyond. There had to be something in the Fifth Maind that even Progenitors were fearful of.

    The Aeternals were afraid of it, and so were the four ruling powers.

 Chapter 2047: A Choice

    Chapter 2047: A Choice

    Bai Laogui let out a disdainful snort. "Don''t try to act smart. The only reason why a Progenitor won¡¯t make a move is because we don¡¯t want to destroy the Forsake Land and let the Aeternals seed. However, if you really want to risk death, then my four ruling powers will definitely make you regret your choice.¡±

    "This is not the time for internal discord. The Seven Skygods are still able to freely enter and leave this ce, but that doesn¡¯t concern us. But what about all of you? If your Forsaken Land is conquered by the Aeternals, your only refuge will be my four ruling powers¡¯ Perennial World. Do you really want to risk being hunted down and enved for all of eternity?" Ni Huang shouted.

    Kui Luo instantly retorted, ¡°So what if you want to chase them down? You people have been trying to catch me for years, and I¡¯m still fine. At worst, they¡¯ll just upset the bnce of the current powers."

    Bai Laogui sneered. "What a joke! Are you going to do that on your own? Any Progenitor could deal with you on a whim."

    "We can also be Progenitors ourselves.¡± Qing Ping took action, and the pair of scales stretched out from beneath his feet to touch Bai Laogui¡¯s feet.

    Arch-Elder Zen suddenly blocked Xia Ji''s de. "What do you think you¡¯re doing?"

    Xia Ji put more force behind his de. "I am going back to my roots and will follow my ancestors to my n."

    As the man spoke, he twisted his knife and caused two more des to appear. This was the Xia family¡¯s Triple de Will, and the attack pressed down to target not only Qing Ping, but also Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Yin looked over at Xia De, as this could only be happening because Xia De had promised Xia Ji something. Xia Ji would never make a move before receiving something for his efforts.

    Follow his ancestors? The Xia family that was a part of the Seven Courts was most likely a remnant that the main Xia family had deliberately left behind in the Fifth Maind, just like the members of the Bai family who had been left behind with the Daynight n.

    However, even though Xia De was impressed with Xia Ji, the man was still far from being Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s opponent.

    Again and again, the bnce of the battlefield changed, and the internal conflicts of the human race were on full disy at this moment. This exact situation was quite possibly the entire reason why Forgotten Ruins God and the other Aeternals had all left.

    In the absence of external threats, internal conflicts would invariably erupt.

    Finally, even Hen Xin took action. He moved to help Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World, instantly crushing Qing Ping¡¯s scales.

    Lu Buzheng and everyone else stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Hen Xin.

    Not even the people from the Perennial World understood why Hen Xin had helped them.

    "Hen Xin, what is this?" Lu Buzheng asked in a low voice.

    Hen Xin nced at Lu Buzheng, but he did not answer. Instead, he turned to look at Ni Huang. "Follow me from now on, and I will help you. If not, I will help the others."

    Lu Buzheng¡¯s brow furrowed, and he shouted, "You intend to use us?"

    Lu Yin had not expected Hen Xin, who had appeared to be the most direct and honest of the ancient powerhouses, to actually be the most scheming of them all. This one action had instantly forced Ni Huang and the others to make a choice, though they were also left without any real options.

    Ni Huang had not expected to suddenly be forced to make such a choice with no warning, and he was stunned for a long moment.

    "It¡¯s no wonder why some referred to you as ck-Hearted Hen. The fact that you were able to rise from nothing to be an expert within the Heavens Sect clearly means that you are far from being an ordinary person," Jue Yimented.

    Hen Xin stared at Ni Huang. "What¡¯s your decision?"

    Ni Huang clenched a fist. "We agree to form an alliance, but nothing more. I would rather be captured by the mentalwork than be forced to obey you."

    "Very well." Hen Xin agreed instantly and without quibbling.

    Lu Buzheng gritted his teeth. "ck-Hearted Hen, you¡¯re despicable!"

    Kui Luo sneered. "The Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch betrayed humanity to be Ancient God. It looks like all the people under him are the same sort of people."

    Hen Xin finally looked over. "The Third Maind already has enmity with the Fifth, so what about this matter is strange?"

    As he spoke, he looked at Lu Yin. "Right now, it looks like you are the person with the greatest influence on how things are going to turn out. Make your choice."

    As Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin, he remembered how this person had quickly identified him as the decision-maker of the group. It was clear that Hen Xin was an observant and analytical person, and after considering things a bit more, Lu Yin realized just how shrewd and perceptive Hen Xin had to be to have a thorough understanding of the current situation. Hen Xin was tantly taking advantage of the situation to take control of Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World. Their alliance could be considered an exceptionally strong power in the Fifth Maind at this moment.

    However, what was Hen Xin¡¯s goal? Jue Yi had also openly stated that he wanted Lu Yin to obey him. Lu Yin was eager to understand just what was going through the minds of these ancient powerhouses.

    So many years had passed, and the modern era¡¯s mindset was very different from the ancient era¡¯s. Lu Yin struggled to get a read on these people.

    "It¡¯s a draw.¡± As Lu Yin spoke, he looked over at Lu Buzheng and shook his head.

    Lu Buzheng stared at Ni Huang and the others, his bloodlust overflowing, and then he finally nced over at Hen Xin. "You certainly are ruthless. ck-Hearted Hen, you better make sure not to fall into my hands."

    Hen Xin calmly looked away. ¡°We can talk about that if I ever do fall into your hands."

    "No!" Wang Si screamed as she red at Lu Yin. "He needs to die!"

    She turned to Hen Xin. "We can¡¯t allow anyone from the evil Lu family go! He must die!"

    Hen Xin waspletely unconcerned. "No one asked for your opinion."

    Jue Yi calmly spoke up. "I also want to get my hands on that child."

    "You can¡¯t have him,¡± Arch-Elder Zen dered. ¡°No one can take Lu Yin. When we were faced with an all-out war with the Aeternals, he took the lead, and if not for him, Mt. Microcosms would have never been able to block the passage to the Starfall Sea. I will not allow any of you to deal with him."

    Bai Laogui¡¯s voice was beyond cold as he said, "Is the risk you are taking right now to protect that Lu bastard worth it? The New Corridor will definitely be restored, and given the gap in the passage to the Starfall Sea, it¡¯s inevitable that the Aeternals will return as well. Even if they do not return, I can promise you on behalf of the four ruling powers to allow people from your Forsaken Land enter the Perennial World and freely train there without being discriminated against. Without that survivor of the Lu family, we have no quarrel with any of you. Is his life really worth bing enemies with all of our families?"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression betrayed his emotions at this moment. ¡°Are you asking me if it¡¯s worth it? Of course it is. The Lu family has been kind to me. If not for the Lu family, I would never have received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and the Hall of Honor would have never been established. You are currently in the Fifth Maind, and the seeds that were left here to grow into the Hall of Honor were all sown by the Lu family. We may hate the ancient Lu family for abandoning our Fifth Maind, but at the same time, we were shown unmatched kindness by the ancient Lu family.¡±

    "In the past, I could have abandoned Lu Yin without any hesitation despite the favor I received from the Lu family, but no longer. I protect him not just because of the kindness I received from the Lu family, but also because of his own merits. Who among you could freely distribute your inheritance to the entire universe? Lu Yin graced the entire Fifth Maind with his inheritances, and my Fifth Maind will not abandon him."

    In the distance, Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. So Arch-Elder Zen had received the Tri-Yang Technique from the Lu family? Then why had the old man treated Lu Yin in such a cold manner after learning of his identity as a member of the Lu family? If Lu Yin had not taken the initiative to protect the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion, then Arch-Zen might have never be so protective of Lu Yin. The old man¡¯s wariness towards Lu Yin after first learning of his true identity had been obvious.

    Highsage Grandmaster spoke up as well. "Old Zen is right. This is how things should be."

    Elder Gong gave a small smile. "No argument here."

    Chief Justice Qing Ping never said a word, but he had been the first to step up as soon as someone had attacked Lu Yin. The Chief Justice¡¯s attitude was clear: Lu Yin was his junior brother.

    Hen Xin frowned. "This makes no sense. There¡¯s no need for such stubbornness. Old enmities should all be set aside for now, as the Aeternals are still a present threat."

    Lu Buzheng was the most reluctant to end things at this point. He had been the one to start the fight, and he was only interested in avenging the Lu family.

    Jue Yi did not want to let Lu Yin go, but at the moment, there seemed to be no choice. The man could not touch Lu Yin, as it was impossible to break through Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s defenses.

    Lu Yin nced around. He also felt a bit helpless at this moment. Each of these Semi-Progenitors was more cunning than the next. It had been very difficult to find an opportunity to wound Wang Si, and it waspletely impossible to use the same method to deal with Ni Huang and the rest at this point.

    Lu Yin looked to have the greatest sway in the current situation, and this was precisely why Hen Xin had taken the actions that he had to exploit Lu Yin¡¯s status.

    Suddenly, all the Semi-Progenitors turned to the west as one as an old man appeared. He moved with slow steps. His eyes were soft, tired, and unbelievably old. Both Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao and Sky Garan followed behind the old man.

    "Progenitor of Bloodlines." Both Lan Xian and Herb Immortal hurried forward to bow to the old man.

    All the other Semi-Progenitors had grown exceptionally solemn, and they also bowed. "I greet senior Progenitor."

    Not only did Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World bow, but even Lu Buzheng showed his respects for the old man. Even if the ancient powerhouses came from the Heavens Sect era and were from a time long before the Progenitor of Bloodlines, a Progenitor was still a Progenitor, while they were all merely Semi-Progenitors. When facing a Progenitor, Semi-Progenitors should always offer respect, unless they were facing an enemy.

    Lu Yin remained on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, but he also slowly bowed, as did Yunying Mavis next to him. "I greet Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    "I greet Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    ¡­

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines, whose name was Xue Mengzi, was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, as well as the only one of the three to have never demonstrated any hostility towards the Fifth Maind.

    Back when the Sea King had first broken through the Upper Three Gates that led to the Perennial World in order to restore the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, the Sixth Maind had retaliated by invading the Fifth Maind. During their initial attack, the Progenitor of Combat had personally taken action. If not for the remnant power of the Rune Progenitor, the Progenitor of Combat would have single-handedly destroyed the entire Fifth Maind.

    The Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, and he had even attacked Burial Garden in a failed attempt to erase humanity¡¯s oldest inheritance. Fortunately, Progenitor Chen had taken action and stopped the attack. At the same time, the Progenitor of Secret Arts had been severely injured.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was the only one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors to have never attacked the Fifth Maind, and he had also fought against the Aeternals from the very beginning.

    When Lu Yin hadpleted his breakthrough to be an Envoy, his breakthrough had caused the true universe to roil, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines had gone to investigate the disturbance. That time had been Lu Yin¡¯s first encounter with the Progenitor.

    It had actually been Lu Yin¡¯s first time interacting so closely with a Progenitor.

    At this moment, the Progenitor of Bloodlines was the only surviving Progenitor in the entire Fifth Maind.

    "It appears that you no longer intend to fight with each other," the Progenitor of Bloodlinesmented as he nced over all the gathered Semi-Progenitors and Lu Yin.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared back at the Progenitor and respectfully replied, "Why have youe here, Senior?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines sped his hands behind his back and stared out in the direction of the Starfall Sea. The man looked exhausted. "How could I note here? This is the greatest disaster to ever befall humanity, and if I am not careful, I could easily end up like Jiu Xiang and be left without even an intact corpse."

    Jiu Yao''s expression grew ugly, and a deep sadness could be seen in his eyes.

    Jiu Xiang was the name of the Progenitor of Combat who had perished in the Starfall Sea. The Progenitor had been killed by decapitation. It had been the tragic end for a top powerhouse.

    "You all did an exceptional job here. You managed to seal the passage and buy humanity a chance. Unfortunately, a gap still remains in the blocked passage, and a steep price will need to be paid in order to protect that passage. Still, no matter what, everyone here has a responsibility to humanity, including me," the Progenitor of Bloodlines carefully enunciated each and every word.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "What do you intend to do, Senior?"

    He had interacted with the Progenitor of Bloodlines in the past, and he had discovered that the old man was rather easy to speak with.

    Sky Garan gave Lu Yin a condescending look from where he stood behind the Progenitor of Bloodlines. The Progenitor had recognized Sky Garan¡¯s identity, and he had even been very polite to the young man and admitted that he would definitely be a Progenitor one day. Sky Garan knew that he stood at the peak of talent in this entire region of the universe. No, it was more urate to say that he was peerless in the current era.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked at Lu Yin. "You all will draw lots. This old man will stand guard at the passage for the rest of time, but I will not do so alone. At least four Semi-Progenitors must be stationed here as well, as with the suppression of the mentalwork, no Semi-Progenitor possesses the necessary strength to stand guard on their own. Without such preparations, we will not be able to stop a Progenitor. Naturally, more Semi-Progenitors will be needed in the future, but the exact numbers will depend on what sort of offensive the Aeternalsunch.

    "Right now, they are not acting aggressively at all."

    Everyone fell silent as they became lost in their own thoughts.

    No Semi-Progenitor wanted to be stuck standing guard here, as it would put them on the front lines against the Aeternals, but this was something that absolutely had to be done.

 Chapter 2048: The Lu Familyâ€™s Dao Chosen

    Chapter 2048: The Lu Family¡¯s Dao Chosen

    "How long will each of the sixteen Semi-Progenitors need to spend here for their shift?" Hen Xin asked.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked at the man for a moment before eximing, "You are someone from ancient times! You are one of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. You fully deserve your reputation. If all of these Semi-Progenitors can break through to be Progenitors, humanity will no longer need to worry about anything."

    Bullshit! Kui Luo rolled his eyes. Break through to be Progenitors? If it was that easy, the Aeternals would have been eliminated long ago. How can you say something so ridiculous?

    At the same time, the Ghost Monkey also rolled his eyes. Bullshit!

    "Half a year. You¡¯ll each take a half-year shift. What do you think about that?" The Progenitor of Bloodlines clearly had not considered this question before Hen Xin brought it up so casually.

    Hen Xin immediately responded, "Yes."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines continued, saying, "I hope that you all will not fight among yourself during this time, or at least, hold off on such things until we are sure that the Aeternals will not invade again. I ask that you all give this old man some face."

    After he finished speaking, the old man raised a hand and brought out sixteen dots into space. Each of the dots represented a number. "Everyone, it''s time to draw lots."

    Lu Buzheng arched a brow. This was a show of might from the Progenitor. It was clear to see that the dots were for drawing lots, but no one could see what number was within any of the dots no matter what they tried. The ability to block everyone¡¯s perception was directly proportional to one¡¯s strength. This was a power worthy of a Progenitor.

    Hen Xin reacted first, and he randomly grabbed a lot, and was quickly followed by all the other Semi-Progenitors present.

    "You don''t need one, Senior Chief Justice! You''re not a Semi-Progenitor!" Lu Yin shouted. He did not want his senior brother Qing Ping to have to participate in this guard duty. If Lu Yin waspletely unlucky, Lu Buzheng, Kui Luo, and Highsage Grandmaster would also be unfortunate enough to draw lots for guard duty at the same time. The Chief Justice was Lu Yin¡¯s reliable senior brother.

    "I need one." Chief Justice Qing Ping never said much at all, but he replied to Lu Yin instantly as he grabbed his lot, leaving Lu Yin depressed.

    On the other side, Ni Huang bowed to the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Senior, Wang Si''s inner world has been shattered, and she will have great difficulty demonstrating any of her true strength. It¡¯s even possible that she will be crippled by this. Does she also need to stand guard?"

    Wang Si¡¯s expression twisted terribly when she heard Ni Huang¡¯s objection, but she did not deny his words.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "Very well."

    With that, the lot disappeared from Wang Si''s hand. She resentfully red at Lu Yin once again. She vowed to herself that she would find a chance to kill the bastard.

    Lu Yin was simrly looking at Wang Si, and he clearly saw the naked killing intent that she made no attempt to hide.

    The fifteen Semi-Progenitor level experts were split into four different groups.

    "Those whose lots had the number one in them will be the first to stand guard at the passage to the Starfall Sea with this old man," Progenitor Xue stated.

    Lu Yin quickly nced around at Kui Luo and everyone else.

    Kui Luo looked constipated, and he was muttering something or other. This sight caused Lu Yin''s heart to sink, and it was obvious that the old man had picked this first shift of guard duty. Realizing this, Lu Yin quickly nced at Lu Buzheng, but the man appearedpletely rxed.

    Lu Yin looked back at Senior Brother Qing Ping, but he was unable to see any expression on the man¡¯s face. Looking at Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors, Lu Yin could not see anything from their faces either.

    People who were able to be Semi-Progenitors typically had enough self-control to conceal their anger and other emotions, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to see through them. Very few such experts were as open with their emotions as Kui Luo.

    "Alright, the selection has been made, so the four of you can follow this old man to the passage to the Starfall Sea." As soon as the Progenitor of Bloodlines spoke, he started moving towards the Starfall Sea.

    Elder Gong moved forward, along with Xia De, Herb Immortal, and finally, Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo sighed and nced over at Lu Yin. "Take care of yourself, kid. Just stay on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back and don¡¯t leave."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines had asked them all to not fight amongst themselves and to show him at least that much respect. However, it was impossible to know how long this would deter Jue Yi and the others for. As far as Kui Luo was concerned, this deterrent was worth less than a fart, which was why he had told Lu Yin not to leave Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin watched as Kui Luo and the others made their way to the entrance to the Starfall Sea. Suddenly, a thought urred to him: if anyone had all of these Semi-Progenitors obeying their orders, then they would be in control of an incredibly powerful force. The most important detail was how many of these particr Semi-Progenitors had opened their three meridian points. All the most powerful individuals present had done so, which included the three masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, the Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World, Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Fifth Maind, as well as Jiu Yao. All of these Semi-Progenitor had opened their three meridian points.

    How many of these people would eventually be a Progenitor? Lu Yin gazed at the various Semi-Progenitors, and he suddenly had a whimsical thought: why not try to take control of these people?

    Lu Yin had only been a tiny Explorer when he had first started on his ns to unite the Outerverse, but he had worked towards that and eventually seeded. By the time he had unified both the Innerverse and Outerverse, he had only been an Enlighter. These aplishments had made Lu Yin a truly legendary figure to all who heard his story. Aplishing something that others believed to be impossible was what became known as a legend.

    Lu Yin had already created one legend, so why not a second?

    He was an Envoy who stood upon Semi-Progenitor battlefields, and he had even helped to determine the oue of a war that involved Progenitors. Lu Yin had done this much, so there was nothing that he could not do.

    The more he thought about this, the more excited Lu Yin became. But at the same time, the sharp pain in his head grew more and more intense.

    "It hurts." Lu Buzheng stepped onto Ancestor Tortoise and stared off into the distance. Hen Xin led Ni Huang and some other Semi-Progenitors away with all of them making their way towards the Neoverse. Arch-Elder Zen had just mentioned Team Resolution, and they were followers of Hen Xin, so he nned to collect those people.

    Jue Yi also left. At this time, it was impossible for him to deal with Lu Yin without any help.

    Lan Xian simrly left along with Jiu Yao, though she made a point to remind Lu Yin that he owed her a drop of blood before she left. She was self-aware and knew that it was impossible for her to demand Lu Yin¡¯s blood at this moment. After all, Lu Buzheng was next to Lu Yin and was keeping an eye on the young man, but Lan Xian would not forget this matter. The day woulde when Lu Yin would pay her back.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Fifth Maind were thest to leave. Before that, Lu Yin was told that his Great Eastern Alliance should use its full power to cooperate with the Hall of Honor to eliminate all the corpse kings that had spread across the universe. This was actually something that Arch-Elder Zen did not even need to mention, as Wang Wen and the others had already started making preparations to take care of the countless corpse kings.

    The battle between the various Semi-Progenitors was over, but some grudges still remained. There was still the matter between the Lu family and the four ruling powers of the current era, the conflict between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, as well as various conflicts between the different mainds from the Heavens Sect era. All of these things would eventually erupt, and this was not even considering of there were any powerhouses from the ancient era who had not yet revealed themselves.

    "How many powerhouses were present on that battlefield that was sealed within a sourcebox?" Lu Yin asked as he massaged his head. Ancestor Tortoise had already turned around and was headed for the Outerverse.

    Lu Buzheng thought back for a bit. "A lot. Most of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were there with us."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Only three of the gatemasters had shown themselves so far. He suddenly thought of another question. "What about the Aeternals? Since you were frozen, the enemies should have been frozen as well, so why haven¡¯t we seen any of the Aeternals¡¯ frozen powerhouses appear?¡±

    "Only a few of the Aeternals¡¯ powerhouses were sealed. The entire battle we were fighting was a hoax, and it was because of a conspiracy. The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were almost all Semi-Progenitors, and we were apanied by elites from all Six Mainds, particrly the Dao Chosen. Those youths were all determined at a young age to be talented enough to basically be guaranteed to eventually be Progenitors. When we were all frozen, a generation of future Progenitors was eliminated." Lu Buzheng¡¯s expression was heavy as he shared bleak words.

    Lu Yin looked up. "A generation was eliminated?"

    Lu Buzheng replied, "No, it was actually two generations. Sky Garan was right. We are one generation, while the youths were the next. Humans reached their peak during the Heavens Sect era, but two generations of top experts vanished, and this created arge gap between cultivation generations, which gave the Aeternals an opening. If humanity had continued to develop normally, then powerful Progenitors would have continued to appear inrge numbers. Even if a few of the Dao Monarchs betrayed humanity, it still would not have been enough for a maind to be destroyed.

    "Now that I think about it, the Aeternals plotted against us for far too long. Their schemes can be traced back to earlier periods of the Heavens Sect, back when the universe was still forming."

    "If the Aeternals didn¡¯t have any powerhouses in that frozen battlefield, how were you tricked into fighting there?" Lu Yin wondered. The ancient Semi-Progenitors he had met were not stupid, and the Three Realms Six Dao had also been present during their time.

    Lu Buzheng sighed. "The Aeternals weren¡¯t the only ones who schemed against us. I¡¯ll tell you more about this in the future, as I won¡¯t be able to say anything about it for a while."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Humans became arrogant because of their intelligence, but the Aeternals also possessed a deep wisdom and an unpredictable intelligence. During humanity¡¯s peak in the Heavens Sect era, Aeternus had been looked down upon like an ant. Who could have imagined that the ant would one day overthrow the giant?

    As long as they were intelligent, not even ants could be underestimated.

    "What should I call you?" Lu Yin looked over and asked Lu Buzheng.

    This question left Lu Buzheng rather stumped. He thought for a while. "Although the Lu family is split between the main and branch families, there have never been any sort of strict splits or divisions between the two like in many other families. The two have always gotten along very well, so what do you think? I was called Third Uncle by my juniors in the past, so why don¡¯t you just call me Third Uncle as well?"

    Lu Yin blinked and stared at Lu Buzheng in surprise. "You- who used to call you Third Uncle?"

    "Back in the Heavens Sect era, Lu Tianyi used to call me that. He was our Lu family¡¯s Dao Chosen, and he was at the same level as the Sky Garan that you met," Lu Buzheng answered. Suddenly, the man realized something and got very excited. "You should know about Lu Tianyi, right? What happened to him?¡±

    Lu Yin found this amusing. "So Patriarch Lu Tianyi was a Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era? Was he one of Sky Garan¡¯s peers?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded. "That¡¯s right, they were both Dao Chosen, but Lu Tianyi was much more arrogant than Sky Garan. Well, he also had cause to be that arrogant. How is he?"

    Lu Yin blew out a long breath. "The Lu family haspletely disappeared, so I don''t know if anyone¡¯s dead or alive, but I did hear the name ¡®Lu Tianyi¡¯ from Kui Luo before, and he was an ancient Progenitor from our Lu family. During the Daosource Sect era, he controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Lu Buzheng was not at all surprised to hear that Lu Tianyi had be one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. He looked westward and sighed. "So my little junior rose up to be a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Haha, I said that that kid could do it, but I wasn¡¯t able to see it happen. Honestly, I didn¡¯t think that he would actually rise high enough to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas since it requires one to be ruthless to reach that level, but he did it! Hahahaha, I should tell Sky Garan! I want to see what sort of face he makes.¡±

    "Back then, I didn¡¯t have much to do with the interactions between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but Lu Tianyi was alwayspeting with Sky Garan. Now, if Sky Garan meets his old rival, he¡¯ll have to kneel down and call him ancestor, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin also felt that if Progenitor Lu Tianyi met Sky Garan once again, it would be a quite dramatic reunion. He was also very curious to see what sort of reaction Sky Garan would show when he saw Lu Tianyi.

    ording to Kui Luo, the Lu family had more than one powerful Progenitor in the family, but Lu Tianyi had been the most senior of them all.

    Actually, when Lu Yin thought about things a bit further, the fact that Sky Garan had been able topete with Lu Tianyi, who had clearly been immensely talented, was proof that Sky Garan was far from being someone withmon talent. It was no wonder why, when he had revealed himself as a Dao Chosen, no one had looked down on him.

    Lu Yin really wanted to see him again.

    "Quick! Tell me who else is still in the Lu family? I want to see if there¡¯s anyone else who would recognize me as Third Uncle!" Lu Buzheng asked eagerly.

    At this time, the Ghost Monkey approached with two cups of tea, and he instantly started ttering Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro, Senior, I brought you some tea."

    Lu Buzheng impatiently waved a hand. "Go away."

    Lu Yin took the tea and looked at the Ghost Monkey. "I''ll talk to you in a bit."

    The Ghost Monkey hurriedly replied, "If Seventh Bro has anything you want to know, just tell me. This little monkey knows about everything."

    "That¡¯s not right, that¡¯s not how you referred to me in Aeternus Nation," Lu Yin said as he arched a brow.

 Chapter 2049: The Secret Of The Dao Monarch

    Chapter 2049: The Secret Of The Dao Monarch

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s mouth fell wide open. He simply could not believe that Lu Yin knew about what had happened in Aeternus Nation. After all, it should be impossible, as there had only been corpse kings in Aeternus Nation. How could Lu Yin have known about the monkey calling him ¡°Little Lu?¡± Someone other than one of the corpse kings must have said something, but the only people who had been around other than the corpse kings had been the Specter n. Could one of them have said something? The Ghost Monkey suddenly remembered Silver. That guy had always a smile on his face, but it never touched his eyes.

    "Seventh Bro, Little Monkey has never been disrespectful to you. If I ever have, then I am willing to endure thunder and lightning and never be a Progenitor!" the Ghost Monkey shouted. He soundedpletely sincere.

    Lu Buzheng stared at the Ghost Monkey in surprise, as ordinary cultivators would never dare to make such an oath. It looked like this odd little creature was telling the truth.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin did not believe the Ghost Monkey in the slightest, and he preferred to believe that the Ghost Monkey had never even considered bing a Progenitor.

    After finally driving the Ghost Monkey away, Lu Yin took a sip of the tea. His headache finally eased slightly. "Third Uncle, Progenitor Lu Tianyi is currently the oldest Progenitor powerhouse in the Lu family. However, even if you wanted me to tell you more, I never met him, and I actually can¡¯t tell you anything, as I¡¯ve lost my memory.¡±

    Lu Buzheng sighed. "How sad and pathetic it is to see that our glorious Lu family has fallen this low. I would rather have died in my own era rather than live alone and watch my family fade away."

    Lu Yin set his teacup down. "Third Uncle, tell me about the Heavens Sect era."

    Lu Buzheng replied, "That era¡¯s already gone, and there¡¯s nothing to say about it. All I can tell you is that anyone who appears from that era will have apletely different attitude towards the Aeternals that what you people now hold. Now, it seems that people see the Aeternals as an unbeatable foe, but in our time, the Aeternals were regarded as less than ants."

    Lu Yin interrupted, "The appearance of you all has given us confidence."

    Lu Buzheng was taken aback, but then he considered this perspective for a moment. "Fair enough. Actually, I wanted toment on how the people of our era are inexplicably arrogant. It was an arrogance that arose from the existence of the Heavens Sect, as well as the fact that astral beasts and the Aeternals were both enved by humans. However, it¡¯s also true to say that our presence in this era has truly given you confidence."

    "Wait." A detail had jumped out at Lu Yin, and he stared at Lu Buzheng. "Did you just say ¡®enved?¡¯"

    Lu Buzheng stared back before nodding. "They were ves."

    "Humanity enved the astral beasts?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Lu Buzheng asked, "What''s wrong? Astral beasts are nothing more than mounts for humans. During our era, the Fourth Maind was home to the most astral beasts, and that maind was ruled by Wilderness God, who was another one of the Three Realms Six Dao, and everyone in his Fourth Maind had astral beast ves. He had no choice but to turn a blind eye to such things. It¡¯s quite possible that during our era, the astral beasts saw humans as even worse than how we currently view the Aeternals.

    "Back then when the Aeternals schemed against us, the astral beasts yed a part in it, but that was nothing more than mere conjectures."

    Lu Yin looked eastwards, which was where the Astral Beast Domainy. He felt like something had just shed through his mind, but he could not quite grasp it. He knew that he had just been reminded of something, but he simply could not nail down just what it was that he should be remembering.

    What could it be? very, astral beasts, Wilderness God, the Aeternals¡­ what else was connected to those things? A prediction rted to the astral beasts? Something that could have caused two generations of humanity¡¯s top powerhouses to be eliminated?

    "I just remembered!" Lu Buzheng suddenly yelled. Lu Yin looked over, and the older man was gritting his teeth. "ck-Hearted Hen wants to rebuild the Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Buzheng grew solemn. "Don''t think that ck-Hearted Hen''s attitude actually means that he doesn¡¯t want anything. In fact, this guy is smart and ambitious. He started off as just an ordinary person who did everything he could to get the attention of one of the ancient Dao Monarchs. He trained hard and endured a rigorous selection process, beating out other persistent cultivators to join Team Resolution, which he raised up to be his own power. Also, keep in mind that there were rumors that the guy had the potential to eventually fight for the position of Dao Monarch.

    "It''s no wonder he wanted to form an alliance with those other Semi-Progenitors and is so eager to find Team Resolution. He definitely wants to reestablish the Heavens Sect, break through to the Progenitor realm, and then be one of the Dao Monarchs."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "I get why he wants to be a Progenitor, but why would he care about bing a Dao Monarch? The Daosource Sects are already gone."

    Lu Buzheng exined, "In our time, there was a legend that said that only the Dao Monarchs could learn about certain core secrets of the universe. It was a legend that none of us will ever forget."

    Lu Yin shook his head. This was a legend based on the assumption that the Daosource Sect still stood, but there was only one of the six Daosource Sects still in existence, and it was the Sixth Maind¡¯s. On top of that, the Daosource Sect had already been moved to a different location. What sort of secrets could anyone gain ess to just by bing a Dao Monarch? Hen Xin could already be considered one of the most outstanding experts of the current era, so who was left to share such important secrets with him?

    It was possible that the legend had been true during the Heavens Sect era, as it was possible that humans needed sufficient motivation to continue cultivating.

    Lu Yin had no idea whether Hen Xin would be able to sessfully reestablish the Heavens Sect, but Lu Yin had a hunch that Sky Garan would most likely join. In fact, he would even be eager to do so if there was such an opportunity.

    Another burst of terrible pain struck, and Lu Yin could not stop himself from holding his head. The pain was so severe that he grew dizzy.

    Lu Buzheng shrugged. "Your innate gift backfired, and no one can help you with this. All you can use to recover is time. Until you¡¯ve recovered, yourbat strength will be badly impaired, so it would be best if you just stayed in seclusion and trained. Listen to what that old man told you, and don¡¯t leave Ancestor Tortoise. No one can touch you here."

    The man then turned to look at the divine tree. "Speaking of which, I never imagined that the Mavis family would fall so far."

    The severe pain eased a small bit, and Lu Yin looked over with a pale face. "Was the Mavis family once very powerful?"

    Lu Buzheng replied, "Of course. Their family ruled over the Second Maind, just like our Lu family with the Fifth Maind, and they also had a Dao Monarch. Every nt in the entire universe was under their control, which was why it wasmon sense back then that, if you ever fought against someone from the Mavis family, you should make sure that there were no nts around. Otherwise, you would die without ever understanding what happened. It was epted as fact, just like how anyone fighting against someone from our Lu family would need to do their best to make sure that a direct family member never pulled out their Champions¡¯ Stage.¡±

    "How is that even possible?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Buzheng nodded. "Exactly, how? That¡¯s why the Mavis family was always so strong."

    Lu Yin wanted to find out much more about the Heavens Sect era, but Lu Buzheng refused to say anything more in order to force Lu Yin to rest and recover from his innate gift¡¯s bacsh sooner. ording to Lu Buzheng, just like how Hen Xin wanted to reestablish the Heavens Sect in the current era, Lu Buzheng wanted to reestablish the Lu family and restore the family¡¯s glory.

    Lu Buzheng also had no idea how many Lu family members had been frozen in the sourcebox that had sealed the ancient battlefield.

    Lu Yin entered seclusion, but before that, he made it a point to introduce Lu Buzheng to Wang Wen and the other people closest to Lu Yin. Wang Wen and the others were all asked to help Lu Buzheng find other powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era who had been released from the sourcebox.

    Lu Yin wanted to gather as many ancient powerhouses as possible, as it was impossible to know what the future might hold for the Fifth Maind.

    Also, Lu Yin made sure to remind Wang Wen and the others that they needed to be very careful with the ancient powerhouses. The Great Eastern Alliance had managed to unite the Outerverse, the Innerverse, and given their intimate connection with Leon¡¯s Armada, they possessed a strong presence in the Cosmic Sea as well. Given all the various changes that had recently urred in the Fifth Maind, the Great Eastern Alliance might no longer control all of their previous territory.

    Lu Yin went into seclusion beneath the divine tree.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you can rest assured that you will be safe here as you go into seclusion. Just let Lulu or someone else know if you need anything," Yunying Mavis offered. The Mavis family was essentially tied to Lu Yin at this time, and they intended to follow Lu Yin the moment he left, should he decide to escape to the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin looked around and rubbed his head. "Senior Yunying, I know a bit about your Mavis family, but I¡¯ve never heard anything about your Mavis family pursuing wealth in the ancient times.¡±

    He gave the woman an odd look. ¡°Was it the Lu family who caused you to start your efforts of acquiring wealth?"

    Yunying Mavis shrugged. "We didn¡¯t know how else to try to pay the Lu family back. When ites to making money, nts are the most effective means. How could there be any ce in the universe without nts? Any nt will serve as our eyes and ears."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. This was a horrifying concept. It was no wonder why the Mavis family had been able to control the economy of the entire Fifth Maind. Even if someone wanted to scheme against the Mavis family, it would be nearly impossible to do so. Given the family¡¯s means of collecting information from any and all nts, there was almost no one in the universe who could keep a secret from the family.

    What about me? At this sudden thought, Lu Yin stared intently at Yunying Mavis. "How much do you know about me, Senior?"

    Yunying Mavis remained perfectly calm. "We never spy on our friends, and our ability isn¡¯t as exaggerated as you seem to believe, Alliance Leader Lu. You don''t need to worry."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "By the way, why did your family continue to focus on making money even after the Lu family left the Fifth Maind?"

    "We were just used to it.¡±

    "Really?" Lu Yin continued to look around the area.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll head on out now," Yunying Mavis said.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Is there anyone from the Mavis family among the people who were released from the sourcebox?"

    Yunying Mavis''s expression suddenly grew serious. "It¡¯s possible."

    "Then why didn''t they show up? That fight with the Aeternals was difficult to miss."

    "I couldn¡¯t say, but it¡¯s possible that people are recuperating."

    "Maybe. I hope that there will be more people who can help us," Lu Yin replied. He hesitated for a bit before continuing. "I remember that your Mavis family¡¯s tea is quite delicious. Why don¡¯t we have some?"

    Yunying Mavis''s eye twitched, and she stared at Lu Yin intensely for a moment. "Alliance Leader Lu, most of my Mavis family¡¯s funds are scattered in our various banks, and we don¡¯t keep much here at the divine tree. If you need some money, the most that I can offer to lend you is five billion star essence for your Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s cultivators to use to restore their energy, but that¡¯s truly all I can offer.¡±

    "I¡¯ll have to say thank you, Senior. That will be enough. I''m going to enter seclusion now," Lu Yin instantly responded before turning around and entering a wooden house without a backwards nce.

    Yunying Mavis was left speechless. Lu Yin had endured excruciating pain in order to keep talking to her. She had not understood his intentions at first, but she had eventually figured it out. Lu Yin wanted more star essence, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud, so he had been waiting for Yunying Mavis to reach such a conclusion on her own.

    How could anyone be like that? Yunying Mavis shook her head before turning away and leaving.

    After entering the wooden house, Lu Yin sighed. There was nothing that he could do at this moment. Countless corpse kings had spread across the entire Fifth Maind, and the Great Eastern Alliance needed to eliminate as many of them as soon as possible, but technological weapons would not be enough to aplish that. Cultivators would need to fight, but since all the stellr energy had been sucked from the true universe, people couldn¡¯t even restore their star energy reserves unless they had star crystals or star essence. Lu Yin had been willing to humiliate himself for the sake of his subordinates.

    No, it¡¯s for all of humanity. Lu Yinforted himself.

    He lifted a hand and brought out his die. Suddenly, he became exceptionally vignt, and he nced around. There were no nts within the house, so no one from the Mavis family should be watching him at this moment.

 Chapter 2050: Two Lives

    Chapter 2050: Two Lives

    Wait a second. Lu Yin looked up. He hadpletely forgotten that he was right next to the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. Were they able to monitor him through the divine tree?

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and thought for a bit. Eventually, he decided that it no longer mattered if his die was exposed, as he did not need to keep it hidden anymore. Kui Luo had already seen it during the fight between Undying God and Xia Ji, and it was possible that those two had seen it as well. As for the Mavis family, it was perfectly possible that they had already seen him use his innate gift before he had known about their ability to see and hear through nts.

    Lu Yin was no longer what he had once been, and he was clearly not able to keep himself safe. The Perennial World had sent four Semi-Progenitors to deal with Lu Yin, and he could do anything to anyone of them. Even if his die was revealed, as long as he did not share the specific effects, no one would know what the die was capable of. How could they know how they could benefit from Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift? It was impossible for them to have any concrete ideas.

    Lu Yin moved a finger forward and tapped the die. He was pleasantly surprised to see it slowly stop on four pips. How easy.

    After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin did not immediately start training. Instead, he enjoyed a cup of tea made with one of the Hui family¡¯s inferior Roots of Intelligence and simply rested.

    The bacsh from his innate gift had given him a terrible migraine, but fortunately, he would recover as long as he was given enough time. And after all, who could everpare to him in terms of avable time?

    ¡­

    In a blink of an eye, Lu Yin had spent more than half a year in the Timestop Space, and his headache had finally disappeared. Now, there were only asional re-ups that were not enough to affect his training or hisbat ability.

    However, he still did not start training, but instead pulled out Zenith Mountain. After a moment¡¯s thought, he entered the mountain.

    Zenith Mountain had be quite lively, as aside from Long Xi and a few others, there was also Liu Shaoge, Xia Taili, and more.

    Lu Yin had actually intended to release Xia Taili after he released Wang Su and Wang Yi. However, that was when Hen Xin and the other ancient powerhouses had suddenlyunched their attack on the Aeternals. Thus, Lu Yin had raced into the Innerverse after them without the chance to release the rest of his captives. With how Ni Huang and the others had be dangerous opponents after that fight, it was impossible for Lu Yin to let Xia Taili go.

    Lu Yin appeared right in front of Liu Shaoge and a few others.

    When Lu Yin appeared, Wang Dashuai and Xia Taili reacted the quickest. One of the two frantically ran over to start ttering Lu Yin, while the other raised a leg and kicked at him.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes and easily grabbed hold of Xia Taili''s calf. It was smooth and quite pleasant to the touch.

    "Long Qi, let go of me, you bastard!" Xia Taili was furious that she had been caught, and she red at Lu Yin.

    To the side, Wang Dashuai licked his lips. "Seventh Bro, I finally get to see you again! Seventh Bro, do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

    Lu Yin rxed his grip, but Xia Taili just kicked at him again. This second kick was reinforced with her Divine Martial Armor that had wrapped around her foot in severalyers. Chains appeared as well, and they moved in an attempt to bind Lu Yin. This was the Xia Secret Art: Lock. It was able to transform anything in existence into chains that would bind and trap an opponent.

    Lu Yin did not even dodge, and he simply allowed himself to be captured by the chains. Xia Taili kicked him in the chest, but he did not move even the slightest bit. On the other hand, Xia Taili retreated several steps and almost fell down.

    Her face was flushed with rage. "I don''t believe it!"

    Even as she spoke, she struck out with dozens of palm strikes, attacking every inch of Lu Yin¡¯s body. However, he did not move a muscle while Xia Taili''s hands hurt from her own attacksnding. She finally just stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a monster.

    Lu Yin arched a brow, and the chains that wrapped around his body instantly shattered. He took a single step forward, instantly appearing right behind Xia Taili. She whipped around, using her Divine Martial Armor to form a sharp de, but Lu Yin caught it with his bare hands.

    "You!" Xia Taili lost all of her remaining patience.

    Lu Yin was amused by the girl¡¯s reaction, and he simply flicked a finger to shatter her Divine Martial Armor. "Even if we were still both in the same realm, you would not be anywhere close to being my opponent. Now that I¡¯m an Envoy, forget you, but not even your brother Xia Shenfei can stand up to me."

    "Bullshit! My brother is much better than you!" Xia Taili was not at all convinced.

    Lu Yin smiled, but said nothing. Instead, Wang Dashuai jumped in, ¡°That¡¯s bullshit! My Seventh Bro dealt with all four of the Junior Progenitors on his own! Not even ten Xia Shenfeis would be able to match up to Seventh Bro!"

    Xia Taili shot a re at Wang Dashuai. "My hand¡¯s starting to get itchy."

    Wang Dashuai ducked his head back down. He had just realized that if Lu Yin did not release him from Zenith Mountain, he would stay imprisoned with this woman, and he would not be able to do a thing if she wanted to beat him after Lu Yin left. This realization left Wang Dashuai slightly panicked, and he forced a smile onto his face.

    "Hey, I never did anything to you. I¡¯ve simply locked you up for a bit. That¡¯s all it¡¯s ever been," Lu Yin casually stated.

    Xia Taili snorted disdainfully. Lu Yin¡¯sment was quite upsetting to her. "Is it fun to treat us like your captive monkeys for so long, Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin nced over at Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge, who were both standing nearby. He then looked back at Xia Taili. "It''s not bad."

    Xia Taili ground her teeth. She wanted to bite Lu Yin at this moment.

    "I actually wanted to let you go, but unfortunately, that old guy Xia De simply doesn¡¯t understand the situation, and is getting on my nerves. This means that you just have to put up with this treatment for a bit longer," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Taili spat. "It doesn''t matter. You¡¯ll be caught by the four ruling powers sooner orter."

    "Are you really that confident?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Xia Taili replied, "The four ruling powers have a background that¡¯s beyond anything you can imagine."

    Hearing this, Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been second only to the masters of the Three Realms Six Paths. This meant that the masters of the mountains and seas were Progenitors who were second only to the Dao Monarchs. However, during the Daosource Sect era, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had all been under the control of the Fifth Maind. Thus, those Nine Mountains and Eight Seas must have either been fake and were different from the ones in the Heavens Sect era, or the Fifth Maind must have truly reached its peak during that era. Otherwise, how could a single maind produce enough Progenitors to control all Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at once?

    Lu Yin believed thetter to be true, as he had gone through all sorts of tests for the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas yet had failed every single one of them.

    During the Daosource Sect era, the Xia, Wang, and Bai families all had Progenitors controlling some of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. This had allowed the Fifth Maind to recreate a portion of the glory of the Heavens Sect era by itself. If those Progenitors were all still alive, then Lu Yin indeed needed to reevaluate the estimated power of the four ruling powers.

    He had not yet shared anything about the Daosource Sect era with Lu Buzheng, but Lu Buzheng would definitely have a much better idea of the power of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    "How are things going outside?" Liu Shaoge asked.

    Lu Yin answered, "Not too bad. Humanity¡¯s managed to hold on, though there have been massive changes that you can¡¯t even imagine."

    "What changes? Our elders haven¡¯t left this ce yet." Xia Taili felt quite curious.

    Lu Yin gave her a smile. "Not telling you."

    With that, Lu Yin abruptly left.

    Xia Taili was stunned for a moment, and then she started cursing loudly. She was truly furious at this moment. That bastard Long Qi! No, that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Wang Dashuai''s heart dropped to new depths. Did Lu Yin just leave me in here? Have I been left alone again? This is the end! How long am I going to be stuck here for? It''s over! It''s over! It''s over!

    Suddenly, Wang Dashuai felt a flicker of danger. He slowly turned his head, only to see mes flickering in Xia Taili''s eyes.

    "Did you just say something?" Xia Taili clenched her fists as she stared at Wang Dashuai. She smiled as she carefully enunciated each word. She looked absolutely adorable, but she also had the bearing of a wild animal.

    Wang Dashuai was just about ready to cry. "You misheard."

    The next moment, a miserable scream begging for mercy rang out.

    At this time, Lu Yin was looking at Long Xi.

    Lu Yin had honestly been avoiding Long Xi, as his feelings for her werepletely different from what he felt for anyone else that he had captured. Things were even worse at this time, as Long Xi should know Lu Yin¡¯s true identity now.

    Long Xi was quietly sitting in a small corner of Zenith Mountain. Sapling was dancing and leaping about next to her, and there was also an odd flower a little ways away. This was the flower that Lu Yin had taken from Shamrock World that was able to summon food from anywhere.

    Sapling instantly noticed when Lu Yin appeared, and the nt leaped over and to throw itself into Lu Yin''s arms, causing Lu Yin tough. "Are you having fun?"

    Sapling¡¯s twigs wrapped tight around Lu Yin, and the nt was clearly unwilling to let Lu Yin go again.

    Lu Yin could feel Sapling¡¯s feelings. It did not like being trapped in Zenith Mountain.

    "Don''t worry, I''ll take you out soon," Lu Yinforted.

    Sapling instantly became happy again, and its twigs released Lu Yin as the little tree started bouncing around Lu Yin. It immediately believed everything Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Long Xi.

    Long Xi opened her eyes at this time, and she looked back at Lu Yin. The young woman looked calm, but she could not hide theplex emotions roiling underneath her still demeanor.

    "You know?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi''s eyes dimmed. "You¡¯re him, but you aren¡¯t him."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "That depends on your perspective. You can think of me as him, or you can think of me as Long Qi. Of course, you can also think of me as Lu Yin. It¡¯s your choice."

    Long Xi stared at the ground. Her choice? Those two words were said too easily.

    Lu Yin had no idea how to deal with Long Xi, but he had been thinking about this moment for quite some time. He wanted to learn a few more details about the Daosource Sect era from Long Xi, such as information concerning the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, the grudges between the Lu family and the four ruling powers, and his own past as Lu Xiaoxuan. However, Lu Yin had no idea how to bring up any of these topics.

    "You really arepletely different from him," Long Xi spoke slowly as she avoided looking at Lu Yin. Instead, she continued to stare at the ground. "He¡¯s a cheerful person who likes to make friends, enjoy delicious food, and is always open and sincere with everyone. On the other hand, you use lies, trickery, and keep your thoughts to yourself."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Back then, Lu Xiaoxuan was born into the Lu family, which could be considered the peak of nobility. He was constantly surrounded by only his bosom friends, and he had no enemies or sinister plots to deal with. All he needed to do was focus on his own talent to walk down the path of cultivation. It looked like he had a smooth path to bing an invincible powerhouse, but that future was severed long ago.¡±

    "He was one of the Seven Heroes, and it was widely acknowledged that he was invincible among his peers. He was guaranteed to be a Semi-Progenitor, and even a Progenitor at that. He would inherit his position and then raise up the next generation of the Lu family while protecting humanity. He was someone who rarely had to deal with hardships or struggles, as all of humanity within the Perennial World was always protecting him. He didn¡¯t need to work to acquire anything on his own, as he was casually given anything he could ever want.¡±

    "On the other hand, I started cultivating on a tiny after being condemned with seventy two others with the Lu surname. I was hated for existing before I even started cultivating. After that, I¡¯ve been constantly surrounded by an endless sea of enemies, and I¡¯ve only ever been able to rely on myself. Alone, I¡¯ve had to find a way to survive through every obstacle that has confronted me. You say that I rely on lies, trickery, and cunning, but without those things, I would have never been able to live to see you. You say that I was once an upright and sincere person, and that is only right. If I were still Lu Xiaoxuan, I would still be the same, but that Lu Xiaoxuan died long ago, and his path of cultivation died with him."

    Long Xi listened in silence, and she did not speak a single word of argument. Lu Yin had just described twopletely different lives, despite the odd fact that they belonged to the same person.

    Everyone had liked Lu Xiaoxuan because he had been open, friendly, and loving towards his friends. But Lu Xiaoxuan could not have survived Lu Yin''s life. Lu Xiaoxuan would have never been able to adapt to Lu Yin¡¯s experiences or the people that he had encountered.

    Everyone wanted to be Lu Xiaoxuan, but in the end, everyone became like Lu Yin.

    Lu Xiaoxuan never possessed the capacity to be a legend. Even if he had risen up to be a Progenitor, he would have only ever been another powerful Progenitor of the Lu family. On the other hand, Lu Yin was different. Lu Yin had already be a legend.

    The two young people remained silent. They were apanied only by the sound of Sapling¡¯s leaping about.

    "I''ll let you go. Grand Elder Ni Huang is here, so you can go to him on your own," Lu Yin offered.

    Long Xi finally looked up. "There¡¯s no need."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You don''t want to leave?"

    Long Xi felt confused, and she did not even know her own feelings. She missed Lu Xiaoxuan, and she wanted to smile for him as she always had, but Lu Xiaoxuan was gone now, and only Lu Yin remained. The Lu Xiaoxuan that Long Xi knew would never return, and yet she was still reluctant to leave. All she wanted was to be with him.

    She just did not know if that was the right decision for her.

 Chapter 2051: Two Wishes

    Chapter 2051: Two Wishes

    "What happened between you two?" Lu Yin felt rather curious about the matter, though the atmosphere was also making him more and more ufortable. He was aware that Long Xi had liked Lu Xiaoxuan in the past, and while Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan, he also was not. Was Long Xi treating Lu Yin as a substitute for Lu Xiaoxuan? But Lu Yin had also once been Lu Xiaoxuan¡­

    He simrly felt rather confused, as he could not understand why there was a burst of unhappiness welling out from his heart.

    Long Xi looked up at Lu Yin. "Do you want to know?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I¡¯m just asking, but you don¡¯t have to say anything if you don''t want to."

    Long Xi looked away and calmly replied, "He liked to hold my braids. He would take me to eat all kinds of special food, and he would watch meugh, though he would also make me cry. He once promised to protect me forever, and he said that no one but him could bully me.

    "He used to have that flower."

    This startled Lu Yin. "The flower that can produce delicious food?"

    He reflexively looked over at the flower as he spoke.

    Long Xi looked over as well. "Food Paradise has those flowers, and we used to have fun going there and waiting for different dishes to show up. It would be me, him, the rest of the Seven Heroes, and Tu Qiming. Back then, Tu Qiming would constantly challenge him, and he was always threatening to be the eighth hero. His eyes were always gazing at that woman. If not for her, things would not have turned out this way."

    "Bai Xian''er?" Lu Yin interrupted.

    A tremble ran across Long Xi''s body, but she did not deny Lu Yin¡¯s guess. A cold glint appeared in her eyes as she continued. ¡°That woman hid herself deeper in the shadows than anyone else, and no one could see what she had nned. No one could even imagine that the mighty Lu family wouldpletely disappear overnight. No one wants to think about it.¡±

    "Back then, one of his greatest dreams was to marry that woman, while the other was to recreate the glory of the ancient eras. He said that he wanted to rebuild the Heavens Sect, but those dreams have all disappeared."

    Lu Yin asked, "What was the rtionship between him and Bai Xian''er like?"

    Long Xi once again focused on Lu Yin. "At that time, only the Lu family and their subordinate groups lived in the Higher Realm. Everyone else, even the Bai, Wang, and Xia families, had to stay in the Middle Realm. The Lu family was the unquestionable overlord of the Perennial World. At that time, Bai Xian¡¯er was nothing more than an outer disciple that the Celestial Frost Sect had sent over to attend to the Lu family. We all used to train with him and even served him. All of us believed that Bai Xian''er would eventually be his wife, and that turned out to be urate, as they did get married.

    "On that day, red flowers bloomed across the Perennial World, and it rained flowers. I hid on White Mountain and didn¡¯t go anywhere. By the time I finally went out again, the Lu family was already gone." At this point in her story, Long Xi started quivering again. "That woman looked down upon everyone and announced that the Lu family had betrayed humanity and been eliminated by them. That was the day that the four ruling powers entered the Higher Realm, and it was also the day that the Lu family disappeared.

    "I frantically searched for the Lu family, the Seven Heroes, the Qiming family, and the All-Dao family, but I wasn¡¯t able to find anyone. Even the family of my White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch disappeared that day, including Sister Long Xing. No one wants to mention her anymore, and her name¡¯s beenpletely erased from the family tree, along with the entire family of our old patriarch.

    "I went to see the Liu family, the Nong family, and many, many other people, but not a single person has been able to tell me what happened on that day."

    Lu Yin had no idea at what point in time his hands had clenched into fists. All of his veins were bulging as he imagined the scenario being described.

    "The Perennial World¡¯s changed after that, and history was rewritten. The Lu family can be mentioned, but only as a family that betrayed humanity. They¡¯ve be an evil family who is the object of everyone''s hatred and vitriol. Eventually, even that stopped. Both the Lu family and the Seven Heroes were gradually forgotten by people, and the four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors rose up. The former period of history has beenpletely suppressed." Long Xi continued her long exposition as she unburdened herself of everything that she had kept hidden in her heart for so many years.

    After she finished speaking, she stared at the flower, lost in a daze.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman¡¯s back. "That was also the day that you stopped smiling for anyone."

    Long Xi said nothing, and she kept her back to Lu Yin so that he would not see the expression on her face as tears streamed down. She had notughed or cried since that day. These were her first tears.

    Sapling moved closer to Long Xi, and its branches rubbed against her face. It moved its emerald green leaves against her, as though trying to wipe away her tears.

    Lu Yin spoke up in a soft voice. "Thank you for telling me all of this. If you ever want to leave, just tell me, and I¡¯ll let you go."

    He then moved to leave.

    Long Xi suddenly spoke up again. "Everyone knows that you are Lu Xiaoxuan, which means that the four ruling powers will never let you go. Their Envoys, Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitors are all keeping an eye on you, but the person you should be the most wary of is that woman.

    "I remember he once said that her talent is something that¡¯s rare throughout history. He was already exceptionally talented, as were all the Seven Heroes, but it¡¯s possible that she surpassed them all. She has both an unmatched talent for cultivation, as well as a certain darkness to her, making her the most terrifying being in the universe."

    "I see," Lu Yin replied. With that, he finally left Zenith Mountain.

    Bai Xian''er. He had seen the woman in the past. First, it was in a dream that he had fallen into from the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s Stargazing Deck, and thenter during his breakthrough to the Envoy realm. When the odd resonance had urred and space had ovepped, he had looked at a certain woman who had been staring at him. She had not been a stranger to him, and precisely because of that, he would never risk underestimating her.

    In fact, Lu Yin had never been as guarded, even when confronting Semi-Progenitors like Ni Huang, as he had been when he saw that woman.

    Lu Yin did not need Long Xi''s cautious reminder, as Bai Xian''er had always been the enemy that Lu Yin was the wariest and curious towards.

    Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain back away within the Timestop Space, and he then stared off into the distance in a daze.

    Long Xi only knew about the Lu family from the time of Lu Xiaoxuan''s generation, and given her age at that time, she had not even known much about the Seven Heroes. All she had paid attention to had been eating, drinking, and ying.

    However, she had known one bit of valuable information: Lu Xiaoxuan had actually dreamed of rebuilding the Heavens Sect.

    The Heavens Sect should have been a mystery to Lu Xiaoxuan, as it was a name from a truly ancient era. With the destruction of most of the Six Mainds, the name of the Heavens Sect had long since faded away into history, though it had not be a secret to the Lu family. They had always existed.

    The Lu family''s knowledge of the Heavens Sect era had likely not been any less than what Lu Buzheng and the other ancient powerhouses possessed. In fact, the Lu family might have even known more, simply because of their Progenitors.

    It was nothing unusual for Lu Xiaoxuan to have known about the Heavens Sect, but what was strange was his dream of rebuilding the Heavens Sect.

    A person who had never personally witnessed the glory of the Heavens Sect era had dreamed of rebuilding it. It sounded like a flight of whimsy, but the truth was that it would be an incredibly challenging project.

    Lu Yin looked down at his hands. Since Lu Xiaoxuan had also held the wish to rebuild the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin should try to aplish that as well. In the past, he had been a mere Explorer when he had dared to set down the path of unifying the Outerverse. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status, there was nothing wrong with him trying to rebuild the Heavens Sect.

    ¡­

    The Neoverse was calm. After the passage to the Starfall Sea was blocked off and the Progenitor of Bloodlines had appointed himself and four Semi-Progenitors as guardians of the remaining gap in the passage, the Neoverse had be peaceful once more. Although, a horde of corpse kings had been scattered across the Fifth Maind.

    The only difference that could be seen from before everything had happened was that it was no longer possible to restore stellr energy.

    It waspletely impossible to do so even in the Honor Zone, and there was no ce in the entire Neoverse where anyone could replenish their stellr energy. The final strongholds that humanity had established after uniting had already been disbanded.

    The Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind¡¯s forces had already left Gods'' Origin, and the Seven Courts had departed from the Honor Zone to return to Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    Once the Court of Seven Names arrived at the mausoleum, ready to settle back into their homes, they found a group of people standing in space and staring at Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum.

    "Who are you?" Ku Pu yelled loudly as he stared up ahead in fear. These people were all very calm, and they were simply standing in the middle of outer space without letting any hint of their aura leak out. He felt his heart begin to race, as though he was confronting a terrifying monster.

    It was an instinctive fear.

    One of the people turned around.

    Ku Pu was taken aback. "Senior Xia Ji?"

    The patriarchs of the Ce, Y¨­u, Hui, and Xie families, as well as their most powerful elders, all stepped forward and offered a bow. ¡°We greet Senior."

    Xia Ji nodded. "From now on, the Seven Courts will change."

    Hui Zhi, the patriarch of the Hui family, was caught off guard. "What do you mean by that, Senior?"

    Xia Ji answered indifferently, "Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum belonged to Xia Shang, who was my Xia family¡¯s ancestor. There¡¯s no need for you all to protect it. It belongs to my Xia family alone. You can join my Xia family, and I will still protect you, but if you choose not to, then you must leave."

    Hui Zhi and the others nced at each other in astonishment. "Senior, our families all agreed in ancient times to form the Court of Seven Names to work together to protect Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, and all of us even swore an oath. Do you want to unterally break that oath and agreement, Senior?"

    Before Xia Ji could say a word, Xia De turned around. "He has not broken that oath. I am the one making these decisions. I am Xia De."

    Ce Laoyan was shocked. "The Semi-Progenitor from the Perennial World¡¯s army?"

    Naturally, all the patriarchs and elders were aware of the Perennial World¡¯s army, and they had even learned of the identities of the people leading it. However, they had never expected Xia De to team up with Xia Ji, and this was certainly not the only surprise; it appeared that a leader of the Perennial World¡¯s army held an even higher status than Xia Ji.

    "Since you know of the Perennial World, you should already understand that my Xia family is the ones who own Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. The only reason why my family agreed to work with you all to protect it was to deal with the Hall of Honor. There is no longer any need for that, as even if the Hall of Honor was ten times more bold, they would never dare to make trouble for us. Choose: you can join my Xia family, or you can leave alone. We will not force you either way," Xia De stated.

    Hui Kong stepped forward and stared straight at Xia De. "For many years, all of us have protected Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum from other various powers. Our dedication and efforts are credit enough toy our im here. Wanting to drive us away so casually is too much."

    Bai Laogui grew impatient. "Be gone! Enough of your nonsense."

    Hui Kong became furious. "You!"

    He was just about to continue when Ce Yue stopped the man. ¡°All of them are Semi-Progenitors."

    There was a qualitative difference between a Semi-Progenitor and a peak Envoy. Even with the restrictions of the mentalwork in ce, any Semi-Progenitor could easily deal with the patriarchs and great elders of these families. On top of that, the families were being confronted by multiple Semi-Progenitors.

    "Then what should we do? Just abandon Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum?" Hui Kong angrily demanded.

    Ku Rong spoke up, "Senior Semi-Progenitors, stellr energy can no longer be gathered, and so we were hoping to work together to find an alternative means ofbat. To do this, we need to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. Long ago, Progenitor Chen¡¯s colossal giant clone cultivated his battle force to the extreme, and we hope to use that to fight back against the Aeternals."

    Hen Xin turned to stare at Ku Rong. "You want to train your battle force to the limit? There¡¯s no need to rely on Progenitor Chen. I can teach you."

    Ku Rong and everyone else present were left stunned. "Senior, have you cultivated battle force to that level?"

    Hen Xin did not answer with words, instead simply releasing an invisible power that spread out and epassed everyone from the Seven Courts. The void started to warp and burn. This was aurelian force.

    Hui Kong and the other powerhouses felt the unbelievably terrifying aura. Each of them felt as though they could be consumed in an instant.

    Almost as soon as the aurelian force appeared, it vanished once again. Hen Xin calmly stared at the patriarchs and elders. "Stay here. I can teach you."

 Chapter 2052: Be My Disciple

    Chapter 2052: Be My Disciple

    Aplicated expression appeared on Ku Rong¡¯s face, and he turned to look at Hui Kong and the others.

    Without ess to more stellr energy, they needed to find alternativebat methods for future battles. Even without the threat of the Aeternals, they still needed to find some other means to fight with, or else the other powers would surpass them. At this moment, they had the method to train up aurelian force right in front of them, and it was even being made readily avable to them. The only price they needed to pay was their obedience.

    Hui Zhi was the first to respond, "I''m sorry, but I can''t stay here."

    Right after that, Ku Pu, Y¨­u Kexin, Ce Laoyan, and Xie Ahua all responded. Not one of them was willing to remain if it required them to obey Hen Xin''s orders.

    Bai Laogui fixed a cold stare onto all the patriarchs and elders. "If you aren¡¯t going to stay, then get lost and don¡¯t bother us."

    Hui Zhi and the others nced at each other again and shook their heads. The gave onest, reluctant look at Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. Their only choice was to leave.

    Only Xia Yi and the other members of the Xia family remained behind.

    Xia Meng''s face had an unnatural expression on it. The Court of Seven Names had beenpletely disbanded. The Seven Courts no longer existed.

    "Nothing but trash," Bai Laogui contemptuously spat out. Without a Semi-Progenitor, the families could not qualify to even enter his sight.

    Hen Xin frowned. The truth was that he was eager to control the Seven Courts, but the timing was just not right. If he tried to forcefully suppress them, then he would attract the attention of the Hall of Honor and others. Besides, Hen Xin simply did not want to use force to cow the families. He needed to find the means to have everyone take the initiative to turn to him and follow his lead.

    Off in the distance, Hui Zhi and the other elders and patriarchs were discussing their destination after leaving Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. They no longer had a home, and they could no longer stay anywhere in the Neoverse. This was mostly due to the fact that they needed to find an alternative battle method to stellr energy. None of their families focused on battle force, domains, or spiritual force. At best, they had toyed with such methods for fun, but none of the families had spent any real effort or focus on gathering cultivation arts or battle techniques for these methods. At this moment, they wanted to learn those methods, but given their status, they needed to reach the peak of their chosen fields.

    "Actually, I can think of a way for us to learn the necessary techniques and aurelian force without being tied down. At the very least, given our strength, we should be able to demand certain conditions," Ku Pu mentioned.

    Everyone turned to look at him.

    He spoke slowly, "The Great Eastern Alliance. Lu Yin."

    Everyone was caught off guard, and Ce Laoyan was the first to voice his reluctance. "Lu Yin is too ambitious. What would be the difference between turning to him and those Semi-Progenitors just now? Don''t forget, we currently need to find a ce for ourselves in the Fifth Maind, and no matter where we go, there will be a Semi-Progenitor protecting the ce. Both the Honor Zone and the Great Eastern Alliance have their own Semi-Progenitors."

    "We must also be protected by Semi-Progenitors, otherwise once the Aeternals dispatches their own Semi-Progenitors, we will be finished," Y¨­u Kexin interjected.

    Hui Zhi frowned. "I really don¡¯t want to turn to Lu Yin. That kid-¡±

    Just as he was about to continue, the patriarch noticed that Hui Kong¡¯s expression was darkening, so Hui Zhi took a moment before continuing. ¡°That kid is a bit reckless."

    "What sort of conditions do you want?" Hui Kong was noticeably upset.

    Hui Zhi was speechless, as he had purposefully not spoken ill of Lu Yin. As for the conditions¡­ "Lu Yin has not cultivated aurelian force himself, so how is he supposed to help us with that?"

    "I think that it would be good for us to find Brother Lu. He built the Tower of the Fifth, and there are records regarding how to cultivate battle force even on the first level of the tower. Those records specifically mention aurelian force, as well as the Void God realm of domain mastery. Both of those things should be able to help with what we need, and Brother Lu also has a Semi-Progenitor protecting him. Not to mention, he has a pretty good rtionship with Arch-Elder Zen and the other top powerhouses. Overall, he¡¯s a much better choice than caving in to Xia Ji and those people," Hui Kong said.

    Xie Ahua smiled. "I also agree. Master Lu is actually quite well-behaved."

    Ce Laoyan softlymented, ¡°If we flee from the Neoverse to the Outerverse, we¡¯ll find it harder to return the more time that passes."

    Ce Yue shook his head. "What¡¯s the difference between the Neoverse and the Outerverse now? It¡¯s impossible to restore stellr energy in either ce."

    Hui Zhi spoke up, "Even if we do decide to go to Lu Yin, we must first consider what conditions we want. We can¡¯t simply rely on his mercy."

    "Of course that¡¯s impossible." Ku Pu nced around at everyone gathered. "At the very least, we need to demand to form an alliance with him, just as he did with the Mavis family."

    "I agree," Y¨­u Kexin replied.

    After a bit further discussion, everyone eventually agreed that they would travel to the Outerverse to speak with Lu Yin.

    One thing that no one had mentioned was that Lu Yin had managed to travel to the Perennial World without relying on the Hall of Honor. Given that it might be possible for the Fifth Maind to endure against the Aeternals, following Lu Yin might allow their families to escape to the Perennial World.

    From the moment that Xia Ji had decided to follow Xia De and acknowledge the Perennial World¡¯s Xia family as his ancestors, it had been inevitable for the Seven Courts to fracture. There was no longer any reason for the Xia family to be a part of the Seven Courts, as they no longer required any help protecting Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    At the edge of the Cosmic Sea, Jue Yi appeared near Gaia''s Swamp. He stared at the death energy roiling about that made up Gaia''s Swamp, and excitement filled his eyes. "I found it! This really is death energy!"

    As he spoke, he entered the swamp.

    Just a short timeter, the massive castle within Gaia''s Swamp shattered, and Lord Piggy fled in terror while shrieking the entire time.

    The Warden was half-copsed on his knees, his teeth tightly clenched as sweat poured off of him. As for Jue Yi, he quietly stood atop the giant¡¯s head. "You aren¡¯t bad. I could allow you to follow me and cultivate death energy, but unfortunately, you are a giant. Your race was created by an ancient Dao Monarch, and the sight of you fills me with hate."

    The man then gently moved a foot, and the Warden¡¯s head was struck viciously. He was sent flying, and he crashed into the distance, already unconscious.

    Against a Semi-Progenitor like Jue Yi, the Warden had no strength to fight back.

    Just a short ways away, L¨¸ Cha watched in horror as Jue Yi slowly approached her. She was trembling uncontrobly, but she was alsopletely unable to move or flee.

    When Jue Yi arrived in front of L¨¸ Cha, he stretched out a hand and lifted her chin. ¡°Aside from that kid, you are the second person I have encountered in this era who cultivates death energy. Follow me, and I will lead you to a different world and a new life."

    While L¨¸ Cha was terrified of Jue Yi, her hatred of death energy gave her the courage to speak up in a hoarse voice. "I don''t want to be part of the Specter n!"

    Jue Yi frowned. "Another traitor? That¡¯s interesting. Are there really so many in this era who have betrayed the God of Death? You may not want to cultivate death energy, but I want you to. The more you want to betray the God of Death, the more impossible such a thing is. I want you to spread the knowledge of death energy to this era."

    L¨¸ Cha hated the very idea of such a future. "I refuse!"

    Jue Yi sneered. "You don¡¯t have a choice. Now, I want to know how you managed to cultivate death energy."

    Even as he spoke, his death energy seeped in through L¨¸ Cha''s ears. The woman quickly grew sluggish, and she became much like a puppet.

    Not long after, Jue Yi looked up. "Aeternus Nation? What a shame that the God of Death¡¯s descendants turned to the Aeternals. However, that death energy cannot be wasted."

    As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed L¨¸ Cha and started moving towards the Neoverse. He intended to search for clues as to the location of Aeternus Nation. After all, a ce with abundant death energy was best suited for him.

    In the Honor Zone, the original site of Mt. Microcosms was in ruins. It had been reduced to a wastnd after the battle with the Seven Skygods, and Arbitration World had been shattered. Fortunately, the Lockbreakers World and CyNet World were both still standing.

    During the Aeternals¡¯ invasion, the ruins of Mt. Microcosms had be humanity¡¯s greatest stronghold of resistance. It had hosted the Seven Courts, the 3,000 hidden worlds, and the many powerhouses of the Hall of Honor itself. Even though Mt. Microcosms was gone, the wastnd that had been left behind had been built back up as quickly as possible along the mountains that surrounded where Mt. Microcosms had once stood.

    At this moment, an overseers¡¯ council meeting had just ended.

    The council handled manyplicated matters regarding the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain, and given the current situation and the chaos in the entire Fifth Maind, the overseers had been meeting constantly. Not only had they needed to address the issue of the Aeternals, but they also needed to discuss the appearance of the ancient powerhouses and how to deal with them.

    After thistest meeting finally ended, Big Sis, Lei Qingqing, stared at a table covered with delicious food and then started crazily devouring it.

    At this moment, she had the appearance of a gorgeous woman with an absolutely massive belly that waspletely at odds with the rest of her body. In crude terms, she looked as though she was pregnant with a hundred fetuses that she would never be able to give birth to.

    Of course, no one would ever dare say such a thing in front of Big Sis.

    The attitude of the entire overseers¡¯ council hadpletely changed after Big Sis became an overseer. Originally, the council had been somber, cautious, and intent on demonstrating the properly overbearing demeanor of a superior. Big Sis¡¯s presence had given the meetings the atmosphere of a street market.

    Despite this change in atmosphere, the council¡¯s authority had not diminished at all. Every decision that the council made and announced could affect the entire Human Domain.

    "More! More!" Big Sis was eating all the food before her ravenously. Ever since she had taken on her current appearance, she had felt like she was starving to death, and she was hungry all the time.

    Even as she was eating, she was surrounded by a group of people. All of them looked terrified by what they saw.

    "Overseer Lei, Overseer San Liang has asked to see you," someone announced.

    Big Sis waved a hand. "Send him in."

    San Liang soon entered the room, and he swallowed when he saw the massive expanse of food on the table. He carefully said, "Um, Big Sis. I need to tell you something."

    "Don''t worry about it. We¡¯ll talk after I finish eating." Big Sis picked up a pot of wine and drank a mouthful. Her stomach kept heaving and roiling, and she felt nauseous for a moment. San Liang had no choice but to stare at Big Sis¡¯s head and face. Truthfully, her current face was more than stunning, and it waspletely iparable to the rough bearded face she had possessed before.

    San Liang continued waiting while Big Sis devoured more and more food. There was no way to tell how long she would eat for before they started the discussion. All the people and attendants had already left, so San Liang was alone with Big Sis.

    "More! More!" Big Sis still felt unsatisfied as she kicked the table away. "What''s up? Didn''t I tell you to not stop?"

    Suddenly, she nced around and suddenly froze. Where was everyone?

    Big Sis¡¯s reaction caused San Liang to wake from his daze, and he coughed. "Big Sis, are you done eating?"

    Big Sis made a gesture with her head for him to be silent. She simply stared at San Liang.

    The man was terrified by this stare, and he made to speak.

    Big Sis nodded. "Who are you?"

    San Liang feltpletely confused; what was going on? Did Big Sis no longer recognize him? He tried to speak again, but before he could say a word, a pleasant voice spoke up from behind him. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. I didn¡¯t expect to see you be like this."

    San Liang trembled, and he whipped around. There was nothing to see, but he suddenly lost consciousness.

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a massive war de appeared in her hand that looked a great deal like Highsage Leon¡¯s weapon. She stepped forward and swept the sword across. "Who are you?"

    A white cloud appeared before Big Sis¡¯s face. It made no attempt to dodge the war de.

    Big Sis pulled her head back, and her pupils constricted. How was this possible? She was an Enlighter with a power level of almost 400,000; how could her full-powered attack do absolutely nothing at all to this white cloud?

    "Do you not remember me?" the cloud spoke asked, "I''m Destina. Have you forgotten about me?"

    Big Sis felt confused. "Ming who? Who are you?"

    "Did you really forget?" Destina felt genuinely surprised, but she maintained the appearance of a white cloud and did not reveal herself.

    Big Sis stared at the cloud with a frown. "You¡¯re someone from the ancient era."

    Destina¡¯s voice grew more casual. "I found many people from that era, but I came to you first. Unfortunately, it seems that you really did forget. In that case, I will remind you."

    "What are you talking about?" Big Sis feltpletely puzzled.

    "How about I ept you as my disciple?" Destina suddenly offered.

 Chapter 2053: Returning To The Daosource Sect

    Chapter 2053: Returning To The Daosource Sect

    Big Sis clenched her fists tightly. "I don¡¯t need that."

    "I am a Semi-Progenitor. In this era, there is no one who is my opponent except for powerful Progenitors. I can teach you the way of Destiny. Be my disciple, and you will never lose," Destina said.

    Big Sis sneered. "You¡¯re looking for the wrong person. Destiny? You should go see the Starsibyl Sect. I don''t believe in Destiny. All I believe in is the de in my hand."

    "This is just the same as before. This simply doesn''t make sense. Come with me. I need to go find the person I''m looking for." Right then, the white cloud wrapped around Big Sis¡¯s head.

    At that same moment, a stern shout echoed, "Who is it?"

    Arch-Elder Zen appeared, and he red at the white cloud. "Who are you?"

    "This has nothing to do with you," Destina replied indifferently. The white cloud started to disappear.

    Arch-Elder Zen became furious. "Release her!"

    As he spoke, a stream of ancestral qi shot out and smashed into the white cloud.

    The cloud disappeared entirely, though Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s ancestral qi waspletely drained.

    He stared at the empty room in shock. Who had that been? With the suppression of the mentalwork, unless someone was able to brazenly resist the suppression like Ancient God, it was impossible topletely outss another Semi-Progenitor. However, the white cloud had disappeared before Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s face, and he had been unable to do anything to stop or even sense where it had gone.

    What was that white cloud? Why had it captured Lei Qingqing?

    With this question, Arch-Elder Zen immediately tried to call Highsage Grandmaster. Lei Qingqing was a part of Leon¡¯s Armada, which made her part of Eversky Ind.

    The Human Domain¡¯swork had be unreliable, so Arch-Elder Zen used his wireless jincan to call Highsage Grandmaster.

    After receiving the message from Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster quickly went to find Highsage Leon.

    "What? Qingqing¡¯s been captured?" Highsage Leon was shocked, and his face betrayed his anger. His breathing even grew erratic.

    Highsage Grandmaster felt rather curious about the matter. "Qingqing was clearly captured by an ancient powerhouse, and not even Arch-Elder Zen was able to stop them. In fact, he never even saw the person¡¯s appearance. How could Qingqing have drawn the attention of an ancient expert?"

    Highsage Leon panted heavily for a moment. He eventually gritted his teeth and quietly answered, "Master, do you remember how Qingqing¡¯s appearance keeps changing?"

    "You said that it''s because of a problem with her cultivation art. I once asked you to bring her to me, but you never did." Highsage Grandmaster took a moment to think back before answering.

    Highsage Leon shook his head. "It''s not really a problem with her cultivation art, but rather something that Qingqing was born with. I was amazed by it when I first picked her up. Her appearance keeps changing, but I could never figure out why. On top of that, the changes are not superficial, as her entire body changes. It¡¯s as though she bes someone else entirely.

    "The reason I didn''t take her to you, Master, is that Qingqing didn''t want anyone else to know about it and start treating her like she¡¯s some kind of monster."

    Highsage Grandmaster grew solemn. "If that¡¯s the case, then Qingqing may not have a simple background. She might possess some other identity if she¡¯s able to cause even an ancient powerhouse to move against her."

    "Master, I beg you! Save Qingqing!" Highsage Leon pleaded as he stared at Highsage Grandmaster.

    The older man shrugged. "If I knew where Qingqing is, I would at least try, but I don''t even know where to find her. How can I save her?"

    Highsage Leon started to get increasingly worried. This was very true; how could Qingqing be saved if they did not even know where she was?

    Despite Eversky Ind¡¯s influence, no trace of Qingqing could be found anywhere. After thinking about the matter, Highsage Leon felt that his only choice was to tell Lu Yin and have the Great Eastern Alliance also search for Qingqing.

    ***

    In the Outerverse, Lu Yin opened his eyes. Only a few days had passed since he had gone into seclusion, but he had already recovered from his innate gift¡¯s bacsh within the Timestop Space. However, Lu Yin could not leave seclusion, as Lu Buzheng would instantly notice the change.

    Lu Yin did not yet trust this Third Uncle, as he barely knew the man. What Lu Yin did know was that there had been traitors within the Lu family.

    However, even if he was supposed to be in secluded training, Lu Yin had no idea what to train. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra needed to be recited, so should he focus on that? The Cosmic Art needed to be cultivated with stellr energy, as did the Inverse Step and sourcebox arrays. Without stellr energy, Lu Yin¡¯s options were actually quite limited, and his battle strength had fallen considerably.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He remembered something, so he quickly pulled out the yellow futon from his cosmic ring.

    He had forgotten all about the Daosource Sect ruins, as well as the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. Fortunately, he had remembered it, or else he would have eventually greatly regretted the oversight.

    After Lu Yin had received Mister Mu¡¯s teachings about the technique, Lu Yin¡¯s expectations for the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation had soared. After all, he had abandoned the opportunity to learn a space-time battle technique in order to ept the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation¡¯s true potential. If he was forced to return to the Perennial World, he might lose the opportunity to enter the Daosource Sect ruins and absorb the rest of the cauldron energy. He needed to use this opportunity to do so.

    Lu Yin intended to do just that, so he immediately sat down upon the futon. He then instantly reappeared in futon za in the ruins. The entrance to the First Divine Gate was not far away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s original goal was to absorb more cauldron energy, but upon his arrival, he was shocked to discover that the Daosource Sect ruins still possessed stellr energy.

    The stellr energy in the ruins was not being devoured by the droplets, and the true universe remained quite stable.

    This discovery left Lu Yin overjoyed. This meant that as long as humanity¡¯s powerhouses were able to enter the ruins, they would be able to recover their stellr energy reserves.

    A person appeared off in the distance after just arriving in the futon za as well. They did not notice Lu Yin¡¯s presence and rather nervously raced off into the First Divine Gate, quickly disappearing.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had no idea if anyone else was aware that there was still stellr energy in the Daosource Sect ruins. It was possible that things were not that simple. People were selfish, and it was possible that those who had discovered this matter had not said anything to anyone else.

    Even though the Sixth Maind had a great number of yellow futons, it was still a limited number. Even if word of the stellr energy in the ruins spread, it would only spread among a select number of people, and it would not spread from there. In particr, the Fifth Maind would never learn of it.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had remembered to visit the ruins. As soon as he left this ce, he would need to find a way to get more futons from the Sixth Maind for the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses to enter the Daosource Sect. Actually, Lu Yin did not know if it was even possible for a Semi-Progenitor to enter the ruins.

    He quickly rose to his feet and reached the Budding Terrace after passing through the First Divine Gate. He then made his way straight to the Nine Cauldrons Region.

    Lu Yin believed that not many powerhouses would be protecting the Nine Cauldrons at this moment, as there were most likely not very many people from the Sixth Maind throughout the entire ruins. Even if word of the presence of stellr energy spread within the Sixth Maind, the people in the Daosource Sect ruins first needed to leave and then spread the word. The Sixth Maind was in chaos in the Outerverse, and the people who normally entered the ruins were currently upied with other tasks. However, as time passed, more and more people would return to the Daosource Sect ruins.

    Lu Yin approached the Nine Cauldrons Region, and just to be careful, he used the Mask of Death before entering the region.

    Looking around, he saw that there were still five huge cauldrons filling the area. Lu Yin had already shattered four of the cauldrons, and he had even started absorbing the cauldron energy from the fifth cauldron.

    He nced around cautiously. One, two. There were only two people present. One was not even an Explorer, but the other was an old acquaintance of Lu Yin¡¯s: Qiu He.

    Qiu He acted as a servant to one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, Zhi Yi. Lu Yin had fought against the man when the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, and at that time, Qiu He had only been a Hunter. Still, he had possessed a level of strength that was nearlyparable to the Ten Arbiters. The man had since be an Enlighter, showing that he was truly a talented cultivator. Unfortunately for Qiu He, Lu Yin had already far, far surpassed him.

    Qiu He was moving around within one of the cauldrons, trying to sense something. He did not even notice Lu Yin''s arrival.

    Lu Yin knocked the man out with a single blow, and he did the same to the Explorer who was present. He then entered the fifth cauldron and continued absorbing its cauldron energy.

    Stellr energy had beenpletely drained from the true universe, but while the Nine Suns Cauldron Transformation was a battle technique, it did not necessarily have to use stellr energy. It could be used with death energy just as well, as long as Lu Yin had sufficient death energy.

    No matter what, even if he was unable to use theplete Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation for the rest of his life, Lu Yin still wanted to learn the full technique. That way, he would not feel as if he had given up on that space-time battle technique for nothing.

    He still felt quite stressed whenever he remembered that space-time battle technique. All space-time techniques were invaluable, so why had Mister Mu not simply taught Lu Yin both of the techniques?

    ¡­

    Many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s people had gathered at the Outerverse¡¯s central weaves, as it had be an oasis for a long time after stellr energy had started being devoured from the true universe. However, after the battle in front of the passage to the Starfall Sea, more of the mysterious droplets had been scattered across the Fifth Maind, and the entire Outerverse had be deprived of stellr energy. After this development, the Sixth Maind¡¯s people had instead gathered around their Daosource Sect.

    Very recently, a bit of news had started to quietly circte among a few people: supposedly, there was still stellr energy within the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins.

    This information spread out very slowly at first, and it was something that only those with futons knew of. But for some reason, someone without a futon had forcibly stolen a futon and entered the ruins to confirm the rumors. People were only able to remain within the ruins for a month at most, and this depended on their individual strength.

    Most of the people who possessed futons were members of the younger generation, so it would be considered impressive if they could remain within the ruins for even half a month.

    Because of this, word of the presence of stellr energy within the ruins began to spread, and it had eventually reached the ears of the more powerful cultivators. Hunters, Enlighters, and even Envoys eventually learned of the matter.

    Finally, Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao learned of the rumors.

    Jiu Yao solemnly stared at a futon in front of him. "Release this order: lock down this news entirely and gather up all the futons at once."

    With a Semi-Progenitor giving the order, the news waspletely locked down. Aside from a few cultivators from the Sixth Maind, no one else knew of this matter. In particr, no one from the Perennial World or the Fifth Maind had learned of it. Without futons, it was impossible for anyone to enter the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins, with the exception of Lu Yin who had gone into seclusion.

    "Can we go there to replenish our stellr energy?" Lan Sian asked Jiu Yao.

    Jiu Yao shook his head. "Given our strength, it will take us a very long time to leave after entering. It would not be good if a battle breaks out after we go in."

    Lan Xian''s eyes glittered. "Don¡¯t you want to take the stellr energy from there?"

    Jiu Yao considered the matter for a while. "Don¡¯t release any of the futons, and no one is allowed to enter the ruins anymore. There¡¯s no point in letting Envoys recovering their reserves, so the stellr energy needs to be reserved for you, me and our other Semi-Progenitors."

    "I believe that the Fifth Maind still has a few futons. Even if no one else has one, Lu Yin definitely does," Lan Xian warned.

    Jiu Yao was unconcerned. "As long as you hold all the futons, what does it matter even if they learn that there is stellr energy in that ce? Can Lu Yin absorb all the stellr energy that¡¯s in there?"

    "But he can let the Semi-Progenitors borrow his futon," Lan Xian retorted.

    Jiu Yao frowned. If this happened, it would spell trouble for them. Even though the Fifth Maind did not possess very many futons, if there were enough for their Semi-Progenitors to use, the Sixth Maind would be instantly out-numbered. It was also unknown if the Daosource Sect ruins held enough stellr energy for any of the Semi-Progenitors topletely restore their reserves. "Prepare yourself. We will go in and recover our strength as soon as possible."

    Jiu Yao looked over at Lan Xian. "Why did you save Lu Yin?"

    Lan Xian embraced her instrument, and her eyes sparkled as she replied, "I need his blood."

    "What about Herb Immortal?" Jiu Yao asked.

    Lan Xian answered, "I don''t know. You¡¯ll have to ask him directly."

    Jiu Yao shook his head. "My Sixth Maind and the Fifth Maind have been enemies for generations. Without the threat of the Aeternals, we will be forced to fight again. If you simply want that child¡¯s blood, then it doesn¡¯t matter, but if there¡¯s something else to this, then you can¡¯t me me for being ruthless."

    ¡­

 Chapter 2054: Chu Yuan And Heluo Mavis

    Chapter 2054: Chu Yuan And Heluo Mavis

    Lu Yin had spent less than a month in the Daosource Sect ruins absorbing cauldron energy in the Nine Cauldrons space when the fifth cauldron grew close to shattering.

    No one else had entered the space during this half month.

    This surprised Lu Yin, as he expected more people to enter the ruins from the Sixth Maind. As word spread that there was still stellr energy in the ruins, more people should visit the ce. Why was this not the case?

    The only possibility was that someone was controlling the people with futons and preventing them from entering the ruins.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. If he were Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, he would immediately seize control of the futons and lock down the information regarding the Daosource Sect ruins. Everyone would be forbidden from entering the ce, and it would be reserved for the Semi-Progenitors to recover.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face turned cold at this thought. If this was how the Sixth Maind was going to do things, then he absolutely had to lend his futon to Kui Luo and the other Semi-Progenitors as soon as he left the ruins. That way, they would be able to enter and restore their stellr energy reserves first.

    At this moment, it had be a race, and Lu Yin had to make sure that Kui Luo and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind entered the ruins before Jiu Yao and the others from the Sixth Maind.

    After checking the time, Lu Yin realized that he still had half a month¡¯s time left in the ruins.

    It was at this moment that someone else entered the Nine Cauldrons Region. Lu Yin started to get excited, as someone had finally appeared.

    There was a person standing at the entrance, a man.

    The moment the man entered the region, he looked straight at the cauldron where Lu Yin was absorbing cauldron energy.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly went wide, and rms sounded within his mind. This person was a true expert, there was no denying it.

    The man stood in the air and stared at the cauldron with both surprise and curiosity. He then took a step forward. He next appeared right on top of the cauldron, and he looked down to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not move, and he kept his head lowered, focusing on absorbing the cauldron energy. Still, he had already prepared himself and was able to fight at any moment.

    The neer had instantly sensed Lu Yin¡¯s location, which meant that his strength was extraordinary.

    Could this person be some five-tribtion expert from the Sixth Maind? Maybe even a six or seven-tribtion Envoy? The man did not possess that sort of aura, as even though he gave off a sense of danger, the strange man seemed closer to Lu Yin¡¯s level of cultivation. He was most likely only a one or two-tribtion Envoy.

    Was there any person from the Sixth Maind who was able to make Lu Yin feel danger with that low a cultivation level?

    "Is someone actually training in the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?" The man spoke, and his voice was as gentle as jade. His tone revealed his evident curiosity and surprise, but it was impossible to hide his arrogance. Even though the man was surprised to see that someone was training in the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, he did not actually seem to care.

    Lu Yin was instantly put even more on edge after he heard the man¡¯s words. This person knew of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation? Just who was he?

    Everyone who entered the Daosource Sect ruins knew that the nine cauldrons held the secrets of an invincible battle technique, but no one knew that the name of the technique was the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. This man knew it, and hearing this caused Lu Yin to instantly consider another possibility: could this man be someone else from the Heavens Sect era?

    "In our era, no one practiced the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. It wasn¡¯t because they didn''t want to, but rather because they could notprehend it. These nine cauldrons have existed for a very long time. I never thought that, in this age when humanity fell to their weakest, someone would manage to practice this technique. If he masters this, it should be quite a relief." The man seemed to be talking to himself, but he also seemed to be speaking to Lu Yin.

    "I know that you can hear me. I look forward to witnessing the power of your Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation for myself. Know this: my name is Chu Yuan." The man left after he finished speaking.

    Lu Yin finally looked up at the ce the man had been standing. Chu Yuan?1 Was this man really someone from the Heavens Sect era? He had known of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, which meant that he had to have held a high status during the Heavens Sect era, and yet, he was not a Semi-Progenitor. Could he be another of the Dao Chosen like Sky Garan?

    Shortly after Chu Yuan left, another person appeared. This time, it was a woman. Even though she was not beautiful, she appeared both elegant and refined, and there was an indescribable spirituality to her. She gave off the same feeling as Yuhua Mavis.

    After she entered the Nine Cauldrons Region, she also instantly looked straight at Lu Yin. She let out a cry of surprise, stepped forward, and appeared right where Chu Yuan had been standing. ¡°Is that really the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation? Has someone from this era managed toprehend it? So strange¡­"

    Lu Yin was speechless. Was everyone able to recognize this technique?

    He still said nothing, as he wanted to hear what the woman would say.

    "He stood here a bit ago before leaving. He can forget about escaping!" As soon as she finished speaking, the woman also left the Nine Cauldrons Region.

    Just a few breaths after the woman had left, the fifth cauldron cracked. It quickly shattered and copsed.

    Lu Yinnded on the ground, but he did not move on to the next cauldron to continue absorbing more energy. Instead, he followed the trail of energy that the woman had left behind, as he was very curious about the two people who had seen him.

    The woman was pursuing Chu Yuan, while Lu Yin was chasing after the woman. Even though the Daosource Sect ruins were riddled with spatial tears and there were ces that could only be traversed by teleporting, Lu Yin chased after the woman even as she pursued Chu Yuan.

    They soon arrived in the depths of the ruins, where the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall still stood tall. It was an absolutely massive structure that seemed to be on the verge of copse.

    Lu Yin had never visited this location before. As he stared at the ruins of the impressive building, it was clear to Lu Yin that almost no one ever visited this ce as it held no inheritances. Judging by the location, this was nothing more than the ce where the Daosource Sect had once used to entertain guests, much like how various powerful families and sects did in the current era. Nobody would care about such a structure.

    Lu Yin kept his distance from the building, and he simply watched as the woman he had chased after approached Chu Yuan.

    Chu Yuan stood with his back to Lu Yin and the woman. He stared at the structure, sadness filling his eyes. It was as though he was peering through time to see the glory of this ce from ages past.

    "You''ve been here before. What do you think?" Chu Yuan asked. His back continued to face Lu Yin and the woman.

    The woman stepped forward and continued to approach step by step. She wore green clothes and had the appearance of a member of the Mavis family. "What do I think? I just want to know what you¡¯re doing here."

    Chu Yuan turned around and stared at the woman. "Why are you following me, Heluo Mavis?"

    Lu Yin stared at Chu Yuan from the distance. Lu Yin had to admit that the man¡¯s appearance matched his voice: as gentle as jade. The man possessed a certain elegance, but due to his sword-like eyebrows, he also possessed a majestic demeanor. His eyes held a depth to them that gave the impression that he was able to see through all things.

    The man¡¯s clothes werepletely tattered, and they looked like they had decayed due to the passage of countless years. Still, even these rags could not lessen the man¡¯s impressive aura in the slightest. In fact, the dpidated clothing gave him a measure of casualness and a certain sense of style.

    Lu Yin has encountered countless people, but very few had ever managed to leave asting impression from the first nce. Chu Yuan had absolutely aplished this. The most important thing was that Lu Yin sensed danger from this man.

    From the time he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had surpassed one person after another. Starting with the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s student leaders, Lu Yin had surpassed the Realmlings, the Ten Arbiters, and eventually even the four Junior Progenitors. However, Chu Yuan appeared to be just as old as Lu Yin, which meant if his time being frozen in the sourcebox was ignored, Chu Yuan was likely Lu Yin¡¯s peer.

    This young man was the first of Lu Yin¡¯s peers to give him such a powerful sense of danger.

    Even though the woman also gave Lu Yin a sense of danger, it was not enough to provoke any fear. She felt like she was at around the same level as Sky Garan to Lu Yin¡¯s senses.

    The woman who was apparently named Heluo Mavis stared at Chu Yuan. "From our generation¡¯s Dao Chosen, only you have been acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor and given the surname Chu. But when you entered these ruins of the Heavens Sect, you didn¡¯t go to see the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but instead came straight for the main hall. I¡¯m curious what it is about it that you want to do and what you might know."

    Chu Yuan found this quite funny. "I have no need to report my whereabouts to you."

    Heluo Mavis lifted her head. "And I don''t need your permission to follow anyone."

    Chu Yuan sped his hands behind his back. "Following me is very dangerous."

    Heluo Mavis answered with a sneer, "As a fellow Dao Chosen, I¡¯m very curious to find out why you were acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor."

    Several people from the Sixth Maind appeared at this time, but they were stopped by an invisible barrier that surrounded the main hall.

    The people were taken aback by the existence of the barrier, and a few of them stretched out a hand to touch it. "There¡¯s nothing there."

    They then tried to step forward and continue further, only to be pushed back by an invisible power. Several people tried again, but they were unable to approach any closer to the main hall. One person looked at the copsing structure and then shouted back. "Elder, we can¡¯t move any further forward."

    A middle-aged man approached from a short ways back. "You can¡¯t move forward?"

    He nced ahead at Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis who were standing past the barrier and just outside the crumbling main hall. "Is there someone inside?"

    The man lifted a hand to touch the air before him as he spoke. "There¡¯s nothing."

    He then stepped forward, only to also be pushed back by the invisible power.

    The middle-aged man was an Enlighter whose power level had already surpassed 400,000. He had visited the Daosource Sect ruins several times before, and he had visited the main hall. However, he had never encountered such a thing in the past. The surrounding area warped from a surge of star energy, and he struck forward with an attack. Suddenly, his body tumbled backwards through the air, and he crashed into the ground while spitting out a mouthful of blood.

    Several people in the small group hurried over to help the man back up. "Elder, are you alright?"

    "Elder, hurry and take this medicine!"

    The middle-aged man looked forward in shock. "Is there something there?"

    "Elder, what''s going on?" The other people were all confused.

    The middle-aged man was still bleeding from the corner of his mouth, but he muttered in amazement, "There¡¯s a force field present. I''ve only heard of them before, and I never expected to run into one here."

    "What¡¯s a force field?" Several people were puzzled.

    The middle-aged man struggled to his feet, and he held his chest as he gasped for air. "Do you see those two people facing each other up ahead? The invisible power they¡¯re giving off has frozen space around them. Their star energy control has created an invisible force field that we can¡¯t touch or observe, but anyone who tries to enter that region will need to endure the suppression of both of those force fields at once.

    "Rumors im that such an effect can only be achieved by mastering a certain power to the highest level. That area is sealed to most, and one would have to be a peak Enlighter at the very least, or possibly even an Imprinter to be able to force their way in."

    "Are those two both Imprinters? They look so young," someone eximed.

    The middle-aged man felt bitter. This was the difference that talent created. Those two people were indeed very young, but they had already achieved a terrifying level of power. "We¡¯ll pull back. We can¡¯t get any closer. They haven¡¯t even done anything yet, but the moment they do, we¡¯ll instantly be destroyed."

    As for Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis, theypletely ignored the small group of cultivators.

    The middle-aged man was very urate in his assessment. Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis were indeed trying to control the other''s space and testing each other out. To the two people, they were just greeting each other. This could not even be considered a warm-up.

    Chu Yuan smiled and looked past Heluo Mavis towards Lu Yin, who had followed Heluo Mavis. "Someone from this era with a bit of pride. Show yourself."

    Heluo Mavis was not at all surprised. She had already known that Lu Yin was following her, but she had simply not cared.

    As far as both of the young people were concerned, regardless of whether it was the current era or the Heavens Sect era, only other Dao Chosen deserved their attention. While Lu Yin was an Envoy and had managed toprehend the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, they would not take him seriously until he proved himself to them.

    Every Dao Chosen had an arrogance worthy of the title. This was not only an arrogance that they had earned on their own, but was also something granted to them by their own time. Each cultivation realm had those that stood at the top. For Progenitors, there were the Three Realms Six Dao, and the Semi-Progenitors had the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. For the younger generation, the Dao Chosen stood at the peak.

    Anyone who stood beneath the Dao Chosen could be regarded as ants.

    [1] Here, "Chu" means first or beginning, while "Yuan" means beginning or origin. ?

 Chapter 2055: Proving The Name Of The Eras

    Chapter 2055: Proving The Name Of The Eras

    Lu Yin had not purposely hidden himself, and after hearing Chu Yuan''s words, Lu Yin casually walked towards the main hall.

    The small group of people in the distance had not noticed Lu Yin before, so they were shocked when he stepped forward. ¡°It''s Lu Yin! Elder, it¡¯s the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lu Yin!"

    The middle-aged man¡¯s pupils fluctuated. "This is a problem. This means that Lu Yin knows that there¡¯s stellr energy here. If he leaves, everyone will know about this."

    "Elder, won¡¯t Lu Yin attack us?" One of the people in the group was terrified. He had participated in the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion of the Outerverse and had been following the Autumnfrost family at the time. Naturally, seeing Lu Yin horrified the young man.

    The middle-aged man shook his head. "He doesn''t even see us."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin approached the main hall one step at a time. The nearby group of people watched as he easily entered the force field that they were unable to breach in the slightest, and he continued walking until he stood between Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. "Are both of you Dao Chosen?"

    Heluo Mavis looked at Lu Yin. "After waking up, I¡¯ve gained some understanding of this era, and you can be regarded as the person who stands at the peak of this era. There are rumors that you¡¯ve mastered the God of Death¡¯s power, and we just saw you cultivating the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. I¡¯m curious to find just how high you can reach. You are possibly the only person in this era who cane even remotely close to the level of a Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Why only close? Why can¡¯t I stand at the same level as a Dao Chosen?"

    Heluo Mavis had a cold attitude. While her face was delicate, and even though she was smaller than Yuhua Mavis, Heluo Mavis¡¯s arrogance far surpassed Yuhua¡¯s. "A Dao Chosen ispletely invincible within the same realm as long as they are on their own maind. While your peers recognize your superiority in this shattered remains of the Fifth Maind, the Fifth Maind has the Lu family, and only their descendants can qualify to be Dao Chosen."

    Suddenly, Heluo Mavis hesitated for a moment, and a frown appeared on her face as she stared at Lu Yin. It seemed that something had just urred to her. ¡°You also have the Lu surname. What¡¯s your connection to the Lu family?"

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Sorry to tell you, but I¡¯m a descendant of the Lu family."

    This caught Heluo Mavis off guard.

    Even Chu Yuan was surprised. "I''ve heard of you. In fact, after waking up in this era, it seems impossible for anyone to not know about you. Still, I didn¡¯t expect you to be part of the Lu family. Interesting. Quite interesting."

    He nced over at Heluo Mavis. "How about a bet? Let¡¯s see which of us can defeat him the fastest. Not only will this allow us topare ourselves, but it will also allow us to see just how powerful the most talented person of this era is. We can see the difference between this era and our own."

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s eyes lit up. "Alright. After all, no matter what, he¡¯s still a descendant of the Lu family, and regardless of how weak this era is, the Lu family always has a few tricks up their sleeves.¡±

    She then looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°We¡¯ll give you a chance¡ªbring out your Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Lu Yin stared at Heluo Mavis, and then at Chu Yuan before smiling at them. He suddenly let out a very rxedugh that waspletely genuine. How long had it been since anyone had looked down on him like this? No Semi-Progenitor would lower themselves to spar with Lu Yin, and beneath that level, only six-tribtion Envoys or greater were strong enough to speak to Lu Yin in such a manner. However, all of those people were incredibly old.

    There was no one else who would dare to underestimate Lu Yin, even if they were powerhouses from an older generation. Absolutely no one from Lu Yin¡¯s generation dared to look down on him, and he had not been treated in this manner in a very long time.

    Ever since he had casually defeated the four Junior Progenitors, no one from his generation had been capable of presenting any sort of challenge to Lu Yin. He had not expected to run into so many youths who were genuinely capable of such a thing. Lu Yin had felt Sky Garan¡¯s contempt, and these two people were treating Lu Yin in the exact same manner. Lu Yin had really missed this sort of feeling¡­

    "You¡¯re quite confident, so I¡¯ll join in on your bet and wager on myself." Lu Yin suddenly grew somber once more as he looked at the two people in front of him. ¡°I want to see how long it takes me to defeat the two of you."

    Heluo Mavis let out a derisive snort. "In the past, not even Lu Tianyi would dare to speak to us in such a manner. The Lu family has be more and more reckless with each generation, so I see no reason to be polite. Chu Yuan, I¡¯ll crush him within ten attacks."

    A smile appeared on Chu Yuan''s face. "Interesting. In that case, I¡¯ll use five."

    Heluo Mavis snorted again. "You¡¯re even more arrogant. No matter what, he¡¯s a descendant of the Lu family."

    She then turned to Lu Yin. "Summon your champions."

    "That¡¯s unnecessary to deal with you," Lu Yin disdainfully replied. The arrogance Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan were putting on disy had awakened a long-lost fighting spirit in Lu Yin. "Show me the strength of the Heavens Sect era¡¯s so-called Dao Chosen!¡±

    As he spoke, he waved his right hand and stepped forward. He immediately challenged both Helua Mavis and Chu Yuan with Hollow Palms.

    Lu Yin released two Hollow Palms at the same time: one at Helua Mavis and the other at Chu Yuan. Hispetitiveness had been fully roused, and he wanted to face both of these people at the same time to justify that this era belonged to him.

    Who imed that humans were no longer as talented as they had been in the past? Lu Yin wanted to destroy the contempt, sarcasm, and arrogance that all the people from the ancient times had for the current era.

    In the current era, there was no one from Lu Yin¡¯s generation who could handle his Hollow Palm. Even Leaf King, a four-tribtion Envoy, had to first absorb Lu Yin¡¯s own physical strength before he could face the attacks, and even then, he had been hard-pressed.

    As soon as the Hollow Palms were released, both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan¡¯s expressions changed. They were not ignorant children, and they could clearly see the power in these palm strikes with just a nce. These attacks contained an unimaginable level of physical power, battle force, domain, and spiritual force, making them powerful attacks. What¡¯s more, they moved especially fast and werepletely invisible.

    Heluo Mavis lifted her arms and crossed them in front of her body. The Hollow Palm mmed into her wrists, and she was sted a thousand meters back. Her feet carved out two deep ditches across the ground.

    This result shocked Lu Yin. He had expected his Hollow Palm to do a bit more damage, as it was far beyond the means of most people to endure even a single Hollow Palm. However, Heluo Mavis waspletely unharmed.

    As for Lu Yin¡¯s other opponent, the results were even more bizarre. The Hollow Palm never even touched Chu Yuan, but instead disappeared right in front of the young man.

    Heluo Mavis did not even look at Lu Yin, but instead nced at Chu Yuan. "Invisible and formless, and is supposedly able to erase any battle technique. We fought when we were both Hunters and Enlighters. At our current level, that ability is even more difficult to ovee."

    Chu Yuan also looked at Heluo Mavis and gave her a smile. "Your body¡¯s also grown even tougher than before."

    Heluo Mavis just snorted disdainfully and then finally looked at Lu Yin andplimented him, "That¡¯s a very impressive palm technique. It¡¯s even enough for you topare to Wei An. Even in our era, you would be qualified to be regarded as an elite within our generation, but unfortunately, that¡¯s not enough to deal with either of us. It¡¯s our turn to make a move. What do you say? Ten attacks each?¡±

    Her legs bent as she finished speaking, and then her body instantly disappeared. She did not move to the side at all, but instead aimed straight for Lu Yin. She emerged from the true universe, her arm already raised high as she released a punch.

    At this moment, to Lu Yin, Heluo Mavis looked exactly like a member of the Mavis family who had just be an Envoy. Her style of fighting perfectly matched what Lu Yin had already seen from the family: the release of unmatched physical power.

    Lu Yin looked up and retaliated with his own punch.

    Boom!

    The void exploded, and space throughout the entire area fractured before shattering.

    The small group of people who had been excitedly watching in the distance were all blown away, even the middle-aged Enlighter. Not a single one of the people was able to resist the shockwaves from this sh.

    At the same time, Chu Yuan appeared in front of Lu Yin, with a hand stretched out to grab a hold of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin resisted Heluo Mavis''s powerful attack head on, and then he shifted his feet and took a step back. However, his body moved forward as space grew chaotic around him. Heluo Mavis¡¯s punch suddenly missed its target, and the woman almost fell down.

    As for Chu Yuan''s approaching hand, Lu Yin met it directly as well, and he raised a hand to the approaching hand. He had never been afraid of facing anyone in closebat.

    Chu Yuan was shocked. "Inverse Step?"

    Lu Yin grabbed a hold of Chu Yuan''s wrist, and he unleashed a wave of Oveying Stacks that vibrated up Chu Yuan''s arm in an attempt to shatter the man¡¯s shoulder.

    However, an invisible power appeared that shrouded Chu Yuan''s entire body, and it disintegrated the Oveying Stacks.

    Lu Yin considered what Heluo Mavis had just said: invisible power?

    Chu Yuan twisted his wrist around, and the invisible power shook Lu Yin''s hand off even as a hand fell upon Lu Yin''s shoulder. "It''s over."

    As Chu Yuan spoke, he squeezed his fingers together until only the index finger remained pointing out, and it moved to strike Lu Yin¡¯s neck. Given their proximity, Chu Yuan did not believe that Lu Yin could avoid this attack, even with Inverse Step. This was not Chu Yuan¡¯s first time facing someone who used Inverse Step, and even if he was facing a chaotic region of space, his eyes could still pierce everything.

    Lu Yin''s eyes glittered. Was this really the end? What a joke!

    An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and Lu Yin prepared to use Board Maniption. However, before he had the chance, a twig twined around Chu Yuan''s index finger, and it stopped his attack.

    "You want to end things here? What a joke!" Heluo Mavis had intervened. "I want my ten moves before things end! Ten moves!"

    As soon as she spoke, the grass underfoot started growing wildly. It looked exactly like the move that Yuhua Mavis had used before.

    The wildly growing grass moved together to take on the shape of sharp spears, and they all stabbed straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stretched out his left hand, and the Channeling Diagram appeared.

    The spears of grass stabbed into the sourcebox array, and the power of the attack was diverted and broken up into countless different directions before being dispersed. Even with this, any portion of Heluo Mavis¡¯s grass spears was still powerful enough to easily kill a three-tribtion Envoy, especially at such a close range. Even four-tribtion Envoys most likely would not be able to escape from this attack.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s attack actually mirrored Chu Yuan''s finger as they both attempted to deal with Lu Yin. Both of the Dao Chosen believed that it would be possible tond a blow on Lu Yin from close range. They had restricted their number of attacks just so that they could get an idea of Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Chu Yuan felt that he would only need five attacks to win, but Heluo Mavis wanted Lu Yin tost for ten attacks. In the end, they both felt that this was apetition between the two of them and that Lu Yin was nothing more than a pawn they were using for theirpetition.

    However, Lu Yin had demonstrated extraordinary capabilities even when dealing with their first attacks, so both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan had upped the strength of their follow-up attacks. They were both determined to first severely injure Lu Yin so that he would not be able to escape from them.

    Neither of them could have imagined that Lu Yin would actually manage to block Heluo Mavis'' ultimate move even from such a close range.

    While still holding back Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis nced at Lu Yin in surprise. "Good! Here¡¯s the third attack."

    The grass beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet started to surge again, but this time, it did not form itself into spears that stabbed at Lu Yin. Instead, the grass became a human figure that perfectly mirrored Heluo Mavis.

    Five grass Heluo Mavises attacked Lu Yin from different directions, blocking every avenue of escape. Every single attack carried an earth-shattering strength, and without the Channeling Diagram, each of the five attacks posed a grave threat to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not seen Yuhua Mavis use such a trick before, and he noticed that Heluo Mavis had locked down all directions with these five attacks. While Lu Yin wanted to avoid the attacks with Inverse Step, just like Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis had enough knowledge of Inverse Step to know how to counter it as well.

    Regardless of the direction Lu Yin chose, he would be blocked by one of the five attacks.

    This was not to say that Inverse Step was not powerful, but merely that Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of the movement technique had not yet reached the level where he could create an area of chaotic spacetime.

    Lu Yin was facing off against two of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen, both of whom knew how to counter Inverse Step. This made it very difficult for Lu Yin to use the movement technique to gain an advantage.

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    Boom!

    All five attacks struck Lu Yin without encountering any hindrance, and he was struck to the ground.

    The Sixth Maind cultivators approached from the distance after hearing the deafening crashes. Upon seeing the battlefield, not one person dared to make even the slightest sound. They were all familiar with Lu Yin, but even he had just been beaten so severely that he did not have the strength to retaliate. The people present were all stunned speechless.

    "That was too much. He might not even be able to stand anymore," Chu Yuan casuallymented. There were still twigs wrapped around his fingers, making it look as though Heluo Mavis had restrained the other Dao Chosen, but Chu Yuan made no attempt to make any moves whatsoever.

 Chapter 2056: The Limit To Endurance

    Chapter 2056: The Limit To Endurance

    Heluo Mavis answered in a cold and arrogant manner, "That was five attacks. Adding in my first punch, that¡¯s six moves from me to your one."

    "What if he can''t stand up any longer?" Chu Yuan asked.

    Heluo Mavis shrugged. "He managed to knock me back with that first palm strike, but I was able to stand back up. If he can¡¯t fight after this, then we¡¯ll wait until he can continue for your turn. I still have four more attacks left. Ten moves is ten moves, and while extra attacks aren¡¯t allowed, I also won¡¯t ept any fewer moves."

    "So then, will the two of us fight each other next?" Chu Yuanughed.

    Helo Mavis¡¯s brow rose. "Scared?"

    A smile spread across Chu Yuan''s face. "Are you sure that those five attacks actuallynded?"

    Heluo Mavis hesitated, and she reflexively looked down at the ground.

    Lu Yin was not there. At thest moment, he had used a Teleportation Formation to escape from the five attacks.

    "How?" Heluo Mavis was shocked, and she turned to look into the distance where Lu Yin was patting some dust off of his clothes.

    Lu Yin waved an arm and calmly asked, "Surprised? You didn¡¯t attack me, but him."

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s eyes snapped back to Chu Yuan. "You interfered with that invisible power!"

    Chu Yuan smiled. "I already said that I¡¯d defeat him in five moves, so I can¡¯t allow him to be crushed by you.¡±

    As he spoke, Chu Yuan turned to look at Lu Yin. "I didn''t expect you to be able to escape on your own. That¡¯s a pretty good sourcebox array you just used."

    Heluo Mavis'' eyes froze as she finally understood: the descendant of the Lu family had escaped with a sourcebox array while Chu Yuan had used his invisible power to receive the attack. The two had identally worked together, and the final result had deceived Heluo Mavis.

    "Don''t forget, you¡¯re down to just four moves now, the same as me." Chu Yuan''s index finger shattered the twig binding it.

    Heluo Mavis snorted disdainfully. "Four moves is plenty."

    Lu Yin found this exchange amusing, and he rubbed his wrist. "I¡¯ve met countless people as I¡¯ve trained, but there have been very, very few as arrogant as the two of you. Four attacks, huh? Sounds good. I¡¯ll use four attacks as well. Let¡¯s see if that will be enough to crush both of you."

    Chu Yuan smiled. "Your era has made no progress since our time, and all you can use is the strength of our era. We stood at the very top during that time, so how can you possibly win?"

    Lu Yin answered solemnly, "Are you so proud of your era that you think that you can look down on ours? Alright, I¡¯ll use the power that our heroes created to face you for a bit."

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s entire body visibly dried up. This was Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique: Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis stared at Lu Yin in amazement. What sort of battle technique was this?

    Lu Yin soon looked like a desated corpse. He pressed a hand down, and 80,000 stars instantly appeared and filled the nearby area, transforming it into a region of outer space.

    Heluo Mavis snorted contemptuously. "What a mess!"

    Her eyes then flickered green This was the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift: Rhythm of Life. She stared at Lu Yin, trying to seize control of him, but all of her attempts proved useless as Lu Yin remained standing firmly in ce. However, his body began to recover a bit.

    Lu Yin stared at Heluo Mavis. Clearly, there were differences between her innate gift and Yuhua Mavis¡¯s as Heluo was able to use her innate gift to actually harm Lu Yin.

    Heluo Mavis was badly startled by the oue. How could her innate gift be useless?

    Chu Yuan waved a hand and grabbed at the nearby stars. Suddenly, all the stars gathered together, giving the appearance of the entire universe copsing. In an instant, Lu Yin appeared right in front of Chu Yuan with a Cosmic Palm.

    Chu Yuan''s gaze turned cold, and he took a step back. The Cosmic Palm was only a meter away, but it was unable to get any closer. However, Chu Yuan also found that he was unable to move any further away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide; at this moment, he was finally able to see that Chu Yuan''s entire body was covered with an invisible power. It was both formless and invisible. The stars from Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art passed through the invisible barrier without any issue, but they were also unable to harm Chu Yuan in any way. It was no wonder why this invisible power was believed to be capable of dissolving any battle technique.

    Given the oue, Lu Yin pulled the Cosmic Palm back, and the stars returned to their original positions. Heluo Mavis tried to punch Lu Yin¡¯s side, and her first contained an energy that twisted and burned the void. It was aurelian force.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing someone so young capable of using aurelian force. The pinnacle form of battle force was invincible, and Lu Yin was scared of being touched by even a single punch. During his tribtion to be an Envoy, he had faced a punch that had been reinforced with aurelian force, and he had countered it with the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. Lu Yin felt that the same thing would work at this moment as well, but his visualization method was something that belonged to the Lu family. It was not a technique that had been created by any of the heroes of the current era.

    If Lu Yin wanted to prove the strength of the current era, he could not rely on the Lu family¡¯s visualization method. All he could do was endure the punch.

    Heluo Mavis struck Lu Yin''s chest with a terrifying punch, and as her attacknded, the 80,000 stars coalesced to form a sword. This was the Celestial Sword Technique, and Lu Yinshed out at both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan with the Sword Sect¡¯s Fourteenth Sword.

    While Lu Yin had no idea which era had given birth to the Thirteen Swords, it should not be from the Heavens Sect era. Even if he were wrong about that, he had just used the Fourteenth Sword, which had been created by Liu Huang.

    At this same moment, Chu Yuan attacked. He did so by pointing a finger at Lu Yin¡¯s abdomen in an odd manner. The finger strike looked like nothing special, but as the stars continued to revolve around Lu Yin, the finger somehow evaded every single star. In this short amount of time, Chu Yuan had already seen through the stars¡¯ movements.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s punchnded on Lu Yin¡¯s chest. This time, he did not try to dodge, as it was impossible for him to do so anyways. He was smashed into the ground, at which point Chu Yuan''s finger struck home. Lu Yin suffered two attacks back to back without a single moment to recover.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s Fourteenth Sword struck both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan.

    The Fourteenth Sword was a very odd attack, as it did not cause any external wounds, but rather destroyed a person from within. The Thirteenth Sword¡¯s premise was that a sword could be formed from any emotion in existence, while the Fourteenth Sword used suffering to form a de. This was based on the suffering Liu Huang had endured while being imprisoned, but every living creature would suffer at some point in time.

    When the sword struck, neither Heluo Mavis nor Chu Yuan felt anything, and they nced at each other. Even if Lu Yin was nowhere close to being their equal, it was still impossible for his sword strike to do absolutely nothing after hitting them.

    A single momentter, Heluo Mavis felt a terrible agony well up within her body. She felt as though someone had shed her with a sword from the inside, and she did not even notice that she let out several coughs. Across from her, Chu Yuan suffered in the exact same manner.

    The two nced at each other in shock. "An alternative method of swordsmanship."

    "I didn''t expect that anyone in this era would be able toprehend such a method of swordsmanship. Clearly, the way of the sword has notpletely weakened," Chu Yuanmented in surprise.

    Heluo Mavis replied, "It¡¯s incredibly difficult for anyone to be the first toprehend such a method, but once one person seeds, others will be able to follow their path. This is why the way of the sword hasn¡¯t weakened. Still, very few people from the Lu family train with swords."

    Chu Yuan looked at the ground. "Either way, there¡¯s no way he¡¯ll be able to stand back up after taking both of our attacks at once."

    Heluo Mavis was unbothered. "He does live up to being a descendant of the Lu family after all, given that he was able to actually injure us at all. I¡¯m down to two moves."

    She had just used her innate gift, Rhythm of Life, as well as a punch with aurelian force, which were regarded as two attacks.

    Chu Yuan answered with a smile. He had only used a single attack after seeing through the movement of the stars. "I have three."

    "I still have two attacks left." Lu Yin spoke from the ground, startling both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan. How could he possibly be fine?

    Off in the distance, the people from the Sixth Maind continued to nervously watch the events y out. This battle between Lu Yin and the other two people had pushed the group further and further away, and they were no longer able to clearly see what was happening. Lu Yin had disappeared from their sight when he had been smashed to the ground. Lu Yin was actually just suppressed?

    Lu Yin climbed to his feet within the hole in the ground and then slowly rose up back to the surface.

    He had used Extremes Must Be Reverse to transform his body and given himself a desated appearance, but when he revealed himself once more, his body had mostly recovered. Well, he had at least be recognizable once again.

    Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan both stared at Lu Yin in utter confusion. What the hell was going on?

    Without learning Extremes Must Be Reversed, it was impossible to understand the miraculous ability that this technique granted.

    As long as Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan were unable tounch attacks that surpassed the upper limit of Lu Yin¡¯s endurance, any and all attacks would simply help Lu Yin to recover. At the same time, it would give him power that he could then use for his own attacks.

    Who had said the current era had fallen? The Heavens Sect era had seen humanity be incredibly powerful, and there were an endless variety of battle techniques, cultivation arts, and cultivation methods. People had not been limited to only using stellr energy to cultivate. However, the current era had also given rise to truly outstanding figures, such as the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Chen, and Progenitor Ku. Any one of them had possessed a level of power that would have made them dazzling figures even in the Heavens Sect era.

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "What sort of technique are you using? If I¡¯m seeing this right, you¡¯re using the power of our attacks to restore yourself."

    Lu Yin grinned. "Smart. I might as well tell you that if you want to beat me, you need to use an attack that exceeds the limits of what I can endure. Anything beneath that limit will only help me recover. Can you do that?"

    Chu Yuan was impressed. "That¡¯s a good technique. There was nothing like that in our era. While this era is truly weak, there will always be a few outstanding people. You said that you are Lu Yin? I will acknowledge your strength. If you can remain undefeated with my five attacks, you can truly be regarded as the Dao Chosen of this era and qualify to stand next to the rest of us."

    Heluo Mavis let out a long breath. "What a load of shit! What''s so difficult aboutnding an attack that surpasses his limits?"

    She stared at Lu Yin. "Don''t me me if this kills you."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "You two aren¡¯t capable of beating me!"

    Once again, his body dried up. He was using Extremes Must Be Reversed again.

    Heluo Mavis''s face twisted, and a massive tree appeared behind her. Its green color became spots that moved to merge into her body, which caused her aura to spike. Even though there were no runes to see, Lu Yin was still able to sense that Heluo Mavis had just be far, far stronger.

    This was another technique that was nothing new to Lu Yin. This was a technique that was quite simr to the Lu family¡¯s visualization method, and Yuhua Mavis had used it during ZENITH. If Lu Yin was remembering correctly, she had referred to this technique as Infinite Power. She had even said that this was the true version of Infinite Power.

    Snap!

    The ground cracked open, and Heluo Mavis looked up and locked onto Lu Yin. Her right hand clenched into a fist, and even that simple action caused the void to tremble as waves of power swept out. At this moment, her strength surpassed what space could endure, and she could shatter space without even moving.

    What made her attack even more exaggerated was the fact that the surrounding void had started warping and burning. She was using the invincible power of aurelian force in tandem with Infinite Power.

    Heluo Mavis started to move, and the void was forced back oneyer after another. It almost looked as though she was approaching infinity.

    This punch was insanely powerful. Not only did it carry the Mavis family¡¯s Infinite Power, but it was also further reinforced by the pinnacle of battle force. Even a four-tribtion Envoy would most likely be killed by this attack.

    Lu Yin opened his fingers that had been clenched into a fist, and he pped out at Heluo Mavis. He was still using Hollow Palm, and there was nothing special about this particr one.

    Before, a single Hollow Palm had been enough to knock Heluo Mavis back, as Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palms were incredibly powerful. However, that level of power was not enough to even touch Heluo Mavis at this moment. Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike was shattered by her attack before it could get close to her, and then the terrifying punchnded on Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Heluo Mavis had expected her punch to send Lu Yin flying through the air and for it to far surpass the level of attack that he could endure. However, Lu Yin remained standing where he was. The only change that could be seen was that his desated body recovered at a rate that could be noticeably seen.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed would block all attacks from a person, as long as the attacks did not surpass the person¡¯s physical limits. Just what were the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s body at this time? He did not even know himself.

 Chapter 2057: Equal Status

    Chapter 2057: Equal Status

    Before he faced his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had opened his three meridian points and reached a level of strength that could deal with a normal three-tribtion Envoy. His physical abilities had always been terrifying, but after his tribtion, even though he had sealed his three meridian points, his body had been reforged by enough stellr energy to match the changes that a typical four-tribtion Envoy would have experienced. This had caused Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength to soar to an even more horrifying level.

    Even though Lu Yin¡¯s battle force could not stand up to Heluo Mavis''s punch, his physical defenses were simply overwhelming. Heluo Mavis was the first person from the Heavens Sect era to truly understand the level that Lu Yin¡¯s physique had reached.

    Her punch was actually unable to injure Lu Yin in the slightest bit. All she managed to do was help him recover a bit of his original appearance.

    She could not believe the results she was seeing.

    It was at this moment that Chu Yuan appeared above Lu Yin. Lu Yin had no idea what Chu Yuan was doing, but somehow, all the power from Heluo Mavis¡¯s attack that had dissipated into the surrounding area gathered in Chu Yuan¡¯s palm. It was controlled to swirl around like a vortex before being swung at Lu Yin.

    This attack was clearly no weaker than Heluo Mavis¡¯s punch that Lu Yin had just faced, but Lu Yin¡¯s body had already been restored to normal from the punch. Thus, he was unable to absorb any more damage with Extremes Must Be Reveresed.

    Chu Yuan had been waiting for just this moment. He firmly believed that Heluo Mavis was powerful enough to release an attack that approached the limits of what Lu Yin could endure, so if Chu Yuan could simply surpass that limit, it would be Chu Yuan¡¯s victory. This was why he had waited for Heluo Mavis¡¯s punch tond; Chu Yuan had wanted to find an opening to release his own attack that would end the fight.

    Heluo Mavis had not expected Chu Yuan to take advantage of her in such a manner, but when she saw the attack falling, she made no attempt to stop it and instead eagerly watched Lu Yin.

    However, all she saw was a calm expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face as he confronted Chu Yuan¡¯s palm strike with one of his own. Lu Yin¡¯s hand slowly rose up to meet the approaching threat.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s expression drastically changed. "Don''t try to die! The Yuan Shi Dao he¡¯s using is able to absorb all of my power! Don¡¯t try to force things."

    It was as though Lu Yin did not even hear Heluo Mavis at all. He continued to reach for Chu Yuan with one hand.

    Chu Yuan was caught off guard, and a flicker of wariness appeared in the depths of his eyes. He could not stop himself from retracting a bit of his attack¡¯s power.

    Chu Yuan''s palm smashed into Lu Yin''s right hand. This was supposed to be an overwhelming attack, but the terrifying power that Chu Yuan had gathered in his palm was simply crushed in an instant. Lu Yin grabbed hold of Chu Yuan''s hand and tossed the young man onto the ground with a bang. Chu Yuan¡¯s body mmed into the ground and disappeared.

    At the same time, Lu Yin disappeared, and he instantly reappeared above Heluo Mavis. Two hands pressed down, and a seemingly infinite number of Hollow Palms rained down on the woman.

    As the flood of palm strikes fell towards her, Heluo Mavis wanted to avoid the attack. However, just as she took a single step, she returned to her original position. She had stepped into a Teleportation Formation that Lu Yin had set up while he had been attacking Chu Yuan. This moment had already been anticipated.

    Heluo Mavis could not react to her situation in time, and dozens of Hollow Palms struck her, mming her into the ground as well. The storm of Hollow Palms wasrge enough that they fell upon Chu Yuan as well.

    Lu Yin shot through the void and smashed into the ground. For the first time in this battle, both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan werepletely suppressed.

    Off in the distance, the audience from the Sixth Maind were stunned by the sudden turnaround. This battle had reversed too quickly. They had all thought that Lu Yin had been defeated, and not a single one of them had expected Lu Yin to instantly suppress both of his opponents at once.

    The dozens of Hollow Palms that were released contained all the force that Lu Yin had absorbed through Extremes Must Be Reversed, as well as Lu Yin¡¯s own power. It was reasonable to say that no one at the same cultivation realm could force Lu Yin to release such a powerful attack. Let alone two-tribtion Envoys, not even a five-tribtion Envoy could force Lu Yin to such an extreme.

    Lu Yin stood tall high in the sky as he looked down at the smoke and dust that filled the air and covered the ground. His wrists actually felt a bit sore. Hollow Palm was already a powerful attack on its own, and he had pushed himself quite hard with his final attack. He had no idea what condition his two opponents were in at this moment.

    The smoke and dust slowly cleared to reveal the ground, and as it appeared, it was clear that thendscape outside the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall had been transformed.

    Two bottomless pits had appeared in the earth.

    Lu Yin stared at the ground, and a small frown appeared on his face. He was able to feel both of his opponents¡¯ auras, and they were surprisingly stable. Had his Hollow Palms really not been able to cause any damage to the two?

    He let out a long breath. As expected of the Heavens Sect era¡¯s Dao Chosen; such tricks were not enough to clinch victory. It was no wonder why the Dao Chosen were all so arrogant.

    Throughout the entire universe, it was difficult to find anyone who had only passed one or two stellr tribtions and was able to challenge opponents who had passed three tribtions, not to mention four. Still, this was something that the Ten Arbiters would most likely be capable of doing when they became Envoys. However, it would be practically impossible for them to stand up to a five-tribtion Envoy.

    Lu Yin had been able to defeat three-tribtion Envoys even when he had been an Enlighter. After bing an Envoy, Lu Yin had been able to defeat even the most elite of four-tribtion Envoys like the Sea King. After all, the Sea King was a Realmbreaker himself.

    Lu Yin was the only one capable of such a feat in the entire universe.

    However, several more such people had recently appeared. They were the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

    The ground broke apart, and Heluo Mavis pushed up a section of the earth and casually tossed it to the side as she emerged. It fell with a tremendous boom as she stared up at Lu Yin. The woman looked a bit embarrassed.

    Chu Yuan also emerged a short distance away. His appearance was much quieter, but he looked even more embarrassed than Heluo Mavis, and his previous arrogance could not be seen in his eyes. He had just been snatched out of the air and smashed to the ground by Lu Yin. Let alone in the current era, that was something that Chu Yuan had never experienced even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Despite his calm expression, there was an unprecedented coldness and threat in the depths of the Dao Chosen¡¯s eyes.

    "Hahahaha, hahahahaha¡­!" Suddenly, Heluo Mavis started tough.

    Lu Yin gave the woman an odd look. Was she that happy that she had been pped around?

    Heluo Mavis continued tough loudly, and she raised a hand to point at Chu Yuan whileughing. Theughing did not stop.

    Chu Yuan calmly asked, "Is it that funny?"

    Heluo Mavisughed so hard that she lost her breath, and she held her stomach. "No, but I just never expected to see this day! Chu Yuan, did you ever think that you¡¯d be in this situation? Hahahaha!"

    Chu Yuan frowned, and then he turned to look at Lu Yin. "You surprised me."

    Before Lu Yin could respond, Heluo Mavis startedughing yet again. "This is too funny, hahahaha! Just too funny! It¡¯s hrious! It¡¯d be awesome if those guys were here."

    Lu Yinnded on the ground and asked, "What''s so funny?"

    Heluo Mavis was still holding her stomach, but she managed to point at Chu Yuan. She could not make herself stopughing. "Can you understand just how hrious it is for one of the Dao Chosen to be thrown through the air and smashed into the ground? Do you realize that he¡¯s the only one of us to be acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor and is dubbed the Chosen One? Despite that, he was snatched out of the air and smashed into the ground! Hahahaha, it¡¯s just too funny."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he turned to look at Chu Yuan. Chosen One?

    Chu Yuan indifferently answered, "It''s just a pointless title."

    He continued to stare at Lu Yin. "You really surprised me. Even in our era, you would be qualified topete with the Dao Chosen. Still, I have two attacks left, and that¡¯s enough to defeat you."

    Heluo Mavis saw Chu Yuan¡¯s indifferent facade, and she looked at him with a mocking expression. "Faker. You¡¯re the best actor out of all of us."

    Despite her words, she turned back to look at Lu Yin. "I still have one move left, so what do you say? We¡¯ll attack him together."

    This woman hadpletely changed over thest few minutes. It was not her personality that had changed, but simply the fact that she had acknowledged Lu Yin. Seeing him as an equal meant that her manner of speaking to Lu Yin waspletely different. She no longer acted as his superior, and instead, she was trying to pull Chu Yuan down from his arrogance.

    She had originally been following Chu Yuan, wanting to see what he was going to do, and her purpose still had not changed. All that had changed was that there was an extra yer on the field.

    Lu Yin looked back at Chu Yuan. "This is a very tempting proposal."

    Chu Yuan calmly replied, "It doesn''t really matter, but I have two attacks and two opponents. It¡¯s enough."

    "Hahahaha!" Helo Mavis startedughing once again.

    Chu Yuan arched a brow and shot a disgruntled look her way.

    Lu Yin was speechless. The fight¡¯s tension had evaporated due to this woman¡¯sughter.

    Heluo Mavis pointed at Chu Yuan and smiled. "Are you still keeping up that act? Take a look at yourself before you talk! Your face is covered with dust, so why try to stay so arrogant? Aren¡¯t you embarrassed? He hasn¡¯t even used his Champions¡¯ stage or death energy, and you want to deal with him with just one attack? Hahahaha!"

    Chu Yuan frowned, and the surface of his body suddenly distorted. He was preparing his attack.

    Lu Yin''s body grew desated once again as he used Extremes Must Be Reversed. He had just thrown Chu Yuan to the ground and used a storm of Hollow Palms, but that could only be regarded as a single attack, which meant that Lu Yin still had one left. It looked like it would be very difficult to seize victory while only relying on battle techniques from the current era. The God of Death Transformation, the Ce Secret Art, the Yu Secret Art, and the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra were all things from ancient times.

    Still, it waspletely unrealistic for Chu Yuan to expect to defeat Lu Yin with just a single attack, especially since the man had no intention of working together with Heluo Mavis. Chu Yuan wanted to face two people at the same time.

    Lu Yin had already stated that he was betting on himself and would limit himself to just five moves to crush these two.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s smile finally disappeared, and an enormous tree appeared behind her. She was also preparing herself.

    Chu Yuan still had two moves remaining, while both Lu Yin and Heluo Mavis were down to just one. If Chu Yuan wanted to deal with both of them at the same time, it meant that he needed to limit himself to one attack for each of them.

    Just as the three were about to start again, a loud shout echoed out. "Stop!"

    All three looked to the west, where a person stepped out of the void, bringing with him an incredible amount of pressure that forced everyone to instantly stop.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis nced at each other and frowned. This was the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin stared at the person who had appeared, and his heart sank. Jiu Yao? He actually came here?

    Lu Yin had already expected the top powerhouses of the Sixth Maind to eventually learn that there was still stellr energy in the Daosource Sect ruins, but he had not expected Jiu Yao to enter the ruins so quickly.

    Given Jiu Yao''s strength as a Semi-Progenitor, as soon as he spoke, there was no way for Lu Yin or either of the other two to make another move. All three of them together were not enough to match a single twitch of Jiu Yao''s finger.

    "What are you doing, fighting here? State your identities." Jiu Yao looked down at the three youths. His arrival allowed the spectators from the Sixth Maind to finally rx.

    Chu Yuan frowned when he saw Jiu Yao staring at him, but the young man slowly answered, "The First Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    Across from him, Heluo Mavis also answered, "The Second Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    Jiu Yao finally turned to look at Lu Yin, but the man failed to recognize Lu Yin due to the fact that Lu Yin had already used Extremes Must Be Reversed, making him look like a dried up corpse.

    Lu Yin answered, "The Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis both nced over in surprise. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen? There were no Dao Chosen in the current era, but they could not find it in them to deny Lu Yin¡¯s im. After all, Lu Yin was indeed the equivalent to a Dao Chosen for the current era.

    To both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis, Lu Yin''s self-appointment of Dao Chosen was a bit presumptuous, but as far as Jiu Yao was concerned, all three of the people in front of him were from the Heavens Sect era.

    "So you¡¯re experts from the ancient era." Jiu Yao nced around at the three people. "I am Jiu Yao, a Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind. I wee you to our time, and you are all wee to visit my Sixth Maind. However, you are in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and you should not stay here for long."

    "Where''s Sky Garan?" Heluo Mavis asked Jiu Yao.

    Jiu Yao replied, "He is in my Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. If you wish to see him, I can send someone to collect you."

 Chapter 2058: Guess

    Chapter 2058: Guess

    "No, I have no interest in seeing him. Since Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao won¡¯t allow us to finish this fight, we¡¯ll take our leave now," Lu Yin said. He wanted to get away from Jiu Yao as soon as possible, though not because he was afraid Jiu Yao would attack. It was very unlikely that the Semi-Progenitor would attack Lu Yin at this moment, but Lu Yin was afraid of being recognized and asked for his blood.

    While Lu Yin had no idea why Lan Xian wanted his blood, it was absolutely not for anything good.

    Jiu Yao replied, "I hope that you three will leave these Daosource Sect ruins as soon as possible and also not publicize the fact that there is stellr energy here. Can the three of you do this?"

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s eyebrows rose, and her voice grew cold. "What if we say no? We are free to do as we wish."

    Jiu Yao''s expression darkened.

    Heluo Mavis had acknowledged Lu Yin, and her attitude towards him had changed. Even though Jiu Yao was a Semi-Progenitor, from Heluo Mavis''s perspective, that simply meant that Jiu Yao¡¯s cultivation exceeded theirs. If he was not a Semi-Progenitor, Jiu Yao would not qualify to even speak to the Dao Chosen. On top of that, Heluo Mavis also hated the people of the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin was speechless at her response. Heluo Mavis clearly had a bad temper, and she acted very differently from the other members of the Mavis family Lu Yin was familiar with. While Yuhua Mavis asionally had a hot temper, she normally behaved in a very refined manner.

    No, it was important to quickly move on. Lu Yin did not want to antagonize Jiu Yao at this moment. "I can promise. You don¡¯t need to worry, I will not reveal this matter to the outside world."

    He would simply share it internally, as the people of the Great Eastern Alliance were part of his inside circle.

    Jiu Yao''s expression improved when he heard Lu Yin''s response. He shot Heluo Mavis a cold re. If not for the fact that humanity was united against the Aeternals at this moment, Jiu Yao would not have been so reserved in his actions. These youths would simply be captured and forced to share their ancient inheritances.

    "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, I will take my leave now. You have no need to worry¡ªwhat happened here will not be shared with the outside world," Lu Yin said once again, and he immediately started to move away while Jiu Yao calmly watched. Lu Yin aimed for one of the teleportation pirs. It did not matter where it led to, as it was simply important to first get away.

    Jiu Yao made no attempt to stop Lu Yin from leaving.

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. It was clear that Lu Yin was trying to get away from Jiu Yao. He had deliberately imed to be the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen in an attempt to trick Jiu Yao into thinking he was from the Heavens Sect era like Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis.

    While this was readily apparent to Chu Yuan, he said nothing. He owed Jiu Yao no favors.

    While Chu Yuan might look as gentle as jade on the outside, the truth was that he was just as arrogant as Heluo Mavis and Sky Garan. Chu Yuan simrly looked down on the people of the current era. So what if he was facing a Semi-Progenitor? Given enough time, Chu Yuan would absolutely be a Progenitor, let alone a mere Semi-Progenitor.

    At this moment, the void twisted, and Lan Xian appeared. "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, what''s wrong?"

    Jiu Yao indifferently answered, "Three Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era were fighting, so I have asked them to stop and leave the ruins."

    Lan Xian nodded. In the past, they would never dream of allowing such people to simply leave, but this was not a good time to take such actions. Let alone the threat of the Aeternals, any one of the ancient powerhouses would be extremely difficult to deal with. Who knew who might appear, but every one of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates possessed horrifying power.

    Eh? Suddenly, Lan Xian noticed Lu Yin, who had already almost reached the teleportation pir. That back?

    "Stop!" Lan Xian screamed, as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned his head, and Lan Xian was startled by the appearance of what looked like a desated corpse. She stared at Lu Yin. "You are Lu Yin."

    Jiu Yao was taken aback. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. "I am the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    One of the distant Sixth Maind cultivators called out, ¡°Reporting to the Semi-Progenitors, he is Lu Yin!"

    Jiu Yao instantly became furious upon hearing this. That bastard had dared lie to him!

    Lu Yin raced towards the teleportation pir without any hesitation. He was already less than two meters away. It was so close for someone with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, but it still meant nothing to Lan Xian.

    Drifting cherry blossoms filled the entire sky, and the sound of music yed by a three-stringed instrument filled Lu Yin¡¯s ears, shocking him. This was bad! He was in an inner world! He quickly called out, "Lan Xian, don''t you just want my blood? Those two have even more precious blood! One is the Origin Progenitor¡¯s descendant while the other is a descendant of the Mother Tree!"

    Lan Xian was stunned, and she reflexively nced over at Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis.

    The two Dao Chosen werepletely lost. Who was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s descendant? Who was the Mother Tree¡¯s descendant?

    Lu Yin''s strength meant that it was impossible for him to escape from a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, but luckily, he had been prepared for this moment. He had made sure to have the Netherworld River in his hand before entering the Daosource Sect ruins.

    The Netherworld River was very strange. While it had the appearance of a liquid stream, it could be held in a hand or hidden within one¡¯s clothes like a solid object.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the Netherworld River, and he instantly entered the teleportation pir of light and disappeared.

    He had used a Netherworld River that he had Enhanced three times, and it allowed his speed to reach a level on par with the Second Nightking¡¯s. That was a powerhouse second only to Semi-Progenitors.

    Not even Lan Xian could stop Lu Yin from escaping. He had already been just two meters away from the teleportation pir, and while this distance was impossible for Lu Yin to cross on his own, he had managed to escape with the help of the Netherworld River.

    Jiu Yao wanted to take action, but he had been ignorant as to Lu Yin¡¯s identity, and he had still been enraged at being deceived. On top of that, Jiu Yao had seen Lan Xian release her inner world, and it should have been impossible for Lu Yin to escape. And yet, the youth had somehow done just that. What was that strange power vessel?

    Lan Xian was frustrated. She had been distracted by Lu Yin''s words, though that was mostly because hisment had been too shocking. He had imed that the two people with him were descendants of the Origin Progenitor and the Mother Tree!

    Remembering this, Lan Xian turned to stare Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression was not very good at this moment.

    Both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis were trapped within Lan Xian''s inner world at this moment. While it appeared to be an area that was filled with beautiful cherry blossoms, it was also incredibly dangerous.

    "You two, did Lu Yin tell the truth?" Lan Xian asked as she stared at the two.

    Chu Yuan felt genuinely puzzled. "What are you referring to, Senior Semi-Progenitor?"

    "Which of you is the Origin Progenitor¡¯s descendant?" Lan Xian demanded. After bing a Semi-Progenitor, she had learned that the mythical Progenitor had not merely been a legend. There was a statue of the Origin Progenitor within the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. Even if it was fake and something fabricated byter generations, Lan Xian had learned that the Origin Progenitor had indeed existed after the people from the Heavens Sect era had appeared.

    People from the Heavens Sect era had also appeared within the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory, and some of them were even from the Sixth Maind itself. People were bing more and more familiar with information regarding the Heavens Sect era.

    The more Lan Xian understood, the more excited she became. If one of these two people was indeed the Origin Progenitor¡¯s descendant, then their blood would absolutely be far more valuable than Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Chu Yuan casually stated, "The Origin Progenitor has no descendants. While he did leave heirs behind, none were his descendants."

    Lan Xian frowned. "Are you saying that Lu Yin lied to me?"

    Heluo Mavis snorted disdainfully. "This is my first time seeing such a liar. Everything out of his mouth was just more deception."

    "In that case, who is the descendant of the Mother Tree?" Lan Xian continued her questioning.

    Helo Mavis just rolled her eyes. "What in the world is a descendant of the Mother Tree?"

    Lan Xian became furious when she realized she had been tricked. The words "Origin Progenitor" and "Mother Tree" had been so shocking that she had briefly been distracted. Damn you, Lu Yin! You bastard!

    "Since you already knew that he was Lu Yin, why did you not say anything?" Jiu Yao angrily demanded as he red at the two young people.

    Chu Yuan lookedpletely unfazed. "Who he is has nothing to do with us. I also acknowledge him as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    "I agree with that," Helo Mavis said.

    Jiu Yao became even angrier. The unreasonable arrogance of these two had allowed Lu Yin to treat Jiu Yao as a fool!

    "This is my order: whoever leaves this ce must first share word that the futons are to be given to all Imprinters and that they are all to enter the Daosource Sect ruins to restore their stellr energy!" Jiu Yaomanded. Since Lu Yin had already appeared within the Daosource Sect ruins, it was impossible to hide the fact that there was still stellr energy here. On top of that, the ruins contained enough stellr energy for Jiu Yao and Lan Xian to use for themselves. So instead of allowing the Fifth Maind to reap any benefits, it would be better to allow the Sixth Maind¡¯s forces to restore their own stellr energy.

    Jiu Yao became even angrier as he thought back to Lu Yin¡¯s words. The bastard had mentioned twice that he would not reveal any information to the outside world, but only an idiot would believe that.

    Lan Xian stared intently at both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. "I am told that you two are both Dao Chosen, which would suggest that your families are about equal to the Lu family, no? At the very least, they should not be much inferior."

    Heluo Mavis proudly proimed, "My Mavis family controls the Second Maind while the Lu family rules the Fifth Maind. Our statuses arepletely equal."

    Lan Xian looked over at Chu Yuan.

    Chu Yuan was a much more cautious person than Heluo Mavis, and with the addition of Lu Yin¡¯s words before he had escaped, not to mention Lan Xian¡¯s odd behavior, Chu Yuan casually replied, "I''m just from an ordinary family."

    Heluo Mavis sneered. "Since when have you been so humble, Chu Yuan? You¡¯re the only one of us Dao Chosen to be recognized by the Origin Progenitor. It¡¯s clear that you¡¯re incredibly talented."

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian were both shocked. Acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor?

    Chu Yuan''s expression grew ugly. Could this woman really be dumb enough to not even be able to read the current situation? It was no wonder why people referred to her as the craziest person in the entire history of the Mavis family.

    Lan Xian smiled and let out a sigh of relief. While Lu Yin may have escaped, neither of these two was a bad catch. The Sixth Maind had always wanted to get their hands on members of the Mavis family, and they had even issued a bounty on capturing any of the Mavis family members when the Fifth Maind had been invaded.

    There had been rumors that the Mavis family was capable of controlling nts throughout the entire universe, and their bloodline was not considered any worse than the Lu family¡¯s.

    As for the male, he had apparently been acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor himself. Regardless of his heritage, such talent put the man on the same level as even the most valuable of bloodlines.

    As these thoughts drifted through her head, Lan Xian slowly descended to the ground to face Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis.

    ¡­

    Far away, Lu Yin arrived at a barren mountain after exiting the teleportation pir. He immediately started searching for another pir to escape through without ever ncing behind.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Lan Xian would pursue him, but if she did, he would never be able to escape.

    After all, he had needed to use an upgraded Netherworld River just to cross a distance of less than two meters. If the distance had been just ten meters, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to escape from Lan Xian¡¯s inner world even with the Netherworld River.

    There were ces in the Daosource Sect ruins that were very dangerous, but luckily, Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength meant that those ces were of no threat to him.

    After passing through several teleportation pirs in a row, Lu Yin arrived at the edge of a sea. He had traveled a vast distance to arrive at the location of the Mountains and Seas inheritances.

    He let out a slow breath and looked up. He had been recognized by Jiu Yao and Lan Xian. They would definitely find a way to get the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses to enter the ruins and recover their stellr energy as soon as possible. While humanity had united to face the threat of the Aeternals, those monsters had been blocked for the moment, and this let humanity¡¯s internal conflicts erupt once again. It would not be easy for the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors to make their way into the Daosource Sect ruins to recover their stellr energy reserves.

    On top of that, Lu Yin still had more than half a month left in the ruins. That was more than enough time for many of the Sixth Maind¡¯s experts to make their way into the Daosource Sect ruins and absorb stellr energy. Even if any was left after Lu Yin left, it might not be enough for even just Kui Luo to recover. Lu Yin needed to find a way around this issue.

    After entering the Nine Cauldrons Region to resume absorbing cauldron energy, a thought suddenly urred to Lu Yin.

    The essence of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation was to gather a vast amount of energy while using the cauldron energy as a guide and then detonate that vast reserve of energy. However, before that explosion, the gathered stellr energy was still just unused stellr energy. There were means of gathering stellr energy without detonating it, so could this technique be used to simply gather and store stellr energy?

    Lu Yin felt it was a slightly silly thought, but he still wanted to try it out.

 Chapter 2059: The Modern World

    Chapter 2059: The Modern World

    From the beginning of the history of human cultivation, after the appearance of stellr energy, who could have imagined that the God of Death would create death energy? Or that Destiny would be able to see through the future and the past? Who could have thought that the Rune Progenitor would be capable of creating the runes system? Who could have imagined the possibility of Extremes Must Be Reversed?

    Every aspect of human civilization stemmed from humans¡¯ ability to create and realize new ideas.

    Creation was birthed from wisdom, or to be a bit more urate, from whimsical thoughts.

    The more absurd the concept, the more miraculous the results would be if one seeded in their endeavor. In the past, Progenitors had created all kinds of unique power sources for cultivation methods, so there was no reason for Lu Yin to avoid testing out some far-fetched ideas.

    Lu Yin did as he wished. He had already absorbed all of the cauldron energy from five of the cauldrons, shattering them in the process. He had not started absorbing any cauldron energy from the sixth cauldron yet, so he was still limited to just five suns.

    A very long time had passed since Lu Yin hadst used the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, but he first pulled out Zenith Mountain. Even if it was possible to store stellr energy in the five suns, it was impossible for Lu Yin to store such a thing in a cosmic ring. The only chance of sess would be if he relied on Zenith Mountain.

    As the stellr energy continued to gather, Lu Yin lifted his hand to look at the five dazzling suns that were forming in his palm as he absorbed the surrounding stellr energy. "Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation: Five Suns."

    The five suns continued to growrger, and they soon rose up into the sky. They really did look as dazzling as five suns, but they continued to absorb more and more stellr energy.

    When Lu Yin had first used the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation with just the first sun, he had used up almost all the star energy that had been in his body at the time. Back then, Lu Yin had not been able to endure the power of the battle technique, which had limited the strength that he could utilize. However, after the second, third, and especially the fourth suns appeared, the technique had undergone some sort of mysterious change that Lu Yin could not quite fathom. There was something about the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation that not even the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms Mountain had been able to discern, but he had said that it almost felt as though the technique was looking back at him.

    The appearance of the fourth sun had not only changed the battle technique in some mysterious manner, but it had also given it the ability to continuously absorb ambient energy, regardless of whether it was star energy or stellr energy.

    After Mister Mu had taught Lu Yin more about the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, Lu Yin hade to understand the technique¡¯s potential better. Theoretically, the power of this technique was limitless. That was the true face of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.

    Lu Yin had actually been worried that absorbing too much stellr energy would attract the attention of the true universe, but given the current situation where all the stellr energy in the true universe was being devoured by those droplets of strange liquid, the amount of stellr energy that Lu Yin could influence waspletely insufficient to draw the true universe¡¯s notice.

    Eventually, each of the suns reached the point where they contained half the total amount of stellr energy that Lu Yin possessed. In other words, altogether, the five suns held more stellr energy than all four of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices.

    On top of that, this was just the beginning. The five suns were still absorbing more and more stellr energy, and their power was growing exponentially.

    The five suns grew increasingly powerful with every passing second, and it was not long before each of them contained far more energy than what Lu Yin¡¯s entire body possessed. If Lu Yin¡¯s estimation was correct, then the five suns should cumtively have more stellr energy than what even the Second Nightking possessed.

    The amount of stellr energy within any of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices was much greater than anyone at the same cultivation realm as him, and beyond that, Lu Yin also possessed four stellr energy vortices, which increased his reserves an additional fourfold.

    If all five of these suns exploded, it would be powerful enough to frighten experts with power levels of over a million, and even Semi-Progenitors would feel their scalps go numb.

    The amount of stellr energy that he had absorbed from the region of the Daosource Sect ruins with the Mountains and Seas soon reached levels where the other regions of the ruins began to feel the effects.

    If one were able to observe the entire Daosource Sect ruins, they would see ripples spreading through the void from the Mountain and Seas region, slowly epassing the entire ruins.

    While Lu Yin was absorbing stellr energy into his five suns, the ruins trembled, and cracks appeared in many ces. The sea beneath Lu Yin started to churn, and the mountains started to break apart. Far away, many ces like the Scripture Pavilion, the tform of Inception, the ce where the Arrow Progenitor¡¯s inheritance had been discovered, and more all started to crack apart. Even the Nine Cauldrons Region started to crack, and thest four cauldrons began to shake.

    These sudden changes startled Lu Yin. What¡¯s going on? This isn¡¯t because of me, is it? No, it can¡¯t be. I was just taking a bit of stellr energy.

    Next to the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, both Jiu Yao and Lan Xian¡¯s expressions twisted as they stared at Chu Yuan who was inside the main hall. The ground all around them was churning and breaking apart, and a massive spatial tear had appeared in the sky overhead.

    "Come out here!" Jiu Yao yelled as he tried to grab Chu Yuan with a hand.

    Blood could be seen at the corner of Chu Yuan''s mouth. "You want my blood? Are you worthy of it?"

    After he spoke, a muffled sound swept through the void. It sounded as though it was echoing down through the ages, and it resonated with the Daosource Sect ruins. The sound transformed into an unimaginably vast power that started to force the entire Daosource Sect downwards.

    Since ancient times, each of the Six Maind¡¯s Daosource Sects had stood high above the mainds, and they were held up by the Sky Pirs.

    After the Fifth Maind had lost the war against the Sixth Maind, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Sky Pir had been converted into Mt. Microcosms, which had be the physical foundation of the Hall of Honor. As for the Daosource Sect ruins, they had been mysteriously moved somewhere in space and were never seen again. The only way to enter the ruins was with a futon.

    However, regardless of how the Daosource Sect had disappeared, it had always remained within the Fifth Maind.

    After countless years, the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect was finally reappearing at this moment.

    For the Fifth Maind, it had started out as a very ordinary day. The Progenitor of Bloodlines was calmly standing guard at the passage to the Starfall Sea with four Semi-Progenitors. In the Outerverse, the Sixth Maind¡¯s powerhouses were secretly gathering up futons, while in the eastern weaves, Lu Buzheng was standing guard over Lu Yin as the youth was recovering in seclusion. Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s eyes were asionally drooping, and the beast kept looking like it was about to fall asleep. Far away, in the Neoverse, Arch-Elder Zen was going through some ancient records, searching for information about the Heavens Sect.

    It was a day that should have been perfectly ordinary, but that ordinariness was shattered by a thunderous rumbling that spread into every single corner of the Fifth Maind. Countless people looked up to see the Daosource Sect ruins descending. It was unbelievably distant, yet it also looked very close.

    The ancient piece of jade that Arch-Elder Zen had been carefully reading through turned to ash that drifted away. He stared nkly towards the Innerverse in aplete daze. Is that¡­ the Daosource Sect ruins? How has it returned?

    Elsewhere in the Neoverse, in the ce where the Seven Courts had once lived, several Semi-Progenitors, including Hen Xin, were shocked by what they sensed, and they all turned to stare into the distance.

    "Is that the Daosource Sect ruins?" Xia Ji blurted out.

    Ni Huang was startled. "It is. It¡¯s the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, but why is it suddenly appearing now?"

    Hen Xin rose to his feet. Although he looked solemn, for a powerhouse like him who had lived in the ancient era, the Daosource Sect was not something from the distant past. "Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s possible that we¡¯ll find what we need there."

    At the passage to the Starfall Sea, the Progenitor of Bloodlines stared towards the Innerverse and asked in disbelief, "Is that the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect?"

    Herb Immortal was simrly startled. "We never even managed to locate the ruins. How is it appearing right now?"

    At this same time, countless people were staring at the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. The ruins were clearly close enough to reach out and touch, but in reality, they were unimaginably distant.

    The instant the Daosource Sect ruins appeared above the Fifth Maind, they started to shatter. The mentalwork that epassed the Fifth Maind was suppressed, and the droplets of liquid began to crazily devour the stellr energy from the ruins.

    Inside the ruins, Lu Yin stared upwards at the ovepping sky that had suddenly appeared. He could not understand what was going on, but he was clearly able to sense that the ambient stellr energy was suddenly being sucked away. He quickly took the five suns and stored them in Zenith Mountain and then nervously watched to see what would happen.

    The five suns floated above Zenith Mountain, but there was no explosion, or even any sign of destabilization.

    Lu Yin released a sigh of relief. He felt like his worries had been nothing but a joke. He quickly sent a warning to everyone on Zenith Mountain: "Everyone, don''t get close to the five suns. You can¡¯t me me if you die from not listening."

    Across Zenith Mountain, everyone looked upwards. Were those suns?

    There had actually been no need for Lu Yin to warn everyone, as an odd, but oppressive force had appeared along with the five suns. No one would dare to act rashly after sensing such obvious power.

    It was clear that those suns were not actual stars, but rather imitations of stars that had been formed by the gathering and condensation of an unbelievable amount of stellr energy. Those orbs held enough destructive power to scare experts with power levels of over a million. A single nce was all it took to leave people shuddering.

    Despite trembling, there were still a few people who refused to ept things. "Long Qi, get down here for this princess! Long Qi, this princess wants to fight you! Long Qi-"

    Xia Taili kept shouting until her face was flushed. She was so infuriated that she had been captured and imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, not to mention she was never a person with patience.

    Lu Yin just ignored the girl.

    Still on Zenith Mountain, Xia Taili became even more enraged when she noticed that Lu Yin did not even respond. "You told us not to touch them just because you don¡¯t want us to, but I¡¯m going to do it anyways!"

    Even as she spoke, Xia Taili rose up into the sky to touch the five suns floating above Zenith Mountain.

    Lu Yin frowned, and his finger twitched as he prepared to deal with the girl.

    However, before he could do anything, someone else stopped Xia Taili. She might not fear death, but that was not true for everyone else.

    After seeing Xia Taili lose her mind, Wang Dashuai grabbed a hold of her legs. "Sister, just let it go! We don''t want to die yet! That thing obviously isn¡¯t easy to deal with. Sister, just listen to Seventh Bro!"

    Xia Taili kicked Wang Dashuai off of her. "Get lost, you son of a bitch! A princess like me won¡¯t be tricked by some bastard! Long Qi, if you won¡¯t release me, I¡¯m going to go poke those five pieces of trash!"

    Several more people appeared, and Xia Taili was struck to the ground. Wen Diyi, Crown Prince Gui Zian, and Long Xi had all attacked.

    Wen Yi quietly stated, "Princess Taili, those five suns contain an unpredictable power. If we aren¡¯t careful, all of us will be caught up in the resulting destruction. Calm yourself. None of the rest of us have lost our minds despite being imprisoned for so many years."

    Xia Taili red at him. "Did you just call me crazy?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian spoke in a frosty tone, "I''ll disfigure you if you don''t listen."

    Xia Taili was beyond furious, and she red at Crown Prince Gui Qian while grinding her teeth. However, she was reminded of what she had seen in the Dominion Realm. Crown Prince Gui Qian was almost as strong as the four Junior Progenitors, and Xia Taili had to admit that she was not his opponent, let alone when he was working with Wen Yi and Long Xi.

    Long Xi had moved to stop Xia Taili not because she feared death, but because she did not want Xia Taili to destroy anything that belonged to Lu Yin. Long Xi had found herself viewing Lu Yin as Lu Xiaoxuan more and more, despite the obvious fact that they were twopletely different people.

    Outside Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin sighed. Even though someone had gone crazy, he was lucky that most of his prisoners were able to still think straight, and some of them had even been proactive enough to stop Xia Taili¡¯s foolishness.

    That crazy woman would eventually have to be released. Otherwise, who knew what sort of mad actions she might take. Not to mention, giving more reasons for the Xia family to harbor hatred towards him.

    Still, releasing Xia Taili was not a simple decision. Xia Ji had betrayed the Fifth Maind and turned to join the Perennial World¡¯s Xia family. From the man¡¯s point of view, it was only proper to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the main family. On the other hand, from the perspective of the rest of the Fifth Maind, Xia Ji had betrayed them. On top of that, with everything that had happened between Xia Ji and Lu Yin, Lu Yin had absolutely no intention of simply letting the past go.

    So what if Xia Ji was a Semi-Progenitor? If bing a one-tribtion or even a two-tribtion Envoy was not enough, then Lu Yin would simply wait until he was a three-tribtion Envoy. Also, Lu Yin had not forgotten about his Timestop Space, and he had already proven his qualifications to stand on a Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battlefield.

    After storing Zenith Mountain away, Lu Yin saw that the surrounding Mountains and Seas had cracked and were slowly drifting away from each other. Off in the distance, golden characters flew in every direction. They were the ancient characters from the Scripture Pavilion.

    Seeing what was happening, Lu Yin had a horrible suspicion. He quickly looked around, searching for the Nine Cauldrons Region. There were still four cauldrons there that contained cauldron energy, and if they scattered into the void, he had no idea how he was supposed to find them again.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s desire to take thest four cauldrons was pointless, as he was already toote. By the time he had thought to look, thest four cauldrons had already fallen away into various parts of the Fifth Maind, just like the ancient golden characters from the Scripture Pavilion.

    The droplets of strange liquid quickly sucked away the remaining stellr energy from the Daosource Sect ruins, leaving Jiu Yao beyond furious. Before he had even had the chance to recover his own stellr energy, all the energy had been stolen from the ruins.

 Chapter 2060: Collapse

    Chapter 2060: Copse

    Lan Xian felt helpless at this moment. Her goal was too obvious; she wanted to obtain a drop of blood from these people, but neither youth was willing to cooperate. Chu Yuan had instantly released his full power, but he was nowhere close to being Lan Xian''s opponent. On top of that, it was impossible for him to escape from Lan Xian¡¯s inner world. Fortunately for Chu Yuan, they were close to the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, so he had been able to return the ruins to the rest of the known universe in a manner that defied everyone¡¯s imagination.

    While the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era were not even close to being able to stand up to a Semi-Progenitor inbat, they had many bizarre means avable to them, especially in unique locations such as the Daosource Sect. No one was as familiar with the Daosource Sect as the Dao Chosen.

    Chu Yuan had not acted alone, as Heluo Mavis had also fled into the main hall with the help of a power vessel.

    Once the Daosource Sect ruins returned to the known universe, the mentalwork that suppressed the Fifth Maind instantly limited Jiu Yao and Lan Xian¡¯s strength, but that was still not enough to prevent Jiu Yao from attacking Chu Yuan.

    "Child, you are seeking death!" Jiu Yao stepped into the main hall and stretched out a hand to capture Chu Yuan.

    There were no surprises, and the hand smashed into Chu Yuan''s shoulder without issue. The difference between the two men¡¯s power meant that it was impossible for Chu Yuan to evade Jiu Yao. And yet, the Semi-Progenitor found that he could not harm the young man at all.

    Chu Yuan''s tattered clothing was torn away to reveal an inner white robe. It was trimmed with gold thread, and it looked exactly like the robe that Sky Garan always wore. Shockingly, this robe was what had stopped Jiu Yao¡¯s hand.

    Jiu Yao was shocked. He was clearly touching something soft, yet he could not exert any strength through the white robe to actually harm Chu Yuan. What was this robe made out of?

    As for the other two, Lan Xian had simrly attacked Heluo Mavis. The young woman¡¯s white robe also revealed itself beneath her ragged green dress. However, Lan Xian¡¯s attack was much more reserved than Jiu Yao, as she simply wanted to get a drop of blood.

    While neither of the two Semi-Progenitors were able to harm the two youths, the Dao Chosen were still captured.

    Chu Yuan''s formless and invisible power was not enough topensate for Jiu Yao¡¯s overwhelming advantage in strength, but even after being captured by a Semi-Progenitor, Chu Yuan showed no fear or concern for death. The Dao Chosen were the future hope of an entire maind, and even if the Heavens Sect had disappeared, there was a very small chance that this Semi-Progenitor would simply kill a Dao Chosen without proper cause.

    "Come with me." Jiu Yao held on to Chu Yuan''s shoulder and prepared to take him away.

    Suddenly, the void was torn asunder by a terrifying power. Jiu Yao''s expression changed, and he quickly dodged. In doing so, he released his hold on Chu Yuan.

    A de sh had appeared between the Semi-Progenitor and Chu Yuan. It moved through space before reaching a spot, where it paused. Slowly, the sh took on the form of a person.

    Jiu Yao instantly became solemn. This sh was far from simple. Even though stellr energy had been swallowed by the strange droplets, this de attack was powerful enough that even Jiu Yao felt fear. He could feel every hair on his entire body stand on end. "Who are you?"

    Chu Yuan was taken aback when he saw the de attack stop in front of him and take on a human form. "A master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates: the Celestial de Gatemaster, senior Leng Qing."

    Lan Xian also noticed the sh from where she stood, and Heluo Mavis seized the opportunity to manifest a massive tree behind her. The Dao Chosen raised a fist, and her right hand smashed towards Lan Xian with a shout.

    Lan Xian was not someone who had focused on training her bodily strength, but she was still a Semi-Progenitor, and she had passed through many stellr tribtions. Every sessful tribtion baptized the body with stellr energy, raising the strength of a person¡¯s body to previously iparable levels. Even if she did not specialize in physical strength, her power was not something that Heluo Mavis couldpare to.

    Lan Xian easily blocked Heluo Mavis''s punch without even needing to take a step back.

    The Semi-Progenitor retaliated and struck at Heluo Mavis¡¯s forehead.

    The young woman¡¯s eyes red, and the massive tree behind her nearly solidified as it instantly merged into her body. Just as she was about to respond to Lan Xian¡¯s attack, the humanoid sh crossed the distance, and Lan Xian hurriedly shifted her hand to target the sh.

    There was a tearing sound, and Lan Xian''s sleeve waspletely shredded, exposing her white arm as she was forced to retreat several steps.

    Heluo Mavis let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Gatemaster Leng Qing."

    Jiu Yao was stunned. This cutting attack moved as though it was conscious. This was not an attack from a de, but rather a person. A human had merged with their own sh. This person¡¯s mastery of the de far exceeded anything that Jiu Yao could fathom.

    Of the Semi-Progenitors present in the Fifth Maind, both the Xia family¡¯s Xia De and Xia Ji were skilled with des, but they were both far inferior to this person¡¯s mastery of the de.

    Beyond the main hall, the Daosource Sect ruins continued to copse in every direction, and the Mountains and Seas fell apart.

    Lu Yin caught sight of the main hall and noticed that it was the only part of the Daosource Sect that did not show any signs of copsing. Lu Yin finally understood why Chu Yuan had not gone to visit even the Mountains and Seas, but had instead gone straight for the main hall. There was clearly something special about the ce.

    The main hall was toorge to behold from up close, but from Lu Yin¡¯s location, he could see that the main hall was not merely an individual building. Instead, it was actually connected to the nearby mountains and rivers.

    These parts of thendscape were also not copsing, which indicated that they were somehow connected to the main hall and were even possibly a part of it.

    At this moment, within the main hall, Jiu Yao and Lan Xian were facing off against the de master.

    Lu Yin noticed their fight, but he was uninterested. He instead focused on Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. The two had actually started fighting each other, and they were moving away from the main hall and deeper into the region.

    Lu Yin focused on Heluo Mavis. She was saying something, but the distance meant that Lu Yin could not hear anything. Still, it was clear that she was chasing after Chu Yuan.

    When the two had first met outside the main hall, Heluo Mavis had asked Chu Yuan why he had gone to that ce. Chu Yuan had never actually answered the question, though Heluo Mavis had mentioned the Origin Progenitor. Was it possible that there was some connection between the main hall and the Origin Progenitor?

    Also, what had caused the Daosource Sect to appear in the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced for a bit, but when he saw both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis vanish as he watched, Lu Yin shot towards the main hall.

    Inside the main hall, Jiu Yao was reluctant to fight against the mysterious de master who had appeared, but their attacks were relentless. The person simplymented on how the Dao Chosen were the future of the era and had said some nonsense about how they must be protected. The whole thing left Jiu Yao speechless.

    Lu Yin rushed into the main hall, and without even a nce to the side, he raced towards the location where he had seen Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis disappear.

    Jiu Yao shouted, "Lan Xian, after him!"

    The moment he said those words, the sh expanded, and it blocked both Jiu Yao and Lan Xian from moving. Jiu Yao was infuriated. "Who the hell are you? There¡¯s no reason for a deathmatch between us!"

    "No Dao Chosen should ever face a situation where they are attacked by an elder. This is the will of heaven, and if you two vite this will, then you deserve death," a chilling voice answered Jiu Yao.

    Jiu Yao¡¯s anger was rising ever higher. "The Heavens Sect era ended long ago."

    "Nonsense."

    Lan Xian stepped back. She felt a bit helpless, as it seemed that this person had only recently regained consciousness and had not realized that they were no longer in the Heavens Sect era.

    Either that, or they was deranged.

    "Haven¡¯t you noticed that there¡¯s no longer any stellr energy?" Jiu Yao yelled again as he evaded the cutting attacks.

    "And?"

    Jiu Yao had nothing more to say. Evenbined, he and Lan Xian were being overwhelmed by this gate master from the Heavens Sect era. On top of that, this person was both too aggressive and too decisive. Still, their strength was unquestionably on par with Lu Buzheng''s, and they far surpassed the two Semi-Progenitors from the Sixth Maind.

    Only by facing the ancient powerhouses directly was it possible toprehend the strength of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect era. As they themselves had bluntly stated, the gate masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were all capable of bing Progenitors, and they represented the peak of their cultivation realm. Just like the Dao Chosen, the gate masters represented the future of humanity.

    For the Aeternals, eliminating both the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates and the Dao Chosen was equivalent to removing two generations of human Progenitors, which had created a break in the continuity of human cultivation.

    There was more than just one level to the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. As Lu Yin followed Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis¡¯s path deeper into the building, he came to understand that Jiu Yao and the others were simply on the first floor. Lu Yin had already reached the second underground level, which was where Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis had gone.

    Chu Yuan frowned when he saw Lu Yin appear.

    In contrast, Heluo Mavis¡¯s eyes lit up. "Hey, you from the Lu family, help me take care of him. He¡¯s got to be looking for something good that¡¯s connected to the Origin Progenitor."

    "Heluo Mavis, stop this nonsense!" Chu Yuan roared. He had lost hisposure, and a fierce, cold light flickered deep in his eyes.

    Heluo Mavis just sneered. "Why would I need to watch my mouth? I already know that only one of the Twelve Heavenly Gate Masters has ever seen the Origin Progenitor, and the same is true of the Dao Chosen. Only one person from each generation will qualify to meet the Origin Progenitor, and that person definitely said something to you that made you impatient to visit the main hall. In fact, that¡¯s probably why you were able to reveal these ruins. You¡¯re clearly searching for something."

    "That''s right." Before Chu Yuan could respond, Lu Yin shouted loudly and attacked Chu Yuan with a Hollow Palm.

    Chu Yuan raised a hand, and the Hollow Palm struck his robe without causing any damage.

    "You might be from the Lu family and possess the strength to stand next to us, but you are still not a Dao Chosen, so stay out of things. If you persist, I have many options to deal with you," Chu Yuan warned.

    Heluo Mavis butted it, "You want to use items and power vessels? I¡¯ve got those things too. Hey, Lu, do whatever you want. He wants to use power vessels to attack you, so I¡¯ll help you stop them while you attack."

    Lu Yin did not like how the two were speaking down to him. "What about you?"

    Heluo Mavis answered, "Of course I¡¯m going to attack him too, and I¡¯ll try to protect you a bit. His robes are able to stop an attack from an eight-tribtion expert, and it¡¯s the symbol of a Dao Chosen, so don¡¯t touch it. Go after his head or his feet. Oh, right¡ªif you have any power vessels of your own, go ahead and use them.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Apetition of power vessels?"

    When the Daosource Sect ruins was isted from the rest of the universe, it had been impossible to remove anything from a cosmic ring while within the bounds of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. The only thing that Lu Yin had been holding in his hand was the Netherworld River. However, things had since changed, and he now had ess to everything in his cosmic ring.

    "In that case, if it¡¯s apetition of power vessels¡­" Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring, but he did nothing quite yet. He was no idiot, and he intended to let Heluo Mavis first fight against Chu Yuan and consume both of their resources.

    Chu Yuan blocked Heluo Mavis¡¯s attack while ncing over at Lu Yin. This person had just mentionedpeting with power vessels twice. What was that about? Could he have a great number of equipment and power vessels?

    Heluo Mavis suddenly moved back and looked over at Lu Yin. "Are you going to do anything? Also, do you have a lot of items? Don''t bother with any of the useless ones. Each of the power vessels we have are as strong as a six-tribtion powerhouse, and that goes for both offensive and defensive items. If your power vessels can¡¯t pass that threshold, don¡¯t embarrass yourself by bringing them out."

    Lu Yin smiled. There was absolutely no one in the current era who couldpete with him when it came to items, but what about the people from the Heavens Sect era? Offensive and defensive powers had topare to a six-tribtion powerhouse? Was that all? That was just a power level of a million.

    "You¡¯ve been constantly looking down on this era, but I¡¯m going to show you right now what kind of power has appeared in our time." Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Chu Yuan and weakened him.

    Just like how it had previously been impossible to remove items from a cosmic ring in the Daosource Sect ruins, there also had not been any runes avable, which had made Truesight unusable. But now, runes filled the area, and these Dao Chosen were about to gain a new understanding of the current era.

    Chu Yuan simply felt his body quiver as it grew weak. Given his cultivation, he should have absolute control over every part of his body, and there should be no way to change that. A sudden bout of weakness should be impossible. He looked at Lu Yin and noticed that Lu Yin''s pupils had changed. "You?"

    Lu Yin struck out with a palm. Suddenly, the main hall shook. Lu Yin¡¯s attack missed, and he almost fell.

    Every part of the main hall was trembling, and the ground broke apart.

    All three young people looked down at the floor. "This ce is about to copse."

    Chu Yuan was stunned. This was impossible! How could this ce be breaking?

    The fissures in the ground grewrger andrger as increasingly violent tremors shook the main hall.

 Chapter 2061: Origin Progenitorâ€™s Statue

    Chapter 2061: Origin Progenitor¡¯s Statue

    At this same time, Semi-Progenitors were streaming towards the Daosource Sect ruins from all parts of the Fifth Maind, but before they could reach the ruins, they were all summoned by the Progenitor of Bloodlines. The passage to the Starfall Sea was being attacked.

    When Arch-Elder Zen and the others received this news, they immediately changed directions and raced towards the Starfall Sea. Even Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors followed behind.

    The trembling in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall grew worse and worse. No one noticed that ayer of mottled colors had appeared outside the main hall. It was difficult to see with the naked eye, and it was like a thin film that covered the main hall.

    Beneath the main hall, Lu Yin dodged to the side. A statue had suddenly appeared beneath his feet, and it slowly floated up.

    All three people in the room stared at the statue.

    "The Origin Progenitor?" Chu Yuan eximed.

    Heluo Mavis was startled. "That¡¯s the statue of the Origin Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin stared at the statue. It was of a middle-aged man who looked rather schrly. There was a hint of a smile on his face, a massive snake coiled around his waist, and an eagle perched on his shoulder. The statue was quite lifelike.

    The statue was not veryrge, and it was merely the size of a normal human. However, when he looked at the statue, Lu Yin felt an inexplicable sense of reverence.

    He had heard what Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis had said. Was this really the Origin Progenitor?

    ording to the legends, the Origin Progenitor had brought humanity into outer space, united the six Mainds, established the first cultivation method, and even brought about the peak of humanity by founding the Heavens Sect. He was someone who was worshiped by every human, though Lu Yin had initially believed the man to be nothing more than a myth. While interacting with different powerhouses had taught him better, it was only at this moment that Lu Yin saw the true appearance of the Origin Progenitor.

    Not one of the three people moved after the statue of the Origin Progenitor appeared. They simply watched as it slowly rose up to break through the ceiling and ground above their heads, creating a hole that connected to the first level of the main hall up above. Lu Yin and the others were able to see the three Semi-Progenitors standing above them.

    The statue of the Origin Progenitor continued to rise after entering the first level of the main hall.

    Jiu Yao was startled when he saw the statue. "The Origin Progenitor?"

    Lan Xian''s expressionpletely transformed. A deep look of respect entered her eyes as she gazed upon the statue of the Origin Progenitor.

    As for Leng Qing, who was one of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, his body returned to a normal state as he faced the statue and offered it a respectful bow. "Leng Qing pays homage to the Origin Progenitor."

    The statue of the Origin Progenitor continued to slowly float up higher and higher until it finally stopped in the middle of the sky. Once it stopped, it started to pull in and absorb all of the nearby stellr energy. The statue¡¯s speed of devouring stellr energy actually surpassed that of the droplets of strange liquid. Not only was the main hall affected by the statue, but all of the nearby area was as well. Everyst bit of stellr energy started to gather towards the main hall.

    The statue was even more overbearing than the strange droplets, as not only was the ambient stellr energy being sucked up, but even the stellr energy in the vortices within cultivators¡¯ bodies was being absorbed.

    The first to be affected in this manner was Jiu Yao, who was standing the closest to the statue. The man was terrified when he felt all his stellr energy streaming out of his body and forming a veritable river that made its way towards the statue.

    "No! My stellr energy!" Jiu Yao desperately tried to stop the process, but nothing he did had any effect.

    Next, Lan Xian was affected, quickly followed by Leng Qing.

    Leng Qing continued to maintain a respectful bow, even as his body was drained of stellr energy. He never once revealed any reaction to the process.

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian reacted in an entirely different manner, as they both raced away from the main hall and the statue. Regardless of the other details, stellr energy was the very foundation of their power, and without it, they would not even be able to use their inner worlds. If they encountered an overwhelming opponent, they would not even be able to release their inner worlds and be captured by the mentalwork.

    If their stellr energy was taken away from them, they would be as good as dead.

    However, neither of the two were able to escape, as an invisible barrier had appeared outside of the main hall at some point in time, trapping everyone inside.

    On the lower level beneath the main hall, Lu Yin also felt his stellr energy vortex being drained. He wanted to stop the process, only to find it was impossible. On top of that, the devouring force broke into Lu Yin¡¯s sealed meridian points and started draining his other three stellr energy vortices as well.

    His expression changed drastically. How was this even possible? His extra vortices were his most carefully guarded secret. How were they being drained?

    He leaped up, hoping to escape the area, only to discover that he was trapped, just like Jiu Yao and Lan Xian.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis reacted in much the same manner.

    Inparison to Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis seemed much calmer. The foundation of her strength was not actually stellr energy. Instead, it was merely one of the powers that the Mavis family members cultivated.

    Lu Yin simrly cultivated death energy in addition to stellr energy, so losing his vortices would not actually strip him of his cultivation. Still, regardless of how much strength he would retain afterwards, Lu Yin was absolutely unwilling to see his four stellr energy vortices be lost.

    Jiu Yao immediately attacked the statue. He had never lived during the Heavens Sect, and he could notprehend the greatness of the Origin Progenitor. He did not feel much reverence for the legendary figure. Even though Jiu Yao had frequently visited the Sixth Maind¡¯s statue of the Origin Progenitor, he had simply been following the Progenitor of Combat. Cultivators from the current era had no real opinion towards the Origin Progenitor at all. After all, even the God of Death and Destiny were considered to be nothing more than myths.

    Jiu Yao¡¯s attack aplished nothing. Even though he was already close to the statue when he attacked, the attack was simply devoured by the statue along with the rest of the stellr energy. No matter the type of attack used, nothing that Jiu Yao did was able to damage the statue.

    Across the entire Fifth Maind, countless people stared up at the Daosource Sect ruins. The main hall was the only remaining structure, and it was now pulling in astonishing amounts of stellr energy. Once the Envoy closest to the Daosource Sect had his stellr energy vortex be drained, no one dared to get anywhere near the main hall.

    In the Outerverse, Ancestor Tortoise suddenly looked at the main hall, and the beast¡¯s eyes suddenly were filled with peace and respect.

    The Astral River almost never experienced a moment of peace, but at this moment, every one of the monstrous creatures froze in ce and turned to face the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall.

    Beasts were far more perceptive than humans, and the creatures had all sensed the suppressioning from the statue.

    In the distant reaches of the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender looked towards the Human Domain and clenched his fists. He had also felt the suppressive power, but instead of feeling respectful, Skymender was filled with pure resentment. The Origin Progenitor might have ushered in a golden era for humanity, but that same era had been the darkest oppression for the astral beasts.

    They would absolutely get revenge for those wrongs.

    Inside the main hall, Heluo Mavis was the first to have her stellr energypletely drained from her body by the statue. She had the smallest stellr energy reserves, which was not surprising. After all, the Mavis family did not focus on cultivating stellr energy.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the Origin Progenitor had encouraged humans to create their own forms of energy, which was what had given rise to things such as death energy, Destiny, and even the Mavis family.

    Next, Chu Yuan had all his stellr energy sucked from his body. He had focused on cultivating stellr energy, and he had even been acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor himself. Chu Yuan had wanted to use stellr energy as a base to create another unique energy and rise up to stand equal to Three Realms Six Dao.

    However, it was only possible to create a unique form of energy after one reached the Semi-Progenitor level at the very least. Thus, Chu Yuan had only ever cultivated with stellr energy.

    This also meant that his reserves of stellr energy were not inferior to any other Dao Chosen.

    Of the Six Mainds¡¯ six Dao Chosen, the one who always possessed the greatest amount of stellr energy would be the Dao Chosen from the Lu family. Regardless of whether they were cultivating just star energy or stellr energy, their usage rate and the reserve size far exceeded normal cultivators. Even then, Chu Yuan felt confident that his reserves were just as vast as his counterpart from the Lu family. He had fought with Lu Tianyi in the past, and their energy reserves had been about equal.

    Chu Yuan had expected his stellr energy to exceed Lu Yin¡¯s reserves, as Chu Yuan had passed his second stellr tribtion. Even if Lu Yin was powerful enough topare to the Dao Chosen, he was still a bit behind them when it came to cultivation level. Naturally, this meant that Lu Yin should possess less stellr energy than Lu Tianyi, which would make him inferior to Chu Yuan as well.

    However, Chu Yuan could see that Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy was still being sucked away even after Chu Yuan had beenpletely drained.

    Both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis turned to look at Lu Yin in surprise. Did this person actually still have more stellr energy? Quite fitting for someone from the Lu family.

    Lu Yin was rather vexed, as this posed a huge problem. His first stellr energy vortex was just about empty, and once all four vortices were drained, how could he raise his cultivation in the future?

    Wait. He nced down at his cosmic ring. He still had the five suns of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation stored on Zenith Mountain, and they contained an amount of stellr energyparable to what a Semi-Progenitor possessed. That was definitely enough for Lu Yin to recover from this loss, though it would still make it very difficult for him to make any future breakthroughs.

    He realized how lucky he had been to form the five stars when he had, as they were a way for him to recover from this disaster. In the end, since he was unable to escape or stop his stellr energy from being taken away, Lu Yin decided to simply ignore the matter.

    He looked over at the three Semi-Progenitors and saw that they had also given up. There was simply no way for anyone to avoid having their stellr energy taken away.

    Feeling that both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis were staring at him, Lu Yin looked over. "Are you two out of stellr energy?"

    "How much do you still have?" Chu Yuan asked. This was the first time he had felt any bit of curiosity towards Lu Yin. Even if Lu Yin had revealed a level of strengthparable to the Dao Chosen¡¯s, that had not mattered much to Chu Yuan. Regardless of how powerful other people might be, Chu Yuan would stand at the pinnacle of the era. It was inevitable.

    Heluo Mavis was also looking at Lu Yin in a curious manner. It wasmon knowledge that members of the Lu family needed much more star energy and stellr energy when cultivating. She wondered just how much Lu Yin had left, as well as how he would have measured up to Lu Tianyi in the past.

    Lu Yin had no idea what the right answer was. Could he say that only his first stellr energy vortex had been drained and that he still had three more vortices to go? Obviously not, but there were certain things that were impossible to keep hidden at this moment.

    Time slowly ticked by, and the people who had wanted to enter the Daosource Sect ruins all stayed far away. They were afraid that their star energy or stellr energy would be ripped away. Thus, no one dared to get close to the main hall in the Daosource Sect ruins.

    Lu Yin''s first stellr energy vortex had beenpletely drained, and his second was almost empty as well. Already, Lu Yin had endured for twice as long as Chu Yuan.

    Chu Yuan did not look very good at this moment. Just how much stellr energy did Lu Yin have? How was more still being dragged out of him?

    Things had reached the point where Chu Yuan was not the only one incredulously watching Lu Yin; Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and even Leng Qing had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s situation.

    At this time, there were only the four of them within the main hall who were still having their stellr energy ripped away from them. Three of them were Semi-Progenitors, which meant that their reserves of stellr energy far outstripped what Envoys could possess. Despite that, Lu Yin was still being drained by the statue. The child¡¯s reserves were rather frightening.

    Lan Xian¡¯s eyes were glowing at this moment, as Lu Yin was proving that the Lu family was as powerful as the legends imed.

    A bitter, Lu Yin¡¯s second stellr vortex waspletely emptied, and his third was down to almost half capacity.

    Everyone was staring at Lu Yin in an odd manner. No matter what sort of knowledge or understanding they had, Lu Yin defied everything they had believed to be true. How could a one-tribtion Envoy possibly possess so much stellr energy? His cultivation level was no different from what they could sense, so was he just a freak?

    Not even Chu Yuan could avoid this thought any longer. Even Lu Tianyi had only possessed a third of Lu Yin¡¯s reserves when Chu Yuan had fought him. Despite that, there was clearly still more stellr energy being pulled from Lu Yin into the statue.

    Everyone in the main hall was staring at Lu Yin, waiting to see just how extensive his hidden reserves were.

    Lu Yin was also feeling quite helpless. His four stellr energy vortices had been discovered before he had exposed them. This was not what he had wanted at all.

    Well, it could also be considered that Lu Yin had more than just four vortices. If his death energy was also considered, then he had five vortices.

    Time crept by. Three of Lu Yin''s stellr energy vortices had been emptied, and the fourth was quickly following.

    Chu Yuan''s expression darkened over time. He had originally believed that he could easily go against both Lu Yin and Heluo Mavis when they worked together, but at this point in time, Chu Yuan was feeling threatened. It seemed impossible for so much stellr energy to be stored within this person¡¯s body. It looked like Lu Yin¡¯s reserves were nearlyparable to that of a six-tribtion Envoy! Just how had he aplished such a thing?

 Chapter 2062: Vanish

    Chapter 2062: Vanish

    "You¡¯re a freak!" Heluo Mavis shouted while staring at Lu Yin in both apprehension and fear. It was clear that he had never released his full power in their earlier battle. It was quite possible that Lu Yin was even more dangerous than Chu Yuan.

    It was obvious that the current era was greatly inferior to the Dao Chosens¡¯ own, so how had such a freak managed to appear?

    Chu Yuan had noticed the same thing while observing Lu Yin. "You said that your name is Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin looked over. "Didn¡¯t we already go over that?"

    Chu Yuan took a deep breath. "It''s an honor to meet you."

    These words shocked Heluo Mavis. Chu Yuan had been famous for his arrogance in their original era, as he did not even care about the other Dao Chosen. This was the first time that he had ever humbled himself to someone else from the same generation. This Lu Yin appeared to be no older than the Dao Chosen, which meant that they were essentially from the same generation.

    "It¡¯s an honor for me to meet you as well. Lu Yin, I was underestimating you before," Heluo Mavis interjected. She no longer wanted to work together with Lu Yin to deal with Chu Yuan, as Lu Yin had hidden his strength even more deeply than Chu Yuan. She was no longer confident that she and Chu Yuan could defeat Lu Yin even when teaming up.

    During the earlier fight, when it had been a three-way fight, two of them had always teamed up to deal with whoever had appeared to hold the advantage. Even at this point in time, Heluo Mavis had no idea which of them was truly the most powerful.

    When they had been fighting, Lu Yin had limited himself to only using techniques from the current era. It was known that he possessed death energy, which neither Heluo Mavis or Chu Yuan had really cared about at the time, but it was quite possible that Lu Yin also possessed other inheritances from the Heavens Sect era. He had truly hidden his full strength quite deeply. It was no wonder why they had heard Lu Yin arrogantly limit himself to five moves to defeat them two Dao Chosen.

    Chu Yuan suddenly remembered the inexplicable weakness that had assaulted his body just a short while ago, and he instantly looked at Lu Yin with even greater caution. Just how much of his strength had Lu Yin kept hidden? That weakening had nothing to do with star energy.

    Finally, all four of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices werepletely drained.

    He sighed. It was done.

    The others also let out long breaths when they saw that Lu Yin had finally finished.

    Just a short while after Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy was fully extracted, Lan Xian was also drained. She had onlysted a short while longer than Lu Yin.

    Seeing this sent another wave of shock through everyone. Lan Xian was a Semi-Progenitor, and what sort of terrifying reserves of stellr energy did such powerhouses possess? In the end, Lu Yin¡¯s total amount of stellr energy hade very close toparing with that of a Semi-Progenitor, even if it was a Semi-Progenitor who had not opened their three meridian points and had no Origin Matter. More importantly, Lu Yin had only passed a single stellr tribtion.

    Seeing everyone staring at him yet again, Lu Yin could no longer endure the attention. "Don''t look at me like that! After fighting several battles, her stellr energy reserves are a lot less than her peak, and she hasn¡¯t had any time to recover. There¡¯s no way that someone with my level of cultivation coulde anywhere close to possessing the same amount of stellr energy as a Semi-Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis nced at each other, as this sounded quite reasonable.

    "I was actually able to recover a great deal of stellr energy, so I was quite close to my maximum capacity just now," Lan Xian spoke up. She looked at Lu Yin with glittering eyes that seemed to contain various schemes.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. What was that supposed to mean?

    The way that Chu Yuan and everyone else was looking at Lu Yin changed yet again. Was this guy still trying to hide things? They had almost been tricked.

    Lu Yin no longer tried to offer any excuses. No matter what he said, no one would believe him any more.

    He turned to look at Lan Xian. "Why on earth do you want people''s blood?"

    At this moment, even Jiu Yao looked over at Lan Xian. He had asked her this before, but she had merely replied that it was rted to some sort of training. However, what sort of training required other people''s blood? On top of that, Lan Xian did not care about the blood of other Semi-Progenitors at all, and she only tried to get the blood of the Lu family, or more recently, the Dao Chosen.

    Lan Xian held her three-stringed instrument. She was quietly standing in a corner of the main hall, and she slowly replied, "You¡¯ll find out if you give me some."

    "Get them to agree first." Lu Yin pointed at Chu Yuan. "Especially him. He¡¯s the leader of his group of people from the Heavens Sect. He¡¯s the only one who was acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor, which means he should have the greatest bloodline of his era."

    Chu Yuan¡¯s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. "I''m just a regr person. There¡¯s nothing special about my blood."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "If you can meet the Origin Progenitor, then even an ordinary person will be someone extraordinary."

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something, and he turned and looked Chu Yuan up and down. "Actually, what sort of rtionship is there between you and the Origin Progenitor? It can¡¯t be¡­ Are you his descendant?"

    Chu Yuan''s eyes grewrge. "Brother Lu, don''t be ridiculous! I was certainly not the only person from my era to see the Origin Progenitor."

    "But you were the only one from the younger generation. Right, Heluo Mavis?" Lu Yin turned to the woman as he addressed her.

    Heluo Mavis nodded. "Chu Yuan is the only one of the Dao Chosen to personally meet the Origin Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan frowned and stared at Lu Yin rather intently. Lu Yin was purposely obfuscating the matter of seeing the Origin Progenitor with the power of one¡¯s bloodline, and he had also made it a point to mention Heluo Mavis¡¯s name as a subtle means of bringing up her bloodline as well. With a single question, Lu Yin had subverted Chu Yuan¡¯sment while also dragging the Mavis family into the mix. This person was quite cunning.

    "Didn¡¯t you also mention that Chu Yuan received his name from the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked with open curiosity.

    Heluo Mavis nodded once again, but then she suddenly felt like something was off. She had not even realized, but she had just cooperated with Lu Yin once again. Noticing this unconscious action put her on edge, as she did not want to team up with Lu Yin. Between Chu Yuan and Lu Yin, which was the true monster?

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, I had thought that you were someone who relied on tricks and flexibility while not focusing on pure strength of cultivation, which is the very foundation of one¡¯s strength. However, it looks like your stellr energy reserves surpass even a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, and that¡¯s in addition to your endless battle techniques and abilities. I truly misunderstood you. If you had lived in our era, you might have been the one to meet the Origin Progenitor instead of me."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You¡¯re overthinking things, Brother Chu. It might simply be that your stellr energy was drained faster than mine because I was further away from the statue."

    This sounded rather reasonable, as of the three youths, Lu Yin had indeed been the furthest away from the statue. On top of that, all three of the Semi-Progenitors had been closer to the statue than the youths. The statue had risen into the sky above the first level of the main hall, while Lu Yin and the other two had remained down below. In addition, Lu Yin had been the furthest away from the statue.

    "No matter how far away you were, there¡¯s no way your stellr energy was being taken away that slowly. Yousted just about as long as a Semi-Progenitor," Chu Yuan retorted.

    At this time, Jiu Yao finished being drained, and just a short whileter, Leng Qing also finished. Despite that, the statue continued to drain the ambient stellr energy around them, and its pull seemed to be even stronger and more frantic, almost like it was an actual person.

    "Like I already said, she might be a Semi-Progenitor, but she used up a lot of her stellr energy in recent battles. She just doesn¡¯t want to admit it because she doesn¡¯t want to be looked down on," Lu Yin countered.

    Chu Yuan would not back down. "Using stellr energy in a battle doesn¡¯t mean that there was any less in her body, at least not enough to even bother considering."

    The two were simply trying to shift Lan Xian¡¯s focus onto the other with their words.

    Leng Qing suddenly shouted, "Shut up! How can you mouth off so much before the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue?"

    Lu Yin and Chu Yuan nced back at each other, and they could both see the other¡¯s intentions.

    Even Heluo Mavis was able to understand what the two men were attempting to do, but knowing left her irritable and twitchy. She was not quick-witted with words like these two, and so she had stayed silent.

    Everyone could see that the vortex around the statue was growing stronger as it pulled in more and more stellr energy.

    Suddenly, someone rushed into the main hall. While it was impossible to escape, there were no obstacles stopping anyone from entering. The person leaped right over Jiu Yao and shot towards the statue. As they flew through the air, a visible stream of stellr energy was pulled from their body into the statue.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank when he saw this person. "Forgotten Ruins God!"

    Leng Qing lifted a hand and shed at Forgotten Ruins God. The man¡¯s body became a de. This was man and de as one.

    Forgotten Ruins God raised her own hand and struck out with a palm strike: Sit and Forget.

    Sit and Forget was a technique that used stellr energy, so the moment Forgotten Ruins God attacked, her technique was devoured by the statue. Forgotten Ruins God had not thought that the statue would actually dominate stellr energy so thoroughly, and she was stunned for a moment. During that moment of hesitation, Leng Qing¡¯s sh arrived and cut into the Skygod¡¯s leg, smashing her against the colorful barrier that surrounded the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall.

    Forgotten Ruins God was not actually injured. There was the slightest hint of hesitation, and then her eyes changed and took on a new depth. A stream of red energy began to swirl around her, giving the nearby area an oppressive chill. This was the power bestowed upon Forgotten Ruins God by the Aeternals. They called it divine power.

    Forgotten Ruins God did not say a single word and merely raised her hand towards Leng Qing and attacked again, still using Sit and Forget. With divine power driving the technique this time, it was unaffected by the devouring of the statue. Leng Qing raised his own arms and swung them down in a vicious chop. There was no stellr energy in this attack, but the explosive power that emerged from his fusion of body and de was still impressive. However, it did not reach the level of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack, and the man was blown backwards by Forgotten Ruins God''s attack.

    Forgotten Ruins God charged at the statue again. Not once did she utter a single word. Every aspect of her personality and behavior waspletely different from what Lu Yin had seen before. The only thing that she seemed to see was the statue.

    Chu Yuan was startled. "Stop her! Don''t let her touch the statue!"

    Even as he spoke, he removed his gold-trimmed white robe and threw it forward in a desperate attempt to block Forgotten Ruins God.

    While Forgotten Ruins God remained wary of the mentalwork suppressing the Fifth Maind and could not reveal the full power of a Semi-Progenitor, there was no way that the white robe was enough to stop her, even if it could block a peak Envoy.

    Each of the Seven Skygods was an absolute monster, and the only people capable of actually standing up to their Semi-Progenitor avatars were the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Otherwise, they were simply too strong even for someone of Ni Huang¡¯s caliber.

    The white robe was instantly destroyed by Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack, though it did manage to block her for a single moment. With this moment of time, Leng Qing attacked again, and a sh of the man¡¯s strangely merged body shot towards Forgotten Ruins God.

    Heluo Mavis suddenly spoke up. "Chu Yuan, isn''t that statue what you were looking for as well?"

    Chu Yuan''s expression contorted badly.

    Lu Yin nced over and thought to himself that Heluo Mavis¡¯sment seemed quite urate. However, Chu Yuan had been searching for this statue, and Forgotten Ruins God had gone straight for it while ignoring everything else; just what was so special about this statue?

    There was a loud bang as Leng Qing was sted back once more. Without stellr energy, how could hepare to Forgotten Ruins God when she was using divine power?

    Forgotten Ruins God grabbed hold of the statue.

    Within the confines of the main hall, there was no one who could stop her.

    Lu Yin stared at Forgotten Ruins God, his knees weak and his arms heavy.

    At this same moment, the hand that had remained wedged between Mt. Microcosms and the barrier protecting the Fifth Maind suddenly moved. No longer simply peacefully resting in ce, it resisted the mentalwork and stretched forward, extending further and further into the Human Domain.

    The manifest thoughts activated and tried to capture the hand.

    The mentalwork twined all around the massive hand in an attempt to bind it in ce, but the hand continued to extend through outer space. It reached the Innerverse, and it almost instantly appeared right outside the main hall in the Daosource Sect ruins.

    As soon as it arrived, the hand dropped down to capture the main hall.

    This was the exact same moment that Forgotten Ruins God grabbed hold of the statue.

    At this moment, no matter if it was Lu Yin and those with him in the main hall, or the people in the rest of the Fifth Maind, everyone saw the iparably massive hand dropping down upon them. It was as if the sky was copsing. This was the power of a Progenitor. No, this was the power of an exceptional Progenitor.

    Suddenly, the main hall disappeared.

    That palm clutched at air.

    Countless people were looking up at the hand that was above them, and so they saw when the main hall suddenly disappeared, leaving just an empty hand in space.

    No one knew just where the main hall had gone, or what sort of power had taken it away from right underneath that hand, aside from the people who were inside the main hall.

    ¡­

    There was a violent shaking so bad that Lu Yin and others nearly fell over. Lu Yin supported himself on the stone wall beside him as he tried to look around. The main hall was pitch ck. Had they been captured by that hand?

    Suddenly, a berserk force raced into his body, and itpletely replenished his four empty stellr energy vortices.

 Chapter 2063: Origin Progenitorâ€™s Sword

    Chapter 2063: Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sword

    Lu Yin was stunned by this sudden change¡ªstellr energy? Where had such a massive amount of stellr energye from? It surged into his body, rapidly replenishing his stellr energy vortices. It felt as though someone was force-feeding him stellr energy, and Lu Yin could only try to absorb it. Even then, there was no need for him to do anything. Just like how the statue had forcefully pulled the stellr energy out of everyone¡¯s bodies to devour it, at this moment, the stellr energy was replenishing their drained reserves regardless of their wishes.

    At this time, light returned to the main hall.

    Lu Yin looked up, only to see that there was no one near the statue in the air. Where was Forgotten Ruins God?

    His eyes traced the cracks in the ground, and he saw Forgotten Ruins God standing at the entrance to the main hall. The three human Semi-Progenitors were in front of her: Leng Qing, Jiu Yao, and Lan Xian.

    The uncontroble stellr energy had not only rushed into Lu Yin¡¯s body, but everyone else¡¯s as well, restoring their reserves. This had made Leng Qing''s slicing attack far more effective than before.

    "Who are you? How dare you disrespect the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue!" he shouted coldly. He stared at Forgotten Ruins God with soaring bloodlust.

    The man had only recently woken up, and he did not even know what era he was in, let alone anything regarding the Seven Skygods.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked around. It was notpletely dark outside the main hall, and there were asional shes of white light. It looked as though the main hall was traveling through space at incredible speed. What had just happened? Had Corpse God managed to take them away?

    "Speak! Who are you?" Leng Qing shouted sternly. He stared at the dark-red energy that swirled around Forgotten Ruins God''s body, and the man felt a chill run down his back. He had never encountered such a power before, and it gave him a very bad feeling.

    "She¡¯s Forgotten Ruins God, one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods," Jiu Yao exined.

    Leng Qing was taken aback. "Aeternus?"

    Lan Xian spoke up, "You must have just woken up, so you don¡¯t know anything about our current era. Humanity¡¯s six Mainds have all beenpletely destroyed, and the Heavens Sect is gone. The Origin Progenitor and all of the other Progenitors from your time have be nothing more than legends, and the Aeternals are the ones who have brought all these disasters upon humanity."

    Leng Qing feltpletely confused. "The Aeternals? Impossible. They¡¯re nothing more than weak ants."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Sure enough, everyone from the Heavens Sect era looked down on the Aeternals.

    Chu Yuan jumped in, "Master Leng Qing, they are speaking the truth. The Aeternals hold the power in this era, and they are currently trying to destroy the Fifth Maind. This is one of the Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods, and you must stop her from touching the statue."

    "Just what is inside the statue?" Heluo Mavis looked over at Chu Yuan as she asked this question.

    Lu Yin also looked over, but Chu Yuan remained silent.

    Lu Yin frowned. Chu Yuan was making it quite clear that he was not going to answer the question, but since he had entered the Daosource Sect ruins to look for the statue, it indicated that he could take the statue, or at least what it held, away from this ce. Regardless of whether Chu Yuan spoke or not, he would not be allowed to take the statue away.

    "Seven Skygods?" Leng Qing stared at Forgotten Ruins God. "Did you just use the Wang family''s Sit and Forget?"

    Forgotten Ruins God sighed. "I almost managed to touch it, but I was pushed away by stellr energy. It must be fate. It seems that the Origin Progenitor doesn¡¯t want us to touch him. It¡¯s been a long time, little Leng Qing."

    Leng Qing stared at Forgotten Ruins God as she slowly lifted her face to look back at him, and the man¡¯s expression suddenly changed drastically, and all of the blood drained from his face. "Wang- Senior Wang?"

    Stellr energy was still pouring into everyone¡¯s bodies from the statue. Again, Heluo Mavis was the first to finish and have her reservespletely restored. However, even more stellr energy poured into her body. She did her best to stop the energy from entering her body, and her expression changed. She had already reached the point where any more stellr energy would trigger her third stellr tribtion, and it was vital to be fully prepared for every single tribtion. This was not because she was scared to face a tribtion, but rather because it was important to sufficiently strengthen one¡¯s foundations before every breakthrough. The stronger the foundation, the stronger one would be once they became a Semi-Progenitor in the future. Heluo Mavis did not want to recklessly rush her third stellr tribtion.

    Unfortunately, the matter waspletely outside of her control. Even if she did not want to absorb the stellr energy, it still forced its way into her body. The only thing she could do was work as hard as she could to slow her rate of energy absorption.

    "Senior Wang- are you really Senior Wang?" Leng Qing stared at Forgotten Ruins God in disbelief.

    The woman revealed a charming smile as she looked back at Leng Qing. "Child, although it''s been a long time since Ist saw you, it hasn¡¯t been too long for you."

    Leng Qing felt horrified. "Senior Wang, you- What is this? You joined the Aeternals?"

    Forgotten Ruins God stared at Leng Qing with her eyes that had grown dark with immeasurable depths. "I love seeing the looks of shock from you people from that era. Back then, very few of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gate had ever actually seen me. Little guy, you aren¡¯t bad. You actually dared to attack me."

    Leng Qing felt incredibly confused. "Senior, why did you join the Aeternals? You are the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor, and you were once a master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. You controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas for an era. Why do this?"

    Forgotten Ruins God casually replied, "Maybe I was bored."

    Although they were just three words spoken with amazing indifference, they echoed like thunder in Leng Qing''s ears.

    Bored? You betrayed humanity just because you were bored? You went over to the Aeternals just because you were bored? The man simply could not ept such an answer.

    "Out of my way. You can''t stop me." Forgotten Ruins God remained indifferent.

    Leng Qing stared at Forgotten Ruins God, and determination entered his voice as he replied, "Regardless of why Senior may have betrayed humanity, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue cannot be desecrated."

    Jiu Yao softly asked, "Forgotten Ruins God, what do you want the statue?"

    Forgotten Ruins God answered with open ridicule, "Someone like you wants to speak to me?¡±

    Her eyes shifted, and she looked at Lu Yin. As she did so, a smile returned to her face. "Hey little fellow, I can answer if you ask me. Who would have thought that you¡¯d be here? Is this fate? Hehe."

    "Why do you want the statue?" Lu Yin asked the exact same question as Jiu Yao.

    Forgotten Ruins God shrugged. "I don¡¯t want the statue, but rather the sword inside it."

    Lu Yin had not expected Forgotten Ruins God to actually answer him.

    Everyone else found this odd as well. Lu Yin Yin had been bold enough to speak directly to one of the Seven Skygods, and he had actually gotten a direct response.

    As soon as Forgotten Ruins God gave her answer, Lu Yin turned to look straight at Chu Yuan, and the sudden change in the man¡¯s expression confirmed Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s words. There really was a sword inside the statue, and Forgotten Ruins God was not the only one who wanted it. Chu Yuan also wanted the sword, and it was the entire reason why he had visited the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall.

    "A sword? Why haven¡¯t I ever heard about that?" Heluo Mavis hesitantly asked.

    Leng Qing frowned. He felt like he had heard some mention of such a sword somewhere before.

    Forgotten Ruins God maintained her flirty smile as she stared at Lu Yin. "Keep up the questions. I¡¯ll answer anything you ask me."

    Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "What sword?"

    "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword."

    "What¡¯s it for?"

    "I don''t actually know the details. There were six Mainds, six Daosource Sects that made up the Heavens Sect, and six statues. Each statue contained a sword, and our goal is to get them."

    "If you already knew that there was a sword inside the statues, why not take it before now? Also, the Sixth Maind has a statue, but I haven¡¯t heard about you going after that one."

    Forgotten Ruins God answered with a slight smile, "We didn''t know that the statue was in the main hall. We weren¡¯t able to find it despite searching for ages. As for the Sixth Maind¡¯s statue, it''s a fake."

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian were both startled. "What was that? A fake?"

    Forgotten Ruins Godughed. "Go and see for yourself. Well, that¡¯s assuming that you¡¯re able to get back."

    She then spread her arms wide, and the swirling dark-red energy gathered to form a massive wolf head. It was her innate gift, Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves.

    Leng Qing set aside his confusion regarding Forgotten Ruins God, and his body became a de once more. The des stacked up in multipleyers, quickly forming a mountain range of des that spread out. This was the man¡¯s inner world.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up. "Careful about not being trapped by the mentalwork!"

    However, things did not happen as expected. There was no suppression from the mentalwork, and Leng Qing''s inner world spread to envelop Forgotten Ruins God. A massive de appeared that reced the sky and the earth. des filled the entire sky and covered every inch of the ground. Anyone who wanted to approach the statue needed to break through this ce. This was Leng Qing''s Celestial de Realm, and this inner world was precisely what qualified him to be the master of the Heavenly de Gate.

    Forgotten Ruins God contemptuously responded, "The Celestial de Realm? In the past, you wanted to pass Wu Xing''s test with this Celestial de Realm, but Wu Xing crushed it with a single sh. It looks like you still haven''t learned your lesson."

    As she spoke, the massive wolf head aggressively charged at Leng Qing, and it smashed into his Celestial de Realm. The inner world shattered one de at a time, but the wolf head also kept shrinking.

    However, this was only a single wolf head, and Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s innate gift was Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves.

    A second wolf head crashed into the Celestial de Realm, and countless des bent and broke. The wolf head faced Leng Qing and let out an oppressive roar.

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian both rushed forward to attack, and three Semi-Progenitors worked together to stop Forgotten Ruins God.

    Strange lights shone out from Leng Qing''s eyes, and his limbs and body slowly shifted. It looked as though his body was actually bing des, which was an entirely different concept from the odd fusion that had urred before. Everyone who saw what was happening felt horrified.

    Heluo Mavis eximed, "de Mist! That¡¯s the innate gift of the master of the Heavenly de Gate! I never thought that I¡¯d actually see it. There were rumors that Leng Qing trained with des because of this innate gift."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. de Mist? What was that?

    Leng Qing''s body gradually transformed into a living creature that was essentially an amalgamation of long des with wings growing from its back. The odd looking figure twisted and then shot towards Forgotten Ruins God, instantly shattering several of the wolf heads. The man moved at a shocking speed, and he sliced through everything he touched.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked over and pressed a hand down. Andmass appeared within the main hall, and it pressed down upon both the Celestial de Realm and Leng Qing.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. This was Forgotten Ruins. When his Senior Brother Qing Ping had fought against Forgotten Ruins God in the Divine Venom Dynasty, she had used this technique, but with apletely different level of power. In the past, Forgotten Ruins God had only revealed the strength of a regr Semi-Progenitor, and even the average Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind had been able to stop her. At this moment, she was using apletely different realm of power, and she was able to overwhelm the inner world of one of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    Wait, why can they use inner worlds here? What about mentalwork? Also, what happened to the runes I was seeing? Why are they all gone?

    Lu Yin looked around, but all he saw outside the main hall were flickers of ck and white passing by. Just where were they? Had Corpse God taken them into the Starfall Sea?

    Up on the first level of the main hall, the Forgotten Ruins continued to crush the Celestial de Realm, dropping further and further down upon Leng Qing, Jiu Yao, and Lan Xian.

    Suddenly, the stellr energy that had been rushing into everyone¡¯s bodies fell back like a tide. To be precise, it was being devoured once again, and all of the energy surged back towards the statue.

    All of the stellr energy that had entered Lu Yin¡¯s body and partially restored two of his stellr energy vortices started to be sucked back out of him.

    He turned to look at the statue. What the hell? Again?

    Leng Qing and the other two Semi-Progenitors grew weaker at that moment, and the Forgotten Ruins smashed into them. All three of the people spat out blood.

    Suddenly, the main hall violently spasmed once more, and at the same time, the surrounding area grew extremely bright. This light illuminated Lu Yin and the others, and they suddenly heard the sound of a massive waterfall.

    Lu Yin looked past the main hall and saw an enormous waterfall falling down from above the sky, continuing until it was out of sight. What was this?

    At this time, everyone else also looked out of the main hall, and they also saw the waterfall that extended far beyond their sight.

    "The Upper Three Gates¡¯ waterfall?" Jiu Yao eximed.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. The Upper Three Gates? Isn¡¯t that in the Starfall Sea? So we really did move into the Starfall Sea. We must have been captured by Corpse God.

    Forgotten Ruins God also looked out and saw the huge waterfall that filled the entire line of sight.

    A roar rose from below, and Lu Yin and others looked down at the same time.

    "This facade clearly can¡¯t handle the power of my predecessors! Please help me, senior, and destroy this fake sky. Return the Fifth Maind to what it once was." The voice continued speaking as Lu Yin listened.

    Lu Yin''s body trembled. That¡¯s the Sea King¡¯s voice! Why is he here?

 Chapter 2064: The Past

    Chapter 2064: The Past

    Lu Yin stared downwards. He saw a mass of red rushing towards a stone gate behind the waterfall. As the gate shattered, an old woman appeared from behind. "Th-th- That¡¯s"

    She only managed to stammer out a single word before the red power brushed by her and instantly destroyed most of her body.

    A second stone gate stood behind the old woman, and it was also struck by the red energy and was broken open. Behind that second stone gate, an old man screamed, "Pro- Progenitor Chen''s cloak?! How dare you!"

    Lu Yin''s brain raced. Progenitor Chen¡¯s cloak? Breaking open the Three Upper Gates? Was this actually the scene of when the Sea King had broken through the Upper Three Gates?

    "Our ancestor gave you a way out of this from the kindness of his heart! How dare you trample upon it!" the old man sternly roared.

    The Sea King answered with a recklessugh, "This is it! This is the true universe! This is the fifth! This is the fifth!"

    "You¡¯re looking to die!" The old man reached for the Sea King, but at this moment, Arch-Elder Zen appeared, and he forced the old man back with a palm strike. The old man then stared intently at the third stone gate.

    Thest of the Upper Three Gates had not been smashed by Progenitor Chen''s cloak, but a crack had appeared in it. A finger appeared just past the crack. It was an absolutely beautiful finger, and it casually ughtered the old man standing guard at the gate before changing the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky.

    Lu Yin watched the events y out in a daze. Nothing seemed out of ce, and he was seeing the exact scene of when the Sea King had opened the Upper Three Gates. It was that exact scene, but Arch-Elder Zen and the others did not notice the main hall. Only the upants of the main hall were able to see Arch-Elder Zen and the others.

    Inside the main hall, Jiu Yao''s face turned pale. That old man who had been guarding the stone gate had been another one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and it turned out that this was how the man had died. The Sea King had not shattered the false sky that had covered the Fifth Maind, but rather a person from the Perennial World had done so.

    The Upper Three Gates had been broken, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky had been restored. The Sea King was ecstatic. "I¡¯ve seeded! I finally seeded!"

    It was at that time that the third stone gate closed on its own.

    "What? Why did the gate close?"

    "So they don¡¯t want to have any interactions with us. Alright. It¡¯s alright."

    At this moment, Lu Yin was unconcerned with Arch-Elder Zen or the Sea King; rather, he was staring at the third stone gate. He had clearly seen the beautiful finger that had crushed the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor, as well as the eyes that had appeared just behind the stone gate. Those eyes belonged to a face so beautiful that it could even freeze time.

    That face belonged to Bai Xian''er.

    For some reason, Lu Yin knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that woman was Bai Xian''er. Why had Bai Xian''er appeared behind the Upper Three Gates? They were clearly somewhere in the New World beneath the battlefield behind the Mother Tree, so why had Bai Xian¡¯er helped the Fifth Maind restore its sky? If not for her, the crack in the third stone gate would not have been enough for the Fifth Maind to restore its original sky.

    The Sea King had only started things. Bai Xian¡¯er had been the one to actually change the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky.

    What shocked Lu Yin even more was Bai Xian''er''s power. The old man who had been standing guard at the third stone gate had been powerful enough to stand up to even Arch-Elder Zen, which clearly meant that he had been a Semi-Progenitor. It was possible that even Brother Qing Ping was not as strong as Bai Xian¡¯er.

    "This is the scene of when the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky was restored. This is more than ten years ago! We have returned to the past!" Jiu Yaomented in a quiet but incredulous voice. Although he was a Semi-Progenitor, he had never dreamed that he would one day return to the past. This was the power of time.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked around outside the main hall, but she said nothing. She had also not expected to return to the past, though it appeared that people from the past were unable to see the main hall or the people inside it. Had they truly traveled back in time?

    It appeared that the legends were true; the Origin Progenitor had indeed mastered both time and space, obtaining the power to travel through the both past and the future.

    It was no wonder why the True God coveted such power.

    Another violent tremor shook the main hall. Everyone had alreadye to understand that every tremor that shook the main hall indicated another change.

    Sure enough, the very next moment, the main hall returned to the dark space and shot forward like a spacecraft.

    At this time, everyone was staring outside, and their expressions changed drastically; this was not space that they were traveling through, but rather time! Was this time travel?

    Everyone fell silent. Confronted with an unimaginable power such as time, no one knew how to respond. This was true even of an ancient Progenitor like Forgotten Ruins God.

    "Do you know how to get back?" Heluo Mavis looked over and asked Chu Yuan.

    Lu Yin also looked over. Only Chu Yuan and Forgotten Ruins God had known about the sword within the statue, which hinted that they had both previously met the Origin Progenitor.

    Chu Yuan''s face was solemn. "No, I don''t."

    "If you don''t know, then who does?, Heluo Mavis yelled.

    Chu Yuan looked at her before looking at Lu Yin. "While I don''t know, I can at least try to control it, but I need to get close to the statue."

    Heluo Mavis red at Chu Yuan, as it was clear that he wanted the sword.

    Lu Yin frowned. Did Chu Yuan actually know how to control what was happening? If he did, he might be able to return them by controlling the sword, but if he did not, then he would simply obtain the sword, which might give him a power vessel that was capable of time traveling. Such a power vessel surpassed anything that Lu Yin had ever seen, and it was truly worthy of being left behind by the Origin Progenitor.

    "What do you say? Help me get over there, and I can try to send you back to your own time.¡± Chu Yuan was looking at Lu Yin. "If you don¡¯t want to, it doesn¡¯t matter. We aren¡¯t from that time anyways, so it¡¯s better for us if we go back to the past, especially if we go all the way to the Heavens Sect era. But what about you? Everyone you care about is from your time, and if you do endure from the Heavens Sect era to your own, you might not be able to be a Progenitor by then.¡±

    Heluo Mavis turned to look at Lu Yin as well.

    On the main hall¡¯s first level, Jiu Yao and Lan Xian nced at each other before looking down at Chu Yuan on the lower level. They did not want to travel to the Heavens Sect era, but with how the main hall was moving, it really seemed like they were traveling to the past and might go all the way to the Heavens Sect era. In that time, people like Lan Xian and Jiu Yao would be nobodies, as they could notpare to any of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    That had been the peak of human civilization, and in addition to the Three Realms Six Dao, there had also been the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Each of those people had been exceptionally powerful Progenitors. That was also ignoring all the average Progenitors who had lived as well, and beneath them, there were still the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Lan Xian and Jiu Yao would stand beneath everyone, and they would not have any right to speak or make any decisions at all.

    They absolutely could not go back to the Heavens Sect era.

    "What you¡¯re saying might be true, but from what I¡¯m seeing, we aren¡¯t returning to the past, but rather traveling to the future," Leng Qing suddenly interjected. He continued, saying, "This must be why the Origin Progenitor brought us to the future. Without seeing such a thing, how could anyone have ever imagined who humanity¡¯s greatest enemy would be? How could we expect the Aeternals to rise up to such power?"

    "You¡¯re overthinking things. You didn''t travel to the future¡ªyou were just frozen in a sourcebox and sealed until now. We¡¯re going to the past," Lan Xian retorted.

    Leng Qing indifferently replied, "The details aren¡¯t important. What matters is that we will return to the past and be able to start from the beginning."

    Hearing Leng Qing''s words, something flickered through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, but it was gone before he could grasp it. What could it be?

    Did time actually exist? Leng Qing was quite right. Regardless of how everything happened, if the main hall returned him to the beginning, why would the details matter? As far as Leng Qing was concerned, almost no time had passed at all, but to Lu Yin and the others from his time, two eras had passed.

    However, this would mean that people from two different eras would appear in the past. Then, what meaning would time hold?

    Lu Yin felt quite confused.

    Forgotten Ruins God spoke up with open contempt. "Even if you make it back to the past, you can¡¯t change a thing. Besides, you can''t return."

    She instantly attacked again, and the dark-red energy formed a wolf head that shot forward to swallow Leng Qing and the others.

    With this attack, the area outside of the main hall cracked even further.

    Chu Yuan roared, "We¡¯re traveling through time right now¡ªdo you want us to all be lost? Forget a Semi-Progenitor like you, even an Ancient Progenitor wouldn¡¯t be able to escape from the river of time!"

    Forgotten Ruins God snorted derisively. "This is just a Semi-Progenitor avatar. So what if it¡¯s destroyed?"

    "What about the sword? You¡¯ll never get it this way, as you¡¯ll lose this one and only chance. How are you going to exin that to your master?" Lu Yin challenged in a cold voice.

    Forgotten Ruins God gave him a brilliant smile. "Kid, you really do have a silver tongue. Fine, I won¡¯t attack right now, but I want to see what else this sword is going to show us."

    Everyone else let out sighs of relief. Forgotten Ruins God possessed the Aeternals¡¯ unique form of power, and no one was capable of stopping her. Fortunately, she also wanted to get a hold of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, so she did not want to ruin this opportunity.

    Forgotten Ruins God and Chu Yuan were not alone; who would not want to obtain the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword? Still, no one dared to act rashly, as doing so would risk them getting lost in the river of time.

    As they all anxiously waited, stellr energy once again surged out from the statue and into everyone¡¯s bodies in the same manner as before. It was impossible for any of them to not absorb the energy.

    Lu Yin was absolutely stunned. Just what was this trying to do? What was the reason behind this pulsing of stellr energy? First it was devoured and sucked from their bodies, and then it was released and forced back into their bodies. It was as though their bodies were being treated as batteries of stellr energy.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing that anyone could do about what was happening, regardless of their feelings on the matter.

    Even a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Yao had no choice but to ept the stellr energy that was being forced into his body.

    Just a short whileter, Heluo Mavis¡¯s reserves werepletely restored before anyone else, and she quickly did her best to slow down the energy entering her body. Chu Yuan was next, but after the two Dao Chosen¡¯s storage was fully restored, it was not easy for any of the other people present to fully restore their energy.

    Both of them looked over at Lu Yin. It was clear that all three of them had simr levels of cultivation, but the amount of stellr energy that Lu Yin was able to absorb was closer to what the Semi-Progenitors were capable of than the other two Envoys¡¯.

    Lu Yin was in no position to pay any attention to the other two. He was focused entirely on the stellr energy vortices within his body, and one by one, they started to fill up.

    The first one to fill up was the one in his lower meridian point, followed by the one in his middle meridian point, and then the one in the upper meridian point.

    When the vortex in the upper meridian point was replenished, another tremble went through the main hall, and Lu Yin made a mental note that something was fast approaching.

    When the main hall had shaken while the stellr energy had been surging into everyone¡¯s bodiesst time, they had traveled more than ten years back in time to the waterfall in the Starfall Sea that hid the Upper Three Gates. After that, the stellr energy in their bodies had been quickly pulled back into the statue. This time, the surge of energy hadsted much longer than before.

    Everyone looked outside in unison, all hoping to see where they were.

    The first thing that caught everyone¡¯s eye was the sight of the Mother Tree stretching far beyond sight.

    Lu Yin was absolutely stunned. The Perennial World?

    They were on a battlefield. The sky was a deep red, as though it was filled with a vapor of blood. Every visible part of the sky had this same color, and countless corpses filled the entire area, many of which were wearing uniforms.

    "Look, people," Lan Xian pointed out.

    Everyone turned to see a few people who were standing on a barren. One of the people stood in front of all of the others.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. People from the Lu family?

    Everyone was staring at the barren, and a few voices reached them.

    "We can''t hold out any longer! The Daosource Sect¡¯s gates have all fallen, and nearly half of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas are gone. We need to deal with the Sixth Maind, but we won¡¯t be able to escape defeat no matter what. We¡¯ll fall like the other four Mainds." The speaker was an old man with a tired face.

    Forgotten Ruins God sneered. "Wang Fan."

    Jiu Yao was shocked. "The Wang family¡¯s Progenitor Wang Fan?"

 Chapter 2065: Responsibility

    Chapter 2065: Responsibility

    Lu Yin was surprised by what he heard, and he focused intently on the tired looking old man. Wang Fan had been one of the Wang family¡¯s Progenitors, and he had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Daosource Sect era.

    Another person on the barren spoke up. Their back was facing the people watching from the main hall, so they were unable to see the person¡¯s face clearly. Still, they clearly heard an emotional voice respond, "We can win by giving up. I have a n, though I don¡¯t know if you are willing to risk it."

    "What are you thinking?" The next to speak was a man sitting on the ground. He looked younger than Wang Fan, though that did not necessarily mean the man really was young. This man gave off a very simr vibe as Bai Laogui, so he might also be from the Celestial Frost Sect. If that was urate, then he might be another master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas: the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Wangyuan.

    The Celestial Frost Sect, and the Wang, Xia, and Lu families had all controlled some of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas while the remainder had been controlled by Progenitor Hui, the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Ku, and Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin might have any idea who else was standing on the barren, but he at least knew that the tired looking old man was Wang Fan.

    "I¡¯ve spent many years researching and designing a sourcebox array called Ceaseless Impetus. With a Semi-Progenitor acting as the central focal point, it is capable of blocking anyone beneath the Progenitor realm. As long as we ce that on the battlefield, we will be able to hold back the Aeternals and protect humanity. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that we have a battlefield where it can be used, and we will also need powerful Progenitors to hold back the Aeternals¡¯ powerhouses." The person with his back to Lu Yin and the others continued his exnation.

    Lu Yin leaped to his feet, stunned. Progenitor Hui! This was Progenitor Hui! Lu Yin was actually looking at Progenitor Hui.

    For countless years, Progenitor Hui had stood as an example of a powerhouse who could not be estimated by merebat strength, as the man¡¯s intelligence and resourcefulness had been enough to save humanity multiple times. He had predicted the course of the future and caused the Aeternals to target the Sixth Maind instead of the Fifth Maind. After the Fifth Maind had been defeated and abandoned, Progenitor Hui had established the Technocracy as another means of insurance. He had even set the means for the Fifth Maind to sneak people into the Perennial World topete for Origin Matter in ce. All of these various ns hade from Progenitor Hui.

    It could easily be said that without Progenitor Hui, the current era would have never existed and that the Fifth Maind would have likely disappeared long ago.

    Progenitor Chen had been powerful enough to control two Mountains and one Sea, which demonstrated his unparalleledbat strength. The Rune Progenitor had been amazingly talented and created an entire civilization. Progenitor Ku had silently gone off to ughter the Aeternals after creating Extremes Must Be Reversed. Each of these individuals had been incredible Progenitors, but Lu Yin had always admired Progenitor Hui the most out of all the famous Progenitors.

    Progenitor Hui had been a guiding light for humanity, leading them to their destination.

    Forgotten Ruins God stared at Progenitor Hui¡¯s back as he faced away from the hidden main hall, and her expression grew dark. "Hui Wen!"

    Lu Yin looked over at Forgotten Ruins God. "Hui Wen? Is that Progenitor Hui''s name?"

    When Forgotten Ruins God answered, she sounded depressed. "That¡¯s the despicable bastard."

    Lu Yin looked back over with a smile. Just as he had thought, no matter what most people did, it was impossible for them to actually make the Seven Skygods angry. That was something that only Progenitor Hui had managed to aplish.

    Hui Wen?

    Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and others from the ancient era could not understand the respect owed to the person with his back facing them. It was something that only Lu Yin could understand, as Forgotten Ruins God simply hated the man. Wait, Jiu Yao also hated him. That only made sense.

    Down on the barren, Progenitor Hui''sment left everyone lost in their own thoughts.

    Suddenly, a person with bloodstains covering his face and most of his robes appeared. Those robes looked exactly the same as what Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan were wearing. He wore the robes of a Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

    "Lu Tianyi!" Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis eximed in unison.

    Leng Qing was startled. "Dao Chosen Lu Tianyi?"

    Lu Yin was simrly surprised. Lu Tianyi? This Progenitor from his Lu family had also controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Heluo Mavis stared at the man who had just arrived. "That¡¯s Lu Tianyi! I would even recognize his ashes. So he already became a Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan shook his head. "We were sealed away for so long that our old friends rose up to be Progenitors. Time is a terrible thing."

    Down on the, Lu Tianyi faced Progenitor Hui. "If such a battlefield is found, can we really protect the Fifth Maind?"

    Progenitor Hui did not hesitate. "Yes."

    Lu Tianyi lifted his hand and pointed at the Mother Tree. "That¡¯s the battlefield."

    Wang Fan and others all showed their confusion.

    "You say that we can only win by making sacrifices, so we¡¯ll face the Aeternals andpletely separate them away from the Fifth Maind. As long as we live die, the Fifth Maind won¡¯t be destroyed," Lu Tianyi exined.

    "Arbiter Lu, what are you going to do?" Wang Fan could not resist asking.

    Lu Tianyi stared at Progenitor Hui. "You''ve already thought of this, haven''t you?"

    Progenitor Hui replied, "Yes, but if you do this, you will be hated for eternity, as there won¡¯t be any chance to exin your actions. In the future, this Fifth Maind might have nothing at all to do with you. Your family will likely be regarded as traitors, rejected and exiled by the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Tianyi answered with a loudugh. "That¡¯s still better than watching the Fifth Maind be destroyed! I was born and raised here, and my Lu family is willing to give up everything we have for it."

    As he spoke, he nced around at the other people. "What about the rest of you?"

    Wang Fan was taken aback, and he hesitated.

    Thest person also hesitated.

    "That''s it, then. It''s settled. If anyone needs to suffer the hatred of the Fifth Maind, then my Lu family and I will take on all of it. We¡¯ve been given the highest respect from the Fifth Maind, so it¡¯s only right for us to shoulder the entire burden. Hui Wen, I already know that you¡¯re ready, so let''s begin!" Lu Tianyi shouted.

    Progenitor Hui admired Lu Tianyi. "That¡¯s the attitude of a hero!"

    "Wait, even if we hold back the Aeternals, what of the Sixth Maind? Without us, will this ce be able to survive?" Wang Fan quickly asked.

    However, Lu Tianyi simply picked up his feet and walked away. "The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas aren¡¯t dead."

    As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

    Wang Fan gritted his teeth, looked over at another person, and then they also vanished.

    Progenitor Hui was already gone.

    Only a single member of the Lu family remained on the barren in front of the main hall. He looked rather stunned, as well as quite young. None of the other people even acknowledged him before leaving. He had beenpletely ignored.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. Lu Yin had no idea who this man might be, but he was absolutely part of the Lu family¡¯s main line. However, given his status, why had Patriarch Lu Tianyi not taken him away? Lu Tianyi had not looked at the other member of the Lu family once while they were both on the, and he had beenpletely ignored by everyone else as well.

    The main hall started shaking again, indicating that they were about to leave this particr space and time.

    Suddenly, another person appeared on the barren.

    Everyone who recognized the individual was startled. "Ancient God?"

    The person who had appeared was indeed Ancient God, one of the Seven Skygods.

    Jiu Yao and everyone else reflexively nced over at Forgotten Ruins God.

    Forgotten Ruins God continued calmly watching the events ying out on the.

    Ancient God appeared directly behind the man from the Lu family who seemed to be in a daze and then simply left without anyone managing to hear a thing that was said.

    The main hall quivered once more. It was ready to travel through time and space once more. Lu Yin stared at the Lu family¡¯s direct descendant with dull eyes who had remained behind on the barren. Did he have some sort of connection to Ancient God? Suddenly, Lu Yin saw yet another person. It was a young man who was standing rather close to the direct descendant members of the Lu family, and the young man was staring right at the dazed man. Suddenly, the dazed man abruptly turned and stared straight at the young man.

    The main hall vanished, returning to the dark river of time.

    Within it, everyone remained silent. What they had just witnessed left all of them unable to calm down. They could not resist looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Ancient God had been on that, and he had appeared behind that man from the Lu family. Who was that member of the main line of the Lu family? Did he have some sort of rtionship with Ancient God? Could he be a traitor to the Lu family? Was he a Redback?

    Most of what Lu Yin had just witnessed allowed him to heave a sigh of relief, as he had definitively seen that his Lu family had not abandoned the Fifth Maind, but had rather shouldered a disaster for the sake of the Fifth Maind. However, thatst exchange left Lu Yin ufortable. He had known that there were traitors within the Lu family, but where had they gone? Had that man been banished by the four ruling powers along with the rest of the Lu family? It was highly likely that the young man had brought a disaster of some sort or another down upon the Lu family.

    The longer Lu Yin considered what he had seen, the worse the chill afflicting him became. The Aeternals had so many different odd methods of recruiting Redbacks that it was impossible for even the Lu family to bepletely clean.

    As for the young man who had appeared at the very end, there was no need to even think about whether something bad had happened to him; he had seen something he should not have. Still, Lu Yin felt that the young man felt very familiar, as though Lu Yin had seen him before.

    "Who was that?" Lu Yin suddenly looked over and asked Forgotten Ruins God.

    Everyone else turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God when they heard Lu Yin¡¯s question.

    Forgotten Ruins God just shook her head. "One of Ancient God¡¯s people, so how should I know?"

    Lu Yin stared at Forgotten Ruins God. "What happened to him?"

    Forgotten Ruins God covered her mouth as she giggled. "Child, you¡¯re asking the wrong person. I can''t answer your question, though instead of worrying about the Lu family, you should be worrying about yourself. Our people are already right next to you, and they¡¯re also a part of Ancient God¡¯s n."

    Lu Yin''s fingers twitched. He was well aware of just how pervasive and entrenched the Aeternals¡¯ web was.

    In the Perennial World, he had joined Humility¡¯s Gate under the alias of Long Qi, and during that time, he had uncovered many Redbacks. Had he not felt proud of himself at that time? Even though Lu Yin feared the Aeternals''s ability to recruit traitors and spies, Lu Yin felt confident in his die¡¯s Possession ability, even if it was impossible to uncover every Redback. However, it was at this moment that he realized that he had still been underestimating the Seven Skygods.

    The Seven Skygods had lived for endless years, and they had recruited and trained countless Redbacks, hiding them deep. It was no easy matter to uncover them all.

    Lu Yin felt incredibly motivated by what he had just seen.

    He had always believed that his Lu family was still alive and that they could not have been wiped out. But with such a traitor in their midst, how likely was their survival?

    The main hall continued moving, and soon, a surge of stellr energy appeared once more, and it flooded into everyone''s bodies. Lu Yin looked up, as this indicated that they were approaching the next destination in time and space.

    This time, most of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices were fully replenished, and only thest vortex was a bit short. As for Heluo Mavis, her face had turned red while she did everything she could think of to hold back the flood of stellr energy. She had reached her limits during this flood of stellr energy.

    The main hall trembled, and the statue once more began to devour all of the stellr energy.

    This ebb and flow of stellr energy left people frustrated to the point of vomiting blood.

    A bright light appeared, and everyone looked out from the main hall. They saw a massive furnace, and beyond that, there was the familiar sight of the Daosource Sect¡¯s gates.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. "Heaven¡¯s Furnace?"

    There was no way he would be mistaken about this. Sure enough, they were looking at Progenitor Chen¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Everyone stared at the distant furnace off in the distance, as within it, there was a person screaming. The more distant Daosource Sect gates were crumbling.

    "Progenitor Chen?" Jiu Yao eximed.

    Chu Yuan and the others were stunned by what they were seeing, as there was a solitary man standing outside the Daosource Sect¡¯s gates, and although he was alone, his aura seemed almost divine. It was as if he had reced the Daosource Sect¡¯s Sky Pir. Even though he was clearly quite a distance away, he seemed to be taller than the universe itself.

    That was Progenitor Chen.

    "Xia Shang, release Progenitor Nan! Do you want to start a war between our two mainds?"

    "Xia Shang, you¡¯re going too far!"

    "Release Progenitor Nan."

    ¡­

    Countless voices cried out as the entire Sixth Maind condemned, cursed, and threatened the man outside their gates.

    However, the person standing in front of Heaven¡¯s Furnace looked perfectly calm, and he answered the countless cries in a powerful and melodic voice that reminded one of molten metal. "So what if he¡¯s a Progenitor? I already said that if he dared to mess with me one more time, I¡¯d obliterate him to ashes. I, Xia Shang, will do just that in front of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosouce Sect¡¯s gate, and if anyone tries to stop me, I will burn your entire Daosource Sect to the ground! Your Sixth Maind cane after me for revenge, and I will face you no matter how many people you send after me."

 Chapter 2066: Hero

    Chapter 2066: Hero

    The sound of a miserable wail spread throughout the entire Daosource Sect, and then throughout the nearby area.

    Everyone watching from within the main hall felt stunned as they watched a powerful Progenitor be obliterated. And yet, not a single Progenitor from the Sixth Maind dared to do anything at all. This was because of Xia Shang¡¯s threat to burn down the entire Daosource Sect if anyone interfered.

    Throughout all of human history, who had been bold enough to threaten to burn down the Daosource Sect? Progenitor Chen, Xia Shang, had been invincible throughout the universe, and he had defied Progenitors, which was shocking both in the past and the present.

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian had not witnessed this scene before. They had not been born at the proper time, but seeing it now, both of them looked as intimidated as the rest of the people from the Sixth Maind. Not one person from the entire Daosource Sect had the courage to step forward, as they were all nothing more than ants to Progenitor Chen, and no one wanted to antagonize him.

    Lu Yin felt the man¡¯s boundless arrogance. This was Progenitor Chen, the man who had dared to burn the Daosource Sect to the ground.

    Heluo Mavis swallowed as she stared at Progenitor Chen''s back. Such a madman had been rare even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Chu Yuan had not expected such a person to have been born after the Heavens Sect era. This man had tantly and openly destroyed a Progenitor, and not even other Progenitors dared to interfere. Who could match such arrogance?

    Lu Yin and the others watched as a powerful and dignified Progenitor was reduced to ashes before their very eyes.

    No one could say if it took a long time or only a few brief moments for the process to finish. Everyone simply stared at Heavens¡¯ Furnace and watched as Progenitor Nan was destroyed. It would be impossible for anyone to forget his miserable wails. He was the first Progenitor throughout all of human history to be publicly executed.

    It was no wonder why Sky Garan had been reviled by the people from the Sixth Maind when he had pretended to be a member of the Nan family. He had been quickly told that Progenitor Nan was viewed as a hated figure by the entire Sixth Maind. Lu Yinpletely understood that reaction after seeing this scene y out.

    Sky Garan had been quite unlucky to choose to pretend to be a member of the Nan family.

    However, just what had Progenitor Nan done to make Progenitor Chen so angry? While Progenitor Chen was relieving his own anger, it was also clear that his actions would trigger an unquenchable hatred from the Sixth Maind. It was no wonder why the Sixth Maind hadunched a war against the Fifth Maind. The Sixth Maind had even changed the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, making it impossible for another Progenitor to rise from the Fifth Maind.

    A tremor shook the main hall once again, and the next moment, it left that point in space and time and resumed traveling through the river of time.

    Lu Yin stared at the statue with conflicting emotions. It was showing them human history.

    History was something that humans could never forget, though various details would always be lost. How many people in the current era were aware that Progenitor Chen had obliterated Progenitor Nan? How many understood just why he had done so?

    It had been the incident that had instigated the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds, and many people had cursed Progenitor Chen for his actions. They used him of selfishly starting a war, but only those of that actual era had any idea of just why Progenitor Chen had done so.

    While Lu Yin was simrly ignorant to the true reasons, Progenitor Nan had seeded in infuriating Progenitor Chen so much so that he had been willing to endure the entire Sixth Maind¡¯s endless wrath. In other words, Progenitor Nan must have done something rather serious.

    It was possible that the Aeternals had been the ones instigating the entire affair, but Lu Yin was more inclined to believe that it was all Progenitor Chen, even if for no other reason that it had been done by the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Chen.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis remained silent. They had looked down on the current era and had firmly believed that the Heavens Sect era had been the absolute pinnacle of human civilization. However, how many people with Progenitor Chen¡¯s boldness had existed even during the Heavens Sect era?

    "Was the person that we saw just now a hero of your era?" Heluo Mavis asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over. "His name is Xia Shang. Progenitor Chen, Xia Shang. During the Daosource Sect era, he controlled two Mountains and one Sea. He created the Cosmic Art, and he was able to fight against multiple Progenitors on his own. He killed several Progenitors throughout his life."

    Chu Yuan found this amazing. "He must have been an absolutely outstanding person from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Xia family for him to have managed to monopolize two Mountains and a Sea. It¡¯s such a pity that we are unable to face him ourselves. Truly a pity."

    A pity? No one knew if Progenitor Chen was truly dead or not. Some time ago, when the Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity and attacked Burial Garden, Progenitor Chen had released a knife sh in retaliation. Once, when Lu Yin had used his die¡¯s Possession ability, he had seen Progenitor Chen inside Burial Garden. Lu Yin was quite convinced that Progenitor Chen was still alive.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God.

    There was a gloomy expression on Forgotten Ruins God''s face at this moment. In fact, her expression had grown worse and worse afterying eyes on Progenitor Chen.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "That mark on your face was left there by Progenitor Chen, wasn¡¯t it?"

    Forgotten Ruins God turned to stare at Lu Yin. "So that¡¯s how you saw through me back then."

    "Progenitor Chen''s mark is on your face, so what¡¯s your rtionship with him?" Lu Yin asked.

    Forgotten Ruins God suddenly gave Lu Yin a flirty smile. "What? Are you jealous?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed. He had heard a few things about Progenitor Chen, and thus he was aware that one of the reasons for Progenitor Chen to kill Progenitor Nan had likely been rted to a woman. However, Lu Yin had never heard anything about who that woman might have been. The details regarding that incident were known only to the people from that era. Not even Arch-Elder Zen knew much about it, as he had only been a weak cultivator at the time.

    Lu Yin had wanted to ask the Wang family about the incident, but he had never had the chance. He felt that Wang Si had to know about it.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked up, and a cold glint flickered through her eyes. "If you want to know about our rtionship, it is deep. Very deep. I¡¯m the person Xia Shang hates most, and he¡¯s also the person whom I hate the most."

    As she spoke, Forgotten Ruins God suddenly went stiff, and tears filled her eyes, as well as an endless hatred. "I absolutely want to return this mark to him."

    "Is Progenitor Chen dead or alive?" Lu Yin asked.

    Everyone else turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God at this moment, even Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. Progenitor Chen would be an outstanding powerhouse in any era, and it would be a true tragedy for such a person to die.

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled, but she said nothing. At that moment, stellr energy in the area surged once more, and it poured into everyone''s bodies.

    Heluo Mavis''s expression instantly and drastically changed. She was very worried that she would not be able to endure this time, but she was unwilling to break through. She had not yet established a deep enough foundation to proceed further with her cultivation. Everything would work out fine if her breakthrough seeded, but how could she possibly pass a stellr tribtion in her current circumstances?

    Still, Heluo Mavis¡¯s thoughts meant little, as she was indeed unable to stop the flood of stellr energy this time. The energy was even more aggressive than before, and she could do nothing but clench her teeth and let out a dull groan as the stellr energy in the main hall surged further and further. There was a sudden fluctuation in the energy, and it gathered together. A knife appeared out of nowhere, and it shed at Heluo Mavis.

    Leng Qing was caught off guard; this attack that was manifesting was his. Was this a stellr tribtion?

    A stellr tribtion was an event that was triggered when a cultivator stole stellr energy from the true universe and stored it within their own body. Each breakthrough after a person became an Envoy was apanied by a stellr tribtion, and those minor breakthroughs would ur every time their power level rose by an additional 100,000.

    A stellr tribtion was an attack from the true universe itself. For example, Lu Yin''s initial stellr tribtion had seen him facing a punch reinforced by aurelian force, as well as a replica of Progenitor Chen.

    The tribtions triggered by the minor breakthroughs as one¡¯s power level increased by 100,000 were not overly oppressive, and people could even use power vessels against them.

    Logically, since the stellr energy that the people in the main hall were absorbing did note from the true universe, they should not face any stellr tribtions for their breakthroughs. But right within the main hall they faced Leng Qing''s attack, though naturally not his attack with his strength as a Semi-Progenitor, this attack approached the power of a five-tribtion Envoy.

    This stellr tribtion was almost exactly like what a person would face from the true universe while in the normal universe.

    Everyone present felt rather puzzled, as how could there be a stellr tribtion while they were inside this main hall? On top of that, they were still traveling through time and space.

    Heluo Mavis had no time to consider such details. When the de struck, she reflexively pulled out a power vessel to block the attack. The sh was stopped, and it shattered. The stellr energy from the attack then washed over her body, and it reinforced her stellr energy vortex.

    Heluo Mavis was taken aback. It really was a stellr tribtion, and she had just be a three-tribtion Envoy.

    Everyone stared at the young woman in amazement. How had she managed to pass through a stellr tribtion in this ce where there was clearly no true universe?

    "How do you feel?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Heluo Mavis.

    The woman blinked. "Really good."

    "Normal?"

    "What''s that supposed to mean?"

    "I''m asking if there was something different from a regr stellr tribtion."

    "No, that was definitely a stellr tribtion."

    Lu Yin was stunned. Could he also pass his stellr tribtions in this ce? Truthfully, he had started to despair when the true universe had been drained of stellr energy, as his first thought had been that he would no longer be able to achieve any breakthroughs in his cultivation. After all, Lu Yin used stellr energy to cultivate, so how could he progress when that energy was gone? All that he would be left with was death energy.

    He hadter on found a stable source of stellr energy in the Daosource Sect ruins, which had given him a bit of hope, but then he had realized that the amount of stellr energy in that ce was rather insufficient. On top of that, it had already been noticed by the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin had felt even greater despair at that moment, and he had not expected to receive a sliver of hope at further breaking through from the main hall.

    Heluo Mavis had managed to break through, so Lu Yin could do so as well. Especially since the statue forced stellr energy into his body at a rate that far exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s normal absorption rate while cultivating. If he cultivated in tandem with the surge of stellr energy, just how quickly would his cultivation rise?

    This thought triggered Lu Yin¡¯s excitement. It was possible that he might be able to use his current situation to achieve a breakthrough and improve his strength while in the main hall.

    The main hall trembled, and everyone¡¯s expressions changed again. They were about to arrive at another destination in time and space.

    Everyone looked out from the main hall, and they saw a huge waterfall.

    Everyone wondered if this was the same waterfall as before.

    However, unlike the waterfall in front of the Three Upper Gates, this waterfall was flowing in reverse.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but then he realized that this waterfall should be the one that rose up from the Starfall Sea and led to the Sixth Maind.

    This was the site of the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    Many people from the Fifth Maind had grown curious about what the top of this waterfall looked like, and Lu Yin and the others were seeing just that at this moment.

    There was an endless sky above the waterfall. In the same manner as how the Astral River could be split apart into countless Tributary Astral Rivers, the inverted waterfall split into countless rivers that spread across the Sixth Maind.

    From the Fifth Maind¡¯s perspective, the waterfall was inverted, but from the Sixth Maind, the waterfall fell downwards in a normal fashion.

    Everyone looked at the waterfall, and then out at the Sixth Maind. They saw someone step out from behind the waterfall. He waved a hand, and instantly, countless people appeared and charged into the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked at the back of the person who had first appeared. Despite the fact that it was impossible to clearly see this person, he instantly felt that this person had the same appearance as the statue that he had been forced to kneel before in Burial Garden. Unless Lu Yin¡¯s guess waspletely off, this man was the Rune Progenitor.

    After the war between Daosource Sects, the Rune Progenitor had traveled upstream to challenge the Sixth Maind with the rune system he had created and an entire civilization that had cultivated with it.

    Lu Yin had heard references to this matter multiple times, and he could sense the magnificence of the event, as well as the peaceful eptance of death. However, the actual event unfolded in apletely different manner from what Lu Yin had imagined.

    Under the Rune Progenitor¡¯s lead, countless people rushed into the Sixth Maind, and at the same time, powerhouses started to appear from within the Sixth Maind and they all made their way towards the Rune Progenitor. This was a sh of two civilizations, and it resulted in rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.

    In an instant, countless corpses fell into the waterfall, and some of them were carried off along the tributaries into various parts of the Sixth Maind. Others fell to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin stared nkly, as the waterfall itself was dyed red from the countless corpses that fell into it.

    The Rune Progenitor continued forward without hesitation, apanied by tragic and unwilling roars.

 Chapter 2067: A Civilization

    Chapter 2067: A Civilization

    Even people like Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis who were from the Heavens Sect era felt the pressure of the scene ying out before them. Just how many cultivators did this civilization have? They truly seemed endless, and yet the Rune Progenitor had led his entire Rune Civilization onto the battlefield. The power of a Progenitor filled the entire space.

    Just what kind of hatred could cause an entire civilization to race towards death as their calling?

    While Chu Yuan and the others from his era had no idea what had instigated such hatred, Lu Yin knew. The Sixth Maind had reced the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, preventing the Fifth Maind from birthing any additional Progenitors in the future. This had triggered the endless hatred that had eventually led to the scheming and demise of the Sixth Maind.

    Jiu Yao clenched his fists. He had never personally witnessed the war during the Daosource Sect era, but he had heard of this particr battle too many times before. This battle had led to the Sixth Maind greatly weakening, and they had been unable to do anything to the Fifth Maind afterwards. If this battle had never happened, the Sixth Maind absolutely would not have stopped at merely recing the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky, as they would enve the entire Maind.

    The hatred between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds ran too deep, and neither side would ever abandon it. The Sixth Maind had always wanted to enve the Fifth Maind, but this battle had forced the matter to be dyed until the Upper Three Gates had been broken through. After that incident, if not for the Rune Progenitor, how could the Fifth Maind have continued surviving? How could they have ever resisted the Sixth Maind?

    Later generations had not been able to understand just why the Rune Progenitor had fought against the entire Sixth Maind with his civilization. He had sacrificed his entire Rune Civilization, which seemed like a pointless loss to many people. Only the Sixth Maind understood that this battle had eliminated their final de that they could have wielded against the Fifth Maind.

    Countless corpses dropped into the waterfall, and even space started to pile up with the endless bodies. Silence reigned within the main hall, but at this moment, a disturbing and odd-looking doll flew over the main hall, making its way towards the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin saw it and was startled. "Shaman God?"

    Everyone else also turned to look at the doll, and they watched as Shaman God¡¯s odd doll broke through the void and neared the battlefield. It then turned to face the Rune Progenitor¡¯s back.

    Suddenly, the stellr energy within everyone''s body started to be pulled out and devoured by the statue once more. A tremor shook the main hall, and it disappeared. It was traveling through time and space again.

    Lu Yin finally looked away. The Seven Skygods. It was always Seven Skygods. They were absolutely everywhere. Was it possible that the mystery concerning the Rune Progenitor¡¯s life or death in the Sixth Maind had something to do with Shaman God? That made sense, as who in the Sixth Maind possibly possessed the strength to stand up to the Rune Progenitor?

    In the past, the Fifth Maind had been able to absolutely crush the Sixth Maind. Even if the Sixth Maind possessed many powerful Progenitors, there was no way that they couldpare to a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    "I feel like we¡¯re being taken through time and space to see all the major events throughout history," Lan Xianmented.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he started wondering how that was possible.

    If they were indeed traveling back through time and space, then based on the order of events, how could they have just witnessed the Rune Progenitor leading his civilization to fight against the Sixth Maind? ording to Lu Yin¡¯s understanding, that had happened long after Progenitor Chen had executed Progenitor Nan and the Progenitors had fought against the Sixth Maind, right?

    The order of history could not be wrong, which meant that the only possibility was that they were not simply traveling back through time in a straightforward fashion.

    Lu Yin turned to Chu Yuan. "How much do you know about that sword?"

    "I already told you that I don¡¯t know anything about it," Chu Yuan replied.

    "Didn''t the Origin Progenitor mention it?" Lu Yin pressed. Compared to Heluo Mavis, Chu Yuan was far more cunning.

    Heluo Mavis sneered. "How is that possible? He just doesn¡¯t want to tell us."

    Lu Yin then looked over at Forgotten Ruins God. "Do you know about it?"

    Jiu Yao and the others were caught off guard by Lu Yin asking the Skygod.

    Even more strange was that Forgotten Ruins God actually answered Lu Yin. In the same manner as before, if Lu Yin had the courage to speak up, Forgotten Ruins God was willing to answer his questions. "You¡¯re wondering about the order of history that we¡¯re seeing as we travel through time."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Forgotten Ruins God leaned against a wall in azy manner. "I don''t know about this either. It¡¯s said that the Origin Progenitor had six swords that possessed the power of time and space. However, after reading into that a bit, I do know that each of the six swords have different functions, though the specifics were never shared."

    Lu Yin looked away. It felt as though the main hall was a simple raft that was being carried along by the currents of the river of time. They were being randomly taken forwards or backwards through time.

    Lu Yin was most eager to return to his own time, but without understanding how the sword worked, that seemed quite unlikely.

    "Hehe, since you want to go back, just give me that sword, and I can try to take you back to the the time that we left. Otherwise, I don¡¯t mind losing a Semi-Progenitor avatar," Forgotten Ruins God said with a smile.

    "You might be willing to give up a Semi-Progenitor avatar, but you definitely aren¡¯t willing to give up on that sword," Lan Xianmented. This was the first time that she had addressed Forgotten Ruins God.

    Forgotten Ruins God looked over at the other woman. "You are certainly quite beautiful. I wonder if anyone else would like to see that face ruined."

    At this moment, the stellr energy started to surge out from the statue once again, filling everyone¡¯s bodies. They were left speechless to find that they had already arrived at their next destination.

    Heluo Mavis had already experienced one breakthrough, but she was still forced to suppress the flood of stellr energy pouring into her body.

    Chu Yuan was in the same situation, despite the fact that he possessed a far greater reserve of stellr energy than Heluo Mavis. Also, he was better at restricting the flow of stellr energy that forced its way into his body.

    Lu Yin was the only one who had started to calmly absorb the stellr energy that surged out. He even utilized the Cosmic Art, and 80,000 stars began to revolve around him as he started to frantically absorb absurd amounts of stellr energy at a rate that was iparable to before. The stellr energy filling the main hall even started to swirl around his body like a whirlpool as he sucked it all in.

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin. Had he gone crazy? Absorbing stellr energy in such a manner would quickly force him to break through.

    Despite the fact that Heluo Mavis had sessfully passed her stellr tribtion, no one else had any thoughts of attempting such a thing, especially the Semi-Progenitors. It was impossible for them to casually attempt to enter the Progenitor realm, and this was not the best situation in which to attempt such a thing.

    "What are you trying to do?" Chu Yuan could not resist asking, and he shouted a question at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just nced over. "None of your business."

    Chu Yuan''s expression grew ugly. He had no desire to stop Lu Yin from absorbing more stellr energy, and Lu Yin''s breakthrough attempt had nothing to do with Chu Yuan. However, he was the person who was closest to Lu Yin, and Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation was dragging ever increasing amounts of stellr energy over. Even if Chu Yuan tried to restrict the stellr energy that was forcing its way into his body, there was far more stellr energy entering his body than before, and his stellr energy vortex was quickly bing full.

    "Chu Yuan, let''s both push for a breakthrough! You¡¯ve held back from one for so long, it''s time to let go!" Heluo Mavisughed, but her words sounded strange.

    Chu Yuan''s expression changed, and he suddenly looked over and leaped towards Heluo Mavis, which caused her to be on guard. "What are you doing?"

    Chu Yuan raced towards her, and she responded with a contemptuous snort and a sudden punch. She struck Chu Yuan, but the punch was erased by the invisible power that surrounded him.

    "Lend me your ce." Chu Yuan stood next to Heluo Mavis, as she was further away from Lu Yin.

    Heluo Mavis got upset. "Get lost!"

    "Make me, if you can." Chu Yuan seemed unconcerned.

    Heluo Mavis was ufortable with how close Chu Yuan was, but she was unable to drive him away. She needed to focus entirely on holding back the flood of stellr energy and could only maintain a careful eye on Chu Yuan.

    At this moment, Heluo Mavis was the most worried about having another breakthrough. If Chu Yuan disturbed her during a breakthrough, it would cause problems, and if she failed a tribtion, she would suffer serious consequences.

    She simply could notpare to Chu Yuan¡¯s reserves of stellr energy, or his ability to hold back the flood of energy. While Heluo Mavis had already gone through one breakthrough, it was absolutely possible for her to face another one soon, and it would be too easy for her to be distracted during a stellr tribtion if she had to be careful of Chu Yuan.

    The more she thought about it, the worse of a headache that Heluo Mavis developed. She could not help but look over at Lu Yin. This guy was actually taking the initiative to attempt a breakthrough, which was absolutely insane. If she had known what Lu Yin would do, she never would have told them about it.

    As for Lu Yin himself, his eyes lit up when he saw that Chu Yuan had moved closer to Heluo Mavis. The stars of the Cosmic Art spread out even further, and his absorption rate sped up even more.

    The stars eventually approached Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan, and they both angrily shouted in unison, "Brother Lu, you¡¯re going too far!"

    Lu Yin opened his eyes to look at them. "I¡¯ve lost control of it."

    Only an idiot would believe such a thing, and the two of them realized that this person was a bit of an ass.

    These two people were both Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect, and everyone who interacted with them had always been thoroughly impressed and respectful. They had always been given anything that they wanted, and everyone who spoke to them had ttered them out of fear of being disliked by the talented youths. In contrast, Lu Yin was theplete opposite.

    Each time there was a surge of stellr energy, it was evenrger and more violent than before, and Heluo Mavis waspletely unable to resist any longer. She suddenly leaped up and hurried to the first level of the main hall, in hopes that there would not be as much stellr energy there as on the lower level.

    Chu Yuan also hurried up to the first level.

    The first floor was where the Semi-Progenitors had fought, but fortunately, they did not dare to fight each other while traversing through time and space, which meant the younger people were safe there.

    After both Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan left the lower level, Lu Yin waspletely alone. He let out a breath and then let the effective range of his Cosmic Art spread out even further until it epassed the entire level. He could no longer be considered to be absorbing stellr energy; this was devouring it.

    He continued to suck in more and more stellr energy, and his vortices filled up one after another. Soon, all four had reached their maximum capacity.

    Lu Yin was thrilled to see this, as it meant that he had reached his breakthrough point, and he would soon face his stellr tribtion.

    Everyone stared down at him in shock. He truly was different from most people. If anyone else had absorbed that much stellr energy, they would have already faced their sixth tribtion.

    As time passed, the vortex in Lu Yin¡¯s lower meridian point started to grow. He suddenly realized something. If that vortex filled first, it might trigger a stellr tribtion, but then another tribtion would be triggered as soon as the vortex in his middle meridian point reached the threshold, and so on and so forth. Would this mean that Lu Yin¡¯s multiple vortices would be exposed by multiple breakthroughs at the same cultivation realm?

    This was uneptable. That fact could not be exposed.

    After considering this prospect, Lu Yin quickly used his death energy to seal off the vortex in his lower meridian point to stop any more stellr energy from entering it. Instead, he directed all of that energy to his middle meridian point. Once that vortex reached the threshold, Lu Yin repeated the process with his death energy, and then again for his upper meridian point so that his fourth, unhidden stellr energy vortex could also reach the threshold needed for a breakthrough.

    However, it was at this moment that another tremor ran through the main hall. Lu Yin quickly stopped using the Cosmic Art, as he would not be able to absorb any more stellr energy at this point in time. Even if he managed to pull in a bit more energy, if the stellr tribtion was stopped because all the stellr energy was sucked back into the statue, it would be considered a failed tribtion. Thus, Lu Yin could only wait for the next opportunity.

    On the first level of the main hall, Jiu Yao felt frustrated that Lu Yin had managed to stop himself in time. There would absolutely be terrible consequences to a failed tribtion, even if Lu Yin did manage to survive. What a pity.

    The area outside the main hall grew bright again, and everyone looked out to see what point in time and space they had arrived.

    They did not see a battlefield this time, or outer space. Instead, they were above a vast sea, and in the distance, they could hazily make out a tall mountain.

    "A Mountain and Sea?" Leng Qing eximed.

    Both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis stared at the distant mountain, shock filling their eyes.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is this one of the Mountains and Seas?"

    A mountain and sea that could startle even Leng Qing could only be one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Lu Yin had seen the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas in the past, but since none of them looked much different from ordinary mountains and seas, he did not instantly recognize this ce.

    "There¡¯s someone there," Lan Xian called out.

    Everyone looked down, and they saw andmass floating above the calm sea. It was covered with flowers in full bloom, and it was quite picturesque. There were two people on thendmass, one sitting and the other standing.

    When Lu Yin saw the two people, his mouth fell open in amazement. Zhao- Zhao Ran?

 Chapter 2068: I Am A Human

    Chapter 2068: I Am A Human

    Even if Lu Yin were beaten to death, he would have never thought that he would actually run into Zhao Ran while traveling through time and space. The girl still had the same oblivious manner as ever, confusion filling her eyes as she silently poured tea for the person sitting in front of her.

    "That''s poison," Heluo Mavis could not resistmenting when she caught a clear view of the floral tea that was being served.

    "It should be poison," Chu Yuan solemnly agreed. Every time the sword shuttled through time and space, they had only seen major historical events. Could there be some major event happening at this ce as well? It looked too calm and peaceful.

    Hearing the two¡¯sments, Lu Yin arched a brow. Poison? No, it was definitely tea. A floral tea that looks like death, yet that tastes amazing.

    Lu Yin had never considered that he might not have been the first person to have tasted Zhao Ran¡¯s floral tea. Just who was this person?

    The person seated in front of them was a man, and his head was bent over so that he could sip the tea, which left the observers unable to see his face.

    "Is it any good?" Zhao Ran asked, blinking her big eyes while eagerly waiting for approval.

    The seated man lowered the teacup and looked up at her with a warm smile. "Of course it''s delicious, Zhao Ran. Let me have another cup."

    "En!" Zhao Ran was delighted, and she quickly turned around to collect some flower petals while humming a song.

    It was only then that the people in the main hall were able to get a good view of the man sitting down. He was someone who seemed to be in his early thirties, though most of his hair had already lost its color. He had a haggard look, and he was extremely skinny.

    The man had a gentle smile, despite his rather ugly appearance. It was a smile that caused those looking at him to subconsciously ignore his homely appearance.

    Who was he?

    Lu Yin stared at the man. He had never seen him before.

    Suddenly, the ocean started to boil, and Zhao Ran looked up in a panic. Around them, at some point in time, countless withered, yellow hairs had stretched out from the void, approaching from every direction. At the same time, a voice echoed out. "Ku Jie, you should die."

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. He could not stop himself from taking a step forward and staring downwards. Was that man really Progenitor Ku?

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian were also both surprised, though their shock did not reach anywhere close to the same level as Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Even though Progenitor Ku had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he had never been famous. The Sixth Maind hated Progenitor Chen, and they had gone so far as to erase all records of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s mere existence, but Progenitor Ku¡¯s life and existence had simply never been considered to begin with.

    Most people had never even heard of Progenitor Ku from the moment he had first started cultivating, to the moment he had disappeared forever. No one was concerned about him at all.

    However, the more one learned about Progenitor Ku, the more they would understand just how terrifying the man had been. In particr, Lu Yin was more shocked by the sight of Progenitor Ku than he had been by the sight of Progenitor Chen.

    There were simply too many stories and records of Progenitor Chen¡¯s aplishments, but there was practically nothing at all about Progenitor Ku. Even the Perennial World had considered the man to be the weakest Progenitor, as evidenced by his territory in the innermost regions of the Dominion Realm.

    However, it was precisely that ignored and forgotten Progenitor who had stood alone against the Seven Skygods, only they were opponents at the same level who could keep him in check.

    Above the sea, Zhao Ran trembled, and her face turned pale.

    Progenitor Ku rose to his feet, and he slowly walked over next to Zhao Ran to ce a hand on her shoulder. "Don''t be afraid."

    Zhao Ran looked at him, her lips pursed. She was clearly nervous.

    Progenitor Ku raised his hand to touch the girl¡¯s head. "I¡¯m not the person you are waiting for. You won¡¯t miss me, so go on. It¡¯s possible that we may meet again one day."

    With that, the man pushed Zhao Ran into the void with a hand, and she vanished.

    "You still pity the fragrance and cherish the jade. Throughout all the years you¡¯ve spent cultivating, has a woman ever once fallen in love with you? How pathetic. You¡¯re a glorious Progenitor, and yet no one cares about you. Why don¡¯t you join my Aeternals, who will protect you from death?" Undying God slowly stepped out and looked around.

    "Senior Wu Xing?" Leng Qing eximed.

    "The Sword Monument Guardian?" both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis shouted.

    Forgotten Ruins God calmly watched the scene y out. While this was another incident from the past, there were some details that she was not clear about.

    Progenitor Ku looked over at Undying God. "Caring about others is a rtive matter. They may not care about me, but I also don''t care about them."

    "In that case, why don''t you join my Aeternals?" Undying God repeated.

    A vicious smile spread across Progenitor Ku''s skinny face. "Because I am a human!"

    As soon as he spoke, his body took on the appearance of a corpse. He tightly clenched his right hand, and the void shattered as space trembled. It felt as though the universe itself was quivering. "You are not my opponent. I want to see just how powerful you Aeternals¡¯ so-called ¡®True God¡¯ really is."

    As soon as Progenitor Ku finished speaking, he stepped forward and simply passed through Undying God. At that same moment, Progenitor Ku''s body fully recovered, while Undying God was half torn to bits before he was able to take even a single step.

    The next moment, Progenitor Ku took another step, and he crossed the entire sky in a mere sh.

    Undying God had only been just a step behind Progenitor Ku, and he whirled around to stare in disbelief. "Ku Jie, do you truly dare to invade my Aeternals¡¯ realm? You¡¯re courting death!"

    The main hall suddenly trembled, and the stellr energy within everyone''s bodies started to be devoured by the statue yet again. The area around the hall descended back into darkness, leaving the upants of the main hall with only their shock.

    Every single scene that they had witnessed while traveling through time and space had been absolutely shocking.

    All of these incidents were major historical events, and yet Lu Yin was still blown away by the interactions between Progenitor Ku and Zhao Ran. As for Leng Qing and the others, they were in disbelief with what had happened to Undying God.

    They had never expected Wu Xing, who had once been the guardian of the Sword Monument, to have be one of the Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods. But even more shockingly, the man referred to as Ku Jie had actually been bold enough to im that Wu Xing was no match for him.

    That man had been Wu Xing, the child who had been adopted by Wu Tian. His extraordinary talent meant that he had the unique position of protecting the Sword Monument, which also allowed him to browse through the thousands of collected battle techniques that it held. During the Heavens Sect era, no one would have dared to underestimate Wu Xing. Leng Qing had focused his training on mastering the de, and he even possessed the Celestial de Realm, and yet he had still beenpletely crushed by a single swing of Wu Xing¡¯s sword.

    Leng Qing understood Wu Xing''s strength, and the fact that he had managed to survive for so many years further proved just how terrifying his power was. Despite that, had he still not been a match for that Ku Jie?

    "Who is Ku Jie?" Leng Qing asked. This was the first time he had asked a question.

    An ugly expression covered Jiu Yao''s face. "The Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitor Ku."

    Jiu Yao simply could not believe that Progenitor Ku, who had essentially been an unknown Progenitor, had actually possessed enough strength to crush Undying God! Everyone had been deceived, and it was quite possible that Progenitor Ku had been the master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas who had hidden his strength the deepest.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis nced at each other, and they once again found themselves reevaluating their arrogance that had caused them to underestimate theter eras.

    Progenitor Chen had publicly killed Progenitor Nan, while the Rune Progenitor had challenged the Sixth Maind with nothing more than the support of his own civilization. As for Progenitor Ku, he had imed that he could easily defeat Wu Xing. Who would dare to underestimate such an outstanding individual? Even in the Heavens Sect era, such a person would have been considered an exceptional powerhouse.

    "That person we just saw also controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas," Chu Yuan solemnly stated.

    The ability to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was not rted to an era, but rather the raw ability of the person being assessed. In other words, anyone who could take control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas would have also wielded such power and ability during the Heavens Sect era.

    Realizing this, Chu Yuan suddenly looked over at Lu Yin. "In your era, have all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas received masters?"

    It seemed that Lu Yin was able to see through Chu Yuan¡¯s thoughts. "Of course."

    Heluo Mavis''s eye twitched. It was important to understand that there had been times during the Heavens Sect era when not all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had found masters. How could ater era have found enough powerful individuals to control all Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Such a thing defied belief.

    Their perception of the current era changed yet again.

    "Where''s Progenitor Ku now? How is he?" Lu Yin looked at Forgotten Ruins God once again to question her.

    She considered the question for a moment. "He should still be alive. I mean, he can''t die. I never fought him, as he¡¯s just too difficult to deal with."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Progenitor Ku had gone on his own to fight against the Aeternals. When it came to the boldness of his actions, Progenitor Ku did not fall behind the Rune Progenitor at all. However, Progenitor Ku had always kept a low profile and remained unknown. He was truly an unsung hero.

    At this moment, stellr energy once again began to surge out and force its way into everyone''s bodies.

    Lu Yin quickly started using the Cosmic Art to devour as much stellr energy as he could, and his four stellr energy vortices were restored to peak condition even faster than before.

    Once again, everyone focused their attention onto Lu Yin.

    It was not long before enough energy had gathered in each vortex that Lu Yin was starting to approach the threshold of his next stellr tribtion. Each time a vortex reached that point, Lu Yin would seal it with death energy, and then the stellr energy would move from one meridian point to the next, filling each vortex in turn. The vortices all started to shine brightly, and they arrived at the threshold at nearly the same time. Everything proceeded much more quickly than it had on Lu Yin¡¯s previous attempt.

    Everyone else was staring at him.

    A wolf head appeared above Lu Yin''s head. It was clearly Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s innate gift, though it was far weaker than when she had used it earlier.

    When Lu Yin saw the wolf head descending to swallow him, he silently pulled out an eggshell and ced it above his head.

    The wolf head was blocked by the shell without being able to harm Lu Yin in the slightest.

    Everyone was speechless at this sight. While it was certainly possible to use items and power vessels to pass stellr tribtions, this tribtion had been far too easy for Lu Yin to pass.

    Jiu Yao quietly said, "If the true universe were in its normal state, such actions would have likely triggered a terrible revenge."

    Revenge?

    Lu Yin looked over at Jiu Yao. "Who would take revenge?"

    "The true universe, of course," Lan Xian replied as she stared at Lu Yin. "These minor stellr tribtions are indeed not usually very powerful, and most people will try to pass without any assistance. They will only use items if they face a situation where they truly can¡¯t survive on their own. This is because there have been incidents in the past where other people would disperse a minor tribtion for someone else, but that has always triggered a terribly powerful stellr tribtion, and there have been multiple cases where a tribtion that already started evolved. Every time that happened, the person facing the tribtion has died."

    Lu Yin thought back to his first stellr tribtion and the bolt of lightning that had struck at him at the end. If not for that strange corpse blocking the lightning, Lu Yin would have absolutely died.

    So even the minor tribtions could evolve? Lu Yin felt lucky that it had not happened this time.

    He put the eggshell away.

    However, the stellr energy that had gathered above Lu Yin¡¯s head did not disperse, but remained as though there was still more to the tribtion.

    Everyone watching felt shocked, as stellr tribtions usually had just a single attack, so why was Lu Yin facing another?

    Lu Yin blinked. No way! Is this because I have four stellr energy vortices? Am I going to have to face four tribtions?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression darkened. Forget these minor tribtions¡ªhow in the world was he supposed to survive his tribtion when he reached a power level of a million? Or after that, when he tried to break through to be a Semi-Progenitor or a Progenitor? A single stellr tribtion at those levels was already terrifying, but four? Just the thought made Lu Yin tremble.

    Lu Yin was still dazed when the second tribtion struck.

    This time, the attack was a colorful palm strike. This was Jiu Yao''s battle technique, and although it was a beautiful technique, it had been utterly useless in the fight against Forgotten Ruins God.

    However, that merely meant that the palm strike had been useless against Forgotten Ruins God. If Jiu Yao had attacked Lu Yin with that same technique, it would have beenpletely impossible for Lu Yin to stop it without using a power vessel or some other item. However, Lu Yin had been scared by Lan Xian¡¯s exnation, and he did not want to needlessly risk using the eggshell. He put it away and retaliated against the approaching palm strike with a Hollow Palm.

    The two palm strikes met, and the Hollow Palm managed to slow the tribtion¡¯s attack. Lu Yin quickly followed up with a second Hollow Palm, and then a third. Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s fifth Hollow Palm managed to shatter the attack from the tribtion.

    This tribtion was truly too weak. Lu Yin had not even used the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant to strengthen his Hollow Palm. In contrast, the first attack of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion when he had broken through to the Envoy realm had been a punch from a colossal giant that had been reinforced with aurelian force. Just to survive, Lu Yin had been forced to not only use the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, but also recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. The two tribtions were simply not on the same level at all.

    However, the energy that had gathered for Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion still did not dissipate.

    Everyone was giving Lu Yin odd looks at this point in time. Bizarre things always happened around this person.

    This time, the attack was a de sh. It was the attack that Leng Qing had used to protect Heluo Mavis when he had first arrived.

    Lu Yin frowned. Every attack from the stellr tribtions that had appeared within the main hall was a technique used by one of the people present in the ce. The main hall was still hurtling through time and space, so how could there be a true universe present? Could it be that the stellr energy present within the main hall was different from what was present in the rest of the universe? All the stellr energy had been drained from the true universe in Lu Yin¡¯s era, which should mean that there were no stellr tribtions. Despite that, there were still tribtions within the main hall. Could the sword have created a new true universe within this space?

 Chapter 2069: The Mainland Collapses

    Chapter 2069: The Maind Copses

    It was a terrifying thought, but it also seemed to be the most likely possibility.

    There was most likely a true universe constantly being created and then dissipating inside of the main hall.

    The de fell, and Lu Yin raised a hand towards it. The attack was sharp enough to slice the void apart, but it waspletely unable to break through Lu Yin''s defenses. After all, this attack was far from matching Leng Qing''s true strength.

    There was a bang as the de shattered.

    Above Lu Yin¡¯s head, a fourth attack for his stellr tribtion appeared.

    Chu Yuan''s face fell. All of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments had defied the young man¡¯s understanding. Chu Yuan had always been the person to surpass others¡¯ understanding, especially when it came to the size of his internal energy reserves. Anyone who encountered him would be puzzled as to how he could possess a stellr energy reserve that wasparable to that of the Lu family¡¯s Dao Chosen. At this moment, Chu Yuan could empathize with those people¡¯s confusion; just how did Lu Yin have so much stellr energy within his body? Why did this stellr tribtionunch so many attacks?

    Just how did this person train?

    Lu Yin progressed further and further down a road that others could notprehend.

    Suddenly, Chu Yuan''s expression changed once again. No, he''s about to finish his breakthrough!

    As Lu Yin crazily devoured stellr energy to gather enough energy to trigger his breakthrough, it did not mean that the others around him had been unable to absorb stellr energy. Rather, their rate of absorption had merely slowed down.

    However, the amount of time that the surges of stellr energysted was growing longer with each cycle, and Chu Yuan had reached his limits. Finally, a tribtion appeared over his head as well.

    Lu Yin looked over. So he¡¯s breaking through, too.

    Heluo Mavis quickly got away from Chu Yuan.

    The young man¡¯splexion did not look good. He had already been at the peak before his third tribtion, so it should not be a problem for him to break through, but he did not want it to be like this. Chu Yuan craved attention, which was the reason why he had not stopped Heluo Mavis and Lu Yin from following him through the Daosource Sect ruins. At this moment, everyone was focused entirely on Lu Yin, which meant that Chu Yuan could only serve as a foil to Lu Yin. This was uneptable.

    The two tribtions fell at the same time.

    Lu Yin and Chu Yuan both simultaneously passed their stellr tribtions.

    Chu Yuan became a three-tribtion Envoy, while Lu Yin became a two-tribtion Envoy.

    Even after the two young men¡¯s breakthroughs, stellr energy continued to rush into their bodies without slowing at all.

    Just like Heluo Mavis, Chu Yuan decided to try to suppress how much stellr energy entered his body.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin continued to use the Cosmic Art to pull in ever-increasing amounts of energy.

    Those droplets of the mysterious liquid had emptied the main universe of stellr energy, rendering the true universepletely useless. How was Lu Yin supposed to gather enough energy needed for future breakthroughs? If he could face his tribtions at this moment, then he fully intended to take advantage of the situation. Besides, his foundation was sturdy enough to support these breakthroughs. In fact, if others understood Lu Yin¡¯s foundation, they would question their entire lives.

    Everyone just stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. He wanted to push for another breakthrough? Was he insane?

    A cute smile appeared on Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s face. "Kid, are you afraid that you won¡¯t be able to make any more breakthroughs with the true universe empty? I like your personality! You won¡¯t let go of any opportunity you see, will you? Haha!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as the woman was absolutely right. Why should Lu Yin abandon an opportunity that had fallen into hisp?

    Heluo Mavis did not have such concerns. While she also cultivated with stellr energy, she was more focused on the Mavis family¡¯s cultivation methods, so she simply needed to find the divine tree.

    Chu Yuan frowned heavily. It was true; the true universe was empty, so what should he do? He had not reached a level where he could create his own cultivation method, and he had only focused on cultivating with stellr energy, just like the members of the Lu family.

    Chu Yuan could not help but look over at Lu Yin. Should he copy Lu Yin¡¯s methods? Doing so would defeat Chu Yuan¡¯s original goals.

    After the two tribtions ended, stellr energy continued to surge into everyone''s bodies. The statue had absorbed too much stellr energy, and it far surpassed what Lu Yin and the others were capable of handling.

    The four stellr energy vortices in Lu Yin¡¯s body continued to grow, and it looked like they were quickly approaching the threshold needed for his third tribtion.

    The main hall suddenly trembled, and everyone went stiff for a moment. They were about to witness another event in time and space.

    The furthest point in history that Lu Yin knew about was the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds¡¯ Daosource Sects. He had not seen any history rted to anything before that time, and it seemed as though such information was considered unimportant, or at the least, unimportant to the Fifth Maind whenpared to people like Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and their histories.

    Lu Yin was very interested in those people.

    However, they were not necessarily going back straight through time or visiting locations in space in a specific order. It was possible that this next scene would be a more distant point in time, but it could also be something far more recent.

    A white light shed outside the main hall. Everyone turned to look at it, and they saw a scene from outer space that was filled with a chaotic white light. The light suddenly turned dark red, and then it shot out in all directions. Lu Yin was unable to even see what was happening.

    "This is the scene of a Maind¡¯s copse!" Jiu Yao blurted as he stared into the distance in absolute horror.

    Even Forgotten Ruins God was surprised. "So it¡¯s when that Maind copsed? I really missed this sight."

    Leng Qing could not believe what he was hearing; a Maind had copsed? An entire Maind? He had heard that five of humanity¡¯s Six Mainds had fallen, but he had not believed it. At this moment, he was seeing the destruction of a Maind with his own eyes.

    Soil, rivers, mountains,s, enormousnd masses, and regions of outer space all moved in various directions. Of course, all of this chaos ended countless lives.

    How many creatures would die with the destruction of a Maind? No one could fathom such a number. Even a small like Earth had been home to billions of human beings before its apocalypse, and that was not even considering any other creatures. However, how manys the size of Earth existed in a single Maind? That was also impossible to know, as there were simply too many.

    The destruction of a Maind signified the disappearance of a civilization.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes wide, and he saw the brightest and cruelest scene that the universe had ever known. The dazzling white light that mixed with the ominous dark-red light was beyond terrifying, and Lu Yin felt as though he could hear the cries of countless lives, hearing their despair before they were reduced to dust.

    From beginning to end, Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis watched in silence as the Maind was destroyed. They had never imagined they would ever see such a sight.

    It was one thing to hear about such destruction, but an entirely different thing to actually see it.

    "So it''s the Fourth Maind," Forgotten Ruins Godmented when she recognized what they were seeing.

    Above the main hall,s and stars exploded, and countless strange lifeforms living in those ces were instantly wiped out. These creatures were not humans, but at this moment, life was life.

    Astral beasts inhabited most of the Fourth Maind, and the Astral Beast Domain was a remnant of the creatures that had survived the Fourth Maind¡¯s destruction. Both Skymender and the Celestial Demons hade from that ce.

    In the distant past, the astral beasts had lived in a ce that wasparable to the entire Fifth Maind.

    The Fifth Maind consisted of not only the current Innerverse, Outerverse, and Neoverse, but also the Astral Beast Domain, Technocracy, and even the Perennial World. One could only imagine just how powerful theplete Fifth Maind had been, and the Fourth Maind had been fullyparable to the Fifth.

    Such a huge and prosperous ce had beenpletely destroyed, disappearing from the universe. Even Lu Yin could have never imagined such a scene, yet he was seeing it for himself at this moment.

    Everyone stayed silent. The ending of life was always something that seemed to deserve silence. It was likely that Forgotten Ruins God was the only that was enjoying what they were seeing. She had seen the same thing several times before, but such destruction was also caused by her and the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin subconsciously clenched his hands into fists. Would the Fifth Maind suffer the same fate?

    Eh? He suddenly noticed something familiar. Was that a humanoid sourcebox?

    The destruction of the Maind felt like an entire region of the universe had exploded, and the annihtion of so much matter produced countless ck holes. In this scene of endless destruction, one humanoid sourcebox after another flew out in various directions. There were so many that Lu Yin even forgot about the destruction of the Maind.

    Why were there so many?

    More and more humanoid sourceboxes shot through space. They did not originate from just one location, but from many, many ces. What was going on?

    Xiao Shi had told Lu Yin that humanoid sourceboxes absolutely could not be unlocked, and Array Grandmaster Xiu Ming had given Lu Yin a simr warning. Lu Yin had taken careful note of these warnings, and he had given all of the humanoid sourceboxes that he had found over to Xiu Ming.

    However, no one had ever been able to tell Lu Yin just where the humanoid sourceboxes came from.

    At this moment, as the Fourth Maind copsed, he saw countless humanoid sourceboxes. How were there so many?

    He suddenly remembered what he had seen when he had once Possessed a Creeper. The Celestial Beast Empire was in possession of a great number of humanoid sourceboxes, and it looked like they had been collecting them.

    What was the rtionship between the Celestial Beast Empire, the Fourth Maind, and the humanoid sourceboxes?

    The main hall trembled, and it returned to the river of time. It felt as though the endless destruction that they had just witnessed had been nothing more than an illusion.

    Chu Yuan and the others remained silent. What they had just seen had already happened. Hearing about historical events was entirely different from witnessing them in person.

    Lu Yin''s heart grew heavy.

    The statue started to suck in stellr energy once more, and everyone just allowed it to happen.

    They had just witnessed the end of the Fourth Maind. Would their next stop be the destruction of the Third Maind, the Second, or even the First? Would they see the Heavens Sect era?

    How far back in time could the sword take them?

    It was not long before the statue started releasing stellr energy again, and Lu Yin immediately started using the Cosmic Art. It was as though he was doing it subconsciously.

    However, the first person to have another breakthrough was Heluo Mavis. She once again failed to hold back the surge of stellr energy, and much to her frustration, she became a four-tribtion Envoy.

    If most people experience such a rapid rise in cultivation, they would go insane. The amount of time that most cultivators needed to gather enough stellr energy to trigger a stellr tribtion was exorbitant, and that was not even considering the caution that was needed when absorbing stellr energy from the true universe.

    However, there were no such concerns in the main hall. Beyond that, not only were there no restrictions, but they were actually being forced to absorb massive amounts of stellr energy, and their cultivation was being forcibly improved.

    It would be amazing if this could happen to all humans, Lu Yin suddenly thought.

    Heluo Mavis was a four-tribtion Envoy, which greatly improved her strength, but such an effortless improvement left her quite disgruntled.

    It was only a short timeter that Lu Yin¡¯s four vortices reached maximum capacity, and they simultaneously triggered his third stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin had never cultivated so quickly before; he was already facing his third tribtion!

    These tribtions were not difficult, but just like before, while others only faced a single attack for their minor tribtions, Lu Yin had to face four.

    After the four attacks finished, Lu Yin officially became a three-tribtion Envoy.

    He knew that his strength had improved a tremendous amount, and he might have even reached a level where he could face off against old monsters with power levels of over a million, like Yuan Shi. If Lu Yin was able to stay in the main hall for long enough, he might even reach a power level of a million himself!

    Of course, this was just an idle thought. Even if he could reach a power level of a million, he would avoid doing so. His foundation was sufficient for him to be a three-tribtion Envoy, and likely even for his fourth tribtion. But to climb higher, it was important for Lu Yin to continue strengthening his foundation.

    Ideally, he would go train in the Perennial World, though the downside of that option was that he would be hunted down by the four ruling powers.

    When Lu Yin looked up, he saw everyone staring at him, clearly wondering when he would trigger his fourth tribtion.

    Lu Yin looked away and nced over at the distant forms of Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis. Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something, and his eyes lit up. He felt that it was possible for him to try to seize the statue.

    Just as he was considering this, the main hall shook, and everyone looked out at the same time. They were both eager and nervous to find out what they would see next.

    This time, the main hall appeared above an endless ocean. No, this was¡­ ake?

    Lu Yin looked around. It really was ake that was sorge that he could not see the other side. The only reason he knew it was ake instead of an ocean was because of a distant jungle that they could see. The trees were just asrge as the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree.

    Despite the distance, even if it was impossible to see the shore of theke, they could clearly see the jungle¡¯s massive trees in all directions. Each tree wasrge enough to hold stars, and even further away, they could see the Mother Tree itself.

 Chapter 2070: The Eagle And The Fish

    Chapter 2070: The Eagle And The Fish

    "This looks familiar," Forgotten Ruins God muttered.

    Everyone else felt rather confused, as they had never seen such a massiveke before. Could this be the scene of the other Mainds being destroyed?

    The Fifth Maind had the Astral River while the Sixth Maind had the inverted waterfall.

    No one noticed Chu Yuan''s expression of absolute shock. He was familiar with this ce, as not only had he seen it, but he had also visited this ce before. This was where he had met the Origin Progenitor.

    "Up above!" Lan Xian eximed, fear evident in her voice.

    Everyone looked up.

    A massive shadow enveloped them. It was sorge they could not see the edge. Suddenly, they heard a deafening sound that caused space to grow chaotic. It was the cry of an eagle.

    Everyone stared in disbelief as a majestic eagle flew down andnded. As it approached and drew closer, they realized that it was muchrger than it had first appeared to be, as it covered half theke.

    Theke itself wasrge enough that Lu Yin could not see the shore, despite having passed his third stellr tribtion. It wasrge enough to hold an entire region of the universe, and yet the eagle fully covered half of thiske. It was evenrger than Ancestor Tortoise!

    When he saw the eagle fly over andnd, Leng Qing''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he shouted, "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s eagle!"

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian were both startled, and they were instantly reminded of the statue they had often visited in the past. It was a statue of the Origin Progenitor, and there was a massive python wrapped around the waist of the statue as well as an eagle perched on his shoulder. Could this really be that eagle?

    Lu Yin stared in a daze as the eagle descended. His mind went back to the legend he had heard in the Perennial World that imed that there was a massive eagle perched atop the Mother Tree while the Python Ancestor wrapped around the base of the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. Lu Yin had already seen the Python Ancestor for himself, so could the eagle also be real? Was this that same eagle?

    The eagle covered theke as itnded. Its talons stretched into theke. It seemed to grab onto something, and the entireke churned so violently that the nearby stars were disturbed. Water sshed everywhere, each dropletrge enough to drown out an entire star. However, given the size of the eagle, they were nothing more than mere droplets.

    The eagle¡¯s talons remained in theke for just a few more moments before it soared back into the sky once again, making its way towards outer space as it let out another cry.

    The eagle¡¯s cry contained anger and annoyance that Lu Yin and the others could clearly hear.

    Suddenly, they all heard a rough voice speak up from beneath them. "Come on, little birdy. Come on! Get over here and catch Lord Fish. It¡¯s not good to make Lord Fish wait and frown, so get over here!"

    Everyone looked down, and they all saw a massive tail suddenly appear within theke. It smashed down onto the surface of theke, sending out crashing waves that were powerful enough to distort space.

    Lu Yin instantly felt that the voice sounded rather familiar, and he kept looking around for who had spoken. Finally, he realized that the voice wasing from the enormous mouth of the fish that they were staring at. The fish was so unbelievablyrge that it was impossible to see either side of its head. The fish continued mocking the eagle. "Come on, Lord Fish will ept you, little birdy. Come on, get over here! Lord Fish is bored."

    The angry eagle let out another scream from far overhead. It then dropped, its talons stabbing straight into the water. However, the fish had already dived to the bottom of theke before the eagle was even able to get close. The fish was startlingly quick, and this singr exchange made it clear that the fish had done the same thing to the eagle countless times before. The eagle failed to catch the fish, and it flew back up into the sky.

    The fish resurfaced as it pped its tail onto the surface of theke once again. "Little birdy, where¡¯d you go? Lord Fish misses you! Get back here! Lord Fish loves eating roast fowl and two-legged beasts. Come back to Lord Fish! Lord Fish will teach you how to lockbreak! Lord Fish will teach you how to be a Progenitor!"

    The eagle let out an enraged scream. It continued to swoop down at theke in an attempt to catch the fish, only to fail yet again. The mouthy fish was slippery, but the eagle became so angry that it tried to simplypletely drain theke. However, a mysterious force stopped the eagle from doing so, and it was even pushed up away from theke. This only made the eagle even more enraged than ever.

    "Lord Fish wants to use this little birdy as a mount, just like those two-legged beasts. Hurry over here and be Lord Fish¡¯s mount! Lord Fish is in a good mood right now, and I will teach you things that will allow you to stand above all of your peers." The fish shouted again and again. It was incredibly irritating to hear, but there was nothing that the eagle could do to stop it.

    Lu Yin was utterly speechless. Even if he could not see the entire fish or had a good idea of what it looked like, its voice sounded exactly like that miserable fish that rode around on top of Xi Qi''s head. That nasty little fish had to this massive fish¡¯s descendant.

    "Chu Yuan, you look like you know this ce." Heluo Mavis stared at Chu Yuan.

    Lu Yin looked over as well.

    Chu Yuan answered in an indifferent tone, "That eagle is indeed the one from the Origin Progenitor¡¯s back garden, and the Python Ancestor was nearby. As for that fish down below, I heard the Origin Progenitor refer to it as the Arkfish."

    "So that¡¯s the Arkfish? There were rumors that the Origin Progenitor used it specifically to train the eagle, and I can see why now," Heluo Mavis murmured to herself.

    Lu Yin looked back down at theke. There had been mention of the Arkfish in the Perennial World¡¯s legend as well, but as far as Lu Yin was concerned, it was more like a fart fish. The words it spew were simply infuriating.

    The main hall trembled, startling everyone, as this stop had been incredibly brief. Previously, every stop had been sessively longer, and everyone had expected this to be their longest stop yet.

    The statue once again started absorbing all the stellr energy from everyone''s bodies and devouring it. Theke disappeared as they resumed traveling through time and space.

    Right as everyone thought that the same cycle as before would continue, something inexplicably changed. The stellr energy that the statue had been devouring suddenly stalled, and then it was violently sent back. It started pouring back into everyone''s bodies.

    Lu Yin reflexively started using the Cosmic Art again, but he did nce at the statue. Why was the cycle so short this time?

    Before he could even really consider the change, a tremor shook the main hall, catching everyone off guard. Had they already arrived at their next destination?

    There was a burst of light outside the main hall, and they were greeted by the sight of an enormous tree covered with glowing fruits. The tree was falling, and a massive figure was standing next to it and punching at the tree.

    Heluo Mavis waspletely stunned. "The divine tree!"

    She leaped forward, but she was blocked by the power that isted the main hall from the rest of the universe.

    The main hall shook again right away, and it returned to the dark river of time. They had only seen the tree for a maximum of two seconds before it disappeared. Then, the stellr energy started draining from everyone once more.

    Heluo Mavis had gonepletely white. She had just seen a colossal giant attacking her Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. She had never seen that giant before, but rumors imed that the colossal giants had been created by the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind. Did the fall of the Second Maind have something to do with the Third Maind? Was there a connection to the colossal giants?

    Before everyone could recover from the sudden changes, stellr energy suddenly shot back into their bodies once more. At almost the exact same time, the main hall shook. They saw someone stirring up the Astral River, which meant that they were looking at the Fifth Maind. They could see the Astral River twining through space like a ribbon, but they could not see the face of the person disturbing it.

    The main hall kept trembling. As it became more and more frequent, they saw more and more glimpses of events throughout history.

    Sometimes they saw battlefields, and other times a peaceful location in outer space. There were times when they saw a wedding, or just the Mother Tree. The scenes flickered by faster and faster until it became impossible to clearly see anything.

    Lu Yin stared at what was happening outside the main hall. Everything he was seeing at this moment were bits of history. He watched snippets of events that had yed out across the various Mainds, powerhouses who toyed with stars, and even the Heavens Sect.

    He had never before imagined that he would one day have the opportunity to see the Heavens Sect for himself.

    The Mother Tree held up the universe, and the Six Mainds circled the Mother Tree. When the main hall appeared outside another Maind, Lu Yin saw both a Sky Pir and the Mother Tree standing tall in the distance. He saw the Daosource Sect standing proud like an imperial pce atop the Sky Pirs. There were countless races streaming towards the Heavens Sect. It truly was the peak of human civilization.

    Lu Yin did not recognize what he was seeing, and he only recognized it for what it was because Leng Qing had recognized the sight and remarked that it was the Heavens Sect. That point in time had been the era when humanity had stood at the absolute center of the universe. Every powerful Progenitor and Semi-Progenitor who had lived during that era had represented the essence of humanity. It was an era that had been beyond prosperous.

    When Lu Yin saw this, it was the image of what humanity should have to him. This was, and should have been, the true face of mankind.

    Ever since Hen Xin and the other people from the ancient era had appeared, everyst one of them had kept speaking of the Heavens Sect, and their words and demeanor had given Lu Yin an ever-growing mental image of the ce. When he finally saw it for himself, the impression was instantly etched into his very bones. He saw the stunning magnificence of the Heavens Sect, and its power to y with stars and the universe itself. The Aeternals were nothing more than monsters while the astral beasts only deserved to be enved.

    For a long time afterwards, Lu Yin remained quite emotional. He suddenly understood why Sky Garan had dered that he would rebuild the Heavenly Sect. It also made sense that the same goal had been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s dream. After seeing the Heavens Sect for himself, rebuilding the Heavens Sect became Lu Yin¡¯s dream as well. He wanted to ce the Tower of the Fifth within the Heavens Sect to guide and train humans, paving the way to the future.

    Lu Yin had not held such a grand ambition since the time he had been left as white meat on Driftcharge.

    The constant ebb and flow of stellr energy within the main hall continuously shifted to different points in time and space. It was clear that something had changed, and Lu Yin and the others all started to panic, as they were afraid that they might be left in a random point in space in an ancient era.

    Leng Qing, Chu Yuan, and Heluo Mavis did not fear such a possibility, as they were actually eager to return to the Heavens Sect era. For them, this bit of time travel felt like a bit of a tour. Still, regardless of the process, returning to their own ce and time would be the best for them.

    Forgotten Ruins God finally took action. She had no idea what sort of changes might ur to the main hall in the future, but since things had already started to change, she felt that making the first move would secure the advantage. All she needed to do was get the sword.

    The dark-red stream of energy took on the form of a massive wolf head that tried to devour Leng Qing and the other two Semi-Progenitors. At the same time that she released her innate gift, Forgotten Ruins Godshed out with Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Leng Qing changed back and merged with his de while fiercely shing out at Forgotten Ruins God. The man collided with Four Arts: Celestial de, but Leng Qing was the one who was pushed back. The stellr energy kept fluctuating within his body, and he did not have a reliable level ofbat power at this moment. He was actually weakened right at the moment of impact, which was why Leng Qing was forced back.

    Forgotten Ruins God raised her hand. Four Arts: Pearl.

    Forgotten Ruins God had never used the Four Arts before this moment. However, during this surprise attack, she had started by using the Four Arts¡¯ Celestial de to stop Leng Qing while simultaneously sealing Leng Qing¡¯s prowess with the de away with the terrifying Four Arts: Pearl.

    Leng Qing¡¯sbat strength plummeted, as his de had been sealed.

    Forgotten Ruins God seized this opening to sweep past Leng Qing while racing towards the statue.

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian instinctively moved to stop the charging woman, but they were sent flying with a Sit and Forget. Lan Xian suffered the brunt of the blow, as she was knocked all the way down to the lower level of the main hall where she spat out blood. The difference in strength between Lan Xian and Forgotten Ruins God was too much.

    Jiu Yao was the Sixth Maind¡¯s only Semi-Progenitor who was even close to approaching the Progenitor Realm, but at this moment, he was facing Forgotten Ruins God who was using the Aeternals divine energy. On top of that, Jiu Yao was weakened as he was still missing some of his stellr energy.

    Forgotten Ruins God had held back from doing anything earlier since she had been concerned about the unknown consequences her actions might have while traveling through time and space. However, as soon as she took action, she revealed an unrivaled level of strength that instantly crushed three Semi-Progenitors.

    Only Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis were left near the statue, and it was impossible for either of them to stop Forgotten Ruins God.

    Lu Yin looked up from where he was on the lower level of the main hall. When he saw that Forgotten Ruins God was moving towards the statue, he jumped up and moved to block her path. The Cosmic Art was activated at full power, and Lu Yin took in every scrap of stellr energy that he could.

    The stellr energy had just started to surge out of the statue again to fill everyone¡¯s bodies. As Lu Yin used the Cosmic Art, it caused the stellr energy levels around him to soar. Forgotten Ruins God had no choice but to enter the area affected by Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art if she wanted to take the statue.

    It looked like Lu Yin wanted to use the higher levels of stellr energy caused by the Cosmic Art to force greater amounts of stellr energy into Forgotten Ruins God''s body and overwhelm her. Unfortunately, such a thing could only be a dream. While it was possible to overwhelm Heluo Mavis or Chu Yuan with such a method, it was impossible to do the same to Forgotten Ruins God. If things reached a point where Forgotten Ruins God could be affected, then Lu Yin would already have self-destructed.

    "Naive." Forgotten Ruins God struck out at Lu Yin with a hand. It was not a powerful attack, as she still did not want to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took out his eggshell and hid inside it. He then pulled out his needle-like weapon and thrust it at Forgotten Ruins God.

 Chapter 2071: The Power of Time

    Chapter 2071: The Power of Time

    Forgotten Ruins God automatically dodged the needle-like weapon the moment she saw it. Even though she had never seen this thing before, the fact that Lu Yin had pulled it out in a dire situation told the woman everything that she needed to know. Without hesitating, she redirected her palm strike to the approaching weapon.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic to see her reaction, and he moved the weapon over to Leng Qing with the Yu Secret Art. "Stab her with that!"

    This was the same method that Lu Yin had used to deal with Wang Si. The needle-like weapon was able to destroy a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, and Forgotten Ruins God had not used her inner world to deal with them yet.

    There was a bang as Forgotten Ruins God mmed a hand against the eggshell protecting Lu Yin. He was lucky that the attack was not overly powerful, and the eggshell managed to endure.

    Lu Yin nced back and saw that he was quite close to the statue.

    There was no way he was actually dumb enough to believe that he could overwhelm Forgotten Ruins God with a surge of stellr energy. Lu Yin¡¯s goal all along had been to influence the direction of Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack so that it would push Lu Yin closer to the statue and let him grab the sword inside it. He had been aware that it might be difficult to manipte the direction of Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack that precisely, which was why Lu Yin had pulled out the needle-like weapon; it had been used to shift the attack to ensure the direction that Lu Yin was sent flying in.

    With the stellr energy within the main hall in constant flux and unreliable, the Ce Secret Art and the Teleportation Formation could not be counted on. Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack was a much more reliable means of transportation.

    The Skygod frowned when she realized that she had been used. If anyone else at all, even a Semi-Progenitor, had pulled out that needle-like weapon, Forgotten Ruins God would not have paid it any heed, but the fact that Lu Yin had pulled it out made all the difference. Lu Yin was always prepared for anything.

    Events proved her worries valid. When Leng Qing reached for the odd weapon, he had not given it any real importance. However, when he grabbed it and reflexively squeezed it tightly, he was shocked to discover that he could not damage the weapon in any manner whatsoever. The needle was as tough as Leng Qing¡¯s de, and since his own de had been sealed by the Skygod¡¯s Four Arts: Pearl, this new weapon was the best alternative. Leng Qing saw Lu Yin be sent flying, and he instantly stabbed forward with the needle-like weapon.

    Across the hall, Lu Yin was flying through the air, approaching the statue, and he shifted to rush to the statue without any hesitation. Chu Yuan was staring at Lu Yin, trying to find some way to stop him, but a sudden fluctuation of stellr energy surged into Chu Yuan¡¯s body, and he went pale as he he quickly pulled back.

    However, the fluctuating stellr energy was not enough to hinder Forgotten Ruins God. To begin with, she was a Semi-Progenitor, and with her cultivation level, it would take more than a brief moment for her to be forced to attempt a breakthrough.

    As for Heluo Mavis, she was in the same situation as Chu Yuan. Neither of them dared to approach Lu Yin due to the fluctuating stellr energy.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was the person closest to the statue, and he could almost touch it. He was close enough to see everyst detail of the statue, even the fine texture of the stone.

    He had wanted to put the statue right into his cosmic ring, but he felt a sense of danger right as he stretched his hand forward. It was as though he had forgotten something, and he reflexively nced over at Chu Yuan out of the corner of his eye. Lu Yin saw a glint of arrogance in Chu Yuan¡¯s eyes, and he instantly stayed his hand.

    Shortly after Chu Yuan had gained consciousness in the current era, he had gone straight to the Daosource Sect ruins and its main hall, as he had known about the sword inside the statue. He clearly had a great deal of knowledge about it. Thus, Chu Yuan¡¯s arrogant expression when Lu Yin was just about to steal the statue and the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword made it clear that something was very, very wrong.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the statue right in front of him. It should be a statue of the Origin Progenitor. There was a massive giant python wrapped around the man¡¯s waist and an eagle perched on his shoulder. Give who it was a statue of, how could it possibly be so easy to take it away? Whoever had made this statue would have certainly made sure that no one could desecrate the effigy no matter what happened.

    Lu Yin then realized what was subconsciously bothering him.

    He maintained the position of reaching to grab the statue, but he did not move.

    Chu Yuan''s face changed when he saw that Lu Yin had stopped moving.

    There was a boom, and a powerful attack swept through the area. Before Lu Yin could even react, his eggshell had shattered, and he had been blown away.

    The eggshell had been durable enough to stop the attacks of even someone as powerful as the Second Nightking. However, Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s strength was on apletely different level. Not only did she instantly shatter the eggshell, but she had also injured Lu Yin and smashed him against a pir in the main hall.

    Lu Yin spat out blood, and pain racked his internal organs. He felt like he was about to spit out even more blood.

    He looked up and saw that Forgotten Ruins God had just badly wounded both Leng Qing and Jiu Yao at the same time. She reached the statue with a single step. At this moment, the main hall was constantly flickering between different times and spaces in the universe, and the frequency was only increasing. The light from the outside world kept shing.

    Lu Yin stared intently at Forgotten Ruins God and watched as she stretched out a hand to grab the statue. Inch by inch, she moved closer.

    Crash!

    A shattering sound echoed out, and everyone stared as the statue crumbled. As it did so, it released a hazy light that lit up the main hall.

    Forgotten Ruins God became excited as she watched the statue fall apart. She first saw the hilt of the sword, but the de was soon revealed as well. This was one of the six swords that had belonged to the Origin Progenitor, and now, it was hers. Forgotten Ruins God reached into the shattered remains of the statue to grab the sword¡¯s hilt.

    Suddenly, her pupils constricted. At the exact moment that her hand touched the hilt of the sword, it transformed into specks of light that started dissipating. The effect immediately spread to the rest of her body.

    Everyone watching was startled. What was happening?

    Forgotten Ruins God was slowly vanishing, beginning with her arm.

    She was also stunned by what was happening to her, but she instantly reacted and cut her arm off. However, her body did not stop transforming into specks of light that drifted away. They were beautiful and looked like fireflies, though the overall scene was terrifying.

    Everyone nkly watched as a Semi-Progenitor''s body slowly disappeared. Forgotten Ruins God felt no pain at all. She did her absolute best to stop what was happening to her, but she was unable to move even a single step. First her arms, then her legs, and soon her torso disappeared. She was finally left with just her head.

    Forgotten Ruins God closed her eyes. "This is the power of time."

    Just as she finished speaking, she disappeared entirely. It was as though she had never existed to begin with.

    Had she died? Or had something else happened to her? No one knew.

    Lu Yin was left dazed. Was that the power of time? It was so peaceful and beautiful, though also so, so terrifying.

    The statue continued to crumble, eventually falling to the floor with a soft noise. Everyone continued to stare, as only a single, ordinary-looking sword remained floating in the air.

    The sword lookedpletely ordinary, and there was not much that differentiated it from the swords used by ordinary people. It was not as exquisite looking as Liu Huang''s sword, and it even appeared to have a bit of rust on it. However, this sword contained the power of time and had caused Forgotten Ruins God to disappear.

    This was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon that Forgotten Ruins God had desperately wanted to get her hands on, as it held the power of time.

    Even though the sword was right there in front of them, no one dared to reach out to grab it.

    Lu Yin was not bold enough to attempt such a thing. He was very d for his sudden wariness, as without it, he would have been the one to disappear.

    The light continued to flicker outside the main hall as they continued to visit various locations in time and space. However, not one person paid any attention to what was happening in the outside world, as they were all staring at the sword.

    Heluo Mavis turned to Chu Yuan. "Your turn."

    Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Leng Qing also nced over at Chu Yuan. The young man¡¯s goal had always been this sword. He should have the means to take it. He actually had not been surprised at all when Forgotten Ruins God had disappeared, which suggested that he had expected such an oue.

    Chu Yuan nced at Lu Yin. "Do you want to try?"

    "You can go first."

    Chu Yuanughed. "If I get it, it''s mine. This is the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, and it holds the power of time. Don''t regret not trying to take it."

    Heluo Mavis snapped, "Don''t try to confuse people! No one here¡¯s stupid, and we all saw what happened to Forgotten Ruins God. Who wants to blindly try taking it? You¡¯re just trying to get rid of people, but you¡¯re pushing too hard."

    "I¡¯m a cultivator. If I don¡¯t have at least this much courage, I¡¯ll forever be barred from reaching the pinnacle." Chu Yuan shook his head as he mocked the others.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes tightened. "Don''t worry. As long as you grab it, I¡¯ll take it."

    Chu Yuan was unconcerned by Lu Yin¡¯s remark, and he solemnly stared at the sword. He grew far more somber than ever before.

    It was quite clear that he was also extremely nervous, as he knew that rashly touching the sword would be running towards his own death. Chu Yuan had a guess as to how to take the sword, but if he was wrong, he would suffer the same fate as Forgotten Ruins God. The young man struggled to make a decision for quite some time.

    Heluo Mavis spoke up. "What? Do you not have the courage to take it? You¡¯re the one who found this ce all by yourself, and yet you don¡¯t even have the guts to take the sword after everything that you¡¯ve done to get here? What a joke!"

    Chu Yuan ignored her, but at this moment, a crack ran through the main hall.

    The pir behind Lu Yin that he had been mmed into also started cracking.

    Jiu Yao was startled. "It''s about to copse!"

    Heluo Mavis''s scalp went numb. If the main hall copsed, they would be tossed into the long river of time without any protection. There was no telling whether they would be able to survive that, and when she thought of the various scenes that they had witnessed while traveling through time¡­ There was the destruction of a Maind, the war between Daosource Sects, and so much more.

    The young woman grew incredibly pale.

    "Hurry up and get us out of this wretched ce!" Heluo Mavis was in no mood for any more jokes, and she yelled at Chu Yuan.

    Chu Yuan frowned. Dust fell down in front of him, and the main hall started trembling more and more. He sucked in a deep breath, struggling internally, but he ultimately chose to believe the words of that idiotic fish.

    As everyone watched intently, Chu Yuan opened his mouth and started muttering softly. However, the sound of his voice struck everyone¡¯s ears like the crash of thunder, and even the river of time outside the main hall started to churn. It looked as though Chu Yuan possessed the incredible power of being able to travel through time and space.

    As he spoke, the sword began to quiver.

    Chu Yuan was thrilled to see that his actions were useful.

    Across the hall, Lu Yin blinked. This- this- isn''t this the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra? Is that sutra actually the key to controlling the sword?

    As Chu Yuan continued to recite the Origin Sutra, the sword trembled more and more violently, and then it started slowly moving towards him.

    Heluo Mavis struggled to ept this situation. As soon as Chu Yuan took possession of the sword, he would ascend to a different level. However, if Chu Yuan did not take the sword, they might all die.

    One of the most difficult things in life was to have to rely on a rival for your own survival.

    Leng Qing let out a long breath. If it was possible, he did not wish to die either. This sword was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s, so it was eptable for Dao Chosen Chu Yuan to wield it.

    Everyone watched as the sword slowly floated over as though it were drawn to Chu Yuan.

    Suddenly, another muffled voice filled the air, shattering the mood like a st of lightning.

    Everyone turned and stared in amazement as Lu Yin began reciting as well. He also knew what to do?

    Chu Yuan was startled, and he stared at Lu Yin. This person actually knew the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra? How was that even possible?

    Chu Yuan had no idea that the Lu family also possessed the Origin Sutra, as he had not been qualified to know how many people the sutra had been given to. All that Chu Yuan knew at this moment was that he wanted to kill Lu Yin, as this guy was actually trying to take the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword from him. It was only natural that the sword belonged to Chu Yuan. After all, it was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword; it was the weapon that had suppressed the entire Heavens Sect that contained the power of time.

    Heluo Mavis was left speechless. This Lu Yin was too impressive. He even knew this weird chant? How had he learned it? Not even a Dao Chosen like Heluo Mavis knew it, and Chu Yuan had received it from the Origin Progenitor himself. So, just where had Lu Yin obtained it?

    Lu Yin recited the Origin Sutra while staring at the sword. A connection formed, and he felt as though he had physically grabbed hold of the sword¡¯s hilt. By utilizing the Origin Sutra, Lu Yin was able to pull the sword towards him. The sutra really was the key to controlling the sword.

    Actually, it was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, and Lu Yin was reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. It made sense that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s belongings had to be taken with his own power.

    "Hurry up, you two! This main hall is about to copse!" Heluo Mavis could not resist shouting loudly at the two. She was in a terrible mood. Not only was she terrified that the main hall would copse and that they would all die, but she was also frustrated that she was beingpletely ignored by the other two young people as theypeted for control of the sword.

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back.

    As the two looked at each other, they could each see the cold glint of bloodlust in the other''s eyes. They were both hoping that the other would give up, but how could either of them back down at this moment?

    Leng Qing looked at Lu Yin. "That sword should belong to the Dao Chosen. Release it now!"

 Chapter 2072: Tidal Flats

    Chapter 2072: Tidal ts

    Lu Yin frowned. Leng Qing was also from the Heavens Sect era, so his desire to help Chu Yuan was only to be expected. However, things would be problematic if the man tried to deal with Lu Yin.

    There was no one around who would help Lu Yin.

    "Did you not hear me? Release it now!" Leng Qing snarled as he raised a hand and threw the needle-like weapon at Lu Yin. The man aimed at Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. He was not trying to kill Lu Yin, but simply to stop him frompeting for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    The sound of a three-stringed instrument filled the ancient hall, and the weapon¡¯s course shifted slightly. It stabbed into the pir.

    Lan Xian had taken action to block Leng Qing¡¯s attack. She whispered to Lu Yin, "That¡¯s another favor that you owe me."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, as he had not expected any support from the woman.

    Jiu Yao red at Lan Xian. "This is their concern. Step down."

    Lan Xian held her instrument. "I want blood from someone from the Lu family, especially Lu Yin''s."

    Jiu Yao frowned. He still had no idea why Lan Xian wanted his blood so much.

    "Isn''t there some over on that pir?" Heluo Mavis asked.

    Lan Xian was caught off guard, and she reflexively turned to look at a pir. Sure enough, there was blood on the pir behind Lu Yin from when he had been attacked by Forgotten Ruins God. He had spat out a lot of blood at that time.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. This damn woman¡­

    Lan Xian no longer had any reason to help Lu Yin. She waved a hand, and the blood flew towards her from the pir.

    Lu Yin was now in a hurry. Lan Xian had tried to get his blood several times before, but she had always failed. Still, she had never given up. It was clear that his blood was somehow very useful to her, though it was anyone¡¯s guess what she would use it for. If she had some sort of ability to control her enemies through their blood, Lu Yin would be in massive trouble. Undying Yushan¡¯s ability to control people was already enough to make Lu Yin constantly be on guard, and if he also had to worry about Lan Xian¡­ Just the thought of such a future left Lu Yin with a headache.

    These thoughts also erased all of Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation, and he sped up his recitation of the Origin Sutra.

    It was already very difficult to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and even though Lu Yin was finally able to recite almost the entire thing with his improved strength, he had to do so slowly. Still, by forcefully speeding up his words, Lu Yin made it so that Chu Yuan could not keep up.

    At that moment, the sword started to tremble even more violently than ever before.

    Right when Lan Xian collected Lu Yin''s blood, the two recitations of the Origin Sutra shifted, and they were no longer in unison. The sword suddenly twisted in the air, and then it started to spin crazily. It looked like something had somehow failed. Everyone stared, and no one could understand what was happening.

    Chu Yuan and Lu Yin were simrly ignorant, as all they could sense was that the sword had gone out of their control.

    Suddenly, the sword came to a stop, but it was aimed at Lu Yin. It abruptly shot forwards towards him.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to almost nothing. What the hell?

    No one had anticipated such a turn of events, and no one could stop the sword once it started moving. Lu Yin could not react at all.

    The sword instantly pierced Lu Yin''s heart, and a terrible pain swept through his nerves. His vision went dark, and his mind went nk.

    As this happened, the main hall finally shattered, and an irresistible suction pulled everyone away. They all tumbled into the river of time, along with the shattered remains of the main hall.

    ¡­

    Murky water washed across the tidal t, asionally carrying a few odd fish that swam about and struggled to leap back into the river.

    Suddenly, a hand shot down and grabbed a hold of one of the odd fish. "This is at least something to eat, haha. More and more food! I finally caught one."

    A ragged man was speaking. His body was covered with so much mud that he looked like he had crawled out of a swamp. However, despite his appearance, he was very excited by the fish in his hands.

    His words also drew envious looks from many nearby people.

    They were all on a very, very long tidal t. Far off in the distance, stars could be seen falling down onto the tidal t, and it was impossible to see the end of the river. There were stars overhead, but there were also stars beyond the tidal t. This tidal t was actually in the middle of outer space.

    Countless wooden houses decorated the endless stretch of the tidal t, and there seemed to be no end to them. People woulde out from them from time to time, and they all eagerly searched the river in hopes of catching something.

    "Old Hei, how many have you caught?" someone called out.

    The dirty man who had just caught a fish proudly answered, "Three!"

    "Sure enough, you¡¯re not afraid of death. Quite a few people have recently been dragged into the river and eaten, and the guards have be really strict. No one¡¯s allowed to approach the Astral River right now."

    "What are you so afraid of? Those guards are nothing more than a show! They don¡¯t actually care if we live or die. Are they really going toe after us for getting close to the Astral River?"

    "Just be careful and don''t die. Human lives are worthless now."

    The dirty old man grinned in reply. He clutched his three fish tightly as he ran across the tidal t.

    He moved between the endless wooden houses that had been built on the mud.

    Eventually, Old Hei turned a corner, approached one of the wooden houses, and softly knocked on the door.

    "Who is it?" A hoarse voice called out, clearly nervous and full of vignce.

    Old Hei whispered, "It''s me."

    "What''s wrong?" The hoarse voice slightly rxed, but the door did not open.

    Old Hei licked his lips. "I caught three fish by the Astral River. Do you want them?"

    There was silence from the room for a moment. "Are you giving them to me?"

    "Of course! If you agree to obey me, I''ll give you all three fish," Old Hei answered softly.

    "Get lost!" the hoarse voice shouted angrily.

    Old Hei snorted disdainfully. "Don''t be stupid! You can¡¯t survive this ce with your unreliable bit of battle force, let alone work the pyrolyte mines. However, if you eat these fish often enough, you¡¯ll be able to stabilize your battle force and even heal yourself. All you need to do is follow me, and everything will get better for you."

    "Get lost!" The hoarse voice was filled with fury.

    Old Hei turned and left. "You''re so ugly that no one wants you except for me. Just wait to die in the Astral River!¡±

    His voice drifted away as he spoke.

    Inside the wooden house, a person was sitting in a corner. It was impossible to see their face, as only a pair of beautiful eyes were exposed. Stars fell, and a silver light swept across the tidal ts to illuminate the wooden house. The person quickly ducked their head, not daring to look at the silver light.

    After the silvery light left, the person turned their head and looked at another corner of the little house. There was a pitiful bed formed from a pile of gravel, and someone was lying on it. That person had a sword stuck in their chest.

    The person sitting on the floor continued to stare at the person lying on the bed. It was impossible to know what sort of thoughts were running through their mind.

    Bright stars rose up from across the tidal t, lighting up the Astral River and the countless wooden shacks that dotted the tidal t.

    The seated person continued to stare at the bed for the entire night. Only when it grew light outside did the seated person cough a few times and finally leave the shack.

    After the ce grew dark once more and night fell, the person returned to the little shack, once again sitting in the corner and nkly staring at the person on the bed.

    It was unknown how much time passed before there was a knock on the door. "Have you reconsidered things? I caught another fish today. With the three from yesterday, that makes four. Even the guards who saw me got jealous. I''ll give all of them to you¡ªhow ¡®bout it?"

    The person sitting on the floor curled up and answered in a weak voice, "Get lost."

    "You nasty woman! You¡¯re already disfigured, yet you still pretend to be some sort of noble! In the past, let alone four fish, not even forty would be enough to get me close to you, but now, you¡¯re just an ugly woman that even the trash here can¡¯t bear to look at. You look like a monster! What can you even be proud of anymore? Just think about it. There¡¯s still a bit of hope to stay alive, and everything¡¯s gone once you die. You can¡¯t possibly expect anyone to take you away from here, as those people can¡¯t even protect themselves!¡± After cursing the woman in the shack, Old Hei left.

    The person inside did not even seem to have heard the rant outside the door, as they were still staring at the bed.

    Another day passed, then a third, and a fourth. Day after day went by, and each day, the person just stared at the person lying on the bed, as though watching to see if they were still alive.

    Ten days passed, and on one particr day, everyone who lived in the shacks on the tidal t were lined up outside, turning something in.

    A young man stood in the distance with his arms crossed as he stared at the people lined up. There was a strong sense of disgust in the man¡¯s eyes.

    "Uncle Jiang, when can we get out of this situation?" the young man asked. He was clearly very unhappy. This man was Xia Sheng, Xia Yi''s bastard child.

    He had lived a difficult life as Xia Yi¡¯s bastard. Xia Sheng had never been allowed to step foot on the Xia family¡¯s maind, and was left in this forsaken ce without any care for him. Only after Xia Jiayou had in the other heirs of Xia Yi had Xia Sheng been remembered by his father. However, even after that, he had still been left in this ce.

    After Nan Yuan had been dismissed from the overseers¡¯ council, the Xia family had not sent a new representative to fill the empty seat on the council, not until Xia Yi had finally remembered that he had a bastard. Xia Sheng had then been tossed onto the overseers¡¯ council to represent the Seven Courts, though he was considered to be nothing more than a puppet.

    That time had been the absolute pinnacle of Xia Sheng''s entire life. He had been in contact with various important people, and he had even been qualified to speak directly with Alliance Leader Lu, who ruled both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    However, after the universe had undergone various great changes, Ancestor Xia Ji had decided to follow the people from the Perennial World, and he had disbanded the Seven Courts. The overseers¡¯ council had existed in name only, and Xia Sheng had been forced to return to the Xia family.

    "Young Master, keep your voice down. You can¡¯t be heard by the master," Uncle Jiang softly cautioned.

    Xia Sheng disdainfully shook his head. The patriarch? Xia Yi could no longer be considered to be the leader of the Xia family. Everything in the Xia family was overseen by Ancestor Xia Ji himself. Xia Yi was merely in charge of this tidal t, and Xia Sheng was also here because of Xia Yi.

    There were times when Xia Sheng wondered how wonderful his life would have been if he had not been born as Xia Yi''s bastard, but rather Ancestor Xia Ji''s. Of course, that was nothing but a daydream.

    The change that Xia Sheng regretted most was that the overseers¡¯ council no longer existed. If he were still a real overseer, he would not be stuck in such a mess. However, the authority that had reced the council was not something that someone like Xia Sheng was qualified to interact with, and not even his asshole father Xia Yi was qualified.

    "Why is there so little?" he shouted sharply.

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang turned around and looked at a hunched person with a ck cloth wrapped around them. The person coughed a few times and answered in a hoarse voice, "I- I will do my best-"

    "Your best? The month¡¯s almost over! If this is all there is, I¡¯ll send you to the frontlines!"

    The person shrouded in the ck cloth nodded repeatedly.

    Xia Sheng frowned. "Don''t bring such worthless people over anymore. A nce is enough to see that they¡¯ve been badly injured, and their battle force is even unstable. It¡¯s impossible for such a person to collect any pyrolyte. It¡¯s just a waste of energy."

    "Yes, Young Master. We¡¯ll send her to the frontlines after this month," Uncle Jiang replied.

    Another day passed. As the sky grew dark, everyone automatically put some distance between themselves and the tidal t, and they almost all returned to the shacks. Very few people stayed by the Astral River, and they stared at it with red eyes.

    The person shrouded in ck cloth walked towards a specific shack.

    Suddenly, there was a scream, and many people turned to look. They saw that someone¡¯s body had been broken in two out on the tidal t by the Astral River. Blood stained the ground, and even the water nearby.

    It was a sight that left everyone who had been thinking about staying out on the tidal t to fish trembling with fear. All of them quickly pulled back a long distance.

    Old Hei was one of those people as well. His luck had been quite good in recent days, and he had caught several fish, but things had not continued as well as he had expected. After seeing someone be killed, he did not grow fearful, but instead even bolder. All he could think about was that woman.

    He wanted her. Even though she had be ugly, she had once been absolutely stunning, and he dreamed of her. No matter what, he wanted to taste her at least once.

 Chapter 2073: Twenty Years

    Chapter 2073: Twenty Years

    A soft silver light shone down on the tidal t from the stars above, and it also illuminated a woman in a wooden shack who was wrapped up in a ck cloth.

    Although there were not many women on the tidal t, there were still a few. Some had stable battle forces and were able to collect pyrolyte, while others simply relied on men. This woman was different from the other ones. Her injuries left her battle force unstable, and her appearance caused all the men except for Old Hei to avoid her.

    Boom boom boom!

    "It''s me. I caught two more fish," Old Hei called out. He sounded absolutely exhausted, and his breathing was ragged.

    The woman in a ck cloth was taken aback. The tidal ts tonight were extremely dangerous as someone had died, as the scent of their blood would attract powerful creatures from the Astral River. Because of this, after someone died, people would usually wait at least three days before fishing at night again. Old Hei was certainly quite determined.

    "I¡¯ve saved five fish for you. These are the fish that the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate stocked the Astral River with. They¡¯re supposed to be from a very ancient era and should be good for stabilizing a person¡¯s battle force and helping them recover from injuries. The only problem is that whoever gets the most fish gets killed. As thanks for catching five for you, I almost lost my life! You should appreciate what I¡¯ve done for you," Old Hei growled.

    The woman shrouded in ck cloth answered with a hoarse voice, "I didn''t ask you to catch them! Go eat them yourself! Leave!"

    Old Hei grew furious, and he pushed the wooden door open to re at the woman in ck. "I¡¯ve had enough! I¡¯ve been helping you ever since I recognized you, but it¡¯s never enough! I try to help you, since you¡¯re hurt. I catch you fish, and if anyone hurts you, I¡¯ll protect you. And yet, you still treat me like this! What¡¯s with your attitude? What do you have left that lets you be so arrogant? Do you think that you¡¯re the same as before?

    "You¡¯re ugly now, and no one will even take a second look at you! Your voice is ruined, and your sect is gone. Who¡¯s going to help you other than me? You can¡¯t find anyone!"

    As he finished his rant, Old Hei caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at the bed and saw a person lying on it with a sword sticking out of his chest. It was a shocking sight. ¡°Isn¡¯t- isn¡¯t that the guy who got swept out of the Astral River a few days ago?¡±

    The woman in ck shot over to stand next to the bed, and she red at Old Hei through a pair of beautiful eyes. "Get out! Get out!"

    Old Hei responded with a vicious smile. "So that''s how it is! That kid isn¡¯t actually dead, is he? You''ve fallen for him! Someone who didn¡¯t die even with a sword in the chest? Do you know him? I want to see who he is."

    The man shoved the woman aside and walked towards the window next to the bed.

    The woman reacted almost instantly, and she struck out with a palm at Old Hei.

    The man dodged out of pure reflex, but he quickly realized that the woman was not able to use any battle force at all, which caused him to let out a sigh of relief. The woman had been very strong in the past, far beyond anything Old Hei had ever been capable of reaching. But luckily for him, her battle force had grown unstable, as otherwise her attack would have killed him.

    "Are you trying to kill me because of this kid? I will absolutely take you today!" Old Hei roared out with all his suppressed emotions before charging at the woman in a crazed manner. The people in the neighboring shacks heard themotion, but no one interfered. This was perfect for Old Hei. As long as none of the guards showed up, no one would do a thing.

    When the woman saw Old Hei rushing towards her, she panicked andshed out with another palm strike. However, this attack had a purple light to it, and it mmed into Old Hei''s shoulder.

    The man¡¯s right shoulder was shattered by the palm strike, and he retreated while letting out a wail. He stared at the woman in horror. "Four lined battle force?"

    Four lined battle force was very rare in the tidal ts. Anyone who was able to cultivate their battle force to that level would be rounded up and taken to other ces.

    If the woman truly did have four lined battle force, none of the people in the tidal ts would be her opponent, but unfortunately, her fighting spirit was unstable. Only on rare asions could she sessfully release a burst of her full power.

    Old Hei gritted his teeth as he red at the woman. She screamed, "Get out!"

    However, the purple light faded from her hand even as she shouted. Her eyes grew nervous, as she knew that it was impossible for her to maintain her battle force.

    Old Hei sneered. "You want me to go? You just tried to kill me! I¡¯m going to kill that bastard before I leave!"

    He whipped around to face the man on the bed, grabbed a hold of the sword hilt, and ripped it out. This gave Old Hei his first opportunity to actually see the face of the man on the bed.

    Instantly, Old Hei¡¯s big ck pupils shrank to almost nothing, as though he was seeing something unbelievable. That face? That person? Is he-?

    Old Hei did not have a chance to finish his thoughts, as his arms were the first to transform into specks of light that dissipated, but the effect quickly spread to the rest of his body.

    Old Hei was startled, and he nkly stared on as his body vanished. He looked both helpless and terrified as he stared at the man on the bed. What? What- what''s going on?

    The woman in the ck clothes was close by, and she watched on in horror as Old Hei disappeared. In the end, there was no trace of the man to be found.

    Her eyes fell to the sword, which suddenly fell out of the air and struck the side of the bed as it tumbled down. Old Hei had managed to remove the sword. He had died, but he had still taken the sword out.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was dreaming. In his dreams, he had been stabbed by a sword. The truth was that given his cultivation realm, not even a pierced heart would be enough to kill him. As long as his body and head were notpletely destroyed, he would eventually be able to recover.

    However, Lu Yin had no idea why, but he waspletely unable to move no matter how hard he tried.

    There was also a sharp pain in his chest. Could he have really been stabbed in the heart by a sword? Even if that was true, why was there nothing but terrible pain? Lu Yin¡¯s mind remained very clear.

    I''m conscious, but I can''t open my eyes. I can''t move, but oddly enough, I can feel my body. Am I dreaming? If not, then what is this?

    He kept wondering if he was dreaming. Then, he felt an abrupt pain in his chest once more, and he sat straight up. He was met with the sight of a dark, damp wooden shack, as well as a person standing close by. All Lu Yin could make out were a pair of beautiful eyes that felt rather familiar.

    ¡­

    Inside the shack, the woman who was shrouded in ck cloth nkly stared at the man sitting up on the bed. Her eyes showed a few conflicting emotions, but the dominant one was clearly surprise. The person who had been lying on her bed was Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman in ck clothes. She felt very weak and seemed to be seriously injured. "Who are you? Where am I?"

    As Lu Yin spoke, he caught sight of the sword next to the bed, and he reached out to grab it.

    "Don''t touch it!" The woman hurried to stop him. She had just seen what happened to Old Hei after he touched the sword¡¯s hilt. Absolutely nothing of the man had been left behind.

    Lu Yin asked, "It¡¯s mine, so why can''t I touch it?"

    The sword was one of six that had belonged to the Origin Progenitor. Lu Yin had taken control of it, but he remembered that it had stabbed his chest in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. Thinking of that incident, Lu Yin looked down and saw that his chest was still bleeding. It had definitely not been a dream; he had been stabbed by the sword.

    Lu Yin feltpletely confused; why had he been stabbed? Was it because both he and Chu Yuan had simultaneously recited the Origin Sutra and they had somehow confused the sword? That did not seem impossible.

    Wait. Lu Yin''s expression changed. What had happened to his power?

    For a long time now, Lu Yin had had multiple distinct energies and sources of power within his body. There was the ck and white mist within his chest that was kept hidden by fatesand, three stellr energy vortices hidden within his three meridian points, and a fourth vortex outside of them and within his heart. These were Lu Yin¡¯s individual sources of power that resided within his body ever since he had be an Envoy.

    However, at this moment, besides the ck and white mist within his chest around his heart, there were also odd little specks dotted around that looked like stars. In the past, the fatesand, the ck and white mist, and the stellr energy vortex had all been separate and distinct. But now, Lu Yin noticed that his stellr energy vortex was mixing with the ck and white mist and the stars.

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded as he observed his chest. What had happened? What had the sword done to him? His power sources hadpletely changed.

    Fortunately, his four stellr energy vortices were all still present, but it seemed like the rest of the star-like specks were being pulled towards the vortex in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. More importantly, his fatesand seemed to have shrunk, and there was even a dot in the middle. That dot must have been where the sword had struck him.

    Lu Yin looked at the tip of the sword and then touched his chest. He had not been mistaken. The sword had truly pierced his heart, but the tip had been blocked by his fatesand. Somehow, the sword had triggered the fatesand, and it had begun to disintegrate. Could fatesand actually break down? He had never even thought about it. After all, fatesand was not a physical substance¡ªwait, it might be an actual substance¡­ What was happening?

    From what Lu Yin could see, the energies in his body were in apletely chaotic state. His death energy, stellr energy, and even his fatesand seemed to be merging to form a strange unity.

    In that case, the question was, how was Lu Yin supposed to use this new fused power?

    He wanted to take control of the different energies and force them back apart, but none of the chaotic energies would budge in the slightest. The death energy stuck to the stellr energy, while stellr energy simultaneously enveloped the death energy. This prevented Lu Yin from using death energy. As for his stellr energy vortices, the energy within them seemed to be functioning in a normal manner. However, Lu Yin could not sense any ambient stellr energy at all, which meant that, at this moment, the only methods that Lu Yin could rely on were his battle force and Truesight.

    "Is stellr energy still being devoured?" Lu Yin asked as he nced over at the woman wrapped in ck.

    She nodded. "Yes. No one has been able to recover even star energy, so any techniques that rely on it can¡¯t be used."

    Her voice was hoarse and hard on the ears.

    Lu Yin sighed. "How did you end up like this, Xi Yue?"

    A quiver shook the woman''s body, and she dropped her head to stare at the floor. Her fists clenched tight enough to elicit pain as her fingernails cut into her palms. Blood dripped down.

    She was Xi Yue, who had once been among the brightest stars in the universe.

    Lu Yin took out some Enhanced medicine that he had gotten from Shamrock Enterprise as he rose up from the bed and approached Xi Yue. "This can take care of your injuries. It¡¯s very effective."

    Xi Yue just stared at the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees. She kept her head down, and did not answer or speak at all.

    Lu Yin had no idea what to say. Xi Yue had once been the brightest star of the Souldream Tribe, and when Lu Yin had first been admitted into Astral-10, Xi Yue had been one of the biggest celebrities in the entire Innerverse. She had countless suitors chasing her, and a single word from her could see a person drown in the spit of her followers due to her otherworldly voice and entrancing grace. Lu Yin had once had a disagreement with the young woman, butter on, the Souldream Tribe had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, which had made Xi Yue fall under Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    "I have no idea what¡¯s happened to you, but you can tell me if you want to," Lu Yin offered.

    Xi Yue remained silent for a long time. In fact, light shone down as the sky started to brighten, and when the silvery light fell onto her, Xi Yue¡¯s eyes were filled with tears. "It¡¯s been twenty years since you disappeared! We received word confirming your death, and during these twenty years-"

    "Wait!" Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared at Xi Yue in shock. "What was that? Twenty years?"

    Xi Yue nodded. "That¡¯s right, twenty years."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Twenty years since when?"

    "Since the Daosource Sect ruins appeared here in the Fifth Maind," Xi Yue replied.

    Lu Yin swallowed. It had been twenty years. He had just been traveling through time and space, and even if he included the time that he had been incapacitated, less than a month had passed for Lu Yin. However, had the rest of the universe seen twenty years go by? This was clearly the power of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword from when Lu Yin had fallen into the river of time. He was lucky, very lucky, that only twenty years had passed. If it had instead been two hundred, two thousand, or even twenty thousand years, things would be very different.

    "How did everyone determine that I was dead?" Lu Yin was rather taken aback. Even if twenty years had passed, he should not be considered dead. It was perfectly normal for cultivators to go into seclusion to train for hundreds or even thousands of years.

    Xi Yue exined, "Dao Chosen Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis, as well as a Semi-Progenitor from the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, all verified your death."

 Chapter 2074: Changes

    Chapter 2074: Changes

    "Chu Yuan and the others made it back? When?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Yue softly replied, "I don''t know. I haven¡¯t gotten any news from the outside world after I arrived here at the Astral River."

    Lu Yin looked out at outer space. It seemed that Chu Yuan and the others had returned to this era before him. After falling in the river of time, it could easily take several years or even tens of years for anyone to escape. They had confirmed his death because they had seen the sword plunge into his chest.

    "Please tell me what¡¯s going on right now," Lu Yin requested.

    Xi Yue pursed her lips. She then proceeded to slowly recount what she knew of the events that had yed out in the Fifth Maind over the past twenty years.

    Lu Yin listened in silence. These twenty years had been twenty years of drastic changes for the Fifth Maind. They had brought about terrible crises, but also many opportunities.

    The silver light from the sky was slowly reced by dazzling sunlight, announcing the beginning of a new day.

    Inside the shack, Xi Yue swallowed the pill that Lu Yin had given her, and her wounds started to heal at a visible rate. Even her battle force stabilized a great deal. All that remained untouched were the scars on her face.

    "Why didn''t you change your appearance back to normal?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Xi Yue answered softly, though her voice no longer had a hoarseness to it. "I''ll take that back the day I avenge my people!"

    "You want to avenge your nsmen? Why didn¡¯t you go to the Lu Heavenly Gate?" Lu Yin asked. From what he had learned from Xi Yue, the Great Eastern Alliance was currently being protected by Gatemaster Lu Buzheng. Since the Souldream Tribe was a part of the Great Eastern Alliance even before the Aeternals¡¯ attack, it should be a given that the Lu Heavenly Gate would act on their behalf and get revenge for them.

    Xi Yue¡¯s voice remained quiet, "In this day and age, people can''t get revenge no matter how badly they want it. The Semi-Progenitors have split up among the various gatemasters in order to deal with the Aeternals, and all internal conflicts between humans have been forbidden. The Lu Heavenly Gate doesn¡¯t care about a small person like me, and this a matter is impossible for the Souldream Tribe to deal with, as our tribe was attacked by another gatemaster."

    "Your Souldream Tribe was attacked? By who?" Lu Yin was shocked. ording to Xi Yue¡¯s exnation, her enemy was someone incredibly powerful, and even if Lu Buzheng acted on behalf of the Souldream Tribe, it could lead to tremendous repercussions.

    Xi Yue did not answer, and she instead looked over at Lu Yin. "What do you n on doing now?"

    Lu Yin held onto the sword. ns? He first needed to get a good grasp of the current situation. While twenty years was not a lot of time, many changes had urred during these two decades. It was simr to when he had united both the Innerverse and Outerverse, as that had also taken less than twenty years. The entire Fifth Maind had undergone drastic changes.

    Essentially, thest forty years had seen the Fifth Maind undergo a greater transformation than the countless years before that. These changes had been caused by Lu Yin, the arrival of the ancient powerhouses, as well as the Aeternals¡¯ attack.

    "Is there any way to get in contact with the outside world from here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Yue replied, "Nowadays, all long-distancemunications rely on wireless jincans, and while it¡¯s not too difficult to get a wireless jincan, it¡¯s up to each person to know the way tomunicate with someone else¡¯s."

    This made sense to Lu Yin, as it was simr to how gadgets had functioned in the past. Without a person¡¯s contact information, it was impossible to send them a message.

    Lu Yin had possessed his own wireless jincans, but he had given them to Lu Buzheng and the other people before he had gone into seclusion. This had allowed them tomunicate with Arch-Elder Zen, but it also meant that Lu Yin currently did not have a wireless jincan on him.

    "Do you want to leave?" Xi Yue asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯m going to stay here for now."

    Xi Yue felt puzzled by this. Given Lu Yin''s status, there had to be some meaning to him staying, but she decided not to question the matter. He had been publicly dered dead, but then had returned. She had no idea what ramifications might ur from this.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not want to leave. Rather, his body was in a very strange situation right now. There was no stellr energy in the true universe, so he could not recover any that he used, and his death energy had be unusable. If he ran into any powerhouses, he would be in grave trouble. Also, Xi Yue had said that in the twenty years that had passed since Lu Yin had disappeared, during the fighting against the Aeternals, the Semi-Progenitors had started taking on each other¡¯s appearances. If Lu Yin revealed himself and ran into Kui Luo, it would be fine, but if someone else found Lu Yin, he could not guess what might happen, especially if he ran into Jue Yi.

    From Xi Yue¡¯s understanding of current matters, the Fifth Maind had been decisively split between the humans and the Aeternals.

    There were many human Semi-Progenitors, but due to theck of stellr energy, Arch-Elder Zen and most of the other human powerhouses had been greatly weakened and were not able to do much. Instead, Hen Xin and the other ancient powerhouses had be far more active, and they had started working to restore the glory of the Heavens Sect era. They were trying to unite the entire Fifth Maind, rebuild the Heavens Sect, and restore the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    For example, Hen Xin had recreated the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. There were several other Semi-Progenitors following him. The entire Xia family and many other forces had turned to the gatemaster as well.

    Jue Yi was also working to reestablish the Undying Heavenly Gate, and the Specter n had started following him. As a result, they had returned to humanity and be the orthodox sect of the God of Death¡¯s teachings.

    As for the Sixth Maind, the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate had been established. This was mostly because only the Progenitor of Bloodlines remained, and thus everyone from the Sixth Maind belonged to the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate.

    Additionally, Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, and the other original Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind had established the Honor Heavenly Gate.

    Elsewhere, Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo had set up another gate, and they called it the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    At the moment, every human in the Fifth Maind fell under the control of one of the Heavenly Gates, which used sourcebox arrays to move between locations and provide support for each other. Alternate cultivation methods such as battle force, domains, spiritual force, and death energy were being poprized so that humans could fight against the Aeternals. On top of that, the greatest transformation seen in the era was the advent of microarray technology and pyrolyte.

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that pyrolyte could actually be mined from the Astral River. When the substance had first been discovered in the Astral Wilderness, it had triggered a massivepetition between forces from both the Innerverse and Outerverse. If not for the fact that too little had been found, even the Neoverse would have been interested.

    A single gram of pyrolyte could explode with the force of an attack with a power level of 10,000. Furthermore, there was no limit to how powerful the explosion could theoretically be. This was the most terrifying aspect of pyrolyte.

    When pyrolyte wasbined with microarray technology, it had be the defining symbol of thest two decades: a new weapon that humans had designed incorporating pyrolyte as the fuel and microarray technology as the mechanism. It was powerful enough that even an ordinary human could kill an Explorer. This was the weapon that humans were using to hold out against the Aeternals.

    Along with this new weapon, there was another name that had be the most famous throughout the known universe: Hen Xin.

    The master of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had taken control of Aurora Enterprises, which meant that he had forcibly taken control of microarray technology to stand at the forefront of the era and lead humanity into the future.

    These aplishments should have belonged to Lu Yin, but at the moment, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate held them all.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. Hen Xin was someone who had risen up from an ordinary person with no background to be the gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. It would not have been unexpected for him to eventually be a Dao Monarch.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first impression of the gatemaster was that Hen Xin had been able to instantly see through the various rtionships and realize that Lu Yin had been the decision-maker, despite being a one-tribtion Envoy at the time. In direct contrast to Lu Buzheng, who only knew how to solve problems with direct force, Hen Xin knew how to use his brain.

    With both determination and intelligence, it was no surprise that Hen Xin had risen so high.

    However, Hen Xin had also only managed to aplish so much because Lu Yin had been missing for these twenty years. If Lu Yin had been present, it would have been impossible for Hen Xin to have stolen the microarray technology.

    People like Wang Wen and Wei Rong had no idea how to handle Hen Xin.

    The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate boasted thergest number of Semi-Progenitors, and because of Ni Huang and the others who followed Hen Xin, it was only natural that the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate constantly targeted the Lu Heavenly Gate. Regardless of how smart Wang Wen and the others might be, it was impossible for them to deal with the pressure of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    However, Aurora Enterprises had been protected by Elder Gong, no? How could Hen Xin have taken control of thepany?

    For the time being, Lu Yin needed to wait for his strength to recover, while also gathering information about the rest of the universe. Since no one was able to contact him, it was possible that he needed to take advantage of the people monitoring the tidal ts.

    Xi Yue simply knew too little.

    "If you want to stay here, you¡¯ll need to gather pyrolyte just like the rest of us. However, you clearly aren¡¯t one of us, and the person overseeing this ce is Xia Yi, the Xia family¡¯s patriarch. He¡¯s incredibly strong." Xi Yue was already worried.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Xia Yi? Why is the Xia family¡¯s patriarch here?"

    Xi Yue shook her head. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin was not intimidated by Xia Yi. After bing a three-tribtion Envoy, forget Xia Yi¡ªLu Yin would not be afraid to go up against an old monster with a power level of a million. Unfortunately, Lu Yin could not use his strength at this point in time. His physical strength should be enough to handle Xia Yi, but if the man focused entirely on escaping, Lu Yin would struggle to catch up to the man.

    "Why don¡¯t you disguise yourself as Old Hei? He just came in here, so no one will know or suspect a thing," Xi Yue suggested.

    Lu Yin was left confused. "He came in here? Where is he?"

    "Dead," Xi Yue said.

    Lu Yin nced around.

    "His body became specks of light, and he disappeared. It was your sword," Xi Yue exined while shooting a fearful nce at the sword in Lu Yin''s hand.

    Lu Yin immediately understood. "He touched the hilt?"

    Xi Yue silently nodded.

    "Show me what he looked like. I can disguise myself so that no one can recognize me, and that goes for Xia Yi as well," Lu Yin said. However, as soon as he spoke, he remembered that he could no longer use his death energy. How was he supposed to use the Mask of Death to hide himself? His only option was to change his appearance the normal way and then simply hope that Xia Yi would not see through the disguise.

    Xi Yue had no idea what was going through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. With stellr energy and star energy no longer avable, the only way that Xi Yue could make a picture of Old Hei was by drawing on the floor. "This is Old Hei. He¡¯s considered to be one of the more powerful people out of those collecting pyrolyte, and he¡¯s also very arrogant. He¡¯s quite good at ttering the supervisor, so if you¡¯re going to pretend to be him, you can¡¯t try to keep a low profile."

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked at the drawing. He quickly changed his appearance and sessfully made himself look like Old Hei.

    "What was he doing in here with you?" Lu Yin asked after shifting his face to Old Hei¡¯s. He gave Xi Yue an odd look.

    Xi Yue felt thoroughly disgusted when she saw Old Hei''s face, and she looked away. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business."

    Lu Yin felt that this was a somewhat strange reaction, but he did not press the issue. People soon walked out of the shack and made their way towards the Astral River. Pyrolyte had to be gathered during the day, as powerful creatures would appear and devour any creature with flesh and blood during the night.

    "The pyrolyte is at the bottom of the Astral River. Twenty years ago, a massive hand tried to grab the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, but it failed. Still, it shattered the mentalwork that was suppressing the Fifth Maind, and it also messed up the Astral River, which exposed the pyrolyte at the bottom. The gravel from the river bed has been pulled up, and that¡¯s the tidal t that we¡¯re on right now." As they walked along, Xi Yue gave Lu Yin a brief overview of the ce.

    Lu Yin walked along the tidal t. He was not stepping on ordinary sand, but rather the silt from the bottom of the Astral River. When he nced around, he could see that there seemed to be some invisible power pulling the silt out of the Astral River and towards the tidal t.

    "The pyrolyte is mixed in with the gravel from the river bottom, and it can only be found by searching with your eye. I know that you mined pyrolyte ore before, but the pyrolyte found in the Astral River is different from what you dealt with before. This pyrolyte is morepressed, and it doesn¡¯t explode so easily, as it isn¡¯t in the air." Xi Yue continued her exnation in a very low voice.

    "There¡¯s no mining equipment?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Xi Yue shook her head. "No. The gravel all needs to be visually checked piece by piece."

    Lu Yin stared at the Astral River. They were on one side of the Astral River, and from Xi Yue¡¯s information, they should be on the edge of the Astral River that was close to Northline Flowzone. Just how much gravel could be pulled up from the entire Astral River? Inspecting it all would take hundreds of millions of years.

    Plop!

    One after another, people approached the edge of the Astral River and jumped in. They were all cultivators who had originally cultivated with star energy, but since the true universe had beenpletely drained, their only option was to try to cultivate battle force.

    Some people failed and died from the attempt. Others only seeded in bing a bit stronger than ordinary people. However, this was still some level of sess, and so they were allowed to join the mining teams. As long as they were able to gather enough pyrolyte, they would be allowed to travel to the Neoverse. It was possible for them to climb up one step at a time.

 Chapter 2075: High Profile

    Chapter 2075: High Profile

    Ten years ago, a young man had been incredibly lucky and had stumbled across a massive amount of pyrolyte. He had immediately received a promotion to a team that was subordinate to Team Resolution, and he had also received a powerful battle technique, which made him a powerhouse. Before that opportunity, the young man had just been another average, run-of-the-mill cultivator.

    The Fifth Maind had seen drastic changes over thest few decades. Some people had suffered from despair, while others had seen renewed hope.

    Most of the people mining pyrolyte maintained a bit of hope. After all, they were in one of the rare few ces where they could potentially draw the attention of some of the most powerful people in the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    Even more relevant was the fact that arge number of fish from ancient times had been ced into the Astral River as food stock. Generally, eating the fish was able to strengthen a person¡¯s body, and supposedly, there were even fish that Envoys would want to eat.

    This was the hope that had drawn Xi Yue to the tidal ts. She hoped to enter the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate through this ce and acquire enough power to avenge her nsmen. In the current universe, there was no way to recover star energy, which made battle force and domains the easiest and mostmon cultivation methods that people. Of the two, Xi Yue already had some experience with battle force, which was why she wanted to join the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. This was her desired path.

    Unfortunately for Xi Yue, if she had not met Lu Yin, she would not have been able to remain on the tidal t; she would have been sent to the front lines of the war. There, it would be almost impossible for her to catch the attention of anyone powerful from any of the Heavenly Gates, and on top of that, the chances of death on the front lines were iparable to the tidal ts.

    For people who cultivated battle force, the tidal ts were the safest ce, as well as where they had the greatest chance of being able to climb higher.

    Lu Yin leaped into the Astral River along with everyone else. Twenty years ago, this would have been absolutely impossible. Only people who were at least Enlighters would have dared to enter the Astral River, but it had since be essible to more and more people.

    What Xi Yue had called the bottom of the Astral River was really just a slightly deeper part of the tidal t, and it was not really the bottom. It was impossible for the people mining pyrolyte to go that deep.

    Lu Yin followed Xi Yue into the Astral River, and as they traveled deeper, their surroundings went from being muddy, to slowly clearing up. Once they were 100 meters in, the Astral River had grown clear enough for Lu Yin to see quite a ways away.

    Xi Yue suddenly raised a hand to grab at a small bit of gravel that was flowing through the river next to her. She examined it carefully and then handed it to Lu Yin. "If this kind of gravel has any pyrolyte, it will be in the middle, which is easy to notice."

    Lu Yin took the bit of gravel, but it was too small. He tossed it aside, and then unleashed his domain.

    His domain was quite powerful, and it had reached the same level of mastery that Unseen Light had achieved when Lu Yin had disappeared; it was much stronger than when they had returned from the Perennial World. Even when looking at the current universe where battle force and domains had risen to be the mostmon forms of cultivation, there was absolutely no one in the same generation who had managed to surpass Unseen Light in terms of mastering their domain.

    Lu Yin''s domain spread out in all directions.

    Xi Yue was blown away. "If you want to stay here, then just make sure you don''t get caught using your domain. If they notice you have one, you won¡¯t be able to stay here."

    Lu Yin collected bits of gravel from the area that was enveloped by his domain as he listened to Xi Yue. "Where do those people go?"

    "I don''t know, but they definitely won¡¯t be allowed to stay here. As far as the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate is concerned, we¡¯re just tools for harvesting pyrolyte. The talented fighters and people who can use a domain are sent to other ces," Xi Yue said as she examined a handful of gravel that Lu Yin had gathered in front of them. She reached out and started to examine the grains of gravel one by one.

    She did not expect Lu Yin to be able to collect almost any pyrolyte, but it was already clear that he would not remain on the tidal t for very long.

    Lu Yin watched as Xi Yue checked the gravel piece by piece. "You don''t need to stay here much longer now that your battle force has stabilized. You¡¯ve already reached four lines."

    Xi Yue was caught off guard. Lu Yin was absolutely correct. Xi Yue¡¯s injuries had been healed, and her battle force had also stabilized. There really was no need for her to stay on the tidal ts any longer.

    Her entire goal was to enter the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate and cultivate a higher level of battle force, not to collect pyrolyte from the Astral River.

    "How much do we need to collect each day?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Xi Yue replied, "The cut-off mark in this area is to gather a kilo each month, but the average is just 0.1 grams per person. That¡¯s what people actually get. What really matters is passing a daily quota when the gravel that we collect gets inspected. We have to mark the pyrolyte with our battle force after checking it in order to avoid wasting time with multiple people checking the same pieces, and our daily quota is to mark at least 500 pieces of gravel."

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. Hadn¡¯t he just thrown away a piece of gravel, even though that was actually the daily task?

    Still, it was possible for him to gather a kilogram of pyrolyte in a month from this tidal t, as there was much more pyrolyte present than had been on Pyrolyte all those years ago. On top of that, this was just one tidal t, and that was what could be gathered each month, not to mention how the other Heavenly Gates had their own gathering stations along the Astral River with their own people.

    "Is the Lu Heavenly Gate also collecting pyrolyte?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Yue nodded. "They should be. Still, it doesn¡¯t matter how much they gather, as all they¡¯ll do with it is sell it to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Only the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate has the microarray technology."

    For the rest of the day, Lu Yin collected gravel along the bottom of the Astral River. Gathering 500 pieces of gravel was too easy for him.

    Only after the sun set did people leave the Astral River and line up to have their gravel inspected. All the gravel would then be stored in one location.

    "Brother Hei, how are you doing? How much did you manage to gather today?" A short man walked over and asked.

    The disguised Lu Yin replied, "Over 500 pieces."

    "Just over 500? Weren¡¯t you collecting 1,000 before?" The man was taken aback, but then he gave Lu Yin an ambiguous smile. "It looks like you used up too much energyst night, hahahaha!"

    Someone then called out from behind, "Old Hei, take care of your body! Don¡¯t get burned out."

    "That''s right. You¡¯re one of the best on this entire tidal t, and one of the people who¡¯s most likely to get battle force training from Team Resolution. Don''t let yourself be held back."

    "Hahahaha."

    Behind Lu Yin, Xi Yue''s face flushed red. These bastards were looking at her while addressing Lu Yin, and their eyes were full of ridicule and amusement. It was like they were seeing through her with their eyes.

    If she was with the real Old Hei, she would not be bothered at all, but Lu Yin was the one standing in front of her.

    She suddenly remembered how she had gotten tangled up with Lu Yin in the Sand Ocean in Astral-10, and the memory caused her to blush.

    A short timeter, the two approached Xi Yue¡¯s shack.

    "Don''t follow me. That¡¯s Old Hei¡¯s shack." Xi Yue pointed to the side before entering her ce without a backwards nce.

    Lu Yin was confused; so what if that was Old Hei¡¯s home? What did that have to do with Lu Yin? He simply followed Xi Yue.

    She blushed and buried her head in her knees as she sat down in a corner of the room.

    Lu Yin walked into the shack.

    "Didn''t I tell you not to follow me?" Xi Yue scolded.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I''m not Old Hei."

    Xi Yue stopped talking and just hung her head. It was impossible to know what was running through her mind.

    Lu Yin took the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword out from his cosmic ring and examined it. The energies within his body were aplete mess, and he had no idea how to stabilize them. The different energies had gotten tangled together, and they were locked up in a way that made it impossible to move any of the energies. It was quite the headache.

    "Why are you staying here?" Xi Yue asked.

    "I¡¯m just taking a few days¡¯ break."

    Xi Yue¡¯s head stayed down. "Actually, there¡¯s an opportunity here. He Xin, gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, once publicly announced that aurelian force is not the peak of battle force, which he will teach to people if they train hard enough."

    This did not surprise Lu Yin. During the major battle between humanity and the Aeternals, when Hen Xin and Ancient God had fought, neither had used aurelian force. Instead, their bodies had been covered with some strange purplish-ck substance, which should have been Ancient God¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin had spoken about this with his third uncle, Lu Buzheng. He had learned that the ancient Dao Monarch of the Third Maind had created a cultivation method that led to the pinnacle of body cultivation, while also creating the race of colossal giants.

    That man had created battle force while zing this particr path.

    Hen Xin had been trained in the usage of battle force by the ancient Dao Monarch, so his mastery of battle force should be the highest out of any human in the current universe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Could he learn the highest level of battle force from Hen Xin?

    "Is everyone here from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate?" Lu Yin asked.

    "They¡¯re the ones inspecting the pyrolyte." Xi Yue looked at Lu Yin. "Old Hei didn¡¯t originally know battle force, but after he was taught in an open training session by someone from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s Team Resolution, he managed to learn battle force and was sent here. With that sort of background, using his identity shouldn¡¯t be a problem."

    Lu Yin looked away. This was interesting information, as it meant that he could use his identity as Old Hei to aplish something.

    As for Lu Yin¡¯s disguise being seen through, he had actually forgotten that he still had the bones that he had received from Tian Dou in his cosmic ring. Those bones had been processed ording to the Xie family¡¯s methods, and there was a lot of death energy in them. Thus, Lu Yin could use that to use the Mask of Death.

    Lu Yin intended to do just that, so he pulled out a bone and extracted some death energy as Xi Yue watched in confusion: nothing at all happened. Lu Yin looked exactly the same as before, but only he knew that he had switched to using the Mask of Death to alter his appearance. No one would be able to see through his disguise of Old Hei.

    At one point in time, Jue Yi had managed to use the Mask of Death to hide himself from even Forgotten Ruins God, and Lu Yin himself had seeded in escaping a search conducted by Semi-Progenitors. As long as Lu Yin did note into close proximity with a Semi-Progenitor, his Mask of Death would not be seen through. Just how far would Lu Yin be able to go with Old Hei¡¯s identity?

    Several days passed as Lu Yin calmly collected more pyrolyte from the Astral River while disguised as Old Hei. He said nothing about collecting pyrolyte, though he turned in much less than a single gram.

    At night, he also went out to catch the fish that were supposedly from the Heavens Sect era that Hen Xin had ced in the Astral River.

    However, the guards generally did not allow the people who gathered pyrolyte to casually go fishing, as they were worried that the people would be eaten by creatures in the Astral River, which would lower the tidal t¡¯s productivity.

    ¡­

    A bonfire flickered on the tidal t as Lu Yin leisurely grilled some fish. There were more than a dozen fish still lying next to him, and Xi Yue was sitting across from him. She stared at him, stunned. "This is being too high-profile!"

    "Didn''t you tell me that Old Hei made a point of standing out? This should be fine," Lu Yin answered indifferently.

    Xi Yue rolled her eyes. Fine? This many fish on disy was no longer simply standing out. Old Hei had gotten excited after catching just two fish. Not even the tidal t¡¯s guards were able to catch so many fish at once.

    Some distance away, greedy eyes watched from the wooden shacks, eager to try to steal some fish.

    Someone finally made an attempt, but they were smacked down into the gravel and tossed aside by Xi Yue.

    Her four lined battle force was not something that other people in this area couldpete with.

    Suddenly, another person moved and emerged from the void. They were wearing the uniform of a servant of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, and there was a solemn expression on their face as they stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. This person was the supervisor of this region of the tidal t. He was a Hunter.

    "Old Hei, did you catch all of these?" the supervisor shouted.

    Lu Yin looked up and smiled at the supervisor. "That¡¯s right. Do you want to eat some with me?"

    The supervisor nced at more than a dozen fish and grew slightly jealous. Still, he had his own standards that he felt he needed to maintain. "How high has your battle force reached?"

    Lu Yin had asked about what level battle force Old Hei had mastered, but it had only been two lines. Still, that had been enough to make the man one of the strongest people on the entire tidal t, as most people only possessed one lined battle force.

    "Four lines," Lu Yin replied as he raised a hand. Purple battle aura gradually shrouded his hand, though it looked a bit unstable.

    The supervisor was taken aback. "You actually reached four lined battle force? When did you make this breakthrough?"

 Chapter 2076: Representing The Heavens

    Chapter 2076: Representing The Heavens

    Lu Yin pointed at the fish. "I had a breakthrough after eating more and more of these."

    He then pointed over at Xi Yue. "Also, she taught me."

    The supervisor looked over at Xi Yue.

    Purple battle force spread across Xi Yue''s body as well, and it looked much more stable than Lu Yin¡¯s.

    The supervisor had already been aware that Xi Yue had reached four lined battle force, but that it was merely unstable due to her severe injuries. Still, she genuinely possessed four lined battle force, and it was why she had been allowed to stay. "You¡¯ve recovered?"

    "Mostly because of these fish," Xi Yue answered indifferently.

    The supervisor looked intently at Old Hei. "I¡¯ve heard from many people that you¡¯ve been risking your life trying to catch these fish in order to heal her. It looks like you wanted to use them to heal her so that you could get her to help you improve your battle force. I gave her some fish long ago¡ªthe value of a person with four lined battle force is not low."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It was just a bit of good luck. Supervisor, should we have a meal together?"

    The supervisor grew earnest. "Old Hei, staying here with your strength is too wasteful. You¡¯ve improved your battle force from two lines to four in a very short amount of time, which shows that you are quite talented for this cultivation method. I¡¯m going to rmend you to the higher-ups, so remember your old supervisor."

    Lu Yin stood up as he replied, "Thank you, Supervisor."

    He then grabbed a fish and threw them to the man. "Then I''ll say goodbye now."

    The supervisor was rather speechless. He truly wanted to ept the fish, but he did not dare to. Bing a supervisor of this tidal t was his limit, despite being a Hunter. In the current universe, battle force and a domain were the prevailing indicators of one¡¯s status and potential, and the Hunter did not have any talent for either method. However, Old Hei was different, and it was impossible to guess how far the man would eventually go. It was possible that he might even eventually join Team Resolution itself. Thus, it was important to establish the proper rtionship with someone with so much potential.

    Thinking of these things, the supervisor declined Lu Yin¡¯s gift and instead smiled at him. "Old Hei, keep these for yourself. I¡¯m going to do what I can to get Team Resolution to notice you. You have a lot of talent for battle force, and you¡¯ll go far in the future. I¡¯ll be happy as long as you don¡¯t forget your old friend from here."

    Lu Yin remained polite, "Don''t worry, Supervisor. I, Old Hei, am not an ungrateful person."

    The supervisorughed. "Alright, I¡¯ll believe you then, haha! If you need anything before you leave, just tell me, and I¡¯ll do my best to take care of it for you."

    "Could you let me borrow your wireless jincan?" Lu Yin asked.

    The supervisor was caught off guard, as he had not expected Old Hei to be so direct. The supervisor grew a bit bit embarrassed. "We aren¡¯t allowed tomunicate with the outside world while we''re here, so I don''t actually have a wireless jincan, and I can¡¯t even use one unless I can get Master Jiang''s approval. Still, I¡¯ll try to help you apply for one."

    "Thank you, Supervisor."

    After the supervisor left, Lu Yin grilled the rest of the fish. It really was quite tasty.

    As he enjoyed the meal, Lu Yin realized that he quite enjoyed good food, and Lu Xiaoxuan had been the same. In fact, Lu Xiaoxun had even created the Food Paradise because of his love for food.

    Two days passed, but the supervisor still did not return to speak with Lu Yin.

    It was only on the third day that the supervisor returned and led Lu Yin away, saying that he was going to be allowed to use a wireless jincan.

    Lu Yin had no reason to question where he was being taken, so he followed the supervisor across the tidal t and into outer space. They soon arrived next to a spacecraft.

    After then entered the vessel, the supervisor''s expression changed, and he suddenly looked at Lu Yin with wary eyes.

    Lu Yin felt the change, and as he nced around the ship, his pupils transformed into runes. A careless smile appeared on his face. There were some powerhouses on this ship, but they were only Enlighters. Judging by their rune lines, no one had a power level of even 300,000. There was absolutely no threat to him anywhere nearby.

    "Wait here," the supervisor ordered before leaving.

    Some timeter, two people approached Lu Yin. "Are you Old Hei?"

    Lu Yin looked at the two, though he focused on the younger man. Isn¡¯t that Xia Sheng?

    Xia Yi¡¯s bastard son had been sent to represent the Seven Courts on the overseers¡¯ council after Nan Yuan had been dismissed. Lu Yin¡¯s strongest impression of Xia Sheng was that he was a brown-noser, and it felt like the young man had wanted to rely on Lu Yin. This was quite an unexpected encounter.

    "I asked you a question: are you Old Hei?" Uncle Jiang was standing next to Xia Sheng, and he spoke up loudly.

    Lu Yin answered, "I am."

    "You wanted to use a wireless jincan?" Uncle Jiang stared at the man in front of him as Lu Yin nodded.

    Uncle Jiang took out a wireless jincan. "You can use this one."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, as he realized that he had overlooked a problem. Things were different from how they had been twenty years ago. Back then, gadgets had been everywhere, and almost every location had a connection to the Human Domain¡¯swork, so borrowing a gadget from someone was not a problem. However, due to the scarcity of the wireless jincans, just how many people throughout the known universe actually owned one? Anyone who could get their hands on one would not be an ordinary person.

    Old Hei had been a perfectly average cultivator, so why would he ask to use a wireless jincan? Who could he possibly know? On top of that, his battle force had quickly risen from just two lines to four. No matter how you looked at the matter, things were suspicious.

    "I said you can use it!" Uncle Jiang yelled. He was eager to see just who this Old Hei was going to call.

    When the supervisor had first submitted the request for Old Hei to use a wireless jincan, Uncle Jiang had immediately felt that there was something wrong. How could any of the people working at the tidal t possibly have a connection to someone with a wireless jincan? Unless they were a spy, of course, but no spy would ask to borrow a wireless jincan in such a bold manner. Besides, they would have one of their own.

    Uncle Jiang had thus be incredibly curious as to just who Old Hei wanted to contact with a wireless jincan.

    Xia Sheng was also staring at Old Hei. Sure enough, there was no sign of a disguise, and the man truly did seem to be just an ordinary cultivator who had simply quickly managed to master four lined battle force. Still, the fact that this person wanted to borrow a wireless jincan had also aroused Xia Sheng¡¯s curiosity.

    Lu Yin realized what he had just overlooked. The changes that the universe had seen over the course of twenty years were not something that Lu Yin could quickly adapt to. Given this mistake, Lu Yin decided to just roll with it. He took the wireless jincan and sent a message to his old friend.

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang watched intently, as they both wanted to see who was going to be contacted.

    "Who is this?" The jincan moved in a manner thatmunicated the response Lu Yin had just received.

    Lu Yin stared at the thing. "Third Uncle, it''s me."

    The wireless jincan stayed still for a moment. "Who are you?"

    "Third Uncle, you¡¯re using my wireless jincan. Do you really not remember me?" Lu Yin smiled as he sent the message.

    Far away, Lu Buzheng leaped to his feet as he sent a response, "Lu Yin?"

    "It''s me," Lu Yin replied.

    To the side, both Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang were dazed. Naturally, the two of them both understood what the wireless jincan¡¯s movements meant, but what had they just seen? Lu Yin? What the hell?

    The two both stared at Lu Yin, but he ignored them both. "How is everyone there? How¡¯s the Great Eastern Alliance? Are you all right?"

    Far away, outside of Earth¡¯s sr system in the Outerverse, Ancestor Tortoise had dozed off. Suddenly, a wildugh echoed, startling the massive creature.

    Lu Buzhengughed as he sent back a message, "We¡¯re all fine, just fine. Are you really still alive?"

    "Of course! I can¡¯t die that easily." Lu Yin smiled.

    Lu Buzheng was absolutely ecstatic. "I knew that you couldn¡¯t be dead! Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis both insisted that you were dead, and they werepletely certain that they were telling the truth, but I knew you weren¡¯t dead! The people of my Lu family aren¡¯t that easy to kill, hahahaha!"

    "Third Uncle, how have things been going at hometely? I heard that several Heavenly Gates have been founded, and that Hen Xin also made a big move." Lu Yin sent a question.

    Lu Buzheng quickly answered. "That¡¯s just how Hen Xin is. He suffered a lot back when he was just an ordinary person, so he now wants to achieve both fame and fortune. Still, he¡¯s done a lot of good."

    "Everything he¡¯s taken credit for are my aplishments," Lu Yin retorted.

    Lu Buzheng answered, "No one can take anything from him right now. The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate has the most Semi-Progenitors, and while the rest of the Heavenly Gates have a greater number of Semi-Progenitors when united, most of us cultivated with stellr energy. My visualization methodbined with that old bastard Kui Luo''s spiritual force are barely able topare to Hen Xin¡¯s power. Battle force has be the primary cultivation method now.

    "Are you alright? Heluo Mavis said that you were stabbed by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword."

    "I''m fine. I¡¯m currently adjusting myself."

    "Get back here as soon as you can. You might be able topete for the position of Dao Chosen," Lu Buzheng encouraged.

    This caught Lu Yin off guard. "What exactly is this position of Dao Chosen?"

    Lu Buzheng exined, "We humans have a lot of Semi-Progenitors right now, and as a whole, humanity can stand up to the Aeternals by using microarray technology and pyrolyte. However, the Aeternals don¡¯t use stellr energy. No matter what, a Semi-Progenitor is still a Semi-Progenitor, and humanity needs to unite to hold back the Aeternals. So, Hen Xin proposed that we rebuild the Heavens Sect and choose Dao Chosen to receive inheritances.¡±

    "The Dao Chosen will be given a tremendous amount of authority. During our era, the Twelve Heaven Gates were established to protect the gates of humanity¡¯s Six Mainds, while the Dao Chosen were said to act on behalf of the heavens. The Dao Monarchs did not reveal themselves. Instead, the Dao Chosen handled most matters."

    "Who¡¯s Hen Xin supporting to take the position?" Lu Yin asked. He already understood Hen Xin''s purpose without even needing to guess. It was clear that the man intended to support a Dao Chosen would then control the Heavens Sect when it was reestablished, using past precedent. However, would a Dao Chosen really wield that much authority? They were nothing more than Envoys.

    "Chu Yuan," Lu Buzheng replied.

    "Will a Dao Chosen really be given that much authority? Will Chu Yuan even be able to help Hen Xin control the Heavens Sect?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "Of course not. That¡¯s impossible. If we were still in the Heavens Sect era, then it would be fine, as the Dao Chosen were representatives of the Dao Monarchs. However, all the Dao Monarchs are gone now, so there¡¯s no way that everyone will listen to any of the Dao Chosen. Just to start, there¡¯s no way anyone¡¯s ordering around old Kui Luo, but selecting a Dao Chosen is for more than being a symbol of the Heavens Sect. There¡¯s also someone very important: Destina."

    "Destina?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "She was another of the Twelve Heavenly Gates¡¯ gatemasters, and she''s Destiny¡¯s heir. She¡¯s already announced that she will help whoever bes the Dao Chosen, no strings attached," Lu Buzheng exined.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. Could this be real? Destina was a powerful Semi-Progenitor. Anyone who managed to get her unconditional support, regardless of how pathetic the person themselves might be, would instantly be a person of influence in the Fifth Maind. This was even ignoring the fact that the person would also be a Dao Chosen.

    Destina, gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, Destiny¡¯s disciple. Any one of these identities was terrifying.

    While Destina had not appeared during the massive battle with the Aeternals, Lu Buzheng¡¯s third stream of ancestral qi could summon Destiny. Only by relying on Destiny¡¯s predictions had he managed to find a path towards survival when facing Ancient God. That had been more than enough to demonstrate the power of Destiny.

    Lu Yin had long since dispelled his disbelief in Destiny, and he had insteade to greatly fear Destiny. That person had been one of the Ancient Progenitors who had stood on the same level as the God of Death. During the Heavens Sect era, Destiny had controlled one of the Three Realms Six Dao.

    "Why would Destina support the Dao Chosen?" Lu Yin wondered.

    "Who knows? Maybe it¡¯s because of something she¡¯s divined. She revealed herself all the way back when Chu Yuan appeared, and it¡¯s already been more than ten years since then. Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, and Destina will draw out more people topete, and it¡¯s possible that the Honor Gate still has some talents that they¡¯ve kept hidden. People have been preparing for more than ten years for thispetition to select the next Dao Chosen.

    "On top of that, Hen Xin was unwilling to share what he controls. A few years ago, we nned to have Team Resolution share the methods to cultivate battle force and domains with the entire Fifth Maind, and because of that, all of us met with him. The final result of our negotiations is that all the newly established Heavenly Gates will send out their own selected representatives who have recently started cultivating a domain or battle force, and they¡¯llpete with each other. If our people win, Hen Xin will have to freely share the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s methods for training battle force and other cultivation methods. He promised that Team Resolution would act as trainers."

 Chapter 2077: Thinking About The Future

    Chapter 2077: Thinking About The Future

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. Hen Xin was certainly ruthless enough. He was nning to use thispetition to win over all the cultivators in the Fifth Maind.

    Given Team Resolution''s staunch loyalty to Hen Xin, when they were teaching people these cultivation methods, they would definitely preach the glories of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Over time, the future generations of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators would eventually all be a part of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    Truthfully, aside from the negative impact on the other Heavenly Gates, Hen Xin¡¯s actions were actually a boon for the Fifth Maind. At the least, they were raising the overall level of humanity¡¯s strength.

    However, things would be even better if there was another path that improved the strength of the Fifth Maind while simultaneously curbing Hen Xin¡¯s ambitions. People were innately selfish, as who would be willing to hand control of the entire future over to Hen Xin? Jue Yi, the Lu family, Destina, and the entire Sixth Maind were unwilling to see this happen.

    "Despite what I told you, it¡¯s going to be very difficult to deal with Hen Xin. The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate has several unique cultivation methods for both battle force and domains. They were famous even during the Heavens Sect era. I¡¯vee to understand more about your era, and people are unable to systematically train in either battle force or domains, which has led to more and more people joining the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Their momentum is picking up more and more." Lu Buzheng sounded helpless.

    "Since the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s cultivation methods are so good, why haven¡¯t you sent anyone over to steal them?" Lu Yin found this detail rather strange.

    Lu Buzheng shrugged. "We sent some people to do that, but it didn''t work. There hasn¡¯t been enough time since Hen Xin proposed thispetition, and given the short time frame we have before thepetition is to be held, any real masters of battle force will definitely get caught. On top of that, Team Resolution only recruits people from within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s territory, and they have to have been there for more than ten years to qualify. That¡¯s before we even started trying to send anyone to infiltrate the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate."

    "Are you sure? Go talk to Wang Wen and Wei Rong. You¡¯ll probably find a few surprises," Lu Yin sent back.

    Lu Buzheng felt a bit puzzled. The truth was that neither of the men had aplished much of note over thest two decades. Almost all of the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s affairs, bothrge and small, had been handed over to Lu Buzheng¡¯s own people who had arrived with him.

    Lu Buzheng had not deliberately pushed Wang Wen and Wei Rong out, but rather simply did things differently than the two men.

    Lu Buzheng was a blunt and straightforward person, while Wei Rong was rather conniving. As for Wang Wen, he seemed quitezy. These differences made it difficult for the two to work well with Lu Buzheng.

    However, Lu Yin''sment had reminded Lu Buzheng that the two men were still around. "Alright, I¡¯ll find them when I have a chance.¡±

    "Also, where are you?" Lu Buzheng asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate."

    Lu Buzheng remained silent for some time. "What do you want to do next?"

    Lu Yin smiled and turned to stare at Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang. The two men had not dared to move this entire time, and they were still standing respectfully at the side.

    "I¡¯m going to learn how to cultivate battle force while I think about my future."

    Lu Buzheng grinned. "Get back here as soon as you can. Setting up this Lu Heavenly Gate has been exhausting, and that old bastard Kui Luo¡¯s been raising hell. That old man¡¯s a bit arrogant. On top of that, a bunch of people came here to seek refuge with us from the Seven Courts, so there are still several pending things that need to be dealt with."

    "The Seven Courts?" Lu Yin had not known anything about the Seven Courts being disbanded.

    "We¡¯ll talk more when you get back. Chu Yuan and the others have been preparing for this for a long time, so you need to do your best," Lu Buzheng replied.

    Lu Yin put the wireless jincan away. Even though twenty years had passed, he felt lucky to learn that the situation had not spiraled out of control yet. The Lu Heavenly Gate was essentially the former Great Eastern Alliance, and the biggest change was that Lu Buzheng¡¯s subordinates from the Heavens Sect era had likely taken many positions of authority.

    With some matters settled, it was time for Lu Yin to meet with Team Resolution and spend some time with them. Lu Yin wanted to learn more about cultivating his battle force and domain.

    "You saw my conversation just now." Lu Yin turned to look at Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang. There was a smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face and a sparkle in his eyes.

    However, his smile felt unbelievably terrifying to the two men.

    "A- Alliance Leader Lu!" Xia Sheng''s heart trembled. He feltpletely overwhelmed at this moment. He had clearly heard that Lu Yin was dead, so how could he still be alive? Not to mention, he had appeared right in front of Xia Sheng!

    Lu Yin walked over to a nearby chair not far away and took a seat before turning around and calmly looking at the two men. "You¡¯ve given me something of a headache. On the one hand, I need you to help me get closer to Hen Xin. On the other, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll rat me out. So what do you think I should do?"

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang nced at each other. They were still dazed by what they had just learned; they still had not fully processed that Old Hei was actually Lu Yin.

    "If you don''t say anything, my only option will be to get rid of you both and then assume your identity," Lu Yin casuallymented.

    This startled them, and Xia Sheng gritted his teeth and dropped his knees to the floor. "Alliance Leader Lu, please give me a chance to join your Great Eastern Alliance. I offer Alliance Leader Lu my undying loyalty."

    At the same time, Uncle Jiang also knelt down. "Alliance Leader Lu, I also beg you to give this lowly one an opportunity."

    Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled up into a smile. "I remember you, Xia Sheng."

    Thisment made Xia Sheng nervous, and he suddenly wondered what Lu Yin was going to do to him.

    "Twenty years ago, you tried to get closer to me and the Great Eastern Alliance. Back then, I was told by San Liang that you said a lot of good things about me in public and that you usually cooperated and supported him, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Sheng heaved a sigh of relief. "That¡¯s correct, Alliance Leader Lu, you were told the truth. This lowly one has always wished to follow you, both twenty years ago and right now."

    "Still, twenty years have passed. I find it a bit hard to believe that." Lu Yin felt a little embarrassed.

    Xia Sheng dropped his head, his mind racing, as he was desperate to win Lu Yin''s trust. This was not only because Xia Sheng wanted to survive, but also because he wanted to escape from his current prison.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, please believe me. I can tell you that I will never be able to rise any further higher within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Ancestor Xia Ji has always disliked Xia Yi, even before the rise of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. That¡¯s why someone like the Xia family¡¯s patriarch was sent to oversee these tidal ts. I¡¯m Xia Yi¡¯s illegitimate son, and so I am considered trash who cannot be used for anything. If I don¡¯t follow you, I won¡¯t have a future," Xia Sheng exined in a very serious and sincere manner.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "How about this? Learn a few phrases from me, and I¡¯ll believe you if you manage to repeat everything I say."

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang looked at each other before looking back at Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, please tell us."

    Lu Yin bent forward and stared at Xia Sheng. "Hen Xin is a bastard."

    Xia Sheng was dumbfounded.

    Uncle Jiang was simrly stunned. What had they just heard?

    "Repeat after me: Hen Xin is a bastard," Lu Yin said in a casual tone.

    Xia Sheng blinked. What in the world was this?

    Throughout his entire life and time as a cultivator, Xia Sheng had not once cursed a single person. He might be Xia Yi¡¯s illegitimate child whose mere existence was frowned upon by others, but even after being sent to the tidal ts, he had always maintained a proper sense of decorum. Cursing? Impossible! ¡°Swearing¡± was something that did not even exist in Xia Sheng¡¯s understanding of the world. This was a result of being raised with manners within a powerful n.

    At this moment, Xia Sheng had no choice with Lu Yin¡¯s eyes on him. His mouth was dry as he stuttered, "Hen Xin- Hen Xin is a bas- bastard."

    "Speak up!"

    "Hen Xin is a bastard." This time, Xia Sheng managed to say it right.

    Lu Yin then looked over at Uncle Jiang.

    Uncle Jiang also repeated Lu Yin¡¯s words. "Hen Xin is a bastard."

    Lu Yin looked satisfied. "Let¡¯s keep going. Ni Huang is an earthworm."

    ""Ni Huang is an earthworm.""

    "Very good. Wang Si is an old whore."

    ""Wang Si is an old whore.""

    Words flowed from the two men in an increasingly smooth manner.

    Lu Yin smiled. While this whole exchange sounded like a joke, if this matter was ever leaked, Xia Sheng would suffer terribly. Even if he did eventually betray Lu Yin and stop Lu Yin from seeking revenge, this matter would prevent Xia Sheng from ever being able to establish a foothold within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Semi-Progenitors could not be disrespected, and even if Hen Xin and Ni Huang were unbothered by these statements, there was no way that their subordinates would be willing to treat Xia Sheng well.

    In particr, Team Resolution was famous for their loyalty to Hen Xin even during the Heavens Sect era. They would never allow anyone to insult Hen Xin, and Xia Sheng had just cursed Hen Xin. No matter how great of a contribution Xia Sheng could potentially have to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, Team Resolution would never allow him to go free for these words, let alone allow him to climb the hierarchy within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    As for whether or not they would actively go after Xia Sheng, Team Resolution was notoriously unafraid of death, and they would avenge any insult their master suffered. As far as they were concerned, anyone who insulted Hen Xin was worse than a traitor.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s greatest leverage on Xia Sheng.

    "Let¡¯s keep going. Alright, Bai Laogui is an asshole and a zombie."

    ""Bai Laogui is an asshole and a zombie.""

    "Xia De is a big dog."

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang swallowed at this insult. ""Xia De is a big dog.""

    A big smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Xia Ji¡¯s an ass."

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang¡¯s pupils shrank sharply. There were still certain things that they did not dare say.

    "What? You don¡¯t want to talk?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Xia Sheng twitched and gritted his teeth. "Xia Ji¡¯s an ass."

    Uncle Jiang''s heart plummeted. If these words were ever leaked to anyone, even if the Semi-Progenitors did not care, the people of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate would absolutelye after him and Xia Sheng. Their time with the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate hade to an end.

    "Xia Ji¡¯s an ass," Uncle Jiang said softly.

    Lu Yin nodded and then pulled out his gadget. Even without thework connecting the Human Domain, there were still a few functions that gadgets could use. Not only had he recorded a video of the two men cursing and insulting the Semi-Progenitors, but he also had them write their words down.

    While this sort of ckmail was an effective means of controlling people, it was also extremely crude. Lu Yin felt that he needed some other way to control people, specifically his enemies.

    "Alright, get up," Lu Yin said lightly.

    Xia Sheng and Uncle Jiang both rose to their feet. "Alliance Leader Lu, you will be meeting Team Resolution as Old Hei, and his four lined battle force won¡¯t be enough. At best, you¡¯ll be able to join one of their affiliate teams."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Tell me about Team Resolution."

    Xia Sheng coughed before respectfully answering, "Hen Xin''s Team Resolution originally had nine members, but after they were released from the sourcebox array, only five people were left, and they all have an average power level of over a million. On top of that, each of them has either mastered aurelian force, raised their domain to the void god realm, or mastered their spiritual force that can influence powerhouses with power levels of over a million. That is the criteria.¡±

    "Team Resolution¡¯s affiliate teams were created by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate after they woke up in this era. The entire purpose of the affiliate teams is to scout for cultivators who are talented at battle force or some other alternate cultivation method. There are several teams, and the captains are all either Enlighters or Envoys. You actually know one of the team captains."

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Sheng with an expression that asked him to continue.

    Xia Sheng solemnly stated, "Xing Kai, formerly known as the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Xing Kai? He joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate?"

    "Xing Kai is extremely talented in battle force, and he even managed to draw Hen Xin''s notice. In fact, Hen Xin intends to ept Xing Kai as his disciple. Right now, Xing Kai is a captain of one of Resolution''s affiliate teams. If we rmend that you join an affiliate team, they will most likely assign you to Xing Kai¡¯s team," Xia Sheng continued.

    Lu Yin nodded, Xing Kai was an old acquaintance of Lu Yin¡¯s, and it came as no surprise that the former Arbiter was well suited for battle force. He had always been a physically impressive and shockingly strong person at a full three meters tall. Just a nce would suggest that he was quite suited to battle force. Given his somewhat monstrous appearance, it was not even impossible for Xing Kai to have a bit of the giants¡¯ bloodline running through his veins.

    As one of the former Ten Arbiters, it was also not unexpected that Xing Kai had qualified to earn Hen Xin''s attention. Lu Yin was curious as to how powerful Xing Kai had be over these past years.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s absence, the Fifth Maind had lost stellr energy, which had essentially crippled the majority of theirbat strength. It would not be easy for alternate methods like battle force to pick up the ck.

    ¡­

 Chapter 2078: Chaotic Times

    Chapter 2078: Chaotic Times

    A few dayster, Lu Yin and Xi Yue were in a spaceship, standing by a window and looking outside. They had already left the tidal t along the Astral River, and they were currently headed to First Flowzone and Sword Mountain.

    Sword Mountain had once belonged to the Sword Sect, but twenty years ago, when the Aeternals hadunched their all-out assault on the Fifth Maind, the Sword Sect had followed the Great Eastern Alliance to escape to the Outerverse. After that, due to the ongoing fight against the Aeternals, it had be imperative for everyone to be protected by a Semi-Progenitor. Thus, the Sword Sect had not been able to return to First Flowzone, as doing so would cost them the protection of a Semi-Progenitor.

    They were helpless, and they could only remain with the Great Eastern Alliance in the Outerverse, where it had eventually be the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    At this point in time, Sword Mountain and all of First Flowzone had already be the the area Team Resolution used to select potential recruits and where they trained their affiliated teams. The battlefield between humanity and the Aeternals had been pushed to the west, so First Flowzone was not as dangerous a ce as it had once been. However, if the Sword Sect wanted to return to First Flowzone, they would have to join the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. No matter how badly the Sword Sect wished to return to their ancestral home, doing so would mean betraying the Lu Heavenly Gate. Lu Buzheng was no fool, which meant that it was impossible for the Sword Sect to make such a decision.

    For this reason, Sword Mountain had remained under the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s control for more than ten years.

    "They¡¯re using a ckhole ss Aurora just to transport the two of us? Hen Xin really does have ess to an obscene amount of resources," Lu Yinmented.

    Xi Yue whispered, "Twenty years ago, because of the Hall of Honor¡¯s rules and restraints, there were many things that couldn¡¯t be done, but those rules no longer exist. The strong can kill the weak, and even annihting entire families has bemon. The entire universe is descending into chaos."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "That''s not necessarily true. Humanity has always been ruled by thew of the jungle, and the previous rules were simply put in ce by the most powerful people. If the Heavens Sect is rebuilt, then it will y the role of humanity¡¯s ruler and overseer. It¡¯s just that things are chaotic for now."

    "You enjoy this kind of chaos, don¡¯t you?" Xi Yue asked in a low voice.

    Lu Yin neither admitted to nor denied anything.

    He was alreadypletely convinced that it would be much more convenient to deal with certain matters in the current universe now than it would have been twenty years ago.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin frowned as he looked at Sword Mountain in front of him and observed the various changes. The mountain had once possessed a seemingly infinite amount of sword qi that could be sensed the moment a person entered First Flowzone. But now, those sights had faded, and the mountain was bing increasingly ordinary.

    His pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Sword Mountain.

    At this moment, the greatest source of runes that Lu Yin could see was onlyparable to a one-tribtion Envoy¡¯s, which meant that there was no powerhouse present.

    Suddenly, a wave of rune lines shot towards the spaceship. It was an amount that somewhat exceeded a power level of 10,000, which meant that it was as powerful as an attack from an Explorer.

    Given the strength of this attack, Lu Yin assumed that it was not really an attack, but rather Team Resolution¡¯s assessment for neers that Xia Sheng had mentioned.

    Boom!

    The vessel exploded, and shockwaves swept out from the point of impact. Both Lu Yin and Xi Yue were revealed, shrouded with four lined battle force. While they looked rather miserable at the moment, they had both managed to stop the shockwaves from the attack.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw someone slowly lowering a gun. The attack had beenunched from this weapon.

    The weapon had been made with pyrolyte, and it was considered the most basic kind of weapon. Still, even if an ordinary person fired the gun, they would be capable of unleashing an attack that had the strength of an Explorer.

    From what Lu Yin had learned from Xia Sheng, the most powerful weapons that humanity was capable of producing used abination of micro-array technology and pyrolyte. Micro-array technology could replicate any battle technique at the Enlighter realm, and pyrolyte was able to push that power even higher. Thebined force could produce attacks with a power level of over 300,000 or even 400,000, depending on the amount of pyrolyte used.

    Long ago, the Sea King had wrapped pyrolyte in Progenitor Chen''s blood-stained cloak and used thebination to st open the Upper Three Gates. Pyrolyte¡¯s potential power was truly immeasurable.

    Lu Yin and Xi Yue safelynded on the ground.

    The man who had attacked their vessel looked at them with cold eyes. "Follow me."

    The two followed him onto Sword Mountain.

    There were sporadic bits of sword qi that rose up from beneath their feet, which was a unique characteristic of Sword Mountain.

    After walking for a long time, the two arrived at the Sword Array za.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s third time visiting this za.

    At the moment, there were no less than a hundred people standing in the za, and they epassed nearly all ages. They were also encircled by another group of people.

    Lu Yin was surprised by what he saw. Team Resolution''s affiliated teams should consist entirely of people who cultivated battle force, domains, or spiritual force. But given the sheer number of people present, just how many people were members of Team Resolution¡¯s affiliate teams?

    Twenty years ago, not many people throughout the Fifth Maind had focused on cultivating battle force, domain, or spiritual force. Even in the Astral Combat Academy, very few students had been able to cultivate both battle force and a domain. As for the Sixth Maind, people had even believed that the alternative cultivation methods held no path forward, so no one had wanted to pursue them.

    Who could have imagined that alternative cultivation methods would eventually be the mostmon cultivation form and that they would spread across the entire universe?

    Lu Yin had also struggled when he started cultivating battle force, but in the current universe, there was room to grow in that aspect.

    "Fall in," their escort shouted loudly.

    Lu Yin and Xi Yue walked to the back of the group of a hundred people.

    Everyone nced at Xi Yue with curiosity. ck cloth shrouded her entire body, which gave her a rather conspicuous appearance.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin looked up right before a figure fell from the sky and smashed into the ground with enough force to shake the entire za. A surge of vicious battle force swept out, and many people were thrown from where they had been standing.

    This person was Xing Kai, and his battle force had already reached nine lines.

    This change quite surprised Lu Yin. Twenty years ago, nine lined battle force had been the peak level of mastery in the entire Fifth Maind, and just a single breakthrough would see Xing Kai reach the same level of mastery as Lu Yin. This had been aplished in a mere twenty years of training.

    However, even if battle force had be a mainstream cultivation method, how well did itpare to stellr energy?

    This was something that Lu Yin had always wondered about. He had heard that Hen Xin had reached his current strength by cultivating battle force, domain, and spiritual force. In that case, how had he broken through to the Semi-Progenitor realm? While an Enlighter might seed inprehending aurelian force, they would still be inferior to the average Envoy who trained exclusively with stellr energy. In that case, how could one be a Semi-Progenitor with battle force?

    The only exnation was that battle force, domain, and spiritual force could each be cultivated to a levelparable to the stellr energy of an Envoy who could enter the true universe.

    If Xing Kai had already managed to cultivate nine lined battle force, then what would his battle force be once he broke through to the Envoy realm? Or when he reached a power level of a million? How would he be a Semi-Progenitor? Lu Yin was very curious about all of this.

    Given Xing Kai''s current strength, it did not seem possible for him to fight against even ordinary Envoys.

    "Everyone who was tossed aside has been eliminated." Xing Kai spoke very softly, but his three-meter-tall body gave off a very oppressive aura. As he spoke, the nine lined battle force disappeared from his body, and instead, six lined battle force appeared.

    Lu Yin could not understand what was going on.

    "Use one lined battle force to cover your body and endure for five days. If you can¡¯t hold out for that long, you¡¯re disqualified," Xing Kai announced in a loud voice.

    A third of the people in the za had already been eliminated, which left just a bit more than sixty people standing in the za.

    However, as soon as they heard Xing Kai''s words, everyone shrouded their bodies with battle force.

    Lu Yin did the same, though many questions were running through his head. Was this how the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had people cultivate battle force? He remembered hearing people tell him that he should maintain his battle force for a longer period of time, but he had never paid attention. It was never necessary to maintain battle force consistently throughout an entire fight.

    ording to Xing Kai, the applicants all needed to maintain their battle force for five consecutive days. This was absolutely impossible for most people who had only recently started cultivating battle force.

    However, the applicants were not alone, as even Xing Kai maintained his six lined battle force while he stood within the Sword Array za with them. All the people from Team Resolution¡¯s affiliate teams surrounding the za also maintained their battle force, and Lu Yin could see that some were maintaining three lined battle force, while others only used two lines.

    Less than half a day passed, and yet several people had already failed to endure and were disqualified.

    One day passed, then two. Nearly half of the applicants had been eliminated. On the third day, even more were disqualified.

    All of these applicants had managed to achieve four lined battle force, which indicated that they had some level of talent for this cultivation method. Despite that, many were unable to maintain even one lined battle force for a long time.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned with the others, as he wanted topete with Xing Kai. Lu Yin wanted to see how long he could maintain six lined battle force, but attempting that would be too much. Old Hei was reported to have only recently achieved four lined battle force, and if Lu Yin revealed six lined battle force, even an idiot would realize that something was wrong.

    By the fifth day, less than ten people remained standing in the Sword Array za.

    Xi Yue had also managed to persevere. She had long been considered a genius, and she had attended the Astral Combat Academy, as well as received the resources of the Souldream Tribe. Even though her battle force had not improved beyond four lines, she had still made steady progress, and she surpassed many other people¡¯s mastery of battle force.

    After the five days were over, only six people had passed the test. Aside from Lu Yin and Xi Yue, the other four were all quite young. They were much younger than Old Hei, and they could be considered youths.

    Young people were generally very malleable, and given these people¡¯s ages, they had not focused too much on cultivating star energy before the universe changed. Their clothing indicated that they also came from decent families, and it was possible that they had been informed well in advance what sort of assessments they would face when trying to join one of Team Resolution''s affiliate teams.

    None of the four were surprised that they had passed, but they were quite curious about Lu Yin and Xi Yue.

    Xing Kai looked at the six people and asked for housing to be arranged for them. "Whether you¡¯re able to remain here will depend on the final assessment of the members of Team Resolution. Don''t mess around as you wait for them."

    As soon as he finished speaking, Xing Kai left.

    The four other people moved together to discuss something, and Lu Yin heard them mention something about illusions, battle force entering their body, and other such things.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as they followed Xing Kai.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s identity at this moment as Old Hei, even if he qualified to train with one of Team Resolution''s affiliate teams, it would take a long time for Lu Yin to gain ess to the information regarding the higher levels of battle force, let alone gain ess to anything regarding aurelian force. Lu Yin could not afford to wait around for that long.

    His best option was to change his identity again.

    Lu Yin was given a wooden house to live in on Sword Mountain, though it was only a bit better than the shacks on the Astral River¡¯s tidal ts.

    Lu Yin stared out into space. At this moment, the matter that concerned him the most was still the chaotic energies within his body. He simply had no idea how to recover from this mess. He found that it was impossible to use his death energy, and he was quite confident that such a situation had never urred during the God of Death¡¯s era.

    Death energy, fatesand, and stellr energy had all mixed together.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. He waited for a bit, and once the sky waspletely dark, his body flickered. He quickly made his way towards where Xing Kai stayed.

    In all of Sword Mountain, the most powerful individual was only a single one-tribtion Envoy, at least from the runes that Lu Yin could observe. Well, that was the level of strength that the person possessed. Lu Yin had no idea if the person was actually an Envoy, as there was no longer any stellr energy avable.

    However, that person was also far away from Xing Kai.

    Lu Yin ran into no difficulties while moving towards where Xing Kai was staying. He was actually staying next to the pond where Liu Qianjue had enjoyed fishing.

    Xing Kai quietly stood beside the pond. His height that wasparable to a lesser giant, and his nine lined battle force gave the man an oppressive presence, but unfortunately for Xing Kai, Lu Yin was not impressed. Xing Kai was not nearly as powerful as Wang Su and the other Junior Progenitors.

    There was a bang, and Xing Kai was knocked out. Even his nine lined battle force could barely do anything to protect him.

    Before Xing Kaiprehended aurelian force, Lu Yin would be able to overpower the former Arbiter with nothing more than brute physical strength. Even if Lu Yin had made no progress at all during thesest twenty years, the difference between his strength and Xing Kai¡¯s was not something that twenty years couldpensate for. On top of that, Xing Kai had not been able to improve his star energy cultivation at all during these twenty years.

    Zenith Mountain appeared, and Xing Kai was tossed in before Lu Yin quickly followed.

    Everyone on Zenith Mountain watched as Xing Kai fell, but only Liu Shaoge recognized the man. War King Xing Kai? Why did Lu Yin send him in?

 Chapter 2079: Stabilizing

    Chapter 2079: Stabilizing

    Lu Yin''s current status meant that it had been a long time since he had surpassed the Ten Arbiters. Simply put, he was on an entirely different level, regardless of how powerful Xing Kai had be.

    Xing Kai crashed into a corner of Zenith Mountain, and Lu Yin appeared. He waited for a bit, and Xing Kai woke up with a groan. He held his right hand on the back of his head as he struggled to his feet. His head was still fuzzy as he warily looked around. Where was he? Suddenly, Xing Kai turned around to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had returned to his original appearance.

    When Xing Kai saw Lu Yin, his expression changed drastically. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s been a long time, Xing Kai."

    Xing Kai stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- you¡¯re still alive? Aren''t you supposed to be dead?"

    "Everyone keeps saying that when they see me. This is really bad luck, as I¡¯m not dead, but rather alive and well," Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    Xing Kai warily stared at Lu Yin. "Where are we? You captured me?"

    He was not surprised to learn that Lu Yin was able to capture him on Sword Mountain. Unless the members of Team Resolution visited, there was no one on Sword Mountain who had the strength to stop Lu Yin. While Xing Kai had no idea just how strong Lu Yin was, a conservative estimate would put Lu Yin at the level of an expert with a power level of at least 700,000 or 800,000.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Sorry, that sneak attack was a bit harsh."

    Xing Kai stared at Lu Yin, and then he slowly asked, "Why did you capture me? Even if there¡¯s some sort of disagreement between the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, you should be dealing with Gatemaster Hen Xin or Team Resolution, not me."

    Lu Yin replied, "I want to cultivate battle force, so I want to learn the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s cultivation methods."

    Xing Kai stared at Lu Yin for a moment before he realized something. "You¡¯re one of those six applicants."

    "Smart.¡± Lu Yin was impressed.

    Xing Kai shook his head. "When Gatemaster Hen Xin first suggested that Team Resolution train the Fifth Maind¡¯s people in cultivating battle force, the other Heavenly Gates all objected, and they instead suggested a wager, and it¡¯s already been agreed upon. Lu Yin, the fact that you¡¯ve snuck into my Three Fatalities Heavenly Gates means that the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s already vited the agreement."

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ve only been back for a few days, and that was long after the wager was agreed upon, so I¡¯m not breaking any agreement. I was already within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s territory before even learning anything about the agreement, and I even decided that I wanted to learn how to cultivate my domain and battle force before hearing about it."

    "I won''t teach you," Xing Kai said bluntly.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are you saying that you¡¯ve really joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate and that you¡¯re loyal to Hen Xin?"

    Xing Kai somberly answered, "When I first joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, Gatemaster Hen Xin spoke with me himself, and he asked me not to share the cultivation method for battle force with anyone from outside our Heavenly Gate. I agreed, so I won¡¯t tell you anything even if you kill me."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don''t worry, I¡¯m not going to kill you. I¡¯m just going to keep you here for a few days."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin pulled out a bone full of death energy, and he used the Mask of Death.

    Xing Kai was stunned as he saw Lu Yin¡¯s body change shape, and therge man¡¯s mouth fell wide open.

    He was not good at expressing himself, so he was genuinely speechless for a bit.

    "What do you think? No one below the Semi-Progenitor realm can see through this disguise," Lu Yin said. His voice¡¯s sound, cadence, and aura were perfectly identical to the real Xing Kai. Lu Yin was not actually trying to obtain Hen Xin''s personal battle force cultivation art by impersonating Xing Kai, but rather themon cultivation art that the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate gave to all of their people. Naturally, if Lu Yin could get something better, that would be wonderful.

    Xing Kai finally spoke up, his voice bitter. "You''re ruthless."

    He then suddenlyshed out and tried to punch Lu Yin in the head.

    Lu Yin simply lifted a hand and casually caught the approaching fist.

    Xing Kai was incredibly strong, and his body was far stronger than any of his peers¡¯. But unfortunately, he was facing Lu Yin, a man who had once shattered aurelian force with nothing more than physical strength and the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. There was absolutely no one who couldpare to Lu Yin in terms of physical strength.

    Xing Kai''s fist was held in ce by Lu Yin, tight within Lu Yin''s palm, Xing Kai gritted his teeth, but he remained silent despite the fact that he felt like his fist was about to be crushed.

    Lu Yin released the fist, and Xing Kai retreated a few steps while panting heavily. The difference in their strength was just too much.

    "You¡¯re definitely on the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s ten-man team for this uing wager. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you go," Lu Yin said.

    Xing Kai lowered his arms and stared at Lu Yin. "Aside from the ancient cultivation arts, the most important thing to improving battle force is spirit. This was already known in our time, but we just didn¡¯t have any cultivation arts for battle force. Do you really want to improve your battle force? Then the only way to do so is by improving your spirit. There aren¡¯t any shortcuts.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "I know that. I want to obtain aurelian force, but I never thought about trying to take shortcuts. Just wait here, and if you get bored, there are a bunch of strong people over there, though don¡¯t be afraid of getting your ass kicked.¡±

    Lu Yin pointed to a distant ce on Zenith Mountain before leaving.

    Back on Sword Mountain, Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain away. While he had adopted Xing Kai¡¯s identity, Lu Yin actually had no idea as to what sort of information he might gain ess to. Sword Mountain was as far as Lu Yin was willing to go within the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate; if he learned something from the members of Team Resolution, he would most likely need to escape if he was exposed, and that meant that he would have to escape from Team Resolution itself.

    Lu Yin moved onto the house that he had been assigned as Old Hei. He revealed himself openly and covered his body with six lined battle force before smashing the house with a hand. Everything within 100 meters waspletely pulverized.

    Everyone nearby turned to look at the shattered house.

    A middle-aged man emerged from the void, and he looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "Captain Xing Kai, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, "That person was sent by an enemy, so he had to die."

    This middle-aged man was the only person on Sword Mountain who possessed runes at the one-tribtion Envoy level. Once Lu Yin saw him in person, he knew that the man had not reached this level of strength with battle force, domain, and spiritual force. This man was not a member of Team Resolution, but rather an independent cultivator who had cultivated with pure spiritual force.

    In addition to the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, many other people had been sealed in the frozen ancient battlefield, and this man had been one of them.

    After hearing Xing Kai''s exnation, the middle-aged man dismissed the matter. "If he was an enemy and you killed him, then fine. However, don¡¯t act on your own without saying anything again. At least say something. That man was able to pass through the assessment, so he was clearly a bit talented."

    Xing Kai said nothing in response, but simply turned around and left.

    Lu Yin did not know Xing Kai very well, but he had heard from Wen Sansi and others of the Ten Arbiters that Xing Kai was a simple and straightforward person who was not very good at socializing. He remained silent most of the time, not because he was a cold person, but rather because he genuinely did not know how to talk to people.

    In order to not be discovered as a fraud, Lu Yin¡¯s best option was to say as little as possible.

    The middle-aged man returned to his own home without even thinking about Lu Yin¡¯s behavior as Xing Kai.

    A short ways away from the shattered house, Xi Yue watched as Xing Kai disappeared. Clearly, Lu Yin had changed his appearance again, recing Xing Kai this time. Xi Yue did not know how to react to this development.

    Xing Kai, the former War King of the Ten Arbiters, had just been reced by Lu Yin without anyone being able to even sense a fight. How was this not a bit absurd?

    Further away stood the other four people who had passed the examination. They were horrified to see Old Hei¡¯s house destroyed, and they all went back to their own quarters. All of them became very nervous, as they had not expected this assessment process to actually threaten their lives.

    Lu Yin had acted in order to remove the danger of having Old Hei¡¯s identity exposed. After that, he returned to the pond to wait for the Team Resolution members to arrive. However, he was extremely impatient.

    Watching Xing Kai maintain six lined battle force over his body for an extended period of time meant that there was a benefit to doing so. Since Lu Yin had nothing better to do, he felt that he might as well copy Xing Kai after rolling his die.

    Lu Yin stepped a foot into the pond and quickly reached the bottom. There was no one on Sword Mountain who was capable of observing Lu Yin.

    He lifted a hand and brought out his die. It slowly spun in the air as Lu Yin thought for a bit. Finally, he set his cosmic ring aside.

    He could not risk rolling Possession at this time. Even though he desperately wanted to do so and get more information about what had happened over thest twenty years, Lu Yin simply did not have enough star essence to do so. His funds had not changed since twenty years ago.

    The true universe had been emptied, and the value of the star essence had risen multiple times over. If Lu Yin wanted to get more, the only possibility was to do so in the Perennial World. Until then, he would have to be very stingy with his star essence.

    He watched as the die slowly came to a stop on five pips.

    Gift Copy was useless, so he tapped the die again and watched as it slowly came to a stop on four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin grabbed his cosmic ring and entered the Timestop Space.

    After entering the isted space, Lu Yin felt much more at ease, and he immediately started training with his battle force. He started with one lined battle force, and he decided that he would only move on to two lined battle force after bing confident that he could maintain one lined battle force for a long time.

    Even if this method proved useless, it would at least not harm him.

    After two days passed, two people emerged from the void and stepped onto Sword Mountain. Their overwhelming auras caused the mountain itself to quiver, and everyone looked up in admiration. The members of Team Resolution had arrived.

    Hen Xin had been the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate during the Heavens Sect era, and during that period, there had been two requirements for someone to join Team Resolution.

    As the name indicated, resolution was the very foundation of Team Resolution.

    Hen Xin had risen up from being an ordinary person to the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. His resolution was something that ordinary people could not even imagine. When he had been an Enlighter, he had managed to open his three meridian points, and the difficulty in doing so was something that could only be imagined for someone with no background or support.

    If it was said that regr cultivators would need to endure five points of suffering, then Hen Xin had endured eight points of suffering. To join Team Resolution, people had to endure at least six points of suffering to qualify.

    Every single member of the team was extremely loyal to Hen Xin, and none of them were afraid of death.

    On top of that, each member had abat strength that could suppress an opponent with a power level of over a million.

    When the two members of Team Resolution arrived, Lu Yin emerged from the pond. He took a deep breath and then approached the two people. Only two days had passed for the outside world, but Lu Yin had experienced nearly two years.

    Initially, Lu Yin had simply wanted to continue until he stabilized his six lined battle force and could maintain it for an extended amount of time. However, as he progressed, he found himself unable to stop. He shrouded his entire body with battle force and maintained it for a long time. In doing so, he found that his battle force condensed more and more, and the color also darkened. Sure enough, this method of training battle force was highly effective.

    Also, this was not merely a method for cultivating battle force.

    After covering his body with battle force for half a month, Lu Yin discovered that his battle force had be visible to the naked eye. It looked like a tattoo that had slowly spread across his body, seeped down into his body as well, and etched itself into his deepest parts.

    This process took half a month. Once the battle force could no longer be seen at all, Lu Yin discovered that his one lined battle force had gained the strength to match an Explorer.

    His battle force had not vanished, but had instead been branded inside his body in the same manner that it had previously appeared around his body.

    Lu Yin had discovered an entirely new world for battle force, and he became very interested in this training method. The human body was not as simple as he had previously believed, and he realized that in addition to simply raising his physical strength, this method of branding his internal body with battle force was also possible.

    In the same manner as star energy, it was possible to force battle force to prate the inner depths of one¡¯s body.

    Why had there never been any mention of this method in the Fifth Maind? Was this because the passing down of battle force cultivation methods had been broken?

    Regardless, Lu Yin had immersed himself in this new cultivation method, as he found it highly intriguing.

 Chapter 2080: Internal And External Cultivation

    Chapter 2080: Internal And External Cultivation

    Lu Yin had spent a whole month maintaining two lined battle force before it prated his body deeply enough to disappear.

    At this moment, his battle force still only possessed the strength of an Explorer, but it was as powerful as a peak Explorer with a power level of over 40,000.

    Such a speed of improvement was a bit unreasonable. If a normal person trained in this method, would they be able to improve theirbat strength from a power level of just over 10,000 to over 40,000 in a month? It was absolutely impossible.

    On top of that, one also had to have already mastered two lined battle force.

    If someone was starting from scratch, then Lu Yin felt quite confident that this battle force training method was much slower than cultivating with star energy. Not everyone had a strong enough physical body to handle it either. This method not only required adequate time, but also for the person¡¯s body to be able to handle the strain of the battle force.

    Essentially, Lu Yin was re-cultivating the Exploration realm with a foundation of a three-tribtion Envoy. Naturally, he would proceed very quickly. If a normal person attempted this method, they would struggle greatly.

    Next, Lu Yin moved on to three lined battle force, and Lu Yin took two and a half months toplete this stage.

    He continued on to four lined battle force, and that took him a full five months.

    Next was five lined battle force, and that took over nine months for him to seed.

    Lu Yin had been in the middle of training with six lined battle force when the two members of Team Resolution arrived. He had already spent more than three months training that level of battle force when he left the Timestop Space, but a conservative estimate was at least ten more months, or just over a full year, to master this level of battle force.

    Lu Yin had no idea how long it had taken Xing Kai to cultivate to six lined battle force, but Lu Yin expected him to have taken much longer than himself; he had taken almost two years to reach his current level.

    Once the five lined battle force had been branded inside Lu Yin¡¯s body, the destructive power that he was able to release with it was equal to a Hunter.

    This showed just how powerful even the public battle force cultivation art that the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate possessed was. This method could allow battle force to rece stellr energy as the predominant cultivation method for the Fifth Maind, and itpletely subverted all preconceptions that human civilization had possessed concerning battle force earlier.

    It had to be understood that Lu Yin''s ten lined battle force was onlyparable to the strength of an Enlighter, and such battle force was already near the peak of what the Fifth Maind understood to be possible.

    With such a limitation, how could battle force ever rece stellr energy?

    However, the proper method of cultivating battle force was finally being spread.

    If this was true of battle force, then what about domain? What about spiritual force? In the Heavens Sect era, there had to have been in-depth research into alternate cultivation methods because all sorts of cultivation methods had flourished during that era. The Origin Progenitor himself had encouraged the creation and development of alternate methods, rather than making everyone following his own cultivation method of stellr energy.

    It was a true pity that the destruction of the Mainds had caused most alternate cultivation methods to be lost either entirely or partially. Once stellr energy was taken away from the Fifth Maind, humanity¡¯s strength had been reduced by more than half.

    Xing Kai arrived in the Sword Array za where the two people from Team Resolution had already appeared.

    The two people looked quite ordinary, and the only difference between them from ordinary people was their eyes, which held an extremely firm determination. From Lu Yin''s perspective, this determination looked more like ignorance. It was willful ignorance regarding a certain thing or person that would normally be considered faith, and these two people¡¯s faith had permanently marked them.

    There was also a familiar scent that Lu Yin picked up from these two people: the blood of the battlefield.

    These two people were like two wild beasts that had been let out of a cage. Every breath and movement that they took caused other people to automatically put up their guard due to the bloodlust that assaulted them.

    "Only five people this time?" one of the two Team Resolution members asked. There was a scar on his face that also divided his face in two as it stretched across from the corner of one eye. The man was truly hideous.

    "Yes. The others were unqualified," Xing Kai answered softly.

    The two people frowned, and Scarface replied, "This isn¡¯t enough. Go ahead and lower the requirements, but anyone who passes the lowered threshold won¡¯t qualify to join an affiliate team. We¡¯ll send them into one of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s external battle teams."

    "Understood," Xing Kai replied.

    The other person from Team Resolution gave Xing Kai an odd look. "You aren¡¯t saying very much today."

    Lu Yin was startled by thisment; was he being less talkative than Xing Kai? Could it just be that Xing Kai normally got along quite well with these two? That did not seem to be the case.

    Confronted by two people from Team Resolution, Lu Yin quickly thought back to his conversation with Xing Kai, and he subconsciously raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "My cultivation isn¡¯t progressing very well, so I''m a little worried."

    Scarface stared at Xing Kai, and then the void suddenly began to burn. The phenomena passed right over Lu Yin''s body like ripples that burned the void passing by. It was aurelian force.

    Lu Yin reflexively put up his defenses, and nine lined battle force appeared around his body, but the aurelian force easily crushed such resistance.

    Scarface only released his aurelian force for a brief moment before retracting it. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry; your cultivation speed is actually quite fast, and it is evenparable to what we were capable of using at your level. The gatemaster will appreciate your progress."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief as he nodded. "I understand."

    He was lucky that he had tried the training method he had picked up from Xing Kai while using Timestop, as otherwise he would have been exposed in that instance. He could not ept failing this soon at this juncture.

    The other Team Resolution member nced over at Scarface, who nodded. He stopped paying attention to Xing Kai, and he instead focused on Xi Yue and the other four applicants. "Let''s get started and see if any of them has any actual talent."

    At that moment, Scarface''s eyes grew cold, and he released his aurelian force once again. The void started to burn above the five people¡¯s heads, and the phenomena crashed down upon them.

    Lu Yin was startled. What was going on?

    "The gatemaster has told us that human cultivation can be categorized as internal or external. For internal, there are methods such as star energy and death energy. It¡¯s when any one of those various energies flow through the meridians, or even through blood. As for external, that¡¯s all about the physical body. Normal people just see flesh and bones, but that flesh was what the Third Maind¡¯s ancient Dao Monarch developed to create the colossal giants, the lesser giants, and all kinds of external powers.¡±

    "External cultivation is in no way inferior to internal cultivation, and it¡¯s simply that the human bodycks the necessary key. Right now, we are providing that key, so it¡¯s all up to whether you can trigger this external power," Scarface stated indifferently.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard such a philosophy regarding cultivation. Was the human body really divided into internal and external powers? In that case, was it an internal or external power when battle force prated a person¡¯s body? What about people¡¯s innate gifts?

    Lu Yin stared at Xi Yue and the other four people who were being suppressed by the aurelian force, and he started wondering just what Scarface was attempting to do at this moment. He had mentioned something about how this bombardment of aurelian force could act as a key to unlock the potential of these five people for external cultivation methods.

    Puff!

    One of the five people spat out blood and copsed.

    The observing member of Team Resolution frowned at the sight. "Trash."

    As soon as he spoke, another person copsed. Soon, the other two youths crumpled to the ground, leaving only Xi Yue still standing.

    "They can¡¯t even pass the illusion assessment? They¡¯re the lowest sort of trash." The people from Team Resolution were clearly dissatisfied.

    Scarface stared at Xi Yue. At this moment, the ck cloth that had hidden her body was torn off, and her scarred face was revealed. However, her ugly appearance did not phase the two people from Team Resolution in the slightest. Her appearance was not worth even acknowledging to the two of them, as they were only concerned with how long she could endure.

    There had been a woman on Team Resolution, but unfortunately, she had died. There were currently only five men on the team, and they wanted another woman to join. Appearance really did not matter.

    Lu Yin watched Xi Yue, hoping that she could endure just a bit longer.

    Lu Yin absolutely wanted to leave the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate soon, but he understood that that was not necessarily true for Xi Yue as well. If she wanted to genuinely join the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, Lu Yin would be happy to allow her to pursue her own goals.

    There was a muffled snort, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Xi Yue''s mouth. She grew pale, but she remained standing.

    Scarface''s battle force never fluctuated at all, but Xi Yue was like a piece of paper fluttering in the wind after being caught by a storm: at risk of being shredded at any moment.

    After Xi Yue seeded in persisting for a while, Scarface nodded, and the middle-aged man who stayed on Sword Mountain and cultivated spiritual force suddenly appeared and cast an illusion technique on Xi Yue.

    Lu Yin had no idea what sort of illusion was used, but he was very curious.

    He watched as Xi Yue fell into the illusion, and her expression twisted crazily from the pain she had shown thus far. More blood leaked from her mouth, and her entire body seemed to grow more excited. Suddenly, she let out a burst ofughter, and dark golden lines appeared within her four lined battle force. Those dark golden quickly took over her battle force and covered her entire body. She had just leaped from four lines to six lines.

    Scarface looked pleasantly surprised. This girl was a true genius.

    The other member of Team Resolution stood next to Scarface, and he also revealed an expression of pleasant surprise. "Finally! At least this trip wasn¡¯t a waste. Xing Kai, when you went through this process, you managed to rise three levels in one go, so it¡¯s pretty impressive that this girl managed to improve by two levels."

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was this actually possible?

    Xi Yue was not exceptionally talented in battle force, so why had she managed to instantly improve by two levels? Her results were almost as good as Xing Kai, but the reality was that Xi Yue¡¯s talent was in no wayparable to Xing Kai¡¯s.

    Lu Yin nced over at the middle-aged Envoy. Was her improvement somehow rted to the illusion she had faced? Or was it because she had endured Scarface''s aurelian force? He had mentioned that they carried the key to unlocking the human body¡¯s potential with external cultivation. Whatever it was that they had done, they had allowed Xi Yue¡¯s battle force to take an incredible leap forward. How had they aplished this?

    It was no wonder that Hen Xin had suggested to have Team Resolution teach the disciples of the other Heavenly Gates battle force cultivation methods. The other Heavenly Gates had not been able to even deny the appeal of such a thing, and they had only been able to propose a wager to alter some details. They also all wanted to allow this battle force cultivation method to spread throughout the Fifth Maind.

    Boom!

    Xi Yue copsed the moment Scarface retracted his aurelian force. She had overdrawn her body, and so he fainted and fell to the ground.

    Scarface asked some people to take care of her and allow her to recover. "She¡¯s a good seed. If she trains hard, it¡¯s not impossible for her to eventually join Team Resolution."

    The spiritual force cultivatormented, "While I have no idea what sort of desire was aroused in her from the illusion, I can tell you that she is motivated by hatred. Without that, she probably wouldn¡¯t have broken through to six lined battle force."

    Scarface did not care. "The reasons don¡¯t matter. The fact that she was able to improve by two levels shows that she¡¯s good enough to cultivate battle force.¡±

    He then nced over at Lu Yin. "She¡¯s still a bit worse than you. Back then, you improved by three levels, and you¡¯re still steadily improving. You¡¯re also quite talented in battle force, and you¡¯ve managed to stabilize your battle force at six lines within just five years. That¡¯s even faster than us. Even back in our era, you would be considered quite outstanding.¡±

    "The times may have changed, but your weakness is the fault of your era rather than your own. Even in the worst eras, there are still geniuses."

    Lu Yin really wanted to p the man¡¯s face at this moment. This era was weak? What a joke! Not even Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, or Leng Qing, the gatemaster of the Celestial de Gate, would dare to say such things about the current era. They had personally witnessed the heroes of the current era and the fact that they had almost matched the glory of the Heavens Sect era. Where was the difference between the two eras?

    "We actually didn¡¯te here for them this time, but rather for you. To be precise, we came for ten of you." The second person from Team Resolution looked at Xing Kai.

    "The people from the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate dared to make a bet with my Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, which is absurd. They want ess to our battle force cultivation methods, but they don¡¯t want to pay the required price. How can that be allowed? You ten must win, and you must do so wlessly."

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "They don''t understand the true power of battle force. We will definitely win."

    "Well said!" Scarface praised. He gave a rare smile. "Lu Buzheng and the other people from our era may understand the potential strength of battle force, but they never delved into it in our era. Battle force is something that belongs to my Third Maind alone. If humanity wants to spread our cultivation methods, then this ce must first belong to my Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate and our gatemaster must be a Progenitor. You¡¯ve been given the opportunity to be the gatemaster¡¯s disciple, so don''t let him down."

 Chapter 2081: Eras

    Chapter 2081: Eras

    Lu Yin pretended to be excited by Scarface''s words, and he lifted a hand to touch the back of his head before earnestly saying, "I know that I still need to work hard. I''ll go back to train now."

    He then immediately turned and left.

    Scarface watched Xing Kai leave, feeling quite satisfied. "That kid¡¯s straightforward, loyal, and isn¡¯t held back by his own strength. He¡¯s quite well suited to join our Team Resolution."

    "That¡¯s true. Out of the ten people on our representative team, four are from the so-called ¡®Perennial World,¡¯ which makes it impossible for them to ever join us. Of the rest, the one I¡¯m the most optimistic about is Xing Kai. After him, there¡¯s also Dai Ao. While he¡¯s much weaker than Xing Kai, he¡¯s quite talented at battle force, and his innate gift of gravity is almost perfectly matched for battle force," the other Team Resolution member said.

    Scarface smiled. "I¡¯m actually quite optimistic about that girl. She has a unique way of fighting her enemies, and she has the potential to be a rare soldier who can heal. She¡¯s also the one who¡¯s able to heal. She¡¯s the mostpatible with us."

    "But she doesn¡¯t have the right personality to be a part of Team Resolution. Not to mention, the way she heals¡­" The second man fell silent at this moment.

    Scarface shrugged. "Her healing might be difficult for people to ept, but it still works. It all boils down to her own development. If one is able to get the gatemaster¡¯s attention, they¡¯ll be one of the top powerhouses in this universe. I really want to see who will end up being so lucky."

    ¡­

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief as he returned to the pond. He had seeded in deceiving the two men from Team Resolution and was still safe. All he needed to do now was wait for the other nine members of his team to appear.

    Judging by what the two men had said, they two had specifically been sent out from Team Resolution to train the representative team before thepetition between the Heavenly Gates.

    Lu Yin stepped back into the pond and slowly closed his eyes. He rested for a few days as he allowed his die to recover. He had absolutely no desire to interact with the two men from Team Resolution again during this time, as it was exhausting to put on a convincing act.

    In the Neoverse, the territory of the former Seven Courts had be the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s headquarters.

    Hen Xin calmly stared at Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum from a distance. Since arriving at this location, he had looked at the tomb more times than he could count.

    The more one understood Progenitor Chen, the more amazing his strength became. He had cultivated nine clones, and each clone had possessed the power to fight against a Progenitor on their own. Combined, those clones had actually killed multiple Progenitors. These were the reasons why the Fifth Maind admired Progenitor Chen so much.

    However, what Hen Xin cared about the most was the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    People in the current era did not properly understand the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but things had been different during the Heavens Sect era. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had belonged to extremely powerful Progenitors who had been almost at the same level as the Three Realms Six Dao. However, Progenitor Chen had controlled two Mountains and one Sea, which was enough to ce him at the peak even during humanity¡¯s peak during the Heavens Sect era.

    "It¡¯s possible that you truly were just about as powerful as a Dao Monarch," Hen Xin murmured to himself.

    A person approached behind the gatemaster. It was Chu Yuan. "Why have you returned, Gatemaster? Shouldn''t you be on the frontlines?"

    "The Heavenly Gates will soon have theirpetition, so the battlefield on the frontline was handed over to Wang Si and the others," Hen Xin answered indifferently.

    Chu Yuan walked over next to Hen Xin. The older man frowned slightly. He was a Semi-Progenitor while Chu Yuan was simply an Envoy. Such behavior was a bit too casual.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the Dao Chosen had acted on behalf of the heavens, which had qualified them to act on the same level as the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. However, the times had since changed.

    "I personally watched as Progenitor Chen destroyed Progenitor Nan. The entire time, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect did not dare to act rashly. He was truly impressive and invincible," Chu Yuanmented.

    Hen Xin had already heard this before. "It''s truly a pity that the sword is gone. I have no idea what time it may have disappeared into."

    "There¡¯s no rush. It will definitely reappear," Chu Yuan replied. He had told Hen Xin everything that had happened during the trip through time and space, with the exception of one detail: Chu Yuan had never mentioned that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword could only be controlled by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. If Chu Yuan shared this information, not only was it possible that he would lose Hen Xin¡¯s support, but it was also possible that the Semi-Progenitor would force Chu Yuan to share the Origin Sutra with him.

    The Origin Sutra was the key to Chu Yuan¡¯s ability to control the sword.

    He was confident that Heluo Mavis would also say nothing, and as for Leng Qing, the Celestial de Gatemaster had spent all of his time on the front lines since he had returned to the current era, devoting himself to protecting humanity. However, it was hard to say what the Sixth Maind¡¯s two Semi-Progenitors would do.

    "How prepared are you? Are you confident in bing the new Dao Chosen?" Hen Xin asked as he looked over at Chu Yuan. Part of the reason why the older man remained so polite towards Chu Yuan was because he hoped to use the Dao Chosen to gain Destina¡¯s assistance.

    Chu Yuan stared at Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum with his hands sped behind his back. "Regardless of whether it¡¯s this era or the Heavens Sect era, there is no one who can take the position of Dao Chosen from me. I am the only Dao Chosen to have been acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor himself."

    "Good. I also believe in you." Hen Xin nodded.

    Chu Yuan''s eyes flickered, and he could not help thinking of Lu Yin. That person was an absolute monster. While the two of them had not fought each other at full force, Lu Yin had clearly kept many of his abilities hidden. This was also ignoring the facts that his stellr energy reserves were beyond terrifying and that he actually also knew the Origin Sutra.

    If Lu Yin were still alive, Chu Yuan would be extremely cautious, but since he was dead, the only two people who coulde anywhere close to being Chu Yuan¡¯s opponents were Heluo Mavis and Sky Garan.

    ¡­

    In the Outerverse, Heluo Mavis waszily leaning against the trunk of the divine tree that grew on the back of Ancestor Tortoise. The creature was still in Earth¡¯s sr system.

    Below Helua Mavis, Yuhua Mavis was staring at a flower in her hand. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

    "Girl, do you me your ancestor for stealing your opportunity?" Heluo Mavis asked as she looked down at Yuhua Mavis.

    Yuhua looked up at Heluo. "What opportunity?"

    "Thepetition between the Dao Chosen." Heluo Mavis¡¯s brows rose.

    Yuhua Mavis waspletely unfazed. "Even if I was allowed topete, I can¡¯t defeat Sky Garan. He¡¯s another Dao Chosen from the past, just like you. He¡¯spletely out of my reach."

    Heluo Mavisid back down. "Honestly, it¡¯s a bit unfair to have people your age trying topete for the position of Dao Chosen with us, as we¡¯ve all been cultivating for much longer than any of you. Strictly speaking, even without the time we were locked in that sourcebox, we¡¯re still not close to being the same age, so you don¡¯t need to worry. Even if I do be the Dao Chosen, I won¡¯t hold the position for very long, and I¡¯ll pass it on to you when I give it up.

    "Speaking of that, it''s really a pity that Lu Yin¡¯s dead. He¡¯d be the only person from this era who couldpete with us, if he were still alive."

    Yuhua Mavis looked up. He was supposed to be dead, but was he really? It was truly a pity.

    ¡­

    Elsewhere in the Outerverse, in the western weaves, Sky Garan stepped out and looked to the south. He waspletely determined to win the position of Dao Chosen. He would bring the former glory of his Garan family back to the current era. Still, it was a pity that Lu Yin had died, as he would get the chance to demonstrate the power gap between them.

    ¡­

    Ten days quickly passed by, and Lu Yin lifted a hand at the bottom of the pond on Sword Mountain. It was time for him to roll his die again. He slowly tapped the die, and it spun around. It came to a stop, and Lu Yin felt quite lucky when he saw that his very first roll was four pips: Timestop.

    The further one progressed with battle force, the longer it took to stabilize.

    Ten months passed in the Timestop Space before his six lined battle force fully prated Lu Yin¡¯s body. His six lined battle force was now as powerful as an Enlighter with a power level of 200,000.

    He had taken an entire year to stabilize his six lined battle force, and yet, ording to the men from Team Resolution, Xing Kai had used five years to stabilize his first five levels of battle force. This meant that he would need to use at least five years to stabilize his six lined battle force, and quite possibly longer.

    Stabilized five lined battle force was as powerful as a Hunter, and given Xing Kai¡¯s talent, even if he cultivated with star energy, he would need at least ten years to improve his strength from the level of a Hunter to the level of an Enlighter. This meant that the time needed to cultivate battle force was quite simr to the time needed for cultivating with star energy.

    More and more, Lu Yin felt that cultivating with stellr energy was the easiest and most stable cultivation method.

    Battle force had extremely high demands for one¡¯s physical strength, and it also needed the true members of Team Resolution to unlock the cultivator¡¯s physical strength. There was no need to even mention death energy, as that method was extremely difficult for most people to cultivate, and it would destroy them if they were not very careful. Fatesand waspletely unpredictable. Compared to these cultivation methods, cultivating with stellr energy best suited the vast majority of humans.

    Two months passed, and Lu Yin¡¯s time in Timestop ran out, but he continued to roll his die.

    One pip: a Mavis Bank bank card fell out.

    Lu Yin shook his head. Those cards were worthless in the current universe. The Mavis Bank had already closed most of their branches, and there was nowhere to go to make a withdrawal.

    Again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw four pips again. He was quite lucky this time.

    As soon as he returned to the Timestop Space, Lu Yin resumed stabilizing his seven lined battle force.

    He had used a full year to stabilize his six lined battle force, and he had already determined that he would need at least a year and a half to do the same for the next level.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin emerged from his Timestop. His seven lined battle force had only just started to seep into his body, so he fully intended to continue.

    The next roll was three pips, and two screens of light appeared.

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do, as even if he had items he could Enhance, hecked the funds to do so.

    He needed to rest for ten more days.

    ¡­

    After those next ten days passed, Lu Yin raised a hand to resume rolling his die.

    When the die stopped, it showed six pips. Lu Yin¡¯s vision shifted, but the dark space almost immediately flickered away as he returned to reality. He had set his cosmic ring aside as usual. There was no way to acquire any more star essence in the Fifth Maind, so rolling Possession was useless at this point in time.

    The die soon spun again.

    Two pips: ckhole Disassembly. However, Lu Yin had nothing to disassemble, so he let out a long breath and tapped the die again.

    This was his third roll, and he could only roll his die four times each session, so Lu Yin was really hoping to see four pips again.

    As the die slowly came to a stop, it indeed showed four dots. Lu Yin clenched a fist, as his luck was still quite good.

    After so many years of training to stabilize his battle force, Lu Yin managed to get about half-way through stabilizing his eight lined battle force. Given another year, he would reach the end of that level as well.

    At the moment, his seven lined battle force was as strong as a peak Enlighter¡¯s, which suggested that stabilized eight lined battle force would possess the power of a one-tribtion Envoy.

    With such strength, it would not matter even if one could not use their stellr energy. Strengthparable to a one-tribtion Envoy was enough for a person to stay alive almost anywhere in the universe.

    Thinking about this, Lu Yin tapped again, and then he watched as his die slowly spun around.

    He had not expected to be lucky enough to roll four pips again, but that was exactly what he got. The truth was that Lu Yin was rather exhausted and wanted a break, but since he had rolled Timestop again, he could only grit his teeth and focus on stabilizing his eight lined battle force.

    He had already spent six sessions in his Timestop Space, and in each session, he had trained for close to a year before leaving. This had ended up burning through almost 100 million star essence. He still had 76.6 billion star essence in his cosmic ring, and while that sounded like a lot, it was nowhere near enough.

    Thisst round in the Timestop Space allowed Lu Yin to fully stabilize his eight lined battle force, and sure enough, it was just as strong as a one-tribtion Envoy.

    However, the destructive power of stabilized battle force had apletely different feeling than stellr energy. Lu Yin could sense that his body had been strengthened, and he was certain that his Hollow Palm was more powerful than it had ever been. His peak was still his golden ten lined battle force, but the strength that it gave him waspletely different from the past.

    If hebined it with the Lu family¡¯s visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, Lu Yin could not even estimate how powerful his Hollow Palm would be.

 Chapter 2082: The Next Batch

    Chapter 2082: The Next Batch

    Lu Yin only needed to stabilize his nine lined and ten lined battle force at this point. However, he had a feeling that stabilizing these two levels would require at least as much time as all of the previous levelsbined, and likely even more.

    Two days after Lu Yin finished stabilizing his battle force, a spacecraft arrived at Sword Mountain. The other nine members of thepetition team had arrived.

    People jumped out of the vessel one after another tond in the Sword Array za.

    The za was surrounded by members of Team Resolution''s affiliate teams, and in front of them stood the two members of Team Resolution itself, along with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at the nine people who had arrived in surprise. He actually knew most of these people.

    The first one to appear was Wang Yi, who stood in the za with an indifferent expression on her face. She looked quite arrogant, but while she had practiced the Wang family¡¯s Four Arts before, she had never cultivated battle force.

    Close to Wang Yi stood two people from the Xia family¡¯s Lin''s generation: Xia Linyue and Shan Lingui. While Lu Yin had never really interacted with the two before, he had known of them due to his time in the Perennial World.

    Within the Xia family, the Lin generation was second only to the Tai generation, which meant that these two were second only to Wu Taibai, Xia Taili, and Xia Shenfei, who naturally held the highest status in all the younger generations.

    Lu Yin had not expected to learn that these two had also never trained in battle force before the recent changes to the universe.

    Behind those three, Darkvoid was quietly standing. The man had absolutely no presence to him, and he was someone whom Lu Yin certainly had not expected to see.

    Lu Yin had lost contact with many of his ssmates from Astral-10, but he still remembered Darkvoid. The man had been one of Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds, and he had an innate gift that allowed him to detonate the void. Lu Yin had felt that Darkvoid was the most mysterious of the students when they had first entered Astral-10.

    Seeing Darkvoid immediately reminded Lu Yin of Wei Rong. This was because after Leaf King had died, Wei Rong had been the one to take control of Shamrock Enterprise and all thepany¡¯s hidden seeds. One such seed had been exposed within the Wen family when Lu Yin had been sowing discord between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World¡¯s approaching army.

    Could Darkvoid have been sent by Wei Rong? Did he really have some talent for battle force?

    In addition to Darkvoid, Lu Yin saw another of his old ssmates, and this person was thest person he had expected to see. Even if Lu Yin were killed, he would never have expected to find Coco in this sort of ce.

    Was she actually able to cultivate battle force? However, even if that was true, how had she caught the eye of Team Resolution?

    Lu Yin stared at Coco, and Coco looked back at him. She quickly ducked her head, growing a bit embarrassed.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Team Resolution was a group of ruthless and decisive individuals, so why had they recruited a girl like Coco? Lu Yin just could not understand it at all.

    Close to Coco stood another of Lu Yin¡¯s acquaintances: Dai Ao. He had also been a student at Astral-7 when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy. Dai Ao cultivated the Starburst Palm battle technique, and he also had the impressive innate gift of gravity. Lu Yin felt that Dai Ao was most likely very well suited for cultivating battle force, especially with his innate gift of gravity.

    People who had believed themselves to have already been eliminated by others of their generation were once more finding a ce for themselves on the main stage of the universe. Battle force had always been a vastly different cultivation method than stellr energy or star energy, and with battle force spreading across the Fifth Maind, many unknown geniuses had been discovered. People like Darkvoid and Dai Ao were given another chance to shine.

    Lu Yin became increasingly curious as to why these people were valued by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    In addition to the people Lu Yin recognized, he also saw two strangers: a man and a woman. Neither of them looked to be very old, and their eyes were fixated on the two men from Team Resolution, staring at the two with open admiration.

    Lu Yin nced across the nine team members. Huh?

    Lu Yin noticed that there was one more person standing behind everyone else, and he blinked. Xia Luo?

    Xia Luo looked up and met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. There was a twinkle in his eyes, and he smiled and gave Lu Yin the slightest nod. He behaved as properly as ever.

    Lu Yin arched a brow, though he did not find it overly surprising to discover that Xia Luo was qualified to join this team. Lu Yin had always had the impression that Xia Luo could excel at any cultivation method that he attempted.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and took his ce with the other nine team members before turning to face the two men from Team Resolution.

    Scarface looked at the ten people in front of him. "You will soon face the challengers from the other Heavenly Gates. My Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate has always excelled and focused on cultivating battle force, domain, and spiritual force. Thus, I will not ept your defeat even in death. This means that if you lose, you will also die on that battlefield."

    "We will never lose!" Dai Ao yelled as he stared at the two men from Team Resolution with a fanatical gleam in his eyes. However, he was the only one to even respond, as the other nine people were either distracted or, like Coco, embarrassed by the sudden outburst.

    Scarface nced at Dai Ao before continuing. "Over the course of the next month, we will continue to push you further and further. This month, you will face your limits, and I hope to see at least some of you break through those limits. Even though none of the other Heavenly Gates have the ability to teach their people how to cultivate battle force, it¡¯s not impossible for you to be unlucky enough to face some incredible genius who¡¯s managed to achieve nine lined battle force or even higher. This is why I hope that you will all push yourselves further and won¡¯t be satisfied with your current progress."

    It was at this moment that Scarface nced at Lu Yin.

    This caught Lu Yin off guard. Was it possible that he was the only one out of all ten representatives for this challenge who had achieved nine lined battle force? Wait, that was Xing Kai, not Lu Yin.

    If this was urate, then Xing Kai''s talent for battle force was even more impressive than Lu Yin had previously thought.

    "We¡¯ll start right now," Scarface stated. At that moment, the spiritual force cultivator stepped forward from behind Scarface.

    The middle-aged man looked at the ten people in front of him and then slowly said, "I already know that all of you are geniuses, and some of you are evenparable to one-tribtion Envoys. However, I do hope that you won¡¯t resist my technique. I¡¯m going to use my spiritual force to highlight whatever desires lie hidden in the depths of your heart and then draw them out to trigger everyone¡¯s potential. If you resist me, the illusions will fail, and this training will bepletely meaningless.

    "However, none of you need to worry, as I won¡¯t be able to actually observe whatever illusion you fall into. That will be something only you will be able to witness."

    The second man from Team Resolution grew impatient. "They¡¯ve already gone through this process many times before, so let''s just get started without all the nonsense."

    The middle-aged man reacted by going still. A glint flickered in his eyes, and then his spiritual force surged forth. He was notunching an attack, but the spiritual force moved forward like mercury spreading across the ground.

    Lu Yin only felt a brief pressure on his mind, and then nothing. He was a three-tribtion Envoy, and he also practiced the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. Both of these details meant that Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force far surpassed the middle-aged man¡¯s, so expecting the man to be able to submerge Lu Yin in an illusion was simply a joke.

    The other team members gradually entered their own illusions, and as they did, each of them showed rather odd reactions.

    To Lu Yin''s left, Dai Ao appeared to be fine, and he seemed quite calm, but his fists were clenched tightly.

    Just a little ways away from Dai Ao, Coco suddenly took out her innate gift that looked like a syringe. It was three meters long with a terrifying needle, but she held it in front of her and stabbed it forward. Again and again, she repeated the same forceful motion, her mouth pursed in a tight line. Lu Yin was not entirely sure why, but he found a bit of pleasure in seeing the reactions of the two men from Team Resolution and all the surrounding affiliate team members as well: all of them stared at Coco inplete stupefaction.

    Xia Linyue suddenly yelled, "Xia Shenfei, you¡¯ve lost today! From now on, I¡¯ll lead the Shen generation, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This person had a deep obsession if he was immediately seeing himself stomp on Xia Shenfei the moment he fell into the illusion.

    "Taili, you¡¯re mine! Xia Shenfei, you¡¯ve fallen this day, but because you are Taili¡¯s brother, I¡¯ll give you a bit of face and allow you to stay as a part of the Tai generation. However, all the resources previously allotted to you will be given to me. Hahahaha!" Shan Lingui roared in a disturbingly arrogant manner.

    On Lu Yin¡¯s other side, the man he did not recognize suddenly threw his arms open as he let out a maniacalugh. "I¡¯m the king of the world! I¡¯m invincible throughout the universe!"

    Scarface covered his face with a hand. This was better than watching a show.

    All nine of Xing Kai¡¯s teammates showed some sort of reaction or another. Even Xia Luo, who remained the most subdued, had an ever-growing smile on his face. Lu Yin wondered what the man was experiencing.

    Lu Yin felt that he should also show some sort of reaction, but what would be appropriate?

    Scarface was looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, and then suddenly gave a deep bow to the space in front of him. "Thank you, benefactor, for your instructions regarding battle force. I will make sure that I live up to benefactor¡¯s expectations and carry the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate further forward! I will lead Team Resolution to conquer the entire Fifth Maind and ensure that benefactor¡¯s name echoes throughout all time!"

    Scarface nced over at the other member of Team Resolution before looking back at Lu Yin with even greater appreciation than before. The two men were not able to see whether or not Lu Yin was experiencing an illusion, or what he was seeing.

    He was not using a technique that created a specific illusion on a person. Rather, it highlighted aspects of a person¡¯s mind with spiritual force and brought those aspects to the forefront in a manner that disyed a person¡¯s most primitive desires.

    What ¡°Xing Kai¡± was demonstrating were the deepest desires of his subconscious, his most primitive motivations.

    "When we get back, we need to suggest to the gatemaster that we should allow him to train with Team Resolution for a bit," Scarface mentioned.

    The other man immediately agreed. "The kid¡¯s both straightforward and loyal, not to mention quite talented with battle force. He¡¯s a good fit for Team Resolution, and it might not be long before he bes one of ourpanions."

    "Benefactor, your disciple is willing to do your bidding! I will raise the sky and clear all obstacles for you!" Lu Yin yelled again.

    Scarface''s eyes instantly went wide. It was a genuine wish of every member of Team Resolution to remove all obstacles for Gatemaster Hen Xin. Xing Kai¡¯s exposed desires perfectly matched that of the rest of Team Resolution.

    "Begin," Scarface quietly ordered.

    The other man raised a hand, and his battle force suddenly dropped down on the ten people.

    There was a split second when Lu Yin''s body trembled, but this was the moment when he realized that this was not an attack from the man from Team Resolution, nor was it a blunt pressure like it appeared, but rather guidance. This man¡¯s control of battle force was exquisite, and it seeped deep into the ten people¡¯s bodies to stimte their own battle force.

    Lu Yin found that he could not stop himself from releasing nine lined battle force across his entire body. Fortunately, this was what Xing Kai himself was capable of.

    Battle force appeared on the other nine people¡¯s bodies as well, and just as Lu Yin had suspected, not one other person had achieved nine lined battle force. The next best was Wang Yi, who had eight lined battle force. Everyone else possessed seven lined battle force.

    The agreement that the Heavenly Gates had reached was that the participants in thepetition would all be under the Envoy realm, and had to have started cultivating battle force after thepetition had been agreed upon. It had only been a bit more than ten years, so it was quite impressive for these people to have made so much progress in that amount of time.

    This was especially true of Xing Kai. He had managed to rise from nothing at all to possessing nine lined battle force in just over ten years. On top of that, he had even managed to stabilize his six lined battle force. This speed wasparable to what Lu Yin had aplished when he had first started cultivating battle force.

    "I hope that all of them can improve by a level during this month. That will give me at least a bit more confidence in them," Scarface quietlymented.

    Hispanion who was using his battle force on the ten people replied, "That should be possible. We can then use the remaining time to have them work on stabilizing their battle force. With that, they will definitely dominate the Heavenly Gatespetition."

    "We can¡¯t afford to be careless. Remember, this era¡¯s given birth to monsters like Lu Yin, so there¡¯s no reason why there can¡¯t be another one," Scarface cautioned.

    Lu Yin thought that this warning was a bit strange when he heard it. Why did Scarface seem so familiar with Lu Yin? Was this because Scarface himself was familiar with Lu Yin, or was the entire Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate familiar with him?

    The battle force continued to press down upon the ten people, and after a few days, the first one to reach a breakthrough was Coco. The girl had spent the recent days stabbing her syringe forward, and she suddenly broke through and was covered with eight lined battle force.

    Was it really that easy to cultivate battle force?

    When it came to cultivating battle force, aside from the necessaryprehension behind a breakthrough, the most important thing was spirit. Just what had Coco experienced within her illusion?

    After achieving eight lined battle force, Coco set her syringe down and wiped her forehead as though wiping away sweat. She then waved a hand. "Send the next batch over."

    Lu Yin was stunned. She was healing people, right? Batch? Just how many people had Coco healed in her illusion?

 Chapter 2083: Attack

    Chapter 2083: Attack

    Lu Yin still vividly remembered how, when they had been students at Astral-10, absolutely no one had ever wanted Coco¡¯s healing. Just the idea of being stabbed by such a terrifying needle gave Lu Yin the chills. Coco must have worked hard to hold back back then.

    Everyone else remained immersed in their own illusions as their battle force was guided through their bodies. Lu Yin spent a few days considering the matter before deciding to not resist the middle-aged man¡¯s spiritual force, as doing so rendered this entire trainingpletely meaningless.

    Lu Yin slowly rxed his spiritual force and allowed the middle-aged man''s spiritual force to guide his own mind along.

    Just a short bit of time passed, and Lu Yin found himself staring at the copse of the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm. Wailing echoed out from the four ruling powers, and their various experts surrendered one by one. The Ancestor Python was wrapped around the Mother Tree in the same way it had done so on the statue of the Origin Progenitor. Unfortunately, everything he was seeing was false.

    Lu Yin was fully aware that he was looking at an illusion, and he found it impossible to convince himself that what he was seeing was real. Sigh, this method really is useless for me.

    Lu Yin had already heard that the n was to use an entire month on this particr training method, but he did not have a month to waste away.

    Since he had already acquired the method for cultivating battle force, there was no need for Lu Yin to waste any more time.

    After considering the matter, Lu Yin pulled a candle out of his cosmic ring and lit it while the two men from Team Resolution were not paying attention.

    While it was impossible for Lu Yin to use any of his own internal energies, Truesight waspletely unaffected.

    The two men from Team Resolution and the middle-aged man all looked over at Lu Yin, confused. A candle?

    Lu Yin looked up and smiled at the three men. As the candle burned, enough runes topare to an eight-tribtion powerhouse erupted. This was a power level of 1.2 million, and the full force shot towards the two members of Team Resolution.

    Given the fact that they were both part of Team Resolution, the two men were ustomed to constantly fighting, and they maintained a highly vignt state. Still, they had never expected to suddenly receive such an attack at this moment.

    The countless runes smashed into the two men, and they reacted just in time to trigger their aurelian force at the same instance.

    A terrifying boom rang across Sword Mountain, and massive spatial tears opened up in every direction. A shockwave swept out that lifted everyone into the air.

    The two men from Team Resolution spat out blood. The overwhelming number of runes shattered their aurelian force. While they both had power levels of over a million, neither of them had passed their eighth tribtion yet. That,bined with a sneak attack, meant that they were instantly crushed by Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    He shot forward, grabbed Scarface, and left.

    The second man from Team Resolution was seriously injured, and he coughed up more blood. However, even with his consciousness fading, he managed to force himself to move and attack with a power vessel.

    Unfortunately for the man, Lu Yin had already activated his Netherworld River and disappeared.

    Everything happened so quickly that no one had any idea what happened, aside from the wounded member of Team Resolution.

    The middle-aged spiritual force cultivator had passed out at the very beginning of Lu Yin¡¯s assault, as he had also been caught up in the aftershocks of the runes¡¯ attack. Fortunately, he had not been directly hit by the attack, or else he would have instantly died.

    Xia Luo and the other eight people were tossed up into the air, and only after Lu Yin was gone were they able to even react. When they opened their eyes, they saw that Sword Mountain had been split asunder and that Scarface had disappeared.

    The second man from Team Resolution was beyond furious that Xing Kai had actually attacked them. No, he couldn¡¯t have been Xing Kai! Xing Kai doesn¡¯t have anywhere close to the level of strength needed to deal with us.

    The man endured his wounds as he pulled out his wireless jincan and immediately sent a report to Hen Xin.

    In the far distant Neoverse, Hen Xin was still staring at Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum, his thoughts unknown.

    When his wireless jincan trembled, he looked down at the message, and his expression changed drastically as he became furious. "Hen San was captured? By whom?"

    "I don''t know. They disguised themselves as Xing Kai and then suddenly attacked during the group training with the selected team. They used Gods'' Origin¡¯s technique," came the reply.

    Hen Xin clenched his fists. Truesight? Gods¡¯ Origin had no true powerhouses, and their most powerful expert had only passed three tribtions. How could any of their people have managed to attack and defeat both Hen San and Hen Qi1 at the same time?

    "How strong were they?" Hen Xin pressed.

    Hen Qi, the second man from Team Resolution who had been badly injured, felt ashamed as he answered, "I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" Hen Xin¡¯s rage was only growing.

    Hen Qi quickly exined, "The kidnapper disguised themselves as Xing Kai, and even their cultivation seemed to be exactly the same as Xing Kai''s. Neither of us were able to notice anything out of ce, but the fact that they were able to defeat both Hen San and I at the same time with Truesight means that they should have passed at least eight tribtions."

    "Gods'' Origin doesn''t have any eight-tribtion experts," Hen Xin retorted, "Stay right where you are and don''t move."

    Hen Xin then immediately called Elder Gong.

    Gods¡¯ Origin was located within the area that Honor Heavenly Gate protected and controlled. While Gods¡¯ Origin was not a part of the Honor Heavenly Gate, they were still under Elder Gong¡¯s protection.

    Elder Gong was surprised to receive a sudden call from Hen Xin.

    "I want to speak with someone from Gods'' Origin," Hen Xin stated very bluntly.

    Elder Gong frowned. "It¡¯s still unknown whether the Rune Progenitor is still alive or not, and we have no way of knowing whether or not runes will one day vanish from the universe. Truesight will never be able to be amon cultivation method in the Fifth Maind, so there¡¯s no use even if you do get a hold of Truesight."

    Hen Xin had considered many alternate cultivation methods over the years. He had approached Jue Yi and the Undying Heavenly Gate about joining forces, and he had even considered the possibility of cooperating with Destina. His reasons for these negotiations had always been very clear.

    Despite the fact that Hen Xin had yet to see any sess at all, Elder Gong believed that the man still had not given up.

    "I don''t need Truesight. There¡¯s something else I need to discuss with Gods'' Origin," Hen Xin replied.

    Elder Gong thought for a bit, but he eventually gave Hen Xin the code to contact God of Mirrors¡¯ wireless jincan. Just a short timeter, Hen Xin reached out to God of Mirrors.

    Elder Gong had already told God of Mirrors to expect a message from Hen Xin, so the man was not surprised. "What can I do for you, Senior?"

    "Does your Gods¡¯ Origin have an eight-tribtion powerhouse?" Hen Xin got straight to the point.

    God of Mirrors felt rather puzzled. "Of course not. Why do you ask, Senior?"

    Hen Xin''s eyes flickered. "Someone attacked my Team Resolution. They used Truesight to instantly injure two of the members of Team Resolution."

    "Impossible," God of Mirrors instantly replied, "As of now, I am the person in Gods¡¯ Origin who has the greatest mastery of Truesight, and I¡¯ve only passed three tribtions. The person you¡¯re searching for does not exist."

    "I¡¯ve heard that your Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s God of mes is in seclusion?" Hen Xin asked.

    God of Mirrors exined, "God of mes died long ago, and his light has been extinguished. If you don''t believe me, you are wee toe visit my Gods¡¯ Origin and check for yourself. My Gods¡¯ Origin has no reason to attack Team Resolution, and we would gain absolutely nothing by bing your enemy, Senior."

    Hen Xin snorted disdainfully. Nothing to gain? Hen Xin had not mentioned Hen San¡¯s capture, which was of vital importance. It was clear that the kidnapper intended to use Hen San to learn the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s cultivation methods for battle force, but they had underestimated Team Resolution. Hen San would never help the enemy, not even if it cost him his life.

    "I will absolutelye to investigate your Gods¡¯ Origin. My Team Resolution was undeniably attacked by your Truesight, and there¡¯s no use trying to hide anything. If you did do this, the Honor Heavenly Gate will not be able to protect you." As soon as Hen Xin finished delivering his threat, he ended the conversation.

    God of Mirrors did not appear to be lying, so just who had attacked Hen Xin¡¯s men?

    There was one very important detail that Hen Qi had not mentioned to Hen Xin: the candle that the attacker had lit. Hen Xin and his people had no understanding of Truesight at all, as the cultivation method was simply too mysterious. There were all sorts of different techniques that people could use, including one that caused people to disappear from being looked at. The cultivation technique was fundamentally impossible to understand.

    Creating something out of nothing was the strongest impression that people had of Truesight, but because it was a mystifying cultivation method, no one was surprised by anything that Truesight aplished, let alone something as simple as someone lighting a candle.

    If Hen Qi had mentioned the candle, Hen Xin would have instantly been reminded of the great battle against the Aeternals, as Lu Yin had used a candle at that time to attack Marquis Wang and a few others.

    Unfortunately, Hen Qi had not mentioned anything.

    Suddenly, Hen Xin received another message from God of Mirrors.

    The man nced at his wireless jincan and essed the message.

    "Senior, if you want to know about someone who¡¯s managed to surpass this junior¡¯s mastery of Truesight, then there¡¯s one person whom I have no idea what level their mastery has reached," the message stated.

    Hen Xin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he quickly asked, "Who?"

    "God of Magenta, or at least that was their name when they were part of my Gods¡¯ Origin. They are actually one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones," God of Mirrors replied.

    Hen Xin was caught off guard for a moment before he remembered that Xia Ji had indeed once mentioned that he knew Truesight. "Is his mastery of Truesight very high?"

    "While I don¡¯t know the specifics, I can confidently say that his mastery far surpasses this junior¡¯s. Senior Xia Ji is a Semi-Progenitor, and this junior can¡¯t see through his cultivation," God of Mirrors responded.

    Hen Xin ended themunications again as he fell deep into thought.

    Was Xia Ji truly the only person with a greater mastery of Truesight than God of Mirrors? Could Xia Ji have been the one who had attacked the two members of Team Resolution? That was unlikely. If Xia Ji had wanted to take action, there would have been no need for him to use Truesight and expose himself, as it would have been quite easy for a Semi-Progenitor to conceal their identity. However, there really was no one else.

    Hen Xin kept analyzing the situation. Could Xia Ji have purposely left the evidence behind? To what ends? Could it have something to do with Xia De, Ni Huang, and the others from the Perennial World? Hen Xin sped his hands behind his back as he quietly mulled the matter over.

    ***

    The truth was that Lu Yin had never considered puzzling Hen Xin so badly. Lu Yin had assumed that he would be instantly exposed. After all, so many people had already seen him use the candle in the past, so how could he not have been exposed?

    He had never even considered the possibility of Truesight to still be such a fascinating mystery to Hen Qi even after all these years. The man had never even mentioned the candle that Lu Yin had used. No one else had seen it, and so Lu Yin had somehow avoided being exposed.

    At this time, Lu Yin was making his way back to the Outerverse. Given the impressive speed of the Netherworld River, it would not take him long to arrive there.

    The Netherworld River was a power vessel that was fueled by stellr energy every time it was used. While stellr energy was pulled back into the true universe after being expended, not all of it was taken away due to the vortex caused, which was a silver lining.

    It was not long before the Netherworld River brought Lu Yin to the Astral River, and he was greeted by the sight of the tidal t.

    The Astral River lookedpletely different from what Lu Yin had seen twenty years before. It had spread out a great deal. From what Lu Yin could see now, it was possible that half of zing Mist Flowzone had been flooded.

    He looked around, but the tidal ts stretched far into the distance.

    Over thest twenty years, the Astral River had changed drastically, and pyrolyte had been discovered at the bottom. Lu Yin expected that people were eagerly studying just how pyrolyte had formed in the depths of the river.

    Lu Yin just took a casual look, as he had no desire to stop here. He was soon back on his way to Earth¡¯s sr system.

    ¡­

    Earth¡¯s sr system had changed so much that Lu Yin barely recognized the ce.

    In the past, Earth had been a in a perfectly ordinary sr system, but Lu Yin could see that multipleyers of defenses had been erected around it. With Truesight, he saw a few powerhouses in the sr system, as well as an absolutely massive sourcebox array. On top of that, he could see that, closer to Earth, there was an enormous pceplex. Unless Lu Yin¡¯s guess was wrong, that was most likely the headquarters for the Heavens Sect.

    An era had to have a symbol of the times, and the intention was to recreate the Heavens Sect and have it be a symbol of all humanity.

    The only ce where the reestablished Heavens Sect could be headquartered was in Earth¡¯s sr system, and that was because of Jupiter.

    If the Aeternals attacked, the members of the Heavens Sect would be sent to Earth¡¯s sr system through sourcebox arrays, and then they would leave through Jupiter. This was humanity¡¯s escape tunnel.

    While there was no sign of Aeternals¡¯ attack for the time being, five Mainds had already been destroyed. Not even the arrogant powerhouses from the ancient Heavens Sect era dared to underestimate the power of Aeternus now.

    Earth¡¯s sr system was also no longer freely essible to anyone who wished to enter. Aside from the people who had previously been living in the sr system, other people found it very difficult to gain ess, even the members of the Heavens Sect. Most people had no choice but to live outside of Earth¡¯s sr system.

    1 For the names of the members of Team Resolution, the names are literally "Hen," as in Hen Xin, followed by a number. Essentially, their only identity is through Hen Xin. ?

 Chapter 2084: Trouble

    Chapter 2084: Trouble

    Many distinctyers of authority had been implemented in the newly established Heavens Sect.

    Naturally, only the gatemasters and a select few were allowed to freely enter the Heavens Sect. In other words, only a handful of elites were allowed to freely roam about Earth¡¯s sr system, and the people who lived on Earth were not allowed to leave the. Essentially, they were prisoners.

    This was not something that the Lu Heavenly Gate could change or control, as these rules had been insisted upon by the other Heavenly Gates to prevent Aeternus¡¯s spies from slipping in, as well as to maintain the image of the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin finally met Lu Buzheng on the back of Ancestor Tortoise.

    The older man used a great deal of force as he patted Lu Yin''s shoulder and nodded. "You seem to have gotten stronger."

    Even as he spoke, he threw a punch at Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    However, the punch had absolutely no effect, and Lu Yin just grinned. "Third Uncle, is this how you¡¯re weing me back?"

    "Didn¡¯t I hear that you got stabbed by a sword? Are you alright?" Lu Buzheng asked.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Luckily, I didn''t die."

    "Was it really the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword?" Lu Buzheng was very curious about this.

    Lu Yin nodded and pulled the sword out of his cosmic ring. "I¡¯m going to tell you this right now, but don¡¯t touch it. Forgotten Ruins God did, and shepletely disappeared. Later, some other guy named Old Hei touched it as well, and he also vanished."

    Lu Buzheng had indeed wanted to reach out and touch the sword, but he stopped himself when he heard Lu Yin¡¯s warning. "Then hurry up and put it away. Seeing something that you can¡¯t touch is frustrating to begin with, and this is the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword! It¡¯s one of the six swords that suppressed the entire Heavens Sect, and it possesses the power of time."

    Lu Yin smiled as he put away the sword. "How¡¯s the Lu Heavenly Gate doing?"

    Lu Buzheng replied, "We¡¯re doing fine. Thanks to you, Corpse God''s hand is gone, or else things wouldn¡¯t be as they currently are."

    "What happened?" Lu Yin felt puzzled. It had been impossible for Xi Yue to have aprehensive understanding of the Fifth Maind¡¯s situation.

    Lu Buzheng exined, "When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect appeared, the entire thing broke apart. Countless ancient golden characters scattered everywhere, as did the Mountains and Seas. The only ce in the entire ruins that didn¡¯t copse was the main hall that sent you and the others traveling through time and space. Corpse God tried to steal the main hall, but his attempt forced him to put all his eggs in one basket. The main hall ended up disappearing right from underneath his hand, and then his hand was cut off by the cooperation between the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the mentalwork, though it destroyed the mentalwork as well¡­"

    "So that''s what happened. So apparently, Corpse God also wanted to get his hands on this sword," Lu Yin murmured.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "Everyone wants it. It holds the power of the Origin Progenitor, and if anyone canprehend even a thousandth of that power¡­¡±

    The man suddenly shot a nce at Lu Yin. ¡°From what Heluo Mavis was saying, were you acknowledged by those two?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Doesn''t matter. Whether or not they acknowledge me, they still can¡¯t beat me."

    "Hahahaha! Those two are Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis, the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era, and yet you aren¡¯t intimidated by them! You really canpete for the position of Dao Chosen," Lu Buzheng said happily.

    "By the way, what did you manage to learn from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate? You were only there for a few days."

    When this question came up, Lu Yin instantly grew solemn. He quickly shared all that he had seen and experienced while on Sword Mountain with Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng rubbed his chin. "When the Origin Progenitor encouraged people to create unique energies, the Three Realms Six Dao still existed. The ancient Dao Monarch of the Third Maind did talk about how all cultivation can be categorized as internal or external, but most people didn¡¯t care. Very few were willing to try the external cultivation method that he mentioned, but the people of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate were always absolutely loyal to their Dao Monarch, and his knowledge was genuine.¡±

    "We never even considered that battle force could beparable to stellr energy."

    "You didn''t know about this?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Lu Buzheng responded, "Who paid attention to any of that in the past? The Dao Monarchs were too far above our level, and all of them created their own cultivation methods. As for me, I was too caught up in Destiny¡¯s divination to focus on anything else, so why would I give a damn about battle force?¡±

    "If I had known I¡¯d eventually live to see this day, I might have just tried getting my third stream of ancestral qi to be of the Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "How¡¯s Heluo Mavis¡¯s training been going?"

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "No idea. The Mavis family developed their own cultivation method, and even though our Lu family had a good rtionship with the Mavis family back then, we didn¡¯t study them very much."

    "I captured a member of Team Resolution," Lu Yin stated.

    Lu Buzheng was stunned. "What do you mean, ¡®a member of Team Resolution?¡¯"

    Lu Yin repeated himself. "I captured one of the members of Team Resolution."

    Lu Buzheng was shocked. "You captured a member of Team Resolution? For real?"

    Lu Yin released Hen San from Zenith Mountain. The man was still seriously injured, as Lu Yin had not dared to heal the man, as he feared that everything on Zenith Mountain would be destroyed after that.

    When Hen San appeared, he first saw Lu Buzheng, and the man¡¯s scarred face changed expressions. He gritted his teeth and angrily stated, "It was you, Gatemaster Lu? You¡¯re such a conniving bastard!"

    Lu Buzheng was left speechless. "I didn''t capture you."

    Hen San then saw Lu Yin, and since Lu Yin had already reverted to his normal appearance, Hen San recognized him. His expression changed yet again. "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate seems to know a lot about me. What¡¯s the deal with that?"

    Lu Buzheng exined, "Who hasn¡¯t heard about how you were stabbed by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword? If anyone finds you, they¡¯ll also find the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Forget the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡ªeveryone in the current universe is looking for you right now, though no one has any idea what time period you might have fallen into."

    Lu Yin finally understood.

    "Lu Yin, you¡¯re despicable! You disguised yourself as Xing Kai and attacked us!" Hen San yelled as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just winked at the man.

    Lu Buzheng then knocked Hen San unconscious with a single attack. "Why did you kidnap him? You can¡¯t possibly expect him to teach you how to train battle force, right? You should drop that idea, as the members of Team Resolution aren¡¯t afraid of death."

    "I still want to try." Lu Yin put Hen San away again. He did not share his n with Lu Buzheng, as the older man would definitely stop Lu Yin.

    "How long until the Heavenly Gates meet again?"

    "A bit more than three months."

    "What about our ten-man team for thepetition that you agreed upon? Were you able to talk to Wang Wen and the others like I asked?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Buzheng pped his forehead. "I forgot to talk to them. Our representative team¡¯s already been selected, and you already know all of them."

    "Oh? Who is it? How strong are they?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Should we call them over? As for how strong they are¡­" Lu Buzheng felt a bit embarrassed to answer this question, as he had already heard about how strong Xia Luo and the others had be. ¡°They¡¯re definitely not as good as the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team."

    Lu Yin had already expected this, as the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had always been focused on alternative cultivation methods such as battle force. If they were not able to surpass the other teams, they might as well drop dead. Hen Xin would be too embarrassed to mention that he was the leader of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    Lu Yin quickly called Wang Wen.

    "This wireless jincan¡­ Your Royal Chesspiece?" Wang Wen asked as soon as he startedmunicating with Lu Yin. Lu Yin was using his own wireless jincan that he had lent to Lu Buzheng.

    "It''s me," Lu Yin confirmed.

    "When did you get back?"

    "Just recently."

    "No wonder. If you¡¯d returned sooner, we wouldn¡¯t have so much trouble to deal with," Wang Wen replied.

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen answered, "The Dao Chosen selection, the representative teams to determine the Heavenly Gates¡¯ wager, Aurora Fortress, pyrolyte, the Seven Courts. Oh, right, there¡¯s also Big Sis. That¡¯s pretty much all the problems."

    "Big Sis?" Lu Yin was taken aback, and he looked over at Lu Buzheng. "What happened to Big Sis?"

    Lu Buzheng naturally had no idea. "Who¡¯s Big Sis?"

    Lu Yin quickly asked Wang Wen to rify.

    Wang Wen was genuinely surprised. "You didn¡¯t know that Big Sis was kidnapped by Destina? The woman forced Big Sis to be her disciple."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Why would Destina take Big Sis away and take her as a disciple? What''s going on?"

    Wang Wen replied, "This all happened while you were still in seclusion. Oh, right¡ªyou went to the Daosource Sect ruins when you were in seclusion, and that¡¯s when the ruins appeared above the Fifth Maind and shattered. You were with Jiu Yao, and you all disappeared, making it toote to tell you anything.

    "Honestly, it''s not really a big deal. Big Sis was taken away from the Honor Zone by Destina, who took her in as a disciple. Actually, Big Sis might take part in the Dao Chosen selection and represent Destina."

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Why would Destina make Big Sis her disciple? Also, with Big Sis¡¯s age, how can shepete to be the Dao Chosen?"

    Wang Wen was left speechless. "Just how old do you think Big Sis actually is? She probably isn¡¯t even as old as Chu Yuan."

    Lu Yin was stunned, but after thinking about it, Wang Wen¡¯s words seemed quite possible. Both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis possessed a higher cultivation base than Lu Yin, and his cultivation speed had always been unbelievable. It was highly unlikely for Chu Yuan and the other Dao Chosen to have cultivated faster than Lu Yin even in the Heavens Sect era, so it was highly improbable that they were from the same generation as Lu Yin. The Dao Chosen were likely even older than Wen Sansi and the other Ten Arbiters.

    "Is there an age limit to be a Dao Chosen?" Lu Yin looked over and asked Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "A person needs to be under a hundred years old. From what I understand, anyone under the age of forty is considered a youth in this era, which is about the same as our time, but there are some people who arete bloomers. Thus, the position of Dao Chosen is avable to anyone under a hundred years old. If you can¡¯t achieve anything before a hundred, then you can only be considered unfortunate, even if you are ate bloomer.

    "Also, during our time, there wasn¡¯t anything like generationalpetitions. Everyone under a hundred years old was considered to be in the same category, and so they were all allowed to freelypete with each other, as they were all considered peers. Theypeted at things like their cultivation realm andbat strength. All of the Dao Chosen were naturally Realmbreakers, and some could even surpass multiple cultivation levels."

    "Your Highness, it¡¯d be better for you to ask Highsage Leon about Big Sis, as I really don¡¯t know any of the details," Wang Wen offered.

    Lu Yin answered, "Got it. Big Sis should be fine. As for the teampetitioning up, have you made any preparations?"

    "Isn''t Gatemaster Lu responsible for that?" Wang Wen asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin replied, "Quit ying around. Since Hen Xin was willing to ept this deal, he¡¯s confident in winning. I want to know what you guys set up to deal with him."

    The wireless jincan remained still for a bit, but it finally wiggled out an answer, "As long as the people Gatemaster Lu arranged aren¡¯t too bad, we might have as much as a 60% chance of winning."

    Lu Buzheng was stunned when he saw this answer. He was fully aware of the strength of the people that he had selected for the team, and from what he had heard from Lu Yin, even if they were being optimistic, the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team had no more than a 10% chance of victory. So where did Wang Wen find the confidence to im a 60% chance of victory?

    "That''s fine. You¡¯ve got it handled then," Lu Yin replied.

    "What if we lose?" Wang Wen asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. "I''ll give you to the Sea King."

    Wang Wen¡¯s mouth fell open. The Sea King? That man was Wang Wen¡¯s worst nightmare! "You- you bastard!"

    As Lu Yin was messaging Wang Wen, Lu Buzheng''s wireless jincan trembled. "Elder Gong?"

    Lu Yin looked over.

    Lu Buzheng quickly answered, "What''s the matter?"

    "Is Lu Yin back?" Elder Gong asked.

    Lu Buzheng looked over at Lu Yin. "Did you expose yourself?"

    "No idea," Lu Yin replied. He finished his conversation with Wang Wen and then quickly sent Elder Gong a message through Lu Buzheng''s wireless jincan, "Elder, I''m back."

    In the Cosmic Sect, in the Neoverse, Elder Gong straightened up and let out a sigh of relief. "So you really didn''t die."

 Chapter 2085: Outstanding Individuals

    Chapter 2085: Outstanding Individuals

    "Did you miss me, Senior?" Lu Yin joked. He naturally knew that Elder Gong was not concerned about Lu Yin himself, but rather what was on the bottom of his foot.

    Elder Gong answered, "You might have been revealed."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "I wasn¡¯t exposed already?"

    Elder Gong was stunned. "You weren¡¯t trying to hide yourself?"

    "No. I thought that I¡¯d be recognized right away." Lu Yin was simrly stunned. How could he have been lucky enough to not be discovered? Had that second man from Team Resolution died? That would be a big deal.

    Elder Gong exined, "While they haven¡¯t realized that it was you quite yet, it''s just a matter of time. Hen Xin spoke to Gods'' Origin and told them that a powerhouse used Truesight to severely injure two members of Team Resolution. He asked them about any experts who¡¯ve learned Truesight. When I heard about this from God of Mirrors, my first thought was of you."

    "Elder, how could this junior have mastered Truesight well enough to badly injure two people from Team Resolution?" Lu Yin refuted.

    Elder Gong replied, "You might not be strong enough yourself, but you have a great number of power vessels, and among your countless treasures, there¡¯s that one particr candle from Gods¡¯ Origin. It¡¯s not impossible for you to have pulled this off."

    Lu Yin was quite amused. "You¡¯re right¡ªthis junior was indeed the one to attack. Senior, your deduction abilities are quite impressive."

    Elder Gong grew solemn. "I¡¯m going to caution you to not harm any members of Team Resolution. All of them are powerhouses who actively fight against the Aeternals."

    "Don''t worry, this junior isn¡¯t that ruthless. I¡¯ll let him go soon," Lu Yin replied.

    Elder Gong answered, "That''s good. While the rest of the universe is convinced of your death, we¡¯re lucky that you managed to survive. I can finally rx a bit."

    "Senior, are you worried about this junior or the Cosmic Art?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Elder Gong instantly replied, "The Cosmic Art."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Even if this was true, there was no reason to be so blunt about it. "Unfortunately, with stellr energy gone, it¡¯s impossible to train or use the Cosmic Art, which is a pity."

    "Do you really believe that?" Elder Gong retorted.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned. He had just been insulted by Elder Gong, and this reaction was outside of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. "Elder, are you saying that, even without star energy or stellr energy, it¡¯s still possible to use the Cosmic Art?"

    "The Rune Progenitor created runes that still exist in the Fifth Maind, even when we don¡¯t know if the Progenitor is alive or dead. The legendary God of Death created death energy that was left behind. Since this is true, then why would Progenitor Chen''s power be limited to stellr energy?" Elder Gong asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression quickly changed.

    "Progenitor Chen was no worse than any other powerful Progenitor, and the Cosmic Art that he created is no weaker than any other cultivation art. It''s simply that you haven''t cultivated enough," Elder Gong stated.

    Lu Yin quickly sent another message, "But this junior has already tried it, and there¡¯s no way to use the Cosmic Art without stellr energy."

    Elder Gong thought for a bit. "When I found that pattern on the sole of your foot, you asked me about the secret hidden within it. Do you remember what I told you back then?"

    Of course Lu Yin still remembered. Elder Gong''s answer was still too shocking, even after all this time. It was also what had motivated Lu Yin to continue training the Cosmic Art for so many years. "You asked me how I could be certain that the I was standing on hadn¡¯t been simted with the Cosmic Art."

    Lu Buzheng was absolutely shocked by the conversation that he was seeing, especially Lu Yin''sst message. The Semi-Progenitor could not stop himself from looking out at the universe. How could such a thing be possible? How could a star in the universe havee from a cultivation art? He had never heard of such a thing, even in the Heavens Sect era.

    "Exactly. In that case, while the true universe is currently empty, have you seen any region where all of the stars are destroyed?" Elder Gong asked again.

    Lu Yin immediately understood what Elder Gong was getting at. If the Cosmic Art could indeed only be trained with stellr energy, then all the stars ands that had been created by Progenitor Chen¡¯s Cosmic Art should have been destroyed. Since this had not happened, then wasn¡¯t this proof that the Cosmic Art did not actually require stellr energy?

    "Progenitor Chen was amazingly talented, a rare genius throughout the ages. He was someone outstanding regardless of when or who he ispared to. How could he have relied upon another¡¯s power for the technique that he personally created, even if that person was the Origin Progenitor?" Elder Gong challenged.

    Lu Yin had a better understanding of Progenitor Chen than that. The man had controlled two Mountains and a Sea, which was an achievement that had shocked even Lu Buzheng, a gatemaster from the ancient Heavens Sect. Progenitor Chen had truly been absolutely amazing.

    "This junior understands. I will never abandon the Cosmic Art," Lu Yin replied seriously.

    After finishing his conversation with Elder Gong, Lu Yin stared out at the distant stars, his eyes zing with a fervent light. He had repeatedly underestimated the Cosmic Art and Progenitor Chen. Elder Gong was absolutely right; if the Rune Progenitor had managed to achieve something like this, Progenitor Chen had been capable of doing the same.

    "What was that about stars? I didn¡¯t misunderstand, right? Were some of the stars in this universe created by a cultivation technique?" Lu Buzheng asked.

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled. "Third Uncle, are you still underestimating this era?"

    If Lu Buzheng had been asked this question when he first woke up in the current era, he would have instantly answered yes. His low opinion of the current era was why Lu Buzheng had immediately joined hands with Hen Xin to fight against the Aeternals without waiting for Lu Yin or anyone else. The ancient era had been the peak of human civilization, and this belief formed the basis of the arrogance of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect era.

    However, Lu Buzheng truly hesitated to answer now. Did he look down on the current era? Absolutely not. In fact, the more the current era was understood, the less any of the ancient powerhouses could underestimate it, especially the Fifth Maind. A single Maind controlling all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Such a thing was impossible even during the Heavens Sect era.

    There was the miraculous abilities of the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Chen¡¯s overbearing strength, the understated power of Progenitor Ku, and even Progenitor Wushang. How could anyone underestimate the current era?

    "This era possesses countless possibilities," Lu Yin stated.

    Lu Buzheng considered Lu Yin¡¯s words. "Maybe."

    "I will also be one of those countless possibilities," Lu Yin continued.

    Lu Buzheng''s eyes lit up, and he energetically patted Lu Yin''s shoulder. "Third Uncle believes that you were a legend in this era before we even appeared. Even with us here, you will definitely create more legends."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. His eyes became more determined than ever before. "I''m going into seclusion, but I¡¯ll make sure that I¡¯ll be there for the Dao Chosen selection."

    Lu Buzheng found this amusing. "You want to go into seclusion now? Don¡¯t bother. The Dao Chosen selection is just two months away, so it''s toote to aplish anything. Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and the others have spent more than ten years preparing for this, so if you can fight against them, you can. You might as well just rest for the next two months while I talk to you about the Heavens Sect era and our Lu family. Actually, I¡¯m not the only one from the Lu family who was frozen. There are several others, though of course none of them are from the main family."

    Lu Yin replied, "Two months is plenty. Third Uncle, I''m going into seclusion. I¡¯ll have to ask you to keep an eye on things, so just wait for me toe back in two months."

    Lu Yin suddenly shot Lu Buzheng a smile. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll be different by then."

    Lu Buzheng had no idea what Lu Yin was talking about. What sort of changes could ur in just two months? Was it possible to be a Progenitor? Still, if Lu Yin wanted to go into seclusion, Lu Buzheng would not stop him. "Do as you want, but don¡¯t try to force anything. Given your talent, it¡¯s just a matter of time before you dominate this era, so don''t worry."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin left, but this time, he was not simply going into seclusion to train.

    He was stimted by Elder Gong''s words, and he also remembered everything that he had witnessed while traveling through time and space.

    The Sea King had only been an Envoy, yet he had been brave enough to try to break open the Upper Three Gates and restore the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky.

    The Lu family had been willing to ept the burden of eternal hatred, just for a chance to protect humanity.

    Progenitor Chen had destroyed a Progenitor right in front of the gates of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect while suppressing everyone with an overwhelming pressure.

    The Rune Progenitor had led his entire civilization to punish the Fifth Maind¡¯s enemies, regardless of what it cost, just to give the Fifth Maind a chance of respite.

    Progenitor Ku had silently moved alone to challenge all of Aeternus. The man had not shone brightly, but he had been a peerless hero.

    These outstanding individuals and their shocking achievements demonstrated the glory of humanity¡¯s current era. From humanity¡¯s peak during the ancient Heavens Sect era to the present, no outstanding individual had ever risen without surviving life and death challenges. No one was born great, and no one easily became invincible.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and his die slowly spun before eventually stopping on four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin entered a gray and white space that looked incredibly nd without anything enjoyable to see.

    He brought out Zenith Mountain and released Hen San. The man looked at Lu Yin in confusion as Lu Yin somberly stated, "Come, show me the determination of a member of Team Resolution who¡¯s survived countless battlefields."

    Hen San''s expression changed, and he stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a corpse. A grim smile appeared on the man¡¯s face. "You''re asking to die!"

    ¡­

    The scenery around Lu Yin shifted and changed as he exited the Timestop Space. At this moment, there was almost no skin left intact anywhere on Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. All of his clothes were stained with blood, and his left hand was deformed. However, inparison, Hen San was in an even worse state, as he had already entered aa.

    After leaving his Timestop Space, Lu Yin remained frozen on the ground for a bit. He struggled to pull out a bit of medication that he used to treat Hen San before tossing him onto Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s body was drying up, but he still raised a hand and brought out his die. After he tapped it, it slowly spun around before eventually stopping on one pip. A useless weapon fell out. Again.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin was afraid that Hen San would realize that something was wrong and figure out that Lu Yin had the ability to freeze time, Lu Yin would not have emerged from Timestop to roll his die again. After all, only a month had gone by.

    His next roll was Possession, but Lu Yin had set his cosmic ring aside as usual.

    The fourth roll resulted in three pips, and after seeing the two screens of light appear, Lu Yinid down on the ground. He would need to rest for the next ten days before he could roll his die again.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s strength improved, his die had be increasingly useful to him, particrly Timestop and Possession. Earlier on, Enhance had been the most useful function, but now that the true universe was devoid of stellr energy, it had be far more difficult to acquire star essence. The overall amount of star essence would only continue to decrease as time passed, which meant that the die¡¯s Enhance ability would be more and more useless as time passed.

    Ten days soon passed. As far as people like Lu Buzheng were concerned, only ten days had passed since Lu Yin had entered seclusion.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand as his die appeared. He tapped it, and his luck was quite good, as his first roll was Timestop. He entered the Timestop Space. At this moment, the most important thing for him to do was to recover from his injuries, so he closed his eyes and allowed both his mind and his body to rx. He actually fell asleep.

    Time flowed by, and when Lu Yin had less than half a month remaining in the Timestop Space, his injuries were almost fully healed. However, his body was still desated, so he brought out Zenith Mountain and removed the five suns one by one. This was the proper way to make use of them.

    Lu Yin brought a sun to collide with his body, and the destructive power caused his withered body to quickly recover. At the same time, an overwhelming amount of stellr energy poured into his four stellr energy vortices.

    When Lu Yin had been in the Daosource Sect ruins, he had absorbed enough stellr energy and formed five suns whose energy wereparable to the Second Nightking¡¯s total energy reserves, and that man was someone at the cusp of bing a Semi-Progenitor. Lu Yin had previously been able to easily fill up all of his vortices, with plenty of energy left over. However, he had passed his third stellr tribtion while traveling through time and space within the main hall, and each of his vortices was much, muchrger than before. Now, the capacity of Lu Yin¡¯s four stellr energy vorticesbined was simr to the Second Nightking¡¯s capacity, though Lu Yin¡¯s energy was divided between the four vortices. Still, by the time that Lu Yinpletely restored his stores of stellr energy, the five suns had disappeared.

 Chapter 2086: Sounding Out

    Chapter 2086: Sounding Out

    When Lu Yin actually thought about the matter, his stellr energy vortices had already contained enough energy to rival the Second Nightking¡¯s when Lu Yin had triggered his third stellr tribtion.

    Every singlest one of Lu Yin¡¯s vortices far surpassed those of his peers. Everyone from the Lu family possessed far greater reserves of stellr energy and star energy than other people. While Chu Yuan had managed to push his cultivation to the level where he approached the Lu family¡¯s energy reserves, he was nowhere close toparing to Lu Yin¡¯s. After all, Lu Yin greatly surpassed even other members of the Lu family, and his energy stores wererge enough to leave even a Dao Chosen like Chu Yuan questioning his entire life.

    The heat from the five suns allowed Lu Yin¡¯s body to recover as the stellr energy of the suns filled his internal energy reserves. He then rested for a few days, which finished up his session in the Timestop Space.

    His next goal was to continue cultivating the Cosmic Art. Elder Gong¡¯sment had done well in reminding Lu Yin of his previous enthusiasm, and his motivation for improving his mastery of the Cosmic Art had skyrocketed yet again. He raised a hand, and his die appeared. He tapped it and watched as it stopped on five pips.

    He pursed his lips, but then he suddenly remembered something; did he not have quite a few people still on Zenith Mountain? In particr, there was Liu Shaoge.

    Liu Shaoge had been Lu Yin¡¯s most feared enemy when he had first started cultivating. It was beyond difficult for someone to rise up from being amon Earthling with no resources or background, to being a high-ranking member of the Celestial Frost Sect who had managed to draw the attention of even a Semi-Progenitor. However, Lu Yin had never managed to understand what sort of innate gift Liu Shaoge possessed.

    At this thought, Lu Yin quickly pulled out Zenith Mountain and jumped in.

    On Zenith Mountain, Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge stayed far away from each other almost all the time, and they rarely spoke to each other. They were simply waiting for the day when Lu Yin released them, and they both considered Zenith Mountain to be their prison.

    Lu Yin entered the mountain, appeared right in front of Liu Shaoge, and instantly pped a hand at Liu Shaoge while the man stared nkly at Lu Yin.

    In order for Lu Yin to use his die¡¯s Gift Copy ability, he needed to make physical contact with a person within ten seconds of rolling his die in order to borrow the person¡¯s innate gift. Seven seconds had already passed, but that just meant that Lu Yin still had three seconds remaining.

    Lu Yin''s hand moved incredibly slowly as he moved to attack Liu Shaoge, as Lu Yin was curious to see just how Liu Shaoge would react. The strike was aimed straight at Liu Shaoge¡¯s forehead, and no matter how anyone looked at Lu Yin¡¯s actions, it seemed quite clear that he was determined to kill Liu Shaoge.

    There was absolutely nothing that Liu Shaoge could do to stop this attack, so he simply watched Lu Yin¡¯s hand approach with eyes that expressed hisplete confusion.

    Lu Yin set his hand upon Liu Shaoge''s forehead and stared into the man¡¯s eyes.

    Liu Shaoge blinked. "Brother Lu, are you ying around?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he withdrew his hand as he stared intently at Liu Shaoge for a moment. "Even apletely normal person wouldn¡¯t remain thatpletely unresponsive if they saw someone attacking their head, not to mention our rtionship. Liu Shaoge, you still remind me of what I felt the first time I saw you."

    Liu Shaoge reacted with a wry smile. "Why bother reacting, Brother Lu? You¡¯re far stronger than me, so if you want to kill me, trying to dodge would be useless."

    Lu Yin nodded. "True. If I wanted to kill you, it¡¯d be impossible for you to get away. However, this is also what¡¯s so scary about you.¡±

    Lu Yin paused in the middle of speaking to stare at Liu Shaoge for a moment. "You almost instantly came to the best decision, which means that you made that decision on instinct. Most people don¡¯t have those kinds of instincts. I get simr vibes from you as I did from Nightking Zhenwu, though there¡¯s still something different.

    "He was always extremely cautious. No matter how underhanded or sneaky he needed to be, he would make sure that his enemies died, and he would enjoy the entire process. On the other hand, you only care about the final results. Whether you enjoy the process or not doesn¡¯t matter to you, as you only care about the end."

    Liu Shaoge retreated a few steps. He was suddenly very on edge, as he was able to feel a hint of bloodlust from Lu Yin''s words. "Brother Lu, you and I aren¡¯t enemies. We¡¯ve already erased our past debts, and there¡¯s no need for us to be enemies. It¡¯s not like you to kill someone who¡¯s not your enemy."

    Did Lu Yin truly want to kill Liu Shaoge? If they both possessed the same level of strength, it was quite possible, but at this moment¡­ "I really want to see just how far you can go. Don''t worry, I¡¯ll let you go soon."

    Lu Yin then immediately left Zenith Mountain.

    Liu Shaoge let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Lu Yin was gone. The man¡¯s back was soaked with sweat, and he stared at the ground in frustration. I was careless! I should have dodged and acted scared like a normal person instead!

    Liu Shaoge could only me the fact that Lu Yin was too unpredictable. Who could have expected such a sudden attack? Was Lu Yin testing Liu Shaoge or something? What was the reason behind the unprovoked aggression?

    Liu Shaoge could not make heads or tails of what had just happened. The difference in their power was too overwhelming, and Lu Yin had absolute control over Liu Shaoge¡¯s life and death, so why the test?

    Forget Liu Shaoge¡ªnot even Progenitor Hui would have been able to unravel Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin had acted on pure whimsy. He had wanted to use Gift Copy to borrow Liu Shaoge''s innate gift. Since Lu Yin had needed to touch Liu Shaoge, he had simply decided to test the man as well. In the end, many things were pure coincidence.

    Lu Yin¡¯s interaction with Liu Shaoge also gave him a sudden idea; if Aeternus was able to nt spies within humanity, then why could humans not do the same with the Aeternals? Not all members of Aeternus were corpse kings, and of the Seven Skygods, Forgotten Ruins God seemed to be fully human.

    Wait. Lu Yin suddenly thought of something else; if he wanted to send spies into Aeternus, then it would be best to use people from the Xia family, as they had the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    No one knew just who within the Xia family practiced the Nince Clones Secret Technique, but if someone from the Xia family sent one of their clones to the Aeternals, then even if that clone was forced to be a corpse king, they might still be able to act as a spy for humanity.

    Why had Lu Yin not considered this possibility before? If he looked at the situation from this point of view, then was it possible that there were already spies within Aeternus? Progenitor Hui had been able to predict various oues and n for the future; was it possible that the man had never entertained such a thought?

    Lu Yin was enamored with this possibility, and as he thought about it, he looked down at his die. The face with five pips now had a symbol on it that looked like a sun. Lu Yin had absolutely no idea what it meant.

    Lu Yin resumed rolling his die. His next roll was Enhance, which was useless, while his fourth roll was Pilfer. The spatial tunnel opened up, and something fell out. Lu Yin twitched when he looked down and saw what had appeared. A slipper?

    No, he was not mistaken. Right on the ground was a slipper. It lookedpletely ordinary, though it had a ck footprint in it. It looked absolutely revolting to Lu Yin; who would keep their slippers in a cosmic ring? Were they afraid of losing them?

    Lu Yin became upset. After seeing what he had obtained, he casually waved a hand to get rid of the footwear, and the slipper went flying. But surprisingly, it waspletely undamaged.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he waved his hand again. He used a bit of power this time, though just enough to overpower a Hunter. Still, when the force struck the slipper, it was simply blown away without being damaged in the slightest. Even the ck footprint remained the same.

    There was something wrong with this. How could any slipper endure a level of force that could overwhelm a Hunter?

    Lu Yin did not believe in superstition, so heshed out yet again, and this time, he used a Vacuum Palm. This attack was enough to instantly eliminate an Enlighter.

    Regardless, the slipper remained indifferent to Lu Yin¡¯s efforts. It was knocked into the air and then fell back onto the ground. The ck footprint was to the top and facing Lu Yin as though mocking him.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. He picked the slipper up and squeezed it hard. It twisted and waspletely deformed, but it suffered no actual damage. He used more strength, and he even used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method. How could this slipper endure such overwhelming power?

    Clearly, there was something unusual about the slipper. It had to be a power vessel or some sort of rare treasure, but even if that was the case, Lu Yin had no intention of ever using it. How could he use a slipper? Still, he was quite curious about just how much force it could endure without breaking.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s impressive physical strength and the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method, he had put enough strain on the slipper that even experts with power levels of over a million might not have been able to handle it. But despite that, the slipper remained the same as ever.

    Lu Yin could understand what he was seeing. His pupils transformed into runes as he stared at the slipper, but there were no runes. Just what was going on?

    He took the slipper and pped it against the ground.

    The ground trembled, and a howl rang out right before the entire area started heaving up and down.

    Lu Yin was badly startled. He had gone into seclusion on the back of Ancestor Tortoise. Was that really a howl that I just heard? That couldn¡¯t have been Ancestor Tortoise, could it?

    Elsewhere on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, the members of the Mavis family were absolutely terrified, and many held on to whatever was nearby. Ancestor Tortoise was thrashing up and down as though someone had just stepped on its tail. The beast¡¯s massive eyes darted about, and there were even signs of tears falling. It was suffering. Just who had hurt it?

    It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Ancestor Tortoise had not felt anything close to this sort of pain for eons, and it was simply not used to such agony.

    The creature craned its neck to look at its back, and it stared at where Lu Yin was in seclusion. The ce where it had been struck ached so badly!

    Up in the canopy of the divine tree, Heluo Mavis was holding onto the trunk. "What''s wrong with this turtle?"

    Yuhua Mavis had no idea at all. "I don''t know! This has never happened before! Ancestor Tortoise is even looking back!"

    Heluo Mavis''s eyes instantly lit up. "I get it! It must have sensed the presence a Dao Chosen! It wants to acknowledge me as its master!"

    Yuhua Mavis could not find any words to say to Heluo Mavis. The woman had a quick temper, and she was also narcissistic and arrogant. It was very difficult tomunicate with such a person.

    Yunying Mavis and the other members of the Mavis family moved over in front of Ancestor Tortoise and tried tofort the creature. Tears poured from Ancestor Tortoise''s eyes. It was hurting so much! Someone had hit it!

    Many people in the surrounding area had also seen the tortoise thrashing, especially Lu Buzheng. He had been terrified that Ancestor Tortoise might identally crush Earth.

    Still in his ce of seclusion, Lu Yin blinked. Had that really been Ancestor Tortoise making that noise? He decided to p the slipper down again. Had it just been a coincidence? After all, Lu Yin was just holding a slipper, so he went ahead and smacked the ground again.

    Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s mouth opened wide as it let out another wail. This time, it jumped up and down and began rampaging across Frostwave Weave. It was in terrible, terrible pain.

    The divine tree growing on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back shook and swayed wildly, leaning from side to side.

    The entire Mavis family was startled, and they all tried their best to calm down Ancestor Tortoise.

    The tortoise felt badly offended. Just who had it antagonized? It had been hit a second time! The more the beast thought about it, the more upset it became. It just wanted to sleep! As it thought about its suffering, Ancestor Tortoise let out another wail. The beast had beenpletely silent for many, many years prior to this.

    Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s activity drew attention from all across the Human Domain. Hen Xin, Jue Yi, and the other Semi-Progenitors all turned to focus on the Outerverse.

    Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s mere existence was one of humanity¡¯s greatest weapons against Aeternus, and yet the beast was showing such an abrupt change in behavior. Just what had the Mavis family done?

    Many people immediately thought of Heluo Mavis. Before she had appeared in the current era, Ancestor Tortoise had never altered its behavior, and not even Ancient God had been able to do anything to the beast.

    No one had any clue what had happened to the giant tortoise.

    Even Lu Buzheng did not even consider Lu Yin¡¯s involvement in the matter, as it was impossible for him to harm Ancestor Tortoise in the slightest. At this moment, Ancestor Tortoise was clearly in pain.

    "Could it be in heat?" Kui Luo had returned, and he muttered to himself as he looked out at Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s tears.

    Lu Buzheng was stunned speechless; was this what being in heat even looked like? Besides that, what were they supposed to do if Ancestor Tortoise was in heat? Where would they ever find another massive tortoise?

    "Did I hear that that kid Lu Yin¡¯s back? Where is he?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "He went into seclusion on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back."

    Kui Luo was taken aback, and after a moment, he pointed at the weeping tortoise. "There?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded. "I hope that the tortoise''s actions haven¡¯t bothered him."

 Chapter 2087: Slipper

    Chapter 2087: Slipper

    Kui Luo was left speechless. Clearly, Lu Buzheng did not know Lu Yin very well quite yet, but Kui Luo was very familiar with that kid. It was nearly impossible for Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s sudden and strange behavior to not be connected to Lu Yin. The beast had once been the Lu family¡¯s pet, and if anyone was capable of disturbing Ancestor Tortoise, it would be Lu Yin.

    On the tortoise¡¯s back, Lu Yin was staring at the slipper in his hand in utter disbelief. It really had not been a coincidence! Ancestor Tortoise had let out a wail when Lu Yin had smacked it with the slipper. Really? A slipper? Was it possible that it was actually an incredible power vessel that just looked like a slipper?

    Lu Yin stared at the footwear for a long time, especially the clear ck footprint. In the end, he had no choice but to admit that his initial assessment of it being a simple slipper was absolutely correct.

    But who would make such a thing? Not even the full power of Ancient God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar had been able to harm Ancestor Tortoise in the slightest, which meant that a Semi-Progenitor would be in an absolutely miserable state if they were struck by this slipper. Really, just who would go so overboard as to make such an excessive slipper?

    Lu Yin shook the slipper, but it looked perfectly ordinary. He could bend and twist it with just the slightest bit of strength, and yet it possessed such an unimaginable power. He really did not know how to react to this.

    It was just unfortunate that he had only picked up one piece of the pair.

    It seemed rather obvious that someone had used this slipper, and if Lu Yin had acquired one, then did that mean that the original owner was left with just one as well? Lu Yin swallowed. Sorry, that wasn''t my intention.

    He had just rolled his die four times, so he needed to rest for ten days.

    During these ten days, Lu Yin studied the slipper in detail. He was very curious. There were no runes to be seen, and he could not detect any power at all, so just how was it able to leave Ancestor Tortoise wailing in agony? He also could not determine what sort of materials had been used to make the slipper. There were moments when he wanted to smack himself with the slipper to test it out, but just a bit of thought removed that urge. He would just have to find a chance to test it out on a Semi-Progenitor.

    After the required ten days passed, Lu Yin raised a hand. His next goal was to continue cultivating the Cosmic Art.

    He had already managed to simte 80,000 stars with the Cosmic Art, which was not far from the 99,000 stars that were needed toplete the fifth level of the technique. He was determined to reach the next level of mastery.

    The die stopped, but showed just two pips. Lu Yin shook his head. Again. Pilfer.

    Seeing the solitary pip, Lu Yin suddenly felt a surge of anticipation, as he had just acquired something quite good. Unfortunately, all that appeared this time was a useless piece of clothing.

    Again.

    Only on his third roll was Lu Yin able to get Timestop. The scenery around him shifted, and he entered the Timestop Space.

    Cultivating was a very boring process. It required meditating for excessive amounts of time.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin still had the Roots of Intelligence that the Hui family had cultivated themselves. He also had an authentic Root of Intelligence in his possession, but, unfortunately, it was thest such root that he possessed, and he had been saving it for critical moments in the future.

    He began to recite the Origin Sutra while stars revolved around his body.

    When Lu Yin hadst trained with the Cosmic Art, he had increased the number of stars he could simte by nearly 4,000 over the course of almost a year. At this pace, Lu Yin would need another five years in his Timestop Space to fully master the current level of the Cosmic Art. Without his die, he had no idea just how long it would take to master the fifth level of the Cosmic Art.

    Seclusion was not asfortable to undergo in the normal universe as in the Timestop Space, and Lu Yin would most likely be disturbed if he tried to spend so long training in the real universe.

    There was still more than a month left before the meeting of the Heavenly Gates was nned to convene.

    Earth¡¯s sr system became increasingly lively. People constantly arrived, though most of them were forced to stay outside the sr system. There was only a select number of elites who were allowed entry.

    The Heavenly Gates held a reunion every five years, but the next conference had two additional events scheduled, and both of them were battle-based events.

    One was the ten-person teampetition to conclude the wager that had been made, and the other was the selection of the Dao Chosen.

    Most people did not care about the teampetition at all. As long as they could learn how to cultivate battle force, they did not care if they were trained by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate or a different Heavenly Gate. Even if the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate ended up controlling the entire Fifth Maind, it really made no difference to most people.

    On the other hand, everyone was very focused on the Dao Chosen selection.

    Choosing a Dao Chosen was not only an important step in rebuilding the Heavens Sect, but it also concerned the mysterious Semi-Progenitor Destina. Whoever managed to acquire Destina¡¯s unteral support would likely dominate the entire Fifth Maind, as it seemed that there was no one else on the same level as Destina.

    In addition to the Heavenly Gates¡¯ representatives, there were many other people who intended topete in the selection. As long as they were not too old, even people a bit over a hundred years old were allowed to sign up.

    There were certain discrepancies that not even time couldpensate for, especially for as brief a time as ten years.

    Every single person wanted to participate in the Dao Chosen selection, especially cultivators who had once been heralded as geniuses.

    One spacecraft after another arrived outside the sr system, and they all docked at various space stations. There were also countless vessels drifting through outer space without approaching any of the space stations.

    Wu Da led a few people through space. None of them were very old, and most of them were wearing universal armors. It was easy to see that they were not even Explorers. "Stay quiet, and don''t let anyone see you!"

    "Boss, don''t act so low-key. We got permission from both the Honor Heavenly Gate and the Lu Heavenly Gate to interview thepetitors for the Dao Chosen selection," someone whispered back.

    Wu Da yelled back, "We¡¯re not being low-key! It¡¯s about the right attitude! Regardless of how people treat us, we need to continue in the same way as always. Your boss graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, and I¡¯ve even been able to interview a Semi-Progenitor! How did I do that? Attitude!"

    A woman smiled. "Even if you hadn¡¯t been given permission to conduct these interviews, you¡¯d still sneak in anyways."

    Wu Da replied, "That¡¯s what I mean by attitude! As the greatest reporter in the universe, I need to find out whatever it is I want to know about."

    He then stared off into the distance as a familiar figure shed by. "After them! Someone just went by."

    A short timeter, Wu Da saw the person who had passed his group on a barren. "No wonder I thought they looked familiar. It''s him."

    "Boss, who is that?" The people following Wu Da were all curious.

    Wu Da exined, "That¡¯s Avery, the genius from the Dire Barbarian Tribe. He used to follow the Ten Arbiters¡¯ War King, Xing Kai. He¡¯s absolutely nuts."

    "I never heard about that."

    Wu Da snapped back, "Of course not! You¡¯re just a little brat, and the Fifth Maind wasn''t what it is now back then. When your boss was younger, the Ten Arbiters and the Top 100 Rankings were all considered the most outstanding geniuses in the entire universe. Avery over there was almost at the very top of the Top 100 Rankings. He was ranked fourth."

    "Is that the same time that Lu Yin was around?" someone asked.

    Wu Da was caught off guard, but he nodded with a sigh. "Yes, that was when Lu Yin was active. He was basically the symbol of that era. Even though it¡¯s only been twenty years since then, without him, the universe is just not the same. Back then, even ordinary people had heard of Lu Yin¡¯s legend. No one else has ever managed to aplish the same feats, and everyone is still overshadowed by him."

    "My mom told me that back then, thework connected the entire Human Domain, which allowed them to quickly learn about what was happening anywhere in the universe, and Lu Yin was always in the news."

    "Lu Yin¡¯s name indeed resounded for an entire generation. It¡¯s really a pity that he died."

    Wu Da shook his head. Lu Yin was a name that he had not heard for quite some time. At the moment, everyone knew of Sky Garan, Chu Yuan, and Heluo Mavis. However, star energy had disappeared, as well as all the associated cultivation methods. All that was left was battle force, domains, and spiritual force. Thus, people only saw experts of those cultivation methods.

    The previous era was forever gone. It was truly a pity regarding what had happened to Lu Yin; if he had survived and developed, there was simply no telling what heights he would have reached.

    "Honestly, it doesn''t matter that Lu Yin isn''t around any more, as there¡¯s no way he couldpare to Big Brother Chu Yuan," the woman on Wu Da''s team whispered. Her eyes positively lit up as soon as she mentioned Chu Yuan.

    No one said anything to refute herment.

    Chu Yuan had grown increasingly famous in the Fifth Maind over thest ten years. He had been an exceptionally arrogant Dao Chosen even in the Heavens Sect era, and he had been acknowledged as the best Dao Chosen because he had been the only one to receive the Origin Progenitor¡¯s acknowledgement. Everyone knew that Chu Yuan would be the one to lead humanity in the future. Such an exceptional talent was the most likely person to be the Dao Chosen of the current era.

    Even if Wu Da felt sorry for Lu Yin, he had to admit that, even if Lu Yin were still alive, he might not have beenparable to Chu Yuan. The two were simply not from the same era, and Chu Yuan hade from the greatest heights of human civilization. Lu Yin might not have even been able to be a Dao Chosen back then.

    Avery¡¯s arrival barely attracted any attention. He was not very well known, especially since his Dire Barbarian Tribe had almost been wiped out, just like the Souldream Tribe.

    Mu Rong soon appeared as well, which Wu Da took note of. Many people who had once been famous in the Human Domain continued to show up, but only a few people were noticed, and none of the arrivals created any realmotion.

    "It''s Wei An! Wei An¡¯s here!" Amotion broke out outside of Earth¡¯s sr system as one young man¡¯s arrival drew a great deal of attention.

    Wei An was not someone from the current era, as he was the same as Chu Yuan and many others in that he was from the Heavens Sect era. Wei An was originally from the Second Maind, and he was a truly talented cultivator who was a skilled swordsman. He had once even challenged Heluo Mavis by relying on his innate gift.

    Since Wei An had woken up in the current era, he naturally wanted topete in the Dao Chosen selection.

    Right after Wei An¡¯s appearance, another young man arrived who also raised quite amotion. He was Hen Mo, a young man who was absolutely fanatical in his loyalty to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. He had even changed his name and surname because of his devotion and dream of one day joining Team Resolution.

    Unfortunately for Hen Mo, during the Heavens Sect era, it would have been impossible for him to ever join Team Resolution due to his family. Team Resolution only ever epted independent cultivators.

    Still, he had always cultivated battle force.

    The moment Hen Mo appeared, Wu Da ranked the man very highly in the Dao Chosen selection. In the absence of stellr energy, Hen Mo''s mastery of battle force was sufficient to give him the confidence to challenge even Chu Yuan and the other Dao Chosen of the ancient era.

    As time passed, more and more people from the Heavens Sect era started to appear.

    Not even Lu Buzheng had any idea just how many people had been frozen in time within the sourcebox. All he knew was that the Lu family had sent some youths to the battlefield that had been frozen. Those youths were Lu Lai and Lu Jiao. While neither of them could quite measure up to Lu Tianyi, they had still been able to at least challenge him directly.

    In addition to the people from the ancient era, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nan Yanfei and Di Fa both appeared. They had previously qualified for the title of Realmling, and they wanted to fight in the Dao Chosen selection.

    The newly established Heavens Sect epassed both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. At the moment, Jiu Yao was acting as the gatemaster for the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodlines Heavenly Gate. As for the Progenitor of Bloodlines, he was treated as just a legend.

    Time passed, and more and more people arrived at Earth¡¯s sr system. Soon, there were less than ten days left before the Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference.

    The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, the Undying Heavenly Gate, the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, and all the other gates arrived, though their people arrived through sourcebox arrays.

    All the Heavenly Gates had their own sourcebox arrays that led directly to Earth¡¯s sr system, as this was their emergency escape route.

    By this time, Lu Yin had spent nearly four years training in istion, though this was all in his Timestop Space.

    With the four years that he had spent training the Cosmic Art, plus his battle with Hen San and his recovery time, Lu Yin had spent almost five years in seclusion. During this time, he had burned through hundreds of millions of star essence. In the past, it had been very unusual for Lu Yin to train for so long for a single session, but as his strength improved, he became more diligent in his cultivation.

 Chapter 2088: Provocation

    Chapter 2088: Provocation

    At this moment, Lu Yin had seeded in simting 96,000 stars, which was just 3,000 stars away from the 99,000 stars needed to fully master the fifth level of the Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin looked down at his die in his hand. This was hisst chance. If he did not roll another four right now, he would need to rest for ten days. And by then, the meeting of the Heavenly Gates would be about to start.

    He tapped his die, and it slowly stopped spinning. He stared expectantly, but itnded on one pip. Bang! A strange yellow lump fell onto the ground. Lu Yin blinked and then was struck by a horrible stench. It was a piece of rotten fruit. Who kept trash in their cosmic ring?

    Lu Yin quickly waved a hand to get rid of the nasty junk, and then he shook his head in a helpless manner. He had run out of luck.

    He could only wait until after the conference to roll his die again, but since he was so close to mastering the fifth level of the Cosmic Art, Lu Yin really wanted to continue training despite the uing conference. Still, he was done for the moment, and he could only try againter.

    During the ten days left before the conference started, Lu Yin intended to quietly remain where he was and observe the outside world. He had no desire to leave seclusion, as it would be fine to exit when the Dao Chosen selection started.

    Lu Yin was currently the most curious about Wang Wen¡¯s source of confidence regarding the teampetition. He had actually imed that they had a 60% chance of victory in the teampetition.

    ¡­

    Earth¡¯s sr system had never seen so much excitement before. In the past, the sr system had been almost entirely empty, much like the rest of outer space. If Earth had not developed to the point where its inhabitants could reach out to the rest of the universe, then this sr system would have been an inescapable cage.

    At this moment, Earth¡¯s sr system was holding the biggest event in the entire Human Domain, and countless people were observing everything.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s headquarters was still being built. It was naturally next to Jupiter, which was rather close to Earth, but the main za of the headquarters had already beenpleted.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s massive gate wasrge enough to epass numerous stars, and Ancestor Tortoise quietly lounged next to the gate while drowsily staring at the za with dull eyes.

    The tortoise was present at Lu Buzheng¡¯s request; otherwise, Lu Yin would not be able to watch the teampetition.

    The six Heavenly Gates revealed their representatives one after another around the za.

    The Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s representative were naturally Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo, and they were apanied by Liu Ye, Fei Hua, the Sea King, Liu Huang, and various other Envoys. Almost everyone present was once a top powerhouse of the Great Eastern Alliance, but there were several unknown people who were arrogantly standing next to the Sea King that others recognized. This arrogant group gave off apletely different feel, as they were also from the Heavens Sect era.

    The current era was ruled by the six Heavenly Gates, but no one knew if it would be dominated by the people from this era. After all, of the gatemasters of the six Heavenly Gates, only Arch-Elder Zen and Jiu Yao were not from the Heavens Sect era.

    Jiu Yao and Herb Immortal represented the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, and they were apanied by a group of people from the Sixth Maind.

    After the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s death, the strength of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators had sharply dropped. Since then, stellr energy had also disappeared, which meant that the Sixth Maind no longer possessed even a fifth of the powerpared to when they had invaded the Fifth Maind.

    The Honor Heavenly Gate was of course represented by Arch-Elder Zen, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong.

    The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s representatives were Hen Xin, Ni Huang, Xia De, and Xia Ji. They were followed by Chu Yuan and their ten member team.

    Countless people instantly focused on Chu Yuan, who was the most popr candidate to be the current era¡¯s Dao Chosen.

    Jue Yi appeared for the Undying Heavenly Gate. He coldly red at Lu Buzheng and the others. He was apanied by Tian Dou.

    Lu Yin saw Tian Dou from where he sat on Ancestor Tortoise''s back, and a cold glint appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Sure enough, the Specter n had decided to follow Jue Yi. However, such a decision could only be expected. The appearance of the God of Death¡¯s disciple was no different than the Specter n¡¯s ancestor¡¯s reemergence. However, was Jue Yi able to produce death energy? Or could he only do that when he became a Progenitor himself? Lu Yin really did not know what the difference between how the two of them cultivated with death energy was.

    After all, far too many coincidences had had to align for Lu Yin to receive the God of Death Transformation; could such a unique series of events possibly be replicated? When Lu Yin met Jue Yi in the past, the Semi-Progenitor had given Lu Yin the same feeling as Tian Dou; he used death energy rather than created it.

    The final group was the Divining Heavenly Gate, with Destina as the gatemaster. She was an incredibly mysterious woman, as no one had even seen her face thus far. She had always revealed herself as nothing more than a white cloud to all who looked at her, and when she arrived, everyone looked over. But as usual, they only saw a white cloud.

    A smile spread across Kui Luo¡¯s face. "One day, I¡¯ll strip that away."

    Lu Buzheng was startled by thement, and he quickly scolded, "Don''t say such ridiculous things, and don''t mess with that woman! She¡¯s crazy!"

    Kui Luo just rolled his eyes, but he actually did not say anything further. In the end, even he had some reservations.

    Destiny was an ever-changing concept, but regardless of whether or not people believed in it, it still scared people.

    Two people stepped out behind the white cloud. Both were women. One was the beautiful Starsibyl, who was as gorgeous as ever, even after so many years. The only change in her was that there was an additional depth in her eyes.

    As for the other woman, everyone who saw her was taken aback. Was that really a woman when she had such a massive Adam''s apple? Yes, she really was a woman, and a beautiful woman, no matter what one¡¯s tastes might be. Her clothes were very revealing, but how could anyone miss an Adam''s apple thatrge? Additionally, there was something massive on her shoulder. Was it a mace? Many people rubbed their eyes, but they had seen correctly: it was definitely a mace.

    Lu Buzheng, Ni Huang, and everyone else stared nkly at the person who seemed to be a woman. They had never before seen such an odd human.

    The woman mmed her mace against the floor as she let out a contemptuous snort. There was a look of ridicule on her face, as though she was looking down on absolutely everyone.

    Kui Luo showed his teeth. "Someone needs a beating."

    "Senior, are you looking for Qian Zou?1 I''ll go find him right now!" The Ghost Monkey suddenly appeared, and he instantly started sucking up to Kui Luo.

    The Semi-Progenitor merely got annoyed. "Leave."

    The Ghost Monkey quickly vanished.

    Where the Honor Heavenly Gate¡¯s people stood up, Highsage Leon stood behind Highsage Grandmaster, and the man excitedly looked at the woman with the mace. Unless he waspletely wrong, she had to be Qingqing. Who else could have such a discordant appearance?

    The woman looked over and met Highsage Leon¡¯s eyes. She lifted a hand and made a specific gesture. It was something that only interster pirates would understand, but it indicated that everything was under control.

    Highsage Leon let out a massive sigh of relief. As long as nothing¡¯s wrong, he motioned back.

    Big Sis just rolled her eyes and hefted the mace back up. She then looked at the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s Chu Yuan. The young man sensed her eyes and looked over.

    The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Big Sis sneered. She raised a hand with her thumb pointing up, but then suddenly turned it over. Chu Yuan was stunned by the woman¡¯s antagonism, as no one had ever acted so aggressively towards him. He simply had no idea how to react to such crass behavior.

    Hen Xin saw the motion, and his eyebrows rose. "Destina, take care of your people."

    A pleasant voice answered from within the white cloud. "She¡¯s just saying hello."

    "That¡¯s a heavy greeting," Hen Xin responded coldly.

    Destina said nothing, but Big Sis nodded in response. "He needs a beating."

    Elsewhere in the massive za, the Ghost Monkey popped out of the shadows. "Is someone else looking for Qian Zou? He seems to be very popr! It must be because of his Inverse Step. Someone from the Heavens Sect era must have recognized it and want to learn it."

    Lu Yin had also noticed Big Sis from his position on Ancestor Tortoise''s back, and he instantly recognized the odd-looking person as Big Sis. Seeing that she was safe and well caused a wave of relief to wash over him. If she was fine, then things were better than he had feared.

    "Let¡¯s not waste time¡ªlet''s start the team battles," Hen Xin immediately said, showing hisplete confidence in his people. Even if they were missing Xing Kai, it was not like the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had no recements. Even though everyone else was much weaker than Xing Kai, they were still expertspared to the other Heavenly Gates¡¯ representatives. Thus, Hen Xin had not lost any of his confidence.

    Arch-Elder Zen asked, "How shall we determine the match-ups?"

    Hen Xin indifferently replied, "It doesn¡¯t matter."

    "Then you guys can face three teams!" Kui Luo shouted.

    Hen Xin gave the man a cold look, but he said nothing. Instead, Xia Ji replied, "There should be a limit to how shameless a person can be, Kui Luo! You¡¯ve been causing trouble this whole time, but the day wille when all your debts will be collected."

    Kui Luo replied with a strange smile, "Then why don¡¯t we see whose luck runs out first? You want to return to your ancestral n and be acknowledged by your family¡¯s Progenitors, but I won¡¯t let you ever see them."

    Xia Ji was so infuriated by Kui Luo¡¯sment that he took a step forward and was about to attack when he was stopped by Xia De. "There¡¯s no need to cause trouble."

    He looked across the za. "There will be a total of four matches, each between two teams. You can decide the matchups."

    Lu Buzheng immediately stated, "My Lu Heavenly Gate will face the Honor Heavenly Gate."

    Everyone looked over at Arch-Elder Zen, only to see the man agree.

    Xia Deughed. It looked like the two Heavenly Gates had reached an agreement. They had most likely alreadypared the strength of their teams, and if one of the two teams simply surrendered at the beginning, it would help the other team preserve their strength for their next opponent. Meanwhile, the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate would be forced to wear themselves out.

    Xia De¡¯s guess was quite urate. Since the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate was doing everything that they could to monopolize humanity¡¯s mostmon cultivation methods, all of the other Heavenly Gates had naturally banded together to resist. The five different Heavenly Gates had alreadypared their representative teams, and they had found that the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team was the strongest. Thus, a deal had been struck between them. The Undying Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate¡¯s teams were the weakest, so they both intended to simply forfeit their matches to allow the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team to retain their full strength.

    As for the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, they fully intended to draw out as much of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team¡¯s power as possible.

    While it was highly unusual for the Fifth and Sixth Mainds to join forces, this was a matter that concerned the future of humanity¡¯s cultivation systems.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin watched as a group of ten people from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate stepped forward. In Xing Kai¡¯s absence, they had been forced to add someone whom Lu Yin did not recognize. Across the za, ten people from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Bloodlines Heavenly Gate appeared.

    Lu Yin knew most of the people on this second team, as there was Toolwielder, Corpse Looter, Master Changbai, the Greenmen Duo, Xiao Qing, and Shang Rong. Additionally, there were three people that Lu Yin did not recognize, but most of the team members were former Realmlings.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin realized that this only made sense. Regardless of the cultivation method, these people were all talented individuals who possessed a much greater gift ofprehension andbat strength than their peers. As long as it was beneath the Envoy level, these people were extremely powerful.

    Twenty years ago, aside from Lu Yin himself, out of the entire younger generation, only the Perennial World¡¯s four Junior Progenitors had possessed thebat strength to fight against Envoys. Lu Yin was very curious to see just how much his old acquaintances had improved over the course of twenty years.

    If it was simply a matter ofpeting in terms of power levels, then Lu Yin was certain that the team from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate did not have the upper hand. At the very least, the cultivation of Darkvoid, Coco, and Dai Ao were all behind that of the Sixth Maind¡¯s team. However, this was apetition where they needed to fight with battle force. Even before Lu Yin had left Sword Mountain, everyone on the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team had reached at least seven lined battle force, and it was quite possible that had improved even further.

    The result was not surprising, though Lu Yin was surprised by the strength that Darkvoid and the others revealed. Only by seeing them all fight was he able to understand why they had been selected for the representative team.

    Even disregarding the fact that he had achieved eight lined battle force, Darkvoid utilized his battle force in an entirely different manner than other people. He had added his innate gift that allowed him to detonate the void to his battle force, and the result was very difficult for most people to deal with. Darkvoid had even instantly torn his way through Shang Rong''s battle force.

    There was arge difference in the two men¡¯s cultivation levels, and even in the absence of star energy, this gap led to a significant difference in physical strength. However, Darkvoid had easily ovee this difference.

    Coco¡¯s performance was even more surprising. She used her syringe to stab straight through Toolwielder¡¯s eight lined battle force. Out of everyone from the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, Toolwielder possessed the strongest battle force, but Coco had instantly broken through his defenses.

    Dai Ao already had an impressive foundation of physical strength, and he had focused on his palm technique more than Darkvoid. On top of that, Wang Yi and the rest of the team had all managed to stabilize their battle force to six lines, but Dai Ao had focused specifically on stabilizing his battle force in his hands. Thus, he had managed to stabilize seven lined battle force, which even surpassed Xing Kai. Corpse Looter had been instantly struck down by Dai Ao¡¯s palm, and Xiao Qing had not dared to face him head on after seeing how one blow had left Corpse Looter spitting out blood.

    1 This is unfortunately a pun that''s impossible to trante. Qian Zou, who''s the guy Lu Yin learned Inverse Step from, has a name that is a homonym in Chinese for "needs a beating." Ghost Monkey isn''t aplete idiot, I promise. ?

 Chapter 2089: Clash Of Eras

    Chapter 2089: sh Of Eras

    In the teampetition, the use of battle techniques or any form of power aside from battle force was forbidden. This meant that only a few people from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team needed to take action topletely suppress the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate¡¯s team. It was a miserable defeat.

    Toolwielder, Xiao Qing, and the others on the team had all been Realmlings, which meant that they far surpassed Coco and the others on her team in terms of cultivation, but unfortunately, the two teams¡¯ mastery of battle force was the inverse. If thepetition allowed anything at all aside from battle force, then Toolwielder alone could have swept through the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s entire team.

    This teampetition would determine whether the battle force cultivation arts would be made public to the Fifth Maind, or if they would remain within the sole custody of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. It has nothing to do with the other forces. Thus, the Undying Heavenly Gate had not even sent a team to participate in the teampetition. They had no use or desire for battle force, as they cultivated death energy. The Divining Heavenly Gate was the same, and as far as those two groups were concerned, this team battlepetition was essentially a show to watch.

    Lu Yin shook his head. If the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate had other cultivation methods that their people could employ, then there would be no need for thispetition. The situation really was quite bad.

    The Bloodlines Heavenly Gate¡¯s team waspletely suppressed from start to end, but at the veryst moment, all ten people from the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate united to defeat Wang Yi and the woman whom Lu Yin had not recognized¡ªit seemed her name was Bian Ling¡ªdestabilizing the two women¡¯s conditions and leaving them unable to fight in the next match.

    Hen Xin was unconcerned. The eight people on his team who were still in fighting condition were enough to deal with the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team. Their mastery of battle force was much worse than Hen Xin¡¯s people.

    The next match was the Lu Heavenly Gate against the Honor Heavenly Gate. The result was as expected; the Honor Heavenly Gate directly forfeited, letting the Lu Heavenly Gate team remain in peak condition for their fight against the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate team.

    Xia De justughed. "Just as I thought!"

    Xia Ji spat in contempt. "When facing true strength, such tricks are useless."

    Hen Xin remained calm. This method was too simplistic, and it would be too easy for his people to defeat the Lu Heavenly Gate. There were good and bad things about the modern era, but when a person¡¯s strength was taken away from them, the best choice was to go with the flow.

    "Let¡¯s hurry up and get to the next match so that we can end this farce," he said lightly.

    Everyone stared down at the za as the two teams entered it. The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate was down to just eight people, and they were up against the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team.

    Lu Yin was quite curious, as he still had not yet seen the team representing the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    When the ten people appeared, he pursed his lips. Sure enough, he knew almost all of them, just like with the Sixth Maind¡¯s team. The most talented people of a generation would not change, and genue bloomers were just too few and far between.

    The members of the Lu Heavenly Gate team were Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, Little Mountain God, Y¨­u Ye''er, Hai Dashao, Hui Santong, and Ku Wei.

    Although Lu Yin had not interacted with Hai Dashao or Y¨­u Ye''er much, the rest of them were all old friends, especially Ku Wei. Lu Yin was happy to see that the man had reached this level.

    Wait, why were there only seven people?

    Lu Yin was not the only one surprised to see that the team was missing people, as even Hen Xin was caught off guard. Despite treating this team battle rather seriously, he had never truly believed that the Lu Heavenly Gate had any chance of victory. It was simply impossible. However, they had only sent out seven people, which was even less than the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team.

    "What is the meaning of this?" Hen Xin looked over and asked Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng looked back. "We¡¯ll show you what a gap in strength really is."

    Hen Xin frowned, and he started to feel a bit uneasy. He had always been cautious, and Lu Buzheng''s attitude was clearly indicative that there was a problem. Could there be some monstrously talented genius within the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s team? If anyone had managed to master ten lined battle force, let alone aurelian force, that single person would be capable ofpletely wiping out Hen Xin¡¯s team.

    Within the za, Xia Luo had maintained a low profile so far, but he looked at his opponents with open curiosity. With only seven people, was this indicative of their confidence? Could Lu Yin be hidden within their numbers? No, Lu Yin was disqualified from participating in this team battle, as he had trained battle force long ago.

    "What are you looking at, pretty boy?" Little Mountain God stepped forward and red at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo¡¯s hidden identity had been revealed long ago. After returning from the Perennial World, it had been impossible for him to remain incognito, and his identity as Luo Zhong had long since disappeared.

    However, since Xia Ji had returned to the Xia family and acknowledged them as his ancestors, it meant that Xia Luo, as the inheritor of the Xia family within the Fifth Maind, was naturally a part of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Little Mountain God had no idea who Xia Luo was, and he simply did not like Xia Luo¡¯s looks.

    "Is a broken piece of stone going to fight us? Don¡¯t break it. Just grab it so that we can y with itter," Xia Linyue mocked.

    Ling Gong moved her spear and pointed it straight at her opponents. "Where is Xing Kai?"

    Xia Luo shook his head. "I have no idea. Someone captured him."

    Wen Sansi was taken aback. "Xing Kai was captured? He was in the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Who¡¯s able to capture him from there?"

    Xia Luo just shrugged to indicate his ignorance.

    There was a sharp shout, and the match officially began. Countless people were nervously watching. The Divining Heavenly Gate and the Undying Heavenly Gate might not care about the oue of the wager concerning the spread of battle force cultivation methods, but Arch-Elder Zen and many others had ced a great deal of importance on thispetition.

    As soon as the battle began, Dai Ao attacked first. His battle force twined around his hand as he struck at Xia Linyue. At the same time, Darkvoid attacked Shan Lingui.

    No one had ever expected Darkvoid and Dai Ao to attack their own team members, and even Xia Luo was stunned for a moment.

    The opposition was simrly stunned. They had been told before the match that they should not be surprised no matter what happened during the battle, but they had merely assumed that someone would interfere in the match. Who would have imagined that infighting would break out?

    Hen Xin was startled as he stared at the za.

    Chu Yuan¡¯s brow furrowed. Was this really how they intended to win?

    Dao Ao¡¯s palm strike shattered Xia Linyue''s battle force, and the man was sent tumbling through the air as he smashed into the ground far away. At the same time, Darkvoid attacked Shan Lingui. Coco took advantage of this opening and stabbed her syringe right through Shan Lingui¡¯s battle force. In an instant, Shan Lingui and Xia Linyue were both badly injured.

    "Attack!" Ling Gong shouted. As she yelled, her impressive seven lined battle force appeared and wrapped around her body. She thrust a sharp attack at Xia Luo with her spear.

    Wen Sansi and the other members of the team all took action as well.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin let out a breath. So this was what Wang Wen had meant when he had said that he was 60% certain of achieving victory. At this moment, the remaining four members of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s team were facing off against all ten people from the Lu Heavenly Gate. On top of that, both Xia Linyue, and Shan Lingui had been badly injured, which meant they were actually just down to Xia Luo and the man whom Lu Yin did not recognize.

    How were they supposed to fight against such odds?

    Xia Luo was very strong, incredibly so. If it became a true life-and-death battle, Lu Yin was certain that Xia Luo could fight and win against everyone else on the stage, including even Ling Gong and Wen Sansi. However, the current match was apetition that was restricted to battle force, so Lu Yin did not have too much hope for Xia Luo.

    As expected, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate lost. Their defeat was simple and straightforward, as Xia Luo had no desire to desperately drag things out.

    Hen Xin stared across the za at Lu Buzheng. "Despicable."

    Lu Buzheng just scoffed. The truth was that this entire n had nothing to do with him. Everything had been arranged by Wang Wen and Wei Rong, and Lu Buzheng had not known about anything until after he sought out the two young men after hearing Lu Yin¡¯s reminder.

    For the people from the Heavens Sect era, such schemes were shocking to see. It was not that they were stupid, but rather that every era possessed a unique zeitgeist. During the Heavens Sect era, people hadpeted against each other with purebat strength and creativity. There had still been schemers, butpared to Wang Wen and the others, their plots were like those of children.

    Chu Yuan''s worldview was also challenged by what he saw. Was this really a way to fight?

    Jue Yi also stared at Lu Buzheng. He thought back to Wang Si¡¯s suggestion of how to deal with Lu Yin. In the current era, the winner was crowned king. The people from the ancient era were still too na?ve. It was possible that the Aeternals had managed to destroy five Mainds through simr plots and schemes.

    Jue Yi suddenly found himself questioning his own actions. Did he also tend to not think things through enough?

    Arch-Elder Zen and many others thought nothing of what happened, and the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate did not bat an eye. Had it been fair for Hen Xin to propose apetition restricted to only battle force? The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had always focused on battle force, and the Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch had even created that cultivation method. In a straightforwardpetition, there was no way for the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate to ever lose, so it was only natural that they had looked for alternative methods.

    Many people believed that people who used underhanded methods were evil, but if the rules tantly benefited one party, then what was the point in agreeing?

    In other words, the ends justified the means.

    ording to Wang Wen''s and Wei Rong''s thinking, as long as they were able to achieve their goals, it was of no concern whatsoever if they used despicable means to get there.

    "Lu Buzheng, you¡¯re a member of the Lu family! Don¡¯t you feel any shame for your family in employing such schemes? How can you not feel as though you¡¯ve disgraced the Heavens Sect era?" Hen Xin yelled a reprimand through gritted teeth.

    Lu Buzheng still said nothing, as he was genuinely embarrassed.

    Instead, Kui Luo answered with a strangeugh. "You¡¯re really too arrogant. All you keep prattling on about is how humans have regressed and how weak this era is, but your all-powerful Heavens Sect was wiped out by the Aeternals while our pathetic era has managed to hold them back for countless years! Tell me, is this progress or regression?¡±

    "Don''t forget that you¡¯re only able to stand here today and act all pompous because of Progenitor Hui¡¯s plotting and scheming. Without such methods, humanity would have been erased long ago, and it wouldn¡¯t have been humans who unlocked the sourcebox that you were sealed in, but rather those monsters."

    Hen Xin frowned. "Simply saying words doesn¡¯t give them any meaning. Something despicable will always be despicable, regardless of how much you may pretend otherwise."

    "There''s no need to cover anything up. We won. You lost. That¡¯s how it is!" Kui Luo shouted.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Hen Xin. "Gatemaster, are you not going to ept how things turned out?"

    Jiu Yao sighed. "Our eras really arepletely different. I¡¯ve seen for myself the glory of the Heavens Sect era. In your era, you were able topletely suppress the Aeternals and enve every astral beast in the universe. Humans were able to act as willfully as they wished, but things are different now. Combat strength is nothing more than one means that helps keep humanity alive. If you want to rigidly stick to the principles of the Heavens Sect era, the Fifth Maind will notst for long."

    "You people don''t have the courage of a true powerhouse!" Chu Yuan retorted. His voice was not loud, but it still reached the entirety of the Heavens Sect.

    Kui Luo nced over at the young man. "Kid, a powerhouse¡¯s courage won¡¯t be shaken by such petty details. You have your path, and others have their own."

    Chu Yuan raised his head high. "To step forward boldly and walk upon a road to invincibility! That is the courage of a powerhouse! Relying on such schemes just means that you will eventually be defeated by them, just like your Lu Yin! He tried to sneakily steal the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, and yet he fell by taking that sword to the heart! Even the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword looks down on such actions!"

    Countless people from the Lu Heavenly Gate became furious, and they started shouting loudly. Chu Yuan was insulting Lu Yin.

    Kui Luo sneered. "Just an arrogant belief left over from the Heavens Sect era."

    Chu Yuan nced around the za. "This may be a different era with different principles, but I will show you all the true road to invincibility today! I¡¯ve seen your Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor! Both of them were invincible powerhouses. How sad it is for them that you are taking the wrong path. Humanity should not be led astray by people like you!"

    Lu Buzheng grew solemn. "You really are too arrogant."

    "Regardless of whether it¡¯s the Heavens Sect era or now, thew of the strong will never change!" Chu Yuan stared at the Lu Heavenly Gate. "Only the strong possess the right to speak."

    Hen Xin smiled. "We¡¯ve lost the teampetition. I¡¯ll admit it. Still, it doesn¡¯t matter. If my representative, Chu Yuan, bes the Dao Chosen, my Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate will still stand above all others."

    Lu Yin red at Chu Yuan with cold eyes from the back of Ancestor Tortoise. He raised a hand and brought his die out. Ten days had passed, so it was time to continue rolling. He just hoped that he could roll a four.

    As the dice slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin frowned when he saw one pip.

 Chapter 2090: The Universe And The Stars

    Chapter 2090: The Universe And The Stars

    On the other side of the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, Jue Yi spoke up. "Let''s start the Dao Chosen selection right away. Destina, will you reaffirm your earlier im? Whoever bes the Dao Chosen will receive your full support?"

    A melodious voice came from the white cloud. "Of course. I will help whoever bes the Dao Chosen without any conditions at all."

    Many people looked excited when they heard these words.

    This woman was Destina, and while people from the current era might not be able to understand how terrifying she was, who from the Heavens Sect era did not fear her?

    Out of all the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, Destina had been powerful enough to rank among the top three.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin continued to roll his die. Two pips. He dismissed the screens of light with a wave of his hand and continued.

    At the edge of the za, Lu Buzheng nced up at Ancestor Tortoise. Had Lu Yin left seclusion yet?

    "Lu Buzheng, let''s begin the Dao Chosen selection right now. Thepetition will be very straightforward." As Hen Xin spoke, a statue appeared in the center of the za.

    The vast majority of people felt confused, as this figure waspletely unknown to them. However, Lu Buzheng and a few others recognized the statue as that of the Origin Progenitor.

    "ce this statue before the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate, and you will be the Dao Chosen," Hen Xin stated.

    The gates to the Heavens Sect were enormous, and they were also quite a ways away from the za.

    "If the statue ever touches the ground, it will instantly return to where it currently rests. To be a Dao Chosen, one must be able to surpass all others at the same time. That is the strength needed to be a Dao Chosen and represent the Dao Monarchs. They must be capable of bing a powerful Progenitor that can support an entire Maind. This is the fate of a Dao Chosen." The pleasant voice again rose from within the white cloud.

    Lu Buzheng solemnly stated, "Not every era has Dao Chosen, but ours did. Thepetition to be a Dao Chosen was bloody and cruel. Many heroes were buried in the ground. There were many who were expected to be Progenitors, but they instead died in thepetition.

    "Right now, there can only be one Dao Chosen." This was apletely different concept from the past.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Jiu Yao, and many others had never witnessed the process for choosing a Dao Chosen, but they could easily sense just how ruthless and cruel thepetition had been in the past.

    Hen Xin nced around to take in the sight of the entire sr system, and past it to the rest of Frostwave Weave. "Anyone who enters the Dao Chosen selection must understand that this is a life or death contest, and thispetition is also not guaranteed to find the Dao Chosen. Now, all who will participate can enter the za."

    It was left unsaid that this Dao Chosen selection would be the most vicious one in the entire history of humanity. This was because Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan had all already be Dao Chosen in their original era. Each of them was able to defeat all other contenders on their own, but the three also had to face off against each other. It was impossible to determine who would be the final victor.

    For there to be only one Dao Chosen, they would not only need to deal with all the other people participating, but also defeat two Dao Chosen. This was something that had never been aplished throughout all of history.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s gates had not even finished being built, but a new page of human history was already being written.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin¡¯s die slowly came to a stop. Four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as he observed the gray and white space around him. He was so close to mastering the fifth level of the Cosmic Art. He pulled out the final true Root of Intelligence that he possessed. Should he use it or not?

    It was possible that there would be no real change to the Cosmic Art even after Lu Yinpleted the fifth level, and he might simply be able to simte more stars. If this was the case, then using the Root of Intelligence would be a waste. However, if there was some fundamental change once one reached a certain threshold, the result might not be as powerful without the Root of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin struggled for a bit, but then he finally gritted his teeth and brewed the tea. There would always be better opportunities to use something like a Root of Intelligence in the future, but Lu Yin could not abandon an opportunity to grow stronger.

    After taking a sip of the tea made from the Root of Intelligence, Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Sutra. Stars appeared around his body as he started cultivating the Cosmic Art.

    After ingesting the tea, Lu Yin¡¯s progress with the Cosmic Artpletely transformed. Just reciting the Origin Sutra was enough to elerate his simtion rate to around 4,000 stars each year, but the tea made from the Root of Intelligence greatly increased that number, as Lu Yin¡¯s mind would be hyperfocused.

    A single sip of the tea was enough to let Lu Yin simte more than 98,000 stars, which was just a small bit away from fullypleting the fifth level. At the end, Lu Yin had spent less than two months in his Timestop Space.

    He needed to continue, so after taking his second sip of the tea, Lu Yin calmed himself down and resumed his enlightenment.

    Time passed, and soon, there were 98,900 stars in Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art. It quickly increased to 98,995, 98,999, and finally, as the final star appeared, a tremble ran through Lu Yin''s body. He felt as though his body was expanding and growing infinitelyrger. The stars revolving around his body spread out, and he felt as though he was no longer in his Timestop Space, but rather in the real universe.

    The astral bodies that Lu Yin had simted spread out further and further. 99,000 stars revolved around him, and they gave him absolute control over a given area. He seemed to see water suddenly appear on a certain, and maybe shoots of greenery on another.

    These were the beginnings of life, but stars ands had all been produced and simted by a cultivation art.

    The Cosmic Art was just a cultivation art, so why did this simted universe feel as authentic as a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world? Was it possible that the Cosmic Art had actually be Progenitor Chen''s inner world? Could Progenitor Chen havebined his inner world and the real universe into a singr whole?

    Lu Yin quickly finished the third sip of tea brewed from the Root of Intelligence as he left his Timestop Space and returned to Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back. Almost instantly, his body seemed to disappear. He felt as though he had drifted away into the greater universe. He wandered through the entirety of Frostwave and Darkmist Weaves in the blink of an eye. He continued on through Vastdearth Weave, Adonis Weave, and more. He saw Umbral Butterfly Weave, the Astral River, and then the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse.

    Throughout it all, there were specific stars ands that pulled Lu Yin''s consciousness further along. Each of these astral bodies worked to lead Lu Yin through outer space. He was able to observe the boundless universe that was filled with bright stars and countless creatures living on variouss. He could also see the stars that revolved around his own body.

    Did my body just merge with the universe itself, or did those stars ands appear and start revolving around me on their own ord? For the moment, Lu Yin could not determine which was true.

    At this same moment, there was a cry of surprise from the white cloud at the edge of the za in the Heavens Sect.

    Behind the white cloud, Starsybil was taken aback. It should be impossible for Destina to make such a sound. This woman controlled everything and saw all that urred. How could anything catch her by surprise?

    In the far western reaches of the Innerverse, there was a battlefield that separated the Aeternals from the humans.

    Lu Yin saw this battlefield, and he watched as humans fought against the forces of Aeternus. He saw Leng Qing transform his body into a de that shed at Marquis Green Bamboo, who was the gatemaster¡¯s opponent.

    Both Marquis Green Bamboo and Marquis Wu Yi had been trapped within the mentalwork that had suppressed the Fifth Maind, but they had escaped when the mentalwork had been broken. However, it was impossible for the two of them to leave the Fifth Maind. They had been trapped.

    "It''s useless to fight for so long. How long can youst without any stellr energy?" Marquis Green Bamboo sneered. A terrifying dark-red stream of energy had spread throughout the entire region.

    Leng Qing sliced down. He was also a master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect era, but he had no desire to get involved in reestablishing the Heavens Sect in the current era. As far as Leng Qing was concerned, a Heavens Sect without a Dao Monarch would never be the true Heavens Sect.

    He would rather die in battle than hide in the rear and rx.

    Lu Yin watched the battlefield, and he saw Leng Qing swear to stop Marquis Green Bamboo. Subconsciously, Lu Yin raised a foot and crushed stars with a stomp. He had no idea why he even felt that such a thing was possible, but it seemed like he was essing the stars that Progenitor Chen had left behind when his mastery of the Cosmic Art had ovepped with the real universe. Lu Yin just had a strange feeling that he could crush a star or a with a single foot.

    Boom!

    Astral bodies exploded. As they did, one star off to the side of the battle between Leng Qing and Marquis Green Bamboo shattered with a terrifying burst of power. Space imploded, as well as everything else within range. Marquis Green Bamboo was instantly destroyed, as he was swallowed by the destruction of the exploding star. Everything happened before the man could even react. He was utterly gone.

    Leng Qing stared nkly at the shattered region of space before him. What kind of power had he just witnessed? He shouted, "Which senior hase? Please show yourself to this junior!"

    Still on Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s back, Lu Yin was startled, and he looked down at his foot. Had he really done that on his own? Was he truly capable of crushing an entire star with a single stomp and annihting Marquis Green Bamboo in an instant? Lu Yin had clearly not used much strength, so where had all of the powere from?

    It had been the power of a star exploding. That was the power left behind by Progenitor Chen.

    Lu Yin gulped. Was the pattern etched onto the sole of his foot able to give him ess to the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind?

    Ecstasy overcame him. Lu Yin had never before felt so secure. How many stars had Progenitor Chen left throughout the Fifth Maind? What kind of power was Lu Yin able to tap into? This was the strength of Progenitor Chen, who had been invincible throughout his entire lifetime! Progenitor Chen, who had controlled two Mountains and one Sea.

    The Rune Progenitor had left his countless runes behind, and Progenitor Hui had left endless countermeasures for various events that he had predicted would happen in the future. As for Progenitor Chen, he had left behind stars ands throughout the entire universe!

    Lu Yin felt absolutely certain that he could control the Fifth Maind itself at this moment. This was the invincible power that Progenitor Chen had left behind.

    It was no wonder why the Cosmic Sect had been so concerned about the pattern on Lu Yin¡¯s foot! While they were not able to use it, coincidences had aligned to give Lu Yin that ability.

    He looked up and let out a breath. With this new power, he felt that he no longer needed to fear the Aeternals¡¯ invasion.

    Back in the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, people stepped forward one after another. All of them were determined to fight for the position of Dao Chosen.

    Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, Wei An, Hen Mo, Lu Lai, and Lu Jiao all stepped out, as well as people from the current era, such as Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, and many more. More and more young people stepped forward, and all of them stared at the distant statue of the Origin Progenitor with firm determination filling their eyes.

    Lu Buzheng anxiously nced back at Ancestor Tortoise. Why had Lu Yin not stepped out yet? There was no way he had been injured¡­ Lu Buzheng forced himself to dismiss his worries. After all, even if Lu Yin appeared, he most likely would not be able topare to Chu Yuan and the other top seeds. They had all been preparing for over ten years.

    No time limit was ced on the Dao Chosen selection, so even if Lu Yin stepped out at the veryst moment and defeated someone who was just about to seize victory, the statue would return to its original position and would need to be carried to the Heavens Sect¡¯s unfinished gates. If Lu Yin waited, then most of the otherpetitors would have either given up, suffered serious injuries, or been exhausted, which would give Lu Yin an advantage.

    During the Heavens Sect era, unless they were genuinely toote, no one would ever step in at the very end, as they would be looked down upon by all the otherpetitors. Even the Dao Monarch would likely refuse to acknowledge such a person as their Dao Chosen, even if the person did seize victory, as that was a Dao Monarch¡¯s prerogative.

    The Dao Chosen stepped out on behalf of the heavens, and the heavens referred to the Dao Monarchs. If a Dao Monarch did not want someone to be their Dao Chosen, then it simply would not happen.

    This was why even the most cautious people would never try to take advantage of theirpetitors during a Dao Chosen selection, as doing so could easily earn the ire of the Dao Monarch.

    This was also why Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, and the others saw no need to announce the start of the selection process. Thepetition had started the moment the statue of the Origin Progenitor appeared in the za. From that moment onwards, thepetitors could enter or leave the selection as they chose.

    There was a short silence, and then an entire group of people charged at the statue. Most of these people¡¯s eyes were zing. Their goal was not to be the Dao Chosen, but simply to be the first person to touch the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue.

 Chapter 2091: The Gap

    Chapter 2091: The Gap

    It had to be acknowledged that, in the current era, Envoys and Semi-Progenitors stood at the peak of human strength. And out of the living Semi-Progenitors, the ancient gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates stood above all others, and they were all watching the current selection.

    This was precisely why so many people had eagerly stepped forward to participate in the Dao Chosen selection.

    It was important for people to understand themselves. Most of the people in the Heavens Sect¡¯s za were fully aware that they were not even close to possessing the level of power necessary to be a Dao Chosen. All they wanted was to demonstrate a sufficient level of strength or talent to attract the attention of the powerhouses who were watching the za.

    Out of everyone in this first group of people charging for the statue of the Origin Progenitor, Ce Jiu held the lead. He arrived in front of the statue quicker than anyone else, and many who were watching were stunned.

    There were more than just the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era and the candidates from the current era participating in the selection. There were also other people from the Heavens Sect era who had been frozen in the sourcebox, and while there were not many, they still numbered seven or eight. After twenty years, many youths had also risen up and made names for themselves in the years following the time of the Ten Arbiters. Very few of the people in the za had ever seen the Ce family fight before.

    The appearance of the Ce Secret Art instantly blew everyone away. Fortunately, this secret technique was not an attack, and the stellr energy that was used to power the technique was not instantly devoured after being used.

    Ce Jiu stared at the statue of the Origin Progenitor. Excitement flickered in his eyes, and he reached out to grab the statue. However, right as he was about to take hold of it, he realized that white catkins had appeared around them. They had not only appeared between Ce Jiu and the statue, but also across the entire za.

    There was a scream. One of the drifting catkins had hit someone¡¯s forehead. Instantly, their entire body shattered.

    It was a shocking sight, and people looked around at the drifting flowers in horror.

    Some of the drifting catkins moved towards Ce Jiu from the front. He was able to get a clear look, and could see that they were not white catkins, but rather tiny des gathered together. They were sharp enough to slice through the void, and there was a white energy wrapped around them. These things were actually a terrifying attack, not some soft white fluff.

    As Ce Jiu watched, the catkins in front of him suddenly broke apart and shot towards him.

    He shot backwards, but the flower-like des had left almost no path of retreat, and Ce Jiu was clearly being forced to block the attacks. However, he avoided all the blocked paths of escape, which surprised even Wei An. "I thought that he would be forced to use his secret technique to escape, but he¡¯s not too shabby huh?¡±

    Hen Mo quietly watched from nearby as a group of people shot towards the statue. He looked around at the des that looked like white catkins scattered across the entire za. There were many people who were in no rush at all. These people genuinely wanted to fight for the position of Dao Chosen, and they had no intention of acting like a group of clowns fighting over a bit of food. "It¡¯s not right to look down on this entire era. Outstanding people can still appear even now."

    "Were you schooled on that?" Wei An was surprised.

    Hen Mo did not reply, but he started steadily making his way towards the statue one step at a time. The des that looked like catkins werepletely unable to harm him, as he was isted by an invisibleyer of battle force.

    The white catkins were scattered everywhere in the za, and screams kept ringing out. Almost instantly, the floor of the za was stained with blood.

    Jue Yi voiced his admiration from the audience. "This is how things should be. The Heavens Sect should not be founded based on sheer quantity, but rather on toughness and blood! At humanity¡¯s greatest heights, thousands of races were not conquered because of the number of humans, but rather through ruthless ughter. Blood is the best foundation for the Heavens Sect. In this way, the current era will be able to see the truth."

    Wei An''s catkins had drifted across the za and eliminated almost half of the participants so far. The people who had still stood had either been lucky or possessed the strength to survive. Avery was on his knees, and he finallypletely copsed. He had been eliminated before the entire Heavens Sect. The arrogant youth who had once stood at the peak of his generation, a genius who had been ranked fourth on the Top 100 Rankings, was absolutely helpless on this battlefield.

    Suddenly, a cold energy shot across the za. Wei An turned his head and saw the white light of a falling sword. His eye twitched, and he waved a hand to bring his catkins in front of him. The sword sh fell down, sliced through the floating catkins, and eventually disappeared before it reached Wei An.

    This sword was far from weak, but star energy no longer existed, which had removed the most popr form of cultivation from the Fifth Maind. Star energy battle techniques no longer had a ce in the universe. While people could still cultivate to the Envoy realm by relying on star crystals, the strength that they could disy was not at all the same as in the past.

    This attack was the Fifth Sword from the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords. This was the de that united man, sword, and domain, and Liu Shaoqiu had been the one tounch this attack.

    Liu Shaoqiu had already be an Enlighter, but he was unable to utilize the full power of his sword techniques.

    Wei An looked over at Liu Shaoqiu. "You actually dare to attack me with a sword?"

    Liu Shaoqiu looked extremely calm, and he simply raised his sword and attacked again, this time with the Eleventh Sword: Origin¡¯s Crack. This sword sh had originally been able to slice through space to enter the true universe and attack Envoys, but in the absence of stellr energy, the Eleventh Sword had been defanged, and it was now a much more basic attack.

    The sword sh hurtled towards Wei An through what had once been the true universe.

    Wei An shook his head. "Too weak."

    He turned his left hand, and the catkins drifting through the air gathered together. The countless des worked together to release a terrifying sh back at Liu Shaoqiu.

    The gap in the two men¡¯s strength was enormous. Wei An was a two-tribtion Envoy, and Liu Shaoqiu could not deal with such an expert¡¯s attacks.

    Liu Shaoqiu swept out with his sword when he heard Wei An¡¯s remark. He would not allow the people of the current era to be looked down upon, even if doing so led to his death.

    The Eleventh Sword was instantly shattered, and Wei An¡¯s sh continued forward. However, Liu Shaoqiu did not move or dodge as the de fell towards him. His body was swept away by the sh, and blood rained down upon the za as a body was sent tumbling through the air. Not a single part of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s body looked like it had been left intact, and it was impossible to know if he was dead or alive.

    However, as he was struck, his sword had also released an attack: the Thirteenth Sword. He had actually mastered the Thirteenth Sword.

    The expression on Wei An''s face froze, and he slowly looked down to stare at his body. He did not even realize that blood was dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. How was this possible? It was because the Thirteenth Sword could not be dodged or blocked.

    Wei An was not the only one startled by this development, as the nearby Hen Mo, and the more distant Lu Jiao from the Lu family had also seen this exchange of des, and they both turned to stare at Liu Shaoqiu in shock. How had he managed to wound Wei An? It was very clear just howrge the gap between them was.

    The two men stared at Liu Shaoqiu where hey on the za. Despite not knowing if he still lived, no one would dare to underestimate him again. For him to have injured Wei An despite the vast difference in cultivation between them, the fallen man was an unbelievable genius.

    Wei An wiped at the corner of his mouth, and he gave Liu Shaoqiu a look of respect. "You are very impressive, but unfortunately, the gap between us is too much. Still, I will remember you."

    He then turned around and started walking towards the statue of the Origin Progenitor. As he did so, another sword shed at him. Again, it was the Fifth Sword. It was the exact same attack that Liu Shaoqiu had used against Wei An.

    However, this attack was one that left Wei An wary. For the first time, he pulled out his own de, and he swept it across in front of him, the slice stopping the Fifth Sword. He then looked off into the distance, where he saw a woman with long ck hair and sses holding a long white sword in her hand. She was Liu Tianmu.

    Liu Tianmu said nothing, instead lifting her sword to release the Eleventh Sword, Origin Crack. She was still copying Liu Shaoqiu''s attacks, but the power that this woman wielded made Wei An nervous. The truth was that there was still a significant difference in strength between him and Liu Tianmu, as she was still just an Enlighter. Despite the passage of twenty years, with the true universe empty, there was an entire generation trapped in the Enlighter realm with no way to break past the final step.

    Still, Liu Tianmu was much stronger than Liu Shaoqiu, and the gap between her strength and Wei An¡¯s was not as exaggerated.

    The Thirteen Swords was an unparalleled and terrifying sword art, and Liu Tianmu''s use of the various techniques was even more overbearing than what Liu Shaoqiu had revealed. No matter how confident Wei An might be, he recognized that he had to take this woman seriously. There were still true geniuses in this current era.

    Ce Jiu had been forced to retreat by the white catkins, and the second person to reach the statue of the Origin Progenitor was actually Ku Lei. He also did not immediatelyy his hands upon the statue, as a young man from the Heavens Sect era had appeared and blocked his path when Ku Lei arrived just a short distance away from the statue.

    "Your era has no understanding of the greatness of the Origin Progenitor! None of you are qualified to touch his likeness," the young man arrogantly dered. As soon as he spoke, golden meteors fell down from overhead. Hui Santong had attacked.

    ¡°I might despise Ku Lei, but you¡¯re even more annoying. No matter if this statue is of the Origin Progenitor, we still will touch it."

    "You overestimate yourselves!" The young man pointed his fingertips upwards, and countless white curtains of white light swept upwards towards the golden meteors.

    One golden meteor after another fell down, and the curtain of white light sliced through each one of them. A magnificent duel yed out in the za, and shockwaves shook the area.

    As the young man spoke, he slowly and casually walked towards the statue of the Origin Progenitor. He would not allow anyone from the current era toy a finger on the statue.

    No one from the Heavens Sect era had ever truly regarded the people of the current era as their peers. The ancient people were arrogant, and they only saw their own contemporaries as their equals.

    This was true even of Lu Lai and Lu Jiao, as they also looked down on the people of the modern era.

    In their arrogance, the people of the Heavens Sect era had reached an unspoken agreement: no one from the current era would be allowed to touch the statue of the Origin Progenitor.

    Chu Yuan watched as the battles raged across the za, but he merely smiled indifferently at what he saw. Regardless of how people struggled, there were only a very select few who were truly qualified to reach the end of this Dao Chosen Selection. Wei An, Hen Mo, and the others from the ancient era were not qualified, let alone anyone from the modern era.

    Sky Garan was also still, though he asionally sent a few nces towards the Lu Heavenly Gate. Was Lu Yin really dead? If so, that was a pity, as it meant that Sky Garan would not be able to defeat him directly.

    In another corner of the za, Xu San was not only not trying to move forward, but was actually retreating. What he was seeing was simply too scary. Why did Master tell me to fight? These people are all monsters! The Ten Arbiters are getting their asses handed to them, so what can I possibly do? This is too much. I¡¯ll just wait a bit longer. There are still conniving bastards like Ku Wei waiting around, and they haven¡¯t done anything. They probably don¡¯t dare to do anything now that they¡¯ve seen what kind of monsters are here.

    Nong Zaitian was thinking the same as Xu San. Nong Zaitian also had zero motivation topete to be the Dao Chosen. All of that Dao Chosen stuff had nothing at all to do with him, but what could he do? Nong Zaitian¡¯s ancestor had ordered him to participate while stating that the Nong family had always been lucky. Just remembering that matter made Nong Zaitian roll his eyes. Regardless of how lucky he might be, how could he go against battle force? Even the guys with ten lined battle force were being treated as second-rate participants!

    Dai Aoy on the floor in the distance. He struggled to lift his head to see Hen Mo slowly approaching. "Anyone who betrays the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate deserves to die. I did everything I could to join Team Resolution, and while you were so close to seeding, you chose betrayal. You can just go to hell!"

    As he finished speaking, Hen Mo arrived right in front of Dai Ao. The man raised a foot. He wanted to kill Dai Ao in the most insulting manner possible.

    Dai Ao clenched his fists. He wanted to stand up, but the gap between him and this person was too great. Dai Ao had believed himself to be very talented at battle force, but this Dao Chosen selection was not restricted to just battle force. Even Xia Linyue, who had been severely injured by Dai Ao, would not be suppressed if those restrictions had not been in ce during the team battle. In fact, without those restrictions, Dai Ao would have never been able to even get close to Xia Linyue.

    This was the gap between them. Dai Ao had elected to participate in the Dao Chosen selection, but a key part of that decision was that he had not truly understood the gap in strength.

    From the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s section, Wang Wen frowned as he watched things y out. He had previously attempted to persuade Dai Ao to not participate in the Dao Chosen selection, but he had been ignored. There was nothing more that Wang Wen could do.

    Hen Mo stomped down, but as his foot fell, a white spear suddenly shot towards him from the side, and it was aimed straight at his forehead.

    Hen Mo frowned. He had no choice but to stop his foot so that he could turn and dodge this sudden attack. He reached out and grabbed the spear. ¡°Decent strength."

    Ling Gong was tightly clenching her spear, her body shrouded with battle force. She sent a jostle through her spear in an attempt to free it, but her weapon did not budge in the slightest.

    "You want topete with me in battle force?" Hen Mo¡¯s voice grew cold, and he released an invisible battle force from his body. The void started burning, proving that this was actually aurelian force. Ling Gong was instantly overpowered by just its presence, and she struggled to not spit out blood.

    She had never expected this young man to have actually mastered aurelian force.

 Chapter 2092: Earth-Shattering News

    Chapter 2092: Earth-Shattering News

    Hen Mo pped at Ling Gong. A palm strike reinforced with aurelian force was nothing to sneer at. The attacknded easily, and Ling Gong¡¯s internal organs shattered. Hen Mo had been merciless in his attack.

    After seeing Ling Gong¡¯s corpse fall to the floor of the za, Hen Mo turned around to finish stomping Dai Ao to death. However, another spear stabbed at him from behind. Hen Mo turned and was startled to see Ling Gong attacking him again. "You?"

    The spear that Ling Gong wielded was different, and her Skycastle appeared above her. It was a wless building constructed from white jade, and an ancient bell rang in an attempt to suppress the aurelian force. However, Ling Gong had underestimated the power of aurelian force. How could something that could only be achieved by possessing an indomitable spirit be suppressed by an innate gift? The Skycastle shattered.

    Ling Gong was utterly stunned. Her opponent¡¯s cultivation surpassed her own, and hisbat strength did so as well.

    Hen Mo''s aurelian force was as stable as a mountain, and it showed not even the slightest ripple from Ling Gong¡¯s attempt to destabilize it.

    "Is this a cloning battle technique? Interesting." As Hen Mo spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist and released a punch. With his aurelian force, he was unstoppable.

    A person shot by Ling Gong. There was nine lined battle force covering his entire body, and he raised a hand to stop Hen Mo¡¯s punch. "Heart Quenching Palm."

    There was a bang, and the man shot backwards far faster than when he arrived. His right arm waspletely shattered, and a long divet was carved in the floor of the za as hended. However, blood stains could also be seen on Hen Mo¡¯s shoulder.

    Hen Mo did not pay to his injured shoulder, as he was staring at the man lying on the floor. "You managed to survive after taking my punch? Pretty good."

    The fallen man was actually Cai Jianqiang. Despite being just a bit over a hundred years old, he had chosen to participate in the Dao Chosen selection. While he might have technically broken the rules, no one would raise any fuss over it.

    An ugly expression could be seen on Ling Gong''s face. If Cai Jianqiang had not jumped in front of her, she would have been the one to be badly injured, and there would have been no possibility of wounding Hen Mo.

    Hen Mo shook his head. "For this era, you¡¯re quite good."

    As he spoke, he seized Ling Gong¡¯s spear, and his aurelian force slowly surged again, subjecting Ling Gong to so much pressure that she struggled to breathe. As he did this, Hen Mo also raised his foot. "You want to keep me from stomping him to death, but you aren¡¯t capable of doing so."

    Only a short amount of time had passed, and yet more than half of the participants had already been eliminated from the Dao Chosen selection.

    The fighting on the other side of the za was simrly fierce. Avery had run out of luck, and even after he fell, he was still being affected by the various battles. The fighting was truly inhumane, and Shang Rong was taken out by Wang Yi.

    Many people had worked together to attack Wang Yi, but no one could defeat her, including Shi Zhongjian and Lightson.

    Yuhua Mavis had found and moved to join Heluo Mavis. The two Mavis women fought hard. Heluo Mavis was left speechless by the battles, but everyone who saw her felt an even greater loss for words. This woman from the Mavis family looked cute and delicate in her green outfit, and she was quite attractive. However, she fought more brutally than anyone else, and absolutely no one was safe from her.

    Gu Xiao''er had wrapped his entire body with white smoke, and he avoided all of the fighting near Heluo and Yuhua Mavis. Just the shockwaves that were released from those two crazy women were too much for Gu Xiao¡¯er to handle. The corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a sharp line; he had very nearly lost his head!

    Who had sneaked up and attacked him?

    He turned his head to look to the side, and he suddenly saw someone fall to the ground at his feet. Gu Xiao''er recognized this person. Isn''t he the Hall of Honor¡¯s Honor Chosen, Shu Jing? No wonder I just saw a sharp line! That¡¯s his innate gift! So why is he in such rough shape? Who did this to him?

    Gu Xiao''er looked up and saw Sky Garan.

    Gu Xiao¡¯er felt his cheek twitch as he tried to say hello. "Sorry to bother you."

    He immediately turned around to flee as soon as he finished speaking, but after just a few steps, he stepped on something strange and almost twisted his ankle. ¡°Where the hell did a broken stonee from?¡±

    He tried to kick the stone away, but the rock moved and avoided the foot. "Gu Xiao''er, what are you doing?"

    Gu Xiao''er was startled. "Little Mountain God? Are you here too? Why are you hiding on the floor?"

    Little Mountain God answered helplessly, "I can''t help it! There are too many freaks fighting¡ªwait a sec, why are you running away?"

    Right as Gu Xiao''er was about to answer, a powerful force swept through and tossed both him and Little Mountain God away.

    Sky Garan felt nothing but contempt for such trash that had the audacity to try to participate in the Dao Chosen selection.

    From the audience stands, Lu Buzheng''s face grew somber. The fact that someone with Sky Garan''s level of power had finally taken action meant that the chaff would soon be removed, and only the qualified candidates would remain topete.

    There were other people who wanted to struggle for the title of Dao Chosen, but such efforts were useless. At the moment, it was all too easy for the people who were fishing for a lucky opportunity to be cleared away, just like Gu Xiao''er and Little Mountain God.

    Xu San was eliminated, Ku Lei was taken out, and even Di Fa fell. In Di Fa¡¯s case, he was sent flying by Lu Lai¡¯s p. None of them had the slightest chance, as the gap in their strength was too great.

    In startling contrast, there were two girls freely darting about the za. They were ck and White. Elsewhere, the Greenmen Duo were hiding in a corner, but their intentions were anyone¡¯s guess.

    Wen Sansi used a tripleyered Literary Prison to trap Chu Yuan andunch an attack.

    Many people paid attention to this exchange.

    Wen Sansi was certainly not weak. While he had also failed to be an Envoy, he should still possess the requisite strength to force Chu Yuan to reveal something through thebination of his barrier innate gift and Literary Prison.

    Even Heluo Mavis nced over. She was also participating as a representative of the Lu Heavenly Gate, so she was already aware of Wen Sansi¡¯s strength and his impressive innate gift.

    After being trapped by theyered Literary Prison, Chu Yuan revealed a bit of surprise. "So this era hasn¡¯tpletely lost all of their inheritances if this method of using ancient characters has endured. Still, this can''t hold me."

    He then casually walked out of the literary prison.

    Wen Sansi was shocked. How? How could his Literary Prison be ovee so easily?

    "If you can trulyprehend these ancient characters, then you will be a true powerhouse in the future. However, you¡¯re still far from that level." Chu Yuan then pointed a finger out at Wen Sansi.

    Heluo Mavis rolled her eyes as she watched. Chu Yuan was underestimating Wen Sansi too much. While there was an impressive difference in the two men¡¯s cultivation, it was not enough for Wen Sansi to be crushed with a single finger.

    A curtain or light appeared in front of Wen Sansi. It was his barrier innate gift.

    As Chu Yuan''s attack struck, Wen Sansi was merely pushed backwards, and his barrier held strong. "That¡¯s an odd innate gift."

    Wen Sansi frowned, blew out a heavy breath, and then leaped out of the za.

    Chu Yuan was caught off guard. Was this person just giving up?

    Wen Sansi felt he had no choice. Long ago, Lu Yin had already been able to shatter his barrier, so there was no need to test Chu Yuan. The man had be a Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era, which meant that he could only be stronger than Lu Yin, not weaker. Even if Wen Sansi had greatly improved over thest twenty years, someone like Chu Yuan would only grow even faster.

    Many people felt that Wen Sansi¡¯s forfeiture was a pity, as his innate gift should have been able to force Chu Yuan to reveal at least some of his strength.

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan were all clearly seeded candidates, but they were not the only ones. Every single Heavenly Gate had sent their own carefully selected representatives.

    These seeded candidates did not receive any special privileges, but they were essentially acting out apetition between the Heavenly Gates.

    Chu Yuan represented the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, Heluo Mavis the Lu Heavenly Gate, Sky Garan the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate, and Silver the Undying Heavenly Gate.

    Xia Luo had opted to not participate in the Dao Chosen selection, but his expression was incredibly serious as he looked at Silver¡¯s smile as the man stood in the za. Silver had always kept far too much hidden, and no one could ever see through his sly smile. Ever since Xia Luo had first encountered Silver on Earth, he had been incredibly wary of the man, and that caution was something that had subconsciously risen from the depths of Xia Luo¡¯s heart.

    Given the fact that Silver was supposed to be from the same generation as Xia Luo, it seemed absolutely impossible for him to have participated in the Astral Towerpetition and use Corpse Beast to capture Lu Yin. At this moment, Silver was a seeded candidate for the Dao Chosen selection. This showed that Silver¡¯s rate of improvement wasparable to even Lu Yin¡¯s. If Xia Luo were not a part of the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he would have never been able topare to Silver.

    In truth, even after uniting the nine clones and obtaining Xia Jiuyou''s cultivation, Xia Luo still felt that he still was not on the same level as Silver.

    Just what was Silver hiding?

    In addition to Silver, there was onest seeded candidate in the za: the mace wielding Big Sis. She was the representative of the Divining Heavenly Gate.

    No one had expected Big Sis to be the Divining Heavenly Gate¡¯s representative, as they had all expected Starsibyl to take that role. Big Sis seemed better suited to representing the pirates and ouws.

    There were certain things that would always induce fear in people. The Divining Heavenly Gate intimidated everyone, as it was rted to Destiny. The more that people learned about Destiny, the more hesitant they would be to do anything to the Divining Heavenly Gate.

    Not even the people from the Heavens Sect era were willing to antagonize Big Sis, and neither was anyone from the modern era. This meant that, up until now, Big Sis had not needed to take any action. She also had not taken a single step towards the statue of the Origin Progenitor, and she had simply remained standing where she was while asionally shaking her mace. None of her few movements had drawn any attention.

    Lu Yin stepped forward on the back of Ancestor Tortoise. He looked down at the Dao Chosen selection ying out in the za, as well as the various Semi-Progenitors surrounding the za and watching. He also saw the odd-looking woman standing in the za.

    Destina had announced that she would unterally support whoever became the Dao Chosen. Lu Yin wanted to see if that was really true.

    He stepped out and instantly arrived next to the za. His behavior was very calm, and so no one paid Lu Yin any attention at all. Everyone was focused on the numerous exciting battles taking ce in the za, so why would anyone bother paying attention to what was happening outside?

    Lu Yin nced around the za, and he saw a bleeding and wounded Liu Tianmu trying to fight against Wei An. He saw Cai Jianqiang lying on the ground, clearly badly injured. He saw Liu Shaoqiu, though it was impossible to tell if the man was still alive. There was Hai Dashao, who was fighting Shang Rong. Lu Yin also saw Chu Yuan slowly walking towards the statue of the Origin Progenitor. Finally, he saw Hen Mo, his body shrouded with aurelian force with a hand holding Ling Gong¡¯s spear while a foot was raised to stomp down and crush Dai Ao.

    Thisst situation sent a cold glint flickering through Lu Yin''s eyes, and his left hand shot forward so quickly that not even Envoys could see himsh out with a Hollow Palm. At the same time, he used stellr energy to form a sword in his right hand that swept out.

    Hen Mo¡¯s foot dropped. He hadpletely suppressed Ling Gong and was at the height of his arrogance. He was punishing a traitor to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    Suddenly, the man felt a terrible sense of danger that caused his heart to race. This was something that only happened when his life was in danger. He had experienced this sensation before, and Hen Mo recognized the sensation, but he had always recognized the source of the feeling in the past and had thus known what actions to take. Unfortunately, at this moment, Hen Mo had no idea where the danger wasing from.

    Boom!

    The Hollow Palmnded directly on Hen Mo''s right arm, and he was blown back. Not even his aurelian force could stop this attack, and half of Hen Mo¡¯s body was shattered before he smashed into the ground.

    At this same instance, across the za, Liu Tianmu was gasping for breath. Her Thirteenth Sword had inflicted heavy damage upon Wei An, and it was far more useful than Liu Shaoqiu''s attack. However, it still was not enough to defeat Wei An. The man retaliated with a sh of his own de, and the attack was powerful enough to kill Liu Tianmu.

    There was arge gap in power between the two; one was an Enlighter, while the other was an Envoy.

    Liu Tianmu stared at the falling de and tightly clenched the hilt of her sword. She used the Sixth Sword to block the approaching attack.

    Suddenly, a sword sh shot by Liu Tianmu and fell straight onto Wei An. His de dropped down to touch the floor of the za right when the sh arrived. His pupils constricted, and his de moved to sh with the sword sh. There was a bang, and the de shattered. Countless wounds appeared across Wei An¡¯s entire body. While he was able to endure the attack and remain standing, Wei An had a simr appearance to Liu Shaoqiu in that there was no part of his body that remained intact, and his weapon had shattered.

    Such a sudden reversal left countless people stunned.

    Hen Xin suddenly stepped forward. He was staring at someone who was standing just outside the za, clearly startled. "Lu Yin?"

    The Semi-Progenitor was not alone, as many people had instantly recognized Lu Yin. His sudden move came as an earth-shattering news.

 Chapter 2093: Throw Them Out

    Chapter 2093: Throw Them Out

    Wei An and Hen Mo were both so confident that they had dared to challenge the Dao Chosen even during the Heavens Sect era. Each of them were capable of casually overwhelming any of the current era¡¯s Ten Arbiters, but the two men had been simultaneously attacked by Lu Yin. They had also been wounded by the attacks, which people foundpletely unbelievable.

    They were absolute geniuses at the level of one or two-tribtion Envoys, and yet neither of them had even been able to defend against Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Buzhengughed and rxed upon seeing Lu Yin reveal himself. While the Semi-Progenitor did not believe that Lu Yin was strong enough to stand up to Chu Yuan or the other Dao Chosen, Lu Yin¡¯s two attacks had been a wonderful stress relief for Lu Buzheng. Dai Ao, Liu Tianmu, and many others who had been targeted were all members of the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    Lu Yin''s sword sh had crossed half of the za, and his actions had not only roused the attention of audience, but also most of the candidates still in the za.

    Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis both stared at Lu Yin in surprise. It¡¯s him? Wasn''t he stabbed by that sword?

    Lu Yin had not died, which shocked the two Dao Chosen, though Chu Yuan¡¯s surprise surpassed Heluo Mavis¡¯s. Despite not wanting to admit it, Chu Yuan knew that he had technically lost in thepetition to seize control of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, as there was no other reason for the sword to have gone over to Lu Yin. The fact that the sword had stabbed Lu Yin was something that Chu Yuan had also believed to be an ident.

    Regardless of how things turned out, there was no way for Chu Yuan to deny that he had indeed lost to Lu Yin.

    Sky Garan''s eyes lit up as he stared at Lu Yin, and a smile stretched across his face. It was wonderful that Lu Yin was not dead, and that sword attack had been beautiful to see. Still, Sky Garan did not feel even the slightest bit threatened, as he considered Hen Mo mere trash. The fact that Lu Yin was not dead meant that he could be the foundation for Sky Garan¡¯s road to bing a Dao Monarch, and he would even be able toy his hands on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword by doing so.

    "I didn''t expect him to still be alive. This child truly is incredibly lucky," Xia De muttered to himself as he stared at Lu Yin on the edge of the za. The man was genuinely shocked.

    Xia Ji''s expression darkened. It was clear that the young man was hostile towards him. In fact, if Lu Yin were anyone else, even one of the ancient Dao Chosen, Xia Ji would not be too afraid. However, even if Lu Yin was someone whose cultivation base could not keep up with the level of his ever-more powerful enemies, he did not hold onto the old-fashioned ideals of people from the Heavens Sect era, and his schemes far surpassed those of even people like Hen Xin.

    It seemed quite possible that the final result of the teampetition had been instigated by Lu Yin.

    Xia Ji shared this thought. "If that kid¡¯s really alive, then the team battle makes sense. This kid is despicable, and he¡¯s unmatched when ites to scheming."

    Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin. Personally, he had been very impressed with this young man. Despite being an Envoy, Lu Yin had participated on the decisive battlefield that was dominated by Semi-Progenitors, and he had even been a determining factor in the final result. It could be said that the Sky Pir had only been able to block the passage to the Starfall Sea because of Lu Yin, and his contributions to humanity were startling. If one examined the current era, it was impossible to ignore just how expansive Lu Yin¡¯s influence was.

    "Could Xing Kai¡¯s disappearance be rted to him as well?" Xia De asked as he suddenly remembered something.

    Hen Xin was caught off guard by this question. "Has the child trained in Truesight?"

    Xia Ji replied, "He has, and he shouldn¡¯t be weak. Twenty years ago, his mastery of Truesight was second only to God of Mirrors, so his mastery should be even more impressive now."

    "Is he better at it than you?" Hen Xin nced over at Xia Ji.

    Xia Ji subconsciously answered, "He¡¯s much worse than me."

    Suddenly, he came to his senses, and he looked back at Hen Xin. "Are you doubting me, Gatemaster?"

    Hen Xin looked away. "I was just wondering."

    Xia Ji frowned slightly and looked over at Xia De. The other man from the Xia family also frowned and shook his head at Xia Ji.

    The two had a veryplicated rtionship with Hen Xin, but they were still allies. Once the Technocracy¡¯s New Corridor was repaired, the Perennial World¡¯s forces would return home. Also, if they ever managed to enter Jupiter, they would also take the opportunity to return. The matters concerning the Heavens Sect and the Dao Chosen really had nothing to do with the two Semi-Progenitors of the Xia family, but they knew that they needed to work with Hen Xin until they returned to the Perennial World.

    It was not that they were incapable of protecting themselves in the Human Domain of the Fifth Maind, but rather that they hoped to obtain some of the inheritances from the Heavens Sect era, such as the cultivation methods for battle force. The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate''s mastery of battle force surpassed their imagination, and it was exactly what they needed.

    However, Hen Xin¡¯s words had made both Xia De and Ni Huang pay attention. They would always be outsiders when it came to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate.

    Twenty years was not a long span of time for cultivators, but it was still long enough for people to forget certain things.

    Twenty years ago, Lu Yin had dominated the entire Fifth Maind. He had conquered the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and his influence had even surpassed the Hall of Honor¡¯s. With the many passing years, many people''s impression of the young man had started to blur. When Lu Yin reappeared, people quickly started talking about him, and various stories were being recounted. In particr, the youths were talking about Lu Yin, as they felt like they were staring at a legende to life.

    Wu Da was watching everything in the za from outside the Heavens Sect, and he became excited enough that his whole face flushed. "It''s Lu Yin! Lu Yin¡¯s back! He isn¡¯t dead! Hahahaha, tomorrow''s publication will shock the entire Human Domain! Countless people are going to lose their minds, haha!"

    "Boss, that¡¯s Lu Yin?" the woman following Wu Da asked as she curiously stared at the za.

    Wu Da nervously licked his lips. "Yes, that¡¯s Lu Yin. A legend, no matter if he¡¯s dead or still alive. He¡¯s responsible for writing an unerasable chapter in Fifth Maind¡¯s history. Over thest fifty years, almost every single major event that has taken ce carries his influence. Even if he¡¯s been gone for the past twenty years, the people he left behind and his influence created the Lu Heavenly Gate. Even dead, he still had the ability to control the events in the entire Fifth Maind."

    "Aren¡¯t you exaggerating this a bit? Can hepare to one of the Heavenly Gates¡¯ masters?" Some of the people with Wu Da did not believe him.

    Wu Da just sneered. "What about those gatemasters? They¡¯re just older and have more impressive cultivation bases. Given enough time, forget about Lu Yin bing a gatemaster¡ªhe¡¯ll be a legendary Progenitor."

    While it was only natural for the others to not believe Wu Da''s ims, it remained true that Lu Yin''s appearance had created quite a sensation.

    He slowly walked forward and entered the Heavens Sect¡¯s za. He looked around at all the people who werepeting to be the Dao Chosen. He knew far too many of the people who were present.

    Across the za, Silver shed his iconic foxy smile at Lu Yin, acting as familiar and friendly as ever.

    Lu Yinughed at the sight. He had actually forgotten about this person. Even when Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother Qing Ping had led a strike team against Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin had known that Silver had hidden his strength very deeply. Still, Lu Yin had not expected Silver to be capable of participating in the Dao Chosen selection as the Undying Heavenly Gate¡¯s chosen representative. Keep smiling as happily as you want, but today, I¡¯m going to rip apart that creepy smile on your face and find out just what¡¯s hidden underneath!

    Further away, Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan looked either antagonistic or contemtive as they stared at Lu Yin.

    "Little Seven!" There was a loud shout that echoed across the za, and then a massive mace mmed down towards Lu Yin. He looked up and raised a hand to stop it from smashing into him. There was a loud bang, his expression suddenly changed. There was a shocking amount of force behind this strike.

    Lu Yin looked up to see a stunningly beautiful woman smiling at him. However, the woman¡¯s huge Adam''s apple was just too disturbing as it protruded from her throat, and the shing appearance was disturbing to many people.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Big Sis, you can¡¯t greet people like this in the future. It''s too crude."

    He then tossed the mace back to Big Sis, who epted it with a smile. "I knew that you¡¯d be back. It wasn¡¯t a waste for me to beg the gatemaster so many times to do a divination."

    Lu Yin had seen Big Sis from the back of Ancestor Tortoise, but he had also been surprised to see her be the Divining Heavenly Gate¡¯s representative in the Dao Chosen selection. For Lu Yin, it had already been odd enough to hear that Big Sis had been epted as Destina¡¯s disciple. "Big Sis, are you also fighting in this Dao Chosen selection? Aren¡¯t you too old to participate?"

    Big Sis''s expression instantly grew dark, and her features twisted into a scowl. "Alright, I dare you toe out and openly call me an olddy! Fine, I wanted to help you take out the trash, but you can go deal with it all yourself now. This ¡®olddy¡¯ won¡¯t get involved."

    The faces of the people nearby in the za grew pale. Take out the trash? If they had not all been so worried about the Divining Heavenly Gate supporting Big Sis, they would have eliminated her long ago.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I don''t need any help. I¡¯ll take care of things on my own."

    Elsewhere in the za, Lu Lai and Lu Jiao nced at each other. Was this person really the current era¡¯s direct descendant of their family¡¯s main line? He was certainly crazy enough! He was even more insane than Dao Chosen Tianyi! Still, the fact that he had so casually defeated both Hen Mo and Wei An proved that this Lu Yin was indeed stronger than the other two members of the Lu family.

    "Let''s meet up with the direct descendant and clear his obstacles," Lu Lai said quietly. Lu Jiao nodded, and the two started walking towards Lu Yin.

    "Brother Lu, I didn''t expect you to show up alive. Congrattions," Sky Garan said.

    Heluo Mavisughed. "Do you still remember that first deal we made? Those rules can still apply now."

    Lu Yin answered, "There¡¯s no need. I didn¡¯t need those restrictions back then, and there¡¯s even less of a need for them now."

    Chu Yuan looked up. "You seem quite confident, Brother Lu."

    "Captain, it¡¯s been a very long time!" Silver said with a smile.

    Lu Yin looked over at Silver. "We should definitely talk."

    "I''ll be waiting for you." Silver¡¯s smile grewrger than ever.

    They were all currently participating in a vicious Dao Chosen selection, and the atmosphere should naturally be violent and brutal. However, the conversations taking ce in the za were at an odd juxtaposition to the vicious battles. It seemed like the people speaking were simply ignoring all of the other people in the za.

    However, that impression was perfectly urate: all of the others had indeed beenpletely disregarded.

    "Don''t you think that there are still too many people?" Sky Garan nced around and slowly asked.

    Heluo Mavis agreed. "Definitely. There are way too many."

    "Then throw them out," Chu Yuan indifferently suggested.

    Silver smiled as he looked at Lu Yin. "What do you think, Captain?"

    Lu Yin looked around. "Everyone from the Honor and Lu Heavenly Gates, leave. As for the others, we can just throw them out."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous. I¡¯m going to get rid of the people from your Lu Heavenly Gate." Sky Garan sneered at Lu Yin¡¯sment, and he focused intently on two people who were zipping around the za at a high speed. They were ck and White.

    Sky Garan then looked a bit further towards Hai Dashao, and just as ck and White were about to pass in front of the man, Sky Garan raised a hand. The red bloodstains on the floor rose and formed into sharp arrows that shot out. The arrows were aimed to shoot straight through ck and White and pierce Hai Dashao in a single attack.

    Lu Yin''s palm twitched, and a Hollow Palm shattered the sharp blood arrows just as they were about to stab into ck and White. The blood scattered, startling the twins. They had been able to freely race around the za, untouchable because of their speed, but they were not fast enough to escape when targeted by Sky Garan.

    Given the man¡¯s strength, it was easy for him to hurt or even kill the two girls.

    Sky Garan had not held back at all with his attack. He had been aiming for Hai Dashao, and he had considered ck and White to be nothing more than coteral damage.

    He looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "You also care about those two?"

    Right before Lu Yin replied, his eyes looked a bit odd. Big Sis¡¯s massive mace was dropping down onto Sky Garan''s head.

    "They¡¯re from my Eversky Ind, fucking dumbass!" Big Sis screamed as she unleashed a vicious attack.

    Sky Garan had not expected to receive such an instant attack from Big Sis. He pressed a hand down, clearly aiming at the floor of the za, but oddly enough, a terrifying force moved in the opposite direction and mmed into the mace. For a moment, things remained frozen in the air. Then, spatial cracks shot out across the za like bolts of lightning.

    Sky Garan''s expression changed, and he looked at Big Sis in shock. She had actually blocked his attack.

    Big Sis stared straight back at Sky Garan. "I''m going to beat your pasty little face into a pig''s head!"

    Instantly, her enormous mace started to crack and shatter with a bang. Two huge hammers were revealed, and they both smashed down onto Sky Garan.

    The man just reacted with a contemptuous snort, and he countered with two hands instead of one. This time, he aimed at Big Sis¡¯s head with his attacks.

    Lu Yin was just about to interfere when Big Sis let out a roar and smashed a hammer down. A terrifying shockwave swept out, and the second hammer fell. Sky Garan''s expression changed drastically, and he gritted his teeth. "Reincarnation Start.¡±

    As he spoke, invisible phantoms vaguely skittered about. They indistinctly looked like wraiths, and they moved to p their hands down onto Big Sis''s head.

 Chapter 2094: The Battle Of Speed

    Chapter 2094: The Battle Of Speed

    Big Sis lifted her head up high before smashing her hammers down hard.

    Boom!

    The Heavens Sect shook, and everyone stared in surprise, as this attack of Big Sis¡¯s had sent many people flying.

    Even Lu Yin was surprised. How had Big Sis''s strength improved so much? Her hammer blows were far from weak. In fact, there was so much force behind them that Lu Yin wanted to test himself against them.

    Two people retreated at the same time, and Sky Garan finally looked at Big Sis with a serious expression. This was the first time that he had taken any opponent in the za seriously. "The Thundering Hammer."

    Big Sis raised one of the hammers up next to her head as she stared at Sky Garan. "You little leech, this olddy¡¯s got a problem with you¡ªyou dared toy a finger on my Eversky Ind!"

    "You just used Thundering Hammer! How can you possibly know that technique?" Sky Garan felt quite puzzled.

    Elsewhere in the za, Heluo Mavis was stunned. "Thundering Hammer? That woman knows that technique? Is she also from our era? No, even back then, almost no one knew that technique."

    "What¡¯s Thundering Hammer?" Yuhua Mavis was confused.

    Heluo Mavis grumpily answered, "Get lost! I''m going to go beat those guys, and you''re in my way."

    Lu Buzheng spoke up from the audience stands. "The Heavens Sect had war drums, and they could only be struck with the Thundering Hammer technique. Only one person from each Maind could qualify to learn the Thundering Hammer to sound the battle drums. There were rumors that there were potentially 9,999 hammer strikes in the technique, but the records of our time were held by a Mavis family ancestor who managed to master 9,900 hammer strikes. No one ever managed to surpass that record. This technique is the pinnacle hammer technique from the Heavens Sect era."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he could not resist ncing over at Destina. It appeared that she had taught Big Sis the technique, as there was no other way for Big Sis to have learned it.

    Sky Garan took a deep breath. "Do you really believe that knowing Thundering Hammer qualifies you topete to be the Dao Chosen? I¡¯ll tell you right now that no one during our era ever seeded in bing a Dao Chosen by relying on the Thundering Hammer, nor did any of them ever manage to be a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. This is just a mere hammer technique"

    Big Sis sneered. "The more I use it, the more I feel a longing to use a hammer. I¡¯m going to test out this technique on you!"

    She then raised both of her hammers up high and smashed them down.

    While Big Sis was focused on Sky Garan, other people had started to go after Lu Yin, and several of them took action at the same time.

    Wang Yi''s body flickered, and she used Four Arts: Celestial de to attack Lu Yin. At the same time, Hen Mo, despite already being severely injured by Lu Yin, charged at Lu Yin. Aurelian force spread across the man¡¯s wounded body, and he was determined to get revenge.

    Before Lu Yin could even make a move, a man and a woman suddenly appeared in front of him, and they moved to block both Wang Yi and Hen Mo.

    "We¡¯re members of a branch family of the Lu family from the Heavens Sect era. Leave these people to us," Lu Lai shouted loudly as she blocked Wang Yi¡¯s de.

    Lu Jiao stared straight at Hen Mo. "I want to test out the power of aurelian force."

    At this moment, Chu Yuan moved out again, and he suddenly appeared right in front of Liu Tianmu. A hand stretched out to grab the woman from where she had fallen after her battle with Wei An. Just as Liu Tianmu was about to be grabbed, Lu Yin appeared, and he reached out to grab Chu Yuan¡¯s arm and stop him. "She¡¯s also one of mine."

    "Really? Can you save her?" Chu Yuan gave a small smile as he twisted around and kicked at Liu Tianmu. Lu Yin moved his leg at the same time to block the kick, and there was a bang as a shockwave pushed Liu Tianmu back. However, since Lu Yin had blocked the force of Chu Yuan¡¯s attack, Liu Tianmu remainedpletely unharmed.

    The next instant, Chu Yuan disappeared yet again, and he reappeared in front of Hui Santong. The man stared at Chu Yuan in surprise, and he waspletely unable to react to the man¡¯s sudden appearance. The Hui family had gone to the Lu Heavenly Gate, which meant that they were also under Lu Yin¡¯s protection.

    Chu Yuan waved a hand, and a long sword appeared in his grip. The sword moved around Lu Yin to sh at Hui Santong.

    It was a tricky attack, and most people would not even be able to clearly see the trajectory. However, Chu Yuan¡¯s opponent was Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument. In that inheritance, Lu Yin had observed the use of countless weapons, and he had seen how a scythe could be used to defeat thousands of different moves and weapons. Even though Chu Yuan used an exquisite sword technique, it was not enough to even catch Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and he used his fingers to redirect the attack.

    Xu San was still hiding in a corner of the za, and Chu Yuan next appeared in front of Xu San¡¯s hidden form. Again, the sword shed out, and the solitary sh transformed into thousands of attacks. Xu San could not determine which was real and which was fake, and he waspletely unable to even respond. In an instant, Lu Yin was there as well, though he looked at Chu Yuan with genuine surprise. Why was this guy''s sword technique improving with each attack?

    After attacking Hui Santong and moving onto Xu San, Chu Yuan¡¯s sword technique had improved by far more than just a single level. If his sword skills werepared to the Thirteen Swords, he had essentially just gone from the First Sword to the Twelfth Sword.

    Chu Yuan smiled, and he spun around the edge of the sword so that it was redirected towards himself. The de brushed past his neck, and he twisted his body to move with the sword and spin around. Suddenly, the sword attack shot through the za, slicing through the void as it targeted Hai Dashao.

    The man saw the attack, but he waspletely unable to respond to it. There was a huge gap in strength between Hai Dashao and Chu Yuan, and Hai Dashao was locked in ce by the approaching sword attack. All he could do was face the attack head on.

    Lu Yin appeared in an instant, but he was more solemn than ever before. This sword technique ignored the concept of distance. It was not fast, as it started from the swordsman and ended with their opponent whilepletely ignoring the distance between the two. While this attack was not particrly powerful, the technique behind it was exquisite. It surpassed the level of even the Thirteen Swords¡¯ Twelfth Sword, and while it did not quite reach the same level as Emotion, it was still extremely difficult to avoid.

    All Lu Yin could do was shove Hai Dashao aside while raising a hand to mp two fingers down onto the sword sh. He gave Chu Yuan an odd look. "Where did you learn your sword techniques?"

    Chu Yuan responded with a slight smile. "I''ll tell you if you manage to win."

    At that moment, his sword itself shattered, and the countless shards shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had fought against many swordsmen over the years, but he had never encountered a swordsman who was not limited to using sword techniques, let alone one who would casually discard their weapon as Chu Yuan had just done so. It was clear that Chu Yuan treated his sword as a tool and a weapon, rather than as a swordsman¡¯s sword. If Chu Yuan needed to break a tool to aplish a task, then he would do so. He had no particr attachment to his sword.

    Chu Yuan and Lu Yin¡¯s bodies kept flickering, and they appeared and disappeared across the entire za at ever increasing speeds. There were only a select few people who could even able to see the two moving.

    The entire za was supposed to be used for the Dao Chosen selection, but thepetition had been reduced to a battle of speed between just two people.

    Chu Yuan was trying to eliminate everyone from the Lu Heavenly Gate while Lu Yin was trying to protect them.

    Finally, Lu Buzheng could no longer endure what he was seeing. "All members of the Lu Heavenly Gate, return to me and stop causing trouble."

    Arch-Elder Zen also called out, "The Honor Heavenly Gate also forfeits this selection."

    Ling Gong felt frustrated, as the glorious Ten Arbiters had done nothing more than get in the way during the Dao Chosen selection.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin appeared right next to Ling Gong, and he spun around and instantly disappeared again. When she looked to her other side, she saw Chu Yuan moving on as well.

    Lu Yin nced around the za. Most people had already left. Little Mountain God, ck, White, and even the horribly wounded Liu Shaoqiu and Cai Jianqiang had left. Nearly everyone from the Lu Heavenly Gate had given up, though there were still many people sprinkled across the za.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and then his spiritual force erupted. At the same time, Chu Yuan took the exact same action on the opposite side of the za.

    The two stared at each other. This was the exact same scenario as when they had beenpeting for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    Chu Yuan had lost that first time, and he refused to lose again.

    However, Lu Yin also did not feel that he had won in their previous sh. After all, it had ended with him being stabbed, and he was currently unable to use the death energy in his body. It was still stuck to the stellr energy within one of his vortices, creating a chaotic mess within his body. However, it did not particrly matter, as Lu Yin had enough stellr energy in his other three vortices. He had luckily used the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation to store away a massive amount of stellr energy, as otherwise, Lu Yin would have been left with only his battle force to fight with.

    Two terrifying spiritual forces swept out, randomly flickering over the audience and continuing to spread out until they enveloped the entire Heavens Sect.

    Everyone was caught within the two men¡¯s spiritual force.

    The Semi-Progenitors who were present acted quickly to stop the impressive spiritual force from harming the audience, but the people still in the za were not so lucky. Even Hui Santong, Wang Yi, and the others were barely able to breath under the suppression of the rampaging spiritual force.

    This was the spiritual force of two people who had been tempered by the Origin Sutra, and this spiritual force waspletely iparable to other people¡¯s. They were as overbearing and untouchable as Unseen Light¡¯s peerless domain.

    If one could see spiritual force with their eyes, they would be able to see that the two men¡¯s spiritual force hadpletely filled the za and divided it in half, with the statue of the Origin Progenitor serving as the dividing line. Their spiritual force fought against each other, and one by one, the other participants in the selection were pushed out of the za. Even Lu Lai and the other elites from the Heavens Sect era were shoved aside without any exceptions.

    Wang Yi stared at Lu Yin, and she quickly used her Four Arts: Pearl to try to seal his spiritual force, but before she could even finish preparing the technique, Lu Yin flicked a finger reinforced with battle force, and Wang Yi was instantly knocked out of the za as she tumbled through the air.

    A bang shook the entire za, and almost everyone left was sent flying. After the smoke cleared and the dust settled, only six people could be seen still in the za: Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, Big Sis, Silver, and Lu Yin.

    These six stood on a different level from the rest of the participants in the Dao Chosen selection. No matter if the others were Junior Progenitors, Realmlings, or former Arbiters, none of them couldpare to these six finalists.

    "Finally dealt with the trash. This is how it should have been from the beginning," Heluo Mavis arrogantly dered.

    Big Sis raised her two hammers over her head to attack Sky Garan yet again. She did not care about what happened anywhere else in the za at all, as she was focused entirely on Sky Garan. This was not only because he had attacked ck and White, but also because he had not shown Lu Yin anything other than disrespect and aggression. Naturally, Big Sis had to deal with such a person first.

    Sky Garan was feeling incredibly frustrated. He was being targeted by a madwoman with insane strength, and his arms had already gone numb from her repeated blows.

    "Captain, I''ll leave the toughest one for you, so how ¡®bout I deal with that woman?" Silver offered as he smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back. "He might not be the toughest opponent."

    Silver was taken aback. "Are you saying that this woman¡¯s stronger, Captain?"

    Heluo Mavis frowned. She stared at Silver in annoyance, as this guy¡¯sments were starting to upset her.

    Lu Yin stared at Silver for a moment. "Your actions have nothing to do with me. In the end, there¡¯s no way that anyone in this za will be able to keep anything hidden."

    Silver¡¯s smile grew even brighter. "I really want to find out just what you¡¯re hiding, Captain."

    "I feel the same way about you," Lu Yin retorted. He had never once seen Silver actually treat a fight seriously, as he had only ever used his butterfly knife.

    Chu Yuan and the others were all very powerful, and their full strength was unfathomable, but it was clear that Silver had his own advantages. There was no other way for him to have been able to catch Jue Yi''s eye.

    The Honor Heavenly Gate had not had any seeded candidates, as while Lei N¨¹ and Shu Jing had both been Honor Chosen, neither had the strength necessary to be seeded candidates in thispetition. Arch-Elder Zen and the others had already known about the monsters like Chu Yuan, and they were aware that their own youths were simply not on the same level. The only thing that Arch-Elder Zen did not fully understand was the presence of Silver as a seeded candidate. Still, the fact that Jue Yi had acknowledged Silver was enough to prove the youth¡¯s qualifications.

    The brighter the smile, the more dangerous the person.

    "When did you decide how things are going to turn out?" Heluo Mavis''s expression darkened, and she turned to look at Chu Yuan. "Let¡¯s take them all out. The true Dao Chosen selection will only take ce between the three of us."

    "Naturally," Chu Yuan replied.

    This was no longer simply a Dao Chosen selection, but also a battle between different eras.

    Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan were facing Lu Yin, Silver, and Big Sis. Six different people from two eras converged onto a single battlefield.

 Chapter 2095: Lu Yin And Chu Yuan

    Chapter 2095: Lu Yin And Chu Yuan

    The fight between the six candidates remaining in the Dao Chosen selection were not only representing their respective Heavenly Gates, but also the honor of their original era.

    "Honestly, I thought that I¡¯d end up going against all three of you, but since it¡¯s just you, things are going to be much easier," Lu Yin said.

    Chu Yuan''s expression quickly changed. "If you don''t step it up, I¡¯ll defeat all of them."

    Everyone in the audience who heard the conversation between the two men was left speechless. These two were nuts!

    "When I first met you, I made a bet with Heluo Mavis that I could defeat you within five attacks, and I never used myst two. Those will be enough to deal with you now," Chu Yuan imed. As he spoke, an invisible force covered his body, and a long de appeared in his hand. "While a sword is exquisite, a de is sheer power. Your Lu family stands second only to the Mavis family when ites to brute strength, but let¡¯s see whether you can handle this de."

    He squeezed the hilt of the weapon as it rose high into the air before descending in a vicious chop.

    At the same time, Chu Yuan vanished. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Lu Yin and in the middle of decapitating him.

    Chu Yuan had moved at least two times faster this time, and this sudden change caused Lu Yin''s expression to changepletely. The number of runes in this attack exceeded a power level of a million. This was an attack that even Yuan Shi might be defeated by, and it was about to crash into Lu Yin.

    Sky Garan, Big Sis, Heluo Mavis, and Silver all paid close attention to this attack, as Chu Yuan was finally revealing his true strength. He had unleashed the power of the First Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen, the only person from his generation to receive the Origin Progenitor¡¯s acknowledgement.

    Lu Yin released a breath, and his battle force appeared. It burned the void as an overpowering strength stopped the edge of Chu Yuan¡¯s de. Lu Yin looked up as he punched the de. This was his aurelian force, and it gave him control over the void. Wherever Lu Yin¡¯s aurelian force went, it would be invincible.

    The stronger one¡¯s physical body, the stronger their aurelian force. Given Lu Yin¡¯s domineering physical might, his aurelian force was truly invincible.

    However, Chu Yuan was unsurprised. Even Hen Mo had seeded in cultivating aurelian force, and yet Lu Yin had shattered Hen Mo¡¯s aurelian force with a single palm strike. This was why Chu Yuan had already epted the possibility that Lu Yin possessed aurelian force, as well as the likelihood that it was far more powerful than Hen Mo¡¯s.

    Chu Yuan¡¯s de pressed down, the strength behind it continually rose, and the force started distorting the nearby space. Shockwaves from the sh between aurelian force and the de qi swept out in all directions, and Heluo Mavis and the others still in the za were all forced to pull back.

    Lu Yin could clearly feel that the power behind Chu Yuan''s de was increasing, but how?

    Lu Yin could see nothing special about Chu Yuan¡¯s attack, but it was more powerful than what Lu Yin could understand.

    "That¡¯s Chu Yuan¡¯s innate gift. He¡¯s able to multiply strength, speed, or even numbers when ites to his techniques. It can be a massive pain to deal with," Heluo Mavis offered. She truly did not want to see Lu Yin lose to Chu Yuan after just two exchanges.

    Lu Yin had demonstrated an impressive level ofbat power when he had faced off against Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan in the Daosource Sect ruins. Then, he had shown even more when the three had traveled through time and space with the Semi-Progenitors in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. Lu Yin had exposed the fact that he had an absolutely monstrous stellr energy reserve, but that did not trante tobat strength, especially after the true universe had lost all of its stellr energy. With the additional fact that Lu Yin had been missing for twenty years, Heluo Mavis did not believe that he could defeat Chu Yuan, though she did hope that Lu Yin could at least force Chu Yuan to struggle a bit.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. Multiply strength, speed, or numbers of attacks? If that was Chu Yuan¡¯s ability, then Lu Yin would just weaken the attacks.

    Immediately, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils transformed into runes, and he started erasing the de¡¯s runes.

    Chu Yuan was no longer as ignorant of the current era and the new abilities that people possessed as when he had first emerged from the sourcebox. As soon as he saw the change in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Chu Yuan grew suspicious. Was this Truesight?

    Just as he had expected, Chu Yuan felt his attack suddenly weaken, and he released his weapon. He shifted to Lu Yin¡¯s right and manifested another de of energy that shed sideways at Lu Yin. This was the exact same attack that Chu Yuan had just used, just from a different direction.

    Lu Yin watched everything unfold, and he saw exactly what Heluo Mavis had mentioned: the number of runes in Chu Yuan¡¯s attack instantly doubled. The sh seemed to split the sr system in two, and countless stars ands were shed in half. The attack might have originated in Earth¡¯s sr system, but it continued on to spread across the entire Frostwave Weave, and it even reached into Northcastle Weave.

    Everyone stared at the za.

    Lu Buzheng gritted his teeth. Chu Yuan had grown much stronger than he had been twenty years before. When he had first emerged from the sourcebox, Chu Yuan had already been a three-tribtion Envoy. Even if his realm of cultivation had not improved since that time, his innate gift, battle force, and even mastery of secret techniques had all improved greatly. Would Lu Yin even be able to survive this attack?

    At the edge of the za, Xu San and the others who had been eliminated from the selection were all rendered speechless. What kind of monsters were fighting at this moment? Forget about Xu San surviving this kind of attack¡ªhe was certain that even his master could not endure such a de.

    Awe filled Ling Gong''s eyes. This was the strength of a Dao Chosen.

    In the middle of the za, Chu Yuan pulled his de back and shook his head. "So I failed. I used two attacks but couldn¡¯t beat you."

    Smoke and dust cleared to reveal Lu Yin. While there were massive cracks in the floor beneath his feet, his clothes did not show any signs of damage. He had used the Knowing realm of Truesight to endure the attack. As Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength and cultivation had risen, the amount of damage that the Knowing realm of Truesight could stop had simrly risen. Chu Yuan''s attack had been shockingly powerful, but it had not surpassed the limits of Lu Yin¡¯s Truesight.

    Truthfully, this exchange showed quite simr levels ofbat strength between the two men. If Lu Yin had not managed to pass two stellr tribtions after theirst fight, his Knowing realm of Truesight would likely have been overpowered by Chu Yuan¡¯s de.

    "I told youst time that I would show you the power of our era¡¯s greatest geniuses," Lu Yin slowly stated. He could have used Extremes Must Be Reversed to receive Chu Yuan¡¯s de, but he had instead opted to use the Knowing realm of Truesight to demonstrate the miraculous abilities of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s creation.

    Chu Yuan offered hispliments. "I¡¯vee to know more about your era, and there have indeed been great geniuses, but this isn¡¯t enough for you to beat me. Are you still nning to only use power from this era?"

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "No, I don''t have that much time to waste. I¡¯m thinking of making things quick."

    The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind Lu Yin, and a majestic power entered his body. He released his aurelian force, and the void started to burn as he lifted a hand and aimed a palm at Chu Yuan. "Do your best to hold on for as long as possible."

    Hollow Palm.

    This attack was amplified by one of the Lu family¡¯s visualization methods, as well as aurelian force, spiritual force that had been tempered by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and a domain that improved every time Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation rose. Lu Yin¡¯s attack looked simple, but it was beyond terrifying.

    Chu Yuan did not dare to underestimate Lu Yin¡¯s strength, especially after seeing the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appear. At this moment, the Dao Chosen was more serious about the fight than ever before, as this match reminded him of when he had fought against Lu Tianyi in the past.

    Chu Yuan¡¯s invisible power covered his body with such force that it nearly started boiling.

    There was a boom as the Hollow Palm met the invisible energy that always protected Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan was pushed back.

    This was simply unbelievable for Chu Yuan. How had his invisible barrier been ovee?

    His invisible power was not truly invincible, and Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm was simply too powerful. It had managed topletely eradicate Chu Yuan¡¯s invisible barrier, though most of the power behind Lu Yin¡¯s attack had dissipated as a result.

    Another palm strike shot out, and Chu Yuan was repeatedly pushed back further and further. Blood dripped from his mouth, and his eyes red. All of a sudden, a gigantic fish appeared behind him, and it looked like it was about to leap out of ake and into outer space.

    Lu Yin was shocked. The Arkfish?

    Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and the others from their era were all shocked as well, as they also recognized the fish.

    Xi Qi had been watching the Dao Chosen selection from outside Earth¡¯s sr system, and her mouth fell wide open when she saw the image of the Arkfish appear behind Chu Yuan. Isn¡¯t that my obnoxious fish?

    The fish upon her head was simrly stunned. Why does that thing look so much like Lord Fish? This magnificence?

    Chu Yuan had used a visualization method of the Arkfish, and a spear condensed in his hand that he instantly thrust forward. He could clearly make out Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm, and he intended to stab through Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike with the spear.

    Every single Hollow Palm was pierced through by the spear, but the spear also shattered. Lu Yin¡¯s attack was stopped by the spear, but the spear was alsopletely destroyed by the Hollow Palm. It was a tie.

    Chu Yuan continued to form more spears as he tried to ovee Lu Yin¡¯s barrage of Hollow Palms.

    Lu Yin''s pupils locked onto Chu Yuan''s next spear and weakened it.

    The spear abruptly disappeared, and Chu Yuan''s hand dropped through where the spear had just been. A Hollow Palm struck true and knocked Chu Yuan back again. The Arkfish visualization method did not give too much of a boost to physical strength.

    Lu Yin moved forward and appeared right in front of Chu Yuan. Lu Yin¡¯s hands explored the area in front of him as he tried to find a way to tear apart the formless and invisible energy that protected Chu Yuan. Even though Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palms were incredibly powerful, Chu Yuan¡¯s protective energy was able to dissipate a great deal of the power behind Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    At the same time, Chu Yuan stared back at Lu Yin while a sword condensed in his grip. The de shed out, and it seemed as though the attack could anticipate Lu Yin¡¯s moves as it flew straight towards his throat.

    Lu Yin had heard from Heluo Mavis that Chu Yuan had mastered a battle technique simr to what Yuan Shi used, and it allowed Chu Yuan to observe his opponent''s battle techniques and defeat them with disturbing ease. This was why Chu Yuan had been able to see through the pattern behind the movements of the stars in Lu Yin¡¯s Cosmic Art. Once again, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had been seen through.

    Still, so what if Chu Yuan could see through Lu Yin¡¯s battle techniques?

    The sword fell to the floor. Lu Yin stepped backwards, but he actually moved all over the ce, using Inverse Step to create a chaotic region of space.

    Chu Yuan frowned. Lu Yin had too many options avable to use, and he also possessed an absurd physical strength. He was a very difficult opponent to deal with.

    Lu Yin actually did manage to tear through Chu Yuan¡¯s invisible energy with a hand, and he reached forward towards Chu Yuan''s head.

    Chu Yuan let out a breath. He really was being forced to reveal his hand.

    He looked up at Lu Yin. Lu Yin could see that his hand was close, and he should be able to grab Chu Yuan¡¯s head, but Lu Yin¡¯s hand passed right through his target.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted. Was this speed? No.

    Lu Yin was still in a daze when he felt a terrible pain in his abdomen. Chu Yuan had stabbed his sword into Lu Yin''s abdomen. Lu Yin quickly pulled back and stared at Chu Yuan. What the hell had just happened?

    Chu Yuan lifted his sword to point it at Lu Yin. "I must admit that you truly do have the qualifications topete with us. Not only are you able to see through my sword techniques and endure the power of my de, but you¡¯re also able to break through my invisible energy and leave me defenseless. Still, that¡¯s all.¡±

    "Do you want to know why I received the Origin Progenitor¡¯s acknowledgement? I¡¯ll show you now."

    Heluo Mavis was fighting against Silver. While Heluo possessed an overwhelming physical power, Silver was simply able to avoid her. The two had been in a stalemate for a bit, but they had not been pushing too hard.

    Sky Garan was also in a draw against Big Sis.

    However, Chu Yuan''sment to Lu Yin caused everyone in the za to look over and focus on one battle.

    Even Semi-Progenitors like Hen Xin and Lu Buzheng werepletely focused on Chu Yuan at this moment.

    Chu Yuan was the only Dao Chosen of his generation during the Heavens Sect era to be acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor, but why had he received that acknowledgement? Had it simply been because Chu Yuan possessed a much greaterbat strength than the other Dao Chosen? Heluo Mavis did not believe that at all, and neither did Sky Garan, which was why they were both staring at Chu Yuan.

    Lu Buzheng also did not believe that things were so simple. He refused to believe that his own family¡¯s Dao Chosen was any weaker than Chu Yuan, so why was Chu Yuan the only one of his generation to receive the Origin Progenitor¡¯s attention? Was he really going to reveal that secret at this moment?

    Chu Yuan had been forced to this point by Lu Yin.

    Everyone stared at Chu Yuan, but they could not see what Chu Yuan was doing. It looked like the same invisible energy as ever was protecting him, and his de was still pointed at Lu Yin, positioned in a way where it was ready to remove Lu Yin¡¯s head in a second. Nothing looked different in any way.

    However, everyone knew that Chu Yuan¡¯s de was absolutely different at this moment, even if they could not see how.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Chu Yuan''s de. What was different? Nothing seemed to have changed, but when the de started moving towards Lu Yin, he felt an overwhelming sense of danger. He immediately used the Knowing realm of Truesight to protect himself.

    However, everyone was stunned by what happened next. Not to mention the people still in the za, but even Semi-Progenitors like Lu Buzheng and Han Xin were startled. "Impossible!"

    Lu Yin looked down to see that the de had dropped down and cut into his right shoulder, about an inch deep. Blood streamed down over half of his body and dripped onto the floor of the za. Pain shot out from every part of Lu Yin¡¯s body. The de had chopped down before Lu Yin had even noticed.

 Chapter 2096: Erasing Time

    Chapter 2096: Erasing Time

    Lu Yin stared at Chu Yuan in disbelief. How could the de have cut into him when it had been far enough away for Lu Yin to use the Knowing realm of Truesight? It had appeared as though the de had instantly traversed the distance. It had not broken through space or moved quickly, but rather had seemed to already have chopped into his shoulder. It had felt both natural and correct for the de to be embedded into Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    But how?

    Chu Yuan held the hilt of his de and pressed down with an incredible amount of force. He used his innate gift to multiply the power of his attack in an attempt to chop straight through Lu Yin''s body with the de.

    In the end, he had still underestimated Lu Yin. Just because Chu Yuan had managed tond a direct blow with his de did not mean that the fight was over. Lu Yin¡¯s body was just too freakishly durable. Most people would only face a single stellr tribtion when they broke through to the Envoy realm, and then another tribtion for each subsequent breakthrough. On the other hand, Lu Yin had faced four tribtions for each of his three breakthroughs, and this had tempered and strengthened his body an extra three times for each tribtion that he passed.

    An inch into Lu Yin¡¯s body was as far as the de could proceed.

    Lu Yin was startled to see that Chu Yuan was able tond such a perfect blow, while Chu Yuan was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s raw physicality. Even if this attack had struck Heluo Mavis or Lu Tianyi, it would have gone much deeper than just a mere inch. Lu Yin¡¯s body was robust enough that Chu Yuan actually felt frustrated that his attack had been foiled. Lu Yin was supposed to be a human, not an astral beast, and yet not only did his stellr energy reserves far surpass what Chu Yuan possessed, but Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength also far exceeded all of his peers¡¯.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and grabbed the back of the de with a strange expression. Hemented, "The power of time."

    Chu Yuan''s eyes flickered. "That''s right, this is the power of time."

    Hearing Chu Yuan''s confirmation horrified everyone. Everyone was aware that the most terrifying force in the entire universe was time. Even the most powerful of Progenitors could not ovee the passage of time. With enough time, any powerhouse could be erased into nothingness, even the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Throughout human history, almost no one had ever been capable of controlling the power of time. Destiny imed to be able to see both the past and the future, but no one knew if she was actually able to control time itself.

    To Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge, Wendy Yushan¡¯s innate gift gave her a bit of control over time, and even that small bit had allowed her to break Zhi Yi¡¯s Vitality Qi despite the massive difference between the two¡¯s strength. Progenitor Chen had mastered the Inverse Step to the point where he could create a chaotic region of time and space, which had drawn Lu Yin to learn the movement technique, as it allowed the user to be able to break through any battle technique.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had taken Lu Yin and several other people away on a trip through time and space, showing them various significant events that had urred, and Lu Yin had even been able to witness the peak of the Heavens Sect era.

    Any power that was rted to time was something that defiedmon sense.

    If Chu Yuan had truly mastered some power of time, then he was absolutely not weak.

    The smile finally disappeared from Silver¡¯s face, and he stared at Chu Yuan with an indescribable greed filling his eyes.

    There was a simr expression on Lan Xian¡¯s face as she stared at Chu Yuan from the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate¡¯s ce in the stands. She wanted this person''s blood.

    Time was an elusive power that even most Progenitors failed toprehend, but everyone present was about to be given the opportunity to witness the power in use.

    The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant behind Lu Yin let out a roar. He squeezed tight with his right hand, and there was a soft snap as the de in his hand shattered.

    Chu Yuanshed out with a palm, but once again, the attacknded on Lu Yin as though it had always been there.

    Lu Yin had no chance to block or dodge the attack. It seemed that Chu Yuan was erasing the period of time that his attacks needed to reach Lu Yin, which gave Lu Yin the impression that the attacks were arriving instantaneously.

    Chu Yuan knocked Lu Yin back with the palm strike. As Lu Yin retreated, Chu Yuan clenched the hilt of his broken de and shed at Lu Yin with a follow-up attack.

    This time, Lu Yin did not hesitate at all. He had activated the Knowing realm of Truesight the moment the palm strikended.

    Chu Yuan shed his broken de straight at Lu Yin''s neck.

    Countless people watched, their tension growing, but the de did not manage to move forward. It had been blocked by the Knowing realm of Truesight.

    Chu Yuan was impressed. "The Rune Progenitor was truly an amazing man. The power of creation can only be called miraculous, even if it had appeared in our era. Still, how long can you maintain this state? Also, is this state even enough for you to be able to defeat me?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You¡¯ll have to give me a chance to figure out how to break your power of time."

    He was delighted to see that Chu Yuan had not managed to learn Inverse Step, as that would have let the man easily break through Lu Yin¡¯s Knowing realm of Truesight with the power of a chaotic time and space region.

    Chu Yuan just smiled. "Break my power of time? This is a power that the Origin Progenitor himself valued, and you want to ovee it? Brother Lu, you¡¯re truly too arrogant."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. There was no such thing as a perfect power. The Origin Progenitor had his sword, and had apparently mastered the ability to travel through time and space, which suggested that he had also mastered the overbearing power of time. Despite that, humanity had still been defeated by the Aeternals, and five Mainds had been destroyed. This was enough to prove that even the unfathomable power of time was not invincible. Lu Yin had too many techniques at his disposal, and he simply needed to find a way topensate for the small bit of time that Chu Yuan was erasing.

    If there was truly nothing that Lu Yin could do to deal with that loss of time, then his only option would be to rely on Extremes Must Be Reversed. Given Chu Yuan''s strength, he had no way to ovee the threshold and actually harm Lu Yin once he used Progenitor Ku¡¯s technique.

    However, the power that Chu Yuan had revealed put a stop to the battles that Heluo Mavis and the others had been fighting. Without the ability to defeat time, how could any of them defeat Chu Yuan?

    "While it¡¯s true that time isn¡¯t an invincible power, you can¡¯t beat me, Brother Lu.¡± Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. "This challenge is too difficult for you to ovee. Still, it¡¯s impossible to say just how powerful an attack is needed to defeat you when you use Extremes Must Be Reversed, and no one can surpass your strength.¡±

    He turned to look at Heluo Mavis. "The most terrifying aspect of the Mavis family is that, as long as there are nts nearby, members of that family can¡¯t die. They will simply reincarnate into a new body. I can certainly kill you once, but it will be very difficult to kill you a second time, let alone a third. You possess as many lives as there are nts nearby, which means that it will be very difficult for me to defeat you.¡±

    Chu Yuan then turned his attention to Sky Garan. "The name ¡®Eight-Star Garan¡¯ was enough to intimidate an entire era of the Heavens Sect. The Garan family ruled the Sixth Maind, and they managed to do so with the strength of an innate gift that is passed down to a sole inheritor each generation. With your Eight-Star innate gift, no matter how badly I want to defeat you, my chances aren¡¯t very good.¡±

    "Each of us possesses a nearly iprehensible power, which is why we all kept them hidden."

    Everyone in the audience around the za listened intently to Chu Yuan¡¯s words, and they were utterly stunned by what they heard. Could this be real? This meant that time was not the only unfathomable power possessed by those fighting in the za. Just how could anyone from the current era face these powers that the ancient Dao Chosens had kept hidden?

    Lu Buzheng frowned. While Lu Yin''s performance had far exceeded the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expectations, the powers wielded by the three Dao Chosen were far from simple, and Chu Yuan¡¯s words were absolutely true. These abilities were wielded by families who had controlled an entire Maind for multiple generations, and each of them stood on the same level as the Lu family. While the Lu family had their Champions¡¯ Stage that allowed them to anoint champions to fight for them, each of the other families simrly possessed a terrifying power that had enabled them to suppress an entire Maind for generations.

    Even the ability to control time might indeed not be able to ovee these powers.

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he nced over at Sky Garan and Heluo Mavis. These two¡¯s abilities did sound rather difficult to deal with. If Lu Yin could use his internal powers, he would attempt to use the God of Death Transformation, but his energy sources werepletely unusable at the moment. His current strength would make victory incredibly difficult to achieve. While he could use the power that he had inherited from Progenitor Chen, what would be the point in doing that? Forget Lu Yin¡¯s opponents in the za¡ªnot even the observing Semi-Progenitors could handle the attacks that Lu Yin could unleash with Progenitor Chen¡¯s power.

    In the end, Lu Yin needed to find a way to use the power stored within his body. He needed to finish his earlier attempts to reestablish control over his own cultivation.

    "Captain, these guys are all absolute freaks. What should we do?" Silver kept his distance from Heluo Mavis as he shot his standard foxy smile at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over. "You don¡¯t have anything still up your sleeves?"

    Silver¡¯s smile grew brighter. "Don''t I already know that you¡¯ve kept some things hidden?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "If we want to win, it''s not impossible."

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened slightly. "Just as expected of you, Captain. I want to see how you can pull out a win in this situation."

    "You¡¯ll have to help me," Lu Yin said.

    Silver grew curious. "What do you need from me, Captain?"

    Lu Yin spoke slowly, "Cover me with your death energy so that no one can see me for a bit."

    Silver instantly understood. "So you¡¯re going to use the God of Death Transformation, and you¡¯re worried they¡¯ll stop you midway?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Silver smiled. "Any of your requests are orders, Captain."

    Big Sis had stopped trying to smash Sky Garan with her hammers and moved over next to Lu Yin. "Little Seven, it''s going to be hard to beat any of them. What do you want to do?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Do you want to be the Dao Chosen, Big Sis?"

    The woman just rolled her eyes. "Of course not!"

    "Then why are you here?"

    "I wanted to have some fun, and that woman insisted that I join."

    "She was that confident in you?"

    "She told me that I was doomed."

    Lu Yin nced at Destina in the stands. "In that case, you should just call it quits."

    Big Sis¡¯s brows climbed high. "Are you looking down on this old woman? Just stop talking! I¡¯m going to kick that sugar boy¡¯s ass for you."

    While Sky Garan heard Big Sis¡¯s aggression, he ignored the woman. He already intended to work with Heluo Mavis to deal with Chu Yuan. While each of them had their own hidden abilities, time was something that intimidated everyone. There was no telling just how broad Chu Yuan¡¯s mastery of time might reach or what he might be capable of doing.

    Sky Garan had been filled with boundless self-confidence before the Dao Chosen selection, but just the fact that Chu Yuan controlled the power of time was enough to leave him nervous. Only with this knowledge was there understanding as to why the Origin Progenitor had only acknowledged Chu Yuan from their generation. The power that he wielded was beyond terrifying.

    Heluo Mavis nced at Sky Garan. The two had already reached an unspoken understanding.

    Bing a Dao Chosen induced a specific bit of pride in a person, and while it could not truly be considered a victory if they had to work together to win, it was imperative that they at least first force Chu Yuan to reveal his full abilities. The power of time was too intimidating.

    Chu Yuan sighed. He had already known that, regardless of what abilities and powers the others might have kept hidden, he would still be the primary target as soon as he revealed his ability to control time. Still, he had been forced into a corner, as without that ability, Chu Yuan was unable to hurt Lu Yin in the slightest.

    "The title of Dao Chosen is something from the Heavens Sect of our era. No matter what, it is something that cannot be taken away from us by anyone from this era. Why don¡¯t the three of us deal with the rest first? Especially Lu Yin. You should already know about his Extremes Must Be Reversed, and it¡¯s impossible for me tounch an attack with enough power to ovee that technique. If he manages to store up enough power and release it at the end, none of us will be able to beat him."

    Chu Yuan¡¯s only choice was to try to get rid of Lu Yin and the others first. When it came to Heluo Mavis and Sky Garan, Chu Yuan was confident that he could fight against both of them at once.

    Heluo Mavis hesitated. After all, Lu Yin was from the Lu family while she was from the Mavis family. If she targeted Lu Yin with the others, it would be difficult for her Mavis family to have a ce in the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    On the other hand, Sky Garan showed no hesitation. "Then we¡¯ll do it your way."

    He immediately leaped forward andunched an attack straight at Big Sis¡¯s head. "We¡¯ll get rid of the trash first!"

    As he shouted, his palm strike shattered the void and dropped down onto Big Sis, who became furious at the provocation. "Sugar boy, you dare to move against me? I¡¯ll beat you to death!"

    Her hammers rose yet again to smash at Sky Garan.

    Lu Yin instantly shouted, "Watch out!"

    At the same time, heshed out with his own palm strike to counter Sky Garan''s attack. Space shattered, and the overwhelming power of the resulting shockwave rattled Big Sis¡¯s head and knocked her back.

    She was stunned. What had happened? How had that kid¡¯s strength suddenly changed?

    Blue light appeared around all of Sky Garan¡¯s body, giving him a pale blue halo. "Let this era once again witness the power of the Garans!"

    His hand rose up, and the blood on the floor of the za rose to form spears that shot towards both Lu Yin and Big Sis in a single attack. Sky Garan was targeting both of them, and the pale blue light that shrouded his body also wrapped around the spears of blood.

    Lu Yin stared at the blood spears, and as he did so, his pupils transformed into runes and weakened the attacks.

 Chapter 2097: Change

    Chapter 2097: Change

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt an incredible sense of danger, and at that moment, a de appeared right in front of him. Chu Yuan was attacking again, and by the time Lu Yin even noticed the attack, it was already toote to dodge or block it. Chu Yuan had eliminated the travel time for his attack, and Lu Yin¡¯s chest was sliced open as he was forced to retreat. Even though the wound was not deep, Lu Yin was unable to block Sky Garan''s attack.

    Sky Garan¡¯s attack descended, and the blue light on the blood spears contained an overbearing pressure. If death energy was cold and radiated bloodlust, then this pale blue power felt like the pressure of a mountain bearing down. It waspletely different from star energy, and it was extremely intimidating.

    Big Sis raised her double hammers and smashed them upwards.

    Boom!

    A deafening noise rang out as the two hammers exploded, and Sky Garan''s eyes went wide. "You want to use a mere Thundering Hammer to ovee the Garans¡¯ innate gift? What a joke!"

    The spear stabbed into Big Sis¡¯s gut, and Sky Garan then used the spear to pick her up and throw her out of the za.

    Lu Yin¡¯s anger soared when he saw what happened to Big Sis, but Chu Yuan instantly reappeared right in front of Lu Yin. Lu Yin''s bodypletely dried out, and he raised a hand and brought out 99,000 stars that revolved around him. They almost instantly converged to form the Celestial Sword, which Lu Yin shed at Sky Garan.

    The glowing blue spears of blood shot through the sky. At this moment, the power of the Garan family, which had been invincible in the Sixth Maind, was fully revealed.

    Jiu Yao and Lan Xian both watched with great anticipation. Only a portion of the Sixth Maind¡¯s legacy had been lost during their war against the Fifth Maind, and certainly not all of it. The two Semi-Progenitors had heard of the horrifying power of the Garan family before.

    While only members of the Lu family¡¯s direct line had a chance to inherit the Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift, it was more than likely that more than a single person would awaken the innate gift within each generation. In contrast, only a single person could inherit the Garan family¡¯s innate gift from each generation, which meant that it was a rare innate gift.

    If the Sixth Maind had still possessed the power of the Garan family¡¯s innate gift during their war with the Fifth Maind, then Progenitor Chen would not have been able to exert as much pressure on the Sixth Maind, and Progenitor Nan might have even been rescued.

    There was an explosion as the Celestial Sword mmed into the blood spear. It was as though the sh was actually an ancient fight, a duel between Progenitor Chen and someone from the Garan family. Stars exploded, and the pale blue light swept out in every direction. Sky Garan¡¯s shirt was torn off to reveal beautiful blue stripes on his back. This was the visual sign of the Garan family¡¯s innate gift, and while the stripes were solid blue at the moment, when the pale color disappeared, it would mean that the power of the Eight-Stars Garan had been used up.

    Countless spatial tears spread out from the point of impact between the two techniques, and Sky Garan was overpowered. However, this was not because the power of the Garan family was weaker than the Celestial Sword Technique, but rather because Sky Garan himself was weaker than Lu Yin.

    The Cosmic Art had been created by Progenitor Chen, but not even he had mastered the fifth level of the cultivation art when he had been a three-tribtion Envoy. Rather, Progenitor Chen had stumbled along in unraveling and discovering the next portion of the Cosmic Art as he created it, constantly groping for the next level. Lu Yin had inherited Progenitor Chen''s legacy, and by using his die¡¯s Timestop, Lu Yin had obtained enough time to master the Cosmic Art to a level that even surpassed Progenitor Chen¡¯s in the same cultivation realm. Naturally, this insane advantage allowed Lu Yin topletely overwhelm Sky Garan.

    It was possible that only Chu Yuan¡¯s observational technique could allow a person to see through Lu Yin¡¯s Celestial Sword Technique at this moment, though that was not entirely certain either. Mastering the fifth level of the Cosmic Art induced a transformation in the cultivation art.

    Sky Garan retreated step by step. He ground his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin. This should be impossible! The power of the Garan family''s innate gift was not something that could be overpowered. The young man¡¯s eyes red as he formed another spear of blood whileshing out at Lu Yin with a palm strike. "Reincarnation Start."

    Lu Yin casually just tanked the p, though it caused his dried up body to recover slightly. With Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin was nigh unbeatable.

    As for Chu Yuan, he was held back by Silver. Death energy surged out and enveloped Lu Yin and Sky Garan, and Chu Yuan could not even see his target.

    Chu Yuan shed at Silver with a de, and the de rose back up almost the same instant that it fell.

    Blood covered almost all of Silver¡¯s body. He was not Lu Yin, and he had nowhere near the same physique, so a single attack was enough to leave him a bleeding mess. He dropped to his knees and stared at the floor of the za, though his vision had already grown blurred. It was only at this moment that he understood the horror of the power of time. How could one resist attacks that erased portions of time that were truly instantaneous?

    The battles in the za left all who were watching utterly silent.

    Even the Semi-Progenitors like Hen Xin were paying attention, as the power and skills being used in the za were representative of the youths who would rise up to represent their own era in the future.

    Jue Yi frowned as he observed Silver. In the end, the young man was still a bitcking when it came to facing something as inscrutable as the power of time. Still, the God of Death¡¯s power was not that easily defeated.

    Elsewhere, Starsibyl was focused on the death energy that concealed Lu Yin and Sky Garan. It was impossible to see what was happening within, so after a moment¡¯s thought, Starsibyl shifted her attention over to Big Sis. This stage of the Dao Chosen selection wasing to an end, and if Big Sis wanted to remain in the fight, she would need to somehow change, though Starsibyl had no idea what form that change might take.

    Suddenly, Sky Garan came flying out of the shroud of death energy, clearly sted by some overwhelming force. After he finally managed to stabilize himself, he stared at the death energy in horror. Just how did Lu Yin cultivate? He had seeded in directly overpowering the power of the Garan family¡¯s innate gift, and Sky Garan felt suppressed in a way that he had not felt even when facing off against Lu Tianyi.

    At this moment, death energy isted a region of the za, and Lu Yin alone remained hidden within it.

    Both Chu Yuan and Sky Garan stood outside the death energy, staring intently at the hidden area.

    Big Sis was still lying on the floor of the za. Her head was on the ground, and she was bleeding from her stomach.

    Silver was on his knees, struggling to ovee his pain.

    Only Heluo Mavis did nothing at all at this moment.

    Sky Garan nced at Chu Yuan. "His Extremes Must Be Reversed is almost impossible to overpower even if we work together. If he were born in our era, Lu Tianyi might not have been the one to end up as the Lu family¡¯s Dao Chosen."

    Chu Yuan had a headache. He possessed the invincible power of time, an innate gift of multiplication, as well as a battle technique that allowed him to see through any battle technique. He could be considered a practically perfect cultivator, and yet he had no solutions to deal with someone with such invincible defenses.

    The Garan family¡¯s unique power actually possessed a greater destructive power than Chu Yuan, but even that power was useless against Lu Yin.

    "As I said earlier, we need to deal with him first. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to stop him from carrying the statue to the gates. He can still be the Dao Chosen even without defeating us," Chu Yuan replied.

    Sky Garan had also thought of this, and he could not stop himself from looking over at Heluo Mavis. "Why are you still hesitating? You¡¯ll get Destina¡¯s unquestionable support if you be the Dao Chosen, so why do you even care about the Lu Heavenly Gate?"

    The strength of the Mavis family was absolutely vital if they wanted to hurt Lu Yin.

    If Chu Yuan¡¯s innate gift of multiplication wasbined with the Garan family¡¯s unique power that Sky Garan controlled and the Mavis family¡¯s strength, it would be enough to overwhelm even Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Heluo Mavis took a deep breath and forced herself to stop hesitating. Lu Yin was the true threat at this moment. As for the others, regardless of how impressive the power that Sky Garan wielded or how mysterious Chu Yuan¡¯s power of time was, Heluo Mavis was confident in her power of nts and being able to oust either of her peers. Lu Yin was the only person who left her uncertain.

    Given the situation, Heluo Mavis felt that she could not be med for her choice.

    Everyst one of the three former Dao Chosen felt confident about being able to defeat the other two, and only Lu Yin and his Extremes Must Be Reversed left them uncertain of victory. Thus, Lu Yin was the first one who had to be dealt with.

    A smile appeared on Silver¡¯s face. While the three had wasted time talking, his captain should have finished his God of Death Transformation, and Silver could not wait for this big reveal. He actually turned around to look into the audience stands at Jue Yi. Even the God of Death¡¯s direct disciple was unable to generate death energy. That ability remained solely in the hands of Lu Yin.

    Silver could not even imagine what sort of expression Jue Yi would make when he saw the God of Death Transformation, but Silver was eager to find out.

    No one had noticed that Big Sis¡¯s head and body had changed where shey on the floor of the za. Her body became smaller and looked younger. She had taken on the appearance of a little girl.

    ck was the first to notice, and she eximed, "Big Sis?"

    The shout drew everyone else¡¯s attention, and Starsibyl instantly focused onto Big Sis¡¯s transformation. Starsibyl¡¯s expression grew rather odd; who was it going to be this time?

    The shout drew even the attention of Chu Yuan and the other two, and they all looked over at where Big Sis was lying on the ground. Shepletely looked like a child at this moment.

    Sky Garan felt quite confused. What the hell had just happened?

    Chu Yuan was simrly stunned. Why were there so many weirdos in the modern era?

    The smile disappeared from Silver¡¯s face as he looked over at Big Sis. What was happening now?

    Big Sis opened her eyes and quickly hopped to her feet. She looked down at her hands and they saw her new arms and legs. She frowned and looked a bit confused. "What a pain. Hey, why are you fighting?"

    As she spoke, she looked at the floor beneath her feet. It was stained red with her blood from when she had been stabbed by Sky Garan. She then looked up at where Sky Garan was standing in front of the death energy. "Sugar boy, I¡¯m going to p you to death!"

    She then shot forward with a hand raised to p Sky Garan.

    He reflexively responded by raising his own hand to counter the attack.

    There was a bang, and a body smashed into the floor.

    The power behind Big Sis¡¯s p to Sky Garan¡¯s head was so powerful that it left everyone shocked.

    "I''ll¡­¡± Pat, pat, pat. Big Sis continued to p both of her hands against Sky Garan¡¯s head with such frequency that it sounded like ps.

    All Sky Garan could do was try to defend, and he felt quite upset knowing that everything he was suffering was being recorded.

    Lu Buzheng was surprised. "That looks so familiar. I feel like I''ve seen that same behavior before."

    Across the za, Hen Xin¡¯s head snapped up. "Elder Tong!"

    "Who¡¯s Elder Tong?" Xia Ji was puzzled.

    Hen Xin exined in a low voice, "The way she fights is exactly the same as that of someone known as Elder Tong during our time."

    Xia Ji shook his head. "But she¡¯s from this era."

    Hen Xin frowned. This was quite odd. Elder Tong had possessed a truly uniquebat style. She had always enjoyed pping people''s heads, and she had actually perfected it into a true skill. Once, she had even pped a Semi-Progenitor''s head while only an Envoy. It was a behavior that was unique throughout the ages, which made this situation very odd.

    When he saw that Sky Garan was being suppressed by Big Sis¡¯s ps, Chu Yuan took action and shed out with his de. Big Sis whipped around and pped at Chu Yuan¡¯s head as well.

    Sky Garan shot up from where he had been embedded into the ground, absolutely furious. Blood rose from the floor of the za to form another spear that pointed at Big Sis''s head. "You¡¯re courting death!"

    The spear shot forward.

    Two figures, one ck and one white, suddenly shot over, and they grabbed hold of Big Sis before running away. They were ck and White.

    Sky Garan snorted contemptuously, and his spear of blood shot through the air at the same time as a Reincarnation Start shot out from one of his hands. The spear was wrapped in a pale blue light as it streaked through the void. It was headed straight for ck and White. If it struck either of them, there was no chance of any oue but death for them.

    Big Sis quickly shoved the twins away to take the attack herself. She was mmed into the ground, spitting out blood as she fell.

    Up in the audience, Starsibyl shook her head. Big Sis¡¯s transformation was not weak, but it had not been enough to change the oue of the battle.

    Sky Garan¡¯s spear rose up again. He intended to kill Big Sis.

    At this same time, Lu Yin was inside the death energy and staring at his die as it spun. When it stopped on four pips, he heaved a sigh of relief. He had just rolled the die three times in a row, so this was hisst chance. Luckily, he had gotten the roll he wanted: Timestop.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin entered the Timestop Space and sat down cross legged. His mind entered his chest, focused on the chaotic powers within him.

    When Lu Yin had fully mastered the fifth level of the Cosmic Art with the tea from the Root of Intelligence, not only had heprehended the power of the cosmos that Progenitor Chen had left behind, but he had also gained some understanding of the chaotic energies within his body: they were also rted to the cosmos.

    Lu Yin¡¯s energies were sealed off from him and were unable to be utilized because of how disorganized and intertwined they had be. The only way for Lu Yin to mobilize those energies again was to find a way to circte them.

    In the human body, blood circted. In the universe as a whole, stars revolved, powering gxies and weaves. The power within Lu Yin¡¯s body was the same.

 Chapter 2098: The God Of Deathâ€™s Reappearance

    Chapter 2098: The God Of Death¡¯s Reappearance

    Lu Yin had managed to grasp a tiny clue under the Root of Intelligence tea¡¯s inspiration. Previously, because of his eagerness to participate in the Dao Chosen selection, he had not really dwelt on the matter. However, at the moment, he absolutely had to understand the glimpse of inspiration he had seen.

    He intended to use the chaotic energies in his chest to form a cirction path that mirrored the universe itself.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had pierced through the ck and white mist and acted as a catalyst. Without that sword, Lu Yin could not even imagine how long it would have taken him to realize this possibility.

    One month.

    Two months.

    Three months passed before Lu Yin finally managed to stir the energies within his chest. He used the stellr energy from the vortex in his heart to force the chaotic energies to move, and he then started to realize a form of power that would be uniquely his own.

    Every type of unique power had its own foundation, which was how the creator first started cultivating.

    Death energy, fatesand, as well as the muchter appearance of runes and simted stars¡ªevery power had its own foundation, which was that all of the creators had first cultivated stellr energy.

    Stellr energy was the starting point of all unique energies. Without first cultivating stellr energy, how could anyone create a unique power from nothing?

    Even legendary ancient powerhouses like the God of Death had followed this principle.

    Lu Yin was attempting to form a new type of energy by mixing andbining all of his different, divergent powers into a united whole. This would form Lu Yin¡¯s unique cultivation system.

    When Lu Yin had first considered the possibility of creating his own, unique cultivation method, he had realized that there existed truly countless possibilities for what the final form would be, but after seeing the stars that Progenitor Chen had left behind, Lu Yin had understood which method would be the most suitable for him. What could be more ideal than to imitate the universe itself?

    ¡­

    Outside the section of the za hidden behind death energy, Sky Garan stabbed at Big Sis¡¯s head. From the audience stands, Starsibyl eximed, "Gatemaster!"

    The white cloud did not move at all.

    Wen Sansi suddenly appeared in front of Big Sis with a barrier formed to protect her. There was no way that Wen Sansi could simply sit by and watch Big Sis die, as Lu Yin would lose his mind when he reappeared.

    However, only when one directly faced the power of the Garan family for themselves could they understand just how powerful it was.

    It was not without reason that the Garan family had been able to rule and suppress the entire Sixth Maind for generations. How freakish was the Lu family for them to have managed to dominate the Fifth Maind for so many years? The Garan family had been to the Sixth Maind what the Lu family had been to the Fifth Maind.

    A single attack from Sky Garan shattered Wen Sansi''s barrier, but the spear of blood stabbed into the floor. Big Sis had already been dragged away by Lu Lai.

    However, Sky Garan did not give up. Big Sis had first struck his head with a pair of hammers, and then she had pped him repeatedly. The Sixth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen had never once suffered such humiliation before, and there was no way he would stop trying to kill Big Sis.

    "Sky Garan, she¡¯s already lost!" Lu Lai shouted while visualizing the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant andshing out with a leg. Elsewhere, Lu Jiao lifted a hand and shot a Hidden Needle at Sky Garan.

    Sky Garan¡¯s eyes were cold, and his blood spear swept out, directly shing against Lu Lai''s empowered kick and Lu Jiao''s Hidden Needle. The spear then spun around to shoot at Big Sis yet again.

    Hui Santong, Yuhua Mavis, God Taiyi, Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, and other people from the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate all moved out against Sky Garan¡¯s assault.

    However, the man did not care at all about their efforts. "Nothing but trash. All of you can die."

    The blood spear swept out at the same time that a palm strike shot out. "Reincarnation Start."

    The spear fell, and everyone within its range coughed up blood.

    This was the strength of an ancient Dao Chosen. It was not on the same level as others.

    Even if the overbearing quality of the Garan family¡¯s unique power was ignored, Sky Garan¡¯s cultivation far surpassed any of his current opponents. A three-tribtion Envoy was not someone they could face.

    A turbulent surge of death energy shot up from below, forming a scythe as it shot forward and shed at Sky Garan. Silver had joined the fray, still with his standard fox-like smile. "She¡¯s important to Captain, so I can''t let her die."

    Sky Garan stared at Silver. Death energy was a unique power just like the Garan family¡¯s unique power, and death energy was simrly overpowering and mysterious. Still, Sky Garan instantly attacked Silver. "You must want to die."

    Silver''s eyes opened wide, and they suddenly radiated a cold that cut to the bone. When his eyes locked onto Sky Garan, he suddenly froze in ce, and his whole body inexplicably trembled. He was no longer looking at Silver, but rather at the God of Death who had once freely roamed the universe and wielded power that demanded respect from all of humanity.

    The butterfly knife in Silver''s hand fluttered, and he leaped up towards Sky Garan.

    Up in the stands, Hen Xin shook his head. The gap between a true Dao Chosen and anyone else from the same generation was too great to cross. This was not only due to theirbat strength and cultivation level, but also because of the innate nature of the powers that they cultivated.

    The people of the ancient era looked down on the modern era not only because of theck of true powerhouses, but also because the people of the modern eracked the creativity that permeated the thoughts of the people from the Heavens Sect era.

    It was impossible to determine if a person¡¯s creativity orbat strength were more important, but both had been rampant during the Heavens Sect era.

    Hen Xin felt no surprise at all as he watched Sky Garan single-handedly overwhelm an entire crowd of people who had been heralded as the most talented youths of the modern era. Lu Buzheng was simrly unmoved, and in truth, no one felt any surprise, including even Arch-Elder Zen. Over the course of thest twenty years, everyone hade to ept the gap between the two eras.

    The sole hope for the modern era was Lu Yin. As for Silver and Big Sis, no one had ever really expected either of them to win. The only exception was Lu Yin. He was the person who had driven Chu Yuan to suggest that the three former Dao Chosen work together against a single opponent. This was an unimaginable oue, as it showed that Lu Yin possessed a level of strength that not one of the youths from the ancient era felt confident of oveing on their own, and they had openly acknowledged this.

    At this time, Chu Yuan also started to make a move, and he attacked the area hidden by death energy. He used his innate gift as heshed out at the death energy. Not being able to see or understand what Lu Yin was doing inside the death energy left Chu Yuan increasingly uneasy.

    Ever since they had traveled through time and space together, Chu Yuan had been pressured by Lu Yin. To begin with, just Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy reserves and physical strength were enough to make Lu Yin a troublesome opponent.

    "Heluo, not yet!" Chu Yuan shouted.

    Heluo Mavis frowned. Grass had grown under her feet, and it had spread toward the death energy. She was not looking to attack Lu Yin, but rather to simply dispel the death energy and see what was happening.

    The green grass thrashed about, and the death energy was swept away.

    Everyone looked over, as they were all quite curious as to just what Lu Yin had been doing while hidden from everyone¡¯s sight. It had not been very long since Sky Garan had been tossed out of the death energy, but Lu Yin had not made a move even when Big Sis had almost been killed several different times.

    However, when the death energy disappeared, everyone blinked. Why was there no one there?

    Heluo Mavis and Chu Yuan both stepped forward. Where was Lu Yin?

    They abruptly snapped their heads around. Sky Garan had just been attacking Silver, and he was standing in the sky, but there was another person suddenly standing behind Sky Garan: Lu Yin.

    The entire za fell silent.

    The scythe of death energy was still rising up in front of Sky Garan, and he had not even noticed that Lu Yin had appeared at some point in time.

    "You¡¯re the one who left those wounds on Big Sis¡¯s head and stomach. I¡¯m going to leave you in the exact same state that you left her." Lu Yin¡¯s voice was casual as he spoke. He stood only a meter behind Sky Garan and was calmly looking at the man¡¯s back.

    Sky Garan''s pupils instantly constricted. Behind him?

    He spun his blood spear around and tried to swipe at Lu Yin. The pale blue halo around the spear grew stronger than ever as more of the Garan family¡¯s overbearing power surged to even greater heights than before. Sky Garan felt that Lu Yin was somehow much stronger than before.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand stretched out and grabbed the spear shaft, instantly dimming the pale blue light around it.

    Sky Garan''s expression changedpletely. This was impossible! How was his Garan family''s power actually being suppressed?

    Lu Yin''s hand trembled, and Oveying Stacks ran through the shaft of the spear and caused Sky Garan''s arm to shake. The spear shattered and turned back to blood that sttered onto the ground below.

    Lu Yin¡¯s right handshed out and met Sky Garan''s palm.

    There was a bang, and the void shattered. Sky Garan was sent flying back, and hended on the floor of the za with such force that his legs were driven into the ground.

    Lu Yin descended onto the za as well. He opened a hand and condensed a spear within his grip. This weapon was not formed with stellr energy, nor with death energy, but rather with the new energy that he had formed within his body.

    Lu Yin could sense the power of the new energy that had formed within his body. He had not actually used Hollow Palm to attack Sky Garan just now, but had instead used his new energy. Only a tiny sliver of the power had been used, but it had innately suppressed the power of the Garan family and instantly beaten Sky Garan back.

    Lu Yin thrust his spear forward. He clearly wanted to do exactly what he had said: return the injuries that Big Sis had suffered to Sky Garan.

    There was a sudden sh of white light to Lu Yin¡¯s right. Chu Yuan had attacked, and his de was falling.

    Despite forming a new power of his own, Lu Yin still had no way to deal with Chu Yuan¡¯s ability to erase a period of time, and the de once again chopped into Lu Yin¡¯s body, causing him to bleed.

    "I¡¯d assumed that you¡¯d use Extremes Must Be Reversed." Chu Yuan was surprised to see Lu Yin¡¯s normal appearance.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s expression just tightened a bit. "I use that when I need to handle a beating, but there¡¯s no need for that right now."

    As he spoke, rays of ck and white light shone out from his body and then quickly transformed into dotted lines of light that surrounded him.

    Silver went bug-eyed at this sight. He had assumed that Lu Yin would undergo the God of Death Transformation while hidden within the death energy, but Lu Yin clearly had not done so. Shockingly, Lu Yin waspleting the transformation right at this moment.

    However, why did this God of Death Transformation feel different from what Silver had seen before?

    As Silver was thinking about this, the space around Lu Yin quivered, and Chu Yuan reflexively pulled back.

    As everyone watched, Lu Yin almost instantlypleted his God of Death Transformation. He no longer needed to use a cocoon toplete the process.

    His eyes became pure ck, and his hair grew out to hang down to his waist. His upper body became bare as a neb of ck energy swirled around him and bits of it took on the form of chains that wrapped around him. His body was covered with mysterious dark-red lines that were branded onto his flesh. White mist gathered at Lu Yin¡¯s left arm and condensed to form a shield, while a massive ck scythe appeared in his right hand. Behind him, more of the ck energy billowed out to form a cloud.

    The remainder of the ck energy scattered like a cloak that had been shrugged off, and Lu Yin slowly lifted his head. The massive scythe in his right hand rose up, and the chains of death energy moved to rotate around Lu Yin¡¯s body to form a barrier around him. He looked at Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis from between the shifting chains. He then nced out into the audience¡¯s stands and saw the shocked expression on Jue Yi¡¯s face.

    At this moment, no one was more stunned than the Semi-Progenitor. He had already known that Lu Yin cultivated the God of Death¡¯s power, but Jue Yi had always believed that Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation method was the same as the Specter n¡¯s and that the youth was nothing more than a user of death energy.

    However, the only thing that Jue Yi could think of as he stared at Lu Yin was the God of Death himself. Lu Yin was not merely a user of death energy, but rather a creator of death energy. This transformation was the ability of the God of Death.

    "Impossible! How could you cultivate in the same manner as the God of Death?" Jue Yi muttered in shock. He was staring at something unbelievable.

    Jue Yi was not alone, as Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, and everyone from the Heavens Sect Era was simrly stunned. Just like Jue Yi, everyone had assumed that Lu Yin was only able to use death energy, but what were they staring at at this moment? This was clearly the God of Death Transformation, but how could Lu Yin have obtained something that was only avable to those who cultivated in the exact same manner as the God of Death himself?

    Lu Buzheng grew pale. This was the true power of the God of Death! A direct descendant of the Lu family¡¯s main line had actually cultivated the God of Death¡¯s method! What the hell?

    Silver stood in the za with an ever-growing grin on his face. He had already understood Jue Yi¡¯s assumptions concerning Lu Yin, and while Silver could have corrected the man, he had not done so. All of that patience had been in anticipation of this exact moment, and it was absolutely delightful.

    Lu Yin stared at Jue Yi. "I told you that I cultivated the power of the God of Death. But what can you cultivate? This is why I¡¯m different from you."

    Jue Yi clenched his fists. This was impossible! He was the God of Death¡¯s disciple, and yet even Jue Yi could only cultivate in the same manner as the God of Death after bing a Progenitor. How could this mere child do so as a mere Envoy? It was impossible. Utterly impossible!

 Chapter 2099: Eight-Star Garan Innate Gift

    Chapter 2099: Eight-Star Garan Innate Gift

    "How did you aplish this?" Jue Yi growled through gritted teeth.

    Lu Yin sneered and ignored the man, instead turning to look at Chu Yuan. "Now, give me your best shot."

    Chu Yuan was just as startled by Lu Yin¡¯s transformation as Jue Yi. The young man understood the power of the Three Realms Six Dao, especially that of the God of Death, who had managed to single-handedly suppress all of the astral beasts in the entire universe. The God of Death¡¯s name was synonymous with unparalleledbat ability.

    Chu Yuan had already known that Lu Yin possessed death energy, but just like everyone else, he had assumed that Lu Yin merely cultivated with death energy. During the Heavens Sect era, there had been countless fanatic worshipers of the God of Death. Many people had been able to use death energy, but the God of Death had been the only true cultivator of his power.

    During the final battle of ZENITH, Lu Yin had used his God of Death Transformation to be a peerless existence and sweep away all challengers.

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, he had used the God of Death Transformation to overpower all of the Junior Progenitors at once.

    Given the fact that Lu Yin had risen up to be a three-tribtion Envoy, he would naturally be able to overpower even Dao Chosen like Chu Yuan who possessed invincible abilities.

    This was also just the God of Death Transformation. With a new source of power in his chest, Lu Yin was capable of far more than just this. Unfortunately, he most likely would not need to use that new strength to deal with Chu Yuan and the others.

    As they stared at Lu Yin''s God of Death Transformation, everyone left in the za felt a fear that welled up from the bottom of their hearts. They had believed that Lu Yin¡¯s greatest advantage was his mastery of Truesight and his reliance on Extremes Must Be Reversed. Just these two abilitiesbined were already enough to leave them all doubting their ability to defeat Lu Yin, but they had also all kept some of their own hidden aces.

    However, after seeing the God of Death Transformation, any possible confidence in their own strength disappeared. At this moment, Lu Yin not only possessed a freakish defense, but also a terrifying attack power.

    Finally, Heluo Mavis stepped forward. She no longer had any hesitation, as she had realized that she absolutely had to join hands with Sky Garan and Chu Yuan.

    The Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era were not used to cooperating with anyone to suppress a single opponent, so they had no experience to rely upon. They had previously intended to all attack together to overwhelm Lu Yin¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed, but the situation had changed. Before, they had merely acknowledged that they could not individually ovee Lu Yin¡¯s defenses, but physical might and robust defenses were not enough to achieve victory. They had merely intended to work together to ovee an impressive obstacle, but at this moment, they felt the need to work together because they were genuinely afraid of Lu Yin¡¯sbat strength. At this moment, they saw him as an invincible opponent.

    Finally, Lu Buzheng realized what was happening, and a wild excitement blossomed in his eyes. The God of Death¡­ Lu Yin possessed the true power of the God of Death! Even during the Heavens Sect era, the Lu family had to be respectful and wary of the God of Death, as that person was an absolute monster. How surprising was it that, after the passing of so many years, a descendant of the Lu family turned out to be the one to inherit the true power of the God of Death.

    Lu Yin had revealed that he possessed the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage, the true power of the God of Death, as well as the strange abilities of Gods¡¯ Origin. Lu Buzheng could not even imagine any of the young man¡¯s peers sessfully defeating him. Even Chu Yuan¡¯s inscrutable power to control time would likely not be enough to ovee the difference in strength that Lu Yin had shown.

    The God of Death had been someone on the same level as Destiny herself.

    "I heard you say that all of you have hidden most of your strength, so let¡¯s see it." Lu Yin raised the spear that he had formed with his new power and suddenly turned to stare at Sky Garan. "You¡¯re first."

    The chains that revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s body shot out and wrapped around his target.

    Sky Garan''s eyes grewrge, and he instantly used his innate gift that allowed him to transfer any attack to another person. He had once used this ability to transfer Marquis Wang¡¯s scepter away, and he had imed that the innate gift could redirect any attack, but he had not used this innate gift during the Dao Chosen selection yet.

    His innate gift sessfully transferred the approaching chains away, but Sky Garan saw a spear that Lu Yin had hidden right behind the chains.

    Lu Yin instantly appeared before Sky Garan, and the spear thrust forward. Sky Garan grabbed the weapon with both hands, and his pale blue light erupted in a brilliant glow. However, he felt a mysterious sense of suppression the moment he made contact with the spear. Not only was Sky Garan himself being overpowered, but the unique power of his Garan family was also beingpletely suppressed.

    Sky Garan was startled, but before he could even react, the spear stabbed into his stomach, and his body was lifted into the air with a flip of the spear. Blood dripped down the shaft of the spear.

    Jiu Yao and the other powerhouses from the Sixth Maind were all stunned. This was the Garan family¡¯s Dao Chosen, and yet someone had managed to forcibly pick him up.

    Chu Yuan raised his de and chopped down; the time of its passing was erased. This attack never missed, and Lu Yin had been wounded by it several times already, as he had no way to counter this attack.

    That detail still had not changed, as regardless of how overwhelmingly powerful Lu Yin might be, he had no way to recover time that had been erased.

    However, was there even a need to do so? No. Chu Yuan¡¯s de struck the chains that wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s body, and it stopped a meter away from Lu Yin. It was impossible to force the de any closer at all.

    Chu Yuan stared nkly at the chains formed from death energy that blocked his attack. This waspletely different from Lu Yin¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed. That earlier technique forced Lu Yin to simply endure all attacks, and an attack simply needed to surpass the limit of what his body could endure in order for Extremes Must Be Reversed to be broken, which the three people felt confident that they could do by working together. However, the chains formed from death energy prevented Chu Yuan from evennding an attack. If Lu Yin also used Extremes Must Be Reversed in conjunction with his God of Death Transformation, then how could anyone defeat him?

    Right after Chu Yuan¡¯s de fell, Heluo Mavis leaped forward and punched the chains. The three young people had been motivated to work together, as Lu Yin was far more of a monster than any of them had initially believed.

    Heluo Mavis directly struck the chain, and they formed an imprableyer of protection that surrounded Lu Yin. Heluo Mavis was not surprised to see her attack had been stopped, and a massive tree rose up behind her. A fruit grew and dropped into her waiting hands.

    Lu Yin looked at the fruit that the young woman was holding. This was the Mavis family¡¯s unique form of power that wasparable to the Garan family¡¯s unique power. Even if the true universe held no stellr energy, the Mavis family would not truly be weakened.

    Heluo Mavis ate the fruit, and her strength soared. Aurelian force appeared and burned the void as another punch was thrown at Lu Yin.

    This punch managed to put a dent in the chain, which was something that not even Chu Yuan¡¯s full-powered attack had managed to aplish.

    When it came to pure physical strength, not even the Lu family couldpare to the Mavis family, especially after someone ate the fruit that Heluo Mavis had just consumed. This was the family¡¯s true Infinite Power.

    After being lifted into the air by Lu Yin¡¯s spear, Sky Garan waspletely enraged. He shifted his body off of the spear, but he nearly copsed afternding on the ground. The blue stripes on his back flickered, and nearly half of them grew dark. At the same time, a blue liquid appeared in front of Sky Garan¡¯s face. The light flickered with eight different colors in a beautiful manner.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to the blue liquid that shimmered like a gem. Not even the eight flickering colors were enough to conceal the brilliant blue color. Instead, those eight colors somehow served to enhance the blueness, making it even more pure and enchanting.

    "Eight Star Garan. The Garan family''s inherited innate gift," Jiu Yao slowly stated, his face solemn.

    Lan Xian felt confused, as she had never heard of the Eight Star Garan.

    Across the za, Hen Xin straightened up. The Garan family had managed to dominate the entire Sixth Maind, and in addition to their unique power that wasparable to death energy, they had also relied on their inherited innate gift: Eight Star Garan. This innate gift was something that was only famous within certain elite circles, as the Garan family had always tried to keep this innate gift well hidden. In fact, everyone who had ever seen this innate gift was dead.

    This was the first time that the Eight Star Garan innate gift had been openly revealed in public.

    Sky Garan had been forced into a corner. He had no choice but to expose this ability.

    Everyone was fascinated by the blue liquid that had appeared, and they watched as Sky Garan opened his mouth and swallowed it all in one gulp.

    Finally, people were able to return to their senses, and they mostly looked at Sky Garan in an odd manner; that liquid was something to be swallowed?

    As Lu Yin observed Sky Garan, his pupils transformed into runes, and Lu Yin watched as Sky Garans runes increased further and further. Soon, a number of runes appeared that should have been impossible for anyone with Sky Garan¡¯s level of strength to reach.

    There was a limit to even a Dao Chosen¡¯sbat power. Sky Garan might be a three-tribtion Envoy, but he was as strong as a five-tribtion Envoy. This already made him an impressive Realmbreaker, but when he used the Garan family¡¯s innate gift, his runes had increased to more than what a six-tribtion Envoy possessed, and it approached what could be observed on a seven-tribtion powerhouse.

    As far as the current era was concerned, a Realmbreaker was a genius, and being able to cross two minor cultivation realms was amazing. An example of such geniuses were the Ten Arbiters, who had been able to challenge Enlighters while only being Hunters themselves. On top of that, the Ten Arbiters had been able to fight against Enlighters with power levels of over 300,000 while only being Hunters.

    As for the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors, they were on another level, as they had been capable of fighting against Envoys while only being Enlighters.

    When Lu Yin had been in the Starfall Sea, he had noticed that Bu Kong had also reached such a level of strength.

    However, even for those elite geniuses, it would be impossible to fight against someone who had survived six stellr tribtions as a mere three-tribtion Envoy. Such an expert surpassed a power level of a million, which was entering a new threshold.

    This meant that, at this moment, Sky Garan was capable of easily defeating even Yuan Shi. Lu Yin saw a terrifying level of strength that approached a power level of 1.1 million.

    Sky Garan¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared at Lu Yin. At this moment, the only thing that Sky Garan saw was Lu Yin.

    The unique power of the Garan family condensed to form a long blue de that Sky Garan raised high before swinging it down in a vicious sh.

    The attack looked almost identical to Chu Yuan¡¯s attacks. Lu Yin frowned, and the de instantly struck the chains of death energy with a mighty ng.

    Lu Buzheng and everyone else watching the battle y out felt numbed by this sight; the power of time?

    Everyone was startled, as Sky Garan''s attack had clearly just utilized the power of time. In the exact same manner as Chu Yuan, a bit of time had been erased from the attack, which made it impossible for Lu Yin to avoid the attack.

    Sky Garan¡¯s attack had perfectly mirrored Chu Yuan''s sh, but the power behind it was even stronger. This was because Sky Garan¡¯s attack was being supported by the Garan family¡¯s unique power.

    Chu Yuan had been acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor due to his ability to control time, but he did not possess any other ability or power that surpassed what Sky Garan and Heluo Mavis possessed. As Chu Yuan had said himself, he was a person ofmon birth, not someone from a great family like the Lu or Garan families. Even with his innate gift boosting the power of his attacks, Chu Yuan¡¯s attacks were not as powerful as Sky Garan.

    If Sky Garan managed to remove Chu Yuan¡¯s advantage of being able to control time, Chu Yuan would not be Sky Garan¡¯s opponent.

    Chu Yuan¡¯s sess was entirely dependent on his ability to control time, but his defeat hinged on the same thing.

    However, there was no one paying any attention to Chu Yuan at this moment, as they were all staring at Sky Garan. Why was he also able to control time?

    Lu Yin was truly stunned. Was it that easy toprehend and master time? Of course not! Just what was it that Sky Garan was using? For some reason, Lu Yin felt a hint of familiarity¡­

    "How long can your death energyst?" Sky Garan¡¯s de fell again. The power of the Garan family supported the attack as it fell onto the chain a second time, and the chain was nearly severed.

    Yuhua Mavis and everyone else stared nkly as the battle unfolded. As soon as they had seen the God of Death Transformation appear, everyone had assumed that the battle was as good as over, especially those with the personal experience of facing this version of Lu Yin. This was the ability that had let Lu Yin fight against all of his peers at once and stille out on top. Not even the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors had been able to ovee the invincibility of this transformation.

    No one had ever before witnessed an opponent who could even damage the powers that manifested during the God of Death Transformation, but Sky Garan had aplished just that. The de fell for a third time, and Sky Garan became the first of Lu Yin¡¯s peers to slice through one of the death energy chains.

    Lu Yin had previously been wounded while using the God of Death Transformation, both from Bai Shaohong''s innate gift of a mental attack, as well as an odd attack that the Junior Progenitor had used. However, only Lu Yin himself had ever been injured, as his chains and the shield on his left arm had never shown even the slightest hint of damage. Sky Garan was the first to overpower Lu Yin¡¯s chains with a direct attack.

    However, that was all that Sky Garan had aplished.

 Chapter 2100: Spatial Memory

    Chapter 2100: Spatial Memory

    Lu Yin raised his left arm as Sky Garan shed down yet again. The man did not alter his attacks in any way, as he believed that Lu Yin was vulnerable to attacks, aside from his chains. Besides, the erased time ensured that it was impossible for Lu Yin to evade.

    The de struck the white shield on Lu Yin¡¯s left arm, and his eyes went wide. He had finally recognized this feeling, and it was no wonder why it felt familiar. Sky Garan was not actually using the power of time, but rather that of space. Lu Yin did not understand just how Sky Garan had managed to copy Chu Yuan¡¯s attacks that erased moments of time, but Lu Yin was absolutely confident that Sky Garan was not using time, even if the final result was the same.

    The Arkfish suddenly appeared behind Sky Garan, and he raised a hand and released a palm strike.

    This time, not only was Chu Yuan''s visualization method copied, but even Lu Yin''s Hollow Palm. Sky Garan was using two people''s techniques at the same time, and everyone waspletely dumbfounded by the sight.

    Not even Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis could understand what they were seeing. Was this the ability of the Eight Star innate gift? Just what was its power?

    Lu Yin was knocked back by the Hollow Palm, and Sky Garan raised his de upwards yet again. The previous chop had been stopped by the shield on Lu Yin¡¯s left arm, so this time, the de was aimed at Lu Yin''s head.

    Lu Yin raised his head, and an astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet. This was the Ce Secret Art.

    Sky Garan¡¯s de fell, and time was erased. It was impossible to dodge or avoid this attack.

    However, before the de dropped, Sky Garan coughed up blood. Some mysterious and unknown force tore his body apart, and he was thrown back.

    No one could understand what had just happened, including even Semi-Progenitors like Lu Buzheng. This was because there was no one present aside from Hen Xin who understood the power at y.

    Hen Xin instantly grew solemn. "The power of space."

    Ni Huang felt puzzled. "What¡¯s the power of space?"

    Before Hen Xin could exin, Lu Yin spoke up from down in the za. "So is this the ability of your family¡¯s Eight Star Garan? This is basically spatial memory. Your innate gift allows you to recall everything that¡¯s happened within the space around you, including even battle techniques, innate gifts, and power vessels. Anything in those memories can be replicated. This really is an incredible innate gift, and anyone who hasn¡¯tprehended the power of space can only wait to die."

    Sky Garan stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Blood dripped from the man¡¯s mouth, half of his body had been shattered, and even his hair was left a mess. "Can you actually see through my innate gift? You¡¯veprehended the power of space?"

    Lu Yin let out a breath. He had learned the Ce Secret Art andprehended its Board Maniption ability, which used the power of space.

    In truth, the Garan family¡¯s innate gift was truly powerful, and their ability to ess spatial memory allowed them to use the powers of any powerful enemy nearby, including even the ability to control time. Unfortunately, Sky Garan was facing Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin had not managed toprehend a bit of the concept of space through the Ce Secret Art, he would have most likely never seen through this innate gift, and then he would have been forced to try to either use the God of Death Transformation to overpower Sky Garan or Extremes Must Be Reversed to tank the attacks. The fight with Sky Garan would have be the same as Lu Yin¡¯s fight against Chu Yuan.

    The Garan family had ruled the Sixth Maind for eons, and it was not that their Eight Star Garan innate gift had never been seen through during that time. Rather, any who had managed to see through the innate gift had never been given the opportunity to reveal anything. The Garan family¡¯s overwhelming strength was not solely dependent on their innate gift.

    Given the new era he lived in, Sky Garan had fully believed that he would eventually be a Dao Monarch. While Chu Yuan was capable of wielding the mighty power of time, Sky Garan was able to counter that with his Eight Star innate gift. Chu Yuan¡¯s ability to see through battle techniques did not apply to innate gifts, so that advantage could also be ignored. As for Heluo Mavis, even if she relied on the practically immortal abilities of her Mavis family, at best she could remain undefeated, but she would never be able to defeat Sky Garan.

    After all, the Eight Star innate gift could tap into Heluo Mavis''s abilities through the spatial memory, just like how Sky Garan was able to use the power of time against Chu Yuan. With his innate giftbined with the unique power of the Garan family, Sky Garan had believed himself to be truly invincible.

    How could he have imagined that Lu Yin would be able to see through such a miraculous innate gift after just a few attacks?

    Lu Yin shook his head. Truthfully, Sky Garan was simply unlucky. Without Lu Yin¡¯s presence, no one from the same generation would be able to see through the Eight Star innate gift, and even if they managed to do so, it would be practically impossible for them to do anything about such an ability. However, it turned out that Lu Yin just happened to perfectly counter Sky Garan¡¯s innate gift. Whenever spatial memory was used tounch an attack, Lu Yin could simply revert space to its previous state, and that would break Sky Garan¡¯s attacks and leave him suffering a bacsh from space itself.

    Truly, the man had terrible luck.

    Sky Garan coughed up more blood. "Even if people are able to understand the ability of our Eight-Star innate gift, it¡¯s impossible to defeat me without being able to control space. Just what sort of spatial ability have you mastered?"

    As he spoke the man¡¯s expression grew increasingly bitter.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Figure it out yourself."

    The chains of death energy shot forward, grabbed hold of Sky Garan, and then tossed him into the air. The man was bound by the chains as Lu Yin raised his right arm and threw his spear. It stabbed through Sky Garan''s right shoulder and pinned him to the wall of the za.

    The first of the former Dao Chosen had been eliminated.

    Sky Garan had been too badly injured by the spatial bacsh, and he was thus unable to mount any resistance at all.

    Lu Yin not only wanted to be the Dao Chosen, but he also wanted to prove himself. The people from the Heavens Sect era looked down on the modern era, and although Lu Yin could not deny that the modern era was greatly inferior to the Heavens Sect, that did not mean that there was no one with outstanding talent in the current era. Lu Yin wanted to prove himself to be an elite who stood tall regardless of the era.

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. The man had be more serious than ever before regarding Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Time to keep going. Now, it¡¯s your turn."

    Chu Yuan shook his head. "My current strength isn¡¯t enough to defeat you."

    Heluo Mavis stared at Chu Yuan. "Do you want to surrender?"

    Chu Yuan took a deep breath, and then he looked up to stare at Lu Yin. "I am the only Dao Chosen to be acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor himself during the Heavens Sect era. In addition to receiving the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, I also received a secret technique from him. Brother Lu, if you can defeat this secret technique, then the position of Dao Chosen is yours, and I will readily acknowledge your qualifications."

    Chu Yuan then stepped forward with his right foot. As he moved, his entire body became distorted for a moment, and then all color disappeared, and he turned gray.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed when he saw this gray. This was not a good color to see. The first time he had seen this color, it had been when ckless God had appeared. Every time Lu Yin met with Mister Mu and all of space had frozen, it had also been this gray color. It seemed that this color was indicative of something very specific.

    More importantly, the secret technique that Chu Yuan was preparing to use was one that he had directly received from the Origin Progenitor himself. Chu Yuan had been able to see the Origin Progenitor due to his ability to control the power of time, so it was highly likely that this secret technique would be connected to the usage of time.

    "What secret technique?" Heluo Mavis asked. She has been paying attention to Chu Yuan from the moment she had awoken in the current era, but despite how well she knew him, he always seemed to have something more hidden.

    Chu Yuan looked over at Heluo Mavis. "I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to deal with him on your own for now. I need to step away from this fight for a bit."

    He then slowly raised his de and pointed it at Lu Yin before shing downwards.

    This was tant antagonism, and Lu Yin arched a brow. Once again, Lu Yin had shown that he had caught up to Chu Yuan¡¯s level of power. It had to be admitted that Chu Yuan was incredibly powerful. He had spiritual force that had been tempered by the Origin Sutra, a battle technique that allowed him to be able to see through any other battle technique, a formless and invisible energy that acted as a defensive barrier, exquisite swordsmanship, an overbearing de technique, an innate gift of multiplication, and even the ability to erase time itself. However, despite all of these impressive abilities, Chu Yuan retained a critical w: he simply did not possess any attacks destructive enough topare to his peers.

    Many of Chu Yuan¡¯s abilities were defensively focused. While his innate gift of multiplication was able to boost his sword skills or his de attacks, they only barely managed to reach the same level of power as the other Dao Chosens¡¯. The ability to control time was what allowed Chu Yuan to truly stand above the other Dao Chosens, as regardless of how bad of a situation he found himself in, he would always be able to retreat safely. Still, Chu Yuan hade from an ordinary family, and he did not possess a power that couldpare to what the Garan family wielded, or to the destructive power of death energy. In the end, Chu Yuan¡¯s source of power was simply inherently inferior.

    It was possible that this was part of the reason why the Origin Progenitor had epted Chu Yuan. Reaching such a level of power despite being born to amon family was impressive. While Chu Yuan was absolutely amazingly talented, hecked the brute force to overwhelm his foes.

    After all, if he did possess such strength, he would have never bothered fighting against Lu Yin and Heluo Mavis in the Daosource Sect ruins.

    Each of the Six Mainds¡¯ Dao Chosen had their own strengths and weaknesses, and unfortunately, despite his numerous advantages, Chu Yuan simplycked destructive power.

    Lu Yin was not particrly concerned by Chu Yuan¡¯s attack, as even when Sky Garan had reproduced this same attack and strengthened it with the Garan family¡¯s unique power, he had still needed three attacks to cut through just one of Lu Yin¡¯s chains, and Chu Yuancked that same strength.

    In that case, why was using this attack at this time?

    Everyone watched curiously.

    Chu Yuan''s de fell, and an image of the de remained in the air in front of him. However, this sh did not move, but remained frozen in ce. The de dropped a second time, and the frozen shes practically ovepped. However, if one looked carefully, it was possible to see that the second sh was a hair lower than the first sh. This continued a third time, a fourth, and a fifth. Each frozen sh stacked onto the others already in ce.

    "He¡¯s merging his attacks by using a frozen point in time as a point of reference to allow all of the attacks to erupt simultaneously and reinforce each other." Destina finally spoke, and her melodious voice filled the Heavens Sect.

    Everyone who heard her exnation found it unbelievable. Was such a thing truly possible?

    Lu Yin automaticallyshed out with a palm strike, as he wanted to interrupt Chu Yuan''s preparation. However, the Hollow Palm passed right through where Chu Yuan was standing, bypassing the man. The attack was not dodged or avoided; rather, it simply phased right through his body.

    Lu Yin could not believe his eyes, so he threw out one of his chains in an attempt to capture Chu Yuan and pull him over, but the chain of death energy also phased through Chu Yuan¡¯s body.

    All efforts were useless. It was as though Chu Yuan was in a different time and space. This was yet another aspect of the power of time.

    Outside the sr system, Wu Da stared at Chu Yuan as though seeing a monster. Was it actually possible to manipte time in such a fashion? This was too ridiculous!

    "Boss, tell me, can Lu Yin still win?" The woman in Wu Da¡¯s group was frightened by what they were seeing. No one was underestimating Lu Yin now, but Chu Yuan''s technique was simply too terrifying.

    Even though Chu Yuan¡¯s raw destructive power was not at the same standard as the Garan family''s unique power or death energy, he was not that far behind. The most important detail that everyone could see was that he was not limited to stacking just five shes with this technique; in the blink of an eye, ten attacks had already been stacked. Just how powerful would an attack that fused five of Chu Yuan¡¯s de shes together be? No one wanted to even consider it.

    Sky Garan was still pinned to the side of the za, and he stared at Chu Yuan in shock. This was clearly Chu Yuan¡¯s final trump card. It was no wonder why he had managed to defeat Wu Ji, who had been regarded as the most likely person to be the First Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen.

    Heluo Mavis was also staring at Chu Yuan. "This is the attack that killed Wu Ji¡­"

    Chu Yuan said nothing, and he focused entirely on swinging his de.

    "No, you said that you got this secret technique from the Origin Progenitor, and you hadn¡¯t met him yet when you fought against Wu Ji in the Dao Chosen selection. The strength that you showed before wouldn¡¯t have been enough to defeat Wu Ji, and yet you still beat him. If this really is the attack that killed Wu Ji, then you didn¡¯t get this secret technique from the Origin Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan hesitated for a brief moment before he resumed shing his de down.

    It did not actually matter whether Chu Yuan was honest in where he had acquired this secret technique. The only thing that seemed readily apparent was that no one could survive this stacked attack. Already, twenty seven shes had been stacked together. Forget Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation, this fused attack could tear even Extremes Must Be Reversed apart.

    Chu Yuan had always kept his strength hidden. He actually possessed the power to ovee Lu Yin¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed on his own, but he had still suggested cooperating with Sky Garan and Heluo Mavis.

    Lu Yin looked over at the ever increasing number of runes that were gathering at the frozen shes of Chu Yuan¡¯s de. It was a terrifying sight, as the number already surpassed anything that Sky Garan had ever achieved, but the runes were only continuing to increase.

 Chapter 2101: Confidence

    Chapter 2101: Confidence

    Lu Yin did not believe that Chu Yuan could stack infinite shes. Every battle technique had its own limits. Still, the number of runes for the stacked shes was already sufficient to overpower his God of Death Transformation.

    This was the power of Chu Yuan, the Dao Chosen of the First Maind during the Heavens Sect era. He was someone who genuinely possessed the ability to meet Lu Yin head on even with his God of Death Transformation.

    Sky Garan had been the first to break one of his death energy chains, and if Lu Yin had not happened to pick up the Ce Secret Art andprehend Board Maniption, it would not have been nearly so easy for him to defeat Sky Garan. At the moment, he really had no way to resolve the overwhelming power that Chu Yuan was preparing. This was the strength of the Dao Chosen.

    This power also let Lu Yin understand why these people looked down on the current era and even him so much.

    If Lu Yin had faced this attack twenty years earlier when the ancient people had first been released from the sourcebox, the only way he could have survived Chu Yuan¡¯s attack would have been to roll his die and hope to enter Timestop for a second. There was no chance of avoiding this attack with Inverse Step, as being able to do so would render the secret technique worthless.

    Given the fact that this was a secret technique, the time needed for it to strike was almost definitely erased, so it should be a truly instantaneous attack once it was released.

    This stacked de attack had surpassed a power level and gone through a qualitative change, and no battle technique could withstand it unless the target was capable of using something that had reached a simr level.

    It just so happened that Lu Yin possessed such an ability.

    "How many des can you stack?" Silver called out from across the za. His presence in the za had seemed to disappear after Lu Yin revealed himself, until now when Silver deliberately spoke up.

    Chu Yuanpletely ignored the side character.

    Silver smiled over at Lu Yin. "Captain, that sh looks pretty tough to deal with. Why don¡¯t you save your strength for that one, and I¡¯ll help you deal with the other person?"

    Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard.

    Heluo Mavis stared at Silver, her expression quickly darkening, "Fox-face, you¡¯re asking to die!"

    Silver responded with a brilliant smile and a flourish of the butterfly knife in his hand. "I just want to give it a shot. After all, defeating a Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era would be quite the aplishment."

    Sky Garan, Chu Yuan, and Lu Yin had all demonstrated a practically invincible level of power during the battles in the za. Heluo Mavis was another former Dao Chosen, so there was no way she was weak. The underdog was clearly Silver, and yet he was openly dering his intention to face Heluo Mavis in a duel.

    This was something that not even Lu Yin had expected to hear.

    Heluo Mavis''s face contorted, as she felt that she was being underestimated. While Silver was clearly highly talented and certainly had the ability topete in the Dao Chosen selection, being strong enough topete was not the same as being a Dao Chosen. And that was a position that Heluo Mavis had already earned.

    Heluo skipped any further nonsense and simply punched at Silver. A swaying divine tree appeared behind her, and she immediately swallowed a glowing fruit, which caused her power to skyrocket. She used thebination of Infinite Power and aurelian force to instantly surpass Chu Yuan¡¯s power level before he triggered his secret technique. The power of this punch rivaled the shes that Sky Garan had unleashed when using the Garan family¡¯s unique power to recall Chu Yuan¡¯s instantaneous attack. This punch could break through the death energy chains that belonged to the God of Death Transformation.

    She was determined to eliminate Silver in one blow.

    In the face of the terrifying punch, Silver¡¯s smile slipped away. His nearly perpetual grin was reced by a cold light in his eyes that made him seem as creepy as a ghost. Lu Yin had never seen this side of Silver before, not even when he had been controlling Corpse Beast to disrupt the Astral Towerpetition. This was the first time that Lu Yin had ever seen such a chilling expression on Silver¡¯s face.

    The wind from the shockingly powerful fist sted towards Silver, enveloping the entire section of the za. Silver looked up to face it, and a surge of death energy swept out like a tide. The light of day was reced by a sea of death energy. Within it, the only sight to be beheld was a solitary figure holding a scythe that was slowly raised up. Silver mirrored the movement as his eyes turned golden.

    Lu Buzheng was stunned. "The God of Death? How could anyone from this era have a visualization method using the God of Death?"

    The Dao Chosen selection had brought repeated surprises to everyone, but the sight of Silver using the God of Death in a visualization method was as shocking to the audience as the sight of Sky Garan''s Eight Star innate gift.

    At this moment, even Jue Yi struggled to believe his eyes. He had never expected this new era to give birth to someone who could visualize the God of Death simply from absorbing death energy without the help of a teacher. This was something that even Jue Yi had only aplished after bing a Semi-Progenitor.

    This ability was what had allowed Silver to stand out from everyone else and earn the right to be the Undying Heavenly Gate¡¯s representative in the Dao Chosen selection. The fact that he had managed to create his own visualization method based on the God of Death hadpletely transformed Silver¡¯s ability to manipte death energy.

    Lu Yin frowned. The God of Death? Was this what Silver had kept hidden?

    Once the visualization method of the God of Death manifested, the death energy in the area practically solidified. Heluo Mavis¡¯s punch struck the death energy, but it dissipated after only proceeding a hundred meters. Even her impressive strength was abruptly eliminated by the death energy.

    At the same time, the massive image of the God of Death that stood behind Silver raised its scythe and swept out. Death energy shot out in a sh of ck light that cut through the void and sliced through everything in sight. Both space itself and the visualized divine tree behind Heluo Mavis were cut through.

    Only the powerful ns and families that had once ruled a Maind possessed visualization methods, but Silver had managed to create one based on death energy and the God of Death. This was an aplishment that was beyond even Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could notprehend how Silver had managed this.

    Puff!

    Heluo Mavis spat out a mouthful of blood as she stared intently at Silver. His foxy smile was gone, and the coldness she saw on his face made her feel as though she was looking at the God of Death himself.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian had all belonged to the First Maind. The God of Death had had no heirs, and Jue Yi had merely appointed himself as the God of Death¡¯s disciple, as he was the person closest to realizing the God of Death¡¯s power. However, there were no other dedicated followers, and the God of Death had never sent out any representatives to participate in the Dao Chosen selections.

    Destiny had trained Destina, though no one knew if there were other disciples as well. After all, Destiny had always been unpredictable.

    As for Wu Tian, he had taught too many people to even count. Wu Ji, who hadpeted with Chu Yuan for the title of the First Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen, had been Wu Tian¡¯s representative, and he was regarded as the man¡¯s disciple. Still, Chu Yuan had managed to kill Wu Ji.

    While the Dao Chosen had always heard of the God of Death and how powerful that ancient Progenitor was, no one had ever fought against one of the God of Death¡¯s heirs. Their first experience facing that power was Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation, and Silver¡¯s visualization method was the second. This man was actually able to develop a visualization method based off of the God of Death, and for those watching the Dao Chosen Selection, they could not determine who was the true heir to the God of Death between Lu Yin and Silver.

    Regardless, Silver had revealed a strength that qualified him to join the true fight to be the Dao Chosen. He actually stood on the same level as the other seeded candidates.

    "I underestimated you." Heluo Mavis stared at Silver while wiping the blood from her mouth. The visualization method of the divine tree reappeared behind her, and it was bigger than ever as it kept growing. It looked like a true divine tree.

    Even Ancestor Tortoise was drawn to the sight, as it was staring at the glowing fruits hanging off of the divine tree that Heluo Mavis had visualized. The beast was practically drooling.

    A green light shed in Heluo Mavis¡¯s eyes as she stared at Silver: The Rhythm of Life.

    Silver¡¯s eyes red once more. Blood leaked out of his mouth, but he just wiped it away. "The Mavis family¡¯s innate gift is able to directly weaken my vitality. How ruthless."

    He then leaped up and shot towards his opponent. His butterfly knife drew a beautiful arc with one hand, and the sh was aimed directly at Heluo Mavis. The sea of death energy trailed behind Silver, and when the dizzying path of the knife wasbined with the surge of death energy, it became difficult for even the Semi-Progenitor to predict where the knife was headed.

    The void around Heluo Mavis burned from her aurelian force as her glowing green eyes searched for any trace of Silver. Suddenly, he appeared right behind her. The knife flickered, and blood sttered. She whipped around and threw an uppercut at the de and then followed up by chasing after Silver and punching down at him as she pursued him.

    Death energy condensed in front of Silver¡¯s body, and it acted like a swamp thatpletely swallowed the power of Heluo Mavis''s fist. Golden eyes met green eyes. One person coughed up blood after having their vitality sapped away, while the other felt a disturbing chill that slowed them down. That gaze was like a ghost¡¯s stare.

    Silver seized the opportunity to spin around. His knife once again tasted Heluo Mavis''s blood.

    Two figures shed across the za, one ck and one green. Wherever they moved, scarlet stains of blood appeared on the floor of the za. While this battle was not as impressive and overbearing as the one between Lu Yin and Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis and Silver were far more ruthless in their fight, and they were practically dancing along the edge of a knife.

    Lu Yin looked away from the other fight. Those two possessed a simr level of strength, and neither would gain an upper hand in the short term. However, as time passed, it would only be more and more likely for Silver to lose. Hecked Heluo Mavis¡¯s physical strength, and the woman was also able to heal herself with the nearby nts, or evenpletely reincarnate. Silver could not counter these abilities.

    Still, it could not have been easy for Silver to reach this step.

    Lu Yin looked at Chu Yuan, and he was left rather speechless; the man was still swinging his de, though clearly not at the same speed as before. It took a bit of time for each sh to form, but already, thirty six shes had stacked up and were ready to be released in a single fused attack. The power of this merged attack was terrifying, and Lu Yin had to admit that it was absolutely impossible for him to currently block this attack, not even if he used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Despite the chaotic and exciting battle between Heluo Mavis and Silver, most remained focused entirely on Chu Yuan. He was still swinging his de and stacking attacks, clearly intending to eliminate Lu Yin with this ultimate attack.

    Lu Buzheng could no longer hold himself back. "None of you can survive that attack, and even a Semi-Progenitor would be wary of it. Lu Yin, surrender."

    Hen Xin stared at Chu Yuan. This young man truly deserved to have been crowned the Dao Chosen of the First Maind. If his cultivation improved just a bit, perhaps to five tribtions, then this attack would be dangerous even to Semi-Progenitors.

    Semi-Progenitors possessed an inner world, which put them on apletely different level from Envoys. However, that difference did not mean that it was impossible to surpass the gap in strength. However, it wasrge enough that no one had managed to pull off such a feat in countless years.

    However, the secret technique Chu Yuan was using could allow him to cross that gap.

    Once the man became a six or seven-tribtion Envoy, normal Semi-Progenitors would be helpless before him. This was the power of time.

    "How many des do you want to pile up?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Chu Yuan.

    The man¡¯s eyes shifted to look at Lu Yin. "As many as it takes for you to give up and walk away."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You¡¯re waiting to see my reaction?"

    Chu Yuan frowned. "While I don¡¯t like to admit it, your reaction indicates that you are confident that you can face this attack. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but it¡¯s clear that you aren¡¯t afraid."

    Up in the audience, Xia De grew solemn. "Lu Yin thinks that he can take this attack? Impossible!"

    Ni Huang also spoke up. "I have topletely agree with that. Even if we don¡¯t consider the current times, during the Heavens Sect era when human civilization reached its peak, there was never a three-tribtion Envoy who couldunch an attack that would cause a Semi-Progenitor to look twice. Finding someone capable of doing so would be far, far too difficult, as they would have to be even more talented than Progenitor Chen."

    Hen Xin focused entirely on Lu Yin. While the other Semi-Progenitors were able to see the situation quite clearly, they were all simply dumbstruck by Chu Yuan¡¯s power and were ignoring Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. Only Chu Yuan was paying attention to Lu Yin, and he could clearly see that there was no fear in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, not even a flicker. Was he really that confident that he could handle this attack?

    There were instances when a destructive power reached a level where it could no longer be blocked, redirected, or shifted by battle techniques or even secret techniques. In those cases, the only option was to counter with an even greater power, so why was Lu Yin unafraid?

    It was impossible for even the God of Death Transformation to boost Lu Yin¡¯s strength to the level where he could handle such a powerful attack. After all, his base strength was merely that of a three-tribtion Envoy. Chu Yuan was only capable of releasing such a powerful attack because of his control of time, so what was the source of Lu Yin¡¯s confidence in being able to receive this attack?

 Chapter 2102: A Finger

    Chapter 2102: A Finger

    Within the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, Lu Yin calmly gazed at Chu Yuan. "Honestly, you¡¯re impressively powerful, and this move is definitely strong enough to kill Sky Garan, Heluo Mavis, or any of the others in an instant. Unfortunately, you¡¯re using it against me."

    Chu Yuan''s eyes flickered. "Just what did you do during thest twenty years?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s mouth. "It wasn¡¯t much, but it¡¯s enough for me to beat you."

    Chu Yuan took a deep breath and slowly raised his de before looking straight at Lu Yin. This was hisst sh. The de had already fallen thirty nine times, and Chu Yuan¡¯s limit was forty shes. This meant he could unleash an attack that was forty times stronger than his full-power attack. This was more than enough to rip apart Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation.

    At first, Chu Yuan¡¯s targets had included Sky Garan and Heluo Mavis as well, but the power that Lu Yin had revealed had forced Chu Yuan to focus all of his efforts on just him. There was no time for Chu Yuan to consider what he would do if this attack failed to eliminate Lu Yin, as he had nothing left. Chu Yuan had never expected to run into such a monster from this era where humanity¡¯s strength and cultivation methods had fallen so far. If Lu Yin had been alive during the Heavens Sect era, it was quite possible that Chu Yuan would never have seen the Origin Progenitor, even with his ability to control the power of time.

    The fight between Silver and Heluo Mavis grew more and more chaotic and wild. Heluo Mavis was covered in blood, and Silver¡¯s butterfly knife had been bent. From an outside point of view, Silver should have been utterly crushed long ago.

    At this moment, however, the two stopped as one to focus on Chu Yuan. Space was trembling, and everyone could feel it. An iparable sharpness seeped through the void as Chu Yuan slowly raised his de once more. "Don¡¯t me me if you can¡¯t survive."

    Lu Yin exhaled. His God of Death Transformation would not survive this attack, but this transformation was also nothing more than his first demonstration of his new-formed power. He had not expected to be forced to use any of his newfound power to defeat Chu Yuan, but surprisingly, Lu Yin had been wrong.

    "Starting today, a new era will begin. I, Lu Yin, will lead the Heavens Sect and restore humanity to its former glory," Lu Yin dered, willing his voice to spread across the entire sr system and even all of Frostwave Weave. It almost seemed as though his voice was going to reach every part of the Fifth Maind.

    No one had expected to hear such words from Lu Yin at this moment.

    Hen Xin''s eyes flickered. The young man had just voiced Hen Xin¡¯s most powerful desires, but the one saying those words was merely an Envoy. Lu Yin still needed to deal with Chu Yuan¡¯s final attack, which meant that he was either insane or absolutely confident in his own victory.

    Lu Buzheng grew increasingly nervous, and he desperately wanted to persuade Lu Yin to surrender, but Lu Yin¡¯s sudden announcement indicated his absolute confidence in winning. Lu Buzheng could not figure out what might give Lu Yin such boldness. What would he do? Summon his Champions¡¯ Stage? Use Truesight? Another portion of the God of Death¡¯s inheritance? None of those things would be enough.

    At this moment, everyone was focused on Lu Yin and Chu Yuan.

    The entire Human Domain fell silent, as they all stared at Chu Yuan''s de.

    Chu Yuan''s de fell down. It was clearly a single sh of the de, but it erupted with the strength of forty. The frozen moment of time started to move again, and all forty de shes shot forward, fusing into a single attack that fell down onto Lu Yin''s head.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, twinkling like brilliant stars as he stepped forward. A power that mirrored the universe itself instantly moved out from his heart, and this power enveloped the entire za with something that resembled a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Silver all fell within the range of this phenomena.

    What looked like the two sides of a yin yang symbol slowly revolved around Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand in a clean circle. In the middle of this rotating pair, there were star-like dots, as well as a cloudy mist. This was the form that Lu Yin had arranged out of the chaotic energies within his chest. No matter how anyone looked at it, it mirrored the basic structure of the universe itself.

    By using the damage from the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword as a guide, the ck and white mist had been given a specific shape. Fatesand acted as the core, and stellr energy formed the outer shell. Combined, they all worked in unison to form the current arrangement in Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    In the past, the ck and white mist near his heart had simply been a cloud of mist, and the fatesand had been independent and had hidden those mists. Finally, one of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortices had been close to his heart as well. These three independent powers had been merged together to form a primitive structure that mimicked the basic structure of the universe, and it provided Lu Yin with the overbearing power that he had just mobilized.

    It was a truly unprecedented form of power. It possessed a dominating strength that surpassed the Garan family¡¯s unique power¡¯s, and yet was also more mysterious than death energy. This quasi-inner world was not the only ability that Lu Yin had mastered, but he still did not fully understand his new power yet. Regardless, he was fully confident that it was more than enough for him to deal with Chu Yuan¡¯s attack.

    Besides, even if Lu Yin was wrong, he still had the Progenitor Chen¡¯s astral bodies that he had inherited control of after mastering the fifth level of the Cosmic Art. That power alone was enough to make Lu Yinpletely invincible.

    The sh fell down onto Lu Yin, but the power that he had already released weakened the approaching attack. The sh was clearly right on top of Lu Yin, but it somehow felt extremely far away.

    As the fused sh dropped down onto Lu Yin, all that he did to meet the power of forty of Chu Yuan¡¯s attacks was lift a single finger to block it.

    When Chu Yuan saw Lu Yin¡¯s response, he was no longer able to hold on. He spat out blood and copsed. He had pushed himself past his own limits by stacking forty attacks, but Lu Yin responded with nothing more than a single finger. This was simply an impossible oue.

    Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, and everyone else stared nkly, and only a single word resonated in everyone¡¯s minds: impossible.

    This was not only true of the younger people watching, but Semi-Progenitors like Hen Xin and Jue Yi were also stunned into silence. This was more shocking than when Chu Yuan had revealed his ability to control the power of time.

    It was impossible, simply impossible. How could such a thing ever happen? Chu Yuan¡¯s attack was powerful enough to force even Semi-Progenitors to take notice of it. So how had Lu Yin stopped it with nothing more than a single finger?

    On top of that, what sort of power had Lu Yin enveloped the za with? There was no way it was a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, not when Lu Yin was clearly just a three-tribtion Envoy. How was he manifesting such power?

    Even Lu Buzheng, who had been desperately hoping for Lu Yin to somehow survive Chu Yuan''s attack, could not believe what he was seeing. Due to the confidence that Lu Yin had shown, Lu Buzheng had considered the possibility of Lu Yin winning, but he had never expected victory to be seized so easily. Lu Buzheng stared at the za. Lu Yin had clearly released an inner world, but there was something different about it. On top of that, it was impossible for a three-tribtion Envoy to even possess an inner world. What was going on?

    No one could understand what they were seeing, and everyone stared at Lu Yin in stupefaction.

    Lu Yin had already experienced such an overwhelming reaction from people once before. When he had first used the God of Death Transformation during thest battle of ZENITH andpletely overpowered all the other finalists, the people watching had reacted in the exact same way. However, at this moment, Lu Yin had not only dumbfounded the people of the current era, but also the most talented geniuses of the Heavens Sect era.

    They felt that they were staring at a living legend.

    "As I¡¯ve dered, I will lead this new era." As Lu Yin lowered his hand, the fused de sh shattered, and the power that had covered the za instantly vanished. He looked up, and his eyes swept over everyone present, paying particr attention to the watching Semi-Progenitors. "During the Heavens Sect era and the Daosource Sect era, humanity reigned supreme. This was always true in the past, and I will lead humanity to the same glory in the future in a new era. I will represent the heavens. Does anyone say otherwise?"

    Everyone was still so shocked by what had just happened that no one was able to react to Lu Yin¡¯s words. He was met with absolute silence.

    Lu Yin turned to look over at Heluo Mavis. "I know that you¡¯ve been keeping something hidden, so bring it out now. Otherwise, you won¡¯t even have a chance after I make a move."

    Heluo Mavis swallowed dryly. "Monster."

    Lu Yin looked over at Silver. "What''s up with you? We should talk."

    While Silver answered with augh, it sounded a bit strained. He had also been stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s demonstration of strength, and Silverpletely agreed with Heluo Mavis; this person was a monster.

    "Captain, I helped you," Silver said.

    "That''s why we¡¯re still talking. If you had betrayed me and run to Jue Yi, I¡¯d simply kill you," Lu Yin coldly stated.

    Silver smiled. "I never betrayed you, Captain. Just say the word, and I¡¯ll follow you right now."

    Up in the audience stands, Jue Yi grew furious, and he reached out to deal with Silver. "Impudence!"

    Across the za, Lu Buzheng blocked Jue Yi¡¯s hand. "This is still the Dao Chosen selection. Just what are you trying to do?"

    Jue Yi stared at Lu Buzheng. "I¡¯m simply dealing with a traitor. This has nothing to do with the Dao Chosen selection."

    Lu Yin turned to Jue Yi. "When you say traitor, are you referring to him or me?"

    Jue Yi stared at Lu Yin. "Can you produce death energy?"

    Lu Yin answered with a smile. "Good guess."

    Jue Yi''s expression changed, and he no longer knew how to respond.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice rose louder. "I can create death energy, and I am the God of Death¡¯s heir. Jue Yi, can you create death energy? No."

    "Not only is he unable to produce death energy, but he isn¡¯t even the God of Death¡¯s true disciple." A woman¡¯s voice emerged from the white cloud in the audience stands. "The God of Death never named an heir, and he also never acknowledged Jue Yi as his disciple. Only those destined for it are able to be the God of Death¡¯s disciples, and apparently, his true heir has finally appeared. It is clearly not you, Jue Yi."

    Jue Yi¡¯s face twisted horribly as he heard Destina¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Jue Yi. "What else do I need to say? Since I¡¯m clearly the God of Death''s heir, and you use his death energy, you must obey me. Isn¡¯t that what you told me long ago?"

    Jue Yi stared at Lu Yin, but he had no way to refute those words. He had never even considered the possibility that Lu Yin might actually be able to replicate the God of Death¡¯s true cultivation method. While a suspicion had appeared when Jue Yi had first seen Lu Yin use the God of Death Transformation, only now had Lu Yin confirmed it. Still, Jue Yi could not ept the truth.

    Destina had been brutally urate with her words, as the God of Death had never acknowledged Jue Yi as his disciple. On the other hand, Lu Yin was able to use the God of Death Transformation and produce death energy, which clearly proved that he was the God of Death¡¯s heir.

    "What? Do you n to betray the God of Death?" Lu Yin yelled.

    Finally, Hen Xin spoke up. "This is the Dao Chosen selection, not apetition to be the God of Death¡¯s heir. Lu Yin, if you want to be named Dao Chosen, you still need to carry the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue to the Heavens Sect¡¯s gates. Only then will this selection end."

    Lu Yin looked at the statue still standing in the za. "Alright then, I¡¯ll first be the Dao Chosen. Then, I¡¯ll clean house."

    Hen Xin frowned. Clean house? That was certainly arrogant enough, but even with Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Lu Heavenly Gate, there was no way to deal with Jue Yi.

    Suddenly, Hen Xin remembered Destina¡¯s announcement. Would she really support Lu Yin without any strings or conditions?

    If Lu Yin did be the Dao Chosen, then Destina¡¯s promise would probably prove true.

    Hen Xin looked back at Chu Yuan, but the young man had been badly injured. Heluo Mavis clearly had no intention of trying to fight against Lu Yin, while Silver had tantly stated his intention to betray Jue Yi and follow Lu Yin. Sky Garan was still pinned to the wall, which meant there was not a single person was capable of stopping Lu Yin from bing the Dao Chosen.

    Lu Yin slowly walked over to the statue of the Origin Progenitor. As he walked, he ended the God of Death Transformation, as it was no longer needed.

    After arriving in front of the statue, Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor¡¯s relief. This was the man who had founded the Heavens Sect and who had led humanity to their greatest heights. What had happened to him? Humanity was facing an apocalypse, and five of the Six Mainds had already been destroyed. Was the Origin Progenitor even still alive?

    Lu Yin stared at the statue for a long time before finally averting his eyes. He picked up the statue and carried it on his back. Regardless of whether the Origin Progenitor was dead or alive, he had led humanity into an age of prosperity. He was the true Progenitor of humanity and the origin of all of humanity¡¯s cultivation methods. Lu Yin was perfectly willing to carry the statue.

    The statue was extremely heavy, to the point where it could crush an Envoy, but such weight meant nothing to Lu Yin.

    Once the statue of the Origin Progenitor was on his back, Lu Yin began to make his way across the za and to the gates of the Heavens Sect. Each step took him closer and closer to bing the Dao Chosen.

    Everyone knew that there was no one who could stop Lu Yin at this moment. Not to mention people from the same generation, but even older experts and powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era could do nothing. The only ones with the power to interfere were the Semi-Progenitors now.

 Chapter 2103: The Circle Of Life

    Chapter 2103: The Circle Of Life

    However, when Lu Yin reached the halfway point to the gates with the statue on his back, someone appeared in his path. It was Heluo Mavis.

    "Sky Garan is badly wounded, and so is Chu Yuan. The only person who can stop you now is me." Heluo Mavis solemnly stared at Lu Yin with a firm determination.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Can you beat me?"

    "I can''t," Heluo Mavis answered bluntly.

    "So why are you in my way?"

    "I''m also a Dao Chosen. I can''t simply stand by and watch you surpass us."

    "So, you¡¯ll die just because you don¡¯t like this oue?" Lu Yin coldly demanded.

    Outside the za, on the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Yunying Mavis and the other members of the Mavis family watched this exchange take ce withplicated emotions. When Heluo Mavis had first appeared, every member of the Mavis family had realized that there was hope for their family to rise up again, especially after Heluo Mavis was selected as the Lu Heavenly Gate¡¯s representative in the Dao Chosen selection. If she seeded, the Heavenly Gate would no longer bepletely dominated by the Lu family, as the Mavis family would also gain some control.

    However, given the current situation in the Dao Chosen selection, Lu Yin had gradually proven himself to be utterly invincible, and the Mavis family had given up all hope for Heluo Mavis¡¯s victory. They had already assumed that everything was over, and they were simply waiting for Lu Yin to formalize his victory and officially be crowned the Dao Chosen of the new era. They already knew that Lu Yin would usher in great changes, as he was not someone who would happily keep the status quo. There was no way he would be willing to let things continue as they had been thest twenty years.

    Who could have expected Heluo Mavis to step out at the very end of the Dao Chosen selection and challenge Lu Yin? She had even admitted that she could not defeat Lu Yin, so why was she doing this?

    "You aren¡¯t a stubborn person. Otherwise, you would have never agreed to work with Chu Yuan to deal with me. The truth is that you are not such a dedicated person," Lu Yin stated. He had encountered pure and determined people before, such as Zhang Dingtian and Liu Shaoqiu. Even if they were up against a powerful opponent who greatly surpassed their own strength, those people would brazenly charge towards death because of the obsession rooted in their hearts.

    Heluo Mavis was not this kind of person, and her attitude at this moment struck Lu Yin as very odd. She had clearly been born during the greatest peak in the Heavens Sect era, and she could easily recognize the difference in strength between herself and an opponent. This was why Heluo Mavis had previously agreed to gang up on Lu Yin, and it was also why he had not expected her to suddenly stand up to him.

    Heluo Mavis replied, "This isn¡¯t me being stubborn or dedicated, but rather because every person has their own mindset. Do you think that, because we were born in the Heavens Sect era, we would all bebat maniacs who are dedicated to fighting fairly? That¡¯s just wrong. That¡¯s never what the Origin Progenitor tried to encourage.¡±

    "The Origin Progenitor encouraged creativity and sharp wits, which led to the people of our era generally being either extremely stubborn or very intelligent."

    Lu Yinughed. "And yet you¡¯re being so stupid right now."

    Heluo Mavis sighed. "Everyone else¡¯s already lost, so only I can do this. If there was even a chance, I¡¯d like to find a few others to work together, but no matter what, I can¡¯t just watch as you calmly surpass us."

    She gave a wry smile as she finished by saying, "We also have our own pride."

    Lu Yin fully understood that, ever since these people had awoken in the current era, they had felt a deep contempt from the very bottom of their hearts for the people of modern times. While failure was eptable, insults were not. If Heluo Mavis just watched from the side and did nothing while Lu Yin became the Dao Chosen of this new era, it would be an obstacle in her heart that she would never be able to ovee. This was just like how Xia Ji would never be able to ovee his own mental obstacles without killing Lu Yin.

    "Fine, I''ll help you¡ªI''ll do my best to not kill you," Lu Yin stated quite ndly as he continued to walk towards the Heavens Sect¡¯s gates with the statue on his back.

    "If you want to pass, you''ll have to kill me!" Heluo Mavis spat coldly. She knew that it was impossible for her to defeat Lu Yin, but the Mavis family was unmatched in terms of survivability. Regardless of how much stronger than Lu Yin might be, Heluo Mavis was certain that Lu Yin could not actually kill her.

    She stoically stood in ce, blocking Lu Yin¡¯s path as he continued to walk forward. A green lightpletely covered Heluo Mavis¡¯s body, and her eyes suddenly glowed brilliantly with a flickering green glow.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Yunying Mavis grew excited. "That- that¡¯s the Circle of Life!"

    "What¡¯s the Circle of Life?" Ya Mavis stood next to the older woman and felt rather confused.

    Yunying Mavis actually became short of breath. "We all know that our Mavis family has the inherited innate gift Rhythm of Life, as well as our inherited battle technique, Infinite Power. However, we also once had a unique power that we have since lost. That power was known as the Circle of Life, and we lost it when the Second Maind was destroyed. I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to see it!"

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s performance during the Dao Chosen selection was not as impressive as Chu Yuan or Sky Garan¡¯s, especially when it came to herbat technique. She used the exact same style as the Mavis family of the current era, and Lu Yin had not seen anything new. Thus, her sudden burst of power caught him off guard.

    The number of runes on Heluo Mavis did not increase, but for some reason, Lu Yin felt a strange sensation as he looked at the woman. It was as though her very life had be unpredictable.

    At this moment, Heluo Mavis¡¯s vision of the universe had changed. Much like how Truesight allowed people to see runes, the Circle of Life allowed people to see reality from another perspective.

    Only those who cultivated Truesight were able to see runes, while only those who cultivated the Circle of Life were able to see the vitality of living creatures. Heluo Mavis gazed at Lu Yin''s vitality, but it surged so powerfully that it was like staring at a zing star, and she was unable to see all of it. She tried to erase a portion of Lu Yin¡¯s vitality while also spreading her own out to connect it to various nts and people.

    Every family and n powerful enough to dominate an entire Maind boasted a nigh invincible ability.

    The Garan family¡¯s Eight Stars innate gift could theoretically allow them to deal with any opponent. Chu Yuan¡¯s ability to control time and his secret technique meant that, theoretically, he could stack an endless number of attacks. By the same token, a person who could use the Circle of Life could theoretically never die, especially in battle. As long as the Circle of Life itself was not broken, it would form a feedback system and allow the user to recover from any and all injuries.

    This was the Mavis family¡¯s most ridiculous battle technique.

    There was a bang as Heluo Mavis charged at Lu Yin and released a punch. The visualization of the divine tree behind her significantly boosted the power of the attack, and her aurelian force burned the void. Starting at this moment, every attack that she released would contain every drop of her power.

    Lu Yin stopped walking, and rays of ck and white light flickered across his entire body, instantlypleting the God of Death Transformation as heshed out with a chain to meet Heluo Mavis¡¯s punch.

    The woman was knocked back a step, but only a single step. She twisted her body around and released a second punch.

    The strength in her fists was equal to the strength of Sky Garan¡¯s shes when he utilized the unique power of the Garan family. At that time, Sky Garan had managed to slice through one of Lu Yin¡¯s chains of death energy with just three shes, so Heluo Mavis knew that she could break a chain with three punches, or even less!

    However, the woman had forgotten that the entire reason why Sky Garan''s three shes had managed to slice through a single chain was because he had used the spatial memory of Chu Yuan¡¯s ability to erase a segment of time. Lu Yin had no way of stopping those three shes fromnding on his chain in the exact same location, but things were different for Heluo Mavis. His chains were free to drift through the air, which made it impossible for her fist to repeatedly strike the exact same location. Unless she somehow managed to break a chain in a single strike, she would never be able to even approach Lu Yin, let alone defeat him.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s breath ran ragged as she stared at the chains surrounding Lu Yin¡¯s body. She felt incredibly frustrated, as it was impossible to even cross the physical distance between them. Her overflowing vitality did not matter, and it could not help her defeat this freak.

    Regardless, she needed to keep fighting, so Heluo Mavis firmed her resolve andshed out with her fists once more.

    Some distance away, the spear pinning Sky Garan to the wall dissipated, and the man fell to the floor. He gritted his teeth as he watched Lu Yin continue walking towards the Heavens Sect¡¯s gates while carrying the statue of the Origin Progenitor. This person had refused to even use his family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage; how could he be so powerful? Sky Garan could not ept this oue, not even if it killed him.

    Chu Yuan, who had also copsed onto the floor of the za, was simrly unwilling to let things end as they were. The two rivals nced at each other. "I can still control a bit of the power of time."

    Sky Garan looked back at where Heluo Mavis was wildly attacking Lu Yin. "I can lend her my Garan family¡¯s power."

    Suddenly, someone appeared in front of the two young men: Silver. He shed the two arge and charming smile as he spun his butterfly knife about. He looked quite rxed as he looked down on the two men. "What were the two of you talking about just now? Did I hear that you wanted to work together to attack Captain?"

    Sky Garan red at Silver. "Get lost!"

    Silver¡¯s smile grew evenrger, and his eyes went wide. "My apologies, but this is an opportunity for me to demonstrate my loyalty, even if both of your assistance would still pose no threat to Captain."

    A flicker of white shed as the butterfly knife danced past both Sky Garan and Chu Yuan.

    Both men¡¯s expressions changed, as neither of them were in any condition to dodge even this simple attack. The knife flickered through their bodies, exacerbating their wounds. On top of that, death energy entered their bodies and suppressed them to the point where they were unable to even move.

    Jiu Yao shouted from outside the za, "Stop!"

    Silver shed a smile at Jiu Yao, but there was something about the young man¡¯s expression that gave everyone the chills.

    Far away, Lu Yin turned back to shoot a cold re at Silver. "Who told you to deal with them?"

    Silver justughed. "I just didn¡¯t want you to have to bother with such little bugs, Captain."

    Lu Yin''s right hand trembled, and a Hollow Palm flew across the za to m into Silver, and the smiling man was sent flying.

    Lu Yin had deliberately slowed this palm strike down, as he had wanted to allow Silver a chance to dodge. However, Silver had purposely remained in ce and allowed Lu Yin¡¯s attack tond. Silver had already been quite badly wounded by his fight with Heluo Mavis, and Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm eliminated thest bit of Silver¡¯s fighting strength.

    However, the smile never left Silver¡¯s face. Even as he continued to stare at Lu Yin, no hint of resentment or desire to fight back could be seen.

    This reaction reminded Lu Yin of Liu Shaoge. Liu Shaoge and Silver were quite simr in certain traits, though one appeared gentle while hiding his inner thoughts deeply, while the other was just mysterious and odd. Still, no one knew what went on in either man¡¯s thoughts. There was another point of simrity between the two; Liu Shaoge had managed to keep up with Lu Yin¡¯s rising status, while Silver seemed to be able to keep up with Lu Yin¡¯s improving strength.

    As long as these two people lived, Lu Yin was certain that his life would never be boring.

    Heluo Mavis kept striking at Lu Yin¡¯s chains, but her attackscked the necessary power to break them. As her assault continued, she only grew more and more frustrated.

    Lu Yin shook his head and raised his right hand. As countless people watched, a ck scythe appeared in his hand. It swept out, and although Heluo Mavis tried to dodge, a chain had wrapped around her and prevented her from moving. Thus, she was forced to remain square in the path of the scythe¡¯s sh and face the attack directly.

    Blood sttered across the ground, and Heluo Mavis was flung far into the distance before smashing into the ground. No one knew if she was still alive.

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, Yunying Mavis was horrified to see this. "Alliance Leader Lu, please show mercy."

    A single attack from Lu Yin had devastated Heluo Mavis. This was the power of the God of Death Transformation. Given Lu Yin''s current strength, as long as he was not facing the practically impossible power of Sky Garan or Chu Yuan, not a single one of his peers could stand up to his God of Death Transformation.

    Lu Yin nced at where Heluo Mavisy on the ground, but even he could not tell if the woman was still alive. His feet started moving again, and he continued stridingforward. He had not held back with his attack, and he was not entirely certain if he had killed Heluo Mavis, but given her powers, she should not die.

    After Lu Yin took another hundred steps, Heluo Mavis¡¯s finger twitched.

    Countless people throughout Earth¡¯s sr system and beyond were stunned for a long time. They had already watched Chu Yuan and Sky Garan reveal their seemingly invincible powers, only to be broken by Lu Yin. At this moment, Lu Yin gave off an aura that felt familiar to many. It was the same sensation he had radiated after winning ZENITH: peerless.

 Chapter 2104: The Only Dao Chosen

    Chapter 2104: The Only Dao Chosen

    At this point in time, even Wu Da felt sympathetic towards Heluo Mavis and the other former Dao Chosen. "What terrible luck that you arrived in the same era as Lu Yin. Clearly, this was not what you needed."

    If the sourcebox had been unlocked sooner, it was quite possible that the Dao Chosen would have already be Semi-Progenitors, or even Progenitors by now. But unfortunately for them, the sourcebox had been opened toote. To the ancient Dao Chosen, Lu Yin held the same position as Progenitor Chen had to his peers. Both were regarded as legends, and all who lived during the same era could only be suppressed. They could have been released before or after Lu Yin¡¯s era, but this was fate.

    However, the most furious creature at this moment was the fish that rode around on top of Xi Qi''s head. It kept yelling at Chu Yuan. "Lord Fish gave you strength, and yet you still lost? Stupid! That two-legged beast is too stupid! Hurry up! Lord Fish is going to go deal with him, so hurry up!"

    While the fish was ranting, it was constantly smacking Xi Qi¡¯s head, leaving the girl feeling particrly aggrieved. "I- I don¡¯t dare to go over there! Big Brother Lu¡¯s too scary."

    "What are you afraid of, you stupid two-legged beast? Lord Fish can win with just one move! There¡¯s nothing dangerous about it. Lord Fish even taught that other two-legged beast back then- Hey, wait. What was Lord Fish just saying? Who did he teach? Two-legged beast, repeat what Lord Fish just said."

    A glint of cunning shed through Xi Qi''s eyes. "You said that those two-legged beasts aren¡¯t bad and that they¡¯re good enough to be mounts."

    "Yes, that''s exactly what Lord Fish just mentioned! All of them are rather decent, at least good enough to be Lord Fish¡¯s mounts! Hahahaha."

    Xi Qi let out a small sigh of relief, as she had been terrified that the horrible fish would force her to join the Dao Chosen selection, which would be terrible. Given the power of the contestants, if any of the people still in the za even identally sneezed in Xi Qi¡¯s direction, she would die.

    Lu Yin moved past the za, continuing towards the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate. Behind him, Heluo Mavis slowly rose to her feet. While Lu Yin¡¯sst attack had nearly severed her at the abdomen, she had already fully recovered. In the span of time that it took Lu Yin to take a hundred steps, she had fully recovered by using the Wheel of Life.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s attack had been imbued with death energy, Heluo Mavis would have fully recovered by the time Lu Yin only took ten steps.

    Lu Yin stopped and turned around as he looked at Heluo Mavis in surprise. "Is this an ability of the Mavis family? This is definitely impressive enough to belong to the family that reigned over the Second Maind."

    If Chu Yuan or Sky Garan possessed this same level of resilience, Lu Yin would have needed to spend a good deal more time and effort dealing with the two.

    Heluo Mavis took a deep breath and then charged Lu Yin once more. A punch shot out, and she resumed her full-powered assault.

    Lu Yin shook his head. His pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Heluo Mavis and began to weaken her.

    Heluo Mavis¡¯s punchnded on Lu Yin¡¯s chain, but her strength instantly dissipated as she was quickly trussed up once again. Lu Yin raised a hand, and his scythe shed out sideways, the same basic attack that he used before. Heluo Mavis was sent flying back to where she hadnded before, blood scattering in her wake.

    Countless people grew frightened. This time, she definitely seemed dead.

    Yunying Mavis swallowed and then urged Yuhua Mavis to take care of Heluo Mavis. The young woman could not be allowed to die.

    However, after Lu Yin took just over a hundred more steps, Heluo Mavis reappeared in front of him. She used the same full-powered punch as before, fully relying on her near immortality provided by the Wheel of Life.

    Chu Yuan had mentioned that Heluo Mavis was extremely difficult to actually kill, and Lu Yin had finally understood that matter for himself. His second time attacking her had been with an attack that surpassed the first attack, and yet she was still able to recover.

    However, it could also be seen that Heluo Mavis was exhausted by the process. Regardless of what means she used to survive, it was not easy to recover from such terrible wounds.

    Already, Heluo Mavis''s punches were much weaker than when Lu Yin had first started carrying the statue.

    At this time, even if she managed to repeatedly target the exact same location on the chain, she would still have an incredibly difficult time breaking one.

    The scythe shed out once more, sending the desperate woman flying into the distance.

    Next, she only appeared after Lu Yin took 300 more steps, and her face was still pale.

    She was almost instantly flung away.

    It took her even longer this time, and Lu Yin walked a thousand steps.

    Again and again, she stood to block Lu Yin¡¯s path, and each time ended with Heluo Mavis being badly wounded. Her desperation moved many people.

    Lu Yin saw Heluo Mavis in apletely different light than he did Chu Yuan or Sky Garan. This woman¡¯s tenacity was truly terrifying. Every attack she suffered essentially killed her, and only a few rare people possessed the courage to continue charging forward towards such an inevitable fate.

    Despite all of Heluo Mavis¡¯s desperate efforts, in the end, Lu Yin still ced the statue of the Origin Progenitor in front of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate.

    There was a deafening roar when the statue stood tall in its proper ce, as this signaled the appearance of the new Heavens Sect¡¯s sole Dao Chosen.

    Heluo Mavis was lying on the ground as blood from her stomach painted the ground red. In the end, there was no way to avoid this oue.

    Chu Yuan closed his eyes. They hadpletely lost.

    Sky Garan''s eyes were flushed bright red. He had been defeated.

    Each of them had been fully confident in overpowering the other two Dao Chosen and bing the only Dao Chosen of the modern era. Not one of the three had given any true consideration for the people of the modern era, and yet, they had lost to one such person.

    Even if the former Dao Chosen were not satisfied with the results of the Dao Chosen selection, they were eachpletely convinced of their own defeat. Lu Yin¡¯s strength was not something that any of them could face. It was a true invincible power. In fact, there was no need to even limit Lu Yin¡¯s invincibility to just his peers¡ªeven Semi-Progenitors were intimidated by the power that Lu Yin had revealed when he defeated Chu Yuan.

    Lu Buzheng shouted from the audience stands, "Let¡¯s hold the conference of the Heavenly Gates now. The Dao Chosen has been determined. We must formally establish the Heavens Sect now."

    Hen Xin¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked over at Lu Buzheng. This was apletely different oue from what Hen Xin had expected, as the result was a Dao Chosen from the Lu family.

    Jue Yi was still staring nkly at Lu Yin. He did not even care about matters such as the Dao Chosen being determined or establishing the Heavens Sect. All he cared about was the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. He still could not understand why someone in the modern era had been able to inherit the true power of the God of Death, allowing them to actually produce death energy.

    "There¡¯s nothing that needs to be verified¡ªLu Yin is the Dao Chosen. My Divining Heavenly Gate epts him. He will represent the heavens." Destina¡¯s voice was heard once more, and it echoed throughout the entire Heavens Sect.

    Hen Xin instantly focused on Destina. "Isn''t it a bit hasty to simply give a junior such authority, Destina?"

    There was no answer.

    Arch-Elder Zen said, "Since the Dao Chosen selection hase to an end, it is indeed time for us to hold the Heavenly Gates conference. There are many things that we need to discuss."

    "That''s true, and this junior has quite a few things that need to be addressed in this meeting," Lu Yin said, as he looked over at Hen Xin.

    Only Semi-Progenitors qualified to participate in the Heavenly Gates conferences, and even then, they had to be a gatemaster of a Heavenly Gate. Even if the Dao Chosen had been appointed and was given the authority to rule the heavens, it was impossible for them to stand equal to the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect. There was too great a gap between the statuses.

    And yet, when Lu Yin spoke up, no one found it inappropriate. There was an attitude of eptance, as though Lu Yin waspletely qualified to hold a conversation with a Semi-Progenitor.

    ¡­

    The Heavenly Gates conference had been held three times in the past, which made the current conference the fourth meeting.

    The first three meetings had been held to determine the new political structure of the Fifth Maind, as well as the status of the six Heavenly Gates.

    Every meeting had involved only three people, but there was one addition to the current Heavenly Gates conference.

    Each of the previous meetings had been held on Earth, as it was the closest inhabited to Jupiter, and the fourth conference was no different. Unless the Heavens Sect was fully and truly reestablished, the location of these meetings would not change.

    Seven people stood on top of Mount Tai on Earth. Lu Yin smiled as he nced at the six gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates who stood on either side of him. "Were all the Heavenly Gates conferences in the past this quiet? If that¡¯s the case, then this junior will throw bricks to attract jade so that there¡¯s something for you seniors to discuss.

    "To begin with, do any of you seniors have an issue with this junior holding the position of Dao Chosen and representing the heavens?"

    Lu Yin looked at each person in turn. While he already knew there would be no issues with either Lu Buzheng or Arch-Elder Zen, he gave Destina an odd look.

    Destina had always maintained the appearance of a white cloud when interacting with people, but for this particr meeting, she had finally revealed her true body. She was a beautiful girl, as she did not have the appearance of a woman, but rather that of a young, fourteen or fifteen year old girl. If she were ced in almost any other location in the universe, no one would know that this young girl was actually Destiny¡¯s heir and the gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect era. Not only that, but she had been the most intimidating of all of the twelve gatemasters.

    After Lu Yin saw Destina¡¯s true appearance, Lu Yin could not help but wonder if she used the appearance of a white cloud because she was tired of looking too young for people to take her seriously. That white cloud appearance not only hid her true appearance, but it also gave her a certain mystique.

    Destina turned her head to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and she gave him a tiny hint of a smile. She¡¯s pretty cute.

    Lu Yin was left speechless by his own thoughts. He had actually used the term ¡°cute¡± to describe a Semi-Progenitor! Lu Yin could not believe that he had even thought such a thing within his own mind.

    "I ept Lu Yin as the Dao Chosen, and I support his right to represent the heavens," Destina spoke. Everyone heard the same sweet voice as before, but when paired with her true appearance, the voice had an added hint of innocence.

    Lu Yin looked over at Jiu Yao.

    In the absence of the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Jiu Yao was the acting gatemaster of the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate. Actually, Jiu Yao had always held that position, as the Progenitor of Bloodlines had always been absent from the Heavenly Gate.

    Being reminded of the Progenitor of Bloodlines felt rather ufortable for Lu Yin, as he felt a bit of admiration for the man. Surprisingly, Lu Yin had never imagined that he would one day admire someone from the Sixth Maind.

    Every race and group of people would have both good and bad individuals, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ actions deserved everyone''s praise and admiration.

    Jiu Yao considered the matter for a moment. "Since it''s something that we already agreed upon, I have no objections."

    Lu Yin looked at Jue Yi.

    The man stared back with dark eyes that held great depths. "Yes."

    Hen Xin also agreed. "I have no objections."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright, then since I¡¯ve received approval for my position from all of you seniors, it looks like this junior will be fine performing my duties for the time being."

    He then looked at Arch-Elder Zen. "Senior, is there anything that you need to bring up?"

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "I''ll bring up some issues first, and I believe the most important question at this time should be directed to Gatemaster Hen Xin: do you intend to release your battle force cultivation method?"

    Hen Xin replied, "I already admitted to my team¡¯s loss during the challenge, so I will indeed make the cultivation method public. However, I would like to first find out just who captured Hen San."

    Lu Buzheng sneered. "What does Hen San¡¯s capture have to do with releasing the cultivation method? Are you trying to y tricks?"

    Hen Xin¡¯s voice dropped lower, "I will warn you know¡ªwhoever captured Hen San, they had better return him. Otherwise, I can¡¯t be med for being ruthless."

    At this moment, he pointedly nced at Lu Yin, who remained one of Hen Xin¡¯s top suspects due to the fact that Lu Yin had cultivated Truesight.

    Lu Yin remained both calm and silent.

    Arch-Elder Zen brought up many different topics that needed to be addressed, and Lu Buzheng and Jiu Yao followed after him. Various matters were brought up, though they were mostly about conflicts. At the moment, all of humanity from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds had been integrated under the reestablished Heavens Sect. However, it was impossible for people to simply let go of past hatreds, so it was perfectly normal for various conflicts to continually erupt.

    There were some conflicts that were not difficult to deal with, but others were impossible. One particr matter was that Hen Xin had proposed for all native Earthlings to be transferred to other locations and that Earth itself be reserved exclusively for the Heavens Sect¡¯s elites and their families. This suggestion was strongly opposed by Lu Buzheng.

    "We¡¯ve already discussed this issue three times! Most of Earth¡¯s inhabitants are rather pathetic and not worth any real attention. If humanity wants to endure, then we need to focus on our elites," Hen Xin argued.

    Lu Buzheng did not truly care about the Earthlings and had merely protected the due to its special ce in Lu Yin''s heart. However, if a cultivator was too soft-hearted, they would never be able to rise up to be a true powerhouse.

    Arch-Elder Zen also refused the suggestion. "The sourcebox array has already been in ce for quite some time, and it''s constantly being improved and refined. If anything happens, reaching Jupiter is a quick shift, so there''s no need to relocate the Earthlings. We can''t just forcefully move these people away."

    On the other hand, Jue Yi agreed with Hen Xin. "Last time, you objected on the grounds that you feared triggering some change in Jupiter. That Hidden Earth group has some connection to Jupiter, but we''ve captured many of them over the years. All of those sourcebox arrays are useless in letting us to escape though Jupiter, and we still have no idea how we can open the passage.¡±

    "Moving the natives out of Earth is the best choice, even if just to see any potential changes to Jupiter. If it doesn''t work, we can just try forcing the matter, but even that is better than just waiting around and passively watching the."

 Chapter 2105: Evidence

    Chapter 2105: Evidence

    "You guys want to relocate Earth¡¯s native poption?" Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin as he slowly voiced his question, but his expression had already fallen.

    Hen Xin and Lu Yin gazed at each other. "Yes."

    Hen Xin was already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s rtionship to Earth, as that was the entire reason why Lu Buzheng and the others had denied the proposal three times so far.

    "I refuse," Lu Yin said bluntly.

    Hen Xin frowned, and he was about to scold the young man for interfering. What gave an Envoy the courage to say no to anything that a Semi-Progenitor said? However, Hen Xin quickly remembered that Lu Yin was the new Dao Chosen and that he had been given the authority to represent the heavens. This was not something that Lu Yin could try to enforce on his own, and it would be useless even if Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors tried to push for it. However, Destina¡¯s support changed everything.

    "I support the Dao Chosen. The Dao Chosen refuses, so I also refuse," Destina said, throwing in her unconditional support for Lu Yin.

    Hen Xin felt rather frustrated. "Destina, this is an important decision that¡¯s rted to the potential fate of all humanity. Those ordinary people living on Earth are useless, so it¡¯s better to move them somewhere else. I can at least promise topensate them for their trouble, if that¡¯s required."

    Destina simply ignored Hen Xin, as all she intended to do was unconditionally back up everything that Lu Yin said or wanted.

    Lu Yin had not expected Destina to be so forthright with her support. "Thank you, Senior Destina."

    Destina smiled at him. "My support is for the Dao Chosen, not you. If someone else bes the Dao Chosen, I support them in the same way."

    "This junior understands that, but I still have to thank you," Lu Yin responded in a polite tone.

    In the past, it had been the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate that had opposed moving the Earthlings while the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate and the Undying Heavenly Gate had supported the suggestion. As for the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate and the Destiny Heavenly Gate, they had both remained neutral regarding the matter. But now that the Destiny Heavenly Gate had thrown in their unconditional support for whatever the Lu Heavenly Gate wanted, even if Hen Xin could obtain the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate¡¯s support, they would stillck the four votes necessary to pass the vote.

    Hen Xin''s proposal had been foiled again.

    Every matter that was discussed in the meeting of the Heavenly Gates were issues that the gatemasters had already discussed in the past. They were all either rted to the establishment of the Heavens Sect or the current situation in the Human Domain. No one was specifically targeting anyone, and no one would deliberately make trouble for Lu Yin over these matters. No one had even considered the possibility that he would be the Dao Chosen, so even if they wanted to scheme against him, they needed more time to prepare. It was quite possible that the next Heavenly Gates conference would be much different.

    Still, even if no one targeted Lu Yin in the meeting, that did not mean that Lu Yin did not target anyone. Twenty years had passed since Lu Yin¡¯s disappearance, and after all that time, there were debts that needed to be paid and issues that needed to be settled.

    Several days passed as the meeting proceeded, and the gatemasters of the six Heavenly Gates brought up many different issues to be discussed. The truth of the matter was that most issues were handled by people much further down the hierarchy. However, there remained a significant number of matters that necessitated some level ofmunication between the gatemasters.

    "This junior has listened to you seniors address many matters, almost all of which concern founding the new Heavens Sect or dealing with the Aeternals. This junior truly admires your dedication to humanity¡¯s future, but there remain a few details that this junior would like to bring to your attention." As Lu Yin spoke, he turned to focus on Hen Xin as six doubtful pairs of eyes locked onto him.

    "Senior Hen Xin, is Aurora Enterprises currently a subordinate of your Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate?"

    The moment these words were spoken, the expressions on the faces of Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Buzheng changed.

    Hen Xin went stiff. Aurora Enterprises was something that he had not expected anyone to mention in these meetings ever again.

    He had started to gain a bit of understanding regarding the current era after taking charge of Ni Huang and several other Semi-Progenitors and leading them to upy Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum. There, he had coincidentally learned that Aurora Enterprises had recently developed microarray technology. While people of the modern era believed microarray technology to be a very recent development, Hen Xin had heard of it before, as a brilliant researcher during the Heavens Sect era had developed the same technology.

    Even back then, Hen Xin had been interested in the technology and its potential, but he had been caught up in the Aeternals¡¯ plot and frozen in a sourcebox for countless years. He had forgotten about the matter after awakening in the modern era, until he was reminded by the chance mention of Aurora Enterprises. As soon as he heard the news, Hen Xin had instantly taken action, attacked Aurora Enterprises, and taken control of thepany.

    After that incident, Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Fifth Maind had approached Hen Xin and demanded that he return Aurora Enterprises. After several years of neither side backing down, apromise had been reached, and the two parties had ultimately agreed to share microarray technology. Still, the reality of the situation was that Hen Xin was the sole person who truly controlled microarray technology, and all public credit for the matter had been given to him.

    If not for therge number of Semi-Progenitors who followed Hen Xin, as well as the threat of the Aeternals, it would not have been nearly so easy for him to seize control of Aurora Enterprises. Even if he had tried to cover the matter up, others would have gone after him.

    As Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin, the Semi-Progenitor had no idea what the young man¡¯s n was, but it did not actually matter. It waspletely impossible to take Aurora Enterprises away from his Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Even if Destina threw her support behind Lu Yin, nothing would change without a war between human forces.

    As microarray technology had continued to develop and more applications were discovered, Hen Xin had only be more and more certain that this technology couldpletely alter the future of humanity. He would never give such a thing up. "That''s right, Aurora Enterprises now belongs to my Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, I wonder, what are the profits from the microarray technology over thesest twenty years? Did you know, Senior, that twenty percent of those profits belong to me?"

    Hen Xin was caught off guard. "Twenty percent of the profits are yours? What are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin answered with a slight smile. "It looks like you didn¡¯t know that when Aurora Enterprises got stuck in developing microarray technology, I was the one to help them reach a breakthrough. After all, I provided them with necessary materials to produce a final product. Those efforts of mine resulted in twenty percent of the profits from microarray technology belonging to me. Also, this junior provided a great deal of bark from the Mother Tree as raw materials, and a portion of the final products made with those materials also belong to this junior.¡±

    Hen Xin turned to look at Arch-Elder Zen and the other gatemasters. He truly had not known anything about this matter. When stealing Aurora Enterprises, he had only focused on Arch-Elder Zen and his allied Semi-Progenitors, so he had never learned about Lu Yin¡¯s connection to thepany or its technology.

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, "Lu Yin is correct. He had already disappeared when everything happened, so his involvement was never mentioned. There¡¯s no denying that he is directly responsible for the sessful development of microarray technology and that he also provided almost all of the required raw materials."

    Hen Xin frowned. "Your proof?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "What sort of evidence do you want, Senior?"

    Hen Xin replied in a low voice. "It''s impossible for me to just believe your words. Aurora Enterprises has produced far too many microarrays over the past twenty years, and the resulting profits are simply massive. You want to just take twenty percent of those profits away? That¡¯s unrealistic, even if your ims are true. There is no way you can be given twenty percent."

    He then looked at Arch-Elder Zen. "Back then, we agreed that all profits from the production of microarrays will be used to fund the fight against the Aeternals and to establish the Heavens Sect."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded and shrugged. There really had not been any other option at that time. Such an agreement was already the most that they could push for, and the only other option would have been to simply lose everything.

    Hen Xin was eager to have his name spread across the universe and be famous. This was why he wanted his name to be associated with the historic development of microarray technology. For that he was ready to sacrifice some immediate benefits

    He could sacrifice profits, but not suffer a loss on top of that. . Hen Xin had reached an agreement with Arch-Elder Zen, so if he agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s terms he would have to pay out of his own pocket.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Senior, are you saying that you believe this junior?"

    Hen Xin and Lu Yin stared at each other."If I im that you kidnapped Hen San and that you must return him, will you agree? It¡¯s simply impossible for me to believe your words without sufficient evidence."

    "Aurora Enterprises¡¯ Director Zhi can verify everything," Arch-Elder Zen interjected.

    Hen Xin shook his head. "Director Zhi has exhausted himself both mentally and physically in order to keep up with the production demand for microarrays over the years. Thus, he is unable to do so."

    Lu Buzheng yelled, "You aren¡¯t even trying to hide that you¡¯re just using technicalities! Clearly, you just don¡¯t want to allow any witnesses to testify. Your heart¡¯s bing darker and cker."

    Hen Xin was unmoved by the usations. While the six Heavenly Gates technically jointly ruled over humanity, if not for the threat of the Aeternals, Hen Xin might have already attacked the Lu Heavenly Gate. This was not out of any hatred or enmity, but rather because Hen Xin genuinely wanted to be the one to rebuild the Heavens Sect, and in order for that process to proceed wlessly, all potential hidden dangers had to be removed.

    Both the Lu Heavenly Gate and the Honor Heavenly Gate presented hidden dangers to Hen Xin, but he was not truly worried. After he became a Progenitor, they would both surrender to him.

    "Senior, you just demanded that this junior give you Hen San, correct?" Lu Yin asked while smiling at Hen Xin.

    The Semi-Progenitor sped his hands behind his back as he replied, "Evidence is necessary for all transactions. If I im that you captured Hen San and simply believe you to be guilty, can I go after you for revenge?"

    "If that¡¯s what you want, Senior," Lu Yin said as he took out Zenith Mountain and tossed Hen San out of the mountain.

    Every single person present was stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, no matter if it was Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, or even Hen San himself. Everyone was dazed. Just what was going on?

    No one had been aware that Lu Yin had been the one to capture Hen San, and he could have easily kept his guilt hidden. Despite that, what did Lu Yin do? He had actually released Hen San in the middle of the Heavenly Gates conference. Why?

    Lu Buzheng blinked and stared at Lu Yin as though he was an idiot. How was this not simply creating a new conflict? Was Lu Yin trying to start a war with the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate?

    Hen Xin was also dumbfounded. He had simply casually mentioned a random usation to prove a point, and he had certainly never expected to learn that Lu Yin really had been the one to capture Hen San.

    Even Destina was surprised, as this was outside of even her expectations. After all, no one would normally do such a thing, as this was basically pping Hen Xin in the face.

    "Gatemaster?" Hen San stared at Hen Xin and spoke up in a weak voice.

    It was only then that Hen Xin managed to react, and he stared at Lu Yin with a gloomy expression. "It was actually you?"

    Lu Yin just smiled. "Senior, you asked me to release Hen San, and so I have."

    Hen Xin had no idea what Lu Yin was nning, and he almost attacked Lu Yin on the spot. However, after seeing the smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face, Hen Xin felt that there was something off about the matter, so he resisted both speaking and attacking.

    Hen Xin had sessfully climbed from amon family to being the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, and even being favored by one of the ancient Dao Monarchs. He was a cautious person, and given Lu Yin¡¯s shocking behavior, Hen Xin did not feelfortable trying anything at the moment.

    Lu Yin seemed to have expected Hen Xin''s reaction, as he simply turned to look at Jue Yi. "You aren¡¯t really the God of Death¡¯s disciple while I am the heir to his true cultivation art. ording to what you said to me when we first met, everyone who cultivates or uses death energy must obey the God of Death¡¯s heir without reservations. Am I remembering correctly?"

    Lu Buzheng just stared at Lu Yin. This kid had first provoked Hen Xin and then moved on to antagonize Jue Yi. He must have lost his mind.

    Lu Buzheng was not the only one who caught off guard, as Arch-Elder Zen also felt that Lu Yin was being foolish. This was not the Lu Yin that he knew.

    The Lu Yin that Arch-Elder Zen knew was someone who was prepared before every step he took, someone who was cautious and always kept things deeply hidden. He was someone who had ten more steps nned for every step taken. However, that cautious youngster was deliberately antagonizing the gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, which was unspeakably dangerous.

    Kidnapping Hen San was essentially picking a fight with Hen Xin, and now Lu Yin was demanding Jue Yi¡¯s subservience. Where did Lu Yin get the courage to speak to Semi-Progenitors in such an overbearing manner? When such behavior had been exhibited during the Dao Chosen selection, people had merely believed the young people to be domineering and bold, but given the current setting, Lu Yin¡¯s behavior took on a very different nature.

 Chapter 2106: Stepping On The Stars

    Chapter 2106: Stepping On The Stars

    Jue Yi''s expression quickly darkened. "I still have not seen for myself whether you can actually produce death energy. Even if you can, that¡¯s nothing more than a coincidence. I am the God of Death¡¯s disciple. I will be the one to inherit the God of Death¡¯s power!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "That¡¯s ridiculous¡ªa disciple of the God of Death who can''t even create death energy? If death energy runs out, will you still be the God of Death¡¯s disciple?"

    Jue Yi¡¯s eyes went wide at that instant, as Lu Yin had just voiced the man¡¯s greatest fear. The God of Death had still been alive during the Heavens Sect era, so Jue Yi had been able to find death energy. With the disappearance of the Progenitor, it meant that the God of Death¡¯s inheritance was as good as gone.

    "As long as I be a Progenitor, I will be able to create death energy. I will admit that you have also received the inheritance of the God of Death, but once I be a Progenitor, I will be the new God of Death," Jue Yi retorted.

    Lu Yin started to mock the man. "If it was that easy to be a Progenitor, then why has no one in the entire Fifth Maind done so in so long? Really, can you be any more arrogant? Even if you be a Progenitor, it will be impossible for you to actually create death energy. Only I can do that, as I am the God of Death¡¯s heir."

    "Lu Yin, why did you capture Hen San?" Hen Xin stepped forward, finally reacting to the previous matter.

    Lu Buzheng instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, and he looked at the young man. Had Lu Yin pulled away after defeating Chu Yuan? Did he really believe that just the support of Destina was enough for him to truly represent the heavens? Did Lu Yin actually believe himself to be equal to a Semi-Progenitor?

    Lu Yin just looked at Hen Xin. "I wanted to capture him, so I did."

    Lu Buzheng''s expression changed. Lu Yin was being too aggressive, and it was clear that he was not taking Hen Xin seriously at all.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. The child must have gone mad!

    Jiu Yao found the entire situation quite odd, as this was not the Lu Yin that he was familiar with at all.

    Destina watched with curiosity. Something had to be wrong with Lu Yin for him to exhibit such bizarre behavior.

    Hen Xin became enraged, and he charged at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly pulled out the Origin Progenitor''s sword. "This can allow the Heavens Sect to be truly established. Do you recognize it?"

    Everyone stared at the Origin Progenitor''s sword. It looked like apletely ordinary sword, as nothing about it looked special.

    "The Origin Progenitor''s sword?" Jiu Yao was shocked. He had seen this sword stab Lu Yin in the heart in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. During the Dao Chosen selection, he had actually wondered where the Origin Progenitor''s sword had gone. He had guessed that it might have remained in Lu Yin''s possession, but actually seeing Lu Yin hold it gave the Semi-Progenitor a shock despite his previous suspicions.

    "Is that really the Origin Progenitor''s sword?" Jue Yi was stunned.

    Hen Xin stared at the Origin Progenitor''s sword with greed zing in his eyes. If this was true, then Lu Yin¡¯s words were absolutely correct. Only with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword could there truly be a Heavens Sect, as the swords signified authenticity.

    Hen Xin¡¯s determination to reestablish the Heavens Sect was not just because he wanted the fame. There was also a legend in his original era that said only the Dao Monarchs were granted the privilege of knowing the universe¡¯s greatest secret.

    After awakening in the modern era with Chu Yuan and the others, Hen Xin had only learned of the existence of the Origin Progenitor''s sword after Chu Yuan had returned. It was possible that, once Hen Xin became a true Dao Monarch, he would be able to ess that great secret through the Origin Progenitor''s sword.

    While no one had mentioned the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword after Lu Yin''s reappearance, everyone had been thinking about it. At this moment, the sword was right in front of them. They had all assumed that Lu Yin would keep the treasure hidden, as even the protection of someone like Lu Buzheng would not be enough for Lu Yin to retain the sword. After all, it was the greatest treasure in the entire universe.

    Lu Yin held the Origin Progenitor''s sword in a hand as he nced around at Hen Xin, Jue Yi, Destina, and the other gatemasters. "That''s right, this is the Origin Progenitor''s sword. Do you want it?"

    Silence reigned atop Mount Tai. Not even the gatemasters of the six Heavenly Gates had any idea how they should react at this moment. Did they want it? Of course! But how?

    Boom!

    Lu Yin stabbed the Origin Progenitor''s sword into the ground, and the hilt trembled. "If you want it, grab it."

    Everyone stared at the sword that had been thrust into the ground. No one said a word.

    Jiu Yao stepped forward and moved to grab the sword, but he suddenly thought of something, and his face grew pale as he snatched his hand back. He looked over at Lu Yin. "Will I end up the same as her if I touch it?"

    Lu Yin immediately understood that Jiu Yao was referring to Forgotten Ruins God. "Yep."

    Jiu Yao stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, trying to determine if the youth was lying or not, but it was impossible to know for sure. In the end, Jiu Yao did not dare to take such a risk. He stared nkly at the Origin Progenitor''s sword. It was so, so close, and yet Jiu Yao did not dare to reach out and touch it.

    Finally, Hen Xin tore his eyes away from the sword, and he looked at Lu Yin. "Do you believe that holding this sword that represents the true and original Heavens Sect allows you to act however you wish?"

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand and set it upon the hilt of the sword. "During the end of the Dao Chosen selection, I said that I would be the one to lead the Heavens Sect and guide humanity into a new era."

    He took a step forward with his right foot. Stars revolved around him, and they resonated with astral bodies throughout the universe as the pattern on the bottom of his foot flickered. At that moment, Lu Yin saw countless stars swirling around. The stars of the Fifth Maind ovepped with the stars revolving around Lu Yin at this moment.

    It was as though Lu Yin was the master of the universe, as if he had reced the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky. He was stepping across the stars.

    This time, it was different from when Lu Yin had first used this ability. This time, he made no effort to hide the resonance that connected him to the Fifth Maind, and the terrifying power that he tapped into left everyone instantly dumbfounded. This was the power of a Progenitor. This was the strength of Progenitor Chen!

    Forget the current era where the Fifth Maind had no Progenitors at all¡ªeven in the Daosource Sect era or the Heavens Sect era, Progenitor Chen had wielded invincible power. He had controlled two Mountains and one Sea, and no one knew just how powerful the man had truly been.

    When Lu Yin resonated with the stars left behind by Progenitor Chen, Hen Xin and the other gatemasters were instantly suppressed and forced back. No one could approach Lu Yin at this moment.

    Lu Yin quite enjoyed the feeling of being in control of everything. His thoughts drifted from one star to another. He moved to the western reaches of the Innerverse, which was the battlefront of the war between humanity and the Aeternals. There, Lu Yin saw three Semi-Progenitors: Leng Qing, Wang Si, and an unknown woman. He also saw countless explosions, as well as an endless horde of Aeternus¡¯s monsters. Finally, there was Marqui Wu Yi.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind danced across the entire battlefield, and as it did so, several stars stopped moving.

    Leng Qing and the other Semi-Progenitors all instantly looked up. "The power of a Progenitor?"

    In the past, only the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors had been capable of wielding the might of a Progenitor within the Fifth Maind. However, those three possessed apletely different level of power from what was taking ce at this moment. This seemingly infinite strength reced the universe itself, which was more terrifying than anything anyone had ever imagined.

    As for the Aeternals, Marquis Wu Yi''s expression changed drastically. Ever since Marquis Green Bamboo''s death, the man had been rather nervous. He simply could not understand how Marquis Green Bamboo had died. It was at this moment that Marquis Wu Yi finally received an answer: a terrifyingly powerful Progenitor had appeared in the Fifth Maind. This individual was clearly not an ordinary Progenitor, and even the mentalwork that had suppressed the entire Fifth Maind twenty years ago was far weaker than what had just appeared.

    The strength that the Semi-Progenitors sensed was overbearing and full of killing intent, not to mention filled with the desire to dominate all things.

    Marquis Wu Yi took off in a desperate attempt to escape. He had to get away, as this new power hadpletely enveloped the Aeternals¡¯ forces, clearly intent on destroying them.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was experiencing something novel. He could see Marquis Wu Yi fleeing, but to Lu Yin, it looked as though Marquis Wu Yi was a tiny ant trying to escape from Lu Yin¡¯s own Cosmic Art.

    A star was crushed, just like when Lu Yin had seen Marquis Green Bamboo before. The explosion enveloped Marquis Wu Yi, and then nothing remained of the Semi-Progenitor.

    One of the Aeternals¡¯ glorious Twelve Marquises, a powerful Semi-Progenitor, had been crushed like a bug. The man had died in the exact same manner as Marquis Green Bamboo.

    Leng Qing saw it. Wang Si saw it. The unfamiliar Semi-Progenitor woman also saw it. Instantly, Marquis Wu Yi, who had fought against all three of them, was dead without even leaving behind a corpse.

    "I ask Senior to reveal themselves." Leng Qing respectfully bowed to the emptiness of space. He had no idea who this powerhouse was, or which era they might havee, but given their terrifying power, such an expert deserved respect. Even during the Daosource Sect era, such a person would have been highly respected.

    "I ask Senior to reveal themselves." The unknown Semi-Progenitor also offered a respectful bow.

    Even Wang Si bowed. "I also ask Senior to reveal themselves."

    Lu Yin sent a cold re towards Wang Si. He would soon settle ounts with the woman.

    However, for the moment, Lu Yin moved on to focus on the Aeternals¡¯ endless horde. He raised a foot and smashed another star. He intended to remove Aeternus¡¯s monsters from the Fifth Maind. The Neohuman Alliance would be removed, and the Aeternals would bepletely excised.

    A brilliant light shed, and countless lives ended.

    Leng Qing and the others watched in shock as the endless horde that had immobilized them for thest twenty years simply disappeared. The endless horde that had filled the western regions of the Innerversepletely vanished.

    Throughout the entire Fifth Maind, the Neohuman Alliance that had gued them for endless years, was simply gone.

    Lu Buzheng and others who were in the distant Outerverse had no idea what had just taken ce in the Innerverse, but they still stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. They could feel the boundless power of a Progenitor from him.

    The stronger the person, the more clearly they could sense the horror of this power. Hen Xin and the others had already met the Progenitor of Bloodlines several times, and they could easily tell that that man was far weaker than the power that radiated from Lu Yin at this moment. This strength far surpassed what most Progenitors were capable of unleashing.

    After wiping out the Aeternals¡¯ forces on the main battlefield, Lu Yin wanted to check the passage to the Starfall Sea, as the Progenitor of Bloodlines should be freed up now.

    Twenty years ago, Corpse God had attempted to capture the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall by sacrificing an arm. However, the main hall had vanished into time and space, escaping from the Skygod. However, Corpse God refused to ept the oue, and his one arm was enough to deal with everyst Semi-Progenitor in the entire Fifth Maind. In fact, he was capable of doing so even while under the suppression of the mentalwork.

    The mentalwork was a remnant power of Progenitor Hui, but how could Progenitor Hui stop Corpse God?

    Corpse God had wanted to eliminate all the living powerhouses in the Fifth Maind so that the Aeternals already present would have an easier time conquering the ce. It was at this moment that the Progenitor of Bloodlines had taken action. He had shattered his own inner world and used the surge of power inbination with the mentalwork to sever Corpse God¡¯s arm. The Progenitor had then moved to block the small gap that remained in the passage to the Starfall Sea with his own body.

    This was the tragic fate of the Progenitor. The Progenitor of Bloodlines was not a powerful Progenitor, but at this moment, he had drawn the attention of the entire Fifth and Sixth Mainds. If he died and was remembered in history, he would not merely be remembered as the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but rather as a great powerhouse who had fought desperately to save all of humanity.

    This was despite the fact that he was from the Sixth Maind.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was still plugging the gap with his body, suffering endless abuse from the attacks of the Aeternals on the other side. For twenty years, the man had fought for humanity and ensured that the Aeternals could not send any more experts into the Fifth Maind. Aeternus had summoned all their avable forces to break through, but they had failed to push past the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Corpse God and the other Seven Skygods were far, far more powerful than the Progenitor of Bloodlines and could easily knock his body aside. However, the moment that happened, the Sky Per would shift and grow to instantly plug the gap.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was stuck in a position where he could not leave, as the moment he retreated, Corpse God would be able to use his hand to once again pull the gap in the blocked passage open. Then, the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ past twenty years of efforts would all be in vain.

    Marquis Wu Yi and the other Aeternal powerhouses had been trying to find a way to remove the Progenitor of Bloodlines from the Fifth Maind¡¯s side, while Leng Qing and others did their best to stop those efforts. This was why the massive battlefield had appeared.

    Cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds wanted to rescue the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but they were incapable of doing so. The Aeternals also wanted to remove his body, but they had been stopped. The entire time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ body acted as a plug in the passage between the Fifth Maind and the Starfall Sea. His fate was truly agonizing.

 Chapter 2107: Return Home

    Chapter 2107: Return Home

    Humanity had nevercked for selfless heroes, but Lu Yin had never expected the next person to shock him with such actions to actually be the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Still, Lu Yin could see everything that the Progenitor of Bloodlines had done for humanity, and Lu Yin was determined to free the man.

    Stars started to shift and move near the passage to the Starfall Sea. Lu Yin used the Cosmic Art to drag the Progenitor of Bloodlines out of the gap in the passage. "Senior, it''s time to return home."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was right on the verge of death. His body had been corroded, and he bled from everywhere. His mind had entered a half-conscious state, but when he heard Lu Yin''s words, he instantly roused himself. "No! Corpse God is always watching me."

    "Leave this to your junior." Lu Yin continued to drag the Progenitor of Bloodlines away. As he did so, a massive pair of slitted scarlet eyes arrived in the Starfall Sea. They stared into the Fifth Maind through the passage. The blood-colored eyes held a terrible darkness and bloodlust. They belonged to Corpse God, the terrifying powerhouse who had frightened even Ancestor Tortoise away with no more than a look.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and then¡­ stars exploded.

    Corpse God¡¯s hand reached out to plug the gap in the passage that had been revealed when the Progenitor of Bloodlines had been removed. However, as the hand moved forward, stars began to explode, and the force of the explosions forced the hand pack. Lu Yin''s pupils shrank, as he could see that this was still not enough. He continued, and more stars exploded¡­

    More and more stars exploded, and cracks broke open on Corpse God''s hand. He had to pull back.

    At that same moment, the Sky Pir surged, and the final gap in the passage to the Starfall Sea was sealed off.

    This entire series of events took ce in a very short amount of time, but theypletely transformed the situation of the Fifth Maind.

    Humanity had been fighting a constant war against the Aeternals ever since the droplets of mysterious liquid had appeared and started devouring all the stellr energy from the true universe. If not for the appearance of the ancient powerhouses, humanity would have already been conquered. However, it had still been impossible for the humans to force the Aeternals out of the Fifth Maind.

    However, Lu Yin had just crushed the forces of Aeternus within the Fifth Maind, as well as finished sealing the passage connecting the Fifth Maind to the Starfall Sea. Finally, the Fifth Maind had been granted some measure of safety.

    In the middle of outer space, the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ body trembled. He was horribly wounded, and most grievously, his inner world had been shattered. He had fallen from the Progenitor realm, and even if he managed to recover, he would never return to his former strength again.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines stared at the passage to the Starfall Sea, and a sigh of relief escaped him when he saw that it had finally beenpletely sealed off. Had the voice that he had heard really been Lu Yin¡¯s?

    "Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines?" Leng Qing and the other Semi-Progenitors who had been at the main battlefield arrived, and they were stunned by what they found.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked at them, his face pale. "You¡¯ve worked hard all these years."

    From the moment Leng Qing had returned from the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, he had never left the main battlefield. Wang Si and the other Semi-Progenitors had all taken turns, as had Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, and the other gatemasters. However, Leng Qing alone had never left. He had no interest in working to reestablish the Heavens Sect.

    "Senior, which expert sealed the gap?" the unfamiliar Semi-Progenitor asked. Her name was Cai Er, and she had once been a gatemaster of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Jadevase Heavenly Gate. However, the woman showed no interest in reestablishing her Heavenly Gate or the Heavens Sect, and no one knew where she went when she was not scheduled to fight on the battlefield.

    Wang Si had also arrived. While her inner world had been shattered, with the passage of so many years, while her inner world had yet to fully recover, her strength had at least finally returned to the level of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines did not know how to answer the question. He had certainly heard Lu Yin''s voice, but how could Lu Yin wield such unimaginable strength? Despite his half-conscious state during the twenty years he had blocked the passage, he was still aware that it had only been twenty years.

    Suddenly, the Progenitor of Bloodlines''s expression changed. "Let''s go. We should go to where they are building the Heavens Sect in that sr system in the Outerverse."

    "Senior, what of this ce?" Cai Er hesitated.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "There¡¯s no need for us to remain here any longer. All of Aeternus¡¯s forces in this area have been eliminated, and even if some might have escaped destruction, there¡¯s no need for a Semi-Progenitor to deal with them. Order some people to handle this matter. The powerhouse who sealed the passage to the Starfall Sea should be at the Heavens Sect."

    Leng Qing''s eyes started to ze. "Then we should get there quickly to see them."

    ¡­

    In said sr system, on Earth, atop Mount Tai, Hen Xin and the other gatemasters were still staring at Lu Yin in shock. The infinite power of a mighty Progenitor terrified all the Semi-Progenitors present. How could such power erupt from an Envoy?

    The gatemasters were not the only ones intimidated, as Kui Luo, Ni Huang, and the other Semi-Progenitors present in Earth¡¯s sr system were also able to feel the endless power, but who did it belong to? Could one of the six gatemasters on Mount Tai have broken through to be a Progenitor?

    After freeing the Progenitor of Bloodlines, the stars revolving around Lu Yin all disappeared, and the resonance that he had experienced with the astral bodies of the Fifth Maind ended. He nced over at Hen Xin and others who had retreated and slowly asked, "Do I qualify to lead this era?"

    "Was that the Cosmic Art you just used?" Arch-Elder Zen struggled to ovee his shock.

    "That''s right. While this junior is still far from bing a Progenitor, I have received a gift from Progenitor Chen: the power he left behind."

    Lu Buzheng was startled. When he and the others from the Heavens Sect era had first awoken, they had no real understanding of who Progenitor Chen and the other powerhouses from the Fifth Maind even were. However, they had since gained a great deal of knowledge. It was clear to them that there had been various outstanding talents during the current era, and Progenitor Chen had stood above even those people. He was someone who would stand at the top regardless of the era. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had not be any easier to control due to the passage of time, but Progenitor Chen had controlled two Mountains and one Sea. This clearly demonstrated the man¡¯s impressive strength.

    The fact that Lu Yin was able to use the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind meant that he was truly invincible in the current era.

    "You can use the power of a Progenitor as a mere Envoy? That¡¯s impossible. Such a thing could not have happened even in our era." Hen Xin refused to believe Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said nothing, and he simply remained standing in front of the gatemasters in silence. The ancient powerhouses had all felt an inescapable superioritypared to the current era, even after learning of the existence of incredible Progenitors such as Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor. To these people, nothing could shake the arrogance entrenched in the might of the Heavens Sect era. After all, their era had possessed Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and the Three Realms Six Dao; this was not even mentioning the Origin Progenitor who had created humanity¡¯s first cultivation system.

    There was no denying that the Heavens Sect was humanity¡¯s peak golden era. However, it was not impossible for the strength of people born after that era topare to that of the powerhouses from the height of human civilization.

    All of Aeternals¡¯ monsters had been purged from the Fifth Maind at this moment, and with the power of Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin effectively controlled the entire Fifth Maind. He could grow and develop in peace. There were too many ns that he wanted to finish and too many tasks toplete. There were so many secrets he wanted to unravel, and he finally had the confidence to pursue all those things.

    Destina¡¯s sparkling eyes looked at Lu Yin. "Given that you can control Progenitor Chen¡¯s power as well as wield the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, not only do you hold the qualifications to represent the heavens, but you also possess the authority to represent the Origin Progenitor. Congrattions, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Buzheng justughed. He finally understood why Lu Yin had been so antagonistic towards both Hen Xin and Jue Yi at the same time. But given the power Lu Yin controlled, who could be his opponent?

    It was at this moment that the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Leng Qing, Cai Er, and Wang Si arrived. They had used a sourcebox array to travel straight from the battlefield to Earth¡¯s sr system, and after arriving, they had made their way straight to Mount Tai on Earth.

    Their passage was noticed by Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors, and more people raced to the top of Mount Tai.

    There were soon sixteen Semi-Progenitors gathered atop the small peak of Mount Tai. Elder Gong, Qing Ping, and several other Semi-Progenitors were absent, but all the Semi-Progenitors who had been nearby were present.

    There was nothing but shock in all the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ eyes as they saw the Progenitor of Bloodlines turn to Lu Yin and speak to him in manner as one would a peer. "Thank you, Mr. Lu."

    Xia Ji stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a ghost. What was going on? He looked over at Hen Xin and the other Semi-Progenitors, and his heart dropped. Was it possible that the Progenitor¡¯s power that they had all just sensed came from Lu Yin? No, that was impossible. Utterly andpletely impossible. How could such a thing ever happen? The kid was obviously nothing more than a three-tribtion Envoy.

    Kui Luo stared at Lu Yin with a strange look on the old man¡¯s face. Could it be¡­?

    Leng Qing and the others who had followed the Progenitor of Bloodlines over from the battlefield were suffering from the same disbelief. All of them had felt the power of a Progenitor, and they had even watched Marquis Green Bamboo and Marquis Wu Yi be killed by that power. Never once had they considered that the power might havee from Lu Yin. The mere thought shattered their entire worldview.

    Wang Si was the individual least willing to ept such a possibility. If Lu Yin truly did possess such power, what would happen to her?

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, how does it feel to finally return home?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed. "I was certain that I would die in that ce, but I was lucky that you were able to help me. Thank you again, Mr. Lu."

    Lu Yin shook his head. He was very respectful as he looked at the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Senior, you used your body to seal the passage and protect humanity. You were willing to die to protect the Fifth Maind, which this junior finds truly admirable. Please, just call me Lu Yin, or if you prefer, Little Seven."

    Lu Yin was clearly prejudiced against the people from the Sixth Maind, as was true of everyone from the Fifth Maind. However, no one could feel anything but pure admiration for the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Not every Progenitor would be willing to take such actions. For example, Hen Xin and the other gatemasters had been frantically working to arrange a sourcebox array to Earth¡¯s sr system so that they could escape when humanity ultimately fell to the Aeternals. In contrast, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had preferred death to allowing the Aeternals an easy victory.

    Forget being from the Sixth Maind¡ªeven if the Progenitor of Bloodlines were an astral beast, such actions would still demand people¡¯s respect.

    "Very well. It really is quite odd to call you Mr. Lu. In that case, Little Seven, what are your next ns?" The Progenitor of Bloodlines did not refuse, and he indeed had the status to speak to Lu Yin in such a manner.

    Lu Yin replied, "We still need to finish building the reestablished Heavens Sect. I intend to bring the Tower of the Fifth back out to have it educate, train, and allow for humanity¡¯s inheritances to continue to be passed down. Also, this is the best time for us to strengthen and develop the Fifth Maind in preparation to eventually face the Aeternals. It¡¯s time for all of humanity to unite."

    Hen Xin''s eyes shed. It was clear that centralized power was falling entirely into Lu Yin¡¯s hands, and there was no way for Hen Xin to escape from this possibility without bing a Progenitor himself. Without that, Lu Yin would be the one to write the history of the Fifth Maind.

    "I''m old, and there aren¡¯t many things I can still do. Just handle things as you see fit. Right now, what¡¯s most important for me is to recover from my injuries." The Progenitor of Bloodlines then looked over at Jiu Yao. "Those of us from the Sixth Maind all need to let go of our past grievances. Starting today, we are one group. We will fully cooperate with Dao Chosen Lu Yin. Humanity will indeed unite, and the Heavens Sect will be reborn."

    Jiu Yao bowed as he replied, "This junior hears your orders."

    Lan Xian also bowed low. "This junior hears your orders."

    Just like that, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had dealt with the hidden danger that the Sixth Maind presented. With this, Lu Yin knew that the Sixth Maind would no longer act against him in the future. Even if someone wanted to make problems for him, they had to first have the necessary power.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines just said a few more words before leaving. He had already aplished his intended task for his visit.

    Lu Yin looked at the gathered Semi-Progenitors before finally focusing on Leng Qing. "Senior, you were once a gatemaster of one of the Heavenly Gates. Are you willing to resume that post now?"

    Leng Qing nodded. He was already somewhat familiar with Lu Yin. The gatemaster had made his way straight to the main hall of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect as soon as he awakened from the sourcebox. Then, he had gotten to know Lu Yin a bit more during the time spent traveling through time and space. While they had had their disputes over the sword of the Origin Progenitor, Lu Yin had already earned the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s admiration. "Since the Aeternals have been exterminated and the Twelve Heavens Gates are being restored, then I naturally have a duty to resume."

    "I do as well," Cai Er said. After seeing Lu Yin''s questioning look, she quickly exined, "I was also one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates during the Heavens Sect era."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, it¡¯s only natural for you to resume your position."

    While Lu Yin still did not know exactly what significance the Twelve Heavenly Gates held during the Heavens Sect era, he believed that, right now, the Twelve Heavenly Gates would act to protect the future development and growth of humanity. The Heavenly Gates were invincible as long as a Progenitor did not show up.

    "Gatemaster Hen Xin, you are still the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. What do you say?" Lu Yin looked at Hen Xin. The happiness in Lu Yin¡¯s voice was unmistakable.

 Chapter 2108: That Child

    Chapter 2108: That Child

    Hen Xin took a deep breath. He was the gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, and there was no need for anyone to give him what he had already acquired through his own strength. Lu Yin¡¯s words were deliberately forcing Hen Xin to state that he agreed to hold his current position, which was nothing less than agreeing to Lu Yin¡¯s authority to represent the heavens. With this, Hen Xin would no longer have any right to gainsay Lu Yin within the Heavens Sect.

    However, if Hen Xin did not agree, he would no longer be a gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    He was no longer living in the Heavens Sect era, and while it was only natural that the more powerful the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were, the better. Still, given that there were no external enemies and a very limited number of Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Maind, it did not particrly matter who the gatemasters actually were.

    "Very well," Hen Xin ultimately agreed. His greatest strength was that he always had a very clear understanding of any situation.

    In the past, the entire reason why he had purposely stolen control of Aurora Enterprises had been because he could clearly see the future potential of microarray technology. At this moment, Hen Xin could clearly see the influence that Lu Yin wielded in the Human Domain. Going against Lu Yin at this juncture would mean anonymity throughout the era.

    Lu Yin was satisfied. He did not harbor any particr grudge towards Hen Xin, as the man was not even an enemy, but merely someone with a different perspective. This meant that they would undoubtedly butt heads again in the future.

    Lu Yin then looked back at Jue Yi. "What about you?"

    Jue Yi frowned. He was in a different position than Hen Xin. If Jue Yi acknowledged Lu Yin, it not only meant acknowledging the youth¡¯s authority within the Heavens Sect, but also acknowledging Lu Yin¡¯s status as the true heir to the God of Death. Doing so would cause Jue Yi to also lose that position of authority. The Semi-Progenitor readily understood why he had been targeted by Lu Yin earlier, as it had all been preparation for this exact moment.

    The fact that Lu Yin had just proven that he had inherited Progenitor Chen¡¯s power made Jue Yi want to go against Lu Yin, but ultimately, he had no choice in the matter.

    Lu Yin nced over to Jiu Yao.

    The man reluctantly bowed, as at this moment, even Semi-Progenitors had to show a bit of deference to Lu Yin. Strength was the final arbiter of authority.

    "It seems that none of you have any objection to this junior representing the heavens. In that case, starting right now, I will officially assume the duties of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen." Lu Yin nced around at the gathered Semi-Progenitors and hefted the sword in his hand. "Also, I will represent the Origin Progenitor to act as the heavens."

    A breath escaped Hen Xin as soon as he heard Lu Yin¡¯sst words. This was a direct challenge, as Lu Yin was iming the authority to decide all matters regarding the Heavens Sect for the future.

    "Arrest Ni Huang, Xia De, Bai Laogui, Wang Si, and Xia Ji," Lu Yin suddenly ordered the moment after he confirmed his status.

    Everyone was startled. Arrest five Semi-Progenitors at once?

    Ni Huang''s expression changed drastically, as he had not expected Lu Yin to take such insane actions. Just how many Semi-Progenitors did the Human Domain even have?

    "Lu Yin, do you intend to abuse your position to get revenge?" Wang Si shrieked.

    Lu Yin looked at the five people through ice-cold eyes. "Let¡¯s at least be honest about things¡ªI have absolutely no idea when you might attack me."

    "Dao Chosen Lu, these five Semi-Progenitors have done nothing to betray humanity, so it''s really not appropriate to simply arrest them," Hen Xin protested. All five of the targeted people were from his Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, so Hen Xin was fully aware that Ni Huang and others were Lu Yin¡¯s enemies. Still, it was a surprise to see Lu Yin simply ordering their arrest. It seemed Lu Yin was not at all afraid of creating a schism within the Heavens Sect.

    "So are you saying that it¡¯s fine for them to threaten the safety of the Dao Chosen?" Lu Yin retorted. He had never truly expected Hen Xin to simply follow orders, even if the man had acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s authority. Such a reversal was purely unrealistic.

    "If they¡¯re a threat to the safety of the Dao Chosen, then we naturally can¡¯t allow them to go free." Destina¡¯s eyes locked onto Ni Huang and the other four.

    Ni Huang and his group nced at each other, all making preparations to attack. They would not do nothing and allow the gathered people to eliminate them.

    But before anyone could do a thing, the Progenitor of Bloodlines subdued all five. The man might have fallen from the Progenitor realm, but he was still an existence who surpassed a Semi-Progenitor. Ni Huang and the others were helpless to escape.

    "Lu Yin, Progenitor Chen is from my Xia family! You¡¯ve taken Progenitor Chen''s power, yet you turn against my Xia family? You will be damned for this!" Xia Ji roared.

    Lu Yin ignored the captives and instead addressed the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Thank you, Senior."

    Earlier, right before the Progenitor of Bloodlines had left, Lu Yin sent the man a voice transmission. He had requested the Progenitor¡¯s assistance in dealing with the Perennial World¡¯s forces. This was why there had been a sudden sneak attack from the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Ni Huang and the others werepletely unable to react in time.

    If Lu Yin had tried to capture the five Semi-Progenitors by any other means, even with Progenitor Chen''s power, then even if they were sessfully captured, Earth would have beenpletely destroyed.

    The old man smiled at Lu Yin. "This is just a trifling matter, but now, I really will be leaving since I¡¯ve helped you capture them."

    "Thank you, Senior." Lu Yin was grateful again.

    "Try to treat them as kindly as possible, as they have truly done their best to protect and defend humanity for thesest twenty years," the Progenitor of Bloodlines asked before leaving. His request was sent through a voice transmission, as he understood that this matter was better kept private.

    Lu Yin also understood this.

    Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. This young man thought things through carefully, and he was also bold enough to plot and trick the top powerhouses in the current universe. Even Hen Xin had not expected the Progenitor of Bloodlines to stay around andunch a surprise attack. "Dao Chosen, the loss of five Semi-Progenitors all at once will be a heavy blow to our Human Domain."

    Lu Yin was unbothered by such concerns. "They don''t belong to this ce to begin with, and they only came here to kill me. Did you not know that?"

    Hen Xin did not say much. Lu Yin had only juste into power, and the details of the situation remained foggy. The gatemaster would just wait and see, as he did not believe that Lu Yin would actually execute Ni Huang or the other captives.

    This Heavenly Gates conference did notst much longer, but it was agreed that the next meeting would take ce in a single year, rather than the standard five.

    Additionally, that next meeting would be considered a continuation of the current Heavenly Gates conference, so it would remain as the fourth conference.

    Lu Yin had taken care of the Aeternals, and he had also imprisoned the five Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World. Both of these matters would have tremendous repercussions on the Human Domain, and many of the issues that had been addressed during the Heavenly Gates conference had already been invalidated. This year was agreed upon to act as a transition period to allow the various changes to settle, and the next meeting would be regarded as the true fourth Heavenly Gates conference. This year would also give Lu Yin the opportunity to settle certain personal matters.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gazed at the massive construction of the Heavens Sect from the back of Ancestor Tortoise, lost in his own thoughts.

    Arch-Elder Zen approached. "The threat of the Aeternals has been dealt with, so it¡¯s no longer necessary to build the Heavens Sect here. Also, while I never saw the real Heavens Sect, I assume that the main gate was far more splendid than what we¡¯ve been working on."

    Lu Yin replied, "You¡¯re right. I have seen it."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. "You¡¯ve seen the true Heavens Sect? Was that when you were traveling through time and space with the others?"

    Lu Yin nodded and turned to look towards the Innerverse. "Without the Sky Pir, this can¡¯t truly be the Heavens Sect. One day, when we take back the Sky Pir from the passage to the Starfall Sea, the real Heavens Sect will finally return."

    "I can only trust you, but I believe that you can do it." The prospect made Arch-Elder Zen grow emotional.

    Lu Yin looked at hispanion. "Senior, how much do you know about the Lu family?"

    Arch-Elder Zen grew curious. "Why do you ask?"

    "Since you received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique from my Lu family, why were you suspicious of me when you found that I was from the Lu family? Was it really because the Lu family abandoned the Fifth Maind and moved the Mother Tree?"

    Arch-Elder Zen stared out at the Heavens Sect gate that was under construction. "How much do you know?"

    "While traveling through time, I saw quite a few things, and while I didn¡¯t pay much attention to some of those things at the time, I realized some things when I returned to this era," Lu Yin exined.

    "What things?" Arch-Elder Zen felt curious about this.

    Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "I saw what happened when the Lu family abandoned the Fifth Maind."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes grew wide. "You even saw that?"

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen looked at each other. "There was a boy watching."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard, but then he started tough. "That''s right! It was me! You should have also seen two other people at that time, or rather one person and one..."

    "Ancient God."

    Complicated emotions swirled through Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes. "That¡¯s right, it was Ancient God and a direct descendant of the Lu family. Since you were able to figure out that the young man was me, you should understand why I was suspicious of you when your identity was first exposed. I was willing to shoulder the responsibility of thwarting the Aeternals, and even if it meant earning the hatred of the entire Fifth Maind, I would never hesitate. However, even the Lu family has members who are traitors to humanity.¡±

    The old man stared intently at Lu Yin as he finished speaking.

    "There is norge family or n that ispletely united, and the Lu family is no different. I did not know if you were with us or them at first, especially after you took over the entire Outerverse and showed that you wanted to conquer the Innerverse as well. Such ambition felt very different from the normal behavior of the Lu family. While they ruled the Fifth Maind, they always did so by relying on pure strength, rather than plots or schemes."

    "Is that why you thought that I might be a traitor hidden within the Lu family, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen did not deny the usation. "The four ruling powers exiled your Lu family, and yet you alone arrived here in the Fifth Maind. Why? How could the four ruling powers ever have been willing to let you go? Your mere existence is enough to incite chaos in the Perennial World, which could only serve Aeternus¡¯s interests. Your existence alone suggested that you were likely another traitor within the Lu family."

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Fair enough. I really don¡¯t fit the standard mold of the Lu family. I¡¯m pretty good at scheming, and just being alive might be enough to start a civil war between humans. Still, I¡¯m no traitor."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Of course, I realized that all of my suspicions were nothing more than my own doubts. After you took over the defense of the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain, my doubts almost entirely disappeared. If you really were a traitor, there would have been absolutely no need for you to take such risks. I started to support you not only because of how you proved that you care for humanity as a whole, but also because no traitor would ever take such actions."

    Lu Yin understood. "Didn¡¯t you consider the possibility that this junior did all of that with the Astral Beast Domain just to gain your trust?"

    "I considered it, but I always had everything under control. Even if you did unite both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, it would not have mattered even if you had annexed the Neoverse. I was fully confident in being able to overpower everything if it became absolutely necessary," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "With the Tri-Yang Technique, you have the strength to fight against even the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect Era, so you would have never struggled to deal with me."

    "That might have been true in the past, but no longer." Arch-Elder Zen smiled wryly. "If you really are a descendant of that traitor from the Lu family and have managed toe this far, then all I can say is that mankind is destined to fall, and such a future is inevitable."

    Lu Yin smiled. "But this junior is not a traitor."

    Arch-Elder Zenughed again. "Which means that you¡¯re humanity¡¯s good luck charm, hahahaha."

    "What are you chuckling about?" Kui Luo approached, quite curious to hear Arch-Elder Zen¡¯sughter.

    Lu Yin replied, "Arch-Elder Zen was telling me a few jokes."

    "Him?" Kui Luo could not believe such a thing, and a look of disgust appeared on his face. "This old man is so old that he better notugh, as his teeth might fall out."

    Arch-Elder Zen shot a re at Kui Luo. "Watch your words a bit, or else you¡¯re doomed to get a beating one of these days."

    Kui Luo sneered. "The person who can beat me hasn¡¯t been born."

    "It looks like you want to test yourself against this old man''s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi!"

    "Old fart, I think you¡¯re starting to lose it."

    Lu Yin smiled as he watched the two men bicker. With the threat of the Aeternals finally gone, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s mood hadpletely transformed, and he seemed much more energetic than in the past. "Senior, if the New Corridor reconnects, maybe you can try to finally be a Progenitor."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caughtpletely off guard, but then his eyes lit up. "That''s true! I¡¯ll do that. I¡¯ve always been so worried about so many things, but now I can leave those matters to you and focus on myself."

    Kui Luo¡¯s head snapped up. "What¡¯s all this? Old man, I need to be a Progenitor before you get the chance."

 Chapter 2109: Blood Alchemy

    Chapter 2109: Blood Alchemy

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s voice grew contemptuous. "I¡¯d sooner believe that Junior Lu will be a Progenitor before me than you."

    The man quickly gave Lu Yin an odd look. "You won¡¯t actually get there faster than us, right?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "I''m not that fast. If I were to guess at who¡¯ll be the fastest, I¡¯d put my money on Brother Qing Ping."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed in agreement. "Yes, Qing Ping will reach that level very soon."

    Kui Luo grinned. "He¡¯s a monster who came out of absolutely nowhere. An Envoy who can go against Semi-Progenitors¡­ When he actually bes a Semi-Progenitor, I¡¯d assume that even Hen Xin and the other gatemasters might not be his opponents."

    "Definitely not!" Lu Yin affirmed. While the ancient gatemasters from the Heavens Sect, like Hen Xin, were incredibly powerful and ranked at the very top of the Semi-Progenitor realm, Lu Yin felt confident that when he became a Semi-Progenitor¡ªno, even before that¡ªhe would be capable of fighting against such experts. As for his senior brother, Qing Ping, the man¡¯s talent was at least equal to Lu Yin¡¯s own, as both of them had been acknowledged by Mister Mu and epted as his disciples. Lu Yin was eager to see how powerful his senior brother would be when he became a Semi-Progenitor.

    It was truly a pity that all the stellr energy had been stolen from the true universe. Even if Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother wanted to break through and be a Semi-Progenitor, it was impossible to know when that would even be possible.

    Arch-Elder Zen left, but before leaving, he mentioned to Lu Yin that the final four cauldrons had been ced in front of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, as these four cauldrons were all that he was missing toplete learning the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. He had already been thinking about searching for thest four cauldrons, and he had not expected them to already be collected.

    "Where is Lan Xian? Is she still here?" Lu Yin asked Kui Luo. Before Arch-Elder Zen hade to speak with him, Lu Yin had asked Kui Luo to bring Lan Xian to him.

    Kui Luo gave a creepy smile. "I''m here, and I personally delivered the invitation to the old man, and old Jiu Yao won¡¯t dare to refuse."

    He winked and continued to say, "Are you sure that you don¡¯t have a thing for that girl? She¡¯s quite the looker, and even if she is a good bit older, that¡¯s not that important for cultivators. There¡¯s no denying that the girl¡¯s a good catch."

    "Don''t even think about it. I just want to talk to her about something." Lu Yin then drove Kui Luo away as Lan Xian approached.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, Lan Xian''s emotions grewplicated. She had only met Lu Yin a few times before, but every single time they met, she was stunned. Theirtest meeting had been far more terrifying than the previous ones; Lu Yin was clearly just an Envoy and was much, much weaker than Lan Xian, but he had instantly leaped into the sky and far surpassed her. Suddenly, she felt rather guilty.

    Lu Yin faced Lan Xian and casually stated, "Give me back my blood."

    Lan Xian looked confused. "What blood?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold as he continued to stare at the woman. "The blood that spilled onto the pir in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall."

    Lan Xian shook her head. "I didn''t take it."

    Lu Yin frowned. "I¡¯ve already had all five Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World captured, and there is nothing I don¡¯t dare to do. What is one less Semi-Progenitor? To be frank, it doesn¡¯t matter who it is in the Fifth Maind¡ªI can deal with them on my own.

    "Last chance: give me my blood."

    Lan Xian stared at Lu Yin, not doubting his words for a moment. "I can''t give it to you, as I already used it."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

    He had always wondered why Lan Xian had been so determined to acquire his blood, though he had also learned that her desire was not limited to Lu Yin¡¯s, as she also craved Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis''s blood. What was the woman working on? Apparently, it was something that even Jiu Yao had no knowledge of.

    Lan Xian thought for a moment before gritting her teeth and exining. "I used it. I¡¯ve been working on extracting the blood of powerhouses for a long time, and it¡¯s because there are too many bloodline inheritances, many of which require blood to even ess the inheritance. You should already know that there are certain people who struggle to produce children. Additionally, the stronger the parents¡¯ cultivation base, the greater the talent of the children often is. It¡¯s even possible for newborns to already have some level of cultivation at birth, and I¡¯ve been studying this phenomenon."

    Lu Yin stared nkly at Lan Xian, looking into her eyes. She calmly met his gaze without any fluctuations of emotions.

    "I¡¯ll have to admit that you make a very convincing argument. I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a long time, actually, ever since you first asked for my blood. Jiu Yao knew that you wanted blood, but not why. This is pretty much a perfect exnation you¡¯ve concocted," Lu Yin slowly replied.

    Lan Xian shook her head while looking bitter about the matter. "I knew that you wouldn¡¯t believe me, but it¡¯s true. If you really don''t believe me, I can make an oath that this is all true."

    Normally, Lu Yin would believe an oath, but he did not believe Lan Xian¡¯s exnation at all.

    There was no way that she had been after his blood for something as simple as research, as she would have never helped and saved him so many times. The most extreme example was when she had acted against Jue Yi and protected Lu Yin after the massive battle against the Aeternals. Then, there was also the time when she had made sure that he survived the dangerous standoff in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. She had repeatedly reminded Lu Yin that he owed her favors, and such clear greed and desperation made it readily apparent that Lan Xian¡¯s motivations went far beyond simple research.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "While I understand that it¡¯s not a good idea to use force to suppress people in a recently united group, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ve always ended up doing.¡±

    "You should already know my family¡¯s history, so you should understand that killing a Semi-Progenitor or two isn¡¯t a problem. Even if Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines needs an exnation for my actions, I already have justification by the fact that you have my blood." He looked back at Lan Xian. "I''ll give you one more chance to tell me the truth, or I¡¯ll kill you."

    Lan Xian''s eyes flickered. "I just told you-"

    Lu Yin took a step, and a terrible bloodlust emanated from him. This was no act. While Lan Xian had indeed helped Lu Yin before, this was a matter that concerned his blood. This was not a joking matter, and if the woman did not give him a satisfactory exnation, he would not hesitate to kill her.

    Lan Xian stopped in the middle of her sentence and stared at Lu Yin in horror. She could sense that he was ready to kill her at any moment without any regard to the potential consequences. After all, there was no one in the entire Fifth Maind who could stop Lu Yin from killing whomever he wanted. At this moment, Lu Yin wielded the power of a Progenitor, and it would not be a problem for him to kill a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lan Xian¡¯s heart started racing faster and faster as Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent grew stronger. He was just about to attack-

    "I can give you back the blood!" Lan Xian blurted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around to stare at her. "You couldn¡¯t use it?"

    "It was useless." Lan Xian ground out between her gritted teeth. Her face was pale, and her veil had fallen away to reveal her exquisite features. She held her three-stringed instrument in her arms.

    "Was it useless, or did you not have enough time to use it?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Given the current situation, Lan Xian had no choice but to honestly answer all of Lu Yin¡¯s probing questions. "I didn¡¯t have enough time. I''ll give you back your blood, and we can settle the debt for the various times I¡¯ve helped you some other way."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You¡¯ve already had my blood for over ten years since you got it in the main hall, and yet you¡¯re iming that you didn¡¯t have enough time to use it? I don¡¯t believe that at all, and who knows how the blood might affect me if I take it back. I won¡¯t take that risk, so tell me why you didn¡¯t have time, or die."

    Lan Xian grew angry. "Now I can''t even give it back to you? I swear, I never touched it!"

    "Last chance." Lu Yin''s voice was like ice from the rampant killing intent that filled it.

    Lan Xian¡¯s breathing grew ragged as she felt the pressure from Lu Yin. He slowly started resonating with the stars of the universe with the Cosmic Art, and the pressure of a Progenitor descended. Lan Xian was terrified, and she had no doubt that Lu Yin had the power to end her life in an instant, just like how he had killed two of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. Desperate, she asked, "But what if you don''t believe me?"

    "That''s your problem! Make me believe you¡ªif you can¡¯t, you will die!" Lu Yin roared. Lan Xian¡¯s mind trembled.

    She had never considered facing such a dilemma. She was a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and even if Jiu Yao tried to press her for an answer, she could have simply used the first exnation that she had given Lu Yin. Who in the universe could force the truth from her lips?

    Unexpectedly, Lu Yin had crossed her path. If she had known of this risk, she would not have antagonized him before. Despite risking herself to help him on multiple asions, all of Lan Xian¡¯s efforts still proved insufficient for her to keep her secret.

    "Blood Alchemy!" Lan Xian only managed to force out two words.

    However, Lu Yin was confused by her answer. "Blood Alchemy? What¡¯s that?"

    Lan Xian deliberately put her veil back in ce. "It¡¯s a technique that I happened to stumble across when I was young. It¡¯s a truly miraculous technique, and it allows a person to extract some of a person¡¯s abilities and inherited powers through refining their blood."

    Lu Yin frowned. Could such a technique be real? No matter how he thought about it, it sounded too weird. He stared at Lan Xian. Should he believe her, or not?

    "It''s all here! There¡¯s no need for me to lie to you," Lan Xian¡¯s voice grew weak.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Why would you want to extract the inherited powers of a person?"

    "In a fight, such a thing can save your life," Lan Xian replied.

    Lu Yin stopped believing her at this point. "I''m just an Envoy, so what would be the point in using the power of my Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    "Of course that would be useless, but your Lu family''s inherited power epasses far more than your Champions¡¯ Stage! Your strength is truly peerless, so if I can extract a bit of that power and incorporate it into my own strength, I could potentially defeat opponents far stronger than me. With Sky Garan¡¯s blood, I can use the Garan family¡¯s unique power," Lan Xian exined. Still terrified that she would not be believed, she removed a drop of blood from her cosmic ring. As she did so, she clenched her jaw as though in physical pain. These were secrets that not even Jiu Yao was privy to.

    "Watch." Lan Xian stared at the drop of blood in front of her face and lifted her hands. As delicate, snow-white fingers circled around the drop, the blood was consumed, and only a pale blue light remained behind.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes as he stared at the pale blue glow. Sure enough, it was indeed the Garan family¡¯s unique power. Lan Xian was actually telling the truth about being able to extract inherited abilities from blood.

    This was a really odd technique.

    The blue light only persisted for a few breaths before disappearing, and once it vanished. Lan Xian¡¯s voice sounded exhausted. "Blood Alchemy isn¡¯t an easy technique to master, and it¡¯s even harder to actually use. The power that can be extracted from the blood is also not predictable, and it¡¯s even possible to gain nothing at all. Sky Garan is a member of the legendary Garan n, which has a powerful bloodline. On top of that, he¡¯s a direct member of the family from the Heavens Sect Era, so his blood has the highest chance of unlocking that power. If I had used another person¡¯s blood, I might not have been sessful."

    "Where did this technique evene from?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Lan Xian answered bitterly, "I only picked it up by ident from the Mara River."

    "Endless River?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Lan Xian nodded. "That''s what you call it here in the Fifth Maind, but in our Sixth Maind, we call it the Mara River."

    The Mara River was what fed the reverse waterfall that fell upwards from the Starfall Sea in the Fifth Maind to the Sixth Maind.

    Since the river was directly connected to the Starfall Sea, it meant that the technique might have drifted from the Starfall Sea into the Mara River where Lan Xian had found it.

    There was no way for Lu Yin to not consider this possibility, as various oddities and treasures had always appeared in the Starfall Sea. Some were from the Sixth Maind, others from the Perennial World, and still more from ancient eras. All were washed in by the rivers.

    This was also why Undying Yushan and Undying Zishan had risked their lives to visit the Starfall Sea all those years ago. There were always people searching the Starfall Sea for treasures.

    Lu Yin was amazed. "There are too many weird things in the universe. Your Blood Alchemy technique is really amazing."

    Lan Xian was still staring at Lu Yin. "It¡¯s not something that you need to learn. Your heritage from the Lu family is iparable, and you won¡¯t get any benefits from extracting abilities from other people''s blood."

    "That''s what I was thinking, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it might not be useful in the future," Lu Yin answered. What was left unsaid was very clear: he was interested in Blood Alchemy.

    Lan Xian shook her head. "I can teach you the technique if you really want, but you really don''t need it."

    Lu Yin ended his resonance with the stars of the universe while studying Lan Xian. "Honestly, is my blood that tempting to you? You¡¯ve helped me again and again to the point where even Jiu Yao found it weird. Just the exnation that you¡¯ve given so far seems a bit far fetched."

 Chapter 2110: Bone Grafters

    Chapter 2110: Bone Grafters

    Seeing that Lu Yin still did not believe her story, Lan Xian was forced into a corner. "Blood Alchemy can be used topletely rece someone¡¯s blood."

    Lu Yin was startled. If this was true, then this might be Lan Xian''s true goal. Regardless of how powerful the Lu family''s blood might be, it was not worth the price that Lan Xian had been willing to pay. However, if she could rece her own blood with that of the Lu family''s, it was possible that she could awaken the Champions¡¯ Stage innate gift. Such a transformation held an incredible appeal.

    "Not only that, but I also haven¡¯t opened my three meridian points yet. If I change my blood, that will essentially let me restart my life, and I can try to open my three meridian points with the same level of difficulty as an Enlighter, which means that the whole thing will be quite easy," Lan Xian said casually. With everything that she had already revealed, there was no reason to not just open up and share everything. If Lu Yin wanted Blood Alchemy, then Lan Xian¡¯s best bet was to make the technique seem as impressive as possible and thereby increase her own value.

    Lan Xian was sessful in her attempt, as Lu Yin had be quite excited by this point. His excitement did not stem from his desire to rece his own blood, but rather because this technique had the potential to help various people. Also, it was possible that Blood Alchemy might be useful for him to use in the future for some n or another. Lu Yin always preferred to thoroughly prepare when scheming, and something like Blood Alchemy could help him greatly with such preparations.

    One dayter, Lu Yin opened his eyes and stared at his hands. He had learned how to use Blood Alchemy, but Lan Xian had not been exaggerating; Blood Alchemy was not an easy technique to use, and it also required an impressive amount of time to use. However, Lu Yin did notck time to cultivate at all. However, this was not the time to focus on Blood Alchemy, as there were several people he needed to meet with. Even the matter of absorbing thest four cauldrons¡¯ energy had been pushed back.

    Silver smiled as he approached Lu Yin. Every single time, his vulpine smile gave off a creepy vibe.

    "Sometimes, I really want to punch you," Lu Yin indifferentlymented.

    Silver just shrugged. "Captain, I''m your man, so there¡¯s no need to be mean."

    Lu Yin stared at Silver. "I''ll give you a chance to tell me what I want to know. You won¡¯t get another opportunity."

    He finally felt confident showing such an arrogant attitude towards anyone.

    Silver''s eyes widened slightly as he stared at Lu Yin. The smile never slipped from the man¡¯s face, but a hidden coldness entered his eyes. "Captain, have you heard of the bone grafters before?"

    Lu Yin frowned. This was something else that he had never heard of before. As a person¡¯s strength and status rose, their knowledge and ess to various secrets would proportionately increase.

    In the past, it would have been impossible for Arch-Elder Zen to ever mention how he had witnessed a meeting between Ancient God and a direct descendant of the Lu family to Lu Yin. Lan Xian simrly would have never been willing to share any information regarding Blood Alchemy, and Silver would have never said a word about the bone grafters.

    People needed to rely on themselves, and the higher they climbed, the farther they would be able to see.

    "Exin," Lu Yin ordered.

    Silver ducked his head. "Bone grafters are an ethnic group that¡¯s essentially been wiped out for ages. I¡¯m thest member of our race. We have a unique ability, which is that we can freely rece our bones and skeletons and grow our bodies over the bones of powerhouses."

    This was startling information. So, there were people with even this sort of bizarre ability?

    "Every life form remains consistent in that the outside strengthens first, and then the inside, but we¡¯re different. We select the bones of powerful experts to rece our own. How should I exin this¡­? For us, selecting new bones is like changing clothes, and by using more powerful bones, our strength increases drastically. As for our flesh itself, we don¡¯t ce much importance on it at all." Silver maintained his smile throughout his exnation.

    Lu Yin listened in silence, learning about a strange race of humans.

    "Even before I met you, Captain, I was already a Hunter, and I had already selected the bones of a powerful Semi-Progenitor from the Daosource Sect era. I reced my bones right before the Astral Towerpetition, only to find that it was still not enough to catch up to your rate of improvement. Thus, I had no choice but to rece my bones again," Silver continued.

    "Because both sets of bones I used came from the Specter n, I¡¯m naturally also a part of the Specter n. However, unlike a true member of the n, I have no sense of belonging or loyalty to the family."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Silver. "That¡¯s why you were able to so casually betray the Neohuman Alliance, the Specter n, and even Jue Yi: it¡¯s because you never truly belonged to any of them."

    Silver smiled. "That¡¯s right. Who knows? Maybe one day I¡¯ll find the bones of a powerhouse from the Lu family. Then, you and I will be rtives, Captain!"

    Lu Yin suddenly moved. His hand gripped Silver¡¯s neck, and he started to squeeze. The man¡¯s neck snapped, and his head dangled in a disturbing fashion that made Silver look like a corpse.

    His eyes grew dull and colorless, but the same smile as ever remained on his face. The smile grew increasingly disturbing, and it quickly looked like the grin of a corpse.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back and stared at Silver.

    He watched as the broken neck twitched, and then Silver¡¯s arms moved as his hands rose to straighten the dangling head. There was a click as something reconnected, and the creepy smile suddenly became brighter than ever. "Do you believe me now, Captain?"

    Lu Yin had not only broken Silver¡¯s neck, but he had also destroyed all the meridian¡¯s in the man¡¯s body with a jolt of force. A normal cultivator would have been instantly crippled, but Silver showed no sign of difort or negative effects. It truly did seem like his body was as disconnected from his true self as a set of clothes he wore.

    "I really want to kill you," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    Silver sighed. "I know. Anytime people learn I¡¯m a bone grafter, that¡¯s always their first reaction. I¡¯m not surprised, Captain, as that¡¯s just the fate of my race."

    Lu Yin felt absolutely horrified by the concept of bone grafters. These people grew stronger and increased their own cultivation with the bones of the dead. That was a terrifying ability; while things would be fine as long as they had the bones of normal cultivators, if they obtained the skeleton of a Semi-Progenitor, as Silver had, a bone grafter could instantly reach the same level ofbat strength as Chu Yuan and the other ancient Dao Chosen. If Silver managed to find the bones of a Progenitor, or even worse, the bones of one of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao, he would instantly be an incredibly powerful expert.

    "Captain, we¡¯ve always been misunderstood by other people. While it¡¯s true that we can be stronger by recing our bones, how easy do you think it is to get the bones of a true powerhouse? It¡¯s basically impossible to find the bones of a Progenitor, let alone actually acquire them. People are more afraid of us than they need to be." Silver shrugged in a somewhat helpless manner.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Ever since I first met you on Earth to now, you¡¯re the person whose strength has improved the most. Looking back, I risked my life multiple times to acquire my current strength, but you just needed to change your bones."

    "But the bones of such powerhouses are the rarest treasures, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m already using the best bones I could find, and it took an incredible amount of effort to get them. Honestly, even if I was given the skeleton of a Progenitor, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to use it,¡± Silver replied.

    Lu Yin could easily understand why the bone grafters had been almostpletely wiped out. It was not just their method of cultivating and developing, but also their very identities.

    Silver had used the bones of a powerful expert from the Specter n to be a part of the Specter n, which indicated that if he found the bones of a powerhouse from the Lu family, he would be able to be a part of the Lu family, right? Even without possessing the blood of the Lu family, having the bones of the family aplished the same thing.

    Lu Yin suddenly smiled at a though; Lan Xian possessed Blood Alchemy while Silver was a bone grafter. Between the two, they were able to rece both the bones and the blood.

    Wait¡ªBlood Alchemy matched the abilities of the bone grafters too perfectly. Could they be connected?

    Lu Yin gave Silver an odd look, and Silver started to get quite ufortable from the strange stare. Silver was supposed to be the one making other people ufortable with his stare.

    "What are you going to do with me, Captain?" Silver asked. He made sure that his smile never slipped from his face.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Silver. "What do you want me to do with you?"

    Silver responded, "There¡¯s something that I forgot to mention to you before. The truth is that, when you were in Aeternus Nation, Shaman God wanted to transform you into a corpse king first. However, I suggested that we first make you a member of the Specter n before transforming you into a corpse king. If not for me, the process order would have been reversed."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. What was this all about?

    "Even after you absorbed more death energy than should have been possible, your eyes never changed to look like ours, but I assured Shaman God that nothing was wrong and encouraged them to trust the process. I mentioned to you that we were headed to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum, as how else would you have been able to n your escape? How could you have ever gotten away from Aeternus Nation?" Silver recounted with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled slightly. "So, are you saying I owe you a favor?"

    Silver shrugged. "I just want you to understand that we¡¯ve never been enemies. We weren¡¯t before, and we won¡¯t be in the future either."

    Lu Yin dismissed Silver with a wave of a hand.

    Silver was a threat, and Lu Yin did not fully believe the man¡¯s words. Whether they would eventually be enemies all depended on what might happen in the future. Still, Lu Yin was not terribly bothered by the idea of Silver bing an enemy. While Silver had the strange abilities of a bone grafter, there was also Liu Shaoge with his inscrutable mind. With the recent addition of Chu Yuan, who was a truly peerlessly talented individual, Lu Yin¡¯s life would not be boring in the future, as he had several rivals to keep him sharp.

    At the moment, Lu Yin had no ns to eliminate any of the three.

    All kinds of different cultivation methods had appeared since the dawn of humanity, and regardless of how odd they might be, all of them were still human. As long as there was no irreconcble grudge where only one person could live, Lu Yin did not want to casually kill people and be desensitized to it. Stil, he would do so when it was necessary.

    Some good examples were Wang Si, Xia Ji, and others. He would never let go of his grudges against those people despite the fact that they were Semi-Progenitors. In fact, he would pursue revenge even if they became Progenitors.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan started to twitch. Elder Gong was sending him a message.

    ¡°Your power is from the Cosmic Art." The man seemedpletely confident.

    Lu Yin did not deny it. "Good guess."

    In the Neoverse, Elder Gong grew extremely excited. "So it¡¯s really true! Progenitor Chen did leave behind an incredible power that doesn¡¯t lose out to the Rune Progenitor¡¯s legacy, and it really is the Cosmic Art and that pattern!

    "How far have you mastered the Cosmic Art now?"

    Lu Yin was honest, "I¡¯ve mastered the fifth level, and I need to start on the sixth."

    "Work on that as soon as you can. As your mastery of the Cosmic Art increases, you¡¯ll be able to exert more and more of the power that Progenitor Chen left behind. Given Progenitor Chen''s unrivaledbat strength, the power that you can ess is enough to ensure the safety of the entire Fifth Maind," Elder Gong replied.

    Lu Yin responded, "This junior understands. If there¡¯s nothing else, I need to meet with someone."

    "Wait!" Elder Gong quickly sent. "When will you be able to return the pattern to my Cosmic Sect? You won¡¯tpletely use up all the power that Progenitor Chen left behind, right?"

    Elder Gong was not entirely sure just what sort of power Progenitor Chen had left behind, but that did not matter. If the power was exhausted, it would be the same as when the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power faded away after it activated in response to the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion. If the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power had not been exhausted, it would have appeared during the Aeternals¡¯ invasion, and a suppression of runes would have appeared at the same time as the mentalwork.

    Lu Yin took a moment to consider the question. "I really don¡¯t know how much power Progenitor Chen left behind, but you can rest assured that this junior will use the power properly and to the greatest effect. As for returning the pattern, that might have to wait until I fully master the Cosmic Art. All I know now is that I still need a higher level of mastery before I can do that."

    Elder Gong sighed. It seemed they were still stuck. They had not been able to force Lu Yin to return the pattern even when he was an Enlighter, so with his new status and strength, it was simply impossible. "Just make sure that you stay safe."

    "This junior understands," Lu Yin sent back. The call ended, and Lu Yin left. Destina hade to visit.

    After the Heavenly Gates conference ended, the gatemasters had all left one after another. Lu Yin had already nned to discuss things with Lu Buzheng and the others before reaching out to Destina to talk about Big Sis. Destiny¡¯s heir was very strange, and Lu Yin did not want to act rashly without first getting to know the woman a bit more.

    However, Destina had approached Lu Yin first this time.

 Chapter 2111: Lu Yin And Destina

    Chapter 2111: Lu Yin And Destina

    A meteorite that had been quietly floating through Earth¡¯s sr system came to a stop. Destina stood on it, and she gazed at Earth with a strange expression.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the meteorite.

    Destina looked over. To most people, she maintained the appearance of a white cloud, but Lu Yin was allowed to see the woman¡¯s true appearance.

    "Dao Chosen, were you looking for me?" Destina spoke slowly as she gazed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin politely responded, "How did you know, Senior?"

    "I am Destiny¡¯s heir," Destina answered with a smile. She obviously had the appearance of a very cute and young girl, but her eyes held such depths that she had the impression of being able to see through all things.

    Lu Yin stared into Destina''s eyes. "Destiny¡¯s heir. So why did you choose to support me?"

    Destina shook her head. "I didn''t choose you. You fought and obtained my support for yourself. I would have given the same support to anyone who became the Dao Chosen."

    "Why?"

    "Destiny¡¯s choice."

    "What has Destiny chosen?"

    "The future."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. "Can you see the future?"

    In the past, he would not have believed in such a possibility, but he had personally traveled through time and space, and hade to believe that nothing was impossible. Destiny had been able to see a person''s future and past, and it was very likely that this ability was rted to time itself. If one could see the past, then they could also see the future.

    Destina shook her head. "Destiny can, but it¡¯s beyond me."

    Lu Yin continued, saying, "In the past, the Starsibyl Sect did a divination, and they imed that humanity would eventually suffer a catastrophe. They asked me to protect them at that time. There was also a person named Xuan Jiu who uses Heaven¡¯s Enigma to divine prophecies, and he said that I¡¯m a terribly unlucky person and that anyone who follows me will suffer. Tell me, which of the two divinations should I believe?"

    Destinaughed. "They¡¯re both the same vision of the future, so why choose one?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "They¡¯re the same vision? One wants me to protect them, which means that they want to remain close to me, and the other says I¡¯m an unlucky person and that no one should get close to me. How can both of these be the same divination?"

    Destina replied, "What if those divinations were looking at different locations within the same timeline?"

    "What does that mean?"

    "Xuan Jiu told you that you are an unlucky person, but he never said that you cannot ovee that disaster. The Starsibyl Sect hopes for you to protect them, but they never mentioned that they wanted your protection at the beginning of the cmity they foresaw, let alone mention your luck."

    Lu Yin then understood. "So, are you saying that the Starsibyl Sect''s divination was at a muchter point in time than Xuan Jiu¡¯s?"

    "Perhaps. They have their own methods of divination, while I have my own. Even if Destiny herself were here, her methods and results might not be the same as any of the rest of ours," the woman exined.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Then I have to trust Destiny."

    Destinaughed. "But I¡¯m the one who can help you right now."

    Lu Yin looked at the woman with a somber expression. "Please tell me the truth: why did you announce that you would help whoever became Dao Chosen?"

    Destina replied, "Divination."

    "What did you see?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Destina suddenly grew solemn. "I spent twenty years divining the future of humanity, and one result that I saw is the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword representing the heavens."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed.

    "Those words mean something quite simple: whoever holds the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword will represent the heavens, and the sword will only appear in the hands of the Dao Chosen," Destina exined.

    Lu Yin sighed deeply. Each of these fortune-tellers were more cryptic than thest. However, Lu Yin was dealing with Destina, and it was impossible to force her to reveal her secrets as he had done with Lan Xian. If Lu Yin needed to kill someone, it was possible to use Progenitor Chen''s power; even Destina could not resist that power. But would killing or threatening her with death aplish anything?

    Destina was also willing to help Lu Yin.

    "Senior-" Lu Yin started, but Destina stopped him.

    "There¡¯s no need to address me as Senior. Just call me Destina."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Destina, what''s wrong with Big Sis?"

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s true motivation for wanting to speak with Destina. Twenty years ago, she had captured Big Sis and forced her to be Destina¡¯s disciple. Lu Yin needed to understand why.

    Destina showed no surprise at the question. "Do you know Lei Qingqing?"

    "Of course."

    "Her appearance changes frequently, right?"

    "It has something to do with her cultivation art," Lu Yin replied. This was the story that Highsage Leon and Big Sis had always told everyone, though Lu Yin already knew that the truth of the matter must be something different.

    Destina shook her head. "It has nothing to do with her cultivation art, though that is also one exnation. Her changes are a seque of training in too many cultivation arts. We refer to such seque as Everchanging."

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he blurted, "Everchanging Y¨­u Ming?"

    A smile appeared on Destina''s face. "That¡¯s right. She is Everchanging Y¨­u Ming from back then."

    Lu Yin was stunned. This was far more shocking than seeing the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Was Big Sis actually the Ancient Progenitor Everchanging Y¨­u Ming?

    The current era knew almost nothing at all about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, and only people who had lived at the same time as the woman could possibly understand just how terrifying she was. After all, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been one of the Ancient Progenitors, along with the God of Death and Destiny herself.

    When Lu Yin had visited the Y¨­u family, he had been told that, if not for the Y¨­u Secret Art, even they would not have believed that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had ever existed.

    Lu Yin had asked the Starsibyl Sect to do a divination regarding Undying Yushan, but the result had pointed to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    Undying Yushan, the Undying Manual, the Y¨­u Secret Art, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, and the eyes that had always been spying on the Y¨­u family. These various connections would horrify anyone, and Lu Yin had never imagined there would be a connection to Big Sis as well.

    Big Sis had been dealing with a changing body ever since Highsage Leon had first found her. No one could exin why such a thing had happened to her, but no one had ever considered a connection to Everchanging Y¨­u Ming. However, after considering various recent developments, it seemed that it might not be impossible.

    "Is she really Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?" Lu Yin asked again while staring at Destina in disbelief.

    Destina replied, "When I awoke in this era, the first thing I did was look for her. Progenitor Y¨­u Ming is someone from the same generation as the God of Death and Destiny. She¡¯s someone who has gathered countless techniques and merged them together into the Impious Sutra, which epasses everything. If the Sword Monument that Wu Tian created includes every weapon-based battle technique, then the Impious Sutra is aprehensive catalogue of every odd or unorthodox battle technique."

    "Why were you looking for her?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I epted her as my disciple. Didn¡¯t you know that, Dao Chosen?"

    "Didn''t you just say that the Impious Sutra contains unorthodox battle techniques? I would have thought that you rather get rid of Big Sis," Lu Yin said.

    Destina gave a small smile. "Since the Origin Progenitor himself allowed Progenitor Y¨­u Ming to live, it proves that she never did anything to harm humanity, so why would I want to target her. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to ept a powerful ancient Progenitor as my disciple? What if she recovers some day? I will benefit greatly from such an investment."

    Lu Yin was impressed. This was Destiny¡¯s heir, truly a master of investing in the future.

    "How did Progenitor Y¨­u Ming be Big Sis?"

    "I have no idea. Before I was frozen, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming was still the ancestor of the Y¨­u family."

    "So you won''t do anything to harm her?" Lu Yin asked, staring intently at Destina.

    The woman responded with her own question. "Dao Chosen, do you not believe me? No matter what, I have already epted her as a disciple. She is now free, and I won¡¯t restrict where she goes."

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. "Do you know the ancestor of the Yu family?"

    "I seem to remember such a person, but back then, he was not a Progenitor, but rather just a Semi-Progenitor," Destina replied.

    It was only normal for there to be differences between the past that Lu Yin knew of and the era that Destina had lived in. There was no way that all the Progenitors Lu Yin knew of had been Progenitors when Destina had lived.

    "What about Ce Wangtian?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Destina was surprised by this question. "He was a Progenitor, and an extraordinary one at that, but Destiny once said that he was a bit of a slippery person."

    Lu Yin stared at Destina. "You should know Heaven¡¯s Enigma."

    Destina smiled slyly and blinked her eyes. "If I tell you yes, would that be saying that the Starsibyl Sect holds some of Destiny¡¯s inheritance?"

    Lu Yin did not deny the insinuation, as it was exactly what had urred to him. He had investigated the origins of the Starsibyl Sect before, but he had not learned anything at all. They were too mysterious a group.

    Starsibyl had once told Lu Yin that she did not believe in the existence of Destiny. But if those words were true, then there was no way that the Starsibyl Sect had any connection to Destiny. On the other hand, when Lu Yin had asked Xuan Jiu for his fatesand, he had mentioned that it was a remnant of Destiny. Why had Xuan Jiu collected fatesand? He pursued Heaven¡¯s Enigma, which left only a single possibility: Heaven¡¯s Enigma had some connection to Destiny.

    When Lu Yin had seen Starsibyl standing behind Destina during the Dao Chosen selection, he had immediately made several guesses about their connections.

    It was possible that the Starsibyl Sect itself was some inheritance left behind by Destiny.

    "Dao Chosen, there are certain things that I need to look into myself, and I cannot reveal everything to you, especially matters concerning fate and Destiny. Only I can determine what can affect such matters," Destina stated.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "I don''t want to get involved with Destiny, but I would like to ask you for a favor: please perform a divination on someone."

    "Undying Yushan?" Destina immediately asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "Did Starsibyl mention that to you?"

    "I¡¯ve looked into various things about you over the past two days. The Starsibyl Sect now belongs to me, and what they know, I know. I am aware of everything that you have learned through the Starsibyl Sect."

    "So you already knew how surprised I was going to be upon learning that Big Sis is actually Everchanging Y¨­u Ming."

    "The Undying Manual does indeede from the Impious Sutra, and the Impious Sutra was created by Progenior Y¨­u Ming. However, after so many years have passed, no one knows what happened to the Impious Sutra. Not even Destiny is omnipotent. Undying Yushan has managed to stay hidden for this long, and all traces of him that existed on Earth have vanished. It¡¯s difficult for even me to find the man."

    Lu Yin had a growing headache. Even Destina would struggle to find Undying Yushan? What was the man trying to do?

    Also, while there had been evidence of the man¡¯s activity on Earth, Destina reported that all such traces had disappeared. This meant that there truly were no clues regarding the man at all, and everything had been erased after Lu Yin told Wang Wen to secretly send some people to keep an eye on Earth. Undying Yushan was quite cunning; even Hen Xin had been tricked by Wang Wen and Wei Rong, but Undying Yushan had managed to slip away.

    Dai Ao and the other moles had not joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate after the agreement to make the decision be based on the results of a team battle. The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had always been exceptionally cautious, and they had not allowed anyone who had joined the Heavenly Gate after the agreement to join the representative team, regardless of how much promise the people might have shown. Dai Ao and the others had all joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate before any agreement had been made.

    Darkvoid was the first mole who had been sent into the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate after it had been founded, and his presence had been Wei Rong''s automatic response to the establishment of the Heavenly Gate. Unexpectedly, Darkvoid had been lucky enough to be selected by Hen Xin to be a member of the ten person representative team.

    "Dao Chosen Lu, is there anything else that you would like to ask?" asked Destina.

    Lu Yin raised a finger. "Do a divination for me on one word, one person, and one object."

    Destina found this quite funny. "Do you believe that it''s easy for me to perform divinations?"

    "It¡¯s at least much easier for you than it is for the Starsibyl Sect. I¡¯m mostly curious to see what the extent of Destiny¡¯s heir¡¯s abilities is," Lu Yin replied.

    Destina shook her head. "Divinations are not easy to perform, and given your position, any divination that you request will be extremely difficult. Thus, you¡¯ll have to forgive me for not agreeing."

    "In that case, tell me what fatesand really is," Lu Yin countered. He had not expected Destina to agree to his request, since they both knew that the things he wanted divined were not simple at all.

 Chapter 2112: Three Steps

    Chapter 2112: Three Steps

    Destina looked at Lu Yin, her eyes burning with emotion. "Fatesand is nothing more than a rare treasure rted to Destiny¡¯s cultivation method. I encountered it in the past even before I was sealed. It''s nothing overly rare, but it can allow you to connect with Destiny. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve gathered quite a bit of fatesand, Dao Chosen Lu. Would you like me to connect you with Destiny?"

    "Where is Destiny?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina answered with a bitter smile, "How could I possibly know where Destiny is? However, if you are willing, you can give me your fatesand, and after I put it all together, I might be able to divine Destiny¡¯s location, though there¡¯s no guarantee of sess."

    How could Lu Yin possibly give his fatesand to Destina? Even if he wanted to, it was impossible. The star-like dots within his chest with the twoma-shaped bits orbiting around them were what remained of Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand that had been dposed.

    This thought left Lu Yin a bit flustered, as Destina would not be able to use this disintegrated version of fatesand.

    Despite how casually the woman brought up the possibility of finding Destiny, how could anything that could connect a person to the Ancient Progenitor be a simple matter? It was possible that fatesand was one of Destiny¡¯s most precious legacies that had been left behind.

    Also, the dposition of his fatesand could not be med on Lu Yin, as he did not possess the ability to break down fatesand. It had only happened because he had been stabbed by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    Wait a second¡­ Lu Yin suddenly thought of his die¡¯s ckhole Dissassembly. Maybe he could actually dpose fatesand.

    Lu Yin did not want Destina to notice anything, so he quickly sent her away.

    After Destina left, the person that Lu Yin had been waiting to speak with approached, as was only natural.

    After disappearing for twenty years, the first thing that Lu Yin had done after returning was to go into seclusion. He had numerous matters still pending, and many people whom he needed to meet. Out of everyone Lu Yin needed to see, Zhao Ran was definitely among the most important.

    "Your Highness, you¡¯re back!" Zhao Ran was thrilled to see Lu Yin, but she was also somewhat upset. "Without you around, no one drinks my floral teas."

    Even as the girl spoke, she pulled out a ss of something green from her cosmic ring. Lu Yin looked at it and saw what appeared to be a centipede moving around. He had no idea what sort of nts had been used to make this tea or how it had been prepared, but Zhao Ran offered the ss to Lu Yin as though it were a priceless treasure. "Your Highness, I specially prepared this tea for you!"

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched as he met Zhao Ran''s expectant eyes. He could not bear to tell her no, but he did manage to avoid the matter for a moment. "Zhao Ran, you actually still remember me?"

    Zhao Ran happily replied, "I do! Your Highness is the one who took me in. Every once in a while, I still look at my previous memories that are recorded in my gadget and that slip of jade. Your Highness has always treated me the best!"

    "Do you happen to remember someone called Ku Jie?" Lu Yin asked.

    The girl showed obvious confusion. "Who¡¯s that?"

    Lu Yin stared at Zhao Ran, and her guileless eyes that showed nothing but confusion and questions. She perfectly demonstrated herck of memory. "Ah, Your Highness! Your tea is getting cold! It won''t taste very good if it''s cold."

    Lu Yin arched a brow and nced around. There was absolutely no one around to help him with this burden. He picked up the floral tea from where he had set it and could not resist using Truesight to inspect the drink. He was relieved to see no runes at all. It really was just tea, though the tea leaves were shaped to look like a centipede. The girl¡¯s drinks were bing more and more terrifying each time.

    Progenitor Ku had also suffered Lu Yin¡¯s fate in the past.

    As Zhao Ran eagerly watched, Lu Yin forced himself to take a sip, only for him to discover that the floral tea surpassed any of Zhao Ran¡¯s previous concoctions. There was a hint of bitterness, and the taste was truly indescribable. It was a drink that would leave anyone feeling refreshed. "It''s delicious."

    The honest response delighted Zhao Ran. "Thank you, Your Highness! I¡¯ve been studying many different kinds of floral teas. Would you like another one to try? I¡¯ll go get it ready right now!"

    Before Lu Yin could even respond, Zhao Ran had run off.

    Zhao Ran remained the same as ever, no matter how much time passed. She was the same young woman Lu Yin remembered from twenty years before. She waspletely carefree and only thought about making her floral teas. There had once even been a time when she had forgotten to deliver a mary gift that had been left with her for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. The girl most likely really did not remember anything, but just what sort of rtionship had she had with Progenitor Ku? ording to what Progenitor Ku had said, Zhao Ran was waiting for someone, but who?

    The fact that Zhao Ran had apanied Progenitor Ku proved that her past was far from simple. Also, she always seemed to be able to track Xuan Jiu down wherever he went.

    After seeing Zhao Ran, the next person on Lu Yin¡¯s agenda was Xi Qi, as well as the fish that rode atop her head.

    Xi Qi was extremely nervous when she saw Lu Yin, but also quite happy. Lu Yin had been an acquaintance of her¡¯s for a long time. At that time, Xi Qi had actually been an even more skilled Lockbreaker than Lu Yin. One of the first lockbreaking videos that Lu Yin had watched was when Xi Qi had opened a sourcebox to find her vile fish.

    "Brother Lu." Xi Qi quietly greeted Lu Yin, though her eyes were bright with excitement. Every time she met this man, he waspletely different from before. Now, even Semi-Progenitors have to listen to him. He was a living legend.

    Over thest twenty years, Xi Qi had heard many legends of the Heavens Sect era, and yet she had always remained confident that none of those historical powerhouses could surpass the Big Brother Lu she was familiar with. He was a true living legend, and the same would have been true even if he had lived during the Heavens Sect era.

    Smack!

    "Hey, familiar two-legged beast! We meet again. Why is that? Do you want to be Lord Fish¡¯s mount? I can tell you now that you¡¯re already toote. The number of two-legged beasts that want to be Lord Fish¡¯s mount outnumber the stars in the sky¡ªyou¡¯ll die waiting for your turn." The obnoxious fish immediately spoke up, constantly pping Xi Qi with his fins and hurting Xi Qi.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Why had nothing changed at all? Two decades had passed, and with this much time, Xi Qi should have been able to develop a battle technique to turn her head into an iron te to deal with the fish. "It¡¯s been a long time. I-"

    Lu Yin was abruptly interrupted by the fish raising its tail to point at Lu Yin. "However, Lord Fish finds you pleasing to the eye, and no matter what, you are a familiar two-legged beast. Lord Fish will allow you to join his team. Despite having Lord Fish as her master, this girl is just improving too slowly, and Lord Fish has lost his patience."

    Xi Qi panicked, and she quickly covered Lord Fish''s mouth. "Quiet! Big Brother Lu will turn you into stew if you upset him."

    The nasty fish flopped up and down, constantly pping Xi Qi''s head. The young woman¡¯s face clearly showed how miserable she was, and how much she felt like a victim.

    "Let him go. After all these years, I already understand your situation, and I won¡¯t get upset with the fish," Lu Yin said with a reassuring smile.

    Xi Qi let a sigh of relief escape, and she quickly apologized in a soft voice, "Brother Lu, I''m sorry. Even though it¡¯s been so many years, its mouth and attitude have only gotten worse."

    Lu Yin looked at Lord Fish, and Lord Fish stared back at Lu Yin. "Hey, isn''t this that familiar two-legged beast? So we meet again! Come, show Lord Fish your respects! If Lord Fish is in a good mood, you may be able to be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin looked away. This fish already had unreliable memories, and it was even worse than amon fish. It had already forgotten its earlierments regarding Lu Yin, though the fish did recall that it had met with Lu Yin in the past. "I once saw a fish that was massive beyond anything else I¡¯ve ever seen."

    "As if it could be bigger than Lord Fish¡¯s body!" the fish arrogantly replied.

    Lu Yin waspletely serious as he replied, "Of course. That fish was much bigger."

    The rude little fish became upset. "Familiar two-legged beast, you¡¯ve never even seen Lord Fish''s true body! Let me tell you, Lord Fish can swallow the sun and moon, mountains and rivers, stars and the universe! Lord Fish even took a bite out of the Mother Tree itself when he was at his peak! Huh? The Mother Tree? Where did the Mother Treee from? Lord Fish bit a tree? When?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "That fish enjoyed teasing an eagle that roamed the universe, and it yed tricks in the Origin Progenitor¡¯s garden."

    "Bullshit! You stupid two-legged beast! Who would dare to y with that broken bird aside from Lord Fish! Wait, what broken bird? Broken bird? Little Birdy? Yes! Little Birdy! Where is Little Birdy? Come on, Little Birdy. Come on! Get over here and catch Lord Fish. It¡¯s not good to make Lord Fish wait and frown¡­"

    Xi Qi''s ears hurt from all the yelling, so she quickly covered the fish¡¯s noisy mouth.

    Lu Yin stared at the fish in shock. Those were the exact same words that the Arkfish had yelled at the Origin Progenitor¡¯s eagle in that massive garden when they were traveling through time and space in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall. Lu Yin had assumed that Xi Qi¡¯s nasty fish might be a descendant of the Arkfish, but Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions suddenly took an abrupt turn. Could it be? Was it even possible? Could this rude little fish actually the Arkfish?

    It was notpletely impossible. After all, Chu Yuan and everyone with him had been sealed within a sourcebox since the Heavens Sect era, and they had only been released after the sourcebox was opened. Simrly, Xi Qi had unlocked a sourcebox to find her miserable fish.

    If his conjecture was true, then the horrible fish atop Xi Qi¡¯s head should be the Arkfish that Lu Yin had heard of in the Perennial World¡¯s legend. The creature that stood equal to the eagle that perched atop the Mother Tree. Just the thought caused a gasp to escape Lu Yin, as this was too much to even consider.

    He quickly sent someone to find Chu Yuan, as he was the only one of the ancient Dao Chosen to have personally met the Origin Progenitor, and he should have also met the Arkfish at that time.

    Over the years of watching Lord Fish beat Xi Qi without mercy, Lu Yin had originally sympathized with the girl, but she had endured the abuse for decades. Was it really possible that she was incapable of getting rid of the fish? That might not be the case. It was possible that Xi Qi was actually unwilling to part ways with the fish.

    Lu Yin suddenly started carefully studying Xi Qi. Due to Lu Yin¡¯s rapid progress, he had not even noticed that Xi Qi had already be an Enlighter. While such progress was undeniably slow whenpared to Lu Yin, just how many members of the younger generation throughout the entire Fifth Maind were capable of bing Enlighters? Twenty years ago, only the Ten Arbiters had reached that level, and even several more youths had joined them after twenty years, it was still an important threshold that exceptionally few could cross.

    Xi Qi did not have impressivebat strength, and she was also not very talented at cultivating. Despite both of those obstacles, she had already be an Enlighter. Lu Yin could not believe that such rapid progress had no connection to the horrible fish, no matter what anyone imed.

    After all, it would be foolish to endure decades of bullying and torture from a fish, carrying it everywhere each day like a mount. Most people would not be able to endure such treatment, regardless of the potential benefits.

    "Xi Qi, what did that fish promise you for you to have stuck with it for so many years?" Lu Yin just brought up what he was thinking. Regardless, it was Xi Qi¡¯s choice whether she answered. Even if the mouthy fish really was the Arkfish from the Origin Progenitor¡¯s garden, it had nothing to do with Lu Yin.

    Xi Qi suddenly acted ashamed. "It¡¯s guiding me to be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. "You actually believe it?"

    The fish instantly red at Lu Yin. "What is that supposed to mean, familiar two-legged beast? Are you saying that you don''t believe Lord Fish? You won¡¯t be convinced unless Lord Fish gives you some guidance! Fine, just wait a moment-"

    The fish suddenly cut off. Lu Yin was expecting something from the fish, and he quickly used Truesight, but the fish did nothing at all.

    Xi Qi answered in a soft voice. "I believe it. The president once said that my talent will allow me to easily progress with lockbreaking, but that I would struggle with regr cultivation. I was told that I would need at least a hundred years to reach the Enlighter realm, and that¡¯s assuming I have unlimited resources. However, the fish has helped me by pointing out my weaknesses when cultivating, and that¡¯s allowed me to be an Enlighter. So, yes, I believe it."

    Lu Yin nodded. Apparently Xi Qi¡¯s sess really was because of the fish. It was a lucky opportunity that she had unlocked the creature from a sourcebox.

    While Lu Yin was listening to Xi Qi and studying the fish with Truesight as it spouted nonsense, Chu Yuan arrived. He had not returned to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate with Hen Xin, as Chu Yuan was not actually a member of the Heavenly Gate. The two had only been cooperating, and since they had failed to achieve their goals, there was no need for further cooperation. Thus, Chu Yuan had remained close to Earth.

    He had rushed over as soon as he had received word that Lu Yin wanted to see him. Chu Yuan was also eager to speak with Lu Yin.

    However, as soon as Chu Yuan saw Lu Yin, he had heard a familiar, irritating voice. It was a voice that he would never be able to forget no matter how long he lived, and it also had not been that long since hest heard it.

    "Did you not hear Lord Fish? If you want to be a Progenitor, there are a total of three steps to take. First, be a Semi-Progenitor. Second¡­" Lord Fish continued his inane babbling.

    Xi Qi cautiously rolled her eyes, as it would be unbelievable if she could even be a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Arkfish?!" Chu Yuan eximed while staring at Xi Qi in disbelief.

    Xi Qi looked at the neer in surprise. Chu Yuan? This was the man who almost everyone had expected to win the Dao Chosen selection.

 Chapter 2113: The Origin Progenitor

    Chapter 2113: The Origin Progenitor

    The obnoxious fish looked over at Chu Yuan. "Hey, you look like a familiar two-legged beast. Has Lord Fish seen you before? Come, show some respect to Lord Fish! Lord Fish will teach you how to be a Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan stared at the fish in a daze. Even if death approached at this moment, Chu Yuan would continue to stare at the fish. They were so close to each other. "You¡¯re still alive?"

    "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to curse Lord Fish? You¡¯re going too far! Girl, kick his ass!" The fish pped Xi Qi¡¯s head.

    Chu Yuan stared at the fish in rising confusion. Was this really that same fish? That fish had been so massive and powerful, while the one that Chu Yuan was staring at could notpare at all. Even though it had the exact same tone and sound to its voice that made anyone who heard it want to cook the fish, it was practically impossible for them to be the same fish.

    "You recognize it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chu Yuan returned to his senses, suddenly remembering Lu Yin¡¯s presence. "It feels just like it, but it shouldn¡¯t be the same."

    "You¡¯re referring to the fish that was in theke in the Origin Progenitor¡¯s garden, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chu Yuan replied, "Didn''t you see that fish as well? Not even the eagle could do anything to it. There¡¯s no way that this is that same fish."

    "Maybe it just lost all of its cultivation," Lu Yin suggested. If Big Sis was actually Everchanging Y¨­u Ming, why was it impossible for Xi Qi¡¯s fish to be the Arkfish? Still, it was not guaranteed to be true, and it might just be some descendant of the Arkfish.

    Chu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. "So this is why you called me over. It doesn¡¯t recognize me, and I can¡¯t tell you whether it¡¯s really the Arkfish. Even if it is, it looks like it can¡¯t remember its own past, so calling me over to check was pretty pointless."

    Lu Yin dismissed Xi Qi, and the sound of Lord Fish¡¯s voice faded away. Lu Yin asked, "I¡¯ve been rather curious as to why you stayed in this sr system."

    "Given your strength, there¡¯s no need for you to be the Dao Chosen," Chu Yuan said.

    Lu Yinughed. "You still want to be the Dao Chosen? Destina supports me, so even if you do be the Dao Chosen, it won¡¯t mean anything."

    Chu Yuan raised his head high. "This is the first step to my perfect n for my life: first, be the Dao Chosen. Then, after getting the Heavenly Gates¡¯ gatemasters to follow me, take control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Finally, I will be a Dao Monarch."

    "You¡¯re thinking too much. You¡¯re in a good position right now, given that you¡¯re the strongest of our generation aside from me. However, that doesn¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll be a Progenitor. Besides, it¡¯s not that easy to take control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas," Lu Yin countered.

    Chu Yuan''s eyes flickered. "Have you already tried it?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Yes, and I failed."

    "I will not!" Chu Yuan remained confident.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Perhaps, but obtaining those inheritances isn¡¯t dependent on your cultivation. Still, even if you do manage to be a Progenitor, I¡¯ll do the same. You will always remain beneath me. Your n isn¡¯t perfect anymore."

    Chu Yuan clenched his fists. This really had been his n for the perfect life, and he had been utterly confident in aplishing each step. However, the person in front of him had overpowered him, and it was impossible for Chu Yuan to defeat Lu Yin. An absolute monster had been born in this era, and it was still difficult for Chu Yuan to ept Lu Yin¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin was a bit disgruntled when he saw the ugly expression on Chu Yuan¡¯s face. Lu Yin was quite familiar with this expression, as he had started to see it on other people¡¯s faces when he had first be the champion of the Astral Combat Tournament, and then again when he had started to climb the Top 100 Rankings. Things had only gotten worse when Lu Yin had be one of the Ten Arbiters and one of the Cosmic Five, let alone after he defeated the four Junior Progenitors. Every step of the way to Lu Yin¡¯s current status, he had stepped on his peers in order to climb higher, and he was only too familiar with the expression on Chu Yuan¡¯s face.

    The only value that Chu Yuan held for Lu Yin was the fact that Chu Yuan had once met the Origin Progenitor himself during the Heavens Sect era.

    "What kind of person is the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    ¡­

    After Chu Yuan left, there was a weird look on Lu Yin¡¯s face. Was that really what the Origin Progenitor had been like?

    There was no point dwelling in the matter. Regardless of what sort of personality the Origin Progenitor had had, it had nothing to do with Lu Yin.

    He pulled out Zenith Mountain and entered it.

    He had actually intended to release all the captives still trapped on Zenith Mountain earlier, especially Xing Kai, but Hen Xin had never even asked about Xing Kai. Most likely, Hen Xin assumed that Lu Yin had already killed Xing Kai. After considering the situation for a bit, Lu Yin decided to hold off from releasing anyone until the New Corridor was restored and the connection to the Perennial World was reestablished. That would be the right time to start releasing the prisoners.

    This also meant that Lu Yin¡¯s captives would have to wait for a bit longer.

    Long Xi was the sole exception, but she had no desire to leave.

    When Lu Yin entered Zenith Mountain, he first arrived close to Long Xi. He wanted to take Sapling away, as he felt that it was unfair to the young tree to keep it locked away for too long.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived on Zenith Mountain, in addition to seeing Long Xi and Sapling, Lu Yin noticed Xia Taili¡¯s presence. As soon as she noticed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, she ground her teeth and leaped to her feet to attack, only to be easily stopped by Lu Yin. "Attack me again, and I¡¯ll literally lock you up."

    Xia Taili stared at Lu Yin. "What''s the difference between that and my current state?"

    Lu Yin answered by simply tossing her far away.

    Sapling was jumping up and down, and it quickly twined its little branches tightly around Lu Yin''s fingers. It gripped Lu Yin much tighter than ever before. It had already learned its lesson; Lu Yin had told Sapling during hisst visit that he would take Sapling away from Zenith Mountain, but it had not happened. Sapling had no intention of letting go of Lu Yin this time.

    "Take it with you. It''s bored," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin nodded. "And what about you? Don¡¯t you want to leave?"

    "How are things going out there?"

    "Everything¡¯s stable for now."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "You arepletely rxed, which means that you¡¯ve managed to gain the advantage out there, right? In that case, what happened to the Perennial World¡¯s forces in the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin fell silent for a moment before answering, "I captured all of them."

    This was exceptionally surprising to Long Xi. She had assumed that Lu Yin had managed to gain a favorable position, which indicated that the Perennial World¡¯s forces were likely not in the best situation. However, she had not expected to hear that Lu Yin had captured all of them.

    At the moment, the Aeternals were the enemy of all humanity, so even if Lu Yin wanted to deal with the Perennial World¡¯s forces sent to capture him, it should have been impossible for him to do so at this time. Unless¡­

    "The Aeternals are no longer a threat?" Long Xi was shocked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "At least for now, the Fifth Maind is safe. Unfortunately, there is still no stellr energy in the true universe, and no one has any ideas how to fix that. Humanity¡¯s cultivation as a whole is stagnating, but we¡¯re lucky that some powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era have appeared, and the inheritances that they¡¯ve brought with them have helped relieve a bit of that stagnation."

    "How are you nning on dealing with the army sent by the Perennial World?" Long Xi asked.

    This was something that Lu Yin still had not decided upon. Given that the army had been sent to kill Lu Yin, he normally would not be willing to let them go. Unfortunately, killing those people would most likely have a very bad impact on the current situation in the Fifth Maind. Regardless of Lu Yin¡¯s enmity with the four ruling powers, killing their army would only be publicly perceived as Lu Yin killing his ownrades, and that was a nightmare to deal with.

    There were certain people who would never give up any opportunity to discredit him, and that would make it difficult for Lu Yin to maintain control over the Heavens Sect.

    Also, regardless of how unwilling Lu Yin was to just kill everyone from the Perennial World, he also could not simply let them go free. There was an inescapable hatred that existed between the Lu family and the four ruling powers. Could Lu Yin really be swayed from his need for revenge just because the four ruling powers had actively fought against the Aeternals? If that were true, then what remained to motivate Lu Yin to resist the four ruling powers and stay alive?

    To save the Fifth Maind, the Lu family had been willing to suffer eternal infamy while they worked to keep the Aeternals out. Despite those efforts, the four ruling powers had moved to exile the entire Lu family. They had to pay the price for their crimes.

    Lu Yin had no desire to be a martyr to appease people, but he also refused to be the cause for humanity¡¯s civil war.

    This was Shaman God''s entire n, and it made it impossible for Lu Yin to pursue revenge or simply give up on it.

    "Semi-Progenitors were not nearly enough to deal with the Lu family," Long Xi stated.

    Lu Yin looked up and met Long Xi¡¯s eyes. He understood what she was getting at.

    The hatred between the four ruling powers and the Lu family did not simply stop with the Semi-Progenitor powerhouses. Even if Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers insulted and hated the Lu family, their exile had nothing to do with Semi-Progenitors at all. Lu Yin¡¯s real enemies were the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors.

    "The Progenitors are definitely the biggest problem, but these Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers and all the cultivators who insulted my Lu family are also part of the issue. If not for them, the Perennial World would have never grown to hate my Lu family. It¡¯s impossible for the Progenitors to personally act to spread propaganda, and spreading such hatred and lies is not a minor crime. In particr, that old whore Wang Si has to die!" As soon as Wang Si was mentioned, killing intent zed in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Long Xi said, "The four ruling powers are absolutely determined to kill everyst member of the Lu family. Still, they can¡¯t just ughter everyone who is loyal to the Lu family."

    "Are you talking about the Star Alliance?" Lu Yin pped a hand to his head. He had almost forgotten about the Star Alliance, which was an entire army of Envoys who were loyal to the Lu family or simply hostile towards the four ruling powers. The four ruling powers could not simply kill these people, so they had been sent to fight on the main battlefield against the Aeternals, left there to either die or be forgotten.

    The Star Alliance had inspired Lu Yin when his Great Eastern Alliance had first formed the Redemption Army. Why had he suddenly forgotten all about it? If not for Long Xi''s reminder, Lu Yin would not have remembered them at all.

    Ni Huang, Xia De, Bai Laogui, Wang Si, and Xia Ji were five Semi-Progenitors, and they and the rest of the army sent from the Perennial World could be added to the Redemption Army to fight against the Aeternals. They would be Lu Yin¡¯s sharpest de against humanity¡¯s greatest enemy.

    The Redemption Army remained the same as ever, and the only difference was that while it had previously belonged to the Great Eastern Alliance, the alliance was gone. This meant that the army now belonged to the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin remained the person in charge of the Redemption Army.

    Long Xi felt rather helpless, but she felt like she had no other options. If it came down to Great Elder Ni Huang being killed by Lu Yin or this, it would be far better for him to join some organization that resembled the Star Alliance. Then, at least the old man would have a chance of surviving.

    Given the White Dragon n¡¯s overall power, they would not have any real problems saving Ni Huang in the future, and this option also gave Lu Yin a chance. It would keep him frompletely destroying any potential rtionship with the White Dragon n.

    Long Xi did not want to see Lu Yin be the White Dragon n¡¯s irreconcble enemy. This was her own selfishness.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin took Sapling with him and left Zenith Mountain.

    Sapling acted a bit nervous upon returning to the outside world, and it kept its twigs tightly wrapped around Lu Yin, and it would not let him go. Only after Lu Yin took Sapling around to y for a long time did the tree recover.

    "Where''s that big tree that keeps trying to run away?" Lu Yin sent a question to Wang Wen with a wireless jincan.

    Wang Wen checked into the matter. "We don¡¯t know. It ran away after we relocated out here. Bror was the one looking after it, and he reported the matter, but who could spare the time to worry about a tree back then?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He would just forget it. It was just a moving tree that had escaped. There were too many bizarre things in the universe, and Lu Yin had too many mysteries that were more important to unravel. He simply did not have the time to spend searching for that tree.

    Sapling went to look at Ancestor Tortoise, clearly very curious about the giant beast.

    Lu Yin quietly watched as Sapling yed around. Looking at the little tree left Lu Yin feeling happy and rxed.

    Sapling bounced around as though it were dancing, and it showed no sign of tiring even after ying for a long time.

    Lu Yin took Sapling to y on the back of Ancestor Tortoise, and then out into outer space before finally visiting Earth. There, Lu Yin reserved an area for Sapling to y. Lu Yin intended to finish absorbing the cauldron energy from thest four cauldrons to finish learning the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.

    Some time after Lu Yin left, Sapling grew bored. Lu Yin was gone, and so was the big tree, so there was no one for Sapling to y with. Its branches drooped, and it looked like the tree was contemting its life.

    After some time in this position, the green branches suddenly rose back up, as though Sapling had just thought of something. There was a slight shaking, and then Sapling slowly disappeared. It was not gone, as it had simply entered the true universe.

 Chapter 2114: Seizing Stellular Energy

    Chapter 2114: Seizing Stellr Energy

    Even without any stellr energy, the true universe still existed, as it was an actual ce in the universe. The only thing that had changed was that it was almostpletely devoid of stellr energy.

    After Sapling entered the true universe, it instantly felt that something was wrong. The power that had felt sofortable in the past was gone. No, it was still there, but very, very far away. Regardless, this ce was also boring.

    Elsewhere, Lu Buzheng led Lu Yin to where the four cauldrons had been gathered.

    "When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect shattered and the four cauldrons were sent into the Fifth Maind, they were brought back here after the Heavens Sect was established. They were mostly saved here because no one was able to get anything from them at all," Lu Buzheng exined.

    Excitement filled Lu Yin''s eyes, as there was no longer anyone to stop him.

    Lu Buzheng stared at Lu Yin. "The legend of Nine Cauldrons existed even in the ancient era. It was said that the full technique from all nine cauldrons is invincible, but even in the Heavens Sect era, all that anyone knew was that the technique was known as the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. No one has ever managed to train in the technique, so you¡¯re the first even for us.

    "Show me the technique when you finish. Is it truly invincible?"

    Lu Yin had not expected to hear that the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation had been a huge mystery even during the Heaven Sect era, as both Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis had known about it. This was really strange.

    Chu Yuan had used a secret technique that froze time in order to stack multiple shes of his de in a manner that could theoretically produce unlimited power. The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation had the same potential, but it did not require the power of time.

    "Third Uncle, who created the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "I don''t know. It wasn¡¯t created by any of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao, so no one ever really believed that it was a genuinely invincible battle technique. The only reason why the technique was highly regarded was because no one ever managed to learn it. Once you finish with your training, even people like Destina will be very curious to see the results."

    "Third Uncle, have you ever heard of a battle technique called Origin Tracer?" Lu Yin asked another question. He hoped to be able to learn more about Mister Mu''s identity through Lu Buzheng. Mister Mu had told Lu Yin that he had created both the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation and Origin Tracer. If this were not true, it would have been disgraceful for Mister Mu to make such a im.

    Lu Buzheng shook his head again. "Never heard of it."

    Lu Yin was disappointed. He was very curious about just who Mister Mu really was. All that Lu Yin was certain of was that Mister Mu was at least a Progenitor, and a powerful one at that. Mister Mu had once mentioned that it would not be easy for him to deal with Corpse God, but that was all. Not easy waspletely different from impossible.

    Even though Lu Yin had not learned Corpse God¡¯s original identity, he was still one of the Seven Skygods, all of whom were extremely ancient powerhouses. Mister Mu was able to deal with even the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies, which meant that his strength was unimaginable.

    Also, ckless God had recognized Mister Mu, and Wu Xing, who was Undying God, had also seemed to recognize Lu Yin¡¯s master. Did that mean that only Progenitors knew of Mister Mu?

    Lu Yin wondered if the Progenitor of Bloodlines knew who Mister Mu was.

    "Third Uncle, I''m going into seclusion to finish learning the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation," Lu Yin stated.

    "Train hard. I¡¯ll keep an eye on the Heavens Sect, and when you leave seclusion, I¡¯ll give you a breakdown of things ording to how the original Heavens Sect operated."

    "Thank you," Lu Yin replied.

    Suddenly, both men¡¯s heads whipped around in unison. They were not the only ones to do so; at the same time, Kui Luo, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, the Sea King, Liu Qianjue, and many others turned to stare in a very specific direction. Stellr energy?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. That way? Sapling?

    He instantly took off.

    Lu Buzheng was far faster than Lu Yin. After all, the older man was a Semi-Progenitor, and regardless of how much Lu Yin had improved, it was still impossible for him topare to a Semi-Progenitor without relying on the inherited power from Progenitor Chen.

    "What the hell?" Lu Buzheng was nkly staring at a green sapling that sat in the true universe.

    Kui Luo arrived as well. Is- is that nt trying to fight the droplets for the stellr energy it devoured? And it¡¯s actually winning?

    Everyone had been stunned and drawn over because they had sensed a bit of stellr energy. No one had been able to recover any expended stellr energy ever since the true universe had been drained twenty years ago. Even battle techniques that used stellr energy or star energy were unusable, as the energy was stolen from the techniques as they were being used. Despite all of that, how was some little tree actually extracting stellr energy from one of the mysterious droplets?

    When Lu Yin arrived, he anxiously requested, "Third Uncle, old man, help me hide it!"

    People started to appear as soon as Lu Yin finished speaking. These people were the Envoys in Earth¡¯s sr system, most of whom had formerly been part of the Great Eastern Alliance. Of course, people like Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis also arrived.

    The Heavens Sect was being constructed in Earth¡¯s sr system, so it was where the greatest number of powerhouses had congregated out of anywhere in the Human Domain.

    "What are you all looking at? Have you never seen the Dao Chosen cultivate before?" Kui Luo yelled, and the power of a Semi-Progenitor swept out and pressed down upon everyone.

    All the people who had just arrived stared at Lu Yin as he emerged from the true universe. There was no one who was not stunned.

    "Alliance Leader¡ªno, Dao Chosen, were you just cultivating?" Ling Taizu asked. As early as twenty years ago, the Lingling n had moved to Earth¡¯s sr system, along with the rest of the Great Eastern Alliance.

    Lu Yin nced around at the people who had gathered. "I was just cultivating. No need to kick up a fuss."

    Everyone was startled. Cultivating? Kick up a fuss? They had just felt stellr energy appear!

    "Were you able to steal back some stellr energy?" Chu Yuan asked in shock. After he had been released from the sourcebox, he had immediately noticed the absence of stellr energy, as well as the massive battle in the western region of the Innerverse, but he had not taken part. Instead, he had gone to the Daosource Sect ruins to search for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swor.

    Still, Chu Yuan was well aware that all the stellr energy in the current era had been swallowed and stolen. It was impossible for even Chu Yuan to regain any stellr energy, no matter how hard he tried. Just how had Lu Yin pulled this off?

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "What''s the big deal? Head on back."

    No one had recovered from the shock of what they had just learned yet.

    Lu Yin may have simply lost twenty years of time, but the rest of the universe had not. They had lived through twenty years of being unable to restore even the slightest bit of stellr energy, so it was only natural for them to be stunned by such a revtion. Even Semi-Progenitors like Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo were still stunned, let alone the Envoys.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was known for aplishing impossible feats, and he also held a unique position. No one could force him to speak if he did not want to, so there was no choice but for everyone to leave.

    However, this was far from the end of the matter, as everyone wanted to understand exactly what had just happened and what they had sensed.

    If stellr energy could be pulled away from the droplets, then human cultivation would change yet again. This was a very serious matter that concerned the entire human race.

    After everyone else left, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief as a sapling appeared and leaped into his arms. Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo both stared at the nt. Sapling was suddenly startled by the two men¡¯s presence, and it leaped behind Lu Yin, only to expose a green leaf. It looked like it was peaking around Lu Yin.

    "What is that thing?" Lu Buzheng asked dryly.

    Kui Luo had already known about Sapling, but no one had ever mentioned to him that the little tree could absorb stellr energy, let alone fight the strange droplets for stellr energy. This was something beyond the capabilities of even the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Lu Yin did not know how to exin what had happened. After all, even he was shocked that Sapling could rip stellr energy away from the droplets, but he realized that it only made sense after thinking about it. Sapling was a miniature version of the Mother Tree, and the Mother Tree was a pir of the universe. Lu Yin had seen the ancient Heavens Sect era, and even with the Sky Pirs¡¯ support, not a single part of the Heavens Sect had been able to rise above the Mother Tree.

    The Mother Tree was the center of the known universe, and it was possibly older than even the primordial era.

    With the power of the Mother Tree, it was not unbelievable that stellr energy could be ripped away from the strange droplets of liquid.

    However, how was Lu Yin supposed to exin this matter to the two Semi-Progenitors?

    "I don''t know how to exin this. Just know that this is rted to Sapling¡¯s special ability." Lu Yin pursed his lips as he tried to give a bit of an answer. Since he could not exin Sapling¡¯s existence, he did not even try to exin what had happened. Sapling was a Mother Tree, and this was Lu Yin¡¯s greatest secret. He could not share this information with anyone.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "If you don''t want to tell us, then just say it."

    "I don''t want to tell you," Lu Yin said bluntly.

    Kui Luo grinned and stared at Sapling. A burning desire zed in the old man¡¯s eyes, but they were not the mes of greed, but rather of curiosity. Kui Luo desired knowledge of the unknown, and his greatest desire was to unravel secrets. It was clear that at this point in time, Sapling was more important and precious to Kui Luo than any other mystery.

    Lu Buzheng stared at Sapling for a long moment. "If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, it¡¯s fine. Everyone has some secrets they can¡¯t share."

    He then started physically dragging Kui Luo away. "Let''s go. This is his affair."

    Kui Luo could not ept this. "Boy, tell an old man! I promise not to tell a single soul! Never! How ¡®bout it?"

    Before Lu Yin could even open his mouth, Lu Buzheng literally dragged Kui Luo away. "No one would ever talk about something like this. You want to steal a junior¡¯s secrets? Shameless!"

    "That¡¯s bullshit, old man! I¡¯m just curious, that¡¯s all."

    "It''s fine to be curious. Time to go."

    "Little Lu, I¡¯ve helped you so many times before; just tell me!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin watched the two men leave and then looked down at where Sapling¡¯s vibrant green leaves were touching his chin. They were cold and itchy, but they also felt veryfortable.

    Lu Yin praised the little tree, "You¡¯re so good! You can even steal stellr energy from those things!"

    Sapling was thrilled to hear Lu Yin¡¯s praise, and it started to leap about in its typical happy manner.

    Lu Yin squatted down and touched Sapling¡¯s green leaves. The tree quickly calmed down and simply enjoyed the touch.

    "Hey, if you get bored, go ahead and grab more stellr energy like you did just now. The more you take, the better." Lu Yin smiled gently.

    Sapling raised its leaves and then mmed them down. It was nodding in a very human expression.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯d be even better if you could condense the stellr energy that you steal into stellr liquid."

    Sapling did not understand, so its leaves started to droop.

    "It''s fine. Just do whatever you like. Go and y for a bit, and I¡¯ll take you somewhere new to y soon," Lu Yin said.

    Sapling raised a branch to tickle Lu Yin''s chin. It showed Lu Yin that it was dependent on him as it hopped and trailed after Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Sapling was actually capable of condensing stellr liquid or not, but he would not try to force anything. Still, it would be great if Sapling was capable of doing so, as it would provide more stellr energy for Lu Yin to use.

    The reason why Sapling was able to steal stellr energy from the droplet was mostly due to the fact that it had absorbed Leaf King''s body. Sapling¡¯s real body was actually massive, though it was impossible for it topare to the true Mother Tree.

    If Sapling were the size of the real Mother Tree, then the stellr energy stolen by the strange droplets would be nothing more than mere water droplets.

    Lu Yin might have kept the fact that Sapling could steal stellr energy from the droplets a secret, but he had already exposed himself. It was not long before everyone learned that Lu Yin was able to snatch stellr energy from the droplets.

    Over the next few days, people continued to ask about the incident, and it led to a hugemotion.

    In order to escape the hassle, Lu Yin went into seclusion. He had already nned on doing so, but he had been interrupted by Sapling¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin took Sapling with him to where the four cauldrons sat. This was where Lu Yin intended to remain in seclusion, and Sapling was able to steal the devoured stellr energy from this location. Even if anyone sensed anything, they would merely attribute it to Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, and no one would even consider that Sapling might have anything to do with the matter.

    Before Lu Yin went into seclusion, Lu Buzheng gave him a brief run-down of the system the ancient Heavens Sect had operated by. Then, Lu Yin had asked Wang Wen to work with Lu Buzheng to start implementing certain things so that Lu Yin could address matters after leaving seclusion.

    ¡­

    The four cauldrons floated silently in the air, each one showing signs of countless years of erosion.

    These signs of age had not been noticeable in the Daosource Sect ruins, as everything had looked ancient and decaying. But outside, the age of the four cauldrons could be readily seen.

 Chapter 2115: Shadow Of The Past

    Chapter 2115: Shadow Of The Past

    Lu Yin appeared within one of the four cauldrons in a sh, and he immediately started to absorb cauldron energy. This was the sixth cauldron.

    He found it a pity that it was impossible to store the cauldrons in a cosmic ring, as that meant that he could not take them with him into his Timestop Space. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have been able to save a great deal of time.

    As Lu Yin proceeded to absorb cauldron energy, more and more rumors about his ability to steal stellr energy from the mysterious droplets spread across the Fifth Maind.

    The news startled Hen Xin. "Can he recover stellr energy?"

    A man who was missing his right arm stood in front of Hen Xin. His name was Hen Si, and he was a member of Team Resolution. In a low voice, he answered, "There are no doubts."

    Hen Xin looked northwards. This Lu Yin kept revealing more and more surprises. He had proven himself to be truly peerless during the Dao Chosen selection, and then he had seized control of the entire Human Domain by revealing that he had somehow managed to inherit the power of a Progenitor. He had sessfully eliminated the threat of the Aeternals, and at this moment, he had revealed that he was the only person capable of essing the stolen stellr energy. Would it really stop there? This development suggested that it was possible for Lu Yin to eventually provide stellr energy to others as well.

    Despite his annoyance that Lu Yin had ruined his ns and even captured Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors, Hen Xin could not help but admire the young man. He had aplished feats that were beyond even the Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect era.

    Even if Lu Yin were tossed back into the Heavens Sect Era, he would still be the only true Dao Chosen. Even with Chu Yuan¡¯s power of time, he was unable topare to Lu Yin. Which of the two would have met with the Origin Progenitor was unclear.

    Hen Xin¡¯s wireless jincan suddenly twitched. It was a message from Lu Buzheng.

    Hen Xin observed the message, and as he did so, his expression grew sharp. He had known that this day would eventuallye, but he had not expected it toe so soon.

    After all, the rebuilt Heavens Sect was designed with the same structure as the ancient Heavens Sect. During their original era, the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates had held a high status, but they had not wielded any true authority. Their sole duty had been to guard the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    The Heavens Sect had established a Daosource Sect on each end of every one of the Six Mainds. The Twelve Heavenly Gates had represented the entire human race, and the gatemasters¡¯ duty had been to simply guard the Heavenly Gates. The running and management of the Heavens Sect itself had had nothing at all to do with the gatemasters.

    In the current era, the reestablished Heavens Sect had already be the most powerful force in the Human Domain, so it was only natural that Hen Xin wanted to control it. However, the appearance of Lu Yin had changed everything. He had the power of a Progenitor and the authority to represent the heavens. With this abrupt development, the Twelve Heavenly Gates¡¯ gatemasters would eventually be relegated to the same responsibilities that they had shouldered during the original Heavens Sect era.

    The message from Lu Buzheng had been an announcement that all of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s resources needed to be handed over to the Heavens Sect, where they would oversee it all, including Aurora Enterprises, the pyrolyte mining efforts, and more.

    "Master, are we just going to give up?" Hen Si asked softly.

    Hen Xin looked up. "Our goal all along was to rebuild the Heavens Sect and then control it. We¡¯ve lost, and thus, we¡¯ve lost our right to make decisions. This is only fair. Lu Yin¡¯s proven that he has the strength and ability to rise to his current heights, and it¡¯s important to learn how to ept defeat."

    Hen Si lowered his head, as he was not willing to ept this oue. No one from Team Resolution had any familial ties, and all of them had been born tomon families and risen to their current status. Once anyone received such authority, they would be addicted to it, and the members of Team Resolution were no exception. The only thing that had remained consistent was their unwavering loyalty towards Hen Xin was so strong that it overshadowed their desire for power. "This subordinate understands. I will pass on the word and send them out."

    Hen Xin resumed staring northwards. It was an easy decision to let go of the holdings that he had acquired and submit in defeat. This was a gamble. Lu Yin, this is just the beginning, not the end! Once I be a Progenitor, all who belong to the Heavens Sect will have no choice!

    There was no stellr energy in the current era, which meant that Hen Xin was one of the few powerhouses still capable of attempting to break through and be a Progenitor.

    He would allow Lu Yin and his people to establish and strengthen the Heavens Sect. Then, after Hen Xin became a Progenitor, he would assume the position of authority.

    The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were not Progenitors, and Hen Xin was confident that he would be able to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas after his breakthrough. Only Progenitors had the right to decide matters of the Heavens Sect, as they were the ones with true authority.

    This matter was just a little way into the future, and Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng¡¯s efforts would only make things easier for Hen Xin in that future.

    Far away, Jue Yi had also learned that Lu Yin was able to replenish stellr energy, and Jue Yi¡¯s reaction was just as strong as Hen Xin¡¯s.

    "Can he really recover his stellr energy?" Jue Yi seldom lost hisposure. Most people who cultivated with death energy were rather expressionless, but Lu Yin had caused Jue Yi to lose control of his emotions too frequently.

    The current Undying Heavenly Gate was based in Gaia''s Swamp, as it was the only location in the entire Fifth Maind that was publicly known to have death energy.

    Tian Dou, the current patriarch of the Specter n, stood in front of Jue Yi. "Yes. Word of this has already spread, though no one knows what method he used to steal the stellr energy from those droplets. However, this means that he has be the sole person in this era who can use stellr energy normally."

    Jue Yi''s expression fell. Stellr energy was toomon a cultivation method in the current era, as practically all cultivators relied on it as the standard method, though it had been no different during the Heavens Sect era. However, while everyone else was focused on the startling information that Lu Yin could ess stellr energy, Jue Yi was thinking about something else.

    Everyone believed that stellr energy was the mostmon and ordinary of the energies that could be cultivated, but was that really urate? Stellr energy was the power that the Origin Progenitor himself had created, and all of humanity had been blessed by its existence. Did this development mean that Lu Yin was the sole heir of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s power?

    As time passed and the stellr energy and star energy that remained within people¡¯s bodies was gradually used or drained, Lu Yin would eventually be the sole inheritor of stellr energy.

    Lu Yin was able to create death energy, which meant that he was the God of Death¡¯s heir, but he was also the only person to still have ess to stellr energy. This meant that Lu Yin could be regarded as the Origin Progenitor¡¯s heir. He had mastered the powers of multiple Progenitors, which forced even Jue Yi to admit that Lu Yin possessed an exceptional fate.

    Tian Dou calmly stared at the ground. Lu Yin. That was a name that he had sorely missed.

    For thest forty years, all major events within the Fifth Maind had been rted to Lu Yin. Regardless of his own cultivation level, Lu Yin had proven himself capable of participating in battles at every level of power, and eventually, the entire Specter n had decided to entrust their future to the young man. Tian Dou had made a show of expressing his gratitude and loyalty to Lu Yin, but unfortunately, the young man had disappeared for thest twenty years, which had coincided with when the self-proimed disciple of the God of Death had appeared.

    The Specter n had since be Jue Yi¡¯s subordinate.

    "How much do you know about Lu Yin?" Jue Yi suddenly asked.

    Tian Dou replied, "A great deal. His rise to fame started while attending Astral-10 and participating in the Astral Combat Tournament. My n has been paying attention to him ever since, and I believe that Gatemaster Jue should also have a good deal of knowledge of the youth."

    Jue Yi looked over at Tian Dou. "He showed himself capable of using death energy, and yet you haven¡¯t been in contact with him directly?"

    Tian Dou remained calm as he exined, "We have reached out to him, but he never trusted us."

    This was nothing at all surprising. "Find a way to get rid of Silver for me."

    "Understood."

    An ugly expression covered Jue Yi''s face. He had personally trained Silver, only for the young man to betray Jue Yi during the Dao Chosen selection. After that, Silver had hidden himself away in Earth¡¯s sr system. Such a person had to be eliminated. As for Lu Yin, only after he became a Progenitor, would he possess the powers of the God of Death and be the true heir.

    ¡­

    When the strange droplets first appeared in the Fifth Maind and started devouring all the stellr energy in the true universe, the Astral Beast Domain had not been affected. Then, after the passage to the Starfall Sea was sealed off, which was right before Lu Yin disappeared for twenty years, more of those droplets of mysterious liquid had been spread across the entire Fifth Maind. Now, the effect had spread beyond the Human Domain and entered both the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Most astral beasts could grow stronger without cultivation resources, but as the years had passed, many of them had be ustomed to cultivating with stellr energy. Once that energy disappeared, the astral beasts were affected, just not as severely as the Human Domain.

    In the Celestial Beast Empire, Yao Di was sitting across from Skymender. There was a game of chess set up between them, though it was not the version of the game that humans yed. This version of chess was unique to the Astral Beast Domain.

    A short distance away from the two stood Xu Qing, who maintained a respectful attitude.

    Xu Qing was the patriarch of the Void Thunderbeasts, as well as the General of the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s forces. But before Yao Di and Skymender, Xu Qing was simply a junior.

    There was a bang, and the chessboard cracked. Yao Di smiled. "I lost again. That¡¯s nine games that I¡¯ve lost in a row now. My imperial advisor is certainly strict and won''t give any ground."

    Skymender was shrouded with ck shadow, so it was impossible to see his true appearance. "Your Majesty is rushed."

    Yao Di let out a long breath. "Wait too long, and you might end up waiting for someone who never even appears. Move too quickly, and you still lose. What is the imperial advisor trying to say?"

    "Are you ming me, Your Majesty?" Skymender replied with his own rejoinder, but Yao Di said nothing.

    "If you had followed your initial n several years ago, the situation would be different, Your Majesty, and humanity might have beenpletely destroyed. Why did we not take this option twenty years ago? That¡¯s because, without the humans, the Aeternals wille after us. Your Majesty, you should understand this very well. Also, this is not even considering the fact that no matter what happens, someone will step up to lead the humans to fight against us astral beast," Skymender exined.

    Yao Di rose to his feet. "As soon as Lu Yin appeared, he became their Dao Chosen, and he somehow even managed to erase the Aeternals and take control of the Human Domain. He¡¯s somehow able to wield the power of a Progenitor, which is something no one even imagined in the past. What do you n to do about him, Skymender? If he decides toe after our Astral Beast Domain, we will most likely not fare any better than the Aeternals."

    "The humans¡¯ weakness is their own infighting. Without the threat of the Aeternals, their internal conflicts will only be magnified and exacerbated. Lu Yin has taken control of their Heavens Sect, and the first thing that he did was capture five Semi-Progenitors, which perfectly proves this point. Even if you feel rushed, Your Majesty, the Aeternals are under even more pressure. Don''t forget, the most mysterious of the Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods has yet to take action."

    "Whiteless God?" Yao Di felt surprised.

    Skymender quietly stared at the chess board and no longer spoke.

    Yao Di turned to look at Xu Qing, and simply asked, "If you were to face off against Lu Yin again, are you confident in being able to win?"

    Xu Qing''s eyes remained firm. "Yes. I will wash away my previous shame."

    ¡­

    Two monthster, outside of Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum in the Neoverse, the ruins of what had once been the Seven Courtsy in chaos. At this time, the enormous Aurora Fortress started making its way north.

    Inside Aurora Fortress, Director Zhi was staring out into outer space. It was impossible to tell if the man was happy or sad at this moment.

    He was leaving the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, only to be delivered back into Lu Yin''s hands. Aurora Enterprises, which had once been one of the greatest corporations in the universe, was nothing more than a pie that everyone wanted a piece of.

    "Father, can you ask Elder Gong for help?" Zhi Shao asked. Over thest twenty years, the young man who had once been infatuated with racing cars had greatly matured. Director Zhi had given his son time to y around, and the man was finished with such distractions. He had sincee to slowly start taking over the management of Aurora Fortress.

    Unfortunately, Zhi Shao was destined for a tragic fate. Twenty years ago, Lu Yin had essentially taken control of Aurora Enterprises. For thest twenty years, they had been controlled by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. At this moment, they were being returned to Lu Yin.

    As he thought about this series of events, Director Zhi gave Zhi Shao an apologetic look. "I''m sorry that father has failed to give Aurora Enterprises to you."

    Zhi Shao answered in a bitter tone, "I don''t me you, Father. It¡¯s just the times we live in. Is Elder Gong able to help us?"

    Director Zhi shook his head. "If that were possible, we would have never ended up in the hands of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate for so long."

    After a pause, he continued. "Don''t worry. We are already quite familiar with Lu Yin, and as long as we stay with him, we will be fine. He is indeed powerful, but he does not have a bad reputation. There¡¯s a reason why Arch-Elder Zen and the others refused to turn him over to the Perennial World.

    "Still, all of this has been very difficult on you."

    Zhi Shao shrugged. What could his father even do? Being born in this era meant having to deal with a monster like Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2116: Ancient Aura

    Chapter 2116: Ancient Aura

    Twenty years might be enough for people to forget about many things, but no one could forget about Lu Yin, especially those who had witnessed his impressive rise to power.

    Zhi Shao had felt relieved when he first heard that Lu Yin was dead, as no one would befortable living with such an oppressive peer. It had been shocking to learn of Lu Yin¡¯s return, as it waspletely unexpected. Even more, as soon as Lu Yin had appeared, he had taken control of the entire Human Domain. It was just too freakish.

    There was simply no point in resisting such a person, so it was better to just submit. Zhi Shao simply felt lucky that he was not Lu Yin''s enemy, like Ni Huang and Xia Ji. Even though they were both Semi-Progenitors, the two men had still been captured, and no one had dared to protest.

    The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had no intention to refuse to give Aurora Enterprises to Lu Yin, which proved how Lu Yin had managed topletely suppress everyone.

    A month passed, and many resources from all across the Human Domain had already been delivered to Earth¡¯s sr system in the Outerverse. Publicly, all of this was being done to aide the construction efforts of the Heavens Sect and consolidate humanity¡¯s resources. But in truth, everyone knew that it was all being given to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s return had caused many stories about him to start recircting, and his greed for money had always been well known. Countless people quickly prepared all kinds of congrattory gifts for Lu Yin¡¯s appointment as Dao Chosen and representing the heavens.

    The efforts to reestablish the Heavens Sect were in full swing, and resources were being delivered from every corner of the Fifth Maind''s Human Domain. Once the Heavens Sect was fully established, there was no doubt that it would be the most powerful force in the Fifth Maind¡¯s modern era.

    All of history was converging upon a single point, and that consolidation meant that a new Heavens Sect was about to arise.

    It was at this point that Chu Yuan suddenly suggested creating a visualization method based off of the ancient golden characters. This news was like a p of thunder that shook the entire Human Domain.

    In Earth¡¯s sr system, in the area where the Heavens Sect was being built, ancient, golden characters hovered all around each other, and they illuminated an area.

    Lu Buzheng stood nearby, apanied by Liu Huang, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and many other Envoys. Some other cultivators were standing a bit further away, but everyone was staring at a man in the middle of the glowing golden characters. He was Wei An, a young man from the Heavens Sect era who considered himself to be Leng Qing¡¯s disciple. He had defeated both Liu Tianmu and Liu Shaoqiu during the Dao Chosen selection with a de, and he was widely recognized as an impressive genius.

    It was quite unfortunate that Wei An was an independent cultivator who had never received any resources; he could have been much stronger with the support of a family or sect.

    Chu Yuan had suggested that it was possible to visualize the ancient golden characters, and Wei An was the first to attempt it.

    Visualization methods were not unique to the Lu family. During the Heavens Sect era, all of the families that had controlled a Maind had had their own visualization method. Chu Yuan had not possessed a visualization method until he received one during his meeting with the Origin Progenitor, and that was when Chu Yuan had first visualized the Arkfish.

    During the Heavens Sect era, many people had been aware that visualization methods were able to greatly increase a person¡¯s strength. However, very few were capable of using such methods or even understanding the principles behind them.

    Even if Wei An was an exceptionally talented cultivator, he had never learned a visualization method before. It was something that he had yearned after for many years.

    He nced around at the shining golden characters that surrounded him. Wei An chose a particr character and started to visualize it.

    "The power that you receive from your visualization method will have nothing to do with the specific character. Every single character that you see here came from the Origin Progenitor, so what you are visualizing is actually the intention created by the Origin Progenitor," Chu Yuan slowly exined.

    Three days passed, and Wei An was still attempting to create his own visualization method.

    Ten days passed, and a hint of gold started to appear behind Wei An. It was blurry, but if one looked carefully, they would be able to see the visualization of the ancient golden character that Wei An had chosen to focus on.

    After another month, several ancient golden characters had appeared behind Wei An, and during a spar with Lu Lai, Wei An proved that his strength had improved a great deal.

    Lu Buzheng stared at Chu Yuan in amazement. This young man had given humanity a great gift.

    With the revtion that the ancient golden characters could be visualized, the Heavens Sect started to actively gather all of the ancient golden characters.

    When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins copsed, many inheritances had been scattered across the Fifth Maind, like the ancient golden characters, the remaining four cauldrons, and even the Mountains and Seas. The four cauldrons had already been found and collected, and the Mountains and Seas had also been located. However, no one had cared about the ancient golden characters aside from the Wen family, who had tried to search for them.

    However, this recent development caused the entire Human Domain to start searching for the ancient golden characters.

    In the Neoverse, an ugly expression could be seen on Hen Xin''s face. Chu Yuan had never mentioned this method to Hen Xin. If Hen Xin had known about it, he would have been able to provide his Team Resolution with a visualization method and taught it to more of his people, which might have changed the oue of the team battle. If the results of thatpetition had been different, Hen Xin¡¯s name would have gone down in history.

    Each of the former Dao Chosen had kept their abilities and thoughts hidden deeply.

    ¡­

    Another two months passed, the Heavens Sect was still being rebuilt. The Human Domain was searching for any of the ancient golden characters that might still be missing, but there had been no other developments. With the power of a Progenitor on his side, Lu Yin intimated everyone, and no one dared to kick up any sort of fuss.

    On one particr day, an obscure and ancient aura swept out for a moment before instantly disappearing. Despite only existing for a mere moment, the sensation still terrified both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo.

    They both appeared in Lu Yin''s ce of seclusion at the same time, and when they looked at each other, they each saw the shock in the other''s eyes.

    "What was that aura?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Buzheng''s eye twitched. "I don''t know, but it was very, very old."

    "Aren¡¯t you ancient?" Kui Luo was puzzled.

    Lu Buzheng looked away. While he did not know where that ancient aura hade from, it had felt horrifying. He had felt like an ordinary person facing the copse of the universe, or seeing a giant. It was not an easy feeling to describe, but the man was certain that the aura had given him even more pressure than a Progenitor. This was unrted to power level, as it was rather intrinsic to the aura itself.

    Lu Yin looked around the various shattered cauldrons that surrounded him with a calm expression. He had finally finished cultivating the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.

    He looked around and saw that Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo had arrived. Could it be because he had finished learning the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

    Lu Yin had not expected to encounter any drastic changes in the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation afterpleting it, but ording to the name, it made sense for something to happen once the technique was fully cultivated.

    Lu Yin had even shocked himself, and he finally realized that the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation was not as simple as he had believed it to be. He wondered who could force him to use it, as none of his peers could push him that far.

    It had taken Lu Yin half a year to fully absorb the cauldron energy from thest four cauldrons and finish training the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. While Lu Yin was focused on that, Sapling had stolen and absorbed a great deal of stellr energy.

    When Sapling saw Lu Yin moving around, it immediately leaped out of the true universe.

    Lu Yin touched the little tree¡¯s branches. Where did all the stellr energy that this little guy stole go? Most likely, it was all in Sapling¡¯s trunk, as that was how the Mother Tree also functioned. The four ruling powers extracted stellr energy from the trunk and roots of the Mother Tree.

    As Lu Yin thought about Sapling, the little tree shook its branches and leaves, and a drop of liquid slowly appeared among them.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically, and he became extremely excited. Was this really stellr liquid?

    "Did you manage to condense some stellr liquid?" Lu Yin asked in delight.

    Sapling was so proud of itself that it raised its branches high, and the drop of stellr liquid almost fell off of its leaves.

    Lu Yin quickly stored the drop, and then he looked back at Sapling.

    Another drop gathered, and Lu Yin stored that one away as well.

    Sapling continued to condense stellr liquid, and Lu Yin put everything that appeared away. Eventually, he managed to gather enough to fill an entire bottle of stellr liquid.

    Sapling had absorbed quite a lot of the original Mother Tree¡¯s unique substance from Leaf King''s body. Thus, over the course of half a year, the little tree should have been able to absorb as much stellr energy as the Second Nightking¡¯s reserves, and he was a peak Envoy.

    That meant that the bottle of stellr liquid that Lu Yin had gathered was equivalent to what a peak Envoy could store in their body.

    "Is that all of it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sapling¡¯s leaves trembled, and it leaped back into the true universe to continue gathering more stellr energy.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he quickly pulled Sapling back. "If that¡¯s all, don¡¯t worry about it. This is enough."

    Sapling became very happy again.

    Lu Yin looked at the bottle in his hand. It had about as much stellr liquid as the three bottles that he had taken from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ruins altogether. Lu Yin had never used stellr liquid himself, so he had not been entirely sure how much stellr liquid had been in the bottles that he had picked up. He had assumed quite a bit, as his senior brother Qing Ping had asked for two of the three bottles that Lu Yin had acquired. If those bottles had not had much stellr liquid, Qing Ping would not have been interested at all.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood that each bottle had contained close to the same amount of stellr energy as a peak Envoy¡¯s capacity, and he also understood why his senior brother had only asked for two bottles.

    Lu Yin still had the bottle of stellr liquid that he had picked up from the ruins, and he had just gathered a second bottle with the help of Sapling. This was enough stellr energy for others, and even Chu Yuan would be able toplete several breakthroughs, but it was not enough for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took Sapling with him as he left seclusion. Sapling had done a great job, so Lu Yin wanted to y with the little tree a bit.

    Upon leaving, Lu Yin immediately ran into both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo, who were waiting for him. They had arrived because of the aura they had felt.

    "Hey kid, are you done with your secluded training? It wasn¡¯t very long this time either." Kui Luo spoke up the moment he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Have you really just been standing around waiting for me here?"

    "Of course not! I don''t have that much free time." Kui Luo rolled his eyes.

    Lu Buzheng eagerly asked, "Little Seven, what was the aura that we just felt?"

    Sapling hid behind Lu Yin, its leaves fluttering as though it was batting its eyes. It was very cute.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "A battle technique."

    "The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?" Lu Buzheng blurted out.

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded.

    Lu Buzheng was shocked. Before Lu Yin had gone into seclusion, the Semi-Progenitor had mentioned that he and the other ancient powerhouses were all quite curious about the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation and that he wanted Lu Yin to show him the technique after he finished training. Even though Lu Buzheng had not directly witnessed the technique, the aura that he had felt from it was already enough to shock him.

    "The full,bined form of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation is indeed invincible. It was actually true. Just that aura is enough to terrify people," Lu Buzheng muttered to himself. He stared at Lu Yin as though looking at a monster.

    It should have been impossible for a genius to be born in the modern era who surpassed the people of the Heavens Sect era, but Lu Yin had done just that. Lu Buzheng had initially only regarded Lu Yin as an impressively talented person from the Lu family, but as Lu Yin had revealed more of his strength and inherited powers, things had changed. Most recently, the youth¡¯s little tree had revealed its ability to rip stellr energy back from the mysterious droplets, and Lu Yin himself had mastered the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. His aplishments were no longer merely legendary; the youth was simply a freak.

    Even Lu Buzheng, someone from the Lu family who had managed to rise up to be a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gate, felt that Lu Yin was too much of a monster.

    Kui Luo showed his teeth. "Kid, be honest. Just how strong are you now?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "Senior, you don''t know?"

    The two men just stared at him.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Progenitor Realm."

    The two were speechless.

    "Being able to use the power left behind by a Progenitor is not the same as having the power of a Progenitor." Kui Luo rolled his eyes.

    Lu Yin shrugged, but he said nothing in response. "How are things going with the Heavens Sect?"

    Half a year was not much time, but given the strength and abilities of cultivators, a lot could be aplished.

    Kui Luo lost all interest in the conversation when he heard the direction it was going. Instead, he focused on Sapling, studying the odd little tree again and again. However, the old man was unable to satisfy any of his curiosity about Sapling, so he soon left.

    Lu Buzheng raised a hand, showing a gadget on his wrist. He activated it, and an image of the Heavens Sect appeared in the air. "During our era, the Heavens Sect ruled over all Six Mainds, and every Progenitor had to join the Heavens Sect. Semi-Progenitors were allowed to join, but even if they didn¡¯t, all Semi-Progenitors had to be registered with the Heavens Sect, and they were then split into either education or protection, which were very simple categories.

    "Semi-Progenitors who joined the Heavens Sect epted the Dao Monarchs¡¯ authority and agreed to pass on their own inheritances and train humanity. Semi-Progenitors who did not join were required to follow the requirements to patrol and protect the Six Mainds, keeping people safe."

 Chapter 2117: Cusp Of A Breakthrough

    Chapter 2117: Cusp Of A Breakthrough

    Lu Yin listened in silence. The roles of education and defense were not surprising. During the Heavens Sect era, the Dao Monarchs had ruled over everything, and both Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors had been forced to ept the Dao Monarchs¡¯ authority. It was entirely possible that this absolute suppression was the driving force behind humanity¡¯s prosperity during that era.

    Mankind¡¯s true strength could only be revealed when superpowers were able to fully unite humanity.

    This was exactly what Lu Yin wanted to do as well.

    How could scattered human forcespare to a unified Heavens Sect?

    "The duty of the Twelve Heavenly Gates was to guard the gates of the Six Mainds, and they had nothing to do with the administration of the Heavens Sect. The ones who actually ran the Heavens Sect were the Dao Monarchs and the various elders. When a Dao Monarch went into seclusion, their Dao Chosen would act on their behalf, representing the heavens. There was also a sect legiture, and the members belonged to various Mainds and of all cultivation levels, where they could voice their needs and requests. These people had to be factionless and only represent themon interests of people." Lu Buzheng exined.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s legiture sounded quite simr to the Hall of Honor¡¯s council of overseers.

    The Heavens Sect had been a towering monster that rose high above the sky like the crown of a tree, but those monumental structures required a proper foundation. The legiture body had been the Heavens Sect¡¯s foundation.

    "At present, our reestablished Heavens Sect has an elder, which is Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines. We then have Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong who are part of the education division, while Kui Luo, Arch-Elder Zen, and Herb Immortal are all part of the defense division. As for the administration division, there is Aurora Enterprises, Shamrock Enterprise, and other organizations that serve the sect, as well as the Heavenly Prison. There are¡­"

    Lu Yin spent half an hour listening to the exnation. Essentially, Lu Buzheng had structured the current Heavens Sect in the exact same manner as the Heavens Sect of his own era.

    Despite the great differences between the two eras, it was possible for the reestablished Heavens Sect to improve and grow into the previous structure. The modern Heavens Sect could reach its previous peak in the future, but it was impossible to aplish that transformation in one move. Disregarding the other issues, it was impossible to fully unite the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    "By the way, Leng Qing has taken back his post as gatemaster of the Celestial de Heavenly Gate, and Cai''er has also taken back her position as gatemaster of the Jadevase Heavenly Gate," Lu Buzheng said.

    Lu Yin asked, "Why is Arch-Elder Zen a defender? Who¡¯s the gatemaster of the Honor Heavenly Gate?"

    "Qing Ping."

    This surprised Lu Yin. "Senior Brother Chief Justice?"

    This time, it was Lu Buzheng''s turn to be surprised. "Qing Ping is your senior brother? Who¡¯s your master?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t even know myself, but Third Uncle, but why didn''t Arch-Elder Zen be the gatemaster?"

    Given his strength, Arch-Elder Zen was fully qualified to be a gatemaster of one of the Heavenly Gates.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "He said that he needed to let go of certain things, and that going forward, he wouldn¡¯t concern himself withmon affairs. Instead, he¡¯ll focus on his cultivation and traveling the universe."

    Lu Yin nodded. After the all-out war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, Arch-Elder Zen had led the Fifth Maind. The man had established the Hall of Honor and protected the Human Domain. Countless years had passed, and the man was exhausted from his efforts. Mistakes had undeniably been made over the course of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s oversight, but much of that was due to the burden of responsibility towards humanity that he carried. The burden had been so great that the man had never even considered attempting to breakthrough to the Progenitor realm. However, since Arch-Elder Zen had finally been allowed toy his great burden aside, it was possible that humanity would eventually have another Progenitor.

    Of course, losing his great burden did not guarantee that Arch-Elder Zen would seed in his breakthrough attempt. Countless talented humans had been born across the ages, from the Heavens Sect era to the modern era, but very, very few of those people had seeded in bing Progenitors.

    One did not necessarily have to be an outstanding individual to sessfully break through to be a Progenitor. Many people had built up impressive foundations in preparation for their breakthrough or waited years for the right moment to make their attempt. Lu Yin did not yet truly understand the breakthrough process from Semi-Progenitor to Progenitor.

    "The role of a defender is perfect for Arch-Elder Zen. Third Uncle, just how many Semi-Progenitors are a part of the Heavens Sect right now, and how many have remained independent?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Right now, we have eighteen Semi-Progenitors. If you include Qing Ping, who is just as strong as a Semi-Progenitor, then we have neen. Five Semi-Progenitors, including Ni Huang, have been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. Lan Xian is currently acting independently of the Heavens Sect. I¡¯ve given her the choice of bing either an educator or a defender, but she has not responded."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "We¡¯ve missed a person."

    "Who?" Lu Buzheng felt quite curious, as he was certain that he had not missed any of the living Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin looked towards Gaia''s Swamp. "The Specter n¡¯s patriarch, Tian Dou."

    Lu Buzheng had no idea who Lu Yin was talking about. "Who¡¯s that?"

    "Get a hold of Jue Yi and have him send Tian Dou to find me," Lu Yin ordered indifferently. The Specter n had once joined forces with the Aeternals to survive. There were certain things that could not simply be ignored, and anyone who had been involved with the Neohuman Alliance, regardless of their identity, had previously been unterally destroyed. This was why Shenwu Continent had been almostpletely wiped out, and it was also why the Y¨­u n had been investigated. Even if the Specter n had helped the Fifth Maind fight against the Aeternals for thest twenty years, it was not nearly enough to cancel out their previous crimes. Ignoring their actions was unfair to others.

    Lu Buzheng nodded.

    "Also, Aurora Enterprises, Shamrock Enterprise, the pyrolyte mining, microarray technology research and development, and the Lockbreakers Society have all been added into Backyard."1

    "Backyard?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It¡¯s a science and technology R&D division¡ªI named it Backyard."

    Lu Buzheng had no idea why Lu Yin had chosen such a name, but he went along with it.

    "Third Uncle, the reality is that you shouldn¡¯t be doing these tasks, as you¡¯re the gatemaster of the Lu Heavenly Gate," Lu Yinmented.

    Lu Buzheng responded with a big smile. "I wouldn¡¯t be able to rx if this task was left to anyone else. No matter what, you¡¯re the only direct descendant of my Lu family, so Third Uncle will keep an eye on you until you¡¯re able to bring around another direct descendant for me!"

    Lu Yin was momentarily confused, but he quickly understood the insinuation. However, this reminder only made him feel depressed, as Ming Yan was still frozen.

    Lu Buzheng did not notice the sudden change in Lu Yin''s mood. "Oh, I forgot to mention something¡ªChu Yuan has made a great contribution."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "A great contribution?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded, and then he excitedly exined, "As expected of the only Dao Chosen to have met with the Origin Progenitor! I don¡¯t know how much he managed to learn from the Origin Progenitor, but while you were in seclusion for the past few months, he brought up the possibility of creating a visualization method with the ancient golden characters. A lot of people have already seeded with his method, greatly improving theirbat strength. Chu Yuan¡¯s earned a lot of fame with this move.

    "His request for a reward is that once the Heavens Sect legiture is formally established, he must be one of the first formal members."

    Lu Yin did not care about this. Chu Yuan''s motivations were too obvious, and he was in too much of a hurry. If Lu Yin were in Chu Yuan¡¯s position, he would never join the Heavens Sect. Since Chu Yuan had already attached himself to the sect, there was no need to worry about him.

    It was wonderful that the ancient golden characters could be used to learn a visualization method, as it would greatly improve the strength of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators.

    "Third Uncle, don¡¯t the people from the Celestial Frost Sect know a visualization method?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Lu Buzheng dismissed the idea. "The only ones with visualization methods were the ones who ruled the Six Mainds, as they had received the necessary instruction from the Origin Progenitor himself. Those included my Lu family, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan family, and the Second Maind¡¯s Mavis family."

    "The Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan family had a visualization method?" Lu Yin wondered. If this was true, then why had the Sixth Maind taken a broken path of cultivation and been deceived by the Aeternals into using imprints?

    In some of the Rune Technology ruins that Lu Yin had visited, he had learned that the Sixth Maind had been deceived, and that fact had always stuck with him.

    Imprints were not an orthodox cultivation method. When the Progenitor of Combat died, all of the cultivators with his imprint had been greatly weakened. Imprints were able to temporarily increase a person¡¯s strength, but it made their Imprinters too dependent on their imprints.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "Are you thinking about the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprints?"

    Lu Yin nodded. Lu Buzheng and the others from the Heavens Sect era had already spent twenty years in the current era, which was about the same amount of time that Lu Yin had spent before vanishing for twenty years. Their knowledge should be about the same as his.

    "I asked about this matter specifically. Not only me, but Hen Xin did the same. We learned that, when the Garan family suddenly disappeared, the Sixth Maind hoped to acquire the power of a visualization method. They believed their imprints to be a visualization method, but were badly mistaken. They have since forsaken their imprints and have instead started to look into the visualization method of the ancient golden characters," Lu Buzheng exined.

    "By the way, Qing Ping hase looking for you several times."

    Lu Yin felt curious about this. He had no idea why his senior brother wanted to see him. "Got it. I¡¯ll reach out to him."

    Lu Buzheng left to send a message to Jue Yi, and Lu Yin also reached out to Senior Brother Qing Ping with his own wireless jincan.

    CyNet had been busy rebuilding themunicationwork in the Human Domain, but they needed time to finish that monumental project.

    "Is it true that you are able to take stellr energy back from those droplets?" Senior Brother Qing Ping asked.

    "Yes."

    Qing Ping bluntly stated, "I need."

    At first, Lu Yin wanted to reply, ¡®You¡¯re being ridiculous. Who doesn¡¯t need it now?¡¯ But then, he suddenly remembered something that made him excited. "Senior Brother, are you going to attempt your next breakthrough?"

    "Yes."

    "When will that be?"

    "Any time."

    Lu Yin grew short of breath. Senior Brother Qing Ping was a powerhouse who was at the very peak of the Envoy realm, and yet he was already as strong as Semi-Progenitors. Once he broke through, he would beparable to the gatemasters of the ancient Twelve Heavenly Gate, such as Hen Xin. "How much stellr energy do you need, Senior Brother?"

    "The more the better."

    Lu Yin frowned. He had no idea just how much stellr energy his senior brother possessed in his body, but Lu Yin only had two bottles of stellr liquid. Even if Qing Ping still had some bit of stellr energy left, it was most likely not very much. "I have two bottles of stellr liquid."

    There was a long period of silence. "Not enough."

    "How much do you want, Senior Brother?" Lu Yin asked. Suddenly, he thought of something else. "Senior Brother, if there¡¯s no stellr energy left in the true universe, even if you manage to seed in your breakthrough, where will your stellr tribtione from?"

    It was not beneficial to avoid facing a stellr tribtion. Even though each one was a difficult challenge that could kill a cultivator, passing each tribtion refined a person¡¯s body. Without a tribtion, would a Semi-Progenitor still be a real Semi-Progenitor? Even if they managed to create an inner world, how vast would the difference between one who had faced a tribtion and one who had not be?

    "I will face my tribtion in the Perennial World," Qing Ping replied.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he was quickly left stunned. "Can you even get to the Perennial World?"

    "Of course. How do you think the finalists from ZENITH got there?"

    Only then did Lu Yin remember. He had actually forgotten that the Neoverse had always had a path to the Perennial World, and it was actually on the that he had arrived at after his own return from the Perennial World.

    "Breakthroughs are easily detected in the Perennial World, and once I¡¯m noticed, the situation will quickly get dangerous if I don¡¯t have enough stellr energy," Qing Ping replied.

    Lu Yin immediately understood that Qing Ping wanted to fully restore his stellr energy reserves so that he could escape after undergoing his breakthrough. "So, Senior Brother, you want to restore your reserves here, and then go to the Perennial World and pass your tribtion? I don¡¯t have enough stellr liquid to fully restore you. Actually, how much stellr energy do you even have?"

    Qing Ping replied, "Not too much less than you."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Not too much less than me?

    "Senior Brother, do you know how much stellr energy is in my body?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Ping replied, "I don''t."

    There was a pause before he continued. "I¡¯ve estimated your reserves byparing it to several people from the Lu family that I¡¯ve encountered before and then multiplying that by five."

    "What people from the Lu family?"

    "When I was in the Perennial World to get my own Origin Matter, I fought with a one-tribtion Envoy from the Lu family. I believe that you should have five times more stellr energy than him."

    "You were able to fight against an Envoy from the Lu family back then?" Lu Yin was shocked. He had already known that Senior Brother Qing Ping had been to the Perennial World and that he had defeated all of his peers at that time, including some members of the Lu family. However, the people who had participated in the Yuanlun Festival should have only been Enlighters, which meant that the Envoy that Qing Ping had faced should have been an elder from the Lu family, and he definitely would not have been a member of the direct family line.

    Still, even members of the side branches of the Lu family had absurd energy reserves.

    Regardless of their own cultivation level, the Lu family¡¯s descendants were all Realmbreakers, and very few people could cross realms to defeat them.

    When Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World, he had managed to fight against a one-tribtion Envoy, but he had only won because of the God of Death Transformation. Lu Yin had relied on the God of Death¡¯s inheritance to defeat Shi Xin, who had been considered invincible among one-tribtion Envoys. How had Qing Ping aplished such a feat?

    [1] Lu Yin is deliberately choosing a rather crude name here. He''s purposely humiliating thepanies and organizations that are being incorporated into Backyard by giving them this name. Specifically, there''s a Chinese expression about strolling around one''s backyard, indicating that a backyard is part of someone''s house. Lu Yin is pretty tantly iming ownership of the various organizations and referring to their wealth as his own property. ?

 Chapter 2118: Sealing Technique

    Chapter 2118: Sealing Technique

    ording to Qing Ping¡¯s words, the man¡¯s stellr energy reserves should be nearly five times as much as those of someone from the Lu family, based off of a one-tribtion Envoy from the Lu family that Qing Ping had once encountered.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s estimates were correct, then this meant that his senior brother¡¯s stellr energy reserves wereparable to Lu Yin¡¯s own, after ounting for their respective levels of cultivation.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood Chu Yuan¡¯s feelings towards himself: this person was a monster! Lu Yin simply could not fathom how his senior brother had managed to obtain such a freakish amount of stellr energy.

    Four bottles of stellr liquid would definitely not be enough.

    "Senior Brother, I can''t provide you with that much stellr liquid." Lu Yin felt rather helpless. Sapling had only been able to produce a bottle of stellr liquid after working for half a year. While certainly useful, there was nowhere near enough for Qing Ping¡¯s n.

    "I¡¯ll be heading to the Perennial World for my breakthrough in half a year, so just give me as much as you can at that time," Qing Ping replied.

    Lu Yin looked at the happy little Sapling nearby and pursed his lips. "This is going to be hard on you."

    Senior Brother Qing Ping would be heading to the Perennial World for his breakthrough in half a year, and that coincided almost exactly with the date of the Heavenly Gates legition¡¯s next meeting. It seemed that Qing Ping had purposely chosen that date.

    Both men had deliberately ignored how Lu Yin would acquire stellr liquid. When Lu Yin made the delivery in the future, Qing Ping would not refuse, and he also would not ask where it hade from. There was also no obligation for Lu Yin to volunteer this information. The two had a tacit understanding, and this was also why Lu Yin would not probe into why Qing Ping¡¯s stellr energy reserves were sorge.

    After spending two days ying with Sapling, Lu Yin coaxed it to return to stealing stellr energy, while Lu Yin set out for the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins. It was time for him to absorb more death energy.

    The twomas revolving in his center of power in his chest were formed from the ck and white mists that had previously been there. So, they could only be strengthened by absorbing more death energy.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin no longer needed to be protected no matter where he roamed in the universe, as he was currently the most powerful individual in the Fifth Maind.

    Given his speed, he quickly arrived at the.

    As Lu Yin gazed at the frozen, he remembered the first time that he had visited this ce. Back then, he had been trying to deal with Aegis, as they had repeatedly attempted to assassinate him. At the moment, Aegis was a tiny ant, a subordinate of the Lu Heavenly Gate.

    Lu Yin quickly entered the pocket dimension with the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins, and he looked up at the ck sun hanging high in the sky. It was massive and was clearly a star, and yet it filled the pocket dimension with darkness.

    He quickly leaped into the sky and started absorbing death energy.

    Every time Lu Yin initiated this particr process, his rate of absorption of death energy changed, and this time, his absorption eclipsed anything he had experienced in the past. It was possibly that it was due to how he had altered the core structure of his cultivation method, or possibly because of his improved cultivation. Regardless of the reason, a visible distortion appeared on the ck sun as a majestic flood of death energy formed a massive river that poured into Lu Yin.

    If someone entered the pocket dimension and looked up, they would see the entire ce split by a ck line.

    As a flood of death energy surged into his body, Lu Yin once again saw the same solitary figure as before. The person was squatting on the ground, a scythe beside them as a powerful wind swept by and lifted the figure¡¯s robes. This was the God of Death.

    A thought caused Lu Yin to instantly appear in front of the God of Death by following the flow of energy. Last time, Lu Yin had seen and learned the Mask of Death battle technique. However, at this time, Lu Yin saw the true face of the God of Death.

    The Ancient Progenitor had the appearance of a worn out middle-aged man. His eyes were dim and unfocused, and there was no telling what was on the man¡¯s mind. Despite the appearance of age, Lu Yin could still tell that the man had been quite handsome in his youth.

    There was a small bit of stubble on the man¡¯s chin, and hisrge hands were covered with scars.

    Lu Yin looked into the eyes of the God of Death, and suddenly, the God of Death looked up. Those unfocused eyes suddenly became deep and unfathomable, and Lu Yin was instantly dragged down into an endless and dark ocean of death. Chills covered his entire body, and he reflexively reached out to the unified power thaty at his heart.

    The sea of death suddenly disappeared, and the God of Death reappeared before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, meeting him face to face.

    Though they were clearly separated by an infinite chasm of time, Lu Yin could see that the God of Death was staring straight at him. The man could truly see Lu Yin, and he was peering through endless years.

    To Lu Yin absolute horror, the God of Death slowly raised a hand. Death energy gathered at the man¡¯s fingertips, forming a mark that entered Lu Yin''s forehead with a strange fluctuation. Lu Yin felt like his head was about to explode. Suddenly, he woke up, and his eyes snapped open. He found that he was still floating above the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins, absorbing death energy. He looked into the distance and saw that the ck sun was an entire size smaller.

    Drops of sweat trickled down from his brow, and Lu Yin''s pupils fluctuated as he gasped for air. Had he seen some sort of vision, or had that interaction been real?

    He had stared at the God of Death, and the God of Death had stared back at him. The Ancient Progenitor had tapped Lu Yin with a finger-

    No, that had not been a finger, but a seal.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and carefully recalled what he had just experienced.

    The death energy that had gathered at the man¡¯s fingertip had rippled down along his arm. Lu Yin remembered seeing a wave of death energy, and he repeatedly tried to imitate what he had seen.

    A few dayster, the river of death energy disappeared. The ck sun had be much smaller than before.

    In contrast, the yin-yang shapes within Lu Yin''s heart had grown muchrger and more solidified. There was something profound about their existence.

    Lu Yin dropped down to the ground and stared at his own fingertips. For two days, while he absorbed death energy, he had been trying to imitate the finger technique that he had received from the God of Death. It was impossible for Lu Yin to ignore what he had seen.

    The Mask of Death was a technique that he had only picked up by ident, but this seal technique was something that the God of Death had personally given to Lu Yin. If the God of Death had truly been able to see Lu Yin across the vast river of time, then it meant that Lu Yin had received a direct inheritance from the ancient era in a manner that transcended time.

    Lu Yin was in no rush to leave, so he stayed in the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins and repeatedly tried to replicate the finger seal that he had seen. Finally, after several days, he seeded.

    The moment he managed to seed, Lu Yin stared at the seal formed from death energy at his fingertip, and he finally understood what this technique was capable of. There was no denying the unmatched usefulness of this technique for Lu Yin personally, and he wanted tough out loud in delight as he understood what he had received.

    This seal was able to pierce through space and ignore distance. However, this was not even the most important detail. What had roused Lu Yin¡¯s excitement was the fact that this seal technique couldst for an exceptionally long time, which meant that he could use this method to nt a seal inside someone¡¯s body, giving him control of them for a very long time. This sealing technique was a means to control people.

    Lu Yin had always hoped to find a way to control his enemies, and he had not expected to be given such an ability from the God of Death himself.

    Lu Yin looked up to the ck sun and gave a formal and respectful bow. "Thank you, Senior God of Death, for teaching this junior your methods."

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin already had Mister Mu as his master, the God of Death¡¯s gift would be sufficient for Lu Yin to ept the man as his master. In fact, even if the God of Death did not recognize Lu Yin as a formal disciple, it would not be enough to influence Lu Yin¡¯s attitude.

    With his death energy topped off, it was time for him to leave.

    Lu Yin emerged from the Bizarre Sect¡¯s pocket dimension and returned to Aegis. Just as he was about to leave the, he turned westward and saw a massive vessel. Was that the Nn family¡¯s gship?

    After Lu Yin¡¯s status rose to the top of the universe, he had fallen out of touch with the Nn family, and it had been a long time since he had interacted with them.

    The Nn family was one of the four major corporations of the Outerverse, and they had provided a great deal of assistance to the Great Eastern Alliance during its earliest days. Lu Yin had also asked the alliance to treat the Nn family well.

    He had received some reports after uniting the Innerverse, and he had learned that the Nn family had continued to thrive. They had essentially monopolized a portion of the Outerverse¡¯s economy, and they had grownrger than ever with the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s support. Their rtionship could truly be regarded as one of mutual assistance and benefit.

    Upon seeing the Nn family¡¯s ship, Lu Yin was immediately reminded of Madam Nn.

    The woman had had a strong impact on Lu Yin. She remained the most enchanting woman he had ever encountered. She was absolutely beautiful, and she also had a natural charm about her that made every move of hers seductive.

    More than twenty years had passed, and Lu Yin no longer had any idea what had happened to his old friend.

    He released his domain to epass the nearby spacecraft, and Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed to reveal a sudden surge of bloodlust.

    The massive ship slowly cruised through outer space. From the outside, everything appeared perfectly normal, but inside, the vessel was filled with the scent of blood.

    Dozens of corpsesy on the floor, creating a trail that led down a corridor and into a luxurious room. In that room, two women were lying on arge bed, and a man was standing next to it. He sneered at the women. "I intended to wait, and I still want to, but I just can¡¯t any longer. As soon as he gets back, it will be easy for him to find me, and as soon as he does, I¡¯m dead. So, sorry, Madam and Miss Luo Shen."

    The two women on the bed were Madam Nn and Luo Shen.

    They were both ring at the man, clearly furious. "Mo Feng, my Nn family has treated you well, and yet you actually attacked us?"

    Mo Feng slowly started to remove his clothes, one article at a time. All the while, he looked at Madam Nn and Luo Shen with open desire. "¡®Treated me well?¡¯ Please, you just hired me. If I weren¡¯t a Hunter, would your Nn family have even noticed me? Madam, there¡¯s no way you can be that naive after handling apany for so many years."

    Madam Nn cooly red at Mo Feng. "Take whatever you want, and if it¡¯s still not enough, I can offer you more resources. Whatever my Nn family possesses, you can take, as long as you don¡¯t harm us."

    "What a joke! I¡¯ve been infatuated with you ever since I started working for your family. Tell me, just how many people throughout the Outerverse and Innerverse would love to get their hands on you? Do you know why people choose to do business with your family? You! Now, I¡¯ll finally get to live out their fantasies." Mo Feng moved closer to Madam Nn and inhaled deeply. His face flushed red, as though he were intoxicated. "As expected, you smell good. You even smell tempting."

    Madam Nn turned pale. She had been careless. It was impossible for normal cultivators to get even somewhat close to her, not even if they were Enlighters. She had been provided with all kinds of weapons by the Great Eastern Alliance, and they were more than enough to deal with most threats. Years had passed, and given the loyalty that he had demonstrated, she had never considered the need to defend herself from Mo Feng, as she had never considered the possibility that he might attack her.

    To her side, Luo Shen''s face had turned ashen.

    Mo Feng turned his attention to Luo Shen and smiled triumphantly. "I heard that you¡¯ve got a thing for Lu Yin, right?"

    Luo Shen¡¯s eyes red, and she just stared straight at Mo Feng.

    Madam Nn quickly spoke up. "Just let her go. You know what Lu Yin has be¡ªhe is the one in charge of the entire Heavens Sect, which means that he has the highest status in the Human Domain. He can casually order about Semi-Progenitors to do his bidding. If you dare to touch her, there will be no escaping death. Just think about yourself. Living is always better than dying."

    Madam Nn''s words were enough to make Mo Feng hesitate for a moment, but then a mad fury filled his eyes. "So what? Let me tell you a secret: my name isn¡¯t Mo Feng. Do you have any idea what my name really is?"

    Madam Nn and Luo Shen stared at the man intently. Their hair was already loose, and their clothes had been partially opened. Mo Feng''s mouth had gone dry at the sight of their snow-white skin, so delicate that he could see the faint red blood pulsing beneath it. It was extremely arousing.

    A smile crept across Mo Feng''s face. "My name is-"

    "Feng Mo," a soft voice finished from behind the man.

    Mo Feng froze stiff before his head snapped around. He saw a face that drained his strength away and left him feeling cold. His legs went weak, and he could not believe his eyes. "Lu- Lu Yin?"

    Madam Nn and Luo Shen were both surprised to see the man who suddenly appeared.

    "Alliance Leader Lu!"

    "Brother Lu!"

    Lu Yin quietly stared at the man in front of him, his hands sped behind his back. "Feng Mo, it¡¯s been a long time."

    Madam Nn and Luo Shen had been attacked by an assassin from the Relentless yers: Feng Mo. Long ago, he had once managed to escape from Lu Yin''s grasp.

 Chapter 2119: The Mirror

    Chapter 2119: The Mirror

    Long ago, Lu Yin and a group of his ssmates from Astral-10 had fought against Feng Mo in order to save Big Pao and Little Pao. Feng Mo was the reason why they had entered the Starfall Sea, and also why Lu Yin had participated in thepetition to be the Sea King¡¯s son-inw.

    Feng Mo had vanished after learning about Lu Yin¡¯s victory in thepetition, and when Lu Yin had next seen the man, Feng Mo had been inside Ling Que''s spaceship. At that time, Feng Mo had been pretending to serve Ling Que, but after being discovered by Lu Yin, the man¡¯s meridians had been crippled. Lu Yin had wanted to simply kill Feng Mo, but Ling Que had wanted to deliver him to the Lingling n. In the end, Lu Yin had stayed his hand.

    Unexpectedly, Feng Mo had escaped again.

    After more than twenty years, Lu Yin had run into Feng Mo for the third time. Surprisingly, the man had even been in the middle of attacking Madam Nn and Luo Shen when Lu Yin arrived.

    Feng Mo trembled as he looked at Lu Yin. How was this possible? Meeting Lu Yin was the worst luck possible.

    Lu Yin stared at Feng Mo. "I¡¯m genuinely surprised to see that you were able to escape from the Lingling n¡¯s vessel even after your meridians were destroyed. Before that, you also managed to escape from that man from the Specter n, which also couldn¡¯t have been easy. I want to see how you pulled that off, so go ahead and try to escape from me now."

    Feng Mo''s eye twitched, and his muscles locked up. Escape? True, if he wanted to live, he had to escape. If he failed to do that, he would definitely die. However, was escape even possible? Lu Yin was the one standing in front of Feng Mo. When they had first met, Lu Yin had been nothing more than a stray dog that Feng Mo had been sent to hunt down. The second time, Feng Mo had been crippled without even being able to fight back. For this third meeting, Feng Mo could not even imagine how powerful Lu Yin had be.

    Feng Mo had kept his true identity a secret while hiding with the Nn family for over twenty years, and during this time, he had learned too much about Lu Yin and his aplishments. The young man was a living legend. Forget Feng Mo, could even Semi-Progenitors escape from Lu Yin with his current abilities?

    This realization sent a fresh burst of panic surging through Feng Mo. He did not want to die. The fear that sprang up from his heart consumed him in an instant, and he dropped to his knees, quivering as he begged mercy. "Lu- Alliance Leader Lu, please don''t kill me! Please spare me! Give me any task you wish, Alliance Leader Lu! Please, please, please, please¡­"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I''ll give you one chance to try and escape."

    Feng Mo had seeded in escaping from the Lingling n even after Lu Yin had crippled the man. That was something that would likely be beyond even Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    Clearly, Feng Mo had some bit of capability.

    The man continued to just beg for mercy. He was unable to see any hope of sessfully escaping, or even surviving this encounter.

    Lu Yin nced over at Madam Nn and Luo Shen. Luo Shen was fine to look at, as she was wearing normal clothes, but Madam Nn was wearing a silky ck negligee that was trimmed with whitece. The outfit revealed snow-white skin that dazzled Lu Yin eyes and caused his heart to flutter. He could not help licking his lips. Time had not left a single mark on this woman, though it had only been twenty years, and that time had passed in a sh.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and used Truesight to erase the effect of the drugs in the two women¡¯s bodies. They quickly got up from the bed and straightened out their clothes while ring at Feng Mo.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, do you know this man?" Madam Nn asked. She was an experienced woman, and she had recovered very quickly.

    Lu Yin softly answered, "He¡¯s an old enemy."

    Feng Mo stayed on his knees, begging for mercy. "Alliance Leader Lu, please forgive me! I¡¯m not your enemy! It¡¯s been more than twenty years, and I, Feng Mo, never once thought of acting against you! I have been hiding within the Nn family''s forces. I haven¡¯t killed a single person once all these years! Please, forgive me!"

    Madam Nn spoke up, angry to hear the man¡¯s ims. "You killed so many people outside this room, and yet you still have the gall to im that you haven¡¯t killed anyone?"

    Feng Mo''s face turned pale.

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand. "I¡¯ve allowed you to live for all these years, but today you can finally find peace."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin¡¯s hand descended very slowly.

    Feng Mo stared at the floor, and then his eyes suddenly started to ze. He looked up at Lu Yin''s palm and then abruptly pulled out a mirror and pointed it at Lu Yin.

    The hand mmed into the mirror, and then something bizarre unfolded: a hand perfectly identical to Lu Yin¡¯s appeared from the mirror, and it struck Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he stepped to the side. Feng Mo took this chance to leap out of the spacecraft into outer space in a desperate attempt to escape.

    Lu Yin just shifted his domain, and Feng Mo''s body was sent crashing back faster than he had left the room. He mmed into the floor, and every one of his meridians shattered once again.

    The man screamed as he vomited blood.

    Lu Yin had deliberately attacked very slowly, just so that he could see what sort of tricks Feng Mo possessed. He was an assassin from the Relentless yers, and it was only natural for him to have many means to stay alive. Facing an inevitable death, there was no way that Feng Mo would not use his most reliable means of survival.

    The mirror became inert when Lu Yin held it, and his pupils transformed into runes to observe it, but he saw no runes at all.

    "Where did this mirrore from? What does it do?" Lu Yin asked.

    Feng Moy on the floor. There were times when living could be worse than dying. He opened his eyes to look at Lu Yin, and he answered in a hoarse voice, "If I tell you, can you let me live?"

    Lu Yin thought that his question was funny. "That depends on whether or not this mirror is worth more than your life."

    Feng Mo''s eyes instantly went wide. "That mirror is what Bo Senior and Bo Junior gave me for hunting you down."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Bo Senior and Bo Junior from the Deep Crimson Hall?"

    "That¡¯s right. When I was hired to hunt you down, that mirror was my payment. Those two had no idea about that mirror¡¯s true value, but I knew that it came from a pocket dimension. I happened to see a description of it in an ancient record, and it¡¯s definitely something that was left behind by some ancient powerhouse. I learned about it in the record that I stumbled upon that spoke about that the pocket dimension," Feng Mo replied.

    "What kind of pocket dimension?" Lu Yin was curious. There were many pocket dimensions throughout the universe, as well as hidden worlds.

    "It was a ce with a mountain and a sea."

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as he stared at Feng Mo. "A mountain and sea?"

    Feng Mo panted. "That''s right, a mountain and sea, but I don¡¯t know where that pocket dimension is. I only learned about this mirror through someone else, and when I wanted to find it, the Deep Crimson Hall had already acquired it. From that time onward, I tried to get the mirror. I was lucky that when your ssmates tried to get revenge on Deep Crimson Hall, you went to rescue them and caused all sorts of problems for Deep Crimson Hall in the process.¡±

    "I just took advantage of the situation and asked for the mirror as payment.¡±

    "While I don¡¯t know where that mountain and sea are hidden, that ce is definitely not simple. I''ve checked the Relentless yers¡¯ records a bunch of times, and while there were mentions of that pocket dimension, no one ever managed to find it again."

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious. "How can you be so sure that the mirror from the pocket dimension is the same mirror that was mentioned in the Relentless yers¡¯ ancient records? What if it isn¡¯t? Also, even if it is the same, is it really that valuable?"

    Feng Mo¡¯s voice grew bitter. "Alliance Leader Lu, you are so high up above people like me that you can¡¯t understand how difficult it is for us to cultivate. For people like me, no matter how small an opportunity might be, as long as there is the smallest chance, we won¡¯t let go of it. I knew from the beginning that it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but I still did everything that I could to get a hold of it.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Feng Mo. "Where is that dimension with the mountain and sea?"

    Feng Mo shook his head. "I never managed to find it, and the location wasn¡¯t mentioned in any of the records that I found. If it were, that ce would have been stripped bare a long time ago. The person who first told me about the mirror was also never able to find the ce a second time. He imed that the pocket dimension disappeared and that I wouldn''t be able to get in even if I found the original location."

    "What did that person experience inside the pocket dimension?"

    "He said that the whole ce was an illusion, filled with all kinds of illusory attacks. Also, all that could be seen was fog."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Fog? Was it possible that this mountain and seas was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    Lu Yin suddenlyughed at the thought. Such a thing was practically impossible. How could it be so easy toe across one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Even if this story was true, how could anyone at Feng Mo¡¯s level of strength pick up a treasure from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    Fog, a mountain, a sea, and the mirror.

    Lu Yin stared at the mirror in his hand and fell into deep thought.

    Feng Mo struggled through his agony to again beg for mercy. "Alliance Leader Lu, I''ve already told you everything I know. Can I go?"

    Lu Yin finally looked down at the man. A hand rose, and a finger pointed forwards. Death energy swirled around Lu Yin¡¯s fingertips, forming a seal that etched itself into Feng Mo''s body as he watched on in terror.

    The man trembled, as he could not understand what Lu Yin had just done to him.

    "You can go," Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Feng Mo instantly became nervous. "Really? I can go?"

    "What? Do you want me to invite you to tea?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Feng Mo quickly left the ship again and hurried into outer space. His meridians had been destroyed, and he was a cripple, but while surviving in outer space would be difficult, it was still far better than staying on the spacecraft, waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s judgment.

    Not once throughout the entire conversation did Madam Nn or Luo Shen say a word.

    Lu Yin looked outside the ship at Feng Mo floating off into the distance. A cold glint flickered through Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Death energy suddenly swept through Feng Mo''s body. There was a bang, and then not even bones remained.

    "I never said that his information was worth his life," Lu Yin muttered to himself. How could he possibly let Feng Mo go yet again? Lu Yin had simply wanted to test the Death Seal that he had justprehended. He could not do anything with the seal alone, and he needed to actually use it to see the effects. If he wanted to experiment with the power of the seal, he needed to use it on a true powerhouse.

    Neither Madam Nn nor Luo Shen were surprised to see Feng Mo¡¯s fate. How could the man be allowed to go free?

    "Are you all right?" Lu Yin asked, looking back at the two women.

    Madam Nn ran a hand through her hair. "I''m fine, but Sister Luo Shen might be in shock. Alliance Leader Lu, I''ll leave her here with you while I go prepare some food for you."

    The woman gave Lu Yin a smile before leaving the room.

    Luo Shen wrapped her arms around her knees. Her face was both pale and flushed at the same time.

    Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed. Everyone was aware of the feelings that Luo Shen held for him, but he really could not afford to give much thought for the woman. "Um, are- are you okay?"

    Luo Shen hummed. "I''m not as weak as Sister Nn makes me out to be. I¡¯ve lived through many things over the years."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You¡¯re certainly very brave."

    Luo Shen looked up at Lu Yin in confusion, but Lu Yin did not borate. "Let''s find a to rest on for a bit. I also want to study this mirror."

    Luo Shen nodded "Thank you, Brother Lu."

    "There¡¯s no reason for you to say ¡®thank you¡¯ to me." Lu Yin walked out of the room.

    Not long after, the vesselnded on Aegis. The ship was full of corpses, which made it unsuitable for resting.

    Madam Nn and Luo Shen stepped out onto the and looked around at the endless frozenndscape. "He''s finally back. You were right¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t die so easily."

    Luo Shen just stared out at the frozen field in a daze.

    Madam Nn was also staring into nothing. "There are times when you need to fight for what you want."

    Sadness decorated Luo Shen¡¯s features. "Brother Lu won''t ever have feelings for me."

    "How can you know if you don''t fight for it? You¡¯re truly beautiful." Madam Nnughed.

    Luo Shen smiled wryly. "They¡¯re just my feelings."

    Madam Nn sighed. "We¡¯re both lucky that he showed up, or else we¡¯d have suffered a very miserable fate right about now."

    Determination filled Luo Shen¡¯s voice. "I would have killed myself."

    Madam Nn was taken aback. If Luo Shen would have taken her own life, what about Madam Nn? If the bottom line that she had protected for so many years were crossed, would she be able to live with herself?

 Chapter 2120: Wei-Induction Technique

    Chapter 2120: Wei-Induction Technique

    Madam Nn was lucky to have saved Lu Yin all those years ago. At the time, Lu Yin had just been a student, but at present, he had risen to be the most important person in the entire Fifth Maind. This was the return on Madam Nn¡¯s initial investment.

    Still, it was a pity. If Lu Yin had been tempted by Madam Nn all those years ago, she might be the oneughing at this moment. Just thinking of the way that Lu Yin had looked at her all those years ago made Madam Nn chuckle.

    Elsewhere on Aegis, Lu Yin was studying the mirror.

    It was truly odd that this thing could perfectly reflect an exact replica of an attack.

    Lu Yin asionally attacked the mirror, and each time, the mirror would perfectly replicate and reflect the attack back at Lu Yin.

    After a few attempts, Lu Yin realized that the replicated attacks were all formed from fog, which further verified his earlier guess that the mountain and sea in the pocket dimension where the mirror had been found might be rted to Progenitor Smoke.

    Progenitor Smoke, also known as Progenitor Fog,1 had been a very peculiar Progenitor. There were no records of the powerhouse anywhere, but they had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Despite there being no records of the Progenitor, she had left behind various inheritances, such as Smoke-Eater Peaks, the bridge on Eversky Ind, and the Smokecloud Sect in the Perennial World, which had received several unique battle techniques. Smoke Incarnations and quite a few other techniques had alle from Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin had long since been very curious about her.

    If Progenitor Ku had been a low-key powerhouse, then Progenitor Smoke had possessed no presence whatsoever.

    At the very least, Lu Yin had never heard any actual mention of the Progenitor.

    During the Daosource Sect era, the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been quite bizarre. There were Progenitors like Progenitor Chen who had shone bright enough to illuminate the entire universe like a zing sun, but there had also been Progenitors like Progenitor Ku who had been quiet and were rtively unknown. As long as the proper opportunities were seized, any kind of person could be a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin held the mirror and touched it. His body suddenly leaned forward for a moment before he stopped himself. He found himself in a strange location, surrounded by white fog. Next to him, he saw a floating mirror that was formed from fog as well. It was the mirror that he had been just now.

    Lu Yin looked around. Where was he?

    He looked over at the fog mirror and saw that the surface did not reflect him or his surroundings, but rather showed Aegis. He stretched out a hand to grab the mirror and move it around. He saw that in the outside world, the mirror actually moved, and extremely quickly at that.

    On Aegis, Madam Nn and Luo Shen were having a conversation when the mirror shot right between the two women, startling them.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He was in a dimension within the mirror itself. This should be a hidden world. It was no wonder how Feng Mo had managed to escape sessfully. It was even possible that he had not actually escaped, but had rather simply hidden within the mirror. Who would care about a mirror?

    Lu Yin let go of the fog mirror after toying around with the mirror¡¯s movements in the outside world. He looked around and saw that the entire ce was filled with fog. He could not even determine the size of the pocket dimension or hidden world that he was in.

    He walked towards the fog, and the fog mirror next to him moved with him. It stayed close to him at all times.

    Lu Yin walked right up to the fog and raised a hand to touch it.

    It was soft to the touch and felt just like cotton.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first timeing into physical contact with any kind of fog or smoke. When he had encountered the smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks or on the bridge on Eversky Ind, there was no physicality to the smoke.

    Lu Yin exerted a bit of his strength. He wanted to part the fog so that he could see into the depths of this space. However, it was impossible. He used more force and tried again, but he still could not open the fog.

    This was quite strange.

    Lu Yin nced around. He walked to the other side of the open area and tried to part the fog there with even greater strength, but he still could not do anything to the fog. It was shockingly robust.

    Lu Yin finally raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm.

    The invisible palm struck the fog, and a palm print appeared in it, but it was only went about a centimeter deep.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. Even though he had only used a Vacuum Palm without putting much effort into it, that attack had still been powerful enough to kill an Enlighter with a power level of over 300,000. And yet, it had only left a tiny mark on the fog.

    This was quite interesting, so Lu Yin got ready to release another attack.

    Right before he did so, a stone flew out of the fog andnded on the ground with a heavy thud.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Who?"

    There was no movement.

    Lu Yin stared into the fog, and his pupils transformed into runes as he scanned the entire area. However, there were no runes inside the mirror, so he was unable to see anything.

    "What the hell? Who¡¯s ying tricks?" Lu Yin yelled before smashing out with a Hollow Palm. He did not hold back with this attack, and it was powerful enough to take out a three-tribtion Envoy.

    This attack managed to leave a palm print several centimeters deep in the fog.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. He had expected to leave a mark at least a meter deep or more, but his attack only managed to prate a few centimeters into the fog.

    He had never heard of any fog that was so durable.

    Another object flew out of the fog. It carried a faint aura and had a slight white glow to it.

    Lu Yin reached out and grabbed the item. It was an extremely sharp sword. However, it was also rather flexible, and there were strange patterns etched onto the de. It continued to glow with a hazy white halo.

    It was clear that it was not an ordinary sword. The pattern on the de and the glow that it radiated indicated that it contained some kind of power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand twitched, and the stone that had flown out from the fog before flew over to him. Was it a piece of ore? He squeezed it a bit, and it cracked. Sure enough, it was ore, and it could withstand an Enlighter¡¯s attack.

    Ore had fallen out of the fog after heunched a Vacuum Palm, and a Hollow Palm had caused a sword to appear. Lu Yin''s eyes glinted as he looked back at the fog. He needed to try again.

    Soon, another object flew out of the fog. This time, it was a transparent bead, and there was something that looked like a sword slowly rotating inside the bead.

    Lu Yin pressed one hand against the fog mirror next to him, and he left the pocket dimension to study the bead.

    He immediately saw that the bead had as many runes as a four-tribtion Envoy.

    Lu Yin felt that his earlier suspicions were correct; the power of his attacks determined the item that woulde out of the fog. This lined up with the ore, the sword, and the bead.

    This was intriguing. Was there someone in the fog conducting this exchange, or was the whole thing a pre-programmed response?

    Lu Yin pressed his hand against the mirror to return to the pocket dimension. He took a deep breath and released a Hollow Palm. It was a powerful attack, butcking whenpared to hisst Hollow Palm.

    Even after Lu Yin waited a long time, the fog remained silent.

    Apparently, only a more powerful attack than before would result in the fog giving out any rewards.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin finally noticed that there were some tiny marks in the fog next to the print left by his Vacuum Palm. These marks were practically invisible due to how faint they were.

    He stared at the marks. Could they have been left by Feng Mo? That seemed possible, though it could have been someone else as well. The marks were certainly not left by Bo Senior or Bo Junior, as they would have never parted with the mirror if they had learned of its secrets. And they definitely would not have used it as payment for Feng Mo.

    Lu Yin stared at the fog for a long time before continuing his attacks. If he needed to use increasingly powerful attacks to receive rewards, then he would not hold back.

    In the outside world, on Aegis, Luo Shen asionally looked around, clearly disappointed that Big Brother Lu had not visited her.

    Madam Nn lowered a hand. "The ship¡¯s almost here."

    Luo Shen acknowledged the news with a small grunt.

    Madam Nn felt that she needed to say something. "As his cultivation improves and he grows stronger, his training sessions will only take longer and longer¡­"

    She trailed off, as she did not know what else to say. Lu Yin had only said a few words to the two women after rescuing them, and he had almost immediately started training again.

    One dayter, one of the Nn family''s vesselsnded on Aegis. Madam Nn led Luo Shen onto the ship. "I left a message behind, so he¡¯ll know where we went when he ends his training session."

    "I hope that Brother Lu will be fine." Luo Shen was worried.

    Madam Nnughed. "Who alive is able to even threaten him? Don¡¯t worry."

    She then turned to speak with an old woman who stood behind the departing pair. "Make sure that all of Mo Feng''s people are captured and dealt with as traitors."

    The old woman whispered, "Yes, Madam. This disaster is my fault."

    Madam Nn immediately refuted the old woman. "This had nothing to do with you. This was all because I didn¡¯t allow you toe with us and gave Mo Feng a chance."

    The old woman remained somber. "Such things cannot be allowed to happen again in the future. No matter where you go, Madam, this old one must stay with you."

    Madam Nn smiled. She sent a backwards nce at Aegis, and then left in the ship.

    Still on the, Lu Yin had actually emerged from the pocket dimension half a day ago, but he had not really wanted to meet with Luo Shen, so he had waited for the women to leave.

    He had received more than twenty rewards from the mirror, two of which were exceptionally valuable. One was a Root of Intelligence that he had received after releasing an attack that broke a power level of a million. The true Root of Intelligence was a delightful surprise to Lu Yin.

    The Root of Intelligence had already been a tremendous surprise, but when Lu Yin had used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method, as well as his aurelian force to unleash an attack that would leave even experts with power levels of over a million feeling nervous, Lu Yin had received a battle technique: Wei-Induction Technique.

    The name did not give anything away about the technique, but after looking through it, Lu Yin realized that this was the cultivation method for Progenitor Smoke¡¯s unique, self-created power. The fog that he saw, as well as the smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks, was not actually smoke or fog. Rather, it was a unique energy known as wei. It took on the form of what looked like fog or smoke, but it was actually a unique power simr to the runes that the Rune Progenitor had created. This was Progenitor Smoke¡¯s unique energy.

    This was yet another cultivation method that did not rely on stellr energy.

    Furthermore, this Wei-Induction Technique was literally the introduction to cultivating Progenitor Smoke¡¯s power.

    This information was not shocking to Lu Yin. He was already aware that Progenitors could alter the universe, and he simply did not understand why the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors had never tried developing their own unique energy. All he knew was that not every Progenitor was capable of doing so.

    Progenitor Chen had left behind stars ands throughout the Fifth Maind. The Rune Progenitors had left countless runes behind. The God of Death had left death energy. Destiny had left behind the concept and practice of divination. As for Progenitor Smoke, they had left behind wei.

    Lu Yin learned Wei-Induction Technique, but he had no real interest in it. He already possessed too many different cultivation methods, and even if Mister Mu had said that every power could be trained to the pinnacle, it was impossible to do so if one took on too much.

    Of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao, Lu Yin had already received inheritances from several of them: the God of Death¡¯s death energy, Destiny¡¯s fatesand, Wu Tian¡¯s mastery of weapons, battle force from Ancient God, who had been the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind, and the innate gift and visualization method of his own Lu family. From the more modern eras, Lu Yin also had received Progenitor Chen¡¯s power and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin had also focused on cultivating stellr energy and lockbreaking, which both came from the Origin Progenitor himself. Lu Yin really had too much on his te, and the addition of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s power would not be of much benefit at all.

    After a bit of thought, Lu Yin pulled out his wireless jincan and sent a message to Smoke-Eater Peaks.

    "Is this Alliance Leader Lu?" Gu Laogui asked.

    Lu Yin smiled as he replied, "It''s really me. How are you, Senior?"

    Gu Laogui also smiled as he sent a response, "Congrattions, Alliance Leader Lu, on bing the Dao Chosen and taking control of the Heavens Sect as you represent the heavens."

    "Senior, you¡¯re being too formal."

    "Haha, I''m not just being polite. You just don¡¯t understand, Alliance Leader Lu. During the twenty years that you disappeared for, old people like myself have not been having a good life. The cultivators who have awoken in our era, especially the people from the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, give us no face at all. So, your return has given us a great deal of relief." Gu Laogui was still smiling. Anyone could tell that the man was genuinely happy.

    [1] Given more recent context and exnations, Progenitor Smog has been updated to Progenitor Fog. Old chapters have been updated. ?

 Chapter 2121: Response

    (Bonus) Chapter 2121: Response

    The truth of the matter was that Lu Yin being in power was good for Smoke-Eater Peaks. More than twenty years ago, Gu Laogui had been upset for quite some time, as Lu Yin had taken advantage of Smoke-Eater Peaks. However,ter on, Lu Yin had saved all of Smoke-Eater Peaks from being destroyed when they had faced a catastrophe in the Cosmic Sea. Gu Laogui had always remembered Lu Yin¡¯s kindness at that moment, and the old man¡¯s attitude towards Lu Yin hadpletely turned around.

    Gu Laogui would never forget that his entire sect owed Lu Yin their very lives.

    The external threat of the Aeternals had been eliminated, and peace had returned to the Fifth Maind. Even with the new Heavens Sect dominating over all of humanity, Gu Laogui was no longer bothered by it, because Lu Yin was the one in power.

    "You saved us in the Cosmic Sea, Alliance Leader Lu, and I will definitely repay your great kindness," Gu Laogui sent.

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s not all that you¡¯re going to need to repay me for, Senior."

    Gu Laogui became confused. "What do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Senior, are you familiar with the power that you cultivate?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man became even more confused. "The power that I cultivate? Are you referring to stellr energy, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    "Of course not. I¡¯m talking about the smoke you use from your mountains."

    Gu Laogui waspletely lost by this point in the conversation. "What are you saying? I don''t understand."

    Lu Yin replied, "Wei-Induction Technique."

    Gu Laogui was caught off guard. "How does Alliance Leader Lu know my Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ cultivation art?"

    "Senior knows the Wei-Induction Technique? Then why do you refer to wei as smoke?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Gu Laogui still did not understand what Lu Yin was asking. "What''s wei? I really don''t understand what you¡¯re talking about."

    "You really don''t know that the unique smoke you cultivate with isn¡¯t even smoke? It''s a unique power called wei, and it was created by Progenitor Smoke," Lu Yin said.

    Gu Laogui was stunned. "Wei? We honestly had no idea. Ah, no wonder our cultivation art is called Wei-Induction Technique. So that''s what it means."

    Lu Yin could not tell for sure whether Gu Laogui was truly ignorant, or if he was putting on a show. Though, there should be no need for a charade. Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ unique power was not particrly strong, and at best, when there was enough of it, it could be used to equip an army, strengthening and assisting those with inadequate strength. It was not much help to a true powerhouse however.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, how did you learn about Wei-Induction Technique? Was it from Yun Tingting?" Gu Laogui asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ll exin more when I get back and see you in person, but for now, all I know for certain is the name of the cultivation art is Wei-Induction Technique. It might be simr to what you¡¯ve been using and not be of much help, but if there are any higher levels of mastery that you¡¯re missing, I¡¯ll give them to you."

    Gu Laogui was so stunned by Lu Yin''s offer that he could not process the information.

    The old man stared at his wireless jincan. He only knew one thing, which was that Lu Yin felt that it was possible to acquire higher levels of Wei-Induction Technique, but did those higher levels of mastery even exist?

    Yun Tingting''s Smokecloud Sect possessed a better understanding of this unique power than Smoke-Eater Peaks, but even then, the strength of their smoke was limited. If Yun Tingting had a higher level of the cultivation art, then there was no chance that Lu Yin would not have brought it up before now. This only made the whole conversation even more strange.

    At this time, Lu Yin entered Zenith Mountain to meet with Yun Tingting.

    Yun Tingting calmly looked at Lu Yin standing in front of her. Her attitude had changed drastically from when Lu Yin had first captured her. Lu Yin believed that the woman had gone numb from her extended captivity.

    "You said that you¡¯d let me go," Yun Tingting stated tly.

    Lu Yin replied, "I said I¡¯d take you to the Perennial World."

    Yun Tingting sneered, clearly not believing a word of it.

    "You should know what¡¯s been happeningtely. The Perennial World sent an army into the Fifth Maind, but at the same time, the Aeternals attacked. However, I¡¯ve dealt with both of those threats. So, the next step is to go back to the Perennial World, and then I¡¯ll let you go," Lu Yin said.

    Yun Tingting casually said, "I don''t have what you want with me."

    Lu Yin asked, "You cultivate with Wei-Induction Technique, right?"

    Yun Tingting did not answer. Her sect¡¯s cultivation art was not some massive secret. After all, the people of Smoke-Eater Peaks also practice this.

    "In that case, do you know about wei?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yun Tingting¡¯s eyes snapped wide open, and she stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    Her expression answered Lu Yin¡¯s question. "Smoke-Eater Peaks still doesn''t know that what they use isn¡¯t actually smoke, but rather wei, and you never corrected them. Do you really want to try to say that you don¡¯t have anything I want to know?"

    Yun Tingting was puzzled. "How did you find out about that?"

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Because I can also use Wei-Induction Technique, and I know that wei is a unique energy created by Progenitor Smoke, which is actually a different cultivation method than stellr energy. However, the descendants of your two sects treat the energy as simply a tool to power your battle techniques, which is different from how Progenitor Smoke used it. In fact, there¡¯s noparison."

    Yun Tingting frowned. "Wei-Induction Technique is the battle technique that moves wei, but wei is essentially just an outside power that was created by Progenitor Smoke. All we can do is control that power."

    Lu Yin finally understood that this was almost exactly like the Specter n. The Specter n could cultivate with death energy and manipte it, but they could not produce the unique energy. Truthfully, they merely used the unique energy, and they did not actually cultivate it.

    "Has your Cloudsmoke Sect only learned to use Wei-Induction Technique in the same manner as Smoke-Eater Peaks?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yun Tingting replied, "We¡¯ve mastered far more than Smoke-Eater Peaks, but we still use Wei-Induction Technique. It¡¯s just that we have what can be considered a full version of the cultivation art, though we don¡¯t have ess to any of the higher levels. We know of the legends that im that Progenitor Smoke was able to alter the universe itself with the power of wei, but we can¡¯t ess even a millionth of that power.¡±

    "How did your sect get your version of Wei-Induction Technique?" Lu Yin felt curious.

    Yun Tingting and Lu Yin both just stared at each other for a moment. "Are you really going to release me?"

    "There¡¯s no point in keeping you," Lu Yin replied. Though the words were harsh, Yun Tingting believed them. After all, she was truly worthless to Lu Yin.

    At first, she and several others had been captured and imprisoned on Zenith Mountain because Lu Yin had not wanted to expose the existence of the Perennial World and had wanted to eliminate as many variables as possible. However, even people from the Heavens Sect era had appeared, let alone those from the Perennial World.

    Forget the Fifth Maind¡ªeven if Lu Yin¡¯s various captives were released to the Perennial World, none of them would be able to harm him at all.

    Yun Tingting thought back. "I heard from my father that the founder of our Smokecloud Sect once served Progenitor Smoke, and he was regarded as an outer disciple who wasn¡¯t recognized by Progenitor Smoke. That was when the Fifth Maind was fighting against the Sixth Maind. There was some sudden change, and things happened too fast, but our ancestor was lucky enough to survive, and he followed the top powers to the Perennial World. As for Progenitor Smoke and the Mountains and Sea where they stayed, it all disappeared."

    "Progenitor Smoke didn''t go to the Perennial World?" Lu Yin asked, and when he remembered what Feng Mo had mentioned, the Mountain and Sea that Progenitor Smoke had controlled had most likely stayed in the Fifth Maind.

    Yun Tingting shook her head. "I''m certain that my father said that Progenitor Smoke didn''t go to the Perennial World with the four ruling powers back then. He isn¡¯t qualified to meet the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors, so he doesn¡¯t know anything at all about where Progenitor Smoke might have gone. All that has been passed down to us is just the Wei-Induction Technique that our ancestor received from Progenitor Smoke.

    "Also, the reason why our ancestor was even given Wei-Induction Technique was so that he could help Progenitor Smoke create more wei that the Progenitor could use."

    Lu Yin nodded. "So Progenitor Smoke had no heirs?"

    Yun Tingting shook her head. "No. ording to the ancient records left by our ancestor, Progenitor Smoke was a bit of a maniac."

    "What does that mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Yun Tingting replied, "I don''t really understand it myself, but that''s what¡¯s mentioned in the records that were written by our ancestor¡¯s own hand. There aren¡¯t many details, and while some of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s actions were noted, they were all trivial matters. Progenitor Smoke only left a few traces of inheritances behind. The Mountain and Sea¡­"

    Lu Yin soon left. Yun Tingting had only been able to share a few details with him, as the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s knowledge of Progenitor Smoke was extremely limited.

    A maniac? Simple? Crazy? Infatuated? Or something else?

    The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were a form of inheritance, and any Progenitor who managed to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas would be an exceptionally powerful Progenitor, and all of them had the power to alter the universe.

    This was true of both Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, and Lu Yin was learning that it had also been true of Progenitor Smoke. This indicated that the Progenitors from the four ruling powers who had controlled some of the Mountains and Seas could not have been weak either.

    Realizing the possible power that those people must wield, Lu Yin became a bit uncertain at the prospect of eventually facing the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors. Even if he was able to gather the full power of the entire Fifth Maind, it still would not be enough to challenge even a single one of the four ruling powers. They were simply too powerful.

    The only possibility was if they could be lured into the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin felt confident that with Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, he would be able to stand up to Wang Fan, or even a powerhouse like Bai Wangyuan.

    Lu Yin pulled the mirror back out and returned to the pocket dimension. He looked around and said, "Every time you get attacked, as long as the power of the attack rises, you toss out a reward. I know what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯re fishing. You¡¯re trying to lure people in with treasures and cultivation arts. You¡¯re trying to get some outside power to destroy this fog so that if there¡¯s anyone trapped inside, they can get out. While it¡¯s also possible that this is all just a set program, I prefer to believe that there¡¯s someone in there.¡±

    "I don''t know if you can hear me, but you''d better give a response. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll seal this mirror away. Given my current strength, as long as I, Lu Yin, want this mirror hidden, not even a Semi-Progenitor will be able to find it. You will stay trapped in here forever, never able to leave."

    After a short pause, Lu Yin looked back out at the fog. "Answer, or else your future will disappear."

    Still no response.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and reached out for the fog mirror. "I, Lu Yin, have only cultivated for forty years, but I have already be a three-tribtion Envoy. Given another few decades, I¡¯ll definitely be a Semi-Progenitor. I have already opened my three meridian points and used Origin Matter. Since you don¡¯t want to answer, I¡¯ll just have to wait until I¡¯m a Progenitor toe back to this ce. At that time, I hope that you will have the power to deal with a Progenitor, because if not, I will keep you imprisoned."

    His hand then continued to move closer to the mirror.

    As soon as he touched the mirror, he would leave, and his threat would be reality.

    Of course, Lu Yin was just trying to scare anyone possibly hidden in the fog. Since it had some connection to Progenitor Smoke, how could he possibly just give up on it? He was not strong enough to break through the fog, so there was no danger to what he was doing. He just wanted to try it out.

    The moment his hand was about to touch the mirror, a stone flew straight towards him.

    Lu Yin reached out and caught it, but it really was just a stone. However, there was some writing scratched onto it. Ancient characters that Lu Yin did not recognize.

    "Just wait a bit," Lu Yin said. He left the pocket dimension in the mirror, left Aegis, and quickly returned to Earth¡¯s sr system.

    When he got back, the first thing he did was search for the Ghost Monkey.

    The Ghost Monkey had been doing quite well for himself in the Lu Heavenly Gate. For the past twenty years, he had constantly portrayed himself as Lu Yin''s servant. Many people from the Great Eastern Alliance had recognized the monkey, especially since he constantly took credit for the fact that he had been the one to throw Mt. Microcosms into the passage to the Starfall Sea and seal it. The Ghost Monkey imed to have been the one toe up with the n, and he even said that he had suggested it to Lu Yin.

    Regardless of how the situation had actually yed out, the results were unquestionable, and the Ghost Monkey was indeed due a portion of the credit for the aplishment. This was why he was given afortable life in the Lu Heavenly Gate even in Lu Yin¡¯s absence.

    "That¡¯s really how it was back then. Seventh Bro and I moved across the Mountains and Seas, and if not for Lord Monkey, Seventh Bro wouldn¡¯t have been a match for that guy from Burial Garden. I risked my life to get a drop of a Progenitor¡¯s blood at that time, and then by cooperating with my innate gift of shadows, Seventh Bro was able to defeat Y¨­u Qi." Four or five colossal giants gathered around the Ghost Monkey on a massive outside of Earth¡¯s sr system. All of them listened attentively as the Ghost Monkey wove his tale.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Thank you all who had participated in the karma giveaway! Here''s a bonus chapter promised from the event! Regr chapters will be out tomorrow (for me, at least), though the release time might be strange due to testing some things.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2122: Progenitor Smoke

    Chapter 2122: Progenitor Smoke

    A giant raised a hand, and the Ghost Monkey imperiously nodded his head. "Ask your question."

    "So are you saying that the alliance leader wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight against Y¨­u Qi without you, Lord Monkey?" the giant asked. While he looked like a massive colossal giant, he was really just a child. Still, the giant was impossiblyrge.

    The Ghost Monkey proudly replied, "That''s right! Without this monkey, there¡¯s no way Seventh Bro would have been that guy¡¯s opponent. Back then, Seventh Bro was still too weak, though that was also because of how young he was. The Ten Arbiters, Qiu Shi, and Y¨­u Qi were all a good bit older than Seventh Bro."

    "Isn¡¯t that considered cheating then?" Another giant raised a hand and asked.

    The Ghost Monkey dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. "Of course not! Lord Monkey and Seventh Bro lived as one, so how could working together be considered cheating? If that were the case, then Y¨­u Qi¡¯s horse and the weapons that everyone uses would also be considered cheating."

    "So are you Seventh Bro¡¯s weapon, Lord Monkey?"

    "Of course not! Lord Monkey and Seventh Bro will live or die together! We¡¯re brothers."

    "Lord Monkey¡¯s so powerful!"

    ¡­

    As he recounted his stories, the Ghost Monkey grew more and morefortable. He nced around at the small gathering of massive giants. It felt quite nice to hear theirpliments. The monsters that Ghost Monkey had spent time with in Aeternus Nation had been utterly incapable of voicing a singlepliment, so the Ghost Monkey has decided that he would make it a special point to teach these children. That way, even after they grew up, they would admire the Ghost Monkey more and more. This was the Ghost Monkey¡¯s path forward.

    All of a sudden, the eyes of the giant children grew wide, and they slightly panicked as they looked towards Ghost Monkey.

    The monkey felt rather surprised. Aren¡¯t these brats getting a bit too excited? I need to calm them down, as I¡¯ll be in trouble if that bastard Ku Wei finds out about this. That guy can make even that horrible fish shut up.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Ghost Monkey." A gentle voice spoke from behind the beast.

    The Ghost Monkey reflexively transformed into a shadow in order to hide. He had not even noticed that someone had gotten so close to him! If this was an enemy, the monkey knew that he would be done for. Wait, why does that voice sound so familiar?

    The Ghost Monkey popped back out from the shadow of one of the giant children, and he looked back at where he had just been sitting. His eyes grewrge. "Seven- Seventh Bro?"

    "Alliance Leader!" The group of colossal giant children all shouted excitedly as they looked at Lu Yin, their eyes full of admiration and fanaticism.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Why don¡¯t you all go y for a bit? I need to do something with Ghost Monkey."

    "Yes, Alliance Leader." The group of giant children reluctantly moved away, all the while casting reluctant nces back at Lu Yin. They all looked as though they were seeing their hero.

    The Ghost Monkey fully emerged from the shadows, a smile on his face that normally only appeared when he saw the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. He rushed over to Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro! I¡¯ve missed you so much!"

    Lu Yin grabbed the Ghost Monkey and returned to the pocket dimension in the mirror.

    The beast nced around in a daze. Where were they?

    "Read what¡¯s written here." Lu Yin tossed the stone to the monkey.

    Right when the monkey had been ready to start ttering Lu Yin, a rock was thrown at him. He snatched it automatically, and after ncing at it, he said, "Huh? Writing from that era?"

    Lu Yin watched intently. He had already known that the Ghost Monkey could read this writing. There were other people who could as well, as Lu Yin could theoretically go ask Arch-Elder Zen or the Second Nightking for their help in tranting the message. However, Arch-Elder Zen was wandering the universe and would be inconvenienced by Lu Yin¡¯s request, and the Second Nightking was still hiding in the Honor Zone. Thus, Lu Yin did not intend to bother either of the old men. The Ghost Monkey was the easiest option.

    "Seventh Bro, why is this asking if you¡¯re from the Lu family?" the Ghost Monkey asked as he read the message.

    Lu Yin stared into the fog. "That''s right. I¡¯m a descendant of the Lu family. Who are you?"

    The person in the fog was somewhat stunned by the response.

    There was a bang as another stone exited the fog and fell to the Ghost Monkey''s feet.

    The beast picked it up, and read, "I am the Progenitor Smoke you mentioned earlier."

    After reading the new message, the Ghost Monkey''s eyes grew impressivelyrge, as though he could not believe what he had just read. He read the writing on the rock a second time to confirm his trantion, and then he stared nkly at Lu Yin. "What, Progenitor Smoke?¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression fell, and he red at the fog. "Is this a joke?"

    The Ghost Monkey also became angry. "Progenitor Smoke, though not well-known, controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas! How could you be Progenitor Smoke? Would Progenitor Smoke be trapped within his own fog? Who would believe you? Idiot."

    The Ghost Monkey felt much better after venting for a moment, and he quickly turned to look at Lu Yin and licked his lips as he smiled. "Seventh Bro, this guy¡¯s clearly a liar. He¡¯s actually iming to be Progenitor Smoke? He-"

    Suddenly, the Ghost Monkey realized that there was something wrong with the look on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Seventh Bro? What''s wrong?"

    Lu Yin was staring intently at the Ghost Monkey. "How do you know that Progenitor Smoke controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    Twenty years ago, even Lu Yin had not known who had controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he had only learned the truth from Xin N¨¹. How did the Ghost Monkey know about this as well?

    The Ghost Monkey quickly exined, "That information became public knowledge a long time ago. A lot of people now know about the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and most members of the Twelve Heavenly Gates are aware of that information."

    Lu Yin frowned as he remembered that things had changed while he had been gone. Many secrets had be public knowledge, and information had be far more widely avable.

    It was hard to remember, but long ago, most people had not even known about the existence of the Sixth Maind.

    The Ghost Monkey''s exnation was perfectly reasonable.

    There was another bang as another stone fell. The Ghost Monkey picked it up. "This one says ¡®I''m really Progenitor Smoke.¡¯"

    As soon as he finished reading, the Ghost Monkey bared his teeth. "Seventh Bro, this person¡¯s obviously a liar! He¡¯s got to be plotting something by pretending to be Progenitor Smoke. Damn, if they want to impersonate a Progenitor, then why not at least pretend to be Progenitor Chen?"

    Lu Yin stared at the fog. "If this person really is Progenitor Smoke, then why are they trapped in this fog? How could Progenitor Smoke be trapped by her own created power?"

    Another stone flew out, and the Ghost Monkey caught it. "I went overboard.¡¯"

    Lu Yin blinked. "That¡¯s all it says?"

    The Ghost Monkey nodded.

    Lu Yin gazed into the fog. This person iming to be Progenitor Smoke was using rather casualnguage¡­ "How can you prove you are Progenitor Smoke?"

    One more stone flew out. "¡¯How can you prove that your name is really Lu Yin?"

    After tranting the message, the Ghost Monkey got angry. "Seventh Bro, this guy has the balls to insult you!"

    Lu Yin just stared at the fog. "If there¡¯s no way to prove you are Progenitor Smoke, I will keep this mirror permanently stored and hidden away and won¡¯t touch it until I be a Progenitor, if then. Choose carefully."

    A stone flew out. "I don''t know how to prove it without speaking to people I know."

    Something urred to Lu Yin, and he pulled Zenith Mountain out and released Yun Tingting.

    The woman looked rather confused. She had moved from Zenith Mountain to the pocket dimension inside the mirror, but it was quite clear that she was not in the outside universe yet.

    "The person in this fog is iming to be Progenitor Smoke. You¡¯re going to verify their im," Lu Yin stated.

    Yun Tingting was stunned. "Progenitor Smoke?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Yun Tingting instantly denied the possibility, "How is that even possible?"

    She looked around, ncing at the fog that surrounded them. "No, it¡¯s impossible. How could Progenitor Smoke be trapped by their own fog? There¡¯s no way. This person¡¯s a liar."

    The Ghost Monkey quickly agreed, "That''s right, they¡¯re a liar! Seventh Bro, don''t pay attention to this person. He¡¯s just a liar who¡¯s trying to scam you."

    Another stone flew out, and this time it directly smashed right into the Ghost Monkey''s forehead. He quickly grabbed it, and read, "You¡¯ve called me a liar three times now. Any more of your bullshit, and I¡¯ll peel your hide off!"

    The Ghost Monkey was startled by the message, as it was clearly addressed at him.

    Right as the monkey finished reading, another stone flew out. The Ghost Monkey automatically read the next message. "Seventh Bro, he says he doesn¡¯t know this girl."

    Lu Yin looked over at Yun Tingting. "Try to figure out a way to prove whether or not this person is Progenitor Smoke."

    Yun Tingting was blunt. "There¡¯s no way. How could Progenitor Smoke be trapped by his own power?"

    "I asked you to prove something, not give your opinion." Lu Yin''s expression darkened.

    Yun Tingting had no choice but to look back at the fog. "Let me ask you, what is Progenitor Smoke''s most defining characteristic?"

    A stone flew out, and the Ghost Monkey grabbed it. He stared at the mist after reading the message, and said in a strange tone, "Seventh Bro, it says ¡®Beautiful.¡¯"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "What?"

    Yun Tingting was also caught off guard.

    "Beautiful." Even the Ghost Monkey was left speechless. Was that really something that a mighty Progenitor would say?

    Lu Yin looked back at the fog. "Are you messing with me? I¡¯m not going to put up with this."

    A stone flew out. "If you¡¯re from the Lu family, go find Lu Tianyi. He can prove my identity."

    Lu Yin replied, "If I could find Patriarch Lu Tianyi, why would I have bothered to find someone else?"

    Yun Tingting spoke up, "Tell me, how many servants did you have in the past?"

    A stone flew out. "None."

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. None? He looked over at Yun Tingting.

    Yun Tingting frowned. "Did you have any informal disciples who followed you?"

    "No."

    Yun Tingting looked at Lu Yin. "This can¡¯t be Progenitor Smoke, as there¡¯s no way Progenitor Smoke wouldn¡¯t know about my Yun family¡¯s ancestor."

    A stone flew out. "The ancestor of the Yun family? Back then, there was some bastard named Yun San who stuck around my Mountain and Sea. He said something about being hunted by the family of an enemy. I thought that he was rather pitiful, so I let him stick around for a while and gave him the Wei-Induction Technique."

    Yun Tingting''s eyes grewrge. "Our ancestor''s name is considered taboo, but he really was known as Yun San."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, Yun San? The name sounded like it belonged to someone who would be hunted and pursued. "Aside from the secret of your ancestor''s name, is there any other way to prove that this person is Progenitor Smoke?"

    Yun Tingting thought for a bit. "From some of the descriptions that our ancestor wrote¡­"

    Yun Tingting suddenly focused on the fog. "When Ancestor Yun San met Progenitor Smoke for the first time, what did he call the Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The first time someone addressed a person without knowing who they were, they would naturally use something different from the person¡¯s real name.

    A stone flew out, and the Ghost Monkey suddenly felt a new form of agony. He felt that this person was slowly proving themselves to actually be Progenitor Smoke, as unbelievable as that seemed. Even people from the Heavens Sect era had appeared, so what was really impossible? What if this person really was Progenitor Smoke? Progenitor Smoke had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and if he offended such a powerhouse, he would definitely be yed alive.

    The Ghost Monkey swallowed dryly as he thought of such possibilities and nced down at the stone. "Seventh Bro, it says, ¡®Sister Fairy.¡¯"

    Yun Tingting suddenly dropped to her knees. "Yun Tingting, descendant of the Yun family, greets Progenitor Smoke."

    Lu Yin was startled. "Are you sure?"

    Yun Tingting spoke in a very respectful tone, "That is a name that only my ancestor used, and only my Yun family ever knew of it. I only saw it mentioned in one of the ancient records written by my ancestor. This was something that no one ever knew of aside from my ancestor and Progenitor Smoke."

    Lu Yin stared back at the fog, rather stunned. This person really was Progenitor Smoke!

    "This little monkey greets Progenitor Smoke! Senior Progenitor Smoke will live forever! This little monkey wees Senior Progenitor Smoke back! Wee¡­" the Ghost Monkey started wildly ttering the person in the fog.

    Lu Yin continued staring at the fog, as he simply could not believe this. One of the people who had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was right in front of him. He had asked Yun Tingting to help prove things, but Lu Yin¡¯s intention had been to expose an imposter. Shockingly, this person had beenpletely honest. "Why are you trapped here, Senior? How can this junior get you out?"

    Another stone flew out. This time, the Ghost Monkey''s attitude was too subservient, and he held the stone over his head in a respectful position as he tranted, "A Progenitor from your Lu family can break this open and allow me to ess some of my strength, but if you want to release mepletely, it can only be done by someone more powerful than me."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "The Lu family has been exiled, and the current universe doesn¡¯t even have any Progenitors, so I don¡¯t know how I can help you, Senior."

    A stone flew out. "Isn¡¯t this the Fifth Maind?"

    "Yes."

    Another stone flew out. "Then why are there no Progenitors? Did all fourteen Progenitors from my era die?"

    Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard. Fourteen Progenitors? So many?

 Chapter 2123: Xi Wei

    Chapter 2123: Xi Wei

    "Did the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect fall by the time you were trapped in here, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    A stone flew out. "It couldn¡¯t have fallen. How could the Daosource Sect fall? You can also try to find a Semi-Progenitor so that I can speak with you more directly, but they would have to be a very powerful Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    "Also, there aren¡¯t many stones left."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and left the pocket dimension. A short timeter, he returned with both Kui Luo and Lu Buzheng.

    The two men just nced around with a bit of confusion. They saw Yun Tingting prostrated on the ground, as well as the Ghost Monkey smiling as he ttered the surrounding fog. No matter how anyone looked at the beast, it was revolting.

    "Little Lu, what''s going on?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Yin pointed at the fog. "The person trapped in there might be Progenitor Smoke. Could you attack the fog to see if we can release her?"

    ""Progenitor Smoke?"" both of the Semi-Progenitors shouted in unison. After twenty years in the Fifth Maind, they had both learned a great deal of history about the ce.

    "Brat, have you gone nuts? How could Progenitor Smoke be trapped here?" Kui Luo looked at Lu Yin as though staring at an idiot.

    Lu Buzheng actually had the exact same reaction.

    Lu Yin knew that it was impossible for anyone to believe such a thing, and he was still quite dubious himself, even after Yun Tingting¡¯s confirmation. Fortunately, Lu Yin was able to ess the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind, so he saw no reason to be afraid of anything. Also, it was notpletely impossible for the person trapped in the fog to actually be Progenitor Smoke. "Regardless of whether or not they really are Progenitor Smoke, let¡¯s get them out and see. There¡¯s no need to worry about anything, as if you¡¯re able to free her, it means that her strength can¡¯t pose any threat.¡±

    This was an urate analysis, so the two men nced at each other before observing the fog.

    Lu Buzheng said, "I''ll try first."

    He then visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and released a punch.

    An impressive hole formed in the fog, but the attack wascking, as the hole did not pierce through the fog.

    Seeing the results of his attack, Lu Buzheng grew serious. Three streams of qi started to swirl around his body. "Little Seven, we can''t break through something this powerful, which means that whoever¡¯s trapped should really be a Progenitor. If they aren¡¯t really Progenitor Smoke, but rather someone who wants to harm us, we¡¯re going to be in a lot of trouble. We can¡¯t just take this person¡¯s word."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What are you suggesting, Third Uncle?"

    Lu Buzheng exined, "I''m going to try with Destiny."

    One of the three streams of ancestral qi swirling around the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s body started to shift and change.

    Lu Yin and the others stared intently at the ancestral qi. Destiny. Were they really about to see Destiny? She was one of the rulers of the Three Dao, someone who stood at the same level as the God of Death.

    The air flow constantly shifted and changed. Sometimes it would take on a human form for a moment, but most of the time, it was a formless stream of qi. It continued to shift back and forth, but it failed to hold a human form.

    Everyone watched and waited.

    Suddenly, another stone flew out, and the Ghost Monkey quickly tranted the message. "Is he putting on a show?"

    Lu Buzheng shot a fierce re at the Ghost Monkey, terrifying the beast. "It¡¯s not me! That was Progenitor Smoke!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. When facing an attack from Ancient God, Third Uncle had also failed to fully summon Destiny with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Twenty years might have passed, but it seemed that Lu Buzheng still had not managed to seed.

    Some timeter, Lu Buzheng let out a breath. "Forget it. I can¡¯t."

    "You failed again?" Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Ten years ago, your Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique brought Destiny¡¯s disciple barging right to your doorstep. It¡¯s a pity that you can¡¯t use the technique, but you still managed to offend someone just by trying, huh?¡±

    Lu Buzheng snorted contemptuously. "I might not have seeded in summoning her, but I was able to get the impression from Destiny that this person can be saved."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose. "Third Uncle, are you saying that you can break through the fog?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded. "That''s the feeling that I got, but even if we can¡¯t, we¡¯ll at least do our best."

    "Then let¡¯s try," Lu Yin agreed.

    Everyone else stepped back, and Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo used their own attacks in tandem to strike at the fog.

    The full power of two Semi-Progenitors shot out and struck the same point in the fog. Lu Yin pulled out his needle-like weapon as well. This was the weapon that had shattered Wang Si''s inner world that Lu Yin had lent to Leng Qing to threaten Forgotten Ruins God.

    After Leng Qing borrowed the needle-like weapon in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall to attack Forgotten Ruins God, it had remained in his possession. After the Dao Chosen selection, Lu Yin had inherited Progenitor Chen''s power and had be capable of suppressing all of the Semi-Progenitors. Despite his newfound power, when he met Leng Qing again, Lu Yin had still made a point to collect his weapon.

    Lu Yinunched the needle with his full strength, and it shot into the fog together with the attacks from the two Semi-Progenitors.

    The needle was capable of shattering a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world, which was no small matter.

    The power of Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo¡¯s individual attacks had not left much of an impact in the fog, but they had worked together to propel Lu Yin¡¯s needle-like weapon. It was hard to say just how deep into the fog the attack traveled.

    The next moment, the weapon shot back, and it nearly stabbed Lu Yin himself.

    Both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo retreated a few steps, their faces pale.

    Lu Yin stared at the fog. Was even this much useless?

    Everyone else was also staring at the fog.

    Slowly, the fog recovered.

    Lu Yin sighed. So their attack really was useless?

    At this moment, a person emerged from the fog, and everyone¡¯s eyes instantly locked onto the figure.

    The person was wearing fluttering white clothes in an ancient style, and fog moved to surround her. She looked like a fairy descending onto earth. Her bare feet stayed in the air as she walked above the ground.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes moved further up, and he saw an absolutely beautiful face. This woman was just as beautiful as Ming Yan, and she matched up to the most beautiful women Lu Yin had ever seen. In addition to her stunning features, this woman also radiated a majestic aura that gave off the feeling that something as vast and imprable as the Astral River itself was surrounding and isting the woman.

    This aura was powerful enough that it stopped people from having second thoughts about that beautiful face, and people would not dare to take a second look.

    Even Lu Yin was feeling this way, let alone the others.

    Lu Buzheng was the gatemaster of one of the Heavenly Gates, and yet he instinctively dropped his head after just one nce at the woman.

    Kui Luo had the same reaction.

    Out of everyone present, Lu Yin continued to stare at the woman the longest, and he even sneaked several more nces at her.

    The woman said nothing as she stood in the air.

    As Lu Yin looked at the ground, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. Why did he not dare to look at this woman? Why did he feel some sort of shame from his very core when he looked at her? Something was wrong, as Lu Yin had never once felt this way during all his years of cultivation.

    The more Lu Yin thought about what he was feeling, the more upset he became. He forced his head up. The woman was staring at him, and the two locked eyes.

    The woman''s eyes had a depth and majesty to them that wasparable to the vast universe itself. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, on the other hand, were filled with stubbornness, though they also had an impressive weight that had built up over the years.

    The two stared at each other, neither looking away.

    "My name is Xi Wei," the woman stated. The unfathomable depths to her eyes slowly dissipated, and curiosity appeared instead. She was curious about Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes also finally shifted. "Progenitor Smoke?"

    The woman smiled. "I call myself Progenitor Wei, because the power that I created is called wei, but others prefer to call me Progenitor Smoke or Progenitor Fog because they don¡¯t understand my created power."

    Lu Yin gave the woman a respectful bow. "Junior Lu Yin greets Progenitor Wei."

    The woman smiled. "I was right, wasn¡¯t I?"

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "About what?"

    The woman tilted her head slightly. "I''m beautiful, aren''t I?"

    Lu Yin blinked. He had no idea how to respond, as anything that he said would be regarded as harassment.

    Honestly, who would dare to harass a Progenitor?

    Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo both looked up in astonishment, staring at the woman in confusion.

    The woman lifted her head up higher. "That¡¯s my defining characteristic. Anyone who sees me says the same. Beauty is beauty, and there¡¯s no denying it."

    "Yes, beautiful! Progenitor Wei¡¯s most outstanding feature is clearly her beauty," the Ghost Monkey said, continuing his tant ttery.

    The woman stared at the monkey. "If you¡¯re smart, don¡¯t ever call me a liar ever again, or else I¡¯ll peel your hide."

    The Ghost Monkey was startled by the sudden threat, and he dropped to the ground, not daring to speak another word.

    "Thank you, though this is only enough to let me catch my breath." Progenitor Smoke pulled at her cor as though it was pinching her neck. The movement revealed a great deal of snow-white skin.

    Lu Yin and the others quickly looked away. That had been too revealing, and Progenitor Smoke was too casual about her actions.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes at their behavior. "Alright, that¡¯s enough of your acting. Hurry up and tell me what¡¯s happened. What happened for you to say that the Daosource Sect¡¯s copsed? What''s going on? I know that that Xia Shang guy obliterated Progenitor Nan, but what happened after that? What did Lu Tianyi, Ku Jie, and all those other guys do?"

    Lu Yin looked around for a moment as he tried to organize his words a bit before sharing all that he knew about what had happened during the Daosource Sect era and the current era.

    Half a day passed while Lu Yin spoke, and Progenitor Smoke looked at him and contemted what she had learned. Lu Yin asked, "Were you not part of the war against the Sixth Maind?"

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I was in a desperate fight against one of the Aeternals¡¯ corpse kings, and that was what caused me to lose control of my own power. I even trapped myself! I haven¡¯t been able to get out and take a breath until just now, so I didn''t take part in that war."

    Lu Yin understood. The truth was that the Sixth Maind had been incredibly lucky to win the war during the Daosource Sect era. Progenitor Ku had taken off to fight against Aeternus, and Lu Tianyi and many of the other Progenitors had been busy dealing with the Seven Skygods. Only a few people, such as Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, had fought against the Sixth Maind. If not for such an advantage, how could the Sixth Maind have ever been the Fifth Maind¡¯s opponent?

    "You weren¡¯t fighting against the Seven Skygods?" Lu Yin asked. Given the power of a Progenitor who controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who would she have been fighting against if not one of the Seven Skygods.

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "No, I don''t want to face those seven old freaks, though they also wouldn¡¯t have an easy time dealing with me. The divine energy of the Aeternals¡¯ True God means that I can¡¯t kill any of them, and that power was also what made me lose control of my own power and remain trapped until now."

    "Did you end up killing that corpse king?"

    "Ground it to dust."

    Everyone just stared. "¡­ "

    Progenitor Smoke nced around and saw how everyone was looking at her oddly. She rolled her eyes. "What¡¯s with those expressions? I couldn¡¯t help it. That guy was too tough to deal with, so I just took the time to slowly wear it down and drain True God¡¯s divine energy away. There was no other way to kill the thing, as I¡¯m not very good at fighting."

    Lu Buzheng asked in a respectful tone, "You mentioned that you are only able to take a breath. Does this mean that you are unable to fully escape your prison?"

    Progenitor Smoke frowned, and she suddenly looked a bit ufortable. "I won¡¯t be able topletely get out of this ce unless someone manages to break through this fog, but there aren¡¯t even any Progenitors around anymore, so who¡¯s going to help me?"

    Kui Luo automatically nced over at Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Smoke noticed the look, and she also turned to Lu Yin. "Do you have a way to help?"

    Lu Yin exined, "I could help outside this mirror, as this junior is able to use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power."

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes went wide. "You can use Xia Shang''s power? Which one? That guy focused on a lot of things."

    "The Cosmic Art."

    Progenitor Smoke looked Lu Yin up and down. "How old are you?"

    This question stumped Lu Yin, as he did not actually know just how old he was.

    "Judging by your age, you should only have spent around a hundred years training with the Cosmic Art, so how can you use the power that Xia Shang left behind in the Fifth Maind?" Progenitor Smoke was very curious about this, and she continued to carefully examine Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the question. "You know about the power that Progenitor Chen left behind in the Fifth Maind?"

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "Don¡¯t be silly. Who didn¡¯t leave something behind? In our era, four of the Six Mainds had already been destroyed before we even took control of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Hui Wen found each of us one by one, and he told all of us that he wanted us to leave something behind. Old Fu left his runes, I left a bit of wei, but Xia Shang was the most ridiculous, and he left behind entire stars. Are you able to control the stars ands that he left behind?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Just in case the note was missed in chapter 2121, we were testing some backend updates to the website today, so the chapters were released 4 hours early. Tomorrow your regr release schedule will resume.

 Chapter 2124: Smoke

    Chapter 2124: Smoke

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "You can control them? How did you aplish that? It¡¯s not easy to control his power, and Xia Shang himself said that a person would have to reach at least the sixth level of his Cosmic Art to do so. That¡¯s something that only Semi-Progenitors can normally aplish. Even if the sixth level of the Cosmic Art isn¡¯t particrly powerful, it¡¯s still very difficult to achieve. More than anything, it takes an incredible amount of time."

    Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. Time was a resource that he never feared. "You just mentioned that all of you left something behind; does that mean that my Lu family¡¯s ancestor left something behind as well?"

    "He left a Champions¡¯ Stage behind," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "A Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Yep, a Champions¡¯ Stage that was supposed to be able to summon Progenitor-realm champions. I have no idea how he pulled it off. It¡¯s clearly an innate gift, but it¡¯s somehow also a physical object."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Champions¡¯ Stage, Champions¡¯ Stage¡­ Right, a Champions¡¯ Stage!

    Lu Yin had long since owned a Champions¡¯ Stage, or rather, the Hall of Honor had long owned a Champions¡¯ Stage.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded, the Hall of Honor had used a Champions¡¯ Stage to give the Fifth Maind¡¯s youths titles of Generals, Dukes, and Kings. Was that tform the Champions¡¯ Stage that Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor Lu Tianyi had left behind in the Fifth Maind? Why had Arch-Elder Zen not simply used it?

    "No wonder why Old Zen asked where the Champions¡¯ Stage is so many times. It¡¯s a treasure that was left behind by Ancestor Lu Tianyi," Kui Luo recalled.

    Lu Buzheng looked over at Lu Yin, and he solemnly exined, "During the twenty years that you were missing, Arch-Elder Zen searched hide and wide for the Champions'' Stage. I had no idea until now that it was the physical form of our Lu family¡¯s innate gift. I don¡¯t know what he had nned to do with the Champions¡¯ Stage, but he seemed rather adamant about searching for it."

    Lu Yin started thinking. Arch-Elder Zen had always known about the Champions¡¯ Stage. After all, the man had received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique from the Lu family, so how could he not recognize a Champions¡¯ Stage? There was even a time when the Champions¡¯ Stage was stolen and nearly taken back to the Sixth Maind.

    On top of that, when Lu Yin had asked to borrow the Champions¡¯ Stage for a while, the Hall of Honor had given it to him without any hesitation.

    That was truly strange, looking back. What had Arch-Elder Zen been thinking?

    "Senior, do you know how to use the Champions¡¯ Stage that Ancestor Lu Tianyi left behind?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke calmly replied, "If even you, a member of the Lu family, doesn¡¯t know, how would I?"

    This was a dead end, so Lu Yin decided to forget it for the moment and simply ask Arch-Elder Zen about itter.

    "You can use Xia Shang''s power, and it¡¯s powerful enough to save me, but I¡¯m stuck inside this mirror, which was made with my power. It is not connected to the stars that were left behind, and without that connection, it should be impossible to use Xia Shang''s power to save me. This is going to be a problem," Progenitor Smoke muttered to herself.

    Lu Yin asked, "Senior, you mentioned fourteen Progenitors from the Fifth Maind. Were there really that many?"

    "Senior, how many Progenitors did the Sixth Maind have back then?"

    "Senior, why did Progenitor Chen obliterate Progenitor Nan?"

    "Senior¡­"

    It was difficult to encounter a living fossil, let alone one which was a Progenitor. Lu Yin had countless questions.

    Progenitor Smoke finally started to get annoyed by the rain of questions. "Go ask someone else! I don''t have time to deal with you! I finally managed to get out, and I want to take a breather! You¡¯re so annoying!"

    Suddenly, the woman¡¯s body vanished.

    Lu Yin quickly led everyone out of the pocket dimension, and they all saw Progenitor Smoke standing in outer space. She was stretching her waist, and a look of pleasure could be seen on her face. "This feels so much better."

    The small group of people stood a short ways away from Progenitor Smoke and watched her. Lu Yin looked back at the mirror. Could Progenitor Smoke really leave the mirror?

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly nced over to look at Lu Yin. "You talk too much for someone so young. You chatter away like an old man."

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "Senior, the Daosource Sect fell long ago, and the Lu family and other primeval surnames all went to the Perennial World. The Fifth Maind simply doesn¡¯t have any records of what happened in the past, and there are too many mysteries. It¡¯s not easy to get answers from a senior like you."

    "I don''t have the patience to tell you all of that. History¡¯s history, and it''s pointless to learn that stuff. What you need to focus on is training. Cultivate until you be a Progenitor and then release me. Given your talent, you¡¯ll definitely be able to be a Progenitor, and after that breakthrough, you also won¡¯t be a weak Progenitor," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin answered modestly. "This junior can''tpare to you, Senior. You control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes lit up. "Even if you¡¯re just trying to be polite, you still couldn¡¯tpare to me. Even if you are invincible in your realm, the strength that you will obtain upon bing a Progenitor is entirely dependent on your ownprehension. Progenitors who can¡¯t even create their own energy and cultivation method don¡¯t deserve to be called Progenitors, and they can only be thought of as stepping onto the threshold of the Progenitor realm. I was able to sense your attacks when you were attacking the fog, and your body¡¯s impressively strong, and you also have the Lu family¡¯s innate gift. Not bad at all, but you¡¯re stillcking if you want topare yourself to me."

    Strange expressions could be seen on both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo¡¯s faces. What was wrong with this woman¡¯s perception of Lu Yin? Lacking? A powerful body? That was just a single aspect of Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin had simr questions. "Senior, how much of your strength can you ess right now?"

    Progenitor Smoke nced over. "At best, I have the power of a one-tribtion cultivator."

    It was then that Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Progenitor Smoke was unable to see through Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. If she could ess her full power as a Progenitor, then her evaluation of Lu Yin would be very different. Lu Yin was training in so many different abilities that he struggled to keep up with all of them.

    "What''s with that look? Don''t think that you¡¯re impressive just because you¡¯re able to use the power that Xia Shang left behind. The Cosmic Art is just one of his abilities. I waited to be a Progenitor before creating my own cultivation method, as the method that one develops shouldn¡¯t be too simple. It takes time to study such things, and only the power that you create for yourself will perfectly suit you. Take me, for example. I can use just a bit of my power to create Envoys. Can Progenitors who haven¡¯t created their own energy do that? Not a chance,¡± Progenitor Smoke said proudly.

    Lu Yin was astonished, and he even felt that he must have heard wrong. "Senior, did you just say that you can create Envoys? What do you mean by that?"

    Lu Buzheng, Kui Luo, and the others were simrly stunned. Create an Envoy? This did not make any sense.

    Progenitor Smoke said, "Exactly that. I can rece the meridians within a human body and even rece their stellr energy vortex. It¡¯s even possible to eventually rece a person¡¯s inner world and create a Semi-Progenitor. It wasmon for Old Fu to create a bunch of powerhouses out of nothing but his runes and Truesight, while Xia Shang would rece stars ands with his Cosmic Art."

    Lu Buzheng quietly added, "This is true. Extremely powerful Progenitors are able to alter the universe and create new things. During our era, the Three Realms Six Dao and the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were able to do this."

    Extremely powerful Progenitors? Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, and he quickly took out the frozen Ming Yan from his cosmic ring. He looked at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, can you save her?"

    Progenitor Smoke looked at the frozen Ming Yan and was surprised by what she saw. "What impressive ice."

    She then looked at Ming Yan and shook her head. "I can only ess the power of a one-tribtion cultivator. I can¡¯t even see the extent of her injuries, and I definitely can¡¯t heal her wounds."

    Lu Yin was disappointed. Only an incredibly powerful expert would be able to save Ming Yan. "If you were able to fully recover, would you be able to save her, Senior?"

    "Of course! I control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas." Progenitor Smoke was absolutely confident.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. Still, his strength was nowhere close to the power that was needed to break through the fog. Regardless of the fact that there were currently no Progenitors in the Fifth Maind, even if there were, they might not be stronger than Progenitor Smoke. The only option that Lu Yin could think of was the needle-like weapon.

    When Lu Yin had received that weapon from Tian Dou, the man had mentioned that it had once killed a Semi-Progenitor, and Lu Yin hadter used it to severely injure Wang Si and even threaten Forgotten Ruins God. That was why Lu Yin had wanted to get the weapon back from Leng Qing. It had not even been fully Enhanced yet, so if Lu Yin pushed it to its limits, it might be strong enough to free Progenitor Smoke.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something else that he had forgotten, and he pped a hand to his forehead. How could he have forgotten about that.

    He pressed a hand to the mirror and entered the pocket dimension. He then pulled out a slipper from his cosmic ring.

    Sure enough, it was the slipper that Lu Yin had Pilfered with his die. He had initially believed it to be a piece of trash, but he had quickly discovered that not only was it impossible for him to destroy the slipper, but it had also caused Ancestor Tortoise to wail and thrash in agony when smacked, which was close to impossible to aplish.

    Lu Yin held the slipper in one hand and walked towards the edge of the fog. As he was moving, Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension as well. When she saw Lu Yin approaching the fog with a slipper, the woman felt a bit confused. "What are you doing?"

    "Smashing it."

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression instantly changed, and she became angry. "You rude little brat! Who are you trying to p with your slipper?"

    Lu Yin exined, "This isn¡¯t a normal slipper. It¡¯s actually very powerful."

    "Don¡¯t you dare!" Progenitor Smoke shot forward and stood between Lu Yin and the fog. Once there, she red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He smiled wryly. "Senior, even though this looks like a slipper, it¡¯s actually a power vessel."

    Progenitor Smoke gritted her teeth as she continued to stare at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s nothing but a slipper! Look! You can even see a footprint inside it! That thing¡¯s disgusting, and it¡¯s not touching my wei!"

    "Senior, this really is a power vessel, and it has the strength of a Progenitor! This junior once used it to overwhelm a Progenitor," Lu Yin promised.

    Progenitor Smoke was amazed. "Overwhelmed a Progenitor? Which one?"

    "The Progenitor of Secret Arts," Lu Yin immediately answered.

    This just confused Progenitor Smoke. "Who¡¯s the Progenitor of Secret Arts?"

    "His name is Yi Ren, and he might not have been a Progenitor during your time, but he was definitely alive back then. You might not have known of him, but he definitely would have known about you, Senior. He was one of the only surviving Progenitors from the Sixth Maind, but he betrayed humanity, and this junior smacked his head with this slipper.¡± Lu Yin clenched his fists as he confidently gave his report.

    Progenitor Smoke blinked. Given Lu Yin¡¯s story, this slipper really must be a power vessel with the strength of a Progenitor. Still, she could not look past the ugly ck footprint in the slipper. It was so clear, and she could even make out the five toes. "Fine, you can use it, but clean it first."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he instantly moved past Progenitor Smoke to arrive at the fog, instantly attacking with the slipper.

    Progenitor Smoke went pale. This was not because she was afraid of the slipper, but because she was too revolted by it.

    The slipper mmed into the fog, and a massive hole tore through it as if a sharp sword had swept through. Even if the slipper still failed topletely break through the fog, the attack was at least powerful enough to allow Progenitor Smoke to ess her strength at Semi-Progenitor level, which was a massive increase from a one-tribtion Envoy.

    The fog represented Progenitor Smoke¡¯s strength, and it was a visual manifestation of how much of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s strength had been broken through with an attack. When Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo had cooperated with Lu Yin¡¯s needle-like weapon, they had only been able to let Progenitor Smoke ess the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy, which was practically nothing for a powerhouse at her level.

    In contrast, a single p of the slipper had increased Progenitor Smoke''s avable strength to the level of a Semi-Progenitor. This was too drastic a difference in attack power.

    Lu Yin swung the slipper again, but the second attack was useless. He could not tear any further through the fog, as he had already released the full power of the slipper.

    Lu Yin put the slipper away and turned around to look at Progenitor Smoke.

    The woman was ring at him. Her expression was filled with an impressive authority, as well as a powerful disgust. It looked as though she wanted to erase Lu Yin.

    "You! How dare you touch my wei with such a filthy thing! Your actions are too rude to a senior!" Progenitor Smoke was so angry that she was almost unable to resist attacking Lu Yin.

    He quickly apologized, "Senior, this junior had no choice! It really isn¡¯t a slipper, but a rare Progenitor-level power vessel! Why don¡¯t you see for yourself?"

    "No need." More and more disgust filled Progenitor Smoke''s eyes.

 Chapter 2125: The Daosource Sect Incident

    Chapter 2125: The Daosource Sect Incident

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. While he had not been able to fully release Progenitor Smoke, the slipper had been far more effective than the needle-like weapon. If nothing else worked, he could simply try to gather enough resources to Enhance the slipper. That might be enough.

    That thought led to another: just who would be wasteful enough to make a slipper like this? And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning the ckened footprint inside it. The five clear toe printspletely grossed Lu Yin out. It made him feel like he was handling a big man¡¯s dirty feet.

    With her power reaching the Semi-Progenitor level, Progenitor Smoke¡¯s mood improved drastically, as long as no one mentioned slippers. "Junior, show me around the universe. After being trapped for so long, I have no idea how things have developed. Also, look for the Mountains and Seas."

    "You want to find the Mountain and Sea you controlled?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke nodded, and she suddenly looked a bit down. "It¡¯s my home."

    Lu Yin agreed. "Sure, but can you give this junior a bit of time to deal with some tasks?"

    "Do as you wish. I¡¯m very curious to see how things have developed, so I¡¯ll watch what you do. You said that you¡¯re the current Dao Chosen of the new Heavens Sect and that you control the entire Fifth Maind, so watching you will give me the best understanding of what¡¯s happening in the Fifth Maind."

    ¡­

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin showed Progenitor Smoke around the Heavens Sect and Earth. Even though they had not spent much time together, Lu Yin had already gotten to know Progenitor Smoke much better. She hid nothing, and her personality was very open. After these few days, Lu Yin finally understood the description that Yun Tingting had used to describe the Progenitor.

    The records left behind by the founder of the Smokecloud Sect hadmented on how Progenitor Smoke''s defining characteristic was that she was a maniac. When first hearing that, Lu Yin had wondered exactly what it meant, but after spending time with the woman, he understood that her mania was rted to the power she had created. As Progenitor Smoke saw the outside universe, everything that she saw, she rted back to her self-created power of wei.

    She had imed that she could rece the meridians within a human body with her own wei energy and even rece a stellr energy vortex to instantly create an Envoy. Lu Yin had not really believed the woman at that time, but then he had watched her take an ordinary person with no cultivation and instantly raised them to the Enlighter realm. By recing that person¡¯s meridians so that they could cultivate her own wei, shepletely transformed a normal person.

    While the substitute meridians would eventually disappear, they were able to endure for at least a few days.

    ording to Progenitor Smoke, at her peak, she had been able to create Envoys. Where she had lived on her Mountain and Sea, she had kept no servants, as there had been no need. All of the mundane issues were handled by puppets that she had created with the strength of an Envoy.

    No matter if it was a human, an astral beast, or an object, her wei had been able to ce an alternate stellr energy vortex within it.

    This was absolutely terrifying.

    ording to Lu Buzheng, Progenitor Smoke would have been an exceptional Progenitor even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Aside from her simplicity, there was another characteristic to Progenitor Smoke that drove Lu Yin crazy: she lovedpliments and ttery. The more obsequious the ttery, the happier the woman was to hear it, and the happier she became, the more willing she was to tell Lu Yin about the Daosource Sect era.

    For example, his ancestor, Lu Tianyi, had defeated the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Wangyuan on several asions. The Rune Progenitor had been someone who had only be an exceptional cultivatorter on in life. When Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Hui, and many of the others had already be famous throughout the Fifth Maind, the Rune Progenitor had still been studiously copying texts in a sect. Then there was ancient gossip, such as the fact that Progenitor Ku had loved a certain woman, but had never revealed who it was or even confessed to the woman. Also, Lu Yin learned more about the rtionship between Xia Shang and Wang Xiaoyu.

    "That idiot Xia Shang was too infatuated, and he¡¯s even got a bit of a poet¡¯s melodramatic side. He actually got sick from standing in the rain all day staring at those red flowers," Progenitor Smoke spat disdainfully. She sounded quite resentful.

    Lu Yin found it a bit odd. Did she like Progenitor Chen too?

    "What¡¯s with that look? Let me tell you something. Honestly, the fact that you¡¯re cultivating Xia Shang''s power leaves me very ufortable, so be careful when speaking to me." Progenitor Smoke red at Lu Yin as she spoke.

    Lu Yin quickly poured on the ttery. "This junior understands. From the invincible power that you possessed at your peak, it seems like Senior should have been the most powerful back then. You must have been seen as a goddess who held the hearts of countless people. By the way, the person that Progenitor Ku cared for might have even been you, Senior. But due to his sense of inferiority, he was probably worried that you didn¡¯t feel the same, and he didn¡¯t dare say anything."

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes lit up, and she patted Lu Yin¡¯s head. "You¡¯re right! Why didn''t I think of that? No wonder every time I saw Ku Jie, he looked so serious, and I always felt like he was trying to hide something."

    Lu Yin hurriedly continued stroking the woman¡¯s ego. "It sounds like that must be right. You must have been the one that Progenitor Ku cared for, but his low self-esteem kept him from ever expressing himself."

    Progenitor Smoke sighed. "If I had known about it back then, I wouldn''t have made fun of him that one time. You know, that guy lived a miserable life, so it''s only normal for him to have low self-esteem. Still, don''t look down on him. Ku Jie, Xia Shang, Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan were all from the same time, and there wasn¡¯t much of an age difference between them. There were a lot of impressively talented people from that era, and all of them became outstanding Progenitors. There were a lot of other talented people as well, but as far as I know, many of them were beaten up by Ku Jie, including direct descendants of your own Lu family. In particr, there was a haughty man named Lu Jian who lost to him."

    "What happened?" Lu Yin was curious. Even the Ku family knew almost nothing about Progenitor Ku''s life.

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "You know, all of them were arrogant in their own power, and they were an entire generation that rose up to lead the Daosource Sect, so it was only natural for them topete with each other. In the end, Xia Shang stood above all the others and waspletely invincible inbat, though Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, Lu Jian, and the others were just a bit behind him. Old Fu was practically a stiff, always studying his poetry and books. Ku Jie was the only person who continued to silently chase after Xia Shang, but who believed that he could do it?

    "Also, you can¡¯t forget about that sneak Hui Wen. He constantly made sarcasticments whenever he wasn¡¯t busy, and he always said that there were only a few people who deserved to be acknowledged by him, and Ku Jie was on that list. Ku Jie never said anything, but after Hui Wen said that, the others all looked to pick a fight with him. As for the results, neither side would ever acknowledge anything, but it was apparent enough when they all started avoiding him.

    "If you want my opinion, if not for the fact that Ku Jie always stayed so far out of the spotlight, he would have stolen all of Xia Shang¡¯s glory."

    Lu Yin quickly asked, "Did Progenitor Chen ever fight against Progenitor Ku?"

    Progenitor Smoke thought for a bit. "I guess that they must have, but even if they did, they kept it a secret. Xia Shang made a point to never mention his own embarrassing shit, while Ku Jie would never say anything at all. Even if those two beat each other senseless, no one would know.

    "Back then, the biggest scandal involving Xia Shang was that he was hunted by the Daosource Sect. He used the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and one of his clones became a colossal giant which caused a lot of mayhem and even Patriarch Lu Tianyi was so pissed that he ordered his arrest. He also mentioned that no one from the older generations was allowed to step in, but no one from the same generation could do anything to Xia Shang¡­"

    Lu Yin found it fascinating to hear about stories of the Daosource Sect era from Progenitor Smoke. Eventually, he was not the only one listening to the woman¡¯s stories, as Kui Luo, Lu Buzheng, Ku Wei, and many others also went to listen. Even Silver showed up with his ever present smile.

    Time continued to pass in this manner for half a month, during which time Lu Yin and the others learned a great deal about the Daosource Sect era. Only the arrival of Aurora Fortress broke the routine they had all settled into.

    "I greet Alliance Leader Lu." Director Zhi quickly bowed when he saw Lu Yin.

    To the man¡¯s side, Zhi Shao also offered a bow. "I greet Alliance Leader Lu."

    Many people still called Lu Yin Alliance Leader Lu, all of whom had been members of the original Great Eastern Alliance. As for people who came alongter on, they typically referred to Lu Yin as Dao Chosen Lu.

    Lu Yin still preferred to be called Alliance Leader Lu. "It¡¯s been quite a long time, Director Zhi."

    The older man sighed. "Despite the passage of twenty years, I see that after all this time, Alliance Leader Lu hasn¡¯t changed a bit. You look as young as ever."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s just because I didn¡¯t experience the passing of these twenty years. I actually traveled through time and space before I showed up."

    Director Zhi and Zhi Shao both stared at Lu Yin with wide eyes. They had never even heard of such a thing, and most people in the Fifth Maind were ignorant of what Lu Yin had lived through. "Alliance Leader Lu, what does that mean?"

    Lu Yin just smiled. "I¡¯m quite sure that your Aurora Enterprises must have studied time and space, so just understand that I traveled twenty years through time. Basically, while twenty years have passed since youst saw me, Director Zhi, from my perspective, it¡¯s only been a bit more than half a year since west met."

    Director Zhi was shocked. "You traveled twenty years through time? How?"

    "Haha, let¡¯s talk while we move," Lu Yin answered with a smile. He was not trying to show off. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword was something that had always been a matter of public knowledge, so there was no need for Lu Yin to hide it.

    After all, as long as the Seven Skygods themselves did not appear in the Fifth Maind, there was no one that Lu Yin needed to fear. Even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were still around, Lu Yin was confident that the power he had inherited from Progenitor Chen was more than enough to deal with those three.

    Progenitor Chen''s reputation for being peerless and invincible provided Lu Yin with utter confidence.

    It was that same reputation that had been the reason why Xia Ji had focused his breakthrough to the Progenitor realm on Progenitor Chen. Xia Ji could not believe that Progenitor Chen could ever be defeated. It was a matter of faith. How could Xia Shang ever be defeated inbat?

    However, when Lu Yin had broken through to be an Envoy, he had defeated a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm as him, which had struck a terrible blow to Xia Ji¡¯s faith in his ancestor. This had be the primary reason why Xia Ji could not coexist with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin entered Aurora Fortress. "This ce really hasn¡¯t changed much at all."

    Director Zhi replied, "The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate was not too harsh on my Aurora Fortress, as long as we delivered the promised microarray equipment on time."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Is that a reminder, Director Zhi?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare to be so presumptuous."

    Lu Yin soon saw Biao Zi again, who was the lead engineer for Aurora Enterprises. He was the man who had made the first modified universal armor for Lu Yin that incorporated microarray technology. Additionally, Lu Yin met with Realm Array Master Xuan, Wan Gong, ze Engineer, and many other people.

    With the passage of twenty years, some people had grown old, while others looked the same as before.

    "Master Xuan, you¡¯ve worked hard." Lu Yin addressed Realm Array Master Xuan. Twenty years was not a long time for cultivators, but Master Xuan clearly looked much older.

    Despite his aged face, the man remained vigorous and spirited, and he smiled at Lu Yin. "It hasn¡¯t been difficult, as this time has proven very fulfilling."

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he nced over at Director Zhi.

    Director Zhi gestured for Lu Yin to follow, and he then led Lu Yin into the deepest regions of Aurora Fortress. "Alliance Leader Lu, in addition to simply producing more microarrays, it¡¯s been very important to research how to utilize andbine microarrays with alternate methods. This is what Master Xuan is most passionate about, and it was also how we have managed to retain a Realm Array Master for this project."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Combining microarrays?"

    Director Zhi answered solemnly, "This was something that was suggested by Gatemaster Hen Xin. Do you know why he took my Aurora Enterprises under his Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate? It was all because of the fact that, during the Heavens Sect era, someone had alreadye up with microarray technology. They had even seeded inbining and integrating it with other methods."

    Lu Yin immediately remembered the microarray that he had taken from Bai Shaohong that had held three Void Rip attacks. The entire reason why Wan Gong had sessfully finished his research into microarray technology had been due to the inspiration that he had received from that microarray. Lu Yin wondered if the Celestial Frost Sect had already studied myriad uses of the microarrays.

    That was why, after the army from the Perennial World had been captured, Lu Yin had tasked people with investigating the matter while also questioning people like Yu Chen, Liu Shaoge, and Elder Xi Zi. The only thing that Lu Yin had been absolutely certain about was that someone had already developed microarray technology before the current era.

    "Are you saying that Hen Xin understands the uses of microarray technology?" Lu Yin asked solemnly.

 Chapter 2126: The Great Goddess

    Chapter 2126: The Great Goddess

    Director Zhi nodded. "He understands the fundamental concepts, and he was also the one who suggested that webine microarrays in novel ways. His actions affirmed our beliefs that this technology can usher in a new era. In fact, he has more confidence in microarray technology than anyone else."

    Lu Yin immediately understood that this meant that microarray technology had already appeared during the Heavens Sect era.

    "Take me to where you¡¯re researchingbined microarrays, and also give me a detailed exnation of what Hen Xin suggested," Lu Yin said. As he spoke, Progenitor Smoke appeared next to him.

    Lu Yin kept the mirror next to him wherever he went, in order to allow Progenitor Smoke to appear freely whenever she wished. While this meant that Lu Yin had lost his privacy, it was not bad to be constantly apanied by a Semi-Progenitor. Not to mention, even powerful Semi-Progenitors like Lu Buzheng and the other gatemasters were not the woman¡¯s opponents.

    Upon seeing Progenitor Smoke appear, Director Zhi and the others present werepletely stunned. Despite the fact that the people of Aurora Fortress were constantly on guard, Progenitor Smoke¡¯s unconscious aura overwhelmed them all. People lowered their heads, and no one dared to look directly at the woman.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "Show me."

    Director Zhi was roused as though from a dream, and he quickly snapped everyone nearby out of their daze. Director Zhi was stunned by his own reaction, as this woman¡¯s mere presence had caused him to drop his head. Who could she be?

    Zhi Shao had also reacted by lowering his head, but he could not resist sneaking another peak at Progenitor Smoke. Although he could only see her side profile, he was fascinated by the woman¡¯s beauty. She was so, so beautiful, and she had a demeanor that made it impermissible to sully her purity.

    Progenitor Smoke nced around, her eyes gleaming. "So is this the ce that can be considered the peak of technology in the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s right. What I¡¯m about to observe is their research into the next technological breakthrough that should usher in a new era. Are you interested in these things, Senior?"

    "Of course. These are the things that Hui Wen likes to fiddle around with the most. I''ve watched him y around before," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin reminded Director Zhi to lead the way.

    Director Zhi felt quite confused. "Alliance Leader Lu, who is this senior?"

    "The greatest goddess in the universe," Lu Yin replied.

    Upon hearing this response, Director Zhi was stunned. Zhi Shao, Master Xuan, and everyone else present was simrly caught off guard, and even Progenitor Smoke herself felt rather shocked. The greatest goddess in the universe? She gave Lu Yin a look of admiration for his description. It sounded absolutely perfect.

    Lu Yin had thought a long time beforeing up with this description, and he had actually been inspired by Ku Wei. The man had once ttered Lu Yin by iming that he was the greatest god in the universe, which had badly embarrassed Lu Yin, but he felt that these words would be highly effective on Progenitor Smoke.

    Progenitor Smoke felt that Lu Yin was growing on her more and more. "How is your progress with my Wei-Induction Technique?"

    Lu Yin gave the woman a smile. "I''m working on it."

    "Work hard. If you want to be a Progenitor, it¡¯s important to gather various cultivation methods. That way, you can study and understand many different forms of energy to assist you in breaking through to be a Progenitor. It¡¯s very difficult to be a Progenitor by relying on only a single form of energy, unless you¡¯re able to take things to the extreme, like Ku Jie," Progenitor Smoke advised.

    Lu Yin quickly assented.

    Director Zhi swallowed dryly. Just who was this woman? She gave advice on how to be a Progenitor, and her words made it sound like she was speaking from experience. Could she actually be a Progenitor? But how could that be possible? The only Progenitor in the entire Fifth Maind was the Progenitor of Bloodlines, while this woman was too unforgettable for no one to know of her.

    Director Zhi nced at Lu Yin. He had never seen Lu Yin act so subserviently to anyone at all, and he had just deliberately ttered this woman. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current position and status in the Fifth Maind, there was no need for him to tter anyone aside from Progenitors. Could this woman truly be such a powerhouse?

    The more Director Zhi thought about what he observed, the more he felt that his suspicion was a real possibility. If this woman really was a Progenitor¡­ Director Zhi nced at his son. How amazing would it be if such an expert took Zhi Shao as a disciple? Eh?

    It was only when he nced at his son that Director Zhi noticed the obsessive nces that Zhi Shao was throwing towards Progenitor Smoke''s face.

    The man instantly started to panic, and he deliberately slowed his pace to stomp on Zhi Shao¡¯s foot.

    Finally, Zhi Shao came to his senses, but he simply looked at Director Zhi''s back in confusion.

    Lu Yin clearly noticed the behavior of the father and son, but he was unconcerned by it. Most people would be stunned and then embarrassed when they first saw Progenitor Smoke¡¯s face, and it was not unusual for people to develop a bit of an obsession after seeing such gorgeous features. The woman was simply too beautiful, as she herself had said, and her looks easily drew the attention of countless people.

    It was not long before Director Zhi led the group into the deepest parts of Aurora Fortress. They entered an area that was filled with bits of technology that looked like they came from some science fiction story. There was someone already there studying a screen, constantly making adjustments to calctions and experimenting with numbers.

    Lu Yin looked around, but there was nothing present in the room that he could even remotely understand aside from the fact that a microarray was being studied on the screen.

    Things became far more confusing when microarrays werebined, and the endless amount of data being disyed on the screen was enough to overwhelm and confuse anyone.

    Even Progenitor Smoke felt confused. She enjoyed studying her self-created wei, but she had no understanding of any other fields of study.

    Wei was able to rece a person¡¯s meridians, or even their stellr energy vortex, which meant that Progenitor Smoke had essentially studied biotechnology. Thus, the microarrays on disy were utterly iprehensible to the woman.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, the microarray weapons that we currently use mainly feature only a single microarray. These weapons allow an ordinary person to wield a weapon that can take out Explorers," Director Zhi introduced.

    Progenitor Smoke instantly felt contemptuous, as she was capable of manufacturing Envoys.

    "However, if we increase the amount of pyrolyte, the power of the weapon changes ordingly, and at best, our weapons can match the power of an Enlighter."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Wasn¡¯t that possible from the beginning even without pyrolyte?"

    Director Zhi exined, "There is a vast discrepancy in power even within the Enlighter realm, and the power of the weapons has doubledpared to what we were first capable of creating."

    Lu Yin said, "Director Zhi, are you trying to deceive me because of my ignorance? A single gram of pyrolyte possesses enough destructive power topare to an attack with a power level of 10,000. Microarrays were already capable of matching the strength of an Enlighter, and now you¡¯re trying to tell me that the addition of pyrolyte is only able to double the power of your weapons?"

    "What if only a few grams of pyrolyte is being used?" Director Zhi countered.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Are you saying that you¡¯re able to double the power of the original microarrays with just a few grams of pyrolyte?"

    Director Zhi nodded. "Both the sourcebox array and the raw materials are absolutely indispensable in the production of microarray weapons. Not only do we need the bark from the Mother Tree that allows us to create microarrays, but also the proper materials to contain and utilize the pyrolyte in each attack¡­"

    Director Zhi went on for quite a long time. He would not put so much time and effort into an exnation for other people, but he felt that he had no choice but to do so with Lu Yin.

    Director Zhi had attempted to give simr exnations to Hen Xin in the past, but the gatemaster had merely suggested a direction to proceed with the research, and he had no real understanding of any aspect of the associated technologies. After giving a direction forward, Hen Xin had left Aurora Enterprises to fumble around withbining microarray technology in different manners.

    However, due to the gap between the eras existing, the possibilities avable with modern technology could have been produced long before, given the power of the ancient eras.

    "A weapon with a single microarray is very different from a weapon withbined microarrays. Using multiple microarrays is almost entirely dependent on thepatibility of the sourcebox arrays. It requires extreme precision, and more than a hundred people have died from minor mistakes that were present when we tried tobine three microarrays.¡±

    "In our attempt tobine five microarrays, even Realm Array Master Xuan was injured."

    "How many microarrays can youbine at present?" Lu Yin asked.

    Director Zhi solemnly replied, "Combining five microarrays was what Gatemaster Hen Xin mentioned. He told us that the researcher who developed microarray technology during the Heavens Sect era had managed tobine five microarrays into a powerful merged unit that could threaten even Envoys."

    The man¡¯s expression grew stiff as he spoke.

    As for Progenitor Smoke, she still felt nothing but contempt for what she was hearing. Threaten Envoys? At her peak, she could simply mass-produce her own Envoys.

    While Progenitor Smoke did not care about what she was hearing, Lu Yin grew excited. "Thesebined microarrays can threaten Envoys? Can they be mass-produced?"

    Director Zhi was instantly ced in a tight ce. "Our production crew is too short-staffed for mass-production, but we¡¯re trying to find a way to develop an assembly line. Still, we¡¯re struggling because of how few Lockbreakers we have avable.¡±

    "On top of that, our highest priority is developing abination of twenty-eight microarrays. As soon as we seed in this, we will possess a truly powerful weapon."

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. "You want to jump straight frombining five microarrays, to twenty-eight?"

    Master Xuan jumped in. "Alliance Leader Lu, the difficulty inbining microarrays isn¡¯t because of their numbers, but rather due to how well they fit together. For example, we canbine five microarrays, but we struggle tobine two or four. As forbining twenty-eight microarrays, it theoretically has the greatestpatibility after five."

    Lu Yin nodded. "If you seed, how powerful do you predict the resulting weapon to be?"

    Director Zhi straightened up. "It should have a power level of over a million."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Are you sure?"

    A power level of over 500,000 and over a million werepletely different concepts, and even Progenitor Smoke grew serious for the first time since she had arrived at Aurora Fortress, and she focused intently on Director Zhi.

    Could thesemon people really develop a weapon with a power level of over a million? That was the same as a six-tribtion powerhouse, and even during the Daosource Sect era, such experts had been rare.

    Furthermore, it sounded as though these weapons would also be able to be mass-produced, which was frightening. This was even more intimidating than Progenitor Smoke¡¯s ability to create Envoys.

    "While the difficulty in research and even production depends on thepatibility of the microarrays, the raw power ispletely dependent on the number of microarrays beingbined," Director Zhi continued. "The power of a weapon that incorporates twenty-eight microarrays would far surpass that of a weapon with only five microarrays, and our estimate of a power level of over a million is merely us being conservative. If we can improve the strength of the base materials for the weapons and also increase the amount of pyrolyte being used, then the power of the weapons will only increase even further.¡±

    Lu Yin had long expected the Fifth Maind to struggle to produce microarrays due to ack of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, not to mention the few Lockbreakers participating in the research. If they could gain ess to the Perennial World, then they would have ess to more than enough of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark.

    "Let¡¯s speed up the research into this twenty-eight microarraybination. Tell me what resources you need, and I¡¯ll do my best to take care of it for you," Lu Yin said.

    Realm Array Master Xuan instantly replied, "Lockbreakers."

    "Technicians and engineers."

    "Raw materials."

    Thest two requests were made by Director Zhi and Wan Gong. All three men brought up three different requests.

    Lu Yin took out his wireless jincan and immediately sent a direct message to Grandmaster Xiu Ming. After bing the Dao Chosen, Lu Yin had received the contact information for all of the most important people in the Fifth Maind, and Grandmaster Xiu Ming was naturally among those individuals.

    While Lockbreakers had not yed an essential role in the battles against the Aeternals, they had proven invaluable in setting up various sourcebox arrays and lockbreaking. Lu Yin had already asked Arch-Elder Zen about Grandmaster Xiu Ming, and he had learned that the grandmaster was not very skilled atbat. While he was not a Realmbreaker capable of challenging Semi-Progenitors like Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, Qing Ping, Xiu Ming was far from being incapable of defending himself against Semi-Progenitors.

    In the current Fifth Maind, Grandmaster Xiu Ming stood at the peak when it came to lockbreaking and sourcebox arrays. He had surpassed even Highsage Grandmaster.

    "Lu Yin?" Array Grandmaster Xiu Ming quickly replied.

    Lu Yin sent back, "Grandmaster Xiu, I haven''t seen you for many years. How have you been?"

    In the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone, inside the Lockbreakers World, Xiu Ming replied, "Not bad at all. I¡¯ve been quite satisfied. I¡¯ve been informed that you want me to merge the Lockbreakers Society into the Heavens Sect¡¯s Backyard, but what is this organization that you want us to be a part of?"

    Lu Yin solemnly said, "Humanity has been separated and disjointed for far too long. If not for the threat of the Aeternals, humanity would have never managed to unite during thest twenty years. A divided Human Domain will easily be conquered by the Aeternals."

 Chapter 2127: A Huge Harvest

    Chapter 2127: A Huge Harvest

    After seeing Lu Yin''s message, Xiu Ming replied, "I understand that, and it¡¯s why I did not refuse your request. The Lockbreaker Society was originally a subsidiary of the Hall of Honor, so we were overseen by them. That rtionship has simply been taken over by the Heavens Sect."

    "I¡¯m d to see you understand, Grandmaster Xiu," Lu Yin sent.

    Xiu Ming asked, "In that case, what are you contacting my Lockbreaker Society for?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course it¡¯s because I need to give you some work, given the fact that you belong to the Heavens Sect. Still, the truth of the matter is the Lockbreaker Society will function in the same manner as before, though there are some things that I need help with. For starters, I need your Lockbreaker Society to help in the production and research of microarray technology."

    "Haha, I knew that you needed something from me! Microarray technology? Gatemaster Hen Xin also approached me about that in the past, but my Lockbreakers were needed to maintain the sourcebox arrays that we set up everywhere, and there simply weren¡¯t any people to spare. However, with the threat of the Aeternals now gone, we can send some people to participate in the research," Xiu Ming responded.

    Director Zhi, Realm Array Master Xuan, and the others from Aurora Enterprises were all relieved to hear this news. More Lockbreakers would definitely help expedite their research.

    "By the way, what¡¯s the progress inbining the microarrays?" Xiu Ming asked.

    "They¡¯re working onbining twenty-eight microarrays."

    Across the Fifth Maind, Xiu Ming was surprised at this information. "Twenty-eight? That many?"

    Lu Yin also felt that it was a lot, mostly because the jump from five to twenty-eight felt too exaggerated. "Director Zhi and the others have exined to me that this is the mostpatible number to work with, and so they jumped from five straight to twenty-eight microarrays."

    Xiu Ming remained silent for a while, but then he replied, "Interesting. Send me the information. I would like to participate a bit myself."

    Master Xuan instantly grew excited. "The president- does the president really want to see our research?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He had only hoped to have Xiu Ming send a few array masters or Lockbreakers to help them in their microarray technology research, and he had never even considered the possibility that Grandmaster Xiu Ming might be personally interested. How could Lu Yin ask an Array Grandmaster to participate in a research project? Even if Lu Yin was able to ess the power of Progenitor Chen and suppress the entire Fifth Maind, he still respected an expert like Xiu Ming.

    People like Grandmaster Xiu Ming and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors could not be forced into submission, as their pride would not allow them to be cowed. Lu Yin had not lost sight of this even after obtaining Progenitor Chen''s power.

    Still, having Grandmaster Xiu Ming¡¯s assistance in the microarray technology research was the best possible oue.

    "Alright, I''ll have Director Zhi and the others involved in the project send you their research, Grandmaster Xiu," Lu Yin replied.

    Next to Lu Yin, Master Xuan¡¯s excitement continued to grow. With Grandmaster Xiu¡¯s participation, Master Xuan could not even guess how quickly their research intobining twenty-eight microarrays would progress. A Realm Array Master and an Array Grandmaster were on twopletely different levels.

    After Lu Yin¡¯smunications with Grandmaster Xiu, he immediately reached out to the Technocracy.

    Over thest twenty years, people from the Sixth Maind had repeatedly tried to get in touch with the Technocracy and cooperate to resist the Aeternals, but the Technocracy had not replied or reacted even once.

    Lu Yin was sending a message to a wireless jincan that the Sixth Maind had sent to the Technocracy.

    Soon, Lu Yin received a reply: "Who is this?"

    "Lu Yin."

    For a time, the wireless jincan did not move, but after a while, it shifted. "I am Senn."

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the identity of the person he wasmunicating with. "Headmaster Senn, it''s been a long time."

    "Alliance Leader Lu- no, I should call you Dao Chosen now. Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect," Headmaster Senn replied.

    Lu Yin sent back, "Headmaster Senn, do you have a good understanding of what¡¯s recently happened in the Human Domain?"

    "Of course."

    "In that case, I''ll be blunt: what exactly is the Technocracy?" Lu Yin asked directly. For thismunication, he had moved away from the people from Aurora Enterprises, and only Progenitor Smoke remained next to Lu Yin. She stared at the wireless jincan with a great deal of curiosity.

    "Dao Chosen Lu should already have a guess."

    "I¡¯ve made a few guesses, but I want to hear the truth from you, Headmaster Senn."

    "Progenitor Hui created the Technocracy to gather resources to eventually deal with the Aeternals," Headmaster Senn instantly replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. The countless mechanical ants had been created with materials that the Technocracy had gathered from both the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World. The Technocracy had deliberately staged a civil war in order to gather resources from two different sources in order to produce even more mechanical ants. This had been another one of Progenitor Hui''s schemes.

    To enable the mass production of the mechanical ants, not only had the Technocracy worked to deceive the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World into believing that there was a civil war in the Technocracy, but they had also deceived the Hall of Honor. After all, the Human Domain had long been at war with the Technocracy.

    "What did Hui Wen leave behind?" Progenitor Smoke was surprised by what she was seeing.

    Lu Yin quickly exined, "Long ago, the Sixth Maind actually defeated the Fifth Maind in their war, and the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky was reced. Progenitor Hui managed to predict the future, and he left ns in ce that eventually forced the Sixth Maind to pay for their actions. The Technocracy was another one of his safeguards, and it was set up to gather resources and create a horde of mechanical ants to fight against the Aeternals. Unfortunately, even those endless numbers of ants were not enough, and they were unable to ovee all of the Aeternals."

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "Hui Wen was never any good at cultivating, and he just liked to y his little tricks with his twisted mind."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. y tricks with his twisted mind? That ¡®¡®twisted mind¡± had allowed the Fifth Maind to exist in the current era. If not for Progenitor Hui, the Human Domain would have disappeared long ago. Of course, Lu Yin did not say any of this. Progenitor Hui and Progenitor Smoke were peers, and Lu Yin would never suggest to Progenitor Smoke on how to act around one of her peers.

    Lu Yin sent a response to Headmaster Senn. "Progenitor Hui left the Technocracy to deal with the Aeternals, but unfortunately, his efforts were still not enough."

    "We did our best."

    Lu Yin replied, "I know, but now that your purpose for existing has been exposed, what are you going to do next? You won¡¯t be able to get any more resources from the Sixth Maind, and the Perennial World is not an option either, as the New Corridor has been damaged."

    Headmaster Senn did not reply.

    After a while, Lu Yin sent another message. "I actually need your help. If things go well, we will acquire an amazing weapon to deal with the Aeternals in the future."

    "What is it?" Headmaster Senn asked.

    "We are currently researching weapons that involvebining twenty-eight microarrays. Once we seed and these weapons are mass-produced, they will give us an edge over the Aeternals on future battlefields. I need your best technicians, engineers, and raw materials."

    "That¡¯s no problem," Headmaster Senn quickly sent back. "But this won¡¯t be for free."

    "I know. Raw materials that aren¡¯t needed by the Human Domain will be sent to the Technocracy, and also, you can use the eventual goal of killing me, Lu Xiaoxuan, to get more resources from the Perennial World. That will be far more effective than your civil war ever was."

    "That will certainly be a good excuse. When that timees, I''ll be sure to curse you soundly," Headmaster Senn replied with a bit of humor.

    Lu Yin had not expected the headmaster to have such a personality. Truthfully, while Lu Yin knew that Progenitor Hui had created the Technocracy, how had he aplished such a thing? How had the man created technological intelligences like Headmaster Senn or City Master Midday?

    "You can curse me as soundly as you wish, but you¡¯ll have topensate me for that," Lu Yin joked back.

    "I¡¯ll give you all of the star essence that the Technocracy possesses."

    Lu Yin had just been joking, and he had not expected to receive such an answer from Headmaster Senn, and Lu Yin was quite surprised. "Give me all of your star essence? Why?"

    Headmaster Senn exined, "Stellr energy has disappeared from the true universe, which has deprived you humans of the power that you rely on the most. Even if you have new cultivation methods to rece what you once used, such a change is too much to pull off quickly. Star essence is useless to us, and I might as well give it to you."

    Lu Yin grew short of breath. When the Technocracy had first attacked the Aeternals twenty years ago, First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy had merged. This meant that Headmaster Senn was not merely referring to the star essence that Sky Creation Academy possessed, but rather what the entire Technocracy had. This thought made Lu Yin swallow dryly. "How much?"

    "I don¡¯t have a precise number, but I¡¯ll have my people deliver it to you in batches. First, I¡¯ll send you what we have here in my Sky Creation Academy, which is about 200 billion star essence. After that, we¡¯ll send what¡¯s stored in First Edition City and the rest of the Technocracy. Altogether, I estimate that we have almost a trillion star essence that we¡¯ll be sending over. Our Technocracy has never tried to actively gather star essence, and it also isn¡¯t used in our economy or for mary transactions, so we don¡¯t have that much," Headmaster Senn replied.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s eyes turned green.

    Progenitor Smoke blinked, and she stared at Lu Yin in surprise when she saw how much his expression had changed.

    Could Lu Yin remain unaffected by this information? No, it was impossible for Lu Yin to remain unmoved by the numbers that Headmaster Senn was tossing out.

    200 billion star essence in the first shipment? Lu Yin had only ever heard these words in his dreams before! Was this for real? 200 billion star essence at first, and nearly a trillion altogether. These numbers were insane! Lu Yin had never before possessed such wealth.

    Headmaster Senn was quite urate in his report as well. Nearly a trillion star essence was not that much for the entire Technocracy, as an entire Domain would normally have this much star essence, and the Technocracy had no use for star essence, as they relied on other resources.

    Nearly a trillion star essence would soon be his¡­ Lu Yin first thought of the slipper and the needle-like weapon, and his thoughts then quickly moved on to his Netherworld River, Withered Bark, the metal from the Absolute Beast Cage, and more. But mostly, he thought about the possibility that he had just obtained for Enhancing the slipper and the needle-like weapon. If they could fully release Progenitor Smoke, the Human Domain would gain a full-strength Progenitor. This was a powerful Progenitor who controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, a powerhouse who could allow the Human Domain to unite the entire Fifth Maind.

    The Astral Beast Domain would no longer be a problem, and the Astral Wilderness would be ripe for exploration. Progenitor Smoke¡¯s presence would even help Lu Yin deal with the pressure from the Perennial World and the hidden danger still present in the Starfall Sea.

    This money presented a number of opportunities for Lu Yin.

    "When will you send the shipment?" Lu Yin eagerly asked in a rare loss of control.

    Headmaster Senn replied, "As soon as possible."

    "Researching thebination of twenty-eight microarrays is very important, so please send someone to help with this project as soon as possible. For our part, Grandmaster Xiu Ming has joined the project. Once we can mass-produce these weapons, we will be able to deal a huge blow to the Aeternals."

    Headmaster Senn was surprised by this bit of news. "Even the president of your Lockbreaker Society is participating? In that case, I will send someone as soon as possible."

    Lu Yin put away his wireless jincan. A boundless excitement zed deep in his eyes. He had just received a financial windfall, and it was absolutely massive this time.

    "What''s wrong with you? You look really greedy." Progenitor Smoke was still surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin looked over at the woman. "Senior, you are truly the greatest goddess in the universe, bar none!"

    He then happily turned around and went to find Director Zhi and the others.

    Progenitor Smoke stood where she was, stunned. Lu Yin had justplimented her for absolutely no reason. What did this mean?

    A short timeter, Director Zhi and the rest of the people from Aurora Enterprises also became excited. Lu Yin had taken care of their three greatest obstacles almost as soon as he had learned of them. Director Zhi could not stop himself from assuring Lu Yin that, with these issues dealt with, they were guaranteed to seed in developing a powerful weapon with twenty-eightbined microarrays that would give humanity a devastating weapon for the war with the Aeternals.

    ¡­

    In addition to visiting the microarray technology R&D center, Lu Yin also visited the raw materials division, checked on the amount of the white paper that remained, examined the medicinal stockpiles of Shamrock Enterprise, and looked through many other details.

    All of these groups andpanies had been merged into the Heavens Sect¡¯s Backyard to form the logistics division that would support the sect.

 Chapter 2128: Progenitor Smokes Mountain And Sea

    Chapter 2128: Progenitor Smoke''s Mountain And Sea

    At the moment, the reestablished Heavens Sect was nothing more than a mere framework. There were eight Heavenly Gates led by seven Semi-Progenitors, and there was also the Progenitor of Bloodlines who held the position of an elder. Out of everyone in the Heavens Sect, Progenitor Smoke and Lu Yin, who was able to use the power left behind by Progenitor Chen, were the most powerful individuals in the Fifth Maind¡¯s new Heavens Sect.

    While the founding of the Heavens Sect in the Human Domain suggested that humanity had united, there still remained many unstable internal factors. Regardless of their intentions, if these people had any malicious intent, they would be able to create a great deal of trouble in the dark. One such example was Undying Yushan. Another was the fact that Big Sis was actually the ancestor of the Y¨­u n. Lu Yin had no idea what Destina had been thinking when she had forced Big Sis to be her disciple.

    On top of all that, Whiteless God posed an even greater threat. As for external threats, the Astral Beast Domain had never done anything at all, which made Lu Yin even warier of their hidden schemes.

    He had even made it a point to ask Progenitor Smoke if she knew anything about humanoid sourceboxes, but the woman had known almost nothing, and she had no idea where the humanoid sourceboxes had evene from.

    Lu Yin would not allow himself to forget that the Astral Beast Domain had been collecting humanoid sourceboxes, not to mention the countless humanoid sourceboxes that he had seen appear upon the copse of the Fourth Maind. Could there be some connection between the humanoid sourceboxes and the Astral Beast Domain?

    Lu Yin was able to use Progenitor Chen''s power to overpower the entire Fifth Maind and reign supreme, but he was not able to see through all of the hidden undercurrents that ran across the Fifth Maind.

    Since he was unable to see everything, he did not bother trying. Besides, regardless of what threats might be hidden in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin was confident in his ability to remain in control, and that would only change if someone who was able to surpass Progenitor Chen appeared.

    Upon Progenitor Smoke''s strong urging, Lu Yin took her on a tour through the Human Domain.

    Massive changes had urred in the Fifth Maind since the Daosource Sect era, and even during thest twenty years. In fact, the most recent changes were so drastic that even Lu Yin was unclear of the circumstances in many ces in the Human Domain.

    Progenitor Smoke wanted to see the ces that she had known in the past, but both the names and locations of many of those ces had likely changed.

    They arrived in Bard Weave and approached the Astral River. Progenitor Smoke stared at it andmented, "This is actually where I started my path of cultivation. Back then, I met an expert who was one of the Daosource Sect¡¯s patrolmen. That meetingpletely changed my life. Once again, my life haspletely changed. People are all different, and even my old home ispletely gone.¡±

    They then moved into the Astral River, though the Astral River was no longer the same as it had been twenty years ago, let alone the Daosource Sect era.

    "There were too many talented people in the Daosource Sect. People from every walk of life from every part of the Fifth Maindpeted against each other, and even members of the same families would struggle against each other. My master brought me into the Daosource Sect, and after I became an Explorer, the first publicpetition I participated in was fishing in the Astral River," Progenitor Smoke murmured, clearly reminiscing about the past.

    Lu Yin listened without interrupting.

    "Not only does fishing in the Astral River require a certain level of strength, but one must also pay attention to technology and have a sense of danger. There were people who would be dragged into the Astral River, leaving behind nothing more than a puddle of blood. Others would manage to catch incredibly powerful creatures. I still remember when Fu Lui went fishing here in the Astral River. He actually stayed back and spent his time giving people special fishing rods. Who would have thought that, just a few yearster, he would end up bing the Rune Progenitor!" Progenitor Smokeughed, her smile spreading to her eyes.

    Lu Yin asked, "You said that the Rune Progenitor was pretty bad when he was young, right?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "That¡¯s right. He was older than the rest of us, and he didn¡¯t manage to be an Explorer until he was a hundred years old, but as he continued forward, each of his breakthroughs came faster than thest. His favorite saying was, ¡®Read more. Knowledge is power.¡¯¡±

    As she finished quoting the Progenitor, an odd expression appeared on the woman¡¯s face.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Shouldn''t that be something that Progenitor Hui said?"

    "Hui Wen liked to say that knowledge is more than just power," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin was speechless, but then he realized that this fit quite well with what he knew.

    "All of the most talented people were alwayspeting with each other for glory. Even back then, everyone knew that our generation would create a grand era for the Fifth Maind, but no one ever imagined that it would be so impressive. Of those who controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, most were from our generation. There was also that rebel Xia Shang, who monopolized two Mountains and one Sea.

    "Back then, Xia Shang¡¯s name was synonymous with rebel. He practiced the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and one of his clones merged with the bloodlines of the colossal giants. He sneaked into Burial Garden on his own, and he even seduced someone from the Wang family. When that came out, it was also discovered that he had also learned their Sit and Forget secret technique."

    Progenitor Smoke eximed, "Although everyone saw him as just a rebel, I have to admit that he was both determined and talented. Even Progenitor Lu Tianyi was reluctant to deal with him."

    A few dayster, the two entered Daynight Flowzone. During the Daosource Sect era, the Celestial Frost Sect had stood there. Only inter years had the Daynight n taken over. However, even the Daynight n had fallen, and the remaining ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect had been hidden.

    Progenitor Smoke looked at the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. "I once visited the Celestial Frost Sect and fought against Bai Wangyuan''s junior sister. Back then, the Celestial Frost Sect was very low-key. I never imagined that they would eventually cooperate with others to banish your Lu family. I still find it unbelievable that such a colossus could be overthrown."

    Lu Yin had nothing to say. The four ruling powers had taken advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over to banish the Lu family. Progenitor Smoke still struggled to believe that such a thing had happened, and her attitude made Lu Yin more suspicious than ever about that incident. If it were really that easy to exile the Lu family, then were they actually the Lu family?

    "How did Progenitor Lu Tianyipare to Progenitor Chen?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I don''t know. Xia Shang can be considered practically invincible within the same realm, but the strength that Lu Tianyi umted over the years is unfathomable. It¡¯s even said that he has Progenitor-level champions, so it¡¯s difficult to say which of the two would be stronger.¡±

    "That¡¯s part of the reason why I find it so hard to believe what happened. Xia Shang was strong enough to fight against both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan at the same time, and senior Lu Tianyi would have had no difficulty doing that either. On top of that, your Lu family has other powerful Progenitors, so given your family¡¯s foundation, I just can¡¯t understand how the Celestial Frost Sect and the others exiled them. Also, there were always rumors that your Lu family had a truly legendary figure."

    This was something that Lu Yin also could not figure out. It was possible that only Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors who had participated in the coup could actually exin what had happened.

    "Let''s go. I want to find my Mountain and Sea." Progenitor Smoke let out an emotional sigh. She was in a different era, and the ces that she knew had disappeared, along with the people. There was no reason to hang about.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Can you find it?"

    "Of course. It¡¯s my Mountain and Sea," Progenitor Smoke replied, as though it was only natural.

    After that, Progenitor Smoke started searching for her Mountain and Sea, and she roamed all over both the Innerverse and the Outerverse with Lu Yin. They even made their way to the Cosmic Sea and passed by Gaia''s Swamp. They stopped to see Jue Yi.

    The gatemaster was astonished to see Progenitor Smoke, as he waspletely unable to see through the woman¡¯s level of cultivation, which seemed impossible.

    Lu Yin saw that Gaia''s Swamp¡¯s Warden had been imprisoned outside of Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and the sight made Lu Yin angry. He released the Warden, and the giant offered Lu Yin a few words of thanks before making his way to the Neoverse.

    Jue Yi calmly looked at Lu Yin from within the death energy.

    Lu Yin looked at the swamp filled with death energy. "Both the Specter n and the Xie family are here."

    When the Court of Seven Names had been dissolved, the Xia family had joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, while the Xie family had not hesitated to join the Undying Heavenly Gate after Jue Yi had appeared. The Hui family and the other four families had been stunned to learn that the Xie family had long since fallen under the control of the Specter n.

    It had only been due to the four families¡¯ fear of Jue Yi that they had not attacked the Xie family.

    The fact that the Xie family had long since been a vassal of the Specter n meant that the Seven Courts had been infiltrated long, long ago, and it also exined how the Neohuman Alliance had managed to repeatedly sneak into Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum.

    The Specter n had taken refuge with Jue Yi, and he epted and protected them. Without the Semi-Progenitor, the Specter n would have beenpletely wiped out long ago due to their long-standing cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance.

    This had be a thorn in the hearts of many people, including even Arch-Elder Zen.

    Any person or organization that colluded with the Neohuman Alliance would bepletely eradicated, but the Specter n could not be touched.

    "They are not here," Jue Yi immediately replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "The Heavens Sect has been restored to its previous design, and the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates are only guardians who protect the gates to the Human Domain. Send the Specter n and the Xie family to report to the Heavens Sect."

    Jue Yi frowned. "As I told you, they are no longer here in Gaia''s Swamp."

    Lu Yin stared at Jue Yi intently for a moment, and from next to Lu Yin, Progenitor Smoke spoke up. "There are many people in there. They have to be members of the Specter n for them to remain safe within all of that death energy."

    Lu Yin nced past Jue Yi into Gaia''s Swamp. "Gatemaster Jue Yi, I hope that you can clearly remember the responsibilities of the Twelve Heavenly Gates."

    He then turned and left Gaia¡¯s Swamp.

    Progenitor Smoke was caught off guard, but she said nothing.

    Jue Yi frowned heavily as he watched Lu Yin leave. He had refused to deliver the Specter n to the Heavens Sect, which meant that he was deliberately antagonizing Lu Yin. While the two of them had already had some conflicts, the nature of the disagreements were fundamentally different.

    Still, it did not matter. Jue Yi was close to breaking through to be a Progenitor, and once he did that, he would be the one to control the Fifth Maind.

    Once Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke were far away from Gaia''s Swamp, she asked him, "The Specter n is obviously there, so why didn¡¯t you force him to tell the truth?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s not time yet."

    Progenitor Smoke remained puzzled, but she did not press the matter further. "I might have only spent a short while with you, but I have to say that you¡¯re just as conniving as Hui Wen."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It¡¯s intelligence."

    "It¡¯s conniving," Progenitor Smoke insisted.

    Lu Yin just shrugged.

    After another ten days passed, Progenitor Smoke suddenly looked in a specific direction, and she excitedly eximed, "I found it!"

    She pointed where she was looking and ordered, "That way."

    Even though she was able to use the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, Progenitor Smoke remained trapped, and so she was forced to rely on Lu Yin to move her around.

    Lu Yin also became excited. This was one of the true Mountains and Seas, and while Lu Yin was already practicing a great number of battle techniques, he would not hesitate to learn an inheritance from the Mountains and Seas. These were truly ancient inheritances.

    When the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect had copsed twenty years ago, the Mountains and Seas within it had been scattered. While their whereabouts had been determined and people had attempted to receive the inheritances, none had seeded. Even Lu Buzheng had failed in his attempt.

    Lu Yin had no intention of even trying. He still did not understand the tests that he had encountered with the me and the spring of water. With no ideas of a viable path forward, another attempt would only waste his time.

    The two were slightly to the east of Gaia¡¯s Swamp when Progenitor Smoke sensed her mountain, still at the border between the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. They could see the endless stretches of the Cosmic Sea spreading into the horizon, as well as the bizarre weather affecting the various regions.

    "Where is it?" Lu Yin asked. He could see nothing at all aside from the Cosmic Sea.

    The woman stared off into the distance and said, "It¡¯ll be here soon."

    Lu Yin followed Progenitor Smoke''s eyes and saw a thick fog slowly spread across the Cosmic Sea. In front of it, there was a warship racing towards them.

    "Hey! Hurry up and move! That fog can eat people!" someone on the warship shouted to Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin was surprised by what he was seeing. "Senior, is that fog hiding your Mountain and Sea?"

    Progenitor Smoke let out a breath. "That''s right. Let¡¯s head on in."

    Lu Yin nodded. He quickly grabbed the mirror and moved forward. They quickly vanished into the fog.

    Aboard the warship, the person who had shouted the warning got irritated. Two more people had died, all because they had ignored him.

    "Let''s go. If they don¡¯t want to listen to us, then their deaths have nothing to do with us. Let¡¯s not get swallowed by the fog ourselves," someone reminded the man to move.

    The man reacted quickly, and the warship soon shifted course towards the Innerverse.

    ¡­

    Entering the fog meant entering the Mountain and Sea.

    When Lu Yin was able to once again see his surroundings clearly, he found that they were no longer in the Cosmic Sea, but rather atop a sea that was covered with fog. Off in the distance, he could make out a tall mountain looming above them.

 Chapter 2129: Forget Time

    Chapter 2129: Forget Time

    Progenitor Smoke looked around, her face betraying herplicated emotions. "I lived here for so long, and I¡¯m finally back."

    Lu Yin remembered Feng Mo¡¯sment about how his organization¡¯s records had imed that this ce was full of illusions and fog. In that case, was the inheritance of this Mountain and Sea rted to illusions?

    After Progenitor Smoke¡¯s emotions calmed down, Lu Yin asked about the inheritance.

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "Illusions? That''s rted to spiritual force. This ce has nothing to do with that."

    "Then what is here?" Lu Yin was curious. He had just seen an illusion in the fog, but it had indeed not been created from spiritual energy. Instead, it had looked more like a reying scene.

    Progenitor Smoke exined, "Every Mountain and Sea has a unique inheritance, and my Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance is one concerning¡­ thought."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Thought?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. She finally focused on Lu Yin and then answered more seriously, "Everything in the universe, no matter if it¡¯s right, wrong, or some other result, has an initial source. The reason why humans achieved such greatness is because of our intelligence, and that was only achieved through thinking. The more you think, the more you can see through the true essence of certain matters. This Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance is thought."

    Lu Yin still could not understand. How was thought an inheritance? He could just think on his own without any issue.

    Progenitor Smoke smiled. "I just said that each of the Mountains and Seas has their own unique inheritances, but you didn¡¯t show any surprise. Did you already know about this, or have you actually experienced it yourself?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "There were some Mountains and Seas in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. This junior experienced the tests to receive those inheritances, but I failed to pass either of the tests."

    "In that case, I¡¯ll give you a shortcut for this one, and maybe you can receive the inheritance from my Mountain and Sea," Progenitor Smoke offered.

    Lu Yin eagerly leaned forward. "Please tell me."

    Progenitor Smoke grew solemn. "Forget time."

    Lu Yin was immediately confused.

    Progenitor Smoke continued her exnation, "If you want to inherit this Mountain and Sea¡¯s battle technique, you need to get lost in your own thoughts. The more you get lost, the better. Once you be so wrapped up in your own thoughts that you forget time and even your own existence, you can receive this inheritance. That¡¯s all I can really tell you about what I went through when I seeded here."

    Lu Yin considered this suggestion.

    Progenitor Smoke watched Lu Yin. "You need to be your own thoughts. When youpletely let yourself go and forget your own existence, and even time, you¡¯ll pass the test. Naturally, it¡¯s very difficult to seed."

    Lu Yin looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "So, if it¡¯s forgetting time, do you mean to forget whether or not time exists, as well as whether or not you even exist?"

    Progenitor Smoke was taken aback. "Yes, that¡¯s a good way of viewing it. Congrattions, you can''t receive this Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance. You¡¯re too smart."

    Lu Yin waspletely dumbfounded by this reaction.

    Progenitor Smoke shrugged. "You¡¯re too caught up in yourself to ever forget your own existence. There are certain things that smarter people can¡¯t do, and you¡¯re one of them. So, just forget about trying to receive this Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance."

    Lu Yin refused to ept this oue without even trying. "This junior still wants to at least try."

    Progenitor Smoke was unbothered. "That¡¯s up to you. Head on over by yourself. You just need to get close to the Mountain."

    Lu Yin nodded and set the mirror down before leaping forward and making his way towards the Mountain. He soon disappeared.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. She remained standing above the Sea alone. She just stared off into the distance, seemingly recalling a memory.

    Lu Yin disappeared as he drew closer to the Mountain. As that happened, he heard a voice. "Challenger, enter."

    He had already experienced simr challenges twice before. He calmly opened his eyes, only to be met withplete darkness in all directions. There was nothing to be seen at all, and his body was suspended in midair. There was absolutely nothing nearby.

    At this time, the darkness before him twisted, and Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared. "Forget time."

    Lu Yin was surprised to see her. "Senior, can you enter the trial?"

    Progenitor Smoke just disappeared, catching Lu Yin off guard, but he realized that what he had just seen was most likely not the real Progenitor Smoke, but rather a projection of some kind.

    At that moment, some mes appeared, quickly followed by more. Lu Yin was stumped yet again, as these were the same mes that he had seen during a previous trial for a Mountain and Sea. He had already failed that trial, so why had it reappeared in this ce? No, these mes were not real.

    The mes disappeared, and instead, a spring of water appeared, constantly burbling.

    Lu Yin stared at the water. This was the second of the Mountains and Seas trials that he had attempted. He was just seeing his previous trials. After the water disappeared, he saw Xing Kai fighting.

    Again, the image disappeared, and after Xing Kai vanished, Lu Yin saw Wan Sansi and the other Ten Arbiters. Lu Yin was revisiting the scene from when he had first failed to pass the Mountains and Seas¡¯ trials.

    Lu Yin then remembered Progenitor Smoke''s advice: thought. This Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance was rted to thinking, and if a person could sink into their own thoughts to the point where they even forgot about time, they would pass.

    If another person started this trial, they would have no idea what they were supposed to do, as the instructions to forget time would seem meaningless. Fortunately, Lu Yin had been given a shortcut by Progenitor Smoke.

    He finally realized that the images he was seeing must be scenes that came from his own mind.

    Lu Yin became somewhat horrified by this revtion. This Mountain and Sea was able to peer into his thoughts, which was rather frightening.

    He inhaled deeply. Thought? What do I need to think about? How do I go about forgetting time, myself, and everything? Actually, I should think of a battle technique.

    ¡­

    A month passed in the outside world, and Progenitor Smoke grew bored. She asionally nced towards the nearby Mountain and smiled. Lu Yin should fail the trial around this time.

    Another half a month passed, and Progenitor Smoke walked across the Sea, watching the ripples dance across the water and spread out into the distance.

    Lu Yin appeared, looking rather helpless. He had failed.

    Progenitor Smoke looked at him, but she was not surprised by the results. "I told you that you would fail. That was just a waste of time."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, how am I supposed to forget about time? The more I thought, the clearer it became in my mind, and the more impossible it became to forget about it. I can clearly remember every second and minute that passed."

    Progenitor Smoke felt somewhat shocked. "That¡¯s actually my fault. I shouldn''t have told you about that. By telling you what to forget, you instead thought about it more, and the more you thought about it, the clearer it became in your mind."

    Lu Yin shook his head, but he did not me Progenitor Smoke. If not for her, he would have never understood how or why he had failed the trial.

    The longest period of training that Lu Yin had ever undergone were the five years that he had spent focusing on the Cosmic Art before the Dao Chosen selection. Even during that time, it had been impossible for him to forget about time.

    It was not a matter of remembering or forgetting, but rather a state of mind that one reached while cultivating. In essence, it was a matter ofprehension.

    Some people could forget their own existence while sitting alone in the mountains. Their mind would naturally drift away from themselves.

    "Senior, how strong were you when you seeded?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke raised her head high. "Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Yin nodded. Luckily, he was still just a three-tribtion Envoy, which was still far from the Semi-Progenitor level. Thus, he still had a chance to seed with this trial.

    "Don''t get frustrated. The trials to receive the Mountains and Seas¡¯ inheritances are open for all cultivation realms, but most people don¡¯t seed until they be Progenitors. That¡¯s why there¡¯s something that¡¯smonly epted about these inheritances: the rare individuals who are able to receive an inheritance before bing a Progenitor are guaranteed to be a Progenitor," Progenitor Smoke said. As she spoke, an arrogant smile appeared on her face.

    Lu Yin instantly understood what Progenitor Smoke wanted, so he immediately started ttering her. "You are really amazing, Senior. No matter how talented I may be, this junior has no chance ofparing to you in the future."

    Progenitor Smoke listened to Lu Yin¡¯s tant brown-nosing, and she grew happier the longer he spoke. "Of course! Let me tell you something: from my generation of people who controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, I was the first to receive one of the inheritances."

    Was this urate? Lu Yin could remember that during his stellr tribtion to be an Envoy, he had fought a manifestation of Progenitor Chen at the same cultivation realm as him. The manifestation had used many different techniques, and among them had definitely been battle techniques that had been inherited from the Mountains and Seas. So¡­?

    Lu Yin then remembered something that Progenitor Smoke had mentioned earlier; she had said that the smarter the person was, the more difficult it was for them to receive the inheritance from her Mountain and Sea. This thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s expression to grow a bit odd.

    "This Mountain and Sea¡¯s battle technique isn¡¯t much help during a fight, but it¡¯s quite helpful at sorting out different things in your mind, and it¡¯s especially effective at creating your own unique energy. Honestly, given my talent, while I was guaranteed to eventually be a Progenitor, there were certain things that I struggled with, and it might have taken me as long to reach that level as it did Old Fu. While this inheritance doesn¡¯t help much withbat, I was able to develop the theoretical basis for my wei while still a Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    "There are different paths to bing a Progenitor, and this inherited battle technique helps the most with enlightenment, but it also depends on the person. This battle technique would have been useless for Xia Shang. He was always fighting, and he achieved his enlightenments throughbat. On the other hand, the inheritance that I received would have been perfect for Fu. It¡¯s really too bad that he didn¡¯t get this inheritance," Progenitor Smokemented.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated, as this battle technique would be extremely useful for him as well. The power that he had created in his chest was a cultivation method that he had only managed toprehend with the assistance of the Root of Intelligence, and he had always felt that it was still missing something. It would be wonderful if he could receive this Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance. ¡°Let''s go."

    Progenitor Smoke nodded.

    "What about your Mountain and Sea?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression grewplicated. "We¡¯ll just leave it here. The Mountains and Seas don¡¯t actually belong to specific people, as they are inheritances passed down from ancient times to all of humanity. It would be best if someone else could receive this inheritance."

    Lu Yin wanted to take the Mountain and Sea away, but he had no way to do so. Even if he could move the Mountain and Sea, he was not yet ready to receive its inheritance. Instead, the Semi-Progenitors could make their attempts at the trial.

    If Kui Luo, Third Uncle, or one of the others who supported Lu Yin could receive the inheritance, it would be wonderful. If Jue Yi or Hen Xin seeded, it would present a bit of trouble for Lu Yin.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to willingly help those individuals grow stronger just so that humanity as a whole would be stronger.

    He intended to return and tell Kui Luo and the others about where Progenitor Smoke¡¯s Mountain and Sea was so that they could take turns attempting the trial.

    "Senior, how do we leave?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke helped Lu Yin get out. "It''s best not to enter this ce before bing a Semi-Progenitor. While the Mountains and Seas each have an inheritance, they typically aren¡¯t open to people below the Semi-Progenitor realm, because attempting the trials before that point is pointless. Only Semi-Progenitors have a chance of reaching theprehension needed, and they also won¡¯t have any issue leaving the Mountain and Sea afterwards."

    Lu Yin looked back at the fog. He would probably need to wait for quite a long time before returning to visit this ce.

    ¡­

    Two months had passed since Lu Yin had left the Heavens Sect. During this time, the most important event in the Human Domain was the official founding of Heavens Sect.

    The power of the entire Human Domain had been gathered under the united banner of the Heavens Sect.

    Just a few days before Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke left her Mountain and Sea, the construction of the new Heavens Sect waspleted. At the moment, it was in Earth¡¯s sr system, but the Heavens Sect¡¯s headquarters was not actually fixed in ce. It was mobile, and it was essentially a massive mountain gate that moved through space.

    After Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke left the Mountain and Sea, they learned that the Heavens Sect had beenpleted. Right after that, the eight Heavenly Gates were notified, and the gatemasters and all the other human Semi-Progenitors were summoned to participate in the Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference.

    Thepletion of the Heavens Sect required an opening ceremony, and all of the most powerful individuals in the Human Domain would attend, which made it the best time to hold the Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference.

    At the moment, the Human Domain had the Progenitor of Bloodlines, thirteen Semi-Progenitors, as well as Qing Ping and Tian Dou, who were both powerhouses who could cross realms to fight with Semi-Progenitors. Below those top experts, there were also hundreds of Envoys.

    It was impossible to unite so many powerhouses without the Heavens Sect. It was precisely because of the Aeternals¡¯ invasion and the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect that the Human Domain had been able to formally unite.

    Thest time the entire human race had been unified had been in the Daosource Sect era.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was rather amazed when he saw the impressive gate of the Heavens Sect. Still, while it was quite impressive, it could note close to the glory of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    "It¡¯s not even close to the Daosource Sect''s gate. Most importantly, it¡¯s still missing a Sky Pir," Progenitor Smoke remarked.

    Next to her, Lu Buzheng replied, "It''s still not bad. It can¡¯tpare to the original Heavens Sect, but it at least has a bit of presence. Also, this is just the start of everything. As time passes, the gate here will be expanded and improved. One day, when Aeternus is no longer any threat, we¡¯ll take the Sky Pir back. At that time, we will have numerous Progenitors again."

 Chapter 2130: Who Are You?

    Chapter 2130: Who Are You?

    Lu Buzheng''sment reminded Lu Yin of something. "Third Uncle, of the thirteen Semi-Progenitors, who do you think is the most likely to break through and be a Progenitor first?"

    Lu Buzheng thought for a while. "It''s possible for several of us to attempt a breakthrough¡­"

    He suddenly hesitated and looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, you should understand this process much better than any of us."

    Even though Lu Buzheng was someone from the Heavens Sect era that far outdated Progenitor Smoke, he had been frozen in the sourcebox for countless years. Thus, the number of years that he had actually lived for could notpare to Progenitor Smoke¡¯s. This was also not even considering the fact that the woman¡¯s cultivation far surpassed Lu Buzheng¡¯s.

    She was happy at the acknowledgement, and she gave the man a smile. She had wanted to sneer when she heard him start talking; what gave any Semi-Progenitor the confidence to speak of the Progenitor realm?

    "Breaking through to be a Progenitor doesn¡¯t depend on how long a person¡¯s been cultivating, nor theirbat power. It all depends on how well a person can control their own power and their understanding of the universe. You must have already heard that Progenitors can alter the universe, but this is actually referring to how breaking through to be a Progenitor allows a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world to transform to the point where it can rece a part of the universe," Progenitor Smoke said.

    "There are some people who might be peerless within their realm, but they can never be a Progenitor. There are others who are merely average, but they can pull off thatst breakthrough. No one is guaranteed to be a Progenitor, as there is nothingpletely certain in the universe."

    Lu Buzheng scoffed. Was she referring to him and the other gatemasters with thatment?

    The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were said to be guaranteed to be Progenitors, which meant that Progenitor Smoke was rather tantly insulting them.

    Progenitor Smoke looked over at Lu Yin. "You said that there are currently thirteen Semi-Progenitors in the Human Domain, right? Just based on probability, at least one should be able to be a Progenitor. Hurry up and have your Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference so that I can examine each of them for myself."

    While Lu Yin believed Progenitor Smoke''s words, he also believed in the reputation of the gatemasters from the Heavens Sect''s era. At least half of them would seed in bing Progenitors, so it was really just a question of who would be the first to seed.

    "Third Uncle, the conference will be held in ten days, and this time, all Semi-Progenitors and Envoys are required to attend," Lu Yin stated formally.

    Lu Buzheng immediately released the announcement. This could be considered the first conference after the establishment of the Heavens Sect. The previous Heavenly Gates¡¯ conferences could only be regarded as informal discussions.

    With the Heavens Sect about to hold its first formal gathering, Lu Yin felt that it was time for him to meet with Wang Si and the other captives.

    Lu Yin had not met with any of the people from the Perennial World after they had been captured, and he had been in no rush to do so. Half a year had already passed, so it was time for him to meet with the prisoners.

    It was not a simple matter to imprison Semi-Progenitors, and there was not really any way to do so. The only option was for Lu Buzheng to severely injure the captives periodically.

    The first person that Lu Yin met with was Xia De. Lu Yin did not have any real grudge with this man, and if not for the fact that the Xia family was one of the four ruling powers and that Xia De had also been sent to the Fifth Maind to eliminate Lu Yin, Lu Yin would not have been so harsh towards the man.

    The sound of dripping water could be heard within the dark prison, and it was impossible to see its end. Lu Yin had entered the Heavens Sect¡¯s prison, which had been constructed in an imitation of the original Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin did not allow Lu Buzheng to apany him, and instead, he slowly led Ku Wei into the prison one step at a time.

    Ku Wei was quite excited, as Lu Yin had finally remembered him. More than half a year had passed since Ku Wei¡¯s master had returned, and he had finally been sought out. Ku Wei had not had an easy time of things.

    Thinking of everything that had happened, Ku Wei felt the urge to cry.

    Ku Wei had not had an easy life during the twenty years that Lu Yin had gone missing. Even if he had not been treated badly because of his assimtion of the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline, he had lost the overbearing momentum he had while being backed by Lu Yin. Ku Wei had developed a certain arrogance that was founded upon Lu Yin.

    In the entire universe, Ku Wei was certainly one of the people who wished the best for Lu Yin.

    "Master, be careful¡ªthere¡¯s water underfoot." Ku Wei quickly stepped forward to lead Lu Yin into the prison. He deliberately opened every door and cleared a path whenever there were puddles on the floor. Progenitor Smoke looked at the young man strangely, as he seemed like nothing more than a loyal dog.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin felt quite satisfied. There were times when people like Ku Wei remained necessary.

    Actually, Lu Yin had quite a few sycophants around him at this time. There was the Ghost Monkey, that elder from the ze Realm, and even Gu Xiao¡¯er.

    It was not long before Lu Yin was face to face with Xia De.

    "Hey, old man! My master¡¯s here to see you!" Ku Wei shouted loudly as he walked into the prison.

    Progenitor Smoke was startled by the sudden sound, and she became upset.

    Within the prison cell, Xia De''s limbs had been pierced and bound to the wall. The man slowly raised his head after hearing Ku Wei''s shout.

    His face was haggard, and hepletelycked the dignity of a Semi-Progenitor. He sighed when he saw Lu Yin. "There are winners and losers, and it¡¯s only fair for the winners to deal with the losers."

    Lu Yin quietly looked at Xia De for a moment. "Honestly, out of all the four ruling powers, your Xia family is the one that I would prefer not to be enemies with. I received Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, and when I first started cultivating, the very first cultivation art that I came in contact with was Progenitor Chen''s Cosmic Art."

    Xia De shook his head and gave Lu Yin a wry smile. "In that case, you don¡¯t need to feel any sort of debt. While Progenitor Chen was a member of my Xia family, he has no connection to us."

    Lu Yin felt rather confused.

    Progenitor Smoke spoke up to exin, "When Xia Shang cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique, one of his clones assimted the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline, and the Daosource Sect ordered him to be hunted down. At that time, the Xia family did nothing to help him, and they never even gave him any support or assistance throughout his cultivation journey."

    "Why?" Lu Yin wondered. It was impossible for anyone to miss Progenitor Chen''s outstanding talent, and the Xia family should not be that short-sighted. Even when the Daosource Sect had ordered Progenitor Chen to be hunted down, only his peers had been allowed to take action against him, and even Progenitor Lu Tianyi had valued Progenitor Chen''s talent.

    Xia De stared at Progenitor Smoke with an odd expression. "Who are you?"

    Progenitor Smoke looked back at Xia De. "Xia Shang is from one of your Xia family¡¯s branch families, and if not for the fact that he happened to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he would have never even been noticed by the Xia family. Not every family is like the Lu family where the branch families are harmonious with the direct line. The Xia family was always too oppressive on the branch families, and Xia Shang''s parents were killed while training with someone from the main family."

    Xia De was startled, and he grew pale as Progenitor Smoke spoke. "You- how do you know about this? Not even most of the descendants of my own Xia family know these things! This is my Xia family¡¯s greatest secret."

    Progenitor Smoke derisively replied, "I''ve known Xia Shang for too long, so there''s nothing about him that I don''t know."

    "Who the hell are you?" Xia De grew horrified. This woman imed to have known Progenitor Chen, but he had lived a very, very long time ago. On top of that, the fact that this person knew about Progenitor Chen''s family matters proved that she had not simply known of him.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "Your Xia family fell because of Xia Shang. Back then, your Xia family stood at the very top, and it was beneath only the Lu family. Your Nine Clones Secret Technique is exceptional, and if not for the fact that the Lu family was simply invincible, you probably would have ruled over the Fifth Maind. Your Xia family achieved amazing sess, but Xia Shang''s birth and sudden rise not only robbed your Xia family of the Mountains and Seas it wanted to inherit, but he also stole the one that your family controlled, leaving you with nothing at all.¡±

    "Xia Shang¡¯s existence is really the greatest humiliation of your Xia family."

    Xia De''s expression grew ugly, and he dropped his head. This woman was absolutely correct. During the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, the Wang family¡¯s Wang Fan and the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Wangyuan had both tried to gain control of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. At that time, while Progenitor Chen had appeared to represent the Xia family, there had been no rtionship between them at all.

    In fact, the entire reason why Xia Shang had seized control of two Mountains and one Sea had been because he wanted to remove the Xia family''s path forward and prevent anyone from the Xia family from controlling one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    The Xia family had given birth to some truly outstanding individuals in that generation, and they did not fall behind the geniuses from the Wang or Bai families at all, but because of Xia Shang, everyone from the Xia family had failed to receive any of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas¡¯ inheritances. In fact, they had all failed to be Progenitors due to the emotional scars that Xia Shang had inflicted upon them. These events eventually led to the Xia family to fall until they were merelyparable with the White Dragon n.

    The Xia family hated Xia Shang, though they also hated Lu Tianyi. Without Lu Tianyi''s protection, Xia Shang would have been killed long before he became invincible.

    The Xia family would have preferred a dead Xia Shang to a fallen Xia family.

    This was also one of the primary motivations for the Xia family cooperating in overthrowing the Lu family.

    "A family¡¯s greatest fear is not actually to have no peerless geniuses, but rather to have someone who is too talented, especially if they¡¯re someone from a branch family." Progenitor Smoke grew emotional as she spoke.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. He had seen some of Progenitor Chen''s memories, and he had seen the man fight and stare at a rainy flower field. However, at no point had there been any warmth or family. All that Lu Yin had ever seen of Progenitor Chen¡¯s life wasbat and death. Finally, Lu Yin understood why, and everything made sense.

    Ku Wei felt both sad and indignant, as he well understood Progenitor Chen''s feelings. Ku Wei was from a branch family of the Ku family, and he had always been suppressed and harassed by Ku Lei. In fact, if not for being saved by Lu Yin, everything that Ku Wei had aplished would have been given to Ku Lei. Regardless of what Ku Wei might have achieved, Ku Lei would have received all of the credit and benefits.

    Why had Ku Wei left the Neoverse and gone to the Outerverse to search for the remnants of the Yu family? Because it had been his only path to climb higher. Receiving the Yu family¡¯s slot to enter Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum had given Ku Wei an opportunity to surpass Ku Lei. It had been something that he had attempted out of pure desperation. If Ku Wei had not been horribly oppressed, how would he have taken such risks?

    "They deserve it!" Ku Wei spat out.

    Xia De looked at Progenitor Smoke. "Just who are you? Why do you know so much about Progenitor Chen?"

    Lu Yin answered, "You don''t need to know who she is. I only came here to ask you about the truth regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile."

    Xia De grew puzzled. "Truth? What truth?"

    Lu Yin grew much more somber. "The Lu family had Progenitor Lu Tianyi, as well as other Progenitors. There were our vassal families and even a legendary Dao Monarch, so how could the four ruling powers have banished them?"

    Xia De justughed. "Lu Tianyi was indeed very powerful, but the Wang family has Wang Fan, and the Celestial Frost Sect has Bai Wangyuan. Both of them also control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, so how could they be any worse than your ancestor? As for that legendary figure, unless they actually show up, they¡¯ll never be anything more than a legend."

    Lu Yin stared at Xia De. "You aren¡¯t actually answering me."

    Xia De shook his head. "I''m only a Semi-Progenitor, and I didn¡¯t have the strength to be a part of the group that dealt with the Lu family."

    Lu Yin frowned, though he had already expected this answer long ago. "Does your Xia family really hate my Lu family that much? Even with the outside threat of the Aeternals, why were you still willing to banish my Lu family?"

    Xia De said nothing. He did not want to speak any further. As he had first said, there were winners and losers. Even the Semi-Progenitor who had been sent here to deal with Lu Yin were nothing more than prisoners, so there was nothing more to say.

    Lu Yin left, and he soon saw Bai Laogui.

    In opposition to Xia De, Bai Laogui red at Lu Yin with open hatred and resentment in his eyes.

    Ku Wei immediatelyshed out, "Old man, what¡¯s with that look on your face?"

    Bai Laogui ignored Ku Weipletely. He only had eyes for Lu Yin. "The four ruling powers will never let you go! Our Progenitors will not let you escape!"

    Lu Yin sneered. For him, Bai Laogui waspletely different from Xia De. Xia De was Lu Yin¡¯s enemy because of their families¡¯ choices and actions, and it was not a personal matter. On the other hand, Bai Laogui personally hated Lu Yin, and the old man¡¯s hatred could only be eclipsed by Wang Si¡¯s.

    "So what if Bai Wangyuanes to this ce?" Lu Yin waspletely confident.

    Bai Laogui responded by mocking Lu Yin, "You are too arrogant. Forget you, even if Progenitor Chen himself were still alive, he wouldn¡¯t dare to act so arrogantly in front of my Progenitor!"

    "What a joke. Back then, how many times was Bai Wangyuan beaten up by Xia Shang? Bai Wangyuan was the older one, and he could barely be considered Xia Shang¡¯s peer, yet not once was he able to beat Xia Shang. Whenever they actually met, Bai Wangyuan didn''t dare to even let out a fart," Progenitor Smoke retorted.

    It was only at this moment that Bai Laogui noticed Progenitor Smoke, and he looked at her with zing eyes as he raged at her. "You actually dare to insult our ancestor? When our ancestores here, you¡¯ll regret your words for thousands of years as you¡¯re tortured!"

    Progenitor Smoke lifted her head. "Just let Bai Wangyuan try it. I might not be that good at fighting, but he still can''t handle me!"

    This arrogance caused Bai Laogui''s expression to change. "Who are you?"

 Chapter 2131: The Lu Familyâ€™s Traitor

    Chapter 2131: The Lu Family¡¯s Traitor

    Lu Yin had brought Ku Wei with him to the prison because the bastard could insult people on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf, while Progenitor Smoke¡¯s presence was able topletely suppress the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ arrogance. Pride was etched into their very bones, as they were the four ruling powers, each having their own Progenitors. In particr, two of them controlled some of the Mountains and Seas. What about Progenitor Smoke? She stood at the same level as these people¡¯s Progenitors.

    "You¡¯re going to have to get on your knees and beg if you want me to tell you who I am," Progenitor Smoke answered indifferently.

    Bai Laogui felt increasingly puzzled. "Who the hell are you? Stop messing around!"

    "Old Bai, do you want to die?" Lu Yin suddenly asked while calmly looking at Bai Laogui.

    Bai Laogui stared at Lu Yin, and the old man¡¯s eyes flickered. "Are you actually threatening me?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯ve already killed Marquis Green Bamboo and Marquis Wu Yi. I don¡¯t have any problem getting rid of another Semi-Progenitor, even if you have made sacrifices for humanity."

    Bai Laogui''s eyes narrowed. He could not tell whether or not Lu Yin was bluffing. He was a majestic Semi-Progenitor, which gave him an elite status and made him a top powerhouse even within the Perennial World. He had never considered the possibility of being killed by another human.

    Despite being imprisoned for more than half a year, not once had Bai Laogui even considered that Lu Yin would actually dare to kill him.

    He was a Semi-Progenitor from the Celestial Frost Sect. There was a Progenitor behind him who controlled one of the genuine Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, as well as the entire Perennial World. How could some bastard from the Lu family ever have the courage to kill him?

    However, when the old man looked into Lu Yin¡¯s calm eyes that held not even the slightest hint of bloodlust, Bai Laogui¡¯s heart dropped. He suddenly felt that this youth really would end his life.

    "If you kill me, the Celestial Frost Sect will never let you go! They will go after you and everyone connected to you." All Bai Laogui could do was threaten Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin just gave a small smile and sped his hands behind his back. "So, if I don''t kill you, will the Celestial Frost Sect let me go?"

    Bai Laogui''s expression instantly changed.

    "I find it very interesting how you sent out an entire army just to kill me, and while that¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not allowed to retaliate or kill you. Do you really think that threatening to kill me means a thing to me?" Lu Yin remained as calm as ever, and he just smiled faintly at Bai Laogui.

    However, this smile gave the Semi-Progenitor chills.

    This was the first time that Bai Laogui had felt any sliver of fear towards Lu Yin. Even when the young man had used Progenitor Chen''s power to suppress an entire crowd of Semi-Progenitors, Bai Laogui had not feared for his life.

    "Actually, I don''t have any questions to ask you. Instead, you should find some way to buy your life," Lu Yin said as he turned around and left.

    If Xia De did not know the information Lu Yin wanted, then Bai Laogui would not either. Semi-Progenitors could not interfere in matters that concerned Progenitors, not unless they were someone at Bai Xian''er¡¯s level.

    Bai Laogui was indeed a Semi-Progenitor, but he was definitely not the most powerful Semi-Progenitor within the Celestial Frost Sect. If he were, he would have never been sent to the Fifth Maind to hunt down and kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already learned quite a few things by speaking to Xia De, and his only hope to get any further information was to speak to Ni Huang.

    The man was the White Dragon n¡¯s Great Elder, which meant that his status was only inferior to a Progenitor¡¯s. It was quite likely that the man knew more than Lu Yin¡¯s other prisoners.

    Thus, the third prisoner Lu Yin met with was Ni Huang, and it unexpectedly proved to be the most difficult of all of his visits.

    "I didn''t expect Progenitor Smoke to still be alive. This junior is currently a prisoner, and I am unable to offer you my respects." Elder Ni Huang spoke in a very respectful manner, as he had instantly recognized the Progenitor.

    The woman was quite surprised. "You know me?"

    At this moment, Ni Huang looked quite forlorn, and his situation barely looked better than Xia De or Bao Laogui. However, the truth was that Ni Huang¡¯s injuries were even worse than any of the others, and he merely looked a bit better. This was because the man was stronger than the other Semi-Progenitors. After all, Ni Huang¡¯s strength wasparable to the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    "During the Daosource Sect era, this junior apanied an elder to pay respects to Senior Progenitor Smoke. My elder was struck by enlightenment, and he hurried off toprehend his enlightenment as soon as he finished meeting you, Senior. This junior still remembers a servant leading us into your Mountain and Sea back then," Ni Huang respectfully exined.

    Progenitor Smoke nodded as she looked at Ni Huang. "The White Dragon n was considered a powerful n back then, especially with your connection to the Ancestor Python. You all live exceptionally long lives, but unfortunately, those with exceptional power struggle to reproduce. Not even your n with a close connection to the Ancestor Python can avoid that fate."

    Ni Huang agreed, "That is true. At present, my White Dragon n has be one of the four ruling powers of the Perennial World, and we stand equal to the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, and the Xia family. It¡¯s all thanks to you, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke was puzzled by thisment, and Lu Yin also grew curious.

    "While you were in a hurry during your meeting with my elder, you still offered my elder some advice. That advice directly allowed my elder to achieve enlightenment, and he broke through to be a Progenitor. Senior¡¯s kindness to us is something that the White Dragon n will never forget." Ni Huang was truly grateful, and even with his limbs fixed to the walls of his cell, the chains shook from his powerful emotions.

    Progenitor Smoke dismissively waved a hand and simply replied, "It was just a small bit of advice. It was nothing to take so seriously."

    "While it might just have been a small bit of advice to you, Senior, to me and the White Dragon n, it was a gift that transformed our n." Ni Huang remained excited to see Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin felt incredibly frustrated, as the two people were acting as if he did not even exist. He nced at Progenitor Smoke and saw how proud she was at this moment, which left Lu Yin feeling a bit down. He started processing what he had just heard, and he realized that if Progenitor Smoke had not given a bit of advice all those years ago, then the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestor would never have broken through to be a Progenitor. Then, the White Dragon n would have never cooperated with the Celestial Frost Sect and the other two families, which might have led to the Lu family not being exiled. Without the White Dragon n, the coup would not have simplycked a single Progenitor. Regardless, Lu Yin did not dare to mention this realization to Progenitor Smoke.

    "Great Elder, Senior Progenitor Smoke offered your White Dragon n some advice all those years ago, and that allowed your n to gain a powerful Progenitor. However, your Progenitor acted against my Lu family and took advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over to banish my Lu family, which gave Aeternus a tremendous advantage. You¡¯ve really done well to repay your elders." While Lu Yin did not dare say anything to Progenitor Smoke, he felt no such hesitation towards Ni Huang.

    Ni Huang finally nced at Lu Yin. "Progenitor Smoke showed us kindness, which has nothing to do with the Lu family."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "Well, since your White Dragon n owes Progenitor Smoke a favor, she came here with a question: how did your four ruling powers exile my Lu family?"

    Ni Huang turned his focus back to Progenitor Smoke. "I''m sorry, Senior, but this junior is merely a Semi-Progenitor. I truly don¡¯t know what happened back then. As a Semi-Progenitor, I simply did not possess the qualifications to participate in that matter. All that this junior knows of the matter is that there was a traitor within the Lu family."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. He had already been absolutely certain there had been traitor. "Who was it?"

    Ni Huang shook his head. "You want a name? Do you mean Lu Zhen? Oh, right. I believe he¡¯s called Bai Zhen now."

    Bai Zhen?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the person that he had seen use the Hidden Needle when he had Possessed White Sage and attacked the army sent from the Perennial World. Also, Yu Chen had once mentioned the name ¡°Bai Zhen¡± when saying that he had once asked her to be his maid.

    No matter how Yu Chen''s status might have changed, she would always remain Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong''s maid. The fact that Bai Zhen had left Yu Chen feeling helpless and unable to refuse proved that he had an extraordinary status within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Who is Bai Zhen?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ni Huangughed. "Just a traitor. Just one such person from your Lu family."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp as he red at Ni Huang.

    Ni Huang looked away. "If you want to know more, just ask him yourself. He should be scared to death right now. Traitors like that are the ones who fear death the most."

    Feeling sullen, Lu Yin turned and left. There was nothing more that he could get from Ni Huang at this time, but Lu Yin did want to meet Bai Zhen.

    Ni Huang stared at Lu Yin''s back as the young man walked away. Helplessness filled the old man¡¯s eyes. It was shocking to see Progenitor Smoke suddenly appear after so long, and she was even following Lu Yin. With her protection, how would the four ruling powers ever manage to deal with Lu Yin? The child had taken control of the Forsaken Land, and he now ruled the entire Human Domain, which hade to include the remnants of the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin had authority over more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors, and countless other cultivators.

    With even Progenitor Smoke suddenly helping Lu Yin, even if the Aeternals were suddenly no longer able to threaten the four ruling powers, they would still struggle to eliminate the young man.

    How could he have risen so high so fast? Lu Yin was clearly just an Envoy, so how was he capable of achieving so much?

    Ni Huang could not help but think of Long Quan''s words before the man had died. It really would have been best if the White Dragon n had not taken action against Lu Yin when he had been in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin left the prison, and then he took out Zenith Mountain and brought out Yu Chen.

    It was a sudden change for Yu Chen, and so she was momentarily stunned. Before she was even able to say a word, Lu Yin grabbed her and dragged her off to see Bai Laogui.

    Yu Chen was horrified by what she saw. How could she not recognize Bai Laogui?

    "Did you see what I¡¯ve done to him?" Lu Yin casually tossed Yu Chen to the ground while looking at her with cold eyes.

    Ku Wei stepped towards Yu Chen, ring at her in an aggressive manner. "Woman, my master asked something! Speak, or else you¡¯ll face an even worse fate than that old man."

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. She felt ufortable bullying the young woman in such a manner, but if she were a saint, she would never have seeded in bing a Progenitor. In the end, she simply returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror and ignored the matter.

    Yu Chen took a deep breath. Her face was pale as she lifted her head to look at Lu Yin, terror filling her eyes. "What do you want to ask me? I¡¯ll tell you what I know."

    Ku Wei understood the situation and his role quite well, so he simply moved to stand behind Lu Yin. This was not the moment for Ku Wei to speak.

    Lu Yinju looked down at Yu Chen on the ground. "Who is Bai Zhen?"

    Yu Chen was not surprised that Lu Yin knew this name, but she was a little surprised by the question. "You managed to capture even Bai Laogui, but you still don''t know who Bai Zhen is?"

    "I¡¯ll ask, you¡¯ll answer." Lu Yin''s voice was cial. He was in a terrible mood, as this was a matter that involved a traitor to his Lu family. Capturing the Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers had indeed allowed Lu Yin to draw slightly closer to the truth of how the Lu family had been exiled, but closer was not what Lu Yin wanted. He wanted to know the truth immediately.

    Yu Chen closed her eyes and took a moment to speak. "Bai Zhen used to be known as Lu Zhen. He was Lu Xiaoxuan''s page."

    Despite his various guesses, Lu Yin could not help but feel rather surprised by this answer. Bai Zhen had been his own servant?

    Yu Chen stared at Lu Yin. "He was your servant, your page, and yet he betrayed the Lu family and fled to my Celestial Frost Sect. While his status within the Lu family was never very high, after his betrayal, he obtained an exceptional status within my Celestial Frost Sect."

    "How did he betray us?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Chen shook her head. "That¡¯s something that I really don''t know anything about. When ites to information involving the Lu family, forget me¡ªeven my Junior Progenitor was not allowed to learn of such things. I don¡¯t know if Bai Laogui was allowed ess to such information, but I would not expect him to."

    "Tell me everything you know about Bai Zhen," Lu Yin ordered.

    Yu Chen answered in a bitter voice, "I''ve already told you everything. I don¡¯t dare to try to hide anything. I know that you can kill me at a whim."

    Lu Yin frowned, and he slowly walked closer to Yu Chen. He bent down to get level with her face. Yu Chen felt chills as Lu Yin stared at her.

    "Do you know your greatest value to me?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

    Yu Chen''s eyes shed. "The fact that I can contact Bai Xian''er."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right, but that¡¯s also notpletely urate. I don¡¯t necessarily have to get in contact with Bai Xian''er. After all, I gain nothing by doing so, and I would even risk exposing myself by doing so."

    Yu Chen started to get nervous, and her mind raced toe up with a different answer. "If you want to know what happened to the Lu family back then, I can help you."

    Lu Yin straightened back up. "How?"

 Chapter 2132: A Madman

    Chapter 2132: A Madman

    Yu Chen grew somber. "There¡¯s a ce within the Celestial Frost Sect that houses nothing but ssified records. I¡¯ll find a way to help you learn what''s in there."

    Lu Yinughed. "Since this is such a huge secret, do you even have the qualifications to find out?"

    Yu Chen shrugged. "Definitely not right now, but since you want this information, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll give up until you get it. You¡¯ll make a n, and I can act as a mole within the Celestial Frost Sect for you. Even if giving me this task is a death sentence, you should give it to me, and milk my value for all you can. Besides, I don¡¯t wanna die."

    "Why should I trust you?" Lu Yin stared at Yu Chen.

    Yu Chen opened her mouth, but she did not know how to answer. Why should Lu Yin trust her?

    "I don''t know how I can win your trust, but you eventually have to go back to the Perennial World. Aside from learning more about the Lu family, there¡¯s also Crimson Garden and the Star Alliance, both of which are things that you need to deal with," Yu Chen replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched at the mention of Crimson Garden. Yes, Crimson Garden was absolutely a ce that he needed to return to, as he needed to rescue the people trapped there. All of them were members of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin returned Yu Chen to captivity, stepped forward, and then made his way to another prison. This one was where the members of the Perennial World¡¯s army had been locked up.

    "Master, aren¡¯t you going to see the other old people? Like Xia Ji?" Ku Wei asked.

    Lu Yin said nothing. At this moment, his thoughts were in turmoil.

    Before long, he saw more prisoners. These people were much easier to keep as captives, as none of them were Semi-Progenitors.

    When Lu Yin saw the prisoners, they also saw him.

    Among the people from the Celestial Frost Sect, Shi Xin calmly stared at Lu Yin.

    Elder Qing Xing and the other powerhouses showed no change of emotion whatsoever. Only one person appeared timid. He was curled up in a corner of the shared cell, unwilling to even look outside the cage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly locked onto that person. "Get over here!"

    The curled form trembled at the sharp shout, and it tightened into a smaller ball.

    Elder Qing Xing rose to his feet, a cold expression on his face. "What are you doing, Lu boy?"

    Ku Wei immediately stepped forward to re at the prisoner. "Old man, who are you to question my master? Even old Bai Laogui has to get on his knees before my master! Who do you think you are?"

    Elder Qing Xing instantly grew furious. "Audacious! How could Elder Bai get on his knees? You¡¯re spouting nonsense, child."

    Ku Wei raised his head high. "Who doesn¡¯t fear death? My master rules this entire Fifth Maind, and he stands above the whole of humanity. Forget some two-bit Semi-Progenitor¡ªwhat would it matter if your Bai Laogui were a Progenitor?"

    This provocation enraged Elder Qing Xing more than ever, and he pointed a finger at Ku Wei, only to find that he had nothing to say.

    The other people from the Celestial Frost Sect also red at Ku Wei in a silent fury, each one wishing that they could devour the bastard.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the person who was curled up in a corner of the cell. "I¡¯ll tell you again: get over here!"

    Still in the corner, the man quivered, but then he finally slowly picked up his head to look at Lu Yin. At that instant, it was as though time rolled back for the man, and he once again saw a happy young man waving at him. "Come on! Your young master found something delicious."

    "I asked you, why are you so useless? Can¡¯t you just do it? Here, your young master will teach you."

    "Hey, did you get beaten up? Your young master will help you get revenge."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous! That¡¯s not how you use Hidden Needle. Here, your young master will show you and make sure that you don¡¯t get bullied again. In the future, people will need to show your young master a bit of respect, and you''re my servant. When I be invincible and the Seven Heroes are unmatched, you¡¯ll need to keep up with us. At the very least, you¡¯ll need to be a Progenitor."

    Echoes of the past reyed again and again as the man heard his young master¡¯s voice in his head. The memories caused him to curl back up in a ball, more terrified than ever. His fear was so overwhelming that his eyes became unfocused. "I can¡¯t leave! I won¡¯t go! Young Master will kill me! I won''t go. Can¡¯t go¡­"

    Everyone stared at the man as though he had lost his mind.

    Shi Xin felt contemptuous. He had known Lu Zhen for a long time; even when Shi Xin had challenged Lu Xiaoxuan when he had been one of the Seven Heroes, Lu Zhen had been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s page. The young man had appeared innocent and naive, but he had actually secretly harbored grand ambitions. At this moment, Lu Zhen was suffering the consequences of his actions. Retribution had finally arrived for him.

    There was a click as the cell door opened.

    The sound startled Ku Wei. "Master, be careful!"

    He worried that Lu Yin would be attacked by the prisoners.

    However, Ku Wei was overthinking things. Let alone the prisoners they were currently visiting, even Bai Laogui at his peak could no longer pose any threat to Lu Yin.

    Step by step, Lu Yin moved past the Celestial Frost Sect disciples. He moved past Shi Xin, and then Elder Qing Xing.

    Elder Qing Xing''s fists clenched tighter and tighter, but there was nothing that he could do.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the corner of the cell. He looked down at the quivering person.

    "Look up," a deep voice ordered.

    The person¡¯s trembling became even more violent, and he lowered his head further. "No! Don¡¯t go out! Young Master will kill me! I''m sorry, Young Master! I''m sorry for the entire Lu family! I can¡¯t go out! I won¡¯t go even if I am beaten to death!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. He reached out, grabbed the man''s hair, and simply picked him up. The man was terrified, and he attacked out of reflex, but he was only a one-tribtion Envoy. His strength was inconsequential to Lu Yin, and Lu Yin simply pressed the man against the wall of the cell.

    Finally, Lu Yin was able to get a clear look at the man¡¯s face. Sure enough, he was the same person that Lu Yin had seen use Hidden Needle when Possessing White Sage and eliminating Wang Yun.

    "Lu Zhen." Lu Yin spoke through gritted teeth, a terrible chill filling his eyes.

    Lu Zhen stared back at Lu Yin in terror. The man¡¯s pupils kept fluctuating in size, and his face could not get any paler. "Ma- Master!"

    Lu Yin mmed the prisoner against the wall and tossed him into the corner.

    Lu Zhen spat out a mouthful of blood and clutched his stomach while curling back into a ball.

    Elder Qing Xing could not stop himself from stepping forward to stop Lu Yin, but Lu Yin just turned around and shot a cold re at the elder.

    Elder Qing Xing was a mighty seven-tribtion Envoy, but this re stopped him dead in his tracks. He felt chills from the look in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and the elder did not dare to take another step forward. At this moment, he knew that one more step would absolutely result in his death.

    The rest of the members of the Celestial Frost Sect remained as silent as could be. Not one person dared to speak up.

    Lu Yin looked away and returned his attention to Lu Zhen. "Do you still remember me, Lu Zhen?"

    Lu Zhen spat out more blood. It covered his entire face and even got into his eyes, dying his vision red. "Young Master, Young Master, Young Master¡­"

    Lu Yin could not remember his past, but as he stared at Lu Zhen''s face, he heard voices in his mind that felt incredibly familiar. "Young Master, slow down! Wait for me!"

    "Young Master, Young Master Nong San is looking for you."

    "Young Master, Tu Qiming is here yet again! That man is just shameless! He just wants to follow my young master!"

    "Master, how can I learn the Hidden Needle? The family will kill me."''

    "Young Master¡­"

    The words ¡°Young Master¡± rang in Lu Yin¡¯s head as he looked at Lu Zhen''s face. Lu Yin¡¯s revulsion grew stronger and stronger as time passed. "Do you still remember me, Lu Zhen?"

    Fear overwhelmed Lu Zhen, and his trembling grew worse. "Young Master, don''t kill me! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die! I didn¡¯t want to! It was him! He forced me, Young Master!"

    Lu Yin yelled, "Who? Who forced you?"

    Lu Zhen coughed up even more blood. "That madman! That lunatic! He forced me!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Be clear!"

    Suddenly, Lu Zhen¡¯s eyes went wide in a crazed manner. "It was you, Lu Xiaoxuan! It was all you! You didn''te find me! If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been captured by that madman and tortured! It¡¯s your fault! You abandoned me! You could only see that woman, and you never even thought of looking for me! It was you!"

    Lu Yin watched as Lu Zhen started shouting wildly, but he did nothing to stop the man, allowing him to rant.

    "It was you! You didn¡¯te find me! That madman tortured me for so long! You can¡¯t imagine the pain I suffered. He¡¯s mad! Aplete madman!" Lu Zhen continued to rant while both crying andughing. "The Lu family is gone, hahahaha. Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯re dead! That woman deceived you and everyone else! I¡¯m going to join the Celestial Frost Sect, and I¡¯ll take that madman as my master.¡±

    Suddenly, Lu Zhen dropped to his knees, an expression of worship covering his face. ¡°Please, ept me as your disciple. I am also from the Lu family, and I want to learn everything we have. I want to have everything that Lu Xiaoxuan has.¡±

    "I beg you to ept me. I want to bring the Lu family to glory once more. My family will be the Lu family¡¯s backbone. That¡¯s what you want, isn''t it?"

    The nearby disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect watched Lu Zhen''s bizarre behavior, and they felt a chill run down their spines. They felt like they were seeing a ghost.

    Lu Yin realized that he had already seen what Lu Zhen had just relived in his mind.

    When he entered the Stargazing Deck In the Astral Combat Academy and triggered Destiny, Lu Yin had witnessed the scene that Lu Zhen had just acted out. The young man that Lu Yin had seen kneeling on the ground had been Lu Zhen, and he had been the man kneeling in an abandoned courtyard in front of a bloodstained Champions¡¯ Stage. He must have been epting someone as his master, and they must have also been a direct descendant of the Lu family, but who? Had that person been the madman that Lu Zhen had mentioned? Was there a madman in the Lu family?

    At that moment, Lu Yin remembered the person from the Lu family whom he had seen meeting with Ancient God when traveling through time and space. Arch-Elder Zen had witnessed that event in his youth as well. Could that person be the madman Lu Zhen was talking about?

    "No one is left from the Lu family. Only I, Lu Zhen, remain of the Lu family. I will represent the Lu family. I will absolutely bring glory to the Lu family once again in the future! My Lu family will be the only Lu family! My Lu family will be the only Lu family¡­" Lu Zhen kept muttering to himself. He sounded insane. No, he truly had lost his mind.

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Zhen and saw the madness in the man¡¯s eyes, as well as the painful memories and wild fantasies that had caused his mind to lose touch with reality. Lu Zhen had gonepletely insane.

    Elder Qing Xing shook his head helplessly. He had seen such people before. Certain people would crazily chase after dreams they could never obtain, but they would do so zealously. If such people remained obsessed over their dreams, then they would eventually go mad. When such things werebined with Lu Zhen¡¯s unquestionable fear of Lu Yin, there was no way for the man to retain his sanity.

    "He''spletely gone." Progenitor Smoke had appeared, and she was staring at Lu Zhen.

    Lu Yin quietly looked at Lu Zhen, who was prostrated on the floor of the cell, still muttering to himself with a wild look in his eyes. Lu Yin sighed and raised a hand.

    Boom!

    A sharp sound rang in everyone''s ears, and Lu Zhen copsed. Even dead, his fanaticism did not fade from his eyes.

    He suffered no pain while dying, and in his mind, Lu Zhen had still been learning from his new master with the goal of restoring the glory of the Lu family, with him as the ancestor.

    No one felt any sympathy for Lu Zhen''s death. While he had betrayed the Lu family to help the Celestial Frost Sect, even the people from the Celestial Frost Sect looked down on a traitor.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of regret, but only because he had no idea who the madman that Lu Zhen had spoken of might be.

    Lu Yin turned around and left the prison. He asked someone to dispose of Lu Zhen''s body.

    "What are you going to do with the rest of us?" Elder Qing Xing asked. Everyone from the Celestial Frost Sect instantly focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said nothing and simply left.

    Aplicated expression could be seen on Shi Xin''s face. This person was Lu Xiaoxuan, but he was not really Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin had wanted to see Xia Ji and Wang Si next, but Lu Zhen¡¯s death weighed heavily on him, and Lu Yin lost his desire.

    "Master, why don''t you allow your disciple to bring those two old farts to you?" Ku Wei said.

    Lu Yin dismissively waved a hand before taking a step that took him out of the Heavens Sect. Another step saw him arrive on Earth.

    He had appeared on the road to Jinlin. It was the location where he had killed a few people many years ago, as well as the ce where he had first met Zhou Shan. After all this time, the road hadpletely changed, and nothing of what Lu Yin had known back then could be seen any longer.

 Chapter 2133: The Culprit

    Chapter 2133: The Culprit

    "Senior, what was the Lu family like during your time?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke appeared behind Lu Yin. "What do you mean? They kept themselves apart from everyone and were worshiped by the entire Fifth Maind, while also bearing the responsibility of protecting the Fifth Maind."

    "Apart from everyone?" Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Progenitor Smoke gave a small smile. "As far as most people were concerned, the Lu family stood above them. Despite all that the Lu family has done for this Maind, most people can¡¯tprehend their actions, and so, they dreamed of recing the Lu family.¡±

    "On the other hand, the Lu family¡¯s perspective was that everything they did was perfectly normal. They would usually ept some people''s loyalty, but expected most people¡¯s envy. At the same time, they gathered most of the resources from the entire Maind. All of these things were consideredpletely normal to them."

    Lu Yin asked, "So, did the Lu family ever do anything that angered a bunch of people?"

    "I don''t know." Progenitor Smoke looked at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re overthinking things. Would you believe that a family that dominated an entire Maind did so by being fair and honest?"

    Lu Yin looked away.

    "Given how far you¡¯vee, can you really say that it was the right decision to kill innocent people in certain situations? Can you say that you¡¯ve never acted against people who¡¯ve tried to cross or stop you? Everything depends on a person¡¯s perspective. At the very least, the Lu family protected the Fifth Maind. That is an undeniable fact. While the Celestial Frost Sect rebelled against the Lu family, my opinion is that they did so just because they wanted to have a chance to sit at the peak,¡± Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin smiled. Was he really overthinking things? No. He had just wanted to hear Progenitor Smoke''s opinion.

    Lu Yin did not care what crimes the Lu family might havemitted or taken part of, and it also did not matter that they had controlled the Fifth Maind. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, his Lu family had not done enough to justify what had been done to them.

    Patriarch Lu Tianyi had favored Progenitor Chen, which had triggered the Xia family¡¯s resentment, but why had he not favored the Lu family instead? If the Lu family had controlled more than one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who would have had the courage to say anything about it? If Lu Yin had been the one in charge, the Wang family would have been wiped out, and the Celestial Frost Sect would have ceased to exist.

    Lu Yin would not repeat the Lu family¡¯s previous mistakes.

    Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked up at the Heavens Sect. From the moment he had first received Progenitor Chen''s power to control the stars of the universe, Lu Yin had been given the final say in the Fifth Maind. There was no one who could challenge him.

    Still, it was not enough. Not even close. He needed to make a demonstration during the Heavenly Gates conference, and the best way to do so was by making an example of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin took another step, and this time, he appeared just outside the Heavens Sect¡¯s most secure prison. He walked right in.

    This time, he was going to meet with Wang Si.

    Wang Si was in a much worse condition than Xia De, Bai Laogui, or any of the other prisoners. Her inner world had once been shared by Lu Yin¡¯s needle-like weapon, which was a terrible injury. During her imprisonment, Lu Buzheng had paid particr attention to Wang Si, due to how hard she had pushed for the Lu family and any survivors to be eliminated. By this point, Wang Si was half dead.

    Despite her condition, she continued to curse the Lu family.

    At Lu Yin¡¯s appearance, Wang Si did nothing to hide the hatred that zed in her eyes. Her attitude was the same as Bai Laogui¡¯s. "You Lu bastard, you won¡¯t be able to stay arrogant for long! You¡¯re going to die a miserable death! You¡¯re going to suffer a thousand times worse than me! Ten thousand times worse!"

    Progenitor Smoke frowned as she looked at Wang Si. This person''s hatred ran so deep that if she were Lu Yin, she would immediately kill this woman.

    Progenitor Smoke had certainly killed many people throughout her life, but very few had carried the same fric hatred that she saw in Wang Si¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin remained calm as he looked at Wang Si. "Do you want to die?"

    Wang Si sneered. "You little bastard, your future¡¯s already going to be miserable! You¡¯ll eventually face all the pain that I¡¯ve suffered, and more! All of your friends and family, everyone you¡¯ve ever known or cared about will die miserably. There¡¯s no escape."

    Lu Yin just nodded. "You truly hate my Lu family, so I¡¯ll give you this chance to tell me why that is."

    Wang Si roared, hatred filling her voice, "I hate them! I just hate your Lu family! I can''t wait for all of you to be killed! Do you want to know why the Lu family was even exiled? I¡¯ll tell you: it¡¯s because I suggested it! I was the first one to bring up the idea of banishing your Lu family, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and a chill entered his eyes. "What are you saying?"

    Wang Si let out a maniacalugh, overflowing with vile. She already knew that she would not survive. "I went and found Progenitor Wang Fan! I was the first to suggest that we should exile the Lu family. I found out that the White Dragon n could affect the Ancestor Python and trigger a White Dragon Rolls Over, so I approached them and then went to see Bai Wangyuan. I¡¯m the one who caused your Lu family to disappear, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin grabbed Wang Si''s neck, a never-before-seen expression on his face. He squeezed with such force that even Wang Si, a Semi-Progenitor, was unable to breathe.

    Semi-Progenitors had to reach their level by taking one step at a time, and they had to pass through nine stellr tribtions in total. In particr, the tribtion to be a Semi-Progenitor was extremely dangerous, and most cultivators would barely survive even if they passed. However, every sessful tribtion would grant a cultivator the benefit of essentially reconstructing their entire body.

    As a Semi-Progenitor, even if Wang Si had never focused on strengthening her body, just the tempering that she had received from her stellr tribtions meant that her body was so powerful that a three-tribtion Envoy could not even move her.

    However, Lu Yin''s strength was too overbearing. He had even been riled up so badly by Wang Si¡¯s words that the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant had silently appeared behind him, and it let out a roar.

    Wang Si continued to cackle, though with Lu Yin¡¯s hand around her throat, she could not even cough. Her face flushed red from the pressure, yet her eyes remained full of hatred. It was terrifying to see.

    "Don''t test my patience. If you want to die, I can arrange that." Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he red back at Wang Si.

    While Wang Si was unable to breathe, her eyes gradually grew more peaceful.

    Lu Yin eventually rxed his grip and let go. "You just want to piss me off. It couldn¡¯t have been as simple as what you¡¯re saying. Do you really think that I¡¯ll believe that a mere Semi-Progenitor could plot and overthrow my Lu family?"

    Wang Si let out two coughs. A bit of blood leaked from her mouth. "You managed to conquer this Forsaken Land¡¯s Outerverse as just an Explorer, so why couldn¡¯t I overthrow your Lu family?¡±

    "There are certain things that people are usually too terrified to even contemte. Given the Lu family¡¯s oppressive power, who would dare to go against them? Even at the four ruling powers¡¯ greatest heights, they still didn¡¯t dare to leave the Middle Realm and risk facing the Lu family¡¯s wrath. Bai Xian''er, the most talented disciple the Celestial Frost Sect has ever seen, was sent to be your maid, so what would happen to anyone else?

    "Do you really think that there was no one throughout the years who wanted to take down the Lu family? They all thought about it, but no one knew how to pull it off, and so no one dared to take the risk. I was daring enough, and I¡¯m able to meet with Progenitor Wang Fan whenever I wish. I can speak to the White Dragon n, the Xia family, and even the Celestial Frost Sect. I connect the four ruling powers!¡±

    "The Lu family stood high above everyone and looked down on the rest of the Perennial World. How could I, a mere Semi-Progenitor, possibly dare to attack them? But I did! I wanted the Lu family to die, and I want to see your entire family eliminated."

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly pped her head. "That¡¯s it! No wonder you look familiar to me. What''s your connection to Wang Yi?"1

    Wang Si¡¯s eyes instantly snapped open, and she stared at Progenitor Smoke in disbelief. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "Wang Yi?"

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s voice dropped low. "She was a Semi-Progenitor who disobeyed an order from the Daosource Sect and attacked Xia Shang without permission. When she was discovered, she was condemned and executed by Progenitor Lu Tianyi."

    Wang Si stared at Progenitor Smoke in disbelief. "Who are you? How do you know about that?"

    Lu Yin was also curious, "Senior, what are you talking about?"

    He already made some vague guesses as to why Wang Si hated the Lu family.

    Progenitor Smoke continued to stare at Wang Si. "Judging by your reaction, you really are rted to Wang Yi. You look too much like her."

    "Who the hell are you? How do you know about her?" Wang Si screamed.

    Progenitor Smoke spoke slowly, "Back when Xia Shang first started cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he used one of his clones to assimte the colossal giants¡¯ bloodline, which caused him to be hunted by Daosource Sect. However, senior Lu Tianyi took pity on Xia Shang due to his exceptional talent. Thus, the order came down that only Xia Shang¡¯s peers could move against him. None of the elders or people with greater levels of cultivation were allowed to attack him. The order was that if Xia Shang could survive, it would be proof that his path was correct, while if he died, it was simply what he deserved.¡±

    "That led to everyone from his generation throughout the entire Fifth Maind going after Xia Shang, attacking him both openly and through deception and ambushes. The Xia family did everything that they could to get rid of him. It was at this time that Wang Yi, a Semi-Progenitor, secretly attacked Xia Shang. If not for a matter of pure chance, Xia Shang would have died at that time. When everything came to light, Progenitor Lu Tianyi was so furious that he went to the Wang family, personally arrested Wang Yi, and executed her in front of the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate. Her blood stained the steps scarlet.¡±

    "Not one person from the Wang family dared to interfere, and after that, the Xia family became more reserved in their actions against Xia Shang."

    Lu Yin looked back at Wang Si. "Is that why you hate the Lu family?"

    Wang Si remained resentful. "My mother ced me in cryostasis before she was arrested! She told me to remember what happened and hate both the Lu family and Lu Tianyi for what they did!"

    "Wang Yi disobeyed a direct order from the Daosource Sect and attacked Xia Shang without authorization. She deserved her death. She attacked him because of the Xia family, which she married into. Unless I¡¯m wrong, your other parent should be from the Xia family. Your mother¡¯s execution waspletely warranted, which was why no one from her family stepped up for her. Why don¡¯t you hate your Wang family?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Wang Si screamed back, "It was all because the Lu family doesn¡¯t see anyone as their equals! My mother once loved Lu Feng, and if he hadn¡¯t abandoned her, my mother would have never married someone from the Xia family. Lu Tianyi was the one who broke them apart, destroying my mother¡¯s future. It was all because Lu Tianyi wanted to protect Xia Shang that we wanted him dead!"

    "Your mother, Wang Yi, was a nasty woman. How could Uncle Lu Feng have felt anything for her? Their failed rtionship never had anything to do with Progenitor Lu Tianyi," Progenitor Smoke retorted.

    Wang Si continued her enraged yelling, "Bullshit! Lu Tianyi was the one who deceived Lu Feng and broke the two of them apart!"

    Lu Yin started mocking the old woman. "Your mother, without any justifiable motivations, acted on behalf of the Xia family and attacked Progenitor Chen, only to fail, get arrested, and then be executed in front of the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate. No matter how you try to spin it, your mother was vindictive, and you¡¯re even worse than she ever was. I might feel bad for how you suffered back then, but it wasn¡¯t the Lu family¡¯s fault. The fact that you plotted their destruction just shows that you¡¯re even more vicious than your mother."

    Lu Yin finally understood why Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen had once mentioned that Wang Si¡¯s background was not simple and that few people dared to move against her. It was because the woman was not only a member of the Wang family, but also a member of the Xia family. On top of that, she had connections to the White Dragon n and the Celestial Frost Sect. Her identity was far tooplicated, and because she had been responsible for starting the plot against the Lu family, no one could touch her.

    It also made sense why the woman carried so much hatred towards the Lu family. When Wang Si had first learned that Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan, she had been the first one to chase after him and put forth the greatest efforts towards killing him. Also, when Lu Yin hadmented on Wang Su¡¯s beauty, Wang Si¡¯s reaction must have been because of what had happened with her mother.

    Wang Si had been the trigger, the initial spark, that had led to the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    Lu Yin could only imagine how deep Wang Si''s hatred ran. She had once been a little girl who had been indoctrinated with hatred towards the Lu family for as long as she could remember, and then she had watched as her mother was taken away and killed. Wang Si¡¯s hatred was too great, and once it broke free, it was enough to drown countless people.

    "If your mother and Uncle Lu Feng had actually gotten together, you would have never existed. You should feel thankful towards Progenitor Lu Tianyi," Progenitor Smoke suddenlymented.

    Wang Si did not even hear thement. She was ring at Lu Yin as though she wanted to rip him to shreds with her teeth.

    Lu Yin organized his thoughts before looking back at Wang Si. "In that case, how did the four ruling powers get rid of my Lu family?"

    Wang Si sneered at him. "I know, but I won''t tell you."

    [1] This Wang Yi (Íõâù) is not the same as the previous Wang Yi (ÍõÒ×). The first time the name appeared, it was the young man from the Wang family who represented the Technocracy. Clearly, this woman is not the same person, but the name sounds the same in English. ?

 Chapter 2134: Opening Ceremony

    Chapter 2134: Opening Ceremony

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked over at Wang Si. "The four ruling powers took advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over, but what else was there to the n? I¡¯m most curious about how you dealt with Patriarch Lu Tianyi and my Lu family¡¯s other Progenitor."

    "The other Progenitor was Uncle Lu Feng, right?" Progenitor Smoke interjected.

    Wang Si coldly replied, "Things were never that simple. Lu Xiaoxuan, do you want to know what happened? I won''t tell you anything. If you want to know more, you¡¯re going to have to find out on your own. There¡¯s not a single Semi-Progenitor other than me who knows about what happened, so if you want to find out, you¡¯ll have to pry it from a Progenitor! Go ahead, climb up and force it out of Patriarch Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, or Progenitor Long. Do you have the courage? Hahahaha, go on, if you aren¡¯t afraid to die that is!

    "All I¡¯ll tell you is that there was more to the Lu family being exiled than you can even guess."

    Lu Yin shouted, "There were traitors within my Lu family!"

    Wang Si just sneered. "A mere traitor would never have been enough to change the Lu family¡¯s fate. The more you understand just how powerful the Lu family was, the more impossible everything will seem! Go, find the truth for yourself, but you¡¯ll need to go to the Dominion Realm in the Perennial World and face the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors! You¡¯ll die beyond a shadow of a doubt."

    Lu Yin turned and left. There was absolutely no chance that Wang Si would tell him anything more. The old whore did not fear death in the least. If she did, Lu Yin would have been happy to fulfill it.

    Progenitor Smoke followed Lu Yin. She looked at him, and saw that he was upset by what he had learned. "That was a lot to take in."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. True, it had been a lot of information. He had not even known of Wang Si¡¯s involvement in banishing the Lu family, let alone the history between Wang Yi and the Lu family. And apparently, even Progenitor Chen had somehow been involved.

    Lu Yin was slowly learning about the various grudges and rtionships involving the powerhouses of the past.

    The grievances of ordinary people could affect a few families at most, but the grievances of these cultivators could affect the entire human race.

    There was nothing more reassuring to humans as a whole than unity. Lu Yin lifted his head. It was as though his eyes could pierce through space for a moment to see into the Perennial World, and he gazed at the Higher Realm.

    So much hatred and so many grudges had formed just because of Progenitor Chen. One man¡¯s life had birthed so much evil. Lu Yin would learn from the past and not repeat those same mistakes.

    In the past, he had focused on getting revenge, but at this moment, he considered other possibilities.

    ¡­

    A deafening bell rang, echoing throughout the entire Outerverse. For the first time since the Daosource Sect era, all of humanity had united under a single power, and this was being formalized with the Heavens Sect¡¯s opening ceremony.

    Many people had already waited twenty years for the sect¡¯s ceremonial founding, and some, such as Arch-Elder Zen who had been alive since the Daosource Sect era, had waited eons for this day.

    Even though the Hall of Honor had ruled over the Fifth Maind for countless years, it had never truly united the Fifth Maind.

    If not for the threat of the Aeternalsbined with the desire of the ancient powerhouses who had awoken from the Heavens Sect era, the Heavens Sect would have never been reestablished.

    The reestablishment of the Heavens Sect represented a new era for humanity.

    This was not merely a momentous asion for humanity, but also an important asion in the context of humanity¡¯s entire history.

    At the time of its founding, the modern Heavens Sect only had a single elder, which was the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Under him, there were three educators: Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, and Lan Xian. There were also three protectors: Kui Luo, Arch-Elder Zen, and Herb Immortal. Finally, there were the eight gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, who protected the Heavens Sect in every direction.

    There were fourteen Semi-Progenitors who answered to the Heavens Sect. Seeing so many powerful experts was enough to excite anyone. With this many powerhouses, how could humanity not thrive in the future?

    Twenty years ago, the Human Domain had only publicly recognized the existence of seven human Semi-Progenitors. With the death of Lingzhi Mavis and the disappearance of Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper, only five powerhouses had been active. Even if Chief Justice Qing Ping was included in that ounting, there had only been six Semi-Progenitor-level experts. That number had jumped all the way to fourteen at the time of the Heavens Sect¡¯s formal founding. The only person missing was Jiu Chi, who had disappeared from public eye with no desire to carry any responsibilities.

    Also, Tian Dou¡¯s whereabouts remained unknown.

    Finally, the existence of Progenitor Smoke remained aplete secret.

    A staircase rose through the Heavens Sect from the main gate up to the main hall. It stretched through outer space, and the gathered Semi-Progenitors walked up it from the base. After all the Semi-Progenitors climbed up, the Envoys followed.

    Even if not all of the Human Domain¡¯s Envoys had arrived for the opening ceremony, the vast majority had.

    Yunying Mavis, Highsage Wudi, Elder Jiu Shen, the members of Team Resolution, and the rest of the most powerful Envoys who were all part of the new Heavens Sect climbed the stairs. Ku Rong, Ce Yue, and many more who were mid-ranked Envoys climbed the astral staircase one after another. This assembly of the elders was to demonstrate the power of humanity.

    In the past, people as a whole rarely ever saw a single Envoy, let alone so many gathered in one ce.

    As Liu Huang climbed the stairs, he looked up and saw the Semi-Progenitors looking down on him. He saw the power of the Heavens Sect, as well as the statue of the Origin Progenitor. Despite his own impressive strength, Liu Huang felt rather nervous at this moment.

    Just twenty years ago, before so many changes had shaken the Human Domain, Liu Huang had been powerful enough to rank among the top ten powerhouses in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain. At this moment, the Heavens Sect did not consist of just the Fifth Maind, but the Sixth Maind as well. The number of powerhouses had more than doubled, and there were fourteen Semi-Progenitors. It was possible that Liu Huang no longer ranked among even the top twenty human powerhouses.

    Liu Huang stared at the very top of the stairs for a moment, and he suddenly felt that following Lu Yin had been the best decision he had made all those years ago. No matter how the youth might fall, he would always rise up to stand at the top once more.

    Yuan Shi followed behind Liu Huang. The old man¡¯s cultivationgged a bit behind Liu Huang¡¯s, though Lu Yin had actually asked Yuan Shi to be the first to climb the stairs in space. The old man had refused.

    In contrast to Liu Huang, not many thoughts were running through Yuan Shi¡¯s mind at this moment. He was simply ecstatic. Humanity had been fully united, and they would only grow stronger in the future. That was all that Yuan Shi cared about.

    Liu Ye escorted Fei Hua up the astral staircase. He could not help but think about how the Forsaken Land had changed. With the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect, just which ce was the real home of humanity now?

    The Forsaken Land had the Heavens Sect, was ruled by a member of the Lu family, had gatemasters from the ancient Heavens Sect era, and even had a Dao Chosen. Inparison, the Perennial World seemed more like the forsakennd.

    Envoys continued to appear one by one. The entire opening ceremony was being broadcast live throughout the Human Domain, thanks to the emergency repairs that CyNet had been frantically conducting. While it remained impossible to reconnect the entire Human Domain to a unifiedwork, the repairs at least allowed all the most important locations to see the broadcast.

    Chu Yuan stepped out and also started to climb the stairs. He had a calm expression on his face, appearing neither sad nor happy.

    Given his strength, he should have held the qualifications to climb the stairs right behind Yunying Mavis and the other top-ranked Envoys. But instead, Chu Yuan followed behind all the Envoys. This was simply because, at this moment, Chu Yuan had no position within the Heavens Sect.

    If he were still a Dao Chosen, he would have apletely different status, and he would even qualify to stand above the gathered Semi-Progenitors.

    Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, Lu Lai, Lu Jiao, Wei An, Hen Mo, as well as the modern era¡¯s Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Xiao Qing, and the rest of the top geniuses who had once achieved widespread fame all appeared. They represented the future of humanity, as they were the next generation of powerhouses.

    Prosperity could only continue with the passage of inheritances, and this meant that the young people climbing the stairs were actually even more important than the Envoys who stood above them.

    Many experts had gathered at this time, starting with the Semi-Progenitors, and continuing down to the Envoy and the young geniuses.

    Next to appear was the Heavens Sect¡¯s army, equipped with the technology that would usher in a new age. This opening ceremony was not only intended to start a new chapter for humanity, but also to act as a demonstration of human power that would intimidate outsiders and encourage humanity.

    A drum echoed as Big Sis pounded on the drum that sat above the Heavens Sect¡¯s main gate. Everyone looked past the gate, as the most important person for this ceremony was finally about to appear.

    The expressions on the people within the Heavens Sect werepletely mixed. There were looks of admiration, resentment, envy, and even fanaticism as people looked down to see the final arrival.

    The moment he appeared, he stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at everyone who was gathered. However, it would just be a short amount of time before he climbed the stairs and stepped above every single person present to look down on them. He would be the representative of the entire Fifth Maind, the leader of humanity¡¯s new era.

    On Earth down below, Zhou Shan became short of breath as he stared at the massive screen in front of him. He could not believe that, in just forty years, a formerrade-in-arms during Earth¡¯s apocalypse would rise so high. Zhou Shan felt as though he was living in a dream.

    Next to the man stood Zhou Xixi. She had long since shed her previous innocence. During the war against Aeternus, she had fought on the front lines and had narrowly escaped death multiple times there. The experience hadpletely changed her temperament, and she had be a calm andposed woman.

    But when she saw Lu Yin appear, all the old tension and admiration that had previously appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s presence returned, and Zhou Xixi¡¯s eye¡¯s flickered. Who in the entire universe couldpare to her Uncle Lu?

    Far away, in Astral-10, many of the instructors were also staring at a screen. Who could have imagined that the young student that they had once tutored would one day rise so high?

    Even the mad headmaster had a rare moment of rity. His hands were sped behind his back as he stared at the image of Lu Yin on the screen. "You are already qualified to inherit humanity."

    Even further away, in the Astral Beast Domain, all the high-ranking officials of the Celestial Beast Empire, such as Yao Di and Skymender, were also focused on the events taking ce in Earth¡¯s sr system. They also had a connection to the Human Domain¡¯swork.

    How could the Astral Beast Domain ignore all the massive changes that had taken ce in the Human Domain in recent years? When the Aeternals had been driven from the Fifth Maind, the astral beasts had instantly considered the likelihood that they would be the next target for the humans¡¯ forces.

    "This is too soon. The Human Domain is changing too quickly. We didn¡¯t even realize what was happening." Xu Qing''s expression was ugly.

    All the astral beasts were focused on the person who had just appeared outside the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate. This was the person who had been at the center of every major human event in thest forty years, and he would continue to do so on an even greater scale in the future.

    "It would have been better if he had died back then," one astral beastmented coldly, verbalizing the thoughts of many others. In fact, even Yao Di felt the same.

    Unfortunately, it was already far toote.

    "Since the humans have reestablished their Heavens Sect, a congrattory gift needs to be sent." Even Skymender appeared rather gloomy.

    Lu Yin passed the Heavens Sect¡¯s main gate. As he did so, billions of lights shone on him, and he became the center of the universe. Every move he made caused ripples throughout the universe.

    He had first established the Great Eastern Alliance with the goal of uniting the Outerverse, and he hadter cast his sights onto the Innerverse and even the Neoverse. However, the truth of the matter was that Lu Yin had been stumped on how to proceed, as he had never had any clue as to how he could conquer the Neoverse or deal with the Hall of Honor.

    However, everything hade together in a very natural manner. There were times when even the greatest ns could notpare to the natural zeitgeist. Lu Yin was taking advantage of this flow to rise to the top.

    Countless soldiers filled the main za of the Heavens Sect, including the Giants¡¯ Army that Lu Yin had put together. Ku Wei stood with the giants, and he looked up at Lu Yin with a zing fanaticism in his eyes. Master! Master! Keep going! Your disciples will follow you for hundreds of millions of years!

    Wendy Yushan stood at the bottom of the stairs. She was included among the most talented youths. She had created her own fame and built a reputation during the twenty years of war against Aeternus. Her actions had made her renowned throughout the Human Domain, and her innate gift had saved countless lives.

    Lu Yin¡¯s feet rose up, and he stepped forward. This was what Lu Buzheng had mentioned. A Dao Chosen acted on behalf of a Dao Monarch and oversaw the powerhouses of an entire Maind. Walking up to the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, Lu Yin understood what it truly meant to represent the heavens.

    However, there were no longer any Dao Monarchs. All that humanity had left was a statue of the Origin Progenitor. That, and a sword.

    Lu Yin set the sword right next to the statue of the Origin Progenitor without saying a single word. The swordy very close to Hen Xin, and it was within easy reach, but did the man dare to actually touch the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword? Even if he had not been told about how Forgotten Ruins God had vanished after touching the sword, would Hen Xin have the courage to touch it? Did anyone?

    This sword was set in ce to intimidate anyone with evil intentions. Lu Yin had simply left it lying in the open, but who in the current era had the courage to touch it?

 Chapter 2135: Opportunity

    Chapter 2135: Opportunity

    As Lu Yin stepped past the gate and onto the astral staircase, he passed by Wendy Yushan. For a moment, he paused to give her a smile before continuing on his way. He passed by Liu Tianmu, Wen Sansi, the recently released Xing Kai, Ling Gong, and many more. At this moment, all of them grew solemn as Lu Yin looked at them. Regardless of whether they were convinced of Lu Yin¡¯s qualifications, they were all aware that not one of them was capable of walking down the path that Lu Yin trod.

    He reached Starsibyl, and he paused again to look over.

    There was a smile in her eyes as Starsibyl slowly bowed.

    Lu Yin stared at the young woman for a moment before continuing up the stairs. He reached the ce where Silver, Sky Garan, Heluo Mavis, and Chu Yuan all stood. They stood on both sides of the stairs, and they all watched Lu Yin. The smile on Silver¡¯s face was exceptionally radiant.

    For the first time, Lu Yin spoke. There was a hint of a smile on his face, and his tone was overly casual to the point where he almost soundedzy as he turned and addressed all the younger people who stood on the stairs. "Do your best to chase after me. I hope that you will still be able to see my back in the future."

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed at Lu Yin¡¯sment, especially the three former Dao Chosen, who all red at Lu Yin for his open provocation.

    As for Silver, his smile shone brighter than ever.

    This was an insanement to make, and it was beyond arrogant, but Lu Yin still spoke it. He was purposely antagonizing everyone from his generation. He had suppressed an entire era. Everyone he had addressed were people he had oncepeted against, or even struggled to rise to their level. However, in the end, not only had he caught up to them, but he had also surpassed them by far. These people would never again obtain an opportunity to rise above Lu Yin.

    Regardless of whether they were former enemies or friends andrades, not one of Lu Yin¡¯s peers would ever be able to match up to him ever again.

    No one responded, as any answer would be self-defeating. Even Sky Garan remained silent. All the young geniuses stared at Lu Yin, watching as he turned around and continued walking up the stairs, and eventually out of their sight.

    He passed the Envoys one after another as he continued his climb to the highest point in the Heavens Sect. Eventually, Lu Yin rose above all the Envoys and reached the area where the Semi-Progenitors stood. He saw all of these powerhouses staring at him. Anyone facing this same situation would feel a tremendous amount of pressure, but Lu Yin felt none at all. He was already able to overpower all of these Semi-Progenitors.

    After reaching this section of the staircase, Lu Yin slowed his ascent and carefully stepped past each of the Semi-Progenitors. At this moment, Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared. "I can''t hold back any longer. How can I not attend the opening ceremony for the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect itself?"

    Leng Qing¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he red at the woman. "How presumptuous. Who are you?"

    Progenitor Smoke just rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin dismissively waved a hand. "It''s fine."

    Leng Qing stepped back. He had felt a tremendous amount of respect for Lu Yin ever since he had realized that the young man had killed Marquis Green Bamboo and Marquis Wu Yi. The fact that Lu Yin was just a three-tribtion Envoy did not matter.

    Leng Qing had not wanted to resume his post as a gatemaster of a Heavenly Gate, but a simple request from Lu Yin had changed the man¡¯s mind.

    Cai Er was the exact same. These two powerhouses had been subdued by Lu Yin¡¯s own power.

    Progenitor Smoke looked down the stairs, nced around the area, and blinked at what she saw. "This era isn¡¯t bad, even if it can¡¯tpare to ours."

    Lu Yin smiled. He had spoken quite a bit with Progenitor Smoke over thest few days, and he had learned that there had been no Dao Chosen during the Daosource Sect era. Without a Dao Monarch, how could there be any Dao Chosen?

    "Still, not bad at all. There are more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors, and one or two of them should manage to be Progenitors. Wait, there actually is a Progenitor, though his cultivation seems to have dropped," Progenitor Smoke noticed the Progenitor of Bloodlines, and curiosity filled the woman¡¯s eyes when she saw the old man.

    Xue Manzi was taken aback, and he looked back at Progenitor Smoke. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin spoke up. "Senior, I will introduce the two of youter."

    Xue Manzi nodded and said nothing more, but there were clear questions in his eyes as he looked at Progenitor Smoke. This woman had never shown up before, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines did not recognize her voice either. Despite that, she had instantly seen through the fact that he was a Progenitor whose strength had fallen from that realm. How had she been able to see through his condition so clearly? Was it due to her own strength? If that were true, then the woman was beyond exceptional.

    Even if the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ cultivation had dropped, his strength still was not something that Semi-Progenitors could see through.

    Both Hen Xin and Jiu Yao looked at Progenitor Smoke with open curiosity. The only people present who knew Progenitor Smoke¡¯s identity were Kui Luo and Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Yin had no intention of revealing the woman¡¯s identity before she was fully freed from her current predicament.

    Progenitor Smoke followed behind as Lu Yin walked up and arrived in front of Destina, Hen Xin, Qing Ping, and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors. He then arrived right in front of the sword.

    All that remained in front of Lu Yin was the statue of the Origin Progenitor.

    During the Heavens Sect era, everyone had been allowed to visit the statues of the Origin Progenitor. But as the Six Mainds had fallen one by one, by the time of the Daosource Sect era, all the statues had disappeared from public, and humanity no longer was taught about the Origin Progenitor. Many people had never even heard of the legends about humanity¡¯s ancestor.

    Finally, the image of the Origin Progenitor had been put before the eyes of the entire universe once more.

    Lu Yin faced the statue and respectfully bowed to it.

    The Origin Progenitor was the person who had created the cultivation method of stellr energy, which formed the foundation of all cultivation methods. He had established the original Heavens Sect and acted as humanity¡¯s guardian, which had ushered in humanity¡¯s most prosperous era. Every single one of the man¡¯s aplishments had been irreceable forter generations.

    In the known universe, the Origin Progenitor was the ancestor of the entire human race.

    Afterpleting the required ritual, Lu Yin straightened back up and stretched out a hand. As Hen Xin and everyone watched, Lu Yin seized the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword and raised it high with one hand.

    The next moment, countless people bowed respectfully. "We see the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    "We see the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    "We see the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    All the Envoys slowly bowed. "We see the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    The words echoed out from the Heavens Sect, out of Frostwave Weave, and eventually across the entire Outerverse.

    Countless people who were originally from the Great Eastern Alliance bowed enthusiastically. "We greet the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    "We greet the Dao Chosen who represents the heavens."

    These were the only words heard at this moment, as they overwhelmed everything else that was spoken.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword for a moment and then looked down and nced around at the gathered Semi-Progenitors. A smile crept over his face. "Bring her out."

    As soon as Lu Yin gave the order, the Second Nightking and Man Li appeared outside the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate. They were escorting a person who was bound with chains that rattled loudly.

    Shock filled everyone''s eyes. Was that¡­ Wang Si? Semi-Progenitor Wang Si!

    Hen Xin''s pupils shrank as he realized that Lu Yin was about to suppress a Semi-Progenitor in order to raise his public image to even greater heights.

    Hen Xin was not alone, as almost everyone instantly reached the same conclusion. After all, what could be more impressive than dealing with a Semi-Progenitor when first reaching a seat of power?

    A three-tribtion Envoy standing up to a Semi-Progenitor was something significant enough to be recorded down in history even at the dawn of a new era.

    There was no one to step out on Wang Si¡¯s behalf, as not a single person had the courage to interfere at this moment.

    The Second Nightking pulled on a chain, and on the other side of the prisoner, Man Li¡¯s impressive height as a lesser giant caused the people watching to feel suppressed.

    Wang Si was dragged up to the Heavens Sect¡¯s main gate. She stared up the astral staircase at Lu Yin. Her eyes zed with hatred, but she could not utter a single word. Her inner world had beenpletely shattered, and at best, she could exhibit the power of a peak Envoy if that. After all, how could the Second Nightking keep the woman under control otherwise?

    Lu Yin held the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword in his hand as he looked down at the woman. "Wang Si, long ago, your mothermitted a crime and was executed by a member of my Lu family in front of the Daosource Sect¡¯s main gate. Right now, I¡¯m giving you a chance. I¡¯m right here in front of you. You can avenge your mother, if you have the strength."

    Lu Yin then waved a hand, telling the Second Nightking to back away.

    The old man nced up at Lu Yin. Twenty years ago, he had betrayed Lu Yin because of the Celestial Frost Sect, but when Lu Yin had suddenly appeared after vanishing for twenty years, the Second Nightking had taken the initiative to seek out Lu Yin. The two had spoken just a few days before the opening ceremony. Even if the Second Nightking was doomed to be controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique, it was still better than an early death.

    The known universe¡ªno, the new era already belonged to Lu Yin, so how could the Second Nightking escape from the young man?

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s hand move, the Second Nightking removed the chains from the prisoner and stepped back.

    Wang Si was free. No one controlled her at this moment. The only thing holding her back was her broken inner world that prevented her from using the power of a Semi-Progenitor. However, that simply meant that her strength was the same as when humanity had fought under the restrictions of the mentalwork twenty years earlier.

    Wang Si stared upwards from where she stood before the gate, dazed. Her mother had once been killed by Lu Tianyi, and she was currently in the same situation as her mother when she had been executed before the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate. Wang Si hated the Lu family, and she hated Lu Tianyi.

    Suddenly, the old woman looked up. She red at Lu Yin with a zing bloodlust. "You little bastard, what¡¯s your trick this time?"

    Lu Yin answered with a smile. "I''m giving you the opportunity to kill me in front of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate during this opening ceremony."

    Wang Si''s expression froze, and then she looked around at the gathered Semi-Progenitors.

    Everyst one of the powerhouses remained silent and calm as they watched the events y out.

    Wang Si¡¯s eyes narrowed. She could not understand what Lu Yin was nning.

    "What? Afraid? Do you not want to get revenge for your mother?" Lu Yin asked in a cold voice.

    Wang Si¡¯s eyes nearly closed as she let out a wildugh. "I know what you want to do, you little bastard, but even if you want to fight my crippled body in a deathmatch, I¡¯ll take you down with me!"

    The woman then took a step forward. Even if her inner world had been shattered and most of her energy reserves had been lost, she still had enough stellr energy tounch onest full-powered attack. She knew that Lu Yin was freakishly powerful, and he had to have a hidden card for him to dare to face her. Even if he did not use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, he definitely still had various power vessels that he could use to fight against a peak Envoy.

    Still, Wang Si had no choice. She gathered all the strength remaining within her body to use a secret technique: Supremacy. The attack shot forward, passing by all the assembled Envoys and Semi-Progenitors.

    No one tried to stop the attack, even if she was attacking Lu Yin. Hen Xin frowned. During the Dao Chosen selection, Lu Yin had stopped an attack from Chu Yuan where dozens of shes had been stacked on top of each other, but Wang Si had not witnessed that moment. She had been fighting on the front lines during the Dao Chosen selection, so she did not know that she was already doomed to fail.

    Wang Si¡¯s attack fell as she took a single step. Her expression made her look like a vindictive ghost, determined to see her victim in and brought low.

    Lu Yin looked up at the attack and mobilized the power that sat within his chest. He had only taken a single step on his path to create a universe within himself, but Wang Si had entered Lu Yin¡¯s self-created universe. While she appeared to be just a step away, there might as well be an entire universe between the two people. It was a distance that could be traversed in an instant, but it could also be impassable.

    The power of Wang Si¡¯s attack dissipated bit by bit, in the exact same manner that Chu Yuan¡¯s stacked sh had been weakened.

    Because Wang Si had been on the front lines and missed the Dao Chosen selection, she was inplete disbelief upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s power for herself for the first time.

    How was this possible? Even if she was seriously injured, she was still able to use the same level of strength as a peak Envoy, so how was she being suppressed? Her attack was constantly dissipating, its power sapped away. There was no way to counter this suppression. What was going on?

    All the watching Semi-Progenitors remained calm. At the bottom of the stairs, Chu Yuan and many others looked up and watched as Wang Si acted like someone running to their death. The bug was about to be burned to ash.

    It was a ridiculous thing to consider; regardless of her injuries, Wang Si remained a Semi-Progenitor. Despite that, she still seemed like a moth drawn to a me as she faced Lu Yin.

    Not even Lu Yin knew the limits of his current strength. All he knew was that his new form of power was able to suppress the Garan family¡¯s unique energy and shatter a secret technique that utilized the power of time. Lu Yin¡¯s power was enough for him to reach the peak.

    Wang Si had unleashed the Wang family¡¯s secret technique, Supremacy, with all the power of a peak Envoy. This attack would not be easy for anyone to deal with directly, as no matter how she had been weakened, the woman was still a Semi-Progenitor.

    Everyone wanted to see if Lu Yin was capable enough to deal with such a foe.

 Chapter 2136: A Prestigious Display

    Chapter 2136: A Prestigious Disy

    Lu Yin watched as Wang Si''s attack drew closer and closer. Even though he had greatly weakened and suppressed the attack, it had not beenpletely eliminated.

    Wang Si moved ever closer to Lu Yin, and he could see the hatred and bloodlust within her eyes. It almost felt as though the woman had gone insane at this moment.

    "Thank you, for providing me with such a perfect performance." Lu Yin smiled gently. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword that was held in his right hand shot forward, twisting time and space as it stabbed right into Wang Si''s heart.

    Everyone was startled. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword was a symbol, and even if Lu Buzheng had never seen it during the Heavens Sect era, such a symbol had never been used as a weapon before.

    Lu Yin had once again set a precedent. It was likely that he was the very first person to ever attack with this sword, aside from the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Wang Si was open to an attack while unleashing her own full-powered attack with the secret technique Supremacy. Additionally, any resistance she might have been able to mount would have still been useless before the sword.

    She bowed her head and looked down at the sword that had pierced her heart. She felt no pain, but everything that was touched by the sword was disappearing. Starting with her heart, Wang Si¡¯s body slowly disappeared, vanishing from the universe.

    Everyone stared nkly as she faded away, a chill gripping their hands and feet.

    Wang Si¡¯s death would have been one thing, and people would have epted seeing her blood spill onto the stairs within the Heavens Sect. However, the sight of someone mysteriously disappearing was something that no one could ept.

    The sword was able to make a person disappear. What sort of power was behind this?

    Jiu Yao was very close to Wang Si, and he grew pale as he once again witnessed this inexplicable scene. Before, he had watched Forgotten Ruins God disappear from merely touching the hilt of the sword. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword could not be touched by anyone. Only Lu Yin was able toe into contact with the weapon.

    The other Semi-Progenitors¡¯ scalps went numb, especially Hen Xin. A never-before-seen fear manifested in the man¡¯s eyes as he stared at Lu Yin.

    This child was too ruthless! It was no wonder why he had left the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swordying in the open, unprotected. The sword was able to cause people to disappear! If being stabbed caused Wang Si to vanish, then did that mean that the power was restricted to just the de, or did it cover the entire sword? If it did cover the entire sword, then Lu Yin¡¯s actions were terrifying. Anyone who had failed to curb the temptation to grab the sword would have died without question.

    For the first time, Hen Xin felt a trickle of true fear towards Lu Yin.

    Before, when Lu Yin had used Progenitor Chen¡¯s power to suppress the Fifth Maind, even though Hen Xin had submitted, he had never been truly convinced of Lu Yin¡¯s superior power. Rather, Hen Xin had simply believed that he would be able to wrest back control of everything as soon as he became a Progenitor.

    However, chills ran down the man¡¯s spine at the sight of Wang Si¡¯s execution. Just how deep did this young man¡¯s schemes run? Would he allow Hen Xin to simply step into the Progenitor realm without issue? Would Hen Xin ever be able to break free of Lu Yin¡¯s grip?

    These thoughts gued not only Hen Xin, but also Jue Yi. He was extremely nervous as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waspletely different from the Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect era, and there was noparison at all. Lu Yin was perfectly suited for the modern era, as he had been molded by this era.

    If even Semi-Progenitors like Hen Xin and Jue Yi were startled, there was no need to mention anyone else.

    Wang Si''s body eventually disappearedpletely, but right up to the moment she disappeared, the hatred in her eyes as she red at Lu Yin never fluctuated.

    However, Lu Yin was unbothered. Wang Si had already yed her role topletion, and the Lu family had been avenged.

    As he thrust the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword high into the sky, Lu Yin heard voices respectfully call out once more, "Representing the heavens."

    "Representing the heavens."

    "Representing the heavens¡­"

    At this moment, even the gathered Semi-Progenitors were looking at Lu Yin with respect. They truly saw him as representing the heavens. This was no longer mere lip-service.

    Lu Yin lowered the sword and nced around, his eyes sweeping over everyone present. The members of the Lu family had seen simr scenes many times before, but this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time. At this moment, there were Semi-Progenitors looking up at him, but in the future, he would force even Progenitors to look up at him.

    "I officially dere¡­ The founding of the Heavens Sect!" Lu Yin announced.

    The Fifth Maind started boiling. This moment was the opening of a new chapter in human history.

    The formal establishment of the Heavens Sect benefited Lu Yin more than any other person. With the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin now had the justification to represent the heavens and wield some degree of authority over every human cultivator. He had achieved this authority by more than just the power he had received from Progenitor Chen.

    After Wang Si vanished with a single thrust of a sword, people felt as though the Origin Progenitor himself had appeared.

    At present, the most powerful humans were Semi-Progenitors. While there was too great a gap between them and true Progenitors, nobody understood how powerful Progenitors actually were. Even the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were gone. All that was left were Semi-Progenitors, and the masses¡¯ knowledge of peak powerhouses only reached that level.

    Executing Wang Si had allowed Lu Yin''s prestige to reach the greatest heights in known history.

    ***

    A few dayster, when the Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference was held, things naturally proceeded very smoothly. Hen Xin and Jue Yi barely spoke at all. All the matters concerning the Fifth Maind were decided by Lu Yin alone. The meeting did not evenst very long, but right before its conclusion, the Second Nightking entered to deliver a report. "Dao Chosen, Xu Qing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Astral Beast Domain, hase to deliver a congrattory gift."

    This message caught Lu Yin off guard. It was not the fact that the Astral Beast Domain had sent a gift that was surprising, but rather that Xu Qing had been sent to deliver it.

    This individual was an old friend.

    "Send him in," Lu Yin replied. At the moment, he was sitting inside the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, surrounded by the protectors, educators, and gatemasters of the Heavens Sect.

    Xu Qing was quickly escorted in, andplete shock could be seen in his eyes.

    The Human Domain had truly been transformed.

    From the moment he had been born, to the time when he had be themander in chief of the Celestial Beast Empire, the vast majority of Xu Qing¡¯s life had been on the battlefield. He had even been on the battlefield when he had inherited the position of the Void Thunderbeasts¡¯ patriarch. Most of his life had been spent fighting against humans, and Xu Qing had a profound understanding of the Human Domain.

    This was actually why he had never imagined that humans would one day actually unite. It was something that should have been impossible, and yet it had happened right in front of him.

    A truly united Human Domain was beyond terrifying, as it was a power that was impossible for the Astral Beast Domain to stand up to.

    Xu Qing could not resist looking down at what he carried as a congrattory gift. The imperial advisor had said that this would enable the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s safety.

    After climbing the astral staircase, the Second Nightking led Xu Qing to the main hall, where themander worked to suppress his shock and regain hisposure before entering the hall.

    He was met by the sight of fourteen Semi-Progenitors.

    With fourteen Semi-Progenitors staring at him, Xu Qing almost spat out blood. He had never dreamed of one day facing fourteen powerhouses. These people were all Semi-Progenitors, and there were actually fourteen of them!

    In the current Astral Beast Domain, there only remained one Semi-Progenitor: Yao Di.

    Xu Qing had believed himself capable of remainingposed when visiting the humans¡¯ Heavens Sect. However, when fourteen Semi-Progenitors suddenly stared at him, even the Commander-in-Chief of the Celestial Beast Empire who decisivelymanded countless creatures could not eliminate his burgeoning fear.

    What he was facing was not something that could be countered with something like status. Semi-Progenitors were near the absolute peak of cultivation, and they looked at all those beneath them as though they were ants.

    Fortunately, Xu Qing frequently met with Yao Di and had asionally been forced to suffer a bit of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s pressure. This kept Xu Qing from embarrassing himself, and he slowly walked into the main hall despite the fact that sweat had already soaked his back.

    Lu Yin smiled when he saw Xu Qing slowly walking closer to the meeting. It was clear that each step was a struggle.

    With the threat of Aeternus gone for the time being, Lu Yin had been considering what to focus on. It was important for the Human Domain to continue improving, hidden threats to be eliminated, and internal conflicts to be redirected. Lu Yin¡¯s initial inclination had been to focus on the third goal, and he had wanted to distract humanity from their internal conflicts by shifting their focus onto the Astral Beast Domain. Starting a war with the astral beasts was a perfect option.

    Humanity could not simply ept always being the passive defenders, and Lu Yin had already promised Elder Lohar and the other defenders of Ironblood Weave that he would lead them into the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, the decision to dere war had been first disrupted by Wang Si, and then by the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother Qing Ping was soon going to challenge his stellr tribtion in the Perennial World. Lu Yin had been considering whether he should also go to the Perennial World and rescue the people who had been conscripted into Star Alliance and imprisoned within Crimson Garden.

    Lu Yin felt a bit confused as to what to do.

    While Lu Yin was considering his various goals and options, Xu Qing stopped ten meters away and slowly bowed. "Xu Qing, Commander-in-Chief of the Celestial Beast Empire, greets the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen Lu. I offer our congrattions for representing the heavens and taking control of the Human Domain."

    Hen Xin and the other Semi-Progenitors felt quite curious as they looked at Xu Qing. Since awakening in the modern era, they had fought against the forces of Aeternus. While they were all aware that, in the current era, humans were also enemies with the Astral Beast Domain, they had not given the astral beasts much consideration.

    The Astral Beast Domain had been very quiet in the twenty years that Lu Yin had been absent. In fact, they had been almostpletely silent, and they had never once tried to stir up any trouble. This was why none of the ancient powerhouses had had any contact at all with the Astral Beast Domain.

    This was the first official interaction.

    The Astral Beast Domain should be the remnants of the Fourth Maind.

    "Commander Xu Qing, we meet again," Lu Yin said with a smile. He put on a show of being very friendly.

    Xu Qing straightened up as he looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "Yes, we meet again. I never thought that I would see you again in this lifetime."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard for a moment. "Why would you say that?"

    "You were gone for twenty years. If you weren¡¯t dead, your abilities should have made it impossible for you to not appear at all."

    Lu Yinughed. "I see that my ident has caused themander to worry about me."

    Worry? Xu Qing exhaled. The truth was that Lu Yin¡¯s return had been a devastating disappointment to Xu Qing. Without Lu Yin, how could the Human Domain have transformed to such an extent? Even if the Astral Beast Domain had not waged war against the Human Domain for twenty years or even had any official contact, there was no way to ignore their countless years of effort in developing an intelligencework.

    The Celestial Beast Empire was fully aware of the schism that had appeared between the awakened ancient powerhouses and the people of the modern era. They were aware that humanity¡¯s cultivation system had been broken, as well as all of Hen Xin¡¯s various efforts. The astral beasts were fully aware of all that had happened within the Human Domain, and it was why they had not developed any ns to take action against humanity.

    The Celestial Beast Empire had no desire to help either Aeternus or humanity, and they had also been confident that the appearance of the ancient powerhouses would not be enough to restore humanity to their previous strength. No matter how popr the cultivation methods of battle force, domain, death energy, or Destiny¡¯s method became, not even all of thembined could rece the stellr energy cultivation method. Humans were doomed to decline.

    With such an inevitability, there was no need for the astral beasts to do anything at all. They could sit back and watch, or even help the remnants of humanity fight against the Aeternals at a critical moment.

    However, Lu Yin had returned, and the Human Domain had transformed yet again. Even if Lu Yin was unable to change the fact that humanity¡¯s primary cultivation method had been taken away, he had changed the internal dynamics of the Human Domain and truly united all of humanity beneath the Heavens Sect. Even the threat of Aeternus had been eliminated, and that was the most troubling change.

    Lu Yin alone had allowed humans to leap up from being weaklings on the verge of destruction, to being the true rulers of the Fifth Maind.

    If at all possible, Xu Qing would happily sacrifice himself to ensure Lu Yin''s death.

    "I¡¯vee here at this time at the orders of the imperial advisor and Emperor Yao Di to deliver a congrattory gift and offer the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s congrattions on the establishment of the Heavens Sect, as well as personal congrattions to the Dao Chosen for representing the heavens." As he spoke, Xu Qing lifted a hand and offered a folded piece of paper.

    Lu Yin made a casual gesture, and the paper floated over to him. He was very curious to see what sort of gift the Astral Beast Domain would send.

    Xu Qing''s eyes flickered. Emperor Yao Di was very concerned about a united Human Domain, and he feared what the Heavens Sect might do to the Astral Beast Domain. The Human Domain had be too powerful, and a force of more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors was more than sufficient topletely overpower the Celestial Beast Empire after the humans¡¯ outside threats had been dealt with. The Technocracy was no longer considered an enemy of the Human Domain, which left the Astral Beast Domain as their only remaining enemy.

    This was what most concerned Yao Di, and yet the imperial advisor had taken out a single piece of paper as he had reassured the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s ruler.

    There had been countless moments during his journey that Xu Qing had wanted to open the folded paper, but he had not dared to do so.

    Xu Qing¡¯s eyes focused intently on Lu Yin as he held the paper.

    The gathered Semi-Progenitors were also paying attention to Lu Yin at this moment. They had already known that with the Heavens Sect uniting the Human Domain, the final external threat was the Astral Beast Domain. How could a simple piece of paper be valuable enough to win the astral beasts the favor of the Heavens Sect and Lu Yin? Could it be the record of some sort of priceless battle technique?

 Chapter 2137: Extreme Path

    Chapter 2137: Extreme Path

    Lu Yin unfolded the paper. His expression changed as soon as he read it, and his eyes snapped up to look at Xu Qing.

    The general¡¯s heart dropped. Given Lu Yin''s sudden change in attitude, he had to be furious about what the paper contained.

    Lu Yin folded the paper back up as he glowered at Xu Qing. "Do you know what was written in that message, General?"

    Xu Qing quickly answered, "I don''t. The imperial advisor ordered me to not look at it before I gave it to you."

    Lu Yin stored the paper in his cosmic ring. "Skymender sent this gift?"

    Xu Qing nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin looked away and fell into contemtion for a moment before looking back at Xu Qing again. "Deliver this message to Skymender for me: I understand the message, but-"

    Before he continued, all emotion left Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Even if this message burns the receiver, it won¡¯tfort the sender.¡±

    "See our guest out."

    Lu Yin¡¯sst words to Xu Qing before dismissing him were clearly a threat, which only increased Xu Qing¡¯s curiosity regarding the contents of that piece of paper. While Lu Yin had clearly been angry, he had also felt rather helpless. Just what had the imperial advisor written?

    Still, Xu Qing¡¯s curiosity amounted to nothing, as he was quickly escorted out by the Second Nightking.

    After the astral beast had left, Kui Luo could not hold back from asking, "Hey, kid. What¡¯s going on? You look pretty upset."

    The other Semi-Progenitors also looked at Lu Yin with questioning expressions.

    Lu Yin looked at Jiu Yao. "Back when the Upper Three Gates were broken open and the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky changed back, your Sixth Maind invaded my Fifth Maind. Do you remember that matter, Gatemaster Jiu Yao?"

    Jiu Yao''s expression instantly changed. What was going on? Was Lu Yin looking to settle old grudges after so much time had passed?

    "I do, but that was a long time ago. Why are you bringing it up now, Dao Chosen?" Jiu Yao asked softly. His expression was rather strained at the moment. That invasion had ended in the Sixth Maind¡¯s defeat and a major injury for the Progenitor of Combat. It had been a humiliating affair for the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin replied, "When the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth, the Human Domain was not the only ce you invaded, as you also attacked the Astral Beast Domain."

    Jiu Yao nodded. "That''s right. ckblood Realm, Grand Martial Realm, and War Martial Realm attacked the Human Domain while the Blood Homage Realm and Rock Realm attacked the Astral Beast Domain."

    As he was speaking, the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression abruptly changed. "The Extreme Path?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold, and he tossed the paper in his hand to Jiu Yao.

    As the man looked at the paper, his expression grew ugly.

    Kui Luo¡¯s curiosity was overwhelming him, so he reached over and snatched the paper away. "What''s going on?"

    Lu Yin frowned. The Extreme Path was the path that the Sixth Maind¡¯s Rock Realm and Blood Homage Realm had taken to invade the Astral Beast Domain. After the Sixth Maind retreated, the Astral Beast Domain had taken control of the Extreme Path, and they had continued to upy it from that time onwards. Skymender¡¯s gift to Lu Yin had been the Extreme Path¡¯s name, which was no different than delivering a threat. If the Human Domain made any moves against the Astral Beast Domain, the Extreme Path would be reopened.

    Aeternus had controlled the Sixth Maind for quite some time, but it was quite possible that they did not even know about the Extreme Path. However, if the Astral Beast Domain reopened it, the Aeternals would immediately discover that they had ess to the Fifth Maind. The Human Domain was not only facing a threat from the Starfall Sea, but also this path that had slipped through the cracks.

    "You actually forgot about something this important?" Arch-Elder Zen asked as he passed the message over to Qing Ping.

    Lu Buzheng also looked over at Jiu Yao. "This is a matter concerning your Sixth Maind, so why did you never mention anything before?"

    Herb Immortal spoke up. "The Extreme Path is not easy to get through, and we only discovered it by ident. After we returned to the Sixth Maind, we were able topletely seal the Extreme Path from our side, and we expected the Astral Beast Domain to do the same. Later, when the Aeternals attacked us, we actually tried to reopen the Extreme Path. This is why we believed it to bepletely gone. We never even considered that they might have left it closed instead of sealed.¡±

    "It''s also possible that it simply can''t bepletely sealed," Jiu Yao interjected.

    "Can you guys find it from this side? I can go seal it," Leng Qing offered.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Gatemaster Leng Qing, your cultivation is focused on stellr energy, which means that you will be at a rather severe disadvantage in the Astral Beast Domain. If you end up antagonizing them, you won¡¯t be able to deal with them, and we can¡¯t risk anything that might give Aeternus another path to invade us."

    Leng Qing wanted to respond, but he was interrupted by Arch-Elder Zen. "That¡¯s true. Yao Di, the emperor of the Celestial Beast Domain is almost as powerful as one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters. There aren¡¯t many gatemasters who can be confident about defeating Yao Di."

    Lu Yin looked over at Hen Xin. "Gatemaster Hen Xin, you should be the one to go."

    Hen Xin''s expression fell. He felt that there was something wrong with Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s assessment of the situation, but there was no denying theck of stellr energy. Thus, sending a cultivator who did not rely on stellr energy was the best choice, though there were very few options avable given that restriction. Lu Yin had immediately called Hen Xin out, and he was in no position to refuse the order. "The Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s gatemaster is capable of overpowering Yao Di, but there¡¯s also the mysterious Skymender that we need to consider as well. My guess is that he should also be a Semi-Progenitor."

    As Lu Yin continued to speak, he looked at Jue Yi. "Death energy should be more than enough to deal with him, so you should also go, Gatemaster Jue Yi."

    Jue Yi was also briefly stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s orders. "Does it really require both Hen Xin and me to deal with mere beasts that were once our ves?"

    Destina was the one to answer. "The Aeternals were once regarded as ants and were ignored during our time, but they have since stomped humans into near-extinction, haven¡¯t they?"

    "In that case, why don''t you go?" Jue Yi shot Destina a re and snapped back at her.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Because I¡¯ve already chosen two gatemasters. That should be enough."

    Jue Yi gave Lu Yin a hard stare, but Lu Yin stared right back at the Semi-Progenitor.

    After a moment or two passed, Hen Xin said, "Very well. We¡¯ll take care of this."

    Qing Ping tossed the slip of paper over to Jiu Yao so that the man could mark down the Extreme Path¡¯s location.

    "Sect Gatemaster Hen Xin, Gatemaster Jue Yi, this will be the first time our Heavens Sect takes action outside of our territory. I hope that the two of you will not disappoint all of us. This is also a matter of giving the two of you an opportunity, as these astral beasts are the descendants of the creatures that were enved and abused by the Fourth Maind all those years ago," Kui Luo said in an odd tone of voice.

    Hen Xin frowned. He was no fool; the fact that the Astral Beast Domain had taken the initiative to remind the humans about the Extreme Path meant that they were confident that they could retain control of the path. While the two Semi-Progenitors were fully capable of overpowering the entire Astral Beast Domain, they were walking into an unknown situation, and there were times when strength meant nothing.

    Kui Luo was using his words to force the two gatemasters to do everything that they possibly could to handle this matter properly.

    "Old man, who are you to say such things? How could beasts which were once enved be capable of standing up to Gatemaster Hen Xin or Jue Yi? One of them is the proud disciple of an ancient Dao Monarch, while the other is the God of Death¡¯s disciple. Each of them is smarter and more powerful than any mere beast. You¡¯re overthinking things," Lu Buzheng interjected.

    Cai Erughed. "You can¡¯tpare beasts to the two gatemasters. How is that even fair?"

    "You¡¯re right, haha. I apologize to the two of you," Lu Buzheng said with a smile.

    Several people participated in a little song and dance that forced Hen Xin and Jue Yi to put their full efforts towards their task.

    However, Hen Xin had already lived in the modern era for twenty years, and he had also lost what he had considered to be a guaranteed bet in the team battle against the other Heavenly Gates. As a result, his perception had shifted. He would no longer allow himself to be influenced by the words of others. "The Aeternals were able to rise up and surpass us, which means that it might be possible for the astral beasts to do the same. You can¡¯t me us if we fail."

    He then rose and immediately departed from the Heavens Sect without giving anyone a chance to say anything further. This was a matter that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

    Jue Yi stared at Lu Yin for a moment before following after Hen Xin.

    "Hey kid, do you really think that they¡¯ll be able to handle this?" Kui Luo asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Skymender ims to be capable of seeing both the past and the future. He¡¯s aplete mystery and definitely not an easy opponent. Sending those two is just checking on the situation. Actually, the Astral Beast Domain should have already assumed that we would send a Semi-Progenitor to investigate the Extreme Path."

    "See the past and future? Isn¡¯t that the same as Destiny?" Lu Buzheng muttered to himself.

    Destina red at the man, hatred smoldering in her eyes.

    Her expression caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and he remembered Lu Buzheng mentioning to him early on that all of Destiny¡¯s disciples had chased after and harassed him because Lu Buzheng¡¯s third stream of ancestral qi could summon Destiny. The most ruthless disciple of all had been Destina. It was only because of Lu Yin that the two were able to sit at the same table in peace.

    However, Lu Buzheng still felt a bit guilty every time he saw Destina.

    In a simr manner, Cai Er looked over at Destiny with cold eyes. She had alwayspared her own appearance to Destina¡¯s, which was something that Lu Yin could not understand in the slightest. Destina might be beautiful, but she had the appearance of a growing child. What was there topare?

    Just as the various powerhouses from the Daosource Sect era had their own grudges and hatreds, the same had existed during the Heavens Sect era.

    "Senior Destina, do you know if there were any astral beasts on the Fourth Maind that were capable of divination?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina shook her head. "At least during our era, there weren¡¯t any."

    Kui Luo barked an oddugh. "If even a member of the Lu family can use the power of Destiny, what can¡¯t?"

    Thisment instantly caused Lu Buzheng''s face to turn green, and Destina shot another re in his direction.

    Lu Buzheng instantly turned around to viciously re at Kui Luo.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This old man was really brutal with hisments.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up to diffuse the situation. "This Heavenly Gates¡¯ conference should end here. Arch-Elder Zen, Gatemaster Qing Ping, please stay behind for a moment."

    Lu Buzheng was the first to escape the main hall.

    A white cloud shrouded Destina and hid her body right before she exited the main hall as well.

    Cai Er muttered, "You¡¯re so pretty, yet you always keep yourself wrapped up and hidden. What a waste."

    After most of the Semi-Progenitors were gone, Lu Yin addressed Arch-Elder Zen. "Senior, what''s wrong with the Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    The old man felt puzzled. "What Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "The one that I borrowed from the Hall of Honor."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. "What do you know about that?"

    Lu Yin was surprised by this reaction. "This junior is very curious about that Champions¡¯ Stage, as it¡¯s clearly something that was left behind by my Lu family¡¯s Lu Tianyi. Why didn¡¯t you ever say anything?"

    Arch-Elder Zen was even more surprised. "How do you know about that?"

    "Don''t worry about how I know about that. What¡¯s wrong with the Champions¡¯ Stage?" Lu Yin repeated.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "The truth is that all of the Progenitors that left the Fifth Maind left behind some of their power to protect this ce. The powers left by the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Hui have already been used up, and you inherited the power that Progenitor Chen left behind. I know that your Lu family¡¯s patriarch Lu Tianyi left that Champions¡¯ Stage for us, but it never worked."

    The old man¡¯s tone grew increasingly bitter as he spoke. Lu Yin was quite puzzled. "Since my ancestor left the Champions¡¯ Stage here, why doesn¡¯t it work?"

    Arch-Elder Zen just shook his head. "I truly never understood."

    Lu Yin''s went wide. "Patriarch Tianyi didn''t show you how to use it?"

    "Senior Lu Tianyi gave me some blood, and he said that I just needed to sprinkle the blood on the Champions¡¯ Stage to summon champions. I actually tried it long ago, but nothing happened. If it had worked, I would not have needed to use the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power to deal with the Sixth Maind."

    "Blood doesn¡¯t do anything," Lu Yin agreed. He had tried it himself long ago. After understanding that the Hall of Honor''s Champions¡¯ Stage was the innate gift of his own Lu family, he had tried to trigger it with his blood. However, there had been no reaction whatsoever.

    "It''s as if that Champions¡¯ Stage has always been defective. It was only because it waspletely useless for so many years that we were willing to let you borrow it when you asked. Even back then, I had a guess that you might be connected to the Lu family, but I never even considered the possibility of you being a member of the direct line," Arch-Elder Zen exined.

    "So Yuan Shi also knew about it back then?"

    "You asked Yuan Shi if you could borrow it. How could he not know? He might only have a power level of a million, but his status within the Hall of Honor is no lower than Qing Ping¡¯s. He is held in high respect and is privy to many matters."

    Lu Yin understood. "It¡¯s no wonder that when the Sixth Maind captured the Champions¡¯ Stage back then, the Hall of Honor sent all of us to take it back. What would have happened if we had failed to recover it?"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes shed with a cold light. "I would have taken it back myself."

 Chapter 2138: Suing For Peace

    Chapter 2138: Suing For Peace

    Lu Yin nodded. While he had learned where the Hall of Honor¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage hade from, he still had no idea how to actually use it. Even more mysterious was how an innate gift had somehow be a physical object. Did that require one to first be a Progenitor? Who was actually the master of that Champions¡¯ Stage?

    Lu Yin believed that if the Champions¡¯ Stage was sessfully used, the champions summoned would be extremely powerful. If not, there would have been no reason for Patriarch Lu Tianyi to have left it in the Fifth Maind. Still, why did it not work?

    "Alright, don''t dwell on that Champions¡¯ Stage too much. If it can¡¯t be used, then it can¡¯t as it¡¯s likely broken. For now, let''s wait for news from the Astral Beast Domain. There cannot be any problems, or else we¡¯ll be dealing with another passage to the Starfall Sea. While you can use the power left behind by Progenitor Chen, you can''t influence the Astral Beast Domain, right?" Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Lu Yin felt a bit helpless. Progenitor Chen''s power had only been left within the Human Domain, so he really was unable to attack the Astral Beast Domain.

    While Lu Yin was practically invincible within the Human Domain, as soon as he left, he returned to his original level of strength.

    "How much stellr energy have you gathered?" Qing Ping asked.

    Lu Yin made a decision. "There hasn¡¯t been enough time, so we weren¡¯t able to gather very much."

    Qing Ping looked outside of the main hall. "I don''t want to wait any longer. I intend to make the trip as soon as possible."

    "Missing the moment you¡¯ve chosen for a breakthrough isn¡¯t good. Instead of waiting, it would be better for you to just go, but don¡¯t let anyone find out who you are," Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Lu Yin asked, "Will you be going to the Perennial World from the ce I returned to?"

    He had not been very concerned about this detail in the past, but he had just made a decision: he would return to the Perennial World with his senior brother. Not only would they be able to protect each other, but Lu Yin also intended to sneak into Crimson Garden and rescue some of the people from Star Alliance as well.

    The New Corridor had been destroyed, so the four ruling powers had no idea of the recent developments in the Fifth Maind. As soon as that information reached them, they would realize that the best way to threaten Lu Yin was with the survivors of the Lu family who remained captive.

    Just because the people from the Heavens Sect era would not employ underhanded methods, it did not mean that the four ruling powers would restrict themselves in the same manner. Lu Yin needed to make sure that he could not be threatened in the future.

    Thinking of the people in Crimson Garden who had been driven insane, Lu Yin felt a hint of panic. There were also some people in Star Alliance from the Qiming family. When Lu Yin had been exposed and fled, some of the Lu family¡¯s former vassals had taken action to help him, and he did not want to abandon them.

    Arch-Elder Zen said, "It¡¯s a sourcebox array left by Progenitor Hui. When the Lu family first led people to move the Mother Tree and leave the Fifth Maind, it was decided that if the Fifth Maind was ever truly threatened, there needed to be a means for some people to get to the Perennial World."

    "Is there a way to take a bunch of people?" Lu Yin was surprised at this insinuation.

    Arch-Elder Zen nced at Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring. "Zenith Mountain."

    Lu Yin understood and was rather moved. Zenith Mountain was a treasure that had been left behind to ensure that, even in the worst-case scenario, some people would always be able to escape from the Fifth Maind. Despite that, the Hall of Honor had still given it to Lu Yin. This showed just how highly they had valued him after ZENITH, or rather, how highly Arch-Elder Zen had valued him.

    Lu Yin had been deemed important not only because he had proven himself peerless within his cultivation realm, but also because of his master, Mister Mu.

    "Senior brother, I''m going to the Perennial World with you," Lu Yin announced.

    Both Arch-Elder Zen and Qing Ping were caught off guard. "You want to go?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I have to."

    "It will be extremely dangerous," Qing Ping warned.

    Arch-Elder Zen had never considered that Lu Yin might actually wish to go to the Perennial World at this time. Inheriting Progenitor Chen¡¯s power meant that Lu Yin was essentially invincible, as long as he remained within the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain. Despite that assurance, he wanted to leave and return to the Perennial World. If he was exposed there, escaping would not be as simple as thest time.

    Lu Yin felt helpless about this choice. "I know that it''ll be dangerous, but there are certain things that I absolutely have to do there. Don¡¯t worry, I have a way of making sure that not even a Semi-Progenitor can see through my disguise. I should be safe as long as I don¡¯t run into any Progenitors."

    Previously, the Mask of Death had not been enough to hide Lu Yin from a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inspection, but if he used the new energy source thaty within his chest, it was more than possible. He had verified this by asking Progenitor Smoke to test it out.

    Even that woman had failed to see through the Mask of Death, and Lu Yin believed that not a single Semi-Progenitor could possibly be more powerful than Progenitor Smoke.

    Even though Progenitor Smoke was restricted to using the power of a Semi-Progenitor, she was still a genuine Progenitor, and she even controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. When it came to her perception and experience, there were likely no Semi-Progenitors who couldpare to the woman.

    These details shed through his mind as Lu Yin looked at Qing Ping. He was very curious about something that Senior Brother Qing Ping had said in the past. Once the man became a Semi-Progenitor, he had imed that he would be invincible among his peers, which would provide a great deal of assurance to both Qing Ping and Lu Yin.

    "If you wish to apany me, you may, but I will only wait one month for you. If you are going, be in the Neoverse at that time," Qing Ping said before leaving the main hall.

    Arch-Elder Zen pondered the matter, considering whether or not he should make the journey as well. There was nowhere left in the Fifth Maind for him to see, but the Perennial World waspletely different.

    It might be best for him to go too.

    With the decision to return to the Perennial World made, there were certain preparations that Lu Yin needed to make. For example, he needed to interrogate some of the people from the army that the Perennial World had sent after him.

    He had not cared about those people in the past, and he had simply incarcerated them. With the exceptions of the various Semi-Progenitors and Lu Jia, Lu Yin had not given much thought to his captives. However, his impending trip to the Perennial World made it different.

    The first person toe to mind was Elder Qing Xing. The man was someone with an extensivework in the Perennial World.

    Also, there was Wang Su. Since she had not participated in the Dao Chosen selection, Lu Yin had actually forgotten about the woman.

    Still, she was one of the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors and was much, much more powerful than Wang Yi. However, Wang Yi had participated in the Dao Chosen selection while Wang Su had not. Lu Yin grew curious about this matter.

    Furthermore, neither Xia Shenfei nor Long Tian had joined the expedition to the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin wanted to know why.

    If he was going to visit the Perennial World, then he needed a strong alias. He needed an identity that would not draw him any attention from the four ruling powers, but one that would also allow him to do so when needed. Lu Yin could not even imagine what sort of identity would fit his criteria, and only by questioning the people from the Perennial World would he be able to find out.

    In particr, since Elder Qing Xing was a member of the Hidden Earth Society, he should be able to provide an adequate answer.

    However, if Lu Yin was in the Perennial World, then what about Hen Xin and Jue Yi? If both of them remained in the Fifth Maind while Lu Yin left, there would be no one who could keep the two men in check. However, Lu Yin could not just go after either of the gatemasters without proper cause, especially not when given their statuses within the Fifth Maind. In particr, there would be dire consequences if he simply eliminated one of the two men.

    Lu Yin did not believe himself to be a vicious person, and he would not kill someone without what he deemed justifiable cause.

    Even more importantly, Lu Yin was waiting for a shipment of star essence from the Technocracy. Even if he wanted to rush to leave, he could not leave without collecting those resources.

    "Dao Chosen, your servant wishes to speak with you," the Second Nightking called out.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Come in."

    The Second Nightking entered the main hall and respectfully offered Lu Yin a wireless jincan. "Xu Qing gave this to your servant before meeting with you, and he asked that I deliver it to the Dao Chosen when he was alone."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he took the jincan. "In that case, head on out."

    The Second Nightking quickly withdrew from the main hall. His attitude towards Lu Yin hadpletely transformedpared to the past.

    Previously, the old man had been forced to serve Lu Yin because of the Sealed Cage Technique. If he had found an opportunity, the Second Nightking would not have hesitated to attack Lu Yin. For example, in Shamrock World, Leaf King had revealed the Second Nightking''s intentions. The old man had willingly allowed himself to be trapped after being attacked by Leaf King.

    With the appearance of the Perennial World¡¯s army, the Second Nightking had defected to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. This was not merely because they were able to seize control of him with the Sealed Cage Technique, but also because their strength far exceeded the Second Nightking¡¯s, while Lu Yin had been much weaker.

    However, the Second Nightking had since personally witnessed Lu Yin execute Wang Si without relying on any external powers or reinforcements. Even if the old woman¡¯s inner world had been shattered, it was not something that a three-tribtion Envoy should be capable of doing.

    The Second Nightking had already developed true, heartfelt respect for Lu Yin.

    The Daynight n had originally been ves of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family. This meant that newer n members, like Zhuo Daynight, were fundamentally different from those of the older generations, like the Second Nightking. The Second Nightking easily submitted to greater powers because he had been a ve since birth.

    As Lu Yin looked at the wireless jincan, a message quickly came through. "Alliance Leader Lu, it''s been a long time. I am Skymender."

    Lu Yin was not surprised by who was contacting him. "I¡¯ve heard a great deal about you for a long time, Master Skymender."

    "And I¡¯ve heard you mentioned too many times to even count, Alliance Leader Lu." Skymender was quiteid back, and he smiled as he sent his messages.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face as well. "That''s quite an honor for this junior. I wonder, how do I rank on your Celestial Vanquisher¡¯s List now?"

    "Hahahaha, you must be joking, Alliance Leader. Your Human Domain also has a list of important targets to eliminate in my Astral Beast Domain. Is my name on it? Or Yao Di¡¯s?" Skymenderughed.

    "The imperial advisor is overestimating this junior if you areparing me to a senior like yourself."

    "Alliance Leader Lu, you¡¯re an intelligent person, so you should already know why I¡¯ve reached out to you." Skymender abruptly ended the banter and changed the subject.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "It''s hard to be sure, so I¡¯ll have to ask you to rify things for me."

    Skymender remained calm from where he sat in the Astral Beast Domain. "The Human Domain has reestablished the Heavens Sect, and without the threat of Aeternus, not to mention the true purpose of the Technocracy, it¡¯s only natural for your troops to set their sights east."

    By that, Skymender was naturally referring to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Sure enough, that had been Lu Yin¡¯s original intention. "Pretty urate."

    Skymender asked, "Alliance Leader Lu, have you already seen the congrattory gift that my Celestial Beast Empire sent you?"

    "The Extreme Path. It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ve defeated Aeternus once and driven them out, so we can do so again."

    "The threat of the Aeternals and your other enemies are on a totally different level. I know that you¡¯ve inherited the power that Progenitor Chen left behind, which makes you invincible within the Human Domain. However, that power does not extend to my Astral Beast Domain. If the Extreme Path is opened, an endless swarm of Aeternus¡¯s monsters will flood the Astral Beast Domain, and having that threat so close to you will change things," Skymender retorted.

    Lu Yin replied, "Imperial Advisor, were you worried that I wouldn¡¯t understand your message? Or did you call me just to spell things out explicitly?"

    "Of course not. I¡¯m old, and I just want stability. Your Heavens Sect has more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors, and if such a force attacks my Astral Beast Domain, we will be helpless. This is why I¡¯m suing for peace." Skymender¡¯s tone suddenly became very blunt.

    This change in approach surprised Lu Yin. He had not expected Skymender to directly mention the words ¡°suing for peace.¡± The moment these words were ryed to Lu Yin, their bargaining positions were reversed, and Lu Yin moved into an undeniable advantage.

    "Imperial advisor, you hope to sue for peace even when you hold such an undeniable threat?" Lu Yin expressed his surprise.

    Skymender sighed. "Truthfully, we don''t want to deal with Aeternus either. If this weren¡¯t the case, in the twenty years that you were missing, how could the Human Domain have survived if it was attacked by both the Aeternals and my Astral Beast Domain? Things have not changed since then, and unless we are forced, we have no desire to open that sealed path and allow Aeternus ess into the Fifth Maind.

    "Of course, all of this is with the understanding that Alliance Leader Lu can make any request of us. I believe that several Semi-Progenitors should have already entered the Astral Beast Domain by now, and they should be very close to the Extreme Path¡¯s exit. I¡¯ll be honest with you, Alliance Leader Lu¡ªthe Extreme Path is a very fragile spatial corridor, but luckily, it¡¯s well hidden. There¡¯s no ess to it from the Sixth Maind¡¯s side, but if it is opened from our side, a connection will instantly form. I may not be able to deal with your powerhouses given the strength of my Astral Beast Domain, but destroying the seal on the Extreme Path is of no issue."

 Chapter 2139: Books Of Destiny

    Chapter 2139: Books Of Destiny

    Lu Yin frowned. "If you¡¯re so confident in being able to control the Extreme Path, why would you start negotiations with me as the imperial advisor?"

    This seemed contradictory, as it felt like Skymender was deliberately exposing a weakness.

    Skymender was solemn as he replied, "It''s quite simple: I want to be friends with Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin was briefly stunned before he justughed. "You must be teasing me, Imperial Advisor. There is a history of countless years of war between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain that has led to countless deaths. There¡¯s no chance to resolve so much umted hatred. How could we ever be friends?"

    "Even enemies can be friends in the right situation. For example, if Alliance Leader Lu has a question, I can answer it for you. I won¡¯t even ask you for anything more than you protecting me in my old age. I don¡¯t have long to live, and I just hope to maintain the status quo for the rest of my life. Quite frankly, what bes of the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain is none of my concern after I pass on, and I don¡¯t give the matter much thought," Skymender replied. His answer sounded rather bleak.

    If Lu Yin had not once Possessed a creeper, then he might have believed Skymender. After all, it truly did appear as though the Astral Beast Domain was at aplete disadvantage. However, Lu Yin had seen all of the humanoid sourceboxes that Skymender had collected. While it seemed like there was no possibility of the Astral Beast Domain making aeback, there was no telling what they might have hidden up their sleeves.

    Lu Yin sneered. He had no idea what the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s true intentions were, and he certainly did not know Skymender¡¯s goals. However, those humanoid sourceboxes were definitely not simple. Even if he did not attack the Astral Beast Domain as a whole, he absolutely had to deal with that ce with all the humanoid sourceboxes.

    He had nearly forgotten about it, but that ce had to be dealt with.

    "Imperial Advisor, do you know what this junior would like to know?" Lu Yin was curious about this.

    Skymender answered, "Given the countless years that we¡¯ve been fighting, the Astral Beast Domain has developed a thorough understanding of the Human Domain. Alliance Leader Lu is the human who has shone the brightest during thest forty years, and we did not dare to rx our watch on you for even a moment. I know that you are collecting fatesand, and you also have a close rtionship with the Starsibyl Sect, no?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "You know about fatesand?"

    "More urately, I know a bit about Destiny," Skymender replied slowly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he sent no reply for the moment. Destiny was a terrifying subject to discuss, as she was too mysterious. Everyone with any connection to Destiny caused Lu Yin to be wary, and this included both the Starsibyl Sect and Destina.

    Destina was actually the person that Lu Yin was wariest towards, despite her apparent harmlessness and unconditional support for him. He actually viewed Destina with even greater caution than either Hen Xin or Jue Yi.

    When it came to Hen Xin, Jue Yi, and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors whose strength could pressure Lu Yin, he had not felt nervous at all after obtaining Progenitor Chen''s power. However, Destina was different, and it was impossible to know what the woman was thinking.

    She had managed to find out that Big Sis was really the Y¨­u n¡¯s ancestor, and had also tracked down the Starsibyl Sect. Third Uncle, Lu Buzheng, was terrified of the woman. She kept her hand hidden better than anyone.

    Lu Yin would rather deal with three or four people like Hen Xin than a single Destina, even if she was ostensibly on his side at the moment.

    "Do you know much about Destiny, Alliance Leader Lu?" Skymender asked.

    "Say whatever you want to say, Imperial Advisor."

    Skymender instantly grewpletely somber. "My Celestial Beast Empire received the inheritance of the Fourth Maind. When that Maind was destroyed, we protected thest vestiges that remained and attached ourselves to the Fifth Maind, and we eventually became the Fifth Maind''s Astral Beast Domain. I was lucky enough to save some things from the ancient Maind, including some documents that mention Destiny.

    "Destiny is a woman whose real name was forgotten long ago, and she is one of the Ancient Progenitors, alongside the God of Death and Wu Tian. They existed back during the Heavens Sect era, and they were also known as the masters of the Three Realms. They were all disciples of the Origin Progenitor himself, and they all became Progenitors. Each of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s first disciples also created their own unique cultivation method.

    "Destiny created the art of divination, which allows one to see through the past and future to view the experiences of those around them. She also created a total of 108 pieces of fatesand, as well as the two parts of Heaven¡¯s Enigma, Inverse Enigma, and the Books of Destiny. All together, these things make up Destiny¡¯s inheritance."

    Lu Yin had already known that there were 108 pieces of fatesand, and Xuan Jiu had mentioned that he was absolutely certain that there was a connection between Destiny and the Starsibyl Sect. If not, how could Xuan Jiu have known exactly how many pieces of fatesand had been created? On top of that, Little Millenium Flowzone was surrounded by 108 Tributary Astral Rivers, as well as 108s that were home to the servants and followers of the Starsibyl Sect. There were too many details that matched the number of pieces of fatesand.

    However, Lu Yin had never heard of Inverse Enigma, and he had also never heard of the Books of Destiny.

    "The more fatesand you collect, the more connected you are with Destiny. I know that Destina has stated that she will support you without any conditions, but I would suggest that you don¡¯t trust her too much, Alliance Leader Lu. ording to the ancient records that I¡¯ve read, getting close to Destiny is not a good thing," Skymender warned.

    Lu Yin asked, "Imperial Advisor, you im to be able to see the past and future, and you also know a great deal about Destiny. What¡¯s your connection to Destiny?"

    Skymender hesitated. "I already decided to not keep this hidden when I brought this up with you. In truth, I do have a connection to Destiny."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold.

    "I coincidentally acquired one of the Books of Destiny," Skymender continued.

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "What are the Books of Destiny?"

    Skymender replied, "I will tell you everything that I know, but I do hope that you won¡¯t make things too difficult for my Astral Beast Domain. The so-called ¡®Books of Destiny¡¯ are three strange books that were written by Destiny. They are some of the greatest treasures she left behind, and as far as many people are concerned, they are beyond priceless. The books are, respectively, Past, Present, and Future. The one in my possession is Destiny¡¯s Book of the Present, which gives me ess to certain knowledge."

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. Did such treasures truly exist?

    Long ago, when Lu Yin had first heard of the Starsibyl Sect, he had not believed in their divination at all, and he had even considered them to all be chatans. Later, as many things happened, and especially after he had developed a connection with the God of Death, Lu Yin had slowlye to believe the legends regarding Destiny as well. At present, even when Skymender mentioned something as impossible as the Books of Destiny, Lu Yin did not find it unbelievable.

    Still, it seemed quite surreal.

    The Books of Destiny gave insight into the past, present, and future. In some sense, this was even more miraculous than the power of time that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword possessed. What could these books be?

    "I know that you don¡¯t believe me, Alliance Leader Lu, but there¡¯s no reason for me to lie to you. Also, I know that you¡¯ve been searching for someone in particr: Undying Yushan," Skymender sent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched as he saw that message. "Can you determine his location?"

    Skymender replied, "Even if Destiny¡¯s Book of the Present is miraculous, it isn¡¯t omniscient. Using it requires one to trigger Destiny, and I can only aplish that on very rare asions."

    "So you don''t know?"

    "I do."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Then where is he?"

    "He¡¯s in Earth¡¯s sr system, though I can''t determine his exact location."

    Lu Yin frowned. "How can I trust you?"

    "I¡¯m telling you all of this without asking for anything in return. Do you have any reason to suspect me, Alliance Leader Lu?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "You just mentioned Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma. What is that supposed to mean?"

    "Inverse Enigma can be regarded as the entry-level divination method left behind by Destiny. It¡¯s the method that¡¯s used by most of whom have received Destiny¡¯s inheritances, including the members of the Starsibyl Sect. At least, I assume that¡¯s what they use. ording to the ancient records I¡¯ve read, Destiny never passed her Heaven¡¯s Enigma on to anyone."

    "So are you saying that even Destina only uses Inverse Enigma?"

    "That should be the case."

    "Since Destina is Destiny¡¯s heir, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll tell her that you have the ¡®present¡¯ Book of Destiny?"

    "Then it seems like my luck has run out. If you really trusted Destina, why would you have chatted with me for so long?"

    Lu Yin found this quite amusing. Everyone was trying to outwit everyone else. There was no way Lu Yin would mention this matter to Destina for the time being. However, if he reached an inescapable dead end where extreme measures were required, then that would be the time to send Destina after Skymender.

    "Honestly, I don¡¯t believe you at all," Lu Yin replied.

    Skymender sighed. "Most people struggle to believe these things, but you are an exceptional person, Alliance Leader Lu. It¡¯s quite possible that your knowledge about these matters is already almost as much as my own."

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "Help me by divining a word, a person, and an object. If your answers are correct, then I¡¯ll believe every word you¡¯ve said."

    A small smile appeared on Skymender¡¯s face in the Astral Beast Domain. "I¡¯ve already demonstrated my sincerity. Regardless of whether or not you believe me, everything that I¡¯ve told you is true. If all that I¡¯ve done so far isn¡¯t enough to alleviate your desire to destroy my Astral Beast Domain, then I have no other options."

    "I¡¯ve only asked you to help me divine a word, a person, and an object. That would be a much better demonstration of your sincerity."

    "I¡¯m sorry, Alliance Leader, but I can''t agree to that."

    "Why not? With the Book of Destiny you have, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult. I didn¡¯t ask about anything regarding the future."

    "Hehe, a word, a person, and an object? Why haven¡¯t you asked Destina for help regarding this? Most likely, she¡¯s already refused, because anything that you need looked into can¡¯t be an easy task. I¡¯d prefer to live for a few more years."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. When it came to staying safe, people who performed divinations were disturbingly astute. Neither Destina nor Skymender wanted to perform divinations for Lu Yin. Even when the sect master of the Starsibyl Sect had done a divination for Lu Yin, the man had vomited blood, as had Xuan Jiu. Was it really that difficult to see what Lu Yin asked about?

    "Since you don''t want to do a divination for me, then why don¡¯t you let me borrow the Book of Destiny and let me try it myself?" Lu Yin suggested.

    Skymender smiled. "After I die, I can have the Book of Destiny sent over as a gift for you, but not now."

    This shocked Lu Yin. "Are you really willing to send me the book?"

    "Why not? No one else in the Astral Beast Domain is capable of using it, while you¡¯ve been collecting fatesand and have even managed to trigger Destiny. You might have a chance of using it," Skymender replied.

    "What do the Books of Destiny look like?" Lu Yin asked.

    "They are massive books."

    Massive books? Why did this sound so familiar? Lu Yin ran through his memories for a while before he suddenly remembered something: Xiao Shi! He had a massive book with no writing in it. He insisted that there were words, but no one else could see them.

    "You mentioned that there are three Books of Destiny, right? If you have one, where are the other two?" Lu Yin asked calmly.

    Skymender sighed. "I don''t know. I¡¯ve never been able to find them."

    Lu Yin soon put the wireless jincan away. He intended to immediately reach out to Qing Ping and ask his senior brother to send someone to bring Xiao Shi to see him. No, after a bit of consideration, Lu Yin decided to personally go and visit Xiao Shi in person.

    However, before that, Lu Yin wanted to talk to Destina.

    "You practice Heaven¡¯s Enigma, right?" Lu Yin asked directly.

    Destina replied, "Yes, you asked me about thatst time."

    "What about Inverse Enigma?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Destina instantly became very intrigued. "How do you know that name? There¡¯s no chance that you heard it from Lu Buzheng. Many people know about Destiny and Heaven¡¯s Enigma, but even among Destiny¡¯s disciples, very few have ever heard of Inverse Enigma. Where did you hear about this? Tell me the truth!"

    Lu Yin simply ended the call. He had no intention of answering Destina no matter how badly she wanted answers.

 Chapter 2140: Doing Something Terrible

    Chapter 2140: Doing Something Terrible

    On the other side of the conversation, a white cloud floated through space. While it was impossible to see into the cloud, at the center, Destina was frozen in shock. This was the first time someone had ever hung up on her without any warning. It was just too rude and too shocking that anyone would treat her in such a manner.

    For a long time, Destina just stared at the wireless jincan in her hand.

    As for Lu Yin, he did not even think about Destina¡¯s reaction to him hanging up. He had already asked Progenitor Smoke to take him to the Neoverse so that he could speak with Xiao Shi and check the young man¡¯s book.

    ¡­

    In the Neoverse, at where Mt. Microcosms had once stood in the Honor Zone, it was now an open in. Still, even with Mt. Microcosms gone, the Hall of Honor¡¯s powerhouses had arranged the stars ands around the area to create a beautifulndscape once again. The hidden worlds were also still in this location, though there were fewer to be found, and some had changed from the time when Mt. Microcosms had stood as the headquarters of the Hall of Honor.

    Progenitor Smoke soon brought Lu Yin to the Honor Zone, and he only offered Qing Ping a brief greeting before rushing off to see Xiao Shi. Lu Yin did not even speak to anyone else.

    When it came to the Books of Destiny, if Xiao Shi''s book was truly one of the three, then the matter had to be keptpletely hidden.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Xiao Shi was sitting in a corner of one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s libraries. There were books literally surrounding the young man, and his body was actually buried in them. As for the biggest book, that was the one that Xiao Shi was currently reading, and he was also shaking his head and muttering. He was clearly talking to himself, as there was no one else around.

    Not everyone was allowed entry to the Hall of Honor¡¯s library, but it was absolutely massive. Also, there were people with ess to the first floor, but most were restricted from the second floor. As for Xiao Shi, he had free reign of the entire ce.

    His little nook was actually on the very top of the library. It was his favorite ce to read his books, as no one ever bothered him there.

    Lu Yin arrived next to Xiao Shi, and he quietly observed the man reading.

    Progenitor Smoke appeared next to Lu Yin, and she stared at Xiao Shi in disbelief. What was with that hairstyle? She twitched and then returned to the pocket dimension within her mirror. Just seeing that hideous hairstyle made her want to punch someone. Who the hell would voluntarily look like that?

    "What are you reading?" Lu Yin squatted down closer to Xiao Shi.

    Xiao Shi did not even notice that someone was next to him, and he automatically answered, "History."

    "What kind of history?"

    "Lost History."

    "From which era?"

    "The Dao-" Xiao Shi suddenly stopped mid-sentence. His head slowly turned to the side to look at Lu Yin, and shock covered the young man¡¯s face.

    "Ah!" He was terrified, and his face paled as he stared at Lu Yin, his mouth wide open.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Am I that scary?"

    Xiao Shi continued to stare at Lu Yin, and he even pushed the mirror aside. "Bro- Brother Lu?"

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded.

    Xiao Shi swallowed dryly, and his face actually lost even more color as he slowly backed away. He forced a smile onto his face, but it was even uglier than if he had started crying. "Bro- Brother Lu, why did youe find me? I- I haven¡¯t missed you."

    Lu Yin was surprised by his strong reaction. "What''s wrong with you?"

    Xiao Shi started quivering. "Brother Lu, I didn''t kill you, so why are youing after me? Please, go haunt someone else! I- I- you¡¯re scaring me!"

    This reaction seemed very odd to Lu Yin, and when he saw Xiao Shi''s genuine terror, it finally clicked for Lu Yin. "Do you think that I''m already dead? Wait, how long has it been since you¡¯ve gone out?"

    "Out where?" Xiao Shi was still trembling.

    "Out of this library," Lu Yin said.

    The question stumped Xiao Shi for a moment. "Um¡­ I guess it¡¯s been a while."

    "At least a year!" Lu Yin could not believe this guy

    Xiao Shi blinked, and then he nced around at the mess of books surrounding him. "Actually, more than that."

    Lu Yinughed. "I''m not dead! I returned a year ago. There¡¯s no reason to be so scared."

    Xiao Shi''s eyes grewrger. "You¡¯re not dead? But, isn¡¯t that what everyone said? Everyone was talking about it¡­ Don¡¯t lie to me! You¡¯re really scaring me, and there¡¯s no reason for you to haunt me! Right, why don¡¯t you go chase after Arch-Elder Zen or the Chief Justice? Wait, you can go see Xiao Chi! He¡¯s the one who asked you to get a mushroom head!"

    Lu Yin gave the man a weird smile. "Wasn¡¯t that you?"

    "He thought of it first!" Xiao Shi was on the verge of tears.

    Lu Yin suddenly set a hand on Xiao Shi¡¯s shoulder, and the man went stiff. "Really, I¡¯m not dead. You don¡¯t need to be so scared. I already met with Arch-Elder Zen and the others a long time ago."

    Xiao Shi stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Really? You¡¯re really not dead?"

    "Do you want me to be dead?" Lu Yin dead-panned.

    Xiao Shi let out a long breath and patted his chest. He gave Lu Yin a rather usatory re. "Brother Lu, you scared me half to death! Why¡¯d you sneak up on me?"

    "I didn¡¯t." Lu Yin rolled his eyes. His attention was suddenly drawn to the massive book that Xiao Shi had been reading. The book was half a meter thick, and it was the same book that Lu Yin had been thinking about. No one other than Xiao Shi could see anything written in the book, and it lookedpletely nk.

    "Brother Lu, wasn¡¯t everyone saying that you were dead? It¡¯s been about twenty years since then, so why didn¡¯t you show up sooner?" Xiao Shi was puzzled.

    "I was in seclusion, that¡¯s all. Enough with the questions. I actually wanted to ask you about something."

    "What about?" Xiao Shi felt puzzled. He shifted the book that he had been reading and struggled to adjust it.

    Lu Yin pointed at the book. "Open that book and let me see it."

    Xiao Shi was surprised, but went ahead with Lu Yin¡¯s request. "Brother Lu, I thought that you couldn¡¯t see the writing, no?"

    Right when Lu Yin was about to answer, the wireless jincan he kept in his hand twitched. He pulled it out and saw that it was a message from Hen Xin.

    "We¡¯ve arrived at the exit of the Extreme Path, but there¡¯s no way for us to seize control of this ce. Space is so fragile here that even an Explorer could shatter it, and if that happens, the Extreme Path will immediately connect to the Sixth Maind, where the Aeternals will certainly notice it." Judging by his message, Hen Xin already felt rather helpless about what he had found.

    For something like this, it was impossible to resolve the matter regardless of how weak or strong an individual might be. At least, not unless they had reached the level where they could simply freeze time and space like Mister Mu.

    It was possible to stabilize space, but there was no way that the Astral Beast Domain was unprepared for such an attempt. They had spent twenty years observing the ancient powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era, and after so long, how could the astral beasts not have some degree of understanding of the gatemasters? If that were not the case, then Skymender would have never had the confidence to threaten Lu Yin.

    "I understand. Wait there for the moment," Lu Yin replied.

    Hen Xin hesitated, but he could only agree. "Understood."

    Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan and then addressed Xiao Shi, who was looking at Lu Yin in a rather confused manner. "Can no one else see what¡¯s written in your book?"

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "I¡¯m the only one, but that doesn¡¯t matter. The Chief Justice and Arch-Elder Zen both believe me, which is why I¡¯m allowed to visit the library and read when I don¡¯t have anything else to do. With this, I¡¯m not stuck in the Historical Archives, bored all the time."

    Xiao Shi then opened his book. Lu Yin carefully studied the book, but it was as nk as ever. He could not see a single word.

    He had a sudden thought. "Xiao Shi, what battle techniques have you learned?"

    Xiao Shi blinked. "Shangwu¡¯s Technique."

    This was a surprise. "The same technique that Yuan Shi''s known for?"

    Xiao Shi nodded. He clenched his fists as he excitedly exined, "Yuan Shi has taught many people, and I learned Shangwu¡¯s Technique from him myself!"

    As he spoke, Xiao Shi grew visibly depressed. "Unfortunately, it doesn¡¯t matter what I try to learn, as I don¡¯t seem to have any talent for cultivation."

    "Have you ever practiced Heaven¡¯s Enigma?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi shook his head, but then he abruptly remembered something with a start. "I read that name in the book!"

    Lu Yin looked, but the book was still nk.

    "Destiny¡¯s cultivation art was abination of Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma. She used these two methods to peer into the long river of time," Xiao Shi slowly read aloud.

    Lu Yin asked, "Find what¡¯s written about Destiny. I want to know everything that¡¯s written about her."

    Xiao Shi groaned, but he obediently bent his head down to read his book again. However, just as he did so, he suddenly let out a scream. He clutched his head as he copsed to the floor.

    Lu Yin was startled, but he quickly moved forward to help Xiao Shi. "Xiao Shi, what''s wrong?"

    Xiao Shi looked to be in absolute agony. "Bro- Brother Lu, my head¡¯s about to explode."

    Lu Yin quickly closed the book. He med himself for asking about something important so recklessly. If this book was really one of Destiny¡¯s, then the consequences of trying to use it to investigate Destiny herself could only be imagined. How could a book written by Destiny be used to pry into her affairs?

    After a while, Xiao Shi slowly came back to his senses. He asked, "What was that all about? Has that ever happened before?"

    He continued speaking to himself. "Did I get sick? Maybe a brain tumor? No, I need to check what I just saw."

    Xiao Shi immediately reopened his massive book, and Lu Yin watched carefully, only to be relieved when Xiao Shi showed no signs of unusual behavior.

    "One, two, three¡­ There are a bunch of potential brain issues. Alright, what are my specific symptoms?" Xiao Shi stared at the book and continued to study.

    Lu Yin was forced to close the book to get Xiao Shi''s attention. As the man stared at Lu Yin in confusion, Lu Yin asked, "Xiao Shi, where did you get this book?"

    "I found it in the Historical Archives."

    This was the same answer that Lu Yin had been given when he had first asked Xiao Shi about the book. "It¡¯s not your innate gift or something like that?"

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "Arch-Elder Zen and the Chief Justice both asked me that as well, but it¡¯s really not. There are still texts in the Historical Archives that have never been read, and this book just sat there for years. It was just left on a table in a corner, and I just picked it up out of curiosity. Turns out, there¡¯s a lot in it.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the half-meter-thick book. He could not be entirely certain that it was one of the three books written by Destiny.

    Throughout the ages, humans had existed for countless years, and they had created untold numbers of bizarre things. A strange book with unique abilities was not guaranteed to be a Book of Destiny.

    "Xiao Shi, do you want to go to the Heavens Sect with me?" Lu Yin asked. He wanted to keep Xiao Shi close by. Things would be different if Lu Yin was confident that Xiao Shi had a Book of Destiny, even if Lu Yin had no idea how to use it.

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "I want to stay here. There¡¯s this library, the Historical Archives, and Xiao Chi. I don''t want to leave all of this."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. "I understand."

    He then pulled out a wireless jincan and handed it over to Xiao Shi. "Send me a message if you ever need anything, and I also want you to promise me something."

    Xiao Shi put the wireless jincan away. "Anything you need, Brother Lu."

    "Don''t say a word about this book to anyone anymore. Remember, not to anyone! Especially anyone you don''t know, like, uh¡­ a woman." Lu Yin made a point to specifically warn Xiao Shi not to say anything to Destina.

    Xiao Shi nodded, though he actually felt quite confused. "A woman?"

    He licked his lips, and he suddenly looked a bit excited and nervous. "A woman? How can I find a woman who wants to talk to me? None of thedies around here will speak to me. They all think that I¡¯m weird."

    This was actually a very fair point. Given Xiao Shi¡¯s hair and behavior, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, it really did seem impossible for this guy to ever hook up with a girl.

    He patted Xiao Shi on the shoulder and offered a bit of encouragement, "Don''t worry. That¡¯s just because the person you¡¯re destined for hasn¡¯t shown up yet. Brother Lu believes that it won¡¯t be long before there¡¯s a girl waiting for you. She¡¯ll love both your knowledge and your kindness."

    After a moment of silent struggle, Lu Yin reluctantly forced out, "And she¡¯ll love your hair as well."

    Xiao Shi''s eyes lit up. These words were truly heartwarming to him. "Really? Do you really think so? Could there really be a woman who understands the glory of our mushroom-heads?"

    "Absolutely," Lu Yin answered with conviction.

    Xiao Shi nodded heavily. "Thank you, Brother Lu. I was actually thinking of changing my hairstyle, and Xiao Chi was also feeling discouraged. However, your words have rekindled our passion! Brother Lu, you¡¯re the best!"

    Lu Yin was dumbfounded. He felt like he had just done something terrible.

 Chapter 2141: Explanation

    Chapter 2141: Exnation

    Lu Yin had wanted to check quite a few matters with Xiao Shi¡¯s book, but after seeing what had happened to the young man after one question, Lu Yin suppressed his curiosity and decided to wait to ask about those matters. The things that he was curious about were not casual matters, and he feared that looking into them might destroy Xiao Shi.

    As Lu Yin exited the Hall of Honor¡¯s library, a group of people were moving towards his position. All of them were members of the younger generation, and they were led by Shu Jing.

    All of them stared in surprise at Lu Yin who had suddenly appeared, and after a moment of stunned silence, everyone bowed to Lu Yin. "We greet the Dao Chosen."

    "We greet the Dao Chosen."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin gave a curt nod as his eyes swept over the small crowd. He saw that Xi Shuang was among those following Shu Jing. They should all be the most talented members of the younger generation who were affiliated with the Hall of Honor, but none of them had been able topete with Lu Yin even before he had disappeared. Lu Yin had surpassed these people by so much that they could not even fathom the distance between them.

    "Is there still no sign of Shang Qing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shu Jing spoke up to answer, "He was trapped in Burial Garden when it was sealed, and there¡¯s no sign of Burial Garden anywhere."

    Lu Yin nodded and left. He had also failed to find any traces of Burial Garden, which was quite odd. Given the power to ess the stars ands of the Fifth Maind that Lu Yin had inherited from Progenitor Chen, there should be nothing in the Human Domain that could remain hidden from Lu Yin. Despite that, he had not found any signs of Burial Garden.

    Xi Shuang stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back as he left, conflicting emotions in her eyes. Every time Lu Yin appeared, he ushered in great changes. Today, Lu Yin had already be the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen who could stand on equal footing with Semi-Progenitors. The gap that had opened up between them was really too vast.

    "Brother Jing, was that really Dao Chosen Lu Yin? Did you reallypete with him once?" a young and energetic girl in the group asked.

    Someone else mentioned, "I remember hearing that Dao Chosen Lu Yin managed to unite both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and he was even aiming to conquer the Neoverse when he disappeared for twenty years. However, after going missing for all that time, he suddenly returned and immediately became the Dao Chosen. That means that he¡¯s basically united the entire Human Domain. He¡¯s amazing!"

    "It would be great to have even a tenth of the Dao Chosen''s strength," the lively girl dreamily murmured to herself.

    Shu Jing interjected, "Don''t get ahead of yourself. A tenth? If you could actually have a tenth of Lu Yin¡¯s power, you would have been able to participate in the Dao Chosen selection."

    There was one young woman in the crowd who continued to stare in the direction that Lu Yin had disappeared. Yes, that was him.

    ***

    Lu Yin did not want to spend too much time in the Honor Zone, as he still had many things to deal with in the Heavens Sect.

    Still, there was one matter that necessitated him staying in the Honor Zone just a short while longer, as he had suddenly remembered something that he wanted to ask his senior brother for help with.

    The Lockbreakers Society had already been incorporated into Backyard, and CyNet was working hard to reconnect the Human Domain¡¯s universalwork, but the overseers council had beenpletely disbanded.

    The Hall of Honor no longer controlled the Human Domain, so there was no longer any reason for the council to exist.

    However, while the overseers had lost their former status, they were still individuals who were supported by the Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor remained the ruler of the Honor Zone, which meant that the Honor Zone still needed administrative members.

    San Liang had wanted to reach out to Lu Yin countless times after he had be the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen, hoping to use that connection to get into the Heavens Sect. Unfortunately, while the Heavens Sect had be the dominant power that had united humanity, Lu Yin had not contacted San Liang.

    There were certain people and items that did not have to be constantly used; rather, they had to be saved for the right time.

    For example, there was the former overseers, San Liang, old man San Shang, Xin Jiao, and Xia Sheng, who was Xia Yi¡¯s illegitimate child. There were also people like Zhu San and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe¡¯s Ah Mu and Angie. All of these people were contacts of Lu Yin whom almost no one knew had connections to him.

    Lu Yin did not need to use these connections, but their existence was vital. Utilizing such resources could allow miraculous events to take ce.

    The Arbitration World had been destroyed by the Seven Skygods, but the Hall of Honor had far more than a single hidden world, and the World League was capable of creating, repairing, and selling hidden worlds.

    A new Arbitration World had already been created, and it looked no different from the original, with the sole exception that it felt a little bit less intimidating.

    Arch-Elder Zen had handed over control of the Honor Zone to Qing Ping a bit early. If the Chief Justice encountered any mishaps in the Perennial World, Arch-Elder Zen would have to return to run the Honor Zone.

    "Senior Brother, our Human Domain must have nted spies and informants in the Astral Beast Domain over the years. I need ess to those people," Lu Yin stated.

    Qing Ping replied, "We do have some people. What do you want to do with them?"

    Lu Yin had no reason to hide anything, so he shared what he knew about Skymender collecting humanoid sourceboxes and how the mysterious astral beast worshiped the unknown statue.

    Qing Ping was quite surprised by all of the information. "How do you know about all this?"

    "I can use Progenitor Chen''s power to observe the universe through stars ands." Lu Yin had already thought of a perfect excuse, as no one could argue against such a possibility.

    Qing Pingmented, "While Progenitor Chen''s power clearly does not extend into the Astral Beast Domain, his power still allows you to observe that ce. He really was an incredibly powerful Progenitor."

    After an emotional moment, Qing Ping gave Lu Yin a list of names.

    "These are all the people or astral beasts who can help you, but if Skymender has hidden that ce as well as I suspect, then only this person will be able to help you." Qing Ping pointed at a name in the very middle of the list.

    Lu Yin looked at the name. Feng Shou?

    "That¡¯s just a code name. This creature is a creeper who¡¯s second only to the race¡¯s patriarch. He has the power of an Envoy," Qing Ping exined.

    The older man spoke ndly, but the information was startling to Lu Yin. "A creeper second only to their patriarch?"

    Qing Ping stared at Lu Yin. "Surprised? Given the many years of war between the two domains, it¡¯s only natural that we humans have attempted everything imaginable to infiltrate the Astral Beast Domain. It¡¯s perfectly normal to have a mole or two with such a high status. There must be spies for the astral beasts within the Human Domain that we don¡¯t know about either."

    Lu Yinughed. He had been limited in his thinking. If humans could betray humanity for Aeternus or the Astral Beast Domain, then how could it be impossible for astral beasts to betray their own for the Human Domain? Lu Yin had already been considering the possibility of nting hidden spies within Aeternus, so why was he surprised to learn of a creeper who worked as a spy for the Human Domain?

    "If this creeper is second only to their patriarch, then just how long has this mole been groomed?" Lu Yin asked.

    "This is something that Arch-Elder Zen developed, so I can¡¯t answer that. I only recently acquired this list, and the most valuable contact that we have is that creeper. If any of our people can find the location that you mentioned, it would be that one."

    "How do I get in touch?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qing Ping replied, "That mole was never intended to be used or contacted unless absolutely necessary, so the contact method is quiteplicated. It will take a bit of time to establish contact."

    "We can¡¯t wait around, Senior Brother. This matter is extremely important. No one knows where humanoid sourceboxes came from, or what they mean. However, when I was traveling through time, I saw the fall of the Fourth Maind. At that moment, there were endless humanoid sourceboxes that appeared at its moment of destruction. If Skymender has spent so much time collecting them, it can¡¯t be something simple," Lu Yin said.

    Qing Ping looked towards the east. "We spent twenty years fighting against Aeternus, but we constantly kept an eye on the Astral Beast Domain. We grew increasingly wary as they did nothing. Humans are thought of as the most intelligent race of creatures, but there are astral beasts who are just as smart as us."

    Lu Yin agreed that Skymender was disturbingly intelligent. Humans were not necessarily the most powerful creatures in the universe. Many odd life forms had appeared throughout time that were capable of threatening humans with extinction, but all of them had eventually disappeared. The only reason why humanity had survived for so long was by uniting.

    Lu Yin would not execute Ni Huang or any of the others from the Perennial World without just cause, and it was precisely because he understood that humanity needed to stay united. Lu Yin did not hold back because of mercy, but rather because he could not afford to set such a precedent. As soon as internal conflicts erupted, it would spell the doom of humanity.

    Humans remained humans because there were lines that they would not cross.

    Lu Yin left the Honor Zone and returned to the Heavens Sect. As he was waiting for the shipment of star essence from the Technocracy and word from the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin went to meet with Elder Qing Xing.

    The two met atop a mountain that was inside the Heavens Sect¡¯s grounds.

    There were hundreds of such mountains within the Heavens Sect, each of which wasrge enough to carry stars or act as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s home. Although it was merely an imitation, the modern Heavens Sect had been built with the size and scale of the original Heavens Sect in mind. The resources and time avable to humans in the current era was not enough to truly rebuild the Heavens Sect.

    Still, the construction of the modern Heavens Sect was absolutely stunning.

    Elder Qing Xing had no idea what to say as he stared at Lu Yin''s back.

    "Elder Qing Xing, do you still remember the first time we met?" Lu Yin asked in a casual tone.

    The elder quietly replied, "It was in the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestral home in the Middle Realm. You were known as Long Qi at that time."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s right. The universe never stops changing. Elder, did you ever consider that you would end up as my prisoner?"

    Elder Qing Xing¡¯s voice grew bitter. "If I had known that, I-"

    The old man suddenly paused.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the silent man. "What would you have done differently back then?"

    Elder Qing Xing shook his head. "There¡¯s no point in thinking about such things. How do you intend to punish me, Dao Chosen? Please tell me."

    Lu Yin waved a hand, inviting the older man to join him in a nearby gazebo. A stream trickled down the mountain a short distance away, and the surroundings were shrouded with clouds and mist, creating a picturesque scene. "Let¡¯s sit and talk."

    Elder Qing Xing was caught off guard, but he did not refuse. The worst possible oue that he could face would be death. The prisoners from the Perennial World had already learned of Wang Si¡¯s fate, so they were quite clear on Lu Yin¡¯s ruthlessness.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and Zhao Ran ran over in a happy manner to deliver some herbal tea.

    Elder Qing Xing stared in horror at the ss set before him. Was this poison?

    On the stone table between the two men sat two cups of herbal tea that looked disturbingly odd. The liquid was a dark-red color, but there was something swimming about in the tea. That movement was clearly swimming, right?

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he could not help but nce over at Zhao Ran. Her herbal teas were getting worse and worse to look at.

    Elder Qing Xing stared at his cup of tea in confusion, but then he looked at the tea sitting in front of Lu Yin. The old man only grew more and more befuddled.

    Was this poison? Why? If Lu Yin wanted him to die, there was no need to use poison, as a single palm strike would be enough to eliminate the old man. On top of that, there was a matching cup of tea in front of Lu Yin. Just what was going on?

    Qing Xing looked over at Lu Yin with a questioning expression.

    Lu Yin automatically checked his tea with Truesight, and there was nothing unusual to be seen.

    He knew that there was no chance that Zhao Ran would ever deliberately try to harm him, but it was difficult for anyone to force themselves to drink her tea. It was simr to Coco¡¯s syringe. Even when people knew that it was an innate gift that could heal, no one wanted to be poked by such a terrifying needle.

    "Elder, have a taste," Lu Yin encouraged with a smile as he looked across the table at Elder Qing Xing.

    The old man gulped as he stared at Lu Yin. Qing Xing could not resist ncing over at Zhao Ran as well, only to see an overwhelming expectation in the young woman¡¯s eyes. What was with that expression? Was she that eager to see the old man poisoned to death?

    After staring at the herbal tea for a long time, Elder Qing Xing broke down. "Dao Chosen, I would like to say something."

    "There¡¯s no rush. We can chat after we enjoy our tea," Lu Yin replied.

    Will we still be able to speak after drinking this tea? Elder Qing Xing''s face twisted terribly. Even if he could not understand why there were two cups of this terrifying tea, he was absolutely certain that nothing good woulde of drinking this liquid. "Dao Chosen, I¡¯m actually from the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin did not show a single hint of surprise. "There¡¯s no need to worry, Elder. Zhao Ran worked hard to prepare this tea, so we can speak after we enjoy the fruits of herbor. Her teas are delicious."

    Elder Qing Xing spasmed. Why don''t you drink yours then?

 Chapter 2142: Revisiting The Past

    Chapter 2142: Revisiting The Past

    "Do you not believe me, Dao Chosen? Honestly, I¡¯m a member of the Hidden Earth Society, and I was born on Earth. I went to the Perennial World through Jupiter, and I only joined the Celestial Frost Sect through a coincidence. I really am not someone from the Perennial World. I was ordered about by Yu Chen, not the Junior Progenitor, and I followed her orders out of fear of being exposed."

    This made sense to Lu Yin. Why else would a powerful Envoy like Elder Qing Xing listen to Yu Chen¡¯s orders? Even if Yu Chen had acted on Bai Shaohong¡¯s behalf, she had never been anything more than a maid. How could someone with that status order an Envoy around? As time passed, Yu Chen had be more and more ustomed to giving Qing Xing orders, and she had simply assumed that he was hoping to use Bai Shaohong to rise up.

    "Are you referring to her jade butterflies?" Lu Yin asked.

    Elder Qing Xing nodded. "Yu Chen trained her jade butterflies to gather information, and with Bai Shaohong¡¯s support, she learned many of the Perennial World¡¯s secrets. If she ever decided to investigate me, I might not be able to keep mine. The worst things that the members of the Hidden Earth Society can do in the Perennial World is antagonize someone like Yu Chen, as being exposed could create a great deal of trouble for the Hidden Earth Society.

    "That¡¯s why I had to listen to her and fulfill so many of her request."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Got it. Well, the tea¡¯s getting cold, so let¡¯s enjoy it."

    The old man¡¯s expression fell. "You still don¡¯t believe me, Dao Chosen? I can get in touch with the Hidden Earth Society that¡¯s still on Earth."

    "The army that you arrived with has already been in the Fifth Maind for more than twenty years, right? Are you saying that you never reached out to Earth¡¯s Hidden Earth Society for all these years?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I was able to get in touch with them, but there was never any need."

    Lu Yin looked across the stone table and observed the old man. Seeing the man¡¯s awkward behavior, it was clear what he was thinking. The many years in the Perennial World had shifted Qing Xing¡¯s perception and changed his mind about different things. He had stopped caring about the Fifth Maind, no longer feeling any attachment to it. He had never intended to contact the Hidden Earth Society in the Human Domain, despite having the ability to do so.

    The old man simply felt that the Hidden Earth Society in the Fifth Maind could notpare to their members in the Perennial World.

    On top of that, reaching out would also risk exposure. For two decades, the Perennial World¡¯s forces in the Fifth Maind had been part of the Three Fatalities Gate in the Neoverse, so it would have been very difficult for Qing Xing to get in touch with the Hidden Earth Society even if he had wanted to.

    The old man¡¯s attitude made it clear to Lu Yin that his reservations were not due to the risks involved with making contact, but because Qing Xingpletely looked down on the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hidden Earth Society.

    "Elder, drink your tea," Lu Yin ordered, his tone lowering.

    Elder Qing Xing''s heart fell. Was there no escaping this fate?

    "Your Highness, your tea is getting cold." Zhao Ran spoke up to remind Lu Yin, still staring at the two men with eager expectations filling her eyes.

    Lu Yin coughed and finally picked up his own teacup. He could not help but stare at it onest time. It took a great deal of courage to drink such a thing.

    Elder Qing Xing was stunned. "Dao Chosen, you actually intend to drink this as well?"

    Lu Yin somberly answered, "Zhao Ran''s herbal teas are delicious."

    He then took a sip of the tea. It had a refreshing taste that was extremely pleasant. Just one sip cleared his mind as though it had been washed in pure ice water.

    His eyes lit up. "Pretty good."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled to hear it. "I''ll make you another cup, Your Highness!"

    She immediately left.

    Elder Qing Xing licked his lips and forced himself to take a sip. The man was as resigned as if he was making his way to his own execution.

    Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "It tastes quite good."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m d to hear you like it."

    Elder Qing Xing could already sense that no toxins or poisons had entered his body. In fact, nothing at all had happened to harm him. Instead, he felt that his mind had be clearer. He stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Dao Chosen, what is this?"

    "Special features."

    The older man let out a sigh as he stared intently at the tea still in his cup. This was a special feature that most people would not be able to handle at all.

    "Elder, you should know Lei Wu, right?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. The name that was brought up caused Qing Xing''s face to turn pale, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief.

    "Dao Chosen, How do you¡­?"

    "How do I know that name?" Lu Yin smiled at the man.

    Qing Xing¡¯s horror only mounted further. "You know Lei Wu? You already knew that I¡¯m a part of the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile grew as he set his teacup down. "Liu Shaoge, Lei Wu, Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Cai Shu, and Root¡¯s Le Le, right?"

    For the first time, Qing Xing felt that Lu Yin was aplete mystery as he stared at the young man¡¯s smiling face.

    No matter how freakishly powerful Lu Yin had proven himself to be, even the fact that Lu Yin had killed Semi-Progenitor Wang Si had not been too shocking to the old man. On the other hand, out of everyone present within the Perennial World¡¯s forces, only Qing Xing and Liu Shaoge knew of the Hidden Earth Society.

    "Did Liu Shaoge tell you?" Elder Qing Xing asked.

    Lu Yinughed. "Does Liu Shaoge even know about Cai Shu?"

    Cai Shu was the eldest disciple of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen. The man had been assigned to protect Lu Yin in the Perennial World when he had been using the alias of Long Qi. When Lu Yin had Possessed Elder Qing Xing, he had been absolutely shocked to learn from the old man¡¯s memories that Cai Shu was also a member of the Hidden Earth Society.

    Elder Qing Xing¡¯s mind started racing, but he had never mentioned Cai Shu to Liu Shaoge. Cai Shu held an important position in the Perennial World, and he was extremely important for the Hidden Earth Society as well. After all, he was the disciple of a Semi-Progenitor.

    However, if Lu Yin had not learned about Cai Shu¡¯s connection to the Hidden Earth Society through Liu Shaoge, then how had the Dao Chosen found out about this matter?

    "Did Cai Shu tell you himself?" Elder Qing Xing asked, though he felt foolish for asking such a thing as soon as the words left his mouth. How could that ever have happened? While Lu Yin had spent a good bit of time with both Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen and Cai Shu, how could Cai Shu have possibly learned about Lu Yin¡¯s true identity at that time? Without that knowledge, how would he have ever revealed a secret like the Hidden Earth Society?

    Lu Yin replied, "Elder, stop trying to guess how I know. I came to you to ask for the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s help. I¡¯m going back to the Perennial World."

    This startled Qing Xing yet again. "The New Corridor¡¯s been repaired?"

    "Even if it hasn¡¯t, I can still get back there."

    "Jupiter? That¡¯s right, that¡¯s how you got there before," Elder Qing Xingmented.

    Lu Yin did not offer much additional information. "Elder, I need as much information about the Hidden Earth Society in the Perennial World as possible, and I¡¯m quite sure that you¡¯re the best person to help me."

    Qing Xing frowned and said nothing.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. "You believe that the Hidden Earth Society wields a great deal of influence, but only secretly. As long as you can find a bit of specific information, you¡¯ll be able to bring it all together. But tell me, with Lei Wu, Cai Shu, and Le Le, do you think that I can¡¯t get the information I want from them? In particr, Cai Shu. Don¡¯t forget that I was almost epted as the disciple of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Progenitor Mu Xie. I might be a part of the Lu family who¡¯s hated and targeted by the four ruling powers, but as far as Cai Shu is concerned, I¡¯m another person from Earth with connections to the Hidden Earth Society. As long as it doesn¡¯t ce him directly against the four ruling powers, he¡¯ll do his best to help me, won¡¯t he?¡±

    Elder Qing Xing grew curious. "If you¡¯re confident about that, why not simply approach Cai Shu first, Dao Chosen?"

    "Then what would be the point in keeping you around any longer!" Lu Yin¡¯s voice boomed, causing Elder Qing Xing to nch out of fear. Lu Yin¡¯s expression had transformed as he spoke, which caught the old manpletely off guard.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low, "Given the fact that I¡¯ve already executed Wang Si, I don¡¯t have any reservations in killing you. You should understand the value of a Semi-Progenitor to humanity as a whole. Given that I was still willing to get rid of one, do you think that you¡¯re more important than a Semi-Progenitor and that I won¡¯t hesitate to kill you as well?"

    The old man¡¯s expression grew ugly. Given Lu Yin¡¯s friendly attitude while chatting, Qing Xing had rxed and gotten a bit carried away. He had actually forgotten about just how ruthless Lu Yin could be. This was someone who had publicly executed a Semi-Progenitor. Qing Xing stared at the bizarre tea still in his cup and let out a breath. "What is it that you want, Dao Chosen? I¡¯ll hear you out."

    Lu Yin nodded, and his vicious expression softened a bit. "I understand that you were born on Earth, but remember that I also consider Earth my home. It¡¯s where I first started cultivating, and I won¡¯t do anything to harm the Hidden Earth Society."

    Elder Qing Xing felt trapped. His greatest fear was Lu Yin being discovered and exposed while in the Perennial World, and then implicating the Hidden Earth Society. However, the information that Lu Yin had revealed meant that, even without Qing Xing¡¯s assistance, Lu Yin could already threaten the Hidden Earth Society.

    "Elder, despite our current rtionship, I don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll betray me even if you go back to the Perennial World. However, I can''t take any risks, so I need to take some preemptive measures," Lu Yin said.

    Elder Qing Xing was shocked yet again. "You want me to return with you to the Perennial World?"

    Lu Yin just smiled slightly before he lifted a hand. A ck and white mist appeared over his hand, and it swirled to form a seal. That small emblem then shot straight into Qing Xing¡¯s body and etched itself onto his stellr energy vortex.

    The old man could not even react before it was already toote. He leaped to his feet. "Dao Chosen, what did you-"

    Lu Yin cut the man off with a hand. "There¡¯s no need to act so surprised. This is just a little insurance. As long as you don¡¯t betray me, nothing will happen."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew vicious yet again. "However, if you ever betray me or disobey me, something will happen. Trust me, you don¡¯t want to take that risk."

    Elder Qing Xing checked his stellr energy vortex. Over the past twenty years, most of his stellr energy reserves had been depleted, and there was no way for anyone in the Fifth Maind to replenish their reserves. Still, no matter what he tried, Qing Xing could not affect or remove the ck and white seal on his stellr energy vortex. It was death energy, which was a higher form of power. Qing Xing could recognize it, as he had seen Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation in the past.

    This young man was bing increasingly frightening. He has this much power even without the God of Death Transformation?

    Lu Yin felt that it would be better to take Qing Xing along to the Perennial World, rather than just rely on his information. After all, it would be possible to use the man and his connections at a critical moment.

    "There¡¯s one more thing." Lu Yin stared at Elder Qing Xing. "If I want to keep my identity hidden when I¡¯m in the Perennial World, I need to have a suitable alias. I need an identity that won¡¯t draw any attention from the four ruling powers, but one that will also give me the qualifications to reach out to them if I need to. What identity do you suggest, Elder?"

    Elder Qing Xing sucked in a deep breath. Given the fact that Lu Yin had taken control of him, his only option was to do his best to help Lu Yin with what he required. Otherwise, if anything happened to Lu Yin¡­ Qing Xing did not even want to imagine the consequences. "Let me think about it. There should definitely be a suitable person to impersonate."

    "You can take your time with that," Lu Yin said. He then quickly ced the old man in Zenith Mountain. Aside from Elder Qing Xing, Lu Yin needed to consider who else should be taken with him to the Perennial World.

    Progenitor Smoke was a given, as Lu Yin would not entrust the Progenitor¡¯s mirror to anyone else. Rather, the more important thing to decide was which Semi-Progenitor Lu Yin would take along. Senior Brother Qing Ping intended to break through to be a Semi-Progenitor, so who else could go along? If Lu Yin wanted to rescue the prisoners in Crimson Garden or the members of the Star Alliance, it would be absolutely necessary to take a Semi-Progenitor along. However, if too many powerhouses apanied Lu Yin, it would be easy to draw the attention of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors.

    This had already caused a headache for Lu Yin.

    He spent several days considering the matter, but could note up with any answers. After those few days passed, Astral-10 arrived outside of Earth¡¯s sr system.

    Lu Yin did not want to do nothing as he waited for the shipment of star essence from the Technocracy and an answer from the creeper spy in the Astral Beast Domain. Thus, he had called Astral-10.

    Actually, he had not just summoned Astral-10, as the entire Astral Combat Academy had been called to the Heavens Sect¡¯s headquarters. He intended to bring the Tower of the Fifth back so that the Heavens Sect could provide inheritances to all of humanity and not just the top elites.

    The return of the Tower of the Fifth created a surge of excitement throughout the entire Human Domain. This time, not only would people from the Fifth Maind be allowed entry, but also the Sixth Maind cultivators. Naturally, they would have to pay a steep price, and the Sixth Maind was required to offer up many inheritances to enter the Tower of the Fifth.

    Also, Lu Yin once again made sure to mention that epting the inheritances inside meant epting him as a half-master.

 Chapter 2143: Names of the Past

    Chapter 2143: Names of the Past

    "The teachings of a half-master?" At the moment, Lu Buzheng, Jiu Yao, Leng Qing, and Cai Er were all present in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. Destina and Qing Ping were absent, and Hen Xin and Jue Yi were still in the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin answered, "That''s right, a half-master, as I was the one who created the Tower of the Fifth. Right, it¡¯s going to be renamed as the Tower of Inheritances now. I provided almost half of all the inheritances avable in the tower, and I¡¯m also the one who convinced various powers in both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds to donate some inheritances. The acknowledgement of half-master really isn¡¯t too much for all of that."

    Jiu Yao stared nkly at Lu Yin. Isn¡¯t too much? What the hell? That¡¯s way too much! He isn¡¯t the only one providing the inheritances in this Tower of the F- Tower of Inheritances, so why is he the only one to be acknowledged as a half-master?

    The Semi-Progenitor wanted to speak up and refuse to ept Lu Yin¡¯s proposal, but after ncing around, he could see that Lu Buzheng, Leng Qing, and Cai Er were all in agreement. Destina would automatically agree if she were asked, and Qing Ping did not even need to be considered, as he supported everything that Lu Yin did. Even if Hen Xin and Jue Yi were present, having three gatemasters oppose Lu Yin¡¯s proposal would mean nothing.

    On top of that, Jiu Yao realized something else as he observed Lu Yin; instead of three gatemasters, even if all eight of them rejected Lu Yin¡¯s proposal, would it even make any difference?

    Lu Yin looked at Jiu Yao and smiled. "What? Do you have other thoughts on the matter, Gatemaster Jiu Yao? Please, just speak up. After all, you represent the Sixth Maind, and if you want, you can even ask Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines for his thoughts as well."

    There was no need to mention that Lu Yin would also have a conversation with the Progenitor of Bloodlines. While the Heavens Sect had united the two human Mainds, they remained two separate forces in many ways. Additionally, the hatred that had fomented between the two for so many years could not be easily washed away. If Lu Yin had not inherited Progenitor Chen¡¯s power and be able to control the lives and deaths of everyone within the Human Domain, Jiu Yao would have actually tried to break the Sixth Maind away from the Heavens Sect.

    However, doing so would ce the Sixth Maind in a difficult position, and if a war broke out between the two Mainds, the Sixth Maind would not be in a much better position than the Astral Beast Domain.

    Numerous thoughts and options shed through his mind, and Jiu Yao felt a bit confused for a few moments.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. The truth was that there was another purpose in him requesting to be acknowledged as a half-master to those who obtained inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth aside from the obvious and direct benefits: Lu Yin was targeting the Sixth Maind.

    It was not an easy matter to erase the hatred and grudges that existed between different groups of humans, and Lu Yin was not selfless enough to entirely abandon his prejudices regarding the Sixth Maind. He was willing to allow the Sixth Maind''s people to enter the Tower of Inheritance, but he would notpromise and allow them to escape acknowledging him as a half-master They would have to choose between epting him, or refusing the inheritances.

    Back when the Tower of the Fifth had first been established in the Cosmic Sea and been opened exclusively to the people of the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had already established the precedent of epting him as a half-master in order to ept an inheritance from the tower. If not for Xia Ji and a few other powerhouses speaking out against it, no one in the Fifth Maind would have been concerned about the matter, as Lu Yin¡¯s prestige within the Fifth Maind had been too high at that time.

    That was why, at present, Lu Yin was targeting the Sixth Maind with this matter. They would be allowed to enter the Tower of Inheritance and obtain great rewards. Or, they could refuse to acknowledge Lu Yin as a half-master and get nothing. That was the ultimate choice.

    Jiu Yao said, "I wish to return and discuss this matter with Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sure, but Senior is currently in seclusion and trying to treat his terrible injuries, so it would be best to not bother him at this important time unless absolutely necessary. If you feel that you can¡¯t ept the teachings of a half-master, your people don¡¯t have to enter the Tower of Inheritance. No one will force them or anyone else."

    Jiu Yao nodded, as he already understood Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. He was not forcing the Sixth Maind intopliance by using the Tower of Inheritance. With the two Mainds united, it would not do to exclude the Sixth Maind openly. The best way to target the Sixth Maind was by giving them a choice.

    If they agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s proposal, they would gain ess to the Tower of Inheritance, but they would also agree to ept Lu Yin as a half-master. If they did not agree, then there would no negative repercussions, but they would essentially be barred from using the Tower of Inheritance.

    It was an excellent trap. Jiu Yao could not help but observe Lu Yin for a moment. This young man really did stand apart from others when it came to both individual power and scheming. Jiu Yao could remember how, over twenty years ago, Lu Yin had moved out with his Great Eastern Alliance to take over the defense of the Outerverse against the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s invasion. In the end, Lu Yin had ended up regaining control of a region of the Outerverse, and the Sixth Maind had been forced to admit that they could not outy Lu Yin when it came to plots or schemes.

    However, these current events were not due to Lu Yin¡¯s own abilities, but rather because Wang Wen had given a reminder. Without Wang Wen, Lu Yin would have forgotten about the teachings of a half-master.

    Fortunately, Wang Wen had reminded him in time.

    "How are Hen Xin and Jue Yi doing?" Jiu Yao asked, abruptly changing the subject.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "They¡¯re keeping an eye on the exit of the Extreme Path, but I haven¡¯te up with any solutions to this problem just yet. Still, there¡¯s no need to worry. I¡¯m confident that with their strength, we¡¯ll be able to handle this properly."

    Jiu Yao said nothing further on the matter.

    The Extreme Path remained a grave threat. The Human Domain could not afford to leave this knife at their throat in the hands of the Astral Beast Domain, so the ce had to be monitored by Semi-Progenitors. For Lu Yin, the best options for this task were Hen Xin and Jue Yi.

    As for how long they would have to keep an eye on the ce, no one could say for sure.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin arrived outside of Earth¡¯s sr system, and he saw Astral-10 sitting off in the distance.

    "Senior, did you have the Astral Combat Academy in your era?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke appeared next to Lu Yin, and she revealed a bit of surprise when she looked over at Astral-10 floating in space. "Isn''t that Boundless?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Senior, you know about Boundless?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded, and when she spoke, respect could be heard in her voice. "There are ten ancient warships that carry the inheritance of human civilization. The gship is known as Boundless. But I remember that the ten warships were destroyed in a war, so this should be a replica.¡±

    "Honestly, the warships should have never been sent to any battlefield. When I first started my own cultivation, I remember hearing that the ten warships had been destroyed and rebuilt several times in the past and that they were no longer allowed to get near any wars."

    "Senior, did you ever enter Boundless yourself?" Lu Yin felt rather surprised.

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "I did. After I became an Envoy, I remembered that there was a library on Boundless that recorded every detail of the ancient human civilizations. There was a floor known as the Stargazing Deck, and there, I was able to see certain images. Some parts of that vision were ancient, while others were rted to myself.

    "My name should actually be recorded on Boundless."

    "Your name¡¯s recorded there, Senior?" This puzzled Lu Yin. If Boundless had not yet been part of the Astral Combat Academy, then how would anyone leave their name on it?

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes gained additional depths. "Boundless carries the record and inheritance of human civilization, and that refers to more than just cultivation. It also includes human history and spirit. Humans cannot forget our history, and we were people who represented the history of our era. Me, Xia Shang, Old Fu, Hui Wen, Ku Jie, Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and Senior Lu Tianyi. All of our names were recorded on Boundless, as we carried the weight of humanity. We all were given this responsibility. Let¡¯s go see.¡±

    Responsibility? Thatment reminded Lu Yin of what he had heard the crazy headmaster say when he had asked Lu Yin to leave his name on Boundless and be a guest instructor. Later, Rainmaster had said that Lu Yin would only qualify to leave his name on Boundless after bing an Envoy, and at that time he would be able to learn of Boundless¡¯s history. Leaving one¡¯s name on Boundless was not a simple matter, and it seemed to be more of a ritual.

    Astral-10 had many students at this time, but Lu Yin had no desire to draw any attention during this visit. Progenitor Smoke kept the two of them hidden while Lu Yin went to greet the Rainmaster and the other mentors before visiting the area on Boundless that was covered in the mes that had been started by the headmaster. Even after all this time, the mes had not gone out.

    This was the ce where Lu Yin and Xia Luo had worked together to take down Xia Jiuyou, which had resulted in Xia Luo bing the heir of the Xia family.

    Progenitor Smoke was surprised by the sight. "What¡¯s with this fire? Why doesn¡¯t it die?"

    "I don''t know, but it¡¯s been zing for a long, long time," Lu Yin said.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head and then pointed in a certain direction. They followed her directions to a seemingly random location, but eventually came to an edge of the warship that was surrounded by mes.

    Lu Yin looked at it and then moved to what looked like the border of Astral-10. Was this Boundless¡¯s bow?

    "Hey, where are the names?" Progenitor Smoke looked around, searching, but she could not find the names she was expecting to see.

    Lu Yin was also unable to see anything.

    At this time, the Rainmaster approached. "What are you looking for?"

    As the man spoke, he looked past Lu Yin and saw Progenitor Smoke. Just the same as Lu Yin and everyone else when they first saw Progenitor Smoke, the Rainmaster bowed his head due to the inexplicable pressure he felt from Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin coughed, and Progenitor Smoke instantly vanished.

    The Rainmaster regained his normalposure, but he still felt a bit confused. "Lu Yin, who was that person just now?"

    "A Semi-Progenitor," Lu Yin said.

    The Rainmaster nodded. "It¡¯s no wonder why I wasn¡¯t able to look at her directly."

    Lu Yin asked, "Mentor, is there a ce in Astral-10 where names are recorded?"

    "The names of the guest instructors?" the Rainmaster asked. He nodded to his own question. "That¡¯s right, you do have the right to leave your name there now."

    "I was wondering if that list includes other guest instructors, such as the names of Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Hui," Lu Yin said.

    Thisment caught the Rainmasterpletely off guard. "How did you know about that? Those aren¡¯t the names of guest instructors, but-"

    The man suddenly hesitated. "Were you told about this by the senior apanying you?"

    "That¡¯s right. She¡¯s lived for many years and has been around for even longer than Arch-Elder Zen. She knew about Boundless long ago," Lu Yin replied.

    The Rainmaster felt a bit confused. While he knew about Boundless, his strength was limited, so he did not have much understanding of Arch-Elder Zen. The Rainmaster had no idea how long Arch-Elder Zen had lived for.

    "Follow me," the Rainmaster said before moving towards another direction.

    Lu Yin followed the man, and they crossed back over the sea of mes that had been zing for an unknown number of years. As they passed, Lu Yin noticed some students ducking their heads and looking around. They had been moved out of the way by the Rainmaster.

    Just a short timeter, they arrived outside a building that had been destroyed by fire long, long ago. It was readily apparent that this structure had once been an amazing bit of architecture that had dominated a massive area, but unfortunately, it had been ruined by the fire.

    There was a bang as a piece of wood fell down nearby. Dust was stirred up from the impact, and even some nearby mes swirled.

    The Rainmaster entered the ruins and went straight to a specific corner of the building. In that ce, there was an entire pile of wooden boards scattered about. Lu Yin felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu the moment he saw those boards, and Progenitor Smoke returned. She immediately approached one of the boards, and she stared at it with aplicated expression on her face.

    Lu Yin walked over to get a better look at the boards. All that he could make out was half of a character written on the top of the board, but since it was in the writing style of Progenitor Smoke''s era, Lu Yin did not recognize the character. "Senior, what¡¯s written here?"

    "It¡¯s half of a name. It¡¯s ¡®Wen¡¯ of Hui Wen¡¯s name," Progenitor Smoke answered softly.

    "Progenitor Hui''s good name?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    The Rainmaster gave Progenitor Smoke a long stare. "Senior actually knows this manner of writing? Yes, every name recorded here represents an era of human history. Anyone able to leave their name on Boundless left an indelible mark on their own era. People like us will never qualify to leave our names here. At best, we can leave our names as guest instructors."

    Lu Yin picked the board up. Only half of the board on the top of the pile was still there. Lu Yin looked at the next board in the pile.

    "Lu. This must be either Senior Lu Tianyi, or Uncle Lu Feng," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin stared at the name written on the board intently for a moment and then picked that one up as well. He went through the pile, examining each board and hearing each name that was written. There were not only Progenitors¡¯ names written on these boards, but also many Semi-Progenitors. Progenitor Smoke recognized who many of the Semi-Progenitors were, but not all of them. Some were from before her time, while others had risen to fame after she had disappeared.

    Lu Yin saw the names of Arch-Elder Zen, Senior Brother Qing Ping. Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong. The Semi-Progenitors of the current era qualified to stand at the top of their realm even throughout history. Because the building had been burned by the mad headmaster, the age of these newer boards felt as old as the names that had been left during the Daosource Sect era.

 Chapter 2144: The Mad Headmaster

    Chapter 2144: The Mad Headmaster

    Leaving a name behind on the ship was leaving a record of oneself behind. As the years passed, these wooden boards could provide future generations with the names of former powerhouses and even the era during which they had lived.

    There had been many Progenitors in the Daosource Sect era, but only Semi-Progenitors existed in the current era. This was because the Lu family had taken the most powerful families and organizations away from the Fifth Maind, and after that, the Sixth Maind had reced the Fifth Maind¡¯s sky. It was not that the cultivators of the current era were not good enough, but rather that their path had been blocked.

    As Lu Yin worked his way through the pile of wooden boards, they became increasingly fragile.

    "The wood these boards are made from isn¡¯tmon. It¡¯s able to bear the name of powerful Progenitors and carry on their names on for hundreds of millions of years. Still, thest boards are on the verge of disintegrating, so don¡¯t touch any of them. A single touch will reduce them to dust," the Rainmaster cautioned.

    Lu Yin looked at the next board in the pile. He did not recognize the writing, but it should belong to another person from the Daosource Sect era. Many great powerhouses had risen to strength before Progenitor Smoke and her generation, and there were other Progenitors as well. However, all those people had been overshadowed by the overwhelming might of those who had controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. This was not to say that the previous Progenitors had not been impressive and powerful. They had also represented their own era, but they had not been as numerous or as impressive as the generation that had risen up during Progenitor Smoke¡¯s time.

    Lu Yin did not find Progenitor Smoke''s name.

    "After the war, many of the boards were lost," the Rainmaster stated solemnly.

    The light faded from Progenitor Smoke''s eyes. It was incredibly difficult for humans to pass down an inheritance, and even a Progenitor¡¯s legacy would eventually disappear. In that case, just who could endure forever in the endless universe? It was beyond the abilities of even Progenitors. Was it possible to achieve eternal life if one arrived beyond the Progenitor realm? Progenitor Smoke did not hope for any single person to live forever, but rather for human civilization to endure throughout time.

    Lu Yin stopped dwelling on the matter. The universe was vast and unfathomable to the point where no one knew just how far it stretched. It was possible that a civilization that surpassed both humanity and Aeternus would one day arise and erase all traces of both of them.

    Progenitor Smoke returned to her mirror without another word.

    Lu Yin and the Rainmaster left the sea of fire, and Lu Yin went to visit the Stargazing Deck on his own.

    When he hadst visited this ce, he had seen a vision of Lu Zhen kneeling on the ground. During this visit, Lu Yin hoped to see the Lu family traitor that Lu Zhen had kneeled to, the owner of the bloodstained Champions¡¯ Stage that Lu Yin had seen.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only reservation was that attempting to use the Stargazing Deck might once again trigger Destiny.

    Suddenly, a cold glint flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes. So what if he did trigger Destiny? She was supposed to be able to see through the past and the future, and Lu Yin had touched upon those concepts numerous times. The more he did so, the more terrifying he found Destiny, and the more he realized how difficult it would be to escape her influence.

    However, Lu Yin also wanted to find out whether Destiny still lived and if Xuan Jiu''s fears would manifest in reality.

    Of course, there was also the power that Lu Yin was developing in the center of his chest; the stars that appeared next to the rotating ck and whitemas were actually specks of fatesand. Lu Yin had no idea if they would try to fly away again when he touched the Stargazing Deck, but regardless, he needed to try.

    Lu Yin arrived at the Stargazing Deck almost instantly, and when the Starmaster saw Lu Yin, the younger man immediately called out, "Please excuse me, Mentor."

    Lu Yin then took another step and instantly appeared on the Stargazing Deck. At that exact moment, a heat rose up within his heart. When he had touched the Stargazing Deckst time, doing so had caused his fatesand to fly away from him, and while Lu Yin felt the same heat as before, his fatesand did not appear. Instead, it looked like stars had appeared around him.

    These star-like dots were supposed to be contained within the rotation of themas inside Lu Yin¡¯s chest, simting the stars of the true universe within his chest. However, at this moment, they appeared around Lu Yin, and they gave him a majestic and almost divine appearance.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was no longer seeing Astral-10¡¯s Stargazing Deck, but instead seeing countless scenes ying out before his eyes, as though he were seeing snapshots taken through time.

    At this same moment, in a certain corner of the Neoverse, Xuan Jiu suddenly spat out blood while attempting to tell a person¡¯s fortune. The woman sitting in front of him was so startled that she nearly fainted.

    In the Outerverse, Destina¡¯s eyes snapped open. If someone looked at the white cloud surrounding her, they would see that it had be dyed scarlet.

    In the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender was staring at the Extreme Path, and the two human Semi-Progenitors there were staring back at him. Skymender felt a tremendous amount of pressure, but fortunately, Yao Di had gone to the Extreme Path¡¯s exit as well, and he was enough for the Astral Beast Domain to maintain the situation. While thinking about various things, Skymender¡¯s expression suddenly changed. What is this feeling? Again?

    Puff!

    Blood shot out, and the astral beast copsed. He was practically dead at this moment.

    In the Perennial World, a pair of cold eyes glinted, and blood could be seen at the person¡¯s mouth. "Destiny¡¯s been triggered again? Damn it!"

    In Astral-10, Lu Yin retreated a few steps from the Stargazing Deck. He managed to move with his own power this time.

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared, and she stared at the Stargazing Deck in amazement. She had also visited this ce in the past, and she had even seen some visions after bing an Envoy more than once. However, just what had Lu Yin done? Progenitor Smoke had felt a mysterious and unknown force pass by. It left her feeling inexplicably nervous.

    The Starmaster had an ugly expression on his face as he stared at Lu Yin. "What did you just do?"

    Lu Yin woke up. The star-like dots that had appeared around his body vanished the moment he had retreated, though he had not noticed it himself. As soon as he regained consciousness, he checked the state of things within his chest, and he was relieved to see that his false stars were back inside the orbit of the rotating ck and whitemas.

    Lu Yin grew a bit embarrassed after hearing the Starmaster¡¯s angry shout. "Well, I was trying to send something to you, Mentor, but I forgot where I was. I¡¯m sorry."

    The Starmaster was upset. The man had always remained calm in the past, no matter what had happened. Even when Lu Yin had triggered Destiny during hisst visit to the Stargazing Deck, the Starmaster had remained calm and had simply helped Lu Yin gather his scattered fatesand. However, this time the man was rather angry. "The rules of the Astral Combat Academy are unbreakable. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, "I know. I''m truly sorry, Mentor."

    The Starmaster stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "The Stargazing Deck has existed since the creation of Boundless. No matter how many years have passed, the Stargazing Deck has always remained here. Nothing can be allowed to happen to it, and even if I die, the Stargazing Deck must remain. Breaking the academy¡¯s rules like you just did could very possibly cause irreparable losses. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin apologized again. "I''m really sorry, Mentor."

    Seeing Lu Yin''s sincerity, the mentor''s expression finally softened a bit. "Are you trying to draw Destiny¡¯s attention?"

    "I wanted to see the scenes that I wasn¡¯t able to clearly seest time."

    The Starmaster¡¯s expression grew conflicted. "Do you know the headmaster¡¯s name?"

    Lu Yin could not understand why the Starmaster would suddenly change topics. "I don''t. No one¡¯s ever mentioned it to me."

    "The headmaster¡¯s name is Shao Chen," the Starmaster stated.

    Shao Chen? Lu Yin was caught off guard. Why did that name sound so familiar. Suddenly, he remembered, and his shock grew. "The same Shao Chen who¡¯s ranked at the top of the Rain List?"

    The Starmaster looked away. When he finally opened his mouth again, he slowly recounted an unknown story. "Astral-10 was once a warship, Boundless, and it was the gship. I don''t know when the ten changed their names to the Astral Combat Academy and started recruiting students from all parts of human civilization, but Shao Chen was the most talented student that the Astral Combat Academy has ever seen. He is also the first headmaster. There were none before him.¡±

    "He quickly rose to fame. He became an Enlighter by the age of twenty, and an Envoy by forty. Even if all of human history is considered, he remains one of the most talented cultivators ever."

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. An Enlighter by the age of twenty and an Envoy by the age of forty? That was no different from the Ten Arbiters. No, that was on par with the Perennial World¡¯s four Junior Progenitors! The man really was an absolute genius.

    "Back then, before him, there was no rule restricting a person¡¯s visits to the Stargazing Deck. Every student was allowed ess based on their contributions while studying within the Astral Combat Academy, and there were no further restrictions." The Starmaster suddenly let out a sight. "However, when Shao Chen became an Envoy, he instantly became the headmaster. He continued visiting the Stargazing Deck, and he even publicly announced that he had obtained an ancient inheritance. After that, his visits increased in frequency. Eventually, he overcame his sixth stellr tribtion, reaching a power level of over a million. Such an achievement has always been rare, and back then, everyone was anticipating his breakthrough. Even the Hall of Honor and Arch-Elder Zen were looking forward to it. Everyone believed that Shao Chen would eventually be a Semi-Progenitor, or even a Progenitor. However, it was because of this that he went inser on, though I don¡¯t know how much time passed."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. He remembered hearing a mentor previously mention that the headmaster had gone crazy because of his cultivation art.

    "I don''t know when, but one time after he entered the Stargazing Deck, he went crazy. He burned Astral-10 down, and his madness continued. Before his madness, Astral-10 had always been the strongest and most influential of the Astral Combat Academy¡¯s ten branches, but everything changed after that.¡±

    The Starmaster turned to look at Lu Yin. "This is a story that the previous Starmaster passed on to me. The rules for the Stargazing Deck were also changed because of what happened to the headmaster. Now, you should understand why you aren¡¯t allowed to freely enter the Stargazing Deck. This ce allows one to glimpse into the past and future, but it is also capable of inducing a tragic history like Shao Chen."

    The longer the Starmaster spoke, the more fearful he became. He quickly considered the fact that, if Lu Yin went mad from the Stargazing Deck, tragedy would not merely befall Astral-10, but also the entire Human Domain. The more the man¡¯s thoughts considered the possibilities, the more guarded he became towards Lu Yin. The Starmaster even contacted the other mentors, in preparation of the possibility of Lu Yin attempting to force his way onto the Stargazing Deck once more.

    Progenitor Smoke was amazed. "Something like that actually happened because of the Stargazing Deck? I¡¯ve used it countless times and never had any problem."

    The Starmaster turned to stare at Progenitor Smoke. Countless times? What did that mean?

    The other mentors quickly appeared. They had already been updated on the situation by the Starmaster, and all of the mentors immediately moved to block Lu Yin¡¯s path to the Stargazing Deck.

    "Kid, do you think that you¡¯re all grown up now and that you don¡¯t have to worry about us old guys anymore? Look at you! Do you really want to force your way into the Stargazing Deck?" Old Cai ground out through clenched teeth. He red at Lu Yin as though he were looking at a pirate, when suddenly, the old man remembered this kid was part of Leon¡¯s Armada. Highsage Leon was the Pirate King¡­

    The Rainmaster somberly stated, "Lu Yin, if you still want to be considered a student of Astral-10, do not enter the Stargazing Deck ever again."

    The Sandmaster¡¯s fists were clenched, and his muscles tensed as his battle force erupted. "Kid, if you want to get past, you¡¯ll do so over my dead body!"

    The Trialmaster sighed. "Once again, our school faces trouble. This time, someone is trying to tantly barge into the Stargazing Deck."

    Lu Yin was left speechless at the confrontation, and he responded with a wry smile, "Mentors, are you misunderstanding something?"

    Old Cai and the others looked over at the Starmaster, who said, "You¡¯re here as a precaution, but don¡¯t let him near the Stargazing Deck."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t touch it."

    It was only then that the mentors let out sighs of relief.

    "Well, you¡¯re certainly bing more and more mischievous! You used to just go out and make trouble for the rest of the Fifth Maind, but now you aren¡¯t even leaving your alma mater alone!" Old Cai spat out as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin spread his hands in a gesture of innocence. "I remember hearing Starmaster tell me that I could visit the Stargazing Decks in the other Astral Combat Academy branches, but I never got to all of them. If I can¡¯t use this one, I¡¯ll just go to the others."

    The Starmaster¡¯s expression instantly changed. He had seen Lu Yin enter the Stargazing Deck and trigger Destiny, and he had also watched the headmaster¡¯s insanity for many years. The Starmaster had no assurances that Lu Yin would not simrly go mad, and if the kid managed to trigger Destiny again, who knew if he would be able to maintain his sanity.

    "No! You cannot be allowed to trigger anything to do with Destiny again! There¡¯s no telling what might happen if you do so!" the Starmaster instantly shot down Lu Yin¡¯s alternate n.

 Chapter 2145: Karmic Cause And Effect

    Chapter 2145: Karmic Cause And Effect

    Just as Lu Yin was about to respond to the Starmaster¡¯s stern warning, his wireless jincan twitched. He nced down and was surprised to see a message from Destina.

    "Senior, please exin it to them," Lu Yin asked Progenitor Smoke before stepping to the side to take the message.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s ce, Progenitor Smoke stared at the mentors. "So, brats, why are you all making a mountain out of a molehill?"

    ¡­

    "Dao Chosen Lu, what did you just do?" Destina¡¯s initial message to Lu Yin was a blunt question.

    His eyes flickered. Had she sensed that he had triggered Destiny? It was not impossible. When Lu Yin had triggered Destinyst time, he had caused people skilled in divination to vomit blood, and Xuan Jiu had instantly determined that Lu Yin was the one behind the matter. Thus, it was not terribly surprising that Destina was capable of doing the same. Actually, Xuan Jiu had only honed in on Lu Yin because he was the only one who possessed enough fatesand to cause such an event. It had been more of a guess than anything else.

    "I didn''t do anything. I was just enjoying some tea," Lu Yin replied.

    Destina sent no response for a time. "I saw it."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Saw what?"

    "I saw you trigger Destiny through Heaven¡¯s Enigma," Destina replied.

    Lu Yin stopped believing her. "Are you trying to say that you can observe me with Heaven¡¯s Enigma? What a joke! Are you saying you can observe everyone?"

    Destiny replied, "Heaven¡¯s Enigma is not able to see you, but Destiny can. Through that, I was able to sense that Destiny was triggered, and you are the person who appeared in my mind. You must have triggered Destiny. Don¡¯t deny it."

    Lu Yin thought for a while before replying, "Fine. Even if I did trigger Destiny, what of it?"

    "Aren''t you unwilling to have anything to do with Destiny?" Lu Yin¡¯s admission caught Destina off guard.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I need a divination performed on a person and a thing, so my only choice is to try by triggering Destiny."

    Destina sent back, "Your attempt failed. I don¡¯t know what you did to trigger Destiny, but your actions will only draw Destiny¡¯s attention and induce a bacsh. This is not a means of divining. Thus, it would be best for you to abandon this path. Otherwise, you will draw Destiny out one of these days, and the results of that are beyond anything you can imagine."

    Lu Yin found this amusing. "You are Destiny¡¯s disciple, so if she is drawn out, you should be quite happy about it. Why does it sound like you don¡¯t want Destiny to return?"

    "Because I want to ovee my predecessor and be the next Destiny," Destina answered promptly, showing her determination.

    There was nobody who did not dream of bing a Progenitor, as such powerhouses stood at the peak. However, once a person¡¯s own strength reached a certain level, the desire would only grow stronger. The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were all at that level of strength. They all had a very decent chance of bing Progenitors, so why would they not want to attempt the breakthrough?

    Hen Xin longed to be a Progenitor and be the master of the current era.

    Jue Yi dreamed of surpassing his predecessor and bing the next God of Death.

    As for Destina, she also wanted to surpass her master to be the new Destiny.

    This made things much simpler for Lu Yin. After considering his options for a moment, he replied, "Your goals don¡¯t matter to me. I need a divination on a word, a person, and an item. If I can¡¯t get those answers, then I will continue to try to trigger Destiny. If it¡¯s not possible to seed through normal means, then I¡¯ll break the rules. You may not believe me, but there¡¯s nothing that I won¡¯t try to get these answers.¡±

    "Aren¡¯t you afraid that Destiny will appear and take control of this era?" Destina asked.

    Lu Yin justughed. "That would be wonderful for humanity! Destiny is one of the Three Realms Six Dao, and I would be more than willing to let someone that powerful appear and lead humanity."

    Destina did not reply for some time, and Lu Yin had no idea what thoughts were running through the woman¡¯s mind. Still, the longer she took to reply, the more certain Lu Yin that his current n would seed.

    Xuan Jiu had vomited blood when Destiny had been triggeredst time, and the old man believed that anyone connected to Destiny would suffer terrible luck. The fact that Destina had contacted Lu Yin so quickly suggested that she had suffered a simr injury and had likely endured serious injuries. If not, there was no way she would ever reveal her goal of recing Destiny to Lu Yin. Destina would absolutely do her best to stop Lu Yin from triggering Destiny again.

    However, she did not even realize that, the more she wanted to stop such an oue, the more leverage she gave Lu Yin.

    Things were getting interesting.

    "What do you want divined?" Destina eventually asked. During the Heavens Sect era, she had never once encountered any hardship. It had not happened when she had first started cultivating, and not when she became a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates either; this was all because she was Destiny¡¯s disciple. Not only had no one dared to cross her, but even the most talented geniuses had also been willing to step back for her. She had been the most dazzling star in the Heavens Sect¡¯s sky.

    However, in the current era, she was being bullied by Lu Yin. The only time she had ever encountered such a situation in the past was when Lu Buzheng had stolen Destiny¡¯s power within his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Destina felt the same sense of being bullied once again.

    The only two times that Destina had ever felt threatened were both caused by members of the Lu family.

    A smile slowly crept across Lu Yin''s face. "Are you willing to perform the divinations for me?"

    "I can try," Destina replied. She really did not want to agree, as anyone who managed to reach Lu Yin¡¯s level would not ask for something easy to be divined. However, Destina really had no choice. Anything was better than allowing Lu Yin to continue triggering Destiny and injuring Destina in the process. If Lu Yin tried to trigger Destiny when she was attempting to breakthrough, it would be fatal for her.

    Suddenly, Destina felt as though there was something squeezing her throat.

    "Alright, first, the word. I want you to look into the word ¡®Murkiness,¡¯" Lu Yin sent over. When the forces of Aeternus drained the stellr energy from the true universe twenty years ago, Lu Yin had assumed that that was their ¡°Murkiness¡± n, but he had no way of confirming it. If trying to divine ¡°Murkiness¡± at this time caused no problems, then ¡°Murkiness¡± had likely already been carried out. However, if there were dangers encountered, then the n had not yet started. After all, not even Mister Mu had been certain if ¡°Murkiness¡± had started or not when Lu Yin hadst spoken with his master.

    In the Outerverse, Destina was standing in the middle of an asteroid belt. In the depths of the belt, there were asteroids that were asrge ass, and there were also primitive civilizations living on them. The people there fought off wild beasts and prayed to the astral bodies that they could see. Some civilizations had developed cold weapons and stable governments, but none of them had developed any form of cultivation. At best, some of the cultures had just embarked on the path of science, but none were able to even enter outer space yet.

    Destina and Starsibyl frequently observed the development of the burgeoning human civilizations on these primitives, using them to perform divinations and perfect their abilities.

    When Destina saw Lu Yin''s reply, her voice spread out of her white cloud. "He wants me to investigate a word: ''Murkiness.''"

    "You can¡¯t!" Starsibyl was startled. "Lu Yin once asked me to do that same divination when he visited the Starsibyl Sect. It was that divination that caused my master, Master Zhu, to suffer injuries so severe that it killed him! You can¡¯t investigate this word!"

    Destina sent Lu Yin her response: "Choose a different word."

    Lu Yin sneered and immediately responded, "That¡¯s the only word. Don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t look into it on my own."

    "Back when you asked the Starsibyl Sect to do this divination, the attempt killed the sect master. What does this word represent?" Destina demanded.

    Lu Yin was startled by the contents of the message. "Master Zhu is dead?"

    "That''s right. Starsibyl informed me that he died because he tried to divine this word. The attempt injured him so badly that he died of his wounds," Destina exined.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew ugly. He had not expected that attempt to kill Master Zhu. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had not seen the man. He had simply assumed that Master Zhu had followed Destina, the same as Starsibyl. The possibility that the man had died had never even urred to Lu Yin.

    "When did this happen?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina checked with Starsibyl. Destina knew nothing of Master Zhu, as she had never even met him. By the time Destina found the Starsibyl Sect, Starsibyl was the sole survivor.

    Starsibyl stated, "It was before the true universe was emptied."

    Destina sent the answer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head, internally apologizing to the Starsibyl Sect and Master Zhu. While Lu Yin had not had many interactions with the sect master, Master Zhu had given Lu Yin some help, and he had even died trying to help Lu Yin investigate ¡°Murkiness.¡±

    This information also showed just how quick Xuan Jiu¡¯s reflexes were. He had merely suffered grave injuries when trying to divinate the word. Xuan Jiu¡¯s skill for divination might not be on the same level as Master Zhu¡¯s, hence he had managed to escape death.

    "I don''t know how to investigate this word," Destina sent another message.

    Lu Yin''s expression firmed. "You are a Semi-Progenitor, and Master Zhu was much, much weaker than you. Either do the divination, or I¡¯ll trigger Destiny myself."

    "Dao Chosen Lu, what does this word represent? How did you learn of it? You must provide me with a clear exnation," Destina insisted.

    Lu Yin remained unmoved. "Either do the divination, or I will trigger Destiny. There¡¯s no other option."

    In the Outerverse, Destina was quickly finding Lu Yin to be even more despicable than Lu Buzheng had ever been. "Wait."

    With that message, Destina turned to Starsibyl. "Do the divination together with me. Heaven¡¯s Enigma is not a technique that depends on strength, but rather solely on skill and ability. Work with me in this attempt."

    Starsibyl felt trapped. Publicly, the Starsibyl Sect had always imed that Xuan Jiu was the only person to use Heaven¡¯s Enigma, but the truth was that both she and Master Zhu had learned it as well. While they imed to use a divination technique known as Stargazing, that was nothing more than a mask to deceive people; Heaven¡¯s Enigma was the technique that was actually used.

    While the Starsibyl Sect had seeded in deceiving others, they had not been able to trick Destina.

    "You actually want to do a divination? This matter is not simple." Starsibyl hesitated.

    Destina put her wireless jincan away. "All we can do is try. If not, he will not stop or let this go."

    Starsibyl was truly trapped. She had a decent understanding of Lu Yin, and knew he could be extremely stubborn. He had encountered numerous opportunities, and had frequentlye across extraordinary things and information. Being forced into such a corner reminded Starsibyl of when Lu Yin had made a simr request of the Starsibyl Sect and how they had not been able to refuse him. At this moment, Starsibyl felt even more helpless than before.

    In space around them, Destina controlled various meteorites to move into a new pattern. A ring of 108 meteorites surrounded her and Starsibyl.

    The white cloud disappeared, and Destina¡¯s true appearance was revealed. Her eyes glittered, and mysterious depths appeared in Starsibyl¡¯s eyes as well, despite glowing like on a bright day. The two women looked at each other at the same time, and then invisible fluctuations swept out and warped space around them. The 108 meteorites trembled, and a word appeared in the void: Murkiness.

    With no warning, all of the meteorites shattered at the same time. Starsibyl spat out blood and retreated several steps, unable to maintain control of herself.

    The shattering meteorites caused expanding destruction, and even quasis with more advanced technological civilizations and powerful weapons were unable to react to the wave of destruction. Even if they had received sufficient warning, they would have been able to do nothing to stave off their destruction.

    The wave of destruction caused countless people to die in an instant.

    With divination, a cause would always have an effect. The greater the cause, the greater the effect. The effect that was the bacsh from the attempted divination was too much for Destina or Starsibyl to endure, so it had been shifted away from them, and transferred to the surrounding meteorites, which had caused the wave of destruction.

    Master Zhu had died because he had not transferred the effect of his divination, so his fate differed from the two women¡¯s. This was the method that Destiny had taught to Destina; any time that one tried to peer down the long river of time, it would be easy to trigger bacsh, and this method of transferring the karmic effect was the only way to survive such dangers.

    Destina struggled to catch her breath, startled by what had just happened. She had just caught a glimpse of someone. Was it really him?

    "What did you see?" Destina asked Starsibyl.

 Chapter 2146: The Level Is Too High

    Chapter 2146: The Level Is Too High

    Starsibyl looked into Destina¡¯s suspicious eyes and shook her head, her face pale. "I saw nothing at all. The bacsh struck me the moment I touched upon the word."

    After she finished speaking, she nced around and saw that the asteroids around them had disappeared. With the severity of the bacsh that had just struck them, Starsibyl should have died just like Master Zhu. So, why was she still alive? Not only that, how was she barely injured?

    Destina took a deep breath and then pulled out her wireless jincan to send a message to Lu Yin.

    He was already waiting to hear back from Destina, while Progenitor Smoke was still chatting with Astral-10¡¯s mentors. The men all treated her as if they were juniors, and they did not even dare to look directly at Progenitor Smoke, which let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief.

    His wireless jincan trembled, and Lu Yin looked down at it.

    "I almost died," messaged Destina.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What do you mean?"

    Destina continued to exin, "The word that you gave me is connected to the Aeternals¡¯ True God Wei Yi. That person is not someone whom we can touch through divination. Even during the Heavens Sect era, that person was extremely mysterious. What connection does the word that you gave me have with him? You nearly killed us."

    Lu Yin had no idea that Destina had transferred the bacsh from the divination, and no one would bother to inform him about the deaths of people from primitive civilizations in the Outerverse. After all, such losses were not considered a big deal.

    "What did you see?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina''s eyes flickered with a cold light. If not for the fact that she had shifted the karma from her divination away from her, she would have suffered even worse injuries than when Lu Yin had triggered Destiny. "I was unable to see anything. I was hit by the bacsh the moment I attempted to touch the word. I won¡¯t have anything to do with that word again."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank, and he looked up to stare into space. This meant that the n to disperse droplets of mysterious liquid that devoured stellr energy from the true universe was not the "Murkiness" n that Mister Mu was so worried about. In that case, just what was "Murkiness?" Did it really have nothing to do with the droplets? There should be some connection. After all, Aeternus had already removed stellr energy from the entire Fifth Maind, which had crippled human cultivation. If this was not "Murkiness," then just how terrifying was that n?

    The wireless jincan trembled again, and Destina repeated, "Where did you learn of this word?"

    "It was just a guess."

    On the other side of the conversation, both Destina and Starsibyl were staring nkly at the reply that Lu Yin had sent over through the wireless jincan. They had not expected Lu Yin to send such a flippant answer. It was too ridiculous! Why would anyone ask for a divination over such a random reason?

    Destina¡¯s anger grew until her hatred for Lu Yin even surpassed what she felt for Lu Buzheng.

    It was rare for Starsibyl to lose her temper, but when it came to Lu Yin, the unexpected becamemon.

    Another message from Lu Yin appeared. "This word is very important to me. I learned of it by happenstance after drinking tea made from a Root of Intelligence and achieving a breakthrough. I instantly realized that the word was important and that I needed to learn more about it. We need to try again."

    Destina''s eyes red, and she wanted to do nothing more than hunt down Lu Yin and force him to the brink of death.

    "Master, he shouldn''t be lying," Starsibyl suddenly mentioned.

    Thisment puzzled Destina. "Are you saying that you believe him when he says that he just randomly thought of that word?"

    Starsibyl grew somber. "I believe it might be possible with the tea brewed from a Root of Intelligence. The Roots of Intelligence were grown by Progenitor Hui himself, and each one is a rare treasure that can induce a state of enlightenment and heightenedprehension where a person can understand anything almost instantly. If such a mental state wasbined with a breakthrough in one¡¯s cultivation, then it is not impossible for such a strange coincidence to ur."

    Destina shook her head. "This word would not appear even during a state of enlightenment."

    Destina immediately sent her answer to Lu Yin. "We can''t do another divination for this word."

    "Then I will trigger Destiny again. If I fail once, I¡¯ll try twice. If those two attempts fail, I¡¯ll try a third time. If all three attempts fail, I¡¯ll try again and again as many times as needed. All I need is a single sess."

    Destina gritted her teeth¡ªas many times as needed? That would kill her! If she was injured to the point of vomiting blood every time Destiny was triggered, what would happen after all those attempts? What would happen when her blood waspletely spent?

    "That¡¯s your choice. If you really want to trigger Destiny, I¡¯ll do it for you," Destina replied. She did not want her hand to be forced by Lu Yin.

    However, this response confused Lu Yin. "What do you mean by that?"

    Destina exined, "It¡¯s very easy for you to trigger Destiny, and if that¡¯s the case, then I can only work with you. If I don¡¯t, Destiny will me me for doing nothing when she appears. I agree with your method, so proceed as you wish."

    Lu Yin sneered. Destina did not want Lu Yin to trigger Destiny because she wanted to be a Progenitor and rece Destiny. Lu Yin believed this, but he also knew that Destina was still keeping something hidden. The woman had to have been injured when Destiny was triggered, just like Xuan Jiu. Destina did not want to be injured by Lu Yin¡¯s activities, so she was trying to trick him. However, Lu Yin was not worried about being deceived. Even long ago when he had worked with Humility''s Gate in the Perennial World, he had already created a legend for himself through his schemes.

    "Great, then I¡¯ll keep triggering Destiny, and with your help, we¡¯ll be able to find her quicker," Lu Yin agreed.

    Destina''s eye twitched, and she was struck by a headache. She had assumed that Lu Yin was just threatening her by saying that he would keep triggering Destiny, but was he telling the truth? That could not be allowed. If Destiny was continuously triggered, then not only would Destina not be able to train and cultivate, but she would also be repeatedly weakened and injured by Lu Yin¡¯s attempts. Even worse, he might seed in attracting Destiny¡¯s attention, and that would create a whole host of other problems for Destina.

    She looked over at Starsibyl. "You talk to him."

    Starsibyl nodded. It was clear that Destina would not be able to make any headway talking to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away and looked at Astral-10¡¯s mentors. What a pain. He needed to trigger Destiny again as soon as possible to scare Destina. While the woman had offered her unconditional support for the Dao Chosen, Lu Yin remained wary of her. After theirtest conversation, Lu Yin could not afford to step back.

    The Starmaster was still on guard against Lu Yin, and when he noticed the young man¡¯s expression, he instantly yelled, "What¡¯s with that look? Don''t touch the Stargazing Deck again!"

    All of the other mentors turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    He pursed his lips. Why were they so wary towards him, like he was a thief? The Starmaster was too on edge. What had happened to the calm and quiet man that Lu Yin had known in the past?

    At this moment, his wireless jincan trembled again. Lu Yin checked the message.

    "This is Starsibyl. It¡¯s been a very long time, Alliance Leader Lu."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but he immediately realized that Destina had ordered Starsibyl to continue the conversation that had stalled out.

    "I need more information about that word," Lu Yin sent back.

    Starsibyl remained very calm as she understood Lu Yin very well. "Divination cannot be performed on that word. Even if we die in the attempt, we still won¡¯t be able to learn anything. We can help you in the future, Alliance Leader Lu, but if we die trying to investigate this word, will our deaths really be worth the price for nothing?"

    Lu Yin did not actually need a divination on the word "Murkiness" to be performed again, as he had already obtained the answer that he needed. Rather, he simply wanted to coerce Destina into doing more divinations for him while also probing just how much of an impact triggering Destiny had had on Destina. It seemed that it was worse than he had suspected, as Destina was clearly panicking.

    "Fine. I¡¯ve always tried to be friends with your Starsibyl Sect, but the divination for the word doesn''t count. So, I¡¯ll change my request to doing a divination on a person," Lu Yin stated.

    Starsibyl twitched as she looked at Lu Yin¡¯s most recent message. If Lu Yin was the one asking for a divination, then forget a person¡ªeven an ant would be a difficult task. Lu Yin was not ying around, and there was no need for him to request a divination on a minor issue. Starsibyl did not want to know who Lu Yin wanted to be looked into.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, we were already injured today, so let''s do the divination at ater time," Starsibyl countered.

    Lu Yin did not try to force the matter further. "Let¡¯s wait three days then. In three days, help me divine a person."

    Starsibyl was between a rock and a hard ce, so she nced over at Destina, who ordered, "Ask him who he wants divined."

    Starsibyl sent the reply.

    "Mister Mu." When Mister Mu had parted ways with Lu Yin twenty years ago, the man¡¯s attitude had been different. Lu Yin wanted to know what had happened to his master, and if the man was dead or alive.

    Starsibyl had never heard of Mister Mu before, and neither had Destina. Typically, the two women would feel morefortable performing divinations on matters that they were ignorant of, but that was only when interacting with most people. When it came to Lu Yin, the two women only became more nervous when they realized that they knew nothing at all about the person he was asking about.

    "Ask for the person''s identity and cultivation," Destina demanded.

    Starsibyl sent the request, but it only amused Lu Yin. "If you need to know all of that, then why would I need your divination?"

    He would not dare to reveal that Mister Mu was definitely a Progenitor, and not one with amon level of strength either. At the very least, Mister Mu had not only known Wu Xing, but the two were clearly acquaintances. Thus, Mister Mu was someone who had been around at least since the Heavens Sect era.

    But that was information that Lu Yin could not reveal, as Destina would absolutely refuse to do the divination if she knew that.

    Starsibyl frowned. "Very well. We will do the divination in three days."

    Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan and looked over. He saw all of the mentors still staring at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine! I won''t touch the Stargazing Deck!"

    ¡­

    Three days passed in a sh. During this time, Lu Yin stayed far away from the Stargazing Deck so that the mentors of Astral-10 could rx.

    He found the Trialmaster, and he asked him about the mad headmaster, but the Trialmaster only had a bit more information for Lu Yin. As he walked around, many of Astral-10¡¯s students saw Lu Yin, and they swarmed the area. He spent a day offering them some guidance with a ss, sating their desire to learn from someone whom they considered to be a true powerhouse. The students¡¯ attitude left Lu Yin thinking that he should ept a true disciple, not someone like Ku Wei.

    After three days had passed, Lu Yin reached out to Destina, only to have Starsibyl answer his message.

    "Let¡¯s do the divination," Lu Yin sent.

    Starsibyl replied back, "Alliance Leader Lu, this person isn¡¯t a Progenitor, are they?"

    "I don''t know their level," Lu Yin replied.

    Far away, Starsibyl had no choice. She lowered the wireless jincan, and Destina waved a hand. Many of the nearby asteroids gathered around the two women once again as they started another divination, this time on Mister Mu.

    Very quickly, Starsibyl spat out more blood, but Destina managed to react faster than before, and she shifted the bacsh away. All of the asteroids shattered, but Destina did not suffer many injuries. Still, a terrible expression covered her face. "A Progenitor! Not only that, but they¡¯re someone who¡¯s at least as powerful as a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Starsibyl felt frustrated as she wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. Luckily, her injuries were not too severe, as Destina had reacted very quickly, being better prepared for this divination. "Is Mister Mu a Progenitor?"

    Destina grabbed the wireless jincan and sent a message to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was rather nervous, and he was hoping to learn that nothing had happened to Mister Mu.

    When his wireless jincan wriggled out a reply, despite theck of sound, Lu Yin could feel Destina¡¯s rage. "Dao Chosen Lu, this Mister Mu is a terrifying powerhouse who is at least on the same level as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas! You actually asked us to do a divination on such a person? Why didn¡¯t you have Lu Buzheng try with his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique instead?"

    Lu Yin felt a bit of guilt, but he quickly replied, "I didn¡¯t know. Were you able to do the divination?"

    Destina¡¯s emotions were in turmoil, and she could not tell whether or not Lu Yin was lying, so she threw her wireless jincan over to Starsibyl. Destina wanted nothing to do with Lu Yin right now.

    Starsibyl felt frustrated by her situation. "Alliance Leader Lu, forgive our failure, but this Mister Mu is too high-level. We can¡¯t see anything."

    "Were you injured?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Just like the divination on the word "Murkiness," he did not need a sessful divination to get the answers he wanted. All he needed to know was whether or not the divination caused injuries to learn the truth. Mister Mu had to be fine; otherwise, Destina and Starsibyl would not have been injured by their divination attempt. By the same token, "Murkiness" could not be the n that Aeternus had carried out on the Fifth Maind.

    While Lu Yin had gotten the information he had wanted, things had not worked out for Destina or Starsibyl. More importantly, neither of them had any clue that Lu Yin had already learned everything he wanted from them.

    If Destina knew this, she might not be able to stop herself from rushing over to attack Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2147: Golden Age

    Chapter 2147: Golden Age

    "Honestly, what good are you? You can¡¯t tell me anything about a word, or a person. How is this supposed to be the abilities of Destina, a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates and Destiny¡¯s disciple?" Lu Yin sent a message expressing his frustration with the women¡¯s results.

    Destina could not stop her hands from tightening into fists when she saw Lu Yin¡¯s response.

    As for Starsibyl, she just gave a wry smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, the word and person that you asked us to look into are far above our level. If you want these things to be looked into, you may truly need to rely on Destiny herself."

    Lu Yin quickly sent back. "Just forget it. No matter the results, you two have still tried to help me. Since Destina doesn¡¯t want me to trigger Destiny again, I won¡¯t."

    This was unexpected. Why was Lu Yin being so reasonable?

    Destina noted Starsibyl¡¯s surprise. "What did he say?"

    Starsibyl answered, "He just said that he won¡¯t trigger Destiny again."

    Destina also feltpletely confused. Lu Yin seemed rather fickle andpletely unpredictable. Why was he being so reasonable all of a sudden? Should she actually believe him?

    Destina had quite literally just been thinking about how, while Lu Buzheng had been the main target of her hatred during the Heavens Sect era, that position had been passed onto Lu Yin in the modern era. Both of them were from the Lu family too. As far as Destina was concerned, most people were not worth her notice, but two members of the Lu family had roused her absolute hatred.

    However, all of a sudden, Lu Yin no longer seemed too despicable. At the least, he was not pushing her too hard.

    "With this, just help me find someone else." Starsibyl¡¯s brow furrowed when she saw Lu Yin¡¯s next message, and Destina''s eyes grew cold. Sure enough, Lu Yin did not know when to give up.

    "You don¡¯t need to be afraid of a divination for this person. I want you to find Undying Yushan, so you shouldn¡¯t have a problem with this." Lu Yin sent another message.

    Starsibyl and Destina nced at each other. Undying Yushan? He really would not be a problem, as he was not overly powerful. On top of that, the Starsibyl Sect had already done a divination on him once before. While they had not been able to find the man¡¯s location, there was also no danger or bacsh in their attempt.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, are you sure that you want us to look into Undying Yushan? We did this divination once before, and we sensed some traces of Progenitor Y¨­u. However, there was nothing at all regarding Undying Yushan himself," Starsibyl replied.

    "It''s Undying Yushan. You weren¡¯t able to find him when you did the divination back in the Starsibyl Sect, so please ask Destina to help with this."

    Starsibyl looked at the other woman.

    Destina nodded. "Alright."

    Logically, there was no reason to refuse to look into Undying Yushan, as the man did not have the strength to threaten the two women or induce any bacsh in their divination attempt. In fact, Destina was not afraid even if Progenitor Y¨­u was involved, as she was able to perform a divination into that woman as well.

    This was not because Progenitor Y¨­u was not powerful, but rather because Progenitor Y¨­u currently had almost no cultivation. In fact, Destina herself had tracked down Progenitor Y¨­u.

    Still, after suffering during theirst two divinations for Lu Yin, Destina automatically arranged for several precautions before proceeding with the divination. However, she did not cooperate with Starsibyl.

    At this time, a figure sneaked across the edge of the meteorite belt.

    A short whileter, a wireless jincan trembled within the Astral Combat Academy, and Lu Yin looked over.

    "The divination yielded results regarding Undying Yushan: I saw people from the Y¨­u n." Destina sent Lu Yin a report.

    The results surprised Lu Yin. "People from the Y¨­u n? What does that mean? Is he hiding within the Y¨­u n?"

    "That¡¯s not how divination works, as it does not allow one to see everything. Divination merely gives certain insights into situations or events rted to what¡¯s being divined. When performing my divination into Undying Yushan, I saw people from the Y¨­u n, and they had the same blood in their veins as him. I then performed the divination a second time, to confirm what I saw. The divination found traces of the Impious Sutra," Destina exined.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. Wait, the Impious Sutra is a technique, right? Then how could it be in the blood of the members of the Y¨­u n? Though, he did recall hearing before that, even after all these years, no one knew just what form the Impious Sutra actually had.

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of Big Sis. What was going on with Progenitor Y¨­u and the Impious Sutra?

    Still, since the divination had pointed at the Y¨­u n, Lu Yin would need to visit them. The entire Y¨­u n was already in Earth¡¯s sr system, and that matched with the fact that Skymender had imed that Undying Yushan was also there.

    It turned out that Skymender''s divination with his Book of Destiny might be even more urate than what Destina was capable of.

    "Is that all that you can get with your divination? Try a few more times to see if you can learn anything more about Undying Yushan. He¡¯s hidden himself too well, and I need to know everything that I can about him," Lu Yin said.

    Destina sent back, "Divination is not like cultivation. I have done multiple divinations over thest few days, not to mention the first two that resulted in a bacsh. I¡¯ve reached my limits and cannot perform any more divinations for the time being."

    "Really? So how many more days should I wait?" Lu Yin was not willing to drop this matter. He wanted to deal with Undying Yushan in one swift blow.

    Destina was out of options. "If this is so important to you, take Qingqing with you to visit the Y¨­u n and look around. Since she is Progenitor Y¨­u Ming herself, you might be able to learn something by making the trip with her."

    This reminder caused Lu Yin to think of something else. "If Big Sis really is Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, and the Y¨­u n is her descendants, then why hasn''t she visited them during these twenty years?"

    Destiny''s eyes flickered. "I need to create more bonds with her."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "After awakening in this era, the first thing that I did was search for Progenitor Y¨­u. I epted her as my disciple and quickly proceeded to enter seclusion with her. This was done to deepen our bond and color my own fate. The deeper our bond is now, when sheter regains her original strength, the greater the gains I¡¯ll enjoy, and the closer I¡¯lle to reaching Destiny. My luck is even better than Destiny¡¯s, as I was able to find Progenitor Y¨­u, whose talent was no worse than the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao," Destina exined.

    "When she recovers her strength, it¡¯s not impossible for her to return to the same level as the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao. When that happens, it will provide me with a great deal of help towards recing Destiny."

    "What are you trying to take from her?" Lu Yin''s eyes sank.

    Destina replied, "It''s just a bond between us. I¡¯m not trying to take anything. This will only benefit her, and she won¡¯t suffer any harm. Still, if you¡¯re so desperate to find this Undying Yushan, take her with you to visit the Y¨­u n."

    "There¡¯s no need." Lu Yin refused instantly. He did not want to risk anything happening to Big Sis. Even the the name "Impious Sutra" sounded evil. If Big Sis really was Progenitor Y¨­u, then no one had any idea what had caused her current circumstances. If there was any connection to what Lu Yin was investigating with Undying Yushan, then he did not want to risk Big Sis¡¯s safety.

    His wireless jincan remained still for a while, and then Destina sent another message. "Toote. She¡¯s already on her way."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "You told her?"

    "She saw our conversation. I didn¡¯t notice her arrival while I was performing the divination," Destina replied.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. Only an idiot would believe that a Semi-Progenitor could be approached by an Envoy without noticing anything. How could Big Sis have sneaked up on Destina?

    "Are you saying that Big Sis is on her way to the Y¨­u n right now?" Lu Yin asked.

    "That¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan, said goodbye to all of the Astral-10 mentors, and raced away from Astral-10, heading straight for the Y¨­u n¡¯s location.

    The Y¨­u n had settled down in Earth¡¯s sr system. The Seven Courts had been disbanded, but the Y¨­u n, the Ku family, the Ce family, and the Hui family had all settled down in Earth¡¯s sr system, and they had even chosen neighboring locations. After all, if tragedy struck, they all wanted to escape from the Fifth Maind, just like Hen Xin and many others.

    While the threat of Aeternus had been erased, none of the four families had left the sr system yet.

    Given Lu Yin''s speed, he only needed a few moments to make the trip, as he moved much faster than Big Sis.

    Lu Yin stared at a river that currently extended out from Earth¡¯s sr system off into the distance. This was the new home of the Y¨­u n.

    Most of the rivery beyond Earth¡¯s sr system, and only a little bity inside. All of the Y¨­u n lived on an ind in the middle of the river that sat inside the sr system.

    Lu Yin''s arrival did not draw any attention from the Y¨­u n. He stared at the river, and at Y¨­u Lao, who was still moving about in his small boat. However, Y¨­u Lao had stopped being able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s movements a long time ago.

    "Is that the Y¨­u n?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "You know them, Senior?"

    "In our era, the Y¨­u n was considered neither strong nor weak. They were led by a Semi-Progenitor, but it seems that they have fallen since then. There¡¯s only a single person from the entire n who¡¯s passed their sixth stellr tribtion, and he looks like he has one foot in the grave."

    Lu Yin looked at Y¨­u Lao. The man had been seriously injured in the past, and it was true that he was racing towards death. "While you know of the Y¨­u n, it¡¯s a pity that they were decimated during the war against the Sixth Maind, and many of their records were lost. That fate not only befell the Y¨­u n, but also many other families and sects across the Fifth Maind. Even the Mavis family, with their ancient heritage, lost most of their history."

    Progenitor Smoke indifferently answered, "I only remember the Y¨­u n because of a woman named Y¨­u Xiaojing, who was one of the few people from our generation who could actuallypete with Xia Shang and the others. Unfortunately, she grew weaker as she progressed, and she eventually fell behind the rest and was forgotten."

    "She couldpare to Progenitor Chen and the others?" Lu Yin was stunned. Had such a powerhouse risen from the Y¨­u n?

    "She could stand on the same level as Xia Shang when they were Enlighters, the same as a few people from the Lu family and the Celestial Frost Sect. However, anyone who couldn¡¯t break through and be an Envoy was soon left behind. Still, that woman was incredibly talented, and even I don¡¯t know where she picked up all those weird battle techniques. All of the ones that she used were unique and strange, but nothing was ever heard about her after we reached the Envoy realm, which means that she eventually faded away,¡± Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin nodded. Weird battle techniques? They should havee from the Y¨­u Secret Art. Y¨­u Ye¡¯er¡¯s Heart-killer Lotus had simrly been obtained from the Y¨­u Secret Art. That secret technique was part of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s inheritance.

    "Senior, do you know anything about Progenitor Y¨­u?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I''ve heard some legends iming that the Y¨­u n¡¯s ancestor was Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and that that¡¯s where their Y¨­u Secret Art¡ªAge Concealment¡ªcame from. However, that secret technique is only able to restore the youth of the person who inherits it. There¡¯s never been any proof of a connection between the Y¨­u n and Progenitor Y¨­u. That Progenitor lived too long ago, though I did hear Qing Mavis mention them before.¡±

    "Old Fu was the one who loved these stories about history. He¡¯d know a lot more than me.¡±

    "Our era was very different from yours, and we actually had more inmon with the Heavens Sect era. The Daosource Sect ruled everything, and no one would have ever dreamed of trying to unite humanity, let alone wage war against one of the other families that was led by a Progenitor. Now, you people can use different means to investigate and learn about other families, but during our era, people were only concerned with themselves. Even if they wanted to learn more about other people¡¯s affairs, it wasn¡¯t possible to probe very deeply."

    Lu Yin understood what Progenitor Smoke was trying to say. In many ways, even though the Daosource Sect era was dominated by the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and had not been humanity¡¯s golden age, it had definitely been the most harmonious.

    The Daosource Sect had ruled the Fifth Maind, and with the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas overseeing everything, no one had dared to act out too much. Each major family and sect had been free to develop on their own, and no one was allowed to casually initiate a war. Many people had lived carefree lives during that era.

    During the Heavens Sect era, human civilization had reached its pinnacle, but it was during the Daosource Sect era that humanity had enjoyed peace and prosperity. In the end, there would always be growth and decline to all things.

    In that case, what would be the next great heights that humans reached? Would they be led there by Lu Yin himself?

    As Lu Yin was considering such things, Big Sis arrived. The Divining Heavenly Gate was not very far away from Earth¡¯s sr system.

    Progenitor Smoke was bbergasted when she saw Big Sis arrive. Big Sis¡¯s appearance had changed again, and her appearance could no longer be considered normal. She had a triangr head, massive arms, and huge hands that were oversized for her body. In addition, she was wielding an enormous hammer that was several timesrger than the hammers that she had used during the Dao Chosen selection.

 Chapter 2148: Your Ancestor

    Chapter 2148: Your Ancestor

    Throughout the entire course of Progenitor Smoke''s life, she had never seen such a weird person before. Were they a man? A woman? A human?

    Lu Yin quickly moved forward and stopped Big Sis from going anywhere. "Big Sis, what are you doing?"

    His question startled her. "Little Seven, why are you here?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Big Sis, there¡¯s nothing that you need to worry about here. You can head on out first, or wait for me a bit. Then, we can go to the Heavens Sect together and catch up for a bit."

    Big Sis just rolled her eyes. "Bullshit! Nothing here that I need to worry about? Thanks to you, this olddy found out that I¡¯m their ancestor: Progenitor Y¨­u."

    "Progenitor Y¨­u?" Progenitor Smoke eximed, losing herposure.

    Big Sis looked over at Progenitor Smoke, and her eyes lit up. "You¡¯re gorgeous!"

    Big Sis got excited as she looked back at Lu Yin. "Little Seven, is she your woman? Nice job!"

    Lu Yin shot forward and pped a hand over Big Sis¡¯s mouth. She was referring to Progenitor Smoke, the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas! Even after spending so much time together, Lu Yin still only referred to Progenitor Smoke as ¡°senior¡± and did not dare to overstep proper boundaries.

    Wait, what¡¯s going on? Why didn¡¯t the pressure and shame that everyone feels from seeing Progenitor Smoke¡¯s beauty work on Big Sis? It¡¯s worked on everyone else! Even Semi-Progenitors like Kui Luo and Third Uncle were affected, but Big Sis didn¡¯t react at all.

    Progenitor Smoke could not tell if she had been heard, or if Big Sis and Lu Yin were just ignoring her question. Progenitor Smoke continued to stare at Big Sis¡¯s oddly formed head. "Progenitor Y¨­u?"

    Big Sis smacked Lu Yin''s hand away and lifted her head high as she replied, "That¡¯s me!"

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin. The woman¡¯s eyes made it clear that she felt like she was dealing with an idiot.

    Progenitor Y¨­u? What a joke! That person¡¯s generation was so ancient that they were thought of as nothing more than a legend. Even if Progenitor Y¨­u was not as mythical as the God of Death, they were still from a time so far in the distant past that no one could actually confirm whether or not they had ever existed. Who would believe such a story?

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "That¡¯s actually what Destina told me. She¡¯s Destiny¡¯s disciple, and the first thing that she did after being released from the sourcebox and awakening in this era was to find Big Sis. So, she basically has to be Progenitor Y¨­u."

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Big Sis¡¯s malformed head, and Big Sis stared back at the stunning woman. "Little Seven, this girl isn¡¯t bad at all! Great face, killer figure. Tell me, did you get any yet?"

    "Big Sis, don''t talk like that! Someone will die! She¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor!" Lu Yin quickly tried to stop Big Sis from saying any more crude words.

    However, she simply rolled her eyes so hard that her entire head moved along. "So what if she¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor? Aren¡¯t you able to overpower Semi-Progenitors now? Quit making excuses and apologizing for her. Are you worried? Big Sis will help you blow her off her feet! You¡¯re too gentle to act like a man."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "Big Sis, she¡¯s Progenitor Smoke!"

    In the end, his only option was to tell Big Sis the truth. Otherwise, there was no telling what Big Sis would say. She had been raised by the Pirate King, Highsage Leon, as a foster parent, and he was a ruthless individual who had never had any reservations in his words or actions.

    Big Sis felt confused by Lu Yin¡¯s words. "What Progenitor Smoke?"

    Lu Yin whispered, "During the Daosource Sect era, Progenitor Smoke controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas! She was an invincible Progenitor! You should have heard about how Progenitor Smoke left behind the smoke that¡¯s used on Eversky Bridge, right? This woman in front of you made that!"

    "Bullshit! How long has it been? How could someone still be alive after so long?" Big Sis could not believe what she was hearing.

    Lu Yin muttered back, "You¡¯re still alive."

    Big Sis had nothing to say to that. She was Progenitor Y¨­u, and she was still alive after so long. Was it really unbelievable that Progenitor Smoke could still be alive?

    Big Sis¡¯s head snapped around, and there was a very different look in her eyes as she stared at Progenitor Smoke. At this time, both respect and curiosity could be seen in Big Sis¡¯s eyes.

    Progenitor Smoke was still staring at Big Sis¡¯s odd head. "Progenitor Y¨­u? Is that what Destiny¡¯s disciple told you? Are you sure it¡¯s true?"

    Lu Yin immediately turned his attention back to Progenitor Smoke. "Yes, unless Destina lied to us. However, there¡¯s no reason for her to have done so. Besides, she really did capture Big Sis twenty years ago and force her to be Destina¡¯s disciple."

    When Lu Yin mentioned this detail, Big Sis rolled her eyes again. "That woman¡¯s a bitch! If not for the fact that I knew that I couldn''t escape, I never would have epted her as my teacher! What can she even teach me?"

    As soon as she finished venting, Big Sis turned back to Progenitor Smoke. "Are you really Progenitor Smoke?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Are you really Progenitor Y¨­u?"

    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you."

    "Likewise."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Big Sis, don¡¯t visit the Y¨­u n just yet. I¡¯m not in that much of a rush to find Undying Yushan. We can¡¯t stir up any huge waves in the Fifth Maind right now."

    Big Sis got upset. "I¡¯m not doing this for you! No matter what, these people are my descendants, and I need to meet them. I¡¯ve even forgotten that I had the Y¨­u n as my descendants. If I had known that the Y¨­u n of the Seven Courts were my descendants before, things would have gone much differently, and Leon¡¯s Armada would have conquered the universe long ago."

    Lu Yin still wanted to dissuade Big Sis, but she refused to listen to him. "It¡¯s going to be a long story, so if you aren¡¯tfortable with me going, then juste with me. This isn¡¯t just the Y¨­u family, so what are you so worried about?"

    Lu Yin felt helpless. He was actually afraid of Big Sising into contact with the Impious Sutra. After all, how could just the Y¨­u n scare him? "If you¡¯re going to insist on going no matter what, then let¡¯s go check this out together."

    He then turned to face the Great Abyss and slowly called out, "Lu Yin hase to pay a visit to the Y¨­u n."

    His voice was not loud, but it crossed space and was easily heard by Y¨­u Lao and the rest of the Y¨­u n.

    Everyone was startled at the words. Lu Yin was visiting them?

    The Y¨­u n had once again united. There was no longer a Y¨­u family isted and alone in the Innerverse, separate from the rest of the Y¨­u n. At present, Y¨­u Keyan was the n¡¯s matriarch.

    The Y¨­u n was traditionally led by whoever controlled the Y¨­u Secret Art. Since that was Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, then it meant that Y¨­u Keyan was the matriarch. As for Y¨­u Kexin, she had taken on the position of an elder.

    Y¨­u Keyan¡¯s expression changedpletely when she heard Lu Yin announce his arrival, and she hurried out to greet him.

    As for Y¨­u Lao in the boat on the Great Abyss, he was feeling rather torn at this moment. Four of the families from the former Seven Courts were present in the Heavens Sect, so the fact that Lu Yin was visiting the Y¨­u n first was either good news or terrible news. If it was good, what would Lu Yin bring them? If it was bad, what had they done to deserve it?

    Regardless of the old man¡¯s thoughts, it was a given that, with Lu Yin visiting, the Y¨­u n had to wee him with open arms and a proper reception.

    Y¨­u Lao rowed his boat slowly over to the bank of the Great Abyss.

    Lu Yin and Big Sis were already waiting for the boat, but Progenitor Smoke had decided to return to the pocket dimension within her mirror and remain hidden.

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen." Y¨­u Lao offered a slow bow when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand. "Senior, there¡¯s no need for you to be so formal. I dropped by unexpectedly, and I hope that doing so won¡¯t make things difficult for your Y¨­u n."

    "Not at all, Dao Chosen. You are here, and my Y¨­u n wees you. Please, enter," Y¨­u Lao replied. He did not show any reaction at all to Big Sis''s bizarre appearance.

    Both of the visitors stepped onto the boat, and the little vessel pushed off again.

    Big Sis stared intently at Y¨­u Lao. This man was one of her descendants, and he was the oldest one that was still alive. How should he address her? Great Ancestor?

    "How did you get hurt, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Laoughed. "Ten years ago, I was attacked by a corpse king on the frontlines. I was lucky enough to survive, but my stellr energy vortex was broken, and my cultivation was destroyed. I don''t know how long I¡¯ll survive, but I¡¯ll ept my death when ites."

    "There¡¯s a certain happiness that can only be found in such open eptance," Lu Yin said.

    "It can''t be fixed?" Big Sis asked.

    Y¨­u Lao looked over at Big Sis. "Who are you?"

    "Your-"

    Big Sis was not even able to get a single word out before Lu Yin cut her off. "She¡¯s my savior. I have a bit of time to spend with her, so we came to visit your Y¨­u n together. She¡¯s been quite curious to see the Y¨­u n."

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. She wanted to tell these people that she was their ancestor.

    Naturally, Lu Yin knew of Big Sis¡¯s desires, which was how he had reacted in time to stop her.

    Y¨­u Lao nodded. "I see. Wee."

    Almost no one knew that Big Sis was actually Progenitor Y¨­u. Given the current status and power of the Y¨­u n, they were naturally not among those qualified to know such information.

    It was impossible for them to imagine that the ancestor that they had been searching for for so many years, hoping to find any proof of her existence, was standing right in front of them.

    The boat drifted across the Great Abyss, slowly making its way towards the ind that was home to the Y¨­u n.

    Hundreds of people stood at the river bank, quietly waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin immediately saw that there were far fewer people in the Y¨­u npared to when they had been in the Neoverse. After the war against Aeternus, even powerful families like the Y¨­u n had suffered terrible losses, let alone the weaker organizations. The Sword Sect had even lost their Sword Mountain.

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen." Under Y¨­u Keyan¡¯s lead, everyone present from the Y¨­u n gave Lu Yin a respectful bow in greetings.

    Lu Yin nodded. Given the fact that Y¨­u Lao was an elder, Lu Yin treated the man politely, but there was no need for such decorum with the rest of these people. "I dropped in for a visit. I hope that you aren¡¯t offended, Matriarch."

    Y¨­u Keyan smiled back. "The Dao Chosen is more than wee here. Please, follow me."

    Y¨­u Kexin stood beside Y¨­u Keyan, still as frigid as ever. However, Lu Yin still vividly remembered visiting the Y¨­u n in the Neoverse and spending a day at the Great Abyss with Y¨­u Kexin and Y¨­u Lao.

    Behind Y¨­u Kexin stood Y¨­u Ye''er, Y¨­u Qin, Y¨­u Ren, and a small group of more people.

    Lu Yin nced at Y¨­u Ye''er. She was the current user of the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    Big Sis nced around at everyone with a great deal of curiosity. All of these people were her descendants, and their cultivation levels were quite decent. Suddenly, Big Sis¡¯s eyes locked onto on Y¨­u Ye¡¯er and Y¨­u Qin, and she looked them up and down. These girls aren¡¯t bad at all! Alright, it¡¯s decided¡ªI¡¯ll give them to Little Seven, and they can get closer.

    While Big Sis was studying the members of the Y¨­u n, they were also sneaking in asional nces at her.

    Not everyone possessed Y¨­u Lao¡¯s self control, and there was no denying that Big Sis¡¯s appearance was beyond bizarre. Even if they were told that Big Sis was a human, they would struggle to ept it. There were simrities, but Big Sis just looked too strange.

    Y¨­u Ye''er nced at Big Sis right when the woman happened to be staring at Y¨­u Ye¡¯er. No, this girl¡¯s too young. She¡¯s no good for Little Seven.

    Due to the Y¨­u Secret Art, Y¨­u Ye''er still looked like a young girl, even after so many years.

    Y¨­u Ye¡¯er noticed Big Sis¡¯s gazend on her and then switch over to Y¨­u Qin. The glint in the stranger¡¯s eyes would leave anyone ufortable.

    Lu Yin said goodbye to Y¨­u Lao before Y¨­u Keyan led him into the Y¨­u n¡¯s main hall. Only the n¡¯s most distinguished guests were entertained in this ce.

    "Dao Chosen, please take a seat," Y¨­u Keyan said in a respectful tone.

    Ever since the secret of Y¨­u Ye''er using the Y¨­u Secret Art had been revealed, the Y¨­u family had been trying to find someone to protect them. Their ideal candidate had always been Lu Yin. They had reached out to him on several asions, and in the process, Lu Yin had both threatened and schemed against them. They had already dealt with Lu Yin many times, so Lu Yin was no stranger to Y¨­u Keyan.

    Y¨­u Kexin watched the interactions take ce indifferently.

    Lu Yin nced around, and he quickly noticed that Big Sis was giving Y¨­u Qin an odd stare that was clearly making the young woman ufortable. Lu Yin waved a hand. "Matriarch, please stay, but there¡¯s no need for all the formality. Everyone else can leave."

    Y¨­u Keyan''s eyes flickered, and she immediately understood that Lu Yin had something private to say to her. The matriarch asked everyone else to leave the hall, and she moved forward to personally pour some tea for Lu Yin.

    Only Y¨­u Keyan remained in the main hall.

    "Call that girl who was just with us back in. Little Seven, she¡¯s definitely good enough for you, so take her." Big Sis nodded as though her words were only natural, but they left Y¨­u Keyanpletely stunned.

    There were very, very few people in the universe who could speak to Lu Yin in such an informal, condescending manner.

    Y¨­u Keyan had no idea who Big Sis was.

    The Y¨­u matriarch observed Big Sis, and a terrifying smile appeared on Big Sis¡¯s face as she looked back at Y¨­u Keyan. "What''s your name?"

    You Keyan looked over at Lu Yin. She had no idea how to react to this person.

    Lu Yin was simrly speechless. "Big Sis, please just stay quiet for a bit and let me talk."

    Big Sis sneered at Lu Yin, but she did cross her legs and lean back. Her chair let out a sound that was simr to gnashing teeth.

    Y¨­u Keyan could not understand what was going on at all. Just who was this person?

    "Matriarch, please call Y¨­u Ye¡¯er back in," Lu Yin directly said.

    Y¨­u Keyan felt puzzled by this request. "Dao Chosen, is there something wrong with Ye''er?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s nothing like that. I just want to see the Y¨­u Secret Art."

 Chapter 2149: Skyrocketing Cultivation

    Chapter 2149: Skyrocketing Cultivation

    Y¨­u Keyan¡¯s eyes shifted as soon as she heard Lu Yin''s request. Was he after their secret technique?

    "Dao Chosen, the Y¨­u Secret Art can only be inherited by a single person from my Y¨­u n. It¡¯s impossible to acquire it without possessing the blood of the Y¨­u n. This-"

    Y¨­u Keyan wanted to continue, but Lu Yin raised a hand to stop her. "I know. If I was actually after your Y¨­u Secret Art, you wouldn''t have been able to keep it twenty years ago. Just bring her in."

    Y¨­u Keyan had no choice. She nodded and left the main hall. However, she did not just summon Y¨­u Ye''er to the main hall; Y¨­u Keyan also sent messages to Y¨­u Lao and Y¨­u Kexin to discuss the situation.

    Lu Yin was well aware of just how afraid the Y¨­u n was of him. When facing Lu Yin, the Y¨­u n was essentially nothing more than a piece of meat on a chopping board waiting to be gobbled up.

    The truth was that Lu Yin really did have no intentions regarding the Y¨­u Secret Art. All he wanted to see was if Big Sis would have any reaction to seeing or being in the presence of the secret technique.

    "Big Sis, how do you feel about these people?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis looked very somber. "Those two girls are almost perfect for you, but one of them looks like she¡¯s only about ten years old, which is too young. Still, age isn¡¯t really a problem for us. As long as you like them, they¡¯re all yours. You need to hurry up and spread your seed."

    Lu Yin did not know how to react. He had assumed that Big Sis had been acting so seriously because she had discovered something wrong. "Big Sis, can you feel any sort of connection or blood-ties to these people from the Y¨­u n?"

    "No," Big Sis answered bluntly.

    This was not a surprise to Lu Yin. Being able to sense blood-ties was a rather mysterious matter. If Big Sis had met with the first generation of her descendants, she might have been able to easily sense such a thing, but how many generations had passed? The Y¨­u n¡¯s blood had be too diluted.

    "From what I picked up during your conversation with Destina, there¡¯s someone hiding here as a member of the Y¨­u n. How should I find them?" Big Sis asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Just leave things be for now. Forcefully trying to drag them out isn¡¯t going to be easy. I want to first find out if anyone in the Y¨­u n knows about it."

    After a while, Y¨­u Keyan returned with Y¨­u Ye''er. There was a calm expression on the matriarch¡¯s face. It seemed that her discussion with the two elders had reached a conclusion.

    Y¨­u Ye''er greeted Lu Yin in a charming manner when she saw him. "Brother Lu."

    She looked like a sweet little child, and Big Sis liked how cute this girl was. She patted her thigh and said, "If it¡¯s her, don¡¯t worry about how young she is. You¡¯ll just need to wait a few years, but I¡¯ll decide now."

    Y¨­u Keyan and the others could not understand anything that Big Sis said. This strange person had to be insane.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored Big Sis, and he instead addressed Y¨­u Ye¡¯er with a smile, "You can return to your original appearance. I saw you participating in the Dao Chosen selection."

    Y¨­u Ye''er smiled wryly. "Unfortunately, I was not able to stand out at all and was easily eliminated."

    Her clothes and hair then started to ruffle, despite theck of a breeze in the room, as her body started to grow.

    Big Sis¡¯s mouth fell open. Was this for real?

    When Y¨­u Ye''er was done, she no longer had the appearance of a cute little girl, but instead looked like a cold and collected young woman. With her ck dress, she looked like a ck rose: beautiful and dangerous.

    The sight amazed Lu Yin once again, and he looked at Y¨­u Ye''er with bright eyes.

    Y¨­u Keyan carefully observed Lu Yin¡¯s reactions, and she saw the appreciation in his eyes as he looked at Y¨­u Ye''er. Was he attracted to her? If that was the case, then all the better.

    Lu Yin stared at Y¨­u Ye''er, and Y¨­u Ye''er and Y¨­u Keyan both stared at Lu Yin. However, not one of the three noticed that, when Y¨­u Ye''er released the Y¨­u Secret Art, Big Sis''s eyes grew dull. However, there were indescribable emotions flickering beneath that nk expression. It was almost as if there was another person inside Big Sis; someone who had been waiting countless years to be able to appear.

    Suddenly, Big Sis stretched out a hand, and before anyone could even react, she pressed it against Y¨­u Ye''er''s forehead.

    No one had expected Big Sis to suddenly make a move, and not even Lu Yin was able to react in time. Big Sis had moved too quickly, and her speed was truly unbelievable.

    The moment Big Sis pressed her hand against Y¨­u Ye''er''s forehead, the young woman¡¯s body trembled. Big Sis slowly pulled her hand back, and a formless, yet visible, energy was drawn out of Y¨­u Ye¡¯er¡¯s body along with it. Then, it started to flow into Big Sis.

    Y¨­u Keyan was startled, and she instantly attacked Big Sis,pletely ignoring Lu Yin''s presence.

    However, the matriarch¡¯s strength was not able to do anything to Big Sis. After all, Big Sis was capable of going up against Sky Garan. Even if Big Sis¡¯s cultivation was at the same realm as Y¨­u Keyan¡¯s, theirbat strength was not even close.

    There was a bang, and Y¨­u Keyan was shaken back as Big Sis continued to extract the formless power from Y¨­u Ye''er''s body.

    At this time, Y¨­u Kexin and Y¨­u Ren emerged from the void, and they both attacked Big Sis as well. However, both of them were weaker than Y¨­u Keyan, and they were unable to even get close to Big Sis.

    Y¨­u Lao finally appeared, using a Netherworld River to arrive. He also attacked Big Sis, while shouting, "Stop!"

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared in front of the old man, and with a flick of his fingers, a gust of wind forced Y¨­u Lao back. An overwhelming power tore through the void, and it caused the entire Y¨­u n to quiver.

    Y¨­u Lao did not dare to attempt to attack Lu Yin after being pushed back by nothing more than the wind created by a finger flick. The old man moved a few steps back. "Dao Chosen, what is the meaning of this?"

    Lu Yin just turned back to stare at Big Sis. Coincidentally, it was at this exact moment that the formless energy waspletely removed from Y¨­u Ye¡¯er, and the woman copsed. Big Sis just stood where she was, her eyes showing that she was lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly, a burst of energy erupted from her, and it swept out in every direction. It spread through Earth¡¯s sr system, Frostwave Weave, and then the entire Outerverse.

    Many people noticed this oppressive and powerful energy that suppressed them to the point where they could not even breathe.

    Within the Heavens Sect, Lu Buzheng¡¯s head snapped up, and he looked towards the Y¨­u n. "That power feels so familiar."

    The man instantly disappeared.

    Elsewhere, Destina also looked towards the source of the wave of energy. "Is she starting to recover?"

    The Y¨­u n¡¯s main hall had already been shattered, and Big Sis¡¯s face and body were continuously transforming. Sometimes she looked male, and at other times, she appeared female. Yet at other times, she looked as young as a child, while there were also asions where she looked like an ancient woman. The only aspect that remained constant was that the oppressive aura she radiated grew increasingly powerful, and quickly too. More and more, until finally, she reached the aura of a six-tribtion Envoy. This was a power level of over a million.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This was too quick of an improvement. Had Big Sis surpassed a power level of a million in almost an instant? Was this the power of Progenitor Y¨­u?

    Across the ruined room, Y¨­u Lao was shocked. This- this power¡­ Isn¡¯t this the Y¨­u Secret Art?

    There was no chance that Y¨­u Lao could be wrong about this. He could clearly sense the Y¨­u Secret Art, as nothing else possessed such a dark and profound power. It felt evil and dark; whilepletely bizarre, it also feltpletely domineering.

    When Big Sis¡¯s power reached its peak, her physical appearance also stabilized. She had the appearance of a cold woman with slightly purple eyes. She was not beautiful, but rather majestic, especially when her eyes gleamed in the light. She looked even more domineering as ck and purple lights periodically flickered across her body, as if she was from a dream.

    However, her eyes hadpletely changed, and there was an unprecedented coldness to them.

    Lu Yin stared at Big Sis in amazement for a moment. He felt a simr sensation as to when he had first seen Progenitor Smoke. There was a certain majesty that the two women gave off that felt exactly the same, even if the source could not be felt or seen.

    At this moment, Progenitor Smoke appeared. She was also startled by Big Sis¡¯s transformation. "So you really are Progenitor Y¨­u. That¡¯s the energy of a Progenitor."

    "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?" Y¨­u Lao, Y¨­u Keyan, and Y¨­u Kexin all shouted in unison. They all stared at Progenitor Smoke in disbelief.

    However, Progenitor Smoke vanished as soon as she made this single observation.

    Lu Yin ignored everyone as he stared at Big Sis, and he tentatively called out, "Big Sis?"

    The main hall waspletely silent, but outside, a group of people from the Y¨­u n had already surrounded the building, though none of them dared enter.

    Further away, Lu Buzheng and Destina had both arrived, and they nced at each other. "That was the power of Progenitor Y¨­u. I¡¯ve felt it from afar in the past."

    Destina was still hidden within her white cloud, and she coldly replied, "Before you chased after Destiny, you first wanted to summon Progenitor Y¨­u with your ancestral qi."

    Lu Buzheng did not deny the usation, as it was true. After he had sessfully cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, the first being that he had branded for his summon had been a Progenitor realm astral beast that belonged to the Lu family. His second summon had been obtained by the Lu family during an exchange with another human Progenitor. As for his third summon, the Lu family¡¯s old ancestor had asked Lu Buzheng to wait while they sought out the best possible option. At that time, Progenitor Y¨­u had been the goal. Lu Buzheng had searched for the ancient powerhouse, and he had once sensed her power.

    How could Lu Buzheng have imagined that his ancestor would eventually lead him after Destiny herself and steal a wisp of the Ancient Progenitor? Even on his deathbed, Lu Buzheng would have never imagined that his ancestor could be so ruthless without witnessing it for himself. The ancestor had dared to go after Destiny herself, rather than Progenitor Y¨­u.

    However, Destiny was too fickle a summon, and Lu Buzheng had never been able to use the summon as he wished. On top of that, stealing from Destiny had antagonized Destiny¡¯s disciples, and Lu Buzheng had been chased and harassed by Destina, which was incredibly frustrating to deal with.

    "There¡¯s no need to mention the past. So much time has passed, and my ancestors are all gone." Lu Buzheng actually felt embarrassed by Destina¡¯sment.

    Destina looked back at the Great Abyss. The power that they had sensed could onlypare to a six-tribtion powerhouse, which was nowhere close to Progenitor Y¨­u¡¯s peak.

    Back inside the main hall, Lu Yin cautiously called out again, "Big Sis?"

    Everyone stared at the woman.

    Y¨­u Lao and the others felt a suppression that reached down into their very souls. The aura of superiority that they felt from the woman before them made them all worshipful.

    After a long time of remaining silent, Big Sis turned her head to fix her purplish eyes onto Lu Yin. "This girl isn¡¯t bad, and I like how she looks, so find a chance to seal the deal."

    Lu Yin was stunned.

    Y¨­u Lao and the others in the room were also shocked. What was that supposed to mean?

    "Big Sis, you haven''t changed?" Lu Yin was rather taken aback. Given the drastic change in Big Sis¡¯s power, it was clear that she had regained a portion of her strength as Progenitor Y¨­u, so why was she still talking like a crude pirate?

    Big Sis snorted contemptuously as she stretched out a hand and reached for the massive hammer that she had set down. Y¨­u Lao and the other members of the Y¨­u n all trembled, as they believed the woman was about to attack their family.

    The hammer melted and transformed into a beam of light that shot past Lu Yin and the others in the room. It pierced through the void and shot out of the main hall to wrap around one of the members from the Y¨­u n who had arrived and surrounded the main hall.

    The strange light formed a cage that trapped the person.

    The man panicked, and he nervously nced around.

    Lu Yin watched what was happening, and Big Sis asked, "Little Seven, you haven¡¯t been able to find Undying Yushan, right? That¡¯s him."

    "Help! Save me! Elder, save me!" the man screamed for help in his terror.

    Y¨­u Lao and the others were all still staring at Big Sis. None of them had any idea what to say at this moment. The only thing that they could think about was how Progenitor Smoke had suddenly appeared and proimed this person to be Progenitor Y¨­u. Was that true? Impossible! While the members of the Y¨­u n all believed that Progenitor Y¨­u had been a real person, their ancestor existed in too distant an era. Unless Progenitor Y¨­u had been sealed and released like the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gate, how could their ancestor possibly have survived for so long?

    Lu Yin looked over at the person within the cage. This fear was not fake. Lu Yin could not stop himself from looking back at Big Sis. "Big Sis, is he really Undying Yushan?"

    Big Sis sneered. "The Impious Sutra¡¯s Face Change was made after a conversation with the God of Death. It¡¯s able topletely transform a person, and it¡¯s impossible to see through. What, do you still want to try hiding who you are, Undying Yushan?"

 Chapter 2150: The You Family And The Undying Manual

    Chapter 2150: The You Family And The Undying Manual

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dark. While no one else present understood what Big Sis had said, he instantly realized that the method being used by this person in the cage was very simr to his own Mask of Death. It was a technique that had been developed by Progenitor Y¨­u Ming after speaking with the God of Death. It was no wonder why it was impossible for anyone to see through it.

    When the man panicking inside the cage of light heard the words ¡°Impious Sutra¡¯s Face Change,¡± the expression on his face transformed so drastically that it looked as if he had suddenly be an entirely different person. He struck at the cage with a force that had the strength of a four-tribtion Envoy. The power of this attack stupefied all the nearby members of the Y¨­u n.

    Unfortunately for the prisoner, not even this sort of strength was enough to destroy the cage of light. It had been put in ce by Big Sis, who somehow had the power of a six-tribtion powerhouse. This cage was a never-before-seen battle technique, either Big Sis had regained her strength as Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, or it was a technique that possibly came from the Y¨­u Secret Art.

    After the prisoner saw that his attack aplished nothing, he waved a hand.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. This was the Yu Secret Art.

    The cage of light disappeared, and the prisoner shot forward. He tried to tear through the void to escape.

    Lu Yin was just about to make a move, when Big Sis shouted, "You want to use my own power to escape from me? Absurd!"

    As soon as Big Sis finished speaking, the man spat out blood, and his body transformed. The person who appeared was someone Lu Yin was very familiar with: Undying Yushan.

    No one had been able to uncover Undying Yushan¡¯s whereabouts for years, but he had been instantly discovered by Big Sis.

    Undying Yushan stared at Big Sis with a frustrated expression for a moment before quietly asking in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

    Big Sis just sneered at the man, and a few beams of dark light suddenly pierced through his body. Each one of the beams left terrible injuries, and blood spilled onto the ground beneath the man. Finally, Undying Yushan dropped to his knees, humiliated. His pupils fluctuated as he panted heavily.

    He was far from weak, and he had always kept his true strength hidden. On top of that, he was able to use the Impious Sutra¡¯s battle techniques, which had given him the confidence to face even five or six-tribtion powerhouses in a confrontation. At the very least, he had always been certain that he could escape any situation. Despite that, he had been leftpletely helpless by Big Sis. Undying Yushan had not been able to use any of his battle techniques, and he was almost instantly trapped and rendered helpless.

    This was also just Big Sis acting against Undying Yushan. There were still the rest of the Y¨­u n¡¯s top powerhouses, and even more terrifying, Lu Yin.

    Undying Yushan had kept an eye on the rest of the universe¡¯s events while hiding within the Y¨­u n. Due to their proximity to the Heavens Sect, the man had been able to ess a great deal of information. Undying Yushan knew that Lu Yin was unbelievably powerful, and the strength that he had revealed during the Dao Chosen selection had not been anything that Undying Yushan could deal with. Even more importantly, during the opening ceremony for the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin had personally defeated and executed Semi-Progenitor Wang Si.

    Undying Yushan knew that he was much, much weaker than Wang Si. With Lu Yin present, there was absolutely no chance of escape, and the tools that Undying Yushan had used to try to seize control of Lu Yin had already been proven useless long ago.

    However, he had still been confident that no one would ever be able to find him. Unfortunately, against all expectations, Undying Yushan had been exposed. On top of that, there had been no warning or sign of impending doom. There had been no time to make his escape.

    A person appeared in front of the wounded man and looked down at him.

    Undying Yushan lifted his head and saw that Lu Yin was the one before him.

    Lu Yin could not untangle his own emotions as he looked down at Undying Yushan. "Royal Uncle, we meet again. It¡¯s been a real challenge to find you."

    Undying Yushan coughed up another mouthful of blood, before giving Lu Yin a bitter smile. "I allowed you to go free for too long. I knew that I should have taken control of you while you were still a Hunter, or even a Cruiser. You wouldn¡¯t have been able to resist me at all back then."

    "The Undying Manual?" Lu Yin''s eyes were strange.

    Undying Yushan slowly rose to his feet, though he swayed after standing up. His eyes moved past Lu Yin to focus on Big Sis. "I just want to know who she is. She didn¡¯t just see through my disguise¡ªshe even sealed my strength. It¡¯s as though her very existence restrains me."

    Lu Yin smiled, as Undying Yushan¡¯s words were just too funny. "If she isn¡¯t able to restrain you, then no human throughout all of time would be capable of doing so."

    Undying Yushan¡¯s pupils instantly constricted. "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This was a very quick realization. "You¡¯re incredibly astute. Normally, such a thing would be considered impossible by most people, and not even members of the Y¨­u n would be able to ept such a thing."

    Undying Yushan just stared at Big Sis in a daze.

    Big Sis stared back at the man with cold eyes that fully expressed her contempt for him.

    "I can say nothing at all if it was the majestic Progenitor Y¨­u herself who moved against me. There¡¯s really nothing to say at all." Undying Yushan smiled wryly. His body had been pierced by the beams of light, and even his stellr energy vortex had been shattered, so he had no strength remaining.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and dismissed most of the people from the Y¨­u n. Only a few people were allowed to remain.

    "Royal Uncle, we can talk now." Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he stared at Undying Yushan. There were just too many questions, and the two had not even exchanged more than a few words when they had seen each otherst in Aeternus Kingdom.

    Undying Yushan let out a long breath. "Don''t call me Royal Uncle. The truth is that the Great Yu Empire never had a King Zishan at all."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What do you mean?"

    Undying Yushanughed as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. "I founded the Great Yu Empire, and everything was given to the Yu family. In that situation, where did the Zishan familye from? The so-called ¡®King Zishan¡¯ was nothing more than a pawn that I created. The Undying Duo was never anything more than a cover-up."

    "So you knew from the very beginning that I wasn¡¯t really a descendant of King Zishan?" This was surprising information.

    Undying Yushanughed. "Of course!"

    "Then why let me get away with it?" Lu Yin really did not understand.

    Even Big Sis was surprised to learn that Lu Yin''s fake identity as a descendant of King Zishan had been exposed from the beginning. That was something that she and her crew had arranged in order to give Lu Yin a smooth path for his initial stages of cultivation. They had never expected that the path did not exist at all.

    Undying Yushan swayed once more, and blood leaked from his abdomen.

    Lu Yin waved a hand and caused a chair to appear behind the wounded man. Undying Yushan was not polite, and he immediately sat down. He then looked over at Big Sis andughed. "What an incredible honor! I¡¯m allowed to sit in front of Progenitor Y¨­u."

    "Why did you even allow me to stick around? Not only did you give me resources and validate my false identity, but you also eventually gave me the Yu Secret Art. Why?" Lu Yin asked. He was really struggling to believe what he was hearing. If anyone could have foreseen Lu Yin¡¯s future so clearly, it would never have been Undying Yushan, but rather Destiny herself.

    The older man¡¯s face grew increasingly pale, and it looked like he was visibly aging before everyone¡¯s eyes. "It was just an act. A y that I directed for everyone to watch, and the Yu Secret Art was the grand finale. How would everyone believe me dead if I didn¡¯t pass on the Yu Secret Art to someone?¡±

    "Originally, the entire reason why I faked my death was to make it more convenient to find something, and I only cooperated with the Aeternals in order to find more puppets." At this point in his story, Undying Yushan looked up at Lu Yin, and his eyes flickered. "I truly never expected you to improve so quickly. You took just twenty years to conquer both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and you even managed to be the most influential person in the entire Fifth Maind.

    "After ckless God sought you out, your value only rose higher, and from that point on, you became my greatest treasure and bargaining piece, all because I was able to control you, hahahaha! Honestly, I never dreamed that a character in a script that I wrote would rise up to be my most valuable pawn, hahahaha."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Then what about Wendy? Is she also another of your pawns?"

    Undying Yushanughed. "She really is my daughter. No matter what heights I might have reached, she can do the same in the future. I would never treat her badly."

    "But you also don''t care about her feelings at all. Your death was a huge blow for her." Lu Yin could not resist defending Wendy. He was immediately reminded of how Wendy Yushan had once told him that he was her only surviving family member in the entire universe. While the young woman had always acted calm andposed, Lu Yin knew that Undying Yushan¡¯s death was a scar in Wendy¡¯s heart.

    Undying Yushan shook his head. "Time is merciless, and untold billions of years pass in a blink of an eye. How many incredible people have been born over the course of time? How much value can something as minor as familial affection hold?"

    Lu Yin stared at Undying Yushan, but he could see no regret in the man¡¯s eyes. Lu Yin had no intention of sharing these details with Wendy. "So what¡¯s the deal with the Undying Manual?"

    Undying Yushan looked over at Big Sis. "Doesn¡¯t Progenitor Y¨­u know about that?"

    Big Sis snorted coldly. "No."

    Once again, Undying Yushan was surprised. "You created the Undying Manual. How do you not know?"

    Lu Yin stared at Undying Yushan. "I''m the one asking you about this, Undying Yushan."

    The man looked away from Big Sis and back at Lu Yin. "I can tell you or not, but first tell me why I should tell you anything."

    "I¡¯m curious," Lu Yin said tly.

    A fresh sharpness flickered in Undying Yushan¡¯s eyes. "That¡¯s all?"

    "That¡¯s right," Lu Yin said.

    "You don¡¯t want to train in the technique yourself?" Undying Yushan was truly shocked. This was a power that had been created by Progenitor Y¨­u. Everyone should be drawn to it.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s mouth. "How do you think the God of Deathpares to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    Undying Yushan was taken aback, andplicated emotions flickered through his eyes. "True, the God of Death was even more powerful than Progenitor Y¨­u, and you¡¯ve inherited the God of Death¡¯s power. On top of that, you¡¯re a direct descendant of the Lu family, which also controlled one of the Three Realms Six Dao. How could you be tempted by the Undying Manual? I¡¯m overthinking things."

    "Little Seven, what¡¯s that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on me?" Big Sis gave Lu Yin a very dangerous look, stunning him for a moment. Right, he had forgotten, but Progenitor Y¨­u was actually right behind him.

    He stiffly turned around and offered a weak smile. "Big Sis, don''t listen to his nonsense! I was trying to say that the God of Death was someone on your level, and since I¡¯ve already inherited his power, I¡¯m not really drawn to the Undying Manual. I¡¯m absolutely not looking down on you."

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin for a moment before looking back at Undying Yushan. "Do you practice the Impious Sutra or the Undying Manual?"

    "The Undying Manual."

    "But you clearly have the Impious Sutra¡¯s energy inside your body!" Big Sis shouted sharply.

    Lu Yin looked back at Undying Yushan; was the Impious Sutra able to enter a person¡¯s body?

    Undying Yushan''s expression did not change in the slightest. "It seems that you really are Progenitor Y¨­u, if you can even see my Impious Sutra. Yes, you¡¯re right. Originally, I was just an average heir to the Yu family, and if I didn¡¯t have the Impious Sutra¡¯s energy enter my body, I would have never been able to practice the Undying Manual, though that came alongter."

    "What¡¯s this about the Impious Sutra entering a person¡¯s body? Isn''t the Impious Sutra some kind of battle technique?" Lu Yin looked over and asked Big Sis.

    The woman¡¯s expression grew ugly. "The Impious Sutra was originally a kind of power that could be transferred, but that¡¯s changed. Right now, every member of the Y¨­u n has the Impious Sutra¡¯s energy nourishing inside them. Undying Yushan here isn¡¯t the sole host of the Impious Sutra¡ªhe¡¯s just one of many, and he¡¯s only been a host for a short while."

    The members of the Y¨­u n who were still present nced at each other. Was this why they had always felt like someone was watching their family? So it actually had nothing to do with Undying Yushan, as how old was the man? On top of that, he was not even the sole host.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped as he stared at Undying Yushan.

    The older man stared right back at Lu Yin. "Disappointed?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Ever since he had started to suspect that Undying Yushan had not truly died until now, he had seen hints of the man¡¯s existence from time to time. Every time that happened, Lu Yin had wanted to find the man¡¯s true body. Lu Yin had finally done so, only to discover that Undying Yushan was actually being controlled by another power.

 Chapter 2151: Three Items

    Chapter 2151: Three Items

    "The Impious Sutra is a very strange power," Undying Yushan slowly exined as madness darkened his eyes. He suddenly seemedpletely different from the refined emperor that Lu Yin had met years before. "I don''t know if it¡¯s conscious, but it is able to alter a person¡¯s subconscious and shift their thinking, guiding them to do things that should have been impossible for them to even consider previously. It can even force someone to unconsciously search for something.¡±

    "I spent many years searching through Frostwave Weave. In fact, the Great Yu Empire was founded because of the Impious Sutra. However, I was unable to find what I sought. In order to draw more attention, I controlled a puppet and called him Undying Zishan. I controlled that puppet and had him risk his life in the Starfall Sea, and then I spread lies that the two of us had found the Undying Manual. While I thought that all of these thoughts and actions were my own, it¡¯s very possible that I was being controlled and guided by the Impious Sutra."

    Undying Yushan looked at Lu Yin. "There are too many strange creatures in this universe, and it¡¯s not impossible for the Impious Sutra to have actually gained its own form of life or consciousness. You should ask Progenitor Y¨­u how she created that technique in the first ce."

    "How do I know that what you¡¯re saying right now isn¡¯t because you¡¯re being manipted by the Impious Sutra?" Lu Yin shot back.

    Undying Yushan shook his head. "The Impious Sutra inside of me has already been suppressed."

    Big Sis spoke up, "I suppressed the Impious Sutra, not only in his body, but also in the bodies of everyone in the Y¨­u n. If I hadn¡¯t, it¡¯s quite likely that we¡¯d be hearing a different story from him."

    Lu Yin was more than a bit incredulous at the story he was being told. "A battle technique can evolve into a lifeform?"

    "Nothing¡¯s impossible," Big Sis replied.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from asking a rather pointed question, "Big Sis, why did you even create such a thing? If a battle technique can gain consciousness and spread from one person to another, then isn¡¯t it no different from a gue that can¡¯t be eliminated?"

    Big Sis¡¯s brow furrowed. "Are you ming me?"

    Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. "No, of course not. I was just asking out of curiosity."

    Big Sis looked back at Undying Yushan. "I''m also curious about something¡ªwhat did the Impious Sutra manipte you into unconsciously searching for?"

    Lu Yin jumped in, "You started creeping around Earth. Was that because you were looking for something there?"

    Undying Yushan nodded. "I can''t live any longer, so I¡¯ll just tell you everything that I want to say. All I hope is that you¡¯ll find the Impious Sutra. That thing¡¯s ruined my entire life!"

    The injured man¡¯s speech was bing increasingly clear. The Impious Sutra had indeed been suppressed, and its influence on Undying Yushan was fading. At this moment, the true Undying Yushan was speaking.

    Despite that, he still made no mention of Wendy. In the man¡¯s heart, revenge was more important than his daughter.

    The fact that the man wanted revenge on a battle technique sounded absurd, but at this moment, no one who heard Undying Yushan¡¯s request felt anything wrong with his words. This battle technique spread like a cancer.

    "I don''t even know when it started. It should have been right after the Impious Sutra entered my body, or maybe when I became an Explorer. Somewhere around that time, a desire to find something blossomed in my mind. The desire grew and lingered like an addiction that eventually consumed me. I could not wait to leave the region that became the Great Yu Empire, and then I felt an irresistible push to search through all of Frostwave Weave for those things.

    "I don''t know where those things came from, or even what use they possess. All I know is that I must find them, even if it costs me my life!" As Undying Yushan spoke, his voice grew louder and more manic. It was clear that just sharing what he had experienced was causing his mind to be chaotic.

    Lu Yin nced over at Big Sis, but she just shook her head. "Listen to him¡ªhe¡¯s not in control of himself anymore. Even though I was able to suppress the Impious Sutra, my question just triggered its control of him. Listen to everything he says, as he¡¯s about to run out of time."

    Lu Yin looked back at Undying Yushan, not sure of his own emotions.

    Undying Yushan''s eyes had lost all focus as he continued to recount his struggles of searching for something. "I went through Northcastle Weave, Darkmist Weave, and Grandtop Weave. I went through them all, taking control of tens of thousands of people as I searched one after another, but I never managed to find it. I eventually realized that the more time passed without being able to find it, the stronger the urge grew. By myself, I was limited in what I could aplish, so I decided to get more people to help.

    "I revealed the Undying Manual, and that drew in many powerful people and organizations from across the universe, and then I used their resources to find everything unusual in Frostwave Weave. Finally, one day-" At this moment, Undying Yushan suddenly looked at Lu Yin once more. "You arrived, and you brought with you information about Earth, a small with an unusual history. Not only that, but its history is actually fabricated, a story put together by historians and other people.

    "In a strange cycle, Earth''s civilizations are wiped out. However, it remains the home of an exceptionallyrge number of primeval surnames, and a shocking number of cultivators from Earth awaken innate gifts. Nothing is right or normal on that, and there¡¯s even a secret organization known as the Hidden Earth Society. Nothing about the ce was normal, so I started focusing on Earth.

    "But- but I still haven''t found anything! Earth to be seems the most likely ce, and they should be there, they have to be!¡­"

    "What are you searching for?" Lu Yin suddenly shouted, startling everyone present.

    Undying Yushan blurted out, "Three things! A sword, a bead, and another item that I don''t even know what it is!"

    Right then, the man spat out a mouthful of blood, and the madness faded from his eyes. His eyes grew clear, but the light in them dimmed. It was clear that the man was about to die.

    Lu Yin frowned. A sword? And a bead? On Earth? What''s so special about Earth? I mean, sure, there¡¯s a lot, but the most unique thing has to be¡­ Jiang Chen!

    While at first look Jiang Chen looked to be about the same age as Lu Yin, and even had a simr level of cultivation, the man was able to urately and quickly travel between parallel universes. If not for Jiang Chen, Lu Yin really would not have been able to deal with the giant astral beast that looked like a praying mantis.

    Jiang Chen only appeared on Earth, and he even imed that Earth was his home, but Lu Yin was certain that the Earth that Jiang Chen was referring to was one in a parallel universe.

    The fact that Jiang Chen had also taken that giant praying mantis to be his father¡¯s pet indicated that his father was quite powerful.

    It was possible that the three items that Undying Yushan had been searching for were not on the Earth that Lu Yin knew, but rather on one in a parallel universe. Of course, that was nothing more than spection on Lu Yin¡¯s part. Frostwave Weave was absolutely massive, but since that was where Undying Yushan had focused his search, it seemed that what he had been searching for was likely within that area.

    "Find the Impious Sutra and destroy it! Get rid of it!" The light in Undying Yushan''s eyes was quickly fading, but his hatred did not dim at all. Even at the moment of his death, all he could think about was getting revenge on the Impious Sutra.

    The Impious Sutra had not given Undying Yushan the status and strength he had desired, but had instead controlled him like a puppet just like how Undying Yushan had controlled Undying Zishan. This was what caused the man to absolutely hate the Impious Sutra beyond anything else.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he stared at the hatred Undying Yushan spouted even as he died. Lu Yin bent over and leaned in to whisper in the man¡¯s ear, "Wendy has an innate gift of time."

    The dying man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. The hatred that had filled his eyes waspletely gone, and instead they zed with excitement and hope. Time was a truly unique innate gift, and Wendy would be invincible once she managed to control it fully. "Really?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Undying Yushanughed, though it caused him to cough up more blood. He continued a loud cackle, "She¡¯ll be the one to carry out my wish, hahahaha!"

    With a final cough of blood, the man finally died.

    Lu Yin could not stand seeing Undying Yushan die. He had not wanted the man to die, lost in his hatred, without even thinking of his daughter, as that was just too pitiful for Wendy. No matter what, Undying Yushan had provided Lu Yin with a great deal of assistance and helped him have an easier time when he first started cultivating.

    That was a kindness that Lu Yin had to repay.

    The saddest thing in a person''s life was not revenge itself, but rather how after they got their revenge, their life would be empty. They would find themselves without even family by their side.

    Lu Yin already had no intention of sharing what had happened here with Wendy Yushan. It would be better for her to believe that her father had died long ago.

    Y¨­u Lao motioned to Y¨­u Kexin, and the woman stepped forward to take away the corpse.

    However, Big Sis looked over and snapped, "Don''t touch it!"

    Right then, everyone watched as a mass of energy rose up from Undying Yushan''s body. It churned and twisted as it slowly rose further into the air. It looked like a human face, and it even had eyes. It had the exact same appearance as Undying Yushan.

    "Little Seven, do you want that? It can improve your spiritual force a great deal," Big Sis offered.

    Lu Yin refused. This mass of energy looked like Undying Yushan, and absorbing it would be too disturbing. Even though Lu Yin knew that he needed to improve his spiritual force, he had the time to do that without resorting to this.

    He had already seen remnants of spiritual force emerge from Liuying Zishan, which was only to be expected, as that energy was from Undying Yushan¡¯s Undying Manual that was used to control people. This energy that had emerged from Undying Yushan¡¯s corpse was a moreplete version of what Lu Yin had seen emerge from Liuying Zishan. Lu Yin suspected that what he was looking at might have already acquired its own consciousness.

    Undying Yushan had controlled a multitude of people with the Undying Manual, but his own body had been the host for the Impious Sutra, though the battle technique had no physical form itself. It was something that Lu Yin struggled to understand.

    However, just because Lu Yin did not want to absorb the remnant spiritual force did not mean that no one else wanted it. For example, Kui Luo.

    The old man had arrived after sensing the surge of energy from Big Sis, and he had been watching everything take ce from just beyond the Y¨­u n¡¯s territory, just like Destina and Lu Buzheng.

    All three of the Semi-Progenitors had heard Undying Yushan¡¯s final words.

    After seeing the energy rise up from Undying Yushan''s body, Kui Luo quickly appeared and grabbed hold of the spiritual force. "You might not want it, but an old man like me won¡¯t say no."

    He then proceeded to absorb the spiritual force that had emerged from Undying Yushan¡¯s corpse with a strange smile.

    Lu Yin quickly asked, "Big Sis, he¡¯s not going to be controlled by the Undying Manual, right?"

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. "Do you really think that I would offer you something if it was dangerous?"

    Lu Yin realized that this was quite true after a moment¡¯s thought.

    Kui Luo sneered. "Kid, who do you think I am? Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯ve also trained with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra."

    It was only then that Lu Yin remembered. The entire reason why Kui Luo had be so powerful and been able to get away with so much in the Perennial World was because he had practiced the Origin Sutra. Truthfully, Kui Luo was almost as powerful as the ancient gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    In the past, it had been Lu Yin¡¯s confidence in the Origin Sutra that had allowed him to be so confident about resisting Undying Yushan¡¯s control.

    "Speaking of this, I''ve never even heard of a technique that can control people like this." Kui Luo looked over at Big Sis. This woman was Progenitor Y¨­u, an ancient powerhouse in the flesh.

    Kui Luo then looked at Lu Yin again, and the mirror by his side. That mirror held Progenitor Smoke. Why were more and more Progenitors from ancient eras suddenly popping up? Were there going to be more?

    The old man suddenly felt that things were spinning out of control and that he needed to quickly change his ways. If not, he would suffer the same life in the Fifth Maind as he had in the Perennial World, and he might end up with no way to survive even in the Fifth Maind.

    After Kui Luo left, Lu Buzheng and Destina did the same.

    Lu Yin burned Undying Yushan¡¯s body, and Big Sis worked to erase the Impious Sutra from the bodies of everyone in the Y¨­u n.

    After everything else was finished, the members of the Y¨­u n were finally given a turn to speak.

    Y¨­u Lao stared at Big Sis, and respectfully asked, "You- are you really Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    The members of the Y¨­u n had not believed it at first, but they had just witnessed everything leading up to and surrounding Undying Yushan¡¯s death. After all that, it became a bit difficult not to believe this woman was Progenitor Y¨­u. Who else could take away the Y¨­u Secret Art and have their cultivation instantly rise several levels? How else could this woman have been able to control Undying Yushan so easily?

    Big Sis just nodded. At this moment, her appearance should be that of the original Progenitor Y¨­u. "You aren¡¯t my descendants."

    Y¨­u Lao and the others were astonished, and Y¨­u Keyan could not stop herself from saying, "But we are Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s descendants!"

    Big Sis replied, "Even if I don¡¯t have my memories from my time as Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and am essentially living a new life, I¡¯m still absolutely certain that I didn¡¯t have any children. I have no idea what happened to your family that allowed you to inherit my Y¨­u Secret Art, but I took that back just now."

 Chapter 2152: Immemorial

    Chapter 2152: Immemorial

    The expressions of Y¨­u Lao and the others from the Y¨­u n grew ugly at that moment. They had just been considering whether Big Sis could really be Progenitor Y¨­u, but she had already taken the Y¨­u Secret Art away from them. Even if they ignored the matter of Big Sis¡¯s identity, the Y¨­u Secret Art was an inheritance that their n had passed down for countless years, and they had just lost it. Even worse, the person who had taken it from then did not even recognize them as family.

    "If you are not our ancestor, then please return the Y¨­u Secret Art to our Y¨­u n," Y¨­u Kexin stated coldly as she stared at Big Sis.

    Y¨­u Keyan quickly snapped in a low voice, "Kexin, don''t be ridiculous."

    Y¨­u Kexin continued to stare straight at Big Sis without any sign of fear.

    Big Sisughed in a teasing manner, and then she suddenly stretched out a hand to touch Y¨­u Kexin''s chin. Y¨­u Kexin reflexively backed up while warily watching Big Sis.

    "Little girl, you¡¯re quite daring. What if I don''t return it?" Big Sis teased.

    Lu Yin was speechless. This arrogant, bullying attitude had to be something that Big Sis had learned while part of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Y¨­u Kexin grew angry, and her face flushed red.

    Y¨­u Lao coughed, drawing Big Sis¡¯s attention to himself. "Many people over the years have tried to steal my Y¨­u n''s secret technique, but without the blood of my n, it was impossible for any of them to seed. This secret technique is passed on by blood. Ancestor, we clearly share the same bloodline."

    Big Sis sneered. "That¡¯s up to me."

    Lu Yin could not tolerate what he was seeing any longer. The Y¨­u n was being very submissive and deferential, and this was even after they had lost the Y¨­u Secret Art. Lu Yin felt like Big Sis was just bullying them.

    "Big Sis, are you sure that they aren¡¯t your- no, that they aren¡¯t Progenitor Y¨­u¡¯s descendants?"

    Big Sis replied, "If I say that they¡¯re not, then they¡¯re not. I¡¯m still a young woman with her virtue intact, so how could they be my descendants?"

    "I agree." A voice suddenly spoke up from the back. Progenitor Smoke had entered the conversation.

    Lu Yin was speechless. How was he supposed to respond to such confidence?

    Progenitor Smoke nced over everyone present. "The higher one¡¯s strength, the stronger their intuition. If she really shared the same blood as all of you, then she would absolutely be able to sense it. You truly are not her descendants."

    "Then how do you exin how she was able to take the Y¨­u Secret Art from us?" Y¨­u Keyan asked.

    Progenitor Smoke exined, "What you¡¯ve referred to as a bloodline inheritance is actually nothing more than a great power of someone from the past. It¡¯s a power that¡¯s on apletely different level, likely from a Progenitor. However, if a stronger power is able to overwhelm it, then that¡¯s not proof that she carries the same bloodline as your Y¨­u n."

    "Senior, you look very kind-hearted. Have we met before?" Y¨­u Lao stared at Progenitor Smoke as he asked this question. The woman had not revealed herself even once after Lu Yin had entered the Y¨­u n¡¯s territory. This was the first time that anyone had seen her.

    Y¨­u Keyan and Y¨­u Kexin both stared at Progenitor Smoke as well. "She looks very familiar."

    Big Sis sneered. "What? Do you want totch on to someone else now? She¡¯s Progenitor Smoke. Why? Do you want to im to be her descendants now? She¡¯s also a pure woman, so don¡¯t try to smear her reputation."

    Progenitor Smoke silently agreed with Big Sis¡¯s usation.

    "Progenitor Smog? Progenitor Smoke from ancient times?" Y¨­u Lao eximed.

    Progenitor Smoke was caught off guard. "You actually know my other name?"

    Y¨­u Lao grew increasingly excited. "You really are Progenitor Smoke! This junior greets Progenitor Smoke!"

    "We greet Progenitor Smoke." Y¨­u Keyan and Y¨­u Kexin both got down on their knees at the same time.

    Big Sis grew upset. "Hey! You guys didn¡¯t get this excited when you thought that I was your ancestor? What¡¯s the deal? Are you looking down on your ancestor?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, as he could understand the perspective of Y¨­u Lao and the other two. Progenitor Smoke had controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Daosource Sect era, and her existence was an epted fact. On the other hand, Progenitor Y¨­u came from a much, much more distant time, and people struggled to ept such legends as true.

    Besides the fact that Big Sis had refused to acknowledge the Y¨­u n as her family, they also struggled to genuinely ept the existence of a being as ancient as Progenitor Y¨­u.

    This was simr to seeing a video of Arch-Elder Zen instead of seeing him in person on Mt. Microcosms. Meeting a true powerhouse that one had always looked up to in the flesh just felt like a dream.

    "How do you know of me?" Progenitor Smoke was rather confused by the three people¡¯s reaction.

    Y¨­u Lao was still excited as he lifted his head. "My Y¨­u n had a painting that matches your appearance perfectly. It¡¯s a picture of Senior Progenitor Smoke."

    This was shocking news to Progenitor Smoke. "A picture? Show me."

    Y¨­u Lao suddenly grew embarrassed. "Well, that picture was damaged when our family moved."

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes.

    "Who made the portrait? An ancestor of your Y¨­u n?" Lu Yin asked.

    Y¨­u Lao replied, "Yes! Her name was Y¨­u Xiaojing."

    Y¨­u Xiaojing? Lu Yin nced over at Progenitor Smoke. They had just talked about that person.

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "So she did it. Why would she draw a picture of me?"

    Y¨­u Lao answered, "That¡¯s something that we don¡¯t know, but we always kept that portrait safe. Unfortunately, when the Aeternals invaded and we were forced to escape to the Honor Zone, many of our n¡¯s possessions were lost or destroyed. The same thing happened again when the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate forced us away from Progenitor Chen''s Mausoleum."

    "It probably wasn¡¯t a good thing that that woman painted my portrait," Progenitor Smoke muttered to herself.

    Y¨­u Kexin looked up at Progenitor Smoke, and begged, "Senior, please help my Y¨­u n for the sake of Ancestor Xiaojing!"

    Big Sis¡¯s brow furrowed when she heard this.

    Progenitor Smoke nced over at Big Sis before looking back at Y¨­u Kexin. "She should indeed be Progenitor Y¨­u, but what she said is urate: you don¡¯t share her blood. That¡¯s a matter between her and you, and I don¡¯t have any intention of getting involved."

    Y¨­u Lao''s expression grew ugly, and he could not stop himself from looking over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt quite embarrassed. The Y¨­u n had weed him openly and warmly when they had arrived unannounced, and yet his small group had first stolen the Y¨­u Secret Art away, and then Big Sis refused to acknowledge the n as her descendants. It really looked like Lu Yin had stopped by just to pick on the Y¨­u n.

    "Head on out for now. We need to talk," Lu Yin said.

    Y¨­u Kexin shot a reluctant look back at Big Sis again.

    A smile spread across Big Sis''s face, and her fingers curled up. She suddenly said, "I''ll tell you what, if you have one of your women marry this kid, we¡¯ll be family. It doesn¡¯t matter if he shares my blood or not."

    Y¨­u Kexin started to lose her patience.

    Y¨­u Lao had no option but to take Y¨­u Keyan, Y¨­u Kexin, and theatose Y¨­u Ye''er out from their n¡¯s main hall. The times had changed, and they were no longer part of the Court of Seven Names that had controlled the entire southern region of the Neoverse. Even if the Seven Courts had not been disbanded, they could notpare to Lu Yin¡¯s current status. Even Xia Ji had been made his prisoner.

    At this time, it was clear that they were living in Lu Yin¡¯s shadow.

    After everyone from the Y¨­u n left, Lu Yin gave Big Sis a helpless look. "Big Sis, even if they don¡¯t share your blood, can¡¯t you be a bit gentler when speaking to them? You took their n¡¯s secret technique away, which has been passed down within their family for countless generations as their greatest inheritance."

    Big Sis was unfazed. "It''s best to make things clear right now so that they don¡¯t try to rely on me in an emergency."

    "In that case, have you ever considered why they were able to inherit the Y¨­u Secret Art? It¡¯s possible that their ancestors were your most trusted confidantes, or even your disciples, which is how they were able to inherit the secret technique," Lu Yin suggested.

    "It''s also possible that their ancestor was a disciple who betrayed their master and stole the Y¨­u Secret Art," Progenitor Smoke countered.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. It was not that he was necessarily eager to help the Y¨­u n, but they had been abandoned like orphans or a widow. Y¨­u Lao would not live for much longer, and their situation was quite pitiful. On top of that, they were Lu Yin¡¯s people.

    In the past, the Y¨­u n had been part of the monster that was the Seven Courts, but they had felt as though someone was spying on them at all times. That had been the power of the Impious Sutra. While that insidious sense of being watched was now gone, so was the power and influence of the Seven Courts. On top of that, the Y¨­u Secret Art had been taken away. The Y¨­u n truly seemed to have suffered repeated setbacks.

    "Little Seven, do you just feel bad for the Y¨­u n? Or have you taken a fancy to one of their girls? If that¡¯s what it is, then your sister will acknowledge the entire n as my descendants, and with that, they¡¯ll have to obey their ancestor. Even if it isn¡¯t just one, you can take all the women from this Y¨­u n. I¡¯ll give them all to you," Big Sis¡¯s voice suddenly grew teasing.

    Progenitor Smoke looked over at Lu Yin with renewed interest.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. He frequently suffered from the same issue when speaking with Big Sis. "Big Sis, I¡¯ll handle my rtionships myself."

    "Hmph! Even after all these years, I still haven¡¯t seen you bring a single girl back to meet your big sister! Honestly, this is something that even the captain¡¯s started to think about. He¡¯s even said that if too much time passes, he¡¯ll personally help you out and order all the pirates throughout the universe to help you find a girl you like so that you can get married." Big Sis¡¯s threat sounded terrifying.

    Lu Yin blinked. Was that even possible?

    "Finding a partner to marry is a good thing. I¡¯ll help out with that, too," Progenitor Smoke offered with a smile.

    Lu Yin waved them away with a hand. "Alright, enough gossip."

    He grew serious as he looked at Big Sis. "Big Sis, have you just regained a bit of Progenitor Y¨­u¡¯s strength, or are you Progenitor Y¨­u herself again? Do you have any memories from Progenitor Y¨­u?"

    Big Sis also grew somber. "After absorbing the Y¨­u Secret Art, it feels like I really have be a different person. For starters, my body''s stabilized and won¡¯t keep changing anymore. While I don¡¯t have any memories of being Progenitor Y¨­u, there are certain things that have be clear to me. One example is that I know that the Y¨­u n are not my descendants, and another is that I can sense the Impious Sutra in people¡¯s bodies."

    "So you are both Progenitor Y¨­u, and not Progenitor Y¨­u." Progenitor Smoke fell into thought as well.

    Big Sis nodded.

    Lu Yin found this to be a pity. "I was hoping to be able to learn more about Progenitor Y¨­u and that era, but unfortunately, that seems impossible."

    Big Sis suddenlymented, "Even if I don¡¯t have any memories, there¡¯s one word that¡¯s burned so deeply into my mind that I would be able to remember it even if everything else turned to ash."

    Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke both turned to stare at Big Sis.

    She nodded solemnly as she said, "Immemorial."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Immemorial?"

    "Immemorial Citadel," Progenitor Smoke finished with a solemn expression.

    Lu Yin remembered hearing about the Immemorial Citadel before. Mister Mu had mentioned that he expected his disciples to grow strong enough to eventually be able to enter the Immemorial Citadel, where they would qualify to walk beside certain people. However, Lu Yin really did not understand what that meant.

    "What is the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis looked confused. "I only remember the word Immemorial. I don¡¯t know anything about the Immemorial Citadel, and that name doesn¡¯t sound familiar to me at all."

    Progenitor Smoke thought back to what she remembered. "The first time I heard of the Immemorial Citadel was when Senior Lu Tianyi mentioned it. However, he just mentioned the name and nothing else. That was when I was still a Semi-Progenitor and had just received the inheritance of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The second time I heard of the Immemorial Citadel, it was from Old Fu."

    "The Rune Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "He said something about how it was possible that we would one day meet in the Immemorial Citadel, and then he just walked away. I asked him about itter, but he wouldn¡¯t say anything more. When I brought it upter to Xia Shang, Ku Jie, and a few others, they didn¡¯t say anything, but rather acted like I should already know. I also asked Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and even Hui Wen, but none of them seemed to have ever heard of the name.¡±

    "Thest time I heard the Immemorial Citadel be mentioned was when I was torturing a corpse king to death," Progenitor Smoke''s expression grew more and more serious as she continued, saying, "I didn¡¯t actually pay too much attention to the Immemorial Citadel before that, even if I was a bit curious. No one would say anything to me, so I didn¡¯t really press the matter, but that all changed when the corpse king mentioned it. It was thest thing that the creature uttered before death.¡±

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression grewplicated. "It said, ''You¡¯re so lucky that you don''t have to go to the Immemorial Citadel.'' That was thest thing it said before dying."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "So, is the Immemorial Citadel an actual city?"

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head, as she did not know for sure herself. "Judging by the name, it should be."

 Chapter 2153: Compensation

    Chapter 2153: Compensation

    "How do even you not know?" Lu Yin was truly surprised. Progenitor Smoke controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which meant that she was someone who essentially stood at the very peak of all of humanity. Despite that, even she barely knew anything about the Immemorial Citadel.

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "All of those guys hid what they knew so well that I couldn¡¯t get anything from them, but I definitely wasn¡¯t the only one who didn¡¯t know. Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and Hui Wen certainly didn''t know anything either."

    "Are you sure?" Lu Yin found this hard to believe. Even if no one mentioned anything to him, Progenitor Hui''s intelligence was not something that people could fathom or see through.

    Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin a sharp look. "Are you questioning my ability to read people?"

    "Not at all," Lu Yin quickly denied, "Senior¡¯s ability to see through people should cover even the tiniest details, so even Progenitors wouldn¡¯t be able to hide things from you. How could I possibly doubt you? I just find this whole matter confusing. It¡¯s quite strange."

    Progenitor Smoke loved to hear peoplepliment her, and the more exaggerated thepliment was, the better.

    Wait, the two women keeping mepany right now are not easy for anyone to get along with. One¡¯s an uncultured brute of a pirate, while the other needs to be praised until you¡¯re blue in the face¡­

    "Progenitor Y¨­u left a memory of the word ¡®Immemorial¡¯ behind, and I¡¯ve heard the Immemorial Citadel be mentioned on three separate asions. It would seem that it is not a simple ce, and if Xia Shang and the others aren¡¯t dead, then they might be there." Progenitor Smoke started voicing some guesses.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. It looked like trying to roll six pips on his die had be a priority. Given his current strength, he should be able to Possess six-tribtion powerhouses, which would give him ess to more knowledge than ever. However, there was no chance that six-tribtion experts would know anything about the Immemorial Citadel if even Progenitor Smoke knew nothing.

    "I''m heading out." Big Sis nodded.

    "Big Sis, where are you going? Back to the Divining Heavenly Gate?"

    "I¡¯m going to search for the Impious Sutra," Big Sis replied in a low tone.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Will you be able to find it?"

    "Bullshit! I can sense anyone infected with the Impious Sutra within a certain range, and I¡¯ll be able to track them all down!"

    "That¡¯ll be dangerous." Lu Yin started to worry.

    Big Sis shook her head. "How could a battle technique that I created threaten me? I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry. I can take care of myself. After all, it¡¯s just a battle technique."

    "But it can control people."

    "There¡¯s no one under the Semi-Progenitor realm who can threaten me, and which Semi-Progenitor would actually dare to attack me? Don''t worry so much." Big Sis then took off immediately, and she headed to Earth. She was first going to check the ce that Undying Yushan had searched so thoroughly.

    With Big Sis gone, Lu Yin needed tofort the Y¨­u n a bit. He could not just run away after someone he had brought to visit the n had left with their secret technique.

    Even if the Y¨­u Secret Art belonged to Progenitor Y¨­u, it had been treated as the Y¨­u n¡¯s greatest inheritance for many, many years. Leaving without giving them any sort of payment orpensation would be devastating for the Y¨­u n, but it would be even worse for Lu Yin''s reputation. The Starsibyl Sect might not have followed Lu Yin, but he was still able to use them. On the other hand, the Y¨­u n had be one of Lu Yin¡¯s vassals, and he had to properly take care of them.

    These thoughts triggered a headache.

    The bestpensation for taking the n¡¯s secret technique away would be to give them another secret technique. Lu Yin considered the techniques that he personally used, but the Yu and Ce Secret Arts could not be thoughtlessly handed over to the Y¨­u n. On top of that, while Lu Yin had many high quality battle techniques, as far as the Y¨­u n was concerned, the value of those things paled inparison to the Y¨­u Secret Art that they had just lost.

    "Are you thinking about how topensate the Y¨­u n?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Lu Yin nodded with a wry smile. "The Y¨­u n came here from the Neoverse for me, and so I need to take care of them for my own reputation. Big Sis took the Y¨­u Secret Art from them, so I can¡¯t just leave them with nothing."

    "You can teach them Wei-Induction Technique," Progenitor Smoke offered.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman in surprise. "Senior, are you willing to teach them your Wei-Induction Technique?"

    Progenitor Smoke looked outside the main hall. "No matter what, I can be considered an old friend of their ancestor, and I have no heirs or disciples of my own. It¡¯s best to leave some things behind. Old Fu, Xia Shang, and the others all left behind some of their power, but that¡¯s not as easy for me to do. On top of Wei-Induction Technique, I can also let them learn Smoke Incarnations. Oh, I also have a secret technique of my own called Mistlock Tracking. I can teach them that as well."

    Lu Yin was delighted by the offer. "Thank you, Senior!"

    Progenitor Smoke started tough. "As far as these people are concerned, even all this together won¡¯tpare to the value of the Y¨­u Secret Art they lost."

    "No, from their point of view, instead of trying to protect their Y¨­u Secret Art, receiving the assistance of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas is much better," Lu Yin said.

    With this offer, everyone from the Y¨­u n knelt on the ground and thanked Progenitor Smoke for her kindness. If not for the woman¡¯s refusal, they would have dered themselves to all be her disciples. Truthfully, the Y¨­u Secret Art was of very little use to the n, and the inheritance of a genuine master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was undeniable. However, there was still a tinge of sadness as after being passed down for countless years, the Y¨­u Secret Art had be a symbol of the n¡¯s legacy.

    "I''m only teaching you all this because of that picture that you had. After all, I did know Y¨­u Xiaojing. She was an old friend. I just hope that you¡¯ll pass down enough of my strength that you won''t let me down," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Everyone from the Y¨­u n just thanked her again.

    Y¨­u Lao''s excitement was so intense that he actually exacerbated his own injuries. Progenitor Smoke¡¯s teachings had given the old man hope for the Y¨­u n¡¯s revival.

    They might have lost the Y¨­u Secret Art, but over the course of countless years, the Y¨­u Secret Art had never provided much benefit to the Y¨­u n. They might have acquired some battle techniques from the secret technique, but that was the extent of it. How could that bepared to a true inheritance from one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Furthermore, the n had even received another secret technique.

    "Senior, this junior has always wondered about just what a secret technique actually is," Lu Yin probed.

    Progenitor Smoke thought for a bit before giving a response. "After a person bes a Progenitor, they will have a strange resonance with the universe. It bes possible to meld your power in the universe, which allows for the creation of previously unimaginable abilities. That¡¯s what a secret technique is. Still, when Progenitors are fighting, secret techniques really don¡¯t amount to much, and they¡¯re usually developed for disciples or descendants to use. Basically, they¡¯re a means of a lifesaver."

    Lu Yin did not really understand, but he also did not try to struggle toprehend what Progenitor Smoke was saying. The truth was that, even when Semi-Progenitors fought, very few of them used secret techniques. They were a special form of power that were more useful the weaker a person was; as a person grew stronger, the effects of a secret technique would grow less and less exaggerated, until their effects were no longer considered miraculous.

    The excitement that Lu Yin had felt when he first received the Yu Secret Art no longer existed. Even when Progenitor Smoke had offered to teach Lu Yin her Mistlock Tracking, it had not roused any interest in him.

    Progenitor Smoke only took one day to teach the Y¨­u n''s powerhouses. She then left behind some records of Wei-Induction Technique, her secret technique, and some battle techniques for the n to use. Before Lu Yin left, Y¨­u Lao returned and asked Lu Yin to keep an eye on Big Sis. The Y¨­u n still refused to believe that they were not Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s descendants, and they would actually prefer to believe that Big Sis was not Progenitor Y¨­u.

    "Whether they¡¯re the descendants of Progenitor Y¨­u or not isn¡¯t really all that important. A family inheritance is certainly good to have, but there are people who have climbed to the peak from nothing. Ku Jie struggled a lot, and I also came from nothing. I never had any sort of family inheritance," Progenitor Smokemented after she and Lu Yin were moving through outer space once again.

    Lu Yin was carrying the mirror. "They don''t expect to actually get anything from Progenitor Y¨­u. Rather, they don¡¯t want to deny their ancestors¡¯ faith."

    "How pointless," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, and he looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, do you have a lot of treasures and power vessels?"

    Progenitor Smoke turned to stare at Lu Yin, her eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

    "I''m just asking. When this junior first attacked the fog in the mirror, every time I used a more powerful attack, you tossed out a treasure that matched the strength of my attacks, so I was just wondering how much you have."

    Progenitor Smoke opened her mouth to deny having such wealth, but Lu Yin continued, saying, "Given your status, you must have an entire collection! Since you controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, then forget Envoys and Semi-Progenitors¡ªeven other Progenitors must have sent you gifts, especially with the battle technique that you inherited from your Mountain. Your understanding of battle techniques has to exceed other people¡¯s, so there had to have been a lot of people asking for your help, right?"

    Progenitor Smoke opened her mouth and let out a small cough. "That''s true."

    Lu Yin''s eyes started to light up. "Do you have any Roots of Intelligence?"

    Progenitor Smoke once again opened her mouth to deny it, but Lu Yin just barreled on. "Of course you do. During your era, even Progenitor Hui must have needed to show you some respect."

    "Right again," Progenitor Smoke agreed. However, despite her arrogance, she started to grow a bit wary.

    "Would you be able to let this junior use two of your Roots of Intelligence?" Lu Yin''s eyes were positively glowing by this point.

    Progenitor Smoke prepared to refuse, but Lu Yin did not give her the opportunity to do so. "Of course you can. A senior as powerful and considerate as you would never care about something as minor as two little Roots of Intelligence."

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t want to."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he blinked at the woman next to him. "No? You don''t want to?"

    Progenitor Smoke snorted disdainfully. "Don''t try to trap me with sweet words. I¡¯ll tell you up front that I do have Roots of Intelligence, and definitely more than just two, but there¡¯s no way that I would lend you any, let alone give them to you or trade them away."

    "Roots of Intelligence can¡¯t possibly mean anything much to you, right?" Lu Yin pushed.

    Progenitor Smoke lifted her head high. "Even though that Hui Wen wasn¡¯t worth much in a fight, he was definitely smart, and he grew and developed these Roots of Intelligence. Back then, too many people wanted to get them from him, and the ones that I have, I stole."

    "You stole them from someone?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    "I stole them from Hui Wen! He wouldn¡¯t give me any when I asked for some, but who was he trying to kid? I just took them and left." Progenitor Smoke recounted her deeds proudly, like a child who had broken the rules.

    However, Lu Yin was not interested in how she had acquired them. "In that case, how many of the roots do you have? If you stole them from Progenitor Hui himself, you must have gotten quite a few."

    A smile appeared on Progenitor Smoke''s mouth. "I know that you''re trying to trick me. You¡¯re just the same as Hui Wen. I¡¯ll admit that I have quite a few, and I¡¯m even willing to trade them to you, but unfortunately for you, that doesn¡¯t mean anything, as you don¡¯t have anything that I need."

    As they spoke, the two returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had his own home within the sect, and it was a massive pce with stunningly beautiful scenery.

    Zhao Ran also lived there, and she spent much of her time growing numerous flowers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered when he thought of Zhao Ran. "Senior, please join me for some tea."

    "I said that I¡¯m willing to trade with you, but nothing else is going to work. Besides, I can¡¯t drink anything, as my real body is still trapped in the mirror¡¯s pocket dimension," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin did not reply, and instead just sat down and called out, "Zhao Ran, bring me some tea."

    "Ah, you¡¯ve returned, Your Highness! I¡¯ll be right there!" Zhao Ran''s happy voice echoed back. She was also in the flower garden.

    Progenitor Smoke nced around. "I can¡¯t wait for my body to get free. It feels so much better to enjoy things with a physical form."

    Lu Yin was still considering what he could trade for a Root of Intelligence. It was true that Progenitor Smoke really did not need anything, other than for her body to be freed from the fog. However, that was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities. Besides, even if he could do that, he would not trade his efforts for something like a Root of Intelligence.

    After all, Progenitor Smoke was trapped because she had been working to protect humanity by fighting against one of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings.

    Even after spending quite a while dwelling on the matter, Lu Yin still could note up with anything that he could exchange for a Root of Intelligence.

    Finally, Zhao Ran appeared, carrying a cup of tea that had a disturbing greenish hue. Lu Yin stared nkly. Had it been his imagination, or had the steam from the tea just formed a skull in the air? No matter what, this tea clearly looked like poison.

    "Oh, you have guests, Your Highness? I''ll go prepare another cup!" Zhao Ran hurried away as soon as she saw Progenitor Smoke, not even bothering to leave behind the tea that she had prepared for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at Progenitor Smoke, but the woman was still staring at where Zhao Ran had disappeared. Progenitor Smoke even rubbed her eyes beforementing in utter disbelief, "That- that girl? Why is she here? How is she still alive?"

    "Do you know Zhao Ran, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 2154: A Person From the Past With No Memory

    Chapter 2154: A Person From the Past With No Memory

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin with a rare expression of doubt. "Her name is still Zhao Ran?"

    "Do you know her, Senior?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Progenitor Smoke looked back at where Zhao Ran had left. The woman looked very confused, and she muttered to herself, "It shouldn''t be¡­ After so long, even if she¡¯s still alive, how could she have not changed at all? Could she have been kept in cryostasis? No, she¡¯s just an ordinary human, so that wouldn¡¯t work. There¡¯s no way for her to have lived for so long, but it¡¯s too strange. The looks and name arepletely identical, not to mention the tea that she just brewed¡­"

    "Senior?" Lu Yin called out.

    Progenitor Smoke looked back at Lu Yin. "Why is that woman here with you? Do you know who she is?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No. She told me that she¡¯s lost her memories, and I¡¯ve suffered from the same thing, so I took her in out of pity. Why? Have you seen her before, Senior?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "You might not believe this, but I saw her on Ku Jie¡¯s Mountain and Sea before."

    How could Lu Yin not believe Progenitor Smoke? He had also seen the same scene, and it was precisely because Lu Yin had seen Progenitor Ku with Zhao Ran that he had brought Progenitor Smoke to see Zhao Ran. Lu Yin was just hoping to get some confirmation that the two people separated by untold years were indeed the same person, and he was right.

    "What do you know about her?" Progenitor Smoke quickly asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Almost nothing. All I know is that her name is Zhao Ran and that she frequently loses her memories. She can even forget everything after just a single day and wake up knowing nothing at all. What about you, Senior? What do you know about her?"

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head as well. "I don''t know anything, but thest time I saw her, she brewed tea for Ku Jie, and she left a distinct impression on me."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m guessing that it was her tea that left an impression on you."

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. The teas she makes would leave an impression on anyone. They look like poison. I drank them every day I visited Ku Jie. I wonder if she lost her memories because of that poison." It became clear that Progenitor Smoke¡¯s train of thought was drifting.

    "It looks like you¡¯ve got the opportunity to reminisce a bit today, Senior," Lu Yin said with a smile. Zhao Ran walked back towards the two of them, this time holding two cups of tea. It was clear to see that the steam wafting off of them formed the image of a skull above each cup.

    Progenitor Smoke stared at the girl, as though trying to peer through her. It was pointless, because no matter how one looked at Zhao Ran, she was an ordinary human with nothing special about her at all. However, if that were actually true, then how could a normal person have lived so long without aging so much as a day? I really should have asked about this girl back then, but with the tea that she brought us, who paid any attention to her?

    Remembering the tea that Zhao Ran had prepared all those years ago, Progenitor Smoke looked down at her own teacup, and her eye twitched at the sight. Only an idiot would drink such a thing.

    Lu Yin took a sip. "It¡¯s delicious."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled to hear thepliment. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re exactly the same as Ku Jie. How can you drink this stuff?"

    "Senior, just have some. You shouldn¡¯t hurt the child¡¯s feelings," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. Child? Not even a god could guess this girl¡¯s age, and Progenitor Smoke finally realized that Zhao Ran might have possibly been an ancient existence even back when she had spent time with Ku Jie.

    "Zhao Ran, do you remember me?" Progenitor Smoke asked as she stared at Zhao Ran.

    Zhao Ran and Progenitor Smoke both stared at each other. After a moment, Zhao Ran blinked ,and a confused look appeared on her face before she shook her head. "I''m sorry, but I¡¯m rotten trash, so I forget a lot of things. Have we met before?"

    Progenitor Smoke gave the girl an odd look. Trash? Who had insulted her?

    "If we did meet before, could you please tell me what happened? Who am I?"

    Zhao Ran looked at Progenitor Smoke with anticipation covering her face, but the other woman just shook her head. "I don''t know. I just feel that you look very familiar."

    Zhao Ran practically started begging. "If we really did ever meet and you happen to remember, please tell me. I really want to find out who I am, where Ie from, and if I have any family. Thank you."

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "I understand. I¡¯ll tell you if I remember anything."

    "Thank you!" Zhao Ran answered with an earnest smile.

    She suddenly blinked as she noticed something. "Your tea is getting cold."

    Progenitor Smoke looked down at her tea. There was still steam forming a skull above the cup. It was clearly poison, and there was zero possibility of it being anything else. She nced over at Lu Yin, realizing that the man had to be insane if he drank such things.

    In an instant, Progenitor Smoke had disappeared, returning to the pocket dimension within the mirror.

    Zhao Ran was horribly confused. "Your Highness, where did your guest go?"

    "She left. Zhao Ran, you can have this tea yourself. She doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate such things," Lu Yin said.

    Zhao Ran responded gently. "It¡¯s a waste to not drink it. I worked hard brewing it."

    A short timeter, Zhao Ran left with the empty teacups, and Progenitor Smoke reappeared. "So she really doesn''t remember me."

    "Senior, this junior has decided what I would like to trade for your Roots of Intelligence," Lu Yin announced.

    Progenitor Smoke was intrigued. "Tell me, because I really don¡¯t need anything."

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "I remember you exining that you are able to create cultivators with a bit of your power, right?"

    "I can create Envoys. There¡¯s no need to bother trying to create weaklings," Progenitor Smoke corrected.

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Then, this junior believes that there¡¯s a battle technique that would suit you perfectly. It¡¯s called Blood Alchemy."

    "Blood Alchemy?" The name caught Progenitor Smoke off guard. "An odd name. It sounds like something that came from the Impious Sutra."

    Lu Yin had no idea where Blood Alchemy had originallye from, but it was possible that it hade from the Impious Sutra.

    He shared what Blood Alchemy was capable of with Progenitor Smoke, and the woman fell deep into thought.

    Her wei was able to rece the meridians within a human body, rece a stellr energy vortex, and if she regained her full strength, even a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. However, her power could not rece a person¡¯s blood, as it was just a form of energy. It was impossible to create something from nothing like the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight that could create a person from nothing at all.

    Regardless of how much Progenitor Smoke might brag about her self-created power, there were certain limits to it. Blood Alchemy was able to almost perfectlypensate for the deficiencies of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s unique power, and the fusion of the two might even provide her with the means of recing a person¡¯s blood to allow for a permanent creation.

    Progenitor Smoke continued to think about the possibilities, and as she fell deeper and deeper into thought, a strange power appeared around her and started to spread out. It wrapped around Lu Yin, and he saw countless illusions that showed him different scenes. The mostmon sight that he noticed was fog. Were these glimpses into Progenitor Smoke¡¯s thoughts?

    Lu Yin quickly moved back, and his pupils transformed into runes as he stared at Progenitor Smoke. He could see that there were not too many runes around her, and he realized that this should be the inherited battle technique that she had received from her Mountain and Sea. When concentrating and focused on thinking about one thing, this technique would allow a person to forget about themselves and even time.

    In some ways, this technique could create a moment of enlightenment.

    Lu Yin expected Progenitor Smoke to remain in this state for a long time, so he prepared to leave her mirror and go deal with other matters.

    Unexpectedly, she abruptly snapped out of her focused state.

    "That trade¡¯s eptable," Progenitor Smoke stated the moment she emerged from her contemtive state.

    Her response caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to light up, but he also felt rather curious. "Is Blood Alchemy that useful to you?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Very useful. I think that this Blood Alchemy can helppensate for some of the minor ws in my wei, but I¡¯ll need to spend a long time going over it. I intend to return to my mirror to do just that. I just realized that since this Blood Alchemy is able to extract an innate gift, it should also allow an innate gift to be transnted. In other words, it should be possible to create a permanent Envoy with an innate gift, which would be very powerful."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew wide. "Are you saying that if you can thoroughlyprehend this, you¡¯ll be able to produce Envoys with innate gifts from nothing?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    "What are your chances of sess?" Lu Yin asked excitedly.

    "The fact that I was able to consider the possibility so quickly is enough for now, so let¡¯s make this exchange. I only have three Roots of Intelligence, so I¡¯ll trade all three of them with you for your Blood Alchemy."

    "You only have three? Didn¡¯t you say you had a whole bunch of Roots of Intelligence?" Lu Yin grew suspicious.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "I just said that I have more than two. I never said that I had a whole bunch."

    "I heard you say that." Lu Yin was quite certain.

    "Go back in time and check for yourself. I never said that.¡± Progenitor Smoke bluntly denied Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions.

    Lu Yin considered threatening to not trade Blood Alchemy away, but while it might work to threaten Progenitor Smoke, the long term consequences were not worth it. Besides, Lu Yin was hoping that the woman would figure out how to create permanent Envoys, as that would greatly increase thebat power of the entire Fifth Maind.

    No, it was best to consider this exchange an investment.

    Lu Yin shared Blood Alchemy with Progenitor Smoke, and she gave him three Roots of Intelligence,pleting their transaction.

    As soon as Progenitor Smoke finished the exchange, she retreated into the pocket dimension to do some research. Most likely, she would remain in seclusion for a long time.

    Lu Yin also left the Heavens Sect and went to visit the Great Yu Empire to see Wendy Yushan.

    After Aeternus had been driven out of the Fifth Maind, many people had returned to their original homes. Even the Sword Sect had managed to return to the shattered Sword Mountain. The only ce that was not returned to its original inhabitants was Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. The region that had once belonged to the Seven Courts had already be the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate¡¯s headquarters, which meant there was no room for the ancient families to return to. Instead, they stayed just outside of Earth¡¯s sr system, close to the Heavens Sect.

    Zenyu Star had not changed very much over the course of twenty years, and even the war against the Aeternals had not had much of an impact on the.

    Lu Yin remained the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Royal Regent. Not even his twenty year absence had changed that fact. However, Wendy Yushan had taken over the management of the Great Yu Empire.

    Over the course of these twenty years, she had transformed from a battle maniac who only thought about training and cultivation, to apetent administrator. Given her status, she was well qualified to take the throne as empress.

    However, she had still not done so. She still hoped to roam the universe with nothing but her sword, rather than be bound to the Great Yu Empire.

    She still lived in the princess¡¯s pce. Lu Yin arrived, and when he saw the various officials waiting outside the residence, he deliberately did not make a fuss with his appearance.

    "Sir, will the princess pursue the matter from back then?" Outside the princess''s pce, a young man in brocade clothes nervously asked an old man standing before him.

    The old man calmly looked at the young man. "Are you scared?"

    The young man paled, but did not speak.

    The old man continued in an indifferent tone, "You knew exactly what you were doing back then with your father. If Lord Garope was alive, he¡¯d be so angry he¡¯d resurrect from the dead."

    The young man''s face grew even paler. "We know that we were wrong. That¡¯s why Father resigned, and it¡¯s also why I came here to offer my own resignation."

    A smattering of voices spoke up nearby.

    "After Lord Garope passed away, the princess thought to honor a man who had devoted his life to this empire, and so she made a special concession and promoted the man¡¯s son, Pierre. Over thesest twenty years, Pierre secretly put together arge force of cultivators. Then, after people like En Ya and Huan Sha stayed at the Lu Heavenly Gate and no longer had any time to spend paying attention to the Great Eastern Alliance, Pierre started trying to pressure the princess into marrying his son, Pierce."

    "Everything¡¯s fine now. The royal regent¡¯s returned, and he¡¯s taken control of the entire Heavens Sect. He¡¯s the most important person in the entire Fifth Maind! They¡¯re all so scared that Pierre resigned, and his son came here to offer restitution. If you ask me, I¡¯d say that the father and son should just be arrested."

    "Poor Lord Garope was always an honorable man throughout his entire life. He even dared to reprimand the royal regent himself when he first took control of the empire. That attitude was what earned the old man the regent¡¯s respect, and he maintained a seat on the imperial cab his entire life. How sad that his descendants are these worthless two."

    "True. If Lord Garope were still alive, he¡¯d probably beat both of them to death."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin listened to the chatter for a bit, then looked at the young man again before he started walking toward the gate to the princess¡¯s mansion.

    The guard at the gates was Kayze. After Lu Yin had disappeared, his former doorman had been transferred to Wendy¡¯s pce. This was actually a post that was beneath someone with Kayze¡¯s strength, but he had remained loyal to his job.

 Chapter 2155: The Power Of Time

    Chapter 2155: The Power Of Time

    Kayze¡¯s status was actually very high within the Great Yu Empire. He had previously served as Lu Yin¡¯s guard, and then he had moved on to serve the same role for Wendy Yushan. As long as he did not allow a person to enter the gate, no one dared to break in.

    Lu Yin walked up to the gate to Wendy¡¯s pce step by step. Kayze was just about to angrily curse the person who was approaching, but his eyes went wide when he saw that it was Lu Yin. He quickly offered an excited bow. "Your Highness, you¡¯ve returned."

    Lu Yin certainly had not expected Kayze to remain in the Great Yu Empire this entire time. He had actually assumed that Kayze would return to the Dire Barbarian n, or simply wander about the universe. The man was certainly powerful enough to make a ce for himself in the outside universe. "I really appreciate your efforts here."

    Kayze respectfully answered, "Thank you, Your Highness, for seeing me."

    Lu Yin patted Kayze¡¯s shoulder before walking into the pce.

    Outside the princess¡¯s pce, the old man who had been scolding Pierce stared nkly when he noticed Lu Yin moving through the gate. Was that¡­ Was that the royal regent?

    An entire group of officials nked out and stared. Had the regent been standing with them all along?

    As for Pierce himself, he waspletely paralyzed. This was the end! The regent had just learned of the situation, which meant it was the end of the road for him.

    As Lu Yin entered the pce, a maid approached and led him in. He soon entered arge training courtyard, and in it stood Wendy Yushan. She held a sword as she quietly watched Lu Yin walk in.

    "You expanded your pce ? You definitely didn¡¯t have these training grounds before." Lu Yin was mildly curious.

    Wendy Yushan made a sudden move, and countless swords shed through the air in an instant, only to merge into a single sword a momentter. The attack sliced through the void as it approached Lu Yin.

    He just raised a hand right when the attack was about tond, and two fingers mped down onto the sword.

    The gap between Lu Yin and Wendy was just toorge. She had risen from the Cruiser realm to the peak Hunter realm over thest twenty years, which was quite impressive. This achievement was even more outstanding given how it was impossible to absorb star energy after the true universe had been drained of stellr energy. In other words, Wendy had achieved such progress exclusively through cultivating with star essence.

    Still, the gap between her and Lu Yin was not something that could be made up with just time. Even if Wendy had another twenty years, or even two hundred more, she still would not be able to catch up to Lu Yin.

    Even whenpared to the Ten Arbiters, Wendy Yushangged far behind.

    The Ten Arbiters had been capable of bing Enlighters before they reached the age of forty. Wendy had surpassed that age during thest twenty years, yet had failed to be an Enlighter.

    "Impressive." Lu Yin squeezed with his fingers, which twisted the edge of the sword. The overpowering force pushed Wendy Yushan back as the sword was moved.

    Her eyes glinted, and she shed out with her sword once more. It looked identical to the attack that she had just used.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. While the attack looked like it possessed the same power and waspletely identical, Wendy must have made some changes if she was stilling after him.

    But even as the edge of the de drew close, Lu Yin could find no difference. Two fingers once again mped down on the de, only for the sword to suddenly disappear. Without any warning, the sword shifted slightly and attacked Lu Yin from a different direction.

    This managed to surprise Lu Yin, but he still mped down on the de. Wendy¡¯s strength was not enough for her to budge the sword at all. Instead, she used the power of time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s index finger twitched, and there was a bang as a shockwave swept out with enough force that the void warped. The sword was struck as well, and it was sent flying through the air until it finally stabbed into the ground with a soft hum.

    Wendy Yushan looked down at her empty hands. "The gap is really toorge. Not even time canpensate for it."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman in surprise. "Did you just use the power of time?"

    Wendy Yushan nodded. "What¡¯s your impression?"

    Lu Yin answered honestly, "It certainly deserves to be rted to time. That attack caught mepletely off guard."

    "But it still didn¡¯t pose any threat at all to you." Wendy Yushan smiled slightly.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There are certain things that can¡¯t be ovee with just an innate gift. There¡¯s too much of a gap between the two of us, but with what you just showed me, if you keep working at it, you¡¯ll definitely be able to catch up to the Ten Arbiters. In fact, you might even be able to catch up to the people beyond them."

    "So are you saying that I¡¯m ate bloomer?" Wendy Yushan asked casually.

    Lu Yin did not know how to respond to that. It felt wrong to say that someone with an innate gift of time was ate bloomer, as anyone who could master that kind of power would undoubtedly be outstanding. However, in reality, Wendy had not even caught up to the Ten Arbiters, and instead, Xi Qi had actually caught up to Wendy. It would only be a matter of time for others to reach the same level as the Ten Arbiters.

    However, as time passed, Wendy would grow increasingly powerful as she achieved a deeperprehension of time. It was even possible that she might one day manage to catch up to even Chu Yuan.

    No one would dare to underestimate the power of time.

    It could only be said that it was a pity that Wendy¡¯s innate gift had developed rather slowly. Twenty years ago, she had only been able to use it to heal people. Since then, she had clearly refined her control over it.

    "Chu Yuan has mastered the power of time, and you¡¯ve fought against him. What¡¯s the difference between him and facing me?" Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin sat down across from each other. Despite twenty years passing without them seeing each other, it was as if no time had passed at all.

    As far as Wendy Yushan was concerned, Lu Yin was her only surviving family member. As for the members of the Yu family who were in hiding, they were all strangers.

    On Lu Yin¡¯s part, twenty years had not actually passed for him. For him, it had not been long since he hadst seen Wendy; he had met with her when he had collected some people from the Great Yu Empire and taken them to Earth for safety. He had also seen her during the Heavens Sect¡¯s opening ceremony when he had been climbing the staircase to the main hall.

    He stared at Wendy Yushan for a moment. While she looked the same as twenty years ago, she had matured and lost a bit of her sharp edge. She still possessed the same natural beauty, and her scent was still very familiar to Lu Yin. "Chu Yuan is incredibly capable when ites topletely erasing a small piece of time. When he attacks, it alwaysnds, as he¡¯ll erase the time it takes for the attack to reach his target. There¡¯s no way to block it, so the only option is to prepare your defenses in advance and have them be strong enough to block his attacks.

    "As for what you just did, you reversed time slightly, which allows your attack to slightly return so that you can attack a second time."

    Wendy Yushan considered this. Erase bits of time?

    "I can''t tell you which option is better. Chu Yuan will always be able tond an attack, but if his opponent¡¯s defenses are too tough, his attacks won¡¯t be able to do anything at all. That¡¯s why his power of time is useless against me. In that sort of situation, the way that you control time is more effective, as you can instantly alter your attack and try something different. You can respond to any changes without any time passing. But again, if you¡¯re going against someone who¡¯s too strong, your method is still useless, as there¡¯s no guarantee that your attacks willnd, like Chu Yuan¡¯s." Lu Yin analyzed both methods of controlling time.

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. "He also has a secret technique. Is he very strong?"

    Lu Yin nodded, and grew serious as he continued. "His Realm of Time freezes time in a specific area, or at least it slows it down so much that it might as well be frozen. This allows him to stack multiple attacks on top of each other to release a single, explosive attack that can potentially be dozens of times more powerful than an individual attack. This makes up for his rtively unimpressive attack power, and out of all his peers, there¡¯s no one who can handle that sort of power other than me."

    "Realm of Time?" Wendy Yushan muttered to herself.

    Lu Yin continued, "I''m trying to get that secret technique, but it''s not easy."

    Wendy replied, "Don¡¯t bother. It might not even be a secret technique."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin grew puzzled.

    Wendy Yushan also grew serious. "While I don¡¯t understand the principles that make up secret techniques, I do understand time. What you call ¡®Realm of Time¡¯ might be something that¡¯s possible without using a secret technique, though it would be very, very difficult."

    "Maybe the Origin Progenitor gave Chu Yuan that secret technique topensate for his particr weakness," Lu Yin suggested.

    Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin both looked at each other. "Why did you suddenlye find me?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I haven''t seen you for twenty years. Of course I wanted to visit."

    Wendy Yushan looked away. "That¡¯s unnecessary. You have things that you should be doing. There¡¯s no need toe here."

    "What about Pierce?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wendy Yushan became confused. "Pierce?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Apparently, you don¡¯t know. Lord Garope¡¯s son, Pierre, gathered a bunch of the empire¡¯s officials to work with him to force you to marry Pierce. You didn¡¯t know about this?"

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. "Something that small just gets left to the Lu Ministry of Staff to deal with."

    Lu Yinughed. That father and son pair were so worried. They felt like they had been attacking Wendy Yushan and that they had horribly offended her, but in truth, Wendy had never even known about them at all.

    This was a difference in status. No matter what the two tried to do, they would never be able to touch Wendy. As far as she was concerned, such people were nothing more than clowns, and there was no need to even know about such people.

    Pierre had even resigned from his post because of this matter. If he learned the truth, he would most likely be furious that he had beenpletely ignored. The whole thing was hrious to Lu Yin.

    As Wendy thought about something and silence reigned between the two, Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Has there been any news about your father over thest twenty years?"

    The question startled Wendy, and she looked back at Lu Yin. "Do you still think that he might still be alive?"

    Lu Yin softly replied, "I used to think that, buttely, I feel like he must have really died."

    "You once asked me for a drop of my blood so that you could try to find him," Wendy Yushan stated. Lu Yin had never tried to hide that matter from Wendy. He had indeed asked her for some blood so that the Starsibyl Sect could perform a divination on Undying Yushan. However, the results had merely shown that countless Undying Yushans existed.

    There were certain matters that Wendy already knew, but Lu Yin did not try to exin anything.

    "Given your current reaction, I¡¯m guessing my father¡¯s truly dead?" Wendy Yushan asked calmly.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I''m sorry."

    Wendy Yushanughed. "There¡¯s nothing for you to feel sorry about. I always assumed that he was dead, so after so many years, there¡¯s nothing to feel sad about."

    Lu Yin still apologized. "Sorry about bringing this matter up again."

    "It¡¯s fine. Just don''t do it again," Wendy Yushan replied.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. With this, the matter was over. No one would mention Undying Yushan again in the future.

    "Is it difficult for you to train with the power of time?" Lu Yin asked, abruptly changing the subject.

    Wendy Yushan nodded, and she revealed a bit of frustration. "Time is unpredictable, and there¡¯s no real path to train this power. It¡¯s nothing more than a feeling that can be controlled in the dark. It¡¯s not something that can be used at a whim."

    Lu Yin took out the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. "This sword contains a power that was able to take a group of people forwards and backwards through time. We even were able to visit the Heavens Sect era. Unfortunately, even though I have this sword, I don¡¯t have any idea how I can actually use it."

    Wendy Yushan stared at the sword. "I feel like I can sense the power of time from it."

    As she poke, she reached out for the sword, but Lu Yin immediately stopped her. "Even a Semi-Progenitor will disappear if they touch this."

    "Is that what killed Wang Si?" Wendy Yushan asked. Many people across the Fifth Maind had witnessed Wang Si''s execution.

    Lu Yin put the sword away. "Not just her. It also killed the Semi-Progenitor avatar of Forgotten Ruins God. All she did was touch it."

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin remembered that Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s name was Wang Miaomiao. Both of the Semi-Progenitors that had died to this sword had been members of the Wang family. It seemed that the Wang family was ipatible with the sword.

    Lu Yin would have been happy to leave the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword with Wendy, if it were possible. If she was able to study it, then she might be able to learn a lot. However, that was not a risk that Lu Yin was willing to take. He did not want to see Wendy Yushan disappear.

 Chapter 2156: If Lu Yin Werenâ€™t Around

    Chapter 2156: If Lu Yin Weren¡¯t Around

    "If you don¡¯t have anything else, then leave. I need to study," Wendy Yushan said. She was not brusque because she did not wee Lu Yin, but rather because that was simply her nature.

    Lu Yin rarely ever saw this woman reveal her real feelings. The clearest example of when she had let down her guard was when Lu Yin had returned from the Perennial World. At that time, Wendy Yushan had shown her genuine happiness.

    "I want to feel the power of time," Lu Yin replied. This was the main motivation behind his visit this time. The Origin Progenitor had been able to control time, and so could Chu Yuan. It was possible that Lu Yin would face powerful enemies in the future who would also be able to control time. Thus, it was important for him to gain more experience with the mysterious power.

    On top of that, it was not impossible for Lu Yin to learn how to control the power of time as well, which would provide him with the opportunity to travel back in time again.

    Wendy Yushan thought for a bit before stretching out a hand and extending her slender fingers. They were white and quite beautiful.

    "What?" Lu Yin was puzzled at her actions.

    "Hold my hand," Wendy Yu said.

    Lu Yin hesitated for a moment as he looked at her hand, but then he reached out and grabbed it. Her hand was soft, warm, and felt quite nice to hold.

    Wendy Yushan blushed a slight bit, but she quickly recovered. "You can try to feel the power of time while I train. If you can¡¯t feel it, then don¡¯t force things. There are times when I can¡¯t feel it myself."

    Lu Yin nodded. He nced back down at their two interconnected hands, but then he calmed his mind and closed his eyes.

    At the same time, Wendy Yushan closed her eyes, and the space around them grew blurry.

    ¡­

    In the far western reaches of the Outerverse, there was a ce that had once been the home of the Dark Phoenix n. After the n had been captured by the Arrow Sect as mounts, they had been enved by the Sixth Maind. Now, members of the n were given out as rewards to the members of the younger generation, to be used as mounts.

    While Lu Yin was trying to sense the power of time with Wendy Yushan¡¯s help, something happened in the western weaves of the Outerverse.

    A person died. His name was Jiu Xiao, and he was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat. He was killed by an android.

    The death of the Progenitor of Combat meant that the Jiu n¡¯s status had fallen, but they still had Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao as their ancestor. Compared to the other families within the Sixth Maind, the Jiu family was still a monster. After all, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had no descendants or family, which meant that the Jiu family remained the most powerful n in the entire Sixth Maind.

    When Jiu Xiao was killed, Jiu Yao immediately received word of the matter.

    In the middle of outer space, a group of androids faced off against an entire group of cultivators from the Sixth Maind. The androids were led by First Edition City¡¯s deputy city master, Little Bear.

    In the past, First Edition City had had a cooperative rtionship with the Sixth Maind, which made them quite familiar with each other. However, with Jiu Xiao dead, the Sixth Maind could not just let the matter drop and allow androids like Little Bear to leave however they wanted.

    "For thest time, back off! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll stop being nice," Little Bear threatened. The android had a power level of over a million, which meant that no one among the Sixth Maind cultivators was capable of stopping the androids. There was only one individual present who made Little Bear a bit leery.

    The person standing in front of Little Bear and blocking the androids¡¯ path was Nong Laohan, who also had a power level that exceeded a million. Without Nong Laohan¡¯s presence, Little Bear would have left with the rest of the androids long ago.

    At this moment, Nong Laohan felt rather helpless. He really did not want to get involved in this matter, but it had taken ce within his Nong family¡¯s territory. Otherwise, he would have never shown up. However, he would not be able to give a proper exnation for his actions if he allowed the androids to leave before Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao appeared.

    "Why did you kill Jiu Xiao?" the old man asked.

    Little Bear growled, "Get out of our way!"

    "You won¡¯t even tell me why you killed him?" Nong Laohan asked. "That wasn¡¯t some nobody that you killed. His name was Jiu Xiao, and he was a descendant of the Progenitor of Combat, a family member of the Bloodlines Heavenly Gatemaster, Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao. You have to provide an exnation for this matter."

    Little Bear coldly retorted, "He was too arrogant, and he insulted my Technocracy."

    Nong Laohan nced at a person standing behind him. The man¡¯s name was Zax Phoenix, an Enlighter from the Dark Phoenix n who had been Jiu Xiao''s mount.

    Zax Phoenix did not dare to say a word. After being enved by the Sixth Maind for so many years, he had long since lost his arrogance as a member of the Dark Phoenix n. Even with Jiu Xiao dead, Zax Phoenix would not speak a single ill word of his former master.

    Nong Laohan stared at the silent man. "Speak. What happened?"

    Zax Phoenix looked back at Nong Laohan, terrified. The pressure of an expert with a power level of over a million was far beyond what an Enlighter could handle. So, trembling, Zax Phoenix recounted what had happened.

    It was not aplicated story. Jiu Xiao had been drunk, and when he had seen Little Bear and the group of androids, he had approached them to make trouble. This was not without reason, as his motivation came from the Cloud Valley master¡¯s sword attendant.

    The sword attendant had been one of Jiu Xiao¡¯s well-known acquaintances, and the sword attendant had constantly sent gifts to Jiu Xiao, such as beautiful women. It had all been done to curry favor with Jiu Xiao, and it had worked; Jiu Xiao had grown quite fond of the sword attendant. Eventually, the two men had be friends.

    The sword attendant had returned from First Edition City after being sent on a mission there. But after Mr. Lifeview had disappeared into Burial Garden, the Cloud Valley hadpletely fallen, and the sword attendant had died on a battlefield. Jiu Xiao med everything on the Technocracy and on First Edition City¡¯s city master.

    After drinking too much and coincidentally seeing a group of androids, Jiu Xiao had not been able to stop himself from making trouble. And so, he had started insulting and swearing at the androids until they had finally just killed him.

    This gave Nong Laohan a headache. Jiu Xiao was a dead bastard, but how was he supposed to handle this matter?

    The truth about the Technocracy had been revealed twenty years ago; it was a ce that had been left behind by Progenitor Hui as a means of eliminating a massive number of corpse kings. The sole purpose of the Technocracy was to fight against the Aeternals. Without the Technocracy¡¯s assistance, humanity might not have ever had the opportunity to regroup and resist Aeternus. The Technocracy had most likely saved the Human Domain.

    Clearly, Jiu Xiao alone was not enough to affect the Technocracy, given their achievements. However, Jiu Xiao had been a direct descendant of the Jiu family, which made the situation tricky.

    "For thest time, get out the way!" Little Bear red at Nong Laohan, looking like he was about to attack.

    Suddenly, the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor fell onto the area, thrilling everyone from the Sixth Maind. "We greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

    "We greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

    Nong Laohan let out a sigh of relief. Now that Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao was here, Nong Laohan was no longer responsible for anything. "I greet Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao."

    Little Bear and the rest of the androids nervously watched as a Semi-Progenitor appeared. This powerhouse was beyond their ability to handle.

    The power that Progenitor Hui had left behind in the Technocracy had been exhausted twenty years before, which meant that any Semi-Progenitor could freely enter the Technocracy without any worry of getting trapped by the mentalwork. The Technocracy no longer had the ability to restrain Semi-Progenitors, and Jiu Yao was among the most powerful of Semi-Progenitors.

    "You killed my descendant and want to just leave?" Jiu Yao demanded. Every word he spoke fell down with the pressure of a mountain, crushing all of the androids, including Little Bear. It was even possible to hear some of the androids¡¯ teeth cracking.

    There was no need for Jiu Yao to release any actual attack, as just his pressure could destroy all of the androids. The cultivators from the Sixth Maind started to get a bit excited as they watched.

    Little Bear was also being effortlessly crushed. So what if he had a power level of over a million? He was still an ant against a Semi-Progenitor. "Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao, we are here to deliver resources to Alliance Leader Lu."

    Jiu Yao''s eyes flickered, and the pressure reduced a bit. "What resources?"

    Little Bear stared at the man. "My Technocracy has gathered resources for Alliance Leader Lu."

    Jiu Yao frowned. If they were traveling because of Lu Yin, it made sense for these androids to have entered the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory.

    For twenty years, no one from the Technocracy had stepped foot into the Human Domain, and both regions had focused entirely on internal development. Jiu Yao had felt that it was odd for androids to suddenly enter the Human Domain, but things made sense if it was because of Lu Yin. This also made things difficult for Jiu Yao.

    "What resources?" Jiu Yao demanded.

    Little Bear softly replied, "You will have to ask Alliance Leader Lu. This is part of an agreement between my Technocracy and him."

    "You dare to use Lu Yin to pressure me?" Jiu Yao''s eyes grew incredibly cold, and an even more terrifying pressure fell down, crushing half of Little Bear''s body.

    Nong Laohan¡¯s eyebrows arched high, and he turned to look at Jiu Yao. While it looked like the Semi-Progenitor was being heavy handed, it was nothing more than a show. Jiu Yao did not truly dare to destroy these androids, as he would struggle to justify their deaths to Lu Yin.

    Twenty years ago, Lu Yin would not have dared to casually offend a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Yao, but the power that the young man had since obtained was beyond frightening. Luckily, the Nong family had never antagonized Lu Yin very much. Right, he also still owes my family a hoe.

    Little Bear remained silent. Having half of his body shattered did not really mean anything, as all android bodies were interchangeable and disposable.

    Jiu Yao thought for a moment, and then he asked someone to get in touch with Lu Yin. There was not necessarily a problem with them delivering resources, but the android who had killed Jiu Xiao absolutely had to die.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin was trying to sense the power of time by training with Wendy Yushan on Zenyu Star, so he failed to notice the iing message. Eventually, the person moved on and called Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen shifted the entire matter over to Wei Rong. Wang Wen was not great at handling these matters where he would offend at least one of the parties involved. This was Wei Rong¡¯s area of expertise, or at the very least, he had already offended many people.

    Wei Rong quickly reached out to contact Jiu Yao. "Senior, I heard that Jiu Xiao was killed by one of the Technocracy¡¯s androids."

    Jiu Yao frowned. "Where''s the Dao Chosen?"

    Few people had the right to speak to a Semi-Progenitor.

    Wei Rong just smiled. "The Dao Chosen is training in seclusion, so he¡¯s out of reach right now. This junior reached out to you because I have something to tell you, Senior."

    "Go on," Jiu Yao ordered indifferently. He could not tell if he was relieved that he did not have to speak with Lu Yin, or if he was upset that some peon was speaking with him. The Semi-Progenitor did not want to speak with Lu Yin, as he feared that Lu Yin would be too overbearing and would insult his dignity. After all, the Technocracy was sending Lu Yin resources.

    Wei Rong smiled and started to speak, and as he continued, Jiu Yao''s expression started to change.

    Wei Rong was recounting all of Jiu Xiao''s crimes, starting with bullying men and women, stealing resources, and forcing people into very to be bought or sold. None of these issues really mattered, as they were minor crimes in the grand scheme of things, but Jiu Xiao had also deserted and fled from the battlefield. This was something that the Jiu family had worked to cover up, and they did not consider it a big deal. However, Wei Rong knew just howrge the potential ramifications could be if it was exposed.

    The Sixth Maind had be a part of the Heavens Sect, and the Jiu family was far from being the master of the Heavens Sect.

    "Why are you telling me all of this?" Jiu Yao''s face twisted into a hideous expression. He was actually being threatened by a child!

    Wei Rong was the one who controlled the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s intelligencework, and he had also obtained control over Shamrock Enterprise¡¯s hidden seeds. He had ess to almost too much information.

    "There¡¯s nothing special about this matter. Taking a life should cost one¡¯s life. Since one of the Technocracy¡¯s androids killed Jiu Xiao, then execute them. Please ask Deputy City Master Little Bear to point out the criminal so that you can get revenge for your family yourself, Senior," Wei Rong answered with a smile.

    Jiu Yao''s expression turned dark, as Little Bear had been the one to kill Jiu Xiao. Wei Rong¡¯s meaning was clear and simple: find a scapegoat. Nothing could happen to Little Bear, as it was important not to insult the Technocracy, though it was also important to save face for the Human Domain as well.

    Without Lu Yin¡¯s involvement in this matter, Jiu Yao would have simply eliminated everyone from the Technocracy with a wave of his hand. However, Lu Yin was involved, and Jiu Yao had no idea if Lu Yin was the one behind Wei Rong¡¯s words. The Semi-Progenitor was reminded of what had happened to Wang Si and the handful of Semi-Progenitors that had been imprisoned.

    Lu Yin was someone who had no reservations in his actions. He waspletely ruthless.

    In the end, one of the android bodies was destroyed in a show of revenge for Jiu Xiao¡¯s death. That done, the rest of the androids continued on their way to the Heavens Sect.

 Chapter 2157: Heavens Corps

    Chapter 2157: Heavens Corps

    As it turned out, Nong Laohan had already dismissed everyone else from the Sixth Maind before Jiu Yao even made a decision. The old man had known that things would not y out favorably for him, and that was because Lu Yin was involved. He was the only person capable of suppressing every living creature in the entire Fifth Maind by himself.

    "My Sixth Maind has no one who canpare to Lu Yin." Jiu Yao sighed as he disappeared.

    Nong Laohan heaved a sigh of relief. He simply wanted to enjoy afortable life, and the Fifth or Sixth Maind meant nothing to him. In fact, the stronger Lu Yin became, the safer humanity would be.

    ...

    Still on Zenyu Star, Lu Yin had not yet learned anything about what had just happened in the western reaches of the Outerverse.

    He opened his eyes to look over at Wendy Yushan, and he saw that she was still training with her eyes closed. Not once had he managed to sense the power of time, let alone control or use it.

    His left hand was still gripping Wendy¡¯s right hand. After not being able to sense anything for so long, Lu Yin could not help himself from shifting in ce, and his movement roused Wendy.

    She opened her eyes and looked over at Lu Yin. "How did it go?"

    "I didn''t feel anything." Lu Yin was disappointed.

    Wendy Yushan replied, "Me neither."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You didn¡¯t sense anything either?"

    Wendy Yushan shook her head. "There was a trickle of time when we first started, but it quickly disappeared, and I wasn¡¯t able to sense anything afterwards. I¡¯m not able to use time every time I train. If I could, I wouldn¡¯t be just this strong."

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "If you weren¡¯t able to sense time, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d be able to feel anything. Maybe when you¡¯re having a smooth training session one day, I¡¯ll be able to pick something up."

    "En." Wendy had already considered the same thing.

    At this moment, the two of them both looked down at their hands that were still holding each other.

    Lu Yin unconsciously twitched again, and Wendy snatched her hand back like lightning, her face slightly red. "I''m going to train on my own, so you can do your own thing."

    She then immediately left.

    Lu Yin coughed. "I''m heading out as well."

    Right then, his wireless jincan twitched. He looked down, saw the message, and quickly got excited. "Time to go!"

    He tore through the void and vanished from Zenyu Star.

    His resources had finally been delivered from the Technocracy. 200 billion! 200 billion star essence! This was an astronomical sum. The most money that Lu Yin had ever managed to umte at one time was 100 billion, which made this hisrgest windfall ever.

    Lu Yin raced back to the Heavens Sect as quickly as possible. He then ended up waiting for another half a day before Little Bear and his group of androids arrived.

    The androids were not overly impressed by the majestic construction of the Heavens Sect. In the end, they were androids, and their thought process was fundamentally different from a human¡¯s.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, these are the promised resources." Little Bear delivered more than 200 cosmic rings over to Lu Yin, each of which held 1 billion star essence.

    These cosmic rings were all rather small, as it would have only taken two rings with the capacity of Lu Yin¡¯s to contain all this wealth.

    He excitedly received the delivery, checking each cosmic ring in turn as Little Bear calmly watched on. "Thank you! Many of the Human Domain¡¯s unused resources will be shipped over to the Technocracy, and you¡¯re also wee to use the Perennial World¡¯s goal of hunting me down and killing me to get more from them, though that will naturally have to wait until the New Corridor¡¯s repaired."

    "We¡¯re already aware of all this," Little Bear replied.

    "Right, what about the researchers? Is Little R1Oing?" Lu Yin asked. He had not asked the Technocracy for only resources, and truthfully, the star essence was an unexpected bonus. Rather, Lu Yin had requested them to send him engineers and researchers for the microarray technology research.

    "Little R1O and the others all refused."

    "Why?" Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Little Bear exined, "Because none of them want to move too far away from the Technocracy. However, you can rest assured that we will set up a secure connection between your researchers and my Technocracy to allow for coborative research. This is actually quite easy, as without the Aeternals threatening things, our cooperation won¡¯t be impacted by distance at all."

    Lu Yin did not want to hear this response. "That¡¯s not what I was hoping to hear. Without the team being physically together, issues in the research process will definitely emerge."

    Little Bear replied, "In that case, I¡¯m happy to ask again when I return, but I don¡¯t see it being very likely. No one wants to stay far away from home. Little R1O and some others might be willing to visit the Human Domain as guests. However, there¡¯s no chance that any of them will be willing to stay here."

    Lu Yin had no choice but to agree. "I understand. In that case, I¡¯ll have to rely on you for this."

    There was no need for Lu Yin to waste time on small talk with the Technocracy¡¯s representatives, as it was something that they simply did not understand. The androids left after delivering the resources to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew increasingly excited as he stared at the 200-plus cosmic rings in front of him. Once again, he had money, and he could even be considered exorbitantly wealthy, but this money did not belong to him alone. All of this star essence belonged to the Human Domain, and he intended to use it to improve and strengthen the Human Domain.

    He had already contemted how he would use the new funds, and the first thing on his list was to create the invincible army that he had long envisioned. He intended them to be truly invincible, as long as the top powerhouses on the enemy side were kept in check by those on his. In such a situation, the army he envisioned would prove invaluable in securing victories.

    Their valuey in more than just the battlefield, as the existence of such an army would be a powerful deterrent that would maintain order within the Human Domain. There was no downside to creating such a force.

    Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled once more. It was a message from Wei Rong, informing Lu Yin of what had happened in the western weaves.

    Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned. He felt that such a trivial matter was not worth his attention, even if Jiu Yao had been involved.

    Lu Yin was essentially a god in the Fifth Maind at this time, and he could arbitrarily determine the life and death of anyone in the Human Domain.

    Lu Yin was impatient to enter seclusion after receiving the star essence, as this was the first step towards elevating the Heavens Sect to the level that he had dreamed of.

    The reason why the Heavens Sect had risen to such heights in the past, as well as why humans had been so prosperous, had not only been because of the power of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao and the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas. The Twelve Heavenly Gates below those powerful Progenitors, as well as the powerful Envoys and Enlighters who had been members of the Heavens Sect, had all contributed greatly.

    While it appeared impossible for humanity to return to its former glory, given enough time and resources, it might not bepletely impossible.

    Since the Three Realms Six Dao and the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could not be restored for the time being, then he would first be invincible.

    When Lu Yin had first received the Technocracy¡¯s promise to deliver 200 billion star essence to him, Lu Yin had arranged to have the best possible bodysuit armors, Money Bombs, microarrays, and other equipment delivered to him, and he had received all of the raw material half a month ago.

    He raised a hand and reached out with a finger. His die spun around before slowlying to a stop. His first rollnded on Timestop, and he instantly entered his Timestop Space.

    Right after entering the gray space, Lu Yin pulled out everything that he intended to Enhance and then proceeded to roll his die again. It took three tries for him to roll Enhance. This was a roll that was only worth getting if Lu Yin had enough resources to take advantage of it.

    He felt like it had been a very long time since he had Enhanced anything at all.

    The first thing that he upgraded were the bodysuit armors. While the quality of the materials were somewhatckingpared to what had been used to create his own years ago, it was still perfectly eptable.

    He tossed the first bodysuit armor onto the upper screen of his Enhance and then started throwing out massive amounts of star essence.

    After burning through 100 million star essence, the bodysuit armor reached its limits. Lu Yin touched it and was quite satisfied. It had reached a level where it could block attacks that had a power level of almost 700,000, which was quite impressive. When the people from the Heavens Sect era had been released from the sourcebox twenty years ago, the number of human powerhouses had increased substantially, but even then, how many Envoys had power levels of over 700,000?

    The entire Innerverse had originally only had a select few, while the Cosmic Sea had only had four. Even though the Neoverse had been home to more, there were fewer than thirty such Envoys within the entire Human Domain.

    Lu Yin had 100 sets of bodysuit armor in front of him, which meant that he could equip an army of 100 soldiers. This meant that 100 people would be able to survive an attack from Envoys with power levels of 700,000, and this was just the beginning. As time passed and Lu Yin acquired materials from the Perennial World, these bodysuit armors could be improved until they were able to defend against attacks with power levels of over a million.

    If Lu Yin could mobilize an army of 100 cultivators that could fight on the level of monsters with power levels of over a million, no one beneath the Semi-Progenitor level would be able to stand up to them.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first step towards that goal. First, he would create an army of invincible Enlighters. Next, he would do the same with Envoys, before eventually moving on to Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin felt absolutely confident that, given enough time and resources, he could restore the ancient glory of the Heavens Realm andpletely crush Aeternus.

    After Enhancing all the bodysuit armors, Lu Yin moved onto the Money Bombs. Twenty years ago, he had asked Old Cai to look into improving the power of his Money Bombs, and the man had not stopped his efforts even after Lu Yin¡¯s death had been publicly epted. He had researched a lot and had produced a great number of Money Bombs. Still, it was understandable that the research had not resulted in too much of an improvement for the Money Bombs. But since they were made with better raw materials, Lu Yin was able to Enhance them further than in the past.

    A Money Bombnded on the upper light screen as Lu Yin started throwing out star essence.

    The Money Bombs did not burn through nearly as much star essence as the bodysuit armors, and it only took about ten million star essence to reach the limits for each Money Bomb. At this point, they could erupt with as much power as a new Envoy. This was not really sufficient for Lu Yin¡¯s purposes, but this defect waspensated for with sheer numbers. For Lu Yin¡¯s 100-man army, each soldier would be given twenty Money Bombs. This was enough to subdue the entire Human Domain without raising a finger.Lu Yin had gone through about ten billion star essence upgrading all of the bodysuit armors, and with twenty Money Bombs for each soldier, Lu Yin spent twenty billion star essence Enhancing the Money Bombs. His final step was to improve thebined microarrays. Lu Yin intended to equip every single one of these 100 elite soldiers with a five-piece microarray. This was the most powerfulbined array that had been researched so far, and each one couldunch attacks with a power level of 700,000. Fully equipped, everyst soldier in this army would be able to stand up to an Envoy with a power level of 600,000 to 700,000. This would truly be an invincible army.

    Lu Yin also wanted to incorporate the smoke from Smoke-Eater Peaks into the equipment, and he had asked Progenitor Smoke about the possibility. She had been generous enough to teach Smoke-Eater Peaks novel methods to improve their smoke that she had developed during her endless years of captivity. Lu Yin was confident that the improvement would be substantial.

    He was eager to see the appearance of his 100 man army, and he had even picked out a name; they would be the Heavens Corps.

    100 soldiers was also just the starting number. He could see this army bing a 1,000 soldiers, or even tens of thousands. On top of that, the average strength of the soldiers would continue to rise.

    The modern era had nowhere near as many powerhouses as during the Heavens Sect era, so Lu Yin first needed to spend resources to supplement his forces. With time, he might be able to raise his forces topare to that of the original Heavens Sect.

    It had taken Lu Yin less than 40 billion star essence to fully equip his Heavens Corps, which left him with about 240 billion star essence in his possession.

    He silently pulled out the slipper.

    He held it in one hand, feeling rather nervous. Still, there was no denying that this slipper was incredibly powerful.

    He set the slipper on the upper screen of light and then tossed out 100 million star essence. As he watched, the slipper dropped down just the tiniest bit. It was such an insignificant drop that it could barely even be noticed.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as he put the slipper away. He simply did not have the necessary funds to Enhance the slipper, and it made more sense to do one full upgrade when he could.

    Since he could not Enhance the slipper, Lu Yin instead pulled out the needle-like weapon. This weapon had already performed a few miracles for Lu Yin in the past, and it remained extremely useful.

 Chapter 2158: Infinity Realm

    Chapter 2158: Infinity Realm

    Lu Yin threw out a massive amount of star essence, and he watched as the needle-like weapon dropped down a minuscule amount each time. While the weapon was not as ridiculously difficult to upgrade as the slipper, it would still take around 100 billion star essence to Enhance it once. It was already able to shatter a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, so after being improved, would it be able to threaten even Progenitors?

    He was not certain, but he certainly wanted to try and find out.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered the slipper.

    Regardless of whether the needle-like weapon could be Enhanced to match the power of the slipper, even the slipper had failed to fully break through the fog trapping Progenitor Smoke. Even if the needle-like weapon was improved, it would not be strengthened to the point where it could ovee the fog. This meant that it was essentially useless to Enhance it.

    Lu Yin shook his head and put the weapon away. He checked his belongings again to see what else he had. The Withered Bark that held the power of time could be Enhanced, as could his Netherworld River, but upgrading either one of them would require about as much star essence as the needle-like weapon. There was also the metal that Lu Yin had collected from the Absolute Beast Cage that had originally belonged to the Fourth Maind, and it had nearly destroyed the Maind by devouring all life there.

    Some time ago, Lu Yin had Enhanced the metal slightly, and that attempt had cost him almost six billion star essence. That upgrade had strengthened the metal¡¯s instinct to devour flesh and blood, and its destructive power had grown to be close to that of an Envoy. Lu Yin believed that if he released the metal and allowed it to go free, it would rather quickly be aplete disaster if it was not swiftly dealt with.

    Furthermore, Enhancing the metal meant that there was no need to feed it flesh and blood for it to reach a terrifying level of power.

    Lu Yin still felt confident that this strange metal would be useful as a weapon against someone one day, but there was no need to improve it any further right now.

    Right, I almost forgot about that corpse! Lu Yin stared at the corpse that he had picked up in Burial Garden. This dead body had been able to endure the judgment that his first stellr tribtion had thrown at him at the end in an attempt topletely destroy him. That judgment had far exceeded anything that Lu Yin could fathom, so just who was this corpse? Would Progenitor Smoke recognize this person? Could Lu Yin¡¯s Third Uncle or the others from the Heavens Sect era know who he had been?

    Lu Yin put the corpse away as well, though he intended to determine the man¡¯s identity after leaving his Timestop Space.

    Finally, he took out onest item: a candle.

    As Lu Yin stared at the candle he held, he remembered Jin Mie¡¯s story. The man had snuck into the ce where God of mes had been training in seclusion. However, Jin Mie had not seen God of mes or anyone else, and he had only found the candle. God of Mirrors had said that God of mes¡¯ innate gift was a candle, and he believed the candle to actually be God of mes. Lu Yin understood that God of Mirrors believed that God of mes had trained Truesight to a high level, and that he had then tried to use the cultivation method on himself.

    "It isn¡¯t really God of mes, is it?" Lu Yin stared at the candle for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth and tossed it out onto the upper screen of his die¡¯s Enhance. No matter if the candle really was God of mes or not, Lu Yin wanted to see if the candle could be upgraded. After all, the candle could not be used anywhere else, as runes could only be used within the Fifth Maind.

    100 million star essence were tossed out, and the candle fell down slightly, thrilling Lu Yin. This would work! He started dumpingrger andrger amounts of star essence out: one billion, ten billion, twenty billion. After using thirty billion star essence, the candle dropped out of the bottom screen.

    However, it also started melting as soon as it fell out.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Impossible! Why was it melting after being upgraded? How was a melted candle supposed to be of any use whatsoever? Had he just burned through thirty billion star essence just to entertain himself?

    The more Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts raced, the more nervous he became. He stared at the melting candle beneath his Enhance¡¯s double light screens as his lips grew dry.

    He watched as the candle slowly melted. It looked like a puddle of red oil was spreading across the ground beneath the die¡¯s Enhance screens. However, the oddest thing was that the red wax did not continue to spread out, but rather gathered itself back up after melting. Eventually, a little wax figurine appeared. It was asrge as a candle that could be held in one hand.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the figurine that had formed from the candle¡¯s melted wax. He could clearly make out eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and limbs. The only oddity was that the figurine was the same color as the old candle, but everything else about it looked like a perfectly normal person.

    Also, there was no light in the eyes. They were dull, like those of a corpse.

    Lu Yin stared at the figurine. "You can''t be God of mes, can you?"

    There was no response from the wax figurine. Lu Yin moved closer, and he unconsciously reached out to touch it. Suddenly, the wax figurine exploded, and red light filled the area,pletely surrounding Lu Yin. He reflexively pulled back, but the scattered red light filled the entire Timestop Space. Also, it was not harming him at all.

    Lu Yin nced around. Was this¡­ light due to the appearance of countless runes?

    As far as his eyes could make out, the entire Timestop Space had beenpletely filled with endless runes. His pupils transformed into runes, and he carefully started to observe the runes one at a time. Some were right in front of his eyes, while others were further away, but in all of them, as Lu Yin continued to stare, he saw people training.

    That person had reached the Awakening realm of Truesight. Another was in the rity realm. That one was in the Knowing realm, right? Lu Yin continued to look around, and he saw one figure who was training, continuously attempting something, and the runes around that person were in constant flux.

    A sh of insight shot through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he immediately stared at thatst scene. While many different figures were training in the runes around him, everyst one of them seemed to be the same person, and in addition to Truesight, there were many other scenes as well. If the wax figure really was God of mes, then Lu Yin might be observing the man¡¯s entire cultivation experience across his long life.

    However, the only image that Lu Yin was concerned about was the one with the person training in the Infinity realm of Truesight.

    For the current Lu Yin, that was the most valuable scene of all.

    He unhesitatingly pulled a Root of Intelligence out of his cosmic ring and prepared a cup of tea. He took a sip, and his mind cleared as he stared at the image and immersed himself in God of mes¡¯ training. Lu Yin unconsciously started to follow the movements of the person in the image as he started training in Truesight.

    Time passed slowly, though Lu Yin had no idea how long he spent in a trance. All of the images that filled his Timestop Space gradually disappeared, or rather, they coalesced. His body trembled, and thest image vanished. All of the red light had gathered together to reform the small wax figurine.

    Lu Yin''s eyes werepletely unfocused, though his pupils were still runes. He was still reviewing his own memories, and different runes kept appearing around his body. He waved a hand and unleashed a Hollow Palm. With another wave of his hand, the attack vanished.

    How could a full-powered Hollow Palm disappear so mysteriously? It was because he had used the Infinity realm of Truesight to erase all of the Hollow Palm¡¯s runes.

    Amazingly enough, after reaching the Infinity realm of Truesight, Lu Yin had discovered that he could use the runes of Truesight even within his Timestop Space. That was correct¡ªeven in this isted space that waspletely separate from the Fifth Maind, Truesight could still be used.

    Runes and stellr energy were both alternate forms of energy that could be cultivated. They were forms of power, which meant that neither was truly restricted to just the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had broken free of certain restraints when he reached the Infinity realm of Truesight.

    It was true that the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight was only able to be used within the bounds of the Fifth Maind, but didn¡¯t that mean that Truesight practitioners werepletely helpless and useless once they left the Fifth Maind? This was a severe restriction on this particr cultivation method.

    However, the Infinity realm of Truesight unlocked the true power of Truesight. There were some possibilities that were only avable after reaching a sufficient level of mastery.

    Only a few people throughout the history of the universe had ever managed to reach the Infinity realm of Truesight, and Lu Yin had just be one of them.

    Truesight was not a cultivation method that was easy to train and improve in. While there were not very many levels to the cultivation method, each level brought about aplete transformation of a practitioner¡¯s abilities. Lu Yin wondered just how deep the levels of Truesight ran¡­

    The moment this thought urred to him, Lu Yin looked down at the wax figurine again.

    Among the various scenes that he had witnessed within the red light¡¯s countless runes, there had been one final scene that he could not even begin to understand. In that scene, Lu Yin had seen the person suddenly transform into a candle, and the candle had been very close to where the practitioner had been practicing Truesight.

    Lu Yin had focused on the image of the man training in the Infinity realm of Truesight, but that did not mean that Lu Yin had not seen the other images. He understood that the final scene of the cultivator had been the scene where he had not moved from his ce of training, but rather where he had simply transformed into a candle.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the wax figurine. Jin Mie had actually been correct; the candle was indeed God of mes. The man had somehow managed to transform himself into a candle while training in the deeper levels of Truesight. The realm that God of mes had been trying to attain was known as¡­ Manifestation.

    The next level of Truesight for Lu Yin to reach was the Manifestation realm.

    The Manifestation realm of Truesight had to be even more miraculous and mysterious, but Lu Yin was rather traumatized by what he had just seen. God of mes¡¯ fate induced a bit of panic in Lu Yin, and for the moment, he gave up the possibility of continuing to train in Truesight. The Infinity realm of Truesight was not bad at all. No, it was actually quite impressive.

    Truesight was a cultivation method where both those who used it and those who learned of its existence found it truly miraculous. However, at this moment, Lu Yin learned that Truesight was far more amazing than what almost anyone else understood. Practicing the cultivation method had actually caused God of mes to transform into a candle. What could possibly be any more amazing and terrifying than such a thing?

    God of mes¡¯ innate gift had been a candle, but how could a person be their own innate gift?

    That thought abruptly triggered another. People, innate gift, Champions¡¯ Stage?

    Right! The Champions¡¯ Stage! I was wondering how an innate gift could be a physical object, and not even Arch-Elder Zen or Lu Buzheng were able to understand just how Progenitor Lu Tianyi left behind a Champions¡¯ Stage to protect the Fifth Maind. No wonder no one knows how to use it!

    Not once had anyone even considered the possibility of a connection between the Lu family¡¯s innate gift and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cultivation method, but at this moment, everything came together in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    If God of mes had managed to transform himself into his own innate gift of a candle after practicing the Manifestation realm of Truesight, then was it possible that a descendant of the Lu family had also managed to cultivate Truesight and transform themselves into a Champions¡¯ Stage? It was notpletely impossible.

    After all, members of the Lu family were not restricted to only cultivating the power of the Lu family. For example, Lu Yin himself trained in Truesight, the God of Death¡¯s power, and fatesand, though Lu Yin still had no idea exactly what fatesand even was.

    As his thoughts proceeded down this path, Lu Yin¡¯s breathing started to quicken. If his guesses were urate, then the Hall of Honor¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage was not truly unusable. Rather, one simply needed to use Truesight to activate it.

    Wait, something did not quite add up. The protections left behind by Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Hui had all been powerful enough to deal with Progenitors, and the same should also be true of the Champions¡¯ Stage that Progenitor Lu Tianyi had left behind in the Fifth Maind. If that was true, then the person who had transformed themselves into the Champions¡¯ Stage with Truesight had to have been a Progenitor themselves, but how could such a powerhouse have transformed into their innate gift with Truesight? Lu Yin did not believe that a Progenitor from the Lu family¡¯s direct line would be much weaker than the Rune Progenitor, so how could such a powerhouse have lost themselves while cultivating Truesight?

    This was strange. Very strange, and Lu Yin could not quite understand it. The only answer would be to speak to Progenitor Smoke after leaving Timestop.

    Lu Yin stared at the wax figurine. This was clearly God of mes, but there was no light in the figurine¡¯s eyes. Was there none of the man¡¯s consciousness left?

    "Can you understand me?" Lu Yin asked.

    The wax figurine did not respond.

    "Senior God of mes, stop pretending. I can help you," Lu Yin continued.

    The small wax man still did not respond.

    Lu Yin continued to talk. He even tried threatening and tempting God of mes, but nothing triggered any sort of response at all. It was as if there really was no consciousness left in the figurine.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time in his Timestop Space was almost up. Surprisingly, it had taken him nearly a year to master the Infinity realm of Truesight, and that was even after using a Root of Intelligence. Time had gone by too quickly.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the figurine, and he finally transformed his eyes into runes. As soon as he did, there was a reaction from the figurine: it jumped up onto Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and its runes were verypatible with his own.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the little wax figure that stood on his shoulder. What did this mean?

    There was still no response or reaction from the figurine.

 Chapter 2159: Changing Reality Into The Intangible

    Chapter 2159: Changing Reality Into The Intangible

    Lu Yin tried to use the wax figurine¡¯s endless runes, much in the same manner where he had previously controlled the runes of the lit candle. It was a sess, as Lu Yin was able to control and manipte the nearly endless runes from the figurine without depleting them at all.

    Lu Yin studied the figurine for a while, and he gradually developed a bit of understanding regarding it. It seemed that God of mes¡¯ mind really had been erased during his transformation. Regardless of whether it took on the form of a candle or a wax figurine, what remained constant was that Lu Yin could manipte and almost perfectly merge with the practically endless runes as though they were his own.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were glowing, as this was quite intriguing. God of mes had been a peak Envoy, and if Lu Yin was able to freely manipte God of mes¡¯ runes, then it meant that Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of Truesight was enough for him to go against a peak Envoy head on.

    Even though he already did not fear experts with power levels of over a million due to the power that he had inherited from Progenitor Chen, morebat strength was never a bad thing.

    In essence, this wax figurine was a rune generator for Lu Yin. Even if he left the Fifth Maind, he would be able to manipte and control the runes of a peak Envoy, and that was even before Lu Yin used any of his personal strength or power.

    This would give him a wonderful means of keeping his own strength hidden, which would be extremely useful when he visited the Perennial World.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin left his Timestop Space, and he quickly pulled out the mirror so that he could speak with Progenitor Smoke.

    "Senior, pleasee out. I need to ask you for some advice." Lu Yin entered the pocket dimension within the mirror and softly called out.

    The woman¡¯s impatient voice emerged from the fog. "We¡¯ll talkter."

    Lu Yin gave a dryugh. "There¡¯s no one else who can offer me guidance in the current universe other than you. Even during the Heavens Sect era, there might not have been anyone better qualified. After all, thinking is your specialty."

    Some whileter, Progenitor Smoke finally appeared, her white clothes fluttering about as she stared at Lu Yin with her beautiful eyes that radiated her overbearing status. "I''m very busy right now, so hurry up."

    She then looked down at the wax figurine standing on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and she seemed surprised to see it. "What¡¯s that? A little person?"

    "Is there a miniature race of humans?" Lu Yin felt a bit confused.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "I have no idea! What the hell do you have here? It doesn¡¯t seem to have a consciousness."

    Lu Yin briefly shared the story of how the figurine hade to be.

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s mouth hung open when Lu Yin finished. "That¡¯s actually possible? What in the world was Old Fu studying?"

    "You didn''t know about this?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I had no clue. Old Fu was always a quiet person who kept to himself, never doing anything other than reading his books. Other than Hui Wen, no one bothered to pay attention to Old Fu. He was just a boring guy who never actually did anything. Compared to him, even Ku Jie acted like a normal person.

    "Right, you said that you want some advice, right? Is it about this little doll?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he asked, "I would like to ask you, Senior. Was there anyone from my Lu family who practiced Truesight back then?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Yes, Lu Jian."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Who was he? A member of the direct line?"

    Progenitor Smoke was intrigued by Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge. "How did you know that? Did your little doll tell you?"

    "This thing doesn¡¯t have any intelligence at all," Lu Yin said, "Please tell me about Lu Jian, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke thought for a moment. "Lu Jian was Uncle Lu Feng''s younger brother, and they were indeed true brothers. Lu Jian was a bit arrogant, and he always had a strong sense of pride. He was older than us, but we were all pretty close in age. He liked following Old Fu around, especially after Ku Jie beat him up. After that, Lu Jian was almost always with Old Fu.¡±

    "And you are absolutely right, he was a direct descendant of your Lu family."

    "Then what about his cultivation? How high was his mastery of Truesight?" Lu Yin asked eagerly.

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. "I didn¡¯t know him that well. The rest of us were all bing Progenitors one after another, but I remember that he was always a Semi-Progenitor. Actually, Hui Wen said that the guy would never be able to be a Progenitor. Something about his will not being steeled enough. Lu Jian wasn¡¯t the only person from your Lu family who waspeting with all of us back then, but unfortunately, all of the others were eventually wiped out. Also, Uncle Lu Feng didn¡¯t have any children at that time, as all of his kids were born after we were all already Semi-Progenitors.¡±

    "Even though your Lu family controlled the entire Fifth Maind, the members of your family have always struggled to produce children, and any who are born are either born very early in life, or veryte. Uncle Lu Feng was part of the older generation, being born very early in his parents¡¯ lives, and Lu Jian was born veryte in their lives. The two were actually brothers, but they weren¡¯t even from the same era, let alone the same generation."

    Lu Yin understood. This exined why no one from the Lu family had controlled any of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas aside from Patriarch Lu Tianyi. Was it possible that the Lu family had not produced anyone during Progenitor Chen¡¯s era who couldpete with the other geniuses who had be Progenitors?

    "Even though Hui Wen imed that Lu Jian would never be able to be a Progenitor, he was still very strong for his level. He was even able topete with Xia Shang and Ku Jie for a while," Progenitor Smoke recalled. She looked at Lu Yin as she continued to say, "As you should already know, the members of your Lu family are usually pretty talented, and if they also have a Champions¡¯ Stage, very few people are able to stand up to them. That¡¯s why Lu Jian was confident enough to challenge Ku Jie, and even if he ended up losing, he made Ku Jie work for it."

    "Senior, do you think that the Champions¡¯ Stage that Patriarch Lu Tianyi left behind might be Lu Jian?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s head snapped up, and she stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "That sounds pretty far-fetched, but it¡¯s not impossible. Actually, how else could one of your family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stages just show up without any exnation? I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it before."

    Lu Yin also felt it was a possibility. He even nned to go see if he could activate the Champions¡¯ Stage with Truesight.

    "I wonder, are you Lu Jian''s descendant, or Uncle Lu Feng''s?" Progenitor Smoke suddenlymented as she looked Lu Yin up and down. "I wonder if Lu Jian could be your ancestor."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, as he had never considered such a possibility.

    "Hahahaha, it would be pretty funny if your ancestor was actually Lu Jian," Progenitor Smoke said with a smile.

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s not very likely. From what I¡¯ve learned from people who knew them, there was only one direct line of the Lu family in the Perennial World."

    "Well, maybe Uncle Lu Feng didn¡¯t have any kids back then?"

    "Senior, you just told me yourself that he had a child when you were a Semi-Progenitor."

    "Still, you could be Lu Jian''s descendant, right? Even if Lu Jian lost his cultivation, his children would still be direct descendants of the Lu family. Uncle Lu Feng might not have had any descendants."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Smoke, speechless. "Senior, are you actually hoping for me to be Lu Jian''s descendant?"

    Progenitor Smoke blinked. "It¡¯d be more interesting that way, right?"

    Lu Yin had no desire to continue this conversation, so he left the pocket dimension within the mirror and made his way towards Earth, which was where the Champions¡¯ Stage had been left.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage had been left at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Twenty years ago, when there had been a very valid threat that Aeternus would defeat humanity, everyone had moved closer to Earth so that they could be closer to Jupiter and a possible escape route. Even though the threat had been removed, there were still many people in this region of the universe.

    During the twenty years that Lu Yin had been missing for, Arch-Elder Zen had examined the Champions¡¯ Stage on several different asions, but he had never had any sess at all. Despite knowing that the Champions'' Stage had been left behind by Progenitor Lu Tianyi, Arch-Elder Zen had no idea how to activate it.

    Lu Yin stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage in the Pacific Ocean for a moment and then took it away. Earth was too small and fragile for him to run any tests, as even the slightest shockwave or ident could shatter the entire. It was best to take the Champions¡¯ Stage into outer space to test it out.

    He soon arrived at a mountain peak within the Heavens Sect, and once it was clear that no one was nearby, Progenitor Smoke appeared and looked around questioningly. "When Hui Wen first started approaching all of us and asking us to leave behind some of our power to protect the Fifth Maind from any possible future threats, or at least allow some people to survive, Senior Lu Tianyi was the first to agree, and he left this Champions¡¯ Stage behind.

    "From that moment on, there was no longer any news of Lu Jian. Before that, we¡¯d asionally hear something now and then, but the more I think back to that time, the more likely I feel that this Champions¡¯ Stage might really be Lu Jian."

    Lu Yin grew emotional as he said, "Even though Progenitor Hui wasn¡¯t capable of divination or anything like that, he still was able to see through the years and predict what would happen. His intelligence really did exceed most people¡¯s."

    Progenitor Smoke just sneered. "Sess gets a personbeled as brilliant, while failurebels them as paranoid. It¡¯s all about the spin that gets put on things. Hui Wen was actually pretty unreliable, so let''s not talk about him any more. What are you going to do with this Champions¡¯ Stage?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "If this really is the result of someone using Truesight, then the only way to activate it will be with Truesight as well."

    Lu Yin had considered Enhancing the wax figurine that was left of God of mes again, but the man had been a peak Envoy. On the other hand, if this Champions¡¯ Stage really had once been Lu Jian, then he had been a Semi-Progenitor at the least, and a Semi-Progenitor from the Lu family at that. Lu Yin could not even begin to guess how much it would cost to Enhance the wax figurine until it surpassed the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils then transformed into runes as he stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    He had used Truesight to examine the Champions¡¯ Stage before, but unfortunately, his mastery of the cultivation method had been too low in the past, and he had been unable to observe anything at all. However, he had reached the Infinity realm of Truesight now, and this time, Lu Yin saw somethingpletely different when he looked at the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Truesight did not reveal a Champions¡¯ Stage to Lu Yin, but rather a mass of solidified runes. Lu Yin waved a hand to disperse some of the runes.

    Next to him, Progenitor Smoke was surprised to see that the appearance of the Champions¡¯ Stage suddenly changed, and it miraculously looked brand new. Its previously aged and decrepit look had disappeared, and it now looked sharp and rather more useful.

    She blinked. Old Fu had always been able to make a mess of things. When he had be a Progenitor, the flood of runes that had spread across the entire Fifth Maind had shocked everyone, including Patriarch Lu Tianyi. These runes were not something that could really be regarded as a cultivation method, as it was more like aplete civilization. The faith of the people who used Truesight had raised Old Fu to essentially be a god.

    The moment Old Fu became a Progenitor, practically no one within his realm had been able to stand up to him. No one knew just how powerful Old Fu had be after bing a Progenitor, but it was possible that he had beparable to even Xia Shang.

    While Progenitor Smoke was thinking about such things, the Champions¡¯ Stage in front of her rose up, manipted by Lu Yin. He stared at it and said, "With my name, I summon a champion."

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, a figure appeared, emerging from the void. It was a tall person, at least ten meters tall with a ferocious expression. There was a 100-meter long spear in the champion¡¯s hand, and an aura swept out in all directions. It was a terrifying power that startled Lu Buzheng and the other powerhouses.

    It was not that the aura was overly powerful, as it was not at the level of a Semi-Progenitor, but rather the overflowing bloodlust and killing intent. It was so excessive that it was possible to faintly detect the scent of blood.

    "A blood giant?" Progenitor Smoke was surprised.

    Lu Yin stared at the ten-meter tall champion in front of him, as well as the 100-meter long spear it wielded. This champion was clearly a giant, though he seemed to have been one of the lesser giants. This champion had a power level of more than a million, and summoning this champion caused stellr energy to flood out from Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    He immediately canceled the champion, and the Champions¡¯ Stage returned to its original aged and decrepit appearance as it smashed down onto the mountain peak with a bang.

    It worked. Lu Yin was incredibly excited, as this was great news: it had really worked.

    It was indeed possible to use Truesight to transform reality into the intangible. It was possible to transform into an innate gift. The existence of the manifested Champions¡¯ Stage was proof of concept.

 Chapter 2160: The Power Of Dual Pupils

    Chapter 2160: The Power Of Dual Pupils

    While there was no confirmation that a Progenitor had transformed into the Champions¡¯ Stage that Progenitor Lu Tianyi had left behind, the Lu patriarch would not have left anything weaker behind. Progenitor Hui also would not have epted anything that could not protect the Fifth Maind from Progenitors.

    However, if the Champions¡¯ Stage really was Lu Jian, and he had not be a Progenitor, then why was he able to anoint Progenitor-level champions?

    Also, there had been no one from the Lu family aside from Lu Jian who had cultivated Truesight to such a high level.

    The whole thing was strange, very strange.

    "It looks like this Champions¡¯ Stage really was Lu Jian. As far as I know, after Old Fu became a Progenitor, even though a lot of people started using his cultivation method, very few powerhouses used it, let alone people from your Lu family. Everyone from your family was famous throughout the entire Fifth Maind, even if they were from one of the branch families, and out of everyone alive back then, only Lu Jian was obsessed with Old Fu¡¯s power. On top of that,¡± Progenitor Smoke paused as he let out a breath, "Lu Jian hated the blood giants more than anyone. He even threatened to exterminate them and erase the entire race of blood giants."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Why?"

    Progenitor Smoke exined, "Blood giants are nothing more than a scourge. As countless years passed, different races of giants developed. Some became as powerful as the colossal giants who follow you but were peaceful creatures. Other races became much crueler, and their intelligence even faded away until all that was left was a desire for ughter. Of those monsters, the blood giants were the most infamous, as they killed everything wherever they went.¡±

    "Many people would kill any blood giant that they came across, but Lu Jian was a bit more excessive. Still, no one made any efforts to try to stop him."

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "If this Champions¡¯ Stage really was left behind by Ancestor Lu Jian, then does that mean that he did be a Progenitor?"

    "That¡¯s something that I don¡¯t understand, as there¡¯s no way that Lu Jian could have be a Progenitor without me knowing about it, but there¡¯s also no way Hui Wen would have messed around and epted a measure from Lu Tianyi that only had the strength to stop Semi-Progenitor threats. It¡¯s really strange." Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin. "Are you positive that this Champions¡¯ Stage has Progenitor-level champions?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "There definitely should be. At least, there are champions that I can¡¯t summon. If I tried to force things, even if my stellr energy reserves could handle the summoning, I can¡¯t tell if I would be able to summon those champions."

    "Then those should definitely be Progenitor-level champions. With your current strength, you should be able to summon Semi-Progenitor champions, and only Progenitor champions would be out of your reach," Progenitor Smokemented.

    Both people stared at the Champions'' Stage for a while, thinking about various possibilities, but not getting any closer to any conclusions. Eventually, Progenitor Smoke returned to her pocket dimension. She enjoyed researching Blood Alchemy, and quite frankly, the Champions¡¯ Stage had nothing at all to do with her.

    If even a living fossil like Progenitor Smoke could not understand the situation concerning the origins of the Champions¡¯ Stage, then there was no way for Lu Yin to unravel what had happened so many years ago. It was also impossible for Arch-Elder Zen to know anything. While the man understood that Progenitor Lu Tianyi had left behind some powerful champions, that was the extent of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s knowledge.

    After all, there had not been an active war when Progenitor Lu Tianyi had left the Champions¡¯ Stage behind.

    Lu Yin reluctantly returned the Champions¡¯ Stage to Earth. It was too conspicuous to leave it sitting around in the Heavens Sect, and it was better to keep it hidden on Earth.

    After testing the Champions'' Stage out, Lu Yin called Liu Huang. If Lu Yin wanted to use his newly acquired power during his trip to the Perennial World, he needed to first get used to it. Liu Huang happened to be staying in the Heavens Sect instead of returning to Sword Mountain, and the swordsman was a perfect training partner.

    "Attack you?" Liu Huang felt quite puzzled. "What sort of sword technique have you learned that you are hoping to test out, Dao Chosen?"

    "Just attack me."

    Liu Huang took out his sword and unleashed an attack without any hesitation. This sword sh was not one of the Thirteen Swords, but rather just an ordinary sh of his sword. Still, Liu Huang had a power level of over a million, which meant that any casual attack that he let loose could cut through the universe. Anyone who faced such an attack would feel an unprecedented sense of danger.

    Liu Huang held nothing back against Lu Yin. After all, the young man had already proven himself when he had executed Semi-Progenitor Wang Si, so Liu Huang saw no reason to hold anything back.

    As Liu Huang''s sword sh approached him, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes. He saw endless runes gathering together in this sword sh, but as Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted, the approaching runes quickly started to be erased. The influence of Truesight¡¯s Infinity realm waspletely different from the rity realm, and the number of runes that Lu Yin could influence was iparable to before.

    The rity realm of Truesight was only able to erase a portion of an attack¡¯s runes, while the Infinity realm allowed a person to directly alter the attack¡¯s runes. This difference meant that Lu Yin could seize control of the sword sh and redirect it. The sh shifted and moved past Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, slicing through the sr system.

    Liu Huang was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "What is this?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled upwards into a smile. He had tried to shift the approaching attack with the smallest amount of force possible. This was the power of Truesight¡¯s Infinity realm. Any attack that Lu Yin saw could be seen as runes, and influencing those runes gave Lu Yin the ability to shift and redirect the attack instead of simply erasing it. This meant that Lu Yin could take control of any attacksunched against him.

    If not for the difference in pure strength between Lu Yin and Liu Huang, Lu Yin would have tried to takeplete control of the attack and redirect it against the swordsman instead of simply shifting it.

    Even when facing an opponent with such a clear advantage in cultivation, Lu Yin was able to shift an attack,pletely invalidating it.

    This was the power of the Rune Progenitor and the fathomless ability of Truesight. This was an example of the miraculous power that the Rune Civilization had wielded.

    "Again!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Liu Huang''s expression changed, and his sword shed out again. This time, he used one of the Thirteen Swords, and the power of this attackpletely eclipsed the first sh in both raw strength and speed.

    Lu Yin waspletely unable to evade this attack, and the attacknded and cut him before he was even able to use Truesight.

    Liu Huang was shocked. "Dao Chosen!"

    Lu Yin raised a hand. "I¡¯m fine."

    Liu Huang let out a sigh of relief, though he also felt quite frustrated. He had been known as the Sword Sect¡¯s peerless genius. The fact that he had seeded in creating the Fourteenth Sword had boosted his self-confidence, as had the fact that his mere existence had scared the Neoverse so badly that he had been secretly captured and imprisoned in Gaia''s Swamp.

    And yet, despite all that, Liu Huang felt that he could notpare to the young man in front of himself. This youth far, far surpassed the genius swordsman.

    Just how talented was Lu Yin? What had he done to render Liu Huang¡¯s attack so ineffective? Seeing the results of his own attack was too shocking to Liu Huang.

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath. He had been lucky that he had put up some measure of defenses with the Knowing realm of Truesight, as otherwise, Liu Huang¡¯s sword sh would have left him with terrible injuries.

    The Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword was simply too fast. When Lu Yin had first seen Liu Shaoqiu use it, the swordsman¡¯s opponent had been eliminated before they could even see the attack. While the Infinity realm of Truesight gave Lu Yin the power to shift and redirect attacks, such an ability was useless if he was not fast enough to react to an attack.

    "Let¡¯s go again. Use the First Sword again," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Huang nodded, and his sword flickered out. The Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword shot out once more.

    This time, a tiny figurine appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and Lu Yin waved a hand when he saw Liu Huang¡¯s sword move. The endless runes that belonged to the wax figurine swept out, and even though the sword sh was incredibly fast, the movements of the runes within Lu Yin¡¯s perception could not escape his notice. He easily altered the direction of the attack this time, rendering the First Sword useless against him.

    Liu Huang stared at what seemed like a little doll on Lu Yin''s shoulder in surprise. What was that thing?

    "Again!" Lu Yin yelled.

    Liu Huang raised his sword.

    Over the next three days, Lu Yin continued to test things out in a spar with Liu Huang, slowly familiarizing himself with the Infinity realm of Truesight.

    While Lu Yin was testing his new limits, in the far distant Neoverse, Qing Ping received a response from the creeper who was a spy for humanity in the Astral Beast Domain. The beast had died.

    This news quickly reached Lu Yin, and he immediately ended his spar with Liu Huang. Lu Yin¡¯s expression was somber as he responded to the report, "Dead? How did it die?"

    Qing Ping replied, "All we were able to find out is that the creeper¡¯s dead. We weren¡¯t given any details. If not for the creeper¡¯s high status within its n, we wouldn''t have even learned of its death."

    "Senior Brother, are you saying that the creeper¡¯s death wasn¡¯t deliberately reported to you?" Lu Yin tried to rify.

    "No. We have always paid attention to the most powerful species in the Astral Beast Domain, which is how we learned of the creeper¡¯s death."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Given this information, it seemed possible that the creeper might not have died because it had been exposed as a spy for humans. It might have been killed because it had been investigating the humanoid sourceboxes.

    In that case, did Skymender already know that Lu Yin was aware of that secret location?

    This was something that Lu Yin had to get answers to. Those humanoid sourceboxes represented a hidden danger, and with the creeper dead, there was no one in the Astral Beast Domain who could investigate this matter. Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, but it seemed that his only option was to rely on his old methods and try to roll Possession on his die.

    After all, he still had an absurd amount of star essence, and it was enough for Possession.

    "I''m getting closer and closer to my breakthrough," Qing Ping sent.

    Lu Yin replied, "I know. I¡¯m hurrying to deal with a few matters as soon as possible."

    As soon as Lu Yin finished the conversation, he returned to where he had gone into seclusion in the past. He raised a hand and brought out his die. His goal was to roll Possession and merge with the body of a powerhouse from the Astral Beast Domain. That was the fastest and most reliable method to uncover the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s secrets.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength meant that he should be able to Possess experts with power levels of at least a million.

    He stared as the die slowly came to a stop. One pip. This was no surprise, as it was the mostmon roll.

    Some useless item fell out, and Lu Yin quickly tapped the die again.

    The second roll was Enhance, but the third rollnded on Possession.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he entered the strange dark space with the orbs of light.

    He saw balls of light in every direction, but all of them were dim. Some were so faded that they were practically invisible.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current level of strength, just how many living creatures in the universe were on the same level as him?

    Lu Yin''s consciousness roamed the dark space, but almost every orb that he saw was dim. Suddenly, he saw a single bright light, and he shot forward and merged into it without any hesitation. The longer he remained in that dark space, the more star essence he would burn through.

    The next instant, darkness gave way to light. Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw that he was inside arge hall. It was extremely luxurious, but after seeing the new Heavens Sect, every other building that Lu Yin saw was inferior.

    However, there was one thing in the hall that drew his attention. There were eyes carved into the stone in every direction. It felt as though anyone in the hall was being stared at by countless eyes.

    Someone was kneeling in front of Lu Yin, and he looked down at the figure. Huh? Xu San?

    Memories started to flood Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and an odd expression appeared on his face. He had actually Possessed Ancestor Lingtong.

    Ancestor Lingtong was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s most talented geniuses. When he had been a World Imprinter, he had been considered invincible within his cultivation realm, and after he had broken through to be a Cosmic Imprinter, he had managed to expose one of the hidden Skygods. The man¡¯sbat strength was considered superior to even an old Cosmic Imprinter like Ancestor Sightless.

    Lu Yin had had dealings with Ancestor Lingtong before, primarily when he had secretly taken away the lesser giants from the Sixth Maind during the war against the Astral Beast Domain when the Great Eastern Alliance had moved out to protect the Outerverse from invasion.

    Ancestor Lingtong was also Xu San''s master.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes again and looked around, but what he saw was very different from his normal vision. Everything looked different. He looked back down at Xu San, and the man looked entirely different from before. Lu Yin could see Xu San¡¯s body, meridians, and even his blood. This was the power of Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s innate gift of Double Sight. It was no wonder how the man had discovered one of the Seven Skygods who had been in hiding.

    Xu San was respectfully kneeling on the floor, his eyes darting about nervously. He had approached his master to request more resources. Xu San did not have enough star essence to meet his needs, and he had many underlings waiting for him. He had once been extremely extravagant in his spending, but he was currently broke.

 Chapter 2161: Lu Yins Ambition

    Chapter 2161: Lu Yin''s Ambition

    From Ancestor Lingtong¡¯s memories, Lu Yin knew why Xu San was meeting with his master. However, due to the lessons that Lu Yin had learned after Possessing Liu Ye and speaking with Fei Hua, Lu Yin purposefully kept his mouth shut.

    Once he was back in his own body, Lu Yin fell deep into thought. Ancestor Lingtong really could not be underestimated at all. Not only had he been aware that his disciple, Xu San, was Lu Yin¡¯s follower since long ago, but the old man had also been aware that Xu San had reached out to Lu Yin and the Great Eastern Alliance for help. Even then, Ancestor Lingtong had remained silent, as his only reason for keeping Xu San around was for his own stellr tribtion.

    Xu San had been epted as a disciple because he had the exact same innate gift as Ancestor Lingtong. Thus, it was possible for Xu San to buy the old man a brief moment¡¯s respite during a stellr tribtion. Aside from that single benefit, he had absolutely no concern for Xu San whatsoever.

    On top of that, Lu Yin had learned that Ancestor Lingtong had absolutely no bottom line. When the true universe in the Human Domain had been drained of all stellr energy, the old man had entertained the idea of defecting to Aeternus. This man was quite dangerous to keep around.

    In truth, many people had simr thoughts to Ancestor Lingtong. If there were not, then Aeternus would have never been able to create their Aeternus Nation.

    Without Aeternus presenting any sort of threat to humanity, such people were no different from anyone else. However, as soon as the Aeternals returned to attack humanity, these people would very possibly turn traitor.

    Lu Yin immediately sent a message to Lan Xian, asking her to keep an eye on Ancestor Lingtong. The man could not be allowed to develop further.

    Lan Xian felt a bit confused when she received Lu Yin''s message. Ancestor Lingtong? I think that I remember hearing something about his disciple once being Lu Yin¡¯s follower. How odd.

    Lu Yin quickly checked his cosmic ring. When he had Possessed the ancestor of the Meng n, Lu Yin had only burned through 3 billion star essence, and that man had only been one cultivation realm beneath Ancestor Lingtong. Ancestor Lingtong was stronger, but he had been much closer to Lu Yin¡¯s body during the Possession; despite this, the consumption of star essence had been much more excessive.

    Thirteen billion. A total of 13 billion star essence had just been used up.

    Lu Yin swallowed. This was just too much. He had only spent a brief amount of time Possessing Ancestor Lingtong, and he had even been rtively close to the man. And yet, a huge amount of star essence had been consumed.

    There was only a single realm of cultivation separating Ancestor Lingtong and the Meng n¡¯s ancestor, but Possessing Ancestor Lingtong had been 10 billion star essence more expensive.

    Lu Yin felt pained by this realization. He knew that Possession cost more the more powerful the target was, but Ancestor Lingtong had only recently broken through to the Cosmic Imprinter realm. He still needed to pass his seventh and eighth stellr tribtions to reach the same cultivation level as the Second Nightking. Just how much would it cost Lu Yin to Possess a powerhouse at that level?

    He was also going with the assumption that his Possessions would be extremely brief.

    Lu Yin had Possessed White Sage for quite a long time, but the man had only been a four-tribtion Envoy. Even then, Lu Yin had only consumed thirty billion star essence for that lengthy Possession. He could not even imagine how much it would cost to Possess Ancestor Lingtong for aparable amount of time.

    After all, in the future, if Lu Yin Possessed an optimal target, he naturally would not want to end the Possession too quickly.

    No, his resources were still far, far from being sufficient. He needed more.

    He looked to the west. The Technocracy was still gathering star essence to send to Lu Yin, and they had estimated that they would send several hundred billion more to Lu Yin. The thought of such wealth caused Lu Yin to swallow from the mounting anticipation.

    He needed to take a break, as he could not roll his die for at least ten days.

    Lu Yin made it a point to check with his senior brother Qing Ping that the man could wait for another ten days. Actually, it would have to be a bit longer than that before Qing Ping could attempt his breakthrough, as they needed to find a suitable location after arriving in the Perennial World.

    ¡­

    The darkness of the prison felt oppressive. Water dripped down in a distant corner, and the asional sound of nging chains could be heard.

    A prisoner was confined to a cell. Their head hung low, long hair concealed their face, chains bound their limbs, and blood stained their clothes. There was a wound on their right shoulder where the person had been stabbed, and there was no sign of the injury healing. Blood continued to drip from the wound, slowly puddling on the floor after dripping down the prisoner¡¯s clothes.

    Footsteps echoed through the prison, and the figure suddenly moved and raised their head to look out from the cell. A man¡¯s clouded eyes met another pair of eyes that looked incredibly familiar. The prisoner said, "So, you¡¯re finally here."

    Lu Yin stood outside the cell and stared at the pathetic form of the prisoner. "Xia Ji, it¡¯s been quite a long time."

    The prisoner was indeed Xia Ji. He had been imprisoned at the same time as the people from the Perennial World, and this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the man.

    Xia De and Xia Ji had both been imprisoned, but for entirely different reasons. The four ruling powers as a whole were enemies with the Lu family, while Xia Ji had a personal enmity against Lu Yin. That was why Xia Ji had been isted from the other captives, and it was also why Lu Yin had no ns to let him leave the ce alive.

    Wang Si had been the first of the prisoners to be executed, and Xia Ji was most likely to be the second.

    The cell opened, and Lu Yin walked in close to Xia Ji.

    The man picked up his head to stare at Lu Yin. "What? Did youe here to kill me?"

    "You look tired. Does it make you ufortable to have to look up at me?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Rage and bloodlust covered Xia Ji''s face as he red at Lu Yin. "I should have killed you back then. I should have never hesitated!"

    Lu Yin shook his head and looked down at the prisoner. "You never had the chance, as I ran away first. Now, you¡¯ll never get the opportunity."

    Xia Ji shot to his feet to attack, but he was easily pped back to the floor by Lu Yin. "I already killed Wang Si, and your inner world¡¯s been destroyed. What makes you any different from her?"

    Xia Ji continued to re at Lu Yin. "I contributed greatly during the fight against Aeternus. Aren¡¯t you worried that you¡¯ll be reviled by all of humanity for killing me without just cause?"

    "I¡¯m the one who forced the Aeternals out of the Fifth Maind, so who aplished more: you or me?" Lu Yin shot back.

    Xia Ji roared in fury, rattling his chains as he struggled against them.

    Lu Yin continued to mock the man. "All of this is just a waste of time. I¡¯ve taken control of the entire Fifth Maind, which means that you¡¯re doomed. If not for you, those seventy two members of the Lu family would have never been targeted and killed."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew increasingly angry as he continued speaking. "Everyone from Big Sis¡¯s mercenaries treated me like family, and then seventy two of them were killed because of you. You schemed against us, and I know that you never imagined that you would one day face retribution for those actions."

    Xia Ji roared, "But you didn¡¯t die! You''re not dead!"

    "True, I didn''t die, but that just means that you have to pay for your crimes now," Lu Yin replied.

    Xia Ji red at Lu Yin as though he wished he could devour the young man.

    The man had never imagined that he would fall from being a glorious and respected Semi-Progenitor to a mere prisoner. He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he had once been one of the seven most powerful individuals in the entire Human Domain. He had been bold enough to scheme against the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Ind, and he had even managed to defeat both Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster in a fight. He had hidden one of his clones as God of Magenta, who had risen up to be one of the most powerful elders in Gods'' Origin.

    One of his clones should have been able to cultivate Truesight to the pinnacle, while another should have been able to cultivate the Cosmic Art and receive the inheritance that Progenitor Chen had left behind. If he had gained control over the stars ands in the Fifth Maind, then he would have be truly invincible. The Fifth Maind should have belonged to Xia Ji! Everything should have fallen to him!

    And yet, in the end, this child standing in front of him¡ªthis beast, this bastard had seized the advantage and stolen everything from Xia Ji.

    Insanity filled Xia Ji''s eyes. They grew bloodshot as he red at Lu Yin. The old man¡¯s hatred rose to extremes that he had never known possible before. "I never believed in karma before, but now I really hope that it¡¯s real. With all the people you¡¯ve killed and how many people your family has ruined, I can only imagine the retribution that will one day rain down upon you!"

    Lu Yinughed loudly. "A magnificent Semi-Progenitor hopes that karma is real? Xia Ji, it seems that the faith you once held in Progenitor Chen¡¯s invincibility has beenpletely shattered beyond all hope of recovery. If he were still alive and knew that he had a descendant like you, he¡¯d probably drop dead out of anger."

    "You bastard! Everything that you¡¯ve obtained came from Progenitor Chen! Don¡¯t you fear retribution from killing me, his descendant? Progenitor Chen isn¡¯t dead! Progenitor Chen can''t die! He¡¯ll avenge me and kill you for me!" Xia Ji roared.

    Lu Yin exhaled and then reached out to grab hold of Xia Ji''s hair. "Long ago, before Progenitor Chen rose to power, he was hated by Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and they wanted him dead. It was one of my Lu family¡¯s ancestors who saved Progenitor Chen and offered him protection. Not so long ago, you allowed Xia Yi to kill his own children. How are you any different from Shenwu¡¯s Sky from back then? Not only that, you wanted to betray Progenitor Chen¡¯s family and return to Shenwu¡¯s Sky. You¡¯ve betrayed Progenitor Chen.¡±

    "If there is karma, then it¡¯s true that I owe Progenitor Chen a debt, but Progenitor Chen also owes a debt to my Lu family, so who can tell if there is any debt left? All I know is that Progenitor Chen wants to destroy Aeternus, and that goal is good enough. As for you-" Lu Yin paused for a moment. "You¡¯re nothing more than a traitor."

    "That¡¯s bullshit!" Xia Ji raged.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Don''t try to tell me that you knew nothing about what happened between Progenitor Chen and Shenwu¡¯s Sky all those years ago. Do you want to try to tell me that you inherited Progenitor Chen¡¯s power and had ess to Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum for all those years, and yet never knew about his history? In the end, you betrayed Progenitor Chen and wanted to acknowledge your ancestors to return to Shenwu¡¯s Sky. You never even thought about what Progenitor Chen would think of that."

    Xia Ji fiercely replied, "Even if Progenitor Chen were still alive, after so many years, he would know that it¡¯s time to recognize his blood and return to his n!"

    "You don¡¯t understand anything about Progenitor Chen at all!" Lu Yin shouted back.

    Xia Ji lost all control. "I am Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendant! What are you? I''ve seen Progenitor Chen''s memories! Practiced his Triple de Will and the Nine Clones Secret Technique! What have you done? You¡¯re nothing but a thief who stole his power!"

    "Progenitor Chen isn¡¯t dead," Lu Yin said quietly.

    Xia Ji waspletely stunned, and his eyes grew dull as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back at the older man. "Back when the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Secret Arts tried to destroy Burial Garden and eliminate all of those ancient inheritances, his attempt was blocked. Aside from Progenitor Chen himself, who else could have done that? You know that retaliation was Progenitor Chen''s power."

    Xia Ji''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, and he started to tremble as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued, "Progenitor Chen is still alive. How could someone invincible like Progenitor Chen die? He isn¡¯t dead¡ªhe¡¯s in Burial Garden, and he will eventually emerge. When he does, how many people from your Xia family will still be alive? Will you be among them?¡±

    Xia Ji''s face grew pale, and his trembling grew worse. Progenitor Chen was still alive? Yes, Xia Ji had already known that. He had seen the sh that had forced the Progenitor of Secret Arts back, and he had known that that was Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. Xia Ji had been waiting for Progenitor Chen to return, waiting for Progenitor Chen to lead their family back to the peak. However, Progenitor Chen had not returned. Instead, it had just been Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, which had been usurped by Lu Yin.

    That power rightfully belonged to Xia Ji!

    "Do you want to wait for Progenitor Chen¡¯s return?" Lu Yin asked coldly.

    rity returned to Xia Ji''s eyes, and he once again focused on Lu Yin. "What do you want to do?"

    Lu Yin let go of the man¡¯s hair and looked down on Xia Ji from above. "What about you? Do you want to wait for Progenitor Chen¡¯s return?

    "Do you want to see Progenitor Chen?

    "Do you want to feel his invincible power?

    "Do you want Progenitor Chen to protect your family and lead you to the pinnacle?

    "Do you want to see your Xia family dominate the Fifth Maind?"

    Each sentence struck Xia Ji''s mind like a sledgehammer. The words Lu Yin spoke became engraved on the older man¡¯s heart. His mind raced. He did dream of seeing Progenitor Chen and witnessing his ancestor¡¯s invincible power. Xia Ji wanted his faith in Progenitor Chen¡¯s invincibility to be restored so that he could once again walk down the path towards bing a Progenitor.

    As Xia Ji¡¯s mind continued to race, he realized that he could not ept things. He could not ept failing after all of his years of nning and preparations. He could not ept failing to be a Progenitor. More than anything, Xia Ji could not ept dying at the hands of this junior who had stolen Progenitor Chen''s power.

    "What do you want?" Xia Ji roared, his chains vibrating from the strain as he struggled to reach Lu Yin. The man almost tore his limbs off in his struggle, and blood ran down the chains in a constant stream.

    Lu Yin stared back at the prisoner. "I want to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

 Chapter 2162: Wrong Identity

    Chapter 2162: Wrong Identity

    Xia Ji froze at Lu Yin''s words for a moment, and then he just stared at the young man in a daze. However, Xia Ji was quickly ovee with contempt and ridicule. "You want to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique? Hahahaha, you want to create nine clones? You bastard child! You covet Progenitor Chen¡¯s power! The power of my ancestor! You¡¯ve already stolen the Cosmic Art, and now you want the Nine Clones Secret Technique too? Just who do you think you are that you can learn it?"

    Lu Yin remained confident. "Yes, I want to learn it."

    "Why should I teach you anything? You want the Nine Clones Secret Technique? Stop dreaming!" Xia Ji roared before suddenly letting out a wildugh. It sounded as though he felt a moment of triumph from managing to deprive Lu Yin of something that he wanted for a change.

    Lu Yin also smiled. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique was never Progenitor Chen''s technique, but rather Shenwu''s Sky''s, so why can''t I learn it? In exchange, I will promise you that if you give me the secret technique, I can allow you to live and enjoy a happy life. You might even be able to stick around until Progenitor Chen returns."

    Xia Ji¡¯s voice grew cold. "Why should I trust you? How many promises have you made throughout the years, and how many of them have you actually fulfilled? You may want to be invincible like Progenitor Chen, but you aren¡¯t qualified! You don¡¯t have even a hint of an invincible heart!"

    "You¡¯re in no position to negotiate with me. You can never be a Progenitor if you¡¯re dead." With that, Lu Yin simply turned around and left. If Xia Ji would not cooperate, Lu Yin might be able to learn the secret technique from Shenwu''s Sky while visiting the Perennial World.

    He had long since wanted to acquire this secret technique, and even if he had managed to learn Progenitor Chen¡¯s many other techniques, this particr secret technique had always slipped through his fingers. Even if he could not master it, it was good to see the inner workings of the technique.

    Who would not want to be capable of eliminating a Progenitor with a single clone as Progenitor Chen had once done? It was the most overbearing aplishment throughout all of history.

    "Wait! I¡¯m not done talking to you, you little bastard! Get back here! I still have something to say to you! Get back here! You¡­" Xia Ji''s voice slowly faded away.

    Lu Yin left the prison, pulled out Zenith Mountain, and then went to speak to Elder Qing Xing.

    "Have you thought of an identity that I can use?" Lu Yin asked. He had previously asked Elder Qing Xing to think of an identity that Lu Yin could use as an alias in the Perennial World. Lu Yin wanted an identity that would not stand out too much, but would also allow him to get close to the four ruling powers, if he so wished.

    Elder Qing Xing mentioned a few different options. Such an identity was not difficult toe up with, especially for someone like Elder Qing Xing.

    However, the few options that were mentioned did not meet Lu Yin''s new criteria. "I want to be able to get close to Shenwu''s Sky."

    This posed a challenge to Elder Qing Xing. "I am part of the Celestial Frost Sect, and while I know some people with ties to my sect, I have almost no connections to Shenwu''s Sky."

    "If I wanted to get close to the Celestial Frost Sect, I could just take on Liu Shaoge¡¯s identity," Lu Yin said.

    Elder Qing Xing thought of something after a moment. "You should probably ask Yu Chen. Her jade butterflies are an intelligence organization, and she has ess to more information than I."

    Lu Yin frowned, as he had thought of aplication: no matter if it was Elder Qing Xing or Yu Chen, could they really have ess to any information that the Celestial Frost Sect did not? That seemed highly improbable. In the same vein as how all of Wei Rong¡¯s contacts and sources of information had been given to him by Lu Yin, it was impossible for the Celestial Frost Sect to ever allow an intelligence organization to bepletely controlled by a maid like Yu Chen. While that may have been the case back when Bai Shaohong had been alive, there was no way that they would have allowed that to continue.

    This meant that it would be very easy for the Celestial Frost Sect to verify any identity that Lu Yin was given by Yu Chen. After all, it was impossible for him to learn every detail about the life of whomever he disguised himself as, and that was a massive problem.

    However, who could Lu Yin turn to aside from Yu Chen or Elder Qing Xing?

    At that moment, Lu Yin thought of Kui Luo, and his eyes lit up. That man had spent his life roaming through the Perennial World and digging into everyone¡¯s secrets. Forget Yu Chen¡¯s jade butterflies¡ªit was possible that not even all four ruling powers¡¯ intelligenceworksbined could equal the information that a Semi-Progenitor had managed to umte, not to mention apletely shameless Semi-Progenitor who had managed to evade capture for so many years.

    Lu Yin immediately sent a message to Kui Luo, asking him to visit the Heavens Sect.

    However, Kui Luo did not respond to Lu Yin¡¯s message. Even after Lu Yin sent several reminders, there was still no reply.

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do but wait. It was clear that Kui Luo did not want to speak to Lu Yin.

    Five days passed, during which Lu Yin sent multiple messages to Kui Luo. However, he never received any answer. Lu Yin even started worrying that something might have happened to the old man, but who was capable of making trouble for Kui Luo?

    Days had already passed without Lu Yin getting an answer, and he could not wait any longer. He had to find Kui Luo, no matter what the old man was in the middle of. Lu Yin was about to leave for the Perennial World, and he needed to secure an alias for his visit.

    This led Lu Yin to use the Cosmic Art, and as he merged with Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, he felt as though his body had merged with the universe. His mind spread out to epass the entire Human Domain, and stars ands entered his perception.

    At that instant, Lu Buzheng, Destina, and all of the other Semi-Progenitors looked up. They could sense the power of a Progenitor appearing, and they knew that Lu Yin was using the power of Progenitor Chen.

    Within the prison, Xia Ji also felt what Lu Yin was doing, and he started to rage. That power should have belonged to Xia Ji! He should have been the one to rule the Fifth Maind!

    After operating the Cosmic Art and merging with the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin almost instantly located Kui Luo.

    The old man was on the Astral River, in the eastern region of the Innerverse. This was the ce where the Aeternals had thrown one of the crystals with the mysterious droplets within it, as well as where Lu Yin had drifted into the Technocracy and entered Sky Creation Academy¡¯s territory long ago.

    "Old man, I''m looking for you!" Lu Yin yelled across the stars, shaking the Astral River itself with his shout.

    Kui Luo was badly startled. He could not see Lu Yin at all, so the old man simply yelled into the emptiness of outer space, "Why are you looking for me? All my fish swam away! I waited a long time and they were on the verge of being hooked?"

    Lu Yin stopped using the Cosmic Art, instead pulling out his wireless jincan and sending a message to Kui Luo.

    This time, the old man responded almost instantly, "You little brat! I almost caught it! I¡¯m so mad right now, you better not ask for anything, as I won¡¯t help you!"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What were you trying to catch?"

    "What does anyone try to catch from the Astral River? Fish of course! Dumbass." Kui Luo was clearly quite upset.

    Lu Yin felt rather surprised. "Why were you trying to catch fish? Have your hobbies changed? Do you enjoy fishing now?"

    "What do you know? That¡¯s not a normal fish! It''s massive and powerful. I happened to see it when I was passing by, so I wanted to catch it and use it as a mount to move around in the Astral River. Who could have expected the thing to toss me in the water and get away? It was actually toying with me," Kui Luo replied.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "You¡¯re a Semi-Progenitor."

    "That''s just the thing! That fish slipped out of my hand, and I wasn¡¯t able to catch it!" Kui Luo replied. His inner world was known as the Dragon Gate, which referred to fish having to leap up a waterfall. This made the old man the natural nemesis of fish, and it was also why he had decided to catch the fish as soon as he had seen it. However, Kui Luo had instead been tossed into the water of his own inner world. He could not ept such an oue, as it was humiliating.

    "Are you saying that that fish was as strong as a Semi-Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo sent back, "I don''t know, but it got away, so hurry up with whatever it is you want. I didn¡¯t have time to destroy that fish with my inner world before it escaped from my Dragon¡¯s Gate."

    "Didn¡¯t you just say that you wanted to catch the fish?" Lu Yin asked back.

    Kui Luo was clearly upset. "If I see that fish again, I¡¯m going to kill it!"

    "Is the thing sapient?" Lu Yin asked. Logically speaking, that should not have been possible, as how would any fish be content with staying in the Astral River if it had the strength to escape from Kui Luo? However, how could any creature have gained such strength without developing some level of intelligence? Nothing about this made sense.

    Kui Luo was also stumped by Lu Yin¡¯s question. "I have no clue. I¡¯ll just have to wait and find out after I catch the damn thing. I never really paid any attention to the Astral River, but it seems that quite a few secrets are hidden within it, such as how it formed and what lives in it. This old man¡¯s curiosity has been piqued, and I¡¯m going to find out."

    Lu Yin also felt quite curious. He had not really paid much attention to the Astral River before, either. The only time that anything had really stood out had been the one time when the Astral River had surged, and while crossing it, Lu Yin and some others had seen a massive beast swimming through the Astral River. The beast¡¯s strength had been aplete mystery.

    Hearing Kui Luo¡¯s story made Lu Yin think that there might be something more to the Astral River. Mysteries beyond what anyone knew could dwell within its depths.

    Along those lines, pyrolyte was being mined from the Astral River, but why was there pyrolyte there in the first ce? It was another detail that no one could answer.

    Still, this was not the time to worry about such questions. "I need you to help mee up with an alias to use for my trip to the Perennial World."

    "I¡¯m not doing that now! You just ruined my fun, and now you want me to help you?" Kui Luo¡¯s response was almost instantaneous.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "When I get back from the Perennial World, I¡¯ll use Progenitor Chen''s power to help you catch that fish. You should have heard of forcing a fish out with an explosion."

    Kui Luo''s eyes lit up. "That''ll work! Fine, you¡¯ve said it, so don¡¯t forget it."

    "Don''t worry about that, as you can just call me. However, I¡¯ll only help you if you can help mee up with a decent cover for my trip," Lu Yin sent back.

    Kui Luo asked, "What are the requirements?"

    Lu Yin repeated his request.

    Kui Luo thought for a while, and then he finally sent back. "I think I¡¯ve got someone who would work for your cover, but you¡¯ll have to deal with a bit of embarrassment."

    "What kind of embarrassment?"

    "Have you ever been cuckolded before?"

    Lu Yin wanted to smack the old man. "What¡¯s that supposed to mean?"

    "I¡¯ll just tell you when I get back. This thing¡¯s a pain."

    That was thest message sent, as Kui Luo put his wireless jincan away and immediately headed towards the Outerverse.

    He had already been rather close, and given the speed of a Semi-Progenitor, he soon arrived at the Heavens Sect.

    The old man let out a cough as Lu Yin red at him. "There¡¯s a city on the Bifrost named Yu City, and it¡¯s been controlled by the Yu family for generations. The family has a young son known as Young Master Yu. He¡¯s called that not only because of his surname, but also because of his appearance. He¡¯s famous for being as beautiful as jade and being the prettiest man alive. If he were dressed as a woman, he¡¯d still be considered one of the most attractive people alive. His appearance matches his name, so everyone calls him Young Master Yu.¡±

    "There¡¯s a woman from Shenwu''s Sky whose name is Xia Zhitong. She¡¯s rather attractive, but she¡¯s famous for her lifestyle, which is quite excessive. For some reason or another, Xia Zhitong married Young Master Yu, but after that came the worst thing that the kid could have imagined.

    "Not only did he end up wearing a green hat dozens of times over, but Xia Zhitong also had endless lovers even before they got married. After they got married, she openly brought her lover to live in Yu City. Even Young Master Yu¡¯s father, the city lord, didn¡¯t dare to do anything given Xia Zhitong¡¯s backing. Not only was she from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but her lover was much stronger than the city lord. From the moment she arrived and settled in, Yu City started to change.¡±

    "Young Master Yu was tortured by his wife¡¯s actions, and the city lord was almost killed by his fury. It got so bad that Young Master Yu eventually couldn''t bear the humiliation, so hemitted suicide. Yu City fell into other hands, and the city celebrated as Xia Zhitong brought even more guests into her home to entertain her. The whole thing¡¯s been regarded as one of the biggest jokes in the entire Perennial World."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Kui Luo. "And you want me to pretend to be this Young Master Yu?"

    "That''s right." Kui Luo nodded, a very odd look in his eyes.

    "Please tell me, just why in the world would I ever agree to pretend to be such a person?"

 Chapter 2163: Seeing Blackless God Again

    Chapter 2163: Seeing ckless God Again

    A disturbing smile appeared on Kui Luo¡¯s face as he looked at Lu Yin¡¯s dissatisfaction. "It''s very simple: Young Master Yu meets all of your requirements. On top of that, because of what he lived through, you have the justification to act even more ruthlessly in the Perennial World without any of the true powerhouses caring. None of them will bother with you."

    "He passes all of my criteria?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Kui Luo started raising fingers as he continued, "First, Xia Zhitong¡¯s from Shenwu''s Sky, which gives you a connection there. You¡¯ll be Shenwu''s Sky''s son-inw, which will allow you to openly go and rely on them. That¡¯s one, right?¡±

    "Second, do you know how Yu City was first founded? They sell the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. Many of the citizens of the city travel to the Lower Realm to collect bark, which is something that you also need.¡±

    "Third, the entire reason why Shenwu''s Sky wanted Xia Zhitong to marry Young Master Yu is because the Yu family used to support the Lu family."

    Thisst bit of news caught Lu Yin off guard. "They supported the Lu family? Then why weren¡¯t they just wiped out?"

    Kui Luo exined, "Because Young Master Yu''s father betrayed the Yu family. After the Lu family was exiled, but before the four ruling powers moved against the Yu family, the previous city lord, who had always supported the Lu family, was eliminated by his own son. So, Young Master Yu''s father arrested his own father before personally sending the old man to the four ruling powers. That old man should currently be part of the Star Alliance.

    "Also, Xia Zhitong was sent to marry into the Yu family because the family acted too decisively. The four ruling powers have always suspected that the capture of the previous city lord was just a trick, so they sent Xia Zhitong to Yu City. The woman has always had a terrible reputation, and Shenwu¡¯s Sky couldn¡¯t tolerate her actions, but didn¡¯t want to deal with her. So, they sent her to act as a means to control the Yu family."

    Lu Yin felt like he needed to ask something. "Why do you know so much about the Yu family¡¯s history?"

    Kui Luo sighed. "The four ruling powers never gave up on trying to catch me, and things got worse after the Lu family was exiled. Luo Zhe was locked up in the Crimson Garden, while I escaped. However, I was seriously injured, and I ended up on the Bifrost. I spent some time recovering in Yu City. Young Master Yu helped me, so after recovering, I returned to visit the city a few times. Honestly, he even killed himself right in front of me."

    "You didn''t stop him?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Kui Luo sneered. "It was what he wanted. To start off, he fell for Xia Zhitong the first time they met, and he even followed her straight to her bed. It was after that that he agreed to marry her, and there was no point in trying to stop him. Shenwu¡¯s Sky didn¡¯t even try to force things¡ªeverything that happened was the kid¡¯s own fault. Even if Young Master Yu was good looking, he really was a piece of trash. He never bothered to spend time cultivating, and even though he was a man, he was a sucker who was basically the perfect target for bullies.

    "He was too passive and wasn¡¯t decisive at all. His only redeeming trait was that he was kind, but unfortunately, that¡¯s not something that brings any benefits to people."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "You never considered helping the man get revenge?"

    Kui Luo shook his head. "Helping will just bring suffering onto whoever offers it. The Yu family¡¯s already done for, so there¡¯s no reason to help them."

    Lu Yinughed. While Kui Luo had not helped the Yu family, he was basically trying to set things up so that Lu Yin would help the family recover. The only thing was, given the old man¡¯s abrasive personality, he would never be willing to openly admit such a thing. Lu Yin was quite familiar with Kui Luo, and he understood what the old man wanted, despite his words.

    This was also why Lu Yin did not try to rify anything further. "Does anyone other than you know that Young Master Yu is dead?"

    "Absolutely not. I watched him kill himself, and no one else was around. However, there¡¯s probably some rumors going around about what happened to him."

    Lu Yin stared at Kui Luo. "If you two didn¡¯t have any real friendship, then why did you happen to be the only one with him when he killed himself? Was it really just a coincidence?"

    Kui Luo twitched. "Yep. Just a coincidence."

    "Fine, I''ll pretend to be Young Master Yu. Right, what''s his full name?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yu Hao."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I want you to go with me to the Perennial World. You know everything about that ce, and you can also help me get away if anything goes wrong."

    "Kid, let¡¯s be honest: there¡¯s almost no chance that you¡¯ll be able to whisk anyone from Star Alliance or Crimson Garden away from under the four ruling powers'' noses. Are you really sure that you want to take this risk?" Kui Luo asked solemnly.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Everyone in Crimson Garden belongs to my Lu family, while the Star Alliance is filled with powerhouses who are still loyal to my Lu family. Those people all need to be brought here. As long as I get back here, I don¡¯t need to fear anyone from the four ruling powers. Those people have waited and suffered long enough."

    "They¡¯ve waited this long, so waiting a bit longer won¡¯t matter. It wouldn¡¯t be toote for you to wait until you be a Semi-Progenitor to go save them," Kui Luo suggested, "I know the hidden power of the four ruling powers better than anyone. Almost all of their top powerhouses are in the Dominion Realm, but that doesn¡¯t mean that the four ruling powers are helpless to do anything to you. You don¡¯t understand the power of a Progenitor."

    "Yes, I do," Lu Yin countered.

    Kui Luo blinked. Right, Lu Yin had ess to Progenitor Chen''s power.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. How could he not understand the power that a Progenitor could wield in the universe? If a Progenitor actually moved against him, there was no chance that he could escape from the Perennial World. Still, there were certain things that could not wait any longer. If he waited until he became a Semi-Progenitor, or even a Progenitor, to make a move, then the people in Crimson Garden and Star Alliance might all already be dead by then. On top of that, the four ruling powers could not afford to leave the New Corridor broken, so that path would be repaired soon. When they discovered that the army that they had sent to deal with Lu Yin had all been captured, they would attack Lu Yin once again.

    The best choice was to move before the four ruling powers learned anything. Lu Yin had the best chance of saving people, and as long as he was able to return to the Fifth Maind, he would be invincible.

    He had faith in the Mask of Death¡¯s ability to keep him hidden. As long as he did not run into any Progenitors, Lu Yin was confident that no one would be able to see through him.

    His first task upon arriving in the Perennial World would be to stand guard as his senior brother Qing Ping broke through and became a Semi-Progenitor. With Kui Luo, Progenitor Smoke, and Lu Yin all standing guard, there should not be any problems. After that, Lu Yin would be Young Master Yu.

    The Bifrost, Yu City, and Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin wasing for them.

    ¡­

    A few dayster, Lu Yin raised his hand, and his die spun slowly in front of him. He only had a few more days before he needed to meet up with Qing Ping in the Neoverse, which meant that this was hisst opportunity to roll the die. Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin seeded in rolling Possession and learning about the humanoid sourceboxes in the Astral Beast Domain and Skymender¡¯s ultimate n, Lu Yin needed to go to the Perennial World.

    As he thought about this, Lu Yin tapped his die, activating it. It slowly came to a stop on four pips.

    The only options for Lu Yin in his Timestop Space were to continue practicing the Cosmic Art and reciting the Origin Sutra. He had already received the sixth level of the Cosmic Art from Elder Gong. He would need to simte 380,000 stars topletely master this level.

    It was a terrifying number, as it was nearly four times more than what he had needed to learn to master the fifth level of the cultivation art. Lu Yin had no idea how long it would take him to achieve mastery of the sixth level.

    Regardless of how long it would take, all he could do was continue to practice.

    Almost a yearter, Lu Yin emerged from his Timestop Space. He raised his hand, brought out his die, and watched as it slowly came to a stop after he tapped it. Five pips. Useless. Again. Six pips.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up briefly before his mind entered the strange dark dark space.

    Just like the previous time, he could not find any bright balls of light nearby.

    After bing an Envoy, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed had not slowed at all, but had rather elerated. In particr, creating the new power that sat in his chest had caused his overall power to spike, as it gave him the strength to stand up to monsters with power levels of a million. Just how many people in the universe had that level of strength?

    Lu Yin felt that he might have burned through all that star essence during hisst Possession not only because of the Possession itself, but also because of how long he had taken to find a target to merge with in the dark space.

    For this reason, Lu Yin moved as quickly as possible while searching for an optimal target.

    Some timeter, he came across a particrly bright orb. It was brighter than any he had ever integrated with in the past. Judging by Lu Yin¡¯s own strength, this light should represent a seven or eight-tribtion powerhouse, which meant that they were at the same level as Elder Jiu Shen, or even the Second Nightking.

    Lu Yin knew that he would benefit greatly from Possessing anyone at this level of power.

    He shot towards the orb of light without any hesitation. Even though it would be a struggle to Possess this person, it was not necessarily impossible. It would be best for him to find a way to seed.

    There was a mental bang that rattled Lu Yin''s mind. He could not see any light. Then, he was hit by a wave of nausea and vertigo. It felt as though the world was spinning.

    "Are you injured?" A cold voice entered his ears. This was a voice that Lu Yin would never be able to forget. It was a voice that haunted his dreams. It was ckless God''s voice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and his vision was filled with a pair of deep eyes. They seemed to possess the depths of the universe itself, and three pitch ck lines crossed each other to form a star. These prating eyes were very familiar to Lu Yin; they were ckless God¡¯s eyes.

    These eyes had appeared in more than one of Lu Yin¡¯s dreams before. This person was the first of the Seven Skygods that Lu Yin had encountered, and he had not even known who the Seven Skygods were at that time. Lu Yin had interacted with Shaman God more than any other Skygod, but the next on that list would be ckless God. This was the first person whom Lu Yin had truly feared. No, the first creature. Lu Yin could not be sure that ckless God was even a person.

    "Do my words surprise you that much? That¡¯s not the reaction that you should be having," ckless God continued in his cold voice.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was unable to see ckless God at all. All that could be seen were those disturbing eyes that reced space itself as memories started to pour into Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    His face twitched, as he realized that he had Possessed Tian Dou. On top of that, Tian Dou was actually cooperating with ckless God.

    Was this surprising? Honestly, it was no surprise to Lu Yin. He had never trusted the Specter n at all.

    When the Xie family had persecuted and tried to eliminate the Specter n, they had eventually teamed up with the rest of the Seven Courts, as well as the Hall of Honor to eliminate the Specter n. In order to survive, the Specter n had turned to Aeternus.

    Later on, when Lu Yin had seeded in using the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival, and then revealed the God of Death Transformation, which had indicated that he could create death energy, the Specter n had dered their loyalty to Lu Yin. Everything that they had done had been attempts at survival.

    There was nothing inherently wrong with a strong survival instinct, and anyone facing the Specter n¡¯s situation might do the same thing. After all, who did not want to live and find a path to survival when facing the threat of annihtion?

    Finally, when Jue Yi had awoken in the current era and brought out the traditional methods of the God of Death from the Heavens Sect era, the Specter n had not hesitated to follow the ancient powerhouse. Of course, this was partly due to the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s death had been confirmed, but even more importantly, the Specter n believed in Jue Yi. Silver might have been willing to openly betray Jue Yi during the Dao Chosen selection, but the Specter n would not dare to do the same.

    Jue Yi was currently the gatemaster of the Undying Heavenly Gate, and the Specter n remained hidden in Gaia''s Swamp like beaten dogs, not daring to expose themselves anywhere.

    Lu Yin had never liked the Specter n. No matter how powerful their mastery of death energy might be, he simply did not like them.

    This was why, upon Possessing Tian Dou, Lu Yin was not surprised to learn that the man was once again cooperating with ckless God. However, Lu Yin was quite curious as to how ckless God had managed to return to the Fifth Maind, as well as what the Skygod was nning with Tian Dou.

    Memories continued to pour in, and eventually, Lu Yin''s eyes regained rity, though they quickly turned cold.

    ckless God spoke up. "Your only chance to be a Progenitor is by abandoning the power of the God of Death and cultivating the divine energy of Aeternus¡¯s True God. Even if the God of Death is still alive, he is nothing more than a stronger ant to our True God. Even the Origin Progenitor has fallen, so what of the Three Realms Six Dao? Why do you still hesitate?"

    Lu Yin remained calm and expressionless.

 Chapter 2164: Exposed

    Chapter 2164: Exposed

    ckless God''s eyes deepened even further. "Humans are naturally inferior, and your lives are limited. Immortality is impossible for you, no matter what level your cultivation reaches. Cryostasis and other methods are all pointless, but my Aeternals are different. Since you¡¯ve already agreed to join us, you should abandon death energy. It is wed, and it is impossible for that cultivation method to spread further."

    Lu Yin gained ess to more and more of Tian Dou¡¯s memories, and with them, Lu Yin learned that Tian Dou was the only member of the Specter n currently working with ckless God. Lu Yin also learned exactly where the Specter n was, as well as the fact that Tian Dou and ckless God were currently in a cloud of death energy in the Astral Wilderness.

    Silver had told Lu Yin about the location of this death energy cloud in the past, at the same time that he had mentioned another location in the Astral Beast Domain.

    The thought of Silver triggered one of Tian Dou¡¯s memories of Silver.

    In the memory, Lu Yin saw a baby ying with flesh and bones,ughing amidst a pile of corpses. A delighted smile covered the baby¡¯s face, despite it being covered in blood and gore while sitting in a virtual river of blood. The baby was tearing its own flesh from its body, as though its flesh was somehow in the way.

    The baby''s smile was exactly the same as Silver¡¯s. It wasrge and brilliant, but also as disturbing as a fox¡¯s grin.

    The memory gave Lu Yin chills, and his expression changed yet again.

    In front of him, ckless God''s eyes shifted. "Tian Dou, there''s something wrong with you-"

    As ckless God spoke, a hand reached out for Tian Dou.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up, and he ended the Possession. His consciousness returned to his own body after almost instantly passing through the strange dark space. Lu Yin gasped for breath. At thatst moment, ckless God had revealed the power of a Semi-Progenitor, which was not something that Lu Yin could stand up to.

    Had ckless God caught Lu Yin? No, but he had clearly noticed that Tian Dou had been possessed.

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had been caught during a Possession. In the past, he had Possessed Liu Yi, and both the man and his wife, Fei Hua, had noticed something that was wrong with what Lu Yin had said during that Possession. This time, ckless God had noticed something off about Tian Dou, despite the fact that Lu Yin had said nothing.

    However, the fact that Lu Yin was the one who had Possessed them was something that no one could guess.

    Lu Yin shot to his feet and immediately started using the Cosmic Art. He merged with the stars of the Fifth Maind and checked the Heavens Sect. "Third Uncle, Kui Luo, follow me somewhere."

    Even as Lu Yin was speaking, he was sending a message to the Sixth Maind, ordering Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal to move out towards Tian Dou¡¯s location.

    ckless God was there.

    During thest moments of his Possession, Lu Yin had learned that ckless God had returned to the Human Domain twenty years ago, and he had entered at the same time as Corpse God¡¯s arm. However, ckless God had remained hidden this entire time, and after Lu Yin had wiped out all of Aeternus¡¯s forces in the Fifth Maind, ckless God had not dared to reveal himself.

    This would most likely be their only opportunity to catch any trace of ckless God.

    Given the fact that the two of them had met in the Astral Wilderness, Lu Yin felt confident that ckless God would never return to the Human Domain. The Skygod feared Progenitor Chen¡¯s power.

    On this excursion into the Astral Wilderness, not only did Lu Yin take a group of Semi-Progenitors, but also Silver. Lu Yin had quickly grabbed the young man before leaving the Heavens Sect.

    Silver had remained in Heavens Sect, as he feared the Undying Heavenly Gate¡¯s retribution for his betrayal.

    Jue Yi was not the only sealed powerhouse from the Heavens Sect era who had joined the Undying Heavenly Gate. Several other powerhouses had joined him, as well as the Specter n. This was why Silver had said that he would not leave the Heavens Sect, but in truth, no one was sure of the man¡¯s true thoughts.

    "Captain, where are we going?" Silver asked.

    Both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo were present as well.

    "The Astral Wilderness. We¡¯re going to that cloud of death energy that you told me about," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Buzheng had a very serious expression on his face. Lu Yin had just informed the Semi-Progenitors that a reliable source had told him that the Specter n¡¯s Tian Dou was coborating with ckless God. The Semi-Progenitors did not care about Tian Dou, but they were very concerned about ckless God.

    He was one of the Seven Skygods. After discovering the original identities of Ancient God and Forgotten Ruins God, they had realized just how powerful each of the Seven Skygods was.

    Going up against the Seven Skygods was not much different from fighting against a true Progenitor.

    As for Lu Yin¡¯s reliable source, nobody questioned the matter. While the fact that Lu Yin had a source who could determine ckless God¡¯s location was rather ridiculous, only Kui Luo felt any sort of curiosity about it. Even then, there were too many details regarding Lu Yin that people were curious about.

    Silver remained almostpletely silent after learning that they were heading to the death energy cloud in the Astral Wilderness. He was practically a prisoner, and he knew nothing about the current situation.

    The Astral Wilderness not only referred to the area outside the known universe in the current era, but also to everything that hadid beyond humanity¡¯s Six Mainds that existed during the Heavens Sect era. Even during the ancient past, the Astral Wilderness had been an unknown region.

    It had never been easy to explore the Astral Wilderness. Even before all the stellr energy had been drained from the true universe, it had been impossible for cultivators to recover their energy reserves in the Astral Wilderness, and there was also no way tomunicate with the Human Domain. After entering the Astral Wilderness, a person¡¯s death would be silent and unknown.

    Despite the dangers involved, countless people still delved into the Astral Wilderness every year. There were species and materials out there that could not be found anywhere within the Human Domain. There were even treasures that could allow a cultivator to reach the sky in a single step.

    Still, most of the explorers died in the Astral Wilderness.

    The cloud of death energy where Tian Dou had met with ckless God was not far from the Human Domain, and the Semi-Progenitors arrived very quickly, given their speed.

    This mass of death energy was quite simr to Gaia''s Swamp, and it appeared to be an endless boiling mass of ck death energy. The sight would chill anyone, and no one would normally be willing to touch such a thing.

    Most of the people who explored the Astral Wilderness were independent cultivators, and they were not qualified to know certain things, much less about something like death energy. Furthermore, there were powerhouses from the Specter n stationed around the death energy, so anybody who tried to explore the region would be silenced. The area was known to outsiders as a forbidden region, and people avoided it at all costs.

    Lu Yin and the people with him charged straight into the death energy, and they immediately started searching for Tian Dou and ckless God. However, they found no one. Even the Specter n powerhouses who had been sent to stand guard over the death energy were missing.

    "Where are they?" Lu Buzheng was surprised.

    Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force spread out as he searched the area.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned ugly. ckless God had noticed that something had been wrong with Tian Dou, and as long as the matter had been mentioned, Tian Dou would have realized that there was a hole in his memory during the Possession¡¯s duration. Even if they had managed to determine what had happened to Tian Dou, it was impossible for the two to have guessed that Lu Yin was behind it.

    It was not long before Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal all arrived. "Dao Chosen Lu, where are you?"

    "Let''s go!" Lu Yin called out. "To Gaia''s Swamp!"

    Tian Dou had already slipped away, but the Specter n would not be able to do the same.

    While Lu Yin was traveling to the Astral Wilderness, he had sent a message to his senior brother, Qing Ping, and asked the man to go to Gaia¡¯s Swamp with Leng Qing to capture the Specter n.

    This time, their journey was not in vain, as upon Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, he and hispanions saw that Gaia¡¯s Swamp had been subdued and that all the members of the Specter n had been captured.

    There were thousands of people who had been hiding within the death energy, and in addition to the members of the Specter n, L¨¸ Cha was also present.

    When Jue Yi had first arrived at Gaia''s Swamp, he had captured L¨¸ Cha, and the woman had never been able to escape the gatemaster¡¯s control since.

    As the roiling death energy dissipated, Lu Yin observed the captured Specter n, and he quickly focused on Tong Yu. She was the Specter n¡¯s Dark Judicial Commissioner, and she was second in authority only to Tian Dou. She was a seven-tribtion powerhouse.

    "We meet again, Judicial Commissioner Tong Yu," Lu Yin quietly greeted the woman.

    Tong Yu feltpletely helpless, and she nervously nced around. However, Lu Yin noticed that Tong Yu¡¯s eyes remained calm, and the nearby members of the Specter n also all looked quite calm. "I¡¯m incredibly honored to be in the presence of so many Semi-Progenitors, but unfortunately, our patriarch is not present. Otherwise, he would have weed you himself."

    Lu Yin said, "Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me where your patriarch is."

    Tong Yu smiled wryly. "I don''t know."

    Leng Qing''s expression changed, and the pressure in the area spiked. Tong Yu felt as though countless knives had just pierced her body, and she spat out a mouthful of blood as she dropped to her knees. She could not resist the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor at all.

    "Where is Tian Dou? Tell me!" Leng Qing shouted.

    Tong Yu was gasping for breath, sweat streaming from her forehead. Her golden eyes rose to look at Lu Yin. "I really don''t know."

    Lu Yin believed the woman. When browsing through Tian Dou''s memories, one of the things that Lu Yin had confirmed was that no one else from the Specter n was aware that Tian Dou was working with ckless God. Considering this, Lu Yin waved a hand, and Leng Qing removed his pressure.

    "Take away all the others. Investigate them one by one to see if they¡¯ve had any dealings with the Aeternals. Pass judgment on them on an individual basis," Lu Yin ordered. The Specter n had helped him in the past, but they had only done so out of hope that Lu Yin would ensure their survival. If not for the fact that the Specter n had actively fought against the Aeternals for thest twenty years, the entire n would have been wiped out, rather than them undergoing individual investigations. It was always better to go too far and be safe than miss a traitor.

    Everyone was taken away, and soon, Tong Yu was the only captive remaining.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a message from Jue Yi.

    "Dao Chosen Lu, what are you doing in my Gaia''s Swamp?" Jue Yi demanded in his message. While the wireless jincan could not convey emotions, Lu Yin knew the man was furious at this moment. Ever since he had upied Gaia''s Swamp twenty years ago, Jue Yi had treated the ce as his own private kingdom.

    However, Jue Yi¡¯s rage meant nothing to Lu Yin. "How did you find out?"

    Given the strength of Qing Ping and Leng Qing, no one in Gaia¡¯s Swamp should have had any time to react when the ce had been captured.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter how I know! Dao Chosen Lu, what is the meaning of this? The Specter n has been working with me for thest twenty years to fight against the Aeternals. If there were any traitors, I would have reported them to the Heavens Sect. You might be the Dao Chosen and represent the heavens, but Gaia¡¯s Swamp is my domain. Even if I am absent, I must be informed of everything that happens there."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "It looks like you¡¯re being used. So, someone told you that the Specter n was captured? How did they find out?"

    Far away, Jue Yi frowned when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s message. The Semi-Progenitor was no idiot, and there was something more to Lu Yin¡¯s question. "What''s going on?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You were informed by Tian Dou. He¡¯s using you to test me."

    "What do you mean? What happened?" Jue Yi felt increasingly confused.

    "I¡¯ve received reliable information that Tian Dou has been working with ckless God. When we arrived at where they were supposed to be, they had already escaped. So, we hurried over to capture the Specter n before anything could be done to them, and also so that we could have a way to track down Tian Dou," Lu Yin exined.

    Jue was startled. "Tian Dou¡¯s been colluding with ckless God? Impossible!"

    "Gatemaster Jue Yi, are you aware of a mass of death energy located in the Astral Wilderness?" Lu Yin responded with a question.

    Jue Yi''s expression changed. There was death energy in the Astral Wilderness? This was news to him. No one had ever mentioned anything about it to him before.

    Lu Yin had assumed the gatemaster would not have been informed of the location, as few people knew of it. Tian Dou was aware of it, as was Silver. However, Tong Yu had not known about the ce. In fact, everyone else who had learned of the location had been forced to remain in the Astral Wilderness forever.

    Jue Yi''s expression grew ugly. If Lu Yin was telling the truth and there really was a death energy site in the Astral Wilderness that Tian Dou had kept secret, then the patriarch of the Specter n had clearly concealed it with covert motivations.

    "Are you saying that Tian Dou is trying to use me to check on the status of the Specter n? If that¡¯s the case, then I can simply tell him that you never went there, no? There¡¯s no way he¡¯s anywhere near Gaia''s Swamp, and due to your existence, he might be too scared to even return to the Human Domain," Jue Yi suggested.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That won¡¯t be of any use. If I¡¯m not wrong, he¡¯ll already assume that something¡¯s happened just due to how long you¡¯ve beenmunicating with me. Given the length of our conversation, he¡¯s already determined that Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s been targeted."

    "Our conversation wouldn¡¯t necessarily only concern Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Such vague information isn¡¯t enough to support such an arbitrary guess," Jue Yi argued.

    Lu Yin justughed. "How do you think the Specter n¡¯s managed to survive for so long? Tian Dou is the best example of their paranoia. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll return if he has even the slightest doubt, and given how long we¡¯ve been messaging each other, there¡¯s no way he hasn¡¯t grown suspicious. He¡¯ll never return to Gaia''s Swamp without first investigating the situation himself." With thatst message, Lu Yin ended the conversation.

    The truth was that he had only realized Tian Dou¡¯s intentions while messaging Jue Yi. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have immediately taken advantage of the situation by cooperating with Jue Yi.

 Chapter 2165: Broken Finger

    Chapter 2165: Broken Finger

    Tian Dou was too cunning and paranoid, and with ckless God thrown into the mix, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the two were not in the Human Domain at the moment.

    On top of that, given the two¡¯s strength, if they hid themselves, it would be incredibly difficult to find them again.

    Lu Yin looked at Tong Yu, who was still in front of him. "You should be quite clear on the actions that your Specter n have taken. Very few will be able to safely pass these investigations, and that includes you, Judicial Commissioner.¡±

    "While I¡¯m not sure about many of your activities, I do know that you helped the Neohuman Alliance with their attack on Gaia''s Swamp and that you also killed L¨¸ Yan. He was once a Judicial Commissioner, which makes your crime even worse."

    Tong Yu looked around. She feltpletely trapped. "Could you ask these Semi-Progenitors to not stare at me? I''m scared."

    "Are you saying that the Judicial Commissioner of the Dark Supreme Court is afraid?" Lu Yin mocked the woman.

    Tong Yu blinked. "Everyone fears something, Alliance Leader Lu. I know that you want to find our patriarch, but I can promise you that I really don¡¯t know where he is."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharp. "Do you have anything from Tian Dou? Hair, blood, anything at all?"

    As he spoke, something else urred to him. "Does Tian Dou have any family members?"

    Tong Yu shook her head. "He''s always remained alone and has no family. In fact, we rarely ever see him at all."

    Lu Yin looked around as he said, "The Specter n may end up beingpletely exterminated because of Tian Dou¡¯s actions."

    Tong Yu''s golden eyes grew dim as they stared at Lu Yin. "The Specter n follows the God of Death. You are the God of Death¡¯s heir, so my Specter n will always be loyal to you."

    "Don¡¯t bother telling me that stuff. If you were actually loyal to me, you wouldn¡¯t have been as willing to serve Jue Yi for the past twenty years. You aren¡¯t loyal to me, Lu Yin, but rather to the God of Death¡¯s power. Your loyalty simply lies with whoever represents the God of Death, and I¡¯ll never befortable with followers like that," Lu Yin retorted.

    "If your death hadn¡¯t been verified, our patriarch wouldn''t have led our entire n to ask Jue Yi for protection. I was the first among the Specter n to seek you out and tell you that we wanted to follow you, Alliance Leader Lu. But unfortunately, you never believed us, even when I offered my life and death if it would help you," Tong Yu said.

    Qing Ping turned to stare at Lu Yin, his gaze growing increasingly heavy.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he moved a bit further away. He did not want his senior brother to hear what was said.

    Qing Ping was too rigid with his morals and would always take the higher road. If the man ever learned that Lu Yin had epted gifts from the Specter n, there might be trouble between the two of them. Even if the chance was tiny, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest fear was that one of the Seven Skygods would contact him openly or even give him some assistance. Things would be very tricky if that ever happened.

    It was even possible that the Specter n might be aware of Shaman God¡¯s n.

    "Alliance Leader Lu, I can tell you more, but please send the others away first. There are some things that should not be spread," Tong Yu asked with a smile. Her golden eyes never left Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied in a t tone, "Don''t try to toy with me. You should already know that I can make you disappear whenever I wish. Right now, all I want is to find Tian Dou. There¡¯s no reason for the rest of you to suffer because of him."

    Tong Yu shrugged helplessly. "I really don''t know where he is, and I honestly don¡¯t even know what¡¯s happened. Judging by the current state, it seems like our patriarch has escaped, and protecting him will not help me or my n. There¡¯s no reason for me to protect him, and it¡¯s better for me to rely on you and wait for you to one day be the next God of Death. If that happens, maybe I¡¯ll even be the matriarch of the Specter n.¡±

    Lu Yin already knew from Tian Dou''s memories that Tong Yu knew nothing about ckless God, and there really was no reason for the woman to protect Tian Dou. It was absolutely impossible for the man to ever show himself in public again, and Lu Yin knew that the man even had ns to rebuild Aeternus¡¯s power.

    "Who can help me find Tian Dou?" Lu Yin asked quietly.

    Tong Yu considered the matter for a bit. "Silver."

    This caught Lu Yin off guard. "Silver? He can find Tian Dou?"

    "Possibly. He was an abandoned baby who was picked up by our patriarch. While our patriarch has no family of his own, Silver¡¯s the closest thing to a rtive that Tian Dou ever had.

    "The rest of us know very little about Silver, and his powers are a mystery to us. Even though I am the Judicial Commissioner of the Dark Interster Supreme Court, I have no idea how Silver cultivates.

    "On top of that, Corpse Beast was only given to Silver. Our Specter n is not without other talented youths, but our patriarch focused the vast majority of the avable resources into Silver. His favoritism has caused many people to believe that Silver might really be rted to the patriarch."

    Lu Yin turned and looked across the distance to stare at Silver.

    Silver had been dragged along to the death energy site in the Astral Wilderness, and then also to Gaia¡¯s Swamp with Lu Yin and the Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin did not actually have any real reason for bringing Silver along. The simple truth of the matter was that Lu Yin had a feeling that Silver might cause some sort of miraculous effect when dealing with the Specter n.

    It seemed that Silver was able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, and his smile grewrger than ever, even as he deliberately made himself appear weaker.

    "What are your feelings about him?" Lu Yin asked Tong Yu as he stared at Silver.

    Tong Yu remained silent for a time before somberly replying, "Disgust."

    This caught Lu Yin off guard, "Why¡¯s that?"

    Tong Yu exined, "There¡¯s something dark about him. The bigger his smile is, the more revolting he feels. Honestly, I would have never been willing to deal with him if not for how highly our patriarch regards him."

    Lu Yin felt rather curious about this. "Weren¡¯t you the one who sent him to guide us to Aeternus Nation?"

    "That was the patriarch¡¯s request, and I was simply the one to deliver the orders to Silver. That way, if the Aeternals looked into the matter, I¡¯d be the first one that they dealt with." Tong Yu sounded upset by the admission.

    Lu Yin nodded. He then stepped forward to speak with Silver.

    "Captain, what can I do for you?" Silver asked with a blinding smile.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "I want to find Tian Dou."

    Silver fell silent for a bt. "That¡¯s going to be a bit difficult, but I should be able to find him."

    "You can actually help me with that?" Lu Yin had not expected such a straightforward response from Silver. From Tian Dou¡¯s memories, Lu Yin knew that Silver had been found in a pile of corpses. Tian Dou was someone who could at least be regarded as Silver¡¯s savior, and possibly even viewed as a parent figure.

    Silver smiled. "If I can find him, how will you pay me back, Captain?"

    "What do you want?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Silver eyes turned cold, and surprisingly enough, his smile disappeared as a cruel glint flickered in his eyes. "I want Tian Dou''s limbs."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Limbs? What does that mean?"

    Silverughed again, but this time it sounded very dangerous. "He never treated me like a human being. I¡¯m just thest bone grafter. Do you have any idea what that man did to me, Captain? He tore off my flesh, strip by strip, and drained my blood again and again. Even though it couldn¡¯t kill me and changing my flesh and blood is like changing clothes to me, I still experience the same pain as any normal person."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Even though Silver was speaking in a casual tone, if anyone was paying attention to his words, their hair would stand on end.

    Forget having their flesh and blood removed from their entire body¡ªa normal person would be in excruciating pain just from having their arm of leg flesh removed. Having all the flesh on a person¡¯s entire body torn off was an agony that could only be imagined.

    "He removed everyst one of my bones to imnt and test them in other people, including members of the Specter n and even Aeternals, though most of his test subjects were just normal people. He was hoping to create more bone grafters like me, and he even wanted to change himself to be a bone grafter. Because of that, he dismantled my entire body," Silver smiled as he spoke, and then he turned to Lu Yin. "Captain, do you think that I want his limbs? I don¡¯t want just his limbs. I want to take him apart like he did to me."

    Lu Yin nodded. "If you help me find him, I promise he¡¯s yours."

    Silver maintained his smile. "Thank you, Captain. Honestly, looking back on things, being a bone grafter who can use death energy is quite the interestingbination, isn¡¯t it? It''s rather a pity that he didn''t seed."

    "Alright, point the way and find Tian Dou." Lu Yin started to lose his patience, and he did not want to hear what Silver had to say, as it was too cruel.

    Every person had their own morals and limits. Normally, people would not be willing to hurt another human, and this was a line that would not be crossed without just cause. However, Silver was someone who had no morals or limits. He had been tortured and driven insane. It was no wonder why his smile was always so disturbing.

    However, the same could be said for Tian Dou. He had been the patriarch of the Specter n for long, and yet he had studied and researched Silver in an attempt to create more bone grafters. At present, Tian Dou wanted to obtain the Aeternals¡¯ True God¡¯s divine energy. Lu Yin could not allow someone who would do anything it took to achieve their goals to live.

    As for Silver¡­ Lu Yin nced over and paused. Should this person be pitied or hated?

    Silver raised his left hand and pointed his index finger out. He then snapped it off his hand and handed the finger over to Lu Yin. "I can''t find him myself, but Tian Dou studied my bones extensively, and my bones should allow Divinity Heavenly Gate¡¯s Destina to find him."

    Lu Yin stared at Silver for a long moment. "Wait here."

    He then sent Destina a message and asked her toe to Gaia''s Swamp.

    Even though Lu Yin was the Dao Chosen who represented the heavens, it did not mean that he had the authority to order about the gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates. Even during the Heavens Sect era, the Dao Chosen did not have that right, as the Dao Chosen and the gatemasters had fallen under different divisions of the Heavens Sect.

    After obtaining Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, Cosmic Stomp, Lu Yin had the power to dominate the Fifth Maind. Without that strength, how would Jue Yi have ever epted the order to go to the Astral Beast Domain? How could Jiu Yao have ever been willing to listen to Lu Yin?

    While Lu Yin was waiting, Tong Yu was about to be led away to her own trial. These trials were only happening because the times had changed. If this incident had urred twenty years earlier, everyone from the Specter n would have simply been executed without ever being given the opportunity to defending themselves.

    "Wait." Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, so he called for Leng Qing to stop.

    The Semi-Progenitor felt puzzled, but Tong Yu looked at Lu Yin expectantly.

    He looked back at the woman. "Come with me somewhere. You might be able to redeem yourself with your actions there."

    Tong Yu was thrilled at this opportunity. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu!"

    Lu Yin intended to take the woman to the Perennial World with him. Putting a seven-tribtion powerhouse on trial was too much of a waste. On top of that, Tong Yu had a misleading appearance, which allowed her to easily trick both men and women, which would be quite helpful.

    Given thebination of the woman¡¯s strength and appearance, Lu Yin felt that she would likely prove quite useful in the Perennial World. Another detail was the presence of Specter Abyss in the Perennial World, which was essentially the Perennial World¡¯s Specter n. Having someone like Tong Yu from the Specter n would be quite helpful in getting in touch with Specter Abyss.

    Of course, it was also impossible for Lu Yin to actually trust Tong Yu, so he ced a death seal within her body so that he would have control of her.

    Tong Yu was amazed when she sensed the death seal in her energy vortex. "Is this made from death energy? I¡¯ve never seen such a thing before."

    "If you betray me, that seal will kill you, and not even a Semi-Progenitor will be able to save you from it. Well, if you find a Progenitor, that will probably change things," Lu Yin said.

    Tong Yu rolled her eyes. "Where would I ever find a Progenitor who would save me?"

    One dayter, Destina arrived at Gaia''s Swamp. However, she was once again hidden within a white cloud, hiding herself from people¡¯s sight.

    "Dao Chosen Lu, I''m here as you requested, fulfilling my promise to unconditionally support the Dao Chosen. However, that pledge of support does not mean that I will do any divination that you request. You need to first prove that whatever you are asking me to investigate will not harm me." A woman¡¯s voice drifted out of the white cloud.

    Lu Buzheng heard Destina¡¯sment, and he was startled so badly he could not remain silent. "Are you saying that he asked you to do a divination that injured you? That¡¯s impossible! Given your strength, that would mean that you were investigating a Progenitor!"

    In the midst of the white cloud, Destina was ring at Lu Yin. She was still terrified of the bacsh that she had suffered from thest set of divinations that this young man had demanded. After those incidents, she had decided that she would never again casually agree to divine anything for Lu Yin. He asked about dangerous matters that could easily kill her.

 Chapter 2166: Siege

    Chapter 2166: Siege

    Lu Yin gestured, and Silver threw his severed finger towards the white cloud, but it came to a stop before touching the cloud.

    "Use this finger to find the location of Tian Dou, the patriarch of the Specter n. There shouldn¡¯t be any problems," Lu Yin said.

    The white cloud remained silent. It was clear that Destina was thinking about something.

    Lu Yin look over. "Tian Dou is nothing more than the patriarch of the Specter n, someone who¡¯s not even a Semi-Progenitor. Even if he¡¯s managed to hide his cultivation, he¡¯s at worst a Semi-Progenitor, which still isn¡¯t any danger to you."

    "Tian Dou? One of Jue Yi¡¯s people?" Destina asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "He was, but he¡¯s been working with Aeternus, which makes him a traitor to humanity. He needs to be found and eliminated."

    "Working with Aeternus? Does that mean that there are Aeternals with him?" The woman¡¯s voice slightly rose in pitch.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Don''t worry. Even if there are, it won¡¯t pose any danger to you. If the Aeternals were actually able to harm you, they would have directly made trouble for the Heavens Sect. Why would they be hiding in the Astral Wilderness otherwise?"

    "We chased after them, but they escaped right before we arrived," Lu Buzheng interrupted.

    Destina still hesitated.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I don''t want Tian Dou to get away again. As Destiny¡¯s disciple, you should believe in the power of karma. If you let Tian Dou escape, all of his future crimes will build up more karma that mighte back to haunt you."

    "Are you threatening me?" Destina was getting upset.

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course not, I''m just worried about you. As soon as I told you about this, karma was established between him and you. Your decision now is going to determine how everything ys out."

    Lu Buzheng nced over at Lu Yin. Who had taught this kid how to spout so much nonsense? Karma was a matter of cause and effect, and although it was something vague and indistinct that most people would not worry about, it was something that people like Destina were very concerned about.

    After a while, the severed finger moved into the white cloud. "If I suffer another cmity due to this divination, I will never help you again, Dao Chosen Lu."

    The white cloud then moved up into outer space, and meteorites gathered around it. Soon, 108 meteorites were revolving around the white cloud.

    The sight reminded Lu Yin of Little Millenium Flowzone and the Starsibyl Sect. The that had been the sect¡¯s headquarters had been surrounded by 108 others. There seemed to be a strong connection between Destiny and this number.

    To the side, Lu Buzheng''s face twisted into a strange expression.

    Kui Luo called the man out on it. "Your face looks green. Hey, do you have something for Destina?"

    Lu Buzheng answered grumpily, "She¡¯d kill me if she could. How could I feel anything towards her?"

    Kui Luo gave a disturbing smile. "Love and hate are all toomon. Come on, tell this old man the truth. I won¡¯t tell anyone."

    Lu Yin also looked over at Lu Buzheng. "Third Uncle, you really don''t look alright. What¡¯s wrong?"

    Lu Buzheng''s eyes grew a bit dim as he stared out into space. "You just brought up karma, and Destina believed you. Do you know why?"

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled, as he did not really understand the matter. All he knew was that Xuan Jiu had mentioned that, when Lu Yin had been building the Tower of the Fifth, that his actions would improve his karma and remove some of his future disasters.

    "All of Destiny¡¯s disciples believe in karma, and it¡¯s because their divination actually involves karma," Lu Buzheng quietly exined, "Ants must pay a price for looking up into the sky. Destiny¡¯s disciples do divination, and if they reach too high, they also have to pay a corresponding price, which is usually bacsh. If a Hunter attempts to do a divination regarding a Semi-Progenitor, the karmic bacsh will result in their death.

    "Destina just said that she was injured from doing divinations for you, which I find hard to believe. For someone at her level to be injured from a divination¡¯s karmic bacsh, the target had to have at least been a Progenitor. The thing is, Destiny¡¯s disciples are taught a technique to shift the karmic bacsh of their divinations. So, even if Destina were to perform a divination on a Progenitor, she should not suffer much harm."

    "Transfer karmic bacsh?" Lu Yin and Kui Luo nced at each other with questioning looks.

    From elsewhere, both Silver and Tong Yu were staring at Lu Buzheng. Neither of them had ever heard of such things before.

    "The method to shift karmic bacsh is supposedly used when the price of a divination is too steep for the person performing the divination, and it involves things like the 108 meteorites that are revolving around her right now. If a divination triggers bacsh, then it can be shifted to the meteorites, possibly shattering even all of them. In a severe case, the damage could even continue to ripple further out and destroys, killing hundreds of millions of living beings. Those creatures would end up paying the price for the divination instead of the person performing the divination," Lu Buzheng slowly exined.

    Leng Qing jumped in, "In the Heavens Sect era, Destiny was always unpredictable and impossible for anyone to find, but she always had many disciples. Even then, no one would ever ask them to do divinations, because if the the karmic price was too high, innocent people would be the ones to pay it. Even if the karma involved was an eptable level, the price for such things would still be high."

    Lu Buzheng¡¯s voice dropped low as he continued, "Those who peer into destiny arepletely selfish and are always happy to have others pay the price in their stead. It¡¯s best to not use Destina for any divinations in the future unless there¡¯s no other choice."

    Lu Yin looked up into space. If this exnation was true, then when Destina had been injured so badly after performing the divinations Lu Yin had requested about Murkiness and Mister Mu, where had the rest of the karmic bacsh gone?

    Had it been shifted? If all 108 meteorites were destroyed during a divination, then how many people would end up dying? Even if only one was destroyed, that would be a price of hundreds of millions of lives.

    Realizing such a thing, Lu Yin looked at Destina differently from before. Destiny cannot be provoked. This was the only thing that Lu Yin could think at this moment. Yes, Destiny can¡¯t be provoked.

    ¡­

    In the Astral Wilderness, the equivalent of a few weaves away from the site of the death energy, there was a beautiful crescent moon hanging in outer space. This was not actually a crescent moon, but rather a cluster of gxies that were arranged in a pattern so that their stars formed a crescent.

    At this moment, Tian Dou was standing above a star in this cluster of gxies.

    Thick death energy covered his body. It repeatedly surged out and then condensed back into his body. The cycle repeated for several days.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and an oppressive pair of golden eyes flickered.

    Just what had happened? Had he really been controlled? He had no memory of the incident, but who could have been behind it? Tian Dou had too many questions about the matter.

    It was clear to the man that there was a brief bit of time that was missing from his memories, and he had no idea what ckless God had said at that time. Although Tian Dou was aware of the fact that something was missing, it felt like he simply had not existed during that moment of time.

    But how could such a thing even happen? Was there a powerhouse in the universe who was capable of doing such a thing? While it should be possible for a Progenitor, why would a Progenitor not simply eliminate Tian Dou? Why erase his memory? No, why control him at all?

    Tian Dou had cultivated for countless years, and he felt like he had already seen everything. Death energy was a mysterious power even in the scope of the entire universe, but Tian Dou still found the idea of being possessed to be unbelievable.

    Despite the absurdity of such a possibility, Tian Dou and ckless God did not dare to take any risks, and they had instantly decided to leave the location of the death energy cloud.

    After that, Tian Dou had traveled straight to his current location and then sent a message to Jue Yi, reporting that something had happened to the Specter n.

    While Tian Dou had no clue who might have affected him, he did know that it was utterly impossible for anyone weaker than a Semi-Progenitor to have controlled him. At present, all the Semi-Progenitors in the entire Fifth Maind belonged to the Heavens Sect, and the Heavens Sect waspletely controlled by Lu Yin after he had obtained the power of Progenitor Chen. If the fact that Tian Dou was working with ckless God were exposed, then regardless of who had possessed him at that moment, Tian Dou was doomed, and not even his Specter n would be able to escape.

    If no one moved against the Specter n, then they were either lying in wait for him to take the bait, or the person who had possessed him was not affiliated with the Heavens Sect. The second option would drastically limit the possibilities, as then it could have only been someone from the Astral Beast Domain or the Technocracy.

    Tian Dou desperately hoped that it had been someone from the Astral Beast Domain or the Technocracy, but the results proved otherwise. Jue Yi had taken too long during his conversation with Lu Yin, and no matter what Jue Yi told Tian Dou afterwards, Tian Dou would never return to the Human Domain.

    Maybe epting ckless God¡¯s offer to receive their True God¡¯s divine energy was not a terrible choice¡­

    Still¡­ Tian Dou looked down at his left arm. It would be such a pity.

    As the man was thinking about this, space warped, and a terrifying spiritual force pressed down upon the region. It felt as though the sky had fallen.

    Tian Dou''s expression changed drastically. He had no time to think about anything, and he instantly took off, trying to escape. However, a grinning Lu Buzheng appeared in Tian Dou¡¯s path, blocking him. "Colluding with the Aeternals is a death sentence!"

    The Semi-Progenitorshed out with a punch. The power was amplified by the roar of an Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, and the void crumbled.

    Death energy gathered in front of Tian Dou, and it quickly formed the battle technique that the man had shared with Lu Yin: Death Energy Guardian.

    Boom!

    The Death Energy Guardian was instantly shattered. Tian Dou was powerful, a peak Envoy who could cross realms to fight against Semi-Progenitors, but he was not up against a normal Semi-Progenitor, but rather Lu Buzheng. This man was one of the gatemasters of the ancient Twelve Heavenly Gates. A peerless Semi-Progenitor was far beyond Tian Dou¡¯s capabilities.

    At the same time, Kui Luo¡¯s strangeugh echoed out as his spiritual force bombarded Tian Dou without letting up for a moment. The man¡¯s mind was shaken, and Lu Buzheng¡¯s punchnded without any surprises. Blood flew out. Tian Dou could do nothing against the two peak Semi-Progenitors.

    Suddenly, a de flickered in front of the patriarch of the Specter n. His pupils constricted, and death energy gathered behind him. A scythe formed and shed out. The death energy scythe met the de, but the de continued and almost sliced Tian Dou in half.

    Death energy was a powerful energy that was truly mysterious, but Leng Qing¡¯s brute strength far surpassed Tian Dou¡¯s. The gatemaster¡¯s de was so powerful that even Forgotten Ruins God had been wary of it, and no matter how powerful Tian Dou might be, it was absolutely impossible for him to stand up to such a powerhouse.

    The three Semi-Progenitors easily injured Tian Dou with each of their three attacks. Even other Semi-Progenitors would not be able to resist these three coordinated attacks.

    Further away, Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal had all appeared as well.

    Tian Dou was surrounded by six Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin calmly watched everything take ce, with Silver at his side.

    "What a pathetic sight," Silver said with a smile.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "This is what happens to those who betray humanity."

    "Captain, I will never betray you." Silver shed Lu Yin a brilliant smile.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. Only an idiot would believe Silver¡¯s promise. However, he had already ced a death seal in Silver, so unless he obtained the strength to overwhelm Lu Yin¡¯s death seal, the man¡¯s betrayal would never be a risk.

    The crescent-shaped gxy cluster was shattered. Stars copsed into ck holes that devoured everything nearby, and asionally, strange roars could be heard. There were too many strange and new creatures that lived in the Astral Wilderness. Many of those creatures were more powerful than Explorers and were capable of roaming space, but they could not endure such power.

    Tian Dou spat up more blood, and his face grew pale as he gasped for breath. Blood stained his clothes, and he looked nothing like the mysterious and powerful figure that Lu Yin had first met.

    There was no one in this region of the universe who could endure a siege of six Semi-Progenitors.

    "Where is ckless God?" Lu Buzheng screamed as he red at Tian Dou.

    Blood trickled down from the corner of Tian Dou''s mouth. His body was trembling, and a cold green sword qi had invaded his body. Unless his body was essentially reced, he would never be able to cultivate again.

 Chapter 2167: God Of Deaths Left Arm

    Chapter 2167: God Of Death''s Left Arm

    Tian Dou said nothing to Lu Buzheng. Instead, he looked at Lu Yin, who was a bit further away. "If not for the fact that you were gone for twenty years and it was certain that you had died, my Specter n would have never taken refuge with Jue Yi."

    Lu Yin answered indifferently, "There¡¯s no point in saying such things at this point in time. You cooperated with ckless God."

    "Why are you so certain that I worked with ckless God? He was chased away during the Astral Towerpetition when the Mountains and Seas Zone shattered. He left the Fifth Maind and was trapped in the Starfall Sea. He never came back to the Fifth Maind. You¡¯ve got itpletely wrong," Tian Dou stated in a cold voice.

    Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all turned to look at Lu Yin, who frowned. "Even if we¡¯re wrong, you¡¯ve been arrested. You won¡¯t be wrongly convicted, as these Semi-Progenitors won¡¯t allow such a thing to happen. Come back with us and allow us to investigate these allegations."

    Tian Dou felt frustrated. How could he return with Lu Yin? It was true that he had cooperated with ckless God, and he had only denied that collusion because Tian Dou desperately wanted to know who had controlled him and wiped out a portion of his memories. He absolutely had to find out who was behind that incident.

    Judging by how all the Semi-Progenitors had reacted, the person who had controlled Tian Dou had either been Lu Yin himself or someone closely connected to him.

    The Specter n patriarch would never believe that Lu Yin had controlled him even on his deathbed. No matter what, Lu Yin was just an Envoy. He might be invincible within the Human Domain, due to his ability to control Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, but in the Astral Wilderness, Tian Dou was absolutely capable of killing Lu Yin if he were not protected by Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin understood something when he saw Tian Dou¡¯s expression, and he pulled out the mirror. "Senior, would you like toe out and see for yourself?"

    There was no response from the mirror, as Progenitor Smoke was still studying Blood Alchemy.

    "You got this information from Senior?" Kui Luo asked curiously. He had always been curious as to where Lu Yin obtained so much of his information. No one had been able to find any hint of a connection between ckless God and Tian Dou, so where could Lu Yin have obtained such secretive information? But if it hade from Progenitor Smoke, then things made sense. After all, the woman controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Kui Luo¡¯s question badly startled Tian Dou. If even a Semi-Progenitor like Kui Luo referred to a person as senior, then this had to have been the person who had possessed him. After all, Kui Luo was someone who was practically on the same level of power as the gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates. Who, aside from someone whom even Kui Luo was so deferential towards, could possibly have the strength to control Tian Dou without his knowledge?

    After finally obtaining an answer to his burning questions, Tian Dou stared at the mirror Lu Yin held. "Who is the senior you¡¯re referring to? Even if you are going to execute me, you should at least allow me to know who my user is."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he immediately put away the mirror. "Attack! It¡¯s a trick! He¡¯s about to try to escape."

    Kui Luo was the first to react, and he unleashed a spiritual force attack, though he held back from releasing his inner world. He needed to use stellr energy to power his inner world, and stellr energy was a scant resource that was desperatelycking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s warning had been quick, and Kui Luo had reacted nearly instantaneously, but Tian Dou had not been slow either.

    Even as Kui Luo''s spiritual force mmed into Tian Dou and stunned his mind with such force that his brain felt like it was about to explode and his vision grew blurry and faded, he raised his left arm up. All of the death energy around the man disappeared, and then exploded with such force that space itself trembled.

    The expressions of Lu Buzheng and all the other Semi-Progenitors changed. When they looked at Tian Dou, they no longer saw the Specter n¡¯s patriarch or a peak Envoy, but rather a massive ck shadow that stood like a hole in space. The form instantly attacked.

    "The God of Death?" Lu Buzheng blurted. Shock covered his face.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to dots. What was this?

    A massive scythe shed out, its power beyond anything anyone here could fathom.

    The power of this sh overwhelmed everyone, and it waspletely unstoppable. It was a level of power that surpassed the Semi-Progenitor level, and it even felt as suppressive as when Lu Yin used Cosmic Stomp with the power of Progenitor Chen. This attack was stunning, and absolutely invincible.

    No one was able to react, and they all simply stared at the approaching sh. Any battle technique, power vessel, or anything else felt like it would be useless against this overwhelming power. Everyone felt as insignificant as a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

    Tian Dou''s attack made the stars tremble, and it felt as though the entire universe was shaking. However, the moment it reached everyone, it simply vanished. Instead, what everyone saw was a blocky stone building shooting off into the distance.

    At this moment, everyone was still lost in the power of the God of Death that they had just witnessed, and no one reacted.

    The only other movement was a single thread that shot out from the distance, the end of which tried to stab into the ck stone house.

    "I thought that that was the power of the God of Death. Leave this to me," Destina called out to everyone.

    The six Semi-Progenitors had note alone with Lu Yin, as without Destina, who would be able to guide them to Tian Dou? However, Destina had not taken any action and had kept her distance until this moment.

    Lu Yin had no idea what had just happened, but he did understand that Destina must have figured out what Tian Dou had done, which was why she had kept her distance. Was Tian Dou unable to actually unleash the power that they had all witnessed, or had the attack somehow been weakened?

    Destina''s attack failed to leave any mark on the ck stone house. Her thread of fate was snapped, broken by Tian Dou''s left arm when he raised it up again. Destina was badly shaken by the sight.

    Still, she had managed to stall the man for a single moment, and that was enough.

    Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art to arrive right next to the ck stone house, where only a single wall separated him from Tian Dou. This wall had stopped Destina¡¯s attack and snapped her thread of fate. For this reason, Tian Dou felt no fear when he saw Lu Yin appear. His escape was inevitable.

    Then, Tian Dou saw Lu Yin pull out a slipper. Wait, a slipper?

    Everyone else was also staring at Lu Yin in a daze as he raised his hand up high. Was that really a slipper?

    Everyone was dumbfounded.

    However, as Lu Yin¡¯s hand descended with the slipper, space rippled. It looked as though the universe was a mirror that shattered. At the same time, the ck stone house also shattered, and Tian Dou instantly lost consciousness.

    Everything fellpletely silent. Lu Yin¡¯s actions had been so surprising that no one¡¯s minds could fully process what they had just seen.

    No matter who it might be, or how long they had lived, everyone from a normal human to a Semi-Progenitor who had witnessed countless bizarre events would have never imagined that they would see what had just urred: a slipper had just shattered a stone house that had managed to stop even Destina¡¯s attack. Tian Dou waspletely knocked out. Was this a joke?

    Lu Yin coughed. "Alright, grab him."

    Only after he spoke did anyone regain their senses. They felt like they were waking up from a dream, and they all stared at Lu Yin with incredibly odd expressions, especially at the slipper in his hands.

    Even Silver¡¯s perpetual smile had been wiped away out of utter shock at this moment.

    Lu Yin understood just how startling his actions had been. He was also not used to using the slipper so openly, but he knew that he would gradually be adjusted to doing so in the future.

    "Boy, that''s a slipper¡­" Kui Luo hesitantly said. He only spoke because of his desire to unearth secrets, and he also enjoyed making up stories. However, he had never expected to run into such a bizarre situation in his life. That slipper even had five ck toe prints on it. It looked absolutely revolting.

    Lu Yin put the slipper away. "Nope."

    "Are you sure?" Kui Luo asked in an odd tone.

    Lu Buzheng was also staring at Lu Yin. "That was definitely a slipper."

    Jiu Yao nodded. "It was a slipper."

    "Definitely a slipper," Lan Xian agreed.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Have any of you ever heard of such a powerful slipper? It¡¯s just a weapon that looks a bit like a slipper, that''s all."

    Destina asked, "A slipper with the power of a Progenitor?"

    "It looks like a slipper," Lu Yin corrected again. He nced back over at where Tian Dou was floating through space, unconscious. "Luckily, the attack wasn¡¯t too powerful, or else he would have died."

    He then nced over at Silver, who was smiling once again. Silver stepped forward and grabbed Tian Dou. "Captain, we can head back now."

    Lu Yin ignored the odd looks that everyone else was still giving him and started to head back towards the Outerverse.

    The Semi-Progenitors all nced at each other and then started to make their way towards the Heavens Sect as well.

    There was actually no reason for so many Semi-Progenitors to be present to deal with just Tian Dou, and they had all made the trip to deal with ckless God. However, the power that Tian Dou had revealed had shocked everyone. How could a peak Envoy unleash such unimaginable power? None of the Semi-Progenitors coulde up with an answer, so they all followed Lu Yin to sate their curiosity.

    Soon, everyone was gone.

    Back in the Heavens Sect, Silver tossed Tian Dou into a dark cell deep underground in the prison. "Captain, do you need my help?"

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. Not only was he stopping Silver from attending the interrogation, but also everyone else. Lu Yin intended to Possess Tian Dou once again andb through the man¡¯s memories.

    After confirming that absolutely no one was around, Lu Yin moved within five meters of Tian Dou. This was part of the ability of his die¡¯s Possession ability; after Possessing a person, Lu Yin could Possess them again and ess their memories at any point in time, as long as he was within five meters of the person.

    There was simply no need for Lu Yin to question Tian Dou. The man was too stubborn, and Lu Yin knew better than to trust anything the man said.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was nearly overwhelmed by a blinding pain. When he managed to open his eyes, numbness covered his body, though vestiges of pain still assaulted his nerves. Tian Dou had already awakened, though he had been pretending to be unconscious. Such actions meant nothing to Lu Yin, because no matter how powerful Tian Dou might be, as long as Lu Yin was able to approach within five meters, Lu Yin would have control over him. This was not even considering the fact that Tian Dou had already been left seriously injured.

    What Lu Yin was most curious about at this moment was Tian Dou¡¯s left arm. How had the man managed to unleash such a powerful attack as an Envoy? If the full power of that attack had connected, it was possible that none of the Semi-Progenitors who had been present would have survived.

    Soon, memories began to pour in, and Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up, his eyes flickering. Was this real?

    ¡­

    "Stop pretending. I know that you''re already awake." Tian Dou heard an indifferent voice, but he did not move a muscle. He remained lying on the floor of the cell.

    Lu Yin was standing five meters away from the prisoner, and he continued in a condescending tone. "I actually believe it when you offered me your loyalty, but you were too ambitious. You were also being sincere when you gave Jue Yi your loyalty. Now, you¡¯re once again being honest when offering your loyalty to Aeternus. You are just too honest, aren¡¯t you, Tian Dou?"

    Tian Dou still did not move.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "What are you waiting for? Your injuries to heal? There are more than six Semi-Progenitors outside this prison. There¡¯s no chance of escaping.

    "Well, if you were actually able to control the death energy in your left arm, then none of those Semi-Progenitors would be able to stop you. Unfortunately, you¡¯re back in the Human Domain, and do you think that the God of Death¡¯s left arm is enough to stop Progenitor Chen''s power?"

    Tian Dou¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You-? How do you know?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Your left arm came from the God of Death himself. I was shocked to learn that the Specter n¡¯s greatest treasure that¡¯s been passed down through the ages was actually the God of Death¡¯s arm. If your cultivation wasn¡¯t so low, I mean, if you were actually a Semi-Progenitor, you¡¯d be absolutely invincible beneath the Progenitor realm. In fact, you¡¯d even be able to fight against the weakened Progenitor of Bloodlines and get away safely. You really hid yourself well, Tian Dou."

    Realization broke across Tian Dou¡¯s features. "It was you! You¡¯re the one who possessed me! You¡¯re the reason there¡¯s a nk point in my memories of being at the death energy site! You took control of me back then!"

    Lu Yin smiled lightly. "That''s right, it was me."

    Even at the cusp of death, Tian Dou would have never guessed at such a possibility. He had assumed that the person behind the incident had been the powerhouse hidden within the mirror, the one that Kui Luo referred to as senior. The fact that it had actually been Lu Yin himself defied all of Tian Dou¡¯s expectations.

    "How did you do it? How could you control me? Not to mention, you shouldn¡¯t have had any idea of where I was back then, as you should have been here in the Human Domain." The man remained utterly confused and unwilling to ept such a possibility. He simply could not unravel what had happened.

 Chapter 2168: Costs And Benefits

    Chapter 2168: Costs And Benefits

    Tian Dou had paid too high a price to obtain his current strength. He had betrayed humanity in order to save his Specter n, andter, he had turned to Jue Yi for protection. Finally, he had returned to the Aeternals. The cost had been so steep, and yet everything had been lost because of a single person. Just how was this even possible?

    Lu Yin would not exin his die to Tian Dou. "The entire reason why you saved Silver when you found him was because he¡¯s a bone grafter. Your Specter n has passed down the God of Death¡¯s left arm for countless years, but nothing could be done with it. You saw it, and yet it was left to rot. You tortured Silver with your research in order to learn how to incorporate the abilities of a bone grafter into yourself so that you could fuse the God of Death¡¯s arm into your own body. You made Silver¡¯s very existence miserable, but you didn¡¯t fare much better.¡±

    "Just as you tore all of his flesh away, you did the same to yourself in order to be a bone grafter. Honestly, I find your determination impressive."

    Tian Dou clenched his fists. His gaze would not steady itself as he stared at Lu Yin. "And yet I still failed. I might have incorporated the God of Death¡¯s arm into my body, but I need to be a Semi-Progenitor to ess its full power. However, the arm also means that my tribtion to be a Semi-Progenitor will be so powerful that I have no hope of survival. The tribtion can sense the God of Death¡¯s presence in my body, which means that my next tribtion won¡¯t be on the Semi-Progenitor level as it should be, but rather a Progenitor level stellr tribtion."

    Lu Yin nodded. From Tian Dou''s memories, Lu Yin had learned that the man had attempted to break through and be a Semi-Progenitor a bit more than thirty years ago, which was when Lu Yin had still been a student in the Astral Combat Academy. The presence of the God of Death¡¯s left arm had made Tian Dou¡¯s tribtion too powerful and massive, which had left him with no choice but to give up. Otherwise, he would have already be a Semi-Progenitor.

    Tian Dou was much older than Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, and he was almost as old as Elder Gong and the other Semi-Progenitors. However, Tian Dou had held back from attempting to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm because of his desire to transnt the God of Death¡¯s arm into his own body. Unfortunately, that same arm removed Tian Dou all hope of surviving his stellr tribtion and bing a Semi-Progenitor.

    His history was both revolting and pathetic .

    He had worked too hard and done too much to be able to use the God of Death¡¯s left arm. It was far, far more than what most people could even imagine. At least, Lu Yin knew that he would not have paid such a steep price. Despite it all, the results spoke for themselves.

    This was also why Tian Dou wanted to receive Aeternus¡¯s True God¡¯s divine energy, as there was no hope for him to advance any further with death energy.

    The fact of the matter was that stellr energy came from the Origin Progenitor. So, if Tian Dou wanted to escape his impending stellr tribtion, his only option was to use the divine energy of Aeternus¡¯s True God. Then, Tian Dou would be able to be a Semi-Progenitor, and after that, with the God of Death¡¯s arm as part of his body, there was no way to truly predict just what realm his cultivation would reach.

    "You¡¯re very smart and able to see far ahead. If you wanted to, you could have be a Semi-Progenitor long ago, but your foresight actually ended up forcing you to rely on the power of the Aeternals. Did you even think about your choice? If you really cultivate the power of Aeternus, you¡¯ll be a monster and cease to be human," Lu Yin asked in an indifferent tone.

    Tian Dou¡¯s voice was bitter as he replied, "All things be meaningless if you fail to be a Progenitor. You¡¯ve never had to experience the hatred and persecution of countless people! You can¡¯tprehend the idea of sacrificing absolutely everything in the pursuit of power."

    "My Lu family was banished by the four ruling powers. From the moment I first started cultivating, I was regarded as an enemy of the Daynight n. I waspletely outssed and overwhelmed. Ipletely understand," Lu Yin answered.

    Tian Dou and Lu Yin just stared at each other for a moment. "What''s the point in saying such things now? I¡¯ve already learned your greatest secret, so you¡¯ll definitely kill me."

    A smile tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "That isn¡¯t my greatest secret."

    Tian Dou was startled, but then he started tough. "As expected of this era¡¯s legend! Alliance Leader Lu, more and more, I find myself believing that you really will be the next God of Death. You wille to master both the power of your Lu family and the God of Death. It¡¯s possible that you will be able to lead humanity into an era of greatness, but unfortunately, I won¡¯t be able to see that future."

    Lu Yin had long since grown ustomed to there being winners and losers in conflicts. How many people had died during his quest to unite the Outerverse and the Innerverse? How many had surrendered to him? As his strength improved, more and more of the powerhouses that he had once looked up to had been trampled upon as he rose higher.

    How long had it been since Lu Yin had first met Tian Dou?

    The door to the cell closed with a bang as Lu Yin left. There was no trace of Tian Dou at all.

    The man had cooperated with Aeternus and betrayed humanity, and for that, he had to die. Lu Yin had another image on his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    At one point in time, LuYin had made the mistake of trying to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion as a mere one-tribtion Envoy, which had caused him to suffer a severe bacsh. At that time, let alone a Semi-Progenitor, even an expert with a power level of a million would likely have been too much for Lu Yin to handle. However, things had changed since then. His strength had transformed since then, and there was no issue in anointing Tian Dou as a champion. In fact, Lu Yin wanted to try anointing an even more powerful champion.

    As he emerged from the prison, Lu Yin met Silver. For once, there was no smile on the man¡¯s face, and he was standing there calmly, waiting for Lu Yin.

    As soon as Lu Yin appeared, Silver turned around to face Lu Yin with a smile. "Congrattions, Captain!"

    "Congrattions? He knew nothing about where ckless God might be. We¡¯ve gained nothing," Lu Yin retorted.

    Silver continued to smile. "Might I have my finger back, Captain?"

    Lu Yin turned to stare at Silver. "You want it back?"

    "That depends on whether or not you¡¯re willing to return it to me, Captain," Silver replied.

    Lu Yin looked past Yin and stared out into space. "Just one thing: tell me why. Right, I can let you have Tian Dou''s right arm and both of his legs."

    Silver¡¯s eyes widened slightly, and he felt a chill that seeped to the depths of his bones. "That''s exactly why I offered you my congrattions¡ªyou¡¯ve picked up the God of Death¡¯s left arm."

    Lu Yinughed. The only people from the entire Specter n who had been aware of the God of Death¡¯s arm¡¯s existence had been Tian Dou and Silver. In fact, not only had the two of them known about it, but they had both even used the arm.

    Tian Dou researched bone grafters in an attempt to use their ability to transnt the God of Death¡¯s left arm into his own body, but before attempting it on himself, he had tested it on Silver. The finger that Silver had snapped off had contained a single bone from the God of Death.

    Destina had managed to pinpoint Tian Dou¡¯s location because Silver had supplied her with a bone from the God of Death. That was the medium that had been used to perform the divination to locate the God of Death¡¯s arm that Tian Dou had taken.

    After understanding everything that had happened, Lu Yin felt a burst of a cold sweat for Destina. If she had performed a divination rted to the full body of the God of Death instead of just his arm, or if she had performed the divination on the severed finger instead of Tian Dou himself and merely used the connection provided by the finger, then she would have suffered terribly. The God of Death had been a figure who had surpassed the vast majority of Progenitors.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Destina had actually performed the divination directly on the pieces of the God of Death¡¯s body. It was possible, but not likely.

    The moment Lu Yin learned that Tian Dou possessed the God of Death¡¯s left arm, many details suddenly made sense. For example, there was the fact that Silver had developed his own visualization method based off of the God of Death, which had absolutely shocked Jue Yi. However, Silver had seeded because of the finger bone that he had absorbed from the God of Death.

    "You kept this matter a secret from me for a long time. If not for learning that Tian Dou was working with ckless God, then just how long were you nning to keep the God of Death¡¯s arm a secret from me?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Silver asked, "Did you need to know about it, Captain?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed.

    Silver¡¯s smile grew as he said, "Captain, for you, the God of Death¡¯s arm is nothing more than a piece of a corpse. You¡¯ve even received the God of Death¡¯s full inheritance, so would you have any use for the God of Death¡¯s arm even if I gave it to you? Or were you thinking of following in Tian Dou¡¯s footsteps and trying to gain the abilities of a bone grafter for yourself and incorporating the arm into your own body?"

    There was a sh of movement, and suddenly, Lu Yin was squeezing Silver¡¯s throat. Silver¡¯s body was entirely floating off the ground.

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had done this to Silver.

    The smile on Silver¡¯s face froze in ce. He was not able to move or breath, as a powerful suppression had overwhelmed his entire body and suppressed him. He felt the need to cough up blood, but was unable to do so. All he could do was force it back down into his stomach.

    "I¡¯ll warn you this once: you don¡¯t get to decide what¡¯s useful for me or not. You have no right to make decisions for me. This is yourst chance. Keep something from me again, and I¡¯ll let you join Tian Dou," Lu Yin said in a cold tone. He then casually tossed Silver to the side, but the deceptive force of the throw mmed Silver into the ground, injuring him to the point where he spat out blood. He looked miserable.

    "You can have Tian Dou''s body." Lu Yin said onest thing before leaving.

    Silver remainedying on the ground where he had fallen. Even though he looked like he was in a terrible condition, his smile stayed on his face, and it even grewrger after he heard Lu Yin¡¯sst words.

    From Tian Dou''s memories, not only had Lu Yin learned of the existence of the God of Death¡¯s left arm, but he had also learned of the Specter n¡¯s hidden stashes of resources. ording to what Lu Yin had learned, the Specter n still had almost 100 billion star essence hidden away. The n might not use stellr energy or star energy to cultivate, but there were many uses for such resources, and so, the n had umted a great deal of wealth. On top of that, Jue Yi had not been informed about any of these resources, as the stashes had been hidden long, long ago.

    Jue Yi had only been released from the sourcebox array twenty years ago, which meant that the Undying Heavenly Gate had not existed for very long. The Semi-Progenitor did not have much use for star essence, or else he definitely would have found a way to unearth all of the Specter n¡¯s resources.

    At this moment, all of this worked out in Lu Yin¡¯s favor.

    While the n still had about 100 billion star essence in reserve, when they dered their loyalty to Lu Yin, Tian Dou had given away 50 billion star essence as a gift to Lu Yin, which proved that he had not been thinking about betraying Lu Yin at that time. However, nothing in the universe was truly permanent, and Tian Dou was not a loyal individual.

    The Specter n had hidden a stash in their own hidden world, so Lu Yin would only be able to recover the money by going to the Neovese. However, that trip was already nned, as he needed to join up with Qing Ping so that they could make their way to the Perennial World together.

    It was at this time that word of the God of Death¡¯s left arm started to spread, and Lu Yin was actually the source of those rumors. He spread this information so that people would think that he was in extended seclusion.

    The God of Death was a mythical powerhouse, and even just twenty years ago, practically no one had believed that such a person had ever existed. However, people from the Heavens Sect era had been released from a sourcebox, verifying many myths and legends. Even then, the God of Death remained a lofty concept, especially for anyone who cultivated with death energy.

    Lu Yin was the true heir of the God of Death, and he had obtained the God of Death¡¯s left arm. It was only natural that he would immediately go into seclusion.

    In the Astral Beast Domain, Jue Yi received word of these developments, and theypletely shocked him. "The God of Death¡¯s left arm?"

    "Yes. Many people have learned that six Semi-Progenitors made a trip into the Astral Wilderness to capture Tian Dou, but all of them almost died because Tian Dou used the God of Death¡¯s left arm. If not for the fact that his cultivation was toocking to fully utilize it, he would have killed them all. At this moment, the arm is in Lu Yin¡¯s possession."

    Jue Yi was exchanging messages with another individual from the Heavens Sect era who also cultivated with death energy. This man was far more loyal to Jue Yi than anyone from the Specter n, and Jue Yi also trusted the man more.

    An ugly expression covered the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s face. "That¡¯s impossible! How could the God of Death have lost his arm?"

    "Gatemaster, all of this information has been confirmed. Tian Dou¡¯s limbs were all removed while he was imprisoned, and Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo has not been quiet about anything that happened. The veracity of this information is unquestionable."

    "Where is the Dao Chosen?"

    "Dao Chosen Lu has entered seclusion."

    Jue Yi took a deep breath. If Lu Yin really had acquired the God of Death¡¯s left arm, then it was only natural for him to go into seclusion.

    However, this meant that Tian Dou had actually been constantly lying to Jue Yi. The Specter n¡¯s patriarch had always been in possession of the God of Death¡¯s arm, and yet Jue Yi had never known a thing. If he had been informed of such, he would have been able to take yet another step towards bing a true Progenitor. Jue Yi felt a matchless, eternal hatred for Tian Dou. In fact, it was even quite unfortunate that Tian Dou was already dead, as otherwise Jue Yi would have ensured that the man spent hundreds of millions of years in suffering.

    "Is Lu Yin in seclusion?" Hen Xin asked. He and Jue Yi were both still in the Astral Beast Domain, keeping an eye on the Extreme Path.

    Jue nodded. "If that truly is the God of Death¡¯s left arm, then there¡¯s no question that Lu Yin will be in seclusion to study it. Death energy was created by the God of Death, and the benefits of studying his arm are immeasurable."

 Chapter 2169: Senior Brother?

    Chapter 2169: Senior Brother?

    Hen Xin''s expression grew serious. Lu Yin was already able to suppress everyone in the entire Human Domain due to the power he had received from Progenitor Chen. On top of that, had he really received the God of Death¡¯s left arm? This meant that his death energy cultivation would increase rapidly, and Lu Yin would soon not only be able to threaten the Human Domain, but also the entire Fifth Maind. Dao Chosen Lu¡­ Was he really a child chosen by the heavens?

    The news about the God of Death¡¯s left arm had a massive impact on everyone, and Chu Yuan also learned of it. He was in secluded training himself. The only power that he possessed that might allow him to make aeback was time, and so he was focused on training his power of time.

    No one questioned the truth of Lu Yin entering seclusion. If he had picked up the God of Death¡¯s left arm, then why wouldn¡¯t he immediately go into seclusion?

    Also, everyone had paid attention to Lu Yin¡¯s ability to extract stellr energy from the mysterious droplets that continued to drain the true universe, and he had no longer shown himself able to do so. This strengthened people¡¯s belief that Lu Yin really was in seclusion.

    When stellr energy had first been stolen from one of the strange droplets, the matter had shocked the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin had even publicly announced that he had been training when the incident had urred, but after that one time, he had been seen traveling around the Human Domain and carrying out many different tasks. During this time, it was possible to sense that stellr energy was still being pulled from one of the droplets. This led people to realize that whatever was extracting stellr energy was not directly Lu Yin¡¯s but rather connected to something that he possessed. The most likely exnation was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    Even though this assumption was not openly brought up, it was widely epted.

    After all, this was the only exnation that made any sense. Semi-Progenitors, and even the Progenitor of Bloodlines himself, who was a true Progenitor, were all unable to influence the stellr energy that had been absorbed by the strange droplets. Thus, how could Lu Yin do such a thing? It only made sense that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword would be capable of such a feat.

    At present, there was no longer anything that could be sensed stealing stellr energy, which indicated that Lu Yin had gone into seclusion to train, and that he had also taken the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword with him.

    This was not something that Lu Yin had not considered. Rather, it was something that was outside of his control. It was not practical for Sapling to stop absorbing stellr energy, nor for Lu Yin to remain in seclusion. However, it was also clear that as soon as Lu Yin showed himself again, several of his cover stories would be seen through. Still, that did not matter. He had Sapling, and the little tree really was capable of stealing stellr energy back from those mysterious droplets.

    After all, since Lu Yin was going to be apanying his senior brother Qing Ping to the Perennial World, Sapling had to go as well. There was no way that he would leave Sapling behind to continue absorbing stellr energy, as this change would catch people¡¯s attention.

    His actions were unintentionally creating shadows that were obscuring the truth.

    Lu Yin did not n to take too many people to the Perennial World with him. The only people would be Tong Yu, Kui Luo, and Elder Qing Xing. He had originally wanted to take a few more people as well, but he had not been able toe up with any more possibilities. As for the people that he had imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, all of them would naturally stay where they were.

    With the speed of Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo, it did not take long for Lu Yin to arrive in the Neoverse. With what he had learned from Tian Dou''s memories, Lu Yin quickly found the hidden world that belonged to the Specter n. Most of the n members did not even know about this hidden world¡¯s existence, as Tian Dou had kept it a tightly held secret.

    Tong Yu did not understand how Lu Yin had learned about this hidden world, as it was impossible for him to have learned of it from Tian Dou. Lu Yincked the means to interrogate Tian Dou, and Tong Yu understood just how cruel Tian Dou could be to himself. There was no way any amount of torture would ever force the man to reveal anything.

    Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge of the Specter n¡¯s secrets made him even more mysterious and terrifying to Tong Yu.

    The hidden world looked like nothing at all from the outside, as it simply looked like a dpidated road sign that was so worn down that it could no longer even be read. No one would have guessed that this piece of trash was actually a hidden world.

    The small group entered, and they found the sky in the hidden world to be dark, and the air humid. It felt like they were standing in a swamp. Strange, unknown creatures writhed in balls like snakes, and hissing sounds could be heard in all directions. The sounds were quite disturbing.

    "This ce is quite creepy. There are countless beasts tangled together beneath us, and the most powerful one is definitely as strong as an Envoy," Kui Luomented. Even he was not veryfortable in his hidden world.

    Lu Yin also felt very ufortable. This ce did not feel like a hidden world, but more like a den of snakes.

    Tong Yu pursed her lips. "This was deliberately done by our patriarch so that even if someone managed to stumble upon this ce by ident, they would simply try to leave as soon as possible. There¡¯s no sign of any treasures or resources, and nothing stands out to indicate a connection to my Specter n."

    "Well, this just shows how cunning Tian Dou really was. This isn¡¯t something that most people would ever try to do." Kui Luo let out an oddugh.

    Below them, several ck snakes shot into the sky, snapping at the humans who had just arrived.

    Tong Yu reacted, and her death energy turned into clouds that dropped down andpletely covered the swamp below them.

    With that change, Lu Yin felt much morefortable. Before, it had felt like they were standing right in front of the creatures¡¯ mouths.

    What he had observed in Tian Dou''s memories had been quite different from personally seeing the hidden world.

    The resources that Tian Dou had hidden in the hidden world had been ced beneath all the creatures, but after Tong Yu cleared a path, Lu Yin easily found almost 100 billion star essence, as well as some other resources.

    The other resources had been part of Tian Dou''s personal collection, which meant that they were practically invaluable. Still, as far as Lu Yin was concerned, the most useful thing in the hidden world was the star essence, and he intended to donate everything else to the Heavens Sect. Already, many of the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s resources had been turned over to the Heavens Sect.

    Even if things were useless to Lu Yin personally, they might be very useful to others.

    For example, there were natural treasures that had matured to where they could sense danger and avoid it, power vessels, different pieces of equipment, and even battle techniques and cultivation arts. All of these things could greatly benefit the Heavens Sect and the Tower of Inheritances.

    Such things were especially important for the Tower of the Fifth, as Lu Yin benefited greatly from that ce¡¯s mere existence, as more and more people had started to ept Lu Yin as a half-master. Even if this was not worth much at the moment, Lu Yin understood that all of his actions would have different reactions in the future, and they would benefit him differently.

    What he had learned about karmic bacsh and divination had driven this point home even further.

    Once the Specter n¡¯s resources were collected, Kui Luo led Lu Yin and the others towards the ce where Lu Yin had returned to the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World. It was located within the Honor Zone.

    Upon arriving, they found that not only was Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother Qing Ping waiting for them, but also Elder Gong, Highsage Grandmaster, Grandmaster Xiu Ming, and Jiu Chi, who had not been seen by anyone for a long time.

    Jiu Chi had retreated from the public, and after he had been injured during the battle against Aeternus, no one had made any demands of the Semi-Progenitor. He had spent almost all of his time at this same location, standing watch over the sourcebox array.

    "Senior, it¡¯s been a long time." Lu Yin immediately greeted Jiu Chi when he saw the old man.

    Jiu Chi took a sip of his wine. "I haven¡¯t seen you for quite some time, and you¡¯ve already basically be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "You¡¯ve been drinking too much, Senior."

    Jiu Chiughed. "It¡¯s just how things are. You¡¯re able to use the power of a Progenitor, which means that you¡¯ve be one. How is there any difference?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. At first nce, there was nothing explicitly wrong with thisment, but a Progenitor was a cultivation realm and not just a level of strength. This was nothing more than a drunk¡¯s rambling.

    "Heading to the Perennial World?" Jiu Chi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "My senior brother needs to make a breakthrough, which is only possible to do in the Perennial World."

    Jiu Chi took another drink of his wine. "If you can, bring my poor disciple back here. I don¡¯t know what happened to her."

    Lu Yin knew that the old man was referring to Liquor Hero. Jiu Chi had been a rather irresponsible drunk for a long time, but he had epted two disciples. One was Qiong Xi''er, who had been taught the Yinyang Trisage Technique, while the other disciple was Liquor Hero, who had picked up Jiu Chi¡¯s alcoholism.

    In truth, Liquor Hero was Jiu Chi¡¯s true disciple, while Qiong Xi¡¯er had simply been lucky enough to receive some of the old man¡¯s teachings and battle techniques.

    Long ago, Lu Yin had used the fact that the Ce family had acquired the Yinyang Trisage Technique to threaten the family. Looking back, Lu Yin felt like it had been a long, long time since then.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something, and he looked over at Qing Ping. "Senior Brother, won''t we be separated if we use this sourcebox array to go to the Perennial World?"

    "That''s correct," Grandmaster Xiu Ming replied, "This sourcebox array merely allows people to pierce through the barriers of time and space to enter the Perennial World, but it cannot send people to a set location. Everyone who uses it at the same time will be scattered like ZENITH¡¯s finalists."

    "In that case, we won¡¯t have an easy time trying to stand guard over my senior brother''s breakthrough." Lu Yin hesitated.

    Kui Luo mockingly asked Lu Yin, "Kid, don''t you have that Zenith Mountain?"

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. He had actually forgotten about that. He had been so focused on the current matter that he had actually forgotten all about the existence of Zenith Mountain.

    "That¡¯s the biggest reason for you to apany me to the Perennial World," Qing Ping casually mentioned.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "The biggest reason is to protect you, Senior Brother, during your breakthrough. I hope that there won¡¯t be too much of amotion, as we¡¯ll be in trouble if you draw the attention of a Progenitor."

    The Perennial World was truly massive, and the space there was far more stable than the Fifth Maind¡¯s. Only Envoys could tear through the void in the Perennial World, which meant that even Semi-Progenitors could not quickly travel around. Even if Qing Ping¡¯s breakthrough was noticed by Semi-Progenitors, it would not be any problem.

    However, being noticed by a Progenitor was an entirely different matter. A Progenitor could arrive almost anywhere in an instant, and none of them had the power to stand up to a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had already experienced the power of such instantaneous movement through Progenitor Chen¡¯s Cosmic Stomp. For Lu Yin, he could reach anywhere in the entire Human Domain with merely a thought. This was an ability exclusive to Progenitors.

    With this matter being addressed, Highsage Grandmaster also jumped in. "If a Progenitor notices the breakthrough, it¡¯s simply a matter of fate. There¡¯s nothing to be done about such a thing."

    Elder Gong directed a more somber look at Lu Yin. "It might be best for you to not go with us."

    The man was most concerned about what was on the bottom of Lu Yin''s foot.

    Qing Ping remainedpletely calm. "If a Progenitor notices, someone will intervene."

    Everyone looked over in shock.

    "Someone will help you? Someone from the Perennial World? Who?" Kui Luo demanded. He was more familiar with the Perennial World than anyone else here, and he even knew about the various Progenitors. However, just which one would be willing to help someone from the Forsaken Land?

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and he excitedly asked, "Is it our senior brother whom I¡¯ve never met?"

    Qing Ping nodded "Senior Brother is a Progenitor, but he will only intervene as ast resort."

    Everyone waspletely shocked.

    "You have a senior brother who¡¯s a Progenitor?" Kui Luo eximed again.

    Jiu Chi, Elder Gong, Highsage Grandmaster, and Grandmaster Xiu Ming were all stunned. The Fifth Maind had not had any Progenitors for eons, and yet the powers of Progenitors had recently started appearing one after another. Where was this Progenitor from? The Perennial World?

    "Just who is your master?" Jiu Chi asked in a daze. This information was just too overwhelming.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt both excited and nervous. He was terrified at the possibility that his senior brother might be one of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors, in which case, how was he supposed to react? "Who is our senior brother?"

    Qing Ping and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment. "Humility''s Gate¡¯s Progenitor. Mu Xie."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Mu Xie? Mu Xie, the same Progenitor who had nearly epted Lu Yin as his disciple? The Progenitor who was known for hating all traitors to humanity and who worked to protect humanity from hidden dangers and eliminate all Redbacks?

    Lu Yin had actually wondered if Mu Xie might be one of Mister Mu''s disciples, given their shared surname and the fact that Mu Xie was a Progenitor. It had seemed extremely likely, but it had never been anything more than a guess. Having his suspicions be confirmed ways changed everything.

    "The master of Humility''s Gate, Mu Xie, is our senior brother?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Qing Ping answered indifferently, "Didn''t you meet him?"

    "I never actually saw him." Lu Yin felt rather depressed, though also quite awkward. If Wang Yun had not remembered where she had seen Lu Yin before and exposed him, would Lu Yin have epted his senior disciple brother as his master? How would that haveplicated their rtionship?

    "Progenitor Mu Xie is your senior disciple brother?" Kui Luo shouted. This was his third time yelling, which went to show just how badly shocked he felt.

    Lu Yin and Qing Ping both looked over at Kui Luo at the same time. ""Is there a problem?""

    Kui Luo opened his mouth, but he could not find anything to say. Was there a problem? Of course there was! Mu Xie was a mighty Progenitor from the Perennial World, while these two were from the Forsaken Land. How could they be fellow disciples? The difference in their statuses was just too drastic.

    No, wait. If these two men¡¯s senior disciple brother was already a Progenitor, then what did that say about their master?

    "Kid, who¡¯s your master? Why don¡¯t you introduce me to him so that I can ept him as my master as well?" Kui Luo had peerlessly thick skin, and he was eager to try this.

 Chapter 2170: Not Qualified Enough

    Chapter 2170: Not Qualified Enough

    While Lu Yin understood that Kui Luo was just messing around and trying to find out their master¡¯s identity, Qing Ping treated the request very seriously. "You are not qualified enough."

    This answer caught Kui Luopletely off guard, and he blinked absentmindedly before he could even react. "I, a Semi-Progenitor who has a very good chance to be a Progenitor myself, am unqualified to meet your master?"

    Qing Ping nodded. "Your qualifications arecking. Our master only epts geniuses."

    Kui Luo sneered. "I''m unqualified? I''m a Semi-Progenitor! I¡¯ll eventually be a Progenitor."

    "Even when you are a Progenitor, you still won¡¯t be qualified." Qing Ping was utterly serious, as this was a matter that concerned the honor of his master. As far as Qing Ping was concerned, the fact that Kui Luo felt that he was qualified to ept Mister Mu as his master was an insult to Mister Mu and all of his disciples. However, this did not mean that Qing Ping was looking down on Kui Luo in any way.

    As far as Semi-Progenitors were concerned, Kui Luo was quite powerful, and he was nearly as powerful as the gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates. However, this was not good enough. Mister Mu only epted freaks as his disciples. People who were regarded as legends by most people. People who aplished the impossible.

    Kui Luo actually got upset, as he felt that he was being underestimated. "Kid, talk to him! Tell him how powerful I am and how strong my inner world is!"

    Qing Ping looked away. "The minimum requirement to be epted by our master as a disciple is to be an Envoy who can cross realms to challenge Semi-Progenitors, or a Semi-Progenitor who can fight against Progenitors."

    Elder Gong and everyone else stared at Qing Ping in disbelief yet again. The entire Fifth Maind only had two Envoys who had been able to cross realms and challenge Semi-Progenitors: Qing Ping himself, and Tian Dou, the patriarch of the Specter n. This was an exceptional level ofbat strength that few could reach, and it was amazing for anyone to do so. However, the concept of a Semi-Progenitor fighting against Progenitors was not merely amazing¡ªit was simply impossible.

    Not to mention the present Semi-Progenitors, who of even the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates dared to im to be able to challenge a Progenitor?

    The one example of this was when Ancient God had forced his Semi-Progenitor avatar to manifest the power of a Progenitor. At that time, Lu Buzheng had given up all hope. Who could stand against such power? And yet, was Qing Ping stating that suchbat strength was the bare minimum to be epted as a disciple of these men¡¯s master?

    "Kid, your senior brother¡¯s even better at spouting bullshit than you." Kui Luo absolutely did not believe a word that Qing Ping had just said. What master would have such unreasonable standards?

    Lu Yin just pursed his lips and took out Zenith Mountain. "Alright, there¡¯s no need to talk about this now. Senior Brother, old man, let¡¯s head out, so get ready to return to the Perennial World."

    Kui Luo grinned. "I¡¯m going to meet your master one day, and then we¡¯ll see whether or not this old man qualifies to be epted as a disciple after I break through and be a Progenitor, hehehehe."

    Qing Ping remained perfectly calm and simply entered Zenith Mountain. He was quickly followed by Kui Luo and Tong Yu.

    Lu Yin put Zenith Mountain back away. "Seniors, let''s begin."

    "Lu Yin, do you still remember where the top ten finalists of ZENITH ended up?" Grandmaster Xiu Ming suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled, but replied, "This junior knows that Shang Qing was imprisoned in the Nest. Liu Tianmu appeared close to the Sword Monument in the Middle Realm in the Liu family¡¯s territory. Yuhua Mavis fell into Humility''s Gate¡¯s Huaiyuan Gate. Yao Xuannded on the Bifrost, and Unseen Light arrived in the middle of nowhere, close to the Yinshan District. Qiu Shinded in a wheat field belonging to the Nong family, and I¡¯m not sure about the rest. Why do you ask, Senior?¡±

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming exined, "While we can¡¯t be sure, I¡¯m guessing that you will arrive in one of the ces that thest ten people arrived at. It¡¯s been many years since the sourcebox array left by Progenitor Hui was used, so we aren¡¯t sure of some of the details, but we¡¯ll find out more when youe back.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, and he mentally ran through the locations that he had just mentioned. He really hoped that he would not follow in Qiu Shi¡¯s footsteps and arrive in the Nong family¡¯s wheat field, as he might not be able to escape. "This junior is ready."

    "Alright, then let¡¯s get started," Grandmaster Xiu Ming said. Even though his cultivation was the lowest out of everyone present, aside from Lu Yin, the man had the highest mastery of sourcebox arrays, and so he was the person who controlled the transmission array.

    ¡­

    A drizzle cast a blurred veil over the world. A small city was covered in the light rain, and no one could be seen walking through the streets. It was impossible to see across the sea from the harbor of the seaside city. If one looked away from the sea, they would see the Mother Tree holding up the sky. It was also barely possible to make out the rainbow colors of the Bifrost through the rain if one looked in the opposite direction.

    The city was located in the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Realm, and it sat on the edge of the Middle Ocean. It was known as Cowry City.

    Cowry City was a long city, as it stretched along the coastline, which also made it quite narrow.

    Cowry City was controlled by the Bei family, which was led by an Envoy.

    Lights and decorations covered the entire city. People poured in through all three of the city¡¯s gates, as well as its five ports. All of them were preparing for the uing birthday celebration.

    The birthday celebration was being held for the Bei family¡¯s ancestor, who was an Envoy.

    While Envoys were not exactly umon in the Perennial World, it was simply toorge, and people were too scattered. So, Envoys were still rare powerhouses in any given region. For the Bei family to remain in control of Cowry City, they needed to have at least one powerful Envoy.

    Essentially, the presence of an Envoy was enough for a family to control a city.

    Since the Bei family¡¯s ancestor was holding a birthday celebration, countless people wereing to offer their congrattions.

    At this moment, that ancestor was fishing.

    The gentle rain fell into the pond, creating little sshes.

    Two people were next to the pond. One was sitting and wearing a bamboo hat with a pot of tea brewing on a little nearby wooden table. The scent of the tea filled the area. The seated person was a casual looking old man, and he was apanied by a cute young girl. Her eyes were blinking as she stared at the pond with some curiosity.

    "Ancestor, let''s have a bet. I think that we¡¯ll be able to catch ten people this time," the girl stated happily.

    The old manughed. "For those people, this is an opportunity to escape from their trapped civilization. We caught seven of themst time, so there should be more this time. Of course, they also might fight amongst each other to seize this opportunity, so it¡¯s possible that there will be fewer."

    "Ancestor, that¡¯s cheating! You said both more and less at the same time! You need to pick a number," the girl pouted as she grumpilyined.

    The old manughed louder than before. "Alright, fine. In that case, five people."

    "Alright, it¡¯s a bet! If I win, Ancestor will personally send me to Virtue Archives so that I can participate in the entrance exam," the girl eagerly stated.

    The old man hesitated.

    The girl shook his arm somewhat violently. "Ancestor, promise me. Promise!"

    "Xiaoyu, I¡¯ve already told you that Virtue Archives is too far away from here, and the journey is dangerous. There¡¯s no need to go all the way to Virtue Archives to study, as there are other academies avable as well, and they aren¡¯t necessarily any worse than Virtue Archives." The old man was clearly struggling.

    The girl frowned. "But Virtue Archives is the oldest andrgest academy in the entire Middle Realm! It¡¯s an inheritance from a Progenitor of the Wen family, and they have their Literary Prison, a secret art, and even Mr. Tang, who has cultivated his domain all the way to the void god realm! It even seems like they have more than one secret technique."

    "How do you know all of this?" The old man was surprised, as the girl had mentioned some details that even he had not been aware of.

    The girl sped a hand over her mouth. This was bad, she had screwed up!

    "Xiaoyu!" the old man demanded angrily. How could this little girl know anything that he did not? He had never even heard of Mr. Tang.

    The girl sighed. "Ancestor, do you remember that person? The one who emerged from the pond?"

    The old man''s expression changed, and fear bloomed deep within his eyes. "The young man?"

    The girl nodded. "He told me that he intended to study at Virtue Archives. I might have only been five years old back then, but I still remember it."

    The old man''s eyes flickered as he remembered a young man who had emerged from his pond decades ago. The young man had been someone from Shenwu''s Sky, but for some reason, he had stayed with the Bei family for several days, and he had also visited the civilization within their pond before leaving. So, Bei Xiaoyu¡¯s motivations came from that young man.

    "So you¡¯ve been focused on getting into Virtue Archives for all these years?" the old man asked.

    The girl blushed at the question.

    "But after so many years, even if he did join Virtue Archives, it would be impossible for you to meet him again," the old man said. However, he had no objection to the girl forming a connection with the young man. In fact, if they got together, the Bei family would receive tremendous benefits from associating with a power from the Higher Realm like Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    However, the old man felt a bit bitter, as he knew that such thoughts were purely delusional. What sort of existence was Shenwu''s Sky? For his Bei family, forget forming a connection with Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡ªthey did not even qualify to speak with Shenwu''s Sky''s vassal families.

    However, the girl remained stubborn. "I still want to go there and look. Maybe he¡¯s still in Virtue Archives? There¡¯s no time limit on how long a person can study there, and there are even some people who stay there for their entire lives."

    The old man nodded, as this was quite true. "Fine, but we¡¯ll make a bet. If you win, I¡¯ll escort you there myself."

    "Thank you, Ancestor!" The girl was delighted. The Middle Realm was absolutely massive, and it was very dangerous to travel across it. The Bei family lived very far away from Virtue Archives, and it was impossible for her to make the journey on her own. Only an Envoy who could tear through the void like her ancestor could bring her that far.

    "Don''t get too excited. You don¡¯t have any control over whether you win or lose this bet, and even if you win, there¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll be allowed into Virtue Archives after you get there. Do you understand just how many geniuses want to study there? The entrance exam is truly difficult, and even the four ruling powers are happy when their youths get in," the old man warned.

    The girl clenched her fists. "I¡¯ll definitely pass the exam! Even if he isn¡¯t there anymore, I¡¯ll still make sure that I study hard. It¡¯s best to form connections with people from everywhere, and this is the best opportunity to do that. It will give our family hope to improve even more in the future. Right, Ancestor?"

    The old man''s eyes lit up. While it was true that Virtue Archives¡¯ entrance exam was grueling, anyone who passed and studied in that ce would get to know geniuses from the Higher Realm, and it was even possible to meet direct descendants of the four ruling powers. It was a massive step upwards.

    "Haha, it''s wonderful for you to have such ambition! Well, I just hope you can win the bet, hahahaha!" the old manughed.

    The girl flushed with excitement. This was good, as the ancestor was already in agreement with her goals. She absolutely had to get to Virtue Archives.

    At this moment, the fishing line moved, and a smile tugged the corners of the old man''s mouth upwards. "Something¡¯s taken the bait."

    There was an entire pocket dimension within the pond in front of the old man.

    In the Perennial World, pocket dimensions and isted spaces could be found in mountains, rivers, ponds, and even bizarre locations, and these isted regions were frequently used to raise entire civilizations. Lu Yin had seen one such ce on Dragon Mountain.

    The Bei family¡¯s pond also contained some civilizations, though theirs could notpare to the one on Dragon Mountain. This isted space was much smaller, and it only consisted of a fews.

    In some ways, these pocket dimensions were a form of entertainment for many of the Perennial World¡¯s more powerful families. People would sometimes pass the time by selecting individuals from their own civilization and ce them in deathmatches or such and bet on the oue. In other ces, pocket dimensions were used to breed beautiful people, astral beasts, or even unique civilizations.

    Any cultivator who broke through and became an Explorer would be able to escape from the pond, and then they would be enved by the Bei family.

    Fishing in this pond was one of the Bei family¡¯s ancestor¡¯s few joys. He would asionally ce a hook, and for the people who lived on thes within the isted dimension, the hook would appear like adder that could allow them to ascend and enter a higher realm and a greater civilization. These hooks were also the cause for the war between the two cultures, as people from both civilizations wanted to escape from the confines of their own tiny universe.

    However, none of them had any idea that all that awaited outside of their little pond was a life of endless very.

 Chapter 2171: Relaxing

    Chapter 2171: Rxing

    Every family in the Perennial World that raised isted civilizations treated them with great importance, as they were a vital source of ves and fodder for the battlefield.

    The Bei family¡¯s ancestor and the girl apanying him both eagerly watched the fishing line. Just how many people would they catch this time?

    The fishing line grew more and more taut as the pull on it grew stronger. Finally, the old man smiled and shook his head. "Xiaoyu, you¡¯ve won our bet. With this much tension, there¡¯s no way there¡¯s any less than five people this time."

    The girl was thrilled, and she grabbed hold of the old man''s arm. "Ancestor, do you mean it? Am I really going to Virtue Archives!?"

    "Hahahaha, work hard, and we¡¯ll see. We¡¯ll see." The old manughed, but he was actually feeling quite heartbroken at this moment, as he doted on the girl a great deal.

    Suddenly, the tension on the fishing line spiked, and the old man was instantly yanked into the pond before he could even react. Because she had been holding onto the man, the young girl was also pulled in, and the two people fell down and crashed onto a.

    There was a bang as the two smashed into a deste wastnd. Everything happened so quickly that they both took a moment to process the sudden change.

    In front of them, there was a young man observing them with a great deal of interest. He was Lu Yin.

    He had also appeared in the middle of this wastnd after being sent to the Perennial World by the sourcebox array. Immediately, he had noticed a developing technological civilization off in the distance, but the wastnd where Lu Yin had appeared showed scars of war, which suggested that it was an old battlefield.

    Before he had the chance to even look around and observe his surroundings, a fishing line with a hook had suddenly and strangely appeared in front of him.

    Lu Yin had grabbed and pulled the line out of reflex, but he had used too much force, which had pulled the old man and the girl into the pond. After seeing that he had pulled both people into the ground, Lu Yin felt a bit embarrassed.

    Still, the old man was an Envoy, and he reacted very quickly after mming into the ground. He shot to his feet and quickly nced around. He was still a bit dazed and confused. What''s going on? Where did so much powere from?

    Finally, the old man noticed Lu Yin, and the old man was briefly startled. What a beautiful young man.

    Right after that, the girl got to her feet, rubbing her head. "Ow, ow ow."

    She lifted her head as she whined. As soon as her eyesnded on Lu Yin, the girl¡¯s mouth dropped open, her face flushed bright red, and she quietly muttered, "What a handsome man."

    Lu Yin smiled. He had used the Mask of Death to alter his appearance before using the sourcebox array to travel to the Perennial World. Thus, the old man and the girl were seeing Young Master Yu¡¯s face on Lu Yin.

    Young Master Yu really did deserve his name, as his appearance was as wless as jade, and he did not have a single blemish to be seen. Lu Yin had seen many beautiful women and handsome men, but practically none of them were on the same level as Young Master Yu, though that was only when a person¡¯s bearing and temperament were also taken into ount. When it came to just physical appearance, Young Master Yu was truly without any equal, and even Yao Xuan could notpare to the man. Young Master Yu did not have a soft, almost feminine look like Yao Xuan, but a more masculine appearance.

    Such a face was practically a poison to some women, in the same way that many men would fall for beautiful women.

    Given the striking face, slender figure, and regal bearing from his training and natural demeanor, even Lu Yin had to admit that he could not feel any trace of disgust for Young Master Yu. The man had truly had an appearance that would instantly tempt almost anyone.

    In fact, the moment that Jiu Chi saw Lu Yin¡¯s disguise, the Semi-Progenitor had reflexively asked, ¡°Are you hoping to build a harem?¡±

    It was a face that held a fatal attraction to certain women, and the moment that Lu Yin smiled, Xiaoyu felt herself melt, and she gulped as she becamepletely star-struck.

    The old man frowned as he looked at Lu Yin. "Did you just pull this old man down here?"

    He stared at Lu Yin, trying to determine the young man¡¯s cultivation, but he could not see anything at all. Still, it seemed that this young man had the power to overwhelm the old man, which was rather scary.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "A two-tribtion Envoy. Pretty good."

    Thisment caused the old man''s expression to undergo a drastic shift. He was indeed a two-tribtion Envoy, and yet this young man had seen that instantly. This meant that the young man¡¯s strength substantially surpassed the old man¡¯s, and the Bei family¡¯s ancestor immediately grew extremely respectful. "Might I ask why Senior has deigned to visit my Bei family¡¯s small pond?"

    Lu Yin looked up and saw a starry sky. It looked perfectly normal, but the truth was that the sky was fake. However, it was impossible for the residents of the isted space to see through the shroud that hid reality from them.

    "I fell in by ident. Were you just fishing?"

    The old man quickly replied, "I am so, so sorry if my activities bothered you, Senior. I did not know that you were present, but my Bei family will do our best to host you properly as a guest."

    Lu Yin said, "There¡¯s no need for that. I just need you to find me a guide."

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin was leaning against a railing in Cowry City, staring out at the sea and facing a breeze that wasing in off the Middle Ocean. "So you want to go to Virtue Archives to find that man?"

    Bei Xiaoyu stood next to Lu Yin, and she softly stammered, "Well, that- Big Brother, I-"

    She quickly recovered and nced over at Lu Yin. "I- he¡¯s just like an older brother to me, Senior. Please don¡¯t misunderstand things."

    Lu Yin found the girl¡¯s reactions hrious. Just seeing her facial expressions showed Lu Yin what a powerful effect his face could have on people. This was an advantage that most people would never be able to enjoy.

    He reached up to touch his face. While Lu Yin¡¯s original face was not ugly, it could not be considered handsome either. He had a quite average mien, though his face tended to grow on people the longer they looked at him. Clearly, his own face could notpare to Young Master Yu¡¯s.

    "What did I misunderstand?" Lu Yin asked casually.

    Seeing that Lu Yin really did not care about the matter left Bei Xiaoyu a bit disappointed, but she quickly cheered back up. "Senior, could you tell me what your cultivation is? You must be much stronger than my ancestor for him to refer to you as ¡®senior.¡¯"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m about his level."

    Bei Xiaoyu pouted. "That¡¯s impossible. If you were as strong as him, he¡¯d never be so polite to you."

    Lu Yin smiled, but gave no real response. After leaving the pocket dimension in the pond, he had brought out Zenith Mountain and asked Kui Luo and his senior brother Qing Ping toe out. Qing Ping actually needed to do so, as he needed to adjust to the presence of stellr energy in the Perennial World and prepare for his breakthrough.

    Their current location was actually rather ideal for the attempt.

    Cowry City was located along the Middle Ocean¡¯s coast, and going any further north wouldnd one in the ocean. The Middle Ocean was massive, and given its size, it was unlikely that any ripples from Qing Ping¡¯s breakthrough attempt would attract any notice.

    Qing Ping would likely only need a few days to prepare himself before making his attempt.

    Lu Yin looked at the distant Mother Tree. If Sapling were released, would it recognize its ancestor and return to the Mother Tree? He felt rather curious to find out.

    Lu Yin spent several days roaming about Cowry City, and that actually created quite amotion. Young Master Yu¡¯s exceptional looks drew a lot of attention, while Bei Xiaoyu scurried about like a mother hen protecting her chick. She ended up in constant fights with other women because of her meddling.

    As for the Bei family¡¯s ancestor, he maintained the exact same attitude towards Lu Yin the whole time and was extremely respectful. The longer a person lived, the more perceptive they would be. The ancestor was quite clear that there was a distinct gap between himself and Lu Yin, and the young man would not stay in Cowry City for long.

    The old man had wracked his brain over thest few days, constantly trying to think of the most outstanding geniuses of the current era and trying to find one who matched the characteristics Lu Yin disyed. However, despite the fact that there were extremely few individuals who had reached such a level of strength at such a young age, the old man could not find a single good match.

    The most likely candidates were the four Junior Progenitors, and the old man wondered if it was possible that one of the Junior Progenitors was visiting him. Another possibility was that Lu Yin was not actually as young as he appeared, but was rather an old monster who simply had a youthful appearance.

    After two more days passed, Lu Yin was sitting by the pond and holding a fishing rod. He had suddenly grown interested in the pastime and had wanted to try fishing himself. The critical moment came when he had a truly odd thought: what if the time and space that he and everyone else knew about was an isted space that someone else was grooming in the same manner as the Perennial World¡¯s families?

    As soon as the thought popped up, Lu Yin simply could not shake it off. He mulled it over for several days and then simply sat down next to the pond and enjoyed the pleasure of being a fisherman.

    He watched as hundreds of cultivators struggled to reach the fishhook, hoping to grab hold of it and escape the universe that they knew about. He watched as a created a powerful technological weapon and attacked the fishhook. There were people who believed that a civilization on a higher level must have bad intentions towards them, while others would drop to their knees and pray for the fishhook to descend from the heavens so that they might receive the opportunity to ascend.

    For the people who lived in the pocket dimension within the pond, they believed their universe to be massive, as they could not travel through outer space. Their weaker cultivation meant that they needed incredible amounts of time to travel from one to another, let alone leave the pocket dimension all together.

    Lu Yin stared at the pond, silent, but his mind racing.

    Bei Xiaoyu silently approached and stood behind Lu Yin. She enjoyed being near him, even if it was just silently staring at his back.

    "Xiaoyu, don''t disturb Senior while he¡¯s fishing," the ancestor of the Bei family quietly scolded the girl, though he gave her a wink afterwards.

    Bei Xiaoyu did not want to leave. "Ancestor, Senior hasn¡¯t said anything."

    "Hurry up and get over here! Don''t disturb Senior." The old man finally got upset.

    Bei Xiaoyu did not dare to disobey her ancestor, and she slowly started walking away.

    "It''s fine. Just say what you came to say," Lu Yin gently called out, still calmly staring at the pond.

    Bei Xiaoyu hurried over as soon as she heard Lu Yin''s words, and then gave her ancestor a yful smile and a wink of her own.

    The old man shrugged, and then he walked over and stood behind Lu Yin before starting in a respectful manner, "Senior, this girl wishes to go to Virtue Archives, and so I asked a few of my old friends to make some inquiries so that I could give her some current information. I was not trying to disturb you, Senior."

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s fine. I¡¯m actually quite interested in Virtue Archives myself, so let''s hear what you¡¯ve learned."

    "Tell us, Ancestor!" Bei Xiaoyu said happily.

    The old man red at the girl, but after thinking for a moment, he started to slowly give a short report. "Our family has not paid much attention to Virtue Archives in the past, though we have naturally known of it. The ce is rtively closed off, and it¡¯s not easy to be epted, so they only have a few students. Almost everyone who studies there is a descendant of one of the Middle Realm¡¯s major families, or even a family from the Higher Realm, but things have changed recently. I don¡¯t know why, but Virtue Archives has not only opened its doors to allow for a greater number of students and teachers, but they have also started to actively reach out to the four ruling powers, the rear battlefield, and even the Root Organization, all in efforts to draw in a greater number of students.¡±

    "The overall style of Virtue Archives''s teaching methods has changed greatly, though I can¡¯t say if that¡¯s for good or ill. My old friends are not powerhouses, so I was not able to learn anything more."

    Bei Xiaoyu stared at the old man with wide eyes. "Are you saying that I would be able to train anywhere at all? Even the Higher Realm?"

    The old man replied, "That¡¯s the theory, yes. However, there are also rumors that the four ruling powers have taken control of Virtue Archives and that they are the ones inducing all of this change. We weren¡¯t able to learn any details, and I can¡¯t say if letting you go there would help or harm you."

    "Ancestor, you aren¡¯t breaking your promise, are you?" Bei Xiaoyu looked at the old man in a pitiful manner, her innocent eyes glimmering.

    The old man felt conflicted, and he had no idea what the right choice was. Was Virtue Archives still independent and changing on its own, or had the changes been forced upon them? If the four ruling powers had truly stepped in, then all of Virtue Archives¡¯ students would end up in the four ruling powers¡¯ control as soon as they became a part of Virtue Archives. Those students would be condemned to be servants, followers, or even ythings.

    In the same manner that the old man acted like a god to the civilizations that he groomed and controlled within his pond, the four ruling powers controlled those under them. In some ways, the Middle Realm was to the Higher Realm what the pocket dimension in the pond was to the Bei family.

    The old man had been hoping for Bei Xiaoyu to gain the opportunity to study in a Virtue Archives that was rather fair and independent. There, she might be able to form a close rtionship with people from the four ruling powers, but that waspletely different from being controlled by them. If Bei Xiaoyu suffered such a fate, then it would be better for her to remain in Cowry City and be spoiled by her ancestor.

 Chapter 2172: Starting The Stellular Tribulation

    Chapter 2172: Starting The Stellr Tribtion

    The information that Lu Yin heard from the Bei family¡¯s ancestor gave him another option. While Lu Yin had no idea why Virtue Archives had made such changes, it did not really matter. As long as they were cooperating with the four ruling powers, Virtue Archives could be used as a gate through which to enter the four ruling powers, which was an intriguing opportunity.

    The four ruling powers were unquestionably in control of the Perennial World. While Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Young Master Yu would likely give him the means to enter Shenwu''s Sky, it was unlikely that he would be able to get close to any of the other three families. He hoped to learn more about how the Lu family had been banished, and it seemed that Virtue Archives might be the best way to do so.

    Of course, it was nothing more than a possibility.

    "Ancestor, you promised me that I could go to Virtue Archives!" Bei Xiaoyu begged.

    The old man replied, "I''ll keep asking. I¡¯ll check again."

    Two more days passed, and suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. He immediately disappeared from his location next to the pond. Bei Xiaoyu soon arrived, but she found that the ce was abandoned. "Where did Senior go?"

    The Middle Ocean¡¯s surface was calm. Stars ands were hanging in the sky overhead, and inds dotted the horizon. It was impossible to see the end of the ocean in any direction.

    The Middle Ocean surrounded the entire Middle Realm, which meant that the Middle Ocean was actuallyrger than the Middle Realm.

    Lu Yin arrived on an ind, and Kui Luo soon showed up beside him. They both looked northwards. That was where Qing Ping had finished his preparations to face his stellr tribtion.

    "Old man, get ready. Senior Brother¡¯s tribtion is going to be a big one," Lu Yin warned. As he spoke, he pulled out the mirror. "Senior,e out to see the show."

    Kui Luo sneered. "How big could it get? I''m an old man who¡¯s seen a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion before. Do you think that he could start something bigger than that?"

    This question caused Lu Yin''s expression to change. After all, it might indeed be impossible for his senior brother to survive that stellr tribtion. Lu Yin still clearly remembered the punishment that had appeared at the end of his first stellr tribtion, and if not for the corpse that had somehow managed to block the attack, Lu Yin definitely would have died.

    At this thought, Lu Yin pulled out his needle-like weapon and handed it over to Kui Luo. "I¡¯ll let you borrow this, just in case."

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Don¡¯t bother."

    Lu Yin put the weapon back away. "I hope that we won¡¯t need to use it."

    Progenitor Smoke finally showed herself. "What''s all the fuss?"

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "Senior, my senior disciple brother is about to face his stellr tribtion, so let¡¯s watch it."

    Progenitor Smoke looked northwards as well. "He''s facing a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s tribtion? He¡¯s very powerful, and the tribtion is going to raise quite themotion. You asked me toe out here to protect him, didn¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin readily admitted this to be true. "My senior brother is a Realmbreaker who¡¯s already able to fight against Semi-Progenitors, and there¡¯s almost no doubt that his tribtion will draw in powerful enemies. With you here, Senior, I¡¯ll feel morefortable about his safety. Forget Semi-Progenitors¡ªI won¡¯t even be afraid if Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, or the otherse!"

    "Wang Fan? Bai Wangyuan? Where are we? Are they going to show up?" Lu Yin¡¯sment surprised Progenitor Smoke, and she started to nce around. She was instantly drawn to the sight of the Mother Tree in the distance, which was a happy surprise. "Is that the Mother Tree?"

    "That''s right, the Mother Tree. We¡¯re in the Perennial World that this junior told you about."

    Progenitor Smoke looked up, staring towards the Higher Realm, and possibly even beyond that. "Wang Fan and those guys are really here. I haven''t seen any of them in a long time, but I¡¯m really looking forward to it."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of a potentially serious problem: Progenitor Smoke and Wang Fan were from the same generation, so were they friends? Based on previous conversations, it had sounded like Progenitor Smoke had been close to Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and the Rune Progenitor, and she also showed a great deal of respect for Progenitor Lu Tianyi, but what if she also had a good rtionship with Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan? Would she ask them to help her and break her free from the fog that trapped her?

    This possibility gave Lu Yin a massive headache. While Progenitor Smoke had always demonstrated a positive opinion of his Lu family, as well as a good rtionship with Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, those details had caused Lu Yin to forget about the other important matters. What was Progenitor Smoke¡¯s rtionship with Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan? She had never mentioned anything about it at all.

    "Senior, how is your rtionship with Wang Fan and the others here?" Lu Yin carefully asked.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "We don¡¯t get along with each other."

    Lu Yin quietly let out a sigh of relief.

    Progenitor Smoke nced over. "What? Are you afraid that I''ll run away from you ?"

    "Of course not. Besides, you are free to do as you wish, Senior. Who could stop you?" Lu Yin quickly said.

    Only after hearing a bit of ttery did Progenitor Smoke feel better. "That sounds better. I¡¯ll tell you right now¡ªno one can trap me aside from myself!"

    Lu Yin was speechless, but her words rang true. After all, Progenitor Smoke was indeed trapped by her own power.

    As they spoke, darkness had shrouded the nearby area, and the sky hadpletely changed. A heavy pressure descended from above, and it slowly mounted as lightning flickered and thunder roared.

    Many people in Cowry City and several other cities along the coast all looked north. What was happening? Why had the sky changed?

    The Bei family¡¯s ancestor stood next to the sea, watching the phenomenon with a solemn expression. This pressure, could it be from someone¡¯s stellr tribtion? The old man could not determine what level this tribtion would reach.

    People not only looked out from along the coastline, but also from a few of therger inds in the center of the Middle Ocean, as they were able to see the change in the sky as well. Some of the observers were Envoys, while others were only Enlighters.

    More and more people stepped out to look towards Qing Ping''s growing stellr tribtion, and many started to make their way closer. Passing tribtions was always difficult, and simply watching a stellr tribtion could be a valuable experience. It was also possible to draw in people with darker intentions, so long as the one facing the tribtion was not too powerful.

    More and more cultivators moved closer from every direction.

    Lu Yin noticed their movements, but he did not care about these people. All of them would soon be fleeing. A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion would always be massive, and these people who wanted to watch it would quickly realize that their positions were actually within the scope of the tribtion.

    A vortex started to form, and Qing Ping looked up with a calm expression. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

    Truthfully, Qing Ping¡¯s cultivation had been strong enough for him to attempt this breakthrough long ago, but the man had continued to strengthen his foundations. Qing Ping had not lied to Kui Luo about Mister Mu¡¯s requirements for his disciples. They truly needed to be capable of facing Semi-Progenitors as Envoys and Progenitors as Semi-Progenitors. It sounded absurd, but it was what Mister Mu had told Qing Ping was necessary.

    If he had not reached the level of strength where he could fight against Semi-Progenitors as an Envoy, Qing Ping would have never attempted to break through to the next level.

    More and more people started to gather in the area, and three or four of them were even Envoys. The Bei family¡¯s ancestor arrived, but he did not recognize Qing Ping. Lu Yin had only allowed Kui Luo and Qing Ping out of Zenith Mountain when no one else had been present.

    "Friend, how many stellr tribtions have you faced already?" someone called out in a loud voice. Everyone else was also curious to hear the answer.

    Qing Ping ignored the question and simply closed his eyes.

    The person who asked the question snorted contemptuously. "It looks like our friend doesn¡¯t care for us. I wish you a smooth journey!"

    "He might not be looking down on us, but is rather simply concentrating on preparing for his stellr tribtion. He might not be able to worry about anything else right now," someone elsemented.

    The person who had called out to Qing Ping first just sneered. "That¡¯s possible, but there¡¯s still plenty of time to respond. The more serious a person is about their stellr tribtion, the less confident they are in seeding."

    It was a smallment, but the man¡¯s suggestion was very clear.

    However, no one dared to argue. The person who had spoken was named Liu Bo, and he was the strongest powerhouse in the region. He ruled over an ind city that was muchrger than Cowry City.

    "The tribtion is still growing. By its size, this might not be his second stellr tribtion but rather his third," another person observed.

    Liu Bo frowned. If this man passed his tribtion, then it meant that he would be a three-tribtion powerhouse, which was the same level as Liu Bo himself, which was less than ideal. Liu Bo had grown ustomed to acting brazenly in the neighboring regions, so how could he allow anyone to surpass him and take that away? However, the man facing this tribtion seemed to be a traveler from elsewhere.

    "Brother Liu, after his tribtion, you won¡¯t be the only three-tribtion Envoy in the area," someone said with augh.

    Ancestor Bei alsoughed, but heughed because he was thinking of the young man whom he had met in the pond behind his home. While the old man still had no idea how strong Lu Yin was, he clearly surpassed Liu Bo by far. After all, Ancestor Bei could see Liu Bo¡¯s cultivation and strength, but he could sense nothing from the young man who had recently appeared.

    Liu Bo looked quite unhappy with how things were developing. "He first needs to seed."

    As everyone was chatting, the tribtion expanded again and again, and it soon enveloped Liu Bo, Ancestor Bei, and all the other onlookers. Everyone who was beneath the Envoy realm had already pulled back and did not dare to get close to this tribtion.

    Liu Bo stared at the ever-expanding tribtion, and the Envoy¡¯s expression grew more and more displeased. This was most likely not his third tribtion, but rather his fourth.

    The others had already guessed at this possibility as well, but no one dared to say anything more, as they were worried about offending Qing Ping and possibly facing retaliation.

    On top of that, no one would ever dare to directly interfere in someone else¡¯s stellr tribtion.

    As soon as they were covered by the stellr tribtion, Liu Bo and the other Envoys retreated quickly, only to discover that the tribtion continued to expand without slowing down.

    Liu Bo grew pale. This tribtion had already surpassed the level of a fourth stellr tribtion, so could this man possibly be facing his fifth one? Still, why was no one able to sense any hint of their strength?

    Suddenly, another person arrived from the distance, tearing through the void in their rush. The man was solemn as he observed Qing Ping. "I am Yue Fan, the gatemaster of Humility''s Gate in the Ultramarine District, might I ask for your name, Senior?"

    Qing Ping still ignored everyone.

    Ancestor Bei spoke up, "Gatemaster Yue, this senior should be a traveler. None of us have ever seen him before."

    When Liu Bo noticed Yue Fan¡¯s presence, he also spoke up. "This man is facing his fifth stellr tribtion. He''s clearly very powerful."

    Yue Fan was one of Humility''s Gate¡¯s nine gatemasters in the Middle Realm, and he was a powerhouse himself. He was much stronger than the gatemaster of the Blue Moon district, Liu Zhan, or even the previous gatemaster of the Huaiyuan Gate, Guan Tong. After all, the Ultramarine District was close to the Middle Ocean, which made it an ideal ce for people to hide, and there were many Redbacks hidden in the region.

    Yue Fan himself was a four-tribtion Envoy. "I can''t determine his cultivation at all."

    This was shocking news to Liu Bo and the other Envoys present. If not even Yue Fan could sense this man¡¯s strength, then did that mean that he was already a five or six-tribtion powerhouse? That should be impossible!

    While the Perennial World had many powerhouses, how many of them lived in the Middle Realm? It had been a long, long time since any five-tribtion expert had appeared in the Ultramarine District.

    During this entire time, the tribtion continued to grow.

    Lu Yin noticed Yue Fan. The Ultramarine District¡¯s gatemaster? Right, I met him once on Qing Chen¡¯s mountain.

    At that time, Lu Yin had been masquerading as Long Qi, and he had been trying to keep a low profile, so he had not interacted with Gatemaster Yue Fan. From Lu Yin¡¯s memory, Yue Fan should be the most powerful of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine gatemasters, which meant that the man¡¯s strength surpassed both Guan Tong and Liu Zhan.

    Since Yue Fan was from Humility''s Gate, then did that make him arade? Progenitor Mu Xie was the Commander of Humility¡¯s Gate, and he was also Lu Yin¡¯s senior Brother. Supervisor Qing Chen had also shown Lu Yin a great deal of kindness. Even when Lu Yin¡¯s identity had been exposed on Dragon Mountain, the Fourteenth Gate of Humility¡¯s Gate had still helped him by holding back a portion of the four ruling powers. Furthermore, Supervisor Qing Chen¡¯s eldest disciple, Cai Shu, was a member of the Hidden Earth Society. No matter how Lu Yin looked at the matter, Humility¡¯s Gate was an ally of theirs.

    Liu Bo and the other Envoys continuously pulled back, and they were about to reach the ind where Lu Yin and the other two were watching from. Shock and fear could be seen on Liu Bo¡¯s face, and he felt extremely relieved that he had not overstepped and said anything truly offensive. After all, it had already be clear that this was not his fifth stellr tribtion, but rather his seventh one. A seven-tribtion powerhouse would be treated courteously even by the four ruling powers, and they would be allowed to enter the Higher Realm. Any one of the four ruling powers would be happy to give such an expert a high position within their organization.

    How could such a powerhouse be facing their tribtion in the Middle Ocean?

    Yue Fan was also staring at Qing Ping, but for a different reason. The inexplicable appearance of such a powerhouse was a matter that had to be reported to the supervisor.

    However, the onlookers¡¯ shock did not die out. The tribtion had reached the size of a seventh stellr tribtion, but that was only for normal Envoys. Someone like Qing Ping would never have an average tribtion.

 Chapter 2173: Hope Restaurantâ€™s Master

    Chapter 2173: Hope Restaurant¡¯s Master

    Lu Yin looked upwards. "The tribtion is quite impressive. It¡¯s alreadyrger than myst ones. I wonder which of Senior Brother¡¯s stellr tribtions were this size, but I¡¯m guessing that it was at least his third or fourth ones."

    Lu Yin then turned around and made his way to the coast, followed by Kui Luo. Liu Bo, Yue Fan, and the other Envoys had also made their way towards the ind¡¯s coast. They only found Lu Yin and the other two, but the three people were basically ignored, as everyone believed them to be regr cultivators.

    The location above the Middle Ocean that Qing Ping had chosen for his stellr tribtion was as far from the coast as possible, while also epassing the fewest number of inds. It was in the center of an empty region that was the size of two or three of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves. However, the tribtion had already covered the entire area, and it was still expanding without any sign of slowing down.

    The more one looked at it, the more frightening the stellr tribtion became.

    Liu Bo already felt stifled to the point where he couldn¡¯t breathe. How could something thisrge only a seventh tribtion? It was clearly not an eighth, but rather a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion! How could anyone face this tribtion in this kind of ce?

    Yue Fan sent a message to Supervisor Qing Chen, informing the man of Qing Ping¡¯s still-growing stellr tribtion. A sessful tribtion meant that the Perennial World would gain yet another Semi-Progenitor powerhouse.

    What did it mean to be a Semi-Progenitor? It meant that a person was able to stand at the very peak of the Fifth Maind. Even in the Perennial World, Semi-Progenitors were rare experts who stood at the very top. Even the four ruling powers would get excited if they were able to recruit a Semi-Progenitor.

    For example, while the White Dragon n was one of the four ruling powers, they only had two Semi-Progenitors: Great Elder Ni Huang and Long Laogui. Even though this was because the White Dragon n had the weakest foundation of the four ruling powers, it also showed just how rare Semi-Progenitors were.

    Anyone who seeded in bing a Semi-Progenitor would instantly enter the ranks of the top experts of the Perennial World.

    Yue Fan was not alone, as everyone watching Qing Ping¡¯s tribtion was doing their best to spread the information, or even sell it.

    Lu Yin saw what was happening, and there was no way to stop it. Too many people were watching Qing Ping¡¯s stellr tribtion, and more were constantly arriving. On top of that, news of the tribtion had started to spread as soon as it had been triggered.

    Lu Yin just hoped that the news would not draw the attention of any true powerhouses.

    The stellr tribtion was still growing and spreading outwards, and it was close to reaching Cowry City. Ancestor Bei had already panicked slightly, and he had fled to Cowry City to evacuate the city.

    Fortunately, the tribtion finally stopped expanding right when it was about to reach the Middle Realm itself, and so it did not cover Cowry City. Despite stopping, the size of the tribtion shocked even Yue Fan. He had witnessed a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough before, but the size of that tribtion had been about half asrge as what they were observing at this moment.

    Regardless of the thoughts and reactions of those watching, Qing Ping lifted his head to face the onught of his tribtion.

    Average cultivators would never be able to trigger such a massive stellr tribtion, and the pressure and distortion that Qing Ping¡¯s tribtion had created meant that only Envoys were able to barely observe anything at all.

    The tribtion over Qing Ping''s head surged, and it suddenly pierced through the void in the shape of a hand. Almost instantly, a hand appeared, and it looked like it belonged to a giant as it pped down to crush Qing Ping.

    This palm strike was incredibly powerful, and it matched the strength of a peak Envoy, but this level of power was useless against Qing Ping. He was an Envoy who could challenge Semi-Progenitors, and he had long since been capable of simply ignoring any attacks from Envoys.

    Qing Ping held a blood-red bell in his hand, and shook it. The ringing rattled the void, and even caused the Middle Realm to tremble. Everything in sight was shaken, including the descending palm strike.

    The attack shattered, but another palm strike appeared above Qing Ping almost instantly. Suddenly, numerous hands appeared, and they fell like a rain of giant hands, but somehow, it also gave the impression that only a single person was attacking. It appeared to be a single palm strike that transformed into 10,000 attacks.

    "Palm of Thousand Skies was Wan Zhiyi''s battle technique," an ancient voicemented some distance away.

    Lu Yin looked over, and he saw an old man in a white robe standing above the sea. The old man had an ordinary aura, and he seemed to just be an ordinary human, but he was able to clearly see Qing Ping¡¯s stellr tribtion and even make out the exact battle technique. The old man was definitely not a normal person, as not even Lu Yin could make out the man¡¯s strength.

    "You?" Kui Luo was startled, and Lu Yin noticed that he was staring at the white-robed old man.

    The man turned to look at Kui Luo and gave a small smile. "It¡¯s been a long time, old friend."

    Old friend? Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. The fact that this old man recognized Kui Luo and was stillpletely rxed indicated that he was at least a Semi-Progenitor.

    Even though Lu Yin kept a wary eye on the unknown old man, he was not overly concerned. After all, Kui Luo¡¯s reaction indicated that this old man was not a threat, as otherwise Kui Luo would have already disappeared.

    "Why aren¡¯t you staying in Hope Restaurant? What are you doing here?" Kui Luo wondered.

    The old man answered with a smile. "I was just out for a walk. Even though Hope Restaurant allows me to see what the Junior Progenitors are doing, none of them have done anything for quite some time, so it¡¯s been rather boring over there."

    As the old man spoke, he noticed Lu Yin, and the young man¡¯s appearance caught the old man off guard. "What a handsome young man."

    "Your clothes are quite unique," Progenitor Smoke remarked.

    The white-robed old man only then noticed the woman, but seeing her caused his expression to change quite a bit. "Might I trouble you for your name, Senior?"

    The old man waspletely unable to see through Progenitor Smoke''s strength.

    Kui Luo shot the other old man an odd smile. "Old man, haven¡¯t you imed to have seen through all the mysteries in the world? What¡¯s going on? Have you finally met someone who you can¡¯t see through?"

    The old man in white robes justughed. "I told you that seeing through the mysteries of the world is not really seeing through anything, but rather understanding people¡¯s nature through how they enjoy food."

    "Are you the owner of Hope Restaurant?" Lu Yin blurted.

    The old man in white robes nodded with a smile. He was not particrly concerned with Progenitor Smoke''s identity, and he had only asked out of idle curiosity.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the admission, as he had not expected to run into the owner of the legendary Hope Restaurant.

    Hope Restaurant was on the Ind of Hope, which was the only way to reach the Junior Progenitors.

    When the four Junior Progenitors had been selecting their teams for the expedition into the Dominion Realm, all of the most talented people in the younger generation had gathered on the Ind of Hope and tried to pass by Hope Restaurant to reach the Junior Progenitors. Hope Restaurant was a very magical ce. As long as a person sat down, delicious food would appear. Onlyter had Lu Yin learned that the restaurant''s food all came from the establishment¡¯s owner.

    There were many rumors concerning the owner of Hope Restaurant, but in the past, Lu Yin had simply assumed the person to be an Envoy. Therefore, he had not paid the rumors any attention. However, the man was quite clearly a Semi-Progenitor, and judging by the conversation that the man had had with Kui Luo, it seemed that the old man had been the owner of Hope Restaurant for many years and that he had observed many generations of Junior Progenitors.

    "You know how to cook, don¡¯t you?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    The old man nodded, and his attention returned to Progenitor Smoke. "Do you have any favorite dishes that you like? I¡¯d be happy to make them."

    Progenitor Smoke appeared to seriously consider the offer. "You aren¡¯t able to make the food that I remember. You don¡¯t give me that feeling."

    The old man nodded. "That''s true. While I believe that my food is the best in the universe, I can¡¯t replicate the taste from another person¡¯s memories. Even the memories of ordinary people are irreceable."

    Off in the distance, Qing Ping was still ringing his bell and shattering the descending palm strikes. The battle between the two was distorting the Middle Ocean, causing powerful families across the entire Middle Realm, some of which even had their own Semi-Progenitors, to sense that someone was facing their Semi-Progenitor tribtion. Gradually, more and more people started arriving to watch.

    When word of the breakthrough reached the Higher Realm, even the four ruling powers started to pay attention, and they sent out orders.

    "Wan Zhiyi was a powerhouse who was at the very cusp of bing a Progenitor, and his Palm of Thousand Skies integrated all kinds of different attacks that he experienced throughout his life. It¡¯s a very difficult technique to deal with, and most people won¡¯t face an attack like this during their Semi-Progenitor tribtion. This man is clearly a talented genius, and hisbat strength is very impressive. He might have even been able to challenge Semi-Progenitors as an Envoy," the white-robed old manmented with evident admiration.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. He really wanted to share the impossible requirements that Qing Ping had said that his master ced on all his disciples, but Lu Yin interjected. "Senior, did you know Wan Zhiyi?"

    The old man sighed. "How could I not be familiar with the Wan family¡¯s ancestor? If not for that unfortunate incident, he would have likely be a Progenitor. Such a pity. Such a pity."

    Lu Yin wanted to say something more, but Kui Luo butted in. "Don''t think that he feels bad for Wan Zhiyi, let alone the rest of humanity. He just regrets the fact that he wasn¡¯t able to observe Wan Zhiyi¡¯s breakthrough attempt. Regardless of what happened to Wan Zhiyi, this old man would have benefited from watching."

    The old man in the white robes smiled. "That is indeed true. I never had any true friendship with Wan Zhiyi. If you attempt to be a Progenitor, please inform me before you do. If you also fail and die, I will pity you as well."

    "Bah, you¡¯ll never be a Progenitor, old man. You¡¯ve stayed as a Semi-Progenitor for so long because you don¡¯t have the courage to attempt your breakthrough. You deserve to fail to be a Progenitor with that mindset. All you¡¯ll ever manage to be is a cook!" Kui Luo shouted angrily.

    The old man justughed. "Food is an instinctive desire for all humans, so what¡¯s wrong with being a cook? Cooks are able to peer into the true meaning of life, but you don''t understand. You can¡¯t understand."

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth and looked away, frustrated. He had spent many years wandering the universe, and he had rarely encountered anything that frustrated him. However, this man had always infuriated Kui Luo. The man just smiled and prepared food for his enemies. It was revolting.

    The old man in the white robes looked back at Lu Yin again. "You aren¡¯t very old, yet your cultivation is very impressive. What¡¯s your name, little brother?"

    Lu Yin offered the man a bow. "This junior is Yu Hao. Greetings, Senior."

    Lu Yin was using Young Master Yu¡¯s identity in the Perennial World, and the man¡¯s real name was Yu Hao. Thus, Lu Yin had to introduce himself as Yu Hao, and the nickname of Young Master Yu was not something that Lu Yin could bring up himself, and it would have to be realized by others.

    The white-robed old man replied, "Yu Hao, uncut jade¡­ Such an impressive cultivation at such a young age is not much different from the Junior Progenitors themselves. Our meeting seems to be fate. Could I interest you in bing a teacher or guest instructor for Virtue Archives? To help educate and train some juniors for a time?"

    This offer surprised Lu Yin. His senior disciple brother was off in the distance, facing his stellr tribtion to be a Semi-Progenitor while he was being recruited by someone. Actually, this could not be regarded as a recruitment attempt, as the person asking had no connection to the person making the offer.

    "Old man, why are you trying to recruit people for Virtue Archives?" Kui Luo wondered.

    The old man answered with a smile, "I used to work for Virtue Archives myself, and my master was an instructor there as well. So, I of course maintain a connection with the academy."

    Kui Luo then remembered something. "So that''s how things were. It¡¯s no wonder why the four ruling powers don¡¯t dare to go after Virtue Archives too hard, not if they have a backer like that."

    The white-robed old manughed again. "I can''tpare to the four ruling powers."

    Kui Luo sneered. "Everyone knows that you¡¯re able to face your Progenitor tribtion whenever you want, so who would be willing to push you too far? Anyone who tries will suffer, so not even the four ruling powers will overstep themselves. On top of that, Virtue Archives also has the Wen and Ce families, which makes for three Semi-Progenitors. If you actually do be a Progenitor, you people will have the same level of power as one of the four ruling powers."

    "Don''t even joke about such things!" For the first time, the white-robed old man became grave as he spoke.

    Kui Luo let out an oddugh. "Why not? Are you afraid? Hehehehehe, do you want me to make these things public? If I do that, not even an old man like you will be able to stay safe, haha."

    The old man sighed. "It''s a miracle that you¡¯ve been able to survive this long."

    Lu Yin picked up a hint of a familiar scent. Was this master of Hope Restaurant someone with great ambitions who was trying toy low?

    It seemed quite obvious that the old man was afraid to face his tribtion and attempt to break through to the Progenitor realm. Thus, he stayed on the Ind of Hope and observed the Junior Progenitors¡¯ progress while waiting for an opportunity to be a Progenitor himself. Years had passed, and the man was qualified to trigger his tribtion whenever he wished, which left others wary of the man. If he seeded in bing a Progenitor, offending him would lead to retaliation. This was why everyone left the old man alone, and this caution also granted Virtue Archives a measure of protection as well.

    All in all, this man was even more aggravating to many people than Kui Luo.

 Chapter 2174: Water Bag

    Chapter 2174: Water Bag

    Kui Luo had be hated by many people and even the four ruling powers because he would uncover secrets and spread vicious rumors, which was certainly despicable. This had provoked the four ruling powers into trying to hunt Kui Luo down and kill him.

    In contrast, the master of Hope Restaurant was entirely different, as no one dared to antagonize the man.

    Lu Yin had to admire the man, as this was quite an impressive feat. The man¡¯s fear of failing his stellr tribtion to be a Progenitor actually gave him a status that allowed him to restrain the full power of the four ruling powers. It was even more effective manner than if he had actually seeded in bing a Progenitor. After all, Progenitors needed to make their way into the Dominion Realm and fight against the powerhouses of Aeternus. Instead, this master of Hope Restaurant was free to remain in the Middle Realm and act however he wished.

    Furthermore, Kui Luo¡¯sment was very worrying to Lu Yin. If Virtue Archives gained the support of a Progenitor, then would they really rise up to stand on the same level as the four ruling powers? The Nong family, the Liu family, and Specter Abyss were all being carefully monitored by the four ruling powers, despite having their own Progenitors. There were many affairs that the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors were not allowed to interfere with, and this meant that Virtue Archives had the greatest freedom beneath the Progenitor realm.

    On top of that, Ancestor Bei had recently learned that Virtue Archives was cooperating with the four ruling powers. This meant that there was another organization that could approach the other families openly, visit the Dominion Realm, the rear battlefield, and the Lower Realm.

    Lu Yin considered his options again, and he realized that going to Virtue Archives might be an ideal choice. It was right in the middle of the muddy waters that flowed throughout the Perennial World, and by entering that ce, Lu Yin just might be able to discern who was an enemy and who was a potential ally.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s mind was racing, a deafening roar rang out, shattering the sky. The endless sea waters rose up and filled the entire sky. Far away, Ancestor Bei¡¯s expression changed drastically as he did his best to stop the approaching tsunami. Soon, both the coastline and the nearby inds would be dragged underwater.

    After thest of Palm of Thousand Skies disappeared, Lu Yin looked over, only to see that his senior brother looked quite drained. It had not been easy for Qing Ping to deal with Wan Zhiyi''s attack, though that attack had most likely not been from Wan Zhiyi¡¯s peak, but rather from when he had just be a Semi-Progenitor.

    Wan Zhiyi had been a truly incredible powerhouse who had arrived at the very cusp of the Progenitor realm. Everyone who had known him had believed that he would be a Progenitor. He had been even more powerful than Great Elder Ni Huang, and Ni Huang was someone with the strength topare to the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    "Back when the Lu family was still around, Wan Zhiyi qualified to be treated as an equal by Progenitors, and yet this person just destroyed Wan Zhiyi¡¯s Palm of Thousand Skies. This is a truly shocking level ofbat power, but the tribtion hasn¡¯t finished yet," the white-robed old manmented.

    Right after he finished speaking, a drop of water appeared within the vortex of the stellr tribtion. The sight of it left everyone confused.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat¡ªwater? He instantly thought of the spring water that he had seen during the trial to inherit one of the Mountains and Seas, but this could not be the same. That water was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas¡¯ inherited battle techniques.

    "That isn¡¯t water," Progenitor Smoke replied, a strange expression on her face.

    Kui Luo stared at the growing drop of water. "It really does seem to not be water."

    The nearby old man took a hard look at Progenitor Smoke for a moment. "It truly isn¡¯t water, but rather someone¡¯s inner world. It¡¯s a bizarre inner world that belonged to a very strange individual."

    An inner world? Lu Yin felt rather confused. This was water, but not actually water. It looked like water, but was actually an inner world?

    "Old Man Bu Dai?" Kui Luo eximed, looking at the old man in white robes.

    The old man nodded solemnly. "That''s right. This inner world belonged to Old Man Bu Dai. It looks like water, but it is not. It¡¯s an inner world that can trap people until they die."

    "This is a problem. So he actually has to deal with this sort of irritating inner world during his tribtion?" An ugly expression appeared on Kui Luo''s face.

    Lu Yin had a sinking feeling. "Old man, what''s going on?"

    Kui Luo answered quietly, "Old Man Bu Dai was a strange powerhouse who appeared in the Perennial World. He spent his entire life studying how to capture and trap people. Ever since he first started cultivating, any time he got in a fight, he would only try to capture or trap his opponent. Whether his opponents were able to survive depended entirely on whether they were able to escape from his traps. As his strength grew, his traps became more and more terrifying. When he was a peak Envoy, he actually killed a Semi-Progenitor by trapping them."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. "He killed a Semi-Progenitor?"

    While it was easy to talk about Envoys who were capable of fighting against Semi-Progenitors, just how many people had reached such an impressive level ofbat strength throughout all of time?

    It was something that was beyond Kui Luo¡¯s abilities. While Lu Yin did not know if Lu Buzheng or any of the other ancient gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates had been able to aplish this feat, those twelve were supposed to be the most powerful Semi-Progenitors alive. They were supposed to be practically guaranteed to be Progenitors when the time came, and they represented the best of an entire generation.

    In the current era, the Fifth Maind only had Qing Ping and Tian Dou as peak Envoy Realmbreakers. Such a thing was far too difficult for anyone else to contemte without appropriate power vessels.

    However, all of that only took the ability to fight against a Semi-Progenitor into ount, and it said nothing about victory, let alone killing a Semi-Progenitor.

    The fact that Old Man Bu Dai had actually sessfully executed a Semi-Progenitor as a mere peak Envoy was something that defied imagination. Regardless of how weak a Semi-Progenitor might be, simply possessing an inner world ced such experts on apletely different level.

    Lu Yin had been confident that he could execute Wang Si after she had been crippled and was no longer technically a Semi-Progenitor due to her destroyed inner world. But without that handicap, Lu Yin would have struggled terribly against the woman, even with all of his power vessels and treasures.

    There was a qualitative difference between an Envoy and a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Upon bing a Semi-Progenitor, Old Man Bu Dai¡¯s inner world took on the appearance of a water bag. His most impressive feat throughout his entire life was when he once captured three Aeternus Semi-Progenitors at the same time. Three of the Twelve Marquises were sent to kill the man, but he managed to defeat them all. It¡¯s just too bad that he failed to open his three meridian points as an Enlighter or an Envoy, which prevented him from ever bing a Progenitor. If not for that, there¡¯s no way he would have died so easily," Kui Luo exined.

    Lu Yin stared at his senior brother Qing Ping. The drop of water above the man¡¯s head continued to grow, and it looked as though it would devour the entire world.

    "Senior Brother! Don''t get caught!" Lu Yin could not stop himself from sending Qing Ping a warning through a voice transmission. Lu Yin made sure that the old man in white robes heard nothing, as it was best to keep his rtionship with Qing Ping a secret.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s warning changed nothing, as Qing Ping was still trapped. It was impossible for him to leave the range of the stellr tribtion, which meant that it was impossible for him to escape the drop of water. No, it was actually a bag of some sort that epassed an inner world that would trap all who fell into it.

    At this moment, Qing Ping was like a fish swimming around within a bag of water.

    Lu Yin started to get nervous. While the water bag that had appeared should not be a manifestation from when Old Man Bu Dai had been powerful enough to trap three Semi-Progenitors, which would be impossible for Qing Ping to escape from, this was still a manifestation of an inner world that had been used to trap and kill Semi-Progenitors. This would be an incredibly difficult challenge to ovee.

    Qing Ping kept attacking in all directions in an attempt to break free, but everything that he did proved useless. At worst, the bag bulged where the attacksnded, but it showed no signs of breaking.

    "The power of a stellr tribtion is determined by the energy reserves of the person facing the tribtion. This man must have an absurd amount of stellr energy in his body, as there¡¯s no other way for a manifestation of Old Man Bu Dai to appear. He was famous for being able to oust anyone when it came to endurance. Not even the Lu family was able topare to him," the white-robed old manmented.

    Lu Yin''s eyes twitched. As he thought, the strength of a stellr tribtion was determined by one¡¯s energy reserves. If this was the tribtion that Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother induced, Lu Yin did not even want to imagine what his own would look like.

    Lu Yin had gone through a few stellr tribtions while traveling through time and space within the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, but those tribtions had all been small and weak. He had easily passed all of them with the help of some power vessels. However, what would his sixth tribtion look like? Or worse, his breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor? Lu Yin started to panic slightly, as watching Qing Ping trying to break free from the water trap almost felt like Lu Yin was staring at his own future.

    "It¡¯s a very interesting inner world," Progenitor Smokeplimented, her eyes bright as she watched the tribtion y out. "While it¡¯s not as dense as my own, it¡¯s sturdier than any of the other ones that were difficult to deal with in my era. Unfortunately, the attack power iscking, as otherwise this would be on the same level as Xia Shang¡¯s."

    The white-robed old man was badly startled when he heard thisment. "Wasn¡¯t Progenitor Chen¡¯s name Xia Shang?"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "It¡¯s a different Xia Shang."

    The old man in white robes stared at Progenitor Smoke, but he said nothing.

    Lu Yin quickly sent a sound transmission to Progenitor Smoke, asking her to be careful with her words. They were in the Perennial World, and many details from the Daosource Sect era were still remembered by the experts here. The knowledge of this ce far surpassed the Fifth Maind.

    Progenitor Smoke ignored Lu Yin, intending to say whatever she wished.

    Lu Yin could do nothing about the woman.

    They watched as Qing Ping continued to attack the manifestation of the inner world, attempting all different kinds of battle techniques. Nothing managed to pierce through the trap, and even the blood-red bell proved useless. Time passed, and Lu Yin started to worry that some of the Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers would take notice of what was happening, and it would be troublesome if any of those people recognized Qing Ping.

    This was not Qing Ping¡¯s first visit to the Perennial World, and on his first visit, he hadpletely overwhelmed all of his peers. Even the Lu family¡¯s descendants of that era had been no match for Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother.

    "It looks like he can¡¯t break free." The old man in white robes shook his head sadly.

    Kui Luo frowned. "Hey, old man. Let¡¯s make a bet!. I bet that he¡¯ll absolutely break out."

    "If he breaks free, then he breaks free. What¡¯s the point of betting on it?" the old man retorted.

    A disturbing smile appeared on Kui Luo¡¯s face. "You just said that he won¡¯t be able to break free, while I say that he will. If you win, I¡¯ll answer any question you ask, and if you lose, hehe, you¡¯ll owe me a favor."

    The old man in white robes just shook his head. "In that case, I bet that he¡¯ll be able to break free."

    Lu Yin was speechless at the exchange. This old man really did seem to be Kui Luo''s nemesis.

    Far away, Qing Ping let out a long breath. Even if there was no threatening attack from this inner world manifestation, it really did seem capable of keeping him trapped forever. The energy of the inner world even circted internally, which prevented any of its stellr energy from being wasted or consumed. Qing Ping had no idea who this inner world belonged to, but he definitely wanted to meet them.

    His mind continued to churn even as a set of scales appeared beneath his feet that then started to spread out. The scales shot straight through the edge of the inner world, piercing through it like a needle and continuing out into the sky.

    The old man in the white robes was stunned. "He really broke free?"

    Kui Luo felt frustrated that the old man had not agreed to a bet, as Kui Luo would have won. He had been utterly certain in Qing Ping¡¯s victory.

    Old Man Bu Dai had trapped a Semi-Progenitor until they died only because that was all that the man had been capable of doing. He hadcked thebat strength to directly fight against a Semi-Progenitor, but he had been determined and ruthless.

    "Congrattions, sir, on sessfully bing a Semi-Progenitor." The white-robed old man smiled at Qing Ping. "Do you have any interest in bing Virtue Archives¡¯ dean?"

    Qing Ping nced over at the old man, but then he ignored him and looked back up. The stellr tribtion was not finished yet. If it were that easy to pass, Qing Ping would feel like all his years of efforts to improve himself had been wasted.

    Qing Ping¡¯s reaction caught the old man off guard, and he also looked upwards at the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex. "It''s still not over? How is that possible? He just faced Old Man Bu Dai¡¯s inner world. What other Envoy could break free from that? That should already have guaranteed that he sessfully passed his tribtion. How could this not be the end?"

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was not at all surprised. He hade close to death during his tribtion to be an Envoy, and he had consumed all of his energy reserves. Qing Ping clearly had not reached that point yet, as he had not gone all out. At the very least, he still had his visualization method, secret techniques, and battle techniques from Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin was very curious to find out what sort of battle techniques his senior brother had received from Mister Mu. After all, it could not be the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, so could Qing Ping have been given Origin Tracer?

    More cultivators arrived from the distance, but these four new arrivals were not ordinary cultivators, but instead all Envoys.

    Envoys were notmon in the vast Middle Realm, or else the Bei family would have never been able to control an entire city with just Ancestor Bei¡¯s strength. Qing Ping¡¯s stellr tribtion had created quite argemotion, but the ripples did not spread out as far as Lu Yin had anticipated. He had thought that they would need to deal with one of the four ruling powers¡¯ Semi-Progenitors.

    The tribtion¡¯s vortex erupted, startling everyone watching. Lu Yin had no idea how far the deafening sound traveled, but he would not have been surprised if it had reached the people in the Higher Realm.

 Chapter 2175: An Incomprehensible Finger

    Chapter 2175: An Iprehensible Finger

    The next moment, a huge gate appeared, and it blocked the sight of both Qing Ping and the vortex for his stellr tribtion. Right after that, another gate appeared, followed by a third.

    Three massive gates separated the man from the rest of the world.

    The white-robed old man and Kui Luo both shouted at the same time, "The Wan family¡¯s Triple Gates?"

    "Is that another one of Wan Zhiyi''s battle techniques?" Kui Luo wondered.

    The white-robed old man replied, "Possible, but not for sure. The Triple Gates are one of the Wan family¡¯s inherited techniques, which means that all the family members are allowed to learn it. They¡¯ve had more than one Semi-Progenitor arise from their family.¡±

    "While the Triple Gates have impressive defensive capabilities, it¡¯spletely incapable of releasing any attacks. A terrifying attack must be building behind the gates, about to attack."

    No sooner had he finished speaking, than five fingers appeared behind the Triple Gates. It was impossible to determine through its appearance if it was Qing Ping¡¯s hand.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, as this was a battle technique that he was exceptionally familiar with.

    "Kui Luo, that¡¯s the Wang family¡¯s Four Arts: Pearl. That man¡¯s about to have one of his powers sealed." The white-robed old man grew exceptionally serious.

    As soon as the Four Arts: Pearl was used, a person appeared.

    The sight of a humanoid stellr tribtion caused everyone''s expressions to change.

    It wasmon knowledge that humanoid tribtions were the most dangerous and terrifying, as it indicated that the true universe had detected that the person facing the tribtion was powerful enough to surpass all other tribtions.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Triple Gates, Four Arts: Pearl, and finally a humanoid stellr tribtion. Would his senior brother be able to survive this? This tribtion was too shocking.

    The white-robed old man was stunned. "Just who is that man attempting this breakthrough? He actually triggered such a transformation in the tribtion! From the records that I¡¯ve seen, even when the Liu family¡¯s Progenitor was facing his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, he did not deal with anything this terrifying. He¡¯s already faced manifestations of a battle technique and an inner world, and now there¡¯s a humanoid tribtion as well? If this man seeds, he¡¯s going to be an absolutely terrifying Semi-Progenitor. Just who is he?"

    Lu Yin was in no state to bother listening to the old man¡¯s ranting. All Lu Yin wanted to know was who was being manifested by this stellr tribtion. This manifestation had to be a peak Envoy or a newly risen Semi-Progenitor. And yet, had the true universe determined that this manifestation could defeat Qing Ping? Could it be a manifestation of Progenitor Chen as a peak Envoy?

    The Triple Gates started to drop down, and reality began to warp; it felt as though the entire world was flipping over as a tremendous amount of pressure fell upon the Middle Realm. Countless people saw the Triple Gates, as just like the Mother Tree, these three gates were toorge to miss. Each one could easily crush a hundred cities.

    Qing Ping looked solemn, but he simply raised a hand. The dark world around him changed color and became blue. The bright blue color erased the darkness, and it pressed the stellr tribtion¡¯s pressure back.

    Lu Yin had witnessed this scene once before. Back when Forgotten Ruins God had used her inner world to suppress his senior brother, the man had reacted with this same ability. This blue color was not an inner world, but it wasparable to an inner world. This was the ability that had managed to put an end to the fight with Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar.

    Lu Yin had never seen the technique again until this moment.

    The old man in white robes was startled by the sudden reversal. "A power simr to an inner world? This person¡¯s talent is absurd. It¡¯s no wonder his stellr tribtion is so terrifying."

    The light-blue sky shattered the Triple Gates. No one had any idea which of Qing Ping¡¯s abilities the Four Arts: Pearl had sealed, as hisbat power showed no signs of decreasing.

    After the Triple Gates shattered, Qing Ping was left to face the humanoid stellr tribtion.

    Everyone watched as the manifested human suddenly attacked, pointing a finger at Qing Ping. However, the man responded in kind, a solitary finger pointing straight back at the manifestation.

    No one understood what was happening. Neither of the two Semi-Progenitors present could see through what was happening, so, naturally, Lu Yin was incapable of doing so as well.

    All that Lu Yin knew was that his senior brother Qing Ping¡¯s finger collided with the finger of humanoid tribtion, and after that, something very odd urred. The void shattered, and countless images and scenes started to flicker constantly. It seemed like space could not withstand the forces present, and it shattered as well, enveloping everything in a darkness that started to devour the entire nearby area.

    Lu Yin felt an abrupt warning: this darkness was extremely dangerous.

    The next instant, the consuming darkness abruptly vanished, along with Qing Ping.

    Lu Yin stared nkly out over the Middle Ocean. Where was his senior brother? What had happened to Qing Ping?

    He looked over at Kui Luo, but the Semi-Progenitor was rubbing his eyes. "Where¡¯d he go?"

    Lu Yin then looked over at Progenitor Smoke, but the woman was clearly still shocked and in a daze. She said nothing.

    "Senior, what did you see?" Kui Luo had not been able to see what had happened, and Lu Yin felt that the other old man would not have managed to see anything either. The only person present who could have seen what had happened was Progenitor Smoke. Even if her strength was suppressed to the Semi-Progenitor level, her perception was still on a different level. After all, she had instantly been able to see through the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ injuries and weakness.

    Progenitor Smoke let out a slow breath. "That was such a familiar power. I can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯ve felt it before, but I just can''t remember¡­"

    "Senior, what about my senior brother?" Lu Yin asked anxiously. He did not care about the power that had been felt or used. All he cared about was what had happened to Qing Ping. It did not matter if Lu Yin could not see the man, as long as he was not dead.

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "Don''t worry, he passed. The darkness that you just saw was actually his inner world."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This was good. Qing Ping had seeded.

    After being reassured, Lu Yin finally registered what Progenitor Smoke had just said. "Senior, what was that about a familiar power?"

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s voice dropped low as she replied, "That humanoid stellr tribtion used a power that felt incredibly familiar, and yet I can¡¯t remember where I encountered it before."

    "Did it belong to one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Or some other old Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "How would I not be able to remember it if it was one of them? Regardless, that power gave me a very bad feeling."

    "But my senior brother¡¯s fine, right?"

    "He¡¯s fine, though I¡¯m very interested in your senior brother''sst attack. It contained the power of both time and space, which is quite odd. The power of time and space were exceptionally rare even during my era, so how could it appear so frequently in this era where humanity is so weakened? Strange¡­" After speaking, Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Unless his guess was wrong, a battle technique that used the power of both time and space should havee from an ancient era, and it should also be one of the techniques that Mister Mu had offered Lu Yin. Lu Yin had chosen the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation while his senior brother had chosen the other: Origin Tracer.

    A bit to the side, the old man in white robemented. "Such a pity, he must have failed. Truly, such a pity."

    The man then nced over at Kui Luo, as if to suggest that Kui Luo had made the wrong bet.

    The old man had not heard any of the conversation between Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke, but Kui Luo had.

    On top of that, Kui Luo knew who Progenitor Smoke was. Since a Progenitor had said so, then Qing Ping must have passed his stellr tribtion. Seeing the provocation from the old man in the white robes, Kui Luo instantly lost his temper and wanted to start arguing. However, he was preemptively cut off by Lu Yin, "Senior, he might not have failed. Were you able to clearly see what happened at the end?"

    The white-robed old man replied, "I could not see anything clearly at the end, as something strange was taking ce. In fact, there was something very strange about the final attacks used by both the humanoid tribtion and the man facing the tribtion. Still, even if I can¡¯t understand what happened, if he sessfully passed his tribtion, then where is the man now? For him to havepletely vanished, he must have failed."

    "You¡¯re the failure! Old man, if you couldn¡¯t see anything, then just admit it! Why do you need to pretend to be so profound?" Kui Luo was still upset.

    The white-robed old man did not bother arguing with Kui Luo. Instead, he lifted a hand and tossed a slip of paper over to Lu Yin. The man smiled as he said, "Young man, this old man is known as the God of Food, and I officially represent Virtue Archives in inviting you to join as an instructor to help educate the talented youths of humanity and strengthen the future of the Perennial World. Cultivation is a path that broadens one¡¯s horizons, and it also improves with experience."

    Lu Yin took the paper, and saw that it was an invitation that had been signed by ¡°God of Food.¡±

    Lu Yin found it quite interesting to learn that the old man was known as the God of Food. He seemed to deserve the title as the master of Hope Restaurant.

    "Does this junior have to go?" Lu Yin asked.

    The God of Food smiled. "Of course not. My invitation is freely given, and your refusal is perfectly eptable, though I would find it a pity. Those girls would be so excited to have such a handsome young mane and teach at my Virtue Archives, haha!

    "Of course, the person standing next to you should not go, as he wouldpletely ruin the atmosphere."

    Kui Luo once again lost his temper. "Old man, who are you saying ruins the mood? You¡¯re the one ruining the mood! Your whole family ruins the mood!"

    The God of Food gave a small smile. "If the famous Kui Luo came to my Virtue Archives, my Virtue Archives would probably disappear within a day, as all the students would be scared away, haha."

    Kui Luo got increasingly worked up. "Old man, I¡¯ll go anyways! Your Virtue Archives is important to you? Then I¡¯m going to go there and ruin things! I¡¯ve always been the best at stirring up trouble! Who needs to bother with stealing and fighting? It¡¯s all about intimidation! I¡¯ll scare your teachers, and then take some girl from the Wang family and slip her into the bed of a kid from the Xia family. You¡¯ll wake up with a little girl from the Celestial Frost Sect warming your bed!"

    Despite the God of Food¡¯s general aloofness, even he could not tolerate Kui Luo¡¯s threats, and the old man could not help but turn to look at Lu Yin. ¡°Young man, I might not have any idea what your rtionship with this man is, but I strongly suggest that you put some distance between the two of you. That man is a stain on this entire universe."

    The God of Food then turned and left without giving Kui Luo any openings to say a single word.

    Kui Luo started ranting and swearing, his face flushed red from anger.

    Lu Yin looked down at the invitation he held. Virtue Archives? Did he want to go there?

    "Alright, I¡¯ve decided! Let''s go to Virtue Archives!" Kui Luo shouted angrily.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Did you ever consider that that old man might have been trying to trick you into joining Virtue Archives?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re overthinking things. That old man¡¯s just an asshole."

    Isn¡¯t that you? Lu Yin nearly said those words aloud, but fortunately, he restrained himself. "I don''t know where my senior brother is. Old man, let¡¯s look for him."

    "What the fuck? This old man is going to Virtue Archives! Are you going to go, kid? If you do, I promise that I¡¯ll grab at least eight to ten girls to keep your bed warm," Kui Luo offered in an odd tone of voice.

    Even without Kui Luo¡¯s encouragement, Lu Yin was very tempted to go to Virtue Archives. He let out a cough. "Let¡¯s look for my senior brother first. Finding him is important. Do you think that Senior noticed our rtionship with Senior Brother?"

    "He''s too stupid to notice anything like that," Kui Luo answered grumpily.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. The fact that the God of Food was able to get such a strong reaction from Kui Luo showed that the man had an amazingly skilled tongue, but Lu Yin also felt a bit bad for the robed old man. It was impossible for anyone to remain unaffected by Kui Luo¡¯s vicious tongue.

    Despite searching for some time, Lu Yin was not able to find any trace of Qing Ping. Still, with Progenitor Smoke¡¯s assurance that the breakthrough had been a sess, Lu Yin was no longer worried.

    He did not return to the Bei family¡¯s home, and he did not intend to have any further interactions with the family. Instead, Lu Yin needed to go to the Bifrost and Yu City.

    Since he was pretending to be Young Master Yu, he needed to deliver a convincing performance. Revenge had to be taken upon the people who had crossed Young Master Yu in the past, and those who had kept their actions a secret needed to be exposed. If Lu Yin did not do at least this much, how would he be able to attract the attention of Shenwu''s Sky?

    As for Virtue Archives, he had no ns to visit the ce just yet.

    Kui Luo was eager to go to Virtue Archives, but Lu Yin wanted to first get revenge for Young Master Yu. So, Kui Luo silently followed behind Lu Yin.

    While Kui Luo had said that he did not care much about Young Master Yu and imed that the man had gotten what he deserved, his actions said otherwise. There was no other reason for Kui Luo to have shared so much information with Lu Yin, let alone follow him without protest.

    Since Lu Yin was acting as Young Master Yu, then Young Master Yu should take revenge on those who had crossed him.

    The Bifrost connected the Lower Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Higher Realm, and the entire thing was under the control of Shenwu''s Sky.

    The sight of it would shock anyone who saw it for the first time. It was a massive bridge that looked like a rainbow, and it was beyond massive. There were numerous cities, and the various stripes of colors indicated if the Bifrost was moving up or down

    Red moved down, orange moved upwards, and yellow did not move at all. This pattern repeated itself: green moved down, blue moved up, and indigo did not move. These six colored stripes made up the Bifrost, but all of the cities were found on the yellow or indigo sections. Yu City itself was on the yellow stripe.

    Anyone who stepped onto the Bifrost and saw the yellow rainbow stripe beneath their feet would be amazed by its beauty for a time.

 Chapter 2176: Means

    Chapter 2176: Means

    Yu City was no longer the city that it had once been. Ever since the previous city lord had died out of his anger at Xia Zhitong¡¯s actions and Young Master Yu¡¯s subsequent suicide, Yu City hadpletely fallen under the woman¡¯s control. Since then, it had be a ce that catered to the powerful and offered endless sexual services. There were bright lights everywhere, everyke featured boats covered with flowers, and every street and manor hid various flowery activities.

    Originally, Yu City had just been another normal city on the Bifrost. The Yu family had traded the Mother Tree¡¯s bark as their primary industry, but that had barely kept the city¡¯s economy afloat.

    At present, Yu City was countless people¡¯s destination, and all of them felt quite impressed, as Yu City had almost doubled in size.

    Xia Zhitong''s sexualpanions had also nearly doubled in number. She spent her entire days indulging in drinking, sex, and other forms of debauchery.

    Lu Yin struggled to believe his eyes when he walked into Yu City. "This ce is very prosperous."

    The city was filled with people, as far as his eyes could see. Restaurants on both sides of the street were filled with peopleughing and enjoying themselves. Yu City was far more lively and prosperous than any of the other cities in the Perennial World that Lu Yin had visited, and it even surpassed the port city of Cowry City.

    Kui Luo just sneered. "Of course it¡¯s sessful! Xia Zhitong shifted this city¡¯s focus towards catering to human nature. It¡¯s true that these changes have benefited the residents of this city, and made many of them massive fortunes. However, almost no one is willing to im to be from Yu City once they leave this ce. If the Yu family still had anyone alive, they might die out of anger after seeing what¡¯s happened to their city."

    Lu Yin nodded. "True enough. With enough businesses taking on sleazy clientele, the entire city will be affected."

    The two men were in no hurry to find Xia Zhitong. Given the strength of either Lu Yin or Kui Luo, they could kill the woman with just the flick of a finger. Rather, it was more important to ensure that Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Young Master Yu was publicly revealed. After that, everything that had happened in the past woulde to light.

    Lu Yin nned to y the role of someone who would do anything it took to get revenge. Therefore, everyone needed to be able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s hatred.

    That night, a solitary boat covered with flowers floated on a silentke.

    While the boat looked rather lonely, in fact, it was the only boat on theke because theke was entirely reserved for this particr boat. A beautiful courtesan stood on the boat, leaning against the railing and staring into the water through blurry eyes. She was waiting for something, and a hint of a smile decorated her lips.

    After a little time passed, a loudugh rang out, and the flower boat swayed. The beautiful woman turned to look behind with a business smile on her face. "Lord Ba, you came."

    The man who had let out the loudugh was a middle-aged man. He had an elegant look, and he carried himself well. Most noticeable were his eyes, which drew people¡¯s attention like mas, and the woman blushed when she looked into those eyes.

    Despite his elegant appearance, the man behaved like a brute, and he immediately grabbed the woman and kissed her.

    The woman acted helpless. "Lord Ba, why are you being so impatient today? Let me slowly take care of you."

    "Haha, of course I''m impatient. I¡¯ve waited for days, but that woman finally went after someone else, and I was able to get away and see you, darling," Lord Ba said with evident desire.

    The woman revealed a flirtatious smile. "Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting in trouble with the city lord for saying such things?"

    "How can she hold it against me? She¡¯s got plenty of men to entertain herself with, and eventually, she¡¯ll grow tired of me too. Then, I¡¯ll be able to spend every day with you, haha." Lord Ba smiled, clearly anticipating such a day.

    The woman also smiled back at the man. "Alright, I''ll wait for you."

    Lord Baughed again and rushed towards the woman.

    "Lord Ba, you look so excited." A voice suddenly spoke up from behind the two people, disturbing the solitary boat.

    Lord Ba''s expression changed drastically. His body that was poised to pounce onto the bed instantly changed direction, and he tore through the void in an attempt to escape.

    However, he waspletely unable to move, even after tearing the void open. He was suspended in midair, unable to fall or even look backwards. In front of him was the beautiful woman, but at this moment, her face was pale and covered with terror. She was staring at a young man. He was one of the people sitting in a corner of the boat, but the woman had no idea when these people had arrived, as she had not been able to sense anything at all.

    Tong Yu sat next to Lu Yin, and the woman casually waved a hand. Lord Ba¡¯s body flipped over, and hended on the deck of the boat, right in front of Lu Yin''s feet.

    The fallen man¡¯s body had gone stiff. He slowly looked up, his mind in turmoil as he struggled to think about who he might have offended. His body had just been seized by a strength that he had no way of resisting, which meant that whoever had acted against him was an absolute powerhouse. Lord Ba realized that the person had to at least be a three or even four-tribtion Envoy! When had Lord Ba ever offended such an expert?

    However, when Lord Ba looked up, he saw Lu Yin¡¯s disguise, and the man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. His entire face contorted, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. "Yu- Yu- Young Master Yu?"

    The beautiful woman was still on the bed, but hearing this name startled her. Young Master Yu? Why does that sound so familiar? Isn¡¯t it someone who¡¯s been missing for a long time?

    Lu Yin smiled as he stared at Lord Ba. "Master Ba, have you been having fun?"

    Lord Ba stared at Lu Yin in a daze, studying the handsome young face. This was a face that Lord Ba had never imagined he would see again in his entire life. "You- Young Master! Wha- What are you-? Aren''t you-?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "What¡¯s the matter, Master Ba? Aren¡¯t you happy to see me? Why can¡¯t you even say a single sentence?"

    Lord Ba swallowed as he stared at Lu Yin. Why is he here? He¡¯s supposed to be dead! Even if I didn¡¯t see the corpse myself, everyone said that Young Master Yumitted suicide. How is he still alive? Is this person a fake?

    This thought caused Lord Ba to carefully observe "Yu Hao''s" face, but there was nothing wrong to be seen. This was no disguise.

    "Master Ba, it¡¯s been quite a long time," Lu Yin said.

    Lord Ba nced at Tong Yu behind "Yu Hao," and then the man¡¯s fingers twitched as a vicious expression came over his face. He tried to grab "Yu Hao" and take him hostage, but despite the man¡¯s sudden speed, Tong Yu was even faster. Lord Ba¡¯s arm was instantly grabbed and then torn off. The man screamed as his blood sshed onto the deck of the boat.

    The beautiful woman screamed as she fainted from the gory sight.

    Lord Ba covered his wound as he stared at Tong Yu in horror. This woman was a true powerhouse.

    Lu Yin acted like the whole thing was a show. "Master Ba, why did you give me such a grand gift the moment we met? What do you think I should give you in return?"

    The man¡¯s face turned pale, and he dropped to his knees and started begging. "Young Master, what happened back then had nothing to do with me! Please, just let me go! I really had nothing to do with it! Xia Zhitong and her lover were behind everything, and they were acting on the Xia family¡¯s orders! I¡¯m just one of her toys, and I never did anything to help her attack the old city lord."

    The smile disappeared from Lu Yin''s face. "Is there something that you¡¯re misunderstanding here? Xia Zhitong is the wife of Yu Hao, me! You¡¯ve had an affair with her, and yet you¡¯re trying to act like that doesn¡¯t even matter. What? Do you want my blessing?"

    Sweat dripped from Lord Ba''s forehead, and he fell forwards, prostrating on the deck. "Young master, I was wrong! I acted like a beast! I made a mistake. Please, just believe me when I tell you that I never worked against the old city lord, or even thought about doing so! Whatever she did to the city lord had nothing to do with me at all!"

    The man banged his head on the deck as he spoke, cracking the wood and causing the boat to start leaking water.

    Lu Yin silently watched the man kowtow. Kui Luo stood at the edge of theke, watching everything y out. He felt unusually emotional at this moment.

    Revenge could only be considered revenge if the person with the grudge carried it out. However, Lu Yin was avenging Young Master Yu while wearing his face, which could be considered a manner of revenge.

    After watching the man bang his head on the ground for long enough for a stick of incense to burn, Lu Yin grew bored. "You said that Xia Zhitong and her lover were the ones who attacked my Yu family. Who is her lover? Do I know him?"

    Lord Ba trembled as he replied, "You¡¯ve met him before. He¡¯s the uncle who sent her to be married into the Yu family."

    This was a surprise. Her uncle? Despite them both having the Xia surname, it was impossible for the two to actually be rted, as the Xia family would never tolerate something so scandalous.

    "For years, I thought that Xia Zhitong was simply doing whatever she wanted and was ying around. But eventually, I realized that she was sent here by a branch of the Xia family to deal with the Yu family. Because your Yu family was once close to the Lu family, they wanted to make an example out of you all so that no one in the entire Perennial World would have the courage to help any of the Lu family¡¯s survivors. They wanted to make what happened in Yu City famous and show everyone what¡¯s happened to the city.

    "After the former city lord¡¯s anger killed him and you disappeared, the Xia family was able to move more openly and achieve the results that they wanted from this situation. There were many ces throughout the Middle Realm where members of the Lu family were betrayed, as no one wanted to be the next Yu family."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dark as Lord Ba spoke. In order to protect the Yu family, Yu Hao''s father had betrayed his own father, who had been Yu Hao''s grandfather. That betrayal had been made solely to ensure that Yu City would remain safe and untouched. Of course, such things were never discussed with the Yu family. The members of the Yu family were intelligent, and the four ruling powers were not led by idiots. There were things that could not be spoken of openly, but rather had to be handled in the dark through despicable and shameless methods.

    The Yu family had be incredibly infamous, and their reputation had beenpletely ruined by everything that Xia Zhitong had done. After everything was made public, it was easy to imagine just how many people mocked and ridiculed Yu Hao. He had be one of the greatest jokes in the Perennial World. Most people could not imagine that Yu Hao would actuallymit suicide, as they could not see what could have driven him to such desperation. However, most people did not realize that Young Master Yu had been facing the full might of one of the four ruling powers. The Xia family was a monster that was impossible to stand up to.

    Not everyone could be like Progenitor Chen and defy the Xia family. On top of that, even Progenitor Chen had only been able to seed because of Progenitor Lu Tianyi¡¯s support. Without that, Progenitor Chen would have been eliminated by the Xia family long before he managed to rise to power.

    Lu Yin had not expected to learn anything of value from speaking with Lord Ba, and he had only interrogated the man as part of a show of impersonating Yu Hao. After all, Yu Hao needed to be seen investigating the downfall of his family and the culprits behind it. Without that need, Lu Yin would have never bothered with Lord Ba.

    However, as Lord Ba continued speaking, Lu Yin learned enough new information that he realized that he was not wasting his time. Furthermore, Lu Yin developed a genuine desire to do something for the Yu family, as they had been targeted only because the Lu family had been banished.

    "Young Master, I wanted to go find you! Honestly! I wanted to hide you and allow you to live in safety, but you disappeared. I couldn¡¯t find you no matter how hard I tried! You must believe me, Young Master!" Lord Ba seemed to sense "Yu Hao''s" rising killing intent, as he started begging again.

    Lu Yin stood up, let out a breath, turned around, and left.

    Lord Ba wanted to say something else, but Tong Yu released enough pressure to stop the man from saying a word. The man copsed into a pool of his own blood, his eyes still open.

    This was just the first act of vengeance.

    After Lu Yin left theke, Kui Luo arrived next to him.

    "Just as you said, the Yu family was targeted and destroyed because of my Lu family, but the Xia family was even crueler than what you told me. They deliberately spread word of the Yu family¡¯s fate as a warning to the entire Perennial World. As long as the four ruling powers remain in power, the Yu family will always be treated as a joke. Their family has been humiliated, while Xia Zhitong gets to enjoy herself for the rest of her life.

    "The more Xia Zhitong enjoys her life, the more miserable the Yu family¡¯s fate, and the more effective the story will be," Lu Yin said tly.

    Kui Luo let out an oddugh. "There are people capable of cruelty beyond imagination. The old man from the Yu family was sent to Star Alliance, so I have no idea if he¡¯s dead or alive. If he ever learned of what happened to his family, he¡¯d probably die, as his anger would kill him."

    "Or, he buried his hatred deep so that he would be able to eventually get revenge," Tong Yu interjected.

    Kui Luo stared at Lu Yin. "Which do you prefer?"

    Lu Yin was dazed by the question, and he felt torn by his emotions. Normally, he would hope for the Yu family¡¯s ancestor to live, as the family¡¯s fate had been too miserable, and the old man had also had a close rtionship to the Lu family.

    However, due to how the Yu family had suffered, would the Yu ancestor have gone insane from rage? Could his hatred have extended beyond the four ruling powers to include the Lu family as well? After all, without the Lu family, the Yu family would have never suffered.

    Such feelings were only natural for many people, and after understanding this, Lu Yin had no idea how he would face the old man if that day ever came.

 Chapter 2177: The Dealcut Association

    Chapter 2177: The Dealcut Association

    The only people with connections to the Yu family were Lord Ba and Xia Zhitong herself. After dealing with Lord Ba, Lu Yin¡¯s next target could only be Xia Zhitong.

    The Yu family¡¯s estate had been taken over by Xia Zhitong, and it had be and of pleasure for her and her lovers. ording to the rumors, the mansion had sixty nine quarters, and sixty nine lovers lived in the ce. It was even said that all of the people working in the mansion were her lovers, including the guards and gardeners. Apparently, she would entertain herself with whichever handsome men took her fancy at any given moment anywhere in the mansion.

    Many people who visited Yu City would walk by the Yu family mansion just to get a glimpse of the famous ce. Furthermore, the Yu family¡¯s sign still hung outside the estate, which was also the ce¡¯s biggest tourist attraction in the entire city.

    The yellow light of the Bifrost was covered by dirt and soil, and the outside sky was also hidden from view, which allowed night to be able to fall upon Yu City.

    Outside the Yu estate, Lu Yin observed the guards who stood on either side of the entrance. He had to admit that Xia Zhitong was certainly thorough. Even these guards had clearly been carefully selected, as not only were they much better looking than average, but they also gave off a feeling ofparative danger.

    After all, there was not a single true powerhouse anywhere in Yu City.

    Lu Yin easily entered the Yu mansion and found Xia Zhitong with a casual nce across the ce. The woman was smiling in an opulent dark-red room.

    Xia Zhitong was indeed somewhat beautiful, and her voice was her most attractive feature, which was gentle and lovely. She spoke with a natural melody in her voice. There was no way for her to have charmed Young Master Yu without some attractive features.

    Laughter echoed from the room without end, and a man¡¯s voice could also be heard.

    Tong Yu gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Aren¡¯t you going in?"

    Lu Yin frowned. He was still thinking about what the best way to deal with Xia Zhitong was. Killing the woman was not an option, as if he did that, how was he supposed to use her to get into Shenwu''s Sky? On top of that, if Lu Yin did kill Xia Zhitong, he would have to abandon his identity as Young Master Yu.

    With the restrictions of wanting to use the woman and not being able to kill her, the situation was rather tricky.

    "Old man, what do you think I should do?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo hissed, "Stop talking and listen."

    Lu Yin blinked, and he gave Kui Luo the same strange look that Tong Yu had just given Lu Yin. "You actually want to listen to something like this?"

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Here ites," Kui Luo snorted.

    Again, Xia Zhitong''s voice drifted out from the room, "Tell me again, but if you can¡¯t get me into the Dealcut Association, then there¡¯s no reason for you toe back here again."

    "Darling, it''s not that I don''t want you to join. Rather, the restrictions to join the Dealcut Association are too strict andplicated, and you¡¯re also too famous. You don¡¯t have the influence to draw the attention of the top, which means that I¡¯ll be caught if I try to let you just join. Doing so might even draw the attention of the four ruling powers, which would be a big problem." The man was clearly struggling with Xia Zhitong¡¯s request.

    Xia Zhitong snorted disdainfully. "You¡¯re thinking too much. I¡¯m nothing more than a pawn of the Xia family. While the Xia family controls Shenwu¡¯s Sky, they aren¡¯t able to unterally control everything. For example, your uncle, Zuo Lingzhu, is also part of Shenwu''s Sky, but he isn¡¯t a member of my Xia family. I¡¯m just a member of a branch family, so forget having me draw the attention of all of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡ªnot even the Xia family pays any real attention to me.¡±

    "Don''t think that I don''t know what the rest of the world thinks of me. The Yu family¡¯s reputation might have been ruined, but so has mine. Even the Xia family tries to keep me at a distance, and no one wants to be seen getting close to me, not even my uncle. I don''t know what to do anymore to keep myself safe. Eventually, I¡¯ll outlive my usefulness, and when that happens, I¡¯ll suffer a simr fate to the Yu family. The survivors of the Lu family have been killed again and again because of what I¡¯ve done, and people are constantly targeting me. I need to join the Dealcut Association in order to stay alive."

    The man sighed. "The Dealcut Association might not be as powerful as you seem to believe. If things are as bad as you¡¯re describing, then the Dealcut Association might not be able to protect you either. The cultivation world is cutthroat, and regardless of the Dealcut Association¡¯s influence, we can¡¯t do anything if a survivor from the Lu family targets you. It wouldn¡¯t make any difference if the Dealcut Association controlled the entire Perennial World, as the survivors from the Lu family are already going against this entire ce. They don¡¯t fear the four ruling powers, so how is the Dealcut Association supposed to intimidate them?"

    Xia Zhitong responded in a much softer voice, "So there¡¯s no chance of you rmending me to join?"

    The man thought for a moment. "Just wait for now. I need to first improve my status, or at least my uncle¡¯s. We can¡¯t be rash, as if we move too quickly, you¡¯ll never be allowed to join."

    Outside the room, Lu Yin curiously asked, "What¡¯s the Dealcut Association?"

    Kui Luo replied, "I''ve heard that it¡¯s a group made up of a bunch of minor characters who hope to use their collective influence to form a group capable of making big changes and influence the overall direction of the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "There¡¯s something like that?"

    He had already Possessed quite a few people from the Perennial World, but he had never once picked up any memories rted to the existence of this the Dealcut Association.

    Kui Luo barked a sharpugh. "The Perennial World has already been divided up. The Higher Realm has the four ruling powers, and the Middle Realm has the Nong family, Liu family, and a few other powers. No matter what this the Dealcut Association tries to do, it¡¯s impossible for them topare to any of those established powers. Whenever they reveal themselves too openly, their experts are either taken by the four ruling powers or drafted into Star Alliance. What? Do you think that the only people who resist the authority of the four ruling powers are the people in Star Alliance or the remnants of the powers that supported your Lu family?¡±

    "There are people who¡¯ve been oppressed for a long time, and while they don¡¯t dare to openly resist or fight back, they will secretly form a united resistance."

    "Does it work?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Kui Luo considered the question. "This Dealcut Association only ever had some minor influence since it was first created. I learned about them back then, even. However, they managed to add in some people with a bit of real strength as time passed. While they¡¯re not an actual power, their alliance and united strength is enough to have a bit of influence on a few matters. What I find the most impressive is how often they can influence things rted to the rear battlefield and specifically where people get sent. They can basically ensure that the people they want can survive in that ce.¡±

    This was impressive. "They can actually pull that off?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "From everything that I¡¯ve been able to learn, they really can. Anyone sent to participate in the rear battlefield¡¯s defense is required to fulfill their assigned duties and remain on the battlefield for the required number of years or battles. While the Dealcut Association isn¡¯t able to make any big changes on the battlefield, they¡¯re able to alter how many years or battles someone¡¯s required to participate in before being released from their duty, and it all adds up. They can frequently get their people out of the rear battlefield in half a year to a year sooner than other people.

    "For independent cultivators, leaving the rear battlefield early, even if it¡¯s just a day or two, can make a big difference and help them survive."

    Lu Yin was well aware that the rear battlefield was too massive, and it was impossible to keep track of everything that happened among the defenders. There was no need to make any big changes to a person¡¯s assigned duty, but enough small changes would add up and significantly boost a person¡¯s chances of survival.

    "That¡¯s also just one of the Dealcut Association¡¯s activities, though it¡¯s very effective. On top of that, they recruit people from the entire Perennial World. A person¡¯s individual strength isn¡¯t as important. Rather, they value people who hold important positions that can allow them to help the Dealcut Association aplish certain tasks. Furthermore, the group will actually train people to be able to join certain fields and get specific roles in different ces. After all these years, I honestly can¡¯t say how much influence the Dealcut Association might have now,¡± Kui Luo said.

    Lu Yin was impressed. "You haven¡¯t kept an eye on them?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "While I might have a bit of interest in them, no matter how big they grow, there¡¯s no way for them to ever reach the level of influence necessary for them to get involved in any of the Perennial World¡¯s major events. That¡¯s just their own impossible goal. Even if they manage to snag a Semi-Progenitor or two, as soon as any of the true powers of the Perennial World takes notice of the Dealcut Association, they¡¯ll be wiped out in just a few minutes. On top of that, they might not even have any Semi-Progenitors among their numbers.

    "That kid in the room is also right: the Dealcut Association won¡¯t be able to protect anyone whom the remnants of the Lu family¡¯s vassals want to get rid of."

    "So why are we eavesdropping on their conversation? You look really worried about something." Lu Yin was a bit confused.

    Kui Luo pursed his lips. "Stop with the nonsense and just listen."

    Lu Yin shook his head. Kui Luo enjoyed digging up secrets, and that went for any secrets at all. They did not need to belong to people who were important or powerful.

    "I already know that the Dealcut Association has one Semi-Progenitor working with them, but I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s any more. Let¡¯s see if I can find out, hehe," Kui Luo muttered to himself with a strange smile.

    Inside the room, Xia Zhitong and the man were still talking, though their conversation had slowly shifted to other topics. Instead of discussing the Dealcut Association, they had moved on to matters of business, such as the sales of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, selecting courtesans, and other matters.

    Lu Yin continued to listen for a while, and he soon learned that the man in the room was an inspector for the Merchant Alliance.

    Lu Yin had already learned about the Merchant Alliance from when he had Possessed Elder Qing Xing.

    As long as trade and an economy existed, there would always be an organization to oversee trade. In the Perennial World, this was the Merchant Alliance.

    The Fifth Maind also had a simr organization, so it was not unexpected for such a group to exist in the Perennial world.

    However, the Merchant Alliance was not considered a very important organization, as their only purpose was to generate money for the top powers in the Perennial World.

    Everything that was discussed in the red room were minor matters, and Kui Luo realized that he would gain nothing more. "The chance is already gone."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Then it''s time to talk to Xia Zhitong."

    There were clothes strewn about the dark red room, and Xia Zhitongy curled up within the man''s embrace. They were speaking gently to each other, but the man¡¯s eyes had a terrifying depth to them.

    At this moment, a voice spoke up from outside the door. "Mistress, Yu Hao has returned."

    Xia Zhitong immediately sat up. Her snow-white skin filled the eyes of the manying on the bed in the red room, and he licked his lips. "Yu Hao? Isn¡¯t that Young Master Yu? Isn''t he supposed to be dead?"

    "He only went missing." Xia Zhitong frowned. "How did he return? Is he alone?"

    "Yes, he¡¯s alone, and he looks rather spent," the reply came from outside the door.

    Xia Zhitong stood, but the man grabbed her from behind. "Leave him alone, darling. Deal with him after we¡¯re done."

    Xia Zhitong pushed the man away, though she gave him a coy smile. "He¡¯s still technically my husband."

    "Hmph, he¡¯s just a child! Isn¡¯t it fine to just kill him? Why would he even bothering back? Doesn¡¯t he realize that he¡¯s already be the biggest joke in the entire Perennial World?" The man sneered. "We¡¯re already on his bed, haha."

    Xia Zhitong did not return to bed, but instead put on a bathrobe that was practically see-through. She then exited the room in the scandalous outfit.

    Still on the bed, the man cursed and got up, quite put out. He could not see this woman again, let alone help her join the Dealcut Association, as doing so would easily expose the organization. Given Xia Zhitong¡¯s identity, she could never be allowed to join the Dealcut Association.

    The man was far more cautious than anyone realized.

    However, just as the man was about to leave the room, Tong Yu appeared in front of him.

    He was startled; how could there be another woman inside this mansion? On top of that, this woman was stunningly beautiful.

    Across the mansion, Lu Yin was sitting quietly, surrounded by fierce-looking guards who were ring at him with eyes that looked as though they wanted to get rid of him. However, derision and schadenfreude could be seen in the depths of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes at this moment.

    Footsteps echoed, and Lu Yin looked towards the door to the room.

    Xia Zhitong entered, apanied by a cloud of perfume. She stared at Lu Yin, though her scanty clothing caused all of the guards who were present to swallowsciviously.

 Chapter 2178: Restriction

    Chapter 2178: Restriction

    Lu Yin frowned as he stared at Xia Zhitong. If he were truly Young Master Yu, then he would be so disgusted by the sight of this woman that he would absolutely strike her dead.

    As for Xia Zhitong, she was staring at Lu Yin with glowing eyes that revealed obsession.

    The woman actually liked Yu Hao, though not for anything more than his face. He was the most stunningly beautiful man that she had ever seen. Even if the Xia family had not sent Xia Zhitong to deal with the Yu family, she would have found a way to join Yu City and obtain Yu Hao for herself.

    She actually found it very unfortunate that the Xia family¡¯s plot had forced her to anger the former city lord and make Yu Hao lose his mind and go missing. She quite regretted not simply locking him up, as even if he wentpletely insane, he would still be beautiful and much better looking than any other man.

    Fortunately, he had finally returned.

    A charming smile covered Xia Zhitong''s face, and despite being surrounded by numerous guards, her bathrobe fell off, and shepletely exposed herself as she slowly walked towards "Yu Hao." "You¡¯re back."

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had known about Xia Zhitong''s reputation, but in reality, she was even more brazen than anything he could have expected.

    Many of the surrounding guards swallowed again as they stared at Xia Zhitong''s body. Clearly, they wanted to jump on the woman.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Zhitong as she walked towards him, reaching out to hold him. Finally, Lu Yin could not tolerate the situation any longer. "Tong Yu."

    The moment Lu Yin spoke, all of the guards dropped down. A powerful force smacked Xia Zhitong''s body away, and she fell to the floor, stunned and dazed. She could notprehend what had just happened, even as a piece of cloth fell down and covered her.

    Tong Yu appeared and stood next to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin let out a breath and rose to his feet. He slowly walked over to Xia Zhitong and looked down at her. "Even after all these years, you still haven''t changed."

    Only then did Xia Zhitong finally realize that Tong Yu had struck her. Even then, Tong Yu had not been excessive, as Xia Zhitong could still be useful to Lu Yin.

    "You- you dare hit me?" Xia Zhitong was astonished.

    Lu Yinughed. "What a joke! You angered my father to death, and you even made my Yu City the biggest joke in the entire Perennial world. You left me, Yu Hao, unable to look anyone in the eyes, and I even tried to kill myself! If I had not been lucky enough to meet my master, I really would have died back then. And yet you ask if I dare to hit you?"

    Xia Zhitong''s expression fell. "Yu Hao, do you understand what you are even talking about? You won¡¯t dare do anything to me! I am Xia Zhitong! I am part of the Xia family, as well as a part of Shenwu''s Sky."

    "So what?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xia Zhitong just stared at "Yu Hao." "Are you really willing to offend both my Xia family and Shenwu''s Sky? Do you understand the consequences? I¡¯ll be blunt: your grandfather will die in Star Alliance, and the name ¡®Yu Hao¡¯ will be stigmatized for thousands of years. I can even rewrite the entire history of Yu City, destroy your Yu familypletely, and erase them from history. You know that I can do all of this."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You can, but you won¡¯t dare to."

    Xia Zhitong let out an angryugh. "I won¡¯t dare? Yu Hao, just who do you think you are? If not for your pretty face, I would have tortured you to death long ago. If you dare to do anything at all to me, my Xia family won¡¯t let you go! Everything that I do to you will be reported to the Xia family in detail. I¡¯ll remove your skin and hang it up next to you. I¡¯ll gouge out your eyes and ce them next to my bed so that you can watch as I y with all kinds of different men. I¡¯ll keep you alive forever without ever letting you rise up."

    Tong Yu¡¯s eyes narrowed as Xia Zhitong spoke. This woman was extremely vicious. While Tong Yu had held the position of Judicial Commissioner within the Dark Interster Supreme Court and had killed thousands of people, all of those deaths had been simple and direct. Tong Yu had never tortured anyone, but it was clear that Xia Zhitong had a twisted gift for tormenting. It was no wonder why the former city lord had died from his anger.

    Lu Yin squatted down to get closer as he stared at Xia Zhitong. "Are you threatening me? That just makes me want to kill you even more."

    Xia Zhitong sneered. "If you kill me, the four ruling powers will hunt you down, just like they did to that bastard from the Lu family! Decades ago, that Lu bastard was revealed on Dragon Mountain, and you should know what happened to him. Do you think that you¡¯re better than him? Your fate will be much worse, as the Xia family won¡¯t kill you. Rather, they¡¯ll use you as a living warning and as a gift to me."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold, but Xia Zhitong simply continued, "Of course, there¡¯s another option."

    "Tell me," Lu Yin ordered in an indifferent tone.

    The viciousness that filled Xia Zhitong''s eyes faded a bit, and the coy smile returned to her face. She rose back up, and the cloth covering her shifted aside to reveal a tantalizing view of her body. The juxtaposition of her pale yet flushed skin formed a very tempting sight. "You¡¯re still my husband, and we can act as if everything tonight never happened. The Yu family is still yours, and you can restore it once again. Though, of course, the outside world can¡¯t know anything about it. Still, I won¡¯t hurt you or take away any of your freedom.¡±

    "If you want, I¡¯ll even apany you every night. I know that you¡¯ve been obsessed with me. You have been ever since you first saw me. I will always belong to you. What do you say?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "You won¡¯t take any other men again? Can Yu City be restored?"

    Xia Zhitong shook her head. "There¡¯s no way you¡¯re still this naive after all these years. I wasn¡¯t the one who went after your Yu family, but rather Shenwu''s Sky. If Yu City is restored, you¡¯ll be done for."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, and Xia Zhitong continued, saying, "If you don''t want me to be with any other men, I¡¯ll try my best toply. However, the rumors about Yu City and your Yu family cannot be allowed to change. I won¡¯t lie to you¡ªif you try to change anything major, you¡¯ll only be running towards your own doom. The four ruling powers did this to warn the rest of the Perennial World, and they won¡¯t allow anyone to change that."

    "Lord Ba is dead," Lu Yin suddenly said.

    Xia Zhitong was startled for a moment, but then she indifferently asked, "Did you kill him?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Xia Zhitong was unbothered. "If he¡¯s dead, then he¡¯s dead. I was getting bored of ying with him after so many years."

    "Do you really think that your words are enough to intimidate me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Zhitong¡¯s coy smile returned. "If you really wanted to kill me, then we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. If you were really the same person as the past, I¡¯d have no chance of surviving. Your father¡¯s anger killed him, and there¡¯s no way you¡¯d be willing to let that grudge go.

    ¡°However, while I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been doing all these years, some of your hatred towards me has clearly faded. Also, I didn¡¯t actually kill your father. He died on his own, and I had nothing to do with that."

    Lu Yin found Xia Zhitong¡¯s reasoning quite funny, and he could not help but apud her. "That¡¯s quite reasonable. How well thought out. You can really overturn reality itself and make all of your vicious and despicable actions seem understandable. You really have an amazing sense of logic."

    Xia Zhitong''s expression finally changed. "Just what is it that you want?"

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Revenge."

    Xia Zhitong stared intently at Lu Yin. "Is it worth it? I can give you everything that you want. It¡¯s been decades, Have you really not figured things out yet?"

    Lu Yin stood back up. "I¡¯ve spent decades torturing myself, training just to be able to get revenge. Do you really think that I¡¯ll just give it up?"

    "Yu Hao, you¡¯re an idiot! Even if you do get revenge, so what? You¡¯ll just be hunted down like that bastard from the Lu family! I¡¯ll tell you right now that your grandfather isn¡¯t dead. He¡¯s still in Star Alliance. If you dare to kill me, he¡¯ll die too!" Xia Zhitong continued her threats.

    Lu Yin just smiled at the woman. "I already know my grandfather isn¡¯t dead, which is why I won¡¯t kill you. However, I will make sure that you suffer the greatest suffering imaginable."

    This threat finally scared Xia Zhitong. She had no idea what "Yu Hao" intended to do to her. She had already been used and tossed aside by the Xia family, and she knew that her own reputation had beenpletely ruined. However, she also enjoyed the pleasures that she had in life, and she had no desire to lose them.

    "Yu Hao, you can''t do anything to me! It¡¯s about time for the Xia family rites to begin, and I need to go as well. As soon as our elders learn about what you¡¯ve done, you¡¯ll be as good as dead! Just tell me what you want! Do you want to save your grandpa? I have a way for you to do that." Xia Zhitong was starting to feel a bit desperate.

    Lu Yin grew a bit curious. "Just what can you do?"

    Xia Zhitong nervously exined, "Everyone who¡¯s part of Star Alliance is an Envoy, and such a group is far from weak. Do you know why none of them have tried to escape? There are many people in that group who are former vassals of the Lu family, and none of them have tried to escape. Do you know why?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew frigid. This was not a question that he had ever really considered. After all, his first time meeting Star Alliance had been on the rear battlefield, and it was impossible for anyone to escape from that ce even if they wanted to. That was why he had never really questioned the matter. "Why is that?"

    "If I tell you, you need to let me go."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Do you really think that that¡¯s possible? That I¡¯ll just let you go free for a bit of information?"

    "This isn¡¯t just any random bit of information. There are very few people who know about this in the entire Perennial World, even in the four ruling powers! Only Semi-Progenitors are given this information," Xia Zhitong anxiously exined.

    Lu Yin nodded "Tell me."

    "You-" Xia Zhitong wanted to keep negotiating her conditions, but Lu Yin suddenlyshed out, pping the woman onto the floor. The attack was so strong that she nearly lost consciousness, and the force of the attack ran through her entire body and nearly ruptured all of her meridians.

    The woman spat out a mouthful of blood, her face pale. She was dazed, as she had never expected to actually be struck.

    This was Lu Yin''s first real act of revenge after assuming the identity of Young Master Yu. "You¡¯re in no position to try negotiating with me. Start talking."

    Xia Zhitong stared at "Yu Hao" in horror. While she did not have much talent as a cultivator, she was still a member of the Xia family, and she had always been much stronger than Young Master Yu. Despite that, she could not understand the attack that Lu Yin had just delivered.

    Despite not being very strong herself, Xia Zhitong was quite perceptive, and she had slept with more than a few Envoys. She had beenpletely helpless against Yu Hao¡¯s attack, and while her teeth had not been broken, the force of the attack had channeled through her entire body and hade extremely close to rupturing all of her meridians. This was a horrifying level of control over a terrifying amount of strength.

    While Xia Zhitong had no idea what Yu Hao had lived through while he had been missing, he hadpletely transformed.

    "Talk," Lu Yin ordered in an indifferent tone as he stared down at Xia Zhitong.

    The woman had been scared earlier because she had been afraid of Yu Hao¡¯s desire for revenge being so great that he would ignore the consequences. But at this moment, Xia Zhitong felt genuine fear. She did not see any of Yu Hao¡¯s former submissiveness in the man¡¯s eyes at this moment, only cruelty and determination.

    "Everyone in Star Alliance has restrictions ced on them by the Celestial Frost Sect. It¡¯s just like how we can¡¯t think about what happened to the Lu family," Xia Zhitong quickly started answering, too scared to ask for any more conditions.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Restrictions? The Celestial Frost Sect? The first thing that came to mind with those two details was the Sealed Cage Technique.

    The fact that the Celestial Frost Sect had created the Sealed Cage Technique that had enved the entire Daynight n indicated that they already possessed the ability to create simr restrictions.

    It was no wonder why no one was able to escape from Star Alliance.

    "How do you know this?" Lu Yin asked. This was a detail that someone like Xia Zhitong should have never been able to learn.

    Xia Zhitong trembled as she replied, "I heard it from my uncle."

    "Xia Yuan?" Lu Yin''s voice grew cold.

    Xia Zhitong nodded.

    Xia Yuan was the uncle who had sent Xia Zhitong to Yu City to be married, as well as the lover that Lord Ba had mentioned. While both Xia Yuan and Xia Zhitong were from a branch of the Xia family, Xia Zhitong was actually a member of a side family of the branch family, which was why the Xia family as a whole did not care about her reputation or her rtionship with Xia Yuan.

 Chapter 2179: Influence

    Chapter 2179: Influence

    "Uncle Xia Yuan is second only to Semi-Progenitor Zihuan within our branch family, and he happened to overhear this information while he was with me," Xia Zhitong said.

    Lu Yin frowned. "This is nothing more than a single piece of information. How is this supposed to help me rescue my grandfather?"

    Xia Zhitong replied, "I can go speak with Xia Yuan again. While the Celestial Frost Sect ces the restrictions on the members of Star Alliance, they¡¯re not the only ones with control over them. Each of the four ruling powers has the means to control Star Alliance, and I might be able to learn how to remove the restrictions if I can speak with Xia Yuan again. That would allow you to rescue your grandpa."

    Lu Yin not only wanted to save the old man from the Yu family, but also all of the surviving vassals of the Lu family who had been forced into Star Alliance.

    If Lu Yin was unable to break the restrictions on those people, then it would be impossible to save any of them. It seemed that Xia Yuan might be one way of learning how he could remove the restrictions, while another possibility was to roll six pips on Lu Yin¡¯s die. If he could Possess some bigshot, such as Xia Xing, the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, Lu Yin would also be able to learn how to remove the restrictions.

    However, saving the people from Star Alliance was only one of Lu Yin¡¯s goals. He also wanted to save the prisoners confined to the Crimson Garden. Finally, he also wanted to get Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s secret technique. That was the full list of Lu Yin¡¯s goals while he was in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin looked back at Xia Zhitong. It was true that he could not afford to kill this woman, as she was more valuable alive than dead. She would eventually die, but it was not time for that yet.

    Furthermore, Lu Yin was impersonating someone who had been tortured by hatred for decades. Such a person would never be willing to let an enemy off so easily, as they needed to slowly vent their umted hatred.

    Lu Yin was impersonating such a person, and the real Young Master Yu would never give Xia Zhitong an easy death.

    "I do want to save Grandpa, so I won''t kill you," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Zhitong let a sigh of relief escape.

    "However." Lu Yin stared into Xia Zhitong''s eyes, and he saw fear blossom in them as he continued speaking. "I will make sure that you suffer. You enjoy ying around? I¡¯m going to poison you with something that will spread throughout your body. Any time you touch a man, the poison will activate, forcing you to suffer a pain worse than death. Feel free to try to remove the poison. I won¡¯t stop you at all. But know that every attempt you make will push you one step closer to death¡ªyou¡¯ll age more and more with each failed attempt."

    Xia Zhitong''s pupils instantly constricted. She had just heard her worst fears be spoken aloud: not being able to touch any man, death, and growing old. "Yu Hao- Master Yu- Brother Yu, there are many things that could happen, and you should really think about your grandpa. How are you going to save him if I die?"

    Lu Yin just smiled. "I never said you would die, just that you would suffer a life worse than death."

    "It¡¯s almost time for my Xia family to pay our respects to our ancestor. If I¡¯m found to be poisoned-"

    "It doesn''t matter. I¡¯d actually like to see who in the Xia family is capable of removing this poison. You could always ask Semi-Progenitor Huan to give it a shot, but this poison was developed by my master, and I really want to see who can get rid of it. I¡¯ll find you again in a while, and I certainly hope that you¡¯ll be able to find a way to save my grandfather by that time. You know the consequences of failing." With that said, Lu Yin simply knocked Xia Zhitong unconscious.

    After seeing that Xia Zhitong was unconscious and on the ground, Kui Luo showed himself. "That¡¯s quite the surprise. You were actually able to obtain some information about Star Alliance. Do you really believe that she¡¯ll be able to help you save any of those people?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Probably not, but I need to set some things in y so that I can use her to obtain a few opportunities. With her, I¡¯ll have constant ess to the members of the Xia family, and I can even get in touch with some of the Xia family¡¯s powerhouses. After all, the Xia family won¡¯t pay much attention the name ¡®Yu Hao,¡¯ not even if something extraordinary did happen to him."

    Lu Yin then asked Progenitor Smoke toe out, and after offering a bit of ttery, the woman created a bit of her wei, had it infiltrate Xia Zhitong''s body, and aplish basically what he had threatened the woman with.

    "My wei can even create Envoys by simting stellr energy vortices. What you¡¯re requesting is just too simple," Progenitor Smoke proudly stated.

    Lu Yin quickly offered up morepliments. "This junior knew that you could do it, Senior, which was why I tried toe up with a truly unique poison. If this woman still doesn¡¯t believe me after she wakes up, she¡¯ll quickly learn just how amazing your abilities are, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. "If this wasn¡¯t rted to you trying to save the Lu family, I would never do a favor like this for you. That woman doesn¡¯t have the qualifications to be touched by my wei. She¡¯s too revolting."

    Lu Yin smiled. "This junior understands, and you have my genuine thanks, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror while Lu Yin stared at the unconscious Xia Zhitong. "When I return next time, the Perennial World¡¯s situation won¡¯t be as stable as it is now, and the four ruling powers¡¯ position won¡¯t be as stable either.

    "Let¡¯s go."

    As they left the Yu family¡¯s mansion, Lu Yin grabbed the man who had been with Xia Zhitong when they had first arrived, as Lu Yin was interested in learning more about the Dealcut Association.

    The four ruling powers suppressed the entire Perennial World beneath an iron fist. There were some recognized powers that could not bepletely overwhelmed, such as the Nong family, the Liu family, Virtue Archives, Specter Abyss, and a few more. In addition, there were also secret societies that had been established in the dark. Even if these small groups were not able to aplish very much and would be instantly destroyed if they were discovered, like the Dealcut Association, many small matters could snowball intorge ones.

    As long as they were not discovered, such secret societies could be quite useful, at least to Lu Yin. He was also operating in the shadows. Thus, such organizations were well suited to his uses.

    After leaving Yu City, Lu Yin threw the man to the ground. Tong Yu had knocked the man unconscious, but he woke back up the moment he struck the ground.

    The man rubbed his head, looking terribly confused. When he saw Yu City off in the distance, he was stunned. How is that possible? Wasn¡¯t I just in Yu City?

    The man tried to remember what had happened to him, and then he finally noticed that there was someone standing behind him. His head snapped around, and he saw Lu Yin, Tong Yu, and Kui Luo. Of course, he was not able to see any of their faces clearly, as they had all blurred their appearances.

    "Who are you?" The man was instantly on guard, though he was not badly frightened. At the same time, he did not take any rash actions.

    Lu Yin stared back at the man. "Name?"

    "Who are you? How did you bring me out of Yu City? Where¡¯s Xia Zhitong?" the man shouted.

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "I asked for your name."

    The man sneered. "What? Are you trying to scare me? If this is how Xia Zhitong wants to try to intimidate me, just tell her toe out herself. She needs to stop dreaming. I said that I¡¯ll let her join when I can get her in, but it¡¯s useless to force the matter. I''m leaving."

    The man immediately rose to his feet and turned to leave.

    He genuinely believed that Xia Zhitong was behind his abduction. After all, he had been in the Yu family¡¯s mansion, and who would dare to attack that ce? Even if Xia Zhitong was only a minor branch family member of the Xia family, to outsiders, she appeared to be a member of Shenwu¡¯s Sky as well as the person who had been sent to deal with Yu City. Who would dare to act against Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s knife?

    Tong Yu¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a terrifying pressure erupted, instantly smashing the man to the ground.

    The man was badly startled, as this pressure was so intense that he could not even breathe. He felt as if the sky itself had fallen, and he could not believe his situation. How was this possible? This person was clearly stronger than his uncle, who was a four-tribtion Envoy. Just who were these people?

    As soon as Tong Yu put pressure on the man, he realized that these three people had no connection to Xia Zhitong. No matter who Xia Zhitong might manage to sleep with, she would never be able to hook up with any powerhouse aside from her uncle.

    "Now are you willing to talk?" Lu Yin asked with a hint of a smile.

    The pressure from Tong Yu instantly vanished.

    The man gasped for breath. His body had almost been crushed by the pressure that had surrounded him. He slowly lifted his head and met Lu Yin''s indifferent eyes. The man fearfully asked, "Who are you? Why did you capture me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It looks like you still don¡¯t understand your situation."

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, the pressure mmed back down onto the man.

    This time, the pressure was even greater than before. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his internal organs were about to bepletely destroyed. His vision grew blurry, and he felt like the entire world was spinning. He wanted to beg for mercy, but he could not even open his mouth.

    The pressure onlysted for a moment, but that was already enough to leave the man seriously injured.

    He spat out even more blood, and he did not dare take another breath, as he feared that he would spit out his insides.

    "Name?" Lu Yin casually asked again.

    This time, the man did not dare to hesitate for even a moment after hearing the question. Even with his shattered body, he forced himself to answer. "Zuo- Zuo Shan."

    "Identity?" Lu Yin continued.

    "Inspector for the Merchant Alliance."

    "Identity?" Lu Yin demanded a second time.

    Zuo Shan was instantly terrified, and countless thoughts rampaged through his mind. Helpless, he replied, "A member of the Dealcut Association."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the man. "What is the Dealcut Association?"

    Zuo Shan coughed, and blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. It dripped onto the ground, but even then, the man did not dare to hesitate for even a moment. He trembled as he shared the origins and purpose of the Dealcut Association.

    The exnation was about the same as what Lu Yin had already heard from Kui Luo, but with a few more details. For example, Zuo Shan shared the names of some of Duan Yuhui¡¯s members, such as the second-inmand, Colonel Zuo. Lu Yin had already learned this name from eavesdropping on the conversation between Zuo San and Xia Zhitong, but the man also mentioned a few others. There was the old woman on the rear battlefield¡¯s second array base who exchanged merit points for the defenders, someone else from the Higher Realm who had been sent to the rear battlefield to guard the entrance, and more.

    "That''s all that I know," Zuo Shan finished with a tremor.

    "Your uncle is the second-inmand, which means that you should have a pretty good status within the Dealcut Association. How do you know about the people you mentioned? All of them work on the rear battlefield, and they are even mostly rted to the second array base," Lu Yin asked with a bit of surprise.

    Zuo Shan exined, "I¡¯m responsible for delivering certain materials back to the Middle Realm for the Dealcut Association to sell. I act as a liaison with a few families, and I give the list of people whom they¡¯re paying to be protected back to my uncle. I don''t know about anyone else, as this is the extent of my responsibilities."

    Lu Yin believed the man. With everything else that Zuo Shan had shared, there was no need to bother hiding anything. After all, the man had already betrayed his own uncle.

    Everyone who was a part of the Dealcut Association had different responsibilities, and Zuo Shan was primarily responsible for the second array base¡¯s business. This suggested that the other array bases, as well as the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Lower Realm all had their own people who were responsible for them. For a secret society which was kept secret from the four ruling powers, the Dealcut Association was impressively influential.

    After all, not even the four ruling powers themselves could be seen protecting people who were deployed to the rear battlefield, though that was only a matter of appearances.

    "How do you get supplies from the second array base?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The rear battlefield is strictly monitored, but there are always some people who will exchange their merit points but then return to fight before actually collecting their goods. When those people die, the goods that they purchased are still held, even though they were given away on paper."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew incredibly cold. "Even if some of those materials can be exchanged the moment the exchange is made, you people deliberately withhold them, don¡¯t you?"

    Zuo Shan did not answer, and he regretted sharing thisst bit of information. However, he had simply been too scared and had given everything away. In truth, the person asking these questions knew very little about the Dealcut Association. Basically, he knew the name and nothing else, especially not about how the organization actually operated. Zuo Shan should have never revealed these secrets.

    However, it was already toote for regret, as he had given away everything.

    Lu Yin frowned, and he looked at Zuo Shan with disgust. These people were beasts. Those who fought on the rear battlefield were risking their lives to defend humanity, and yet these people from the Dealcut Association had deliberately dyed the exchange of merit points for earned rewards. Given the fierceness of the fighting on the rear battlefield, a dy of a day or two, or even a few hours, could be enough for the person to return to the battlefield and die.

    While this method made it impossible to skim arge amount of resources from the rear battlefield, it still provided a substantial source of ie for the Dealcut Association. After all five array bases were taken into consideration, it was a ratherrge harvest.

    However, these were profits being paid for by the lives of people who were fighting on the frontlines for humanity.

 Chapter 2180: Detoxification

    Chapter 2180: Detoxification

    Lu Yin quickly changed his mind. He would go ahead and use the Dealcut Association while he was in the Perennial World, but he was going to force them to pay the price for running such a despicable business in the future.

    The people who fought on the rear battlefield were fighting against humanity¡¯s greatest enemy, and all of them were heroes of humanity. Many of these people had sons and daughters or parents. It was too pitiful for them to die from such a scam.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered when he had tried to exchange for the Cloudguard Robes during his own time on the rear battlefield. At that time, the old woman had told Lu Yin that he would need to wait for a while; could she have been deliberately dying the exchange?

    If Lu Yin had died on that battlefield, would the Cloudguard Robes that he had exchanged for with Qing Chen¡¯s merit points have gone to the Dealcut Association? Those Cloudguard Robes had been something that even the deputymander had wanted.

    This thought increased Lu Yin¡¯s anger even further, and he raised a hand, immediately sending a death seal into Zuo Shan''s body.

    The man was terrified by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, and he stared at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin indifferentlymented, "I¡¯ll give you some time to find a way to gather the names of everyone in the Dealcut Association who¡¯s rted to the business of selling resources and goods from the rear battlefield. If you do this, I can allow you to live, and I¡¯ll even see that you climb to a higher position within the Dealcut Association than your uncle. Of course, if you don¡¯t get me that list, I¡¯ll make your life even worse than death. Go ahead and ask your uncle to remove the power that I just put in your body. In fact, ask anyone at all. Go ahead and find out if there¡¯s anyone capable of doing that.¡±

    Lu Yin then demanded the method formunicating with Zuo Shan¡¯smunication crystal.

    Communication crystals were rather simr to the Fifth Maind''s gadgets. Both allowed for visual and audiomunications, which were both impossible with wireless jincans. However, wireless jincans were the only devices able topletely ignore all distance and even matters like being in a pocket dimension.

    All threemunication methods had their own pros and cons.

    Lu Yin soon left, and Zuo Shan was left alone.

    The man stared at his empty surroundings, and then back at Yu City. He gritted his teeth and quickly fled.

    While Zuo Shan felt quite certain that the people who had interrogated him had nothing to do with Xia Zhitong, there was no proof of that. An unknown powerhouse had appeared from nowhere, and Zuo Shan¡¯s first thought was of the Xia family. Xia Zhitong should not have mentioned the Dealcut Association to anyone from the Xia family, but was that a certainty? The woman was no idiot, and it was also undeniable that, regardless of how much she did to help the Xia family, they would never acknowledge her at all.

    So who were those three people?

    Half a dayter, Xia Zhitong sneaked out of the Yu family manor in disguise. Fear and nervousness filled her eyes.

    She had tried, but she really was unable to make any physical contact with any members of the opposite sex. When she had touched a guard, a burning sensation had appeared within her body. It felt like she was being bit by countless ants, and it drove Xia Zhitong crazy. She almost wanted to tear her own body apart to rid herself of the sensation.

    The feeling might have onlysted for a single instance, but it was an unforgettable experience.

    Yu Hao¡¯s description of the poison had been perfectly urate, and he had really poisoned her and given her the worst torture in existence.

    As far as Xia Zhitong was concerned, there was nothing worse than not being able to have a man.

    She traveled along the Bifrost until she was close to the Higher Realm, and then she went to find the members of the Xia family who stood guard over the Bifrost.

    The Bifrost waspletely controlled by Shenwu''s Sky, so naturally, the Xia family had deployed experts to oversee the Bifrost.

    Xia Feng was the current powerhouse on duty, and he was a four-tribtion Envoy who was on the verge of breaking through to be a five-tribtion powerhouse.

    The man felt nothing but disgust upon seeing Xia Zhitong. She was a stain on the Xia family¡¯s reputation. Even though they were both deployed to the Bifrost, Xia Feng made a point to never see this woman.

    "Get rid of her." Xia Feng waved a hand while ordering Xia Zhitong to be driven away. He had absolutely no desire to meet with her for any reason.

    Someone soon delivered a second report. "She started making a bigmotion outside, which made it very awkward to force her away."

    Xia Feng frowned, already losing his patience. "Show her in."

    Xia Zhitong was quickly led to Xia Feng, and the man looked at her in disgust. "What''s wrong?"

    Xia Zhitong spoke in a very respectful manner. "Seventh Grandfather-"

    Xia Feng cut her off with a raised hand. "You and I aren¡¯t part of the same branch family, so just get to the point."

    Xia Zhitong gritted her teeth. "I¡¯ve been poisoned."

    This was surprising information. "Poisoned? Then you need to detoxify yourself. What do you want from me?"

    Xia Zhitong had no choice but to exin, "I know that Seventh Grandfather doesn''t like me, but I really don¡¯t have any choice. This poison isn¡¯t something that can be dealt with through medicine. It¡¯s the only reason why I came to look for you, Seventh Grandfather."

    "If you needed the help of someone from our family, don''t you have a good rtionship with Xia Yuan? Why not have him help you?" Xia Feng asked.

    Xia Zhitong stared at the older man. "Seventh Grandpa, our family worked to deal with Yu City not only because of the city itself. You should already know about how important the situation there is, and if anything happens to me, our family will suffer a great loss. Outsiders will believe that some remnant from the Lu family or their vassals is taking action against us in Yu City. If it bes known that something has happened to me, then not only will I no longer be able to act as a warning to those who wish to help the Lu family in the Perennial World, but the matter will also fuel their arrogance. Please reconsider helping me, Seventh Grandfather."

    Xia Feng sneered. "None of that has anything to do with me. Our family decided to allow you to marry Yu City¡¯s Yu family. I have no responsibility for your life or death."

    "I can''t return to my family," Xia Zhitong said quietly.

    This caught Xia Feng off guard, and he shook his head. It was true that Xia Zhitong had seeded in executing the family¡¯s n for Yu City and the Yu family. They had been reduced to a joke in the Perennial World, and many people had been terrified into betraying the remnants of the Lu family in order to avoid the Yu family¡¯s fate. However, Xia Zhitong had been sacrificed in the process. She was infamous and reviled, and she had nothing left to rely on. Even though she had acted on her own choices, the Xia family would never allow her to return. She was too much of a disgrace.

    "I might have even been removed from the family registry." Xia Zhitongughed at herself. She looked quite pitiful at this moment.

    Xia Feng''s eyes shed. "Who poisoned you?"

    Xia Zhitong replied, "Yu Hao."

    "Yu Hao? Young Master Yu?" Xia Feng was surprised. "Isn''t he dead?"

    Xia Zhitong shook her head. "He came back, and he¡¯s like apletely different person. He poisoned me, forcing me to endure the worst sort of torture imaginable. He wants to get revenge on me, and he doesn¡¯t want to let me die an easy death. He wants revenge on the entire Xia family!"

    Xia Feng snorted disdainfully. "How ridiculous! A mere junior wants to try to deal with my Xia family?"

    The man then ced a hand on Xia Zhitong''s shoulder to sense what sort of poison was in her body.

    However, the woman let out a sharp scream, and she immediately pulled back, her face pale.

    Xia Feng felt puzzled. "What''s the matter?"

    Xia Zhitong quickly shared the effects of the poison, and Xia Feng¡¯s expression grew serious. The conditions for activating this poison could not normally be considered cruel, as nothing would happen as long as no physical contact was made with members of the opposite sex. And yet, this was indeed the greatest torture imaginable for Xia Zhitong, as this poison removed her greatest pleasure in life. What could she enjoy when her greatest pleasure had been stolen from her?

    Xia Zhitong had destroyed her own reputation and lost everything in order to deal with the Yu family, and she had alsopletely immersed herself in her hedonistic lifestyle. But this move from Yu Hao had taken that one pleasure away. All that was left for Xia Zhitong was endless torture and humiliation.

    Without the ability to enjoy her normal pleasures, the woman had grown sober, and many long-repressed thoughts had started to run through her mind.

    How would the prospect of being unable to return to the Xia family or being removed from the family registry have meant anything to her before? She had not cared about such matters, but that hadpletely changed.

    Her torture had only just begun.

    Xia Feng did not touch Xia Zhitong again, but instead tried to use his stellr energy to remove the toxin from her body. However, he discovered that he waspletely unable to sense any toxins at all. No matter how he searched, he could find no foreign substance in the woman¡¯s body.

    Xia Feng grew solemn. "What¡¯s happened to Yu Hao? This is not something that he could have aplished, as only a few decades have passed. Not even a Junior Progenitor could leave mepletely helpless."

    Xia Zhitong started to despair. "You can¡¯t remove the poison?"

    Xia Feng shrugged. "It''s not that I can''t remove it, but that I can¡¯t even detect it. Are you certain that it¡¯s poison?"

    The man felt rather suspicious about the entire matter.

    Xia Zhitong immediately started swearing and cursing, letting out all kinds of viciousnguage. This poison was indeed the worst sort of torture possible for her.

    Xia Feng sighed. "I can''t do anything for you, but it¡¯s possible that the family can save you. You should go see Xia Yuan."

    Xia Zhitong was dismissed as soon as Xia Feng finished speaking.

    She left in a daze, and she turned to stare up at the Higher Realm. She needed to go see Xia Yuan? That was not possible, as she was not able to return to the Xia family. In fact, it might not even be possible for her to return to the Higher Realm!

    No, I have to remove this poison! I can¡¯t let this be my life, and I can¡¯t go back to how things were. If I can¡¯t get rid of this poison, then I might as well die. Determination filled the woman¡¯s eyes.

    Far away, Lu Yin found a location to go into seclusion.

    Kui Luo found this quite odd. "Kid, your training sessions are always incredibly short, but you still go into secluded training all the time. What¡¯s the deal?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It''s normal for someone to want to iste themselves and train for a while after achieving a bit of enlightenment."

    Kui Luo started mocking Lu Yin. "What a joke! You must be doing something embarrassing."

    "Tong Yu, stand watch for me." Lu Yin immediately drove Kui Luo away, instead asking Tong Yu to stand guard. A sourcebox array was quickly set up, and Lu Yin started rolling his die.

    He would never pin his hopes on Xia Zhitong. Since he was in the Perennial World, it was far more likely that rolling six pips would allow him to Possess a Perennial World powerhouse. Was there a better time than the present to try to do so?

    Regardless of who Lu Yin Possessed, he would definitely be able to obtain some valuable information.

    Lu Yin could not decide if his luck was good or bad, as he rolled Enhance twice in a row, never managing to roll a six.

    After resting for ten days, Lu Yin returned to his die, and he finally managed to roll Possession on his third attempt.

    As soon as his consciousness entered the dark space, Lu Yin discovered far more bright balls of light than when he had been in the Fifth Maind. In fact, all of the orbs were brighter than when he had been in the Fifth Maind.

    Still, there were no lights that were bright enough to evene close to matching Lu Yin¡¯s own strength.

    His consciousness moved around as he searched for an optimal target, but he could not find anything.

    Even the Perennial World did not have many cultivators with power levels of over a million.

    Concerned that he would end up using too much star essence while searching for a target, Lu Yin realized that he had no choice but to merge with the brightest light that he could find.

    After doing so, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and the first thing that he saw was a de falling towards him. The sight was startling, and Lu Yin quickly moved to the side. The de shed through the air, and struck the ground. Lu Yin looked up to see Zhang Dingtian''s confused face. Huh? Zhang Dingtian?

    Zhang Dingtian was staring nkly at Lu Yin. "Master?"

    Lu Yin was startled yet again. Master? Finally, the memories started to appear, and Lu Yin was speechless to discover that he had Possessed Liu Yijian, the master of the Graceful Sword Arts.

    Liu Yijian was the first person whom Lu Yin had met from the Liu family when he had gone to visit the Sword Monument, and Zhang Dingtian was the man¡¯s disciple.

    Zhang Dingtian had just asked for Liu Yijian¡¯s guidance, as the man had just received something from the Sword Monument. Lu Yin had not expected to Possess someone in the process of being attacked. If he had not reacted in time, Liu Yijian would have been hacked to death! Lu Yin found the situation to be quite strange.

    "Your de is very weak," Lu Yin said in a hoarse voice. It was clearly the voice of Liu Yijian.

    Zhang Dingtian was taken aback, "Whenpared to you, Master, of course I am weak. However, can you see the weaknesses that need to be fixed in my de, Master?"

    Lu Yin stared at the de that Zhang Dingtian held. Memories were still entering Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He was hoping to learn more about Star Alliance, but Liu Yijian knew very little about that group. After all, the man was a member of the Liu family, not one of the four ruling powers. In fact, even if Liu Yijian were a member of one of the four ruling powers, it would not change much, as the man was only a four-tribtion Envoy, which was not high enough to qualify him to know any secrets concerning Star Alliance.

    This Possession was useless.

    "Master?" Zhang Dingtian found the situation more and more odd.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Attack again with the same technique. Remember, use the exact same attack."

 Chapter 2181: His Past

    Chapter 2181: His Past

    Despite finding the current situation to be quite odd, Zhang Dingtian still did as he was told. "This is one of the nine de forms that this student learned from the Sword Monument: Body sh."

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s entire body gave off the feeling that he was bing a de. It felt quite simr to Leng Qing¡¯s technique, as that man had also merged his entire body with his de.

    Lu Yin ended the Possession at the exact same moment in the attack as when he had Possessed Liu Yijian. The man regained consciousness, never doubting for a moment that anything had even happened. There was a bang, and Zhang Dingtian¡¯s de was deflected. "Of the nine techniques that you received, you¡¯veprehended six. All of them are simple, but they contain a certain truth. If you can master all nine techniques, you will be able to truly grasp the Dao of de."

    Zhang Dingtian fell into thought. Even though he had been caught off guard by his master¡¯s behavior, Zhang Dingtian said nothing, and he simply assumed that his master had been thinking about the de technique.

    "Again!" Liu Yijian shouted.

    Zhang Dingtian raised his de up high, and it dropped down.

    Far away, Lu Yin let out a breath. Liu Yijian¡¯s memories were quiteplicated, as the man had lived a very long life, even though he was not a very powerful cultivator.

    Most of the man¡¯s memories were about the sword, but by absorbing those memories, Lu Yin could feel that his ownprehension of sword techniques had deepened.

    Furthermore, Lu Yin had also learned that the Liu family regarded Virtue Archives as extremely important. In fact, this was true of not only the Liu family, but also of the Nong family and the four ruling powers. It was actually rather odd how much importance everyone seemed to ce on Virtue Archives.

    However, Liu Yijian did not know any details about the matter.

    Lu Yin started thinking about the situation. During hisst visit to the Perennial World, the four ruling powers had shown a very odd attitude when it came to Virtue Archives. Xia Taili had been very eager to go to Virtue Archives, and Wen Yi had even promised to help the girl, which had thrilled her. Why was everyone so eager to attend Virtue Archives?

    Lu Yin immediately went to question Elder Qing Xing about the matter, but the man knew nothing.

    Lu Yin moved on to ask Long Xi about the matter.

    "Virtue Archives has several secret techniques, which lures in many other people, but that¡¯s far from enough to lure people from the four ruling powers or other powerful families. I don¡¯t actually know what¡¯s going on," Long Xi replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It seems that there are still some secrets about Virtue Archives."

    Long Ximented, "I''ve heard rumors iming that Virtue Archives has a hidden mountain and sea. I don¡¯t know if that has anything to do with everyone¡¯s excitement."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "A hidden mountain and sea? One of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    Long Xi shook her head. "I have no idea, but Virtue Archives has always had at least one Semi-Progenitor. Even though they don¡¯t have any Progenitors among their powerhouses, they¡¯ve always had as many Semi-Progenitors as the four ruling powers. Always. It¡¯s possible that they really do have one of the Mountains and Seas hidden away."

    Lu Yin looked away. If this rumor was true, then he absolutely had to go to Virtue Archives. However, what could a hidden Mountain and Sea have to do with the number of Semi-Progenitors that Virtue Archives could produce? It was highly unlikely for any Semi-Progenitor to receive an inheritance from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which was one of the reasons why Progenitor Smoke was so proud of her aplishment.

    "Are we back in the Perennial World?" Long Xi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Do you want to leave?"

    Long Xi shook her head. "There¡¯s no need for that."

    Lu Yin said, "I might go to Virtue Archives, but the ce has changed. It seems that many people from the four ruling powers are now going to Virtue Archives, so it¡¯s possible I¡¯ll meet some members of your White Dragon n while I¡¯m there."

    Long Xi considered the matter. "That¡¯s not very likely. It''s difficult for the members of my White Dragon n to bear children, and there are only a few members in my generation. The next children won¡¯t be born within the next few decades. Unlike other families which bear children every ten to twenty years, though all of them are gifted geniuses."

    Lu Yin did not spend long chatting with Long Xi, as he intended to resume rolling his die. He wanted to try to ess the secrets of the four ruling powers.

    Right, he needed to see how much star essence hisst Possession had burned through.

    Lu Yin had numerous cosmic rings in his possession, as he had far too much star essence to be held within a single ring.

    2.7 billion. Possessing Liu Yijian had used up 2.7 billion star essence.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This was fine. He could ept this.

    He had burned through 3 billion star essence when Possessing the ancestor of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Meng family, and Liu Yijian had a simr level of strength as Ancestor Meng. On top of that, the distance between Lu Yin and the two men during the Possession had not been very far, so using 2.7 billion star essence was quite reasonable.

    On top of that, Lu Yin¡¯s current assets meant that such consumption could not be considered excessive, and he intended to immediately continue rolling.

    It was at this same time that Xia Zhitong managed to get in touch with Xia Yuan.

    Xia Yuan looked at the image of Xia Zhitong that appeared on hismunication crystal, and he angrily shouted, "I already told you that I won¡¯t speak to you anymore and that you can¡¯t call me. You¡¯re going too far by using someone else to get in touch with me!"

    Xia Zhitong calmly responded, "If I wasn¡¯t in a desperate situation, I wouldn''t have contacted you."

    Xia Yuan frowned. "What sort of desperate situation? Aren''t you enjoying yourself in Yu Cheng?"

    Xia Zhitong could hear the sarcasm in the man¡¯s voice, and she knew this must be the reaction of everyone from the Xia family. Even Xia Yuan, who had had an affair with Xia Zhitong in the past, was no exception. There was no one with a good opinion of the woman anymore. What was the difference between her reputation and that of the Yu family?

    "I¡¯ve been poisoned, and I can¡¯t do anything about it. All I can do is ask for your help," Xia Zhitong exined.

    Xia Yuan¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly. "Go find Xia Feng. Have him help you."

    Xia Zhitong sneered. "I already did that, but he can''t help me. He told me to speak with you."

    "His cultivation is higher than mine, and he¡¯s also lived longer, so why can''t he help you?" Xia Yuan asked suspiciously.

    Xia Zhitong saw Xia Yuan''s reluctance, and she slowly said, "If you won¡¯t help me, I won¡¯t have any choice but to speak with the patriarch. You know that I have a way to get in touch with him."

    "What do you want?" Xia Yuan angrily demanded.

    Xia Zhitong remained calm. "I¡¯m being tortured, and if no one can help cure me, then this poison will kill me. If I die, I¡¯ll make sure to take someone down with me."

    "Are you actually threatening me?"

    "If I wasn¡¯t in a truly desperate situation, I would much rather spend my time enjoying myself in Yu Cheng. Where would I find the time to try to threaten you?"

    Xia Yuan''s eyes flickered as he stared at Xia Zhitong. "What¡¯s the poison? Who did this to you?"

    "An old acquaintance: Yu Hao." Xia Zhitong carefully spoke each word.

    Xia Yuan''s expression immediately changed. "Yu Hao? He isn''t dead?"

    Xia Zhitong took a deep breath. "It¡¯d be best for you toe to Yu Cheng. Yu Hao has changed, and he doesn¡¯t want to get revenge on just me, but also on the entire Xia family."

    Seeing Xia Yuan''s open contempt, Xia Zhitong continued, saying, "I know that you don''t think much of him and that you also don¡¯t believe that anyone can harm our Xia family, but he¡¯s already seeded. If he manages to do anything that upsets our patriarch, you won¡¯t be able to escape the consequences. You were the one who proposed the n that we carried out against the Yu family, and the sess of this n has brought you many benefits over the years. If there is bacsh from this same n, then there¡¯s no way that the family will let you shirk the consequences."

    Xia Yuan thought for a while. "Wait for me there, and don''t go anywhere. I want to see just what Yu Hao is able to do."

    The call ended.

    ¡­

    Given his strength, Lu Yin had expected to be able to Possess some of the more important people in the Perennial World, but reality surpassed his expectations. He seeded in Possessing someone of incredible importance on his second Possession: Long Ke, the patriarch of the White Dragon n.

    After the White Dragon n¡¯s main family had been wiped out, Long Ke''s branch family had taken control of the family, but this meant that their foundation was extremely shallow. This was also why Long Ke¡¯s position as patriarch had be even more precarious after Long Xi had disappeared and Long Tian had been trapped in the Dominion Realm. It was after that that Lu Yin had risen to fame as Long Qi. He had revealed an incredible talent for lockbreaking, received Progenitor Mu Xie¡¯s favor, and the Commander of Humility¡¯s Gate had opted to ept Long Qi as his disciple.

    When that news had been released, Long Ke had instantly been abandoned by the entire White Dragon n. Grand Elder Ni Huang had personally taken action and yed matchmaker for Long Qi, negotiating a marriage with Xia Taili, the Xia family¡¯s princess. On top of that, Long Qi¡¯s status as a son-inw to the White Dragon n had been overturned, and he had been registered as a member of the main family. As long as his strength rose high enough, he had been expected to simply rece Long Ke and establish a new main family of the White Dragon n.

    While it appeared that such a means of rising to the top of a n indicated that they were a very forward-thinking group, the truth of the matter was that it went to show just how shallow the White Dragon n¡¯s foundation really was: rather pathetic. Aside from Long Tian and Long Xi, the n¡¯s main family had no one who could carry on the main family¡¯s strength, which meant that some of the branch families were actually more established.

    Long Ke was someone who thought everything through very carefully, and Lu Yin had be quite familiar with the man. He had once tried to use Long Qi as a means to deal with Long Quan¡¯s branch family and secure his position as n patriarch. On top of that, Long Ke was a powerful cultivator, a five-tribtion Envoy. This man had used his power to try to intimidate Lu Yin, and he had also wanted to eliminate Lu Yin at one point, but those efforts had all failed.

    Lu Yin was extremely surprised upon discovering that his second Possession was actually Long Ke.

    He really did have a close rtionship with the White Dragon n. He had already Possessed Long Quan, and at this moment, Lu Yin was Possessing Long Ke.

    Long Ke was in no wayparable to Long Quan. Even if Long Ke¡¯s status was unstable, he was the patriarch of the White Dragon n, and that gave him ess to far, far more knowledge.

    Lu Yin kept reviewing the man¡¯s memories, and many of the White Dragon n¡¯s most closely guarded secrets were exposed to Lu Yin, including their inherited battle techniques, secret techniques, and the methods employed to control the members of Star Alliance.

    Long Ke''s memories continued to enter Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He learned all of the White Dragon n¡¯s secrets, aside from the few matters that were solely reserved for the Semi-Progenitors and Progenitor Long. This included the methods to activate and control Dragon Mountain¡¯s sourcebox array, and even where the n¡¯s treasury was located. Lu Yin learned of Long Ke¡¯s personal hoard, as well as a few secrets that were shared by all four of the ruling powers.

    Lu Yin even saw the Lu family¡¯s past, as well as¡­ himself.

    In the past, Long Ke had only been the leader of a branch family of the White Dragon n. But because a Progenitor had risen from the White Dragon n, they had obtained a status that put them directly below the Lu family. During one of the times that Long Ke had visited the Lu family, he had met Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin had not expected to encounter memories of his past self while reviewing other people¡¯s memories.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had been just as Long Xi had described: cheerful, energetic, and very talented. He had been the object of envy and admiration for countless people throughout the entire Perennial World. The Seven Heroes had been praised as being able to revive the glory created by the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas in the past, and there had even been someone from the White Dragon n among the Seven Heroes: Long Xing, who had been Lu Xiaoxuan''s fourth sister.

    Lu Yin had never before felt this calm as he reviewed someone¡¯s memories. He felt as though he was watching a video, and he observed himself in Long Ke''s memories, as well as the entire Lu family that the patriarch remembered. Lu Yin could also feel what Long Ke''s emotions had been at that time.

    While Long Ke had acted excited and enthusiastic when he first met Lu Xiaoxuan, he had secretly been incredibly jealous. On top of that, Long Ke had absolutely hated Long Xing, who had been the main family¡¯s daughter. Long Ke had long since dreamed of recing the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, but such a thing had been absolutely impossible with his former status. As Lu Yin touched on those thoughts, he learned that the greatest day in Long Ke¡¯s entire life was the day when the Lu family was exiled and the White Dragon n¡¯s main family had disappeared. That had been the day that Long Ke had be the n¡¯s patriarch.

    It was a day that was engraved into Long Ke¡¯s memories, and he would never forget it. The memories also became unforgettable to Lu Yin when he obtained them. All the excitement that Long Ke felt over that day became anger for Lu Yin.

    From Long Ke''s memories, Lu Yin saw the sky dotted with red flowers, and he also saw Long Xi crying without end. He watched the entire Higher Realm disappear, as well as the massive tail of the Ancestor Python moving perpendicr to the Perennial World. This was a day that almost every person in the Perennial World had had purged from their memories, as only a select few had been allowed to remember it.

    Lu Yin had not seen that day in Long Quan''s memories, nor had he seen it in Liu Yijian''s. Truly few people had been allowed to remember the events of that day and retain theirplete memories.

    Long Ke''s memories were tooplicated, and even if Lu Yin spent an excessive amount of time in this Possession, he would only ever manage to see the very tip of the iceberg. His only choice was to search for the most important memories.

    Some timeter, someone requested a meeting with Long Ke, and Lu Yin ended the Possession.

 Chapter 2182: Miserable

    Chapter 2182: Miserable

    Lu Yin had never Possessed anyone this long, not even when he had Possessed White Sage.

    Lu Yin had essed many of Long Ke¡¯s memories, and he had learned of too many things that were kept hidden from most people. At this point in time, Lu Yin simply knew too much about Long Ke.

    However, none of those details were as important as what he had learned about Star Alliance. Lu Yin had indeed learned how to break the restriction, but unfortunately, while it was indeed simr to the Sealed Cage Technique that Lu Yin was familiar with, the restriction ced on the members of Star Alliance required the joint efforts of representatives of all four ruling powers in order to be removed. This meant that Long Ke only knew a quarter of what Lu Yin needed.

    This was a precaution set in ce by the four ruling powers to safeguard against any one group being able to fully seize control of Star Alliance.

    Regardless of who they were or why they had been controlled, everyone in Star Alliance was an Envoy. One or two Envoys was nothing scary, but ten or twenty was terrifying. Not a single one of the four ruling powers had that many Envoys, let alone anyone else.

    Anyone who managed to gain total control of Star Alliance would be capable of utterly crushing every other power in the Perennial World, at least within the Envoy realm or below. That was not something that the four ruling powers wanted to see happen.

    Since they each knew that it was impossible for them to gain sole control of Star Alliance, it was only natural for the four ruling powers to put precautions in ce and split the control four different ways. Not only did this prevent any one power from controlling an army of Envoys, but it also prevented anyone from being able to save the members of Star Alliance. The four ruling powers would never take the risk of underestimating the remnants still loyal to the Lu family.

    This knowledge gave Lu Yin a headache. The White Dragon n only possessed a quarter of the required knowledge, which meant that Lu Yin needed to obtain the matching bits of knowledge from the other three families. Shenwu''s Sky was already a possibility. Xia Zhitong had ess to Xia Yuan, and through that man, it might not be impossible for Lu Yin to acquire the necessary information from Shenwu¡¯s Sky. However, what about the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family?

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Wang Su, but she was still incarcerated at the Heavens Sect. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had not kept her confined to Zenith Mountain. Wang Yi was in the same ce, which made the Wang family the most difficult of the four ruling powers for Lu Yin to approach.

    This was also just Star Alliance. Lu Yin had purposely gone through Long Ke¡¯s memories of Crimson Garden as well, and while the ce seemed simple, it was anything but. It might appear simple to break the prisoners free, as long as a person could get inside, but Crimson Garden was not merely the prison for the survivors of the Lu family. It was also Bai Xian''er''s personal garden. If anything happened to Crimson Garden, Bai Xian''er would be the first to know.

    No one actually knew just how terrifying Bai Xian''er¡¯s strength was. While she was someone from the same generation as the Seven Heroes, which made her Long Ke''s junior, who in the Perennial World would actually dare to treat the woman as a junior? Her cultivation was beyond what people couldprehend, and there were rumors that she had already be a Semi-Progenitor. Long Ke had once even heard Grand Elder Ni Huang mention that Bai Xian''er was unfathomable and that he would rather fight Wan Zhiyi than Bai Xian''er.

    Long Ke firmly believed the grand elder¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin also absolutely believed the same, though not because of Long Ke''s memories. Instead, Lu Yin¡¯s beliefs stemmed from when he had seen Bai Xian''er''s eyes peer down from the Perennial World during his breakthrough to be an Envoy. Also, the finger that had intimidated Arch-Elder Zen hade from Bai Xian''er.

    The woman was absolutely an enemy of the Lu family, but Lu Yin had no idea exactly what her role in the exile of the Lu family had been. At that time, the Lu family had been at their peak, so what could Lu Yin hope to aplish on his own?

    If Lu Yin wanted to save anyone, he had to save them all at the same time. If he first rescued the members of Star Alliance, then his enemies would make preparations to protect Crimson Garden. This made things very difficult, and the four ruling powers were not led by fools.

    Lu Yin kept considering different options and possibilities. He knew that it would have been best to bring Wang Wen and Wei Rong to the Perennial World to help him with these efforts, as both of them excelled at convoluted plots.

    Should he roll the die again? Lu Yin considered other options, but he decided to continue. His second time rolling Possession had allowed him to Possess Long Ke, and there was also the possibility of Possessing Xia Xing, Wang Zheng, or Bai Teng within a few more Possessions. It was also possible that he might be able to gather more information about Crimson Garden.

    Wait. Lu Yin quickly checked his cosmic ring. He had Possessed Long Ke for a very long time, and Lu Yin had no idea how much this Possession had cost him.

    After a single nce, Lu Yin''s face was twitching. 90 billion. A full 90 billion star essence had been consumed. He felt the blood dripping from his heart. This was just too expensive! How much longer had Lu Yin spent Possessing Long Ke than Liu Yijian?

    Lu Yin swallowed, and then he set one of his cosmic rings to the side. Despite the painful cost, he knew that Possessing Long Ke had absolutely been worth the price. After all, the Possession hadsted a very long time, and Long Ke was also currently on Dragon Mountain in the Higher Realm. The distance to Long Ke was iparable to Liu Yijian¡¯s, who was in the Middle Realm. It did indeed make sense for the Possession to have cost that much.

    Despiteforting himself with such assurances, Lu Yin still felt very unhappy about burning through so much of his wealth. He would absolutely force Long Ke to eventually repay this expense. Also, Lu Yin had learned the location of Long Ke''s personal stash, and there would absolutely be some wealth stored there.

    Lu Yin continued to roll his die while his mind wandered, and he did not pay much attention to what he was doing. The roll that had gotten Lu Yin hisst Possession had actually been his fourth roll, and he just continued with a fifth.

    He was struck by terrible pain. He felt as though his head was being torn apart.

    Regardless of how much Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation had improved, he had never been able to roll his die more than four times in a row. The fifth roll was always more than what he could endure, though the bacsh this time was less severe than it had been in the past. After all, Lu Yin was able to retain consciousness the entire time, and he had at least not been knocked out by the bacsh.

    It was a long time before Lu Yin was able to recover.

    Once he did, he noticed Kui Luo approaching, so Lu Yin stepped out from the sourcebox array.

    "Xia Yuan¡¯s already arrived in Yu City and met up with Xia Zhitong," Kui Luo stated.

    Lu Yin nodded and looked towards Yu City. "Let¡¯s see just how many times Xia Zhitong can endure the pain of failure."

    Inside Yu City, Xia Zhitong finally met with Xia Yuan. In recent days, she had been so frantic that she had grown haggard, and rumors had started to spread about her. It had be known that she had not taken a single man to warm her bed, and she had even driven them away instead. Each incident had left her extremely irritable.

    Many people imed that she had fallen ill with some kind of incurable disease, while others said that she had gone insane. There were even rumors that imed that Xia Zhitong had been attacked. Yu City was experiencing a great deal of turmoil.

    As for the real reason why Xia Zhitong had been so out of sorts, it was not only because of the restrictions that had been ced on her body like a curse, but also because she had aged a bit. After she had asked Xia Feng to help her, the man¡¯s failure had not crushed Xia Zhitong¡¯s spirits. Butter,she had discovered that her eyes had dimmed a bit, and her hair had slightly withered and faded slightly.

    This was the discovery that had broken the woman, and she had not dared to allow herself to be seen by anyone. It was only then that she remembered Yu Hao¡¯s warning, and that the poison would not only keep her from touching men. He really had condemned her to the worst torture imaginable.

    However, the more Xia Zhitong thought about her situation, the more frightened she became. She had started to give in to despair as she had waited for Xia Yuan¡¯s arrival.

    When he finally saw Xia Zhitong, Xia Yuan frowned. "Why has your appearance changed?"

    Xia Zhitong''s face twisted horribly, and she dropped her head. When she spoke, her voice was a bit hoarse. "Xia Feng wasn¡¯t able to help me, so there¡¯s no reason for you to try to help. I just want you to help me get back to Shenwu''s Sky so that I can participate in the ceremony to honor our ancestors."

    Xia Yuan frowned. "I told you that I would help you. What could Yu Hao have possibly done?"

    "Not even Xia Feng could help me!" Xia Zhitong screamed, her eyes bloodshot. She was losing her mind. It had already been more than half a month since she hadst touched a man, and on top of that, her body was aging rapidly. She was on the verge of copse.

    Xia Yuan''s expression grew cold. "Xia Feng simply didn¡¯t want to help you. Do you really believe that Yu Hao is capable of standing up to someone with my strength? Not even Shenfei is capable of that."

    "I am going to the ceremony." Xia Zhitong stared at Xia Yuan, her eyes filled with insanity.

    "You''re crazy. I¡¯ll just deal with it for you." Xia Yuan was growing increasingly annoyed.

    Xia Zhitong kept trying to escape. "Don''t touch me! I don''t want your help! I want to see Semi-Progenitor Zihuan! Only a Semi-Progenitor can save me!"

    Xia Yuan finally lost his temper. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous! Do you think that you qualify to see a Semi-Progenitor? Let me see what sort of poison you¡¯ve been afflicted with."

    As he spoke, Xia Yuan grabbed hold of Xia Zhitong. He was far stronger than her, and she could not escape at all.

    Things turned out exactly the same as when Xia Feng had tried to help. Xia Yuan was unable to do anything, and he quickly released the woman.

    Xia Zhitong screamed nonstop. "I told you that it''s useless! You hurt me! You want me to die and to grow old! You want me to turn ugly and end up as the biggest joke in the entire Perennial World! Fine, I won¡¯t go down easy!"

    Xia Yuan''s eyes flickered. How had Yu Hao managed to pull off such a thing? Xia Yuan waspletely helpless. Did he need to ask a six-tribtion expert to step in?

    Xia Zhitong''s clothes had gotten messed up, and she was not as elegant looking as earlier. She red at Xia Yuan like a madwoman. "I want to see a Semi-Progenitor! Only a Semi-Progenitor can save me! Let me see Semi-Progenitor Zihuan! If I die, people will believe that the remnants of the Lu family are behind my death, which will cause your entire n to fail! On top of that, you¡¯ll have to take the me for the sake of the family and be ridiculed by all four ruling powers!"

    Xia Yuan''s voice turned cold. "Do you think that your death can actually threaten me?"

    Xia Zhitong sneered. "I always knew you were ruthless, dear Uncle. Did you actually believe me to be dumb enough to believe you? Do you think that I don''t already know what the entire family thinks of me? I''ve already put ns into motion, and as soon as I die, everyone will learn that the remnants of the Lu family are responsible¡ªI can promise you that."

    Xia Yuan¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously as he stared at Xia Zhitong. "You allowed such rumors to spread outside?"

    Xia Zhitongughed herself hoarse. "That¡¯s just the beginning! I already worked with you to make sure that the story of the Yu family¡¯s fall intimidated the entire Perennial World. Even back then, I prepared a back-up n. The list of people who were killed, as well as everyone who¡¯s ever slept with me, will be leaked throughout the Perennial World even faster than the Yu family¡¯s story!

    "My reputation is already ruined, so I don¡¯t even care about it. Don¡¯t think that I won¡¯t drag the Xia family¡¯s reputation down with me!"

    Xia Yuan became so enraged that he raised a hand to crush Xia Zhitong and kill her, but the woman just let out a crazedugh. "Go ahead, kill me! I¡¯m already like this anyways. But if I die, the Xia family''s reputation will also be ruined, and you¡¯ll never be able to find Yu Hao! He was already able to do this to me, and he can do the same to you!"

    Xia Yuan''s heart dropped. It was true that Yu Hao had ess to some strange poison that even Xia Yuan and Xia Feng were unable to do anything about. Thus, it was highly likely that he had other means as well.

    The reputation of the Xia family was important, and inparison, Xia Zhitong¡¯s death was worth nothing at all. Xia Yuan could not afford to do anything that might impact the current delicate bnce, and absolutely nothing that could improve the reputation of the Lu family could be allowed to happen. If Xia Yuan did do such a thing, then he would be doomed. He did not want to die with this madwoman.

    "You¡¯re insane if you think that you can threaten my family." Xia Yuan lowered his hand, the anger draining from his voice.

    Xia Zhitong mocked the man. "What? You¡¯re not going to kill me?"

    Xia Yuan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "I will allow you to worship our ancestors and see Semi-Progenitor Zihuan, but you better understand what can be said and what cannot. Also, Yu Hao has to be found. We have to get rid of him."

    Xia Zhitong''s eyes shed with a sinister light as she gritted her teeth. "Don''t worry about that. I¡¯ll get rid of him! I¡¯ll force him to endure the worst torture in the world! I¡¯ll pay him back a thousand times over for what he¡¯s done!"

    From outside the Yu family estate, Lu Yin watched everything, enjoying it as though he were watching a performance.

    Kui Luoughed. "What do you think? It wasn¡¯t a waste of time for me to call you out for this, was it? That was a good show!"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "It wasn¡¯t bad, but unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t able to make an appearance. That would have made it even better."

    Kui Luo let out his oddugh. "What do you think about joining the Xia family¡¯s ceremony?"

 Chapter 2183: Virtue District

    Chapter 2183: Virtue District

    Lu Yin looked upwards towards the Higher Realm. Xia Zhitong had been invited to the ceremony for the Xia family to pay their respects to their ancestors. Thus, it would only be natural for her husband to attend as well. However, Lu Yin was worried about running into the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor and being discovered. He would have to think of a different way.

    "Well, this show¡¯s over. Now, you get toe watch one that I¡¯ll be directing," Kui Luo stated.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What show am I supposed to see now?"

    Kui Luo smiled, but he actually looked upset. "That old man, the God of Food, mocked me and imed that I¡¯d ruin things for his Virtue Archives, so I¡¯m going to show him. Let¡¯s go visit Virtue Archives. Teaching and training others has always been my passion."

    Lu Yin felt that this sounded too odd, and he could not help but stare at Kui Luo for a moment. This guy wanted to teach and train people? That did not sound right at all.

    "Kid, what¡¯s with that look? Let me tell you, this old man is the best teacher that you¡¯ve ever seen!" Kui Luo felt frustrated by Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Alright then. I¡¯ll tag along for a while."

    In truth, Lu Yin would have visited Virtue Archives even without Kui Luo¡¯s encouragement. epting students to train was one of the few methods to openly and honestly join the four ruling powers. On top of that, Virtue Archives actually had the cultivation method for improving a domain to the void god level. The ability to touch upon the power of space through a domain might help Lu Yin reach an even higher level of mastery over the Ce Secret Art. On top of all that, he was also very curious about why the four ruling powers were so interested in Virtue Archives.

    It was time for Lu Yin to be an instructor, though he had no idea if he was actually qualified for the position.

    The Middle Realm consisted of nine districts, each with its own unique aspect. For example, the Yinshan District was extensive, but most of its territory was practically wilderness. In that region, people would get the chills if they left the cities and roamed the mountains.

    The Blue Moon District had received its name because it was the only ce in the Middle Realm from which it was possible to see Azure Hills in the Outer Realm. The looked like a full, blue-colored moon from below.

    At the moment, Lu Yin and his group were in the Virtue District, which had been given that name solely because of Virtue Archives¡¯ presence.

    "This Virtue District is different from both the Bifrost and the Yinshan District that I¡¯ve visited before, and it¡¯s also different from the Huaiyuan District." Lu Yin looked out at vast mountains and rivers that spread across thendscape he could see.

    After leaving Yu City and the Bifrost, Kui Luo had led the group towards Virtue Archives. They had only been traveling for half a day, but the distance that they needed to cover was about the same as traveling from the Outerverse to the Cosmic Sea in the Fifth Maind, and possibly even further than that.

    The Middle Realm alone was already muchrger than the entire Fifth Maind, but the Higher Realm was much smaller. As for the Lower Mortal Realm, it was thergest of the realms. After all, the Lower Realm was the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, and Lu Yin had no idea just howrge the ce actually was.

    He had never been able to see the Perennial World from outside, and he was not entirely clear on the size oryout of the ce.

    "Virtue Archives has been famous since ancient times. Even the four ruling powers are eager to send their descendants to study there, let alone the other families. Every single group in the Middle Realm pays attention to Virtue Archives, and talented youths flock there from every direction. Everyone¡¯s eagerness to enter that ce has led to the entire Virtue District prospering, and it¡¯s a busy region." Elder Qing Xing introduced the area with Lu Yin, who had brought him out to question the man.

    Kui Luo grew nostalgic. "Thinking back, I also came to study in Virtue Archives, but I found the ce too stiff and boring, so I just left."

    "So you couldn¡¯t pass the entrance exam." Lu Yin nced sideways at the old man.

    Kui Luo grinned. "Something like Virtue Archives means nothing to me. Old Luo and I were both invincible in this region in our time. How many beauties threw themselves at us? Hey, we might have been young, but we were unbeatable, and you have to cherish your youth fully. Otherwise, you¡¯ll wake up to find yourself with a house full of kids and grandchildren.¡±

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared, and after staring off into the distance, her eyes lit up. "I like this ce! It¡¯s got a youthful and energetic atmosphere, and people arepeting with each other everywhere."

    Lu Yin followed Progenitor Smoke''s gaze and saw several groups of youths fighting each other. They were using various different battle techniques and shouting things at each other. Many of the people nearby stopped to watch the fight, and beyond that fight, Lu Yin could make out a busy and vibrant city. It gave off a very different feeling from the other Perennial World cities that Lu Yin had seen.

    Lu Yin looked back at the people in sight, and then back at himself and his group. It was no wonder why he had felt something wrong as soon as they arrived in the Virtue District; all different styles of clothing and advanced technology could be seen everywhere, and it was too jumbled for Lu Yin¡¯s sight.

    Up ahead, a group of people were talking andughing as they traveled. It was a group of youths being escorted by some elders, but the guardians kept their distance.

    "Is this the time when Virtue Archives epts new students? Is that why there¡¯s so many people?" Lu Yin grew curious, so he asked about what they were observing as they traveled. As they moved closer to Virtue Archives, more and more people filled the area, and things were bing quite busy and crowded.

    Elder Qing Xing replied, "Virtue Archives doesn¡¯t have a fixed period when they ept new students. Anyone under the age of forty is eligible to join, and they can join at any time, provided that they pass the entrance exam."

    Lu Yin wondered about something. "How are you supposed to have any sses if new students are constantly joining?"

    Elder Qing Xing answered, "That¡¯s something that I¡¯m not very clear on, as I never attended Virtue Archives myself."

    Virtue Archives was situated in the center of the Virtue District, while Lu Yin¡¯s group was passing by a city near the edge of the district. They were still quite a ways away from Virtue Archives, and even in this ce, they saw fiercepetition. Many people were selling information about old entrance exams, and others were training together and discussing how to enter the academy. There were also many people who used the guise of training or practice to draw in more business.

    Virtue Archives did not have very many students, but the academy¡¯s existence powered different businesses.

    "The young master of the Huaiyuan District¡¯s Fenghuo n¡¯s here!" someone eximed, which caused many people to nce over at the city gates.

    A burst of mes took on a shape that somewhat resembled a roaring red dragon. Out of the mes walked a young man with a determined expression and exceptionally sharp eyes. Everyone who looked at him seemed to grow a bit flustered, and they automatically looked away.

    There were at least a hundred people behind the young man, marching in unison and dressed in uniforms. mes surrounded each of them as well.

    Elder Qing Xing quickly provided an exnation, "The Fenghuo n is arge n in the Huaiyuan District, and they¡¯ve always had an Envoy head the family. They focus on me-based battle techniques, as well as military tactics. They¡¯re a powerful family."

    Lu Yin was uninterested, and their group quickly left the city. Lu Yin had only stopped by due to a bit of mild curiosity.

    They continued on and passed by many other cities on their way to Virtue Archives. They stopped in some to look around and skipped right by others. They saw many families and ns that were famous in their own region of the Middle Realm, though none of them couldpare to top families like the Liu family. Thus, Lu Yin had never encountered any of them during his time pretending to be Long Qi.

    Still, all of these families were able to produce at least moderately talented youths.

    It was impossible to rely on only the top powers of the Perennial World to produce enough powerful cultivators for the future. In fact, the small and medium-sized families and sects raised the greatest number of cultivators in the Perennial World.

    "Kid, I¡¯m heading out. That old God of Food genuinely believes that Virtue Archives is a virtuous ce, and I¡¯m going to unearth any bit of scandal I can find and expose it." Kui Luo was very excited as he left. Virtue Archives had at least two Semi-Progenitors around, which meant that even Kui Luo needed to be cautious. He intended to check the ce out first and see what secrets he could uncover.

    There was no way that Lu Yin could stop the old man, as this was Kui Luo¡¯s entire goal when he had suggested that Lu Yin visit Virtue Archives.

    Elder Qing Xing was put back in Zenith Mountain while Tong Yu was left to explore on her own, the same as Kui Luo. Lu Yin would not arrive at Virtue Archives with any sort of escort, and he would bepletely alone. Well, he still had Progenitor Smoke in the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

    Lu Yin had initially nned to head straight into Virtue Archives, but he was first distracted by a distant stellr tribtion, so he headed over to check it out. He had not expected to run into someone attempting a breakthrough.

    It was a quick and small tribtion, which proved that the person who had triggered the stellr tribtion was not particrly powerful. They were nowhere close to the level that Lu Yin had been when he had first be an Envoy. This person was a rtively average cultivator, though that also suggested that they had a low chance of sessfully passing the tribtion. Surprisingly, the person survived, and even more unexpectedly, Lu Yin was familiar with the person who had triggered the stellr tribtion.

    Lan Gui had just be an Envoy.

    When Qing Chen had escorted Lu Yin to Dragon Mountain, Aeternus had simultaneouslyunched an attack on the rear battlefield while also attacking the Higher Realm. This had activated the sourcebox array Ceaseless Impetus, and Lu Yin had fought against Redbacks side by side with Lan Gui.

    The man was arrogant, cruel, and ruthless. He had attacked many people from the four ruling powers, though he had not killed any of them. Rather, he had simply left them all badly injured. This had caused Lan Gui to eventually be a target for the four ruling powers to send their youths after as a training target.

    Despite Lan Gui¡¯s cruelty and pettiness, Lu Yin still respected the man due to his all-out efforts to defend the sourcebox array. Such a person was much better than dealing with hypocrites.

    After seeing that Lan Gui was absorbing stellr energy and that his tribtion had finished, Lu Yin nced around. He saw quite a crowd of people had gathered here, though some of them seemed to have malicious intentions.

    Right as Lu Yin noticed this, someone suddenly attacked, going after Lan Gui right away. "Lan Gui, you¡¯re done for! Enlighters can be considered juniors who are trying to gather experience, but now that you¡¯ve be an Envoy, I¡¯m free to kill you myself!"

    Lan Gui was not looking great at this moment. His clothes were tattered, and he looked rather miserable, though no fear could be seen in his eyes. "A group of shameless old people have been keeping an eye on me and waiting for me to break through. I finally did that, so let¡¯s see whether you can actually kill me!¡±

    As the man spoke, he pulled out two short spears and thrust them both forward in a vicious attack. The spears disappeared, entering the true universe. When they reappeared, they stabbed at Lan Gui¡¯s attacker from apletely different direction.

    Lan Gui¡¯s innate gift was a blue fish, and it allowed him to enter and freely move through the true universe even as an Enlighter. This meant that the true universe was nothing new to him; all that had changed was that he no longer needed help to enter the true universe.

    However, Lan Gui¡¯s opponents were no longer Enlighters, but also Envoys. In particr, the person targeting Lan Gui was an Envoy who had been watching the man for a long time.

    The attacker was an old man, and his eyes darted from side to side, instantly spotting Lan Gui¡¯s attacks. Purple-gold mes covered the old man¡¯s body as he shot into the sky. The terrifying temperatures of the mes burned the void and even warped the true universe. One of the short spears melted the moment it came into contact with the mes, and Lan Gui instantly abandoned the spear and started retreating.

    The old man reached a hand into the true universe and grabbed at Lan Gui.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This old man showed a great deal of skill in manipting stellr energy. He had managed to deal with Lan Gui¡¯s attack without suffering any retaliation from the true universe, which indicated that the old man was a very experienced Envoy. Furthermore, the purple-gold mes were a clear indication that he was someone from the Undying Bird¡¯s bloodline, which in the Perennial World, meant that this old man was a member of the Purple-Gold family.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only impression of that family was Jin Feiyuan, the man who had been defeated in front of Hope Restaurant. After Lu Yin¡¯s identity was exposed, Jin Feiyuan had been ordered by the Xia family to go after Lu Yin and take back the power vessel that Lu Yin had stolen. However, the man had been dealt with by a single p from Lu Yin. He probably had not been weed back warmly by his family.

 Chapter 2184: Yes And No

    Chapter 2184: Yes And No

    This old man was clearly a member of the Purple-Gold family. Even though he was only a one-tribtion Envoy, he had obviously been an Envoy for a long time, and he had also been watching Lan Gui for quite some time. While Lu Yin did not know exactly why, Lan Gui was unable to escape from the old man.

    Purple-gold mes burned Lan Gui, and he fled from the true universe in humiliated defeat. The old man sneered. "Behave yourself and help my Purple-Gold family gain some fame. That way, you can at least die quickly."

    mes covered Lan Gui.

    The man grew pale and gritted his teeth. He transformed into a blue fish and managed to dodge with a nearly unbelievable movement before fleeing into the distance.

    However, two more attacks appeared from the direction that Lan Gui fled in. While the two attackers were only Enlighters, they were using impressive power vessels, and they were also cooperating to cut off Lan Gui¡¯s escape path.

    While the Enlighters were unable to attack Lan Gui in the true universe, they were able to destabilize things with their power vessels.

    The old man''s expression turned cold. "You actually want to resist?"

    mes surged and spread out, covering an entire region of the sky as a purple-gold phoenix appeared. An endless sea of fire fell, but these mes did not burn the true universe. Instead, only the void was incinerated, though the temperature was more than what Lan Gui could bear, and he was forced to show himself. When he appeared, he spat outrge amounts of blood, which was instantly burned away by the mes.

    Everyone watching the battle pulled back. "The Purple-Gold family¡¯s been chasing after this guy for a long time. He¡¯s targeted a lot of the talented youths from many powerful families, including the Purple-Gold family."

    "The Celestial Frost Sect actually has the biggest grudge against him, as he injured several of their disciples."

    "The Celestial Frost Sect can''t lower themselves to go after Lan Gui, but the Purple-Gold family is different. That old man is from an older generation of the Purple-Gold family, and he¡¯s focused on observing Lan Gui. He even forced Lan Gui to attempt his breakthrough. That man will never let Lan Gui escape. There¡¯s no chance at all. If Lan Gui manages to escape, the old man will just follow and trap him again. There¡¯s nothing that Lan Gui can do anymore."

    Lu Yin frowned as he heard the nearby conversations. The Purple-Gold family was acting like a bully. While Lan Gui certainly had his own issues, Lu Yin had fought together with the man, and therefore, he wanted to give him a hand.

    At this moment, a stern shout echoed, "Third Uncle, please show some mercy and leave this to me."

    Everyone looked over and saw a phoenix flying over from the distance. The creature transformed into a young man. After the transformation, the young man instantly moved towards Lan Gui. The purple-golden mes that covered the young man¡¯s body merged into a sword that shed down.

    Lan Gui gritted his teeth. This was truly despicable. The Envoy had not removed his own sea of mes, and they were suppressing him as the young man from the Purple-Gold family attacked. While not exactly cooperating, the two were clearly treating Lan Gui as a trophy to improve the young man¡¯s fame.

    Not a single youth from any of the four ruling powers had been able to kill Lan Gui, and yet, he was going to be killed by some kid from the Purple-Gold family now.

    This was also why the Purple-Gold family had spent so much effort tracking Lan Gui and studying him. It was not simply because of the grudges that had built up between Lan Gui and the family, but also because they had ulterior motives.

    Lan Gui gritted his teeth. Blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth as he used his full strength to retreat. The young man¡¯s sword missed, so he lifted it once again and shed sideways. The de¡¯s mes tore Lan Gui¡¯s stomach open, and a scorching pain prated his abdomen.

    The new Envoy raised a hand to grab the sword of purple-gold mes, and stellr energy broke down the star energy. At the same time, Lan Gui stretched his other hand out to break into the true universe.

    A cold expression covered the face of the old man from the Purple-Gold family, and mes seeped into the true universe, burning Lan Gui yet again.

    Half of Lan Gui''s body was burned. As he watched on, the ming sword stabbed into him, though there was no blood to be seen as it was all incinerated by the mes.

    "Despicable!" Lan Gui roared.

    The young man from the Purple-Gold family just sneered. "Just know that you died to Jin Chongshan!"

    The sword swept out once again, clearly with the intention of bisecting Lan Gui.

    However, the Purple-Gold family had still underestimated Lan Gui. The man had been able to escape from the four ruling powers¡¯ elite disciples many times in the past, and even one of the four Junior Progenitors had failed to capture the man.

    That record was also why Lu Yin did nothing. Lan Gui was already using an odd power vessel.

    Lu Yin was not exactly sure how the power vessel worked, but every attack suddenly missed Lan Gui. For example, the mes from the old man from the Purple-Gold family had seemingly burned half of Lan Gui''s body, seriously injuring him and leaving him on death¡¯s door. However, in reality, the mes had only affected Lan Gui¡¯s left arm.

    As for Jin Chongshan¡¯s attack, the difference was even more absurd, as the young man¡¯s sword had only pierced the skin of Lan Gui''s arm, not delivering any real harm at all.

    Lan Gui had looked practically dead, but a moment of carelessness on the part of Jin Chonshan and the old man allowed Lan Gui to transform into a blue fish and escape. He was moving more than twice as fast as before. Before fleeing, the man had even left behind a mysterious sourcebox array and activated it. The array caused the nearby space to shift, and an irresistible force pushed the old man and Jin Chongshan away.

    Lu Yin watched as Lan Gui fled. While the man had had two directions avable to him, he unluckily chose the wrong one.

    Lan Gui fled through the true universe in the form of a blue fish, continuing on in one direction. He passed by one person after another, when suddenly, he felt a chill. A pair of eyes had locked onto him, though they also seemed indifferent. Even worse, there was a vague, sharp feeling that overcame Lan Gui. It was the feeling of a sharp de or sword.

    A thousand meters in front of him stood a young man. The young man had a sword on his back, and he was staring at Lan Gui, despite clearly only being an Enlighter. The young man was able to see into the true universe, and the fact that he could see the blue fish unnerved Lan Gui.

    The man had skirted death too many times and been chased and attacked often enough that he trusted his instincts. Despite not being an Envoy, Lan Gui could sense that this young man could kill him.

    The words "Junior Progenitor level" flitted through Lan Gui''s mind, and he immediately turned and fled in a different direction while keeping an eye on the young man, worried that he would release a sudden attack.

    The young man never moved at all, and he simply watched as Lan Gui fled.

    However, because Lan Gui was forced to change direction, he was briefly dyed. Even if it had only been a moment, it was more than long enough for an Envoy.

    Purple-gold mes filled the sky once again, and a ray of unimaginable heat pierced through the air to strike Lan Gui. This heat ray was more terrifying than any other attack that had been used so far, and it came close to the level of a two-tribtion Envoy.

    Lan Gui had literally just broken through to be Envoy, and he had also been injured by his stellr tribtion. After what he had already endured in the battle, he was helpless to do anything against this attack except watch as it approached.

    Right behind the burning ray, a sword sh streaked through the sky. The young swordsman who had stood in Lan Gui¡¯s way had taken action. The man was determined to be the one to eliminate Lan Gui. In fact, if not for the man having been treated as a training dummy for the four ruling powers¡¯ youths, the swordsman would have cut the clown down long ago. The time had finallye.

    The Lan Gui¡¯s pupils constricted as he stared at the approaching attacks. It felt like the heat was going to melt his body. Death was approaching.

    Everyone believed that Lan Gui was as good as dead. However, right when the burning ray and the sword sh were about tond, practically close enough to stab Lan Gui between the eye, they both vanished. Instead, Lan Gui was treated to the sight of a nk expression on Jin Chongshan''s face. What had just happened?

    Jin Chongshan was not the only confused one, as the old man from the Purple-Gold family and everyone else around felt simrly befuddled. What had just happened?

    Lu Yin had interfered.

    A wax doll stood on his shoulder. He had just used Truesight to erase the phoenix mes and the sword sh. This was the Infinity realm of Truesight, though not one person knew it. No one had been able to sense anything at all, so no one knew Lu Yin had taken action.

    Lan Gui and Jin Chongshan were less than a meter apart, each staring nkly at the other.

    Jin Chongshan stared at Lan Gui. "What did you just do?"

    Lan Gui¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he simply turned around and left without saying a single word.

    Jin Chongshan reflexively attacked, but his mes could no longer manifest, as they were suppressed by some mysterious power. The feeling of helplessness caused the young man to feel a moment of panic, and he turned to the old man from the Purple-Gold family. "Third Uncle, what-?"

    The old man cut the young man off with a raised hand. He looked around the area, a somber expression on his face. "The Purple-Gold family¡¯s Jin Wan sought out Lan Gui to exact revenge. If I have offended some senior, I beg for your understanding. If Senior is protecting Lan Gui, please make this matter known. My Purple-Gold family is always willing to show respect for those with true strength, but we also always hope to know the names of experts."

    There was no answer.

    The old man continued to nce around. There were hundreds of people in the surrounding area. He saw Explorers, Hunters, and even a few Enlighters. All of these cultivators were people whom Jin Wan could instantly see through.

    Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a certain face. This was not because of the individual¡¯s strength, but rather because of the face itself. It was so handsome that itpletely stood out from everyone else.

    Jin Wan stared at Lu Yin, and the young man who stood in front of Lan Gui also stared at Lu Yin. It wasn''t that they could see through Lu Yin''s attack, but rather that Lu Yin was too prominent and good-looking. While it was natural to check someone¡¯s cultivation base, it was generally considered ill-mannered to continue trying after failing to see through it at a nce.

    Lu Yin had not bothered to hide his true cultivation. While he was not sure what he would do after arriving at Virtue Archives, his n consisted of waiting to see what would happen. So, there was no need for him to pretend to be an average cultivator. He had absolutely no worries about being discovered after saving Lan Gui.

    However, Lu Yin had never even considered that he would be discovered in such a mundane manner. There were clearly some downsides to being too handsome.

    "Might I trouble you for your name, Senior?" Jin Wan asked as he stared at Lu Yin. Although the old man¡¯s words were polite, his tone was not very respectful. While Jin Wan was not able to see through the young man, appearances could be changed. It was possible that this handsome youth had been the one to interfere in matters, but regardless, from Jin Wan¡¯s perspective and age, there was no way that the person he was addressing was some old monster.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Hao Yu."

    "Were you the one who saved Lan Gui?" Jin Wan asked.

    A short distance away, Jin Chongshan was staring at ¡°Hao Yu,¡± and he could not help but speak up. "Third Uncle, it couldn¡¯t be him! He-"

    "Shut up," Jin Wan ordered.

    Lu Yin smiled. "If that¡¯s what you think."

    Jin Wan felt puzzled. "What do you mean, Senior? Yes means yes and no means no."

    Lu Yin replied, "I might have, or I might not have. It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not."

    Jin Wan frowned. This person was not saying anything at all. Was he being deliberately antagonistic towards the Purple-Gold family, or did he simply not care at all about them? Jin Wan could not be sure. If this seemingly young man was the one who had interfered, then what had he done? Just how powerful was he?

    "Who is your master? Might they know of my Purple-Gold family? We can speak of old times, since we¡¯ve met each other today," Jin Wan offered politely.

    Lu Yin dismissed the offer with a hand. "I don¡¯t have any master, as I¡¯m just an independent cultivator. I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ve never had anything to do with your Purple-Gold family, so if that¡¯s all, then I¡¯ll head out now. We can speak again in the future."

    Lu Yin then made it clear that he was about to leave.

    Jin Wan¡¯s fingers twitched, as he wanted to stop the handsome youth from leaving, but caution stopped the old man. He worried that this unknown individual might be much stronger than what he appeared to be, and Jin Wan did not want to risk offending a powerhouse.

    At the same time, this day¡¯s events had been nned out a long time in advance by the Purple-Gold family. They wanted to use Lan Gui¡¯s death to help Jin Chongshan gain a great deal of fame. Jin Wan would not have an easy time of things when he returned and exined what had happened, and the Purple-Gold family could easily be treated as a joke after this.

    Jin Wan continued to hesitate.

    Lu Yin moved to leave, and in the end, Jin Wan did not stop him, as he was still struggling with indecision. While the old man was vaciting, the young Enlighter realm swordsman appeared in ¡°Hao Yu¡¯s¡± path. "Liu Que requests Senior¡¯s teachings."

 Chapter 2185: Young And Promising

    Chapter 2185: Young And Promising

    "Liu Que?" someone eximed, staring at the swordsman in disbelief.

    Jin Wan also looked over in surprise. Liu Que? Was it really him?

    Jin Chongshan was absolutely shocked. Could this really be Liu Que?

    Liu Que was a youth from the Liu family that controlled the Sword Monument, and he was exceptionally arrogant. He constantly stayed near the Sword Monument, and he was one of the rare individuals who had free and unlimited ess to the Sword Monument. Additionally, Liu Hao was the Liu family¡¯s contemporary of the Junior Progenitors, though he was a bit younger. Thus, Liu Que was widely regarded by the Liu family as a monstrous genius on the same level as the Junior Progenitors themselves. He was the pride of the family.

    Liu Que had never appeared in the outside world, which led to more and more rumors about him spreading, and they also grew increasingly exaggerated. The most famous story about Liu Que imed that he had defeated Liu Lu, who was from the same generation as Liu Hao, with a single attack. Even if his cultivation was notparable to Liu Hao¡¯s, he was still old enough where he should not have been easily defeated by a junior, not to mention in one attack.

    It was also said that Liu Que did not even need to use a sword, if he did not want to.

    Many people spected that the young man might have the strength to rival the four Junior Progenitors.

    "What kind of instruction?" Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled.

    Liu Que calmly stared at Lu Yin. "I will draw my sword, so please instruct me."

    As soon as he finished speaking, the young man¡¯s sword shot out of the scabbard on his back and floated in front of him. It looked like a verymon sword, aside from a noticeable characteristic: this sword was notched, and the notch was even at where the sharp tip of the sword should be.

    Lu Yin felt that he was quite proficient at swordsmanship. He had previously Possessed Liu Qianjue and learned the Thirteen Swords. Then, he had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument that allowed him to see through thousands of weapon techniques. Most recently, he had Possessed Liu Yijian, through whom Lu Yin had learned the sword techniques of the Liu family in the Perennial World. However, despite his abundant experience, Lu Yin had never encountered anything about someone using a notched sword.

    Before Possessing Liu Yijian, Lu Yin also had not known anything at all about Liu Que, though given theplicated nature of Liu Yijian¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had only learned a few details about the young swordsman.

    "Why is your sword notched?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Liu Que remainedpletely indifferent. "My name is Liu Que."1

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Was that supposed to be an exnation?

    In the distance, Jin Chongshan clenched a fist. While no one had ever seen Liu Que, the man¡¯s reputation had already surpassed countless people from his generation. Only people like those monsters from the four ruling powers couldpare to this young man, so Jin Chongshan was eager to see just how powerful Liu Que actually was.

    Everyone was excited to see Liu Que''s swordsmanship, and even Lu Yin was curious to see what sort of sword techniques would be employed by a sword without a tip.

    "Excuse my rudeness." Liu Que clenched the hilt of his sword and shed out, slicing through the void as the attack shot towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin was rather surprised. While he demonstrated rather impressive technique, this was clearly a probing attack, as itcked any real drive behind it. This was nothing more than an attack intended to draw out a reaction from Lu Yin, as there was no real sharpness to this sh. There was also some hesitation, and it was because Liu Que was not entirely certain that Lu Yin had helped Lan Gui escape, and the swordsman did not want to harm an innocent.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Hesitation ruins your sword technique."

    These words caused Liu Que¡¯s eyes to light up. This really was the right person.

    With that realization, Liu Que¡¯s sword transformed as all of his hesitation instantly vanished. This attack was clearly the same as before, but it now gave people apletely different impression, as the intent behind the de had changed.

    Lu Yin silently nodded. This person¡¯s mastery of the sword was extremely impressive. At the very least, Liu Que had surpassed Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s expertise with the sword while at the same age. Liu Tianmu¡¯s mastery of the Thirteen Swords wasparable to Liu Que¡¯s, but there was no guarantee that this was the swordsman¡¯s limits.

    Unfortunately for Liu Que, Lu Yin was done wasting time. Regardless of how impressive Liu Que¡¯s abilities might be, it was not enough to surprise Lu Yin.

    The sword sliced through Lu Yin, but nothing seemed to happen. Lu Yin simply said, ¡°Impressive,¡± but then his body disappeared. Liu Que had missed.

    "So fast!" someone eximed.

    "For sure! He actually dodged before the attacknded, and he left behind an afterimage that not even Liu Que realized was fake."

    "Did he maybe just enter the true universe?"

    Liu Que¡¯s expression grew serious as he heard the onlookersment on what had just happened, but the man had not used something as simple as speed to avoid the attack. Rather, he had locked down space. Just how was someone supposed to control something like space?

    Jin Wan''s expression turned ugly. He was lucky that he had not tried to make a move, as this person was actually able to control the power of space. This was an entirely different concept from simply being fast. Jin Wan would rather face an opponent whose speed was so impressive that he could not even see them move than face someone who could control the power of space. Anyone who could do that was someone who far, far surpassed Jin Wan¡¯s level.

    They were in the Virtue District, which was a ce where talented people from every part of the Perennial World gathered.

    The Purple-Gold family had a powerful obsession regarding the Virtue District, and this was because Virtue Archives had imprisoned both an Undying Bird and a Dark Undying Bird in order to create a ce that waspletely unique to Virtue Archives. The Purple-Gold family had spent countless years trying to get a family member into the higher ranks of Virtue Archives in order to save the Undying Bird, but all of their attempts had failed.

    There were too many strange people in the Perennial World.

    Liu Que sheathed his sword and turned to stare in a certain direction. Despite having no way of determining which direction his target had fled, given the fact that they were in the Virtue District, Virtue Archives was the most likely destination. Liu Que had intended to challenge people in Virtue Archives, but that was no longer necessary. Instead, it seemed like it would be worthwhile to actually join Virtue Archives himself.

    "Third Uncle, where did that person go?" Jin Chongshan asked. The crowd of onlookers was already starting to disperse, and only a few people remained at the site where Lan Gui had faced his stellr tribtion. These people were searching for tribtion crystals, and they would leave the moment they found any such treasures.

    Jin Wan softly answered, "I don''t actually know, but in the Virtue District, people are either going to Virtue Archives or leaving that ce. You might even run into him in the academy."

    Jin Chongshan was not stupid. "If even you couldn¡¯t see through him, then the man must be very powerful, Third Uncle."

    Jin Wan finally turned to look at Jin Chongshan. "You were supposed to enter Virtue Archives on this trip, which should be easy enough for you. However, remember this: after getting into Virtue Archives, if you meet that person again, absolutely, no matter what, do not offend him."

    Despite not being happy with how things had turned out, Jin Chongshan nodded. After all, their n to kill Lan Gui and gather a bit of fame had beenpletely ruined. "I understand, Third Uncle. That¡¯s not someone whom we can afford to cross."

    "I¡¯m d that you understand. Even though you are much stronger than Feiyuan, he¡¯s too arrogant and does not know how to hold back at all. He has a very limited view of things, and when he was defeated outside of Hope Restaurant, he responded with a sneak attack, which caused Shenwu¡¯s Sky to look down on him. In the end, he was struck down by a single attack from Lu Xiaoxuan. While we hope for you to restore the Purple-Gold family¡¯s reputation, the Perennial World has too many powerhouses, and our family can only survive by hiding in the cracks," Jin Wan exined with powerful emotions.

    Jin Chongshan lowered his eyes. Jin Feiyuan was his older brother, and when Jin Feiyuan had been younger, he had been allowed free ess to Shenwu''s Sky. This had caused Jin Feiyuan to grow arrogant and feel superior to his peers. However, his entire personality had changed after the incident at Hope Restaurant, and he had been so devastated upon his return to the Purple-Gold family that everyone had eventually forgotten all about him.

    Jin Chongshan had worked hard not only for his own sake, but also for Jin Feiyuan. His older brother had always treated Jin Chongshan very well, but unfortunately, Jin Chongshan had only been a child at the time of the incident. As such, he had been incapable offorting his older brother. After so many years, Jin Chongshan hoped to be able to cheer his brother up through his actions.

    News of what happened quickly spread through the Virtue District. Many people spoke about the incident over meals, and countless people spected over Lu Yin''s identity. After all, his face was just too handsome.

    Lu Yin spent a few days wandering around Virtue Archives, and after three days, he went to the location to officially enter the academy.

    The entirety of Virtue Archives was enveloped by a massive sourcebox array. It seemed somewhat simr to the Fifth Maind¡¯s hidden worlds, but even ordinary people were able to pass through this sourcebox array. After all, Virtue Archives was a ce that weed people from any background.

    Every cultivator started off as an ordinary human, and not all of Virtue Archives¡¯ students were cultivators; even ordinary people were allowed entry.

    Upon passing through the sourcebox array, one would officially enter Virtue Archives. Purple-gold mes zed in the sky overhead, all originating from an Undying Bird. Some distance away were a few younger students, exining something to a group that had just entered the sourcebox array.

    As Elder Qing Xing had said, Virtue Archives did not have a fixed period of time when new students were epted. Instead, people could take the entrance exam whenever they wished. Simrly, people were allowed to graduate at any time, as long as they possessed the required abilities. There were no limits ced on the strength of the applicants, and even Envoys were weed as students.

    After ncing around, Lu Yin walked over to the group of students. There was already a crowd of people gathered there, so Lu Yin¡¯s arrival created quite amotion.

    "Wow, what a handsome junior brother!" A cute, petite girl stared at Lu Yin with sparkling eyes.

    Many other people also looked at Lu Yin. There was no denying that Yu Hao¡¯s face was beyond exceptional, and even men were forced to admit that Yu Hao was incredibly attractive. He had a face that was a critical weakness to many women.

    This was in no way condescending to women, as it was no different from how many men were drawn to beautiful women. It was only natural that attractive people drew members of the opposite sex. It was simply that Yu Hao¡¯s attractiveness was at a rather ridiculous level.

    The students of Virtue Archives were staring nkly at Lu Yin, and one woman muttered to herself, "This is great! If he joins the academy, I won''t ever have to worry about being bored."

    One of the nearby male students gritted his teeth. "We can¡¯t let him join, or else the rest of us will all be ignored."

    "How dare you!" The woman shot the man a re as she yelled at him.

    The male student let out a contemptuous snort as he gave Lu Yin a decidedly unwee look. "Nothing but eye candy."

    Lu Yin did not have to wait long for his turn to speak to the students.

    "What''s your name, brother? If this is your first time visiting Virtue Archives, then let me show you around a bit, as we¡¯re all students here." As soon as the woman saw that it was Lu Yin¡¯s turn, she immediately turned up the charm.

    The man next to her became upset with her behavior, and he interrupted. "Even if he is admitted into the academy, what are you going to show him?"

    He immediately turned around, red at Lu Yin, and grew aggressive as he started questioning him. "Kid, what¡¯s your cultivation level? Hurry up and answer. There¡¯s no need to waste people¡¯s time."

    "Shen! Are you trying to cause trouble or something? This junior brother is already registered in my group, and no one can force him out." The female instantly started angrily scolding the man.

    However, the man just rolled his eyes. "Let''s see if he can even pass the entrance exam first. Then, we can talk about things. Good looks aren¡¯t enough to get in."

    "How rude! It¡¯s no wonder why Xiaofeng doesn''t like you."

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous! We¡¯re in love."

    "You''re the one being ridiculous! It doesn¡¯t matter how long you wait. Even if you wait till the end of time, Xiaofeng will always look down on you."

    "You-!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Actually, I¡¯m sorry to say, but I¡¯m not here to take the entrance exam."

    Both people turned as one to stare at Lu Yin. The woman was clearly disappointed, while the man¡¯s eyes lit up, thinking that Lu Yin was a coward. The male student grew even more aggressive. "You¡¯re not here to take the entrance exam? Then what are you doing here? Are you trying to stir up trouble?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''m here to be an instructor."

    ¡­

    On the top of a towering stone pir stood a courtyard. It looked very simple, but it was also very beautiful. It was the office of the current headmaster of Virtue Archives.

    Lu Yin was currently sitting in the quiet courtyard, enjoying some tea across from a white-haired old man with a childish face. This old man was Headmaster Wen, one of Virtue Archives¡¯ Semi-Progenitors.

    Headmaster Wen looked up from the invitation letter that he had been reading to observe Lu Yin yet again, as though trying to see through the young man.

    Lu Yin coughed.

    Headmaster Wen grew embarrassed, and he set the invitation down. "My apologies. I¡¯m not used to seeing this."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior God of Food asked this junior toe and act as an instructor, but I¡¯m not sure if a junior like me has the qualifications."

    Headmaster Wen smiled back. "Since you have an invitation from the God of Food, then you are naturally qualified. Prof. Hao Yu is both young and promising."

    [1] This is a terrible exnation, because the "Que" of his name means missingcking. A very bad pun. ?

 Chapter 2186: The Academy

    Chapter 2186: The Academy

    Lu Yin was unable to hide his cultivation level from a Semi-Progenitor, but fortunately, even Semi-Progenitors could not see through his Mask of Death. Otherwise, he would be in a great deal of trouble. However, he also would have imed to be a one-tribtion Envoy rather than a three-tribtion Envoy if that were the case. Lu Yin¡¯s true cultivation was honestly a bit ridiculous.

    Virtue Archives had two Semi-Progenitors, one of whom was the unfathomable God of Food who could attempt to break through to the Progenitor realm at any time. It was pointless for Lu Yin to hide his cultivation in front of such experts. If these two men wanted to do anything to Lu Yin, then not even Kui Luo or Progenitor Smoke could necessarily protect him from all harm.

    "In that case, Junior Hao Yu will officially join Virtue Archives." Lu Yin stood up and spoke to the old man in a respectful manner.

    Headmaster Wen waved a hand to dismiss Lu Yin¡¯sment. "We aren¡¯t overly strict here. In fact, you¡¯ll soon find out that our teachers are generally quite casual with our students, and their interactions are very rxed."

    Really? An odd expression covered Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he could not stop himself from looking outside.

    The stone pir that held the headmaster¡¯s office rose high into the sky above the rest of the academy. The pressure increased as one climbed the pir, which prevented most cultivators from ever reaching the top. The entire purpose behind this pressure was to prevent students from needlessly disturbing the headmaster.

    Virtue Archives was an academy. Thus, the students were all there to receive instruction. However, which instructors did the students want the most? Naturally, it would be the most powerful cultivator among the faculty, and the headmaster was a Semi-Progenitor. In order to avoid being constantly harassed by students, the headmaster had been left with no choice but to erect the pir and prevent most students from being able to reach him.

    Was this an example of the casual and rxed interactions between the students and faculty that Headmaster Wen was referring to?

    Letting out a dry cough, Headmaster Wen called someone over with hismunication crystal. Then, he told Lu Yin, "I¡¯ve just asked Prof. Zheng to show you around the academy and exin the ss schedule to you. He should be here soon."

    "I¡¯m sorry to cause an inconvenience."

    Headmaster Wenughed. "Prof. Hao Yu, you came to my Virtue Archives from the Zhan District just to be an instructor. I should be the one thanking you."

    Lu Yin and Headmaster Wen exchanged a few more niceties.

    Headmaster Wen made no overtures to test Lu Yin¡¯s identity, but Lu Yin did make a point to ask about Mr. Tang.

    "Are you referring to Tang Yao? Why? Are you interested in cultivating a domain?" Headmaster Wen asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior has reached the spirit manifestation level with my domain, but I have no idea how I can improve further. I was hoping to ask Mr. Tang for his advice while here in the academy."

    Headmaster Wen smiled. "You¡¯re a very direct person, Prof. Hao Yu. Don''t worry, in my Virtue Archives, it doesn¡¯t matter if one is a student or an instructor. If you wish to ask Mr. Tang for guidance, he usually won¡¯t refuse. Even I have asked him for advice regarding the void god realm before."

    "You also cultivate a domain, Senior?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Headmaster Wen replied, "Well, my Wen family has dabbled in literature in pursuit of the Progenitor realm. We do not only learn about cultivation, as everything that a person experiences in life contributes to their overall strength. A domain is nothing more than another form of strength."

    Lu Yin had heard something simr from Wen Diyi before. Upon thinking of the man, Lu Yin wondered what Headmaster Wen¡¯s reaction would be if he learned that Wen Diyi was currently imprisoned on Zenith Mountain in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring.

    Simrly, Lu Yin wondered what Wen Diyi¡¯s reaction would be if he learned that Lu Yin was joining Virtue Archives.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s mind was wandering, a serious-looking, middle-aged man entered the courtyard. Lu Yin looked over, and when the man saw Lu Yin, he was genuinely surprised to see such a handsome young man. The older man¡¯s first thought was about how the academy¡¯s students were all young. So, the arrival of such a good-looking man was guaranteed to create quite amotion.

    The man¡¯s next thought was to wonder which family was trying to get their descendant into Virtue Archives. The man hated such backroom dealings.

    "Headmaster." The man respectfully greeted Headmaster Wen.

    The Semi-Progenitor nodded. "Prof. Zheng, this is Hao Yu. Starting today, he¡¯ll be an instructor here at our academy. Show him around and exin the ss schedule, residences, and such things to him. Oh, and arrange for his residence to be ced between Mr. Tang and Prof. Xiao Wen¡¯s."

    Prof. Zheng was taken aback. Such a young man was to be an instructor? Prof. Zheng took a more careful look at Lu Yin, only to discover that he could not discern the young man¡¯s cultivation. Clearly, this person was not entering due to some backroom deal.

    "You want him to live between Mr. Tang and Prof. Xiao Wen? That won¡¯t work, as the instructors¡¯ meetings are arranged by seniority. ordingly, Prof. Xiao Wen should live next to Mr. Tang. Doing this will force Prof. Xiao Wen to have to move."

    Headmaster Wen replied, "That¡¯s fine. Just relocate Prof. Xiao Wen. He¡¯ll be happy just to see such a handsome young man, haha."

    Lu Yin blinked. What was that supposed to mean?

    Prof. Zheng was left speechless. "Very well, then I¡¯ll speak with Prof. Xiao Wen."

    He then turned and motioned for Lu Yin to follow him. "Prof. Hao Yu, I¡¯ll show you around the academy, so please follow me."

    Lu Yin remained polite. "I¡¯ll have to trouble you, Prof. Zheng."

    "It¡¯s no problem." Prof. Zheng led Lu Yin away from the stone pir, still without any hint of a smile on his face.

    Headmaster Wen fell into deep thought as he watched the two men leave his office. This young man with a connection to Kui Luo was truly young, but his cultivation was very impressive. In fact, not even the Junior Progenitors wereparable to this Hao Yu in terms of talent.

    However, there was one issue that Headmaster Wen was concerned about: the connection to Kui Luo. In spite of that, this young man was a perfect match for Xiao Zhao, both in appearance and cultivation. That girl¡¯s standards were simply too high, and she looked down on everyone. Headmaster Wen wondered if it might be possible for her to fall for this Hao Yu.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin and Prof. Zheng had already left the stone pir.

    "Prof. Hao Yu appears to be very young." Prof. Zheng offered apliment as he led Lu Yin away from the stone pir and onto a path that led through Virtue Archives.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m older than I look. I¡¯m nowhere close to the age of these students."

    Prof. Zheng nced sideways. Who wouldpare you with a student? The students are in their thirties, at most! Some of them are still teenagers!

    If someone qualified to be an instructor at Virtue Archives was really the same age as their students, then that person would have to be an absolute freak. Even more so since Prof. Zheng waspletely unable to see the new instructor¡¯s strength.

    Prof. Zheng showed Lu Yin many different ces around Virtue Archives. The academy¡¯s grounds were extensive, and they upied the entire central region of the Virtue District, epassing a third of it. Students could choose to live in the academy¡¯s wilderness, or next to the stone pir, which would ce them near the instructors.

    Lu Yin discovered that the headmaster was not the only faculty member who lived atop a stone pir, as many of the academy¡¯s instructors did the same.

    Virtue Archives did not have a set enrollment time for their students, so new students constantly joined. They were all generally excited about the future, looking forward to their time in the academy, and greatly admired the school¡¯s instructors. They often tried to approach the instructors to ask questions at all hours of the day, or simply to just establish a closer rtionship, which was too much for the instructors to handle.

    However, each instructor would set up their pir with a unique arrangement. Only Envoys could reach the top of Headmaster Wen¡¯s stone pir, while some mentors restricted ess to Explorers and Cruises, as they were unable to restrain Hunters or Enlighters. There were even pirs with no restrictions at all, but that usually meant one of two things. The instructor was either regarded as too annoying and willing to spend all of their time teaching students, or they were too weak to stop the majority of the students and thus simply did not bother.

    Earlier, Headmaster Wen had told Prof. Zheng to have Prof. Xiao Wen move, which was a humiliating thing to do. Virtue Archives only had so many stone pirs, and each one was made from special materials. As such, it was the only way for the instructors to demonstrate their strength. Being forced to move to another pir was no different than being ousted by another instructor, which was not fair to Prof. Xiao Wen.

    This was something that Lu Yin was still ignorant about, though he would soon learn, as he was expected to move into Virtue Archives that very day.

    "The academy uses thebined mes of an Undying Bird and a Dark Undying Bird to create this special region. The Undying Bird¡¯s mes can be seen during what we treat as daytime, and the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s mes are seen during the night. There are twelve periods, with three different timeslots for sses each day, as well as a free day once every six days. The academy has thirteen formal instructors, though with you joining, we now have fourteen. Each person is given one ss slot per week, and you are allowed to choose from the open timeslots, Prof. Hao Yu.

    "As for the other four days, you are free to either offer lectures or study on your own. The academy does not force students to attend any instructor¡¯s ss, as everything is entirely voluntary¡­"

    Prof. Zheng shared a great deal of information with Lu Yin, who listened without interrupting. An impression regarding Virtue Archives rapidly formed in Lu Yin¡¯s mind: freedom.

    "The instructors teach, and the students study and train. Each student is able to obtain corresponding credits based on the sses that they attend and the academy¡¯s requirements. Those credits can be used for many things, such as requesting permission to learn the academy¡¯s battle techniques, cultivation arts, secret techniques, or trading for things like power vessels. Credits can even be used to request individual instruction from a specific faculty member. Essentially, as long as it does not vite the academy¡¯s rules, credits can be used for just about everything."

    Thisst bit caught Lu Yin off guard. "Students can ask for individual instruction from faculty members?"

    Prof. Zheng nodded. "That¡¯s one of Virtue Archives¡¯ rules, and the instructors cannot refuse. Of course, the instructors are also offered great benefits for their time. While the students are given credits to use in the academy, the instructors are allowed to request the headmaster for favors."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, and excitement appeared in his eyes. This was an intriguing arrangement, as the headmaster was a Semi-Progenitor, someone who stood among the upper echelons of the entire Perennial World. Was it really possible to ask the headmaster for favors? What were the limits on that?

    The sound of wind blowing passed nearby, and Prof. Zheng and Lu Yin looked over to see a few people racing through the sky, clearly chasing after something.

    In front of them was a monkey-like creature, fleeing as it asionally looked back with a grimace.

    "Catch it, Senior Sister! If you can catch it, you¡¯ll be rewarded!" a girl shouted. There were several young teens racing behind her, also chasing after the monkey.

    The entire group shed by.

    Prof. Zheng then looked back at Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, do you have any questions regarding the rules about the academy¡¯s credits?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not. If I¡¯m joining the academy, I naturally need to follow the school¡¯s rules."

    Prof. Zheng was satisfied to hear this. In truth, he did not have a favorable opinion of Lu Yin. Hao Yu was simply too young and too good-looking to be an instructor at Virtue Archives. However, since the headmaster had approved of Hao Yu¡¯s participation, there was nothing that Prof. Zheng could do about it. At least the new instructor seemed to be obedient.

    Virtue Archives was an academy, so naturally, there were far more students than faculty members.

    Prof. Zheng led Lu Yin around on a tour, so it was only to be expected to meet some of the students. However, the situation quickly changed. As soon as the students saw Lu Yin, a group of female students started following behind the two men. Prof. Zheng scolded the students repeatedly, but his efforts werepletely useless.

    Lu Yin found the whole thing hrious.

    Prof. Zheng offered a word of warning. "Prof. Hao Yu, since you are now an instructor, you must respect the code of conduct for instructors. Throughout the countless years that my Virtue Archives has been in operation for, we have not once had any scandals or usations of impropriety, and I hope to see you conduct yourself ordingly."

    Lu Yin did not get upset. "There¡¯s no need to worry, Prof. Zheng. As an instructor, I know how to behave."

    Prof. Zheng felt that he might have gone too far with this warning. After all, Hao Yu had not done anything that had even hinted at misconduct, and his warning was a bit overboard. After thinking about it, Prof. Zheng offered an apology. "I¡¯m sorry, Prof. Hao Yu. I was a bit too serious."

    Lu Yin smiled at the man. "Prof. Zheng is clearly strict with himself as well, and you seem to be an excellent instructor. Your behavior is an shining example of how Virtue Archives has been able to endure and continue to grow for so long. There¡¯s no need to apologize."

    Prof. Zheng nodded, and then he nostalgically waxed, "The older generations must pass down the torch, and my academy works to cultivate talented youths. Endless numbers of our graduates have died on the frontlines, fighting against Aeternus¡¯s forces. My goal is not for Virtue Archives to grow, but simply to help humanity raise more geniuses. That¡¯s all there is to it, nothing more."

 Chapter 2187: Professor Hao Yu

    Chapter 2187: Professor Hao Yu

    Lu Yin decided to change topics. "Prof. Zheng, I¡¯ve heard that Virtue Archives has recently developed a much closer rtionship with the four ruling powers. Is that true?"

    The older teacher frowned. "Prof. Hao Yu, let me take you to see the Eighteen Lines Formation. It¡¯s one of Virtue Archives¡¯ most famous sights, and it is famous throughout the entire Perennial World. If you can break through all eighteen lines, you¡¯ll instantly be very famous, and many of the students will want to attend your sses."

    The man then immediately started moving in a specific direction.

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s back. Was he really not going to say anything at all? Apparently, there was some truth to the rumors of changes taking ce in Virtue Archives.

    That would have required the four ruling powers to put a great deal of pressure on the academy.

    "In what aspect do you excel, Prof. Hao Yu?" Prof. Zheng asked as they made their way towards the Eighteen Lines Formation.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Where do I excel?"

    "Of course. Instructors naturally teach sses about their own area of expertise. For example, Mr. Tang possesses an exceptional domain that has reached the void god level, and Prof. Xiao Wen focuses on the Literary Prison. Many studentse to Virtue Archives to study ancient characters, and the Literary Prison is an impressive battle technique that can serve as both offense and defense. As for Prof. Wei, he focuses on history and teaches sses on that subject. Our instructors don¡¯t necessarily teach sses about cultivation orbat."

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Where do you focus on, Prof. Zheng?"

    "Physicalbat is my specialty."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Aurelian force?"

    "Correct. I¡¯ve mastered aurelian force."

    This quite surprised Lu Yin. A ce as small as Virtue Archives certainly had many hidden dragons and tigers. Mr. Tang''s mastery of his domain had reached the void god level while Prof. Zheng had achieved aurelian force. This meant that the academy was able to guide their students to the peak in two different cultivation methods, and that was with only two instructors. There were also two Semi-Progenitors, as well as the academy¡¯s own resources, which included secret techniques, sourcebox arrays, lockbreaking guidance, and much more. Virtue Archives was clearly the best academy in the Perennial World, and it made sense that even the four ruling powers wanted to send their youths to study in the academy.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit longer. "I should focus on sparring and givingbat advice. I¡¯m able to see weaknesses in other people''s battle techniques quite clearly."

    This was a surprising response. Combat advice? That was not a small matter. Seeing the weaknesses in other people''s battle techniques? Virtue Archives boasted students from manyrge families and powerful sects, including even the four ruling powers themselves. Not even the headmaster would im to be capable of offering something likebat advice to all the students.

    Still, Prof. Zheng said nothing. He had merely been tasked with showing the new faculty member around Virtue Archives and exining the rules to him. As for what happened to the new instructor in the future, that was none of Prof. Zheng¡¯s concern. It was not unheard of for Virtue Archives to dismiss faculty members from the academy.

    As the two men spoke, they tore through the void to travel. It took them half a day to arrive at a location that was surrounded by several mountains. The mountains were tall, but there was nothing in the valley between them.

    At the front of the vale, a golden line hung sideways in the sky.

    Prof. Zheng led Lu Yin to one the peak of one of the mountains. "This is the Eighteen Lines Formation. It is one of the methods that we use to determine whether a student qualifies to graduate. Anyone who can break through five lines qualifies. Generally, breaking through five lines requires one to be at least a peak Explorer, or even a Cruiser."

    Lu Yin nodded in approval. "As expected of Virtue Archives. Only students with the strength of a peak Explorer are eligible to graduate. This really can¡¯tpare to other academies. In most ces, simply bing an Explorer means graduation, The requirements here can¡¯tpare."

    Lu Yin clearly remembered that the Astral Combat Academy simply required a student to be an Explorer in order to graduate. A fresh Explorer and a peak Explorer werepletely different concepts, as there was a five-fold difference in power level between those two.

    Prof. Zheng arrogantly answered, "All who are able to enter and study at Virtue Archives are elites, so there is typically no problem with our students graduating. The biggest difference is how they go about doing so. There are some people who stay within the academy for a long time even after being eligible for graduation, as they want to stay here and study longer. Many want to use the Eighteen Lines Formation to prove their qualifications, as doing so is a way to be more famous in the Perennial World."

    "I remember hearing that, decades ago, there was a student known as Wen Diyi. How many lines was he able to break through?" Lu Yin suddenly remembered something and decided to ask about it.

    Prof. Zheng froze for a moment before turning to look at Lu Yin. "You know Wen Diyi?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I was at Hope Restaurant years ago when he went there. I wanted to participate, but my age disqualified me. Still, I saw Wen Diyi there, and he was quite impressive."

    Lu Yin had no choice but to say that he had been too old to participate in the excursion to the Dominion Realm. Otherwise, it would ce him in the same generation as the four Junior Progenitors. Both Long Tian and Xia Shenfei had spent time in Virtue Archives, and it should be impossible for anyone to be a three-tribtion Envoy before the Junior Progenitors.

    Also, if Lu Yin¡¯sment had revealed the name Hao Yu as a fake, it did not matter. Lu Yin was not really trying to hide the fact that Hao Yu was Yu Hao, as Yu Hao was a disguise that no one could see through. After all, it was practically impossible to see through Lu Yin¡¯s Mask of Death.

    Prof. Zheng stared at the Eighteen Lines Formations withplicated emotions filling his eyes. "Wen Diyi was the most talented student that my Virtue Archives has seen in thousands of years. During his time as a student, he broke through the seventeen lines in the formation."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows climbed high. "That''s quite powerful."

    It appeared that this Eighteen Lines Formations was set up to evaluate people beneath the Envoy realm. When Wen Diyi had taken the evaluation, he had been an Enlighter, and hisbat strength had only been slightly weaker than the four Junior Progenitors¡¯. The four Junior Progenitors had each been able to rival Envoys as Enlighters, which suggested that they had the strength to break through the entire Eighteen Lines Formation, as Wen Diyi had been very close to doing that himself.

    Lu Yin stared at the golden line in the sky. If his guess was urate, then it meant that any Enlighter who could break through the entire Eighteen Lines Formation had the strength of a peak Enlighter and wereparable to the four Junior Progenitors.

    "What do you think, Prof. Hao Yu?" Prof. Zheng asked, rather interested. He already knew that Lu Yin had an impressive level of cultivation and was at least an Envoy because he himself could not see through Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Still, it should still be possible to discern something when the entire Eighteen Lines Formation was ovee.

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "This should be set up for Enlighters, and given the fact that I¡¯m an Envoy, it would not be any issue for me to overwhelm all eighteen lines."

    "You don¡¯t even want to give it a try, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    At this moment, there were many students who had chased after the two men, and most of them were girls, and they were clearly following Lu Yin. Upon seeing them, Prof. Zheng frowned again. "Return to your training. What are you doing here?"

    One girl boldly asked, "Prof. Zheng, is the man next to you a new student? Introduce him to me!"

    "Right! Prof. Zheng, we want to meet our new ssmate."

    "Prof. Zheng, please introduce us."

    Prof. Zheng red at the students. "Don''t be so untoward! This man is a new instructor: Prof. Hao Yu."

    "An instructor?" All of the students were shocked. "One so young?"

    "An instructor so handsome?"

    "And so pretty?"

    The few male students all suddenly grew quite ufortable. "Prof. Hao Yu, that¡¯s the Eighteen Lines Formation just up ahead. Give it a shot. Show us that you¡¯re able to teach us."

    "Right, Prof. Hao Yu! Give it a try." The shouting students drew more attention and an evenrger crowd.

    At the moment, Virtue Archives had a very high number of students. The Perennial World was massive, and every region had powerful families and sects. It was not overly difficult to get into Virtue Archives, and any district in the Middle Realm alone saw hundreds of youths join the academy. This meant over a thousand students just from the Middle Realm, and then there were also the students who were from the Higher Realm, the Bifrost, the Lower Realm, not to mention independent cultivators who were not affiliated with any specific region. All together, Virtue Archives had a total of almost 2,000 students.

    In the past, Virtue Archives could have never recruited this many students. After all, they only had a few instructors, and they had also deliberately made it difficult for anyone from the four ruling powers to enter. Even Xia Taili had to pay a power vessel to gain admittance to the academy.

    However, Virtue Archives had greatly changed in recent years, and both the numbers of students and faculty had risen.

    Prof. Zheng scolded the students, saying, "Stop fooling around! Prof. Hao Yu is free to do as he wishes, which has nothing to do with your whims. If you want to see the formation be ovee, then try it yourself."

    The instructor¡¯s words calmed a few people down, but others were still kicking up a fuss. Naturally, the stubborn students were the ones with powerful backing, and that gave them the courage to stand up to the academy¡¯s instructors.

    Most people would feel humiliated when being mocked and teased by so many students and would give in to their demands, especially given the bright eyes of the many spectating female students.

    However, Lu Yin had long since stopped giving in to the mood of the moment and his impulses. Even with so many people trying to kick up a fuss, he simply treated the entire thing like a show. It was actually quite funny to him, as the people raising the biggestints seemed to be the jealous ones.

    Slowly, the students started to calm down, mostly because Lu Yin was clearly unfazed by their attitudes.

    Prof. Zheng nced over. If an instructor could not assert their authority over the students, it would be a struggle to get anyone to listen to their ss or even attend.

    "It seems that Prof. Hao Yu doesn''t want to demonstrate his skills for us. In that case, allow me, Bai Nan, to demonstrate so that he can be mentally prepared." The young man who had been the most outspoken about Lu Yin challenging the Eighteen Lines Formation stepped forward and approached the golden line in the sky.

    Bai Nan? Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This person should be a member of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family, though he was clearly not from the main family. Still, his cultivation was impressive for someone from a branch family, and his status should be correspondingly high. He was a peak Hunter, which was at the very top of Virtue Archives¡¯ students¡¯.

    At his age, only the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters had been able to reach such a level, and even they might not have broken through to the Enlighter realm this quickly.

    A single step took Bai Nan off the mountain peak, and he made his way straight towards the golden line. Once he drew close, one end of the line twisted, as though bent by an invisible power.

    Suddenly, it released, and the end of the line shot towards Bai Nan.

    Wind and clouds swept around Bai Nan''s, and he waved a hand, unleashing a Wind God sh. The golden line was torn apart, and Bai Nan quickly shot past it and moved forward.

    Another golden line soon appeared in the sky in front of him, and the first line also quickly recovered. The two lines then worked together to attack Bai Nan as though they were connected.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised by what he was seeing. These golden lines seemed to act like a human¡¯s battle force.

    "The Eighteen Lines Formations is a sourcebox array unique to my Virtue Archives. There are rumors that it was created by Progenitor Wen. Each golden line is a stroke from an ancient character, and various strange abilities can appear within it, including recreations of human battles," Prof. Zheng exined.

    This was also quite surprising. "It¡¯s a sourcebox array? In that case, when the defensive sourcebox array for the academy is activated, will countless golden lines will appear?"

    It was Prof. Zheng¡¯s turn to be surprised. "Are you an array master, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin remained modest. "I know a few things."

    Prof. Zheng said nothing more.

    Within the mountain valley, a total of five golden lines had appeared, and Bai Nan was clearly struggling now. If he could ovee the five golden lines, he would be allowed to graduate.

    "Brother Bai, rx a bit and give Prof. Hao Yu a chance to show what he can do!" someone called out. It was a deliberate reminder for Bai Nan to not go too far and identally graduate by pushing too far.

    Bai Nan snapped back to his senses, and he quickly pulled back andnded on the peak of the mountain once again. He let out a breath. A bit of sweat could be seen on his forehead.

    "Bai Nan, why didn¡¯t you continue?" Prof. Zheng gave the young man a stern look.

    Bai Nan forced out a smile. "This student knows that he is not invincible, and he also still wishes to learn from the professor."

    The young man then turned to shoot Lu Yin a pointed stare.

 Chapter 2188: Arriving At The Stone Pillar

    Chapter 2188: Arriving At The Stone Pir

    Lu Yin found Bai Nan¡¯s answer quite funny. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the man could break through the five lines of the formation and was qualified to graduate. However, he simply did not want to. Many people in Virtue Archives were likely in a simr situation.

    Prof. Zheng said very little in reply. "Forget it. Let¡¯s just leave."

    Bai Nan continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Shouldn¡¯t Prof. Hao Yu give us a demonstration? Not every instructor can break through the entirety of the Eighteen Lines Formation. In fact, of the Enlighters who teach here, only Prof. Wu is capable of doing so. I was hoping to see if Prof. Hao Yu here is just as qualified, and he could raise the reputation of the academy¡¯s faculty."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I can''t break through the formation."

    Bai Nan was stunned. Such a direct answer?

    Prof. Zheng was also taken aback, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he impatiently waved a hand to shoo the students away. "Alright, time to leave. Anyone who wants to challenge the Eighteen Lines Formation can do so on their own."

    He then looked over at Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, shall we?"

    Lu Yin nodded and followed behind Prof. Zheng to leave the mountains.

    Still on the mountain peak above the formation, some of the male students started mocking Lu Yin. "He¡¯s nothing but a piece of eye candy! He doesn¡¯t even have the guts to try! Even Prof. Wei, the history teacher, has at least tried it. He might have failed to break through all eighteen lines, but he¡¯s at least brave enough to try. This Prof. Hao Yu isn¡¯t manly at all."

    "Absolutely. He probably got in through some back door. If students can get epted that way, then why couldn¡¯t an instructor?" someone agreed.

    A few of the girls became upset. "That¡¯s ridiculous! What are you saying? Prof. Hao Yu is modest and graceful, unlike you brutes who have no sense of refinement at all."

    "You people are too petty. You must have gotten jealous just because Prof. Hao Yu is so much better looking than you."

    The usations caused Bai Nan to be angry. "If you want to talk about looks, then Prof. Wei is even better looking."

    One of the girls instantly shot back, "Prof. Wei¡¯s clearly a woman pretending to be a man, and all of you should have already noticed that. I swear that you people are just servile bootlickers! Regardless, Prof. Hao Yu is very handsome."

    "You¡¯re so shallow!"

    "You¡¯re an idiot."

    "You¡­"

    ¡­

    As for Lu Yin and Prof. Zheng, despite already being far away from the students, they both clearly heard the argument. Prof. Zheng became quite unhappy, as this new instructor was already causing conflicts between the students. Even if it was only a small matter for now, it was not a good sign.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, why didn''t you challenge the formation just now? Your choice did not help to establish your authority over the students at all," Prof. Zheng asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Headmaster Wen mentioned that the students and faculty here tend to have pretty casual and friendly interactions. So, why is there a need to establish a sense of authority?"

    Prof. Zheng shook his head. "That''s just how we interact, but this is still an academy, and the instructors are here to teach. If the students don''t believe that an instructor is qualified to teach them, why would they bothering to my Virtue Archives?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand what you¡¯re saying. That makes sense, Prof. Zheng."

    Prof. Zheng said nothing further. He knew that word of the incident would quickly spread throughout all of Virtue Archives, and he was curious to see just how many students would attend Prof. Hao Yu''s first ss. Would it be the lowest turnout in Virtue Archives'' history? That was unlikely, as the man was attractive enough that he would at least draw arge number of the female students to his ss.

    However, such a turnout would be even more humiliating for the academy. Any instructor would beughed at for using such a method to draw students to their ss.

    Mr. Zhen was not specifically targeting Lu Yin. Rather, he did not want someone unqualified to join the academy¡¯s faculty. Virtue Archives was already dealing with enough problems at the moment, and if they were not careful, they could doom themselves.

    In an effort to avoid being seen as they traveled across the academy, Prof. Zheng made it a point to lead Lu Yin through the true universe as they visited the stone pirs. No further information about Virtue Archives was shared as they traveled, and they also did not stop by the ss that Prof. Zheng had initially intended to show Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up at a stone pir that towered high into the sky. It looked simr to the one that belonged to Headmaster Wen.

    "This is the stone pir where Prof. Xiao Wen has been living. Wait here a moment while I go talk to him." Prof. Zheng then stepped forward and disappeared.

    Lu Yin stood at the bottom of the stone pir and studied it. Only after a moment did he finally notice that the pir was not actually straight; it leaned slightly in the direction that he and Prof. Zheng hade from.

    He looked into the distance, and he saw another stone pir. However, that one leaned in a slightly different direction. Were all of these stone pirs leaning towards the middle of Virtue Archives? If that was the case, then given the height of the pirs, if someone looked down from high in the sky, the pirs might form something simr to the outline of a birdcage that encircled the middle of Virtue Archives.

    Did the faculty all live on the edge of the academy and protect the students? If that was the case, then Headmaster Wen''s pir was likely in the center and also the tallest.

    After waiting for a while, a woman arrived. She gave Lu Yin an odd look and then moved towards the stone pir.

    Lu Yin nced at the woman and found that she looked rather familiar. Where had he seen her before?

    He scoured his memories, but he could not remember where he might have seen the woman before.

    The woman nced back at Lu Yin before starting to climb the pir. "Are you new here?"

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile. "Yes."

    The woman blushed as she looked at Lu Yin''s face, and she softly said, "I¡¯m Hou Qing. Feel free to reach out to me if you need any help."

    She then offered her contact information so that Lu Yin could call hermunication crystal before making her way up the stone pir.

    Lu Yin found this quite entertaining. There were very noticeable advantages to Yu Hao''s appearance. Wait, Hou Qing?

    Lu Yin finally remembered. Wasn¡¯t Hou Qing the disciple of Liu Ye and Fei Hua?

    When Lu Yin had been at Hope Restaurant long ago, Liu Ye and Fei Hua had taken Hou Qing to meet him and Long Kui. At that time, Hou Qing had bowed to Long Kui. Yes, this was the same person.

    So she was in Virtue Archives now? She was also still an Enlighter, and although her appearance did not seem to have changed much over the years, the woman¡¯s temperament had shown quite a bit of maturation. She no longer had the same energy as when Lu Yin had first met her, and she behaved more like an elder.

    She was from the same generation as Lu Yin and the four Junior Progenitors, which meant that she could be considered an elder in Virtue Archives.

    Eh? Lu Yin suddenly looked up, as he had noticed someone looking at him. Could that be Prof. Xiao Wen?

    Looking up, Lu Yin could make out a pair of cold eyes that were set in a quite beautiful face. Was that Prof. Xiao Wen? So she was a woman.

    A short whileter, Prof. Zhengnded on the ground beside Lu Yin. "Prof. Xiao Wen is confirming matters with the headmaster, so things should be settled soon. You¡¯ll just need to wait a short while."

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Her name is Prof. Xiao Wen? Who is she?"

    Prof. Zheng replied, "She¡¯s the headmaster¡¯s great-granddaughter, Wen Zhao. We typically refer to her as Prof. Xiao Wen."

    Lu Yin nodded to show that he understood.

    "Prof. Xiao Wen is not very friendly. The headmaster has asked her to give up her residence for you, so she might not have the best opinion of you. Still, there¡¯s no need to worry, as she does not normally make trouble for people. However, it would be best if you don¡¯t disturb her." Prof. Zheng should not have been the one to say such things to Lu Yin, but Prof. Xiao Wen had asked him to deliver the message.

    Even if Prof. Zheng did not understand Headmaster Wen very well, how could the same be true of Prof. Xiao Wen?

    As soon as Prof. Zheng had told the woman about Lu Yin and she had seen him, she had instantly been able to guess at her great-grandfather¡¯s intentions. Thus, she had asked Prof. Zheng to deliver a message to Lu Yin in order to avoid embarrassing them both.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. Don''t worry, I won''t bother Prof. Xiao Wen."

    After delivering his message, Prof. Zheng did not say anything more about the matter. "You¡¯ve been shown around and brought to your residence, so I¡¯ll share the ss schedule with you through yourmunication crystal so that you can choose a timeslot for your ss. I should be on my way now."

    "I''ve troubled Prof. Zheng with showing me around," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Prof. Zheng answered politely, "I hope that Prof. Hao Yu will be able to help raise up more talented cultivators for our Perennial World so that humanity will continue to prosper. Goodbye."

    "Goodbye," Lu Yin replied. The other man quickly left.

    Half a day after Prof. Zheng left, two people descended from the stone pir. One was Hou Qing, and the other was Prof. Xiao Wen, the woman whom Lu Yin had seen when he had looked up at the pir.

    Prof. Xiao Wen nced over at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ve already cleared out everything that wasn¡¯t originally there. If you have any questions, just take them up with the headmaster."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. I¡¯m sorry to bother you, Prof. Xiao Wen."

    She remainedpletely cold towards Lu Yin and quickly led Hou Qing away. As for Hou Qing, she was very curious about Lu Yin. She had just heard that this man was a new instructor, despite his youth and exceptional appearance.

    After the two women left, Lu Yin quickly climbed up the pir himself.

    From what Lu Yin had learned from Prof. Zheng, basically every member of the academy¡¯s faculty ced restrictions on the pir where they lived in order to limit how many students bothered them in their home. More and more students were joining Virtue Archives in recent days, and some of them were no weaker than the instructors. It was only natural that certain precautions needed to be put in ce.

    The restrictions on Prof. Xiao Wen''s former pir was a powerful wind that blew down from the top, covering all the space within two meters of the pir. The wind was powerful enough to stop a Cruiser, which meant that only Hunters and Enlighters were able to reach the top of the pir to bother whoever lived at the top.

    Lu Yin looked around after he reached the top of the stone pir, and he found things to basically be as he had guessed. The pirs did indeed lean towards the center of Virtue Archives, and while the angle was not very much, the height of the pirs meant that the top of each pir was significantly closer to the center of the academy than the bottom. Also, the unseen pir that stood at the center of the academy was indeed the pir that held the headmaster¡¯s office.

    There was no courtyard residence at the top of the pir. Instead, there was nothing more than a very simple stone house, as well as somekes, flowers, and various small animals. It was the sort of ce that Lu Yin quite enjoyed.

    As for the two neighboring pirs, one was home to Mr. Tang, the instructor who had reached the void god level with his domain, and the other was home to Prof. Xiao Wen.

    It would have been sufficient to assign Lu Yin the neighboring pir, as it had been unupied, but the headmaster had decided to cater to Lu Yin slightly with his desire to receive pointers on improving his domain. That was why Prof. Xiao Wen had been asked to move, as it would ce Lu Yin slightly closer to Mr. Tang. This also demonstrated the importance that the headmaster ced on Lu Yin.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin noticed Prof. Xiao Wen and Hou Qing climbing up the neighboring stone pir.

    While the two pirs were neighbors, they were still very far apart. Not even a Cruiser would be able to see from one pir to another, but an Enlighter like Hou Qing was capable of doing so.

    She looked back, saw Lu Yin, and smiled at him.

    Lu Yin nodded in reply.

    "Prof. Xiao Wen, what¡¯s Prof. Hao Yu''s level of cultivation?" Hou Qing asked.

    Close by, Prof. Xiao Wen had already started to arrange the top of her new home. "I don''t know. I can¡¯t see through him."

    Hou Qing looked back towards Lu Yin. "I wonder if he¡¯s an Envoy, but it would be very unusual for someone so young to be an Envoy. If he really is about the same age as us, then it would mean that he¡¯s as talented as the Junior Progenitors."

    Prof. Xiao Wen casually said, "Don''t worry yourself with him. What are you struggling with concerning the Literary Prison?"

    Hou Qing quickly returned to her senses and immediately started asking for some advice.

    The mes of the Undying Bird left the sky, and the mes of the Dark Undying Bird took over, causing darkness to fall over Virtue Archives. A day had passed.

    Lu Yin was rxing on the chair, enjoying the breeze that blew across the top of his pir. The wind was a bit chilly, but it was still quitefortable.

    Prof. Zheng had sent the ss schedule to him about an hour ago, and the next two days were booked solid. In the end, Lu Yin chose a ss time that would take ce in the afternoon three dayster.

 Chapter 2189: Class Time

    Chapter 2189: ss Time

    The timeslot that Lu Yin had chosen was the veryst one of the week, which was why none of the other instructors had chosen it. Given the fact that it was thest ss of the week, many students would already have started enjoying their free day, and would therefore not be willing to attend such a ss. However, Lu Yin was not overly concerned about this. He had no desire to remain an instructor forever, and he had his own motivations for joining Virtue Archives. Thus, poprity did not matter to him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s motivation for staying in Virtue Archives was to first discover what had drawn the four ruling powers to the academy. Then, he wanted to find a way to use the students that he taught to get in touch with the four ruling powers. At the same time, he intended to use this time to roll his die.

    Lu Yin had no idea where Senior Brother Qing Ping might have gone. Was he perhaps visiting Senior Brother Mu Xie? Did the Progenitor even know that Lu Yin was a junior disciple brother? Also, where had Kui Luo gone?

    On a neighboring stone pir, while Prof. Xiao Wen appeared to be quite calm, she was actually observing Lu Yin''s pir. She was well aware of her great-grandfather¡¯s intentions, and while she had no desire to have any further contact with the new instructor, she was quite curious about him.

    The fact that Prof. Xiao Wen¡¯s great-grandfather wanted her to get closer to this new instructor meant that he could not be very old. In fact, he might even be as young as Xiao Wen herself, though it was highly unusual for someone so young to be an Envoy.

    Also, Prof. Xiao Wen was surprised to see that the new instructor had not set up any restrictions on his pir yet.

    The pirs were not only the faculty¡¯s homes, but also a sort of status symbol. Every instructor would ce their own restrictions on their pir, so unless an instructor was fully devoted to teaching the students, there was no reason to not set up any restrictions. It was unheard of for someone to simply use the restrictions left behind by the pir¡¯s previous resident.

    However, Lu Yin had not made any changes at all to his stone pir, and he seemed content to use the restrictions that Prof. Xiao Wen had put in ce. She had also heard that the students had tried to coerce the new instructor into challenging the Eighteen Lines Formation, but he had bluntly refused to give in to their demands. How much pressure from the students would he be able to endure?

    Also, why was someone so young an instructor?

    A middle-aged man appeared from the other pir that neighbored Lu Yin¡¯s. The man had a rather refined appearance, and he seemed to be another instructor.

    Lu Yin smiled politely at the man when he showed himself.

    The man was taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s presence, and he quickly nced further away and saw Prof. Xiao Wen on a different pir. Odd, had she moved?

    The man slowly asked, "Might you be the new instructor, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, as he had sensed the man¡¯s domain. It had clearly reached the void god level of mastery, as the void was trembling from his domain¡¯s presence. This was clearly the power of space. Lu Yin had sensed the same feeling when he had seen Hen Xin¡¯s battle, and again when facing Sky Garan¡¯s Eight Star Garan innate gift during the Dao Chosen selection. That innate gift had been a version of spatial memory. On top of that, Lu Yin had learned the Ce Secret Art andprehended its Board Maniption ability. Everything that Lu Yin remembered involved the power of space, and so he was rather familiar with the peculiar feeling of such power.

    "That¡¯s me. I¡¯ll have to ask you to watch over me in the future, Mr. Tang," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Mr. Tangughed. "We¡¯ll watch over each other."

    He then looked back at the more distant Prof. Xiao Wen and quickly discerned Headmaster Wen¡¯s intentions. There was no denying that the new instructor was young, very good looking, and also had an impressive cultivation.

    This new instructor meant that Virtue Archives now had fourteen instructors, as well as two headmasters. However, there were fifteen stone pirs that surrounded the academy, as well as the headmaster¡¯s pir at the center. As for the honorary headmaster, he did not live in the academy, which meant that there was still an unupied pir.

    Given the fact that it was the end of the day, many of the instructors were returning to their residences to rest.

    Lu Yin did not bother observing any of the other pirs. While it was possible to see the adjacent pirs with the naked eye, looking at the more distant pirs would require Lu Yin to use some additional means, which would be considered rude.

    Regardless, the people living on the various pirs were all instructors, so Lu Yin was free to meet them.

    Nothing was said throughout the night, and the next day, Lu Yin went to visit the academy¡¯s library. It housed numerous ancient records and ssic books, and he was quite excited to visit the ce.

    Unfortunately, he found that he was barred from entering.

    "Instructor, credits are required to enter the library." An old man stopped Lu Yin and exined the matter with a smile.

    Lu Yin blinked. "But I¡¯m an instructor."

    "I know. You¡¯re the new one, Prof. Hao Yu," the old man said with a smile.

    Lu Yin felt a bit frustrated. "So even instructors need credits in order to use the library?"

    "No one told you that? Students can use their credits for practically anything that¡¯s within the academy¡¯s rules, but instructors also need credits. For example, the students only have ess to the first two floors of this library while instructors can gain ess to five floors. However, it costs more credits to gain ess to each subsequent floor. Also, the top floor houses several secret techniques, and they are avable for anyone to learn, as long as they have the required credits."

    This was shocking. Was Virtue Archives really this casual about disseminating their secret techniques?

    "How do I earn credits?" Lu Yin asked.

    The old man pointed to the library. "Third floor, fifth row, ninth book. That¡¯s where you can find the information regarding how the academy¡¯s instructors can earn credits, and you¡¯re free to read that book."

    Lu Yin nodded and went in. He found the book exactly where the old man had said.

    Lu Yin flipped through the book, reading it quickly.

    Instructors were able to earn credits in much the same way as students: fighting on the rear battlefield, catching traitors, spies, and Redback, and, of course, teaching the students and helping them improve. Even if someone was too afraid of death and refused to go to the rear battlefield, there were other ways to earn credits. Still, Lu Yin found it a bit odd that one of the methods to earn credits as an instructor was to act as a tutor.

    Many of the most promising students were assigned a tutor, and tutors were responsible for providing personal instruction for their student, and the students were also allowed limitless ess to their tutor. It was not umon for a deep bond to develop between tutors and their students, and some of the students even referred to their tutors as their schoolfather or schoolmother. Surprisingly, receiving such a title awarded the instructor with a great deal of points. Well, Virtue Archives was an academy, and training the students was the primary responsibility of the faculty.

    As for how the instructors could use their credits, the book did not mention it.

    Lu Yin was shocked at thest bit of information he saw in the book, and he was instantly reminded of Ku Wei. How was being awarded such a title any different from encouraging the teachers to be brown-nosers? It sounded rather exhausting to deal with, but the method must be quite effective if it was mentioned in a book that was avable in the academy library.

    "If any student is willing to call you their schoolfather, you¡¯ll receive arge number of credits," the old guardian of the library offered a reminder as he swept the floor, "However, you can¡¯t coerce or threaten any student into doing so. It has to bepletely sincere and voluntary."

    Lu Yin put the book back. "That method of earning points sounds too exhausting."

    The old manughed and continued sweeping the floor, not responding at all.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin checked the time and saw it was almost time for the next ss to start. The instructor of this ss was Prof. Huai, a peak Enlighter who had been an instructor in Virtue Archives for more than ten years.

    Lu Yin¡¯s biggest headache at the moment was that he had no idea how to teach a ss.

    Every instructor in the academy was assigned their own area for their sses. The academy was beyond massive¡ªlet alone just over a dozen instructors, even ten times that would easily be assigned arge region of the academy for their individual sses.

    Lu Yin rushed to where Prof. Huai held his ss, which was within a dense forest. The instructor enjoyed the feeling of winding paths that led to secluded ces, though Lu Yin felt that the man might have chosen such a location simply because too few students attended his ss, and he feared humiliating himself by openly showing the size of his ss. Within the forest, it was impossible to see the size of a ss, regardless of how many students attended.

    Only a bit more than fifty students attended Prof. Huai''s ss, and although they were scattered throughout the forest, they all listened to the lecture with great interest. The main topic covered how to be a Limiteer.

    Limiteer. This was a word that Lu Yin had not even thought of for years. After all, his cultivation was simply too far removed from the Limiteer realm and so he was surprised to hear about such a topic.

    "Bing a Limiteer requires¡­" Prof. Huai sat on arge tree within the dense forest as he happily delivered his lecture. Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit of admiration for the instructor.

    After two hours, the students started to disperse. When Prof. Huai noticed Lu Yin, the man excitedly approached. "Prof. Hao Yu, I didn''t expect you to visit my lecture."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m very new and uncertain about my uing ss. So, I thought that I would observe yours."

    Prof. Huai gave a wry smile. "You must have seen how few students I had, which probably gave you augh."

    "Your lecture was very well delivered, so why did you have so few students?"

    Prof. Huai shrugged and then led Lu Yin aside to a seat while the man prepared some tea. "Many of the students who attend Virtue Archives have extraordinary backgrounds, while I¡¯m just an independent cultivator who¡¯s be an Enlighter. I¡¯mpletely unable to teach anything to those kinds of students, so I never bothered trying. I simply don¡¯t have much expertise or knowledge, so I can only share my knowledge of the Limiteer realm. After all, not all of our studentse from powerful sects or families. Some of them are also independent cultivators, and many of them haven¡¯t even reached the Limiteer realm. Thus, my lectures allow them to establish a bit of a foothold within the academy that they would otherwiseck."

    Though the man said nothing about it, Lu Yin could guess that there was no way that Virtue Archives would allow instructors to stay without contributing something to the academy. If no students attended an instructor¡¯s sses, then it was possible that the instructor would be fired.

    "However, Prof. Hao Yu has no need to worry about such things, as you¡¯re an Envoy," Prof. Huai mentioned in a tentative, questioning manner.

    Lu Yin did not not deny it. "I broke through recently."

    Prof. Huai was clearly rather envious. "Virtue Archives doesn¡¯t have very many Envoys as instructors. Once word of your strength is spread, all of the students will start attending your sses. The two of us are simply on different levels."

    "There¡¯s no need for such modestly, Prof. Huai. I believe that you¡¯re close to your breakthrough to be an Envoy yourself."

    Prof. Huai shook his head. "I might be close, but the breakthrough to be an Envoy is far from easy."

    ¡­

    Over the following two days, Lu Yin sat in on several instructors'' sses, all of whom were Enlighters. Each of the instructors had found their own method to benefit the students and draw them to sses, whether they did so by sharing very basic knowledge or discussing key points of specific aspects of cultivation. Each ss invariably drew in at least a few students.

    Finally, on the third day, Lu Yin observed Mr. Tang¡¯s ss, only to discover that far, far more students attended his ss than any of the other Enlighter-realm instructors.

    Lu Yin wondered if all of the academy¡¯s students were in attendance.

    Mr. Tang¡¯s ss by far had the most students of any ss that Lu Yin had observed in Virtue Archives. There was also no denying that some of the academy¡¯s students were exceptionally talented, as some of them were already Hunters, which meant they wereparable to the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin did not reveal himself, as he did not want to raise amotion and disrupt Mr. Tang''s ss.

    "Hey, did you hear? A very handsome instructor named Hao Yu has just joined our academy as an instructor. Even his name sounds nice!" a girlmented.

    Another girl quickly approached. "I heard about him, too. Prof. Hao Yu, his name really does sound nice. I want to take his ss."

    "I checked, and it¡¯s this afternoon, and the ss isn¡¯t far from here."

    "That''s great! The school should find more instructors like that. Just look at Prof. Huai''s sses. How do they do anything at all? They¡¯re just taking up space."

    "That''s true. Even I¡¯m stronger than a Limiteer, so what¡¯s the point in attending his sses?"

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless at the conversations he overheard. If Prof. Huai heard these students, he would be enraged, as they were simply too condescending.

    "Yo- you can''t- you can''t talk about Huai- Huai- Prof. Huai like that." A short, heavyset young man with a simple and honest face nearby was so upset by the girls¡¯ conversation that he spoke up.

    Many of the other people nearby startedughing.

    "Prof. Huai? Oh, I''m so worried! Can you even say his name in one go?" one girl teased.

    The fat student blushed. "Huai- Huai-"

    "Prof. Huai!" A male studentughed loudly.

    The short man looked offended. "Prof. Huai is ve- very serious about his sses! I- I like to listen to his lectures."

    "If you like them, then go listen to them. Why bothering here?" Someone else joined in on mocking the young man.

    The fatty blushed harder, and he wanted to speak back, but he could not think of anything to say.

 Chapter 2190: Exploring

    Chapter 2190: Exploring

    Suddenly, someone in the distance let out a shout, and everyone turned to look. "It''s Qing Feng! Brother Qing Feng¡¯s here!"

    The moment those words were spoken, a moment of silence fell over the students, and they all looked in the same direction. They saw a slender man smiling at them. He looked very gentle, and almost everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to his arrival.

    Lu Yin looked over as well, and then he arched a brow when he saw that the young man was exceptionally talented. He was already an Enlighter, which indicated that he was someone at least as talented as the Ten Arbiters.

    "Brother Qing Feng¡¯s very handsome, and he is also the disciple of Senior Qing Chen from Humility''s Gate. He¡¯s one of the only people who can rival Xia Shenguang or Wang Xiaofan." A girl sped her hands as she admired the young man.

    "I wonder who¡¯s better looking, Prof. Hao Yu or Brother Qing Feng?"

    `"I also want to know."

    ...

    This was surprising; was Qing Feng Supervisor Qing Chen¡¯s disciple? Lu Yin carefully observed Qing Feng. There were factions even within a ce like Virtue Archives, so it was only a given that Qing Feng represented Humility''s Gate. As for the Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan that the girls had mentioned, Lu Yin could take some guesses as to who they were.

    Mr. Tang soon arrived, and he immediately started a lecture on cultivating and improving a domain.

    The lecture contents were quite basic, so it was unsurprising that someone like Qing Feng would ask questions, as there was no other reason for him to attend.

    However, what Lu Yin had not expected was that Qing Feng¡¯s questions practically mirrored Lu Yin¡¯s own, which indicated that Qing Feng¡¯s domain had also reached the spirit manifestation level.

    However, after a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin realized that it actually made sense. While two decades had passed for everyone else, Lu Yin had skipped twenty years. If those twenty years were not added in, then the time that Lu Yin had spent cultivating was not much different from Qing Feng. Thus, it was not surprising for their domains to be at simr levels.

    Mr. Tang''s lecture was not only beneficial to the students, but also to Lu Yin. After all, improving his domain was one of his primary motivations for visiting Virtue Archives.

    However, Lu Yin would not reap impressive benefits from such a ss, so he intended to arrange to have a private meeting with Mr. Tang after getting to know him better.

    Two hourster, Mr. Tang left, as his ss had finished. It was time for Lu Yin''s ss, so he rushed ahead to the location that he had chosen for his ss.

    His sses were being held at akeside.

    There was a hugeke in Virtue Archives¡¯ territory, but given the territory¡¯s overall size, what was considered ake wasrge enough to hold entire stars.

    For several days, in addition to sitting in on the other instructors¡¯ sses, Lu Yin had also been contemting what he should teach in his own sses. He had eventually realized that he wanted to cover topics that none of the other instructors taught.

    Virtue Archives¡¯ke was stunningly beautiful, and the purple-gold mes of the Undying Bird made it even more impressive to look at.

    It was a ce where many students went to rx.

    It was not difficult for Lu Yin to find a proper location to hold his ss, and it turned out that his first ss had a great number of students. Such attendance was not due to anything more than his good looks.

    Most of the female students showed up after learning about Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s appearance, as they wanted to see it for themselves. The female turnout naturally caused many of the male students to show up as well. In the end, therge crowd appeared almost entirely because Yu Hao¡¯s face was so attractive to so many women.

    The students were not the only ones attending the ss, as Prof. Zheng had also arrived. He was very curious to see just what Lu Yin intended to cover in his sses.

    Students were entirely free to choose whichever instructors¡¯ sses they wanted to attend, and the instructors were simrly free to choose the content of their lectures. There was no need to notify the academy in advance.

    The students arrived in groups of two and three, and the short, stuttering, fatty also showed up. He felt a great deal of respect for all of the instructors.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first ss was attended by almost as many students as Mr. Tang''s lecture, though the overall attitude of the students waspletely different. Most of the girls were excited for the lecture, while most of the boys were hoping to find the new instructor inadequate.

    Bai Nan also arrived with a group of his junior sect brothers.

    "Brother Bai, Hao Yu¡¯s clearly nothing more than eye candy, so we need to expose him," one of the young men insisted.

    "He didn¡¯t even have the guts to challenge the Eighteen Lines Formation, so he might not even be as strong as you, Brother Bai."

    "He actually chose a ce like this for his ss? Isn¡¯t this a waste?"

    In contrast, the girls''ments were almost entirely different. "As expected of someone like Prof. Hao Yu! Even the location for his ss is so elegant and beautiful."

    "Even if I don''t want to attend his ss, I¡¯d stille here if I needed to cheer up. Prof. Hao Yu really understands us."

    Prof. Huai heard some of their conversations from the distance, and an odd expression appeared on his face. Why didn¡¯t I think of this? This is the kind of ce that these girls like; it¡¯s beautiful and has a romantic atmosphere.

    Prof. Huai had deliberately searched for a location that would keep his sses somewhat hidden as he did not want to be embarrassed when people saw his sses¡¯ poor attendance. He had not expected such reactions to sses being held beside theke.

    If he moved his sses to theke as well, some of those girls would still attend, and wherever the girls went, the boys would follow. Prof. Huai realized that his decision to hide his sses had been a terrible mistake. It really was the youths who were more innovative.

    More and more students arrived as the conversations continued. Once he saw that it was just about time, Lu Yin revealed himself.

    This was his first time delivering a lecture, and he was actually a bit nervous about it.

    Lu Yin had his motives for traveling to the Perennial World, despite his history with it. Yet at the moment, he was acting as a teacher, so he felt rather torn about his situation.

    However, he was almost instantly distracted from his feelings about the matter, as a group of girls started shouting at him, clearly excited to see him.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This was his first time receiving such reactions from anyone. If Ling Que were in Lu Yin¡¯s ce, he would definitely be incredibly excited over such treatment. After all, he paid women to act as his cheerleaders, and those women followed him around everywhere.

    The girls'' excited shouts startled some of the boys, and Bai Nan''s expression turned even uglier.

    The simple-looking fatty stared at Lu Yin in a daze. This instructor was gorgeous.

    Some distance away from the students, Prof. Zheng''s expression fell, and his mood changed. This was not proper. Virtue Archives was a ce that focused on learning and discipline, not sensationalism.

    Prof. Huai waspletely speechless. He was reminded of his youth, but he knew that he had never been nearly this handsome.

    Atop a stone pir at the center of Virtue Archives, Headmaster Wen justughed. "It must be nice to be so young and energetic!"

    Across from the old man, Prof. Xiao Wen indifferently responded, "He''s toozy. He wouldn¡¯t even challenge the Eighteen Lines Formation despite the students trying to get him to prove himself, and he still hasn¡¯t reced the restriction I ced on the pir where he¡¯s living. Being too casual is also not a good thing."

    Headmaster Wen felt that he needed to respond. "Child, you¡¯re too stuffy. Don¡¯t you think that he¡¯s handsome? Don¡¯t you feel even a hint of temptation?"

    Prof. Xiao Wen was unbothered, and she simply stayed silent.

    Headmaster Wen shook his head. "Young people are supposed to be energetic. It¡¯s no crime to chase after beauty. It¡¯s just a way of giving apliment. Those children aren¡¯t doing anything wrong, though as far as they¡¯re concerned, Prof. Hao Yu is just eye candy."

    "That is all he is," Prof. Xiao Wen said before leaving.

    Seeing as it was his first ss, Lu Yin wanted to take his lecture quite seriously, so he raised a hand to silence the shouts. He coughed and said, "Let me introduce myself: my name is Hao Yu, and you can all call me Prof. Hao Yu. Starting today, I will be another one of the academy¡¯s instructors, and outside of lectures, I¡¯m very good at critiquing people¡¯s battle techniques. Feel free to approach me if you have any questions about yourbat abilities. As for today¡¯s lecture-"

    Two characters appeared in the air in front of everyone: Exploration.

    "Instructor!" a girl called out to ask a question.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Go ahead."

    The girl swallowed, staring at Lu Yin with eyes that were practically glowing. "Will you be giving lectures regarding cultivating in the Explorer realm?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The word ¡®explore¡¯ does not only refer to the Explorer realm of cultivation, as it also has its own, independent meaning. It refers to exploration of the unknown."

    The exploration of the unknown? Thisment confused many of the students.

    Lu Yin continued, "The universe is vast and full of still unknown mysteries. Topics ranging from how the Mainds themselves were formed, to how a specific battle technique was created. All such things fall within the topic of exploration, as exploring means to seek the unknown and gain a sufficient understanding of it."

    Even more students started to feel lost.

    Further away, even Prof. Zheng felt a bit lost by the direction that the lecture was taking. Exploring and understanding the unknown?

    In his office, Headmaster Wen straightened up. Exploration was not amon topic. Exploration required venturing into the unknown, and despite the countless years that humans had existed, there were still too many mysteries that countless people had not been able to untangle. Could Hao Yu unravel such things? This was too broad a subject, so where did Hao Yu get the confidence to approach it?

    "Instructor, by exploration, do you want us to investigate how the Mainds were formed?" One of the students could not remain silent, and his question brought out his doubts.

    Lu Yin answered with a small smile. "I won¡¯t be asking that of you, but we¡¯ll explore some mysteries together."

    Bai Nan could no longer restrain himself. "There are too many mysteries in the universe, and not even the four ruling powers can answer all of them. Instructor, can you guide us to explore those things? How do you intend to do that? Just one example¡ªcan you answer the mystery of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird here in Virtue Archives? When the academy was first founded, both of those birds were already here, and they could be seen in the sourcebox array, but no one understands why Progenitor Wen used the mes of the two birds to dictate the hours of the day."

    Prof. Zheng shook his head. It was true that Progenitor Wen had created the sourcebox array, but no one understood why the mes from the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird could be seen. It was a mystery of Virtue Archives, and it was also why the Purple-Gold family had always sent people into the academy, as they were desperate to unravel this mystery.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Both the mes of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Birde from the academy¡¯s sourcebox array. Since that¡¯s the case, it means that they appear either because of a side effect from the sourcebox array, or because Progenitor Wen deliberately introduced the effect. Since the answer¡¯s a mystery to us, we might as well explore this mystery in this ss."

    As Lu Yin, he raised his head. "The first step in exploring this mystery is to study the sourcebox array itself."

    Many of the students were stunned for a moment, but then most of them started tough.

    Bai Nan felt pure contempt. Just as he had thought, this person was just a bit of eye candy. Study the sourcebox array? It was something that Progenitor Wen had designed and set up. In order to even begin studying it, a person would have to be an Array Master, possibly even a Realm Array Master or an Array Grandmaster. After all, Progenitor Wen was a true Progenitor, so how could normal people possibly unravel something that he had created?

    Many of the girls felt disappointed. While this instructor was indeed lovely to look at, he was an idiot, and his lectures would be worthless.

    Most people considered wisdom to be far more important than mere physical attractiveness. Few people who would be attracted to an idiot.

    Lu Yin drew an image in the air. He started by creating images of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird, and then he created some bullet points that referenced suspicious points about the array. One was that the sourcebox array¡¯s own power was somehow automatically generating the images of the mes that everyone observed. Another line of text appeared, this one stating that the mes appeared because of Progenitor Wen¡¯s purposeful design. Question marks appeared at the end of each possibility.

    "These two questions urately depict the question that the student brought up, so now what we need to do is explore. In one direction, we would need to check the historical records and investigate Progenitor Wen''s life to determine if he had any connection to the Purple-Gold family. In the other direction, we can pursue the path of investigation that I just mentioned: study the sourcebox array itself," Lu Yin stated loudly, "To study this sourcebox array, we can¡¯t limit ourselves to only studying a single person, as this mystery involves lockbreaking, a sourcebox array, and even a mighty Progenitor. Clearly, we won¡¯t be able to find an answer overnight, and we need to start at the very basics. In this case, the basics to unravel are mystery are simple.¡±

    Lu Yin paused to write two more characters in the air: lockbreaking.

    As the students all stared, Lu Yin continued to write in the air. All of the students quickly refocused when it became clear what needed to be done to explore this particr mystery. While the process was notplicated, it was far from easy, as it was a mystery that involved a Progenitor. However, the answer would prove invaluable, as even if Progenitor Wen was dead, the Purple-Gold family was still around.

 Chapter 2191: Living Together?

    Chapter 2191: Living Together?

    Bai Nan spoke up again. "To be blunt, anything regarding Progenitor Wen¡¯s life or experiences happened too long ago for anyone to know about it. Meanwhile, it¡¯s impossible to study the sourcebox array with practically all of the Lockbreakers being on the rear battlefield. Prof. Hao Yu, you can¡¯t possibly think that you can trick us with this topic."

    The young man was voicing the same thoughts that many other students had. On top of that, continuing to explore the topic that had been brought up would absolutely draw the attention of the Purple-Gold family. That attention would be enough to force Prof. Hao Yu to remain trapped within Virtue Archives.

    All people love beauty and things that are pleasant to look at. This was why many of the female students were so partial to Lu Yin. Still, if Lu Yin proved to be nothing more than an idiot, he would be regarded as mere eye candy, which would greatly diminish their ardor and excitement.

    Only true elites were able to gain admittance to Virtue Archives.

    With a hint of a smile, Lu Yin raised a hand. Stellr energy gathered and formed an Inception Array in front of everyone.

    "A sourcebox array?" someone blurted as they stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

    All the students were stunned by the disy. It was shocking to see a sourcebox array be setup so casually.

    Prof. Zheng''s expression changed slightly. So this new instructor was an Array Master? It was no wonder why he had been bold enough to im that it was possible to study Progenitor Wen¡¯s sourcebox array. He had not been overstepping himself at all.

    The moment Lu Yin revealed his abilities, many of the female students grew excited again. "Prof. Hao Yu, are you an Array Master?"

    "Prof. Hao Yu, what level of Array Master are you?"

    Lu Yin nced at Bai Nan, and he saw an ugly expression on the young man¡¯s face. A professional smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "I should be considered a Senior Array Master."

    Anothermotion broke out at this reveal, and Bai Nan heard manyments. A great number of the students were mocking Bai Nan andughing at him for trying to provoke Lu Yin.

    "Prof. Hao Yu is a majestic Array Master at such a young age, so why can¡¯t he research the academy¡¯s sourcebox array?"

    "Given Prof. Hao Yu''s capabilities, he¡¯s definitely able to study the sourcebox array, and he¡¯ll even be able to answer this mystery."

    Other people grew upset. "A Senior Array Master wants to study a sourcebox array that Progenitor Wen set up? What a joke!"

    Some of the girls went after the doubters. "Who cares how long it¡¯s been a mystery or how many people have studied it? Given Prof. Hao Yu''s abilities, I believe that he will definitely be able to study the sourcebox array."

    "Exactly!"

    Bai Nan stared at Lu Yin. He had badly misjudged this instructor. This person was actually a Senior Array Master. Even normal Lockbreakers were treated with a great deal of respect everywhere in the Perennial World, let alone a Senior Array Master. This person was exceptionally gifted.

    Even Headmaster Wen was caught off guard, as not even he had considered that Lu Yin was actually a Senior Array Master. "A Senior Array Master? Interesting¡­"

    Lu Yin smiled as he nced around at the students. He caught a glimpse of Prof. Zheng, and the fact that the older instructor was leaving was an indication that Virtue Archives was satisfied with Lu Yin¡¯s lecture. "Exploring doesn''t need to be centered on only one topic. There are too many remnants and mysteries left from the past, so rather than spend all of our time focusing on only a single mystery, tell me whatever mysteries you¡¯re interested in studying in ss, and we¡¯ll go from there.

    "Exploration is a very profound subject, and in the process of studying a single topic, we will encounter numerous problems and many unsolved mysteries. It¡¯s even possible to encounter dangerous situations. Eliminating such dangers and oveing the obstacles that arise are also a part of studying exploration. For example, with just the mystery that was already brought up, the mes of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird in Virtue Archives, we clearly need to start by studying lockbreaking. However, this is beyond the abilities of some of you students. Instead, you can instead focus on gathering information regarding Progenitor Wen¡­"

    Some distance away from Lu Yin¡¯s ss, Mr. Tang met with Prof. Zheng. "So, how is the new instructor, Prof. Hao Yu? What does he n to teach the students?"

    Prof. Zheng quickly shared what had happened, and Mr. Tang was taken aback. "The subject of exploration? That¡¯s something that even I¡¯d be interested in attending. Human history covers countless years, numerous eras, and countless wars, all of which have left behind endless mysteries with no answers. Having a course dedicated to researching such mysteries would be wonderful."

    Prof. Zheng nodded. "He¡¯s very bright and has already taken a firm grasp of the hearts of students. Even if they aren¡¯t interested in exploration, there will be some students who will asionallye listen to his lectures if he¡¯s going to talk about Progenitor Wen. Even storytelling can draw in arge number of students."

    Mr. Tang smiled. "This Prof. Hao Yu is quite interesting. I hope that he can find the answer regarding the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s connection to the academy. Also, students from the Purple-Gold family should be arriving soon."

    "Let¡¯s hurry up. They never skip sses," Prof. Zheng said.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin''s first ss eventually finished. Even if it had been a turbulent ss, it had also ended up being very exciting for the students. Not a single one of them had left partway through the lecture. All of them had been eager to hear about Lu Yin¡¯s insight into the academy¡¯s sourcebox array, as well as the legends of Progenitor Wen.

    Bai Nan had wanted to embarrass Lu Yin, but he hadpletely failed. He was forced to leave and consider other options.

    As the mes of the Dark Undying Bird filled the sky, Lu Yin returned to his own stone pir. The first ss that he had ever given had ended up bing a good memory. The students of Virtue Archives were all very bright, and their whimsical ideas had continued to be shared. Some of them had even concocted a love story that had been told so convincingly that many of the female students had believed it to be true.

    Additionally, the ss had exposed Lu Yin as a Lockbreaker, which was not a bad oue.

    Several of the female students approached the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s pir. "Sister, are you sure that we should try to meet with Prof. Hao Yu right now? He just came back to rest."

    "Why would we find him if he isn¡¯t resting? Ah! I mean we will be able to rest after him- No! I mean-"

    "Alright girl, calm down. You¡¯re going to embarrass yourself if anyone hears you."

    "Little Sister, head on up."

    "Why don''t you go, Big Sister? You must be afraid of whatever restrictions Prof. Hao Yu has put up and don¡¯t want to try. Don¡¯t try to trick me¡ªI¡¯m not going to be the first one."

    "Little Sister, you¡¯ve gotten smarter."

    "Hmph, of course! Wait, no! I was already smart!"

    "Enough. I¡¯ll go first and have the honor of being the first to meet with Prof. Hao Yu."

    "The first to meet with Prof. Hao Yu? Wait, Big Sister! I¡¯lle! I''ll go!"

    A short timeter, two embarrassed people descended from the pir once more. "Big Sister, wasn¡¯t that the wind restriction that Prof. Xiao Wen put up? Didn''t Prof. Hao Yu put up his own restrictions?"

    "I don''t know. He definitely should have put his own up."

    "Sister, Prof. Hao Yu can¡¯t be living with Prof. Xiao Wen, could he? I mean, this was originally Prof. Xiao Wen¡¯s pir¡­ I think that the story about Prof. Xiao Wen moving to a different pir might be fake."

    "You¡¯re right! Why didn''t I think of that? They must be living together! Ooooh, I''m so mad! Let''s go!"

    "Big Sister, why are you leaving?"

    "I''m not feeling well any more. Don''t let those other deadbeats getfortable; we¡¯ll tell everyone about them."

    "Yes, let¡¯s go."

    Rumors about Prof. Hao Yu and Prof. Xiao Wen cohabiting immediately and quickly spread throughout Virtue Archives¡¯ students, though the two instructors were bothpletely ignorant of the matter. Instead, they were both staring up at the night sky.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin was preparing for his next lecture. During this time, Jin Chongshan had passed the entrance exam and officially be a student of Virtue Archives. Right after that, Liu Que also passed the exam, which was shocking news for Virtue Archives¡¯ students.

    They were shocked that Liu Que was attending the academy. There was no one from their generation who had not heard of Liu Que before.

    Liu Que''s arrival also incited several other famous geniuses toe out of seclusion within the academy. Some of them could not resist challenging Liu Que, only to be defeated by a single attack from Liu Que¡¯s sword. The young swordsman¡¯s reputation spiked throughout Virtue Archives.

    A few more days passed, and Lu Yin held the second lecture of his life. The attendance for his second ss was a bit more than half of his first ss¡¯s. The fact that he had addressed the presence of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s mes in the academy¡¯s sourcebox array had caused many of the students to grow excited, so they had decided to continue attending Lu Yin¡¯s lectures. However, after a few days passed, much of the excitement had died down. Most of the students wanted to continue focusing on their cultivation, and what did exploration have to do with that?

    The students who remained eager to attend Lu Yin¡¯s ss were either girls or people who wanted to study lockbreaking.

    The short, stammering fat man also attended. He was eager to ask a few questions, but he struggled to speak them.

    "First- Sir- Could I ask the academy- I mean, whi- which battle techniques can bebined with lock- lockbreaking?" the little fatty asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I only just arrived at Virtue Archives, so I¡¯m not familiar with the academy¡¯s battle techniques. However, I do want to remind all of you students that if you actually want to pursue lockbreaking, it¡¯s important to develop your control of star energy, as that is the first step in lockbreaking. Well, having a domain is even more helpful.¡±

    "Sir, if you have a sourcebox, could I ask you to open it?" a student asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Even we instructors need to do our own training, but if any of you students have a sourcebox that you really want to be opened, I don¡¯t mind. Just don¡¯t be stingy with the credits."

    "Great!" Many girls grew excited. Sourceboxes were not too rare for them, and credits could always be earned, which made this a wonderful opportunity to arrange for some private time with Prof. Hao Yu. Lockbreaking was a lengthy process, and as the girl who had asked the question continued to think about the matter, she quickly sent a message to her family, asking them to send her a sourcebox.

    The second ss quickly passed, and Lu Yin was bing more and morefortable teaching students. Most of the questions that were brought up were about lockbreaking, though some girls also voiced various conjectures regarding Progenitor Wen. Some of the stories that were proposed made Lu Yin feel as if there was something wrong with the girls¡¯ thought processes.

    Unexpectedly, the ss proceeded smoothly to the end, though at the very end, one girl timidly asked a question that absolutely floored Lu Yin.

    "Instructor, are you living with Prof. Xiao Wen?"

    The girl¡¯s voice was very soft, but the question silenced the entirekeside. It might have been just an illusion, but it felt like even the noisy cicadas stopped chirping.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the nervous girl who was already blushing. "What did you just ask?"

    Everyone was staring at the girl.

    She bit her lip, took a deep breath and then loudly called out, "Are you living with Prof. Xiao Wen?"

    Every single student turned as one to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "No."

    "But you¡¯re living in Prof. Xiao Wen''s home," the girl pressed.

    Lu Yin felt increasingly confused. "Prof. Xiao Wen moved to the neighboring pir. This should already have been announced to all of you."

    "But your pir still has Prof. Xiao Wen''s restrictions! I know it, and so does everyone else!" The girl remained stubborn, as this information had already been confirmed to be true.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "You¡¯re overthinking things. I¡¯ve only ever met Prof. Xiao Wen once, which was the day I arrived here at the academy. Don¡¯t spread such ridiculous rumors, as even if I won¡¯t be bothered by them, they¡¯ll ruin Prof. Xiao Wen''s reputation."

    Someone else asked, "Then why does your pir still have Prof. Xiao Wen''s restrictions in ce?"

    "It must be a lie that Prof. Xiao Wen moved to a different pir! You could have taken one of the unused pirs, so why would Prof. Xiao Wen need to move at all?"

    "There has to be something going on for something so strange to be happening."

    ¡­

    The entire ss erupted intomotion, and Lu Yin left, feeling exhausted. It seemed that being good looking did not only have benefits. Those girls were too aggressive, and their behavior was giving Lu Yin a headache. Who would believe that he had left the old restrictions in ce on his stone pir just because he had been toozy to change anything? He was a powerful Senior Array Master! Even if such a person did not set up a sourcebox array to restrict their pir, they should have at least ced a sourcebox to stop the students from invading. There were too many options that were realistically avable to Lu Yin to protect his pir, but he had not used any of them.

 Chapter 2192: Everything Returns To The Origin

    Chapter 2192: Everything Returns To The Origin

    Lu Yin rubbed his head as he returned to his own pir, only to find a man waiting at the base of it. Lu Yin arched a brow, as this young man was quite powerful.

    The man was standing quietly at the base of the pir. He was about two meters tall, and he gave off an oppressive aura that even caused the grass beneath him to bend over, clearly pressed down by some invisible force. When Lu Yin arrived, the man''s eyes instantly locked onto Lu Yin, and those eyes carried a great deal of pressure.

    "Prof. Hao Yu?" the man asked. He was staring at Lu Yin with exceptionally cold eyes, and everything about his posture and attitude indicated aggression.

    Lu Yin continued to walk closer. "That¡¯s me. And you are?"

    "Xia Shenguang." The man spoke his name slowly.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he quickly recovered and smiled at the young man. "I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re one of the most outstanding youths from the Shen generation of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Xia family."

    Xia Shenguang remained calm as he stared at ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "I can''t see through your cultivation, but don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t fight you just because you¡¯re an Envoy. Your cultivation may have reached the Envoy level, but that doesn''t prevent me from challenging you."

    Lu Yin blinked. This was confusing. "Fight me? Why would you do that?"

    "Wen Zhao.1" Xia Shenguang¡¯s voice turned even colder.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There¡¯s nothing between Prof. Xiao Wen and me."

    "Then make a public statement. rify the matter for all of Virtue Archives students and faculty, and also apologize to Wen Zhao. Do that, and I can forget about this matter." Xia Shenguang spoke in an extremely condescending manner, sounding as though this was the only reasonable way to handle the matter.

    Lu Yin found this quite funny. "So I should be the one to clean up this mess? I¡¯ve only ever spoken with Prof. Xiao Wen once, so why should I apologize for anything? I am not the one smearing her reputation."

    Xia Shenguang indifferently answered, "Apologize or fight me. Those are your choices."

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenguang. This person was also from the Xia family¡¯s Shen generation, but his personality waspletely different from Xia Shenfei¡¯s. Xia Shenfei loved to drink, and he usually appeared drunk and carefree towards everything, though he was sharp and perceptive when it mattered. On the other hand, Xia Shenguang came off as someone with a superiorityplex, and he was unbearably arrogant.

    However, both men had one thing inmon: they were overbearing. They werepletely unreasonable, as neither man would ever allow anyone to gainsay them, and anytime someone crossed them, they would be aggressive and attack.

    "Student, I want to point out one particr detail to you: you should not be referring to an instructor with their full name as Wen Zhao, but properly: Prof. Xiao Wen." The smile on Lu Yin''s face began to slowly disappear.

    Xia Shenguang continued to stare at ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "Apologize, or fight me. Those are your choices."

    "Did you not understand what I said, student? This entire rumor has nothing to do with me," Lu Yin repeated.

    Xia Shenguang clearly did not care. "Do you not understand me? Apologize or fight me. Those are your choices."

    Lu Yin shook his head and stepped forward. "I choose neither."

    He then gave Xia Shenguang another smile. "I''m not very good at fighting."

    He then simply climbed up the stone pir.

    Xia Shenguang did nothing to stop Lu Yin. They were in Virtue Archives, and even the heirs of the four ruling powers could not act willfully. While students were certainly allowed to challenge the instructors, the faculty members also had to agree to the challenge. There was no denying that Virtue Archives¡¯ students were far from ordinary students.

    If someone like Xia Shenguang wanted to challenge an instructor, a full half of the academy¡¯s fourteen instructors would not be a challenge for the young man.

    Xia Shenguang looked up at Lu Yin on the top of the stone pir, contempt dripping from his voice as he spat, "I told you that you can either apologize or fight me. There¡¯s no escape."

    The young man then turned and made his way towards Prof. Xiao Wen¡¯s residence. While Xia Shenguang did not want to hear an exnation from Lu Yin, he did want to hear one from Wen Zhao. After all, she was the woman that Xia Shenguang was pursuing.

    After returning to his home, Lu Yin could not stop himself from ncing over towards Prof. Xiao Wen''s pir. He had a feeling that he might have underestimated the trouble that thismotion would create. He had assumed that they were nothing more than baseless rumors, but those rumors had caused someone like Xia Shenguang to be antagonistic towards him.

    Xia Shenguang had tried to make trouble for Lu Yin because of the rumors involved Wen Zhao, and Wen Zhao was the great-granddaughter of Headmaster Wen. Lu Yin refused to believe there was no connection between the two. Xia Shenguang was far too concerned about Wen Zhao, which suggested that he was either obsessed with her or had ulterior motives.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Xia Shenguang really was obsessed with Wen Zhao, but it seemed highly unlikely. Still, the Xia family had previously given birth to someone with a powerful infatuation¡ªProgenitor Chen¡ªso it was not entirely impossible. Still, that had nothing to do with Lu Yin. All together, he was facing a mess.

    That night, Mr. Tang stepped out into his garden, and he looked over and saw Lu Yin. "Are you having a difficult time, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Not exactly. I¡¯m just frustrated by the rumors that have been spreading."

    "Hehe, that¡¯s just how the academy is. Without such things, there wouldn¡¯t be much entertainment, would there?" Mr. Tangughed.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. All of the old people that he met seemed to enjoy watching such drama unfold.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked at the base of Mr. Tang¡¯s pir. Qing Feng was approaching.

    The young man leaped up from beneath Mr. Tang''s stone pir, and the instructor responded with a small smile as his domain dropped down like a mountain onto the ascending student. Qing Feng also released his domain, and it fought to resist Mr. Tang¡¯s as the student struggled to reach the top of the pir.

    After a lengthy climb, Qing Feng arrived at the top of the pir, and he gave Mr. Tang a respectful bow. "Professor, this student is disturbing you once again."

    Mr. Tangughed. "Your domain is bing more and more stable. The only thing left to do now is to break through to the next level: the void god level. However, that breakthrough is extremely difficult. As I told you before, you simply need to take your time and not grow impatient."

    Qing Feng bowed again. "This student would ask to be allowed to feel the power of a void god domain a few more times. I¡¯ve heard rumors that that level of mastery allows a person to toy with the void and manipte it, and this student simply cannot understand such a thing."

    Mr. Tang replied, "It¡¯s the power of space. If everyone couldprehend that power, then more than a few would have reached the void god level of a domain in the Perennial World. You felt my domainst time. Go back. There¡¯s no need for you to return within the next two months."

    Qing Feng did not want to ept this, and he wanted to say something further, but Mr. Tang had already moved on, and he refocused onto Lu Yin. "I saw what happened between you and Xia Shenguang. You handled that well."

    Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. "He¡¯s just an impulsive student, so how could I actually fight him? Also, I¡¯m not very good atbat."

    "Right¡­" Mr. Tang stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "As far as I¡¯m concerned, you backed down to a student, but the duty of us instructors is to guide the students, not force them. You are well suited for this job, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin answered, "Honestly, I¡¯m living on this particr pir because I was hoping to get closer to you, Mr. Tang. I want to learn more about how to develop my domain. I didn¡¯t expect this to create such a misunderstanding. It¡¯s possible that even more students will approach me in the future, which means more disturbances for you."

    Mr. Tangughed. "Think nothing of it. So, Prof. Hao Yu, you also cultivate a domain?"

    Lu Yin immediately grew serious. "The whole reason the headmaster arranged for me to live here was so that I would have a better opportunity to learn from you."

    "It''s important for us to learn from each other, and in Virtue Archives, both students and faculty can learn from each other and offer guidance. There¡¯s no need to be so serious. If you want to learn more about your domain, I can allow you to sense mine in order to learn more. What level has your mastery of your domain reached?" Mr. Tang asked.

    Qing Feng was still standing to the side, and he felt extremely curious about this. Many rumors concerning Prof. Hao Yu had been floating around the academy in recent days. He was a stunningly handsome man whom many of the female students had be obsessed with. Furthermore, no one knew his actual cultivation level, and some of the rumors imed that he even had the courage to antagonize Bai Nan. And on top of all that, he was teaching a ss on the subject of exploration, and he had revealed himself to be a Senior Array Master.

    There were too many rumors and stories about Prof. Hao Yu, and there were many mysteries surrounding him.

    Lu Yin nced to the side towards Qing Feng. "My domain¡¯s about at the same level as that student. We¡¯ve both reached the spirit manifestation level. If you don¡¯t mind, Mr. Tang, I¡¯d like to experience your void god level domain with the student."

    Qing Feng''s eyes lit up with hope, and he turned to stare at Mr. Tang.

    Mr. Tang was caught off guard, but he let out augh. "In that case, since Prof. Hao Yu is asking, you two can try to learn together."

    "Thank you, Mr. Tang," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Qing Feng quickly offered another bow. "Thank you, Mr. Tang."

    He then also made a point to shoot a thankful look towards Lu Yin.

    Every opportunity to experience a domain at the void god level of mastery was truly a rare opportunity. It did not matter that Qing Feng was already an Enlighter who stood at the peak of his generation in the Perennial World. In fact, he felt even greater pressure to improve than most people, simply because of the level of his peers. Each and every one of them were arrogant and gifted, and anyone who experienced the slightest setback would immediately fall behind.

    Qing Feng was ced on the same level as the heirs of powerful families and sects, so he was naturally unwilling to waste any time. Mr. Tang had asked Qing Feng to wait two months before returning, but to Qing Feng, that was two months of wasted time. Time was the most valuable resource to him.

    A domain that had reached the void god level allowed a person to manipte the power of space. Lu Yin had already seen this ability several times before, including during Hen Xin¡¯s battles, and he had actually been jealous of Hen Xin¡¯s ability to manipte space. While Lu Yin did not believe that Mr. Tang had a greater mastery of space than Hen Xin, he still managed to make it happen, which was considered an entry level in spatial control.

    There had to be a higher level of a domain than the void god realm, and that higher level must be what Hen Xin had achieved.

    Mr. Tang unleashed his domain, and it swept out to envelop the two stone pirs, as well as Qing Feng and Lu Yin. From a distance, it looked as though the area had been covered with a transparent gas that could be stripped away at any moment.

    Within Mr. Tang''s domain, space felt different from what Lu Yin was ustomed to. How could he exin it? It was as though space had gone from being solid, to being fluid. The void god domain that enveloped Lu Yin felt as though a key had unlocked the space in the area.

    Qing Feng once again sensed a void god level domain, but confusion filled his eyes. Even though he felt like his entire being was being twisted and stripped away by space that surrounded him, it was a foreign feeling. He had no idea where to even beginprehending such a thing.

    Envoys were capable of tearing through the void to travel through space, but space remained fixed. Even the space within a cosmic ring was fixed, but the space within the range of a void god domain was not fixed. It almost felt fluid¡­ Fluid! Qing Feng''s eyes lit up, as he had justprehended something.

    Mr. Tang was surprised, as he had not expected Qing Feng to be capable ofprehending anything in the near future. The young man¡¯s talent exceeded Mr. Tang¡¯s expectations. It was understandable that the young man had been epted as Senior Qing Chen¡¯s disciple.

    While thinking about this, Mr. Tang turned his attention to Lu Yin, and the man¡¯s expressionpletely changed. Lu Yin was actually manipting space.

    Mr. Tang was shocked. Were all geniuses at this level? One of the two had managed toprehend something the second time he experienced a void god level domain, while the other was already fiddling around with space! Did this mean that they would both be able toprehend the void god level of a domain, given enough time?

    Mr. Tang continued to stare at Lu Yin in a daze. This man appeared to be hiding something.

    Lu Yin had notprehended the idea of fluid space like Qing Feng. Instead, he saw space as numerous points. He remembered when the innumerable runes had appeared in his vision as red dots, as well as when he hadprehended the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption ability, which involved the power of space. At this moment, Lu Yin was just a step away from reaching the void god realm of mastery of his domain, or even half a step. However, it was a step that could happen immediately or take a while.

    Lu Yin wondered if reaching the void god level of a domain would cause any changes in his Inverse Step or the Ce Secret Art.

    All battle techniques in existence had evolved from a single form of energy: stellr energy. This meant that all techniques would eventually return to the same origin, which was also the inspiration for the unique power that was forming within Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    [1] No exnation given, but even the students call Wen Zhao Xiao Wen. Just know that this is the full name of the Headmaster''s granddaughter.. ?

 Chapter 2193: Sharpness

    Chapter 2193: Sharpness

    All cultivation systems could be traced back to their origin. For example, both battle force and domains had been developed by the ancient Dao Monarch of the Third Maind, but the Origin Progenitor had been above even the Dao Monarchs.

    Lu Yin had trained in various cultivation methods. While it looked confusing and messy, as Mister Mu had said, Lu Yin just needed to cultivate each to the extreme.

    When Lu Yin had first heard thatment from Mister Mu, he had assumed that he truly had to reach the peak with each cultivation method. But at this moment, he realized what Mister Mu had truly meant: everything returns to the origin. Once any power was cultivated to the extreme, they would be connected to each other in a chain.

    The Ce Secret Art, Inverse Step, and the void god level of mastery of a domain all looked like they involved the power of space, but they were also rted to the power of time. This meant that a person could learn to control the void, see through it, and even touch upon the ability to control time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. All of humanity¡¯s various cultivation methods had been derived from a single origin, and in the end, they all returned to that source.

    After emerging from the void god level domain, Lu Yin offered Mr. Tang a bow. "Thank you, sir."

    Mr. Tang responded a bit emotionally. "Prof. Hao Yu is a genius who¡¯s as talented as any I¡¯ve ever heard of. You are right at the cusp of grasping the void god level."

    Lu Yin again offered his thanks.

    It was only a short timeter that Qing Feng recovered. His eyes were briefly filled with confusion, but they quickly cleared up, and he grew excited as he turned to speak to Mr. Tang. However, the man raised a hand to stop the student from speaking. "Go back. Try to understand what you¡¯veprehended on your own. Don¡¯t say anything or ask any questions for now."

    Qing Feng suppressed his excitement as he nodded. He gave Lu Yin one more grateful look before leaving.

    Mr. Tang then turned back to Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, as instructors, there are times when we need to hold back and keep our strength hidden, guiding the students by example. However, there are also moments when it is important to reveal our true strength. I look forward to when that dayes for you."

    Lu Yin answered in a self-deprecating manner, "Given your own abilities, you might end up disappointed, Mr. Tang."

    Mr. Tang just smiled and went back inside his house.

    Lu Yin exhaled. Space, time, stellr energy, death energy, Destiny¡­ Various energies and concepts circled his mind, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

    The next day, a girl approached Lu Yin¡¯s pir with a sourcebox that she wanted to ask Lu Yin to unlock in exchange for credits. However, the sourcebox was only a three-star Discerning Elementary sourcebox.

    The girl had expected "Hao Yu" to take a great deal of time to open the sourcebox, but Lu Yin had needed less than an hour to seed. Unfortunately, the sourcebox contained nothing at all.

    "Most sourceboxes are empty, which is one of the reasons why there are strong disagreements about how to best use sourceboxes. One opinion ims that all sourceboxes should be opened, and that even if ny nine out of a hundred sourceboxes hold nothing, the one percent that does justifies the cost, as anything that has been sealed within a sourcebox is incredibly valuable. Otherwise, there would have been no reason to have been sealed it in the first ce.

    "The opposing opinion is that the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones should be used to set up sourcebox arrays that can be used on the battlefield," Lu Yin exined.

    The girl stared at "Hao Yu" with her big, bright, curious eyes. "Which opinion do you support, Professor?"

    Lu Yin rubbed his chin. "I like the second option as an Array Master, but I also feel that there¡¯s some justification for opening sourceboxes. Honestly, I¡¯m a bit torn on the matter."

    The girlughed. "So our professor doesn¡¯t have an opinion? In that case, I¡¯ll hold onto the first opinion, as I hope that I can work with someone as handsome as Prof. Hao Yu every day."

    Lu Yinughed. "Train hard. You¡¯re very talented yourself, and you can also be a Lockbreaker."

    He was not simplyplimenting the girl. She had attended both of the lectures that Lu Yin had given, and during the second lecture, he had been able to evaluate the students who attended his ss. This particr girl was clearly able to be a Lockbreaker, and she was also quite talented at cultivating. She was a peak Hunter, which showed that her abilities wereparable to the Ten Arbiters¡¯.

    "Also, even though you¡¯ve attended both of my sses, I still don''t know your name," Lu Yin said. The fact that this girl was someone as gifted as the Ten Arbiters meant that she should be famous, as such talent was rare even in the Perennial World.

    The girl was pleasantly surprised at Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity. "Professor, are you asking for my name so that you can remember me? That''s wonderful! I¡¯m Nong Siniang."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Nong? Nong Siniang?"

    "That''s right."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Any rtion to Nong Sanniang?"

    Nong Siniangughed. "She¡¯s my older sister."

    "So Nong Lie¡¯s your brother?" Lu Yin continued.

    Nong Siniang nodded. "Do you know my siblings, Instructor?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I''ve heard of them, but I don¡¯t personally know them."

    Nong Siniang grew curious. "I believe that you should be around the same age as my sister and the others from her generation, which means that you are also from their time. Given Instructor¡¯s level of cultivation, you should have been quite famous back then. I¡¯ll have to ask my sister if she knows you when I go back."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s up to you, I don¡¯t mind. We¡¯ve finished the lockbreaking session, so you should return now."

    A cunning glint flickered across Nong Siniang''s eyes. "I still have more."

    She quickly pulled out a four-star Discerning Elementary sourcebox. "Please help with this as well, Instructor."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "You actually brought two sourceboxes?"

    "Hehe, I¡¯ll have to thank you, Professor, I will definitely give you enough credits for this," Nong Siniang happily replied.

    Lu Yin just shook his head and started to unlock the sourcebox.

    Nong Siniang let out a sigh of relief before resting her chin in one hand as she quietly watched "Hao Yu" work on the sourcebox and exin the process to her. The truth was that she did not have any interest in lockbreaking; if she did, her status in the Nong family meant that she would have learned how to be a Lockbreaker long ago. She had only approached "Hao Yu" because she enjoyed looking at him. She thought he was absolutely beautiful.

    Once again, Lu Yin took a bit less than an hour to sessfully open the sourcebox, though this one was also empty.

    Lu Yin''s expression did not flicker at all. These sourceboxes¡¯ danger fields did not pose any danger at all.

    "Professor, I have more." Nong Siniang pulled out another sourcebox. This time, she brought out a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox. It had eight sides, looked like a starfish, and was veryrge. Lu Yin stared at it for a long time, speechless.

    "How many sourceboxes did you bring?"

    Nong Siniang blinked. "This is thest one."

    "I''m a bit tired today, so I''ll only open thisst one. I won¡¯t work on any more for you today."

    "That¡¯s fine. Thank you, Instructor." Nong Siniang was still very happy, so she generously offered "Hao Yu" a great number of credits. She had already attended Virtue Archives for two years, and she had earned a great number of credits, but she did not have much use for them. She was not the only person in this situation, as people like Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan were the same. Virtue Archives did not actually have much to offer the heirs of the top powers, so they typically hoarded their credits, waiting to see if they could umte enough to trade for Virtue Archives¡¯ secret techniques before graduation.

    Qing Feng had spent his credits on Mr. Tang.

    This time, Lu Yin needed more than an hour to unlock the sourcebox. It had a very odd danger field, and it gave off a sweet scent. It was quite cloying, and Lu Yin hated it as soon as he smelled it. On top of that, the sourcebox was quiterge and difficult to unravel.

    Still, in the end, the eight-sided sourcebox was unlocked, and it ended up containing seeds.

    Nong Siniang''s eyes lit up. "Wonderful! That¡¯s the seed of an ancient sunflower."

    Lu Yin felt rather curious, so as he gave the seeds to Nong Siniang, he asked, "What¡¯s an ancient sunflower?"

    Nong Siniang took the seeds as she exined, "Ancient sunflowers are flowers that grow on meteorites. They bloom when they receive light, and they give off a very sweet smell. They¡¯re an indispensable ingredient in making a certain kind of spice."

    "Do they taste like that sourcebox¡¯s cloying smell?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "The actual taste is naturally much more diluted than that. The sweet smell gives a person the same feeling as love, so it¡¯s a scent that many young people chase after. Unfortunately, the flowers have been extinct for many years, and I only know about them from reading some ancient books. This works out very well, as with these seeds, we can grow the ancient sunflowers in my family¡¯s Seed Garden. Thank you, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin felt rather surprised. "There should be Lockbreakers in your Nong family, so why haven¡¯t any of them opened this sourcebox?"

    Nong Siniang replied, "We have too many sourceboxes, so while we do have Lockbreakers, we don¡¯t have enough, and all of them are on the rear battlefield. How can we have them unlock sourceboxes for us?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. Alright, let¡¯s stop here for today."

    Nong Siniang offered her thanks yet again before leaving, and she also asked if she could return to "Hao Yu" for more lockbreaking sessions. Naturally, Lu Yin agreed, as this simply meant more lockbreaking experience for him. He had Possessed Master Hao Yue before, giving him ess to the man¡¯s extensive lockbreaking experience, and that had greatly improved Lu Yin¡¯s own lockbreaking expertise. Lu Yin already had the necessary abilities, and as long as he opened the necessary number of sourceboxes, he would officially be a Realm Array Master.

    He still had high hopes of eventually bing an Array Grandmaster one day.

    After Nong Siniang left, someone else arrived and wanted to climb Lu Yin¡¯s stone pir. Unfortunately, this person failed their attempt.

    The restrictions that Wen Zhao had ced on the pir were very difficult for most Cruisers to ovee, and most of the academy¡¯s students were only Explorers. There were very few who were as powerful as Nong Siniang and Qing feng.

    "Prof. Hao Yu," Wen Zhao called out from the neighboring pir.

    Lu Yin turned around, surprised at being addressed. "Prof. Xiao Wen?"

    Wen Zhao looked at Lu Yin, and quietly said, "You should have already heard the rumors that have spread throughout the academy."

    Lu Yin quickly apologized. "I''m truly sorry, Prof. Xiao Wen. I didn''t expect that, when the headmaster was kind enough to ce me close to Mr. Tang, his attempt to help me improve my domain would create such a misunderstanding for you and affect your reputation. I''m truly sorry."

    Wen Zhao replied, "That doesn¡¯t bother me. I simply wanted to apologize, as you¡¯ve been rather embarrassed by the situation with Xia Shenguang."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "That¡¯s really not a big deal. Students are young and excitable, so such things are understandable."

    Wen Zhao felt like she needed to say a bit more. "There are certain matters that are beyond my control, and while I will do my best to make things clear to Xia Shenguang, he¡¯s simply too impulsive."

    Lu Yin responded quickly, "Don''t do that. These sort of things get messier and moreplicated the more we try to clear them up. Just don¡¯t bother saying anything and let things be."

    "You want to let things take their own course?" Wen Zhao frowned and looked at Lu Yin in a questioning manner.

    Lu Yin found this reaction odd. Had he said something wrong?

    Wen Zhao looked away. "In that case, you¡¯ll have to take care of yourself, Prof. Hao Yu. As long as you continue to ignore Xia Shenguang, he won¡¯t be able to do anything to you while you stay in Virtue Archives."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I see."

    Wen Zhao returned to her new residence.

    Xia Shenguang represented both Shenwu''s Sky and the Xia family, which meant that anything that he did was watched by many people. There was a valid reason for Wen Zhao¡¯s concern, and soon, another instructor approached Lu Yin.

    "Prof. Hao Yu? Are you here? I''m Wu Taibai. I came to see you," a voice called out to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Who? Wu Taibai?

    He walked out of the house atop the pir and looked down. Sure enough, he saw a familiar face: Wu Taibai. He had once been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies.

    However, why was Wu Taibai in Virtue Archives? Wait, Lu Yin had heard that an instructor known as Prof. Wu had broken through the Eighteenth Lines Formation as an Enlighter; was that person Wu Taibai?

    "Are you home, Prof. Hao Yu?" Wu Taibai called out again.

    Lu Yin answered, "Prof. Wu? Come on up."

 Chapter 2194: Deja Vu

    Chapter 2194: Deja Vu

    Wu Taibai advanced, and he immediately ascended the stone pir to arrive in the garden outside Lu Yin¡¯s home. As he looked at "Hao Yu," a strange expression shed across the man¡¯s eyes. "Prof. Hao Yu, you¡¯ve already been a member of the academy¡¯s faculty for half a month, and although I heard about you when you first arrived, I haven¡¯t met you until now. I¡¯m sorry to be bothering you today."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s no problem, Prof. Wu. Please,e in."

    Wu Taibai entered the courtyard, and Lu Yin settled in as he poured some tea for Wu Taibai. "I¡¯ve also heard of you, Prof. Wu, including that you¡¯re one of the only Enlighter-realm instructors to have defeated the academy¡¯s Eighteenth Lines Formation. That¡¯s impressive."

    Wu Taibai smiled. "It''s not that impressive. By our age, many people have already be Envoys, just like you, Prof. Hao Yu. As an Envoy, you must also be able to break through the Eighteen Lines Formations. I really can¡¯tpare to you, though that¡¯s no surprise."

    Lu Yin had been genuinely surprised when he first saw Wu Taibai, as given the young man¡¯s talent, he absolutely should have be an Envoy by this point in time. Wu Taibai had not been imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, nor had he been left in the Fifth Maind where there was no stellr energy. Thus, it made no sense that Wu Taibai was still an Enlighter.

    Lu Yin believed that all of the most talented people from his generation in the Perennial World should have already be Envoys, but Wu Taibai had not.

    "Even if I''m an Envoy, I¡¯m not fully confident that I could defeat that formation. You¡¯re overestimating me and selling yourself short, Prof. Wu," Lu Yin answered humbly.

    Wu Taibai smiled and sipped his tea while thinking about something.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to move the conversation along. He already knew that Wu Taibai must have something to say concerning the matter with Xia Shenguang.

    After a while, Wu Taibai set his cup back down. "Honestly, I came here to apologize to you, Prof. Hao Yu."

    This was surprising. "Why would you say that? The two of us have never met, so how could you owe me any apology?"

    "You¡¯ve already met Xia Shenguang, correct?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Wu Taibai continued to say, "I am also a member of Shenwu''s Sky, and Xia Shenguang is one of the most talented members of the Shen generation from my Shenwu''s Sky. He was rude to an instructor, so as his elder, it¡¯s only natural for me to make amends on his behalf. I am genuinely sorry, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "It''s really not a big deal. There¡¯s no need for you to do this, Prof. Wu. Xia Shenguang¡¯s just a student, so how could I take offense at the actions of a student?"

    Wu Taibai smiled. "I already knew that Prof. Hao Yu is a broad-minded person and wouldn¡¯t care about such a minor matter, but there¡¯s also a second reason for my visit."

    "Then let''s hear it," Lu Yin encouraged. He assumed that this was also connected to Wen Zhao, and if that ended up proving true, then Xia Shenguang''s behavior was because of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Wu Taibai remained contemtive for a bit. "While this is not nice to say, I don¡¯t have a choice."

    The man grew serious as he stared at "Hao Yu." "Please forgive my bluntness, but will you tell me the rtionship between you and Prof. Xiao Wen?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "You can¡¯t tell me that you also believe the students¡¯ rumors, Prof. Wu."

    Wu Taibaiughed. "Of course not. It¡¯s just that the headmaster did make arrangements for you to live here, which is a bit of a mystery. I was hoping that you would be able to exin this to me."

    Lu Yin stared at Wu Taibai. "What are you getting at, Prof. Wu?"

    Wu Taibai and Lu Yin stared at each other for a moment before Wu Taibai looked away. "You should already understand that Xia Shenguang likes Prof. Xiao Wen, and Shenwu''s Sky is hoping that Prof. Hao Yu will not get in the way. In exchange, you are wee to ask us for anything."

    Sure enough, Shenwu¡¯s Sky is trying to get an inside source on the headmaster, and they want to interfere. This is rather interesting, Lu Yin thought.

    "There is nothing to the rumors. I have no connection to Prof. Xiao Wen. So, does that satisfy Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s curiosity?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Taibai nodded. "Shenwu''s Sky does not likeplications. Of course, if Prof. Hao Yu were not willing to back down, then it would only be fair to have apetition. My primary reason foring here is to apologize for Xia Shenguang¡¯s actions."

    Wu Taibai was very straightforward, and he did not offer any threats or coercion. His words could only be regarded as ones of incentive, but there was no denying that Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s mere existence was a threat to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Prof. Wu, if you would like to understand why the headmaster arranged for me to live here, then there¡¯s no problem in telling you that."

    Wu Taibai immediately straightened up.

    "I¡¯m learning how to improve my domain."

    Wu Taibai was caught off guard. "Your domain?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "My domain has already reached the spirit manifestation realm, and I¡¯m but a step from the void god level. Still, that step is too difficult to take on my own, so the headmaster was kind enough to have me be Mr. Tang¡¯s neighbor. That way, I can ask him for some guidance from time to time. There¡¯s nothing more to the situation."

    Wu Taibaiughed. "Ah, it seems that we really did misunderstand, though this turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I¡¯ve learned that Prof. Hao Yu is about to reach the void god level with your domain. Shenwu¡¯s Sky will certainly offer our congrattions when that dayes."

    The two men exchanged a bit more small talk, but everything that had needed to be addressed had been covered, so Wu Taibai soon said his goodbyes and left. However, before leaving, he looked straight into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Prof. Hao Yu, have we met before?"

    Lu Yin made a point of considering the question. "Probably not. Prof. Wu is from Shenwu''s Sky, while I''m just an independent cultivator."

    Wu Taibai smiled and left.

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s back. Wu Taibai¡¯sment had not been referring to Lu Yin, but rather to Yu Hao. Yu Hao had married Xia Zhitong, and she was a member of the Xia family, which made her a part of Shenwu''s Sky as well. It was certainly possible that Wu Taibai had met Yu Hao before.

    If Wu Taibai exposed Hao Yu as Yu Hao, Lu Yin¡¯s time in Virtue Archives would soon stop being as peaceful. Still, that was not a problem, as Lu Yin had already expected that.

    There was absolutely no chance that Shenwu¡¯s Sky would ever let the matter of Yu Hao pretending to be Hao Yu drop, so everything depended on whether or not they could target him while he remained in Virtue Archives. This was all part of Lu Yin¡¯s initial n.

    How could Lu Yin get close to Shenwu¡¯s Sky as Yu Hao without revealing himself? How was he supposed to ruin the four ruling powers'' plot to intimidate the entire Perennial World with their treatment of the Yu family if he simply stayed hidden in Virtue Archives?

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal in his trip to the Perennial World was to rescue certain people, but he still had no idea how he could do that. All he could do right now was take things one step at a time.

    For the time being, Lu Yin just observed his own stone pir. It was time to make his own arrangements. Leaving the restrictions that Wen Zhao had ced on the pir had already given rise to certain rumors, so it really would not be good if he continued using them. Additionally, if Shenwu¡¯s Sky wanted to go after him, Virtue Archives¡¯ attitude towards Lu Yin would be extremely important, and he needed to improve his standing in the academy before that time came.

    These were the thoughts that ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he started cing his own restrictions on the pir.

    The best restriction for him to use was the Teleportation Formation, as it would simply move the students away from the pir without causing the slightest bit of harm, and it would simultaneously demonstrate his abilities as an Array Master.

    Lu Yin rxed for the next few days. Nong Siniang did not return, and none of the other students tried to meet with Lu Yin. He spent some time in the academy library, as the credits that he had received from Nong Siniang were enough to give Lu Yin ess to an additional floor.

    Many of Prof. Xiao Wen¡¯s students often visited the second floor to research ancient characters. Lu Yin was also curious about these ancient characters, as he also wanted to learn the Literary Prison. However, Lu Yin¡¯s best option for a teacher was actually Wen Diyi, as the man had a much greater mastery of the Literary Prison than Prof. Xiao Wen. Also, were the two rted? They both had the Wen surname.

    Lu Yin did not release Wen Diyi while in Virtue Archives, nor did he take out the mirror to let Progenitor Smoke out. The academy was a ce that the four ruling powers had a strong interest in, and the academy also had two Semi-Progenitors of their own. Thus, Lu Yin was worried about being caught.

    His third ss began, but after delivering two lectures, Lu Yin had already started to be much morefortable with his job as a teacher.

    Jin Chongshan also attended the ss, as the Purple-Gold family had always been investigating the Undying Bird and Dark Undying Bird¡¯s connection to Virtue Archives, and Lu Yin had addressed this matter in his sses.

    However, Qing Feng also attended the lecture, which was very surprising to Lu Yin. Though, Qing Feng¡¯s presence could be exined by his gratitude towards Lu Yin for allowing Qing Feng to receive some guidance from Mr. Tang, which had given him some measure of enlightenment.

    Naturally, the girls who had the same attitude as Nong Siniang were also still in attendance, though there were not as many as there had been in Lu Yin¡¯s first lecture. Instead, the people attending the third lecture was almost double from Lu Yin¡¯s second ss, and most of them were there due to the rumors iming that he was living together with Prof. Xiao Wen.

    Lu Yin saw the envy and jealousy in many of the male students¡¯ eyes.

    Half an hour of Lu Yin¡¯s ss passed. He brought up the fact that he had stumbled upon some information regarding Progenitor Wen in the academy¡¯s library, and it sparked a bit of discussion when he shared it with the ss.

    It was at this time that Bai Nan arrived, though this time he did not seem to want to make any trouble for Lu Yin. Instead, the student looked both intrigued and rather smug as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin arched a brow when he saw Bai Nan¡¯s expression, as it clearly indicated that something was going on. This kid really deserved a good smack.

    Shortly after Bai Nan arrived, another person showed up, and their arrival caused Lu Yin to understand Bai Nan¡¯s smug attitude. Xia Shenguang had shown up, and given what he had seen so far, Lu Yin assumed that the man was there because of Bai Nan.

    Bai Nan sneered as he watched Lu Yin''s rather eloquent lecture. Xia Shenguang¡¯s here, so let''s see how you deal with him!

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s arrival created quite a stir among the students. There were several Virtue Archives¡¯ students who rarely attended any of the sses, not even Mr. Tang or Prof. Zheng¡¯s.

    The title of Junior Progenitor was something that was only given to the victors of the Yuanlun Festival, which meant that only youths from Xia Shenfei¡¯s generation could be considered Junior Progenitors. However, the Junior Progenitors still existed and could be used, though they had not been assigned to anyone yet.

    Essentially, the only difference between Xia Shenguang and Xia Shenfei among their individual generations was that Xia Shenguang did not have the opportunity to participate in an excursion to the Dominion Realm, which meant that he did not have an opportunity to acquire any Origin Matter. As for whether or not he would actually be able to get and use Origin Matter to open his upper meridian point, that was something that would never be shared with outsiders.

    As far as his peers were concerned, Xia Shenguang was a Junior Progenitor, and it was simply a matter of time before he was given a Junior Progenitor.

    If the female students in Virtue Archives pursued Lu Yin due to Yu Hao¡¯s appearance, then Xia Shenguang¡¯s existence excited them for a different reason: his strength and background. The two were viewed in entirely different manners.

    In the end, good looks could neverpare to the might of a Junior Progenitor.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, can you exin the rumors concerning you and Prof. Xiao Wen?" Xia Shenguang spoke so loudly that his voice carried across theke.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ss only took up a small area near theke, and there were many other students in the area who were not attending Lu Yin¡¯s lecture. Some were fishing, resting, or training.

    Xia Shenguang''s words instantly drew everyone''s attention.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "Student Xia Shenguang, there¡¯s nothing for me to exin. The truth will naturallye out, and ignorantly pursuing such rumors only exacerbates the situation and causes more harm to Prof. Xiao Wen''s reputation. Is this really what you want?"

    Xia Shenguang lifted his head. "Then you should apologize, as you are the one damaging her reputation."

    Lu Yin was using Yu Hao''s appearance, and he had taken on the position of an instructor in Virtue Archives, which meant that he needed to alter his personality and shift his overall demeanor. However, even if he did not care about people trying to antagonize him, it did not mean that Lu Yin could not be riled up. Xia Shenguang had irritated Lu Yin enough that, if not for him impersonating Yu Hao, Lu Yin would have already smacked the young man down and forced him to reign in his actions.

 Chapter 2195: Challenge

    Chapter 2195: Challenge

    Nong Siniang stood up and shouted, "Xia Shenguang, don''t disturb an instructor¡¯s ss! There¡¯s something wrong with you! Isn''t it just a rumor? Besides, it concerns Prof. Hao Yu and Prof. Xiao Wen, so what does any of it have to do with you? I''ve heard of people picking up money they find on the ground, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone picking up a rumor and iming it as their own. If you¡¯re so capable, find yourself some scoldings, too"

    Xia Shenguang shot Nong Siniang a cold re. "For the sake of the Nong family, I can act as though I didn¡¯t hear that. Even if Nong Sanniang were here, she would not dare speak to me in such a tone. Mind your own business."

    Nong Siniang stretched her waist and brazenly continued, "What are you talking about? My sister would smash you dead with her hoe."

    Qing Feng stood as well. "Xia Shenguang, please don''t disturb others when they are in ss."

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s gaze shot over to Qing Feng. "I don''t like being forced to speak to trash. If you can take five of my attacks, I¡¯ll at least address you directly."

    Qing Feng clenched his fists. His status qualified him to be highly regarded wherever he went, and he was an amazingly talented cultivator, as there was no other way for him to receive the favor of a Semi-Progenitor like Qing Chen. Still, Qing Feng was greatly inferior to Xia Shenguang in terms of status. Even though Qing Chen was a Semi-Progenitor, he could note close toparing to the Xia family.

    Qing Feng had been excited and bold when he had first arrived at Virtue Archives, believing himself to be among the best of his entire generation. After all, how many people his age were able to be Enlighters? However, after sparring with Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan, Qing Feng had realized the truth of the matter. Even though the other two were also Enlighters and looked to be on the same level as Qing Feng, theirbat strength was iparable to his own.

    This was also why Qing Feng was so desperate to improve his domain, as he did not want to fall too far behind the others.

    Xia Shenguang looked back at Lu Yin. "Either apologize or fight me. As an Envoy, do you not even dare to fight against a student who¡¯s an Enlighter? What qualifies you to be an instructor in this academy?"

    Bai Nan also started mocking "Hao Yu." Prof. Hao Yu, you didn¡¯t dare to challenge the Eighteen Lines Formation, and now, do you not even have the courage to ept a challenge from a student?"

    Nong Siniang spoke up again. "Don¡¯t be absurd! Prof. Hao Yu is an academic, a Lockbreaker, not some battle freak. Why should he fight you?"

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s cold eyes never left Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply sped his hands behind his back. "I''m not very good at fighting, as I already told you."

    Contempt covered Xia Shenguang¡¯s face, and he turned and prepared to leave. "Trash."

    Many students felt quite disappointed. Even Nong Siniang, who had been supporting Lu Yin, felt rather disappointed in the instructor at this moment. The situation was not looking good. If Prof. Hao Yu did not even have the courage to fight a student, how could he maintain any authority over the students?

    Some of the students had already started asking why Prof. Hao Yu was not deployed to the rear battlefield despite being a Senior Array Master. Many people had started to guess that it was because their new instructor was too afraid of death. In particr, people like Bai Nan made a determined effort to spread such suspicions, and at this moment, the rumors appeared likely to be true.

    "However," Lu Yin continued, "While I''m not very good at fighting, I''m quite good at setting up sourcebox arrays."

    Xia Shenguang turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still not finished. "You just said that Qing Feng isn¡¯t able to endure even ten attacks from you? How about this, then? I¡¯ll set up a sourcebox for him¡ªdon¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t use one that¡¯s dangerous to you, and it will only be a support array. With that, if he can endure ten attacks from you¡ªno, let¡¯s make it fifty attacks. If he can endure fifty attacks from you, why don¡¯t we call it my win? If he can¡¯tst that long, then it¡¯ll be your win, and I¡¯ll do whatever you request."

    Xia Shenguang looked over at Qing Feng in surprise, while Qing Feng stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. Forget fifty attacks; Qing Feng knew perfectly well that he could not even endure ten of Xia Shenguang¡¯s attacks. While Qing Feng¡¯s domain was rather advanced, that was nothing more than an ability, and it did not meanbat ability. There was a massive gap between him and Xie Shenguang. Qing Feng did not even have the ability to break through Xie Shenguang¡¯s Divine Martial Armor, so how was he supposed tost for fifty attacks?

    Xia Shenguangughed. "Are you confident in this other piece of trash, or yourself? I¡¯ll tell you right now¡ªif I treat the fight seriously, he won¡¯tst for three moves, let alone ten. That is the difference between us."

    "So, do you ept?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xia Shenguang sneered. "Fine, I ept your condition, but there¡¯s no need for fifty attacks. If he can survive just ten, I¡¯ll ept my defeat."

    Lu Yin looked over at Qing Feng. "Student, would you be willing to help me?"

    Qing Feng hesitated.

    Nong Siniang immediately became nervous. "Qing Feng, are you a man or not? Even without Prof. Hao Yu''s sourcebox array, shouldn¡¯t you have the courage to fight against Xia Shenguang? Where did all the boldness that you used to have go?"

    Qing Feng looked up at Lu Yin. "I''m not afraid of a fight, but I don''t want to harm Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s reputation."

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and star energy gathered around Qing Feng to create a modified sourcebox array: Channeling Diagram.

    When Lu Yin had been masquerading as Long Qi, he had once used the Channeling Diagram in public, so he was worried that it might be recognized. This was why he had modified it a bit. "Don¡¯t worry about it . You¡¯ll be fine."

    Qing Feng took a deep breath and nodded. He then looked back at Xia Shenguang. "Let¡¯s go."

    The many nearby students pulled back, excited to see this match. It was a surprise to see such a high level battle during a ss. Even though Qing Feng was much, much weaker than Xia Shenguang, that was only because Xia Shenguang was a true monster. With the sole exception of those on the same level as Xia Shenguang, Qing Feng was the absolute strongest of his generation. There was no way this match would not be a good show.

    Aside from the students attending Lu Yin¡¯s lecture, there were many other students gathered around theke, and they had all heard Xia Shenguang''s provocation. They were also all excited to see this fight.

    It was decided that the battle would take ce right above theke.

    Qing Feng felt a bit confused as he observed the Channeling Diagram that surrounded his body. Isn''t this too simple? He felt that the sourcebox array would shatter with just a touch. Can this really stop Xia Shenguang''s Divine Martial Armor?

    Qing Feng was not the only one with such thoughts, as the same thing urred to Xia Shenguang and all of the other students who had gathered to watch the fun.

    Xia Shenguang sneered. This instructor was just putting on a show of being powerful, and Xia Shenguang saw right through his pretense. This instructor intended to allow Qing Feng take the heat. As long as Qing Feng agreed to the challenge, Prof. Hao Yu would be able to me the loss on Qing Feng and escape the humiliation.

    All Xia Shenguang wanted was for Prof. Hao Yu to do as he should and apologize to Wen Zhao. This instructor was quite insidious.

    Xia Shenguang had already guessed at Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, but he said nothing. On the other hand, Bai Nan did voice such usations, and many others were thinking them. Instantly, many students¡¯ opinions of Lu Yin started to plummet, including even the female students¡¯.

    "You can only be considered unlucky, so just treat this as a lesson," Xia Shenguang stated indifferently before raising a hand up high. An invisible stream of energy swirled up like a ribbon as his hand pointed at the distant Qing Feng. Xia Shenguang was in a hurry, as the quicker this battle ended, the more humiliating it would be for Hao Yu. Bai Nan had already voiced their suspicions regarding Hao Yu aloud, so there was no way for the instructor to avoid embarrassing himself.

    Qing Feng''s eyes grew focused, and he quickly dodged Xia Shenguang¡¯s attack. However, Qing Feng¡¯s movements had been predicted, and Xia Shenguang also threw out a palm strike. The power of the Divine Martial Armor cut through the air and crashed into Qing Feng, who raised a hand. "Water Image."

    As Qing Feng¡¯s voice echoed, the water in front of him transformed to create the image of a dreamlike world full of mountains and rivers, and it tried to stop the approaching attack.

    However, Qing Feng had still underestimated the Divine Martial Armor. This was Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s most precious technique, and it was both powerful and extremely destructive. How could a single technique be enough to block such power?

    The Divine Martial Armor instantly shattered Qing Feng''s Water Image. Fortunately, the defensive technique was not entirely useless, as it managed to stop a bit of the palm strike, which allowed Qing Feng to evade the attack.

    A smile appeared on Xia Shenguang''s face, and a long knife appeared in his hand. He stepped forward, and the de became shrouded with Divine Martial Armor as he shed the de at Qing Feng. "Do you remember this trick?"

    Qing Feng''s pupils instantly constricted. He had challenged Xia Shenguang once before, and this was the attack that had ended the fight. In that first match, this knife sh had been Xia Shenguang¡¯s sixth attack, but this time, he was using it as his second attack. It was clear that he wanted to end things quickly.

    Many students felt their heart rates quicken. Most people liked Qing Feng more, as he was a good-natured person who was cheerful and happy to help others.

    Qing Feng stared as Xia Shenguang''s de fell. Suddenly, Lu Yin''s voice entered the young man¡¯s ear. "Domain."

    It was like lightning shed through Qing Feng¡¯s mind, and at that moment, the feeling he had experienced during Mr. Tang''s void god domain returned to him. The knife fell, and Qing Feng watched as the de sliced through his Water Image and the void. All he could think of were the same words that he had thought of before: fluid space. This was what he hadprehended before.

    The Divine Martial Armor that shrouded the knife froze space in the surrounding area, which Xia Shenguang felt ensured his victory. He had easily defeated Qing Feng with this attack before, and there was no way for Qing Feng to have gained the strength necessary to counter this attack in such a short amount of time.

    However, that attack failed, as Qing Feng slipped out from under it like a fish.

    Xia Shenguang could not believe his eyes. "What?"

    After evading the attack, Qing Feng¡¯s hand stretched out, and lightning shed. It formed a de that shed at Xia Shenguang from a difficult angle. Qing Feng¡¯s style ofbat had changed.

    Xia Shenguang saw the lightning de slice through the void, and he hurried to dodge, but he was startled by the sudden attack. His surprise caused him to be unable to fully dodge the attack. On top of that, the trajectory of the de was too strange, as it seemed to pass through the void rather than destroy it. The de sheared straight through the air.

    The attack felt very odd, and Xia Shenguang felt as though he was facing someone other than Qing Feng.

    The students at the edge of theke stared at the two in a daze. What had they just witnessed? Was that Xia Shenguang bleeding? How had he gotten hurt?

    Qing Feng held the lightning de in his hand. This was his innate gift, and his master had helped him understand how to use the Water Image battle technique to enhance the destructive power of his innate gift. Qing Feng had once believed that thisbination was powerful enough to allow him to stand on the same level as the top experts of his generation. However, after entering Virtue Archives, Qing Feng had challenged both Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan, and his pride had been crushed.

    At this moment, that lost pride returned. Qing Feng felt that, not only was it possible for him to stand on the same level, but also surpass his peers: no matter what, Xia Shenguang had been injured.

    Lu Yin was quite impressed. Qing Feng''s talent for cultivating his domain was quite good. Everyone had a different understanding of space, so Lu Yin was quite curious as to what Qing Feng¡¯s understanding was. Still, it was no wonder why Mr. Tang had voiced his admiration that night.

    Xia Shenguang stared down at his bleeding arm. He no longer felt the contempt and indifference that he had disyed at the beginning of the fight. His expression fell as he looked up at Qing Feng. "You¡¯re very good."

    Qing Feng clenched his lightning de, and it flickered. "Let¡¯s continue."

    Xia Shenguang touched his injured arm, causing blood to stain his fingers. "I underestimated you, but it''s over now. Be careful to not die."

    The knife rose up again, and this time, it shed sideways. The Divine Martial Armor once again wrapped around the de, and the sh shattered the void.

    Qing Feng was able to see the approaching sh through the shattered void, and he quickly tried to dodge. However, the same attack also appeared behind him, and as Qing Feng reflexively dodged the attack from behind, Xia Shenguang shed his knife out again.

    The faces of many of the people at the edge of theke grew pale. This was the end.

    Qing Feng watched as the knife sh dropped down towards him. This was the most dangerous moment of the fight so far. He could dodge the knife, but not the Divine Martial Armor that enveloped the attack, nor could he dodge Xia Shenguang¡¯s mysterious second attack that was approaching him at the same time. Xia Shenguang was absolutely certain that this attack would end the fight, as he had not held back at all. This was not a simple attack, as Qing Feng had to pay for the wound that he had just inflicted upon Xia Shenguang.

    After all, Xia Shenguang was a member of the Xia family, a part of Shenwu''s Sky! He had received the most outstanding inheritances in existence. No matter what Qing Feng might haveprehended, it was impossible for him topare to Xia Shenguang.

    Qing Feng waspletely unable to dodge the attack, and both the de and the Divine Martial Armor struck. Theke erupted, and a terrifying force swept out in all directions with such power that it warped the void.

    Thekewater shot high into the sky before falling back down like rain.

    Everyone stared at theke, eager to see the results of the attack.

 Chapter 2196: See Clearly Before Returning

    Chapter 2196: See Clearly Before Returning

    After theke water fell back down, Xia Shenguang was still standing in the air above the middle of theke, shock and disbelief covering his face. Some distance away, Qing Feng stood,pletely unharmed.

    Qing Feng was also dumbfounded, and he quickly checked himself. Was he really all right?

    He nced over at Lu Yin on the shore of theke. This sourcebox array was incredibly useful, as it hadpletely blocked Xia Shenguang''s attack.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face, as the entire situation was more of a farce than anything. How could the Channeling Diagram be useless, especially one set up by him with his current strength? The sourcebox array might look weak, but forget Xia Shenguang¡ªeven if Xia Shenfei were to be an Envoy and attack, he might not be able to cause Qing Feng any harm.

    There was not a single student in Virtue Archives who could ovee Lu Yin¡¯s sourcebox array.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, di- did that sourcebox array just block Xia Shenguang''s sh?" Nong Siniang asked.

    Many of the students turned to nkly stare at "Hao Yu." He just smiled at them. "His attacks aren¡¯t powerful enough. It is a sourcebox array."

    Nong Siniang immediately started to get excited. "I knew that an instructor wouldn¡¯t really try to avoid a fight! Xia Shenguang can¡¯t break through Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s sourcebox array."

    There were many other female students nearby, and not only had their previously failing opinion of "Hao Yu" been restored, but it had also grown more than ever before.

    The stuttering little fatty also grew excited. "T- too- too powerful! Too powerful!"

    Xia Shenguang stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. He was fully aware of the power of hisst attack, and it was highly unusual for a sourcebox array to be able to block such power.

    With this sourcebox array, Xia Shenguang would need to getpletely serious about this spar if he wanted to defeat Qing Feng within ten moves.

    Lu Yin was eager to see Xia Shenguang use Shenwu¡¯s Transformation. Lu Yin had previously seen Xia Shenfei use the technique, and it was quite impressive. However, Lu Yin had always been more wary of Xia Shenfei¡¯s innate gift, as the ability to force someone to relive a moment from their past was a powerful innate gift that had caught Lu Yin off guard. Inparison to that, Xia Shenguang''s strength was far below Xia Shenfei''s.

    Xia Shenguang raised his knife and charged Qing Feng. He had already attacked three times, which meant that he still had seven moves remaining.

    Qing Feng was instantly wary, and water rose from theke as he used his Water Image battle technique, but it waspletely useless against Xia Shenguang.

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s eyes never left Qing Feng as he used a secret technique: Reversal. This secret technique was able to cause an opponent¡¯s previous injuries to manifest once again, and even if a person¡¯s strength improved, their previous injuries could still be brought back. It was a truly terrifying secret technique.

    Sure enough, Qing Feng''s strength was greatly reduced. He wanted to avoid the attack after slowing it with his Water Image, but it proved impossible.

    On the other hand, Xia Shenguang was unable to break past the sourcebox array with a single attack, so Qing Feng was simply knocked back.

    Xia Shenguang charged forward again, his knife rising to continue his assault. As this de rose, the image of a massive de appeared behind the young man. It was a visualization method.

    Nong Siniang''s eyes went wide. She was aware that visualization methods had originally been an exclusive technique of the Lu family, but after their exile, the four ruling powers had stolen the method.

    As soon as Xia Shenguang¡¯s visualization method appeared, Qing Feng''s instincts screamed danger. This attack was so terrifying that he did not dare to try blocking it at all.

    Lu Yin remainedpletely unfazed. So what if Xia Shenguang used a visualization method? It might improve the young man¡¯s attack power, but it was still not nearly enough for him to break past the Channeling Diagram.

    There was a massive explosion, and theke erupted again. de qi swept out in every direction, shooting towards the shores of theke.

    Prof. Zheng suddenly appeared, and he blocked the de qi before waving a hand and calming theke waters. He turned to face the center of theke.

    Once again, shock and disbelief covered Xia Shenguang''s face as he stared at the sourcebox array that protected Qing Feng. It looked so weak, but it had just blocked Xia Shenguang¡¯s knife once again, this time after his attack had been boosted by his visualization method.

    "It looks like you can''t break through it." Qing Feng was simrly shocked. He had not expected Xia Shenguang''s attack to bepletely useless. Rather, he had expected to perhaps be able to evade the attack after the sourcebox array weakened it a bit. Instead, the sourcebox array had shown that there was no need for Qing Feng to dodge anything at all. He could just stand in ce and allow Xia Shenguang to attack freely. No matter what, Qing Feng would be perfectly fine.

    Xia Shenguang turned to stare at Lu Yin, shock still filling the young man¡¯s eyes. "What do you call that sourcebox array?"

    Lu Yin smiled and answered in a very humble tone, "I forgot."

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s eyes red.

    Prof. Zheng frowned and stepped forward. "Prof. Hao Yu, what''s going on here?"

    Lu Yin smiled at his fellow instructor. "It¡¯s just a minor matter for students to exchange pointers. What brought Prof. Zheng here?"

    Prof. Zheng quietly answered, "Thatst attack was far too much to be used in a spar."

    Lu Yinughed. "Do you see any injuries, Prof. Zheng?"

    Prof. Zheng hesitated, and he stared at "Hao Yu" for a moment before turning to Xia Shenguang. "You aren¡¯t able to break through that sourcebox array. There¡¯s no need to continue this fight."

    Xia Shenguang clenched his knife even tighter. "Impossible! There has to be a way to break it!"

    Wu Taibai appeared from another direction. "Shenguang, Prof. Zheng is absolutely right. There¡¯s no way for you to ovee that sourcebox array, so continuing this fight is pointless."

    Xia Shenguang and Wu Taibai stared at each other for a moment before the student turned back to stare at Lu Yin again. "I admit defeat."

    Lu Yin smiled again. "This was merely a discussion between ssmates, so there¡¯s no need to worry about it, Xia Shenguang. Students, this lesson should have given you a good understanding of how sourcebox arrays can be used in battle. Those of you who wish to continue my ss should write a report giving your insights into this matter and turn it in at our next ss. We¡¯ll do our best to guide you in exploring sourcebox arrays, and within the next year, we¡¯ll uncover the secret of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s mes."

    "Yes, Prof. Hao Yu!" Nong Siniang was thrilled. Not only was this instructor so pretty to look at, but he was also so powerful! It was thrilling.

    "Yes, Prof. Hao Yu."

    "Yes, Prof. Hao Yu."

    ...

    The female students responded with excitement, happy smiles decorating their faces.

    The lecture time had finished, but Lu Yin was unable to leave. Students surrounded him sopletely that it was impossible for Lu Yin to get away, and Prof. Zheng was not even able to approach.

    Wu Taibai offered an apology to Lu Yin, but Lu Yin smiled, clearly unbothered.

    Xia Shenguang left, stillpletely preupied with the sourcebox array that had protected Qing Feng.

    Previously, he had seen all different kinds of sourcebox arrays, and he had even fought on the rear battlefield, but the sourcebox array that Lu Yin had used to protect Qing Feng was something that Xia Shenguang had never encountered before. He had to find out what it was, as it would be extremely difficult to ovee the array without that knowledge.

    Xia Shenguang believed himself to be a Realmbreaker who could fight against Envoys. Just like when Xia Shenfei had been an Enlighter, Xia Shenguang was capable of entering the true universe. He was exceptionally gifted, which was why he was confident that he could fight against an Envoy like Lu Yin. However, the instructor¡¯s sourcebox array proved to be an unpredictable factor.

    As Xia Shenguang was thinking about these things, a man with a long sword approached and casually blocked his path.

    Xia Shenguang stared at the man, surprised that anyone would stop him, and he carefully observed the swordsman. "Liu Que?"

    Sure enough, Liu Que had blocked Xia Shenguang¡¯s path. "Are you Xia Shenguang?"

    "I heard that you intend to challenge all of the students here in Virtue Archives. What changed your mind and caused you to join the academy yourself?" Xia Shenguang was surprised to see Liu Que in Virtue Archives.

    Liu Que just stared ahead, his eyes cold. "Let''s have a spar."

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had heard many rumors about Liu Que, and he was actually quite wary of the swordsman. To make things worse, right after Liu Que joined Virtue Archives just a few days ago, he had already challenged one of Xia Shenguang¡¯s fellow student leaders and crushed him. Even though Xia Shenguang was arrogant and fully believed himself to be a match for any of the Junior Progenitors, Liu Que was one of the few people who was just as monstrously powerful.

    "This isn¡¯t the time." Xia Shenguang refused.

    Liu Que looked down at Xia Shenguang''s left arm where he had been cut by Qing Feng''s lightning de, noticing the blood stains for the first time. "You¡¯re injured? By who?"

    Initially, Xia Shenguang did not want to say anything, but he suddenly changed his mind. "You should have already heard of Prof. Hao Yu."

    ¡­

    Back on theke shore, Lu Yin had finally managed to free himself from the crowd of students. He had been surrounded by students who wanted to learn the sourcebox array that he had used to protect Qing Feng. It was a true sourcebox array, and not just a mere sourcebox. The two were entirely different concepts.

    There were many times where Lu Yin felt extremely grateful to Astral-10¡¯s Trialmaster. The man had created the Channeling Diagram, and the sourcebox array wasparable to some of the ones listed in True Insight.

    After the students finally dispersed, Qing Feng was able to approach, and he offered Lu Yin a deep bow. "Thank you, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin moved a hand to raise the student back up. "You treat me as your instructor, so there¡¯s no need for you to be so polite. You did well in that match."

    Qing Feng was still excited. "Without you, I would not have had the opportunity to experience a void god level domain again, and you also granted me the ability to face Xia Shenguang just now."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You¡¯re quite talented. Senior Qing Chen found a good disciple."

    "Do you know my master, Professor?" Qing Feng was surprised.

    "I''ve heard of the supervisor of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s nine gates in the Middle Realm, and I understand him to be a very respectable senior."

    Qing Feng happily replied, "When I see my master again, I¡¯ll make sure to mention Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s incredible lockbreaking skills. I don¡¯t believe that even the Senior Array Masters¡¯ stationed on the rear battlefield can achieve the same results that you have shown."

    Lu Yin responded in a very humble manner, despitepletely agreeing with Qing Feng¡¯s evaluation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking skills meant that his actual abilities were on par with that of a Realm Array Master, though he still had a long way to go before he couldpare to an Array Grandmaster.

    While a Realm Array Master and an Array Grandmaster were only a single level apart, the two werepletely iparable to each other. Lu Yin might have never seen Grandmaster Xiu Ming in a fight, but the man¡¯s attainments with sourcebox arrays meant that it was not necessarily impossible for him to cross realms and challenge a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lockbreakers were mysterious opponents to fight.

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked past Qing Feng to see Liu Que approaching him.

    Liu Que¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at Lu Yin. "I found you. So you really are one of Virtue Archives¡¯ instructors."

    Lu Yin smiled at the young man. "Congrattions on being admitted to the academy."

    "I want to challenge you," Liu Que stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin was speechless. A second challenge in one day?

    Qing Feng frowned. "Do you have some sort of grudge against Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Liu Que nced over at Qing Feng with a bit of surprise. "An Enlighter? Who are you?"

    "Qing Feng."

    Liu Que lost interest. "So you¡¯re Supervisor Qing Chen¡¯s disciple. Move. You aren¡¯t my opponent."

    Qing Feng stepped forward. "Who are you?"

    Liu Que''s expression instantly changed, and he took a step forward to move past Qing Feng. Qing Feng stared nkly ahead; where had the swordsman gone?

    Liu Que¡¯s movement startled Qing Feng, and he spun around to look at the swordsman again. How did he get past me so easily? Did he just move too quickly for me to see? Wait, where¡¯s Prof. Hao Yu?

    A smile appeared on Liu Que''s face. "Interesting. Is that a sourcebox array?"

    He then simply turned around and left.

    Only Qing Feng and the short fatty remained by theke. The fatty had a thirst for knowledge, and he had wanted to ask Prof. Hao Yu about lockbreaking for quite some time, but Qing Feng had approached the instructor after all the other students had left. Then, Liu Que had arrived, and Prof. Hao Yu had quickly left. The fatty stood by theke in a daze,pletely alone. Everyone else had already left.

    Lu Yin hurried back to his pir to rest. Dealing with students was exhausting.

    A short whileter, Liu Que also arrived at Lu Yin''s stone pir, and the swordsman immediately started climbing the pir. However, after ascending just halfway up the pir, Liu Que vanished and reappeared at the base of the pir. He instantly shot upwards once again, this time entering the true universe and moving twice as quickly to ascend the pir.

    At the top of the pir, Lu Yin stood in the residence¡¯s garden, and his eyes shed when he saw Liu Que arrive.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, please-"

    Before the swordsman could even finish speaking, Lu Yin was already right in front of him. Liu Que could only watch in disbelief as a finger flicked his forehead. There was a bang, and the young man shot away without even being able to react. Right before he was struck, he heard a few words: ¡°Come back when you can see clearly.¡±

 Chapter 2197: Prof. Wei

    Chapter 2197: Prof. Wei

    An irresistible force overpowered Liu Que''s body, sending him flying until he crashed into the academy¡¯s dense forest a great distance away from Lu Yin¡¯s residence. Liu Que tried to resist the force that threw him, but his efforts were all futile.

    It was a sort of helplessness he had only ever experienced when facing true powerhouses.

    "What? Student, are you alright?" Prof. Huai was a short distance from where Liu Quended, and he could not help but look in the direction that Liu Que hade from, as the student had flown an impressive distance.

    Liu Que calmly rose to his feet and patted the dust from his body. He then left without even looking at Prof. Huai. All that Liu Que could think about was the moment that Lu Yin had moved. Liu Que had not been able to see anything at all at that moment. How? There had been absolutely no chance for the swordsman to even react, but why had he been helpless even after being sent flying through the sky?

    Questions filled Liu Que''s mind, but there remained one thing that he was absolutely certain of: he would not visit Prof. Hao Yu again anytime soon, as there was too great a gap between them.

    This instructor¡¯s strength was rather unfathomable.

    Liu Que was not Xia Shenguang, and he did not have multiple motives and thoughts. He was focused exclusively on training and fighting. Knowing what kind of person the young man was, Lu Yin had taken direct action, dealing with the matter simply and cleanly. Otherwise, Liu Que would have continued to harass Lu Yin to death, especially since the Teleportation Formation that Lu Yin had set up to protect his pir was not able to block Liu Que from ascending, which was quite irritating.

    ¡­

    After receiving "Hao Yu''s" lesson, Liu Que did not try to find the instructor again, and there was also no activity on Xia Shenguang¡¯s part as well. Fewer and fewer rumors were being spread through the academy about Lu Yin and Wen Zhao. It seemed like things were dying down.

    Two more of Lu Yin¡¯s sses passed without issue. His lectures proceeded smoothly without anyone trying to make trouble.

    Half a month of passed by in peace, but one day, Lu Yin received word that Headmaster Wen was calling for a faculty meeting. This was the first such meeting since Lu Yin had joined Virtue Archives.

    The faculty meetings were always held on Headmaster Wen¡¯s stone pir in his garden, and while they were called faculty meetings, it was really just a small get together. For the first time, Lu Yin was finally able to meet all of the other instructors.

    There was a two-tribtion Envoy from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai family who was referred to as Prof. Bai.

    There was also Prof. Wei, who was the academy¡¯s history teacher.

    Lu Yin was rather interested in Prof. Wei, as when he had first arrived at Virtue Archives, Lu Yin had heard student discussing rumors that imed that Prof. Wei was a beautiful woman disguising herself as a man. For the first time, Lu Yin was seeing the woman for himself.

    Lu Yin had to admit, she was truly quite stunning.

    Prof. Wei was a ssic beauty, and no disguise could hide such loveliness. Even though she was disguised as a man, Prof. Wei had a slender figure that was even more noticeable in her disguise, and it gave off a different impression.

    Prof. Wei apparently noticed Lu Yin''s attention, and she turned to give him a small smile.

    Lu Yin blinked, but then he returned the smile with a nod.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, do you have an interest in Prof. Wei?" Prof. Huai stepped up from behind Lu Yin as he quietly asked the question with a smirk.

    Lu Yin had already spent a month in Virtue Archives, and during that time, he had met Prof. Huai several times, so they could be considered rather familiar with each other.

    "Merely curious. After all, Prof. Wei is the first history teacher that Virtue Archives has ever had," Lu Yin replied.

    Prof. Huaimented, "Who can''t see that Prof. Wei is simply disguising herself as a man? It¡¯s possible that only the headmaster himself knows who she really is, but I can tell you that he treats her much better than any of the rest of us."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin was intrigued.

    Prof. Huai¡¯s voice dropped low, "Prof. Wei is the only one of the new instructors who doesn¡¯t actually need to teach sses. She is allowed to stay in the academy even without offering any sses to the students."

    "Really?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "No one knows why, but Prof. Wei is quite pleasant. She¡¯s happy to chat with the rest of us, and she isn¡¯t arrogant at all. She¡¯s happy to share information if you have any questions, and she is also one of the very few instructors who hasn¡¯t ced any restrictions on her pir."

    Lu Yin once again turned to look at Prof. Wei. She was standing quietly in the garden, staring off into the distance. Why did Lu Yin suddenly have the impression that he was staring at a lotus flower?

    Headmaster Wen arrived, and he smiled as he looked around at the academy¡¯s faculty. There was only a small bit of polite words before the man got to the point of the meeting. "I called you all here mostly to inform you that the four ruling powers have invited our Virtue Archives to visit them and participate in an exchange program in six months. Before that time, we need to select the faculty members who will be leading our team, as not all of us will be able to attend.

    "Also, the faculty selection is not up to us to decide, but rather up to the students. There will be a vote, and the instructors who gain the most votes will be the ones to chaperone the students during the exchange. Naturally, the rewards for this job will not be small. Most importantly, after the exchange, the chaperones will be allowed to study Progenitor Wen¡¯s scriptures."

    "Progenitor Wen''s scriptures?" Prof. Zheng eximed.

    Headmaster Wen nodded with a smile. "All of you should already be aware of how important Progenitor Wen''s scriptures are, as well as how beneficial they can be for any one of you. I hope that all of you will do your best to win the favor of our students. As for them, it is also important that our students choose appropriate chaperones, as we will be visiting the four ruling powers, and our Virtue Archives must be well represented. Also¡­"

    Headmaster Wen continued for a long time, mostly trying to encourage the various professors.

    After the meeting was finished, several faculty members stayed behind to say something more to Headmaster Wen. Lu Yin had wanted to stay behind and ask about Progenitor Wen''s scriptures, but after seeing Headmaster Wen be surrounded, Lu Yin felt that he had no choice but to leave.

    As he passed by theke, Lu Yin noticed Prof. Wei standing there. Lu Yin was still not sure what to think about the other instructor, but after considering things for a moment, Lu Yin approached Prof. Wei.

    "Excuse me, Prof. Wei," Lu Yin said.

    Prof. Wei turned around and smiled when she saw Lu Yin. "Hello, Prof. Hao Yu."

    The woman had a smooth and melodious voice. Just hearing it made Lu Yin feel like a thirsty man who had just been given a ss of water. Something in him felt restored from hearing her.

    Lu Yin smiled. "What are you looking at, Prof. Wei?"

    Prof. Wei turned her head back to stare out at theke. "This academy is much like thiske. They both appear to be calm from the surface, but with just a bit of external force, things can turn upside down."

    Lu Yin felt rather curious. "Why do you feel that, Prof. Wei?"

    Prof. Wei smiled. "It''s not a feeling¡ªit¡¯s nothing more than a thought. Do you need something, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    "Well, I would like to ask you about something."

    "Go ahead."

    "What are Progenitor Wen''s scriptures?"

    Prof. Wei stayed silent for a bit. "There have been various powerful Progenitors throughout the Perennial World¡¯s history, and Progenitor Wen was one of them. He also founded Virtue Archives. He studied the ancient characters, and he developed a deep understanding of them. There are rumors that im that, before his death, he recorded his own cultivation experiences and stored the collected scriptures here in Virtue Archives.

    "Many faculty members have read the scriptures over the years, receiving various benefits. Headmaster Wen benefited greatly from studying the scriptures, and they are considered one of Virtue Archives¡¯ greatest treasures."

    Lu Yin finally understood what the scriptures were. "So they¡¯re Progenitor Wen¡¯s writings. No wonder everyone wants them, as they¡¯re the record of a Progenitor. They really must be helpful in improving people¡¯s cultivation."

    Prof. Wei smiled. "Everyone''s cultivation path is different, and Progenitor Wen''s path is likely not suitable for everyone. Something that has always remained true throughout history is that every powerful Progenitor rose to power by creating their own path."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Were these really Prof. Wei¡¯s own thoughts? This was literally the path that all the Progenitors who had controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had taken, but Prof. Wei was only an Enlighter.

    Prof. Wei looked over at Lu Yin. "Do you think that I¡¯m being too presumptuous? I¡¯m only a mere Enlighter, yet I¡¯m speaking about how to go about bing a Progenitor."

    "Of course not. Yourment simply reminded me that I need to have more self confidence when ites to my cultivation," Lu Yin said.

    Prof. Wei smiled. "I study history and the lives of numerous powerhouses. Without exception, all of those people have created their own path. I might only be an Enlighter, but I feel that my knowledge should not be any worse than an Envoy¡¯s."

    "In that case, I¡¯ll have to disturb you when I have questions about history, Prof. Wei," Lu Yin said. He was being honest, as he had quite a few questions rted to history.

    Prof. Wei responded with a slight smile. "I¡¯m happy to share whatever I know."

    It was not long before the two parted ways. Prof. Wei gave Lu Yin a very odd feeling. While the disguised woman seemed quite friendly and easy-going, why did Lu Yin have the impression that she was a cold person? Was it just because of her appearance?

    ***

    Lu Yin had spent a month in Virtue Archives, and during this time, Xia Zhitong had received an invitation to join the rest of the Xia family in the ceremony to pay their respects to their ancestors.

    Xia Zhitong had finally been able to rx after she received the invitation. Neither Xia Feng nor Xia Yuan had been able to help her remove the poison in her system, so Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng was herst option. Additionally, the ancestral ceremony was her best opportunity to meet with this powerhouse.

    The entire time she had been poisoned had been unbearable torture for the woman. Not only was she unable to even have physical contact with any man, she was constantly aging. She was genuinely worried that the poison would eventually kill her. Just as Yu Hao had said, this poison was the worst torture imaginable for Xia Zhitong.

    Even her dreams were filled with her desire to be with a man, but she was unable to do so because of the poison. She had even been forced to drive all of the men out of her own home, as their mere presence had started to drive her mad.

    She could not wait to go to Shenwu''s Sky, but it was not yet time for the ancestors¡¯ ceremony.

    Suddenly, Xia Zhitong¡¯smunication crystal vibrated. She connected to the iing call, only to discover that there was no image at all. All that came through the call was a gloomy-sounding voice. "We¡¯ve located him."

    Xia Zhitong was thrilled by this news, and a sinister light flickered in the depths of her eyes. "Where is he?"

    "Virtue Archives. Alias: Hao Yu," the cold voice replied.

    This was surprising news. "He¡¯s studying in Virtue Archives?"

    "He¡¯s a professor. He was recently recruited as Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty," the voice corrected.

    Xia Zhitong had never expected Yu Hao to actually be an instructor at Virtue Archives. "I understand."

    She immediately ended the call before calling Xia Yuan.

    It did not take long for the man to answer. "What''s wrong?"

    "I¡¯ve received word of Yu Hao," Xia Zhitong said.

    Xia Yuan¡¯s voice dropped low, "Where is he? I''ll catch him myself."

    Xia Zhitong¡¯s voice also dropped, "He¡¯s in Virtue Archives going by the name Hao Yu. He¡¯s an instructor."

    "Virtue Archives? How did you find out?" Xia Yuan was also surprised by this news. Yu City was a great distance from Virtue Archives, and Xia Zhitong was not capable of gathering information from the Virtue District.

    Xia Zhitong exined, "I hired Realmless to look for him."

    Xia Yuan hesitated. "Virtue Archives is not an ordinary ce, and they have a Semi-Progenitor overlooking them. Unless he leaves, we won¡¯t be able to touch him."

    Xia Zhitong fell silent. There was no denying that Virtue Archives was outside of her realm of influence.

    "However, there are people from Shenwu¡¯s Sky in Virtue Archives, so just wait for now." Xia Yuan ended the call and quickly requested Wu Taibai''s contact information from the other members of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Wu Taibai was a member of Shenwu''s Sky while Xia Yuan was a member of the Xia family. Even though they were both part of Shenwu''s Sky, the two men had never met each other before. This was Xia Yuan¡¯s first time making contact with Wu Taibai.

    Wu Taibai was very surprised to receive a call from Xia Yuan. The man was a member of a branch family of the Xia family, but it was thergest branch family, and their patriarch was a Semi-Progenitor. The two men hadparable statuses.

    While Wu Taibai was a member of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, he was also a member of the Tai generation, which had far too many people in it. The ones who received all of the attention within the sect were the members of the Shen generation. This discrepancy was the reason why Wu Taibai had left the sect and gone to the Fifth Maind. He desired to forge his own path.

 Chapter 2198: Identity Exposed

    Chapter 2198: Identity Exposed

    "Is there an instructor named Hao Yu in your academy?" Xia Yuan asked. He did not speak in a very polite tone, as from his perspective, Wu Taibai was still just a disciple of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Wu Taibai replied, "There is a Prof. Hao Yu here, yes."

    "Look into him. I want to know everything about him," Xia Yuan ordered.

    Wu Taibai''s eyes flickered. "I see. Senior, you may want to speak with Xia Shenguang instead, as he had a conflict with Hao Yu."

    "There¡¯s a grudge between Shenguang and Hao Yu? What happened?" Xia Yuan felt quite puzzled, though his first thought was that Yu Hao had deliberately tried to make trouble for the Xia family. There was no denying that Yu Hao was bold enough to go up against the Xia family.

    Wu Taibai gave a brief overview of what had happened between Xia Shenguang and Lu Yin. The story floored Xia Yuan. "Are you saying that this Hao Yu is an Envoy? And that he¡¯s also a Senior Array Master?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "Are you absolutely sure?" Xia Yuan could not get over his shock.

    Wu Taibai was unmoved. "Completely."

    Xia Yuan''s mind started to race. Based on the amount of time that had gone by, it was absolutely impossible for Yu Hao to have be an Envoy. Why? Because Yu Hao was someone from Shenfei¡¯s generation, and yet with a bit more than twenty years, he must have somehow be both an Envoy and a Senior Array Master.

    It was far, far more difficult for a Lockbreaker to be a Senior Array Master than for a cultivator to be an Envoy. There was no way that Hao Yu could be Yu Hao.

    Xia Yuan reached out to Xia Zhitong once again. This time, he asked about everyst bit of information regarding Yu Hao. Xia Zhitong also wondered how Yu Hao had be so powerful so quickly.

    The twopared the Yu Hao that they knew from before with the Yu Hao who had returned, and they quickly concluded that the person was either an impostor, or that he had stumbled upon the luckiest opportunity imaginable. It would have had to be something that could give him the same advantages as the four Junior Progenitors.

    However, what sort of opportunity could that be? Not only had he supposedly risen from a pathetic cultivator to an Envoy within just a bit more than twenty years, but had he also be a Senior Array Master?

    "If he¡¯s an imposter, then it¡¯s someone with a vendetta against my Xia family, which means that he can¡¯t be someone without a powerful backing," Xia Zhitongmented quietly. She much preferred the possibility that the returned Yu Hao was an imposter. Given the real Yu Hao¡¯s grudge against her, if he had really gained such power, her life would end up far worse than death.

    Xia Yuan was also hoping that the returned Yu Hao was an imposter, as it would mean that the n to use the Yu family¡¯s fate as a warning to the Perennial World had not been a mistake. Instead, the me could be ced on whoever was targeting the Xia family, and that had nothing to do with Xia Yuan.

    "However, if Yu Hao isn¡¯t an imposter, then it means that there has to be someone very powerful supporting him. We should report everything to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng," Xia Zhitong stated. She hoped that a Semi-Progenitor would get involved in the situation as soon as possible and settle everything. How would Xia Zhitong be willing to wait until the ancestors¡¯ ceremony?

    Xia Yuan''s eyes flickered. Report the matter to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? Xia Yuan was not sure if that was the best idea. If the report was made and it proved necessary, then Xia Yuan would be praised. On the other hand, if it was determined that he could have handled the matter himself, he would be seen as trash by his superiors.

    "If someone is trying to use Yu Hao''s identity in an attempt to go after our Xia family, that¡¯s not an easy task. Who in the entire Perennial World is capable of doing that? These people are not somebody whom just you and I can handle on our own," Xia Zhitong cautioned.

    Xia Yuan let out a breath. "I understand."

    A short whileter, Xia Yuan approached Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng and shared the entire story with him. "Ancestor, this junior fears that someone is trying to use the Yu family¡¯s name to target our Xia family, so I hurried here to report to you. This person is currently hiding in Virtue Archives, and I am not able to interfere with that academy."

    An old man sat in front of Xia Yuan, fishing in a cold river. He listened to the story and remained quiet for a long time before finally responding, "Just over twenty years ago, Grandmaster Gu Yan made a trip to the Lower Realm, and after he returned, he mentioned encountering a young man who caught his attention. No one knows if the grandmaster epted that young man as an apprentice or not."

    "Ancestor, do you think that Grandmaster Gu Yan might have met Yu Hao back then?" Xia Yuan guessed.

    The old man said, "Grandmaster Gu Yan is an odd person, and he also absolutely hates the four ruling powers. It¡¯s possible that Yu Hao¡¯s situation was enough to garner the old man¡¯s sympathy."

    Xia Yuan''s face contorted at this information. Grandmaster Gu Yan was the most powerful Array Grandmaster in the entire Perennial World. How could Yu Hao have been lucky enough to run into such a powerhouse?

    "If not Grandmaster Gu Yan, who else could transform a piece of trash into a Senior Array Master and an Envoy level expert in such a short amount of time? An Array Grandmaster ispletely different from a Semi-Progenitor, as even Progenitors will treat such a person with respect." The old man let out another sigh.

    Xia Yuan quietly asked, "If Yu Hao was really epted as Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, how should we handle this matter?"

    The old man cast his line out again. "I can handle this however I wish. My four ruling powers have no intention of putting up with Grandmaster Gu Yan. Unless he agrees to join us, he will never be able to leave the rear battlefield again."

    Xia Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. "This junior understands."

    The old man lifted his head to stare up at the sky. "He may hate my Xia family and want to get revenge, haha! Still, this child is quite smart. He hasn¡¯t used Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s name when taking any actions, and instead went to hide in Virtue Archives. Not even we dare to push Virtue Archives too far. It¡¯s not yet time for that."

    Xia Yuan said nothing, as he understood that the Semi-Progenitor was thinking out loud.

    Some timeter, the old man said, "My Xia family is still connected to the Yu family by marriage, and our family is about to pay our respects to our ancestors at our family¡¯s ceremony. Let¡¯s invite him to attend."

    Xia Yuan''s eyes lit up. "You want to have Yu Haoe to Shenwu''s Sky? Once he¡¯s here, we can do whatever we want with him."

    The old man said nothing, so Xia Yuan saw himself out after bowing to the old man.

    ¡­

    Recently, many of Virtue Archives¡¯ students had be quite interested in the stone pir where Lu Yin lived. More precisely, they were intrigued by the Teleportation Formation that had been erected.

    Lu Yin had decided to use the Teleportation Formation as the restriction to iste his residence at the top of the pir, as the sourcebox array would teleport away anyone who tried to ascend the pir. Many people became interested in this restriction method, and many of the students subsequently tried to climb the pir. Unfortunately, unless the students were capable of entering the true universe, none of them could escape the Teleportation Formation¡¯s effects.

    There were simply too few Enlighters who were capable of entering the true universe. The four Junior Progenitors had all been capable of doing so, and at present, Liu Que, Xia Shenguang, and the others at their level were simrly capable of entering the true universe. However, even people as strong as Qing Feng could not quite pull it off.

    Wu Taibai arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s pir, and many students watched as the Enlighter instructor casually entered the true universe and rose to the top of the stone pir. The sight triggered many students¡¯ envy, though none were surprised. Wu Taibai was the only Enlighter among the faculty who had managed to defeat the Eighteen Lines Formation. On top of that, many people knew about Wu Taibai¡¯s past and how he was an elite from Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Tai generation, a generation close to their Junior Progenitor.

    Wu Taibai stepped onto the top of the stone pir and stood just outside the garden of the residence. "Prof. Hao Yu, Wu Taibai would like to speak with you."

    The door to the house opened, and Lu Yin stepped out. He looked at Wu Taibai. "Prof. Wu, what can I do for you?"

    "On behalf of Shenwu''s Sky, I would like to invite Prof. Hao Yu to join my Xia family at the ceremony to worship our ancestors."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Shouldn¡¯t such an event be restricted to just family members? What does that have to do with me?"

    Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin. "I thought that you looked a bit familiar when we first met, Prof. Hao Yu. Only after I received a reminder did I realize that you look exactly like the young master of the Bifrost¡¯s Yu City, Yu Hao."

    Seeing he had been identified, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he revealed apletely different demeanor from before. He waved a hand to dismiss Wu Taibai. "You can go now, Prof. Wu."

    Wu Taibai was not surprised by "Yu Hao¡¯s" behavior, as there were rumors everywhere in the Perennial World about the Yu family and the Xia family. The most famous stories were about Yu Hao, mocking the young man mercilessly for Xia Zhitong¡¯s actions. There were many who believed that Yu Hao hadmitted suicide years ago, and Wu Taibai had not expected the man to suddenly reveal himself once more. Not only had Yu Hao returned, but he had also revealed himself to be an Envoy and a Senior Array Master. Such a transformation was nothing less than legendary.

    "Yu- Prof. Hao Yu, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng is the one extending the invitation," Wu Taibai warned.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Then he cane here himself and beg on his knees! Maybe then I¡¯ll go."

    Wu Taibai¡¯s voice grew cold. "You need to give a Semi-Progenitor the respect that they deserve."

    "No one from the Xia family don¡¯t deserve my respect," Lu Yin retorted.

    Wu Taibai nodded. "Since you¡¯re not willing, I''ll inform Semi-Progenitor Ziheng of your decision. Please excuse me."

    He immediately left.

    Once Wu Taibai left, Lu Yin''s expressionpletely recovered. Had he really been exposed? In that case, what would the Xia family do next? They could not tolerate Yu Hao¡¯s continued existence, so Lu Yin would not be left in peace for long.

    Wu Taibai quickly reported Lu Yin¡¯s reaction to Xia Yuan. There was no need to embellish the story at all, as Lu Yin¡¯s reaction was already more than enough to enrage Xia Yuan.

    Xia Yuan did not look very good as he went to deliver a report to Semi-Progenitor Ziheng.

    Very quickly, Headmaster Wen received a call from Xia Ziheng. "What''s the matter?"

    Xia Ziheng''s voice spoke in an indifferent tone, "Does your Virtue Archives have an instructor by the name of Hao Yu?"

    Headmaster Wen was taken aback. "An Envoy was able to get your attention, Xia Ziheng? Why? Is there something unusual about his background?"

    Xia Ziheng replied, "He is actually Yu Hao, and you can look into his background yourself. He¡¯s my Xia family''s son-inw, and I expect him to be among the chaperones leading Virtue Archives¡¯ students in half a year when you visit us."

    Headmaster Wen frowned. "Xia Ziheng, is your Xia family trying to push things further? You already have Wu Taibai and Xia Shenguang here, and now you¡¯ve sent Yu Hao here as well? You¡¯re going too far."

    Xia Ziheng was unbothered by the usation. "I have no idea how he ended up as an instructor in Virtue Archives. Regardless, I will see him here in Shenwu''s Sky in half a year."

    "That¡¯s up to whether or not he can obtain enough votes from the academy¡¯s students," Headmaster Wen replied.

    Xia Ziheng just gave a small smile. "I can make sure that more students are sent to Virtue Archives. You know that that¡¯s not difficult for me to do."

    Headmaster Wen just let out a contemptuous snort and hung up. There was truly no need to bother sending any more students to Virtue Archives, as Xia Shenguang''s support alone was enough to ensure that Yu Hao would be one of the chaperones to lead the students. However, Headmaster Wen had never expected to learn that Hao Yu was actually the Xia family¡¯s son-inw. What the hell?

    Wait, wasn''t he sent here by the God of Food?

    Headmaster Wen quickly pulled out the invitation that Lu Yin had received from the God of Food. The headmaster had not misremembered; Hao Yu had indeed been sent to be an instructor in Virtue Archives by the God of Food. How had the God of Food invited one of the Xia family¡¯s son-inws? What the hell kind of coincidence was that?

    Headmaster Wen immediately started investigating Yu Hao, and the results surprised him. Yu Hao''s story had spread across the entire Perennial World, and it been publicized countless times and altered into various versions, though each of them painted a tragic picture of his life. However, such gossip did not reach people at Headmaster Wen¡¯s level unless they deliberately sought out such things.

    Virtue Archives normally did not take the initiative to look into the backgrounds of its instructors or students. The ce was an academy, not a closed group like a sect or a great family. This was why Headmaster Wen had not known anything about Yu Hao or the fact that Hao Yu was an alias until this moment.

    This information was too exciting, but the story was also too tragic.

    Also, Headmaster Wen finally understood Xia Ziheng''s message: the intention was not to quietly deal with Yu Hao, but rather to deal with him when he visited Shenwu¡¯s Sky with the students.

 Chapter 2199: A Game

    Chapter 2199: A Game

    It was undeniable that Yu Hao had risen from an average cultivator to be an exceptional talent over the course of just twenty years. What had happened to induce such a change?

    Headmaster Wen looked towards Lu Yin''s pir. It was clear that there was no disguise being used, as Headmaster Wen would instantly be able to see through any such thing. Hao Yu really was Yu Hao.

    Achieving such incredible aplishments in such a short period of time had lifted Yu Hao to stand on the same level as the Junior Progenitors. No, in some ways, he had even surpassed them.

    There were still some things that needed to be looked into. After all, Xia Ziheng was trying to eliminate Yu Hao, and Headmaster Wen did not intend to let that happen. The God of Food had personally recruited the young man, and he had formally joined Virtue Archives as an instructor.

    There was no way that Headmaster Wen would allow anyone to touch his Virtue Archives¡¯ instructors.

    In the entire academy, only Wu Taibai and Headmaster Wen were aware of Hao Yu¡¯s true identity, as not even Xia Shenguang was aware of it. Xia Yuan had not said anything to the young man, as the elder feared that the youth¡¯s impulsiveness would reveal Yu Hao to the entire academy and make the matter public.

    For Xia Yuan, getting Yu Hao to go to Shenwu''s Sky was more important than anything.

    Even though Virtue Archives was not closed to outsiders, the fact that a Semi-Progenitor was in charge prevented outsiders from being willing to force their way in.

    Lu Yin spent his time thinking about how Kui Luo had clearly wanted to create trouble for Virtue Archives, and he also visited Prof. Wei again to ask her a few more questions.

    "From the first recorded history of the Perennial World, a total of 3,657 Redbacks have been captured, and each one was someone with a high status. The Lu family alone eliminated 211," Prof. Wei said.

    Lu Yin visibly grew upset. "Redbacks are the greatest hidden danger that threatens the Perennial World."

    Prof. Wei waspletely calm. "Given historical records and the overall averages, there should be no less than twenty Redbacks at present. Two or three decades ago, it was discovered that even one of Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s nine gatemasters was a Redback. The Aeternals¡¯ ability to infiltrate humanity is disturbingly strong. It¡¯s even possible that there are Redbacks here in this academy."

    "That¡¯s not very likely, given that there¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor here," Lu Yin countered.

    Prof. Wei replied, "Semi-Progenitors are neither omniscient nor omnipotent."

    "I certainly hope not," Lu Yin said.

    Prof. Wei was as calm as ever as she looked at Lu Yin. "It''s time for your ss to begin, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin nced at the time. "You¡¯re right, it is. In that case, please excuse me, Prof. Wei."

    Prof. Wei smiled. "Life in the academy can often be quite boring, so I¡¯m happy to have youe and chat with me."

    Lu Yin smiled back. "Then that settles it. I¡¯ll make sure to visit you more often."

    Prof. Wei nodded.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin made a point to ask Prof. Wei to look into a few historical matters. Lu Yin had wanted to ask about certain details, but he knew that it was important to first establish a rtionship, as most people would not share too much with strangers.

    As soon as Lu Yin left Prof. Wei''s stone pir, he ran into Bai Nan.

    The student was momentarily startled, as he had not expected Lu Yin to be in such a ce. "Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin smiled as he warned the student. "Address me as ''Professor.''"

    Bai Nan¡¯s eyes turned cold as he stared at Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, if I remember correctly, your ss is about to start, so why are you here visiting Prof. Wei?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Ie here frequently."

    With that, he simply left.

    Bai Nan stared at Lu Yin''s back. The young man started to get upset. Hao Yu visited Prof. Wei frequently? How shameless! Everyone already knew about the rumors concerning Hao Yu and Prof. Xiao Wen, and now he was going after Prof. Wei? Absolutely shameless!

    Still, Bai Nan could only rage internally, as not even Xia Shenguang could make trouble for Lu Yin anymore. It waspletely beyond Bai Nan¡¯s abilities.

    The students who attended Lu Yin''s sses had be consistent, though there were still some who came for the eye candy, in addition to the ones who were eager to learn about lockbreaking.

    For example, the short, stuttering fatty was a diligent and studious student, and he simply could not speak that well.

    Also, Qing Feng had be a regr attendee of Lu Yin¡¯s lectures. Ever since his spar with Xia Shenguang, Qing Feng had be obsessed with sourcebox arrays. He had climbed up Lu Yin''s pir several times to ask for advice, and while Qing Feng was incapable of getting past the Teleportation Formation on his own, Lu Yin gave the student a bit of preferential treatment and was willing to teach him.

    Also, Nong Siniang would asionally bring a sourcebox and ask Lu Yin to open it. In doing so, Lu Yin not only gained practice lockbreaking, but he also acquired academy credits.

    For his current lecture, Lu Yin only expected to see his regr students, so it was a surprise to see that not just a stranger attend, but a stranger who had an impressive level of cultivation.

    The moment Lu Yin saw the man, it was clear that he had to be the heir of one of the four ruling powers.

    "Wang Xiaofan actually came! During his entire time here in the academy, he¡¯s only ever attended the headmaster¡¯s sses. He¡¯s never once attended any other lectures," someonemented.

    Nong Siniang kept a wary eye on Wang Xiaofan, hoping that he had not shown up just to make trouble for Prof. Hao Yu like Xia Shenguang.

    Nong Siniang was not the only student with such suspicions, as all of the students had simr thoughts.

    However, Wang Xiaofan simply listened to the lecture and then left halfway through the ss. Not once did he say anything or reveal any sort of reaction.

    After Wang Xiaofan left, someone else appeared, and this student¡¯s arrival caused Qing Feng to blush, as well as short fatty. This student was a young girl. She was beautiful, stood out starkly in her white dress, looked ssy and refined, and had sparkling eyes like stars that had stories of their own. She was Bai Weiwei from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    There were three students in Virtue Archives who had been acknowledged to stand head and shoulders above any of the others, peerless in their generation. Those three were Bai Weiwei, Wang Xiaofan, and Xia Shenguang. However, Liu Que¡¯s arrival meant that there were now four students at that level.

    Three of these top four students came from the four ruling powers. Due to the White Dragon n¡¯s inadequate foundation, they had no exceptional talents in the current generation, and instead, Liu Que had risen up.

    With this, Lu Yin had seen practically all of Virtue Archives¡¯ most talented students.

    Bai Weiwei waspletely different from Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan, as she did not give off an innate arrogance, but was instead a very quiet person.

    However, Nong Siniang was more irritated by Bai Weiwei¡¯s presence in Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s ss than Xia Shenguang¡¯s earlier interference.

    "I never thought that I would see a Senior Array Master here in the academy, Prof. Hao Yu. I¡¯m also an Array Master, so may I ask you for help if I have any questions?" Bai Weiwei spoke no louder than any of the other students, and she also did not try to disrupt the ss at all.

    "Hey, if you¡¯re already an Array Master, then what do you need Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s help for?" Nong Siniang became very upset.

    Bai Weiwei nced over at Nong Siniang. "I''m only an Array Master, while Prof. Hao Yu is a Senior Array Master."

    Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Your Celestial Frost Sect even has Realm Array Masters, so why don¡¯t you go ask them for help?"

    "Prof. Hao Yu is so good-looking, why wouldn¡¯t I want to speak to him?" Bai Weiwei answered with a smile.

    Nong Siniang ground her teeth. This woman wanted to steal Prof. Hao Yu.

    In reality, Bai Weiwei was simply joking around to tease Nong Siniang. While the two women were about the same age, Nong Siniang acted more like a child.

    "Absolutely. Bring any questions you may have to me, though I might not be able to answer them," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Bai Weiwei''s eyes lit up. "I have many questions that I haven¡¯t been able to ask anyone for quite some time. Prof. Hao Yu, would you mind if we y a game of Stable Zone? That would allow us both to see the other¡¯s lockbreaking mastery."

    Instantly, many of the students were interested. Stable Zone was a game that could only be yed by Array Masters, so most people had only ever heard of the game and had never watched it be yed. The only public match that had urred had been the one two decades earlier on Dragon Mountain that had been yed between Lu Xiaoxuan and Qiu Ling. Seeing the abilities of an Array Grandmaster had been an eye opener to many people, as almost no one was able to witness such a thing in the flesh.

    Everyone was very interested in seeing a game of Stable Zone.

    Nong Siniang wanted to refuse on Hao Yu¡¯s behalf. While Stable Zone was called a game, it was really a battle thatpared two people¡¯s lockbreaking mastery. Asking to y a game was no different from Xia Shenguang''s request for a fight with Hao Yu.

    However, before Nong Siniang could say a thing, Lu Yin had already agreed. "Certainly. You can decide the time and ce. I haven''t yed a match for quite a long time, so I¡¯m eager to do so."

    Bai Weiwei smiled. "Professor, you should be tired from today¡¯s ss, so why don¡¯t we have a match here tomorrow evening? Would that work for you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes."

    Bai Weiwei left in a very calm manner.

    Nong Siniang was already worried. "Professor, how could you agree to a match? The Celestial Frost Sect has more than one Array Master, and even if Bai Weiwei¡¯s only an Array Master, she¡¯s umted a tremendous amount of experience, and she¡¯s yed many games of Stable Zone. Even if you are a Senior Array Master, you might not hold the advantage against her."

    Qing Feng also came to his senses. Apparently Prof. Hao Yu had just been challenged once again. "Professor, I also think that it would be better for you to avoid the match. Stable Zone might be just a game, but it¡¯s also very dangerous. This won¡¯t be as easy as the fight against Xia Shenguang."

    "Ye- ye- yes! The- these games are ve- very dangerous," the little fatty agreed.

    Lu Yin justughed. "What''s wrong with all of you? I¡¯m a Senior Array Master while she¡¯s just an Array master, so why are you so worried about me? Calm down, this is just a bit of fun. If Bai Weiwei wants to learn more lockbreaking through a game, then I¡¯m happy to teach her."

    Nong Siniang opened her mouth, but she found no words to reply. Teach her? This was quite ambitious. Even if Bai Weiwei was only an Array Master, her mastery and experience in lockbreaking far exceeded ordinary an Array Master¡¯s.

    Still, Prof. Hao Yu was a level above Bai Weiwei, so he should not suffer too badly in a game of Stable Zone.

    Lu Yin looked off into the distance at the back of the quiet girl who was leaving his ss. How many years has it been? Has the four ruling powers¡¯ prestige really risen this high where an Senior Array Master is being looked down on? Is it just because she¡¯s from the Celestial Frost Sect?

    The students¡¯ attitudes fully expressed just how highly they regarded the four ruling powers¡¯ strength. Qing Feng and Nong Siniang had such an opinion, so it could only be imagined what the people from smaller organizations thought.

    The fact that the four ruling powers were bing more and more established and highly regarded in the Perennial World was not a good thing. Since this was happening, Lu Yin felt that it would be a good idea to teach them a good lesson.

    The following evening, many students arrived at thekeside where Lu Yin held his sses. Everyone had heard that Bai Weiwei and Prof. Hao Yu were going to y a game of Stable Zone, so a crowd had already gathered to watch.

    In addition to the students, many of the faculty members had also arrived. Prof. Huai, Wu Taibai, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Bai, and even Prof. Wei were present. This was especially startling as Prof. Wei was known to generally prefer quiet ces and avoid crowded gatherings.

    Bai Weiwei had already arrived, and she was waiting patiently.

    Bai Nan was already annoyed. "Prof. Hao Yu isn¡¯t here yet? Why? Is he too afraid to even show up?"

    "Bai Nan, stop spouting nonsense. No one will think that you¡¯re mute even if you say nothing." Nong Siniang firmly supported Lu Yin.

    Bai Nan snorted contemptuously, but he at least stayed silent.

    Qing Feng was quite worried. He was not confident in Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s chances, even if he was the higher ranked Lockbreaker. After all, his opponent was from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and Liu Que were also present, and even Jin Chongshan was standing just outside the crowd, staring off into the distance. Why hadn¡¯t the professor shown up yet?

    A short whileter, Lu Yin finally arrived,te. He quickly apologized when he saw so many students had gathered, "I''m sorry, I overslept. I apologize for keeping all of you students waiting."

    Nong Siniang quickly tried to reassure Lu Yin, "It¡¯s important to have enough rest, Professor."

    An entire group of girls also spoke up. "Professor, you need to take care of yourself."

    "Yes, take care of yourself, Professor."

    Bai Nan became even more irritated. This eye candy was quickly bing more and more infuriating to see.

    Bai Weiwei just showed a calm smile when she saw Lu Yin had arrived. "Since you¡¯re here, let¡¯s get started, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Which sourceboxes should we use?"

    "Your decision, Professor."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Why don¡¯t I decide the level of the sourceboxes, and you can choose the sourceboxes themselves?"

 Chapter 2200: Fairness And The Difference In Ability

    Chapter 2200: Fairness And The Difference In Ability

    While a game of Stable Zone appeared to be fair, if one of the yers provided the sourceboxes to be used in the match, then being familiar with the danger zones could provide them with a significant advantage. Still, it would not be an overwhelming advantage, as danger zones shifted and fluctuated in unpredictable ways when they interacted with each other. Unless an Array Master was capable of perfectly understanding all of the interactions between the sourceboxes, they would not be able to gain that much of an advantage. Suchprehension was something that very, very few people were capable of doing.

    Also, even if one of the yers obtained an advantage, it would onlyst for the beginning of the game. As soon as the game actually started, the danger fields would instantly start changing.

    Lu Yin made such an offer because he was the higher-ranked Array Master. So, he offered Bai Weiwei this initial advantage and voluntarily took on a handicap.

    Bai Weiwei smiled. "That sounds good, Professor."

    Lu Yin said, "We¡¯ll use Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, and you can decide the star rating however you¡¯d like."

    In the audience, Prof. Zheng was taken aback. Typically, when Array Masters yed a game of Stable Zone, they would stick to Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes. After all, even if Array Masters were capable of unlocking Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, it did not mean that they were capable of freely interacting with their danger zones. Sourceboxes were not simple at all.

    Boundless Advanced sourceboxes were the mostplicated and challenging of all sourceboxes, and some of the Boundless Advanced sourceboxes with more stars could make even Array Grandmasters wary.

    Had Hao Yu really chosen to use Boundless Advanced sourceboxes for a game of Stable Zone? Was this confidence or pure arrogance?

    Bai Weiwei''s expression froze for a moment. Boundless Advanced sourceboxes were always challenging, and a Lockbreaker had to be an Enlighter just to attempt to interact with such a sourcebox. Many Boundless Advance sourceboxes had danger zones that surpassed the Enlighter level, and this meant that using them in a game of Stable Zone would make for a very, very difficult game. The yers would be lucky to not get caught up in the chaotic and turbulent danger fields while ying the game.

    However, Bai Weiwei could not back down after Lu Yin¡¯s proposal. "Alright then, Boundless Advanced sourceboxes."

    She brought out two sourceboxes from her cosmic ring. One looked like a kettle, but it was surrounded by twisting ripples that looked like water. However, there was no water present, and the ripples retracted back into the kettle after spreading out. This constant flow meant that the void within the kettle was constantly exploding in a very dangerous-looking manner. This sourcebox was a one-star Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    The second sourcebox was a disc, and the moment it appeared, a cold energy sliced through the void and shattered space. Its danger field was clearly above the level of an Envoy. This was a two-star Boundless Advanced sourcebox.

    Bai Weiwei threw the two sourceboxes out, and the danger zones instantly ovepped with each other. The cold energy shot towards the kettle while the ripples spread out until they reached the disc. The two danger fields ovepped and stabilized to create a zone of absolute death for any Enlighter.

    Lu Yin was actually taken aback at the power of the game field. "It would be better to use some Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes instead. This kind of danger field isn¡¯t fair to you."

    Bai Weiwei gave a slight smile. "It''s fine. I can deal with this."

    Lu Yin waved a hand and spread out some star energy. The ovepping danger fields destroyed most of the energy, but eventually, scattered dots of energy filled the game field. Lu Yin waved again, and the energy changed color: half white and half ck. "Choose your color."

    "White."

    Lu Yin continued, "My cultivation is also higher than yours, which makes this game unfair to you."

    He waved his hand a third time, and most of the ck dots changed to white. "This will makes things fair."

    Bai Weiwei was stunned.

    Outside the game zone, the students were even more shocked, and Nong Siniang could not stop herself from speaking up. "Professor, this isn¡¯t fair for you!"

    Even though Qing Feng blushed when he looked at Bai Weiwei, he also felt the urge to speak up. "Professor, this really gives you a terrible disadvantage. You should reconsider."

    While Prof. Zheng did not understand lockbreaking, he had seen Array Masters y Stable Zone before, and he understood that the game depended on both strength and luck. Even if Hao Yu was able to attack and eliminate the opposing color, his own pieces would be depleted in the process.

    If there was only a quarter as much ck energy as there was white, it would be too easy for the ck energy to be destroyed andpletely eliminated. Hao Yu¡¯s chances of victory were vanishingly low.

    Bai Weiwei frowned as she looked up at Lu Yin. "Professor, are you underestimating me?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Student Bai, don''t misunderstand the situation. I¡¯m just trying to make things fair. Even if this weren¡¯t a game of Stable Zone, this danger field would be difficult for you to deal with as an Enlighter. As an instructor, how could I take advantage of a student?"

    Bai Weiwei nodded. "Alright then. Since you want things to be fair, we¡¯ll leave things here for this game, but I hope to have a second game with you, Professor."

    She turned back to look at the danger field as soon as she stopped talking. After observing for a while, she chose her path and stepped onto the field.

    In a game of Stable Zone, the first person to enter the field would usually be at a disadvantage, so Bai Weiwei wanted to make sure that she was the first to enter.

    Lu Yin already understood what the young woman was thinking, but unfortunately for her, Lu Yin intended to use this game to overwhelm the four ruling powers and bring down their reputation. He had given his opponent the first move, but he intended to quickly ovee his disadvantage and crush her. Thus, Lu Yin immediately stepped forward and entered the field, much to everyone¡¯s shock.

    No one had expected him to move so quickly and decisively.

    Many of the people in the audience had seen Stable Zone be yed before, and the yers were always very cautious and hesitant at the beginning of the game, as they needed to study the danger zone and how the sourceboxes interacted. Tens of thousands of scenarios would y out in the Array Masters¡¯ minds in an instant, and they would continuously simte the various changes that would take ce after they entered the field. It was imperative to find the optimal path that would protect one¡¯s own pieces while eliminating the opponent¡¯s.

    There were even Array Masters who would take days to study the game field before making their first move. This was considered normal, and it was only when Array Masters of vastly different abilities faced each other or when one person was utterly confident in their decision that someone would brazenly step onto the field. Even then, no one would ever take action so quickly.

    After all, the game field had only just been set up.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, instantly entering the game field. The danger zone stirred and shifted, terrifying many people in the audience. The danger field that was being used for this game of Stable Zone could instantly kill an Enlighter.

    After entering, Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked a finger. The danger field instantly surged, and countless changes took ce. Vast numbers of white pieces were destroyed, and while the ck pieces were also affected, very few of them were destroyed.

    Once the danger fields had stabilized and the chaos had calmed, less than half of the white pieces remained, while only a fifth of the ck pieces had been eliminated. Already, there were equal amounts of ck and white on the game field.

    Lu Yin looked up at Bai Weiwei and smiled at her. "You can take your time to study the field. There¡¯s no rush, Student Bai."

    Bai Weiwei stared at Lu Yin in a daze. How was this even possible? How could he possibly have evaluated and understood the ovepping danger fields so quickly? Was this professor really just a Senior Array Master? Impossible. This was something that only a Realm Array Master could pull off. Wait, was the professor a Realm Array Master? Could someone so young really reach such a level?

    The surrounding audience was also shocked. The more they understood about Stable Zone, the more startled they were at this development.

    Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and many others stared at Lu Yin with unprecedented seriousness. His actions were far from simple, as Stable Zone was not merely a game, but essentially a spar between Array Masters. The gap between Bai Weiwei and the professor was too clear, and this was not the difference between an Array Master and a Senior Array Master.

    Nong Siniang was blown away. She had been hoping that the professor would do well, but how was he this good?

    Qing Feng''s eyes lit up. Prof. Hao Yu was truly unfathomable.

    On the other hand, Liu Que was not at all surprised. If others learned that Hao Yu had left Liu Quepletely helpless with a single move, they would have been shocked. Also, Liu Que really did not know almost anything about lockbreaking¡­

    At the center of Virtue Archives, atop a stone pir, Headmaster Wen let out a slow breath as he stared intently at Lu Yin, as though trying to understand what he was seeing. Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s first move was truly amazing.

    Behind Headmaster Wen, Wen Zhao was also bbergasted. "How could he move so quickly? That isn¡¯t a Senior Array Master¡¯s abilities."

    The Wen family had always focused on lockbreaking, and Progenitor Wen, Headmaster Wen, and Wen Zhao were all excellent Lockbreakers. In particr, Headmaster Wen was a Realm Array Master himself, and he was only a single step away from bing an Array Grandmaster. Unfortunately, he had stagnated at his current level for too many years, and he was unable to reach the next level.

    As for Wen Zhao, she was also an Array Master, just like Bai Weiwei. This was precisely why the woman was so shocked by Lu Yin''s performance.

    "You¡¯re right¡ªthat isn¡¯t something that a Senior Array Master can do," Headmaster Wen muttered to himself.

    Wen Zhao looked over at the old man. "Could you move that fast?"

    Headmaster Wen was taken aback by the question, and he took a moment to consider it. "Possibly, but there¡¯s no guarantee."

    Wen Zhao could not believe this. "Just how old is he, and how did reach this level? Has anyone in the entire history of the Perennial World ever managed to reach such a high level of mastery at such a young age?"

    A smile tugged at the corners of Headmaster Wen''s mouth. "I can understand Xia Ziheng¡¯s concerns. If my guesses are right, then that young man should be the same one that Grandmaster Gu Yan mentioned he met in the Lower Realm. He should be Grandmaster Gu Yan''s apprentice."

    This information once again shocked Wen Zhao. "Are you saying that Prof. Hao Yu is Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice?"

    Headmaster Wen had not mentioned the matter of Yu Hao to Wen Zhao. The headmaster had secretly investigated the instructor, and the information that he had gathered had allowed the old man to make a few spections. In the end, Headmaster Wen had reached the same conclusion as Xia Ziheng. Of course, things were not certain, but all of Headmaster Wen¡¯s doubts had been shattered after watching Lu Yin y Stable Zone.

    Who else aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan could transform a wastrel of a youth into such an exceptional Lockbreaker? Grandmaster Gu Yan was indeed the only one capable of such a feat.

    Yu Hao was not merely a Senior Array Master, but rather a Realm Array Master. Calling Grandmaster Gu Yan the greatest Array Master in the Perennial World was no exaggeration.

    Everyone next on theke shore was still shocked by how quickly Lu Yin had made his first move, and all eyes drifted over to Bai Weiwei at the same time. It was her turn.

    No one did anything to disturb the woman. Bai Weiwei studied the sourceboxes¡¯ danger field and considered various options, but her state of mind had been shattered by Lu Yin. She was no longer calm, and she quickly admitted defeat.

    No one was surprised by her decision, as the gap between the two Array Masters had already been made perfectly clear. Even if the game continued, Bai Weiwei would only end up humiliating herself.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger field with a hint of a smile on his face. He raised a hand and separated the two sourceboxes, removing the ovepping danger field.

    Bai Weiwei put the two sourceboxes away and then stared at Lu Yin with shock, respect, and confusion evident in her eyes. She was utterly confused, as she could not make heads or tails of the man before her. Despite his evident youth, he had a very deep understanding of lockbreaking. How had he aplished it?

    "Prof. Hao Yu, are you really just a Senior Array Master?" Bai Weiwei asked the question that everyone was thinking.

    "Yes."

    "Then how were you able to make a move so quickly?" Bai Weiwei only grew more puzzled.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before answering, "I¡¯m not sure. All I know is that I could feel the shifts and changes when observing the sourceboxes¡¯ danger field."

    Everyone''s expressions changed. This was pure talent. This person was a natural Lockbreaker.

    Bai Weiwei also understood. "You are truly a genius Lockbreaker. It¡¯s possible that you will be the Perennial World¡¯s next Array Grandmaster."

 Chapter 2201: Conjecture

    Chapter 2201: Conjecture

    Lu Yin remained modest after Bai Weiwei spoke. "Student Bai, you¡¯ve already be an Array Master at such a young age. Honestly, I¡¯m quite surprised by what you¡¯ve achieved."

    Bai Weiwei sounded a bit bitter as she replied, "Prof. Hao Yu, if I have trouble with my lockbreaking, then can I ask you for help?"

    "Of course, I''m your instructor. Though, I¡¯ll have to ask you to not be stingy with your credits, haha." Lu Yin smiled.

    Nong Siniang started to cheer loudly, and Qing Feng and many others started tough. Even the stuttering fatty clenched his fists as he cheered.

    However, there were others present who felt no joy over the oue of the game of Stable Zone, such as Bai Nan and Xia Shenguang.

    Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin for a long time. Yu Hao had changed too much. How could anyone transform so much over the course of just a few decades? It was no wonder why the Xia family was so concerned about him.

    At that moment, Wu Taibai was reminded of someone that he had known long ago. That person had only taken about twenty years to rise to the peak from being a normal human. Over that course of time, not only had that person surpassed all of his peers with a matchless talent for cultivation, but he had also obtained an invinciblebat strength and seized the authority to control the entire Fifth Maind. Wu Taibai could not help but see simrities between the two men.

    Winning the game of Stable Zone caused Lu Yin¡¯s fame in Virtue Archives to rise even further than before. Everyone quickly heard about how Prof. Hao Yu wasparable to a Realm Array Master. Many of the students started taking sourceboxes to him to open, and many of the families of the students gave up on recruiting Hao Yu. A Senior Array Master could still be recruited, but a Realm Array Master was too elite to be bought.

    In contrast, there were other families who actually started to take notice of Hao Yu. For example, the Nong family would not make any efforts to win over a Senior Array Master, but a Realm Array Master was a different story.

    This delighted Nong Siniang, as more and more sourceboxes were sent to Virtue Archives from the Nong family. Besides Discerning Elementary and Perceptive Intermediate sourceboxes, there were also Boundless Advanced ones. After all, even a Realm Array Master might struggle to open Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.

    Furthermore, news that some of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty members would be leading a team of students to the Higher Realm had been released. All of the students were already aware that they needed to vote for the instructors who would be their chaperones and that the academy itself was not making this decision. This was an exciting development for the students, and each of them had three votes to cast.

    "I''m going to vote for Prof. Hao Yu! He¡¯s kind, handsome, and perfect to serve as the face of Virtue Archives!" one girl happily stated.

    Instantly, she was joined by many others.

    Nong Siniang instantly stepped forward. "Sisters, I truly hope that Prof. Hao Yu will be able to apany us to the Higher Realm and that he will win enough votes to go. Let¡¯s do a count to ensure that he will receive enough to be one of the chaperones."

    "Me."

    "Me."

    "Me."

    ¡­

    "Brother Qing Feng, who will you be voting for?"

    "Of course I¡¯ll be voting for Mr. Tang and Prof. Hao Yu."

    "Who will be your third choice?"

    Qing Feng thought for a moment, but then he shook his head, as he had not made a decision yet. During his time in Virtue Archives, he had only attended Mr. Tang and Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s lectures so far. He had not even gone to any of Prof. Zheng¡¯s lectures.

    The stuttering fatty raised his hand. "I- I- I¡¯m also going to vote for Pro- Prof. Hao Yu."

    "Little Fatty, no matter how bad you stutter, you still only get three votes, hahahaha."

    The fatty¡¯s face flushed red.

    Bai Nan red at the crowd of students with cold eyes, and then he whispered to his own little group that none of them were allowed to vote for Prof. Hao Yu. However, given the current situation, it did not really matter if they voted or not.

    "I¡¯m going to vote for Prof. Wu, Prof. Zheng, and Prof. Bai."

    "I¡¯m voting for Prof. Wei! Prof. Wei is very knowledgeable, and no matter what, we are an academy. Even if we can''t beat the four ruling powers in spars, we can still defeat them with our knowledge."

    "Who do you want to defeat?" someone from the Wang family demanded.

    The student who had spoken instantly slunk away.

    Prof. Huai was standing atop a tall tree, listening to the students¡¯ discussions. He felt terribly embarrassed, as not one student was voting for him. And even worse, he had originally been there when the group of girls had arrived and started the discussion. Things had blown up, and many students had gathered to debate the uing votes. If the students discovered Prof. Huai in the tree, how embarrassing would that be?

    No, it would be best to just pretend to be sleeping. Prof. Huai promptly dropped his head and fell asleep.

    A month passed, and during this time, the academy remained calm. Aside from the raging debates about which of the instructors would chaperone the approaching trip, nothing else happened in Virtue Archives.

    Xia Shenguang and others from the four ruling powers all stopped attending, though Bai Weiwei still frequently attended Lu Yin''s lectures, as did Liu Que.

    Additionally, the rtionship between Lu Yin and Wen Zhao improved a great deal. From Lu Yin''s perspective, Wen Zhao was the sort of person who hated having people close, and she preferred for people to keep a bit of a distance.

    She never took the initiative to approach others, and she seemed to be veryfortable on her own. If he approached her and breached the space between them, she might have hated it. She had a very odd personality.

    Also, during this month, Lu Yin received no fewer than ten sourceboxes. Practically every three days, a student would deliver a sourcebox to Lu Yin. In fact, he once spent three days working on a sourcebox, and he almost missed his own ss.

    Unfortunately, none of the sourceboxes held anything. Whenever a Boundless Advanced sourcebox was delivered, Bai Weiwei would calmly observe as Lu Yin worked, and then leave just as calmly.

    One day, right after Lu Yin seeded in opening a sourcebox for a student, he received a notice that the headmaster was holding another meeting.

    "I¡¯ve been studying in the academy for several years already, and there have almost never been any faculty meetings at all. Why have there been so manytely?" The girl pouted. She had received a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox from her family, and she was hoping to use it as an opportunity to spend some time with Prof. Hao Yu.

    Lu Yin smiled at the girl. "Since I¡¯ve already finished unlocking the sourcebox, let¡¯s end things here. Head on back, and you can return another time."

    He then promptly left his pir and made his way towards the headmaster¡¯s stone pir.

    Upon arriving, the first person that Lu Yin saw was Prof. Wei. He had visited the woman several times throughout the month, and he had be somewhat familiar with her.

    "I wonder why the headmaster summoned all of us." Lu Yin was surprised that another meeting was already being called.

    Prof. Wei appeared perfectly calm. "I don''t know, but it¡¯s probably something quite important."

    Lu Yin nodded and stared towards the courtyard.

    It was not long before the rest of the instructors arrived as well.

    When Headmaster Wen appeared, he looked extremely somber. He nced around at the gathered instructors, and softly stated, "Recently, some traitors from Star Alliance have entered this Virtue District, and the four ruling powers have been unable to lock the entire district down. For this reason, the four ruling powers have asked us to help in capturing the traitor. If necessary, deadly force is allowed. The traitor is male and a one-tribtion Envoy, so only those of you who are Envoys yourselves are expected to assist in this mission. Participation will also be rewarded with academy credits."

    Lu Yin was taken aback at this announcement. A traitor from Star Alliance? That was absolutely impossible, as every member of Star Alliance had a seal ced on them, and only the four ruling powers working together could remove those seals. Lu Yin had only been able to get his hands on the White Dragon n¡¯s piece by Possessing their patriarch. Thus, he was well aware that it was rtively easy to kill a member of Star Alliance through their seal, so how could there be a traitors?

    "Headmaster, this is the four ruling powers'' affair, and it has nothing at all to do with Virtue Archives. Why should we help?" Prof. Zheng asked.

    Headmaster Wen nced over at Wu Taibai and Prof. Bai, and then he quietly reported, "The four ruling powers have evidence that this traitor is actually a Redback. He escaped because he managed to gather some confidential information, and he wants to report it to one of his superiors. Supposedly, the four ruling powers let him escape on purpose, as they hoped to capture a bigger fish, but¡­"

    "But they lost him," Mr. Tang finished.

    Headmaster Wen nodded. "The only thing that is known for certain is that the traitor is in the Virtue District. Nothing about a more precise location is known, but with the four ruling powers¡¯ efforts, it¡¯s impossible for him to have escaped to another district. If he weren¡¯t here, they would have drafted other people to help capture this traitor. They simply don¡¯t have the manpower to track him down across this entire district, so we will lend them a hand.

    "This is not merely a matter that concerns the four ruling powers, but all of mankind."

    The instructors all remained silent.

    "I¡¯ve decided that Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Bai, and Prof. Hao Yu will all participate in this manhunt. Your task is to lock down the northeastern region of the Virtue District. I will handle the southeastern region on my own, and the four ruling powers will handle the other two regions. This traitor cannot be allowed to escape from the Virtue District.¡±

    "Finally, students are allowed to participate as well, but only the Enlighters. Additionally, they need to follow one of the four instructors." Headmaster Wen finished giving some additional details.

    News of the assignment was quickly shared with the students, though the precise details were altered, and much of the information was kept deliberately vague. All that was said was that the four ruling powers were requesting assistance in capturing a one-tribtion Envoy.

    Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and Liu Que epted the assignment, though Qing Feng and the rest did not. Theirbat strength was not enough for them to stand up to an Envoy.

    Just half a dayter, Lu Yin stood above a red wastnd in the northeastern region of the Virtue District, staring off into the distance. Behind him stood Bai Weiwei.

    Bai Weiwei had decided to follow Lu Yin after epting the assignment, and thus, she had apanied him.

    "Why did you decide to follow me? Compared to the other instructors, I have the worst cultivation," Lu Yin asked in a casual manner.

    Bai Weiwei replied, "There¡¯s almost no chance that we¡¯ll actually run into the traitor on this mission, so it¡¯s really not much of a job. As far as I¡¯m concerned, this is just a chance to spend some time alone with you."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Spend some time alone with me? What does that mean?"

    Bai Weiwei fell silent for a while. "Should I call you Prof. Hao Yu, or Professor Yu Hao?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around so that he could stare at Bai Weiwei, and when his eyes locked onto her, his whole demeanor changed. "How did you find out?"

    "You''re not going to deny it, are you?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Lu Yin looked away without responding, and Bai Weiwei watched him with open curiosity. "I would love to know what you¡¯ve gone through over thest few decades."

    Lu Yin indifferently asked, "Is this why you decided to follow me?"

    Bai Weiwei¡¯s eyes never left Lu Yin. "It''s only been a few decades, but you¡¯ve undergone a ridiculous transformation. Even the Junior Progenitors would struggle to aplish what you¡¯ve done, and now you¡¯re even in a position to speak with the Xia family."

    Lu Yinughed. "Speak with the Xia family? Do you really think that I can do that?"

    Bai Weiwei said nothing.

    Lu Yin continued, "The Xia family is one of the rulers of the entire Perennial World. They have powerful Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors, while I¡¯m nothing but an Envoy. Even if I have some lockbreaking abilities, why would the Xia family bother to speak to me? As far as they¡¯re concerned, I¡¯m still nothing but an ant."

    "But you have Grandmaster Gu Yan behind you!" Bai Weiwei protested.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Grandmaster Gu Yan? What was this girl talking about?

    Upon seeing Lu Yin¡¯s silence, Bai Weiwei continued. "A few decades ago, Grandmaster Gu Yan visited the Lower Realm, and after he returned, he had nothing but praise for a young man that he had met while on his trip. The young man is supposedly an amazingly talented Lockbreaker. That¡¯s the same time as when you went missing, so unless I¡¯mpletely off, you should be the same talented young Lockbreaker that Grandmaster Gu Yan mentioned."

    Lu Yin said nothing, and he kept his expression still. He was trying to understand the implications behind what Bai Weiwei had just said.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan visited the Lower Realm a few decades ago and then praised a young man for his lockbreaking talent? Could that be me? I did meet Grandmaster Gu Yan in the Lower Realm when I was pretending to be Long Qi and searching the Lower Realm for the giant anteater with Supervisor Qing Chen.

    Looking back, that was the same time that Yu Hao had gone missing.

    It was all a misunderstanding. People were assuming that Yu Hao was Lu Yin¡ªno, they were assuming that Yu Hao was Long Qi, who had beenplimented by Grandmaster Gu Yan. This was aplicated misunderstanding because, no matter if people believed the young man to be Yu Hao, Long Qi, or Lu Yin, they were all really the same person.

    Also, had Grandmaster Gu Yan ever epted Lu Yin as an apprentice back then?

    OMA''s Thoughts

    NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

    It''s been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then, we''ve released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...). During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters (always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

    We have not been ignoring those requests. For thest year, OMA and the rest of the team have been working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers will gain ess to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren''t enough, we''ve even added another tier for those asking...

    We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I''m looking forward to cutting back on the workload a bit after today.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2202: Young Master

    Chapter 2202: Young Master

    "While Grandmaster Gu Yan never explicitly stated that he epted the man as his apprentice, he¡¯s been in seclusion in the decades since. So, most people assumed that he had a new apprentice. Professor, you¡¯ve changed so much since you disappeared, especially your mastery of lockbreaking. If you weren¡¯t taught by Grandmaster Gu Yan, then I don¡¯t know who else in the entire Perennial World could have caused you to undergo such a transformation,¡± Bai Weiwei exined.

    Lu Yin turned back to look at Bai Weiwei. "Did youe up with this guess?"

    "It¡¯s what everyone who knows who you are believes. If I was able to figure out your real identity, then so can the Xia family," Bai Weiwei replied.

    Lu Yin never admitted nor denied being Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. This rumor was actually a pretty good background for him.

    "I''m curious, what methods did Grandmaster Gu Yan use to teach? How did he raise you to the Realm Array Master level so quickly?" Bai Weiwei was extremely curious about this particr detail.

    Lu Yinughed. "Does your Bai family reveal their secrets to outsiders so casually?"

    "I¡¯m sorry, that was rude," Bai Weiwei said, though she felt that Lu Yin¡¯s response confirmed that he really was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice.

    This was a very, very big deal. Grandmaster Gu Yan was the most aplished Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World, and while his personality was a bit odd and he hated the four ruling powers, his influence was massive. If not, he would have also been forced to join Star Alliance. Since Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan''s apprentice, how would the Xia family respond?

    "Even if I have an Array Grandmaster behind me, I still can¡¯t warrant the Xia family¡¯s concern. I¡¯m well aware of just how horrifying your four ruling powers truly are," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Weiwei stared at Lu Yin. "Professor, do you want to get revenge?"

    Lu Yin stared straight back at the woman. "If you had lived through what I have, would you be able to just let things go?"

    Bai Weiwei thought for a while. "You''re right. Not even an Array Grandmaster can cause the Xia family to hesitate, but my Bai family is different."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he nced over at Bai Weiwei. There was a hint of a smile on her face. "Your hatred may not be a big deal in the grand scheme of things, so it all depends on what you are willing to do to get revenge."

    Lu Yin considered her words. Bai Weiwei said nothing more, but there were some things that did not need to be said out loud.

    After all, Bai Weiwei had not actually discovered that Hao Yu was Yu Hao. Rather, she had been informed of such by the Celestial Frost Sect.

    How could the appearance of such a genius Lockbreaker in Virtue Archives not arouse the four ruling powers¡¯ interest? If the Xia family was paying attention to such a thing, then naturally the Bai family knew of it as well.

    Inparison to Yu Hao''s hatred and desire for revenge, the Bai family was far more concerned with Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s teachings. If this situation with Yu Hao could be used to win over Grandmaster Gu Yan, then did it even matter if the Xia family was offended in the process?

    While the four ruling powers appeared to be united, there were endless internal conflicts between them. This was also still rtively soon after the time when they had ousted the Lu family from the Perennial World. What would happen in another 1,000, or even 10,000 years when all traces of the Lu family¡¯s influence had been erased from the Perennial World? Open war would likely erupt between the four ruling powers.

    This was also why all four were working to strengthen their own foundations as much as possible.

    Several days passed, and Lu Yin and Bai Weiwei remained in the red wastnd. The conversations between the two mostly revolved around lockbreaking, and nothing further regarding Yu Hao¡¯s situation was mentioned.

    One day, Lu Yin asked a question as he stared out across the wastnd. "People say that the most powerful person in the Perennial World aside from the Progenitors themselves is definitely your senior sister, Bai Xian¡¯er, from the Celestial Frost Sect. Is that urate?"

    Bai Weiwei reflexively lifted her head to look towards the Higher Realm. However, doing so also left her a bit depressed, as only the soil that formed the foundation of the Higher Realm could be seen from the Middle Realm. This sight also let Bai Weiwei better understand why the four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family. Given their arrogance, how could the four ruling powers ept only looking up at the foundation of another power?

    "Probably. Senior Sister is the most talented cultivator in history, which is why she¡¯s so close to the Progenitor realm herself at such a young age. All of us are waiting for Senior Sister to be a Progenitor and elevate my Celestial Frost Sect to even greater heights," Bai Weiwei answered.

    Lu Yin was very curious about something. "What kind of person is Bai Xian''er? Can you tell me about her? All I know about her are just rumors."

    Bai Weiwei asked, "Why are you so curious about Senior Sister, Professor?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Is there anyone who isn¡¯t curious about Bai Xian''er?"

    This was only natural to Bai Weiwei. While Bai Xian''er had never revealed herself publicly, she was still a legend in the Perennial World. Even if no one mentioned the woman, it was impossible for anyone to forget that she was the most talented individual in the entire Perennial World.

    "Professor, what would you like to know about Senior Sister?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I really don''t know anything at all about her. All I¡¯ve heard is that red flowers appear wherever she goes."

    Bai Weiwei replied, "I also don''t know much about Senior Sister. We might refer to her as ¡®senior sister,¡¯ but in truth, we know even less about her than Sect Master Bai. I can¡¯t tell you much about her, though I can tell you that there¡¯s been more than one assassination attempt on her while she¡¯s been in secluded training. Even Aeternus tried to kill her during her breakthrough to the Envoy realm. Her tribtion was so vast that it practically covered the entire Perennial World, and even a Progenitor came¡­"

    Bai Weiwei only knew a bit more than Lu Yin. Lu Yin was mostly curious about how Bai Xian¡¯er had cultivated during her time as an Envoy and a Semi-Progenitor while on her way to the Progenitor level. However, absolutely nothing was known about that. How did she cultivate? What was her current level?

    Another two days calmly passed, when suddenly, Lu Yin felt the fluctuations of a void god level domain.

    Hismunication crystal vibrated, and Lu Yin nced at it. "The task has beenpleted. The traitor¡¯s been caught."

    Lu Yin then led Bai Weiwei towards Mr. Tang and the others from Virtue Archives.

    The traitor had fled towards the northeast, which was not the area that Lu Yin had been responsible for. Rather, it was where Mr. Tang and Xia Shenguang had been sent to.

    Lu Yin and Bai Weiwei arrived at about the same time as the people from the four ruling powers. There were people from Shenwu''s Sky, as well as two Envoys from the Wang family, and they took the prisoner away.

    Lu Yin briefly saw that the captive was an old man. He had clearly been seriously injured. The man was dragged off by an expert from Shenwu''s Sky who was a three-tribtion Envoy. Lu Yin could only see the prisoner¡¯s back, though there were obvious bloodstains on the ground.

    "How boring. Just a one-tribtion Envoy," Xia Shenguangmented dismissively.

    The three-tribtion Envoy from Shenwu''s Sky gave Xia Shenguang a bow from the distance, and as he did so, the captive fell to the ground with a cough before rolling over.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed when he saw the old man¡¯s face, and he was briefly dazed. He seemed to hear a voice that addressed him in a kind, yet respectful manner, though it was also clearly full of affection. "Young Master, you¡¯re here again? What are you doing? Didn¡¯t it hurt the first time you fell?"

    "Young Master, this- this is too much to eat! Your servant can''t eat all of this!"

    "Young Master, please eat slowly! Slow down!"

    Lu Yin recovered quite quickly, as he was only dazed for a brief moment. He stared at the copsed prisoner who was lying on his back. The old man looked miserable, and his entire face had been cut open.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils fluctuated as he looked at the old man¡¯s face. This was someone he should know. This old man had once called Lu Yin ¡°young master.¡±

    In his brief daze, Lu Yin saw an ind covered with food. This captive was someone from the Lu family. Lu Yin had vague memories of the old man chasing after him with a kind and doting smile on his face. When Lu Yin had fallen down, this old man would drop to the ground and act as a cushion to prevent Lu Yin from being injured. When Lu Yin had been punished, this old man had stepped forward and braved through the torrential scoldings and beatings that followed. He had stolen food for his young master when he had been hungry. This was someone whom Lu Yin knew he should remember.

    Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists as he watched the other person from Shenwu¡¯s Sky drag the old man up by his hair and then carry him away in an insulting manner. The ground where the old man had fallen was stained red from his blood.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, let''s go. Prof. Zheng and the others are already heading back to the academy, and the headmaster is also on his way," Mr. Tang said.

    Lu Yin unclenched his hands and nodded. His voice sounded calm as he replied, "Let''s go."

    Soon, there were no people left in the area. The people from Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family carried the old man away, while the people from Virtue Archives returned to the academy.

    The ce looked quite peaceful.

    Suddenly, a pair of golden eyes appeared, and they briefly stared in the direction where the people from Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family had gone before pursuing after them.

    A short timeter, at the border of the Virtue District, right when the people from Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family were about to take the old man away, someone appeared in front of them, and a terrifying pressure suppressed them. The old man was grabbed, and the attacker started to move away, only for another person to suddenly appear by tearing through the void. The instant this second person arrived, the entire situation reversed, and an unfathomable pressure covered the entire Virtue District.

    Headmaster Wen looked up. An old monster had alsoe.

    The person who had rescued the old man looked up at the second figure, and choked out, "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    An old man had appeared in the sky. He was Xia Ziheng, a Semi-Progenitor from the Xia family.

    "Let¡¯s see just how you try to escape now." As he spoke, Xia Ziheng raised a hand and pressed down to capture the would-be rescuer.

    Naturally, the rescuer was Tong Yu. The moment Lu Yin had seen the old man, he had reached out to Tong Yu and asked her to save the man. Lu Yin could not allow the old man to be taken away, as his ending would be beyond miserable.

    Tong Yu''s strength was more than enough to deal with a three-tribtion Envoy, but who would have thought that a Semi-Progenitor would actually be hiding and observing the entire ordeal?

    Tong Yu was in despair, as there was no way out for her against a Semi-Progenitor.

    Suddenly, a strangeugh rang out. "Well, well. If it isn''t Xia Ziheng? It¡¯s been a long time, old man, hahahaha!"

    Kui Luo had arrived, and his spiritual force swept through the area without hesitation, instantly attacking Xia Ziheng.

    The old man¡¯s expression instantly and drastically changed. He could do nothing but retreat against Kui Luo¡¯s spiritual force, and Xia Ziheng¡¯s mind grew hazy. He was merely a Semi-Progenitor from one of the Xia family¡¯s branch families, and there was no way he couldpare to a top-tier expert like Kui Luo. Xia Ziheng did not even try to fight back.

    "You- Kui Luo?" Xia Ziheng shouted.

    Kui Luo showed himself and stared at Xia Ziheng, a strange smile on his face. "I¡¯ve really missed you. When I saw you, I couldn¡¯t help but remember how Lu Qi held your head down and made you drink horse piss. So many years have passed in a blink of an eye."

    "Shut up!" Xia Ziheng yelled in fury. Countless des swept across the sky, shooting straight at Kui Luo. This was Xia Ziheng¡¯s inner world. The des were used to form cages that could trap beasts, and anyone who was trapped in this inner world would have to force their way past a thousand swords and be sliced to pieces.

    "Wow, that''s not bad!" Kui Luo''s spiritual force erupted yet again, instantly shattering the countless des. "Let¡¯s see if you can manage to climb over the dragon gate!"

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s visionpletely changed, and he suddenly saw he was at the bottom of a waterfall. He had entered Kui Luo¡¯s Dragon Gate.

    The Perennial World had far more Semi-Progenitors than the Fifth Maind, but even so, very few couldpare to Kui Luo. He possessed the same level of strength as the gatemasters from the ancient Heavens Sect era. He had the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and after countless years of using it, his spiritual force had utterly transformed. It was the main reason behind Kui Luo¡¯s exceptional strength.

    Forget Xia Ziheng, who was a Semi-Progenitor from a branch of the Xia family, even Semi-Progenitor Xia Yingxiong from the main family was no match for Kui Luo.

    Above his Dragon Gate, Kui Luo looked down on Xia Ziheng as though seeing an ant.

    des surrounded Xia Ziheng and created a storm. His inner world wasposed of endless des, and they all started to glow. He tried to climb up the waterfall to escape from the Dragon Gate, but he failed to even get close.

    The man raised his hand up high. As he did so, the countless des of his inner world gathered together, and the Divine Martial Armor also appeared around the des before they released a single powerful sh.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

    It''s been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then, we''ve released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...). During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters (always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

    We have not been ignoring those requests. For thest year, OMA and the rest of the team have been working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers will gain ess to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren''t enough, we''ve even added another tier for those asking...

    We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I''m looking forward to cutting back on the workload a bit after today.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2203: The Old Servant

    Chapter 2203: The Old Servant

    Kui Luo''s expression grew slightly more serious, as no matter what else, he was still up against the Xia family¡¯s powerful techniques.

    The Divine Martial Armor condensed on the des as they swept out, and the waterfall was cut apart. The sharp aura severed the Dragon Gate, and upon seeing this, Kui Luo instantly released his spiritual force again. His only advantage over the other Semi-Progenitors was his spiritual force.

    The spiritual force seemed to add greater depth to the Dragon Gate, and as soon as that happened, Xia Ziheng was smashed back down into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.

    Xia Ziheng''s looked up and let out a roar. He was helpless against Kui Luo''s spiritual force.

    "Wen Lai, I know that you¡¯re here! This person helped that Lu bastard escape! Everyst one of the four ruling powers wants him dead! If you just stand aside and watch, my ancestors will definitely look into this matter!" Xia Ziheng roared.

    Wen Lai was Headmaster Wen¡¯s name.

    The fight was taking ce in the Virtue District, so it was quite close to Virtue Archives. How could a battle between two Semi-Progenitors not be noticed by Headmaster Wen? On top of that, Virtue Archives actually had two Semi-Progenitors.

    Even so, Headmaster Wen did not appear.

    Kui Luo warily nced around. He was well aware of the fact that Virtue Archives¡¯ Semi-Progenitors had already noticed the situation, but he also knew that they did not want to get involved. As long as Kui Luo did not truly threaten Xia Ziheng''s life, the powerhouses of Virtue Archives would be happy to see the Xia''s family suffer a bit.

    Xia Ziheng roared again, but Headmaster Wen still did not appear. The trapped Semi-Progenitor red up at Kui Luo, and the image of a massive knife appeared behind him. The endless des of his inner world started to shine with the Divine Martial Armor that shrouded them.

    Kui Luo''s eyes went wide. Clearly this old man was quite diligent, and there was no denying he had inherited a Progenitor¡¯s de intent. This had likelye from the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes grew bloodshot as he stared at Kui Luo. The knife rose up once more and shed down.

    Kui Luo hurried to retaliate with more spiritual force

    This single attack broke the Dragon Gate, allowing Xia Ziheng to escape from Kui Luo¡¯s inner world. Xia Ziheng immediately turned to look in a specific direction, which was where Tong Yu was fleeing with the rescued old man.

    The Semi-Progenitor released an enraged attack. He could not allow the old man to escape, as losing a captive would make him a joke amongst the four ruling powers.

    The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack fell as a de dropped.

    Tong Yu looked back, and her death energy surged as she did her best to block the attack.

    ¡°Stop, just leave.¡± A calm voice entered Tong Yu¡¯s ears, and Progenitor Smoke moved past the golden-eyed woman. A hand rose, and fog surged. The de disintegrated and disappeared bit by bit before falling down, as soft as a drifting leaf.

    Xia Ziheng''s pupils instantly shrank. There was another powerhouse present.

    However, Xia Ziheng had never seen Progenitor Smoke before, and she had also noticed Headmaster Wen¡¯s position as well, so she had disguised herself. Given Progenitor Smoke¡¯s strength, no Semi-Progenitor could see through her.

    Xia Ziheng could only watch as the old man disappeared. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s eyes were bright red as he turned to look at Kui Luo, who had a creepy smile on his face. "Old man, it looks like all the life-saving measures that your Progenitors gave you have been used up. So let¡¯s see just how you get out of my Dragon Gate alive this time!"

    Instantly, the Dragon Gate reappeared.

    However, Headmaster Wen finally showed himself at this moment. He really could not continue to sit back and watch, as he would not be able to defend his actions any further.

    "Kui Luo, it¡¯s been a long time." Headmaster Wen offered a nd greeting.

    Kui Luo¡¯s eyebrows rose high. " Wen i, do you really want to help him?"

    Headmaster Wen stared back at Kui Luo. "We can''t allow him to die so close to my Virtue Archives."

    The headmaster then nced towards Xia Ziheng. "Besides, you are also a criminal wanted by all four of the ruling powers. It''s time to bring you to justice."

    Kui Luoughed loudly. "When did Virtue Archives be the four ruling powers''ckey? You can continue to y this game on your own, but I¡¯m not joining you."

    With that, Kui Luo started to leave.

    Xia Ziheng raced over after being freed, and he instantly caught up to the headmaster. "Wen Lai, we have to capture him! That old man helped that Lu bastard escape, and he has a close rtionship with the Lu family."

    Headmaster Wen shook his head. "Even if the two of us work together, we wouldn¡¯t be able to capture Kui Luo. There¡¯s a reason why he¡¯s managed to survive for so many years despite being pursued by your four ruling powers."

    Xia Ziheng was not willing to ept this oue, as he had suffered a terrible loss this time. He might not have been injured, but he had still been forced to use the de qi that he had been given by his ancestor, which had been intended to be a life-saving measure. Using it when his life was actually in danger would immediately alert Xia Ziheng¡¯s ancestor, but he had been forced to use it to escape from Kuo Luo. Using such a treasure against the bastard was not an equal trade.

    However, Wen Lai was also right. With the strength of Kui Luo''s spiritual force, even if the two of them teamed up, they would not be able to stop the old man from leaving.

    You old bastard, sooner orter, we¡¯ll ask a Progenitor to deal with you!

    Wait, why is Kui Luo here? Didn''t he flee to the Forsaken Land through the New Corridor?

    Headmaster Wen looked towards the direction where the old man had escaped to. The headmaster did not care about Kui Luo, as the old man was nothing but a cancer to the Perennial World. However, a Progenitor¡¯s de qi had been blocked, which should not have been possible. Who had done that? Wen Lai had not been able to see anything.

    Who could know that person¡¯s identity?

    "Wen Lai, why didn''t you show up sooner?" Xia Ziheng demanded as he red at Headmaster Wen.

    Headmaster Wen casually answered, "I came when I noticed."

    Xia Ziheng was furious, but there was nothing that he could do. He could not act against Wen Lai.

    Headmaster Wen turned to look at Xia Ziheng. "That man is not a traitor from Star Alliance, let alone a Redback. He¡¯s someone from the Lu family, isn¡¯t he?"

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "He¡¯s a traitor from Star Alliance."

    Headmaster Wen¡¯s voice turned cold. "I''ve seen that man before. When Lu Xiaoxuan visited Virtue Archives, he brought a young attendant and an old servant with him. That man is that old servant. You took advantage of my Virtue Archives, and I will not forget this."

    Xia Ziheng had not expected Headmaster Wen to recognize the old man. "So what if he is from the Lu family? Can¡¯t there be Redbacks in the Lu family? Throughout the history of the Perennial World, no fewer than ten Redbacks have appeared within the Lu family. On top of that, we all have a responsibility to destroy any remnants of the Lu family. Consider your actions carefully, Wen Lai."

    Headmaster Wen merely let out a contemptuous snort before turning around and leaving. He did not say another word.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes flickered, but he was not concerned about Virtue Archives. They already had the means to deal with those people.

    On the other hand, who had blocked that attack? An unknown Semi-Progenitor?

    That should not be possible. While Xia Ziheng was notparable to the Semi-Progenitor from the Xia family¡¯s direct line, he was still far above most Semi-Progenitors, and Xia Ziheng¡¯s attack had contained a Progenitor¡¯s de intent. That attack was impossible for even Kui Luo to block, so who had done that? Were there still such powerful experts from the Lu family around?

    This possibility caused Xia Ziheng¡¯s mood to drop, as they could not allow any powerhouses from the Lu family to remain.

    It was also aplete mystery as to what had happened to the army that had been sent to the Forsaken Land.

    Far away, Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror, and Lu Yin stored the mirror back in his cosmic ring. He had Tong Yu keep an eye on the surroundings while Lu Yin personally went to help the old man.

    The old man shook Lu Yin''s hand away, and he said in a hoarse voice, "You people have tried everything to get me to talk, but it¡¯s useless, so just stop trying. I¡¯m already dying, and I have nothing to say to you."

    The old man¡¯s body trembled, and he fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin quickly checked on the old man¡¯s conditions, and what he found caused his expression to grow ugly.

    The old man¡¯s body was riddled with countless injuries. His organs had been destroyed, and his meridians had been shattered. Not only had his cultivation been destroyed, but toxins and other substances had also been forced into his already injured body. While all of this might still be possible to treat with potent enough medicines, the true tragedy was that the old man¡¯s vitality had been cut off. He was no different from a living corpse, and there was absolutely no chance of saving him. The only reason why the man could still speak or move was entirely due to his impressive willpower.

    "Who did this to you?" Lu Yin asked quietly. He looked calm, but a terrifying intensity filled his eyes as he stared at the old man. All kinds of different powerful emotions assaulted Lu Yin at this moment.

    The old man just sneered and said nothing. Heid on the ground and stared at the sky. He would never see his young master again, and would also never be able to seek vengeance.

    Lu Yin moved over next to the old man and silently sat down. The various emotions that flitted through his eyes were a mirror of the old man¡¯s.

    "Are you in pain?" Lu Yin hesitantly asked. He kept his voice very casual.

    The old man showed absolutely no reaction, and he simply ignored Lu Yin.

    Finally, Lu Yin''s face crumpled. "I''m sorry that I only came now."

    The old man finally looked over at Lu Yin and saw his face. Excitement shed across the man¡¯s face, only to be instantly reced with fury and hatred. "How long are you all going to try to deceive me? Do you really think that I¡¯d believe that you¡¯re the young master? You won¡¯t seed! It¡¯s been too long, and the young master has unmatched talent. He stands above all who havee before, and he will one day return and bring back the Lu family! You and all the other traitors will be executed, and they will take back this Perennial World! It won¡¯t be long now."

    Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage, and it slowly floated closer.

    The old man''s pupils constricted sharply as he stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage in pure disbelief.

    While the four ruling powers could copy a person¡¯s appearance, they could not copy a Champions¡¯ Stage. The aura that they gave off was unmistakable; this was truly a Champions¡¯ Stage.

    "I remember you. When I was a child and I fell, you were the one who caught me and kept me from getting hurt. When I was hungry, you would steal food for me. Whenever I was punished, you would apany me through everything." Lu Yin and the old man stared at each other, and when Lu Yin saw the old man¡¯s bloodshot eyes, his voice grew gentle and apologetic. "I''m so sorry, I can¡¯t remember your name any longer! I''m so sorry I¡¯m only here now!"

    The old man looked at Lu Yin as tears streamed down the young man¡¯s cheeks. He stared nkly at Lu Yin, and raised a hand to touch Lu Yin''s face. "Young Master¡­ you- are you really my young master?"

    Lu Yin reached up to hold the old man''s shriveled hand. "I''m so sorry!"

    The old man''s eyes suddenly red, and he snatched his hand back, and he even pushed himself away from Lu Yin. "No, you aren¡¯t my young master! You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re lying to me yet again! You aren¡¯t my young master."

    Sadness welled up from the bottom of Lu Yin¡¯s heart. How many tricks and lies had this old man lived through over the years? He was unwilling to acknowledge Lu Yin¡¯s identity even after seeing the Champions¡¯ Stage. Lu Yin had thought that he had struggled and survived through difficulties during his time in the Fifth Maind, but he realized that the surviving vassals of the Lu family who had been trapped in the Perennial World had lived far worse lives. They had been forced into Star Alliance or narrowly escaped death, while those imprisoned in Crimson Garden had been driven insane. All those in hiding who supported the Lu family were hopeful but also terrified.

    Seeing the hatred and fear etched on the old man¡¯s face, Lu Yin let out a slow breath and then pulled a piece of paper from his cosmic ring. He unfolded it, and seven handprints could be seen on it. There were small prints andrge ones, but they were the handprints of the Seven Heroes from when they had sworn themselves to be siblings. "Do you remember ?"

    The old man stared at the handprints in a daze and then started to quiver. Tears spilled from the old man¡¯s eyes, and his face flushed a strange red. Suddenly, the old man¡¯s hand flew out, and he grabbed Lu Yin''s arm. "Young Master? Is it really you?"

    Lu Yin pulled the old man into a hug. "It''s me! It¡¯s been so many years, and I¡¯m sote!"

    The old man¡¯s mouth fell open, but he could not say a word. All he could do was weep, heartbroken.

    The old man wept, letting everything out. It was impossible to know how many lies and tricks he had suffered over the years and how many times he had been betrayed by others. This was the real reason why the old man¡¯s vitality had been cut off, as his heart had already died.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin and understanding who he really was, it was as though the old man had regained hundreds of years of life.

    However, that was nothing more than a facade. The old man¡¯s vitality had already been cut off, and there was no way for him to keep living. He waspletely different from Ming Yan, as while she had been terribly injured, her vitality had remained intact.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

    It''s been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then, we''ve released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...). During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters (always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

    We have not been ignoring those requests. For thest year, OMA and the rest of the team have been working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers will gain ess to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren''t enough, we''ve even added another tier for those asking...

    We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I''m looking forward to cutting back on the workload a bit after today.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2204: Burial

    Chapter 2204: Burial

    "Young Master, it''s really you! Young Master, your old servant worked so hard to wait for you!" the old man wailed.

    Lu Yin tightly embraced the old man, but his eyes turned frigid. "I''m back. You don''t need to worry. I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you again, and I won¡¯t let anyone who hurt you, who hurt those loyal to the Lu family, or who betrayed us escape!"

    The old man grew excited. "Don''t let them go! You absolutely can¡¯t! Lu Zhuo, it was that bastard Lu Zhuo who betrayed your family! Also, that woman Bai Xian¡¯er betrayed you! Young Master, you can¡¯t let them get away with this! You can¡¯t let the four ruling powers get away with this! Young Master, everything will be fine now that you¡¯re back."

    Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Lu Zhuo¡¯s dead. I killed him myself"

    The old man¡¯s head snapped up in shock, and then he started tough loudly. "He¡¯s dead?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Dead."

    The old man started tough crazily once more. "That¡¯s good! He¡¯s dead! That¡¯s wonderful! He thought that he¡¯d be safe by joining the Celestial Frost Sect, but I told him that the young master would kill him one day! Cough, cough, cough, cough."

    Blood sprayed from the old man''s mouth, and Lu Yin quickly hugged him again. "Don''t get too worked up! I''ll find a way to save you!"

    The old man waved Lu Yin away. "Young Master, you can''t save this old man. Still, waiting all these years was worth it. I never said anything! I never betrayed the Lu family in any way."

    "I know! I know that you wouldn¡¯t betray us! You¡¯re a part of my Lu family and always will be!" Lu Yin cried.

    The old manughed even while panting to breathe. "Young Master, your servant is leaving now. Take care of yourself, and even if you can''t get revenge, you must stay safe! Nothing is worth more than your life. Young master, you have to take care of yourself."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were practically glowing red by this point. This loyal old man¡¯s greatest wish on his deathbedy beyond even revenge for the entire Lu family. Instead, he wanted Lu Yin to stay safe and take good care of himself.

    "Smile, Young Master. Food- Food- Food Paradise is on the top of Mount Mei in the Higher Realm. I- I saw it fall there. Young Master, you need to go there, as there are still some of the things that you hid there, and they¡¯ll help you protect yourself. This oh- oh- old man never told anyone¡­¡± The old man tried to keep talking, but he could only asionally get some words out.

    Lu Yin held the old man tightly, clenching his fists as he watched the old man die, listening to the old servant¡¯s mutterings until he finally passed away in Lu Yin¡¯s embrace.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s hatred for the four ruling powers rose to unprecedented heights. The people who had loved and cared for him were being slowly eliminated, but he would make sure to eventually collect on this growing debt.

    Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled, and he answered the call.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, has the sourcebox array been dismantled?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Lu Yin was supposed to have returned to the academy, but he had stopped halfway back. The excuse that he had given was that he had set up a sourcebox array in the wastnds where he had been keeping watch for the fugitive and that he needed to return and dismantle it before it captured and killed someone.

    "I wasn¡¯t able to. It was already destroyed before I got there," Lu Yin replied.

    Bai Weiwei was surprised. "Someone destroyed your sourcebox array? Who?"

    "I don''t know," Lu Yin replied. "Why are you calling?"

    Bai Weiwei said, "It suddenly urred to me that if you hadn¡¯t already dismantled the sourcebox array, you could just stay there a bit longer and allow me to study it, but since it¡¯s already been destroyed, there¡¯s no point."

    "It''s the same as the defensive sourcebox array that I set up before. If you want to study it, I can help you set it up," Lu Yin offered before quickly ending the call. He looked back down at the old man still in his arms, and then he personally carried the old man¡¯s corpse into Zenith Mountain.

    "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust¡­ I still can¡¯t remember your name." Lu Yin stared at the old man''s body. He had frozen the body instead of burying it, and just looking at it aroused various emotions. "I¡¯ll only bury you after I remember your name. I¡¯ll offer a sacrifice from the blood of our enemies."

    He then left Zenith Mountain and continued on his way towards the academy.

    At this same time, inside Virtue Archives, Xia Ziheng was confronting Headmaster Wen atop the headmaster¡¯s own pir.

    "I won¡¯t pursue the fact that you did not join me to chase after Kui Luo right away. I¡¯m only here because I want to meet all the members of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty. That¡¯s no issue, right?" Xia Ziheng bluntly demanded. He had quickly gone to Virtue Archives after quickly treating his injuries. Only the four ruling powers and Virtue Archives had known about the old man, so clearly, news of the fugitive had leaked since someone had appeared to save him. Virtue Archives¡¯ instructors were the first suspects.

    Headmaster Wen indifferently replied, "This academy is a ce of study, not your Star Alliance. You have no businessing here and making usations. If you doubt my staff, then you can forget about speaking to me again in the future. To put it bluntly, Virtue Archives will not give in to the brazen demands of someone like you who doesn¡¯t have the qualifications."

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes shed with a cold light, but Headmaster Wen showed no sign of weakness or backing down.

    Finally, Xia Ziheng nodded. "Very well. I¡¯ll be reporting this incident to my ancestor, and he will handle things from here. Last time we spoke, I told you that Yu Hao must be included among the students¡¯ chaperones to the Higher Realm for their training experience with my four ruling powers. I hope that you don¡¯t disappoint me."

    Headmaster Wen frowned. "I already told you back then that the chaperones will be determined by the students¡¯ vote. If you¡¯re that concerned about it, just send people to take the entrance exam and join Virtue Archives. That should not be a challenge for your Xia family."

    Xia Ziheng stared at Headmaster Wen. "Again and again, you deny my requests. Wen Lai, you¡¯d better remember this day."

    Headmaster Wen calmly took his seat and picked up his teacup. "Be careful on your way out. I won¡¯t see you off."

    "I¡¯m not going anywhere yet. Call Yu Hao here to see me." Xia Ziheng also sat down.

    This was not a request that Headmaster Wen could refuse. Xia Zhiheng was Semi-Progenitor, and it was only natural for him to want to meet with this particr instructor. As long as Yu Hao was not attacked, there was nothing that Headmaster Wen could do about this matter. No matter what, there was no denying that, technically, Xia Ziheng could be considered Yu Hao''s rtive.

    At the same time that Lu Yin returned to the academy, he received a message from the headmaster, telling Lu Yin to report for a meeting with Xia Ziheng.

    Xia Ziheng? Lu Yin looked up, his hands clenched into fists. He slowly rxed them, took a deep breath, and then made a point of altering his state of mind. He was no longer Lu Xiaoxuan, but Yu Hao.

    Lu Yin did not travel quickly, instead slowly walking across the academy. It started to rain, and the water fell on him.

    Some of the students noticed him, and they hurried over to offer an umbre. It was a given that an Envoy could easily block rain from falling on them, and realistically, no cultivator actually needed an umbre. It was just that some people enjoyed using them.

    "Thank you," Lu Yin said with a smile. Yu Hao''s handsome facebined with the haziness of the drizzling rain created a scene that almost made the girl offering the umbre faint.

    In the headmaster¡¯s garden, Xia Ziheng was forced to wait for a long time before Lu Yin finally arrived. The man could not help but nce over at Headmaster Wen.

    Headmaster Wen ndly said, "What''s the rush? He¡¯s already on his way."

    Xia Ziheng''s finger twitched, and ripples spread through the void. They would quickly epass all of Virtue Archives, but Headmaster Wen instantly stopped the ripples. "There are other students and instructors here in Virtue Archives, and all of them are entitled to their own secrets. Don¡¯t you find it inappropriate to take such actions?"

    Xia Ziheng tantly ignored the headmaster, and in less than a second, the power of a Semi-Progenitor covered half of the academy. The man instantly noticed Lu Yin walking towards the center of the academy, clearly going as slowly as possible. Was this Yu Hao¡¯s demonstration of his dissatisfaction? Whatever. Xia Zhiheng decided to simply wait. Given the status of Grandmaster Gu Yan, it was not unreasonable for Xia Zhiheng to wait a bit.

    Headmaster Wen already knew that Lu Yin was walking across the academy, and he was secretly amused by the young man¡¯s antics. It was only too clear that Yu Hao was upset with the Xia family, though not everyone would be bold enough to force a Semi-Progenitor to wait. Yu Hao was doing so extremely deliberately.

    After the two old men waited for a very long time, Lu Yin finally arrived at the base of the stone pir, and he slowly announced his presence. "Hao Yu requests to see the headmaster."

    Headmaster Wen took a sip of his tea when he heard Lu Yin. He set the cup back down and then casually said, "Come up."

    Lu Yin stepped forward and started to slowly climb up the headmaster¡¯s stone pir.

    Xia Ziheng nced over at Headmaster Wen. "You should leave, or else I''ll take him somewhere else to speak with him."

    "I need to ensure the safety of my academy¡¯s instructors," Headmaster Wen replied.

    Xia Ziheng stared at the old man. "Wen Lai, you already know what will happen to Virtue Archives soon. Don¡¯t push me too far!"

    Headmaster Wen was not bothered by the threat. "I do know, but that''s also a matter for the four ruling powers, which has nothing to do with you, Xia Ziheng. What? Do you really believe that you can represent the entirety of the four ruling powers?"

    Xia Ziheng took a deep breath, but he did not argue any further.

    By this time, Lu Yin had arrived just outside the garden, and he looked at Xia Ziheng over the top of the gate to the garden.

    Xia Ziheng saw the hatred and killing intent that filled Lu Yin''s eyes, and he frowned slightly. Still, this much was within the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expectations.

    Xia Ziheng had made the trip to the Yinxian District not only because of the old man from the Lu family, but also to meet with Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng wanted to confirm that Yu Hao was indeed not an imposter before the ceremony to worship the ancestors. After all, an imposter would turn their family into the sameughing stock as dozens of years before.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had impersonated Long Qi, and he had toyed with the entire White Dragon n. Because of that scandal, Long Laogui had been sent to the rear battlefield for the next 10,000 years. As for Xia Ziheng, he would not escape unscathed if he made the same mistake.

    The Semi-Progenitor stared at Lu Yin, but he was unable to see any ws or issues. This person was not an imposter, but the real Yu Hao.

    Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor, so who could maintain a disguise in front of him? Unless the other person was also a Semi-Progenitor or some absolutely freakishly powerful peak Envoy, it was impossible. Besides, both of those options were practically impossible.

    "Headmaster." When Lu Yin entered the garden, he made a point of ignoring Xia Ziheng, instead offering a bow to Headmaster Wen.

    The old man smiled. "I hope that I didn¡¯t disturb your training."

    "There was no problem."

    Headmaster Wen nodded and then pointed over at Xia Ziheng. "Do you know him?"

    Xia Ziheng had appeared, and both Wu Taibai and Bai Weiwei had revealed to Lu Yin that they knew about his identity as Yu Hao. It only made sense for Headmaster Wen to be aware of the matter as well, so Lu Yin made no attempt to hide anything. "I know him. He¡¯s the Xia family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng."

    Xia Ziheng stared back at Lu Yin. "What is the proper way for you to refer to me?"

    No matter what branch of the family they came from, all descendants of the Xia family should refer to Xia Ziheng as Ancestor Ziheng. This was not only because of his status within the family, but also because he was a Semi-Progenitor. This was an honor given to those who reached such heights of power, and they were shown respect by even the members of the main family.

    Lu Yin calmly stared back at Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "You should refer to me as ¡®ancestor.¡¯"

    Lu Yin put on a show of surprise. "You¡¯ve be a Progenitor? Congrattions!"

    Headmaster Wen chuckled.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes grew cold, and he reflexively let out a bit of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s pressure, only to be stopped by Headmaster Wen. "And you asked me to leave? If I were not here, Prof. Hao Yu would have been badly injured just now."

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng, no sign of fear to be seen. "Why? Does Semi-Progenitor Ziheng want to attack me? Have you overestimated yourself and underestimated me and Virtue Archives? What right do you have to do whatever you want in this academy?"

    The reaction infuriated Xia Ziheng. "Yu Hao, how dare you speak to me in such a tone!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "I am Hao Yu. Yu Hao died long ago, and his story¡¯s already be famous throughout the entire Perennial World."

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes flickered as he stared into Lu Yin''s face. "As long as you are not dead, you can never rid yourself of your identity of Yu Hao, let alone the fact that you are a son-inw to my Xia family."

    Lu Yin looked over at Headmaster Wen. "Headmaster, did you call me here to meet with such a useless person? If there is nothing important that you need, then I¡¯ll take my leave now. I have ss in a few days, and I need to prepare for it."

    Headmaster Wen nodded. "That''s fine. You-"

    Xia Ziheng interrupted, "Yu Hao, there¡¯s a rtionship between you and Xia Zhitong. Do you really think that my Xia family will allow you to ignore that and roam wherever you wish?"

    Lu Yin looked back at Xia Ziheng. "What do you want? For me to stay with your family? If it¡¯s because of my rtionship with Xia Zhitong, then your Xia family¡¯s going to have their hands full, given all the people who¡¯ve had ¡®rtionships¡¯ with her."

 Chapter 2205: Intimidation

    Chapter 2205: Intimidation

    Lu Yin¡¯sment caused Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes to re, and Headmaster Wen instantly went on guard, worried the other Semi-Progenitor would not be able to restrain himself.

    Lu Yin''s words were a p in the Xia family¡¯s face.

    Forget a powerful and dignified family like the Xia family¡ªeven someone like Xia Zhitong would not be tolerated in amon family, as her actions would ruin any family¡¯s reputation.

    This was why the Xia family had opted to use Xia Zhitong to deal with the Yu family. Their tactics had inspired terror in all the other sects and families in the Perennial World, scaring them from helping the remnants of the Lu family after that. The entire affair had caused many people who had once followed the Lu family to suffer greatly.

    The Xia family had been overly ruthless with the Yu family. Not only had the family been essentially wiped out, but their reputation had also been permanently destroyed.

    However, while the Yu family had been ruined and reduced to a joke, the Xia family was not in a great situation either. No matter what, there was no getting around the fact that Xia Zhitong was a member of the Xia family. Even if she was not a part of the main family line and was just from a branch family, it was still too embarrassing to have such a person associated with the family.

    Xia Zhitong had been fully aware that the Xia family was just using her and that this matter would make her unwee to everyone aside from those who warmed her bed. She would never be treated as a member of the family or given the opportunity to honor her ancestors. She had willingly abandoned all of that, as she only wanted to enjoy her life. Yu Hao¡¯s return brought many ufortable matters back into the light, but these were not things that would harm the Yu family. After all, the Yu family had already been reduced to nothing, which meant that the vulnerable party at this moment was the Xia family, and Xia Ziheng was not willing to let that happen.

    "Wen Lai, give me a bit of face and allow me to speak with him alone. Don''t worry, I won¡¯t do anything to him. I swear on the reputation of my Xia family," Xia Ziheng spoke softly.

    Headmaster Wen nced at Lu Yin, who nodded. There was no fear in his eyes.

    Headmaster Wen said, "Alright, but I will be keeping an eye on you the entire time. If you dare to attack him, I promise on my Virtue Archives itself that I will not let you escape unscathed."

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s finger twitched. It was unexpected for Headmaster Wen to make such a threat. Had the man noticed something?

    After Headmaster Wen left, Lu Yin made no pretenses of being polite, and he immediately took a seat and poured himself a cup of tea.

    Xia Ziheng looked at the young man. "The matter regarding Xia Zhitong has nothing to do with my branch of the family. You should understand that her actions have not only harmed your Yu family, but also my Xia family¡¯s reputation."

    "So are you saying that I shouldn¡¯t hold a grudge?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Xia Ziheng said, "What I¡¯m saying is that people need to focus on the future. I know of your connection to Grandmaster Gu Yan. With that rtionship, everything from the past can disappear like smoke."

    Lu Yinughed. "Disappear? The reputation of my Yu family has been ruined for years, Yu City has been made aughing stock, and even I¡¯ve be an infamous legend in the Perennial World. And yet, you¡¯re saying that all of that can disappear?"

    Xia Ziheng grew serious. "Everything can be erased, just like how the Lu family¡¯s existence was wiped out."

    This statement startled Lu Yin, and he stared intently at Xia Ziheng.

    Xia Ziheng sneered at his response. "Do you believe that your Yu family is somehow more famous in the Perennial World than the Lu family was? We were able to eliminate the Lu family and make it so that no one even speaks of them. What do you think we can do to your little Yu family? Or, do you think that your new backing can do a better job? You might have Grandmaster Gu Yan supporting you, but do you really believe that that¡¯s enough to stand up to my Xia family? Do you even understand the power of my Xia family or Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Lu Yin remained silent, so Xia Ziheng continued, saying, "As long as we put in some effort, Virtue Archives won¡¯t be able to protect you. We can make your Yu family an infamous example for thousands of years, and no one can do anything to stop us."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists and red furiously at Xia Ziheng.

    The old man just shook his head. "You¡¯re still too naive, but that¡¯s not a problem. You clearly aren¡¯t foolish enough to believe that Grandmaster Gu Yan is enough to protect you, which is why you put on a little show and hid here in Virtue Archives. While it¡¯s true that Virtue Archives might have been able to protect you in the past, that¡¯s the past. Both now and in the future, Virtue Archives won¡¯t be able to save you. Everything you are or ever will be amounts to nothing but the workings of an ant to my Xia family. Your foundation is too shallow.

    "You think it¡¯s enough to be a Senior Array Master or even a Realm Array Master? Even if you be an Array Grandmaster, my Xia family can just condemn you to the rear battlefield until the Aeternals kill you. Is that the life you want?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes were as cold as ice, and they overflowed with endless hatred and bloodlust. "Do you think that just a few words are enough to make me abandon my revenge?"

    Xia Zihengughed. "Revenge? Who are you going to go after for your revenge? Xia Zhitong? My Xia family? Or maybe Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Seeing the various emotions flitting across Lu Yin''s eyes, Xia Ziheng shook his head. "You think too highly of yourself. Against Shenwu''s Sky, you¡¯re less than an ant."

    "If I¡¯m nothing more than an ant, then why is a Semi-Progenitor like you here and threatening me so much? Do you just like to hear yourself talk that much?" Lu Yin shot back.

    Xia Ziheng grew earnest as he spoke, "You may be an ant, but your future doesn¡¯t have to be the same as Gu Yan¡¯s. You are someone whom the Xia family could eventually consider valuable. Now, I¡¯m not talking about revenge, but rather of benefits. For the moment, if you can convince Grandmaster Gu Yan to join my Xia family, I¡¯ll help you get your revenge."

    Lu Yin gave a sharpugh. "You¡¯ll help me get revenge? How? Are you going to work with me against your own Xia family?"

    Xia Ziheng''s voice grew cold. "Xia Zhitong can die, and we can allow you to do as you wish with her. Even Xia Yuan can die, as long as you make yourself valuable enough. I will help you restore the Yu family¡¯s reputation, and I can even get your grandfather out of Star Alliance. Whatever you want, I will help you get it. The fate and reputation of your Yu family can bepletely reversed. Forget your petty hatred! Which cultivator doesn¡¯t have enemies? Is there really a need to kill all of them? If we did that, humanity would have been wiped out long ago.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression twisted; hesitation and consideration were clearly warring for control within him.

    Xia Ziheng saw that he was starting to convince the young man. "Xia Zhitong was the one who harmed your Yu family, and she is also the target of your revenge. You can decide the fates of all of her lovers. You can take one step closer to home, or you can cause your decades of effort to disappear. You can decide what will happen after today.

    "I am even willing to choose a new spouse for you so that you can truly be a part of my Xia family, a member of one of the four ruling powers! There will be no need for you to stay hidden here in Virtue Archives. Besides, this ce will soon see changes, and it won''t be the best ce for you to continue developing."

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. "Virtue Archives is going to change?"

    Xia Ziheng answered, "You don¡¯t need to worry about that. All you need to know is that I¡¯m willing to do my best to help you out, get revenge, and restore your reputation. I can help you get everything that you want. I represent both Shenwu''s Sky and the four ruling powers. What can''t we do here in the Perennial World? As long as you agree, you will be famous throughout the Perennial World. You can have your name go down in history."

    There was no denying that Xia Ziheng¡¯s arguments made for a very convincing case. If the real Yu Hao were in front of the Semi-Progenitor, he might have actually been convinced. However, it was actually Lu Yin, and he had not epted Grandmaster Gu Yan as his master. Furthermore, Lu Yin¡¯s background was much, much grander than a mere Array Grandmaster, and he was indeed qualified to challenge the four ruling powers. Thus, Xia Ziheng¡¯s words rang hollow in Lu Yin''s ears.

    "Is my grandfather really still alive?" Lu Yin asked.

    "He is, and I promise you that, as long as you agree, I will release your grandfather and allow him to leave Star Alliance."

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng. "Leave Star Alliance? How can that happen?"

    "All it takes is one order, and your grandfather will be freed. He¡¯ll be allowed to return to Yu City to recover, and he will even receive the full support of my Xia family."

    Lu Yin sneered. It only took a single order? He would not believe that even if he had not learned about the restrictions ced on the Envoys in Star Alliance. If it were so simple, then how could so many powerhouses have failed to escape?

    Xia Ziheng was just baiting "Yu Hao," trying to trick him into doing whatever it took to convince Grandmaster Gu Yan to join the Xia family. Even if that were not possible, as long as Xia Ziheng could get Yu Hao away from Virtue Archives, the Xia family would have the means to unterally decide what happened to the young man.

    Old monsters did not live for as long as they did without learning a few tricks.

    Lu Yin lowered his head, contemting the offer.

    A slight smile appeared on Xia Ziheng¡¯s face. Anyone would be tempted by such generous offers, not to mention Yu Hao. The Semi-Progenitor had offered both the young man¡¯s greatest desires, as well as what he actually needed. Xia Ziheng was too clear on how to spin a situation, as he understood the weaknesses of human nature. As long as one could grasp a person¡¯s deepest desires, it would be easy to control them.

    Not to mention, having a Semi-Progenitor personally deliver such an offer showed the sincerity of the Xia family.

    "First, I want to know who came up with the idea of marrying me to Xia Zhitong," Lu Yin stated.

    Good. With this question, it meant that the young man was looking for a new target for his revenge. Apparently, Yu Hao had not looked into this himself, and he was instead asking Xia Ziheng about it. The Semi-Progenitor simply needed to provide an appropriate target. The person could not be someone with too low a status, but also not too high, as this was a matter that concerned the Xia family¡¯s reputation.

    The idea had actually been Xia Yuan¡¯s, but Xia Ziheng wanted to save Xia Yuan, if at all possible.

    Finally, Xia Ziheng gave a name that Lu Yin had never heard before. The man was just a one-tribtion Envoy from a branch of the Xia family. He had just enough of a status to be able to meet with a Semi-Progenitor and report certain things, but he was not regarded as actually important.

    "He came up with the idea of having Xia Zhitong marry you. If you want revenge, then his life is yours," Xia Ziheng offered. This one sentence was enough to determine the life or death of an Envoy, and the man¡¯s ruthlessness would give anyone who understood it chills.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "I will make him pay for what he did!"

    Xia Ziheng''s mouth curled up into a smile.

    "But-" Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at Xia Ziheng. "You don¡¯t really represent Shenwu¡¯s Sky. If you want to be able to recruit my master, then I want to see Xia Xing."

    It was not unreasonable to expect a Semi-Progenitor like Xia Ziheng to know about the secrets of the restrictions that the four ruling powers had ced on the members of Star Alliance, but Lu Yin did not want to take any risks. He intended to take advantage of their belief that Grandmaster Gu Yan was his master to draw out Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. From him, he would hopefully obtain the Xia family¡¯s portion of the method to remove the restrictions. This was a risk, and if Lu Yin had any other options, he would not take it, as he could not try this a second time.

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Xia Xing is the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, but he¡¯s only an Envoy. How is my word not good enough?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head higher. "I can only speak with the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky. I won¡¯t deal with anyone else, not even Xia Yingxiong himself."

    "Presumptuous!" Xia Ziheng grew angry and red at Lu Yin, but the young man remained stubborn and refused to look away.

    "Don''t think that I spent all this time with you just because we want that old man. I simply don¡¯t want humanity to lose a genius Lockbreaker. On top of that, I would like to see Grandmaster Gu Yan train more Lockbreakers for my Xia family. Don¡¯t get cocky about your value and think that you can threaten me," Xia Ziheng warned in a low voice.

    Lu Yin replied, "My master is old, and he cares a great deal about me. He¡¯s spent decades training me and even regards me as a son. If I speak to him, my master will definitely listen."

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes flickered.

    Lu Yin continued, saying, "I want to speak with Xia Xing, and I want him to promise me everything that you just offered. Otherwise, there¡¯s nothing to be discussed."

    Xia Ziheng was furious, and he rose to his feet to stare down at Lu Yin.

    Headmaster Wen immediately appeared. "Alright, that¡¯s long enough. Prof. Hao Yu has lessons to prepare for. Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, we won¡¯t see you off."

    Xia Ziheng continued to re at Lu Yin. "Are you really going to be that stubborn?"

    Lu Yin also stood up, and he looked at Xia Ziheng from the same level. His eyes remained firm. "That¡¯s right."

    Xia Ziheng turned and left without saying another word.

    Upon seeing the man leave, Headmaster Wenmented, "It might be best if you aren¡¯t one of the chaperones for the trip to the four ruling powers."

    With a solemn expression, Lu Yin bowed to Headmaster Wen. "Thank you for your help, Senior."

    Headmaster Wen waved the thanks off with a hand. "What help did I give you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "If not for you, then given Xia Ziheng''s personality, this junior has no assurances that I would still be alive."

 Chapter 2206: Entrust

    Chapter 2206: Entrust

    "Haha, it''s rare for someone to dare to speak about a Semi-Progenitor like that, hahahaha." Headmaster Wenughed happily.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. "I''ve lived through many things, the evidence of which can be seen. What¡¯s the difference between ordinary people and Semi-Progenitors? Or even Progenitors? In the end, we¡¯re all human, and all of us worry about life and death. This fear makes us hesitant when forced to face those feelings. Since we¡¯re human, the worst that can happen is merely death. So, why should I be afraid?"

    Headmaster Wen looked at "Yu Hao" with open admiration. "Only those who have faced death multiple times can have such insights. My presence was unnecessary just now. As long as you showed no fear, he would not do anything to you at all. It¡¯s said that Grandmaster Gu Yan is not easy to fool."

    Lu Yin did not like lying to Headmaster Wen, but he had not done so deliberately. When speaking with Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin had never actually imed Gu Yan was his master; instead, he had gone off of what others had said. People were too confident in their beliefs. They saw themselves as clever and insightful in analyzing the situation, clueless to the fact that they had been deceived by their own cleverness.

    Of course, Lu Yin was not including Headmaster Wen in his thoughts. This old man had no desire to harm Lu Yin, and at worst, he had simply been mistaken in his guess.

    "After the Lu family disappeared, the four ruling powers grew more and more overbearing in their behavior. Decades ago, that man would have never dared to try to intimidate me inside Virtue Archives, but that has changed. If the agreement between you and Xia Ziheng hasn¡¯t beenpleted, then it would be best for you to not visit Shenwu''s Sky. It will be too dangerous," Headmaster Wen warned Lu Yin again before allowing the young man to return to his own residence. Not once was Yu Hao mentioned between the two men.

    There were certain matters that Headmaster Wen simply did not care about, though he did want to protect certain people. Even then, he could only do so much, and if Lu Yin left Virtue Archives, the headmaster would be helpless.

    After Lu Yin returned to his residence, he happened to see Mr. Tang, and he greeted the man.

    The mes of the Dark Undying Bird filled the sky, leaving it dark and illuminated with just a few stars.

    Lu Yin sat at a stone table. He dipped his fingers in some water, and then he used the water to write a few words on the table: Star Alliance, Crimson Garden, Nine Clones, Food Paradise, Restriction, and a few more. These matters could shake the entire Perennial World, and they were all matters that Lu Yin needed to deal with.

    How could he obtain the restriction method that was used the control the members of Star Alliance? How could he rescue the people in Crimson Garden? How could he learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    Every single task that Lu Yin had assigned himself would be extremely difficult for even Semi-Progenitors to aplish, and yet Lu Yin wanted toplete them all before his identity as Yu Hao was exposed as fake.

    But at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s mind was a mess.

    He unconsciously stretched his hand out once more, and this time, he wrote Hidden Earth Society. After a bit more thought, he also wrote the Dealcut Association and Realmless.

    Wait, Realmless?

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. If others could use Realmless to target him, then why could he not use Realmless to go after his own targets?

    Realmless had even attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect. As long as one could afford it, they were willing to do anything.

    Lu Yin personally controlled the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s resources, so how could he be incapable of paying Realmless enough to do a job? Even if he currentlycked the means to pay them, he could always Enhance a treasure.

    Yes, Realmless. Lu Yin stared at the name that he had written on the table and sank deep into thought.

    In a room in his home, Lu Yin pulled out the mirror. Due to his worry that Progenitor Smoke would suddenly pop out to look around without warning, Lu Yin had kept the mirror stored in his cosmic ring whenever he was in Virtue Archives. However, he needed to do something right now, and he could not risk being observed by one of the academy¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, even if the chances of that happening were very low.

    After the mirror came out, Progenitor Smoke did not appear, so Lu Yin had no choice but to enter the pocket dimension himself. "Senior?"

    Progenitor Smoke''s voice carried from within the fog. "What''s wrong?"

    "Senior, could youe speak with me for a moment?" Lu Yin put on an ingratiating smile.

    Progenitor Smoke was actually upset. "Youe find me whenever you need something from me, but you leave the mirror in your cosmic ring whenever I¡¯m unneeded. I¡¯m not your babysitter!"

    Lu Yin quickly tried to appease the woman, and he started spewing out all kinds of absurd ttery. Even then, it took him a long time to coax Progenitor Smoke out.

    After emerging from the mirror, Progenitor Smoke nced around. "No one¡¯s watching you. Go ahead and do whatever you want."

    She then went right back into the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

    Lu Yin followed the woman. "Senior, there are three Semi-Progenitors here in Virtue Archives, and more Semi-Progenitors can pop up at any moment in the Perennial World. If you suddenly reveal yourself without knowing what¡¯s happening outside the mirror, you¡¯ll put this junior in a very difficult position."

    "Without knowing what¡¯s happening? Are you really talking about me?" Progenitor Smoke raised her voice.

    Lu Yin quickly tried to calm the woman. "No, no! This junior spoke poorly. I¡¯m not trying to say that you don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. Rather, Senior Progenitor Smoke is the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and even Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku looked up to you in the past. While Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan are still here, they would still be respectful and refer to you as ¡®Progenitor Smoke¡¯ if they see you here."

    "Hmph! I won''t go wandering around," Progenitor Smoke said beforepletely ignoring Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, but he did not put the mirror back in his cosmic ring. He was worried that doing so would upset Progenitor Smoke, and she might not help him again in the future. It was worth it to take some risks with her.

    Since he had already received confirmation that no one was watching him, Lu Yin stepped out into his residence¡¯s courtyard, brought Zenith Mountain out, and jumped in.

    He immediately went to speak with Yu Chen. "I want to get in touch with Realmless."

    Practically everyone on Zenith Mountain kept to themselves, and Yu Chen was alone in a valley on the mountain. Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance startled the woman, and she instantly became worried that he would do something to her.

    "Realmless? Are you back in the Perennial World?" Yu Chen quickly grew excited.

    Lu Yin was blunt. "I can''t let you leave for now."

    Yu Chen¡¯s voice dropped low. "Realmless is thergest assassination and intelligence gathering organization in the Perennial World. They have members all over the ce, so it¡¯s not difficult to get in touch with them. What is difficult is getting in touch with someone from Realmless with a high enough status, but luckily, I have some of their contact information."

    She then immediately shared the information with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clearly understood what Realmless was in the Perennial World, as the group was happy to either conduct assassinations, or gather information. However, Realmless had a fuzzy rtionship with the four ruling powers. When Lu Yin had been acting as Long Qi, he had imed to have received his information from Realmless instead of Kui Luo as an excuse for how he had received so much information on Redbacks.

    Supervisor Qing Chen had believed his exnation, which meant that Realmless was fully capable of uncovering the identities of Redbacks and traitors.

    Since Realmless was so capable, then Lu Yin intended to let the four ruling powers experience it for themselves.

    After putting Zenith Mountain back away, Lu Yin pulled out hismunication crystal and tried to connect with the contact Yu Chen had shared. First, though, Lu Yin used the Mask of Death to alter his appearance.

    Soon, a pair of dark, narrow eyes appeared on the disy. "What do you need?"

    "Are you a part of Realmless?" Lu Yin asked.

    The eyes stared at Lu Yin. "If you can contact me, why act the fool?"

    "I want to ask you to do a job. How do I pay?" Lu Yin asked. As he spoke, he felt a sense of deja vu. Right, this was simr to when he hadmunicated with Smoker long ago. That assassin had always demanded to be paid in natural treasures of sufficient quality. Lu Yin had used Smoker extensively, and eventually, the assassin had formally joined the Great Yu Empire.

    "Identify the target first. Will you provide the necessary information, or do you need us to gather that for you?" a cold voice asked.

    "The target is someone rather important and quite strong. I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯ll be willing to ept this job."

    "Your concerns are irrelevant." It was clear that the person Lu Yin was speaking to did not care at all. Realmless¡¯s im to glory was that they had once attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect within his own sect. They had actually infiltrated the Celestial Frost Sect itself, which was absurd. The aplishment fully warranted their instant fame.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "The sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Xing."

    The cold eyes in the disy went a bit wide as the person looked at Lu Yin with a bit of shock. They stared at Lu Yin intently for a moment, as though trying to get a read on him.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. He had changed his appearance with the Mask of Death, which was a technique that not even a Semi-Progenitor could see through, let alone someone interacting with him through amunication crystal. Realmless would never know the true identity of who was hiring them for this job, especially since Lu Yin was not using themunication crystal that he used as Yu Hao. Thus, he could not be traced even through that.

    "Agreed," the cold voice replied, though it was no longer emotionless like before. Instead, there was a more dignified ring to the voice. "The payment will be a Progenitor¡¯s item, while the initial deposit will be a Semi-Progenitor level treasure."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "What do you mean?"

    "Make a deposit first. If the assassination is sessful, then you will also pay the Progenitor¡¯s item, while the deposit will be returned. If the job is a failure, your deposit will be retained, but further payment will not be required," the cold voice exined.

    "What sort of Progenitor item?" Lu Yin asked.

    "This is up to you, but you must provide a Progenitor item that we are willing to ept. If you require the attack to be carried out inside Shenwu¡¯s Sky, then the payment will increase to three Progenitor items," the voice rified.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. While he had items from Progenitors, he would never be willing to give them to Realmless. One was the weird slipper, and the other was the God of Death¡¯s left arm. Right, there was also the mysterious corpse, but it was impossible for Lu Yin to give any of those three treasures to Realmless. Besides, he did not actually want Realmless to kill Xia Xing, but simply to serve as a cover. After all, if Xia Xing died, how would Lu Yin get ahold of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s portion of the restriction used on the members of Star Alliance?

    "You have ten more seconds. If you cannot offer a satisfactory Progenitor-level item, we will end negotiations."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Would a tribtion crystal be eptable?"

    The cold eyes narrowed sharply. "You have a pir of tribtion crystals?"

    Lu Yin immediately pulled a pir out. He had initially had two: one from the Forgotten Ruins in the Dominion Realm, and the other from Progenitor Long. Both had been acquired during his time as Long Qi, and while one of them had been given to Ming Yan, Lu Yin still had the other pir.

    The cold eyes grew contemtive for a moment as they stared at the pir of tribtion crystals, and the person said nothing. Suddenly, something urred to Lu Yin. "There are rumors that Realmless has ties to the four ruling powers, but it seems that you don¡¯t have any connection to Xia Xing."

    The cold voice replied, "Even if Xia Xing is part of Realmless, as long as payment is received, we will kill him."

    This was a shocking bit of news.

    "You have requested the life of Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky. Even if he is connected to Realmless, he must be attacked. This concerns the reputation of my Realmless."

    Lu Yin was quite impressed. "That''s good to hear. So? Will the pir work as payment?"

    "It¡¯s agreeable. As for the Semi-Progenitor level item for the deposit, ce it somewhere and provide us with the location. We will collect it, and after confirming it, we will start nning the attack on Xia Xing. There is no guarantee as to when the attack will happen, but follow the agreement. After all, you only have one pir of tribtion crystals," the cold voice instructed.

    Lu Yin said, "Xia Xing should being to the Middle Realm quite soon."

    "We will make our own ns."

    "I need him to be attacked while he¡¯s in the Middle Realm, and I also need you to give me advance notice of when the attack will take ce."

    "That vites our rules."

    "You can keep the deposit of the Semi-Progenitor item."

    There was only silence for a moment. "Agreed."

    After ending the call, Lu Yin searched through everything that he had. The only Semi-Progenitor level item that Lu Yin possessed was the needle-like weapon, but he was not willing to give that to Realmless. His only other option was Enhance.

    Lu Yin was not willing to part with the Withered Bark in his possession, as he felt that there was something important regarding the power of time that Progenitor Ku had left in the power vessel. The Netherworld River could be given away, as long as he Enhanced it to the Semi-Progenitor level. After all, Lu Yin still had Progenitor Smoke.

    The Netherworld River needed to be upgraded a bit, as it was still a step away from reaching the Semi-Progenitor level. Still, thatst step would be quite expensive.

 Chapter 2207: Clues

    Chapter 2207: Clues

    After concluding his business with Realmless, Lu Yin thought for a while before pulling Zenith Mountain back out. This time, he went in to speak with Elder Qing Xing. "Is there anyone on the rear battlefield from the Hidden Earth Society?"

    Elder Qing Xing nodded. He was basically in Lu Yin¡¯s pocket, so the older man was willing to share everything that he knew. "There¡¯s one, an Array Master. We recruited him long ago because of his talent for lockbreaking. He eventually went to the rear battlefield, and then he epted a Realm Array Master as his teacher. Unfortunately, the Realm Array Master has already died."

    "Contact him, and then I¡¯ll give you some more instructions," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin could not simply wait for Xia Xing to visit Virtue Archives; he had to force the matter.

    Xia Ziheng regarded Yu Hao as valuable because of how important Grandmaster Gu Yan was, and Yu Hao was believed to be the Array Grandmaster¡¯s apprentice. Given how important an Array Grandmaster was to the Xia family, others would see the man in the same light. For example, the Celestial Frost Sect.

    However, no matter how valuable Grandmaster Gu Yan was, Shenwu¡¯s Sky might not be willing to immediately send out someone like their sect master. If the man did not make the trip quickly, then Lu Yin would have to force the man out. However, Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Yu Hao was not enough to pull that off. Thus, he needed the Celestial Frost Sect to help him with this.

    In the following days, Lu Yin frequently met with Bai Weiwei, and there were even times when he took the initiative to go find the woman. All of this caused Nong Siniang to grind her teeth from aggravation.

    ***

    Far away, on the rear battlefield, Xia Yan, the general of the second array base, returned to his base in exhaustion. "Please repair the sourcebox array."

    "General, Array Master Luo has already arrived and is repairing the defensive sourcebox array," someone replied.

    The news caught Xia Yan off guard. "Don¡¯t those Array Masters usually make a point of dragging things out and forcing me to call them out myself? Why is he being so proactive this time?"

    The man replied, "Array Master Luo stated that he has just returned from Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s residence."

    This was surprising. "He was visiting Grandmaster Gu Yan''s home?"

    "That is what Array Master Luo said."

    Xia Yan waved a hand to dismiss the people. He then checked on the reports of what had recently happened in the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm. Even if Xia Yan was stationed at the rear battlefield, he would not allow himself to bepletely ignorant of the rest of the Perennial World.

    After spending a long time reviewing the various reports, Xia Yan stepped out and approached the array base¡¯s headquarters. There, he saw an exhausted looking middle-aged man sitting, surrounded by four or five cultivators who acted as servants. This was typically how Lockbreakers were treated on the rear battlefield.

    Xia Yan was already used to seeing such things, so he walked straight over.

    When the middle-aged man saw Xia Yan approach, he quickly rose to his feet and bowed. While Lockbreakers would act arrogantly and self-centered around most people, they would not dare to put on a show of arrogance in front of someone like Xia Yan. After all, he was the second array base¡¯s general, as well as a Semi-Progenitor. "Greetings, General."

    Xia Yan nodded and smiled at the Lockbreaker. "You¡¯ve worked hard, Master Luo."

    The middle-aged man replied, "It¡¯s only as things should be."

    Xia Yan spoke a bit more, putting on a show of being concerned for Master Luo¡¯s well-being. "By the way, I heard that Master Luo just visited Grandmaster Gu Yan, no?"

    Master Luo respectfully said, "Yes. All of us juniors love to go visit the Grandmaster to receive his teachings any time the opportunityes up. It¡¯s well known that Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most aplished Lockbreaker that humanity has. Exchanging just a few words with him can be enlightening.¡±

    "When I saw the Grandmaster this time, he seemed even more impressive than ever before¡­"

    The obvious reverence in Master Luo¡¯s voice as he spoke of Grandmaster Gu Yan was not at all surprising to Xia Yan. While the Grandmaster was known for his odd personality, and many people did not like the man, including even some Lockbreakers, it was undeniable that there were others who idolized Grandmaster Gu Yan. This was also one of the reasons why the Xia family valued Grandmaster Gu Yan so much. In addition to his own personal abilities, his influence spoke for itself.

    Xia Yan recalled what he had just learned about the recent events in the rest of the Perennial World. Was Yu Hao really Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice? Could it be fake? Xia Ziheng hoped to use the possible apprentice to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over, but Xia Yan could not help but feel that something was off, though he could not figure out what was bothering him.

    "Fortunately, the Array Grandmaster had some time, or else things would be the same as they have been for thest few decades, and I would not be able to receive any guidance from him at all," Master Luo said while heaving a sigh of relief.

    Xia Yan''s ears perked up. "Grandmaster Gu Yan has been unavable for decades?"

    Master Luo nodded, and then he seemed to think of something. "I heard that he epted a very talented apprentice, which is quite enviable."

    "Have you ever seen his apprentice?" Xia Yan asked, staring at Master Luo.

    Master Luo shook his head. "I haven''t, no. Aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan himself, no one has seen the apprentice. Though, ording to Xiao Cui, the apprentice is quite good-looking."

    Xia Yan''s eyes shed, and Yu Hao''s face instantly appeared in his mind. Yu Hao¡­ there was no denying that the young man was regarded as exceptionally attractive by both men and women. Could he really be Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice?

    "By the way, if Grandmaster Gu Yan is no longer as busy as before, is that because his apprentice graduated?" Xia Yan asked curiously.

    Master Luo replied, "It¡¯s possible. Fortunately, I also wasn¡¯t busy thesest few months, or else I still wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet with the Array Grandmaster."

    It kepting down to thest few months. Things were lining up more and more. Yu Hao appeared and went after Xia Zhitong during that time. It seemed that Yu Hao really was the mysterious apprentice.

    "However, the Grandmaster seemed a little odd." Master Luo seemed a bit conflicted as he continued.

    Xia Yan''s eyes flickered. "What do you mean?"

    Master Luo hesitated, but Xia Yan justughed. "Master Luo, there¡¯s no need to be so careful with your words. We¡¯ve worked together on this battlefield many times before, and we can be consideredrades in arms. It¡¯s questionable whether any of us will leave this ce alive, so what can¡¯t be said between us?"

    Master Luo realized that this was a rather urate portrayal of their circumstances. He waved a hand, ordering his followers to pull back. Only when the two men were alone did the Array Master start quietly talking. "General, I''m going to be a bit blunt about a few things."

    "No need to worry."

    Master Luo continued in a hushed voice. "In the past, Grandmaster Gu Yan made no secret of his hatred for the four ruling powers, but when I just met with him, he actually took the initiative to ask about the Celestial Frost Sect, and he clearly did not sound as disgusted by them as before. It was very strange."

    Xia Yan''s expression changed slightly. The Celestial Frost Sect?

    "Not only that, but he also asked me if the Celestial Frost Sect has any impressive female members in their younger generation," Master Luo continued.

    Xia Yan frowned. "What else?"

    Master Luo shook his head. "That¡¯s all. I know very little about the Celestial Frost Sect as a whole, let alone anything about their younger generation."

    Xia Yan let out a breath and quickly recovered himself. He patted Master Luo on the shoulder and smiled at the Array Master. "Grandmaster Gu Yan might have just heard some rumor or other. After all, both Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong and the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s current sessor are Lockbreakers themselves. Maybe he just wanted topare them to his apprentice."

    Master Luo replied, "That''s true. Why didn¡¯t I think of that? That should be it. You have a clear view of the bigger picture, General."

    Xia Yan smiled and left, but as soon as his back was to Master Luo, the general¡¯s expression fell. While Master Luo might not be able to understand what was happening, how could Xia Yan not piece the clues together? If Yu Hao really was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, then the Array Grandmaster¡¯s behavior made sense. After all, there was a truly impressive descendant of the Celestial Frost Sect already in Virtue Archives, and she was also said to be quite stunning.

    After returning to his office, Xia Yan reviewed the avable information on Yu Hao again and again. Some timeter, the general reached out to Xia Ziheng. Shenwu¡¯s Sky was already in a disadvantageous position, and if the Celestial Frost Sect managed to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over, then things would only grow worse.

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ambitions had been exposed long ago.

    After receiving Xia Yan¡¯s message, Xia Ziheng immediately contacted Wu Taibai, who was still in Virtue Archives. The Semi-Progenitor asked the instructor to check on Yu Hao''s current situation.

    ***

    At the moment, Lu Yin was enjoying some tea with Bai Weiwei.

    Bai Weiwei found her current situation quite odd. Prof. Hao Yu had been frequently seeking her out, always using the excuse of studying sourcebox arrays. But at his level, why would he ask her to work with him? The only possibility that she coulde up with was that her words to him while they had been alone on the mission had gotten through.

    Did the Celestial Frost Sect want to have Grandmaster Gu Yan join them? Of course! Bai Weiwei had the same opinion, though she had never expected her words to be so effective.

    However, she was also aware that the professor¡¯s interest was likely not because of Bai Weiwei, but rather because of her senior sister.

    Yu Hao repeatedly brought up Bai Xian¡¯er. Does he like her? Does he know no fear?

    Lu Yin spent a long time visiting Bai Weiwei before returning to his own residence. There, he met Wu Taibai.

    "Prof. Wu, you came to see me?" Lu Yin was clearly less than thrilled to see the man. Since the fact that Hao Yu was Yu Hao was already an open secret, there was no need for any pretenses of amiability.

    Wu Taibai just smiled. "If you need anything, just let me know, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin nodded and gestured for Wu Taibai toe in.

    The two men were soon sitting in a courtyard in the residence atop the stone pir. "Prof. Wu, please tell me what you¡¯re here for. The truth is that I¡¯ve already said everything that needs to be said to your Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    Wu Taibai replied, "Actually, my visit has nothing to do with Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Rather, it¡¯s to ask you about what you think of leading the student team to the meeting in a few months."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Leading the team? Aren¡¯t the chaperones going to be decided by the students¡¯ vote?"

    Wu Taibaiughed. "While the students get to decide which instructors will be chaperoning the team, the instructors going will conversely decide which students will be on the team. You can¡¯t think that all of the students will be going."

    Lu Yin had actually forgotten about this detail. His mind had been so preupied with other matters that he had not even thought about this.

    "What are you getting at, Prof. Wu?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Wu Taibai replied, "Besides my obvious identity and perspective from that side of things, I¡¯m still one of the academy¡¯s instructors. In my opinion, Prof. Hao Yu has to be one of the chaperones on this trip. I¡¯m rather confident that I¡¯ll also be one of them, so I wanted to confirm the list of students for the team with my colleague."

    Lu Yinughed. "That¡¯s quite a bit of confidence you have, though I don''t share it. There¡¯s no need to rush things. Let¡¯s work on this along with Prof. Wu. That is, if I actually am selected as one of the chaperones."

    Wu Taibai did not press things further. "I understand, though there are some students who I feel should not be a problem with you, such as Wang Xiaofan, Xia Shenguang, Bai Weiwei, Qingfeng, and Liu Que. All of them should not be any issue."

    Lu Yin agreed. "They¡¯re the best students in Virtue Archives, so I couldn¡¯t argue about any of them. Though, I would also add Nong Siniang to that list."

    "Of course," Wu Taibai said with a smile, "Then, who would you rmend to be the leader of the students? Do you have any suggestions?"

    Lu Yin did not hesitate at all. "Bai Weiwei."

    Wu Taibai''s eyes flickered. "Bai Weiwei?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "She was born as a member of the Celestial Frost Sect, so she¡¯s very familiar with the Higher Realm. She¡¯s both strong and able to see the bigger picture. Thus, she¡¯s quite well suited to lead the rest of the students."

    "You seem to be quite familiar with her."

    "I¡¯ve spent a good bit of time with her recently, studying lockbreaking. She should be the student I know best out of the entire academy."

    Wu Taibai nodded. "I see."

    "Prof. Hao Yu, Bai Lin is here to see you." A voice rose up from the bottom of the pir, reaching both Lu Yin and Wu Taibai.

    Lu Yin''s expression did not change at all, and he acted as though he expected this visit, but Wu Taibai was rather surprised. "Prof. Bai? He¡¯s here to see you, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s something that I need to discuss with Prof. Bai, so I won¡¯t be able to see you out, Prof. Wu."

    Wu Taibai stared at Lu Yin for a moment, and then he quickly excused himself.

    After Wu Taibai left, Prof. Bai climbed up the pir.

    In truth, Lu Yin had not been expecting Prof. Bai¡¯s visit. Rather, he had simply put on an impromptu show for Wu Taibai.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

    It''s been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then, we''ve released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...). During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters (always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

    We have not been ignoring those requests. For thest year, OMA and the rest of the team have been working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers will gain ess to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren''t enough, we''ve even added another tier for those asking...

    We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I''m looking forward to cutting back on the workload a bit after today.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2208: Assassination

    Chapter 2208: Assassination

    After leaving Yu Hao¡¯s residence, Wu Taibai immediately called Xia Ziheng, sharing what he had seen.

    Xia Ziheng''s expression grew ugly. There was no need to even try to guess what was happening. If Yu Hao was in frequent contact with Bai Weiwei, then the Celestial Frost Sect was clearly also trying to win the young man over. This,bined with what Xia Ziheng had learned from Xia Yan, made it clear that both Yu Hao and Grandmaster Gu Yan were starting to lean towards the Celestial Frost Sect, which absolutely could not be allowed. Even if Yu Hao ended up dead and Grandmaster Gu Yan ended up as a sworn enemy of Shenwu''s Sky, the Array Grandmaster could never be allowed to join Celestial Frost Sect.

    However, Xia Ziheng simply could not understand how Yu Hao could have possibly overwhelming influence on Grandmaster Gu Yan. The old man absolutely hated the four ruling powers, so what had changed his mind?

    The Semi-Progenitor soon moved on. Since Yu Hao did have that much influence over his teacher, then gaining control of the young man would cause Grandmaster Gu Yan to start favoring Shenwu''s Sky instead.

    This matter had to be settled as soon as possible.

    This thought led to an immediate call to Xia Xing.

    "You want me to go now?" Xia Xing frowned.

    Xia Ziheng answered, "The Celestial Frost Sect is already taking action. I have no idea what sort of promises they¡¯ve made to Yu Hao, but he is frequently seeing Bai Weiwei. I¡¯ve also received word that Grandmaster Gu Yan has asked for information about the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Xia Xing found this surprising. "Grandmaster Gu Yan has never tried to establish contact with me or any of the four ruling powers before. Where did you get this information, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"

    "It came from Xia Yan himself," Xia Ziheng patiently exined. While he was a Semi-Progenitor, he was still from a branch family, while Xia Xing was from the direct line of the family as well as the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky. The two had different statuses, and even with his far superiorbat strength, Xia Ziheng could not order Xia Xing about like the other members of the family. Instead, Xia Ziheng took the time to carefully exin matters.

    "Semi-Progenitor Xia Yan?" Xia Xing took a while to consider the matter, and then he made a call to the rear battlefield.

    An ugly expression appeared on Xia Ziheng''s face, as this demonstrated that Xia Xing did not trust the man. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do about the slight.

    Xia Xing soon ended his call, and he began to carefully analyze what he had learned from Xia Yan and Xia Ziheng. If the information was all urate, then things were quite serious.

    The struggles between the four ruling powers were growing increasingly fierce as time passed. If Long Qi had not killed Bai Shaohong, or if Bai Xian''er had managed to break through to be a Progenitor, then the other three of the ruling powers would have already beenpletely suppressed. If the Celestial Frost Sect managed to lure Grandmaster Gu Yan into joining, that would still be a heavy blow.

    On top of that, Xia Xing had to keep Shenwu''s Sky''s reputation in mind.

    This Yu Hao could not be allowed to take refuge in the Celestial Frost Sect, as that would be endlessly humiliating for Shenwu''s Sky. In that scenario, Shenwu''s Sky would have sent Xia Zhitong to ruin the Yu family and scare the rest of Perennial World, only to eventually serve the benefits of the Celestial Frost Sect. That would be beyond humiliating; not to mention the sect master, not even their Progenitor would be able to show himself after such a scandal.

    "Yu Hao wants my promise?" Xia Xing asked.

    Xia Ziheng had a headache from the entire situation. "The child is determined to speak with you, the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, and secure your promise."

    Xia Xingughed. "It''s only been a few decades, but the kid¡¯s really changed! He¡¯s much shrewder."

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyebrows rose high. What did this mean? Was Xia Xing actually agreeing with Yu Hao¡¯s words? That was no different from invalidating the word of a Semi-Progenitor, which was not something that Xia Ziheng wasfortable hearing. Still, there was nothing that the Semi-Progenitor could do about it.

    Given the pressure that they were facing from the Celestial Frost Sect, Xia Xing did not dare to hesitate. He immediately set out from Shenwu''s Sky and made his way towards the Middle Realm. Grandmaster Gu Yan could only be allowed to remain a neutral party, or join the Xia family. Xia Xing would not ept a third option.

    At the side of ake, questioning eyes stared at Lu Yin. He smiled at his ss. "Ancient records can sometimes be urate. I¡¯ve read many of the books in the academy¡¯s library, and I¡¯ve finally determined a location: Mount Bleak in the Blue Moon District. Long ago, something happened to Progenitor Wen when he was near Huaiyuan, though no one knows more than that. As far as we¡¯re concerned, we need to investigate and explore any clues regarding Progenitor Wen¡¯s past, as there¡¯s no telling what might be connected to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird.¡±

    "Professor, are you going to go investigate Mount Bleak?" Nong Siniang raised a hand and asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s necessary."

    "Then can you take me with you?" Nong Siniang''s eyes lit up, clearly excited at the prospect.

    One of the girls next to Nong Siniang also shot her hand into the air. "I want to go, too!"

    "I want to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu."

    "Me too!"

    Even the stuttering fatty raised his hand. "I- I- I want to go too."

    Lu Yin pressed a hand down, and answered the students with a smile. "We need to follow the academy rules. If you don¡¯t qualify, you aren¡¯t allowed to leave the Virtue District. Students are not allowed to leave the academy without permission."

    "We can apply for leave!" Nong Siniang was almost desperate to go on a trip with Prof. Hao Yu. This was an amazing opportunity.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. If your applications are approved, I¡¯ll take you on this trip."

    Nong Siniang excitedly said, "We¡¯ll take care of it, Professor!"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face.

    When the lecture ended, many of the students ran off to submit an application to apany Lu Yin to Huaiyuan to explore ces that Progenitor Wen was known to have visited, ording to ancient records. As for Lu Yin, he returned to his own residence and quietly waited.

    It was only a short timeter that Nong Siniang arrived, very excited. "Professor! My application¡¯s been approved! I can go with you to Huaiyuan!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. This meant that it was time.

    Before he started his lecture, he had received a message from Realmless: Xia Xing had left Shenwu''s Sky and was currently traveling down the Mother Tree to the Middle Realm. He would arrive in Huaiyuan soon. The Blue Moon District¡¯s Mount Bleak was not very far from Huaiyuan, and Nong Siniang would serve as Lu Yin¡¯s witness; she would validate his alibi at Mount Bleak.

    It was not easy to force any of the four ruling powers to follow along with Lu Yin¡¯s ns, and he absolutely would not let this opportunity slip by.

    Just one dayter, Lu Yin and Nong Siniang arrived in the Blue Moon District. The young woman was ecstatic, as no one else¡¯s applications had been approved. Only she had received permission for this trip, which meant that she had Prof. Hao Yu all to herself. The more she thought about this, the happier Nong Saniang became. She waspletely clueless about the fact that the Prof. Hao Yu who was apanying her was not the one that she knew. Tong Yu had reced Lu Yin, while Lu Yin had disguised himself and gone off to visit Huaiyuan.

    At this same time, Xia Xing had boarded the Cloud Shuttle in his own disguise. He was on his way down to the Middle Realm.

    Given the fact that he was the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Xing was not able to casually leave the Higher Realm. Any time he did so, it would have to be shrouded in secrecy. Anything else would induce chaos, while likely also triggering danger.

    There were too many people who hated the four ruling powers. While those people would usually remain hidden and not reveal themselves, that was merely because exposing themselves would not be worth the risk. However, if word that the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky was traveling leaked, assassins would be drawn to him like moths to the me. Still, Xia Xing considered hiding himself to be very distasteful.

    The trip to Huaiyuan proceeded smoothly. Xia Xing casually revealed the false identity of a person who was a member of the four ruling powers, which caused the Cloud Shuttle guards from the Smokecloud Sect to simply wave him through the checkpoint.

    It had been a very long time since Xia Xing hadst stepped foot on the Middle Realm. He looked around and then smiled. The ancestor had truly made the right decision. If the Lu family had not been exiled, then how could their family have ever taken over the Higher Realm?

    Xia Xing could still remember the years when he had spent looking up towards the Lu family, but those days were forever gone now.

    Feeling much more rxed, Xia Xing started making his way towards the Virtue District.

    As for Humility''s Gate base in Huaiyuan, Xia Xing did not even give the ce a nce. While Humility''s Gate was truly a powerful organization, the four ruling powers were unwilling to show that they cared. After all, after Lu Xiaoxuan, thatst survivor of the Lu family, had escaped, Humility''s Gate had helped him flee. That was a debt that the four ruling powers would never forget, and they would be sure to collect it sooner orter, just like Virtue Archives.

    The four ruling powers would clean up all of the remaining messes that were proof of the Lu family¡¯s existence, and they would punish all who refused to ept the change.

    Xia Xing soon saw the Blue Moon District, and after passing through it, he would be very close to the Virtue District.

    A bright light shed in front of Xia Xing, drawing his attention. There was soon a deep drumming sound that reached his ears, pulsing to his heartbeat. The sect master¡¯s eyes went wide, and a dangerous glint flickered in their depths. He was utterly fearless despite realizing that someone was attacking him.

    He pierced through the void, trying to escape. Since he was being attacked, it meant that his identity and strength were already known. Regardless, he had to do his best, as there was no doubt that he was in danger and had to quickly escape.

    The ground below him suddenly shattered, and a ck that had been spread across the area shot up into the air and wrapped itself around Xia Xing, catching him a fish.

    The sect master screamed, "What¡¯s this? Are you from Realmless?"

    There was no answer, though the distant light grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it reced all colors, and nothing could be seen but the brilliant light. At the same time, the drumming sound started to speed up, which caused Xia Xing¡¯s heart rate to elerate as well. His body started to tremble, and he lost the ability to travel through the void.

    The ck almost instantly covered everything in sight,pletely restricting Xia Xing.

    The man was furious. "You¡¯re seeking death, Realmless! After today, I will make sure to use the entire strength of the four ruling powers to eradicate Realmless!"

    As the man shouted, Divine Martial Armor covered his body, and he waved his hands about, continuously tearing at the ck. However, Realmless had used a specially-made that they used to deal with six-tribtion Envoys, and they had used it multiple times before in the past. It had not originally been ck, but a deadly poison had been applied to it, and it had also be stained with old blood.

    Realmless had killed six-tribtion Envoys on several asions, and they had even attacked the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect before. However, they had never attacked Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and Xia Xing''s Divine Martial Armor had not been properly taken into ount, and this rendered the ck useless.

    At the same time, the Divine Martial Armor that covered Xia Xing¡¯s body continued to twist the void until eventually something that looked much like actual armor covered the man. The armor continued to grow until it formed a 100 meter tall giant that towered high in the sky. The giant¡¯s hand reached out and tore the ck apart before reaching into the distance to shatter the void at the location of the bright light.

    Far away, Lu Yin was watching the events y out, and he was surprised to see this development. What was this technique?

    "Shenwu Transformation. Shenwu''s Sky''s greatest battle technique. Only after mastering the Divine Martial Armor to the pinnacle can a person unleash this technique. Cultivation doesn¡¯t help with this technique at all¡ªonly a person¡¯s mastery of the Divine Martial Armor does. There have been rumors that no one from Shenwu¡¯s Sky has managed toprehend this technique for almost 10,000 years before Xia Shenfei. Xia Xing really kept his strength hidden. It¡¯s no wonder why he managed to be the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky." Kui Luo let out a sigh.

    "Xia Shenfei could pull that off, too?" This was a surprise, as Xia Shenfei had not used the Shenwu Transformation when Lu Yin had fought against the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm.

    They watched as Xia Xing broke free from Realmless¡¯s trap using overwhelming strength. The rhythmic drumming from the same direction of the bright light that had disappeared ceased. Only shattered space remained in that direction, and not even the corpse of the Realmless assassin could be found.

    However, Realmless was not that easy to escape from. If this was the limits of the assassins, then they would have never risked attacking the master of the Celestial Frost Sect, yet they had attacked the man inside the Celestial Frost Sect itself.

    Throughout the history of the Perennial World, Realmless had only ever avoided antagonizing the Lu family. There was no other power that they feared.

    All of a sudden, the giant formed from the Shenwu Transformation that covered Xia Xing''s body turned to look in a certain direction. An old woman appeared. She had a withered appearance and was only one meter tall. A disturbing smile appeared on her face as she looked at Xia Xing. "I never thought that I¡¯d have the opportunity to kill one of Shenwu''s Sky sect masters in my life. Hahahaha!"

 Chapter 2209: Attack

    Chapter 2209: Attack

    Xia Xing¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at the old woman. "Granny Beans?"

    The old woman''s smile somehow became a bit dangerous. "I didn''t expect anyone to still know about me."

    Xia Xing''s expression quickly grew ugly. "How are you here in this era?"

    Off in the distance, Kui Luo was stunned by the sight. "It''s her? I never expected her to show up in this era. I guess she was in cryostasis. Realmless is more capable than anyone assumed if they¡¯re able to pull this off."

    "Who is she?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo¡¯s voice dropped low, "Granny Beans is someone even older than me, and she was notorious during her time. Her favorite pastime was spreading her bean soldiers."

    "Spreading bean soldiers? What is that supposed to mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "She would grow parasitic beans inside people. Those beans are her innate gift, and anyone who is infected parasitized by her beans will lose all intelligence and be her puppet. Even worse, her beans eat people¡¯s brains."

    Lu Yin frowned, and he looked back at the diminutive Granny Beans far away. "Is that why you said that she likes to spread her bean soldiers?"

    "I¡¯m not at all surprised that Xia Xing can recognize her, because Granny Beans¡¯ death was never confirmed, and it¡¯s possible for cultivators to survive a very long time in cryostasis. As long as someone¡¯s death hasn¡¯t been verified, it¡¯s always possible that they¡¯ll pop back upter. Still, the woman¡¯s strength isn¡¯t that impressive. Even after all this time, she still hasn¡¯t managed to be a Semi-Progenitor," Kui Luo exined.

    While Kui Luo was speaking, Granny Beans and Xia Xing had already started fighting.

    Granny Beans was a seven-tribtion expert, which surpassed Xia Xing¡¯s cultivation. However, the man was the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, which left Lu Yin dubious about the results of this fight.

    Unsurprisingly, it was not long before Granny Beans was sent flying by the Shenwu Transformation giant. She spat out some blood and then threw out a handful of beans. Each one quickly transformed into a fearless human who charged at Xia Xing. These thousands of beans were thousands of cultivators that the old woman had ughtered and transformed into her puppets. It was a ruthless disy of power.

    Xia Xing¡¯s hands kept swinging, and each p managed to kill several bean soldiers.

    Each bean soldier had been created by a person that Granny Beans had regarded as valuable, which meant that none of them were weaklings. Still, they could notpare to Xia Xing, and they were little more than ants to him. No matter what they had aplished in life, each of them was pped dead by Xia Xing.

    Suddenly, the drumming sound returned, and its abrupt appearance instantly caused Xia Xing''s heart to stop beating.

    Another master had appeared. They might only be a five-tribtion Envoy, but this person¡¯s unique ability meant that Xia Xing could not maintain his Shenwu Transformation any longer.

    "The Shenwu Transformation is difficult to directly contest, but that person¡¯s drum is resonating with Xia Xing''s heartbeat, and it¡¯s been doing so from the very beginning. Xia Xing thought that he had killed them with that sudden attack, but there was a brief opening at that moment, which weakened the Shenwu Transformation. Without that, both of the assassins would have been taken out before they could even join forces," Kui Luomented.

    Lu Yin frowned. "If this is all that Realmless is capable of, then they won¡¯t even be able to force Xia Xing to show his full hand, let alone actually kill him."

    "If Realmless is able to find people like Granny Beans, then forget about what you¡¯re seeing right now. They¡¯re even more capable than you can even imagine," Kui Luo said.

    Lu Yin had to agree with Kui Luo on that. After all, Realmless had sent assassins after Lu Yin more than once, and he had a deep impression of their strange methods of targeting people.

    Although Xia Xing''s Shenwu Transformation had faded away, his Divine Martial Armor still remained. A knife appeared in his hand, and he shed at Granny Beans. The Xia family¡¯s de techniques were famous, and the sh forced an ugly expression to appear on the little old woman¡¯s face. Going after people from powerful sects was something that she feared greatly, given their strength and diverse means. While there were tremendous benefits from killing such a person, Granny Beans had to live to reap the benefits.

    Why hasn''t it worked yet? It should have worked.

    Xia Xing¡¯s de dropped, but suddenly, his attack stopped, and his body fell almost to the ground.

    He nced around in shock. He had been poisoned? When?

    Granny Beans heaved a sigh of relief and finally smiled. "Do you really think that it¡¯s that easy to defeat my Realmless? Xia Xing, it''s over!"

    The woman then personally attacked, while the five-tribtion Envoy continued beating the drum behind Xia Xing to stop the sect master from using his Shenwu Transformation. The two assassins attacked in unison.

    Xia Xing had been poisoned, and the assassins werepletely confident in Realmless''s poisons. As long as the poison took effect, Xia Xing was guaranteed to be rendered helpless for at least a few moments.

    This was a poison made by Realmless. It was impossible to see or block, and even if someone noticed the poison and tried to dodge it, it was able to seep into the true universe and linger in the void. It was invisible to the naked eye, and it was too easy to make contact with an invisible poison that could linger in the void. It was truly impossible for anyone to avoid Realmless¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin felt a flicker of fear as he watched. The most terrifying aspect of Realmless was not the strength of their assassins, but rather their odd means of attacking people. All sorts of bizarre methods would be employed, and that made it impossible for people to guard against all possible attacks.

    When Lu Yin had been using the identity of Long Qi, Realmless had sent assassins after him on several asions. The most dangerous attack was when he had been escaping the Perennial World. Realmless had actually attacked the location that Lu Yin needed to use to return to the Fifth Maind, and he had been attacked by three arrows aimed at his head, neck, and heart. At that moment, Lu Yin had been frozen, and he had truly believed himself dead.

    If Liu Ye had not happened to be following Lu Yin, it was truly possible that Realmless might have sessfully killed Lu Yin at that time.

    As long as Realmless epted a job, they would not give up. It did not matter whom the target was. As long as a sufficient price was paid and it was within their means, Lu Yin was certain that they would even attack a Progenitor.

    Realmless was even willing to go after the sect master of an organization as powerful as Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Granny Beans and the five-tribtion Envoy moved closer to Xia Xing before they both attacked together.

    Lu Yin watched in silence.

    Xia Xing suddenly looked up, and his body abruptly started moving. His long knife swept out, instantly decapitating both Granny Beans and the five-tribtion expert who had gotten close to him.

    This was the Xia family¡¯s secret technique: Reversal. It was able to reverse anything: battle techniques, injuries, and even strengthening abilities.

    After beheading Granny Beans and the Envoy, Xia Xing let out a sigh of relief. He was sweating, and blood trickled from his mouth. Still, his eyes were ice-cold. He was determined topletely eradicate Realmless after this.

    He nced back at Granny Beans'' body, and then moved to leave.

    Without warning, the old woman¡¯s corpse split into two, and a smaller figure instantly appeared right in front of Xia Xing, catching him unprepared. The tiny figure pressed a hand against the sect master¡¯s head, and he let out a scream as he quickly pulled back as far as possible. There was a bean in his right eye, and it was forcing its way deeper into his head.

    Xia Xing was furious, and his knife shed out again, but his opponent was too small and agile, and they escaped into the true universe.

    From the distance, Lu Yin and Kui Luo clearly saw that the tiny figure was a miniature version of Granny Beans.

    Kui Luo was amazed. "So that¡¯s her real body. The one-meter-tall one we saw before was nothing more than a disguise. Did she really keep her true body a secret for so many years?"

    Lu Yin was reminded of Elder Wu, who had also pretended to be taller than his true height. The man had nearly killed Lu Yin due to that deception, and he had not expected to see the same trick being used again.

    Would Xia Xing survive this crisis?

    Lu Yin did not actually want Realmless to seed in killing Xia Xing, as Lu Yin had believed it to be beyond the organization¡¯s abilities. If Xia Ziheng had the de qi of a Progenitor, then how could Xia Xing not have simr means to protect himself?

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated Realmless. If this bean really did manage to work its way into Xia Xing''s brain, then he would be Granny Beans¡¯ puppet, and that would cause all of Lu Yin¡¯s ns to fall apart. The price that he had paid for Realmless to attack Xia Xing would be wasted.

    Lu Yin started to get very worried.

    Xia Xing let out a furious roar, and then a sharp de qi erupted. This was a Progenitor¡¯s de qi, and it was the exact same power that Xia Ziheng had used before.

    While Realmless had many assassins and strange methods, the organization had a fatal weakness: they had no connection to any Progenitors. At best, they had ess or connections to Semi-Progenitors, but they had never managed to establish any kind of connection with the Progenitor level of power.

    Once the Progenitor¡¯s de qi appeared, Granny Beans¡¯ smug smile did not even have time to fall from her face before her body was destroyed,pletely erased from the sky.

    Xia Xing''s left hand pierced deep into his eye, and eventually, he managed to yank the bean out. His eye was also removed, and blood covered half of his head.

    "Realmless! Realmless¨C!" Xia Xing roared. His knife stabbed into the ground, and he started gasping for air. He knew that Granny Beans was really dead this time, as if she were still alive, it would not have been so easy to extract the bean from his head.

    Xia Xing''s hatred for Realmless rose to unprecedented levels.

    Far away, Kui Luo said, "Alright kid, it''s our turn now. Don''t worry, Realmless has failed in their attack. They might be capable of a lot of things, but they¡¯ve never managed to touch the true peak of power. A Progenitor¡¯s power is enough to sweep away everything that Realmless can bring out."

    Lu Yin nodded, and then stepped forward, instantly appearing right in front of Xia Xing.

    Xia Xing was holding his face where his right eye had been, but his head still snapped up when he noticed that someone had arrived. He reflexively grabbed for the hilt of his knife, but Lu Yin was faster. While Xia Xing''s hand reached for his knife, Lu Yin grabbed the man¡¯s hand.

    Xia Xing tried his best to grab his knife, but he could not move an inch.

    This startled the sect master, but despite his redoubled efforts, Xia Xing was unable to move. Instinctively, he activated his Divine Martial Armor, as he wanted to increase his strength and brandish knife. However, it was suppressed and prevented from manifesting. No matter what Xia Xing tried, this hand was held firmly in ce, and he could not budge it at all.

    Xia Xing looked up at Lu Yin, and the man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "Are yo- Yu Hao!"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "It¡¯s been a while, Sect Master Xia."

    Xia Xing stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- How? No, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re Yu Hao! No matter how talented Yu Hao might be, it¡¯s impossible for him to grow strong enough within two decades to surpass me."

    What was most shocking was not Lu Yin¡¯s overwhelming strength, but rather that he had managed to suppress Xia Xing¡¯s Divine Martial Armor. That should be utterly impossible for anyone to do.

    The Divine Martial Armor was the Xia family¡¯s greatest technique. Even if the Lu family had previously suppressed the Xia family itself, they had never been able to suppress the Divine Martial Armor, as it simply could not be done.

    Despite that, Xia Xing¡¯s Divine Martial Armor waspletely suppressed by Lu Yin, and it almost seemed as if the power had somehow surrendered to Lu Yin. Itpletely defied the sect master¡¯s understanding.

    "Sect Master Xia,e with me." Lu Yin casually knocked Xia Xing unconscious, ced a Death Seal upon the man¡¯s stellr energy vortex, and then tossed the man into Zenith Mountain. After that, Lu Yin raised a hand and used Lifeseizer Palm.

    This was one of the Lu family''s unique techniques, and Lu Yin had learned it from Xin N¨¹. At this moment, it was just what Lu Yin needed.

    After everything was settled, Lu Yin left. As for evidence of Realmless¡¯s battle with Xia Xing, Lu Yin did not touch anything. It was fine to let Shenwu''s Sky go after Realmless.

    Realmless had been given an Enhanced Netherworld River as a deposit for Xia Xing¡¯s assassination, but even though the assassination had failed, the deposit would not be returned. Since Lu Yin had already paid for their efforts, he saw no reason to help Realmless by hiding their activities.

    Lu Yin might use Realmless, but he still hated the organization¡¯s mere existence.

    OMA''s Thoughts

    NOTICE TO CHAMPIONS:

    It''s been three years since the first chapter of Star Odyssey was released on Wuxia World. Since then, we''ve released 2201 public chapters (you all have no idea how badly that odd number bothers us...). During at least the past two years, I know that there have been people asking for more free chapters (always great for readers) and for the VIP tiers to be changed or more tiers to be added.

    We have not been ignoring those requests. For thest year, OMA and the rest of the team have been working on building a buffer for today. Starting today, each of the recently reworked, renamed VIP tiers will gain ess to more, or even double, chapters than ever before. As if that weren''t enough, we''ve even added another tier for those asking...

    We hope that these changes will benefit all of you, and to be honest, I''m looking forward to cutting back on the workload a bit after today.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 2210: Trace

    Chapter 2210: Trace

    If Realmless were simply an organization of assassins, then Lu Yin would not particrly care about them. The problem was that Realmless clearly knew the identities of Redbacks and other traitors to humanity, but they did nothing. Only Realmless¡¯s own interests mattered to them, and Lu Yin absolutely hated bystanders.

    While Xia Xing was being attacked, a good show had also been ying out in the distant Blue Moon District. Yu Hao, who was actually Tong Yu in disguise, hade into conflict with the branch of the Xia family that was in the Blue Moon District, and it was not a minor issue.

    The Xia family had numerous branches throughout the entire Perennial World, which was perfectly normal for the major families. Unsurprisingly, they had a branch in the Blue Moon District, and the local patriarch was Xia Ru.

    Lu Yin was actually familiar with Xia Ru, as he had used the man and hispanions to get to the Cloud Shuttle in the Higher Realm during his previous escape from the Perennial World. Lu Yin¡¯s actions had caused Xia Ru to receive a miserable punishment from Shenwu''s Sky.

    Furthermore, that was not the worst part. Unbeknownst to Xia Ru himself, his sworn elder brother, Zhu Xian, was having an affair with Xia Ru¡¯s wife.

    Lu Yin had asked Tong Yu to disguise herself as Yu Hao and then also purposefully go to Xia Ru''s ce, just to stir up problems. Lu Yin did not want Nong Siniang to be the only witness to his alibi, but Xia Ru and the others as well. Otherwise, if the Xia family became even remotely suspicious that the attack on Xia Xing was connected to Yu Hao, then the consequences would be more than Lu Yin could handle. He could not risk his identity as Yu Hao for the time being.

    "Yu Hao, you''re going too far!" Xia Ru snarled as he red at the young man before him.

    Naturally, he was staring at Tong Yu who was disguised as Yu Hao, whom Nong Siniang believed to be Prof. Hao Yu.

    The girl waspletely stupefied at this moment. Yu Hao? Professor, are you really Yu Hao?

    How could Nong Siniang not know about Yu Hao? The four ruling powers had used the Yu family to threaten and intimidate the entire Perennial World. Now, everyone knew that helping any of the Lu family¡¯s survivors or surviving loyalists would cause the fate of the Yu family to befall them.

    Of course, Nong Siniang had also heard the rumors regarding Yu Hao, and even multiple versions of those rumors. She pitied Yu Hao, but she also hated him. What sort of useless man could be bullied and pushed around by Xia Zhitong before eventually escaping through suicide?

    Even if she were to be beaten to death, Nong Siniang would have never dreamed that Prof. Hao Yu, whom she respected so much, was actually Yu Hao.

    Xia Ru actually knew Yu Hao, which was what had led to the current situation. If not for such a connection, there would have been no point for Lu Yin to send Tong Yu to create trouble with Xia Ru and the rest of the branch of the Xia family. It was finally time for Yu Hao to be revealed to the world.

    Tong Yu was disguised as Yu Hao, and she stared at Xia Ru with cold eyes. "Did you forget what happened back then?"

    Xia Ru''s expression turned ugly. What happened back then?

    The man shot a guilty look towards his wife, and then he sternly demanded, "Yu Hao, just what do you want?"

    Tong Yu casually said, "Kneel."

    Xia Ru''s expression grew even worse.

    To his side, Madam Xia and Zhu Xian nced at each other, and Zhu Xian quickly stepped forward. "Yu Hao, regardless of what might have happened in the past, you are still technically a part of the Xia family!"

    Tong Yu casually waved a hand, and stellr energy stripped all the star energy from Zhu Xian''s body while simultaneously sending him flying into the ground. "You have no right to speak here."

    Zhu Xian had reached the cusp of the Envoy realm decades ago, but he had never dared to face his stellr tribtion even after all this time. This sort of fear was all toomon, and many cultivators would put off their stellr tribtion for hundreds or even thousands of years.

    Xia Ru was furious, but against Yu Hao, who was apparently an Envoy, the man had no choice but to kneel. However, the hatred and resentment did not fade from his eyes; no matter what, he was still the patriarch of the local Xia family branch, and he had a certain level of pride.

    Tong Yu then turned around to leave. "Siniang, let''s go."

    Nong Siniang felt as though she had been woken from a dream, and she hurried after her professor.

    As soon as the two people were gone, Xia Ru rose to his feet, his fists clenched tightly. His wife was also furious. "So it turns out that Yu Hao isn¡¯t dead after all, and he¡¯s even managed to be an Envoy! Hurry up and send a message to the family. They won¡¯t let him get away."

    "I know." Xia Ru gritted his teeth, still staring at the back of the departing man. The man was also feeling rather guilty, as he had spent a bit of time with Xia Zhitong long ago when visiting the Yu family.

    Xia Ru had attended the marriage uniting the Xia and Yu families, and when he had been in Yu City to congratte Yu Hao on his marriage, Xia Ru had had a little romp with Xia Zhitong. He had actually stayed in the city a bit longer than nned because of the woman, and that matter was also why Yu Hao had deliberately antagonized Xia Ru.

    There was no doubt in Xia Ru¡¯s mind that Yu Hao was real, as who else could know about what had happened back in Yu City?

    Naturally, Lu Yin had learned that detail from Kui Luo. While the old man pretended to not care about what had happened to Yu Hao and had not done anything even after Yu Hao had died, Kui Luo had remained hidden the whole time, and he had seen much of what had happened.

    In the past, Kui Luo had not stopped Yu Hao frommitting suicide, as Yu Hao had lost all longings for the world.

    This was why Tong Yu had stirred up trouble at the Blue Moon District¡¯s branch of the Xia family while pretending to be Yu Hao. After that waspleted, Tong Yu led Nong Siniang towards Mount Bleak to investigate the ce.

    Nong Siniang remained silent after leaving the Xia family¡¯s home.

    Lu Yin had instructed Tong Yu to deliberately reveal that Prof. Hao Yu was actually Yu Hao to Nong Siniang. As for the girl¡¯s feelings about the matter, Tong Yu did not care, and she simply ignored the girl¡¯s reaction.

    When the two women reached Mount Bleak, Nong Siniang finally spoke up. "Professor, are you really Yu Hao?"

    Tong Yu made a show of thinking for a moment. "Yes."

    Nong Siniang pursed her lips. She had no idea what to say or how to react. She stared at Prof. Hao Yu, a stern expression on the young woman¡¯s face. Clearly, her professor had gone to confront the Xia family¡¯s local branch as a means of venting some of his anger. There was no denying that Yu Hao had survived a tragedy that the entire Perennial World acknowledged.

    Upon learning that her Prof. Hao Yu was the infamous Yu Hao, Nong Siniang had no idea what she should think or feel. Sympathy? Disgust? Indifference? Like nothing had changed? She did not know.

    All she knew was that the Prof. Hao Yu before her was no longer the same Prof. Hao Yu as before.

    Tong Yu spared no thought for the girl¡¯s turbulent emotions. Instead, she put on a deliberate show of exploring the mountain before leading Nong Siniang back to the academy.

    A few dayster, when they arrived at the border of the Virtue District, Tong Yu and Lu Yin traded ces once again, and Lu Yin adopted Yu Hao¡¯s appearance. Without a word, he calmly led Nong Siniang the rest of the way to Virtue Archives.

    Right before they reached the academy, Lu Yin made it a point to say something. "Everyone has their own past, and regardless of whether that past is full of sorrow or joy, it has already be history. We need to be responsible for history, which is what we are exploring in our ss. Still, we also need to make sure that we do not be lost in the past. Throughout time, humanity¡¯s greatest advantage is our intelligence and creativity. We always move forward towards the future."

    Nong Siniang stared at Lu Yin''s back, various emotions surging through her. Move towards the future? Was it possible to casually move past this man¡¯s past?

    Lu Yin suddenly turned around and smiled at Nong Siniang. "Do you want to tell me about how you wet the bed as a child?"

    Nong Siniang instantly blushed a brilliant red. "What? Don¡¯t make up stories, Professor! That never happened!"

    Lu Yin continued to smile. "Should I judge you by who you are now, or who you were back then?"

    This questionpletely shocked Nong Siniang, and the confusion that had been assaulting her for days instantly disappeared. The tangled emotions that had knotted up her heart unraveled, and the lost smile returned to her face. "I understand, Professor."

    "While we didn¡¯t obtain anything from this trip, extracurricr activities are something required for all students. Let¡¯s head on back. Oh, and don¡¯t be stingy with your credits."

    Nong Siniang nodded as she rolled her eyes. "Professor, you went to the Blue Moon District on purpose, didn¡¯t you?"

    There was a glint in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes that faded as quickly as it came. "What was that?"

    "You actually wanted to go make trouble for the Xia family in the Blue Moon District, didn¡¯t you?" Nong Siniang pressed, quite interested in Lu Yin¡¯s reaction.

    The smile returned to Lu Yin¡¯s face. "What do you think?"

    And then, Nong Siniang was alone.

    She looked at Lu Yin¡¯s back as he left, and it was quite some time before she recovered. She patted her face and muttered to herself, "How is his past any of your business? Don¡¯t overthink things, Siniang. Don¡¯t overthink it."

    She then made a call. "Brother, I, your sister, was bullied. By who? Xia Zhitong. I want to go after her¡­"

    As for Lu Yin, he returned to his residence atop the stone pir. Once there, he pulled out his gadget and inserted a memory card. A video started to y, and it showed everything that had happened when Tong Yu had been masquerading as Yu Hao and making trouble with Xia Ru. Lu Yin needed to prepare for Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s investigation, so he had asked Tong Yu to prepare this video for him.

    He needed to be able to prove that he had gone to visit the Blue District branch of the Xia family, and he could not let even the most minor details slip by him.

    Xia Xing¡¯s entire reason for traveling to the Middle Realm was to meet with Yu Hao. There were smart people absolutely everywhere, and while it was possible that Shenwu''s Sky would not pursue an investigation into him, Lu Yin needed to protect his identity for a while longer.

    As for Xia Xing, Lu Yin was in no hurry to deal with things. At the moment, Lu Yin was more worried that the sect master had somehow managed to leave some clue for Shenwu¡¯s Sky that Lu Yin had noticed. So, he nned to wait until the investigation moved on before questioning the sect master.

    Xia Xing had traveled entirely alone, so news of the assassination did not quickly reach Shenwu''s Sky. However, it was highly unusual for the sect master of one of the four ruling powers to be missing for several days.

    In the end, three days after Lu Yin captured Xia Xing, Shenwu¡¯s Skyunched a full investigation, starting with searching along Xia Xing¡¯s path. Countless people from the four ruling powers focused on Huaiyuan and the Blue Moon District, and they quickly found the site of the battle.

    There were clear signs of battle where Xia Xing had been attacked, and the space there was still a bit unstable. If not for the fact that the Middle Realm was simply toorge, the attack would have absolutely drawn a great deal of attention from other powerhouses.

    Xia Ziheng was calmly staring at the Mother Tree. He was surrounded by members of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and the entire area had been sealed off for their investigation.

    Some timeter, an old man approached to quietly deliver a report, "It was Realmless. There are still bits and pieces of their poisoned ck scattered in the void, and from what we can gather of the battle that took ce, everything matches their normal ambush tactics for targeting powerhouses."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Does Realmless have anyone who can deal with someone as powerful as the sect master?"

    "That¡¯s unknown. Realmless has always been mysterious, but they once even dared to enter the Celestial Frost Sect and attack their sect master there. As long as a sufficient price is paid, there is nothing that they won¡¯t try to do.¡±

    "However, there was not enough time between when the sect master decided to make this journey and when he set out. How could Realmless have prepared an ambush in this location so quickly? There simply wasn¡¯t enough time, unless¡­¡±

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes instantly went wide. "Unless someone let them know ahead of time and told them to prepare an ambush for when the sect master arrived in the Middle Realm."

    The old man gave a slight bow and remained in that position, silent. Since Xia Ziheng had also gone along the old man¡¯s line of thought, there was nothing more to be said. Even if the old man¡¯s guess was right, what could someone like him do about it? How many people in Shenwu¡¯s Sky qualified to know about the sect master¡¯sings and goings? None of those people were individuals whom the old man could afford to offend, so it would be best to simply stay out of the mess.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s first thought was naturally of Yu Hao. After all, who else was aware that the sect master was making a trip to the Middle Realm?

    The sect master of Shenwu''s Sky almost never even left the sect, so even if Realmless kept tabs on Xia Xing¡¯s whereabouts, they would not have had time to prepare an attack. Such a thing was only possible if the target¡¯s destination was known in advance.

    Could Yu Hao really be behind this?

    "Find out where Virtue Archives¡¯ Prof. Hao Yu has beentely," Xia Ziheng ordered.

    Shenwu''s Sky was an absolute monster of an organization, and this one order sent countless people scurrying. It only took half a day for Hao Yu¡¯s information to bepiled and sent to Xia Ziheng.

 Chapter 2211: The Past

    Chapter 2211: The Past

    Xia Ziheng stared at the report of Yu Hao¡¯s recent whereabouts. "He went to the Blue Moon District recently?"

    A man quietly replied, "Yes. He even made some trouble with Xia Ru, the patriarch of our branch family in the Blue Moon District. Yu Hao forced Xia Ru to kneel to him in public."

    "When?" Xia Ziheng demanded.

    "Just three days ago. From the residues of the battle that took ce, it should have happened at the same time when the sect master was attacked."

    Xia Ziheng looked towards the Xia family¡¯s branch family in the Blue Moon District, and then said, "Order Xia Ru toe here. Wait, no." The Semi-Progenitor looked at the man. "Go collect Xia Ru yourself, and keep track of how long it takes you to get back here again. Bring Xia Ru to me as well."

    "Understood." The man then vanished.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes flickered as he looked around. The sect master was missing, and no one knew if the man was dead or alive. Who had attacked him? Realmless might have been the ones to take action, but Realmless only moved for money, which meant that they had been hired to attack the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. It must have been expensive to pay for such an assassination, which meant that the person paying must have a significant background. This made Yu Hao a very unlikely suspect. Unless¡­ could it be someone supporting the young man?

    However, was there anyone aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan supporting Yu Hao?

    Xia Ziheng suddenly felt that Yu Hao''s return had been a bit too abrupt and riddled with troubles.

    As soon as Yu Hao appeared, he had not only managed to push Shenwu¡¯s Sky to try to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side, but he had also managed to force the Celestial Frost Sect to start making some moves. Finally, he had gotten involved with Virtue Archives. On the surface, none of these individual events seemed to have been caused by Yu Hao, and he appeared to be a passive actor on the stage who merely wanted to get revenge on Xia Zhitong and a few others. However, it was starting to look like Yu Hao¡¯s return might be moreplicated than people had initially believed. All it took was connecting a few lines.

    Xia Ziheng refused to believe that Xia Xing''s attack was a mere coincidence.

    Far away in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin had no idea that Shenwu¡¯s Sky had already started investigating Xia Xing''s disappearance. While they were the first to learn about their sect master¡¯s disappearance, it was just a matter of time before word leaked and Lu Yin learned of it.

    However, Lu Yin knew that when he heard word of what had happened to Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s sect master, the entire Perennial world would know of it as well.

    While waiting for news, Lu Yin continued as before, teaching sses and helping students open sourceboxes. It was as though nothing at all had happened.

    At the border of Huaiyuan, the man who Xia Ziheng had sent out returned with Xia Ru, and that informed the Semi-Progenitor of the time that was needed to make such a journey.

    Xia Ru maintained an absolutely respectful attitude while in front of Xia Ziheng. This man was the ancestor of thergest branch family of the Xia family, and on top of that, the man was also a Semi-Progenitor. Xia Ru had never dreamed that he would ever exchange words with such a person.

    Xia Ziheng observed Xia Ru. This man was a typical patriarch of a branch family, and it only made sense that he was trembling before a superior. This was the way of the Xia family; the branch families could never stand up to the main family. All members of the Xia family ultimately served the main family.

    "There¡¯s no need to be nervous. You¡¯re Xia Ru, right?" Xia Ziheng asked casually, while speaking as gently as possible.

    Xia Ru took a deep breath. "This lowly Xia Ru greets Ancestor Ziheng."

    Xia Ziheng said, "I asked you here to ask you some questions. There¡¯s no need to be so nervous."

    Xia Ru remainedpletely respectful. "Please tell me, Ancestor, and this lowly one will tell you all I know."

    Xia Ziheng nodded. "Tell me, has Yu Hao ever visited your home?"

    Xia Ru instantly grew pale, and he stared at Xia Ziheng with anxious fear. "Ancestor Ziheng, he- he did just recently."

    "Tell me the specific details, especially exactly when he visited you and the exact words that were spoken between you two," Xia Ziheng instructed.

    Xia Ru gulped. How had this matter attracted the notice of Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? What did a Semi-Progenitor care about such things? Could the man know about Xia Ru¡¯s fling with Xia Zhitong? That should not be the case. After all, how could people like Xia Ru and Xia Zhitong be worthy of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s notice?

    "What?" Xia Ziheng¡¯s expression turned harsh. "You don¡¯t want to speak?"

    Xia Ru quickly replied, "Of course I do, but this lowly one was simply trying to organize my words carefully, as I don¡¯t dare to risk misspeaking."

    The excuse calmed Xia Ziheng¡¯s anger, as this was the proper attitude that minor member of a remote branch of the Xia family should show: utter respect and fear that led to obedience even in the face of death.

    Xia Ru somberly shared everything that happened on the day that Yu Hao had visited the Blue Moon District, and he made sure not to miss a single word or gesture that had taken ce. Everything was reported urately and clearly.

    Xia Ziheng quickly obtained a clear image of what had transpired the day that Yu Hao had confronted Xia Ru. Sure enough, the exchange ovepped with when they had determined that Xia Xing had been attacked. After also taking into ount the time needed to travel between the two locations, it was impossible for Yu Hao to have been one of the attackers. The only way for him to have done such a thing would be if he could cover such a distance almost instantly, but that was something that only Semi-Progenitors could aplish.

    Also, Xia Ziheng was able to confirm through Xia Ru¡¯s ount that Yu Hao was definitely the one who had made the visit.

    Yu Hao was still just an Envoy, so it waspletely impossible for him to be involved.

    Still, even if Yu Hao had not been involved with the attack, that did not rule out the possibility of him leaking word of Xia Xing¡¯s visit to the Middle Realm.

    One dayter, Xia Ziheng arrived at Virtue Archives, and he immediately went to see Yu Hao, which naturally roused Headmaster Wen¡¯s attention.

    "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, I already told you everything that I wanted to sayst time: unless sect master Xia Xing gives me his word, I won¡¯t believe your promises," Lu Yin said bluntly when Headmaster Wen arrived.

    Xia Ziheng red at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Our sect master is going to speak to you and deliver a promise, but there¡¯s something that I need to ask you about."

    "Xia Ziheng, what is this all about? Prof. Hao Yu has already made his position clear, so all that remains is for Xia Xing himself toe here," Headmaster Wen interjected impatiently.

    Xia Ziheng continued to stare at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Prof. Hao Yu, you recently visited the Xia family branch in the Blue Moon District. Do you have some conflict with that part of the Xia family?"

    Headmaster Wen nced over at ¡°Yu Hao¡± in surprise.

    Lu Yin did not try to avoid the question. "That¡¯s right."

    "Tell me about it clearly," Xia Ziheng demanded.

    Headmaster Wen frowned. "Xia Ziheng, is there really a need for a Semi-Progenitor like you toe all this way just because of such a minor scuffle? When did your Xia family start to appreciate your branch families so much?"

    Xia Ziheng replied, "Branch family or main family, it doesn¡¯t matter to my Xia family. All members of my family are regarded as important."

    Headmaster Wen startedughing quite loudly. He acted as though he had just heard the most hrious joke in the entire universe. Theughter caused Xia Ziheng to be quite upset, as he had already been in a bad mood to begin with because of what had happened to Xia Xing. "Wen Lai, what is the meaning of this? Are you mocking my Xia family?"

    Headmaster Wenughed so hard that he struggled to catch his breath. "This really has to be the biggest joke in the Perennial World! No, it''s the biggest joke in human history! Your Xia family regards the branch family members as important? Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin also wanted tough, as when it came to abusing branch families, if the Xia family imed to be second, then no one would dare im to be first. No, that was not quite right, there was one: the Daynight n. The Nightking n had literally enved the Dayking n. However, strictly speaking, the Dayking n was not a branch family, but rather part of the Daynight n¡¯s main family, though they had simply failed topete with the Nightking n.

    There was a bang as Xia Ziheng smashed the stone table into dust out of rage. "Wen Lai, are youughing at my Xia family?"

    Headmaster Wen let out a long breath, but he could notpletely remove the smile from his face. "If your Xia family really valued your branch families, you would have never been overwhelmed by the Celestial Frost Sect, and there would be another name heralded in your Xia family''s history: Xia Shang."

    Xia Ziheng''s pupils shrank. Xia Shang, which was Progenitor Chen¡¯s real name, was forbidden within the Xia family, and none of their members dared to mention the name.

    "No, not at all. I was just misremembering. Xia Shang¡¯s name hasn¡¯t been removed from the Xia family¡¯s genealogy. You guys were making threats when that was mentioned. You actually did remove his name from the family, and you even did your best to kill him. It was only after he became a Progenitor and took control of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that your Xia family decided to return his name to your family records without his consent. Even more ridiculous is that after the incident with Progenitor Nan, you tried to remove his name again! If not for the Lu family¡¯s interference, you really would have done it too! It¡¯s so ridiculous!" Headmaster Wen startedughing again.

    Lu Yin smirked. Did all of this really happen?

    Xia Ziheng''s face flushed red. This whole matter hadpletely humiliated the Xia family. It was also why Xia Shang¡¯s name had be forbidden within the Xia family.

    "It was only because the Lu family stepped up to protect Xia Shang that you weren¡¯t able to remove his name from the family records. After that, to protect his reputation, your family did your best in the war against the Sixth Maind. Later on, to prevent younger members of your family from learning about any of this, your family did its best to keep everything hidden. Not to mention the issues between your family and Progenitor Chen, even now, your family¡¯s descendants still believe Progenitor Chen to be their ancestor. The greatest Progenitor that your Xia family has ever produced."

    "Shut up!" Xia Ziheng charged forward, but Headmaster Wen''s eyes grew cold, and he waved his hand. An endless Literary Prison instantly trapped Xia Ziheng.

    "Xia Ziheng, you are in Virtue Archives, not Shenwu''s Sky!"

    Powerful killing intent filled Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes. "You¡¯re mocking my Shenwu''s Sky!"

    Headmaster Wenughed again. "All I did was tell the truth of what your family¡¯s done. Are you afraid of people speaking the truth?"

    Xia Ziheng clenched his fists, but he did not take any further action. He red at Headmaster Wen, looking as though he wanted to engrave this moment in his mind.

    A wave of Headmaster Wen''s hand dismissed the Literary Prison. "Forget it, I don¡¯t need to talk about the past. Still, Prof. Hao Yu is a member of my Virtue Archives, so I must be present for anything that mighte up."

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s hands finally rxed, and a dangerous glint flickered in the depths of his eyes. The Semi-Progenitor then turned to look at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and the man¡¯s voice calmed down dramatically. "Tell me, why did you go to make trouble for Xia Ru?"

    Lu Yin forced the story that he had just heard from his mind, despite his curiosity. "How can someone as insignificant as Xia Ru warrant Semi-Progenitor Zihenging here to ask me about him?"

    Xia Ziheng started to lose his patience. "The sect master of Shenwu''s Sky wille here to give you his word, but you need to cooperate with me before that happens. Xia Ru got involved with that bastard, Lu Xiaoxuan, when the survivor of the Lu family was escaping back then. You look quite suspicious, going after him like that."

    Lu Yin asked, "Lu Xiaoxuan? Isn¡¯t he the one who caused all that trouble on Dragon Mountain a few decades ago?"

    Xia Ziheng replied, "If you know that much, then you''d better exin yourself clearly."

    Lu Yin found it quite funny that the man was using such an excuse to threaten him, but it was true that Yu Hao had previously interacted with Xia Ru. "Fine, I¡¯ll tell you."

    Lu Yin quickly shared the story behind why ¡°Yu Hao¡± had gone after Xia Ru, which included everything that had happened years ago. For cultivators, let alone a few dayster¡ªa few years or even a few hundred thousand years could not impact their memories. As long as one thought back, they would be able to remember what had happened.

    Xia Zihengpared the stories told by ¡°Yu Hao¡± and Xia Ru, but there were no discrepancies.

    The two recounted the exact same words, actions, and timings of what had taken ce.

    "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, do you have a problem with me going after him?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Ziheng waspletely unconcerned with whether Xia Ru lived or died. "Since you two have such a connection, then deal with him however you want."

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze turned icy. "I¡¯m going to kill him."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "You can¡¯t do that for now. Like I said, there¡¯s a connection between Xia Ru and Lu Xiaoxuan. Right now, on top of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, everyone else is also keeping an eye on him, so he cannot be killed. However, I can promise you that as soon as he no longer holds any value, you can do as you wish with him."

    Headmaster Wen sneered with contempt.

    Xia Ziheng shot a cold re at the headmaster, as he knew that the headmaster was still snickering at the Xia family. After all, Xia Ziheng had just admitted that Xia Ru held limited use to the Xia family, despite what Xia Ziheng had just imed about the value of every member of the Xia family. As far as the Xia family was concerned, they could do and say as they wished, but others could not bring such hypocrisy up. This was the Xia family.

 Chapter 2212: Suspicions

    Chapter 2212: Suspicions

    Even though Lu Yin¡¯s answer had no holes in it, the fact remained that Xia Xing had only traveled to the Middle Realm because of Yu Hao. The youth had even requested the sect master by name. This was something that Xia Ziheng was unable to get past, as the spark that had triggered everything was Yu Hao insisting that he needed the sect master¡¯s word, as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s word was not good enough.

    "Yu Hao, it''s time for you to meet with someone. This is to show my Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s sincerity to you," Xia Ziheng said before pulling out hismunication crystal and sending a message. "Let¡¯s go. You¡¯ll want to go see this person."

    Headmaster Wen was instantly on guard. "Are you going to take Prof. Hao Yu away?"

    Xia Ziheng indifferently answered, "Just to meet with someone. Don¡¯t worry, it''s just outside Virtue Archives."

    Headmaster Wen and ¡°Yu Hao¡± nced at each other and then moved together, following Xia Ziheng out of the academy. Once they arrived in a forest beyond Virtue Archives, they saw a tired looking old man.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed the instance he saw the old man, and he moved forward and called out, "Old man!"

    Naturally, this old man was Yu Chuan, the former city lord of Yu City who Yu Hao¡¯s father had betrayed and turned in to Star Alliance.

    Lu Yin had not expected Xia Ziheng to bring Yu Hao¡¯s grandfather to meet him.

    Xia Ziheng paid close attention to ¡°Yu Hao¡± as he greeted Yu Chuan, though the Semi-Progenitor was not sure what he was searching for. In the end, Xia Ziheng felt both a bit confused and relieved at seeing Yu Hao greet his grandfather.

    The old man looked up at Lu Yin, and his eyes flickered briefly before he grew excited. "Xiao Hao!"

    Lu Yin became emotional as he approached Yu Chuan. "Old man, you really aren¡¯t dead? I knew that you couldn¡¯t be dead! Hahahaha."

    Yu Hao had always referred to Yu Chuan as ¡°old man.¡± When Yu Hao had rescued Kui Luo, even though the young man had been an introverted person, he had shared some things with just Kui Luo, which meant that Kui Luo knew Yu Hao better than just about everyone. Because of this, not only had Kui Luo shared Yu Chuan¡¯s appearance with Lu Yin, but the old man had also shared a few details about the rtionship between Yu Hao and his grandfather with Lu Yin. While it was not much, it was enough.

    Numerous thoughts raced through Lu Yin¡¯s mind when he saw Yu Chuan. At this moment, Lu Yin truly regarded himself as Yu Hao, which was why Yu Chuan felt that nothing was out of ce or wrong as he greeted his grandson.

    While giving the two men a moment to greet each other, Headmaster Wen was looking at Xia Ziheng. "Don''t try to tell me that you brought that man here out of the goodness of your heart. You¡¯re testing Yu Hao."

    Xia Ziheng shrugged. "I still find it unbelievable that a trash cultivator could rise up to be an Envoy in such a short amount of time, let alone an Array Master, even with Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s guidance."

    "That''s understandable, but why do I feel like there¡¯s something very strange about you today? It feels like you¡¯re eager to prove something." Headmaster Wen felt a bit surprised.

    Xia Ziheng looked over at Headmaster Wen with narrowed eyes. "I might as well tell you since you¡¯ll find out soon enough: Xia Xing is missing."

    Headmaster Wen''s eyes instantly went wide. "What?"

    Xia Ziheng repeated, "Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, went missing after arriving in the Middle Realm¡­"

    Headmaster Wen was a highly intelligent person, so he instantly understood the implications, "So you suspect Yu Hao?"

    Xia Ziheng looked back at where ¡°Yu Hao¡± was talking to Yu Chuan. "It¡¯s impossible for someone to know where someone with a status like Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s sect master goes before he makes a decision, and he was on his way to Virtue Archives. Why wouldn¡¯t I be suspicious?"

    Headmaster Wen could not deny that Yu Hao was indeed the most suspicious person.

    "Wen Lai, regardless of your personal opinion of me or the four ruling powers, you must understand that, with Xia Xing missing, Shenwu¡¯s Sky and I will never let this matter drop, not even if we are forced to overturn the entire Perennial World to find the culprit. If there is anything at all wrong with Yu Hao, then you better tell me, or else things will go very badly for your Virtue Archives," Xia Ziheng spoke in a manner that was half persuasive and half threatening,

    Headmaster Wen replied, "I haven¡¯t seen any problems."

    "I hope that that¡¯s true," Xia Ziheng said casually as he refocused on Lu Yin and Yu Chuan. There was no telling what was going through the man¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin did not hear what passed between Xia Ziheng and Headmaster Wen, as he was entirely focused on Yu Chuan.

    Kui Luo had shared a bit of information about Yu Chuan with Lu Yin, but it was not very much, and everything had originallye from Yu Hao. Yu Hao¡¯s grandfather had already been captured and forced into Star Alliance by the time the young man had rescued Kui Luo. So, there had been no way for Kui Luo to learn much about the old man.

    Fortunately, Kui Luo had managed to learn one very, very important detail, which had naturally been passed on to Lu Yin. The truth was that many things had been a trick.

    In order to cate the four ruling powers, Yu Hao''s father had betrayed Yu Chuan, which was why the old man had been arrested and forced into Star Alliance. It was a desperate n, and it had sacrificed Yu Chuan, but the four ruling powers had always been suspicious that it might all be a ploy. It was only because he knew the truth of the matter that Lu Yin had made it a point to show his excitement at seeing Yu Chuan. After all, if Yu Chuan had truly been betrayed, then Yu Hao would not have been so excited to see his grandfather, who had been betrayed by Yu Hao and his father.

    "Xiao Hao, you¡¯re too reckless! You¡¯ll get caught, acting like this," Yu Chuan whispered.

    Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. "Old man, Xia Ziheng brought you here to see me, which means that they already know the truth.¡±

    There was a moment of hesitation. "Do you know about what happened to our family?"

    Yu Chuan''s fingers trembled at the question, his face contorted into a hideous expression. "I''m so sorry for you!"

    Lu Yin exhaled. "It was only because I''m so worthless that our family¡¯s been humiliated. But don''t worry, old man. I won¡¯t spare anyone who acted against our family!"

    Yu Chuan nced at Lu Yin in surprise, but then silently nodded. "Regardless of how much you can aplish, make sure to take care of yourself. I shouldn¡¯t need to tell you that grandpa can¡¯t help you anymore, so you can only rely on yourself."

    Lu Yin stared at Yu Chuan, and the old man stared back. With their eyes locked, Lu Yin could see the pain and warring emotions in Yu Chuan''s eyes. Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped, as he could see that this old man had somehow discerned that Lu Yin was an imposter, yet he had not done anything to expose the fact.

    Xia Ziheng had underestimated Yu Chuan''s hatred for the four ruling powers. The Semi-Progenitor had thought that by bringing Yu Chuan to meet with Yu Hao, if any issues were detected in Yu Hao, the old man would speak up. Xia Ziheng believed that nothing was more important to the old man than his grandson, but Yu Chuan had already learned about his family¡¯s fate while in Star Alliance, and his hatred had risen to unspeakable levels.

    As long as even the slightest possibility arose, even if he was hacked into pieces, if there was a chance to make the four ruling powers bleed even just a bit, then Yu Chuan was willing to ept this imposter in front of him as Yu Hao. The old man could sense that his grandson was not in front of him, but so what? This imposter¡¯s presence would only hurt the four ruling powers, and there was nothing in the remaining possessions of the Yu family that could entice this person.

    As for the real Yu Hao, Yu Chuan had already heard the rumors of the youth¡¯s death decades ago. There should be no connection to this imposter.

    Yu Chuan was being controlled by the restriction ced on him, so he was willing to let this imposter do as he wished.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± stretched out a hand to hold Yu Chuan''s arm. "I understand, old man."

    Lu Yin was only given a short bit of time with Yu Chuan. As soon as Xia Ziheng saw that Yu Chuan showed no unusual reaction to meeting Yu Hao, the Semi-Progenitor had no more reasons to linger any longer, and he wanted to take Yu Chuan away.

    "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, can you let my grandpa stay with me?" For the first time, ¡°Yu Hao¡± sounded almost as though he were pleading with Xia Ziheng. This was an appropriate response for a grandson to show, and on top of that, Lu Yin pitied the old man.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s expression improved a bit, as Yu Hao was showing proper behavior. Still, while it was not possible to control Yu Hao through Yu Chuan, keeping Yu Chuan around would slightly weaken the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s position. Besides, winning over Yu Hao was not a priority at the moment. The most important thing was to find Sect Master Xia Xing.

    "We were never ignorant of your Yu family¡¯s ploy, and part of the reason why Yu Chuan has managed to survive is not only because of luck, but also because we kept an eye out for him. Xia Zhitong was sent to your family as punishment, but I can assure you that if you are sincere in joining Shenwu¡¯s Sky, your grandfather will return to you safe and sound. Think about your actions carefully, but for now, the two of you can stay together," Xia Ziheng said. He was trying to use both the carrot and the stick at the same time.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± whispered his thanks.

    Yu Chuan never said a word throughout the entire exchange. His years in Star Alliance had allowed him to see through matters of life and death. If he was unlucky, he would die on the rear battlefield or at the hands of a Redback. It was even possible to be killed due to some conflict between the four ruling powers. So if possible, Yu Chuan was more than willing to leave Star Alliance.

    At this moment, Xia Ziheng''smunication crystal vibrated, and he answered a call. "Speak."

    "Ancestor, we¡¯ve found evidence of the Lu family''s Lifeseizer Palm at the scene where the sect master was attacked."

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes instantly red, and powerful bloodlust surged from him.

    "This means that this attack has to have been orchestrated by some remnant of the Lu family. They weren¡¯t confident about their chances of sess, so they hired Realmless as well."

    Xia Ziheng had not initially considered the remnants of the Lu family as possible culprits, as only trash that had not raised their heads up in many years remained. If they truly had such capabilities, they would not have remained so quiet for so many years.

    Also, the Celestial Frost Sect had their Celestial Suppression.1

    When the Lu family was exiled, some of their resources and techniques that had been left behind had been split between the four ruling powers, but the Celestial Suppression had not been acquired at that time. The Celestial Frost Sect had acquired some of the Lu family¡¯s techniques long before that.

    There were fundamentally no differences between the Lifeseizing Palm and the Celestial Suppression.

    Xia Ziheng''s expression turned extremely sour, as this meant that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind this attack. Something had to be done to the Celestial Frost Sect in return.

    Lu Yin noticed the sudden change in the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression, and while Lu Yin had no idea what news had just been delivered, it most likely had something to do with the Lifeseizing Palm that he had purposefully used at the battle site. Lu Yin had done that entirely because the Celestial Frost Sect had the same technique as the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizing Palm.

    "Old man, are there a lot of people in Star Alliance?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. He spoke in a normal tone and made no attempt to hide his words.

    Yu Chuan replied, "Not too many, but also not too few. Still, all of them are Envoys."

    "Are there a hundred?" Lu Yin was quite curious, though he sounded like he was just casually chatting.

    Headmaster Wen spoke up, "There are more than a hundred members of Star Alliance."

    Yu Chuan nodded. "Yes, there are more than a hundred people."

    Lu Yin sighed. "That¡¯s really a powerful army. Whoever controls Star Alliance will instantly obtain hundreds of perfectly loyal Envoys."

    Xia Ziheng heard ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡±ment, and it was like lightning shed through the old man¡¯s mind. Star Alliance? Control Star Alliance? Xia Xing, Yu Hao, Grandmaster Gu Yan¡­

    It felt like various pieces had instantly fallen into ce, and something was exined. Xia Ziheng left without saying another word.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± appearedpletely calm. Sometimes the smarter the person was, the more easily they could be misled. Lu Yin preferred dealing with smart people, as idiots were more difficult to control.

    "Headmaster, can my grandfather live within the academy?" ¡°Yu Hao¡± asked.

    Headmaster Wen was facing a dilemma. There would be absolutely no problem allowing a normal person to live in Virtue Archives, but Yu Chuan was a part of Star Alliance.

    Even if Yu Hao was ignorant of certain matters, Headmaster Wen knew full well that every member of Star Alliance had a restriction ced on them. Even with Shenwu''s Sky promise, Yu Chuan would never truly be free. He would forever be controlled by the four ruling powers, which meant that he was no different from the four ruling powers¡¯ spy.

    "Xiao Hao, Virtue Archives isn¡¯t a suitable ce for someone like me to live. You stay safe in the academy. There¡¯s no need to worry¡ªXia Ziheng has already promised that I¡¯ll be safe," Yu Chuan said.

    Headmaster Wen looked at Yu Chuan with great sympathy. "If you want to live within the academy, you may. After all, we are already a taintednd."

    Lu Yin acted confused. "What does that mean, Headmaster? My grandfather-"

    Yu Chuan interrupted. "The headmaster means that if I move in, the four ruling powers might send other people in to monitor my actions."

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do.

    [1] Updated name. Was previously referred to a "Gap Between Heaven and Human," which, while urate, sucks. ?

 Chapter 2213: Destruction

    Chapter 2213: Destruction

    After Headmaster Wen left, ¡°Yu Hao¡± and Yu Chuan were left alone to talk.

    Once no one else was around, the two men dropped their act.

    "How is Xiao Hao doing?" Yu Chuan asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. "He killed himself a couple decades ago."

    Yu Chuan squeezed his eyes closed tight in his grief. "It''s all my fault! I thought that it would be possible to fool the four ruling powers by sacrificing myself. And yet, my Yu family still became a joke to the entire Perennial World. It¡¯s all my fault."

    Lu Yin tried tofort the man. "No one could have expected the four ruling powers to be so ruthless that they would ever dare to eliminate your family in that manner."

    Yu Chuan was still bitter about his family¡¯s fate, but he suddenly looked at Lu Yin with a good deal of suspicion. "So, who are you? Why are you doing all this?"

    Lu Yin thought for a bit, but he really had no idea what sort of answer to give.

    "It''s not a problem if you don''t want to say. There¡¯s really no reason, as my Yu family is already the biggest joke, and there is no worse oue than this. Regardless of your goals, be careful of Shenwu''s Sky. Everyone in Star Alliance has a restriction on them, and it can only be removed if all four ruling powers work together," Yu Chuan warned.

    Lu Yin stared at Yu Chuan¡¯s back as the old man left. He was nning to settle down close to Virtue Archives, so the two would easily be able to meet each other whenever they wanted.

    Even though they understood each other, they had to maintain this facade.

    There were times when Lu Yin truly did not understand how the four ruling powers¡¯ restriction worked on the members of Star Alliance. Many of the people had alreadye to grips with death, and trying to force them to the rear battlefield with a restriction should bepletely useless.

    It was basically nothing more than prison garb to such people.

    ***

    Far away, in the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng had returned to Shenwu''s Sky. After multiple attempts, he finally managed to speak with the family¡¯s Progenitor, Xia Shenji, on the second day.

    The Semi-Progenitor reported everything that had recently happened to Xia Shenji, and he finished by summarizing his own suspicions. "If I¡¯m correct, then the Celestial Frost Sect is not only trying to use Bai Weiwei to win Yu Hao over, but they are also doing their best to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side. They secretly want to acquire the other three pieces to the restriction ced on the members of Star Alliance. Their ambitions are unbelievable, but their purpose has been made clear.¡±

    "If not for the fact that Bai Weiwei has been too obvious in her efforts and that Xia Yan happened to learn about Gu Yan''s change in attitude towards the Celestial Frost Sect, we would have remainedpletely ignorant. We also might have never discovered that the Celestial Frost Sect is likely the ones behind the attack on Xia Xing."

    After a long period of silence, Xia Shenji finally started giving some orders. "Use our full strength to go after Realmless to find out who ordered the attack."

    Regardless of whether Xia Ziheng''s spections were correct, it was imperative they have solid evidence before attacking the Celestial Frost Sect. The Xia family waspletely inadequate to go after the Celestial Frost Sect by itself, and they would need the others of the four ruling powers to join their efforts.

    Xia Ziheng''s suspicions were somewhat close to the truth, and while Xia Shenji was technically a Progenitor who was far more powerful than others, he was not omniscient. His orders demonstrated that he believed Xia Ziheng''s words.

    "What did the Progenitor say?" someone asked from behind Xia Ziheng.

    The Semi-Progenitor turned around to look at the person who had just approached. "Attack Realmless with our full strength and look for evidence."

    The man nodded.

    "You still can''t feel it?" Xia Ziheng asked while staring at the person before him. The man was Xia Xing.

    Given the fact that Xia Xing was the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky and the Xia family¡¯s patriarch, he had naturally learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique. When meeting with others, he only ever used clones. Lu Yin had only captured a clone, while Xia Xing¡¯s main body was still in the Higher Realm at Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin had been right to be so cautious. He was quite lucky that he had never brought Xia Xing out from Zenith Mountain after capturing him. Otherwise, Xia Xing definitely would have been able to locate his clone, which would have been incredibly dangerous for Lu Yin.

    "I still can''t feel anything. Whoever captured my clone is being very careful. The clone should have only been captured, as if it had died, I would have suffered injuries," Xia Xing replied.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes narrowed. "This had to have been nned out a long time ago. Not only was your travel path known to them, but they even knew that it was a clone. There¡¯s no other reason for you to not be able to feel the clone¡¯s whereabouts."

    "True. If the Celestial Frost Sect really did do this, then this definitely won¡¯t be the end. Grandmaster Gu Yan and Star Alliance are not enough for the Celestial Frost Sect to overpower us other three, so they definitely have something more nned." Xia Xing looked out at the Celestial Frost Sect as he spoke.

    ¡­

    There was a ce in the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Realm that looked like a paradise. There were no cultivators or war there. The people living in this paradise were on an ind in the middle of a massiveke. While it was referred to as an ind, that was only from the perspective of theke. The ind was absolutely massive,rge enough to be home to an entire civilization. The ind was known as Crow Vige, and it was a ce where fighting and killing were forbidden.

    Flocks of birds flew through the sky, while people from a small vige toiled on the ground below. It was a peaceful scene, though it was marred by the presence of an odd ming horse on the shore of theke. The horse was enormous, and it periodically ran from one end of theke to the other, its mes lighting up the entire area. The light of these mes was what determined night and day for these vigers.

    When the horse ran, it would be day for the vigers, and there were times when the days would be exceptionally long. Also, if more than one horse ran around, the mes wouldpletely illuminate all of Wuncun.

    On one particr day, a herd of ming horses was running above theke, and the mes that the creatures gave off heated up the entire ind.

    Many of the vigers working in the fields patted their cors to disperse a bit of the umted sweat, and they frequently left the fields to get a bit of water. From time to time, sounds ofughter could be heard.

    It had started off as a normal day, but such an ordinary day was shattered for the people of Wuncun when a person broke through the void. He raised a hand, and obliterated all the ming horses in an instant. Blood rained down on the vige, and the mundanity instantly disappeared.

    Blood covered the earth in the fields, the river, and around the houses of the vige. The screams of the ming horses rang out.

    In the sky high above, Xia Ziheng stared down at Crow Vige. "Who would have thought that the headquarters of Realmless, thergest assassin and intelligence organization, would be in this ce. Today, I and Shenwu''s Sky will erase Realmless from the Middle Realm!"

    The man then raised a hand high and squeezed it tight. A vast amount of star essence surged out, forming mountains that then crashed down upon the ind and the surroundingke. There was no escape for anyone.

    The vigers working near the vige looked up at the sky in disbelief and despair.

    Xia Ziheng''s hand dropped with a bang, but as it struck, a pair of cold, dark eyes opened down on the ground. At the same time, an entire series of terrifying auras erupted in a counterattack. Each of the auras belonged to at least an Envoy, and there were even a few that nearly matched Xia Ziheng''s impressive level of strength.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes snapped open. "Get out here and kneel!"

    "Kekeke, Xia Ziheng, you dare to try to force your grandpa onto his knees? Have you forgotten about how you begged for mercy back then?" An old man gave a creepy smile, though his eyes remained stoic.

    Someone else on the ground shouted as well. This person looked like a young schr, and he had a scarf wrapped around him and a feather fan in his hand. "Brother Ziheng, it¡¯s been so long since we¡¯ve seen each other, and now that we finally see each other again, you act so rudely?"

    These people were able to stop Xia Zixing¡¯s stellr energy from striking the ground. In particr, one person in the center of the ind looked upwards with indescribably cold eyes. He released an aura that belonged to a peak Envoy, and it surged upwards to counter Xia Ziheng¡¯s billowing pressure.

    Instantly, all of Crow Vige was shrouded in smoke, and cks filled the sky above theke around the ind, and a practically endless bloodlust filled the air. This was Realmless¡¯s headquarters.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s cold eyes roamed over the people who were standing against him. "So many old acquaintances have gathered here. I thought that you were all dead. I never even considered that you might hide in Realmless. It doesn¡¯t matter, though. I¡¯ll send you all on to finish your journey today."

    An enormous ck rose up. It had existed for countless years as a final defense to protect Realmless, and it was capable of shattering an attacker¡¯s organs. This defensive measure was why Realmless believed that they could resist even a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack. Countless des swept across theke before returning to form birdcages that surrounded the ind.

    The cold-eyed man gritted his teeth. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, you won¡¯t say anything even while attacking my Realmless? Even if I die today, at least allow me to die with the knowledge of how you found this ce."

    Xia Ziheng nced over. "I know you. You¡¯re Realmless¡¯s primary intermediary with the outside world. I never expected you to actually be a peak Envoy, given your role as a messenger. Seeing you here, it seems that I might have been mistaken, and this might not actually be Realmless¡¯s headquarters."

    The man''s expression changed slightly, but he made a point to not reveal anything that could give away anything. "All I want to know is how this ce was discovered."

    Xia Ziheng sneered. He had no interest in talking. Suddenly, the birdcage made of des disappeared, and all the ind¡¯s residents were reduced to puddles of blood that stained the ind and theke around it red.

    These people were too weak to oppose a Semi-Progenitor, as they were simply not on the same level. There had been no way for them to escape from the birdcage.

    Xia Ziheng had acted quickly because he feared that Realmless would destroy the information that he sought. His goal was not to eliminate assassins, but rather to find information. He was seeking evidence.

    After dealing with all the people on the ind, Xia Ziheng summoned people from Shenwu''s Sky and ordered them to scour the ind for any information that they could find. At the same time, the Semi-Progenitor found a remote corner of the ind to seclude himself. The underlings would seek him out whenever they found anything of interest.

    A young man approached Xia Ziheng. He did not appear to be very powerful, and he seemed to only be a one-tribtion Envoy. Even so, Xia Ziheng did not underestimate the young man. "This is not Realmless¡¯s headquarters."

    "I know," the young man replied casually.

    Xia Ziheng felt that he had to continue exining. "If Xia Xing''s clone didn¡¯t disappear, we would have never exposed you so early."

    The young man lifted his head and smiled. "The family nurtured me and raised me. It¡¯s only right for me to repay the family now."

    Xia Ziheng continued to say, "Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong is dead, and Wang Su went to the Forsaken Land. Of the four Junior Progenitors, Only you and Long Tian remain. Fortunately, you had a task to do, and so you returned to the family. Otherwise, you would be among those who have been stranded in the Forsaken Land all this time, Shenfei."

    The young man was none other than Xia Shenfei, one of the four Junior Progenitors, and a member of the Xia family¡¯s main line. However, this young man seemedpletely different from the drunkard Xia Shenfei that Lu Yin had previously interacted with.

    No one had expected Xia Shenfei, the Xia family¡¯s Junior Progenitor, to have been willing to go undercover and infiltrate Realmless. He had been the one to give the family the location of the headquarters on Wuncun.

    Xia Shenfei lowered his hands. "Realmless is too cautious. I¡¯ve been a part of them for over twenty years, and I¡¯ve killed many people for them. The family even cooperated to ensure that I aplished great things for Realmless, but I was only able to reach this far. Do you know how to post jobs here?"

    Xia Ziheng shook his head. "If you say that this isn¡¯t Realmless¡¯s headquarters, then I believe you. There¡¯s no need to know how they handle things. We can work without evidence."

    A smile spread across Xia Shenfei''s face, and he pulled out a gourd full of wine from his cosmic ring and took a sip before letting out a rxed breath. "I''m an alcoholic, but I¡¯ve had to abandon drinking for thest twenty years. This sip just now tasted absolutely amazing, haha."

    Xia Ziheng looked at Xia Shenfei with open admiration. There were some people who could pursue their desires without end, exaggerating things to the extreme for the entirety of their lives. However, there were also people who could force their desires topletely disappear in an instant. Xia Shenfei was one such person.

 Chapter 2214: Fissure

    Chapter 2214: Fissure

    When Lu Yin had first met the four Junior Progenitors, Xia Shenfei had been an alcoholic who had been unconcerned about everything. Even if he had met Progenitor Xia Shenji himself, Xia Shenfei would have remained calm and unconcerned about causing any offenses. However, Xia Shenfei had not touched even a drop of wine ever since he had joined Realmless until now. Someone capable of such discipline was beyond terrifying.

    "The birds in the sky, the worms in the ground, and even the rhythm of the people''s hoes striking the ground, whenbined with the time of day, air humidity, and the direction of the wind, can be used as a codednguage known only to Realmless¡¯s assassins. Even if an outsider lives on Crow Vige ind for hundreds or even thousands of years, they would never be able to see any ws. This is how Realmless internallymunicates.¡± Xia Shenfei took a sip of his wine. ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that I had to expose myself now, but if I hadn¡¯t, you¡¯d never learn anything about Wuncun without spying on them for thousands of years.¡±

    Xia Ziheng nodded. "I see."

    Xia Shenfei tossed the paper book that he had just been reading over to Xia Ziheng. "This is what you want."

    Xia Ziheng quickly started skimming the book.

    ¡­

    The destruction of Crow Vige was not considered a big deal to most people in the Perennial World, but that was merely because most people were not qualified to interact with Realmless. This meant that only top powers and experts were affected. For example, an elder from the Celestial Frost Sect who had once hired Realmless to assassinate someone. There were simr such people in the Wang family, the White Dragon n, and even the Xia family. All the top powers in the Middle Realm that controlled a territory would have people who had paid Realmless to take action in the past.

    All the records of those transactions had been taken by Shenwu''s Sky, and included among them was the job that Elder Qing Xing had paid for.

    Naturally, there was also some information about when Lu Yin had paid for Xia Xing¡¯s assassination. The entire conversation, from the first word spoken to thest, had been recorded. However, no one was able to recognize Lu Yin''s appearance because he had disguised himself with the Mask of Death.

    These were also records of transactions that Realmless had been paid for. The jobs had been organized into assassination jobs, intelligence gathering jobs, and even information about suspected Redbacks.

    ***

    In the Middle Realm, just outside of Seed Garden, Cai Shu suddenly showed up and arrested the head of a branch of the Nong family. This drew the attention of Nong Ya, the patriarch of the Nong family.

    "Cai Shu, what are you doing?" Nong Ya demanded.

    "Patriarch, save me!" The captured man was beyond terrified.

    The Nong family was different from other families. As long as a branch family was acknowledged by those living in Seed Garden, they could freely wander around the Middle Realm, unlike the Xia family, which scattered their people across various locations, or the Liu family who could settle down anywhere they wished.

    Cai Shu shared the information that had been received from Shenwu''s Sky with Nong Ya. "Realmless''s headquarters has been captured, and their records were obtained. There is clear information that ims that this person is most likely a traitor, so we need to take him back for interrogating and investigating."

    Nong Ya checked the provided information. It was quite clear that this branch head had hired Realmless to assassinate someone, and the target was even the head of another branch of the Nong family. No reason for the hit was provided, but as the assassin had killed the man, he had said a single thing at the time of his death. ¡°You¡¯re a traitor!¡±

    The branch leader who had been killed had not known that he was being killed by Realmless, but he had beenpletely certain that traitors were behind his death. This made the actual traitor¡¯s identity quite clear. Once the usation wasbined with the knowledge of who had paid for the assassination, it was highly likely that the branch head of the Nong family was a traitor.

    Nong Ya stared at the captured man, an ugly expression on the patriarch¡¯s face.

    The branch leader dropped his head, not daring to look at his patriarch.

    "You¡¯re actually a traitor?" Nong Ya gritted his teeth.

    The branch head quickly replied, "No! I''m not a traitor! I just wanted to get rid of him to take over his territory. I¡¯m not a traitor."

    "Then who is?" Nong Ya shouted.

    Cai Shu spoke up, "Patriarch Nong Ya, Humility¡¯s Gate will be questioning this man, so I¡¯ll be leaving to do that now."

    "Patriarch, save me! Patriarch!"

    Nong Ya did not move a muscle. The evidence at this moment was quite clear. Given the time and ce, as well as the details of the hiring transaction, which included a video, the evidence could not be refuted. If Realmless suspected someone of being a traitor, they were likely guilty.

    Shenwu''s Sky released a tremendous amount of information, almost all of which was rted to suspected traitors and Redbacks. All of these suspects were delivered to Humility¡¯s Gate. They did not have the resources to deal with traitors and Redbacks. Thus, with the exception of the suspects who were rted to the four ruling powers, Humility¡¯s Gate dealt with all the others.

    Just a bit more than ten days passed, but during this time, the Perennial World was covered with spilled blood. Humility¡¯s Gate captured and arrested more and more people, all of whom were named in the information that Xia Shenfei had provided. It was also impossible for Shenwu''s Sky to do good deeds without taking credit, so it was quickly revealed that Xia Shenfei had gone undercover to enter Realmless so that Shenwu''s Sky could find the assassins¡¯ headquarters. This task had eventually led to a tremendous number of traitors being exposed and arrested.

    Many people from the Root Organization were also arrested. Too many people had implicitly trusted Realmless, paying the assassins toplete tasks, and this led to their identities being easily revealed.

    Of course, most people had tried to hide their true identities when interacting with Realmless, much like Lu Yin had done. However, given Realmless''s capabilities, it was usually quite easy for them to determine the true identities of such people.

    Chaos reigned in the Middle Realm and the Lower Realm, but not even the Higher Realm was peaceful. Members of the four ruling powers were arrested and killed, but there was also a group of people whom no one knew how to handle.

    For example, a member of the White Dragon n had paid Realmless to assassinate a junior member of the Wang family. Someone from the Celestial Frost Sect had hired Realmless to kill a member of the White Dragon n. Lu Yin was quite familiar with Wang Shang, and he was actually one of Realmless¡¯s assassins, and he was ranked high enough that he had even learned of the existence of Crow Vige.

    This revtion infuriated the Wang family, but unfortunately, Wang Shang had gone to the Forsaken Land. If not, he would have also been arrested.

    With the exception of Wang Shang, people from the Celestial Frost Sect, the Xia family, and the White Dragon n had all interacted with Realmless, and eventually, even the Dealcut Association was revealed.

    The secret society had provided Realmless with funds and information, and these transactions were all made public. This caused those in the four ruling powers to be absolutely furious.

    While there was no denying that the four ruling powers had been wrong to exile the Lu family; that action had ignored what was best for humanity as a whole in the fight against the Aeternals. However, the four ruling powers were not unwilling to protect humanity.

    After the Lu family had been exiled, the four ruling powers had takenplete control of the rear battlefield. All of them always viewed the fight against Aeternus to be the top priority, and this was why Shenwu''s Sky did not keep Realmless''s list of suspected traitors and Redbacks privately, but had instead delivered it to Humility''s Gate. It was of top importance that the suspects be captured before they could escape. On top of that, the information from Realmless exposed that the Dealcut Association had been secretly manipting some of the resources dedicated to the rear battlefield, and had also manipted various details to prevent specific people from participating in the dangerous fighting taking ce on the rear battlefield. As far as the four ruling powers were concerned, such actions were unforgivable.

    After learning of the Dealcut Association, the four ruling powers immediately took action and thoroughly investigated the rear battlefield and captured everyone with a connection to the Dealcut Association.

    With the fall of Realmless, the Perennial World became extremely turbulent for a time.

    ***

    In the Middle Realm¡¯s Virtue Archives, Headmaster Wen watched as one of the academy¡¯s instructors was taken away by a Humility''s Gate. The headmaster was in a rotten mood.

    "I never thought that Prof. Lian would be a traitor." Prof. Zheng felt both angry and helpless.

    Many of the nearby students had also seen the instructor be arrested. "If even someone as good and decent as the professor can be a traitor, then Aeternus is simply too despicable."

    "Some time ago, I asked Prof. Lian to assist me with my training, and I spent a lot of credits to make that happen. Looking back, it¡¯s terrifying to think about."

    "It¡¯s impossible to see through traitors and Redbacks. They can be anyone at all! If not for Junior Progenitor Xia Shenfei going undercover for twenty years to destroy Realmless¡¯s headquarters, all of those people would still be perfectly hidden. Xia Shenfei''s contribution to humanity is too impressive."

    "This is what the Junior Progenitors are capable of. It would be difficult for others to aplish simr feats even if they manage to somehow surpass the Junior Progenitors. Xia Shenfei was even an alcoholic! How can anyonepare to his willpower?"

    "That''s right! Lu Xiaoxuan is really the worst ever! If he hadn¡¯t killed Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong, then Bai Shaohong might have also aplished great things and even eventually be a Progenitor."

    "Don''t talk about the Lu family! Do you want your brain to explode?"

    "The Lu family was banished by four ruling powers precisely because they colluded with Aeternus. Lu Xiaoxuan killed Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong, which means that he himself is a Redback! It¡¯s terrible."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had to struggle to calm himself down after he heard the various students¡¯ discussions. This clearly demonstrated the power of four ruling powers. After just a short period of controlling the Perennial World, everyone ¡°knew¡± that the four ruling powers had verified that the Lu family had been working with Aeternus, which was why the Lu family had been overthrown by the four ruling powers. Everyone conveniently forgot about everything that the Lu family had previously aplished.

    If not for the Lu family, how would the Perennial World ever havee to be? How would the Fifth Maind have remained protected? Right or wrong, the Lu family was solely responsible for all of these things.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, so this is where you were." Nong Siniang had gone to find ¡°Hao Yu.¡±

    Lu Yin was feeling rather torn at this moment. "Prof. Lian¡¯s been arrested. I can¡¯t help but wonder if there are any other traitors or Redback still in the academy."

    Nong Siniang pursed her lips. "Someone from my Nong family was also arrested. There are traitors everywhere, which is too scary."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don''t worry. The day wille when humanity will be able to drive Aeternus out and restore peace."

    "That''s right, humanity will absolutely do that," Wu Taibai said.

    Bai Weiwei also arrived and joined in. "Such a thing needs all of humanity to work together to pull off."

    More and more people gathered and joined the conversation, and eventually, the Dealcut Association was brought up.

    In the past, a few people had known about the Dealcut Association, such as Xia Zhitong, who had struggled to join. It had been a tightly guarded secret that the Dealcut Association was able to influence matters on the rear battlefield, but the secret society had been utterly destroyed now. There was no way it would be allowed to continue.

    Lu Yin silently returned to his stone pir.

    He realized that he had overlooked something: the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    When Xia Shenfei had gone undercover to infiltrate Realmless, one of his clones should have done so. Given that, seeing as how Xia Xing was the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, he must have also cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Had Lu Yin captured Xia Xing''s main body, or a clone? Regardless, as soon as the captive was released from Zenith Mountain, the other Xia Xing should be able to sense his presence.

    This realization made Lu Yin extremely thankful that he had never taken the sect master out of Zenith Mountain after capturing him. As soon as Shenwu¡¯s Sky had an approximate location for their sect master, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to remain hidden.

    However, this greatlyplicated things, as Lu Yin had to meet with Xia Xing and interrogate him, but he also could not release him from Zenith Mountain.

    There was only one way to aplish this without risking being detected by Shenwu¡¯s Sky: Timestop Space.

    Thinking of this, Lu Yin left Virtue Archives and made a show of going to visit Yu Chuan, but in reality, he went out to roll his die.

    ***

    In the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng, Xia Xing, Xia Shenfei, and the other top-ranking members of Shenwu''s Sky were staring at an image on disy in front of them all. It was a picture of Lu Yin¡¯s disguised face from when he had hired Realmless to assassinate Xia Xing.

    "Have you found out who this is yet?" Xia Xing asked.

    Someone spoke up. "No."

    Xia Shenfei sipped some wine. "It''s easy to alter your face."

    "He ced the deposit for the hit in the Azure District, and the attack took ce at the border of Huaiyuan. The two districts are far apart from each other, so there¡¯s nothing that can be determined from that." Xia Xing frowned.

    A map of the Middle Realm appeared in the air.

    "For a true expert, such a distance is not a problem," Xia Ziheng said.

    Xia Shenfei suddenly spoke up, "Is the Yu Hao who you first suspected still in Virtue Archives?"

    Xia Ziheng nodded. "He was a suspect because he was the only one who knew that the sect master would visit the Middle Realm, but when everything happened, he was in the Blue Moon District, which isn¡¯t far from the border of Huaiyuan."

 Chapter 2215: Overwhelming Power

    Chapter 2215: Overwhelming Power

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes were blurry from drinking too much. "The Virtue District is a ways away from the Blue Moon District, but it doesn''t look that far."

    Xia Xing was surprised. "Do you also suspect him?"

    Xia Shenfei burped. "If what you¡¯ve said before is true, then what could be impossible if he had the help of the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    "That''s why we need hard evidence, since this involves the Celestial Frost Sect," Xia Xing said.

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes flickered. "The Celestial Frost Sect can¡¯t rece the Lu family in just a day or two, though I am rather interested in this Yu Hao. Supposedly, Grandmaster Gu Yan spent decades training him, which is quite intriguing.¡±

    "Are you certain he is actually Yu Hao?"

    Xia Xing looked over at Xia Ziheng, who replied, "There¡¯s no sign of any sort of disguise. It¡¯s his real face and appearance. We¡¯ve observed everything that he¡¯s done since he¡¯s appeared, and it all lines up with what Yu Hao¡¯s expected to do."

    Xia Shenfei shrugged. A person¡¯s behavior could easily change, but it waspletely impossible for anyone to conceal themselves in front of a Semi-Progenitor, unless the person was at least as strong as the Semi-Progenitor in question. Why would such a powerhouse pretend to be Yu Hao?

    Was the person who had appeared the real Yu Hao? Xia Shenfei was getting more and more curious about this person.

    In the Virtue District, just a short ways away from the academy, Lu Yin met with Yu Chuan briefly before finding a ce to go into seclusion for a bit.

    He raised his hand and brought out his die. After tapping it, the die slowly spun around beforeing to a stop at three pips.

    Lu Yin had no intention of Enhancing anything, and he just stared at the two screens of light for a moment.

    The deposit that he had paid to Realmless had been the Netherworld River, and it had cost him about forty billion star essence to Enhance it to the Semi-Progenitor level. After upgrading the power vessel, Kui Luo had delivered it to the Azure District to a location that had been agreed upon with Realmless.

    This meant that Lu Yin only had a bit more than 160 billion star essence left. While that might sound like an exorbitant sum, it was not nearly enough. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current level, any sort of Enhancement would cost tens of billions of star essence. Upgrading something several times? Too expensive.

    Whenever Lu Yin felt like his funds were insufficient, he was reminded of the Junior Progenitors. That also reminded Lu Yin of the God of Food. The God of Food ran Hope Restaurant, which was on the Ind of Hope right in front of the Junior Progenitors. If it was possible to visit the God of Food on the Ind of Hope, then would it be possible to ¡°visit¡± the Junior Progenitors?

    The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. Before his thoughts ran away, Lu Yin deliberately suppressed them and quickly tapped his die again.

    It slowly came to a stop: four pips. This was easy enough, but it was also no surprise, as Timestop was usually quite easy to roll.

    After entering his Timestop Space, Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and Xia Xing.

    In order to prevent Xia Xing from recovering his strength and making trouble on Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin had made it a point to ask Progenitor Smoke to ce a minor restriction on Xia Xing''s body. Thus, the sect master was hidden behind a cloud of smoke and could not be seen by anyone else on the mountain

    After he was released from Zenith Mountain, a bit of fog slowly dissipated, and Xia Xing¡¯s body was finally revealed to Lu Yin.

    More than half a month had passed since Xia Xing had been attacked by Realmless and subsequently captured. While he had been unable to move during this time, his injuries had recovered a great deal.

    After the fog surrounding him dissipated, the sect master instantly attacked as soon as he saw Lu Yin. A knife shrouded with Divine Martial Armor shed out. It was a terrifying attack.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he slowly raised a hand. Shining stars surrounded him, and Xia Xing¡¯s de entered the area filled with stars. A nk expression appeared on the man¡¯s face, because as his knife fell, it dissipated and vanished until only a hilt was left in his hand. It looked like a child''s toy.

    The man stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. This was even more shocking than what this mysterious man had revealed to Xia Xing in the past.

    When the two had first shed, Lu Yin had used a single hand topletely suppress and tame Xia Xing¡¯s Divine Martial Armor, which had stunned the sect master. That scene had reyed itself again and again in his mind in the days since his capture. He still did not want to believe that the Xia family¡¯s almighty Divine Martial Armor could be suppressed so easily, which was why it had been Xia Xing¡¯s first attack when his captor revealed himself. Not only did Xia Xing want to use the knife attack to free himself of his captor, but he also wanted to verify what he had seen before. He was desperately hoping that what he had seen had been an illusion.

    Unfortunately, the results of the attack were even worse than before. Thebined power of the Divine Martial Armor and the Xia family¡¯s most powerful knife technique was not even able to touch Xia Xing¡¯s captor. Some mysterious power had easily dissolved the Divine Martial Armor. What power could be so horrifying? This was beyond even the Lu family¡¯s capabilities.

    "Are you Lu Xiaoxuan? What did you just do?" Xia Xing was badly frightened.

    Lu Yin had returned to his original appearance for this meeting, and he calmly faced Xia Xing. "Nothing much. It¡¯s just that your power can''t touch me."

    Xia Xing''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. These casual words were essentially eroding the very foundation that had upheld the Xia family for countless years.

    Their almighty Divine Martial Armor could not even touch this person?

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. Xia Xing? Impossible. After all, even Wang Si¡¯s power as a peak Envoy had beenpletely dissipated by Lu Yin. Everyone who had seen that exchange had been terrified by the power of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, but the fact that Lu Yin had tapped into the power of Progenitor Chen hadpletely overshadowed Lu Yin¡¯s own, personal mastery of the Cosmic Art. The truth was that Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities frightened even himself.

    Forget the Divine Martial Armor¡ªLu Yin was even capable of disintegrating the power of the Garan family, which had ruled over the Sixth Maind and wielded power on par with the Lu family. How could some Divine Martial Armorpare to the Garan family¡¯s unique power?

    "Impossible! My Xia family''s Divine Martial Armor is overbearing and invincible! How can it not even touch you?" Xia Xing shouted. He threw the handle of his knife away and thenunched a palm strike at Lu Yin, still using his Divine Martial Armor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s feet did not move, and he stood in ce as the palm strike shot towards his heart. However, by the time the attacknded, there was no force behind it. All of the attack¡¯s strength had been eliminated before it reached Lu Yin, erased by the miniature cosmos that was in Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    Xia Xing saw everything y out before him. He saw the stars revolve around Lu Yin, and he felt as though he was staring at a confined universe. Was this¡­ was this an inner world?

    "Are you a Semi-Progenitor?" Xia Xing eximed.

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold, and his index finger shot forward to press between Xia Xing''s eyes. "Sect Master Xia, you and I are entire worlds apart."

    Once Lu Yin finished speaking, Xia Xing was sent flying by an invisible force. The moment he was struck, his mind went nk, and all thoughts disappeared. Only when he felt the pain of being mmed into the ground did he recover from his daze. But even then, he could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood, and he could not even stand up straight.

    A person who had once stood high above Lu Yin and seemed to be unreachable was currently lying on the ground before him like a dead dog.

    The majestic ruler of one of the four ruling powers could be casually eliminated on a whim by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was eager tounch a massive war, lead the Fifth Maind against the Perennial World, and stomp out all resistance in their path. However, doing so was akin to a moth rushing into the me. The four ruling powers each had their own Progenitors, and even if Lu Yin had the capability to face the four ruling powers¡¯ full strength, he still had to take the Aeternals into consideration as well.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to act as he wished in life, as there were too many things that he needed to take care of or protect.

    Xia Xing panted as he struggled to prop himself up from the ground. The sky was spinning to him, especially Lu Yin¡¯s figure. Xia Xing¡¯s vision was blurry, and he could not focus on anything at all.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you can''t be a Semi-Progenitor, but you have clearly mastered some unimaginable power. This must be the power that was left for you by the Lu family," Xia Xing guessed as he stared at Lu Yin and slowly regained some rity.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Are you a clone or the main body?"

    Xia Xing''s eyes shed. "I am me. My nine clones have already be one."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, you¡¯re just a clone."

    There was absolutely no change to Xia Xing''s expression. "What are you going to do now that you¡¯ve captured me? Do you want to avenge the Lu family? That has nothing to do with me. My strength is not nearly enough to have affected the Lu family¡¯s banishment."

    "I want to know about the Xia family¡¯s portion of the restrictions ced on the members of Star Alliance," Lu Yin slowly said. He saw no reason to beat around the bush.

    Xia Xing''s pupils shrank. "You want to rescue Star Alliance?"

    Lu Yin said nothing.

    Xia Xing quietly asked, "How do you know that restrictions have been ced on the members of Star Alliance or that our four ruling powers each control a quarter of the whole? How did you even get back to the Perennial World? What happened to the army that we sent after you?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and a figurine appeared on his shoulder. It was God of mes.

    Xia Xing looked at the wax figurine in confusion.

    The next moment, the skin across his entire body started to break down. It seemed like it was about to disappear, and as this happened, terrible pain wracked the man¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was using Truesight¡¯s runes to erase the sect master¡¯s very existence. He had gained this power from God of mes, and it wasparable to a Semi-Progenitor. This was more than enough topletely erase Xia Xing.

    The sect master gritted his teeth and watched as his skin started to disappear while his flesh and blood was exposed. The fear ofpletely disappearing burgeoned in his heart. Given his past experiences in life and death crises, he felt like he was dropping into hell.

    He could not understand what sort of power he was facing. He had been born in the Perennial World and had not lived during the Daosource Sect era. He had never interacted with Truesight or runes before.

    "I''m questioning you. You are not questioning me," Lu Yin stated in an indifferent tone as he stared at Xia Xing with frigid eyes.

    Xia Xing dropped halfway down to his knees, struggling to endure the pain. "Since you¡¯ve already guessed that I¡¯m just a clone, then you already know that I don¡¯t fear death. It¡¯s impossible for you to get what you want from me."

    As soon as Lu Yin realized that he had only captured one of Xia Xing¡¯s clones, he had already known that it would be impossible for him to extract the information he wanted from the man. The clones that came from the Nine Clones Secret Technique did not fear death unless they wanted to rece the main body, as had been the case with Xia Luo.

    Lu Yin still had no understanding of this secret technique, or how the clones were connected to the main body. So even though Xia Xing was in front of him, he could not seize the initiative. Fortunately, there was still something that he wanted to try.

    "I was really hoping that you¡¯d be the main body, but unfortunately, you aren¡¯t," Lu Yin said, still speaking in a casual tone. He then pulled a bottle out from his cosmic ring that held a bit of liquid. "This is Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood."

    Xia Xing''s eyes grewrge, and he looked like he had just heard the most shocking bit of news in the universe. "Progenitor Chen''s blood?"

    Lu Yin simply removed the bottle¡¯s cap. "Feel it for yourself."

    The moment the bottle was uncapped, an ancient and domineering pressure descended, filling Lu Yin¡¯s Timestop Space.

    Despite preparing himself in advance, being directly exposed to Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood still briefly dazed Lu Yin. He felt like he had seen a giant standing in outer space, utterly invincible.

    This was the drop of Progenitor Chen''s blood that Lu Yin had obtained from Ku Wei, who had absorbed some of the Progenitor¡¯s blood from the blood pool that had been protected by the guardian giants in Progenitor Chen¡¯s Mausoleum. After using his die¡¯s Enhance, Lu Yin had improved the blood until it was as pure and powerful as if it hade from Progenitor Chen himself. This blood had originallye from Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone with the blood of the colossal giants. It was the same as what Gaia¡¯s Swamp¡¯s warden had absorbed after awakening long ago.

    The pressure from Progenitor Chen''s blood instantly made Xia Xing cough up even more blood, but the man did not even notice. The moment the pressure descended, the sect master had been able to sense its connection to his blood.

    Progenitor Chen and Xia Xing were both from the Xia family, and their blood shared the same origins. While the two men came from different branches of the family, Progenitor Chen had be a Progenitor, which meant that his blood was no different from the blood of the Xia family¡¯s founder, the first Progenitor in their family.

    Xia Xing was himself a direct descendant.

 Chapter 2216: Deviating Consciousness

    Chapter 2216: Deviating Consciousness

    Once the cap came off the bottle, Xia Xing felt a vague connection to it, which seemed unbelievable. There was a connection to this blood, and it felt like both he and the blood shared the same origin. Regardless of whether this blood actually belonged to Progenitor Chen, the resulting resonance left Xia Xingpletely certain that this blood belonged to a powerhouse of the Xia family.

    "Who- whose blood is that?" Xia Xing asked in shock as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied in a rxed manner, "I already told you, it¡¯s Progenitor Chen¡¯s."

    "That¡¯s impossible! Progenitor Chen never came to the Perennial World, and he died during the Daosource Sect era in the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds," Xia Xing denied.

    Lu Yinughed. "If Progenitor Chen never visited the Perennial World, then how could you know if he died or not?"

    Xia Xing wanted to retort, but he had no words.

    Although the sect master knew the truth regarding Progenitor Chen, he had not lived during the Daosource Sect era. Thus, he did not have any strong feelings about the matter. On top of that, Progenitor Chen had long since be a forbidden topic within the Xia family. The man had genuinely never considered the possibility of one day encountering Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    Xia Xing stared at the blood in a daze, not knowing whether he believed Lu Yin¡¯s words that it was truly Progenitor Chen''s blood. He did not even know if he wanted to believe Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    "Progenitor Chen, whose name was Xia Shang, came from Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Xia family," Lu Yin slowly exined, "He was a powerful Progenitor from the Xia family, and was truly invincible during his era."

    Xia Xing''s eyes kept flickering. Eventually, he could not resist looking back up at Lu Yin. "Do you want to trade this blood for the restriction method?"

    Lu Yin shook his head, much to Xia Xing''s confusion. Then, he slowly exined, "I won¡¯t trade it for the restriction method, but I will give you a chance to escape. Absorb the blood, and you might be able to get away from me."

    Xia Xing grew puzzled. "Why would you do that?"

    Lu Yin just responded with a small smile as he tossed the bottle of blood over to Xia Xing, who caught it.

    "Absorb it and let me see just how strong the Xia family¡¯s patriarch can be from absorbing Progenitor Chen''s blood," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Xing could not understand Lu Yin at all. Despite having Progenitor Chen''s blood, he made no attempt to trade it away, and instead, Xia Xing was simply given the blood. This was the blood of a powerful Progenitor from the Xia family, which was truly useful to the sect master.

    Xia Xing had been in charge of Shenwu''s Sky for many years, and he was decisive and ruthless. He certainly was not a hesitant person. After a moment¡¯s thought, he crushed the bottle and started absorbing Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    Lu Yin gave Xia Xing an odd look. Was Lu Yin an altruistic person? Absolutely not. However, he also wasn¡¯t some sort of battle maniac who simply wanted to fight against a Xia Xing strengthened by Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. No, that was not the reason at all. Instead, Lu Yin wanted the clone in front of him to break free from the control of Xia Xing¡¯s main body.

    Lu Yin might not be overly familiar with the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but he had seen that Xia Jiuyou had been able to absorb all of his clones aside from Xia Luo as his other clones did not fear death. Xia Xing had simrly said that he did not fear dying. Clones were simr to puppets, and was there any use in trying to tempt or threaten a puppet? Even if Xia Xing¡¯s clone looked like he was being tempted or threatened, Lu Yin did not believe it. Instead, Lu Yin would simply assume that the clones were doing everything for the benefit of the main body.

    In that case, Lu Yin would simply free this clone from its main body, which essentially meant that he had to make this clone Xia Xing¡¯s main body, just like how Xia Luo had reced Xia Jiuyou as the main body.

    While Lu Yin had no idea how Xia Luo had pulled it off, there was at least a 90% chance that absorbing Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood would make this clone the main body, which wouldpletely change the clone¡¯s perspective.

    Xia Luo had not been willing to be absorbed by Xia Jiuyou, so as soon as Xia Xing''s clone developed his own desires, he would also no longer be willing to be absorbed by the main body, which was Lu Yin''s goal.

    Xia Xing''s body turned red, and absorbing Progenitor Chen''s blood made his breath start to elerate. The man let out a roar, and his body started to growrger andrger as he transformed into a giant.

    Lu Yin was amazed. The Progenitor realm was the pinnacle of human power, and a Progenitor¡¯s mere blood could transform an Envoy, which showed just how amazingly powerful a Progenitor had to be.

    The various changes that took ce in Xia Xing happened quickly, and it also finished quickly. In just half an hour, he had be a colossal giant. He stared at Lu Yin within the Timestop Space, and then he suddenlyshed out and threw a punch at the tiny human. Xia Xing had be utterly confident that he could overpower Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head, but he did not move a single step from where he stood. Xia Xing released a vicious punch, but it had no effect.

    Xia Xing could not believe what he saw. How could such a thing be possible? He had absorbed Progenitor Chen''s blood, and he was now close to triggering his seventh stellr tribtion. Adding in the strength of this newly acquired colossal giant, he was confident that he could face off against even a peak Envoy, so how could his full might be useless against Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin sneered, and his pupils transformed into runes. He then used God of mes¡¯ runes to suddenly create a massive hand in midair that pped down onto Xia Xing¡¯s head, smashing the man to the ground.

    The amount of runes that belonged to God of mes wereparable to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s. The man had only ever reached the level of a peak Envoy, but after transforming into a candle and being Enhanced by Lu Yin, the candle¡¯s number of runes had risen to beparable to those of a Semi-Progenitor. Such power could easily suppress Xia Xing.

    Xia Xing''s body shrank more and more until he finally regained his original size. Hey on the ground and red up at Lu Yin, unwilling to ept this oue.

    Lu Yin bent over to look at the man with satisfaction. "I can see the desire to live within your eyes."

    Xia Xing frowned "What does that mean?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I gave you a chance to escape, but you failed. That means that I still control whether you live or die."

    "It doesn''t matter. I''m just a clone," Xia Xing replied in the same manner as before.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Who said that a clone can''t rece the main body?"

    Xia Xing''s eyes instantly red, as his mind started to race. Lu Yin¡¯s simple question opened up a new avenue of thoughts for the patriarch. Could a clone rece the main body?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes never left Xia Xing, and the change in the man¡¯s expression suggested that Lu Yin¡¯s efforts had seeded. Absorbing Progenitor Chen''s blood had freed the clone from the restraints of the main body, which gave him a new way of thinking.

    Just as Wang Si had introduced the concept of overthrowing the Lu family to the four ruling powers, Lu Yin had just introduced the previously foreign concept of freedom to Xia Xing''s clone.

    Certain thoughts or possibilities were too terrifying to consider, but once they urred, more and more changes would naturally soon develop.

    It was rather normal for soldiers to be fearless on the battlefield, but the moment one person fled in fear for their life, it introduced a new concept to others on the battlefield as well. This one small action would quickly cascade into more and more soldiers also fleeing.

    This change was taking ce in the mind of Xia Xing''s clone at this moment. Why did he have to die? Why was it necessary? He could live instead, and why was it impossible for him to rece the main body and be the true Xia Xing and the Xia family¡¯s patriarch? After all, Xia Xing was already the patriarch¡­

    The more the man thought about it, the more the clone wanted to follow these new desires, and his desire to live and survive grew stronger and stronger.

    Lu Yin squatted down next to Xia Xing. "Tell me about the restriction, and I can let you leave this ce alive. I¡¯ll even help you rece the main body."

    The clone stared up at Lu Yin in a daze, confused. Complicated thoughts and emotions assaulted the man, creating all kinds of differing internal conflicts as turbulent emotions shed. Just what was he supposed to do?

    This new line of thought made the clone like a child who had just obtained the ability to think for itself, and it caused the clone to fall into a state of confusion.

    "Why are you hesitating?" Lu Yin asked. "You are Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky and the patriarch of the Xia family. You can absorb the other clones, which means that you are the main body now."

    Xia Xing¡¯s pupils constricted. "This was your goal all along."

    Lu Yin smiled. This was what made the Nine Clones Technique so miraculous; each clone was capable of independent thought, but they were incapable of resisting the main body. It seemed that being absorbed by the main body was something innate to the clones, despite the fact that the clones were not mindless puppets. After all, if the clones were mere puppets, then how could each of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones be capable of destroying a Progenitor?

    Each of Progenitor Chen''s nine clones had been invincible, and yet it had been impossible for any of them to avoid being absorbed by the main body.

    Just these few words allowed Xia Xing''s clone to understand Lu Yin''s goal and open yet another new line of thought. The clone understood that he had previously had no way to resist being absorbed by the main body or sacrificing himself for the main body, but that had changed. He could resist now.

    "It''s quite interesting, isn''t it?" Lu Yin smiled.

    The clone just stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you are absolutely terrifying. You¡¯re nothing at all like how you used to be."

    Lu Yin stood back up and looked down at Xia Xing from up above. "My name is Lu Yin. Lu Xiaoxuan is dead."

    The clone¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could no longer tell Lu Yin that he was willing to die, as it was no longer true, and Lu Yin already knew that. There was no point in trying to bluff. The clone now wanted to absorb the main body in Shenwu¡¯s Sky and be the new main body.

    "You only want the restriction method?" Xia Xing asked.

    Lu Yin nodded, "Just tell me that, and I can let you leave this ce alive."

    Xia Xing''s clone let out a breath. "Trying to rescue the people of Star Alliance is far too difficult. Each of the four ruling powers have a quarter of the restriction method, so even if you get my Xia family¡¯s portion, what are you going to do about the other three parts?"

    "You don¡¯t need to worry about that," Lu Yin said.

    Xia Xingughed. "We managed to exile the entire Lu family, only to end up deceived by a mere Lu Xiaoxuan. What a joke!"

    After feeling all sorts of conflicting emotions, Xia Xing finally shared the Xia family¡¯s restriction method with Lu Yin.

    This meant that Lu Yin had already acquired half of the restriction method needed to free Star Alliance, as he had obtained the parts belonging to both the White Dragon n and the Xia n. Only half remained.

    "You said that you would let me go," the clone reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I will, but not yet."

    Xia Xing had not expected to be immediately released, as it was only expected for Lu Yin to worry about his presence in the Perennial World bing public knowledge, so this response was no surprise at all.

    "However, I¡¯ll offer you a deal. If you give me the Nine Clones Secret Technique, not only will I let you go, but I¡¯ll also help you absorb and rece the main body. In fact, I¡¯ll even teach you Progenitor Chen''s battle techniques. Would you like that?" Lu Yin suddenly offered as he stared at Xia Xing''s clone.

    The clone just responded with a wry smile. "I¡¯m willing to cooperate, but it¡¯s impossible."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew a slight bit more tense. "What do you mean?"

    The clone shrugged. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique is something that the main body cultivates, and the rest of us are created from the main body, which means that it¡¯s impossible for us to cultivate on our own initiative. This is a limitation inherent to the Nine Clones Secret Technique. First, it limits the clones¡¯ thoughts so that we can¡¯t resist the main body, not unless the main body isparatively weaker and we can break free from those limitations. The second limitation is that even if we want to resist, we can¡¯t absorb the main body, which is why I can¡¯t teach you the secret technique."

    Lu Yin stared at the clone, wondering if these words were true or not.

    Xia Xing calmly stared back at Lu Yin.

    After a while, Lu Yin averted his eyes and said, "I¡¯ll release you in a while."

    He then asked Progenitor Smoke toe out from the mirror and rece the restrictions on Xia Xing.

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s sudden appearance terrified Xia Xing. He did not dare to directly look at the woman, but he could not help but feel that she looked very familiar. He was sure that he had seen her somewhere before.

    Progenitor Smoke had apparently reached some sort of breakthrough in her research into Blood Alchemy, so she immediately returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror after recing the restrictions on Xia Xing. She did not say even a single word.

 Chapter 2217: Origins

    Chapter 2217: Origins

    In the outside world, chaos had descended due to the information of Realmless that had been released. Through it all, Virtue Archives remained rtively peaceful. At most, a few students returned to their families because of what their families were dealing with.

    This turn of events was actually a good thing. Regardless of how the four ruling powers fought against each other, many Redbacks and traitors were caught. More and more were captured as countless traitors were uncovered due to Realmless¡¯s information.

    As for the Dealcut Association, it was an organization that sold materials and resources from the rear battlefield, and it also manipted the battlefield¡¯s forces to ensure the safety of its paying clients. The organization was almost entirely uprooted, and even the group¡¯s leader in the second array base left.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had never made use of the Dealcut Association. It had been eliminated before he ever had the chance.

    A few months passed as the four ruling powers started capturing traitors. During this time, Lu Yin had been trying toe up with a n to obtain the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family¡¯s portions of the restriction that was used to control the members of Star Alliance.

    One day, Bai Weiwei arrived, looking for ¡°Hao Yu.¡±

    "You came here to ask me to escort you on a training mission?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.

    Bai Weiwei exined, "I need to travel across the Middle Ocean, but this task was actually given to me by my family. I need to kill a creature with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy on my own."

    "So why didn¡¯t you ask Prof. Bai to escort you?"

    "I did, but Prof. Bai isn¡¯t enough to ensure my safety, so I wanted to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu," Bai Weiwei replied. She then gave him a yful smile. "You can¡¯t say no, Professor. I have the credits to pay."

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "There¡¯s no problem if you have the credits. Where are we going in the Middle Ocean?"

    Bai Weiwei drew a map of the Middle Ocean. "This area will work fine."

    Lu Yin looked at the map, and he was surprised to see that an area close to the Ind of Hope had been chosen. He had been thinking about trying to find an opportunity to visit the Ind of Hope and get to the Junior Progenitors, and such an opportunity had just been given to him.

    Naturally, Bai Weiwei had not requested Lu Yin¡¯s protection while traveling across the Middle Ocean simply because of safety issues, but also because the Xia family¡¯s ploys were all too clear to the Celestial Frost Sect. They also wanted to try to win over Grandmaster Gu Yan, and this mission was to create an opportunity for them.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was finally ready to formally offer some conditions.

    News quickly spread that Bai Weiwei had asked Prof. Hao Yu to protect her during a mission, and of course, Nong Siniang was the first to object. However, since Bai Weiwei had paid credits for the service, there was nothing that Nong Siniang could do to stop the mission from taking ce.

    Wu Taibai also heard the news, and he immediately sent a report to Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor asked Wu Taibai to take Yu Chuan away. As long as the Xia family controlled Yu Chuan, Yu Hao could not run away. If the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to win Yu Hao over, then he would definitely demand his grandfather to be released. Thus, as long as Shenwu¡¯s Sky had Yu Chuan, that condition would be impossible to fulfill.

    The endless Middle Ocean surrounded the Middle Realm. Off in the distance, flocks of birds flew through the blue sky. Some of the birds created gusts of icy wind that sliced the ocean open so that the birds could catch some fish.

    It was a ce far off the coast of the Middle Ocean, and it was remote enough that it was possible to even encounter creatures at the Envoy level.

    ¡°Hao Yu,¡± Bai Weiwei, and Prof. Bai were all riding on a boat made from some folded white paper. It was a huge boat, and it had both a cabin and a deck that were created from the white paper, and the ship was almost asrge as a genuine ship.

    Prof. Bai was sitting at the stern of the boat and fishing. It was a very popr pastime.

    Bai Weiwei was standing at the bow, staring off into the distance. asionally, she looked down into the depths of the ocean, clearly searching for something.

    Lu Yin was leaning against a railing, rather bored. Still, he remained somewhat close to Bai Weiwei, as he was supposed to be ensuring her safety from any potential mishaps.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, if there aren¡¯t any creatures around here with the strength of an Envoy, then why don¡¯t we go somewhere else?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Lu Yin''s domain was firmly in the spirit manifestation realm, which meant that it was quite easy for him to notice powerful creatures through his domain.

    After checking a few directions, Lu Yin pointed a finger. "That way. I can feel that the creatures in that direction are stronger."

    Bai Weiwei immediately reacted.

    On the sea bed beneath them, a massive creature was being suppressed sopletely that it could not even move. It was as strong as a one-tribtion Envoy, but Lu Yin had thoroughly suppressed the creature, ensuring that neither Bai Weiwei nor Prof. Bai could discover the creature.

    How could he guide the two people closer to the Ind of Hope if they found a creature that matched their requirements so quickly and easily? Sure enough, Lu Yin had pointed in the general direction of the Ind of Hope.

    The little group had already spent over ten days roaming about the Middle Ocean.

    Prof. Bai found their situation rather odd. "We definitely should have run into some powerful astral beasts around here, so why haven¡¯t we found anything at all?"

    Bai Weiwei also found their situation rather odd, and she looked at ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "Prof. Hao Yu, why don''t we choose another direction?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sure."

    They had changed directions several times already, and while it appeared to Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai that they had traveled in multiple different directions, in truth, they were following Lu Yin¡¯s n. Inevitably, they would eventually reach the Ind of Hope.

    There was a ssh as Bai Weiwei rose up from the ocean. She waved a hand, and a massive sea turtle was thrown up into the sky.

    This turtle was as strong as an Enlighter, so it was clearly not the target of their mission.

    "What a pity. We still can¡¯t find one," Bai Weiwei said. "We¡¯ve already spent more time on this mission than I expected. I thought that I¡¯d be able to find something within this area of the Middle Ocean in ten days at the most."

    Prof. Bai spoke up, "Prof. Hao Yu, it¡¯s possible that your domain might be frightening the sea creatures away, so why don¡¯t I try."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "That¡¯s fine."

    Prof. Bai had also cultivated a domain, though he had not achieved much mastery over it. His domain could onlypare to an Enlighter¡¯s strength. Fortunately, it could spread quite far.

    Several more days passed, but Prof. Bai also failed to find any astral beasts with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy, or even a two-tribtion Envoy. However, they did encounter a massive beast that was so powerful that none of them could urately sense its strength. It passed by, high above the ocean, and the three humans were all too terrified to say a word until the beast was gone.

    The creature flew over the ocean by traveling through the true universe. Its passage overturned the ocean below and stirred up the sky above.

    "That thing¡¯s at least as strong as a six-tribtion Envoy! We¡¯re lucky that it didn¡¯t notice us." Prof. Bai''s face waspletely pale, as he was rather scared.

    Bai Weiwei simrly felt quite grateful. "We¡¯re too weak to attract its attention."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Or maybe we¡¯re just too small to fill its stomach."

    Prof. Bai was shocked. "That''s not very nice to hear."

    Lu Yin just smiled, and the three continued to search.

    "I''ve always been rather curious about where the Middle Ocean came from. It¡¯s home to so many powerful creatures. Has no one ever thought of moving these creatures onto the rear battlefield to help defend humanity?" Lu Yin asked.

    Prof. Bai lowered his fishing rod. "Any who attempt such a thing will be criminals who betray humanity."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why is that?"

    Prof. Bai turned to look at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Have you not read the books about the Middle Ocean, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯ve spent too much time focusing on books regarding cultivation and lockbreaking, as well as the records of Progenitor Wen. I haven¡¯t had the time to read anything else."

    Prof. Bai smiled. "Do you know about the Fifth Continent, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin''s expression never twitched. "Of course."

    The Fifth and Sixth Mainds were not regarded as forbidden topics within the Perennial World, but they only ever referred to the Fifth Maind as the Forsaken Land.

    "The Middle Oceanes from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral River. It¡¯s not just an ocean, as the Mother Tree¡¯s roots also need the water," Prof. Bai slowly exined.

    Bai Weiwei perked up. "I remember a bit about that. I think that First Senior Sister mentioned something about how many of the creatures in the Middle Ocean are connected to the Lower Realm and the Mother Tree¡¯s roots."

    Prof. Bai nodded. "That¡¯s no secret. Aeternus has always wanted to contaminate the Middle Ocean to destroy the Mother Tree¡¯s roots and eliminate the rear battlefield. Fortunately, the Middle Ocean is too massive, and some of the creatures living in it are more powerful beyond belief, which caused the Aeternals to fail. If they couldn¡¯t do it, then we humans can¡¯t either."

    "So the creatures in the Middle Ocean can theoretically reach the Mother Tree¡¯s roots?" This was rather shocking to Lu Yin, as he had never heard of such a thing.

    Prof. Bai nodded. "That¡¯s what¡¯s recorded in the books, though only a few people know how it works."

    "Prof. Bai, you mentioned that the Middle Oceanes from the Forsaken Land¡¯s Astral River, right?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Prof. Bai replied, "That¡¯s also what¡¯s recorded in the books, so it should be true. It¡¯s said that the Astral River of the Fifth Maind, which is now the Forsaken Land, once flowed around the Mother Tree and once connected all Six Mainds. The creatures in that river are incredibly powerful, and they can be thought of as the guardians of the Mother Tree¡¯s roots."

    Lu Yin understood. No wonder Kui Luo had wanted to catch the powerful creatures that asionally appeared in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral River.

    "What''s this?" Lu Yin squatted down and picked up a metallic item that had fallen on the deck of the paper boat. It was a small bit of pyrolyte that he had purposefully dropped.

    Upon learning that the Middle Ocean came from the Astral River, Lu Yin naturally wanted to find out where pyrolyte came from. After all, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral River held a tremendous amount of pyrolyte, though he could not allow these two people to learn where this tiny bit of pyrolyte hade from.

    Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei both looked at the small item. "That¡¯s what appears when the Mother Tree¡¯s roots decay. It¡¯s known as Mother Soil, but don¡¯t underestimate it. A single gram of Mother Soil can be incredibly destructive. It used to be used extensively on the rear battlefield, but unfortunately, it¡¯s too rare, so it¡¯s not used anymore."

    Bai Weiwei interjected, "It takes too long for the Mother Tree¡¯s roots to rot or decay, and our Perennial World simply isn¡¯t old enough. Supposedly, all of the Mother Soil that was once used was brought here by our seniors who brought the Mother Tree here."

    "It has to be admitted that the ce with the most Mother Soil has to be the Forsaken Land. Unfortunately, that makes it impossible to get," Prof. Baimented.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Mother Soil? Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei were both familiar with this information, and the people in the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Maind had to be aware of it as well. However, nothing had ever been mentioned, though it was expected that pyrolyte would be taken away when the New Corridor was restored.

    Mother Soil and microarray technology were most likely also the goals of the Perennial World¡¯s forces in the Fifth Maind.

    "Apparently, that creature just now got very close to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots," Prof. Baimented.

    The three people spent some time chatting as Prof. Bai continued to search for an astral beast with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy. As time passed, Bai Weiwei brought up the Xia family.

    "Sect Master Xia Xing¡¯s gone missing. As a result, Shenwu''s Sky went crazy and attacked all of Realmless¡¯s different bases, including their headquarters. Even then, it wasn¡¯t enough for them to recover from the damage that they suffered due to Xia Xing¡¯s disappearance. Of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n has always firmly been at the bottom, but Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s always been right beneath my Celestial Frost Sect. With this, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they get overtaken by the Wang family. No matter what, my Celestial Frost Sect will always remain the most powerful," Bai Weiwei proudly proimed.

    Lu Yin agreed, "It¡¯s true that there¡¯s no way the Xia family canpare to the Celestial Frost Sect."

    "If Grandmaster Gu Yan joins my Celestial Frost Sect, we will definitely improve by yet another level. Prof. Hao Yu, tell me, what are the conditions to get Grandmaster Gu Yan to agree to join us?" Bai Weiwei asked bluntly.

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Bai Weiwei continued to say, "I originally wasn¡¯t this anxious, but I know that Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng¡¯s taken your grandfather Yu Chuan out of Star Alliance. While we are certainly willing to try to free Yu Chuan, it won¡¯t be easy at all. This is why we need to understand your feelings on the matter. The sect is not willing to put in that much effort without some sort of guarantee."

    Lu Yin grew serious as he gazed at Bai Weiwei. "I want revenge. Xia Zhitong has to die, along with Xia Yuan, who supports her, and even the Xia family¡¯s branch in the Blue Moon District. My grandfather Yu Chuan needs to be rescued. If you can do all of that, I¡¯m more than happy to join the Celestial Frost Sect."

 Chapter 2218: Crossing The Ocean

    Chapter 2218: Crossing The Ocean

    After wandering around the Middle Ocean for a few more days, with Lu Yin¡¯s guidance, they finally saw the Ind of Hope.

    "Isn''t that the Ind of Hope? I didn''t think that we¡¯d end up here." Prof. Bai was amazed, and envy filled her eyes.

    Who in the entire Perennial World did not want to visit the Ind of Hope? Youthspeted for the title of Junior Progenitor and the opportunity to enter the Dominion Realm here, and older cultivators would choose a Junior Progenitor to follow them because the Junior Progenitors were guaranteed to be Progenitors in the future, and the future was limitless for a Progenitor¡¯s followers.

    However, Bai Weiwei had not been qualified to follow any of the four Junior Progenitors because she had been too weak during their selection process

    "Since we¡¯vee all the way to the Ind of Hope, we might as well go take a look! Let''s go," Bai Weiwei said excitedly.

    However, Prof. Bai hesitated. "That¡¯s not a good idea. Before thepetition to determine the Junior Progenitors¡¯ teams to enter the Dominion Realm starts, no one is allowed to step foot onto the Ind of Hope."

    The Ind of Hope was the entryway to the Junior Progenitors, which only those elite few recognized as Junior Progenitors and their followers were allowed to enter. Even the title of Junior Progenitor only existed for a limited amount of time, and it was given exclusively to those who were victorious during the Yuanlun Festival. Even if other geniuses were born in different eras and had power that matched or even exceeded the Junior Progenitors¡¯, they could not receive the title.

    The Junior Progenitors were the only ones who were given the opportunity to go to the Dominion Realm topete for Origin Matter, as even here, there was not an excess of Origin Matter. This was also why the Fifth Maind always chose to send people into the Perennial World immediately after the Yuanlun Festival concluded.

    Of course, not being able to go to the Dominion Realm and fight for Origin Matter did not mean that it was impossible to obtain Origin Matter. Rather, the method to obtain it waspletely different.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s point of view, the Junior Progenitors¡¯ excursion to the Dominion Realm was nothing more than a ritual or a ceremony.

    Was it possible that Bai Shaohong and the other Junior Progenitors would not be given Origin Matter if they did not find any in the Dominion Realm? That was impossible. Was there no way for the elites before and after Bai Shaohong¡¯s generation to have an opportunity to obtain Origin matter? That was also impossible.

    The most obvious example of this was the Seven Heroes. There was no Yuanlun Festival during their time, but everyone had been utterly confident that they would reproduce the glory of controlling the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas. Only Progenitors could control the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas, and it took a truly exceptional Progenitor to aplish that feat.

    It was impossible to be a Progenitor without Origin Matter, which meant that there had to have been some way for the Seven Heroes to obtain it.

    The fact of the matter was that, regardless of whether someone could get Origin Matter, climbing past the Ind of Hope to reach the resources and other benefits that were on the Junior Progenitors did not depend on the age in which a person was born. Rather, it depended on their own strength.

    Things like justice and luck were only facades used by ordinary people.

    Prof. Bai was a rather ordinary individual, and so to his knowledge, only the Junior Progenitors and their followers could ascend past the Ind of Hope, and the time of the Junior Progenitors had already passed. Even if the man was an Envoy, he was still a rtively average individual.

    Bai Weiwei lifted her head high. "Who¡¯s going to stop us?"

    Prof. Bai was caught off guard. It wasmon knowledge that the Ind of Hope was off limits unless one had permission, but who enforced that restriction? It could only be the four ruling powers, and to some extent, Bai Weiwei could act as a representative of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Let''s go," Bai Weiwei gently pushed.

    There was no more hesitation, and Prof. Bai guided the paper boat towards the Ind of Hope.

    Lu Yin never said a word. He could not voice his desire to step onto the Ind of Hope, so he had purposefully stayed silent and left the decision to Bai Weiwei.

    It was not long before theynded on the Ind of Hope.

    Lu Yin actually felt a bit emotional when he returned to the ind. When hest visited this ce, he had been escorted by Long Kui. He had benefited greatly that time, but there was no telling if he would be simrly sessful this time.

    During hisst visit, Lu Yin had not spent much time observing the Ind of Hope. While walking across the ind with Bai Weiwei, he found the ce to be no different than any other ce. It seemed that the greatest difference was the presence of the Junior Progenitors.

    The four Junior Progenitors hung beyond the Ind of Hope, and it was only possible to see them from Hope Restaurant.

    After half a day of walking, the three people arrived at Hope Restaurant. There was absolutely no one on the entire ind, and the only sounds were those of birds, beasts, and insects.

    Bai Weiwei looked up at Hope Restaurant. "So is this the legendary Hope Restaurant?"

    Prof. Bai stared at the restaurant. He had never even imagined that there woulde a day when he would visit this ce.

    "Prof. Bai, I heard that there¡¯s an old senior from the academy here, right?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Prof. Bai replied, "I''ve heard that as well, but I don¡¯t know the details."

    Bai Weiwei nced over at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and Lu Yin spoke up. "There¡¯s an old senior here who¡¯s known as the God of Food."

    Bai Weiwei was surprised. "Why do they call him that?"

    "How do you know about that, Prof. Hao Yu?" Prof. Bai also felt quite surprised.

    Lu Yinughed. "I met that senior by coincidence, and he¡¯s the one who invited me to be an instructor at the academy."

    "So that''s what happened." Prof. Bai instantly understood. He had joined Virtue Archives before Lu Yin, so there was no reason for him to not know the information that Lu Yin was privy to. This was the easiest exnation that made sense.

    There was no more hesitation as the three people climbed up to the restaurant. There, they were finally able to make out the hazy form of the four Junior Progenitors far off in the distance. At the same time, delicious food appeared on a table in front of them.

    "This is the famous food of Hope Restaurant! Let¡¯s try it!" Bai Weiwei was quite intrigued, and while eating, she stared at the Junior Progenitors with glowing eyes.

    Prof. Bai was not the only average cultivator, as Bai Weiwei was the same. At the very least, she was not exceptional enough to break the rules.

    The delicious food appeared without warning, and whenever the tes were emptied, new ones appeared.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It looks like Senior is afraid that we¡¯ll starve."

    A respectful expression suddenly appeared on Prof. Bai¡¯s face.

    Bai Weiwei quickly got to her feet. "Virtue Archives student Bai Weiwei respectfully asks Senior God of Food to reveal himself."

    As soon as Prof. Bai heard the young woman, he leaped to his feet and offered a bow of his own. "Bai Lin, instructor from Virtue Archives, respectfully requests that Senior show himself."

    Lu Yin also rose to his feet. "Hao Yu, instructor from Virtue Archives, respectfully requests Seniors to show himself."

    There was no response. The three people repeated their request, but there was still no response.

    "Forget it. It appears that Senior doesn''t want to be disturbed by us, so let''s just leave after finishing our food," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Weiwei replied, "Since I came to the Ind of Hope, it¡¯d be a pity to not visit the Junior Progenitors."

    As soon as she finished speaking, she left the restaurant and started making her way towards the Junior Progenitors.

    Prof. Bai was startled, and he hurried after her.

    Lu Yin simrly followed.

    They soon arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor. Bai Weiwei moved towards the, but an irresistible, yet gentle force stopped her. She stopped and said, "Bai Weiwei, disciple of the Celestial Frost Sect, wishes to enter the Junior Progenitor."

    "If you are not a Junior Progenitor, then you are not allowed to enter the," a voice replied.

    Lu Yin and Prof. Bai arrived at that moment, and when they looked down at the Junior Progenitor and saw the endless star essence, the sight caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to sparkle.

    Bai Weiwei was unwilling to back down. "I am the most outstanding disciple of my generation in the Celestial Frost Sect, and I amparable to Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong when he was my age. Do I really not qualify to visit the Junior Progenitor?"

    A man stepped out of the Junior Progenitor. He was Senior Cheng Tian, who was the guardian of the Junior Progenitor. Each of the fours had several Envoys who served as guardians, and Senior Cheng Tian was a powerhouse who was a six- tribtion Envoy.

    The guardian and Bai Weiwei stared at each other. "I truly would like to allow you in, but we cannot break the rules. I would be the one responsible for allowing you in, unless you are able to obtain the consent of the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect."

    The guardians had volunteered to take on their task not only because they wished to retire on the Junior Progenitors, but also because they wanted to rely on the Junior Progenitors. After all, those four youths had a very good chance of eventually bing Progenitors, which was why so many people were eager to follow and support the youths; it was purely because of their potential. Serving a Junior Progenitor was an opportunity that was out of reach of the vast majority of cultivators.

    Bai Weiwei was indeed the most outstanding disciple of her generation in the Celestial Frost Sect. So despite being a six-tribtion Envoy, Cheng Tian was eager to support the young woman. The old man knew that he had reached his limits and could not improve any further, but if he obtained a higher status, then those barriers could be surpassed.

    Thus, the man was not lying when he said that he wished that he could allow Bai Weiwei to enter the, as things would greatly improve for him if the young woman received the title of Junior Progenitor. However, rules were rules.

    Bai Weiwei frowned. "If you let me in, I will ept your support."

    Cheng Tian shook his head in a helpless manner. "I''m sorry."

    The man would not ce all of his hopes onto a single person or generation. His strength meant that he had a long life ahead of him, and as long as he remained the chief guardian of the Junior Progenitor, he would continue to meet geniuses who had the potential to be Progenitors. Risking this position by breaking the rules for a single individual was not worth it at all.

    Bai Weiwei¡¯s attempts to talk her way in were useless, and she eventually had no choice but to leave.

    Aside from visiting Hope Restaurant and seeing the Ind of Hope, she had gained nothing at all from this visit.

    Even when she was back on the paper boat, Bai Weiwei was very reluctant to ept the current situation. "If I wasn¡¯t just a few decades toote, Bai Shaohong might not have been the Junior Progenitor!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. From his judgment, Bai Shaohong had been much more impressive than Bai Weiwei was. Did people actually believe that there was an element of luck to bing one of the four Junior Progenitors? That waspletely wrong. Unless one reached a certain threshold of power, then even if they surpassed everyone else in their generation, it would not be enough to stand up to the other three Junior Progenitors.

    The four Junior Progenitors had received their titles by relying purely on their own strength. If Bai Weiwei had been born at the same time as Bai Shaohong, then she would have at best beenparable to Nong Sanniang or Liu Hao.

    The sky darkened above the Middle Ocean, and a luminous silver fish shot into the sky from the depths of the ocean, where it shot out a beam of light.

    Aboard the paper boat, Prof. Bai turned pale. "Not good! That creature¡¯s as strong as a four-tribtion Envoy!"

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± quickly set up a sourcebox array to block the beam of light, and then both Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei attacked the beam in an attempt to weaken it. The three of them fought for a bit less than half an hour before driving the silver fish off.

    By the time the sky recovered to its former brilliance, Prof. Bai was almostpletely drained, and Bai Weiwei was also gasping for breath.

    Puff!

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± spat out a mouthful of blood, and Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai quickly moved over to assist him. "Prof. Hao Yu, what¡¯s wrong?"

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± looked terrible, and he continued to cough up more blood. "I was barely able to keep the sourcebox array stable against those attacks, and I ended up being badly injured. I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be able to help you for several days."

    Bai Weiwei still felt quite grateful. "If not for your help just now, we would have died. Let¡¯s find a ce to rest while you spend a few days recovering, Professor."

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± nodded, and he took a seat in the paper boat, still looking extremely pale.

    However, the Yu Hao who was present was actually someone else, as Tong Yu had adopted Hao Yu¡¯s appearance and reced Lu Yin.

    After agreeing to travel to the Middle Ocean with Bai Weiwei, Lu Yin had contacted Tong Yu and asked her to follow them from a distance and be ready to rece Lu Yin at any given moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal for visiting the Middle Ocean was not to waste time, but rather to obtain the resources that were on the Junior Progenitors.

    Everyone in the Perennial World knew that the resources on the Junior Progenitors were provided by everyone in the Perennial World. After all, the Junior Progenitors were not supposed to merely represent the four ruling powers, but rather the entire Perennial World. They were supposed to be geniuses who were supported and raised by all of humanity.

    However, the Junior Progenitors were under theplete control of the four ruling powers. While the current generation¡¯s Liu Que was incredibly powerful, he was still barred from using the resources that had been gathered and sent to the Junior Progenitors. The fours had be the private property of the four ruling powers.

    Since that was the case, Lu Yin was happy to help himself to what was avable.

    He had first asked Tong Yu to pretend to be him. Then, so that no ws would be discovered in her act, Lu Yin had lured the silver fish with the strength of a four-tribtion Envoy over and feigned a serious injury. This would prevent Tong Yu from interacting too much with Bai Weiwei, during which Lu Yin would sneak back onto the Ind of Hope while hidden by Progenitor Smoke. In the end, Lu Yin was able to get to the Junior Progenitors without the God of Food noticing anything.

 Chapter 2219: Absurd Upgrades

    Chapter 2219: Absurd Upgrades

    As Lu Yin looked down at the seemingly endless mountains of star essence on the ground below, he took several deep breaths. The ce smelled of money and power.

    Finally, the day hade where he no longer needed to worry about how much he spent, where he could carelessly consume without any restraint.

    "I don''t understand why you need so much star essence. You¡¯re already cultivating with stellr energy, not star energy." Progenitor Smoke felt rather surprised as she observed Lu Yin. She felt this guy was keeping some secrets from her.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Senior, um, could you- I mean, this junior- Could you please return to the mirror?"

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s brow furrowed. "What¡¯s that supposed to mean? You don¡¯t want me to watch? What are you going to do, cross the river and tear down the bridge? Brat, you¡¯re really pushing things!"

    Lu Yin quickly apologized, and he also tried to offer some reassurances. "This junior has a secret, and while I don¡¯t want to hide it from you, Senior, it¡¯s really awkward for other people to see it. All this junior can do is make a promise to you, Senior. In a few days, I¡¯ll share this secret with you, and in the best oue, you might be freed from your prison."

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes grewrge. "Free me? Are you certain? Can you actually do that?"

    Lu Yin remained firm. "I¡¯m going to try. So, Senior, could you¡­?"

    Before Lu Yin could even finish asking his question, Progenitor Smoke had already returned to the pocket dimension within the mirror. Before vanishing, she did leave a warning. "I¡¯ll tell you this right now¡ªif you fail, or prove that it will be impossible in the future, you can forget about getting any more help from me again."

    Lu Yin stored the mirror away. He did not question Progenitor Smoke''s resolve in the slightest. After all, the woman controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but a puny three-tribtion Envoy had used the woman on multiple asions. Even if Progenitor Smoke had not said anything, Lu Yin knew full well that she was notfortable with her situation.

    Regardless, Lu Yin could not casually reveal his innate gift. Kui Luo had seen Lu Yin use his die once, but he was not clear on the specifics. Even if Progenitor Smoke did not fully understand what she saw, she was still far more perceptive than a Semi-Progenitor.

    If possible, it was best for Lu Yin to not reveal his secrets.

    Since he had promised to do his best to free Progenitor Smoke, Lu Yin made sure that the first thing that he would Enhance would be the needle-like weapon.

    While he wanted to Enhance the slipper, he was not sure if even the exorbitant resources avable on the Junior Progenitors were enough to upgrade the slipper even a single time. ording to his rough estimates, each of the Junior Progenitors held somewhere between 300 billion to 500 billion star essence, but it would probably take multiple trillions of star essence to fully Enhance the slipper even once. Even if the slipper was Enhanced to the level where it could kill a Progenitor, it would be worthless if Lu Yin could not get close to a Progenitor. Thus, its current level suited Lu Yin¡¯s abilities. On the other hand, it was still worthwhile to Enhance the needle-like weapon.

    Of all the various power vessels that Lu Yin possessed, the needle-like weapon was the only one that could potentially be improved enough to be able to help free Progenitor Smoke. At the moment, Progenitor Smoke was only able to exert the power of a Semi-Progenitor outside of the mirror because of the needle-like weapon and the slipper.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was on the Junior Progenitor that belonged to Shenwu¡¯s Sky. The guardians of the had already been knocked out, so Lu Yin raised a hand and brought his die out. He simply needed to roll three pips.

    Lu Yin did not have a cosmic ring big enough to take away all the star essence that was on the, so even rolling Timestop would be useless.

    His luck was not great, as his first rollnded on ckhole Disassembly and the second on Timestop. Then, he spent nearly a year in the Timestop Space, training with the Cosmic Art. He had considered storing as much star essence as possible in his cosmic ring and trying to enhance some things while in the Timestop Space, but he had almost immediately realized that it would not work. Then, he had instead concentrated entirely on the Cosmic Art.

    His third roll was Gift Copy, and only on his third roll did he manage to roll Enhance.

    Lu Yin stared at the two screens formed from light, and he started to move his arms. He needed to shift massive amounts of star essence over.

    He already knew that it would be incredibly expensive to upgrade the needle-like weapon even once. After all, it could already shatter a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world at its base level, so there was no way that Enhancing it would be cheap.

    460 billion. It cost a total of 460 billion star essence to Enhance the weapon a single time.

    Lu Yin stared at the seemingly unchanged weapon and gulped nervously. He had never before spent so much star essence on any Enhancement before.

    Almost all of the star essence on Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor had been consumed. All that remained was a thinyer that covered the surface, and Lu Yin only left that behind to prevent the loss of star essence from being seen by the God of Food who was in Hope Restaurant.

    After seeing just how much money he had consumed with this single upgrade, Lu Yin could not help but feel rather shaken.

    He slowly picked the weapon up, but there seemed to be no difference at all.

    It was extremely cold to the touch, but Lu Yin did not dare to try to test the weapon out, as he could not risk breaking anything. Also, there was a good chance that the God of Food would notice any drastic changes.

    He looked down at his cosmic ring and then out at the other Junior Progenitors.

    There was nothing else that Lu Yin could Enhance while on the same Junior Progenitor. After realizing that, he pulled out the mirror and asked Progenitor Smoke to take him to the next one.

    Aftering out, Progenitor Smoke automatically nced around, and curiosity and disbelief quickly covered her face. "Where did so much star essence go?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, it''s really inconvenient to tell you this junior¡¯s secrets, but don''t worry. After leaving this ce, this junior is confident that I will be able to help you release more of your strength."

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin for a long moment, though she said nothing. Finally, she took him to the next Junior Progenitor.

    The next one was the Junior Progenitor that belonged to the White Dragon n. This was the ce where Lu Yin had plotted to prevent Nong Lie and several others from being selected as members of Long Tian¡¯s team in the Dominion Realm. That had given Lu Yin the opportunity to go instead.

    He had also used a good bit of star essence on the, though it had been a negligible amount in the scope of the entire.

    The mirror quickly went back into his cosmic ring. Lu Yin had already decided what he wanted to Enhance next, which was the Withered Bark that possessed the power of time.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s mind, Progenitor Ku was someone very, very important. While the man had not possessed Progenitor Chen''s domineering invincibility, Progenitor Hui''s iparable intelligence, or the Rune Progenitor¡¯s mysteriousness, when it came to sheer endurance and determination, Progenitor Ku had been without equal. Even Progenitor Smoke had admitted that Progenitor Ku was virtually unkible, and Wang Miaomiao, who was Forgotten Ruins God, had mentioned the same thing.

    Progenitor Ku had possessed the courage to charge into the heart of Aeternus on his own. His confidence hade from his own power.

    The Withered Bark that Lu Yin had was a power vessel that Progenitor Ku had personally left behind.

    Lu Yin had already mastered Extremes Must Be Reversed, which essentially allowed a dead tree to sprout anew. And yet, this Withered Bark possessed the power of time. Lu Yin had long since started wondering how Progenitor Ku¡¯s power was connected to the power of time, as there was no record of such a thing in the Ku family.

    The only mention of it hade from Ku Rong, who had imed that Progenitor Ku had mastered the power of time, though the man¡¯s only evidence to support his im was the Withered Bark.

    Lu Yin felt that there had to be a reason for why the Withered Bark held the power of time, but given Progenitor Ku¡¯s low-key personality, it was impossible for anyone to know just what the man hadprehended.

    Lu Yin has seen just how miraculous the power of time could be from Wendy Yushan and Chu Yuan, as well as when he had personally traveled through time and space. He had practically witnessed the entire history of humanity! Lu Yin had a very powerful desire to master the power of time, even if the chances were minuscule.

    Lu Yin calmly stared at the Withered Bark as he rested for ten days. After the required time had passed, he resumed rolling his die.

    He watched as the die slowly came to a stop, and when he saw that itnded on six pips, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Next, he appeared in the dark space that was filled with orbs of light of varying brightness. There was no time to waste, so he immediately shot towards a bright light and merged with it.

    When he opened his eyes, Lu Yin found himself on a violent battlefield. It was dark, and a massive formation was underfoot. He was on the rear battlefield.

    Several corpse kings in front of Lu Yin attacked him, and he dodged out of reflex. He had Possessed a five-tribtion Envoy, so he easily retreated into the true universe. However, all of the attacking corpse kings were also at the Envoy level, and one had even undergone a Green Eyes Transformation and revealed an innate gift. It was the corpse king that the Possessed person had been wariest of.

    Memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin finally knew whom he had Possessed.

    This man was amander of the fourth array base: Jiu Zizai. He was the most powerful of the array base¡¯s colonels, and he was essentially the second-inmand of the array base. Jiu Zizai was even more powerful than Colonel Zhuo, whom Lu Yin had met before.

    If this was all there was to the man, then Lu Yin would immediately end the Possession.

    However, Lu Yin had already learned from Jiu Zizai¡¯s memories that the man was actually a Redback. During the second battle that he had participated in on the rear battlefield, thousands of years ago, he had been recruited and turned, bing a Redback. He had killed his ownrades and begged the Aeternals for mercy. Marquis Wu Yi, one of the Twelve Marquises, had personally overseen Jiu Zizai¡¯s training.

    For nearly a thousand years, Jiu Zizai had never been asked to do a single task. All that had happened was that Aeternus had tried to avoid affecting the man¡¯s time on the second array base. He had eventually risen from being an Enlighter, to a five-tribtion Envoy. All of Jiu Zizai¡¯s aplishments on the battlefield had been provided to him by Marquis Wu Yi, solely to improve the man¡¯s status even further.

    Jiu Zizai was already the most powerful of the fourth array base¡¯s colonels, and he answered only to his general and themander of the rear battlefield. After just one more breakthrough, Jiu Zizai would be a useful tool for Marquis Wu Yi.

    Through the memories that he saw, Lu Yin learned that Marquis Wu Yi had never asked this colonel to do anything at all on the rear battlefield. The five array bases operated as a unified whole, so even if Jiu Zizai managed to be a Semi-Progenitor or was promoted to be the general of an entire array base, he would never be able to influence the entire battlefield.

    Rather, Jiu Zizai would be the most useful if he eventually returned to the Perennial World from the rear battlefield. Only then would he start to serve his designated purpose.

    The possibilities avable to a powerhouse who had survived the rear battlefield for thousands of years and had risen up to be a six or seven-tribtion Envoy were unimaginable. Every organization would court such an expert, and he would be the most important Redback in the entire Perennial World in a single step.

    The memories that Lu Yin saw left him shocked. Most people believed the rear battlefield to be a dam that existed to block Aeternus from entering the Perennial World, and it was indeed the Aeternals¡¯ greatest obstacle.

    However, there were many people in the same position as Jiu Zizai on the rear battlefield. The Aeternals had an excellent grasp of the weaknesses of human nature. As long as a person wanted to survive, they could be easily coerced into bing a Redback, especially after they returned to the Perennial World.

    No one would suspect these people, and even Humility¡¯s Gate would hesitate to question such heroes, as there would be terrible bacsh from making a mistake.

    Lu Yin controlled Jiu Zizai''s body in a fight against the corpse king, though it was a struggle for him to not simply force the body tomit suicide. Still, after thinking about it, Lu Yin held himself back. Since he had managed to uncover Jiu Zizai as a Redback, there was nothing that the man could keep hidden from Lu Yin. It might even be possible to use the man as a double spy and learn about Aeternus¡¯s secrets.

    Also, it was true that Jiu Zizai had never done anything to harm humanity. On the contrary, Marquis Wu Yi had deliberately allowed the man to aplish impressive achievements, though everything was actually thanks to the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin suddenly had a strange idea; if arge number of people turned traitor and tried to join Aeternus as Redbacks, then would the Aeternals work to give all of those people impressive military achievements to help them get promoted? How much would the Aeternals be willing to cough up to improve the statuses of their Redbacks?

    After all, any costs would be recovered if the people were truly Redbacks, but what sort of losses would the Aeternals suffer if the Redbacks were not truly traitors to humanity?

    As soon as this idea urred to Lu Yin, he could not dismiss it. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter, and he ended up being so distracted by his thoughts that he was almost taken out by a corpse king.

    After all, none of the corpse kings present were aware Jiu Zizai was a Redback. They were truly trying to kill him. Only the most powerful corpse kings on the battlefield, the ones that posed a genuine threat to the colonel, were aware of his status. They were the ones who would create opportunities for Redbacks during critical moments.

 Chapter 2220: Chaotic Time And Space

    Chapter 2220: Chaotic Time And Space

    Marquis Wu Yi had already died in the Fifth Maind, and Jiu Zizai''s memory revealed that no one else from the upper echelons of Aeternus had made contact with him recently. He had simply been waiting. Waiting for the day when he would leave the rear battlefield and return to the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin was just about to end the Possession when another memory popped up. Surprisingly, this was about the Dealcut Association.

    Lu Yin quickly examined the memory.

    ording to the man¡¯s memories, Jiu Zizai had also joined the Dealcut Association, and he had be a high-level executive. His mere existence was considered top secret, which was why he had not been mentioned in any of the information that had been recovered by Realmless, and it was also why there were no other references to the colonel either.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. In truth, the Dealcut Association had never been eliminated. Their top members were not even known, as they were all just as secretive as Jiu Zizai.

    While Realmless had records of many of the Dealcut Association¡¯s high-level members, all of those people were rtively public. At the very least, the four ruling powers did not know about a single six-tribtion powerhouse in the Dealcut Association, let alone someone like a colonel on the rear battlefield.

    Zuo Lingzhu was quite famous within the Dealcut Association, but that was entirely because of his nephew, Zuo Shan.

    Lu Yin ended the Possession, and his consciousness returned to his body.

    He had gained quite a bit of information from this Possession, and Colonel Jiu Zizai was more valuable than Lu Yin had initially expected. First, he had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, using them to rise through the ranks of the rear battlefield and avoiding risking his own life. At the same time, he had also joined the Dealcut Association, and that was entirely for his personal material gain.

    In fact, Marquis Wu Yi did not even know that Jiu Zizai had joined the Dealcut Association.

    The colonel was both ambitious andpetent, and the only bad stroke of luck was that he had been discovered by Lu Yin. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s Possession ability, how would anyone have ever discovered the truth about Jiu Zizai?

    Furthermore, there was definitely more than one Redback like Jiu Zizai, and it was impossible to know just how many Redbacks existed in the Perennial World. It was a truly chilling thought.

    Lu Yin looked at the star essence still beneath him. It was quite a pity that he could not reveal his innate gift or control the entire human race. If either of those things were possible, he could gather all of humanity¡¯s resources and roll the die continuously. In that way, he would be able to expose all of the Redbacks in existence, no matter how many of them there might be.

    Lu Yin stopped that line of thought and stretched out his hand, bringing the die back out. It slowly spun around, only tond on five pips. Gift Copy was useless. Again. The third roll showed two pips. Useless. Again. Three pips.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief as he stared at the two screens of light. At least he would not have to wait for another ten days.

    Ten days had passed since Tong Yu had reced Lu Yin, and the n could only let her rece him for no longer than half a month. Lu Yin could not take too long, as it was only a matter of time before his actions on the Junior Progenitors were discovered. Then, the four ruling powers would scramble to hunt the culprit down. The longer Lu Yin took to heal, the more suspicious he would appear.

    He took out the Withered Bark and ced it on the upper screen, immediately throwing out exaggerated amounts of star essence. He had no idea how much star essence it would take to Enhance this power vessel, but he was ready to find out.

    100 billion. It turned out that, only after a full 100 billion star essence was consumed, did the Withered Bark with the power of time finally fall out from the lower screen.

    At this moment, not only was space around the Withered Bark being distorted, but there were also faint gray swirls that could be briefly seen from time to time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breath halted when he saw the gray, as this color had left a very deep impression on him. This was the color that covered everything whenever he met with Mister Mu. Every time Lu Yin¡¯s master had caused time and space to freeze, it had caused this same gray color to appear. Thus, in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, this was the color of frozen time and space.

    In addition to the flickering gray color, the asional bursts of lightning that passed over the Withered Bark caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to skip a beat each time they appeared. It was clear that this lighting was not as simple as it appeared to be.

    A Withered Bark with the power of time¡­ Lu Yin grew excited, and he put the power vessel back on top of the upper screen. Luckily, it was indeed possible to Enhance it again.

    This upgrade proved different. The Withered Bark had already been improved three times before, and its runes wereparable to a peak Envoy¡¯s. The most recent Enhance had caused its number of runes to rise to the Semi-Progenitor level, and the lightning that appeared was even reminiscent of an inner world. Lu Yin believed that this Withered Bark had already reached a levelparable to the needle-like weapon, and another Enhance might cause it to reach the Progenitor level.

    Lu Yin panicked a tiny bit. There had been no detectable changes in the needle-like weapon after being Enhanced, but what would happen to the Withered Bark? Would it also show no reaction?

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin decided to proceed regardless of what would happen. If he could Enhance the Withered Bark, then he would do so. Besides, it was impossible to take away all of the star essence on the Junior Progenitor, and leaving such resources behind would just be leaving more for the four ruling powers to use against himself.

    Lu Yin kept throwing more and more star essence out to upgrade the Withered Bark. 50 billion, 100 billion, 150 billion, 200 billion, 250 billion¡­ 400 billion. He stared at the Withered Bark, but it was only about two thirds of the way through the Enhancement process. Already, he could see more and more swirls of gray appearing around the power vessel, and the lightning flickering across it had be absolutely terrifying.

    Lu Yin swallowed. There was no more star essence on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, aside from a surfaceyer to disguise what Lu Yin was doing. He removed all of the star essence from his cosmic rings and quickly continued improving the Withered Bark.

    500 billion. 560 billion. In the end, it cost a total of 560 billion star essence to Enhance the Withered Bark again, which made this upgrade the most expensive one that Lu Yin had ever performed. Lu Yin was truly scared of the cost, as without the Junior Progenitors, he would have never been able to conduct such an absurd upgrade. It would have been far, far too costly.

    Not even the four ruling powers could casually mobilize or use so much star essence. He had actually used up everything that had been on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor, as well as his own reserves.

    At this moment, the Withered Bark waspletely shrouded in the gray color, and there were also faint flickers of lightning.

    Lu Yin stared at the Withered Bark that was floating in the air, clueless as to what to do next. Touch it? He did not dare, as that terrifying lightning could easily destroy him. There was no chance that Lu Yin would try to touch the power vessel.

    The little wax figurine of God of mes appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, and he waved a hand. Countless runes surrounded the Withered Bark, as Lu Yin tried to sense the power vessel.

    The moment the countless runes touched the Withered Bark, the power vessel transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot towards Lu Yin. He stared,pletely helpless to dodge. The only thing that he could do was release the power in his chest in an attempt to suppress the Withered Bark.

    The power that was developing in Lu Yin¡¯s chest was incredibly powerful, and it seemed to be capable of suppressing any other power. However, that was based on the premise that the gap in pure strength was not too excessive. At this moment, the Withered Bark defied Lu Yin¡¯s imagination, and it was at least as powerful as an elite Semi-Progenitor. It was even possible that the strength of the Withered Bark had touched upon the Progenitor level of power.

    Stars shone brightly, and the two pieces of the yin-yang symbol that revolved around the stars transformed into what looked like a small replica of the universe itself. The bolt of lightning that was the Withered Bark shot through the miniature universe, only toe to an abrupt stop, which vited all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. It looked as though the Withered Bark had be a part of the small universe, and when the manifested power returned to Lu Yin¡¯s chest, the Withered Bark joined it. It rooted itself into the space within Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    Instantly, the gray color that the power vessel gave off spread out from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, dyeing the surrounding area. Lu Yin appeared to be dazed, or possibly experiencing an epiphany, as he was frozen stiff.

    One day. Two days. Three days. A total of ten days passed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes regained focus, and he seemed to awaken from his stupor. The gray coloring that had covered the nearby area slowly faded as it was pulled back into Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    Lu Yin examined his chest, near his heart. He realized that the Withered Bark did not actually possess the power of time, but was rather a higher level of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Lu Yin had already learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, and he was able to use the battle technique on himself, which made him virtually indestructible even against a far more powerful opponent. Extremes Must Be Reversed enabled a state of near invincibility, but Progenitor Ku had achieved an even higher level with the battle technique: the Progenitor had learned how to use Extremes Must Be Reversed on other targets, provided that the target had reached a state of some sort of extreme.

    A so-called ¡°state of extreme¡± referred to many different things. For example, when Lu Yin used the battle technique on himself, the more he was injured, the more he would recover afterwards. This was how Lu Yin normally used Extremes Must Be Reversed. However, Progenitor Ku had already left hints that his battle technique could be used on time itself.

    Time was always in a state of extremes, because time was constantly flowing forward. It never stopped, nor did it flow in reverse. It always moved forward, always continuing in the same manner. This was a state of extremes, and Progenitor Ku had suggested that Extremes Must Be Reversed could be used with time, which was why he had left behind the Withered Bark.

    The Withered Bark that Progenitor Ku had personally created had been imbued with Extremes Must Be Reversed in a manner where, when used, the power vessel would reverse extremes, which meant that it would reverse the time around the Withered Bark.

    Progenitor Ku had notprehended the power of time, but had instead used the Withered Bark as a tool to forcibly revert time.

    There was no way to describe Lu Yin''s feelings at this moment: admiration, amazement, disbelief were not enough.

    Progenitor Ku had never managed toprehend the power of time, but he had still found a way to forcibly reverse time. Such genius was iprehensible to most people.

    Lu Yin realized that his mastery of the battle technique was incredibly shallow. Extremes Must Be Reversed was not a cultivation method at all, but rather a way of understanding the state of the universe itself, which provided a means of transforming something rotten into something magical.

    Lu Yin had always believed that the Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight was the most miraculous cultivation method that he had ever encountered, but this recent revtion suggested that Progenitor Ku was in no way inferior to the Rune Progenitor. Rather, he had simply kept his aplishments quiet. Truly, Progenitor Ku had taken being low-key to a ridiculous degree.

    Lu Yin started to question whether it was possible that Progenitor Ku had been the most powerful cultivator of his era. The man had brazenly charged forward on his own to face the full might of Aeternus, not out of recklessness, but out of pure self-confidence.

    He started sweating for the Sixth Maind. If not for the Aeternals, just Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku alone could have likelypletely destroyed the Sixth Maind without anyone else ever needing to step in.

    Lu Yin had already seen Progenitor Ku''s amazing techniques, but there was something very odd: the power in Lu Yin¡¯s chest was able to incorporate the power of time and even the Withered Bark. In that case, what else could be incorporated? How did it even work? Just what was this strange power that Lu Yin was cultivating?

    He closed his eyes and rested for a bit. When Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened again, he lifted a foot and stepped forward. The void warped and then shattered at Lu Yin¡¯s approach. He was not tearing through the void, but rather reversing it.

    While the Withered Bark did not possess the power of time, after it entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, it was capable of reversing time. With it, Lu Yin had be capable of sensing the power of time, though he could not use it himself. However, things changed when he started using Inverse Step.

    Progenitor Chen had been able to use Inverse Step to create a chaotic region of the void, and Lu Yin had just achieved the same level.

    Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had already managed to sense the miraculous power of time with Wendy Yushan, but he had not been able to duplicate it. But now, Lu Yin could finally do so, though it was only with the help of the Withered Bark. Still, this meant that Lu Yin had finally reached the same level of mastery of Inverse Step as Progenitor Chen, allowing him to create a chaotic region of space and time. Progenitor Chen had reached this level of mastery as just a peak Enlighter, but did that mean that Progenitor Chen had also mastered the power of time at that point?

    It was not impossible, as how else could Progenitor Chen have created an area of chaotic time and space with Inverse Step while only an Enlighter? Lu Yin had needed to use hisprehension of the Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption to create an area of chaotic space, but he had never been able to influence time as well. No matter how talented Lu Yin might be, such a thing had beenpletely beyond him. The only exnation for Progenitor Chen¡¯s ability to do so was that the man had already touched upon the power of time while still an Enlighter.

    When Lu Yin had faced his first stellr tribtion during his breakthrough to be an Envoy, he had fought against eight of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, but the ninth clone had never appeared. What sort of power did thatst clone possess?

    Progenitor Ku had been incredibly powerful, and his Withered Bark had given him the ability to reverse time itself. The Rune Progenitor had created the miraculous Truesight, which allowed him to create objects from nothing at all. Finally, there had been Lu Tianyi, who had been a powerful Dao Chosen in the past, and a powerhouse who had risen to impressive levels of strength during the Heavens Sect era. There had also been the Progenitors from the Bai and Wang families. And yet, despite all of that, the most dazzling Progenitor of all had still been Progenitor Chen.

    Why?

    Why was Progenitor Chen regarded as the most impressive Progenitor? Could it really be because Progenitor Ku had kept a low profile? Could it be because Progenitor Hui did not fight? Or was it because the Rune Progenitor was indifferent to fame or glory?

    Not necessarily.

 Chapter 2221: Scouring

    Chapter 2221: Scouring

    Lu Yin lifted his hand and studied it carefully. He desperately wanted to master the incredible power of time, travel through time and space to visit the Daosource Sect era, personally see the glory of humanity during the Heavens Sect era, andpete against those powerful people from the ancient past. Just the thought of it caused his blood to surge. He would aplish that one day, and he would stand side-by-side with those famous powerhouses, and he would not fall behind them.

    Lu Yin quickly suppressed his dreams of the future. He first needed to consider his current resources.

    All of the star essence on the White Dragon n¡¯s Junior Progenitor had been used up, so it was time to move on to the next.

    Progenitor Smoke had already be numb to Lu Yin¡¯s actions. The star essence on the twos had to add up to at least a trillion. Forget an Envoy¡ªnot even a Semi-Progenitor could do anything with such an exorbitant sum. After all, how would they even use star essence? Such powerhouses all relied on stellr energy.

    However, Progenitor Smoke did stare at Lu Yin when she emerged. "You¡¯ve changed."

    Lu Yin blinked. "No, I just haven''t seen you for a few days."

    Progenitor Smoke carefully observed Lu Yin. "I always felt like there was something about your aura that felt familiar, but I¡¯ve never been able to pinpoint it. It¡¯s quite odd."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. A familiar aura? Could it be from Progenitor Ku''s Withered Bark? Or Progenitor Chen''s Inverse Step?

    In the past, the Withered Bark that Lu Yin had kept in his cosmic ring was what the Ku family had used as a temte to create their own Withered Barks, but all of their attempts were merely poor replicas. Those Withered Barks had only been capable of protecting a person, and they werepletely unable to reverse time in any way at all. Of course, it was possible that the Ku family had other true Withered Barks in their possession, but they would never say so to Lu Yin.

    As for Inverse Step, Lu Yin had only barely scratched the surface of the movement technique.

    However, things had changed, and Lu Yin had gained the true form of both of those things.

    Cough. "Senior, Progenitor Chen has nine clones. Do you know what each of the clones¡¯ abilities are?"

    Progenitor Smoke instantly answered, "I don''t."

    "How could you not know? Given your status in the past, how could anything have been kept hidden from you?" Lu Yin was genuinely surprised.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "I don¡¯t have any interest in other people¡¯s business. All I know is that one clone was a colossal giant, one created the Cosmic Art, one had an unique innate gift, and one inherited a battle technique from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. I never fought him."

    "You two never fought or sparred?" Lu Yin found this to be quite curious.

    Progenitor Smoke started to get a bit grumpy. "How would he ever dare hit a woman like me?"

    She then became noticeably irritated. "I usually didn¡¯t even see him, as he just liked to hide in a corner and watch the rain and flowers. It was pathetic."

    Lu Yin continued to ask questions, "What about Progenitor Ku? Did the two of you ever fight each other?"

    "No, that guy¡¯s boring. Unless someone actually attacks him, he¡¯ll never take the initiative to attack anyone at all." Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyes snapped back to look at Lu Yin. "I just remembered. That familiar aura on you feels like Ku Jie. Right, that¡¯s Ku Jie¡¯s aura. So, do you have some of his power? What do you have?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Extremes Must Be Reversed."

    Progenitor Smoke eximed, "No wonder! Still, you learned that a long time ago, so why is that familiar aura so strong now? Did you make some progress with it?"

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "A bit, just a little bit."

    Progenitor Smoke continued, saying, "While Ku Jie¡¯s a boring person, I do have to admit that his Extremes Must Be Reversed is very powerful. It¡¯s a genuinely invincible technique, and even Xia Shang mentioned how difficult it is to deal with. No one wants to fight against Ku Jie. Keep training in that technique, and if you eventually be a Semi-Progenitor, even Progenitors will struggle to kill you. You¡¯ll keep going further and further down the path of being beaten up."

    Lu Yin was speechless. This sounded terrible! Who wanted to be beaten up? Lu Yin enjoyed being the one who beat other people.

    "Senior, did Progenitor Chen master the power of time?" Lu Yin asked, abruptly changing the subject.

    Progenitor Smoke was startled by the question, and she nced over at Lu Yin. "Don''t ask about other people''s abilities."

    She then immediately returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. What did that reaction mean? He could not understand.

    Lu Yin was already standing on the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor. He raised a hand and brought out his die. He had previously wanted to leave after Enhancing the Withered Bark. However, after it was absorbed into the power inside his chest, he had been in an epiphany for ten days, and since the required amount of time had already passed daze, he might as well roll his die again.

    Tapping the die caused it to slowly spin around, and it finally came to a stop on one pip. There was a bang as a ball fell out andnded on the ground.

    The ball had a diameter of 100 meters, so it was quiterge. Lu Yin looked up and saw the image of a very odd creature on the ball. It looked like a snake or something else. He casually shoved the ball away, as it was useless.

    However, he instantly noticed that the ball felt wrong. It was hard. Way too hard.

    Lu Yin used more and more strength in his hand, but there was absolutely no change in the ball.

    His expression changed. He was currently strong enough that his physical strength could almost kill even Envoys with power levels of 800,000 to 900,000. And yet, this ball showed no reaction at all. It was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s means to damage this thing.

    Lu Yin finally smashed the ball with a hand, but he only managed to push it a little bit away. There was still no damage to be seen at all.

    He stopped hesitating and stored the ball away. Regardless of where it came from or what it was actually for, just the materials used to construct it were extraordinary.

    It had been a long time since the die had given Lu Yin anything good from Pilfer, so it wasforting to see something worthwhile appear.

    It was time to continue.

    The die started spinning as soon as Lu Yin tapped it, and when it finally came to a stop, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. Three pips again. After thinking through everything he owned, there was only one item that Lu Yin knew that he still wanted to Enhance: the metal that had once brought a disaster upon the Fourth Maind.

    That disaster had been caused by a strange metal that was capable of absorbing the flesh and blood of living creatures to grow and improve itself. The Astral Beast Domain had used the metal to form the Absolute Beast Cage that had been used as a barrier between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone to keep the Sixth Maind from attacking the Astral Beast Domain, but that cage had been shattered many years back.

    Lu Yin had already upgraded the metal a bit, spending about four billion star essence. Just that had improved the metal to the point where it had started to try to go after Lu Yin. This metal was almost as strong as an Envoy, and Lu Yin had long since contemted using the metal as a weapon to surprise the Aeternals, threatening them in the same manner that the metal had previously threatened the Astral Beast Domain. With so much star essence avable, it was time to use it all.

    Lu Yin took out the bit of metal that he had Enhanced before. It was covered with spikes that continuously tried to stab into Lu Yin''s body. It was quite bloodthirsty.

    Lu Yin immediately threw it onto the upper light screen and started improving it.

    This bit of metal had already been Enhanced five times, and thest upgrade had cost him four billion star essence, which had almost brought the metal to the Envoy level. In total, Lu Yin had spent about eight billion star essence on this bit of metal, and just another upgrade would firmly bring it to the Envoy level.

    Lu Yin watched as tens of billions of star essence were consumed to send the metal down through the two screens of light. The metal already had the power of an Envoy, and it had cost 18 billion star essence to bring the metal to this level. Lu Yin also had more than ten pieces of the metal.

    Enhancing ten pieces of the metal to this level would cost him 180 billion star essence, which was quite excessive. Lu Yin would have never been willing to spend this much without ess to the Junior Progenitors.

    After he finished Enhancing ten pieces of the metal, there was only about 300 billion star essence remaining on the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Junior Progenitor. Since when did 300 billion star essence be insufficient?

    Lu Yin unhesitatingly started to store as much of the star essence as possible in his cosmic ring. Previously, he had had about 200 billion star essence stored up, but had used it all up when he was Enhancing the Withered Bark.

    All of the cosmic rings that Lu Yin had on him were just barely enough for him to clean out the star essence on the third Junior Progenitor.

    He felt rather disappointed as he looked over at thest Junior Progenitor that belonged to the Wang family. It was impossible for him to take any more star essence, and he also had nothing left to Enhance. In the end, he decided that it was fine. The resources of just one Junior Progenitor could not really give the four ruling powers that many options, and if Lu Yin left the star essence there, then he could always return for itter. Also, since Lu Yin had cleaned out thes that belonged to the Xia family, the White Dragon n, and the Celestial Frost Sect, then how would the Wang family exin the fact that their had not been touched?

    This would create a beautiful misunderstanding.

    ¡­

    A paper boat was floating next to a deste ind. Bai Weiwei was sitting at the bow, and she asionally looked back towards the cabin.

    "Prof. Bai, Prof. Hao Yu''s injuries didn¡¯t look serious, but it¡¯s already been twenty days," Bai Weiweimented worriedly.

    Prof. Bai replied, "His injuries were certainly not minor. It is extremely difficult to use a sourcebox array to defend against an astral beast that¡¯s more powerful than the Array Master. Still, these few days should have allowed him to recover a great deal."

    "It¡¯s too strange. Why haven¡¯t we run into even a single astral beast with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy after spending so much time searching in this region?" Bai Weiwei muttered to herself.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± stepped out of the boat¡¯s cabin as the young woman was talking. He had once again traded ces with Tong Yu. The woman had spent thest twenty days in seclusion, pretending to be a Hao Yu who was recovering from his injuries. The woman did not exchange any words with Bai Weiwei or Prof. Bai at all.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, how are you doing?" Bai Weiwei asked, her eyes lighting up when she saw ¡°Yu Hao¡± emerge from the cabin.

    The man¡¯s face was still a bit pale, but his voice sounded much stronger than before. "Don''t worry, I''ll be fine."

    Prof. Bai felt quite relieved. "We¡¯re very lucky that you came with us, Prof. Hao Yu. Without you, that battle in the Middle Ocean would have been incredibly dangerous."

    "You¡¯re being too polite, Prof. Bai. I only acted as I should." Lu Yin then looked over at Bai Weiwei. "Let''s keep going. We need to find a beast as strong as a one-tribtion Envoy for you."

    Bai Weiwei was still quite worried. "Professor, you¡¯ve recovered a bit, but we should probably return to the academy and let youpletely recover before resuming this mission, don¡¯t you think?"

    "No, it will be fine, as long as we¡¯re careful."

    Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai nced at each other. "Alright, but we¡¯ll search as we head back towards Virtue Archives. The best option would be to find our target on our way back. If we don¡¯t find anything, then we can only me our bad luck and try againter."

    Lu Yin nodded in agreement.

    The paper boat quickly started making its way back towards the Middle Realm.

    Without Lu Yin''s interference, it only took a few days for them to encounter an astral beast with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy. The creature looked like a massive sea turtle, and it was floating on the Middle Ocean with its eyes closed. It was most likely sleeping.

    There was a forest growing on the turtle''s back, and it looked like an ind at first nce.

    Bai Weiwei immediatelyunched an attack, and she opened her assault with a Wind God sh. It was a terrifyingly powerful battle technique, and with it, Bai Weiwei was able to unleash an attack that nearly matched the power of an Envoy. The Wind God sh mmed onto the turtle¡¯s back, blowing away the dirt and producing a bang when it mmed into the turtle¡¯s shell.

    The turtle woke up, and it slowly turned its head around to look up at the paper boat in confusion.

    Lu Yin looked at the beast. There were absolutely no injuries on the sea turtle¡¯s shell, as it was impressively robust. Although it had the power of a one-tribtion Envoy, its shell had the capability to absorb a three-tribtion Envoy¡¯s attack.

    The turtle watched in bewilderment as Bai Weiwei continued to rain attacks down upon the shell, but all of her efforts proved useless. Her attacks were close to the same level of destructive power as Bai Shaohong¡¯s when he had possessed the same cultivation level as her. And yet, Bai Weiwei waspletely unable to damage the turtle¡¯s shell. In fact, not even Bai Shaohong would have been capable of harming the turtle when he had possessed Bai Weiwei¡¯s level of cultivation.

    The turtle never fought back at all, and simply stared at the young woman in confusion.

    Bai Weiwei refused to give up, and she started to attack the beast¡¯s head, only for the turtle to quickly pull its head in before Bai Weiwei¡¯s attack couldnd, leaving nothing visible besides a shell floating on the surface of the Middle Ocean.

    Bai Weiwei was left speechless, and she shouted down at the turtle, "I know that you can understand me! Fight back!"

    There was no movement from the turtle. It just opened its massive eyes and peered up at Bai Weiwei through the shell. The creature still looked quite confused, as though it could not understand why anyone would attack it.

    Bai Weiwei raised a hand. Two dots appeared in the air before her, and the sky opened: Void Rip.

    A line tore the void apart, and it even sliced into the true universe. It ruthlessly struck the turtle¡¯s shell, but it only left a faint white mark on it. Void Rip could slice through the void and the true universe, but it was unable to harm the turtle. The only result was a deafening ringing sound from the impact.

 Chapter 2222: Investigation

    Chapter 2222: Investigation

    Bai Weiwei suddenly appeared above the turtle¡¯s shell. She did her best to attack through the openings in the sea turtle¡¯s shell, but the beast just shifted around, ensuring that the woman never faced anything other than its shell. Bai Weiwei was fast, but the turtle was even faster, and she could not find any openings.

    Some timeter, Bai Weiwei became frustrated, and she returned to the boat. "Let''s go. I can''t beat it."

    Lu Yin asked, "Don''t you know a sourcebox array that can just teleport you around?"

    Bai Weiwei shook her head, but then she suddenly remembered something. She turned to look at ¡°Yu Hao¡± with glittering eyes. "Professor?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "A teacher¡¯s job is to teach."

    Bai Weiwei absolutely wanted to learn ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± sourcebox array, as the ability to instantly teleport would allow her to move faster than the sea turtle. Then, she would be able to get past the creature¡¯s imprable shell. However, she did not know how she could ask for a sourcebox array that belonged to someone else.

    She suddenly understood very well why every organization was so eager to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan, as the benefits that his sourcebox arrays could provide were impossible to duplicate.

    Sourcebox arrays were different from battle techniques, and they could havepletely different functions. Oftentimes, sourcebox arrays had miraculous abilities.

    Bai Weiwei was uncertain how to ask to learn a sourcebox array that could allow her to move about freely, and Lu Yin did not speak up to offer such a thing. As for the sea turtle, it just felt lucky to be left alone.

    Just a few dayster, the three people ran into another astral beast with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy. The beast was part of a flock of seabirds, and it actually led the flock. Bai Weiwei targeted the alpha while Lu Yin and Prof. Bai held the rest of the birds back. After a while, Bai Weiwei eked out a victory. She had technically aplished the task that she had been given, so it was time for them to return to Virtue Archives.

    At this same time, a horrifying, heart-piercing shriek rang out from Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. The sound came from the senior guardian of the who was a six-tribtion Envoy. Right after that, bellows were heard from both the White Dragon n¡¯s and the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s. All of themotion caused the God of Food to appear.

    "What the hell¡¯s going on?" The God of Food was rather upset.

    Madam Mo, the senior guardian of the Wang family''s Junior Progenitor, was also caught off guard by all the noise. Had those three lost their minds?

    A short timeter, the headquarters of the four ruling powers shook, and Bai Teng, Wang Zheng, and Long Ke all moved out and made their way to the Junior Progenitors. The three men represented three of the four ruling powers, and each of them were patriarchs of their own families.

    The three men stared at the depleteds. All that remained was a thinyer of star essence. There was less than 100 star essence left on each.

    "Impossible! Who could make off with so much star essence?" Long Ke eximed.

    Bai Teng''s face was stormy. "Either someone was able to transport it somehow, or a Semi-Progenitor took action."

    As he spoke, Bai Teng nced towards the Ind of Hope. "Senior God of Food, are you not going to show yourself and say something?"

    The God of Food appeared. He was also quite curious about who was capable of stealing so much from under his nose. His first thought was of Kui Luo, as there were no other possibilities aside from the old man. Only a Semi-Progenitor could steal so much star essence by hiding it all within their inner world.

    However, was Kui Luo even capable of pulling off such a stunt while keeping everything hidden from the God of Food? How could he have improved so much?

    "Senior God of Food, is there anything that you would like to say?" Bai Teng stared at the God of Food, and the patriarch made no attempt to sound polite.

    The amount of star essence that had disappeared was astronomical, and if all threes werebined, then more than a trillion star essence had been taken. It was a horrifying amount, and not even the four ruling powers could afford to eat such a loss.

    The God of Food shrugged indifferently. "What do you want me to say?"

    Bai Teng¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Long Ke and Wang Zheng were both staring at the Semi-Progenitor as well. The only reason why they had feltfortable not leaving the Junior Progenitors under heavy guard was because of the God of Food¡¯s presence. He wasparable to Grand Elder Ni Huang, and with Ni Huang absent, it was impossible for any of the remaining Semi-Progenitors to be able to sneak past the God of Food, unless, of course, the old man allowed such a thing to happen.

    "Senior, don''t tell us that you don''t know who took all the star essence," Bai Teng retorted.

    The God of Food blinked. He really did not know, but would anyone believe him?

    "Honestly, I have no idea, and I¡¯m even willing to swear an oath that it¡¯s true."

    Bai Teng¡¯s brows rose high as he stared at the God of Food.

    Long Ke and Wang Zheng nced at each other. Despite the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s words being unbelievable, if someone with the God of Food¡¯s strength vited an oath, then it would prevent them from ever being able to reach the Progenitor realm. This was proof that the man was telling the truth, as this matter was not worth him viting an oath.

    "Senior, you really don''t know?" Wang Zheng repeated the question.

    The God of Food had no choice but to repeat once again, "I really don''t know."

    He then gave Wang Zheng an odd look. "It seems that your Wang family hasn¡¯t lost anything."

    As soon as the words were spoken, both Bai Teng and Long Ke turned to stare at Wang Zheng.

    Wang Zheng''s expression instantly turned ugly. "It¡¯s possible that the thief reached their limit and wasn¡¯t able to take any more away with them."

    Bai Teng sneered. "If someone was able to take away everything from three of the Junior Progenitors, then why would they leave your Wang family¡¯s untouched?"

    Wang Zheng frowned. "Sect Master Bai Teng, what are you trying to say?"

    Bai Teng did not say anything explicitly, but his meaning could not be any clearer: he was suspicious of the Wang family.

    Wang Zheng also felt quite frustrated, as there was no denying that the resources of the Junior Progenitor were not that important to the Wang family, which made things even more suspicious.

    Could someone be targeting his Wang family?

    "Senior God of Food, has anyone visited the Ind of Hope recently?" Long Ke asked.

    The old man replied, "A few of my juniors from Virtue Archives recently came through, but the most powerful of them was only a three-tribtion Envoy. It¡¯s impossible for them to have done this."

    "Who?" Bai Teng quickly demanded.

    If Long Ke or Wang Zheng had been the ones to ask, then the God of Food would not have wanted to answer. Furthermore, given his status, none of the junior present were capable of interrogating the Semi-Progenitor. However, Bai Teng had been the one to ask the question, and he was both the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect as well as the patriarch of the Bai family. "Two were members of your Bai family, and they were traveling with Hao Yu."

    Bai Teng was startled. "Members of my Bai family?"

    Long Ke and Wang Zheng stared at Bai Teng again.

    Bai Teng frowned. "There are only two people from my Bai family in Virtue Archives. Are you saying that it was Bai Lin and Weiwei?"

    The God of Food nodded, and then he simply turned around and left. "They are the only ones who have recently visited the Ind of Hope, but none of them could have stolen the star essence. You can look into the rest yourselves."

    The three patriarchs looked at each other. They were surrounded by the Envoys who guarded the various Junior Progenitors, but none of the guardians dared to say a thing, as they knew nothing about what had happened.

    "We need to report this matter to the ancestors. If even Senior God of Food doesn''t know who stole the star essence, then only a Semi-Progenitor could be behind this, and a very powerful one at that," Long Ke solemnly stated.

    Bai Teng stared at Hope Restaurant. Logically speaking, it should be impossible for the God of Food to use the offer of an oath to deceive them, but if the man felt that he would never reach the Progenitor realm, that might not be entirely true. Still, such a possibility was fleetingly remote.

    This old man was simply too stable. He had not experienced a breakthrough in countless years. Normally, the longer one waited to attempt a breakthrough, the more difficult the breakthrough would be, but the God of Food seemed to be the opposite. The longer he procrastinated, the more uncertain others became of the man¡¯s chances of sess.

    "We certainly do need to make a report to the ancestors, but we should at least conduct some investigation ourselves first. If we don¡¯t, how will we exin ourselves to our ancestors?" Bai Teng challenged in a cold voice. He then sent out orders to stop Bai Weiwei and the others on their way back to Virtue Archives. The three needed to be sent to the Ind of Hope to be questioned.

    "You want to interrogate those three? Do you really think that any of them could have stolen the star essence here without being detected by the God of Food? Even if Senior weren¡¯t here, those three wouldn¡¯t have been able to hide anything even from the guardians of the Junior Progenitors," Long Ke retorted.

    Bai Teng snorted contemptuously. "Lu Xiaoxuan once upended the entire Higher Realm despite having no strength of his own. There is nothing impossible in this universe."

    Long Ke had no argument to that, as it was true that Lu Xiaoxuan had used the name of Long Qi to deceive the entire White Dragon n. He had even nearly helped a branch family of the White Dragon n rece Long Ke¡¯s family as the main branch of the n. The entire incident had been incredibly humiliating for the White Dragon n.

    Lu Yin and the other two had just reached the Middle Realm and were on their way back to Virtue Archives. They had already left the Middle Ocean and entered the Azure District when they were stopped and ordered to return to the Ind of Hope.

    Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei shot questioning nces at each other, as they had no idea why they were being ordered back to the Ind of Hope. Still, they did not argue, as the orders hade from Sect Master Bai Teng.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed at the realization that the four ruling powers intended to question the three of them. The four ruling powers were truly cautious. Even though it was clear at a nce that ¡°Yu Hao¡± and the other two could not have stolen anything without being detected by the God of Food and the other guardians protecting the Junior Progenitors, they were still going to be questioned. Fortunately, Lu Yin had already prepared himself for this possibility.

    Upon returning to the Ind of Hope, Lu Yin was surprised to see that Long Ke was present. Seeing the patriarch brought a hint of a smile to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    The questioning was intended to be very simple. After all, everything that the three people had done could be easily investigated.

    At the moment, Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai were still ignorant as to what had happened.

    Even though it had been extremely easy to check into the recent whereabouts of Bai Weiwei and the other two, Bai Teng was not willing to drop the matter quite yet. After all, these three were the only people who had visited the Ind of Hope recently. The sect master had constantly been staring at Lu Yin, and he had noticed the smile that had flitted across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes when he saw the three patriarchs. Bai Teng had always felt that there was something fishy about this Yu Hao.

    "Question them separately. I want to know what each of them did and how they reacted." Bai Teng continued to stare at Lu Yin as he coldly stated his demands.

    Wang Zheng felt quite puzzled. "That¡¯s unnecessary. Nothing about where they went or did is suspicious at all, and two of them are even members of your Celestial Frost Sect."

    "It¡¯s precisely because of that that I need to make sure that this investigation is conducted thoroughly. I will leave the two members of my Celestial Frost Sect to the two of you, and I will question Prof. Hao Yu," Bai Teng replied. He then immediately led Lu Yin a short ways away.

    Long Ke and Wang Zheng looked at each other andughed. As far as they were concerned, Bai Teng was going overboard, but his actions were also understandable as he was nothing more than a puppet. If not for Bai Xian¡¯er, this man would have never managed to be the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    While Bai Teng himself had no talent or impressive abilities, his children were shockingly impressive. Even if one ignored Bai Xian¡¯er, Bai Shaohong had managed to be one of the four Junior Progenitors. If the youth had not been killed by Lu Xiaoxuan, then Bai Shaohong would have likely eventually be a Progenitor one day. If both Bai Shaohong and Bai Xian¡¯er reached the Progenitor realm, it would have been the first time that a pair of siblings had aplished such a feat since the ancient eras.

    In the past, Bai Teng had been domineering, and even if he had essentially been a puppet, he had still been quite influential within the Celestial Frost Sect. In fact, even Semi-Progenitors had been cautious of the man.

    However, Bai Shaohong was now dead, and Bai Xian''er did not care about her father. Despite being the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Teng¡¯s position was not nearly as stable as it had been in the past. In fact, many people believed that Bai Xian¡¯er would seize the position of sect master as soon as she emerged from seclusion, and Bai Teng would be forced into an early retirement.

    This was why Bai Teng was so eager to aplish something. He knew that his actions were pathetic, as he was trying topete with his own daughter, but it was beyond his means.

    Since Bai Teng had taken Prof. Hao Yu off to be questioned on his own, even though the other two patriarchs were absolutely certain that Bai Weiwei and Bai Lin had nothing to do with the theft, they still went through the motions of interrogating the two people. If anything was discovered, it could only be considered a lucky break.

    Bai Teng was staring at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and ¡°Yu Hao¡± was looking back at Bai Teng. There was no sign of any fear.

    "I know that you¡¯re Yu Hao, understand?" Bai Teng stated ndly.

    Lu Yin put on a show of respect. "Greetings, Sect Master Bai Teng."

    "Are you really Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s disciple?" Bai Teng asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Does the sect master have any questions for this junior? This junior can tell the sect master everything that happened recently, and if any discrepancies are discovered, then Sect Master Bai can handle it as he sees fit."

 Chapter 2223: Sudden Thought

    Chapter 2223: Sudden Thought

    Bai Teng felt a shiver run through him as he looked at ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± smiling face. "This is quite simple: answer two questions. First, you were injured while you were in the Middle Ocean, and you went into seclusion for twenty days to recover. Did you ever leave the paper boat during those twenty days?"

    "No. Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei can attest to that," Lu Yin answered without hesitation.

    Bai Teng continued,pletely unfazed. "They can''t attest to anything, as not even I can see through your cultivation. What level have you reached?"

    This particr matter was a big reason why Bai Teng was so suspicious. Publicly, Yu Hao was known to be a one-tribtion Envoy, but Headmaster Wen and Xia Ziheng were both able to see that he was actually a three-tribtion powerhouse. Naturally, this information had been passed on to Bai Teng.

    "This junior is a three-tribtion Envoy."

    Bai Teng frowned. "Why hide your cultivation level?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This junior is from the same generation as the most recent Junior Progenitors. May I ask if any of those former Junior Progenitors have be three-tribtion Envoys?"

    ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± question irritated Bai Teng, and he was suddenly reminded of Lu Xiaoxuan. The sect master found Yu Hao¡¯s eyes were just as annoying as Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s. This thought caused a surge of bloodlust to radiate from the man¡¯s eyes, and even his aura gave off a hint of killing intent as it pressed down upon ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    A disdainful snort was heard from a distance. It came from the God of Food.

    The Semi-Progenitor had interfered, which forced Bai Teng to regain his senses, and he quickly restrained himself.

    The God of Food was someone from Virtue Archives, while Yu Hao was an instructor at the academy. It was only expected for the Semi-Progenitor to protect his own people.

    Bai Teng dismissed the irritation itching at his chest. "How did you aplish that?"

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Would the sect master believe it if this junior said that I don¡¯t know?"

    Bai Teng¡¯s eyes tightened and grew cold as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued, "That is the main reason why I hide my cultivation level. This junior''s progress has been so smooth that even I can¡¯t believe how sessful I¡¯ve been. When I first met my master, I was told that my cultivation would be smooth, but how was it done? That¡¯s a question that would be better directed to my master.¡±

    So Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s behind this? Bai Teng nodded. "I''ll ask him."

    Lu Yin purposely let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good. If Sect Master receives a clear answer, then if it¡¯s no bother, I ask that you share what you hear with this junior so that I can offer an exnation to the rest of the world as well."

    Bai Teng replied, "You¡¯re a three-tribtion Envoy, which means that it¡¯s not impossible for you to hide your absence from the boat from Bai Lin and Bai Weiwei and return to the Ind of Hope alone."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Return to the Ind of Hope? Might I ask Sect Master what happened?"

    Bai Teng stared into ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± eyes, trying to see through him, but he only saw confusion and curiosity. There was no nervousness or wariness present at all.

    "You¡¯re being quite open, but your openness puzzles me. You are clearly not at all nervous when facing me." Bai Teng''s voice suddenly grew rather harsh.

    Lu Yinughed. "This junior even insulted Xia Ziheng."

    Bai Teng was caught off guard by this answer, but he dropped the line of questioning. Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor, so if this youth dared to insult a powerhouse like that, then why would he not be fearless when confronted by Bai Teng?

    "Next question: why did you smile earlier?" Bai Teng demanded.

    Lu Yin was confused by the question. "Smile? When?"

    "Don¡¯t bother trying to pretend. I saw you smile when you first saw Long Ke and Wang Zheng upon arriving. Who were you smiling at?" Bai Teng asked coldly.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior didn''t smile."

    Bai Teng¡¯s hand shot out, and he pressed it onto ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± shoulder before carefully enunciating each of his words. "The God of Food can protect you while you¡¯re here, but there¡¯s no guarantee that he can keep you safe everywhere else. My Celestial Frost Sect is one of the four ruling powers, and I know all about your rtionship with the Xia family. You should really be trying to get my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s support."

    Lu Yin was forced to answer. "Sect Master, this junior really was not smiling, but there¡¯s nothing that I can do about it if you don''t believe me."

    Bai Teng¡¯s hand pressed down with even greater force.

    Bai Weiwei frowned a short distance aways. The Celestial Frost Sect wanted to recruit Yu Hao, but Uncle Bai Teng''s behavior was a bit harsh. This could easily affect the sect''s ns to win Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed slightly once he realized that Bai Teng was attacking him. Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was too absurd, and if Bai Teng used just a bit more force, then he would notice that something was wrong. Realizing this, Lu Yin grunted and stepped back. Immediately, the God of Food appeared right in front of Lu Yin, and the man stood in the way of Bai Teng. "Junior, do you think that this old man doesn¡¯t even matter? You¡¯re done speaking to Hao Yu."

    Bai Teng lowered his hands. He looked past the God of Food at Lu Yin and then nced back at Long Ke and Wang Zheng, only to see that the other two patriarchs were staring back. Bai Teng said, "Finish questioning him."

    "There¡¯s no point," Long Ke replied.

    Bai Teng¡¯s eyes narrowed. "This matter is extremely important. I hope that neither of you will give anything less than your best efforts."

    Long Keughed, and then looked over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Prof. Hao Yu, it looks like I¡¯ll need to bother you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I understand."

    He then started walking slowly over towards Long Ke. Lu Yin did not move fast or slow, and nothing seemed out of ce in his actions. Despite that, Bai Teng¡¯s eyes never left the young man.

    The sect master was absolutely certain that he had seen the young man smile when he had first seen Long Ke and Wang Zheng, but which of the two had he been smiling at? This was what Bai Teng was most curious about.

    Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai had stepped a short ways back. They were both extremely curious about what had happened to bring out all the Envoys guarding the Junior Progenitors.

    Lu Yin walked closer and closer to Long Ke, until only six meters separated the two men. Just one more step would allow Lu Yin to Possess Long Ke, but he did not do so.

    Long Ke asked the same questions that he had directed towards Bai Weiwei and Bai Lin, touching on nothing aside from the trio¡¯s whereabouts and motivations for their trip, though a few more questions regarding Yu Hao¡¯s seclusion were brought up. The patriarchs were not fools. It was clear that there was something suspicious about the situation, even if it was impossible for these three people to have hid anything from the God of Food.

    The exchange continued between the two men, and the questioning soon ended.

    "Alright, you can go now," Long Ke said.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to take a step forward, Long Ke continued, saying, "Yu Hao, my White Dragon n wees your visit any time you are willing to see us."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was an extremely attractive recruit to all four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the invitation, and he even expected to receive a simr invitation from Wang Zheng before this matter concluded.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you, Patriarch Long Ke, for your consideration."

    Lu Yin then took a step forward, and Long Ke momentarily went stiff. Lu Yin¡¯s perspective almost instantly shifted as he Possessed Long Ke''s body.

    Immediately, Long Ke¡¯s body opened its mouth to say something, though his face was purposely turned so that Bai Teng could not see what was mouthed.

    The sect master¡¯s eyes went still.

    Lu Yin instantly returned to his own body, and he purposely made a show of moving stiffly as he walked away, though he approached Wang Zheng as though nothing had transpired. "Is there anything that Senior Wang would like to ask this junior?"

    Wang Zheng waved a hand dismissively. "There¡¯s no need for that, but if Prof. Hao Yu is ever interested, you are wee toe to visit my Wang family."

    While the invitation was worded differently, the meaning was exactly the same. The Wang family was also hoping to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    This also meant that Lu Yin had been approached by all four ruling powers, each eager to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan. Still, Lu Yin purposely did not reveal his thoughts on the matter to anyone, and he only offered a few polite words.

    Bai Teng mentally reviewed everything that he had just seen. Long Ke had mouthed something, as well as Yu Hao¡¯s reaction. There was also the smile that Bai Teng had seen on Yu Hao¡¯s face when the young man had first seen Long Ke. Bai Teng was absolutely certain that the smile had been directed at either Long Ke or Wang Zheng.

    It''s Long Ke. Bai Teng stared at the other patriarch. Long Ke had some connection to Yu Hao; at the very least, the two had met before.

    After the questioning concluded, none of the three people had revealed anything suspicious, so the God of Food sent them off.

    The patriarchs watched the three people leave, and Wang Zhengined, "What a waste of time."

    Long Ke replied casually, "Notpletely. This gave us all a chance to meet Yu Hao ourselves. The child is from the same generation as Long Tian, but he is already a three-tribtion Envoy. How did he pull that off? Are Gu Yan¡¯s methods really that miraculous? Could it be some strange sourcebox array that¡¯s responsible for his progress?"

    Wang Zheng replied, "That¡¯s certainly possible. While sourcebox arrays and cultivation are two entirely different things, one needs a powerful cultivation base to be a qualified Array Master. Without sufficient strength, it¡¯s impossible to control the forces that Array Masters need to wield. Progenitor Hui was not known for hisbat strength, and he was certainly much weaker in a fight than my Wang family¡¯s Progenitor, but no one ever dared to underestimate Progenitor Hui when he used his sourcebox arrays.

    "In fact, the only reason why we¡¯ve been able to continue fighting against Aeternus for so long is all thanks to the sourcebox array Ceaseless Impetus, which Progenitor Hui created."

    Long Ke''s expression fell. "But the Forsaken Land¡¯s trespassers also gained ess to our Perennial World through one of his sourcebox arrays."

    Wang Zheng grew excited as he continued to say, "Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most aplished Array Master in the entire Perennial World, and there¡¯s no telling just how many sourcebox arrays he might have mastered. It¡¯s possible that he is already approaching Progenitor Hui¡¯s level."

    The man then looked back out at the Middle Ocean. He had been a bit curt when extending the invitation to Yu Hao, but the youth defied understanding. After all, he surpassed the Junior Progenitors.

    The same thought urred to Long Ke, and he stared out at the Middle Ocean bright eyes.

    Bai Teng said nothing at all, though he asionally shot nces over at Long Ke. There was no telling what was going through Bai Teng¡¯s mind.

    "These are troubled times. Xia Xing¡¯s disappeared, and the resources on the Junior Progenitors have been stolen. I feel that there are unknown elements at y in our Perennial World right now," Wang Zhengmented.

    A thought suddenly urred to Long Ke. "Do you remember that someone faced a Semi-Progenitor stellr tribtion a few months ago?"

    "Are you suggesting that that person might be involved?" Wang Zheng was taken aback.

    Long Ke replied, "At this moment, we still have no idea just who it was who faced that tribtion, and we also don¡¯t know who is behind this Dealcut Association. They are able to control deployment matters on the rear battlefield and even steal resources allocated to the efforts there, which defies belief. This is not something that someone like Zuo Lingzhu could have pulled off."

    "We just don¡¯t have enough people to investigate everything. I can only hope that the New Corridor will be quickly restored. We need to settle everything with Lu Xiaoxuan," Wang Zheng remarked.

    Long Ke frowned. A Progenitor had been seen standing behind Lu Xiaoxuan. Long Ke could only wish for the Grand Elder¡¯s sess.

    Three people were traveling across the Middle Ocean, and they were hazarding some guesses as to what might have happened at the Ind of Hope. However, they could not figure anything out from the information avable to them, so they quickly gave up.

    Lu Yin soon asked Tong Yu to switch with him again, and he moved away and headed back towards the Ind of Hope.

    When Lu Yin had Possessed Long Ke, he had made the patriarch mouth a time and location. It had been a show put on for Bai Teng¡¯s sake, and while there had been nothing spoken for the sect master to hear, Lu Yin was certain Bai Teng had figured out what Long Ke had mouthed. This meant that Bai Teng would absolutely appear at the time and location that Long Ke had shared, and he would wait there to interrupt them.

    This was not something that Lu Yin had nned in advance. Rather, it was a sudden stroke of inspiration. Bai Teng was so eager to aplish something that he would never abandon any possible clue.

    So far, Lu Yin had only acquired half of the four ruling powers¡¯ restriction methods for controlling the members of Star Alliance. He still needed the portions that belonged to the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family, and this might be an opportunity for Lu Yin. If everything worked out, he might be able to capture Bai Teng when he arrived at the meeting ce.

    If Bai Teng could not figure out what Lu Yin had said while Possessing Long Ke, then the n woulde to nothing, and Lu Yin could only say that he had overestimated Bai Teng.

    Reality proved that Lu Yin was correct in his judgment of Bai Teng. The sect master had ordered Bai Lin to continue to share his location. Then, Bai Teng had observed the Middle Ocean. The moment that Lu Yin split off from the other two, the sect master looked up. "Sure enough, there¡¯s something fishy going on. Bai Lin is saying that Yu Hao is still on the paper boat, on their way to the Middle Realm, but he¡¯s clearly going somewhere else."

    A smile appeared on the sect master¡¯s face, and he quickly chased after Lu Yin to see where the young man was going.

 Chapter 2224: Capture

    Chapter 2224: Capture

    After Bai Teng left, Long Ke appeared. He had seeded in transforming his branch family of the White Dragon n into the main family. This sess was not only because the previous main family had been too close to the Lu family, but also because Long Ke himself was extremely observant.

    He had watched Bai Teng question Yu Hao, and something had felt off about the situation. Bai Teng had constantly been observing Long Ke, but Long Ke had also been keeping an eye on Bai Teng.

    Thus, as soon as Long Ke saw Bai Teng leave, the patriarch chased after the sect master.

    Bai Teng believed that he knew Lu Yin¡¯s destination and that he would be able to learn something by following the young man. However, Bai Teng had never imagined that Long Ke would be following him as well.

    Long Ke had once wanted to use Long Qi¡¯s existence to remove Long Quan. The patriarch of the White Dragon n had a mind that Bai Teng could not fathom.

    It was in this manner that Lu Yin arrived at a certain deserted ind, with Bai Teng following close behind. The sect master hid himself within the waters of the Middle Ocean while observing Lu Yin, and further back, Long Ke trailed behind Bai Teng.

    Lu Yin found his current situation truly bizarre. What the hell was going on? Bai Teng¡¯s appearance was nned and expected, but Long Ke¡¯s arrival was a surprise. What¡¯s more, Bei Teng was too much of an idiot to even realize that he had been followed.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had been on guard the entire time, and so he hid himself the moment he noticed Long Ke. Only Bei Teng caught a glimpse of Yu Hao, while Long Ke saw nothing at all.

    Behind Bai Teng, Long Ke also found the situation to be quite odd. Just what was Bai Teng looking at? Aside from a few astral beasts, there was absolutely nothing on the deserted ind, but Bai Teng acted like he had found something.

    Lu Yin shook his head, Bai Teng might be an idiot, but even he would not arrive without some sort of protection in ce. If the sect master suspected that Yu Hao was capable of stealing the resources from the Junior Progenitors while keeping the entire thing hidden from the God of Food and the powerful guardians on each, then the man would definitely be very careful and have made adequate preparations.

    If Lu Yin acted hastily when attacking the sect master, it would likely instantly expose him to the four ruling powers.

    However, while Bai Teng had made his preparations, Lu Yin had made his own. One was Progenitor Smoke, and another was Truesight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought had been to attack Bai Teng with Truesight, but after thinking the situation through, Lu Yin had realized something. Since Bai Teng dared to follow him, Lu Yin had to be prepared for an attack as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, and Lu Yin would expose himself if he failed.

    In that case, it was best to ask Progenitor Smoke to step out.

    Lu Yin took out the mirror and entered the pocket dimension to speak with Progenitor Smoke.

    The woman instantly refused. "No. Who do you think I am? Do you think that I would stoop so low as to help you with such a trick? What a joke!"

    Lu Yin smiled apologetically. "Of course it¡¯s not just that. Rather, if this junior wants to rescue the survivors of the Lu family, I need to capture Bai Teng. While he is an idiot, he¡¯s notpletely stupid. He must have made some preparations, and I¡¯m worried that I won¡¯t be able to deal with them. That¡¯s why I¡¯m forced to ask you to interfere, Senior."

    "Listen to yourself! An idiot, but not stupid? Does such a person exist?" Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes.

    Lu Yin was forced to reveal something. "Senior, please look at this."

    He pulled out the needle-like weapon.

    Progenitor Smoke grew a bit curious and looked over. "That? Isn¡¯t that the weapon that Lu Buzheng and the other guy used to try to break me free? What about it?"

    "Senior, please test its toughness now," Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke used a bit of strength to test the weapon, but there was no reaction at all. She used more force, increasing her power more and more until she used all the strength avable to her in her current state. Even then, the needle-like weapon showed not even the slightest hint of any damage.

    "It''s so tough, but I can¡¯t see anything special about it. I¡¯ve never focused on training my physical strength." Progenitor Smoke tossed the weapon back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin solemnly stated, "Senior, this weapon is at least five to ten times stronger than it was before."

    This was surprising for Progenitor Smoke to hear. "It¡¯s that much stronger? How did you do that?"

    She did not doubt Lu Yin''s im, as she knew that Lu Yin would not dare to lie to her.

    Lu Yin also was not just spouting off random nonsense. While he did not know exactly how much the weapon had improved after being Enhanced, he felt that his estimate should be fairly urate, given the amount of star essence he had spent on it. The weapon now likely approached the Progenitor realm in terms of power.

    Howrge was the gap in strength between Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors? It was not something that could be summarized as a mere increase in power, as it was impossible for even ten Semi-Progenitors to put up a fight against a Progenitor, not unless the Semi-Progenitors in question were absolute freaks like Bai Xian''er or Qing Ping.

    "It¡¯s this junior¡¯s innate gift. I can use star essence to improve the performance of certain items." Given Lu Yin¡¯s current status, there were certain things that needed to gradually be discussed, and others that needed to be slowly revealed.

    He felt that at least a few people likely already suspected his innate gift of being able to improve power vessels. He had already revealed the giant mechanical arm that he had picked up from the treasury in Endless Weave¡¯s warfront. Even back then, some people had most likely started to suspect that Lu Yin was capable of improving the performance of his items. Sooner orter, he would not be able to conceal this part of his innate gift.

    Of his die¡¯s six different abilities, ckhole Disassembly had already been revealed to the Technocracy, and others might have potentially realized that Lu Yin had the ability to Enhance items, just by analyzing his equipment. Gift Copy could be easily exposed if Lu Yin used it too frequently to borrow other people¡¯s innate gifts. As for Possession, Tian Dou had already unraveled that ability, though he was also dead. ckless God had also been involved in that matter, so it was notpletely impossible for Lu Yin¡¯s Possession ability to be known to the Skygod.

    It was possible that almost all six of the abilities of Lu Yin¡¯s die had been exposed, and Lu Yin no longer intended to keep everything aplete secret.

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "You have a second innate gift that allows you to do something like that? That¡¯s genuinely amazing. Even Old Fu isn¡¯t as impressive as you."

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "Even if it¡¯s amazing, it burns through too many resources. So, now you know what happened to all the resources on the Junior Progenitors, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke nodded, but curiosity filled her eyes. "Show me how you use your innate gift."

    "I can''t use it for now. After each use, I have to rest for a long, long time. Otherwise, my innate gift would be too freakish."

    "True. There¡¯s a bnce to all things in the universe, and there¡¯s no innate gift that¡¯s truly wless. In that case, how far can you improve this needle-like weapon? Is this the limit?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior doesn¡¯t really know, but Senior, time is running out. Please help me capture Bai Teng as soon as possible. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be exposed to Long Ke as soon as hends on this ind, and then I¡¯ll be in a great deal of trouble."

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "You¡¯re actually sending one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas on an errand like this? You really know how to have fun, kid."

    The woman then left the pocket dimension within the mirror, which allowed Lu Yin to heave a sigh of relief. It was bing more and more troublesome to ask this woman for help.

    In the waters near the deserted ind, Bai Teng started to drift upwards a bit. Just where had that brat gone?

    The man was clenching his cosmic ring. If Yu Hao had indeed stolen the star essence from three of the Junior Progenitors, then he had to have a top powerhouse working with him. Bai Teng understood this, and yet he had still been bold enough to chase after Yu Hao. Naturally, the sect master had made some preparations, and he had also reported the current situation to the Progenitor. Bai Teng was not trying to personally capture the thief who had raided the Junior Progenitors, but rather just expose the criminal.

    More and more people in the Celestial Frost Sect were no longer paying any attention to Bai Teng, and it was just a matter of time before Xian¡¯er left seclusion. As soon as that happened, the position of sect master would be hers. Bai Teng was unwilling to lose his position, even to his own daughter. Thus, he had to aplish something of note, and he would do whatever it took to seed.

    Even as his mind continued to race, Bai Teng still could not find any hint of Yu Hao¡¯s presence on the deserted ind.

    The sect master was in a bit of a rush. Yu Hao had disappeared, but where was Long Ke? The White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch should have arrived by now.

    Far away, Long Ke was still observing Bai Teng. Just what was this idiot doing?

    Wisps of fog twined around Bai Teng just above the ocean¡¯s surface, but Bai Teng did not react at all. It was only after the fogpletely surrounded him and cut off his connection to his cosmic ring that Bai Teng¡¯s expression changed drastically. He instinctively tried to take out the treasure given to him by his Progenitor, but he was toote, and he was instantly dragged into the mirror by the surrounding fog.

    Further away, Long Ke was deeply disturbed by the sight of Bai Teng¡¯s mysterious disappearance. However, Long Ke was also unable to react in time, and he was also captured by the fog, instantly losing consciousness.

    Lu Yin watched from the deserted ind as both Bai Teng and Long Ke copsed. The first step of his n could be considered a sess.

    He threw Bai Teng onto Zenith Mountain, just like what he had done with Xia Xing''s clone. Then, Lu Yin Possessed Long Ke''s body. As for Lu Yin¡¯s own body, he asked Progenitor Smoke to help him conceal it. He wanted to make sure that no one saw anything other than Long Ke. Lu Yin absolutely did not want to be discovered.

    Progenitor Smoke became quite curious about what Lu Yin intended to do.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin guided Long Ke¡¯s body back to the Ind of Hope. Lu Yin¡¯s own body never moved more than five meters away from Long Ke, though due to Progenitor Smoke¡¯s wei, no one could see Lu Yin¡¯s body, not even the God of Food.

    Lu Yin had gradually gained a deeper understanding of Progenitor Smoke. While the woman was not a powerfulbatant, her wei was absolutely perfect for capturing people, hiding things, and other utility tasks.

    Also, he hade to understand that, when Progenitor Smoke had imed that not even Progenitor Chen would be guaranteed to be able to break her free from her trapped situation, that was not because her wei was overly powerful. Instead, it was more of an indication of how perfectly suited wei was for trapping and restraining people. Pure strength might not be enough to free someone from Progenitor Smoke¡¯s wei.

    After understanding this particr detail, Lu Yin had lost confidence in freeing the Progenitor with the needle-like weapon. Even if Progenitor Smoke had exaggerated things slightly, it was quite possible that an ordinary Progenitor would not be strong enough to free her. Regardless of how much Lu Yin Enhanced the needle-like weapon, it would only be able to touch upon the power of the Progenitor realm at best. Unless¡­

    Lu Yin guided Long Ke''s body back to the Ind of Hope, avoiding other people as much as possible along the way, but he soon caught Wang Zheng''s attention.

    Wang Zheng had quickly noticed that both Bai Teng and Long Ke had left, but he had been too busy to follow after the two men.

    When Wang Zheng saw Long Ke return, he moved forward to ask about where the two patriarchs had gone, but Wang Zheng quickly noticed that Long Ke was injured. There was blood at the corner of his mouth, and he was acting like he was afraid of being seen. Long Ke quickly cleaned his face and returned to his n¡¯s Junior Progenitor.

    Wang Zheng''s eyes shed. Clearly, something had happened. He immediately tried to contact Bai Teng through hismunication crystal, but his crystal could not connect to the other man. Wang Zheng moved on to call Long Ke, and after waiting for a long time, Long Ke finally answered Wang Zheng¡¯s call.

    "Brother Long, where did you just go? I wasn¡¯t able to find you," Wang Zheng asked.

    Lu Yin was still controlling Long Ke''s body, and he replied, "I achieved a bit of insight into my cultivation, so I wasn¡¯t paying attention. What''s wrong, Brother Wang?"

    Wang Zheng asked, "Brother Long, do you know where Bai Teng went?"

    Long Keughed. "Why would I know anything about that? Well, if there¡¯s nothing else that you need, Brother Wang, I would like to go into seclusion."

    It was quite clear that Long Ke was eager to end the call.

    Wang Zheng red at themunication crystal in his hand. There was clearly something wrong with Long Ke.

    Lu Yin ended the Possession and then left the Ind of Hope while hidden by Progenitor Smoke''s wei. He traveled quickly, quickly joining back up with Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai. They had no idea that Bai Teng, the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, had just been kidnapped.

    After grabbing Bai Teng, Lu Yin rxed a great deal. He smiled more when he looked at Bai Weiwei, which caused the young woman to think that her professor had some feelings for her.

    After a few days of traveling, Lu Yin and the others arrived back in the Middle Realm, and they continued to travel towards Virtue Archives. After they returned, news came out that the Celestial Frost Sect had arrested Long Ke on the Ind of Hope. The news shook the Perennial World.

    Long Ke was the patriarch of the White Dragon n, not some lowly cultivator, but the Celestial Frost Sect had still arrested the man. This enraged the White Dragon n, and it shocked both Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family.

    However, this matter was actually rted to Wang Zheng, as his words had led to Long Ke¡¯s arrest. After all, Long Ke had been arrested because he was the primary suspect in Bai Teng¡¯s disappearance and in the loss of the resources on the Junior Progenitors.

    In the Higher Realm, at the gates of the Celestial Frost Sect, Long Ke was beyond furious. Despite his status as the patriarch of the White Dragon n, he had actually been captured and arrested by the Celestial Frost Sect like amon criminal. This was a humiliation that he would never be able to live down.

    "Patriarch Long Ke, what is your connection to my sect master''s disappearance?" an old man demanded in a stern voice. This man was Wu Yao, and he was a Semi-Progenitor who had been recruited by the Celestial Frost Sect.

 Chapter 2225: Spearhead

    Chapter 2225: Spearhead

    There were countless cultivators in the Perennial World, and Semi-Progenitors were not limited to only appearing in powerful families or sects. On rare asions, independent cultivators could also be Semi-Progenitors, or they could rise up from small families or sects. However, all Semi-Progenitors would be forced to join one of the four ruling powers, and if not, then the Semi-Progenitor would be sent to the rear battlefield. This was the four ruling powers¡¯ method of maintaining control over the Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, and it was quite simr to how Star Alliance was used to control Envoys.

    Still, not even the four ruling powers dared to push too hard when it came to Semi-Progenitors.

    Wu Yao had been an independent cultivator, and he had been known for being ruthless and cruel. Millions of corpsesy in his wake, and he had also taken the initiative to join the Celestial Frost Sect on his own. After all he knew that if he had not done so, he would have been banished to the rear battlefield and forced to fight until his death.

    Long Ke stared back at Wu Yao. "I had nothing to do with that."

    Wu Yao¡¯s voice dropped low. "Patriarch Wang Zheng is a witness to the fact that you are somehow connected to our sect master''s disappearance."

    Long Ke turned to re at Wang Zheng, who then stepped forward. "Brother Long, I saw for myself that when you returned to the Ind of Hope, you were injured. Senior God of Food can also verify that you left at the same time as Sect Master Bai Teng."

    Long Ke softly answered, "I did leave right after Bai Teng, but I never did anything to him. I don''t even know how I got back."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous. Patriarch Long Ke, do you really expect us to believe such a thing?" Wu Yao mocked.

    Long Ke felt incredibly wronged. He truly had no idea how he had returned to the Ind of Hope. Hisst memory before finding himself on the ind had been seeing Bai Teng disappear. There was nothing at all after that. The next thing that Long Ke could recall was awakening on the Ind of Hope, already injured.

    Just what had happened? Who had injured him? Had Bai Teng gone missing?

    "Wang Zheng, did you personally see me attack Bai Teng?" Long Ke demanded in a loud voice.

    Wang Zheng shook his head. "I never imed that you attacked Bai Teng, but simply that you are somehow connected to his disappearance. I have no idea if you attacked him or not, but the Celestial Frost Sect is already looking into this."

    Long Ke looked back at Wu Yao. "What has your Celestial Frost Sect found?"

    Wu Yao sneered. "Nothing."

    "In that case, why arrest me?" Long Ke roared. "Do you think that my n¡¯s Progenitor Long will just let this go? Your Celestial Frost Sect has not reached the level of the Lu family! You can¡¯t just pass judgment on me without cause!"

    Wu Yao shouted back, "We may not have found anything, but you are still the chief suspect! For someone to snatch the resources of the Junior Progenitors from right beneath the God of Food¡¯s watch, there must be a truly powerful expert behind this. Dealing with a mere sect master would be no issue at all. Long Ke, denying things won¡¯t help you at all."

    On the other side of the Higher Realm, in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Xia Ziheng and several others were paying close attention to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s interrogation of Long Ke.

    "Why would Long Ke attack Bai Teng? Given Long Ke¡¯s strength, it¡¯s impossible for him to capture or kill Bai Teng quietly. Someone else must have acted to make Bai Teng vanish without attracting even the God of Food¡¯s attention. Such a person has to be incredibly powerful," Xia Ziheng said.

    Xia Xing thought aloud,menting, "That matches with how the resources on the Junior Progenitors were stolen, but why would Long Ke attack Bai Teng now of all times? That just doesn''t make sense, even if he did want to attack. After all, the God of Food saw Long Ke leave with Bai Teng, even if Wang Zheng hadn¡¯t noticed him return alone and injured. On top of that, if the person apparently behind Long Ke dealt with Bai Teng, then how did Long Ke end up injured?"

    "Everything about this is strange. It just seems wrong," Xia Ziheng agreed.

    At that point, the Semi-Progenitor nced over at Xia Shenfei, who was drinking nearby. "Shenfei, what do you think of all this?"

    Despite Xia Shenfei¡¯s alcoholism, no one would dare to underestimate him. Despite his abuse of alcohol during the time when the four Junior Progenitors hadpeted against each other, Xia Shenfei¡¯s cultivation had never fallen behind any of the other three. Later, in order to infiltrate Realmless, he hadpletely stopped drinking for twenty years, which showed just how ruthless he could be even on himself. He had remained sober for twenty years, and he had risen through the ranks and even snuck into Realmless¡¯s headquarters, which had facilitated the destruction of arge part of Realmless. Xia Shenfei¡¯s abilities were unquestionable.

    Xia Shenfei lowered the gourd full of wine. "By analyzing the current situation, one possibility is that Long Ke attacked Bai Teng spontaneously, possibly because Bai Teng discovered something. The other possibility is that Long Ke is being framed by someone."

    Xia Xing frowned. "Wang Zheng personally saw Long Ke when he returned to the Ind of Hope. You think that he could be being framed? By whom? Wang Zheng?"

    Xia Shenfei let out a long sigh. "That doesn¡¯t really add up either. There¡¯s no reason for Wang Zheng to frame Long Ke."

    "There¡¯s no way anyone could be framing him. Wang Zheng personally saw Long Ke return. The only way the man could be framed is if someone could control him," Xia Xing countered.

    That possibility was immediately dismissed. With the God of Food¡¯s presence on the Ind of Hope, how could anyone manage to raid the Junior Progenitors, take control of Long Ke, and then manipte the man into having a conversation with Wang Zheng without the God of Food ever noticing a thing? It was impossible for any Semi-Progenitor to do so. Only Progenitors could pull such things off, and why would a Progenitor bother to do such a thing?

    "There¡¯s onest possibility." Xia Shenfei took another sip of his wine before opening his blurry eyes. "Someone messed up and acted on their own."

    Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng nced at each other in disbelief. Someone made a mistake? That could only mean someone from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Instantly, the two men started reevaluating everything that they knew about the situation. If the Celestial Frost Sect was the one that had taken action, then everything fell into ce, including even Bai Teng¡¯s disappearance. It was possible that Long Ke''s injury was indeed from a fight with Bai Teng. But in this scenario, Bai Teng would be fine after the fight, and Long Ke might simply not want to reveal the truth. It was also possible that Bei Teng had purposely disappeared after Long Ke had returned to the Ind of Hope, just to make Long Ke look suspicious.

    This would perfectly exin Long Ke''s inability to say anything to clear his name of being involved with Bai Teng''s disappearance.

    However, why would the Celestial Frost Sect have done such a thing?

    Xia Ziheng stared at Xia Xing. "If the Celestial Frost Sect is also behind your clone¡¯s disappearance, then they seem to want to seize total control of Star Alliance and also recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan. With their sect master¡¯s disappearance, no one will suspect them at all, and at the same time, these recent matters at the Ind of Hope have created rifts and doubts towards the Wang family and the White Dragon n. It all fits."

    Xia Xing took a deep breath. "If this is true, then who do you think took action?"

    "That woman." Xia Ziheng did not hesitate at all.

    Xia Xing nodded and continued down this line of thought. "Such schemes are not at all surprisinging from her. This matter creates distrust towards both the White Dragon n and the Wang family, while my Shenwu''s Sky would stop considering the possibility that the Celestial Frost Sect captured my clone. As far as the Celestial Frost Sect is concerned, their only loss is Bai Teng, who¡¯s nothing more than a figurehead. This is a vicious move. It¡¯s even possible that they stole the resources from three Junior Progenitors, while leaving the Wang family¡¯s untouched. Simultaneously, they¡¯ve manipted things to force more grudges onto the White Dragon n, while also making the Wang family look like possible thieves.

    "It¡¯s a clever scheme, and it covers everything while muddying the waters in the Higher Realm. There¡¯s only one thing left for them to do." Xia Xing turned to look at Xia Ziheng, and the two both said in unison, "Get Yu Hao."

    Xia Shenfei opened his eyes once again. "If the Celestial Frost Sect really is behind everything, then after creating chaos in the Higher Realm, their next task will definitely be to recruit Grandmaster Gu Yan and then gain control of Star Alliance, if at all possible. Unfortunately, I¡¯m quite sure that they are able to force the clone that¡¯s been captured to give up our portion of the restriction."

    Upon seeing the ugly expression on his father¡¯s face, Xia Shenfei quicklymented, "Father, don''t get upset. I¡¯m not looking down on your clone, but the Celestial Frost Sect is just capable of using too many tricks."

    "I know."

    Xia Shenfei continued to say, "If Shenwu''s Sky wants to stop them, then the only ones we can work with are the Wang family and the White Dragon n. After seeing what¡¯s happened to Long Ke, I¡¯d guess that they won¡¯t dare to do anything against the Celestial Frost Sect for some time. If the White Dragon n is out of the picture, then our only possible ally is the Wang family.¡±

    "That''s also why the star essence was left untouched on the Wang family¡¯s Junior Progenitor. It¡¯s a ploy by the Celestial Frost Sect to prevent the Wang family from being able to move against them," Xia Ziheng blurted out, finally understanding thest piece of the puzzle.

    Xia Ziheng and Xia Xing nced at each other. The two men felt chills run down their backs. "That woman''spletely vicious, just like the Lu family of the past. We need to tell the White Dragon n and the Wang family what we¡¯ve learned of as soon as possible. If the Celestial Frost Sect seeds in taking control of Star Alliance and Grandmaster Gu Yan, then we¡¯ll all be at a severe disadvantage."

    "If that woman¡¯s using these kinds of schemes, then it¡¯s possible that she¡¯s already approaching her next breakthrough. She might also have been the one to steal the star essence from the threes, as she¡¯s certainly able to do something like that while keeping everything hidden from the God of Food," Xia Xing said solemnly.

    Xia Shenfei coughed. "Wait, we¡¯re just specting, so we can¡¯t be too aggressive in our actions. After all, what we¡¯re thinking might not actually be correct."

    Xia Ziheng shook his head. "This should be what happened. Bai Weiwei has continuously tried to win over Yu Hao in Virtue Archives. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s goals have been known for a long time already, and while we found traces of someone using the Lifeseizer Palm where the sect master¡¯s clone was attacked, it is just as likely to have been the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Celestial Suppression."

    Xia Shenfei continued mulling things over. While their guesses appeared to be the most likely possibility, had they actually discovered the truth?

    There were times when people could mentally connect a series of events usingplicated clues, and they would automatically believe their assumptions to be true. In fact, the moreplicated the connections, the more convinced people would be that they had discovered the truth.

    From the disappearance of Xia Xing''s clone to the disappearance of Bai Teng, the three men had concocted a series of connections, and everything pointed at the Celestial Frost Sect being the culprit.

    Who could know that Lu Yin, who was actually behind everything that had happened, had not actually put much thought into his actions? He had simply captured Bai Teng because of a passing thought, and Long Ke¡¯s presence on the Ind of Hope had been aplete coincidence. The timing had been too perfect. While Lu Yin had not intended to frame the Celestial Frost Sect, and it was even possible that he coulde up with such a n, he had simply not put much thought into the ramifications of his actions.

    Regardless, Xia Ziheng and the others eventually ced the guilt for Lu Yin¡¯s crimes firmly onto the Celestial Frost Sect. It was all because of how the four ruling powers were constantly in conflict with each other and struggling for dominance.

    As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they were feeling very confused at this moment. Long Ke did not seem to be lying, but Bai Teng was missing, and Long Ke remained the most likely suspect. It was impossible for the Celestial Frost Sect to simply allow Long Ke to leave. Unfortunately, the prolonged arrest only served as confirmation of the Xia family¡¯s spection. It was soon decided that they would reach out to the White Dragon n and the Wang family and then secretly cooperate to prevent the Celestial Frost Sect''s n from seeding.

    In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin spent two days resting after his return, and he then went to see Prof. Wei. He sat with her and listened to a story that she told.

    "Throughout the long history of the Perennial World, more Progenitors have appeared than just the ones who are currently alive. Some died on the rear battlefield, while others disappeared, and no one knows where they might have gone. Progenitor Wen, who you¡¯ve been looking into, was killed on the rear battlefield, and he was supposedly taken down by a Progenitor from Aeternus." Prof. Wei spoke in a casual tone, but when she saw how closely Lu Yin was paying attention, she asked, "Do you enjoy learning about history, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I would love to learn more about various Progenitors."

    Prof. Wei shook her head. Her expression waspletely calm and clear, like a gentle tea. "All I know about is history, which means that, even if we don¡¯t consider Progenitors, there¡¯s a great deal of information about Semi-Progenitors that I don¡¯t know about. If you want to learn more about matters at that level, you should speak with the headmaster."

    Lu Yin then asked a different question. "Prof. Wei, what do you know about the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    Prof. Wei shook her head again. "I really barely know anything at all."

    "Could you tell me what you do know? Anything at all would be great," Lu Yin encouraged.

    Prof. Wei gave a small smile. "Very well. In that case, we¡¯ll talk about Progenitor Chen first. His name was originally Xia Shang, and he was born in a branch family of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Xia family. Shenwu''s Sky¡­"

    Lu Yin had a very rxed every time he met with Prof. Wei. It felt as though he was sitting and observing the long river of history slowly flow by. While it was impossible to change anything in these stories, it was still quite pleasant to watch and hear about them.

 Chapter 2226: The Second Sword Attack

    Chapter 2226: The Second Sword Attack

    Nong Siniang waspletely the opposite of Prof. Wei. The young woman was very noisy, though cheerful. As soon as she discovered that Yu Hao had returned to Virtue Archives, Nong Siniang glued herself to his side, even when he went to visit with Prof. Wei. Still, there were a few irritating things about the young woman.

    "A sword spar?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Prof. Wei also gave Nong Siniang a curious look.

    Nong Siniang pursed her lips. She felt a bit offended and frustrated. "That Liu Que is just too arrogant! All I said was that his sword looks like our hoes, and he answered by saying that our hoes aren¡¯t worthy! How ridiculous! Prof. Hao Yu, don¡¯t you agree? Doesn''t his broken, chipped sword look like a hoe?"

    Lu Yin found this argument a bit weird, but he did notment on it. If a sword¡¯s hilt was bent to the side, it might look a bit like a hoe, but he would not admit that out loud. "So you challenged him to a fight?"

    "Hmph! Our hoes can plow the ground to grow food, or they can be used to remove the earth and dig graves. What can he do with his broken sword? All his toy is good for is fighting! Our hoes are not limited to just agriculture." Nong Siniang clenched her fist as she ranted.

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless, and he looked at Prof. Wei, who shrugged.

    Prof. Wei found the entire argument to be hrious. "I heard that the Seed Garden¡¯s Nong family is able to use their hoes in a very powerful manner. I would love to see it for myself."

    Nong Siniang held her head up high in a proud manner, but she soon crumpled. She looked over to ask Hao Yu for help. "Prof. Hao Yu, even if my family can use our hoes in a powerful manner, I¡¯m not very good at it. I- I can¡¯t beat Liu Que. What should I do?"

    "What are you hoping for?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

    Nong Siniang''s eyes lit up. "When you introduced yourself in your first ss, you mentioned that you are good at giving pointers. Could you help me with that? Even if I can¡¯t defeat Liu Que, at the least, I don''t want to embarrass my Nong family¡¯s hoe."

    As the young woman spoke, she pulled out her hoe.

    An odd expression appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face. He actually had a hoe as well, and it was one that he had picked up from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nong family. Actually, that Nong family also focused on farming and using farm equipment; could the two families havee from amon ancestor?

    Nong Zaitian had imed that his hoe was a power vessel that Nong Laohan had discovered in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, but Lu Yin felt like that story might have been made up by Nong Laohan. It was much more likely that the hoe was an inherited weapon of the Nong family.

    "Professor, please observe a few of my attacks and see if you cane up with any suggestions for me." Nong Siniang did not even give ¡°Yu Hao¡± the opportunity to refuse, and she immediately clenched her hoe and prepared to release a few attacks. The Liu family was as famous as the Sword Monument that they protected, but a hoe was not typically acknowledged as a weapon.

    While hoes were not as established a weapon as swords, Lu Yin had already seen both Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie use battle techniques specifically designed to be used with a hoe. The Nong family¡¯s battle techniques revolved around farming, but they were still very powerful, and they were even good enough topare to the four ruling powers¡¯ battle techniques. Nong Sanniang had even been powerful enough to challenge the four Junior Progenitors.

    While Nong Siniang was not as impressive as Nong Sanniang had been at the same age, Siniang was still quite skilled with the hoe, and most people were far from qualifying as her opponents.

    Some timeter, Nong Siniang was gasping for air while looking at Lu Yin with high expectations. "Well, Professor? What do you think?"

    Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed. "I haven''t seen Liu Que''s sword skills, so I can¡¯t really make anyparison."

    Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Professor, are you able to see through my Seed Garden¡¯s battle techniques at all?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. Even if he was able to see through the battle techniques, he would not admit it.

    Prof. Wei spoke up. "Are you going to use Plowing the Land?"

    Nong Siniang looked at Prof. Wei in surprise. "Yes. You know about that, Prof. Wei?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What are you talking about?"

    Nong Siniang exined, "My Nong family¡¯s battle techniques are dependent on belief, a sort of persistence. When we use our battle techniques, the images of everyone we¡¯ve ever observed farming and using hoes oveps, which produces an incredible momentum for our techniques. It can be thought of as both a battle technique and a secret technique, though it doesn¡¯t work against anyone who¡¯s too strong. Still, if Prof. Hao Yu can use a hoe to perform Plowing the Land, then I can impose that image onto the ones that I already have. Then, your technique will be merged into the power of my own Plowing the Land."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. How was this anything different from a visualization method? While it could not be regarded as aplete visualization method, it was one that was unique to the Nong family. Using a visualization method directly on a battle technique was not how the four ruling powers used their versions of visualization methods, but they had also stolen theirs from the Lu family.

    "Professor, can you please help me?" Nong Siniang begged.

    Lu Yin had to ask, "If this works bybining the images of everyone that you¡¯ve seen using Plowing the Land, that must already be a lot of people. Why ask for my help as well?"

    Nong Siniangughed. "One more is still one more."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "What do I need to do?"

    "Just use Plowing the Land, Professor. All you need to do is limit your strength to the peak of what I can control when using Plowing the Land, which is about thirty cycles. As long as you maintain a power level of about that much, the image of you using Plowing the Land will merge with what I already have. The morebat power that you can exert within the limitations of the power level, the more helpful it will be for me," Nong Siniang exined.

    Lu Yin reluctantly took the hoe. "So, basically, you just need me to do a bit of farming?"

    Nong Siniang nodded. In truth, she had asked ¡°Yu Hao¡± to help her prepare for the spar with Liu Que because she wanted to watch her professor do a bit of farming. This was a unique pastime of the Nong family. All of the members of the family enjoyed seeing people working the fields and sweating like rainfall. It made them feel closer to the earth.

    As for the excuse ofbining the image of ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± movements with what Nong Siniang already possessed, it would not really improve her move by much. If it was that easy to strengthen the technique, then the Nong family would have alreadypletely suppressed the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin held the hoe, raised it high, and then suddenly mmed it down. Since he had agreed to help, he would do so properly. He maintained a level of strengthparable to a thirty cycle Enlighter while unleashing the maximum level ofbat power that he was capable of with this restriction. This was nothing difficult, as he just needed to increase his pure physical strength.

    When Lu Yin had been a thirty cycle Enlighter, he had already been capable of fighting Envoys on his own, and he had even surpassed thebat power of regr Envoys. For example, he had even surpassed a peak one-tribtion Envoy like Shi Xin.

    The hoe fell, and while Nong Siniang was unable to see anything special about ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± movements, Prof. Wei''s eyes lit up. "Siniang, you¡¯ve been blessed!"

    Nong Siniang was simply obsessed with watching the beautiful sight of ¡°Yu Hao¡± tilling the soil, so she did not even register Prof. Qing Wei''s words.

    Prof. Wei smiled andmented, "Go find Liu Que. You¡¯ll give him quite the surprise."

    Only then was Nong Siniang roused from her daze, and she reluctantly took her leave.

    After Nong Siniang was gone, Prof. Wei turned back to ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "Prof. Hao Yu, you certainly have some well-hidden secrets. Thebat power that you just released is truly astonishing. Liu Que is going to be shocked."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I just did my best. It¡¯s my responsibility to help when a student requests it."

    "So, if I want to ask Prof. Hao Yu for help in the future, will you help me as well?" Prof. Wei stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "As I should."

    Prof. Wei smiled and then resumed sharing historical anecdotes with Lu Yin.

    Elsewhere in the academy, Nong Siniang found Liu Que, and the swordsman frowned. "I don''t have time to y with you."

    Nong Siniang taunted the young man, "Liu Que! You¡¯ve mocked the hoe, and today, I want to prove its worth!"

    Many students nearby started shouting. Nong Siniang was quite popr among the students while Liu Que, despite being amazingly powerful, was rather cold. Thus, he had made no friends at all.

    Liu Que calmly replied, "Alright. I''ll exchange one attack with you, but no more than that."

    Nong Siniang was eager to start the spar, so she pulled out her hoe. "You look down on people, but don¡¯t force your perceptions onto others! Just be harvested like an obedient radish!"

    The hoe rose high as Nong Siniang stepped forward, and the moment she was in front of Liu Que, the hoe dropped down.

    Liu Que looked up. His sword instantly appeared in his hand from its scabbard. He did not truly look down on the hoe, as that was impossible. The Nong family wasparable to the Liu family, though the Nong family¡¯s battle techniques were even more mysterious. Instead, Liu Que looked down on Nong Saniang. If he were confronted by Nong Lie or Nong Sanniang, Liu Que would not have been nearly as condescending.

    Liu Que knew that he was stronger than any of his peers from his generation. As far as he was concerned, the only ones who couldpare to him were the people from the same generation as thetest Junior Progenitors.

    "Plowing the Land!" Nong Siniang yelled, and countless images of hoes appeared and started to ovep. This sight was something that Liu Que had expected. While the names of the Nong family¡¯s battle techniques sounded simple and unpretentious, the techniques were truly profound and impressive. There was a deep power to them, but in the end, regardless of how powerful a battle technique might be, it was impossible topensate for the difference in strength between Liu Que and Nong Siniang.

    Liu Que''s sword rose up from below as he released a single sh.

    ng!

    A deafening sound rang out, and the indifferent expression finally left Liu Que¡¯s face. He almost lost his grip on his sword as an overbearing strength passed through from the descending hoe. The power reverberated through the sword and Liu Que¡¯s upraised arm, and ovepping vibrations ripped through everything. Liu Que let the momentum flow through his body and shifted his sword to the right while spinning his body in a circle to disperse the force. The sword followed along, and stopped with the tip pointing at Nong Siniang''s throat.

    A bitter expression painted Nong Siniang¡¯s face. So, she still ended up instantly being defeated?

    "Who have you seen in your Nong family who could defeat me as an Enlighter?" Liu Que demanded as he stared at Nong Siniang.

    Nong Siniang blinked. "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about."

    Liu Que pulled his sword back, still staring at Nong Siniang. There was no longer disinterest in the swordsman¡¯s eyes, but rather powerful curiosity. "Tell me the names of those that you¡¯ve seen farming."

    Nong Siniang rolled her eyes. "Why?"

    "You just lost."

    Nong Siniang sneered. "If I lost, then I lost. What? You want me to give you my body as well after that spar?"

    "Nong Siniang, I''m not toying with you. Your strength is nowhere near enough to force me to use a second attack," Liu Que stated quietly.

    Nong Siniang suddenly shouted, "That''s right! You used two attacks! You aren¡¯t as powerful as you imed, if you had to use a second attack to deal with me. I¡¯ll tell you right now that my sister doesn¡¯t need two moves to defeat me, which means that you¡¯re still far behind my sister."

    It did not matter what Liu Que said; Nong Siniang ignored everything, which left Liu Quepletely helpless.

    Nong Siniang was not stupid. While she had seen a few powerhouses use hoes and perform Plowing the Land, only a select few of those people contributed to her image, and she was familiar with the strength of all of those people. The only exception was Prof. Hao Yu. In fact, even Prof. Wei had said that Nong Siniang would be able to surprise Liu Que after seeing Hao Yu use Plowing the Land.

    Nong Siniang had yed dumb because she did not want a battle maniac like Liu Que making trouble for Prof. Hao Yu.

    After finally getting rid of Liu Que, Nong Siniang patted her chest. "What a pain!"

    Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her, and it was holding a gourd. The smell of alcohol was so strong that Nong Siniang¡¯s eyes almost started watering.

    She red at the person who had just appeared in front of her, quite irritated. "Who are you?"

    "Have you heard about the legend that ims that a drop of wine can dissolve all sorrows from your heart?" The man did not seem capable of standing up straight, and his words slurred. It was quite clear that he was drunk.

    Nong Siniang turned around to get away from the man, but he waved a hand and caused a drop of wine to fly out of the gourd and float in front of Nong Siniang''s eyes.

    "Tell me the names of everyone that you¡¯ve ever seen use Plowing the Land." The drunk spoke slowly, and the light of the Undying Bird¡¯s mes finally illuminated his face. Xia Shenfei had arrived in Virtue Archives.

    Just as Nong Siniang was about to answer, someone else appeared: Headmaster Wen.

    The headmaster stared at Xia Shenfei. "Child, while there¡¯s no problem with you visiting my academy, attacking my students is going too far."

    Xia Shenfei offered a respectful bow as soon as he saw Headmaster Wen. "Greetings, Senior Wen Lai."

 Chapter 2227: Testing The Waters

    Chapter 2227: Testing The Waters

    Headmaster Wen looked at Xia Shenfei and calmly replied, "Out of respect for your recent contributions to humanity, we¡¯ll just forget about this matter. I don¡¯t want anything unpleasant to happen in my academy, neither for you nor my students."

    Xia Shenfei looked somber. "This junior understands."

    Headmaster Wen then took Nong Siniang away, and Xia Shenfei let out a burp. He had watched the match between Liu Que and Nong Siniang, and Xia Shenfei was also quite curious about Nong Siniang¡¯s newfound strength that had forced Liu Que to make a second move. There was too vast a difference in strength between the two for something like a battle technique topensate for it.

    The only possibility was that Nong Siniang had observed someone who had thebat strength to cross realms and defeat Liu Que while having the same level of cultivation as Nong Siniang use the technique, but there was no one like that in Seed Garden. It had beenpletely impossible for Nong Siniang to force Liu Que to use that much strength in the past. Thus, for her to suddenly gain such strength, something had to have happened while she was studying in Virtue Archives. Xia Shenfei was very curious about who the responsible party might be.

    It was quite impressive for anyone to have abat strength sufficient to defeat Liu Que while only having Nong Siniang¡¯s cultivation. In fact, it would have been beyond even Xia Shenfei in the past.

    However, since the headmaster had interfered, Xia Shenfei had to drop the matter.

    He was in Virtue Archives to see Yu Hao. Xia Shenfei had always felt that there was something rather strange about Yu Hao¡¯s sudden appearance, or rather, everything else that had urred since then. While it could be just a coincidence that so many incidents had urred after Yu Hao¡¯s return, Xia Shenfei found that true coincidences were exceedingly rare.

    It was just a short timeter that Xia Shenfei found ¡°Yu Hao¡± by theke shore. Lu Yin was preparing for his afternoon ss, and was quite surprised to see Xia Shenfei arrive. "Xia Shenfei?"

    Yu Hao should absolutely be able to recognize Xia Shenfei.

    A smile spread across Xia Shenfei''s face. "You and I have never met."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Who wouldn¡¯t recognize one of the four Junior Progenitors? We certainly did meet before."

    Xia Shenfei stared into ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± eyes. "When and where was that?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared back at Xia Shenfei. The young man calmly stared back at the professor, just waiting for an answer.

    All of a sudden, a person shot over, causing Lu Yin and Shenfei to look over at the same time. It was Liu Que, and he stared intently at Xia Shenfei. Liu Que¡¯s eyes were filled with excitement and bloodlust. "You¡¯ve finally shown up."

    Xia Shenfeiughed. "It looks like this one¡¯s a battle maniac. This is going to be a bit of a pain."

    He then looked back at Lu Yin. "Yu Hao, we''ll see each other again."

    Xia Shenfei then tore through the void, fleeing the area. As for Liu Que, he instantly grew serious. "Xia Shenfei, don''t run!"

    The student instantly took off after the Junior Progenitor.

    Lu Yin remained quietly standing in the same ce, though his expression fell. Xia Shenfei had been testing his identity of Yu Hao. Had the two ever met? Lu Yin had no idea, and neither did Kui Luo. Xia Shenfei had always stayed in the Higher Realm, so if he had ever met Yu Hao, it would have had to be there, decades ago.

    Lu Yin had taken a risk, as he had not known if the two had any history between them. The gamble had paid off, as it seemed like Xia Shenfei had indeed met Yu Hao before. However, when had that happened? And where?

    Lu Yin hurried back to the stone pir that was his residence. After arriving, he took out Zenith Mountain and entered. He needed to speak with Xia Taili.

    Xia Taili was surprised by the question. "Yu Hao? How do you know about him? Are you back in the Perennial World?"

    Lu Yin said, "That''s right, I''m back in the Perennial World."

    Xia Taili instantly got excited, only for Lu Yin to smash her with reality again. "But I¡¯m not letting you go. I can¡¯t risk you getting away and reaching out to Shenwu''s Sky."

    Xia Taili gritted her teeth. "Are you going to keep me your prisoner forever?"

    "While people may not stay in seclusion for an entire lifetime, it''s perfectly normal to train for tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years at a time. It¡¯s perfectlymon for cultivators to stay in seclusion for long periods of time," Lu Yin replied.

    Xia Taili wanted to beat this bastard up, but the difference in strength between had already been made clear. She suppressed the urge.

    "However, as long as you tell me about Yu Hao, I can let you go." Lu Yin offered a condition.

    Xia Taili sneered. "Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot? Why would I care if you release me just a few years sooner?"

    "Two years," Lu Yin offered.

    Xia Taili stared at him, her eyesrge. "Two years?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s right. I''ll let you go,pletely free, within no more than two years."

    "For real?"

    "As long as you tell me the truth."

    "Deal!"

    "Start talking."

    Xia Taili pursed her lips, and she started to get a bit worried. "I¡¯ll have to think about this¡­ Yu Hao isn¡¯t someone very well-known. He just happened to marry into my Xia family. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t even remember him if not for the fact that he¡¯s pretty good-looking. He¡¯s from..."

    Xia Taili did not say very much, as she knew very little about Yu Hao. Lu Yin also did not say anything to jog the girl¡¯s memory, as he did not want to tell Xia Taili about what he was doing.

    "Right, that guy also almost became my big brother¡¯s sworn brother one time." Suddenly, Xia Taili remembered something important.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Your big brother? Xia Shenfei?"

    Xia Taili nodded andughed. "My big brother¡¯s a drunk. He spends all his time drinking, and he even ended up getting betrayed in the Dominion Realm because of it. Even though he likes to drink, he doesn¡¯t drink very high-quality wine. When he drinks too much, he sometimes likes to force people to admire him. If that person is someone whom my brother admires, he¡¯ll push to be sworn brothers. Wu Taibai was one of those people. My brother said that Wu Taibai has a long-term vision and the courage to do what he believes in, even if it¡¯s something outrageous. So, my big brother tried to force Wu Taibai to be his sworn brother, but Wu Taibai shot him down!¡±

    "Then, there was a weird little fruit that¡¯s like a living creature in Seed Garden. My brother thought that it was cute, so he tried to be sworn brothers with it, only to be rejected by the Nong family. As for Yu Hao, my brother admired him because he¡¯s the best looking man in the Perennial World. He tried to be sworn brothers again, only to be stopped by Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng."

    Lu Yin blinked. "So, in the end, Yu Hao didn''t be sworn brothers with your brother?"

    "Of course not! That guy just married into one of our branch families. More specifically, he married that bitch Xia Zhitong. There¡¯s no way he deserves to be my big brother¡¯s sworn brother," Xia Taili spat out.

    Lu Yin felt a bit curious. "Other than that, was there anything else that ever happened between Yu Hao and your brother?"

    "There shouldn¡¯t be. Yu Hao never went back to the Higher Realm, let alone Shenwu''s Sky. He and Xia Zhitong are my Shenwu''s Sky biggest embarrassment." Xia Taili clearly thought very little of Yu Hao.

    After she finished her exnation, Xia Taili gave Lu Yin a suspicious look. "Why do I get the feeling that you¡¯re interested in the connection between my big brother and Yu Hao?"

    Lu Yin set a hand on Xia Taili''s shoulder, and to Xia Taili¡¯s great confusion, told her, "Thank you."

    With that, Lu Yin left Zenith Mountain.

    Xia Taili waspletely stunned, and she could not help but think that she might have just been tricked.

    That same afternoon, after Lu Yin¡¯s lecture had finished, Xia Shenfei returned to repeat his previous question. "When and where?"

    This time, Lu Yin became angry. "I know that your Xia family never liked me, but I''ve changed! Even if Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng still feels the same way as back then, he wouldn¡¯t dare to try stopping you from bing my sworn brother now. Do you still want to try?"

    Xia Shenfei arched a brow. So this man really was Yu Hao. Only four people knew about that particr matter: Xia Shenfei himself, Yu Hao, Xia Ziheng, and Xia Taili, who treated the whole thing as a joke. Taili was still in the Forsaken Land, and Xia Ziheng was a Semi-Progenitor. Thus, the only way for this person to know about that matter was for him to be the real Yu Hao.

    After spending so many years as a part of Realmless, Xia Shenfei had developed a habit of seeing beneath the surface. He always considered the worst possible option, and in the current situation, Yu Hao might be an imposter who was powerful enough that not even Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng could see through the disguise.

    However, if this person was a Semi-Progenitor in hiding, then it would still be impossible for him to know about Xia Shenfei¡¯s previous exchange with Yu Hao.

    The only possibility left was that this person was indeed the real Yu Hao.

    After staring at ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± face for an extended moment, Xia Shenfei took a sip of wine. "I hope the day wille when you can take me to visit Grandmaster Gu Yan."

    The drunkard then turned around and stumbled away.

    After Xia Shenfei left, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He had passed this test, but if Xia Shenfei had more doubts, then it would not be nearly that easy to deal with him. A few things needed to be sped up.

    The more actions that Lu Yin took, the higher the possibility that he would expose himself. This time, Xia Shenfei had arrived to test ¡°Yu Hao,¡± but the next visit might not just be a test.

    Lu Yin would not underestimate the four ruling powers. They were victims of their own cleverness, but Lu Yin was just as susceptible to make the same mistake as them.

    He needed to strengthen his position even further.

    Lu Yin left Virtue Archives to go see Yu Chuan, only to discover that the man had been taken away. Lu Yin immediately reached out to Xia Ziheng, using the contact information that he had been given.

    "Star Alliance doesn¡¯t belong to my Shenwu''s Sky, and their members are required to report to the four ruling powers as a whole. Yu Chuan¡¯s been absent for too long, so he needed to return. Don''t worry, though. We won''t let anything happen to him," Xia Ziheng replied.

    Lu Yin asked about Xia Shenfei as well, but Xia Ziheng had not known that Xia Shenfei had gone to visit Virtue Archives.

    This news let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief. No matter how suspicious Xia Shenfei might be of him or what his arrival might suggest, it was something Lu Yin could deal with for the time being. More importantly, it was not Shenwu¡¯s Sky that was doubting Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Yu Hao.

    Before the call ended, Xia Ziheng made it a point to warn Lu Yin not to get too close to Bai Weiwei. It seemed to Lu Yin that his attempt to pin Xia Xing¡¯s disappearance on the Celestial Frost Sect had worked, though it might have been too effective. Xia Ziheng did not sound suspicious of the Celestial Frost Sect, but rather certain that there was evidence proving their guilt.

    However, Bai Teng had also disappeared, so why did Xia Ziheng sound so certain?

    Lu Yin found the matter slightly confusing, but he did not care enough to look into it. As long as no suspicions were directed towards Yu Hao, he did not care what they thought of each other. For the time being, it was more important to appease Progenitor Smoke.

    In the pocket dimension within the mirror, Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin a weird look. "You want me to poke myself with a needle? What a genius¡­"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Kui Luo isn¡¯t around, and I have no idea where my senior brother might have gone. My strength is clearly not enough to help you or release you any further."

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. Still, she gripped the needle-like weapon and stared at the fog. Slowly, her hand rose. Fog gathered around the snow-white hand, condensing more and more. An unimaginable amount of fog gathered together, merging and roiling.

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. He had never seen Progenitor Smoke actually release an attack before. He had only ever seen the woman use her wei to hide things, people, and actions. Lu Yin had no idea how powerful the Progenitor¡¯s attacks were.

    Lu Yin could not see the power of the gathered wei, but he could at least sense that an unfathomable power had gathered at Progenitor Smoke''s hand. It felt as oppressive and overbearing as the simted universe in Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and with a sh of light, the needle-like weapon stabbed deep into the fog, opening an ever-widening hole. When the fog finally stopped moving, Progenitor Smoke''s eyes were glowing. "Not bad."

    Lu Yin felt quite curious. "Senior, how much of your strength were you able to release?"

    Progenitor Smoke nced over at Lu Yin, a smile still on her face. "Guess."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "This junior truly has no idea."

    "Then just forget about it." Progenitor Smoke stretched her waist. "It¡¯s too bad that it¡¯s still not even close to my full strength. In the end, a weapon is a dead thing, so there¡¯s no way that it canpletely free me."

    "Why don''t you use the slipper that this junior used before?" Lu Yin probed.

    Progenitor Smoke hated the very idea. "I don''t want to, and you aren¡¯t allowed to touch my wei with that nasty thing."

    Lu Yin licked his lips and smiled. "See, Senior? This junior did my best to help you. May I ask you for a favor?"

 Chapter 2228: Uninvited Guest

    Chapter 2228: Uninvited Guest

    "What are you going to do this time?" Progenitor Smoke asked sharply.

    Lu Yin replied, "Well, this junior wants to go to the Higher Realm. Would it be possible to use your wei to create a replica of this junior that pretends to be in seclusion here in the academy?"

    "Of course. That¡¯s simple enough to do," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Of course, the recement can¡¯t be noticed or seen through by Headmaster Wen or anyone else."

    Progenitor Smoke answered, "If you had asked me just a short while ago, the Semi-Progenitor level strength that I had ess to would not have been enough to do that, but things are different now. You don¡¯t have to worry¡ªthey won¡¯t be able to notice anything unless they deliberately destroy the ce where you¡¯re undergoing seclusion. If that happens, you¡¯ll bepletely out of luck."

    Lu Yin frowned. This was a good point. What if someone purposely attacked wherever he chose to go into seclusion? Headmaster Wen and the others from Virtue Archives would never do such a thing, but that was not necessarily true for the people from Shenwu''s Sky. As soon as Xia Ziheng or anyone else from the four ruling powers started to have doubts about Yu Hao, they might be willing to act against him, even inside the academy. What should he do?

    Lu Yin considered the situation for a moment and then looked back at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, could you please help this junior to make someone else look like me?"

    "This is something small enough that I can agree to help you given your diligence in helping me," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and quickly found Liu Shaoge.

    After considering several different people, Lu Yin had realized that no one was more suitable for such a role than Liu Shaoge. The man was a natural when it came to blending in and keeping himself hidden. In fact, he was likely even better at such things than Lu Yin.

    Liu Shaoge readily agreed, seeing as he was in no position to refuse.

    Of course, a Seal of Death was also left inside the man¡¯s body, as there was no other way for Lu Yin to trust Liu Shaoge.

    After seeing Liu Shaoge adopt Yu Hao¡¯s appearance, Lu Yin quickly shared everything that had recently happened while pretending to be Yu Hao. "The only issue is lockbreaking, but you can just refuse to do any of that because of physical difort or something."

    Liu Shaoge gave a small smile. "Don''t worry about it."

    Lu Yin had to admit that Liu Shaoge was far more simr to Yu Hao than Lu Yin. Liu Shaoge was able to smile more naturally, and he was also more¡­ hypocritical overall, at least in Lu Yin''s eyes.

    ¡­

    There was an unspoken rule among the four ruling powers in the Higher Realm, which was that the height of each of their headquarters could not be higher than the others.

    There was the cloud that the Celestial Frost Sect sat upon, the peak of Dragon Mountain, the cage of the dragon imprisoned by Shenwu''s Sky, and the orb of light that floated above thendmass that housed the Wang family. If a perfectly level ne was ced in the Higher realm and the heights of the four ruling powers werepared, then each of the four headquarters would be at the exact same height. None were the slightest bit higher or lower than any of the others.

    Of the four headquarters, thendmass that belonged to the Wang family was the most difficult to reach because they lived on a hand. Rather, they lived on andmass that was shaped like a hand that floated in the sky. Anyone who wanted to step foot onto thatndmass would find that reaching it was a hundred times more difficult than simply entering the Higher Realm.

    Not everyone qualified to step onto the Wang family¡¯s floatingndmass.

    Lu Yin had no difficulties reaching the Higher Realm. Once there, he passed over mountains,kes, and oceans, and he also saw various cities and towns. None of the cities were independent forces, as every one of them belonged to one of the four ruling powers. They were the only forces that were allowed to exist in the Higher Realm. Everyone else there was only support for the four ruling powers, providing servants, resources, mining efforts, food, and more for them.

    Lu Yin could not help but feel rather impressed as he stared at the massive hand that floated high in the sky. "That should be an actual hand, though I have no idea who it could have belonged to. Only a colossal giant¡¯s hand could be that big."

    The hand-shapedndmass that housed the Wang family was not terriblyrge, and all who lived on it were members of the Wang family. If Lu Yin wanted to obtain the Wang family''s portion of the restrictions that sealed the members of Star Alliance, then he needed to at least set foot on that hand.

    He had not yet developed a n to obtain their portion of the restriction method. The extent of his ns consisted of arriving and seeing what he could do. At this point, he could only take things one step at a time.

    Next to Lu Yin, Elder Qing Xingmented, "I apanied Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong here to the Wang family¡¯s home, but what I found most impressive about this ce was not thendmass they live on, but rather the glowing ball above it."

    Lu Yin looked up further and saw a sphere that looked like a sun.

    "It¡¯s said that that ball once burned a Progenitor to death," Elder Qing Xing exined.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Burned a Progenitor to death?"

    Elder Qing Xing replied, "It''s a legend, and no one knows if there¡¯s any truth to it or not. Still, each of the four ruling powers have their own foundation. Even the weakest of the four, the White Dragon n, can wake up the Ancestor Python. There¡¯s no telling what the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and the Wang family might be capable of doing when backed into a corner."

    Lu Yin knew that the man was warning him not to enter the Wang family¡¯s headquarters under disguise. If Lu Yin tried that, danger would strike everyone involved with him.

    After hearing Elder Qing Xing¡¯s warning, Lu Yin grew even more nervous, and he stared at the ball of light for a long, long time. "Let''s go find Lei Wu."

    Lei Wu was the member of the Hidden Earth Society whom Lu Yin had seen when he had Possessed an assassin many years ago. Lei Wu had been trying to enter Dragon Mountain, and he was originally from a city beneath the mountain. However, he had failed to gain the protection of the White Dragon n, so instead, Lei Wu had traveled to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. This was because one of the senior members of the Wang family was also a member of the Hidden Earth Society, and they could at least offer Lei Wu a bit of protection.

    Another member of the Hidden Earth Society had be a high-ranking member of the White Dragon n, and while that person was not ranked high enough to determine the overall direction of the White Dragon n, they had still been influential enough to protect Lei Wu. Unfortunately, that person had died during the battle on Dragon Mountain, which had prevented Lei Wu from seeking refuge in the White Dragon n. The man had been left with no choice but to travel to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    Lei Wu was Lu Yin¡¯s key to entering the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to force his way onto the hand-shapedndmass. The Wang family was a monstrous power with multiple Progenitors, so Lu Yin did not feelfortable trying to sneak in even with Progenitor Smoke''s power. He did not want his cover to be blown and all of his previous efforts to be destroyed in one risky gamble.

    He had already altered his appearance again. Instead of looking like Yu Hao, Lu Yin now had the appearance of a very average-looking man. Lu Yin had taken on the appearance of someone from Lei Wu¡¯s family.

    Some distance in front of Lu Yin, directly beneath the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, there was a massive cluster of multiple cities that were all interconnected. These cities were perfectly safe, as no fighting was allowed in the shadow of the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    In one of these cities in the urban cluster, Lei Wu feltpletely exhausted.

    After failing in the fight to gain control of his city, he had first gone to Dragon Mountain, hoping to receive the help of someone from the Hidden Earth Society. But instead, he had instead encountered an assassin. If that killer had not inexplicablymitted suicide, Lei Wu would have died there.

    As for the Hidden Earth Society member who had been a part of the White Dragon n, he had died during the chaos that had erupted on Dragon Mountain after Lu Xiaoxuan had been exposed. Lei Wu had then been forced to work for over a decade before he could travel to the Wang family¡¯s territory and get in touch with the members of the Hidden Earth Society who were a part of the Wang family. It was only afterpletely depleting the Lei family¡¯s wealth that Lei Wu had sessfully obtained the opportunity to freely enter the Wang family''s headquarters.

    The struggles that Lei Wu had ovee in traveling from Dragon Mountain to the Wang family¡¯s territory were unimaginable. Most of the people in his family had nearly died. The Higher Realm was simply too big and too dangerous.

    Lei Wu had finally obtained the opportunity to freely enter the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, and he would likely be ced in a city that belonged to the Wang family. Lei Wu could work towards taking control of that city, as he had before, but before any of that could happen, something terrible had urred: a senior member of the Hidden Earth Society had reached out and asked Lei Wu to help bring someone into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    The order absolutely stunned Lei Wu. Even an idiot would instantly understand that this person had evil intentions, and as soon as the Wang family went looking for them, Lei Wu would be discovered. Regardless of what happened to the person who wanted to sneak into the Wang family, Lei Wu would be done for.

    Even if he was lucky enough to not simply be eliminated by the Wang family, it would never be possible for him to travel to a territory controlled by another one of the four ruling powers. For starters, the Lei family simply did not have the financial means to bear such a burden.

    Lei Wu desperately wanted to refuse the request, but he was not even given the chance to do so by his senior in the Hidden Earth Society. The fact that Lei Wu had been approached instead of the Hidden Earth Society member who was already part of the Wang family made everything crystal clear: Lei Wu had been chosen because he was insignificant.

    The Hidden Earth Society existed throughout the entire Perennial World, but just because it was a secret society where its members helped each other, that did not mean that the members were selfless. Between Lei Wu and the Hidden Earth Society member who had joined the upper ranks of the Wang family, it was easy to determine who could be more easily sacrificed.

    "Grandpa, someone¡¯s here." Lei Wu''s grandson, Lei Yan, approached, a heavy expression on the young man¡¯s face.

    Lei Wu¡¯s grandson had been a young boy when the two of them had been attacked near Dragon Mountain, but in the years since, the young man had risen up to be a Hunter. He had matured into a reliable-looking young man.

    The Lei family¡¯s struggles in the recent decades had left Lei Wu both physically and mentally exhausted. Lei Yan had also suffered from ailments, as the young man had simply endured too much.

    The Lei family was quiterge. The members of the entire family had been given the right to freely enter and leave the Wang family¡¯s headquarters after they received approval. Their status in the city where they had settled down was quite good, and their home was massive, upying an entire section.

    At this moment, two strangers were standing outside the Lei family''s mansion, and they were both staring straight at Lei Wu. The two people¡¯s vision pierced through the void, allowing them to see Lei Wu very clearly, and they smiled at him.

    Lei Wu''s heart sank. The person that he was supposed to help had arrived. He wearily addressed the two strangers. "Please,e in."

    He then turned and requested some tea to be served. No matter Lei Wu¡¯s unwillingness to help, there were always certain niceties that needed to be addressed.

    Soon, the two strangers entered the room.

    Lei Wu greeted them with a smile. "Distinguished guests came to my door, but I was too far away to personally greet you at the gate. I hope that you will forgive this rudeness."

    One of the strangersughed. "Do you know us, Patriarch Lei?"

    Lei Wu replied, "I don''t know the two of you, but since you¡¯ve been sent to me by our mutual organization, then you can only be friends. I wonder, which of you wants to enter the Wang family¡¯s headquarters?"

    The two men nced at each other in surprise. "We both need to get up there."

    Lei Wu''s expression changed dramatically. "I agreed to the society¡¯s request to take one person, but I have no way to get two people in."

    "Society? What society?" the other stranger asked curiously.

    Just as Lei Wu was about to answer, he realized something: these two people were not part of the Hidden Earth Society!

    The patriarch¡¯s eyes shed, and his expression quickly recovered. "Naturally, I¡¯m part of a society of people living in these nearby cities who all want to curry favor with the Wang family. I periodically help other members reach the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, and those who are lucky are able to stay. Those who aren¡¯t lucky won¡¯t even have their corpse returned. Were you two not sent to me by the society?"

    "No, but we do want to visit the Wang family¡¯sndmass," said the first stranger.

    Lei Wu bluntly refused, "Since that''s the case, I''m sorry, but I can''t help you two. Please leave."

    "There¡¯s no need for this bullshit." The second stranger''s voice was soft, but a terrifying aura suddenly enveloped Lei Wu and Lei Yan.

    The two men grew pale, and they stared at the stranger in terror. "Ste- stellr energy?"

    The first stranger shook his head in a helpless manner. "There are times where there¡¯s no reason to be crude and rude. We need this man to get into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, and if some w is discovered in their behavior because of your actions, can you afford to take responsibility?"

    "Hmph." The pressure disappeared.

    Both Lei Wu and Lei Yan heaved sighs of relief. Their backs were already drenched. This was a major problem, as two unexpected guests had arrived.

    "Se- Seniors, why have youe to see my Lei family? There are many other families in these cities who are also able to freely enter and leave the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, and my Lei family is ranked at the very bottom." Lei Wu felt quite puzzled.

    "We don''t need to exin anything to you. If you don''t take us to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, then the Lei family will disappear," the second stranger said. While his words were simple, they gave Lei Wu chills. It was quite clear that this man was not joking.

    "I understand." Lei Wu had no choice but to agree.

    "We want to wait here in your home for someone. While we¡¯re waiting, everything needs to continue like normal. We won¡¯t interfere in any of the Lei family¡¯s activities, so just pretend like we¡¯re not even here," said the first stranger. He then asked to be shown to some guest quarters to rest.

 Chapter 2229: Deductions And Alliances

    Chapter 2229: Deductions And Alliances

    Lei Wu¡¯s eyes flickered as he watched the two strangers leave his room. These two men had not been sent to him by the Hidden Earth Society, which meant that someone else was after his Lei family. What would happen when the people from the Hidden Earth Society arrived? Could he afford to wait around and see?

    No, waiting was not an option. Terror filled Lei Wu''s eyes. While the Hidden Earth Society was a secret society that remained well hidden, they wielded influence in many organizations throughout the entire Perennial World and were actually quite powerful. The Hidden Earth Society remained hidden simply because being discovered would cause all of them to be eradicated and destroyed.

    Lei Wu did not believe that the people whom the Hidden Earth Society were sending his way could deal with the two strangers who had just arrived, especially since they were clearly waiting for the people to arrive. It also seemed like these two strangers were not on good terms with the Wang family. If they were willing to work against a monster like the Wang family, then they were part of something that the Hidden Earth Society could not afford to provoke.

    All of these thoughts ran through Lei Wu¡¯s head, leaving him increasingly anxious. He quickly decided that he needed to find a way to get in touch with the Hidden Earth Society and report what had just happened.

    However, despite his wishes, Lei Wu could not send a message to the Hidden Earth Society. The two strangers were always watching him, and even though they were not physically present, there was always some pressure lingering around Lei Wu like a subtle threat, and he did not dare to act rashly.

    Even after two days, Lei Wu still hadn¡¯t found any way to avoid the strangers¡¯ notice long enough to send a report to the Hidden Earth Society. Unfortunately, Lu Yin arrived that day, and he arrived unapanied.

    As Lu Yin stared at the Lei family¡¯s home, he remembered being chased from Dragon Mountain. He really did have a fated connection with these people. In the past, he had Possessed an assassin sent to kill Lei Wu. It was then that Lu Yin had learned that the Hidden Earth Society also existed in the Perennial World. If not for Lu Yin, Lei Wu and his grandson would have died to that assassin. At present, Lu Yin wanted to sneak into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, and the best way for him to do so was to use the Hidden Earth Society, who had a member who was a rtively influential member of the Wang family.

    While the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s member in the Wang family had a high position, he was not responsible for determining who was allowed ess to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. That responsibility was controlled by another division of the family, which meant that the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s member in the Wang family was not actually as conveniently ced as Lei Wu. In fact, using Lei Wu was the most inconspicuous way for Lu Yin to get to where he wanted.

    "Please inform the patriarch that an acquaintance hase to visit him," Lu Yin stated to one of the mansion¡¯s guards.

    The man hurried inside to make a report.

    Lei Yan soon arrived at the gates, and he saw Lu Yin. Lu Yin had already changed his appearance, so he looked very average. There was nothing special about his features at all.

    "Who are you? You know my Lei family?" Lei Yan asked as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Please tell Patriarch Lei Wu that an old acquaintance hase to see him."

    Lei Yan frowned. "My Lei family doesn''t have any acquaintances from this ce. You can leave."

    With that, the young man turned around and went back inside.

    Lu Yin was stunned. What did this mean? Elder Qing Xing had clearly made contact with Lei Wu through the Hidden Earth Society.

    The door closed, and Lu Yin frowned before turning around and leaving.

    Once the door closed, Lei Yan heaved a sigh of relief. He was also aware that this person had been sent by the Hidden Earth Society to the Lei family to infiltrate the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. Lei Yan had reached the same conclusions as his grandfather, and he was also aware that if things went south, their Lei family could be exposed, along with the entire Hidden Earth Society.

    Lei Wu heaved a sigh of relief, as the two strangers in his home had not cared about the sudden visitor, and the patriarch secretly praised his grandson for doing such a good job. The young man had spent years traveling with Lei Wu, and he had developed a wary and cautious demeanor.

    "Patriarch Lei Wu." A voice suddenly spoke from right behind Lei Wu. The sound startled the man, and he spun around, only to see Lu Yin smiling at him.

    "You- who are you?"

    When Lei Yan also saw Lu Yin, the young man grew pale. "Didn''t I send you off? My Lei family doesn¡¯t know you, so please leave."

    Lei Wu''s heart dropped. This was the man sent by the Hidden Earth Society? Things were about to growplicated, and his family was about to be exposed.

    Lu Yin was surprised at this reaction. "Why are you going back on your word? Have you forgotten your identity?"

    An ugly expression covered Lei Wu''s face, and he kept winking at Lu Yin. "Of course I¡¯m happy to do what was agreed upon, but I first need to be paid by your organization. This isn¡¯t the right time, but I¡¯ll make it up to you next time. You need to hurry up and leave now."

    Lu Yin just sat down,pletely ignoring the man.

    At this moment, one of the two strangers suddenly appeared, and he gave Lu Yin a cold stare before turning towards Lei Wu. "Is this the person sent by that society that you mentioned? Does he want to get into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters as well?"

    Lei Wu nodded. "It isn¡¯t easy to get people in, and I can¡¯t take more than two at a time. Even if the people I¡¯m bringing are already known to the Wang family, they won¡¯t let more than three people in at a time. If this person goes, then only one of you can go, which is why I wanted to drive him away. I was going to have the society tell him to wait for the next opportunity."

    The stranger coldly replied, "There¡¯s no need to wait. This time will be fine."

    Lei Wu was surprised by this response, and Lu Yin looked over at the stranger.

    "It''s hard to find any opportunity to get into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, even if one risks their life. In order to avoid any mishaps, this person should just disappear." After he finished speaking, the stranger pressed a hand down towards Lu Yin.

    Lei Wu sighed. Unsurprisingly, this was how things turned out. This person really wanted to die.

    The hand struck Lu Yin''s shoulder, and a terrifying burst of stellr energy surged in an attempt to destroy Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin did not move or even react. The stranger was startled, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. This was the first time that the man had actually taken a look at Lu Yin. He tried to attack again, but Lu Yin still did not move. His only reaction was to smile at his attacker.

    The stranger''s expression changed, and he quickly tried to retreat, but Lu Yin grabbed the man¡¯s arm and twisted it, forcing the man to the floor in an instant.

    Lu Yin ced a foot on the man¡¯s back. "What were you trying to do just now?"

    Lei Wu and Lei Yan nkly stared at the sight, unable to understand what had just happened. This stranger who had taken up residence in their home was an Envoy, but he had just been flung to the floor and stomped on. Had he been faking his cultivation realm of an Envoy?

    The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin bent over, his foot still on the man¡¯s back. A smile shone down on the incapacitated man. "Sure enough, you¡¯re from Shenwu''s Sky, aren¡¯t you?"

    The stranger''s expression changed drastically. "Are you from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Lei Wu and Lei Yan were both taken aback. Shenwu''s Sky? The Celestial Frost Sect?

    Lu Yin also felt quite confused. He had assumed that this stranger was from Shenwu¡¯s Sky because he was about as strong as Xia Shenfei and the other Junior Progenitors. What¡¯s more, this man also had an impressive mastery of the Divine Martial Armor. However, why was this man assuming that Lu Yin was someone from the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Eh? Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around to look in a specific direction. The void warped, and a massive amount of stellr energy surged some distance away, only to be instantly suppressed. The second stranger in the Lei family¡¯s home stared at Lu Yin inplete shock.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face, and his own energy flickered. The second stranger¡¯s brain was rattled, and he swayed before crumpling to the floor.

    The stranger beneath Lu Yin¡¯s foot felt his scalp go numb. This person had easily suppressed both of them. "Yo- you¡¯re a six-tribtion powerhouse!"

    Lei Wu was stunned. How could the Hidden Earth Society have sent such a strong person to him?

    Lu Yin stomped down on the man''s left leg, and the stranger¡¯s fierce expression disappeared, his aggression reced with fear. Lu Yin¡¯s right foot had smashed down on the exact location of the man¡¯s stellr energy vortex.

    "Release even a bit of your strength, and you¡¯ll be crippled," Lu Yin casuallymented.

    The stranger stared up at Lu Yin in horror. "So, the Celestial Frost Sect was already prepared. Even if we went to this tiny Lei family, we still ended up being targeted by you."

    Lu Yin was growing increasingly curious about the situation. Just why was this person so sure that Lu Yin was part of the Celestial Frost Sect?

    "Let''s discuss who you are and what you¡¯re doing here," Lu Yin replied calmly. He then looked up and waved a hand at Lei Wu and Lei Yan.

    The two men nced at each other before quickly leaving. They were both quite confused about what was happening. Was this person from the Celestial Frost Sect or the Hidden Earth Society?

    Lu Yin had already captured the two men who had tried to intimidate the Lei family, and one of the two men was not a stranger to Lu Yin. He was Xia Yuan.

    Running into Xia Yuan in this ce was a surprise, but his presence confirmed that the two men were from Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Xia Yuan had been knocked out, and Lu Yin made no attempt to rouse the man. Instead, Lu Yin focused on the man underfoot. "What? You don¡¯t want to talk to me? That¡¯s fine. I''ll just destroy your stellr energy vortex."

    "Wait! I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll talk!" the man shouted in frustration. "You already know everything, so what do you even want me to say?"

    The man suddenly remembered something, and he looked up at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Lu Yin understood that the man had just realized that Lu Yin might not be a part of the Celestial Frost Sect, and that had roused the man¡¯s interest greatly.

    The man swallowed. "Are you actually from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    "Last chance," Lu Yin answered coldly.

    The man started talking quickly, "Senior, let me speak! I¡¯ll talk!"

    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly as he took some time to think. "We¡¯re from Shenwu''s Sky, and we came here to deliver a letter to Wang Zheng, the Wang family patriarch. There¡¯s no need to hide anything anymore. Since the Celestial Frost Sect sent you here, Senior, then they clearly know about everything. However, if they didn¡¯t send you, then my Shenwu¡¯s Sky would like to invite you to join the three of us in our alliance to stand against the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "A three-way alliance?"

    "Yes. My Shenwu''s Sky, the White Dragon n, and the Wang family want to form an alliance to stand up to the Celestial Frost Sect," the man stated solemnly.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Tell me more."

    The man replied, "I honestly don¡¯t know much myself. I¡¯m just a messenger. Xia Yuan should know more. You can ask him, Senior."

    Lu Yin said, "Tell me what you do know."

    The man thought for a bit before answering. "To my understanding, the disappearance of Xia Xing, my Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s sect master, might have been done by the Celestial Frost Sect. As for Long Ke, they most likely captured him in order to get his n¡¯s portion of the restrictions that control Star Alliance. I heard about this from Xia Yuan, who learned of these matters from Semi-Progenitor Ziheng. Like I said, Xia Yuan knows more as I learned everything that I know from him."

    Lu Yin was getting more and more curious about this matter. Bai Teng had gone missing, but why did Shenwu¡¯s Sky believe that the Celestial Frost Sect were the ones behind Xia Xing¡¯s disappearance? Why were they so confident in this information?

    As for Long Ke, Lu Yin had nned on spreading that misinformation from the very beginning. Long Ke was supposed to be suspected of attacking Bai Teng, so it was only to be expected that the Celestial Frost Sect would capture the man. Still, what did this have to do with Xia Xing?

    Lu Yin quickly roused Xia Yuan to question him.

    The man was initially reluctant to say anything, but Lu Yin had countless means of getting someone to speak. In the end, Xia Yuan revealed the theory that Shenwu¡¯s Sky had reached, leaving Lu Yin utterly dumbfounded. "The Celestial Frost Sect is trying to use Bai Teng''s disappearance to cover up the fact that our sect master was captured by them. Who would ever consider such a thing? How could Bai Teng, a sect master, vanish without creating the slightest bit of disturbance? The God of Cookery was close to where the sect master disappeared, and Long Ke had no motive to attack Bai Teng. Still, Long Ke¡¯s been arrested, and it was even Wang Zheng who testified against him.

    "Our evidence is that nothing is mere coincidence: the Celestial Frost Sect used Wang Zheng to testify against Long Ke, and then they locked up Long Ke in the Celestial Frost Sect. It¡¯s all a part of their n to get the full method to control Star Alliance, but they¡¯ve also created a great deal of hatred between the Wang family and the White Dragon n. More importantly, while the Celestial Frost Sect has also lost their sect master, Bai Teng was never anything more than a figurehead. In fact, rumors have been rampant for years that Bai Xian''er will be the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s next sect master.

    "By sacrificing Bai Teng, they will potentially undermine the White Dragon n, take control of Star Alliance, and even force the White Dragon n and the Wang family to practically go to war. Everything benefits the Celestial Frost Sect, but since we were able to deduce their motives and actions, we intend to cooperate with the Wang Family and the White Dragon n to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin finally understood. "You thought that the Celestial Frost Sect would deliberately prevent you from working together with the Wang family, which is why you hid your identities and came here to try to use Lei Wu to sneak into the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. So you¡¯re deceiving the Celestial Frost Sect rather than the Wang family?"

    Xia Yuan nodded. "Exactly! That woman in the Celestial Frost Sect is too cunning. If we had approached the Wang family openly, then she¡¯d definitely notice, and there¡¯s no way she doesn¡¯t have something already set up to stop us from uniting. This decision wasn¡¯t just made by Shenwu''s Sky, but also with the White Dragon n."

 Chapter 2230: Convergence

    Chapter 2230: Convergence

    "Is this what the Progenitor of Shenwu''s Sky''s decided on?" After hearing Xia Yuan''s story, Lu Yin had another question.

    Xia Yuan replied, "I don''t know about that. All that I know is these deductions came from Ancestor Ziheng."

    "Where¡¯s the letter? Show me," Lu Yinmanded. He realized that he had greatly underestimated the friction between the four ruling powers. He had deliberately gotten close to Bai Weiwei, left behind traces of the Lifeseizer Palm during the battle when Xia Xing had disappeared, and then even orchestrated a supposedly impossible heist of robbing nearly all the star essence from the Junior Progenitors. Finally, the fact that he had kidnapped Bai Teng had created one too many connections, and Shenwu¡¯s Sky had started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

    Lu Yin could even see how, if he did not know that he was the real culprit behind everything, it could be seen that the Celestial Frost Sect was the most suspicious party. It was not unreasonable for the Celestial Frost Sect to have deliberately sown confusion. After all, what other reason could there be for Bai Teng¡¯s disappearance?

    The timing of Bai Teng''s kidnapping was just too convenient, and the fact that Long Ke had been present and looked suspicious made things even worse. Since both the robbery of the Junior Progenitors and Bai Teng¡¯s disappearance had taken ce without the God of Food noticing anything, it meant that a Semi-Progenitor had to have taken action. All of the events lined up perfectly to support Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s conclusion, or rather, their conjectures.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Everything was an unintentional result of his little ploys. He had not tried to orchestrate any grand n, and he could not even be thought of as having enacted a clever n. Rather, his actions had been mistakenly interpreted as cleverness. The main cause of this misinterpretation was that no one believed that a mere Envoy could aplish all that Lu Yin had pulled off, and even most Semi-Progenitor were not capable of doing so. However, Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s conclusions also showed how close they were to seeing through the truth of the matter.

    Lu Yin looked at the jade slip that contained the message for Wang Zheng. The message had been personally written by Xia Ziheng, and in it was all of Shenwu''s Sky''s conjectures. It also stated that they had already formed an alliance with the White Dragon n to stop the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng would be willing to join the alliance, but it was clear that the man would at least be very wary of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin started thinking; how should he influence the situation?

    It was clear that Yu Hao''s presence had continuously fanned the mes, and that was because almost everyone believed him to be Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. As soon as Yu Hao became sufficiently influential, the four ruling powers would absolutely contact Grandmaster Gu Yan directly, and then Lu Yin would be exposed as a fraud.

    It was vital to reduce Yu Hao''s importance.

    Lu Yin could see that Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s letter to Wang Zheng not only presented the sect¡¯s conjectures, but also served as a warning for Wang Zheng to be careful of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s attempts to deceive him.

    If their various suspicions proved true, then the Celestial Frost Sect would be targeted by both Shenwu''s Sky and the White Dragon n. All they needed to do was determine the Wang family¡¯s position.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Wang family was the only one still missing from the tripartite alliance, which meant that, if they were attacked in theing days, the attack was practically guaranteed to havee from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    In that case, did it mean that all that Lu Yin had to do was attack the Wang family?

    "Senior, might I trouble you to share with my Shenwu¡¯s Sky if you are old?" Xia Yuan asked while staring at Lu Yin. While this man looked quite young, given his strength, he had to be an old monster. It was quite likely that the man was using a disguise. Xia Yuan¡¯s greatest fear at the moment was not that this person really was from the Celestial Frost Sect, as there was no point in hiding that.

    No, Xia Yuan was afraid that this powerhouse would purposely get closer to the Celestial Frost Sect and cause them to raise their guard. However, even that fear was predicated on the assumption that the Celestial Frost Sect had not yet realized that the other three had learned the truth.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Yuan. "I''m not a part of any of the four ruling powers."

    Xia Yuan''s eyes shed. "Given your strength, you can¡¯t be nameless, Senior. This junior doesn¡¯t dare to ask for your name. All I would ask of you is to allow me to wait for a short while. Shenwu¡¯s Sky will not forget your kindness."

    "Is anyone from the White Dragon n going toe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Yuan saw no reason to hide anything. "Yes."

    "Who?"

    "This junior doesn''t know. Ancestor Ziheng was the one who got in touch with the White Dragon n."

    "Why doesn¡¯t Shenwu''s Sky simply reach out to Wang Zheng directly with amunication crystal? Why use this method?" Lu Yin asked, as this did not seem very logical.

    Xia Yuan was genuinely surprised by the question. "Senior, do you not know that conversations held withmunication crystals can be intercepted?"

    "How does that work?" Lu Yin had never heard about this before.

    Xia Yuan replied, "Communications crystals transmit conversations and images by causing the two crystals to both resonate with the same frequency. In fact, themunication crystals are made from a material that can transmit vibrations through the void. The resonance that forms is a spatial phenomenon, so as long as someone who hasprehended the power of space is involved, then it is possible to interceptmunications. There are people in the Celestial Frost Sect who have reached the void god realm of their domain, and while it¡¯s impossible for them to intercept all themunications that ur in the Perennial World, doing so on a targeted basis is certainly possible, such as targetingmunications to and from the Wang family."

    Lu Yin knew very little about howmunication crystals functioned, but this was not what he had expected. Couldmunications through crystals be detected by someone who had mastered their domain to the void god level?

    Wait, did that mean that Mr. Tang could have intercepted Lu Yin¡¯s call to Realmless? That call had been made from inside Virtue Archives.

    "Are you saying that it¡¯s easy for a domain master to intercept conversations made withmunication crystals?" Lu Yin hastily asked.

    Xia Yuan answered, "From what this junior understands, it is not that simple. After all, this is something that involves the power of space. Still, as far as we are concerned, if there¡¯s even a remote chance, we won¡¯t take the risk."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This was good to hear, as it meant that Mr. Tang had most likely not overheard Lu Yin¡¯s conversations that had taken ce through hismunication crystal, not unless the man had been purposely spying on ¡°Hao Yu.¡± However, this also meant that it was not entirely impossible.

    Still, Mr. Tang was a fellow instructor in Virtue Archives, so even if he learned that ¡°Hao Yu¡± had contracted Realmless to attack Xia Xing, Mr. Tang clearly had not shared that information with Shenwu''s Sky. If he had, the Celestial Frost Sect would not be under suspicion.

    Of course, it would be best if Mr. Tang did not know, and that was the most likely case.

    Xia Yuan told Lu Yin everything. Lu Yin then imprisoned the man on Zenith Mountain, along with the other person from Shenwu¡¯s Sky. After that, he called Lei Wu.

    "I''m from the Hidden Earth Society," Lu Yin stated.

    Lei Wu let out a sigh of relief. "That''s wonderful to know. I thought that you were really from the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin gave Lei Wu a sharp look. "It would be best if you forget about everything that just happened."

    Lei Wu quickly replied, "Senior, don''t worry. This junior doesn''t remember anything."

    There was a moment of silence, and then Lei Wu asked, "When would Senior like to go to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters?"

    "I¡¯m waiting for someone else to arrive and go with me," Lu Yin answered.

    Lei Wu felt rather puzzled.

    Lu Yin then proceeded to alter his appearance to that of Xia Yuan while standing in front of Lei Wu, much to the amazement of the man and his grandson.

    Lu Yin looked at the two men. "Your only job is to get us to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. What happens after that has nothing to do with you, so just act as you normally would."

    Lei Wu did not dare ask any more questions. "This junior understands."

    Lu Yin nodded. He had decided to impersonate Xia Yuan and approach Wang Zheng with that disguise, just to see if there might be an opportunity to capture the patriarch. Besides, it would be much better to enter the Wang family¡¯s headquarters with someone who knew the ce a bit.

    Elder Qing Xing had mentioned a legend regarding the orb of light in the sky above the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. Supposedly, that orb had once burned a Progenitor to death. Lu Yin was under no illusions that he was powerful enough to force his way in.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s representatives arrived two dayster, and the person who appeared was quite a surprise to Lu Yin: Long Tian.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the White Dragon n would send someone from a branch family, like Xia Yuan. The fact that they had sent Long Tian was quite a surprise.

    Of the four most recent Junior Progenitors, Bai Shaohong was dead, and Wang Su was imprisoned in the Fifth Maind. As for Xia Shenfei and Long Tian, they were the only two still in the Perennial World, Lu Yin had run into both of them on his trip.

    Long Tian was apanied by a powerhouse from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families, who had nearly reached his third stellr tribtion. This man was quite powerful,parable to Xia Yuan. As for Long Tian, he was at the same realm as Xia Shenfei, a one-tribtion Envoy.

    The Perennial World¡¯s four Junior Progenitors surpassed all others from the same generation. Wu Taibai, who had once been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, was right at the cusp of bing an Envoy. The Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe had been drained, which prevented elites like Yuhua Mavis from increasing their cultivation level. Without that restriction, they would have been able to reach about the same level as Wu Taibai. Out of everyone who could be considered Lu Yin¡¯s peer by age, the most powerful were undoubtedly the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

    Each of the former Dao Chosen had be a two or three-tribtion Envoy.

    Lu Yin could not help but wonder what sort of reaction there would be if he dragged the former Dao Chosen into the Perennial World and had thempete with the best geniuses of the current generation.

    Long Tian''s innate gift was Seizing, and he could even seize space, which was simr to the void god level of domain cultivators. Lu Yin actually wanted to see the expression on Long Tian¡¯s face if he ever ran into Chu Yuan''s ability to control the power of time.

    "Brother Xia, we meet again." The powerhouse from the White Dragon n was familiar with Xia Yuan, and he stepped forward to greet him.

    Lu Yin was worried that he would expose himself, so he coughed and said, "Let''s go as soon as possible. I¡¯ve suffered a few injuries, so I can''t dy."

    Long Tian frowned. "If you¡¯re injured, then why did Shenwu¡¯s Sky send you? Was there no one else avable?"

    Lu Yin flinched at the proper time, and then looked rather offended. "My Shenwu¡¯s Sky has many powerhouses, and all I need to do is warn a few people. Is that not your goal ining here?"

    "Even if the Celestial Frost Sect wants to attack all three of our powers, it''s impossible for them to move so quickly. Their level of strength can¡¯t overwhelm the rest of us, and the Progenitors are still watching. Your Xia family is growing increasingly prudent." Long Tian made no attempt to act polite.

    Prudent was just a polite way of calling them timid.

    Lu Yin had no idea why Long Tian was being so rude to the Xia family, but he answered in a frigid tone. "My injuries are merely a small inconvenience. When we visit the Wang family, I hope that Junior Progenitor Long will say a few more words so that the Wang family will clearly understand the current threat facing us."

    Long Tian had only said a few words so far. There had to be a reason why he was acting so rudely towards the Xia family.

    When Lu Yin had been using the alias of Long Qi, Semi-Progenitor Ni Huang had engaged Long Qi to the Xia family¡¯s Xia Taili. Not only had this tantly ignored Long Tian¡¯s sister, Long Xi, but it had also isted his father, Long Ke. Essentially, Ni Huang had created a new main family of the White Dragon n, and even though Long Tian had managed to safely return from the Dominion Realm, it was quite possible that his family would be reced as the main family of his n.

    No one knew if Long Xi was dead or alive, and Long Tian¡¯s father had been captured by the Celestial Frost Sect. He was in a terrible mood. Furthermore, Xia Shenfei''s time spent infiltrating Realmless and then exposing them had contributed greatly to the entire Perennial World, causing the other Junior Progenitor topletely overshadow Long Tian. The young man was feeling quite depressed.

    Long Tian desperately needed to save his father and restore the dignity of the main family of the White Dragon n. On top of that, he was eager to aplish something great, as he did not want to be surpassed and left behind by Xia Shenfei.

    This was the primary reason why Long Tian had made the trip to visit the Wang family. He intended to lead the alliance between the White Dragon n and the Wang family against the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Are you the only one who came from Shenwu''s Sky?" the three-tribtion Envoy asked.

    ¡°Xia Yuan¡± replied, "There¡¯s no point in sending too many people, as the Lei family can only get two people through at a time."

    Long Tian looked towards Lei Wu, who was standing outside the room. "Let¡¯s not waste any time. Let''s go."

    It was necessary to either fly or teleport to reach the Wang family¡¯s headquarters from the cities below it.

    Dozens of beams of light connected the cities to the floating hand, and they were the main means of transportation. Lei Wu led Lu Yin and Long Tian towards one of them.

    Not everyone was allowed to ascend to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. Aside from members of the direct family itself and independent cultivators who had sworn loyalty and be the family¡¯s vassals, the only other people given ess were some small families who were responsible for purchasing daily goods.

    Lei Wu was allowed to freelye and go because his family had been assigned the task of stocking spices and seasonings for the Wang family.

    Spices were not considered an important material, which meant that Lei Wu actually needed to pay to receive such a job. Otherwise, it would have been assigned to someone else.

    Lu Yin and Long Tian followed Lei Wu up to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters without encountering any issues. The other powerhouse from the White Dragon n stayed in the Lei family home, waiting.

 Chapter 2231: Going With The Flow

    Chapter 2231: Going With The Flow

    Lu Yin and the other two stepped out of the beam of light and looked around. The ce around them looked no different from thend down below. There were still mountains, rivers, and jungles just like below. The only difference was that there were no cities, only massive familypounds.

    "Hundreds of millions of people live here on this floatingndmass. The vast majority are descendants of the Wang family¡¯s various branches that have multiplied over the course of countless years. Additionally, there are a few people who have been greatly rewarded by the Wang family along with their families, as well as a few prisoners who have been captured. This is the heart of the Wang family," Lei Wu briefly said as an introduction.

    Long Tian was unimpressed. "Let''s go. We need to meet with Patriarch Wang Zheng right away."

    He immediately started traveling in a specific direction.

    Lei Wu had only been used to provide ess to the Wang family¡¯s headquarters because it was easy for the Celestial Frost Sect to see whoever openly entered the ce. However, after arriving, there was no reason for the messengers to hide. The only danger they faced after being noticed was the possibility that the Wang family would not join the alliance.

    The Wang family¡¯s hand-shapedndmass was not veryrge. At least, not for Envoys.

    Lu Yin and Long Tian easily found the patriarch¡¯s home. Long Tian had visited this ce before, and since Lu Yin was posing as an injured Xia Yuan, he followed behind Long Tian. This kept Lu Yin from exposing himself as he did not know where they were going.

    Long Tian never doubted hispanion, and he reached out to contact Wang Zheng after arriving close to the home of the Wang family¡¯s direct line.

    Lu Yin looked up at the glowing orb. The ball of light had supposedly incinerated and killed a Progenitor before. Could it be true? The most powerful person in the history of the Wang family should be Wang Fan, who controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Could this orb be something that belonged to Wang Fan?

    The two men did not speak to each other, and they waited in silence until someone from the Wang family arrived. The Envoy then led them to the gate of the direct line¡¯s home.

    The direct line of the Wang family was Wang Zheng''s line, and the Wang family¡¯s direct line had never changed. Wang Zheng was a descendant of Wang Fan, and the current patriarch was actually the Progenitor¡¯s son, his youngest son.

    Of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n¡¯s main family was the most unstable, and their foundation was also the shallowest. Whichever family was the strongest within the n would be the main branch. On the other hand, the main branches of the other three families of the four ruling powers were extremely stable. This was because each of them were directly descended from a Progenitor. This meant that the Xia, Wang, and Bai families were all in unassable positions within their individual organizations.

    As Lu Yin traveled towards the direct line¡¯s home to meet with Wang Zheng, he saw many of the Wang family¡¯s cultivators. It was clear that most of these people were not from the direct line, but rather from branch families.

    The Wang family was a powerful force that had flourished since the Heavens Sect era. Even the branch families had many geniuses, which waspletely different from the White Dragon n.

    It was not long before the two messengers met with Wang Zheng in the main hall.

    "Greetings, Uncle." Long Tian offered a respectful bow.

    Lu Yin also bowed. "Greetings, Senior."

    He was unsure if this was the proper way for Xia Yuan to address Wang Zheng, given the man¡¯s status in the Xia family, so Lu Yin could only hazard a guess.

    Wang Zheng stared at Long Tian. "You¡¯re here because of what happened to your father."

    "Yes."

    Wang Zheng¡¯s voice dropped low. "I merely reported what I saw. I never intended to frame your father. If your father is innocent, the Celestial Frost Sect will release him, as Progenitor Long won¡¯t allow them to go too far. You can leave."

    Long Tian and "Xia Yuan" nced at each other, and then they offered the two letters to Wang Zheng at the same time.

    The patriarch was puzzled by these actions.

    "If you have any questions, a quick nce at this will answer them, Uncle," Long Tian said.

    Wang Zheng took the jade slip from Long Tian and examined it. The man¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he quickly examined the letter from Shenwu''s Sky as well.

    Lu Yin had already seen the contents of the letter from Shenwu''s Sky, and he knew that it fully detailed their conjectures. He believed that the White Dragon n¡¯s letter most likely held simr contents, so Wang Zheng¡¯s reaction was only to be expected.

    After Wang Zheng finished examining the two jade slips, he grew incredibly solemn. He stared at ¡°Xia Yuan.¡± "Is this what Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng believe to be true?"

    Lu Yin nodded and coughed twice. "Everything that¡¯s been observed has only served to confirm the sect master and Semi-Progenitor Ziheng''s spections. Examine the situation carefully, Senior. If the Celestial Frost Sect is not the culprit, then why did Bai Teng disappear without the God of Food noticing anything? Senior God of Food is a peak Semi-Progenitor who isparable to the White Dragon n¡¯s Grand Elder Ni Huang. Unless a Progenitor personally took action, no one could make Bai Teng disappear without a sign."

    Long Tian spoke up as well. "My father has absolutely no reason to move against Bai Teng. Truthfully, you should already be aware of the situation within my White Dragon n, Uncle. Our family¡¯s foundation is too shallow, and our main family is failing. Without my existence, the branch families would have already surpassed us, and my father might not even be the patriarch right now. My father¡¯s always been concerned about the internal stability of our n, so why would he ever attack Patriarch Bai Teng?"

    Wang Zheng¡¯s mind was racing.

    Lu Yin continued. "Virtue Archives¡¯ Yu Hao is supported by Grandmaster Gu Yan, and the Celestial Frost Sect has been sending Bai Weiwei to get closer to Yu Hao. While I don''t know what sort of promises they might have made, it¡¯s quite clear that Yu Hao is getting closer to the Celestial Frost Sect. If our suspicions are true, then this means that, not only does the Celestial Frost Sect want to win over Grandmaster Gu Yan, but they also want to gain control of Star Alliance. If they seed, none of us will be able topare to them when ites to forces beneath the Progenitor level."

    Wang Zheng arched a brow. "Even if the Celestial Frost Sect gainsplete control of Star Alliance, they still won''t be able topletely overpower the rest of us."

    "Uncle, you just said it yourself¡ªthey won¡¯t be able to overpower the rest of us. We were able to guess what the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ns were, which is why we moved in secret to speak with you to form an alliance between our three forces. But what if we had not grown suspicious of them?" Long Tian presented an alternative scenario.

    Lu Yin could not help nce over. Long Tian was quite convincing.

    Thisst argument swayed Wang Zheng. It was indeed true that if the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s ns had not been seen through, then gaining Grandmaster Gu Yan andplete control of Star Alliance would elevate the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s strength to a level that none of the other three powers could evene close to on an individual level.

    "Even if the Celestial Frost Sect is able to greatly surpass our three forces in the Envoy and Semi-Progenitor levels, what about the Progenitor realm?" Wang Zheng still did not fully believe it. "Can the Celestial Frost Sect really overwhelm our three Progenitors all alone?"

    Long Tian frowned. "This is something that we have been unable to understand ourselves. It¡¯s possible that the Celestial Frost Sect assumed that they would not be seen through until after they secretly managed to gain control of Star Alliance. Don¡¯t forget, Uncle, how the Lu family was exiled in the past."

    Wang Zheng''s heart dropped, and his brow furrowed.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were serious. Long Tian knew the truth behind the Lu family¡¯s exile? That should be impossible. Lu Yin had already questioned Xia Xing''s clone about the matter, but the clone had not known anything. If not even Xia Xing¡¯s clone knew, then Wang Zheng should not know anything either, given his personal strength. Lu Yin had also spent a long time reviewing Long Ke¡¯s memories, and had found nothing. How could Long Tian know?

    Wang Zheng sat back down and stared at Long Tian. "You¡¯re saying these things because you want my help in saving your father."

    "I won''t deny it, but if our suspicions are urate, then does the Wang family want to follow in the Lu family¡¯s footsteps?"

    Unconsciously, Wang Zheng''s fingers trembled.

    Lu Yin spoke up next. "Regardless of whether or not our suspicions are valid, the three of us should still unite against the Celestial Frost Sect. They¡¯ve grown too strong, especially her."

    Lu Yin was very worried that he would be discovered as an imposter, especially since he knew very little about the actual inner workings of the four ruling powers. All he could do was address matters that he did know about.

    Still, his words were quite effective.

    "Once she leaves seclusion, there¡¯s no telling what she will do next. No one wants to be treated like the Lu family was," Wang Zheng muttered to himself. He looked up at Lu Yin and Long Tian. "No matter what, you only have spections. Still, since you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll agree to temporarily form an alliance with you. However, I will only agree to work to restrain the Celestial Frost Sect, nothing more. I will not actively attack the Celestial Frost Sect. We need to remain clear that humanity¡¯s greatest enemy is always Aeternus."

    Lu Yin and Long Tian both nodded.

    Wang Zheng rubbed his head. "Truthfully, regardless of whether Bai Teng is missing, or even dead, none of it has anything to do with me. I¡¯ll go visit the Celestial Frost Sect again and find a way to rescue Long Ke."

    "Thank you, Uncle," Long Tian said gratefully.

    Long Ke had been imprisoned within the Celestial Frost Sect because they suspected that he was involved in Bai Teng''s disappearance. If the White Dragon n did not want to openly attack the Celestial Frost Sect, then their only option was to ask Wang Zheng to step forward and alter his testimony. Otherwise, war would break out.

    However, war was highly unlikely. Bai Teng meant nothing to the Celestial Frost Sect in the grand scheme of things, while Long Ke was rtively unimportant to the White Dragon n as a whole. Even though the White Dragon n¡¯s amassed wealth and power was rtively lower than the other three powers, they were still one of the four ruling families. There were always powerhouses on the outside willing to join them if the White Dragon n was keen on recruiting them.

    Long Tian was the most desperate White Dragon n member to save Long Ke.

    "Senior, with all due respect, how many members of your Wang family know your family¡¯s portion of the restrictions ced on the members of Star Alliance?" Lu Yin asked, bringing up another point.

    Wang Zheng replied, "Four: our Progenitor, myself, Elder Wang Si, and Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun, who is currently stationed on the rear battlefield."

    Wang Xun was the third array base¡¯s general, and he was one of the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    "Our Progenitor can be dismissed, and Elder Wang Si is currently hunting down thest member of the Lu family in the Fifth Maind. As long as I don''t leave my home, the Celestial Frost Sect can do nothing to me," Wang Zheng concluded.

    "So, their only option is General Wang Xun," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Zhengughed. "That¡¯s also impossible. No one would dare to attack a general on the rear battlefield. Doing so would cause too much discord, and if that happened, all four of our ruling powers would be punished as one. It is an invible rule that the rear battlefield cannot be manipted, which is why we took such strong actions and erased the Dealcut Association after they were exposed for secretly manipting the allotment of resources assigned to the rear battlefield."

    "If our spections are valid, then the Celestial Frost Sect has already captured Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky, and arrested my father. This means that they already have acquired two portions of the restriction, in addition to their own. The Wang family¡¯s portion is all that they¡¯re missing, and they will definitely find a way to go after you, Uncle. You are the only one they could possibly target," Long Tian warned.

    Wang Zheng sneered. "As long as I don''t leave this ce, no one can touch me."

    Lu Yin suddenly spoke up, "Don''t forget about how our sect master disappeared."

    Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes instantly narrowed.

    Xia Xing had disappeared in the Middle Realm. No one had expected the man to suddenly make such a journey, but he had.

    "Why did Xia Xing go to the Middle Realm?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Long Tian also looked over at the fake Xia Yuan.

    There were some rumors floating around regarding Xia Xing''s disappearance, but few people were fully informed of what had happened. After all, it was rted to Yu Hao, and everything rted to that young man was an embarrassment to Shenwu¡¯s Sky. It was only natural that they had not publicly released any of the information.

    Only the Celestial Frost Sect understood that it was because Bai Weiwei had gotten too close to Yu Hao.

    Lu Yin was put in an awkward position, but he did reveal the reason for Xia Xing¡¯s trip to the Middle Realm.

    Wang Zheng frowned. "Grandmaster Gu Yan is certainly worth recruiting. It makes sense for Xia Xing to travel to the Middle Realm for such a purpose. Still, isn¡¯t this Yu Hao quite suspicious?"

    "For now, no. Our sect master was attacked by Realmless after they were hired to kill him. Aside from my Shenwu¡¯s Sky, only Headmaster Wen and Yu Hao knew of the sect master¡¯s visit. However, Ancestor Ziheng has mentioned that it is also possible for Bai Weiwei to have learned of it, as she and Yu Hao have gotten very close to each other," Lu Yin replied.

    All of the circumstantial evidence continued to point towards the Celestial Frost Sect, and Lu Yin continued to push the boat along. It would be best for him if these three forces united against the Celestial Frost Sect, though all hostilities would vanish as soon as Yu Hao was revealed as a fraud. After all, many of the spections stemmed from Yu Hao¡¯s identity.

    As soon as Yu Hao was revealed to be Lu Yin, everything would unravel. The four ruling powers were not fools, and this tripartite alliance would instantly fall apart.

 Chapter 2232: The Vicissitudes Of Life

    Chapter 2232: The Vicissitudes Of Life

    For the time being, the situation was favorable to Lu Yin. He hoped to encourage hostilities between the four ruling powers for as long as possible while doing his best to not be caught.

    Long Tian quietly said, "If Sect Master Xia Xing was lured out by Yu Hao, then what about you, Uncle? It¡¯s possible that the Celestial Frost Sect will find a way to lure you out as well."

    Wang Zheng shook his head. "There''s nothing that can make me leave."

    However, the moment the man spoke, all three people instantly thought of the same person.

    "Wang Xiaofan."

    "Wang Xiaofan."

    "Xiaofan."

    The three men nced at each other. They all knew that if anyone could lure Wang Zheng out at this moment, it could only be Wang Xiaofan.

    Wang Zheng dearly loved Wang Xiaofan. The patriarch¡¯s son had not originally been named Wang Xiaofan, but on the day of his birth, Progenitor Wang Fan had appeared. He had liked the baby and asked for his name to be Wang Xiaofan. Without the Progenitor¡¯s request, no one would ever dare to use the name Wang Xiaofan.

    The moment Wang Xiaofan''s name had been announced, he had instantly be the most important person in the entire Wang family. After all, he had been named by the family¡¯s Progenitor himself, which meant that he already had a close connection to a Progenitor. There was a very high possibility that Wang Xiaofan would eventually be the family¡¯s patriarch.

    On top of that, Wang Zheng loved his son a great deal.

    If anything happened to Wang Xiaofan, it would be impossible for Wang Zheng to safely remain hidden in the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    "Come! Tell me where Xiaofan has been recently!" Wang Zheng shouted.

    Someone quickly entered the room and reported everywhere that Wang Xiaofan had done over the past year, as well as his current location. There were always powerhouses surrounding Wang Xiaofan to keep him safe. Whenever he left Virtue Archives, those protectors would follow him. Of course, there were no bodyguards within Virtue Archives, as Headmaster Wen did not allow any of the students to have protectors within the academy grounds.

    For the most part, Wang Xiaofan had stayed within Virtue Archives during thest year. There was nothing that stood out, with the sole exception of something that had started two days ago. Wang Zheng''s expression fell when he heard thisst bit of news.

    For the past two days, people had been antagonizing Wang Xiaofan and trying to lure him out from Virtue Archives, calling for him by name to spar with them. The people had been loud and extremely insulting.

    The Wang family would not normally pay any attention to such a thing, but the current situation was different. Xia Xing had disappeared during his trip to the Middle Realm to visit Yu Hao. If the Celestial Frost Sect was behind it as Shenwu''s Sky suspected, then it was possible that they were also targeting Wang Xiaofan in an attempt to lure Wang Zheng out.

    "Uncle, someone is obviously targeting Xiaofan," Long Tian immediately said.

    Lu Yin also interjected. "Wang Xiaofan is being used to lure you out, Senior. The person challenging Wang Xiaofan will definitely have no connections to the Celestial Frost Sect, as they¡¯ll make sure to keep themselvespletely separate from this matter. However, as soon as you move out, Senior, the Celestial Frost Sect will have endless ns in ce to deal with you."

    Wang Zheng immediately ordered a message be sent to Wang Xiaofan, telling the young man to not take even half a step out of Virtue Archives. As for Wang Zheng, he instantly started making ns to go visit the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin was afraid that the man would actually attack the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Wang Zheng softly said, "I''m not stupid. I know that it won¡¯t be easy to stop them, but I also know that Long Ke won¡¯t easily give up what he knows. I¡¯ll go now and take him away. We should still have time."

    "Uncle, aren''t you worried that the Celestial Frost Sect will attack you?" Long Tian was quite concerned. Of course it was not that he was worried about Wang Zheng himself. Rather, if anything did happen to the Wang family¡¯s patriarch, it needed to happen after Long Ke was rescued.

    Wang Zheng replied, "I¡¯ll be publicly and openly going to visit the Celestial Frost Sect, and I¡¯ll be sending a report to my ancestors as well. Who would dare to move against me?"

    The man then immediately left and made his way towards the Celestial Frost Sect.

    As for Lu Yin and Long Tian, they both stayed behind.

    "I hope that Patriarch Wang Zheng can save your father," Lu Yin said with apparent sympathy.

    Long Tian still looked quite upset.

    Before leaving, Wang Zheng gave orders for the Wang family to treat both ¡°Xia Yuan¡± and Long Tian as honored guests.

    Given the fact that he was finally in the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, Lu Yin naturally wanted to take a look around.

    The Wang family¡¯s headquarters could not be consideredrge to an Envoy, but that was because they were able to travel through the void and the true universe. However, for an ordinary human, let alone traversing the entirendmass, they would not even be able to cross a singleke in an entire lifetime.

    Lu Yin was visiting as a guest, so it was a given that certain ces were off limits. He was only given ess to the public areas.

    "What''s up ahead?" Lu Yin asked. He was currently in a random corner of thendmass, and he could not clearly see what was in front of him. Anything off in the distance was blurry, as there was some invisible power blocking the way.

    The member of the Wang family who had been given the task of hosting ¡°Xia Yuan¡± during his stay replied, "My Wang family¡¯s homnd produces some special ores. Up ahead are our mines."

    Lu Yin nodded. "So that''s what it is."

    He was posing as Xia Yuan, so he did not dare to ask too many questions, as a single mistake could easily expose him.

    The four ruling powers all understood each other. Given Xia Yuan''s status, if a special ore was mined in the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, then it would be impossible for him to not know of it. If Lu Yin asked further questions, his escort would definitely start to get suspicious.

    Lu Yin would never underestimate the four ruling powers, so he did not dare to reveal even the tiniest w.

    However, just as he was about to move away, he saw a familiar figure. Was that¡­ Xiao Can?

    Lu Yin was staring at a group of people who were digging in the ground far away. They were quite packed together, and he estimated there to be about a million people. The only reason why Lu Yin had noticed Xiao Can was because the man was currently being beaten.

    Lu Yin lifted a foot and was just about to head over, but his escort quickly stopped him. "Senior, our patriarch asked this junior to show you around our home, but this ce is not open to you."

    There was actually no need for the man to say anything, as Lu Yin had already intended to stop. He had felt a chill, indicating that some sort of danger was ahead of him. If he moved closer, he would likely be in trouble.

    They were only mining ore, but the area was protected with defensive measures that felt dangerous to even Lu Yin. This was highly unusual.

    "Can you bring that person out here for me to speak with?" Lu Yin pointed at Xiao Can.

    The escort grew embarrassed.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "Are you trying to tell me that I can¡¯t even speak with a mere miner?"

    "All this junior can do is submit a request," the escort replied.

    Lu Yin waved impatiently, and the man ran off to send a request to someone else.

    The man soon returned, and he asked "Xia Yuan" to wait where he was while the escort entered the mining area to retrieve Xiao Can. As the escort entered the restricted area, Lu Yin felt the same chill as before. It felt as though someone was staring at him, and it made his hair stand on end.

    Lu Yin''s eyes darted about, but there was nothing to be seen. After a moment, he quietly watched as Xiao Can was brought out.

    Xiao Can was holding onto a shoulder that clearly was giving him a great deal of pain. He had just been badly beaten. If he had not survived the rear battlefield, he would not have been able to endure the severity of the beating just now.

    When Xiao Can arrived and saw Xia Yuan¡¯s face, the man felt quite confused, as he had no idea whom he was meeting.

    "Senior, do you know this person?" the escort asked "Xia Yuan." When he saw that the honored guest¡¯s expression was growing dangerous, the man quickly continued to say, "Please don''t get upset, Senior. These miners that my Wang family uses are never allowed to leave this ce alive, regardless of their past or connections. This is why my Wang family keeps records of everything rted to these prisoners. Please don''t take any offense, Senior."

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious. What could be so important about these miners? Still, he stopped asking questions and instead focused on Xiao Can, who was staring back at Xia Yuan¡¯s face in absolute confusion.

    "You don''t remember me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Can shook his head. "Have we met?"

    The man¡¯s voice sounded much hoarser than when Lu Yin hadst spoken with him on the rear battlefield. On top of that, Xiao Can looked quite different. He had looked like a young man before, but he was a middle-aged man now. It looked like it was impossible for Xiao Can to stand straight, and Lu Yin also noticed that the man¡¯s cultivation had not improved at all. He looked incredibly miserable.

    Lu Yin replied in a light tone, "We met on the second array base. I was there with General Xia Yan."

    Xiao Can''s eyes went wide. "The second array base? I only ever went there once."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You went there to give the Root of Intelligence to the Lu family¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan. I saw you after that meeting with the general. If I remember correctly, you¡¯re Xiao Can, correct?"

    Xiao Can''s eyes dimmed. He had thought that he was about to meet an old friend, possibly one who could save him, or at the very least, provide him with a bit offort. Unexpectedly, he had run into someone else from the four ruling powers. "You should be part of the Xia family. What do you want from me?"

    "Why are you here?" Lu Yin asked.

    The brows rose on the escort¡¯s face next to Lu Yin, but the man did not interrupt.

    Xiao Canughed in a self-deprecating manner. "Why am I here? It¡¯s for your four ruling powers¡¯ benefit, of course."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "What do you mean?"

    Xiao Can looked at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could see sarcasm and powerful hatred concealed deep in the man¡¯s eyes. "Why are you asking about this? I¡¯ve already had everyst bit of value wrung out of me by the Wang family. As far as they¡¯re concerned, the only thing that I¡¯m still good for is mining. I¡¯m worthless to your Xia family, so there¡¯s no need to waste your time on me."

    Lu Yin could not help but nce over at his escort.

    The man''s eyes were a bit cold, as he clearly did not care for Xiao Can''s attitude. The prisoner would be disciplined again after returning to the mines.

    "Senior, this man refuses to learn from us, and talking to him is just a waste of time. Why not just throw him back?" the escort asked.

    Lu Yin frowned. "My conversation has nothing to do with you."

    The man from the Wang family stopped speaking, but his eyes grew even colder when he looked back at Xiao Can.

    Lu Yin also returned his attention to Xiao Can. "I''m simply curious. Why did you end up here when you were discharged from the rear battlefield?? Did you do something to offend the Wang family?"

    Xiao Can snorted in an exhausted manner. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. All four ruling powers are the same. No matter what, I¡¯ll die of old age in this ce, so it really doesn¡¯t matter if I speak to you or not."

    Xiao Can then turned around and started walking back towards the mining area.

    "Maybe I can help you," Lu Yin suddenly called out.

    Xiao Can hesitated.

    The expression on the escort¡¯s face instantly changed. "Senior, he works as a miner for my Wang family. All of our miners here are forbidden from ever leaving. They will live and die in this ce. Senior, please do not try to interfere."

    Lu Yin frowned. "He¡¯s just a miner. I¡¯ll talk to Senior Wang Zheng and ask him to let this man go. Besides, he¡¯s no longer worth anything to your Wang family."

    "No matter if he¡¯s worth anything or not, it¡¯s impossible for him to ever leave this ce. Such a thing has never happened before, which you should already know." The escort was starting to get rather curt with Lu Yin. If they were anywhere else, the man would not dare to speak to Xia Yuan in such a tone, as the escort was just an Enlighter. But here, in the Wang family¡¯s homnd, things were different. On top of that, Lu Yin had just requested something that the escort believed to be impossible, so he felt that refusing without reporting the request would not be an issue.

    Lu Yin became more curious than ever, and he slowly replied, "I know your Wang family¡¯s rules, but few rules can never be bent or broken."

    The escort frowned, but he remained silent. No matter what, no miner would ever be allowed to leave.

    Xiao Can turned back to look at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes flickered, though Lu Yin could not tell what the man was thinking.

    "Talk to me. Maybe I can help you," Lu Yin repeated.

    This time, the escort remained silent. There was no reason to argue with this person from the Xia family who was overstepping their bounds. Not even Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s sect master could take any of the miners away from the Wang family¡¯s homnd.

    Xiao Can stared at Lu Yin. "Why would you help me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I never said that I would help you, just that I might be able to. I¡¯m simply curious about why you¡¯re here. If I remember correctly, you traded a Root of Intelligence to be discharged from the rear battlefield."

    Xiao Can smiled and shook his head. "Like I already told you, the Wang family has wrung out everyst bit of value from me. They took everything from me, including my hidden Root of Intelligence. If that¡¯s what you want in exchange for helping me, too bad."

 Chapter 2233: Repeated

    Chapter 2233: Repeated

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed at Xiao Can¡¯s response. "You¡¯ve been imprisoned here because of the Root of Intelligence from back then?"

    Xiao Can had already be numb to his situation, and he answered in a voice filled with pure exhaustion. "I was stupid, selfish, and too afraid of dying after arriving on the rear battlefield. I traded a Root of Intelligence for an early discharge, and another one for General Wang Xun¡¯s protection. If I hadn¡¯t been such a coward, I would have never been targeted by the Wang family, and I wouldn¡¯t have been trapped here for the rest of my life. Everything¡¯s my own fault."

    Lu Yin then understood; Xiao Can had been targeted by Wang Xun.

    Lu Yin remembered Xiao Can saying that he had traded a Root of Intelligence for three years of protection from the third array base¡¯s General Wang Xun, and then he had traded another one for an early discharge from the rear battlefield. Xiao Can had sessfully survived the rear battlefield, only to expose his wealth to the Wang family.

    Wang Xun had not dared to attack Xiao Can on the rear battlefield, but he had immediately targeted the young man after his discharge.

    Xiao Can had been desperate to escape the rear battlefield, but Wang Xun had likely been even more desperate for the young man to leave.

    This was just how life yed out. If Xiao Can had not been so desperate to save himself from the rear battlefield and had not done everything possible to obtain an early discharge, then his life would have gone very differently. While it was indeed quite possible for him to have died on the rear battlefield, he had sincee to believe that such a fate would have at least been better than very.

    Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the word ¡°karma.¡± Could such a thing be real?

    Lu Yin stared at Xiao Can''s departing back. If at all possible, Lu Yin wanted to save the man, not because of the Roots of Intelligence, but rather to learn about Xiao Can¡¯s connection to Progenitor Hui.

    How could an independent cultivator possess so many Roots of Intelligence? If Xiao Can were truly a descendant of Progenitor Hui, then regardless of any other details, Lu Yin would want to save him.

    ***

    Far away in the Higher Realm, Wang Zheng arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had assigned an acting sect master by the name of Bai Su. He was not a member of the Bai family¡¯s direct line, but was rather from a branch family. Bai Su could notpare to Bai Teng in any way. Regardless of why or how Bai Teng had be the sect master, he was still a five-tribtion powerhouse, while Bai Su was only a three-tribtion Envoy.

    Elsewhere, such a person would be considered a powerhouse, but such strength waspletely insufficient to hold the position of sect master in the Celestial Frost Sect.

    If not for the fact that the Celestial Frost Sect had eligible nominees for quite some time, Bai Xu would have never been given that position.

    Bai Su greeted Wang Zheng with a puzzled expression on his face. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, I hear that you¡¯re recanting certain details that you shared about my sect master¡¯s disappearance. Is that correct?"

    Bai Su was not alone, as many of the high-ranked members of the sect had gathered, including even Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao.

    Wang Zheng had a solemn expression on his face. He suppressed his suspicions concerning the Celestial Frost Sect targeting his son before speaking. "I remember that, when Long Ke returned to the Ind of Hope, his eyes were dull. He seemed to not be in control of himself."

    Bai Su was taken aback. "Are you certain?"

    "Patriarch Wang Zheng, why didn''t you say this before?" Wu Yao loudly demanded.

    Wang Zheng replied, "I never considered the possibility. Long Ke kept insisting that he could not remember how he had returned to the Ind of Hope, but I just assumed that he was trying to deflect questions. However, after I returned home and reflected on the matter, I realized that it is not impossible for someone who¡¯s capable of robbing the Junior Progenitors without disturbing the God of Food to also be capable of controlling Long Ke."

    Bai Su and Wu Yao nced at each other, and the other officials stared at Wang Zheng with clear doubt in their eyes.

    The patriarch was suddenly bringing up details that contradicted his original testimony, but the man¡¯s purpose was clear to see: he hade to prove Long Ke''s innocence. Why? What could the White Dragon n have offered the Wang family in such a brief amount of time to convince them to change their tune?

    There were certain things that Bai Su, as the acting sect master, could not openly say, but Wu Yao was under no such reservations. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, you¡¯re changing your testimony. Why? Could the White Dragon n have bought off your Wang family?"

    Wang Zheng grew furious. "Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao, do you realize what you''re saying? You are ndering two of the four ruling powers! Do you think that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s protection is enough to save you from my Wang family?"

    Wu Yao''s eyes grew cold. "You are clearly here for Long Ke, and there naturally has to be a reason for you to change your testimony in such a short amount of time."

    "As I said, I realized that the dullness that I saw in Long Ke''s eyes when he returned means that that he might have been under someone¡¯s control. As for what you decide to do to Long Ke, I don''t actually care. I¡¯m just here to report what I saw," Wang Zheng snapped back.

    Bai Su was facing a dilemma. Wang Zheng had previously been the primary witness in the matter, and his testimony had given the Celestial Frost Sect an excuse to arrest Long Ke. With Wang Zheng changing his story, there was no longer a justifiable reason to hold Long Ke. Bai Su felt like he was being forced into a reactive position by Wang Zheng¡¯s words and that there was no way to keep Long Ke prisoner. Since when had the Celestial Frost Sect be so passive?

    Of course, Bai Su was also not terribly concerned. He was nothing more than the acting sect master, and he had no ambitions regarding the position or of standing up to the Bai family¡¯s direct line. Not to mention, Patriarch Bai Wangyuan was still alive, as well as the powerful Bai Xian''er who was also part of the direct line. Bai Su simply wanted to remain a puppet.

    Wang Zheng remained a guest of the Celestial Frost Sect for two days, and he ended up leaving at the same time as Long Ke.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had no choice in the matter. Wang Zheng had simply needed to recant his testimony to free Long Ke. Given the pressure that the White Dragon n and the rest of the four ruling powers was putting on the Celestial Frost Sect, there was no choice but to release Long Ke. As for any clues regarding Bai Teng''s disappearance, the sect could only continue to investigate on their own.

    Nothing had been done to Long Ke during his incarceration, as the Celestial Frost Sect did not dare to do anything to him without first gathering concrete evidence that he had attacked Bai Teng.

    "Thank you, Brother Wang, for restoring my innocence," Long Ke said gratefully. The patriarch looked at Wang Zheng while feeling quite torn about the entire ordeal. After all, Long Ke had been arrested because of Wang Zheng, but he had also been freed because of him. It was all rather confusing.

    "Brother Long, don''t you find this entire situation a bit strange?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Long Ke felt quite puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

    "I was the one who confirmed your connection to Bai Teng''s disappearance, and I am now also the one who helped release you," Wang Zheng said.

    Long Ke shook his head. "I am very grateful to you for speaking up for me, Brother Wang, but the Celestial Frost Sect will not truly ept that I had nothing to do with Bai Teng''s disappearance just because of your words."

    "I¡¯m well aware of that. I would like to ask, have you suffered any hardships during your time in the Celestial Frost Sect?" Wang Zheng asked while staring at Long Ke.

    Long Ke shook his head. "Aside from the necessary questioning, I was treated no differently from when I was their guest. I was even allowed to move around the sect, within reason."

    Wang Zheng was stunned. Had the Celestial Frost Sect not tried to force Long Ke to give them the White Dragon n¡¯s portion of the restriction method for Star Alliance?

    Wang Zheng proceeded to ask Long Ke many questions, but Long Ke only ever had one answer: absolutely nothing unusual had happened to him during his confinement within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Long Ke intended to return straight to the White Dragon n, but that changed after he learned that Long Tian was still a guest of the Wang family. On top of that, Wang Zheng also shared the conjectures that Shenwu''s Sky and the White Dragon n hade to regarding the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Long Ke''s expression turned quite ugly when he heard the suspicions. "The only thing that I¡¯ll say is that not even Semi-Progenitor Ni Huang could have kidnapped Bai Teng without the God of Food noticing. It would have taken a Progenitor to pull that off. However, if the Celestial Frost Sect is actually behind their sect master¡¯s disappearance, then that would exin it."

    "Brother Long, you just said that the Celestial Frost Sect didn''t do anything to you, but I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s true," Wang Zhengmented.

    Long Ke quickly replied, "I was definitely being controlled. I don''t remember how I got back to the Ind of Hope at all. Are you saying that I may have been controlled while in the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Wang Zheng was unsure whether or not Long Ke had ever actually been controlled by someone. He had said whatever he needed to force the Celestial Frost Sect to get Long Ke released as quickly as possible. However, it seemed that Long Ke had truly been under someone¡¯s control. If that was the case, then the man must have also been controlled while he was in the Celestial Frost Sect. That would exin their treatment of him, and it would also exin why Long Ke himself was ignorant of the matter.

    Furthermore, this possibility exined why the Celestial Frost Sect had been willing to release Long Ke at all: the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch had already exhausted his usefulness.

    One conjecture had essentially been verified, and this suggested that the rest of the guesses were true as well.

    This was something that Lu Yin understood quite well, as Wei Rong had exined this concept to him before. At the time, Lu Yin had not really considered thement, but he hade to take it quite seriously.

    When Wang Zheng returned to his family¡¯s home, chatting away with Long Ke, Lu Yin could see that the men already believed that the Celestial Frost Sect was the culprit behind everything. There was no need for Lu Yin to say another word.

    "If we are right and the Celestial Frost Sect is only missing my Wang family¡¯s portion of the restrictions, then they will definitely do their best toe after me. What do the White Dragon n and Shenwu¡¯s Sky intend to do now?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Long Ke looked over at ¡°Xia Yuan.¡±

    Lu Yin coughed. "This is something for those higher than me to decide. In this matter, I¡¯m simply the messenger."

    Long Ke said, "There are many Envoys in Star Alliance. There are at least twenty more than the ones that have been sent to the rear battlefield. We need to first find a way to move those twenty people beyond the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s reach. That way, even if they obtain the full restriction method, it will still be useless for them."

    Wang Zheng agreed, "That¡¯s true. The right to order Star Alliance is something shared by the four ruling powers as a whole. If the Celestial Frost Sect can move the members of Star Alliance wherever they want, then so can my Wang family. We need to find a way to hide as many members of Star Alliance as we can. That way, the Celestial Frost Sect will not gain much even if they obtain theplete restriction method. As soon as we are able to gather evidence showing that the Celestial Frost Sect attacked Xia Xing, we can leave the rest to our Progenitors."

    Upon hearing this conversation, Lu Yin realized he also faced a serious issue. Even if he was able to free the members of Star Alliance, it would be impossible to do so if they were hidden from him.

    This was a major problem.

    These people had already guessed that the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to gainplete control of Star Alliance, so they wereing up with a n to counter that, but they were actually countering Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin started thinking. He was lucky that he was currently posing as Xia Yuan, as it allowed him to learn quite a bit of vital information.

    He hoped to use Xia Yuan''s identity to learn about where Wang Zheng and Long Ke intended to hide the members of Star Alliance, but the two patriarchs never mentioned anything. They intended to simply speak with Xia Xing himself.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Xia Xing''s main body?

    Long Ke did not want to remain at the Wang family¡¯s headquarters for long, as he wanted to avoid tipping off the Celestial Frost Sect. However, just as he was about to leave, he received news that left Long Ke absolutely furious: the powerhouse from one of the White Dragon n¡¯s branch families in the city beneath the floating hand had been attacked and severely injured.

    Long Ke was enraged, and he immediately led Long Tian down to the city, and Wang Zheng followed close behind. He could not ignore something like this happening in the Wang family¡¯s own home.

    Lu Yin tagged along.

    A small group quickly arrived in the courtyard of the Lei family¡¯s mansion, and they found the man from the White Dragon n lying on the ground. The Envoy had been seriously injured, but he had been conscious long enough to send a message to Long Tian.

    Long Tian helped the man up. "Who did this?"

    Long Ke, Wang Zheng, and Lu Yin all watched.

    The White Dragon n Envoy coughed up blood, but he still tried to bow as soon as he saw Long Ke.

    Long Ke raised a hand to stop the man from forcing himself. "Who hurt you?"

    The Envoy shook his head. "I don''t know. I was waiting here in the courtyard when I was suddenly badly wounded. I never even saw who attacked me."

    Everyone listening instantly understood that the attacker had simply been much stronger than the wounded man.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was standing six meters away from Long Ke, while Long Ke was only one meter away from Wang Zheng. A little further away, Long Tian was watching. However, they were clearly not the only ones watching. Lu Yin looked up and nced around. Sure enough, there were other experts from the Wang family watching this courtyard. This was a rare opportunity, and whether or not Lu Yin could sessfully capture Wang Zheng all depended on these next few moments.

    His eyes turned cold, and he took a step forward. The moment Lu Yin was within five meters of Long Ke, he Possessed the man again. However, Long Ke¡¯s body did not immediately move, as Lu Yin was searching the man¡¯s memories for information regarding the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

 Chapter 2234: Confrontation

    Chapter 2234: Confrontation

    Memories surged into Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He could not find any detailed information in Long Ke''s mind regarding the orb of light above the Wang family¡¯s hand-shapedndmass. Long Ke only knew what Lu Yin had already learned from Elder Qing Xing and a few others. The patriarch had heard that the orb had once incinerated a Progenitor, but both who and how were mysteries.

    However, Lu Yin did find some memories regarding the sourcebox array that protected the Wang family¡¯s headquarters.

    Just like Dragon Mountain, the Wang family¡¯s homnd was surrounded by a powerful sourcebox array, though only the hand-shapedndmass was protected. The cluster of cities below were not included in the protected area.

    Lu Yin also checked for any memories concerning the Wang family¡¯s powerhouses. Long Ke knew that there was an outsider who had joined the Wang family. This man was a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and he was the guardian of the Wang family¡¯s homnd.

    Each of the four ruling powers epted outside powerhouses into their organizations. The White Dragon n had two outsider Semi-Progenitors who had joined the family. One had been sent to the rear battlefield, while the other had gone to Dragon Mountain to hide. Not even Long Ke knew who that hidden Semi-Progenitor was, so Lu Yin could learn nothing from the patriarch¡¯s memories. Naturally, the outsiders who had joined the other three ruling powers must have simrly been sent to the rear battlefield or stayed at their headquarters.

    Lu Yin scanned Long Ke''s memories as quickly as possible, but Wang Zheng soon spoke up again. "Brother Long, my Wang family will be sure to properly apologize for this matter."

    Lu Yin ended the Possession, pulled the slipper out of his own cosmic ring, threw it to Long Ke, and then Possessed the patriarch again. The slipper was grabbed, and the Possessed Long Ke pped Wang Zheng in the head with the footwear. The Wang patriarch crumpled to the ground before he could even react.

    If Lu Yin could attack himself, then things would not have needed to be soplicated, as a single punch would have been enough to incapacitate the man. Wang Zheng could not resist Lu Yin¡¯s physical might, but the man would have had time to react if Lu Yin had tried to attack him. Wang Zheng was a true powerhouse of the Wang family, but the man had never even considered the possibility that Long Ke would attack. The only obstacle was that Long Ke was not strong enough for what Lu Yin needed, so the slipper had been needed to be used topensate for thecking power.

    Long Tian stared nkly at his father.

    Lu Yin controlled Long Ke''s body to smile at Long Tian before grabbing the unconscious Wang Zheng and fleeing.

    Long Tian was still supporting the wounded White Dragon n Envoy, and the young man stared nkly into space, unable to understand why his father had suddenly attacked Wang Zheng. Suddenly, a single word urred to Long Tian: control.

    Instantly, Long Tian¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot, and he shot after his father. ¡°Stop!"

    A powerful pressure descended from above, and a stranger suddenly appeared. The void was sealed, and countless white figures appeared. They all looked somewhat like humans, and like flowing water, they charged after the fleeing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. This person was a Semi-Progenitor. He had already known that it would not be easy to escape, but luckily, Progenitor Smoke was still apanying Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin returned to his own body, which allowed Long Ke to regain his wits for a moment, only to fall unconscious to Lu Yin''s fist. Lu Yin pulled out the mirror and said, "Senior, I¡¯m in trouble!"

    Progenitor Smoke appeared and looked behind Lu Yin. "A Semi-Progenitor? What an interesting inner world. This person¡¯s quite curious."

    After that, while Lu Yin could not see what the woman did, he was hit by a wave of dizziness. The next thing he knew, all the cities in his sight vanished. They were instantly gone.

    Beneath the Wang family¡¯s homnd, the pupils of the Semi-Progenitor who had used their inner world to capture the three fleeing people shrank sharply. Where had they gone?

    Further down, Long Tian was feeling simrly confused. Where had those three people gone?

    Let alone the people left behind, not even Lu Yin could understand what Progenitor Smoke had just done. "Senior, what did you just do? Have you regained the strength of a Progenitor? You have, haven¡¯t you?!"

    While Lu Yin had watched Progenitor Smoke use the Enhanced needle-like weapon to break through more of the fog that trapped her, Lu Yin had not known just how much of Progenitor Smoke¡¯s strength had been freed. He only knew that she seemed a bit too strong, as the Semi-Progenitor who had been trying to capture Lu Yin had not even been able to see them leave.

    Progenitor Smoke proudly replied, "Take a guess."

    She then turned around and saw Lu Yin¡¯s newest prisoners: Wang Zheng and Long Ke. "You¡¯re kidnapping more people? Who are these two?"

    "The patriarchs of the four ruling powers. That one¡¯s the Wang family¡¯s patriarch, and he¡¯s the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch," Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, he pulled out Zenith Mountain and imprisoned the two men.

    Progenitor Smoke was utterly speechless, and she gave Lu Yin an odd stare. "You are certainly ruthless enough! You actually captured the leaders of all four ruling powers? There really aren¡¯t any left."

    Lu Yin actually felt a bit proud of himself. If he was being honest, most of what he had done was sheer coincidence. He had only truly orchestrated Xia Xing¡¯s capture. Bai Teng had simply been too convenient to let pass, Wang Zheng had also walked into the perfect situation, and Lu Yin had simply been unbelievably lucky to Possess Long Ke. Without so many incredible coincidences, he had no idea what it would have taken to capture these four men.

    "You really are sneaky enough topare to Hui Wen," Progenitor Smoke mocked.

    Lu Yin replied in a stern tone, "This junior just wants to rescue his own people and those in Star Alliance. I never actually intended to attack these men."

    "What if the Lu family has already been destroyed by Aeternus?" Progenitor Smoke shot back.

    Lu Yin fell silent. He firmly believed that the Lu family had only been banished, and that they were still alive and safe. However, if his family had been wiped out by Aeternus, then that wouldpletely change the severity of the four ruling powers¡¯ crimes. Exiling and killing the Lu family were twopletely different matters. If his family was dead, would Lu Yin still be able to stay his hand for the good of humanity?

    Would he really be able to maintain his current attitude towards the four ruling powers?

    When Lu Yin had first learned that the four ruling powers had destroyed the Lu family, hatred had filled his heart. Shaman God had seen that, and it had developed a n to take advantage of it, even going so far as to help Lu Yin. As time passed, Lu Yin had be convinced that his family was still alive and merely exiled. His faith in their survival had greatly diminished Lu Yin¡¯s hatred towards the four ruling powers, and he had been willing to reduce his desires for revenge more and more. Now, he was no longer as determined to eliminate the four organizations.

    However, if the Lu family was all dead, could he still remain so indifferent?

    Progenitor Smoke stared off into the distance. "It¡¯s impossible to truly ignore hatred. You can take your revenge and do whatever you want to those who wronged your family. However, you must always remember one thing: the bigger picture is still the most important thing. Those words were first spoken by Hui Wen."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Progenitor Smoke. Prioritize the bigger picture? That was something that he could do.

    If the entire Lu family had been killed, then Lu Yin would bury the four ruling powers alongside his family. That was indisputable. However, the four ruling powers were also the primary force holding back the Aeternals. This created a true conundrum for Lu Yin.

    The four ruling powers had ignored what was best for humanity by banishing the Lu family, and if Lu Yin treated them in the same way, then would he not be as great a traitor to humanity as the four ruling powers? The only caveat was if he could rece the four ruling powers and take over their fight against Aeternus.

    Determination filled Lu Yin''s eyes. It would not be an easy task to rece the four ruling powers. Simply bing a Progenitor would bepletely insufficient.

    Regardless, this was not the time for such thoughts. Whether or not the Lu family had survived or been wiped out remained a mystery, and Lu Yin¡¯s current goals were to save the members of Star Alliance and the prisoners in Crimson Garden. While doing so, he also wanted to create as much trouble for the four ruling powers as possible. That was what he could do for the time being.

    No other goals could be achieved during Lu Yin¡¯s current visit to the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin had kidnapped both Wang Zheng and Bai Teng, and their disappearance should startle the four ruling powers. Anyone who heard the news would struggle to believe it.

    Who could kidnap the patriarchs of both the Wang family and the White Dragon n right beneath the Wang family¡¯s homnd? Not only that, but the culprit had also escaped.

    The four ruling powers immediately connected with each other throughmunications crystals, and Long Tian truthfully recounted everything that he had seen, including the fact that Long Ke had attacked Wang Zheng. The attack had happened in in sight of the Wang family as well as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s vision. Thus, Long Tian did not dare to try to cover anything up.

    "Long Ke attacked Wang Zheng? He pped him unconscious with a slipper? Are you sure that this isn¡¯t a joke?" The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s acting sect master Bai Su was stunned. Could this be real?

    More importantly, a slipper? Even if Long Ke wanted to attack Wang Zheng, where had he gotten a slipper? How could a slipper knock Wang Zheng out cold?

    "It¡¯s quite clear that someone was controlling my father: Xia Yuan. He controlled my father, made him capture Patriarch Wang Zheng, and then knocked my father unconscious," Long Tian exined.

    Xia Xing spoke up. "Xia Yuan was with you?"

    "It¡¯s true that Xia Yuan is the most suspicious person involved," the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor guardian replied, "Patriarch Wang Zheng told me to secretly monitor Xia Yuan before he left our home. It¡¯s possible that the patriarch expected something, but he did not tell me anything specific. I saw the man from the Xia family move closer to Patriarch Long Ke, pull out the slipper from his cosmic ring, and throw it over to Patriarch Long Ke. Later, while escaping, Xia Yuan attacked Patriarch Long Ke and struck him unconscious."

    "How could Xia Yuan take out a slipper to deal with Wang Zheng?" Xia Xing was puzzled.

    Long Tian was the White Dragon n¡¯s only representative. There was no denying that the White Dragon n had the weakest foundation of any of the four ruling powers. Their Grand Elder Ni Huang was still in the Fifth Maind, Long Ke had been captured, Long Quan was dead, and Long Laobui was fighting on the rear battlefield. There had never been many powerhouses in the White Dragon n, which meant that the only person who could fill in for their missing patriarch was Long Tian.

    "If someone can control my father, then they can also control Xia Yuan. Or, is it possible that someone was disguised as Xia Yuan?" Long Tian asked.

    The Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor answered, "There was no evidence of any disguise."

    "This is impossible," Xia Xing dered, "Xia Yuan has no reason to cooperate with Long Ke to attack Wang Zheng."

    "My father did not attack Patriarch Wang Zheng. He was being controlled. Xia Yuan also attacked my father. Before the attack, we were all discussing-" Long Tian stopped suddenly in the middle of his sentence.

    Bai Su was surprised by the hesitation. "What were you discussing?"

    Long Tian and Xia Xing both remained silent. Their conversation was something that not even the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor knew about.

    "There''s no need for a secret alliance at this time. Bai Su, everything has been orchestrated by your Celestial Frost Sect! My clone, Long Ke, and Wang Zheng were all captured by your Celestial Frost Sect!" Xia Xing directly stated. He was clearly using the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Bai Su was beyond confused at this moment. "What are you talking about?"

    Long Tian jumped in and sternly said, "Your Celestial Frost Sect sent someone to observe the Wang family long ago. After discovering Xia Yuan and learning about our goals, you had someone impersonate Xia Yuan and apany my White Dragon n to lure out Wang Zheng so that he could be captured along with my father. The Celestial Frost Sect is doing all of this in order to seize control of Star Alliance."

    Bai Su started to understand the usations, which only upset him. "Don''t be ridiculous! My Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sect Master Bai Teng has also been taken."

    "That''s nothing more than a show put on by you. If not for your Celestial Frost Sect taking action, then how could Bai Teng have disappeared without the God of Food seeing anything? Long Ke was just controlled and made to attack Wang Zheng. You can im that your Celestial Frost Sect is innocent, but you are clearly behind all of this," Xia Xing said in a deep voice. He was almost entirely certain that Long Ke had been controlled by someone and that that ¡°Xia Yuan¡± was an imposter. The real Xia Yuan had neither the motivation nor the strength to aplish what had been done. For starters, Xia Yuan waspletely incapable of knocking Long Ke unconscious.

    Bai Su was beyond stunned. He could notprehend why everyone was suddenly leveling their spears at his Celestial Frost Sect.

    However, as Bai Su listened to Xia Xing and Long Tian¡¯s conjectures that exined the recent events, the acting sect master could not deny that everything sounded quite reasonable. In fact, if the Celestial Frost Sect was not behind everything that had happened, then who did have the abilities to do it?

    "Wait," the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor suddenly interjected, "I am not aware of all of the facts, but there is one thing that is undeniable¡ªthey were allowed to escape because of the assistance of a Progenitor. If that person was not a Progenitor, then they definitely wield the strength of one."

    Xia Xing shouted at Bai Su, "Your Celestial Frost Sect has a hidden powerhouse! Did Bai Xian''er do this?"

    Bai Su shouted back, "You have no evidence, so don''t spout nonsense! If you push this, I will bring in our Progenitor!"

    "I¡¯ve already reported everything to our Progenitor, telling him that the situation is spinning out of our control. Whether your Celestial Frost Sect is the one scheming to gain control of Star Alliance to gain an advantage over the rest of us, or someone else is secretly manipting events, the Progenitors will find out. However, if your Celestial Frost Sect is indeed behind everything, then prepare for war!" Xia Xing threatened.

    Long Tian chimed in as well. "You had best hope that my father remains safe! If he¡¯s been harmed, then my White Dragon n doesn¡¯t mind causing the White Dragon Rolls Over again!"

 Chapter 2235: Investiture of the Gods

    Chapter 2235: Investiture of the Gods

    Bai Su¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously after hearing the open threat. "Long Tian, don''t forget that Long Ke undeniably attacked Wang Zheng. How can you be so certain that Long Ke was being controlled by someone? Maybe your White Dragon n is the one behind this, and you¡¯re the ones who attacked the Wang family.¡±

    "I won¡¯t be deceived by the Wang family either. All of this is nothing but conjecture, and it¡¯s possible that all of this is just being brought up to manipte you into attacking my Celestial Frost Sect. As for us, we have no intention of attacking the rest of you."

    In the end, it did not matter what Bai Su said, as Xia Xing and the others would not even answer. There was no way to deny that thistest incident had been very strange. Had Long Ke really been under someone¡¯s control? How did Xia Yuan have the strength to instantly defeat Long Ke? Why had Xia Yuan worked with Long Ke to attack Wang Zheng? There were so many questions.

    However, before the truth was revealed, it was important for the three organizations to unite and prevent the Celestial Frost Sect from gaining any more power. The final decisions would be made by the Progenitors.

    ¡­

    As soon as Wang Zheng and Long Ke disappeared, the entire Higher Realm was sealed off. No one was allowed to enter or leave. Unfortunately, such precautions were useless against Lu Yin, as he could not be stopped by average cultivators.

    He easily escaped from the Higher Realm and returned to Virtue Archives.

    After arriving at the academy, he was startled to discover that the academy was actually enveloped by a massive tree that nearly covered the entire Virtue District.

    The fact that the tree covered most of the Virtue District indicated just how massive the tree was; it was capable of holding multiple stars.

    Lu Yin leaped over the branches, moving quickly towards Virtue Archives, only to be stopped by the academy''s sourcebox array. Virtue Archives had publicly announced that the academy¡¯s students were undergoing an intense training regime, and no visitors were allowed for the time being.

    Lu Yin had wanted to sneak through with Progenitor Smoke''s wei, but he was afraid that doing so would expose Liu Shaoge. While considering his options, Kui Luo found Lu Yin.

    "Kid, you''re finally back." Upon seeing Lu Yin, Kui Luo proudly pointed at the massive tree. "What do you think? This old man¡¯s masterpiece is impressive, isn¡¯t it?"

    Lu Yin wondered, "Your masterpiece? You made this tree appear?"

    "Of course! That old fart, God of Food, dared to mock me, so I decided to make him suffer this time." Kui Luo grew noticeably happier with the situation as he thought about what had happened before.

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. "How is this tree supposed to be your revenge against the God of Food?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "What? Do you think that this is a normal tree? Let me tell you a secret¡ªthis tree is Virtue Archive¡¯s greatest secret of all! Do you think that the sourcebox array is protecting the academy? Wrong! It¡¯s this tree!"

    "How do you know about it then? What does this tree do?" Lu Yin was bing increasingly curious about the situation.

    Kui Luo exined, "When I was younger, I studied in Virtue Archives by myself, and I was very interested in the academy¡¯s secrets. I actually spent most of my energy on this ce back then. How could this run-down school keep anything hidden from me? As for what this tree¡¯s actually for, I have no idea. I just knew that it would be a good idea to force it out, as that old God of Food fart¡¯s got to be going nuts! Hahahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin turned and looked at Virtue Archives, feeling powerful empathy for the academy. It was never good to offend anyone, but Kui Luo was infamous for being petty, unscrupulous, and merciless in his revenge.

    Lu Yin finally understood why Kui Luo had done nothing ever since Lu Yin had joined Virtue Archives. In fact, Lu Yin had forgotten about how Kui Luo had said that he would get revenge on the God of Food. Apparently, the old man had been working on just that this entire time.

    "You don''t know what the tree does? Then why force it out? Maybe the God of Food and the headmaster are actually happy about this turn of events," Lu Yin said.

    Kui Luo sneered. "Why don¡¯t you go and ask them if they¡¯re happy about it? Old Wen Lai has the ability to bring this tree out, but he never did it, so I decided to help them out. Let¡¯s head in now! I would have already gone in a long time ago if I wasn¡¯t waiting for you!"

    "You can get in?"

    "Don¡¯t be silly. How do you think I¡¯ll get it out?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips before following Kui Luo. They entered from the loophole that existed in the academy¡¯s defensive sourcebox array, and the two men had no issues passing through.

    Once inside, Lu Yin saw that the tree¡¯s enormous branches were hanging down, covering almost the entire academy. Most of the locations used for lectures had been destroyed by the branches, including theke shore. However, none of the stone pirs had been damaged. In fact, the pirs were avoided, as though they had been ced with the tree in mind.

    Many students had gathered at the center of the academy. They had surrounded one of the pirs, and the instructors were there as well. Lu Yin saw Prof. Wei, Prof. Zheng, and the rest, including Liu Shaoge, who was posing as Yu Hao. However, Wu Taibai was missing from the instructors, and Xia Shenfei could not be seen among the students either.

    Lu Yin looked around, and he immediately saw a looming mountain. There was a sea beneath the mountain that had drowned arge portion of the academy¡¯s forest. Wait, a mountain and a sea¡­ Why did this seem so familiar?

    Was this one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    "Hey, old man. Is that the Mountain and Sea that the legends im is hidden in Virtue Archives?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kui Luo shook his head. "No idea, but there has to be something in this school that can draw the attention of the four ruling powers. I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s their secret techniques, Progenitor Wen¡¯s Scriptures, or a Mountain and Sea. It could be any one of those things. If it is a Mountain and Sea, we don¡¯t know who it belongs to."

    Lu Yin started to get excited, and he pulled out the mirror and called Progenitor Smoke.

    The woman wanted to get upset, as every time it felt like she was about to make some progress with Blood Alchemy, she would be interrupted by Lu Yin.

    However, as soon as she emerged from the pocket dimension, she noticed the issue. "A Mountain and Sea?"

    Both Lu Yin and Kui Luo were staring at Progenitor Smoke. "Is that really one of the Mountains and Seas?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Definitely. There¡¯s no mistaking this feeling."

    "Who does this one belong to?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How should I know? It was impossible for me to visit other people''s Mountains and Seas."

    Lu Yin then had to ask, "Senior, do you know what techniques are in the inheritances of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    Progenitor Smoke thought for a bit. "I know what some of them are, but most people kept such things a secret. There were even some people who wouldn¡¯t reveal their inherited techniques in battle. Most people were very secretive about it, like Old Fu. No one ever learned about what he inherited from his Mountain and Sea. Hui Wen''s inheritance was rted to fire, but I¡¯m not sure of the specifics. Xia Shang acted like a rich man wanting to unt his wealth, but even though he controlled two Mountains and one Sea, he only ever revealed one inheritance. No one knows what the second one was.

    "Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were both secretive and never revealed anything."

    "What about Patriarch Lu Tianyi?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "Senior Lu Tianyi isn¡¯t from the same era as the rest of us, so there was no way for me to know about his Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance. Besides, he was so strong that it was basically impossible for anyone to force him to use his inheritance. He already had his Champions¡¯ Stage, and with his Investiture of the Gods thrown in, he had more than enough options to deal with his enemies."

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s answer reminded Lu Yin that he had never asked anyone about what the Investiture of the Gods actually was. He had heard it be mentioned by the four ruling powers, the Seven Skygods, and even the former Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era.

    "Senior, what is the Investiture of the Gods?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke was taken aback. "Haven¡¯t you already met other members of your Lu family? Why didn''t you ask them?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I forgot."

    Progenitor Smoke looked over at Kui Luo. "Isn''t this guy one of your Lu family¡¯s retainers? Shouldn¡¯t he know?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Kui Luo. The topic of the Investiture of the Gods had nevere up, and Kui Luo had never taken the initiative to mention it. It was true that Kui Luo should know something about it.

    Surprisingly, Kui Luo actually shook his head. "While I saw the Investiture of the Gods be used in the past, I didn¡¯t understand what I saw."

    "What does that mean?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "The so-called ¡®Investiture of the Gods¡¯ is a roll of cloth. When it¡¯s opened, someone will appear and assist whoever from the Lu family controls the Investiture of the Gods. I saw it once on the rear battlefield, but it was a long time ago, and that¡¯s really all I saw, so I don¡¯t know much."

    Lu Yin looked back over at Progenitor Smoke. She reminisced for a bit, and when she spoke, both admiration and envy could be heard in her voice. "The Investiture of the Gods can be thought of as the second form of your Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage, or an additional visualization method. It all depends on how it¡¯s used. However, as the name suggests, the Investiture of the Gods is a technique the Lu family used to confer ranks to a person.

    "In the Fifth Maind, the Lu family stood above all others like gods and were the undisputed rulers. They were able topletely control the entire Fifth Maind because, no matter who the person may be, as long as they belonged to the Fifth Maind, they could be controlled by the Lu family. The Investiture of the Gods ignores distance, and it¡¯s not an actual person who is summoned to help the wielder of the Investiture of the Gods, but rather some kind of summon with the same strength as the real person. Basically, the Champions¡¯ Stage can summon the dead, while the Investiture of the Gods can summon the living."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge. "Summon living powerhouses?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded, and then she recalled something. "I was once summoned myself. Actually, all of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were. Senior Lu Tianyi summoned all of us when he confronted the full assault of the Aeternals alone. I don¡¯t know what he did or how he aplished it, but that was something that not one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could have done on their own. Not even Old Fu or Xia Shang could have stopped the full power of Aeternus like that."

    The woman looked at Lu Yin as she continued to exin, "The most terrifying thing about the Lu family was never their Champions¡¯ Stage or their visualization methods, but rather their Investiture of the Gods. That was what gave themplete authority over the Fifth Maind, as they could freely wield the power of everyone within it. There is absolutely no way to deal with someone from the Lu family who has awakened their innate gift of the Champions¡¯ Stage and the Investiture of the Gods. That is not the strength of one person as strong as a nation, but rather one person as strong as a Maind."

    Kui Luo gasped. "No wonder Lu Qi dared to rush down to the New World beneath the rear battlefield all alone. Wherever he went, there were always at least four of the Twelve Marquises watching him. He had a Champions¡¯ Stage and also the Investiture of the Gods. Additionally, he used the Lu family¡¯s visualization method and countless power vessels, making him truly a freak of nature. Back then, he wasn¡¯t even a Semi-Progenitor, but not a single Semi-Progenitor was willing to face him alone.

    "Oh, right, Lu Qi¡¯s your father." Thest sentence was directed at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "You couldn¡¯t have told me his name before now?"

    "I remember mentioning it to you."

    "I don¡¯t!"

    Lu Yin was growing increasingly confused as to how the four ruling powers had banished his Lu family. With their Champions¡¯ Stages, the Investiture of the Gods, and all their retainers, it was clear that the Lu family had been so terrifyingly powerful that they could have destroyed all four of the ruling powersbined. And yet, the Lu family had somehow ended up being exiled. There was something very wrong about this no matter how Lu Yin thought about it.

    It would not be long before Lu Yin settled his ounts. He first needed to rescue all of Star Alliance, as well as the prisoners in Crimson Garden. After returning to the Fifth Maind, it would then be time to think about the four ruling powers. Lu Yin knew that he was still far from being their opponent. After all, they had several Progenitors. Still, they were so desperate to kill him that they had sent an entire army to the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin had obtained arge number of hostages as a result.

    "Let''s go see whose Mountain and Seas this is," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin immediately started moving towards the Mountain.

    All of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were enormous, but the speed that Lu Yin and the other two traveled at meant that they arrived very quickly.

    They stopped at the base of the towering Mountain. There were three people standing above the Sea, standing guard in three different directions, and they were stopping everyone from approaching the Mountain.

 Chapter 2236: Master

    Chapter 2236: Master

    Wu Taibai, Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, Bai Weiwei, and Mr. Tang had all been stopped over the Sea. The three people blocking the path to the Mountain were Headmaster Wen, the God of Food, and the third was actually the old man who was the guardian of the library.

    Lu Yin and Kui Luo did not reveal themselves, and Progenitor Smoke stayed next to the two and simply stared into the distance.

    "Headmaster, why can''t we approach the Mountain?" Xia Shenguang was clearly frustrated.

    "This is still part of my Virtue Archives, and I owe you no exnation. Return to the academy."

    Xia Shenguang frowned. "If this is part of Virtue Archives, then you should allow us students to approach the Mountain."

    He had already spent several days trying to convince the headmaster to allow him ess to the Mountain, and the others with him were no different. None of them had had the slightest sess.

    Headmaster Wen simply stopped talking. A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s strength suddenly pushed Xia Shenguang and others back to the academy. "Go back. This ce should not have appeared at this time."

    "This has to be the work of Kui Luo. No one else would do something like this." The God of Food was feeling quite the headache.

    Headmaster Wen shrugged. "Why did you have to antagonize that old bastard? Our academy will only suffer if he targets us."

    The old guardian of the library popped in. "Let''s just go find him and get rid of him. I don¡¯t know how we¡¯ll handle whatever other ns he has."

    "That old man studied here in Virtue Archives when he was young, and both he and his brother were expelled for their behavior. They know the academy very well." Headmaster Wen sighed.

    Lu Yin was able to overhear the conversation from the distance, and he gave Kui Luo an odd look. "You were expelled?"

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth. "That¡¯s bullshit! My brother and I left this trashy school to go wander the universe! Who was expelled?"

    Lu Yin said, "Actually, the academy¡¯s treated you pretty good. Virtue Archives has always known that Kui Luo was actually you and your brother, but they never let anything leak. If they had ever said a word, you and your brother would have had a rough time of things being chased by the four ruling powers."

    Kui Luo was the most notorious Semi-Progenitor in the entire history of the Perennial World. He had been chased and hunted down by the four ruling powers, as well as other major yers, including even the Lu family. And yet, the two brothers had never been caught, all because Kui Luo was actually two people: Kui Zhe and Luo Or. Lu Yin had always assumed that the fact that Kui Luo was actually two people was a secret known only by the Lu family, but he had just learned that Virtue Archives had always known as well. For some reason, the academy had never revealed the information to anyone.

    Kui Luo snorted contemptuously. "Do you really think that they did that out of kindness? It¡¯s because they don¡¯t dare to let anything leak. Many people have studied in Virtue Archives over the ages, and they will never reveal anyone¡¯s secrets to the rest of the world. If they did, how would they ever be trusted ever again? How would they be able to maintain their neutrality? They would have been disbanded ages ago."

    This was a valid point.

    Lu Yin looked back over at Headmaster Wen and the others, and then at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, would you be willing to help this junior approach the Mountain and Sea to see if I can receive its inheritance? Otherwise, I can at least see if it has a master."

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "There¡¯s no need for that. This Mountain and Sea already has a master."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "It has a master? Who?"

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How should I know? All I can tell is that it has a master. I just tried to move my wei close to it."

    "So are you saying that, even if Headmaster Wen and the others weren¡¯t blocking the Mountain, people still wouldn¡¯t be able to get close? Then why are they there?" Lu Yin felt quite puzzled.

    Kui Luo cackled. "There are only two reasons why they don¡¯t want anyone to learn that this Mountain and Sea has a master. One, the master wants to remain unknown and the second is to maximize the value out of this ce. Why do so many powerful organizations focus on this ce? Because of this Mountain and Sea. If it¡¯s discovered that it has a master, then what will stop the four ruling powers from moving against Virtue Archives? If they find out who the master is and aren¡¯t happy about it, then they might just kill that person and take the inheritance for themselves.¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Given how serious the academy is about this, it seems pretty clear that the master of this Mountain and Sea is not an ally of the four ruling powers."

    This thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to light up, as he was also working against the four ruling powers, which meant that the master of this Mountain and Sea was on Lu Yin¡¯s side. It would definitely be best to not let the four ruling powers learn about this matter and instead have it remain hidden.

    Since the Mountain and Sea already had a master, then there was no point for Lu Yin to get closer to it.

    Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror, and Kui Luo left the Mountain and Sea. As for Lu Yin, he went to meet up with Liu Shaoge and swapped ces without issue. Once again, Lu Yin became Yu Hao.

    Headmaster Wen and the other Semi-Progenitors who belonged to Virtue Archives were all guarding the Mountain, and with Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, no one could detect Liu Shaoge swapping to Lu Yin.

    Xia Shenguang and many others were still unwilling to ept the Headmaster¡¯s decision, and they continuously tried to leave the academy to approach the Mountain. However, they were all repelled again and again by Headmaster Wen. After half a month, the enormous tree finally disappeared, and the matter ended.

    Lu Yin returned to his residence atop the stone pir, and then he reviewed everything that had recently happened. The four ruling powers had to be in absolute chaos at the moment, but there was no way they would make it public when they had no evidence or proof of anything.

    This was best for Lu Yin; as long as the four ruling powers did not move too aggressively, they would not be investigating him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first priority was to get the final two parts of the restriction method from Bai Teng and Wang Zheng.

    After seeing the Higher Realm, Lu Yin had be quite anxious. As soon as he captured the leaders of the four ruling powers, he had known that Shenwu''s Sky would definitely share their theory that the Celestial Frost Sect was attempting to seizeplete control of Star Alliance. With all four leaders missing, it meant that someone could absolutely take control of Star Alliance. With this knowledge, where would they hide the members of Star Alliance?

    Star Alliance would be considered an incredibly powerful force by any organization in the universe. As long as a Progenitor did not get involved, Star Alliance could win practically any conflict. Lu Yin was certain of this because Yu Chuan had told him that there were Semi-Progenitors in Star Alliance.

    Elsewhere, Headmaster Wen and the others were feeling quite bewildered that the four ruling powers had not interfered in the Mountain and Sea that had appeared in Virtue Archives. That was not how the four ruling powers normally handled things.

    "The four ruling powers don¡¯t have any time to deal with us right now, as they¡¯re dealing with their own crisis. Wang Zheng and Long Ke have both disappeared." Headmaster Wen was quite stunned by the news he had heard.

    The old guardian of the library was simrly surprised. "First Xia Xing, then Bai Teng, and now both Wang Zheng and Long Ke have gone missing. What''s going on? Doesn¡¯t the Celestial Frost Sect have Long Ke imprisoned?"

    Headmaster Wen shared all the recent news.

    The God of Food eximed, "Who on earth is able to kidnap the leaders of the four ruling powers at the same time? Long Ke must have been controlled by someone. Honestly, I noticed that, when he returned to the Ind of Hope, his eyes were dull. It seems like he must have been controlled by someone back then as well. While he attacked Wang Zheng at the Wang family¡¯s home, he was then knocked out by the Xia family¡¯s Xia Yuan, and then he was captured himself."

    Headmaster Wen said, "So, Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang Family, and the White Dragon n all suspect that the Celestial Frost Sect is moving alone to gain control of Star Alliance, which is why Wang Zheng and Long Ke were captured. They think that Bai Xian¡¯er is behind all of this."

    The God of Food quickly grew somber. "Bai Xian''er¡­ If it¡¯s her, then it¡¯s possible that the Celestial Frost Sect really is behind everything. That girl is unfathomable. She¡¯s so young, from the same generation as the Seven Heroes, or possibly even younger. Her cultivation has improved too quickly, and I can¡¯t even guess how strong she must be by now. Her talent is practically unheard of throughout history."

    "The Celestial Frost Sect has always appeared strong to the outside world, while Shenwu''s Sky and the other two have always been wary of the Celestial Frost Sect. With them three joining forces, it doesn¡¯t really matter if the Celestial Frost Sect is guilty or not¡ªthe other three will make sure to suppress the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s growth. In some ways, I expect them to be hoping that Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s suspicions are correct," the guardian of the librarymented.

    Headmaster Wen nodded. "That would be fine. If they¡¯re busy dealing with each other, then they won¡¯t have time to make trouble for us. Still, Xia Shenguang and the others will definitely send a report to the four ruling powers about what happened here recently. We¡¯ll have to eventually deal with them."

    "I¡¯ll stay here for now. It¡¯s best for me to be the one to handle this sort of thing," the God of Food suggested.

    At the same time, Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan were both submitting reports regarding the giant tree that had appeared and covered all of Virtue Archives. As they were submitting their reports, they also learned about what had happened to Wang Zheng and Long Ke.

    "My father¡¯s missing?" Wang Xiaofan was shocked. He stared at the image of a person on hismunication crystal. "What''s going on?"

    The person on the other end shared all that had happened.

    Wang Xiaofan''s face fell. "Long Ke attacked my father?"

    "At this moment, everyone believes that Long Ke is being controlled by someone. He was likely controlled when he returned to the Ind of Hope before, and the Celestial Frost Sect is the primary suspect. Shenwu''s Sky, the White Dragon n, and our Wang family have all sent reports to our Progenitors in an attempt to put some pressure on the Celestial Frost Sect. As long as our patriarch is not dead, he will certainly be rescued."

    Wang Xiaofan exhaled and looked up. The Celestial Frost Sect?

    The Middle Realm and the Lower Realm were both quite peaceful at this time, but the Higher Realm had be turbulent.

    Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang family, and the top members of the White Dragon n all made a trip to the Celestial Frost Sect to demand that their leaders be returned.

    Bai Su had no idea how to handle the situation. His own sect master had also gone missing, but people wereing to him and using the Celestial Frost Sect of attacking the others. Long Ke had clearly attacked Wang Zheng, and he had even used a slipper that had been given to him by someone from the Xia family. Bai Su felt like the others were joining hands to attack him.

    Bai Su had been contacted by both the Wang family and the White Dragon n as soon as Wang Zheng had disappeared. But to his surprise, they had barged into the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gates and threatened to call out their Progenitors.

    This was the most chaotic the four ruling powers had ever been ever since they had banished the Lu family. Even to the public, the four ruling powers were practically at each others¡¯ throats.

    Bai Su and Wu Yao did their best to defend the Celestial Frost Sect, but every exnation that the two men offered appeared feeble before the convincing story that Shenwu¡¯s Sky painted of all the crimes the Celestial Frost Sect had supposedlymitted.

    As things stood, only a Progenitor could induce a period of temporary peace for the four ruling powers.

    A Progenitor did appear, but not one associated with any of the four ruling powers. Instead, it was the Progenitor of Humility¡¯s Gate, Mu Xie.

    As soon as the middle-aged man emerged from the void, everyone from the four ruling powers bowed as one. "We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

    "We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

    "We greet Progenitor Mu Xie."

    ...

    Countless voices rang out at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gate, echoing in all directions.

    Mu Xie had the appearance of a middle-aged man with an elegant mien and a calm demeanor. Although there was a slight smile on his face, his eyes seemed capable of peering through everything.

    "There¡¯s no need to be so polite. This Progenitor was asked by Senior Progenitor Bai to uncover the truth of this matter," Mu Xie stated indifferently.

    Everyone offered another bow.

    Bai Su heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Progenitor Mu Xie, foring here. I ask that you bring justice. My Celestial Frost Sect has never attacked Sect Master Xia Xing, Patriarch Wang Zheng, or Patriarch Long Ke."

    Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng then spoke up. "Several months ago, Xia Xing, the patriarch of my Shenwu''s Sky, disappeared. When we investigated the location of the attack, we found evidence that he had been attacked by Realmless¡¯s assassins. We also found evidence that the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm was used during the attack, but that technique is identical to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Celestial Suppression. While that caused us to make some guesses, the events at the Ind of Hope yed out shortly after¡­"

    Xia Ziheng shared all of his conjectures and then offered a bow to Mu Xie. "Progenitor Mu, if the Celestial Frost Sect is not behind all of this, then who else could have captured Bai Teng without the God of Food seeing anything? After Xia Yuan and the others arrived at the Wang family¡¯s homnd, someone impersonated Xia Yuan, took control of Patriarch Long Ke, and forced him to attack Patriarch Wang Zheng¡­"

    Next, the Semi-Progenitor from the Wang family who had tried to stop Lu Yin from escaping stepped forward. This man also made sure to bepletely truthful about everything that he had witnessed.

    Bai Su grew angry. "What a farce! Are they using nothing but spection to use my Celestial Frost Sect of these crimes? There is no denying that Bai Teng, our own sect master, has also disappeared! Long Ke was the one who attacked Patriarch Wang Zheng, and Xia Yuan helped in the attack. And yet, they are all using my Celestial Frost Sect of orchestrating everything! It¡¯s absurd."

    The two sides kept arguing and contradicting each other, though with Mu Xie present, no one dared to devolve to actual violence.

    Suddenly, Wu Yao spoke up. "There are certain details that we can no longer keep hidden."

 Chapter 2237: Redirection

    Chapter 2237: Redirection

    Everyone turned to stare at Wu Yao, even Bai Su. The acting sect master feltpletely confused. Hiding something? What are we hiding? Wait, it wasn¡¯t really us, is it? Is there going to be a war? What do I do?!

    Bai Teng¡¯s first impulse was to find a ce to hide. He was only the acting sect master, and he did not want to die. He had only been given this temporary position because no one in the main line of the Bai family wanted it. However, Bai Teng was fully aware that his position was intended to only be held briefly. He did not want to die, and he simply wanted afortable life.

    Numerous thoughts shed through Bai Su¡¯s mind in an instant, and his expression changed constantly.

    Wu Yao looked incredibly somber. "The truth is that Forgotten Ruins God is likely the one behind everything."

    Everyone''s expressions changed drastically. "Forgotten Ruins God? The Skygod?"

    Even Mu Xie''s expression changed. "Forgotten Ruins God?"

    Wu Yao nodded and continued, "In order to avoid arousing any suspicions, we never said anything, but now, we can no longer remain silent."

    He looked towards the people from the Wang family. "Forgotten Ruins God has already shown herself, and she has done many things to develop Redbacks. My Celestial Frost Sect noticed a few clues, and we¡¯ve discovered that she is the most likely culprit behind the attack when Patriarch Long Ke was being controlled."

    "Ridiculous! If Forgotten Ruins God showed up, then why didn''t your Celestial Frost Sect make things clear from the beginning? On top of that, how can you even be sure that it was Forgotten Ruins God? Clearly, your Celestial Frost Sect attacked, and you¡¯re using the name of Forgotten Ruins God to deceive and dominate the Perennial World!" Long Tian spoke up. As a member of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, even if his cultivation was greatly inferior to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, he still was qualified to speak at this gathering.

    Wu Yao looked at Mu Xie. "Progenitor Mu, the reason why my Celestial Frost Sect kept the matter of Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s appearance secret was out of respect for the Wang family. However, there are some things that need to be revealed now."

    The Semi-Progenitor looked back at the Wang family. "The true name of Forgotten Ruins God, one of the Seven Skygods, is Wang Miaomiao. She is the matriarch and founder of the Wang family from the Heavens Sect era."

    Everyone was shocked, even Mu Xie, as this was something that he had never heard of before.

    This was something that no one in the entire Wang family was aware of. In fact, even Progenitor Wang Fan might not know about this. After all, when this information had been revealed in the Fifth Maind, it had been a surprise to Wang Si, let alone everyone else.

    "Nonsense! While it¡¯s true that there was a Redback in my Wang family, that was Wang Xiaoyu! She instigated the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds and caused Progenitor Chen willing to fight the Sixth Maind to the death. We have never had any other Redbacks!" an older member of the Wang family shouted angrily.

    Wu Yao replied, "It¡¯s definitely not nonsense. The truth is that Wang Miaomiao was the one who used the Sit and Forget that trapped the four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm. How else could Wang Xiaoyu have deceived Progenitors as a mere Semi-Progenitor? The most likely method used to control Patriarch Long Ke is also the Wang family''s Sit and Forget."

    "Where¡¯s your evidence?" No one in the Wang family believed these usations, and no one else did either.

    The Perennial World had not lost their history like the Fifth Maind. The four ruling powers were aware of what had taken ce during the Daosource Sect era, and even had some small bit of knowledge regarding the Heavens Sect era. Naturally, the Wang family knew the name Wang Miaomiao. They had simply never thought that their founder matter would be dragged into the current matter. Wang Miaomiao was a truly ancient existence.

    Mu Xie stared at Wu Yao. "Does your Celestial Frost Sect have any evidence?"

    Wu Yao held his head up high. "Of course. Our evidence originally belonged to the Lu family. Wang Miaomiao''s identity was something that Lu Tianyi, the patriarch of the Lu family, was aware of. When the Lu family was exiled, my Celestial Frost Sect obtained some of their documents, including some that belonged to Lu Tianyi. The fact that Wang Miaomiao is the Seven Skygods¡¯ Forgotten Ruins God was in the Progenitor¡¯s personal notes.¡±

    Regardless of whether or not the Wang family believed these allegations, Wu Yao would only dare to say such things if he already had indisputable evidence.

    Half a dayter, the people from Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang family, and the White Dragon n all left the Celestial Frost Sect. Right after the dispersal, a group of powerhouses from all four ruling powers rushed to the Middle Realm¡¯s Yinshan District and started frantically searching for Forgotten Ruins God, whom Wu Yao had brought up.

    Inside the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Su went to speak with Wu Yao. "Is Forgotten Ruins God really behind everything?"

    Wu Yao said nothing at all. Bai Su was simply a puppet, and he was not qualified to know about certain matters.

    The leaders of the four ruling powers had all disappeared, and Wu Yao had no idea who was truly behind it. He had pushed everything onto Forgotten Ruins God because Bai Xian''er had told him to do as such. He had not expected the woman to deliver instructions to point fingers at Forgotten Ruins God.

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky and two other major powers had united against the Celestial Frost Sect. While they had predetermined that the Celestial Frost Sect was the guilty party, they did not have conclusive evidence to support those ims. Since everything was truly nothing more than spection, the Celestial Frost Sect had simply needed to provide a more reasonable possibility.

    If there was evidence that the Seven Skygods had captured the four ruling powers'' leaders and left evidence implicating another party, then everyone could readily ept it.

    As for evidence, there was no true evidence. The Celestial Frost Sect had only been able to prove that Forgotten Ruins God was indeed Wang Miaomiao. Nothing more. There was absolutely no evidence that Forgotten Ruins God had taken action.

    Bai Xian''er had ordered Wu Yao to pin all the crimes onto Forgotten Ruins God, and this worked to resolve the conflict. It was not really important if Shenwu''s Sky and the other two powers believed that Forgotten Ruins God was the culprit, as all that mattered was that their aggression needed to be redirected. Without reliable evidence indicating who had kidnapped the leaders of the four ruling powers, there would only be suspicions and no confirmations.

    Knowing this, Wu Yao stared down towards the Middle Realm. Who was the true culprit? Did Bai Xian''er know? Was it possible that she really was the one behind everything?

    She was already the most likely suspect as far as Shenwu''s Sky and the other two parties were concerned.

    Far away, in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin was ignorant that the Celestial Frost Sect had seeded in temporarily averting a crisis. While Lu Yin could create misunderstandings, Bai Xian''er could simrly redirect those misunderstandings. Everything depended on the methods employed.

    Lu Yin continued waiting for the four ruling powers to start making trouble in Virtue Archives. He was not waiting for them to make trouble because of the missing patriarchs, but rather because a Mountain and Sea had appeared within Virtue Archives.

    The four ruling powers were very concerned about the Mountain and Sea that was hidden within the academy, and they definitely would not ignore the appearance of such a thing, not even if they were engaged in their own conflicts.

    But even after Lu Yin waited for multiple days, enough time for him to give two lectures, there was still no movement from the four ruling powers. Lu Yin decided that it was time to speak to Bai Teng and the others and get the restriction methods from them as soon as possible.

    ¡­

    Who could ever have imagined that the day woulde when the leaders of the four ruling powers would all be collected and imprisoned on a mountain?

    Lu Yin looked at the trapped form of Bai Teng. He then looked over at Xia Xing''s clone, Wang Zheng, and Long Ke, feeling a wave of pride. He managed to capture the leaders of the four ruling powers, but he might soon be able to do the same thing to their Progenitors.

    The Lu family had once been capable of controlling the entire Fifth Maind by summoning dead champions with their Champions¡¯ Stage and avatars of living powerhouses with the Investiture of the Gods. Lu Yin would soon be capable of doing that as well.

    The bindings slowly faded, allowing Bai Teng to regain his freedom. He opened his eyes and saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was not using his true appearance at this moment. If he revealed himself as Lu Xiaoxuan, it would be impossible to discuss anything with Bai Teng. There was no denying that Lu Xiaoxuan wanted revenge and would dly kill Bai Teng, which meant that the sect master would never reveal anything about the restrictions used to control Star Alliance. For this reason, Lu Yin used the face of a stranger, and it was a very average-looking face at that.

    Bai Teng looked at the stranger before him. The sect master¡¯s eyes flickered as he tried to remember if he had ever seen this person before. He desperately tried to understand who his captor was.

    "Don''t bother. You have no information about me whatsoever, though your four ruling powers will have to deal with me a lot in the future," Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Bai Teng''s expression fell. "Who are you? Why did you capture me?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Do you know about the Dealcut Association?"

    Bai Teng¡¯s eyes red. "Are you from the Dealcut Association?"

    Lu Yin intended to pose as a member of the Dealcut Association when speaking to Bai Teng. After all, Lu Yin needed a reasonable motivation to ask for the restriction method ced on Star Alliance. No matter what, Bai Teng was the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect, not some average person. Lu Yin was worried that Bai Teng would connect his kidnapper with the remnants of the Lu family, which would be a problem. Lu Yin had no chance of capturing any other high-ranking member of the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant that Bai Teng was his only chance to get their portion of the restriction.

    However, Bai Teng¡¯s reaction made it clear that he was familiar with the Dealcut Association, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s original n had to be scrapped. There was no telling just how much Bai Teng knew about the Dealcut Association, and there had to be someone incredibly influential supporting the association. Could that person actually be Bai Teng? This thought prompted Lu Yin to quickly answer, "I was hired to capture you by the Dealcut Association."

    The man¡¯s expression instantly changed. "The Dealcut Association paid you to capture me?"

    Lu Yin remained calm. Even if Bai Teng secretly controlled the Dealcut Association, there was no problem with him making such a im. After all, was it possible that there were no traitors within the Dealcut Association?

    Bai Teng''s face contorted in an extremely ugly manner. "Who paid you?"

    "I don''t know. My contact was a young man named Zuo Shan, and he paid me enough to justify the risk in capturing you. Things have be quite chaotic outside, and the Celestial Frost Sect is frantically searching for you, but it¡¯s hopeless. They will never find you," Lu Yin stated. There was a hint of a smile on his face.

    Bai Teng''s eyes grew dark and cold. There was indeed someone with the name of Zuo Shan in the Dealcut Association. The young man was Zuo Lingzhu''s nephew. Lu Yin¡¯s guess had been quite urate; Bai Teng did indeed have a great deal of knowledge of the Dealcut Association. He was not the one controlling the secret society, though he was cooperating with them.

    The sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect was nothing but a puppet, but Bai Teng wanted to truly gain control of his sect. To achieve that goal, the Dealcut Association was but one of the man¡¯s methods. He had been trying to spread his influence, and the Dealcut Association was able to easily gain ess to the rear battlefield¡¯s resources, and much of that ess was directly due to Bai Teng¡¯s support. He had never expected them to send someone to capture him. What was the purpose?

    "The Dealcut Association hired you to capture me? Why? If it''s because the four ruling powers have been trying to wipe them out, I really can¡¯t do anything about that. Shenwu''s Sky got their information from Realmless, so there¡¯s nothing that I can do to help," Bai Teng replied.

    Lu Yin said, "The Dealcut Association wants to learn your portion of the restriction method used to control Star Alliance."

    Bai Teng''s expression instantly changed. "You¡¯re the one who captured Xia Xing''s clone!"

    Lu Yin''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Not bad."

    Bai Teng was left puzzled. "The Dealcut Association is insane to go after Star Alliance¡­"

    He had assumed that he had been targeted because the four ruling powers had started trying to eradicate the Dealcut Association, but it seemed that his capture was simply part of arger n. After all, Xia Xing''s clone had been captured even before Realmless¡¯s headquarters had been destroyed.

    "That¡¯s none of your business, and it¡¯s none of mine either. I¡¯ll keep this simple: give me the restriction method, and I won''t kill you. Don¡¯t tell me, and you die now. Those are the Dealcut Association¡¯s orders," Lu Yin said.

    "I want to speak to Elder Qiu!" Bai Teng demanded.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Elder Qiu? The man who controlled Ceaseless Impetus on the rear battlefield? Was he the leader of the Dealcut Association? "No one ising from the Dealcut Association. I¡¯m the only one who will be speaking to you. Talk to me, or die."

    "If I die, it will bepletely impossible for the Dealcut Association to get that restriction method," Bai Teng replied. "If you already went after Xia Xing, you must be really determined to get it, and only a few people in the entire Celestial Frost Sect know it. Who could you guys target other than me?"

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Teng. "Wrong. Not ¡®you guys¡¯ but ¡®those guys.¡¯ I have nothing to do with the Dealcut Association."

    Bai Teng''s eyes lit up. "What are they paying you? I¡¯ll double it if you just let me go."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, feigning interest. He moved closer to Bai Teng. "Can you afford that?"

    Bai Teng snorted contemptuously. "Anything the Dealcut Association can afford, the sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect can as well! Of course I, Bai Teng, can afford it!"

    "But you¡¯re nothing more than a puppet sect master. In fact, there¡¯s already an acting sect master in ce: Bai Su," Lu Yin retorted.

 Chapter 2238: A Book

    Chapter 2238: A Book

    Lu Yin''s response absolutely infuriated Bai Teng. He hated being called a puppet more than anything else in the world. However, right before heshed out, he realized something, and the sect master stared at Lu Yin. "Bai Su¡¯s already been made acting sect master?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "He¡¯s been cooperating quite well with your Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao. It seems he¡¯s quite happy as the sect master."

    Bai Teng clenched his fists. Why should Bai Su be the acting sect master? That bastard was even more of a puppet than Bai Teng had ever been!

    The fact that the Celestial Frost Sect had made Bai Su the acting sect master so quickly showed that they had never even considered rescuing Bai Teng. The more the man thought about this, the angrier and more resentful he became. He stared at Lu Yin. "What did the Dealcut Associatio promise you? I¡¯ll pay you double to let me go. Not only that, I¡¯ll let you join my Celestial Frost Sect. You should be aware that my daughter is Bai Xian''er. Bai Xian''er."

    As soon as Bai Xian''er was mentioned, Lu Yin''s expression changed, and fear filled his eyes.

    "No one knew about her when the red flowers rained down, but I can promise you this. If you kill me, Bai Xian¡¯er will never let you go! Why do you think the Dealcut Association hired you to do the job? They have so many experts, and Elder Qiu is even a Semi-Progenitor. They could have easily captured me, but they went ahead and hired you because they want you to take the fall. That way, Bai Xian''er''s anger will fall upon you rather than them," Bai Teng said.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I can simply tell Bai Xian''er that I was hired by the Dealcut Association."

    "You''re being too naive! The Dealcut Association has incredible influence, and they¡¯ll know when Bai Xian¡¯er leaves seclusion¡ªyou¡¯ll never even get the opportunity to target them. What you¡¯re saying is impossible," Bai Teng threatened, "Do you think that you¡¯ll get paid for kidnapping me? They¡¯ll never pay you. Elder Qiu will never let you go."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he made it clear that he was being convinced. "I might have captured you, but the Celestial Frost Sect hasn¡¯t been able to find anything. How can Bai Xian''er find me?"

    Bai Teng¡¯s voice rose. "No one knows that my daughter owns a book that allows her to see the past and the future. That¡¯s what caused the Lu family to be exiled back then-"

    The man suddenly let out a scream while in the middle of speaking.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he reached out to grab the sect master. "Keep talking."

    Bai Teng''s face grew pale, and his entire body was constantly trembling. Blood leaked from his eyes, nose, and ears, and a terrifying roar rampaged through his body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and suddenly passed out.

    Lu Yin stared ahead, dazed. It was clear that Bai Teng knew exactly what had happened to the Lu family, but he had been prevented from ever speaking of it. Just the small bit that the man had let slip had caused him to suffer terrible repercussions.

    It had long been clear to Lu Yin that Bai Xian¡¯er was intimately connected with the Lu family¡¯s exile, but Bai Teng''s words indicated that Lu Yin had actually underestimated just how much of a role the woman had yed. She possessed a book that could tell the future?

    Could it be a Book of Destiny?

    Bai Xian''er, the crimson flowers, and a Book of Destiny¡­ Lu Yin knew that he was getting closer and closer to the truth of his family¡¯s exile, but it was impossible to get anything more from Bai Teng.

    Lu Yin quietly stood and waited for Bai Teng to wake back up.

    The man looked pathetic. His meridians had been destroyed, and his organs had copsed. He was bleeding everywhere. Still, the man was an Envoy, so even these terrible injuries would not cripple him. He would recover, as long as his stellr energy vortex was not destroyed.

    It took a long time for Bai Teng to wake up. He rubbed his head to soothe the pain and instantly resumed coughing up blood.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Did you say something that you shouldn''t have?"

    Bai Teng''s pupils kept fluctuating. Terror filled his eyes. Was he really not able to speak about that matter? Xian¡¯er had mentioned a few matters that she believed were dangerous, but Bai Teng had never dreamed that the consequences of barely mentioning even just one of those things would be so drastic. Did Xian¡¯er even see him as her father? It was clear that she did not mind killing him herself.

    This moment of realization caused Bai Teng to feel cold as a powerful fear rose from the depths of his heart.

    He knew he was just a puppet sect master, and he would lose even his false position as soon as Bai Xian¡¯er left seclusion. Still, he had always believed that Xian¡¯er was his daughter and that she would take care of him. Bai Teng had beenpletely certain that he would always stay close to the peak of the Perennial World.

    It was only at this moment that he saw that his life or death truly did not matter at all to Bai Xian¡¯er.

    "Do you still want to continue your story?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Teng bitterly replied, "There are certain things that I can''t talk about."

    "Like how we can''t remember what happened to the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Teng felt truly helpless. "It''s even worse than that."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "In that case, what can you tell me?"

    Bai Teng took a deep breath, and then looked up at Lu Yin. Something had changed about the man. A certain sharpness had left his eyes, though there was something else there as well. "Bai Xian''er has a book that allows her to see the past and the future. If you kill me, no matter what the reason or method you use, she will be able to find out, and she will avenge me. You will die without question. I swear this on my life, my cultivation, and everything else that I have."

    Lu Yin frowned. "As long as you give me the restriction method, I won¡¯t kill you and will simply keep you prisoner."

    "She¡¯ll still find out about it," Bai Teng replied.

    Lu Yinughed. "I don''t believe you."

    Bai Teng cleaned the blood that stained his face, only to smear more scarlet across half of his face. "You only promised to capture me for the Dealcut Association because they promised to pay you. I already told you that if you let me go, I will let you join the Celestial Frost Sect. I can swear that nothing will happen to you, and we can even work together. With you helping me, the Dealcut Association won¡¯t dare touch me, and I¡¯ll make sure to deal with Elder Qiu as soon as you let me go. You will make out much better by working with me.

    "You should already understand what it means to be part of the Celestial Frost Sect in the Perennial World, as well as what it means to be enemies with the Celestial Frost Sect."

    The fact that Bai Teng was willing to say so much proved that he had absolutely no consideration for the possibility that he might have been attacked by the sole living descendant of the Lu family. Lu Yin stayed silent for a moment. "You still must give me the restriction method. I promised to deliver that to the Dealcut Association, and I will not go back on my word.¡±

    As Lu Yin continued, he squatted down next to Bai Teng. ¡°However, I can release you and allow you to return to the Celestial Frost Sect alive, provided that you do what you said and pay me double what they promised."

    Bai Teng''s eyes grew cold. "I¡¯ll swear it."

    Lu Yin dismissed the offer with a wave of a hand. "There¡¯s no need to swear anything. Just pay up first. That¡¯s your only choice, even if you run the risk of me just changing my mind and killing you."

    Bai Teng let out a shaky breath. "I don¡¯t have any choice but to gamble."

    "So, what¡¯s the restriction method?" Lu Yin asked. "I¡¯ll remind you that I¡¯ve already captured Xia Xing, so the Dealcut Association has his portion of the restriction method. If you try to give me something fake, I¡¯ll just kill you."

    Bai Teng replied, "It doesn''t matter to me. Whoever controls Star Alliance is something for the four ruling powers to worry about. I¡¯m nothing more than a puppet."

    Lu Yin did not believe that Bai Teng would try to give him a fake restriction method. The man was in a very awkward position within the Celestial Frost Sect, and thus he had no need to risk his life for the sect. There was no other reason for him to form a long-term cooperative rtionship with the Dealcut Association and attempt to spread his influence. The man was ambitious, but unfortunately, hecked the ability to go along with that ambition.

    After obtaining the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s portion of the restriction, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He was only missing the Wang family¡¯s portion now.

    "What did the Dealcut Association promise to pay you? What would make you take the risk of kidnapping me?" Bai Teng asked. He was very curious about this.

    Lu Yin watched as wei slowly trapped Bai Teng again. "Don''t worry about it. You¡¯ll find out soon enough. I promised to let you go, and I keep my word."

    After Bai Teng was re-sealed, Lu Yin went to go see thest person: Wang Zheng.

    Wang Zheng was different from Bai Teng. To begin with, he was the true patriarch of the Wang family and was one of Progenitor Wang Fan¡¯s own children. The man had an unassable status, and this made him much more difficult to deal with.

    Lu Yin restored his true appearance before dispersing the wei that had sealed Wang Zeng. He was going to face the man directly.

    Wang Zheng looked at the young man who stood before him, and surprise flickered across his eyes. "I truly believed that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind everything. I never thought that it would be you, Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin responded with a small smile, "It¡¯s been a long time, Patriarch Wang Zheng."

    Wang Zheng was taken aback. "You¡¯ve regained your memories?"

    "No, but we also met on Dragon Mountain," Lu Yin said.

    Wang Zheng nodded. "That was when you managed to escape back to the Forsaken Land. Why have you dared return to the Perennial World now?" He pondered before saying, ¡°Was it because of the army that was sent to kill you that you had no choice but to return here?¡±

    Lu Yin let out a loudugh. "Isn¡¯t this exactly what your four ruling powers wanted most?"

    Wang Zheng¡¯s voice dropped low, "What we want most is to see you captured or dead, not standing in front of me and plotting against me and the four ruling powers. You¡¯ve clearly turned us against each other. How did you do it all? You¡¯ve captured Xia Xing and Bai Teng, and even controlled Long Ke. What do you want with all of this?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "When you believed Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s suspicions that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind everything, you managed to figure out what they were after. Why can¡¯t you do that after learning that I¡¯m responsible for everything?"

    Wang Zheng blurted out, "You want to save the members of Star Alliance?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I don''t want to hide things. Yes, I simply want to save the people in Star Alliance."

    "Quit dreaming! I won¡¯t give you my portion of the restriction method, and Xia Xing and the White Dragon n¡¯s Long Ke won''t give you anything either," Wang Zheng stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "I¡¯ll find a way. However, I should tell you that I¡¯m not escaping to the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind. That ce that you all refer to as the Forsaken Land is under myplete control now. I¡¯ve even subdued the army that you sent after me."

    "Ridiculous." There was no way Wang Zheng would ever believe such a thing.

    Lu Yin calmly stared at Wang Zheng, and simply spoke two words. "Wang Yi."

    The patriarch¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "What did you say?"

    "You heard me right. Wang Yi."

    Wang Zheng waspletely stunned. "How do you know that name? What do you know?"

    A smile returned to Lu Yin''s face. "Nothing that I don¡¯t mind making public. She¡¯s the reason why my Lu family was banished. She¡¯s the reason why Wang Si hated my family so much.

    ¡°Now, tell me, do you still not believe that I subdued the army that you sent after me? Wang Si, Bai Laogui, Xia Yingxiong, and everyone else are my prisoners. I¡¯ve learned many things about your Wang family and Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    "Impossible¡­ How could you have subdued that army even with the full strength of the Forsaken Land? We know that you have a Progenitor backing you, but we sent an army equipped with Progenitor items, allowing them to also wield the power of a Progenitor. How could you ever manage to deal with that?"

    "You people all look down on the Fifth Maind too much. For example, Progenitor Chen isn¡¯t dead."

    Lu Yin¡¯s words sent another shock through Wang Zheng. Everything that he heard from Lu Yin shattered everything the patriarch knew to be true.

    "Back when I broke through and became an Envoy, I was able to peer through space and see your Perennial World. I started preparing back then, and I was waiting for you toe after me," Lu Yin exined.

    Wang Zheng still could not believe what he was hearing. "The Aeternals destroyed the New Corridor, and they alsounched an all-out attack on the rear battlefield in a rare show of force against the Perennial World. We did everything that we could to stop them from breaking through the rear battlefield."

    "Thank you for that." Lu Yin lifted his head. "If you hadn¡¯t managed to hold them back, we would have been in grave danger. Fortunately, we¡¯ve already escaped that crisis, and you¡¯ll be able to see for yourselves that I now control the forces that you sent after me when the New Corridor is repaired. I hold the lives of all the Semi-Progenitor and Envoys in my hands, as well as your family¡¯s Wang Su and Wang Yi. Their lives and deaths can be decided by me in an instant"

 Chapter 2239: Obstinate

    Chapter 2239: Obstinate

    Wang Zheng still refused to believe Lu Yin¡¯s ims. "Don''t think that you can force me to give you my portion of the restriction just by talking to me and making wild ims."

    Lu Yin frowned. "It looks like you still don''t believe that I¡¯m the one in control of Wang Su''s life and death."

    Wang Zheng stared intently at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I honestly admire you a great deal. It¡¯s truly amazing that someone who lost all of their memories was able to rise up to where you now stand from the Forsaken Land. Unfortunately, while I hold no grudge against you personally, we are on different sides."

    Lu Yin and Wang Zheng stared at each other. "I can keep you prisoner or let you go. I can also release Wang Su, Wang Yi, and the rest in the future."

    Wang Zheng shook his head. "I don''t believe that you¡¯ve actually managed to subdue the army we sent after you. You might be able to control Long Ke and even some of the people who were sent after you to get some information from them. However, even if you did manage to subdue the entire army and capture everyone, I still wouldn¡¯t give you my portion of the restriction method."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Are you not afraid that your decision will kill Wang Su and the rest?"

    "That''s still better than all of humanity falling!" Wang Zheng shouted back.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "Are you really trying to take the moral high ground when speaking to me?"

    Wang Zheng sighed. "Believe it or not, I didn''t know about the n to exile your family in advance. Truthfully, the four ruling powersmitted a terrible crime against the entire Perennial World by banishing the Lu family. The Lu family should have never been exiled, as they were the most powerful force that stood against the Aeternals."

    "There¡¯s no point in telling me that now," Lu Yin retorted in a frigid tone.

    Wang Zheng smiled wryly at the reaction. "I know that you don''t believe me, but I don¡¯t need you to. All I need to do is keep you from learning the restriction method and saving Star Alliance. I may sympathize with the Lu family and the members of Star Alliance, but I can never allow you to rescue them. If you save them, then with the fact that you are Lu Xiaoxuan, the Perennial World will descend into chaos, which will simply give Aeternus an opening to exploit."

    "Wang Zheng, you¡¯re unbelievable!" Lu Yin yelled. "You¡¯re even worse than Bai Teng and the rest! At least they¡¯ll admit that they were scheming against my family, but you try to use what¡¯s best for humanity to defend yourself. Could you be any more of a hypocrite?"

    Wang Zheng and Lu Yin continued to stare at each other. "It doesn¡¯t matter if you believe me or not, but I won¡¯t allow you to destroy the current stability of the Perennial World, even if stopping you wipes out my entire Wang family. Lu Xiaoxuan, I am truly sorry for you and your family. I sympathize with you in that matter, and I understand that you want revenge, but you must understand that if we are gone, who will stop Aeternus? If Star Alliance is saved, the four ruling powers will all start to suspect each other. Humanity will fall apart and lose our cohesion. This will only benefit the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin¡¯s fists clenched tighter and tighter. This was also something that he struggled with all the time. This was Shaman God¡¯s entire scheme.

    Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng was being honest, but he felt that he was likely being told the truth. The patriarch would be too much of a hypocrite if he could deliver such a convincing performance. However, if Wang Zheng was being honest, then it would be nearly impossible for Lu Yin to get the information he needed from the patriarch. This was going to be a major problem.

    Lu Yin did not know enough about Wang Zheng¡¯s personality to make a decision. Was he a hypocrite or an obstinate person?

    Lu Yin had a massive grudge against the four ruling powers, and many people from the four ruling powers were arrogant and condescending towards everyone, but that did not mean that everyone from the four ruling powers was a despicable human being. They also had righteous people and heroes who were willing to sacrifice everything for the good of mankind, even their own lives. There were truly good people within the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin finally understood what it felt like to not be able to see through someone. Few people had ever been able to see through Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts and actions, but at this moment, he was simply unable to read Wang Zheng.

    Not knowing what else to do, Lu Yin re-sealed Wang Zheng with wei, and then went to find Wang Dashuai. "What kind of person is Wang Zheng?"

    When Wang Dashuai saw Lu Yin, he reflexively prepared to start offer up ttery and praise, but hearing Wang Zheng''s name stopped the fatty dead in his tracks from fear. In fact, he froze with his hands in the air, which was rather embarrassing for him.

    "Wha- Patriarch Wang Zheng?" Wang Dashuai felt he must have heard wrong, so he wanted to double check.

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Dashuai. "What do you know about Wang Zheng?"

    Dashuai Wang gulped. "Seventh Bro, why are you asking about him?"

    Lu Yin said, "Just cut the bullshit and tell me what you know."

    The smile that Wang Dashuai forced out was uglier than if he were crying. "Wang Zheng is the patriarch of my Wang family, so I really don¡¯t know almost anything about him. Seventh Bro, you¡¯ll need to ask Wang Su or Wang Yi about him."

    "You don''t even have a basic impression of Wang Zheng?" Lu Yin''s eyes glinted with a sharp light, and just the sight sent chills down Wang Dashuai¡¯s back.

    He quickly replied, "Yes, I have an impression of him! Old-fashioned and ruthless. He¡¯s ruthless to others and ruthless to himself. I once heard a story that he wiped out several ns when he was younger, and apparently, he wasn¡¯t very well liked by the entire Wang family. Even Semi-Progenitor Wang Si publiclymented that, if Wang Zheng wasn''t a direct descendant, he would have never been able to be the family¡¯s patriarch."

    "He doesn¡¯t get along with Wang Si?" Lu Yin was surprised to hear this.

    Wang Dashuai nodded. "My Wang family has divisions even within the direct line of the family. In particr, there¡¯s a division that¡¯s led by Elder Wang Si, and the other one is naturally led by Patriarch Wang Zheng. I don¡¯t usually hear anything about their differences, but there are definitely disagreements between the two divisions. The most obvious argument that they have is whether or not to hunt down the remnants of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin listened in silence.

    Wang Dashuai liked to show off, so he made it a point to share everything he knew. "Elder Wang Si and those following her wanted to kill everyone who ever followed the Lu family, and they would rather execute people unjustly than identally overlook someone. While the patriarch¡¯s followers have also hunted down survivors of the Lu family, they¡¯ve been much less ruthless about it overall. In fact, a lot of people who were caught by Elder Wang Si¡¯s people were saved and sent to the rear battlefield by the patriarch and his people.

    "However, there are also a few times when the patriarch¡¯s people are even crueler towards the remnants of the Lu family than Wang Si¡¯s people, but most people have no idea why."

    From what Wang Dashuai shared, Lu Yin started to get a bit of an understanding of Wang Zheng. The man was not trying to protect or defend the Lu family. Rather, he focused on ensuring that every bit of humanity¡¯s strength was properly utilized and that nothing was wasted.

    Wang Zheng felt that the four ruling powers were guilty of a terrible crime by banishing the Lu family, but that was because the Lu family had been the strongest force in the fight against Aeternus. However, since the Lu family had already been exiled, the Wang patriarch would do everything in his power to prevent the Lu family from ever recovering. It was all to ensure the stability of humanity.

    This was a man who would truly rather die than give up the restriction method, as he did not want to see Lu Yin use Star Alliance against the four ruling powers.

    Just one word came to mind as Lu Yin developed an understanding of Wang Zheng: obstinate!

    Dashuai Wang carefully observed Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro? Was that enough? Does that help?"

    Lu Yin refocused on Wang Dashuai. "It¡¯s fine."

    Dashuai Wang smiled. "I¡¯m d that you¡¯re satisfied. If there¡¯s anything else that you need, Seventh Bro, just let me know! Is there anything that you need your little brother to handle for you? I¡¯ll get it done immediately."

    Lu Yin replied, "It won¡¯t be long now. You¡¯ll be freed soon."

    Dashuai Wang''s eyes lit up. "Really? That''s great! Thank you, Seventh Bro!"

    Lu Yin left and returned to Wang Zheng. The man was still sealed by wei, so he was unable to even see that Lu Yin was in front of him again.

    If Wang Zheng was really as pure as Wang Dashuai had described, then he would be extremely difficult for Lu Yin to deal with. It was practically impossible to pry thest portion of the restriction method from such a person.

    Was there any way to obtain thest portion of the restriction aside from Wang Zheng willingly parting with it?

    Lu Yin thought about this issue for a long time, but he could note up with any solution. In the end, he had no choice but to take out the mirror and beg Progenitor Smoke for some insight.

    "This kind of stone-headed stubbornness is certainly characteristic of the Wang family. Wang Yi was like this back then. The more stubborn she became, the more paranoid she grew as well. Her daughter, Wang Si, whom you killed with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, was even more paranoid. It''s fine to be stubborn about things, but it can also bring about disaster depending on the person," Progenitor Smoke sighed.

    Lu Yin was reminded of Wang Miaomiao and Wang Xiaoyu, who was one of the Twelve Marquises. Both of those women were extremely paranoid as well how else would they have joined Aeternus?

    Humans had ws. It was intrinsic to human nature. No one was perfect. Those imperfections were precisely what created life.

    "Senior, is there any way to get thest portion of the restriction method from him?" Lu Yin asked the Progenitor¡¯s opinion. Lu Yin could notpare to the woman¡¯s experience or insight, so rather than stumbling through the dark on his own, it was better to ask her for advice.

    Progenitor Smoke rubbed her chin while circling Wang Zheng. After a moment, she looked at Lu Yin. "The restriction¡¯s been split into four portions, and you¡¯ve already obtained three?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Then isn¡¯t it too easy? Just use what you have on him. Humans have instincts. Just like when you sh at me with a sword, I unconsciously retaliated. If you start to ce the restriction on him, he¡¯ll unconsciously try to resist. Based on how he reacts, and the fact that you already have three fourths of theplete restriction method, you should be able to use the simrities between the different pieces to figure out thest part," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "The four portions of the restriction are simr to each other?"

    "Well, kind of," Progenitor Smoke admitted.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He stared at the woman in disbelief. Kind of simr? How was that possible? If the four portions of the restriction method could be grasped from understanding three portions, then someone from one of the four ruling powers would have already done so and obtained theplete restriction method. Lu Yin had no confidence that he could infer the final portion of the restriction method just from seeing how Wang Zheng reacted.

    Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin an odd look. "You aren¡¯t confident that you can do that?"

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Senior, you received an inheritance of thought from your Mountain and Sea. When ites to understanding and insight, no one canpare to you. You are the greatest goddess in the universe, but this junior isn¡¯t like you. I- I¡¯m just a mortal."

    Progenitor Smoke became slightly flustered. "That''s true."

    "Why doesn¡¯t this junior give you the portions of the restriction method, Senior? Could you help me by taking a look?" Lu Yin probed.

    Progenitor Smoke snorted contemptuously. "I don''t check out men''s bodies."

    Lu Yin was stunned. How had she interpreted things that way?

    "Don''t you have a Root of Intelligence? Use it," Progenitor Smoke reminded.

    Lu Yin pped his head. "Right! The Root of Intelligence is an option!"

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "If you ever end up getting involved with Hui Wen, you¡¯ll be toyed to death by him. Idiot."

    Once the woman finished speaking, she returned to the pocket dimension inside the mirror.

    Lu Yin had been mocked for quite some time, but that did not matter. He had a path forward.

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Zheng.

    The wei disappeared from around Wang Zheng once again, and he looked at Lu Yin with some surprise. Only a few hours had passed. Why was the young man already back?

    "You¡¯ve surprised me. You¡¯re definitely the most powerful of the leaders of the four ruling powers, and yet you didn¡¯t attack me just now. Why?" Lu Yin asked as he observed Wang Zheng.

    Wang Zheng remained calm. "Back when we all left the Wang family¡¯s homnd, I asked Semi-Progenitor Chai to keep an eye on things and make sure that the Celestial Frost Sect didn¡¯t attack the people from the White Dragon n. I knew that we were being lured away from safety and that someone was creating an opportunity to attack us.

    "Semi-Progenitor Chai must have taken action when I was attacked, but you still managed to kidnap me. Since you¡¯re able to escape from Semi-Progenitor Chai, you have to have a Semi-Progenitor helping you, which must be Kui Luo."

    Lu Yinughed. "You¡¯re quite logical. What? Do you want to meet him?"

    Wang Zheng''s expression froze. "You think that Kui Luo can force the restriction method out of me?"

    "Not at all. From what I¡¯ve learned about you, I think that it¡¯s basically impossible for you to give the real restriction method," Lu Yin replied.

    Wang Zheng said nothing, as he felt that Lu Yin¡¯s words were quite urate.

    "Kui Luo isn¡¯t here," Lu Yin suddenly mentioned.

    Wang Zheng was taken aback. "What¡¯s that?"

 Chapter 2240: Acquired

    Chapter 2240: Acquired

    Lu Yin smiled. "I said that Kui Luo isn¡¯t here. A Mountain and Sea were revealed in Virtue Archives, so Kui Luo went to go check that out. He isn¡¯t here."

    "Virtue Archives¡¯ Mountain and Sea appeared?" This was surprising news.

    "I guess that the four ruling powers have been keeping an eye on Virtue Archives because of that Mountain and Sea. Do you want to take control of it?"

    "Who wouldn''t? It¡¯s well known that the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas dominated the entire universe during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era. The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas far surpass average Progenitors. It¡¯s said that each of the Mountains and Seas has a unique inheritance that¡¯s at least as valuable as a secret technique. The Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives has never had a master, which is aplete waste! Even if they can¡¯t control it themselves, they should at least give others the chance to try," Wang Zheng replied.

    Lu Yin was surprised; the four ruling powers seemed to be unaware that the Mountain and Sea already had a master.

    "Why do you say that no one¡¯s taken control of the Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Wang Zheng stared at Lu Yin. "Someone has to be a Progenitor to even dream of mastering one of the Mountains and Seas. There are only Semi-Progenitors in Virtue Archives: the God of Food, Wen Lai, and Ce Doni. It¡¯s impossible for any of them to inherit the Mountain and Sea.

    "We also aren¡¯t the only ones that desire it. Aeternus has also been eyeing that Mountain and Sea. If the Aeternals destroy that inheritance, Virtue Archives will havemitted an unforgivable sin."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You talk aboutmitting sins almost every time you open your mouth. As far as you¡¯re concerned, is there anyone who¡¯s meless?"

    Wang Zheng answered softly, "The defenders on the rear battlefield are meless, even the members of Star Alliance."

    Lu Yin took a long look at Wang Zheng. "Like I just said, Kui Luo isn¡¯t here, so I¡¯ll give you a chance to escape. Provided that you seed, you won¡¯t have to worry about a thing, as I won¡¯t send anyone after you again in the future. Right now, it¡¯s just you and me."

    Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes turned frigid. "Are you being serious?"

    His hands behind his back, Lu Yin replied, "Try me."

    Everyone had different levels of self-control, and Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng would be able to suppress the urge to use his portion of the restriction to counter Lu Yin¡¯s. The only option was to leave the man unable to counter his own reflexes, which meant badly wounding him.

    Wang Zheng¡¯s hands twitched, and he stared at Lu Yin with both surprise and admiration. "Regardless of whether you¡¯re Lu Yin or Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯ve alway had the same confidence."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Maybe it''s just arrogance."

    "If you had continued to develop after Lu Xiaoxuan''s era, I¡¯d be no match for you at all. Given Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s talent, even if you couldn¡¯t be a Semi-Progenitor, you¡¯d be right behind that level, just like Bai Xian''er. However, you lost your memories and fell into the Forsaken Land, where you were forced to recultivate from nothing. You¡¯ve already be a three-tribtion Envoy, which is certainly terrifying, but you aren¡¯t strong enough to stop me yet," Wang Zheng said. After all, he was a five-tribtion powerhouse.

    As soon as the patriarch finished speaking, he instantly attacked with the Four Arts: Pearl, attempting to seal Lu Yin''s physical strength. The four ruling powers had studied Lu Yin¡¯s strengths andbat style extensively, and they were well aware that his physical prowess was exceptional. In particr, his Vacuum Palm had already been exposed, and even Wang Zheng was afraid of that technique.

    The patriarch immediately followed up by stepping into the true universe, approaching Lu Yin, andunching a palm strike at the young man.

    They were on Zenith Mountain right now, and Wang Zheng had alsounched the Four Arts: Bear Stalwart, which was an amazingly powerful attack.

    However, the palm strike missed. Lu Yin retreated, despite the fact that his feet looked like they were stepping forward.

    Wang Zheng''s eyes flickered, and he attacked again, even faster this time. He shed out with a Four Arts: Celestial de, and the horizontal slice targeted a wide area. The patriarch was a five-tribtion powerhouse, while Lu Yin had only passed three stellr tribtions. Despite the supposed gap, Wang Zheng found it difficult to approach Lu Yin. Whenever the older man attacked, there seemed to be something wrong with his attacks.

    Lu Yin gave a slight smile as his body shifted. He clearly stepped backwards, but his body shot forward and directly shed with the sh, only to phase right through the attack. Wang Zheng watched on,pletely incredulous as to what he was witnessing.

    The man¡¯s pupils constricted. "That¡¯s impossible! The Four Arts: Celestial de can even slice through the true universe! How could you pass through it unharmed?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were still sped behind his back. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, let¡¯s keep going."

    Wang Zheng realized that he was in trouble. He had clearly underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s power. The young man had not even used his hands yet. In fact, he had only moved his legs. What was going on? This was not how the fight should be ying out.

    The older man stared at Lu Yin, and then he bent his fingers. ck ropes shot out from the void, attempting to bind Lu Yin. This was the secret technique, Confinement.

    Lu Yin shifted again, and he dodged Confinement.

    Wang Zheng''s scalp went numb. This was impossible! Absolutely impossible! Confinement was a secret technique. A secret technique! How could Lu Xiaoxuan possibly dodge Progenitor Wang Fan¡¯s secret technique?

    Wang Zheng used another secret technique, Supremacy, next. He was determined to prove that he would emerge victorious over Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin''s eyes remained as calm as ever, and his smile never faded. The truth was that Supremacy was actually effective on him, but only for a moment. Given Wang Zheng''s strength, how could the man possibly overpower Lu Yin? There was indeed a gap in strength between them.

    Lu Yin might only be a three-tribtion Envoy, but hisbat strength was enough to overwhelm six-tribtion powerhouses. He had be capable of creating a zone of chaotic time and space around him, just like Progenitor Chen. This allowed Lu Yin to destroy all battle techniques. It was not something that merely a superior cultivation level could invalidate.

    Wang Zheng used everything at his disposal, but his face gradually grew pale as he started to understand just how powerless he was against Lu Yin¡¯s movement technique.

    Wang Zheng pressed a hand down. He was finally using the Wang family¡¯s Sit and Forget.

    Again, Lu Yin broke the technique with Inverse Step.

    When Lu Yin had fought against Progenitor Chen¡¯s manifestation, one of the clones had shattered Lu Yin¡¯s Truesight at the Knowing realm by using Inverse Step. If even an Enlighter could do that, then there was no need to even question Inverse Step¡¯s ability to break something like Sit and Forget.

    Wang Zheng grew increasingly pale as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. The patriarch had already used everything avable to him, every technique that he had ever learned. In contrast, Lu Yin¡¯s hands were still behind his back.

    This was not the feeling of facing a three-tribtion Envoy, but rather the feeling of facing a Semi-Progenitor! A sense of helplessness and despair shattered Wang Zheng¡¯sposure.

    "This is impossible! How are you doing this?" Wang Zheng was beyond shocked.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of pity for the man. "You said that you wanted to inherit Virtue Archives¡¯ Mountain and Sea, but do you even understand what sort of people are capable of receiving an inheritance from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Do you have any idea what kind of level those masters have reached?"

    Wang Zheng¡¯s body actually began to tremble.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You don''t understand at all. You can¡¯t fathom Progenitor Chen''s invincibility, Progenitor Hui''s intelligence, Progenitor Smoke''s creativity, or even how terrifying your own family¡¯s Wang Fan truly is. Those people are all on apletely different level from their peers, no different from you and me right now."

    Lu Yin then moved forward while stepping backwards, instantly arriving right in front of Wang Zheng. He simply passed by the patriarch, his hands never straying from their position behind his back. Lu Yin passed by without even attacking.

    Still, Wang Zheng spat out blood and copsed to his knees. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stared at his blood staining the ground. The man was in a state of shock. He could not understand. He had not been able to see anything; just what had wounded him? Had Lu Xiaoxuan actually attacked him? He could notprehend just what had happened.

    Lu Yin turned back to look at Wang Zheng, who was still copsed on the ground. As Lu Yin walked by Wang Zheng with Inverse Step, he had reversed the void.

    The void epassed both space and time, and reversing space and time had caused the region of space where Wang Zheng had been standing to instantly copse. That was what had injured Wang Zheng.

    Lu Yin¡¯s movements had appeared simple, but just how many people throughout all the eras had ever been capable of doing such a thing?

    Inverse Step alone was enough to make Lu Yin invincible beneath the Semi-Progenitor level. His cultivation had long since stopped being a hindrance in his battles.

    Lu Yin had only been a three-tribtion Envoy when he had started creating his own unique cultivation method, so how could Wang Zheng possibly fathom such a genius¡¯s abilities?

    Lu Yin had not only severely injured the patriarch, but he also shattered the man¡¯s determination.

    Lu Yin moved to seize advantage of the opportunity, and he pressed a hand against Wang Zheng''s back while using the three portions of the restriction method that he had already obtained, forcing the restriction into Wang Zheng''s body. The man spat out another mouthful of blood. He grew dizzy, and his vision blurred. All he knew was that a familiar power was invading his body, and it was something that he also possessed.

    Lu Yin focused entirely on Wang Zheng as he sensed the sh between what he was using and what Wang Zheng was using in response. Despite sensing what was happening, Lu Yin found it difficult to understand what he was feeling. He quickly took out the Root of Intelligence that he had and then brewed some tea. The first sip cleared his mind, and his eyes lit up. The various portions of the restriction were still chaotically fighting against each other within Wang Zheng''s body, but Lu Yin was suddenly able to understand it.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin quietly sat atop the stone pir that held his residence. His fingers tapped a table while he considered theplete restriction method that sat within his mind.

    The full restriction method was much moreprehensive than the individual portions that Lu Yin had obtained so far, and he was able to confirm that what he had received from Xia Xing¡¯s clone and Bai Teng were both valid.

    Neither man had lied or tried to deceive Lu Yin. He had the full and true restriction method.

    He had sessfully taken the four portions of the restriction method from the four ruling powers, which meant that now, he could rescue Star Alliance.

    This next step would not be nearly as simple as obtaining the portions of the restriction method from the four ruling powers. Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as his mind raced.

    A short whileter, Prof. Wei arrived for a visit, and she brought a new ount of Progenitor Wen¡¯s life with her.

    "If I''m not mistaken, Progenitor Wen destroyed his cultivation, or at least sealed it, to be an ordinary person as he roamed the world¡­" Prof. Wei exined.

    Lu Yin was not particrly interested in Progenitor Wen, and he only continued to investigate the Progenitor¡¯s life for the sake of his own lectures. Too many Progenitors had lived throughout human history, and Lu Yin simply did not have the time to learn about all of them. Still, Prof. Wei was kind enough to share everything that she had learned so that her colleague would be able to unravel the mystery that he was exploring with his ss more quickly.

    After listening for a long time, Lu Yin understood. "So, are you saying that Progenitor Wen was able to be a Progenitor because of the time he spent living as an ordinary person and experiencing the world¡¯s vicissitudes?"

    "That seems possible, though you and I can¡¯t understand the Progenitor realm. Still, every Progenitor has reached that level by walking their own path, so it seems that this may have been Progenitor Wen¡¯s path. I¡¯ve discovered poems and scriptures written long, long ago, and some of them must have been written by Progenitor Wen under a pseudonym," Prof. Wei replied as she pulled out another pile of books from her cosmic ring.

    Lu Yin was quite impressed. "Your eagerness to study history is really impressive, Prof. Wei."

    Prof. Wei looked up at Lu Yin. "You don¡¯t seem particrly interested in Progenitor Wen¡¯s life, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s not that at all. It¡¯s just that Progenitor Wen lived a very long time ago, and it¡¯s difficult to learn about all of his life and aplishments. I simply want to learn more about his connection to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird."

    "There might be clues in here," Prof. Wei answered. She immediately started studying the ancient records that she had pulled out.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman¡¯s profile. Prof. Wei was clearly a woman trying to disguise herself as a man, and her true identity was aplete mystery. What did she look like when she dressed as a woman? After this thought urred to Lu Yin, he continued to simply stare at Prof. Wei.

    The womanpletely ignored Lu Yin, as she was totally absorbed in reading her books.

    Wen Zhao returned to her own residence, and she looked over and saw her two colleagues. The situation on Prof. Hao Yu¡¯s pir seemed a bit odd.

    Mr. Tang also looked over, and he simply smiled.

    It was a long time before Prof. Wei finally closed her book. She had spent several hours studying the book, and only after she was done did she turn her head to look at Lu Yin. He had actually stared at her for several hours.

    The two people stared at each other, each speechless.

    Lu Yin finally coughed. "Done?"

    Prof. Wei nodded, her expression totally neutral. "I finished reading, but I didn¡¯t find any records or poems referencing the Undying Bird or the Dark Undying Bird."

    "That¡¯s too bad," Lu Yin said, "By the way, why are you so interested in history, Prof. Wei?"

    The woman put the rest of her books away. "Honestly, I¡¯m very interested in a particr historical figure, but to understand him, it¡¯s necessary to understand all of history."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Who¡¯s that?"

 Chapter 2241: Time Limit

    Chapter 2241: Time Limit

    Lu Yin watched as Prof. Wei¡¯s expression quickly became one of great reverence. "Progenitor Hui."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. "Progenitor Hui?"

    Prof. Wei nodded. "Despite being unable to perform divinations of any kind, Progenitor Hui was still able to see through the ages and make ns eons into the future. I admire him more than anyone else, as his aplishments changed all of history. I want to learn more about him. After all, it¡¯s necessary to know everything that he did in order to have an understanding of human history."

    "So Prof. Wei admires Progenitor Hui? I have to admit, I also admire Progenitor Hui a great deal," Lu Yin said.

    Prof. Wei''s eyes lit up. "Why do you look up to Progenitor Hui, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin pointed towards the Mother Tree. "Ceaseless Impetus."

    Prof. Wei looked positively thrilled by the answer. "I actually decided to learn about Progenitor Hui because of Ceaseless Impetus. I can¡¯t even imagine what kind of person was able to create a sourcebox array that protects all of humanity. It¡¯s even said that the Perennial World came into existence partly because of Progenitor Hui. His influence can be seen in every generation that¡¯s lived since his time. When I visited the rear battlefield, there were countless people who admire Progenitor Hui there as well, though Aeternus¡¯s monsters hate Progenitor Hui more than anything¡­"

    It was readily apparent just how much Prof. Wei admired Progenitor Hui. As soon as Progenitor Hui was brought up, she did not stop talking until she had shared everything that she knew about the Progenitor. Lu Yin never even had a chance to interrupt.

    Still, it was not entirely bad, as the woman¡¯s monologue let Lu Yin know just how much Progenitor Hui had done for the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin found Prof. Wei''s excited expression to be quite amusing. He wondered what sort of expression she would make if she ever visited the Fifth Maind and learned that Progenitor Chen had predicted events countless years into the future. He had even destroyed the Sixth Maind without using a single soldier.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, to tell you the truth, I¡¯ve always had ulterior motives for approaching you." After Prof. Wei finally wound down after raving about Progenitor Hui for a while, she became a bit hesitant.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What sort of ulterior motives?"

    "I want to be a Lockbreaker," Prof. Wei stated firmly as she looked back up at ¡°Hao Yu.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You want to learn to lockbreak?"

    Prof. Wei nodded. "Progenitor Hui¡¯s greatest aplishment, aside from helping humanity stop Aeternus, has always been his sourcebox arrays, especially Ceaseless Impetus. He can be considered the greatest Lockbreaker in human history, and I don¡¯t believe that anyone has ever surpassed him, even in the ancient eras predating Progenitor Hui. I want to learn lockbreaking so that I can understand Progenitor Hui even the tiniest bit more."

    Lu Yin understood. "That¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. Both students and faculty are encouraged to learn from each other here in Virtue Archives. For example, I¡¯ve asked Mr. Tang to help me improve my domain to the void god level. If you want to learn to lockbreak, I don¡¯t have any problem helping you."

    "Then thank you very much, Prof. Hao Yu." Prof. Wei smiled happily. This was the first time Lu Yin had seen such a radiant smile on the woman¡¯s face. It made her look quite pretty.

    "Given how much you admire Progenitor Hui, do you have any idea if he¡¯s still alive?" Lu Yin asked.

    Prof. Wei shook her head. "I¡¯ve only been able to learn about Progenitor Hui''s deeds through themonly avable methods. How could I learn anything about his current whereabouts? Still, I¡¯ve always believed that Progenitor Hui is still alive."

    "Why¡¯s that?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Progenitor Hui is just too intelligent. From everything that I¡¯ve learned over the years about his aplishments, he preferred to maintain control of things. I can¡¯t help but believe that he must have wanted more control over his own life as well."

    Maintain control over things? Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of the seal that he had seen on the Royal Frost Continent. The seal could have only been left there by Progenitor Hui, but what had Progenitor Hui sealed away? There was a simr seal in the treasury of the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect that the Daynight n had been protecting, and it had also been left behind by Progenitor Hui.

    Given that Progenitor Hui had left some things behind in the Fifth Maind, he might have also done so in the Perennial World.

    Virtue Archives was very peaceful over the course of the following days, and none of the four ruling powers'' various conflicts and turmoil spilled into the academy. Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan behaved the same as in the past.

    After a few days, Lu Yin went to speak with Bai Weiwei. They once again discussed sourcebox arrays, though Lu Yin also took the opportunity to ask Bai Weiwei about what was happening within the four ruling powers.

    He was surprised to learn that the four ruling powers believed that Forgotten Ruins God was the true culprit who had captured Xia Xing and the other patriarchs. This left Lu Yin rather confused; how had Forgotten Ruins God gotten involved?

    He did not dare to ask Bai Weiwei for too many details, so instead, he asked Tong Yu to pay some information brokers outside Virtue Archives a visit. Through those channels, it only took a few days for Lu Yin to learn about the current situation.

    He could not deny a certain level of admiration for the Celestial Frost Sect. They had sessfully diverted an aggressive alliance formed by Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang family, and the White Dragon n to Forgotten Ruins God, despite the fact that the woman had never even revealed herself. The sect had even revealed the fact that Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s name was Wang Miaomiao, which helped win the trust of the angered parties. The Celestial Frost Sect had managed to sessfully get out of trouble for the moment.

    Lu Yin had no idea who hade up with the idea, but it practically mirrored what he had done to set Shenwu''s Sky and the other three against the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin had unintentionally seeded, and his n had only worked because the four ruling parties did not trust each other at all.

    As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they had been quite deliberate in their actions, but they had also seeded.

    Lu Yin had believed that he had never underestimated the four ruling powers, but he had also not paid much attention to what they were doing. After all, his innate gift was too bizarre and mysterious. Still, no matter how unique his abilities might be, there would always be someone who could counter him.

    He was suddenly reminded of what Wang Zheng had said. The man had spoken with Long Ke about shifting the members of Star Alliance around so that, even if the Celestial Frost Sect managed to obtain the full restriction method, it would all be for naught if they could not find the people.

    If Wang Zheng coulde up with such an idea, then others in the four ruling powers could as well. Unfortunately, if they implemented that n, Lu Yin¡¯s efforts to obtain the four portions of the restriction method would bepletely useless.

    In the end, Lu Yin had simply been too impatient. This was an issue that he should have foreseen in the beginning, and he could only me himself. After capturing Xia Xing''s clone, Lu Yin had deliberately mentioned Star Alliance to Xia Ziheng, as Lu Yin had not been confident that the man could reach that conclusion without help. In hindsight, Lu Yin realized that he might have indicated his goals a bit too early.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. If people tried to act smart and outthink others, they were doomed to eventually be tricked by someone else.

    He rubbed his head. These kinds of plots were not his strong suit. Wang Wen and Wei Rong were much better at such schemes. Again, Lu Yin regretted not bringing the two men with him.

    However, regrets were useless. Instead, he needed to think about the worst-case scenario and how to handle it. The worst possibility would be if every member of Star Alliance was sessfully gathered up and hidden. How should he deal with something like that?

    Just as he started thinking about it, hismunication crystal trembled. When Lu Yin looked down, he saw that Xia Ziheng was calling him.

    As soon as a connection was established, Xia Ziheng started talking. "You should already have heard about what happened to our four ruling powers. Each of our sect masters or patriarchs have gone missing. I¡¯ll offer you the promise that you asked for."

    "Where is my grandfather?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yu Chuan is in Shenwu''s Sky. You don¡¯t need to worry about him, as he¡¯s perfectly safe."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Shenwu¡¯s Sky isn¡¯t able to control Star Alliance. How can I be sure that my grandfather won¡¯t be sent on some sort of mission that will kill him?"

    "He won''t."

    "Why should I trust you?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Xia Ziheng''s voice turned cold. "No one from Star Alliance will be sent on any missions for the time being. Yu Chuan won¡¯t be leaving Shenwu''s Sky."

    Before Lu Yin could say anything, Xia Ziheng continued to say, "I¡¯ll say it again: Yu Chuan won¡¯t be leaving Shenwu''s Sky for now, and there¡¯s no point in having anyone try to take him away. I don''t care what conditions the Celestial Frost Sect have offered you¡ªShenwu''s Sky is your only option if you ever want to see Yu Chuan again. I¡¯ve run out of patience to deal with you. When Virtue Archives¡¯ students arrive at Shenwu''s Sky for training, you¡¯ll have to give your answer."

    The call cut off abruptly.

    Everything happening within the four ruling powers left Xia Ziheng with no energy left to deal with ¡°Yu Hao.¡± The Semi-Progenitor simply wanted to settle things as quickly as possible, and Yu Chuan was the most reliable method to force ¡°Yu Hao¡± into joining Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    As for Lu Yin, he also obtained the information that he had been wondering about. Xia Ziheng said that no one from Star Alliance would be given any missions for some time, and with what else Lu Yin knew, the situation was quite clear: everyone in Star Alliance had been hidden. It was impossible to gather all the members together if they were not deployed. At the moment, it was safest for the four ruling powers to not allow Star Alliance out of their sight.

    Shenwu''s Sky had pieced the events together and hade to the conclusion that the Celestial Frost Sect was the most likely culprit. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, they knew that someone else was behind the kidnappings. However, the only thing that anyone knew for certain was that someone was targeting Star Alliance. So naturally, the army of Envoys had to be rendered inessible.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as his mind raced, trying to think of how he could gather the members of Star Alliance back together. This would absolutely be far more difficult than his first aplishment.

    Now that the four ruling powers knew that someone was trying to seize control of Star Alliance, how could they allow the army to gather in one ce?

    Lu Yin quickly grew more and more irritated by this development. Finally, he left his residence in an attempt to calm himself down.

    Things were very energetic in Virtue Archives at this time, as the students had started to tally their votes in an attempt to see who would be selected as the chaperones for the training excursion.

    "Hey! Hey! Listen up!" A few students by theke shore were shouting, and many others had gathered to watch.

    "From the votes that we¡¯ve counted so far, there are four professors that seem to be the most likely options. We need to choose three out of these four. The options are Prof. Wu, Mr. Tang, Prof. Hao Yu, and Professor Xiao Wen,¡± one student announced.

    Everyone else immediately started chatting.

    "I¡¯m voting for Prof. Wu, Prof. Hao Yu, and Prof. Zheng," one shy girl stated.

    A boy next to the girl gritted his teeth. "I¡¯m voting for Professor Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Zheng."

    "I¡¯m voting for¡­"

    Upon seeing all the hubbub, Lu Yin did not approach the students. However, he did see a rather upset looking Prof. Huai in a tree behind the students. The man had heard that the students were tallying their votes at theke shore, so he had stopped by to eavesdrop on them. The fact that the man had not received so much as a single vote was a vicious blow to his pride.

    When Lu Yin saw Prof. Huai, he moved over to say hello, but Prof. Huai just silently waved and fled.

    Lu Yinughed.

    Prof. Zheng appeared behind Lu Yin. "Prof. Hao Yu, you¡¯ll definitely be one of the chaperones leading the students on this trip. Congrattions."

    Lu Yin nced over and smiled "Prof. Zheng, it¡¯s still too early. After all, there are four candidates that the students are choosing from."

    Prof. Zheng teased, "You¡¯ve brought more girls than ever into our school, so you¡¯re also quite popr with the boys."

    The man seldom showed any sense of humor, so Lu Yin assumed that the older man was mocking him.

    "Many students have also voted for you, Prof. Zheng," Lu Yin said.

    Before the man could respond, a fight broke out between some of the students. "You muscle-brain! Didn''t you vote for Prof. Zheng just because of how beautiful Prof. Hao Yu is? There¡¯s nopetition between the two at all! You guys are such hypocrites!

    "You¡¯re the hypocrites! It doesn¡¯t matter who gets chosen, and besides, both Prof. Wu and Prof. Hao Yu look like women."

    "That¡¯s right! No one has the muscles topare to Prof. Zheng."

    "Muscles make a real man."

    Lu Yin quickly grew embarrassed, and Prof. Zheng was leftpletely speechless. "It''s getting too noisy here. Let¡¯s finish our conversation somewhere else."

    Lu Yin nodded. He had no idea what the students were even thinking about, but they clearly did not check to see who was in the area before speaking.

    Once the two men were away from the students, Prof. Zheng asked, "Are you familiar with the academy¡¯s previous training excursions, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No one¡¯s told me anything about that."

    Prof. Zheng said, "You¡¯re most likely going to be one of the chaperones this time. I¡¯ve got a bit of time right now, so why don¡¯t I exin it to you?"

 Chapter 2242: Mass Execution

    Chapter 2242: Mass Execution

    "That would be wonderful. I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, Prof. Zheng." Lu Yin happily agreed. While he truthfully had no interest in the training excursion, he could not show it. Also, he understood that, while Prof. Zheng had no chance of being selected by the students, the man was worried about ¡°Yu Hao.¡± It was important for Lu Yin to remember that Prof. Zheng was extremely dedicated to Virtue Archives and that he was also a gifted teacher. His greatest w was that he tended to be overly serious, but based off of Lu Yin¡¯s experiences on Earth, Prof. Zheng was a stereotypical dean.

    Prof. Zheng then spent the next half an hour sharing his experiences of chaperoning students on various training excursions. The man had led students on trips to the Lower Realm, the Middle Realm, the Middle Ocean, and even the rear battlefield. Virtue Archives was not some ivory tower where the students focused purely on cultivation.

    "When we were at the second array base, if the sourcebox array hadn¡¯t been repaired just in time, we would have all died. The headmaster and Ce Lao were both preupied by some of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. Lu-" Prof. Zheng abruptly cut off in the middle of speaking and changed the subject. "Honestly, there¡¯s just so much to tell you, Prof. Hao Yu. The bottom line is that these training excursions are extremely important to the academy. Additionally, this will be our first time visiting the four ruling powers on a trip, so we have to be very cautious."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. By the way, you just mentioned someone named Lu. Was there someone from the Lu family who participated in that excursion?"

    Prof. Zheng waved the question away. "Act like you didn¡¯t hear anything. Honestly, given the fact that the four ruling powers'' top youths are already here in my Virtue Archives, visiting them in the Higher Realm can¡¯t even be considered a training exercise. Actual training involves trips to ces like the Lower Realm or the rear battlefield. After the exchange program with the four ruling powers, we will be organizing a trip for the students to go to the rear battlefield. That is where the real training exercise begins.

    "Have you ever been to the rear battlefield, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the question. Had Yu Hao ever made it to the rear battlefield? The answer should be no, as he had been a rather pathetic cultivator who hadmitted suicide, which meant that he would not have been qualified to be sent to that ce. "No."

    Prof. Zheng stared at Lu Yin. "In that case, a trip to the rear battlefield wouldn¡¯t only be a training experience for the students, but also for a chaperone. If you haven¡¯t seen the rear battlefield, then you haven¡¯t seen the cruelest truth about what humanity faces, Prof. Hao Yu."

    They spoke a bit longer, and then Prof. Zheng prepared to leave. Before parting ways, hemented, "Visiting the rear battlefield will provide you with the experience of facing death. Going to visit the four ruling powers will help train the mind."

    With that, the instructor left.

    Lu Yin was rather surprised, as thestment suggested that Prof. Zheng was aware that something was going on. It was clear that Virtue Archives had never sent its students to visit the four ruling powers before.

    After mulling the matter over for a bit, Lu Yin finally understood the warning. What could Virtue Archives¡¯ students learn from visiting the four ruling powers? All the top students were originally from the four ruling powers, which meant that the top students and the top youths from the four ruling powers were basically the same group of people. This was not so much an opportunity to train the students, but rather more of an opportunity for the four ruling powers to do a bit of recruitment and publicity.

    Students of Virtue Archives were never average people. Any person who could get into Virtue Archives was worthy of the four ruling powers¡¯ attention.

    Lu Yin looked upwards. If he was right about the purpose of this uing trip, then he needed to do something. He could not let these talented students be deceived by the four ruling powers.

    ***

    Far away, the Yinshan District had been sealed off by the four ruling powers as they investigated Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s involvement in the disappearance of Xia Xing and the other patriarchs. The Celestial Frost Sect had said that Forgotten Ruins God had appeared in the Yinshan District. This im needed to be looked into, regardless of whether anyone believed it or the size of the Yinshan District.

    Zhuo Si, the Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s gatemaster for the Yinshan District, was known for hisziness and unwillingness to take action in the oversight of his assigned district.

    When Lu Yin was sent to join Humility¡¯s Gate in the Yinshin District, his identity as Long Qi had been hidden, and he had been given the name Lin Jiangyi. When Lu Yin had first arrived, Zhuo Si had had two captains under him: Wang Dashuai and Mo Gaohe. Both of those men had moved on, and the Yinshan District¡¯s Humility¡¯s Gate had been silent and peaceful since, just like the rest of the region.

    The Yinshan District¡¯s Humility¡¯s Gate had essentially been reserved for descendants of the four ruling powers who were considered important but not valuable. It gave the youths a ce to stay. However, after Long Qi had stirred up so much chaos in the Yinshan District, the four ruling powers had changed their minds about the ce, and they had stopped sending their youths there. This change had caused the area to gradually take on a deste feel.

    As for Zhuo Si, he was quite happy with the change, as he enjoyed the quiet.

    Suddenly, a terrifying pressure fell upon the gate, causing Zhuo Si''s expression to instantly change. He was captured without the slightest ability to resist. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao had captured the gatemaster.

    "You have clearly passed five stellr tribtions, yet you stay hidden here in the Yinshan District. We¡¯ve carefully investigated Humility¡¯s Gate, and we know that you have an old connection with the Lu family." Wu Yao''s cold voice filled the area, the terrifying power of it causing everyone present in Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s base to tremble.

    Zhuo Si did nothing to fight back, as he waspletely incapable of doing so. "Might I ask who you are, Senior?"

    There was a bang. Zhuo Si was thrown down, and the sound came from him mming into the ground.

    Cultivators appeared in every direction. All of them were from the four ruling powers, and they all stared at Zhuo Si. Among them was Long Tian.

    "This old man is Wu Yao! Zhuo Si, you have an old connection to the Lu family, and we have let you be for too long," Wu Yao replied.

    Zhuo Si struggled to his feet. His shoulders were slouched, as he had been badly injured by Wu Yao just now. "I am Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s gatemaster of the Yinshan District. Have you spoken to Supervisor Qing Chen beforeing to arrest me? Do you have Progenitor Mu Xie¡¯s permission?"

    Wu Yao stared at Zhuo Si, and the pressure increased, forcing the Envoy back down. "Don''t try to use Humility''s Gate to intimidate me! I¡¯m here, representing the four ruling powers of the Perennial World. We didn¡¯t bother with you before because you were being used as bait, but now-"

    "What about now?" a stern voice shouted. The void shattered as another wave of pressure descended, this time crushing Wu Yao.

    Wu Yao¡¯s brow furrowed, and a surge of stellr energy was instantly released. At the same time, an equal but opposite rush of stellr energy appeared from where the void had shattered. There was so much energy filling the area that even Envoys felt suppressed.

    Zhuo Si heaved a sigh of relief. Supervisor Qing Chen had arrived.

    Qing Chen had naturally realized that something was wrong when he had learned that the four ruling powers had locked down the Yinshan District. Zhuo Si''s past was well known within certain circles, and the supervisor had been afraid that the four ruling powers would go after the gatemaster. Given the fact that the four ruling powers had sent out their forces to search for one of the Seven Skygods, there were plenty of Semi-Progenitors participating in the hunt. If they went after Zhuo Si, the gatemaster would be utterly helpless to resist.

    Events proved Qing Chen¡¯s suspicions urate. Wu Yao had attacked Zhuo Si without any hint of mercy.

    Two Semi-Progenitor fought each other, and their battle disturbed the sky over the entire Yinshan District. Finally, the battle was stopped by the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Chai¡¯s intervention.

    Wu Yao¡¯s cold eyes were locked onto Qing Chen. "You may be unaware of Zhuo Si¡¯s past with the Lu family, but our ancestor has ordered that anyone who cooperated with the Lu family must be either captured or killed."

    Qing Chen responded with equal chill, "That was a long time ago. I also worked with the Lu family, and I even visited them. Are you going to capture me as well?"

    Wu Yao''s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "It¡¯s up to our ancestors whether you will be arrested. I¡¯m here for Zhuo Si."

    "You couldn¡¯t find any trace of the Seven Skygods, so you want to use Zhuo Si to create a distraction. Wu Yao, you might have be a Semi-Progenitor, but you¡¯re still as cruel as ever. You¡¯re trying to attack my Humility''s Gate to help you win merit. If you¡¯re so capable, then go talk to Progenitor Mu Xie." Qing Chen made no attempt to be amiable.

    Wu Yao became furious. "You can¡¯t use Humility''s Gate to oppress people! If not for Humility''s Gate, thatst survivor of the Lu family wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape. Our ancestors will settle things with you sooner orter."

    "But it¡¯s not up to you!" Qing Chen shouted.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai stepped forward. "Both of you should be capturing Redbacks and searching for the Seven Skygods. There¡¯s no need to fight like this."

    Wu Yao nced down at Zhuo Si. "We¡¯ve already sent an army to the Forsaken Land to kill thest bastard of the Lu family. We can let a remnant of the Lu family like you live for a few more days. The New Corridor will soon be repaired, and then they will return with Lu Xiaoxuan''s head. At that time, everyst remnant of the Lu family in the Perennial World will be revealed."

    Zhuo Si¡¯s head snapped up. He had heard about the army that was sent after Lu Xiaoxuan. The gatemaster just hoped that the young man would be alright.

    Qing Chen said nothing further. He looked to the other side and saw Xia Ziheng reveal himself. "If the Seven Skygods are not found, then our four ruling powers will be thrown into turmoil. This is something that should not be seen by outsiders, as what will be of my four ruling powers¡¯ prestige?"

    "My Humility¡¯s Gate is not part of the four ruling powers," Qing Chen stated bluntly.

    Xia Ziheng stared at Qing Chen. "The truth is that Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao did not attack Zhuo Si without cause. Supervisor Qing Chen, do you know who¡¯s back in the Perennial World?"

    The question caught the supervisor off guard. "Back in the Perennial World? What are you talking about?"

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes grew dark. "Kui Luo''s back."

    Qing Chen was surprised. "Kui Luo? Didn''t he kidnap someone from the Wang family and escape to the Forsaken Land?"

    "That''s why we want to capture Zhuo Si! We want to interrogate him and find out if he¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan. Kui Luo saved Lu Xiaoxuan several times before, and that old man most likely went to the Forsaken Land to find Lu Xiaoxuan. He shouldn''t havee back here alone. If Lu Xiaoxuan isn¡¯t dead, then he might be here as well. When he was in the Perennial World, he stayed here in the Yinshan District, so it¡¯s possible that Zhuo Si might know where the bastard is," Xia Ziheng exined.

    Qing Chen reflexively nced down at Zhuo Si, as did everyone else.

    The gatemaster quickly spoke up, "Supervisor, your subordinate has never met Lu Xiaoxuan or Kui Luo. I swear to you, if I am lying, that I will never again be able to improve my cultivation, and I will abandon all hope of ever bing a Semi-Progenitor."

    Wu Yao instantly grew contemptuous. "A Semi-Progenitor? The likes of you?"

    Qing Chen frowned and nced back up at Wu Yao and Xia Ziheng. "I believe Zhuo Si. You can stoping after him. There¡¯s no cultivator who doesn¡¯t wish to be a Semi-Progenitor, or dreams of bing a Progenitor."

    "It¡¯s not impossible for people to be willing to sacrifice their cultivation in order to keep Lu Xiaoxuan safe," Xia Ziheng retorted.

    Wu Yao also jumped in. "Regardless of whether we believe him, we need to take him with us. There¡¯s no need to worry, as he will only be interrogated. His life will remain unharmed."

    "Ridiculous. If you want to arrest Zhuo Si, then first get Progenitor Mu Xie¡¯s permission. Zhuo Si is one of my Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s nine gatemasters, and he has contributed greatly to humanity. You aren¡¯t qualified to arrest him." Qing Chen remained firm.

    Wu Yao and Xia Ziheng looked at each other, and Xia Ziheng gave a slight shake of his head. He also did not believe that Zhuo Si knew Lu Xiaoxuan''s whereabouts. If Lu Xiaoxuan was truly in the Perennial World, then he would never reveal himself to anyone.

    In fact, Xia Ziheng had another theory regarding Kui Luo¡¯s return; the old man had most likely been chased by the army sent to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. After barely surviving, Kui Luo had probably fled back to the Perennial World alone.

    The possibility of Kui Luo escaping was pushing the four ruling powers¡¯ imaginations to the limit. If even Lu Xiaoxuan had managed to escape back to the Perennial World, then what good was the army that had been sent after him?

    They had sent four Semi-Progenitors with that army, including Grand Elder Ni Huang. There was nothing and no one in the Forsaken Land that could stop such a force. The only caveat was the possibility of a Progenitor interfering.

    "The New Corridor will soon be repaired, and then we will all learn what¡¯s happened in the Forsaken Land. Let Zhuo Si continue to enjoy himself here for a few more days," Xia Ziheng said.

    Wu Yao¡¯s voice was as cold as ever, "Someone once warned me to always consider the worst possibility. Assuming that Lu Xiaoxuan is indeed hiding in the Perennial World and nning something, he might have already recruited some of the Lu family''s surviving vassals. Given this situation, my Celestial Frost Sect intends to ughter every surviving remnant of the Lu family who has been captured."

    Xia Ziheng was shocked by this news, as was everyone else who heard it. A ughter?

 Chapter 2243: Blood Array Base

    Chapter 2243: Blood Array Base

    Wu Yao''s expression grew dark as he mentioned the ughter. "This is the ancestor¡¯s intent. Over the years, my four ruling powers have sessfully captured most of the surviving remnants of the Lu family and those who were close to them. All of them will be sacrificed during the Xia family¡¯s ceremony of ancestral worship. After the ancestor is worshiped, all the prisoners will be executed in the Higher Realm. They will kneel at the edge so that their blood can rain down onto the Middle Realm and flow into the Lower Realm. We will use the blood of the Lu family to wash away the sins of all of humanity."

    Qing Chen''s eyes narrowed. This was excessively cruel and unusual.

    On the ground below, Zhuo Si¡¯s fists clenched tightly as he stared up at Wu Yao in disbelief. The Semi-Progenitor had spoken without any hesitation, as though he were simply making an announcement to the entire Perennial World. It was clear that Wu Yao was hoping that the information would reach Lu Xiaoxuan, who was possibly in the Perennial World. This way, even if Lu Xiaoxuan was not drawn out, the event would still be extremely humiliating towards the Lu family, and the four ruling powers would definitely mark the day down in history.

    The Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and Lower Realm would all be stained with blood as the Lu family was forced to atone for their crimes. This was how the Celestial Frost Sect intended to handle matters.

    Wu Yao¡¯s gaze swept past Zhuo Si, giving him a cold look and a sneer before leaving.

    This was the first time that Xia Ziheng had heard of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s intentions, and even he felt that they were being too cruel. Still, it should be highly effective. Even if they did not force Lu Xiaoxuan to personally appear, they would still likely force a group of loyalists to show themselves. Truthfully, something like this should have been done long ago.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai and Qing Chen nced at each other before Semi-Progenitor Chai also left.

    Qing Chen looked down at Zhuo Si. "Go heal yourself. I need to speak with Progenitor Mu about your situation."

    "Thank you, Supervisor." Zhuo Si bowed, though his voice sounded burdened. He felt that something big would happen soon, and he was worried about the Perennial World being stained with the blood of the Lu family.

    Was Lu Xiaoxuan really in the Perennial World? Zhuo Si had no idea, but he remembered the youth that he had known as Lin Jianyi, who hadter been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan himself. Although Lu Xiaoxuan had spent a very short amount of time in the Perennial World, he had taken center stage during that brief moment and hadpletely overshadowed even the four Junior Progenitors. It was such a pity that he had been born in the wrong era.

    ***

    In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin spent several days considering things, and while he finally came up with an idea for saving Star Alliance, it depended almost entirely on luck.

    Since the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to push all the recent crimes onto Forgotten Ruins God and falsify a guilty party, then why couldn¡¯t Lu Yin do the same?

    The mes of the Dark Undying Bird reced those of the Undying Bird in the sky above the academy, plunging the area into darkness so that only the stars shone down.

    Lu Yin moved through the academy and set up a sourcebox array to conceal himself before he raised a hand and brought out his die. It was time to roll again.

    There were times when Lu Yin considered the fact that, without his die, he would have never been able to rise to the top of the Fifth Maind. So many things would have been impossible for him to aplish without his die.

    As it slowly stopped spinning, itnded on four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin did not waste the opportunity to train in his Timestop Space. He immediately extended the time to nearly a year before focusing on practicing the Cosmic Art while reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    Almost one yearter, he left the Timestop Space, and he resumed rolling his die. His next roll was Enhance, so Lu Yin waved a hand to dismiss the two screens of light. Again.

    He needed to roll six pips.

    Luck was with him, as his fourth roll was Possession. Lu Yin''s consciousness entered that mysterious dark space, and he started searching for the brightest ball of light, but all of them were quite dim. He had no choice but to merge with what was avable.

    When he opened his eyes, Lu Yin was startled by the sight of a corpse in front of him. Memories started to pour into his mind, and he heaved a sigh of relief. There was a corpse here because he had just Possessed an Envoy from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Justice Manor.

    Wait, how expensive was it going to be to Possess someone in the Sixth Maind while he was in the Perennial World?

    Lu Yin wanted to end his Possession immediately, but he first made sure to check on the state of affairs in the Fifth Maind.

    Briefly skimming through the Envoy¡¯s memories proved that things were peaceful in the Fifth Maind and that nothing had happened in Lu Yin¡¯s absence. Well, if anything had happened, a mere one-tribtion Envoy like the man that Lu Yin had Possessed waspletely unqualified to have heard about it.

    Lu Yin quickly ended the Possession. As soon as he was back inside his own body, he checked his cosmic ring. Luckily, he had not burned through too much star essence. With his current wealth, such an expenditure was negligible.

    Since Lu Yin had already rolled his die four times, he needed to rest for ten days. As it happened, he had to give a few lectures during this waiting period.

    Lu Yin was not in seclusion, as all members of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty needed to give notice for their training times, and there was also no need for Lu Yin to do such a thing.

    The necessary ten days passed quickly. Lu Yin was visited by both Nong Siniang and Bai Weiwei, which meant that everything was proceeding ording to Lu Yin¡¯s normal routine in the academy.

    As the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s mes once again dominated the sky, Lu Yin set up a sourcebox array to iste himself before summoning his die again.

    Pilfer caused something useless to fall out, while his second roll was another Enhance. As for his third roll, it was Possession again.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw a bright orb in the distance, he shot towards it and merged with it. It was not perfectlypatible with him, as it was still a bit dim, but it was the third brightest orb avable. The two brighter orbs had given him a nervous feeling, as he had never Possessed anyone with such a bright light before. Those orbs had likely belonged to Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin opened the body¡¯s eyes and looked around. Was he on the rear battlefield?

    Sure enough, Lu Yin had appeared on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. It was the only ce in the universe where so much violence could be seen. What the rest of the Perennial World knew was a gentle illusion, as they were not allowed to know about the true bloodbath that filled the rear battlefield.

    Memories continued to pour in. Lu Yin stood frozen in ce. He found himself inside a stone house that was full of thorns. It was his first time seeing such a ce.

    Skimming through the memories, he understood that he had Possessed a colonel stationed on the fifth array base. This particr array base was also known as the blood array base.

    The rear battlefield had five array bases. Lu Yin had spent some time on the second array base, but he had not visited the other four. Because each array base had a different general, the defenders of each array base also employed differentbat tactics and fighting styles. The fifth array base of Ceaseless Impetus was the worst of them all. This was because its general, a man named Kuang Yan, was known by all as a madman.

    The parts of the fifth array base where people walked were all filled with sharp thorns that could stab people at any moment. As soon as the human defenders fell to a disadvantage, General Kuang Yan would manipte the ever-present thorns to stab out. Casualties and targets were not considered important, and more humans died on the fifth array base than any other array base. However, Aeternus¡¯s monsters also perished in the greatest numbers there as well.

    At the moment, the fifth array base had but one colonel, and that was Colonel Lan, whom Lu Yin had just Possessed. All the other colonels had either died or been transferred to other ces. The fifth array base was famous across the entire rear battlefield for being a graveyard. Lu Yin had not expected to appear in such a ce.

    From Colonel Lan¡¯s memories, the man greatly admired General Kuang Yan. The general always stood on the front lines of the battlefield, and his methods were beyond cruel. He was one of the Semi-Progenitors who was most feared by Aeternus¡¯s forces.

    The stone hut where Lu Yin found himself was Colonel Lan¡¯s personal residence. Looking out, everything in sight was filled with countless, neatly arranged stone huts that covered the fifth array base. Everyone, from General Kuang Yan down to the lowest grunts, lived in the same kind of stone hut. Each one was filled with sharp thorns, which meant that everyone was ready to die with a corpse king at any given moment.

    Lu Yin had witnessed many bloodthirsty actions, but he had never seen such an excessive kill switch.

    General Kuang Yan¡¯s hut was rather close to Colonel Lan¡¯s, but the general was almost never in his home. Kuang Yan practically lived on the front lines of the battlefield, always staring down at the New World. The general was the fifth array base¡¯s first line of defense.

    In the opposite direction from the general¡¯s home was Elder Qiu¡¯s stone hut.

    Yes, it was Elder Qiu, the founder of the Dealcut Association. A powerful Semi-Progenitor.

    No one knew that Elder Qiu had established the Dealcut Association, not even Kui Luo. Lu Yin had learned of this matter from Bai Teng, and that was only because Bai Teng was one of the select few people who was qualified to form a partnership with the Dealcut Association.

    Cultivators constantly entered and exited the stone huts. Nearly all of them looked numb and indifferent to life and death, though a few also looked nervous and scared. Those few exceptions were clearly new arrivals, and they were eager to achieve great things on the rear battlefield so that they could trade their merit points for protective equipment.

    The target of Lu Yin¡¯s Possession, Colonel Lan, was not a good person. Like many cultivators, the colonel was willing to do absolutely anything if it helped raise his cultivation or providee him with more resources. Unfortunately, the colonel¡¯s talent was rather mediocre. He had reached his limit after passing this third stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin also learned that the colonel had not volunteered to serve on the rear battlefield. Rather, he had been condemned to serve there after offending the Lu family when they had been in power.

    All who served on the fifth array base were either independent cultivators or people who had offended someone they should not have. Colonel Lan had offended the Lu family. At that time, there had been no Star Alliance, so the man had been sent to the fifth array base.

    The fifth array base was essentially the precursor of Star Alliance. It was nearly impossible for anyone to leave this ce alive.

    Colonel Lan had managed to survive for so long because he was willing to do whatever it took to survive on the battlefield, including sacrificing his ownrades if it ensured his own survival.

    Memories continued to pour in. Lu Yin found one of a grand spectacle put on by the Lu family, as well as a memory of his past self.

    Lu Xiaoxuan and the rest of the Seven Heroes had been extremely famous throughout the Perennial World, and Lu Xiaoxuan had once visited the fifth array base. At that time, Colonel Lan had wanted to kill Lu Xiaoxuan, but the colonel had overestimated himself.

    From what Lu Yin had already learned, he had almost sent Colonel Lan¡¯s body flying off the array base to fight in the New World until he died.

    However, Lu Yin suddenly saw memories of two familiar figures. These two were Envoys who had been guardians of the Junior Progenitors, and they were known as Senior Yi He and Senior Jun. One of them had protected the White Dragon n¡¯s, while the other had been a guardian of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Junior Progenitor. Why would the two Envoys appear on the fifth array base?

    It made sense for the guardians to leave the Junior Progenitors after all the resources had been stolen, but it did not make sense for them to be sent to the fifth array base. The fact that these Envoys had been qualified to guard the Junior Progenitors proved that they had a close rtionship to the four ruling powers. Additionally, it had already been proven that the guardians had had nothing to do with the heist. The only possibility was that the Envoys had been sent to the rear battlefield on some sort of mission.

    Lu Yin searched the colonel¡¯s memories for more information about the two Envoys, and he found that they had made it a point to choose stone huts close to Elder Qiu¡¯s. What¡¯s more, they also took turns keeping an eye on the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s residence.

    This would not be suspicious at all if one did not know that Elder Qiu was the founder of the Dealcut Association, but given Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge, the Envoys¡¯ actions were only too obvious. The four ruling powers had sent the two men to the rear battlefield to keep an eye on Elder Qiu.

    Given the Envoys¡¯ presence, it appeared that the four ruling powers had learned that Elder Qiu was the master of the Dealcut Association, though it was possible that there were other reasons.

    Regardless, their presence was a lucky break for Lu Yin.

    He had initially wanted to end the Possession, but learning about the two Envoys provided Lu Yin with exactly the opportunity that he had been hoping for. He had wanted to find people with a connection to the four ruling powers so that he could pass some specific information to them.

    ¡­

    After Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to his own body after the Possession ended, he did not immediately check his cosmic ring to calcte the costs as he normally did. Instead, he reviewed what he had just learned and said. Given the recent developments, whether he could sessfully trick the four ruling powers depended entirely on luck.

    At the same time, on the fifth array base, Yi He and Jun stared at each other in shock. They had indeed been sent to the fifth array base to monitor Elder Qiu, but there was no need for them to watch the man¡¯s every move. In fact, they just needed to send reports of people who met with the Semi-Progenitor.

    They had never expected to coincidentally discover a secret about Colonel Lan; the man was a Redback! On top of that already shocking revtion, he had revealed something that happened to perfectly match some recent discussions within the four ruling powers.

    "We can¡¯t dy. Send the report now," Yi He urged.

    Jun nodded. "I''m sending it to Shenwu''s Sky."

    Just a short whileter, Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng met each other in Shenwu''s Sky. "I never even thought that Forgotten Ruins God was actually behind everything, but given the information that our people on the fifth array base identally uncovered, it seems that the Skygod has indeed been targeting Star Alliance. If we hadn¡¯t seized the initiative and moved everyone, she might have already used the restriction method to take control of them."

 Chapter 2244: Active Control

    Chapter 2244: Active Control

    Xia Ziheng actually started to get nervous after hearing the news. "I truly thought that the Celestial Frost Sect was just trying to distract everyone, but it seems that Forgotten Ruins God really is the culprit. We¡¯re lucky that we already moved all the members of Star Alliance."

    Xia Xing''s eyes flickered, and he turned to look at Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, don¡¯t you think that this is actually an opportunity?"

    "What do you mean?" Xia Ziheng was left puzzled.

    Xia Xing''s eyes shed. "The Seven Skygods have always been a massive problem for us. They hide themselves too well, train up Redbacks, and most recently, destroyed the New Corridor. Everything that they do weakens us greatly. Even the Progenitors have tried their best to find the Seven Skygods. It might be possible to use this opportunity with Star Alliance to counter them and expose Forgotten Ruins God."

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes lit up. "True. Forgotten Ruins God may have acquired the full restriction method, but she still needs to actually use it. Star Alliance has already been scattered, so her only option is to wait for the right opportunity. If we gather Star Alliance back together, then we can use them to catch her."

    "It¡¯s better to set out some bait than randomly search around. This will be incredibly cathartic." A smile spread across Xia Xing''s face. "This information got to us in time."

    The White Dragon n had the same idea. There were numerous intelligent people in the universe, and it was natural to want to use everything avable to them. The Seven Skygods had haunted the Perennial World for too many years and converted too many Redbacks. Even the Lu family had been helpless to do anything to the Seven Skygods. With a golden opportunity in front of them, the four ruling powers would never abandon it.

    Dealing with the Seven Skygods was also not something that a single force could do on their own.

    Both Shenwu''s Sky and the White Dragon n reached out to the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang Family, and it was quickly decided to use Star Alliance as bait to catch Forgotten Ruins God. It would be best if they were able to catch several Skygods. As long as the Seven Skygods were still mortal, they would not be able to escape. If the four ruling powers could capture any of the Seven Skygods, they would retain control of Star Alliance. If that was impossible, then the army would all be killed.

    The only ones with any doubts at this moment was the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Bai Su waspletely confused. What was going on? Was Forgotten Ruins God really the criminal? Was it not just an excuse that the Celestial Frost Sect had made up?

    Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao also could not understand. He nced over at Bai Su. The story that Forgotten Ruins God had captured Xia Xing had clearly been concocted at Bai Xian''er''s order. What had happened to convince Shenwu¡¯s Sky that the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s story was more convincing than their own suspicions? And why was Shenwu¡¯s Sky even suggesting to use all of Star Alliance as bait to lure out Forgotten Ruins God?

    The Celestial Frost Sect could not disagree. They had been the ones to point the finger at Forgotten Ruins God, so if they refused to go along with the n, it would only make Shenwu''s Sky and the others suspicious.

    Wu Yao immediately sent a report to Bai Xian''er, but her reply was only three words: wait and see.

    Wu Yao felt that even Bai Xian''er must be puzzled by this development.

    Was it possible that Forgotten Ruins God really was behind everything?

    ¡­

    After disseminating the information, Lu Yin had no idea if his n would work or not. He could only rely on luck and the four ruling powers'' attitude regarding Aeternus. Still, he felt like he had at least a fifty percent chance of seeding!

    Since he had done what needed to be done to prepare for his ns, it was time to return to being Yu Hao. All Lu Yin could do now was wait to see how the four ruling powers reacted.

    While Lu Yin held a ss by theke shore, Xia Ziheng arrived outside Virtue Archives.

    How could the four ruling powers truly not be concerned about the fact that one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had appeared in Virtue Archives? The disappearance of Bai Teng and the other patriarchs had simply created too much chaos and had been too serious a matter for them to deal with anything else for some time. However, since some people had been sent to lock down the Yinshan District, it was time for others to be sent to the academy.

    The powerhouse who was the most familiar with Virtue Archives was Xia Ziheng, who had already visited the academy on several asions.

    Headmaster Wen grew pale when he saw Xia Ziheng, and the headmaster simply left.

    Xia Ziheng was furious upon seeing this reaction, but just as he was about to chase after Wen Lai, the God of Food stepped out and blocked Xia Ziheng¡¯s path. There was a hint of a smile on the man¡¯s face. "We meet again, old friend."

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s brow furrowed. "You¡¯re here, God of Food? Why aren¡¯t you on the Ind of Hope? What brought you back here to Virtue Archives?"

    The God of Food sighed. "With so many things happening recently, I was afraid that something might happen to the academy, so I felt forced toe back here and check on things. What matter has brought you here, Brother Xia?"

    Xia Ziheng felt utterly disgusted as he looked at the God of Food. If this old freak did not exist, they would have been able to take control of Virtue Archives long ago. "A Mountain and Sea is here in Virtue Archives. How could I note take a look?"

    The God of Food¡¯s slight smile remained. "I and Virtue Archives were entrusted to protect this Mountain and Sea, which is what I told your four ruling powers long ago. There is no need for you to worry about things, Brother Xia."

    The four ruling powers had not started eying Virtue Archives recently. They had been trying to seize control of the academy even when the Lu family had been around, and they had only be more aggressive in their tactics after the Lu family¡¯s exile. In fact, if not for the God of Food and some of the academy¡¯s graduates, the four ruling powers would have already attacked the academy.

    The four ruling powers were fast approaching the limits of their tolerance.

    "God of Food, if no one from your Virtue Archives can inherit the Mountain and Sea here, then it would be best to allow all the cultivators in the Perennial World to try. It¡¯s possible that someone can receive the inheritance, which would mean another master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Having another powerhouse in the war against the Aeternals is better than leaving it here to gather dust in Virtue Archives," Xia Ziheng challenged.

    The God of Food smiled. "We are certainly willing to allow everyone in the Perennial World to try, but will they really be given a fair chance? Brother Xia, you and I are both reasonable people, so I shouldn¡¯t need to say things too bluntly."

    Xia Ziheng''s voice instantly grew frigid. "Regardless of who it is, as long as they can inherit a Mountain and Sea, they will eventually be a powerful weapon for humanity to use against Aeternus. I hope that your Virtue Archives can see the bigger picture."

    The God of Food smiled. "Don''t worry. This Mountain and Sea will not be wasted here in my academy. We periodically allow elite students to enter and attempt to receive the inheritance."

    Xia Ziheng cursed secretly. While he had very little understanding of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, even his ancestor had mentioned that there was no point in even trying if one was not already a Progenitor. It was clear that Virtue Archives was merely putting on an act.

    In fact, the four ruling powers were absolutely certain that the God of Food had to be eying the Mountain and Sea himself. Since he had not attempted to be a Progenitor even after all these years, he had likely held back not out of fear of failure, but rather because of the Mountain and Sea. The man must want to be confident of inheriting the Mountain and Sea upon bing a Progenitor. This was the real reason why the four ruling powers were so wary of Virtue Archives.

    If the God of Food simply became a normal Progenitor, he would not intimidate them, but if he became the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he would be catapulted to the same level as Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, which was what everyone feared.

    In the end, Xia Ziheng eventually gave up. How many people from the four ruling powers had approached the God of Food over the years? The man had even been visited by Progenitors who hoped to inherit the Mountain and Sea, but they had all been stopped outside of Virtue Archives. Someone like Xia Ziheng had absolutely no chance of convincing the God of Food.

    However, Xia Ziheng did not leave the academy right away. Next, he went to see ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    Lu Yin was currently giving a lecture, and Xia Ziheng did not show himself. He remained some distance away and stared at theke shore. The old man waited quietly.

    It took an entire hour for ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± ss to end. He quickly made a point to shake off Nong Siniang and went to speak with Xia Ziheng. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, were you waiting for me?"

    Xia Ziheng stared at Lu Yin. The old man¡¯s eyes were calm and exerted no pressure. At this moment, the Semi-Progenitor looked no different from a regr old man, though there was a bit of shadow in his eyes. "Your ss was quite good."

    Lu Yin remained modest. "The students know little about lockbreaking, so I just shared some matters ofmon sense with them."

    "What you considermon sense is enough tost them a lifetime," Xia Ziheng replied.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Are you also a Lockbreaker, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"

    Xia Ziheng shook his head. "Grandmaster Gu Yan''s knowledge of lockbreaking is not something that most people can ever touch. These students can be considered truly blessed."

    Lu Yin denied nothing, and he actually did not even speak. He hadmunicated with Xia Ziheng through amunication crystal before, and the old man¡¯s attitude had been terrible. Shenwu''s Sky held Yu Chuan''s life in their hands, and were using the old man to force ¡°Yu Hao¡± to join them. In fact, they had even given him a deadline of when Virtue Archives¡¯ students visited the Higher Realm for their training excursion to make a decision.

    The deadline had already been given, so Xia Ziheng did not mention it again. If the young man refused to join Shenwu''s Sky, then both he and Yu Chuan would die. This meant that the Semi-Progenitor had made a point to visit for something else.

    "The Xia family''s ceremony to worship our ancestors is soon approaching, and it coincides with when Virtue Archives¡¯ students will be visiting the Higher Realm. Everyone from Virtue Archives¡¯ is wee to observe the ceremony. Also, Shenwu''s Sky hopes to see Grandmaster Gu Yan in attendance." Xia Ziheng went straight to the point and delivered the information in an indifferent tone as he stared out at theke.

    Lu Yin frowned. They wanted Grandmaster Gu Yan to attend? How was he supposed to make that happen? "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, my master is very busy, and he doesn''t make time for anything outside of his own interests."

    Xia Ziheng was unmoved. "This isn¡¯t a discussion. Grandmaster Gu Yan will be present at my Xia family¡¯s ceremony. I don¡¯t care what you have to do to get this to happen, but we hope to receive a positive response from Grandmaster Gu Yan at that time. If not, you understand the consequences."

    He looked over at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± saw that the young man¡¯s expression had grown quite bad, and the old man continued in a somewhat softer tone. "Of course, my Xia family won¡¯t fail to reward you for your help. You will be given the opportunity to get revenge in front of everyone on that day."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open, and he spun around to stare at Xia Ziheng in disbelief. "Revenge?"

    Xia Ziheng''s mouth twitched upwards into a slight smirk. "Don''t you hate Xia Zhitong? Don''t you hate all the people that she used to get rid of your Yu family? There are many people whom you hate, and you can release all of that hatred on that day under the witness of Virtue Archives and countless other people, restoring the respect of your Yu family. This is the most that I and Shenwu¡¯s Sky can promise to give you."

    Lu Yin had not expected Shenwu''s Sky to be so excessive. They were actually willing to allow him to get revenge on the day of their ceremony to worship their family¡¯s ancestors. On top of that, the person whom ¡°Yu Hao¡± hated the most was Xia Zhitong, a member of the Xia family. Even if she was from a branch family, she was still a member of the Xia family. Allowing her to die on the same day as the family¡¯s ceremony to worship their ancestors was nothing less than a p in the family¡¯s face.

    Reputation was more important than almost anything for a monstrous power like Shenwu''s Sky. This was why when Progenitor Chen had first revealed his monstrous talent, he had been hunted by the Xia family. They did not want a peerlessly talented descendant, but an obedient genius.

    Despite that, they were still willing to allow ¡°Yu Hao¡± to take revenge on the same day as their ceremony. This was an unbelievable price that Shenwu¡¯s Sky was willing to pay.

    Lu Yin waspletely stunned. "Is this all true?"

    Xia Ziheng and ¡°Yu Hao¡± stared at each other for a moment. "It is. This should show you Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s sincerity, as well as our ancestor¡¯s decision. This is why Grandmaster Gu Yan must be present that day. Since my Xia family will be losing so much face, Shenwu¡¯s Sky must regain it in some other way.¡±

    The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s voice grew unbelievably cold at hisst sentence, and Lu Yin had absolutely no doubts that, if Grandmaster Gu Yan did not appear for their ceremony, Shenwu''s Sky would deal with ¡°Yu Hao¡± in an extremely cruel manner.

    They were one of the four ruling powers, a monster in the Perennial World. They did not want to passively rule, but to actively control. Naturally, they were eager to control Yu Hao, and through him, Grandmaster Gu Yan. Nobody else, not the Celestial Frost Sect or any other organization, could recruit the Array Grandmaster. As far as Shenwu¡¯s Sky was concerned, they were the only option.

    Could Lu Yin refuse? No. There was no opening for him to even be able to refuse. On top of that, Xia Ziheng had personally delivered a deadline to ¡°Yu Hao¡± on behalf of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. The deadline was the day that the Xia family worshiped their ancestors. That was the day when the Xia family wanted to take control of Yu Hao and Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    "I understand," Lu Yin replied.

    Xia Ziheng looked away. "The day my Xia family worships our ancestors is the day you can restore your Yu family¡¯s reputation. I promise you, as long as Grandmaster Gu Yan joins us, you will enjoy a status no less than the Shen generation members in Shenwu¡¯s Sky. We will help you be an Array Grandmaster, and your name will go down in history.

    ¡°The Celestial Frost Sect can give you much, but they can never offer you revenge, nor the opportunity to save Yu Chuan."

 Chapter 2245: Means

    Chapter 2245: Means

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as he stared at Xia Ziheng. "I hope to see all of my enemies there on that day."

    "One is already not bad," Xia Ziheng replied. The old man then started to leave, though he spoke over his shoulder before disappearing. "If you have any problems, go see Wu Taibai. He¡¯ll help you deal with anything thates up."

    As far as Xia Ziheng was concerned, ¡°Yu Hao¡± was already essentially a member of Shenwu''s Sky. After all, the young man had no choice but to join his sect.

    After Xia Ziheng left, Lu Yin felt quite the headache. How was he supposed to ask Grandmaster Gu Yan to visit Shenwu''s Sky? Even if Lu Yin had a way to get Grandmaster Gu Yan to visit Shenwu''s Sky, how was the old man supposed to demonstrate that he was willing to join the sect? That waspletely impossible.

    Everyone knew that the Array Grandmaster had an odd personality, and Lu Yin had seen it for himself. One undeniable fact was that Gu Yan absolutely hated the four ruling powers. That was something that Lu Yin could never change.

    Unfortunately, there was no option for Lu Yin but for him to bite the bullet and agree to Xia Ziheng¡¯s demands. The only way for Lu Yin to be exposed even faster would be for Shenwu¡¯s Sky to directly reach out to Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    Furthermore, Xia Ziheng¡¯sstment about Wu Taibai had actually been a warning¡ªWu Taibai was going to be keeping an eye on ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    While Wu Taibai was not an Envoy himself, he certainly had thebat strength to fight against one. He was one of the elites of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Shen generation, and it was possible that Xia Ziheng believed that a three-tribtion Lockbreaker like Yu Hao would not be able to get rid of Wu Taibai. This was the confidence of one of the four ruling powers.

    While Lu Yin could definitely get away from Wu Taibai''s surveince, there were already many things on Lu Yin¡¯s te; he would need to seclude himself to roll his die or do other things once he arrived in the Higher Realm. He could not constantly be on guard against Wu Taibai, especially since the man was another member of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty. It was even possible that they would be staying together. This was yet another hassle that Lu Yin needed to deal with.

    This meant that Wu Taibai could not be allowed to be one of the chaperones.

    Lu Yin continued to stare out at theke in a daze. Suddenly, a voice spoke up behind him. "Professor, please teach me again."

    It was Liu Que. He had been blown away by a flick of Lu Yin''s finger before, unable to even see what had happened. He had improved greatly since then, so he was eager to challenge ¡°Yu Hao¡± again. Liu Que was confident that he could at least see whatever attack was used to defeat him this time.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched as he turned around to face Liu Que. "You¡¯re quite persistent, but you clearly don¡¯t understand your own strength."

    "I do," Liu Que replied bluntly, "I will be able to clearly see your attack this time."

    Lu Yin smiled. "And what if you can''t?"

    "If I can¡¯t, then I can¡¯t," Liu Que answered as though that were the only possible response.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Being constantly challenged is a bit annoying, especially when I''m enjoying the scenery."

    "Then what do you want, Professor?" Liu Que replied.

    Lu Yin exined, "If you can see my attack clearly, then I¡¯ll teach you a battle technique. If you reach a high enough level of mastery with it, you can create a chaotic region of the void and ovee practically every battle technique that you face. If you fail, I want you to do one thing for me."

    Liu Que''s eyes lit up. "A technique that can create a chaotic region of the void and ovee other battle techniques? What is this technique?"

    "I¡¯ll only tell you if you win our bet, but there¡¯s no chance of you winning."

    The sword left the scabbard on Liu Que¡¯s back and appeared in his hand. The nearby pebbles on the ground rose into the air and shattered. "Professor, please proceed."

    "Fine. I¡¯ll attack now. See if you can see it clearly." Lu Yin then stared at Liu Que and did not move, though suddenly, his voice came from behind Liu Que. "Were you able to see it clearly?"

    Liu Que stared nkly in front of himself. His fingers were still clenching the hilt of his sword, and a pebble was moved by a bit of wind. He still could not see any of this professor¡¯s movements.

    He turned to stare at ¡°Yu Hao¡± in shock. "Professor, your strength is unbelievable."

    Lu Yinughed. "I just used the battle technique that I mentioned can invert the void. If it can invert the void, then there¡¯s naturally no way that your eyes can track it."

    Liu Que''s eyes lit up with excitement once again. "How can I learn that technique from you, Professor?"

    "Let''s not talk about that right now. You just agreed to do something for me if you lost. Does this count as your loss?"

    "Of course. Please tell me what you want, Professor."

    "I want you to stop the other students from voting for Wu Taibai to be one of the chaperones, though you can¡¯t reveal the fact that I asked you to do this," Lu Yin exined. This was what he hade up with. Whether or not it actually worked all depended on Liu Que, though Lu Yin was quite confident in Liu Que. The swordsman¡¯s personality essentially ensured that he would not let Lu Yin down.

    Liu Que sheathed his sword. "Very well."

    He then turned and left without even asking why he had been given such a task. He would simply aplish what he felt obligated to do.

    Lu Yin quite liked interacting with such straightforward people, as he did not have to put in too much effort. They people were generally quite determined and focused, which made them very reliable. Still, Lu Yin was curious to see how Liu Que would handle his task.

    Liu Que was quite straight-forward, but not particrly cunning. Thus, he directly approached the other students and challenged them. After defeating the various students, Liu Que would make them swear to not vote for Wu Taibai as one of the faculty chaperones for the uing excursion. Liu Que did not hide his purpose, and his actions were also very public.

    Word quickly spread throughout Virtue Archives, as every student who encountered Liu Que was forced to swear to not vote for Wu Taibai. It only took a few days before nearly half the students were forced to swear to Liu Que¡¯s demand. As news of his actions spread, a few people started to spread rumors that Liu Que was targeting Shenwu''s Sky, while others imed that the swordsman was retaliating against Wu Taibai, who had refused a challenge from Liu Que.

    All kinds of rumors started to spread.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by Liu Que¡¯s actions when he learned of them. After all, such a straightforward method of aplishing his goals was right in line with Liu Que''s style, as it was direct and simple.

    Lu Yin''s goal had already been achieved. Liu Que was frantically seeking out various students, and his determination left Wu Taibai speechless. He actually went to speak with Liu Que and ask what had happened and why Liu Que was doing such a thing. However, Liu Que would not even respond. He simply ignored Wu Taibai and continued as before.

    Wu Taibai tried to stop Liu Que on several asions, but Liu Que simply turned around and went elsewhere. The one time that Wu Taibai tried to forcibly stop Liu Que, the student instantly drew his sword. Liu Que was not afraid of fighting Wu Taibai, and in fact, he was eager to do so.

    Not all rumors floating around Virtue Archives were false or baseless. It was true that Liu Que had challenged more than just Lu Yin and Xia Shenguang after entering the academy; the rest of the faculty had been included as well, including Wu Taibai. After all, Wu Taibai was the only Enlighter among the faculty who had broken through the Eighteen Lines Array, and naturally Liu Que was very curious topare himself to Wu Taibai¡¯s strength.

    However, Wu Taibai had always refused the student¡¯s challenge, and Liu Que had stopped trying to challenge the instructor after being denied several times. When Wu Taibai tried to stop Liu Que from interfering with the student vote, Liu Que was more than happy to fight against the instructor.

    Unfortunately for Liu Que, Wu Taibai was not truly willing to fight with the student.

    Things continued, and Liu Que roamed through almost the entire academy, and every student he encountered was forced to swear that they would not vote for Wu Taibai. Eventually, Wu Taibai gave up on trying to stop the determined swordsman.

    Only a short timeter, Virtue Archives officially tallied the students¡¯ votes, and three instructors were selected to lead a team of students on a training excursion.

    Unsurprisingly, Wu Taibai lost without receiving even a single vote. This was not because Liu Que had forced all the students to swear to not vote for Wu Taibai. Liu Que had only approached the majority of the students. It was simply that the rest of the students were afraid that voting for Wu Taibai would offend Liu Que. So, rather than invite trouble upon themselves, they simply refused to vote for the instructor. As for Xia Shenguang and others at that level, they did not even vote for the chaperones, which was why Wu Taibai ended up not receiving even a single vote.

    Lu Yin and the other faculty members watched the students from a distance. Not even Lu Yin had expected Liu Que to be so ruthless and efficient in his task. In fact, Lu Yin had assumed that Wu Taibai would approach Liu Que directly and settle the matter so that he could be selected to be one of the faculty chaperones, but life rarely went as expected.

    Prof. Huai gasped in surprise. "Prof. Wu, you didn¡¯t get even a vote? Liu Que is quite cruel. Did you do something to offend him?"

    Wu Taibai smiled, but he appeared to bepletely calm. "He wants to spar with me, but I¡¯ve never agreed to it."

    Prof. Huai sighed. "He¡¯s still too young and impulsive."

    Wu Taibai did not receive any votes, so Lu Yin expected Prof. Zheng to rece Wu Taibai. As for Lu Yin himself and Mr. Tang, the students¡¯ discussions had already revealed that both of them were guaranteed to be selected as chaperones. Wu Taibai¡¯s absence was the only surprise, as Liu Que¡¯s interference had changed things at thest minute.

    However, Wu Taibai¡¯s recement was another surprise; it was not Prof. Zheng who received the most votes, but rather Prof. Wei. This was not only surprising to Lu Yin and the other instructors, but also to Headmaster Wen. "Is Prof. Wei really that popr with the students?"

    Prof. Xiao Wen shrugged. "Everyone who voted for her were male students."

    Headmaster Wen shook his head. "That makes sense."

    He then nced over at Professor Xiao Wen. "Look at you. Even a woman disguising herself as a man is more attractive than you."

    The woman blushed and refused to even meet Headmaster Wen¡¯s eyes.

    The votes were tallied, and the results were announced; the chaperones who would lead the team of students on their training excursion would be Prof. Hao Yu, Mr. Tang, and Prof. Wei. Prof. Wei tried to refuse, but the rules were the rules. Since the students had voted for her, she had to go.

    Headmaster Wen immediately called the three chaperones to meet with him. "Our students will first choose the chaperones for the training team, and then the selected chaperones will choose the students to participate. Each of you will select twenty five students to go on the trip, while I will choose another twenty-five. Thus, we will send a team of 100 students to represent Virtue Archives on this training excursion to visit the four ruling powers.¡±

    "Headmaster, this joke has gone too far. Prof. Wei is unwilling to chaperone the team, so how can he be chosen? If anything happens in the Higher Realm, he won¡¯t be capable of protecting the students." Prof. Zheng arrived at the meeting ce with the intention of recing Prof. Wei.

    Prof. Wei jumped in. "It would be best if I were reced by Prof. Zheng."

    Prof. Zheng apologized to Prof. Wei. "I¡¯m not trying to look down on you, Prof. Wei. It''s just that you only teach history, and this training excursion to visit the four ruling powers is not some small matter. I ask that you please forgive me."

    Prof. Wei smiled. "Ipletely understand."

    Headmaster Wen actually yelled at the instructor, "What do you think the academy¡¯s rules are for? What do you think you are doing to the students¡¯ choices?"

    Everyone fell silent.

    Headmaster Wen stared at Prof. Wei. "Regardless of why it happened, the students voted for you, and you are obligated to go. Luck is another aspect of strength. Everyone has some qualities that are superior to others, the purpose of our academy is not to send powerhouses to the forefront and fight. You may take your leave, since it has been decided, no changes are allowed."

    As the headmaster reached the end of his exnation, he turned to give Prof. Zheng a pointed re. The man had no choice but to acquiesce. "Yes, Headmaster."

    After Prof. Zheng left, the headmaster nced at Lu Yin and the other two instructors. "Remember that our academy is always an academy. Regardless of what may happen elsewhere, here, we are always teachers. That will never change."

    ¡­

    There was still a month left before the training team would leave Virtue Archives, and Lu Yin eventually settled on his selection of twenty five students, assisted by Nong Siniang. After delivering the list to the headmaster, Lu Yin readied himself to roll his die again.

    He wanted to learn what the four ruling powers were up to now.

    If the four ruling powers hoped to use Star Alliance as bait to force Forgotten Ruins God to take action, then there was no way that word of the matter would not spread. Leaks were unavoidable. Still, the only ones who would hear even about these rumors would have high positions, as Forgotten Ruins God would quickly grow suspicious if people too far down the line knew of it as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s targets for Possession were Envoys. Such people could not be considered to hold too high or too low of a position within the four ruling powers, so they were the perfect targets to acquire the information that he needed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only obstacle was that it was often too difficult to roll six pips, and it was also practically impossible to control who he Possessed. It was also possible that he would end up Possessing someone in the Fifth Maind again, which would be aplete waste of a roll.

    There wereplicated emotions as Lu Yin raised a hand and brought out his die. A tap of a finger caused it to start spinning.

    He shook his head when he saw five pips. While there were many students and instructors in Virtue Archives who had innate gifts, he could not approach and touch them without a valid reason, as it would cause misunderstandings.

    The next roll showed one pip. Again.

    Next was six pips, and Lu Yin did not even register the oue before his consciousness returned to the mysterious dark space.

 Chapter 2246: Targeting The Nong Family

    Chapter 2246: Targeting The Nong Family

    As Lu Yin observed the orbs of light that surrounded him, there was only one whose brightness met what he was looking for, so he merged with it without any hesitation.

    Was he in the Middle Ocean?

    The person that Lu Yin had Possessed appeared to be on the floor of the Middle Ocean, but Lu Yin quickly realized that the person was not in the Middle Realm or the Middle Ocean at all. Rather, he was in the Lower Realm.

    It wasmon knowledge that the Middle Ocean connected the Middle Realm to the Lower Realm. As more memories started to pour into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he quickly understood that he was in the Lower Realm¡¯s portion of the Middle Ocean. The man that Lu Yin had Possessed was the master of an ind in this particr region of the Middle Ocean, and he was known as Ind Master Rong.

    Lu Yin had wanted to Possess someone so that he could learn of the four ruling powers¡¯ recent activities and what they were doing about Star Alliance. However, Ind Master Rong had not left his region in the Middle Ocean for a long, long time, and he had no ess to the news in the outside world. There was no information about the four ruling powers for Lu Yin to ess in this man¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin was just about to end the Possession when he stumbled across a bit of startling information in Ind Master Rong¡¯s memories. The man did not stay here in this particr region of the Middle Ocean by choice; rather, he had been forced there by the Lu family. It was not just Ind Master Rong, as many, many other Envoys had been sent here as well. All of them had been sent into the depths of the Middle Ocean to protect the currents that flowed to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots in the Lower Realm.

    When Lu Yin had apanied Bai Weiwei to the Middle Ocean for her mission, he had chatted with her and Prof. Bai as they traveled. From those conversations, Lu Yin had learned that many of the creatures living in the Middle Ocean were able to ess the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, which served as proof that the Middle Ocean was connected to the Lower Realm and the Mother Tree¡¯s roots.

    Since those sea creatures were able to reach the roots, then humans could as well, provided that they found the correct currents.

    Over the course of the Perennial World''s countless years of existence, Aeternus had always done their best to destroy the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, which meant that they had also tried to find ways to get to those roots. Because of this, humans did their best to block every path to the roots. Over the years, 100,000 currents had formed in the Middle Ocean, and these currents served as underwater paths that led straight to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. Later on, the Lu family had built inds outside each current, bothrge and small, that corresponded to the size of the current. The guardians ced on the inds were also selected based on the size of the current, and thergest current was protected by a six-tribtion Envoy.

    There were 100,000 currents that connected the Middle Ocean to the Lower Mortal Realm. Lu Yin had not known all these details before, but he learned much from Ind Master Rong¡¯s memories. Shockingly, no one outside the Lu family knew of these 100,000 currents.

    More precisely, no one could find these 100,000 currents. This was because the Aeternals had onceunched a massive attack on the currents through a Redback who had had a very high status, all in an attempt to destroy the Mother Tree¡¯s roots with Vitality Poison. After that, the Lu family had worked hard to seal off all the currents to preemptively stop any simr attempts in the future. The Lu family knew that Aeternus was constantly researching poisons, possibly in order to destroy the Mother Tree, and in response, they had spent endless resources to create an enormous sourcebox array.

    Ind Master Rong had no idea where the sourcebox array hade from, and he merely knew that, after it was set up, all 100,000 currents hadpletely disappeared. Well, they had not truly disappeared; rather, instead they had been concealed so that no one could find or approach them.

    The 100,000 currents were still there, but they could not be essed by anyone other than the members of the Lu family.

    Even powerful forces like the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu''s Sky believed that the 100,000 currents had been destroyed when the Redbacks¡¯ attack on the Mother Tree¡¯s roots by the Lu family¡¯s sourcebox array had been stopped. No one knew that the currents had simply been hidden.

    The Lu family had deliberately hidden all information about the 100,000 currents because there were simply too many Redbacks hidden throughout the Perennial World. The Lu family had wanted the matter to remainpletely secret from Aeternus, so they had not said anything about it to anyone at all. This meant that, even after the four ruling powers seized control of the Perennial World, they still knew nothing about the 100,000 currents.

    Of course, given the fact that the currents existed beneath the surface of the Middle Ocean, it was possible for new currents to form and connect to the roots of the Mother Tree at any time. This was not something that Ind Master Rong knew about; rather, Lu Yin had learned it from Prof. Bai, who had noticed that some sea creatures had recently been close to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. This indicated that there were no longer just 100,000 currents, but possibly 110,000 or even 120,000 of them. However, as far as the four ruling powers and Aeternus were concerned, there were only around 10,000 or 20,000 currents, as they all believed that the original 100,000 currents had been destroyed.

    Lu Yin looked upwards. It was dark at the bottom of the Middle Ocean, but light shone down from time to time, though Lu Yin had no idea where it came from.

    He was currently standing on an ind that sat in front of one of the currents that led to the roots of the Mother Tree. There was a bubble of air that surrounded the ind. While it prevented Ind Master Rong from leaving, it also prevented the sea water or nearby sea creatures from getting in.

    Not only had the sourcebox array caused the 100,000 currents to disappear, but the guardians the Lu family had assigned to protect each of the currents had also disappeared. This meant that there were at least 100,000 cultivators, though not all of them were Envoys. Still, they were all Enlighters at the very least, as only a powerhouse at the Enlighter realm or higher was qualified to guard a current.

    From Ind Master Rong¡¯s memories, Lu Yin knew that, while the Lu family had forcefully drafted these cultivators, they had also been promised to be released after standing guard for a set number of years. On top of that, the Lu family had promised to provide the guardians with all the necessary cultivation resources for the duration of their time as guardians. Essentially, the cultivators had been forcibly hired, but they were still being paid.

    Had any of the guardians of the 100,000 currents experienced a breakthrough and be an Envoy since the Lu family had been exiled? Had any of them died? Lu Yin had no idea, as none of the guardians were able to meet with any of the others.

    Ind Master Rong¡¯s memory indicated that his agreement with the Lu family had taken ce many, many years ago. In the past, Ind Master Rong had been a cultivator in the Perennial World, but Lu Yin had no interest in those memories. His only interest was in the person from the Lu family who had interacted with Ind Master Rong. That man was Lu Qi, Lu Yin¡¯s father.

    After ending the Possession, Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his body. 100,000 currents, which corresponded to 100,000 cultivators who had reached agreements with the Lu family. There were 100,000 powerhouses that the four ruling powers did not even know existed. How many Envoys were among them? How many Enlighters?

    This was a massive army, but Lu Yin could not use it. These people neither followed the Lu family nor belonged to the Lu family, as the two had merelye to an agreement for an exchange of services.

    None of these guardians knew that the Lu family had been exiled. If Lu Yin had not coincidentally Possessed Ind Master Rong, word of the guardians of the Middle Ocean¡¯s currents would never get out, and all of those people would die of old age in the depths of the Middle Ocean.

    In that case, should Lu Yin release those guardians? The problem was that releasing the guardians would expose the matter of the 100,000 currents that connected to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. The guardians had been given their task by the Lu family in order to prevent the Aeternals from destroying the roots, so removing the guardians was impossible, not unless there was a way to release them without destroying or exposing the sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something else; if the Lu family had hidden the 100,000 currents with a sourcebox array, then why had they bothered with the guardians at all? The only reason to do such a thing was if the sourcebox array could be destroyed.

    If Lu Yin released the guardians, then he would need to find another method to protect the currents, as removing the guardians was essentially removing a radish and creating a hole. After considering the matter for some time, Lu Yin decided to leave things the way they were for the time being. It was simply not realistic to move any of the guardians.

    Lu Yin tapped his die again, only to see one pip. He shook his head, as this meant that he needed to rest for another ten days.

    There was still an entire month left before he chaperoned the students on their training session, which meant that he should be able to roll his die twelve more times. How many times could he roll six pips in twelve rolls? Even once was not that likely.

    Ten days passed, and Lu Yin stretched out his hand once again while staring at his die. He really hoped that he could roll Possession again and gain ess to someone with useful memories.

    It was all that he could think about as he tapped the die.

    His first, second, and third rolls had not given him six pips, and Lu Yin had no hope for his fourth roll either. This was mostly because none of the three rolls had been Timestop, which was one of the mostmon results. Thus, he believed that his fourth roll was likely to be Timestop.

    Surprisingly, Lu Yin¡¯s luck proved to be quite good, as his fourth roll was indeed six pips.

    Seeing six pips caused a surge of excitement as Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness entered the strange dark space again. This time, he saw many bright orbs of light, some of which shone like suns and were far too bright for him, so he intended to avoid them entirely. Besides, there were several that were just right for him to merge with.

    Lu Yin nced around for a moment before finally deciding on which orb he would merge with.

    It certainly was not the brightest orb he could see, but it was a bit brighter than the orbs that were the best matches for Lu Yin¡¯s current strength. He was not entirely sure if he would be able to Possess this person, but he intended to give it a try. Based on the brightness, he estimated his target to be a seven or eight-tribtion Envoy.

    When his eyes opened, all he could see were corpse kings.

    His expression instantly changed. Corpse kings?

    The sky was dark, and looking around, only the shattered remains of a city could be seen. There were countless corpse kings wandering around in what looked to be a stupor. At times, ck shadows would pass by, but they also belonged to more corpse kings.

    Memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin quietly examined them. He quickly learned that he was in a sealed civilization within a pond, simr to when he had appeared in the Bei family¡¯s pond upon arriving in the Perennial World. He had Possessed a corpse king. The family which controlled the pond that held the corpse kings was led by a traitor to humanity, and the pocket dimension was specifically intended to create and hide corpse kings.

    This was not a very umon situation, as the farmed pond civilizations were not regted or overseen by the rulers of the Perennial World. Each civilization belonged to a given family, or even individual. If the owner of the pocket dimension waspromised, their pond civilization would be transformed.

    It was highly unlikely for a pond civilization to give rise to a powerful corpse king, and Lu Yin had never considered the fact that he would Possess one.

    Lu Yin had Possessed an extremely powerful corpse king. He was able to sense the overwhelming physical might of the creature¡¯s body, and its strength wasparable to at least a seven-tribtion Envoy¡¯s.

    The corpse king had been hiding within the pond civilization for almost a thousand years, and it was waiting for something.

    There was no further information avable in the corpse king¡¯s memories, so Lu Yin looked upwards and caused the creature to shoot out of the pond. The only thing that he could do now was expose the existence of the corpse king and draw the wrath of the four ruling powers down upon the traitor¡¯s family. This pond civilization had already beenpletely transformed into corpse kings.

    The corpse king shot out of the pond, startling many people nearby. "Watch out! A monster!"

    "That¡¯s one of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings! Attack."

    Chaos descended upon the family, and even the patriarch was startled. This was terrible! Why had the creature left the pond?

    Word of the corpse king¡¯s appearance quickly spread, and many people started to attack. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had Possessed an incredibly powerful corpse king, and even the most powerful person attacking the creature was merely an Enlighter. How could anyone in this ce pose even the slightest threat to a corpse king with the power of a seven-tribtion powerhouse?

    Luckily for the nearby humans, the corpse king was being Possessed by Lu Yin. As long as he did not attack, no one would be harmed.

    Still, it was impossible for Lu Yin to permanently Possess the creature. The nearest ce that was guaranteed to have powerhouses who could handle such a powerful corpse king was the Nong family, so Lu Yin fled straight towards Seed Garden. He intended tomit suicide.

    The Middle Realm was huge, and even Semi-Progenitors needed a good bit of time to cross an entire district. Lu Yin was lucky that the corpse king that he had Possessed had been in a ce close to Seed Garden, which made things rather convenient. At the very least, Lu Yin would not have to spend too long on this Possession and waste his precious star essence.

    The corpse king¡¯s body shot through the Middle Realm, and Lu Yin soon saw Seed Garden. As soon as it entered his sight, his eyes focused, and he charged forward.

    Attacking Seed Garden with the strength of a seven-tribtion powerhouse was no different thanmitting suicide. The Nong family was one of the most powerful forces in the entire Middle Realm, and during the Lu family¡¯s reign, Seed Garden had been on the same level as the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky. After the Lu family had been exiled, countless people who had been close to the Lu family had been eliminated. Only the Nong and Liu families had remained untouched, and that was solely due to their impressive power.

    Forget a seven-tribtion powerhouse¡ªnot even a Semi-Progenitor would dare to attack the Nong family.

 Chapter 2247: Seemingly Fair

    Chapter 2247: Seemingly Fair

    This day would be remembered as a shocking one for many in the Nong family. There were many descendants of the family out in fields, and they witnessed the bloodthirsty aura of an attacking corpse king for themselves. Some people even questioned if the corpse king might have had the strength of a Progenitor.

    They were not alone, as even Nong Ya, the patriarch of the Nong family, was questioning the strength of the corpse king as he stared at the rapidly approaching creature. The patriarch eyed the corpse king, and then he quickly sent word to their ancestor.

    Out in one of the family¡¯s fields, Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie stared at the corpse king in a daze.

    Suddenly, a green leaf sprouted from the ground. It swept through the sky as though it were carried on an autumn wind and then wrapped around the corpse king.

    Lu Yin wanted to first get some idea of the Nong family¡¯s power, so heshed out with a punch. The corpse king¡¯s fist struck the green leaf floating in the wind, but there was no reaction. There was no change in momentum and not a mark to be seen on the leaf. However, the corpse king was tightly bound. First, the creature¡¯s muscles were restricted, then its bones, and finally its internal organs.

    After spending a bit of time shrouded in darkness, Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his body. The ck and white mist within his chest trembled and strengthened. He had once again experienced death, and this time, he had been killed by the Nong family.

    A single falling leaf had been enough to instantly overpower and suppress a corpse king with the strength of a seven-tribtion Envoy, quickly killing the creature. This showed the foundation of the Nong family.

    It was possible that the leaf had been powerful enough to defeat more than just the corpse king that Lu Yin had Possessed. Perhaps even Semi-Progenitors would find themselves helpless before that green leaf.

    Lu Yin would never dare to underestimate the top powers of the Perennial World. After all, anything that the Nong family was capable of, so too were the four ruling powers.

    Once again, Lu Yin felt incredibly grateful that he had managed to escape from Dragon Mountain with the assistance of Kui Luo and the Seven Skygods. Without them, he would have never been able to escape.

    At the same time, far away in Seed Garden, countless people were staring at the fallen leaf in a daze as it drifted down to the ground. Nothing was left behind, and the green leaf was actually a bit more vibrant than before.

    Nong Lie blinked. What had he just seen?

    "Sister, could I have seen things wrongly just now? Did a corpse king juste charging towards us?"

    Nong Sanniang pursed her lips. "Yes."

    "And it died within seconds?"

    "Yes."

    "Why?"

    Nong Sanniang could not think of a single answer. "I don''t know."

    She removed the cloth on her head and used it to clean the sweat from her face. "I have absolutely no idea."

    No one could understand what had just happened. Why had a corpse king so desperately charged towards Seed Garden?

    There was an extremely solemn expression on Nong Ya''s face at this moment. A corpse king felt no emotions, so it should not have been seeking death. There had to be a reason behind its actions. Why would such a powerful corpse king havemitted suicide by attacking Seed Garden? What purpose was served?

    Could it be a message? Was Aeternus preparing to attack the Nong family?

    Also, where in the world had that corpse kinge from?

    It was at this time that Nong Ya received a report informing him that the corpse king had originallye from the farmed civilization of a specific nearby family¡¯s pond. The order was given to erase the family and eliminate the entire civilization that they had been grooming.

    Things were growing increasingly odd. If the corpse king had been hidden so well, why had it deliberately exposed itself?

    Nong Ya could not make sense of what had happened, and neither could anyone else from the Nong family. When the news reached the four ruling powers, they were also unable to make any sense of the strange happenings.

    All that anyone knew was that there was a feeling that things had recently been growing increasingly strange in the Perennial World.

    In Virtue Archives, Lu Yin stared at his cosmic ring in agony. He had actually burned through more than 60 billion star essence during that Possession. 60 billion, not 600 million.

    This was part of the cost of Possessing such a powerful expert, but the other matter was that Lu Yin had forced the corpse king to travel all of the way to Seed Garden, which had taken a bit of time and had contributed to the astronomical cost.

    No matter how Lu Yin examined the matter, it was disheartening to spend so much.

    He finally decided to just forget about the matter and treat the cost as a gift to humanity. No matter how hard humanity worked to dig out traitors and uncover corpse kings, the Perennial World could always use a wake-up call that Aeternus had various means to hide themselves.

    Although Lu Yin had unexpectedly managed to roll Possession on his fourth roll, it had been useless. Thus, he was forced to wait another ten days before he could try again.

    After a few days, Nong Siniang asked Lu Yin to help her open another sourcebox. Nong Siniang gave Lu Yin the most sourceboxes to open out of all the students.

    "Professor, have you heard about all of the weird things that have been happeningtely?" Nong Siniang asked while observing ¡°Yu Hao¡± work at lockbreaking.

    Lu Yin was only working on a Perceptive Intermediate sourcebox, so he could afford the distraction of a conversation. "What kind of strange things?"

    "The patriarchs of all of the four ruling powers have gone missing," Nong Si Niang said.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± was surprised to hear this. "All of them disappeared? I thought that only Xia Xing had gone missing, no?"

    "He¡¯s not the only one. Rather, he was simply the first. After him, Bai Teng disappeared, and then so did Wang Zheng and Long Ke. All of them deserve it! I have no idea who attacked them, but as long as it wasn¡¯t Aeternus, we''re all happy about it," Nong Siniang stated indifferently.

    Lu Yin replied, "If even the leaders of the four ruling powers can disappear, then things really are getting chaotic. We¡¯re lucky that the God of Food will be around when I escort you and the other students on the training excursion. Otherwise, we¡¯d face a great deal of danger. Your family would normally be fine, as they¡¯re no weaker than the four ruling powers, but if even Xia Xing was captured by Aeternus, your Nong family should also be careful."

    "You¡¯re quite perceptive, Professor. Something did happen to us as well," Nong Siniang said solemnly.

    Lu Yin feigned surprise. "What happened?"

    Nong Si Niang bit her lip. "I don''t really understand it, but apparently, a corpse king charged at Seed Garden as thoughmitting suicide. It was instantly crushed to death by a fallen leaf that was left for us by our ancestor. It was very odd, and the four ruling powers even sent some investigators to look into the matter. We think that we¡¯ll be attacked by the Aeternals soon.

    "The Liu family is very nervous right now, and they¡¯ve called back all of their people who were away from home."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. "It really does sound strange. For anyone to attack your family¡¯s Seed Garden, they can only be looking for death."

    "However, that corpse king caused my Nong family to find arge number of corpse kings hidden in a civilization inside a pond, which triggered a massive cleanup. My sister tells me that she expects to see the four ruling powers do a mass scouring of all of the farmed civilizations that various families and sects are raising. This matter is going to create a lot of problems," Nong Siniang murmured.

    While the girl was just speaking random thoughts, Lu Yin was eagerly listening. While rearing civilizations was a verymon practice in the Perennial World, it was not something that people would reveal to outsiders. In fact, basically all organizations with an Envoy in them would rear a civilization as a source of soldiers, ves, guards, and for other, more unspeakable purposes. If the four ruling powers demanded to start overseeing and regting these farmed civilizations, the impact that it would have on other powers would be massive.

    Making such a demand was nothing less than stripping away fanciful clothes people wore and exposing everything hidden beneath the surface.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Things were not at all simple this time. While Virtue Archives did not have any farmed civilizations, Seed Garden absolutely had one, and the same had to be true of the Li family as well. Just these two families alone would be gravely impacted by such a regtion, but if one took all the various powers throughout the Perennial World with six or seven-tribtion Envoys into consideration, then the effects of this decision would ripple out to affect nearly the entire Perennial World.

    Still, this was a good thing.

    If Lu Yin were the one in control of the Perennial World, he would also want to eliminate the practice of rearing farmed civilizations. How was it reasonable to raise people in captivity? How was that any different from treating people the same as animals? The people who grew up in those civilizations were really being raised for the ughter by the different families and sects. This fate was beyond tragic. If the four ruling powers did away with such a practice, then it could only be considered a good thing.

    "Does your Seed Garden have ponds with civilizations?" Lu Yin asked casually.

    Nong Siniang nodded. "Yes. We have a veryrge one that has countless people in it. If people can reach a certain level of strength, then they¡¯ll be able to break free of the pond and will be allowed to join my Seed Garden, and they will even be treated the same as any other cultivator. We aren¡¯t as cruel as the other families."

    How was this not cruel? Those people trained desperately, and when they were finally able to leave their rtively primitive civilization, believing that they would ascend to a greater world, they would emerge only to learn that they were nothing more than servants or ves. This could only be considered a terrible blow.

    The Nong family believed that their treatment was good and fair, but their idea of fairness was tainted by the perspective of the rest of the Perennial World. Sadly, anyone from the Fifth Maind would be able to understand the people from the farmed civilizations, but the members of the Nong family themselves could not.

    This method of rearing farmed civilizations could be seen as a cancer in the Perennial World. Lu Yin truly hoped that the four ruling powers would do something good and eliminate the cancer.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin finished opening the sourcebox, and a weapon emerged. It was a power vessel, but it was so old and decayed that it had no power left in it.

    Still, Nong Siniang was not at all disappointed. "Professor, there are only a few days left before we¡¯ll leave on the excursion. Mr. Tang has been helping us by answering all of our questions. When will you head over to join the rest of the group?"

    "I¡¯ll wait a few more days," Lu Yin replied.

    Nong Siniang left without making any fuss.

    Two dayster, Wu Taibai arrived to visit ¡°Yu Hao.¡± While he found it to be a pity that he would not be joining the students and chaperones, Wu Taibai made noints about Liu Que.

    Prof. Zheng also stopped by to remind ¡°Hao Yu¡± of the importance of maintaining Virtue Archives¡¯ reputation. Regardless of anything else, this was still the first time that the academy¡¯s students would be visiting the rulers of the Perennial World ever since the Lu family had been exiled. It was impossible for there to be a fairparison between the youths of the four ruling powers and Virtue Archives¡¯ students, as the students were simply too far behind.

    Several more days passed, and after a total of ten days, Lu Yin returned to his chosen room and raised a hand. His die appeared, and he tapped it again.

    This time, his luck was incredible, as his very first rollnded on six pips. His consciousness entered the mysterious dark space, but when he looked around, he only saw one bright ball of light. This particr orb was very bright, even more so than the one that had represented the corpse king that Lu Yin hadst Possessed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart was swayed as he stared at the ball of light. While the intensity of the light indicated that Possessing this person would be a challenge, a six or seven-tribtion Envoy stood near the peak of the Perennial World. Someone who was beneath only Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors was a very attractive target for Lu Yin.

    He stopped hesitating and merged with the orb. While failing to Possess the person would be rather serious and would burn through a chunk of Lu Yin¡¯s star essence, if he seeded, the potential benefits far outweighed the risks. He could not afford to worry about a potential failure.

    Throughout the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, even if one went back to the Heavens Sect era, no one had ever consumed star essence as quickly as Lu Yin. Even more importantly, no one had any idea what he was doing with so much star essence.

    His consciousness merged into the Possessed body, and there was a burst of dizziness. Lu Yin felt out of breath, which was a sign of a forced Possession that exceeded his abilities. Luckily, he was able to weather the slight bacsh.

    When his eyes opened, he saw the familiar sky of the rear battlefield. He was standing on the Mother Tree above the rear battlefield, looking down on it. Lu Yin had Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was the first Array Grandmaster that Lu Yin had encountered in the Perennial World, as the White Dragon n had asked her to take Long Qi as her apprentice when Lu Yin had been disguised. When she had examined him on Dragon Mountain, she had introduced Lu Yin to the game of Stable Zone. It was a famous game yed only by Array Masters.

    That game had left a deep impression on Lu Yin, as it had provided him with a much greater understanding of the abilities of an Array Grandmaster.

    It waspletely shocking to Lu Yin that he was able to Possess an Array Grandmaster.

 Chapter 2248: The Hidden Redback

    Chapter 2248: The Hidden Redback

    There were some cultivation requirements for Lockbreakers, though they were merely minimum requirements. For example, a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker had to at least be a Melder, while a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker had to at least be an Explorer. This was simply the minimum level of strength needed for each Lockbreaker level, rather than the cultivation limit that a Lockbreaker of a specific level could achieve.

    One needed to be an Enlighter and also master a sourcebox array in order to be an Array Master. While it was also possible to be a Senior Array Master as an Enlighter, a Realm Array Master had to be an Envoy. Array Grandmasters also needed to be Envoys, though Lu Yin was not very clear about how many tribtions one needed to pass for one to be an Array Grandmaster. All he knew was that all the Array Grandmasters that he had encountered were either Semi-Progenitors or peak Envoys, like Grandmaster Xiu Ming.

    As for Grandmaster Qiu Ling, whom Lu Yin was Possessing, she was a seven-tribtion Envoy, which was very close to Grandmaster Xiu Ming¡¯s cultivation level, but just slightlycking. She was just weak enough that Lu Yin was able to Possess her. If she were a Semi-Progenitor like many other Array Grandmasters, Lu Yin would not have been able to forcibly Possess her no matter what.

    Possessing an Array Grandmaster was far more useful to Lu Yin than Possessing any peak Envoy. Just the woman¡¯s lockbreaking experience alone was a priceless treasure for Lu Yin. In the past, the most aplished Lockbreaker that Lu Yin had ever Possessed had only been a Realm Array Master.

    As the memories flooded in, Lu Yin remained ecstatic. He wanted to see what kind of sourcebox arrays Grandmaster Qiu Ling had mastered.

    The requirements to be an Array Grandmaster was to master at least five sourcebox arrays, as well as create an original sourcebox array. This meant that Lu Yin could potentially learn five sourcebox arrays as well as Qiu Ling¡¯s self-created sourcebox array from this Possession.

    However, before he even saw the memories of the woman¡¯s sourcebox arrays, Lu Yin found a memory that left him both furious and terrified; Grandmaster Qiu Ling was actually a Redback.

    There were many Redbacks throughout the Perennial World, so Lu Yin knew that he should not be surprised to learn that anyone was a Redback. And yet, he could not help but be surprised to learn that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was one. The betrayal felt as heavy as if he had just learned that a specific Semi-Progenitor was a Redback.

    Array Grandmasters were held in exceptionally high regard in both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. Also, the Sixth Maind did not have even a single Array Grandmaster at all.

    As a general rule, as long as an Array Grandmaster did not do anything particrly offensive, no one would be willing to get on their bad side. For example, even though Grandmaster Gu Yan had a very odd personality and even hated the four ruling powers, tantly refusing to give them any show of respect, the four ruling powers did not dare to offend the man. In fact, they were even eager to find a way to recruit him.

    While Grandmaster Qiu Ling could notpare to Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s reputation, she was not far behind the old man. The four ruling powers had also tried their best to recruit Qiu Ling, and it was possible for such a person to acquire everything that they could ever want. It was unexpected that such a person would be a Redback.

    Lu Yin quickly started searching through Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s memories for the one of when she had first be a Redback. After seeing that memory, Lu Yin would understand why.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling had done nothing to betray humanity after bing an Array Grandmaster. Instead, she had been recruited as a Redback shortly after she had first be a Lockbreaker.

    It was all because of someone named Shang Yi.

    Both Qiu Ling and Shang Yi had been exceptionally talented when they had first be Lockbreakers. They had been considered the representatives of their generation, just like Wu Dan in the Fifth Maind. Their talent had been recognized by all Lockbreakers, and they had been acknowledged as geniuses who were guaranteed to eventually be Array Masters.

    Countless people had high hopes for Qiu Ling and Shang Yi, and countless eyes had been focused on her. However, Qiu Ling''s talent had always been just a tiniest bit behind Shang Yi¡¯s, and so, she had been constantly overshadowed by him. When Shang Yi had be a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, Qiu Ling had still been a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. When he had be a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, she had be a one star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. She had always remained one step behind, and this hadsted for almost ten years. Eventually, Qiu Ling¡¯s mind had been shaken by her feelings of inferiority, and the gap between her and Shang Yi grew evenrger.

    Qiu Ling had always been arrogant, and she could not ept such an oue, and yet she waspletely unable to surpass her rival. Anger and resentment had umted in her heart, growing heavier and heavier with time. This was what had given the Aeternals an opportunity. Shaman God had approached Qiu Ling and recruited her as a Redback. The old monster was quite skilled at scheming, and they had used a specific sourcebox array to convince Qiu Ling to willingly be a Redback. Of course, she had also demanded that Shang Yi be killed.

    Shang Yi had indeed been assassinated, but not by the Aeternals. Instead, he had been killed by Realmless, though the client paying for the assassination had been a Redback.

    With Shang Yi¡¯s death, Qiu Ling had instantly be the most talented genius of her generation in everyone''s eyes. However, her talent remained inferior to Shang Yi¡¯s. It was only after she became an Array Master that she was able to take advantage of the sourcebox array that she had received from Shaman God. Then, her progress became startlingly fast. She continued to improve step by step until she became an Array Grandmaster.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to sift through all of Qiu Ling''s memories, but there were specific memories that had had a great impression on the woman, as they formed the basis for her entire existence.

    She was a selfish, narrow-minded woman who was extremely talented at Lockbreaking.

    While reviewing the woman¡¯s memories, Lu Yin finally resolved the mystery of Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s attitude towards him on Dragon Mountain.

    He had been known as Long Qi at that time, and the White Dragon n had asked Grandmaster Qiu Ling to test Long Qi and see if he would be an eptable apprentice. Qiu Ling had initially greatly admired Long Qi, and she had even made it a point to provide him with a great deal of instruction in a game of Stable Zone, teaching him how to y the game and greatly improving his lockbreaking experience in the process. At the time, Lu Yin thought the woman had been paid to do so by the White Dragon n.

    However, after the Celestial Frost Sect had started verbally attacking Long Qi and Wang Yun had recognized him as being Lu Yin, Qiu Ling''s attitude hadpletely changed. She had immediately be extremely suspicious of Lu Yin and had also found his lockbreaking talent to becking. Such contradictory attitudes had puzzled Lu Yin, though he had thought nothing of the change at the time.

    However, Qiu Ling had used a sourcebox array to capture Lu Yin right before he reached the Cloud Shuttle to return to the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm, only to deliberately let him go again. The woman had demonstrated yet another change in attitude then, and Lu Yin had certainly noticed the confusing change at that time. He had thought that there had to be a reason for it, but his curiosity had been suppressed after he left the Perennial World. While reviewing Qiu Ling''s memories, Lu Yin understood that everything that she had done regarding Long Qi had been at Shaman God¡¯s orders.

    She had helped teach him and demonstrated his impressive lockbreaking talent before the four ruling powers just to give them a greater incentive for hunting Lu Yin down after he was exposed. She had also let him escape so that the four ruling powers would continue to pursue him and chase him into the Fifth Maind, as creating discord and internal conflict within humanity was all part of Shaman God''s n.

    Shaman God had admitted its n to Lu Yin, saying that its entire goal was to use Lu Yin¡¯s existence to weaken both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind so that Aeternus would be able to reap the benefits.

    The Aeternals needed to make sure that Lu Yin was hunted and pursued, but not killed. For them, he was bait that they were leaving out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind started to lose focus, and he grew dizzy. Qiu Ling was an Array Grandmaster, and she was powerful enough that Lu Yin could not Possess her for a long period of time. The fact that he could force the Possession to even ur was already quite impressive.

    He quickly scanned through the woman¡¯s memories for anything regarding Star Alliance. The world started to spin, and Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness passed through the dark space to return to his own body.

    He just breathed and rubbed his head for a long time. This Possession had granted him incredible gains, as how else could he have ever learned that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback? On top of that, he had also learned the information that he needed about Star Alliance.

    Just as he had guessed, the members of Star Alliance were being gathered back together by the four ruling powers, and the location was being deliberately leaked as bait for Aeternus.

    The four ruling powers were setting a trap for the Aeternals. Not to mention one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor avatars, even if one of them appeared with their true body, they might not be able to escape unscathed. More importantly, if Aeternus did not take the bait, the four ruling powers lost nothing at all.

    As far as the four ruling powers were concerned, things were proceeding perfectly.

    However, their trap was also Lu Yin''s opportunity. With so many Envoys being gathered together, he just needed to roll Possession on his die and Possess the right person. Odds were that he would be able to Possess someone in Star Alliance, and as soon as that happened, he would be able to remove the restrictions on everyone. That way, there would not even be any need for Lu Yin himself to appear.

    This was something that the four ruling powers could never imagine or prepare for, and all Lu Yin needed was a bit of luck.

    The other information that Lu Yin had made a point to search Qiu Ling¡¯s memories for was the sourcebox array that she had received from Shaman God. It was known as Void Brand, and it was the reason why her improvement in lockbreaking had elerated after she had be an Array Master. The fact that her progress had elerated at that point had startled many people, and many hadmented on how her lockbreaking talent was specifically geared towards sourcebox arrays.

    However, all of Qiu Ling¡¯s improvements had been because of the Void Brand sourcebox array. In essence, it added extra time to her lockbreaking sessions, and she was able to freely manipte things within that additional time.

    This actually had nothing to do with the power of time, but rather with the power of space.

    Using Void Brand meant that, when Qiu Ling was lockbreaking, while she was not able to go back in time and undo any mistakes that she made, the sourcebox array allowed her to review and examine the mistake in clear detail. This allowed her to get twice the results with half the effort.

    When others were lockbreaking, mistakes would ce them in grave danger, and it was even possible to die without knowing why. However, Qiu Ling was able to clearly see her mistakes and study them. It was an incredible difference.

    The use of Void Brand had also caused Qiu Ling to develop a certain habit; when she was cultivating, lockbreaking, or even simply resting, she would always use Void Brand.

    Lu Yin suddenly shot to his feet, an ugly expression on his face. Had Qiu Ling set up the Void Brand sourcebox array before Lu Yin had Possessed her?

    His eyes flickered, and he reviewed everything that had happened during the Possession, but he simply did not know. He had never seen that particr memory, but if Void Brand had been used, then as long as Qiu Ling had even the slightest doubts as to what had happened, she would be able to see what had happened with the sourcebox array and would learn that someone had taken control of her.

    If that happened, what would she do?

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s fears were ying out on the rear battlefield.

    As an Array Grandmaster, being cunning and scheming had be something intrinsic to Qiu Ling¡¯s personality. She had never been exposed as a Redback, but that had never lowered her sense of caution.

    She had developed the habit, regardless of whether she was training or even resting, to reflexively review everything that had recently urred. This habit was entirely dependent on the Void Brand sourcebox array, and it had essentially developed into a kind of obsessivepulsive disorder.

    After Lu Yin ended the Possession, Qiu Ling¡¯s consciousness had returned, and she had immediately reviewed the recent events. Shockingly, she realized that she could not remember anything that had happened, so she instantly essed the sourcebox array. Recent events reyed before her, and she saw something that left her absolutely horrified. Despite having no memory of it, she had opened her eyes and stared out at the rear battlefield. When had that happened?

    If this scene was not from Qiu Ling¡¯s own memory, then it was from someone else¡¯s. Had someone taken control of her body? Who? Who could possibly seize control of her without her awareness?

    Her first thought was of Shaman God. Who else aside from the Aeternals would target her? She had met almost all the Perennial World¡¯s top powerhouses, and none of them could seize control of her. The only possibility was the Aeternals. Qiu Ling was a Redback, and Aeternus had always been watching her.

    Why would the Aeternals seize control of her body? Was it a warning? It was true that, ever since Qiu Ling had be an Array Grandmaster and her status had improved, she had started to disregard Aeternus. She had nothing at all to do with them, not unless she received direct orders from Shaman God itself, as with the situation rted to Long Qi. In those situations, Qiu Ling would do her best, but she had not been proactive in a long time. It seemed that Aeternus was giving her a warning.

    Qiu Ling''s expression was dark, and her eyes flitted about. She had no idea what to think of her situation.

 Chapter 2249: Fairy Miao

    Chapter 2249: Fairy Miao

    Back in Virtue Archives, Lu Yin quickly checked his cosmic ring. 100 billion. How painful! He had just burned through 100 billion star essence! Just how much would it cost to Possess Semi-Progenitors? Or further, when he could Possess Progenitors? He was too terrified to even consider the matter.

    Was there even enough star essence in the Fifth Maind and the Perennial Worldbined to pay for what Lu Yin needed? Where else could he acquire more funds?

    Regardless of the costs, Lu Yin needed to keep rolling his die. He wanted to Possess someone from Star Alliance so that he could free those people from the restriction that controlled them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, and even as he worried about the costs and potential benefits, he could not help but look forward to the possibilities. He tapped the die. Three pips. He tapped again. Four pips. He was done.

    The fourth roll was Timestop, and Lu Yin willingly entered his Timestop Space, spending the entire time practicing the Cosmic Art and reciting the Origin Sutra. Nearly a yearter, he emerged from his Timestop Space. He needed to wait another ten days before he could roll his die again.

    Unfortunately, he was not given the opportunity, as ten dayster was when the students would head for the Higher Realm to start their exchange program. Naturally, Lu Yin was summoned by Headmaster Wen.

    It had taken a month for the list of participating students to be finalized. Over the course of thest month, Mr. Tang and Prof. Wei had worked on helping the students raise their strength, but Prof. Hao Yu had not yet shown up. He had to be present for at least thest ten days.

    Lu Yin would simply need to find an opportunity to roll his die again.

    ¡­

    Not everyone had the opportunity to see the Mother Tree up close.

    Under thedder, the God of Food smiled as he watched many studentsment in amazement. These students had never seen the Mother Tree up close.

    Most of the students who could pass Virtue Archives¡¯ entrance exam were the most talented descendants of various powerful families, as the requirements were too steep for most geniuses. However, there were also always some exceptionally talented independent cultivators who had no resources, and they were also allowed entrance into the academy.

    All of the twenty five students selected by Headmaster Wen were independent cultivators. The students who could not be taken to visit the four ruling powers were actually the descendants of the various powerful families, as they were allpletely submissive to the four ruling powers.

    As for students of various families not of the four ruling powers, Headmaster Wen did not take many of them. These students would only adopt a submissive attitude when visiting the four ruling families.

    When Virtue Archives arrived at the Mother Tree, the Smokecloud Sect had already prepared a cloud for their exclusive use, and they were even generous enough to not insist on the standard procedure of examining the contents of the students¡¯ cosmic rings, which was practically unheard of.

    Even Lu Yin was surprised by the treatment that they received.

    "The four ruling powers are making a point to show their goodwill towards the academy," Mr. Tang said, sounding quite worried.

    Lu Yin asked, "Is that something that you don¡¯t want, Professor?"

    Mr. Tang looked conflicted. "I would love to see the academy remain the same as always."

    Before the four ruling powers had started interfering with Virtue Archives, the academy had not had nearly as many faculty members, as neither Wu Taibai, Prof. Bai, nor Prof. Wei had been instructors. However, the academy had expanded, which meant both more students and more instructors in the academy. Of the new instructors, it was clear that Wu Taibai and Prof. Bai were part of the four ruling powers, but no one knew just how many of the other instructors were also part of the four ruling powers.

    Mr. Tang had been an instructor at Virtue Archives for a long time, and just like Prof. Zheng, Mr. Tang never wanted to see the academy change. Unfortunately, that was nothing but a dream.

    The four ruling powers would never be willing to allow the existence of other powerful organizations outside of their control, especially something like the academy that had a Mountain and Sea.

    "There are certain things that are outside of human control. Don¡¯t think too much about such things, Professor. Since certain things are unavoidable, we just need to do what we should," Prof. Wei said with a smile.

    Mr. Tang nodded. "Young people like you are more adaptable than us. It¡¯s true that I¡¯m simply voicing the headmaster¡¯s concerns and that such things are outside of our control. We should focus on taking care of our students."

    The God of Food did not say a word, though he listened to the conversation. There were indeed certain things that were no longer in his control.

    A short distance away, Xia Shenguang and several others appeared indifferent to everything. They did not actually care about Virtue Archives in the slightest, and instead, they were preupied with the recent developments within the four ruling powers. They could not help but feel like a dark shadow was looming over them.

    As the Cloud Shuttle drifted upwards, Lu Yin stared down at the shrinking Middle Realm. He looked upwards and saw that the Higher Realm¡¯s soil was already within reach. It was possible that it was the sight of this soil that had forced the four ruling powers to banish the Lu family. They had also wanted to look down on the entire Perennial World, instead of looking up and seeing thend that the Lu family stood upon.

    For most of the students, this was their first time visiting the Higher Realm. Even if most of the students came from powerful families, that did not equate to being able to step foot on the Higher Realm.

    Someone approached the exchange program¡¯s students from the distance. They smiled as they approached, and then went straight up to the God of Food and offered a respectful bow. "Wang Miaomiao1 greets Senior God of Food."

    Everyone stared at the woman, and many were stunned by her sight. She was a truly beautiful woman.

    Lu Yin observed at Wang Miaomiao. There was no denying that she was beautiful, and she was actuallyparable to Yan''er. Wang Miaomiao had a graceful demeanor, and there was something almost ethereal about her movements, though there was also a hint of maturity. She should be quite young, though it was impossible to determine her age from just her appearance.

    When Wang Xiaofan noticed who was greeting them, his eye twitched, and he started staring.

    "So it¡¯s Fairy Miao who¡¯s greeting us. I¡¯m surprised to see that the Wang family actually sent you. Aren¡¯t you still under house arrest?" The God of Food was clearly quite surprised to see the woman, and he did not sound nearly as brusque and cold as when he usually spoke with people from the four ruling powers. Instead, he sounded like a kind elder who cared for a junior. This was highly unusual.

    Wang Miaomiao offered yet another bow as she looked at the God of Food and gave the old man a yful smile. "Aside from me, no one else in the family deserves to be acknowledged by you, Senior. Also, they¡¯re all afraid of being scolded by you."

    The God of Foodughed. "I wouldn¡¯t dare to scold members of the Wang family, but it''s still good to see you. It¡¯s been a very long time."

    The smile slowly disappeared from Wang Miaomiao''s face. "Not since the Lu family disappeared."

    The God of Food sighed. "Let''s not talk about that. Let¡¯s go to your family¡¯s homnd. I haven¡¯t visited that ce for a long time."

    "You haven¡¯t visited since our homnd was moved from the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm," Wang Miaomiao replied.

    The God of Food had no choice but to respond, "I already said that we should drop that subject. It looks like you want to remain under house arrest."

    Wang Miaomiao rolled her eyes, and a mischievous smile returned to her lips. "It doesn''t matter if I get locked up again or not. If Senior returns, the elders will still send me back out here to y hostess for you, as they want to leave a good impression."

    The God of Food was left speechless.

    Within the crowd of students, Bai Weiwei shifted over next to Wang Xiaofan. "Hey, is that the Fairy Miao that you¡¯ve always talked about dreaming of? She really is beautiful."

    Wang Xiaofan frowned. "Don''t spout nonsense."

    A lewd smile crept across Bai Weiwei¡¯s face. "Stop pretending. We''ve known each other since childhood, and you''ve mentioned her a lot. You only stopped after you grew up. What? You don¡¯t even dare to admit it anymore?"

    Wang Xiaofan turned to stare at Bai Weiwei. "I told you, don''t spout nonsense."

    On the other side, Nong Siniang eximed, "I actually saw Fairy Miao! I thought that the Wang family would keep her under house arrest forever."

    "What happened to her?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Siniang gave him an odd look. "You don¡¯t know, Professor?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I never really had much of an interest in what happened outside of Yu City."

    Nong Si Niang pursed her lips. "A hundred years ago, Fairy Miao was the most talented descendant of the entire Wang family. Despite being from one of their branch families instead of a direct descendant, she surpassed all of the direct descendants, and she even earned the same position as Wang Su within the family. However, even with her talent and status, she¡¯s been under house arrest for years because of her rtionship with the Lu family. In fact, after the Lu family was exiled, she even scolded Wang Fan, the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "She scolded Wang Fan? Is that true?"

    Nong Siniang shook her head. "I don''t know, but those are the rumors that have spread around in the outside world, and she¡¯s been locked up ever since that day, not allowed to leave. I really didn¡¯t expect her to be sent to greet us. They are giving face to Senior God of Food."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Fairy Miao. Whether the rumors were true or not, even if the woman had not scolded Wang Fan, she had clearly done something to be locked up for so long. It was possible that she really had been bold enough to scold a Progenitor.

    Headmaster Wen had been impressed at how rude ¡°Yu Hao¡± had been to Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng, but if Wang Miaomiao really had scolded Wang Fan, then she had to have a million times more courage.

    The Wang family had sent a vehicle to collect the students for the exchange program. It was arge boat that had been formed by folding white paper.

    After everyone had climbed on board, Wang Miaomiao guided the boat to a ce dedicated for the Wang''s family¡¯s training: the Tri-Petal.

    "The Tri-Petal?" Nong Siniang shouted again.

    Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, and Wang Xiaofan were surprised. In fact, even the God of Food was taken aback. "The Tri-Petal? The Wang family is actually willing to open the Tri-Petal for my students?"

    Wang Miaomiao smiled. "That''s right. As long as they¡¯re able to, they can break through the Tri-Petal by working together, though I¡¯d suggest that they do so one by one in order to maximize the benefits."

    Mr. Tang spoke up, "The Wang family has really spent a great deal of resources on this exchange program if they¡¯re willing to even open the Tri-Petal."

    Lu Yin waspletely confused, but he stayed quiet.

    Prof. Wei then spoke up. "ording to the legends, every member of the Wang family, regardless of whether they are part of the direct line, is allowed to enter the Tri-Petal. It holds battle techniques, resources, and cultivation arts. In the lowest petal, there are power vessels good enough for Explorers,parable battle techniques and such, but nothing too special. If people are able to reach the middle petal, they can gain ess to the Wang family''s famous cultivation arts, if they¡¯re capable enough. As for the top petal, there aren¡¯t just battle techniques, but also secret techniques, tribtion crystals, and cultivation arts there.¡±

    "All of the Wang family¡¯s descendants dream of being allowed to enter the Tri-Petal."

    Mr. Tang added on, "There are rumors that Fairy Miao herself was able to surpass everyone else from her generation due to the opportunities that she obtained in the Tri-Petal. Supposedly, she obtained the family¡¯s Sit and Forget, a secret technique, and other inheritances that were no worse than what the most talented descendants of the Wang family¡¯s direct line are given, and she ended up surpassing all of them. The Tri-Petal is the best opportunity for the descendants of the side branches of the Wang family to catch up to the descendants of the direct line, but I¡¯ve never heard of the Tri-Petal being opened to outsiders.¡±

    "This is a ce where even the Lu family would have had to pay a steep price to give their children ess to back when they were in power."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The participants of the exchange program had been greeted by Fairy Miao, and their cosmic rings had not been inspected when they had arrived at the Cloud Shuttle to enter the Higher Realm. And at this moment, they were being told that they were even being given ess to the Tri-Petal. The Wang family was being far too generous to Virtue Archives¡¯ students. It seemed as though they were purposely favoring the students, and Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Prof. Zheng''s warning. Just what were the four ruling powers trying to aplish?

    When the rest of the students learned that they were being granted ess to the Tri-Petal, their eyes lit up, and they immediately started excitedly discussing this opportunity.

    Wang Miaomiao shook her head and chuckled. "The Wang family¡¯s hoping to steal away Virtue Archives¡¯ students by offering them the chance to enter the Tri-Petal. You should be able to see through their intentions, Senior."

    The God of Food could only say, "So what if I can? My academy doesn¡¯t forbid our students from joining other powers. Provided that they are willing, all of my students are allowed to join the Wang family."

    Wang Miaomiao replied, "If all of these students join the Wang family, then will Virtue Archives still remain an academy? The four ruling powers want to use this exchange program to steal away all of your students so that they can finally gain control of the academy. Looking at how insidious this n is, it¡¯s probably something that the Xia family came up with."

    God of Foodughed. "You''re too blunt."

    "That¡¯s just because they¡¯re all too sneaky. Not many are able to resist the temptation of the Wang family''s training opportunities. Senior, you should try to find a way to get away. If all of your students join the four ruling powers, your academy will no longer be yours," Wang Miaomiao warned.

    The God of Food gave a bitter smile. What could he even do about the situation? Virtue Archives was a special ce, and just like the procedures for the exchange program, instructors chose their students, while students also chose their instructors. Control of the academy was not held purely by the faculty members, as the students also had the right to make certain decisions. If all of the students joined the four ruling powers, then Virtue Archives would not be able to remain the same academy that it had been for so many years.

    [1] Hopefully some of you remember that Forgotten Ruins God''s name is Wang Miaomiao, however, it''s important to note that this Wang Miaomiao (ÍõÃîÃî) does not have the same name in Chinese as Forgotten Ruins God (Íõíµíµ). ?

 Chapter 2250: The Tri-Petal

    Chapter 2250: The Tri-Petal

    The four ruling powers were very ruthless in their attempts to take over Virtue Archives; otherwise, the academy would have never been willing to take their students to the Higher Realm as part of an exchange program, as this would give the four ruling powers a chance to recruit their students.

    However, the students had already arrived, so it was toote to regret the academy¡¯s choice.

    It was clear that all of the students¡¯ eyes had lit up. Independent cultivators were alwayscking for resources, while the students from powerful ns and families were even more eager to join the four ruling powers. There was no way out of this trap.

    When Lu Yin had first arrived in the Perennial World at the Bei family¡¯s home, he had already learned that Virtue Archives had somehow changed. The changes taking ce were quickly affecting the academy''s neutrality and internal structure. The four ruling powers'' attempts to recruit the students and the God of Food''s helplessness both demonstrated what was happening: the God of Food could no longer protect Virtue Archives.

    The Higher Realm was much smaller than the Middle Realm, but it still took the paper boat five days to reach the Wang family¡¯s homnd from the Cloud Shuttle. Without the speed of that boat, it would have taken the students several months at the least to make the journey.

    As for the God of Food, he had no choice but to also visit the Wang family¡¯s homend, but how could he be willing to elerate matters?

    During the several day journey, Lu Yin, Prof. Wei, and Mr. Tang all spoke with Wang Miaomiao. She was familiar with Mr. Tang, as the two had met before. As for Prof. Wei, she and Wang Miaomiao spoke extensively, though no one knew what was said. When the two women were chatting, Lu Yin and the others kept their distance.

    The descendant of the Wang family¡¯s direct line who was present on the boat, Wang Xiaofan, never spoke a single word to Wang Miaomiao, and Wang Miaomiao never even looked Wang Xiaofan in the eye.

    They rapidly approached the floatingndmass that was the Wang family¡¯s headquarters. Lu Yin had recently been to this ce when he had captured Wang Zheng and Long Ke, and he was returning already.

    The Wang family was a monster in the Perennial World, though it was a mystery as to why Wang Miaomiao had been sent to greet the people from Virtue Archives.

    When they arrived at the Wang family¡¯s home, a group of the high-ranking members of the Wang family weed the students and faculty. Even Semi-Progenitor Chai was present.

    "Senior God of Food, it¡¯s been a long time." Semi-Progenitor Chai politely weed the God of Food when the group from Virtue Archives approached.

    The God of Food gave a small smile. "It¡¯s true, it has been a long time. I¡¯m quite surprised to see that you haven¡¯t died."

    Everyone from the Wang family was quite upset to hear the God of Food¡¯s rudeness. After all, Semi-Progenitor Chai was a guardian of the Wang family, and insulting him was no different than insulting the Wang family.

    However, Semi-Progenitor Chai himself did not mind at all. "You¡¯re surprised that I¡¯m not dead?"

    The God of Food earnestly responded, "You practice the Art of Retiring Gods, and you lost the use of your legs when you became a Semi-Progenitor. With further progress, you¡¯ll lose the use of your hands, or even your brain. How is such a state any different from being dead?"

    "Haha, it seems you think very highly of me, Senior. Others curse me to die, yet you think so highly of me!" Semi-Progenitor Chaiughed.

    The God of Food shook his head and turned his attention to the members of the Wang family who were present.

    They were led by the acting patriarch, a man named Wang Yan. He was a two-tribtion Envoy, and while such strength was certainly not bad, it was nowhere close to enough to qualify to be the patriarch of a top power like the Wang family. This was why the acting patriarch was being actively supported by Semi-Progenitor Chai.

    Wang Zheng was still missing, and Wang Su and Wang Yi were both absent, as was Elder Wang Si. Having so many powerhouses missing was not unique to the Wang family, as the other ruling powers had also sent people to the rear battlefield and to the Fifth Maind.

    The White Dragon n was in the worst condition, as they did not have even a single disciple from the younger generation who could step up to shoulder some responsibilities.

    "I wonder, what has the Wang family prepared to test the students that I¡¯ve brought with me?" the God of Food asked as his eyes briefly swept across Wang Yan and the others before they refocused on Semi-Progenitor Chai. The Semi-Progenitor was clearly the decision maker.

    Wang Yan remained perfectly calm. He was nothing more than a ce-holder so that the Wang family would have the appearance of an acting patriarch. Any actual decisions that had to be made had nothing to do with Wang Yan. As soon as the New Corridor was repaired and Elder Wang Si and the others returned, Wang Yi would be able to take over the position of acting patriarch.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai nced over at Wang Miaomiao. "Did you not tell Senior God of Food? My Wang family has decided to open the Tri-Petal to Virtue Archives¡¯ elite students."

    Wang Miaomiao refused to even look at Semi-Progenitor Chai. She was the only member of the Wang family who would not show the Semi-Progenitor even the slightest bit of respect, but to be fair, she refused to show anyone from the family any hint of respect.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai arched a brow, but he dropped the matter.

    "The Wang family is truly magnanimous this time. I¡¯ll thank the Wang family on behalf of my students," the God of Food responded with a smile.

    Soon, the acting patriarch, Wang Yan, personally led the students on a tour of the Wang family¡¯s floatingndmass. This was the extent of the man¡¯s responsibilities: to give the students a personal tour as another demonstration of goodwill.

    The Wang family¡¯s homnd was something that everyone knew about. But for people from the Middle Realm, it was difficult to even enter the Higher Realm, let alone gain ess to the Wang family¡¯s floatingndmass. The fact that the students from Virtue Archives were allowed to visit such a ce was something that they could brag about for an entire lifetime.

    "Ever since my Wang family¡¯s homnd was first established, it has weathered the passage of time, enemy attacks, assassins, Redbacks, and traitors. However, none of them ever managed to escape alive. Do you see that sh mark? It was left by one of my Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. We tend to focus on unarmedbat, but that particr ancestor loved studying the sword. His swordsmanship was so exceptional that he dominated an era and even managed to suppress a generation of the Liu family.

    "Over here is a palm print left behind by another one of my Wang family¡¯s ancestors. That ancestor studied millions of creatures in the Lower Realm to create a million different palm strikes that he then merged into a single technique. He used it to kill Marquis Xiang, one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. The current Marquis Xiang is not the original, as that marquis was killed by my ancestor.

    "In the past, the ipetence of the Lu family led to a flood of Redbacks and traitors, which even triggered a massive war. My Wang family led the vanguard, and the five fingers of our homnd were nearly broken, but we managed to put an end to that war. Do you see that red bit of ground? That is the blood of countless of my Wang family¡¯s ancestors. No matter if one looks at the former Lu family or the current Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, and White Dragon n, no one can boast as iron-blooded a history as my Wang family¡¯s¡­"

    Wang Yan preened as he showed the students around his homnd, and he gave the story of everything that they saw. It was very obvious that the man was very proud of his Wang family¡¯s history, and he also tantly disparaged all the other families and organizations that he mentioned.

    Still, regardless of what the four ruling powers might have done or how much hatred Lu Yin held towards them, it was undeniable that they had worked hard to fight against Aeternus. They had indeed protected humanity.

    The blood on the ground that had been pointed out to the students had dried up eons ago, and it had long since be ckened. Still, there was a hint of a bloody scent that could be detected. Also, seeing the blood of powerhouses who had defended their home in ages past had a profound impact. Such people deserved respect.

    Lu Yin observed Wang Yan''s eloquent delivery. If he managed to avenge his Lu family in the future, what would the four ruling powers do?

    As the group made their way around the Wang family¡¯s homnd, Wang Yan shared excessive historical anecdotes about the Wang family. The family had remained a top power in the Perennial World for countless years, as well as in the Daosource Sect and Heavens Sect before that. While much of the family¡¯s history had be blurred and hazy with the passage of time, it had not beenpletely lost. It was also irrefutable that many powerhouses had risen from the family. Not to mention the Semi-Progenitors, there had been many Progenitors. Awe could be clearly seen on the students¡¯ faces, and they were captivated by the honor it must be to be a member of such a distinguished family.

    This was precisely the reaction that the Wang family had hoped for.

    The Progenitor realm was too far away from the students for them to have any real understanding of it, but Wang Yan spoke as though joining his Wang family practically guaranteed that one would be a Progenitor.

    "Everyone, look over there. That statue has be a permanent fixture on my Wang family¡¯s homnd, though the man himself was not part of my Wang family. He had a different surname, but he joined my family because of how much he admired us. His name was Chong Yue. Senior Chong Yue was very talented, and he coincidentally came into contact with elders from my Wang family long ago, and he was eventually drawn in and joined us. My Wang family provided him with all of his cultivation resources, which allowed him to rise up, step by step. He became an Envoy, then a Semi-Progenitor, and eventually, a Progenitor! He became one of my Wang family''s Progenitors," Wang Yan pointed to a distant statue as he spoke in open admiration.

    Most of the students were amazed and hurried forward to get a better look at the statue.

    However, Bai Weiwei stayed back, clearly contemptuous.

    Nong Siniang even bared her teeth. "Shameless!"

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "What''s wrong?"

    Nong Siniang quietly exined, "Progenitor Chong Yue was never part of the Wang family, though he did have a close rtionship with them."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Then why is there a statue of him here?"

    Nong Siniang continued, "From what my elders said, Progenitor Chong Yue did receive help from the Wang family, but it was only a small favor. He was also close to the Lu family, but unfortunately, when Progenitor Chong Yue died, only the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor Wang Fan was nearby. Wang Fan imed that Progenitor Chong Yue¡¯s dying wish was to be buried in the Wang family¡¯s homnd. Hence, a statue of Progenitor Chong Yue was built.

    "Others didn''t believe the story, but since it came from Progenitor Wang Fan, no one could refute him. Finally, Progenitor Chong Yue was buried here on the Wang family¡¯s homnd, and that also drew many cultivators from other families to join the Wang family."

    Lu Yin then understood, though he had to admit that Wang Fan''s actions had been absolutely amazing. Who did not dream of bing a Progenitor? Unfortunately, it was too elusive a dream. Forget independent cultivators, just how many people from monstrous powers like the four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, or even the Lu family had seeded in bing a Progenitor? The story that the Wang family had raised up an outside cultivator step by step into a Progenitor would naturally have a massive impact on countless cultivators. After all, who couldpare to such a story?

    People started to believe that it was possible to be a Progenitor with the help and resources of the Wang family, and if given a choice, they would immediately choose to join the Wang family.

    Wang Fan''s story not only provided the Wang family with any treasures that had been on Progenitor Chong Yue¡¯s body, but it had also recruited countless cultivators into the Wang family. It was a very clever ploy.

    Some distance away, many of the students stared at the statue with bright eyes. All young people dreamed of bing a powerful Progenitor, and so this statue had a powerful impact on the students.

    Wang Yan felt quite proud. This statue had be an incredibly useful tool for the Wang family to attract outside cultivators into joining their family. Who could remain unmoved after seeing that the Wang family had given rise to a Progenitor who had been an outsider and that they had even erected a statue for the powerhouse? Who would not wish to have their own statue erected within one of the four ruling powers? Who did not dream of bing a Progenitor?

    "Cultivators from my Wang family periodically pay homage to this statue of Progenitor Chong Yue, and every child born since thest time we paid our respects is brought here to watch. This is the affection and care that my Wang family gives to geniuses," Wang Yan stated.

    Nong Siniang¡¯s mouth twisted into a sneer.

    Even Xia Shenguang and the others from the four ruling powers could no longer stand listening to the propaganda, so they moved elsewhere.

    The God of Food had already be numb to such things. He had visited the Wang family in his youth, and just like the students from Virtue Archives, the young God of Food had also dreamed of bing a Progenitor. He himself had nearly joined the Wang family. They were truly too cunning.

    Few Progenitors had existed throughout all of history, and not all of them had been able to leave records behind. Progenitor Chong Yue had definitely not been a powerful Progenitor, and Lu Yin estimated that man had probably been about as powerful as the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Bloodlines. However, the Wang family had caused Chong Yue¡¯s name to be passed down through the ages. If Chong Yue were still alive, there was no telling if he would be happy or sad over how things had turned out.

    A Progenitor had failed to leave his name behind due to his actions against the Aeternals, but instead had been recorded down in history because others had taken advantage of his death. It just felt wrong.

 Chapter 2251: Unconditional Training Promise

    Chapter 2251: Unconditional Training Promise

    It was impossible to count all the people who had fallen while defending humanity throughout history, and most of their names had beenpletely forgotten long ago. It was not that people forgot what had happened or did not want to forget the fallen heroes. Rather, everyone knew that, back then and now, that their end goal was the same: the extermination of Aeternus.

    Since everyone was on the same boat, there was simply no need to remember the fallen. The heroes of the past could not be remembered, and people did not expect humans in the future to remember them either.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was quite possible that, after billions of years, his name would also disappear. He might be struck down by an enemy or killed by the forces of Aeternus while fighting to defend humanity.

    Seeing the students excitedly follow behind Wang Yan as they toured the floatingndmass produced mixed feelings. Lu Yin did not want to move. He felt rather exhausted.

    The Wang family¡¯s hand-shapedndmass was very extensive, and Wang Yan spent two days showing the students around. The God of Food could not easily stop the constant propaganda being directed towards them, but there was also no need for him to do so, as Wang Yan did not lie. Much of what the man shared was true, and it was good for the students to learn about the Wang family¡¯s history. The family had many ancestors who indeed deserved respect.

    Lu Yin saw the mining area again, and he soon saw Xiao Can after ncing around the area.

    "Patriarch Wang Yan, what¡¯s over there?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. He had said very little over the past two days, and Wang Yan had even forgotten about the instructors chaperoning the students.

    Seeing where ¡°Hao Yu¡± was pointing, Wang Yan replied, "That''s our mining area."

    Lu Yin looked amazed. "The Wang family has lived here for countless years, and even if there were mines, they should have been depleted long ago. Why are they still active?"

    Wang Yan casually answered, "They¡¯re not really mining. It¡¯s just an activity that we use to punish certain criminals, forcing them to pay for their actions."

    "So, can we go take a look?" Lu Yin pressed. "The light always casts shadows, and our students can¡¯t only be exposed to the light side of mankind. We need to show them some darkness as well."

    Wang Yan dismissed the issue with a wave of his hand. He did not want to even discuss the topic. "It¡¯s a dirty ce, and there''s nothing to see there. Let''s move on. I''ll show you the rankings of my Wang family¡¯s youths next."

    It was only natural for a ranking list to be much more interesting than a mining area.

    If Wang Yan did not allow them to visit the area, Lu Yin could not enter and look around. Still, he had always felt that there was something very off about the Wang family¡¯s mines.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, are you curious about the Wang family¡¯s mining area?" Prof. Wei approached Lu Yin.

    "I just would like to take a look around. This ce has been mined for countless years, and any resources there should have beenpletely depleted long ago."

    Prof. Wei looked towards the mining area. "Thisndmass has mines that don¡¯t expire."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You know about them, Prof. Wei?"

    The woman replied, "I study a great deal of history, and many ancient records have mentioned that the Wang family¡¯s mines actually produce some sort of yellow liquid."

    Lu Yin was left confused. "What is the yellow liquid?"

    Prof. Wei shook her head. "That¡¯s something that can only be guessed, as the Wang family has been very diligent about keeping the matterpletely secret. Not a single ancient record makes this matter clear, so I can only make some guesses based on the writings and ounts recorded down in ancient books. As for what it actually is? I have no idea."

    Lu Yin started wondering, just what could that yellow liquid be?

    Prof. Wei looked over at ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "I may not know what that yellow liquid is, but it¡¯s clearly very important to the Wang family. I¡¯ve read many ancient records, and it¡¯s quite clear that the Wang family has Semi-Progenitors guarding their mines."

    Lu Yin looked back at the mining area. Was it really being protected by a Semi-Progenitor?

    When he had visited the Wang family disguised as Xia Yuan, he had felt a great deal of danger from the mining area. There was something very off about this region.

    The Wang family¡¯s history was as long as the history of the Fifth Maind itself, so it was impossible to know just how long Wang Yan would continue his tour for. The God of Food spoke up and asked Wang Yan to quickly open up the Tri-Petal so that Virtue Archives¡¯ students could see the ce for themselves.

    At the moment, Wang Yan was still going on about his family¡¯s history. He was simply the patriarch of one branch of the Wang family, so when had he ever had the opportunity to stand in the spotlight? There were direct descendants from the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu¡¯s Sky among the students, as well as the Nong and Liu families.

    Wang Yan¡¯s eagerness for the limelight meant that he was reluctant to stop the tour, as he was usually kept out of public eye. Furthermore, when receiving his instructions, the family had told him that, the longer he talked, the better. Wang Yan was in absolutely no hurry.

    "I heard that Patriarch Wang Zheng has disappeared. Has the Wang family found any clues?" Seeing that Wang Yan clearly wanted to continue to brag about the Wang family¡¯s history, Lu Yin spoke up.

    Wang Yan''s expression changed, and he nced over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "There are certain things that people who are not part of four ruling powers can''t be told about, so don''t ask any further questions about that matter, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Wang Yan had spent several days bragging about the Wang family and pushing the students¡¯ impression of the family to unprecedented heights. Everyone had actually forgotten about the disappearance of the Wang family¡¯s patriarch. So when ¡°Hao Yu¡± suddenly brought the matter up, it instantly shattered the invincible image that Wang Yan had spent days painting.

    The acting patriarch¡¯s expression was quite ugly.

    "We¡¯ve heard that Patriarch Wang Zheng was attacked by the White Dragon n¡¯s Patriarch Long Ke. I hope that Patriarch Wang Zheng will be fine," Mr. Tang said with a great show of empathy.

    Wang Yan''s expression grew even worse. His desire to show off his family¡¯s history had been ruined. No matter how impressive the Wang family¡¯s history might be, it was impossible for anything to overshadow the humiliation of having their patriarch kidnapped.

    Wang Yan felt embarrassed and offended. It would have been an honor for the family if Wang Zheng had died in battle, but the fact that he had been openly captured was a terrible embarrassment. Of course, Wang Yan would never dare to say such a thing out loud, and just the thought caused him to shoot guilty looks towards Wang Xiaofan.

    ¡­

    There was a flower with three petals that waspletely devoid of any leaves. It grew in a remote corner of the Wang family¡¯s homnd, and its roots were nted in the void. Each petal was the size of an entire, and they each emitted a slight glow that made it impossible to see the petals clearly, as they were shrouded within a hazy halo.

    This flower was the Wang family''s Tri-Petal.

    "Each one of this flower¡¯s petals is a separate region of our Tri-Petal." Wang Yan gave a short introduction when he saw that everyone was staring at the flower. ¡°Limiteers and below can enter the lower petal, while people need to be at least Explorers to enter the middle petal. As for the upper petal, people need to be Enlighters.

    "Each petal has a certain cultivation requirement, and the dangers and rewards are also scaled to match that. However, one thing that can be obtained from all three petals¡ªlower, middle, and upper¡ªis a promise to train a person. My Wang family promises to unconditionally train anyone who finds one of these promises in the Tri-Petal."

    "Unconditional training?" a student shouted. He was one of the Limiteer students, though he looked like he was only in his teens, which made him look very young. However, the younger a cultivator was, the greater their potential.

    All of Virtue Archives¡¯ students participating in the exchange program were extremely talented. If not, the four ruling powers would have had no interest in them.

    Wang Yan raised his head high. "That''s right. Finding a promise within the Tri-Petal means that you have been acknowledged by my Wang family. It does not matter whether you join my Wang family in the future, or even if you be our enemy. As long as you are able to enter the Tri-Petal and acquire the promise, my Wang family will teach you, provide you with a cultivation art, and applicable resources until you reach the cultivation indicated in the training promise that you acquired. This is my Wang family¡¯s vow."

    The short fat man raised his hand. "Uh- uh-."

    Wang Yan arched a brow. Uncle? Was this youth another member of his Wang family?

    "Are there any exceptions?" the fatty finally finished.

    Wang Yan''s expression fell. "No. As long as you obtain the training promise, even someone from Specter Abyss will receive training from us."

    "How many promises are avable in the lower petal?" A girl asked excitedly.

    A smile returned to Wang Yan''s face. "There are thirty six promises avable in the lower petal, and the greatest is a promise to raise you to the level of an Enlighter. If you can secure one of those promises, my Wang family will train you without any expectation of any obligations in return.

    "There are also thirty six training promises in the middle petal, and the greatest will promise to raise you to the Enlighter realm as well, but the peak of the Enlighter realm. As for the higher petal¡­¡± The acting patriarch deliberately paused at this point in his exnation, and all the students stayed silent and stared at the man with great anticipation.

    Wang Yan slowly continued, "Envoy."

    "Does the higher petal also hold thirty six training promises?" Bai Nan asked. While he was part of the Celestial Frost Sect and even a part of the Bai family branch, he still could not resist the allure of such a promise.

    Wang Yan nodded. "That''s right, the higher petal also holds thirty six training promises. The lowest level training promise in the lower petal is the Hunter Realm, and the best training promise will raise you to the Enlighter realm. In the higher petal, the lowest training promise is the peak of the Enlighter realm, and the best promise will see you be an Envoy."

    Many students became short of breath, and they stared at the Tri-Petal with feverish eyes that looked quite desperate.

    At this moment, Lu Yin understood why the God of Food had been so impressed upon hearing that the Wang family was giving the students ess to the Tri-Petal. It really was an incredible opportunity with correspondingly high costs. While the lower and middle petals were not too bad, the higher petal had training promises to raise people up to the Envoy realm. That was literally a promise to make someone an Envoy, which was too tempting to resist.

    Lu Yin thought back to when he had first started cultivating. At that time, there was no need to even consider the Envoys realm, as even the Enlighter realm had seemed out of reach for Lu Yin. How many Enlighters were there in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse? It was likely that their numbers did not add up to even one per weave. How many Envoys were there in both the Innerverse and Outerverse? All Envoys were considered powerhouses who were practically worshiped by countless people.

    And yet, these unconditional training promises that the Wang family was offering would allow the students to smoothly be an Enlighter or an Envoy while being trained by the Wang family. This essentially meant being treated like a member of the Wang family, and who would dare to attack a member of the Wang family?

    For students who had not seen much of the world, this was an irresistible temptation.

    They had first been shown kindness and respect, then the statue of Progenitor Chong Yue as a form of incentive, and finally, the Tri-Petal as the bait to lure the students in. If Lu Yin were still a Limiteer, or even an Explorer, he might also find himself unable to resist such temptation.

    "In addition to these unconditional training promises, there are more than a hundred different battle techniques scattered throughout the Tri-Petal, including some of my Wang family¡¯s most famous techniques. You can also find secret techniques and tribtion crystals in the higher petal, and everything is avable to you, provided that you have the strength to take them," Wang Yan stated loudly.

    All the students stared on with wide eyes. Sit and Forget, secret techniques, and tribtion crystals. Any one of those things was a priceless treasure that people would risk their lives to acquire. If two people with simr cultivation realms fought, one would instantly surpass the other after learning Sit and Forget. On top of that, all secret techniques were priceless treasures, and the same went for tribtion crystals. Even obtaining a small bit of tribtion crystal would incite envy from other people, and yet all of these treasures were avable in the Tri-Petal that was open to them.

    For some time, most of the students were barely able to restrain themselves from rushing forward, but luckily, the God of Food was holding them back. At this moment, the students¡¯ mentality was not conducive to entering a dangerous ce like the Tri-Petal, as the students would easily make mistakes due to theirpromised judgment. The God of Food discussed the matter with the Wang family, and it was agreed that the students would enter the Tri-Petal the following day.

    Wang Yan had no problem agreeing, as his task had already beenpleted. The students were all eager to join the Wang family, and just a single word would see them enlist.

    In truth, Wang Yan did not understand why his family ced such high value on the students. Regardless of how talented they might be, they would never be able topare to the Wang family¡¯s own elites. Still, since Wang Yan had been given instructions by the family, he could only see them through obediently.

 Chapter 2252: Cooperation

    Chapter 2252: Cooperation

    The orb of light in the sky perpetually shone down upon the Wang family¡¯s homnd. However, there were times when extremely slowly moving objects blocked the orb¡¯s light, casting deep shadows on the floatingndmass. These times were essentially the Wang family¡¯s night.

    The God of Food was sitting alone at the stone table and staring up into the sky. He was not eating or sipping on tea, but just sitting and staring.

    Lu Yin approached. "What are you thinking about, Senior?"

    The God of Food answered in a bleak tone, "I''ve watched over the academy my whole life. I¡¯ve always stood guard over it, and yet in the end, I can¡¯t protect it."

    "You¡¯ve done the best that you could have, Senior," Lu Yin encouraged.

    The God of Food looked over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "I must apologize to you. I invited you to join my academy, and yet not only has your identity been exposed, but you¡¯ve also been dragged into this mess."

    Lu Yinughed. "There¡¯s no need to be so emotional, Senior God of Food. There are always wins and losses in life. Since we can¡¯t change what is happening, it¡¯s best to go with the flow."

    The God of Food sighed. "If possible, I really don''t want to see Virtue Archives be taken over by the four ruling powers. However, it seems that that is the best option avable right now, as it¡¯s impossible for the academy to remain independent. In that case, it¡¯s best to take advantage of this time when the four ruling powers are trying to recruit our students and ensure that the children obtain as many resources as possible, smoothing the path before them. As for who they choose to work for and what they want to do, they will all end up on the rear battlefield where they will fight to protect humanity until they die.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, "It seems that Senior¡¯s strength would not have been enough to keep the academy fully independent in the past either. Is it possible that a Progenitor has taken action against us?"

    The God of Food did not answer, but instead said, "Tell Kui Luo not to attack Virtue Archives again. Next time, it won¡¯t be us who will retaliate against him, but rather the four ruling powers. They may not have been able to catch him before, but this will change in the future. Some people are bound to reappear, and there will be changes in this universe."

    After a moment of silence, the old man seemed to grow rather tired. "Go get some rest."

    Lu Yin could do nothing to help Virtue Archives. His Lu family had been exiled, and the four ruling powers had gradually takenplete control of the Perennial World. They were determined to remove any and all unstable factors. At this moment, their target was Virtue Archives, but it was possible that they would go after Seed Garden, or the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument next. It was a situation that caused everyone to feel helpless because, even if they knew what wasing, there was nothing that they could do to stop it.

    Virtue Archives could only do their best for their students right now. There was one other matter that the God of Food had not mentioned, but Lu Yin guessed that they also wanted to keep the Mountain and Sea.

    The four ruling powers had no idea that the Mountain and Sea hidden in Virtue Archives already had a master. Virtue Archives was aware of this detail, but they had worked hard to keep it a secret.

    Lu Yin had not thought much about it before, but after considering the matter a bit, he realized that the only reason why Virtue Archives wanted to keep it a secret was because the master of that Mountain and Sea was unable to protect themselves. There was no other reason for the academy to be so protective of a mastered Mountain and Sea.

    No matter how Lu Yin looked at the situation, the only reason for the four ruling powers to be so impatient with Virtue Archives and for the Wang family to be so generous to the students was because they wanted the Mountain and Sea hidden within the academy.

    One side wanted to steal, while the other wanted to protect. This contrast was what had led to the current situation.

    It was clear that Virtue Archives would not be able to keep their secret for much longer, and as soon as the fact that the Mountain and Sea had an unknown master was revealed, the bnce of the entire Perennial World would be shaken. There was no chance that the hidden master would be able to avoid being discovered.

    Lu Yin was quite curious as to who had inherited the Mountain and Sea.

    After all, it was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which meant that the master would be an incredible powerhouse once they became a Progenitor. The question was, was that person a friend or foe?

    Virtue Archives¡¯ close rtionship with the Lu family did not necessarily mean that the master of the Mountain and Sea shared the same rtionship with the Lu family. Lu Yin could only be certain that the academy was trying to protect the future of the Mountain and Sea, rather than a specific person or organization.

    "Senior, since you can''t change things, then as you said, we should try to get as much for the students as possible, and I think that I have a way to do that. Could you reach out to Fairy Miao?" Lu Yin asked as a proud smile appeared on his face. Since the Wang family wanted to demonstrate their generosity and kindly offer resources to the students, then there was no reason for the academy to be polite.

    The following day, everyone gathered near the Tri-Petal, as had been agreed upon. After ncing over at the tri-petaled flower, Lu Yin and the God of Food nced at each other. A short ways away from the two men stood Wang Miaomiao, who had an odd look on her face. She nced at Wang Yan, and then at Semi-Progenitor Chai. The woman looked quite proud of herself.

    "Has everyone mentally prepared themselves?" Wang Yan asked with a smile. Earlier, he had been praised for his actions yesterday by Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun, who was on the rear battlefield. The Semi-Progenitor understood just how excited Virtue Archives¡¯ students already were.

    "Ready!" many students shouted excitedly.

    The short fatty excitedly pumped a hand into the air. "Yes! Yes, we¡¯re ready!"

    Being praised by Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun had encouraged Wang Yan to be more proactive, and he even found the small fatty much more appealing than yesterday. "Good! Then enter the Tri-Petal, and head to the area that corresponds to your cultivation level. I wish you all the best of luck in acquiring training promises and battle techniques! My Wang family has high hopes for all of you. Little Fatty, work hard."

    The short man grew even more excited.

    Once Wang Yan had finished speaking, there was actually a group of students who, surprisingly, did not frantically charge towards the Tri-Petal. Almost everyone else did so, including people like Bai Nan, Nong Siniang, Liu Que, and many more. Even students who were considered the best of their generation in the four ruling powers, such as Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, and students from the other powerful families had shot forward. Instead, it was the group of students who had been selected by Headmaster Wen who held back. They gathered into five groups of five and then started muttering and discussing things among themselves.

    Everyone from the Wang family was stunned. Just what were these students doing?

    Wang Yan feltpletely confused, as this should not be happening. After all, even the Wang family¡¯s own descendants were always impatient to enter the Tri-Petal for their first time, as there was always a fear that the training promises and resources would be snatched up by others. Why were these few students able to remain so calm?

    The students who had rushed forward were also stunned, and one by one, they started looking back.

    "Here, it¡¯s like this. Lift your hand higher."

    "Your legs. Lao Liu, pull your legs back. You can¡¯t interfere with the danger zone."

    "It''s fine. I can handle it."

    "We¡¯ve got it covered over here, too."

    "Our side¡¯s good."

    "Okay, then let¡¯s go."

    After a few moments, each of the groups of students adopted odd poses while simultaneously pulling out sourceboxes. Instantly, the sourceboxes'' danger zones ovepped, and they started to morph and transform.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai was startled. "Stop!"

    He moved forward, but as he did so, the God of Food cut him off. "Stop."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai stared at the God of Food. "What are you doing? Are you going to allow your students to kill themselves?"

    The Semi-Progenitor voiced the thoughts of the entire Wang family who were present. It was always dangerous to carelessly bring out a sourcebox, but each of the students had just done so at the exact same time. There were twenty five students, which meant twenty five sourceboxes. Even if each sourcebox was only a Discerning Elementary sourcebox, there was no telling how all these danger fields would react once they ovepped with each other.

    Wang Yan''s hands and feet had gone cold. This was the end! Virtue Archives¡¯ students were going to kill themselves. During his conversation with Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun, Wang Yan had learned why the Wang family was so eager to recruit the students and gain control of Virtue Archives. After all, the students were able to make many decisions for the academy, but there was also another, far more important, reason.

    Upon learning of it, Wang Yan had been ecstatic that he had done well in incentivizing the students into joining the Wang family, but he had never expected such ruthless retaliation from Virtue Archives. It was clear that they would rather see their students die than allow them to be used by the Wang family. This was a huge problem, and it was also extremely cruel. Had Wang Yan gone too far? He instantly thought of his family''s cruel methods of punishment.

    "Why are you so worried? I have to protect these children, so how could I be willing to let them die?" God of Food slowly asked as he looked back at the students.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai, the other members of the Wang family, and even the students who had started moving towards the Tri-Petal watched as the danger zones of the sourceboxes held by the five groups of students ovepped, fluctuated, and finally stabilized into a sourcebox array. Each was a Channeling Diagram.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s n. He used the danger fields of various sourceboxes to set up several Channeling Diagrams that would allow the students to move freely throughout the Tri-Petal. Based on the strength of the sourceboxes, each of the sourcebox arrays was powerful enough to leave even a peak Enlighter helpless. The students would bepletely unhindered even in a dangerous ce like the Tri-Parts Region.

    Lu Yin wanted to give the studentsplete ess so that they could snatch up every single treasure in the Tri-Parts Region.

    "What are you waiting for? Go!" Lu Yin shouted.

    The five student teams let out excited shouts before eagerly rushing towards the Tri-Parts Region.

    The rest of the students were stunned. Was this a viable strategy as well?

    Lu Yin nced at the lingering students. "There were only so many sourceboxes avable, so I could only ask those students to put in a bit more effort to search for the hidden treasures, but rest assured that everything will be shared with everyer on."

    "Thank you, Prof. Hao Yu!"

    "Thank you, Professor!" All of the students felt a powerful relief, as they had all briefly believed that their professor had given up on them.

    Wang Xiaofan stared nkly as the teams of students charged past him. What could he even do?

    The Wang family had no rules prohibiting their descendants from using power vessels or other tools in the Tri-Parts Region. Owning protective treasures was considered a lucky opportunity, and entering the Tri-Parts Region was simrly considered a lucky opportunity. There was no reason to deprive their youths of such chances, but the family had never considered that someone else would attempt such a thing.

    After all, just how many Limiteers, Explorers, and Hunters were capable of arranging sourcebox arrays before entering the Tri-Petal? It was unusual for even Enlighters to be capable of doing so, yet that was precisely what had just happened.

    Wang Yan had no idea if he should try to stop the students or not.

    Before Wang Yan could move, the Wang family elder who was charged with guarding the Tri-Parts Region appeared in front of the excited students, blocking the ones in the lead.

    Liu Que stepped forward to confront the elder. Was this elder that powerful? He was clearly an Envoy, but Liu Que wanted to see if he could handle such a powerhouse.

    "What are the Wang family¡¯s intentions? Are you not going to allow the students in?" Mr. Tang asked.

    A dark expression covered the elder¡¯s face. "They cannot enter like this."

    The God of Food nced over. "I know a bit about the Wang family¡¯s Tri-Petal, and I¡¯m quite certain there¡¯s nothing in the rules that forbids challengers from teaming up or using sourcebox arrays."

    Wang Yan was rendered speechless. There was no such rule simply because such a thing should be impossible. This unexpected move left the acting patriarch with absolutely no idea how to respond. All he could do was look at Semi-Progenitor Chai. Wang Yan¡¯s status as the acting patriarch could notpare to any of the family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai was also facing a dilemma. The Wang family wanted to put on a big show of generosity for the students of Virtue Archives, and they had always intended to pay a reasonable amount of resources. However, they could not afford to lose everything in the Tri-Petal. If these students were allowed to enter with the protection of this sourcebox arrays, then just how many resources would they gather? The fact that Virtue Archives had taken the time to set up the sourcebox arrays indicated that they were confident that the students would be able to ovee any challenges in the Tri-Petal.

    "Senior God of Food, the Tri-Petal is a ce intended to give cultivators opportunities to train and develop. If these students enter with their sourcebox arrays, they won¡¯t be able to receive any training experience, which does not align with the purpose of this exchange program." Semi-Progenitor Chai hesitantly tried to dissuade the use of the sourcebox arrays.

    However, the God of Food waspletely unfazed. "Our students all have different aspects that they need to train in. While you are absolutely right that most students need the training experience that you are offering, the students using the sourcebox arrays are not among them. They need to study sourcebox arrays, which is the training regimen that they¡¯ve been given. There¡¯s no need for you to worry about such things, and I really shouldn¡¯t need to exin this to you. Are you going to let them in or not?"

 Chapter 2253: Incomprehensible

    Chapter 2253: Iprehensible

    The God of Food¡¯s words caused Semi-Progenitor Chai to internally curse the shamelessness of Virtue Archives. It was clear that they simply did not have enough sourceboxes to give them to all the students.

    Actually, where had Virtue Archives even gathered all these sourceboxes?

    Semi-Progenitor Chai looked over at ¡°Yu Hao¡± and the rest of the chaperones. The academy only had three Array Masters: Headmaster Wen, Prof. Xiao Wen, and the recently arrived Yu Hao. Just who had so many sourceboxes on them?

    Ultimately, the Wang family decided to just step aside. If they stopped the students from entering the Tri-Petal, then all of their previous efforts would be ruined. The resources that they could potentially lose were not that importantpared to all of Virtue Archives.

    All of the students entered, and the area suddenly felt rather deste.

    Lu Yin chatted with Prof. Wei. Mr. Tang closed his eyes and rested. The God of Food had nothing else to do, so he pulled out a recipe book and started reading it.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai shot an asional nce over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± The old man could not help but feel that the young man¡¯s lockbreaking ability was unbelievable. Despite not being a Lockbreaker himself, as a Semi-Progenitor, the old man had been fascinated by lockbreaking for many years, and he had learned a great deal about the profession. Using sourceboxes to arrange a sourcebox array for people with absolutely no knowledge of lockbreaking was an exceptional aplishment. In fact, could most Array Masters even do this?

    Reports suggested that Yu Hao was a Realm Array Master. Semi-Progenitor Chai¡¯s questions about the matter were not because he was ignorant of the abilities of a Realm Array Master, but rather because he had never heard of anyone setting up a sourcebox array in such a manner.

    As the Semi-Progenitor continued to think about what he had seen, he finally had Wang Yan summon the Wang family¡¯s resident Realm Array Master.

    Aside from the White Dragon n, all of the four ruling powers had their own Realm Array Masters. This was due to the foundations that they had umted over the years, and this was also why the White Dragon n had been so excited when they had learned that Long Qi was a talented Lockbreaker.

    The White Dragon n was desperate to catch up and reach the same level as the rest of the four ruling powers, but unfortunately, their inadequacies could not bepensated for in a short amount of time.

    "Could you tell me what exactly the Tri-Petal is?" Lu Yin asked while looking at the massive three-petaled flower with a great deal of curiosity.

    Prof. Wei smiled as she answered, "There are many fierce beasts, as well as some criminals that the Wang family imprisoned there as training opponents. Actually, some of the groups are quiterge, and I¡¯ve even heard that there¡¯s an entire nation inside it."

    "An entire nation?" This was quite surprising, and it reminded Lu Yin of the mission that he had received in the Astral Combat Academy to go visit Shenwu Continent.

    Prof. Wei grew a bit more animated as she spoke. "Big families like the Wang family have spent eons finding ways to establish adequate training opportunities for their people. For example, the mountains, rivers,ndforms, and cultures inside the Tri-Petals will periodically be changed so that challengers won¡¯t be able to gain much from their predecessors¡¯ experiences."

    This was something that Lu Yin could understand. "I just hope that they¡¯ll be able to obtain something."

    "It won¡¯t be easy. These kinds of training opportunities are best for powerful people to challenge on their own. For our students, if they want to get something, they¡¯ll have to struggle to get it as a team. Otherwise, they¡¯ll just spend all of their time roaming about and searching," said Prof. Wei.

    Lu Yin pped his forehead, as he realized that he had made a big mistake; he should have assigned leaders to each of the groups of students so that someone would be guiding and directing them with a focused purpose.

    All of the treasures in the Tri-Petal would be dangerous to acquire, but as long as the teams of students could find something valuable, they should be able to easily ovee any of the challenges that they ran into. Lu Yin could only hope that the students were smart enough.

    Across the way, the Wang family¡¯s Realm Array Master arrived, and Wang Yan quickly exined what had happened. The Realm Array Master''s first reaction was that such a thing was impossible. ¡°He¡¯s too young to be able to do something like that. Even if he became an Array Master as a child, there simply hasn¡¯t been enough time for him to umte the necessary experience to be able to do such a thing. This is not something that can be done with pure talent. Rather, it requires experience, and a great deal of it at that. Honestly, I think that this should be beyond anyone except an Array Grandmaster. Array Grandmasters can alter and manipte a sourcebox¡¯s danger field to use it, but that is not something that can be mastered with just talent."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai spoke up. "To your knowledge, who could do this?"

    The Realm Array Mastered spent some time considering the question. "Our Perennial World has four Array Grandmasters. Grandmaster Gu Yan is the most aplished, and he could definitely do this. Grandmaster Li focuses onbat, and he is not as aplished at lockbreaking as Grandmaster Qiu Ling, so he might not be able to do this. As for Grandmaster Qiu Ling herself, I¡¯m not really sure. She¡¯s exceptionally talented at both lockbreaking and arranging sourcebox arrays, so I really couldn¡¯t say.

    ¡°Finally, there¡¯s Grandmaster Mu, who¡¯s famous for being the youngest of the Array Grandmasters.

    "No one questions Grandmaster Mu''s talent for lockbreaking or sourcebox arrays, and even Grandmaster Gu Yan once said that Grandmaster Mu would surpass him. But given his current age, I¡¯m not sure if Grandmaster Mu has the experience needed to do this."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai frowned. People without the requisite talent could never understand those who possessed it. For example, Semi-Progenitor Chai was widely regarded as a genius as he had be a Semi-Progenitor, despite the fact that he would never be able to be a Progenitor. The Wang family¡¯s resident Realm Array Master was simr to Semi-Progenitor Chai in a way, as he would never be an Array Grandmaster. It was for this reason that the Semi-Progenitor only believed about half of what he said. There was no way that a Realm Array Master could understand what Grandmaster Mu or Grandmaster Li were capable of.

    There was also the existence of Bai Xian''er to consider, as no one knew just how high her mastery of lockbreaking had reached.

    "If Headmaster Wen were present, he might be able to do it. After all, the Wen family had produced Progenitor Wen, who was both an Array Grandmaster and a powerful Progenitor. It¡¯s possible that he left something behind for his descendants, and it¡¯s also known that Headmaster Wen has extensive lockbreaking experience himself," the Wang family¡¯s Realm Array Master exined.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai replied, "Headmaster Wen is clearly not here, and it would be impossible for him to set this up over a call through amunication crystal."

    "It¡¯s definitely beyond my abilities," the Realm Array Master stated. He then looked over at ¡°Yu Hao¡± with open admiration. "If that young man really is responsible for what happened here, then his lockbreaking talent is beyond terrifying. He might even surpass Grandmaster Mu to be the youngest Array Grandmaster in history. After all, he¡¯s already a Realm Array Master.

    "Who is he?"

    Wang Yan was the one to answer this time. "His real name is Yu Hao, but he uses the alias of Hao Yu while hiding in Virtue Archives. He¡¯s Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice."

    "Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice?" This shocked the Realm Array Master. "No wonder. No wonder. Could we possibly recruit him? If we can bring him into our Wang family, we will definitely have an Array Grandmaster in the future. We did lose ourst Array Grandmaster on the rear battlefield over a decade ago, and as for me¡­ Well, I know that I will never be able to be an Array Grandmaster."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai''s eyes flickered, as the Realm Array Master¡¯sment reminded the Semi-Progenitor of something. Of the Perennial World¡¯s four Array Grandmasters, Grandmaster Gu Yan waspletely unaffiliated and hated all four ruling powers. Grandmaster Li was entirely focused on researching the sourcebox arrays on the rear battlefield. He was almost entirely devoted to studying Ceaseless Impetus. Grandmaster Qiu Ling had a close connection to Shenwu''s Sky, and she could basically be considered as a part of the sect. Grandmaster Mu was close to the Celestial Frost Sect, and he was regarded as a member of that sect. As for the Wang family, they had no connection to any Array Grandmasters.

    This was also just public knowledge. It was impossible to know if the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu''s Sky had any hidden Array Grandmasters.

    Additionally, Shenwu''s Sky was putting extensive efforts into recruiting Yu Hao, which would not only give them a future Array Grandmaster, but also Grandmaster Gu Yan, which was killing two birds with one stone.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai turned to look in the direction of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Ever since Bai Teng had disappeared, everyone had pointed fingers at the Celestial Frost Sect, but they had also forgotten that Shenwu''s Sky had managed to rise up to almost the same level as the Celestial Frost Sect. After all, Shenwu¡¯s Sky already had thergest number of Array Grandmasters, and yet they were still working on winning over Yu Hao. Even if the Celestial Frost Sect was guilty of everything that they had been used of, there was no denying Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s attempts to pull Grandmaster Gu Yan over to their side.

    In reality, Shenwu¡¯s Sky and the Celestial Frost Sect were equally threatening to the Wang family.

    In fact, unrted sources had basically confirmed that Aeternus¡¯s forces had captured the four patriarchs, and if that was true, the Celestial Frost Sect would soon be much less of a threat. On the other hand, the threat that Shenwu''s Sky posed would only continue to grow.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± If not for the incident with the students and the sourcebox arrays, the old man would have never noticed just how grave a threat Shenwu¡¯s Sky had be.

    In fact, Semi-Progenitor Chai immediately sent a message to Wang Xun, warning the other Semi-Progenitor to be on his guard against Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin had never expected his actions to cause such a reaction, as his only thought had been to force the Wang family to cough up more rewards for the students. It was Semi-Progenitor Chai¡¯s fear of the other four ruling powers that had triggered such a strong reaction.

    The four ruling powers enjoyed a special rtionship between each other. While things appeared bnced and equal on the surface, all four of them wanted nothing more than to shatter the bnce and rece the Lu family as the undisputed and solitary overlord of the Perennial World.

    The established bnce should have taken many, many years to fall apart, but Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had destabilized everything. His strength meant that his every action created ripples with ever-spreading repercussions, and he was even affecting the bnce between the four ruling powers. This shift in the bnce of power was causing each ruling power to suspect the others.

    Wang Miaomiao approached ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Old Chai¡¯s got his eye on you. Watch out, or else he¡¯ll pull one over on you."

    Lu Yin nced over, and sure enough, Semi-Progenitor Chai was staring straight at him. The two men stared at each other for a moment, and Lu Yin could see a dangerous glint and a hint of wariness in the old man¡¯s eyes.

    "With Senior God of Food present, the old man can¡¯t do anything to me," Lu Yin replied.

    Wang Miaomiao shook her head. "Don''t underestimate any of these people. Their sneakiness was enough to banish even the Lu family."

    She hesitated for a moment and thenughed. "Actually, today¡¯s a very good day, as someone¡¯s finally made the Wang family bleed a bit!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for your help. I could have never done it without all the sourceboxes that you provided. But are you going to be alright? If they discover what you did, won¡¯t you be in trouble?"

    Wang Miaomiao responded with a brilliant smile, "That doesn''t matter. What can they even do to me? Wang Zheng is still missing, and hopefully, that old bitch Wang Si will die in the Forsaken Land. It¡¯s what she deserves!"

    She should die in the Forsaken Land? Wish granted! Lu Yin really wanted to say his thoughts out loud.

    After Wang Miaomiao left, Lu Yin asked, "Why does she hate her own family so much?"

    Prof. Wei and Wang Miaomiao had chatted while the group had been traveling to the Wang family¡¯s homnd, and Prof. Wei had learned quite a bit about the other woman. "She¡¯s one of the few members of the Wang family who was very close to the Lu family. She¡¯s actually been locked up until now."

    "Did she actually yell at a Progenitor?" Lu Yin was quite surprised. He had heard the story from Nong Siniang, but it had sounded so unbelievable that he had not given the story any credit. The fact that Prof. Wei was saying the same thing suggested that it was true.

    Prof. Wei nodded and looked suitably impressed. "Not just anyone has the courage to do that."

    Lu Yin agreed, "I have no idea no idea what the Lu family must have done to cause the four ruling powers to team up and exile them, but there are clearly many people who were very close to the Lu family, even within the four ruling powers themselves. I can¡¯t help but wonder what kind of rtionship this Fairy Miao had with the Lu family."

    A strange expression appeared on Prof. Wei''s face, and she nced sideways at Lu Yin. "It sounds like you¡¯re quite curious, Prof. Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just chatting. The students will be gone for at least half a month, and just standing around silently would be too boring."

    Prof. Wei stared at the Tri-Petal for a moment. "Everyone says that Fairy Miao was close to the Lu family, and that that¡¯s why she reacted so strongly when they were banished, going so far as to even scold her own ancestor. However, there¡¯s another rumor that ims that she wasn¡¯t particrly close to them, but rather had a love-hate rtionship. Supposedly, she was teased by a member of the Lu family. The teasing continued, and she ended up developing feelings of both love and hatred for that person."

    This was quite shocking, and Lu Yin blinked in surprise. "There¡¯s really a rumor like that?"

    Prof. Wei responded with a small smile. "I find history to be very interesting, as it¡¯s possible to see how mankind has grown and developed, as well as learn about outstanding historical figures and what they aplished. At the same time, you tend to find quite a bit of gossip. I must confess, I enjoy the gossip."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Me too."

    "That¡¯s why I believe the second rumor," Prof. Wei said. She started leaving, but she spoke over her shoulder as she did so, "The students will be in there for at least half a month, but there¡¯s no need for us to wait right here."

    Lu Yin stared at Prof. Wei''s departing figure as he fell deep into thought.

 Chapter 2254: Another Mountain And Sea

    Chapter 2254: Another Mountain And Sea

    The entire purpose for the students of Virtue Archives¡¯ exchange program with the Wang family was for them to train. After all of the students entered the Tri-Petal, there was nothing for the chaperones to do.

    The God of Food told Lu Yin that the faculty were allowed to leave, provided that they return within half a month.

    Lu Yin stayed just outside the Tri-Petal for a few days before leaving. He needed to keep rolling his die. Since he could not rely on luck, he needed topensate with sheer quantity.

    As soon as Lu Yin returned to the quarters that he had been assigned to, someone approached him. It was the Wang family¡¯s Realm Array Master.

    "Professor, my name is Wang Nian. I hope that you aren¡¯t offended that I took the liberty to stop by and visit you, Prof. Hao Yu." The Wang family¡¯s resident Realm Array Master was very polite when he introduced himself to ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, "Senior, you''re being too polite. Is there something wrong?"

    Wang Nian said, "I''m curious about something, so I wanted to speak with you face to face, Professor. Is now a convenient time for you.?"

    Lu Yin did not drive the man away. "Of course it¡¯s fine. Pleasee in, Senior."

    After receiving an invitation to enter Lu Yin¡¯s guest quarters, Wang Nian did not remain polite, and he cut straight to the point. "Might I ask, are you the one who arranged the sourcebox arrays for the students?"

    Lu Yin instantly denied responsibility, and he solemnly stated, "I¡¯m not responsible for that decision, as I simply followed instructions. As an instructor of Virtue Archives, I have a responsibility to teach and help the students. If the Wang family has a problem with what we did, then please see Senior God of Food himself."

    Wang Nianughed. "You don¡¯t need to worry about that at all, Prof. Hao Yu. I¡¯m not here because of the Wang family, but rather purely as a fellow Array Master. I want to get to know a fellow Array Master, nothing more. Lockbreakers in the Perennial World are united, and our rtionship is something that surpasses the shackles ced on us by our familial connections, to some degree. I can promise you that anything that you prefer to remain between us definitely will not be mentioned to anyone else without your permission."

    Lu Yin''s expression slowly rxed. "Then this junior was the one being rude."

    Wang Nian smiled. "Your reaction is perfectly normal, given your perspective, Professor. Are you willing to speak with me?"

    "Of course. I won¡¯t hide it from you, Senior. I was indeed the one who set up the sourcebox arrays that the students used," Lu Yin replied.

    Wang Nian was genuinely amazed, and he stared at ¡°Yu Hao¡± for a long moment. "Prof. Hao Yu, it¡¯s very rare for someone so young to have such impressive mastery of lockbreaking. That is truly impressive."

    Lu Yin gave a wry smile. "If you were also forced to do nothing but lockbreak every day for decades, you would not find what I did to be so surprising."

    Wang Nian instantly understood. "So that''s how things are. It¡¯s true that you are Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice."

    Wang Nian no longer knew what to say; Had Yu Hao spent every day lockbreaking without rest for years? How could others duplicate such a feat? Even if they had the energy to do so, no one had that many sourceboxes.

    Wang Nian could only say that Grandmaster Gu Yan possessed far too many sourceboxes.

    "In addition to lockbreaking, this junior¡¯s cultivation was also improved so that I could endure some of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones. Even then, some of those sourceboxes were beyond what I could handle, and I would have died long ago if I hadn¡¯t been saved by my master," Lu Yin stated with firm conviction.

    Wang Nian nodded. "While you are indeed very young, Professor, you¡¯ve umted as much lockbreaking experience as us old men. That is quite impressive. You may very well be the most gifted Lockbreaker in the Perennial World, and you will very likely rece Grandmaster Mu as the youngest Array Grandmaster in the history of the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin was quite ttered. "Lockbreaking experience is not enough for one to be an Array Grandmaster, which is why my master was willing to let me out. I¡¯m supposed to experience life, face various challenges, and let go of my obsessions."

    Wang Nian''s eyes flickered. "In that case, have you settled the matters that you need to address to let go of your obsessions? If not, my Wang family is happy to offer our help."

    Lu Yin looked over at Wang Nian. "Are you speaking to this junior as a Lockbreaker or as a member of the Wang family, Senior?"

    Wang Nianughed. "Which do you prefer, Professor?"

    Lu Yin considered the question for a moment before replying, "It actually doesn''t matter which identity you are speaking with. There are some things that are difficult to resolve no matter if you are a Lockbreaker or a member of the Wang family."

    Wang Nian was rather quiet, and he simply offered ¡°Yu Hao¡± amunication crystal as he got up to leave. "Speak with the person whose information is in that crystal. He might be able to help you take care of things."

    Wang Nian¡¯s primary goal in visiting Yu Hao had been to deliver themunication crystal to him. The conversation had truly been prompted by nothing more his curiosity as a Lockbreaker. How could such a young Lockbreaker be capable of feats that someone as experienced as Wang Nian found impossible? Truthfully, if Grandmaster Mu or Grandmaster Qiu Ling were in Wang Nian¡¯s ce, they would have also been very curious about this matter.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. Thanks to Possessing Grandmaster Qiu Ling in the past, even if he had not seen much of her memories of Lockbreaking, thebination of those few experiences and what he had gained from Possessing Master Hao Yue long ago meant that Lu Yin had much more lockbreaking experience than what most Lockbreakers could imagine. What¡¯s more, much of that experience came from a Realm Array Master and an Array Grandmaster. Not to mention, Lu Yin had also umted quite a bit of personal lockbreaking experience, which allowed him to do many things that other Lockbreakers found impossible.

    However, Lu Yin had still underestimated his own abilities. He had not thought that his sourcebox arrays would draw so much attention from the Wang family. Lu Yin had still underestimated the value of a Lockbreaker.

    He stared at themunication crystal that he had been given, but he did not make the call quite yet. Actively reaching out waspletely different from passively speaking with those who reached out to him.

    Lu Yin was still in the Wang family¡¯s headquarters, so just to be careful, he asked Progenitor Smoke for help to see if anyone was observing him.

    The moment Progenitor Smoke emerged from the pocket dimension in the mirror, she looked upwards to the orb of light in the sky, clearly surprised by its presence. "A Mountain and Sea?"

    Lu Yin was startled. "A Mountain and Sea? Where?"

    Progenitor Smoke pointed upwards. "Is that not a Mountain and Sea?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "That¡¯s a Mountain and Sea?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Yes. It¡¯s Wang Fan''s."

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had not expected Wang Fan''s Mountain and Sea to be floating just above his own head.

    "If that¡¯s his Mountain and Sea, then does that mean that Wang Fan can control the Wang family¡¯s entire homnd?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke considered the possibility. "Theoretically, it¡¯s possible that this entirendmass is part of his Mountain and Sea."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Are you saying that we¡¯ve been watched this whole time? Senior, why didn¡¯t you say so thest time we were here?"

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "I was in too much of a hurryst time, and I didn¡¯t pay close attention. Wait, are you ming me?"

    Lu Yin quickly exined himself. "No, absolutely not! I¡¯m just curious. I mean, since you came out and checked the situation before, I thought that it would be impossible for Wang Fan''s Mountain and Sea to hide from you, Senior."

    "Hmph! I''m not actually sure if this ce is part of Wang Fan''s Mountain and Sea, as each is different. No, this floating continent is definitely not part of the Mountain and Sea¡ªI didn¡¯t even sense the Mountain and Sea when I checkedst time," Progenitor Smoke said.

    Lu Yin grew nervous. "If it¡¯s here now, does Wang Fan know that you¡¯re here?"

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas aren¡¯t nearly as mystical as you believe. He might be capable of many things because of his Mountain and Sea, but he doesn¡¯t know everything that happens near it. If that were the case, how would anyone have any secrets? The Wang family¡¯s mistresses and pretty little wives would absolutely die of shame."

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. That¡¯s where her mind went first? There was something wrong with Progenitor Smoke''s mind!

    "Don''t worry. With me here, Wang Fan won''t be able to see anything that you¡¯re doing." Progenitor Smoke raised her head high as she answered with absolute confidence. Lu Yin had no choice but to trust the woman.

    While he still had no idea just how much of her strength she had freed from the fog, it was very likely that it was enough to avoid Wang Fan¡¯s notice. After all, the Progenitor was actually in the Dominion Realm, which was very far away.

    Lu Yin set the mirror aside and looked up as he brought out his die and tapped it.

    He needed to continue rolling his die, regardless of if he was being watched by Wang Fan. The students and teachers from Virtue Archives would be visiting the White Dragon n, the Celestial Frost Sect, and Shenwu''s Sky in that order, so it would be very difficult for Lu Yin to find more chances to be alone. On top of that, upon arriving in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, he would be required to give the Xia family an answer. On the day of their ceremony, many things woulde to a head.

    As his die slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin saw four pips. Timestop meant that it was time to resume training.

    The second roll was five pips, and Lu Yin reflexively looked upwards. He was very curious about Wang Fan¡¯s innate gift. It had to be a very powerful one.

    His third roll was Pilfer, which gave him nothing useful.

    The fourth roll was Timestop again, which meant more training for Lu Yin.

    As the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he stretched. He needed to wait ten days before he could roll the die again. He had been quite unlucky this time, as he had not rolled Possession even once.

    While Lu Yin had spent nearly two years training, only the blink of an eye had passed for the outside world.

    He looked back at themunication crystal sitting on his table, but he rested instead of touching it. Even if he was putting on an act, Lu Yin still remained in his quarters for two days before leaving.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin returned to check the Tri-Petal, but since none of the students had emerged, he returned to his quarters to continue waiting.

    Ten days soon passed, but there was still no call from themunication crystal. Lu Yin did not know which member of the Wang family was waiting for his call, but he decided that it would be best to be patient and see who caved and called the other first.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die to tap it. Anticipation filled his eyes, as he hoped for better luck during this round of rolls.

    Despite wishing for good luck, it was even better than expected. The very first roll was Possession, and Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was sent into the strange dark space. Instantly, a rather close bright orb of light appeared before him. There were no other options, as he could not see any other nearby lights at all.

    There were times when he would find many orbs representing powerhouses, but there were other times when there would be none. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the lights that appeared in the mysterious dark space.

    The Possession took ce instantly, as the ball of light had not been nearly as bright as when Lu Yin had Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling, or even the corpse king. He estimated that this person was a five or six-tribtion powerhouse.

    Darkness filled his eyes when Lu Yin opened them. Was he underground?

    At the same time that memories started to pour in, a strange voice echoed in his ears.

    "Come." It was an extremely unpleasant voice that sounded like grinding metal, and it passed through the walls of the chamber. Lu Yin''s expression did not change at all, and he simply walked in a familiar direction. He walked further and further through the dark, damp underground environment.

    He was definitely underground, and he had Possessed a five-tribtion Envoy. This man had no name, only a codename: Servant One. That was all, Servant One. The man was indeed a servant, and he served the unknown creatures that lived inside.

    No one would believe that a powerful five-tribtion Envoy was nothing but a servant raised from childhood, but Servant One had never left the underground ce, and he had no knowledge of the outside world at all. In fact, he knew of nothing at all aside from cultivation. He did not even know the creature that raised him. There was no knowledge at all, and his memories were extremely simple. Lu Yin could find little more than memories of picking at crumbs.

    The reason why Lu Yin believed that the man had been raised by creatures rather than humans was because there were messes left by the creatures in the underground area that Servant One had to clean up. These messes consisted of crushed power vessels, natural treasures, and chewed up precious minerals. They were not the result of human activities.

    Lu Yin followed a path that was practically engraved in Servant One¡¯s memories. He examined Servant One¡¯s memories starting from his childhood and saw endless piles of star crystals and various cultivation arts. There were also memories of the man passing his stellr tribtions.

    Servant One had been raised with many other servants, but he was the only one who had survived and passed his stellr tribtions five times.

    Unfortunately, Servant One had absolutely nobat experience despite being a five-tribtion Envoy.

 Chapter 2255: Lu Yin And Wang Fan

    Chapter 2255: Lu Yin And Wang Fan

    Lu Yin could not understand this situation at all; why would anyone put in the time and effort to raise Servant One into a five-tribtion powerhouse?

    He understood the concept of gu cultivation, where a group of people were forced to fight to the death to survive until a single elite powerhouse remained in the end. But what in the world was Servant One¡¯s purpose? Was he really just here to clean up something¡¯s messes?

    Also, Lu Yin had happened to see a single memory of a corpse that Servant One had once found.

    While the man had no knowledge of the outside world, the fact that he had managed to be a five-tribtion Envoy inplete istion was enough to demonstrate Servant One¡¯s incredible talent. He had even cultivated a domain by ident. Once, when unleashing his domain, he had found a corpse. Aside from that, there was absolutely nothing in the underground area.

    As for what the corpse actually looked like or whom it belonged to, the man had no idea.

    Lu Yin was only able to see the one corpse in the man¡¯s memories.

    After following the route in the memories, Lu Yin arrived at a pile of debris. There were bits of metal here, as well as some nt and animal remains. There were even scraps of books and coins, but everything could only be vaguely made out, as it had all been thoroughly crushed.

    Lu Yin casually gathered the trash into a cosmic ring, using motions that were very familiar to the body that he had Possessed. After all, he had cleaned up countless simr messes many times in the past. He was a five-tribtion Envoy, and he had lived in the underground area for no less than 1,000 years.

    Lu Yin had no idea how Servant One could have endured this life if he had ever gained any knowledge of the outside world. As far as Servant One was concerned, the entire universe consisted of the few underground passages.

    Lu Yin did not want to immediately end the Possession. Servant One had been given the resources and cultivation arts to pass five stellr tribtions, and the man had never had a single memory of evercking any training resources. Whoever had raised the man was clearly not a simple group, and Lu Yin wanted to find out who they were and what sort of creature was producing the messes that Servant One always cleaned up.

    Thoughts passed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he walked forward. There was more rubbish up ahead, but Servant One had never approached it, as he was not allowed to enter that area.

    However, Lu Yin controlled Servant One¡¯s body and made the man continue walking forward. He was a thousand meters away from the location of the corpse that Lu Yin had seen in Servant One¡¯s memories. He only needed to cross two more passages to see the corpse for himself.

    "Why are you continuing forward?" The hideous voice that spoke left Lu Yin feeling very ufortable.

    "There is more rubbish up ahead," Lu Yin replied.

    "Retreat. Get back," the voice ordered.

    Lu Yin bowed to the voice and then slowly walked backwards until he stepped into some water.

    It was normal for water to pool up in the dark and damp underground region. Lu Yin had stepped in the puddle when he had first passed through the tunnel, but he suddenly realized that he was not stepping in normal water, but rather a Netherworld River.

    Lu Yin looked down and stared in shock. Was it really a Netherworld River?

    This was not something that Lu Yin would mistake. The moment he stepped in the water, his body had abruptly moved, and it had done so without his control. Uncontroble movement was something that only the Netherworld River could do, and this even seemed to be the Netherworld River Lu Yin had personally Enhanced before. However, this seemed to be the ruined scraps of that Netherworld River. Did this ce belong to Realmless?

    Lu Yin stared ahead. He had given a Netherworld River to Realmless as a deposit for them to assassinate Xia Xing. The fact that it was in this underground tunnel meant that this ce had to belong to Realmless.

    He had heard the rumors that imed that the headquarters that had been destroyed by Shenwu''s Sky had not been the real headquarters. The four ruling powers had started monitoring Elder Qiu not only to eliminate the entire Dealcut Association, but also to learn where Realmless¡¯s true headquarters was. The four ruling powers had learned that the Dealcut Association had been providing funds for Realmless for many years, and Realmless had been helping the Dealcut Association eliminate certain problems in turn. There was a long-standing cooperation between the two groups.

    Lu Yin had unexpectedly ended up in Realmless''s real headquarters. In that case, just exactly where was he? Also, who did that horrible voice belong to?

    Lu Yin had just too many questions, but unfortunately, there were no answers to be had from Servant One.

    It was possible that this was actually the reason why the creature had raised Servant One; it wanted a powerful, yet easily manipted servant. Even if Servant One was discovered, no one would be able to extract any information from him. Also, it was likely that Servant One was trained to a certain level of strength so that he could aplish his assigned tasks.

    Lu Yin moved Servant One¡¯s body back to where he had started before ending the Possession, but that was all that Lu Yin could do. Servant One had no idea where he was located or how to leave. There was no way for Lu Yin to make the man escape. Doing so would inform even an idiot that something had happened, and Realmless¡¯s headquarters would definitely change. Even if Lu Yin could find the ce again, exposing Servant One would make such knowledge useless.

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness passed back through the dark space as it returned to his own body. This Possession did not consume that much star essence. One, he had not taken very long, and two, the target had not been nearly as powerful as Lu Yin¡¯s most recent Possessions.

    However, how was he supposed to find that ce?

    Servant One, trash¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. That Netherworld River! That was the answer! It might be possible to locate Realmless¡¯s headquarters through that Netherworld River.

    After all, that power vessel hade from the bottom of the Y¨­u family''s Great Abyss, so it was possible for the Y¨­u family to have a way to locate all the Netherworld Rivers. If that assumption was true, then Lu Yin might be able to find Realmless¡¯s headquarters.

    After returning to the Fifth Maind, he absolutely had to go visit the Y¨­u family again.

    Realmless was an organization that absolutely had to be eliminated entirely. If they were just another group of assassins, then things would be fine, but they had also cooperated with the Dealcut Association to interfere in the rear battlefield. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that, if anything happened in the future topromise the rear battlefield and humanity¡¯s safety, Realmless would be the first group of humans to switch sides and join Aeternus. Given the assassins and information that Realmless had at their disposal, humanity would suffer terribly in that case.

    Lu Yin took a moment to carve the matter deep into his heart before his hand rose back up to tap his die again.

    His luck had run out, as two of the next three rolls were ckhole Disassembly. Still, he did manage to roll Timestop once.

    With his various training sessions in his Timestop Space, Lu Yin had already simted 110,000 stars of the Cosmic Art. Still, there was a very, very long way to go before he reached the 380,000 stars that indicated full mastery of the Cosmic Art¡¯s sixth level.

    Simting stars took time and effort, and it was not something that could be done in a short amount of time.

    If Progenitor Chen was still alive, then how many stars could he have simted?

    Twenty days had passed since the students had entered the Tri-Petal, so it was time for Lu Yin to head back and wait for them to emerge.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave his quarters, themunication crystal on the table trembled. He looked at it, as he had forgotten about themunication crystal. Had the other person run out of patience?

    He picked up the crystal and answered the call.

    "Yu Hao?" There was no image, just the sound of a voice. It was a deep and heavy voice that could shake people to their core. Only two words were spoken, but that was enough to reveal the majesty of someone who had absolute control of everything.

    While it was a bit early to judge someone through the sound of their voice, Lu Yin had a very distinct impression of the speaker. He would not dare to underestimate the person speaking to him. "That is this junior¡¯s name. Who might I be speaking with, Senior?"

    "I am Wang Fan." Four words caused Lu Yin''s fingers to tremble, and his breathing instantly grew heavy.

    Wang Fan, the Wang family¡¯s ancestral Patriarch. The master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas since the Daosource Sect era. A top ranking powerhouse who had oncepeted with Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Ku, and who currently stood at the pinnacle of the Perennial World. The man was quite literally one of the most powerful humans in existence.

    The more Lu Yin learned about the previous eras, the more he understood how horrifyingly powerful the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas truly were.

    Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Ku had all left countless legends in the Fifth Maind, but this did not mean that Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan had not done so because they were incapable of doing so. Rather, their legends simply had not been left in the Fifth Maind.

    Progenitor Smoke had said that she was not particrly skilled atbat, but the help that she had provided to Lu Yin in the Perennial World could not be overestimated. He would have never been able to seed nearly as much in the Perennial World without it, and he certainly would have never been able to capture Xia Xing and the other patriarchs.

    Wang Fan was someone who stood on the same level as Progenitor Smoke and the other masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. It did not matter if one considered the Progenitor¡¯sbat strength or any other aspect of him; everything about the man was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s imagination.

    He had assumed that someone from the Wang family would call him, but he had never expected it to be Wang Fan.

    "Junior Yu Hao greets Progenitor Wang Fan," Lu Yin said in a very respectful tone. Given that he was supposed to be Yu Hao at this moment, he needed to show proper respect.

    "Only a few decades have passed, yet you¡¯ve risen from being a mere ant to your current heights. Yu Hao, you have done very well." Wang Fan praised the young man without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, but he maintained a respectful attitude. "This junior is far from qualifying to receive a Progenitor¡¯spliments."

    He not only sounded respectful, but also nervous and intimidated to be speaking to a Progenitor realm powerhouse.

    For most people, Progenitors were no different from distant gods who werepletely out of their reach. People kneeled to gods and prayed for blessings. Even when natural disasters took countless lives, the survivors did not hate god, but instead thanked them for their mercy and for surviving.

    For cultivators, Progenitors were essentially gods. Receiving apliment from a Progenitor was the greatest affirmation that a cultivator could ever receive. By the same token, having a Progenitor order a person¡¯s death could be regarded as an honor, as few people were qualified to have a Progenitor learn their name.

    Lu Yin expressed the appropriate nervousness, respect, admiration, and even reverence for a Progenitor through his tone.

    "You deserve it. I¡¯ve heard about you and your life. The Xia family has gone too far in dealing with you, and yet you¡¯ve risen up to be capable of negotiating terms with them. If you wish, I can help you with those negotiations," Wang Fan offered.

    Lu Yin acted terrified by the idea. "This junior would never dare to presume to bother Progenitor Wang Fan with such mortal concerns! It is this junior¡¯s greatest honor to hear that his name has be known to a Progenitor."

    "I want you to join my Wang family, not only because you are Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, but also because you are personally qualified to receive an invitation from me. Yu Hao, not only will you be the next person to be an Array Grandmaster, but I promise to also do my best to ensure that you be the youngest Array Grandmaster in history, and you will obtain your own statue on my Wang family¡¯s maind.¡±

    "You recently saw how enthusiastic your Virtue Archives¡¯ students were to pay their respects to the statue of Chong Yue. In the future, you will receive the same treatment. You will be regarded as the foremost invited expert of my Wang family. We will never do anything to restrict your freedom, and we will also provide you with all the resources you could ask for."

    Lu Yin was blown away. He realized that he had severely underestimated his own lockbreaking ability since even Wang Fan was this impressed.

    It was evident that the Progenitor waspletely serious in his offer; he really did value ¡°Yu Hao¡± just as much as his supposed master, Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    Most likely, Wang Nian had said something to the Progenitor.

    Lu Yin remained silent as his mind raced, trying to find the proper answer. He had attracted Wang Fan¡¯s full attention, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of the situation somehow.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts swirled, he unconsciously stared at themunication crystal.

    "This junior¡¯s grandfather, Yu Chuan, is still in Shenwu''s Sky," Lu Yin stated. He kept to a few words.

    "I''ll handle it," Wang Fan replied, and then the call was cut off.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before reaching out and collecting themunication crystal. Wang Fan. He was actually able to make a direct call to Progenitor Wang Fan himself. How had Lu Yin reached this height without even realizing it? Did this mean that he would soon be approached by other Progenitors? First had been the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor, so would he be approached by the White Dragon n¡¯s Progenitor next?

    Progenitors were not stupid, and the fact that Lu Yin was considered valuable enough to warrant Wang Fan personally speaking to him meant that the same should be true of the other Progenitors as well.

    The only thing that Lu Yin was uncertain of was whether or not Wang Fan would be able to get Yu Chuan away from Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Complicated emotions appeared when Lu Yin thought of Yu Chuan. If things proceeded ording to n, Yu Chuan might be the sole victim.

    Themunication crystal was put away, and Lu Yin walked out from his guest room and made his way towards the Tri-Petal.

 Chapter 2256: Too Hasty?

    Chapter 2256: Too Hasty?

    Lu Yin stayed near the Tri-Petal for the rest of the time, waiting for the students to exit.

    Even though the Tri-Petal was a trial ground meant to challenge youths, the death rate was not particrly high. It was still a ce nearly exclusively to train the Wang family¡¯s own descendants, which was why there were higher chances of obtaining resources there than in most trial grounds.

    Prof. Wei and Mr. Tang were also present, and off in the distance, Semi-Progenitor Chai, Wang Yan, and several other high-ranking members of the Wang family could be seen. Some of the students would likely exit the Tri-Petal within the next few days.

    Even as Lu Yin was thinking about it, one of the flower¡¯s petals shifted. It was the middle petal, which was targeted towards Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters. About half of the 100 students from Virtue Archives had entered the middle petal, including Bai Nan, the stuttering fatty, and three of the five teams of students with the sourcebox arrays. The other two teams had gone to the lower realm.

    Someone flew out from the flower petal. They stumbled and nearly fell down. After the figure rose back up, it was apparent that the first one out was the little stuttering fatty, who was quite embarrassed at the moment.

    Everyone stared at the short man.

    His clothes were in tatters, and bite marks could be clearly seen on his arm. He limped towards everyone staring at him, and said, "I- I- I ran in- in- into something."

    "What did you see?" Wang Yan asked softly. He wanted to put on a show of caring for the little fatty andforting him. It seemed quite obvious the young man had suffered greatly in the Tri-Petal and that had encountered various setbacks. Wang Yan remembered specifically encouraging this small chubby man to try his best in the training ground.

    The little fat man automatically looked at the acting patriarch. "Dog."

    Everything fell silent for a moment. Wang Yan''s face first went red, and thenpletely white, only to turn red yet again. He forced his anger down, gritted his teeth, and asked, "What did you say?"

    The little fat man was startled by the question. "Don- don- don¡¯t misunderstand! I- I- I got bitten by a dog and was cha- cha- chased for a long time."

    Only then did Wang Yan''s expression soften once again.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai was not in the mood to say even a single word to the little fatty.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and examined the student¡¯s physical state. "Fortunately, it''s just a flesh wound. You¡¯ll be fine."

    Mr. Tang spoke up, "Were you able to gain anything?"

    The little fat man blinked, but continued to stare at Wang Yan. "Do- dog."

    Everyone was speechless.

    Wang Yan''s brow started twitching.

    The fatty finally continued, "The dog ha- ha- had a tra- tra- training promise."

    He pulled out what looked like a metal token for everyone to see. It was not shy or beautiful, and it seemed to have no hint of quality craftsmanship to it. The only thing that stood out was the number forty that had been engraved on the token.

    The training promises that the Wang family offered in the middle petal of the Tri-Petal ranged from twenty cycles for a new Enlighter to the peak of the Enlighter realm. However, the peak of the Enlighter realm was the lowest quality training promises avable in the higher petal. Each of the training promises had a number engraved on it: twenty, thirty, or forty for the corresponding cycles of the Enlighter realm. The Envoy level training promises had two, three, four, or five charged on it, which corresponded to the number of stellr tribtions. This meant that the fatty had picked up the best possible training promise avable in the middle petal, as better training promises were only avable in the higher petal. This token guaranteed that the student would reach the peak of the Enlighter realm

    Whether the training promise was the best treasure avable in the middle realm was more of a matter of opinion, as one could also find the Wang family¡¯s Sit and Forget battle technique. If the fatty was already confident that he would be able to reach the peak of the Enlighter realm, then it stood to reason that the training promise was not as valuable as finding Sit and Forget.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai finally spoke up. "Excellent work. With that, my Wang family will make sure that you reach the peak of the Enlighter realm."

    Lu Yin patted the little man on the shoulder. "Congrattions. You must have struggled terribly in there."

    The fatty looked up at Lu Yin. "Pro- Professor, I- I- I can reach that level on my own!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I know that you can, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with receiving the Wang family¡¯s help to get there."

    "It¡¯s too bad. If you really are capable of bing a peak Enlighter on your own, then the Sit and Forget technique would have been much more valuable to you," Mr. Tang said.

    Though Semi-Progenitor Chai and others were listening in, none of them were concerned. The fatty had only gotten an Enlighter-level training promise, and for a group like the Wang family, it was not overly difficult to raise up a peak Enlighter.

    "Si- Si- Sit and Forget? I- I got it too!" The little fatty pulled out a jade slip as his eyes sparkled in happiness.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is that really Sit and Forget?"

    The student happily handed the piece of jade over to his instructor. "Se- see for yourself, Pro- Pro- Professor."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai and others turned to check the piece of jade that the student was holding, and then they nced at each other in shock.

    "That certainly does look like the jade slips that we use to record our battle techniques. Just how lucky is that fatty to have picked that up?" one of the elders from the Wang family quietlymented.

    A man standing next to the first man grew jealous of the fatty. "Even my son hasn¡¯t been able to find a copy of Sit and Forget after all this time. At best, there are only two of those jade slips hidden in the middle petal. What a waste for one of them to be picked up by this fatty."

    "What a waste."

    ¡­

    "Hahahaha, good! Very good! Since you¡¯ve managed to get a copy of Sit and Forget, make sure to work hard to master it." The God of Food was delighted. Before the exchange program had started, he had not expected anyone to acquire the Wang family¡¯s Sit and Forget. The family was not run by idiots, and how could they risk letting a copy of Sit and Forget go to an outsider? From the rumors, it seemed that this technique was far more valuable than any of the training promises. The fact that the shorty fatty had found it was a massive surprise.

    Wang Yan''s expression grew ugly. How had the fatty gotten that? Before the students had arrived for the exchange program, the Wang family had naturally made it a point to hide the copies of Sit and Forget in the most dangerous locations in the Tri-Petal. They could not afford to let that technique leave the family, as it would be an embarrassment if it was leaked elsewhere. They were dealing with Semi-Progenitor God of Food, and there was no telling what the man might dare to do. Still, the Wang family could not take back what the students had found in the training grounds.

    Despite it being so well hidden, someone had still found a copy of Sit and Forget. It should have been impossible.

    "How did you find it?" Wang Miaomiao was also curious.

    The fat little man let out a bleakugh. "Do- do- the dog fe- fell."

    No one said anything further. Only the gods would ever understand what had happened.

    Wang Miaomiao let out a loudugh and patted the short man''s head. "Kid, you¡¯re pretty good! Hehe."

    The little man felt quite embarrassed, and he blushed furiously. This sister was so beautiful that he felt embarrassed to even look at her. Instead, he turned towards Wang Yan. "Tha- thank you for your encouragement, Senior."

    Wang Yan looked like he had just swallowed a fly.

    The first student to leave the Tri-Petal had not only picked up a training promise, but they also obtained a copy of Sit and Forget. Such luck made the Wang family as a whole look bad, and yet they were forced to warmly congratte the student. They had already lost many valuable resources, so they absolutely had to achieve their goal. For example, this little fatty had to join their Wang family.

    Half an hour after the fatty emerged, another person appeared. He was a rather talented student, as he was a Hunter. Given his age and cultivation level, he absolutely ranked among the top of Virtue Archives¡¯ students.

    Unfortunately, he had been quite unlucky. Not only had he been seriously injured, but he had also found nothing at all.

    Mr. Tang felt that luck was an indispensable aspect of strength.

    The second student¡¯s luck was a smallfort to the Wang family, but the young man himself was quite frustrated, and it only got worse when he learned of the fatty¡¯s gains. The Hunter really wanted to go hit something.

    After that, students started pouring out of the lower two sections of the Tri-Petal

    Finally, the first team of students who had entered with a sourcebox array emerged, and everyst one of them looked excited. "Professor! We found training promises! More than one!."

    "Professor, we found a power vessel!"

    "Professor, we¡­"

    Wang Yan started twitching as he listened to the five students list their aplishments to ¡°Yu Hao.¡± Where were these youths¡¯ manners? Why were they not thanking the Wang family? They were the ones to provide ess to the training grounds and this entire opportunity! These youths were no better than wolves!

    Lu Yin happily offeredpliments, and he was thrilled that the students had not been idiots. They had not tried to work on their own, but had instead cooperated with other students to gather treasures, using others as scouts to find treasures that the team could collect. After all, there had only been thirty six training promises in each petal.

    More and more students emerged from the lower two sections of the Tri-Petal.

    Finally, some students appeared from the higher petal.

    The Tri-Petal¡¯s higher petal was intended for Enlighters, but the only students in Virtue Archives at that level were Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, Qing Feng, Liu Que, Jin Chongshan, and Nong Siniang.

    Bai Weiwei appeared first. She looked calm and unbothered by her time in the training grounds.

    "What did you find, Student Bai?" Mr. Tang asked curiously.

    Everyone focused on Bai Weiwei, but she just gave a small smile. "I only wandered around. I wasn¡¯t able to find anything."

    Awkward expressions appeared on almost everyone¡¯s faces, as none of them were foolish enough to believe her.

    Still, the Wang family had no rules requiring the challengers to reveal what they had found in the training grounds, and they were not going to search the students'' cosmic rings. They had no choice but to ept Bai Weiwei¡¯s answer.

    The higher section of the Tri-Petal held great appeal even for someone like Bai Weiwei. After all, that ce hid secret techniques and tribtion crystals, though she had unfortunately not found any of those things. The Wang family must have hidden them well.

    Soon, Jin Chongshan, Qing Feng, and Xia Shenguang appeared as well, and all of them also reported that they had obtained nothing.

    None of them cared about the Wang family¡¯s training promises, and they had only cared about trying to find secret techniques or tribtion crystals. But if they had actually found such things, how would they admit it?

    Liu Que emerged, and so did Wang Xiaofan. Everyst person from the higher petal remained silent. Wang Yan stared at them, wanting to p them. Who would believe that not one of these young geniuses had managed to find a single thing? Was that even possible?

    The acting patriarch could not wait to enter the Tri-Petal himself to find out what was missing.

    Ultimately, all of the students exited. Not one had gone missing. Even the most severely injured only sported superficial wounds.

    As a whole, the students had gained a great deal from the Tri-Petal, especially the five teams of students who had been protected by the sourcebox arrays. The twenty five of them had sessfully uncovered a full forty three training promises, and that was out of the 108 that had been hidden. As for the rest of the students, they had managed to find twenty two training promises, for a total of sixty five. More than half of the training promises had been collected.

    This was the first time in the entire history of the Tri-Petal that so many training promises had been discovered, and this was not even considering all the other treasures that they had found.

    As for the most precious treasures that had been hidden, such as copies of Sit and Forget, secret techniques, and tribtion crystals, no one admitted to finding anything at all, aside from the fatty who had been the first to appear.

    Suddenly, the little man''s face turned pale, and he looked up at Lu Yin. "Prof- Professor, wa- was I too hasty?"

    Lu Yin coughed. He wanted to say yes¡­ "You¡¯ll be fine. Senior God of Food will keep you safe."

    The fat little man became so nervous that the skin on his face started to quiver from his shaking.

    He suddenly felt that no one from the Wang family was looking at him with good intentions. All of their eyes felt piercing, as though they wanted to force him to return the Sit and Forget that he had managed to find.

    The fatty was overthinking things. While the Wang family was certainly unwilling to let rumors about them losing their Sit and Forget technique spread, there was nothing that they could do about it at this moment. Even if they wanted to force him to join the Wang family, they would do so through enticement and offering benefits. If they did anything else, would anyone ever be willing to enter the Tri-Petal again in the future? The Wang family could not afford to offend the entire world.

    Many of the students from Virtue Archives had acquired training promises from the Wang family, which meant that they were allowed to request resources from the Wang family for their training at any point in time. This would not only help their cultivation progress, but also protect them if they encountered danger when roaming the world. After all, these training promises meant that the students were already halfway members of the Wang family.

 Chapter 2257: The Python Ancestorâ€™s Blood Pool

    Chapter 2257: The Python Ancestor¡¯s Blood Pool

    The Wang family made no attempt to force any of the students who had acquired training promises to stay, as the participants in the exchange program still had to visit the rest of the four ruling powers.

    Wang Yan felt a wave of envy as he watched the paper boat fly towards Dragon Mountain. "It must be wonderful to visit and train with all the different top powers."

    He was the patriarch of a branch family, and he had thus always been provided with resources. There had been no worries about not being able to be an Envoy, but Wang Yan only knew a bit about the other three ruling powers. It was a rather exceptional opportunity to be able to train with each of the four ruling powers at the same time.

    There was no denying that the current situation was rather unique, as the 100 students were being targeted by the four ruling powers. If the students could be enticed into joining any one of the four ruling powers, it would create a fissure between the students and the faculty and be an opportunity to seize control of Virtue Archives. There was no way anyone would ever enjoy such unprecedented opportunities in the future.

    Things had been proceeding very smoothly, but they had unfortunately been disrupted by Yu Hao. The five teams of students had only thanked Yu Hao after they emerged from the Tri-Petal. Yu Hao and Yu Hao alone had invalidated the Wang family¡¯s efforts to recruit the students, and Wang Yan had no idea how he was supposed to exin this situation.

    After bidding farewell to the Wang family, the God of Food was in a joyous mood, and he praised Lu Yin to the point where Lu Yin grew quite embarrassed.

    "This junior only did what he should. As an instructor, it¡¯s only right to work to ensure that our students receive the most benefits," Lu Yin stated in a humble manner.

    The God of Food justughed. "The Wang family was not only forced to hand over a great deal of resources, but our students also feel no sense of indebtedness or gratitude towards them! They were made fools and handed over a great number of benefits to our academy¡¯s students. I don¡¯t think that they¡¯ll be forgetting you anytime soon, Professor."

    Mr. Tang also joined in. "I¡¯ve heard that sourcebox arrays are capable of doing things that can be beyond the abilities of even a Progenitor, and this was certainly an eye-opening experience. Most of our Perennial World¡¯s Lockbreakers are on the rear battlefield, working there, and the rest are essentially monopolized by the various powerful families. It¡¯s usually impossible to find a Lockbreaker, let alone an Array Master capable enough to impress even the Wang family. That was quite amazing."

    Hearing thispliment, Lu Yin grew curious. "I¡¯ve heard that the headmaster is an Array Master as well, so why doesn¡¯t he teach lockbreaking at the academy?"

    Mr. Tang replied, "The only option for someone to be a Lockbreaker is to apply to the Lockbreaker Academy on the rear battlefield. The reason why you are allowed to teach lockbreaking at Virtue Archives is because you do so as part of the research that your ss is conducting, Prof. Hao Yu. Even Professor Xiao Wen had to be a Lockbreaker on the rear battlefield."

    "Why is that?" Lu Yin felt increasingly puzzled.

    The God of Food looked over at the Mother Tree. "Someone has to sacrifice themselves in order to save humanity, and Lockbreakers have been forced to take on that role. It¡¯s a rule of the Perennial World that every Lockbreaker, even the four ruling powers¡¯ resident Array Masters, must contribute to the fight on the rear battlefield. None of them are allowed to continuously remain in the Perennial World without returning to the rear battlefield. It¡¯s a rule set down by Progenitor Hui himself."

    Lu Yin had always admired how Progenitor Hui had dedicated so many of his efforts towards saving and protecting humanity, and he had even forced all future Lockbreakers to contribute to those efforts as well. However, Lu Yin had been to the rear battlefield, and he knew that the Lockbreakers did not want to stay there. This rule had to be ruthlessly enforced, and so Lockbreakers felt the need to get their enjoyment in the limited ways avable to them.

    Lu Yin still had a vivid memory of when he had first seen Master Zan on the rear battlefield. The man had had multiple women doting on him, which had been a harsh contrast to the brutality of the rear battlefield. Looking back, Lu Yin felt that such actions were more of a silent protest.

    The Lockbreakers all hoped to be allowed to return to the Perennial World to live like normal cultivators, but due to their status as Lockbreakers, they remained trapped on the rear battlefield. That was why they indulged in the few things avable to them.

    Lu Yin also understood better than ever why so many people on the rear battlefield were willing to amodate the Lockbreakers¡¯ idiosyncrasies. It was not only because of what Lockbreakers were capable of, but also out of pure sympathy. Lockbreakers might enjoy an elite status, but they were also forced to bear a much greater burden.

    In a way, it was simr to the Lu family¡¯s position for many years.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Lockbreakers did not suffer such restrictions. They were not forced to stay on a perpetual battlefield, fearing for their lives.

    "Next, we will visit the White Dragon n. They do not have nearly as deep a foundation as the Wang family, but they do have their own qualifications. We just have to wait and see how far they¡¯re willing to go to win over our students," said Mr. Tang.

    As he spoke, a massive creature emerged from the void far away from the group from Virtue Archives. As soon as the beast appeared, it flew towards the paper ship. mes surged when the creature let out a sky-shattering roar, and vicious eyes on two heads stared at the group of humans.

    Was that Gui?

    Lu Yin arched a brow. How could this creature be anything other than Long Kui''s mount? Long Kui had been sent to the Fifth Maind as part of the army sent to hunt down Lu Yin. Lu Yin had been surprised to not see Gui with Long Kui, and he had assumed that the beast had died. The truth turned out to be that Gui had remained in the Perennial World.

    All of the students were amazed by the sight of the two-headed beast.

    Even in the Perennial World, it was difficult for a person to be an Envoy, and yet this mount had the strength of an Envoy. This was something that everyone desired, and the sight of such a powerful beast incited a great deal of envy.

    Standing atop Gui was Long Tian. He had personallye out to greet the students as they made their way towards Dragon Mountain after visiting the Wang family.

    "Junior Long Tian greets Senior God of Food." Long Tian stood on one of the beast¡¯s heads and offered a respectful bow.

    On the paper ship, Nong Siniang''s eyes grew wide.

    Liu Que¡¯s battle force surged.

    Qing Feng took a deep breath when he felt the pressure radiating from Long Tian. Finally, Qing Feng was seeing the strength of one of the four geniuses who had received the title of Junior Progenitor for himself.

    Bai Weiwei and everyone else were also staring at Long Tian. The students were all young and unfazed by older powerhouses, but this Long Tian was only one generation older than them. ording to the standards of the Daosource Sect era, they were considered part of the same generation and would all bepeting with each other.

    There were two youths who indisputably stood at the peak of the Perennial World. One was Xia Shenfei, and the other was Long Tian.

    Virtue Archives had a bad attitude regarding the four ruling powers, but of the four ruling powers, they had a slightly better impression of the White Dragon n. After all, the White Dragon n had not participated in many of the actions taken by the other three, and from an outside perspective, the White Dragon n was the most approachable of the four ruling powers.

    Compared to his interactions with Wang Yan and Semi-Progenitor Chai, the God of Food did not appear nearly as cold when he spoke to Long Tian. "So Junior Progenitor Long Tian himself came out to greet us? Thank you for your efforts."

    Long Tian remained very respectful. "This is only how things should be. My father has suffered an ident, or else he would be here to greet you, Senior. Please, follow me."

    The God of Food nodded before following Long Tian towards Dragon Mountain.

    Long Tian did not board the paper ship, as he simply sat down on Gui as the beast flew towards Dragon Mountain.

    Liu Que was excited, as he wanted to challenge Long Tian, only to be stopped by ¡°Hao Yu.¡± "You aren¡¯t qualified yet."

    This was not because Lu Yin cared about Liu Que, but rather because Lu Yin did not want to get too close to Long Tian. While Lu Yin¡¯s appearance had changed and he felt confident that not even Semi-Progenitors could see through his disguise, changing his appearance did not change his scent. Lu Yin was a bit worried that Long Tian might recognize him by scent.

    Liu Que softly replied, "I might not be qualified, but I still want to try."

    This man always gave Lu Yin a headache. This was such a brainless idea. "Why don¡¯t you challenge him after we get to Dragon Mountain? The White Dragon n is trying to wee our academy, so this really is not the proper time."

    Liu Que might be a battle maniac, but he was notpletely stupid. "I understand."

    The Wang family¡¯s headquarters was located a great distance away from Dragon Mountain, so the journey between the two took even longer than the trip from the Cloud Shuttle to the Wang family¡¯s floating continent.

    The four ruling powers had divided the Higher Realm between them, and their various headquarters were naturally quite far away from each other.

    Still, it was just a matter of time before the academy¡¯s representatives arrived.

    Someone shouted, "I see it! That¡¯s Dragon Mountain!"

    Lu Yin looked over,plicated emotions flitting across his eyes. He was finally back at Dragon Mountain.

    The God of Food sighed. "Dragon Mountain. When Ist saw this ce, it was still in the Middle Realm. I didn¡¯t think that I¡¯d return to this ce after so many years."

    Mr. Tang also felt a great number of conflicting emotions. He had also visited Dragon Mountain in the past, back when it had been in the Middle Realm.

    However, Lu Yin was certain that no one on the ship could feel more powerful emotions than him at this moment, as he had very nearly died on Dragon Mountain.

    The White Dragon n behaved the same as the Wang family, and the first thing that happened after arriving on Dragon Mountain was a tour of the ce, apanied with an exaggerated spiel of the White Dragon n¡¯s history. Unfortunately, the White Dragon n¡¯s history was not nearly as impressive as the Wang family¡¯s, and they did not have a statue of an outsider Progenitor like Chong Yue to demonstrate the family¡¯s goodwill towards outsiders. The Wang family might bepletely shameless, but their use of Chong Yue was truly well yed.

    Long Tian personally led everyone on a tour of Dragon Mountain while sharing the White Dragon n¡¯s history. Unfortunately for him, the students were still chatting about their visit to the Wang family, which made the contrast between the two powers even more obvious.

    Long Tian felt that his efforts were not nearly effective enough, so he skipped the original n of spending a few days touring the mountain and instead led the students to a hidden cave.

    Before arriving at the cave, Liu Que had already approached Long Tian and challenged him, but Long Tian had refused. Actually, it had not been a true refusal, but instead a request for Liu Que to wait.

    "As expected, the White Dragon n doesn''t have anything new to offer," Nong Siniang said when she saw a huge pool of blood in front of them.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What''s wrong?"

    Nong Siniang started to exin, "The White Dragon n canmunicate with the Ancestor Python, which is the only way in which they are able to surpass the other three ruling powers. The truth is that their background and foundation isn¡¯tparable to the Celestial Frost Sect, or even to our Seed Garden and the Liu family. The only reason why they are part of the four ruling powers instead of us, aside from the fact that we were unwilling to banish the Lu family, is that the White Dragon n is capable of triggering the White Dragon Rolls Over. That is literally their only advantage.¡±

    "As for their methods of enticing outsiders to join their n, that¡¯s also rted to the Ancestor Python: the Ancestor Python''s blood."

    Long Tian then spoke up. "Everyone, my White Dragon n¡¯s offered training for you won¡¯t be as time-consuming as what the Wang family prepared for you, but you also won¡¯t need to risk your lives. This training is quite simple."

    He pointed to the pool of blood. "Go in there and soak in the blood. The longer you can remain in it, the better. This pool holds the Ancestor Python''s blood, and soaking in it allows you to absorb the blood to strengthen your bodies. The longer you stay in the blood pool, the more your bodies will improve. Just a single use can increase your strength by at least ten to twenty percent."

    Long Tian''s words were shocking to many of the students.

    "Ten to twenty percent? That much?" Qing Feng asked with more than a hint of disbelief. He had heard of the White Dragon n¡¯s blood pool from Qing Chen, but he had not expected it to be this potent.

    Long Tian was quite satisfied with the students¡¯ reactions. "That''s right. If you don''t believe me, you can ask Senior God of Food."

    Many of the students turned to look at the God of Food, and while the Semi-Progenitor did not want to admit that the blood pool was so beneficial to cultivators, he remained honest with the students. "It is indeed true."

    Those words instantly erased the students¡¯ doubts, and they then turned to look at the blood pool with great excitement.

    Lu Yin remembered this blood pool, as he had seen it in Long Ke''s memories, but he also remembered that there seemed to be something wrong with the blood pool.

    When Lu Yin had used the alias of Long Qi, he had been epted as a member of the White Dragon n, so he had never visited the blood pool. This ce was exclusively reserved for outsiders to train with the White Dragon n, and Lu Yin had instead used Long Xi¡¯s blood essence. When he used it, he had seen a vision of the Ancestor Python. Looking back, Lu Yin realized that Long Xi had paid a steep price for him.

    A smile crept across Long Tian¡¯s face when he saw the eagerness lighting up in the students¡¯ eyes. "It¡¯s possible to enter the blood pool once during each realm of cultivation. This is why there are countless cultivators throughout the Perennial World who want to join my White Dragon n once they understand the benefits of the blood pool, but my White Dragon n only chooses those whom we ask. This is why you don¡¯t see many outsiders who have be part of my White Dragon n. It¡¯s not that people are unwilling to join us, but rather that my n is too selective."

    Long Tian then turned to face Liu Que. "Didn¡¯t you ask to challenge me? Why don¡¯t you try now."

 Chapter 2258: A Gap

    Chapter 2258: A Gap

    No one had expected Long Tian to suddenly ept Liu Que''s challenge, and even greater excitement blossomed in the students¡¯ eyes.

    Liu Que was said to be the most talented member of his generation, surpassing even the top descendants of the four ruling powers. He was supposed to be on the same level as the four Junior Progenitors, while Long Tian was one of the most recently appointed Junior Progenitors. A spar between these two drew even the God of Food¡¯s interest.

    Lu Yin had been constantly maintaining as great a distance from Long Tian as possible, as he was worried that his scent would give him away. As he looked at the blood pool, and then at Long Tian, Lu Yin understood why Liu Que¡¯s request for a spar had been dyed earlier; he was going to be used by Long Tian to lure the students into the White Dragon n.

    The God of Food and the rest of the chaperones also understood this, and Mr. Tang wanted Liu Que to refuse the spar, but Liu Que did not care about why Long Tian had suddenly epted his challenge. Liu Que had wanted to fight against one of the Junior Progenitors for a long time, but Xia Shenfei had been undercover in Realmless, while Long Tian had remained on Dragon Mountain, which had prevented Liu Que from having any opportunity to do so. After finally being given the chance to fulfill his dream, Liu Que would not even consider stepping back.

    Everyone moved outside the cave, and Long Tian and Liu Que faced each other. Long Tian appeared perfectly calm, and there was even a slight smile on his face. Rather than appearing like an arrogant person from the previous generation, Long Tian gave the impression of an elder.

    "As a junior, you should have the first move," Long Tian offered.

    Liu Que had no intention of being polite, and his sword shot out of its scabbard and into his hand as he reached forward and grabbed the weapon. He took but a single step, yet the edge of the de was already right in front of Long Tian¡¯s face. Only a few people present were able to see the attack, as not even Nong Siniang or Qing Feng could clearly see what had happened.

    It was only at this moment that anyone understood just how fast Liu Que¡¯s sword could be. He had never gotten serious in a single match that he had fought in Virtue Archives, but he was using his full power against a Junior Progenitor.

    Long Tian was still calm as he watched Liu Que''s sword approaching. At some point in time, a spear had appeared in Long Tian¡¯s hand, but he did not thrust it forward. Instead, the spear moved to block the iing de. The sword struck the spear with a loud bang, and ripples spread throughout the void in the area, and space soon started to shatter. Liu Que shifted his sword. It dropped down, and the tip shot up to stab Long Tian from below. Three sword attacks flickered out at almost the same moment, and while not a single attack was able to break through the defense of Long Tian¡¯s spear, one attack did manage to push him back.

    Lu Yin observed Long Tian throughout the fight. He had be much more stable and powerful over thest few decades. Even if he was only a one-tribtion Envoy, he was at least as strong as a three-tribtion Envoy.

    Liu Que was not even close to Long Tian¡¯s level.

    Liu Que retreated a few steps and stared at Long Tian. "I asked for a fight, not a training mannequin!"

    Long Tian¡¯s smile grew wider. "Very well."

    The moment those words left his lips, Long Tian vanished, as he had used the Roving White Dragon. Liu Que¡¯s pupils shrank, as he could not detect his opponent anymore, and he had no idea which direction the next attack woulde from.

    Working from his experiences from countless battles, Liu Que reacted by instantly tearing through the void and entering the true universe.

    Entering the true universe as an Enlighter was something that only the four Junior Progenitors had been capable of doing in their generation, but Liu Que was capable of doing so as well.

    He had wanted to avoid fighting in the true universe, or at least prove himself capable of dodging Long Tian''s attack without resorting to such a measure, but the gap between them was toorge. As soon as Liu Que entered the true universe, he was not greeted by the sight of empty space, but by the tip of a spear.

    Liu Que forced himself to pull back, which caused his body to twist and contort in an effort to avoid the spear. However, the spear pressed down, and the shaft struck Liu Que, pinning him to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood as dust billowed up.

    All of the onlookers remained silent. They had already known that Long Tian would win, but they had not expected the victory to be so easy. He had only made a single attack, but that had rendered Liu Que powerless,pletely unable to resist.

    This was Liu Que, someone whom an entire generation looked up to.

    Bai Weiwei, Xia Shenguang, and Wang Xiaofan all stared at Long Tian in shock. This was the strength of the four Junior Progenitors.

    All three of them were Realmbreakers capable of challenging one-tribtion Envoys, but they knew that they were powerless against the Junior Progenitors, as they could not even face Liu Que. Even if the four of them worked together, they might not be capable of pushing Long Tian any harder than he had in his spar with Liu Que.

    Long Tian looked down at the youth on the ground, his spear still in his hand. "Get up. Your sword qi still hasn''t disappeared. Is this a battle technique of some kind?"

    Bai Weiwei and the other students were surprised to hear this. Was Liu Que¡¯s sword qi still present?

    None of the instructors were surprised, as there were four sword attacks that Liu Que had released still hidden in the void.

    This was quite odd, as the sword qi of four individual attacks remained frozen in the void. Most cultivators would not sense a thing, as only true powerhouses could hope to feel the attacks.

    Once the smoke and dust cleared, Liu Que emerged from the ground. Blood trickled from his mouth, and there were wounds across his entire body. Even then, excitement filled his eyes. This was the feeling he had been chasing after, the feeling of being crushed and having no strength to resist. Only in such a state could he make further progress.

    Long Tian looked at Liu Que with admiration. "Your strength is about the same as ours when we were at your level."

    "It¡¯s not enough. I might not have fought you back then, but I still know that it''s not enough!" Liu Que''s tone of voice changed, and his eyes glittered. His hand squeezed the hilt of his sword, and it shed out again.

    No matter what sort of tricky or deceptive attack Liu Que used, each one was met with a thrust from Long Tian¡¯s spear.

    Qing Feng''s breathing grew ragged. If he were in Liu Que¡¯s ce, it was clear that every one of his sword attacks would be seen through by Long Tian. This opponent would ce an unimaginable amount of pressure on Qing Feng.

    Liu Que refused to give up. He was determined to find Long Tian''s ws, but Long Tian had not even used a single battle technique, aside from the Roving White Dragon. Not even the White Dragon n¡¯s White Dragon Transformation had been used, which was one of the n¡¯s trump cards.

    Already, ten sword attacks hung hidden in the void.

    Long Tian nced around. "Is this enough sword qi yet?"

    Liu Que leaped up to confront Long Tian''s imprable defenses. The sword turned sideways as a de fell. At the same time, the ten bits of sword qi floating in the void merged together with the edge of Liu Que''s sword. This particr attack was so powerful that even Long Tian had to treat it seriously. As the attack approached, Long Tian was actually forced to take action for the first time in the fight, and his spear shot upwards.

    Long Tian had not used his stellr energy to forcefully suppress Liu Que yet, and that did not change even at this moment.

    Bang!

    There was another massive impact. Mr. Tang¡¯s finger moved, and his field appeared in front of the watching students, sparing most of them from certain death due to the shockwave.

    Liu Que¡¯s sword that had been reinforced by ten additional pieces of sword qi that had been stored in the void should have been enough to kill a one-tribtion Envoy, but he was pped down by Long Tian. Not only that, but the tip of Long Tian''s spear had also stabbed an inch into Liu Que''s body. It was only an inch, but that was enough. Liu Que¡¯s sword was still some distance away from reaching Long Tian.

    Just as Long Tian was about to say something, his expression changed. He saw that the notch at the tip of Liu Que''s sword had somehow been filled in toplete the sword. No, that was not it¡­

    In an instant, the notch reappeared in the sword, and the ten sword qi attacks that should have vanished returned in a sh.

    Long Tian tried to pull his spear back, only to discover that Liu Que was tightly grabbing hold of the shaft. At the same time, Long Tian felt a source of danger from behind.

    The God of Food, Lu Yin, and several others focused behind Long Tian. There, a portion of a sword attack sliced out from the true universe. It was actually precisely what had filled the gap in Liu Que¡¯s sword. It was the merged sword qi from ten attacks, and having such an attack sh out from the true universe behind someone was Liu Que¡¯s most powerful attack.

    Liu Que was already powerful enough to kill a one-tribtion Envoy, but this attack was able to execute even a two-tribtion Envoy.

    He absolutely deserved his reputation of being on the same level as the most recently appointed Junior Progenitors.

    Unfortunately, there was still a significant discrepancy in strength, and even Liu Que¡¯s most powerful attack was unable to harm Long Tian at all.

    Long Tian¡¯s right hand held his spear, while his left hand reached behind him to grab hold of the void and twist it like a cloth. He quite literally Seized the sword sh and mped it between two fingers.

    Most of the students werepletely shocked. They had not expected Liu Que to have such a strange ability. It was something practically impossible to guard against. After all, the sh had shot out from the true universe, which meant that anyone beneath the Envoy realm would be defeated by it.

    Even if Bai Weiwei and a few others were able to briefly force their way into the true universe, much like the Junior Progenitors had been capable of at the same cultivation level, they could not block an attack that came from the true universe and carried the power of ten merged sword attacks.

    If any of the students faced this attack of Liu Que¡¯s, they would absolutely die.

    Yet again, their estimation of Liu Que¡¯s strength rose even higher, while Long Tian¡¯s strength was something that they could not even fathom.

    "Is this your trump card? Pretty impressive," Long Tianplimented. He had never even considered the possibility of Liu Que forcing out his innate gift.

    Liu Que coughed up more blood. "It''s still my loss."

    Long Tian lowered his spear and set Liu Que onto the ground. Seeing the swordsman¡¯s weakened state, Long Tianughed. "You didn¡¯t actually think that you could defeat me, did you?"

    Liu Que stared at Long Tian. "Why not? You Junior Progenitors aren¡¯t invincible. After all, Lu Xiaoxuan defeated all four of you at the same time."

    Long Tian''s expressionpletely changed. The name Lu Xiaoxuan was his reverse scale. The four Junior Progenitors had always been regarded as invincible within their generation, and it had long been true. However, just a few short decades ago, Lu Xiaoxuan had suddenly appeared and defeated all four Junior Progenitors in the Dominion Realm,pletely humiliating all of them.

    "If Lu Xiaoxuan can do it, then so can others." Liu Que refused to ept the idea that Long Tian was invincible. "I¡¯ll challenge you again after I be an Envoy."

    Long Tian did not quibble with Liu Que. After all, how were the thoughts of him and the other Junior Progenitors any different from Liu Que¡¯s thoughts? They had also believed themselves capable of defeating Lu Xiaoxuan after bing Envoys, and all three Junior Progenitors had nearly joined the task force sent to the Forsaken Lands. However, in the end, only Wang Su had gone. "I''ll let you have another chance. I know that your level of talent is impressive. Soaking in the Ancestor Python''s blood won¡¯t only improve your physical strength, but it will also heal you. After you emerge from the blood pool, I¡¯ll allow you to challenge me again."

    Liu Que was not stupid. He understood that Long Tian was using this chance to entice the students of Virtue Archives into joining the White Dragon n. "While I want to challenge you again, I will wait to do so after I be an Envoy. There¡¯s no reason to do so now."

    Long Tian casually stated, "Lu Xiaoxuan is also a swordsman."

    Liu Que''s eyes flickered.

    "He uses something called the Thirteen Swords."

    Liu Que''s expression changed. This was surprising information. "The Thirteen Swords?"

    Long Tian continued, "I can try to imitate what I observed to show you Lu Xiaoxuan''s sword skills. The Thirteen Swords belongs to your Liu family as well. Would you like to see it?"

    Liu Que thought about it, turned around, entered the cave, and jumped into the blood pool.

    Liu Que was far more interested in Lu Xiaoxuan than Long Tian. He was a genius who had ovee the four Junior Progenitors on his own before escaping from the Perennial World. If there was ever a chance topete against Lu Xiaoxuan''s battle techniques, Liu Que would do whatever it took.

    Lu Yin found it quite unexpected that Long Tian had used the name of Lu Xiaoxuan to tempt Liu Que. Also, it was clear that Long Tian was lying. Lu Yin had not known the Thirteen Swords when he had been in the Perennial Worldst time, as he had only learned them after returning to the Fifth Maind and Possessing Liu Qianjue.

    The only way that Long Tian could know about the Thirteen Swords was through Liu Tianmu. Clearly, other trespassers had been caught.

    Everyone stared at Liu Que in the blood pool, and he could see the wounds that riddled his skin visibly healing. They also saw the blood enter his body. The man grew pale, and he was clearly suffering from terrible pain.

 Chapter 2259: Clash On Dragon Mountain

    Chapter 2259: sh On Dragon Mountain

    "The blood pool contains some of the Ancestor Python''s blood. The Ancestor Python is a creature with the strength of a Progenitor, and its blood can improve a person¡¯s physique. A conservative estimate is that one¡¯s strength will rise by ten to twenty percent, and even more is possible," Long Tian stated.

    All the students were eager to see just how much Liu Que¡¯s strength would improve, as it would indicate how much they could improve as well. Who did not want to grow stronger?

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. He was also looking forward to seeing Liu Que''s condition after he emerged from the blood pool.

    Two entire days passed before Liu Que walked out of the blood pool. The moment he emerged, a faint pressure could be felt emanating from his body, and a bit of white energy swirled around his body for a moment. It almost looked like the Ancestor Python before it vanished.

    Long Tian immediatelyplimented Liu Que. "Two days is not something that most Enlighters can endure. There are very, very few who canst that long in the blood pool."

    "It''s time." Liu Que stared at Long Tian. He was excited to witness the Thirteen Swords for himself.

    Long Tian''s smile did not even twitch.

    Everyone moved back out of the cave.

    "Watch carefully. This is Lu Xiaoxuan''s Thirteen Swords." Long Tian still held a spear, as he had no desire to use a sword instead of his spear.

    Losing to Lu Xiaoxuan had created a shadow that Long Tian had never been able to escape from. Even though Long Tian knew that it was a lie that he had seen Lu Xiaoxuan use the Thirteen Swords, he still intended to use a spear rather than a sword. It was an attempt to demonstrate that he was not imitating Lu Xiaoxuan, but rather surpassing him.

    However, Liu Que''s eyes flickered with a cold light. "You look down on using a sword."

    Long Tian was unbothered, as Liu Que had already lost his use. This was Long Tian¡¯s time to shine, so there was no longer any reason to be polite to the swordsman. The spear thrust forward. "Do you want to see it or not?"

    Liu Que raised his sword, nting it across his chest, even as the spear forced him backwards.

    Long Tian thrust the spear forward again, this time using the Roaming White Dragon.

    It was the same turn of events as their first spar. A spear pierced out from the true universe, stabbing at Liu Que, and all he could do was retreat. However, this time, he managed to force his body to turn around, and as he did so, his sword shot upwards to m into the spear that was about to p him to the ground again. The descending spear was slightly diverted.

    Long Tian''s spear mmed into the ground at a slight angle as Liu Que moved back a few more steps, his sword raised. He pointed it at Long Tian and shouted, "That is not the Thirteen Swords!"

    Long Tian smiled in a careless manner. "It is the Thirteen Swords, but just an alternate way of using the technique."

    Liu Que was beyond furious, as he knew that he was just being used.

    Long Tian then turned to look at everyone else from Virtue Archives. "Were you students able to see it clearly? Against the same attack, Liu Que showed a different reaction. These are the results of his time in the blood pool."

    The students had indeed seen how Liu Que¡¯s reaction had been different the two times he had faced Long Tian¡¯s attack, and it indeed provided them with a clear understanding of the blood pool¡¯s efficacy.

    On the other hand, the God of Food was quite upset. Long Tian had used the Thirteen Swords to trick Liu Que into agreeing to a spar. Liu Que was also a student of Virtue Archives, and using such methods on a student was going a bit too far.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. He had already felt that things were somewhat off during the students¡¯ visit to the Wang family. There was simply no need for the four ruling powers to go so far and offer so much even if they wanted to convince the students to join them. Even if the students¡¯ background was kept hidden, the four ruling powers could uncover such things with a single order.

    In that case, why were they going to such lengths? They were offering tempting conditions, resources, training, techniques, and more. At this moment, Long Tian had even resorted to deception. While Long Tian had sessfully demonstrated the effects of the blood pool, doing so in this manner had offended a Semi-Progenitor, the God of Food. Was it really worth going so far?

    In the past, the God of Food and the rest of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty had maintained a rather good opinion of the White Dragon n. At least, it was good whenpared to the rest of the four ruling powers. Resorting to trickery could easily create a grudge or even foment hatred towards the White Dragon n. Why was Long Tian going so far?

    Lu Yin felt like the four ruling powers were genuinely trying their best to recruit these 100 students.

    What was the real reason behind this? There was something more going on than simply trying to recruit students into the four ruling powers.

    Long Tianpletely ignored Liu Que. It was already impossible to recruit Liu Que into the White Dragon n, so Long Tian instead focused on the other students.

    Lu Yin was quite right; the four ruling powers did have many other methods that they could employ to take these students. Why were they going through so much effort to entice them to willingly join?

    Long Tian should not even want to recruit these students. No matter how short on geniuses any one of the four ruling powers might be, it would never be enough for them to sacrifice so many resources to recruit students from Virtue Archives. No, everyone wanted the numbers.

    Virtue Archives would soon be controlled by the four ruling powers, and they were focused entirely on the Mountain and Sea. They hade to an internal agreement that control of the academy would be split ording to the number of students that they each sessfully recruited. This meant that whoever recruited the most students would gain the majority share of Virtue Archives. Also, the internal agreement had stipted that any methods other than open and honest attempts to recruit the students were forbidden. The only means allowed was to entice the students when they were visiting each of the four ruling powers during the exchange program.

    This was a way to avoid internal conflicts, and it also would not jeopardize the four ruling powers'' reputation. At worst, they would lose some resources.

    The number of students that they recruited would determine the number of slots that each of the four ruling powers would receive to attempt to receive the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea hidden within Virtue Archives. Why else would they care about the students?

    Given the number of Progenitors who had appeared throughout all of human history, none of the four ruling powers even dreamed of encountering a second Chong Yue, and none of the students were evenparable to the four Junior Progenitors. The only reason why so much effort was being brought out to lure the students in was because of the limitations put in ce by the agreed upon rules.

    There was a massive difference between a single family ruling the entire Perennial World and splitting such authority between four different groups. If the Perennial World was still under the sole rule of the Lu family, then there was no way that such excessive generosity would ever have been employed.

    Also, the God of Food, Headmaster Wen, and the rest of the faculty members of Virtue Archives were ignorant of the rules that had been agreed upon, as such things were kept entirely within the four ruling powers.

    This was why not even the God of Food could understand why Long Tian would risk offending a Semi-Progenitor and deceiving Liu Que just to demonstrate the efficacy of the blood pool.

    Long Tian¡¯s only goal was to entice as many of the students as possible. One thing that Long Tian was absolutely confident in was the selfishness of cultivators. As long as they were given the chance to improve their own strength, the student¡¯s background, loyalties, and even the shallowness of the White Dragon n¡¯s own background would cease to be relevant. This was why Long Tian was determined to use the blood pool to tempt the students, as the White Dragon n had nothing else.

    Things proceeded exactly as Long Tian had expected, and he saw desire fill the students¡¯ eyes. They wanted to enter the blood pool. It was enough.

    Just when Long Tian was about to organize the students so that they could soak in the blood pool, ¡°Hao Yu¡± stepped forward. "Wait a moment. Something felt wrong just now."

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    The God of Food''s eyes lit up. When they had been visiting the Wang family, ¡°Yu Hao¡± had created a massive surprise. Could he repeat such a feat with the White Dragon n as well? The God of Food was not afraid of offending the White Dragon n, as he had already been thoroughly annoyed by Long Tian''s actions. As far as the Semi-Progenitor was concerned, matters would only improve if ¡°Yu Hao¡± made a mess of things.

    Long Tian frowned. "Prof. Hao Yu, my White Dragon n¡¯s blood pool has been around for countless years, and yet you im that there¡¯s a problem? Are you questioning my White Dragon n?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Junior Progenitor Long Tian, you¡¯re too nervous. Did I ever say that there¡¯s anything wrong with your blood pool?"

    Long Tian froze. He stopped speaking, too.

    Lu Yin continued. "Still, your assumption is correct. I am saying that there¡¯s something wrong with the blood pool."

    Long Tian''s eyes shed with a dangerous light. "You¡¯re questioning my White Dragon n¡¯s blood pool?"

    As soon as the words fell, many members of the White Dragon n appeared all around the group from Virtue Archives, and everyst one of them red at ¡°Yu Hao¡± with open animosity.

    Lu Yin was unbothered by the attention, and he turned his attention to Liu Que. "Come over here."

    Liu Que immediately obeyed, and he walked over to his professor. He was still quite angry at Long Tian for his deception, and he was only too happy to see Prof. Hao Yu make trouble for the White Dragon n.

    Lu Yin simply stated, "Show me your sword skills."

    Liu Que¡¯s brows rose, but he still stabbed his sword forward without any hesitation. If anything, the attack was even faster than when Liu Que had fought against Long Tian.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and gently asked, "Do you feel any difference when facing me instead of Long Tian?"

    Liu Que thought for a while, but ultimately shook his head. "No."

    Lu Yin stared at Liu Que. "There is."

    Liu Que feltpletely confused.

    Long Tian sneered. "What a stereotypical teacher! People tell you that there¡¯s no difference, yet you insist that you know better and try to force things upon your students."

    Lu Yin remained unfazed by the usation. "I was able to notice that Liu Que''s internal state changed the two times he faced you. The second time, there was a bit of suppression."

    Long Tian''s face twitched, but only slightly and for less than a moment before he managed to straighten his features. "I don''t understand what you¡¯re trying to say."

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s quite simple. Before soaking in the blood pool, he faced you with his full power. After he soaked in the blood and absorbed a bit of it, while there was no change in his blood, some substance was introduced into his body. Then, it suppressed him when he was facing you. Based on the suppression that I observed, I believe that the longer one soaks in the blood, and the more times one does so, the more obvious the suppression will be.¡±

    Long Tian red at Lu Yin with an unprecedented bloodlust raging in his eyes. "Do you think that you can nder my White Dragon n with this kind of nonsense? Prof. Hao Yu, you should understand the consequences of ndering my White Dragon n!"

    Lu Yin raised his head up high. "My control of stellr energy has reached the Creation realm, and I am also a Realm Array Master. I was able to sense that while hisbat power rose, a suppressing power was introduced into his body. The suppression can¡¯t be sensed when he faces you, as there¡¯s simply too great a difference in your power, but if he faced an opponent from the White Dragon n with the same level ofbat strength, he would be defeated and not even considered a proper opponent."

    "Hao Yu, you¡¯re courting death by ndering my White Dragon n!" There was a shriek of rage as a distant old woman from the White Dragon n stepped forward and tried to grab Lu Yin.

    The God of Food''s eyes instantly turned vicious. "Insolence!"

    A single word was enough to leave the old woman spitting out blood.

    Instantly, many of the White Dragon n¡¯s various powerhouses appeared, and they moved to surround the God of Food and everyone else from Virtue Archives. At the same moment, the sourcebox array that protected Dragon Mountain was activated.

    All of the students from Virtue Archives grew pale. When faced with the overwhelming pressure of the White Dragon n, one of the four ruling powers, they feltpletely insignificant.

    Suddenly, the God of Food¡¯s Semi-Progenitor aura was swept away.

    Everyone had believed that there was no Semi-Progenitor on Dragon Mountain. After all, when the God of Food had first arrived, if a Semi-Progenitor had been present, then they absolutely should have shown themselves and greeted the man. Despite that, at this moment, another Semi-Progenitor¡¯s aura surged and resisted the pressure that the God of Food was putting on the members of the White Dragon n.

    The God of Food''s expression instantly changed, and his eyes filled with an indescribably cold and dangerous killing intent. "It''s you, you beast!"

    Long Tian and everyone else from the White Dragon n looked incredibly upset at this moment, as they had been forced to ask their hidden powerhouse for assistance.

    The God of Food stared at a remote corner of Dragon Mountain as a peerless and violent aura shot high into the sky with enough force that the void warped and twisted. It copsed and melted without ever stopping

    The furious Semi-Progenitor then raised a hand, and an ordinary cleaver formed. It looked like a normal butcher¡¯s cleaver that could be found anywhere, and it was much uglier than thebat knives that even ordinary human soldiers used. And yet, this cleaver caused everyone¡¯s scalps to gopletely numb when it appeared.

    Lu Yin stared at the God of Food and the raised cleaver. He felt such a powerful sense of danger that all of his hair was standing on end. He had never seen the God of Food in such a state. Mr. Tang had turned pale, as not even he had ever seen the God of Food react like this.

    "Senior, this is Dragon Mountain!" Long Tian shouted.

    Nothing entered the God of Food¡¯s senses aside from what he was focused on. He stared at a specific location on Dragon Mountain.

    Suddenly, mes wrapped around the cleaver, and it dropped.

    Long Tian''s expression changedpletely, and everyone else from the White Dragon n was terrified. They had never expected this cleaver to fall upon their Dragon Mountain.

    A sigh was heard. "Master, even after all these years, you still haven''t let go of the past? When will you be a Progenitor?"

    An average looking, middle-aged man appeared. His eyes were gentle, and he looked both trapped and hurt. The cleaver fell down towards his head, and at the veryst moment, he raised his hand. Another cleaver, perfectly identical to the one that the God of Food wielded, appeared and shed upwards to stop the falling de.

    The two cleavers struck each other high in the sky, and Dragon Mountain¡¯s protective sourcebox array began to tremble as a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions.

 Chapter 2260: An Old Case

    Chapter 2260: An Old Case

    Mr. Tang and Lu Yin quickly moved in front of the students, and some of the White Dragon n¡¯s Envoys also moved to block the shockwave.

    Unfortunately, blocking a shockwave from a Semi-Progenitors¡¯ battle was not something that any of the Envoys present could do.

    The middle-aged man waved a hand, and an invisible power stopped the shockwave, preventing it from smashing onto Dragon Mountain.

    The God of Food''s eyes had be bloodshot. "You beast! You¡¯re seeking death!"

    The man¡¯s head rose, and he was just about to release his inner world when the middle-aged man lowered his head. "I respectfully ask the ancestor to descend."

    As soon as those words were spoken, an eye appeared above Dragon Mountain, and it looked down at the God of Food, his inner world that was beginning to manifest, and everyone else who was present.

    An inexplicable and irresistible power stopped the God of Food''s attack. Everyone felt as though they were sensing the irresistible power of the heavens. This was the strength of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin stared at the eye far overhead, and his heart dropped. Was Progenitor Long also present?

    Every person there stared upwards in a nk daze, gazing at the eye. A Progenitor. This was the strength of a Progenitor.

    The God of Food swayed where he stood. He was trying to resist the Progenitor¡¯s power with the force of his own inner world, but he was unable to even move. A Progenitor¡¯s strength had appeared, and it meant that there was no chance that the God of Food could kill the monster in front of him. This man was the person whom the God of Food hated most in the entire universe, and he had only just learned that the beast had been hiding within the White Dragon n.

    The White Dragon n? It''s actually the White Dragon n? The God of Food stared at Long Tian and the other members of the White Dragon n. "I''ve considered many different possibilities, but I never dreamed that that beast would be hiding here with your White Dragon n. Alright, fine. Good. Great¡­"

    Long Tian felt very frustrated, as the reveal of his n¡¯s hidden powerhouse had transformed their rtionship with Virtue Archives to that of absolute enemies. Unfortunately, there had been no other choice; if the hidden Semi-Progenitor had not stepped forward, they would not have been able to manifest the power of their Progenitor, which would have left them helpless to stop the God of Food¡¯s overwhelming might.

    If word that the mighty White Dragon n had been overpowered by the God of Food on Dragon Mountain itself leaked out, they would lose any acknowledgement of being qualified to be one of the four ruling powers.

    Since that was the case and those were the costs of doing nothing, they simply had to proceed. After all, Virtue Archives was about to be finished, so at worst, the White Dragon n would simply acquire the fewest slots to attempt to receive the inheritance of the hidden Mountain and Sea.

    More importantly, at this moment, they had to prevent the secret of the blood pool from being exposed. That would practically destroy the White Dragon n.

    It was not easy to obtain the inheritance of a Mountain and Sea, and realistically, the White Dragon n only needed to have one person with the qualifications to receive the inheritance. As long as one person qualified, there was no reason for anyone else to even try. People were either qualified, or they were not. Extra slots simply meant that more people could be given the opportunity to try to receive the inheritance.

    "Master, are you really still so impulsive? Why bother? It''s been so long." The middle-aged man stepped out of the void to stand in front of Long Tian and the other members of the White Dragon n. He faced the God of Food while the eyeball continued to look around far overhead.

    Lu Yin felt a massive amount of relief when he saw this scene, as it meant that Progenitor Long was not personally present. If he were, no one would be ignoring the eye in the sky. The eye possessed the power of a Progenitor, but it did not represent the Progenitor himself.

    Mr. Tang and the other chaperones noticed the same thing, which caused them to also let out sighs of relief.

    Many did not know whether to rejoice or feel disappointed at this moment. Simply seeing a Progenitor would be a once-in-a-lifetime honor for most people, but at this moment, the Progenitor was not on the side of Virtue Archives or their students. The appearance of a Progenitor might spell tragedy for them.

    The God of Food stared at the middle-aged man. The old man no longer had the same indifferent, all-knowing demeanor as ever before, but instead looked like he had gone mad and was blinded by hatred. "You beast! I hate myself for being blind enough to actually ept you as my disciple! I hate myself for not realizing for so long that you were the one who killed Little Ping! I hate you for escaping, and I also hate that I haven¡¯t been able to hunt you down!"

    The middle-aged man just shook his head and sighed before gazing at the God of Food with an expression of pity. "Master, how many times must I tell you before you will believe me? Junior Sister was willing. She wanted to help me seed. The greater my love for her, the more pain I would endure. My pain allowed my cultivation to improve, and it¡¯s why I was able to be a Semi-Progenitor. Do you see, Master? Your disciple has be a Semi-Progenitor. Aren¡¯t you happy?"

    The words only threw more wood onto the mes of the God of Food¡¯s rage. He clenched his fists, and his whole body began to tremble from his barely controlled fury. "You beast, I will kill you one day!"

    The middle-aged manughed. "Master, how many years have you stayed in Hope Restaurant? Your entire purpose was to let go of your hatred, but you still can¡¯t do that, as you still haven¡¯t attempted your breakthrough to be a Progenitor. Given your strength, why else would you still be at this same level? It¡¯s such a sad waste to see humanity lose a Progenitor because of this."

    The entire conversation left Lu Yin increasingly confused. "What''s going on?"

    Prof. Wei whispered, "I believe that that man should be Mr. Yu. He was Senior God of Food¡¯s first disciple, which means that this is all about something from long ago.¡±

    "Senior God of Food is amazingly talented, and he has reached an incredible level of power within the Semi-Progenitor realm. He stands on the same level as the All-Dao family¡¯s Wan Dao and the White Dragon n¡¯s Ni Huang. All of them are among the most powerful Semi-Progenitors alive, and they are also the people most likely to seed at bing Progenitors. Shockingly, it was Senior God of Food¡¯s own disciple who made it so that he doesn¡¯t dare attempt his next breakthrough. Supposedly, Mr. Yu killed another one of Senior¡¯s disciples¡ªa woman¡ªin an extremely cruel manner. I really can¡¯t say more than that.¡±

    "The matter became a thorn in Senior God of Food¡¯s heart, and he became consumed by hatred for countless years. He spent his time on the Ind of Hope because he was trying to forget his hatred.¡±

    "After so many years, no one knows whether Senior seeded, but the morepletely he can move on from this matter, the easier a time he¡¯ll have of bing a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin understood. "So this is why the outside world is so afraid of him. The longer others postpone their breakthrough attempt, the less likely they are to seed, as dying will create psychological barriers, but Senior is the opposite. The longer he holds off, the more likely he is to be able to move on from this matter and be a Progenitor."

    Prof. Wei nodded. "However, from what we¡¯re seeing, I¡¯d say that he¡¯s very, very far from getting over his hatred. As soon as he noticed Mr. Yu¡¯s presence, Senior reacted so strongly, and he even tried to attack him here on Dragon Mountain, which forced the White Dragon n to summon the power of their Progenitor. It will be very, very difficult for Senior to resolve this emotional turmoil."

    As the two spoke, Lu Yin was also listening to the conversation between the God of Food and the other people.

    "Master, all I that do is what I was taught by you. Are you the same person now that you were back then? You shouldn''t me me; just look at your own inner world! How cruel and terrifying is it, and yet does anyone even dare to mention it? Compared to you, this disciple was truly kind and merciful," Mr. Yu said in an admiring tone, while finishing with a shrug.

    The God of Food red at Mr. Yu. "You are the only one who will suffer from my inner world! It won¡¯t be used to attack anyone but you, but I¡¯ll make sure that you fully understand it."

    Mr. Yu smiled. "Your disciple looks forward to it."

    The man then looked past the God of Food at Lu Yin and the others. "This is Dragon Mountain, and I¡¯m sure that you don¡¯t want Progenitor Long to really make an appearance, Master. In that case, your disciple will take his leave now, or else you won¡¯t be able to speak with these people from the White Dragon n. Oh, I should also remind you to pay attention to your appearance. It¡¯s too easy to frighten children.¡±

    Mr. Yu finished by smiling and pointing to the students before stepping back and vanishing. As he disappeared, Progenitor Long¡¯s eye also vanished.

    The sudden absence of a Progenitor¡¯s power in the area allowed everyone to let out sighs of relief. It was only then that most people realized that their backs were slick with sweat.

    "Wait, you beast! Get back here!" the God of Food yelled angrily, ready to attack again.

    Mr. Tang hurriedly forward to speak with the enraged Semi-Progenitor, "Senior, we are on Dragon Mountain, and a Progenitor¡¯s power has already appeared once. It¡¯s basically impossible to do anything to him right now."

    The God of Food was panting for breath, still staring at where Mr. Yu had disappeared. The old man¡¯s eyes were so bloodshot that they looked like they were about to start bleeding.

    This was the first time that Mr. Tang had ever seen the God of Food in such an unhinged state.

    The death of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s disciple had happened long, long ago, and not even Mr. Tang had ever heard of the matter. The only reason why Prof. Wei knew anything at all was because she had studied history so thoroughly. If not, no one present would have had any idea about what had happened to the God of Food.

    The God of Food took a moment to take a few deep breaths. Finally, he managed to calm himself down a bit.

    In front of the old man, the people from the White Dragon n nced at each other. After a moment, Long Tian stepped forward. "Senior God of Food, you have my apologies."

    The God of Food lifted his head to look at Long Tian. "I never thought that the ones protecting that beast would actually be your White Dragon n."

    Long Tian remained silent. Everything had happened long, long ago, and while Long Tian was aware that Mr. Yu was a Semi-Progenitor, nothing more was known about the powerhouse. Few people in the White Dragon n even knew of the man¡¯s existence. The God of Food was the reason why Mr. Yu did not dare to reveal his presence to the public, which had resulted in him eventually bing a hidden powerhouse and the Semi-Progenitor guardian of Dragon Mountain.

    If not for the matter concerning the blood pooling up, Mr. Yu would have never revealed himself.

    "There¡¯s clearly no point in remaining polite with the White Dragon n any longer. I see that each of the four ruling powers are the same as the rest. It¡¯s no wonder why you were willing to work with the Celestial Frost Sect to banish the Lu family, if you were willing to ept a beast like that. Do you even have any lines you won¡¯t cross?" the God of Food asked in a frigid tone.

    Long Tian could only shrug. "This junior has no say in any of those matters."

    The God of Food looked up towards the Higher Realm. No, he was looking further than that; he was staring at the Dominion Realm.

    Long Tian¡¯s words werepletely true; he had not been the one to decide to ept that beast and offer him shelter. No, the one who had decided that had to have been Progenitor Long.

    Only the n¡¯s Progenitor could have made the decision to take Mr. Yu in, as only Progenitor Long could have epted the responsibility of saving someone at the risk of making a powerful enemy if Mr. Yu¡¯s existence was ever exposed.

    There were some things that did not need to be said, as they would be clear with just a bit of thought. Without bing a true Progenitor, even if Progenitors put on a show of offering the God of Food a measure of respect, it would never be true respect. No matter what, there was a qualitative difference between Semi-Progenitors and Progenitors.

    Long Tian let out a pent up breath. He knew that the only reason why his n had epted Mr. Yu and given him shelter at the risk of incurring the God of Food¡¯s fury and enmity was because their foundation was too shallow. They were nowhere close to being able topare to the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu¡¯s Sky, or the Wang family. Those three had existed since before the Daosource Sect era, and they even had masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas among their powerhouses. What did the White Dragons have to boast about? If not for the fact that Progenitor Long had been lucky enough to be a Progenitor after receiving some chance advice from a senior, the White Dragon n would have never been qualified to join forces with the rest of the four ruling powers.

    The White Dragon n had been willing to risk epting Mr. Yu even before he had be a Semi-Progenitor because they had seen that the man was practically guaranteed to be a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that he would eventually be a powerful guardian for Dragon Mountain.

    The only downside to the entire matter was the fact that they had not been able to reveal the fact that they had recruited a powerhouse.

    "Senior, it''s difficult for this junior to say anything regarding matters between you and Senior Yu, but as for my n¡¯s blood pool, please don''t listen to nder from others. I can assure you that there is absolutely no problem with my White Dragon n¡¯s blood pool," Long Tian said in a very respectful manner.

    The God of Food no longer had even the slightest bit of a positive impression of the White Dragon n. In fact, he viewed them with even greater hostility than any of the other three ruling powers. "You already know whether or not there is a problem. Our time visiting the White Dragon n is done. We will say our goodbyes now and continue on to visit the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Long Tian quickly moved to block the God of Food. "Senior, we first need to clear up the matter that came up today."

    The God of Food''s eyes instantly chilled. "Do you intend to attack my Virtue Archives?"

    "Senior, I''m afraid that you might have forgotten why Virtue Archives¡¯ students were sent to participate in this exchange program with the four ruling powers," Long Tian said bluntly. All signs of respect had disappeared.

    In fact, the God of Food had forgotten because he had been so disturbed by Mr. Yu''s appearance.

    Virtue Archives had agreed to the exchange program because the academy had also been given certain conditions by the four ruling powers. Not only had the four internally agreed to decide their ess and rights to Virtue Archives¡¯ Mountain and Sea based on the number of students that they recruited, but they had also offered the academy a chance to avoid being taken over by the four ruling powers.

    Of course, the God of Food knew nothing about the four¡¯s internal agreement to divvy up rights to try to inherit the Mountain and Sea.

    If everything went perfectly and the students were recruited, then it would be much easier for them to seize control of the academy, but if Virtue Archives was unwilling to cooperate, then the four ruling powers might take off their gloves. It was very possible that Progenitors would get involved.

 Chapter 2261: Too Despicable

    Chapter 2261: Too Despicable

    In truth, Virtue Archives was not afraid of the four ruling powers bing ruthless. The God of Food had already said that the academy did not fear a fight to the death, and this was precisely why he had been able to keep Virtue Archives independent for so many years. The only problem was that, if the four ruling powers started being more direct, they would quickly learn the truth about the hidden Mountain and Sea, which was something that the academy wanted to avoid at almost all costs.

    The God of Food hesitated for a moment.

    Long Tian assumed that the God of Food was worried about Virtue Archives and his possible death when attempting to break through to the Progenitor realm, so the young man continued talking. "Senior, in the past, the four ruling powers would indeed have worried about you sessfully bing a Progenitor, but that fear just became unfounded. Your actions just now are very reassuring to us. While humanity might have lost a powerful Progenitor, for my four ruling powers, things just became much easier."

    The God of Food arched a brow. "Junior, sessfully bing a Progenitor doesn¡¯t rely solely on one¡¯s state of mind, but also on their foundation. I¡¯m an old man who has spent countless years creating my foundation. It¡¯s impossible for you to be able to see through me."

    "This junior doesn''t want to argue with you, Senior. The usations made about the blood pool must be clearly resolved and settled. I ask you, Senior, and the rest of your group to spend a few more days here on Dragon Mountain. My White Dragon n will definitely provide evidence that there is nothing wrong with the blood pool," Long Tian stated.

    How could they possibly provide any evidence that there was nothing wrong with the blood pool? Normally, someone making such usations would be asked to provide evidence that there was something wrong with the blood pool, but how could the White Dragon n take the risk of letting this matter spread any further? Even if their blood pool was fine, these usations would cause endless problems for their n if they spread to the outside world. Not only that, but the other three ruling powers would also widen the already great discrepancy between themselves and the White Dragon n. That could never be allowed to happen.

    The issue was, there really was a problem with the blood pool.

    Long Tian needed to make a report to the n¡¯s ancestors so that they coulde up with a method to properly resolve this issue. Unfortunately, there were people from the Bai, Xia, Wang, Nong, and Liu families among the students, as well as youths from Humility¡¯s Gate and other influential families. Those were the people that the White Dragon n needed to reassure the most, and to do so, they needed time.

    The White Dragon n absolutely could not not allow the exchange program students to leave. The God of Food was forced to agree to stay a few days longer.

    "Professor, the White Dragon n won''t do anything to us, right?" Nong Siniang was quite worried.

    Lu Yin reassured the girl. "Don''t worry, they wouldn¡¯t dare."

    The White Dragon n was not crazy enough to actually attack the people from Virtue Archives, and Lu Yin was very curious to see how they intended to handle this matter, especially since he had been the one to create the entire issue.

    Coincidentally, Long Tian looked over at ¡°Yu Hao¡± at that exact moment, and both a burning killing intent and a strong amount of helplessness could be seen.

    Given the four ruling powers¡¯ lofty status, it was practically unknown for them to be left helpless when dealing with a three-tribtion Envoy.

    The White Dragon n provided their guests with a massive courtyard that epassed entire mountains and rivers. Everyone was provided with their own quarters, and the highest quality food and drinks were offered as well. Even cultivation resources were made freely avable.

    Lu Yin had wanted to talk to the God of Food, but the Semi-Progenitor had mmed his door shut, clearly not wanting to interact with anyone.

    Lu Yin could only go to his own guest quarters. Once there, he pulled out Zenith Mountain and released Long Xi.

    Lu Yin was quite familiar with Dragon Mountain, not because of the time that he had spent there during his one visit, but because he had read through Long Ke''s memories.

    He had spent a very long time Possessing Long Ke, and he had essed a wide variety of the man¡¯s memories. Many of them had been about Dragon Mountain, though that was naturally because Lu Yin had been searching for information regarding any personal savings that Long Ke had hidden on Dragon Mountain.

    He already knew he would not be watched in his quarters. The White Dragon n was not the Wang family, and they did not have a Mountain and Sea hanging high in the sky. They had even needed a Semi-Progenitor to take action just to allow a Progenitor¡¯s power to appear on Dragon Mountain. There was no chance that they had the ability to keep an eye on ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    This was why Lu Yin was confident enough to release Long Xi in this situation.

    Long Xi felt quite confused. "Where am I?"

    She looked outside the room, and her expression instantly changed. "Dragon Mountain?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Since I''m here, I thought that you should have a look."

    Long Xi''s eyes betrayed herplicated emotions. She had spent decades away from Dragon Mountain, and she had be used to living on Zenith Mountain. Returning to Dragon Mountain so suddenly was emotionally jarring.

    "However, I can''t wander about. I¡¯m currently disguised as Hao Yu, an instructor in Virtue Archives. Right now, Virtue Archives¡­" Lu Yin shared the recent events with Long Xi.

    In the end, she just stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re going after my White Dragon n again?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It''s just a minor issue. It¡¯s not a big deal, really. Just a little problem."

    Long Xi continued to stare. "Is there really something wrong with the blood pool?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "You didn¡¯t know about it?"

    Long Xi shook her head. "I had no idea."

    She then turned to stare out the window. She seemed lost in her own memories.

    The matter concerning the blood pool was something that Lu Yin had learned from Long Ke''s memories, but it was a tightly kept secret even within the White Dragon n, which was why not even Long Xi had known of it.

    Lu Yin asked, "Do you want to go after Long Tian?"

    Long Xi spoke in a casual tone, "The members of our White Dragon n live extremely long lives, and we regard decades like how the rest of you view years."

    As she spoke, she gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Are you going to capture him?"

    "No. Why would you think that?"

    Long Xi said nothing as she continued to stare.

    A surge of guilt swept through Lu Yin, as he felt like he had been seen through. "I don''t actually like capturing people. But sometimes, I just don¡¯t have a choice."

    "Like when you kidnapped Wen Yi, Xia Taili, Yu Chen, and the others?" Long Xi shot back.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Don''t worry. We¡¯re on Dragon Mountain, so how could I capture Long Tian? There¡¯s simply no way, as Dragon Mountain has a Semi-Progenitor guardian, and there¡¯s also your Progenitor¡¯s power that¡¯s protecting this ce."

    Long Xi replied, "From what I know of you, there¡¯s nothing that you wouldn¡¯t dare do, and anything that you do attempt, you¡¯ll make sure you pull off wlessly."

    Lu Yin did not want to continue this line of conversation, and he was once again reminded of Long Ke. Seeing the sadness on Long Xi''s face made Lu Yin feel oddly ufortable. "Do you miss your father?"

    The light in Long Xi''s eyes dimmed. "It doesn''t matter. He never thinks about us."

    "If you want, I can let you see him," Lu Yin said, ovee by a guilty conscience.

    His offer startled Long Xi, and she blinked before turning back to look at Lu Yin. "So I was right, you did kidnap someone else."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "I didn¡¯t do that here! I did that days ago, and it was actually all an ident!"

    "Wait, my father¡¯s also on Zenith Mountain?" Long Xi asked as she looked over at the shrunken mountain nearby.

    Lu Yin nodded. "If you want, I can let you two see each other. Actually, you can see him whenever you want, though I can¡¯t release him."

    Long Xi shook her head. "Forget it. I don''t want to see him for now."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "In that case, do you want to leave Zenith Mountain?"

    He had already asked her this same question at least three times before, but each time, Long Xi''s answer was the same.

    "I''ve seen enough. You can send me back." There was a moment of silence, and then Lu Yin heard the same answer as ever. He felt a bit embarrassed, and he hesitated for a moment.

    Long Xi looked over. "Go ahead and say what you want."

    Lu Yin let out an awkward cough again. "Well, I wanted to ask you for a favor. I was wondering if you¡¯d be willing to help me."

    "I knew that you wouldn¡¯t bring me out to just reminisce about the past. What do you want this time?" Long Xi angrily demanded.

    Lu Yin retorted, "I really did want to let you see Dragon Mountain! After all, this was your home, and I¡¯d feel bad if I didn¡¯t let you out to see it since I¡¯m here. I swear!"

    "Fine, if you say so. What do you want help with?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Long Ke hid his personal stash here on Dragon Mountain, but it can only be opened with his blood, so¡­"

    Long Xi was utterly speechless for a moment. "Don¡¯t you have my father held captive? Why not just use his blood?"

    Lu Yin awkwardlyughed. "Well, it would be best if he doesn¡¯t know about it."

    Lu Yin had no idea if he would be able to use Long Ke again in the future, so it was only natural that he wanted to prevent the patriarch from knowing that Lu Yin had stolen the man¡¯s personal savings. After all, Long Xi was still around, and her blood could also be used to open the treasury. It was best to preserve as many options as possible.

    Long Xi frowned and stared at Lu Yin for a long while. "Take me there."

    "Thank you!" Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He had been quite afraid that Long Xi would refuse to cooperate, which would force him to use Long Ke''s blood to ess the hidden cache.

    Given Mr. Yu¡¯s presence on Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin knew that it would be practically impossible for him to reach the location where Long Ke had hidden his personal wealth, as the patriarch had hidden his cache inside his own home.

    Long Ke was the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch, which meant that his residence had to be one of the most heavily guarded locations on Dragon Mountain.

    Fortunately, there was still Progenitor Smoke.

    Progenitor Smoke was in a rather irritable mood when she emerged from the pocket dimension. She wanted to snap at Lu Yin, but as soon as the woman caught sight of Long Xi, her anger was forced down. "Wow, who¡¯s the beautiful girl? Boy, you¡¯re not bad. It¡¯s one after another with you."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Senior, don''t talk nonsense! What one after another?"

    Long Xi bowed low to Progenitor Smoke. Lu Yin had exined Progenitor Smoke before the woman had appeared. "This junior from the White Dragon n is Long Xi. This one greets Senior Progenitor Smoke."

    Progenitor Smoke nodded and then helped Long Xi stand straight so that she could get a better look at the girl. "Not bad, not bad. You¡¯re from the White Dragon n? Is Long Er your ancestor?"

    Lu Yin was confused. Long Er?

    Long Xi was simrly puzzled. "Long Er?"

    Progenitor Smoke replied, "His name¡¯s Long Yuan."

    "Long Yuan is indeed this junior¡¯s ancestor," Long Xi answered respectfully.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "All of those guys are the same, and they don¡¯t even dare to share their nicknames with their descendants. Long Yuan was known as Long Er. The guy¡¯s an idiot who was born with an innate gift rted to sight, but he still has a bit of talent. After getting some advice from me, he even managed to be a Progenitor, which is definitely not bad. So, now that you see me, do you recognize me?"

    "Our ancestor could never forget the kindness that he received from Senior''s guidance," Long Xi answered respectfully.

    Progenitor Smoke felt quite satisfied. "Girl, you¡¯re much more polite than this brat. He just knows how to use me, and he¡¯s never spoken to me as respectfully as you."

    Lu Yin quickly started ttering the woman, saying many sweet words. He was desperate to stop the Progenitor from sharing his actions with Long Xi.

    After Progenitor Smoke learned that they were on Dragon Mountain, and that Long Xi had agreed to help Lu Yin steal her father¡¯s hidden resources, Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin like he was the girl¡¯s forbidden lover. "You¡¯re doing well, huh, kid? Kidnapping a girl and then asking her to help you steal her old man¡¯s savings. So despicable!"

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched, but before he could say anything, Progenitor Smoke remembered something. "A little while ago, when you asked me to help you capture a couple of people, one of them was from the White Dragon n. Thinking about it, he looked pretty simr to this girl. Was that actually her father?"

    Long Xi clearly found the matter quite amusing, and she turned to stare at Lu Yin. His mouth went dry as he tried to speak. "There¡¯s a reason for that!"

    Progenitor Smoke started mocking him, "First you kidnap the daughter, then the father, and now you¡¯re asking the girl to help you rob her father? Kid, you¡¯re beyond ruthless."

    Even Lu Yin felt like he was going too far when he heard his actions bluntlyid before him.

    "Honestly, if Xia Shang had been more like you back then, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a pathetic situation. That guy¡¯s got a wooden head, just like Ku Jie. Both of them are as dense as can be." Progenitor Smoke reminisced for a brief moment before taking Lu Yin and Long Xi to where Lu Yin wanted to go.

    Progenitor Smoke''sment once again confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions that she might have once had feelings for Progenitor Chen. As for Progenitor Ku, Lu Yin had once babbled nonsense that Progenitor Ku had been a secret admirer of hers. Did she really believe that? As far as Lu Yin was concerned, all of that drama was Progenitor Smoke¡¯s own business, and it only mattered to her generation.

    Given what Lu Yin knew about Progenitor Ku''s personality, he likely would have never admitted anything regarding his own feelings even if he were beaten to death. The man had been too shy and introverted.

    Dragon Mountain held countless peaks and rivers, and it even had entire oceans and pond civilizations.

    Long Ke¡¯s home was rather close to the blood pool, and it was right between the blood pool and where Mr. Yu had revealed himself.

    As Progenitor Smoke led Lu Yin and Long Xi forward, Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit nervous. After all, there was a Semi-Progenitor on Dragon Mountain who was capable of summoning the power of a Progenitor.

 Chapter 2262: Seven-Colored Deer

    Chapter 2262: Seven-Colored Deer

    It did not take long for Progenitor Smoke to lead the two people to the mountain that held Long Ke¡¯s home. There, they found a solemn and majestic pce that fully demonstrated the strength and prestige of the White Dragon n.

    Lu Yin preferred locations that were more in tune with nature and did not particrly care for such ostentatious designs. Still, there was no denying that such a design delivered a specific message and could even function as a deterrent.

    There was no one to be seen in the pce¡¯s main hall. The ce was bleak and cold.

    From what Lu Yin could see, the hall should be extremely lively, full of guards, maids, and more. But with Long Ke missing, everyone else had seemingly vanished as well.

    "I don''t like this ce," Long Xi slowly said as she stood within the main hall. Her voice echoed throughout therge room. If Progenitor Smoke had not confirmed that there was nothing to worry about, Lu Yin never would have allowed anyone to speak so loudly.

    This ce was meant to be the core of one of the four ruling powers. It was the home of the patriarch of the White Dragon n.

    "This ce is too cold," Long Xi stated softly.

    Lu Yinmented, "There should have been many people filling this ce before. But because your father¡¯s missing, there¡¯s no one here now."

    Long Xi shook her head before looking over at Lu Yin. Her eyes were filled with conflicting emotions. "That has nothing to do with how cold this ce is, as the people that filled this ce were too cold as well."

    He looked around the hall. "Our family line stole the position of the main family, but we didn¡¯t live here before that. We only moved here after the main family disappeared. My father had this ce built and moved in with me and Long Tian. When we moved in, he told me that everything had changed and that I could go wherever I wanted on Dragon Mountain without Fourth Sister escorting me.

    "But I liked it better when Fourth Sister was around and when she would take me with her."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Long Tian certainly liked what your father said."

    Long Xi replied, "His reaction has nothing to do with me. All I knew when I saw this ce was that I couldn¡¯t stay here for even a single day."

    "So you moved back to the Middle Realm to live?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi nodded. "Where¡¯s the ce you¡¯re looking for? I¡¯m not very familiar with this ce."

    Following Long Ke''s memories, Lu Yin approached the seventh pir in the rear of the pce¡¯s main hall. Long Ke¡¯s personal treasury had not been hidden in some remote location, as that was unnecessary. ording to Long Ke¡¯s thoughts, the main hall was safer than any sort of hidden area, as the main hall represented the White Dragon n, as well as the n¡¯s main family. As long as Long Ke did not give permission, no one could ess the main hall.

    On top of that, without his blood, it was impossible for even the guards and protectors to ess the patriarch¡¯s hidden wealth.

    "Your father certainly knows how to choose a hiding ce," Lu Yin said as he pointed to the bottom of the pir.

    Long Xi was not surprised at all. "That¡¯s just how he is."

    She then raised a hand, and a drop of bloodnded on the stone pir.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he watched the pir rise up while the space beneath it started to ripple. This was a hidden world.

    In the Fifth Maind, hidden worlds were mostly used for certain families or powerful groups in the Neoverse to have a safe and protected headquarters, but that was not how they were used in the Perennial World. Instead, the people of the Perennial World preferred to use hidden worlds to protect their wealth. While the Perennial World was a dangerous ce, it did not face the same sort of danger as the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone. In the Fifth Maind, entire forces could easily be exterminated if they were not protected within the Neoverse¡¯s Honor Zone. The Fifth Maind was overseen by the Hall of Honor, but the Hall of Honor was not capable of protecting the entire Fifth Maind. Things were very different in the Perennial World.

    Throughout the past and present, regardless of whether the Perennial World was ruled by the Lu family or the Celestial Frost Sect and the rest of the four ruling powers, the existence of powerful forces such as the Liu and Nong families meant that there was a greater degree of safety and stability within the Perennial World, as the threat was mostly concentrated at the rear battlefield. This meant that hidden worlds were not nearly as important in the Perennial World.

    They were not even used to transport troops, as the rear battlefield had other measures that had been used for countless years.

    Lu Yin entered the hidden world that was used as a treasury. It was a very small hidden world, so it did not take long for Lu Yin to search through the entire ce.

    Long Ke had not saved vast amounts of personal wealth, and Lu Yin only found a bit more than two billion star essence. There were other things as well, but nothing that Lu Yin would bother Enhancing to a useful level. He had not wanted to take Long Ke¡¯s personal wealth because of its size, but simply because it was avable and better than nothing.

    Still, Long Ke had not been the White Dragon n¡¯s patriarch for very long, so he had not had the opportunity to gather much wealth.

    Lu Yin and Long Xi soon left the main hall. Long Xi asked Progenitor Smoke to take her to her old residence, though that was not the house beside the Hidden Dragon Lake where Lu Yin had briefly stayed.

    Hidden Dragon Lake was a ce where only direct descendants of the White Dragon n were allowed to live. Lu Yin had stayed there briefly under the identity of Long Qi, which had suggested that he had been epted as a member of the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, gaining a greater status. That had also been when Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been asked to ept Long Qi as her apprentice, and the name of Long Qi had grown famous throughout the entire Perennial World.

    At that time, Long Qi had certainly possessed the qualifications to live beside Hidden Dragon Lake.

    Before that, the ce had been Long Xi¡¯s residence, and before her, it had been Long Tian¡¯s home.

    Long Xi wanted to visit the ce on Dragon Mountain where she had lived before her family stole the position of the n¡¯s main family. She was most eager to visit that more remote location.

    It was another mountain peak, but it was much, much shorter and less impressive than the peak where Long Ke had built his pce. Still, the old family home was also rather close to the blood pool.

    The area that surrounded the blood pool, including Long Ke¡¯s pce and the location used for the n¡¯s ceremony of worshiping the ancestors, was all part of Dragon Mountain¡¯s core. The closer to the center of the mountain one was, the higher the importance of the location.

    Long Ke¡¯s branch family had not reced the main family through pure luck. Long Ke had been the patriarch of the strongest branch family, and they had even surpassed Long Quan¡¯s branch.

    When Long Ke had overthrown and reced the White Dragon n¡¯s main family, his family line had abandoned their ancestral home.

    He refused to look back, and he insisted on only looking to the future. The fact that Long Ke had hidden his personal treasury in the hall built to house the White Dragon n¡¯s main family was enough to show the man¡¯s determination.

    The entire mountain was deserted. Long Xi walked ahead of Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke, visiting familiar courtyards, looking at the flowers and trees she had known years ago, and even seeing many cute, but strange, animals.

    Lu Yin nced to the right. He saw a huge, cat-like creature bounding over. It did not attack, but it simply ran to Long Xi while letting out a joyful cry.

    Long Xi¡¯s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the beast running over, and she hugged it. "Nini? Is that you, Nini?"

    The big cat continued to let out sounds of happiness as it wagged its tail.

    Lu Yin was shocked to see Long Xi happily embracing the big cat andughing. He had never seen such a rxed and happy expression on the girl¡¯s face before, and as he watched, another memory appeared in his mind. He saw the image of another girl hugging a big pet andughing happily as she looked at it. The girl was stunningly beautiful, and Lu Yin briefly believed it to be a memory about Long Xi, only to quickly notice that he was wrong.

    The girl in Lu Yin¡¯s memory had the same beautiful face as Long Xi, but she had apletely different temperament. The girl in Lu Yin¡¯s memory was more refined, yet not as cold. Calmer, and also not as naive. She also somehow seemed to have something almost sacred about her, whilecking a certain innocence that Long Xi possessed. There was a feeling of smoke and fire to the girl, and it was possible that the air of sacredness came not from the girl, but from the animal she held; it was a seven-colored deer.

    "Seven-colored deer," Lu Yin suddenly said.

    Long Xi''s expression changedpletely, and she went stiff while still holding Nini. She turned to stare at Lu Yin, stunned. "You, did you remember?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard and confused by the question. "What?"

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. She looked into his eyes, but there was nothing more than confusion. There was no sign of the expected hatred and conflicting emotions. "Do you remember the seven-colored deer?"

    Lu Yin nodded as he recalled what he had just seen in his mind. "It''s Bai Xian''er''s pet."

    Long Xi exhaled as she patted the big cat''s head. She was still smiling, but it no longer held the pure joy of a moment before.

    Bai Xian''er was someone who was admired and worshiped by countless people, yet also hated and despised by just as many.

    For Long Xi, Bai Xian¡¯er was someone to hate. "If possible, I will definitely kill her."

    The big cat blinked and let out a soft cry, seeming to sense Long Xi''s shifting mood. The tail stopped wagging, and the beast rubbed its face against Long Xi¡¯s cheek.

    Long Xi gave another littleugh. "It''s okay, Nini. Go on and y."

    The big cat did not want to leave. Its ears drooped as it licked Long Xi''s hand before turning around and walking away. The beast looked back at Long Xi three times before it was out of sight.

    "Is that your pet?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi seemed to wilt. "You''ve met her before."

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that Lu Xiaoxuan had met the beast before, as it meant that the cat had lived a very long life despite having no cultivation. It was nothing more than amon animal.

    Long Xi grew silent, clearly feeling rather depressed by the various memories.

    Lu Yin could sense Long Xi¡¯s mood, though he did not understand it. He just assumed that she was sad after visiting her old home.

    They continued to walk around the mountain, and although they had believed the mountain to be entirely deserted, Lu Yin quickly noticed someone. It was an old acquaintance: Long Xi''s maid, Xiao Qing.

    Long Xi also had not expected to see Xiao Qing on the abandoned mountain. The two women had had a good rtionship, but right when Long Xi was about to go up to her old maid, Lu Yin stopped her and gestured for silence.

    Within a courtyard, Xiao Qing was unaware that Lu Yin and Long Xi were nearby. The maid was speaking to someone through amunication crystal. "That''s everything. The White Dragon n haspletely locked this down and is forbidding anyone from spreading any information at all."

    "Not bad. There¡¯s finally a use to having you in the White Dragon n." A voice could be heard from themunication crystal. "Keep watching. The White Dragon n won¡¯t let rumors concerning their blood pool spread, so let¡¯s see what sort of price they¡¯ll pay to ensure Virtue Archives¡¯ silence."

    "Understood," Xiao Qing replied, "Also, is there any word of my father?"

    "You¡¯re in the White Dragon n. If there¡¯s no word about Elder Ni Huang, there¡¯s definitely not going to be any word regarding your father. What? Do you think that your father can return before Elder Ni Huang?"

    Xiao Qing''s face grew pale. "I apologize. I said too much."

    "Back when Long Xi first disappeared, people suggested that you be brought back, as you lost your value within the White Dragon n. However, many things have happened since then, and we held off on having you return. If you¡¯d been brought back, you would have been sent away with your father or to the rear battlefield. At best, you would be made amon disciple. Right now, you have a new opportunity. Find a chance to get close to that Prof. Hao Yu from Virtue Archives. If at all possible, seduce him. You are quite attractive yourself, and you will get help from our other people inside the White Dragon n. Do this, and your status will rise up to match that of your father within the sect."

    Xiao Qing hesitated.

    "What? You don¡¯t want to do it?"

    "No, it¡¯s not that at all! I¡¯m just considering the best way to go about it."

    "Do your best. Hao Yu won¡¯t be easily seduced. However, if anyone from the White Dragon n discovers what you¡¯re doing, they¡¯ll just say that you¡¯ve spent enough time in a miserable situation and are trying to get away by using Hao Yu¡¯s status."

    Xiao Qing gritted her teeth. "I understand. I¡¯ll do my best."

    Outside the courtyard, Long Xi''s expression grew darker by the moment. She had always put on a show of being cold and arrogant and had only revealed her true self around Xiao Qing. In fact, Long Xi hade to regard Xiao Qing as her own little sister. Even if Long Xi asionally scolded Xiao Qing, the girl would never receive any true punishment.

    However, the truth was that Xiao Qing was a spy sent to the White Dragon n by outsiders.

    Lu Yin also had not expected to learn about such a thing, but he was not terribly surprised. It was very normal for forces to have spies within rival forces. Since whoever controlled Xiao Qing did not just have one spy within the White Dragon n, but rather multiple ones who could help each other with various tasks, Xiao Qing had to have been sent by one of the four ruling powers. The only question was, which one?

    "How did she end up as your maid?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi answered quietly, "Myst maid was allowed to leave Dragon Mountain because she was getting married to an outsider. I happened to see Xiao Qing being bullied by people, but I saw the determination in her eyes, so I decided to make her my maid."

    Lu Yin nodded. "An old ruse."

    He wanted to say something more, but Long Xi shot into the courtyard and revealed herself to Xiao Qing.

 Chapter 2263: A Lie Exposed

    Chapter 2263: A Lie Exposed

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Once people with colder demeanors lost control of their emotions, they tended to explode more violently than others.

    Xiao Qing stared nkly at Long Xi, who had suddenly appeared in front of her, momentarily dazed. "Pri- Princess?"

    Long Xi sullenly stared at Xiao Qing. "Who sent you?"

    Xiao Qing immediately panicked, and themunication crystal tumbled from her fingers and crashed onto the ground. The sound startled the maid, and she took a few steps back.

    "Who sent you!" Long Xi yelled.

    Xiao Qing trembled as she stared at Long Xi in terror. Like Long Xi, Xiao Qing was usually a rather cold and indifferent person, but at this moment, she looked as if a mask had been torn away by an overwhelming tide of fear. "Princess, I- I don''t know what you are talking about."

    Long Xi looked at Xiao Qing with open disappointment. "I just heard your entire conversation. Talk to me, and I might not kill you."

    The mention of death terrified Xiao Qing. She had spent many years within the White Dragon n, and had not once experienced any life or death crises. Her terror mounted ever further. "Princess, I never- I never hurt you or the White Dragon n!"

    "Speak!" Long Xi screamed, her voice causing the house to shake.

    Xiao Qing''s legs grew weak, and she copsed to the floor. Sweat dripped from her head, and her eyes grew dull. "It- it¡¯s the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Long Xi let out a shaky breath as she stared at Xiao Qing, who was frozen on the floor. Long Xi had no idea how to even react.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin approached. "What did the Celestial Frost Sect order you to do while within the White Dragon n?"

    Xiao Qing grew even more horrified when she saw Lu Yin. "Long Qi? No, Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Lu Yin had returned to his normal appearance when he released Long Xi from Zenith Mountain. A smile appeared on his face as he crouched down and stared at Xiao Qing. "Since you know who I am, you should also know that I won¡¯t go easy on you. Answer my question, and maybe I''ll let you live. Otherwise, hehe¡­"

    Xiao Qing clutched Long Xi''s legs and started begging, "Princess, please forgive me! I never did anything! I might have been sent here to Dragon Mountain by the Celestial Frost Sect, but I really never did anything! I¡¯ve never hurt you! I didn''t do anything to hurt the White Dragon n!"

    "Then what were you doing just now? The White Dragon n is doing their best to hide everything about the blood pool, but you just exposed it all to the Celestial Frost Sect," Lu Yin retorted with a small smile.

    Xiao Qing grew even more pale. There was nothing that she could say to argue with the facts.

    "Actually, I just remembered something. Back when the two of us went to visit the Ancestor Python in the Lower Realm, there was no reason anyone should have known when and where we were going. And yet, the Celestial Frost Sect knew our exact departure time. They were able to urately determine where we would arrive, and Realmless sent assassins after us based on that information. Did you give us away?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Xiao Qing immediately denied the allegations, "No! I never said anything! I didn¡¯t tell them!"

    "Also, after I arrived on Dragon Mountain, I was sent to live by Hidden Dragon Lake, only to almost immediately be challenged by other people from different branch families of the White Dragon n. Did you tell them about me?" Lu Yin continued his questions.

    Xiao Qing grew increasingly nervous. "No! I never told them anything! Those people¡¯s strength would not have been able to do anything to you! I really didn¡¯t say anything that time!"

    "That time? So you were the one who leaked our itinerary when we went to visit the Ancestor Python?" Lu Yin sneered.

    Xiao Qing started trembling, and her face turned even more pale.

    Long Xi stared at Xiao Qing. "Just how many times have you betrayed me?"

    Xiao Qing was terrified, and she did not dare to say a thing.

    "Why don¡¯t you start talking? Haven¡¯t you already done enough? If you don¡¯t say anything, I can¡¯t see any reason to let you live," Lu Yin spoke slowly.

    Xiao Qing instantly responded, "No, I never did almost anything! It¡¯s just- it¡¯s just that when Junior Progenitor Bai was trying to court the princess, I shared her schedule and whereabouts. Also, also¡­"

    "What else?" Lu Yin yelled. The woman was too sheltered to not be absolutely terrified of death, and just intimidating her was enough to make her do anything.

    Lu Yin scared the woman so badly that she blurted out, "I- I gave them the locations and schedules of all the candidates from the branch families!"

    Lu Yin immediately understood. "No wonder the White Dragon n¡¯s various descendants and all of Long Xi¡¯s potential partners died. I remember being surprised to learn that the Celestial Frost Sect was powerful enough to search through the entire Middle Realm, as they shouldn¡¯t have had that much power. So they seeded because you gave them all the information."

    Xiao Qing¡¯s head hung low, and her heart dropped further and further. The fear of death had already overwhelmed her, and she did not dare to hide anything at all.

    Long Xi closed her eyes. She had also been rather confused as to how the Celestial Frost Sect had tracked down so many descendants of the White Dragon n, as there had been at least a hundred youths who had traveled from all different directions. It should have been impossible for the Celestial Frost Sect to lock down so many different paths and hunt down so many people, but they had seeded, and it had all been because of Xiao Qing.

    It was Xiao Qing¡¯s fault that all of those people had died.

    "Princess, I never hurt you! Please, save me! Save me!" Xiao Qing begged.

    Sadness filled Long Xi''s eyes even as a powerful killing intent flickered in their depths.

    Lu Yin had no doubt that Long Xi would kill Xiao Qing without hesitation, so he set a hand on Long Xi''s shoulder. She looked over at him, puzzled.

    Lu Yin stepped past Long Xi and squatted down into a crouch to look at Xiao Qing from the same level. "Tell me, who is your father?"

    Xiao Qing''s trembling grew even worse than before, and her eyes started darting about. This question clearly frightened her even more than Long Xi''s earlier questions. She did not dare to answer, and she also refused to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin had only asked out of simple curiosity, as from what he and Long Xi had overheard from the earlier conversation, her father had been sent to the Fifth Maind as part of the army sent with Grand Elder Ni Huang to hunt Lu Yin down. It was possible that Lu Yin might recognize the man.

    However, Xiao Qing''s reaction was too extreme, especially towards Lu Yin. She exhibited an odd type of fear. It seemed to be almost instinctive, but it was clearly greater than the girl''s fear of Long Xi.

    This did not make sense, as even when Lu Yin had used the alias of Long Qi to make a massive fuss on Dragon Mountain, humiliating the entire n, Xiao Qing had not shown as much fear at this moment. Lu Yin had indeed threatened the girl, but she seemed to be reacting to something much, much greater than a mere threat.

    "I just asked you who your father is," Lu Yin repeated.

    Xiao Qing shakingly replied, "Qing- Elder Qing Xing."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Elder Qing Xing?"

    Even Long Xi became a bit curious. "You¡¯re the daughter of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Elder Qing Xing?"

    Xiao Qing nodded.

    "You seem very afraid to admit that," Lu Yinmented.

    Xiao Qing instantly panicked. "My father created many problems for the princess at Bai Shaohong¡¯s bidding, and he also killed many of the White Dragon n¡¯s descendants. On top of that, my father was the one to contacted Realmless and ordered-¡±

    She froze for a moment and stared at Lu Yin. ¡°He ordered the assassination of Long Qi. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t dare say anything."

    Lu Yin stood back up and looked down at Xiao Qing lying on the ground. It was unexpected to learn that she was Elder Qing Xing¡¯s daughter. Truthfully, one of the reasons why it was such a surprise was because someone as old as Elder Qing Xing normally would not have such a young daughter. It was quite shocking.

    Long Xi also had not expected to hear such a thing. "No wonder you were so happy to betray my White Dragon n¡ªyou did it for your father. Truthfully, this can¡¯t even be considered betrayal, but rather simply espionage."

    Xiao Qing continued to beg Long Xi to let her go.

    Long Xi wanted to attack, but Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. "Wait a moment."

    Xiao Qing eagerly looked up at Lu Yin.

    Long Xi felt rather confused. "You want to save her?"

    Lu Yin replied, "She¡¯s more useful to keep alive than dead. You can use her to obtain information regarding the Celestial Frost Sect. Just make the best use of her."

    "What? And just forget all that she did?" Long Xi''s voice turned to ice. "She¡¯s the reason why so many of my n¡¯s descendants died. Who will avenge them?"

    "Princess, I can help you work against the Celestial Frost Sect! I can help you steal information! All that I ask is that you spare my life! Please, Princess!" Xiao Qing begged.

    Lu Yin said, "I won''t stop you from killing her, but just consider your White Dragon n¡¯s situation. She¡¯s much more valuable alive than dead."

    Long Xi red down at Xiao Qing. There was a turbulent mixture of rage, killing intent, and disappointment swirling through those eyes. "I thought that you were like me, but unfortunately, I was wrong."

    She then turned around and left the courtyard entirely.

    Xiao Qing heaved a massive sigh of relief, though bitterness filled her eyes. It was not as though she felt nothing for Long Xi after so many years, but rather, they were simply on different sides.

    Lu Yin spoke up again, "It''s not always better to be alive rather than dead. If I keep you alive, I can also control you."

    He raised a hand, and a Death Seal entered Xiao Qing''s body. She was not even an Enlighter, which meant that the God of Death¡¯s Death Seal could provide extremely limiting control over the woman. There were many people who would rather die than see their stellr energy vortex destroyed, as losing their cultivation and power was more terrifying than death.

    As for Xiao Qing, nothing scared her more than the prospect of death.

    "All I need to do is will it, and you¡¯ll die. If you don''t believe me, go ahead and ask some people from the Celestial Frost Sect to help you undo that seal. Of course, you¡¯ll only get one chance, as you¡¯ll be dead the moment you fail, and you won¡¯t even have an intact corpse," Lu Yin coldly informed Xiao Qing.

    The woman quivered. "I don¡¯t dare! I¡¯ll never try to remove it! Thank you, Long Xi! Thank you sir!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. It had been a long time since he had been referred to in that manner.

    "In addition to cing a kill-switch in your body, I need you to meet with someone. Actually, part of the reason why you¡¯re still alive is because of him." As Lu Yin spoke, he brought out Zenith Mountain and released Elder Qing Xing.

    The moment the old man appeared, he stared at Lu Yin in confusion, as Qing Xing had no idea what was going on.

    Lu Yin casually informed the man, "You can¡¯t say that I''m unreasonable. I¡¯ve saved your daughter¡¯s life, but whether or not she manages to stay alive will all depend on her own luck."

    Elder Qing Xing waspletely stumped. "My daughter?"

    To the side, Xiao Qing was still lying limp on the ground, and she stared at Elder Qing Xing in a daze. Wha-? What¡¯s HE doing here?

    Xiao Qing was ovee with the unique sensation of falling into hell. She had never dreamed that Elder Qing Xing would actually be with Lu Yin. How was Lu Yin carrying someone along and keeping them so perfectly hidden?

    Lu Yin pointed over at Xiao Qing. "You don''t even recognize your own daughter?"

    Elder Qing Xing turned and stared at Xiao Qing. After a moment, he frowned. "She looks a bit familiar¡­"

    Suddenly, the old man remembered. "Aren''t you Princess Long Xi''s maid?"

    The moment those words were spoken, Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he whirled around to stare at Xiao Qing. A hand snapped out and grabbed hold of the woman¡¯s hair, dragging her over to Lu Yin. Xiao Qing nched, her face bingpletely white. Her eyes wererge and darted about as she tried to struggle free, but how could she ever escape from Lu Yin?

    Long Xi returned to the courtyard, curious as to why Lu Yin had suddenly attacked Xiao Qing.

    "You actually dare to lie to me?" Lu Yin''s tone was cial. He had not even considered that he would be deceived by a weakling whose life was being held in his hand. He hadpletely believed Xiao Qing when she had imed to be Elder Qing Xing''s daughter. That was the only reason why he had kept her alive, as he believed she could be useful. Shockingly, she had been willing to lie even when confronted with death, and her lie had almost been perfect.

    Lu Yin understood her mentality, as he had also done just about everything necessary to survive throughout his life, including sneaking around, using disguises, lying, and countless other deceptions. Despite all of that experience, he had still been deceived by a weakling whose life was held in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    Elder Qing Xing could not even start making sense of what was happening in front of him.

    Long Xi stared at Xiao Qing. "You lied, which means that you die. Either everything you said is a lie, or your father is someone who you can¡¯t reveal. So, tell me, just who is your father?"

    She had grown much more curious about this question.

    As for Lu Yin, he squeezed his grip on Xiao Qing''s hair even tighter. "I want to know who your father is, so tell us now."

 Chapter 2264: Life Experience

    Chapter 2264: Life Experience

    Xiao Qing''s heartpletely fell. She hade up with a believable lie, only to have it exposed by Elder Qing Xing himself, as the old man was somehow being carried around by Lu Xiaoxuan! How could Xiao Qing have ever imagined such an impossibility? In fact, she still had not reacted to the sudden turn of events.

    Lu Yin''s overwhelming bloodlust pressed down upon Xiao Qing. His was far, far stronger than Long Xi''s.

    Xiao Qing closed her eyes, realizing that it was impossible to keep this matter hidden no matter what else she tried. She barely forced out a name, her voice cracking and revealing her utter hopelessness. ¡°Bai Zhen.¡±

    Hearing the name, Lu Yin''s pupils shrank, and he subconsciously released the woman. Xiao Qing copsed to the ground, her face pale.

    Next to him, Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "Do you know this Bai Zhen?"

    "Are you Bai Zhen''s daughter?" Even Elder Qing Xing was surprised.

    Lu Yin took a moment to suck in a deep breath. He calmed himself, and the terrifying pressure erupted again. "Bai Zhen used to be called¡­ Lu Zhen."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he turned to look at Long Xi. Her expression instantly changed, and a powerful bloodlust erupted from her as well. Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched, and he suppressed the roiling bloodlust.

    "Lu Zhen? Your old page boy?" Long Xi growled between her gritted teeth. Her eyes were bloodshot. This was no longer mere anger, but powerful killing intent.

    Lu Yin stared at Xiao Qing. It was no wonder why she had lied about being Elder Qing Xing¡¯s daughter; she was actually Lu Zhen''s daughter! Lu Zhen had been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s personal page, but he had betrayed the Lu family, joined the Celestial Frost Sect, and then changed his name to Bai Zhen. He was an outcast and a traitor to the entire Lu family, and he had been one of the people Lu Yin had wanted to kill most of all.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Xiao Qing was telling another lie, as there was no point in further lies, and revealing the fact that she was Lu Zhen¡¯s daughter had already condemned her. Was there any possibility that she was lying to hide something even more important? It waspletely impossible.

    Long Xi instantly understood why Xiao Qing had been nted with her. "Lu Zhen was the one to suggest that youe with me, wasn¡¯t he?"

    Xiao Qing nodded. She had already exposed her greatest secret, so there was nothing left to keep hidden.

    Long Xi clenched her fists. This was no longer because of her anger towards Xiao Qing, but because of her hatred of Lu Zhen. Not only had that traitor betrayed the Lu family, but he had even used his own daughter to spy on Long Xi. There was no need for Long Xi to even consider any other possibilities, as she knew that Lu Zhen had wanted to take advantage of her connection to Lu Xiaoxuan.

    "What did Lu Zhen tell you to do?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Qing''s voice grew hoarse, and it was almost impossible to even hear her. "Father said that Princess Long Xi and Lu Xiaoxuan had a unique rtionship, and that even though Lu Xiaoxuan was always with the rest of the Seven Heroes. It was possible that Princess Long Xi might know some things that not even the Lu family ever learned about."

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted with a dangerous light. He felt like he had made a terrible mistake; Lu Zhen had died too easily. Lu Yin should have never granted the man such an easy death.

    "To my knowledge, Bai Zhen was sent to the rear battlefield as soon as he joined my Celestial Frost Sect. Where did his daughtere from?" Elder Qing Xing asked.

    Xiao Qing murmured, "Father found Mother shortly after joining the Celestial Frost Sect, and I was born soon after. He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t survive on the rear battlefield, so he had the Celestial Frost Sect constantly pass me messages. He was also the one to make the request and arrangements for me toe here, as he knew that the Celestial Frost Sect would not refuse anything that has a connection to Lu Xiaoxuan or the Seven Heroes.

    "Only two people are even aware of my existence: my father, and Bai Su, the current acting sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect. He was the one who acted as a ry between me and Father."

    Elder Qing Xing interjected, "Bai Su? He¡¯s practically invisible within the sect. His cultivation has alwaysgged behind Bai Teng''s, but he was always firmly ranked among the top of the various branch patriarchs. I always thought that he did basically nothing within the sect and assumed that he¡¯d eventually be sent to die on the rear battlefield. It¡¯s quite surprising to learn that he was your liaison with Lu Zhen."

    "The more inconspicuous a person is, the more useful they can be," Lu Yin stated coldly before refocusing on Xiao Qing. Knowing that she was Lu Zhen''s daughter, should he kill her or not?

    The decision was Lu Yin''s to make.

    When considering the fact that the woman was an enemy, she should be killed. Even if Xiao Qing''s actions regarded Lu Yin as an enemy, Long Xi still wanted the woman dead. However, from another point of view, Lu Zhen¡¯s daughter held far greater value alive.

    In the end, Lu Yin decided to not kill her.

    Once they were outside the courtyard once again, Long Xi gave Lu Yin a long, pointed look. "Aren''t you afraid that she¡¯ll just inform the Celestial Frost Sect? She knows about the enmity between Lu Zhen and the Lu family. She knows that she¡¯s living on borrowed time."

    Lu Yin softly replied, "Even if she knows that she¡¯s as good as dead, all she wants is to live just a bit longer. She wants to survive, and as long as there¡¯s even the slightest chance of doing so, someone like her is going totch onto it. Lu Zhen was the exact same. She¡¯ll betray the Celestial Frost Sect and anyone else if she has to in order to simply keep on living."

    Long Xi continued to stare. "I sure hope that you¡¯re right."

    Lu Yin¡¯s decision to leave Xiao Qing alive certainly carried a good bit of risk, but he was absolutely confident that she would never reveal Lu Yin¡¯s existence to anyone unless she waspletely certain that she would survive the ordeal. It was clear that the woman did not want to die, but who could guarantee her life? At the very least, she needed the assistance of a Semi-Progenitor, and given her strength and status, that was impossible without returning to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    By the time that happened, Lu Yin would already be exposed and quickly approaching his final showdown with the four ruling powers.

    After returning to his guest quarters, Lu Yin stared at his cosmic ring. Long Xi had to be in a terrible mood at this moment.

    There were infinite possibilities when it came to plotting and scheming, and it had always been that way. However, Lu Yin felt quite certain that when his Lu family had ruled the Perennial World, there had not been nearly as much scheming, if only because the Lu family hadpletely and utterly suppressed all others. There were more important things than ambition, and unless driven by pure hatred, there would have been no reason to plot against the Lu family.

    While the four ruling powers appeared to be equal and in equilibrium, in truth, all of them had wanted to rece the Lu family as the sole ruler of the Perennial World the moment the Lu family had disappeared. The only variable was how long it would take for those initial seeds of greed to blossom and bear fruit.

    Humans were constantly forcing themselves to fight against each other, as well as fend off the ever-present threat of Aeternus. Thisbination created an irresistible pressure that wore away at humanity. Humans could not bear the thought of extinction or having their entire civilization destroyed.

    Lu Yin looked towards the Mother Tree. The rear battlefield was the most important ce in the Perennial World, and it had to remain strong and stable. It was what allowed the Perennial World to exist and enjoy peace. The Aeternals were determined to shatter this peace, and it was why Shaman God had deliberately helped Lu Yin be more powerful and influential, ensuring that he became famous throughout the entire universe, while also guaranteeing that the four ruling powers would never be willing to let Lu Yin live.

    It was fair to say that the real purpose of Redbacks and traitors was not to steal information about humans and act as spies, but rather to spread chaos. Even their deaths aplished that goal, and the Middle Realm and Higher Realm still had not settled down after the information taken from Realmless had exposed numerous Redbacks.

    Aeternus ate away at humanity like a trickling stream ate away at stone. Progress was not impressive or even noticeable, but the day woulde when all of mankind¡¯s strength would be eroded away.

    The four ruling powers'' true power and foundation was definitely not what they had shown at present. The reason why they had been pushed so far was because they had needed to send many of their powerhouses to the Fifth Maind. That army had never been intended to fight against Aeternus, but rather to handle the four ruling powers¡¯ selfish goals. If the four ruling powers started attacking each other, their strength would only drop quicker, and it was highly possible that in doing so, they would no longer be able to support the rear battlefield.

    The only way to end the current situation was for the Lu family to return.

    The Lu family had held the reigns of the Fifth Maind for far too long. If they returned, provided that they retained sufficient strength, they could seize back control of the Fifth Maind without having to deal with too much resistance. Things wouldpletely change as, among other things, Seed Garden, the Liu family, Virtue Archives, and many more were not going to give up easily to the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the Mother Tree, his mind wandering. His thoughts were jumbled and chaotic, but he felt like he needed another good reason for what he was doing. Something that would work to justify things to himself.

    He focused his mind, reigning in his idle thoughts. He just needed to continue as he had been. It was time to roll his die again.

    He tapped the die, and watched as it slowly came to a stop: six pips.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide. Was he really that lucky?

    His consciousness quickly entered the mysterious dark space. He looked around and immediately chose the brightest orb he could see. Based on the brightness, the person should only be a two-tribtion Envoy.

    Unfortunately, there was no brighter ball of light to be seen, and Lu Yin did not want to waste time.

    As soon as the Possession took hold, a familiar scent struck Lu Yin¡¯s nose. He opened his eyes, but why was the world spinning? The sky twirled, and then Lu Yin¡¯s ear smashed into the ground. He saw a headless corpse slowly fall to the ground. Was he on the rear battlefield again?

    At that instance, his consciousness returned to his own body after passing through the dark space.

    Lu Yin gasped for breath. He had just died again. The person that he had Possessed had been killed literally the moment that Lu Yin had Possessed him. The man had been decapitated.

    Such terrible luck was outside of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, as the man had died before Lu Yin had even had a chance to ess the man¡¯s memories.

    Also, it could only be said that the man had been unlucky as well. His death had not been caused by Lu Yin or his Possession. The man had been beheaded without ever catching so much as a glimpse of his attacker, which suggested that there was too great a gap in strength. If Lu Yin had managed to Possess the man a few seconds sooner, it was possible that the man could have survived. What a pity.

    He tapped the die again, and watched it slowly spin.

    This round of rolls seemed to be exceptionally lucky, as Lu Yin¡¯s second roll was Possession yet again. Twice in a row was incredibly rare.

    His consciousness returned to the dark space, and he nced around. There were no bright orbs yet again, but Lu Yin was not trying to acquire sensitive information this time. Also, most of the members of Star Alliance were only one or two-tribtion Envoys, which meant that the lights before Lu Yin were perfect for his purposes.

    The thought barely flickered through his mind before he selected a target and merged with it.

    Normally, when Lu Yin Possessed someone, they would not be moving. They were usually standing, sitting, or something simr. This time, things were different, as Lu Yin Possessed someone as they were moving along.

    Naturally, he tripped.

    "What''s wrong? Did that woman yesterday leave your legs weak?" A rather handsome man teased. He looked quite young, but there was a depth of years to his eyes.

    Lu Yin felt quite embarrassed. He had Possessed someone as they had been running, and he had tripped. It was incredibly embarrassing for a cultivator to trip.

    "It''s nothing. Let''s go," Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, the memories started to appear.

    It was a group of three people: Lu Yin¡¯s Possession target, the handsome man, and an old woman. All three were Envoys, and Lu Yin had Possessed a one-tribtion Envoy.

    Finding three Envoys traveling together was quite surprising, but Lu Yin understood as he started to review the memories.

    He had Possessed a man by the name of Cheng Li. He was a part of Root, and he was a rather high-ranking member at that.

    The Root Organization was a group in the Perennial World that focused on eliminating the pests and creatures that fed off of the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. There were many people in Root, and all of them spent almost their entire time in the Lower Realm, but they faced dangers that were not much less than those faced by the people fighting on the rear battlefield. Members of Root were also held in high regard. After all, the Mother Tree was the foundation of the entire Perennial World, and the Root Organization protected the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, which protected the Perennial World itself.

 Chapter 2265: Two Choices

    Chapter 2265: Two Choices

    The Root Organization had many powerhouses among its members, and Cheng Li was someone with a high status within the organization. Of his twopanions, the handsome man was an Envoy who fought for Root all the time in the Lower Realm, just like Cheng Li. As for the old woman, she was someone from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The three¡¯s current destination was their of a creature that the handsome man had found with Adventure King.

    The handsome man had a good rtionship with Adventure King, and the two often worked together when eliminating the pests that attacked the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. Adventure King had also been invited on this attack, but the true purpose of Cheng Li and his twopanions was not pest control, but rather assassination. Cheng Li had been paid to kill Adventure King by the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The reason for this attack actually had something to do with Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s cover as Long Qi had been exposed and he had been fleeing to the Middle Realm from Dragon Mountain, Adventure King had helped Lu Yin escape. This help had not been known by anyone else, but Adventure King hadter mentioned the matter to the handsome man, and the man had betrayed Adventure King in order to reap the benefits offered by the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had already known that Adventure King had had a good rtionship with the Lu family, and they even considered him a part of the remnants of the Lu family. This was why Adventure King was forced toplete dangerous missions for Root each year, as the Celestial Frost Sect was trying to kill the man. However, he had continued to survive, and his influence within Root made it difficult for any of the four ruling powers to openly act against the man. Fortunately for them, the information that they had received from the handsome man had nted the seeds of disaster for Adventure King, as the Celestial Frost Sect had been given a valid reason to attack him.

    The decision to deal with Adventure King had been made long ago, but the Celestial Frost Sect had done nothing so far. They wanted to spy on the man and see if he could lead them to any other remnants of the Lu family who had survived and been missed. Unfortunately, even after all these years, Adventure King had never initiated contact with anyone from the Lu family¡¯s vassals. The Celestial Frost Sect was done wasting their time watching the man, and the decision had been made to set a trap and kill him.

    This was considered a very trivial matter, as it was a very simple task for the Celestial Frost Sect. There was no need for any of the sect¡¯s powerhouses to take action, and all that was truly needed was to poison Adventure King at a critical moment to ensure that he would die to a beast. This was the task given to the handsome man.

    The three Envoys continued along, and Lu Yin observed the handsome man. He could not help but feel that encountering this situation was incredibly lucky, as without this Possession, Adventure King would have ended up in terrible danger.

    The handsome man and the old woman were in no way Adventure King¡¯s opponents. After all, the man was a six-tribtion Envoy. Without that level of strength, Adventure King would never have been capable of helping Lu Yin escape. There was truly an insurmountable gap between the handsome man and the old woman from the Celestial Frost Sect and Adventure King.

    Despite the overwhelming difference in power, the three Envoys were confident in their ability to take action against Adventure King, as they were relying on a certain poison. The beast that they were attacking manipted air and wind and used it to fight. As long as the poison was released into the air, the creature¡¯s control of air would easily guide the poison to Adventure King. Thus, as long as the man attacked the beast, Adventure King would die without any of the three Envoys needing to take any direct action.

    All they needed to do was release the poison, record what happened, and then send the video to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Will Adventure King detect the poison?" Lu Yin asked, though as far as the handsome man and the old woman were concerned, Cheng Li had spoken.

    The old woman answered in a cold voice, "No. This poison is not particrly toxic or dangerous, and it is certainly not strong enough to draw Adventure King¡¯s notice. However, whenbined with this creature¡¯s air maniption, this poison will serve as a sharp de to cut down Adventure King. Just make sure to retreat in time."

    The handsome man sneered. "Don''t worry. Even if we don''t want to escape, Adventure King will make sure to find a way to toss us to safety and keep us alive."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, he sneered again. "How pathetic. Given my familiarity with the man, there¡¯s no chance of him doing anything else."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at the handsome man. Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent was growing ever stronger. This handsome man clearly had no regrets about killing someone who considered him a friend, and he even mocked Adventure King¡¯s kindness. Even the old woman did not like this man.

    The Celestial Frost Sect''s desire to kill Adventure King simply stemmed from the fact that they were on opposite sides. Many of the members of the sect genuinely admired Adventure King. After all, he had not received the nickname of Adventure King because of the Lu family, but rather through his own deeds.

    However, the four ruling powers would never show mercy to anyone who had previously followed the Lu family. Adventure King had continuously ovee the impossible tasks given to him each year, and after he helped Lu Xiaoxuan escape, the Celestial Frost Sect had realized that Adventure King would survive until he was killed by one of the creatures in the Lower Realm.

    Such a dedicated person deserved respect and admiration, but unfortunately, Adventure King would die at the hands of scum.

    The handsome man felt nothing at all for Adventurer King. The entire reason why the man had made a good impression on Adventurer King was because the handsome man had been discovered in a life-threatening situation that Adventure King had saved him from. However, everything had beenpletely under the handsome man¡¯s control, and he had orchestrated the entire scenario in order to get close to Adventure King. Adventure King¡¯s favor had led to the handsome man receiving assistance toplete many missions for Root over the years, which had granted him many resources and an impressive reputation. As his cultivation rose, the handsome man no longer needed Adventure King¡¯s assistance, and his idea was to move on to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    It was already easy to join any of the four ruling powers as an Envoy, but the handsome man did not want to receive amon status after joining the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Adventure King¡¯s death would propel the handsome man to a high position within the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant far more resources than his peers.

    That was the man¡¯s entire motivation.

    The handsome man was indulging in a beautiful mental fantasy, and he did not even realize it when a knife stabbed into his neck. It was a very familiar de, as it belonged to apanion. It was Cheng Li¡¯s knife.

    Lu Yin had taken action, instantly stabbing the handsome man''s neck with a knife before releasing one of the Thirteen Swords to finish the man off before turning to face the old woman.

    The old woman was badly startled. "What are you doing?"

    She had never expected this rather weak Envoy to suddenly attack. Had he gone crazy?

    Lu Yin held the knife and shed it sideways. Cheng Li had never used the Thirteen Swords before, as he did not know the technique. However, Lu Yin was fully capable of using the Thirteen Swords, even when Possessing an unfamiliar body, and the Thirteen Swords were incredibly difficult attacks for people to defend against. What¡¯s more, Lu Yin had also received an inheritance from the Sword Monument that had given him the experience of understanding how to counter thousands of different weapons in the most effective manner.

    The old woman used a quite unusual weapon, as she wielded two hooks. Even so, Lu Yin immediately saw through the woman¡¯s technique, and her arm was instantly sliced off.

    The old woman was stunned. "Who are you? You aren¡¯t Cheng Li!"

    She refused to believe that Cheng Li was her opponent, and she also knew that her weapons were extremely difficult for most people to understand when facing for the first time. Her opponent had managed to find a hole in her technique in an instant, which was not something that most people could do.

    Lu Yin never spoke a single word. He was morefortable using heavier and thicker swords, but the delicate knife danced in his hand.

    The old woman fled into the true universe, trying to escape, only to still be cut down by Lu Yin¡¯s de.

    Lu Yin approached the handsome man''s body, took out hismunication crystal, and called Adventure King.

    Both Cheng Li and the handsome man had worked with Adventure King before in the Lower Realm, so both of them knew how to get in touch with the man.

    "How long do you need? The beast won¡¯t stay still for long," Adventure King answered with a question.

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "The Celestial Frost Sect sent people to kill you. They know that you helped Lu Xiaoxuan escape. This beast is their means of getting rid of you,bined with a certain poison."

    Elsewhere, Adventure King''s eyes flickered. "Who are you? What happened to the owner of thismunication crystal?"

    "He¡¯s a traitor, and I¡¯ve already dealt with him. You need to hurry up and escape. The four ruling powers won¡¯t stop trying to kill you, so just wait quietly. The Lu family will soon return."

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he raised a hand to his forehead.

    Cheng Li was not a good person either. He had been saved by Adventure King on several different asions, yet he was still willing to help the handsome man and the old woman lure Adventure King out and kill him.

    After forcing Cheng Li''s body tomit suicide, Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body, and he noticed that the ck and white shapes inside his chest started to churn and grow slightly. They always benefited from Lu Yin¡¯s deaths during his Possessions, as it was only possible to produce death energy while experiencing death.

    Lu Yin had no idea how the God of Death had managed to develop death energy to begin with. Had the man died repeatedly? Or had he also had an ability to Possess people like Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin had seeded in rolling six pips twice in a row, so unsurprisingly, hisst two rolls were useless. He also felt that it was quite likely that he would need a good bit of time before he rolled Possession again, as he had used up all his luck.

    All he needed to do for the time being was wait to see how the White Dragon n would react to the trouble that he had created!

    After two days, Lu Yin did not bother waiting to see how the White Dragon n would respond, and he went to go see the God of Food.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw the God of Food''s hesitant state, he asked, "Senior, has the matter regarding the blood pool been settled?"

    The God of Food silently nodded. He took a moment to settle his thoughts and then said, "This might be unfair to you, as you are here for the sake of Virtue Archives. And yet, you are being threatened by the White Dragon n for the academy¡¯s-"

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the God of Food from continuing. The youth¡¯s eyes zed as he stared at the old man. "I am one of the academy¡¯s instructors, and as long as something is best for the academy and its students, nothing else matters to me. What happens with the White Dragon n, or with any of the four ruling powers, has nothing to do with me."

    The two men stared at each other for a moment, and then the God of Food nodded. "You were invited into Virtue Archives not only because of your incredible cultivation for your age, but also because of Kui Luo. While I myself do not like Kui Luo, I must admit that the old man is quite capable. Even if he creates problems for the academy, as long as he stays around, his strength as a Semi-Progenitor is enough to intimidate many people.¡±

    "I now see that I indeed made the right decision, but for the wrong reason. You are much better for Virtue Archives than Kui Luo, and the academy also suits you very well."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There¡¯s no reason to inte this junior¡¯s ego, though I am very curious. What did the White Dragon n use to influence your decision, Senior?"

    The God of Food''s eyes flickered, yet he said nothing even after a long time.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Is it something to do with Mr. Yu?"

    The God of Food solemnly answered, "The White Dragon n has offered me a fair fight with that beast, vowing not to interfere no matter if he lives or dies."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "They actually dare to offer you such a condition? Aren¡¯t they worried that you will kill Mr. Yu, Senior?"

    The God of Food let out a sigh. "There¡¯s no way the White Dragon n will simply abandon that beast. If they¡¯re offering me this opportunity, then it means that they arepletely confident that he will survive against me. Still, no matter what, I want this chance. I will definitely kill him myself and put an end to things."

    Lu Yin understood that the God of Food''s hatred for Mr. Yu was not much less than his own hatred for the four ruling powers. The matter could be considered very simr to what had existed between Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu, so Lu Yin understood the old man¡¯s need to settle things.

    "Even if the White Dragon n does use their blood pool to suppress outsiders who join their n, it has nothing to do with our academy. If people are willing to join the White Dragon n, then such is their fate. Even if this matter is exposed, it doesn¡¯t need to be done by us. But now that we know about it, we need to take whatever benefits we can," the God of Food said before sharing with ¡°Yu Hao¡± all that the White Dragon n was offering the students, in addition to the condition that the God of Food himself had been offered.

    However, ¡°Yu Hao¡± was different. He had been the one to expose the problem with the blood pool, and he needed to be bought off differently to ensure his silence.

    "The White Dragon n is offering you two options. First, you stay here on Dragon Mountain," the God of Food continued as he looked at Lu Yin''s nk expression, "This means that, as long as you remain on Dragon Mountain, you will receive the White Dragon n¡¯s protection. No matter who you may have offended, even another one of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n will protect you."

    Lu Yin reflexively asked, "What if I offend the White Dragon n?"

    The God of Food silently stared at ¡°Yu Hao¡± for a moment. "Are you so skilled at offending people?"

 Chapter 2266: A Bit Of Soil

    Chapter 2266: A Bit Of Soil

    "I¡¯ve already offended them by exposing the problem with the blood pool," Lu Yin softly replied.

    The God of Food responded, "The blood pool has been exposed, yes, but this is not the first time that the White Dragon n has offered to protect someone. Each time they have promised safety, they have fulfilled that promise.¡±

    ¡°The most famous incident was when they were still in the Middle Realm and the Lu family was still in power. The Lu family would not tolerate people killing members of even their branch families, but after doing so, an independent cultivator was offered refuge and a home on one of Dragon Mountain¡¯s peaks. After facing untold hardships, the man sessfully escaped to Dragon Mountain, and he was saved by the White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "They were able to save someone who killed a member of the Lu family?"

    "It¡¯s certainly unbelievable, but also true. The Lu family was famous for their overwhelming strength and for protecting their own, but that independent cultivator was saved. He did eventually die, but he was killed by a stellr tribtion, and the Lu family had nothing to do with the matter. It was just a normal death for a cultivator.¡±

    ¡°No one knows what sort of price the White Dragon n must have paid, but their promise of protection spread, and over the years, countless people have dreamed of being offered a peak in Dragon Mountain, as it is a guarantee of safety."

    Lu Yin was quite impressed. "The fact that the White Dragon n was able to protect someone from the Lu family shows that a promise of safety from them isn¡¯t a small matter."

    "So you ept?" The God of Food asked.

    Lu Yin resolutely shook his head. "No."

    The God of Food was taken aback. "Is that really for the best? Are you possibly worried about the Xia family threatening you with Yu Chuan?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "This junior tends to be peaceful, and I don¡¯t usually try to offend people. Even this time, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the academy¡¯s students were at risk, I would not have braved the dangers of offending the White Dragon n. That¡¯s why this junior can¡¯t ept the offered condition."

    The God of Food reconsidered the matter, "Very well, then. Let¡¯s discuss the second option."

    The man raised a finger. "One Semi-Progenitor level power vessel."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "A power vessel with the power of a Semi-Progenitor?"

    "It looks like that¡¯s the choice you want to make. Yes, a Semi-Progenitor level power vessel. A steep price."

    "Still not worth nearly as much as the first option," Lu Yin countered.

    The God of Food just sneered. "The first option includes protecting you, but it also requires you to join the White Dragon n. Your value is clear for anyone to see. Wang Nian already approached you, no? The Celestial Frost Sect has been trying to win you over, and the Xia family has been even more aggressive. With so many pursuing you, it¡¯s simply impossible for the White Dragon n to sit back and do nothing. If you select the first option, not only would they resolve the matter regarding their blood pool, but they would also be the ones to win you, which would be an incredible prize for the White Dragon n."

    Lu Yin smiled. "So if this junior tried to choose the first option, would you have stopped me, Senior?"

    The God of Food shook his head. "I would not have stopped you. Each person has their own path."

    He stared up at the starry sky with a mncholy expression. "Nowadays, the four ruling powers are looked up to by all, and no one will me you if you choose to join any of them. That¡¯s what most people would do, and it¡¯s also what most of our students will do. Virtue Archives may have trained and taught the students, but we don¡¯t require them to give anything back to the academy.¡±

    Things were getting a bit heavy, and Lu Yin still wanted to know about the Semi-Progenitor level power vessel that he would be obtaining. "Senior, what is the Semi-Progenitor power vessel that they are offering?"

    "I don''t know. I¡¯ll pass your decision on to the White Dragon n, and I also won''t allow them to make trouble for you before we leave," the God of Food said.

    "Thank you, Senior." Lu Yin was genuinely grateful.

    The old man just shook his head. "It should be me thanking you, not receiving your thanks. I had no idea that that beast was here on Dragon Mountain. I owe you a favor, Yu Hao, and I hope to be able to pay it back in the future."

    The old man then left.

    Lu Yin had not expected to receive anything from the White Dragon n, and being given a Semi-Progenitor level power vessel to buy his silence was a pleasant surprise. More importantly, he could potentially Enhance the power vessel to the Progenitor level. This was a very pleasant surprise.

    As for choosing to live on a peak on Dragon Mountain to stay safe, only an idiot would choose such a ridiculous option. As soon as the White Dragon n discovered that Yu Hao was really Lu Yin, then forget giving him a peak¡ªeven if they had given him all of Dragon Mountain itself, it would still be useless, as Progenitor Long would be the first to kill Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    A massive paper boat floated in the air as a group of students happily boarded it in small, chatting groups.

    Wang Xiaofan and several others appeared very serious, while Liu Que shot asional nces at Long Tian. It was clear to see that the swordsman was still unwilling to ept what had happened.

    The students¡¯ time visiting the White Dragon n hade to an end. It was a better idea to talk about meaningless things than their training experience with the White Dragon n. Most of the students had done nothing at all, though they had still walked away with quite a bit of wealth because of what had happened with the blood pool. Naturally, it was firmly understood that there was nothing wrong with the blood pool, and Prof. Hao Yu had rified that he had been mistaken.

    While everyone knew the truth, no one was willing to risk offending the White Dragon n.

    As for Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and the others from the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n had other means to keep information from spreading, though it was unavoidable that the four ruling powers themselves would learn of the matter.

    There was an awkward expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he really did not know how to interpret his own emotions. If he used Nong Siniang¡¯s expression, Lu Yin looked like he had just eaten dirt.

    In fact, that was a perfect expression, as Lu Yin had indeed eaten dirt. More urately, he had been given a clump of dirt.

    Right before Virtue Archives had started leaving, the White Dragon n had delivered the promised Semi-Progenitor level power vessel to Lu Yin. It turned out to be a clump of gray, messy dirt with a peculiar smell.

    Upon receiving the dirt, Lu Yin nearly threw it back into Long Tian''s face. Were they giving him dirt? What was this supposed to mean?

    The White Dragon n had quickly exined the gift, and Lu Yin soon learned exactly what it was, though his mood did not improve.

    This clump of soil was from the Lower Realm, and had been collected from right beneath the Ancestor Python¡¯s head. The giant snake spent all of its time sleeping, and it also drooled in its sleep. The dirt that Lu Yin had received was dirt that had absorbed the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva, and it was permeated with the snake¡¯s aura. No creature would dare toe near the clump of soil, not even Semi-Progenitor-level beasts.

    It was indeed an amazing treasure if it could even keep back creatures with the strength of Semi-Progenitors, and it was clearly a Semi-Progenitor level treasure. As for calling it a power vessel, well¡­ The dirt had absorbed the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva and held the snake¡¯s aura, but did that not mean that it was more like a natural treasure?

    Lu Yin had felt very ufortable while epting the dirt, so he had quickly stored it away in his cosmic ring and left. While he was in sight, many people from the White Dragon n stared at him with burning envy. Still, Lu Yin could not help but feel like he had been tricked.

    He refused to look backwards as the paper ship flew away, as he feared that he would not be able to hold back his cursing.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, did I hear right? The White Dragon n just gave you a bit of soil that¡¯s absorbed the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva?" Prof. Wei approached and asked with a smile.

    Lu Yin was still upset about it. "It¡¯s just a bit of drool. Why bother calling it ¡®saliva?¡¯"

    Prof. Weiughed. "Prof. Hao Yu, don''t look down on the soil that they gave you. If you keep that with you, no creature will be willing to approach you no matter where you wander in the Lower Realm. You were basically just given all of the treasures avable in the entire Lower Realm! For members of Root, you were just given the greatest treasure imaginable. They¡¯d take that over a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s protection any day.¡±

    "As far as I know, over the years, the White Dragon n has sold quite a bit of that saliva, mostly to either the Lu family or the Celestial Frost Sect. Seed Garden also considers it to be a top-tier treasure, and it¡¯s not possible to get it anywhere else."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Is that really the case? If that¡¯s all true, then it really is a peerless treasure in the Lower Realm."

    However, Lu Yin was not actually thinking about the Lower Realm at all, but rather the Fifth Maind¡¯s Astral Beast Domain.

    If not even creatures with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor would approach this soil, then what sort of reaction would the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s astral beasts have? How would the Celestial Demons respond? Or Skymender? Astral beasts were fundamentally the same as the creatures that lived in the Lower Realm, and this soil should have a simr power over any non-human creature.

    The more Lu Yin considered the possibilities, the more excited he became. Used properly, the soil could potentially be much more valuable than a Semi-Progenitor level power vessel, and it might be possible to create something truly miraculous.

    Prof. Wei smiled. "Congrattions, Prof. Hao Yu."

    "Thank you, Prof. Wei, for the exnation." Lu Yin was truly grateful.

    The woman justughed. "I''m simply envious of your sess."

    Lu Yin was feeling quite generous. "Would you like some, Professor? It¡¯s a good sized piece of dirt, and I can certainly spare some for you."

    Prof. Wei quickly refused. "I won¡¯t be going to the Lower Realm, so the soil is actually useless to me. Keep it for yourself, Professor."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Fair enough. It¡¯s much better than what I expected, so I¡¯ll really need to visit the Lower Realm and test it out."

    Prof. Wei left, and Bai Weiwei instead approached, smiling at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Professor, we¡¯ll be visiting the Celestial Frost Sect next. You won¡¯t cause us any trouble, will you?"

    Lu Yin felt rather stunned. "Why would you ask that? Who would dare to make trouble for one of the four ruling powers?"

    Bai Weiwei continued to smile. "I¡¯ve known you for some time now, Professor, so I see no reason not to be direct. Professor, it¡¯s clear that you want to help Virtue Archives, but what you¡¯re doing is useless. At best, you¡¯ll just dy things slightly, as it¡¯s impossible to change the ultimate oue. Also, trying to do so will only make the four ruling powers upset with you. In this Perennial World, the four ruling powers stand above all others."

    Lu Yin replied, "You''re worrying too much. I wasn¡¯t trying to make trouble for the four ruling powers. I¡¯m not nearly capable enough to think that I can shake them."

    "Given your abilities, it¡¯s clear that you are able to cause trouble for anyone. However, my Celestial Frost Sect has always shown you a level of courtesy, and my senior sister made a point to ask me to work hard and learn from you, as there is a chance that you may eventually join my Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Your senior sister? Bai Xian''er?"

    Bai Weiwei nodded. "Senior Sister asked me to send her greetings to you, Professor."

    The young woman then turned and walked away.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Had Bai Xian''er noticed him? Everyone feared that woman as though she were the queen of the Perennial World, but in the depths of Lu Yin¡¯s heart, in his buried memories, there was the scene of the maid who lifted her nose into the sky and scolded him. A very bold maid.

    Just like the Wang family and the White Dragon n, the Celestial Frost Sect also sent someone to greet and escort Virtue Archives: Acting Sect Master Bai Su.

    Bai Su waited for the students and their chaperones a great distance away from the entrance to the Celestial Frost Sect. As soon as the man saw the God of Food, he acted like a perfectly respectful junior.

    Anyone seeing Bai Su¡¯s attitude towards the God of Food would find it hard to imagine that he was the same person who had sent Xiao Qing to be a spy within the White Dragon n, and also the person who had ordered the woman to try to seduce Yu Hao. Everyone believed Bai Su to be an even more obedient puppet than Bai Teng, and nothing more than that. This was nothing more than an act, as this puppet had a mind of his own.

    Bai Su suddenly looked over at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and he enthusiastically greeted him. "You must be Prof. Hao Yu! You really are young. Very impressive for your age. When I was your age, I was only a mere Hunter, yet not only are you a powerful Envoy, but you¡¯ve even managed to be a Realm Array Master. Truly, very, very impressive."

    Lu Yin answered politely, "Sect Master Bai Su, you¡¯re exaggerating things. I¡¯ve simply enjoyed a bit of good luck. I could never measure up to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s sect master."

    Bai Suughed. "Prof. Hao Yu is the one exaggerating things now! Out of my entire Celestial Frost Sect, it''s not that weck disciples who canpare to you, but that all of our disciples fall far, far behind you. It¡¯s really quite embarrassing."

    After exchanging a few more niceties with ¡°Yu Hao,¡± the acting sect master moved on to share a few words with Mr. Tang.

    Bai Su did not act like a distant and dignified sect master at all, and he instead gave off the impression of a businessman weing clients.

    Bai Weiwei''s expression showed how ufortable she was. She found the entire ordeal quite embarrassing.

    The rest of Virtue Archives¡¯ students began to rx, and Bai Su''s behavior made them feel as though they might make out even better with the Celestial Frost Sect than their previous two stops.

    They had first visited the Wang family and then the White Dragon n. The four ruling powers of the Perennial World were literallypeting to win the students over and offering them benefits to join. While the students did not understand why this was happening, such knowledge was unnecessary. They would simply take whatever was offered.

    The God of Food quickly grew impatient. "Sect Master Bai Su, I wonder, what sort of training has your Celestial Frost Sect prepared for these children?"

    Bai Su was in the middle of chatting with Prof. Wei, but when the God of Food spoke up, the acting sect master turned around and respectfully replied, "I¡¯m not sure if you are familiar with it, Senior. Do you know about the Sky Beyond the Sky? The Immortal Above Immortals?"

 Chapter 2267: The Sky Beyond The Sky

    Chapter 2267: The Sky Beyond The Sky

    Bai Su''s question stunned the God of Food.

    Close to Lu Yin, Prof. Wei, Mr. Tang, Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, Liu Que, and many others were simrly stunned. Nong Siniang even blurted out, "You¡¯re willing to open the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?"

    Bai Su smiled at Nong Siniang. "It''s not a trial, just a test. If you students of Virtue Archives are willing, then you can attempt to climb the Sky Beyond the Sky and perhaps reap some benefits."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered¡ªthe Sky Beyond the Sky? He was a bit familiar with the name. After all, Lu Yin had Possessed many people and gone through their memories, including powerhouses like Long Ke. While Long Ke did not have that much specific knowledge about the Celestial Frost Sect, the Sky Beyond the Sky was incredibly famous.

    What was known as the Sky Beyond the Sky was the clouds above the Celestial Frost Sect.

    There was an unwritten rule in the Higher Realm that the heights of the four ruling powers were all the same. The top of the tallest peak of Dragon Mountain, the zing orb above the Wang family¡¯sndmass, the caged jiao above Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and the clouds above the Celestial Frost Sect were all at the same altitude. The Sky Beyond The Sky was considered the peak of the Higher Realm.

    The Higher Realm was covered by a sky, but above those clouds at the top of the sky was yet another sky.

    This was just one of the exnations for the name ¡°Sky Beyond the Sky,¡± but that was just the exnation that most people were familiar with. The term did not only refer to the status of the four ruling powers, but also a specific trial.

    It was quite easy for cultivators to reach the level where they were able to wander through space and explore the universe, but that did not mean that they would be able to ascend past the clouds of the Higher Realm. No matter if one was an average cultivator, an Envoy, or even a Semi-Progenitor powerhouse, ascending past the clouds was practically impossible for all of them. In fact, no one who attempted to ascend above the clouds had any memory of their attempt, as their memories of the event seemed to be erased after the fact. It was possible that only those who seeded knew what happened during the climb.

    Since ancient times, very few people had ever ascended above the clouds, and that included both members of the Celestial Frost Sect and outsiders. Even before the Lu family had been exiled, almost none had ever seeded. This was why, while many people were familiar with the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, no one knew what it entailed.

    If this was all there was to the trial, then people would not care about it. No, what made the Sky Beyond the Sky so incredibly famous was the fact that every single person who seeded in ascending above the clouds had eventually be a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had fought and experienced thebat strength and talent of the most recently titled Junior Progenitors. Youths who received the title of Junior Progenitor were simply youths who had managed to start opening their three meridian points with tribtion crystals. Bing a Progenitor was not guaranteed, but rather more of a hope and a goal. Lu Yin considered the Junior Progenitors to be simr to the Heavens Sect era¡¯s gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    The twelve gatemasters and the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era were all said to be guaranteed to be Progenitors, but if that was true, there would be far, far more Progenitors than were recorded down in history, and Progenitors would practically be as numerous as Semi-Progenitors.

    In reality, all of those people simply had a much greater chance of reaching the Progenitor realm, and those sayings were encouragement to raise their confidence.

    However, the Sky Beyond the Sky trial was different, as anyone who passed the trial and ascended above the clouds would be acknowledged by the Celestial Frost Sect as an immortal above immortals. As long as that person did not die unexpectedly, they would absolutely be a Progenitor one day. For example, a member of the Lu family had once passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and while that person had been assured to eventually be a Progenitor, they had died in the Dominion Realm. There was also a legend of someone named Bai Sheng from the Celestial Frost Sect. He had supposedly also passed the trial and ascended above the clouds. As such, he had been given the title of immortal, and he had eventually be a Progenitor.

    However, the most famous person to ever pass the trial was someone much more familiar to Lu Yin: Progenitor Wen.

    The founder of Virtue Archives, Progenitor Wen, had faced the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and he had ascended beyond the clouds to also receive the title of immortal.

    The Sky Beyond the Sky trial did not make one be a Progenitor, but it was basically rather regarded as a prophecy. All that anyone knew for certain was that anyone who passed the trial and did not die unexpectedly was guaranteed to be a Progenitor. So far, five people were known to have seeded.

    Many people considered those who passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial to have a much greater chance of bing a Progenitor, but the problem was that so few people were capable of passing the trial that the chances of sess were practically zero.

    The God of Food stared at Bai Su for a long moment. "Is your Celestial Frost Sect truly willing to give these children a chance to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?"

    The Sky Beyond the Sky trial was not something that was open to just anyone, and even members of the Lu family had needed to pay a steep price to receive that opportunity.

    Bai Su smiled. "Of course. These students are humanity¡¯s future powerhouses. Naturally, my Celestial Frost Sect is willing to do our best to help them. The best result would be if one more person can pass the Sky Beyond the Sky."

    This opportunitypletely defied the God of Food¡¯s expectations. From the Daosource Sect era to the present, which epassed the entire existence of the Perennial World, only eight people had ever managed to pass the Sky Beyond the Sky: one from the Lu family, two from the Celestial Frost Sect, one from Shenwu''s Sky, one from Seed Garden, Progenitor Wen, and two incredibly talented independent cultivators.

    Of those people, five had sessfully be Progenitors: the person from the Lu family, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Bai Sheng, Progenitor Wen, the person from Seed Garden, and one of the two independent cultivators. One of the people from Shenwu¡¯s Sky and one of the independent cultivators had been assassinated, though the killers remained an unsolved mystery. People assumed that a Redback or Aeternus was behind the attacks.

    As for the second person from the Celestial Frost Sect who had seeded, it was Bai Xian¡¯er.

    Countless people had attempted the Sky Beyond the Sky, but only these few had seeded. How could the God of Food have any expectations for his students?

    Lu Yin did not have much interest in the trial. He instead looked towards the Celestial Frost Sect while reviewing the memories that he had obtained from Possessing Long Ke. None of the Seven Heroes had ever attempted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. While many people considered the trial to be extremely important, there were also many who did not want to even try.

    It was referred to as a trial, so naturally there was some danger to it. Those who passed the trial were seen as destined to be Progenitors, while many of those who failed were forever ruined.

    Sess was nearly impossible when challenging the Sky Beyond the Sky, and there was a considerable number of challengers who were crippled by their failure. They would look perfectly normal, but some wouldpletely forget how to cultivate, while others went insane. A few seemed to forget that they were even human, which was a terrifying oue. Such a terrible risk dissuaded many people from challenging the trial.

    Still, the fact that the Celestial Frost Sect was willing to open the trial to Virtue Archives¡¯ students could only be considered a blessing for the students.

    It did not take much longer for the paper ship to arrive at the Celestial Frost Sect.

    When people gazed upon the seemingly endless Celestial Frost Sect, it always gave off an incredible impression, and inexplicably, people would think of a giant crouched on the ground. If the giant stood up, its size would be enough to shatter the earth and the sky.

    The Wang family¡¯s floating hand appeared separate and removed from the world. Dragon Mountain was majestic, and the Celestial Frost Sect symbolized overbearing power.

    However, everyone paid the most attention to the clouds in the sky after they passed through the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gates. Each cloud emitted rays of soft, white light. The sight wasforting and cleared their minds of any distracting thoughts. It was simr to the effects of the tea made with the Hui family¡¯s Roots of Wisdom, though naturally greatly inferior to the effect of the roots nted by Progenitor Hui himself. Still, it was enough to calm and focus the mind.

    Wu Yao stepped out to greet the God of Food, and shortly thereafter, the people from Virtue Archives were led into the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s main area.

    The students had assumed that the Celestial Frost Sect would give them a lengthy presentation of their history in the same manner as the Wang family and the White Dragon n, so their directness was rather surprising. No one had expected to be taken straight to the trial for their training opportunity.

    The God of Food did not refuse the change, as the students had remained on the paper ship for days, and they were not at all exhausted.

    "Virtue Archives arrived at the perfect timing. It just so happens that a group of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples are also about to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky. Why don¡¯t we send all of the youths together?" Wu Yao suggested with a smile.

    The God of Food followed the other Semi-Progenitor¡¯s gaze, and sure enough, there was a quiet group of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples gathered at the foot of a mountain. There were hundreds of young people, both men and women. The difference in attitudes between the disciples and the chattering students from Virtue Archives could not have been any more obvious.

    "You want to have your Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciplespete with Virtue Archives¡¯ students?" the God of Food asked in a clearly irritated tone.

    Wu Yao smiled. "It''s just a coincidence, so why not? Do you not dare to ept?"

    Before the God of Food could reply, Mr. Tang spoke up. "To my knowledge, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples have three opportunities to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky, while our students know nothing about this trial. Apetition between the youths is simply not fair."

    Wu Yao answered with open contempt, "Could it be that you want your students¡¯ opponents to fight fair when facing your students in the outside world, Mr. Tang?"

    Mr. Tang frowned. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s attitude was theplete opposite of the Wang family and the White Dragon n¡¯s. While the first two ruling powers to host Virtue Archives had tried to win the students over through favors, the Celestial Frost Sect hoped to suppress the students. Such an approach might actually very well work.

    Having the students see the strength and power of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples would likely cause many students to want to be disciples of the sect in their pursuit of personal strength.

    Also, Virtue Archives could not refuse the Celestial Frost Sect''s suggestion of apetition. Even if the academy tried to refuse, there were so many clouds in the sky that, no matter how far away the Celestial Frost Sect disciples went, things would still be regarded as apetition to anyone watching.

    "Very well, let''s do as you suggest then," the God of Food replied as he nced over at the chattering students.

    The fact that both the Wang family and the White Dragon n had tried to woo the students had caused some of the students to be ovee with pride, so the opportunity to let them be suppressed by the disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect could be a good thing. As for whether the students would want to join the sect afterwards, the God of Food was not considering the matter. Some among the students would decide to join the Wang family and the White Dragon n, and the God of Food was more interested in giving the students a dose of reality.

    If not for the four ruling powers'' internalpetition, or the fact that they were pursuing Virtue Archives, these students would have never been ttered by the Wang Family or the White Dragon n this much. They needed to wake up to that fact.

    ¡­

    The God of Food hoped to use the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s suppression to wake up some of the students after they had lost themselves to the pampering they had received so far. However, the old man had not expected the experience to be quite so humiliating for the students.

    It also seemed as if there were invisibledders hanging from the clouds in the sky. As the various youths rose into the sky, they climbed the various clouds with dull eyes as they tried to rise above the canopy of cloud cover far overhead.

    After just half an hour, there were two distinct colors filling the sky. There was white, which represented the disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect, and then there were Virtue Archives¡¯ students, who were allowed to wear any colors they chose. At the moment, anyone looking up at the Sky Beyond the Sky would see what seemed to be a curtain drawn across the sky, as the upper portion of the sky waspletely dominated with white.

    Nearly all of Virtue Archives¡¯ students had been greatly surpassed.

    More than forty young people were in the sky at this moment, as only the youths who were Explorers or below were climbing into the sky at this moment. There was no student from Virtue Archives who could surpass their peers from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Wu Yao felt quite satisfied, as things were ying out as expected. Virtue Archives had very high entry requirements for their students, which meant that few qualified to join the academy. However, were the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s standards any lower? Absolutely not. Even the weakest of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n, had high standards for their own youths or outsiders wishing to join the n that were at least on par with Virtue Archives¡¯.

    The academy represented the most elite youths of the Middle Realm, but the four ruling powers represented the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Lower Realm.

    Truthfully, if given a choice between Virtue Archives and the Celestial Frost Sect, as long as there were noplications, who would choose to join Virtue Archives?

    At the moment, fully half of the students in Virtue Archives came from various powerful families and sects, and the most outstanding students were all from the four ruling powers and ces like Seed Garden and the Liu family. Cultivation did not improve solely based on talent, but also on one¡¯s resources.

    Furthermore, the academy¡¯s students werepeting against Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples that had all challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky previously, so it was only natural for them to far surpass the students.

 Chapter 2268: Thrilling

    Chapter 2268: Thrilling

    The God of Food was not at all surprised to see the discrepancy between the disciples and the students, but the students themselves were shocked.

    While all of the students currently challenging the trial were beneath the Explorer realm, the same was true of the disciples the Celestial Frost Sect had sent out at this time.

    The students were genuinely being outperformed, which confused many of the students. Where was the friendliness and ttery they had been expecting? What was going on?

    Many of the students had assumed the Celestial Frost Sect would demonstrate the same attitude as the Wang family and the White Dragon n, but they had been very wrong. The Celestial Frost Sect intended topletely suppress and outperform the students, and lure them in with the desire to be stronger rather than catering to their egos. How were their intentions any different from those of the Wang family and the White Dragon n?

    Wang Xiaofan and Xia Shenguang nced at each other with excitement in their eyes. They had long wanted to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and they had never expected to receive this opportunity through Virtue Archives. They believed themselves to be no worse than the four Junior Progenitors of the previous generation, only missing out on the necessary luck. However, their luck had turned¡ªnot to mention thest four Junior Progenitors, but not even the Seven Heroes from further back had ever been allowed to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky. No, Bai Shaohong clearly must have challenged it.

    They could not wait to challenge it themselves.

    "Student Bai, have you ever challenged this trial?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Weiwei replied, "I did, but I failed. My greatest height was still very far away from the clouds, as I only climbed 10,000 feet."

    "If even you are only able to climb 10,000 feet, then this trial must be extremely difficult," Lu Yin remarked in an impressed tone.

    "Do you want to challenge it, Professor?" Bai Weiwei asked.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is that possible?"

    Bai Weiwei replied with a hint of a smile. "I''ll ask in a bit, but it should be fine."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he turned back to stare up at the sky. If he was given the opportunity, should he take it? He had never challenged this trial during the Seven Heroes¡¯ era, but was that because he had not been allowed by the Lu family, or because of something else? There had to be a reason why the Seven Heroes had never challenged the trial, so was it a missed opportunity, or had they been protected?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts churned, youths fell from the sky, one after another. The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s best disciples were able to climb thousands of feet into the sky, allowing them to look down upon all others, but even then they were still far from reaching Bai Weiwei''s record of 10,000 feet, let alone reaching the canopy of clouds.

    Virtue Archives¡¯ best students were only able to reach less than half of the altitude achieved by the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples, which left many of the students speechless.

    Suddenly, there was a loud howl as a student plummeted to the ground while clutching his head.

    The God of Food hurried over to check on the student, and Lu Yin did so as well.

    However, no matter what the God of Food did, the student seemed to have lost his mind. His eyes werepletely unfocused. At times he wouldugh, and then he would start crying. Elsewhere, one of the sect¡¯s disciples let out a scream of horror, iming to no longer be capable of cultivating. He could not rouse any of the star energy within his body.

    The other students from Virtue Archives were terrified by these developments, and many of them felt like retreating.

    Lu Yin frowned, as he could not understand what had happened.

    The God of Food spoke no words of me to the Celestial Frost Sect. Both Wu Yao and Bai Su had given warnings before the youths had started the challenge, and along with the warning, there was also a requirement that anyone who challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky must promise to never reveal anything that they encountered during the trial.

    Regardless of whether or not people remembered their experience, absolutely no rumors or information regarding the Sky Beyond the Sky were allowed to spread.

    The student who had lost his mind was taken away. Then, the God of Food nced at the rest of the students and softly said, "Cultivation is not always smooth sailing. Some of you are independent cultivators who have already gone through life and death experiences before entering the academy, but many of youe from powerful families and sects. Your path has always been smooth, but what would you have been able to achieve without the support that you¡¯ve been given?¡±

    "Whether you are training within the academy or facing risks in the outside world, it is necessary for all of you to face life and death experiences. I can see both fear and anticipation in your eyes. You can choose to stop here at the level that you have already reached. You will not be forced to take this trial."

    Wu Yao and the others from the Celestial Frost Sect looked at Virtue Archives¡¯ students with great interest after hearing the God of Food¡¯s words. Meanwhile, the Celestial Frost Sect disciples looked over with arrogant attitudes and a sense of superiority. This was exactly what the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s goal was: to intimidate the students into refusing topare themselves to the sect¡¯s disciples, which would make them dissatisfied with their statuses as members of Virtue Archives. That would encourage them to join the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Next, it was time for Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. They stepped forward with resolute eyes. They had already made their decision, and they would see it through and face the consequences, even if that meant insanity.

    As for the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s youths, none showed any change in expression. They were far more informed about the Sky Beyond the Sky than the visiting students. The disciples knew the risks and that some of them would suffer catastrophic consequences, but they had already made their peace with their possible fates.

    As for the disciple who could no longer use star energy, he would be abandoned by the sect. The world of cultivators was cruel and merciless.

    One after another, the youths rose into the sky, their eyes zed over. This time, the students were not nearly that badly suppressed. There were even a few students who were able to match or even surpass the sect¡¯s disciples. Out of everyone, the short fatty stood out. He continued to climb higher and higher, rising above one challenger after another, including the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples, which made Bai Su and Wu Yao nce at each other.

    It was very unusual for anyone to rise through the sky so quickly when challenging the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and the little fatty was moving just as fast as Bai Weiwei had when she had first challenged the trial.

    Bai Weiwei also had not expected the fat little man to rise so quickly, and she was rather surprised.

    However, while the short fatty moved quickly early on, after reaching a height of a bit more than 5,000 feet, he slowed down considerably. At the same time, a female disciple was right behind the fatty.

    The two were soon neck and neck, leaving all the rest behind.

    In the end, the fatty surpassed that woman, though he stopped once he reached a height of 8,000 feet, which nearly matched Bai Weiwei''s first record.

    Out of this batch of youths, two of Virtue Archives¡¯ students manifestedplications. One kept meowing like a cat, clearly insane, while the other did not move and was as immobile as a corpse. The student¡¯s eyes remained open, and he looked lost within his own mind.

    Two of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples also developed problems. One adopted a weird posture that he refused to move out of, and the other keptughing. It was disturbing and chilling; he seemed lost in his own world.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. This challenge was simply too strange.

    The Sky Beyond the Sky was not a trial where one¡¯s cultivation would allow them to perform better, as even Semi-Progenitors routinely failed the trial, and they also might exhibit odd behaviors afterwards. Also, the youths had only just finished challenging the trial, and it was possible for repercussions to appear after some more time passed.

    The God of Food observed the remaining students. The only ones left to attempt the trial were those at Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan''s level.

    In reality, none of these students were truly part of Virtue Archives. Each of them represented the four ruling powers, Seed Garden, the Liu family, or other such behemoths. They were simply using the name of Virtue Archives to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, as it was something that they all wished to attempt.

    Three people stepped out from the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples. Each of them was an Enlighter.

    Seeing these three disciples shocked the students who had already finished their challenges. The appearance of these three disciples meant that the Celestial Frost Sect had three more youths who had already be Enlighters, which was a shocking achievement.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. The foundation of a ruling power was being put on full disy right now.

    Wang Xiaofan and Bai Weiwei were both at around the same age as the Ten Arbiters had been. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse and Innerverse had only had ten people who had even a hope of bing Enlighters as youths. Even if the Neoverse was thrown into the mix, the number still would not exceed twenty. Some of those twenty had also stayed as Hunters by the time they turned forty, and they only became Enlighters after the fact. On the other hand, the Celestial Frost Sect alone was able to produce four such geniuses.

    Bai Weiwei was even more exceptional, given the fact that she was an Enlighter Realmbreaker who could challenge Envoys. This was the foundation of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Inparison, the White Dragon n was truly toocking. Their current generation did not have even a single true genius. It was possible that some of their outsiders were qualified, but if no true n members was at that level, then it was best for those possible outside geniuses to not be revealed publicly.

    When the three Enlighters saw Bai Weiwei, they all offered respectful bows. "Senior Sister."

    Bai Weiwei casually nced over. "Show me your progress."

    The three disciples looked at each other. "Yes."

    As soon as the trial started, ten people started climbing towards the canopy of clouds. Naturally, Bai Weiwei stood out from all the others, and her speed left the short fatty speechless.

    The ones who followed close behind Bai Weiwei were not the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s three Enlighters, but rather Wang Xiaofan. A little further behind him were Xia Shenguang and the three Celestial Frost Sect disciples. After them trailed Qing Feng, Nong Siniang, and Jin Chongshan. At the moment, all eyes were locked on thest person, as they were shocked to see Liu Que inst ce.

    No one had expected Liu Que to be the slowest, not even Wu Yao.

    Out of everyone in the current younger generation, Liu Que was regarded as the person closest to the four Junior Progenitors in terms of talent. He was clearly the greatest genius of his generation. He had instantly defeated Jin Chongshan with just the flick of a finger, and yet Jin Chongshan was surpassing Liu Que in the Sky Beyond the Sky trial.

    This was not a sign of Jin Chongshan¡¯s incredible talent. If he were truly such a genius, then he would not be evaluated as inferior. No, the fact of the matter was that Liu Que was performing incredibly poorly in the trial.

    "Cultivation does not make a difference when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky. It¡¯s impossible to know how anyone will react when facing it. It¡¯s clear that Liu Que is not used to whatever he¡¯s facing." Mr. Tang sighed.

    "Not necessarily." The God of Food watched as Liu Que slowly rose into the sky. "Wait and see."

    After some time, Bai Weiwei had risen to a height of 10,000 feet. A normal person would no longer even be able to see her in the sky. At that point, she stopped rising further. Xia Shenguang also came to a stop nearby, as did Wang Xiaofan.

    Everyone was staring up into the sky. The clouds emitted a gentle white light, looking like beams of light hanging in the sky. They made Bai Weiwei look like a fairy, beautiful and untouchable.

    Bai Weiwei was still slowly rising up, and Wu Yao''s eyes were filled with anticipation. If the Celestial Frost Sect had one more person who became an immortal, it would greatly impact the future bnce of things. They would move one step closer to recing the Lu family.

    The Lu family had been able to retainplete control of the Fifth Maind not only because of Progenitor Lu Tianyi, but also because they had had other Progenitors. They had even been able to summon Progenitor-level champions, which was something that no other family couldpete against. The only hope that others had was to produce their own Progenitors and hope that they would be as powerful as possible.

    However, Wu Yao''s ambitions failed soon after appearing. Bai Weiwei stopped climbing after approaching a height of 20,000 feet. The cloud canopy was still 10,000 feet above her. There was no way for her to reach it.

    Wang Xiaofan and Xia Shenguang both stopped after reaching 13,000 feet, which was far beneath Bai Weiwei.

    As for Qing Feng, he was thousands of feet further below, as he had not even reached a height of 10,000 feet. Nong Siniang was right beneath Qing Feng, and at the bottom were Liu Que and Jin Chongshan.

    Before anyone realized it, Liu Que had passed Jin Chongshan and was approaching both Nong Siniang and Qing Feng.

    As for the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s three disciples, they were a short distance beneath Xia Shenguang and Wang Xiaofan. Despite attempting the trial before, none of the three achieved results as good as the two men.

    Almost everyone had reached their limits and stopped climbing. The only one still moving was rising very slowly, but Liu Que had not stopped yet.

 Chapter 2269: Lets Go

    Chapter 2269: Let''s Go

    Liu Que''s eyes were still zed over as he continued to soar through the clouds. With his notched sword on his back, he slowly rose up. He passed Nong Siniang, and then Qing Feng. He continued on and eventually passed the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples one after another, causing each of them to show ugly expressions.

    Liu Que continued without pause and eventually passed Xia Shenguang, as well as Wang Xiaofan. He was now approaching Bai Weiwei.

    Virtue Archives¡¯ students grew increasingly excited. While Liu Que had a much colder personality than Bai Weiwei and the others, the swordsman was undeniably not a part of the four ruling powers, and the students naturally hoped to see him surpass Bai Weiwei.

    Unfortunately, Liu Que stopped when he was 1,000 meters beneath Bai Weiwei. He failed to catch up to her.

    "What a pity. If he could challenge it again, he¡¯d be able to surpass everyone, and he might even reach the clouds," Mr. Tang said regretfully.

    Bai Su gave Mr. Tang a smile. "Professor, it seems that you don¡¯t know much about the Sky Beyond the Sky. In truth, thest portion is the true test. Anyone who is allowed to challenge the trial is already a genius, and those who rise above 10,000 feet on their first attempt will certainly be able to rise to 20,000 feet if they are given a second attempt. The final 10,000 feet are the trial¡¯s true test.

    "Since ancient times, no fewer than 1,000 people have sessfully risen above 20,000 feet, but only twenty to thirty people have had a real chance of touching the cloud canopy. All of those few dozen people have been recorded down in history."

    That exnation brought an end to the challenge, and all of the youths descended to the ground.

    Everyone nervously observed the youths, worried that they might show signs of insanity or bizarre behavior, but no one disyed any changes.

    At this moment, Bai Su suddenly called out, "Prof. Hao Yu, would you be interested in attempting the challenge?"

    Wu Yao looked over at Bai Su in surprise. Hao Yu? Had the sect decided to give him this opportunity as well?

    Bai Weiwei was simrly caught off guard. She had wanted to request this opportunity, but Bai Su had suddenly offered Prof. Hao Yu the opportunity himself. It appeared that the sect was quite eager to recruit Hao Yu and Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    On the other hand, the God of Food was not surprised. Yu Hao had already revealed a shockingly high Lockbreaking ability when they had visited the Wang family, and he had proven himself worthy of the four ruling powers¡¯ attention.

    Lu Yin pointed at himself. "Me? I can try it?"

    Bai Su nodded, a smile on his face. "Of course, as long as you are willing."

    It was not the Celestial Frost Sect making the offer to Hao Yu, but rather Bai Su¡¯s own decision. He hade to this conclusion based on the information that he had received from Xiao Qing.

    Xiao Qing had followed Bai Su¡¯s orders and approached Prof. Hao Yu. No, she had approached Yu Hao. While nothing hade of it, the two had talked quite a bit, and Bai Su had learned from Xiao Qing that Yu Hao would likely join Shenwu''s Sky, but that was because he had no choice in the matter. Reportedly, Yu Hao actually wanted to join the Celestial Frost Sect.

    This was the information that had caused Bai Su to decide to make this offer. If he sessfully recruited Yu Hao into the Celestial Frost Sect, it would count as an incredible contribution to the sect. Even after Bai Su stepped down as acting sect master, he would still have a much higher status within the sect than before.

    Even more importantly, Yu Hao had shown himself to have outstanding support behind him, as well as exceptional personal ability. Bai Su absolutely would not suffer a loss from showing this person a bit of kindness.

    Lu Yin looked over at the God of Food, and the old man coughed. "What I just said was for the sake of the students. There¡¯s no need for you to worry about it, Professor."

    Lu Yin nced over at the students. If he did not attempt the challenge, then he would absolutely be looked down upon! While he did not care about that¡­

    "Professor! Do your best!" Nong Siniang cheered.

    Qing Feng stated in an admiring tone, "You¡¯ll certainly climb the highest, Professor."

    "Pro- Pro- Professor will be first!"

    "Prof. Hao Yu, go on!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was left speechless by the response. He had been wondering why the Seven Heroes had not challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky while observing the students. At worst, he would put on a show, so he went ahead and stepped forward. "Since the Celestial Frost Sect is offering, I¡¯d be happy to try it."

    Bai Su smiled and gestured for ¡°Yu Hao¡± toe forward.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to start the challenge, Wu Yao spoke up. "Wait a moment."

    Everyone expected the man to object.

    Bai Su''s expression changed. If Wu Yao publicly opposed the acting sect master¡¯s decision, then the sect would be forced to choose to follow one of the two. Bai Su already knew that it was not even a choice; he would be abandoned. If the Semi-Progenitor objected, Bai Su could only me his own eagerness to achieve something for making him careless enough to not go over the matter with Wu Yao earlier.

    The Semi-Progenitor said, "My Celestial Frost Sect also has an Envoy who would like to challenge the trial. Would you mind going together, Prof. Hao Yu?"

    Bai Su let out a sigh of relief. This was fine, as he had not been stopped.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course not."

    Wu Yao nodded. His goal was to ensure that everyone from Virtue Archives was surpassed. There had been an ident with the little fatty¡¯s sess when the Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters had challenged the trial, and while Bai Weiwei had reached the highest altitude for the Enlighters, she really represented the Celestial Frost Sect rather than Virtue Archives. As for Prof. Hao Yu, he had to bepared to one of the sect¡¯s Envoy, and he also had to be defeated.

    The Envoy from the Celestial Frost Sect had an exceptionally triangr face. It was so exaggerated that the man did not even appear human at first nce.

    No one from Virtue Archives recognized the man.

    The Perennial World was toorge. Any one of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine districts had hidden powerhouses, and no one knew just how many Envoys there were.

    Despite the fact that no one knew who this man was, the fact that Wu Yao had brought him out topete with Yu Hao was enough to indicate that the Semi-Progenitor was very confident in the unknown man¡¯s ability to surpass the professor.

    "Gong." The Envoy spoke a single word to introduce himself.

    Lu Yin replied, "Virtue Archives¡¯ Hao Yu."

    The triangr-faced man nodded and turned to look at Wu Yao. The Semi-Progenitor then said, "Let¡¯s begin. We¡¯ve heard of your aplishments, especially what you achieved when visiting the Wang family, which is truly impressive. You¡¯ve already been acknowledged as the Lockbreaker most likely to be the next Array Grandmaster, and I look forward to seeing what you can aplish here today. I expect to see you shine brightly and shake the Perennial World, Professor."

    Lu Yin gave a wry smile. "You think too highly of this junior, Senior. I¡¯m happy to try, but my efforts might not even ce me as high as the students, though I¡¯ll do my best."

    Wu Yao typically had a rather gloomy expression, but ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± response made the old man smile. He gestured for the two Envoys to begin, but he was only putting on a show of being polite.

    Lu Yin looked up. He had not felt anything earlier, but once he stood on the mountain that was dedicated to the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, silence filled the area. A beam of light shone down towards Lu Yin, and he felt a bit of warmth as he felt a pull upwards.

    Nearby, the triangr-faced Envoy also rose into the air. He moved quite quickly, though not as quickly as Bai Weiwei. The man was a three-tribtion Envoy, but the Sky Beyond the Sky ignored the challengers¡¯ cultivation.

    Everyone stared at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± waiting to see him take his first step.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, lifted a foot, and stepped upwards. As soon as he stepped into the range of a beam of light, his vision became white and he became blind for a moment. He quickly recovered, only to see that he had be a crab.

    What? A crab?

    ¡­

    A crab scuttled along the bottom of a dark river, dashing from one hole to another, only to reemerge as it searched for something.

    A strange fish emerged from some seaweed. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and both of its eyes locked onto the crab before the fish shot forward like an arrow.

    The crab raced to the bottom of the river, but two of its legs were snapped off by the strange fish. The fish chewed the legs as it stared at the crab with a greedy stare. It raced down to a hole in the riverbed, eager to finish eating the crab.

    Soon, bits of crushed crab shell drifted up from the hole in the river bed, along with some chewed crab legs. The strange fish soon swam back out, shooting into the seaweed to hunt down its next target.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin experienced life and death. He felt himself be the crab and be eaten by the fish. The sensation was unbelievable; Lu Yin was a crab, and the crab was Lu Yin. He felt himself be eaten, and even after his consciousness moved on, he still felt the feeling of being consumed. Was this the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky?

    Why did it feel so simr to his die¡¯s six pips: Possession?

    Everyone on the ground below was watching. They had no idea what ¡°Yu Hao¡± had just experienced. All that any of them knew was that he had taken a step and his eyes had zed over. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, he had spent a long time immersed in the life of a crab, but to everyone watching, only a moment had passed.

    The light that he had stepped into had enveloped him and pulled him up, but it looked as though he was rising under his own power.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized exactly what was happening in the trial of the Sky Beyond the Sky, and he also understood why some of the challengers exhibited such bizarre behavior. They had mentally be different creatures and had not been able to return to being themselves. It was possible that they hade to see their time as a human as just another experience of a foreign life.

    rity only momentarily returned to Lu Yin''s eyes. After just an instance to consider the revtion that had struck him, he was looking at a swallow flying in the sky. The next moment, he had already be the swallow. There were no longer any other thoughts in his head. He was the swallow, and the swallow¡¯s life was Lu Yin¡¯s. He repeatedly lived through the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. He lived through migrations and hunting, and ultimately, died to sharp arrows.

    Again Lu Yin suffered the agony and despair of dying as a swallow. Regardless of whether it had been the swallow or Lu Yin who had truly died, the sensations were perfectly real. How many people could calmly face death? Not just approach death and flirt with it, but truly die?

    Lu Yin understood why so few people were able to pass the Sky Beyond the Sky: they could not face dying. They could not endure the despair, pain, and that final moment of disappearing.

    However, Lu Yin could be said to already be used to such things, and he had evenmitted suicide on several different asions.

    As time passed, the people observing started to feel that something was wrong, as ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± speed was elerating. He had started rising into the sky slower than the triangle-headed Gong, but after enough time had passed for a stick of incense to burn, ¡°Yu Hao¡± had caught up and reached a height of nearly 10,000 feet. He passed that threshold without even slowing down, and his opponent not see it either. Gong¡¯s eyes were still dull, and he was experiencing his own cycle of life and death, but everyone on the ground below clearly saw Gong be overtaken.

    Bai Weiwei was shocked. Why was the professor rising so quickly? While Bai Weiwei could not remember what she had gone through during her own trial, she understood from others that she had risen at what was considered an impressive speed, likelyparable to even Bai Shaohong. How could Prof. Hao Yu rise up so fast? This was his first time facing the challenge.

    Wu Yao''s expression grew worse and worse after Gong was passed. The Celestial Frost Sect had been surpassed, and it was all because of Bai Su''s interference. He just had to offer to let Yu Hao attempt the trial, but the results would not benefit their sect.

    Bai Su¡¯s face twitched. Did the reports not make it clear that Prof. Hao Yu''s talent was for lockbreaking? How could he have such incredible results in the Sky Beyond the Sky trial? Wait, was it possible? Could lockbreaking give a person an edge when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?

    Bai Su was not the only one with such thoughts, as simr suspicions urred to multiple observers. Lu Yin had revealed too freakish a lockbreaking ability, and he had absolutely crushed Bai Wei in a game of Stable Zone. After that, he had even designed a way for ordinary cultivators to set up a sourcebox array by simply positioning several sourceboxes and ovepping their danger fields. That was not something that Lockbreakers could learn how to do through talent or experience, as it required a healthy dose of both.

    "Progenitor Wen once passed this trial, so it seems that it really is possible that lockbreaking skill can help one when facing the Sky Beyond the Sky," Mr. Tang muttered to himself.

    The God of Food was quite surprised. Was that true?

    Lu Yin continued to experience multiple cycles of life and death, each time rising closer and closer to the cloud canopy. He soon reached 20,000 feet, which was the height where Bai Weiwei had been stopped.

    Everyone watched nervously. Would Prof. Hao Yu surpass even Bai Weiwei?

    Bai Weiwei''s palms had grown sweaty. Just how talented was Yu Hao? The Xia family had truly been blind. If they had realized just how talented Yu Hao was all those years ago, how could they not have offered him their greatest treasure? Instead, they had sent Xia Zhitong to destroy his family and create an irreconcble enmity with the Yu family. The Xia family had forced themselves into a position where they absolutely had to take Yu Hao down.

 Chapter 2270: One Step At A Time

    Chapter 2270: One Step At A Time

    Lu Yin arrived at an altitude of 20,000 feet. At this time, he became¡­ a teapot? Really?

    What sort of life did a teapot live? Brewing tea, pouring tea, and eventually shattering. That was the life of a teapot that Lu Yin lived.

    He really could not understand how this worked. How had he be a teapot? His die¡¯s Possession ability allowed him to Possess various kinds of creatures, but it was impossible for him to Possess an object. The closest that he had evere was when he had Possessed the mechanical ant, but even that could be considered a creature, as Lu Yin had Possessed a being with perception and consciousness, which essentially meant that it was sapient. There was no way a teapot could be regarded as sapient.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strongest impression about his time as a teapot was that time passed extremely slowly. To him, it felt like decades had passed. The teapot that he had be had practically be an antique when it had finally shattered.

    After reaching an altitude of 20,000 feet, Lu Yin continued to rise, but his speed slowed. He had already be numb to the cycles of life and death, and he had no idea that, at the moment, the ck and white halves of a yin-yang symbol that were part of the power within his chest were revolving and growing at a frenzied rate. The cycles of life and death had triggered the death energy, which in turn allowed Lu Yin¡¯s unique power to continuously grow, though he waspletely ignorant of it for the time being.

    More and more members of the Celestial Frost Sect arrived at the mountain, and all of them stared into the sky in surprise as they watched ¡°Yu Hao¡± continue to climb towards the clouds. While his speed had slowed down, he was still moving at a steady pace.

    Wu Yao''s face revealed his shock. The fact that Yu Hao was able to reach such a height on his first attempt suggested that he would actually be able to touch the clouds if he was allowed to try again!

    Ascend past the clouds and be an immortal. This was possibly the only way for a person to remember what they experienced during the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. However, many of the Celestial Frost Sect''s most talented disciples only hoped to be able to touch the clouds, and Yu Hao was showing that he was very likely capable of doing so.

    This was an aplishment that very, very few members of the Celestial Frost Sect had ever achieved throughout the sect¡¯s entire history.

    If this youth can actually touch the clouds¡­ Wu Yao''s eyes suddenly went wide, as he realized that Yu Hao¡¯s value went far beyond simply being a talented Lockbreaker and Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. With the height that Yu Hao had reached in the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, the Celestial Frost Sect would not be the only one eager to recruit him, as the Xia family and the other two would go absolutely crazy trying to recruit him.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was a dried piece of fish. Yes, just a small, dried piece of fish. There was no sense of self-awareness, though there was an odd variation of some sort of self-consciousness. This was not the remnant consciousness of the fish, but the consciousness of the piece of dried fish. It was a brand new perspective, but the dried fish was quickly taken and eaten, which forced it to experience the horror of being chewed and swallowed. It was enough to drive a person mad.

    Lu Yin slowed down even further, and he was moving even slower than when he had first started the trial, though he still was steadily moving upwards.

    No one could be more familiar with the feeling of death than Lu Yin. He had alreadymitted suicide on several different asions, and he had also be very familiar with the sensation of dying.

    Everyone possessed a different sort of determination, and their perception of death and their reaction to dying would also be different. This was what the Sky Beyond the Sky trial tested.

    Lu Yin surpassed Bai Weiwei¡¯s record height, which produced a great shock for the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Bai Weiwei stared upwards as Lu Yin surpassed her achievement. Beneath the cloud canopy, the beam of light that shone on ¡°Yu Hao¡± gave him a somewhat divine appearance, and many people stared at his gorgeous face. It was a rather intoxicating appearance to many people.

    Reaching a height of 10,000 feet was a threshold, and 20,000 feet was another threshold. The final barrier that stopped people was the final 1,000 feet. It was recognized that the final 1,000 feet needed to be traversed one step at a time to pass through, and it had stopped countless geniuses from passing the trial.

    For example, if Bai Weiwei were given another chance, then it was possible that she would be able to ascend to the final 1,000 feet, just as Bai Shaohong and countless of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s greatest geniuses had done in the past. This was a height of 29,000 feet from the ground, and it was incredibly difficult to reach such a height, but practically all of the challengers stopped there. Very, very few were ever able to rise higher than 29,000 feet and continue to move closer to the cloud canopy.

    "Wu Yao, how well did Bai Xian''er do when she challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky?" the God of Food suddenly asked. Everyone¡¯s ears perked up when they heard the question.

    Bai Xian''er was a true legend. She was from the same generation as Seven Heroes, but she was acknowledged to have surpassed the Seven Heroes. Despite her youth, no one had any idea just what heights she had reached or what realm of cultivation she was currently in.

    Even Wu Yao, a Semi-Progenitor with a reputation for being cruel and ruthless, was always respectful when speaking about Bai Xian''er. When the Celestial Frost Sect had been targeted by the other three ruling powers, Bai Xian''er''s instruction had resolved the matter. It could be said that, out of everyone in the Perennial World, aside from the Progenitors themselves, Wu Yao respected and feared Bai Xian''er the most.

    Everyone knew that Bai Xian''er had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky, but they were curious how smooth her process had been.

    "I don''t know," Wu Yao replied.

    "Then, what about Bai Shaohong?" the God of Food asked again.

    Wu Yao nced over. "There¡¯s no reason to discuss the dead."

    "Can you not say?" the God of Food pressed.

    Bai Su spoke up. "He also reached thest thousand feet, and he proceeded with each step, approaching the limit to be regarded as an immortal. Junior Progenitor passed 700 feet of the final 1,000 feet, which ced him among my Celestial Frost Sect top ten."

    Everyone was surprised. Bai Shaohong had qualified to be ranked among the sect¡¯s top tep in history?

    How many Progenitors had risen from the Celestial Frost Sect over the eons? Which of those powerhouses had not been the most talented of their generation, looking down on all of their peers? Despite that, Bai Shaohong had still qualified to be ranked among the sect¡¯s top ten, which proved just how amazing his talent had been. It could only be said to be a pity that he had died so young.

    "The most hateful thing that that Lu bastard ever did was kill Bai Shaohong! If it weren''t for Lu Xiaoxuan, our Junior Progenitor would not have died young, and my Perennial World would have absolutely had another Progenitor in the future!" one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s membersmented.

    Bai Su sighed. "It¡¯s true. No matter if one considers just the challengers from my Celestial Frost Sect, or outsiders, very few people have ever managed to climb 700 feet of the final 1,000 feet. As long as such people don''t die young, without exception, they will be Semi-Progenitors, and it¡¯s not umon for them to be a Progenitor either. It¡¯s really too sad."

    Bai Weiwei''s eyes were also filled with sadness. Each of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples were given three opportunities to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky. She had already challenged it twice, and while she did have a third opportunity remaining, she was not confident that she could reach the final 1,000 feet, let alone pass through 700 feet of thatst portion. Was there really such a wide gap between her and Bai Shaohong? If Bai Shaohong had been so capable, then what about Bai Weiwei¡¯s senior sister? How far could the Seven Heroes have climbed?

    As Bai Weiwei¡¯s thoughts continued to wander, her pride vanished. She unconsciously lifted her head and stared at ¡°Yu Hao¡± as he continued to slowly climb higher and higher. How high would he be able to reach? Would he prove himselfparable to Bai Shaohong? Was it possible that he was a true genius on the same level as the four Junior Progenitors?

    A day passed, and people watched in amazement as Lu Yin reached thest 1,000 feet. This was the start of the portion of the Sky Beyond a Sky trial where every foot of progress had to be traversed one step at a time to reach the final goal.

    Wu Yao hadpletely stopped breathing by this point. Was Yu Hao really this talented? Not even Bai Shaohong had been able to reach this height during his first attempt at the trial. Not even close. Could Yu Hao really be capable of touching the clouds?

    Once Lu Yin arrived at 29,000 feet altitude, he became a stone. Only a god could understand how a stone could possess a consciousness, but Lu Yin¡¯s perception of the experience was very clear.

    I am a stone. A stone cannot move and is not alive.

    I am a stone. A stone cannot move and is not alive.

    I am a stone. A stone cannot move and is not alive.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin was fully aware that he was a stone, and he actually did not know anything more than that. His consciousness was quite clear, and it allowed him to observe the earth, as well as the wind and sand. He existed on a vast grasnd, surrounded by all kinds of strange creatures. He was stepped upon, thrown as a weapon, and then fell into the river, where he sat for many, many years. He was buried at the bottom of the river and pushed down to unknown depths.

    Throughout it all, his consciousness remained perfectly clear. In fact, it was too clear, as he was a stone that could sense the passing of time, feeling as it flowed by, carrying with it the slowly passing years. A stone could truly understand the horror of the long river of time.

    How much time had passed? Countless years. Truly, they were countless years. Any creature that was forced to exist as a stone with such a clear perception of its existence and the passing of time would go insane, but Lu Yin did not. This was because he was able to observe time, and he saw it as a power. He could only observe it, but even that was enough to erase the burden brought about by the passing years. Time became nothing more than a sensation that was experienced.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he moved upwards. However, he did not take a single step, but crossed half of the remaining height; he instantly rose a full 500 feet.

    On the ground below, Wu Yao''s pupils constricted tightly. "Impossible!"

    He was frozen as he stared.

    Bai Su was no different.

    Everyone who reached thest 1,000 feet of the Sky Beyond the Sky needed to progress up one step at a time. The very, very few exceptions were people like Bai Sheng and Progenitor Wen, those freakish existences who had been capable of ascending above the cloud canopy. And¡­ Bai Xian¡¯er. Aside from those select few, no one else had ever managed to cross as much as a dozen feet in one go. On top of that, Yu Hao had not simply crossed a dozen feet, but a full 500. This waspletely unprecedented.

    The God of Food¡¯s brows rose. Judging by his limited knowledge of the Sky Beyond the Sky, and more importantly, Wu Yao''s reaction, it seemed that Hao Yu had just aplished something truly extraordinary. It was possible that the consequences of this trial would be even more serious than what had happened during the visits to the Wang family and the White Dragon n.

    Lu Yin knew nothing of the legends associated with the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, let alone the final 1,000 feet. All he knew was that he was able to sense time more and more clearly. Before returning to the Perennial World, he had tried to sense the power of time by training with Wendy Yushan, but his efforts had failed. Later, he had used the star essence on the Junior Progenitors to Enhance Progenitor Ku''s Withered Bark, reaching a new level of mastery of Extremes Must Be Reversed. Lu Yin had sessfully created a region of chaotic time and space when using Inverse Step, and he had also developed an initial sense for the power of time, but it had still been extremely indistinct.

    However, thest experience that Lu Yin had gone through seemed to have allowed him to perceive time, and if he could replicate that situation, he just might be able to truly sense the power of time.

    However, he also understood why some people had such strongly adverse reactions to the Sky Beyond the Sky. After all, if they could not awaken and shake off the experience, they would continue to exist while believing themselves to be a stone.

    How long had most of the challengers of this trial lived for? Decades? Hundreds of years? How long could a stonest? Thousands of years? Tens of thousands of years? Longer? When human existence waspared to the time spent as a stone with a crystal clear consciousness, a human life was too fleeting. This was why some people behaved like other creatures after the trial ended, as they likely felt that their human experience was just another part of the fantasy.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had already achieved an initial perception of time, which had prevented him from bing a vegetable as well!

    He looked up, and he saw that the canopy of clouds was almost within reach. It was time to continue. As long as he could perceive time, there was nothing that he needed to fear from this trial.

    The triangle-faced Envoy had already descended to the ground. When he looked up and saw ¡°Yu Hao¡± continuing upwards through the final 1,000 feet of the trial, Gong could not help but steal a nce at Wu Yao. Gong really wanted to ask how the Semi-Progenitor had wanted him topete with this Yu Hao. Just how could Gongpete with such a freak?

    At this point in time, no one wasparing Gong to Yu Hao. All of them were just waiting to see just how far the man would rise.

    Once Yu Hao arrived within 500 feet of the cloud canopy, Wu Yao thought of something impossible: could this man actually ascend above the clouds?

    Bai Su swallowed. What had he done? He had simply wanted to extend a gesture of kindness in an attempt to win over a talented Lockbreaker. The acting sect master had never expected such a huge thing toe of his offer. If Yu Hao really did join Shenwu''s Sky, Bai Su would be regarded as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s greatest sinner.

 Chapter 2271: Shocking The Universe

    Chapter 2271: Shocking The Universe

    There were countless species in the universe, and Lu Yin lived the lives of one after another. The mostmon experience that he encountered was life and death, while the scariest was the flow of time. Sadness was just an emotion, and happiness was the same.

    Given the countless experiences that he lived through, Lu Yin could not be certain that his memories of Lu Yin would still remain the foundation of his existence. He just felt lucky that he was able to endure the feelings of life and death as another creature.

    Heartless people tended to look down on emotions, but they were also often unable to see past life and death. People who experienced powerful love tended to look down on life and death, but they could not forget their emotions. Lu Yin did not need to see through anything, as his mind was already clear.

    He took only two steps to cover thest 1,000 feet of the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. Each step covered 500 feet, which meant that Lu Yin was right beneath the canopy of clouds. They looked soft and beautiful, and he automatically reached up to touch them.

    Down on the ground, Wu Yao''s eye started twitching as ¡°Yu Hao¡± touched the clouds. He touched the clouds! He actually touched the clouds!

    As soon as word of this leaked out, it would shock the Perennial World. Even the Progenitors would look down and pay attention. Wu Dao looked up. The rest of the world would not sit still after this.

    The more a person understood the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, the more they would understand just how shocking ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± aplishment really was.

    Lu Yin touched the clouds, but he felt nothing. They looked soft and beautiful, but were more like a dream. His hands met nothing as they stretched into the clouds. Lu Yin looked down, and he saw the shocked expressions on Wu Yao and many others, as well as the look of encouragement in the eyes of the God of Food. Bai Weiwei''s expression was filled with shock and admiration, and the faces of Nong Siniang and many others had heated obsession.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, and then took another step. It was time to enter the clouds.

    Wu Yao¡¯s eyes were locked onto ¡°Yu Hao¡± as he took thest step. Touching the clouds was an achievement on its own, but being able to ascend past the clouds was what qualified one to receive the title of immortal. Only eight people had fully passed the trial throughout all of time, and they were qualified to look down on everyone else. It should be impossible for this young man to seed!

    Everyone stared as Lu Yin''s eyes zed over again. He saw a grasshopper, and then he was the grasshopper. The moment his consciousness became that of the grasshopper, the bug was instantly trampled to death.

    He had been stomped on.

    Lu Yin saw a grasshopper, and then, he was the grasshopper. He was in the exact same location that he had started in thest time he had be a grasshopper.

    Lu Yin was aware of what was happening, but he had the mind of a grasshopper. He had appeared in the middle of a busy street filled with countless people walking in all directions. The first time, he had been stepped on instantly, but the second time, he managed to avoid that first foot. Relying on the experience of the grasshopper that had just died, the insect jumped about, avoiding the ce where it had been squashed as well as death. However, the grasshopper could not avoid all the feet.

    It was an incredibly congested street, and from the grasshopper''s perspective, the street was filled with giants, each of whom was trying to stomp on him. As far as a bug could see, the sky was copsing and falling down on him.

    The grasshopper was almost instantly crushed again, only to restart the cycle at the beginning. It seemed to be an endless loop.

    No matter where the grasshopper leaped, it was impossible to avoid being stomped. He managed to jump five times, but was crushed after the sixth.

    He had no knowledge of how to escape from the street. All the grasshopper knew of its life and existence was the street, being stepped on and crushed, and then being resurrected. Eventually, afterpleting seven jumps, he looked up and saw the face of one of the pedestrians. The grasshopper jumped again,nding on the man¡¯s foot, but it was kicked away. The force of the kick rattled the insect¡¯s body, shattering it. At the moment of death, the grasshopper managed to get a look at several other people¡¯s faces, but each face was the same; all of them were the same man.

    The grasshopper was stomped to death again and again, and it tried to escape from the street again and again. The cycle repeated countless times, but the insect was never able to escape. It was also unable to truly die, and the face of the man on everyone in the street became branded into the grasshopper¡¯s mind, filling its consciousness like the sky above.

    Every time Lu Yin saw the man''s face, the grasshopper''s movements momentarily froze. It was as though the man wanted the insect to be stepped on, hoping for it to die.

    The face was burned into the grasshopper¡¯s memory and mind, recing and overwhelming everything else until nothing was left.

    It was at that moment that whispered words echoed across the street. "When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancientnds is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards¡­ Leap into the cosmos and crouch¡­ Harmonious with themon people¡­ Devour the hundreds of rivers¡­ Leap into the boundless skies and crouch¡­¡±

    When the whisper started, it was barely noticeable, but as time passed and the grasshopper was stomped to death repeatedly, the whispers grew louder and louder. Finally, three words appeared in the grasshopper''s mind: Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    At that moment, the grasshopper¡¯s mind became clear. He was no longer the grasshopper, but Lu Yin. He knew who he was, and he understood that he was experiencing another portion of the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. He was not a grasshopper.

    A shadow fell upon Lu Yin. A foot was about to crush the grasshopper again.

    Lu Yin reacted instantly, and the grasshopper escaped. It leaped away from the person who had been about to crush it. Without any hesitation, it leaped all over the man¡¯s body. As Lu Yin moved around, the man¡¯s hand stretched out to p the insect with a seemingly massive hand. The hand moved incredibly quickly, and the massive difference in size made the hand appear to cover the entire sky.

    However, Lu Yin was still able to avoid the hand. The whispers of the Origin Sutra grew louder and louder until the entire street was shaking.

    Lu Yin moved the grasshopper¡¯s body around, and he even jumped onto people¡¯s foreheads. He looked around and saw the countless identical faces on the people walking by in a hurry. Beneath their feety the corpses of countless crushed grasshoppers, yet not one person seemed to care as they hurried along without any hesitation,pletely filling the entire street.

    Lu Yin jumped up andnded atop a person¡¯s head. They wanted to stomp on the grasshopper, but he intended to step on them.

    Very soon, people watched in utter disbelief as ¡°Yu Hao¡± rose into the clouds and disappeared. He soon emerged from the clouds and found himself high in the sky. He hadpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, bing the ninth person in all of history to do so. He had joined the ranks of those known as immortals.

    Everyone stared upwards in a daze.

    At this moment, even Wu Yao and the God of Food were looking up at ¡°Yu Hao¡± as he took the final step to be an immortal.

    With this extra step, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

    Everyone saw ¡°Yu Hao¡± in a different light, no matter if they were from the Celestial Frost Sect or Virtue Archives.

    Humanity had existed for countless years, and there were countless seemingly impossible achievements that people had managed to aplish. One of those was passing the Sky Beyond the Sky. Countless people had challenged the trial, and while their results varied, there was one thing that remained constant: none of them hadpleted the challenge.

    Each era seemed to be endless, and many eras had passed. As far as most people were concerned, it was impossible for anyone toplete the Sky Beyond the Sky. When Bai Xian¡¯er had done so in the current era, she had already been regarded as an impossible legend. She had drawn the attention of a Progenitor during her first stellr tribtion to be an Envoy, and she had even caused Aeternus tounch an attack. She was someone who existed on a different level from others and was essentially seen as a goddess.

    However, ¡°Yu Hao¡± had also justpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, which rendered the entire Celestial Frost Sect silent. Every elder and disciple, even Semi-Progenitors like Wu Yao and the God of Food, were silent as they stared upwards at ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    Bai Su was actually the first person to recover, and he ordered the sect to be sealed. No one would be allowed to leave, and no one was allowed tomunicate with the outside world. The acting sect master intended to lock down news of Yu Hao passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial and confine it to just within the Celestial Frost Sect. Yu Hao could not be allowed to leave. He had to remain within the Celestial Frost Sect, as he had just proven that he would be a Progenitor.

    Suddenly, Bai Su remembered that Yu Hao was also a Realm Array Master, and his master was Grandmaster Gu Yan. This meant that Yu Hao was not simply destined to be a Progenitor, as he was also well on his way to bing the youngest Array Grandmaster in human history! He was a true genius who would be both a Progenitor and an Array Grandmaster. This man was a monster who couldpare to Bai Xian''er!

    At this realization, Bai Su quickly roused Wu Yao from his daze.

    It was not that Wu Yao''s will was weaker than Bai Su''s, but rather that, as a Semi-Progenitor, Wu Yao had a much clearer understanding of what it meant for Yu Hao to have ascended beyond the clouds. At this moment, Wu Yao was seeing the young man in the same light as he would a Progenitor.

    The moment Bai Su managed to break Wu Yao¡¯s stupor, the Semi-Progenitor instantly sealed the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Unfortunately, he was already a step toote.

    The weaker the cultivator, the less they would understand the significance of passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. So naturally, they recovered quicker.

    As soon as Lu Yin had risen beyond the clouds, a Melder who had recently joined the Celestial Frost Sect shared a video of the scene.

    Each of the four ruling powers had their own spies ced within the others, as did Seed Garden, the Liu family, and even Specter Abyss. This was why it was impossible to hide certain matters, as many different organizations had spies within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The moment Yu Haopleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, the entire Perennial World exploded.

    The Wang family received the news first, as the Melder was their spy and had sent them the video.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai instantly appeared before Wang Nian, badly startling the Array Master, though his expression quickly changed from frightened to annoyed. "Senior Chai, these are my private quarters, and you cannot just barge in here like this!"

    A Realm Array Master had no need to act submissive to Semi-Progenitor Chai, as they both had equal statuses within the Wang family.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai nervously asked, "Has the family spoken to Yu Hao? Have any conditions been offered?"

    Wang Nian arched a brow. "Why do you ask?"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai was clearly anxious. "If not, reach out to the ancestor right now! We need to find a way to win Yu Hao over. He must join us! He just passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial in the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Wang Nian did not initially register or understand what was being said, but once he made the connection, he was startled. "The Sky Beyond the Sky? He just became an immortal?"

    "That''s right. So, have you spoken to the ancestor about recruiting Yu Hao? What sort of conditions were offered? I need to discuss this matter further with the ancestor so that we are guaranteed to recruit Yu Hao."

    Wang Nian was still lost in a daze. Throughout all of history, only eight people had everpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. Of those eight, five had be Progenitors, and two had died. Then, there was Bai Xian''er. No one questioned whether or not she would be a Progenitor, as it was a sure thing. Yu Hao was the ninth person to pass the trial.

    "The ancestor has already spoken with him," Wang Nian said.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai nervously asked, "We need to take this very seriously! This not only concerns a future Progenitor, as don¡¯t forget that, before the young manpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, he was also a Realm Array Master. As the family¡¯s resident Lockbreaker, you are able to reach out to the ancestor."

    Wang Nian''s expression changed, and he swallowed before saying, "A genius Lockbreaker justpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial¡­ Is he going to be the next Bai Xian''er?"

    Thinking of this, Wang Nian immediately called the ancestor again. "I will speak to the ancestor now. We absolutely must have this young man join the Wang family."

    Elsewhere, the White Dragon n received the news as well, and it caused Long Tian''s eye to start twitching. There was someone else? Had someone else other than Bai Xian''er actuallypleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?

    Long Tian had never challenged the trial. This was because Long Xing, the heir of the White Dragon n¡¯s previous main family, who had also been one of the Seven Heroes, had said that the Celestial Frost Sect would never allow people from the White Dragon n to challenge the trial. However, Long Tian had long since desired to face the trial.

    The four Junior Progenitors were referred to as future Progenitors, but they knew that they simply had a higher chance of reaching that level. If it took ten points to qualify to be a Progenitor, then the Junior Progenitors had three points at best. However, anyone whopleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial could be considered to have nine points. There was a massive difference between three points and nine points.

 Chapter 2272: New Here?

    Chapter 2272: New Here?

    Mr. Yu appeared, and he calmly looked at Long Tian. "Have you reported this matter to the ancestor?"

    Long Tian looked over. "Not yet."

    "Then do so now. This is the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. You can¡¯t hide this," Mr. Yu stated.

    He did not show a positive attitude. It was not that the White Dragon n did not want to recruit a future Progenitor, but rather that they were incapable of doing so. More urately, it was impossible for Long Tian and Mr. Yu to recruit this future Progenitor.

    Yu Hao was a part of Virtue Archives¡¯ faculty, which meant that he could be regarded as the God of Food¡¯s subordinate. Meanwhile, the hatred that existed between Master Yu and the God of Food could never be resolved. This meant that Yu Hao had a high chance of also harboring hatred for Mr. Yu, and even in the best case scenario, Yu Hao would still have a bad impression of the Semi-Progenitor. As far as Mr. Yu was concerned, Yu Hao could basically be considered to be an enemy.

    As for Long Tian, he had gone to find Mr. Yu as soon as Long Ke had disappeared, and he had received the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s support, which meant that the two were basically in the same camp. This meant that, if the White Dragon n intended to recruit Yu Hao, it would be bad for both Mr. Yu and Long Tian. After all, the White Dragon n¡¯s main family could easily be switched, and if a branch family managed to lure Yu Hao in, Long Tian¡¯s family¡¯s status as the main family would be jeopardized.

    "Completing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial is truly impressive, but there¡¯s no guarantee that he won¡¯t die before reaching his full potential," Mr. Yu casually stated before leaving.

    Long Tian''s eyes shed. Die early? That would be too difficult to pull off. The two people who had died after passing the trial had died to very specific reasons, while Yu Hao would inevitably choose to join one of the four ruling powers, which made it highly unlikely for him to die early.

    There were only two paths before Long Tian: continue to work with Mr. Yu, which would likely lead to them bing enemies with Yu Hao in the future. If Yu Hao did get pulled into the White Dragon n, bing his enemy would likely cause the n¡¯s main family to switch. Or, he could abandon Mr. Yu to entice Yu Hao.

    It was still the White Dragon n, so even if Yu Hao did be a Progenitor, he would never be a true member of the n. He would always remain an outsider with a different surname, and while recruiting him would certainly help the family, was it even possible? If they failed, not only would they fail to recruit Yu Hao, but their attempts to recruit him would also offend Mr. Yu.

    Long Tian¡¯s mind raced, and he unconsciously nced in the direction that Mr. Yu had disappeared in.

    Was it possible that Mr. Yu did not know what was running through Long Tian¡¯s mind? That was impossible. There was only one path truly avable to Long Tian, and that was to ensure that Yu Hao died young.

    This was a very unexpected development. Mr. Yu stood atop a mountain peak and stared towards the Celestial Frost Sect. "Master, you really make too much trouble."

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky also received word of what had happened within the Celestial Frost Sect, and Xia Ziheng raced to where they had imprisoned Yu Chuan while still lost in a daze. The Semi-Progenitor was relieved to see that Yu Chuan was still safe, and he then immediately contacted their Progenitor.

    For Shenwu¡¯s Sky, things concerning Yu Hao were different from the rest of the four ruling powers. Others wanted to recruit Yu Hao because he had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, but for Shenwu''s Sky, it was necessary to win over Yu Hao for their public image; this was even more important than his Lockbreaking talent or the fact that he had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky.

    After speaking with the Progenitor, Xia Ziheng''s first order was to arrest Xia Zhitong, as well as every single person who had taken action against the Yu family. All of them would be Shenwu''s Sky''spensation to Yu Hao.

    Xia Ziheng was suffering from a massive headache. Ever since Yu Hao had returned, he had done things that only got more and more sensational. A single Envoy had actually forced the mighty Shenwu¡¯s Sky to gather his enemies for him and arrange for him to exact his revenge. Thest time they had been forced to go so far had been when Xia Shang had inherited a Mountain and Sea as a Semi-Progenitor. Unfortunately, Xia Shang had not been willing to appreciate the sect¡¯s efforts, and they could only hope that Yu Hao would be different.

    After issuing the order, Xia Ziheng left Shenwu''s Sky. He started making his way to the Celestial Frost Sect to personally meet with Yu Hao. They could not allow the Celestial Frost Sect to keep the young man locked up.

    At the same time, Nong Ya received the news in the Middle Realm, and the patriarch let out a sigh. "Another person passed the Sky Beyond the Sky? This era is too impressive, yet it is somehow both prosperous and declining. I just hope that the child can survive."

    Far away from Seed Garden, near the Sword Monument, Liu Song, Liu Yijian¡¯s master, opened his eyes. Liu Lu stood before the old man. "The Sky Beyond the Sky trial?"

    The old man looked upwards towards the Celestial Frost Sect with aplicated expression.

    As time passed, word of someonepleting the Sky Beyond the Sky would raise more and more waves throughout the Perennial World.

    However, as everything was happening down below, Lu Yin fell absolutely silent as he stood high above the Celestial Frost Sect. This was because there was another person in front of him, lounging on the clouds.

    While the person was lying on their side and facing away from Lu Yin, the moment heid eyes on this person, it felt like the world was falling apart. Never before, not even when he had been chased by Wang Si, had Lu Yin felt himself to be in as much danger as the moment he first saw this person.

    This person was a Progenitor. There was no doubt in his mind at all.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. How could there be a Progenitor in the Celestial Frost Sect above the clouds?

    Lu Yin¡¯s greatest fear in the Perennial World was running into a Progenitor. His Mask of Death was effective even against Semi-Progenitors, but there was no way that it would work on a Progenitor.

    Just why was there a Progenitor in such a ce?

    Countless thoughts surged through Lu Yin¡¯s mind in an instance, and he automatically focused on his cosmic ring. If he was discovered, his only option would be to ask Progenitor Smoke for her protection. Lu Yin desperately hoped that the woman had recovered thebat strength of a Progenitor, as it was the only way he could stay alive.

    Nothing changed. Lu Yin stared at the back of the lounging figure. Not a word was spoken, not a movement was made.

    A long time passed, but the God of Food, Wu Yao, and the others on the ground all continued to remain silent. They had no idea what was happening above the clouds. None of them had ever witnessed someone sessfully passing the trial. When Bia Xian¡¯er had done so, only their Progenitor had watched. No one else had been allowed to observe.

    No one had any idea what might happen after someonepleted the trial, and their imaginations ran wild as they considered what ¡°Yu Hao¡± might be experiencing above the clouds. Could it be something that ensured that those who passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial became Progenitors?

    Everyone stared at the clouds, eager to see what would happen.

    Above the clouds, Lu Yin patiently waited for a long time, but the lounging figure still did not move. Lu Yin started wondering if he should stay or leave. After considering things, he simply sat down.

    Distance meant nothing to a Progenitor. Even if Lu Yin escaped from the Celestial Frost Sect now, a Progenitor would be able to catch up to him in an instant.

    Just who was this lounging figure?

    Judging by the person¡¯s back and clothing, they should be a man. Could this be Bai Wangyuan?

    After the Perennial World had been separated from the Fifth Maind, all the Progenitors who had appeared since had been recorded down in history, but those records were notplete. While people like Progenitor Wen and Progenitor Chong Yue were well known, ces like the four ruling powers had not publicized all of their Progenitors.

    Everyone in the Perennial World said that each of the four ruling powers was supported by a Progenitor, and it was clear that Bai Wangyuan belonged to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    However, if this man really was Bai Wangyuan, then he was a Progenitor who had lived since the Daosource Sect era. The master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Was it really possible that no one from the Celestial Frost Sect had be a Progenitor since that time? No, that was impossible. In that case, who could this Progenitor be? The most obvious answer was that he was a man by the name of Bai Sheng who hadpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky and was one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s five people who had passed the trial and be Progenitors. There were no rumors of Bai Sheng dying, but he had also never appeared anywhere at all. Where had he gone? After all, the four Junior Progenitors were said to be capable of bing Progenitors, and people had great confidence in that im being true. While there were reports of the four ruling powers having multiple Progenitors, how could such rumors regarding the Junior Progenitors circte if there was no truth to them?

    Clearly, there were more Progenitors in the Perennial World than people knew of. In that case, where had they all gone?

    A day passed, and the lounging person never moved. Lu Yin remained still as well, and he simply stared at the Progenitor on the clouds.

    Two more days passed. The people on the ground down below were now in a hurry, and they all continued to stare upwards.

    As for Lu Yin, he was still staring at the figure¡¯s back.

    Finally, the figure moved. He stood up, stretched, and then rubbed his head. He hesitated, then slowly turned around and stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin observed the person. Clearly, he was a man, and he also appeared to be quite young. He looked at Lu Yin with evident surprise, as well as a bit of curiosity. "New here?"

    "What?" Lu Yin asked.

    The man pointed down. "Are you from the Celestial Frost Sect? Are you new here?"

    "I¡¯m a guest."

    "From where?"

    "Virtue Archives."

    "Oh. You passed the Sky Beyond the Sky?"

    "Yes, I just finished."

    "Not bad."

    "Thank you."

    After the silence stretched out for a while, the man coughed and turned aroundpletely so that he was facing Lu Yin directly, at which point he smiled. "I am Bai Sheng. Who are you?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Sure enough, this man was Bai Sheng, one of the nine people who had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, including Lu Yin himself. This man was one of the five people who had passed the trial and be a Progenitor. "I am Yu Hao."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he stood and offered Bai Sheng a bow. "This junior greets Progenitor Ba-"

    Bai Sheng interrupted Lu Yin with a raised hand. "Don''t. Don¡¯t call me Progenitor Bai, as that¡¯s Patriarch Wangyuan¡¯s title. I can¡¯t ept being referred to with the same title."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "What should this junior call you?"

    Bai Sheng smiled. "Progenitor Sheng."1

    Lu Yin was left speechless, as this person seemed to be slightly insane. "Junior Yu Hao greets Senior Progenitor Sheng."

    "Just ¡®Progenitor Sheng¡¯ is fine. There¡¯s no need to add the ¡®senior¡¯ bit. I¡¯m really not that much older than you." Bai Sheng seemed to be a very easy-going person.

    Lu Yin made sure not to stare at Bai Sheng, though Lu Yin did wonder if Bai Sheng had already seen through the Mask of Death. If that were the case, did Lu Yin need to do something about it? Would Bai Sheng recognize Lu Xiaoxuan?

    Numerous questions popped into Lu Yin''s mind, but the most frequent one was, how could he escape?

    "Congrattions. Passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial basically means reaching the pinnacle of humanity. From now on, the entire Perennial World will pursue you." Bai Sheng smiled and gestured for Lu Yin to sit down. "Only the few of us are able to sit on this cloud, so don¡¯t waste the opportunity. Come visit me when you have a chance again in the future. The truth is, I¡¯m quite bored.¡±

    "Do you stay here all the time, Progenitor Sheng?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "Not exactly. I visit asionally, mostly because it¡¯s fun to watch the people on the ground try to climb up but not make it. Look, isn¡¯t it fun to see the looks on their faces? Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin followed Bai Sheng''s gaze and saw that the man was looking at Wu Yao and the God of Food...

    "Including you, nine people have reached this ce, but unfortunately, most of them are dead. Thest one before you was that girl, Bai Xian''er, but she¡¯s so serious that talking to her ispletely suffocating. She¡¯ll bore you to death! Young man, at least talk to me a bit," Bai Sheng urged.

    Lu Yin did not know what to say, as he feared saying the wrong thing. He felt quite guilty, deceiving this man. "Well, um, Sen- no, Progenitor Sheng, shouldn''t you be in the Dominion Realm?"

    Bai Sheng smiled. "Apparently you know very little about the Perennial World. Not all of us Progenitors stay in the Dominion Realm. Only Progenitor Bai and a few others are there, and they hold the line against the bulk of Aeternus¡¯s attacks. As for the rest of us, we¡¯re in the Outer Realm."

    As the man spoke, he pointed out at the sky.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "The Outer Realm?"

    He had heard of the Outer Realm before, as it was the region of the universe that surrounded the Mother Tree, but it was also beyond the Mother Tree.

    The Mother Tree had a specific location in the universe, and the Perennial World was the area within the Mother Tree¡¯s domain. Any space beyond the Mother Tree was referred to as the Outer Realm.

    For example, the stars that could be seen from the Higher Realm were actually in the Outer Realm.

    The most famous one was a known as Green Hills that could only be seen from the Blue Moon District. It was a in the Outer Realm, but it could only be seen from Blue Moon District and nowhere else in the entire Perennial World.

    [1] The "Sheng" here is the character for "victory" (Ê¤), so "Progenitor Victory" is pretty arrogant sounding. ?

 Chapter 2273: Winning

    Chapter 2273: Winning

    "As for the Outer Realm, you¡¯ll learn more after you be a Semi-Progenitor. By the way, you just mentioned that you¡¯re from Virtue Archives. How is the academy now? I heard that it¡¯s about to be divided up between the four ruling powers, right?" Bai Sheng asked.

    Lu Yin had not expected such bluntness from Bai Sheng. The four ruling powers did indeed intend to split Virtue Archives between themselves, and they had been steadily working towards aplishing that. "They are sharing it, but they haven''t seeded in taking it over quite yet. They are hoping to send people over to inherit the Mountain and Sea."

    "The Mountain and Sea? What a waste. Do they really think that it''s that simple to inherit one of the Mountains and Seas? There were masters for all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas only during a single era. It never happened before that, and it will never happen again after that. They know nothing at all about the Mountains and Seas. It¡¯s best if someone can receive the inheritance, but it¡¯s fine if it doesn¡¯t happen. Only very rarely have any Semi-Progenitors sessfully inherited one of the Mountains and Seas, so most people wait to try after they be Progenitors. Just so you know, the earliest that anyone¡¯s ever managed to inherit a Mountain and Sea was when they were an Envoy, though that¡¯s just a legend. The earliest that¡¯s been confirmed was Progenitor Chen, who inherited a Mountain and Sea while he was a Semi-Progenitor¡­" Bai Sheng spoke for a while, though it seemed that he barely had any interest in the Mountain and Sea hidden within Virtue Archives.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "They''re clearly not as open-minded as you are, Progenitor Sheng. They¡¯re fighting each other over the opportunity."

    "Don''t me them, young man. Are you interested in joining the Celestial Frost Sect?" Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin with sudden interest as he asked.

    Lu Yin had no idea if he should let out a sigh of relief, or to worry even more than ever. Did this question mean that Bai Sheng could not see through the Mask of Death, or that he could, but simply did not recognize Lu Xiaoxuan? Or was he just baiting Lu Yin?

    If Bai Sheng had seen through Lu Yin¡¯s true identity, then he should already know that it was impossible for Lu Yin to join the Celestial Frost Sect, so he would not have asked the question.

    Lu Yin could not grasp what the Progenitor was thinking.

    "What''s with that expression? Do you have some grievances with the Celestial Frost Sect? It doesn''t matter. A Progenitor can help you with anything!" Bai Shenghao stated angrily.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He really had no confidence in how he should handle this situation. "I won¡¯t hide things from you, Senior. This junior¡¯s wife is Shenwu Sky¡¯s Xia Zhitong."

    Bai Sheng was surprised. "Are you one of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s son-inws?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Bai Sheng could say nothing about the matter. "Then I guess that there¡¯s nothing more to say than that Shenwu''s Sky is truly lucky to have found such a son-inw."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, and he briefly shared the grievances between the Yu family and Shenwu''s Sky.

    Everyone who heard the story for the first time reacted in the same manner. It was such a strange and bizarre story, and yet it fit what people know about the parties involved.

    Bai Sheng stayedpletely silent for a long time, not speaking a word. Finally, he sighed. "The Xia family is beyond ruthless, and they were even willing to use their own family members to ruin your Yu family''s reputation at the cost of their own. Progenitor Bai really did say it right¡ªafter the incident with Progenitor Chen, the Xia family has already been stained with the dust of the shameless road. They really don¡¯t care at all about their reputation any longer."

    The man then stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "So, will you return to Shenwu''s Sky? Given the fact that you¡¯ve passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, Xia Zhitong¡¯s death is already guaranteed. The Xia family will give her to you. Stated bluntly, as far as the Xia family is concerned, as long as someone is not a member of their direct line, anyone can be sacrificed. Offering up a member of a branch family means nothing if it buys them the favor of an immortal.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. "This junior would really prefer not to join such a family, but they have my grandfather held captive."

    Bai Sheng considered the matter.

    "The Xia family''s ceremony to worship their ancestors is fast approaching, and that is the deadline that this junior was given to deliver a decision. Honestly, this junior has recently gotten along quite well with Bai Weiwei, and if possible, this junior would much prefer to join the Celestial Frost Sect," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Sheng rubbed his head. "That¡¯s a bit difficult. If the sect had agreed to the matter before now, Progenitor Bai might have been able to free your grandfather, but Xia Shenji will never let him go now that you¡¯vepleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial."

    Lu Yin stood up and bowed. "If possible, I ask Progenitor Sheng to please help rescue my grandfather. I, Yu Hao, can promise to join the Celestial Frost Sect and will swear to protect the interests of the sect till death."

    Bai Sheng stretched again before standing up and looking around. "The Sky Beyond the Sky, an immortal above immortals¡­ Do you want to take a walk with me?"

    Looking around, all that either man could see were the clouds that covered the Celestial Frost Sect. They could not see beyond the sect, and everything within sight was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s territory.

    Walking on the clouds was figuratively stepping on everyone within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    A Progenitor was qualified to do so, but so was Lu Yin, despite him only being an Envoy.

    "Does walking across these clouds also cause one to experience things like when climbing up here?" Lu Yin asked.

    A smile spread across Bai Sheng''s face, and he pointed down. "One cloud, one step to be an immortal. The Sky Beyond the Sky is for the immortals. Only the nine of us qualify."

    "Every cloud needs to be climbed?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Bai Sheng nodded. "Yes and no. There¡¯s no need to climb up from the bottom again, but stepping onto another cloud is basically the same as climbing up here. This is why it¡¯s called ¡®one step to be an immortal,¡¯ as these clouds are what allow the nine of us topare ourselves to each other. Which of us is able to climb higher and who remains stuck further down all depends on how many steps you are able to take."

    As he spoke, he raised a foot and instantly stepped onto another cloud. He continued to walk across the clouds, reaching another one with each step. "One step each time. Young man, will you take a walk with me?"

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. One step to reach another cloud? One step to be an immortal? If he had the time, he would absolutely want to try this, but he was out of time. The people on the ground were still waiting for him. The Xia family would not be willing to sit still. He needed to hurry!

    Also, the more time that passed, the fewer opportunities that he would have to roll his die.

    "So that¡¯s how it is. In that case, this junior can only decline your kind offer this time, Senior," Lu Yin politely refused.

    Bai Sheng smiled. "I''m also leaving."

    He suddenly looked up. "How many Progenitors have had their bones buried in the Outer Realm? It¡¯s possible that you may head there as well one day."

    The man then took another step from the cloud where he stood, and he briefly blurred before vanishing.

    Lu Yin looked upwards. Had the man gone to the Outer World? If Progenitors had been buried there, then was that where the unknown Progenitors had all gone?

    Down below, people were still staring up, as they had been doing for a long, long time. They were determined to watch for as long as ¡°Yu Hao¡± remained atop the clouds.

    "Prof. Hao Yu¡¯sing down!" a student eximed.

    Nong Siniang was extremely excited. Bai Weiwei and others from the Celestial Frost Sect stepped forward while staring into the sky.

    Xia Shenguang, Wang Xiaofan, and many others hadplicated emotions flickering through their eyes. Once a person passed the Sky Beyond the Sky, their status would be forever changed. No one would dare to look down on such a person.

    "Co- con- congrattions, Professor!" the fat little man shouted excitedly.

    "Congrattions, Prof. Hao Yu." Qing Feng showed simr excitement.

    "Congrattions, Prof. Hao Yu!" All of the students started shouting.

    All the while, the members of the Celestial Frost Sect watched with rising jealousy.

    When Lu Yin finallynded back on the ground, Wu Yao was the first person to step forward. He smiled and expressed a never-before-seen enthusiasm, "Congrattions, Prof. Hao Yu, on passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial and bing an immortal!"

    Lu Yin offered a few polite words in reply.

    To the side, the students from Virtue Archives surged forward and surrounded their instructor, all of them asking about what had happened.

    Only the people who had sessfully passed the Sky Beyond the Sky would retain their memories of the trial, while everyone else would forget everything.

    However, Lu Yin shared none of his experiences. Before attempting the trial, the Celestial Frost Sect had made everyone swear to not disclose any information after finishing their attempt.

    "Congrattions, Prof. Hao Yu," Mr. Tang said, also quite clearly excited about what had happened.

    Lu Yin felt exhausted by all the praise. "It was just a fluke, nothing more."

    "Completing the entire trial on your first try is definitely not a fluke," Prof. Wei retorted with a smile.

    The God of Food spoke up. "When we visited the Wang family, you demonstrated a peerless lockbreaking talent. At the White Dragon n, you revealed a Creation level of stellr energy control when you observed their blood pool, which forced them to lower their heads. Today, you¡¯ve passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. It seems that this exchange program isn¡¯t for our students, but for you, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. "This junior doesn''t know why this has happened."

    While watching ¡°Yu Hao¡± chat with the people from Virtue Archives, Bai Su approached Wu Yao from behind. The acting sect master looked furious. "The story¡¯s already been leaked. Many people already know that Yu Hao¡¯s passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial."

    Wu Yao was unsurprised. "That¡¯s to be expected. Don¡¯t allow them to leave. This is for the Progenitors to deal with now."

    Bai Su nodded as he stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± The man could not determine his own emotions at the moment.

    He had simply wanted to make a gesture of kindness, nothing more, to try to win over a talented Lockbreaker. Bai Su had never imagined that his innocent offer would create a new immortal. It was likely that it would not be that long before Yu Hao became a Progenitor, catching up to Bai Xian¡¯er. On top of that, he was favored to be the youngest Array Grandmaster in human history.

    Just thinking about the young man¡¯s potential was terrifying.

    No one would be willing to walk away from someone who had at least a 90% chance of bing a Progenitor, even if they had not yet opened their three meridian points.

    Compared to passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, opening the three meridian points was not nearly as important. After all, it was possible to open those meridian points in the future. It was not absolutely necessary to do so in the Enlighter realm. On the other hand, the Sky Beyond the Sky trial was something that ignored cultivation realms. Possessing a powerful cultivation did not provide any advantage when challenging the trial.

    The n had been for the people from Virtue Archives to leave the Celestial Frost Sect as soon as everyone was done challenging the trial and then make their way to their final destination: Shenwu''s Sky. However, the Celestial Frost Sect employed every excuse and every means possible to dy the academy¡¯s departure, and even the God of Food was unable to leave. They had no choice but to dy their departure.

    Everyone understood that the Celestial Frost Sect was targeting Yu Hao.

    The God of Food made a point to speak with Yu Hao. "Don''t bother being polite to these people. Given your new status, you need to act as though you are already a Semi-Progenitor. Understand that everyone will do their best to try to win you over."

    While Lu Yin had initially believed himself qualified to negotiate with the Celestial Frost Sect after passing the Sky Beyond the Sky, meeting with Bai Sheng had left Lu Yin eager to leave as quickly as possible. After all, a Progenitor could certainly see through the Mask of Death, so it was just a matter of time before Bai Sheng realized Lu Yin¡¯s true identity.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s desires meant nothing, as the Celestial Frost Sect refused to let anyone go. There was nothing that Lu Yin could do.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, as long as you join my Celestial Frost Sect, we will do our best to release your grandfather, Yu Chuan. Shenwu''s Sky will not risk offending a future Progenitor, so what would they dare to do to your grandfather? We can provide you with whatever resources you need, not to mention other things. We can ensure that you will open your three meridian points, and we will also give you everything that you need to reach your fourth stellr tribtion and beyond, until you be a Semi-Progenitor. My Celestial Frost Sect will promise you... " Wu Yao pulled Lu Yin aside and made endless promises.

    The entire ordeal left Lu Yin with a headache, and he quickly stopped the man. "I know what you are saying, Senior Wu Yao, but as long as my grandfather remains captive within Shenwu''s Sky, I can''t join your Celestial Frost Sect, no matter how much I may prefer to join your sect."

    Wu Yao was also struggling. He was a cruel and ruthless person, and not to mention his grandfather, he would have happily sold his own parents away if offered such a choice. Unfortunately, it was clear that Yu Hao did not want to abandon his family, which made things far moreplicated.

    "A cultivator needs to know how to make tough choices sometimes," Wu Yao said.

    "This junior doesn¡¯t understand what you mean by that, Senior."

    "You know why Yu Chuan was arrested and forced into Star Alliance. Your father made a decision, as did Yu Chuan himself. Now, it''s your turn to decide."

 Chapter 2274: Cloudforest Tower

    Chapter 2274: Cloudforest Tower

    Lu Yin''s expression grew ugly. "My father''s choice is what caused the Yu family to be what it currently is."

    "And yet it also saved you," Wu Yao countered, "If not for that, you would have never received the opportunity to challenge the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. Tell me, how many of the Perennial World¡¯s greatest geniuses can alsoplete this trial? If everyone was allowed to challenge it, the number of people who have sessfully passed it might double, but they simply don¡¯t have the luck to even try. You are different, and the decisions made by your father and grandfather led to you receiving this chance. You should not let them down."

    Lu Yin stared at Wu Yao. "Since they made me who I am, I should repay them."

    Wu Yao¡¯s voice turned cold. "You should be trying to repay the Yu family as a whole: the past Yu family as well as the future Yu family, not merely your grandfather. I believe even that old man is hoping to see you make the right choice, even if it means that he must pay the price."

    Lu Yin frowned. "I can pretend like I never heard you say that, Senior."

    Wu Yao felt quite frustrated. If this young man had not passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, how would Wu Yao ever allow an Envoy to speak to him in such a tone? This Yu Hao¡¯s attitude was sufficient cause for Wu Yao to kill him.

    Wu Yao left, and Bai Su arrived instead. The two were taking turns trying to persuade Yu Hao.

    Neither of the man had any hope of being able to rescue Yu Chuan. Shenwu''s Sky was not stupid. Even before Yu Hao had challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, they had made it a point to take Yu Chuan away from Star Alliance and lock him up within Shenwu''s Sky. At this juncture, they had to be keeping an even closer eye on the old man, and it was possible that they even had Xia Ziheng personally standing guard. Not even the Celestial Frost Sect was confident in being able to rescue Yu Chuan.

    If it was impossible to save Yu Chuan, then the only option avable was to try to convince Yu Hao to abandon his grandfather.

    Unfortunately, if Yu Hao did not agree, the Celestial Frost Sect could only back down. They could not detain Virtue Archives for too long, especially since Xia Ziheng had arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect. They could try to stall the man, but Xia Ziheng would not be stopped for long, and he might even try to attack if they forcibly blocked him.

    The soft light that shone down from the clouds dimmed a great deal. This was how the cycles of night and day passed within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    As night fell, Lu Yin and the God of Food sat across from each other at the stone table. Lu Yin shared everything that Bai Su and Wu Yao had promised to give Yu Hao.

    The God of Food startedughing. "Giving you the resources to open your three meridian points isn¡¯t a condition they¡¯re offering, but a necessity! They only want to convince you to join them because you should be able to be a Progenitor, but how are you going to be able to do that without the necessary resources? Just ignore that part of their offer. As for your grandfather, Yu Chuan¡­"

    The old man started considering the matter. "I can¡¯t convince you to abandon him, but understand that, if you refuse to join Shenwu''s Sky, they will use him to try to control you, even after you be a Progenitor. Yu Chuan will always remain a weakness of yours."

    Lu Yin softly said, "I want to head to Shenwu''s Sky now."

    The God of Food believed that ¡°Yu Hao¡± missed Yu Chuan, so the Semi-Progenitor said, "I''ll speak with Wu Yao and try to find a way for us to leave, but the Celestial Frost Sect won''t easily allow you to leave. You should be prepared for that."

    Lu Yin nodded, and he could not stop himself from ncing upwards at the clouds in the sky. He was simply too worried about Bai Sheng. As soon as that Progenitor realized that Yu Hao was really Lu Xiaoxuan, war would descend. Lu Yin would then have to forget about trying to rescue Star Alliance or the people imprisoned in Crimson Garden, which would make his entire trip to the Perennial World be a waste.

    In another part of the Higher Realm, Xia Ziheng was furious. "You came here to slow me down? Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing! Dream on!"

    The Semi-Progenitor then rushed off.

    On the ground below was an old man with blood leaking from his mouth. "This was a huge loss. The Celestial Frost Sect told me to stop Xia Ziheng, but he¡¯s acting like a madman! This is really going to be a waste¡­"

    After the old man finished speaking, his inner world erupted. He waspletely disregarding the potential consequences or what it would cost him. No, it could not be considered a loss. He was just doing what needed to be done.

    Xia Ziheng''s eye twitched. The more the Celestial Frost Sect did to dy him, the more they proved their determination to steal Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng was terribly worried that Yu Hao might agree to abandon Yu Chuan. If that happened, Shenwu¡¯s Sky would lose any hint of an advantage that they might hold over the Celestial Frost Sect. Even worse, given the history between Shenwu¡¯s Sky and the Yu family, they might create an enemy that they never wanted to see.

    They could not afford to be mortal enemies with an immortal.

    Two days passed, and then three. Each day, various people from the Celestial Frost Sect were sent to speak with Yu Hao to convince him to join the sect. Even Bai Weiwei was sent, and she visited Lu Yin several times. She quite clearly hinted that the sect was willing to offer her to Yu Hao as an incentive, which left Lu Yinpletely stunned.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was willing to do almost anything if it resulted in an immortal joining them, and even Bai Weiwei was willing to do whatever it took.

    Yet again, Lu Yin felt that he had greatly underestimated his own value. It was possible, given the treatment that he was receiving, that he could even get away with pointing a finger at Wu Hao and publicly insulting him.

    Lu Yin asked Progenitor Smoke toe out.

    He had not been willing to take such a risk before because he had recently met Bai Sheng and was worried about being discovered by a Progenitor, but he felt that it had be necessary. It was too difficult to get into the Celestial Frost Sect, so if Lu Yin did not take advantage of his current opportunity, things would likely be practically impossible in the future.

    "Eh? Another Mountain and Sea?" Progenitor Smoke looked upwards at the clouds above the Celestial Frost Sect as soon as she emerged from her pocket dimension.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he also looked up. "There¡¯s another Mountain and Sea?"

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "You can see it up there in the distance."

    "Those clouds?" Lu Yin was even more surprised.

    "That''s right. That''s Bai Wangyuan''s Mountain and Sea. Where are we? The Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He had never considered the possibility that the clouds above the sect would be another Mountain and Sea. In that case, was the Sky Beyond the Sky a trial that Bai Wangyuan had created, or was it something from the Mountain and Sea itself?

    It should be a trial that had been created by Bai Wangyuan, as there would be no trial from a Mountain and Sea as long as it had a master.

    He suppressed his shock of learning about yet another Mountain and Sea and asked Progenitor Smoke to check if anyone was observing him. "I met a Progenitor here by the name of Bai Sheng."

    Progenitor Smoke looked around, and then shook her head. "There¡¯s no Progenitor nearby."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Is there anyone on top of those clouds?"

    "I don''t know about that, but there¡¯s certainly nobody watching us. What? Do you want me to check out the entire Celestial Frost Sect? That might alert their sourcebox array or the Mountain and Sea," Progenitor Smoke cautioned.

    "There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ve already troubled you again, Senior."

    Progenitor Smoke folded her arms across her chest and then looked out from Lu Yin¡¯s quarters with a great deal of interest. "This is no trouble. I¡¯ll quite enjoy things if you¡¯re making trouble for Bai Wangyuan."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Is there some sort of grudge between you and Bai Wangyuan, Senior?"

    "No, but that guy¡¯s very sneaky. I have no idea if I might have been tricked by him in the past, so I¡¯m just going to assume that I have," Progenitor Smoke stated very casually.

    Lu Yin blinked. Was this sort of attitude really alright?

    He could not begin to guess what Progenitor Smoke was thinking. She might be a Progenitor, but she seemingly remained as petty as ever.

    Lu Yin shook his head and brought out Zenith Mountain to release Yu Chen.

    When Yu Chen saw Progenitor Smoke, she instantly felt a momentary urge to submit to the beautiful woman. Then, Yu Chen instantly became far more respectful than normal.

    Progenitor Smoke gave Lu Yin a very odd look. "Just how many people have you kidnapped?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Not too many."

    He then turned to Yu Chen. "We¡¯re in the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Yu Chen was taken aback, and she immediately looked up into the sky. Sure enough, they were in the Celestial Frost Sect, but this did not excite the woman, and she felt no gratitude towards Lu Yin at all. Even if they were in the Celestial Frost Sect, she would not be set free. She knew that Lu Yin would not release her.

    "I remember that you once told me that the Celestial Frost Sect has a very secure location where top secret records are stored. Take me there," Lu Yin quietly ordered.

    Yu Chen''s expressionpletely changed. "The Cloudforest Tower is one of the most heavily protected ces in the entire sect! Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao himself stays there to protect it, and we¡¯ll definitely get caught if we try to go there."

    Lu Yinughed. "A Semi-Progenitor can¡¯t do anything. Even if Bai Wangyuan himself were here, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to sense us as long as this senior here is protecting us."

    Yu Chen turned to stare at Progenitor Smoke in shock. Lu Yin did not seem to be just bragging, so did that mean that this woman really had the ability to stay hidden even from Progenitor Bai? Did that mean this beautiful woman was actually a Progenitor herself?

    Progenitor Smoke loved to hearpliments, and hearing Lu Yin im that she could hide things from even Bai Wangyuan was simply wonderful to her ears. "Don''t worry, no one will find us. Just tell me where we need to go."

    Yu Chen forced down the shock that had rattled her so badly and shared the location of the Cloudforest Tower.

    Soon, Lu Yin and Yu Chen were making their way towards the Cloudforest Tower while covered with a bit of energy from the mirror.

    Lu Yin himself was not certain how powerful Progenitor Smoke was at the moment, but he was absolutely certain that no Semi-Progenitor could possibly sense the woman if she hid herself. He was still worried about Bai Sheng, but the man had said that he was returning to the Outer Realm, so Lu Yin could only hope that the Progenitor was truly gone.

    Of course, he still prepared for the worst. If the Celestial Frost Sect discovered him, he would simply join the sect as Yu Hao. The Celestial Frost Sect would most likely not be willing to harm an immortal because of the Cloudforest Tower, not even if he was an outsider. In fact, they might even view the situation as a win-win oue, as an immortal would always be weed into the Celestial Frost Sect, provided that they did not learn of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity.

    Naturally, everything depended on just how important the Cloudforest Tower really was.

    Soon, they arrived.

    The Cloudforest Tower looked like a perfectly ordinary white pagoda from the outside. It stood in the middle of theke.

    "Are you sure that this is it?" Lu Yin asked doubtfully.

    Yu Chen replied, "I visited this ce once with the Junior Progenitor. Not only was Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao protecting the ce, bur it also has its own sourcebox array."

    "Bai Shaohong told you that this ce is used to store top secret records?"

    "Not in so many words, but the Junior Progenitor did make it clear that this pagoda is one of the most important locations in the entire sect."

    Lu Yin stared at the Cloudforest Tower that rose up from the middle of theke. Was this ce really one of the sect¡¯s most important ces? Bai Xian''er had been in seclusion for a long time, so it was unlikely that they would run into her in this ce. Lu Yin desperately wanted to avoid that oue.

    While Lu Yin had never dealt with Bai Xian''er, he was aware of just how difficult she reputedly was to deal with.

    The God of Food, Ancestor Wan Dao, and even the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters were unable to sense any trace of Progenitor Smoke when she hid herself. While Lu Yin was confident in the Progenitor¡¯s abilities, he lost a great deal of assurance when it came to potentially came to Bai Xian''er. "This isn¡¯t where Bai Xian''er retreats into seclusion, right?"

    Yu Chen instantly replied, "That¡¯s impossible. If she were here, why would Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao need to guard this ce?"

    That was a good point. Lu Yin looked over at Progenitor Smoke. She had not led them into the pagoda, but was instead staring at something.

    After a short while, Progenitor Smoke asked, "There is a sourcebox array protecting this ce, but why does it feel a bit like Hui Wen¡¯s work?"

    "Is this one of Progenitor Hui''s sourcebox arrays?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "It feels simr to that, but not exactly like it. Forget it, I don''t really care. Let¡¯s go. You don¡¯t need to worry, as this sourcebox array can''t stop me."

    The woman then led Lu Yin and Yu Chen across theke and towards the Cloudforest Tower.

    Through the delicateyer of energy surrounding them, Lu Yin and Yu Chen were able to see Wu Yao. They directly passed by the Semi-Progenitor, but he clearly was unable to sense a thing.

    Yu Chen looked over at Progenitor Smoke with eyes full of admiration, which Progenitor Smoke found so pleasurable that she made it a point to circle around Wu Yao.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. This woman!

    Yunlin Tower was not a hidden world like Lu Yin had assumed, nor was it a pocket dimension like what was used for pond civilizations. It truly was just a small pagoda that was only a few stories tall. It was perfectly ordinary looking even from the inside, and it did not even have shelves to hold the records. Instead, there were stone pedestals, and each one held a single scroll or specially made jade slip. Everything had been made from special materials to ensure that the records were safely preserved.

    After Lu Yin confirmed that there were no issues with Progenitor Smoke, he grabbed one of the records and scanned it.

 Chapter 2275: Lu Yin And Bai Wangyuan

    Chapter 2275: Lu Yin And Bai Wangyuan

    Lu Yin first selected a scroll that was made from some kind of animal skin. It was clearly very old.

    There was a picture on the scroll providing an exact location, but there was absolutely nothing else.

    Lu Yin showed the picture to Yu Chen, who said, "That should be where the sect extracts stellr liquid from the Mother Tree."

    "Extracts stellr liquid? The Celestial Frost Sect is actually doing such things now?" Progenitor Smoke was absolutely furious.

    Yu Chen nodded. "They should be doing so in the location in the picture."

    Progenitor Smoke started ranting, "These beasts are actually attacking the Mother Tree themselves? The Mother Tree is what protects humanity! If anything happens to it, mankind will be doomed. It won¡¯t matter how many Progenitors there are, as all of them will be useless to stop it. Senior Lu Tianyi absolutely hated it when anyone tried to extract stellr liquid in the past, and it was utterly forbidden within the Fifth Maind. There were even fights against the Sixth Maind a few times because of this issue. I didn¡¯t think that, just because the Lu family was gone, these animals would actually start extracting stellr liquid themselves!¡±

    Lu Yin quietlymented, "All of the four ruling powers are doing the same. I looked into it once."

    Progenitor Smoke gritted her teeth. "I''ll settle things with them!"

    Lu Yin reced the scroll. He took a few steps forward and grabbed another record, and after ncing at it, he looked over at Yu Chen. "There used to be a powerful sect in the Middle Realm known as Central Base?"

    "Central Base was formed from a group of independent cultivators, and it was founded by an independent cultivator who managed to be a Progenitor. He actuallypleted our sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky trial before founding Central Base."

    Lu Yin lowered the scroll. Central Base had beenpletely wiped out overnight, and the Progenitor had never been seen again. No one had been able to find out what had happened. Even after the Lu family had investigated, they had found nothing.

    However, the unknown truth of the matter was that the Progenitor who had founded Central Base had gone to the Outer Realm in ce of one of the sect¡¯s Progenitors after being forced there by the Celestial Frost Sect. The Celestial Frost Sect had also been the ones to destroy the rest of Central Base.

    They had been able to do so because the Progenitor had actually joined the Celestial Frost Sect shortly after passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial.

    As for where in the Outer Realm the Progenitor had been sent, there was no mention in the scroll. All that the scroll recorded was that the Progenitor had gone to the Outer Realm and had never been seen again.

    Central Base was actually the predecessor of the current Root Organization. Central Base had been considered destroyed because many of the sect¡¯s important members had died, while the rest had been banished to the Lower Realm, where they had eventually developed into Root.

    Lu Yin then picked up a jade slip and examined another record. It detailed an ount from the Daosource Sect era which involved the Wang, Liu, and Lu families. It was a very old incident, and many things had happened where the right or wrong of the matter had not been considered at all. Every family had skeletons in their closet, and not even the Lu family was exempt from this.

    The Cloudforest Tower housed all of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most tightly guarded secrets. Lu Yin read through the various records with great interest. He learned about many things regarding the Celestial Frost Sect, but much of the information had be useless and meaningless due to how much time had passed. Lu Yin was mostly searching to find information regarding the Lu family.

    Without him being aware of it, several hours had already passed, and it quickly approached dawn. At daybreak, someone from the Celestial Frost Sect would absolutely try to visit ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    While the Cloudforest Tower was not particrlyrge, it would still take several days for a person to read through every record that was stored there.

    Even though Lu Yin was curious about many of the records stored in the pagoda, he eventually decided to start specifically searching for information regarding his Lu family.

    Many of the records were quickly put back after Lu Yin nced through the first paragraph, and he quickly moved on from one record to another, and then moving through the different floors of the tower. Finally, he found a record that was only marked with four words: White Dragon Rolls Over.

    He quickly checked the jade slip, only to find that there was no detailed record stored in it, but rather a simple list: Yellow Springs, Prison Lock, Celestial Frost Fruit, and Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin stared at the slip of jade. What did these things even mean?

    White Dragon Rolls Over clearly indicated the White Dragon n, but what about the Yellow Springs? Who was that supposed to represent? What about Prison Lock?

    It was also clear to Lu Yin that Celestial Frost Fruit represented the Celestial Frost Sect, but then, what about the Nutjob Lu that wasst in the list?

    It was clear that Lu Yin was not seeing aplete record and that only these few names on the list had been left behind.

    He stared at the words ¡°Yellow Springs.¡± All he could think of when seeing those words was Burial Garden, as that was where the Yellow Springs was found.

    What sort of connection could there be between the Yellow Springs in Burial Garden and the Yellow Springs referred to in the list?

    Lu Yin tried toe up with something, but nothing came to mind. In the end, he asked Progenitor Smoke.

    "The Yellow Springs? Isn''t it in Burial Garden?" Progenitor Smoke was surprised by the question.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of hope. "Senior, do you know what the Yellow Springs is?"

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "All I know is that it¡¯s powerful enough that even a Progenitor wouldn¡¯t willingly touch it. I have no idea where it came from or how it came to be."

    "Senior, do you know anything about Burial Gardens?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Progenitor Smoke thought back. "Burial Garden seems to have bits and pieces of important areas from the first four Mainds, as well as the graves of some important people. Even in my era, Burial Garden very rarely opened. After surviving through some dangerous encounters, I stopped going in, and then after I became a Progenitor, I focused on researching other things. I never had the time to go investigate it.¡±

    Lu Yin was disappointed to learn nothing.

    He tried to figure things out on his own. If the five names listed represented the five families involved, then Nutjob Lu had to be a traitor from the Lu family. White Dragon Rolls Over was clearly the White Dragon n, and Celestial Frost Fruit should be the Celestial Frost Sect. In that case, were the Yellow Springs and Prison Lock referring to the Wang family and Shenwu¡¯s Sky?

    This would exin why those four organizations had eventually be the four ruling powers.

    As Lu Yin continued mulling things over, he remembered ament that Prof. Wei had made. There were rumors that the Wang family was not actually mining ore on their hand-shaped floatingndmass, but rather some sort of yellow liquid. Could it be the same yellow liquid that formed the Yellow Springs that was in Burial Garden? Could that be what ¡°Yellow Springs¡± was referring to?

    The more Lu Yin considered the possibility, the more likely he felt that this ¡°Yellow Springs¡± was referring to the Wang family. That left ¡°Prison Lock¡± with Shenwu¡¯s Sky, which would have everything match up nicely.

    The Lu family had been banished from the Perennial World not only because of the White Dragon Rolls Over, but also because of the other powers from each of the four ruling powers. It was just that the White Dragon Rolls Over was the most famous power that had been used.

    "It''s almost dawn," Yu Chen warned.

    Lu Yin looked outside the pagoda, and his eyes shed. He pulled out Zenith Mountain again. Yu Chen assumed that she was going to be sent back in, and while she was not wrong, Lu Yin brought someone else out as well: Xia Xing¡¯s clone.

    As soon as the clone appeared, he nced around in a daze. Right when he was about to speak up, Lu Yin asked him, "Are you able to sense the location of your main body?"

    The clone solemnly nodded. "Yes."

    Lu Yin replied with a nod of his own and then immediately returned the clone to Zenith Mountain.

    He then also removed Long Ke and left him trapped within the Cloudforest Tower. Progenitor Smoke''s wei meant that not even Wu Yao would be able to sense Long Ke¡¯s presence for some time.

    After everything was taken care of, Lu Yin sneaked back out and returned to his own quarters while Progenitor Smoke kept him hidden.

    While it was possible for Lu Yin to release Long Ke, he could not release Wang Zheng, as Wang Zheng knew exactly who had captured him, while Long Ke knew nothing.

    ***

    At the same time, in the distant Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Xing¡¯s main body shot to his feet. He had just sensed his clone¡¯s location, and when he stared in the direction that he had felt ite from, he was staring towards the Celestial Frost Sect.

    While the direction that Xia Xing was staring at epassed an absolutely massive area, his first thought was of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    He immediately called Xia Ziheng.

    "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, I just felt my clone¡¯s location," Xia Xing stated in a low voice.

    Far away, Xia Ziheng was in a terrible mood after being toyed with and dyed for so long. "What was that? You felt your clone? Where is it?"

    "I felt it in the direction of the Celestial Frost Sect," Xia Xing replied.

    Xia Ziheng''s expression instantly changed. "Are you sure?"

    "I¡¯m absolutely sure of the direction, though I can¡¯t say for sure if my clone is actually in the sect. However, it¡¯s definitely in that direction," Xia Xing answered. He refused to make an usation without proof.

    However, confirmation was exactly what Xia Ziheng heard. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will look into this."

    He was alreadypletely enraged, and this gave him the perfect opportunity to vent his anger onto the Celestial Frost Sect.

    ***

    Lu Yin had only released Xia Xing''s clone on a whim, and he had not really thought about what sort of consequences his action would have. It also did not matter to him, as he would happily destroy the four ruling powers if given the chance. Lu Yin¡¯s hatred had grown stronger than ever after seeing the jade slip and reading the names listed on it.

    He returned to his guest quarters, and Wu Yao soon came to talk to him. They arrived at almost the exact same time.

    Wu Yao had seen ¡°Yu Hao¡± the previous day, but Lu Yin had literally just passed the man.

    "Senior Wu Yao, when will we be allowed to leave?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Yao replied, "There¡¯s no rush. Prof. Hao Yu, what do you think about my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitor Bai?"

    Lu Yin''s expression turned solemn. "He¡¯s a powerful Progenitor who works to defend and protect all of humanity. Naturally, he¡¯s someone deserving of a great deal of respect."

    Wu Yao smiled. "Progenitor Bai would like to speak to you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought upon hearing that Bai Wangyuan wanted to speak was that Bai Sheng must not have said anything.

    If Bai Wangyuan knew that Bai Sheng had already spoken with ¡°Yu Hao,¡± then there was little chance that the Progenitor would try to speak with him as well. Even if ¡°Yu Hao¡± hadpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, that did not make him qualified to have two of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitors try to recruit him.

    In much the same way that, while the Wang family and the White Dragon n had tried to lure Virtue Archives¡¯ students into joining them through offering benefits and such, the Celestial Frost Sect had put on a show of suppressing the students. This was how the Celestial Frost Sect usually handled matters.

    "Progenitor Bai wishes to speak with me?" Lu Yin pretended to be overwhelmed. The reality of the matter was that Lu Yin was no longer overly impressed about the idea of speaking to Progenitors after meeting with Progenitor Smoke. He had been surprised that Wang Fan had reached out to him earlier, but that had only been because Wang Fan had been the first of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors whom Lu Yin hade into contact with.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that, if the Celestial Frost Sect had Bai Sheng as a hidden Progenitor, then it was highly likely that the Wang family also had unknown Progenitors.

    Wu Yao left themunication crystal with ¡°Yu Hao¡± and left.

    Lu Yin stared at themunication crystal while his mind raced.

    The crystal soon trembled, and Lu Yin heard a voice when he answered. Just as when he had spoken with Wang Fan, there was only sound and no image.

    "I am Bai Wangyuan."

    Lu Yin answered in a very respectful tone. "Junior Yu Hao greets Progenitor Bai."

    Bai Wangyuan''s voice sounded quite calm. It was not particrly soft or harsh, and he sounded like any other regr person. "I¡¯ve heard about you. What are your conditions to join my Celestial Frost Sect?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "My grandfather, Yu Chuan."

    Bai Wangyuan remained silent for a while. "Yu Chuan is held by Shenwu''s Sky. Does this mean that you have already decided to join Shenwu''s Sky?"

    The question instantly threw Lu Yin for a loop. Previously, Bai Sheng, Wu Yao, Bai Su, and everyone else had done their best to try to recruit ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and Wu Yao had even suggested simply abandoning Yu Chuan. On the other hand, Bai Wangyuan had turned things around by asking a question of his own: would Yu Hao join Shenwu¡¯s Sky or not?

    This perfectly demonstrated the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s attitude. If Lu Yin answered that he would definitely join Shenwu''s Sky, then while the Celestial Frost Sect would not move against him, there was no guarantee that nothing would happen.

    Lu Yin still had not rescued the members of Star Alliance, or the members of the Lu family imprisoned in Crimson Garden. He did not want to risk any idents happening.

    "What would you suggest this junior do, Progenitor Bai?" Lu Yin turned the question around to Bai Wangyuan once again.

    The Progenitor immediately answered, "Abandon Yu Chuan. I can promise you that he will be kept alive and that Shenwu¡¯s Sky will release him once you be a Progenitor."

 Chapter 2276: Yu Haos Loyalty

    Chapter 2276: Yu Hao''s Loyalty

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. If he was actually Yu Hao, he might just join the Celestial Frost Sect!

    Yu Hao''s father had betrayed Yu Chuan to the four ruling powers, but even after losing his grandfather, Yu Hao had gone on with his life and even gotten married. This could be regarded as proof that he had not carried too much about his grandfather¡¯s life, which suggested that the real Yu Hao would most likely believe abandoning Yu Chuan to be the correct choice.

    However, that was only if Lu Yin considered things from Yu Hao''s perspective. In truth, joining the Celestial Frost Sect was far from a good choice. For example, the independent cultivator who had founded Central Base had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and he hadter been raised up by the Celestial Frost Sect to be a Progenitor. However, in the end, that Progenitor had been forced into the Outer Realm, and the sect that he had founded had been destroyed. This incident from the past showed the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s true motivations.

    Lu Yin still knew almost nothing about the Outer Realm, but he was certain that any cultivator who was part of the Celestial Frost Sect but had an outsider¡¯s surname would definitely be forced to take the ce of other Progenitors in the Outer Realm and disappear forever.

    "What are your conditions to join my Celestial Frost Sect?" Bai Wangyuan asked a second time.

    Lu Yin froze for a moment. They were about to head for Shenwu''s Sky, and once he arrived, the Xia family would force him to make a decision. At the same time, he was hoping to take advantage of the Xia family¡¯s ceremony to worship their ancestors to rescue the people who were in Crimson Garden. He was rapidly running out of time. In that case¡­ "As long as Progenitor Bai can promise that my grandfather will remain alive, this junior, Yu Hao, is willing to join the Celestial Frost Sect. I swear here and now that, should I betray the sect, I, Yu Hao, will lose all hope of bing a Progenitor for the rest of my life."

    As he heard the response through themunication crystal, Bai Wangyuan was caught off guard. He had assumed that he would need to say something more, or at least offer some additional incentive, but You Hao had been surprisingly direct.

    However, when Bai Wangyuan considered all that had happened since Yu Hao had reappeared, he truly had shown himself to be rather biased towards the Celestial Frost Sect. It made sense that he wanted to join them. "You aren¡¯t even going to mention any conditions?"

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "If I am joining the sect, then the interests of the sect should take precedence. If Progenitor Bai is willing to offer resources, this junior will dly ept them. If Progenitor Bai is unwilling, this junior will demand nothing."

    Bai Wangyuan suddenly felt a small bit of admiration for Yu Hao. The previous independent cultivator who had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial had demanded many conditions, some of which were difficult for even Bai Wangyuan to deliver. Finally, they had been forced to send the Progenitor to the Outer Realm. Inparison, Yu Hao was too loyal. "As long as you treat my Celestial Frost Sect with sincerity, my sect will treat you well in return. I promise you that Yu Chuan will live, and the sect will even help you get your revenge while you are in Shenwu''s Sky. On top of that, Wu Yao and the others will fulfill any and all promises that they have offered you already. Additionally¡­"

    Suddenly, the man hesitated for a moment. "Would you be willing to ept me as your master?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell wide open. Master? Bai Wangyuan wanted Yu Hao as his disciple? This waspletely unexpected!

    He was speaking to Bai Wangyuan, the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas since the Daosource Sect era! This was one of the most powerful experts alive, and the leader of the Celestial Frost Sect. He was someone who quite literally stood at the pinnacle of the entire Perennial World, and countless people dreamed of worshiping him as their master, but it was impossible for them. It was even impossible for someone like Bai Weiwei, who was a descendant of the Bai family.

    If Lu Yin was truly Yu Hao, there would be no hesitation at all, but the offer held absolutely no appeal for Lu Yin. His master was Mister Mu, a powerhouse who had lived since the Heavens Sect era. Lu Yin truthfully had no idea how powerful his master even was.

    On top of that, there was Progenitor Smoke, who was still in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring, and she was someone on the same level as Bai Wangyuan.

    "Of course! Is that even possible?" Despite his personal feelings, Lu Yin still needed to demonstrate a level of excitement that left him nearly incoherent.

    Bai Wangyuan received exactly the reaction that he had expected. It was impossible for anyone to refuse to ept him as their master. There simply was no one who would refuse. Even the direct descendants of the Wang or Xia families would not be able to resist the temptation. "Of course. I will give the orders to arrange a formal ceremony for you to worship me as your master."

    If Bai Wangyuan was epting a disciple, then it would naturally have to involve a grand ceremony. This was a big deal not only for the Celestial Frost Sect and the four ruling powers, but also for the entire Perennial World. It was the same as when Mu Xie had announced that he intended to ept Long Qi as his disciple. At that time, the White Dragon n had very formally and excessively sent out numerous invitations.

    "Then, what about the Xia family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "You can visit them. It doesn¡¯t matter."

    The call soon ended, and Lu Yin put away themunication crystal. He was already able to directly call both Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan. Including Progenitor Smoke, he was now able to reach out to three of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Daosource Sect era.

    Wu Yao returned, and he looked at ¡°Yu Hao¡± with confusion.

    Lu Yin smiled at the man. "Senior, I¡¯ll have to ask you for more guidance in the future."

    Wu Yao was quite surprised. "You- Did you join my sect?"

    Lu Yin acted humble as he answered, "It''s just a coincidence, as Progenitor Bai has epted me as his disciple."

    Wu Yao''s pupils shrank. "Progenitor Bai took you as his disciple?"

    Lu Yin nodded as he smiled at Wu Yao. "There will be a great ceremony to formalize the matter soon, so I will have to ask you to watch over me until then, Senior."

    "Very happy to do so! Wee to our sect! You remain very humble, Prof. Hao Yu, despite being so talented and aplished. You will fit in perfectly here in the Celestial Frost Sect. All of the sect¡¯s resources will be made avable to you, and if you need anything at all, just say the word, and I will be happy to assist you." Wu Yao''s entire demeanor changedpletely. If ¡°Yu Hao¡± was going to be Bai Wangyuan¡¯s disciple, then very, very few individuals in the entire Celestial Frost Sect would be able to match his status, and Wu Yao was absolutely NOT one of them. He would listen to Yu Hao¡¯s every whim in the future.

    "There¡¯s just a single minor matter. I¡¯ve recently encountered a bit of a bottleneck in my cultivation, and I don¡¯t know if it might be rted to the fact that I haven¡¯t opened my three meridian points," Lu Yin hinted.

    Wu Yao looked quite stressed by the matter. "Meridian points can only be opened with tribtion crystal pirs, and those resources are in the ancestor¡¯s possession, so I cannot help you with that. However, there¡¯s no need to worry, as Progenitor Bai will definitely give you tribtion crystals after formally bing your master, and you¡¯ll be able to sessfully open your three meridian points."

    "That¡¯s a pity." Lu Yin then suddenly remembered something else, and he looked back at Wu Yao. "Actually, I¡¯ve been feeling like my cultivation speed has started to slow down recently, and I wonder if anything could be done about it."

    Wu Yao was utterly speechless. Was the kidining about his cultivation speed being too slow? That meant that he was not able to absorb enough stellr energy, and there was only one answer to that: stellr liquid. Did this kid actually know about stellr liquid?

    "What are you suggesting might be able to help with that?" Wu Yao asked.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to ask if it might be possible to receive some stellr liquid, he noticed Wu Yao''s probing eyes and quickly stopped himself. Yu Hao would not have any knowledge of stellr liquid. "This junior needs sourceboxes."

    Wu Yao was taken aback. "Sourceboxes?"

    Lu Yin nodded and grew very serious. "The truth is that this junior was able to be a three-tribtion Envoy entirely because of my teacher¡¯s guidance. I was constantly lockbreaking while having to endure the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones as my teacher watched over me. During that process, I eventually became a three-tribtion Envoy. My lockbreaking teacher is no longer around, and I also don¡¯t have any sourceboxes, so my cultivation speed has slowed drastically. That¡¯s why I was wondering if the sect might have any powerful sourceboxes."

    Wu Yao thought for a while. While sourceboxes were indeed very valuable, they could notpare to a pir of tribtion crystals or stellr liquid. It waspletely within Wu Yao¡¯s authority to use or give out a few sourceboxes. "I''ll find a few for you."

    "Please try to find dangerous ones, as those will help this junior improve faster," Lu Yin reminded the man.

    "No need to worry."

    A short whileter, Wu Yao returned with three sourceboxes, all of which were Boundless Advanced sourceboxes with unique and powerful danger zones. Lu Yin quickly stored them away while continuously thanking the Semi-Progenitor.

    It was at this time that Xia Ziheng finally arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect.

    After Lu Yin had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, Xia Ziheng had immediately started moving out towards the Celestial Frost Sect. Shenwu''s Sky had been perfectly aware of how the Celestial Frost Sect would react: Yu Hao was absolutely being kept within the sect for as long as possible.

    Even though Shenwu¡¯s Sky could use Yu Chuan to threaten Yu Hao, Xia Ziheng had no idea if that threat would be able to outweigh whatever benefits the Celestial Frost Sect was offering.

    After Xia Ziheng had been intercepted and dyed, he had be so anxious that he had rushed the rest of the way to the Celestial Frost Sect as quickly as possible once he broke away from his opponent.

    "God of Food, your students have all finished challenging the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s trial. You should be on your way to Shenwu''s Sky right now." Xia Ziheng had first tried to find Yu Hao, but given that Xia Ziheng was visiting the Celestial Frost Sect, there was no way that they would make things easy on him.

    After failing to find Yu Hao, Xia Ziheng had instead gone to see the God of Food again.

    The God of Food could do nothing but tell the truth about how the people from Virtue Archives had been forcibly kept in the Celestial Frost Sect, which infuriated Xia Ziheng. He immediately went to go speak with Wu Yao and Bai Su.

    A long argument ensued. Wu Yao was no fool, and he continued to act as though he was ignorant to the fact that Yu Hao had already agreed to join the Celestial Frost Sect. Virtue Archives was still prevented from leaving the sect, and Wu Yao managed to drag things out for an additional three days before he was forced to allow the students and their chaperones to leave.

    For all three days, Xia Ziheng remained just outside of Yu Hao¡¯s guest quarters, and he refused to show any hint of courtesy whenever Wu Yao tried to enter and speak to Yu Hao. A stalemate had been reached for the moment, and Lu Yin thought that things would soone to blows.

    After leaving, Xia Ziheng nced back at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gates and asked, "What did Wu Yao offer you to get you to join the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    "They offered me quite a bit, including pirs of tribtion crystals."

    Xia Ziheng snorted contemptuously. "The Celestial Frost Sect has some, but so does Shenwu''s Sky. We also have more that they don''t."

    The Semi-Progenitor made a rather blunt reference to the fact that Yu Chuan was their captive.

    Xia Ziheng turned his head to stare at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± He needed to confirm that Yu Chuan was still a high priority for this young man.

    The old man was satisfied with what he saw, as hisstment caused the young man¡¯s face to twist in anger. ¡°Yu Hao¡± fell silent and stopped responding to Xia Ziheng.

    Xia Ziheng''s voice suddenly grew much softer. "Yu Hao, no matter what happens, you will always be my Xia family¡¯s son-inw, and nothing can change that. As for Xia Zhitong and the other people who have harmed your family, we have already arrested all of them. After the ceremony to worship our ancestors, you will be allowed to do with them as you wish."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "You¡¯ll allow me to deal with all of them?"

    Xia Ziheng nodded. "This is what I promised you in the beginning. What can the Celestial Frost Sect offer? My Shenwu''s Sky can offer you just as much, so don¡¯t be misled."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Xia Ziheng suddenly remembered something. "Last we spoke, I told you to invite Grandmaster Gu Yan to attend our ancestral ceremony. How did he respond?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes twitched, as he hadpletely forgotten all about that. "I''m still trying to find a way to bring it up to him."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Is it that difficult a topic to discuss with him?"

    "My teacher hates the four ruling powers, as you well know," Lu Yin answered indifferently.

    Xia Ziheng stared at Lu Yin. "But I recently heard that Grandmaster Gu Yan changed his reactions when the Celestial Frost Sect was brought up."

    Lu Yin looked confused. "That happened?"

    Xia Ziheng and Lu Yin stared at each other. The old man tried to get a read on the young man, but he saw nothing but pure confusion in the youth¡¯s eyes.

    At this moment, the God of Food approached them. "Xia Ziheng, I heard that you were dyed on your way to meet us. Who stopped you?"

    Xia Ziheng looked away from ¡°Yu Hao¡± and moved on to speak with the God of Food.

    Lu Yin let a sigh of relief escape.

    The Xia family had apletely different attitude towards ¡°Yu Hao¡± than the other three top powers. As far as the Xia family was concerned, Yu Hao already belonged to them, and if he tried to get away, there was only one fate awaiting him: death.

    So far, it seemed as though the Wang family was the most sincere in approaching ¡°Yu Hao,¡± as Wang Fan had been the first ancestor or Progenitor from the four ruling powers to approach ¡°Yu Hao¡± directly, and he was also the master of a Mountain and Sea. Bai Wangyuan had only reached out to ¡°Yu Hao¡± after he had proven himself bypleting the Sky Beyond the Sky trial.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was a great distance away from Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin did his best to avoid Xia Ziheng, and he used the excuse of going into seclusion. He had only recentlypleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, so no one thought anything at all of him going into seclusion at such a time.

 Chapter 2277: First Meeting

    Chapter 2277: First Meeting

    The paper ship steadily continued on towards Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin watched the ship leave from the ground down below while his eyes swept through the valley. He needed to hurry up and roll his die.

    Given the current situation, he would not be given any freedom or peace once the ship arrived at Shenwu''s Sky. It would just be a continuation of thest few days within the Celestial Frost Sect. The only opportunity for Lu Yin to have any freedom was during the journey from the Celestial Frost Sect to Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Of course, Lu Yin had left someone on board the paper ship disguised as him. Progenitor Smoke¡¯s wei had been used to disguise Liu Shaoge so that the God of Food and Xia Ziheng would not notice anything wrong.

    Lu Yin had no choice, as he was in a position where he was forced to take risks.

    Given the speed at which Lu Yin could travel with Progenitor Smoke''s assistance, it would not be a problem to return to the paper ship as it approached Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    The paper ship needed at least half a month to travel between the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu¡¯s Sky, which meant that Lu Yin could roll his die just eight more times. That was it, just eight more chances to try to Possess someone from Star Alliance.

    As the paper ship moved out of sight, Lu Yin stopped thinking about such things. He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and brought out his die. He would not be able to continue hiding himself as Yu Hao for much longer, so he could only hope to be lucky.

    He stared as the die slowly came to a stop: three pips. The two screens of light of Enhance appeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first roll was Enhance, his second was Gift Copy, his third was Timestop, and his fourth was Pilfer.

    He sighed and shrugged. He waspletely out of luck this time. He had not been able to roll Possession even a single time, which meant that he had to wait ten days to try again.

    Elsewhere in the Higher Realm, the paper ship was still flying towards Shenwu''s Sky. It had been a very peaceful journey so far. Even if the ship had encountered powerful creatures, they had been quickly frightened away by the presence of Semi-Progenitors. But one day, a person emerged from the void, blocking the ship¡¯s path in full view. Everyone on board the ship warily eyed the figure.

    Bai Weiwei eximed, "Grandmaster Mu?"

    The crowd was startled, as ¡°Grandmaster¡± was a title used exclusively for Array Grandmasters. There were only four such experts in the entire Perennial World, and everyone knew their names. Only one had the Mu surname: Mu Shang,1 the youngest Array Grandmaster in history.

    Whenever people spoke of Mu Shang, they also automatically remembered the Seven Heroes of the past, as well as Bai Xian¡¯er of the present. This was because all of them were considered legends of the current era.

    Ever since Mu Shang had first been discovered to the time he had be an Array Grandmaster, his lockbreaking talent had been observed with both amazement and disbelief. No matter if the person was a peer or a senior, they always had the same impression of Mu Shang: a truly peerless lockbreaking talent.

    As time passed, even Grandmaster Gu Yan hadmented that Mu Shang was a genius who would eventually surpass the senior Lockbreaker, and he also had the greatest chance of eventually catching up to Progenitor Hui''s unprecedented level of mastery.

    Of the three older Array Grandmasters, Gu Yan and Grandmaster Li were both Semi-Progenitors, while Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a bit younger and had only reached the peak Envoy level. As for Mu Shang, he was only a six-tribtion Envoy, and he was much, much younger than any of the other Array Grandmasters. In fact, Mu Shang was only a few dozen years older than the Seven Heroes, which meant that he could be considered to be from the same generation as the Seven Heroes. In fact, Bai Xian''er referred to the man as Brother Mu.

    Grandmaster Mu was one of the most talented individuals ever recorded in the history of the Perennial World. Even Semi-Progenitors like the God of Food and Xia Ziheng had to treat the much younger man as a peer.

    He had countless zealous admirers of all ages.

    Mu Shang had long hair with a bluish tint to it, a handsome face that revealed a firm determination, and a smile that filled his eyes as he slowly approached the paper ship.

    Xia Ziheng was very wary of the approaching man. Mu Shang was a member of the Celestial Frost Sect, and when trying to recruit the man, the Lu family and other top powers had nearly torn away the veneer of civility. In the end, Mu Shang had been snatched away by the Celestial Frost Sect. No one knew why the young Array Grandmaster had chosen the Celestial Frost Sect when the Lu family had still ruled the Perennial World, but at this moment, it was undeniable that Mu Shang represented the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The God of Food was not at all familiar with Mu Shang. To start, the young man was a Lockbreaker, which meant that most of his time was spent on the rear battlefield, and he had never visited Virtue Archives or the Ind of Hope. Still, while the God of Food had only seen Mu Shang once before when he visited the rear battlefield, he had heard countless legends.

    Mu Shang approached the paper ship, but he stopped about 1,000 meters away. There, he bowed to the God of Food and Xia Ziheng. "Junior Mu Shang greets Senior God of Food and Senior Xia Ziheng."

    The God of Food gazed at the young man with open admiration. "I may have only met you once before, but I am very familiar with your name and reputation."

    Mu Shang answered modestly, "My small bit of fame is not worthy of Senior¡¯s notice."

    "Grandmaster Mu, why are you blocking our way?" Xia Ziheng demanded. There was no hint of politeness in the man¡¯s tone of voice.

    Mu Shang was a peerlessly talented Lockbreaker who had risen to the Array Grandmaster level, but that did not mean that he would necessarily be a Progenitor. For example, Grandmaster Gu Yan was the number one Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World, but despite his expertise and experience, he had a negligible chance of ever bing a Progenitor.

    People respected Mu Shang, but Yu Hao was different. After all, as long as Yu Hao did not die young, the fact that he had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial practically guaranteed that he would eventually be a Progenitor. On top of that, he was also an amazingly talented Lockbreaker who was even regarded as more talented than the freakish Mu Shang. Naturally, Yu Hao was viewed with much greater importance.

    Furthermore, Mu Shang represented the Celestial Frost Sect, and that changed everything. If Mu Shang were unaffiliated and an independent cultivator, Xia Ziheng would not show him anywhere near the same attitude.

    Mu Shang smiled at Xia Ziheng. "This junior has heard of a genius Lockbreaker from the Middle Realm. Since I was passing by, it was convenient toe here to see him for myself."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "This is not really a good time. Prof. Hao Yu was injured from challenging the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, so he is currently in seclusion to recover."

    Mu Shang looked back at the God of Food, who said, "It''s truly unfortunate. If Prof. Hao Yu were not in seclusion and were able to speak with you, Grandmaster Mu, it would certainly be of great help to him. I believe that he would be happy to receive guidance from you, Grandmaster Mu."

    Mu Shang looked past the two Semi-Progenitors and focused on the paper ship. He saw the students gazing at him in adoration, as well as the ce where Yu Hao had retreated into seclusion. "If Prof. Hao Yu was injured, then this junior has a top-quality medicinal fruit from a parallel universe. I wonder, would a moon orchid flower be of any help?"

    "A moon orchid flower? The strange fruit that can even quickly heal a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s injured inner world?" Xia Ziheng was genuinely surprised.

    Mu Shang smiled. "That¡¯s the one. After spending so many years on the rear battlefield, this junior has managed to achieve some reasonable aplishments, and I traded a few merit points for a moon orchid flower. However, I don¡¯t need it at the moment, but it might be of great use for Prof. Hao Yu. The fact that the professor has passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial proves that he is truly amazingly gifted, and we should value such abilities. We cannot afford to risk anything happening to such a talented junior."

    The God of Food and Xia Ziheng nced at each other. Grandmaster Mu was even offering a moon orchid flower, which was a rare treasure that Semi-Progenitors desired. They could not find any reason to stop Grandmaster Mu from seeing Yu Hao.

    Mu Shang smiled and approached the paper ship, passing by both the God of Food and Xia Ziheng. He walked until he was in front of the room where Yu Hao had isted himself.

    The handsome man had walked very slowly, a smile on his face and his long, blue hair fluttering in the breeze. He appeared both young and carefree, which was incredibly appealing to many of the watching students.

    If it came to pure looks, Mu Shang absolutely could notpare to Yu Hao, but when it came to demeanor, Mu Shang revealed a decisiveness to kill that had been honed over many years on the rear battlefield. In addition, he had a carefree attitude that Yu Hao could not match at all.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, might I be able to speak with you?" Mu Shang asked after approaching the room.

    The God of Food and everyone else watched with odd expressions. Logically, Yu Hao should have already shown himself. After all, he was being approached by one of the Perennial World¡¯s four Array Grandmasters, and Mu Shang had even arrived with a priceless gift. No matter if it was out of politeness or simply respect, Yu Hao should have met Mu Shang with an open door instead of remaining hidden.

    There was no sign of any movement within the room.

    Mu Shang''s eye twitched, though his expression remained unchanged. He spoke up again. "I heard that Prof. Hao Yu is currently injured. I have brought a piece of moon orchid flower as a gift to a fellow Lockbreaker. Might I meet with you?"

    Everyone silently focused on the closed door.

    Some people became upset with Yu Hao¡¯s behavior. "Prof. Hao Yu is too arrogant! Grandmaster Mu is the youngest Array Grandmaster in history! He stands far above the professor in status, cultivation, and lockbreaking ability, and yet the professor still won¡¯t meet him!"

    "Could the professor really have been badly injured by the trial before?"

    "That¡¯s possible. The Sky Beyond the Sky is really strange, and seven of us who challenged it can no longer cultivate, and some don¡¯t even act like humans anymore. It¡¯s possible that Prof. Hao Yu might have also encountered a problem."

    ¡­

    Just as Mu Shang was about to speak up again, a voice was heard from inside the room. "Hao Yu greets Grandmaster Mu."

    Everyone was caught off guard. It might be understandable for someone to not leave seclusion if they were injured, but Yu Hao sounded perfectly fine. Avoiding Grandmaster Mu without a justifiable excuse was just too rude.

    However, Mu Shang did not be angry. "How serious are your injuries, Professor?"

    "They aren¡¯t serious at all, as I was not wounded."

    "Could you step out so I can see you?"

    "Why did youe to see me, Grandmaster Mu?"

    Mu Shang gave a slight smile. "Naturally, I want to see the rising lockbreaking genius who¡¯s be so famous. I¡¯ve heard that Prof. Hao Yu even helped cultivators who are not Lockbreakers set up a sourcebox array. This is a truly strange technique, and when I spoke to Grandmaster Qiu Ling and Grandmaster Li, both of them told me that they might not be able to duplicate such a feat."

    Mu Shang''s words startled everyone listening. Prof. Hao Yu had aplished something that was beyond the abilities of at least two Array Grandmasters? Was it possible that he was already qualified to be an Array Grandmaster?

    Bai Weiwei was absolutely horrified when she heard this. She had already repeatedly raised her estimations of Prof. Hao Yu, only to learn that she had still ced the bar too low. How would someone like Grandmaster Mu ever approach someone average and offer a priceless treasure that Semi-Progenitors would go crazy for?

    If his lockbreaking skills were already at the level of an Array Grandmaster, then just how important had Prof. Hao Yu be after passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial? How had he reached such heights given his age?

    Xia Ziheng''s breathing started to be ragged, and his eyes zed brighter and brighter. This young man absolutely had to stay in Shenwu''s Sky, no matter how high a price they needed to pay.

    "Thank you for your kind words, Grandmaster Mu, but my teacher has told me that I am young and that I still have a long ways to go. What I have experienced, seen, and achieved are all just passing moments."

    "Grandmaster Gu Yan has a truly humble apprentice. I hope to be able to see Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s abilities and techniques through you, Prof. Hao Yu. After I return to the rear battlefield, I will make it a point to find an opportunity to exchange pointers with Grandmaster Gu Yan."

    "Why don''t you exchange pointers with me?"

    Mu Shang¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. Everyone who heard the question was startled, including even the God of Food.

    Hao Yu had always acted politely with reserve whenever he spoke with anyone, which had given people a specific impression of his personality. Aside from when he spoke to or about the Xia family, Hao Yu had never revealed any hint of arrogance, but he was clearly antagonizing Mu Shang. This did not match the man that everyone knew.

    "Grandmaster Mu, I can speak with you, but not see you. There is a wall between us so that this will not be my first time seeing you. This is because of something that my teacher told me, which is that when I see you for the first time, I should challenge you. This is why I do not wish to see you at this time."

    Everyone turned to stare at Mu Shang. This was an open challenge, and not just any challenge at that¡ªthis was a Realm Array Master publicly challenging an Array Grandmaster!

    [1] The "Mu" in "Mu Shang" (ÄÂ = solemn) is NOT the same "Mu" in "Mister Mu" (Ä¾ = wood). ?

 Chapter 2278: Planet Ominion

    Chapter 2278: Ominion

    Mu Shang was briefly stunned when he heard Yu Hao¡¯s response from behind the closed door, but then the Array Grandmaster startedughing happily. "So that''s why you don¡¯t want to see me, Professor! In that case, it¡¯ll be as you wish. The two of us will dy our first meeting for the future. I¡¯ll be ready and waiting for the day that you feel ready to challenge me. If you¡¯re able, you¡¯re wee to seize the title of the youngest Array Grandmaster in history from me."

    With that, Mu Shang happily turned around and left without saying another word.

    Everyone on the paper ship remained silent.

    Bai Weiwei stared at the cabin, admiration growing ever stronger in her eyes.

    Nong Siniang was fervently muttering to herself as though praying.

    No one had anticipated seeing Prof. Hao Yu challenge Grandmaster Mu, the youngest Array Grandmaster in history, but that was exactly what had just happened. Not a single person present doubted that this day would go down in history, as the challenge would definitely take ce in the future.

    Everyone had just witnessed Prof. Hao Yu baring his fangs for the first time.

    No one suspected that this Yu Hao, who was pretending to be Hao Yu, could be a fake, as how could anyone maintain a disguise in front of two Semi-Progenitors?

    Inside the cabin, Liu Shaoge looked perfectly calm.

    He had alreadye up with a n to deal with things from the moment Mu Shang had first appeared. Just like when he had pretended to be Yu Hao for Lu Yin within Virtue Archives, such acts were child¡¯s y for Liu Shaoge.

    However, as Liu Shaoge stared at himself in the mirror, he could not help but think about who he was impersonating. Everyone on this paper ship respected Yu Hao, and even an Array Grandmaster hade to meet with him, but Liu Shaoge knew that Yu Hao was really Lu Yin. Did this mean that the gap between the two of them was growing at a terrifying rate? Lu Yin seemed to be constantly climbing higher and higher, and Liu Shaoge could not help but feel like he was losing sight of Lu Yin.

    A few more days passed, and the ship drew ever closer to Shenwu''s Sky.

    Far away, Lu Yin continued to wait until he was finally able to roll his die again.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first used Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s name to deceive the four ruling powers into gathering all the members of Star Alliance together, he had rolled his die many times, and he had even rolled Possession on multiple asions. Despite that, he had failed to ever Possess anyone from Star Alliance.

    It was something that could only be aplished with pure luck.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and brought his die out to tap it. He stared as it slowly stopped on two pips. Useless.

    He huffed in disappointment, and then tapped the die again.

    Second roll: four pips. Timestop.

    Rolling Timestop was never a waste. Even though Lu Yin was very far from mastering the Cosmic Art, it was important to continually work towards it.

    His third roll was Pilfer, and a token fell out of the spatial channel, but it shattered when Lu Yin touched it, rendering the roll another waste. He sighed, as his luck had really turned rotten after he left the paper ship. He could only hope that his final roll would give him Possession.

    When he saw the diee to a stop and reveal six pips, Lu Yin was overjoyed to have finally seeded.

    Once his consciousness entered the strange dark space, Lu Yin instantly saw a massive, overwhelmingly bright ball of light. Just the sight of it induced a wave of panic. Could it represent a Progenitor?

    Lu Yin did not dare to get anywhere close to the brilliant orb, and he instead merged with a bright ball of light that was also close by.

    As his consciousness entered the target, Lu Yin felt a very ufortable sensation spread throughout his body. His eyes snapped open, and he was met with the sight of a dark and destend. There was an enormous crowd off in the distance, but they looked as lifeless as a group of corpses. There was a majestic building further away, but it waspletely void of life. High in the sky above, Lu Yin could see two enormousndmasses: the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm.

    Was this one of thes in the Perennial World?

    Memories started to merge with Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he stood frozen in ce as his expression gradually changed. It took some time before the flood of information started to slow.

    Lu Yin finally understood just where he was: the Outer Realm. He was on one of the seven defensives: Ominion. It was also known as the evil world.

    It was a very strange, as people could enter the, but not leave. There was no greenery or vegetation here, no flowers, birds, fish, or even insects. The only contained an unending silence and houses built from sand and stone. The was constantly experiencing an endlessly repeating doomsday, as both star energy and stellr energy surged chaotically, destroying everything that they came into contact with and producing an endless series of natural disasters. Beneath the¡¯s surface lived poisonous insects and vicious creatures that could pop up and devour whatever trod the¡¯s surface without any warning, making it impossible to remain in one ce for very long.

    It was a cursed. A ce that most people would never want to get anywhere near.

    Lu Yin had heard the Outer Realm be mentioned before, but he had known nothing about it. After he passed the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky trial, he had been given a very basic overview of the Outer Realm by Progenitor Bai Sheng, as the man had been about to return to the Outer Realm. From what Lu Yin understood, there were other, lesser known or unknown Progenitors in the Outer Realm, and it seemed that there was some kind of quota that had to be filled there.

    Lu Yin found it a pity that Bai Sheng had been so closed-mouthed about the entire matter.

    Lu Yin had Possessed someone who had been born and raised on Ominion, and he had never left, though that might be because it was impossible to leave. He knew nothing about the rest of the universe, though he was very familiar with Ominion.

    Through the man¡¯s memories, Lu Yin also learned a great deal about the.

    While there was clearly star energy and stellr energy on the, it was impossible to cultivate with either of the two energies, as they were too chaotic and uncontroble. Instead, the people of Ominion cultivated with an energy unique to the that was known as ominion energy. It could not be absorbed from the ambient environment, but instead had to be absorbed from other creatures that lived on Ominion, such as the poisonous bugs and vicious beasts underground, or even the other people who lived on the.

    Lu Yin had Possessed a cultivator by the name of Thyssen, and he had cultivated ominion energy to the sixth stage.

    The people of the had no understanding or knowledge regarding stellr energy cultivation, so they could notpare the power levels of the two systems, but Lu Yin could. Based on the brightness of the orb that Lu Yin had merged with to Possess Thyssen, the man was as strong as a six-tribtion Envoy, which meant his equivalent power level was a million.

    Thyssen was clearly a powerhouse on Ominion.

    Memories continued to pour in, and Lu Yin looked over towards the towering, fortified temple that rose into the sky in the distance. The temple had been created by the ruler of Ominion, and the man was known as Progenitor Ominion.

    Unsurprisingly, the man was a previously unknown Progenitor within the Perennial World. Lu Yin was certain that there were absolutely no records of the man anywhere at all in the Perennial World.

    Eh? Suddenly, Lu Yin found a very familiar figure within a memory. Was it really her? Liquor Hero?

    After catching a glimpse of Liquor Hero in Thyssen¡¯s memories, Lu Yin examined the memories much more thoroughly to check for anything that the man knew about Liquor Hero.

    After some time, Lu Yin let out a long breath. Did the Fifth Maind somehow restrict the abilities of its geniuses?

    While Liquor Hero had been one of the Ten Arbiters withIn the Fifth Maind and had qualified topete with the best of her generation, she had not been superior to Qiu Shi, any of the other top geniuses from the Neoverse, or even the Perennial World¡¯s Wang Yi, let alone the four Junior Progenitors.

    However, after arriving on Ominion, Liquor Hero had been forced to abandon her cultivation and restart from the beginning, cultivating with only ominion energy.

    She had already reached the fifth stage of cultivation.

    Given the fact that Thyssen wasparable to a six-tribtion Envoy once his cultivation reached the sixth stage of ominion energy, this meant that a fifth stage ominion energy cultivator was at least as strong as an Envoy. While Lu Yin had no idea if ominion energy had any advantages or disadvantages against stellr energy, he knew that Liquor Hero had the strength of an Envoy.

    Wu Taibai had been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, and he was also one of the top geniuses from the Tai generation of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. He was almost as famous in the Perennial World as Xia Taili, but he still had not managed to be an Envoy. As for the Fifth Maind¡¯s geniuses, their cultivation progress had stalled for thest twenty years as there was no star energy or stellr energy after the true universe had been drained.

    The fact that Liquor Hero had improved so much indicated that she was at least as talented as Xia Shenfei.

    Furthermore, due to her incredible progress and talent, Liquor Hero had been epted as Progenitor Ominion¡¯s disciple and be the saintess of the Ominion Temple. They had a saintess who was perpetually drunk.

    From Thyssen''s memories, Lu Yin found something quite odd, which was that Liquor Hero had managed to remain constantly drunk even on Ominion. One of their specialty alcohols was brewed from the venomous subterranean insects, and Liquor Hero loved it.

    Lu Yin stood frozen where he stood for a long time, and he only roused from his stupor when he saw stripes rising into the sky.

    Thyssen had no idea what the stripes were, but he had be as ustomed to their presence as Earthlings were to the rising and setting of the sun. However, from Lu Yin''s perspective, these stripes clearly were not a natural phenomena, but were instead some sort of man-made construct. With the presence of the stripes and the fact that neither star energy nor stellr energy could be used on the, there was something highly, highly unusual going on with Ominion.

    If it were possible to make stellr energy and star energy unusable as it was on this, then Aeternus would have never bothered trying to drain the true universe.

    This entire was aplete oddity.

    Lu Yin ended his Possession and allowed his consciousness to return to his own body.

    While he was not concerned with Ominion for the moment, he would absolutely return to the ce again in the future.

    Lu Yin had just used his final opportunity to roll his die. There was nothing left that he could do other than ask Progenitor Smoke to take him back to the paper ship.

    ¡­

    Each of the four ruling powers had their own unique characteristic. The Wang family¡¯s hand-shapedndmass floated high in the sky in a manner that matched their surname: Wang, or king. Their homnd looked down on the entire world from high above.

    The White Dragon n¡¯s Dragon Mountain gave off an endless aura, and it spanned a massive area while taking on shapes reminiscent of roving dragons. It was an elegant ce.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was shrouded in mystery, given the presence of the endless clouds. It appeared almost like some sort of celestial haven.

    As for Shenwu''s Sky, Lu Yin discovered that it was an oppressive and overbearing ce, and its most noticeable feature was the chained jiao imprisoned in the sky far above everything else nearby. It was a sight that shocked the students who saw the sight for the first time.

    Even Lu Yin was shocked by the sight. He had Possessed Long Ke in the past, as well as many other cultivators from the Perennial World, and he had seen memories of Shenwu''s Sky before, but this was his first time seeing the ce for himself. This was Shenwu''s Sky: domineering, cruel, vicious, and overflowing with killing intent. They were clearly trying to demonstrate their invincible power to the entire universe.

    An unimaginable broken saber was stabbed into the caged jiao''s tail, and then deep into the ground. It was what held the jiao in ce, and it was a terrifying disy of sheer power.

    "That- Is that the legendary imprisoned jiao?" Qing Feng was stunned by the sight. While he was Qing Chen¡¯s disciple, Qing Feng had never visited Shenwu''s Sky before, so this was his first time seeing the trapped jiao.

    Bai Weiwei''s eyes flickered. Every time she saw this jiao, she felt shocked again. There were legends that imed that this jiao possessed an iparably terrifying power, and yet it remained trapped in the sky high above Shenwu''s Sky, unable to escape for all eternity. It was condemned to serve as a light source for Shenwu''s Sky. This perfectly showed the Xia family¡¯s desire to assert their dominance.

    Everyone would be shocked when they first visited Shenwu''s Sky and saw the imprisoned jiao. It had massive and terrifyingly sharp ws that hung down towards the ground that lookedrger than mountains or rivers, yet sharp enough to slice anyone apart. They served as a powerful deterrent to any who visited Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin was standing on the paper ship, and he stared at the jiao far overhead and at the nine huge chains that held it in ce. Could those chains be the ¡°Prison Lock¡± that Lu Yin had seen be mentioned in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower?

    Was the imprisoned jiao still alive? How powerful was it? A strange glint appeared in Lu Yin''s eyes.

    "Be proud! This is Shenwu''s Sky, the power that you belong to!" Xia Ziheng suddenly said.

    Lu Yin looked away from the jiao and over at the Semi-Progenitor. "The power that I belong to?"

    Xia Ziheng stared at Lu Yin. "You are a son-inw to my Shenwu''s Sky. That means that you are, now and forever, a part of this ce. When my Xia family worship our ancestors in the ceremony soon, you will stand at the front so that everyone can see you, and they will know that you are a part of our great power."

    Suddenly, far off in the distance, someone tore through the void and abruptly appeared. A ripple of power swept through Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s head whipped around to look, and his expression changed dramatically. "Wu Yao? You followed us?"

 Chapter 2279: Value

    Chapter 2279: Value

    Wu Yao had a rather unpleasant look on his face as he directed an odd smile towards Xia Ziheng. "How can my Celestial Frost Sect ignore it when the Xia family is conducting their ceremony to worship their ancestors?"

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "My Xia family did not invite you. We invited the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s sect master. If anyonees at all, it should at least be Bai Su."

    "Hahahaha, it doesn''t matter who represents them." Another voice spoke up. It was the Wang family¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Chai. He had also arrived at Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Given the fact that Yu Hao hadpleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, it was not only the Celestial Frost Sect and the Xia family that was eager to recruit him. The Wang family and the White Dragon n were in the same boat, and if there were any possibility of sess, then the Liu family, Seed Garden, and even Specter Abyss would eagerly pursue him.

    Xia Ziheng''s heart fell. With multiple Semi-Progenitors arriving to keep an eye on the Xia family, it would be impossible to keep anything hidden unless a Progenitor moved. These old guys were already causing trouble.

    The God of Food suddenly turned to look in a particr direction, overflowing killing intent zing in his eyes. Mr. Yu had also arrived.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised to see Mr. Yu appear, as the hatred between this man and the God of Food was something that could never be erased. Mr. Yu¡¯s presence would not help the White Dragon n in their efforts to try to recruit Yu Hao, and it would instead create additional obstacles.

    Xia Ziheng was also surprised to see Mr. Yu¡¯s appearance. "Are you the Semi-Progenitor who the White Dragon n has been keeping hidden?"

    Mr. Yu smiled. "I enjoy my privacy, and it seems that my preferences have created some misunderstandings with people."

    Wu Yao adopted a half-smile. "Mr. Yu, I¡¯m familiar with you, though I¡¯m surprised to see that you are willing toe here. Aren¡¯t you afraid that the God of Food will try to kill you?"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai also spoke up. "Right, I remember hearing about you now. I¡¯m impressed to see that you¡¯ve shown yourself at all."

    Mr. Yu responded with a rxed smile that did not waver even when he was facing the God of Food. "I have a decent chance against Master, and Master won¡¯t do anything to me right now. Isn¡¯t that right, Master?"

    The God of Food continued to re at Mr. Yu. "Your days are already numbered."

    "It would be my honor to die at Master¡¯s hands." The man then turned his focus onto ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Prof. Hao Yu, do you have any interest in joining my White Dragon n? We will provide you with whatever you wish for."

    "Mr. Yu, you are in Shenwu''s Sky!" Xia Ziheng shouted.

    Mr. Yu was unbothered, and he simply smiled at ¡°Yu Hao¡± while remaining silent.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, my Wang family wishes to extend an open invitation to join us. Even whenpared to Shenwu''s Sky, my Wang family is superior. If you try to climb higher in this ce, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll only end up hurting your own feet," Semi-Progenitor Chai said.

    Xia Ziheng became increasingly annoyed by the shamelessness of the various Semi-Progenitors. "Yu Hao is my Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s son-inw, and he will remain here. There¡¯s nothing for you to concern yourselves with."

    The old man then deliberately ushered the group from Virtue Archives into Shenwu''s Sky.

    Originally, the celebrated guests from Virtue Archives for the duration of the exchange program were intended to be the 100 students. The entire exchange program was nothing more than a process which the four ruling powers were using to recruit students to determine how they would divide up their respective rights to the Mountain and Sea that was currently hidden within Virtue Archives. However, everyone had been distracted by Yu Hao, and they hadpletely stopped caring about the students.

    This was particrly true of the White Dragon n, as they already knew that they had no chance of recruiting any of the students at all. Mr. Yu continued to offer increasingly generous conditions in a bid to win over Yu Hao, all the whilepletely ignoring Xia Ziheng''s presence. Things were only exacerbated when Semi-Progenitor Chai also started offering various conditions, and even Wu Yao put on an act of trying to win over Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng struggled to resist the temptation to activate Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s defensive sourcebox array and drive all of the Semi-Progenitors out of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Xia Ziheng was not confident that he could keep Yu Hao around as a member of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. After all, it was normal and expected for cultivators to be ruthless in their decisions and actions. Would Yu Chuan really be enough for them to keep a leash on Yu Hao? Xia Ziheng had no idea, especially when he heard the ever-increasing conditions being offered by the other ruling powers. Their offers were simply too generous, especially the ones that Mr. Yu was stating. ording to the man, Progenitor Long was looking for a disciple, and as long as Yu Hao was willing to join the White Dragon n, Progenitor Long would take him in.

    Xia Xing greeted the students and chaperones when they entered Shenwu''s Sky.

    Many of the students were caught off guard when they saw Xia Xing, as they had thought that the sect master had gone missing.

    Only a few people understood that the Xia Xing who had gone missing was just a clone.

    Lu Yin even spoke up to express his own irritation. "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, you told me that Sect Master Xia Xing had disappeared, which was why only you could deliver a promise to me. What¡¯s the meaning of this?"

    "The sect master cultivates the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and it was just one of those clones that was captured. Don¡¯t worry about it. Now that you are in Shenwu''s Sky, the sect master himself will be offering you our promise."

    Lu Yin fell silent after that.

    Xia Xing entertained the group from Virtue Archives and showed them into Shenwu''s Sky. He nced at ¡°Yu Hao¡± and then asked for guest quarters to be arranged for everyone to use. With those matters settled, Xia Xing went to speak with Xia Ziheng and find out about his clone.

    Xia Ziheng shook his head. "I tried, but I was in the Celestial Frost Sect, and with old Wu Yao eying Yu Hao, I couldn¡¯t give him any opportunity to steal Yu Hao away from us."

    Xia Xing replied in a low voice, "While I could only sense the direction of my clone, I¡¯m 90% certain that it was in the Celestial Frost Sect. No one else could have taken my clone aside from them."

    "We were able to confirm that Forgotten Ruins God is responsible for what happened through Colonel Lan. It¡¯s why we gathered everyone from Star Alliance together as bait to lure out Forgotten Ruins God. And yet, now you¡¯re saying that you¡¯re certain that the Celestial Frost Sect is behind your clone¡¯s disappearance? What do you think is going on?" Xia Ziheng asked. He had been pondering this question for some time, for if Forgotten Ruins God had been the one to capture Xia Xing''s clone, then it should be impossible for the clone to be in the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Xia Xing also felt rather confused. "It''s either a coincidence that I felt my clone in the same direction as the Celestial Frost Sect, or¡­"

    He hesitated for a moment and stared at Xia Ziheng. "Someone in the Celestial Frost Sect is working with Forgotten Ruins God and hid my clone within the sect, hoping to trick us into attacking the Celestial Frost Sect while Star Alliance is being taken away."

    "That¡¯s possible," Xia Ziheng replied.

    "How are things going with Yu Hao?" Xia Xing moved on.

    Xia Ziheng felt his headache return. "Those other guys are all making increasingly attractive offers, and I¡¯m afraid that Yu Chuan won¡¯t be enough to keep him here."

    "I''ll speak to him," Xia Xing stated.

    Xia Xing had apletely different status within Shenwu''s Sky than Bai Teng did within the Celestial Frost Sect. Xia Xing was a direct descendant of the Xia family, just the same as Wang Zheng was with the Wang family. Even Xia Ziheng needed to listen to Xia Xing, which was why it had made sense for Yu Hao to demand that he receive assurances from Xia Xing rather than a Semi-Progenitor.

    A promise from Xia Xing was more binding than one from Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng.

    The architectural style of the buildings in Shenwu''s Sky gave everything a deste feel due to the simplicity of the designs. There was nothing beautiful about the environment in the area, not unless the beauty was deliberately introduced by someone.

    For example, Yu Hao was given a valley for his residence, and it was a ce that had supposedly previously belonged to a mistress of Shenwu''s Sky. She had ensured that the valley was lovely, and she had even ced a crescent moon to hang in the sky.

    Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors ced themselves around the valley that had been given to Yu Hao. They all ignored the residences that had been arranged for them by Shenwu''s Sky and instead surrounded the valley ording to some agreement. Xia Ziheng gritted his teeth at the shamelessness of his peers.

    Lu Yin was also rather frustrated. Since he was surrounded by several Semi-Progenitors, then unless Progenitor Smoke decided to help him, there would be no chance for Lu Yin to roll his die. Luckily for him, Progenitor Smoke was an option.

    However, if Lu Yin wanted to roll his die, he still had to wait for almost ten days. He could not help but think that these days would be difficult to deal with, as the various Semi-Progenitors would likely all continue to annoy him.

    The first to visit him was Xia Xing. Lu Yin had already been waiting to see the man for quite some time.

    "It¡¯s been quite a long time, Yu Hao," Xia Xing said upon seeing Lu Yin. An awkwardness and confusion filled the older man¡¯s eyes, as he had never been able to sessfully reconcile the wastrel from a few decades ago with the peerless genius currently before him.

    There were parts of the exnation that Xia Xing could ept and understand. After all, Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, but the fact that Yu Hao had managed to pass the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky trial seemed inexplicable.

    Lockbreaking talent, cultivation base, and passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. Any one of these three aspects would qualify anyone to draw the four ruling powers¡¯ attention, but Yu Hao possessed all three. Just what kind of freak was he?

    Even Xia Shang, whose existence was a forbidden topic to the Xia family, despite being recognized as being truly peerless in terms of both cultivation talent andbat power, had not known almost anything about lockbreaking. Yu Hao could be considered practically perfect no matter how he was viewed.

    Before leaving Virtue Archives, Lu Yin had made a point of speaking with Xia Taili. From that, Lu Yin learned that Yu Hao had never had a single conversation with Xia Xing, and he had only ever been briefly seen from a distance. Yu Hao had seen Xia Xing, but the sect master had never even opened his eyes at that time. Lu Yin needed to be careful not to expose himself with anything that he said.

    "I believe that you did not expect to ever see me again, Sect Master," Lu Yin answered calmly.

    Xia Xing stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "I honestly never even gave the matter any thought, as that would have required your life to hold some value. You used to be worthless, which was why no one cared about you. You have since be invaluable, to the point where both I and Shenwu''s Sky are willing to offer a massive amount of resources. You¡¯ve even be qualified to ask for additional conditions, which is why I came here to speak with you."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Are you not afraid that such words will upset me and drive me to join one of the other three?"

    Xia Xing sped his hands behind his back. "The fact that you were able to cultivate to your current level shows that you have changed over these few years, and you should have also be more aware of what you desire. You should already understand that Shenwu''s Sky is your only way out."

    If Xia Ziheng had tried to speak with Yu Hao alone, Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors would have objected and raised a fuss, but the fact that Xia Xing, the patriarch of the Xia family and sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, was visiting Yu Hao within the confines of Shenwu¡¯s Sky meant that no one could object.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening me, Sect Master?"

    Xia Xing remainedpletely calm. "No matter what, you are already Shenwu''s Sky''s son-inw. If you join another power, what would happen to the Xia family''s face? Or Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s? There are times when face is even more important than profit."

    Upon hearing ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± silence, Xia Xing changed his tone to something a bit more tactful. "What sort of conditions did the Celestial Frost Sect offer you? I can promise you that my Shenwu¡¯s Sky will match it. That should show you your current worth: Xia Zhitong and the others will be ced in front of everyone during the ceremony to honor our ancestors, and you will be allowed to deal with all of them however you see fit after the ceremony."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes rose. He had ignored one detail. When Xia Ziheng had previously promised to give Xia Zhitong and the others to Yu Hao, Lu Yin had only seen that Shenwu''s Sky was focused on Yu Hao, as well as the family¡¯s cruelty and indifference to even their own people. Looking at the matter again, was it possible that this was all a show that Shenwu''s Sky wanted to put on for the entire Perennial World?

    It seemed that they wanted to show the Perennial World that, as long as one had the ability, the Xia family would be willing to sacrifice even their own. This would be proof of the preferential treatment given to those who joined Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Xing for a long moment. Allowing Yu Hao to publicly execute Xia Zhitong and the others who had harmed him would do nothing to harm Shenwu''s Sky''s reputation. After all, Yu Hao was an Envoy, so outsiders would not see Shenwu''s Sky as being soft-hearted, but would instead only see how highly Shenwu''s Sky valued geniuses: they would even sacrifice descendants of a branch family for the sake of Yu Hao.

    This was how Shenwu''s Sky handled things.

    Lu Yin suddenly understood Progenitor Smoke''s words even more clearly. No wonder the woman had mocked Shenwu''s Sky. The Xia family was willing to do just about anything to the members of their own branch families, and they regarded anyone who was not part of the direct family line as pawns to be used. This was why they had made it a point to execute Progenitor Chen¡¯s parents, and it was also why he had not been acknowledged by the family for so long, despite his peerless talent.

    As far as the Xia family¡¯s direct line was concerned, it was reasonable to pay a steep price to recruit talented outsiders into joining Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but any talented members of the Xia family¡¯s branch families needed to be ruthlessly suppressed.

    "How many people?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Xing looked upwards. "Twelve."

    "That¡¯s not many." Lu Yin was indifferent.

    "How many do you want?"

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Xing. "Is the Xia family willing to give me what I want?"

    "Yu Hao, Shenwu''s Sky will never allow another Progenitor Chen to appear," Xia Xing stated in a low voice.

 Chapter 2280: A New Minion

    Chapter 2280: A New Minion

    Lu Yin and Xia Xing stared at each other for a bit, and then ¡°Yu Hao¡± smiled. "I understand. Well, twelve is still twelve, but you can¡¯t hold back on the resources you provide me. Also-¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated for a moment while raising a hand as he stared at Xia Xing. "Please look at this."

    Xia Xing looked at a mirror that had suddenly appeared in Lu Yin''s hand. "What is it?"

    The moment he finished his question, fog dragged the sect master into the mirror.

    Xia Xing was not slow to react. The moment he fell into the mirror, he used his Divine Martial Armor and a secret technique: Confinement. However, the secret technique did not target an opponent; instead, Xia Xing targeted himself.

    With Confinement used on himself, the secret technique became a defense ability.

    Lu Yin entered the pocket dimension within the mirror, and then looked at Xia Xing with amazement. "This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a secret technique be used like this. You deserve your position as the Xia family¡¯s patriarch."

    Xia Xing red at ¡°Yu Hao,¡± confused. "Yu Hao, you actually dare to attack me within Shenwu''s Sky?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face as he shook his head. "Wrong. You¡¯re no longer inside Shenwu''s Sky."

    "You''re seeking death!" Xia Xing yelled as he released an attack. Confinement disappeared, and the man¡¯s body dispersed before taking form once again.

    Lu Yin would never underestimate Xia Xing. The man was the sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, as well as a six-tribtion powerhouse. However, the man was unwittingly facing Lu Yin; without making adequate preparations, the sect master could only be doomed.

    Lu Yin moved past the sect master, and Xia Xing spat out a mouthful of blood after being injured by the chaotic region of space and time. His Divine Martial Armor was shattered, which the man simply could not ept or believe. "Impossible! How could you possess such strength?"

    Lu Yin restored his true appearance and stared at Xia Xing. "I hope you¡¯ve been well, Sect Master Xia."

    Xia Xing¡¯s pupils constricted tightly the moment he registered that he was looking at Lu Yin. "Long Qi! No, Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    It was as though a storm was raging within Xia Xing''s brain at this moment, as many things suddenly connected. Yu Hao was a three-tribtion Envoy with an incredible gift for lockbreaking, and he also knew the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm. Lu Xiaoxuan had also been close by when Xia Xing¡¯s clone had been captured, and given the fact that Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo was helping the young man, it would have been easy to traverse what they had considered an impossible distance. It was also far too easy to mix up the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm and the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Celestial Suppression.

    On the Ind of Hope, Bai Teng had vanished just a short while after Lu Xiaoxuan left. While Yu Hao was naturallypletely incapable of capturing Bai Teng, it was clearly within Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s means.

    In that case, if Lu Xiaoxuan was responsible for the disappearance of Xia Xing¡¯s clone and Bai Teng, then what about Wang Zheng and Long Ke? Could this youth have also controlled Long Ke and Xia Yuan? Furthermore, Xia Xing had sensed his clone in the direction of the Celestial Frost Sect, and at that moment, Lu Xiaoxuan had been visiting the sect.

    In that instance, countless thoughts and realizations swirled through Xia Xing¡¯s mind, and he understood the truth of all that had happened. Unfortunately for him, it was already toote.

    Lu Yin had revealed himself, which had stunned Xia Xing for a moment. The mental shockbined with the damage that he had just suffered from Lu Yin¡¯s Inverse Step created the exact moment that Lu Yin had been looking for.

    While Xia Xing continued nkly staring at Lu Yin, the missing clone stepped out from behind Lu Yin and immediately attacked Xia Xing.

    ¡­

    At this moment, anyone outside the mirror would only see Yu Hao speaking with Xia Xing in a normal and expected fashion. However, inside the pocket dimension within the mirror, there was only one Xia Xing left, and it was the clone. No, he was no longer a clone, but rather truly Xia Xing.

    Lu Yin apuded. "Congrattions, you now answer to me."

    Xia Xing was breathing heavily. He had just merged and conquered the main body, which caused his body to be a bit unstable for the moment, and he asionally appeared a bit illusory.

    He forced himself to look up at Lu Yin."You¡¯ve managed to force even the patriarch of the Xia family to be your puppet."

    Lu Yin responded with a slight smile. "Why say it like that? We just agreed to a win-win agreement. You didn¡¯t want to die, while I needed a bit of help. Where¡¯s the problem?"

    Progenitor Smoke then revealed herself. She stood there for a moment, gazing at Xia Xing in an odd manner and then eximed, "Is this the fusion of a clone and a main body? Fascinating! I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see this after so many years. This gives me some ideas¡­¡±

    She immediately left again, as she wanted to study some things regarding Blood Alchemy and her wei.

    Xia Xing stared nkly at Progenitor Smoke''s back as she moved away, and then asked in a daze, "She- who is that?"

    Lu Yin shushed the man with a hand. "Senior doesn¡¯t enjoy being disturbed by people. We should head on out now, Sect Master Xia."

    Xia Xing had clearly recognized Progenitor Smoke. The Perennial World had not lost as much of the human race¡¯s history as the Fifth Maind. There were still various records in the Perennial World regarding the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, the Daosource Sect, and even the Heavens Sect era.

    Progenitor Smoke''s appearance was not something that had ever been considered a secret. The Y¨­u family in the Fifth Maind had a painting of Progenitor Smoke, which had given the family the opportunity to receive Progenitor Smoke¡¯s kindness by receiving various portions of her inheritance. Lu Yin was not at all surprised to see Xia Xing recognize the Progenitor.

    After leaving the pocket dimension within the mirror, the figures of Yu Hao and Xia Xing that had remained in the outside world transformed into fog that rejoined the mirror.

    Xia Xing had still not recovered, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Who was that just now?"

    Lu Yin smiled in a rather condescending manner. "Now you understand the benefits of working with me."

    Xia Xing''s eyes darted about. "Progenitor Smoke?"

    Lu Yin looked out from his quarters. "Shenwu''s Sky doesn''t seem to have any masters of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which I find rather odd. Given your Nine Clones Secret Technique, your Divine Martial Armor, as well as your various other secret techniques, you still haven¡¯t mastered any of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas since before the Daosource Sect era. It¡¯s no wonder why you can¡¯tpare to the Celestial Frost Sect or the Wang family."

    Naturally, Lu Yin was excluding Progenitor Chen in his assessment.

    Xia Xing said, "Our Progenitor Shenji is in no way inferior to Wang Fan or Bai Wangyuan, but none of the Mountains and Seas were suitable for him to inherit. Sess is not only determined by a person¡¯s strength, but also theirprehension and sheer luck.

    "During the Daosource Sect era, it was incredible that all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas found masters, and the Fifth Maind really did reach its peak. Before that, aside from the Heavens Sect era, there was no point in human history when all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had masters."

    Lu Yin sighed and nced over at Xia Xing. Lu Yin knew that the patriarch had purposefully not mentioned how Progenitor Chen had stolen a Mountain and Sea from the Xia family, and Lu Yin stayed silent about it out of respect for the Xia family.

    Xia Xing let out a sigh. "It¡¯s true. Before the end of the Daosource Sect era when all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were inherited, there were never any more than four Mountains and three Seas that had masters at any given moment, and throughout that whole time, one of those masters was your Lu family¡¯s Patriarch Tianyi."

    The man then stared at the mirror for a moment. "I never dreamed that I would be lucky enough to actually meet Progenitor Smoke."

    Lu Yin turned back to look at the older man. "Alright, enough wasting time. The people waiting outside are going to start trying to push their way in here soon. ording to our agreement, I helped you be the main body, and now that you are my contact within the Xia family, I want the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

    Xia Xing''s eye twitched. "I can''t give it to you."

    "Why not?" Lu Yin demanded as his expression grew stormy. He had helped one of Xia Xing''s clones rece the main body, and besides gaining a mole within the Xia family, Lu Yin¡¯s greater goal had always been the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    He had coveted the secret technique from the moment he had first heard of it, and he had always been determined to learn it if the opportunity ever arose.

    Xia Xing shrugged. "After merging with my main body, I was able to learn that the Nine Clones Secret Technique is something that literally can¡¯t be shared. What my main body learned came from the family, and any member of the direct line who wishes to learn the secret technique has to go through the family, unless they manage to awaken the technique with the traditional method, which is through our bloodline. That¡¯s how Progenitor Chen managed toprehend the technique."

    "Progenitor Chen learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique by awakening the Xia family¡¯s ancestral blood?" Lu Yin felt slightly confused.

    Xia Xing nodded.

    Lu Yin looked away. Was this urate? Lu Yin was not certain as to how Progenitor Chen had learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but Lu Yin had always suspected that it had not been from Shenwu''s Sky.

    Starsibyl and Xia Jiuyou had bothprehended the secret technique from the river of time, and Lu Yin felt that it was rather likely that Progenitor Chen had obtained it in the same manner. After all, Progenitor Chen had probably mastered the power of time. And yet, Xia Xing was iming that the secret technique could beprehended through the family¡¯s bloodline, which was the method that Mister Mu had employed to give Lu Yin the chance to learn the Ce Secret Art by allowing him to observe the Immovable Chessboard. The Ce family¡¯s blood had given him an opportunity to peer through time and space.

    "Where do members of your family go to learn the secret technique?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Xing pointed upwards, and Lu Yin looked up as well. "Where?"

    "Above the imprisoned jiao," Xia Xing said.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "It¡¯s on top of the jiao? Wait, is it on the jiao''s back?"

    "It¡¯s actually on top of the jiao¡¯s head. Oh, also, that imprisoned jiao is still alive."

    Lu Yin gasped. "That jiao¡¯s alive?"

    "That''s right. I only found out myself after merging with my main body. Not only is the jiao still alive, but it¡¯s also unimaginably powerful. Everyone believes the story that Progenitor Shenji defeated the jiao, but it was merely suppressed and trapped. That jiao actually has the power of a Progenitor, and on top of being my family¡¯s enemy in the past, it is Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s final defense," Xia Xing exined.

    Lu Yin was shocked, if not even Xia Shenji had been able to defeat the jiao, then just how powerful did it have to be?

    "So, is the broken saber that¡¯s stabbed into the ground something from one of your Xia family¡¯s Progenitors?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Xing nodded. "Progenitor Xia Chan left behind that broken saber that¡¯s used to suppress the imprisoned jiao so that it could protect our Xia family. Even your Lu family spoke of my family¡¯s Progenitor Xia Chan with high levels of respect. It¡¯s only because of that saber that there can be any safety when approaching the jiao. Without those protections, a person won¡¯t be left with even their bones."

    Lu Yin had to admit that what Xia Xing said sounded quite urate. If the jiao was even close to as powerful as the sect master imed, it was impossible for anyone to obtain the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Even Progenitor Bai Wangyuan might not be able to seed. It was truly the safest ce imaginable to leave the technique.

    Xia Xing soon left ¡°Yu Hao¡¯s¡± guest quarters, but before leaving, he turned around with a smile and shouted, "Yu Hao, make sure you don¡¯t forget about me when you get back from the Dominion Realm, hahahaha!"

    With that, the sect master left.

    The surrounding Semi-Progenitors¡ªWu Yao, Semi-Progenitor Chai, and Mr. Yu¡ªall nced at each other before shaking their heads and sneering. This was too obvious a staged act. It was clear that Xia Xing had deliberately said those words in an attempt to force the Semi-Progenitors to leave by trying to convince them that Yu Hao had already joined Shenwu''s Sky and that he would soon go to the Dominion Realm. How could any of the three men not see through the sect master¡¯s intentions?

    If Xia Xing had left without speaking a word to Yu Hao, the Semi-Progenitors would have been far more worried. As things stood, none of them were even the slightest bit concerned.

    Inside the valley, Lu Yin was calmly sitting and waiting. He did not know who would approach him next, but he felt there should be no one for a while. As long as Xia Xing managed to stop Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin would be able to rest in peace for more than ten days. After that, he would have one final chance to roll his die.

    He could not help but think that it was simply too difficult to manage the luck that he needed to seed.

    He already knew where everyone from Star Alliance was being held. The four ruling powers had set up a sourcebox array there as part of their trap for the Seven Skygods. The defenses were too tight for him to be able to get in, and on top of that, Yu Chuan was being held separately within Shenwu''s Sky. For the time being, there was no usible reason for Lu Yin to try to see the members of Star Alliance.

    There was still a possibility that hisst round of rolls would give him the opportunity that he needed.

    Elsewhere in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Xia Xing went to meet with Xia Ziheng after parting ways with Lu Yin.

    While Xia Xing was a clone, since he had already merged with his main body, there was no difference that could be seen between him and the previous main body. Xia Ziheng could not detect any issues.

    "How is it? How¡¯s his reaction?" Xia Ziheng demanded.

    Xia Xing replied, "He agreed to my conditions, and he even contacted Grandmaster Gu Yan while I was there. Unfortunately, Grandmaster Gu Yan refused toe."

 Chapter 2281: Wielder Realm

    Chapter 2281: Wielder Realm

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Given the care that Grandmaster Gu Yan has shown his apprentice, why would he not grant him at least this much face?"

    "He imed to be in the middle of studying a sourcebox array and that, if he seeds in his research, the array has the potential to be the next Ceaseless Impetus. That¡¯s why he says he can¡¯t go anywhere," Xia Xing said.

    Xia Ziheng snorted contemptuously. "That¡¯s nothing but an excuse! What ¡®next Ceaseless Impetus?¡¯ Does he believe himself to be Progenitor Hui? Since ancient times, Progenitor Hui has remained unmatched when ites to lockbreaking, and none could match up to his expertise even during the Heavens Sect era. Gu Yan might be the greatest living Array Grandmaster, but he still falls far behind Progenitor Hui."

    Xia Xing said, "Let¡¯s just forget it. We can¡¯t force things if he refuses toe. As long as Yu Hao belongs to us, Grandmaster Gu Yan will never work against us, and that won¡¯t change."

    Xia Ziheng nodded. "The ceremony to worship the ancestors is fast approaching. Since Yu Hao is willing to join my Shenwu¡¯s Sky, there¡¯s no need to worry about that matter, but we do need to make sure to keep an eye on those three old monsters. I will handle that, and I¡¯ll have to trouble the sect master to prepare everything for the ceremony."

    "This is how things should be," Xia Xing replied. He watched as Xia Ziheng headed towards the valley that had been given to ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    Semi-Progenitors hadpletely surrounded the valley, and if word of the situation ever leaked, countless people would be amazed. Who could warrant such treatment? This was more than even the four Junior Progenitors had ever received.

    Lu Yin currently had four Semi-Progenitors standing guard outside his residence.

    Nong Siniang turned and fled when she stopped by to visit her professor.

    Eventually, the God of Food also stopped by, as he had grown worried that the four ruling powers would try to force ¡°Yu Hao¡± to make a decision, and the old man wanted to offer his assistance.

    Lu Yin preferred to keep to himself for these days, and he did not care to speak with his four guardians. The God of Food tried to visit ¡°Yu Hao,¡± but the four Semi-Progenitors refused to allow the man ess, afraid that the God of Food would share his bad opinion of the four ruling powers.

    The God of Food and four ruling powers had never seen eye to eye.

    Unfortunately, the God of Food had no recourse, and he could only remain outside the valley.

    Simply put, the valley had be one of the most secure locations in all of Shewu¡¯s Sky, second only to atop the imprisoned jiao.

    Lu Yin felt a bit flustered at being surrounded by five Semi-Progenitors, but fortunately, he had Progenitor Smoke to shield him from spying eyes, which allowed him to remain fully confident. ording to Progenitor Smoke, let alone five Semi-Progenitors, even fifty would be useless against her. Lu Yin quickly started ttering the woman and told her that she could deal with such small fries with the flick of her pinky.

    Outside of Lu Yin¡¯s valley, the rest of Shenwu¡¯s Sky was bustling and busy as everyone prepared for the ceremony to worship their ancestors. The students from Virtue Archives who were present to attend the ceremony were escorted around and hosted by some of the sect¡¯s cultivators, but Lu Yin remained isted inside his valley and did not step out even once.

    This pattern continued for ten days, after which it was time for him to roll his die again.

    Lu Yin took a few deep breaths. I have to get it! I have to get it! I have to get it!

    This thought kept repeating in his head as he reached out and tapped the die. He watched as it spun and slowly came to a stop.

    Six pips. Was he really that lucky?

    His consciousness instantly appeared in the mysterious dark space, and Lu Yin looked around. He immediately found a bright orb just to his right. All of the other balls of light were too dim to be worth anything, while this one light seemed perfectly suited for Lu Yin¡¯s current strength. Such a perfect match meant that this person had to be as strong as a peak Envoy.

    Lu Yin shot over and merged with the orb without a second thought. This orb was just about as bright as Qiu Ling, which represented the limit of what Lu Yin could safely handle during a Possession. This was a rare opportunity. There was no way that this would be a waste of resources.

    No peak Envoy was a nobody.

    There was one detail that left Lu Yin perpetually puzzled. He had greatly improved hisbat strength while in the Perennial World, even if his cultivation had not changed at all. His mastery of Inverse Step and several other battle techniques had risen dramatically, and he believed that, if he released his full power, he should be able to go up against a Semi-Progenitor.

    Even so, why was it so difficult for him to Possess a peak Envoy? It was a question that he had no answer to.

    His mind entered the target¡¯s body, and Lu Yin opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of an endless sea that had stars hanging in the sky above it. He saw stars in all directions, and inds in the sea, but everything was dark, as though night had fallen.

    Lightning fell from the sky and struck the surface of the sea with tremendous force. Fish soon floated up, only to be shattered by another bolt of lightning.

    As Lu Yin looked around, the memories started to flood in, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He had actually managed to Possess Hen Ye.

    Hen Ye was a powerhouse who had been a subordinate of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates in the ancient era. He followed Hen Xin and was the leader of Team Resolution. The man had awakened in the current era after being released from an ancient sourcebox. He was well known to have thebat strength of a peak Envoy.

    Every single member of Team Resolution had been personally selected by Hen Xin, and there were only nine of them. Each was someone with incredible perseverance who had reached their current level not with the support of a family or a sect, but rather through their own determination and willpower.

    The fact that Hen Ye had been able to rise up to be the leader of Team Resolution was enough to speak for the man¡¯s abilities.

    Not only was Hen Ye a peak Envoy, but he had also cultivated his domain to the void god realm, which meant that he could manipte and toy with the void.

    As memories continued to flood his mind, Lu Yin''s eyes lit up more and more. Hen Ye had indeed mastered the void god realm of a domain, which was exactly what Lu Yin needed at this moment, as he himself was only a single step away from this level.

    Lu Yin immediately started scanning the various memories for anything rted to training a domain.

    Given the distance between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, Possessing Hen Ye was going to be disturbingly expensive by the time Lu Yin finished, but such resources meant nothingpared to the value of the information on reaching the void god realm. Lu Yin did not even consider how much star essence he had to be burning through and instead focused entirely on Hen Ye¡¯s memories.

    Hen Ye¡¯s mastery of his domain far surpassed Mr. Tang¡¯s, and the memories that Lu Yin was receiving from the man essentially allowed him to incorporate the man¡¯s experience into his own.

    Lightning rained down from the sky as Hen Ye''s body floated above the surface of the sea, motionless.

    After a while, Lu Yin let out a breath and looked down at Hen Ye¡¯s hand. He casually waved, and the void was sliced apart without any effort. Hen Ye¡¯s body vanished, only to reappear in another location. This was the void god realm of a domain.

    Hen Ye''s understanding of a domainpletely surpassed Mr. Tang''s. In the end, Mr. Tang was dedicated to being a teacher.

    Also, Lu Yin had learned something else from Possessing Hen Ye: the void god realm was not the ultimate level of cultivating a domain, just as aurelian force was not the ultimate level of battle force. Above aurelian force was the strange purplish-ck substance that shrouded a person¡¯s body, while above the void god realm of a domain was the Wielder - Void.

    The Wielder - Void level of a domain was beyond Hen Ye¡¯s reach, and it was even beyond Hen Xin¡¯s abilities. In fact, even Gu Yizhi, who had once been the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind, had never reached that realm of mastery in his domain. It was a level of mastery that was considered a legend, and it was only known because Gu Yizhi had predicted the possibility of such a thing.

    Hen Ye had once heard Hen Xin mention that Gu Yizhi had imed that, when it came to time, space, or the void, training with any of them would lead to the same destination. This meant that cultivating a domain could eventually allow a person toprehend and control the power of time.

    Wielder - Void was something that Gu Yizhi had determined existed, but it remained only a theoretical possibility as it was too difficult to cultivate a domain to such a level. At least, that was Hen Ye¡¯s understanding from what he had learned from Hen Xin. It seemed that reaching the next level of a domain was so difficult that it was regarded as impossible.

    Even Gu Yizhi, the ancient Progenitor who had ruled over the Third Maind and been on the same level as the ancient Dao Monarch of the Lu family had only managed to reach the pinnacle with battle force, as he simply had not had the time to adequately research domains.

    Of course, this information was all based on Hen Xin¡¯s knowledge and understanding, and he had been frozen in the sourcebox for countless years, so the truth might be different from Hen Xin¡¯s understanding. It was possible that Gu Yizhi had indeed reached Wielder - Void with his domain after he had betrayed humanity and be Aeternus¡¯s Ancient God of the Seven Skygods. It was something that no one knew for sure.

    Through Hen Ye¡¯s memories, Lu Yin was able to see what Gu Yizhi had been like when he had been the Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, as well as many other Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors who had all been part of the Third Maind. Still, there were no memories of any other powerhouses from the other Mainds, as Hen Ye¡¯s status had been too low. If Lu Yin had Possessed Hen Xin, he would likely be able to gain such information.

    Of course, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest desire was to see memories of his Lu family¡¯s ancient Progenitors.

    As Lu Yin looked around again, he understood that he was in the Cosmic Sea. Hen Ye had been ordered to search through the Cosmic Sea for any remnants of Aeternus still present in the Fifth Maind.

    By relying on Progenitor Chen''s power, Lu Yin had managed to unite the entire Fifth Maind, reestablish the Heavens Sect, and be not only the sect¡¯s Dao Chosen, but also the true ruler of the Fifth Maind. Even Hen Xin and Jue Yi had essentially been banished to the Astral Beast Domain. There was no one in the Fifth Maind who dared to stand against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had arrived in the Perennial World with severalpanions, but as far as the vast majority of people knew, he was in seclusion studying the God of Death¡¯s left arm. Lu Buzheng had been giving orders on behalf of the Heavens Sect in Lu Yin¡¯s stead. Hen Ye was indeed the leader of Team Resolution, but even he could not disobey orders from the Heavens Sect.

    Hen Xin had already searched and found no traces of any remnants of the Aeternals in the Cosmic Sea, and Lu Yin had Possessed the man while he was returning to the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin had obtained many memories, and he believed that he had learned enough to reach the void god realm with his own domain.

    He was just about to end the possession when he suddenly realized something; was this not the region of the Cosmic Sea that belonged to the Soldier Crew?

    The Soldier Crew had been one of the four pirate crews of the Cosmic Sea for a very long time, but after the Ignition Crew and Longevity Brigade had been wiped out, Leon¡¯s Armada had started topletely dominate the Cosmic Sea.

    Lu Yin had been eyeing the Neoverse, and uniting the Cosmic Sea under Leon¡¯s Armada had been a necessary step towards reaching that goal. However, the arrival of the Perennial World¡¯s army had disrupted Lu Yin¡¯s ns, and then Aeternus had attacked. The true universe had been drained, and people from the Heavens Sect era had inexplicably appeared. So many different events had distracted Lu Yin, which had caused him topletely forget about the Soldier Crew.

    He was quite curious about how the Soldier Crew was doing.

    When Aeternus had used the mysterious droplets to drain the stellr energy from the true universe, the Fifth Maind had been split apart into different regions that had united to resist the Aeternals. The Soldier Crew had not gone to any of the rendezvous points, so they should have been wiped out by Aeternus. However, Lu Yin had not heard anything about them after returning to the present era.

    He looked in the direction of where the Soldier Crew was based, and Hen Ye¡¯s body disappeared. Lu Yin had already Possessed the man for a long time, and he was already past the point of trying to be careful about his expenditures.

    Using the void god realm of domain mastery to travel through the universe made Lu Yin feel like he had be a fish in water. It felt easy and natural. It waspletely effortless.

    Lu Yin almost instantly arrived at the border of the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory. It was a region that no one was allowed to enter.

    In the past, he had experienced a close encounter with the Soldier Crew while traveling with the Arcadian Arrow Crew. Lu Yin¡¯s impression of the members of the Soldier Crew were survivors who had lived through blood and fire. They had radiated a bloodlust that left others numb.

    If Lu Yin had not been upied by so many other matters, he would have definitely paid the Soldier Crew a call long ago.

    Hen Ye¡¯s Possessed body appeared in the sky above the region controlled by the Soldier Crew, and the man¡¯s domain was fully unleashed. It swept across the Cosmic Sea, and his eyes suddenly locked onto a specific direction. An ancient warship appeared before Hen Ye¡¯s eyes, and everyone on board appeared to be devoid of emotions. Their eyes were cold and indifferent, and all of them were staring straight at Hen Ye¡¯s body.

    Suddenly, all of the crew members raised their spears and smashed them down.

    Thousands of spears fell, but there was only a single sound. It was exactly the same as what Lu Yin had heard before when he had approached the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory. This was a threat to stay out.

    Unfortunately, such a threat was useless against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin controlled Hen Ye''s body, and it emerged from the void to step right on the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship. Before Lu Yin could get a single word out, all of the soldiers raised their spears again. In perfect unison, following some unspoken understanding, all of the spears stabbed forward.

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    "Kill!"

    ...

 Chapter 2282: Undead Warriors

    Chapter 2282: Undead Warriors

    The word ¡°kill¡± echoed across the Cosmic Sea. While there were clearly thousands of spears stabbing at him, Lu Yin only saw a single spear. There was a slight surge of power, and it raised the attack to nearly match that of a monster with a power level of about a million.

    Lu Yin understood how the Soldier Crew had been able to remain a dominant power in the Cosmic Sea and maintain their status as one of the four pirate crews. The power of this attack was enough to intimidate anyone in the entire Cosmic Sea, and even Highsage Leon would be overwhelmed by it.

    However, these people were facing Hen Ye, a peak Envoy, who had been Possessed by Lu Yin.

    The spear shot towards Hen Ye, but it failed to get close to the man. It was as though space had been stretched out to infinity. The spear would never be able to actually touch its target.

    The Soldier Crew thrust out with a second spear attack, and another power appeared from an unknown ce to reinforce the attack. To Lu Yin, it felt as though the second spear was falling towards him from the river of time, and it merged with the first attack that was already right in front of him. He heard words ring out in his ears. Death Soldier¡¯s Supreme Spear: Deathseeker.

    There was a bang as the void shattered, and Lu Yin''s expressionpletely changed. The spear held a familiar power, the power of a Progenitor.

    How was that possible? How could the Soldier Crew have the strength of a Progenitor, or rather, how could they borrow the power of a Progenitor? Who were these people really?

    Right as the Progenitor¡¯s strength was descending, Lu Yin felt the Possession ending. Hen Ye was a peak Envoy, which meant that, even with unlimited resources, Lu Yin would still be unable to maintain the Possession for too long. On top of that, he was feeling suppressed by a Progenitor¡¯s power.

    Before allowing the Possession to end, Lu Yin fell back as quickly as possible. He took three steps through the void and almost instantly returned to where Hen Ye had been standing when the Possession had started. At that same moment, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness passed back through the strange dark space and returned to his own body.

    His eyes snapped open, and he let out a breath. The Soldier Crew¡¯s second spear had been strengthened by the power of a Progenitor that hade from the river of time. Who did that power belong to? Why had they allowed the Soldier Crew to use it? If the Soldier Crew was able to use the strength of a Progenitor, then why had they remained in their little corner of the Cosmic Sea and not moved out?

    Clearly, the Soldier Crew was powerful enough to sweep away all the other powers in the Cosmic Sea, and the power of a Progenitor was enough to intimidate even the Neoverse powers. Despite that, the Soldier Crew had never once taken a single step out of their chosen territory.

    Was the Soldier Crew guarding something?

    Lu Yin carefully went back over everything that he had just seen on the Soldier Crew¡¯s warship. From his own memories, he seemed to have seen someone who might or might not have been part of the Soldier Crew. It was a person with a particrly long nose. Had he really seen Hua Wu?

    It seemed that the Soldier Crew was continuously recruiting new members. Highsage Leon had once told Lu Yin that No. 0007, who participated in ZENITH, had been a fresh recruit from the Soldier Crew. Given the fact that they were recruiting new members, it was not overly surprising to learn that Hua Wu had joined them.

    Hua Wu had inherited the Man of My Word secret technique that caused anyone who spoke to him to believe what they heard. It was not impossible for him to have joined the Soldier Crew.

    Still, Hua Wu¡¯s personality did not match the Soldier Crew¡¯s at all.

    Strange thoughts ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he rolled his die again.

    The second roll failed to show six pips, and Lu Yin instead saw three. However, the sight of the two screens of light suddenly reminded Lu Yin that he had not checked how much of his funds he had just burned through.

    Suddenly feeling incredibly nervous, he checked his cosmic ring.

    Horrified to the point of spitting out blood would not be enough to describe Lu Yin''s feelings at the moment. There was absolutely no star essence whatsoever in his cosmic ring. He immediately understood why the Possession had ended abruptly. It had not been because he had no longer been able to handle the Possession, but rather because he had run out of star essence to power it.

    146 billion. A full 146 billion star essence had been consumed in an instant. Lu Yin really felt as though he was about to cough up blood.

    He took a while to reign in his breathing, and after a moment of thinking, he realized that the cost actually made perfect sense. He had burned through more than 100 billion star essence when Possessing Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and while Lu Yin had Possessed Hen Ye instead of Grandmaster Qiu Ling, he had moved around and taken action, and he had also Possessed someone all the way in the Fifth Maind. Given such a tremendous distance, as well as the time that he had spent in the Possession, this expenditure was perfectly reasonable.

    Still, even if it was reasonable, Lu Yin could not ept his current situation. He could not feel secure at all when he had no money.

    He had no idea what other people felt when they were broke, but Lu Yin did know that having no funds always left him extremely uneasy. It was as if all of his secrets had been made public.

    No, I have to find some money. I need to!

    Lu Yin¡¯s status in the Perennial World meant that he could easily acquire more money, but he could not easily acquirerge amounts of wealth. His die necessitated the use of tens of billions of star essence each time. This expenditure was something that not even the four ruling powers could keep up with.

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky had promised to provide Yu Hao with resources, but if he requested too much in one go, then he would make himself a suspect in the disappearance of the star essence from the Junior Progenitors, which would expose him. The risks outweighed the gains.

    Lu Yin needed to find a way to gain funds, but in secret. Actually, did Xia Taili know how Shenwu¡¯s Sky gathered and stored their wealth?

    Lu Yin spent a long time considering his situation, and while he felt that it might be possible to learn the location of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s treasury, the knowledge would gain him nothing. There was no chance that Progenitor Smoke would be willing to take Lu Yin to such a ce.

    It was not unexpected that Progenitor Smoke would help Lu Yin with matters like entering the Cloudforest Tower, disguising Liu Shaoge as Yu Hao, or helping Lu Yin to catch up to the paper ship. However, she would never agree to help Lu Yin steal resources.

    Lu Yin struggled internally for a long time, but he eventually decided to go speak to Xia Taili to learn where Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s treasury was located.

    He knew that it would be pointless to try and fool Xia Taili, as there was no way to conceal his intentions when it came to such a question, so Lu Yin decided to be direct.

    Xia Taili stared at Lu Yin with big eyes. "You want to know where my family stores our resources?"

    "No, I want to know about Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s treasury," Lu Yin pointedly corrected the girl. She acted like he was asking about her own, personal wealth, but had clearly misheard what Lu Yin knew he had asked.

    Xia Taili looked Lu Yin up and down. "You¡¯re too shameless."

    The side of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. "Don''t be ridiculous. I just asked about Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s treasury, not your Xia family¡¯s."

    "I heard that Lu Xiaoxuan of the past was an open-minded and righteous individual who fought against any injustices he found. He saved many people and took down many evil people, so why don¡¯t you exhibit any of those qualities at all?" Xia Taili asked in an odd tone that revealed her contempt for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. If he had the same personality as Lu Xiaoxuan, he would have never been able to make use of his innate gift that was the die. Lu Yin likely would not have even managed to be a Hunter even after so much time!

    "Shenwu''s Sky''s treasury is incredibly well protected. Just tell me, and when I go check it out, maybe I¡¯ll get caught? Who knows, they might even end up finding a way to save you," Lu Yin tempted.

    Xia Taili wanted to argue, but she quickly realized that Lu Yin was quite urate with what he was saying. It all came down to a matter of who was stronger between Shenwu''s Sky and Lu Yin, and between the two, Xia Taili was fully confident in Shenwu''s Sky.

    Of course, Xia Xing also had to know the location of Shenwu''s Sky''s treasury, but while Lu Yin had some level of control over Xia Xing, their rtionship was more of mutual benefit, as the clone that Lu Yin had interacted with had wanted to be the main body and the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky. There was no way that Xia Xing would do anything to truly harm Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    If it were not for the fact that Lu Yin was controlling the man with a Death Seal, he was absolutely certain that Xia Xing would have exposed Yu Hao as Lu Yin the moment the clone had merged with the main body. After all, Xia Xing was still Xia Xing, and unless Shenwu¡¯s Sky wanted to change sect masters, they would simply have to ept that a clone had reced the main body.

    The only reason why Xia Xing had not taken action against Lu Yin was because of the threat of the Death Seal, but that did not mean that Xia Xing was actually willing to help Lu Yin. That was impossible, and it meant that there were certain things that Lu Yin had to take care of on his own.

    "Shenwu''s Sky has a massive treasury, but if I tell you, I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll be too intimidated to go there," Xia Taili tried to provoke Lu Yin, but his eyes just lit up.

    "Where is it?"

    A smile appeared on Xia Taili''s face as she shared the location.

    ...

    "The Perennial World is ruled by four powers to uphold bnce and act as a foundation to support and uphold the Higher Realm. Today, Xia Xing, the current patriarch of the Xia family, honors the ancestors¡­"

    Shenwu''s Sky was filled with mountains that were covered with rugged roads. Countless people filled those paths and stared at Xia Xing as he stood in front of the broken saber and recited the ancient texts that were used for Xia family¡¯s traditional ceremony.

    Different families used different times and ceremonies to honor their ancestors on specific days. As for the Xia family, they celebrated on the anniversary of the day that the broken saber had appeared.

    The broken saber was a relic from Progenitor Xia Chan, one of the Xia family¡¯s ancestors. Due to how long it had been, no one knew where the broken saber had originallye from. Who had broken Xia Chan''s saber? Ever since the saber had first appeared, it had already symbolized the Xia family''s memory of Progenitor Xia Chan.

    The Xia family conducted the ceremony to honor their ancestors once every ten years, but those ceremonies were not particrly important or grand. It was only the ceremony that took ce every 10,000 years that was given extra weight. When the Lu family had still been around, their current patriarch would always attend the Xia family¡¯s grand ceremony, and even Progenitors would take note of the event, which gave the Xia family a tremendous amount of face.

    "Theirst grand ceremony 10,000 years ago was attended by the Lu family¡¯s patriarch, as well as one of their Progenitors. Even Senior Lu Tianyi watched, and all of the Xia family¡¯s Progenitors attended. It was a truly grand event, but unfortunately, the Xia family had no outstanding geniuses back then." the God of Food¡¯s voice entered Lu Yin''s ear.

    "Were you also present back then, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    The God of Food shook his head. "I wasn¡¯t, though I¡¯ve been told that each of the grand ceremonies that¡¯s held every 10,000 years is attended by Progenitors. Also, part of the ceremony is for the Progenitors to observe the family members participating in the Saber Ritual."

    Saber Ritual? Lu Yin looked over at Xia Xing. He had a faint idea of the matter, but nothing specific as he had only glimpsed at one of Long Ke¡¯s memories regarding it.

    Nearby, Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao, Semi-Progenitor Chai, Mr. Yu, and the other powerhouses had gathered, and there were members of Shenwu''s Sky quite literally everywhere.

    Xia Shenguang was also just a short ways away.

    After Xia Xing finished reciting the ceremony¡¯s texts, the members of the Xia family started to step out and approach the patriarch.

    At the front was Xia Shenfei, and behind him were several middle-aged men. They were their powerhouses from the previous generation or direct descendants of the Xia family¡¯s main line. Some were even geniuses from the Shen generation. Everyone at the front of the procession was a direct descendant, as was Xia Xing, who was still reciting.

    Xia Shenguang also stepped out. He was also a direct descendant, though his status could note close toparing to Xia Shenfei¡¯s.

    One by one, every member of the Xia family stepped out. Lu Yin was surprised to see just how many direct descendants there were, as well as the overwhelming numbers of members of the branch families.

    At this moment, some people were led out from the other direction, and Xia Zhitong was at the front.

    Xia Zhitong had already started to look like an old woman. Her face was haggard, and shecked all of her previous energy and beauty. There was an indifferent expression on her face, and her eyes looked dead. She seemed numb to everything, as she was led forward like a puppet. There were several people behind her, some of whom Lu Yin had even seen before In the Yu family¡¯s mansion. One of them had been a guard at the gate.

    There were others whom Lu Yin had never seen before, but they were all people who had been brought out to serve as the Xia family¡¯spensation to Yu Hao. It was unknown if all of the people were guilty of assisting the Yu family¡¯s downfall or not, but they were being treated as such.

    There were a total of twelve people, just as Xia Ziheng had stated.

 Chapter 2283: Drawing The Saber

    Chapter 2283: Drawing The Saber

    The broken saber was stabbed deep into the ground, pinning the chained jiao to the earth. Even if the de did not release any pressure, it was still a terrifying sight to behold.

    The members of the Xia family stepped out from beneath the jiao, making their way towards Xia Xing while maintaining arrogant expressions on their faces. It was nearly time for them to worship their ancestors.

    A short ways away, Xia Zhitong and the other eleven people were forced to kneel on the ground. They were being treated as criminals, and they would receive judgment after the ceremony.

    At this moment, Xia Xing nced over at Lu Yin and nodded.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and stepped forward. The Xia family was offering Yu Haopensation for what he had suffered, and it was time for Lu Yin to step out and ept it.

    Wu Yao¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± The Semi-Progenitor was feeling a bit uneasy. This man had already pledged to Progenitor Bai that he would join the Celestial Frost Sect, yet he was still participating in the Xia family''s ceremony to worship their ancestors, and he was even doing so in front of everyone. Nothing had been discussed with Wu Yao, but what could he even say at this moment?

    Semi-Progenitor Chai frowned when he saw ¡°Yu Hao¡± step forward to participate in the Xia family''s ceremony. Was this because Yu Hao was still considered the Xia family¡¯s son-inw, or was he publicly stating his decision?

    As far as outsiders were concerned, the Xia family¡¯s ceremony was not very important. They were far more concerned with what happened with Yu Hao.

    "Professor!" Nong Siniang could not remain silent. She had been speaking with her own family in recent days, and the Nong family was desperate to stop Yu Hao from joining any of the four ruling powers, but they had no idea how to go about aplishing such a thing.

    Lu Yin looked over and gave Nong Siniang a smile, and he also nced at the God of Food. Mr. Tang, Prof. Wei, and Virtue Archives¡¯ students were all there as well. "I¡¯ll be back soon."

    He then briefly nced at Wu Yao before continuing on towards Xia Xing.

    Although Wu Yao¡¯s and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had met, the old man had not been able to understand what ¡°Yu Hao¡± was trying tomunicate. Still, a nce at such a critical time could be regarded as an attempt to exin things, and it greatly reassured Wu Yao.

    However, both Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu had also noticed the exchange, and the two looked at each other right before looking at Wu Yao. What was going on between Wu Yao and Yu Hao? He had only looked at Wu Yao, so had he already joined the Celestial Frost Sect, or was there something else?

    No one could understand what ¡°Yu Hao¡± was doing, including even Xia Xing, who was cooperating with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin slowly walked towards Xia Xing. As an outsider who could only be considered the Xia family¡¯s son-inw as he had married a member of a branch family, Yu Hao was not qualified to proceed very far. By all rights, he should remain behind all the members of the Xia family¡¯s branch families who were qualified to attend the ceremony, which should ce him behind thousands of people.

    However, Yu Hao continued on, and he walked past every single person present. He even passed Xia Shenguang, showing no sign of slowing down.

    Xia Shenguang¡¯s brow furrowed, as he was not at all happy with this development, but other than the slight change in his expression, he refrained from disying his dissatisfaction.

    In the past, Yu Hao would have beenpletely unqualified to do this, but at present, the situation was very, very different to before. Yu Hao had a status in Shenwu''s Sky that was no worse than Xia Shenfei¡¯s.

    Lu Yin did not stop walking until he stood next to Xia Shenfei. He did not step past Xia Shenfei, but he also made sure that he was not even slightly behind the man.

    Xia Shenfei looked over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± He had not had anything to drink for the day, so he was quite alert and aware. "Congrattions on passing the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. It¡¯s possible our ancestor will ept you as his disciple."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I can only hope."

    "Do you want to be sworn brothers?" Xia Shenfei suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin caught off guard. "You¡¯re asking about that again?"

    "It''s just a pity we didn''t formalize things back then," Xia Shenfei replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Alright. When?"

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes glinted with a cold light. "Right now. We¡¯ll use your blood and mine to establish a bond of sworn brothers. From now on, we¡¯ll live and die together and be united in all things."

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched as he stared at Xia Shenfei. The young man stared straight back at ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    What Xia Shenfei was suggesting was not the normal manner in which two men would be sworn brothers, as it was instead a ceremony that would use the blood of both participants. However, Lu Yin possessed the blood of the Lu family.

    Each family¡¯s bloodline possessed its own unique characteristics. For example, the Xia family¡¯s blood could allow a person to obtain the battle techniques of the Xia family. Xia Xing had told Lu Yin that Progenitor Chen had most likely obtained the Nine Clones Secret Technique in that manner. The Xia family possessed a powerful bloodline, but the Lu family¡¯s blood was far stronger.

    If the two men performed the ceremony to bind themselves together with their blood, Lu Yin would be instantly exposed when the Lu family''s blood suppressed the Xia family''s blood. Even an idiot would understand that the Yu family''s blood could neverpare to the Xia family''s. The Yu family possessed perfectlymon blood.

    The only bloodline in the universe that could unterally suppress the Xia family¡¯s blood belonged to the Lu family.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the Xia family was very familiar with the Lu family''s blood.

    Xia Shenfei was testing ¡°Yu Hao¡± yet again. It was the final test before the offering would be given to the ancestors.

    "Alright," Lu Yin agreed.

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes flickered. He had always been suspicious of Yu Hao. The Semi-Progenitors had verified that Yu Hao was not using any sort of disguise, and Yu Hao was confirmed to be aware of the previous exchange between Xia Shenfei and Yu Hao, but Xia Shenfei still questioned the possibility that the Yu Hao in front of him was an impostor. No matter what, Yu Hao had risen too quickly and shown too much progress since he had reappeared. It all seemed impossible.

    After all of that, Yu Hao had even passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial.

    One coincidence could truly be a coincidence, but ten became something else.

    Xia Shenfei enjoyed drinking, but his mind actually worked better when he was drunk. In some ways, things became clearer to him when he was drunk.

    Xia Shenfei had been able to see through Wu Taibai''s thoughts, which was why he had almost killed Wu Taibai. On the other hand, Xia Shenfei could not see through Yu Hao, which made no sense at all.

    No matter how drastically a person might change, there were certain limitations that could not be broken, but Yu Hao had be a dragon carousing in the sky high above, surpassing all of his peers. The transformation was too extreme for Xia Shenfei to ept.

    "Shenfei, this ceremony is for our ancestors. Even if you wish to perform your own ceremony, you¡¯ll need to wait until after we finish paying our respects to the ancestors." Xia Xing immediately stopped the two young men. The sect master was aware of Lu Yin''s true identity, and if the blood pact were made, Lu Yin would instantly be exposed, which would not be good at all.

    Xia Shenfei replied, "Father, our ceremony has already been altered to include the punishment of several people, so including our pact should only enhance the ceremony. Why would we not want to make today as grand as possible?"

    "Don¡¯t be absurd. We can discuss your blood pact after the ceremony is finished. Even disregarding the fact that our ancestor may ept Yu Hao as a disciple, the two of you are from different generations. We¡¯ll speak of this matterter," Xia Xing firmly dered.

    Xia Shenfei gave Xia Xing an odd look. There was no logical reason to deny the blood pact during the ceremony, so why had Xia Xing refused Xia Shenfei¡¯s request twice in a row?

    Xia Ziheng was feeling rather surprised. "Sect master-"

    Xia Xing cut the Semi-Progenitor off with a raised hand. "Nothing is as important as this ceremony to honor our ancestors. Everything else can be discussedter."

    He then looked over at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "Yu Hao, just stand to the side and watch during the ceremony and the Saber Ritual. You will be allowed to settle your affairs after the Saber Ritual."

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "As you say, Sect Master."

    He let out an internal sigh of relief. Fortunately, Xia Xing was helping, as he would have otherwise already been exposed during this ceremony.

    Did Lu Yin have some sort of innate bad luck with ceremonies that honored the ancestors? Or was it possible that the ancestors were actually keeping an eye on their descendants?

    Lu Yin had been initially exposed during the ceremony to honor the White Dragon n¡¯s ancestors, and he had almost been exposed during the Xia family¡¯s ceremony just now as well. He decided that it would likely be best to avoid simr ceremonies in the future.

    The Xia family held their ceremony every ten years because of the Saber Ritual. It was a tradition that had continued for countless years.

    The so-called ¡°Saber Ritual¡± referred to members of the Xia family attempting to draw out Progenitor Xia Chan¡¯s broken saber. The Xia family believed that, as long as one of them could draw the broken saber, they would be acknowledged by their ancestor, and the test was regarded as a demonstration of the talent and potential of the family members.

    From ancient times to the present, only one member of the Xia family had ever managed to draw the broken saber: Xia Shenji, a genius who had lived during the Daosource Sect era at the same time as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. While Xia Shenji himself had never inherited a Mountain and Sea, he had still been the only person to have drawn the saber throughout the countless years, and he had also captured and imprisoned the jiao.

    Despite never inheriting a Mountain and Sea, the Xia family had always regarded Xia Shenji as someone on the same level as the masters of the Mountains and Seas.

    The broken saber carried the faith of the entire Xia family.

    Lu Yin stood where he was, and Xia Shenfei did the same. Neither of the two moved while the rest of the Xia family¡¯s youths started making their way towards the broken saber, including even Xia Shenguang.

    "Brother Xia, you don''t want to try?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Shenfeiughed. "I''ve already tried many times before. If I could draw the saber, I would have done so on my first attempt. Since I wasn¡¯t able to do it before, I still won¡¯t."

    Lu Yin stared at the massive form of the broken saber. It wasrge enough that it towered high into the sky. One by one, the descendants of the Xia family climbed atop the saber and approached the hilt. They each grabbed hold with both hands and tried to draw the de, but no matter what happened, the saber seemed as immovable as the Mother Tree itself. Lu Yin could not understand how Progenitor Xia Shenji had drawn the saber all those years before.

    "Back when I first tried to draw the saber, I knew that it was impossible for me the moment I first touched the hilt¡ªthe de simply didn''t recognize me." Xia Shenfei took out a gourd filled with wine and started to drink. It did not take long for his eyes to regain a haziness.

    Lu Yin asked, "Is there something hidden to the saber?"

    "Yes. Anyone who touches that de¡¯s hilt will experience the same feeling.

    ¡°How should I describe it? Could an ordinary human move a mountain or fill a sea? It''s that sort of impossibility that I felt, but even stronger. After all, given enough time, a man might be able to move a mountain or fill a sea, but even if I be a Progenitor, I know that I would never be able to draw the saber. That was the feeling that I experienced," Xia Shenfei exined in a rather emotional voice.

    They watched as the Xia family¡¯s various descendants stepped forward one at a time and tried to draw the de. Both hope and nervousness could be seen in many eyes, but they all left disappointed. However, no one appeared overly disappointed. They all already knew that sess was impossible. How many people had been born into the Xia family throughout the endless years? Despite that, every single person, from both the direct line and the branch families, had failed to draw the saber even after countless years. A terrifying number of people had tried and failed.

    Xia Shenguang went up, also trying, but he refused to ept his failure.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had their Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and any who passed the trial was practically guaranteed to eventually be a Progenitor. As for the Xia family, they had their Saber Ritual. Any who drew the de would be awarded the Xia family''s entire resources.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt curious as to whether or not Progenitor Chen had tried to draw the saber. He wanted to ask, but he did not dare to actually voice the question. There was a good chance that raising the topic would offend the Xia family, especially during their ceremony. It would be seen as a p in the face.

    Xia Shenguang failed, and he returned with clear disappointment on his face. He was the greatest genius of his generation in the Xia family, but he had still failed. He had wanted to surpass the four Junior Progenitors and Xia Shenfei. Just the thought of his goals caused Xia Shenguang to look over at Xia Shenfei, but Xia Shenfei had not paid any attention to Xia Shenguang the entire time. He had been focused entirely on his conversation with ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    "Just now, do you really want to be my sworn brother like you said?" Xia Shenfei asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course. You were given the title of Junior Progenitor, and after your trip to the Dominion Realm, you¡¯ve be universally famous. Having such a talented and famous sworn brother will only increase my chances of eventually bing a Progenitor. Who can promise that nothing will happen to me in the future? I might havepleted the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, but so did eight others before me. Not all of them were able to be a Progenitor."

    Xia Shenfei took another sip of his wine. "I also genuinely want to be your sworn brother. Just having you present for the pact is good enough. I¡¯lle find you after this ceremony finishes."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ll be waiting."

    Every member of the Xia family who tried to draw the saber failed.

    Among the guests from Virtue Archives, Bai Weiwei and the other students were not even watching the Saber Ritual. All of them were staring at Prof. Hao Yu. Besides, everyone knew that it was impossible for anyone to draw the saber.

    There was actually a legend that had long since circted around the Perennial World that imed that Xia Shenji had never truly drawn the broken saber at all. Supposedly, back then, the saber had not been thrust into the ground, but had instead simplyid on the ground. It was said that Xia Shenji had borrowed the power of the saber to defeat the jiao and then stabbed the saber into the ground. After that, even he himself had been unable to ever draw the saber again.

    Of course, this was just a legend, and it could be wildly inurate. The Xia family¡¯s history served as proof that the broken saber had always been stabbed in the ground. They also said that the saber could no longer be drawn due to how it was holding the jiao in ce. ording to some people, if not for the jiao, anyone would be able to draw the de.

 Chapter 2284: Please Draw The Saber

    Chapter 2284: Please Draw The Saber

    Not only did youths and younger people try to draw the saber, but some elders also tried. Age meant nothing, and some people tried every single chance they received until their deaths, as they did not want to ever stop trying.

    Many people watching mocked the elders who participated in the Saber Ritual, as even if they seeded, they would still be old. However, there were some people who would try anything, and some even believed the Xia family might be hiding some deep secret.

    Also, the Xia family had powerful Progenitors, and it was not impossible for a Progenitor to have the ability to rewind time and restore youth to the elderly. Still, it was all pure fantasy for those who tried to draw the saber.

    The students from Virtue Archives were visiting Shenwu''s Sky as part of an exchange program, and the timing coincided with the Xia family¡¯s ceremony to worship their ancestors and the Saber Ritual, which could be considered lucky for the students. Unfortunately, while they had been eagerly anticipating observing the Saber Ritual after learning of it, they had since learned that it was impossible, and they now felt that it had been a waste of time.

    Lu Yin continued his conversation with Xia Shenfei, but all of a sudden, silence fell upon the entire area. Everyone was staring at the broken saber with strange expressions.

    Even Xia Shenfei was staring at the de in shock.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw that Xia Xing was also participating in the Saber Ritual. He wanted to try to draw the de?

    "The sect master actually wants to try to draw the saber? This is very unusual for the sect master." The members of the Xia family all started gossiping about Xia Xing¡¯s actions.

    "Every sect master is a genius who ranks at the top of their generation from birth until they be the sect master. Over the years, they¡¯ll start as the top youth, and then they¡¯ll be one of the elders before eventually bing the sect master. During those various periods, they¡¯ll have had numerous chances to participate in the Saber Ritual, and Xia Xing hasn¡¯t participated after bing the sect master. I didn¡¯t expect to see him step up today."

    "If the sect master fails, it will damage his reputation."

    ¡­

    No one from the Xia family understood why Xia Xing was eager to participate in the Saber Ritual, not even Xia Shenfei. The only person who understood the sect master¡¯s thoughts at this moment was Lu Yin.

    The Xia Xing who had stepped out was not the Xia Xing from the past, but rather a clone who had reced the main body. He had done so with the help of Progenitor Chen''s blood, which meant that, technically, Xia Xing was no longer only himself, but also¡ªin part¡ªProgenitor Chen.

    Instead of saying that Xia Xing was attempting to draw the saber, it would be better to view it as Progenitor Chen making the attempt.

    Did Xia Xing¡¯s actions mean that Progenitor Chen had never drawn the broken saber? Or was there another possibility?

    As Lu Yin tried to analyze the situation, Xia Xing had already arrived at the saber¡¯s hilt, eagerness filling his eyes. Xia Xing¡¯s previous main body had long since abandoned any hope of drawing the saber, but the new main body possessed a trace of Progenitor Chen''s blood, and Progenitor Chen had been recognized as the most talented individual from the Xia family throughout its entire history. His talent was likely no worse than Progenitor Xia Chan. Progenitor Chen had been invincible across the universe, and he had even inherited two Mountains and one Sea. If one were to guess which Xia family member was the most likely to draw the saber, then no name would be considered before Progenitor Chen¡¯s. Could he draw the saber?

    As Xia Xing¡¯s mind raced, his eyes went wide. He reached down and set his hands upon the saber¡¯s hilt, and instantly, an invisible ripple swept through Shenwu''s Sky and far into the distance.

    This ripple was not an attack, nor was it any sort of power like stellr energy, but was instead an invisible wave. It was an indescribable aura, or even¡­ a voice.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted as he realized that the broken saber had released a sound.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as everyone else had felt it as well. The broken saber shifted, and as it did so, the imprisoned jiao high overhead opened its eyes and slowly looked down to stare at Xia Xing. A terrible mental pressure fell upon everyone and shook all of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Xia Shenfei, Xia Ziheng, and everyone else had their mouths fall open. Had Xia Xing really just moved the de?

    The God of Food, Semi-Progenitor Chai, Wu Yao, and all of the other powerhouses present were equally stunned. At this moment, everyone present within Shenwu''s Sky was staring at the broken saber in a daze. That de, which had not moved in countless years, had actually just shifted.

    Xia Ziheng was the first to react. "Sect Master, draw the saber."

    "Father, draw the saber!" Xia Shenfei shouted.

    As soon as the silence was shattered, the rest of the members of Shenwu¡¯s Sky started shouting as well, and the echoes all ovepped and converged into a single whole that swept towards Xia Xing. "Sect Master, draw the saber."

    "Sect Master, draw the saber."

    "Sect Master, draw the saber."

    ¡­

    The entirety of Shenwu''s Sky gathered to produce a tremendous momentum. They acted as a single body, and a shout that seemed toe from a giant rattled the earth, urging Xia Xing to draw the broken saber.

    The trapped jiao''s head hung down so that the beast could stare at Xia Xing. Its massive eyes seemed to rece the sky itself as it released a zing breath, but it was instantly smothered before it could destroy Xia Xing. Even the jiao wished for someone to draw the broken saber, as it felt that such a thing would free it.

    Everyone was staring at Xia Xing. He was the first person from Shenwu''s Sky who had managed to trigger any response from the broken de in countless years. This was the first human to gain the attention of the jiao.

    Standing next to the saber¡¯s hilt, Xia Xing gathered himself up and grabbed hold of the handle once again. He let out a loud roar as he pulled. His blood surged, his face flushed red, and his veins bulged across his entire body as he used his full power to pull on the saber.

    Everyone held their breath. Even Bai Weiwei and the other students from Virtue Archives stared on in a daze. First, they had witnessed someoneplete the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and at this moment, someone was drawing the broken saber of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Just what was happening in their era?

    At this moment, Lu Yin was feeling extremely nervous. What would happen if Xia Xing managed to pull out the broken saber? Would it draw Xia Shenji¡¯s attention? Would he see the Death Seal within the sect master¡¯s body and remove the restriction that Lu Yin had ced on the man? That would eliminate Lu Yin¡¯s control of the sect master, and given the man¡¯s status, the fact that he was a clone who had usurped the main body would not matter even if it was exposed. The main body did not really matter, just like how Xia Ji had allowed Xia Luo to rece Xia Jiuyou.

    All that mattered was that both the clone and the main body were members of the Xia family.

    Unrestrained, Xia Xing would instantly expose Lu Yin.

    At this moment, the entire Xia family hoped to see Xia Xing draw the broken saber, as that would lead the Xia family to even greater glory. Lu Yin was the person most desperate to see Xia Xing fail, as not even Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors could match Lu Yin¡¯s feelings at this moment.

    Instantly, countless thoughts shed through the minds of everyone present. However, everyst one of them, no matter if they prayed for Xia Xing¡¯s sess or failure, could do a single thing at this moment other than watch and wait.

    The moment was brief, but it felt like forever.

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky remained utterly silent, but the saber did not move a second time.

    Xia Ziheng and the others stepped forward and stared at the broken de. Had it moved? No.

    They turned to look at Xia Xing, and they all saw the disappointment and frustration on the man¡¯s face. He had failed.

    Xia Shenfei clenched his fists. "Father?"

    Still standing next to the broken saber¡¯s hilt, Xia Xing looked over at Lu Yin for the first time. The only chance he had to sessfully draw the saber was Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. He had only absorbed a small bit of the blood, but Lu Yin should still have more of it. If Xia Xing could rece all of his blood with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, then it would essentially make him the second Progenitor Chen. Then, he would definitely be able to draw the broken saber.

    As he thought of this, all of Xia Xing¡¯s disappointment and frustration disappeared, and he immediately cheered up. He looked down at everyone who was in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, including the gathered Semi-Progenitors. Everyone was staring up at him. The sect master lifted his head. "I¡¯ve exhausted myself too much today. We will end the Saber Ritual here for now. I will try again soon."

    Everyone in Shenwu''s Sky stared at the man, stunned. The sect master had announced that he would try again, and since he had managed to shift the de once, he would definitely be able to draw the saber the second time.

    The disappointment that had ovee Xia Ziheng after seeing Xia Xing¡¯s failure blossomed into new hope. "Sect Master, you will definitely be able to draw the broken saber."

    Xia Shenfei also cheered up, and he set aside his gourd of wine. "I also believe that my father will definitely be able to draw the broken saber."

    Xia Xing nodded, and then tore his eyes away from Lu Yin while smiling. He forced himself to look at Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors. He would be able to draw the broken saber, which meant that the powerhouses from the other forces all had to be panicking. It had be clear to all that Xia Xing would eventually be able to fully draw the broken saber, which would draw the attention of the Xia family¡¯s Progenitor. That would also provide Xia Xing with the greatest chance of bing a Progenitor himself. He dreamed of seeding where the main body that he had reced had failed.

    Lu Yin felt a wave of relief, but said, "This time may be a pity, but the sect master will definitely seed next time."

    Xia Shenfei spoke up, "Father will draw the broken saber while you, Yu Hao, have already passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. It¡¯s time for our Shenwu Sky to rise up as well."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, it''s time for Shenwu¡¯s Sky to rise up and surpass the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Xia Shenfei went stiff for a moment, and he reflexively nced over towards Wu Yao and the other Semi-Progenitors. The greatest obstacle within the Celestial Frost Sect was not Bai Wangyuan, but Bai Xian''er. That woman was so cunning that she had even sessfully plotted against the Lu family. In order to surpass the Celestial Frost Sect, they needed to first find a way to deal with Bai Xian''er. Unfortunately, there was too great a gap between them, which meant that Xia Shenfei was not qualified to even try to handle Bai Xian''er.

    Additionally, as soon as the four ruling powers started fighting each other, the rear battlefield would be lost.

    What a hassle!

    While Xia Xing had indeed failed to draw the broken saber, he appeared fully confident. Everyone, both those from Shenwu¡¯s Sky and all of their guests, fully believed that the sect master would seed in fully drawing the de during his next attempt, and this belief transformed Xia Xing''s status in everyone''s eyes.

    In the past, he had simply been the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky and the current generation¡¯s patriarch of the Xia family. At the moment, he was suddenly regarded as a future Progenitor.

    Since ancient times, even for groups like the four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, and even the Lu family, which had ruled supreme over all, the possibility of one of their patriarchs bing a Progenitor was vanishingly small. It was not so much that patriarchs had a lower chance of bing a Progenitor than other people, but rather that the chances of anyone bing a Progenitor were already minuscule. On top of that, the patriarchs were tasked with overseeing the administration of their family. People subconsciously abandoned hope of bing a Progenitor when they epted the role of a family¡¯s patriarch.

    However, Xia Xing had broken this standard. As soon as he sessfully drew the broken saber, Shenwu''s Sky would do their best to raise him up to be a Progenitor.

    "Congrattions, Father," Xia Shenfei called out to congratte the sect master when he saw the older man approaching.

    Xia Xing felt quite content at this moment. He had be ustomed to overseeing and managing the affairs of Shenwu''s Sky at all times when he had merely been another clone, but he had just shown himself to be able to draw the broken saber. The manner in which all of Shenwu''s Sky viewed the sect master had changed, especially Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor no longer looked down upon the sect master.

    "How was your chat with Yu Hao?" Xia Xing asked.

    Xia Shenfei answered in a respectful tone, "After the sacrifices have been offered to our ancestors, your child will swear an oath andplete a blood pact with Yu Hao to be sworn brothers who will live and die together."

    Xia Xing nced at Lu Yin and then started scolding his son, "Nonsense! Yu Hao is here to participate in the ceremony to honor our ancestors. You two are from different generations¡ªthere¡¯s no need for you two to be sworn brothers."

    While Xia Xing had declined Xua Shenfei¡¯s request before the Saber Ritual had started, the stance taken was not as vehement as it had be. Xia Shenfei was a bit stunned at his father¡¯s adamant position, but he did not dare to talk back.

    Lu Yin and Xia Xing nced at each other. Xia Xing''s eyes were incredibly admiring at this moment, as Lu Yin would be the one to determine whether Xia Xing would be able to sessfully draw the saber. It was a given that Xia Xing would do his absolute best to help Lu Yin remain hidden.

    Lu Yin was lucky that he had reced Xia Xing¡¯s main body with the captured clone when he had. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have never been able to avoid being exposed by Xia Shenfei.

    "Yu Hao, I''ll leave this next matter to you. You can deal with those people however you wish," Xia Xing told Lu Yin while pointing over at Xia Zhitong and the other eleven people.

    As soon as the sect master had spoken, everyone¡¯s attention was diverted to a certain corner. Some people felt sympathy, others regret, and still others were upset. Regardless, no one expressed any negative reactions.

    Xia Ziheng waved a hand, and Yu Chuan was led out from another direction.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw the old man, he excitedly moved towards him. "Old man!"

    Yu Chuan stared back at Lu Yin and reacted with equal excitement, "Little Hao!"

    Lu Yin grabbed Yu Chuan¡¯s arm to help the old man along, and then pointed to a certain corner. "Grandfather, those are the people who destroy our Yu family''s reputation. That¡¯s the woman who drove father mad!"

    Yu Chuan looked at where ¡°Yu Hao¡± indicated, and his eyes locked onto the group of people who were on their knees. As soon as the old man saw Xia Zhitong, his eyes were filled with powerful resentment and overflowing killing intent. This woman had turned his Yu family into a joke! She was the one who had driven his son mad and forced his grandson to his death! Yu Chuan knew that the Yu Hao standing beside him was an imposter. His grandson was already dead, forced into the ground by the woman kneeling before Yu Chuan.

 Chapter 2285: At His Disposal

    Chapter 2285: At His Disposal

    "Old man, we¡¯ll deal with all of them today," Lu Yin quietly told Yu Chuan.

    Yu Chuan was trembling with excitement as he stared at Xia Zhitong and the rest of the people on their knees. He kept muttering to himself, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you¡­"

    He was speaking to Lu Yin, but did not dare look over, as the old man was afraid that he would expose ¡°Yu Hao¡± as a fraud.

    Even if Yu Chuan needed to repay the kindness that he was receiving with his own life, he still did not feel any need to know why someone was pretending to be Yu Hao, or what he was trying to aplish. All that mattered to Yu Chuan was that this person had salvaged the reputation of his Yu family and provided him with a chance for revenge. This was enough for the old man.

    Everyone in Shenwu''s Sky watched in silence; Semi-Progenitor Chai, Wu Yao, and the other outsiders were also watching, as were the people from Virtue Archives.

    No one had expected Shenwu''s Sky to be ruthless to the point of giving Yu Hao their own descendants, especially during the ceremony to honor their ancestors. It was a level of cruelty that gave people chills. At the same time, people could clearly see the importance put on Yu Hao. If an outsider could demonstrate a sufficient level of strength and potential, it was possible for them to obtain a status within Shenwu''s Sky that might not be in any way inferior to the geniuses who were the Xia family¡¯s direct descendants.

    Although the Wang family, the Bai family, and the White Dragon n all held different attitudes regarding their direct line and branch families, none were as vicious as the Xia family. The Xia family was absolutely cruel to the members of the branch families. Regardless of whether people viewed such oppression and dominance as a good or bad thing, the public execution of Xia Zhitong and the others served as a public demonstration of the Xia family¡¯s attitude, and they had already achieved their desired results.

    The Wang family and the White Dragon n had both tried to recruit students from Virtue Archives, but the students were not dumb. They understood that joining one of the top powers could provide them with benefits, but it would never give them a status equal to the members of the families that led those powers. On the other hand, the Xia family had shown itself to be different. Watching as things yed out, the students felt a certain sense of superiority when they faced the Xia family, and they internally believed that joining a sect that regarded outsiders so highly would be very beneficial.

    As for Lu Yin, he did not even consider the Xia family¡¯s ns or intentions at this moment. He simply escorted Yu Chuan as the old man walked towards Xia Zhitong and the others one step at a time.

    They had to cover a great distance, and Yu Chuan walked very slowly, but no one tried to rush him. Everyone just watched as the two men walked along.

    Xia Zhitong was kneeling on the ground, and she had long since grown numb to her situation. Her recent experiences had been the worst days of her entire life. She had gone from being hopeful and optimistic, to being crushed by despair before ultimately bing numb to her circumstances. She had essentially be apletely different person, especially after learning that she was going to be given to Yu Hao to be executed as a sacrifice during the ceremony to honor the family¡¯s ancestors. Learning of this decision had driven the woman mad. She simply could not ept that she had been abandoned by her Xia family. This was not how things should be! Why would her Xia family abandon her? No matter what, she was still a member of the family, which meant that what happened to her would affect the family¡¯s reputation.

    She had believed that she would be saved by the Xia family, but when she learned about Yu Hao¡¯s gradual rise to fame and his various aplishments, she felt as though she was being pushed closer and closer to the abyss. Even if the Xia family did not abandon her, she still would not have any ce in the entire Perennial World.

    Xia Zhitong watched numbly as Yu Hao and Yu Chuan slowly drew closer. Every step the men took brought her death closer, and she felt as though each footstep were treading on her heart.

    Finally, the two men were close, so close. Then, they stopped.

    Xia Zhitong slowly lifted her head and looked up at Yu Hao. He was still as handsome as ever, and his face fascinated Xia Zhitong. She felt like she was seeing him for the first time all over again. At their first meeting, she had vowed that she would do her best to get the man, and she had eventually seeded. Not only had she captured his body, but she had also stolen his heart!

    Wait, who¡¯s that monster in his eyes? Is that ME? Is that MY reflection? No, it can¡¯t be! That¡¯s a monster! A hideous monster!

    Xia Zhitong suddenly grew desperate and started madly struggling. "It¡¯s not me! It''s not me! That¡¯s a monster, an ugly monster. It''s not me¡­"

    Yu Chuan stared at Xia Zhitong. "You are the one who brought ruin to my Yu family, my son, and my grandson."

    Lu Yin squeezed Yu Chuan''s arm tighter, and the old man quickly amended his words, "Fortunately, my grandson has managed to save things. Without him, my Yu family would have forever been regarded as aughing stock by the entire Perennial World, you vile bitch."

    Xia Zhitong started screaming, "It¡¯s not me! I''m not a monster! I''ve tempted countless men! It¡¯s not me!"

    Everyone stared as Xia Zhitong went mad,plicated emotions filling their eyes. Was there sympathy? Yes, but there were other emotions as well. Everyone present knew that if Yu Hao had not been epted as Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, and if his talent had not been so freakish, then Xia Zhitong would have never been condemned to such a fate. She would have happily lived out her life in Yu City, enjoying every pleasure that she wished to indulge in. No one would have ever dared to do anything to her until she died of old age.

    This was reality. This was the true face of the cultivation world.

    As the scene yed out, even people like Semi-Progenitor Chai and the other powerhouses present felt their hearts begin to pound. They were only Semi-Progenitors, not Progenitors. If a day came when their own organization was forced to make a choice that required a sacrifice, they would all be regarded as just as disposable as Xia Zhitong, given the fact that none of them would ever be able to reach the Progenitor realm. The gift of choice was reserved for those with sufficient potential or power.

    Was it possible to gain the right to make such choices when one became a Progenitor?

    "Old man, it¡¯s time to end this," Lu Yin softly stated. He had disguised himself as Yu Hao while roaming about the Perennial World. At this moment, it was time for Lu Yin to pay what he owed for using Yu Hao¡¯s identity, as well as fulfill one of Kui Luo''s wishes.

    Yu Chuan closed his eyes, raised a hand, and brought it down upon Xia Zhitong¡¯s head. He did not kill the woman, as her current situation was the worst punishment that she could possibly suffer. Yu Chuan intended to let the woman suffer until she died, which he hoped meant that she would suffer forever.

    The people on the ground behind Xia Zhitong started shouting in terror. They begged for mercy, and howled in fear. But one by one, they each wereid low by Yu Chuan''s hands.

    Lu Yin never once made a move or took action. He intended to allow the Yu family to get their own revenge and settle matters themselves.

    Xia Shenfei saw that ¡°Yu Hao¡± was only following behind Yu Chuan and not executing even a single one of the prisoners, and a thought shed through his eyes.

    As thest person fell to the ground, all the students from Virtue Archives understood that their Prof. Hao Yu was truly Yu Hao, someone renowned throughout the Perennial World. However, not all fame was good, and Yu Hao¡¯s fame had been built entirely on the humiliation served to the Yu family.

    However, from this day forward, the Yu family would never again be seen as a joke.

    Nong Siniang stared at Lu Yin''s calm face. At this moment, she felt that her Prof. Hao Yu was a stranger, and this feeling was even more pronounced than when they had left the branch of the Xia family that lived in the Bluemoon District.

    The ceremony had originally been intended to be a normal ceremony for the Xia family to pay their respects to their ancestors, but it had been transformed into something extraordinary. First, Xia Xing had nearly drawn the broken saber, and then the ceremony had been concluded with a series of executions.

    With the ceremony finished, Lu Yin returned to the valley that he had been given. He kept to himself and did not even speak to anyone. As for Yu Chuan, he was also led away by Shenwu''s Sky. Before they received confirmation that ¡°Yu Hao¡± was indeedmitted to Shenwu''s Sky, Yu Chuan would not be freed.

    Wu Yao wanted to ask for rification about what was happening, but Xia Xing took the initiative to approach ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    The sect master of Shenwu¡¯s Sky was extremely impatient to ask Lu Yin for more of Progenitor Chen''s blood. There was no one in the entire Xia family who was more eager for Xia Xing to draw the broken de.

    "I have more of Progenitor Chen''s blood," Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    Xia Xing''s eyes lit up, and he stared at Lu Yin, waiting for the next words.

    "But why should I give you any?" Lu Yin challenged as he stared at Xia Xing with deep eyes.

    Xia Xing anxiously answered, "I am your insider within Shenwu''s Sky. I can help you with whatever you need here. Helping me is the same as helping yourself."

    Lu Yin made a show of considering the matter.

    "You¡¯ve already ced a restriction in my body. What do you have to worry about?" Xia Xing asked worriedly.

    Lu Yin looked up at the man. "It¡¯s still possible to remove that restriction. Shenwu''s Sky has powerful Progenitors, and I¡¯m not foolish enough to believe that a restriction ced by me is something that a Progenitor can¡¯t ovee."

    "I forcibly reced my main body with your help. How could I possibly ask a Progenitor to remove the restriction? Doing so would expose myse-"

    "But you can draw the broken saber." Before Xia Xing finished speaking, Lu Yin firmly cut him off.

    Xia Xing opened his mouth, but had nothing to say in reply.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Unless my guess ispletely off, your value to Shenwu¡¯s Sky after you sessfully draw that de will bepletely different from when you were merely the current patriarch of the Xia family."

    Xia Xing softly stated, "I can swear to never betray you."

    Lu Yin looked away while considering the proposal. "Alright, I¡¯ll trust you, but Progenitor Chen''s blood is too rare, and I can''t just give it to you for nothing. There are things that I hesitate to use even on myself."

    "I understand. What do you want?" Xia Xingsong eagerly asked. As long as he could acquire Progenitor Chen''s blood and fully draw the broken saber, he would be willing to pay any price.

    Lu Yin raised two fingers. "First, tell Xia Ziheng that your clone is in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower, as well as with Wang Zheng and Long Ke."

    Xia Xing felt terribly confused. "The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower? Is that where you let me out that one time while you were visiting the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    "You don''t need to worry about that. Just do as I say.

    ¡°Second." At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes started zing. "I need resources. A lot of resources."

    Xia Xing¡¯s pupils shrank. "You¡¯re the one who stole all the star essence from the Junior Progenitors?"

    Xia Xing had been captured by Lu Yin before the Junior Progenitors had been plundered, so he had only learned of the matter after leaving Zenith Mountain and returning to Shenwu¡¯s Sky and recing the main body. He had not paid much attention to the matter, but he had certainly been curious about what could have happened to such an astronomical amount of resources.

    He had even wondered if they had been delivered to the Forsaken Land by Lu Yin.

    "I took them. Why? You want to turn me in?" Lu Yin shot back.

    Xia Xing gave a wry smile. "How could I do that? I''m merely curious as to what happened to so many resources."

    "That¡¯s none of your concern. All you need to know is that I need more. The more, the better." Lu Yin smiled. "The more resources you can get me, the more of Progenitor Chen''s blood I¡¯ll give to you."

    Lu Yin¡¯sst words triggered aplete transformation of Xia Xing''s expression, but he quickly grew bitter. "Shenwu¡¯s Sky does have a tremendous amount of resources, but I can¡¯t ess too much. At the very least, it won¡¯t be even close to what you obtained from the Junior Progenitors."

    "Given the fact that you¡¯ve already proven yourself capable of drawing the broken saber, I refuse to believe that you can¡¯t ess at least as many resources as one of the Junior Progenitors. Leave now, but just remember, the more resources you provide me with, the more of Progenitor Chen''s blood I¡¯ll give you.

    ¡°Also, you should keep in mind that only Progenitor Chen''s blood can allow you to draw the saber," Lu Yin cautioned as he dismissed Xia Xing.

    The moment that Xia Xing left Lu Yin''s residence, Wu Yao immediately took the sect master¡¯s ce. The Semi-Progenitor needed to understand what ¡°Yu Hao¡± was doing.

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± had already epted and be Bai Wangyuan¡¯s disciple, which meant that it was impossible for him to join Shenwu''s Sky. No one would be willing to ept divided loyalties.

    Wu Yao stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡± "It''s important that you understand that, no matter how talented you may be, you are not qualified to try to y my Celestial Frost Sect against Shenwu''s Sky, not even if you be a powerful Progenitor."

    "I know," Lu Yin answered before watching Wu Yao leave.

    y the Celestial Frost Sect against Shenwu''s Sky? Wrong. Lu Yin was ying all four ruling powers against each other.

    As for Xia Xing''s request for more of Progenitor Chen''s blood, Lu Yin would never follow through. He already knew that he would be doomed the moment the Death Seal was removed from Xia Xing, and Lu Yin refused to believe anything that the sect master swore. After all, Xia Xing used the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

 Chapter 2286: Exposed

    Chapter 2286: Exposed

    Lu Yin once again grew excited as he thought of the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and he looked upwards at the imprisoned jiao. Was there any way for him to get the secret technique?

    At that moment, Lu Yin remembered that Xia Xing had relied on Progenitor Chen''s blood to start drawing the broken saber. Could Lu Yin copy that? He still had two bottles of Progenitor Chen''s blood in his cosmic ring, so could he try it? Xia Xing had absorbed Progenitor Chen''s blood, which was impossible for Lu Yin, but was there another way?

    ***

    On the rear battlefield, a young man approached Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s residence. He epted tea from Xiao Cui after a full tea ceremony. She took a full half an hour to brew a single cup of tea.

    The young man showed no hint of impatience. He walked across the floor that was paved with star essence, and the soft light of the room was produced by a sourcebox array. He asionally took a bite of another glowing delicacy that had been served as a snack. They were truly delicious.

    "Grandmaster Mu, would you care for another cup of tea?" Xiao Cui asked.

    The young man who was visiting was indeed Mu Shang. He had decided to pay Grandmaster Gu Yan a visit after he had returned to the rear battlefield from his trip to the Higher Realm.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan had spent decades teaching his apprentice, and he had given the young man the confidence to challenge Mu Shang himself. Naturally, Mu Shang was incredibly curious to learn just how aplished Grandmaster Gu Yan had be. It should be impossible for the old man to reach the level of lockbreaking mastery that only Progenitor Hui had ever reached.

    Every Lockbreaker greatly admired Progenitor Hui. If Grandmaster Gu Yan had truly managed to reach that level, he could not be referred to as merely an Array Grandmaster.

    "Alright," Mu Shang answered with a smile.

    Xiao Cui brought out a clean cup and steeped the tea for another half an hour. The cycle continued, repeating again and again.

    Mu Shang was determined to meet with Grandmaster Gu Yan. Anyone else would have been driven away without hesitation, but Mu Shang was different; he was also an Array Grandmaster, and even Grandmaster Gu Yan had to show a certain level of respect.

    After several hours, when Mu Shang could no longer even taste his tea, Grandmaster Gu Yan finally revealed himself. He asked in azy sounding voice, "Kid, why are you here?"

    Mu Shang was the youngest Array Grandmaster in history. He was far, far younger than Grandmaster Gu Yan. Referring to Mu Shang as ¡°kid¡± was not only something that was perfectly eptable for someone of Gu Yan¡¯s age, but it also showed that he did not dislike Mu Shang, despite his affiliation with the Celestial Frost Sect.

    As soon as he saw Grandmaster Gu Yan, Mu Shang rose to his feet and offered a bow with a smile. "It¡¯s been a very long time since Ist paid you a call, Senior. I was passing by, so I thought that I¡¯d stop by to see you."

    "What''s so good about seeing me? You should see go Xiao Cui, as she¡¯s the pretty one." Grandmaster Gu Yan rolled his eyes.

    To the side, Xiao Cui pursed her lips as her bright eyes flickered over to Mu Shang. She looked just like a young girl who was inexperienced in what the world had to offer.

    However, Mu Shang was quite familiar with Xiao Cui. While the woman looked like a cute girl, there was a darkness to her that she kept hidden. She perfectly matched Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s entricities, and this was not the first time that the old man had used Xiao Cui to handle various annoyances.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan grinned. "Kid, you¡¯re growing more and more impolite. You don''t even offer a gift when visiting an elder? Is this the trend of young people nowadays?"

    As soon as he heard Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯sment, Mu Shang raised a hand. "This junior has naturally brought gifts, Senior, for both you and Xiao Cui. Also, I¡¯ve brought one for Er Gouzi."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan rolled his eyes again. This kid was too sharp. Gu Yan had teased Mu Shang a great deal the first time they had met, but he had never been able to repeat the matter. After all, Mu Shang even thought of Er Gouzi.

    "Alright, fine. What did you want to talk about that you came to see me?" Grandmaster Gu Yan was impatient, and he quickly epted the gifts and moved on.

    Mu Shang''s expression changed. "This junior is here to offer his sincere respects to a senior. It''s been a long time since Ist saw you. Many people have been asking after your health."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan just sneered. "They¡¯re just afraid that I won''t die."

    Mu Shang shrugged, unfazed. "As for a second matter, this junior has been a bit confused about a few lockbreaking matters in recent years, so if you have time, I would ask for some of your advice, Senior."

    "Confused? Why not go to Qiu Ling or one of the others?" the old man retorted.

    Mu Shang smiled. "This junior¡¯s lockbreaking mastery is no longer inferior to theirs. Only you can provide me with guidance, Senior."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan''s face twitched. He was truly impressed with Mu Shang¡¯s talent. There was no w to be found in the young man¡¯s character, cultivation talent, or lockbreaking ability. He also never bullied or oppressed others or acted arrogantly. He showed open contempt for schemes and tricks, and even if Mu Shang wanted revenge, he would do so in an open and public manner. Thus, he was one of the very few people from the four ruling powers who Gu Yan did not hate. However, if there were a w to point out, then it was that Mu Shang was quite arrogant, which caused him to be rather unpopr among Lockbreakers.

    Despite Mu Shang¡¯s aplishment of bearing the title of the youngest Array Grandmaster in human history, there were few Lockbreakers who were willing to interact with him. Mu Shang¡¯s pride was not merely something engraved in his bones, but something that he openly wore. He showed no respect for his peers like Grandmaster Li and Grandmaster Qiu Ling, but that was just how Mu Shang was.

    "Kid, you¡¯re eventually going to get a beating if you keep talking like that." Gu Yan warned him that the other Array Grandmasters would be upset at such treatment.

    A smile pulled at the corner of Mu Shang''s mouth. "There¡¯s no worry about being beaten. After all, even when ites to cultivation, there are few more talented than this junior.

    ¡°However, I¡¯ve recentlye across an even more arrogant and talented junior. While only a three-tribtion Envoy, he¡¯s managed to be a Realm Array Master and wants to challenge this junior and take my title as the youngest Array Grandmaster in history."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was stunned. "Such a person exists? A three-tribtion Realm Array Master? How old is he?"

    Mu Shang frowned. "Senior, shouldn¡¯t you know? This is actually this junior¡¯s third reason for visiting you. I wanted to offer my congrattions, Senior."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan felt incredibly confused. "Congrattions? Kid, quit messing around and ying with all your words. Tell me clearly why you¡¯re here."

    Mu Shang''s eyes flickered. "Senior, haven¡¯t you epted an apprentice by the name of Yu Hao?"

    ***

    Back in Shenwu''s Sky, in the valley that Lu Yin had been given, what seemed to be a sh of lighting was flickering through the void.

    Lu Yin was sitting in the valley, and he slowly opened his eyes. He had already reached the void god realm with his domain. He had reached that level after Possessing Hen Ye. The man was a peak Envoy who had received personal guidance in how to train and develop his domain by Hen Xin, who in turn had been taught by Gu Yizhi, the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind. Lu Yin had managed to reach a level of mastery of his domain that few had been capable of even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Truthfully, across all the countless years, Hen Ye¡¯s mastery of domain could rank within the top five experts.

    Naturally, after Possessing such a person, Lu Yin¡¯s own domain had not only reached the void god realm, but his mastery had reached a level that greatly surpassed Mr. Tang¡¯s.

    Lu Yin had actually tested this during the Xia family''s ceremony to honor their ancestors. He had extended his domain and enveloped Mr. Tang within it, but Mr. Tang had never noticed Lu Yin¡¯s void god level domain. This realization had inspired Lu Yin. It might be possible for Lu Yin to actually face a Semi-Progenitor level opponent.

    The greatest difference between a Semi-Progenitor and an Envoy was the existence of an inner world. As long as a Semi-Progenitor was unable to utilize their inner world, then while they would still be stronger than an Envoy, it would not be a qualitative difference. It was very possible that Semi-Progenitors would not be able to detect Lu Yin¡¯s domain without using their inner world.

    He decided to test his theory, and closed his eyes. He unleashed his domain, and it slipped into the void and spread across the valley like a breeze sweeping by. Lu Yin then enveloped Wu Yao within his domain, as Wu Yao was the only Semi-Progenitor that Lu Yin did not fear noticing him or his domain. As far as Wu Yao was concerned, ¡°Yu Hao¡± was already practically family.

    Achieving the void god level of a domain allowed a cultivator to y with the void. Lu Yin''s five senses extended through the void and reached where Wu Yao sat. Lu Yin could see the old man¡¯s breath, feel his strength, and hear his voice. All of the sensations reached Lu Yin through the void, and he was even able to eavesdrop on the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s conversation that he was having through amunication crystal.

    "What are you saying? Yu Hao is not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice?" Wu Yao leaped to his feet in shock. He simply could not ept such a revtion.

    Mu Shang spoke, and Lu Yin heard the man¡¯s voice through themunication crystal. "That''s right. I visited Grandmaster Gu Yan, and the Grandmaster himself verified that he never epted Yu Hao."

    "Could he have used another name?" Wu Yao asked. He could not believe this. Everyone had known for a long time that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, and there had never been any doubt about this fact. It was even why the Celestial Frost Sect had sent someone to meet with Yu Hao and try to recruit him. Learning that the entire affair was a lie was too shocking for the old man.

    Mu Shang replied, "I made sure to ask about such a possibility, but Grandmaster Gu Yan has not left his residence after he returned from the Lower Realm a few decades ago. He¡¯s been in seclusion ever since, and no one knows what he¡¯s been working on these years. If anyone else had tried to visit him instead of me, he would have simply refused to meet with them. There¡¯s something off about this Yu Hao."

    Wu Yao looked quite upset, and his mind started racing.

    Inside the valley, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. He had been exposed. He had not considered the possibility of Mu Shang actually visiting Grandmaster Gu Yan, but the man had directly learned from Grandmaster Gu Yan that Yu Hao was not the old man¡¯s disciple. What would Wu Yao do next?

    Lu Yin warily allowed his domain to once again extend outwards until it enveloped Wu Yao once again.

    Lu Yin was not worried about being discovered by the Semi-Progenitor. After all, Wu Yao¡¯s mind was in such chaos that he would not even consider the possibility that anyone was spying on him with a domain.

    "Mu Shang, are you absolutely certain that Yu Hao is not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice? He has already passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, and Progenitor Bai will definitely ept him as a disciple. If Yu Hao is not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, then his entire identity is questionable. Right now, everyone is trying to recruit the young man, which means that this is incredibly important. We cannot allow any mistakes," Wu Yao quietly stated

    Mu Shang immediately replied, "I''mpletely sure. Grandmaster Gu Yan has no apprentice by the name of Yu Hao, and he has not epted any apprentice at all within recent decades."

    "I see." Wu Yao''s eyes kept darting about, but he did not let go of themunication crystal. His mind was racing as he tried to think of who Yu Hao might actually be. With such an unbelievable level of lockbreaking skill, he should not be some unknown person, but in that case, who was he?

    "Senior Wu Yao, no matter what Yu Hao''s true identity may be, please keep in mind his cultivation, lockbreaking talent, and the fact that he has passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. None of these things are debatable," Mu Shang cautioned.

    The warning served to sober Wu Yao up. It was true. Regardless of whom Yu Hao might actually be, there was no denying his various aplishments. As long as the young man was not a Redback or an enemy of the Celestial Frost Sect, he could still be part of the Celestial Frost Sect. Progenitor Bai would still ept Yu Hao as a disciple, and the only difference from before was that Yu Hao was not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. That was a status that the young man might have made up to restrain the Xia family from dealing with him. That was a very reasonable possibility.

    After all, if Yu Hao had not been thought of as Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, then Shenwu¡¯s Sky would have snatched him back long ago. The truth was that whether Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice had nothing to do with the Celestial Frost Sect.

    These thoughts prompted Wu Yao to quickly contact the sect and ask them to investigate everything connected to Yu Hao as quickly as possible. Not even the smallest detail could be overlooked.

    Lu Yin retracted his domain and heaved a sigh of relief. Mu Shang''s warning had stopped Wu Yao from exposing what they had uncovered.

    The current situation meant that Lu Yin did not have the opportunity to create a new identity for himself or Yu Hao. There simply was not enough time, and the Celestial Frost Sect was not run by fools. It was impossible for Lu Yin to deceive such a super power with such short notice, especially since they were already on guard for anything suspicious.

    After pondering the matter for some time, Lu Yin called Xiao Qing. The only pawn in Lu Yin¡¯s control that could influence the Celestial Frost Sect was that young woman.

 Chapter 2287: Misgivings And Deals

    Chapter 2287: Misgivings And Deals

    Back in the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Su had no idea why Wu Yao suddenly wanted everything about Yu Hao to be investigated. After all, investigations had already been conducted, as the sect was diligent and cautious. However, there was something different about this investigation, as Wu Yao wanted to know everyst detail regarding Yu Hao, even down to the way he ate his food.

    As the most powerful organization in the entire Perennial World in the current era, any time the Celestial Frost Sect decided to do something, it would be carried out quickly and with great efficiency. Bai Su soon received every scrap of the information avable about Yu Hao in a short amount of time, including everything that Yu Hao had ever said while in Virtue Archives.

    Suddenly, the acting sect master¡¯smunication crystal trembled, and he looked down to check. Xiao Qing?

    "I told you not to call me unless it¡¯s important," Bai Su said in a threatening tone. Xiao Qing was his most important pawn, as well as his only one.

    Xiao Qing replied, "I just remembered something, and it''s very important!"

    "Go ahead."

    "Before I managed to get close to Yu Hao, I identally saw that he has a saber. It has an odd shape, and it seemed rather familiar when I first saw it, but I could not remember where I¡¯d seen it before. I was just cleaning the courtyard when I suddenly remembered where I¡¯d seen the weapon before¡ªit was in a book."

    "What did it look like?" Bai Su felt a bit puzzled.

    Xiao Qing described the knife.

    Bai Su was a bit taken aback, but after Xiao Qing mentioned the name of Progenitor Chen, the acting sect master suddenly remembered that he was hearing an exact description of Progenitor Chen''s saber.

    "Are you sure that that¡¯s what it looked like?" Bai Su was shocked.

    Xiao Qing replied, "Absolutely. I saw it the first time I visited Yu Hao, and I only saw the weapon by ident. He quickly put it away when he noticed that I saw it, but I was still able to remember what I¡¯d seen. It just felt too familiar. I¡¯ve been thinking about it since then, but it was really hard to remember.¡±

    Bai Su''s expression was terrible. Progenitor Chen¡¯s saber? Yu Hao actually possessed Progenitor Chen''s saber? Just what was going on? Was Yu Hao rted to Progenitor Chen? That was impossible. Progenitor Chen had died in the Forsaken Land. The only exnation was that Yu Hao was a member of the Xia family. Even though the Xia family had hated and ostracized Progenitor Chen, they had spent more time and effort studying Progenitor Chen''s life than almost anyone else. They had researched his battle techniques, secret arts, and even his saber.

    It is no secret within Shenwu''s Sky that many members of the Xia family would copy Progenitor Chen''s saber style, as it was not considered forbidden.

    If Yu Hao really did have the same style of weapon as Progenitor Chen, then the most likely answer was that he was already a part of Shenwu''s Sky.

    "Say nothing of this to anyone!" Bai Su ordered before quickly passing the information along to Wu Yao, as well as the acting sect master¡¯s own deductions.

    Wu Yao''s reaction was even worse than Bai Su''s, especially when he looked up and saw a group of Shenwu''s Sky disciples walking past: one of them was wearing a copy of Progenitor Chen¡¯s saber.

    Wu Yao red towards the valley, wishing that he could kill Yu Hao. Wu Yao understood everything now; it was all a part of Shenwu''s Sky''s borate n. Yu Hao was the bait that Shenwu''s Sky had set out to deal with the Celestial Frost Sect.

    This meant that Yu Hao had been a part of Shenwu¡¯s Sky from the very beginning. This person was not Yu Hao, but a certain genius from Shenwu''s Sky impersonating the man. It was even possible that Xia Shenfei had sent one of his nine clones to rece Yu Hao. Shenwu''s Sky was always a rival. They had lured the Celestial Frost Sect into extending themselves to recruit Yu Hao, and at the same time, had caused one of Xia Xing''s clones to disappear while also capturing Wang Zheng and Long Ke. Everything had been med on the Celestial Frost Sect, which had resulted in the Celestial Frost Sect being targeted by the other three ruling powers.

    The best piece of evidence was that, when Wang Zheng had been attacked, Xia Yuan had been the one to pull out the offending slipper. After that, Long Ke had been knocked unconscious by Xia Yuan as well.

    The ploy had misled everyone from the very beginning. Everyone had believed that someone had controlled or reced Xia Yuan, but in truth, that might have been the real Xia Yuan the entire time! It did not actually matter. In fact, it was even possible that the person posing as Yu Hao might have been involved in Xia Xing¡¯s disappearance.

    After all, Yu Hao had been near the Ind of Hope when Sect Master Bai Teng had disappeared.

    Everything added up. Someone from Shenwu''s Sky had impersonated Yu Hao, and then they had found an excuse to cause Xia Xing''s clone to disappear. After that, Bai Teng had been dealt with at the Ind of Hope, and Long Ke had been controlled and made to attack Wang Zheng. Shenwu¡¯s Sky must have even been the one to leak word that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice.

    It had also been Shenwu''s Sky which had cooperated with the Wang family and the White Dragon n to go after the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Everything had been nned and arranged by Shenwu''s Sky. It was all their doing. No wonder Yu Chuan had never been allowed to interact with people from any of the other ruling powers; they could not afford to allow Yu Chuan to let anything slip.

    Wu Yao got to his feet, his expressionpletely transformed as he reviewed all of the information about Yu Hao that had been sent over by Bai Su. It was no wonder why such a fantastic coincidence had urred. It was naturally impossible for such a peerless genius to appear out of thin air, which meant that Yu Hao was most likely one of Xia Shenfei¡¯s nine clones. The Nine Clones Secret Technique made the members of the Xia family unpredictable, as no one ever knew what all of the clones were up to or who they were. Clearly, Yu Hao had to be one of Xia Shenfei''s clones.

    If not for Mu Shang learning the truth from Grandmaster Gu Yan himself, as well as the fact that Bai Su had a spy within the White Dragon n, the Celestial Frost Sect might have never learned the truth.

    Shenwu''s Sky was truly malicious.

    Wu Yao stared into the valley from outside. At the same time, Lu Yin stared out of the valley from within.

    Lu Yin had simply wanted to lead Wu Yao to suspect that Yu Hao was a member of Shenwu''s Sky from the beginning. If this happened, Wu Yao would not dare to cause any problems while inside Shenwu''s Sky, and he also would not dare to expose the matter. If others did not speak to Grandmaster Gu Yan themselves, they would learn nothing. Still, it was likely that more people would soon start visiting the Array Grandmaster, and there was no chance that the four ruling powers would ever be willing to let ¡°Yu Hao¡± escape. This visit to Shenwu''s Sky was the end to Lu Yin¡¯s time as Yu Hao.

    He needed to rescue the members of Star Alliance before everything fell apart, but he had no ideas of how to proceed. He had done his best to aplish his initial n, which meant that he needed toe up with some alternative.

    If there was no other option, then he would simply have to use the strength of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds to confront the Perennial World. The four ruling powers controlled Star Alliance and Crimson Garden, which held some of the Lu family¡¯s survivors. As for Lu Yin, he had captured the Perennial World¡¯s army that they had sent after him.

    Outside the valley, Wu Yao truly wanted to go visit Yu Hao and expose him as a fake to his face, but the old man restrained himself after thinking things through. He was still in Shenwu''s Sky, and there was no telling how they would react if he exposed them.

    Shenwu''s Sky was a long way away from the Celestial Frost Sect, and there was no telling what might happen while crossing that distance. Since Shenwu''s Sky had plotted against the Celestial Frost Sect, then there was no way that things would stop at this point. Shenwu¡¯s Sky might even be prepared for even more drastic measures, and that made Wu Yao very wary.

    At the same time, he was curious to see how long the fake Yu Hao would continue the charade and what his final goal might be.

    Wu Yao continued to act as though nothing had changed. He sat calmly outside the valley and just allowed everything to y out without interfering.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Wu Yao had been the one to learn that Grandmaster Gu Yan had no apprentice. If an impulsive Semi-Progenitor had learned the information, Lu Yin might have been attacked without hesitation.

    Two dayster, Shenwu''s Sky initiated the nned training experience for Virtue Archives¡¯ students. This was done at the God of Food¡¯s request. If the man had not stepped forward, Shenwu''s Sky would have simply tried to use resources to entice the students, which would have been an easier option than what the Wang family and the White Dragon n had done.

    Lu Yin intended to go with the students, but Xia Xing used that opportunity to meet with Lu Yin and deliver the star essence that Lu Yin had been anticipating.

    "Why is there so little?" Lu Yin was far from satisfied.

    Xia Xing shrugged and said, "It¡¯s everything I was able to get my hands on."

    Xia Xing gave Lu Yin 30 billion star essence, and he actually was not lying. This was all that the man had ess to. He had not only pulled from Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s treasury, but even his own stash.

    30 billion star essence was not a lot. Well, it was a lot, but it was insignificantpared to what Lu Yin had stolen from the Junior Progenitors.

    At the moment, Lu Yin spent star essence in sums of tens or even hundreds of billions, so it made sense for him to look down on 30 billion.

    However, if Xia Xing had not shown himself capable of drawing the broken saber, he likely would not have been able to ess even a few tens of billions of star essence. Patriarchs were really just administrators, and Xia Xing was nowhere close to being the master of the Xia family.

    As for a puppet sect master like Bai Teng, things were even more pathetic. That man might not even be capable of essing a few hundred millions star essence, which was pitifulpared to Long Ke and the other patriarchs.

    "Forget it. It¡¯s still better than nothing." Lu Yin was irritated, but he still reluctantly stored the star essence he had been given.

    Xia Xing leaned forward. "The blood?"

    Lu Yin casually tossed the man a small bottle of blood. "It''s yours."

    Xia Xing looked at the small bottle in his hand and could not stop himself from asking, "Why is there so little?"

    Lu Yin stared at the sect master. "Just what do you think Progenitor Chen''s blood is? It let you take over the role of your main body after allowing you to break free from the control ced on you by the Nine Clones Secret Technique. You now want to pay me for more of Progenitor Chen''s blood. That¡¯s not a bad amount to obtain for 30 billion. Find a way to get more resources, and we¡¯ll talk again."

    Xia Xing frowned. "But this isn¡¯t enough."

    "This is the deal. If you don¡¯t like it, go ahead and try to pay someone else 30 billion star essence and see how much of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood you can get. Who else can provide you with the opportunity to draw that broken saber?"

    Xia Xing sucked in a deep breath and suppressed his frustration. He helplessly stated, "The higher my status in Shenwu¡¯s Sky is, the more help I can offer you. Isn''t that what you want?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s why I''m even willing to make this trade, but that doesn''t mean that I''m willing to give you the blood for free. If that¡¯s all, you can go."

    After a moment, Lu Yin warned, "Just a fair warning, but it would be best for you to wait for more of Progenitor Chen''s blood before you use any of it. If you waste it, you¡¯ll never be able to rece it."

    Lu Yin had not given Xia Xing Progenitor Chen''s blood, so he needed to find some way to dissuade the sect master from using it immediately, as the fake blood would be discovered as soon as Xia Xing tried to absorb it.

    Lu Yin intended to milk Xia Xing for as much money as possible.

    Xia Xing stared at Lu Yin. "Since you¡¯re saying this is a transaction, I have some news for you. It should be worth some more blood."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Tell me."

    Xia Xing was too valuable for Lu Yin to take advantage of the man. Even with the Death Seal, there was no way that Lu Yin could control the man with the threat of death, as the man¡¯s death would instantly expose Lu Yin. Xia Xing understood this as well, so their current situation was really a matter of mutual restraint.

    Only after the Yu Hao disguise was no longer of any use would Lu Yin truly be able to control Xia Xing with the Death Seal.

    Xia Xing understood this as well, which was why he had proposed a trade.

    "It¡¯s news that concerns survivors of the Lu family. Show me Progenitor Chen''s blood, and then I''ll decide whether it¡¯s worth this information or not," Xia Xing stated. He had decided to give everything he had in order to get as much of Progenitor Chen''s blood as possible. He intended to use whatever it took to threaten Lu Yin.

    As long as Xia Xing could draw the broken saber, any crime that hemitted would be forgiven. He did not believe that Progenitor Shenji could not remove the restriction that Lu Yin had ced in his stellr vortex. As long as the saber was drawn, Lu Yin would die.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Xing for a long moment, and then pulled out another bottle of blood. It was muchrger than the first bottle that had been offered. "Satisfied?"

    Xia Xing stretched out his hand.

    Lu Yin tossed the bottle over. "Your news had better be worth it. I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you the consequences if it¡¯s not."

    Xia Xing¡¯s eyes zed as he stored the blood away. It was enough. The two bottlesbined should be enough to meet his needs. "Shenwu''s Sky will host an execution of all of the surviving members of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. "What was that?"

    Xia Xing replied, "I only learned of this after merging with the previous main body. Over the years, the four ruling powers have sessfully captured quite a number of people loyal to the Lu family. When Kui Luo reappeared, it was thought that there was a good chance that you had returned with him, so it was decided to execute all of the living members of the Lu family in order to draw you out. There should be a few dozen people, and the idea is to have their blood spread across the Perennial World in order to wash away all their sins."

 Chapter 2288: Naive

    Chapter 2288: Naive

    Lu Yin''s pupils fluctuated wildly, and an intense bloodlust erupted in the depths of his eyes as he unconsciously started clenching his fists.

    Xia Xing softly said, "Their guess was spot on. You are here, and this can indeed lure you out as you want to take care of this personally."

    The sect master then turned to leave. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shot over to the man¡¯s back. "The blood you just got is fake."

    Xia Xing froze for a moment before he whirled around and angrily red at Lu Yin. "Fake?"

    Lu Yin calmly answered, "Fake."

    "You!" Xia Xing was absolutely furious.

    Lu Yin frowned. "You can¡¯t possibly believe that the information you just gave me is worth that much of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, do you? This isn¡¯t even news. Even without you telling me a thing, the entire Perennial World will learn of it any day now. Since Shenwu''s Sky wants to lure me out, how could they not make this as well known as possible? Not to mention, you just told me yourself that they¡¯re going to im to use the blood of the Lu family to wash the entire Perennial World of their crimes."

    Xia Xing gritted his teeth. "What would be enough for you to give me Progenitor Chen''s real blood?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Save my people. Save the survivors of the Lu family."

    "That¡¯s impossible. Lu Xiaoxuan, it''s not even that I don''t want to, but rather that I quite literally cannot. You must be joking if you think that those survivors of the Lu family can be saved from Shenwu''s Sky," Xia Xing said.

    Lu Yin replied, "If you¡¯re worried about Xia Ziheng, then I can get him toe here so that you have a chance."

    "I just told you that it''s impossible! If I try to do this, everyone will immediately know that I was the culprit. I won''t do it!" Xia Xing was not stupid, and he bluntly refused.

    Killing intent lit up Lu Yin''s eyes. "If you won''t do it, then you¡¯ll die with them!"

    Xia Xing had a headache, and his voice betrayed his helplessness and bitterness at this moment. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I¡¯m worth much more to you than this! Why bother trying to save the members of the Lu family? They¡¯re already worthless, and I can promise you that they¡¯ve already been ruined. Some of them might be Envoys, but their stellr energy vortices have all been broken. They¡¯re crippled for the rest of their lives! They¡¯re trash now. They aren¡¯t worth you sacrificing yourself for them."

    "You don¡¯t get to decide their worth!" Lu Yin''s expression grew ugly. Hearing his family being called trash made his heart quiver. How badly had these people suffered over the years? He immediately thought of Tu Qiming, Wan Sen, and Zhou Tang, who had been sent to the New World. There was the All-Dao family¡¯s ancestor, Wan Zhiyi. The old servant who had cared for Lu Xiaoxuan who had died in Lu Yin¡¯s arms. The people in Crimson Garden who had been driven insane. There were also the survivors of his Lu family who were going to be killed in hopes of luring Lu Yin out. They were all yearning for his return.

    Lu Yin would not abandon any of his family¡¯s people.

    Compared to his own people, what was Xia Xing worth?

    Xia Xing saw the determination in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he regretted sharing the information with the young man. Not only had the sect master failed to get the Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood that he wanted, but he had also been dragged into Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s mess.

    "You¡¯re still thinking about it."

    "There¡¯s nothing to think about. If you don¡¯t save them, you¡¯ll die."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, I thought that you had changed, but shockingly, you¡¯re still as naive as in the past. You used to be just naive, but you¡¯ve since be both stubborn and naive."

    Xia Xing was much older than the Seven Heroes, and he had essentially watched the Seven Heroes grow up and be famous. Of course he had known and interacted with Lu Xiaoxuan on multiple asions. He had simply been a naive child who had been impossible to control, which was why his death had been decided upon.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Xing. "If you are innocent, then prove yourself innocent. If members of my Lu family die, I will bury the four ruling powers with me!"

    Xia Xing sighed and thought about the situation for a while. "You¡¯ve lost your memories, and you can''t even recognize any of the surviving members of the Lu family. It doesn''t really matter if they¡¯re actually members of the Lu family or not."

    The man¡¯s eyes lit up as he spoke. "Isn¡¯t that right? It really doesn''t matter."

    Xia Xing looked over at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll find a way to save the people from the Lu family, but I can''t give them to you, and you can''t save them. They¡¯ll remain imprisoned here in Shenwu''s Sky. So if you¡¯re determined to save them, your only option will be to wait for a chance in the future."

    Lu Yin considered the proposal. "Fine, we¡¯ll do it your way. I¡¯ll find a way to save them in the future."

    As he spoke, he stared at Xia Xing. "I may have lost my memories and not be able to recognize people from my Lu family, but that doesn¡¯t mean that there aren¡¯t others who can. You better not lie to me, or else I¡¯ll do everything in my power to kill you."

    Xia Xing took a deep breath. "You don''t need to worry about that."

    He nced down at Lu Yin''s cosmic ring. "And Progenitor Chen''s blood?"

    "I''ll give it to you when this task ispleted, and I promise to give you the real blood. After all, you¡¯ll still have my family members imprisoned and under your control," Lu Yin replied.

    Xia Xing nodded, turned around, and left.

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s back. Was it true that Xia Xing had no way to save the imprisoned members of the Lu family? Not necessarily, but Lu Yin could not force the matter. Those people were Xia Xing''s bargaining chip that he could use to threaten Lu Yin. He was trying to force Lu Yin to give him Progenitor Chen''s real blood.

    This was an unforeseenplication. Lu Yin had not expected the Xia family to execute all of the surviving members of the Lu family, and this had forced him under Xia Xing¡¯s thumb. Still, it did not matter. There would eventually be a way to save everyone. As long as Yu Hao was not revealed to actually be Lu Yin, it would be possible to threaten Xia Xing with death.

    Everything was something to consider in the future. For the moment¡­

    Lu Yin''s expression fell, and he sent a voice transmission to Wu Yao, who was still just outside the valley.

    Wu Yao¡¯s eyes snapped open. A message from Yu Hao? Why was the young man reaching out to Wu Yao?

    Lu Yin sent a voice transmission to Wu Yao, but he only spoke a few sentences. "Shenwu¡¯s Sky wrongfully used the Celestial Frost Sect of kidnapping Xia Xing''s clone. Wang Zheng and Long Ke have been hidden in the Cloudforest Tower. Ask your sect master to deal with this as quickly as possible."

    Wu Yao''s expression instantly changed. What is Yu Hao doing? Shenwu''s Sky wrongly used my Celestial Frost Sect? Isn¡¯t he a part of Shenwu''s Sky? Why give me this information about Shenwu''s Sky? What is he trying to do? Are my previous assumptions actually wrong?

    Wu Yao could not understand what was going on. He wanted to enter the valley and speak with Yu Hao direction, but he was prevented from doing so by Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu. Each of the Semi-Progenitors was present to stop any of the others from approaching and poaching Yu Hao, so how could they allow Wu Yao to speak to the young man alone?

    They had already agreed that each of them would only have a single opportunity to speak with Yu Hao alone, and Wu Yao had already used his chance.

    Wu Yao frowned and stared at the valley. Who was Yu Hao really? Why send such a message to him?

    Also, why did Shenwu''s Sky want to frame the Celestial Frost Sect? Did Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu know about this matter?

    Wu Yao wanted to try to learn something from the two men¡¯s expressions, but he could not see anything at all on their faces.

    Shortly after they stopped Wu Yao from entering the valley, Xia Ziheng went to speak with Semi-Progenitor Chai alone.

    Wu Yao saw the two men meet, and the message that he had just received from Yu Hao instantly reappeared in his mind. Had Shenwu''s Sky already started to enact their n?

    Some timeter, an expressionless Semi-Progenitor Chai returned to his previous location.

    Right after that, Xia Ziheng went to see Mr. Yu. After some time, Mr. Yu also returned without showing any expression.

    As for Wu Yao, Xia Ziheng did not go meet with the man, which left Wu Yao even more convinced that Yu Hao had spoken the truth.

    However, there was no mention of Xia Xing¡¯s clone being in the Cloudforest Tower, so how would Shenwu''s Sky frame the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Could they have something more nned?

    Wu Yao¡¯s suspicions prevented him from being able to sit still. He needed to be sure that Shenwu''s Sky was truly doing what Yu Hao had imed, but while he wanted to send a message to Yu Hao, Semi-Progenitor Chai and the other Semi-Progenitors would not allow it.

    Yu Hao was allowed to send messages to anyone, but the Semi-Progenitors were not allowed to respond. This had been agreed upon to prevent anyone from stealing Yu Hao away.

    This was something that Wu Yao had agreed to because he had felt that it protected his Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s interests from the other powers. But at this moment, it was hindering Wu Yao.

    Desperate, Wu Yao decided to reveal what he knew to Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu. He would tell them the truth, as he did not want his Celestial Frost Sect to be forced to respond to others¡¯ actions.

    Regardless of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s intentions, whatever they did would harm the Celestial Frost Sect. In that case, it would be best to expose the truth and unite with the Semi-Progenitors of the other two families. Wu Yao did not believe that Shenwu''s Sky would dare to move against them all.

    "What are you saying? That everything is part of Shenwu''s Sky''s n?" Mr. Yu''s constant smile had disappeared, and surprise and suspicion instead covered his face.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai stared at Wu Yao. "Do you believe that saying this can erase all suspicions directed at your Celestial Frost Sect? We already suspected that Xia Xing and others had been kidnapped by your Celestial Frost Sect, and while the information that we obtained from the rear battlefield proved that the Seven Skygods were behind everything, that was the only information that we ever received on the matter. There has been absolutely no evidence of the Seven Skygods¡¯ involvement. Now, you¡¯re trying to push everything onto Shenwu''s Sky? Are you now trying to tell us that you were lying when you imed that Forgotten Ruins God was the culprit?"

    Wu Yao sighed. "When we made that usation, we truly did believe that Forgotten Ruins God was the one behind the kidnappings. We were able to exclude the three of you, which left only the Aeternals. After all, Forgotten Ruins God did appear in the Yinshan District around that time, but we were never able to find any further evidence of any of the Seven Skygods."

    "That isn¡¯t enough to use Shenwu''s Sky of being behind everything. What is your evidence?" Mr. Yu asked.

    Wu Yao replied, "You believe my Celestial Frost Sect to just be making wild usations without any evidence. If we can be responsible for Bai Teng''s disappearance, as well as Xia Xing''s, then why not Shenwu''s Sky?"

    "Xia Xing went to the Middle Realm to see Yu Hao," Semi-Progenitor Chai replied.

    Wu Yao''s eyes grew cold. "If-"

    He instantly stopped himself. If he told these two men that Yu Hao was a fake, they would change their behavior regarding Yu Hao, while the person impersonating Yu Hao had already promised to join the Celestial Frost Sect. If the other two men learned the truth about Yu Hao, they would change their recruitment tactics, and the Celestial Frost Sect could lose their advantage.

    Even if it was highly likely that Yu Hao was a member of the Xia family, the young man had also deliberately informed Wu Yao about Shenwu''s Sky''s n to frame the Celestial Frost Sect, which had confused Wu Yao. His sect could not afford to lose this freakish genius whom they had thought they had already recruited. Yu Hao could not be allowed to be taken by either the Wang family or the White Dragon n.

    After all, even if Yu Hao was not really Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, everything else that Wu Yao had concluded was nothing more than spection. It was not as if there was no one apart from members of the Xia family who used Progenitor Chen''s saber style. That de was not conclusive proof that the man posing as Yu Hao was really from Shenwu''s Sky.

    "¡®If¡¯ what?" Semi-Progenitor Chai stared at Wu Yao.

    Wu Yao considered his response for a bit. "If Shenwu''s Sky intentionally made Xia Xing¡¯s clone disappear, then anything is usible."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu nced at each other. They had both just been visited by Xia Ziheng, who had told them both that Wang Zheng and Long Ke might be in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower, while Wu Yao was telling them that everything was being orchestrated by Shenwu''s Sky. They simply did not know who to trust.

    The truth was that, if Wu Yao exposed Yu Hao¡¯s fake identity, the two Semi-Progenitors would likely believe Wu Yao. After all, seeing was believing. Things would change if Wang Zheng and Long Ke were actually found in the Cloudforest Tower, but Wu Yao kept this matter hidden.

    He was clinging to the slight hope that the person posing as Yu Hao was not actually part of Shenwu''s Sky, as it would allow the Celestial Frost Sect to recruit a true genius, especially since they knew that he was an impostor. Wu Yao was in a better position than the other two Semi-Progenitors when it came to recruiting Yu Hao, but even then, the possibility of Yu Hao not being a member of Shenwu¡¯s Sky was incredibly small.

    Life presented many choices to people, and Wu Yao chose to temporarily keep a bit of information hidden.

    It was impossible for Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu topletely believe Wu Yao''s usation regarding Shenwu''s Sky. They were actually far more willing to believe that the Celestial Frost Sect was the guilty party, as the Celestial Frost Sect was too overbearing towards the other three ruling powers.

 Chapter 2289: No Possible Justification

    Chapter 2289: No Possible Justification

    The Celestial Frost Sect surpassed all of the other members of the four ruling powers in both numbers of powerful Progenitors, and skilled Lockbreakers.

    However, objectively speaking, Shenwu''s Sky did notg far behind the Celestial Frost Sect.

    When Virtue Archives¡¯ students had been visiting the Wang family¡¯s floating maind, the Wang family had been intimidated by Shenwu''s Sky because of Grandmaster Qiu Ling. It was not impossible for Shenwu''s Sky to be the culprit behind everything.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu met with each other to speak after moving away from Wu Yao. "I honestly hope that Aeternus is behind everything, as at least that won¡¯t mean an internal war for humanity."

    Mr. Yu was still considering everything. "When everything started, Bai Teng''s disappearance was when Shenwu''s Sky voiced their suspicions that the Celestial Frost Sect was behind things, and they convinced the rest of us to join them against the Celestial Frost Sect. It was after that that the Celestial Frost Sect brought up Forgotten Ruins God and diverted everyone¡¯s attention. Given the information that we obtained on the rear battlefield, all of us were convinced that Aeternus was plotting something. It¡¯s why we made it a point to gather all of the members of Star Alliance together as bait to lure out the Seven Skygods.

    "Now, Shenwu''s Sky is saying that they discovered that Xia Xing''s clone was in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower, while Wu Yao is iming that Shenwu''s Sky is behind everything. He¡¯s basically denying the Aeternals¡¯ involvement. All that we can be sure about is that none of what¡¯s happened has any connection to Aeternus. It¡¯s either Shenwu''s Sky or the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Semi-Progenitor Chai replied, "Regardless of who it is, we need to work together."

    Mr. Yu nodded. "Shenwu''s Sky swears that Patriarch Wang Zheng and Patriarch Long Ke are in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower. Let¡¯s wait to hear back about that for now. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, do you think that Wu Yao is still hiding something? He wouldn¡¯t be so certain if he were only sharing some spections, which means that he is hiding something."

    "Agreed. He¡¯s trying to prove that Shenwu''s Sky is the culprit, but he still wants to keep some things hidden. What is he trying to hide from us?" Semi-Progenitor Chai grew puzzled.

    The two looked over at Wu Yao in unison. "The truth will soon be revealed. I want to see who¡¯s responsible for everything."

    Over the course of the next few days, Virtue Archives¡¯ students all trained within Shenwu''s Sky. As they did, rumors started to spread throughout the Perennial World regarding the mass execution of thest few captive survivors of the Lu family. Word quickly spread throughout the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm.

    Countless eyes were focused on Shenwu''s Sky.

    This execution was intended to lure Lu Yin out and force him to reveal himself if he really was in the Perennial World. For this reason, while the number of people who would be executed were rtively small, their deaths were going to be drawn out over as much time as possible to ensure that their deaths were agonizingly painful.

    "Two months. The execution will take at least two months to finish." Xia Ziheng made it a point to visit ¡°Yu Hao¡± and share this news with him.

    Lu Yin''s heart was overflowing with bloodlust and rage, but nothing could be seen from his face. "Isn¡¯t this excessively cruel?"

    Xia Ziheng just sneered. "It¡¯s no more than what they deserve! Everyone from the Lu family deserves to die! Yu Hao, as you are joining my Shenwu''s Sky, you should learn our history. If not for the Lu family, Progenitor Chen, whose name was Xia Shang, would have willingly surrendered to our family and not insisted on rebelling! While this part of history has been hidden, you¡¯re entitled to learn of it. After the execution, I¡¯ll tell you more details."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ll thank you in advance, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng."

    A short timeter, the two of them and an entire group of people arrived at the border of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s territory. There, they found dozens of people who were tied to stone pirs. "The original n was to hold the execution at the edge of the Higher Realm, but after considering that Kui Luo might be apanying Lu Xiaoxuan, it was instead decided to do it here. If Lu Xiaoxuan dares to show himself, he will never be able to leave."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan probably won¡¯t dare to attend the execution if it¡¯s held here in Shenwu''s Sky, so won¡¯t that make all of this a waste?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Xia Ziheng sneered. "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. As long as Lu Xiaoxuan is in the Perennial World, he won¡¯t miss this. We¡¯re very familiar with the character of people from the Lu family. If he doesn¡¯t show up this time, he definitely will the next time. We¡¯ll just hold periodic executions of whoever¡¯s left from the Lu family or their followers. The blood of the Lu family will drip from here into the Middle Realm, so even if Lu Xiaoxuan doesn''te himself, we¡¯ll still force out other survivors from the Lu family. This execution will only be the appetizer."

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± was impressed. "That¡¯s true. Who came up with such a cruel and effective n?"

    A smile spread across Xia Ziheng''s face. "It was me, of course."

    ¡°Yu Hao¡± grunted. "This junior will need to learn a great many things from you from now on, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng."

    Xia Ziheng looked over at the young man, happy with such adoration. "I can hear how much you approve of this. You¡¯re making the right choice¡ªlet go of all past hatreds. You will always belong to my Shenwu''s Sky. In the future, Shenwu''s Sky will help you to reach ever higher levels. Your surname might not be ¡®Xia,¡¯ but you are already more valuable than most of the Xia family members. You need to remember this, Yu Hao."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    The next day was the formal start of the execution of the surviving members of the Lu family. In addition to the people from Shenwu''s Sky who had arrived with Lu Yin, an audience had formed from people from the rest of the four ruling powers, as well as the students from Virtue Archives. Everyone stared at the members of the Lu family who were tied to stone pirs. It was impossible to determine what anyone was thinking as they observed the scene.

    Soon, terrifying wails would echo through the air, while blood would stain the ground below. The entire event wouldst for two months.

    Shenwu''s Sky would not allow any of the captives to die peacefully. Just as Xia Ziheng had said, this execution was just the appetizer.

    A short distance away, Xia Xing looked over at Lu Yin. Not only did the sect master see that the young man was calm, but he also saw approval.

    Xia Xing felt chills run over his body. Lu Xiaoxuan hadpletely changed. The former Lu Xiaoxuan would have been desperately attacking at this moment, but the current Lu Yin was not merelyposed; he also put on a show of contentment at watching the execution. He looked as though he was not seeing anyone from the Lu family. Such control and perfect acting was disturbing for Xia Xing to watch. He had not been at all concerned about Lu Xiaoxuan in the past, but Lu Yin was terrifying.

    The sect master looked away, his mind wandering to Progenitor Chen''s blood. As long as he could get his hands on Progenitor Chen''s blood, he would immediately be able to draw the broken saber, and then he would reveal everything to the Progenitor and ask the man to remove the restriction from his body. Lu Xiaoxuan would die.

    After all, how could Xia Xing, patriarch of the Xia family, truly be willing to be Lu Xiaoxuan''s puppet?

    ***

    Far away from Shenwu''s Sky, a person held a mirror as a white fog carried them towards the center of the Higher Realm. This person was Lu Yin. Liu Shaoge had taken on the role of Yu Hao to observe the execution of the members of the Lu family. After being reced, Lu Yin was making his way to Crimson Garden. Since he could not save the members of Star Alliance, he would have to be content with saving the people imprisoned in Crimson Garden for the time being.

    Wu Yao had already learned a portion of the truth about ¡°Yu Hao,¡± and it was only a matter of time before everything was exposed. Lu Yin did not actually n to return to Shenwu''s Sky. It was time to put an end to his time as Yu Hao.

    ***

    At the same time, in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower, a bit of light that shrouded Long Ke¡¯s body began to fade away. He staggered and copsed while looking around. Just where was he?

    He searched until he found the entrance to the pagoda. He cautiously opened the door and stepped out.

    The moment Long Ke emerged from the Cloudforest Tower and stepped outside, a spy from Shenwu''s Sky noticed. Nei Ying had been told to keep watch on the Cloudforest Tower, and his expression instantly changed when he saw Long Ke, and a message was instantly sent to Shenwu''s Sky.

    In Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Ziheng was still admiring the tragic sight of the condemned members of the Lu family. Of course, they were not truly survivors from the Lu family, and he was well aware of that.

    The execution had originally been intended to feature true members of the Lu family, but Xia Ziheng had been approached by Xia Xing, who had proposed to conduct the execution several different times so that they could not only lure out Lu Xiaoxuan, but also other survivors from the Lu family. Xia Xing suggested that it would be better to keep the true members of the Lu family hidden, as they could be brought out and used at a critical moment to deal with some hidden survivors of the Lu family or their vassals.

    Suddenly, the Semi-Progenitor¡¯smunication crystal trembled, and his eyes flickered as he answered the call right in front of Semi-Progenitor Chai, Mr. Yu, Wu Yao, and the God of Food. "What''s wrong?"

    "Ancestor, Long Ke was found in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower," someone hastily reported.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes went wide, and he shot a re at Wu Yao, as did Mr. Yu.

    In fact, everyone who had overheard the message was staring at Wu Yao.

    Wu Yao was taken aback. What had he just heard? Long Ke had been found in the Cloudforest Tower? It had to be a dream! Wu Yao personally guarded the Cloudforest Tower, so how could Long Ke have entered it?

    "Wu Yao, can you provide an exnation for the Celestial Frost Sect?" Xia Ziheng demanded in an icy voice. "Return our sect master¡¯s clone!"

    Mr. Yu shouted, "Senior Wu Yao, was our patriarch really in the Cloudforest Tower?"

    The God of Food waspletely stunned. What in the world was going on?

    Wu Yao quickly recovered, and he red straight back at Xia Ziheng. "Your Shenwu¡¯s Sky is quite scheming. You want to frame my Celestial Frost Sect? Luckily for us, I knew of your intentions long ago. You im that Long Ke appeared in the Cloudforest Tower? Where is your evidence?"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu looked back at Xia Ziheng. Neither of them had seen any evidence, so they would not easily believe Xia Ziheng''s words.

    Xia Ziheng became furious. "Long Ke was in the Cloudforest Tower! Don¡¯t try to cloud the matter! Someone from my Shenwu''s Sky saw Long Ke with their own eyes!"

    He looked over at Mr. Yu. "You don''t believe me? The Celestial Frost Sect has been behind everything!"

    "Xia Ziheng, the scheme that Shenwu''s Sky has tried to carry out has been exposed! You deliberately caused Xia Xing''s clone to disappear, and then you were the ones who captured Wang Zheng, Long Ke, and Bai Teng. Your Shenwu¡¯s Sky is responsible for everything!" Wu Yao roared.

    Xia Ziheng had not expected Wu Yao to snap back. It even seemed like the man hade to some sort of earlier agreement with Semi-Progenitor Chai and Mr. Yu. Xia Ziheng had assumed that the Celestial Frost Sect would bepletely unable to argue about anything after Long Ke was discovered inside the Cloudforest Tower.

    "Brother Xia, is Long Ke really within the Celestial Frost Sect? Do you have any evidence?" Semi-Progenitor Chai asked in a deep voice.

    Xia Ziheng pointed to hismunication crystal. "One of my people saw it with his own eyes! He is currently right in front of the Cloudforest Tower."

    An image appeared from themunication crystal, and it was possible to make out both Long Ke and the Cloudforest Tower.

    Wu Yao''s eyes grewrge. This was impossible! How could this be? How could Long Ke have been inside the Cloudforest Tower? Could his sect really have been responsible for so much? If so, why had he been left in the dark?

    Mr. Yu''s expression grew terrible. "Senior Wu Yao, your Celestial Frost Sect has been very maniptive, but are you really confident that you can face all three of us at once?"

    Wu Yao stared at the image from themunication crystal in a daze. He had no answer to what was happening. Was someone disguising themselves as Long Ke? That was not very likely.

    Xia Ziheng spoke up in a cold tone, "Fortunately, our sect master was able to sense the location of his clone, so we¡¯ve been keeping an eye on the Cloudforest Tower. If not for that, no one would have ever learned about your Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s actions."

    As he watched the Semi-Progenitors arguing, Xia Xing remembered how Lu Xiaoxuan had released Long Ke while visiting the Celestial Frost Sect. Once again, Xia Xing could not help but mourn the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan had be so calcting. He had enacted a scheme that not even the Celestial Frost Sect could unravel.

    Wu Yao was being targeted, and Mr. Yu might attack the man at any moment. Wu Yao knew that he had no hope of escaping from Shenwu''s Sky, so he suddenly pointed at the nearby Yu Hao. "I have evidence of my own that proves that Shenwu''s Sky is behind everything! It¡¯s him!"

    Everyone turned to look at Yu Hao with pure confusion. Yu Hao? What did anything at all have to do with him?

    The God of Food frowned and moved to stand in front of Yu Hao. "Wu Yao, what¡¯s this nonsense you¡¯re spouting now?"

    Liu Shaoge remained perfectly calm.

    Wu Yao shouted, "Yu Hao is an imposter! He is not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice, and he never was! He¡¯s a member of Shenwu''s Sky!"

    Wu Yao could no longer worry about trying to recruit whoever was pretending to be Yu Hao. Regardless of who this person truly was, Wu Yao wouldy everything on Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Otherwise, he might not be able to escape with his life.

 Chapter 2290: Dance

    <h4>Chapter 2290: Dance</h4>

    Wu Yao''s words were shocking to everyone, and they all turned to stare at ¡°Yu Hao.¡±

    Liu Shaoge met their gazes with a slight smile. "Senior, I don''t understand what you¡¯re talking about."

    Wu Yao let out a huff. "Quite pretending! Mu Shang has visited Grandmaster Gu Yan, and he heard the truth from Grandmaster Gu Yan''s own mouth! He clearly stated that he does not nor has he ever had an apprentice named Yu Hao. He¡¯s never even heard of you!"

    The God of Food stared at ¡°Yu Hao.¡±?He¡¯s not Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice? Wait, something¡¯s off about the kid¡­

    As the God of Food stared, he suddenly felt that there was something wrong with Yu Hao. There seemed to be a hazy fog covering the young man¡¯s face.

    In addition to the God of Food, Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors noticed the same thing.

    Progenitor Smoke''s wei was difficult for Semi-Progenitors to notice, but that did not mean that it was impossible. As long as a Semi-Progenitor observed carefully, they would be able to detect problems. Liu Shaoge had remained hidden simply because no one had thought to examine him closely.

    As soon as Mr. Yu waved a hand, Liu Shaoge''s disguise vanished entirely, and he was fully exposed to everyone.

    ***

    Far away in another part of the Higher Realm, Lu Yin was finally in front of Crimson Garden. At that same time, Progenitor Smoke spoke up, ¡°The other kid¡¯s disguise is gone in Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    Liu Shaoge had been exposed? Lu Yin could not afford to even think about it for the time being. Instead, he was entirely focused on the empty space in front of him. This was the same ce that Qing Chen had once brought Long Qi: Crimson Garden.

    As he walked up to the empty area, Lu Yin released his domain. A voice suddenly shouted, "Who dares trespass into Crimson Garden?"

    "Your grandfather." Lu Yin flitted through the void with a hand upraised. Invisible ripples spread out, and the void copsed into nothingness. A delicate and beautiful red flower suddenly appeared within the void.

    "Brazen!" An old man appeared and he red at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re seeking death!"

    Even as the man spoke, countless meteorites fell from the sky, covering the entire sky. Their impact would reduce the region to a wastnd. This was an inner world. The old man was a Semi-Progenitor .

    Crimson Garden was protected by a Semi-Progenitor. This was something that Lu Yin had expected.

    Progenitor Smoke appeared next to Lu Yin, and a white fog instantly enveloped the area. All of the meteorites and everything before Lu Yin suddenly disappeared.

    The old man''s expression instantly changed. "Yo- you-"

    Progenitor Smoke responded with a small smile, "Little guy, go to sleep for a while."

    Her hand stretched out in a manner that ignored space to touch the old man. A finger gave a gentle flick, the old man copsed onto the ground.

    Lu Yin had no time to focus on how much strength Progenitor Smoke had just demonstrated. He quickly touched the red flower and entered Crimson Garden. He was quickly met with the sight of the red world once again.

    The beautiful red flowers rained down, covering the entire sky. It was beautiful and endless. The sky was hidden by the red flowers, as were the bamboo forests, the bridges crossing rivers along paths that wound around the ce. It all looked peaceful andforting.

    "It''s so beautiful," Progenitor Smoke praised.

    Lu Yin excitedly looked up ahead. During his first visit to the garden, he had not known who the insane prisoners were. All he had known was that everyone he saw in Crimson Garden had been raving mad. Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen had told Long Qi that Crimson Garden imprisoned the Perennial World¡¯s most powerful madmen.

    Back then, Lu Yin had seen a madman on the bottom of a river, and he had heard the man say, "Copy this scripture a hundred times: don''t be naughty. Don''t look at the ancestors¡­"

    Lu Yin had seen a fat old woman who had been squatting on the ground, chopping something with her arm, despite the fact that her arm had already rotten away to the point where her bones had been exposed. He had heard her say, "Don''t worry, it''s almost ready! What else do you want to eat? Fried iced fruit? Grilled fish? I¡¯ll make them all for you! Haha." Herughter had sounded so hearty and so happy.

    Lu Yin had heard a man call out to him, saying, "Young master! Young master, you¡¯ve returned! Young master, this old ve has missed you so much! Young master¡­"

    The man had clearly been in control of his faculties, but Qing Chen had imed that the man was also insane. Still, hearing the words ¡°young master¡± had felt so familiar that it had nearly brought tears to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin walked towards the river. He looked forward to seeing the old man who sat cross-legged on the bottom of the river once again. While he was unable to remember the people imprisoned in Crimson Garden, he did know that they were all his family. The people closest to him, and yet unknown by him.

    Where were they?

    Lu Yin stared at the bottom of the river after reaching its edge. Where was everyone? Why were all of the people gone?

    He leaped into the river, searching for the old man, but Lu Yin failed to find him. Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he raced out of the river and charged into the depths of Crimson Garden. He sought out the old woman, the little girl, and the madman who had referred to him as young master, all of the people he had seen on his previous visit. Where were they all?

    Lu Yin frantically looked everywhere. He searched the entirety of Crimson Garden, but did not find a single person.

    Progenitor Smoke followed after Lu Yin. "You don¡¯t need to look for them. There¡¯s no one here."

    Lu Yin''s eyes were bloodshot. "That¡¯s impossible! They have to be here! Where are they? Where are they?"

    Progenitor Smoke nced around, and then suddenly stared in a specific direction. A person walked out as Progenitor Smoke stared. It was a beautiful woman, and she walked towards Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin slowly turned around to look at the stunning figure who had just appeared. He looked into the familiar eyes with a beautiful face. There was something almost sacred about the face, and it even radiated a faint light. The woman continued walking forward, her eyes never once shifting away from Lu Yin.

    It was only natural for anyone who stood next to Progenitor Smoke to feel inferior due to her unmatched beauty, but this woman who had appeared did not even nce over. Her eyes were locked onto Lu Yin as she stared at him with a gentleness and unspeakable emotion filling her eyes. "You¡¯re¡­ back."

    Her soft voice rang in Lu Yin''s ear.

    He stared nkly as the woman approached. She was stunningly beautiful, just like the enchanting red flowers that surrounded them. Her looks caused her to rece all sources of light wherever she went. No one could possibly take their eyes off of her, as she was the center of the universe.

    Lu Yin had never before seen such a beautiful and wless woman. Even Progenitor Smoke was inferior to this woman¡¯s demeanor. It was not rted to cultivation or strength, but was rather a sensation that the entire world was nothing more than a background to entuate this woman¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin did not speak a word. He simply watched as the woman approached him. She only stopped after drawing very close. She was extremely close to him, and he could even pick up the fragrance of her body. She possessed a charming fragrance that felt somehow both intoxicating and incredibly familiar.

    She slowly stretched out a hand and touched Lu Yin''s face, stroking it. "You¡¯ve grown up. It looks like you¡¯ve gone through a lot."

    Lu Yin stared into the woman''s eyes. Suddenly, his hand shot up and he grabbed her hand. His eyes gained an almost impossibly cold glint. "Bai Xian''er."

    Progenitor Smoke stood to the side, watching the two young people with an odd expression.

    Their position and posture screamed that they were two lovers, yet the look in their eyes clearly stated that they were anything but.

    The woman gazed at Lu Yin with softness in her eyes, but her eyes also seemed slightly empty. It was as though she was not really focused on Lu Yin at all, but rather was seeing him as well as the entire world. There was a tremendous arrogance and aloofness to her.

    Lu Yin was much easier to read, as his eyes zed with the desire to kill the person in front of him.

    Despite the looks in both people¡¯s eyes, their actions only became increasingly ambiguous.

    "You''re back." The woman smiled, which caused her to look even more beautiful than ever. The delicate red flowers nearby let out a burst of fragrance, and then slowly spun around. It looked as though they were dancing.

    Lu Yin slowly started to squeeze his hand harder and harder as time passed. He acted as though he wanted to crush what was in his grasp. "Where is everyone?"

    The woman just smiled, clearly unconcerned with Lu Yin¡¯s strength. He could not affect her at all. "Were there people here?"

    "I''ll ask you again: where is everyone?" Lu Yin''s voice was icy, though his eyes were zing.

    The woman sighed. "You¡¯ve changed. You didn¡¯t talk to me like this before. You told me that you would protect me for the rest of your life."

    "I want to protect others more than that now," Lu Yin slowly spat out each word.

    A smile tugged the corner of the woman''s mouth upwards. "Then what should I do? They could already be dying."

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted, and he released the power that sat within his chest. There was an instant change in Crimson Garden, as stars appeared that let out a weak glow. A powerful force tried to invade the woman''s body, but even then, her expression remained unchanged. She even took a step forward. Two people¡¯s bodies started racing around Crimson Garden, shattering the void as they spun around, apanied by a flow of something gray. The entire thing looked like a beautiful dance at first nce.

    Lu Yin looked incredibly serious. He had already released the oppressive power that he cultivated within his chest. In the past, the energy had dissolved everything that it had encountered. Lu Yin simultaneously tried to crush everything and anything that Bai Xian''er attempted with Inverse Step, but she entirely ignored Inverse Step¡¯s influence. Lu Yin could not understand how she did it.

    He already knew that there was a massive gap between him and Bai Xian''er. He had not only lost his memories of the past, but also time. While it might not have been too long, it was enough for a qualitative change in strength for people like him and Bai Xian¡¯er.

    Lu Yin hadshed out not only to test himself against Bai Xian¡¯er, but also because Progenitor Smoke was present. She was the reason for his confidence.

    However, Bai Xian''er never attacked. All she did was render Lu Yin¡¯s strength impotent. She did not even resist when Lu Yin grabbed her hand.

    Suddenly, she closed her eyes and leaned against Lu Yin''s chest while embracing him. "Brother Xiaoxuan, do you hate me?"

    Lu Yin looked down at Bai Xian''er, not knowing how to react. Clearly, his strength was absolutely of no threat to the woman.

    Bai Xian''er just hugged Lu Yin as the two of them raced around Crimson Garden at speeds that made them invisible to ordinary people. However, to Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyes, it was as though every movement of the two people had been slowed to a crawl, as the Progenitor was prepared to stop Bai Xian''er from attacking Lu Yin. A small bit of wei enveloped the two. It looked like a twirling ribbon, and it added to the appearance of two young people dancing through a garden. It looked like Lu Xiaoxuan and Bai Xian''er were performing their own unique dance.

    A dance that sent them all around Crimson Garden.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, you¡¯re too weak," Bai Xian''er muttered quietly. She pulled back the hand that Lu Yin had grabbed, and he waspletely unable to do anything to stop her. Bai Xian''er then pped Lu Yin¡¯s chest, sending him flying and tumbling through the air.

    Bai Xian''er smiled at Lu Yin. "Shenwu¡¯s Sky is about to execute members of the Lu family vassals. Could they be the ones you want to save, Brother Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin instantly turned pale. Bai Xian''er knew. She knew everything! "Senior, stop her!"

    Progenitor Smoke instantly reacted, and a white fog wrapped around Bai Xian''er, the Progenitor¡¯s face solemn.

    Truthfully, Progenitor Smoke did not feel that anyone who was not even a Semi-Progenitor could create even the slightest challenge. However, Bai Xian¡¯er possessed a power that not even Progenitor Smoke could see through, so she could not truly understand Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s strength.

    Bai Xian''er allowed the fog to tangle her up, and then she looked at Progenitor Smoke for the first time. A smile touched Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s eyes. "A master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas: Senior Progenitor Smoke."

    Before Progenitor Smoke could say a word, Lu Yin had already rushed out of Crimson Garden. He had never dreamed that the recements that he had asked Xia Xing to send to the execution in ce of the members of the Lu family were actually the prisoners from Crimson Garden. This woman was too ruthless. If the people from Crimson Garden died, then the me would lie solely on Lu Yin¡¯s head. He would be the one responsible for them suffering agonizing deaths and being tortured for at least two months. The more he thought about it, the more Lu Yin lost his mind. He dreamed of being able to simply kill Bai Xian''er.

    Still, he knew such thoughts were unrealistic. He rationally knew that Bai Xian''er would not be easy to kill, not even if Progenitor Smoke was helping him.

    He had no idea how he had been exposed, or how Bai Xian''er knew what he had done. All he knew was that he was going to Shenwu''s Sky and that he would save the members of his family and stop them from being tortured.

    Before leaving Crimson Garden, Lu Yin looked back, murder in his eyes. Bai Xian''er¡¯s expression was as bright as ever. There was a faint smile on her face. She seemedpletely unpredictable.

    "Senior, please take me to Shenwu''s Sky as quickly as possible," Lu Yin asked sullenly.

    Progenitor Smoke waved a hand. White fog wrapped around Lu Yin, and it quickly carried him through the sky towards Shenwu''s Sky.

 Chapter 2291: Descending Upon Shenwuâ€™s Sky

    <h4>Chapter 2291: Descending Upon Shenwu¡¯s Sky</h4>

    Returning to Shenwu''s Sky at this time was no different than rushing towards death, but Lu Yin had no choice. He had to save those people. No matter the cost, he simply could not allow those people to be tortured for two entire months before they were executed.

    The best thing for him to do would be to just leave and return to the Fifth Maind. There was no longer any benefit to him staying in the Perennial World. He should use the power of Progenitor Chen and train. What good would going even do? After this mass execution, they would just organize another, and then another. Even if Lu Yin did eventually get his revenge, destroyed the four ruling powers, and killed Bai Xian''er, so what? Would it bring the dead back to life?

    Not leaving was just being naive, as well as suicidal. However, Lu Yin knew that he would not regret his decision.

    With the help of Progenitor Smoke''s wei, Lu Yin raced across the Higher Realm towards Shenwu''s Sky, desperate to make up for the mistakes that he had already made. He hadpletely underestimated Bai Xian''er, and he had no idea what sort of tricks she might have set up against him.

    Progenitor Smoke said nothing to try to dissuade Lu Yin. There were certain things that were worth fighting for, and Lu Yin¡¯s decision in some ways mirrored Xia Shang''s choice in the past.

    Far away from Lu Yin, chaos had erupted within Shenwu''s Sky. There was a trickle of blood at the corner of Wu Yao''s mouth. He stood atop a massive half-moon as he fought against Xia Ziheng, who used a birdcage formed from countless des. It was a battle between two inner worlds.

    "Wu Yao, just give up! The Celestial Frost Sect is responsible, and we will force your sect to give us an exnation for things!" Xia Ziheng sternly shouted.

    Wu Yao yelled back, "Your Shenwu''s Sky is behind everything! Yu Hao is one of yours, and you also put Long Ke in the Cloudforest Tower!"

    "What a joke! The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Cloudforest Tower holds top secret information and important treasures, which you, Wu Yao, personally protect. Who could have snuck Long Ke in under your nose?" Xia Ziheng retorted as countless des shed at the half-moon beneath Wu Yao''s feet.

    The void in the entire region was trembling. This was a battle between two Semi-Progenitors, and even Envoys as powerful as Xia Xing could only escape into the distance. They did not dare to get anywhere close to the actual fighting.

    Xia Shenfei was still staring at Liu Shaoge from a distance. This person was an imposter. He was not a three-tribtion Envoy, nor was he Yu Hao. He was a fake. "Father, that person is a fake. The real Yu Hao ran away."

    Xia Xing felt quite puzzled. "What do you mean, Yu Hao ran away? That person was pretending to be Yu Hao. The real Yu Hao must have died long ago."

    Xia Shenfei anxiously replied, "No, someone else has been pretending to be Yu Hao before now. Elder Qi, catch him!"

    An old man appeared behind Xia Shenfei, and he immediately captured Liu Shaoge.

    Suddenly, a giant rose high into the sky and its presence shone down upon Shenwu''s Sky with a holy light. The imprisoned jiao suddenly opened its eyes and looked over with curiosity.

    As soon as the God of Food saw the giant, his expression changed drastically. "You beast!"

    The giant was none other than Mr. Yu. The giant was the manifestation of his own inner world.

    While it looked like some sort of divinity, from a different point of view, it was possible to see a disgusting ferocity and powerful resentment. This perfectly portrayed Mr. Yu, who had two contradictory personalities. Awakening the resentful side of himself was what had triggered his actions long ago that the God of Food could not forget, no matter how much time passed.

    Mr. Yu became a giant. The giant both was Mr. Yu, and it was also his inner world.

    Upon seeing Wu Yao sh against Xia Ziheng''s inner world, Mr. Yu struck, throwing a punch at Wu Yao. "Release our patriarch!"

    The giant¡¯s punch caught Wu Yao off guard, and his half-moon nearly shattered, causing him to spit out blood. "I told you, Shenwu''s Sky is behind this!"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai sighed. "Long Ke did indeed just emerge from the Cloudforest Tower. My Wang family has also confirmed the matter. There¡¯s nothing to argue about, Wu Yao. Stop resisting. You are a Semi-Progenitor¡ªyou shouldn''t die like this."

    Wu Yao was beyond furious. He truly could not understand if his sect was responsible or not. Logically speaking, they should not be, but the image of a beautiful woman kept popping up in Wu Yao¡¯s mind. Could it be her? If so, why had she not said anything to him? If not, who else was capable of sneaking Long Ke into the Cloudforest Tower?

    At this moment, Wu Yao¡¯smunication crystal trembled, and he nced down. He then quickly answered, as Bai Xian¡¯er was calling.

    At this moment, Mr. Yu threw another punch that smashed into Wu Yao. At the same time, Xia Ziheng''s de cage suddenly shrank down until it pressed against Wu Yao.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai also took action. He wanted things to be resolved quickly. While the White Dragon n wanted Long Ke returned and an exnation for his disappearance, the Wang family¡¯s Wang Zheng was far more important to them. He was one of Wang Fan¡¯s own children. He was the family¡¯s genuine patriarch, and he had to be rescued.

    As soon as Wu Yao heard Bai Xian''er''s message, joy covered his face and he looked up. "Stop! I know who it is! Yes-"

    Before he could finish speaking, three attacks descended andpletely smashed his half-moon. Wu Yao was startled, and his hand moved to retrieve something from his cosmic ring. As soon as he did, a cloud enveloped his whole body.

    At that instance, the attacks of all three Semi-Progenitors faded away. The imprisoned jiao stared at the cloud from far overhead. That cloud was the power of a Progenitor.

    Puff!

    Despite blocking the attacks of the three Semi-Progenitors with the cloud, Wu Yao had still been terribly wounded. He dropped down onto one knee, and when he raised his head, his face was very pale. "Lu Xiaoxuan! It''s Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Xia Ziheng and the other two froze. "What was that?"

    Wu Yao used Progenitor Ku¡¯s secret technique to heal himself, and then a burst of pure rage filled his eyes. "He''s Lu Xiaoxuan! He¡¯s here! He¡¯s the one who captured Long Ke and the other patriarchs, and he ced Long Ke in the Cloudforest Tower while pretending to be Yu Hao. He¡¯s responsible for everything!"

    Everyone automatically looked over at Liu Shaoge.

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Elder Qi was standing in front of Liu Shaoge, and he ordered, "Junior, follow me."

    Liu Shaoge did not try to offer any resistance. After all, it would be pointless. He was less than an ant to these people, so even if he had a n, what sort of n could an ant carry out?

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin arrived, carried by Progenitor Smoke''s wei. He did not hide himself. He had heard Wu Yao''s roar as he was approaching Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin knew that he had been exposed, so there was no need for any extra effort.

    Lu Yin restored his true appearance, and then tore through the void with a bang as he descended upon Shenwu''s Sky. "I heard that you¡¯re looking for me?"

    Progenitor Smoke spoke up. "You¡¯ve been revealed by that girl. She¡¯s more powerful than I had thought. I thought that I would be able to keep her trapped for longer."

    Lu Yin was in no mood to care about such details. All that mattered was the current situation, so he would just fight! He had impatiently waited for this confrontation for a long time. This would decide whether or not the Perennial World would be able to stop him from returning home.

    Everyone turned as one, and they saw as Lu Yin emerged from the void. Shenwu''s Sky fell utterly silent.

    At this moment, even the God of Food, a Semi-Progenitor who had lived for countless years, could not believe his eyes; Yu Hao was actually Lu Xiaoxuan? How had he done it?

    No one could believe what they saw, nor what they had just heard. Was Yu Hao actually Lu Xiaoxuan? Lu Xiaoxuan had been impersonating Yu Hao? How? How had he managed to deceive so many Semi-Progenitors?

    Xia Xing''s expression turned ugly. This was unfortunate. With Lu Xiaoxuan exposed, he would definitely be captured. Then, how was Xia Xian supposed to get his hands on Progenitor Chen''s blood? This was a problem for the sect master.

    Xia Shenfei stared in a daze at Lu Yin, who was standing in the sky. This was Xia Shenfei¡¯s second time seeing this person. Thest time had been in the Dominion Realm when Lu Yin had overpowered the four Junior Progenitor almost single-handedly. He had left them all feeling overwhelmed and helpless. He had utterly dominated them and shattered their arrogance as geniuses who stood above all others from their generation. At this time, Lu Yin had returned.

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes started to ze, and he threw his gourd of wine to the side. He was eager to see just how capable Lu Xiaoxuan had be. There should not be too great a gap between them anymore.

    The appearance of a single person had seized the attention of all of Shenwu''s Sky. This was Lu Yin, whom the Perennial World knew as Lu Xiaoxuan.

    This was the same scene that had yed out decades ago on Dragon Mountain. Lu Yin had been exposed back then as well, and then was pursued and hunted. This time, he had returned in order to save people.

    There was a moment of silence, and then Lu Yin nced over at the people lined up to be executed. His domain rippled through the void, and he suddenly disappeared, flitting through the void.

    From where the people from Virtue Archives stood in the distance, Mr. Tang was shocked by what he had just seen. Had this young man¡¯s domain reached the void god realm?

    Lu Yin made no attempt to hide his domain this time, and it was clear to everyone watching that he possessed a domain that had reached the void god level.

    The domain swept over the people from Shenwu''s Sky who were poised, ready to execute the prisoners, and all of the executioners instantly died.

    At this moment, the person closest to Lu Yin was Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Elder Qi.

    The man had lost all interest in capturing Liu Shaoge. As soon as the old man saw Lu Yin appear close by, he leaped up, and his Divine Martial Armor burst forth as an attack shot towards Lu Yin. "Die, Lu bastard!"

    Lu Yin looked up, but everyone could see that there was no chance of escape. Elder Qi had locked down the void and space in the area. His attack fell onto Lu Yin, but it was Elder Qi¡¯s head that was separated from his body.

    It was a terrifying sight, or rather, it badly startled everyone nearby.

    Xia Ziheng erupted in anger, "Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯re courting death!"

    As the man shouted, Mr. Yu and Semi-Progenitor Chai took action as one. Energy swept across Shenwu¡¯s Sky. The ground churned and twisted, and chains shot up from below, seeking to capture Lu Yin.

    This was Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s protective sourcebox array, and Lu Yin did not dare not to underestimate its power.

    "Senior, please!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Progenitor Smoke sighed. "I didn''t think that I''d be fighting against the Xia family when I finally revealed myself."

    She spoke as she watched the three Semi-Progenitors charge towards her and Lu Yin. She looked down at the chains shooting up from the ground, and a fog appeared around the woman. It filled the area, almost as if it had always been there. As soon as the fog appeared, the chains that formed from the sourcebox array were stopped.

    A strange and mysterious power filled Shenwu¡¯s Sky as an indescribably terrifying aura swept through the entire ce.

    Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all instantly froze, and they stared at Progenitor Smoke in horror. "A Progenitor? She¡¯s a Progenitor?"

    "Impossible! How could Lu Xiaoxuan be protected by a Progenitor?"

    In the distance, the God of Food stepped forward as he stared at Progenitor Smoke. She was clearly a beautiful woman, but he felt as though she waspletely untouchable. It was a strange feeling, but it was also oddly familiar. She was clearly a Progenitor. Just who was she?

    Progenitor Smoke slowly said, "Even if Xia Shenji himself were here, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me. You little guys need to step back."

    Xia Ziheng and the others stared at Progenitor Smoke in horror upon seeing her refer to Progenitor Shenji by name. "Who might Senior be?"

    Progenitor Smoke simply replied, "Step back."

    Behind the woman, Lu Yin approached the blood-stained stone pirs and looked at the face of one of the condemned men. The man begged. "I- I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die! Please help me! Save me!"

    Lu Yin''s expression practically transformed, and he shot over to the next pir. He checked each of the condemned prisoners. These were not the people from Crimson Garden! Bai Xian''er had lied to him.

    "No matter what, thatst bastard from the Lu family cannot not leave Shenwu''s Sky alive." Xia Ziheng turned his head to look at Xia Xing. "Sect Master?"

    Xia Xing took a deep breath.?Lu Xiaoxuan, don''t me me for this. If I don¡¯t act now, I won''t have any future at all.

    As the man was thinking such things, he looked up at the imprisoned jiao and muttered, "One time less."

    He spoke just three words, but high above Shenwu''s Sky, the glowing jiao¡¯s eyes grewrge. Suddenly, it moved. It let out a roar that echoed through the sky, and released a terrifying aura that left people¡¯s scalps and caused the sect to quiver. The jiao¡¯s aura shot high into the sky before spreading across the Higher Realm. The force of it seemed to shake the Mother Tree itself.

    Countless people in Shenwu¡¯s Sky covered their ears and dropped to their knees, unable to endure the pain.

 Chapter 2292: Battling A Semi-Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 2292: Battling A Semi-Progenitor</h4>

    As for the people from Virtue Archives, many of the students were still stuck in the revtion that their Prof. Hao Yu was actually Lu Xiaoxuan! When they were struck by the shockwaves from the jiao¡¯s roar, nearly half of the students vomited blood and passed out.

    The God of Food turned pale when the strength of a Progenitor was released. The legends were actually true; the imprisoned jiao really did have the power of a Progenitor.

    Progenitor Smoke looked up from below to examine the chained jiao. "That¡¯s going to be tough to deal with."

    The jiao remained bound by the broken saber and the various chains, but it could still move about within the bounds of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Enormous ws stretched down, shattered multipleyers of space. Progenitor Smoke sighed. "Kid, I¡¯ll give you a hand, but the best that I can do is stop the chained jiao. Whether you can escape is going to have to be up to you."

    The woman then leaped into the sky, and ayer of her white fog spread out and split the area. Within Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Progenitor Smoke and the jiao were cut off from the rest of the people. The barrier formed by the fog essentially split Shenwu''s Sky in half.

    As soon as the barrier appeared, the pressure of a Progenitor disappeared.

    Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all let out sighs of relief before turning to stare at Lu Yin. "You little bastard! You¡¯re certainly cruel enough, pretending to be Yu Hao and capturing the patriarchs of all of the four ruling powers in order to create discord between us! If you hadn¡¯t been exposed so soon, you might have destroyed the entire bnce of the Higher Realm! Clearly, you¡¯re the worst Redback alive! Your entire Lu family was nothing but Redbacks!"

    Lu Yin was still standing with his back to everyone. Was he calm? Angry? He did not even know himself after realizing he had been deceived by Bai Xian''er. The people who were about to be executed were not the prisoners from Crimson Garden, but merely people who had been chosen to die by Shenwu''s Sky.

    Seeing that the people were not his family members, Lu Yin should feel more rxed, but what had happened to everyone who had been imprisoned in Crimson Garden? Where had Bai Xian''er taken them?

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, there were other matters involved that made it so that I couldn¡¯t take action on Dragon Mountain a few decades ago, and that¡¯s why you were able to escape, but there¡¯s no escape for you this time!" Mr. Yu dered.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai also spoke up, "Everyst survivor from the Lu family should be killed! I don''t know how you managed to escape the Forsaken Land and return to the Perennial World. ?It¡¯s possible that you even worked with Aeternus to destroy the New Corridor, but it doesn''t matter! I will execute you myself soon enough, and the New Corridor will be repaired. Nothing will change!"

    Further away, countless people were watching things y out. Some rejoiced, some mourned, and others experienced conflicting emotions. The Lu family had already been exiled, yet a few decades ago, Lu Xiaoxuan had suddenly reappeared and demonstrated a peerless talent. They were about to see such a legendary figure meet his end. It was impossible for anyone to escape from Shenwu''s Sky, absolutely impossible.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was facing multiple Semi-Progenitors, as well as the full force of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin let out a heavy breath, and then slowly turned around to look at Xia Ziheng and the other three. "You guys are so noisy!"

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes red. "Kill the Lu bastard!"

    The man shot forward, almost instantly appearing directly in front of Lu Yin. The Semi-Progenitor did not immediately release his inner world, as he felt that doing so would instantly kill the young man. Xia Ziheng wanted to ensure that Lu Xiaoxuan experienced a long and painful death, especially after the hope that he had given Shenwu¡¯s Sky while posing as Yu Hao. Xia Ziheng intended to vent all of his rage onto Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The Semi-Progenitor hadpletely believed Lu Yin¡¯s act while he pretended to be Yu Hao. After everything that had happened, not even Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s death might be enough to eliminate the dire consequences that Xia Ziheng stood to receive from Progenitor Shenji. If Xia Ziheng needed to pay a price, then he intended to take it out on Lu Xiaoxuan first.

    Even without using his inner world, Xia Ziheng still possessed the strength of a peak Envoy, which he believed to be more than enough to utterly crush Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed. He had already dealt with an opponent with this same level of power: Wang Si. At that time, Lu Yin had used the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword to execute the woman at the opening ceremony of the Heavens Sect. But while Lu Yin had dealt with an opponent with this level of strength before, he could not use the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, at least not for the time being.

    Still, Lu Yin appeared calm and unmoved as he faced Xia Ziheng''s powerful palm strike. Suddenly, a ck and white energy swept over Lu Yin¡¯s body, transforming his entire appearance as hepleted the God of Death Transformation. Solid ck eyes stared up at Xia Ziheng. Hair grew out until it hung to Lu Yin¡¯s waist, and when his hand rose up, a massive scythe appeared in it, and it mmed into Xia Ziheng¡¯s hand.

    The resulting crash created a shockwave that tore through the void as it rippled out in all directions.

    Even before transforming, Lu Yin was already powerful enough to stand his ground against old monsters with power levels of a million or more. The God of Death Transformation produced a qualitative change in Lu Yin¡¯sbat strength, which meant that he could directly block Xia Ziheng''s hand.

    Xia Ziheng''s pupils shrank. This was impossible! How could a mere three-tribtion Envoy block a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack?

    Some distance away, an ugly expression appeared on Xia Shenfei¡¯s face. This was the God of Death¡¯s power. Ever since he had returned from the Dominion Realm and experienced a crushing defeat against Lu Xiaoxuan, Xia Shenfei had been investigating and researching. He had eventually discovered that the ck power that he had faced belonged to the God of Death. Last time, Lu Xiaoxuan had needed a cocoon to transform, but this time, the transformation had beenpleted in an instant. Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s strength had risen too much.

    How had he just managed to stop a Semi-Progenitor with the cultivation of a three-tribtion Envoy?

    All of Virtue Archives¡¯ students werepletely shocked. What were they seeing?

    Nong Siniang''s eyes grew feverish. She had liked Prof. Hao Yu because of his stunning face. As she stared at Lu Yin after he underwent the God of Death Transformation, while he was nowhere close to being as handsome as Yu Hao, the iparable arrogance and overbearing strength were something that also could not bepared to. There was nopetition between Lu Yin and Yu Hao, but at this moment, Nong Siniang found Lu Yin to be the far more appealing man.

    Bai Weiwei was staring in absolute shock.?Yu Hao is Lu Xiaoxuan? He was actually Lu Xiaoxuan this whole time?

    Bai Weiwei could not believe what she was seeing as she watched Lu Yin stand up to Xia Ziheng. He was so young and had even lost his memory and his cultivation, so how had he be so powerful yet again? Was this the level of talent that the Seven Heroes had all possessed?

    "How many of this old man¡¯s moves can you block?" Xia Ziheng shouted sharply. He felt utterly humiliated that Lu Xiaoxuan, a mere three-tribtion Envoy, had blocked his attack. Lu Yin¡¯s left arm rose, and the shield formed from the white gas blocked the next attack, though Lu Yin was still struck into the ground.

    Xia Ziheng raised his hand again, and a long saber appeared in his grip. The de fell, shrouded with Divine Martial Aura as the man tried to break through Lu Yin''s defenses. However, at some point in time, chains had twined around the old man¡¯s feet, and his body was yanked up and tossed away. Lu Yin reced hisrge scythe with a sword formed from stellr energy and released an attack: Thirteenth Sword.

    The sword rose and fell, but no attack could be seen. Still, Xia Ziheng spat out blood. This was the power of the Thirteenth Sword: as long as emotion existed, so did a sword.

    Liu Que eagerly took a step forward, his gaze fixated onto Lu Yin.?The Thirteen Swords! That''s the real one! That¡¯s the Thirteen Swords! Lu Xiaoxuan truly does know the Thirteen Swords!

    Xia Ziheng smashed into the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. He, a mighty Semi-Progenitor, had just been wounded by a puny three-tribtion Envoy! Rage overwhelmed all other emotions, and when he looked down and saw that the chains that were still wrapped around his feet connected to the cloud of energy that swirled behind Lu Xiaoxuan, Xia Ziheng could not restrain himself any longer. He released his inner world, and the saber sliced through the chains, the attack continuing on towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. He was truly peerless when he used the God of Death Transformation, and even Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis had struggled to break a single one of the death energy chains. They needed multiple attacks to do so, but a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world was different. Xia Ziheng instantly sliced through all of Lu Yin¡¯s chains. This was the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The most important difference between a Semi-Progenitor and an Envoy was the existence of an inner world. Each Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world was unique, though Xia Ziheng''s was incredibly dangerous.

    As soon as the other Semi-Progenitors saw that Xia Ziheng had used his inner world, they all rxed. Lu Xiaoxuan was already finished. While there did exist Realmbreaker Envoys who could challenge Semi-Progenitors, it was impossible for anyone who had only passed through three stellr tribtions to stand up to a Semi-Progenitor.

    The fact that a three-tribtion Envoy was able to challenge six-tribtion powerhouses was already something that defied belief, but Lu Yin had shown that he had the strength to challenge an eight-tribtion Envoy. This aplishment deserved to be recorded down in history. Unfortunately, it waspletely impossible for him to be able to challenge a Semi-Progenitor again, as the man had released his inner world.

    Lu Yin had already known that it would be incredibly difficult for him to defeat a Semi-Progenitor, especially by relying on just his own strength. However, he had far more than his own, individual, strength.

    Countless des struck out as Xia Ziheng unleashed a fierce attack. The birdcage that was formed from countless des was about to slice Lu Yin to pieces.

    The God of Food clenched his fists. He wanted to intervene, but they were in Shenwu''s Sky. If he did anything at all, not only would he still be unable to save Lu Yin, but he would also suffer himself. He was not yet ready to challenge the Progenitor breakthrough.

    "Xia Ziheng, don¡¯t kill him!" Semi-Progenitor Chai could not stop from calling out.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes werepletely red and filled with cruelty as he red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surrounded on all sides by des. Not even a void god level of a domain could escape from an inner world, nor could the Ce Secret Art help Lu Yin. This was the overbearing nature of inner worlds.

    A figurine abruptly appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. It was God of mes. "This ce hasn¡¯t lost your history. You need to remember the power of the Rune Progenitor!"

    He looked up and watched the saber fall: Truesight, the Knowing level.

    A deafening sound echoed out, and a birdcage made of des appeared right where Lu Yin was standing, shrunken down to the size of a person. Xia Ziheng did not intend to actually kill Lu Yin, but simply remove the young man¡¯s limbs and start torturing him. This single attack would end all of the youth¡¯s struggles.

    Nong Siniang¡¯s eyes reflexively closed, and her heart dropped.

    Who could remain safe within a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world? Only other Semi-Progenitors.

    Mr. Tang sighed. Lu Xiaoxuan was truly extraordinarily talented, peerlessly so. Losing him could only be considered a true pity.

    Xia Ziheng patted the dust from his body. He had been injured by a three-tribtion child! It was an embarrassment that would stay with him for the rest of his life, but he would make Lu Xiaoxuan pay for the humiliation a thousand times over.

    Huh??Xia Ziheng turned back to stare at the cage of des. He waved a hand, parting the des and exposing what was inside.

    Lu Yin was still safe and sound.

    Everyone went bug-eyed at the revtion. No one could believe what they were seeing. How had Lu Xiaoxuan survived a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack?

    Wu Yao was even more stunned than others, as he himself had just fought against Xia Ziheng, which had provided Wu Yao with an excellent understanding of just how powerful the des that formed the cage were. How could Lu Xiaoxuan be fine? It was impossible.

    However, Lu Yin was notpletely fine. His clothes had been shredded by the des, and his God of Death Transformation had been canceled as well. When the cage had opened, only an ordinary looking human could be seen. The chains, scythe, and shield that came with the God of Death Transformation had all been destroyed by the des.

    No matter how impossible the power of the God of Death might be, it could never make up for the gap in strength between Lu Yin and a Semi-Progenitor. This was also something that he had fully expected.

    Lu Yin had used Truesight while relying on God of mes¡¯ power. Even though the man¡¯s cultivation of Truesight had transformed him into a candle, his runes were stillparable to those of a Semi-Progenitor. Using those runes with the Knowing level of Truesight had been enough to protect Lu Yin.

    Still, it had destroyed a vast number of runes and greatly depleted God of mes¡¯ power, so Lu Yin could not replicate the feat again.

    No one had expected to see Lu Yin emerge safe and unharmed.

    All of the blood drained from Xia Ziheng''s face, and he instantly attacked again. "You little bastard! You think that you can use some sort of treasure to stop my inner world? How many times will you be able to stop me?"

    This time, Lu Yin reacted even faster than Xia Ziheng. He disappeared, and when Lu Yin reappeared, not only had he not tried to flee from Xia Ziheng, but Lu Yin had also passed right by the old man while walking backwards.

 Chapter 2293: Must Die

    <h4>Chapter 2293: Must Die</h4>

    A gray energy swirled around, and Xia Ziheng hesitated. He became confused right when he had been about to release his inner world, as he had gotten caught within an area of chaotic time and space.

    While it was indeed impossible for Lu Yin to take action while inside Xia Ziheng''s inner world, as long as he was not enveloped by the inner world, Lu Yin could move and attack freely.

    With Inverse Step, Lu Yin was invincible beneath the Semi-Progenitor realm.

    While using Inverse Step, Lu Yin¡¯s body also started drying out and bing desated from Extremes Must Be Reversed. Xia Ziheng was not the only Semi-Progenitor present who wanted to attack Lu Yin. It was just a matter of time before the others stepped in.

    Sure enough, Mr. Yu attacked. He had never considered the possibility that Xia Ziheng would not be able to take down Lu Xiaoxuan even after releasing his inner world.

    Lu Yin was amazed to once again see that every Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world was unique. Neither Xia Ziheng nor Mr. Yu were able to surround Lu Yin with their inner worlds, yet that had indeed been the case for both the Sixth Maind¡¯s Lan Xian and Xue Laogui.

    However, Lan Xian and Xue Laogui clearly possessed weaker inner worldspared to Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu, though they could easily handle an opponent like Lu Yin.

    Once he became trapped within an inner world, Lu Yin would not be able to hide from a Semi-Progenitor.

    However, the inner worlds of Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu were incapable of doing this.

    Were these the avable options? Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    The Perennial World was home to far more Semi-Progenitors, and they had more opportunities to fight against others at their same level. On top of that, there was also the rear battlefield, which was constantly being attacked. It would make sense that the Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitors would want to make their inner world as strong as possible in order to gain ess to a powerful weapon.

    On the other hand, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors did not need to consider the power of their inner world at all. Simply possessing an inner world was enough to set them above all others, as it was too great an advantage.

    As for the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, there were people like Jiu Chi, whose inner world filled an entire area, as well as people like Xia Ji, whose inner world was a simple saber.

    Regardless, the forms of inner worlds that Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu possessed made it very difficult for them topletely envelop Lu Yin within their inner worlds. Otherwise, he would stand no chance at all against the two men.

    Right as Lu Yin was thinking of this, he noticed that his surroundings had changed. White shadows were appearing one after another and tangling together.

    His expression changedpletely. This was not good. Another Semi-Progenitor was joining the fray: Semi-Progenitor Chai. He had an inner world that imed a region of space for himself.

    "It wasn¡¯t easy for you toe this far, but Lu Xiaoxuan, it''s time for things to end." Semi-Progenitor Chai''s voice rang out as the white shadows tangled together. At the same time, a huge fist dropped towards Lu Yin from Mr. Yu¡¯s attack.

    There was a boom, and Lu Yin was struck and sent flying into the ground. Xia Ziheng attacked, and his saber fell. "Die for this old man!"

    "Stop!¡± Semi-Progenitor Chai raced to stop the attack, and a white shadow wrapped around Xia Ziheng and pulled him back.

    Xia Ziheng shifted his weapon as he spun around to shoot a vicious re at Semi-Progenitor Chai. "You want to save him?"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai replied, "Lu Xiaoxuan can''t die yet. I need to ask him certain questions. There¡¯s no evidence that he captured Patriarch Wang Zheng or Patriarch Long Ke. Just because he appeared, he is not guaranteed to have been involved in those matters."

    "We¡¯ll capture him for now." Mr. Yu stretched a massive hand into the ground to grab Lu Yin, but as everyone watched in disbelief, the hand was sliced off.

    Mr. Yu stared at the ground in a stunned daze, looking at his missing hand. It was as though he was looking at the most fascinating sight.

    Mr. Yu was not alone, as Xia Ziheng, Semi-Progenitor Chai, Wu Yao, and even the God of Food, Xia Xing and everyone else who was further away from the battle were also staring at the scene in stupefaction. They had been repeatedly shocked throughout the day, yet not a single development was as startling as this moment, not even when Lu Yin had managed to injure Xia Ziheng.

    Mr. Yu''s severed hand was part of his inner world.

    Deep in the ground, Lu Yin''s eyes were zing. Stars streamed out from his body like a river, creating what looked like a replica of the universe. This was the power thaty within his chest. As he emerged from the ground, the power instantly spread out. The ck and white mist held the shape of the two parts of a yin-yang symbol. Fatesand formed the core. Stellr energy created a shell. The entire thing was surrounded by two streams of energy; one ck, and one white. Not only did this odd phenomena push back Mr. Yu, but it also forced open an empty space within Semi-Progenitor Chai''s inner world.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai''s pupils shrank to points. "An- an inner world?"

    Xia Ziheng''s face grew pale. Was this really an inner world?

    That had to be impossible. How could a three-tribtion Envoy develop an inner world?

    The people present in Shenwu¡¯s Sky had witnessed endless impossibilities proven possible this day, and yet they were seeing one more impossibility be brought to life.

    Lu Yin slowly rose from the ground. He had not expected the power that he cultivated in his chest to be so powerful. No, this was pure dominance. It simply surpassed all other things and opened up its own world. Any power that encountered Lu Yin¡¯s own would be either assimted and absorbed or forced back. There was no other choice. Even a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world was pushed back.

    When Lu Yin had first used his unique power, he had stopped the numerous fused shes that Chu Yuan had released at once with his Realm of Time. Later, it had shattered Heluo Mavis¡¯s power. When Lu Yin had returned to the Perennial World, his unique power had shattered Xia Xing¡¯s Divine Martial Armor. The only thing that Lu Yin¡¯s power had not been able to suppress, absorb, or push back had been Bai Xian''er.

    Aside from Bai Xian''er, Lu Yin had never encountered any opponent who could resist his power.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time using his power against a Semi-Progenitor, and he was seeing that he was capable of even pushing back an inner world.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai''s inner world hadpletely enveloped Lu Yin and the surrounding area, but there was an empty pocket within the inner world, and it followed Lu Yin wherever he went.

    No one was more clear on exactly what was happening than Semi-Progenitor Chai. It was his inner world, and he could sense every single part of it. He could feel that the area close to Lu Yin waspletely missing.

    Semi-Progenitor Chai could actually sense Lu Yin¡¯s power, but only enough to tell that it was a power that could not be infiltrated. In fact, the reverse was taking ce. His inner world was being permeated by Lu Yin¡¯s strange power. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s vastly greater strength meant nothing, as he feltpletely powerless before Lu Yin¡¯s unique energy.

    "Kill him. Kill him! You have to kill him!" Semi-Progenitor Chai''s voice grew louder and louder, until he sounded practically insane and his eyes were flushed red. "You have to kill Lu Xiaoxuan! Kill him! If you don¡¯t, no one will be able to stop him in the future!"

    Semi-Progenitor Chai''s crazed words still hung in the air as Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu both attacked. Even Wu Yao attacked, and the half-moon shed at Lu Yin.

    None of the men hesitated any longer, and they employed their full strength specifically to kill Lu Yin.

    In the past, regardless of how freakish abat strength Lu Yin had demonstrated, the Semi-Progenitors had been able to ept it. Even if they could not fathom his abilities, they could still ept them. However, that was no longer the case. Given this bizarre power that he was demonstrating, if Lu Xiaoxuan passed six, eight tribtions, or even became a Semi-Progenitor, what sort ofbat strength would he wield at that time?

    All four of the men had countless thoughts sh through their minds in an instance. They remembered the lockbreaking ability this youth had revealed, as well as the fact that he had passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. They had tens of thousands of reasons to want Lu Yin, even if he was not from the Lu family. Such a freakish genius should simply not exist.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. Then, for the first time, he took action for real. He lifted his head and stepped forward. Protected by his unique power, he was able to ignore Semi-Progenitor Chai''s inner world. The chaotic field of time and space that apanied Lu Yin as he moved caused Mr. Yu, who was closest, to pause for a moment as he was attacking. The streams of ck and white energy that swirled around Lu Yin shot back into his body, and he instantlypleted the God of Death Transformation for a second time. The scythe rose up and dropped down to sh at Mr. Yu.

    Mr. Yu no longer dared to underestimate Lu Yin at this point of time. He was feeling tremendous pressure from this youth, despite the fact that he had only passed three stellr tribtions.

    The scythe tore down the holy side of the giant as Mr. Yu fled into the void in an attempt to dodge the scythe. From behind Lu Yin, the half-moon shot out from the void. Lu Yin spun around and used his white shield to block the attack. There was a massive bang, and he was blown backwards.

    Countless des fell from overhead, and chains shot out of Lu Yin¡¯s body in response. However, the chains were all shed apart by the des.

    His pupils transformed into runes, and he stared at the endless des.. They started to disappear.

    The rain of des paused for a brief moment, but even with the boost from the God of mes¡¯ runes which couldpare to a Semi-Progenitor''s, Lu Yin could not hold back Xia Ziheng''s inner world for long.

    Everyst one of the four Semi-Progenitors was attacking with their full strength. They were all experts whom anyone would struggle against in a one-on-one situation, yet all four of them were cooperating to face one person.

    Even though Lu Yin struggled desperately to endure against his attackers, no one watching the battle would ever be able to forget what they saw for the rest of their lives.

    Who could even have dreamed that a three-tribtion Envoy could rise to such a level? Not only was he crossing multiple realms to challenge a Semi-Progenitor, but he was holding his own against four Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers.

    Not a single person spoke at this moment, as everyone was too stunned.

    Liu Que¡¯s arms fell to his sides. He wanted to challenge the four Junior Progenitors, and he had been even more eager to challenge Lu Xiaoxuan, who had stomped on all of the Junior Progenitors. However, seeing Lu Xiaoxuan''s true level of strength left Liu Que wallowing in despair.?Is this something that humans are even capable of?

    No one could answer Liu Que¡¯s question, not even a Progenitor.

    Such a battle waspletely unprecedented in all of history.

    Qing Ping had once shared that Mister Mu''s standard for epting someone as his disciple was for an Envoy to be able to defeat a Semi-Progenitor, and for a Semi-Progenitor to defeat a Progenitor. At this moment, Lu Yin was doing something that might leave even Mister Mu surprised.

    This was a battle that no one watching would ever forget, as they were witnessing history.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you can''t be allowed to live." Wu Yao pushed a colorful cloud forward. It looked the same as the multi-colored clouds that filled the sky above Celestial Frost Sect. Anyone who tried to approach Wu Yao would have to go through the same sort of trial as when challenging the Sky Beyond the Sky trial, which meant that this cloud could protect Wu Yao, even if Xia Ziheng and the other two Semi-Progenitors teamed up against Wu Yao.

    This colorful cloud had been given to Wu Yao by Bai Wangyuan. It was the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s most precious life-saving treasure, and yet he had brought it out against the inconceivable threat that was Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin dodged Xia Ziheng''s half-moon with Inverse Step, but the Semi-Progenitor still managed to cut Lu Yin¡¯s left arm and leg. His body only recovered a bit from its desated state before he managed to reuse Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    The colorful cloud appeared in front of Lu Yin, but he simply charged towards it without the slightest hesitation. He ripped straight through the cloud, staring at Wu Yao the entire time, and raised the scythe up high. Aurelian force burst out, burning the void even as the scythe fell on a diagonal angle.

    Wu Yao was still struck by the image of Lu Yin tearing through the colorful cloud, and he was unable to react in time. Fortunately, a white shadow dragged him out of the way right before the void was sliced apart by the falling scythe.

    Lu Yin red at the more distant Semi-Progenitor Chai. If not for him, Wu Yao would have just suffered a grave wound. Even if it would not have been possible to deliver multiple attacks, every wound given in this battle was another step forward.

    The four Semi-Progenitors were not just all attacking Lu Yin, they had started to cooperate with each other, which raised their level of threat to an entirely different level.

    des shot at Lu Yin from every direction. From far overhead, Mr. Yu¡¯s inner world in the form of a giant wept massive tears that fell down. It felt as though the world had been flipped over as the tears struck Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched his left hand tightly, and then suddenly opened it back up as his spiritual force exploded and swept out in every direction.

    Even the Semi-Progenitors were stunned for a moment. Lu Yin had spent years reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, and his spiritual force had risen to reach a level that was not much worse than Kui Luo¡¯s. Even Semi-Progenitors would struggle against Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force, especially Mr. Yu, who had the weakest resistance. The giant nearly fell down.

    Seizing the opening, Lu Yin tried to escape with Inverse Step.

 Chapter 2294: Killing A Semi-Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 2294: Killing A Semi-Progenitor</h4>

    The people who were going to be executed were not the prisoners from Crimson Garden, which meant that there was no need for Lu Yin to stay. Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s entire reason for gathering and executing the surviving vassals of the Lu family had been to draw Lu Yin into revealing himself. As long as Lu Yin could sessfully leave the Perennial World, those captives would remain unharmed until the four ruling powers became certain that Lu Yin had returned once more.

    If Lu Yin could escape, then the four ruling powers would make sure to gather everyone that he cared about so that they could threaten him with them, or coerce him into trying to rescue them. However, they did not know that Lu Yin had already captured the army that the Perennial World had sent to kill him, which meant that both sides had their own chips to bring to the negotiating table. Also, if Lu Yin could lure them into sending a few more people to the Fifth Maind, he would be able to gain a few more hostages, and it would be difficult to say who would end up holding the initiative.

    No matter how cunning and clever Bai Xian''er might be, she was nothing more than an ant against the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind. Lu Yin refused to believe that the woman could fight against Progenitor Chen''s power. After all, he had already seen how Bai Xian¡¯er had not been able to resist Progenitor Smoke when she had trapped Bai Xian¡¯er. If Lu Yin could get Bai Xian¡¯er to follow him into the Fifth Maind, she would be utterly helpless.

    All Lu Yin needed to do now was escape from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and then the Perennial World itself. He needed to escape from the full might of the four ruling powers themselves, nothing more.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, if you dare to flee, the Lu family¡¯s vassals that we¡¯ve captured will be punished with a thousand sword cuts!" Xia Ziheng screamed, trying to threaten Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back, but he did not say a word. There was no reason to say anything at this point in time. If he could escape, the captives would be safe. After all, what would be the benefit of attacking those people without Lu Yin nearby?

    The only reason why all of those people would ever be gathered in one ce would to try to force a showdown with Lu Yin. The four ruling powers would not take action for something as meaningless as venting their anger.

    A roar suddenly mmed down from overhead, shaking all of Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin was forced to stop fleeing as he covered his eyes. He looked up, only to see the white fog torn apart and Progenitor Smoke falling down, looking a bit paler than before. "That thing is incredibly difficult to deal with even like this. No wonder Xia Shenji went ahead and used his ancestor''s broken saber to suppress it."

    She nced over at Lu Yin. "Are you able to leave, kid?"

    "Let¡¯s go!" Lu Yin replied.

    Progenitor Smoke flipped a hand, and the fog in the sky above them was twisted like a knot. The chained jiao was rolled up with the fog and tied up. "Let''s go. This won¡¯t keep it trapped for very long."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. All that mattered was if he could get free.

    "You are underestimating my Shenwu''s Sky! We are one of the all-powerful four ruling powers! Do you think that you can leave just because you want to?" Xia Ziheng''s voice rang out. As soon as he spoke, the chains that had risen into the sky from the ground and been trapped by Progenitor Smoke¡¯s fog broke free and shot down towards Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke.

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. "My wei can¡¯t stop their sourcebox array if I¡¯m going to keep the jiao trapped. Boy, give me that needle."

    Lu Yin immediately took out his needle-like weapon and handed it to the woman.

    The weapon had already been Enhanced twice, consuming hundreds of billions of star essence. Even when Lu Yin had first acquired the weapon, it had been capable of damaging a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. After being upgraded, it had the strength to wound even Progenitors.

    Progenitor Smoke took the weapon, and her wei shuttled it around, making it look like a needle attached to a gray thread. The weapon danced about, instantly stabbing through one of the massive chains. The broken links crashed to the ground, crushing several mountains.

    Everyone in Shenwu''s Sky fled as fast as they could, shocked to see Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s defensive sourcebox array be shattered so easily.

    Xia Ziheng was simrly incredulous, and he grew incredibly pale as clenched his teeth.

    "Can you stop them?" Mr. Yu asked quietly.

    "Yes!" a cold voice answered.

    More and more chains rose up from the ground. Each was a manifestation of the sect¡¯s protective sourcebox array, and each had been made from extremely rare materials. Each one was strong enough to bind a Semi-Progenitor, but Progenitor Smoke''s flying needle shattered each chain in turn, and they continuously smashed to the ground. Such a thing had never before been seen in Shenwu''s Sky.

    Even when the Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind, Shenwu''s Sky had been a top power that had been second only to the Lu family. Shenwu¡¯s Sky had never before suffered such destruction. Not in the Fifth Maind, nor in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin started to get a bit anxious, and he looked up towards the Dominion Realm. He was growing increasingly worried that Xia Shenji or the four ruling powers¡¯ other Progenitors would suddenly appear. They had to be aware of what was happening in Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Lu Yin had believed that the sourcebox array would only have a few chains, but Progenitor Smoke had used the needle-like weapon to shatter at least a hundred of the chains so far, and more were constantly rising up from the ground to block their path.

    Another roar rang out, and Progenitor Smoke''s expression changed. "We¡¯re in trouble! That beast broke free."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned ugly, and he pulled the slipper out of his cosmic ring and handed it over to Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, use this."

    Progenitor Smoke nced at the slipper and ground her teeth tightly before epting it with a disgusted look on her face. "When we¡¯re done here, you¡¯re going to have to find a way topensate me for my emotional damage!"

    She then shot into the sky, the slipper raised high to p the jiao¡¯s face.

    The jiao ignored the approaching attack. It had just fought with Progenitor Smoke, and the entire time, the jiao had been the aggressor while the woman had passively defended. The jiao simply ignored Progenitor Smoke¡¯s sudden aggression.

    Then, the slipper struck the jiao¡¯s head, and the earth-shattering roar was cut off half-way through, caught in the jiao¡¯s throat. It had been dazed by the unexpected power of the blow that it suffered.

    Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all stared into the sky in a daze of their own. They gazed at the chained jiao that had just been pped senseless. The beast¡¯s wed feet stretched and clenched, but nothing else moved.

    Lu Yin swallowed. Progenitor Smoke''s attack had been far from gentle.

    When Lu Yin had first acquired the slipper, he had smacked Ancestor Tortoise, and the beating had actually caused the ancient tortoise to weep. Lu Yin did not even want to think about how powerful an attack had to be to stun a beast with the power of a Progenitor.

    Progenitor Smoke held the slipper ready as she eyed the chained jiao in a questioning manner. Was it dazed?

    Silence covered Shenwu''s Sky.

    Progenitor Smoke was thrilled to see that she had knocked the jiao out, and she hurried over to join back up with Lu Yin and said, "Let¡¯s hurry up and get out of here!"

    Once again, chains rose up, surrounding the two people. Lu Yin simply could not understand where Shenwu¡¯s Sky had acquired so many chains.

    One of the chains did not attack the two people, but instead moved to p the jiao, but neither Lu Yin nor Progenitor Smoke noticed it.

    The chain mmed down upon the jiao¡¯s head, and rity returned to the beast¡¯s eyes, though it was badly startled. It reached up to touch its head where it had been pped, clear confusion in its eyes, but then it suddenly remembered. The beast¡¯s eyes turned red, and it red down at Progenitor Smoke, furious. It had been pped and stunned by the attack with the slipper, and in much the same way that a person would be upset and humiliated by being pped, the jiao felt embarrassed by being dazed by an attack. An uncontroble surge of anger erupted, and the jiao roared as its ws fell upon Progenitor Smoke and Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Smoke was taken aback. "Why did you wake back up?"

    "Senior, go p it again!"

    "I might not be able tond another hit, but I¡¯ll give it a try." Progenitor Smoke shot back into the sky, straight for the jiao.

    However, the chained jiao had already learned its lesson, and it caught sight of the slipper in Progenitor Smoke''s hand. It would not let that thing touch it again.

    Without Progenitor Smoke¡¯s assistance, Lu Yin could not leave Shenwu''s Sky. The chains formed walls that surrounded him on all sides.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, as I said, you can''t escape! Not even the help of a Progenitor is enough! You can¡¯t escape, and you are going to die like you deserve!" Xia Ziheng took direct action, and countless des fell upon Lu Yin. Mr. Yu, Wu Yao, and Semi-Progenitor Chai all joined the attack as well.

    The God of Food watched, feeling terribly conflicted. He owed Lu Yin a favor and wanted to repay it and help the young man, but it was impossible.

    Boom!

    Mr. Yu¡¯s fist struck Lu Yin, and his desated body recovered once again. He used Extremes Must Be Reversed again, but it did not stop his dried up body from regaining a normal appearance as the four Semi-Progenitors¡¯ attacks rained down upon him again and again.

    Eventually, Extremes Must Be Reversed reached its limit. After being struck once more by the half-moon ring, Lu Yin¡¯s body maintained its normal appearance. He could not be dried up anymore. Extremes Must Be Reversed was not a truly invincible technique; the gap between Lu Yin¡¯s three stellr tribtions and a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s strength was too vast, and even a casual blow from a Semi-Progenitor surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s natural limits, and he was being attacked by four Semi-Progenitors.

    However, the repeated use and recovery from Extremes Must Be Reversed had umted an incredible amount of power within Lu Yin¡¯s body. After his final recovery, Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up, and he raced through the sky with Inverse Step, a field of chaotic time and space surrounding him as the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared above his head as he used his family¡¯s visualization method.

    In an instant, Lu Yin appeared right in front of Semi-Progenitor Chai. A fist flew out, carrying all of the power that had umted within Lu Yin¡¯s body over the course of the battle from Extremes Must Be Reversed. On top of that, he was using the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method, aurelian force, the God of Death¡¯s Transformation, and even the power from within his chest that could force back a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world.

    This punch was the strongest attack that Lu Yin was currently capable of.

    This one punch caused Semi-Progenitor Chai''s head to simply explode.

    Everyone watched as Semi-Progenitor Chai''s body fell from the sky, horrified. A mighty Semi-Progenitor had just died in an instant.

    No one had believed Lu Yin could kill a Semi-Progenitor while being assaulted on all sides by four of the powerhouses. The difference between a Semi-Progenitor and a three-tribtion Envoy was such that a Semi-Progenitor could stand still and do nothing, not even release their inner world, and the three-tribtion Envoy would not be able to induce even the slightest bit of damage.

    Despite that, Lu Yin had just killed a Semi-Progenitor in a split second.

    Beyond that, the shockwave from the attack sted Mr. Yu away from where he had been standing behind Semi-Progenitor Chai, and he even coughed up blood.

    The punch that Lu Yin had just used was powerful enough to kill any one of the experts present, but he had specifically chosen Semi-Progenitor Chai because the man¡¯s inner world was the most difficult for Lu Yin to deal with. He could not maintain the power that he cultivated within his chest outside of his body at all times, and if that power was depleted, Lu Yin would not have anything left to fight back with.

    The blood of a Semi-Progenitor stained Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    He stood in the sky, chest heaving as he panted. He was still surrounded by three Semi-Progenitors, but the men were suddenly staring at Lu Yin with fear and caution. There was even an almost imperceptible trace of terror.

    It was not easy for even Semi-Progenitors to kill another Semi-Progenitor, yet Lu Yin had just pulled it off. No one could understand how he had aplished such a thing.

    However, Semi-Progenitor Chai¡¯s death also caused the killing intent directed towards Lu Yin to rise to unprecedented levels.

    There was no longer any need to say useless words, no need to threaten him with death. Xia Ziheng and the other two all silently attacked Lu Yin. Their silence indicated just how serious they were taking this battle, as they felt that they could no longer afford even the slightest distraction. They no longer wanted to talk. All they wanted was to see Lu Xiaoxuan dead, so that they could be assured that their future troubles were eliminated.

    As the three men looked at Lu Yin, they felt the same sensation that they had previously felt from the Lu family: unparalleled power. This youth would one day be able to control everything.

    If they allowed Lu Yin to develop any further, all of their previous efforts would prove meaningless.

    Three silent Semi-Progenitors were a terrifying sight, and Lu Yin could no longer use Extremes Must Be Reversed. He had also revealed too many of his abilities, including Inverse Step, the unique power he was cultivating in his chest, Extremes Must Be Reversed, the God of Death Transformation, Truesight, and even the Thirteen Swords. One by one, everyst one of Lu Yin¡¯s trump cards had been forced out. He even used a sourcebox array, but his Channeling Diagram was not good enough to defend against a Semi-Progenitor''s attack in the slightest.

    The half-moon ring sliced Lu Yin''s body open, and blood rained down from high in the sky, quickly followed by Lu Yin¡¯s entire body.

    What else did he have left? The Champions¡¯ Stage? His most powerful champion was just Tian Dou. The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation? The power was perfect, but the technique required too much time to prepare, and there was no way that the three Semi-Progenitors would ever give him the time needed to use it.

    Lu Yin used a hand to pick himself up off the ground. Xia Ziheng and the other two Semi-Progenitors instantly appeared right in front of Lu Yin, their faces somber. This battle had been too difficult, not only for Lu Yin, but also for all of the Semi-Progenitors. They found it incredulous that it had been so difficult for them.

 Chapter 2295: Domineering Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2295: Domineering Appearance</h4>

    Everyone who retreated into the distant regions of Shenwu''s Sky was staring at Lu Yin. Their eyes did not reveal the same thoughts and emotions as before. Regardless of the person or their affiliation, Lu Yin¡¯s performance had convinced everyone.

    Mr. Tang, Prof. Wei, and everyone else from Virtue Archives were watching with pale faces. They could not help but see the unfairness of the situation as they watched Lu Yin fail to prevail against the all-out assault of the three Semi-Progenitors, but this was reality.

    A de shed down in front of Lu Yin, and he hurried to avoid it, but a massive, bleeding wound opened up on his chest.

    The half-moon ring approached from his side, slicing sideways. Lu Yin¡¯s unique power had returned to his chest, seemingly depleted, and he was unable to use the God of Death Transformation. Lu Yin saw the sh approaching, and his pupils transformed into runes. The attack paused for the briefest moment, allowing him to shift his body out of the way, but it still sliced into his neck and nearly removed his entire head.

    Mr. Yu¡¯s hand pped down, putting a tremendous amount of pressure onto Shenwu''s Sky that broke the ground and shattered the void.

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened, and he raised a hand, trying to protect himself with a Channeling Diagram. He also unleashed his spiritual force at full power in an attempt to deflect Mr. Yu''s attack, but Lu Yin was still sent flying.

    Countless shes from des and half-moon rings followed after Lu Yin. The three Semi-Progenitors were determined to not give Lu Yin any chance to catch a breath.

    Liu Que silently watched everything. If the day came when he could force four Semi-Progenitors to work together and even have to make sure to not give him any chance to breath, his death would be worthwhile.

    Bai Weiwei stared at Lu Yin. Not only had the budding feelings that had sprouted during the students¡¯ visit to the Celestial Frost Sect not disappeared, but they were actually growing stronger. This man had already overpowered the four Junior Progenitors on his own decades before, and he was now fighting against Semi-Progenitors. Such an inexplicable person had appeared¡­ Could the First Senior Sister measure up to this man?

    Qing Feng was remembering his master¡¯s, Qing Chen, words: in both the Seven Heroes¡¯ era and the era of the most recent Junior Progenitors, Lu Xiaoxuan had stood above all his peers. At this moment, Qing Feng understood just how true those words were.

    Xia Shenfei unclenched his hands. This was the end. This man would never appear again, but he would also never disappear. At the very least, Xia Shenfei would never forget Lu Xaioxuan, an opponent whom not even the Junior Progenitors had been qualified topete with.

    The God of Food took a step forward, still wanting to intervene. He could not stand to the side any longer. If there was any chance at all that Lu Xiaoxuan could survive, it would be worthwhile. This man¡¯s talent was enough to carry all of humanity.

    For everyone watching, regardless of whether they viewed the Lu family with hostility or had even ignored what had happened in the past, seeing Lu Yin fight alone against four Semi-Progenitors shocked them all to their core, as did the loss of such a monstrously talented human.

    Lu Yin crashed into the ground once more. He could not stop himself from vomiting blood. The des and the half-moon ring were both right behind him.

    At this moment, a scorching hot me swept through the void, forcing back both the des and the half-moon ring.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw the God of Food off in the distance. Had he helped?

    Xia Ziheng and the other two Semi-Progenitors¡¯ heads spun around to stare towards where everyone from Virtue Archives had gathered.

    Everyone was startled by the God of Food¡¯s actions, and they were all staring at him.

    "Master, are you protecting a member of the Lu family?" Mr. Yu asked in a soft voice.

    This question terrified all of Virtue Archives¡¯ students.

    The God of Food sighed. "Lu Xiaoxuan is worth more alive. There¡¯s no need to kill him¡ªjust exile him to the rear battlefield. His strength is enough to y a massive role there."

    "The Lu family was the greatest collection of Redbacks my Perennial World has ever known! What do you mean by suggesting we send him to the rear battlefield?" Mr. Yu said.

    The response enraged the God of Food. "Whether the members of the Lu family were Redbacks or not isn¡¯t something that you can just decide for yourselves! You people-"

    "God of Food!" Xia Ziheng cut in with a stern shout. "Do you really want to get in the middle of the four ruling powers¡¯ grievances with the Lu family?"

    The half-moon ring revolved around Wu Yao''s body. "God of Food, are you dering your position, or that of Virtue Archives?"

    The God of Food¡¯s face twisted into a hideous expression. The four ruling powers were already making things difficult for Virtue Archives, and the only reason why they had not taken more drastic measures was because they were concerned about their reputation, as Virtue Archives had trained many, many cultivators. However, if the God of Food openly helped Lu Xiaoxuan, no one would be able to stand up in defense of the academy.

    The Lu family was untouchable for the entire Perennial World.

    "Senior¡­" Mr. Tang could not resist speaking up as well.

    The God of Food looked around, his internal conflict visible in his eyes.

    From the distance, Lu Yin spoke up. "I don''t need outsiders getting involved in my Lu family¡¯s affairs."

    Everyone turned to look at him.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet, blood covering his entire body. He looked across the distance to the God of Food, and an apology flickered across Lu Yin¡¯s eyes before they firmed with strong determination. "What did you do when my Lu family was exiled? No matter what you want to do right now, my Lu family and I won''t ept such ¡®kindness.¡¯ The debt that you owe me has been settled, now leave."

    Many of the people present frowned, as Lu Yin was being too rude to someone trying to help him.

    Even some of Virtue Archives¡¯ students became upset.

    The God of Food sighed. He understood what Lu Yin was doing. The young man was trying to keep the God of Food and everyone else from Virtue Archives from being dragged down with him.

    Xia Ziheng sneered as he gazed at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you can¡¯t me us for not even allowing you to leave yourst words behind. You should already consider it an honor to die next to our ancestor''s broken saber."

    At thatment, everyone realized that Lu Yin had ended up right next to the Xia family''s broken saber, which was stabbed into the chained jiao¡¯s tail and deep into the ground, pinning the jiao in ce.

    Earlier, as part of their ceremony to honor their ancestors, many members of the Xia family had approached the broken de and tried to draw it. This was one of the Xia family¡¯s most sacred ces.

    Xia Ziheng''s words caused Lu Yin to slowly turn his head around and stare at the broken de. He had not even realized where he had crashed.

    Broken saber, broken de¡­?His eyes suddenly lit up, and his head tipped back as he looked upwards at the massive weapon. He still had two bottles of Progenitor Chen''s blood in his cosmic ring, and he had already been wondering if that blood could allow him to draw the broken saber.

    Could it?

    "You can die now!" Wu Yao grew impatient, and his half-moon ring sliced through the air.

    Lu Yin evaded the attack with Inverse Step, and hended on the broken de and moved to its hilt.

    Wu Yao''s half-moon ring did not slow in the least, and Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu also released their own attacks.

    The broken saber was not something that they could harm in any way, even if they all worked together. If it were that fragile, it would have never been able to pin the jiao in ce. There was no need for them to demonstrate any caution with their attacks.

    Lu Yin was already standing at the enormous saber¡¯s hilt. Overhead, the deafening battle between Progenitor Smoke and the chained jiao continued to rage, and down on the ground, three Semi-Progenitors were attacking Lu Yin as they moved closer to him.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then shouted, "Senior, I''m going to die!"

    He then pulled out the two bottles of Progenitor Chen''s blood and poured them both over his hands.

    Xia Xing could make out Lu Yin¡¯s actions from the distance, and the patriarch¡¯s pupils shrank to almost nothing.?Is that¡­?

    Progenitor Chen''s blood covered Lu Yin¡¯s hands, and he reached down and grabbed hold of the broken saber¡¯s hilt. With a roar of pure rage, he pulled.

    At the same time, the three Semi-Progenitors¡¯ attacks fell.

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared from high in the sky, and she instantly saw the three Semi-Progenitors¡¯ attacks about to strike Lu Yin. With a wave of a hand, a surge of fog protected Lu Yin''s side.

    As that happened, huge, vicious ws shot towards Progenitor Smoke from behind, and grabbed her.

    There was no way for the woman to dodge the ws, but it also did not matter. Her body was nothing more than an avatar formed from her wei. Still, it would take a great deal of effort to rece it.?Kid, good luck!

    Lu Yin did not see Progenitor Smoke block the three attacks for him, nor did he see the huge ws arrive right behind the woman. All that Lu Yin could see at this moment was the broken saber. As soon as he had grabbed hold of the hilt, he knew that he could draw the weapon. It was a clear feeling, so he dedicated his entire strength to pulling the de upwards, even releasing his aurelian force that started incinerating the void.

    Everyone stared in disbelief as the broken saber was fully drawn out.

    At that exact moment, a power from the ancient era swept across Shenwu''s Sky, the entire Higher Realm, and it even shook the Mother Tree.

    As Lu Yin pulled the weapon upwards, he heard the sound of a de leaving its sheath.

    The jiao¡¯s ws froze in ce, and the beast¡¯s eyes shifted over to stare in Lu Yin¡¯s direction. The broken saber had been removed. It was free!

    In an instant, multiple gazes fell onto Shenwu¡¯s Sky from above, causing everyone¡¯s scalps to go numb. There were a number of Progenitors suddenly staring at Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    The shocking developments in Shenwu''s Sky''s had finally reached a point where the Progenitors in the Dominion Realm could no longer sit still. Regardless of anything that had happened up to this point in time, Lu Yin was still regarded as a trapped beast resisting death. Such a thing did not deserve the price needed for a Progenitor to make a move. However, things had just changed.

    The eyes that had locked onto him did not matter. As soon as Lu Yin had fully drawn the saber, he rose high into the sky and raised the broken de. Blood dripped down from the hilt, covering Lu Yin¡¯s body and painting him red. The sight of him high above Shenwu¡¯s Sky feltpletely domineering to everyone watching.

    Within Shenwu''s Sky, some people did not even notice as their strength left their bodies as they felt the power of their ancient ancestor. At this moment, it was as though Lu Yin?was?Ancestor Xia Chan, holding the broken de high in the air. Even Xia Ziheng began to tremble.

    Progenitor Smoke stared in amazement. The feeling of pure dominance somehow felt familiar¡­

    The giant eyes of the chained jiao stared at Lu Yin. No, they stared at the broken saber. The beast wanted to take that saber away. So, the jiao acted on its simple desires.

    The vicious ws shot past Progenitor Smoke and reached for Lu Yin instead.

    Lu Yin had not expected the jiao to be the first to attack him after he drew the de. He was startled to see that he was not being attacked by any of the three Semi-Progenitors, but by the jiao.

    The chained jiao was a creature with the strength of a Progenitor. If a Progenitor wanted to attack Lu Yin, there was absolutely nothing he could do to escape.

    But for some reason, as he held the broken saber, Lu Yin did not feel any of the pressure from the jiao. He did not feel as though a Progenitor level beast was approaching him, but rather a pitiful creature that could be easily cut down by the broken de. "Arrogant!"

    The chained jiao''s sharp ws instantly froze a short ways away from Lu Yin, and the broken de fell. The sharp edge of the weapon sliced down, straight through the jiao¡¯s vicious ws.

    Even Progenitor Smoke watched in disbelief. How could this broken de be so powerful against the chained jiao?

    The jiao was left terrified, and it quickly retracted its wounded paw. It stared at Lu Yin, feeling both panic and anger. It released a threatening roar towards the tiny human.

    Lu Yin raised the broken de up once again as he stared at the chained jiao. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as his mind raced. There was clearly something unusual about how effective the saber was against the jiao, but why? What was going on? This de was supposed to be what Xia Shenji had used to suppress and trap the jiao, but if the saber was even close to as powerful as it appeared, then even a Progenitor with an average level of power would have been able to casually defeat the jiao.

    Why did Lu Yin feel like there was something moreplicated than the de just suppressing the jiao? Why did the chained jiao want to steal the broken de?

    High in the sky, Lu Yin stared at the chained jiao while holding the broken saber in his hands.

    The jiao¡¯s eyes never left Lu Yin. The eyes were ferocious, and the jiao¡¯s long beard fluttered in the wind. Four sharp ws were seen as a single paw was raised. Its ws and teeth were intimidating weapons.

    The jiao clearly had the strength of a Progenitor, and it was powerful enough that not even Progenitor Smoke could defeat it. This was clearly not a beast that Lu Yin could do anything to. In fact, even a trace of the beast¡¯s aura should have incapacitated Lu Yin. However, as he held the broken saber, Lu Yin felt that he could suppress the jiao. It was just a broken de, but the feeling was so powerful that there was clearly something very odd about it.

    Even if the broken de was a Progenitor¡¯s weapon, it should not hold such impossible power.

    Lu Yin could not understand it at all, but since that was the case, he simply dismissed the thoughts and questions from his mind. All that mattered was that the de was clearly very powerful against the jiao. "Senior,e on, we¡¯ll deal with it together."

    Even if Lu Yin felt confident because of what he felt from the saber, the jiao was still a creature with the strength of a Progenitor, and he felt that it would certainly be best to be cautious.

    Progenitor Smoke instantly appeared next to Lu Yin, and she gave the broken de a very odd look. "Kid, make sure to let me study that broken saber for a bit."

    "Absolutely," Lu Yin simply agreed.

 Chapter 2296: Baring Fangs And Claws

    <h4>Chapter 2296: Baring Fangs And ws</h4>

    The chained jiao''s sharp ws rose high once again, and it let out another roar that shook the world. It sounded intimidating and threatening, but it was facing Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke. One held the broken saber, which left him unable to feel any of the pressure that the jiao radiated, while the other was simply fearless. Progenitor Smoke was currently unable to defeat the chained jiao, but that was only because she was not able to utilize her full strength. She was one of the most powerful humans to have ever lived, so how could she be afraid of a chained jiao?

    Down below, everyone could only stare.

    All of the members of the Xia family were overwhelmed with despair. Their ancestor¡¯s broken saber had not been drawn by a member of their family, but by an outsider? Why? How had this happened?

    Xia Ziheng''s entire life view had been shaken, and he even began to suspect that Lu Xiaoxuan might be an illegitimate child of the Xia family.

    Only Xia Xing knew the true reason for Lu Yin¡¯s sess, and that knowledge crushed the patriarch with regret. He should not have told Lu Xiaoxuan that he had been able to move the broken de because of Progenitor Chen''s blood. That knowledge was why the young man had poured Progenitor Chen''s blood over his hands, and that was also why he had seeded in drawing the broken de. Xia Xing regretted his words, and he would pay anything to be able to turn back the clock and take them back.

    High in the sky, Lu Yin suddenly remembered something as he faced the chained jiao. The Xia family¡¯s Saber Ritual had existed for countless years, and given the fact that Xia Shenji had everyone in the Xia family take this test, it indicated that he believed someone would eventually seed in drawing the saber. Drawing the saber would free the jiao, so how was the jiao supposed to be controlled? By Xia Shenji personally stepping in? What if he was otherwise upied?

    Lu Yin refused to believe that Xia Shen would ever give the chained jiao an opportunity to simply escape. There was no way a Progenitor would fail to consider the possibility that he could be dyed in the Dominion Realm, as that would be too foolish.

    There was only one logical reason why the Saber Ritual would be allowed at all, and that was that, even with the saber drawn, the Xia family still had a way to control the jiao.

    With this thought, Lu Yin looked down at Xia Ziheng, but he only saw confusion, despair, helplessness, not to mention a zing killing intent directed towards Lu Yin himself. He then looked back at Xia Xing, but the only thing on that man¡¯s face was pure regret. Lu Yin nced across the faces of all of the members of the Xia family, but all he saw were emotions that mirrored what he had already seen in Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes. In that case, how was the Xia family expected to control the jiao after the saber was drawn? Their sourcebox array? No.

    Lu Yin clenched the broken de¡¯s hilt more tightly, and then his eyes ran down the de and he gazed at the jiao.

    The beast was still chained and staring at Lu Yin. It did not at all, and simply continued moving about, showing its fangs and brandishing its ws. After a long while, an odd expression appeared on Progenitor Smoke''s face. "Does this thing really think that it¡¯s intimidating us?"

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the jiao. It was not trying to escape, but why? Was it because of the broken de in Lu Yin¡¯s hand?

    They were in Shenwu''s Sky, and the jiao had to be extremely familiar with both the ce and Xia Shenji, which meant that it should be fleeing with all its might, as it would end up in deep trouble if Xia Shenji suddenly returned. Despite that, the beast did not try to leave, and just stared at Lu Yin. No, it was staring at the de in his hand.

    Yes, it was certain. The jiao was staring at the broken de. It wanted the saber.

    Lu Yin voiced his guess as he stared at the chained jiao, "You want this saber?"

    The jiao roared, and it again raised sharp ws against Lu Yin, making sure its ws and fangs were disyed as much as possible.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "No."

    The jiao was furious at the response. Its paws kept dancing about, and then it suddenly reached out to grab Lu Yin, who responded by shing the broken saber. As Lu Yin responded, Progenitor Smoke also moved her white fog to protect Lu Yin and prevent him from being injured by the jiao.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to strike the jiao with the broken weapon, but when the jiao moved close to the de, the sharp edge tore right through the jiao¡¯s ws. The amount of damage caused by the saber was absurd.

    "Senior, take me to its head," Lu Yin requested of Progenitor Smoke.

    The woman grabbed Lu Yin as her wei twined around the jiao and formed knots that bound it in ce. As she did that, Lu Yin swung the de again, shing at the jiao.

    The beast was terrified of the saber, and it pulled back without hesitation whenever the de drew close.

    Everyone on the ground below had their mouths fall open as they stared at the battle taking ce in the sky. They watched as Lu Yin chased after the jiao with the massive broken saber. That jiao had the strength of a Progenitor.

    Xia Ziheng and the other two Semi-Progenitors nced at each other, only to see that there was clearly nothing wrong with their vision.

    The jiao continued to evade the broken de while Lu Yin chased after it, protected by Progenitor Smoke. The chained jiao¡¯s increasingly shrill and angry roar rang out, but Lu Yin was unfazed. The jiao refused to face Lu Yin head on, so there was nothing to fear from its intimidating roars.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, and became increasingly excited. He raised the saber high into the air. "Hold it for a second!"

    The chained jiao was furious, and it once again raised a w, fruitlessly attempting to threaten its opponent.

    Lu Yin constantly kept the de between him and the jiao.

    The jiao hurried back, its ws raised up once again. It seemed as though it was the only thing that the beast coulde up with as a response. It apparently believed that the motion was somehow useful.

    Lu Yin could see that the jiao was quite stubborn, but it never did anything more than wave its ws and roar. The more time that passed as Lu Yin chased after the jiao, the more confident he was in his guess. He happily swung the broken saber around,pletely forgetting about Shenwu''s Sky.

    He did not even realize that they had already left Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin had not been thinking about trying to escape, and neither had the jiao, yet they had moved far away from Shenwu''s Sky.

    No one within the sect made any efforts to stop the two. After all, the Xia family had no idea how to control the jiao, and they were terrified that if they annoyed the beast, it would turn and attack them instead. At this moment, Shenwu¡¯s Sky had absolutely no means to stop an attack from a beast with the strength of a Progenitor.

    A truly bizarre scene was currently ying out in the Higher Realm.

    A jiao, which was very clearly the one that had previously been chained up and bound in ce in Shenwu''s Sky, retreated while showing its fangs and ws and roaring in a threatening manner. The whole time, the enormous beast was being chased and attacked by someone wielding an enormous broken saber. Everyone who saw the scene was dazed, as they could not understand what they were looking at.

    Despite the oddness of the disy, there was no mistaking the Progenitor realm pressure that the jiao released. Everyone who heard the beast¡¯s roar fell unconscious,pletely unable to resist at all.

    The entire Higher Realm was quivering.

    Finally, Lu Yin managed tond atop the jiao''s head, and the beast froze in the air, not daring to move at all.

    The edge of the broken saber rested just half a meter away from the chained jiao''s scales. "If you dare to thrash about again, I¡¯ll split your head open!"

    The jiao''s eyes looked away, its sharp ws fell. It stopped roaring, and the pressure that it radiated disappeared.

    Progenitor Smoke was amazed. "It clearly has the strength of a Progenitor, yet it seems to not have any intelligence. I¡¯d say that its intellect is at the level of a child."

    "Did you smack it stupid with the slipper?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "Of course not! That¡¯s impossible."

    "So are you saying that it never developed any sort of higher intelligence?"

    "That should also be impossible. How could any creature reach the Progenitor realm without sufficient intelligence? How easy do you think it is to be a Progenitor? Despite that, this guy''s attacks were way too simple and direct." Progenitor Smoke stood atop the jiao''s head while studying it. Suddenly, her gaze shifted and she looked up.

    Lu Yin followed her gaze.

    The jiao was massive, and just its head was the size of a continent. The sight of such a massive beast just floating in the sky would be weird no matter who saw it.

    Lu Yin held the saber in ce while looking over to see what Progenitor Smoke was staring at, and he quickly noticed something very odd.

    There was lightning shing atop the jiao''s head.

    "Don''t move!" Progenitor Smoke yelled as she gazed at the lightning with a very serious expression. After carefully looking, Lu Yin was able to see that the lightning was erupting from arge wound on the jiao¡¯s head. The wound was branching, much like a tree, and it looked like the beast had been struck by lightning, and the bursts covered a massive area.

    "Senior, what?is?that?" Lu Yin refused to look away.

    Progenitor Smoke spoke in a soft voice, "No wonder its behavior has been so strange. It¡¯s because of that."

    "Senior?"

    Progenitor Smoke exhaled. "This jiao was seriously injured long ago by the lightning you see over there. If I¡¯m right, then its brain is constantly being fried by the lightning, which has left it stupid and devoid of its original intelligence. All that remains are its instincts."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Lighting? Is that from Xia Shenji?"

    "No, Xia Shenji doesn''t use lightning," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin eximed, "This jiao has the strength of a Progenitor! Being able to leave it in this state with some lightning is already terrifying, but the jiao¡¯s been chained up in Shenwu''s Sky countless years, which means that the lightning¡¯s been torturing it for that entire time. Given the jiao¡¯s strength, how could it be tortured for so many years? Do you know of anyone who¡¯s mastered lightning to such a high level?"

    "No. There¡¯s no one from our generation. Even from before, I¡¯ve never heard of anyone who managed to train to such an incredible level with lightning." Progenitor Smoke knelt down and reached out to touch the lightning. The closer she moved, the more frightened she felt, as she was able to sense more and more urately just how powerful the lightning was. It felt as though she was seeing an entire universe that waspletely filled with lightning to the point where lightning had actually reced the universe.

    Finally, the woman stopped and stood. "At my peak, I¡¯d be able to deal with this, but I can¡¯t even touch it right now."

    Lu Yin stared intently at the wound for a bit. This creature had been tortured by this wound for so many years, yet it still showed no signs of healing.

    Wait!?Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly lit up. The jiao¡¯s head? Nine branches to the wound?

    He had briefly forgotten Xia Xing¡¯sment about how the Nine Clones Secret Technique was on top of the jiao''s head. Did this mean that Lu Yin could get the secret technique?

    Lu Yin immediately started searching for the technique.

    "Kid, things have already started changing in the Dominion Realm. From the moment you drew the saber, several pairs of eyes have been focused on us. We need to get out of here quickly," Progenitor Smoke spoke up.

    Lu Yin came to his senses. He understood that those eyes belonged to various Progenitors. It was because of the Aeternals that they were unable to leave the Dominion Realm most of the time, but that did not mean they were unable to do anything to Lu Yin.

    He suppressed the urge to search for the Nine Clones Secret Technique and instead started threatening the jiao with the saber. "You go where I say and attack whoever I tell you to. Got it?"

    Lu Yin had understood how to handle the jiao as soon as he learned about its current situation. It essentially had no real intelligence, and it operated on pure instinct. That meant that the broken saber would be enough to manipte the beast, as long as no one took the de away.

    At the same time, Lu Yin understood why the Xia family had always held their Saber Ritual. Even if someone did draw the de and the jiao was freed, as long as the Xia family retained control of the saber, the jiao would never be able to escape. With the de, Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s defensive sourcebox array was enough to contain the jiao.

    The jiao remained frozen. After hearing Lu Yin''s words, the beast¡¯s head did not move, but the jiao did lower its ws, which indicated assent.

    Progenitor Smoke had assumed that Lu Yin would make his escape, but she was wrong. Instead, he directed the jiao in a very specific direction: towards where the members of Star Alliance had been gathered.

    Lu Yin had given himself two primary goals for his trip to the Perennial World: rescue his family members from Crimson Garden, and rescue the members of Star Alliance. Everyone in Crimson Garden had gone missing, which meant that he could only rescue the members of Star Alliance. If he left them behind, the four ruling powers would have one more tool to use to threaten Lu Yin.

    Even without almost any intelligence, the jiao still had the strength of a Progenitor, and that had not changed. When it moved, it instantly crossed vast distances, and it almost instantly appeared in the ce where the four ruling powers had gathered the members of Star Alliance as bait to lure out the Seven Skygods.

    Given the fact that the four ruling powers had dared to set a trap for the Seven Skygods themselves with the members of Star Alliance, they were clearlypletely confident of sess.

    The people had been ced in the middle of the headquarters of the four ruling powers, within a forest of stone pirs.

    Each pir rose high into the sky, nearly reaching the height limit agreed upon by the four ruling powers themselves. They were all hexagonal, and they appeared to have been carefully polished.

    At the center of this stone forest, all the members of Star Alliance could be found, aside from the people currently deployed to the rear battlefield, and of course, Yu Chuan. There were a total of 110 people in the stone forest.

    110 Envoys. This was the bait that had beenid out to entice the Seven Skygods into taking action.

 Chapter 2297: Xia Shenji

    <h4>Chapter 2297: Xia Shenji</h4>

    The Celestial Frost Sect had med Forgotten Ruins God for the disappearance of Xia Xing''s clone, Wang Zheng, and the other two patriarchs. Their usation had been further verified by information that Lu Yin had leaked while Possessing Colonel Lan on the rear battlefield. Those two events had led to the current n of trying to bait the Seven Skygods with the members of Star Alliance. It was a n that had been created through abination of misunderstandings and scheming.

    At the moment, the stone forest was nearly silent. The fact that Lu Yin had fought a battle in Shenwu''s Sky had not yet reached the people in the stone forest, and they were still waiting for the Seven Skygods to appear.

    What they were greeted with was not any of the Seven Skygods, but the huge jiao.

    All of the members of the four ruling powers who were around the stone forest felt their mouths fall open as they stared upwards at the jiao, quickly turning pale. "Ji- jiao?"

    No one present had expected this jiao to suddenly appear. It was supposed to be glowing in the sky above Shenwu¡¯s Sky, yet it was directly above the forest of stone pirs.

    There were people from Shenwu''s Sky present as well. "Don''t panic! That jiao¡¯s the one that¡¯s been chained up in my Shenwu''s Sky. The sect must have noticed that the Seven Skygods areing and sent the jiao here to attack them. The legends im that the jiao¡¯s as powerful as a Progenitor."

    After someone from Shenwu''s Sky shouted out an exnation, the other people present all rxed.

    At the center of the stone forest, all the people from Star Alliance looked up as well.

    Some had once been vassals of the Lu family, while others had simply offended one of the four ruling powers, while others were truly terrible criminals. Still, no matter what their background might be, everyst person present was at least an Envoy, and there were so many of them. It stood to reason that they should not fear anyone once so many of them had gathered together, yet they all felt an endless fear that rose from the depths of their very bones and overwhelmed their minds. All of them found themselves trembling uncontrobly.

    One old man looked up into the sky after seeing the jiao¡¯s enormous shadow shroud the entire stone forest. The man¡¯s name was Zhan Lin, and he was a Semi-Progenitor. There were several Semi-Progenitors within Star Alliance, and he was one of them.

    Not a single person present was more startled by the arrival of the jiao than Zhan Lin. the pressure of a being with the strength of a Progenitor smothered him, and hecked the willpower to even try to resist.

    "There are rumors which im that Shenwu''s Sky managed to suppress a beast with the strength of a Progenitor. I never thought that they were actually true," Zhan Lin muttered to himself.

    All of the nearby Envoys swallowed, though none of them were too afraid. It was naturally impossible for the jiao to actually threaten any of the members of Star Alliance, as the jiao represented Shenwu''s Sky. They would not be attacked by Shenwu''s Sky.

    Everyone believed that the jiao¡¯s arrival signaled that the Seven Skygods were about to arrive as well.

    Atop the jiao¡¯s head, Lu Yin had wanted to find the Nine Clones Secret Technique that was supposed to be there, but the jiao had moved far faster than he had expected. The beast had almost instantly arrived at the stone forest. Lu Yin looked down and saw the shocked expressions on the faces of everyone from Star Alliance staring upwards.

    Lu Yin did not allow the jiao to simply enter the stone forest. There were no powerhouses nearby, so how did the four ruling powers intend to use this as a trap against the Seven Skygods? The only answer was that the stone forest was hiding something.

    Every pir in the stone forest had been carefully carved, and a single nce was enough to tell that the ce was not simple. Lu Yin did not want to take any risks, even if he did have two Progenitor level powerhouses with him. It was always best to avoid unnecessary risks.

    Below, a man from Shenwu''s Sky offered a deep bow. "Has a senior from the secte?"

    Lu Yin sternly ordered, "Bring all of the people from Star Alliance up here. This old man is here to take you all back to the sect."

    The man from Shenwu''s Sky felt terribly confused. "This junior has not received any word from the sect mast-"

    "Presumptuous!" Lu Yin roared while smacking the jiao with the broken saber. The beast roared at the sky, and the pressure of a Progenitor fell upon the stone forest, startling everyone nearby.

    The man from Shenwu''s Sky quickly gathered everyone from Star Alliance and sent them up to board the jiao.

    The people from the Celestial Frost Sect, the White Dragon n, and the Wang family wanted to stop them, but they did not dare to object in the presence of the jiao. Besides, the jiao represented Shenwu''s Sky itself, and that was the sect which had initiated the entire n. This made everyone hesitant.

    Still, one person overcame their hesitation and sent a report back to their sect.

    Zhan Lin was the first person to emerge from the stone forest. No one from Star Alliance had been physically restricted at all. They had been ordered to wait for the Aeternals to appear at the stone forest, and then kill them. It seemed that their task had been changed and they were to instead go to Shenwu''s Sky.

    Even without physical restraints, none of the four ruling powers had any concerns about the members of Star Alliance trying to escape.

    More importantly, at the moment, they were being given a tremendous honor by being ordered atop the back of the jiao that had the strength of a Progenitor. Even a Semi-Progenitor like Zhan Lin had never dreamed of treating a beast with the power of a Progenitor as a mount.

    As Zhan Lin stepped atop the back of the jiao, he finally got a clear view of Lu Yin, and the sight startled the old man. He had never seen this youth before, but he should be a direct descendant of Shenwu''s Sky. In that case, where was the powerhouse from Shenwu''s Sky who was controlling the jiao?

    When Lu Yin saw Zhan Lin''s calm reaction to seeing him, it was clear that the old man was not one of the Lu family¡¯s former vassals. He waited for the rest of the people to climb up.

    One by one, the members of Star Alliance climbed atop the back of the jiao.

    Finally, Lu Yin saw the first surviving vassal of the Lu family. It was an old woman, and as soon as she caught sight of Lu Yin, she appeared terribly confused, but quickly grew emotional. Even then, she seemed unable to believe what was happening. Such chaotic emotions were all Lu Yin needed to see to understand, and he immediately confirmed her thoughts. "My name is Lu Yin, though I used to go by the name of Lu Xiaoxuan."

    These were the first words that Lu Yin had spoken since the 110 members of Star Alliance had started climbing atop the jiao. His words stunned all who heard them.

    "Young master? You¡¯re really the young master?" The old woman still could not believe her eyes.

    Beside her, an old man was trembling. "Are you really the young master?"

    "Impossible! How could the young master be with this jiao?"

    "He certainly looks like the young master. Could he be?"

    Several of the 110 members of Star Alliance were excitedly discussing the revtion, though the vast majority were merely surprised. Lu Xiaoxuan? The child of the Lu family? One of the previous Seven Heroes? How was that possible? What had happened? Was Lu Xiaoxuan actually riding atop Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s captive jiao?

    No one could understand just what was happening.

    Lu Yin said nothing more, and instead simply patted the jiao with the broken saber. "Go."

    Lu Yin directed the beast to return him to the Fifth Maind. He had not rescued everyone from Star Alliance, but the rest were on the rear battlefield and out of his reach. Could he even save the ones that he had found?

    He looked up. Why had Xia Shenji and the others still not appeared yet? Lu Yin had assumed that he would have already been confronted by the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors.

    Soon after the jiao moved beyond the stone forest, someone from the Celestial Frost Sect shouted, "No! The orders are fake! That jiao followed Lu Xiaoxuan and fled from Shenwu''s Sky! That person¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Others also quickly received messages from their own families and sects.

    As for the man from Shenwu''s Sky who had spoken to Lu Yin, he actually coughed up blood.?It¡¯s over! It¡¯s all over now!

    He had just received a message from the sect master, stating that Lu Xiaoxuan had chased the chained jiao away from Shenwu''s Sky. The person atop the jiao was actually Lu Xiaoxuan! Even if the man had no idea how the jiao was being controlled, the fact remained that Lu Xiaoxuan had stolen all of the members of Star Alliance!

    The original orders had disallowed anyone from Star Alliance to leave the stone forest without joint orders from the four ruling powers. The man was shocked to realize that he had lost track of his orders and allowed the members of Star Alliance to leave. The sect would never forgive this crime.

    The man looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He wanted to take back the members of Star Alliance, but when he saw the massive body of the jiao and relived the terror of seeing it, he realized that it was absolutely impossible to take the members of Star Alliance back.

    The jiao turned around and started heading towards the edge of the Higher Realm. Lu Yin was not headed towards the location that he had used to return to the Fifth Maind the previous time, but a new location that Grandmaster Xiu Ming had shared before sending Lu Yin to the Perennial World.

    He needed to hurry.

    Instantly, the enormous jiao disappeared.

    "I didn''t expect things to go so smoothly," Progenitor Smoke was genuinely surprised, and as she spoke, she turned her head to look back along the jiao¡¯s back. Lu Yin was there, already removing the restrictions from all the members of Star Alliance. Naturally, the surviving vassals of the Lu family were first, but Lu Yin was not in a particr hurry to get to everyone. Most of them could wait until they were back in the Fifth Maind.

    Star Alliance did not only have the Lu family¡¯s former vassals, but also many people who had offended the four ruling powers. There were good and bad people among them, and some who were violent criminals. Such people could not be freed, which meant that Lu Yin needed to take his time identifying the people.

    It was a pity that Zhou Tang, Guo Hai, and so many others were still on the rear battlefield and out of Lu Yin¡¯s reach.

    The jiao was unbelievably fast, and they soon arrived at the edge of the Higher Realm.

    There was no need for them to use the Cloud Shuttle, as they could simply fly straight down.

    Progenitor Smoke had already caught sight of the edge of the Higher Realm, but she also caught sight of a person, and it was someone she knew: Xia Shenji.

    Lu Yin was still removing some of the restrictions from the Lu family¡¯s former vassals when he suddenly heard an explosion overhead, and the void shattered in all directions as the overwhelming power of a Progenitor descended. Everything in Lu Yin¡¯s vision started to distort.

    A Progenitor level battle had broken out in the Dominion Realm, but it was not on the frontlines against Aeternus. It was close to the Higher Realm.

    "Kid, Xia Shenji¡¯s here." Progenitor Smoke stated.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked forward. He saw someone blocking the jiao¡¯s path with his hands sped behind his back. Even though the person did not seem to have any sort of aura or energy, the jiao had stopped moving forward and was instead showing its teeth and ws again while constantly letting out threatening roars.

    "Even after so many years, your injury still hasn''t healed. I''m curious who gave you such a serious wound. Not even I can do anything about it." A warm voice was heard, and there was no pressure at all to it. To Lu Yin, it sounded just like how he would expect a friendly neighborhood uncle to sound. It was a very gentle voice.

    However, Lu Yin would not dare to underestimate the person who had just spoken, as he knew that he was hearing Xia Shenji¡¯s voice. Even if this man was not a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, a Progenitor should never be underestimated.

    The jiao raised its ws up high, roaring louder and louder as it bared teeth and threatened with its ws more and more aggressively as it tried to scare Xia Shenji away.

    Xia Shenji smiled indifferently, and then nced at a figure atop the jiao¡¯s head. Nostalgia filled the man¡¯s eyes. "Xi Wei, it¡¯s been so long."

    Xi Wei was Progenitor Smoke¡¯s name, and those who could speak her name so directly could only be her peers.

    Progenitor Smoke gazed back at Xia Shenji, clearly conflicted. "Yes, it certainly has."

    "I didn¡¯t think that we would be reunited like this after so many years," Xia Shenjimented.

    Progenitor Smoke continued to stare. "Me neither."

    Xia Shenji smiled wryly. "Why are you helping him?"

    Progenitor Smoke nced back at Lu Yin. "The kid?"

    "That child is Lu Xiaoxuan, a descendant of the Lu family. The greatest enemy of my four ruling powers whom we are determined to see ended at any cost. If you insist on helping him, you will be going against me, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and even the one who once adored you and wanted nothing more than to follow you. You will be Long Er¡¯s enemy," Xia Shenji stated.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "Since when did the Lu family be the Fifth Maind¡¯s enemy? Honestly, this whole thing has me terribly confused. You guys worked together to exile the Lu family, so who is supposed to stop Aeternus? Have you forgotten who stood in the depths of the greatest darkness to block the scariest monster? Back then, you and I might have been summoned by Lu Tianyi¡¯s Investiture of the Gods, but I never noticed that you harbored the thought of overthrowing the Lu family."

    Xia Shenji shook his head. "The Lu family controlled the Fifth Maind for too long. They became aloof and believed that the Fifth Maind was their possession. Lu Tianyi used the Investiture of the Gods without restraint! Did he ever ask for our permission?"

    "The Investiture of the Gods does nothing more than create a copy of people that can be summoned. Xia Shang, Old Fu, Hui Wen¡ªwhich of us didn''t have our copies added to the Investiture of the Gods and summoned? The Lu family simply borrowed our strength."

    "But once summoned, we became forever subject to Lu Tianyi. Who could stand up to him?"

    "Why did any of us need to? Without Senior Lu Tianyi, who is going to fight against Aeternus?"

    "Aren¡¯t things good as they are now? The Mother Tree blocks the Aeternals."

 Chapter 2298: What Makes A Progenitor?

    <h4>Chapter 2298: What Makes A Progenitor?</h4>

    Progenitor Smoke stared hard at Xia Shenji for a long moment. "When the Lu family was at its peak, humanity was able tounch counter attacks. Now? I¡¯ve learned about the present universe, and if not for that Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array that Hui Wen left on the rear battlefield, things would already have ended long ago. Even with that, his grand sourcebox array itself has be the battlefield, as the Aeternals have takenplete control of the New World. How would such things have been allowed if the Lu family were still around?"

    "So, are you determined to help Lu Xiaoxuan?" Xia Shenji shrugged. "Whether we were right or wrong to banish the Lu family, the fact remains that it has already been done, and the Lu family will never return. Will Lu Xiaoxuan abandon his hatred? Will he live in peace with us? If not, he is the greatest threat facing humanity. If it wasn¡¯t for the Aeternals interfering, Lu Xiaoxuan would have already died on Dragon Mountain. Why did Aeternus step in at that time? It¡¯s because they want him alive! They want Lu Xiaoxuan to weaken humanity. As long as he lives, only the Aeternals will reap the benefits."

    Progenitor Smoke frowned.

    "What¡¯s all this irrelevant crap you¡¯re spouting? Good dogs behave and don¡¯t stand in the way." Lu Yin spoke up in a stern tone while holding the enormous saber and leaning around the jiao¡¯s shoulder to look at Xia Shenji. The young man¡¯s eyes were full of aggression and hatred.

    Xia Shenji looked over at Lu Yin. "We meet again, Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin red at Xia Shenji. "Are you here to catch up on old times? Sorry, but I don''t remember them."

    Xia Shenji responded with a small smile. "There''s no need to reminisce about the past, as all that used to be has already been erased. Even if it wasn¡¯t done cleanly before, it will be now."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Go ahead and try it!"

    The broken saber was pointed back at the jiao¡¯s head, causing the beast¡¯s heart to tremble. "Get him!"

    The jiao instantly reached out for Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor frowned. "How did you manage to draw the broken saber of my Xia family¡¯s ancestor?"

    As he spoke, he casually evaded the ws. He was clearly much more rxed about facing the jiao than Progenitor Smoke had been.

    "Figure it out for yourself!" Lu Yin was not interested in a fight against Xia Shenji. Progenitor Smoke still had not regained her full strength, while the jiao was basically an idiot. Even by working together, the two would likely not be able to fight against Xia Shenji. Lu Yin¡¯s only goal was to escape as quickly as possible.

    Progenitor Smoke also took action. She worked together with the jiao to force Xia Shenji back and open up a path.

    Upon seeing that Xia Shenji was retreating and not fighting back against the jiao and Progenitor Smoke, Lu Yin quickly ordered the jiao to escape.

    The jiao¡¯s body twisted, and it instantly disappeared, shooting into the Middle Realm from the Higher Realm at an incredible speed. However, it left Lu Yin behind.

    The jiao¡¯s sudden disappearance left both Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke feeling confused. Why had they been left behind?

    Abruptly, the broken saber that Lu Yin held dropped to the ground, as though some mysterious force had caused Lu Yin to let go. Lu Yin could not understand what had happened.

    In front of Lu Yin, Xia Shenji looked up, his eyes unbelievably cold as he stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Things should have been properly cleaned up long ago.¡±

    He then raised a hand and pointed a finger. An indescribable coldness enveloped Lu Yin¡¯s entire body, and he felt as though he were standing before endless des. It was just a finger, yet it felt like the most terrifying de in the entire world.

    That one de was headed for Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression changed drastically, and she instantly moved to stand in front of Lu Yin. A single strike from Xia Shenji¡¯s finger instantly destroyed half of Progenitor Smoke''s body, causing her strength to rapidly dissipate.

    "Run!" A bit of fog wrapped around Lu Yin and tried to fling him away.

    Xia Shenji shook his head. "It''s useless, Xi Wei. Out of all of us, you were always one of the few to not excel inbat. You don¡¯t even have your full strength, so how do you expect to save him?"

    The de that was his finger grew increasingly sharp, and then it pierced Progenitor Smoke''s body and continued on to stab Lu Yin as well. "Just one finger is enough."

    What was a Progenitor? It was a question that Lu Yin had considered countless times in the past. It was a question that countless people throughout the universe contemted. Progenitors were the pinnacle of human cultivation. They were a level of life that defied understanding.

    Over the years, Lu Yin had interacted with several Progenitors before, but Xia Shenji was clearly on apletely different level from the Progenitors that Lu Yin had interacted with before. This man possessed an absolute and oppressive power. He had used some unknown method to hold Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke back when the jiao had fled, and then he had used a single finger to stab through Progenitor Smoke, who was capable of wielding a level of power that seemed to be at the very cusp of the Progenitor realm at the very least. It was clear that this finger was not something that Lu Yin could withstand.

    Lu Yin was able to use various methods to cross realms and fight against Semi-Progenitors, and he had even fought off several Semi-Progenitors on his own. But against Xia Shenji''s single finger, there was nothing he could do.

    Xia Shenji had arrived alone in the Higher Realm in order to erase the past. This was because he was more than enough, even on his own.

    Lu Yin could clearly see Xia Shenji¡¯s finger approach him. The Progenitor was far away from Lu Yin, but the finger pierced through space, and to Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, the finger crushed everything as it drew closer.

    It was just a single finger, yet Lu Yin was facing the power of an expert at the level of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Xia Shenji waspletely confident. He had seen everything after Lu Yin arrived in Shenwu''s Sky, and as far as a Progenitor was concerned, even Lu Yin¡¯s ability to face off against four Semi-Progenitors was nothing more than a trick. The youth was no match for Xia Shenji¡¯s finger.

    Lu Yin knew that he himself could do nothing, so he pulled out a corpse. It was the corpse that he had found in Burial Garden, and he ced it in front of himself.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s finger struck the corpse between its eyebrows, but nothing happened.

    Progenitor Smoke blinked and stared in a daze.

    Xia Shenji stared at the corpse in astonishment, also apparently stunned.

    Lu Yin stayed hidden behind the corpse as he pulled out the slipper and tossed it over to Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, p him."

    Progenitor Smoke reflexively took the slipper, as she was still dazed. There were no thoughts in her mind about attacking Xia Shenji, as her mind was instead entirely on the corpse. What the hell was it? How could a corpse block Xia Shenji''s finger?

    Who would ever have imagined that a mere corpse would be capable of blocking Xia Shenji''s finger? The results had exceeded even Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. He had simply wanted to create an opening to escape with the corpse. He felt that the corpse could likely create a brief opening, but he was shocked to see itpletely stop Xia Shenji''s finger. On top of that, based on the oue, it seemed like the corpse was capable of blocking far more than a single finger.

    Xia Shenji just stared at the corpse, examining the face of the departed, but he did not recognize the person. Why was this corpse able to stop his attack? Clearly, it was the corpse of a Progenitor, but it would be impossible for even Bai Wangyuan¡¯s corpse to block Xia Shenji in such a manner.

    Lu Yin hid behind the corpse and peaked out at Xia Shenji. Seeing the man still in a daze, Lu Yin called out again, "Senior, attack him!"

    Progenitor Smoke moved the slipper and smacked Xia Shenji with it.

    Xia Shenji frowned and stepped forward as another person appeared as well. This second figure was also Xia Shenji, and one of the two went straight for Progenitor Smoke while the other instantly appeared next to Lu Yin. The fact that Lu Yin had managed to block one of Xia Shenji¡¯s attacks had to be a fluke, but it did not matter. Xia Shenji would treat his next attack more seriously, and no one beneath the Progenitor realm could stop this attack.

    Lu Yin had forgotten about the fact that Xia Shenji also had the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Even if not all of the man¡¯s clones had reached the Progenitor realm, even Semi-Progenitor clones were more than Lu Yin could hope to deal with.

    After all, Xia Shenji had been exceptionally powerful even when he had been a Semi-Progenitor.

    Progenitor Smoke whirled around and pped one clone with the slipper, but at the same time, the other clone was already attacking Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hoped to be able to use the corpse again to block the attack, but it was impossible. Forget a corpse¡ªeven if Lu Yin could wield the sky itself as a shield, it would still be impossible for him to block Xia Shenji¡¯s attack.

    "Stop!" Progenitor Smoke screamed.

    Xia Shenji reached around the corpse and grabbed for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and instantly tapped the die as he stared at Xia Shenji''s approaching hand.

    Just as the hand was about to make contact, the die stopped spinning. Four pips: Timestop. Lu Yin''s expression changed as he instantly disappeared.

    He arrived in his Timestop Space, gasping for air. He felt incredibly lucky that he had instantly rolled a four, as any other result would have forced him to use the God of Death¡¯s left arm to try to force Xia Shenji¡¯s clone back. After all, only a clone had been sent to deal with Lu Yin. It would be impossible to force back Xia Shenji¡¯s true body with nothing more than the God of Death¡¯s left arm.

    Lu Yin checked the countdown. He could extend his time to nearly a year, but he would eventually have to leave. The only thing he needed to do here was return to his peak condition.

    Thinking about this, he closed his eyes.

    Soon, Lu Yin¡¯s time was up, and the scenery around him changed as he reappeared in his original position.

    Regardless of how much time Lu Yin spent in his Timestop Space, the rest of the universe only experienced the passage of a single moment. That moment was more than enough time for Xia Shenji¡¯s clone to capture Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had reappeared with his needle-like weapon in his hand, poised to attack.

    The long needle pierced Xia Shenji''s hand, which the man found truly unbelievable.

    In fact, when Progenitor Smoke saw what had happened, she had the exact same reaction.

    Even if Xia Shenji''s clone was not itself a Progenitor, it was at the very cusp of that level, and yet Lu Yin had managed to injure the clone. This was more startling than when Lu Yin had faced four Semi-Progenitors on his own.

    However, it was not his wounded hand that shocked Xia Shenji the most. "The power of time! You actually controlled the power of time, even if it was only for a second!"

    Progenitor Smoke had seen the same thing.

    After all, Lu Yin had rolled his die right in front of both ancient powerhouses, and he had not expected to hide it from them. He lifted a foot and fled with Inverse Step. Xia Shenji¡¯s clone could not catch up.

    "Inverse Step?" Yet again, Lu Yin surprised Xia Shenji.

    Lu Yin frowned. This man was able to see the truth of everything Lu Yin did. Inverse Step was a technique that Progenitor Chen had personally used, and Xia Shenji was from the same era, so it made sense for him to recognize the movement technique.

    Xia Shenji''s clone looked down at his palm where he had been stabbed by the needle-like weapon. Blood dripped from the wounded hand.

    "I have truly underestimated you, Lu Xiaoxuan." Xia Shenji sighed as he looked back up at Lu Yin. "It really is a pity. If the Lu family had not been exiled, with your talent, you would have absolutely be a Progenitor."

    As the man spoke, the clone disappeared.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique was terrifying to many people because the possibility of facing multiple clones created a difficult battle, and most people could not handle such a situation. Lu Yin had it even worse. It was likely that all of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones were Semi-Progenitors, but Lu Yin believed that at least one clone had to have reached the Progenitor realm.

    The fact that Xia Shenji did not even feel the need to use another clone was far more threatening to Lu Yin, as it proved that the Progenitor was not treating him seriously.

    There was a roar. The jiao had returned. It had realized that there was nothing above its head, not even the broken saber that it desired most of all. It needed to find that broken de.

    As soon as he heard the jiao¡¯s roar, Lu Yin''s first reaction was to think of the broken saber. Where had it gone?

    He looked down, and quickly saw that the broken de had stabbed into the ground near a mountain and was actually blocking a river.

    Lu Yin dropped down, hoping to grab the weapon.

    Progenitor Smoke was still wielding the slipper, swinging it at Xia Shenji. As long as she couldnd a single hit, it would daze the man, which would give them the opportunity to escape.

    Behind Xia Shenji was the edge of the Higher Realm, as well as the enormous form of the roaring dragon. The beast acted like a backdrop for the Progenitor.

    Xia Shenji appeared perfectly calm. "You seem to have forgotten¡ªwhat makes a Progenitor."

    This question caused Progenitor Smoke''s expression to instantly change.

    "Xi Wei, look at my Progenitor¡¯s world. How does itpare to the one that you remember?"

    With that, the entire world trembled, and every living creature felt its heart stop at that moment. Then, the world broke apart.

    Lu Yin instantly froze, and he looked up at the sky in horror before ncing around in every direction. He saw how space was peeling away and how the void was forming des. The very air was forming chains. Everything in existence was transforming. The entire Higher Realm¡ªno, the entire Perennial World had been reced with another world.

 Chapter 2299: Progenitorâ€™s World

    <h4>Chapter 2299: Progenitor¡¯s World</h4>

    Lu Yin felt like one of the people who ascended from a pond civilization into the greater universe, only to learn that their entire universe before was nothing more than a speck of dust.

    He saw people talking, praying, and fighting with des. There were all kinds of strange creatures that looked like des. There was life, and an entire world, but everything wasposed of des.

    Lu Yin turned his head back to stare at Xia Shenji. Was this the power of a Progenitor?

    At this time, everyone in the Higher Realm was simrly startled to discover that the world around them had changed. When they looked around, they saw the same sights as Lu Yin. It was as though a world had been superimposed on top of the Higher Realm and reced it.

    It felt like there was one world on top of another.

    Everyone in Shenwu''s Sky dropped down to their knees and began to worship. "We wee Ancestor¡¯s arrival."

    People from the other three ruling powers bowed low. "We wee Progenitor Xia''s arrival."

    Everyst person was bowing in respect. Many had no idea who they were showing respect to, but they understood that the power around them hadpletely reced everything.

    If aparison were made, a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world looked like a little toy and aplete joke. Such an inner world could do nothing against such power. It would be like a firefly and the bright moonpeting for dominance of the sky.

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression turned serious. "Your Shenwu World haspletely changed. It used to be a cold world of nothing but des, and even the creatures were cold. Your Divine Martial Armor has been used to rece the air, form chains, and des, and even life, taking away the coldness. You¡¯ve improved greatly over the years, Xia Shenji."

    Xia Shenji calmly gazed at Progenitor Smoke. He had not wanted to use this power, as all of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors had agreed that a Progenitor¡¯s power could only be released and used in the Dominion Realm and on the rear battlefield. Unfortunately, the man felt that he had no choice. Lu Xiaoxuan had already blocked multiple attacks from a Progenitor, proving his peerless talent and strength. In addition, the presence of Progenitor Smoke, an ancient powerhouse, had also roused Xia Shenji¡¯s memories from their deep slumber. He was eager to demonstrate his power and show the two people that they were nothing but ants.

    At this moment, not to mention Lu Xiaoxuan, even if Progenitor Smoke regained her full power from the past, she would face nothing but defeat if she tried to confront the Shenwu World.

    "So what if you inherited one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? All of you were recorded in history, and I will be as well. You might no longer be my opponent," Xia Shenji stated in a low voice. The jiao raised its head and roared from behind Xia Shenji, trying to threaten the man, but the Progenitor simply ignored the beast.

    The jiao felt that something important was happening, and it started to panic.

    Progenitor Smokeughed. "Clearly, you never stopped caring about inheriting one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. How could you not care? You obviously don¡¯t need to use this power to deal with us, yet you still brought it out, just to show it to me."

    Xia Shenji casually replied, "How is it,pared to Xia Shang¡¯s?"

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. She had no way topare the two, and that was no exaggeration at all. Because she was weak inbat, she had never sparred with Xia Shang, and even at this moment, the woman did not want to fight against Xia Shenji.

    "You can''tpare to Progenitor Chen," Lu Yin said, still staring at Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji had been ignoring Lu Yin for some time. Given the power of a Progenitor¡¯s world, the entire Higher Realm was under Xia Shenji¡¯splete control, so why bother with Lu Xiaoxuan? However, Lu Yin''s words caught the man¡¯s attention. "What did you just say?"

    "I said that you¡¯re still no match for Progenitor Chen," Lu Yin repeated.

    Xia Shenji was unfazed. "How could a mere antprehend the power of a Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head up higher. "I said that there¡¯s noparison, and there clearly isn¡¯t. If Progenitor Chen were here, he¡¯d be able to pinch you to death with his fingers."

    "How presumptuous." Xia Shenji still acted indifferent, but the air in the sky transformed into chains that smashed down upon Lu Yin. These chains were formed from the Divine Martial Armor that formed the air of the Progenitor¡¯s world, and they were far more terrifying than the chains that were part of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s defensive sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin instinctively wanted to take out the God of Death''s left arm and fight back, as he had nothing else that could help him escape. He had spoken because he hoped to coerce Xia Shenji into taking him back to the Fifth Maind. It was clear that Xia Shenji wanted topete against Progenitor Chen, and while the chances of coercing a Progenitor into taking such a specific action were incredibly slim, Lu Yin felt that it was notpletely impossible. However, against all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, Xia Shenji showed no intention of speaking to Lu Yin at all. As far as Xia Shenji was concerned, Lu Yin was nothing more than a tiny, meaningless ant.

    Progenitor Smoke suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin. "Kid, all I can do is help you block onest attack. Whether you can survive will be up to you."

    The woman¡¯s wei then condensed into a solid form that protected Lu Yin in all directions. However, the moment the chains made contact, they tore right through Progenitor Smoke¡¯s hastily arranged defenses.

    Even though the wei had failed to block the chains, there was still a momentary dy, which allowed Lu Yin to evade with Inverse Step. Unfortunately, Progenitor Smoke was unable to ess her full power, and her avatar was already fading away.

    Xia Shenji remained indifferent. "Even in your prime, you would not be able to save the child. Is your body trapped inside that mirror? Don''t worry, I will rescue you. As for our grudges with the Lu family, all of that has nothing to do with you."

    Progenitor Smoke shrugged. "I¡¯ve already repaid the debt that I owed Senior Lu Tianyi. I helped this kid because he allowed me to see the universe once more. Without him, I have no idea how long I would have remained trapped and alone. Xia Shenji, is it really impossible to spare his life?"

    "Yes," Xia Shenji answered coldly.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head, and then looked back at Lu Yin. "Kid, take care of yourself."

    Even as she bade him farewell, her body slowly disappeared. The mirror fell, and while Lu Yin wanted to grab it, he was unable to move.

    Despair overcame him as he watched Progenitor Smoke''s avatar disappear. The woman had helped Lu Yin a great deal since they had met, and he would have never been able to aplish much of what he had done without her. To begin with, Lu Yin would have never been able to escape from Shenwu¡¯s Sky alive without Progenitor Smoke. She was the reason why he was still alive.

    With Progenitor Smoke and her strength gone, there was no way that she could return anytime soon. Lu Yin would have to face Xia Shenji on his own.

    Behind Xia Shenji, the jiao was frozen, as if dazed. While it might have been rendered stupid due to its injury, certain powers still felt familiar, such as the broken saber and Xia Shenji¡¯s power. The broken de suppressed the jiao, while it had fought against Xia Shenji¡¯s Shenwu World before. The unforgettable sensation emanating from the Progenitor¡¯s world made the jiao want to flee.

    It followed through on its desires. After all, the jiao was not intelligent, and it only acted on instinct. It turned and fled into the Middle Realm without any hesitation.

    Xia Shenji did nothing to stop the beast. As long as the broken saber remained, the beast would eventually return for it. The Perennial World was only sorge, so where could the jiao flee?

    "Young master, run away!" A shout rang out, and several people charged towards Xia Shenji from where the jiao had just been. They had leaped off of the creature¡¯s back.

    The sight of them startled Lu Yin. "Stop!"

    The people charging towards Xia Shenji were the surviving vassals of the Lu family whom Lu Yin had rescued and ced atop the jiao¡¯s back. He had not expected them to leave the jiao and race towards Xia Shenji as though chasing death. The man was a Progenitor!

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew cold. "You maggots."

    The man did not even move. The people charging towards the Progenitor froze in ce, and then their bodies simply shattered. Blood filled the sky and rained down onto the ground below.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed, and he clenched his fists as he red at Xia Shenji. Endless hatred filled his gaze.

    Xia Shenji had never even looked at the people he had killed. In his mind, they did not qualify for even that much acknowledgement from him. ¡°I''ll give you a chance to say yourst words."

    Lu Yin and Xia Shenji stared at each other. As he looked at Xia Shenji, all Lu Yin could think of was the sight of the people he had rescued being killed and their blood staining the ground. He slowly asked, "Do you regret what you all did?"

    Xia Shenji arched a brow. "Regret what? Banishing the Lu family?"

    Lu Yin stared. Nothing on his face changed.

    Xia Shenji proudly stated, "I regret nothing!"

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Go ahead and attack me now."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Shenwu World that enveloped the Higher Realm grew heavier. A single de formed, and it dropped down upon Lu Yin from above. Given Xia Shenji''s power, a mere look was enough to destroy Lu Yin and leave him without even any bones, but the man had decided that this would be the manner of Lu Yin¡¯s death. This was thest respect that Xia Shenji would offer the Lu family.

    A true descendant of the Lu family deserved Xia Shenji¡¯s de.

    Lu Yin stood high in the sky. He looked up and watched as the de fell. This de was sharper than any that he had ever seen before, and it destroyed all of his hopes. He knew that it was possible to pull the corpse out again, and the de would not cut the corpse, but that would not change anything. This was the power of a Progenitor, and even with the corpse, Lu Yin would simply be crushed by this de. It did not truly need to cut him, as smashing him would be just as effective.

    Was this the end?

    Lu Yin stared at the approaching de. At that moment, he remembered everything that had happened. However, he was not thinking about when he had united the Fifth Maind, nor when he had reached the pinnacle of power. He did not see the eyes that gazed at him with fear or desire for revenge. He did not recall the joy he felt from improving his cultivation. No, all that appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind in perfect rity were the familiar faces of those dear to him: his family and friends.

    Last, he saw Ming Yan smiling at him. She looked so pure and beautiful.

    At that moment, Lu Yin was struck by the desire to return to Shenwu Continent. To go back to the days when he had acted as a coachman and had silently protected Ming Yan from her side while simply enjoying her familiar presence. That had been the most beautiful feeling in the universe!

    The de fell the rest of the way, and Lu Yin closed his eyes. He prepared to take out the God fo Death¡¯s left arm, even though it was unlikely to help at all. After all, this was a Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    However, as he waited, Lu Yin was not struck by the de, but instead by a voice. "Junior brother, it''s not like you to simply close your eyes and wait for death."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he was met with a shocking scene.

    In front of him, what appeared to be a round pebble was floating in the air. It radiated a dazzling light that somehow managed to erase the Shenwu World. Not only had it stopped the descending de, but it had also reced the colors brought about by the presence of the Shenwu World. The pebble reced the center of the Progenitor¡¯s world, and it removed all of the pressure that had been suffocating Lu Yin. Instead, all he felt was aforting warmth.

    A man stood above the pebble. He looked gentle and had a refined appearance. He was a middle-aged man whom Lu Yin recognized. This was themander of Humility¡¯s Gate: Mu Xia. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother.

    Was his appearance a surprise? Not at all. Lu Yin had been expecting his senior brother Mu Xie to arrive. Lu Yin had not been trying to kill himself when he had gone to Shenwu¡¯s Sky to save the captured members of the Lu family. While traveling there, he had sent messages to both Kui Luo and Qing Ping. Mu Xie had already been informed of Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    The only surprise was howte Senior Brother Mu Xie had decided to show up.

    Still, Lu Yin had been certain that his senior brother would eventually arrive.

    "Senior Brother, I''m really sorry for all the trouble I caused you the first time we met," Lu Yin said with a wry smile.

    Mu Xie turned around to look at Lu Yin. "I never thought that the person who nearly became my disciple would actually be my junior brother. Master never told me a thing."

    "Master didn''t tell me anything either," Lu Yin said with a shrug.

    Mu Xie just gave a small smile. "It doesn''t matter. It¡¯s not toote given that we know now."

    Lu Yin looked past Mu Xie to see the astonished expression of Xia Shenji. "I¡¯m in a bit of trouble. Will this be an issue?"

    "Just a bit, but that¡¯s fine."

 Chapter 2300: Under My Charge Now

    <h4>Chapter 2300: Under My Charge Now</h4>

    Before learning that Mu Xie was his senior disciple brother, Lu Yin would have been worried that Mu Xie would not be capable of saving him, regardless of any possible connection or rtionship.

    After all, Mu Xie was standing against Xia Shenji, a Progenitor who had risen to power during the Daosource Sect era. He was someone from the same generation as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, a powerhouse who stood at the pinnacle of mankind.

    However, what of Mu Xie? He had be a Progenitor in the Perennial World, and he clearly did not have a history nearly as impressive as Xia Shenji. In fact, Mu Xie was even younger than Progenitor Wen, so how could he be expected to fight against Xia Shenji?

    However, Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned, and the reason for that was simply because Mu Xie was Lu Yin¡¯s senior disciple brother. The fact that Mu Xie had received Mister Mu¡¯s approval was more than enough.

    Mister Mu demanded nearly impossible standards from anyone he epted as his disciples. Just how many people throughout all of human history could meet the man¡¯s requirements? Any who could do so were peerless individuals, such as Qing Ping, and even Lu Yin himself.

    Since Mu Xie was capable of bing Mister Mu¡¯s first disciple, then he naturally held the same qualifications as his two junior disciple brothers. This was why Lu Yin had no fear with Mu Xie standing against Xia Shenji.

    "Mu Xie?" Xia Shenji appeared quite confused. "Why are you here?"

    Mu Xie calmly looked back at Xia Shenji. "Progenitor Xia, he¡¯s under my charge now."

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed, and his eyes grew cold. "Is this a joke? Do you understand just who he is?"

    "I do, but that doesn¡¯t matter. Regardless of who he might be, I will protect him," Mu Xie replied in apletely rxed tone of voice. He sounded as though he were discussing a ss of water.

    Xia Shenji''s expression grew ugly. "That person is Lu Xiaoxuan, thest living descendant of the Lu family! A sworn enemy of the four ruling powers who absolutely must die. Do you really want to protect such a person?"

    Mu Xie just smiled. "I already told you, I don¡¯t need to know who he is, as he¡¯s now under my charge."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Why?"

    "I don''t want to say," Mu Xie answered bluntly.

    Lu Yin gave Mu Xie an odd look. His senior brother''s reply would clearly upset Xia Shenji. He was the Ancestor of Shenwu''s Sky! Who would dare defy him, let alone talk back to him? But Mu Xie¡¯s every word was antagonistic. It was as though he was literally asking for a fight.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s breathing grew ragged. "It appears that my four ruling powers''s tolerance of Humility¡¯s Gate has allowed you to be arrogant, Mu Xie! Don¡¯t think that we can¡¯t do anything to you just because you¡¯re a Progenitor! Many human Progenitors have died throughout the years, and if not for your Humility¡¯s Gate, you would have already been cast into the Outer Realm!"

    Mu Xie simply smiled. "I won''t die, as you can''t kill me."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes red, and the Shenwu World that enveloped the Higher Realm erupted. Everything changed in an instant, and countless des appeared in the sky and on the ground, and they all attacked Mu Xie. Everything in existence in the Progenitor¡¯s world transformed into des, and the air, which was formed from Divine Martial Armor, formed chains that reached out to bind Mu Xie.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had ever witnessed the explosive power of a Progenitor, and it felt as though the sky was trembling while the earth was quivering. It felt like the world itself was being destroyed.

    Before this sort of power, all of Lu Yin¡¯s methods suddenly seemed ridiculous. Even if he Enhanced an item to the Progenitor level, it would be impossible to do anything against this sort of power. This was a different level of existence. A level where a human had stepped into the realm of gods. This was the power of a god. This was the pinnacle of human cultivation.

    To rise from being an ordinary human to a cultivator, the change took ce in one¡¯s body and the presence of star energy. To transform from an ordinary cultivator into an Envoy, the difference was in the introduction of stellr energy, which was capable of dissolving star energy. To rise from being an Envoy to be a Semi-Progenitor, one had to acquire an inner world. In the presence of an inner world, an Envoy could hide nothing and could only wait to be crushed. However, each of those gaps could be ovee, and Lu Yin had even done so himself. It was only when feeling Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world that Lu Yin felt that he was facing an insurmountable distance.

    Lu Yin was capable of crossing realms and challenging powerhouses, but he could not rece the entire world. Xia Shenji had reced the Perennial World with his Progenitor¡¯s world. For Lu Yin to challenge such a thing, he essentially needed to be able to fight against the entire Perennial World. This was not as simple as wanting to fight back; rather, Lu Yin had no idea how to even treat a world as an enemy.

    This was a Progenitor, a true Progenitor. This was the same level of power as Progenitor Chen''s stars that filled the Fifth Maind, or the Rune Progenitor¡¯s runes that filled the universe. This was a personal universe that had reced a portion of the universe. The Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm had been reced with Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World.

    The power to rece a portion of the universe was a truly unfathomable level of strength, but beneath the endless power of the universe, a single stone remained zing with a dazzling light, and it dispelled the irresistible power of the surrounding world.

    Xia Shenji stared at Mu Xie. "Let¡¯s see if your ?ar¨©ra can withstand the pressure of my Shenwu World!"

    Mu Xie casually replied, "You can refer to it as a relic, but it¡¯s really just a pebble. Pebbles need to be polished, and the greater the pressure, the greater the shine."

    "How arrogant." Xia Shenji raised a hand, and infinite des reced the sky. All of them fell down. From a distance, it looked like rain, though it was a rain formed from nothing but des.

    Lu Yin looked upwards, fearless. He knew that he was incapable of resisting Xia Shenji''s Progenitor¡¯s world, but despite being helpless before the might of the Shenwu World, he had no concerns of dying to this rain of des.

    A smile appeared on Mu Xie''s face. Beneath his feet, the light of the ?ar¨©ra condensed, but then they started forming various characters that began to revolve around the stones. They looked almost alive, and they even expanded and spread outwards as the des began to fall. As the des shed, it seemed as though the universe itself was copsing, unable to endure the power of a Progenitor. Lu Yin¡¯s vision was filled with darkness. It was a devouring darkness that looked as if it could swallow everything. This was not like a ck hole in space that was ck because of the absence of light, but rather a ckness that was simply pure ck, nothing more.

    Two Progenitors shed with one another, and the impact tore the void. Behind every tear was the same pure ck color.

    The ckness was soplete that it seeped through people. No one dared to approach, as it looked like the mouth of an abyss.

    Still, this was not the time to think about the darkness. Lu Yin stared upwards at where the glowing characters were still revolving, despite being struck by the endless barrage of des. The assault created a circle where the void was shattering, and if even one of the glowing characters failed, Lu Yin would instantly die. Despite that, he was fearless. He knew that Senior Brother Mu Xie could not be defeated.

    Xia Shenji''s expression turned ugly. No one really knew anything at all about Mu Xie. He had never aplished anything of note from the time he had first appeared to the moment he had be a Progenitor. Aside from the four ruling powers, not even the Lu family had paid much attention to the man until he had be a Semi-Progenitor. Even then, he had been regarded as an independent cultivator who had managed to rise to the Semi-Progenitor level. He had never disyed any shocking level of strength, so he had simply been ignored for his entire life.

    Only when challenging his breakthrough to be a Progenitor had the Lu family and the rest of the most powerful forces of the Perennial World paid any real attention to Mu Xie, but unfortunately, it was already toote. Hepleted his breakthrough without any issue. In fact, it was actually odd how smooth it was. It almost appeared as though he had been fated to be a Progenitor, and the ease of his aplishment left others jealous.

    After bing a Progenitor, the first thing that Mu Xie had done had been to establish Humility¡¯s Gate with the sole purpose of hunting down and eliminating Redbacks. He had refused all offers from the Lu family and other organizations, and his goal for Humility¡¯s Gate had been greatly approved by the Lu family. Thus, he had won their support for his efforts.

    In the current era, history imed that Humility¡¯s Gate had been founded by the four ruling powers, but that was nothing more than a self-ttering lie concocted by the four ruling powers themselves.

    The term ¡°four ruling powers¡± was something that had only appeared after the Lu family had been exiled, while Humility''s Gate had been established long before, when the Lu family had still been in power. However, the Lu family had been too powerful and had overshadowed all others, so Humility¡¯s Gate had not been well known. Still, Humility''s Gate had operated with the support of the Lu family, and arge number of Redbacks had been exposed and eliminated. It was simply that Humility¡¯s Gate had gained a great deal more fame in recent years.

    Everyone had believed that the Lu family''s support that they offered to Humility''s Gate had been an attempt to win over Mu Xie, but that was not the case at all. Despite so many years passing, the Lu family had never once tried to recruit Mu Xie, and the man was genuinely dedicated to hunting down and eliminating Redbacks. After many years, everyone had abandoned thoughts of recruiting Mu Xie.

    After the Lu family had been exiled, the four ruling powers had tested Mu Xie once more, but he had still refused to join another power. His only desire was to eliminate Redbacks, and so the four ruling powers had also abandoned thoughts of recruiting the Progenitor. They had eventually epted the existence of Mu Xie and Humility''s Gate, despite their incredible level of strength.

    As for Mu Xie''s personal strength, he had focused on eliminating the Perennial World¡¯s Redbacks, and even the strongest Redback was only a Semi-Progenitor. No one had ever been able to force Mu Xie to use his true strength. Even when some of Aeternus¡¯s powerful Progenitors had attacked the Dominion Realm, Mu Xie had only attacked after Bai Wangyuan and others, and the man¡¯s performance had not been impressive at all.

    All of this contributed to why Xia Shenji had never believed that Mu Xie could stand up to him. It should be impossible. Only three people truly stood at the pinnacle of the Perennial World, as not even Progenitor Long was qualified to stand equal to them. Mu Xie was behaving exceptionally arrogantly. Could it be because he was certain that the four ruling powers would never touch Humility''s Gate because of Mu Xie¡¯s existence?

    Xia Shenji had already started contemting how he would deal with Mu Xie.

    But as time passed, Xia Shenji discovered that his Shenwu World waspletely unable to suppress Mu Xie. Instead, it was the Shenwu World that was being slowly destroyed.

    A de formed, and cracks appeared all around the Higher Realm as soon as it appeared. It was clear that the Higher Realm was unable to withstand the power of this saber.

    In the midst of dropping his saber down in a sh, Xia Shenji hesitated for a moment. Regardless of whether Mu Xie could block this attack, it would badly damage the Higher Realm. At the very least, a massive portion of the Higher Realm would be destroyed, and countless cultivators would die. This was not something that the four ruling powers wanted to see. "Mu Xie, I''ll give you onest chance: step back."

    Mu Xie''s expression finally grew serious. "Your de truly is quite powerful, but it still can''t kill me."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes turned exceptionally cold. He desperately wanted to attack, and finally, after thinking about it a moment more, he decided not to continue. The Higher Realm belonged to the four ruling powers, and it represented their absolute authority over the rest of the Perennial World. If the Higher Realm was destroyed, Mu Xie would not be the one who lost the most.

    Xia Shenji let out a breath. "It seems that you are determined to protect Lu Xiaoxuan. In that case, I''ll kill him in front of you. Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s only duty is to hunt down Redbacks. I hope that you won¡¯t betray your mission."

    Lu Yin''s heartbeat suddenly elerated, and he felt a mysterious sense of dread encroaching upon him from the surrounding darkness. He quickly pulled the corpse back out as he nced around. The sense of impending danger did not fade even with the corpse present, and it instead increased more and more. It felt like Lu Yin had a knife to his neck, and he could not catch his breath.

    Where was the danger? Was it one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones? Was it something else? Where was it?

    Lu Yin abruptly remembered something, and his pupils transformed into runes as the God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder. Runes filled the area, and Lu Yin used them to try to find the danger.

    He seeded. He looked down at the soles of his feet, and the runes that belonged to his feet disappeared into nothingness right beneath him, and there was a line that stretched away from his feet. "Senior Brother."

    In front of Lu Yin, Xia Shenji was startled, as this was his first time hearing Lu Yin address Mu Xie. The man was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s senior brother?

    "Mu Xie, are you from the Lu family?" Xia Shenji shouted. For Lu Xiaoxuan to call the man senior brother, he had to be a member of the Lu family. In fact, why else would Mu Xie be so determined to help Lu Xiaoxuan? So it turned out that Mu Xie was actually another vassal from the Lu family.

    [1] This is a generic term that refers to Buddhist relics. .

 Chapter 2301: Shackles Of Time

    <h4>Chapter 2301: Shackles Of Time</h4>

    Mu Xie spoke up. "Junior Brother, did Master allow you to choose one of his battle technique?"

    Lu Yin suppressed the terror that had started to overwhelm him. "Yes."

    "Which did you choose?"

    "The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation."

    Mu Xie nodded. "I obtained Origin Tracer."

    "I know. I¡¯m the only person to ever cultivate the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation since the ancient era," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Xie''s expression grew heavy. "I actually chose the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, as the name sounds truly impressive. Unfortunately, Master told me that I have no fate with the technique, so I was forced to take Origin Tracer. However, it¡¯s all thanks to that that I¡¯m able to save you, as it would be impossible without Origin Tracer.¡±

    The man then looked over at Xia Shenji. "I''ve never heard anything about the Xia family possessing the power of time. I''m quite curious, how did you train this ability?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression underwent aplete transformation, and he was shocked to his core. Was this person actually able to perceive his power of time?

    Lu Yin was startled. The power of time? Xia Shenji actually controlled such a thing?

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of Progenitor Chen. In all the records or legends that Lu Yin had found, there had been absolutely no mention of Progenitor Chen ever using the power of time. However, because of Inverse Step, Lu Yin knew that Progenitor Chen hadprehended the power of time before he even reached the peak of the Enlighter realm, as he had been able to create a chaotic field of time and space with Inverse Step. Lu Yin knew that, to do so, the user had to be able to perceive the power of time, and thus, he had deduced that Progenitor Chen had indeedprehended the power of time.

    However, Lu Yin had never received any other confirmations, so his suspicions had never been anything more than personal theories.

    But if Xia Shenji also wielded the power of time, then it was practically confirmation that Progenitor Chen had done the same.

    The power of time was not something that one could obtain by improving their cultivation. Lu Yin¡¯s talent could be said to be the best throughout the past and present, yet he still had not been able to sense the power of time yet. Even with the help of Wendy Yushan''s innate gift, Lu Yin had not been able to sense anything. In fact, if not for the fact that Lu Yin had Enhanced Progenitor Ku¡¯s Withered Bark, he might have never sessfully created a field of chaotic time and space with Inverse Step.

    If such a thing was impossible for Lu Yin, then it should have also been impossible for Xia Shenji. Time was a truly ethereal power, and unless Lu Yin¡¯s guess waspletely wrong, Xia Shenji had received some sort of inheritance or possessed an innate gift rted to the power of time. There did not seem to be any other possibility.

    Xia Shenji had incredible control over the power of time, so it was likely some sort of inheritance. That would also exin how Progenitor Chen hadprehended the power of time as well.

    When it came to bloodlines, while Progenitor Chen had been a branch member of the Xia family, his blood had been purer than the family¡¯s direct descendants.

    "You have a very odd way of using time power. You create shackles and lock down time within a specific area, allowing you to move things along those shackles, including even people. This really does perfectly match Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s style of doing things," Mu Xie remarked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This exined why he had been inexplicably left behind when the jiao had fled. Even Progenitor Smoke had not been able to understand that matter, but if Xia Shenji had used these shackles of time, then it could all be exined.

    Lu Yin stared down beneath his feet. Was this really the power of time?

    Lu Yin tested things out by moving away with Inverse Step. As soon as the field of chaotic time and space appeared, Lu Yin saw that he was bound by gray lines. Xia Shenji really was using the power of time.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s Inverse Step was unable to influence time that much. He waspletely unable to break free from the shackles of time.

    If he used his Withered Bark, it might be enough, but it was not guaranteed.

    Even so, Lu Yin did nothing. Senior Brother Mu Xie was present, which meant that the shackles of time would not be able to do anything to Lu Yin.

    "Have you also mastered the power of time?" This was not something that Xia Shenji could believe. It was bing increasingly apparent that everyone had greatly underestimated Mu Xie. Not only did he have a Progenitor¡¯s world that could resist Xia Shenji¡¯s Shenwu World, but he had also mastered the mighty power of time. Mu Xie clearly had the strength topare to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Everyone had somehow missed that this man was an incredibly powerful Progenitor.

    .

    Mu Xie smiled lightly. "It''s just a coincidence."

    Even as he spoke, the number of runes beneath Lu Yin''s feet returned to normal. Mu Xie had broken through Xia Shenji''s shackles of time.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s expressionpletely changed as he stared at Mu Xie''s gaze, and the saber reappeared above Xia Shenji¡¯s head. This de was far more powerful than the one that Xia Shenji had used just a moment ago, as he would no longer hold anything back at all. Mu Xie had seen through the Xia family¡¯s greatest secret, and at this moment, Xia Shenji wanted to kill not only Lu Xiaoxuan, but also Mu Xie.

    Not even the Lu family had ever learned about the Xia family¡¯s secret of controlling the power of time. This secret absolutely could not be exposed.

    Mu Xie lifted his head high. "I already told you that you are incapable of killing me."

    As he spoke, the ?ar¨©ra glowed brighter than ever, and the radiance painted Mu Xie with a golden color, and the same effect appeared on Lu Yin as well. They both had a golden look to them, and they were surrounded by glowing characters. The two looked genuinely sacred.

    Xia Shenji''s de fell down, but the Higher Realm did not instantly shatter. The de pulled the void along behind it, and it looked as though the entire Higher Realm was going to be crushed.

    Countless people throughout the Higher Realm screamed in terror as they looked upwards and saw the copsing void approach. Their vision was filled the pure ckness.

    Xia Ziheng, Wu Yao, and the other Semi-Progenitors were all trembling. The higher one¡¯s cultivation realm, the more clearly they could sense the horror of this descending de.

    No one could stop this saber. It was powerful enough to slice through the Higher Realm, and even the entire Perennial World.

    Lu Yin felt that Xia Shenji must have lost his mind. This attack was going to ughter countless people.

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin could not hold back from shouting.

    Mu Xie¡¯s hands remained sped behind his back as he casually looked up at the Dominion Realm. "They aren¡¯t able to hold themselves back any longer."

    Suddenly, distinct auras fell from above, and their sudden appearance caused Xia Shenji to hesitate. These auras were from the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors who were in the Dominion Realm, and among them were Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, the Progenitors who belonged to the Nong and Liu families, and even Specter Abyss¡¯s Progenitor.

    "Xia Shenji, have you gone mad? Do you intend to destroy the Higher Realm?" Bai Wangyuan''s voice rang out, though no one could be seen. It was as though the voice wasing from the entire Perennial World.

    "Xia Shenji, lower your de." The next to speak was Wang Fan.

    "The Higher Realm cannot survive your attack." Progenitor Long also jumped in.

    "Heh, I don''t care about the Higher Realm, but you can¡¯t drag the Middle Realm into things." Progenitor Nong made his position clear.

    "My Liu family is directly beneath your saber! Xia Shenji, do you intend to annihte my Liu family?" Progenitor Liu challenged Xia Shenji as well.

    "Let it fall. Destroy everything! My Specter Abyss will help you rebuild the Higher Realm, hahahaha."

    One voice after another spoke up as all the Progenitors from the Dominion Realm made their opinions known. Some sounded majestic, calm, or even arrogant. Of particr note was the voice of the Progenitor from Specter Abyss, who wanted Xia Shenji to finish his attack.

    Lu Yin was most interested in Specter Progenitor. Just what side did this man stand on?

    Xia Shenji''s saber froze, and he stared at Mu Xie with powerful reluctance, but the de did not finish dropping. This was not because Xia Shenji did not want to release his attack, but rather because so many Progenitors were currently watching. In particr, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long were all watching, and they would never allow the attack to be released, as the fallout was more than what the four ruling powers could bear.

    Ultimately, Xia Shenji withdrew his de, though his killing intent did not subside in the least. "Lu Xiaoxuan must die."

    "Mu Xie, get out of the way." Bai Wangyuan spoke up again.

    Right after Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan spoke up. "Last time, you used the false name of Long Qi to create a mess on Dragon Mountain, while this time you¡¯ve impersonated Yu Hao and stirred up chaos throughout the entire Perennial World! Lu Xiaoxuan, you must die."

    "Mu Xie, get out of the way. This matter has nothing to do with you," Progenitor Long said.

    Xia Shenji sneered. "Mu Xie is Lu Xiaoxuan''s senior brother, which means that he should also be part of the Lu family."

    "What?" Bai Wangyuan was shocked. "Mu Xie, you joined the Lu family long ago?"

    Mu Xie was still rxed, and he simply replied, "No."

    "Then why did Lu Xiaoxuan call you ¡®senior brother¡¯?" Xia Shenji challenged.

    Lu Yin answered in a mocking tone, "Because we share the same master."

    These words caused Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, and everyone else to fall silent.

    "Who is your master that even a Progenitor like Mu Xie would acknowledge? Ask him to step out and meet with us," Wang Fan stated in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Our master is busy trying to save humanity! He doesn¡¯t have time to deal with bugs like you!"

    "Hahahaha, that''s right! They''re all bugs!" Progenitor Nong cackled.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s voice grew cold, "What is your master''s name? Tell me. He might be an old friend."

    Mu Xie looked upwards. "He¡¯s no old friend of yours. Master is older than your ancestors."

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. Mu Xie was stating the truth, but it sounded like he was cursing the other Progenitors.

    "Mu Xie, can you stop my four ruling powers if we all attack?" Wang Fan shouted coldly.

    Mu Xieughed. "Look at all of you, acting like you can go wherever you wish. As if I don¡¯t know that you¡¯re all trapped in the Dominion Realm and unable to leave. Xia Shenji finally managed to break free, but don¡¯t try telling me that the rest of you cane down here right now. Even if you do, so what? What will you do if I simply flee?"

    "You are too arrogant! Our four ruling powers'' foundation is beyond anything that you can imagine! Regardless of whether or not you have a master, you¡­"

    ¡­

    While listening to the conversation between Mu Xie and the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors, Lu Yin looked in the direction of the rear battlefield. He saw two ck dots appear, and they quickly grew clearer. After a moment, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank, and he shouted, "The Aeternals!"

    Xia Shenji turned to look towards the rear battlefield as well, and his expression instantly changed. "It''s Corpse God again! He¡¯s trying to destroy Ceaseless Impetus!"

    As his voice cut off, the Higher Realm trembled. No, the entire Mother Tree was shaking. The vibrations spread across the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Lower Realm. Monstrous tsunamis rose and crashed in the Middle Ocean, as the sea was practically boiling. The earth churned, mountains and rivers broke, and cities copsed.

    "Mu Xie, help us protect Ceaseless Impetus!" Wang Fan ordered.

    Mu Xie stared at Xia Shenji. "Let¡¯s go together."

    Xia Shenji wanted to refuse.

    "Mu Xie!" Bai Wangyuan yelled.

    "Xia Shenji, there¡¯s something wrong with the region you¡¯re in charge of," Progenitor Nongmented.

    Xia Shenji gritted his teeth as he took a long look at Lu Yin. Finally, the man stepped away, and his Shenwu World instantly vanished. The universe reverted to its former appearance as the pressure of a Progenitor disappeared. Lu Yin felt a burst of relief.

    "Junior Brother, you will have to take care of yourself. The bigger picture is always the most important thing. Nothing can be allowed to happen to Ceaseless Impetus." As soon as Mu Xie finished speaking, his ?ar¨©ra disappeared from in front of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared towards the rear battlefield, looking into Corpse God''s enormous pupils which were staring at the Higher Realm. Lu Yin had seen the same sight in the past when he had first visited the Higher Realm with Supervisor Qing Chen, and it was repeating before his eyes. He had not expected those ck dots to have been Corpse God¡¯s pupils.

    Was Corpse God trying to help Lu Yin? Did Aeternus want Lu Yin to escape from the Perennial World again so that war would break out between the Fifth Maind and the four ruling powers? That had been their goal all along, but their n required Lu Yin¡¯s survival.

    Lu Yin stared at Corpse God, and those huge eyes seemed to be staring at the entire Higher Realm, but Lu Yin had a suspicion that those eyes were staring directly at him¡­

    He quickly threw the thought aside. He needed to leave quickly, as things would be troublesome once more if another powerhouse from the four ruling powers suddenly appeared.

    Right, the broken saber was still on the ground, and Lu Yin needed to take it with him.

    A thought shed through Lu Yin''s mind. This was not right; why was the broken de still on the ground? No matter how anxious Xia Shenji might have be, he would have never left the saber behind. Lu Yin was incapable of protecting the saber, and it would have been a simple matter for Xia Shenji to take it away.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing grew ragged as his mind raced. He abruptly took off, racing towards the edge of the Higher Realm.

    He just prayed that he was overthinking things.

 Chapter 2302: Judgment

    Chapter 2302: Judgment

    A person stepped out from beneath the broken saber. Sure enough, it was Xia Shenji. Rather, it was not the Xia Shenji who had fought against Mu Xie, but another clone. Still, this clone was also a Progenitor.

    "I already said that you would die today." The clone then instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, but Lu Yin could not make out what the clone was doing. No matter how Lu Yin moved, he could not break away.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he quickly used Truesight and nced around at the runes, but there was nothing unusual to be seen beneath his feet. Instead, the surrounding runes flickered oddly. He used Inverse Step and created a chaotic field of time and space. It was at that moment that Lu Yin saw a bit of gray surrounding him. That was the power of time. This clone possessed it as well, though its method was different from the shackles of time that Xia Shenji¡¯s main body used.

    The Nine Clones Secret Technique allowed each clone to cultivate separately. Lu Yin had no idea how many of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones there still were, or how many possessed the power of time, but it was clear that the clone confronting Lu Yin had mastered the power of time. On top of that, this clone was a Progenitor, and Lu Yin had no way to stand up to such a powerhouse.

    "Die." The clone pointed a finger, determined to kill Lu Yin. However, Xia Shenji was quite cautious. After Progenitor Smoke had appeared, two of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones had shown up. One had stopped the woman, while the other had gone after Lu Yin. At the same time, another clone had always been protecting the broken saber. This was not because Xia Shenji had ever considered the possibility of Lu Yin escaping, but because the man was afraid that the jiao would return and take advantage of the situation to steal the broken de.

    Unexpectedly, the jiao had been scared away, and the clone that Xia Shenji had left behind had be the guarantee that Lu Xiaoxuan would die. Lu Xiaoxuan could only me himself for his death. After all, if he had not stolen the broken saber, Xia Shenji would have never needed to leave a clone behind to protect it. Yes, Lu Xiaoxuan was to me for everything.

    Lu Yin took out the corpse to protect himself, but Xia Shenji had already anticipated that. The corpse could not stop his attack.

    The de that formed at the Progenitor¡¯s fingertip pierced the sky, instantly appearing above Lu Yin''s head.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and immediately released the power that he cultivated within his chest. The area around him was reced with Lu Yin¡¯s universe, and the unbelievably oppressive power actually managed to weaken Xia Shenji''s de. As it weakened, it also slowed down, shocking the Progenitor. What sort of power did this young man possess? Why was he notpletely exhausted?

    Xia Shenji and the others had all seen Lu Yin evade an attack by using the power of time to disappear for a single second. While they believed that Lu Yin had used the power of time, no one knew that what they had perceived as a single second had been extended to nearly a year for Lu Yin.

    During his time in his Timestop Space, Lu Yin had not only physically healed, but he had also managed to recover a great deal of his death energy reserves. At the moment, Lu Yin was once again capable of fighting against four Semi-Progenitors on his own.

    Xia Shenji was able to truly sense just how horrifying the power that Lu Yin cultivated within his chest was. This power was something that not even a Progenitor¡¯s might could overwhelm.

    While the clone that was attacking Lu Yin was far weaker than Xia Shenji¡¯s main body, there was no denying that Lu Yin was facing a genuine Progenitor. The clone had truly reached that level, and its strength was not something that a Semi-Progenitor could resist, let alone a mere three-tribtion Envoy.

    The only thing that could be said was that the power within Lu Yin¡¯s chest defied belief.

    Still, no matter how Lu Yin struggled, there was only one oue possible against a Progenitor like Xia Shenji''s clone. It was impossible to escape, so the only option avable to Lu Yin was to drag things out for as long as possible no matter what it took.

    Even Xia Shenji felt that it was a pity to lose someone with Lu Yin''sbat strength. If not for the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan was the four ruling powers'' greatest enemy, Xia Shenji himself would have done whatever it took to recruit this young man. It really was a shame.

    Lu Yin had done his absolute best, but no matter what he tried, it was impossible for him to stand up to a Progenitor. Even though this clone was weaker than even the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, it still was not an opponent Lu Yin could resist.

    Despite the futility he faced, it was impossible for Lu Yin to ept death. It seemed that there was no way to avoid revealing the God of Death¡¯s left arm to the Perennial World.

    Just as Lu Yin prepared to pull out the left arm, a surge of spiritual force swept towards Xia Shenji from the distance, and at the same time, a pair of scales appeared beneath Xia Shenji''s feet. On the other side of the scales, Qing Ping appeared.

    Lu Yin waspletely relieved. "Senior Brother!"

    Xia Shenji¡¯s brow furrowed, and he automatically spun around. Had Mu Xie returned?

    However, Xia Shenji was met with the sight of a stranger. This man clearly was not Mu Xie, but some Semi-Progenitor.

    The clone felt a surge of relief at the sight of a Semi-Progenitor. As long as Mu Xie did not return, no one could stop him.

    "Judgment rule: Complete." Qing Ping''s voice rang out, but Xia Shenji had no intention of paying any attention to the Semi-Progenitor. The power of a Progenitor caused the void to tremble, and the scales cracked, but they were not instantly crushed. In fact, Xia Shenji¡¯s clone was instead moved around by the scales he stood upon, and he rose higher and higher into the sky, moving further away from Lu Yin.

    Xia Shenji was startled by the fact that he had failed to destroy this innate gift. He finally turned to take a clearer look at Qing Ping, but the Progenitor had never seen this Semi-Progenitor before. He was a hidden powerhouse. Still, that did not matter. No matter what, this man was only a Semi-Progenitor.

    "You are courting death!" Xia Shenji then waved a hand to chop at the scales. Qing Ping was forced to take several steps back.

    Kui Luo''s voice rang out, "Hey, didn''t you say that your master requires Semi-Progenitors to be able to fight against Progenitors? That guy isn¡¯t even a normal Progenitor, so don''t try to brag."

    Lu Yin had not expected Senior Brother Qing Ping''s innate gift to be broken so easily.

    Xia Shenji said nothing at all as he simply raised a hand tounch a palm strike against Lu Yin. The Progenitor was clearly using a battle technique, though it was one that Lu Yin had never seen before. It was unavoidable, as the power of time that this particr clone used had rendered Lu Yin unable to dodge or evade.

    At thest possible moment, a bright blue sky reced the Higher Realm¡¯s sky. No, everything in sight had been reced. This scene was all too familiar, as it practically duplicated what had happened when Xia Shenji¡¯s main body had used his Shenwu World to envelop the Higher Realm and rece it. Unfortunately, the blue sky could not approach Xia Shenji¡¯s clone. No matter what, Qing Ping was still just a Semi-Progenitor.

    Xia Shenji resumedpletely ignoring Qing Ping. Something like a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world could never affect a Progenitor like Xia Shenji.

    The clone¡¯s attack approached Lu Yin, only for him to be pulled away once again. At some point in time, a te appeared beneath the Progenitor¡¯s feet. It was once again a side of a pair of scales, but unlike the first time, the te that Xia Shenji stood on was not connected to a matching pair beneath Qing Ping''s feet; instead, the te hung from the blue sky by two strings. The strings pulled on the te, dragging Xia Shenji''s clone upwards. The other side of the scales was still connected to Qing Ping, but it felt as though there were a pair of eyes watching the trial from the void high above the sky.

    "Judgment rule: Complete." It was the same trial as before, but this time, Xia Shenji¡¯s attempts to break the scales failed. The scales remained undamaged, and he was lifted high into the sky, where he suddenly faced an invisible pressure that originated from every direction. The unseen eyes pierced Xia Shenji''s heart, causing him to cough up blood. The clone¡¯s face grew pale, and he turned to stare on the opposite end of the scales. "Impossible! How could a mere Semi-Progenitor injure me?"

    Kui Luo and Lu Yin were also startled by this development. No matter how weak Xia Shenji¡¯s clone might be, it was still a Progenitor. Even if it was clearly weaker than even the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, all Progenitors were capable of changing the very universe. And yet, one such invincible powerhouse, who had already proven himself capable of absolutely crushing Lu Yin, who had the strength to fight off four Semi-Progenitors at once, had just been wounded by Qing Ping.

    Kui Luo gulped. An Envoy challenging a Semi-Progenitor, and a Semi-Progenitor challenging a Progenitor. Qing Ping actually had not been boasting.

    Qing Ping stared at Xia Shenji. "It wasn¡¯t I who wounded you, but the Judgment rules of this trial. ording to the Judgment rules, you lose if you are iplete. You are nothing more than a clone, while I amplete."

    Lu Yin and Kui Luo both found this extremely odd. Could this really be considered a rule? If this worked, that meant that no one who had ever cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique could defeat Qing Ping, not even Progenitor Chen! This should be impossible.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes flickered. "A mere Semi-Progenitor wants to talk about rules? Do you even understand what rules are?"

    As the clone spoke, everything surrounding his body started to warp, and the scales quivered. It looked like it would shatter from the power of a Progenitor, but the scales remained intact. Furthermore, Xia Shenji was lifted higher and higher into the sky. Those unseen eyes were fixated on him. He could not see them, but he could feel them.

    Those eyes were the origin of the judgment that he faced.

    Xia Shenji could not fathom how a mere Semi-Progenitor could possess such a terrifying inner world. Not only was this inner world able to envelop a massive area, but it could be used as a weapon. There was no denying that Xia Shenji was being raised upwards on one of the scales¡¯ tes.

    Throughout the history of mankind, very few Semi-Progenitors had had such an inner world, and each one had been a peerless master.

    Xia Shenji suddenly turned to look at Lu Yin again. Senior brother? Was this person another one of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s senior brothers?

    First Mu Xie, and now a peerless Semi-Progenitor? Just who was their master?

    Xia Shenji felt that he could not afford to dy any longer. If these men¡¯s master arrived himself, it might be impossible to kill Lu Xiaoxuan.

    At this thought, the clone raised his head. "My body as a de!"

    As the words rang out, a de appeared that dominated everything else in the world for a moment before dropping down to slice through the scales.

    At this same moment, a burst of light swept across space, and it pushed the de away from the scales. The light hade from Mu Xie.

    Xia Shenji was furious at the interference, as it had already been difficult for him to overpower the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. The man turned to stare at Lu Xiaoxuan. If there were no other option, then he would just drag Lu Xiaoxuan in.

    Kui Luo had already arrived next to Lu Yin, but he was unable to get any closer.

    "It''s the power of time. You won¡¯t be able to get any closer," Lu Yin told Kui Luo.

    The words startled Kui Luo. "Xia Shenji controls the power of time? He has something that ridiculous?"

    Just as Lu Yin was about to respond, his body was abruptly dragged through the sky and on top of one of the scales¡¯ tes and next to Xia Shenji''s clone.

    Lu Yin and the Progenitor stared at each other. Killing intent filled Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes, and he threw a palm strike at Lu Yin. "Damn you!"

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, but he showed no other reaction at all. His body had been locked in ce by a Progenitor¡¯s power, which had left him unable to move at all.

    Suddenly, the restrictions disappeared, freeing Lu Yin. Xia Shenji stared in disbelief. "You broke through my power?"

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused, as he had not done anything at all.

    Wait, Senior Brother Qing Ping also knows Origin Tracer.

    Xia Shenji noticed Lu Yin looking over at Qing Ping, and the clone spun around as well. He red at the interfering Semi-Progenitor. "It was you?"

    Qing Ping calmly observed Xia Shenji. "The power of time? The Xia family certainly kept this trick well hidden."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes flickered. "First Mu Xie, and now you. It appears that you three really have been taught by the same master. No matter what, you will all die here today!"

    The Progenitor then made his move, and the broken saber rose up from the ground and into Xia Shenji''s hand. He turned to face Lu Yin and the two Semi-Progenitors. "My ancestor¡¯s saber can cut through everything in the universe!"

    The de shed out, and at the same time, Divine Martial Armor formed chains while also spreading across the de of the saber,pleting it and recing the broken sections. At this moment, it was no longer a broken saber, but aplete weapon that belonged solely to the Xia family.

    The de shattered the scales.

    Qing Ping spat out blood and fell back, his face pale. He was able to cross realms to fight against Xia Shenji, but Qing Ping could not handle the clone when it wielded the saber of Xia Shenji¡¯s ancestor.

    Lu Yin had also been affected by the saber¡¯s sh, and wounds riddled his entire body. Fortunately, he had not been struck by the de itself, or else his wounds would not have been so trivial.

    "This is not good. Quickly, retreat! I can¡¯t handle this."

    Hearing those words, Kui Luo grabbed Lu Yin and fled to the Middle Realm.

    Qing Ping was still staring at Xia Shenji. Suddenly, darkness covered the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s entire body, and it almost instantly reced the bright blue sky that had been released. Xia Shenji could not see anything at all.

    By the time the Progenitor¡¯s vision had recovered, all three of his opponents had fled from the Higher Realm and were racing into the Middle Realm.

    Xia Shenji instantly gave chase, still holding the broken saber.

 Chapter 2303: Whose Territory Is It

    Chapter 2303: Whose Territory Is It

    High above the Middle Ocean, Lu Yin examined his body. His wounds were infected with Divine Martial Armor that was trying to invade the body. However, those efforts were fruitless, and Lu Yin simply used his unique power to purge the Divine Martial Armor.

    Kui Luo was closest to Lu Yin, and he managed to feel Lu Yin¡¯s unique power, which startled the Semi-Progenitor quite badly. "Kid, how did you escape from Shenwu''s Sky? When you said that you were headed there to save people, I thought that you were already dead. Didn¡¯t the Semi-Progenitors there attack you?¡±

    "They couldn¡¯t beat me," Lu Yin answered casually. He then ignored Kui Luo''s pointed and questioning stare, pulled out the slipper, and tossed it over to Qing Ping. "Senior Brother, use this against that broken saber."

    Qing Ping held the slipper and looked at the distinct ck toe prints. "Progenitor weapon?"

    "It should be. Anyways, it knocked out that-" Lu Yin cut off suddenly. His head rose. They had just been covered by a massive shadow, and they heard a deafening roar as the power of a Progenitor pressed down upon them. The jiao had returned.

    Kui Luo¡¯s mouth fell open in shock. "That- isn¡¯t that the thing from Shenwu''s Sky?"

    The jiao saw Kui Luo''s shocked face, and it raised its ws while baring its teeth in a threatening manner.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "You useless thing! Get lost!"

    Kui Luo''s heart skipped a beat, and he reached out and grabbed Lu Yin. "Don''t yell at it! Do you want it to bite us?"

    Qing Ping''s face had grown serious. The pressure that this dragon radiated far surpassed what Xia Shenji''s clone had been capable of. Qing Ping had been able to use Judgment on the clone, but his scales might not work on this dragon. There were varying degrees of strength even within the Progenitor realm. While even the weakest Progenitor had the power of a Progenitor, that was truly all that they had.

    Seeing Kui Luo''s terrified face was quite satisfying for the jiao.

    "Senior Brother, that slipper stunned it before, and the beast¡¯s reallypletely useless. It ran away quicker than a rabbit when it was threatened by Xia Shenji," Lu Yin said bitterly.

    The jiao lifted its head high and raised its ws higher than ever as it released a roar that shook the sky. Kui Luo grew even more panicked, and he felt that Lu Yin must have lost his mind. This beast clearly would not be easy to deal with.

    From far above the jiao, Xia Shenji¡¯s clone chased after the fleeing individuals while carrying the broken saber.

    From another direction, Xia Ziheng, Mr. Yu, and Wu Yao all appeared. The three Semi-Progenitors stared at Lu Yin and the other two in shock. The three Semi-Progenitors wanted to attack, but the jiao¡¯s presence terrified the three men, and they did not dare to move any closer.

    "RUN," Kui Luo shouted as he pulled Lu Yin away.

    The jiao¡¯s ws were poised to grab Lu Yin, but at this moment, Xia Shenji arrived and stepped onto the jiao¡¯s head. "Vile creature, catch them!"

    The jiao hesitated for a moment and looked upwards at the top of its head. It sensed a familiar threat from up above. It was that broken saber that felt as though it could remove its head at any moment. The beast was instantly cowed, and it quickly chased after Lu Yin and the others.

    Qing Ping, Kui Luo, and Lu Yin were not nearly as fast as the jiao, but luckily, they had arrived quite close to the sourcebox array in the Middle Realm that would send them back to the Fifth Maind. It was a distance that they could easily traverse with a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s speed.

    "It''s just up ahead!" Kui Luo said, his eyes zing.

    Behind the three men, the jiao roared, and its ws dropped down, blocking both the sky and the sun. Standing atop the jiao''s head, Xia Shenji shed down with his saber. "Die!"

    Lu Yin turned to look, and he stared at the falling ws and the broken saber that was approaching. The corpse was pulled out once more to block the attacks. At the same time, Qing Ping pointed a finger. The void flickered as a mysterious sensation spread throughout the surrounding area and enveloped both the jiao¡¯s ws and the broken saber.

    No one understood Qing Ping¡¯s attack, not even Lu Yin or Xia Shenji.

    The finger eliminated the attacks of both the jiao and Xia Shenji. This was Origin Tracer.

    There were certain battle techniques that could disy ten different forms when executed by ten different people. Origin Tracer was an example of such a flexible technique.

    Mister Mu did not teach his disciples rigid battle techniques, but rather ones that provided a specific type of power and encouraged a specific method of thought which opened a path to unknown possibilities.

    When Qing Ping had been facing his stellr tribtion to be a Semi-Progenitor, a strange phenomena had urred during his sh with the final figure. Not even the God of Food or Kui Luo had been able to understand what sort of power had appeared at that moment, but it hade from Origin Tracer.

    Qing Ping¡¯s finger bought a single moment of freedom for the three men, which allowed them to reach the sourcebox array and escape from the Perennial World. The jiao¡¯s momentum prevented it from stopping in time, and it charged right into the sourcebox array, carrying Xia Shenji''s clone and the members of Star Alliance with it. Everyone instantly vanished from the Perennial World.

    Once everything calmed down once again, three Semi-Progenitors appeared, and they all nced at each other. "Where did everyone go?"

    "Right, it must be that sourcebox array! The one that connects back to the Forsaken Land."

    "It doesn''t matter. Progenitor Shenji was holding the ancestor''s broken saber and was standing atop the jiao as he chased after them to kill them. No one can save Lu Xiaoxuan now. Order the Wang family to hurry up and finish the repairs to the New Corridor. As soon as we can connect to the Forsaken Land, we can wee the Progenitor and our army back. Lu Xiaoxuan is already dead."

    Peace returned to the remote mountains and rivers. Only a brief bit of time had passed between when Lu Yin had arrived in Shenwu''s Sky and when he had left the Perennial World, but it felt like it had been ages. No one could believe that a three-tribtion Envoy could have managed to escape from Shenwu''s Sky. Lu Yin had created history that day.

    ¡­

    In the Honor Zone, the sourcebox array lit up. Elder Gong, Highsage Grandmaster, Grandmaster Xiu Ming, and Jiu Chi all looked up. "They¡¯re back!"

    "Qing Ping should have passed his breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor without any issues, but I wonder if that kid Lu Yin has made any progress." Elder Gong was excited to find out. He was most eager to find out if Lu Yin had progressed at all with the Cosmic Art.

    Jiu Chiughed. "It''s only been around ten months, just how much progress could he have made? Things will be good enough so long as they all return safely."

    "True, they just need to return alive," Grandmaster Xiu Ming agreed with a sigh.

    The few people present eagerly watched to see who would return. As they stared, four figures fell through the void and onto the ground. Naturally, these four were Qing Ping, Kui Luo, Lu Yin, and the corpse that Lu Yin had pulled out right before escaping from the Perennial World. He had intended to use the corpse to block the attacks from Xia Shenji and the jiao, but it had not been necessary, as Qing Ping had erased both attacks with a single finger.

    Just as the Highsage Grandmaster and the others were about to move forward, they were covered by a massive shadow. The jiao had arrived.

    The jiao¡¯s appearance was apanied by the terrifying pressure of a Progenitor that swept out and shook the entire Honor Zone, and then the Neoverse. The power of a Progenitor swept across the Cosmic Sea, and it soon shrouded both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Within the Sixth Maind¡¯s territory, the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ eyes snapped open, and his expression changed drastically. "A Progenitor?"

    The jiao mightck all but the most basic intelligence, but even Xia Shenji had to use the broken saber to suppress the beast in the past. The jiao¡¯s strength was such that few Progenitors couldpare to it.

    Kui Luo let out a strangled scream as he grabbed Lu Yin and fled. "What are you doing? Snap out of it and run! It''s an enemy!"

    Jiu Chi¡¯s scalp went numb. An enemy? An enemy Progenitor?

    The jiaonded on the ground and automatically let out a roar as it waved its ws about to threaten the humans while brazenly releasing the pressure of the Progenitor realm. Atop the beast¡¯s head, Xia Shenji clenched the hilt of the broken saber as he nced around. He was also fully unleashing the power of a Progenitor.

    Elder Gong and the other men who had been waiting near the sourcebox array were all stunned. One enemy Progenitor would already be more than enough, so why were there two?

    "RUN, RUN, RUN!" Kui Luo shouted.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to shake off Kui Luo¡¯s grip on him. "Why are you trying to escape? Have you forgotten where we are now?"

    Kui Luo was momentarily caught off guard, but then realization suddenly struck him. "Are we back in the Fifth Maind?"

    He looked over at Elder Gong and the others, and then started cackling wildly. "Hahahaha, we made it to the Fifth Maind! Hahahaha, we don¡¯t need to escape now! Kid, you¡¯re invincible here, hahahaha."

    Qing Ping released a relieved breath as well while calmly observing Xia Shenji and the jiao.

    Highsage Grandmaster and those with him also finally reacted, and they heaved their own sighs of relief, though most of their worry had been triggered by Kui Luo¡¯s screams. They had not even had a chance to react to the pressure that two beings in the Progenitor realm were radiating, and by the time they could react, they had already been reminded that there was no need to fear anyone at all, not as long as they remained in the Fifth Maind.

    The jiao bared its teeth and waved its ws about while releasing a Progenitor¡¯s pressure. The powering from the beast caused stars to sway and the entire Fifth Maind felt stifled. The jiao could feel that it was in a ce that was much less stable than the Perennial World, and there was also not even a single intimidating aura to the beast. It felt invincible in this ce.

    Lu Buzheng, Leng Qing, and even Jue Yi and Hen Xin, who were far away in the Astral Beast Domain, felt that the power of a Progenitor that had no ce suddenly appear in the Fifth Maind. Why was there suddenly a Progenitor in the Fifth Maind?

    Xia Shenji stood atop the jiao¡¯s head and eventually looked at Lu Yin and the others with cold eyes. "You haven¡¯t tried to escape?"

    Lu Yin wiped at some of the blood covering his body, but before he could even speak, Kui Luo answered first. "Old fart, just where do you think you are right now? This is the Fifth Maind, not the Perennial World! Haven¡¯t you even realized that you¡¯re all alone right now? There¡¯s no main body to protect you now, Xia Shenji!"

    The clone frowned. "How can you spout so much nonsense?"

    The man stared off into the distance, and then shook his head. "This really is a Forsaken Land. Not a single Progenitor?¡±

    The man¡¯s expression suddenly changed. "Eh? Why is there no stellr energy? What is that?"

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe had beenpletely drained of all stellr energy by the mysterious droplets, which made it impossible for anyone who cultivated with star energy or stellr energy to progress at all. Xia Shenji''s clone had just discovered one of the droplets, and he was shocked by the discovery.

    "Alright, you don¡¯t need to worry about that right now. I¡¯ll take some time to exin things when I visit you in prisonter," Lu Yin replied.

    Xia Shenji turned back to stare at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re mad! Since that¡¯s the case, I''ll send you on your way now."

    The saber rose high, and the broken de descended. At the same time, the jiao¡¯s ws fell towards Lu Yin. Lu Yin nced over at Qing Ping. Before leaving the Perennial World, Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother had erased these two attacks with a single finger. That attack had incorporated some aspect of the power of time, but Lu Yin had not been able to understand it yet. Was it possible to erase attacks with the power of time? If that was possible, it would be incredible, and the possibility inspired Lu Yin to continue pursuing mastering the power of time.

    However, Qing Ping made no move at all. Kui Luo did not try to escape, and none of the Semi-Progenitors who were present made any attempt to even move. All of them were just staring at Xia Shenji, but he did not see despair in their eyes. Instead- wait, was that mockery?

    Xia Shenji could not understand what was going through these people¡¯s minds, but it did not matter. All of them would be eliminated by this one attack.

    Although Xia Shenji had released several attacks before with his broken saber, he was absolutely certain that no one could stop him this time. He had already released his Divine Martial Armor to the limit, and his strength as a Progenitor was enough to utterly crush everything. Who could stop him?

    The de fell, and it dropped closer and closer to Lu Yin, but he just stared at Xia Shenji. "I''m curious, did you ever fight against Progenitor Chen after he became a Progenitor?"

    Xia Shenji felt he must have misheard. What had the youth just asked?

    The next instance, the universe fell silent, and then it flipped over. Everything that Xia Shenji saw was transformed. He looked into infinite space and saw stars revolving. He was struck by such an indescribable horror that he felt himself grow. He felt like an ordinary person confronted by an avnche or a tsunami. He had not once felt such deep, boundless despair ever since he had be a Progenitor. He had long since forgotten about this sensation, but it had inexplicably returned.

    He watched as a star revolved in front of him, and then Lu Yin¡¯s figure magnified grew to a measureless height. The young man bent his head to look down. Then, he stomped on the stars.

 Chapter 2304: Taming

    Chapter 2304: Taming

    The stars violently exploded, and not only did the saber fail to finish falling, but it was also struck from Xia Shenji¡¯s hand as he was blown back by an overwhelming force.

    The explosion also struck the jiao, and it went tumbling head over tail until it smashed into the ground.

    Everything happened in an instant, yet Xia Shenji and the jiao were bothpletely stunned. They could not understand anything that had just happened, as all they could see were some stars moving about in the sky.

    The people of the Sixth Maind had moved into the Fifth Maind, so there were many powerhouses who sensed the moment that Lu Yin had essed Progenitor Chen¡¯s power once again. However, this time, all of them knew that the power they felt was being used by Lu Yin.

    It was his ability to tap into Progenitor Chen¡¯s power that had let Lu Yin subdue all the ancient and contemporary Semi-Progenitors throughout the Fifth Maind. Not only had the Heavens Sect been reestablished, but the Sixth and Fifth Mainds¡¯ forces had also been united, which meant that Lu Yin was the first person in history to ever rule over two Mainds, and he had done so while still only an Envoy.

    Xia Shenjiy on the ground, the skin covering his body almostpletely torn apart. He was still dazed as red blood leaked from his wounds and stained the ground red.

    The man¡¯s pupils fluctuated as he stared at the ground in disbelief. What just happened? What was that power? It¡¯s clearly a Progenitor¡¯s power, and that of an amazing Progenitor. This strength is absolutely no weaker than my main body that¡¯s still in the Perennial World! How can such a power exist in this Forsaken Land? Why does it feel so familiar? Stars. There are stars in the sky.

    The man then suddenly remembered what Lu Yin had just asked. Progenitor Chen! Yes, this is Xia Shang''s power. It¡¯s that Cosmic Art one of his nine clones created.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s head snapped up. At some unknown point in time, Lu Yin had arrived, and he was looking down at Xia Shenji.

    The clone looked up at Lu Yin, and then asked in a hoarse voice that betrayed his utter disbelief, "Xia Shang¡­ You- are you Xia Shang?"

    Lu Yin knelt down and calmly observed Xia Shenji. "I am Lu Yin, and also Lu Xiaoxuan."

    "That¡¯s impossible! How can you use Xia Shang''s power?" Xia Shenji refused to ept things.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Progenitor Chen never had anything to do with your Xia family, so why would there be any issue with me using his power?"

    Xia Shenji stared at Lu Yin, his eyes filled with confusion. The man¡¯s entire perception of the world was being rocked.

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand and set it on Xia Shenji''s shoulder. Progenitors did not have a stellr energy vortex, as the one that they had had as an Envoy had transformed into their Progenitor¡¯s world. There was also no realistic way for Lu Yin to ce a restriction on a Progenitor, which meant that his only option was to leave the man wounded severely enough that Xia Shenji could not unleash enough strength to evenpare to a Semi-Progenitor.

    Xia Shenji grunted. Lu Yin¡¯s unique power that he was cultivating in his chest surged out and broke down Xia Shenji¡¯s body, instantly disintegrating and melting the man¡¯s Divine Martial Armor in the process.

    Once again, Xia Shenji was absolutely shocked. When had his Xia family''s Divine Martial Armor be so fragile?

    Kui Luo and the other men present were unsurprised by the scene ying out before them. Anyone who arrived in the Fifth Maind would be in Lu Yin''s world. Not to mention Xia Shenji''s clone on the ground¡ªeven if Xia Shenji¡¯s true body arrived, the man might not be able to defeat Lu Yin. Of course, it was also impossible for Lu Yin to defeat Xia Shenji just by relying on Progenitor Chen¡¯s remnant power, but he would at least be able to defend himself.

    There was also no way that Xia Shenji would ever be willing to fight to the death against Lu Yin.

    Regardless of who the Progenitor might be, even the ones from the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers who regarded Lu Yin as their mortal enemy, would likely be unwilling to engage Lu Yin in a deathmatch in the Fifth Maind, as it simply was not worth the cost and effort.

    A short ways away, the jiao¡¯s ws twitched. It then ripped its head out of the ground and shook it. The beast looked rather dazed and confused, as it could not understand what had just happened. Who had kicked it?

    Lu Yin¡¯s head turned so he could look at the jiao. He then slowly walked over towards the broken saber.

    The jiao shook its head again and chased away thest bit of daze. It realized that the man who had been on its head was gone, and it instantly noticed the location of the broken saber. By this time, Lu Yin had already approached the de.

    The sight of someone else approaching the broken de infuriated the jiao, and it bared its teeth and shed its ws as it released the pressure of a Progenitor to suppress everyone. The ws rose high and dropped down.

    "It looks like you still haven¡¯t learned your lesson!" Lu Yin sneered and stomped down with a foot. Once again, stars moved through the sky and exploded, sending the jiao tumbling.

    This was the second time that the jiao had been thrown back, and its head smashed into the ground again. Its ws twitched.

    Jiu Chi rubbed his eyes. Was this like training a dog? It really did look like Lu Yin was using Progenitor Chen¡¯s power to train a beast with the strength of a Progenitor.

    Kui Luo grinned, as he suddenly felt like Lu Yin was about to obtain a Progenitor level mount. That was too excessive: far, far too excessive. Fortunately, there seemed to be something wrong with the jiao¡¯s brain.

    The jiao yanked its head out of the ground again and shook it. It turned to stare at Lu Yin, and then opened its mouth in a roar while baring its teeth and ws.

    Lu Yin sighed and grabbed the broken saber that he pointed at the jiao. "Senior Brother, please smack it with that slipper."

    Qing Ping¡¯s eyebrows climbed high as he looked down at the slipper in his hand.

    Everyone else looked over at that moment and noticed that Qing Ping was holding a slipper. What the hell? A slipper?

    Kui Luo''s eye twitched.

    Qing Ping stared at the slipper, and then looked up at the jiao. In an instant, the man appeared next to the jiao¡¯s head, the slipper already raised high.

    The resounding p mmed the jiao¡¯s head back to the ground, and the beast¡¯s eyes zed over, clearly dazed by the impact.

    When Lu Yin had still been in Shenwu''s Sky, Progenitor Smoke had pped the jiao with the slipper, and she had knocked it out cold with one blow. Lu Yin did not want to waste Progenitor Chen¡¯s stars, which made the slipper the perfect option.

    Lu Yin moved over and took the slipper from Qing Ping. He then carried the broken saber over to the jiao¡¯s head.

    The beast wobbled as it straightened its neck. Confusion filled the enormous massive eyes, but the familiar dizziness was frightening. It reflexively started searching for the slipper.

    "You useless thing, do you want to die?" Lu Yin threatened the jiao with the broken saber.

    The jiao''s eyes refocused, and it opened its mouth to roar, but Lu Yin held the slipper in front of himself. He held off from doing anything for the moment. The fact that the beast would obey whoever threatened it with the broken de indicated that it could be tamed.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin continued to abuse the jiao with a slipper in one hand and a broken de in the other.

    A majestic creature with the power of a Progenitor initially let out intimidating roars, but they soon transformed into pitiful wails that caused Kui Luo and the rest of the people watching to begin pitying the beast.

    In the end, the jiao surrendered. It had suffered enough at Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    The jiao preferred to intimidate people, but this person would not be intimidated no matter what. The jiao felt quite offended.

    "You better remember this lesson, because I¡¯ll beat you up all over again if you mess up!" Lu Yin threatened.

    With the jiao settled, Lu Yin moved on to check on the members of Star Alliance.

    All of them had remained on the jiao¡¯s back this entire time, aside from the few vassals of the Lu family who had died while trying to buy time for Lu Yin. As for the people who remained, all of them had lost consciousness.

    After all, these people had not had an easy time of things. Even if they had not participated in any of the battles, the power released by both the jiao and Xia Shenji had not been anything that the members of Star Alliance could endure. Even the Semi-Progenitor had fainted. Fortunately, none of these people¡¯s lives were in any sort of danger.

    After seeing Lu Yinpletely subdue the jiao, Xia Shenji''s clone could not stop himself from spitting out more blood as he copsed.

    The jiao¡¯s brain had been terribly wounded, which left it with little more than its base instincts. It was mentally no different from a regr beast, which made it too easy to tame.

    Lu Yin just nced at the Progenitor before he started to search the jiao¡¯s head for the Nine Clones Secret Technique. He had wanted the technique for a very, very long time, and he was hoping to finally acquire it.

    To the side, Jiu Chi and the other people still watching nced at each other. There were sighs of relief from many of them. "This was way too exciting! What happened? What kind of trouble did you kick up in the Perennial World to be chased by a Progenitor? No, to be chased by two Progenitors!"

    Highsage Grandmaster and everyone else reflexively nced over at Kui Luo in unison.

    The man was utterly speechless. "I honestly have no idea!"

    Everyone looked over at Qing Ping instead.

    It was only then that they realized that Qing Ping gave off a different feeling from before. It was especially noticeable to Highsage Grandmaster, as he was both a Semi-Progenitor and an Array Grandmaster. He actually felt a bit of pressure from Qing Ping. What did that mean? Highsage Grandmaster was very clear on that.

    "Qing Ping, congrattions on bing a Semi-Progenitor. Next is to challenge the Progenitor realm, but that shouldn¡¯t be a challenge for you," Highsage Grandmaster said excitedly.

    Before Qing Ping could respond, Kui Luo butted in, "It won¡¯t be any challenge at all! Old man, I saw their senior brother for myself! He¡¯s someone named Mu Xie, and while I didn¡¯t see any of his specific techniques, the power of a Progenitor is absolutely terrifying."

    "I¡¯m just wondering, but who is this?" Tianshi Xiu Ming asked while pointing at Xia Shenji.

    Qing Ping answered calmly, "He¡¯s the Progenitor of one of the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers, Shenwu''s Sky."

    Highsage Grandmaster and all of the others were stunned. "The Progenitor of one of the four ruling powers?"

    "Xia Shenji?" Arch-Elder Zen suddenly appeared, as he had been drawn by the Progenitors¡¯ power he had sensed. As soon as he arrived, he heard the name Xia Shenji be mentioned, and the old man could not believe it. "Did you just say that he¡¯s Xia Shenji?"

    Kui Luo answered with a creepy smile. "That¡¯s right, he¡¯s Xia Shenji. Old Zen, have you met him before?"

    Everyone present was aware that Arch-Elder Zen had lived since the Daosource Sect era, and he was likely the only person present who had seen any of the powerhouses from that previous era.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Xia Shenji. "I never saw him back then. I was just a nobody during the Daosource Sect era. Receiving Progenitor Lu Tianyi¡¯s notice was already an incredible blessing. How could I have ever seen someone like Xia Shenji?

    ¡°But why did he end up like this? Who could reduce Xia Shenji to such a miserable state? Even if he¡¯s not the master of one of the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas, he is certainly at that same level of power."

    Everybody nced over at the top of the jiao¡¯s head and at the person who waspletely focused on searching for the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    "Lu Yin? You¡¯re telling me that he did this to Xia Shenji? That¡¯s impossible. Even if Progenitor Chen were still alive, he wouldn¡¯t be able to easily injure Xia Shenji," Arch-Elder Zen instantly refuted what he was being told. "So that''s what it was. The second Progenitor that I sensed was that creature over there."

    "This Xia Shenji here is just a clone of the real Xia Shenji, and this clone barely possesses the power of a Progenitor. In fact, he can¡¯t evenpare to the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors. Still, given his unique abilities, he could probably defeat any of those three," Qing Ping stated, referring to Xia Shenji¡¯s control over the power of time.

    The clone was weaker than the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors in terms of pure strength, but given the clone¡¯s ability to wield the power of time, it was difficult to predict who would be the victor in an actual fight.

    Arch-Elder Zen then understood. "That makes sense. I knew that it was impossible for Xia Shenji to have been beaten so badly. If he were reduced to this condition in the Fifth Maind, then the Fifth Maind itself would have beenpletely destroyed by the battle."

    Lu Yin was still on top of the jiao¡¯s head. He had noticed that Arch-Elder Zen had arrived, but he was too busy to greet the old man. Where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique? Why can''t I find it?

    Even after searching for a long time, Lu Yin could not find anything at all.

    Frustrated, Lu Yin reluctantly approached Xia Shenji. Lu Yin squatted down in front of the clone and asked in a cold voice, "Tell me, where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique?"

    Xia Shenji looked up. "Do you expect me to tell you anything at all? Lu Xiaoxuan, you may be able to use Xia Shang''s power to wound me, but I am still Xia Shenji, one of the most powerful men even during the Daosource Sect era! A child like you can¡¯t interrogate me. I won¡¯t give you anything, and even if I could, I¡¯m just a clone."

    Lu Yin frowned. Xia Shenji was not the same as Xia Xing, which made things far more difficult. It was likely truly impossible to gain any information about the Nine Clones Secret Technique from Xia Shenji.

    That thought reminded Lu Yin of something, and he pulled out Zenith Mountain and brought someone out: Xia Yuan.

    Xia Yuan had been sent to deliver a letter to the Wang family, and he had tried to use the Lei family to gain ess to the Wang family''s floating maind. He had not had even the slightest suspicion that the Lei family was part of the Hidden Earth Society, and Lu Yin had devised ns to reach the Wang family¡¯s home using the Lei family as well. This coincidence had resulted in Lu Yin capturing Xia Yuan and then using his identity to visit the Wang family, where he had ultimately captured their patriarch, Wang Zheng.

 Chapter 2305: The Nine Clones Secret Technique

    Chapter 2305: The Nine Clones Secret Technique

    When Lu Yin had first impersonated Xia Yuan, the man himself had been thoughtlessly tossed into Zenith Mountain, and Lu Yin had only just remembered the man¡¯s existence.

    Xia Yuan nced around, a bit dazed by the sudden change, and he almost instantly noticed the huge body of the jiao. The man¡¯s legs grew weak, and he nearly fell. "Jia- jiao?"

    Lu Yin looked up and gave a pointed stare at the jiao.

    The beast roared while baring its teeth and waving its ws about.

    Xia Yuan was paralyzed with fear, and he instantly copsed onto the ground. While an Envoy should not be so timid, he had grown up in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and the jiao was quite literally the sky for every member of the Xia family, though it was an imprisoned sky. Seeing the sky regain its freedom was an emotional impact that could only be imagined for members of the Xia family.

    Not to mention Xia Yuan, even Xia Ziheng had been terrified when the jiao was freed. After the beast had been released, the Semi-Progenitor had not dared to say a single word, not even when Lu Yin and the others had fled to the Middle Realm. Xia Ziheng had not dared to draw close to the jiao.

    The Xia family¡¯s fear of the jiao was simply too powerful.

    "Xia Yuan," Lu Yin said in a cold voice.

    The man¡¯s head slowly turned around so he could look at Lu Yin. "You- who are you?"

    Lu Yin looked quite familiar.

    Lu Yin had removed Yu Hao¡¯s appearance and returned to his own face, which was why Xia Yuan did not immediately recognize Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pointed over at Xia Shenji''s clone. "Do you recognize him?"

    Xia Yuan looked down on the ground where Xia Shenji was lying, and the Envoy¡¯s pupils shrank sharply as he blurted out, "Old Ancestor?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed, and he tried to answer, but Lu Yin reacted faster. He grabbed hold of Xia Yuan and moved directly beneath the jiao. Overhead, the beast slowly opened its mouth to reveal all of its sharp teeth. Xia Yuan was so frightened by the sight that he could not even react. All he could think about was the image of Xia Shenji lying on the ground, in terrible condition.

    What¡¯s happening? How could my Xia family¡¯s Progenitor be in such a state? It¡¯s impossible! It must be fake! All of it has to be fake!

    The jiao let out a roar as it raised its ws and waved them around, making itself look as threatening as possible.

    Xia Yuan was badly startled, and he stared up at the jiao in terror, barely able to even move his body.

    "I ask the questions, and you answer them. Otherwise, Xia Shenji will serve as a lesson for you," Lu Yin slowly stated.

    It was only then that Xia Yuan regained his senses, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. "I remember you! You are Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s cold eyes stared back at the man. "Where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique?"

    Xia Yuan and Lu Yin stared at each other in silence. There was bewilderment and fear in Xia Yuan¡¯s eyes, and he nced over at Xia Shenji. There, he saw anger and shock in Xia Shenji''s eyes.

    "I''ll ask you again: where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique? If you don''t answer, I''ll throw you into the jiao''s mouth. It still quite enjoys eating members of the Xia family," Lu Yin said slowly.

    Xia Yuan started to grow desperate. "Why- how can our ancestor have ended up like this?"

    Lu Yin frowned and grabbed Xia Yuan. They suddenly appeared in front of the jiao¡¯s face, and two massive eyes looked at the tiny people, making the jiao cross-eyed. The beast just stared at Lu Yin and Xia Yuan. It could not understand what the two were doing, but as Xia Yuan looked into the enormous eyes of the jiao and remembered the teeth he had just seen, he quickly grew terribly pale.

    "The Nine Clones- the Nine Clones Secret Technique is on the jiao¡¯s head. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard before," Xia Yuan quickly shouted.

    "I know that much, but exactly where is it?" Lu Yin demanded. Xia Yuan¡¯s mind was just about to break after seeing the jiao and Xia Shenji. He was beyond terrified of Lu Yin at this moment, so he easily gave away everything that he knew.

    Xia Yuan shook his head. "I don''t know! I never learned the secret technique! It¡¯s something that only direct descendants can learn! But- but I did hear that it''s etched onto the jiao¡¯s head so that you can see it from very far up above."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, and he tossed Xia Yuan back into Zenith Mountain before leaping up into the sky. He moved much higher than before, and then looked down at the jiao¡¯s head. "Lie down for me. Put your head down, but don¡¯t roll over. Justy on your stomach, like this."

    The jiao miserably set its head on the ground, its eyes darting about.

    Lu Yin rose higher into the sky, moving further and further away so that he could get a moreplete view of the jiao¡¯s head. Eventually, he saw that there was something wrong. There was a discoloration just above a part of the jiao''s mouth. With the distance, the discoloration was very obvious, and as one moved closer, it would be much more difficult to make out.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. He had found the location, so he descended andnded right next to where the discoloration started.

    The jiao stared at its face and let out a muffled grunt. It was clearly upset.

    Lu Yin looked up at the beast. "What? You don¡¯t like this position?"

    The jiao¡¯s eyes shifted away and it started looking elsewhere.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment, and then squatted down and pressed his hand onto the discolored portion of the jiao¡¯s head. For a brief moment, he seemed to see a vision. The slightly discolored scales under his hand suddenly turned blood red, and that brilliant color spread. He raised his head and could almost make out a drop of blood. It fell from the sky,ing from nowhere at all, and fell onto the jiao¡¯s head. After seeing that, various other scenes appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. There was a person, and also a series of people. Sometimes the people were separate, and at other times they merged. When the people were distinct, Lu Yin saw everyst one of them, but he could also see that there was some sort of ethereal connection between them. When these people merged, he could see changes in the solitary body.

    There was a mental roar that rang out in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and the power in his chest suddenly surged. Stars fell from the sky, and Lu Yin stumbled back a few steps. At some point in time, his palm had torn open to the point where white bones could be seen. The wound stung badly.

    This was due to conflicting bloodlines. Lu Yin stared down at his palm. He had finally found the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but it shed with his very blood. This did not necessarily mean that the Xia family¡¯s bloodline was required to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but simply that his blood was rejecting the blood that provided the secret technique. If not for the power that Lu Yin cultivated in his chest, his body would have been torn to pieces by the sh in bloodlines.

    This sort of conflict had nothing to do with one¡¯s level of cultivation, and even a Semi-Progenitor would be instantly torn apart by such a thing. The only solution was to find a way to resolve the existing conflict.

    The power in Lu Yin¡¯s chest was something that epted and absorbed all different powers. Let alone something like the Xia family¡¯s blood, Lu Yin had already dissolved the unique power of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan family. The Garan family¡¯s unique power was something on the same level as the Lu family''s blood.

    Lu Yin stared down at the slightly discolored scales that seemed practically no different from any of the other scales on the jiao¡¯s head. This was indeed the Nine Clones Secret Technique that he had dreamed of for so long, but to get it, he needed something that could counter or suppress the bloodline conflict.

    While the power in Lu Yin¡¯s chest could simply suppress the blood that held the secret technique, that would not let Lu Yin learn it. It seemed that the answer was once again Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    Lu Yin moved away from the jiao¡¯s head and went over to where Arch-Elder Zen and the others were waiting, and greeted them with a small smile. "It seems that you have all been waiting for me."

    Arch-Elder Zen answered with a wry smile, "You came back very quickly. What happened while you were gone?"

    Lu Yin briefly shared what had happened during his time in the Perennial World.

    Even though Lu Yin spoke casually, the tale that he told was unbelievable to the ears of Arch-Elder Zen and the others. It sounded like some sort of fantasy.

    "You captured the patriarchs of all four ruling powers, upset the entire Higher Realm, forced your way into Shenwu''s Sky, subdued their dragon, and even fought against Xia Shenji? None of us could do any one of those things, and yet you¡¯re just a three-tribtion Envoy! The fact that you¡¯ve ascended to such a level is simply incredible." Arch-Elder Zen was badly shocked.

    He was someone who had lived since the Daosource Sect era, and what sort of thing had he not seen already? He had watched the Mother Tree itself be moved. Despite all the man¡¯s vast experiences, what Lu Yin had done in the Perennial World had badly stunned the old man.

    Aside from the relief that Highsage Grandmaster, Jiu Chi, and the others were feeling at Lu Yin¡¯s sess, Elder Gong was simply rejoicing over the fact that Lu Yin had survived, as his death would mean the loss of the pattern on the bottom of his foot.

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming paid the most attention to Lu Yin¡¯s mentions of Lockbreakers and lockbreaking. "So this Grandmaster Gu Yan that you mentioned is the Perennial World¡¯s foremost Lockbreaker? How many Array Grandmasters does the Perennial World have?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Four, and Grandmaster Gu Yan is acknowledged as the best of them all. He has a rather difficult personality and doesn¡¯t get along with the four ruling powers, but they can¡¯t do anything to him."

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming smiled. "For him to be acknowledged as the Perennial World¡¯s greatest Array Grandmaster, his skills must be astonishing. Regardless of how stupid the four ruling powers might be, they would still never dare to offend such a person. It makes sense that you were able to string all four of them along by pretending to be his apprentice.

    ¡°Also," The man hesitated for a moment as he gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Have you truly reached the level of Realm Array Master?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming grew emotional. "I already knew that you had incredibly lockbreaking talent, but I thought that you would struggle to improve any further. I didn¡¯t expect my estimation to be so wrong. Come visit me when you have the time, and we will y a game of Stable Zone."

    This was something that Lu Yin could not have asked for. The further he progressed with his lockbreaking mastery, the more useful it became. Progenitor Hui himself had not been a very capable fighter, but he had created Ceaseless Impetus, which was a sourcebox array that had protected all of humanity for countless years. This was an iparable aplishment. No matter how strong a person might be, their individual ability to protect humanity would be limited, but a sourcebox array could have miraculous effects, and it could aplish things that not even Progenitors were capable of.

    Lu Yin had his die¡¯s Possession ability, and it almost felt like cheating when it came to lockbreaking. If he could Possess Grandmaster Xiu Ming, Mu Shang, or even Grandmaster Gu Yan, Lu Yin might quickly be the greatest Array Grandmaster of the current era. He was quite excited by the prospect of creating a sourcebox array that could provide blessings for future generations, just the same as Progenitor Hui.

    However, the die¡¯s Possession simply granted Lu Yin memories and knowledge, and it was still important for him to familiarize himself with them. ying Stable Zone against an opponent like Grandmaster Xiu Ming was one of the best methods to achieve the familiarity that Lu Yin needed.

    Qing Ping soon left. He had sessfully broken through and be a Semi-Progenitor, adding another Semi-Progenitor to the Fifth Maind¡¯s numbers. On top of that, Qing Ping could be considered an invincible Semi-Progenitor.

    Kui Luo also left, as the old man wanted to go somewhere. Lu Yin guessed that Kui Luo wanted to go back to fishing, and that thought reminded Lu Yin of the Astral River. While in the Perennial World, Lu Yin had learned that the Astral River had once flowed around the Mother Tree and that pyrolyte was actually the decayed roots of the Mother Tree and should be actually called Mother Soil. There was almost none of the Mother Soil in the Perennial World, but there was a tremendous amount of it in the Astral River, which meant that Lu Yin needed to find an opportunity to dig it up.

    He nced back at the sourcebox array that connected to the Perennial World. Lu Yin had managed to aplish less than half of his goals during his visit, but he had upset the bnce of the four ruling powers. Next, there would be a direct confrontation with them.

    He was curious to see how the four ruling powers intended to deal with him.

    Liu Shaoge had been left in Shenwu''s Sky. The man¡¯s fate would be determined by his own luck and abilities, but Lu Yin did not expect the man to suffer too badly. Lu Yin had never even considered rescuing Liu Shaoge, and he had clearly abandoned him. Shenwu''s Sky would realize this even if the ce was run by idiots. Someone who had been abandoned could be made use of.

    However, Liu Shaoge would never be able to break free from Lu Yin easily, not unless he managed to remove the Death Seal.

    Also, Tong Yu had remained in the Perennial World. She had not been left there because she had been abandoned by Lu Yin, but because he had not had the chance to collect her before leaving.

    At this moment, Lu Yin still had Bai Teng and Wang Zheng imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, in addition to everyone else that Lu Yin had captured in the past. All of these could be used as leverage to negotiate with the four ruling powers.

    What Lu Yin regretted most was losing the mirror. He had lost Progenitor Smoke''s mirror, and there was likely no way to recover it. The mirror had been lost during the confrontation with Xia Shenjji, and his memories of what had happened were rather jumbled. Would the four ruling powers keep the mirror locked away?

    With those thoughts in his mind, Lu Yin grabbed Xia Shenji and rode the jiao towards the Outerverse.

    Lu Yin himself found it rather unbelievable, but he had actually captured and was riding atop a beast with the power of a Progenitor! A Progenitor represented the pinnacle of human strength.

 Chapter 2306: Prestige

    <h4>Chapter 2306: Prestige</h4>

    The Fifth Maind had not had a Progenitor since the Daosource Sect era, but at this moment, the power of a Progenitor swept across the Fifth Maind. It was something that shocked countless people, and the universe itself seemed to churn and boil. The void was pushed back, and the universe felt like it was about to be changed.

    Even though countless people were unable to see the jiao as it raced through the void, they were able to feel the beast¡¯s unmatched pressure.

    The jiao raised its head upwards and let out a roar, tantly unleashing its power.

    Lu Yin did nothing to stop the beast. In fact, he wanted the creature to create as big a ruckus as possible.

    Before going to the Perennial World, Lu Yin had relied on Progenitor Chen¡¯s power and the ability of the Star Stomp to dominate the Fifth Maind. However, at this moment, Lu Yin was able to dominate the Fifth Maind even without the help of Progenitor Chen''s power.

    This thought once again reminded Lu Yin of Progenitor Smoke, which left him feeling regret all over again.

    All he could do was hope that the four ruling powers would help free Progenitor Smoke instead of concealing her. If she never showed up again, Lu Yin would simply gain another task to aplish. He had lost the mirror, and he felt obligated to find it again.

    In the Neoverse, the area that the Court of Seven Names had originally upied before being disbanded had been taken over by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. However, after Hen Xin had been dispatched to the Astral Beast Domain, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate had maintained a low profile and obeyed all of the orders that came from the Heavens Sect.

    When the jiao roared, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, the Hall of Honor, the Cosmic Sect, Gods Origin, and all of the various great powers of the Neoverse were startled. Then, everyst person from each of those ces offered a respectful bow. This was the power of a Progenitor that they were sensing, and it demanded their admiration and obedience.

    The jiao possessed unmatched speed, and it took only a few breaths for it to swim from the Honor Zone to the Cosmic Sea. Once the beast arrived in the Cosmic Sea, the chaotic weather of the ce was instantly suppressed, and the surface of the sea was actually forced downwards.

    Highsage Leon looked up in the direction of the jiao and let out a wildugh.

    Lu Yin had sent a message with an exnation to Highsage Leon before arriving in the Cosmic Sea, as he did not want to create any misunderstandings that Lu Yin might be trying to intimidate Highsage Leon. Regardless of the heights that Lu Yin achieved, he always regarded Leon¡¯s Armada as his home and family.

    "Good job, kid! Hahahaha!" Highsage Leon was thrilled.

    Everyone else in Leon¡¯s Armada was just as delighted. Tens of thousands of people in the pirate crew, as well as the countless pirates who were secretly loyal to Highsage Leon all respectfully bowed in the direction of the jiao.

    The beast quickly traversed the Cosmic Sea and arrived in the Innerverse. The Sword Sect, the Lingling n, and the other major forces all bowed in unison.

    The jiao raced through the entire Innerverse and soon arrived at the Astral River. An Astral River Ark was in the Astral River, and it was shaken and nearly copsed from the pressure that struck it during the jiao¡¯s passage.

    Everyone aboard the ark bowed. None of them dared to even look at the jiao.

    The size and invincible power of the jiao were too shocking to people.

    Finally, the jiao passed by Zhenyu Star and arrived in Earth¡¯s sr system, where it let out another roar.

    Just inside the Heavens Sect¡¯s main gate, numerous people bent and bowed low. "We wee the Dao Chosen¡¯s return."

    "We wee the Dao Chosen¡¯s return."

    "We wee the Dao Chosen¡¯s return."

    ¡­

    Word had been leaked before Lu Yin left the Honor Zone, so everyone knew that he had returned, which was exactly what Lu Yin wanted.

    Atop the jiao, Lu Yin¡¯s prestige within the Fifth Maind would rise to the greatest level ever.

    Who could use a creature with the strength of a Progenitor as a mount? Who could do so as a mere Envoy? There had not been a single person who had aplished such an achievement throughout all of human history. Not even ancient powerhouses such as the God of Death, Wu Tian, and Destiny, who had possessed unmatched power, had ever aplished such a thing. How could a mere Envoy ever hope to suppress a being with the strength of a Progenitor? No such being would ever submit to an Envoy.

    And yet, Lu Yin had done just that. He was the first person in all of history to do so, and his image was deeply engraved into everyone''s hearts at this moment.

    The Fifth Maind was Lu Yin''s domain. A single word from him could determine the fates of countless lives. Lu Yin alone possessed the qualifications to stand above all others. It was true in the present, and it would only be increasingly evident in the future.

    The four ruling powers were an increasingly imminent threat, which meant that Lu Yin had to raise his reputation within the Fifth Maind to unprecedented heights so that he could fully unite the entire Fifth Maind to stand up to the four ruling powers.

    At this moment, there was only a single voice speaking for the entire Fifth Maind: "We wee the Dao Chosen¡¯s Return!"

    Even Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, and others who had been rebellious and confident of eventually reaching the Progenitor realm themselves grew obedient and submissive when they saw the jiao. All of them bowed and greeted Lu Yin¡¯s return. "We wee the Dao Chosen¡¯s return."

    Even if Lu Buzheng was a senior of the Lu family from the Heavens Sect era, he disyed the same attitude at this moment. There was no one who demonstrated any sort of exception.

    Lu Yin was satisfied when he saw everyone''s attitude, though his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere: Ancestor Tortoise.

    Earth¡¯s sr system was not veryrge, and it was actually smaller than the heavenly sect, which had entire stars within it. Ancestor Tortoise wasrge enough topare to the Heavens Sect as a whole, so the beast had never actually stayed inside the sr system, but rather just outside it on the opposite side from the Heavens Sect.

    At this moment, the tortoise¡¯s neck was elongated so that its huge eyes could stare at the jiao. The tortoise looked extremely curious.

    As for the jiao, it gazed back at Ancestor Tortoise with equally strong curiosity.

    The two enormous creatures¡¯ eyes met.

    They both continued to stare, neither backing down and neither showing the slightest hint of fear.

    Lu Yin found this quite odd. Why did Ancestor Tortoise dare to meet the jiao¡¯s eyes? The jiao was a beast with the strength of a Progenitor and was so powerful that even Xia Shenji had only been able to suppress the jiao because of the broken saber. The beast might not be intelligent, but its body was far, far stronger than Xia Shenji''s clone.

    As for Ancestor Tortoise, Lu Yin had always believed the creature to have the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. If it was more powerful than that, then why had it reacted with such terror when it had seen Corpse God?

    However, Lu Yin could clearly see that the tortoise had absolutely no fear of the jiao.

    This was quite surprising.

    The jiao moved, raising its upper body to lift its ws higher as it released a tremendous roar. It wanted to scare the tortoise, so the jiao bared its teeth and ws.

    The jiao¡¯s roar was powerful enough to cause the void to tremble.

    When Ancestor Tortoise heard the roar, its head shrank back, its eyes never leaving the jiao even though its head was hidden within its shell. The movements suggested that Ancestor Tortoise had been frightened, but its eyes only held curiosity. There was still no fear to be seen.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that, when he had been roaming about the Middle Ocean with Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai while searching for a beast with the strength of a one-tribtion Envoy. They had found a sea turtle with an appropriate level of strength, but Bai Weiwei had beenpletely helpless against the sea turtle.

    Bai Weiwei was an Enlighter Realmbreaker who could fight against Envoys. Ancestor Tortoise was facing a dragon. The idea of a Semi-Progenitor standing up to a Progenitor seemed absurd, especially given how timid Ancestor Tortoise had proven to be. The only answer was that the jiao could do nothing at all to harm Ancestor Tortoise.

    Even though Ancestor Tortoise was referred to as ¡°ancestor,¡± that was nothing more than the Mavis family being respectful. The beast had been raised by the Lu family, but it was a glutton for the fruit grown by the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree. The tortoise was gluttonous, timid, andzy. Just because it was referred to as ¡°ancestor¡± did not mean that the beast possessed the strength of a Progenitor, but Lu Yin was starting to question that idea.

    The jiao became upset. It had finally encountered a beast of a simr size, but the creature refused to be intimidated, and that was infuriating to the jiao. Its iparably sharp ws rose again and pierced through the void. It was just about to release another roar, when it was pped silly by the slipper, leaving it almost unconscious. "What''s wrong with you? Shut up."

    The jiao felt like dying as it straightened its head and tried to see straight again. It felt terribly wronged.

    In front of the jiao, Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s eyes grewrge. It had seen the slipper, and it instantly felt fear return from its past experiences. The whimpers of the jiao made the tortoise remember its own wailing after it had been struck. The memories caused Ancestor Tortoise to look at Lu Yin with fear. The enormous creature then simply closed its eyes. It intended to keep its eyes closed and pretend to be asleep.

    There was nothing more hateful than that slipper.

    This was the first time that the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise had ever met each other, but despite there being an entire sr system between them, they understood each other.

    At the same time, there were many people throughout the Heavens Sect and Earth¡¯s sr system who were eagerly waiting for an opportunity to get Lu Yin¡¯s attention and shower him with ttery.

    The jiao¡¯s arrival caused endless words to appear in many people¡¯s minds, but it seemed impossible to even form a single coherent sentence from those words. There seemed to be no way for the sycophants to adequately demonstrate their admiration. All they could do was wait to catch a glimpse of Lu Yin.

    Elsewhere in the sr system, on Earth itself, all of the faces on bustling streets were turned to face in the direction of the jiao as people bowed towards it. There were thousands of statues of Lu Yin that had been erected across Earth. Lu Yin had long since been regarded as the most worshiped individual on Earth. The people there did not truly understand just how horrifying the jiao was, but its size alone made it clear that the beast could not be subdued by a normal person.

    On one corner of a street, Xi Qi was holding a cup up to take a drink, and she even had the straw in her mouth as she stared at the jiao. "Brother Lu is so amazing!"

    Atop her head, the vile fish was still pping its fins around. "Girl, you have Lord Fish here with you! Who cares about impressing everyone? Lord Fish will teach you falconry, and then when you meet a big eagle in the future, you will help Lord Fish tease it. You will receive matchingpensation!"

    Xi Qi felt incredibly frustrated. "Just look at Brother Lu! He was able to subdue such an enormous beast. What about that eagle that you keep mentioning? Can we even fight it? I''m afraid that it sounds impossible."

    "What are you talking about, you useless thing? Lord Fish will p it dead with his tail! Hey, Lord Fish has seen that thing before. Where did ite from?" The nasty fish was staring at the jiao as it tried to remember, but it could not remember anything.

    Lu Yin knew nothing about this conversation. He left the jiao outside of Earth¡¯s sr system, forbidding it from roaring or making any sort ofmotion. He then entered the Heavens Sect on his own, leading the members of Star Alliance along.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin sat at the top of the Heavens Sect, Lu Buzheng and Leng Qing were sitting on either side of him. None of the other Semi-Progenitors were present for the moment.

    102 people from Star Alliance were quietly standing in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. Everyst person from Star Alliance was at least an Envoy.

    "Seventh Bro, are all these people your prisoners? You¡¯re too powerful! Like a zing star that illuminates the universe for billions of years, you are¡­" As soon as Lu Yin arrived, the Ghost Monkey had seized the opportunity to constantly pile on the ttery.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Shut up."

    The monkey instantly shut its mouth and no longer dared to speak a single word.

    Lu Yin looked over the people from Star Alliance cultivators. "Everyone who once followed the Lu family, step forward."

    Of the 102 people present, more than a dozen stepped forward, though others were clearly hesitating.

    "I¡¯ll warn you right now¡ªanyone pretending to be a vassal of the Lu family will die," Lu Yin sternly dered.

    The hesitating people trembled and then quickly suppressed the temptation that they had briefly felt. They had all seen Lu Yin fight against Xia Shenji for a bit, and even though it had only been a brief glimpse before they had been taken away by the jiao, the fact that Lu Yin had sessfully returned to the Fifth Maind despite the four ruling powers¡¯ pursuit was enough to prove something to them. Not to mention, they had already witnessed the jiao submitting to Lu Yin. As far as the members of Star Alliance were concerned, Lu Yin had demonstrated his prowess.

    Lu Yin ignored everyone else from Star Alliance and focused solely on the vassals of the Lu family.

    The old woman who had called out to Lu Yin as ¡°young master¡± had died, as she had been one of the people who had charged at Xia Shenji to try to create a chance for Lu Yin to escape. Others had died with that woman as well, as they had all rushed towards Xia Shenji like moths to a me. Everyst one of them had died without even leaving a corpse behind.

    Their deaths were painful to Lu Yin, just the same as Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s old servant that Lu Yin had buried on Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin did not even know that old man¡¯s name, and he was unable to carve a tombstone for him.

    The surviving vassals of the Lu family did not show the same affection for Lu Yin as those who had already sacrificed themselves for him. Still, the fact that they had been forced into Star Alliance was proof that they had refused to submit to the four ruling powers. Also, Lu Yin acknowledged these people as vassals of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin looked over at Lu Buzheng. "Third Uncle, I¡¯ll leave these people to you, so please treat them well."

    Lu Buzheng nodded as he gazed at the group of a bit more than a dozen people, his feelingsplicated. "I am Lu Buzheng. I am from the Heavens Sect era, which makes me older than Lu Tianyi."

 Chapter 2307: The Second Blade

    <h4>Chapter 2307: The Second de</h4>

    Lu Buzheng¡¯s introduction horrified everyst member of Star Alliance. Lu Tianyi was the Lu family¡¯s patriarch, as well as an ancient powerhouse even during the Daosource Sect era, let alone during the Perennial World era. Everyst person had heard of Lu Tianyi, but they had never heard of Lu Buzheng. On top of that, he was iming to be from a different era as well.

    He actually imed to be Lu Tianyi¡¯s senior? How was that possible?

    "That¡¯s ridiculous! Progenitor Tianyi is the person with the highest seniority in the entire Perennial World! How could you surpass him?" One of the former Lu family vassals became upset and started scolding Lu Buzheng before turning to look at Lu Yin. "Young master, don''t be deceived by this person! Progenitor Tianyi is known to have existed years before recorded history."

    "As I just said, the Heavens Sect era." Lu Buzheng¡¯s hands remained sped behind his back as he looked at the man who had spoken. "I have no need to lie to you. I, and many others, were sealed in a sourcebox during the Heavens Sect era, and were only recently released. Thus, I am indeed someone who was born before Lu Tianyi. In my era, Lu Tianyi was our Dao Chosen, and a direct descendant of my Lu family. He called me ¡®Third Uncle¡¯ when he saw me."

    "This- this-" The Lu family¡¯s vassals simply could not ept such a thing. One of the primary reasons why many of them had not joined the four ruling powers was because they had been waiting for Lu Tianyi. They were not waiting for the Lu family, but Lu Tianyi alone.

    When the Lu family had been the ruler of the Fifth Maind, Lu Tianyi had been the uncontested master of the Lu family, as well as of the entire Fifth Maind. Even back during the Daosource Sect era, Lu Tianyi had used the Investiture of the Gods to summon all the other masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. These former vassals had all been quite close to the Lu family, and their intimate knowledge of the family and Lu Tianyi caused them to respect the man even more.

    Even if the Lu family had been exiled, even if the four ruling powers had seized control of the Perennial World, these people refused to believe that Lu Tianyi could have died. They were absolutely certain that Lu Tianyi would eventually return. They had faith that Lu Tianyi would regain control of the entire Fifth Maind and once again rule over all of humanity.

    "Third Uncle is right. Many people havee from the Heavens Sect era, which is even older than the Daosource Sect era with the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. During the Heavens Sect era, humanity ruled over six Mainds, and Ancestor Lu Tianyi was indeed one of the Dao Chosen¡­" Lu Yin then proceeded to gradually share a bit of ancient history with all the members of Star Alliance. After all, the Lu family¡¯s vassals deserved an exnation.

    A short whileter, the few people who had been the Lu family¡¯s followers left with Lu Buzheng. They would all receive preferential treatment in regards to cultivation resources and anything else that they might need. Of course, this was all based on the premise that they were truly followers of the Lu family. If anyone was lying about such a thing, Lu Yin would not show them any mercy.

    As for the people who remained behind, Lu Yin delivered all of them to the Interster Supreme Court to be identified and investigated. While the four ruling powers had indeed created Star Alliance out of selfish intentions, they had indeed condemned a number of terrible criminals to join Star Alliance, and there was untold amounts of blood on those people¡¯s hands. There were people who had killed far, far more humans than Aeternals, and those people had to be found and isted so that they could be dealt with without hesitation.

    "This old one is Zhan Lin. I pay my respects to the Lu family¡¯s young master." The only person from Star Alliance who had stayed behind was the sole Semi-Progenitor, and he offered Lu Yin a very respectful bow.

    Lu Yin observed the old man. "I¡¯m only a three-tribtion Envoy. I don¡¯t deserve such respect from you, Senior."

    Zhan Lin answered in a solemn manner, "It is not inappropriate. Young Master Lu was able to escape from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, as well as from Xia Shenji. You have aplished things that no one in the past or current era could ever aplish. Such things were even beyond the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas when they had aparable cultivation realm. Young Master Lu possesses enoughbat strength topare to a Semi-Progenitor. Such respect is certainly not unwarranted."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Why does a Semi-Progenitor like you bow to me, a mere junior Envoy?"

    "I have a request."

    "What is it?"

    "I ask that Young Master Lu allow me to fight in the war against the four ruling powers," Zhan Lin asked with a stoic and steady look in his eyes.

    Lu Yin caught off guard. "You regard the four ruling powers as your enemies?"

    "There is no one in Star Alliance who does not. However, as a Semi-Progenitor, I possess the strength necessary to be able to negotiate such things with you, Young Master Lu," Zhan Lin replied.

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "I¡¯m sorry, but I already have arge number of Semi-Progenitors under mymand. One more or one less won¡¯t make a difference."

    "But how many of those Semi-Progenitors are willing to swear to fight to the death against the four ruling powers? How many are willing toy their lives down on the battlefield when facing the four ruling powers?" Zhan Lin asked rhetorically.

    The Ghost Monkey suddenly shouted, "How presumptuous! What gives you the courage to speak to Seventh Brother in such a tone? p yourself."

    Zhan Linpletely ignored the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin stared at the old man. "Do you hate the four ruling powers more than even the Aeternals? If you are confronted by both people from the four ruling powers and monsters from Aeternus, and you are only able to unleash a single attack, who would you kill?"

    Zhan Lin was stunned for a moment, and he could not find a reply.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet as he observed the old man. "I asked, who would you choose to kill?"

    Zhan Lin stared at Lu Yin intently as he asked, "Are you asking me, Young Master Lu, or yourself?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Just answer the question. Who dies?"

    Zhan Lin took a deep breath. "Enemies must die."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Zhan Lin continued, "I would give my life to release a second attack. The attack would not be for myself, but-¡± The man stared at Lu Yin with a burning intensity. ¡°For the bigger picture."

    Lu Yin and Zhan Lin stared at each other. There were no reservations in the old man''s eyes. They were firm and determined. He would exact revenge for himself, and he would also sacrifice himself to deal with the Aeternals for the sake of the bigger picture. Was this the right choice?

    Eventually, Zhan Lin was also taken to the Interster Supreme Court. Everyone from Star Alliance needed to be questioned and investigated before any final decisions were made.

    The sudden arrival of more than a hundred Envoys greatly boosted the Fifth Maind¡¯s overallbat power. Even if all the true criminals were simply eliminated, there would still be dozens of Envoys added to the Fifth Maind¡¯s numbers.

    Lu Yin did not hide anything involving Star Alliance, as the Fifth Maind needed confidence. They needed to be confident enough to be willing to face the four ruling powers.

    Before the members of Star Alliance were led away, everyone¡¯s cosmic ring was searched, as there was a desperate need for more of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. Everything else within the cosmic rings were returned to their original owners.

    The bark of the Mother Tree was of vital importance, as it was the material that was used to create microarrays. The members of Star Alliance provided a great deal of bark as well as the white paper made from it. Lu Yin felt that it was enough to ease a great deal of the pressure that the researchers of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Backyard were facing.

    Backyard was the division of the Heavens Sect that was responsible for research and development of technology. Its foundation was Aurora Enterprises, but Backyard had managed to lure arge number of brilliant individuals, and they had also started cooperating with the Technocracy. Their current highest priority research project was to create a microarray that consisted of twenty eight individual arrays. Sess would provide a qualitative rise in the Fifth Maind¡¯s military power.

    After dealing with the members of Star Alliance, Lu Yin summoned Director Zhi. Microarray technology was truly humanity¡¯s future, and Lu Yin considered it to be one of the most important projects being worked on.

    "Dao Chosen, the sect has received shipments of resources from the Technocracy. They are avable for your use any time you need," Leng Qing suddenly mentioned after delivering another report to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately looked up. "Resources from the Technocracy? Is it star essence?"

    Leng Qing nodded. "They sent quite a bit, Dao Chosen, but as you were in seclusion, we neverpleted the transfer, as we were awaiting your decision on the allocation, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew red as he remembered that the Technocracy had once told him that he would be sent their star essence and that it likely amounted to over a trillion. 200 billion star essence had been delivered before Lu Yin had gone to the Perennial World, and the rest had been delivered during his absence.

    "How much?" Lu Yin asked anxiously. He was desperate for funds, as he was currentlypletely broke.

    Leng Qing was caught off guard by Lu Yin''s obvious excitement for the star essence. He replied, "It''s around 700 or 800 billion star essence. I don''t have an exact number."

    Lu Yin was delighted by the number and his hand rose to his forehead. He took a deep breath and worked to suppress his joy. "I see."

    Once Leng Qing was gone, Lu Yin could no longer control himself. He let out a long breath. He was rich! He was rich once again! This was wonderful. Even if 800 billion star essence was not quite as much as what he had acquired from the Junior Progenitors, it was not much less. In fact, given that there were threes, this was the most that Lu Yin had ever acquired at one time.

    Over 800 billion star essence! Lu Yin¡¯s eyes light up brighter than ever.

    How should he use this wealth?

    While it was a great deal of wealth, it would be all too easy for Lu Yin to burn through all of it. He could not afford to growcent. He had to continue to gather more resources. If he acquired 9 trillion, or even 80 trillion, that would be a truly exaggerated amount of wealth.

    Just how much star essence did the entire Fifth Maind contain? Lu Yin was quite curious.

    "Dao Chosen, Director Zhi is currently participating in a simtion of a twenty eightyered microarray, so he has not been informed of your return yet," a woman stated respectfully from outside the main hall. She was Lu Jiao, and she was another person from the Heavens Sect era, like Lu Buzheng. She had participated in the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen selection.

    Lu Yin grunted. "Send Ku Wei to see me."

    "Brother Seven, I know where Ku Wei is! I''ll go get him!" The Ghost Monkey instantly disappeared.

    Lu Jiao offered Lu Yin a bow and stepped back.

    Lu Buzhen had been the one overseeing the Heavens Sect while Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World. So naturally, he had relied on Lu Lai and Lu Jiao extensively, given Lu Buzheng¡¯s familiarity with the two members of the Lu family who were also from the Heavens Sect era.

    Ku Wei soon arrived. Lu Yin saw the young man racing towards him at top speed. "Master! You¡¯re back! Congrattions, Master! You are invincible throughout the entire universe! You¡¯ve conquered a Progenitor-level mount! The first to do so throughout all of history! Congrattions on creating an immortal name, Master! Your name will ze in glory for as long as stars shine in the sky! You¡¯ve be an eternal beacon for mankind! Master¡­"

    The Ghost Monkey stared in awe as Ku Wei spouted more and more ridiculouspliments. This bastard was too well spoken! He sounded so much better than the Ghost Monkey. Professional, even. How long had this man worked on preparing this speech?

    Lu Yin frowned. "Shut up."

    Ku Wei instantly stopped speaking.

    Finally, the Ghost Monkey felt a bit better as he stared at Ku Wei being scolded.

    Ku Wei eagerly stared at Lu Yin, licking his lips andughing. "What did you call me here for, Master?"

    Lu Yin observed Ku Wei. "Your cultivation hasn¡¯t improved very much."

    Ku Wei was left utterly speechless. It¡¯s only been a few months since you¡¯vest seen me! Do you think that we¡¯re all freaks like you?

    Of course, Ku Wei would never dare to speak such words aloud.

    "Your disciple is untalented, and I deserve to beughed at, Master. You can rest assured that your disciple will devote himself entirely to training, and I will never again fail to meet your expectations!" Ku Wei promised with his head held high.

    Lu Yin had no time to worry about Ku Wei¡¯sck of dedication to his cultivation. "Give me some of your blood."

    Ku Wei blinked. "Blood?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Ku Wei''s eyes lit up. "Understood, Master! Just wait a moment!"

    He then turned and fled from the hall.

    "He¡¯s escaping! Seventh Bro, that brat¡¯s getting away! I''ll catch him and drag him back here!" the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    Lu Yin grumpily replied, "He isn¡¯t escaping, it¡¯s fine. Go entertain yourself. There¡¯s no need to be an eyesore here."

    The Ghost Monkey felt quite offended. "An eyesore? Seventh Bro, I- I¡¯m your pet! How can you call me an eyesore? Seventh Bro¡­"

    Lu Yin was also left speechless at the monkey¡¯s reaction, and he waved a hand. "Alright, fine. I didn¡¯t mean to call you an eyesore. Just leave for now. I need to go over something on my own."

    ***

    In another part of the Heavens Sect, Ku Wei was incredibly excited. He was one of the few people who knew Lu Yin best. Ku Wei was aware that Lu Yin possessed many secrets, one of which was rted to Progenitor Chen.

    When Ku Wei had visited Giant Consortium, he had provided Lu Yin with blood, but he had received Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood in return. What did this mean? It meant that Lu Yin was somehow able to extract and refine Progenitor Chen''s blood from Ku Wei¡¯s blood.

 Chapter 2308: The Lively Zenith Mountain

    <h4>Chapter 2308: The Lively Zenith Mountain</h4>

    No one had actually shared this particr secret with Ku Wei, but he had been looking for a chance to acquire more of Progenitor Chen''s blood, as he could sense that his bloodline was still far from pure.

    Hearing Lu Yin himself ask for more of his blood told Ku Wei that his opportunity hade, and he had to seize this chance to get some of Progenitor Chen¡¯s pure blood so that he could improve his own cultivation.

    He had already seen the ridiculous rise in strength that Big Sis from Leon¡¯s Armada had enjoyed, and Ku Wei had also learned from the Y¨­u family that Big Sis was actually the legendary Progenitor Y¨­u, which had terrified Ku Wei.

    .

    Big Sis had awakened Progenitor Y¨­u¡¯s power, which had allowed her cultivation to spike. This proved that the power of blood and bloodlines was real, and Ku Wei was absolutely certain that Progenitor Chen''s blood could provide him with simr spikes in his own strength.

    Ku Wei believed that he was the living person with the closest connection to Progenitor Chen''s bloodline.

    The more he thought about it, the more excited Ku Wei became, and the more blood he let out.

    He soon shakily delivered his own blood to Lu Yin. Ku Wei¡¯s lips had gone dry, and his face had turned pale. "Master, please use it."

    Lu Yin gave Ku Wei an odd look. Please use it? He was not some blood sucker! He stared at Ku Wei. "How much did you bring me?"

    Ku Wei raised his head high and puffed out his chest. "If you need to, Master, you can drain all of your disciple''s blood!"

    Lu Yin chuckled. He understood what Ku Wei was thinking, but still, the amount of blood that Ku Wei had provided would allow Lu Yin to obtain arge amount of Progenitor Chen''s blood, so it would not be unreasonable to give Ku Wei one bottle of it.

    Lu Yin had already Enhanced Ku Wei¡¯s blood to obtain Progenitor Chen blood before, and he had given one of the bottles back to Ku Wei. Lu Yin had even used Ku Wei''s blood to control the race of colossal giants, as Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood gave Ku Weiplete control over the giants.

    Still, Lu Yin had not provided even Ku Wei with the purest bit of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood that had been upgraded. Lu Yin was actually afraid of not being able to control Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, so he had stopped after Enhancing it after nine times, which had cost about one billion star essence. It was actually possible to further improve the blood, and Lu Yin intended to do just that this time. He wanted to see if he could indeed control Progenitor Chen''s pure blood essence.

    Lu Yin had just obtained 800 billion star essence.

    After driving Ku Wei out, Lu Yin closed the doors of the main hall and raised a hand, bringing his die out. When he tapped it, it slowly came to a stop on three pips. His luck was exceptional this time.

    Lu Yin threw Ku Wei''s blood onto the top screen and immediately started to Enhance it.

    Once, twice, thrice, six times the blood was improved. This blood did not need to be Enhanced nine times, as Ku Wei¡¯s blood had already been refined and improved to have a greater amount of Progenitor Chen''s blood in it.

    As Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood that fell out from the lower screen, he saw a flicker of something, which was a remnant of Progenitor Chen¡¯s own will that had been branded deep into his very blood. As this blood grew increasingly pure, this trace of will would grow stronger and stronger, and it would eventually reach the level of purity that Progenitor Chen himself had possessed.

    In the past, Lu Yin had stopped upgrading the blood when this will had first appeared, as he had been afraid that he would not be able to control and subdue this will when it tried to fight back against Lu Yin. But this time, he intended to continue.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, star essence continued to flow into the two light screens of Lu Yin¡¯s Enhance, being consumed by the process of improving the blood.

    As the blood fell through the two screens of light again, it started to release a dim radiance, and a voice suddenly filled Lu Yin''s ears. "No one in the universe dares be my enemy, but if the universe itself bes my enemy, I will transform it!"

    Countless stars suddenly appeared in Lu Yin''s vision as a terrifying aura swept out in all directions. This was clearly just a bit of remnant will that remained in the blood, but all who felt it trembled.

    The expressions of Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all changed as they turned to look towards the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. What had just happened? How was there such a terrifying aura? What was this will to fight?

    Ku Wei''s legs grew weak, as the blood within his own body had started boiling.

    Sensing a simr feeling, the Giants Army that stood at the base of the Heavens Sect¡¯s mountain dropped down onto one knee in unison. They had all sensed the power of the remnant will in the blood, and itpletely suppressed them all.

    Beyond Earth¡¯s sr system, the jiao suddenly looked over towards Lu Yin, surprise and fear deep in the beast¡¯s eyes, and it even retreated a bit.

    Lu Yin had not expected that Progenitor Chen''s remnant will in the blood would be so terrifying. It had caused him to see visions, and it had felt as though the universe had been reformed. Fortunately, the power within Lu Yin¡¯s own chest was far from weak, and Lu Yin was also pursuing the goal of recreating the universe. The power within his chest was ever-changing, and it could absorb almost any other power.

    Progenitor Chen''s remnant will was not enough to defeat Lu Yin.

    It was possible that this remnant will was also Progenitor Chen''s pride. Even after the man himself was gone, his blood was not something that ordinary people could ever touch.

    As Lu Yin stared at the red blood, he felt that it was possible to further Enhance it, but if he did so, he might not be able to resist the remnant will. He could already tell that the power in the blood of an incredibly strong Progenitor like Progenitor Chen was different from that of ordinary Progenitors. The Sea King had once broken through the Three Upper Gates using Progenitor Chen''s blood-stained clothes. The gates had not been forced open from just pyrolyte, as most of the force had likelye from Progenitor Chen''s blood-stained clothes. Had the pyrolyte been nothing more than a diversion?

    The Progenitor of Combat had died, but his blood did not hold such ridiculous power. Lu Yin had seen the blood of the jiao, and it alsocked the absurd strength that existed in Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. What made Progenitor Chen''s blood so powerful?

    It was a mystery with no answer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yiin had spent almost 2 billion star essence Enhancing the blood, and there was no reason to continue. This degree of improvement should be enough.

    Lu Yin split the Enhanced blood into five bottles; one bottle would be given to Ku Wei as a reward, and the other four would be kept for Lu Yin¡¯s own use.

    Was it less blood than Lu Yin had received? He stared at it for a moment. He could not worry about that. After all, if he waited for a bit, Ku Wei would be able to satisfy Lu Yin¡¯s potential need for more blood. Lu Yin would just wait for Ku Wei to recover and then Enhance more blood in one go.

    Ku Wei was summoned back to the main hall, and he stared excitedly at the bottle of Progenitor Chen''s blood that he was given. "This is purer thanst time, so be careful and take things slow as you absorb it."

    Ku Wei grew short of breath. "Thank you, Master! You are the greatest- no, the greatest ever-"

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough of your nonsense. Just go keep an eye out on Director Zhi for me and send him to me as soon as he¡¯s avable." Lu Yin had no patience for Ku Wei¡¯s antics.

    "Don''t worry, Master. Your disciple will go now and watch for him!" Ku Wei was still incredibly excited as he left.

    Lu Yin also left the main hall. He went to visit the Heavens Sect¡¯s prison to see the members of the army sent by the Perennial World, and then proceeded to throw all of the prisoners onto Zenith Mountain.

    He was worried about leaving the prisoners in the open. He had already been in contact with the Technocracy and had learned that the New Corridor might be repaired at any moment. Lu Yin needed to be prepared for his next confrontation with the four ruling powers.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s clone was kept separate, as Lu Yin did not want anyone to potentially recognize the man. He would figure out how to deal with that matterter.

    The entire army sent to the Fifth Maind by the Perennial World was now imprisoned on Zenith Mountain. The people who had been prisoners on the mountain for some time already were stunned to see so many of their acquaintances appear, including many powerful seniors and elders. Everyone had be Lu Yin¡¯s prisoners.

    Even though Xia Taili and Fatty Wang had already been told that Lu Yin had captured the Perennial World¡¯s army, seeing the truth for themselves was different from merely hearing about it.

    "That''s Elder Qing Xing! I saw him from a distance when I visited Celestial Frost Sect one time," Yun Tingtingmented in a bit of a daze as she stared at a downcast old man in the distance.

    Next to the young woman, Wen Diyi softly said, "Even a seven-tribtion Envoy has been captured and imprisoned."

    "I heard that there are even Semi-Progenitors," Yun Tingting replied.

    Wang Dashuai walked up behind the two. "Did you notice that old man over in the corner? Do you recognize him?"

    Wen Diyi and Yun Tingting nced over at an old man who was even further away from them than Elder Qing Xing, and after some time passed, they finally recognized the old man. Wen Diyi finally whispered, "Bai Laogui!"

    The fatty nodded. "He¡¯s a Semi-Progenitor from the Celestial Frost Sect! That¡¯s Bai Laogui!"

    Wen Diyi and Yun Tingting both gasped. It was true, even Semi-Progenitors had been captured. Those were people who were second only to Progenitors even in the Perennial World, and Bai Laogui was both a member of the Celestial Frost Sect and the Bai family itself. His capture would trigger a great deal of rage and could even incite a war.

    The fatty then gestured for the other two to look in another direction where members of the Xia family had gathered, and there, they saw Xia De. "That¡¯s the Xia family¡¯s Xia De, and even the White Dragon n¡¯s Grand Elder Ni Huang. There are also some descendants of the Xia family in this ce by the name of Xia Ji, who¡¯s also a Semi-Progenitor. There are important members of every single one of the four ruling powers here."

    "Ancestor De, are you alright?" Xia Taili ran over to Xia De, feeling horribly offended to see one of her family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors treated in such a manner.

    Xia De answered in a bitter tone, "Child, how have you been? That kid from the Lu family hasn¡¯t treated you badly, has he?"

    Xia Taili clenched her fists. "If he had the guts to try, he¡¯d be done for!"

    Xia De gave a wry smile as he looked around. Zenith Mountain had be quite lively, though they were all hostages. Their cumtive value was not low.

    Yu Chen approached Bai Laogui in a respectful manner and bowed low to the man.

    The Semi-Progenitor looked at the woman with cold eyes. "You were captured while we were still in the Technocracy, weren¡¯t you?"

    "Yes."

    Bai Laogui felt a bit surprised. "Why did Lu Xiaoxuan capture you back then?"

    Yu Chen replied, "He wanted to ask me about our sect, but I don¡¯t know much that he asked about."

    Bai Laigui responded with a contemptuous snort and fell silent. He was not nearly as arrogant and disparaging of Lu Yin as he had been in the past, as Wang Si had been publicly executed by Lu Xiaoxuan, and that had terribly shocked everyone. The Semi-Progenitors who had been sent to capture Lu Xiaoxuan understood that the young man was willing to actually kill them.

    It was at this time that Long Xi arrived to offer a bow to Grand Elder Ni Huang. The old man stared at Long Xi for a moment. "I remember you. You are Long Ke''s daughter."

    It was impossible for the patriarch¡¯s offspring to be ignored in any family, but despite her powerful family background, Long Xi had beenrgely ignored by the White Dragon n. Ni Huang did not have much of an impression of the girl because Long Ke''s branch had reced the White Dragon n¡¯s main branch, which meant that Long Xi was not really a member of the n¡¯s main family.

    As far as Grand Elder Ni Huang was concerned, the only White Dragon n descendant who deserved his care and attention was Long Xing. Not even Long Tian, who had received the title of Junior Progenitor, coulde close toparing to Long Xing.

    "Long Xi greets the grand elder." Long Xi offered a respectful bow.

    The old man nodded. "How long have you been a prisoner here?"

    Long Xi considered the question for a few moments. "It''s been at least two decades. I was imprisoned here even before Lu- Lu Yin made the mess on Dragon Mountain."

    "Did our n do something wrong?" Ni Huang suddenly asked. The question sounded like it was addressed to Long Xi, but the man looked to be speaking to himself.

    Long Xi remained silent for a bit. "Are you referring to exiling the Lu family?"

    Ni Huang looked over at Long Xi. "I''m referring to exposing and targeting Lu Xiaoxuan on Dragon Mountain."

    Long Xi went stiff, and then she offered another bow before turning around and leaving without offering another word to the elder.

    Ni Huang fell deep into thought.

    "That¡¯s strange. Where''s my Wang family¡¯s elder?" Wang Dashuai asked as he searched for Wang Si.

    Wang Su was also looking for the Semi-Progenitor.

    Eventually, they both learned of Wang Si¡¯s death.

    The news left many of Zenith Mountain¡¯s original prisoners silent, and they felt chills that reached their hearts. It was not Wang Si''s death that left them so afraid, but the fact that Wang Si had been publicly executed by Lu Yin. It was a terrible humiliation for a Semi-Progenitor to be publicly executed by a mere Envoy. It was something that no Semi-Progenitor would be willing to ept, but it was undeniable that Wang Si had met her end in just that manner.

    Wang Dashuai remained speechless.

    "It won¡¯t be long before you will all be able to leave, so I hope that you won¡¯t make any troubles until that time, as there are no guarantees as to what consequences you might face." Lu Yin''s voice was heard.

    Lu Yin then dismissed the wei that still bound both Wang Zheng and Bai Teng. Without Progenitor Smoke, the wei would continue to weaken more and more as time passed, and the two men would be freed sooner orter. So, it was better to just release them both.

    The appearance of the two patriarchs were deeply shocking to everyone, including the members of the Perennial World¡¯s army.

    As for Wang Zheng and Bai Teng, they were stunned to see that the army that they had sent had truly been captured, as well as the two of them. Neither man knew how to react.

    Lu Yin then put Zenith Mountain away. He did not need to worry about his prisoners for the time being. They were all hostages, and they would not remain on Zenith Mountain for very long. He just needed to wait for the New Corridor to be fully repaired.

 Chapter 2309: The Broken Scythe

    <h4>Chapter 2309: The Broken Scythe</h4>

    Two dayster, the experiment for theyered sourcebox array that Director Zhi had been participating in finally finished, and the man led Zhi Shao with him to meet with Lu Yin.

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen."

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin nodded as he looked at Director Zhi with great interest. "How were your results?"

    Director Zhi sighed. "Combining a full twenty eight sourcebox arrays is simply too difficult. Even with the Technocracy¡¯s assistance, there are still many issues that we need to resolve before we can seed."

    The news did not surprise Lu Yin. "That¡¯s fine. Take your time. Here, I¡¯ve brought you more of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark. Will this be enough?"

    A cosmic ring was handed over to Director Zhi. The man epted it, examined the contents, and was thrilled by what he discovered. "We have been suffering from a shortage of bark. Many thanks, Dao Chosen."

    "Just let me know anything that you¡¯re missing. Microarray technology is the future of mankind, so I won¡¯t hold anything back. There can be no mistakes," Lu Yin stated in a grand manner.

    Director Zhi and Zhi Shao quickly offered another bow. "Your subordinates understand."

    Both of the men clearly understood their current positions. In the current Fifth and Sixth Mainds, Lu Yin deserved his position at the top, especially after he had appeared riding atop a dragon. That sight had caused everyone to submit to Lu Yin.

    "Dao Chosen, other than the Mother Tree¡¯s bark, we are also very short on pyrolyte," Zhi Shao answered respectfully.

    "I know. I¡¯ll get you more soon."

    "Thank you, Dao Chosen." The two men were dismissed, as Lu Yin had simply wanted to hear about their progress. He intended to keep a very close eye on the development of microarray technology. This technology had even caught Hen Xin¡¯s attention all the way back during the Heavens Sect era, and due to that, the man had not hesitated to offend people by stealing Aurora Enterprises. Naturally, Lu Yin had grown to value the technology even more.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped with an iing call.

    Lu Yin had returned to using both his gadget and his wireless jincan after returning to the Fifth Maind. He still was not satisfied with the wireless jincans, as he had not been able to use it tomunicate with the Fifth Maind while visiting the Perennial World. While the jincans were able tomunicate between the true universe and the visible universe, they could not connect between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had already ordered the people from the small town in Venom Flowzone to research the matter and find out what had caused the disconnect.

    When Lu Yin connected to the iing call on his gadget, he was met by the sight of a cold-faced woman with purple eyes. While she was not beautiful, she was certainly majestic, and the periodic irs of purple light in her eyes were particrly noticeable, as they made her appear even more impressive. This woman was Big Sis. ¡°Alright, Little Seven, while it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe the captain, I still can¡¯t believe what I heard. Did you really subdue a beast with the strength of a Progenitor? Show me!¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course it''s true. Here, see for yourself."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin stepped into outer space and arrived at the edge of Earth¡¯s sr system, right in front of the jiao. At the moment, the beast was sleeping and its eyes closed, so Lu Yin kicked it awake. "Get up!"

    The jiao was furious that someone had dared to disturb its sleep. It instantly bared its teeth and waved its ws to scare the offender, but the moment the beast realized that Lu Yin was the culprit, the ws were dropped, and the jiao lowered its head. It believed that it was showing that it was stepping back.

    Big Sis stared at the jiao in shock. "That guy¡¯s as big as Ancestor Tortoise."

    "Just about!" Lu Yin answered proudly. He did not like to show off in public, but there were a few people that he did enjoy bragging to, and among those people were Big Sis, Wendy Yushan, and Ming Yan.

    Big Sis sighed admiringly. "I thought that regaining the power that I had was impressive enough, since I¡¯ve already managed to reach the Semi-Progenitor level. I never thought that you¡¯d be even more impressive."

    "Big Sis, you¡¯re already reached the Semi-Progenitor level?" Lu Yin was stunned. Even though Big Sis¡¯s cultivation had spiked before Lu Yin had gone to the Perennial World, she had only reached the level of a six-tribtion Envoy. Lu Yin had not expected her strength to rise so much while he had been gone.

    "Just barely. I¡¯m not regaining my strength too fast, but I¡¯m definitely strong enough that most Semi-Progenitors don¡¯t have a chance of beating me!¡±

    ¡°What about you? Can you beat a Semi-Progenitor?" Big Sis was also having a good time bragging. She had already shown off to Leon¡¯s Armada, and she was also boasting to Lu Yin. As for the jiao, anyone with a brain would realize that Lu Yin could not have possibly tamed the beast with his own strength. That waspletely impossible. Most likely, Progenitor Smoke was responsible.

    Lu Yin answered in a modest tone, "I''ve only passed three stellr tribtions¡­"

    Big Sis nodded. "That''s true. My expectations are just too high, but don¡¯t worry. Even if your talent isn¡¯t as good as mine, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, you¡¯re still not bad, and I¡¯ll happily give you a hand."

    "I was barely able to fight against four Semi-Progenitors. I couldn¡¯te close to defeating them," Lu Yin continued.

    Big Sis again sighed in admiration. "That''s pretty good. All of the Envoys in history who were able to cross realms to challenge Semi-Progenitors were at least six-tribtion powerhouses. You¡¯re doing pretty well if you can challenge a Semi-Progenitor after just three trib- Wait a minute¡­"

    Big Sis¡¯s eyebrows rose high as she focused sharply on Lu Yin. "Repeat what you just said."

    Lu Yin smiled in an embarrassed manner. "I was barely able to fight against four Semi-Progenitors. I don¡¯t think I can beat that many."

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed sharply as she red at Lu Yin. "Did you just say ¡®Semi-Progenitor?¡¯"

    "Mm-hmm."

    "Four of them?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "You fought four Semi-Progenitors?"

    "Yep."

    "Bullshit!" Big Sis let out a furious roar as she red at Lu Yin. "Alright, Little Seven, you dare to y pranks on me now? You fought four Semi-Progenitors? Then there shouldn¡¯t be any problem facing one, right? Then you can have a match with me, right?"

    Lu Yin instantly realized that he had gone too far with his bragging to Big Sis, and he quickly tried to backpedal. "Of course not! I might have fought four Semi-Progenitors, but they all just overpowered me and beat me up. I was never even able to face a single one of them one-on-one."

    At this moment, not even a threat of death would be able to force Lu Yin to admit that not only had he suppressed a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, he had also killed a Semi-Progenitor, and one from one of the four ruling powers at that. The Wang family did not have average Semi-Progenitors among their numbers.

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin with a great deal of suspicion. "Are you trying to show off?"

    Lu Yin forced out a nervousugh. "Of course not! Absolutely not. I could never actually beat a single Semi-Progenitor. I just barely managed to survive when the four of them were attacking me."

    Big Sis answered with a contemptuous snort. "You¡¯d better not get a big head in front of me, or else I¡¯ll skin you alive."

    The corner of Lu Yin''s mouth twitched. "I wouldn¡¯t dare."

    "Humph!" Big Sis raised her head to try to look down on Lu Yin. "While you¡¯re clearly not as good as me, you¡¯re just barely eptable. At least it wasn¡¯t easy for them to pick on you over there."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. "Those things will be settled soon enough."

    Big Sis¡¯s voice grew chilly. "Stall for a while, and I¡¯ll do my best to recover my strength. Once I do, I¡¯ll take you back there to fight them. What kind of shit are these four ruling powers? What kind of trash is this Celestial Frost Sect? Progenitor Y¨­u Ming will overpower all of them! There¡¯s no one in this current era who canpare to me, so just do as you¡¯re told and make a list for me. You don¡¯t need to worry about anything after that.¡±

    Big Sis¡¯s words warmed Lu Yin¡¯s heart. "I understand."

    "This isn¡¯t a joke! Hurry up and get me that list, but don¡¯t bother mentioning anyone who isn¡¯t at least a Semi-Progenitor, as it will just be a waste of paper." As Big Sis was speaking, she raised a hand, showing Lu Yin that she was holding a broken weapon.

    "What¡¯s that?" Lu Yin stared at the image of the broken weapon that Big Sis was showing him.

    "The weapon that you use with that God of Death Transformation should be the God of Death¡¯s weapon," Big Sis stated. She was holding a broken scythe in her hands. It was really just half of a pole, and the de was also broken off. It could really only be considered a one-handed sickle rather than a full scythe.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Where did you find that?"

    "Some poor bastard who was controlled by the Impious Sutra visited Burial Garden once, and he managed to get this out of there and keep it hidden. I happened to find him when I was searching for traces of the Impious Sutra, and the guy actually tried to fight back with this thing. Even though it¡¯spletely broken, I felt danger from it, and I was forced to suppress the Impious Sutra itself to keep the man from attacking me. I have no idea what sort of situation I would have ended up in if I had let the guy actually use this thing.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly asked, "What was that person¡¯s cultivation?"

    "He was a Hunter."

    This was startling, as it meant that Big Sis had felt danger from a mere Hunter, which meant that the threat definitely had note from the man himself. Even Lu Yin had only been able to threaten peak Enlighters as a Hunter, and possibly survive against a one-tribtion Envoy. What sort of strength did Big Sis possess? She had at least been at the level of a six-tribtion powerhouse, and not even the Origin Progenitor himself could have ovee such a massive difference in strength.

    The only possibility was that the broken weapon had posed a danger to Big Sis.

    "There¡¯s a ny-nine percent chance that this thing is the weapon of a Progenitor who cultivated death energy, but there¡¯s a tiny sliver of a chance that it was the God of Death¡¯s own weapon," Big Sis stated very seriously.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, and he pulled out some shards of a broken weapon that he had picked up in Burial Garden from his cosmic ring. He looked back at the broken scythe that Big Sis held. "These are the shards of that broken scythe."

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin, and then raised her left hand to show that she had three weapon fragments as well. They looked quite simr to the ones Lu Yin held, though the shapes were different. "You got those from Burial Garden?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Big Sis stared down at the weapon in her hand. "If you¡¯re right, and all of these are really pieces of this same scythe, then this really is most likely the God of Death¡¯s weapon. Are you happy with my present?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m happy with anything you give me, Big Sis."

    The woman sneered. "Don''t try to give me that crap! I already asked the captain to have all of the pirates search the universe for more fragments, and I also spoke to your Heavens Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor Lu. I don¡¯t know how many of these pieces have been found, but there¡¯s no way that all of the pieces have been found, as there has to be more still in Burial Garden."

    "There¡¯s no need to try to force things. We¡¯ll just gather whatever¡¯s possible."

    "Alright, I¡¯ll have someone deliver it to you."

    "You aren¡¯ting yourself, Big Sis?"

    "What? You want me to deliver your present in person?"

    "It¡¯s not that. I just haven¡¯t seen you in a long time, and I wanted to catch up a bit," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Big Sis sneered, "Your face says you just want to show off! Let me tell you right now, I¡¯ll always be your Big Sis, so you can forget about ever surpassing me, no matter if it¡¯s now or in the future! I¡¯ll send someone to deliver this stuff to you, but that¡¯s it-"

    "Wait! Wait! Big Sis, how¡¯s your search for the Impious Sutra going?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis shook her head. "That¡¯s my business, so you don''t need to worry about it."

    "Wait! One more thing!" Lu Yin quickly stopped Big Sis from hanging up. "What do you know about the Netherworld River?"

    The question puzzled Big Sis. "The Netherworld River? Why are you asking about that? It''s just a power vessel."

    Lu Yin quickly shared what he had learned while in the Perennial World regarding Realmless. "The only way to find Realmless''s real headquarters is if I can track down that Netherworld River."

    Big Sis replied, "Go visit the Y¨­u family, as the Netherworld River is theirs now. Have them help you, but it should be possible to sense the location of that Netherworld River."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    When Lu Yin saw that the call had ended, he lowered his hand, knowing that he would need to wait for a few days.

    He had wanted to immediately go to the Bizarre Sect and absorb more death energy, but Big Sis was sending him that broken scythe. Regardless of whether or not the weapon had once belonged to the God of Death, Lu Yin knew that he should take it with him when he visited the Bizarre Sect, as it might prove useful.

    For the moment, Lu Yin just leaned his head back. He had not felt this rxed in a very long time. Even if he had seemed to do little most of his time in the Perennial World, he had actually been on edge the entire time, worried that he would be discovered by some Progenitor who would crush him like a bug.

 Chapter 2310: Feelings Of Hatred

    <h4>Chapter 2310: Feelings Of Hatred</h4>

    Staring out at the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin did not want to work on anything for the moment. He just wanted to enjoy some personal time.

    "Ah, you¡¯ve returned, Your Highness?" Zhao Ran was delighted to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Zhao Ran and smiled. "Yes, I''m back."

    "I''ll make you some herbal tea!" The seemingly young woman happily ran away.

    Lu Yin blinked, instantly regretting visiting his quarters in the Heavens Sect. It took courage to drink any of Zhao Ran''s concoctions.

    It was also more difficult to summon the necessary courage unapanied. In that case, Lu Yin needed a drinkingpanion.

    With that, Zenith Mountain was brought out, and Lu Yin released Bai Teng.

    The man appeared a short ways away from Lu Yin, and he instantly noticed the young man. A cold hatred blossomed in the depths of the sect master¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin had never revealed his true identity to Bai Teng in the Perennial World, and he had instead adopted the identity of a powerhouse who had been hired by the Dealcut Association to extract the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s portion of the restriction ced on the members of Star Alliance. If Bai Teng had known Lu Yin¡¯s true identity at that time, Lu Yin would have never received the restriction method.

    "Do you want revenge for Bai Shaohong?" Lu Yin stared at the man before him as he slowly asked a question.

    Bai Teng''s eyes grew even colder. "What are you going to do?"

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Bai Teng. "You don''t seem like someone who holds familial affection in high regard."

    Bai Teng clenched his fists, but he quickly rxed his hands again. He was not Lu Yin''s opponent. That was very clear to the man after he had learned about many of the recent developments in the Perennial World, such as the fact that Lu Yin had easily suppressed Wang Zheng and even killed Wang Si. Lu Yin¡¯s current strength was clearly terrifying, and Bai Teng refused to do anything unless he was confident in the chances.

    Lu Yin turned around as he looked at the other man. "Have a seat. Let¡¯s talk."

    Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before finally sitting down at the table across from the young man.

    It was at this moment that Zhao Ran returned, and she discovered Bai Teng¡¯s presence. "Ah, a guest! I¡¯ll go prepare another drink."

    She then immediately turned and fled.

    Bai Teng was still staring at Lu Yin. "Are we in the Forsaken Land?"

    "We¡¯re in the Fifth Maind, our homnd," Lu Yin answered tly.

    "Why did you bring me out?"

    "Would you believe me if I said that I was bored and thought of you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Teng gave Lu Yin a t stare. "You¡¯re quite resourceful."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I don''t have the backing of your four ruling powers, let alone your daughter."

    "What exactly is it that you want?" Bai Teng asked.

    "Right now, thest vestiges of civility between me and the four ruling powers have been torn away. I¡¯ve already captured the entire army sent to hunt me down, and with Porgenitor Chen¡¯s power at my disposal, are you really confident about challenging me here?"

    Bai Teng retorted coldly, "Bai Wangyuan, my Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitor, is also one of the famous masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. You are merely relying on Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, not Progenitor Chen himself. When our ancestor arrives, you have no chance of survival."

    Lu Yin nodded. "See? That''s where youe in."

    "You n to use us as hostages?" Bai Teng asked testily.

    "Why else would I keep you all as my captives?"

    Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin. The sect master really wanted to attack this youth. After all, Bai Teng was well aware that, if it came to a choice between him and Lu Xaioxuan, the Celestial Frost Sect would abandon him without any hesitation. Rather than being used as a hostage to threaten the four ruling powers, Bai Teng felt that taking a risk was the better option. After all, even if Bai Teng made it back to the Perennial World alive, he would never be able to hold his head up again.

    After a period of silence, Zhao Ran returned with two cups of herbal tea.

    Lu Yin could not help but look over to check thetest beverages, as he was quite curious to see just what Zhao Ran had recentlye up with.

    Just a nce had Lu Yin¡¯s brows climbing high. How was he supposed to react to this? It was clear that Zhao Ran¡¯s ¡°teas¡± were getting increasingly absurd. In the past, the teas had merely looked poisonous, but Lu Yin was staring at a full-blown swamp! The tea was bubbling, and there was clearly something swimming in the cup. This was not something that should ever be drunk.

    Zhao Ran set the two cups of herbal tea before Lu Yin and Bai Teng. "Your Highness, do you like it?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, and for a moment, he felt that Bai Teng was an insignificant threatpared to this cup of tea. In fact, the two were nowhere close to beingparable.

    As for Bai Teng, who had been considering whether to attack, he became distracted by the cup that had been set down in front of him. His eyes grew wider and wider. What is this?

    He reflexively nced over at Zhao Ran, and then towards Lu Yin. The sect master¡¯s eyes were filled with questions. Was he not intended to be used as a hostage? Then why poison him? Bai Teng¡¯s thoughts were a perfect mirror of what Elder Qing Xing had thought when he had apanied Lu Yin for tea. Both men believed that they were being served poison, but why was there a matching cup in front of Lu Xiaoxuan?

    There were no schemes or plots in Zhao Ran¡¯s heart, and she simply blinked as she stared at Lu Yin with high expectations.

    Lu Yin looked across the table and stared at Bai Teng. "Let¡¯s have a drink, Sect Master Bai."

    Bai Teng stared back at Lu Yin. "You don''t want me as your hostage any longer?"

    "You were just thinking about attacking me, which proves that you aren¡¯t certain that you qualify to be treated as a hostage. This makes me quite curious, given how impressive your daughter is." Lu Yin gazed at Bai Teng with great interest. He did not mind hearing an exnation, as he was more than willing to listen to Bai Teng''s story.

    The moment Bai Xian''er was mentioned, Bai Teng''s expression grew darker, and he grew contemptuous. "Impressive daughter? So what?"

    He stared at Lu Yin. "There are people who naturally don¡¯t possess a spec of humanity to them! That girl has felt nothing for her family ever since she was a child, but she¡¯s good at keeping it hidden. She knows how to act like she respects me as her father, and she knows how to be filial and respectful towards teachers and elders. However, I know full well that she has never once felt even the slightest hint of respect for any other human, and that includes even you, Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    Bai Teng continued, "You truly believed that she loved you back then, but you werepletely wrong. She doesn¡¯t possess any emotions at all, so she can¡¯t fall in love with anyone. You are too naive, and your Lu family was no different. Even the Celestial Frost Sect is too naive when ites to her. She''s different from normal people, and she can¡¯t even be considered human at all."

    "Would it be too much for me to say that it sounds like your daughter has hurt you?" Bai Teng¡¯s reaction was incredibly surprising. While Lu Yin absolutely hated Bai Xian''er, he had not expected to discover that Bai Teng might possibly hate the woman even more than Lu Yin.

    Bai Teng closed his eyes. "She and I might as well be from two different worlds. I can¡¯t truly be considered her father, nor she my daughter."

    Lu Yin had actually brought Bai Teng out instead of anyone else because he had hoped to learn more about Bai Xian''er from the sect master. But upon hearing Bai Teng¡¯s vehemence, it seemed that it would be impossible for Lu Yin to reach his goal. Bai Teng felt only one emotion when it came to Bai Xian¡¯er: hatred. There was no room for any other emotions.

    "I seem to recall that you previously threatened me with your daughter, telling me that Bai Xian''er could find me with a book and avenge you. So that was a lie?" Lu Yin asked casually.

    Bai Teng replied, "It wasn¡¯t a lie. Alive, I mean nothing to her, but she will absolutely avenge me if I die. That opportunity makes me more valuable to her dead than alive."

    "Why do you hate her so much?"

    Bai Teng fellpletely silent. He stared at the cup of tea before him and refused to give any answer at all.

    "Regardless of how bad your rtionship with Bai Xian''er might be, the Celestial Frost Sect doesn''t seem to know about it. Using you as a hostage should let me save several more of the surviving vassals of my Lu family," Lu Yinmented.

    Bai Teng sneered. "Possibly."

    He no longer had any intention of trying to attack. Lu Yin had already noticed Bai Teng¡¯s intentions, which meant that any attack heunched would be pointless.

    Lu Yin proceeded to chat with Bai Teng for a while, but he was unable to learn anything more about Bai Xian''er.

    Bai Teng hated Bai Xian''er, and this inexplicable hatred roused Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity, but the man also hated Lu Yin for killing his only son.

    Bai Teng was publicly proud of Bai Xian''er, but he secretly hated the woman. Bai Shaohong had been the only person whom Bai Teng had truly cared for, which meant that Bai Shaohong''s death had be a trauma that Bai Teng would never be able to ovee. No matter how much the man might hate Bai Xian¡¯er, he would never allow Lu Yin to gain any advantage through himself.

    Bai Teng could clearly see Lu Yin''s motivation in speaking with him; the youth wanted to learn more about Bai Xian''er. Thus, Bai Teng deliberately said nothing.

    "Your Highness, your tea is getting cold," Zhao Ran said through pursed lips while eagerly staring at Lu Yin. She put a great deal of thought and effort into preparing her teas.

    Lu Yin gulped as he looked down at the tea on the table in front of himself. "Have a drink, Sect Master Bai."

    Bai Teng stared at Lu Yin, raised his cup, and then swallowed the entire contents in one go. At this point in time, Bai Teng was aware that Lu Yin fully controlled his life or death.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as he grabbed his own teacup and carefully took a sip. It was both cool and sweet as it ran down his throat. There was a softness to the taste, which made it the first time Lu Yin had sampled any tea with a soft taste. It was both novel and delicious in taste. "Very nice."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled at the response. "If you would like more, I¡¯ll go make some more right away!"

    As Lu Yin smiled and watched Zhao Ran run away, he found that he could not help himself from taking another sip of the tea. "It really is very good."

    Bai Teng frowned. "It isn¡¯t poison?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Of course not! Why would I drink it myself if it were? Sect Master Bai, head on back for now and consider your own value. I''m not opposed to negotiations, and as long as you provide something of sufficient value, I have no true objection to letting you go.

    "That¡¯s because you can never pose a threat to me!" As Lu Yin finished speaking, his eyes grew hard as he fixed a cold stare at Bai Teng.

    The sect master¡¯s eyes flickered with hatred as Lu Yin sent him back into Zenith Mountain.

    Lu Yin then released Long Xi, Elder Qing Xing, Wen Diyi, Liu Hao, and Wang Dashuai from Zenith Mountain, as there was no longer any reason to keep them held prisoner. All of them could be set free, though everyone else needed to remain imprisoned.

    As for Sapling, it came out along with everyone else.

    As soon as the people appeared, Sapling instantly shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hugged Sapling whileughing.

    Everyone else looked around.

    Long Xi and Elder Qing Xing were not surprised by their surroundings, as they had been asionally released from Zenith Mountain. However, this was Wen Diyi and Liu Hao¡¯s first time out of Zenith Mountain. They had been held captive for decades, and they nced at each other with bitter expressions.

    "I¡¯m sorry, but things weren¡¯t stable before, so I couldn¡¯t let you go. You¡¯re now free," Lu Yin told everyone while holding onto Sapling.

    Wang Dashuai let out a sigh of relief upon learning that he was free. He had expected to remain a prisoner for a very long time.

    Wen Diyi asked, "How are things in the Perennial World?"

    Lu Yin shared a brief summary of recent events.

    Wen Diyi was quite surprised. "You not only visited Virtue Archives, but you also became one of the instructors?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "However, Virtue Archives is no longer what it once was. You need to prepare yourself for the changes that have taken ce."

    Wen Diyi just shrugged. "We¡¯ve been expecting that to happen ever since the Lu family was exiled. This isn¡¯t any surprise."

    "Even if you¡¯re releasing us now, where can we even go?" Liu Hao muttered to himself. None of them had any knowledge of the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked over. "For you, I¡¯d suggest that you go visit the Sword Sect. It was founded by your Liu family here, and they have the Thirteen Swords."

    Long ago, the Sword Sect had promised to help Lu Yin drive the Astral Beast Domain out of the Outerverse and past Ironblood Weave. There had been an agreement that Lu Yin would give the sect Liu Hao, but surprisingly, the Sword Sect had never dared to remind Lu Yin of the agreement even after he procrastinated.

    Liu Hao looked towards the Innerverse for a moment before leaving.

    Lu Yin looked over at Wen Diyi next. "The Wen family will always wee you."

    Wen Diyi nodded. "The war between you and the four ruling powers should soon erupt, and while I understand that my status doesn¡¯t qualify me to have any opinion on this matter, I hope to see that the Aeternals are not the ones ultimately reaping the benefits. Even if you add in the strength of my Virtue Archives along with the Liu and Nong families, it still might not be enough to stand up to the four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin answered quietly, "That¡¯s your perception of things, but not mine."

    Wen Diyi had no choice but to turn and leave.

 Chapter 2311: An Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 2311: An Opportunity</h4>

    Wang Dashuai truly had nowhere to go, so he ended up just staying in the Heavens Sect.

    As for Long Xi, she wanted to stay with Sapling, which made things a bit difficult for Lu Yin. "Sapling¡¯s going to be staying here for a while and absorbing stellr energy, but you¡¯re wee to stay if you want."

    He understood what Long Xi was thinking, but he was not Lu Xiaoxuan; he was Lu Yin.

    "Where''s my father?" Long Xi asked.

    "Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s safe."

    Long Xi nodded and said nothing more.

    She felt quite close to Sapling, as Long Xi had been taking care of it during its entire time on Zenith Mountain.

    A short whileter, a bit of stellr energy was pulled towards the Heavens Sect.

    Many people felt it, and they knew that the Dao Chosen had resumed stealing stellr energy back from the mysterious droplets.

    There were very, very few who were aware that Sapling was actually the one seizing back the stellr energy.

    For a short while, Lu Yin spent his time enjoying tea while rxing in the Heavens Sect as he waited for the broken scythe from Big Sis to be delivered. Long Xi apanied Lu Yin whenever he drank tea.

    After half a month, the broken scythe and the shards of the weapon were finally delivered to Lu Yin.

    The moment Lu Yin held the weapon in his hands, the ck and white halves of the yin-yang symbol that were part of the power in his chest started to twitch crazily. Then, death energy was pulled from his body into the broken scythe, seemingly absorbed. Lu Yin instantly pulled his hand back, as there was very little death energy remaining in his body. Still, the fact that the broken weapon was able to control the death energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body suggested that it might really have been the God of Death¡¯s weapon.

    With this thought, Lu Yin immediately left the Heavens Sect and went to visit the ruins of the Bizarre Sect in the pocket dimension that was hidden on Aegis.

    As soon as he arrived at the, Lu Yin went to the hidden stone, touched it with a hand, and entered the pocket dimension.

    He looked up at the ck sun that hung high in the sky. It was much smaller than when he had first seen it. It was clear that it did not hold an infinite amount of death energy.

    Lu Yin did not take the scythe out right away, as he first ascended into the sky by himself to absorb death energy.

    A stream of death energy soon formed a line that split the sky, connecting Lu Yin¡¯s chest to the ck star.

    It had been about a year since he hadst visited this ce and absorbed death energy, and while he had induced a torrent of death energy to enter his body, it was nothingpared to what Lu Yin triggered this time.

    During hisst visit, he had seen the God of Death and learned the Death Seal, and this time, Lu Yin saw the ancient powerhouse once again. The man was sitting alone, his scythe beside him.

    This time, Lu Yin focused on the scythe instead of the man. He stared more and more intently, and the longer he stared, the more convinced he became that the broken weapon he had received looked almost perfectly identical to the God of Death¡¯s weapon. Could it really be the same weapon?

    Who could possibly shatter the God of Death¡¯s scythe?

    The ck flood of death energy continued to pour into Lu Yin''s chest without any end in sight. The ck and white shapes in his chest had already nearly doubled in size, which exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. His cultivation clearly had not improved much since his previous visit, so why were the two parts of the yin-yang symbol growing so much?

    The growth of the ck and white shapes caused the power in Lu Yin¡¯s chest to also expand to amodate the increased amount of death energy.

    The ck star visibly shrank. It had already shrunk by nearly a fifth.

    While shrinking by a fifth did not sound like much, it was a massive amount of death energy. After all, this was something that the God of Death had left behind, and, if Lu Yin¡¯s guess was correct, then absorbing the full ck sun should have been enough to allow a person to reach the Progenitor level.

    Absorbing one-fifth of the ck star meant that Lu Yin had basically absorbed the energy reserves of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The torrent of ck energy slowly shrank, and the ck and white symbols inside Lu Yin¡¯s chest resumed revolving around the power contained within his chest, far more distinct and impressive than they had been before.

    Since his body was unable to absorb any more death energy, Lu Yin pulled out the broken scythe. The ck star quivered for a moment, and then a flood of death energy thatpletely outstripped what had poured into Lu Yin appeared as death energy surged into the broken scythe. Lu Yin was holding the scythe, and the weapon not only absorbed death energy from the ck star, but also pulled it out of Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin could not understand how the broken weapon could absorb so much death energy.

    As the insane amount of death energy flooded into the broken weapon, Lu Yin could see that its corroded surface was starting to recover. He pulled out the weapon shards that he had received from Big Sis, as well as the ones he had found in Burial Garden. Lu Yin had a total of eight shards.

    The moment the broken fragments appeared, they all floated over, pulled towards where the broken scythe¡¯s de would be by the death energy. The shards formed a ck line that merged with the broken de, and the scythe¡¯s de extended slightly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew wide, as it had be clear that the weapon could be fixed. This was incredibly exciting, and it suggested that Lu Yin really did hold the God of Death¡¯s weapon, and the weapon could also be repaired with more of the weapon shards.

    The God of Death''s weapon was the tool of one of the most powerful Progenitors to ever live.

    An aura swept through space, the force of which almost knocked Lu Yin to the ground. The broken scythe floated out of his grip and drifted into the sky in front of him. A vague figure appeared next to the scythe and slowly grew increasingly distinct. It was the God of Death.

    Lu Yin stared at the God of Death, and the ancient Progenitor stared back at him. The man opened his mouth and began to speak: "Im-mem-or-i-al Cit-a-del."

    Immemorial Citadel? Lu Yin was startled, as this was yet another mention of the Immemorial Citadel that Mister Mu had mentioned.

    Lu Yin stared at the God of Death. The man was still talking, but Lu Yin was unable to hear a single word.

    The God of Death was clearly speaking, using the help of his weapon to share some final message, but Lu Yin could not hear a single word. He started to grow anxious, but then finally remembered that he also had the God of Death¡¯s left arm. Hurriedly, he took the bones out of his cosmic ring.

    The moment Lu Yin took out the arm, another surge of death energy erupted from the ck star, but this time, the surge flooded into the left arm. Finally, Lu Yin was able to hear the God of Death¡¯sst two words: floating coffin.

    The God of Death¡¯s image disappeared from next to the broken scythe. Lu Yin stepped forward and grabbed hold of the weapon, but the image did not return. The God of Death had said something between appearing and disappearing, but Lu Yin had only heard the first andst words: Immemorial Citadel and floating coffin, respectively. He had not heard a single bit of the middle part.

    That was a true pity. Also, was the God of Death actually dead or not? If he was still alive, then where was he? Had the images that Lu Yin had seen been nothing more than phantoms left from the ancient past, or had the God of Death been purposely trying tomunicate with Lu Yin across time and space with the help of his broken weapon? Lu Yin could not unravel the truth. His left hand still held the God of Death¡¯s left arm, while his right hand held the broken scythe. As Lu Yin stood in the sky, the ck star grew smaller and smaller. Finally, it disappeared entirely.

    The moment the ck star disappeared, the remnants of the Bizarre Sect shattered into specks that floated away.

    Lu Yin stared around, but the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins werepletely gone.

    The ck star had disappeared, which meant that there was no more death energy for Lu Yin to use to replenish his own reserves.

    Well, at least not in the Outerverse, though there was still death energy in other locations. Would the God of Death¡¯s left arm and broken scythe allow Lu Yin to hear the God of Death¡¯s words again?

    Considering it, Lu Yin felt that such a thing might just be possible.

    Immemorial Citadel. Hanging coffin. What had the God of Death been trying to say? Was there a connection between ¡°Immemorial Citadel¡± and ¡°floating coffin?¡± What did ¡°floating coffin¡± even mean?

    Lu Yin left the pocket dimension. He would never return to the ce again.

    After ncing around, he started moving towards Gaia''s Swamp. He wanted to see if the arm and the scythe would allow him to hear more of the God of Death¡¯s message.

    However, the moment Lu Yin started to leave, a pair of dark and heavy eyes appeared before him. There were three ovepping lines that formed a star-like pattern, and as soon as the lines appeared, Lu Yin was trapped in the triangle formed by the lines, and the void around him waspletely sealed off. Lu Yin could only sense the empty triangle in the middle of the three lines.

    The sudden turn of events badly startled Lu Yin. "ckless God?"

    Indeed, one of the Seven Skygods, ckless God, had appeared to pay Lu Yin a visit. This was the first of the Skygods that Lu Yin had evere into contact with.

    ckless God stepped out of the void and directed an intense stare towards Lu Yin for a moment. "We meet again, Mr. Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin stared back at the familiar figure. "You really like showing yourself in front of me, don¡¯t you, ckless God?"

    The Skygod remained calm as he gazed at Lu Yin. "I don¡¯t have any intention of attacking you, so can you at least give me a chance to finish speaking?"

    "Fine. Talk," Lu Yin replied. As long as he was in the Fifth Maind, the only way that anyone could be Lu Yin¡¯s opponent was if they surpassed Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. While Lu Yin did not know if the Seven Skygods''s true bodies were more powerful than Progenitor Chen, it was impossible for their Semi-Progenitor avatars to possess that level of strength.

    Lu Yin was invincible within the Fifth Maind.

    "I remember the first time that we met. Back then, you were preparing to unite the Outerverse, Mr. Lu Yin, and we offered to cooperate with you under the condition that you act as the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s representative in this ce. Can you still remember that time?" ckless God spoke slowly.

    Lu Yinughed. "Why bring that up now? You don''t still want to cooperate with me, do you?"

    "Of course. Given your status and strength, why would we not want to work with you?" ckless God answered as though it were perfectly natural.

    The corners of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth were pulled up into a smile. "Interesting. In that case, what are you offering that I would be interested in?"

    "We offer you the same condition as before: be our representative. However, if you ept, you will be the sole representative for the Neohuman Alliance in this universe," ckless God stated.

    Anyone who heard ckless God''s offer would think him insane. Lu Yin was the unquestionable ruler of the Fifth Maind, and he had numerous Semi-Progenitors under hismand. There was no one who dared to disobey one of Lu Yin¡¯s orders, so why did ckless God want Lu Yin to be the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s representative? Lu Yin did not believe that ckless God was insane, so there had to be some logic behind this offer.

    The Seven Skygods were not fools, and even a fool would have their own understanding of the universe. While ckless God might believe humans to be foolish, the true idiots were those who treated others as stupid.

    The fact that ckless God had presented this offer to Lu Yin indicated that he was fully confident that Aeternus would be able to win back the Fifth Maind.

    "Your offer is extremely conditional, and it¡¯s based on the premise that you will be able to win back control of the Fifth Maind. Are you really confident in being able to do that?" Lu Yin countered.

    ckless God indifferently answered, "The Origin Progenitor himself was alive during the Heavens Sect era, and humanity stood at the pinnacle of the universe. The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas ruled every direction. One powerful Progenitor after another rose to power, but we still defeated the entire Heavens Sect and forced humanity to the verge of extinction as we destroyed one Maind after another."

    "If you really are so capable, then the Perennial World would have neversted for as long as it has," Lu Yin retorted.

    ckless God stared at Lu Yin with a heaviness in his eyes. "I don''t agree with Shaman God''s n. I told you the first time we met that I hate meaningless ughter. It does nothing but create panic. Without any outside interference, Mr. Lu Xiaoxuan''s identity will invariably cause a war with the four ruling powers. However, if your history is examined, then it¡¯s clear that you are not an impulsive person.¡±

    "I believe that you have already been searching for a way to deal with Shaman God''s plot, and if that is true, then it would be better to simply recruit you to join us."

    "But you aren¡¯t able to offer me anything that actually attracts me," Lu Yin shot back.

    "Humanity will eventually die, and a new civilization will arise. This is simply part of a cycle, an endless, eternal cycle, and no one can change it. However, you have a chance to escape from this cycle, and I can give you that chance. Come find me after you learn the truth of the universe. I will save this chance for you for 100,000 years."

    The ovepping lines started to burn, and Lu Yin grew terrified that he was about to be incinerated. He reflexively essed Progenitor Chen¡¯s power and used Star Stomp, causing the stars behind ckless God to explode, destroying the body of the Semi-Progenitor avatar.

    The burning ck lines vanished.

 Chapter 2312: A Huge Fish

    <h4>Chapter 2312: A Huge Fish</h4>

    Lu Yin remained standing in outer space, staring at the ce where ckless God¡¯s avatar had been destroyed. An offer that would stand for 100,000 years? A chance to escape the endless cycle? What did this mean?

    What was the truth of the universe?

    Lu Yin wanted to know more and understand.

    Only by bing a Progenitor could he learn all the secrets that he craved to understand!

    After pondering such things for a moment, Lu Yin resumed his journey to Gaia''s Swamp. It was possible that the God of Death was the only way for Lu Yin to learn the truth.

    Lu Yin traveled very quickly, moving through the void with his void god domain. It did not take long for him to see Gaia''s Swamp up in front of him.

    Upon seeing the death energy that filled the swamp, Lu Yin rushed forward while taking out the broken scythe and the God of Death¡¯s left arm.

    Unfortunately, nothing happened.

    He felt disappointed, but apparently, both the arm and the scythe werepletely saturated with death energy, which meant that Lu Yin would not be able to use them to trigger another vision of the God of Death.

    A massive figure approached Lu Yin from afar, and he saw that it was the Warden.

    The Warden saw that Lu Yin was the person visiting Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and the colossal giant offered a respectful bow. "Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin nodded. When Jue Yi had forcibly upied Gaia''s Swamp and brought the Specter n with him, the Warden had been treated as a prison within Gaia¡¯s Swamp. Lu Yin had ultimately saved the Warden and freed him.

    After everything that had happened with Tian Dou, Lu Yin had sent Jue Yi to the Astral Beast Domain, and Arch-Elder Zen had sent the Warden back to Gaia¡¯s Swamp to keep an eye on the members of the Specter n who had been found innocent after an investigation. At the moment, the Warden was once again in charge of Gaia¡¯s Swamp. With Tian Dou dead and anointed as one of Lu Yin¡¯s champions and Tong Yu stuck in the Perennial World, there was no one in the Specter n who was close to matching the Warden¡¯s strength.

    In addition to the Warden, there was also L¨¸ Cha. Jue Yi had forcibly used death energy to transform the woman¡¯s body, and she could be considered a pure-blooded member of the Specter n now. Despite that, she hated the Specter n, and she hated Jue Yi even more.

    Finally, Lord Piggy was still around.

    As soon as Lord Piggy saw Lu Yin approaching, he dived into the swamp and did not dare to show himself. All that could be seen was his little tail sticking out.

    "We greet the Dao Chosen." A group consisting of Specter n members and former guards of Gaia''s Swamp greeted Lu Yin and bowed.

    "Be at ease," Lu Yin stated. He looked over at the Warden. "Has Jue Yi recently returned at all?"

    "He has not."

    Lu Yin nodded, and then he looked at a huge castle that stood in the distance. He could not hold back augh. "You rebuilt it! You seem to really like that building style.¡±

    He then stepped forward, moving past the Warden, and appearing within the castle in an instant.

    The Warden could not even see how Lu Yin had moved past him. How long had it been since the Warden had first met the young man? It could not be more than a few decades at most, and yet the Warden felt that Lu Yin had moved so far ahead that he could no longer even see the youth¡¯s back.

    The Warden was reminded of Lu Yin¡¯s first visit to Gaia''s Swamp and of how he had asked for help improving his battle force. This had led to the Warden personally beating Lu Yin for some time. The Warden no longer dared to even consider Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength. After all, even his mount had the strength of a Progenitor.

    Progenitor¡­ It was a word that intimidated all who heard it. The Warden did not even dare to dream of reaching such a level, and yet Lu Yin had such a powerful creature as his mount!

    Anyone who considered this matter would feel as though Lu Yin waspletely invincible.

    Inside the castle, Lu Yin was sitting quietly with L¨¸ Cha standing beside him. Regardless of L¨¸ Cha¡¯s personal feelings regarding Lu Yin, she maintained a very respectful attitude toward him.

    The Warden also entered the castle, though he did not know why Lu Yin was there.

    "Come, have a seat." Lu Yin took out some wine. "This is what I offered to share with youst time."

    In the past, the Warden hadughed with Lu Yin, and they casually swore during their conversations. Overall, the giant had been veryid back and casual, and he had even been willing to beat Lu Yin with aurelian force to help him train. However, although the wine and the location were the same, the Warden did not reveal the same level of familiarity as before.

    Lu Yin smiled as he poured some wine for the Warden.

    The giant automatically drank the offered wine.

    "Does it taste the same asst time?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Warden nodded, despite the fact that he had not been able to taste anything at all.

    "Have you ever gotten in touch with the Giants Army¡¯s colossal giants?" Lu Yin suddenly asked while looking up at the Warden.

    "No."

    Lu Yin did not press the issue. Everyone had their own personal matters, and it was possible that the Warden regarded himself as the only true colossal giant.

    "Progenitor Chen''s blood allowed you to be the only individual in the entire Fifth Maind who managed to achieve aurelian force with your battle force, but things have changed recently, and aurelian force is no longer the peak of battle force. You¡¯ve been left behind, and you can¡¯t keep up with the current times," Lu Yin bluntly pointed out.

    The Warden responded quietly, "The changing times do not matter to me. All I want to do is protect Gaia''s Swamp."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You can¡¯t protect Gaia''s Swamp. How can you protect anything if you encounter someone like Jue Yi again?"

    L¨¸ Cha cut in. "With the Dao Chosen ruling our universe, such a thing will never happen again."

    Lu Yinughed, and he looked over at L¨¸ Cha. "You¡¯ve changed. You aren¡¯t as cold as before."

    L¨¸ Cha remained silent.

    Lu Yin took out a bottle of Progenitor Chen''s blood from his cosmic ring, and he immediately opened it. An invisible pressure descended upon all of Gaia''s Swamp, though the person most strongly affected was the Warden, as his blood started boiling. He felt like he had lost control of his own body.

    He stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered as he caused the blood to leave the bottle and fly towards the Warden. The giant instinctively absorbed the blood, causing his body to flush red and start to steam. The Cosmic Sea itself trembled as a wave of pressure swept towards the Innerverse.

    Everyone in Gaia''s Swamp was badly startled.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Warden to have such a powerful reaction, but it was exactly what he had wanted to see. After all, Lu Yin had not visited Gaia¡¯s Swamp only hoping to see the God of Death again. He had also wanted to see the Warden.

    Lu Yin had recently remembered that, while he needed blood with traces of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood to Enhance, that did not mean that Lu Yin had to use Ku Wei''s blood. Other people who had absorbed Progenitor Chen''s blood would also work, and while the Giants Army was not an ideal option, given the fact that their bloodline was far more diluted, the Warden was different. He had also absorbed Progenitor Chen''s blood before, and when it came to matters of purity, it was possible that the Warden¡¯s blood was at leastparable to Ku Wei¡¯s.

    Ku Wei was only so big, and he could only produce so much blood, but the Warden was different. He was a true colossal giant, and he possessed enough blood to form an entire river.

    This was one of the primary reasons for Lu Yin¡¯s visit.

    As Lu Yin watched the Warden¡¯s various changes, he took L¨¸ Cha away from the castle. Lu Yin had no idea how much the Warden¡¯s strength would rise, or how muchrger he would grow, but Lu Yin was eager to find out.

    L¨¸ Cha was confused by the entire matter. "Dao Chosen, what is this?"

    "It''s fine. He¡¯s just getting a boost to his strength," Lu Yin answered casually.

    Some distance away, Lord Piggy nced up at the castle, only to quickly burrow down into the swamp again, terrified. The Warden had been forced into such a miserable condition as soon as that man had returned to Gaia¡¯s Swamp, and Lord Piggy could absolutely not see him! Never again! He was too scary!

    A roar exploded in the sky high above Gaia''s Swamp, and the churning power forced the void back in a manner that could be seen by the naked eye. The castle almost instantly shattered, as the Warden was quickly growing. 70,000 meters. 100,000 meters. 120,000 meters¡­ Finally, he stopped at 150,000 meters.

    During the entire time the Warden was growing, hisbat strength was also rising. Unfortunately, with the true universe depleted of all stellr energy, the Warden¡¯s cultivation could not improve, and it was impossible for him to face any of the corresponding stellr tribtions. Despite the incredible rise in strength and size, the Warden¡¯s stellr energy cultivation had not changed, which meant that the difference would not be overly impressive.

    Just as this thought urred to Lu Yin, the Warden¡¯s body became visible, and roiling battle force covered the giant¡¯s entire body. It continued to spike and surge, constantly burning the void.

    It was clearly aurelian force.

    In the past, the Warden¡¯s aurelian force had been able to epass an area within 100 miles of the Warden¡¯s body, but the range started increasing and expanding. It soon reached 500 miles away from the Warden, then 1,000 and 5,000. Finally, it stopped expanding when it had spread out to epass everything within 10,000 miles of the Warden. This was the new limit to his strength.

    His battle force had grown much, much stronger.

    The Warden grew increasingly excited as he felt the massive increase in strength of his aurelian force. He could not resist looking down at Lu Yin, and at that moment, Lu Yin was also looking up at the Warden as well. Their eyes met, and the Warden felt a cold sh. It felt as though someone else was holding his life in their hands.

    It was clear that Lu Yin was only a three-tribtion Envoy, so why was he so terrifying?

    "Congrattions on a sessful breakthrough. As long as the true universe recovers, you¡¯ll reach a power level of at least a million," Lu Yinplimented the giant.

    The Warden released a pent up breath, and then his body started to shrink until he reached the same size as before. He then offered Lu Yin a very respectful bow. "I only seeded thanks to the Dao Chosen."

    "Do you know whose blood that was?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Progenitor Chen''s."

    "That''s right. I gave you Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood, which allowed your strength to rise tremendously. Shouldn¡¯t you offer me some sort ofpensation?" Lu Yin gently prodded.

    The Warden felt terribly puzzled. "What do I possess that the Dao Chosen would be interested in?"

    Lu Yin just smiled.

    Lu Yin soon appeared outside Gaia''s Swamp, a satisfied expression on his face.

    The Warden had provided Lu Yin with a great deal of blood. Given the size of the colossal giant, and the fact that he had literal rivers of blood, Lu Yin should have more than enough to serve his purposes, even if Enhancing the blood did reduce the quantity by a significant amount.

    He needed to gather enough of Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood to be able to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    His next task was to visit the Astral River in order to see if he could dig up a good amount of pyrolyte from the bottom.

    Naturally, this was not something that Lu Yin could aplish on his own. If he was going to excavate the bottom of the Astral River, he needed to dig up a significant portion of it.

    Lu Yin therefore returned straight to the Heavens Sect, and he sat himself down upon the jiao''s head before kicking it awake. "Why are you sleeping again? Come on, let''s go!"

    The jiao opened its eyes, startled but the sudden impact. It wanted to demonstrate its rage by threatening and intimidating whoever had disturbed it, but it could only close its mouth when it discovered Lu Yin¡¯s presence. Frustrated, the jiao could only obey Lu Yin and move over to the Astral River.

    On this particr day, the miners who worked on the mud ts alongside the Astral River were treated to a show that they would never be able to forget. Massive, sharp ws fell from high above and stabbed into the Astral River with enough force to almost overturn the river.

    Since Lu Yin was using the jiao to dig, it would be a waste to use the beast to excavate the banks of the astral river where sand and gravel was fused with the pyrolyte, making it difficult to sift through and extract. Each piece had to be checked visually, which was not something that the jiao could help with. Instead, the jiao could reach down, dig up the bottom of the Astral River, and reveal what was concealed down there.

    The jiao¡¯s ws fell, but it found nothing. An endless amount of filth and gravel fell out from between the beast¡¯s ws, but when the paw was fully pulled up, it held nothing more than some moisture and some flopping fish.

    "Again!" Lu Yin ordered, and the jiao reached down and dug up more dirt.

    "Again!"

    The jiao reached down again.

    "Again!"

    It continued. Again and again, the jiao reached down and pawed at the bottom of the Astral River, churning up the river, and almost upsetting the distant Astral River Ark.

    Despite numerous efforts, no pyrolyte was discovered, though the beast did dig up a massive fish. It was about as big as the jiao¡¯s ws, and given the absurd size of the jiao, the fish was truly enormous. Even more importantly, the fish was as strong as a Semi-Progenitor, and when it iled its tail and flopped about, even the jiao¡¯s ws vibrated. Still, it was utterly impossible for the fish to actually injure the jiao even the tiniest bit.

    Lu Yin told the jiao to hold still, and then he moved down to its ws to inspect the fish.

    The fish appeared perfectly ordinary, just stupidly big. When it saw Lu Yin approach, it opened its mouth and tried to bite him. To Lu Yin, the two rows of teeth looked like mountain ranges, and the mouth of the fish emitted a horrible stench.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Can you understand me?"

    The fish kept snapping at Lu Yin, trying to bite him, but the jiao held the fish firmly, and it was unable to move at all. Strangest of all, the fish was clearly unafraid.

    Any creature that had not yet reached the Progenitor level itself would feel an overwhelming pressure from a creature that had reached that level. The fish did not have the necessary strength, and yet it continued to struggle non-stop in vain attempts to break free.

    .

    After observing the fish for a long time, Lu Yin came to the conclusion that it had no spark of sapience.

 Chapter 2313: Progenitor Guai

    <h4>Chapter 2313: Progenitor Guai</h4>

    This was a Semi-Progenitor level creature that had no hint of sapience.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Kui Luo had been fishing in the Astral River in the easternmost region of the Innerverse some time ago. He had wanted to catch a certain fish that had slipped away from him. When the fish had first escaped, Kui Luo had even gotten a bit upset with Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had eventually promised to use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power to help the old man catch the fish that had gotten away.

    Could it be the fish currently in the jiao¡¯s ws?

    Lu Yin found it hard to believe that so many Semi-Progenitor level creatures were living in the Astral River.

    The Astral River had once circled through all six Mainds and nourished the Mother Tree. It had definitely been home to many powerful creatures at that time, but that was no longer necessarily true.

    Lu Yin quickly called Kui Luo. It was impossible to connect to the old man with a call made through Lu Yin¡¯s gadget, but the wireless jincan connected. "What''s wrong?"

    "Before we went to the Perennial World, I promised to use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power to help you catch a fish. Remember?" Lu Yin got straight to the point.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "I might be old, but I¡¯m not dumb enough to take something like that seriously. Using Progenitor Chen¡¯s power to catch a fish is a bit excessive."

    "Well, what about using the jiao?"

    Kui Luo''s eyes lit up. "That would be fine! That beast has long ws that are perfect for catching fish. Hurry up and meet with me. I¡¯m at the easternmost end of the Astral River."

    "It would actually be better for you toe see me. I just caught a fish with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, and I¡¯m curious if it¡¯s the one that got away from you," Lu Yin replied.

    Kui Luo instantly ended the conversation and took off to meet with Lu Yin.

    After arriving, Kui Luo stared at the fish that was held in the jiao¡¯s ws for a long time. Finally, he said with utter confidence, "That¡¯s the fish. I remember the thing¡¯s teeth very clearly."

    "Well, I''ve caught it for you, so that settles the debt that I owed you," Lu Yin said. He saw that Kui Luo was still staring at the fish. "Why did you want to catch this fish?"

    Right as Kui Luo was about to answer, Lu Yin cut him off, "You¡¯d better not try to use this fish to sneak away from me. You do, and I¡¯ll make sure you never go fishing again."

    Kui Luo opened his mouth, reconsidered his answer, and then rolled his eyes as he said, "I¡¯m hoping to find something good."

    "Something good?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Kui Luo leaned closer. "You know where the Astral River came from, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s the river that once circled around the Mother Tree and ran through all six Mainds."

    "If you know that much, then you should also understand that the creatures that live in the Astral River live for a very, very long time. Honestly, the more powerful the creature is, the longer they live for. Like this fish here¡ªthis thing has a life expectancy that¡¯s at least ten times greater than a human Semi-Progenitor. It can bury itself in the river bed, where the silt there nourishes the Mother Tree itself. Burrowing into the bottom of the Astral River can extend their life spans, much like cryostasis for us humans. There are much stranger creatures than fish that live in the astral river, and some of them-¡± Kui Luo cut off for a moment as he considered his next words. ¡°It¡¯s believed that some of the creatures have survived since the Heavens Sect era."

    "That¡¯s impossible," Lu Yin stated doubtfully.

    Kui Luo replied, "I didn¡¯t believe it either, but I¡¯ve read some of your Lu family¡¯s old records, and Lu Qi even came to find me one time because he wanted to descend into the depths of the Middle Ocean to try to find those ancient fish."

    "What''s the point of catching such a creature?" Lu Yin still felt rather puzzled by the appeal.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re still not as smart as your father. Look at this fish. Is it sapient?"

    "No."

    "Then what does that mean?"

    Lu Yin thought about it for a bit. "Just tell me."

    "It means that it eats everything!" Kui Luo answered loudly, "The dumber the beast, the more likely it is to eat everything that it finds, and there are certain treasures that can never be digested. No matter how long this thing might have lived for, even if it¡¯s only been around since the Daosource Sect era, it¡¯s likely swallowed treasures from the Daosource Sect era. It could have power vessels, records of battle techniques, or even Progenitor weapons!"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Is this what my father told you?"

    Kui Luo nodded. "Your father¡¯s a bastard with absolutely no shame or reservations. He¡¯s nothing at all like how you used to be. When you were Lu Xiaoxuan, your personality was much closer to your mother¡¯s, and it was so extreme that your father even tested you several times to verify that you were his own child."

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    "If your father could see you now, he would have absolutely no doubt that you¡¯re his son. Even if you aren¡¯t aplete asshole like him, you will still stoop to just about anything," Kui Luo said. He then moved past Lu Yin to get a better look at the odd fish.

    Lu Yin turned around. "So did you ever go down into the depths of the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Ocean?"

    "We never had a chance. Besides, the Perennial World simply isn¡¯t old enough, and the Middle Ocean is nowhere near as old as the Astral River. This is the river that nourished Mother Tree itself, so there should definitely be some good things in it." Kui Luo stared at the fish for a moment before continuing to say, "All we can do is check and find out if there¡¯s anything good in this thing¡¯s stomach.

    "Also, there¡¯s no need to be gentle. It might only be a dumb beast, but it hasn¡¯t only eaten stuff that belongs to the Astral River, you know."

    Lu Yin was well aware that countless people died each year after falling into the Astral River, most of whom were eaten by the creatures that inhabited the river. This fish had no intelligence, so it was only natural that it had eaten many people over the years.

    Lu Yin gave the jiao an order, and the beast flexed its ws. There was a bang as the fish¡¯s body was broken.

    Kui Luo immediately moved forward to check the fish¡¯s belly and see what had been inside it.

    Lu Yin calmly observed the man and then looked over at the Astral River. Kui Luo was right. The creatures that lived in the Astral River did live for a long time, and they all seemed to be dumb beasts that devoured whatever they found. It was certainly possible that they might get lucky and find some great treasures from such creatures.

    The fish had been truly massive, so even with Kui Luo rummaging through the beast¡¯s remains, it was still going to take a long time.

    "Kid, where''s that domain of yours? This is the time to put it to use!" Kui Luo turned around and urged Lu Yin to help.

    Lu Yin released his domain, and it swept past Kui Luo and enveloped the remains from the fish¡¯s belly.

    The fish''s belly had been full of gravel, but Lu Yin did manage to find some other things as well, such as a corroded cosmic ring. The presence of the ring indicated that the fish had also eaten people, but the bodies had been fully digested long ago.

    Lu Yin also found some odd items.

    One thing that caught Lu Yin''s attention was what looked to be a broken weapon that looked truly bizarre. It seemed like something halfway between a harpoon and a rake.

    Kui Luo leaned over and stared at the weapon. "That¡¯s incredibly old. The characters on it are from before even the Daosource Sect era. Let¡¯s find out what it says!"

    Lu Yin had no idea what the writing said, so he released Yu Chen. While the woman was not particrly powerful, she was quite knowledgeable about ancient writing.

    "Tell me what this says." Lu Yin asked Yu Chen to examine the ancient weapon.

    Yu Chen observed the weapon and was quite surprised. "This is one of Progenitor Guai¡¯s weapons! These characters read as ¡®guai,¡¯ which was the Progenitor¡¯s signature."

    "Progenitor Guai?" Kui Luo was stunned. "Are you referring to the legendary Progenitor Guai who was infamous for making strange weapons?"

    Yu Chen nodded.

    "Who was Progenitor Guai?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Chen answered, "Supposedly, there was a Progenitor who lived during the Daosource Sect era who specialized in creating weapons, but every weapon that he made was extremely strange, and most people could not use them at all. Still, invaluable materials were used to produce the weapons, and most people could never hope to even find those rare materials. The weapons created endlessplications for the Daosource Sect, but there was nothing that could be done about the matter.¡±

    "Progenitor Guai marked all of his weapons with the character ¡®guai,¡¯ which is the symbol that you see here."

    Lu Yin stared at the weapon in his hands. It was clearly very tough, and it should be at least on the cusp of the Progenitor level, but not quite at that level. After all, if it were truly a Progenitor level weapon, the fish would have not been able to digest it at all, but Lu Yin could see that the weapon was clearly corroded.

    "I remember hearing that Progenitor Guai had an entire armory filled with all of the weapons that he made. He used to invite people to visit his armory, but no one could use any of the weapons that he had made," Kui Luo said.

    Yu Chen agreed, "There are certainly records regarding Progenitor Guai¡¯s armory, but they vanished when he died. Supposedly, all of the weapons he ever created are still hidden in that armory."

    "Were there a lot?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    Yu Chen nodded. "There should be a lot. ording to the ancient records, the Daosource Sect¡¯s authorities spoke to Progenitor Guai on several asions, asking him to reforge his weapons into useful forms. However, even if it was possible, Progenitor Guai refused, and the Daosource Sect could not force him."

    "Was the armory¡¯s location ever mentioned?"

    "No."

    "Kid, what are you thinking about? Are you hoping to find the armory? The four ruling powers should have stolen that thing long ago." Kui Luo spoke up in a clearly grumpy manner.

    Lu Yin hoped that that was not the case. While other people would struggle to smelt the weapons in that armory and extract the valuable materials, Lu Yin was different. All he needed to do was roll ckhole Disassembly, and then he would be able to easily extract all of the raw materials from the various weapons.

    After all, even the Daosource Sect had considered those materials to be invaluable and had wanted to use them to produce Progenitor weapons.

    After putting Yu Chen back in Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin resumed staring at the weapon in his hand. He offered it to Kui Luo. "Do you want it?"

    Kui Luo was speechless. "What would I even do with that? Clean my teeth?"

    Lu Yin smiled and put the weapon away. After all, he could Disassemble it for the raw materials.

    "Still, how did the fish swallow that thing? Do you think that Progenitor Guai¡¯s hidden armory might be hidden beneath the Astral River?" Lu Yin guessed.

    Kui Luo replied, "I don''t know about that, but the Astral River has been around for countless years¡ªwho knows what else might have fallen in it. Now you understand why I¡¯m so interested in fishing in this river."

    Lu Yin stared at Kui Luo in open admiration. "Senior, fishing is an excellent hobby to have, and it¡¯s something that you can enjoy for your entire life. If you ever find a fish like that again, just let me know, and I¡¯ll catch it for you."

    Kui Luo smiled and showed all of his teeth. "Everything good in it will be mine."

    "I won¡¯t fight you for it." Lu Yin smiled. He then had the jiao continue pawing through the Astral River in an attempt to catch another ancient fish, but even after several days, he found nothing.

    Kui Luo eventually mentioned that, regardless of how many powerful creatures lived in the Astral River, it was impossible for them to just line up to be caught. The Astral River was enormous, and it was impossible to catch two Semi-Progenitor level creatures that had lived since ancient eras in the same ce.

    After a bit of thought, Lu Yin felt that Kui Luo¡¯s observation made sense.

    Beep beep beep!

    His gadget beeped, and Lu Yin blinked when he looked at it. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he answered the call.

    "You can go." Qing Ping said.

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then told Kui Luo, "Take your time fishing. I¡¯m going to head out for now."

    Kui Luo waved Lu Yin away. He wanted to find a new location to fish.

    After saying goodbye to Kui Luo, Lu Yin directed the jiao into the Outerverse, and then headed towards Ironblood Weave. As they traveled, Lu Yin forced the jiao topletely retract its aura so that no one would feel any pressure as the jiao passed by.

    The jiao soon arrived at Ironblood Weave. The border of the Outerverse was still being patrolled and protected by people from the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin had united all of the people living in the Fifth Maind under the Heavens Sect, but certain things were still the same. There was no need to alter everything, and the Sixth Maind had maintained control of the Outerverse and Ironblood Weave.

    The jiao hid itself just outside Ironblood Weave, and Lu Yin entered on his own while altering his appearance. Without anyone¡¯s notice, he sneaked into the Primal Zone and continued straight on into the Astral Beast Domain.

    This was his first time visiting the Astral Beast Domain.

    [1] "Guai" (¹Ö) can mean strange or bizarre, so this is a very odd name.

 Chapter 2314: Attack

    <h4>Chapter 2314: Attack</h4>

    The moment Lu Yin entered the Astral Beast Domain, he could tell that this ce waspletely different from the Human Domain. The ce was far more deste than the Human Domain, and there was almost no trace of any sort of technology at all. In fact, it felt no different from the Astral Wilderness.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current destination was the Extreme Path.

    At the opening ceremony for the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect, the Astral Beast Domain had sent Lu Yin a threat by reminding him of the existence of the Extreme Path. Thus, Lu Yin had been forced to take action against the Celestial Beast Empire. Regardless of how many Semi-Progenitors the Human Domain had gathered, it was time to remove the threat. Lu Yin could not allow the Astral Beast Domain to maintain a threat to the very existence of the Human Domain for any longer.

    A few days earlier, Lu Yin had sent Qing Ping a message, asking him to make arrangements for one of the Human Domain¡¯s spies in the Astral Beast Domain to lead him to the Extreme Path. Naturally, Lu Yin intended to use a disguise for the trip.

    His Mask of Death was able to deceive even Semi-Progenitors, which meant that there was no ce Lu Yin could not go to. There was no creature alive in the Astral Beast Domain who could identify Lu Yin through his Mask of Death.

    The only variable remained Skymender, as his book might be able to predict certain details.

    However, Lu Yin had even made preparations for that possibility.

    In the Human Domain, Destina¡¯s eyes opened. In front of her was Starsibyl. "It''s time to begin."

    "Yes."

    Skymender had told Lu Yin that he owned one of the Books of Destiny as a means to convince Lu Yin that the astral beast¡¯s divinations were urate. At that time, Lu Yin had threatened to tell Destina about the book, but Skymender had remained very confident. He believed that Lu Yin was afraid of Destina and that that fear would prevent Lu Yin from saying anything.

    However, Skymender had been overconfident. Lu Yin had kept the information from Destina not because of fear, but rather because it had not been the right time. Lu Yin had always intended to use Destina to make trouble for Skymender.

    This was the proper time.

    Before heading to the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin had spoken to Destina about certain matters. Lu Yin intended to use Destina to keep Skymender busy and distracted.

    Lu Yin was not particrly concerned about whether or not the Book of Destiny could be used to make trouble for him. First, the people involved needed to deal with their own matters.

    Both Skymender and Destina were highly intelligent, which made it nearly impossible for Lu Yin to use them. For this reason, Lu Yin had clearly ordered Destina to make trouble for Skymender at a specific time. If not, there was no telling when Destina would move against Skymender, even with the knowledge that he held one of the Books of Destiny.

    In the depths of the Astral Beast Domain, at the heart of the Celestial Beast Empire, Skymender¡¯s eyes snapped open the moment Lu Yin entered the Astral Beast Domain, as a flicker of fear had appeared in Skymender¡¯s heart.

    It was impossible for anyone who knew divination and who held one of the Books of Destiny to feel such things for no reason. Clearly, something was wrong.

    Skymender immediately opened the Book of Destiny, but the moment he did so, he was momentarily dazed. He held his head as he stared at the Book of Destiny, but there was a white cloud. It was Destina.

    Destina was attacking Skymender through Destiny¡¯s methods. Skymender knew that Destina would not attack without cause, so could she have learned that he held one of the Books of Destiny? Had she figured it out for herself, or had Lu Yin told her?

    For some time, Skymender was unable to settle his thoughts or even think straight due to Destina¡¯s attack. All he could do was try to fight back through Destiny¡¯s methods. Skymender felt that this should be the source of that flicker of fear.

    At the same time, Lu Yin saw the person who was supposed to escort him through the Astral Beast Domain. No, this was not a person, but an astral beast. Lu Yin¡¯s escort was a creeper.

    The Hall of Honor¡¯s most important mole within the Astral Beast Domain had been a creeper second only to the species¡¯ patriarch. Right before Lu Yin had left to visit the Perennial World, he had asked the Hall of Honor to get in touch with the creeper and have it determine the location of the humanoid sourceboxes. Unfortunately, that creeper had mysteriously died, which had been a terrible loss for the Hall of Honor.

    Luckily, the Hall of Honor had recruited more than one astral beast traitor, and one of the other traitors was even a creeper.

    Lu Yin joined the creeper, and the astral beast then proceeded to lead Lu Yin through the Astral Beast Domain towards the end of the Extreme Path.

    The Extreme Path was a very fragile spatial passage, and even a small bit of external force could tear it open, reestablishing the connection to the Sixth Maind, which had long since beenpletely taken over by Aeternus. This was what had allowed Skymender to threaten Lu Yin and the Human Domain.

    The Extreme Path was also always being guarded by either Skymender himself, or the emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire. Only a Semi-Progenitor could defend the Extreme Path¡¯s exit from Hen Xin and Jue Yi, who were constantly watching the ce.

    While the Astral Beast Domain had used the Extreme Path¡¯s existence to threaten Lu Yin, the possible connection to the Sixth Maind also made them very ufortable. Since Yao Di had to personally guard the location, the entire administrative center of the Celestial Beast Empire had been relocated as well.

    If not for the threat of the Extreme Path being reopened, Lu Yin would have already seized control of the Astral Beast Domain. After all, Lu Yin knew the ce would benefit greatly froming under his rule.

    Lu Yin had carefully chosen the day of his visit to the Astral Beast Domain, as his arrival at the Extreme Path coincided with the day that the individual standing guard would switch out, ording to a report that Lu Yin had received from Hen Xin.

    Lu Yin used the Mask of Death to assume the form of an astral beast that was very close to the size of a human. Thus, he had no issues approaching the Extreme Path.

    Of course, Yao Di was the closest being to the Extreme Path¡¯s exit in the Astral Beast Domain. No other astral beast was allowed to even approach it.

    The Astral Beast Domain did have human upants as well, all of whom had betrayed the Human Domain. However, none of the human powerhouses helped protect the Extreme Path, as it was considered far too important for them to take any risks.

    Lu Yin calmly followed the creeper deeper until they were both rather close to Yao Di. Then, Lu Yin looked over to observe the emperor of the Celestial Demon Empire.

    Yao Di was currently in his astral beast form, and his enormous body covered the entire Extreme Path. In order for anyone to take control of the Extreme Path, they needed to first drive Yao Di away, and that was practically impossible.

    Yao Di was about as powerful as Kui Luo, but the Celestial Demon¡¯s spiritual force was even more robust. Even Hen Xin and Jue Yi, gatemasters of two of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, could not instantly seize control of the Extreme Path from Yao Di, and if the Celestial Demon decided to risk his life, the battle would tear open the Extreme Path, which would draw the Aeternals¡¯ attention and bring disaster down upon the Fifth Maind.

    Mt. Microcosms blocked the path to the Starfall Sea, but there was another path that the forces of Aeternus could potentially take to reach the Fifth Maind, which was the Extreme Path. Lu Yin really did not know what could be done to repair this weakness. Did he need to leave the jiao behind to protect this ce?

    Lu Yin would only have one chance, and it would onlyst for a brief moment. If he failed or missed the opportunity, the Fifth Maind would suffer a disaster.

    Lu Yin did not dare to do anything rash. He was carefully calcting everything.

    Yao Di had no idea that, just a short ways away, Lu Yin was staring at him. Yao Di felt that he was safe while standing guard for the Extreme Path, though he was also rather irritated by the task. He was the emperor of the entire Celestial Beast Empire, and yet he had be the guardian of the Extreme Path. In many ways, he had be a prisoner.

    "What do you think about what I said? Humanity has no future at all. Humanity has already been almostpletely destroyed, as you only have a single Maind left, while Aeternus still possesses most of their strength. Why do you insist on following that person? Join my Astral Beast Domain. We won¡¯t treat you badly," Yao Di suddenly said with a voice that shook the nearby space.

    Lu Yin followed the emperor¡¯s gaze and saw that he was addressing Hen Xin and Jue Yi.

    Neither Hen Xin nor Jue Yi had been informed of Lu Yin¡¯s visit. They had simply ryed detailed reports to Lu Yin this entire time. They had no idea what Lu Yin was nning on doing with that information.

    The two remained silent, standing quietly in outer space without giving any sort of response.

    Yao Di shook his head in a helpless manner. He had made simr offers countless times before to these two men, but they had not responded to him even once.

    He was constantly feeling more and more pressure. He had already heard the reports that imed that Lu Yin had subdued a mount with the strength of a Progenitor, and while Yao Di had dismissed those reports out of hand, even if Lu Yin¡¯s new mount did not have the strength of a Progenitor, it should at least be as strong as a Semi-Progenitor. How could Lu Yin have possibly subdued a Semi-Progenitor level beast and forced it to be a mount?

    Lu Yin was bing ever more iprehensible to Yao Di.

    If he had learned in advance that the Aeternals would drain the true universe, Yao Di would have led the Astral Beast Domain to cooperate with Aeternus to destroy the Human Domain.

    The astral beasts simply desired bnce. Aeternus and the humans kept each other in check and bnced each other. Yao Di had not expected, nor wanted, humanity to seize the upper hand and drive the Aeternalspletely out of the Fifth Maind. The Astral Beast Domain had been driven into a corner.

    As Yao Di contemted recent events, he closed his eyes. No matter where he might be, he still needed to continue cultivating. As he did so, he released his spiritual force so that he could instantly react to anything that happened.

    When Lu Yin saw Yao Di¡¯s eyes close, he thought that his opening had arrived. He took out a bit of dirt from his cosmic ring. It was the dirt and saliva mixture that he had been given by the White Dragon n.

    As a precaution, Lu Yin had already shown the dirt to Long Xi in order to confirm what he had been told about it.

    The Ancestor Python induced an odd sense of pressure on any non-human creature, and Lu Yin wanted to use the soil that he had received to create a brief opening that he could exploit.

    Lu Yin decided that it was time for him to make his move. Using his void god level domain, the soil touched with Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva suddenly appeared right beneath Yao Di.

    The emperor¡¯s eyes snapped open, terror filling them. He felt as though he was seeing the Ancestor Python¡¯s mouth that could swallow the entire sky release a roar while preparing to simply swallow Yao Di. For a moment, he lost control of himself due to his overwhelming desire to flee.

    Yao Di was not alone, as every single astral beast in the nearby area was instantly ovee with fear as well.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin moved, and he vanished in an instant.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s domain had reached the void god level, at the moment, he had more faith in a secret technique that was created by a powerful Progenitor.

    Lu Yin abruptly appeared right beneath Yao Di, beside the bit of dirt that had appeared a moment ago. The presence of the soil made it difficult for Yao Di to react due to the wave of fear that had overwhelmed him, and Lu Yin had appeared during that small window. The emperor was barely able to see Lu Yin pull out a slipper and smack him in the head.

    Yao Di was left unconscious, and his spiritual force copsed. His eyes went ck, and his mind went nk.

    The slipper was able to daze even the jiao, so there was no need to worry about it being able to deal with Yao Di.

    After the emperor lost consciousness, Lu Yin kicked the astral beast away, leaving the Extreme Path¡¯s exit clear.

    While many things had happened, everything took ce in the blink of an eye.

    Not even Hen Xin and Jue Yi had a chance to react, let alone the nearby astral beasts. Every creature who was not human was still stunned by the dirt that contained the Ancestor Python¡¯s aura. So, none of them had even noticed that control of the Extreme Path had changed hands.

    At the heart of the Celestial Beast Empire, Skymender was still fighting with Destina when he felt the same flicker of fear as before. His expression changed drastically, as something was clearly wrong. If he was already dealing with Destina, then why would that tiny bit of fear suddenly reappear? He suddenly looked in the direction of the Extreme Path. Something was very wrong.

    Skymender reached out to Yao Di.

    Unfortunately, Skymender was already toote. Yao Di had been knocked unconscious and was drifting through outer space. All of the astral beasts near their emperor were staring at Lu Yin in fear and bewilderment.

    Lu Yin put the slipper back away and turned to look at Hen Xin and Jue Yi. "Why are you still standing there in a daze? Get over here and take control of the Extreme Path!"

    Only then did the two Semi-Progenitors recover.

    The two men had spent almost a year in the Astral Beast Domain, constantly looking for an opportunity to seize control of the Extreme Path¡¯s exit, but to no avail. The fact that Lu Yin had seeded so easily was shocking.

    How had he taken action before Yao Di could even react? What had that slipper been?

    No one could provide any answers. Lu Yin was bing increasingly iprehensible to even the ancient powerhouses.

    From nning to execution, Lu Yin had only needed a few days to seize control of the Extreme Path and the nearby area. Sometimes, the longer a n took to make, the more difficult it would be to execute.

    The threat of the Extreme Path had been eliminated, so Lu Yin summoned the jiao to join him.

    The jiao was still just beyond Ironblood Weave when it received Lu Yin¡¯s summons, and the pressure of a Progenitor was fully released, causing the entire Ironblood Weave and the entire eastern Outerverse to tremble.

    The jiao shot into Ironblood Weave, and raced into the Astral Beast Domain.

    Outside of Earth¡¯s sr system, Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s eyes rolled beneath its eyelids, but it continued to sleep. The only other change was that its head was no longer inside its shell, which it had done before to prevent it from being bitten off while the tortoise slept.

    Back in the Celestial Beast Empire, Skymender managed to regain control of himself after his brief moment of shock. His expression was incredibly dark at the moment, as he knew that the situation was bad. He was unable to get in touch with Yao Di, which could only mean that something had happened to the emperor.

    It was at this moment that Skymender suddenly felt a Progenitor¡¯s aura. Lu Yin had actually managed to tame a Progenitor-level mount.

 Chapter 2315: Back To The Front

    <h4>Chapter 2315: Back To The Front</h4>

    Skymender sighed. They had failed. One year. They had only managed to stop the humans from taking control of the Extreme Path¡¯s exit for one year. If I¡¯d known how things would turn out, I would have agreed to help Aeternus deal with the humans.

    The Astral Beast Domain was about to gain a new ruler.

    In the Perennial World, Lu Yin had risked certain death to fight against both the jiao and Xia Shenji. How could he ever allow a mere Astral Beast Domain to remain free from his control? Lu Yin had long since desired to unite the entire Fifth Maind so that he could face the four ruling powers.

    Yao Di still had not regained consciousness. Lu Yin observed the emperor, Hen Xin and Jue Yi standing behind him.

    Lu Yin patiently wanted for Yao Di to awaken, as the Astral Beast Domain already belonged to Lu Yin.

    The jiao rushed through the Astral Beast Domain, and it arrived very quickly. Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back, as he had now gainedplete control of the Extreme Path. There was no longer anything in the Astral Beast Domain that could threaten him at all.

    From behind Lu Yin, Jue Yi¡¯s expression suddenly grew dark, and he abruptly reached out to grab Lu Yin¡¯s neck. At the same time, the man¡¯s death energy formed a scythe in his other hand that shed at Lu Yin.

    Not only was Jue Yi a Semi-Progenitor, but he had also been one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak. He waspletely iparable to Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin had faced in the Perennial World. This sudden attack was one that Jue Yi was absolutely confident would kill Lu Yin. The full power of a peak Semi-Progenitor was instantly released, as Jue Yi held nothing at all back from his attack.

    After the initial attack was released, Jue Yi even unleashed his inner world, and a burst of death energy surged forth to envelope the entire area.

    Not to mention Lu Yin, but not even Hen Xin would have been able to react to such an unexpected attack from such close proximity.

    Everything happened in a sh, but it all seemed to ur very slowly. Jue Yi clearly observed the sudden change in Hen Xin''s expression as it transformed from surprise to horror, and the man also clearly saw that Lu Yin was still staring at Yao Di in a very contented manner. Jue Yi had attacked without any hesitation. All he could think about was the God of Death¡¯s inheritance and left arm. He wanted both of those things, and they were also his conditions for agreeing to cooperate with Skymender.

    This was not actually the moment that Jue Yi had wanted to attack Lu Yin; he had actually been in discussions with Skymender for some time as they had tried toe up with a n to lure Lu Yin out of the Human Domain and away from where he could ess Progenitor Chen''s power so that he would be vulnerable to attacks. Jue Hi did not believe that Hen Xin would be willing to join in the attack, but as long as Lu Yin entered the Astral Beast Domain, Jue Yi was confident that he could deal with Lu Yin on his own, even if the youth brought along a Semi-Progenitor guardian.

    Unfortunately, everything had changed too quickly for him to keep up with. Lu Yin had suddenly seized control of the Extreme Path, and there was nothing at all in the Astral Beast Domain that could threaten him. With the Progenitor level dragon on its way, Lu Yin would quickly have the entire Astral Beast Domain under his control, including even Skymender.

    Jue Yi did not trust Skymender to not betray him, and once their cooperation was revealed, Jue Yi would be done for.

    His only option was to win by hitting as hard as possible.

    There would never be a better opportunity than this moment. As long as Lu Yin died, Jue Yi did not believe that the jiao would try to seek revenge. If the jiao was truly a Progenitor-level creature, then how could it ever be willing to serve as someone¡¯s mount? The beast might even be grateful to Jue Yi.

    Lu Yin had somehow managed to take control of the Extreme Path¡¯s exit and knock Yao Di unconscious. He was still caught up in the joy of being on the verge of seizing control of the entire Astral Beast Domain, but the Progenitor level creature had not yet arrived. Given his incredibly close proximity, Jue Yi felt that there was absolutely no better time than this to make his move. So, he cast aside all hesitation and aimed for a single killing blow.

    Jue Yi could not see any possibility of his attack failing, even with unounted surprises. The only thing that could avert disaster for Lu Yin was if he had already be a Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin was not a Progenitor himself. Even if he was capable of facing four Semi-Progenitors at once, everyst one of those powerhouses had been greatly inferior to Jue Yi. However, Jue Yi did not know about Lu Yin¡¯s various treasures, especially the fact that Lu Yin possessed one treasure that not even Xia Shenji had been able to break or harm: the corpse.

    Lu Yin noticed the moment that Jue Yi started moving, as Lu Yin did not trust either of the two men standing behind him, which was why they had been sent to the Astral Beast Domain. If he did not trust them, then how could he ever willingly show his back to them? The fact that Lu Yin had shown his back indicated that he was absolutely certain that he could protect himself.

    The moment Jue Yi attacked, the unique power erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and stars filled the sky. Jue Yi''s attack was so fast that not even an ordinary Semi-Progenitor would be able to react, but Lu Yin¡¯s unique power fully manifested itself in time.

    As the unique power emerged from his chest, Lu Yin took out the corpse and positioned it to protect his back. Halfway to Lu Yin¡¯s neck, Jue Yi''s hand was blocked by the corpse. His death energy scythe also fell onto the corpse, but not a single mark was made.

    Jue Yi''s pupils instantly constricted. Lu Yin turned around to face the Semi-Progenitor. At some point in time, a small figurine had appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. It was God of mes.

    "So you finally made a move," Lu Yin casuallymented as God of mes released a terrifying number of runes. The number wasparable to a Semi-Progenitor, and they forced Jue Yi back. Fury covered the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s face. His sneak attack had failed, so he needed to capitalize on this attack. With this thought in mind, his inner world enveloped Lu Yin. "There is no way for you to escape from my World of Death!"

    Jue Yi held nothing back as he revealed the full might of a peak Semi-Progenitor who had been the gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. The World of Death spread throughout the entire area, enveloping everything. Within its bounds, not even a single single de of grass could grow. There was nothing but silence and pressure. Any who entered the World of Death would be consumed by it until not even their dried out bones remained.

    It was a unique inner world that controlled a region of space.

    As soon as the World of Death appeared, even Hen Xin grew wary, and he hastily retreated, abandoning Lu Yin. It was possible that the man did not even see the need to think of Lu Yin¡¯s safety.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew stiff. He had indeed faced off against Xia Ziheng and three other Semi-Progenitors while in the Perennial World, but none of them had given Lu Yin a feeling of pressure and hopelessness. He had faced both condensed inner worlds that could be wielded like weapons, as well as expansive inner worlds like Semi-Progenitor Chai''s, that had enveloped an entire area. Even then, none of the inner worlds Lu Yin had faced had made him feel helpless.

    On the other hand, that sensation did appear from Jue Yi¡¯s inner world.

    As the World of Death spread out and enveloped him, Lu Yin already knew that he could not confront this power. Even if the unique power in his chest was capable of forcing back Jue Yi¡¯s inner world, Lu Yin¡¯s strength would be quickly sapped away. The effort would be iparable to when he had faced Semi-Progenitor Chai.

    But, why did Lu Yin need to break this World of Death?

    It was called the World of Death, and Jue Yi cultivated the God of Death¡¯s death energy. However, Lu Yin was the God of Death¡¯s true heir, and he could control all death energy. There was no one who possessed a more powerful control of death energy than Lu Yin.

    Within the bounds of the World of Death, very few could stand up to Jue Yi, even among his peers. Even the other gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates needed to leave the confines of the World of Death to fight against Jue Yi.

    Jue Yi intended to eliminate Lu Yin as quickly as possible and take control of the death energy Lu Yin possessed.

    Lu Yin looked up, and a formless stream of ck and white energy appeared around his body. It started to swirl around him, creating a tornado. At that same instant, Lu Yinpleted the God of Death Transformation, and his appearancepletely changed. A massive scythe appeared in his hand as death energy surged higher and higher. Finally, it was all pulled back into his body. The moment Lu Yinpleted the God of Death Transformation, Jue Yi¡¯s death energy had be Lu Yin¡¯s power instead. His own power could not harm him.

    Lu Yin''s body shone with streams of ck and white energy as he forcibly absorbed the death energy that had formed the World of Death. "I am the God of Death¡¯s true heir, and yet you want to use my own power against me? How absurd!"

    Jue Yi''s pupils shrank sharply, and he was not even able to use the visualization method of the God of Death. His scythe fell, but the attack did not use any death energy. After seeing Lu Yin seize all of the death energy from the World of Death, Jue Yi would not make the same mistake twice.

    Lu Yin turned his head slightly to nce over at Hen Xin, who did not show any intention of interfering in the battle.

    As soon as he noticed Lu Yin¡¯s nce, Hen Xin froze for a moment. He looked at Jue Yi¡¯s attack that was about tond. Finally, gritting his teeth, Hen Xin shed out with a hand, slicing through the void and destroying the scythe.

    Jue Yi whirled around to re at Hen Xin, enraged at the interference.

    Hen Xin frowned. He was much more calcting than Jue Yi, and he saw further as well. Hen Xin had seen Lu Yin''s attitude, and that calmness had caused Hen Xin to hesitate. The look that Lu Yin had given Hen Xin had clearly been an order for Hen Xin to dere his loyalties. If Hen Xin had not taken action, and Lu Yin had survived Jue Yi¡¯s assault, then Hen Xin knew that he would be done for.

    "If the two of us work together, he won¡¯t be able to escape! Hen Xin, do you really want to submit to a child?" Jue Yi shouted angrily.

    Hen Xin did not know how to answer the question. He had truly acted out of almost pure instinct, but looking back, should he have interfered?

    A smile pulled at the corners of Lu Yin''s mouth, but he said nothing. He acted as though he was enjoying a show.

    He had never intended to face Jue Yi in a direct fight. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s control of death energy, he knew that he was not Jue Yi''s opponent. Still, most of the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s strength came from his death energy, which meant that it should be impossible for him to kill Lu Yin. Thus, Lu Yin wanted to see just what sort of hidden means Jue Yi possessed.

    Jue Yi proceeded to ignore Hen Xin and turned his attention back onto Lu Yin. The World of Death vanished in an instant, and then Jue Yi took a single step to appear right at Lu Yin¡¯s side. The Semi-Progenitor raised a hand and dropped it down upon Lu Yin. It looked like a normal palm strike, but strange whispers could be heard from it. This attack used a power that waspletely different from death energy.

    Jue Yi had been a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates for a long time, and he had been famous as one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors during the Heavens Sect era. Even without ess to death energy, Jue Yi was still a top powerhouse.

    Lu Yin was taken aback as his transformed pupils stared at Jue Yi''s hand. This attack possessed an overwhelming number of runes, showing that, even without death energy, Jue Yi was still more powerful than Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin had faced. Even just this one palm proved that the man was worthy of being one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters.

    Still, it did not matter how powerful the attack was if it never struck Lu Yin.

    Hen Xin stepped up from behind Lu Yin with a raised hand that swatted Jue Yi¡¯s attack aside. The purple-ck substance had already appeared on Hen Xin¡¯s hand as he collided with Jue Yi''s palm. The void exploded, and the shockwave swept towards Lu Yin, but Hen Xin blocked it so that not even a corner of Lu Yin¡¯s clothes were ruffled.

    The single counter attack knocked Jue Yi back, his arm shattered. He stared at Hen Xin in shock. "You-"

    How could Jue Yi ever be Hen Xin¡¯s opponent in close-quartersbat? Hen Xin had cultivated battle force, domain, and spiritual force; of those, his battle force had already reached the highest level possible.

    "As long as I¡¯m here, it''s impossible for you to harm even a single hair on the Dao Chosen¡¯s head!" Hen Xin shouted firmly.

    Jue Yi waspletely confused. "Why?"

    Hen Xin yelled back, "The Heavens Sect has been reestablished, and the Dao Chosen represents the heavens! Both you and I have acknowledged this, but you have joined these beasts and attacked the Dao Chosen! You have betrayed mankind!"

    Just as Jue Yi was about to retort, he frozepletely. He slowly turned around to be met with a horrifying sight.

    The jiao was staring straight at Jue Yi, baring its teeth and its ws. It had arrived in absolute silence, perfectly concealing its aura so that no hint of a Progenitor¡¯s power leaked out. However, this stare left Jue Yi covered with chills. This creature clearly possessed the power of a Progenitor.

    Hen Xin''s eye twitched. He had attacked so decisively precisely because he had noticed the jiao¡¯s arrival. The beast was clearly strong enough that Jue Yi would never be able to harm Lu Yin even the slightest, which was why Lu Yin had acted with utter fearlessness. Fortunately, Hen Xin¡¯s domain had also reached the void god level, and he had managed to sense a spatial fluctuation that indicated the jiao¡¯s arrival. Without that, Hen Xin might not have acted with such decisiveness.

    Many thoughts flitted through Hen Xin''s mind. He took a few steps so that he was slightly behind Lu Yin. "Dao Chosen, how should we deal with Jue Yi?"

    Lu Yin gave the man a small smile. "That was quite something, Gatemaster Hen Xin. Without you, I might have died."

    Hen Xin earnestly answered, "Given your strength, Dao Chosen, no one can harm you. There¡¯s no need for you to say such things."

    Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin for a moment before turning back to look at Jue Yi. "You were given an opportunity, but you didn''t grasp it."

    Lu Yin''s words made Hen Xin''s heart tremble for a moment. An opportunity? Lu Yin had created that opportunity by deliberately showing them his back in order to see what they would do when faced with an opening. He had also purposely done so in the Astral Beast Domain. He hadid a trap, a truly ruthless one by using himself as bait. Could this be considered self-confidence, or sheer arrogance?

 Chapter 2316: Cooperation

    <h4>Chapter 2316: Cooperation</h4>

    Jue Yi turned back around to stare at Lu Yin. At the moment, the man looked both entirely alone andpletely miserable. "You knew I''d attack you?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "I knew that you wanted to try it, and there are very few ces you could do so in the entire Fifth Maind."

    Jue Yi closed his eyes. "You are the God of Death¡¯s heir. Kill me if you want."

    At this moment, Yao Di finally woke up.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the emperor, interested to see how things would y out.

    Hen Xin, Jue Yi, and the jiao all looked at Yao Di as well. The Celestial Demon wasrge enough to draw even the jiao¡¯s attention.

    Everything fell silent as everyone stared at Yao Di.

    His consciousness returned, and his eyes opened to see the jiao.

    Confusion filled Yao Di¡¯s eyes as he stared at the massive beast, certain that there was a mistake with his vision.

    The jiao stared back, raised its ws, and then let out a terrifying roar. At the same time, it released the pressure of a Progenitor, and the beast¡¯s aura swept through the universe.

    Hen Xin and Jue Yi had both been born during the Heavens Sect era, and they had met more than one Progenitor before. Such powerhouses were far from unknown to the two men. On the other hand, Yao Di waspletely different, and he reflexively curled up as a Progenitor¡¯s might swept out. None of the dignity of the emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire could be seen at all.

    As for the other astral beasts nearby, none of them dared to even raise their heads.

    They were overwhelmed by their biological instincts, which was something that not even Yao Di could ovee.

    The jiao felt quite smug at this moment, as this was the reaction that it craved. Those little guys whom it had threatened before had been the abnormal ones, as they had shown absolutely no fear.

    The deafening roar gave Lu Yin a headache, so he ordered, "Shut up!"

    The jiao was furious, as who dared to interrupt its moment of glory? However, a nce revealed the culprit to be Lu Yin, and he was holding that vile slipper. So, the jiao fell silent and did not dare to make another sound.

    It would never forget the lessons that Lu Yin had beaten into its bones. Lu Yin had deliberately set the broken saber atop the jiao¡¯s head, just to constantly intimidate the beast. Thebination of its fear of the broken de and the terror of that slipper meant the jiao obeyed Lu Yin¡¯s every word.

    Yao Di was still quivering. The innate fear of facing a Progenitor-level creature left him unwilling to raise his head at all.

    Lu Yin realized that he had held an overinted opinion of the Astral Beast Domain. No matter how intelligent Skymender might be, or how powerful Yao Di was, they remained astral beasts that were bound by instincts. That made them fundamentally different from humans.

    The Aeternals believed humans to be wed and that human emotions were a weakness, but were they not also humanity¡¯s strengths?

    Astral beasts also possessed emotions, though their emotions were far simpler and straightforward than what humans experienced. On top of that, astral beasts were also easily suppressed by their instinct. Humans, even when faced with a Progenitor, might not be as helpless as an astral beast in the same circumstances.

    "Yao Di," Lu Yin called out.

    The massive form of the Celestial Demon trembled, and then it slowly raised its head. Instead of looking at Lu Yin, Yao Di was still staring at the jiao.

    As for the jiao, it was still staring at Yao Di. Even though the beast had suppressed its overwhelming aura, its innate pressure that squeezed Yao Di¡¯s very soul made it difficult for him to breathe.

    "This is my mount," Lu Yin stated.

    It was only then that Yao Di noticed Lu Yin¡¯s presence, and shock filled the emperor¡¯s eyes. "Lu Yin?"

    "We meet again." Lu Yin casually greeted the miserable emperor.

    Yao Di stared at Lu Yin, but then he was irresistibly drawn to stare at the jiao once more. "So it turns out that the rumors are all true. Did you really force a Progenitor-level beast to submit to you?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Do you want to see if you can escape from it?"

    Yao Di felt his hair stand on end as he processed Lu Yin¡¯s question, and he nced back at the jiao yet again. The fear and suppression going through Yao Di were quickly transforming into despair. "What are you going to do?"

    Lu Yinughed. "I am a human being who was part of reestablishing the Heavens Sect, yet the gifts that you sent for our opening ceremony were open threats. What do you think I¡¯m going to do?"

    Yao Di¡¯s heart fell as he was reminded of what had happened. He had lost control of the Extreme Path, and there was absolutely nothing in the entire Astral Beast Domain that could pose any sort of threat to Lu Yin anymore.

    Finally, Yao Di noticed Jue Yi¡¯s presence behind Lu Yin, right behind the young man! The Celestial Demon could not help but look at the Semi-Progenitor.

    "What? You want Jue Yi to attack me?" Lu Yin asked in a careless manner.

    The question startled Yao Di. How did Lu Yin know about their cooperation?

    Jue Yi bitterly let out a breath. As he had expected, even if he had not attacked Lu Yin when he saw the opening, he would have been forced to attack by Yao Di. Even not attacking would have exposed Jue Yi¡¯s betrayal, and he would have lost any opportunity to attack Lu Yin after that.

    Yao Di had fallen unconscious, so he was unaware of what had happened during that time. But between Lu Yin¡¯s words and the jiao¡¯s presence, it was not difficult to piece together a rough idea of what had happened: Jue Yi had attacked and failed.

    Jue Yi was a powerhouse Skymender had spent almost an entire year trying to seduce. They had already created a n to lure Lu Yin into the Astral Beast Domain and kill him, but shockingly, the n had failed before they could even initiate it. Worst of all, the Extreme Path had been lost, which meant that there was no chance of the astral beasts making aeback.

    "Alright, I don¡¯t have time to waste on pointless conversations with you." Lu Yin then appeared on top of the jiao¡¯s head, and he gave the beast amand.

    The jiao¡¯s aura fell; one wave struck Jue Yi while another smashed into Yao Di.

    The Celestial Demon¡¯s instinctive fear took over, and all desire to resist was swept away.

    As for Jue Yi, he wanted to fight back, but Hen Xin was keeping an eye on the man. With Hen Xin¡¯s warinessbined with the jiao¡¯s presence, Jue Yi knew that he stood no chance at all.

    Ultimately, Jue Yi was severely injured before being thrown into Zenith Mountain, and Yao Di was caught. Lu Yin then dragged the emperor along as he headed towards the center of the Celestial Beast Empire. As for the Extreme Path, it was left for Hen Xin to protect.

    Lu Yin might not trust Hen Xin, but the man was still a human, and he would not risk humanity by threatening Lu Yin with the Extreme Path.

    As he stared at the jiao¡¯s shrinking back, Hen Xin knew that, in the future, the Fifth Maind wouldpletely fall under Lu Yin¡¯s control. There was no one who could stop him.

    ¡­

    The power of a Progenitor¡¯s strength swept over the Astral Beast Domain as the jiao brazenly released the full power of its aura. The Astral Beast Domain shook in the jiao¡¯s passage, and countless creatures automatically surrendered.

    Lu Yin sat atop the jiao''s head as the creature moved through the Astral Beast Domain, and he observed various areas that were filled with strange species of astral beasts.

    The jiao did not move quickly, as Lu Yin needed to gain a clear impression of the Astral Beast Domain. After all, it was about to belong to him.

    "Up ahead is the Profound Void Realm, which is the region inhabited by Void Wanderers," Yao Di introduced in a weak voice. He had been severely injured by the jiao, and he was in no state to fight back against even Lu Yin at this moment.

    Lu Yin looked towards the area, and he saw a single Void Wanderer drifting about. The deeper he traveled into the region, the more Void Wanderers he saw. A stream of the void swept through outer space, powerful enough to overpower even an Enlighter.

    This void stream was a unique feature of the Profound Void Realm. The Ghost Monkey had been the first to tell Lu Yin about this region of outer space, and Lu Yin had used that knowledge to deceive the Daynight n. Thinking back, Lu Yin remembered that the Ghost Monkey had imed that the Third Nightking was still trapped in the Profound Void Realm¡­

    Since Lu Yin was already present, he decided to check to see if the man was still around.

    The jiao¡¯s ws rose up, and the aura of a Progenitor surged as the Profound Void Realm was torn apart.

    Within the Profound Void Realm, the ancestor of the Void Wanderers was terrified by the pressure that overcame him, and he was struck by an endless fear. It recognized the power of a Progenitor, and he knew that this was a power he could not resist.

    The Void Wanderer ancestor did not try to escape as the Profound Void Realm was destroyed. Thus, the massive astral beast was exposed so that Lu Yin could once again see the enormous creature.

    The sight of the ancestor of the Void Wanderers reminded Lu Yin of the battlefield where they hadst met. If the Void Wanderers¡¯ ancestor had not been wearing Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide at that time, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s forces would not have been able to stop Lan Xian. Lu Yin¡¯s own piece of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide had been stolen at that time, but he no longer needed it.

    Even if the Void Wanderers¡¯ ancestor was still wearing Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, such a thing would not have too much of an influence on the jiao.

    The massive Void Wanderer was actually almost asrge as the jiao, and upon seeing the enormous astral beast, the jiao automatically raised its ws to threaten the creature while disgust filled the jiao¡¯s eyes. As far as the jiao was concerned, creatures that had not even reached the Semi-Progenitor level did not deserve its attention.

    Thergest Void Wanderers pointedly showed his willing surrender.

    "It''s just a bit bigger than the others, but it doesn¡¯t have any sort of attack power. What a pity." The truth of the Void Wanderers¡¯ ancestor was fully revealed to Lu Yin at this moment. It was just an overlyrge astral beast.

    Yao Di weakly replied, "The Void Wanderers are ranked among the top ten species of astral beasts due to their incredible numbers. Aside from that, they¡¯re rather useless."

    Lu Yin looked at the Profound Void Realm that had been destroyed, and he released his domain and let it sweep out. He only found more and more Void Wanderers. However, observing the countless astral beasts made Lu Yin a bit excited. These creatures were actually quite capable, as even the weakest of them could travel through the void. Their presence would allow even new cultivators to travel through the void, which would save countless lives.

    How were these creatures anything less than an absolute treasure?

    Thoughts of new possibilities cause Lu Yin''s eyes to light up. These astral beasts would transform the battlefield.

    That thought triggered another one, and Lu Yin turned to Yao Di. "Are these Void Wanderers able to travel through the void anywhere?"

    "Yes."

    "What if space is so stable that only Envoys are able to tear through the void?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Yao Di replied, "Void Wanderers don''t tear through the space to enter the void, as their innate ability is to swim through the void and freely move through it. Even if it looks like they are tearing the space open, , the truth is that it¡¯s just switching states for them."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He was thinking of the Perennial World.

    In that ce, only Envoys were capable of tearing through the void to travel through it, while it remained impossible for anyone weaker, even Enlighters. However, if these Void Wanderers were truly capable of freely traveling through the void, then they could carry others with them? Would that not grant control of the void? What would happen if weaker cultivators were granted ess to the void?

    If the Fifth Maind¡¯s Enlighters could travel through the void in the Perennial World with the help of the Void Wanderers, then they would be able to freely escape the Perennial World¡¯s Enlighters if they ever encountered a dangerous situation. The Void Wanderers would make victory much, much easier for Enlighters.

    This was also only just one possibility. If more humans on the rear battlefield were able to travel through the void, then far more lives would be saved. In fact, survival rates might rise 10 to 20%.

    This thought sobered Lu Yin greatly, and he quickly sent a message to Lu Buzheng, informing the man that he wanted to incorporate the Void Wanderers into the military to help save human lives.

    The Astral Beast Domain was home to countless strange creatures, such as sound monsters, creepers, essence eaters, and more. Lu Yin used to think about how he could counter such strange abilities, but if those same astral beasts cooperated with humans, then how drastic would the changes on the battlefield prove to be?

    Back in the Heavens Sect, Lu Buzheng immediately sent Lu Yin a reply with a wireless jincan.

    "I thought that you already knew about this. In truth, humans and astral beasts fought together side by side back in the Heavens Sect era. Back then, the humans on the other five Mainds frequently visited the Fourth Maind to find suitable astral beasts to raise, such as a Celestial Demon. Such creatures canpensate for specific weaknesses, such as spiritual force. A Void Thunderbeast canpensate for insufficient speed, and there are many others that are also well suited to fighting with humans, such as the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, and many more," Lu Buzheng exined.

    "Back then, astral beasts were ves," Lu Yin said, his voice dropping a bit.

    .

    Lu Yin had heard of very many times before. Aside from the Aeternals enving humans, Lu Yin had most frequently heard of very from Hen Xin and Jue Yi. Both of the men had mentioned that, during the Heaven Sect era, humanity had enved all other species.

 Chapter 2317: The Most Familiar Stranger

    <h4>Chapter 2317: The Most Familiar Stranger</h4>

    As far as many people from the Heavens Sect era were concerned, both the Aeternals and the astral beasts were nothing more than ves. In particr, astral beasts were seen as mere animals, despite their intelligence, and the humans from the Heavens Sect era absolutely looked down on the creatures. Even Lu Buzheng was no different.

    It was an arrogance that came from the Heavens Sect era.

    "True. Putting things nicely, it would be coborativebat, but if you want to put things bluntly, then it was very," Lu Buzheng replied somberly, "During our era, countless astral beasts were forced to move to the Fourth Maind just to make it easier for humans to track them down. I personally enjoyed researching and breeding astral beasts. There were countless different species back then, and it was when the oddest of creatures would likely appear¡­"

    Lu Yin silently read through Lu Buzheng''s messages, and as he did so, he gained a clear mental picture of the Fourth Maind during the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Buzheng imed to be proud to have been born in the Heavens Sect era, but to Lu Yin, many of the details sounded exactly like the Aeternals¡¯ desire to enve human beings.

    The Heavens Sect had enved astral beasts, while Aeternus wanted to enve humanity. To Lu Yin, the two were essentially the same.

    Lu Buzheng and others from the Heavens Sect era could not empathize with the astral beasts¡¯ miserable plight, but Lu Yin could understand it. He had visited Aeternus Nation and seen humans enved by other creatures. He could empathize with the enved. Astral beasts also possessed emotions and sapience. It was likely that they viewed humans in the same manner that humans viewed Aeternus.

    At that instance, Lu Yin''s boiling blood cooled.

    He looked over at Yao Di, who had also seen Lu Buzheng''s message. Despite the Celestial Demon¡¯s lowered head, Lu Yin could still see his frustration, anger, and helplessness.

    "We haven¡¯t been absent from the Heavens Sect era for very long from our perspective, and I still remember a great deal. If you want, I¡¯llpile all of what I remember for you. In fact, our Lu family-"

    Lu Buzheng tried to continue, but he was suddenly interrupted by Lu Yin, "Third Uncle, what I need is cooperation, not very."

    Yao Di¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Far away, Lu Buzheng was also taken aback. "Um¡­ Is there a difference?"

    Lu Yin did not know how to respond, but Lu Buzheng¡¯s reaction was rather depressing. "Let''s talk about this moreter."

    Lu Yin ended the conversation.

    Despite seeing Yao Di¡¯s stare, Lu Yin said nothing.

    Huh??Someone appeared in front of Lu Yin. The person was horribly unkempt, as though he had not taken care of himself for many years. The man faltered as he floated through space. He appearedpletely lost.

    Even from far away, Lu Yin could see the hesitation and confusion in the man¡¯s eyes.

    Seeing that the man¡¯s hair was ck and white, then unless Lu Yin waspletely wrong, this man was the Third Nightking.

    Far away, the Third Nightking was ncing around in a daze. What had happened to the void streams? Where was the Void Wanderers¡¯ ancestor? Why was the entire Profound Void Realm simply gone? He appeared dazed and unsure of where he should go. His memories continued to return, but he had been asleep for far too long, and many things were very hazy.

    Finally, the man saw the enormous dragon, and his mouth fell open in shock as he stared at it in horror. What is that? It¡¯s so huge! Not only that, it¡¯s too powerful!

    Only then did the man realize that he felt a pressure from the unknown beast that induced a long forgotten fear. This was not something that he could stand up to at all.

    The man¡¯s memories continued to grow clear, and his view of the universe was also gaining rity. He continued to stare at the jiao. That can¡¯t be a Semi-Progenitor level beast, could it?

    "Third Nightking?" Lu Yin called out.

    The voice startled the Third Nightking, and he was just about to flee, but he looked over in confusion. "Who?"

    Lu Yin gazed at the confused man, his feelingsplicated and conflicted. Sure enough, this man really was the Third Nightking.

    How many times had Lu Yin spoken about this man since he had heard of his existence from the Ghost Monkey? If not for the Third Nightking, Lu Yin would have been captured by the Daynight n long ago. If not for using the Third Nightking to entice the Daynight n, how would Lu Yin have ever survived to reach his current heights? The Third Nightking could be considered to be the most familiar stranger that Lu Yin had ever met throughout all of his time cultivating.

    However, Lu Yin hadpletely forgotten about the Third Nightking after the Daynight n had been dealt with. Lu Yin certainly had not expected to meet the old man while passing by the Profound Void Realm.

    "Come here," Lu Yin casually ordered.

    The Third Nightking had not dared to approach the jiao, but Lu Yin''s order left the man unwilling to leave. Most importantly, how did this creature know his name?

    The Third Nightking had assumed that the jiao had addressed him.

    After a bit of thinking, the old man boldly approached and stopped a short ways away from the jiao, where he offered a respectful bow. "I greet Senior."

    The jiao stared at the human with its massive eyes. The beast automatically wanted to scare the human by showing its teeth and ws.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "Third Nightking, it¡¯s been a very long time."

    The Third Nightking stared at Lu Yin in shock. "You¡¯re a human?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s right."

    The Third Nightking was taken aback. How could a human be in the Astral Beast Domain? Unless¡­ "Who are you? Why do you know my name? Have you betrayed humanity?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head and nced around. "My name is Lu Yin, and while you don''t know me, I know you very well. You¡¯ve even helped me a great deal."

    The Third Nightking was only getting more and more confused. "Are you an old friend of my Daynight n?"

    Lu Yin turned back to calmly look at the Third Nightking. "I conquered the Nightking n."

    The Third Nightking''s eyes red as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You- what did you just say?"

    "I said that I conquered the Nightking''s n. It was because I saved the Dayking''s n," Lu Yin exined.

    The Third Nightking''s face grew pale as he stared at Lu Yin. The old man had no idea what to think or feel at this moment. Hatred? Submission? If the jiao were not present, he would definitely attack, but with the beast before him, the Third Nightking was unable to do a thing. It emanated a fearful aura that suppressed him down to his very bones, pressing him to surrender.

    "When we get back, you¡¯ll have a choice: join the Second Nightking and be a part of my Heavens Sect, or be an independent cultivator."

    Lu Yin then returned to the jiao¡¯s head and continued moving towards the heart of the Celestial Beast Empire .

    The Third Nightking could not stop thinking about the reference to the Second Nightking. Had the Second Nightking not actually died?

    Long ago, the two of them had been forced into the Astral Beast Domain by the Hall of Honor, and they had been forced to fight desperately against the Celestial Beast Empire. The First Nightking had died in the fighting, while the Third Nightking had been trapped in the Profound Void Realm. Had the Second Nightking not died? And had he surrendered to this mysterious person?

    The Third Nightking nced in the direction of the Human Domain. His memories were continuing toe back, and his mind was still clearing up, but he knew that he needed to return to the Human Domain as quickly as possible. He needed to find out what had happened.

    The appearance of the Third Nightking could be seen as the end of Lu Yin''s past. The old man essentially served as a mirror that reflected Lu Yin¡¯s former helplessness and weakness. He had since risen to be extremely powerful.

    The Third Nightking had missed an entire era. The era that had created the legend of Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    Decades had passed since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, and during that time, he had slowlye to understand the situation of the entire Fifth Maind, as the truth had been gradually revealed to him like a magnificent scroll unrolling.

    First, he had learned of the matters that concerned a single weave. Then, the Outerverse. After that was the Astral River, the Innerverse, and the Starfall Sea. His knowledge had expanded further and further, and he had soon learned of the existence of Ironblood Weave, the Astral Beast Domain, and the endless war between the astral beasts and the Human Domain.

    He had first fought on the border warfront as a student in Astral-10. At that time, he had not even dreamed of the eventual possibility of conquering the entire Astral Beast Domain.

    How many cultivators lived throughout the Human Domain? How many powerhouses were there? Countless. Even though Lu Yin had believed himself to be very talented, he had never considered that he would be the one human to eventually conquer the Astral Beast Domain.

    Cultivation was a long road, and Lu Yin had faced death numerous times, as well as waged several wars with the Astral Beast Domain. He was no stranger to the astral beasts¡¯ powerhouses, but he knew almost nothing at all about the Celestial Beast Empire itself. He had never visited it, and he also had not expected to be doing so this soon.

    Could astral beasts build cities? Lu Yin knew the answer to the question after seeing the heart of the Celestial Beast Empire. It was indeed quite impressive.

    The Celestial Beast Empire was located at the center of the Astral Beast Domain, in a region known as the Celestial Beast Weave. This entire region of outer space was surrounded by tributaries of the Astral River that were filled withs, mountains, cities, and rivers.

    There were many astral beasts that were able to take on human form, so the existence of numerous cities was nothing difficult to understand.

    What did surprise Lu Yin was that the arrangement of these tributary Astral Rivers looked like they had beenid out in the exact same arrangement as when he had visited the Starsibyl Sect, only erged many, many times over. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s domain, he would have never been able to even detect the simrities at all.

    When the jiao arrived, countless astral beasts roared at the sky throughout the Celestial Beast Region.

    Yao Di was in agony. He was hearing the voice of his Astral Beast Domain surrendering to an outsider. The Celestial Beast Empire itself was surrendering to Lu Yin.

    In the face of a beast with the strength of a Progenitor, not to mention over a dozen Semi-Progenitors, even the Celestial Beast Empire was helpless against the Human Domain.

    The tributary Astral Rivers formed rings around the region, and there were also many astral beasts that actually lived in the rivers themselves. At this moment, all of those beasts had risen to the surface and were bowing towards the jiao.

    There were countless mountains andndmasses, as well as both gigantic astral beasts and tiny astral beasts. Irrespective of their form, all of them faced the jiao and bowed in the exact same manner.

    Each of the tributaries featured a massive city that acted as the heart of the river. The cities were filled with astral beasts living there in human form, or actual humans. These were all people who had betrayed the Human Domain, and at this moment, they looked absolutely terrified as they also faced the jiao and bowed low.

    A single voice rose from the entire Celestial Beast Region. "We greet Lord Lu Yin, Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect."

    "We greet Lord Lu Yin, Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect."

    "We greet Lord Lu Yin, Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect."

    ¡­

    Who in all of human history had ever been able to subjugate the Astral Beast Domain and force the countless astral beasts who lived there to surrender? No such thing had happened since the Heavens Sect era, and even then, the Origin Progenitor had ruled over everything. The Heavens Sect had suppressed the Fourth Maind, but after that era, human beings had never again conquered the astral beasts. It had not even happened during the Daosource Sect era.

    Lu Yin rode atop a dragon with the strength of a Progenitor, dragging Yao Di along with him. He had arrived in the Astral Beast Domain while demonstrating an invincible power, and he had started a new chapter for the Astral Beast Domain.

    During the Heavens Sect¡¯s opening ceremony, he had personally executed Wang Si. After that, Lu Yin had even faced Xia Shenji. He had not believed it possible for anything to surprise him anymore, but Lu Yin could not help himself from feeling proud at this moment. He had conquered the Astral Beast Domain, which had waged war against the Human Domain for countless years. Enemies who had fought against his homnd for countless years were bowing their heads to him.

    "At ease!" Lu Yin dered in a voice that rang across the entire Celestial Beast Weave to reach the ears of every single creature there.

    Not every astral beast had fought in the wars against Lu Yin, but they had all heard the legends of Lu Yin. Hearing his words sent tremors through the hearts of the astral beasts, and at that moment, they felt that they had truly been conquered by Lu Yin.

    A group approached Lu Yin from the front. They were led by Skymender, and he was followed by Yao Xuan, Xu Qing, Feng Lin, and several other astral beasts that were using a human form. These astral beasts represented all the top powers of the Astral Beast Domain.

    The patriarchs of six of the top ten species on the Celestial Beast List were present. The patriarch of the carrion beetles appeared as a very short man who was less than half a meter tall with snow-white eyebrows that hung down to the bottom of his feet. He lookedpletely harmless.

    The patriarch of the soaring firebeast n had the appearance of a person with long, tri-colored hair, though it was impossible to determine if they were male or female. As for the creepers¡¯ patriarch, he appeared to be a tall, thin man.

 Chapter 2318: Arrangements

    <h4>Chapter 2318: Arrangements</h4>

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen Lu." Skymender the others all arrived before the jiao. They felt the terrifying pressure from the massive beast, and they bowed as one.

    The jiao felt quite proud from all the attention, and it raised its ws and brandished them in an impressive manner.

    Lu Yin picked up Yao Di and tossed him over.

    Yao Xuan hurried forward and caught the emperor before ring up at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin happened to be looking at Yao Xuan as he looked up, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold when he saw the animosity in Yao Xuan¡¯s eyes. The jiao let out a tremendous roar, and the aura of a Progenitor filled the Celestial Beast Weave. The rings of the tributary Astral Rivers churned, and mountains copsed. Even entire cities copsed.

    Countless astral beasts quivered and abandoned hope of survival.

    Skymender was badly startled. "I beg Dao Chosen Lu to calm himself."

    Terror filled Yao Xuan''s eyes, and he slowly dropped his head as Lu Yin watched. Yao Di was still breathing heavily. Resigned, Yao Di rose to his feet, faced Lu Yin, and bowed in the same manner as all of the other astral beasts. "I beg Dao Chosen Lu to calm himself."

    "I beg Dao Chosen Lu to calm himself." Many other astral beasts bowed and implored Lu Yin.

    As far as Lu Yin could see, there was not a single astral beast who dared to look up at him. He stood above all of the astral beasts. It felt quite satisfying. This must have been the same sensation that the Lu family had enjoyed in the past.

    "Who set up the Celestial Beast Weave in this manner?" Lu Yin asked.

    Skymender''s eyes flickered and he stepped forward. "I did, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin looked at Skymender. "I don¡¯t understand. How is it that, even after so many years, no one from the Human Domain has noticed that this is set up exactly the same as the Starsibyl Sect? Has no human visited the Celestial Beast Realm?"

    Skymender answered in a respectful tone, "No one was concerned with how the Celestial Beast Weave was arranged."

    Lu Yin stared at Skymender. The truth was very clear from this message; even if humans had visited the Celestial Beast Empire, no one had paid attention to theyout of the Celestial Beast Weave due to the superiority that humans felt towards the astral beasts. They were viewed as nothing more than animals.

    "Let''s go. Your Majesty Yao Di, show me to your throne," Lu Yinmanded with clear interest.

    Soon, Lu Yin was led inside an ancient and oppressive pce. Both humans and astral beasts would be intimidated by such impressive construction.

    Yao Di¡¯s pce openly disyed arrogance and superiority, and it was enough to awe any and all visitors.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was sitting atop Yao Di¡¯s throne, and before him was Skymender and the rest of the astral beasts¡¯ representatives.

    "Dao Chosen, the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Celestial Beast Empire is offering aplete surrender. Additionally, there are twenty six different alliances throughout our Domain, and all of them have surrendered¡­" Skymender solemnly delivered a report that informed Lu Yin of everything concerning the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin listened in silence. He had conquered the Astral Beast Domain, and at the same time, gathered a vast army and many powerhouses under hismand.

    The Astral Beast Domain had no fewer than thirty creatures with the strength of Envoys, and there were over 300 creatures with the strength of Enlighters. As for creaturesparable to Explorers, Cruisers, and Hunters, there were many thousands of them. These were the forces that had survived the endless years of war. It was no wonder why the Celestial Beast Domain had been able to stand up to the Human Domain for so many years.

    Aside from powerful astral beasts, Lu Yin¡¯s top priority was to learn about the resources avable in the Astral Beast Domain. He had previously heard that it was a region with sparse resources. After all, they had been invaded by the Sixth Maind as well, but the invaders had gained nothing for all their efforts.

    While the entire Astral Beast Domain had been written off as poor andcking in resources, Lu Yin did not believe that there was nothing but poverty. At the very least, the Celestial Demons who ruled the Astral Beast Domain should have gathered arge amount of star essence.

    Just the thought of new wealth caused Lu Yin''s eyes to light up.

    The Technocracy had never cared about gathering star essence, and yet they had been able to provide Lu Yin with about a trillion. He was certain that the Astral Beast Domain had to have much more.

    Lu Yin listened to Skymender¡¯s report, and then those of the others who were inside the imperial pce. Countless astral beasts restlessly waited outside the pce, nervously awaiting to learn their fate.

    While the Astral Beast Domain had little knowledge or history, the appearance of the humans from the Heavens Sect era had also initiated the spread of a great deal of information regarding the Heavens Sect era, including information concerning the Fourth Maind.

    The Heavens Sect era had been the darkest moment in history for astral beasts. They had been enved by humans and forced to act as mere mounts. These facts were not something that the astral beasts were willing to face. Even though during the Heavens Sect era, the Fourth Maind had powerful astral beast Progenitors, there had been no way of changing that.

    One of the cities in one of the rings of the Astral River¡¯s tributaries that circled the Celestial Beast Weave had been split in half by the jiao¡¯s might.

    Yao Gu stood at the fissure, calmly observing the break. Everything had changed within just a few decades.

    He simply could not ept the fact that the Astral Beast Domain had already been conquered, and even worse, it had been conquered by that human.

    Lu Yin was not some unknown stranger to Yao Gu. When he had been a guest in the Human Domain, he had obtained a Mavis Bank bank card, but it had been stolen away from him by Lu Yin. He had sent a Void Thunderbeast into the Human Domain to punish Lu Yin, but the Astral Combat Academy had stopped those efforts. Back then, Lu Yin had been a mere ant who could have been squashed by Yao Gu like a bug. It was unbelievable that the former bug had brought such a terrible disaster upon the Astral Beast Domain.

    "Don''t bother dwelling on it. The fact that the emperor himself wasn¡¯t able to change anything means that all of our stewing and thinking arepletely useless." Cursewind arrived at Yao Gu¡¯s side and let out a sigh.

    Yao Gu nced over. "If you were given a chance to return to Ironblood Weave back then, what would you do?"

    Cursewind''s eyes instantly grew cold with a terrifyingly dangerous glint, but itsted for less than a moment. "Contemting such things is pointless. Things are how they are, and all that matters is what arrangements he makes next."

    Cursewind had once fought against Lu Yin during a battle in Ironblood Weave, but Lu Yin had used power vessels to fight back. Cursewind had truly not taken the human very seriously, and he had not put forth anywhere near his full efforts.

    Given another chance, Cursewind would have made sure to kill Lu Yin, even if it meant dying with the human.

    It was unfortunate that it was impossible to turn back time. Even if such a thing was possible, it waspletely out of reach of individuals like Cursewind and Yao Gu.

    There were numerous individuals throughout the Astral Beast Domain with simr thoughts, such as Tian Hou, who had been the most powerful participant during the Tournament of the Strongest and who had faced Lu Yin in the finals. There was also Xu Qing, who hated himself for not using his full strength. He regretted not dying with Lu Yin. Lc Snow, who had led the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s team of participants into the Human Domain for the Tournament of the Strongest. If she had taken action back then, she would have been able to crush Lu Yin with a single finger. There were also individuals like Feng Jiu, Loach Monster, the Void Wanderer ancestor, and many more.

    Countless astral beasts had crossed paths with Lu Yin over the years, and all of them regretted their previous actions.

    Of course, Lu Yin was well aware of this.

    At the moment, he was suppressing the Astral Beast Domain with the jiao, though Lu Yin was not using the jiao¡¯s actual power. Instead, he was relying on the astral beasts¡¯ instinctual fear and submission towards the jiao. With the passing of time, their submission would waver. Lu Yin did not have true control over the Astral Beast Domain yet.

    Naturally, that meant that the next thing Lu Yin needed to do waspletely integrate the Astral Beast Domain with the Human Domain.

    For integration to ur, Yao Di and Skymender absolutely could not be allowed to remain in the Astral Beast Domain, which meant that Lu Yin needed to send someone to oversee the ce. Who should that be? Hen Xin was automatically disqualified, as giving such an untrustworthy person such authority would be no different than providing him with the means to escape from Lu Yin¡¯s control.

    This meant that there were only a select few who were qualified as candidates.

    It was a pity that Progenitor Chen''s power could not be spread into the Astral Beast Domain. If that were possible, Lu Yin would be able to send absolutely anyone to oversee the astral beasts, as just a thought from him would be enough to erase any and all unstable factors.

    The instant defeat of the Astral Beast Domain created huge waves throughout the Human Domain. Countless people excitedly looked to the east. With the Astral Beast Domain conquered, humanity¡¯s territory would double. Also, this meant that, for the first time, humanity had truly united the Fifth Maind.

    Inside the Heavens Sect, atop the main mountain, the Ghost Monkey became utterly silent after he learned that Lu Yin had upended the Astral Beast Domain with the jiao. No one could find the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin spent several days straight listening to Skymender¡¯s report regarding everything in the Astral Beast Domain.

    During this time, Lu Yin developed a very clear understanding of the ce.

    In truth, while it was said that the Celestial Beast Empire ruled the Astral Beast Domain, the Celestial Beast Empire did not control the Astral Beast Domain.

    In essence, the empire carried out the same role as the Human Domain¡¯s Hall of Honor. Just because everyone made it a show to obey the Hall of Honor, it did not mean that the Hall of Honor had ever truly ruled the Human Domain.

    The Astral Beast Domain also had various alliances. When Lu Yin had fought on the border warfront the first time, the Human Domain had been fighting against the Wilderness Beast Alliance. It was an alliance that had been formed by seven Enlighter-level astral beasts, and they were led by an astral beast who called itself the Soaring Firebeast Emperor. But while he was a Soaring Firebeast, the species considered him a traitor and hated how he referred to himself.

    The Astral Beast Domain had a total of twenty six alliances, but all of them had already surrendered to Lu Yin.

    The fear and pressure that the jiao gave all the astral beasts was too severe for any of them to ovee.

    "Stop." Lu Yin suddenly interrupted Skymender, who instantly stopped while warily eying Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin leaned forward. "Does the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s imperial advisor have any interest in going to the Heavens Sect to act as a teacher?"

    Skymender calmly stared at Lu Yin. "If that is your order, Dao Chosen, I will obey."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he turned to look at Yao Di. "Jue Yi betrayed me, and so he will never be allowed to appear again. The Heavens Sect has eight Heavenly Gates, and I don''t want to change that. Would you be willing to takemand of one of them, Yao Di? We would change the Undying Heavenly Gate to the Beast Heavenly Gate."

    The rest of the astral beasts present all nced at each other, as Lu Yin was taking away their two most powerful individuals. This meant that, no matter what happened in the future, the Astral Beast Domain would have no one who could resist Lu Yin at all.

    Yao Di understood that he had no choice in this matter. Lu Yin¡¯sment about how Jue Yi would never appear again was also a warning; if Yao Di did not agree, he would also disappear.

    "If that is the Dao Chosen¡¯s decision," Yao Di agreed dejectedly.

    Lu Yin was satisfied with the two astral beasts¡¯ eptance of the situation. "Don''t worry, both the Heavenly Gates¡¯ gatemasters and the Heavens Sect¡¯s teacher are among the highest positions avable in the Heavens Sect. Given your strength, you naturally need to be given a fitting position."

    Having concluded matters with the two Semi-Progenitors, Lu Yin turned his attention to the rest of the astral beasts. "I intend to form another army within the Heavens Sect that I will call the Astral Beast Army. There will be 5,000 astral beasts in the army, and my goal is for them to support the tens of millions of human soldiers in the other armies."

    There were no arguments. Ever since the jiao had released a Progenitor¡¯s aura across the Astral Beast Domain, they had known that they were doomed to this oue. In fact, if the Astral Beast Domain had instead conquered the Human Domain, their actions would have been no different.

    "As you will it, Dao Chosen," the various patriarchs agreed.

    Yao Xuan was unwilling to ept such an oue, and he could not help but nce at Lu Yin once again.

    Lu Yin smiled as he said, "Also, I know that there are many unaffiliated astral beasts throughout the Domain who have no allegiances and are difficult to control. The twenty six alliances are a perfect example. They¡¯ve surrendered to me for now, but that does not mean that they will continue to submit in the future. For this reason, someone will need to remain here in the Astral Beast Domain to oversee things. I wonder, what do you think about the de Heavenly Gate?"

    Skymender spoke up, "Dao Chosen, are you referring to Gatemaster Leng Qing?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Skymender answered respectfully, "Gatemaster Leng Qing is a Semi-Progenitor who was one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates during the Heavens Sect era, and he has an excellent chance of eventually bing a Progenitor. If he is ced in charge of the Astral Beast Domain, no one will have the courage to revolt."

    "I¡¯m d to hear the imperial advisor¡¯s approval! In that case, it''s settled. There are still many things to deal with, but there¡¯s still one matter that is too important to hand over to anyone else.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew hard. ¡°I would like the imperial advisor to show me to where the humanoid sourceboxes are all stored."

    Skymender and Yao Di were both badly startled, and they stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "How do you know about that, Dao Chosen?"

 Chapter 2319: That Place

    <h4>Chapter 2319: That ce</h4>

    Lu Yin just smiled at the sight of Skymender and Yao Di¡¯s shocked expressions. "Do I need to report where I got all of my knowledge to you?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare! The Dao Chosen can do whatever he wishes," Skymender replied in a deep voice while doing his best to recover from his shock.

    Yao Di dropped his head. His eyes flickered as his mind raced. There were only a few individuals in the entire Astral Beast Domain who were even aware of that ce, and most of them remained there. In fact, the only ones with knowledge of that ce who were not confined to that location were himself and Skymender. How could Lu Yin know about it?

    Feng Lin and the other patriarchs were all confused, as they had no idea what this ce where humanoid sourceboxes were kept was. Clearly, the emperor and the imperial advisor had kept this matter secret from even the patriarchs, but why was Lu Yin aware of it?

    Everyone else was left behind, and only Skymender and Yao Di went with Lu Yin to lead him towards the location where they had stored the humanoid sourceboxes.

    Of course, the jiao tagged along as well. If he were being honest, Lu Yin was actually quite afraid of Skymender, especially since Skymender possessed one of the Books of Destiny.

    "Where''s your Book of Destiny?" Lu Yin asked.

    Skymender answered respectfully, "I keep it in my home. I¡¯ve been worried about Destina using Destiny¡¯s methods to attack me through the book, so it¡¯s not really convenient for me to carry it around."

    "Bring it here and let me have a look at it," Lu Yin said. Once Skymender was gone, Lu Yin sent a message to Starsibyl through a wireless jincan, asking her to stop the attacks on Skymender.

    In the Innerverse, Destina frowned. She found her situation to be quite ufortable. Lu Yin had actually given her an order. That was something that even Progenitors could not have done during the Heavens Sect era. After all, Destina was Destiny¡¯s disciple and heir.

    She found it pathetic that she was being forced to listen to Lu Yin in the modern era, but there was no one to help or support her.

    During the Heavens Sect era, Destina had been able to rely on her status as Destiny¡¯s heir to intimidate Progenitors, but with his ability to wield Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, Lu Yin could easily kill Destina. She did not want to risk a confrontation with Lu Yin.

    However, the Books of Destiny belonged to Destiny, which meant that they were things that could never be acquired by an outsider. As for Skymender? That beast would be forced to surrender the Book of Destiny to Destina eventually.

    Lu Yin did not care for her opinion, as he was the undisputed ruler of the current era.

    Skymender soon returned, carrying a huge book.

    Lu Yin saw that the book looked exactly the same as the one that Xiao Shi had. "Open it."

    Skymender opened the book and then looked up at Lu Yin. "Can the Dao Chosen see the text?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "What do you mean?"

    Skymender exined, "No creature can see what¡¯s written in this book aside from me."

    Lu Yin instantly acted suspicious. "Is that actually true?"

    Skymender quickly continued, "If the Dao Chosen doesn''t believe me, you can ask Destina."

    Lu Yin looked half-convinced. "I''ll talk to Destina, but for now, show me."

    Skymender handed the book over to Lu Yin. He had no worry that Lu Yin would steal the book. After all, Skymender already knew that he did not have the strength to stop Lu Yin from doing whatever he wanted.

    The jiao was traveling towards a very specific location, following Skymender¡¯s guidance. Atop the jiao¡¯s head, Lu Yin was flipping through the pages of the Book of Destiny, his eyes flickering. He could not see a single word, but that did not mean that Xiao Shi would also be unable to do so.

    Skymender did not know that Xiao Shi even existed, which was also why Lu Yin had put on such a show of not believing that he could not read the book. He wanted to ensure that Skymender started doubting things.

    At this point in time, Lu Yin was aware of where all three Books of Destiny were. He was holding onto one, another was with Xiao Shi, and thest was with Bai Xian''er.

    Despite being Destiny¡¯s heir, Destina did not have one of the three books. However, since she had learned that Skymender possessed one, it was guaranteed that Destina would do her best to take it away one way or another.

    "Imperial Advisor, why don¡¯t you let me have this book?" Lu Yin suddenly asked as he kept his head bent over while flipping through the book. He did not even nce up at Skymender.

    The astral beast¡¯s expression never changed. "If the Dao Chosen likes it, you can have it."

    Lu Yin looked up and smiled. "That doesn¡¯t bother you?"

    Skymender smiled back. "It makes no difference if the book is in the Dao Chosen¡¯s hands or in mine. So, the Dao Chosen can just take it."

    Lu Yin set the book down at his feet. "Since that¡¯s how it is, I¡¯ll have to be rude."

    Lu Yin had only asked because he wanted to test Skymender and see how he would refuse. But surprisingly, the astral beast had agreed far too easily. Was this because he was absolutely confident that Lu Yin could not read the book and that it was useless to him? No, Skymender was aware of Destina, so then why was he still so willing to give a Book of Destiny away?

    Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked back at Skymender while keeping his questions to himself.

    Skymender''s expression never changed at all. Lu Yin could not see through the astral beast¡¯s thoughts.

    "It''s right here," Skymender suddenly said. Lu Yin quickly had the jiao stop, and then he looked forward. Once he released his domain, he sensed a hidden pocket of space.

    Skymender stepped forward and approached an empty section of outer space. As he raised a hand, space rippled, and then a dark crack appeared in the void. Lu Yin was no stranger to this particr spatial fissure, as he had seen it while Possessing a creeper. This same scene had urred when the creeper and sound monster had to kill the astral beast who had identally stumbled across this hidden location.

    The most impressive thing that Lu Yin had seen during that Possession was neither the massive statue that Skymender had worshiped nor the numerous humanoid sourceboxes. Rather, it was something that the sound monster had said to the creeper: if the location that they protected was ever exposed, then both of their ns would be destroyed. The reference to the ns had actually been referring to the creeper and sound monster species of astral beasts.

    Neither of the species had a low status in the Astral Beast Domain, but they would bepletely wiped out if this location were ever exposed. This made it quite clear just how important this location was to Skymender.

    "Dao Chosen, please." Skymender respectfully gestured for Lu Yin to enter.

    Lu Yin frowned. Skymender believed that the frown indicated that Lu Yin was notfortable, so the imperial advisor entered the spatial crack first and waited for Lu Yin inside the hidden space.

    However, Lu Yin had nothing to worry about. The only reason why he had hesitated was because he felt that Skymender was being too straightforward about everything. Lu Yin had assumed that he would be led to a false location, but Skymender had led Lu Yin to the true sight of the humanoid sourceboxes. Lu Yin could confirm this from when he had Possessed the creeper.

    Despite his questions, Lu Yin dropped his hesitation and entered the spatial crack.

    There were a total of five Envoy-level astral beasts within the hidden space, and one of them was the creeper that Lu Yin had Possessed before.

    Aside from the five astral beasts, Lu Yin also noticed the many, many humanoid sourceboxes that had been gathered here. Finally, he turned to look in a very specific direction at the massive statue. When Lu Yin had Possessed the creeper, he had only been able to see the statue¡¯s limbs, but he was finally able to see the full statue for himself now.

    Behind Lu Yin, Skymender was more shocked than ever when he noticed Lu Yin quickly turn to stare straight at the hidden statue. Not only did the human know of this hidden ce, but he also knew exactly where the statue had been hidden. Why? How could he know this?

    Ever since this hidden sanctuary had first been created, any and all astral beasts who entered were forbidden from ever leaving. Even the guards were confined here, and any outsiders who approached the hidden location would be killed without question. Skymender and Yao Di were the only ones who knew of this location and were able to enter and leave it alive, which meant that it was impossible for anyone else to know about it. So just how had Lu Yin learned of it?

    There was no way that Skymender would ever believe that Lu Yin had mentioned this ce through something as simple as a coincidence. It was very clear that Lu Yin had previous knowledge of this ce.

    No matter how impossible this seemed, it was the only possible answer.

    Lu Yin did not know that his subconscious actions had revealed a terrible conundrum for Skymender. "Skymender, why were you collecting all of these humanoid sourceboxes?"

    Skymender maintained his respectful attitude. "Since the Dao Chosen is asking, I won¡¯t hide anything. I gathered all of these humanoid sourceboxes to open them."

    Lu Yinughed, and he turned to look at Skymender. "Is this a joke, Skymender? You¡¯re trying to tell me that all of these sourceboxes were brought here to be unlocked?"

    Skymender replied, "Opening these is not as simple as lockbreaking."

    He suddenly hesitated for a moment, before slowly asking, "Dao Chosen, do you know where all of these human-shaped sourceboxes came from?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. While he had seen a river of humanoid sourceboxes while traveling through time and space and knew that most of them hade from the Fourth Maind, he had only seen the destruction of the Fourth Maind. There was no guarantee that that was where the sourceboxes had originated from.

    "All of these humanoid sourceboxes are sealed humans. Each of them practiced a very unique battle technique," Skymender solemnly exined.

    This was very surprising. "A unique battle technique?"

    Skymender nodded. "The technique is known as Stone Origin. Using the technique doesn¡¯t improve one¡¯sbat strength at all, nor does it improve their cultivation. The only use is protection. All of these people are from the shattered Mainds. They are powerhouses who were forced to use Stone Origin to protect themselves."

    Lu Yin nced around at the humanoid sourceboxes. He did not really believe such a story. "All of these are humans?"

    "Yes."

    "If they¡¯re humans, then why would you gather them with the goal of unlocking them?"

    "Honestly, my Astral Beast Domain falls far behind the Human Domain in pure strength, so I wanted to unlock these powerhouses and use their additional strength to attack the Human Domain."

    Lu Yin blinked and stared at Skymender, who quickly exined, "These sourceboxes are truly all humans, so I would never unlock them rashly. Regardless of whether the person even managed to survive until now, there is no guarantee that any of the survivors would be willing to help my Astral Beast Domain. However, the person who created the Stone Origin technique also left behind aplementary sourcebox array known as the Stone Reversal Formation. Using this sourcebox array on people who used the Stone Origin technique nts a brand on them and allows the Lockbreaker to control the unlocked bodies.

    "Because of the Stone Origin¡¯s creator¡¯s malicious intentions, he was killed. However, the Stone Origin technique continued to be passed down. Normally, no one would willingly use the technique, but when faced with certain death, it sometimes became the only way for someone to survive."

    Lu Yin remembered that, when he had seen the Fourth Maind shatter, all of the humanoid sourceboxes had flown out from the destruction, which matched Skymender¡¯s information. All of those sourceboxes had appeared the moment the Maind had been destroyed, which made sense if people were trying to survive.

    "In that case, Do you have the Stone Reversal Formation?" Lu Yin asked. This was the only reason for Skymender to have collected so many humanoid sourceboxes.

    Skymender nodded. "Yes."

    "Are you a Lockbreaker?" Lu Yin was surprised again.

    Skymender turned to face Lu Yin. "I am an Array Grandmaster."

    Lu Yin was startled. "You¡¯re an Array Grandmaster?"

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin looked Skymender up and down. "Why have I never heard anything about that?"

    The Human Domain had been at war with the Astral Beast Domain for far too many years. The fighting had never stopped ever since the Perennial World had been separated from the rest of the Fifth Maind. And yet, despite Skymender¡¯s long life, which no one actually knew the extent of, there had never been any hint that the astral beast was an Array Grandmaster.

    Were there any other Array Grandmasters in the Astral Beast Domain?

    Skymender answered respectfully, "Has the Dao Chosen ever seen me on a battlefield? Does the Human Domain have any information at all regarding my cultivation or strength?"

    Lu Yin frowned. There was only one bit of information that the Human Domain had concerning Skymender; he could use divination like the Starsibyl Sect. There was truly no other information about the astral beast. He was clearly a Semi-Progenitor, but the Human Domain¡¯s records imed that Yao Di was the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s sole Semi-Progenitor. It should not be that surprising that Skymender¡¯s ability as an Array Grandmaster had also been overlooked.

    Lu Yin suppressed his shock. "So, you have the Stone Reversal Formation, which means that as long as you can unlock these humanoid sourceboxes, you¡¯ll gainplete control over the people who are released, right?"

    "Yes."

    "Then why haven¡¯t you released anyone?"

 Chapter 2320: Wilderness God

    <h4>Chapter 2320: Wilderness God</h4>

    Skymender answered, "Humanoid sourceboxes are extremely difficult to unlock, as they are not true sourceboxes. Rather, they are people who have transformed themselves into sourceboxes with the Stone Origin technique, which means that they cannot be unlocked in a traditional manner. Instead, they need to be unlocked by inverting the technique with the necessary sourcebox array. Unfortunately, it is far from easy to invert the necessary sourcebox array, as everything needs to be adjusted ording to the exact time of day, location, blood of the transformed human, and many more minute details. Over the years, I obtained two opportunities to use the sourcebox array, but I was dyed due to various reasons."

    Skymender''s exnation sounded quite reasonable, but Lu Yin still pulled out a wireless jincan. Then, he sent Lu Buzheng a message in front of Skymender, asking if the man had ever heard of the Stone Origin technique. He soon received confirmation, as well as a description of the technique that very closely resembled what Lu Yin had already heard from Skymender. However, Lu Buzheng also reported that the inverted sourcebox array had long since gone missing.

    "Only a few Progenitors even knew about the existence of the inverted sourcebox array, and that was because a Progenitor created the Stone Origin technique. He was naturally killed by other Progenitors. I happened to learn it by chance, but people only know about the risks involved in using the technique. No one knows anything about the required inverted sourcebox array,¡± Skymender exined.

    Given Skymender¡¯s intelligence, even if he was deceiving Lu Yin, it would not be easy to expose a lie.

    Lu Yin still did not believe the astral beast, but he could not find a single w in the story. "Show me the Stone Reversal Formation."

    Skymender had saved the Stone Reversal Formation in a jade slip that he handed over to Lu Yin. He was absolutely going to research the sourcebox array after returning to the Human Domain. However, if an Array Grandmaster had only found two chances to use the sourcebox array in countless years, it was quite clear that this was an extremely difficult sourcebox array to master.

    Also, Grandmaster Gu Yan had been in seclusion for decades, and it did not make sense for him to have been studying humanoid sourceboxes for so long. Given Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s abilities, if humanoid sourceboxes could be unlocked in a normal manner, then it would have been impossible for the man to have taken so much time to study a single sourcebox. How could an Array Grandmaster take decades to unlock a sourcebox? And yet, there had never once been any mention of a humanoid sourcebox being unlocked.

    This perfectly matched up with what Skymender had told Lu Yin, which was that normal lockbreaking techniques could not be used on the humanoid sourceboxes.

    However, Lu Yin did actually have a way to confirm what Skymender was saying, which was Xiao Shi''s Book of Destiny. Lu Yin could ask the man to search the book for any mention of the Stone Origin technique or the Stone Reversal Formation and see what could be found.

    While Lu Yin knew practically nothing about this topic, he had the means to confirm what he was being told.

    The two moved further into the hidden space, and Lu Yin deliberately approached the creeper. Once he was within five meters of the astral beast, Lu Yin Possessed it and scanned its recent memories.

    Despite several years passing, not much new was in the creeper¡¯s memories. Even if the humanoid sourceboxes had been moved around, little had changed within the hidden space.

    Lu Yin felt a bit disappointed. Everything was going too smoothly. Skymender had led Lu Yin directly to this hidden space, and while Lu Yin had assumed that the hidden space would have been altered or changed or something, the creeper¡¯s memories showed that no such thing had happened. Everything that Lu Yin was being shown and revealed seemed to be the truth.

    On the surface, it appeared that Skymender had truly andpletely surrendered to Lu Yin.

    Not only had Skymender taken the lead to encourage the countless behemoths from the Celestial Beast Empire to bow to Lu Yin, but he had also given up the Book of Destiny, led Lu Yin to the hidden space, and shared everything that he seemed to know about the humanoid sourceboxes.

    By all logic, his actions simply did not make any sense at all. It was not normal.

    "Who is that statue of?" Lu Yin was quite curious about this.

    Skymender instantly grew solemn, and both reverence and a near fanatical gleam appeared in his eyes as he dropped to his knees while facing the statue.

    This was a scene that Lu Yin had already seen many times before in the creeper¡¯s memories. It was a perfect rey of those times.

    "This junior Skymender pays his respects to the Dao Monarch!" Skymender shouted loudly in a voice that was filled with respect.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows rose high. Dao Monarch? That was a title used only during the Heavens Sect era. It was given to the rulers of each of the six Mainds. Just who was this statue of?

    "Dao Chosen, this is my Fourth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, Wilderness God," Skymender solemnly introduced.

    Lu Yin froze, and he slowly raised his head to look up at the statue.

    The Fourth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, Wilderness God, had been a powerhouse on the same level as the other five Mainds¡¯ Dao Monarchs. Wilderness God had been a top-tier expert second only to the Origin Progenitor himself. He had been someone on the same level as the God of Death.

    While Lu Yin had already guessed who the statue was of, hearing a confirmation was still shocking.

    It was also at this moment that Lu Yin finally got a view of the full statue to see Wilderness God¡¯s true form.

    Wilderness God had not been a human! He had also been an astral beast, and yet he had been the Fourth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch. Lu Yin also had no idea just what species of astral beast the ancient powerhouse had been, as this was his first time seeing such a creature. Lu Yin¡¯s first impression was that the creature looked quite ordinary and waspletely unimpressive. At the very least, the astral beast¡¯s appearance did note close to measuring up to a domineering name like ¡°Wilderness God.¡±

    After a momentary daze spent staring at the statue of Wilderness God, Lu Yin took a deep breath and bowed to the statue. "Junior Lu Yin sees Wilderness God."

    Conflicted emotions appeared in Skymender¡¯s eyes when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s actions. During the Heavens Sect era, not even Wilderness God¡¯s presence had been able to protect the Fourth Maind and stop humans from enving, plundering, and even breeding and farming countless astral beasts across the Fourth Maind. Not even Wilderness God had been able to change such behavior.

    Yet a direct descendant of the Lu family, Lu Yin, was willing to pay his respects to Wilderness God.

    "Thank you, Dao Chosen." Skymender was genuinely grateful for the demonstration of respect.

    Lu Yin somberly answered, "The Dao Monarch of the Fourth Maind deserves the respect and worship of allter generations. Besides, I believe that Senior Wilderness God also fought desperately against the Aeternals during his era. His death is everyone''s loss."

    Skymender nodded. "Wilderness God died with the Fourth Maind. Perhaps thend we are on now was formed from his flesh and blood."

    "The Fourth Maind should have had more Progenitors than just Wilderness God," Lu Yinmented.

    "Of course there were. The one most are familiar with was Progenitor Wushang, but unfortunately, Progenitor Wushang ultimately sacrificed himself as well, dying during the war against the Sixth Maind."

    "Right." Lu Yin had heard about Progenitor Wushang too many times over the years, and without the pieces of the Progenitor¡¯s hide, Lu Yin would have died long ago. He had been repeatedly saved by the Third Nightking and Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide when he had been weak.

    After emerging from the hidden space, Skymender asked, "Does the Dao Chosen have any intentions for this ce?"

    "Let''s leave it as is for now."

    Skymender nodded and then followed Lu Yin back to the capital of the Celestial Beast Empire.

    "Skymender, are you not worried that I¡¯ll give Destina the Book of Destiny that you¡¯ve given to me?" As they were on their way back, Lu Yin suddenly asked the question that he had been contemting.

    Skymender calmly answered, "The book already belongs to the Dao Chosen, so the Dao Chosen can give it to whomever he wishes."

    Lu Yin looked out into the boundless universe, reying all that had just happened.

    Skymender, the imperial advisor to the Celestial Beast Empire, had been too passive in his surrender and had offered Lu Yin far too much. In fact, Skymender seemed willing to give everything to Lu Yin, and it was making Lu Yin very ufortable. But why? He could not determine the source of his unease.

    Did Skymender want to kill Lu Yin?

    The question abruptly popped into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and it caused him to reflexively release a hint of killing intent.

    Skymender was already on edge and paying close attention to Lu Yin. When he noticed the bit of killing intent, and the astral beast¡¯s expression instantly changed. "However, even if the Dao Chosen gives the Book of Destiny to Destina, she won¡¯t be able to use it."

    "Why not?" Lu Yin instantly retracted his killing intent and responded with surprise.

    "While the Books of Destiny are treasures that were created by Destiny herself, they are different from ordinary treasures, as one needs time to limate to them."

    "What do you mean by that?"

    "When I first obtained that Book of Destiny, I was unable to see any words, but as time passed and I continued to cultivate ording to Destiny¡¯s methods, I was gradually able to make out some words. The process took about 10,000 years."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. 10,000 years? There was no way that Xiao Shi had lived even close to that long, so why was he able to read his Book of Destiny? Bai Xian¡¯er also had not lived for 10,000 years, and yet she was able to read a Book of Destiny as well. This meant that Skymender was either lying, or there was another way to gain ess to the writing in the books.

    Lu Yin remembered that Xiao Shi had said that he had been able to read his Book of Destiny the moment he found it in the Hall of Honor¡¯s library, but no one else had been able to see anything at all. Xiao Shi had never limated to his Book of Destiny.

    If Skymender was speaking the truth, then what was the difference between him and Xiao Shi? Why had the young human immediately been able to see the text? Where did Bai Xian¡¯er fall into everything?

    "Destina is Destiny¡¯s disciple and heir."

    "The Dao Chosen can show the book to Destina," Skymender replied.

    Lu Yin thought for a bit before asking, "What would it mean if someone can read the book as soon as they open it?"

    Skymender¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared intently at Lu Yin while instantly replying, "Destiny."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide. "What do you mean by that?"

    Skymender answered softly, "If someone can immediately read what is written in a Book of Destiny without limating to the book, then there can only be one reason¡ªthey are Destiny."

    Lu Yin dropped his head so that his eyes fell onto the Book of Destiny. Destiny? Were Xiao Shi or Bai Xian''er Destiny herself? How could that be? Still, why not? If Big Sis could be Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, then it was certainly not impossible for Destiny to also reappear. However, Destiny was only a single person, while Xiao Shi and Bai Xian¡¯er were two different people.

    Lu Yin remained lost in deep thought as he returned to the Celestial Beast Empire.

    He had onest goal for his time in the Celestial Beast Empire: their resources.

    Lu Yin dismissed his thoughts regarding Destiny. He first needed to show the Book of Destiny that he had just acquired to Destina to learn more and to verify Skymender¡¯s words. Also, if Xiao Shi was Destiny, then it would not be any problem at all, though it would certainly be a bit difficult to ept. But if Bai Xian¡¯er was Destiny, then he would find it extremely difficult to be ept such a thing.

    Destiny was a pinnacle powerhouse who had stood alongside the God of Death. When Big Sis had acquired the Y¨­u Secret Art, her cultivation had instantly surged. Did that mean that if Bai Xian¡¯er acquired the Books of Destiny, her cultivation would do the same? Was that the secret to her unbelievable progress and strength?

    Lu Yin shook his head. The more he thought about this matter, the more caught up in it he became. He let out a breath. He needed to focus on other matters. "You should already be quite familiar with me. Since the Astral Beast Domain is willing to be part of the Heavens Sect, what resources can you provide?"

    Lu Yin was in the imperial pce again, addressing Skymender, Yao Di, and the other high-ranking astral beasts.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to try to be subtle about such matters. In fact, there was nothing that Lu Yin could not address openly in the Fifth Maind.

    Also, Yao Di and the other astral beasts showed no hint of surprise at Lu Yin¡¯s question. "Is the Dao Chosen referring to star essence?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    Yao Di replied, "As of today, the total amount of star essence within the Celestial Demon Weavees up to a bit more than 50 billion."

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. This was simply pathetic!

    "Within the imperial pce, we have gathered resources for countless years, and we have around 600 billion star essence," Yao Di continued.

    Lu Yin''s face started to rx a bit. The imperial pce represented the entire Celestial Beast Empire, so it was quite reasonable for so much star essence to have been gathered.

    "As for the twenty six alliances that the Dao Chosen is already aware of, they have already contacted me to make arrangements to transport their star essence over, and it is already en route. At this moment, they are estimated to have nearly a trillion star essence. If the Dao Chosen needs of star essence, I can have all of the astral beasts throughout the Astral Beast Domain turn in their star essence."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brows climbed high. How well did the astral beasts know him? Regardless of how ufortable it might be for him to ask, he still eagerly asked, "How much would that be?"

    Yao Di ran some estimates for a bit. "There shouldn''t be any less than 5 trillion star essence in total."

 Chapter 2321: Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2321: Appearance</h4>

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed. 5 trillion? That was even more than what he had obtained from the three Junior Progenitors, which had been enough to bankrupt the four ruling powers. Lu Yin felt quite certain that not one of the four ruling powers had as much star essence as he was about to receive.

    However, while it seemed like a tremendous amount, in the context of the entire Astral Beast Domain, it really was not that much. After all, some astral beasts also used star essence with their cultivation. Otherwise, Yao Gu would have never bothered to obtain a Mavis bank card.

    If no one in the Astral Beast Domain used star essence for their cultivation, as was the case with the Technocracy, then Lu Yin would have obtained a much, much greater amount of star essence. In the end, Lu Yin would only receive the resources that the astral beasts were willing to give to their emperor.

    Lu Yin believed that if all of the star essence in the entire Astral Beast Domain was gathered together, it would amount to at least 20 trillion, which was about twenty times more than what the Technocracy had given him.

    In the entire Fifth Maind, the ce with the most star essence was still the Human Domain. Lu Yin could not even estimate how much star essence existed throughout the entire Human Domain. On top of that, there were also the Sixth Maind and Perennial World¡¯s resources. The more Lu Yin thought of the wealth that existed in the universe, the further his imagination wandered. He even began fantasizing about the possibility of gathering all the star essence in existence and Enhancing the slipper to the point where even the Aeternals¡¯ True God could be instantly killed.

    Still, just whom had that slipper belonged to?

    In the following days, Lu Yin asked Yao Di to announce to the entire Astral Beast Domain the creation of the Astral Beast Army and also to expedite the entire matter before he made his way to the Heavens Sect to take up his new post there. In ce of Yao Di, the Astral Beast Domain would be ruled by the Heavenly de Gate.

    At this point in time, the Heavenly de Gate still only had a single member: Leng Qing. Not one other person had joined the Heavenly Gate. For this reason, Lu Yin tasked the Giants Army with apanying the Heavenly de Gate into the Astral Beast Domain.

    Only the colossal giants could suppress the rough and wild nature of the Astral Beast Domain.

    Back in the Heavens Sect, Ku Wei received the terrible news. "Go- go to the Astral Beast Domain?"

    Leng Qing looked at the young man in a condescending manner. "Get ready. These are the Dao Chosen''s orders, so we leave immediately."

    Leng Qing did not actually obey Lu Yin¡¯s orders due to his position as Dao Chosen, nor because of his strength. Rather, it was solely because he wielded the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Lu Yin alone could wield that de, and as far as Leng Qing was concerned, Lu Yin represented the Origin Progenitor himself.

    The truth was that, out of all eight gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, the one who was the most loyal to Lu Yin was Lu Buzheng.

    Ku Wei whined, "Can I not go?"

    Leng Qing shrugged. "Take that up with the Dao Chosen."

    His hands trembling, Ku Wei prepared to send Lu Yin a message with his wireless jincan. However, it did not take long for Ku Wei to give up. He quickly gathered the Giants Army and prepared to depart for the Astral Beast Domain.

    Being sent to the Astral Beast Domain was pure torture for Ku Wei. He had been enjoying a wonderful time in the Heavens Sect. With his position as Lu Yin''s disciple, Ku Wei could essentially dominate the entire Human Domain! The feeling of having ess to beautiful women, resources, and practically unlimited authority was beyond marvelous. If Ku Wei wanted to, he could even visit the Ku family and unt his improved status. How could such a lifestylepare with what he would be doing in the Astral Beast Domain?

    Reality was too cruel.

    ***

    While Lu Yin was conquering the Astral Beast Domain and cleaning out their powerhouses to form the Astral Beast Army that he was taking back to the Human Domain, in the Perennial World, Virtue Archives was facing its own difficulties.

    Even though only a month had passed since everything that had happened in the Higher Realm, there were no students at all in Virtue Archives. The students who had traveled to the Higher Realm had stayed there. As for the instructors, Prof. Bai, Prof. Wu, and six others had left. Prof. Hao Yu had been exposed as Lu Yin, which left only Headmaster Wen, Semi-Progenitor Ce Doni, the God of Food, Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Huai. They were the only people in all of Virtue Archives now.

    The descendants of big families such as Nong Siniang and Liu Que had all been taken back by their families, and they had never returned to Virtue Archives.

    There were currently only seven people upying all of Virtue Archives¡¯ territory.

    It was impossible for seven people to run an entire academy. There would also be no students returning or entering, as the four ruling powers had sealed off the entirety of Virtue District.

    "This is ridiculous! The four ruling powers would have never taken such drastic actions against us before!" Prof. Zheng was irritated by the entire situation. "Why did that Lu Xiaoxuan have toe to our academy?"

    Semi-Progenitor Ce Doni, who was the guardian of the academy¡¯s library, said, "Even without Lu Xiaoxuaning here, our academy still would not have been able tost for very long."

    Headmaster Wen stared off into the distance. He still was unable to ept the fact that Yu Hao was actually Lu Xiaoxuan. How had he managed to hide himself? How could a three-tribtion Envoy keep anything hidden from a Semi-Progenitor? Why had he gone and created such chaos within the four ruling powers? He had even gone to the Higher Realm and attacked Shenwu''s Sky, which had caused Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Jiao to disappear. Then, he had somehow managed to survive a full-powered attack from Xia Shenji after the Progenitor had released his Progenitors¡¯ World. Not even three Semi-Progenitors working together had been able to defeat the youth.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan is truly an incredible genius. It¡¯s no exaggeration to consider him the greatest genius of all time," Headmaster Wen remarked with emotion.

    Mr. Tang voiced his admiration as well. "True. Throughout all of time, what three-tribtion Envoy has ever been able to fight against four Semi-Progenitors? He even killed one and then escaped from a Progenitor! Such things have never happened before, not even when the Lu family was at their peak."

    Prof. Weimented, "The past Lu Xiaoxuan would never have been able to aplish this feat. History sometimes has a funny way of rewriting itself. The present Lu Xiaoxuan is quickly bing capable of aplishing everything that the Lu family of the past was capable of."

    Prof. Huai listened in silence as the others spoke. Was there anything that he could contribute to this conversation? Not at all. He was truly a perfectly average Enlighter. Not even his students listened to him during his sses, and they frequently forgot that he was even present. He felt that an instructor like him should just leave the academy. The four ruling powers had provided a very generous offer, and truthfully, it was too good for him to encounter such an offer ever again in his life.

    But Prof. Huai had not left. This was not because he was stubborn, but because he was simply toote. Right when he had been about to ept the four ruling powers¡¯ offer and leave Virtue Archives, something had gone wrong with his body. When he had regained control, he could not find the offer that he had been given, and he had found the six people who were still apanying him.

    The six people were quite surprised to see that Prof. Huai had stayed around.

    He was not stupid, and he could understand his circumstances. So, he had naturally stated that he had willingly stayed at Virtue Archives. He had humiliated himself before three Semi-Progenitors, and it had somehow seemed to work.

    Prof. Huai had also heard too much about Lu Xiaoxuan over the recent days, and he could not help but think that reality was too cruel. How could that friendly, smiling Prof. Hao Yu actually be Lu Xiaoxuan, the greatest enemy of the four ruling powers? That person had created a huge mess in the Higher Realm, and he had even attacked Shenwu¡¯s Sky. It all sounded impossible. Could a human truly aplish such things? These were things that Prof. Huai did not even dare to dream of.

    "The four ruling powers have given us a deadline. If the Mountain and Sea is not given to them, they will destroy Virtue Archives. It seems that my old bones are no longer capable of making them hesitate." The God of Food got up and rubbed his shoulders.

    Ce Doni looked over. "Are you going to attempt to break through and be a Progenitor?"

    The God of Food nodded. "If I hadn''t blocked that attack for Lu Xiaoxuan in Shenwu''s Sky, the academy wouldn''t be in such dire straits right now, and the four ruling powers would not be acting so aggressively."

    "The academy has relied on you for stability for so many years. If they want the Mountain and Sea, at worst, we can do so," Ce Doni said.

    The God of Food''s eyes dropped.

    "We can¡¯t truly stop them. Without students, an academy is no longer an academy. Being stubborn won¡¯t help anything. Even if we use Progenitor Wen''s sourcebox array to try to hold them back, it won¡¯t work for very long," Mr. Tang interjected.

    "Actually, we¡¯re notpletely without options." Prof. Wei suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to turn and look at her.

    Even the God of Food was caught off guard. "Options?"

    Prof. Weiughed. "We''ve been focusing on everything that Lu Xiaoxuan did while he was in the Higher Realm and while he was messing things up for Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but have any of you considered just how he came back to the Perennial World?"

    The others nced at each other as they considered Prof. Wei¡¯s words.

    "We all know that the four ruling powers sent an army into the Forsaken Land to hunt down Lu Xiaoxuan. Not only did he return here alive, but he is also much, much stronger than he was before. Even if he was helped by Semi-Progenitors, how could he have ever managed to escape from Progenitor Xia Shenji in the Higher Realm as a mere Envoy? The only answer is that he was helped by a powerful Progenitor, and that Progenitor might also be from the Forsaken Land," Prof. Wei exined.

    No one knew the details of Lu Yin''s fight against Xia Shenji in the Higher Realm, as Xia Shenji had not allowed any information to leak out.

    "What are you saying?" Headmaster Wen asked.

    Prof. Wei exined, "The New Corridor is going to be repaired, and it won''t be much longer. When that happens, our Perennial World will be reconnected to the Forsaken Land. The four ruling powers will focus almost all of their attention onto Lu Xiaoxuan when that happens, but since Lu Xiaoxuan felt bold enough to stir up a mess in the Higher Realm, I believe that he¡¯s confident in facing off against the four ruling powers themselves. That matches with what I felt about him while he was with us."

    "So are you suggesting that we stall and dy until the four ruling powers are no longer able to pay any attention to us?" Ce Doni asked.

    Prof. Wei replied, "We just need to stall."

    She looked at the God of Food. "The longer we can hold them off, the greater the chances of senior sessfully bing a Progenitor, right?"

    The God of Food felt quite bitter. Bing a Progenitor? How will that ever be possible unless I kill that beast?

    Headmaster Wen looked over at the God of Food. "You are our academy¡¯s only hope. Once you be a Progenitor, the four ruling powers won¡¯t be able to do anything at all to us. Do your best."

    The God of Food took a deep breath. "In that case, I¡¯ll be going into seclusion now. Buy as much time as possible, but if it is too difficult, call for me. Even if my breakthrough fails, I¡¯ll make sure to terrify them!"

    Everyone was left speechless.

    ***

    High above Virtue Archives, in the Higher Realm, stood the Wang family¡¯s territory of the Higher Realm. Rising even higher, one would enter the Dominion Realm.

    There was an area of the Dominion Realm that could not be seen from down below where the Mother Trees branches had all been smashed, and each branch was floating in the sky. Even though the branches were all broken, they were still absolutely massive, and each piece wasrge enough to hold multiple stars.

    This was the warfront of the Dominion Realm where the Progenitors of the four ruling powers held back the forces of Aeternus.

    On one of the broken branches, four people sat around a mirror. They were Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long.

    The mirror between them was Progenitor Smoke''s mirror.

    Each of the four men touched the mirror at the same time and vanished. Upon entering the pocket dimension within the mirror, they nced at each other. Without saying a word, they attacked in unison.

    Soon, the mirror exploded, and the four Progenitors reappeared. They all looked at the middle between them where a cloud of white fog had gathered. The fog swept out and shot high into the sky as a powerful aura surged. The fog and the aura shook the Dominion Realm, as well as the battlefield below the Progenitors.

    Countless people looked upwards when they felt the power of a Progenitor surge.

    Even Semi-Progenitors looked upwards, though for them, they wondered whom this unknown aura was from. Who was this Progenitor?

    The fog cleared at the center of the four Progenitors, and as it did so, Progenitor Smoke''s true body was revealed. She was finally truly freed.

    Progenitor Long grew excited as he looked at the woman, and he bowed low as soon as she became visible. "Senior Progenitor Smoke, Junior Long Er greets you!"

    Bai Wangyuan watched as Progenitor Smoke appeared, his feelingsplicated upon seeing her. For years, all of his old friends had disappeared one by one. There were only a few of the old people from his generation still alive, yet another old friend had just returned.

 Chapter 2322: Prepare For War

    Chapter 2322: Prepare For War

    Wang Fan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at the woman. Another one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had just appeared. Were Xia Shang, Hui Wen, and others truly dead?

    Murderous rage filled Xia Shenji''s eyes. If not for this woman, he would have killed Lu Xiaoxuan. What sort of attitude would she reveal after being freed? If she still insisted on protecting Lu Xiaoxuan, arge battle would be inevitable.

    Xia Shenji was already thinking about how to exile the woman as they had done to the Lu family.

    Each of the four men had their own thoughts and ns, but they had never considered the possibility that Progenitor Smoke¡¯s first reaction upon being freed would be to instantly attack Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan reflexively blocked the attack, and he shouted, "Xi Wei, have you gone mad? Why are you attacking me?"

    The other three Progenitors were also feeling quite confused. Even if Progenitor Smoke wanted to attack them, she should have attacked Xia Shenji first. Why had she gone after Bai Wangyuan?

    Progenitor Smoke red at Bai Wangyuan while clearly working to suppress her anger. "What''s going on with the stellr liquid? Exin it all to me."

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Did you attack me just because of stellr liquid? That has nothing to do with you. Even in our era, whoever used stellr liquid was dealt with by Lu Tianyi."

    Progenitor Smoke shouted, "Who cares? What do you mean ¡®it has nothing to do with me?¡¯ All I know is that stellr liquides from the Mother Tree, and if too much stellr liquid is taken away, the Mother Tree will be unstable. At that time, who will take responsibility? I may have spent a bit of time with Lu Yin, true, but I¡¯vee to learn that not only did you selfishly exile the Lu family, but you also started harvesting stellr liquid! Without the Lu family, all you can do is rely on Hui Wen''s sourcebox array and the Mother Tree to block Aeternus. If the Mother Tree is destabilized, how are you going to stop the Aeternals? Are you actually trying to destroy mankind?!"

    "Xi Wei, be serious," Wang Fan said.

    Progenitor Smoke snorted contemptuously as she turned her stare onto Wang Fan. "Your four ruling powers all have a part in harvesting stellr liquid. If you don''t give me an exnation for this, don''t you dare think that things will end well!"

    "We freed you, and yet you want to repay our kindness with revenge as soon as youe out? We should have left you in there." Xia Shenji was extremely upset.

    Bai Wangyuan said, "Regardless, it''s always a good thing to have one more Progenitor-level powerhouse. Xi Wei, since you want to think of the bigger picture for all of humanity, don¡¯t try to fight us. That won¡¯t help mankind."

    "Senior?" Progenitor Long called out.

    Progenitor Smoke turned her head to nce at Progenitor Long. "If I had known that telling you how to be a Progenitor would lead to the Lu family¡¯s exile, I would have never said a thing to you, you ingrate!"

    Progenitor Long sighed. "Senior, there are certain things that I had to do."

    Progenitor Long was actually from the same generation as Progenitor Smoke, Bai Wangyuan, and the other masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but due to his limited talent, he had been unable to be a Progenitor. While he acted as though he had an equal status to the other Progenitors, Progenitor Long would always be respectful towards Progenitor Smoke and refer to her as ¡°senior.¡± This was not because of anything like age, but simply based on who had reached the Progenitor level first.

    "So, why did you four let me out? If I had been saved by the Lu family, I would be willing to ept that they had done so purely out of the best interests of humanity. But you four? Hmph!" Progenitor Smoke gave the four men absolutely no respect at all.

    Wang Fan grew solemn. "Xi Wei, I don''t care what you might think of us now, or what you thought about us in the past, but things have changed. Before, the Lu family held our defenses, and we were all able to focus on our own things, but we must stand up on our own now. Unless we want to destroy humanity, we need to work together to deal with Aeternus. We freed you with no ulterior motive or thoughts other than to gain one morerade to fight against Aeternus."

    Progenitor Smoke blinked. "That¡¯s true enough, so I can ept that."

    She suddenly froze and then startedughing in an incredibly mocking manner.

    Xia Shenji''s expression grew ugly. "What are youughing at?"

    Progenitor Smoke wasughing so hard she could barely breathe. "You can¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t find this all too ridiculous! You worked so hard to find a way to get rid of the Lu family, seeded, and have be some ¡®four ruling powers¡¯ that control this Perennial World. But for what? You guys can''t even leave this Dominion World! Little Lu Yin, who¡¯s just a three-tribtion Envoy, was actually able to openly escape Shenwu''s Sky! If the Lu family were still around, would Shenwu¡¯s Sky have ever tolerated such humiliation? It would have been impossible, wouldn¡¯t it? Hahahaha."

    Her words caused both Xia Shenji and Wang Fan to reveal hideous expressions. While Progenitor Smoke¡¯s words were beyond humiliating, they were absolutely true.

    With the Lu family exiled, they had been forced into the Dominion Realm. The rest of the Perennial World experienced the ruler changing from the Lu family to the four ruling powers, but sess had not been kind to the four Progenitors, as they were now unable to leave the Dominion Realm. Essentially, the Dominion Realm had be their prison.

    "How could any of you have ever been willing to free me in the past? I would have been lucky if you didn''t just hide my mirror away! But now, hahahaha, you¡¯ve actually been forced to free me, someone who might actually be your enemy! It''s just too absurd, hahahaha!" Progenitor Smoke continued tough.

    "Alright, Xi Wei. You weren¡¯t freed to enjoy augh. To be blunt, you will be fighting against Aeternus in the Dominion Realm from now on," Bai Wangyuan stated coldly.

    "Senior, many things have already happened, so we can only look forward. No matter what, it is an honor for me, Long Er, to be able to fight with you, Senior," Progenitor Long stated.

    Progenitor Smoke released a long breath. "Fine. No matter what else, you did free me, and I owe you all a favor for that. I¡¯ll stay in the Dominion Realm, but you still need to give me an exnation concerning the stellr liquid."

    "We won¡¯t extract any more stellr liquid," Wang Fan replied.

    Progenitor Smoke stared at the man and then looked pointedly at Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, and finally Progenitor Long. "Hmph! I certainly hope so."

    At this moment, Wang Fan received a report from the Wang family. "The New Corridor needs no more than a month to be repaired. We¡¯ll need to send someone to protect it, as otherwise, it will immediately be destroyed from the other end, and we won¡¯t be able to maintain the connection."

    "I''ll go." Xia Shenji''s expression was dark as he volunteered.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes grew cold. "Lu Xiaoxuan came here from the Forsaken Land and created a great deal of trouble in the Higher Realm, and he was even able to receive help from others. Things may not have gone well for our army that was sent to the Forsaken Land, so keep your eyes open."

    Xia Shenji replied, "One of my clones is already in the Forsaken Land, but I lost my connection to it. But don¡¯t worry. As soon as the New Corridor is repaired, I will certainly be able to reconnect to my clone, and I will instantly learn everything about the Forsaken Land."

    "You still want to deal with Lu Yin?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Xia Shenji turned to stare at the woman. "Do you still want to help him? You¡¯ve already repaid your debt to the Lu family. Anything that we do to him now is none of your concern! Just stay here in the Dominion Realm."

    "Xi Wei, we haven¡¯t asked you for any information concerning the Forsaken Land precisely because we were afraid of putting you in a difficult position. But at the least, I hope that you won''t try to stop us from dealing with thest remnant of the Lu family. Leaving anyone from the Lu family alive would be irresponsible towards the entire human race. I¡¯ll have you know that, when that child was first discovered on Dragon Mountain, it was Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods who helped him escape. Again, when he was discovered this time, the Seven Skygods attacked again to keep us confined to the Dominion Realm. Without their help, that child would have never been able to escape," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    "That kid¡¯s either a Redback or a pawn that Aeternus is trying to use to destroy humanity¡¯s strength."

    Conflicted emotions appeared in Progenitor Smoke''s eyes. "He isn¡¯t a Redback. I¡¯m certain of that."

    "Then he¡¯s a pawn of Aeternus. As long as he lives, the surviving supporters and vassals of the Lu family will continue to sow chaos in the Perennial World," Wang Fan replied.

    Progenitor Smoke sighed. She wanted to retort, but she ultimately said nothing at all.

    Would it be nearly as easy to kill Lu Yin as these four believed? As long as he was in the Fifth Maind, he could ess Xia Shang''s power, which meant that, even if a Progenitor went to the Fifth Maind, they might not be able to do anything to Lu Yin. On top of that, the young man possessed countless strange power vessels, to the point where not even Progenitor Smoke had any idea how many Lu Yin might have. She also knew that he was able to use star essence to improve the strength of power vessels, which was an unbelievable ability.

    However, Progenitor Smoke said nothing concerning Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others had not asked about Lu Yin or the Fifth Maind because they were familiar with Progenitor Smoke and knew that she would not say anything, and that was precisely the case. She would not say anything, and would let the four men run straight into a steel wall.

    Given her understanding of Lu Yin, the fact that he had dared to stir up such a mess in the Perennial World meant that he had already made preparations to face the four ruling powers. He was backed by the entire Fifth Maind, and he also had support from various people in the Perennial World. What could the four ruling powers do to Lu Yin?

    "I will say one thing here and now." Progenitor Smoke locked eyes with each of the men, one at a time. "Humanity cannot afford a war between humans, and I will fight whoever starts such a war."

    As soon as she had finished speaking, she turned and left.

    Herst statement caused Bai Wangyuan''s face to fall. He was not upset by Progenitor Smoke¡¯s attitude, but by the fact that she had mentioned a war between humans. Her meaning could not be any clearer: Lu Xiaoxuan possessed the power to fight against the four ruling powers. She had essentially just given confirmation that the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Forsaken Land had failed, as well as verified Lu Xiaoxuan''s status within the Forsaken Land.

    "Brother Xia, as soon as the New Corridor is repaired, immediately go to the Forsaken Land and kill Lu Xiaoxuan. Even if nothing happens, act immediately. We can¡¯t give him any time to react or prepare," Bai Wangyuan stated softly.

    Xia Shenji agreed, "I understand, but that might not even be necessary already. My clone took the jiao into the Forsaken Land. Do you really believe that Lu Xiaoxuan is able to escape from such a team?"

    Xia Shenji waspletely confident in his clone¡¯s sess. Even though the clone was among the weakest of all Progenitors, it still possessed the power of time. If Xia Shenji¡¯s clone wanted someone dead, then not even another Progenitor was guaranteed to be able to protect the person, as long as they did not also possess the incredible power of time.

    The power of time was not somemon cabbage. It was impossible for every Progenitor to possess it.

    "Regardless, get there as soon as possible. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan is already dead, we need to find his body." Wang Fan''s expression turned cold.

    In the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had also received a report. The Technocracy informed him that the New Corridor would soon be repaired, and they also gave him an estimate of one month for thepletion date.

    He emerged from the Celestial Beast Empire¡¯s imperial pce and looked over at the jiao, who was currently intimidating the nearby astral beasts by showing its fangs and ws.

    "Yao Di, Skymender," Lu Yin called out.

    The two stepped forward. "Dao Chosen."

    "Within half a month, the Astral Beast Army needs to be formed and ready at the Heavens Sect. They cannot be even a single dayte. Make sure that arge number of Void Wanderers are included to cooperate with the human armies," Lu Yin announced in a deep voice.

    "Understood."

    Yao Di then left to personally oversee the formation of the Astral Beast Army. Lu Yin also sent messages to Lu Buzheng and the others, ordering the entire Heavens Sect to prepare its entire strength for the uing battle. The full might of the Fifth Maind was to be gathered to face the four ruling powers.

    In the Innerverse, Wen Zizai received the Heavens Sect''s orders, and he immediately reached out to Sword Mountain¡¯s Liu Qianjue, Ling Taizu, and the other Innerverse powers. "The Heavens Sect is starting to prepare for war, but with whom? Hasn''t the Astral Beast Domain already beenpletely conquered by the Dao Chosen?"

    "None of us know who our enemy will be, but these orderse directly from the Dao Chosen himself. All sects and families are ordered to spare no efforts when preparing for this uing war. Judging by the preparations, this enemy is no weaker than when we were invaded by the entire Sixth Maind."

    "Another war ising, but we shouldn¡¯t be facing Aeternus this time. If we were, there would be additional news from the Heavens Sect."

    "Prepare for war."

 Chapter 2323: Return

    Chapter 2323: Return

    The patriarchs of the former Court of Seven Names, the Hall of Honor, and the Cosmic Sea also hosted many conversations at this moment concerning the war preparations. No one knew whom they would be fighting against.

    However, Lu Yin had sent down orders of the highest priority, and he had also tasked Shui Chuanxiao and the other strategists and tacticians to provide him with aprehensive list of the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces. The Fifth Maind was moving, and even the people from the Sixth Maind were no exception. The Progenitor of Bloodlines himself had emerged from seclusion.

    Lu Yin had sent the man a message through a wireless jincan, asking the Progenitor of Bloodlines to mobilize the entire Sixth Maind.

    Throughout all of human history, there had been very few moments when different Mainds had cooperated, but Lu Yin¡¯s order had mobilized all thebat strength of both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds so that they could face the four ruling powers.

    It was uncertain exactly how much strength would be gathered in the end, but Lu Yin felt confident that he would be able to give the four ruling powers quite a surprise.

    As the war preparations continued, the Progenitor of Bloodlines brought up some questions, as he wanted to understand whom they would be facing.

    Lu Yin hid nothing, and he shared the current situation of the Perennial World with the Progenitor. This particr confrontation was inevitable. Even if Lu Yin abandoned seeking revenge for his Lu family, the four ruling powers would still never let him go.

    Finally, the Progenitor of Bloodlines just sighed emotionally while expressing his hopes that this war would not weaken humanity too much.

    Lu Yin did not actually know if a war would break out or not. It was possible, but it was also possible that war could be avoided. He would not know for certain until he directly faced the four ruling powers and determined their attitude. In that case, it was better to prepare for an all-out war.

    If his preparations proved insufficient, he had onest option, though he truly hoped that he would not be forced to use it.

    ¡­

    "Skymender, is your Book of Destiny the one regarding the present?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes."

    "Could you use it to help me see if there is any threat to me in the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin asked.

    Skymender shrugged. "Dao Chosen, while the Books of Destiny are priceless treasures, they are still nothing more than a tool to assist in divination. It¡¯s quite simply impossible to check the entire Fifth Maind."

    "What does your book show about me?" Lu Yin asked.

    "It can¡¯t reveal anything at all about you."

    "It can¡¯t see me?" Lu Yin stared at Skymender.

    The imperial advisor replied, "That¡¯s correct. It¡¯s never been able to see you. If it could¡­"

    He did not finish speaking, but Lu Yin understood. If the book had been able to provide information about him, the Astral Beast Domain would have never allowed him to rise to power.

    Even back when Lu Yin had first started cultivating, some of his aplishments should have attracted Skymender¡¯s attention. Skymender must have performed divinations on countless people, but Lu Yin¡¯s life could only be regarded as legendary. Yao Di would have personally risked his life across the Human Domain to kill Lu Yin and prevent him from rising up.

    "Then what about Undying Yushan?" Lu Yin asked.

    Skymender replied, "While the Dao Chosen himself is impossible to see in divinations, those around you can be seen. Through them, it is possible to analyze what the Dao Chosen desires and what he wishes to do, within certain bounds. That allowed me to then perform a divination on Undying Yushan himself. However, it is truly impossible to perform any divinations on the Dao Chosen himself. If that were not the case, our Celestial Beast Empire would have never fallen so far."

    "Do you remember the Ghost Monkey?" Lu Yin suddenly changed the subject.

    Skymender went a bit stiff. "I do."

    "Why did you want him back so badly?"

    During ZENITH, Skymender had ordered all of the participants from the Astral Beast Domain to take the Ghost Monkey away from Lu Yin at any cost. When Lu Yin had intervened and taken over defending the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain from the Sixth Maind, Feng Lin had also set the Ghost Monkey¡¯s return as a condition during negotiations. It had be very clear that the Astral Beast Domain cared too much about the Ghost Monkey.

    Skymender sighed. "I don''t know how much the Dao Chosen knows about the Ghost Monkey, but it was born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood."

    Lu Yin''s expression did not change at all. He had learned of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s origins during the Astral Towerpetition in the Mountains and Seas Zone. At that time, the Ghost Monkey had consumed the blood of a Progenitor, and he had instantly risen from the Explorer realm to the Hunter realm. He had known that he had to be honest with Lu Yin at that time, as otherwise, Lu Yin would have killed the Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin¡¯s calm reaction told Skymender that the young man indeed already knew about the Ghost Monkey¡¯s origins. "The Ghost Monkey possesses Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood, which is simply invaluable to my Astral Beast Domain. Even more importantly, he very likely knows the location of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb due to that blood."

    "Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb?" Lu Yin was surprised by this.

    However, Skymender was also surprised. "The Dao Chosen did not know?"

    Lu Yin started thinking. The Ghost Monkey had referred to Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb on multiple asions, trying to tempt Lu Yin with the ce. However, at the time, Lu Yin had been far too weak to even contemte searching for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb back then. He had never imagined that he would one day manage to conquer the entire Astral Beast Domain.

    It had simply been impossible for a human to enter the Astral Beast Domain and search for Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb.

    However, things hadpletely changed. "Does the Ghost Monkey really know where Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb is located?"

    "We can¡¯t be certain, but the Ghost Monkey is the only one who might possibly know. After all, Progenitor Wushang does not have a massive tomb, and what we refer to as his tomb is simply where his body was buried. There have long since been rumors that Progenitor Wushang was badly wounded during the war with the Sixth Maind, and knowing that he would die of his injuries, he found a ce to rest his bones. There was never any glorious tomb, but if his tomb can be found, then we can find Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body, and we might even be able to acquire some of his blood. For our Astral Beast Domain, Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood is the greatest treasure," Skymender exined.

    Lu Yin could not hold back augh. It turned out that Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood held the same sort of appeal for the astral beasts as Progenitor Chen''s blood did for humans.

    It was unexpected that the Ghost Monkey had been keeping such a secret. Did he really know the location of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb, or could he have been lying the whole time?

    After another half a month, Leng Qing arrived, and with him came the Giants Army.

    The moment the Giants Army arrived, Ku Wei''s wailing rang out, "Master¡ª! Master, you must save your disciple! I don''t want toe to this terrible ce! I only want to stay by your side for the rest of my life and serve you! Master is the greatest, and your disciple doesn¡¯t want to be left here¡­"

    Yao Di and Skymender both gave Ku Wei very odd looks. They had heard before that humans experienced powerful emotions, but it was still surprising to see such shamelessness.

    As Ku Wei wailed, he disregarded everyone around him, including Skymender and Yao Di. He had even once proven himself capable of disregarding a Progenitor¡¯s strength to fearlessly insult Lord Fish. This man was truly peerless when it came to ttering his master.

    Lu Yin kicked Ku Wei away. "If you¡¯re not here, the Giants Army won¡¯t be reliable, so you need to stay here."

    Ku Wei crawled back over to Lu Yin andtched onto his legs. "Master, take me away from here! I just want to stay with you, and am willing to face any dangers to do so! If I can¡¯t see master, then your disciple- your disciple¡­ will have nightmares!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Fine."

    Ku Wei was thrilled, and he looked up at Lu Yin with great excitement. "Really?"

    Lu Yin bent over. "Are you aware that the entire Heavens Sect is preparing for war?"

    Ku Wei nodded ignorantly. "Yes."

    "Do you know whom we will be facing?"

    Ku Wei shook his head.

    Lu Yin softly stated, "The Perennial World."

    Ku Wei clenched his fists. "Master, don''t worry! As soon as the fighting starts, your disciple will lead the vanguard with the Giants Army, eliminating all those viins who betrayed Master''s family!"

    People had gradually started to learn more about the Perennial World, including the fact that the four ruling powers had betrayed the Lu family. People had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s true background.

    Lu Yin approved. "Good, that¡¯s the attitude that I want to see!"

    Ku Wei grew excited, but just as he was about to continue boasting and insulting the enemy, Lu Yin continued, and his words gave Ku Wei chills and caused every hair on his body to stand on end. "For this war, I¡¯m sure that the four ruling powers will send a Progenitor or two to deal with me, and the Giants Army will be tasked with blocking one of them. Given your size, you should be able to survive an attack or two, which will give me the time that I need to prepare."

    As Lu Yin spoke, his eyes gradually lit up. "Of course! Why didn¡¯t I think of this before?"

    Ku Wei''s face grew pale. I can survive an attack or two? From a PROGENITOR? I¡¯m not even an Envoy! A Progenitor can destroy half the universe with a wave of their hand! What use will the Giants Army be? Even filling the entire universe with colossal giants would be useless!

    "Master, your disciple understands! I will do my best to help you protect the Astral Beast Domain! None of these astral beasts will ever be allowed to act up!"

    A dangerous glint flickered in Yao Di¡¯s eyes as he looked at Ku Wei. This person deserved a beating.

    Lu Yin snorted contemptuously and kicked Ku Wei away yet again. He then led Skymender and Yao Di atop the jiao¡¯s back. The entire Astral Beast Army had already been assembled atop the jiao¡¯s back. There were 300 astral beasts with the strength of Enlighters and another 5,000 with strength ranging between the Explorer and Hunter levels. Beyond that, there was at least a million weaker astral beasts.

    All of the creatures had taken on a human form, and they were currently quivering atop the jiao¡¯s back.

    At the front of the Astral Beast Army stood Xu Qing, Lu Yin''s old opponent.

    After stepping onto the jiao¡¯s back, Lu Yin motioned to the beast. The jiao opened its mouth and roared at the sky. The power of a Progenitor was fully unleashed, terrifying countless astral beasts before the jiao simply disappeared.

    In that instance, almost all of the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s top powerhouses had been taken away, including those from the twenty six alliances.

    In the days following the surrender of the Astral Beast Domain, Yao Di had been rushing around to personally ensure the formation of the Astral Beast Army, but whenever he encountered any bit of difficulty, the jiao had been sent to assist the former emperor. A single roar from the jiao had instantly eliminated all obstacles, and it had even caused many astral beasts to pee themselves in terror. This was how the Astral Beast Army had beenpletely gathered within just half a month.

    Of course, the members of the army had only been gathered. There had been no training, let alone actual battle, but that was Xu Qing¡¯s job.

    In addition to the Astral Beast Army, Lu Yin also gathered half of the Void Wanderers, which numbered around 10 million of them. The Void Wanderers were intended to be used as life-savers for the weaker cultivators, particrly if the fighting ever moved to the Perennial World. The existence of the Void Wanderers was too great of an advantage to pass up.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin received another report from the Technocracy. Theirtest estimates were that the New Corridor would finish its repairs in about thirteen days. As that time drew closer, their estimate would be increasingly urate.

    Lu Yin observed everything as time passed one day at a time. He continuously urged the Heavens Sect to finish their preparations. Cultivators from across the entire Fifth and Sixth Mainds flooded into the Heavens Sect without end.

    Everyone was aware that a massive war was quickly approaching, but almost no one had any idea whom they would be facing.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, the jiao remained outside Earth¡¯s sr system once again, where it resumed staring at Ancestor Tortoise.

    As for the Astral Beast Army, it was incorporated into the rest of the Heavens Sect¡¯s forces.

    A group of astral beasts were staring out at the impressive sight of the Heavens Sect. They were able to sense multiple Semi-Progenitors¡¯ auras, and even a Progenitor¡¯s. Despair covered their faces.

    Given the fact that humanity had amassed such power, even without the jiao, the Astral Beast Domain would still be helpless against the humans.

    Xu Qing¡¯s greatest fear was that Lu Yin would use the newly formed Astral Beast Army as cannon fodder during the uing war. If the Astral Beast Army was wiped out, the Astral Beast Domain would suffer too great a blow. It would be best if the astral beasts were allowed to fight side-by-side with the humans, as that would at least ensure that the Astral Beast Domain would not suffer any worse than the humans.

    On the astral beasts¡¯ second day in the Heavens Sect, someone appeared in front of Xu Qing. It was the Second Nightking. "The Dao Chosen invites you to tea with him."

    Xu Qing was very nervous as he followed the Second Nightking to where Lu Yin typically enjoyed his tea. Xu Qing had been waiting for this moment, as he knew that Lu Yin would definitely want to speak with him.

    It was finally time.

 Chapter 2324: You Have My Blessing

    Chapter 2324: You Have My Blessing

    Unlike most people¡¯s reactions when they saw the tea that Zhao Ran served, there was no fear on Xu Qing''s face. "Is this my punishment for attacking the Outerverse? Well, I guess it¡¯s one way to end things."

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he downed the entire cup of herbal tea in a single gulp.

    Zhao Ran blinked. "You can¡¯t drink it like that! You won¡¯t be able to taste anything!"

    Xu Qing frowned. Taste anything? Why would anyone want to taste their method of execution? Wait, why is there also a cup in front of Lu Yin?

    Everyone ended up misunderstanding Zhao Ran¡¯s teas, and Lu Yin was growing increasingly fond of watching the entire process y out. Everyone¡¯s mindset was different when they thought that they were staring at death. Elder Qing Xing had shown fear, Bai Teng had shown reluctance, and Xu Qing was also reluctant, though fearless as well. Of course, it was also possible that his calmness had all been an act.

    Of all the creatures in the entire Astral Beast Domain, Xu Qing was one that Lu Yin admired the most, and he was also the most qualified to lead the Astral Beast Army. Even Shui Chuanxiao considered Xu Qing a peer.

    Lu Yin picked up his own cup and took a sip of the tea. "It tastes very good. It has a clear taste to it. You¡¯ve improved yet again."

    Zhao Ran absolutely loved to hear Lu Yin praise the taste of her tea, and she far preferred such praise to personalpliments. In Zhao Ran¡¯s mind, brewing tea was her way of helping Lu Yin. So, she turned to help Xu Qing and encouraged him to enjoy his drink. "Sip it slowly. It''s delicious."

    Xu Qing was bbergasted. "This isn¡¯t poison?"

    Zhao Ran became upset. "It¡¯s tea! I made some herbal tea! You''re so rude!"

    Seeing a smile that was not quite a smile on Lu Yin''s face, Xu Qing realized that he had misunderstood the situation. He let out a dry cough. "My apologies. I was mistaken."

    Lu Yin picked his cup back up and enjoyed another sip. "On the battlefield, there are merely opposing sides and goals. There is no hatred. Commander Xu Qing, you did your best to get rid of me, and I tried to do the same with you. We can be considered even."

    Xu Qing stared at Lu Yin. "Does the Dao Chosen have orders for me?"

    Lu Yin set his cup back down. "Let''s be clear. You are the most qualified individual to lead the Astral Beast Army, but I''m simply notfortable with it."

    Xu Qing nodded. "I understand. In that case, how does the Dao Chosen n to settle things?"

    "Tell me the best option," Lu Yin shot back.

    Xu Qing grew confused. "Me?"

    Lu Yin stared at the astral beast. "It would be practically impossible for any human tomand the Astral Beast Army. Given the fact that the species are so different, a humanmander would be ineffective. If we rely on pure strength, the jiao would be the best choice, but look at the thing. Does it look like it could be amander?"

    Xu Qing could not help but look over into the distance where the massive jiao was currently picking its nose. The beast identally cut itself and became enraged. It opened its mouth to let out a roar, only to nce sideways in the same way a guilty child would.

    Xu Qing was speechless. "I simply can¡¯t tell you, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "How about this? We¡¯ll say that the Astral Beast Army is worth as much as Yao Di and Skymender.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly grew very serious. "That means that if you don¡¯t do a good job leading the army, those two will die."

    Xu Qing''s expression also changed. Rage filled his eyes, but just as he was about to respond to Lu Yin¡¯s words, a smile appeared on the young man¡¯s face. "It was just a joke. There¡¯s no need to take things so seriously."

    Xu Qing''s expression changed yet again, and he nkly stared at Lu Yin. Xu Qing could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions at all.

    "Since I''ve entrusted you with this task, I¡¯ll naturally believe in you. I was just joking with you, so there¡¯s no need to take it to heart," Lu Yin continued to say with a smile.

    Xu Qing frowned. Lu Yin''s mood was changing too quickly, and Xu Qing simply did not know how to react.

    Xu Qing soon finished a second cup of Zhao Ran¡¯s herbal tea and then left.

    Lu Yin watched themander¡¯s back. A person¡¯s state of mind had absolutely nothing to do with their level of cultivation.

    There were Semi-Progenitors who were terrified of death, but Commander Xu Qing was capable of calmly facing death head on. This was something that even many normal humans were incapable of. Lu Yin had wanted to use Zhao Ran¡¯s tea to uncover Xu Qing¡¯s thoughts, but the attempt had revealed nothing.

    "I¡¯ve brought it, Dao Chosen." The Second Nightking¡¯s voice suddenly broke the silence.

    Lu Yin nodded and stood. As he made his way in a certain direction, he passed by the Second Nightking. "Did the Third Nightking contact you?"

    The Second Nightking offered a deep bow. "Yes."

    Lu Yin said nothing more, and he quickly moved out of sight.

    The Second Nightking stood back up and stared at the stone table, his emotions turbulent. He had not expected the Third Nightking to still be alive. When he had first seen the Third Nightking, the Second Nightking had immediately been reminded of when the Daynight n had been at its peak. The three Nightkings had wanted to take their n into the Neoverse, but they had been refused. Instead, the Hall of Honor had sent them into the Astral Beast Domain.

    However, everything had changed. The current universe was no longer the same universe that they had known.

    The Third Nightking could not ept the numerous changes. He had left to wander the universe, highly wary of the Heavens Sect. This was because he understood that, no matter where he went, the Heavens Sect controlled it. It was impossible to escape from Lu Yin''s control.

    There were six people standing in a field within the Heavens Sect. All of them appeared quite nervous, and they clearly wanted to say something, but they also looked too nervous to speak.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived, all six people hurriedly bowed.

    These six people were of all different ages, and there were youths and seniors. None of them were weak for their age, and one of the youths was even a member of the Universe Youth Council. While the title of Ten Arbiters had only existed for a single generation, this youth held the same position that the Ten Arbiters had once filled.

    "We greet the Dao Chosen," all six said in unison.

    Lu Yin nced at the small group. "I came here to trade you for your fatesand."

    The six remained calm, and one of the older men answered in a respectful tone, "The Second Nightking already informed us of what the Dao Chosen needs. You are wee to it, as we are willing to freely offer up whatever the Dao Chosen may need."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no need for that, as all I want is your fatesand. Also, you don¡¯t need to worry, as I willpensate you well for your troubles."

    He then raised a hand, and all six people released their fatesand.

    Fatesand would take a different form after entering each person¡¯s body, but the form did not matter to Lu Yin, as he could absorb anyone¡¯s fatesand.

    When he had first absorbed another person¡¯s fatesand, it had been when he had been fighting against the Sixth Maind¡¯s Hong Ying. It was at that time that Lu Yin had learned that it was possible to take fatesand from other people.

    He had not particrly cared about fatesand for a long time, and he had even been discouraged from obtaining more after hearing Xuan Jiu say that gathering fatesand was a good way to draw Destiny¡¯s attention, which had made Lu Yin very nervous. However, the power that he was cultivating within his chest incorporated fatesand, so gathering more fatesand would strengthen Lu Yin¡¯s unique power.

    As the six bits of fatesand entered his body, an invisible shockwave struck the ears of everyone within the Heavens Sect. At that moment, the six people closest to Lu Yin all lost consciousness, as did many others within the Heavens Sect.

    Within Lu Yin¡¯s chest, the overall form of the energy that he cultivated was shaped by the ck and white death energy that formed a mist, while the fatesand formed a core at the center. It created what looked like a maind drifting through space that was surrounded by an all-epassing, utterly domineering power. Atop the maind formed from fatesand sat the Withered Bark, which had gray streams of time flowing around it. All together, it was a very harmonious scene.

    The six bits of fatesand slightly expanded the maind.

    Lu Yin had now gathered fifty bits of fatesand, which meant that there were still fifty eight that he still needed to gather. However, he had no idea where to search for thest bits of fatesand.

    The six people that Lu Yin had met with hade from all across the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, found after he had ordered a search for fatesand. Unfortunately, no matter how desperately people searched, it was possible that it would be impossible to find all the remaining bits of fatesand.

    That reminded Lu Yin of Skymender. ording to Lu Yin¡¯s understanding, it should be possible to find fatesand by using the Book of Destiny.

    "Get them taken care of and get them some properpensation as I told them," Lu Yin softly said as he looked at the six unconscious people lying on the ground.

    From a short ways away, the Second Nightking answered with a bow, "Yes, Dao Chosen."

    They were in the final countdown until the New Corridor was repaired, but there were still a few matters that Lu Yin needed to see to in order to stabilize things further before the Perennial World arrived. Unfortunately, people were still flooding into the Heavens Sect from all corners of the Fifth Maind, and Backyard was also operating at top speed to produce as many weapons as possible. At the same time, having so many people present in the Heavens Sect meant that there was an increasing number of arguments.

    Everything that Lu Yin needed to deal with required time, and far more than just a few days. He needed at least a few years. Even more importantly, Lu Yin needed strength. A level of strength that would intimidate even the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin was eager to see the fullbat strength of the entire Fifth Maind gathered into one ce. Just how impressive would it be?

    Even when Lu Yin had participated in the massive battle against the Aeternals, the full might of the Fifth Maind had not been gathered.

    A shadow rose up from the ground and quickly appeared behind Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro."

    Lu Yin hesitated. "I thought that you didn''t want to see me."

    This shadow was the Ghost Monkey, who had gone missing after word had been received that Lu Yin had conquered the Astral Beast Domain. No one had been able to find the Ghost Monkey anywhere.

    "Congrattions, Seventh Bro. You now rule the entire Fifth Maind," the Ghost Monkey said. His tone of voice sounded a bit different from before. He sounded less nervous and more secure.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the monkey. "Let''s talk."

    The Ghost Monkey lifted his eyes to solemnly stare at Lu Yin. "What more can I say?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "You went and hid? So why did you show back up now?"

    "Some things require closure," the Ghost Monkey replied.

    Lu Yin stared at the Ghost Monkey. Closure? This sounded quite presumptuous, and not even Skymender would dare to speak to Lu Yin in such a manner. It seemed that this stupid monkey had been hiding quite a bit and that this would be his final confrontation with Lu Yin. Did the Ghost Monkey know something? He certainly seemed to think so. In that case, who could the Ghost Monkey have shared the information with? Yao Di? Skymender?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced, his expression grew darker and darker. It seemed that the Skymender and Yao Di had seeded in keeping some things hidden from Lu Yin.

    "So? What do you want to do now?" Lu Yin asked. He did not believe that the stupid monkey could cause any real trouble for Lu Yin within the Fifth Maind, even if it had been born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood.

    The Ghost Monkey stared at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin stared back.

    After a long while, the Ghost Monkey closed his eyes. "Even when considering the entire history of the universe, there are very few people whom I actually admire. Even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas have nothing to do with me, and I don¡¯t feel any admiration for them. But you, Seventh Bro, you are different. In fact, you are the only human being I admire, so-"

    The monkey hesitated, seemingly firming his determination.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he did not speak.

    "So, you have my blessing, Seventh Bro. I give up," the Ghost Monkey stated solemnly. He clearly looked quite relieved when he finished speaking, but he also looked frustrated and sad.

    Lu Yin blinked. "I have your blessing?"

    The Ghost Monkey answered in a mournful tone, "Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve conquered the entire Astral Beast Domain, so the Celestial Ice Phoenix n is now yours and not mi- mi- mine!"

    The beast gritted his teeth as he continued, clearly forcing himself. "Congrattions Seventh Bro."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew extremely wide. "What are you going on about? What about the Celestial Ice Phoenixes?"

    "They¡¯re yours now, Seventh Bro. Even though Progenitor Wushang gave them to me to be my harem, if it¡¯s you, Seventh Bro, I can only admit de- defeat. Con- Congrattions, Seventh Bro, on getting your harem!" the Ghost Monkey was practically crying as he finished speaking.

    "Is this why you ran away and hid?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    The Ghost Monkey blinked. "Why else?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s face started twitching. What the hell? This idiot actually ran away and hid because of this? How could I ever do anything with the Celestial Ice Phoenixes? We aren¡¯t even the same species!

    Even worse, Lu Yin was in the middle of preparing for a potential war with the Perennial World, and the Ghost Monkey¡¯s actions had made Lu Yin think that the little beast had kept important secrets hidden from Lu Yin. Lu Yin had even considered the possibility that the Ghost Monkey might be able to use the power of Progenitor Wushang himself!

    The more Lu Yin thought about what the Ghost Monkey had put him through during the recent days, the more irritated Lu Yin became, and anger covered his face. "Get lost!"

    With that, the Ghost Monkey was punted away and sent flying through the sky in a very impressive manner.

 Chapter 2325: Unable To Divinate

    Chapter 2325: Unable To Divinate

    The Ghost Monkey flew far away, terribly confused. He had clearly given up, and after summoning all of his determination, he had even offered his blessing. So why had Seventh Bro still hit him?

    Lu Yin was incredibly annoyed, and he had wanted to just get rid of the monkey as soon as possible, which had actually caused Lu Yin to forget about asking about Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb.

    After quickly remembering, Lu Yin made a random gesture, and the Ghost Monkey went flying back towards Lu Yin, where he gracelessly smashed into the ground and began to howl.

    "Seventh Bro, why did you hit me?" The Ghost Monkey rubbed his head while looking up at Lu Yin with a terribly aggrieved expression. He had believed himself to be taking the high road, as he had stepped back and abandoned his Celestial Ice Phoenix n. However, instead of thanks, all he had received was a harsh kick. The Ghost Monkey simply could not make sense of things.

    Lu Yin was still upset, and as soon as he saw the Ghost Monkey¡¯s evident confusion, Lu Yin wanted to kick the stupid beast again. He held back, as he feared that he might identally kick the Ghost Monkey to death.

    "The Celestial Ice Phoenixes are all yours. I¡¯m not taking them from you," Lu Yin grumpily announced.

    The Ghost Monkey was momentarily taken aback, but he quickly grew ecstatic. "You mean it? Seventh Bro, you won''t fight me for them?"

    "Get lost! I don''t have time to deal with you!" Lu Yin lost his temper again.

    The Ghost Monkey startedughing. "Thank you, Seventh Bro! Hahahaha, Seventh Bro, you¡¯re amazing! I, Ghost Monkey, look forward to repaying Seventh Bro''s kindness one day! Seventh Bro, you¡¯re just too great! Seventh Bro-"

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough stupidity. Just answer one question for me: where is Progenitor Wushang buried?"

    The Ghost Monkey''s eyes lit up. "At the bottom of the Astral River. More precisely, he¡¯s buried at the bottom of the Astral River over on the border of Erudite Flowzone."

    The bottom of the Astral River? Lu Yin looked in the direction that the Ghost Monkey had just mentioned.

    The Ghost Monkey exined, "Before dying, Progenitor Wushang buried himself at the bottom of the Astral River on Erudite Flowzone¡¯s border, and that¡¯s where I left the Astral River and entered the Astral Beast Domain. I remember telling you before, Seventh Bro, about how I was born in Progenitor Wushang¡¯s shadow from his blood. That¡¯s why I said that I could take you to find Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb, but you expressed no interest before. Do you want to go now? I¡¯ll take you."

    "Is there really arge tomb at the bottom of the Astral River?" Lu Yin asked.

    "It isn¡¯t even a tomb, but just a burial site."

    "Why did Progenitor Wushang bury himself at the bottom of the Astral River?" This was what made Lu Yin curious.

    The Ghost Monkey shook his head. "I don''t know."

    "You were born before Progenitor Wushang died?"

    "Yes. I was born long before his death. I remember seeing Progenitor Wushang fighting against a powerful Progenitor from the Sixth Maind. Half of his body waspletely destroyed, and he could only find a ce toy his body down and die." As the Ghost Monkey spoke, his voice grew softer and softer.

    The Progenitor realm was not too distant for Lu Yin. While Progenitor Wushang had truly been powerful, he had not been stronger than Xia Shenji or the other human Progenitors, which was why Lu Yin was not particrly interested in Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse. "Aside from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body, was anything else buried with him?"

    The Ghost Monkey answered in a bitter tone, "No. Progenitor Wushang used to have a cosmic ring, but half of his body was destroyed, so there¡¯s nothing left but his bones left at his burial site."

    Lu Yin shook his head. He had already lost all interest.

    While Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body was an invaluable treasure to the Astral Beast Domain, it was not worth much to Lu Yin.

    If he could gain something from studying a Progenitor¡¯s blood, Lu Yin would have sought out Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body, but he had never ced his hopes on the dead before.

    "Seventh Bro, even though Progenitor Wushang had nothing with him when he died, his body was absolutely massive, and the bones and blood that he left behind should be very useful, even his fur. Do you want to go look for it?" The Ghost Monkey had offered to take Lu Yin to find Progenitor Wushang¡¯s tomb before, but Lu Yin had never gone.

    He still had no interest, though it would be better to say that Lu Yin¡¯s priorities were different for the time being. The four ruling powers wereing for him, and other matters needed to be pushed back forter.

    "What else do you want?" Lu Yin nced over at the Ghost Monkey. Disgust came through Lu Yin¡¯s voice as he asked this question. He was actually growing increasingly irate the longer he spent with the Ghost Monkey, and Lu Yin really wanted to be rid of the beast.

    The Ghost Monkey did not notice Lu Yin''s mood, so he licked his lips and smiled. "Well, there is one thing. Um, Seventh Bro, well, could- could you announce that the Celestial Ice Phoenix n is my harem to the rest of the Heavens Sect?"

    The moment the Ghost Monkey finished speaking, his body was already sent flying through the air again. Lu Yin had kicked the beast away again, just wanting to get away from the annoying creature.

    As the Ghost Monkey was flying through the air, Destina approached from the same direction that the beast had been sent flying. She gave an odd nce at the howling monkey that was traveling further and further away and then simply approached Lu Yin. "Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin exhaled, suppressing all of the irritation that the Ghost Monkey had caused. "Follow me."

    After they had moved to another ce, Lu Yin got straight to the point. "I want to thank you for your help against the Astral Beast Domain. If not for you dealing with Skymender, things likely wouldn¡¯t have gone so smoothly for me."

    Destina replied, "I only did as I should have."

    Lu Yin looked at Destina. "How can I thank you?"

    Destina''s eyes shed. "Please don¡¯t get involved in my affairs with Skymender."

    "You want to steal his Book of Destiny?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina instantly corrected Lu Yin. "The Books of Destiny belong to Destiny. I am her only heir, so those books belong to me alone!"

    Lu Yin responded with a slight smile. Skymender had already shown his willingness to give Lu Yin a Book of Destiny, and even though Lu Yin could not read the book, he felt quite satisfied with Skymender¡¯s attitude. In contrast, Destina stated that she absolutely had to obtain the Book of Destiny. They hadpletely opposite attitudes.

    If Lu Yin were not capable of essing the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind, the powerhouses from the Heavens Sect would actually show far worse attitudes towards him.

    "I won''t get involved in your personal affairs, but Skymender¡¯s Book of Destiny is already with me," Lu Yin stated indifferently.

    Destina was shocked. "Where is it, Dao Chosen?"

    "You can''t divinate the answer?" Lu Yin teased.

    Destina shook her head. "I can''t divinate you, Dao Chosen. The Dao Chosen wields the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, and the Origin Progenitor surpassed even Destiny. Nothing involving the Origin Progenitor can be divined, even with the Book of Destiny."

    As far as Destina was concerned, the reason why she was unable to perform any sessful divinations about Lu Yin was because of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. However, Skymender and Starsibyl were aware that Lu Yin had been impossible to see through with divination even before he had acquired the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Someone should have already told Destina about this.

    "Dao Chosen, the Book of Destiny?" Destina asked after a moment of hesitation.

    Lu Yin stared at Destina for a moment, and then a flip of his hand triggered the Yu Secret Art, and the Book of Destiny appeared in his hand.

    Destiny''s eyes betrayed a rarely seen excitement. In her era, only Destiny herself had ever held the Books of Destiny. While Destina had been Destiny¡¯s heir and disciple, she had not been allowed to touch the books. At this moment, one of the Books of Destiny was right in front of her. It was so close she could reach out and touch it¡­

    She wanted to snatch the book away, but whether she could take the book away all depended on Lu Yin¡¯s attitude.

    When had Destiny¡¯s heir ever been forced to deal with such humiliation?

    Lu Yin watched Destina with great interest. She had the appearance of a young girl, but she was older and more cunning than anyone. However, Lu Yin could see that the woman was extremely anxious at this moment.

    The Book of Destiny floated through the air towards Destina.

    She excitedly seized the book, and flipped it open to look at it. With her first nce, her expression grew ugly. There was no text. She could not read the book.

    She kept flipping through the book, but she was unable to see even a single word.

    She frowned, and automatically started using Destiny¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Enigma. Words finally appeared on the pages of the book, but they were so vague and faded that she could barely even make them out.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman the entire time, and thus he understood what was happening based off of her reaction.

    "What? Can¡¯t you read the book?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina closed the book, terribly disappointed. "Not for the time being, no. It will take some time for me to limate to the book."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, as this was exactly what Skymender had said. "How long do you need for that?"

    "While I haven¡¯t started yet, I should need at least a thousand years," Destina replied.

    Lu Yin asked, "What does it mean if someone can read the book the moment they open it?"

    Destina¡¯s expression shifted a bit. "Is there such a person?"

    "What if there is?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Destina stared at Lu Yin intently for a moment. "The true master of the Books of Destiny can naturally read them right away."

    Lu Yin stared back at the woman. This was also the same answer that he had received before.

    After a moment of silence, Lu Yin asked, "What? You don¡¯t intend to return my book to me?"

    Destina grew incredibly somber, "This is a Book of Destiny. It belongs to-"

    "It belongs to me," Lu Yin bluntly finished.

    Destina''s eyes grew cold, but Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained locked onto the woman. "I gave you a chance to acquire the book, but you weren¡¯t even able to determine its location."

    "But this is a Book of Destiny!"

    "And fatesand is also a treasure of Destiny. I have fatesand within my body, so are you going to im that for yourself as well?" Lu Yin asked as his voice dropped low.

    Destina and Lu Yin stared at each other. With clear reluctance, Destina finally handed the book back to Lu Yin, who simply epted it.

    "Dao Chosen, Skymender remains nothing but an astral beast. You should already know what things were like on the Fourth Maind during the Heavens Sect era, and you should know that the astral beasts carry a deep hatred for us humans. You need to be very careful if you intend to use him to perform any divinations for you," Destina warned.

    Lu Yin acted surprised. "Then why does Skymender know Heaven¡¯s Enigma? How did he get this Book of Destiny?"

    Destina had no answer. "During the past era, I had no knowledge of any such thing, but I will get to the bottom of this."

    Lu Yin nced down at the Book of Destiny. "This book is massive, and it¡¯s supposed to be the Book of the Present. Do you truly want it?"

    Destina instantly replied, "It¡¯s one of Destiny¡¯s treasures-"

    "That¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking. I asked you, do you truly want this book?" Lu Yin bluntly interrupted Destina while staring at her.

    Destina had virtually no memory of anyone ever interrupting her from the moment she had first started cultivating. She really did not like being treated in such a manner, but she still answered Lu Yin. "I want it."

    "Then get me something in exchange for this book."

    "What?"

    "Fatesand."

    This answer quite surprised Destina. "Dao Chosen, you still want more fatesand? Getting more will only strengthen your connection to Destiny."

    "That doesn''t matter. Lu Yin looked at Destina. "I told Skymender the same thing, and I sent him out to search for more fatesand as well. Whichever of you finds more for me will be given this Book of Destiny."

    Destina''s eyes instantly fell to the Book of Destiny before she looked back up at Lu Yin. "I understand."

    After Destina left, Lu Yin aksi left the Heavens Sect and headed for the Neoverse.

    Truthfully, Lu Yin could not bring himself to trust either Destina or Skymender. The only person whom he trusted with the Books of Destiny was Xiao Shi.

    However, Lu Yin had also be a bit ufortable after hearing the same thing from the two individuals. Xiao Shi had immediately been able to read the Book of Destiny, but not only did he not need to limate to the book, but he also had not even cultivated Heaven¡¯s Enigma. How was he able to read the book? The only answer Lu Yin had was that Xiao Shi was Destiny incarnate, but wasn¡¯t Destiny a woman?

    Lu Yin then gently used Star Stomp to walk across the stars of the universe, quickly arriving in the Neoverse to find Xiao Shi.

    Xiao Shi was still in the Hall of Honor¡¯s library, sitting in a corner with his head buried in a book. However, for once, he was not alone. There was a woman quietly sitting beside him with a slight smile on her face.

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. Where had this womane from?

    Lu Yin''s sudden appearance waspletely unnoticed by Xiao Shi, as he was immersed in his book, but the woman immediately saw Lu Yin.

    A rather nk expression appeared on the woman¡¯s face when she first saw Lu Yin, but then her eyespletely lit up. This was the expression of someone seeing a person whom they admired.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought when he saw the woman was that she had an ulterior motive for being with Xiao Shi. After all, the man was nothing more than a narcissistic mushroom head, as far as most people were concerned. But to Lu Yin, Xiao Shi was the master of a Book of Destiny. He needed to be wary of anyone who approached Xiao Shi.

 Chapter 2326: Confirmation

    <h4>Chapter 2326: Confirmation</h4>

    Right when Lu Yin was about to ask the woman to identify herself, she called out, "Brother Lu!"

    Lu Yin was startled, and he nkly stared at the woman for a moment. Did he actually know her? Brother Lu? He could not remember such a person ever addressing him in such an intimate manner. "And you are¡­?"

    When Xiao Shi heard the woman speak up, his head rose, and he appeared pleasantly surprised to see a guest. "Brother Lu, you¡¯re back."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the woman.

    The woman blushed, yet she nervously and excitedly forced out, "I- I¡¯m Yaya."

    Lu Yin felt confused. Yaya? The name sounded very familiar¡­

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered where he knew the name from, and he was surprised by the memory. "Yaya from Starlight Ind?"

    The woman was thrilled at the question. "That¡¯s me! Do you still remember me, Brother Lu?"

    Lu Yin took a few steps forward, carefully examining the woman. "Is it really you? That little girl from Starlight Ind?"

    The woman nodded.

    "Brother Lu, di you two know each other?" Xiao Shi was also surprised.

    Lu Yin shocked to learn that this woman was that little girl Yaya who had been saved from Starlight Ind.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin, Starsibyl, Ku Wei, and a few others had fought in the war in the Cosmic Sea. While in the Cosmic Sea, they had spent some time on Starlight Ind. There, they had met a little girl who put on a show of being tough. She had filled her house with the clothes of adults for self-protection. That little girl¡¯s name had been Yaya, and she had been in a truly miserable situation.

    At the time, Lu Yin had wanted to return and take Yaya away from Starlight Ind after the Sixth Maind had been driven out of the Fifth Maind, as he had felt pity for the little girl.

    However, Lu Yin had forgotten about the girl, and he had not remembered her at all until she was standing in front of him again.

    Yaya stared at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, I knew that I would be able to meet you here."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "I never thought that that little girl would grow up so much! Why are you here, Yaya?"

    Yaya proceeded to share her story. It was not aplicated one, but it did have some degree of luck.

    After the Sixth Maind retreated, the Hall of Honor had sent out people to help as many survivors throughout the Fifth Maind as possible. Some of those people had stopped on Starlight Ind, and they had encountered Yaya. Not only had the people been surprised to see that a little girl like Yaya had survived, but after speaking to the girl a bit, they had learned about her connection to Starsibyl and Lu Yin. After a brief investigation and confirming the girl¡¯s identity, she had been taken to the Hall of Honor.

    However, the Hall of Honor was too vast and had too many people in it. Yaya had spent all of her time training and cultivating, so she had never managed to meet Lu Yin or any of the others until now. Fortunately, Yaya¡¯s talent was quite decent, and she was considered to be somewhat of an elite.

    "I saw Brother Lu just outside the library thest time you were here, and I felt certain that you woulde back. That¡¯s why I stayed here, met up with Xiao Shi, and helped him out with organizing the books here," Yaya exined.

    Lu Yin nodded and then praised the young woman. "Clearly, you¡¯ve worked hard in order to stand out even here in the Hall of Honor."

    Lu Yin¡¯s praise only made Yaya grow even more excited.

    She had heard too many legends about Lu Yin during her years of training in the Hall of Honor. In her mind, Lu Yin had long since changed from the friendly big brother that she had once met to a legend. That legend had only grown, and Lu Yin had be someone who had saved the Fifth Maind and even be its sole ruler.

    Lu Yin was quite happy to meet Yaya once again. He hade to care quite a bit for the girl during their initial meeting.

    "Brother Lu, Yaya is a very talented cultivator, but while there are few people who canpare to her, she simply doesn¡¯t have the resources she needs to reach her potential," Xiao Shimented.

    "Xiao Shi, don''t be ridiculous!" Yaya red at Xiao Shi, but he justughed.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Resources are just as necessary for cultivation as hard work and talent. Do you have a master, Yaya?"

    Yaya shook her head. "I did have several different masters in the past, but all of them died. Now, no one wants to ept me as their disciple."

    "What do you mean by that?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Xiao Shi spoke up, "Yaya had three different masters before, but all of them died during the war. There are people who im that Yaya is a source of disaster, so no one wants to take her as a disciple any longer. It¡¯s also be very difficult for her to get any resources for her training or cultivation."

    Yaya dropped her head, her face flushed and her eyes growing dim.

    Lu Yin was a bit surprised by this news. "Three masters died? How did they all die?"

    Yaya pursed her lips. "My first master was obsessed with cultivation, and he ended up dying in an ident while cultivating. My second master pursued his enemies to kill them, only to die instead. My third master was killed by a corpse king."

    Lu Yin sympathized with the woman. "Death is all toomon for humans in this universe. Still, even if you¡¯ve had three masters who have died, people shouldn¡¯t be ming things on you. Is someone targeting you?" If there was someone targeting Yaya, Lu Yin would make sure to look into the matter.

    Yaya turned pale, and she bit her down hard on her lips. She suddenly offered Lu Yin a bow. "Brother Lu, there¡¯s something that I need to take care of, so I¡¯ll be heading out now. I¡¯ll see you again when I have the chance."

    The woman then fled.

    Her reaction surprised Lu Yin, and he looked over at Xiao Shi.

    Xiao Shi sighed. "It¡¯s not that anyone¡¯s targeting her, but simply that she mes herself. She was actually the one to report two of the deaths, and she also ims that her parents died because of her. Naturally, over time, no one wants to ept her as a disciple any longer. Even if she had nothing to do with what happened to the people around her, if she continues to me herself like this, then her cultivation will be impacted, and she won¡¯t rise very high."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Was that really the case? It certainly did make sense.

    When Lu Yin and the others had first found Yaya, her parents had already been dead, yet she had lived on her own while putting on a strong front. She had been unwilling to bother anyone. While she had developed a tough personality, her mentality had developed certain ws. They had persisted from childhood into adulthood, and it was difficult for her to ever change this part of her.

    "Do you know Yaya pretty well?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi reached up to touch his mushroom head. "I''ve known her for a bit more than half a year, but she¡¯s stayed here that whole time. I thought that she was sticking around because she admired my mushroom head. I never considered that she was waiting to see you, Big Brother Lu.

    "Oh, right. Why did youe to see me, Brother Lu?" As Xiao Shi spoke, he finally noticed the Book of Destiny that Lu Yin was holding. "What¡¯s that?"

    Lu Yin handed the book over to Xiao Shi. "Take a look."

    Xiao Shi took the book and stared at it in amazement. "It looks exactly like my book."

    He then opened the book and started flipping through the pages. Finally, he looked up and stared at Lu Yin in a questioning manner. "There¡¯s no words."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "You can''t see any text?"

    Xiao Shi shook his head.

    Lu Yin looked back over at Xiao Shi''s Book of Destiny. The two books lookedpletely identical. "So, you can read that book and see the text, but not this one?"

    Xiao Shi nodded. He thought for a moment and then gave Lu Yin a very suspicious look, as though he was using Lu Yin of giving him a fake book.

    Lu Yin took the Book of Destiny back. "If you can''t read it, you can¡¯t read it. Help me out by looking up a few words in your book."

    Xiao Shi turned around and picked up his Book of Destiny and then expectantly asked, "What words?"

    Xiao Shi was the only one who could read his book, but he could only see what he wished to read, or what was rted to what he was currently thinking about. This waspletely different from other books. The man spent every day reading books in the library in order to obtain a bit of inspiration so that he could read more from the magical book. Truthfully, Xiao Shi was always excited to have someone ask him a question to look up.

    In the current situation, Lu Yin was even providing specific words for Xiao Shi to find.

    "Stone Origin technique." Lu Yin only spoke three words.

    Xiao Shi quickly flipped through the pages of his book. "Alright, yes. Here it is. Stone Origin technique. This is a really weird technique, as people who cultivate it will be controlled by the creator of the technique. The technique¡¯s sole purpose is to save the user¡¯s life from any kind of disaster, as using the Stone Origin technique transforms a person into a human-shaped stone that-"

    Xiao Shi¡¯s eyes grew veryrge. "Wait, isn''t this talking about those humanoid sourceboxes?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Is this technique where the humanoid sourceboxese from?"

    Xiao Shi nodded nkly. "Isn''t this clearly describing a humanoid sourcebox?"

    "So theye from the Stone Origin technique?"

    "That''s what this book says here."

    Lu Yin straightened up. It seemed Skymender really had not lied. Lu Yin had just confirmed that the Stone Origin technique was the technique that created all of the humanoid sourceboxes. "What else is there?"

    "It''s gone. That¡¯s all that was written." Xiao Shi made a point of rotating the book to show Lu Yin the pages, as if to show that he was telling the truth.

    Lu Yin stared at the nk pages, speechless. "Alright, now tell me what you can find about the Stone Reversal Formation."

    Xiao Shi snorted before he started flipping through the pages of his book once again. He soon found what he was looking for and read aloud, "The Stone Reversal Formation is a difficult sourcebox array that releases those who used the Stone Origin technique. This is also about the Stone Origin technique. Brother Lu, you should already know this."

    "I do, but I¡¯m asking you to verify some things," Lu Yin replied.

    Xiao Shi looked back down at the book¡¯s pages. "There¡¯s another bit about the Stone Reversal Formation. It says that the people who used the Stone Origin technique and are rescued by the Stone Reversal Formation can be controlled by something else."

    Everything perfectly matched with what Lu Yin had already been told. Skymender had not told any lies. Everything regarding the Stone Origin technique as well as the sourcebox arrays associated with the technique matched up with Xiao Shi¡¯s information.

    Skymender really had wanted to use the Reverse Origin Formation to release the people who had used the Stone Origin technique to save their lives during the destruction of the Fourth Maind long ago. The goal had likely been to fight against the Human Domain.

    Skymender¡¯s stated purpose was very likely the truth as well, as the people who had both the opportunity to learn the Stone Origin technique, as well as the time to use it when the Fourth Maind was being destroyed, could not be normal cultivators. At the very least, each one should at least be an Envoy. This meant that, if Skymender had actually seeded, he would have gained control of far more Envoys than there were in the entire Human Domain.

    Star Alliance had possessed a tremendous influence on the Perennial World. If the four ruling powers had not ced restrictions on all the members of Star Alliance and enforced their control, the united might of Star Alliance would have been far more terrifying. However, not even Star Alliance couldpare to the number of humanoid sourceboxes in the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin had also found arge number of humanoid sourceboxes when he had been exploring Burial Garden. There was a truly terrifying number of powerhouses who were at least Envoys, and the number who were actually Semi-Progenitors could only be guessed at.

    If Skymender had been secretly preparing to enact such a n, then just how many others throughout the entire universe had simr ns in y? The universe was simply too vast, and there were too many cultivators to ount for.

    Shamrock Enterprise had once made a n to control countless individuals with their stellr energy pills. Undying Yushan had wanted to control people with the Undying Manual. Even Hen Xin had wanted to use the allure of battle force and domains to control cultivators. Too much happened across the universe at once, and all Lu Yin could think was that he was thrilled that he had discovered this particr plot before it was toote. Otherwise, certain things would have be irreversible.

    If this was the universe that Lu Yin could see at his current level, then how did those above him see things? How did Progenitors see the universe?

    Was there anything beyond the Progenitor realm? The higher one rose, the more their perspective changed.

    Lu Yin looked at his cosmic ring. He believed there were only a few days left before the New Corridor was fully repaired, which meant that it would soon be time to talk to Xia Shenji. If Lu Yin was right, then the first person who passed through the New Corridor would be Xia Shenji¡¯s true body.

    Lu Yin left the Hall of Honor and returned to Earth¡¯s sr system. He did not return to the Heavens Sect, but to Earth itself in order to recover the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Before Lu Yin left the Neoverse, he left some resources for Yaya to use. While they were not worth almost anything to Lu Yin, they were more than enough to let Yaya to catch back up to some people who had surpassed her.

    Once he was on Earth, Lu Yin appeared above the Pacific Ocean. He stretched out a hand, and a Champions¡¯ Stage rose from the ocean to float in the sky in front of Lu Yin.

    He stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage. "The first battle is going to be up to you."

    ...

 Chapter 2327: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 2327: Arrival</h4>

    Ten days passed, and on the border between the Human Domain and the Technocracy, Lu Yin sat on a in what had once been Endless Weave. The massive jiao crouched behind Lu Yin, its breathing causing the universe to tremble with each inhale and exhale.

    A wireless jincan trembled, and Lu Yin checked the iing message.

    "Repairs will bepleted at any moment." It was a simple message from Sky Creation Academy.

    Lu Yin put the wireless jincan away and instead pulled out Zenith Mountain. Xia Shenji was released.

    The Progenitor-level clone had not been released even a single time since he had been captured. In fact, Lu Yin had not said anything to the man. It was finally time to do so.

    Xia Shenji fell from Zenith Mountain and copsed onto the ground.

    His injuries were severe. Lu Yin had nearly crushed the man¡¯s Progenitor power, and the clone was barely able to even sense it at this point. He had beenpletely defeated by the jiao, and right now, Xia Shenji could not even disy the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin calmly looked down at Xia Shenji¡¯s miserable clone. The Champions¡¯ Stage sat beside Lu Yin, and the jiao crouched behind him. There was no one else around.

    Xia Shenji struggled to pick himself up and stand, and he staggered as he silently looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back. "Aren¡¯t you at least a bit curious as to why I released you?"

    The clone just sneered and nced around. "What¡¯s the point? Go ahead and tell me what you want, but just a reminder, I¡¯m only a clone."

    Lu Yin rubbed his head, clearly frustrated. "I know, and clones don¡¯t fear death. I¡¯ve dealt with more than one clone like you before. The first one I met I helped to defeat his main body and rece it."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew cold.

    "The second clone did the same thing," Lu Yin continued.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew colder and more vicious. Twice, Lu Yin had worked with clones created with the Nine Clones Secret Technique to rece their main bodies. This meant that Lu Yin had twice worked with descendants of the Xia family. Both of those people should die for betraying their family.

    "You are the third clone I¡¯ve met." Lu Yin smiled as he looked at Xia Shenji with open interest. "Do you also want to work with me to defeat your main body and rece it?"

    The clone grew angry. "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really expect me to believe you right now? Clones can never rece the main body. This is an immutablew of the Nine Clones Secret Technique. If it did not exist, Shenwu''s Sky would have long since fallen into chaos."

    Lu Yin smiled. "And yet I helped two clones rece their main bodies. The first clone came to me for help, and since he was already a friend, I agreed. However, for the second clone, I granted them the ability to fight back against his main body."

    Lu Yin leaned forward as he spoke, and the clone¡¯s pupils shrank. "That¡¯s impossible."

    Xia Shenji was absolutely certain that he was correct, as even though he was a Progenitor-level clone, he was unable to go against his main body. The main body had full control over all the clones, and since this was true even for a Progenitor, it demonstrated to Lu Yin just how overbearing the Nine Clones Secret Technique truly was.

    A person with an independent personality was forced to willingly merge into another person and essentially disappear. This was a truly terrifying technique.

    "Nothing is impossible. Do you want to know who I helped?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

    The clone¡¯s eyes narrowed. "A clone cannot go against their main body. This is an inviblew. Lu Yin, you can¡¯t deceive me. What is it that you want?"

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I just want to chat with you. Find out what this ce should look like from the eyes of a Progenitor like you."

    Xia Shenji was caught off guard, but then he began tough arrogantly. "It¡¯s whatever you think of, as it is whatever you want it to be."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t understand."

    "You¡¯ll understand when you be a Progenitor, though, Lu Xiaoxuan, you will never be a Progenitor!" Xia Shenji taunted.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I fought against four Semi-Progenitors as a three-tribtion Envoy, and I even killed one of those Semi-Progenitors. You really think that I can''t be a Progenitor?"

    Xia Shenji replied in a cold voice, "Your mind is wed. I can see the seal that¡¯s been ced on your body, and I could also feel it when we fought. That seal is not simple, and it has cut off your chances of ever bing a Progenitor. That is why you will never reach that level."

    Lu Yin replied, "I broke through ayer of that seal when I became a Melder, and again when I became an Explorer. Why are you so certain that this seal can stop me?"

    Xia Shenji brushed off Lu Yin¡¯s response. "Even if you do manage to break that seal, so what? If you want to be a Progenitor, will it be you, or Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin became confused.

    Xia Shenji stared intensely at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll tell you that bing a Progenitor is not merely a matter of one¡¯s cultivation, as their state of mind is just as important. Lu Xiaoxuan was an optimistic and kind person who was like a ray of sunshine, whereas you are dark and gloomy. You arepletely different from who you once were. You want to be a Progenitor, but will it be Lu Xiaoxuan who bes a Progenitor, or you?"

    "Of course it will be me," Lu Yin replied without hesitation. He had already lost all of his memories of his life as Lu Xiaoxuan, so how could Lu Xiaoxuan possibly be the one to be a Progenitor?

    Xia Shenji sneered contemptuously. "If you don''t break that seal, you will never be a Progenitor, but if you do break the seal, you will regain all your memories of being Lu Xiaoxuan, which includes the emotions, personality, and everything else that made him Lu Xiaoxuan. When that happens, will you remain Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes red. Would he still be himself? The question echoed in his mind. Would he still be himself? Who would he be? Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin?

    For a moment, Lu Yin was at a terrible loss.

    Xia Shenjiughed. "Your mental state is the obstacle that will bar you from ever bing a Progenitor! You can''t be a Progenitor without breaking that seal, but if you ever do so, what will happen to Lu Xiaoxuan? Kid, you are doomed! While you would indeed be an invincible and peerless Progenitor, you will never reach that level! You are already doomed, hahahaha."

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind was still dwelling on the earlier question. Will you remain Lu Yin?

    It was something that he had never considered before, and it left him badly confused.

    Xia Shenji was cunning. He had seen through Lu Yin''s desire to be a Progenitor, and he had used a single question to shatter Lu Yin¡¯s mental state. One sentence from the Progenitor had aplished something that none of Lu Yin¡¯s enemies had ever managed to do.

    This was the ability of a Progenitor. Even without his strength or cultivation, he still remained a Progenitor.

    Achoooo!

    A deafening noise rang out as the jiao sneezed, startling Lu Yin from his daze. He slowly turned his head to stare at the jiao.

    The beast blinked its eyes, instinctively wanting to brandish its fangs and ws, but it restrained itself. Instead, it bent its ws in what it believed to be a submissive manner.

    Lu Yin actually ignored the jiao¡¯s antics, as he was staring at the top of the jiao¡¯s head. More urately, he was staring at the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Xia Shenji was also absolutely correct. Upon bing a Progenitor, all memories from Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s life would be recovered. When that happened, would he be Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin? This question was quite reminiscent of the Nine Clones Secret Technique; between Xia Luo and Xia Jiuyou, which was the main body? Xia Jiuyou had started as the main body, but Xia Luo had proven himself capable of resisting the main body¡¯s control, which meant that Xia Luo had also been the main body.

    A single person had been split between two bodies, and both had also been the main body. This was also the disadvantage of the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Wait, did that mean that Lu Yin¡¯s wed mental state could be resolved with the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    Lu Xiaoxuan had been an individual, and Lu Yin was also his own person. Regardless of whether Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin emerged as the final and dominant personality, only a single person could be a Progenitor.

    Or, Lu Yin could copy Progenitor Chen and have each clone from the Nine Clones Secret Technique be a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin suddenly grew solemn, and he turned back to look at Xia Shenji. "Thank you for the warning."

    Xia Shenji frowned. "Lu Xiaoxuan, your wed mentality will prevent you from ever bing a Progenitor. So what if I¡¯ve warned you in advance? You will still never be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin gave the clone a smile that conveyed both arrogance and contentment. "Who says that I can''t be a Progenitor? If there¡¯s a w in my mental state because I am both Lu Yin and Lu Xiaoxuan, then I¡¯ll just separate the two. Isn¡¯t that what your Xia family has always been doing?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression instantly and drastically changed. He had definitely miscalcted, as he had actually forgotten about the Nine Clones Secret Technique!

    "All nine of Progenitor Chen''s clones became Progenitors, didn¡¯t they? So then why can¡¯t both I and Lu Xiaoxuan be Progenitors? Thank you, Xia Shenji, for the reminder," Lu Yin stated loudly. The moment he finished speaking, his head whipped around, and he stared towards the Technocracy. The New Corridor¡¯s repairs had just finished.

    Within the Technocracy, just outside of Sky Creation Academy, the void distorted as a path appeared in space. This was the New Corridor.

    Aeternus¡¯s forces had previously destroyed the New Corridor and its connection to the Wang family¡¯s territory, but after many years, it had finally been fully repaired.

    The moment the connection to the Perennial World was restored, a person emerged from the New Corridor and entered the Technocracy.

    Sky Creation Academy started crumbling. Headmaster Senn had already known that powerhouses from the Perennial World would appear as soon as the New Corridor was repaired, but he had expected Semi-Progenitors to arrive, not an actual Progenitor, let alone a Progenitor from the Xia family who had lived since the era of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    The moment Xia Shenji emerged from the New Corridor, tremors ran through all of Sky Creation Academy, First Edition city, as well as countlesss in the Technocracy. Every single creature¡ªhuman, cyborg, android, or astral beast¡ªsuffered from the unimaginable pressure of a Progenitor.

    The Lost Course Army that had once terrorized the battlefield with their mechanical giants, the Third Fleet, and many more powerful forces of the Technocracy all froze where they were standing. All of them felt the pressure of a Progenitor wash over them, and it terrified them. None of them could even imagine this much power. How could such a terrifying power exist? Was this truly something that a living creature could achieve?

    Xia Shenji stepped away from the New Corridor as he nced around. He sensed a familiar aura. Was that Hui Wen?

    Was this the power that Hui Wen had left behind?

    The Technocracy had been created by Progenitor Hui, who had specifically tasked the Technocracy with collecting materials to make mechanical ants that would be able to deal a massive blow to the Aeternals¡¯ near infinite armies of corpse kings. However, all of those preparations had been used up when Aeternus had invaded the Fifth Maind.

    Even if the power had not beenpletely consumed, the mentalwork that Progenitor Hui had left behind would be useless against Xia Shenji unless Progenitor Hui himself appeared.

    After all, the two Progenitors were peers.

    Xia Shenji was not at all concerned with Progenitor Hui''s remnant power. He immediately stared in a particr direction, and a smile appeared on his face. "Found it."

    The universe then started to tremble, and the void shattered as the Shenwu World appeared.

    It was not that no Progenitors had ever appeared in the Fifth Maind. Rather, if the Sixth Maind''s three Progenitors werepared to Xia Shenji, the Progenitor worlds belonging to the three of them were far, far too weak.

    The moment the Shenwu World appeared, it was not only felt in the Technocracy, as the Human Domain, and the Astral Beast Domain also felt its effects.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines instantly noticed the appearance of another Progenitor, and he went pale from the shock. "This-!"

    Such a terrifying Progenitor¡¯s world reminded him of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that he had seen during the Daosource Sect era. Had someone with that level of strength arrived?

    All of the Semi-Progenitors looked up one after another, shock filling their eyes.

    In the Heavens Sect, the Astral Beast Army grew uneasy, and they all started squirming. Even Yao Di began to tremble. The power of an almighty Progenitor had fallen upon the Fifth Maind. This power could change the Fifth Maind itself, and its appearance transformed the Fifth Maind¡¯s very understanding of power.

    At this moment, even Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Heavens Sect era, who had encountered many top powerhouses back then, were also shocked. A Progenitor with this level of power had been extremely rare even in their era.

    Destina, Destiny¡¯s heir and disciple, frowned. "What an amazing power¡­ A Progenitor?"

 Chapter 2328: Summoning A Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 2328: Summoning A Progenitor</h4>

    Wendy Yushan, Zhuo Daynight, the Ghost Monkey, Ku Wei, and everyone else all turned pale when they felt the power that was overtaking the universe.

    No one could remain calm before the overwhelming presence of a Progenitor. Even Lu Yin, who had already fought against Xia Shenji, struggled to breath through the despair induced by the pressure of the Shenwu World when it appeared.

    "That really is quite scary." Lu Yin lifted his head and looked towards the Technocracy.

    Behind him, the jiao had grown restless. It let out a soft growl while baring its fangs and showing its ws, but it was unable to find its target. It wanted to escape, as the power that had just descended felt so familiar that the beast almost felt sick.

    Xia Shenji''s clone instantly grew excited, "Lu Xiaoxuan, my main body is here! You can¡¯t escape now! Who in the Fifth Maind can help you? Mu Xie can''te here, so you''re doomed."

    Lu Yin rose to his feet and stood next to the Champions¡¯ Stage. He sped his hands behind his back and simply stared towards the Technocracy.

    A person soon appeared, and the Shenwu World transformed everything around it, recing an entire region of the universe. Within this new universe, even breathing was something that Xia Shenji could control. Crushing Lu Yin would take no more than a pinch.

    Fortunately for Lu Yin, the jiao was behind him, and the beast¡¯s presence made it difficult for Xia Shenji to attack the youth.

    Xia Shenji emerged from the void and saw the huge jiao behind Lu Yin, but he did not see his clone. He had clearly felt the clone¡¯s existence just a moment before.

    Moreover, what had happened to the Forsaken Land? Why was there no stellr energy?

    Lu Yin had already put the clone away, as it had only been released in order to lure Xia Shenji over. Progenitor Chen¡¯s power did not extend into the Technocracy, which meant that this ce was not safe for Lu Yin. Naturally, he would not go there. So, Lu Yin needed to draw Xia Shenji into the Human Domain.

    Given that his goal had already been achieved, the clone had been hidden away once again. Lu Yin would never willingly return the clone to Xia Shenji, as no matter how weak it might be, it was still a clone that had reached the Progenitor level.

    Face to face with Lu Yin once again, Xia Shenji did not even think about what had happened to the Forsaken Land¡¯s stellr energy. Lu Xiaoxuan needed to be dealt with first.

    The Progenitor gazed at Lu Yin. "Why aren¡¯t you afraid?"

    "Why would I be? What can you do to me?"

    Xia Shenji''s eyes flickered with a dangerous glint. "Without Xi Wei or Mu Xie, what can you do on your own?"

    At that moment, des filled the entire area of space. "Regardless of how you may have seized my clone or defeated the jiao, you will die today!"

    The des fell upon Lu Yin from every direction, not giving him any chance of escape at all.

    With the release of his Progenitor¡¯s world, Xia Shenji had be certain that there was no Progenitor present in the Forsaken Land, aside from the jiao, and why would the jiao stop Lu Yin from dying?

    Despite knowing that Lu Xiaoxuan would never willingly appear for a battle that he was not confident in, Xia Shenji had absolute confidence, and it arose from his own identity. He was Xia Shenji! Someone who had reached the same level of power as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era.

    The jiao roared and brandished its ws, shattering the endless des.

    Xia Shenji waspletely unconcerned with the jiao. Even if the beast was difficult to defeat, it was nothing more than a stupid beast, which prevented it from achieving and using the true power of a Progenitor-level being. It might be incredibly powerful, but it did not even have a Progenitor¡¯s world. On top of that, why would it bother standing up to Xia Shenji?

    Lu Yin stared out into outer space. This Shenwu World was powerful enough to cause the entire Fifth Maind to tremble. In the current era, there was no one in the Fifth Maind who possessed the strength to resist such power. "Xia Shenji, do you believe in karma?"

    Xia Shenji frowned. He stared at Lu Yin and took particr note of the Champions¡¯ Stage beside the youth. He had noticed it upon arriving but had assumed that the Champions¡¯ Stage belonged to Lu Yin. It seemed that this was not the case.

    However, if the Champions¡¯ Stage did not belong to Lu Yin, then there was only one exnation, and it was not one that Xia Shenji wasfortable with: the Lu family was in the Fifth Maind.

    But there were no true powerhouses within the range of the Shenwu World. Xia Shenji would never miss such a thing. He had released his Progenitor¡¯s world, and not even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could hide within it, except for maybe Lu Tianyi.

    That possibility was also rejected as soon as it appeared. After all, Xia Shenji absolutely was not Lu Tianyi¡¯s opponent, and there would be no reason for that man to draw Xia Shenji into the Forsaken Land to fight him.

    Ignoring the man¡¯s other options, just the Investiture of the Gods would be enough to instantly eliminate Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor proceeded to ignore Lu Yin, and he simply raised a hand. A massive saber emerged from space, and its mere existence caused space to warp and distort in the Technocracy and the Human Domain. Chains formed from Divine Martial Armor appeared, and they wrapped around the de with a terrible crashing sound. Each impact caused countless people¡¯s hearts to skip a beat.

    Even though the de formed over Lu Yin''s head, an image of the de was visible throughout the entire Fifth Maind, allowing everyone to bear witness to the shocking scene.

    One of Lu Yin¡¯s hands reached out and grabbed the Champions¡¯ Stage as his pupils transformed into runes so that he could see and use the runes of the Champions¡¯ Stage with Truesight. At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s unique power was released from his chest. The stars of the Cosmic Art filled the area around him as the ck and white energy lit up his surroundings. He stepped onto the smallndmass that was formed from the collection of fatesand. His head rose high as he called out, "With my name, I summon a champion."

    The moment his voice fell, the Champions¡¯ Stage trembled as a thick, indescribable scent of blood appeared. It quickly permeated the nearby universe, tainting the sky, the ground, and even the stars with a red color.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn, and he struggled with a wave of dizziness. It felt as though all the blood in his body had just been sucked away. He had just tried to forcibly summoned the most terrifying champion avable in this Champions¡¯ Stage. His intent had been to simply give the summoning a try before using Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, but it seemed that he was actually capable of summoning this champion.

    Unfortunately, the moment the summoning began, all of the stellr energy within Lu Yin¡¯s body was drained away. Not only that, but his spiritual force was also ripped away, leaving him weak. Additionally, the ck and white death energy was being noticeably drained away as well. The speed at which the power was being pulled away was startling, and Lu Yin quickly pulled out the broken scythe. He then pulled the death energy from the scythe into his own body, bing a conduit between the Champions¡¯ Stage and the scythe.

    The scythe had absorbed the entire ck star from within the Bizarre Sect¡¯s ruins, and Lu Yin could not even guess how much death energy the scythe contained. The weapon would not ept even the slightest bit of stellr energy, and it would only ept death energy.

    Still, death energy could also be used to summon a champion.

    The jiao stared at the Champions¡¯ Stage for a few breaths, and it grew noticeably wary.

    Xia Shenji also abruptly froze. This scent of blood induced fear in him. How could the smell of blood be this overwhelmingly strong? Just how many creatures had this champion killed when it had been alive?

    Lu Yin clenched the broken scythe tighter and tighter. Weakness overcame his entire body, and his vision started to blur. He was certain that whatever champion was being summoned was absolutely a Progenitor.

    Still, the overpowering smell of blood was incredibly disturbing.

    As the scent of blood grew more and more intense, an indistinct figure started to form in the center of the red color. It appeared to be a three-meter-tall man who was naked to the waist. ck tattoos covered nearly his entire body, and his hair was long and messy. He was a stocky person, with bulging muscles everywhere. Blue veins ran everywhere, prominent like proud dragons. He held a massive, serrated de that looked like a saber. Most noticeably, there was a deep line that ran across the back of the man¡¯s neck, and it looked as though his head had been cut off and then reattached.

    This was clearly a cruel, violent man who possessed endless bloodlust.

    The scent of blood grew stronger and stronger, and it even started disintegrating the Divine Martial Armor that filled the Shenwu World. The surroundings became increasingly red in color, which made the summoned champion appear to stand in the center of a blood red world. He did nothing.

    As soon as the champion fully formed, the jiao let out a deep growl, clearly nervous.

    As for Xia Shenji, his expression became hideous. "E Chi!<sup>1 That¡¯s E Chi! Your Lu family actually anointed E Chi!" </sup>

    Lu Yin had no idea what was going on. Was E Chi this champion¡¯s name?

    "No wonder E Chi disappeared. Whose Champions¡¯ Stage is that? Lu Feng¡¯s? Lu Tianyi¡¯s?" Xia Shenji started screaming as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s face had gone pale, and he was in no condition to waste time dealing with Xia Shenji¡¯s nonsense. He immediately ordered E Chi to attack. This was a Progenitor-level champion, and if not for the death energy in the scythe, Lu Yin could have never summoned this champion.

    With Lu Yin''s order, the strong-looking man spread his arms wide and roared into the sky. An indescribably aura of blood radiated from the champion, and it forced back the Shenwu World. This was the champion¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin felt like he was covered in blood and that blood was all he could see. Was this really the champion¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world?

    Xia Shenji snorted disdainfully. "A fiend who escaped from Burial Garden and devoured an entire realm, yet your Lu family silently made him a champion. Your Lu family must pay the price for those that this fiend ughtered!"

    The massive saber in the sky dropped down, shing through the red Progenitor¡¯s world.

    The serrated de in E Chi¡¯s hand dropped low, and then shed upwards.

    Bang!

    Shockwaves spread out like ripples that acted like a tsunami as they shot through the universe. Countlesss were shattered, and an entire region of the Fifth Maind waspletely wiped out.

    Lu Yin felt like a hammer had struck his brain, and he nearly copsed.

    There was a loud click as the serrated de was cut through, and the saber continued down to slice half an inch into E Chi''s body.

    Xia Shenji grew cold and solemn. "If that fiend had not fled so fast, how could he have ever survived long enough to be one of your Lu family¡¯s champions? I was not yet a Progenitor when he wasmitting his ughter, but now that I am, how can hepare to me?"

    The Progenitor¡¯s hands shook as several huge chains shot out from the void and moved to wrap around E Chi.

    Lu Yin was still feeling incredibly dizzy. This E Chi looked evil and powerful, and he was indeed the most powerful champion recorded in the Champions¡¯ Stage, but he was only about as strong as the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors. E Chi was possibly a bit stronger than those three, but he was still far from being Xia Shenji''s opponent, which was frustrating for Lu Yin.

    Still, it made sense when Lu Yin considered things. After all, if this E Chi was as powerful as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, then even the God of Death¡¯s left arm would not have been enough to allow Lu Yin to summon the champion.

    "Jiao, bite him," Lu Yin ordered.

    Lu Yin had no other option. It was clear that E Chi could not stop Xia Shenji, so Lu Yin needed to utilize another Progenitor-level minion.

    The jiao roared as it charged towards Xia Shenji, baring its fangs and ws. As far as Xia Shenji was concerned, the jiao was far more of a threat than E Chi would ever pose.

    Even when E Chi had been alive, he had only been a Progenitor of average power. He had been able to ughter so many people mostly because he could flee extremely quickly, and also because the Aeternals had tried to protect him. As soon as Xia Shenji and his peers had be Progenitors, E Chi had gone into hiding.

    The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had ruled the universe, which meant that a Progenitor with E Chi¡¯s strength would have never dared to even reveal his face. The reason for Xia Shenji¡¯s initial shock had merely been because of E Chi¡¯s reputation from before Xia Shenji and the others had be Progenitors.

    On the other hand, the jiao waspletely different. While the beast had no real intelligence and was missing a Progenitor¡¯s world, its skin was tough and strong. It was capable of handling a powerful beating, and if it cooperated with E Chi, Xia Shenji would struggle a bit.

    The jiao did not only attack Xia Shenji because of Lu Yin''s order. The beast had been imprisoned within Shenwu¡¯s Sky for countless years, and it had developed a powerful fear and hatred towards Xia Shenji. While the jiao would never dare to attack this man on its own, with E Chi also present, the jiao¡¯s bites grew vicious. After all, Xia Shenji''s de could barely harm the jiao.

    E Chi¡¯s blood-red Progenitor¡¯s world fought back against the Shenwu World, and he shed at Xia Shenji with the huge serrated de.

    For some time, even Xia Shenji was stuck in a situation that he could not deal with, as he was pinned down from all sides.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing had grown ragged. It was clearly not possible to continue in this manner, as Lu Yin would not be able to endure for much longer. As soon as his death energy was depleted, E Chi would disappear. When that happened, the jiao would definitely escape.

    It looked like Lu Yin would still need to rely on Progenitor Chen''s power.

    He stared at the battle, looking for the right opening to give Xia Shen a little present.

    At this moment, the Progenitor of Bloodlines arrived. He stared at the distant battle in utter shock. "That¡¯s the strength of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas!"

    Lu Yin was startled. "Senior, why are you here?"

    Lu Yin had deliberately stopped everyone from approaching this region. Even his senior brother, Qing Ping, who was confident in going against a Progenitor, had been kept away. This was Xia Shenji¡¯s main body that Lu Yin was facing, not a Progenitor-level clone. It would be easy for anybody who wandered in to die in an instant.

    [1] "E" (¶ñ) + "Chi" (³à) = Evil + Crimson.???

 Chapter 2329: Unfathomable

    <h4>Chapter 2329: Unfathomable</h4>

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines stared out at the shattered region of space. "Why would I note with a Progenitor here?"

    The old man looked over at Lu Yin. "While this old man might have nearly fallen from the Progenitor realm, I can still manage to stall him for a bit. If anything happens, leave me and immediately escape."

    .

    "Senior-"

    Lu Yin tried to reply, but he was cut off by the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ raised hand. "You may be able to use the power left behind by Progenitor Chen, but do you understand that even Progenitor Chen would not have an easy time against another one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? You are merely using his remnant power, and you are not Progenitor Chen himself. Lu Yin, you are the most talented human I have ever seen, and I firmly believe that you will at least rise up to the same level as Progenitor Chen. You might even reach the same level as the ancient Progenitors. You have given humanity hope again.¡±

    "I am not here for you, but for all of mankind. Do your best to live as long as possible. If an old cripple like me can do something to help save humanity, then all I can hope for is to leave behind some good fortune for the Sixth Maind."

    Lu Yin was touched. "This junior truly admires your determination, but this junior still has more that can be used against Xia Shenji."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was taken aback. "Is there someone else who can help? Or do you have some sort of power vessel?"

    Of course Lu Yin would not use a power vessel. Xia Shenji had been constantly on guard against Lu Yin pulling something out, such as the slipper. While Lu Yin did want tounch a sneak attack with the slipper, if he failed and the slipper was instead stolen, Lu Yin would suffer a truly catastrophic loss.

    There was a wail, and the jiao''s massive body crashed down. It was bound by several chains, and they rendered the beast unable to move. E Chi¡¯s saber shot upwards in a sh, releasing an invisible attack. It seemed to be some sort of Progenitor-level battle technique. A bone staircase appeared, and each time E Chi climbed up another step, his strength rose further.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew somber, and he allowed E Chi to release his attack. The moment his attack was released, E Chi vanished, and then abruptly reappeared in exactly the same location.

    The sight caused Lu Yin''s heart to skip a beat. This was the power of time.

    Xia Shenji''s palm fell, wrapped about with Divine Martial Armor. This attack had the power to change the universe, and it crushed E Chi, shattering half of his body.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ face twitched. "That is the power of a supreme Progenitor from the Daosource Sect era. Boy, no matter who follows you, just run first and talkter."

    The old man then prepared to release his full strength, despite knowing that he was not Xia Shenji¡¯s opponent at all.

    Lu Yin had already known that Xia Shenji was incredibly powerful, and he was supposed to beparable to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Even so, the man¡¯s strength was a bit shocking to Lu Yin, though it did allow him to gain a greater understanding of just how strong Senior Brother Mu Xie actually was.

    When attacking Lu Yin in the Perennial World, Xia Shenji had not released many attacks. His first attack had been blocked by Progenitor Smoke and Lu Yin himself, using various methods avable to him. However, a Progenitor¡¯s world possessed unmatched power. Lu Yin could not understand any of it, and even Progenitor Smoke had no chance of stopping such a thing.

    Mu Xie¡¯s arrival had literally saved Lu Yin''s life.

    At that point in time, Lu Yin could not get even an intuitive feel for how powerful Xia Shenji was, as he had never been exposed to another Progenitor to be able to make any sort ofparison. All that Lu Yin had had to go off of was the strength that Xia Shenji and Mu Xie had revealed.

    However, Lu Yin finally had a bit of aparison. E Chi was also a Progenitor, but he had just been crushed by Xia Shenji. E Chi waspletely helpless against the power of time that Xia Shenji possessed, so how had Mu Xie fought against the man?

    "I''m going to go all out now," Lu Yin murmured. He turned to look at the Champions¡¯ Stage beside him, and his pupils once again transformed into runes. God of mes¡¯ wax figurine appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    He needed to find a way to utilize the countless runes that belonged to the Champions¡¯ Stage in the same manner that he did with God of mes¡¯ figurine.

    God of mes had cultivated Truesight to the Manifestation level, and his cultivation art had then transformed him into a candle. From this, Lu Yin believed that the Champions¡¯ Stage that had been left behind to protect the Fifth Maind was the transformed Lu Jian. Since it was possible to use God of mes¡¯ runes freely as a boost to his own strength, Lu Yin should theoretically be able to do the same with the Champions¡¯ Stage. At the very least, it should not be impossible to do so. He needed to at least try it.

    Lu Jian and God of mes had not been even close to the same level of strength. God of mes had be a peak Envoy by cultivating Truesight, and then he had transformed into a candle. That transformation had somehow allowed the candle to possess the same number of runes as a Semi-Progenitor. However, Lu Jian had already been a Semi-Progenitor who had cultivated Truesight and attempted to be a Progenitor with it. It was at that point that Lu Jian had transformed into the Champions¡¯ Stage, which had allowed him to obtain the same number of runes as a Progenitor. Lu Jian had been the greatest expert of Truesight aside from the Rune Progenitor himself. If Lu Yiin could use the runes of the Champions¡¯ Stage, then would that allow him to ess the power of a Progenitor who had cultivated with Truesight?

    Even if Lu Yin was working off of guesses and assumptions, it was definitely something that he had to try.

    Progenitor Chen''s power was his absolutest resort. So far, only Xia Shenji hade to the Fifth Maind, but if Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan arrived as well, then how well would Lu Yin do if he exposed everything that he could do here?

    Truesight, Infinite level. Lu Yin held the Champions¡¯ Stage and used God of mes¡¯ runes as an aide to try to mobilize the runes of the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    He did not actually know how to even use the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage, so he just attempted what he believed to be the best method.

    Far away, both the jiao and E Chi were being one-sidedly beaten. Xia Shenji seemed to be growing impatient. He turned, and another Xia Shenji stepped out and moved towards Lu Yin. The clone waved his hands, and chains appeared from the void that shot towards Lu Yin to bind him.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines stepped forward, ready to fight with his life on the line.

    Lu Yin immediately tossed the slipper over to the old man. "Senior, use this!"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines reflexively grabbed whatever Lu Yin had thrown to him, raised it up, and smacked at one of the iing chains.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines had been crippled by his wounds, and he no longer even possessed his Progenitors¡¯ World, which meant that he was likely not even as strong as Qing Ping. Given the man¡¯s strength, how could he possibly block an attack from Xia Shenji? Even if the Progenitor of Bloodlines was only facing a clone, this clone was still a Progenitor.

    It was far from easy to be a Progenitor, and not only was Xia Shenji a Progenitor, but he was also someone from the Daosource Sect era. There had been arge number of powerhouses in that era, and yet Xia Shenji had been able topete with the greatest of them. He was someone who could stand out in every era, and if he had not beenpletely overshadowed by Progenitor Chen, Xia Shenji would have stood out as one of the most powerful Progenitors since the Heavens Sect era.

    There was a bang, and the chain shattered, reverting back to Divine Martial Armor. Xia Shenji''s clone stared at the slipper in the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ hand with fear. The wary eyes turned onto the Progenitor of Bloodlines himself as well. "Was it you?"

    Xia Shenji recognized the Progenitor of Bloodlines. During Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to be an Envoy, a resonance had urred, and he had been able to look into the Perennial World, and they had been able to see him as well. At that time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had appeared behind Lu Yin. If not for seeing the Progenitor of Bloodlines at that time, Xia Shenji and the others would not have been so wary of the Fifth Maind. After all, none of them had recognized the Progenitor of Bloodlines, nor had they been able to determine his strength. But at this moment, it was clear to Xia Shenji that the old man behind Lu Yin was a cripple.

    As for the Progenitor of Bloodlines himself, he waspletely shocked by the power of the slipper that was in his hand. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but this was not the time.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones had reached the Progenitor level, or how many more the man could summon. All that Lu Yin knew was that Xia Shenji could notpare to Progenitor Chen, who had had nine Progenitor-level clones. However, if three of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones were definitely Progenitors, then it meant that one more could appear.

    As Lu Yin was thinking of this, the number of runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage started to spike higher and higher. The other people present could not see it, but Lu Yin could.

    At the same time, far away in the Neoverse, God of Mirrors was standing in Gods¡¯ Origin and staring towards the Technocracy. He immediately noticed the shocking number of runes that had suddenly appeared. The man watched as the runes surged and quickly spread across the entire Fifth Maind. Was it the power of the Rune Progenitor?

    The Champions¡¯ Stage was not the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power, but Lu Yin¡¯s guess had been quite urate. Lu Jian¡¯s cultivation of Truesight had transformed him into his own innate gift, just like what had happened to God of mes. God of mes had been a peak Envoy, while Lu Jian had been a Semi-Progenitor. His transformation into the Champions¡¯ Stage had increased Lu Jian¡¯s number of runes to the point where they wereparable to a Progenitor¡¯s.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes instantly grewrge, and he startedughing in a crazed manner. In front of him, Xia Shenji grew horrified, as his Shenwu World was being pushed back by some unknown power that clearly belonged to a Progenitor. What was going on?

    Xia Shenji stared at the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Was he the one responsible for this? No, the cripple was not even using a Progenitor¡¯s world, and he seemed to be about to fall from even being a Progenitor.

    In that case, where was this strange powering from?

    Never in his dreams would Xia Shenji have ever thought that the power he was sensing wasing from the Champions¡¯ Stage before him. He was already amazed that the Champions¡¯ Stage had been able to summon a Progenitor, but how could it contain two Progenitors? That was, not unless Xia Shenji was sensing the power of the owner of the Champions¡¯ stage.

    Regardless, the power had somehow appeared.

    As Lu Yin sensed the unimaginable number of runes that belonged to the Progenitor realm, he suddenly turned his attention back to Xia Shenji¡¯s clone before him. Lu Yin raised a hand and clenched a first. The clone¡¯s expression changed drastically. He could not see the runes that were being used against him, but he could feel a threatening power press down from every direction. It felt so dangerous that the clone instantly disappeared, merging back into Xia Shenji¡¯s main body.

    With a roar, the jiao iled and mmed into Xia Shenji while E Chi charged forward. E Chi was a summoned construct rather than a true person. So, as long as Lu Yin supplied an endless flow of death energy, E Chi would be able to recover again and again. The resilience of the monster infuriated Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor¡¯s expression turned ugly. While the jiao was a stupid beast without a Progenitor¡¯s world, it was extremely difficult to fight against, even if only because of its robust defenses. As for E Chi, the champion¡¯s existence reminded Xia Shenji of how difficult it was to fight against members of the Lu family and how infuriating they were. Facing even a single person became a nightmare, and even Aeternus¡¯s monsters grew frustrated when fighting against members of the Lu family. It was basically impossible to kill someone who had summoned a champion. Still, despite the Lu family¡¯s disgusting energy reserves, Xia Shenji could not even begin to understand how Lu Yin had managed to summon a Progenitor champion. Was it because of that broken scythe?

    In addition to everything else, Lu Yin had also used the endless runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage to create an opening in his Shenwu World. Even if it was only a small area, the fact that his Progenitor¡¯s world had been broken remained. With the presence of E Chi¡¯s blood-red Progenitor¡¯s world, Xia Shenji had been forced into a difficult situation.

    For Xia Shenji, the final power that had appeared and created an opening in his Shenwu World was the most troublesome thing, as he could sense that it was Old Fu¡¯s power.

    Of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, Hui Wen had been cunning, Xia Shang had been a battle freak, Xi Wei had been contemtive, Ku Jie had beenzy, but Old Fu had beenpletely unfathomable.

    In the face of Old Fu¡¯s power, the jiao, and E Chi, as well as the fact that the Forsaken Land had absolutely no stellr energy, Xia Shenji decided to retreat for the moment.

    If one person was not enough to defeat Lu Yin, then two would be sent.

    At this thought, Xia Shenji suddenly backed up. He stared over at the distant form of Lu Yin and then vanished after releasing a surge of killing intent. When the Progenitor disappeared, so did the Shenwu World.

    The jiao flew through the sky, brandishing its fangs and ws as though it had achieved victory.

    Lu Yin let out a massive sigh when he saw Xia Shenji retreat. He canceled his summoning, which caused E Chi to disappear. The Progenitor of Bloodlines kept a tight hold of the slipper in his hand. "Did he leave?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Are you certain?"

    "Yes."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines heaved a sigh of relief. He squatted down,pletely disregarding the dignity that a Progenitor should possess. Hemented, "Even with a beast as strong as a Progenitor, a Progenitor-level summon, a cripple like me, and the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power that you managed to use there at the end, we could only force him back. Xia Shenji deserves his reputation as a peak master, even during the Daosource Sect era."

    Lu Yin looked towards the depths of the Technocracy. If Xia Shenji had grown truly desperate, all of Lu Yin¡¯s cards might not have been enough to stop the man. However, Lu Yin was not Xia Shenji¡¯s only enemy. He also needed to remain on guard against the forces of Aeternus, and even the other three ruling powers. Xia Shenji would never go all out unless he was forced into a corner.

    He had only retreated so that he could find a more stable means of defeating Lu Yin. He would definitely return again.

    Lu Yin took out a wireless jincan and sent an order: "Assemble."

    He wanted to gather the full power of the entire Fifth Maind to show the Perennial World the true strength of the Forsaken Land. This was not some abandoned ce¡ªit was the Fifth Maind.

    The forces of the Fifth Maind would gather a few weaves away from where Lu Yin had faced Xia Shenji. They were to be a demonstration for the Perennial World, but Lu Yin did not want them to get caught up in the actual battle. He could not allow that many people to die.

    The battle between Lu Yin and Xia Shenji had already nearly overturned the Fifth Maind. Even though no one had been harmed and no damage had been caused, the entire Fifth Maind had sensed the strength of a Progenitor.

    People were starting to worry, and many were terrified of the final oue.

    Finally, they received a single word informing them of the results: assemble.

    That solitary word informed everyone that Lu Yin had sessfully driven back a powerful enemy, and not just any powerful enemy at that, but a true Progenitor.

 Chapter 2330: Gathering

    Chapter 2330: Gathering

    Most people in the Fifth Maind had no idea that Lu Yin had just driven back one of the powerful Progenitors, Xia Shenji. It was enough for them to simply know that Lu Yin had repelled a Progenitor, as all Progenitors were seen as equal to many people.

    The Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Great Eastern Alliance¡¯s army of lesser giants all gathered in the west of the Outerverse.

    At the same time, the Heavens Sect sent out the Heavens Corps and the Astral Beast Army.

    Envoys appeared one after another. Some also arrived from the Hall of Honor, while a total of sixty three Envoys arrived from the former Star Alliance, led by Semi-Progenitor Zhan Lin.

    Powerful auras kept appearing as more Semi-Progenitors revealed themselves. The gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s eight Heavenly Gates arrived, along with the protectors and educators of the Heavens Sect. A full fifteen Semi-Progenitors appeared.

    The entire Fifth Maind was moving.

    Ancestor Tortoise looked to the west and began to move as well.

    If one looked at a two-dimensional map of the entire Fifth Maind with dots of light representing cultivators, then all of them would be concentrated in a single area that had been designated as a gathering point by Lu Yin.

    Just the Heavens Sect¡¯s armies alone amounted to tens of millions of people.

    This was a gathering of the full might of the Fifth Maind. Their strength was more than what had been gathered to face off against Aeternus¡¯ invasion. That was mostly because, in the past, there had been no one qualified tomand the entire Fifth Maind, but Lu Yin had taken on that role.

    In Endless Weave, the Progenitor of Bloodlines grew worried. "Is it really going toe to war?"

    Lu Yinughed. "We¡¯ll talk about thatter."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed. He did not know how to settle the current situation. If war truly broke out, the losses that humanity would suffer would be incalcble, which would only benefit the Aeternals.

    But what could the old man do? Even if Lu Yin abandoned his revenge, the Perennial World would never allow him to live. His only path to survival was to fight until the Perennial World either gave up or lost their determination.

    In the Innerverse, Wen Qian¡¯er looked at Wen Sansi, who was standing beside a spacecraft. She approached him. "What are you thinking about?"

    Wen Sansi continued to stare out into outer space. "The gap has be really, really big."

    Wen Qian''er knew that Wen Sansi was referring to how far Lu Yin had pulled away from his peers.

    "Back when the Astral Combat Academy sent their students on training excursions, he was sent to Shenwu Continent. I met him when he left that ce, and at that time, the gap between us was immeasurable. No one believed that he would ever be able to catch up to us, let alone surpass us. However, our situations have actually been reversed," Wen Sansi said in an emotional voice.

    Wen Qian''er replied, "Don''t think about it, cousin. He¡¯s an absolute freak."

    Wen Sansi could not helpughing. Long ago, many people had referred to the Ten Arbiters as freaks. When had the word be apliment?

    "This war is not some small matter. You shouldn''t havee, but it¡¯s toote for you to return now," Wen Sansi stated solemnly as he turned to look at Wen Qian''er.

    The woman shook her head. "No one can disobey the Heavens Sect¡¯s orders. I¡¯m a Cruiser now, and I can¡¯t avoid my responsibilities."

    "No one would make trouble for you."

    "I want to see what kind of enemies are powerful enough to warrant gathering the entire Fifth Maind, as well as people from the Sixth Maind and the creatures from the Astral Beast Domain."

    At this point, someone reported that a vessel from the Sword Sect had been spotted in the distance.

    The Sword Sect¡¯s spacecraft were easy to recognize, as they were all shaped like massive swords.

    "Haha, so you¡¯vee out too, Liu Qianjue. I thought that you¡¯d die of old age on Sword Mountain." Wen Zizai smiled as he stepped out to greet an old acquaintance.

    Liu Qianjue appeared and nced around at the Wen family¡¯s spacecraft. "It appears that your Wen family hase out in full force. You¡¯ve even brought out all of your youths."

    There was only one thing that Wen Zizai could say. "There¡¯s no other option unless one wants to disobey the Heavens Sect¡¯s edict. What? Did you hold back some of the Sword Sect¡¯s forces?"

    Liu Qianjue tly replied, "Of course that¡¯s not possible."

    "Old friend, things are troublesome this time, possibly even worse than when we faced the Neohuman Alliance¡¯s monsters," Wen Zizaimented to Liu Qianjue as he dismissed his juniors.

    Liu Qianjue responded softly, "We are no longer living in an era where you and I qualify to make decisions. Not even the Hall of Honor is able to decide anything. There is only one person who holds those qualifications."

    Wen Zizai nodded. "Back when he first united the entire Outerverse, I believed that he had reached his peak. Later, he disintegrated our own alliance and took over the Innerverse, and again I believed that he had reached his limits. I never once thought that anyone could climb so high. He¡¯s managed to gain control of the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, and even those powerful people from the Heavens Sect era. He¡¯s truly terrifying."

    Liu Qianjue remained silent. Was Lu Yin terrifying? There were certain people who were destined to be iparable, as they exceeded all others by too great a margin. Such people were geniuses who transcended time and eras.

    A short ways behind the two Innerverse forces, the people of Northline Flowzone were also rushing towards the west. At this time, the Lily family was led by Lily Anne, as their former matriarch, Lily Liana, had died twenty years ago at the hands of a corpse king.

    "Sister, the entire Fifth Maind is being gathered. How can we even participate in a war of such scale? Why has the Dao Chosen asked us all to gather?" Lily Shu''er was worried.

    All of Northline Flowzone had the same fear, as did most of the minor flowzones and smaller families and sects across the entire Fifth Maind. None of them had enough strength to qualify to participate in a war that necessitated the full strength of the Fifth Maind. Even when the Sixth Maind had invaded, such forces had only sent a few of their members to join the war efforts. But at this moment, practically the full strength of every organization in the entire Fifth Maind had been mobilized.

    Lily Anne appeared calm. "I¡¯d be more worried if only some people were being summoned to join the battle. As things are now, there¡¯s no need to worry, as it¡¯s highly unlikely that we will even fight."

    "Why do you say that?" Lily Shu''er felt even more confused.

    Lily Anne replied, "The Dao Chosen won¡¯t sacrifice weak people. What could we even contribute to a war that requires the full strength of the Fifth Maind? Our deaths? Since we¡¯ve all been ordered to gather and participate in this war, the highest possibility is that we are being gathered to intimidate someone. We most likely won¡¯t fight, but will rather be used as deterrence.

    "This means that we should not be facing the Aeternals this time, but instead some kind of intelligent creatures, like us."

    Lily Shu''er guessed, "Could it be some terrifying species from the Astral Wilderness?"

    Lily Anne had no idea herself, as she was far from qualified to know about such details, given her own status.

    After sending Lili Shu''er off, Lily Anne lifted a hand. She was holding a bit of fatesand.

    More than twenty years ago, her best friend, Xiao Yi, had died because of this small bit of fatesand, all in order to provide Lily Anne with an opportunity to get close to Lu Yin and earn his favor. Unfortunately, the gift had been held for more than twenty years without being delivered. It was finally time to do so.

    The Lily family¡¯s proudest achievement was the fact that they were the representatives of Northline Flowzone, but they dreamed of stepping out of their minor flowzone. This bit of fatesand was their opportunity, as just a single word from Lu Yin was already enough to allow anyone to instantly be elevated to unimaginable heights.

    In the Outerverse, a solitary man walked through outer space.

    Suddenly, a sword appeared from the distance, and it shed at the man''s back.

    The man spun around and casually destroyed the iing attack. He stared into the distance, where a number of people had gathered. Most of them were part of the Jiu family, which meant that they were descendants of the Progenitor of Combat.

    Also present was Xiao Qing.

    "Fan Shun, you traitor! How dare you show your face?" a man from the Jiu family shouted angrily. He had been the one to attack, but most of the people around the man were also ring at Fan Shun, clearly wanting to attack the man as well.

    Fan Shun just shrugged. "Save your energy for the battlefield."

    "Then why don¡¯t I just kill you now, you traitor!" the man from the Jiu family roared.

    These people had enmity not with Fan Shun, but rather with Fan Chen, who had led the Fan family to betray the human race and join Aeternus. Fan Chen had be the first city lord of one of the cities in the Aeternus Kingdom that had been established in the Innerverse, and the betrayal had enraged countless people throughout the Sixth Maind, and they had wanted to tear Fan Chen apart.

    However, Fan Shun had not followed the rest of the Fan family and betrayed humanity. He alone had stayed behind. Over the years, he had been forced to endure a life of absolute infamy, and he had been constantly attacked from all sides.

    Fan Chen''s betrayal had been an inevitability. Kui Luo had exposed the fact that Fan Chen had captured the Cloud Valley¡¯s former master, which had cost Fan Chen his position within the Sixth Maind. That was why the Fan family had betrayed mankind.

    As for why the members of the Jiu family were so desperate to kill Fan Shun, it was not only because his family had betrayed humanity, but also because of Jiu Xiao.

    A year before, Jiu Xiao had been drunk, and he had wanted to avenge the sword attendant of the master of Cloud Valley, which had led Jiu Xiao to confront Little Bear, the deputy city master of the Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City. The android had been on his way to deliver supplies to Lu Yin from the Technocracy, and he had simply killed Jiu Xiao, which had made the family a joke in the Sixth Maind. They had wanted to redeem themselves and their reputation, and killing Fan Shun was the method that they hade up with.

    The Fan family was mortal enemies with Cloud Valley, and Jiu Xiao had simply wanted to avenge Cloud Valley¡¯s master¡¯s sword attendant, only to die a tragic death. The members of the Jiu family intended to help Cloud Valley by eliminating Fan Shun and helping alleviate some of their rage.

    Fan Shun was facing a dire situation.

    Soon, an entire group of people from the Jiu family started attacking Fan Shun, and some of their friends joined in as well.

    No one shouted threats at Fan Shun, and he also did not start ughtering his attackers. Killing members of the Jiu family would cause too many problems. Even though the Progenitor of Combat had died, he had been killed by the forces of Aeternus, sacrificing himself for humanity. His death had helped humanity, and he had essentially purchased a pardon for his family that wouldst for hundreds of millions of years, as long as none of them did something like betray humanity. The family was practically untouchable.

    "The Heavens Sect has summoned all of us, and yet you people want to fight?" Xiao Qing shouted.

    Someone from the Jiu family retorted, "We''ll go after this traitor has been cut down!"

    Fan Shun''s eyes grew serious. "So you¡¯re going to make the Dao Chosen wait for you?"

    Fan Shun¡¯sment caused the hearts of the members of the Jiu family to tremble. There was only one person in the entire Fifth Maind who was referred to as the Dao Chosen: Lu Yin. The ruler of the entire Fifth Maind.

    These people had the courage to do whatever they wished within the Sixth Maind, as the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s sacrifice meant that the members of the Jiu family were proud enough to stand up to even a Semi-Progenitor. However, the moment the Dao Chosen was brought up, their expressions all changed. The Dao Chosen was someone who could eradicate the entire Jiu family with but a word, and not one person would dare to object.

    Xiao Qing''s eyes flickered. These descendants of the Jiu family were willful and arrogant everywhere within the Sixth Maind. Who could intimidate them? Only Lu Yin. He had be famous throughout the Sixth Maind when he had started visiting the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect ruins, despite the fact that he had not been unbelievably stronger than his peers back then. Given his boldness in the past, what would Lu Yin not dare to do given his present status?

    At this moment, another person appeared, and their aura left everyone unable to even breathe.

    Xiao Qing noticed the person, and she reacted first and offered a respectful bow. "Greetings, Lan Xian."

    Fan Shun reacted almost immediately as well. "Greetings, Lan Xian."

    The entire group of people from the Jiu family bowed in unison. "Greetings, Lan Xian."

    Lan Xian calmly nced around at all of the people there. "War is about to break out, and yet instead of preserving your star energy for the battlefield, you¡¯re trying to kill each other here? What is going on?"

    A descendant from the Jiu family spoke up to answer in a respectful tone. "Semi-Progenitor Lan Xian, that man is Fan Shun, a traitor to humanity. His ancestor, Fan Chen, is the city master of a city in Aeternus Kingdom."

    Lan Xian looked over at Fan Shun.

    Fan Shun spoke up, very respectful as well, "When my family betrayed humanity, this junior betrayed his family."

    Lan Xian nodded. "I know what happened with the Fan family. Are you answering the Heavens Sect¡¯s summons?"

    "The Heavens Sect has called us, and this junior¡¯s only wish is to die on the battlefield," Fan Shun answered.

    Lan Xian looked over towards the Technocracy. "You betrayed your family, but are still not epted by humanity. Do you regret your choice?"

    Fan Shun calmly stated, "I regret nothing."

    The people from the Jiu family wanted to say something, but a nce from Lan Xian caused them to all quickly bow their heads.

    "Prove yourself in your own way. Even if you do not regret your actions, you are still a member of the Fan family, and you should work hard topensate for their betrayal," Lan Xian stated casually.

 Chapter 2331: One Person

    Chapter 2331: One Person

    Upon hearing Lan Xian''s words, Fan Shun respectfully replied, "This junior knows this."

    Lan Xian looked back at the members of the Jiu family. "The summons to the battlefield are of the utmost importance. Don¡¯t make any more trouble."

    With that, Lan Xian vanished.

    The members of the Jiu family all heaved sighs of relief. They shot angry res at Fan Shun, but not one person dared to make another move.

    Fan Shun did not even look at his attackers, and he simply continued traveling towards the location that everyone was being summoned to.

    Lu Yin had conscripted the entire Fifth Maind and ordered them all to gather in one location. However, gathering countless people together in one ce naturally led to various conflicts. Old hatreds and grudges were exposed, but a single roar from the massive jiao silenced the entire region in an instant. No one had the courage to act up, and so the gathering continued in silence.

    Lu Yin stood atop the jiao¡¯s head, watching as countless people gathered. One after another, Semi-Progenitors and Envoys arrived, as well as Enlighters, Hunters, and countless weaker cultivators. Everyone present obeyed Lu Yin, as he was the sole ruler of the Fifth Maind.

    As more and more people gathered, more and more eyes filled with reverence, fear, and even fanaticism fell onto Lu Yin. Regardless of whether the gathered people hated or supported Lu Yin, at this moment, everyone could only obey him. There was no need for Lu Yin to even consider if he had any enemies present, nor to think about bncing the various parties against each other, not even after the ancient powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era were thrown into the mix. Even if every single person had their own ns and schemes in y, at this moment, all of them had no choice but to listen to Lu Yin.

    Seeing the massive numbers of people arrayed before him, a surge of pride surged within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. That pride transformed into aurelian force that erupted from his body, burning the void as it spread. It reached three miles, ten miles, a hundred miles, and then a thousand miles. It kept spreading, further and further. 3,000 miles. 5,000 thousand miles.

    The void warped and churned as it burned thousands of miles away from Lu Yin, looking like paper thrown into a fire. Lu Yin stood at the center of a zing realm of space.

    The endless arrogance exploded within Lu Yin''s heart. He clenched his fists. Finally, his aurelian force stopped spreading. There was a bang, and it suddenly epassed everything within a million miles of Lu Yin.

    Given the size of the entire universe, a region of millions of miles was less than a drop of water in the ocean. However, when Lu Yin condensed his aurelian force back on himself, its density far surpassed anything that he had been capable of using in the past.

    Lu Yin had once Possessed Hen Ye. That Possession had allowed Lu Yin toprehend the void god level of his domain and even surpass Mr. Tang¡¯s level of mastery. Lu Yin¡¯s domain was no longer inadequate for his level of strength.

    At this moment, seeing the strength of the entire Fifth Maind gathered before him, seeing both humans and astral beasts obey his orders had stimted his pride. The resulting emotion had helped Lu Yin break through his aurelian force.

    He could not even guess how powerful his aurelian force had be now.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back, and his aurelian force retracted until itpletely disappeared.

    Aurelian force was a very powerful ability, and Lu Yin felt that his aurelian force had reached the level where he could solely rely on it to challenge a seven or eight-tribtion powerhouse. Still, Lu Yin¡¯s aurelian force was only aurelian force. What he truly wanted to acquire was the purple-ck substance that Hen Xin possessed. That was the next level of battle force that existed beyond even aurelian force, and so far, Lu Yin had only seen two people possess that level of battle force: Hen Xin and Ancient God.

    It was clearly impossible to acquire the method to achieve the next level of battle force from Ancient God, which meant that Hen Xin was his only option.

    However, that matter would have to wait until after the Perennial World was handled.

    ***

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, the Progenitor level corpse kings that had been fighting with Bai Wangyuan and the other human Progenitors retreated as soon as Xia Shenji went to the Fifth Maind.

    Before Bai Wangyuan and the others could even recover from their battle, Xia Shenji had returned.

    The battle with Lu Yin in the Fifth Maind had notsted very long, and Xia Shenji had quickly sent one of his clones back to the Perennial World.

    "Why are you back? Have you already dealt with Lu Xiaoxuan?" Wang Fan asked as he looked at Xia Shenji in surprise. "You aren¡¯t the main body."

    Xia Shenji''s clone spoke, his expression downcast as he shared the details of the battle in the Fifth Maind.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors remained silent. As they listened, an uncontroble killing intent billowed up in their hearts.

    Bai Wangyuan sneered. "Some tiny three-tribtion Envoy managed to force you to retreat, Xia Shenji? Should I be happy that you revealed his strength quickly, or upset that it still took you so long to find out?"

    Wang Fan softlymented, "He¡¯s still just a three-tribtion Envoy. Once he passes six tribtions, or even bes a Semi-Progenitor, will anyone at all be capable of restraining him?"

    The man looked over at Xia Shenji''s clone. "Who did that Champions¡¯ Stage belong to?"

    The clone replied, "If my guess is right, it should be Lu Jian¡¯s."

    "Lu Jian? He should already be dead." Progenitor Long was surprised.

    All of them had been born in the same era, and while Progenitor Long had taken much longer to be a Progenitor, the innate longevity of the White Dragon n had given him the time needed to be a Progenitor. In truth, Progenitor Long had been born before any of the other men¡¯s parents had even been born. Naturally, Progenitor Long had known Lu Jian.

    Xia Shenji''s clone replied, "I thought of him because he was the only person from the Lu family who achieved any true level of mastery in Old Fu¡¯s cultivation method. Lu Jian could not have be a Progenitor, but it seems that Old Fu¡¯s cultivation method allowed him to do just that. There¡¯s no other way for him to have managed to force me back."

    "So you faced Lu Jian, the jiao, and E Chi, who was summoned from the Champions¡¯ Stage. That would have certainly been a difficult battle." Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes locked onto the clone. "But even all of that should not have been enough to stop you from killing Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Xia Shenji stared back. "Try it for yourself and find out."

    "You still want to go to the Fifth Maind?" Progenitor Smoke''s voice was suddenly heard as she arrived. She looked at Xia Shenji with open interest. "It looks like you had a rough time there."

    Xia Shenji red at Progenitor Smoke. "You already knew about Lu Xiaoxuan''s capabilities within the Fifth Maind, but you didn''t stop me. You were already certain that I couldn¡¯t kill him, weren¡¯t you?"

    Progenitor Smoke arched a brow. "Am I obliged to exin myself to you?"

    "You!" Xia Shenji became furious.

    Bai Wangyuan stepped forward and moved to Xia Shenji''s side. "I''ll go with you. Lu Xiaoxuan must die."

    Xia Shenji nodded and then moved to leave, not even looking at Progenitor Smoke again.

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. "The Aeternals pulled back just now to let us fight among ourselves. If you go to the Fifth Maind, there will definitely be a massive war, and the only ones who will benefit is Aeternus."

    "If Lu Xiaoxuan doesn¡¯t die, he will remain a constant danger to humanity," Wang Fan retorted.

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s voice grew cold, "I can prevent him from starting a war among humans. If war will benefit Aeternus, he won¡¯t be willing to fight."

    "He won¡¯t want to start a war between humans?" Bai Wangyuan looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "If you can prevent him from doing that-"

    The man suddenly stopped, and everyone turned to look at him, waiting for him to continue.

    Hope arose within Progenitor Smoke as she stared at Bai Wangyuan.

    Finally, Bai Wangyuan¡¯s head rose. "I want him dead more than ever."

    "Why?" Progenitor Smoke felt quite puzzled.

    Bai Wangyuan answered coldly, "Lu Xiaoxuan will never forget about his hatred for my four ruling powers. If he¡¯s willing to stop now, he will simply wait for a better opportunity in the future. Given his talent andbat strength, he will be a threat to all of us, even if he never seeds in bing a Progenitor. We won¡¯t be able to outlive him, and even if he is never able to deal with us, he will certainly be able to deal with our descendants. Just tell me, who in his generation can stand up to Lu Xiaoxuan?

    "The Lu family was able to dominate the Fifth Maind for so many years because their bloodline has never been cut off. From their legendary ancestor, to Lu Tianyi, andter to Lu Feng and Lu Qi, which one was not an unparalleled genius? Which one could not dominate an entire era? The members of the Lu family are too terrifying, and if we allow Lu Xiaoxuan to mature, the Lu name will once again rule the universe."

    Progenitor Smoke could not refute a word Bai Wanyuan said, as everything was undisputable. No matter how impressive the Bai, Xia, and Wang families might be, they remained too inferior to the Lu family to evenpare.

    Xia Shenji''s expression grew ugly. "Just Lu Jian, someone who could never be a Progenitor, is able to summon a Progenitor with his Champions¡¯ Stage, which gives him the ability to fight against an ordinary Progenitor. On top of that, he also cultivated Old Fu¡¯s cultivation art. This perfectly demonstrates the abilities of a direct descendant of the Lu family. How could we ever allow Lu Xiaoxuan to live?"

    Progenitor Smoke was caught off guard. "Lu Jian?"

    Xia Shenji sneered. "Aren¡¯t you very familiar with Lu Xiaoxuan? Don''t try to pretend! Lu Xiaoxuan was able to force me back because of Lu Jian''s Champions¡¯ Stage!"

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. What was this? Why was there no mention of Xia Shang''s power? With Xia Shenji''s personality, he would have never missed a chance to me Xia Shang for things. Did this mean that Lu Yin never used Xia Shang''s power against Xia Shenji? What about Lu Jian''s Champions¡¯ Stage?

    It was only then that Progenitor Smoke remembered the ownerless Champions¡¯ Stage. That kid actually forced Xia Shenji to retreat with a few of his tricks? What''s wrong with this universe?

    Even though Progenitor Smoke was rather well-informed regarding Lu Yin, the truth of what had happened was a bit much for her to ept it right away.

    Bai Wangyuan stepped past the woman to head to the Fifth Maind.

    At this moment, another person arrived: Mu Xie.

    Mu Xie¡¯s sudden appearance caused Xia Shenji and the others to instantly grow wary.

    "Mu Xie, what are you doing here? Why aren¡¯t you protecting your assigned territory?" Xia Shenji shouted angrily.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Mu Xie. "What do you intend to do?"

    Mu Xie calmly raised a single finger. "One."

    "One what?" Progenitor Long asked in a low voice.

    Mu Xie casually replied, "Only one of you here is allowed to settle scores with my junior brother, no more."

    Xia Shenji instantly became furious. "Mu Xie, are you determined to pick a fight with us? Do you want to die?"

    Mu Xie nced over. "You can''t kill me."

    Xia Shenji reflexively wanted to attack.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Mu Xie, who is your master?"

    Progenitor Smoke immediately focused on Mu Xie at this moment as well, as she was very curious. Just what kind of person could raise such monstrous disciples like Mu Xie, Qing Ping, and Lu Yin?

    Any such person should be renowned throughout history.

    "You don''t know him," Mu Xie replied.

    Wang Fan''s voice grew cold. "Stop making up stories! How could we not know your master, given our positions? Mu Xie, you¡¯ve clearly already joined the Lu family, so it only makes sense for you to help Lu Xiaoxuan when he appears. Your master never existed at all!"

    "No," Progenitor Smoke interjected, "I remember that the kid also has a senior brother in the Fifth Maind. What¡¯s his name? Qing? Qing Ping? Right, Qing Ping."

    "Qing Ping? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Progenitor Long muttered to himself. Suddenly, he remembered. "Qing Ping! Qing Ping is the trespasser who went to the Dominion Realm after thest Yuan Festival andpeted to find Origin Matter! He even defeated the Lu family¡¯s top youths!"

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes grew cold, and he turned to stare at Progenitor Smoke. "Are you talking about the same Qing Ping who came after thest Yuanlun Festival?"

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How should I know about any of that? I only know his name."

    Everyone turned to look at Mu Xie, who nodded. "That''s right. My junior brother came here before, and he defeated members of the Lu family."

    Bai Wangyuan and the others nced at each other. So Qing Ping really was the same person whom they were familiar with. Were the three disciple brothers? They had always assumed that the mention of a master was a lie concocted by Mu Xie as an excuse for him to save Lu Xiaoxuan, but it was starting to look like the matter was true.

    Wang Fan stepped forward. "No matter what happens, Mu Xie, your primary responsibility is to eliminate Redbacks. To save humanity and protect us all, Lu Xiaoxuan must also be eliminated to prevent a civil war. Are you really going to abandon so many years of effort just to save this child?"

    Mu Xie sped his hands behind his back. "My junior brother alone will be enough to protect all of humanity in the future."

 Chapter 2232(2): Star Stomp

    <h4>Chapter 2232(2): Star Stomp</h4>

    "How arrogant!" Bai Wangyuan yelled. "How can Lu Xiaoxuanpare to Xian''er?"

    Wang Fan snorted contemptuously. "A single person¡¯s power is limited. If one person can protect all of humanity, then the Origin Progenitor would have never died. Not even the Origin Progenitor was able to protect all of humanity, so there¡¯s no need to even mention Lu Xiaoxuan. Mu Xie, get out of the way!"

    "Mu Xie, get out of the way!" Progenitor Long also stepped forward.

    Xia Shenji shouted, "Mu Xie, get out of the way."

    The three men threatened Mu Xi, and Progenitor Smoke simply said, "You¡¯re the ones starting a war between humans now, not Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression turned ugly. "Mu Xie, are you really going to try to block us?"

    Mu Xie replied, "I already told you, only one of you can go make trouble for my junior brother. If he can''t stop one of you and dies, then he is simply ipetent. However, if more of you try to go and bully him, I won''t ignore matters, and neither will our master."

    "Who is your master? He must have a name." By this point in time, Bai Wangyuan and the others were not concerned about Mu Xie or even Lu Yin, but rather their mysterious master.

    After all, look at the person¡¯s three disciples! First, there was Lu Yin, who had sessfully escaped from a Progenitor on several asions despite only being a three-tribtion Envoy. He had thebat strength to fight against four Semi-Progenitors and even kill one of them! As for Qing Ping, he had entered the Perennial World as a trespasser, and during that time, he had defeated all of the top youths in his generation, including the members of the Lu family. More recently, Qing Ping had be a Semi-Progenitor, and he had fought off one of Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor-level clones.

    Finally, there was Mu Xie. He had beenpletely inconspicuous his entire life, but not only had he managed to block Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World, but he had also broken the power of time wielded by one of Xia Shenji''s Progenitor-level clones.

    Every single one of the men was a headache on their own, and they were not geniuses who could be taught by just anyone. Despite that, the three shared the same master, so how could the Progenitors not be curious about such a mysterious master?

    But no matter how they pressed, Mu Xie refused to give any answer other than four words: ¡°You don''t know him.¡±

    Wang Fan was so furious that he wanted to simply attack.

    "Xia Shenji, head back on your own. We can¡¯t risk a war between ourselves here in the Dominion Realm. We¡¯ll be seen as nothing but a joke by both Aeternus and our own disciples." Bai Wangyuan red at Mu Xie as he addressed Xia Shenji with a cold voice.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes flickered. "Don''t worry, I will make sure to kill Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    With that, the clone¡¯s body disappeared.

    Mu Xie remained as calm as ever. He looked towards the rear battlefield. The Aeternals¡¯ retreat had given humanity the opportunity tounch a war. Not too much time had passed between when the Lu family had been exiled and when Lu Xiaoxuan had been found and hunted after by the four ruling powers. But in the time that had passed, everything had changed in ways that benefited Aeternus.

    It was a very short amount of time, but it was entirely possible that everything was following the Aeternals¡¯ ns.

    Mu Xie believed in his master''s vision. His junior brother was definitely not a Redback, and he also would not trigger a war between humans. So, how was he going to resolve the current situation?

    "Just because these three are here doesn¡¯t mean that no other Progenitor is going to make a move," Progenitor Smoke calmlymented while standing next to Mu Xie.

    Mu Xie replied, "I know, but I was merely tasked with stopping these three."

    Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long were not the Perennial World¡¯s only Progenitors, but just how many people could Mu Xie stop? He had already done his best.

    Xia Shenji''s clone merged back into the main body, and a person appeared from the New Corridor. It was Bai Sheng.

    Xia Shenji had sent a clone to request reinforcements from the Dominion Realm while he stood guard in front of the New Corridor to ensure that Lu Yin did not destroy it again. When the clone returned from the Dominion Realm and merged with Xia Shenji, he learned of everything that had happened in the Dominion Realm.

    Even though he feared Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s mysterious and unknown master, Xia Shenji was still determined to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. He refused to believe that anyone could stop him.

    "So is this the Forsaken Land? It''s my first timeing here." Bai Sheng exited the New Corridor and looked around the Fifth Maind. "Wait, why isn¡¯t there any stellr energy? It looks like those droplets are devouring it all. You didn¡¯t do that, did you Senior Shenji? That¡¯s really too much! Even the Forsaken Land is a ce inhabited by humans, and they also need to be able to cultivate. Why would you-¡±

    Xia Shenji interrupted the rambling man, ¡°I had nothing to do with that. You only need to hold the jiao and E Chi back while I handle Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Bai Sheng was azy person, and he had not wanted to get involved in the current situation at all, but Progenitor Bai had given him orders. Thus, Bai Sheng had been left with no choice but to travel to the Fifth Maind. Also, Bai Sheng understood that Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s mere existence would eventually lead to a war between humans.

    If Lu Xiaoxuan would eventually cause the pathetic defeat of humanity, then what purpose had Bai Sheng¡¯s countless years spent miserably sitting in the Outer Realm been for?

    A single person could never be given greater weight than the good of all of humanity.

    "I''m really curious about what happened. Lu Xiaoxuan reappeared? I find it absolutely amazing that he was able to force you back, Senior Shenji," Bai Sheng said in an admiring tone. He did not actually know the details of what had happened in the Higher Realm, as Bai Wangyuan had not had any opportunity to share the information with Bai Sheng. The man only knew that he needed to go to the Fifth Maind and help Xia Shenji kill Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Xia Shenji moved forward. "Let''s go."

    He did not bother exining anything to Bai Sheng. Bai Sheng was consideredzy, and the fact that he referred to himself as Progenitor Sheng was something many people did not like.

    Bai Sheng smiled,pletely unconcerned with how he was treated. He followed behind Xia Shenji, instantly arriving in Endless Weave at the location of the previous battle.

    Lu Yin had been waiting there the entire time.

    The moment Bai Sheng emerged from the New Corridor, Lu Yin had known of the man¡¯s arrival, as Xia Shenji had not stopped the Technocracy from monitoring anything at the New Corridor. Such things were unnecessary.

    Lu Yin slowly looked up to see Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng appear. The overbearing power of Progenitors spread out, enveloping the entire Fifth Maind and altering the universe.

    As soon as Xia Shenji arrived, he nced into the distance and frowned. He noticed the countless cultivators who had gathered there. There were more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors and a hundred Envoys. As for the weaker cultivators and astral beasts, they were literally countless. What was this? Was this the true power of the Fifth Maind?

    His expression only changed slightly. While this amount of power was useless against him as long as no Progenitors personally got involved, the power that the Fifth Maind possessed was enough that even the four ruling powers would struggle against them. How many Semi-Progenitors did all four ruling powers possess? Even if all of the Semi-Progenitors that had been sent to the rear battlefield were counted, they simply did not have the numbers topete against what Xia Shenji was seeing.

    Where had the Fifth Maind gathered such an enormous amount of power?

    Was this truly the Forsaken Land?

    On the other hand, Bai Sheng was simply staring at Lu Yin in a daze. The Progenitor rubbed his eyes and then continued to stare.

    Lu Yin looked back at the man who was staring at him.

    "It¡¯s you?" Bai Sheng was stunned.

    Xia Shenji gave hispanion an odd look. "Have you seen him before?"

    Bai Sheng was inplete shock. "Isn''t this kid named Yu Hao?"

    Xia Shenji answered softly, "Didn¡¯t you watch when it was revealed that this person was pretending to be Yu Hao in order to create a mess in the Higher Realm and stir up conflict within the four ruling powers?"

    Bai Sheng was speechless. "I saw him when I took a nap in the sect. This kid passed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. He¡¯s the ninth immortal."

    The Sky Beyond the Sky trial? That had happened before Lu Yin arrived in Shenwu''s Sky. Xia Shenji became absolutely furious upon hearing Bai Sheng¡¯s answer. "Then why didn''t you kill him?"

    The fact that Lu Yin had escaped from Shenwu''s Sky despite being pursued had humiliated the sect, and that was why Xia Shenji was in the Fifth Maind instead of Bai Wangyuan.

    If Bai Sheng had simply dealt with Lu Xiaoxuan when they had met, everything would have been wrapped up simply and easily.

    Bai Sheng could only answer, "I had no idea what Lu Xiaoxuan looked like, as I never met him. I had no idea who I was meeting."

    Xia Shenji suppressed the urge to p hispanion to death. What an idiot!

    Lu Yin was still looking at Bai Sheng. "Senior Progenitor Sheng, many thanks for your kindness at ourst meeting and for not killing this junior at that time. This junior shows his thanks now by showing the same mercy to your subordinates."

    Bai Sheng gritted his teeth. "Boy, are you trying to provoke me?"

    "I wouldn¡¯t dare," Lu Yin replied. He then pulled out the broken scythe and raised a hand. ¡°In my name, I summon a champion."

    Xia Shenji instantly attacked. The jiao had been crouched behind Lu Yin, but it suddenly shot forward, barrelling into Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng.

    Bai Sheng was still dumbstruck. He felt that he could only me himself. If he had known that the youth he had met atop the Celestial Frost Sect had been a member of the Lu family, he absolutely would have killed him. No matter what, the youth had to die.

    This thought caused Bai Sheng¡¯s demeanor topletely change, and an endless killing intent surged forth, as if it were an ocean sweeping out. A hand rose, and a radiant, golden rod appeared in its grip. "Senior Shenji, allow me to deal with this!"

    The rod fell, and the jiao opened its mouth to let out a roar.

    There was a bang, and the jiao¡¯s roar was cut off. That rod had fallen onto the jiao with such force that even Lu Yin felt a twinge of sympathy for the beast¡¯s pain.

    At this moment, E Chi appeared. His serrated de swept out, shing at Bai Sheng. The living Progenitor retaliated with his golden rod, and the two weapons shed. A terrible shockwave swept out in all directions, and it caused the stars of the Fifth Maind to sway.

    Bai Sheng clearlycked Xia Shenji¡¯s monstrous power, which had allowed the older Progenitor to crush both the jiao and E Chi. Despite that, Bai Sheng¡¯s killing intent was actually even stronger than Xia Shenji''s.

    With Bai Sheng blocking the jiao and E Chi, Xia Shenji was free to act. His Shenwu World spread out, recing the starry sky of the natural universe. An endless rain of des fell onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, as God of mes appeared on his shoulder. The runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage allowed Lu Yin to continuously erase the des that fell towards him while also holding back the Shenwu World.

    Xia Shenji coldly dered, "This is the end."

    He waved a hand, and a radiant de appeared. It shot forward to stab at Lu Yin, seemingly carrying the full power of the entire Shenwu World. It was too powerful for the runes of Lu Jian''s Champions'' Stage to erase, and even if Lu Jian had be a Progenitor himself, he might not have been able to stop this attack from Xia Shenji, let alone after transforming into a Champions¡¯ Stage. After all, Lu Jian had never truly be a Progenitor.

    This was Xia Shenji¡¯s power. The glowing de was so powerful that even Bai Sheng''s scalp began to tingle, and the jiao instinctively nced over, worried that the de would strike at it instead.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. The moment he saw this de, he realized that he could no longer hide his strength. In that case, it was time to go all out!

    Lu Yin lifted a foot and stomped down hard. At that moment, countless people throughout the entire Fifth Maind felt the stars tremble. Far away from Lu Yin, the many Semi-Progenitors sensed a familiar surge of power. This was Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, the power of the stars within the universe itself.

    Lu Yin took a single step. At that moment, he stepped on top of the universe itself. He was wearing a neb, and stars hung around him. One hand pointed at the approaching de, while the other hand pointed at Bai Sheng. All the while, Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenji.

    Stars exploded, and the radiant de was overpowered. Bai Sheng was in the middle of beating the jiao with his golden rod, when a terrifying explosion of stars suddenly detonated right in front of him. What is this?

    Before he could even react, he was sent flying by the power of the explosion.

    As for Xia Shenji, his mind had gone nk when saw the eruption of stars in the nearby universe. "Xia Shang?"

    When the explosion urred, it was not just one star that exploded, but an entire chain reaction, and the resulting shockwave forced Xia Shenji to retreat.

    Xia Shenji waspletely surrounded by the des that formed his Shenwu World. The des swept across the stars, trying to destroy them. But the only result was the Shenwu World being shattered.

    "Xia Shang! Xia Shang¨C!" Xia Shenji roared, his eyes turningpletely bloodshot. His Shenwu World started to warp and fluctuate wildly. Even ordinary people could tell that the universe itself seemed to havee alive. It was possible to see countless des fill everything in sight, as well as creatures that seemed to be formed from des. There were countless people living in the world of des, and they were all praying. The Shenwu World caused the Fifth Maind itself to shake.

 Chapter 2333: This Moment

    <h4>Chapter 2333: This Moment</h4>

    Lu Yin snorted, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He could use the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind, but that did not make Lu Yin Progenitor Chen himself. On top of that, even Progenitor Chen would not be able to easily defeat Xia Shenji, given the man¡¯s current strength.

    Over the many, many years, Xia Shenji''s strength had continued to grow. Even Progenitor Smoke had been impressed by the man¡¯s current abilities. On the other hand, the remnant power of Progenitor Chen that Lu Yin had ess to was from the Daosource Sect era.

    A Progenitor¡¯s world fought against another Progenitor¡¯s world. The Shenwu World was constantly being torn apart, its endless des shattered, and at the same time, the starry sky of the Fifth Maind was being repeatedly broken.

    The countless humans and astral beasts who had been gathered nearby were all shocked. What sort of power were they witnessing? Even the shockwaves were powerful enough to destroy them all.

    Destina, Lu Buzheng, and the other ancient powerhouses were badly shaken. They were seeing a level of power that belonged to the greatest Progenitors of the Heavens Sect era. Were Lu Yin¡¯s current enemies really this powerful?

    Elder Gong was incredibly nervous. He watched as all the stars shattered across the sky. Would the kidpletely consume Progenitor Chen''s power?

    Lu Yin was also worried. He kept using Star Stomp on various stars, but every one that he tried to use was sliced apart. Xia Shenji fought like he had gone mad. Lu Yin had been injured, but so had Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji refused to give up.

    "Xia Shang, get out here! Show yourself!" he roared angrily as his Shenwu World spread further and further. He was trying to find Xia Shang.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. What he was doing was not going to work. Even if he did end up taking down Xia Shenji, Lu Yin would also be destroyed. On top of that, Lu Yin had realized that it was impossible to kill Xia Shenji with just Progenitor Chen¡¯s remnant power.

    Also, Bai Sheng was still nearby.

    His mind racing, Lu Yin quickly pulled out the God of Death¡¯s left arm, intending to use it as well. Lu Yin held the broken scythe in one hand and the God of Death¡¯s arm in the other. For a moment, it felt as though he saw the universe itselfe to a stop, the passage of years halting. At the same time, he saw a familiar silhouette emerge from across time. The man stepped forward as his figure ovepped with Lu Yin¡¯s and then grabbed hold of the scythe. The God of Death had appeared.

    Lu Yin lost control of his own body after the God of Death¡¯s body was superimposed on top of Lu Yin¡¯s. The God of Death was Lu Yin, and he was the God of Death.

    The scythe slowly rose upwards, guided not only by the death energy in the God of Death¡¯s left arm, but also by the death energy from the distant Gaia''s Swamp.

    At this moment, the Shenwu World and all the stars in the Fifth Maind were trembling.

    At this moment, countless people were ovee by fear and despair when they felt the power that could transform the universe.

    At this moment, Bai Sheng started retreating.

    At this moment, the jiao covered its head and pulled back.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no control over himself, but his body continued to move and wield the scythe.

    At this moment, the death energy in Gaia''s Swamp was boiling and churning. It formed what seemed like a ck rainbow that spanned the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse to connect to the Endless Weave. The bridge of death energy crossing the Human Domain was pulled to the scythe as it shed down at Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed drastically when he felt the power of the God of Death descend. The scythe dropped down, and a streak of ck light passed by. All of the death energy disappeared, as though nothing had ever happened.

    The only change that urred was that his Shenwu World had been sliced apart. Xia Shenji spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyespletely bloodshot. "The God of Death?"

    Lu Yin just stared in shock. That one blow had consumed all of the death energy in Gaia''s Swamp. He had no idea just how the God of Death had aplished such a thing, but he had just released an attack that traversed uncountable years.

    The Shenwu World disappeared, and as it vanished, Bai Sheng suddenly appeared right behind Xia Shenji''s body. Bai Sheng grabbed the other Progenitor and left. Thatst attack was deadly.

    Only someone with the power of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could hope to survive such an attack.

    Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng fled. All of the death energy that had been in Gaia''s Swamp for so many eons had been exhausted. Lu Yin regained control of his body and was able to move once again. He quickly put the God of Death¡¯s left arm away and then stared at the broken scythe in utter shock. He had actually been possessed by the God of Death, who had released a single attack that had badly injured Xia Shenji.

    At that moment, Lu Yin had sensed an odd feeling. He had not merely felt the presence of death energy, but also the power of time! He had felt the long river of time. Did this mean that, once a person¡¯s power reached a certain threshold, they could traverse the river of time even without special training?

    Lu Yin could not process what he had felt, but he clearly remembered every second of it.

    A wave of dizziness swept over Lu Yin, and he quickly unsummoned Lu Jian¡¯s champion. His body was almostpletely depleted of death energy, and he could no longer maintain E Chi¡¯s existence.

    The jiao warily stared at Lu Yin from afar. Lu Yin''s use of Star Stomp and the God of Death¡¯s scythe had terrified the jiao, and its instincts screamed at it to stay away from the human.

    Lu Yin put the scythe away and let out a long breath. The current crisis had been resolved, but he had used up too many of the stars that Progenitor Chen had left behind. Fortunately, he had managed to give Xia Shenji a vicious wound with the God of Death¡¯s attack. Without thatst attack, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to deal with Xia Shenji¡¯s crazed assault.

    If instead of Xia Shenji, Lu Yin had faced Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan, he believed that the battle would not have be quite so desperate. The reason why Lu Yin had been pushed so far was because Xia Shenji held too great a grudge against Xia Shang.

    Xia Shang had even stolen away Xia Shenji''s Mountain and Sea. While the Xia family spun a pretty story about how none of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been suitable for Xia Shenji and that he simply had not had the opportunity to inherit one, how could the man truly be at peace with having his destiny snatched away?

    No matter how powerful Xia Shenji had be, there was still a difference between him and a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Lu Yin wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. He waved the jiao over, and the beast cautiously approached.

    Lu Yin moved atop the jiao¡¯s head and then directed it to fly to where everyone was waiting.

    It did not take long for him to arrive.

    Countless humans and astral beasts stared at the massive jiao as it arrived, admiration and fanaticism filling many eyes.

    Even though they had not been able to see the battle that had just urred, the power that they had sensed could destroy the universe itself, and it was more than enough for them to imagine the horror of a Progenitor¡¯s power. Thus, their perception of Lu Yin had been transformed yet again.

    Nothing could be more impressive than defeating a Progenitor.

    At this moment, there was no resentment or jealousy in the eyes of everyone staring at Lu Yin, only worship and admiration.

    "I know what you all are thinking," Lu Yin said as he faced the endless crowd. All of the Semi-Progenitors stood at the front, followed by the Envoys, then the Enlighters, Hunters, Cruisers, and Explorers. There were both countless humans and endless astral beasts.

    Most of the humans present were from the Fifth Maind, though many also hailed from the Sixth Maind.

    Seeing the countless faces looking at him with fanatic and reverent expressions, a smile stretched across Lu Yin''s face. "And you¡¯re absolutely right¡ªthe enemy from just now was a Progenitor."

    Countless individuals in front of Lu Yin stopped breathing. A Progenitor! It was a word that represented an unreachable level. It was the pinnacle of cultivation, and the goal of every human cultivator and astral beast. However, everyone knew that they would never reach that level.

    "I drove back enemies who are Progenitors. The truth is just as you believe. Progenitors are considered to be invincible, but they are not truly undefeatable." Lu Yin looked out at everyone. "Do you know my cultivation level?

    "Three-tribtion Envoy. I¡¯ve only passed three stellr tribtions, yet I drove back a Progenitor with my current level of strength."

    The crowd was stunned worse than ever before. A three-tribtion Envoy had forced a Progenitor to retreat? No one would have ever dared to even make up such a story.

    "I will tell you now that our enemies in the future will only consist of more Progenitors. Must we be afraid? Are they worth fearing? Because I, Lu Yin, can force a Progenitor to retreat while only a three-tribtion Envoy. Once I be a Semi-Progenitor, I will be able to kill Progenitors! With me leading you, will you be afraid?"

    "No!" someone called out.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and the jiao roared. The aura of a Progenitor swept through the region, making it hard for everyone to breath. However, they all knew that this power would protect them. "Are you afraid?"

    "No!" more people shouted.

    "Are you afraid?"

    "No!" Everyone shouted this time. Even Jiu Yao, Cai Er, Lu Buzheng, and the other Semi-Progenitors shouted. Something was happening, as a group of cultivators and astral beasts was gaining the courage to stand up to even Progenitors. This courage was growing into an unstoppable momentum.

    Bai Sheng arrived at the New Corridor in the Technocracy, still carrying Xia Shenji, who had been badly wounded. In addition to the pure shock suffered from the battle that had taken ce in the Forsaken Land, there was a terrible cut on Xia Shenji¡¯s abdomen. This wound had nearly cut him in half, and it was full of death energy, which made it impossible to heal. Not even Xia Shenji''s strength as a Progenitor was enough to cleanse the wound of the foreign energy.

    Xia Shenji was panting for breath. Every breath he took caused blood to spray from his mouth, as well as death energy.

    Bai Sheng smiled wryly as he turned back to look at the Endless Weave. He heard the shouts of the endless crowd of cultivators, and felt the unstoppable momentum building. "The descendants of the Lu family are certainly ruthless enough."

    Xia Shenji''s expression was incredibly dark. He was unwilling to even nce back at the Endless Weave. He had beenpletely confident that he could kill Lu Xiaoxuan this time. Even if Xia Shenji had to take some injuries to aplish his goal, he had been determined to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. Who could have imagined that the child would be capable of using Xia Shang''s power?

    Xia Shang, Xia Shang!?The name repeatedly rang in Xia Shenji¡¯s head, increasing his anger more and more.

    Xia Shang had always remained the greatest shame of the Xia family. Xia Shenji and Xia Shang had been from the same generation, and they had even been nearly the same age.

    Xia Shenji was a direct descendant of the Xia family while Xia Shang had been a nobody from a branch family. In their younger days, Xia Shang had asionally qualified to be selected as Xia Shenji¡¯s sparring partner. However, after nearly dying one time, Xia Shang had achieved an impossible breakthrough and obtained the Nine Clones Secret Technique. He had then resisted the entire universe with his clone that became a colossal giant, and he had defeated all of his peers. Xia Shenji had also been defeated by Xia Shang.

    After that defeat, Xia Shenji had no longer been qualified to stand on the same level as Xia Shang. That was the start of his monstrous grudge and unending jealousy towards Xia Shang.

    This was also why, when Progenitor Smoke had appeared in the Perennial World, Xia Shenji had deliberately used his Shenwu World, as he had wanted Progenitor Smoke topare his strength to Xia Shang¡¯s. Xia Shenji had always wanted to surpass Xia Shang. That was why the Progenitor had lost control when Xia Shang¡¯s stars had appeared during the battle against Lu Yin. Nothing from Xia Shang could be allowed to exist! Everything from that man had to be utterly destroyed, no matter the cost!

    Unfortunately, while Xia Shenji had been able to fight back against Xia Shang''s exploding stars, he had been severely injured by the God of Death¡¯s power.

    "Senior Shenji, go back. I''ll protect this ce," Bai Sheng suggested. Xia Shenji''s condition made it impossible for the two of them tounch another attack.

    Also, Bai Sheng was feeling a bit panicked himself. What he had seen so far had been too freakish. A mere Envoy had not only seeded in summoning a Progenitor level champion, but he had also personally wielded the power of a Progenitor and had even tamed a beast with the strength of a Progenitor. Finally, he had released an attack that seemed to havee from the ancient Progenitor, the God of Death. The power of thatst attack had absolutely terrified Bai Sheng, and he did not want to see Lu Xiaoxuan use that attack again.

    To others, Progenitors appeared invincible and immortal, but those who actually became Progenitors would understand that Progenitors were still humans. They could still die and naturally feared death.

    Despite Xia Shenji¡¯s reluctance, he finally retreated to the Perennial World. "Hold this ce. If Lu Xiaoxuan tries to destroy the New Corridor, tell him that we will ughter everyst surviving vassal of the Lu family!"

    With that, Xia Shenji finally left.

    A bitter expression appeared on Bai Sheng''s face. Could he actually deliver such a message? How would that be any different from antagonizing Lu Xiaoxuan into killing him? Bai Sheng did not fear any other Envoy, but Lu Xiaoxuan was too much of a freak. He had just driven back two Progenitors! There seemed to be nothing impossible for the youth. Bai Sheng did not want to offend such a monster.

    He simply hoped that Lu Xiaoxuan would note to the New Corridor.

    Xia Shenji returned to the Dominion Realm, and soon, the Dominion Realm itself shook. Bai Wangyuan and the others stared at Xia Shenji¡¯s wound in disbelief.

    They could ept Lu Xiaoxuan using various methods and borrowing different abilities to force Xia Shenji to retreat, but they simply could not ept Xia Shenji being injured by an Envoy, let alone such a grave one. Xia Shenji was basically as strong as any one of them.

    Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie arrived as well. This oue had far surpassed their expectations.

 Chapter 2334: Strike First To Gain The Upper Hand

    <h4>Chapter 2334: Strike First To Gain The Upper Hand</h4>

    Xia Shenji¡¯s voice was soft as he recounted everything that had happened. He had not only faced the additional power of Progenitor Chen, but also gone against the power of the God of Death! Silence stretched out after Bai Wangyuan and the others heard about what had happened. As the silence continued, their killing intent mounted higher and higher.

    "I suspect that I did not even face his final limits," Xia Shenji eventually forced out. He nced over at Progenitor Smoke. "Xi Wei, what else is Lu Xiaoxuan capable of?"

    Progenitor Smoke pursed her lips. What else? Isn''t Xia Shang''s power his final option? Where did the God of Death¡¯s powere from?

    Progenitor Smoke was aware that Lu Yin cultivated with death energy, but regardless of how powerful the God of Death had personally once been, it was simply impossible for a mere Envoy to severely injure a Progenitor, let alone a Progenitor on the same level as a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Progenitor Smoke had spent a great deal of time at Lu Yin''s side, yet she had no idea where in the world the God of Death¡¯s power might havee from. On top of that, Xia Shenji believed that Lu Yin had still held back, and this badly confused Progenitor Smoke. Wait, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword!

    That thought caused Progenitor Smoke''s eyes to light up. Bai Wangyuan and the others were all staring at her, and her eyebrows rose when she noticed their attention. "Why are you all staring at me? You can¡¯t expect me to deal with that kid, can you?"

    "What else is Lu Xiaoxuan capable of?" Xia Shenji asked, his expression incredibly gloomy. He had suffered a massive loss in face.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan both felt that Progenitor Smoke knew something, as her expression had changed too noticeably. Even Mu Xie had seen her reaction and taken it as confirmation. He was also quite curious about his junior brother, and he was growing more and more shocked as to what Lu Yin was capable of. Mu Xie felt that their master was getting better and better at selecting his disciples. Wait, could their master have secretly taken action? That should not be possible. While Mu Xie¡¯s master was so powerful that not even he could urately judge the man¡¯s strength, Mister Mu should not be powerful enough for Xia Shenji to not notice the interference. The gap between the two should not be that great.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "How do I know what he¡¯s capable of? Why don¡¯t I just go ask him myself?"

    "Xi Wei!" Bai Wangyuan shouted.

    Progenitor Smoke instantly turned antagonistic. "What? Are you going to threaten me?"

    Wang Fan spoke up, looking sullen, "Xi Wei, what would make you willing to help us?"

    Progenitor Smokeughed and shook her head. "Is this your first time meeting me?"

    The men all felt helpless. The better one knew Progenitor Smoke, the more they woulde to understand her personality. It waspletely impossible to get her to betray Lu Yin.

    Bai Wangyuan nced over at Mu Xie. It was impossible for them to take action, and Bai Sheng alone was not enough to help Xia Shenji kill Lu Xiaoxuan, and only one person could go. With only one of them taking action, it was quite possible that they would face the same failure that Xia Shenji had encountered twice already, which would not help anything at all. Given the situation¡­ "I will send Xian''er to deal with this."

    Xia Shenji was surprised. "Bai Xian''er?"

    Mu Xie looked over.

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression also slightly changed. She had already developed a deep impression of Bai Xian''er.

    "Has Bai Xian''er be a Progenitor?" Wang Fan was taken aback, but he quickly said, "No, that¡¯s impossible. Given her talent and innate gift, how could we not notice when she faces her tribtion? We wouldn¡¯t miss even the weakest of cultivators bing a Progenitor."

    Bai Wangyuan softly answered, "While Xian''er has not yet be a Progenitor, she possesses a power that no one can understand. What¡¯s more, she is also very familiar with thisst survivor of the Lu family. Altogether, she is perfect to deal with this situation."

    Xia Shenji was also very confident in Bai Xian''er. "Alright, we¡¯ll try again. I will still cooperate with Bai Sheng. I need to personally put an end to Xia Shang''s power. I will wait for Bai Xianer in the Wang family¡¯s territory, as I need a few days to recuperate."

    With that, the man disappeared.

    Progenitor Smoke grew quite curious. "Bai Wangyuan, you seem overly confident in your descendant. Watch out, or else you might end up losing her."

    Bai Wangyuan remainedpletely confident. "If Xian''er makes a move, she will not fail."

    Progenitor Smoke stared at the man for a moment as the scenes she had witnessed in Crimson Garden reyed in her mind. A spike of fear shot through her heart.

    Lu Yin was a monstrous talent, and he was also as cautious as anyone Progenitor Smoke had ever met. Even if he was not as intelligent as Hui Wen, Lu Yin was still able to manipte the world around him, and was quite skilled at doing so. However, Progenitor Smoke had no idea how Lu Yin would fare against Bai Xian''er. The young woman had deceived Lu Yin twice when he had been trying to save people from Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Thus, Progenitor Smoke simplycked confidence in Lu Yin.

    She felt she should help him, or at least let him know whom he was about to face.

    ¡­

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse where everyone had been gathered, countless people felt inspired by Lu Yin, and this created a situation where the entire Fifth Maind had united and gained the courage to go against even a Progenitor.

    Still, only the vast majority had gotten caught up in the moment. There were still some who remained rational. Lu Yin was not very good at motivating people, and if not for the fact that he had just driven a Progenitor away, he would have never been able to unite the emotions of the entire Fifth Maind.

    The members of the Y¨­u family were the most clear-headed. While they appeared to be participating in the cheers with everyone else, the eyes of Y¨­u Keyan, Y¨­u Kexin, and even Y¨­u Ye''er were all calm. They had not gotten caught up in the moment, even though they werepletely shocked by what Lu Yin had aplished.

    None of them had ever imagined that they would one day be enemies with a powerful Progenitor, and yet Lu Yin had just defeated such an opponent.

    A Progenitor¡¯s power to transform the universe was unimaginable to them, but even more unfathomable was how Lu Yin had managed to fight back against such a power.

    The Ku family had arranged themselves a short distance away from the Y¨­u family, and Patriarch Ku Pu was asionally ncing over at the Y¨­u family. The Y¨­u family had recently undergone great changes. They had actually started to cultivate the same sort of smokey power as Smoke-Eater Peaks, which the Ku family could not understand at all. The recent changes in the Y¨­u family had caused not only the Ku family to pay attention to them, but also the rest of the former members of the Seven Courts. In fact, the Cosmic Sect, Gods'' Origin, and the other great powers of the Neoverse were all paying attention to the Y¨­u family now, wondering how they had suddenly acquired such a cultivation art.

    The Y¨­u family knew that they were being watched, but they did not care at all. The Heavens Sect ruled over the entire Fifth Maind, and no one could act willfully. Furthermore, the Y¨­u family was cultivating Progenitor Smoke¡¯s wei, which meant that, even with Progenitor Ku¡¯s inheritance, the Ku family could do nothing to the ?Y¨­u family.

    Smoke-Eater Peaks was also paying close attention to the Y¨­u family, as they had started cultivating the same power as them. ording to Gu Xiao¡¯er, the Y¨­u family had recognized that Smoke-Eater Peaks¡¯ smoke was an invincible power, and they had wanted to get closer to Smoke-Eater Peaks. As soon as Gu Laogui heard his son¡¯s arrogant words, the young man received a harsh beating.

    Lu Yin had already moved far away with the jiao. He had left as soon as he finished rallying the troops, as he could not remain close to them. The four ruling powers would not give up that easily, and for their third attempt on Lu Yin¡¯s life in the Fifth Maind, they might send a third Progenitor.

    He touched his cosmic ring. If Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan came back with Xia Shenji, it indicated that Aeternus had retreated from the Perennial World for the time being and granted the four ruling powers the opportunity to go after Lu Yin.

    Would Bai Wangyuan and the others leave the Dominion Realm?

    Lu Yin sat alone on a deste while he considered his situation.

    Suddenly, his wireless jincan trembled. "What''s wrong?"

    "Dao Chosen, the Y¨­u family wishes to submit a report." The Second Nightking sent a reply.

    "Give it to me." Lu Yin was calm. He had not sought out the Y¨­u family quite yet, as he knew that he could not try to use the Netherworld River to locate Realmless¡¯s headquarters until after the situation with the four ruling powers was resolved.

    "Dao Chosen, this is Y¨­u Keyan. Just now, all of us lost control of our cultivation, and our wei formed a name: Bai Xian''er," Y¨­u Keyan reported.

    Lu Yin was badly startled, and he leapt to his feet. "What was that? Bai Xian''er?"

    "Yes. All of us lost control of the wei that we¡¯ve been cultivating, and all of us saw the same name: Bai Xian''er," Y¨­u Keyan solemnly replied. She felt a chill when she considered the wei she had recently started cultivating, as she had instantly understood what had happened. Progenitor Smoke had interfered, causing her entire family to lose control of their cultivation. Progenitor Smoke had created wei, and thus she naturally hadplete and final control over all wei in existence. Learning that someone else had total control of the wei that they had been cultivating left the entire Y¨­u family extremely ufortable.

    After all, what had happened indicated that, regardless of how high their cultivation rose, their power would forever remain under Progenitor Smoke¡¯s control.

    Which cultivator did not dream of bing a Progenitor? Progenitors stood at the peak of cultivation, and while that meant that most cultivators held no hope of ever bing a Progenitor, the members of the Y¨­u family were different. They still believed themselves to be Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s descendants, which gave them hope of eventually rising up and bing Progenitors themselves. This was why learning that someone else controlled the wei that they cultivated was so disheartening. After all, did it not mean that they were basically under Progenitor Smoke¡¯splete control? No one would be willing to ept such a thing.

    How worried was the Y¨­u family? Lu Yin did not care at all. He instead looked towards the Technocracy. Progenitor Smoke had personally sent Lu Yin a warning. Was she saying that Bai Xian''er was headed his way?

    The thought of Bai Xian''er¡¯s imminent arrival fell upon Lu Yin like a mountain. While Bai Xian¡¯er was far weaker than Xia Shenji, she had mastered one of the Books of Destiny, and it would be impossible for Lu Yin to deceive her. He had no idea if his whereabouts or ns had been exposed. He simply had no idea what Bai Xian¡¯er was capable of, and that made her far more terrifying.

    Given the choice of facing a powerful idiot or a weak wise man, Lu Yin would choose to face the powerful idiot.

    Xia Shenji was the powerful idiot, while Bai Xian''er was the weak wise man.

    If Bai Xian''er, Xia Shenji, and Bai Sheng all worked together, Lu Yin had absolutely no hope of victory.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword might be able to catch someone by surprise, but that would only work if Lu Yin targeted Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, or others like them. If Bai Xian''er was present, it was questionable whether Lu Yin would be able tounch even a single surprise.

    Lu Yin spent a long time considering this new situation. Finally, he left the and climbed atop the jiao. He had decided to take the Book of Destiny that he held to Astral-10.

    If Bai Xian''er wanted to take action against Lu Yin, it would be impossible to stop her. So, his only option was to strike first and seize the advantage. The only way Lu Yin could harm Bai Xian''er was to visit the Stargazing Deck and trigger Destiny.

    Destina and Skymender had already verified that, whenever he triggered Destiny, they had received internal injuries. In that case, how could Bai Xian''er escape the same fate?

    Regardless of whether it worked, Lu Yin felt that he had to at least try. If Bai Xian''er came to the Fifth Maind and cooperated with Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng, Lu Yin would have no hope at all.

    The jiao¡¯s impressive speed meant that Lu Yin quickly arrived at Astral-10.

    The ancient battleship swayed at the jiao¡¯s arrival, and one by one, the instructors and the students looked up at the jiao, soon staring in horror. The pressure of a Progenitor made it difficult for any of them to breathe.

    Lu Yin entered Astral-10 and instantly arrived in front of the Stargazing Deck. He quickly apologized to the Starmaster, casually removed the mentor from the Stargazing Deck, and blocked him from returning.

    Lu Yin then immediately entered the Stargazing Deck.

    The Starmaster was shocked. "Stop!"

    Lu Yin''s feet stepped onto the Stargazing Deck, and the moment he did so, the fatesand within his chest transformed into what looked like stars, seemingly simting the universe. At that moment, Lu Yin once again made out the vague image of time.

    At the exact same moment, on an ind in the Cosmic Sea, Xuan Jiu was lounging on a a bench,zily munching on some fruit. "Draft? Conscription? He actually became the enemy of a Progenitor! That bastard is bing more and more of a freak. It doesn¡¯t matter how many people join him¡ªGrandpa Jiu won¡¯t go! Not to mention, that madwoman Destina is going to be there, and she¡¯s been searching for me. Well, given how the universe has changed recently, I should refer to myself as Destina¡¯s Grandpa Jiu from now on, hahahaha!"

    Xuan Jiu was rxed and content, but the moment Lu Yin stepped onto the Stargazing ?Deck, Xuan Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood. There had been absolutely no warning whatsoever. The old man¡¯s face grew pale, and he stared nkly towards the Astral Combat Academy, and his mouth fell open. "That ?bastard! You¡¯re doing this again? Did Grandpa Jiu offend you somehow? Is there something wrong with your head? Why would you trigger Destiny at this time? Fuck!"

 Chapter 2335: Together

    <h4>Chapter 2335: Together</h4>

    In the Outerverse, where the full might of the Fifth Maind had been gathered, Starsibyl, Destina, and Skymender all spat out blood. They then all turned and stared at each other in astonishment. "Someone triggered Destiny!"

    In the Perennial World, Bai Xian''er was rxing in Crimson Garden, surrounded by the beautiful red flowers that fluttered through the sky, bright and beautiful. She slowly opened her eyes. "Will this be the end of it?"

    As her mind wandered, she was just about to get up when she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. She grew pale, and fear appeared in her eyes. "Destiny¡¯s been triggered!"

    Back in the Fifth Maind, in Astral-10, Lu Yin was still in the Stargazing Deck. Just as before, he saw various images of moments throughout time and space. They were images of the past, the present, and the future, but they flickered by too quickly for him to make out any details.

    His eyes focused, and he stared at one particr scene that grew increasingly clear. It was an endless ck cliff that looked like the edge of an abyss. What was that above the cliff? He could just barely make out the image, but then the scene disappeared.

    Lu Yin was forced several steps back by an indescribable force, and he only stopped after a dozen steps. He thought back to the scene that he had just witnessed, but all memories of the scene vanished from his mind.

    What did I just see? I can''t remember. There¡¯s only a nk moment in my memories.

    Something was very different from before. In the past, Lu Yin had remembered everything that he had seen from the Stargazing Deck, even if the visions had been blurry or brief. However, this time, he could not remember anything. What was going on?

    What had changed?

    While Lu Yin could not remember what he had just seen, the emotions that the vision had induced remained fresh. He felt that he had just witnessed something incredible.

    Despite that impression, he could not remember anything.

    He looked down at his hands. He was still holding the Book of Destiny. That was definitely different fromst time.

    This Book of Destiny was one of Destiny¡¯s treasures, and it made sense that it would alter the experience of using the Stargazing Deck.

    Lu Yin set the Book of Destiny on the ground, looked back towards the Stargazing Deck, and started walking towards it again.

    The Starmaster grew anxious. "Lu Yin, don''t trigger Destiny again! Do you want to end up like the headmaster?"

    The Rainmaster, the Sandmaster, the Trialmaster, and Old Cai all arrived to stop Lu Yin. However, none of them were strong enough to even approach Lu Yin.

    "Boy, do you want to be expelled from the academy?"

    "Lu Yin, I told youst time that you will no longer be considered a part of the Astral Combat Academy if you return to the Stargazing Deck!"

    All the mentors were afraid that Lu Yin would lose his mind like the crazy headmaster, which would be a massive problem. Given Lu Yin''s current strength, if he lost his mind, it would not be just Astral-10 that would be destroyed, but possibly the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked back, a solemn expression on his face. "If I don''t enter the Stargazing Deck, I will not be able to survive any longer."

    His answer silenced all the mentors.

    "Are you referring to the Progenitor you just fought?" the Trialmaster asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m sorry, mentors, but I have to enter the Stargazing Deck if I want to have any chance of fighting for my life."

    He then stepped forward and reentered the Stargazing Deck, the mentors no longer trying to stop him. Even the Starmaster simply watched in silence as Lu Yin went to trigger Destiny once again.

    Instantly, the same scene reappeared, but this time, Lu Yin was able to see the images clearly. He saw a bearded man happily hugging a baby whileughing happily. A gentle looking woman stood behind the man. There was not another person to be seen in the vision.

    The scene caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to be bloodshot. He had lost his memories, but as soon as he saw the three people, he knew that he was seeing his father and his mother.

    It was a family of three, which made for a very ordinary and harmonious picture. It was amon memory for countless people, but Lu Yin yearned for it. Lu Yin knew it was pointless for wish for the warmth of a family, but he had no memories of his family¡¯s warmth at all.

    Lu Yin¡¯s second time in the Stargazing Deck induced further injuries for Xuan Jiu, Destina, and Bai Xian''er.

    When Lu Yin entered the Stargazing Deck for the third time, all of them vomited blood yet again.

    The same reactions urred for the fourth time.

    Destina was the first person who was unable to handle what was happening, and she quickly sent Lu Yin a message. "Dao Chosen, are you triggering Destiny?"

    Lu Yin answered calmly, "That¡¯s right."

    "Why?" Destina''s face was pale from vomiting blood. It had happened four times, and each instance had resulted in serious internal injuries. She could not endure much more.

    Both Skymender and Starsibyl were in a simr state.

    At this moment, Xuan Jiu had no strength in his legs. He could not even walk.

    Lu Yin answered a bit hesitantly. "I have my reasons. I have to trigger Destiny."

    Destina grew anxious. "Every time you trigger Destiny, all of us are badly wounded! Are you trying to trigger Destiny, or are you using this to attack your enemy?"

    As she sent the message, something suddenly urred to Destina. "Do you have an enemy in the Perennial World who possesses another Book of Destiny?"

    Before, Lu Yin had not been entirely certain that Bai Xian''er had the third Book of Destiny. Someone had told him something, and Lu Yin had used that information to make his own deductions, but he had still been guessing. However, after triggering Destiny for the third time, he had be absolutely certain.

    During the third trigger of Destiny, he had seen blood stains in Crimson Garden. While he had not seen any people, he had clearly seen Crimson Garden, and the scarlet blood on the ground had matched the red flowers thaty scattered all about. It made for a poignant image.

    Bai Xian''er had also vomited blood.

    That image was why Lu Yin had triggered Destiny for the fourth time, and it was also why he intended to continue doing so again and again.

    As far as Lu Yin could determine, they were on a path of mutual destruction. However, it was not Lu Yin that Bai Xian¡¯er was suffering with. She was suffering with Destina and the others.

    "An enemy ising from the Perennial World, and they control a Book of Destiny. I can¡¯t fight them," Lu Yin replied. He gave an exnation, as Destina deserved at least the bare minimum of respect from him.

    However, the woman¡¯s expression turned ugly. "So you¡¯re triggering Destiny in order to attack her? What about the rest of us?"

    "You don''t want to die, but neither does she. Just hold on. If you aren¡¯t able to endure, understand that she is in the same position."

    Lu Yin¡¯s callous response caused Destina¡¯s expression to grow even worse. She wanted to snap back at Lu Yin, but there was nothing she could say.

    Lu Yin had only offered an exnation because he had been willing to. If he had wanted, he could have remained silent, and Destina would not have been able to do anything about it.

    This was thew of the universe. This was the way of cultivation. What Lu Yin was doing was no different from when Destina had diverted the karmic bacsh from a divination onto innocent people in order to save herself. Destina had not asked those people if they wished to die without ever knowing what had killed them.

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away. He had not offered Destina any sort of apology. She had killed countless people to survive through many of her divinations. However, Xuan Jiu and Starsibyl were different.

    Lu Yin could not be certain about Starsibyl, and he did not particrly care, but Xuan Jiu was different.

    After a moment¡¯s thought, Lu Yin dug his gadget out of his cosmic ring. He had barely used a gadget after returning from the Perennial World, and he had instead relied almost exclusively on his wireless jincan. However, Xuan Jiu did not own a wireless jincan, which meant that the only way for Lu Yin to interact with the old man was with his gadget.

    Lu Yin stared at his gadget. There were dozens of messages and missed calls from Xuan Jiu. The old man had been desperately trying to get in touch with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Should he answer or not? It was a difficult decision.

    In the end, Lu Yin decided not to respond. He knew that he would owe Xuan Jiu an apology afterwards, but the old man had already be ustomed to Lu Yin¡¯s behavior.

    On the ind in the Cosmic Sea, Xuan Jiu''s face was incredibly pale. His shaking hands kept tapping his gadget as he desperately tried to reach out to Lu Yin, but nothing would go through. ¡°Come on, answer me you rotten bastard! What did Grandpa Jiu do to make you do something so evil? Are you trying to kill me? Hurry up and answer!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the Book of Destiny that he had set on the ground. After a moment¡¯s thought, he picked it back up and then continued on towards the Stargazing Deck. When he entered again, he was once again greeted by the sight of countless scenes from throughout time flickering by in an unending flow.

    He had realized that what he saw when holding the Book of Destiny had caused him to seepletely different visions than when he triggered Destiny without it.

    Without the book, Lu Yin only saw scenes that were connected to him, even if only in an indirect manner. However, when Lu Yin held the book, he would forget everything that he saw. All of his memories of his time in the Stargazing Deck would be gone when he left.

    Once again, it was the same as before. Lu Yin retreated ten steps from the Stargazing Deck, shock covering his entire face, but his feelings of shock left him confused. What had he seen that had been so shocking?

    Lu Yin had fought against Xia Shenji. He had learned countless secrets of the universe, but he had still been shocked by what he had seen. Just what could have affected him so strongly?

    In the Cosmic Sea, Xuan Jiu spat out another mouthful of blood, and it sttered onto his gadget. He gave up all hope. This is the end. I¡¯m going to die. Does that rotten bastard even know what he¡¯s doing? I¡¯m really going to die, and no one will even know.

    In the Outerverse, Destina and several other people spat out more blood at the same time yet again. All of them were looking increasingly miserable, and their faces were so pale that they appeared to have not a single drop of blood left.

    Jiu Yao, Zhan Lin, and the other Semi-Progenitors looked at the three people oddly. No one could understand why they kept vomiting blood. Was there an enemy hidden somewhere?

    Only Lu Buzheng and a few others were aware of what was happening.

    Lu Buzheng looked at Destina with a sympathetic expression, but he was thinking back to the Heavens Sect era. At that time, Destina had been brazen and willful, relying on Destiny¡¯s backing to act however she wished in all six Mainds. Wherever Destina went, she had been treated with the utmost respect. Even Progenitors had been polite to her, including the Lu family¡¯s.

    While Lu Buzheng and Destina had both been gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, they had enjoyedpletely different statuses. The best example of that was when Destina had chased after Lu Buzheng, trying to kill him. He had panicked for quite some time while being pursued.

    Seeing Destina in such a miserable condition gave Lu Buzheng a great deal of joy. The woman was finally reaping her karma. Her previous arrogance had been enough to drive people insane.

    Destina suddenly looked over at Lu Buzheng, her eyes zing with a cold death re.

    Lu Buzheng immediately averted his eyes and stopped looking at the woman.

    Destina cleaned the blood that stained her mouth, only to suddenly vomit blood once more. She was struggling to even remain on her feet.

    Skymender was in the same condition.

    As for Starsibyl, she had already copsed and was barely even conscious.

    In the Perennial World, in Crimson Garden, Bai Xian''er''s face was as pale as a sheet of paper. The ground in front of her was covered with red flowers and blood stains. She was certain that Lu Xiaoxuan was using some method because he knew that it would seriously injure her. She was being attacked by Lu Xiaoxuan!

    This could not continue. If things did not stop, not only would Bai Xian¡¯er be severely injured, but she might even die.

    This thought prompted her to quickly contact Bai Wangyuan.

    In the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan was still waiting for the good news of Bai Xian''er and Xia Shenji killing Lu Xiaoxuan.

    However, the anticipated good news never arrived. Instead, Bai Wangyuan received a call from Bai Xian''er, begging him to stop the fight against Lu Yin.

    "What did you say?" Bai Wangyuan stared at hismunication crystal, more than a bit incredulous. He was staring at the image of Bai Xian''er, and he could clearly see how pale she was and how severe her injuries were.

    Bai Xian''er stared at Bai Wangyuan. "Stop this, or else I will die!"

    Bai Wangyuan felt puzzled. "What happened? Who hurt you?"

    "Progenitor Bai, the fight against Lu Xiaoxuan must stop immediately, or else, while I can¡¯t be certain that he will die, I absolutely will." Bai Xian''er struggled to speak, and as soon as she finished her sentence, she spat out another mouthful of blood, which stained themunication crystal red.

    Bai Wangyuan was shocked. Bai Xian''er was far too important to the Celestial Frost Sect. She was essentially the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s leader, and they already regarded her as the future leader of the entire Fifth Maind. Her talent, skills, cultivation, and intelligence were all unequaled.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had revealed a truly monstrous degree of talent for cultivation, yet Bai Xian''er was still every bit his equal.

    Although Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s existence was a threat that the Celestial Frost Sect could not tolerate, the potential loss of Bai Xian''er was an even greater threat.

 Chapter 2336: Admiration

    <h4>Chapter 2336: Admiration</h4>

    "Progenitor Bai, if you don''t stop now, it will be toote." Bai Xian''er was quickly growing weaker.

    Bai Wangyuan suddenly looked over at Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie. "The four ruling powers and I will no longer attack Lu Xiaoxuan. Tell Lu Xiaoxuan that he also needs to stop immediately."

    Wang Fan and Progenitor Long both looked miserable. They had overheard the entire conversation between Bai Wangyuan and Bai Xian''er. While losing Bai Xian¡¯er waspletely uneptable for the Bai family, neither the Wang family nor the White Dragon n had any vested interest in her life.

    The two looked at each other, trying to think of a way to stop what was happening.

    Progenitor Smoke reacted first. "Bai Wangyuan, are you sure that you want to stop?"

    "Yes," Bai Wangyuan quietly affirmed.

    Progenitor Smoke then looked at Wang Fan and Progenitor Long. "What about you two?"

    Wang Fan frowned. Bai Xian''er''s life or death had nothing to do with the Wang family. "Lu Xiaoxuan is an Envoy capable of forcing even Xia Shenji to retreat. He poses too great a threat. We-"

    Bai Wangyuan interrupted, "If the Wang family and the White Dragon n are unwilling to stop now, then my Bai family will stop you."

    Wang Fan instantly lost his temper. "Bai Wangyuan, what are you saying?"

    Bai Wangyuan visibly resolved himself, firming his decision. "You are well aware of just how important Xian''er is to my Bai family."

    Wang Fan and Progenitor Long both stared at Bai Wangyuan. The atmosphere grew heavy.

    Mu Xie spoke up. "With the Bai family joining us, we stand a good chance of winning."

    Progenitor Smoke nodded. "That would make it Bai Wangyuan, Mu Xie, and I standing against Wang Fan, Xia Shenji, and Long Er. Of course, they still have other Progenitors that they can summon, but so do we. That kid Lu Xiaoxuan alone can be regarded as two Progenitors over the- Um, yes, we have a good chance of winning.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression grew worse than ever, as he was actually being forced to help thest member of the Lu family. It was humiliating.

    Wang Fan stared at Bai Wangyuan. "Lu Xiaoxuan will not just forget his hatred towards our four ruling powers. If he¡¯s not dealt with now, he will only grow to be more dangerous in the future, as you already know."

    Bai Wangyuan frowned and simply stopped talking to Wang Fan and Long Er. Instead, he sent a message to Bai Sheng. "Go speak with Lu Xiaoxuan and inform him that our Bai family has abandoned pursuing him. Tell him to immediately stop what he¡¯s doing, no matter what that might be. It has to be now."

    Wang Fan''s heart dropped. Bai Xian''er was simply too important to the Celestial Frost Sect. He knew that it was impossible to have Bai Xian''er and Lu Xiaoxuan die together.

    Progenitor Long felt quite puzzled. "How did Lu Xiaoxuan manage to hurt Bai Xian''er so badly? Bai Wangyuan, even if we let Lu Xiaoxuan go right now, if he threatens your Celestial Frost Sect with this same method again in the future, will you still give in to him?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression grew worse than ever. He naturally understood this as well, and he would have trouble even sleeping and eating before he understood exactly what Lu Xiaoxuan had done.

    Progenitor Smoke managed to piece some things together. She remembered seeing the Stargazing Deck in the Astral Combat Academy, as well as hearing about the Book of Destiny. Could that be what had happened?

    It was a pity that they had not known about such a method earlier, as they would not have had to go through so much earlier.

    Lu Yin also regretted that he had not discovered such a thing earlier.

    Bai Sheng crossed the Fifth Maind with a single step, instantly appearing next to the jiao. He had already found Lu Yin.

    "Bai Wangyuan is giving up on pursuing me and killing me?" Lu Yin asked in surprise, despite not truly being surprised.

    Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin. "Just what did you do? I''m quite curious about what you could have done to make even Progenitor Bai stop pursuing you."

    Lu Yin had greatly underestimated Bai Xian''er''s importance to Bai Wangyuan. If he had realized the truth, then he would have targeted her long before. Bai Wangyuan was not even trying to negotiate terms, and he had simply announced that the four ruling powers were no longer going to pursue Lu Yin. Apparently, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had been extremely effective.

    "Let Bai Wangyuan himselfe," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Sheng crossed his arms. "What did you do? Why won¡¯t you satisfy my curiosity?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Senior Progenitor Sheng, I would like to ask you a question."

    "Tell me."

    "What will happen if Bai Xian''er dies?"

    Bai Sheng''s expression instantly changed. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the Progenitor. "I asked what will happen if Bai Xian''er dies."

    Bai Sheng¡¯s eyes narrowed. "So, you have a way to target Xian''er? That makes me even more curious. Just how did you do that?"

    "Senior, please just answer my question."

    Bai Sheng bluntly stated, "Blood will wash this entire ce."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose high.

    Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin. "I strongly suggest that you don¡¯t even try it. Bai Xian''er is the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s¡ªno, she is the Bai family¡¯s greatest pride throughout all of history. No other person in the history of the Bai family, including even our Progenitors, canpare to her. Honestly, I can¡¯t understand how such a person even exists, though you have also appeared now, so maybe there¡¯s some sort of destiny involved.¡±

    "Bai Xian¡¯er is someone whom the Bai family simply cannot afford to lose. Do you know why the Bai family agreed to exile the Lu family?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Because of Bai Xian''er?"

    "You could say that we agreed because the Bai family saw an opportunity to rece the Lu family, but in truth, Bai Xian''er is the one who is qualified to rece the Lu family and be the ruler of the Fifth Maind."

    "So, she was hiding her true talent when the Lu family was still around?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Shengughed and shook his head. "She was never hiding. Rather, your family simply couldn¡¯t see the truth."

    Lu Yin finally understood why the Celestial Frost Sect had been willing to exile the Lu family.

    Each of the four ruling powers had agreed to exile the Lu family for different reasons.

    The Xia family had agreed because the Lu family had once helped Xia Shang. The Wang family had agreed because of Wang Si, or possibly for some other reason. The White Dragon n must have been tempted by the allure of bing one of the four ruling powers. Before the Lu family had been exiled, the White Dragon n had not even been on the same level as the Liu and Nong families.

    However, the Celestial Frost Sect had held the greatest ambitions, as they had wanted to rece the Lu family with Bai Xian''er.

    This was also why Bai Wangyuan had reacted so strongly to the threat on Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s life.

    "I''m telling you this not as a threat from my Celestial Frost Sect, but rather to make sure that you understand the seriousness of this matter. If anything happens to Bai Xian''er-" Bai Sheng paused as he nced around. "Everything that you see now¡ªyour friends, family, and everything you hold dear¡ªwill disappear. This is not a threat, but rather a friendly warning."

    It was important to be cautious when taking hostages. Capturing someone considered important to the enemy could certainly achieve certain results, but if the hostage happened to be too important, the results might actually be counterproductive.

    A perfect example was Bai Xian''er. At this moment, no matter how badly Lu Yin wished to kill the woman, he would not do so unless he was forced into a truly desperate situation. This was also something that Bai Wangyuan and the others were aware of. Lu Yin would hold himself back, because he simply could not afford the consequences.

    This also meant that it would be very, very important for him to be extremely careful when negotiating with Bai Xian''er¡¯s life as his hostage. A single slip-up could cost Lu Yin his life.

    If Lu Yin died with Bai Xian¡¯er, the four ruling powers would only lose Bai Xian''er, and while that would have a tremendous impact on the Celestial Frost Sect, her death would not affect the other three families. On the other hand, Lu Yin¡¯s death would ce the entire Fifth Maind in grave danger. Lu Yin fully believed that Bai Wangyuan would go crazy and ughter the entire Fifth Maind in order to vent his anger at Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s death.

    That was not a risk that Lu Yin could take.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to save his Lu family and get revenge on the four ruling powers, not die with them.

    Bai Sheng''s exnation appeared to have exposed the Celestial Frost Sect''s hidden strength, but the information actually set the tone for future negotiations. Lu Yin would not be able to push too far. However, he also was aware that Bai Wangyuan would do his best to push Lu Yin to agree to additional conditions, which were the fundamental basics of a negotiation. In reality, the negotiations were going to be mutual concessions.

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Sheng before him. The negotiations had already begun. "Senior Progenitor Sheng, I am the only one left of my Lu family."

    Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin, and the young man continued. "If I die, my Lu family will disappearpletely into the long river of history, which would leave me as the greatest sinner of the Lu family. For this reason, no matter what it takes, I will make sure that I survive. If I can''t survive, Bai Xian''er will absolutely die. This is my bottom line."

    Bai Sheng ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Threatening each other aplishes nothing. You should talk to Progenitor Bai. Honestly, I belong in the Outer Realm, and if not for the fact that I have the Bai surname, I wouldn''t be here right now."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Outer Realm?"

    "I told you thest time we spoke that you would learn of it in the future, but I never imagined that you were actually Lu Xiaoxuan. The Outer Realm has nothing to do with you."

    Suddenly, a smile appeared on Bai Sheng¡¯s face. "How about we make a deal? Just you and I. This won¡¯t involve the Bai family, or the four ruling powers."

    "What do you propose?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Sheng replied, "There¡¯s still one other person from your Lu family who¡¯s alive."

    The answer caused Lu Yin''s expression to quickly change. "Who?"

    "If you want me to tell you, then you need to tell me how you were able to attack Bai Xian''er. What do you say?"

    Lu Yin instantly refused. "That¡¯s not a very good deal."

    "There¡¯s still someone else from your Lu family who¡¯s alive, and they¡¯re even a direct descendant," Bai Sheng said. He expected Lu Yin to be anxious to learn who the other survivor was.

    However, Lu Yin had already guessed that Bai Sheng was referring to the man known as Nutjob Lu. He was the member of the Lu family with a Champions¡¯ Stage who had once met with Ancient God. He was also the person who had left Arch-Elder Zen afraid of the entire Lu family. That fear was why, even after receiving so much help from the Lu family, Arch-Elder Zen had still doubted Lu Yin. Who else could the surviving member of the Lu family be but Nutjob Lu?

    Lu Yin did indeed want to know where the man was, that was only to kill the man. It was not yet time for that.

    How could Lu Yin hope to kill a powerhouse from the Lu family outside the Fifth Maind? Even if Nutjob Lu was just a Semi-Progenitor, it would be impossible, and Lu Yin felt that it was highly likely that the man was a Progenitor.

    The Lu family was different from the four ruling powers. Lu Yin had encountered all different kinds of enemies throughout his life, and he had even fought against the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era, such as Sky Garan. However, Lu Yin had never fought against another member of the Lu family, and he did not want to do so.

    Lu Yin understood how difficult he was as an opponent for others, but the same was true of any other member of the Lu family who possessed a Champions¡¯ Stage.

    There was no benefit in learning of Nutjob Lu¡¯s whereabouts at this point in time. That information would only be useful after Lu Yin was at least a Semi-Progenitor.

    Seeing Lu Yin be unmoved by the offered information, Bai Sheng just shrugged. "It seems that you truly don''t wish to know, so just forget it. I don''t want to get involved in things rted to you, so I¡¯ll let Progenitor Bai speak to you."

    The man then stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "Throughout all of history, you are the first Envoy to render a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas helpless. You didn¡¯t do so by relying on your background, only your own strength. Lu Xiaoxuan, ignoring our opposing positions, I, Sheng, truly admire you."

    The Progenitor¡¯s body then disappeared. He had left the Fifth Maind.

    After the man had left, Lu Yin''s clenched fists finally rxed.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s admiration? Lu Yin had indeed aplished feats worthy of a Progenitor¡¯s admiration, but how much had Lu Yin suffered through before he was able to do so?

    Lu Yin had literally died on several different asions. He had not simplye close to death, but had actually died. If not for the Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival, Lu Yin would have never survived for so long. There were certain things that were predetermined, but even then, could anyone have foreseen the current situation?

    Lu Yin thought of Bai Xian''er, the Books of Destiny, and Destiny herself.

    Had Destiny been able to peer down the long river of time? Could she have seen Lu Yin¡¯s future? If Lu Yin¡¯s future had already been seen, then had all his actions been anticipated by someone else?

    If someone could travel through time and space, could they alter the past, which would also alter the future?

    Lu Yin shook his head. This was not the time for such thoughts. He would soon be facing Bai Wangyuan, a powerhouse who was considered Progenitor Chen¡¯s peer. Lu Yin could not afford the slightest bit of carelessness when dealing with such a person.

    First, he needed to find a suitable ce for the negotiations.

 Chapter 2337: Negotiations

    <h4>Chapter 2337: Negotiations</h4>

    Elsewhere, Xia Shenji had already returned to the Dominion Realm. Just like Wang Fan and Progenitor Long, Xia Shenji did his best to argue against letting Lu Yin go free, but there was no changing Bai Wangyuan¡¯s firm determination. The man was immovable.

    The more the other three pushed, the more Bai Wangyuan felt like they were gloating.

    Eliminating both Lu Xiaoxuan and Bai Xian''er was the perfect oue for the other three, as only the Celestial Frost Sect would suffer a loss in that case. Not only that, but it would also be a truly terrible loss. The more that Bai Wangyuan considered what his sect stood to lose, the more determined he became.

    The other three ruling powers had already achieved their goals from exiling the Lu family, but why would Bai Wangyuan ever agree to sacrifice the future of his Celestial Frost Sect?

    That waspletely uneptable to Bai Wangyuan.

    Finally, Bai Wangyuan managed to force Xia Shenji and the other two to agree to his decision. They really had no choice, as Bai Wangyuan and Mu Xie alone were already enough to stop the other three Progenitors from taking action. Not to mention, they also needed to take Progenitor Smoke and Lu Xiaoxuan himself into ount. It was impossible for the three Progenitors to go to the Fifth Maind to deal with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    As for the rest of the Perennial World¡¯s powers, it would be wonderful even if the Liu family, Nong family, and Specter Abyss did not help Lu Xiaoxuan, but they would absolutely never help the four ruling powers.

    Wang Fan and the other two could do nothing at all.

    Mu Xie kept a careful eye to ensure that Xia Shenji remained in the Dominion Realm while Bai Wangyuan alone went to the Fifth Maind to negotiate with Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Longmented, "Twice he has survived a Progenitor¡¯s assault, and he even forced a Progenitor to retreat before creating a situation where he cannot be attacked for a third time. Lu Xiaoxuan can be regarded as the greatest genius in history. He¡¯s aplished feats that not even Xia Shang could have done. After all, if not for the Lu family¡¯s protection, your Xia family would have killed him."

    Xia Shenji''s expression turned ugly.

    Wang Fan softlymented, "If we don''t kill him now, it will only be more difficult to do so in the future. Bai Wangyuan is mistaken."

    Progenitor Smoke sneered. "Do you really think that no one can see what¡¯s going through your mind right now? You just wish for Bai Xian''er to die as well. Old Fu once said that you¡¯re narrow-minded, but you¡¯ll never admit it. Just look at the bigger picture for humanity. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan and Bai Xian''er are enemies, which of the two isn¡¯t an unprecedented genius? Once either of them bes a Progenitor, they won¡¯t be the greatest threat to you, but to the Aeternals.¡±

    "Even if you want to eliminate those two in the future, who would be capable of doing so? Your descendants? Hmph!"

    Xia Shenji nced over at Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie with a cold re. He then looked at Wang Fan and silently said something.

    Wang Fan''s eyes flickered, and he responded with a very slight nod.

    Back in the Fifth Maind, Bai Wangyuan emerged from the New Corridor and looked around. He frowned; just as Xia Shenji had reported, the true universe in the Forsaken Land waspletely drained of all stellr energy. What had the Aeternals done?!

    If they were able to drain the Forsaken Land¡¯s true universe, then they could do the same to the Perennial World, though it was possible that the existence of the Mother Tree made things more difficult. It was possible that the Forsaken Land had merely been an experiment ground for Aeternus¡¯ tests.

    The Progenitor suddenly turned to stare in a specific direction. He had found Lu Xiaoxuan. A thought and a step saw Bai Wangyuan disappear.

    Lu Yin was quietly waiting in the Neoverse, standing above Peacewater.

    He was at the entrance to Aeternus Nation, as this was the location where Lu Yin had chosen to carry out his negotiations with Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan soon appeared, and he appeared very close to Lu Yin.

    Disregarding his life as Lu Xiaoxuan that had been forgotten, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first timeying eyes on Bai Wangyuan.

    If Lu Yinpared Bai Wangyuan¡¯s appearance to Xia Shenji''s overbearing presence, then Progenitor Bai seemed more¡­ cloudy? Yes, that felt right. He was hazy, like the clouds above the Celestial Frost Sect. The man felt somewhat ethereal, as if he could be seen, but not touched.

    Bai Wangyuan was clearly standing right in front of Lu Yin, but the Progenitor did not seem to actually be present. He almost felt like some sort of illusion.

    The moment Bai Wangyuan appeared, the jiao let out a roar and grew incredibly wary.

    Lu Yin quickly said, "Please move back a bit. I fear being attacked with you so close."

    Bai Wangyuan retreated a short ways. He stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "Xiaoxuan, we meet again."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "My name is Lu Yin. We¡¯ve spoken to each other before, Progenitor Bai."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes flickered. "Are you referring to when you were posing as Yu Hao?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I must thank you, Progenitor Bai, for your consideration when offering such generous conditions. If I were really Yu Hao, I would have agreed. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not."

    Bai Wangyuan simrly felt regretful. "It would be wonderful if you truly were Yu Hao. I would have agreed to any conditions that you had asked. It''s really such a pity."

    "I feel honored to make Progenitor Bai feel that way," Lu Yin replied. He then raised a hand that held the stone that was the foundation of the dimension that held Aeternus Nation. It allowed Lu Yin ess to the parallel universe.

    "Please, Progenitor Bai." Lu Yin opened the passage to Aeternus Nation and then proceeded to enter.

    Bai Wangyuan did not hesitate and followed right behind Lu Yin.

    Upon entering Aeternus Nation, Bai Wangyuan immediately noticed the seven broken towers that stood in the distance, and surprise filled his eyes. "Is that¡­?"

    Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan were standing in the sky above an abandoned city that had once been part of Aeternus Nation. The city had once been filled with many desperate humans. It had been the ce where Aeternus had experimented with mingling humans and corpse kings.

    The underground area was where humans had been transformed into corpse kings, and even further down was the endless sea of death energy. It was no less than what had once been in Gaia¡¯s Swamp and the ruins of the Bizarre Sect, and it might even be greater.

    This death energy was precisely why Lu Yin had chosen Aeternus Nation to hold the negotiations.

    It had been the God of Death¡¯s power that had badly wounded Xia Shenji and forced him to retreat. In order to force Bai Wangyuan to be wary of him, Lu Yin needed to rely on the God of Death.

    Progenitor Chen''s stars were not even close to enough to threaten Bai Wangyuan.

    "Those are the towers of the Seven Skygods."

    Bai Wangyuan turned to stare at Lu Yin with ice-cold eyes.

    Lu Yin continued, "Don''t look at me like that. I didn''t cooperate with the Seven Skygods. You should be able to clearly see that we were the ones to destroy this ce. The Seven Skygods used to hide here, but we found it and destroyed it."

    Bai Wangyuan''s animosity faded a bit. Lu Yin would not make false ims of such things, as it would be easy to uncover the truth, and there would also be no reason to hide anything. Besides, if Lu Yin were truly working with Aeternus, then the people of the Fifth Maind would know nothing about it.

    Truthfully, Bai Wangyuan¡¯s heart had dropped when he first saw the seven towers, as he had instantly jumped to the assumption that Lu Yin was working with Aeternus.

    Bai Wangyuan did not fear Lu Yin¡¯s power, even in an ambush, but the Aeternals werepletely different. If even a couple of the Seven Skygods ganged up on Bai Wangyuan, he had no confidence of being able to escape alive.

    "Why did you choose this ce for us to meet?" Bai Wangyuan demanded.

    Lu Yin pointed downwards. "There is a great deal of death energy here, which allows me to use the God of Death¡¯s power once again."

    This caused Bai Wangyuan to frown. Xia Shenji''s wounds had been caused by the God of Death¡¯s power, and Lu Yin¡¯s exnation fully exined his courage to face Bai Wangyuan by himself. After all, Lu Yin had not even taken the jiao into the parallel universe, and he was entirely alone with Bai Wangyuan for the negotiations.

    The old man nodded. "Don''t bother trying to threaten me. You are able to attack Xian''er, which gives you the leverage to speak with me, but don¡¯t assume that anything else will get you anything more. I can promise you that the four ruling powers will not do anything to you for the moment, but you must promise not to harm Xian''er."

    "A temporary truce?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. "The most that we will agree to is to not pursue you until you¡¯ve be a Semi-Progenitor. Even if I told you that we would never harm you, you would not believe me."

    Lu Yin sneered. "By the time I be a Semi-Progenitor, Bai Xian''er will already be a Progenitor. Is this some kind of joke?"

    A dangerous glint flickered across Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes. "The Progenitor realm is not as easy to reach as you believe. Even the youngest Progenitor in history needed at least a thousand years to reach that level. Xian''er is not nearly that old, and she has not even be a Semi-Progenitor yet."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Bai Xian''er isn¡¯t a Semi-Progenitor?"

    "No."

    This was shocking to Lu Yin. He had never forgotten that, when the Sea King had forced the Upper Three Gates open, a powerhouse from the Sixth Maind had tried to stop the Sea King, only to be casually ughtered by Bai Xian''er. On top of that, Lu Yin was capable of fighting against four Semi-Progenitors at once, but he had beenpletely helpless against Bai Xian''er. He had therefore assumed that Bai Xian''er was a Semi-Progenitor, just the same as everyone else. Learning that she still had not be a Semi-Progenitor was simply terrifying.

    Lu Yin sympathized with how others perceived him; the woman was an absolute monster!

    It was no wonder why Bai Wangyuan regarded Bai Xian''er with so much importance and was even confident that she would be capable of fully recing the Lu family and take charge of the Fifth Maind.

    Once Bai Xian''er became a Semi-Progenitor, let alone an actual Progenitor, who could stop her?

    Was this something that the Wang and Xia families simply did not consider, or were they ignorant as to just how scary Bai Xian''er really was?

    Of course, it was also possible that Bai Wangyuan was lying and that Bai Xian''er was already a Semi-Progenitor. It was a distinct possibility that the Progenitor was lying in order to reassure Lu Yin.

    "Xian''er is not yet a Semi-Progenitor, let alone a Progenitor. We are offering you the time needed to be a Semi-Progenitor, and given the speed at which you¡¯ve cultivated thus far, it will take you no more than a few dozen years to do so. In that amount of time, Xian''er can be a Semi-Progenitor at best. This is my offer, but it is conditional on you telling me how you managed to attack Xian''er," Bai Wangyuan stated in a low voice.

    The condition caught Lu Yin off guard. It had been understandable for Bai Sheng to ask the same question, as he was not very familiar with Bai Xian''er, and he had even mentioned that he did not speak with her very often. However, why was Bai Wangyuan asking the same question?

    Had Bai Xian''er not shared what had happened with the Progenitor?

    Bai Xian''er had to know that Lu Yin had attacked her by triggering Destiny, but why had she not shared that information with Bai Wangyuan? Had she simply not had the opportunity?

    Regardless, Lu Yin did not want to give anything away. "That¡¯s something between Bai Xian''er and me. I won''t speak about it."

    "You must tell me." Bai Wangyuan''s expression grew solemn.

    Lu Yin put his hands behind his back, "Progenitor Bai, you would not havee here to negotiate with me if you were willing to sacrifice Bai Xian''er. There is no way to force me to say anything that I don¡¯t wish to say.¡±

    "I call you ¡®Progenitor Bai¡¯ not out of respect for you, but simply because I don''t know how else to call you. Should I address you as Bai Wangyuan?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes widened. "Threatening Xian''er might be able to keep you alive, but it¡¯s far from enough to allow you to do whatever you want! If you think that threatening Xian¡¯er can grant you such freedom, I¡¯ll make sure to punish you severely."

    "Any punishment you force upon me, I¡¯ll make sure Bai Xian''er experiences even worse. I won¡¯t kill her, but I can still make it impossible for her to cultivate. No one can defeat me while I¡¯m in the Fifth Maind. While you can certainly ughter the Fifth Maind, I can make Bai Xian''er pay for your actions with her life. If you dare to kill the surviving vassals of my Lu family, I¡¯ll ughter the army that you sent after me. Go ahead and gamble, Bai Wangyuan, but I promise you, as long as I don¡¯t die, I will eventually be a Progenitor. Just wait and see the despair I will force upon your four ruling powers," Lu Yin quietly retorted.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he studied Lu Yin carefully. The old man did not release any wisp of killing intent, nor any hint of a Progenitor¡¯s aura, but Lu Yin was still subjected to incredible pressure.

    Lu Yin unconsciously took out the broken scythe, and the endless sea of death energy surged up from the ground in what looked like a ck rainbow as it poured into the broken weapon. Bai Wangyuan was shocked by the sight.

    The God of Death had been one of the most powerful people during the Heavens Sect era. No matter how confident a person might be, no one would believe themselves stronger than the God of Death, who had been a truly legendary powerhouse.

    Bai Wangyuan had already seen what sort of state Xia Shenji had ended up in after being struck by the God of Death¡¯s power, and Progenitor Bai was not confident that he could block such a powerful attack. Not to mention, Lu Xiaoxuan was not only able to wield the power of the God of Death, but he could also use Xia Shang''s stars that had been left in the Fifth Maind and summon E Chi as a champion. Finally, there was the jiao that he had tamed.

    There was truly nothing that could be done against Lu Yin within the Fifth Maind.

 Chapter 2338: Formalizing The Truce

    <h4>Chapter 2338: Formalizing The Truce</h4>

    After a moment of silence, Bai Wangyuan spoke up again, though his tone had softened. "If you don''t tell me, I can simply ask Xian''er. This matter cannot be kept hidden."

    "As you wish," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. "You will not harm Xian''er, and the four ruling powers will not touch you before you be a Semi-Progenitor. Will you agree to this?"

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to truly fight against the four ruling powers. Even if everything else was disregarded, it was important to remember that the Aeternals were always watching. Aeternus was aware of everything that happened among the humans. Lu Yin was aware that Corpse God had attacked the Higher Realm at a critical moment, which had forced Xia Shenji to stop attacking Lu Yin. That incident had greatly increased Lu Yin¡¯s fear of Aeternus.

    Aeternus possessed an unimaginable foundation, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do against a power that had alreadypletely destroyed four Mainds.

    "Additionally, I need you to release the surviving vassals of the Lu family, including the people from Star Alliance and Crimson Garden. In exchange, I will release the entire army that you sent against me, as well as everyone else from the four ruling powers that I hold prisoner," Lu Yin said.

    ¡­

    While Lu Yin was negotiating an agreement with Bai Wangyuan, the Seven Skygods had just gathered outside the Starfall Sea.

    "Shaman God, your n has failed," ckless God stated in an indifferent tone.

    Forgotten Ruins God showed a charming smile. "This is quite amusing. Not only did you not touch him yourself, but you also stopped all of us from targeting him as well for the sake of your n. Yet not only did they not end up fighting a war, but that kid also rose up and became qualified to negotiate terms with Bai Wangyuan and the other human Progenitors. Was this what you were aiming for, Shaman God? Hehe."

    Shaman God answered in a hoarse voice as one of their dolls floated about. "This is my mistake. I never expected the kid to improve so quickly, and I even identally provided him with the power to stand up to Progenitors.¡±

    "My original intention was for us to attack while the humans fought their internal war. Truthfully, if not for Mu Xie and Xi Wei unexpectedly showing up to stop anyone aside from Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng from going to attack Lu Yin, the n would have been a sess. At the very least, we would have been able to break Ceaseless Impetus and induce a great deal of instability to the Perennial World. The biggest surprises to my n were the unexpected interference of Mu Xie and Xi Wei. Still, this failure doesn''t really matter. The four ruling powers and Lu Xiaoxuan will never be able to reconcile, and they will eventually have a showdown. We can simply wait for that day."

    ckless God spoke up in a deep tone. "We can ignore Xi Wei, as herbat ability is pathetic. Mu Xie was the biggest surprise. Who could have expected that someone who was believed to be an ordinary Progenitor who focused entirely on hunting down Redbacks and who avoided facing us in the Dominion Realm would possess abat strengthparable to Xia Shenji¡¯s? There¡¯s something odd about him."

    "Also, who is Mu Xie''s and Lu Xiaoxuan''s master? Mu Xie''s master can¡¯t be someone who just suddenly popped up. They must have been famous at some point in history," Forgotten Ruins Godmented.

    At this moment, the void suddenly split apart to reveal an endless darkness. The Seven Skygods all looked over at a single slitted eye with a scarlet iris that had appeared in the infinite darkness, seemingly imprinted atop a floating coffin. The entire region changed color.

    Even thezy Undying God and the indifferent Corpse God became awake and alert. All the Skygods bowed in unison. "We greet True God."

    There was no one in the Fifth Maind who was aware that, just outside the Starfall Sea, Aeternus¡¯s True God had just appeared. There had been no movement or any sort of warning.

    All of the Seven Skygods also repressed their auras. At this moment, they appeared no different from seven ordinary humans.

    "Activate Murkiness." The scarlet eye disappeared as soon as the order was delivered. It might as well have never even appeared.

    The Seven Skygods offered another bow and then turned to look at the Fifth Maind. "It¡¯s finally beginning. Civilization is about to restart."

    ¡­

    Inside the Fifth Maind, in the ruins of Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan came to an agreement.

    Lu Yin would do nothing to harm Bai Xian''er, and in turn, the four ruling powers would not attack him until after he became a Semi-Progenitor. Furthermore, all the surviving vassals of the Lu family would be freed, aside from those who were fighting on the rear battlefield. Lu Yin wanted the four ruling powers to release those people as well, but there was always a need for more people to join the war on the rear battlefield. Bai Wangyuan would not budge on keeping the people on the rear battlefield there, though he was willing to release everyone else, including the prisoners who had been ced in Crimson Garden.

    As for Lu Yin, he agreed to release everyone from the Perennial World that he had captured over the years, including the Semi-Progenitors.

    There were terms that both parties had to carry out. Even though they hade to an agreement, a verbal agreement was not enough.

    Both Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan required witnesses to their agreement, and so they had agreed to formalize their truce in the middle of outer space.

    Witnesses for both parties would arrive to watch the formal truce, and it was agreed to be carried out three dayster.

    Lu Yin left Aeternus Nation. He had done all that he possibly could for the time being. Restrictions had been put in ce, and concessions had been agreed to, all because the two parties feared each other.

    If Lu Yin had not managed to find a way to threaten Bai Xian''er, then it would have been utterly impossible for him to even try to threaten the four ruling powers. He might be able to stop their first offensive wave, but the second wave would be too much for him to handle. In truth, the four ruling powers would rather sacrifice the entire army that they had sent after Lu Yin than allow him to live.

    This was how great a threat the four ruling powers saw Lu Yin as.

    However, the truce was temporary, as it would onlyst until Lu Yin became a Semi-Progenitor. Once that happened, the four ruling powers would absolutely attack him again without hesitation. Bai Wangyuan was really just trying to stall for time.

    When Lu Yin became a Semi-Progenitor, he would have his true deathmatch with the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin could not help but wonder how Aeternus would react to the temporary truce between him and the four ruling powers. Also, how was Lu Yin supposed to get the Lu family back?

    He stared out into space. Just where was the Lu family? Had they been destroyed?

    ¡­

    Three days quickly went by. The three days had been agreed upon for Bai Wangyuan to have a chance to persuade Wang Fan, Xia Shenji, and Progenitor Long. After all, the truce was not between Lu Yin and just the Celestial Frost Sect, but all four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin did not care what it took for Bai Wangyuan to convince the others, as only the final results mattered to Lu Yin.

    On the third day, the jiao was staring out at the universe, with Lu Yin standing atop its head. Behind him stood all the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors, followed by a vast crowd of cultivators, all of whom were staring off into the distance. In front of everyone, Bai Wangyuan stepped out, along with an agreement from all four ruling powers. "From henceforth, the four ruling powers will no longer attack Lu Yin. In the same manner, Lu Yin cannot attack Bai Xian''er. This agreement will be terminated once Lu Yin bes a Semi-Progenitor."

    The statement was very simple, but it clearly showed that the four ruling powers had stepped back.

    Anyone who knew about how the four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family from the Perennial World would never believe such a thing. Every member of the Lu family was considered the four ruling powers¡¯ worst enemy, and they would never allow anyone from the Lu family to live. Not only that, but the Lu family¡¯s vassals and friends had also been targeted for annihtion.

    Adventure King had been repeatedly sent to perform various missions in the Lower Realm.

    The All-Dao and Qiming families had both been destroyed.

    The Yu family had been ruined and humiliated so that they no longer had any trace of a good reputation in the Perennial World.

    Some of the Lu family¡¯s former vassals had been imprisoned in Crimson Garden and made insane.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s first visit to the Perennial World, as soon as he had been exposed, he had been hunted and pursued no matter where he had gone. The four ruling powers had been desperate to do whatever it took to eliminate thest member of the Lu family.

    However, they had just stepped back. They had not done so because they wanted to, but rather because they had been forced to do so.

    Even more impressive was the fact that they had been forced to ept the situation after failing to kill Lu Yin twice.

    Who in the current universe could survive not one, but two different attempts on their life by the four ruling powers? Forget Envoys and Semi-Progenitors¡ªeven Progenitors would struggle to survive.

    Despite that, Lu Yin had lived. He had also stopped the four ruling powers fromunching a third attack on him, and he had even threatened the Celestial Frost Sect and forced Bai Wangyuan to step back and protect Lu Yin instead of trying to kill him.

    Lu Yin had aplished such feats despite having cultivated for such a short amount of time. His achievements were shocking to everyone, even people like Progenitor Smoke who had countless years behind her.

    As Progenitor Long had said, Lu Yin had aplished something that not even Progenitor Chen had been able to achieve. Xia Shang had only managed to survive because of the Lu family¡¯s protection, while Lu Yin had survived not by relying on some legacy, but rather by relying on his own connections and forces that he had personally raised up. Besides surviving two attacks from Progenitors, he had also survived an attack in the Perennial World, which meant that Progenitors had failed to kill Lu Yin on three separate asions.

    Lu Yin was not merely admired by his own people, but even by people like Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji, Progenitors who were after Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    Lu Buzheng, Destina, and the other Semi-Progenitors watched in shock from behind Lu Yin as a Progenitor reached apromise with Lu Yin. The man before them was one of the legendary masters of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and yet he waspromising with a mere Envoy. It was a scene that the Fifth Maind would never forget. No matter how many years passed or how civilization might change, this scene would forever be remembered by the Fifth Maind.

    "I, Lu Yin, agree to these terms." Lu Yin stared at Bai Wangyuan as he answered. He then stretched out a hand, and Bai Wangyuan did the same. Despite the vast distance between them, their hands struck. The first terms of the truce were agreed upon.

    The formalization of the first agreement of the truce caused Bai Wangyuan''s heart to drop. Despite his determination to see things through, he was still unwilling to ept thispromise, but it was already toote. "Today, all of the Lu family¡¯s former followers and vassals, except for those currently on the rear battlefield, will be freed. This includes even the prisoners of Crimson Garden, and every other such prisoner in the Perennial World. In turn, Lu Yin will release all of his captives from the Perennial World. This agreement takes effect immediately."

    Lu Yin replied, "I, Lu Yin, agree to these terms."

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, his hand rose and struck Bai Wangyuan¡¯s hand again, formalizing the second terms of the truce.

    Then, it was time for the final terms to be formalized.

    "The Fifth Maind will send people into the Perennial World within ten days to take over the defense of the rear battlefield¡¯s fourth array base. At that time, the Perennial World will release all surviving vassals and followers of the Lu family who are currently on the rear battlefield into Lu Yin¡¯s custody. With this defense epted-¡± Bai Wangyuan suddenly stared at Lu Yin with much greater intensity. "There will be unrestricted ess to both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind through their connection, allowing free passage to people from both ces."

    These were all the terms of the truce that Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan had agreed to over the course of their negotiations in Aeternus Nation. The Fifth Maindcked stellr energy, which had crippled humanity¡¯s cultivation. Lu Yin was in charge of the Fifth Maind, and it was his responsibility to find a path forward for his people.

    The only option was to gain ess to the Perennial World for the Fifth Maind¡¯s people so that they could cultivate there.

    Over the passage of countless years, the Perennial World had never epted the people of the Fifth Maind. This was not only because of the threat of the Aeternals sneaking in, but also because the Perennial World had developed an attitude of superiority and regarded the Fifth Maind as a forsakennd.

    However, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and others had already seen the full strength of the Fifth Maind. It was not the Forsaken Land that they had believed it to be. The Fifth Maind had no fewer Semi-Progenitors than the Perennial World, and there were countless cultivators living throughout the Fifth Maind.

    Bai Wangyuan had acknowledged the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators, though that was dependent on them helping to protect Ceaseless Impetus.

    Having the Fifth Maind take over the defense of one of the array bases had been Bai Wangyuan''s condition.

    Many years had passed, but the four ruling powers had not seen any increase in their strength; rather, they had grown weaker. When the Lu family had ruled the Perennial World, the four ruling powers had not felt any threat, but with the Lu family gone, the four ruling powers had be responsible for guarding Ceaseless Impetus. It was too much pressure, and they could no longer afford to lose so much as a Semi-Progenitor without cause.

    They all felt incredible relief that the Fifth Maind would be taking over protecting one of the five array bases.

    There was another crack, as the hands struck for a third time.

    Bai Wangyuan and Lu Yin had struck hands three times before countless witnesses, formalizing a truce and establishing a new connection between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    Countless people arrayed behind Lu Yin grew excited. They would be allowed into the Perennial World! They would finally be able to cultivate again!

    At this moment, countless people were cheering.

 Chapter 2339: Recognition

    <h4>Chapter 2339: Recognition</h4>

    After formalizing the terms of the truce, clouds appeared behind Bai Wangyuan, and people quickly emerged from the clouds. They were the surviving vassals of the Lu family whose release had been promised. Lu Yin also saw the insane people from Crimson Garden.

    Those people no longer appeared crazy. Their eyes were clear, and they seemed to have regained their sanity.

    Lu Yin suppressed his excitement and took out Zenith Mountain. He proceeded to release Long Xi and everyone else.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned as he saw the various people appear from Zenith Mountain. He had assumed that Lu Yin had only captured the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Maind. But surprisingly, Bai Wangyuan saw Yun Tingting and many others as well. There were also people who had disappeared decades before, as well as Xia Yuan, Wang Zheng, and more. Lu Yin followed the agreement and released absolutely all of his captives that were from the Perennial World.

    The terms of the truce meant that even people like Long Xi and Liu Hao, who had already been released, were also brought out by Lu Yin. They could choose if they wanted to return to the Perennial World or remain in the Fifth Maind.

    When Long Xi appeared in space, she quickly noticed Bai Wangyuan and immediately offered a bow to the Progenitor.

    One by one, all the cultivators from the Perennial World paid their respects to Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan allowed everyone to enter the clouds.

    Long Xi did not want to leave, but so many years had passed, and everyone was being brought out by Lu Yin at once. Thus, it simply did not make sense for Long Xi to stay behind.

    Lu Yin just nced at the woman and nodded to her.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you vile bastard! You¡¯re finally letting me go? Just wait! My Xia family won¡¯t let you get away with this!" Xia Taili shouted threats, and she was nearly kicked away by Lu Yin. However, as soon as she stopped ranting for a moment, she realized what she was seeing, though it was clearly impossible. "That- what- the jiao?"

    Xia Taili¡¯s shouts caused Wang Su, Wang Yi, and everyone else who had been released to stare nkly at the jiao. The sight of the massive beast shattered their understanding of the world, and even the Semi-Progenitors like Xia De, Bai Laogui, and Ni Huang were just as incredulous as everyone else.

    Finally, when people started recovering from their stupor, they noticed that Lu Yin looked perfectly calm. There was no fear to be seen on his face, despite facing Progenitor Bai. What was going on? With Progenitor Bai present, why was Lu Yin not already captured? What was going on with this odd situation?

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face as he nced around at everyone. "Congrattions! You¡¯re all free to go. You should all thank Progenitor Bai. The four ruling powers and I have reached a truce, and you¡¯re all being let go because they¡¯ve agreed to not attack me for now."

    Ni Huang and the others instantly turned to stare at Bai Wangyuan. What they were hearing was simply impossible. Given their understanding of a Progenitor¡¯s power, as well as the known enmity that the four ruling powers held towards Lu Xiaoxuan, how could Bai Wangyuan ever have agreed to stop pursuing the young man? Such a freakish genius could not be allowed to live.

    Bai Laogui quickly called out, "Progenitor Bai, please kill Lu Xiaoxuan! The child is unbelievably talented! He already killed Wang Si with his own strength, and there is no one from his generation who canpare to him. If he does not die, the universe will never be safe."

    Xia De also spoke up in a respectful tone. "I respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."

    Everyone else started bowing, one by one. "We respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."

    "We respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."

    ¡­

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression turned ugly, and his eyes suddenly focused on a certain location. It was where Xia Shenji''s clone stood. Even a Progenitor had been captured by Lu Xiaoxuan, and the clone looked to have been badly wounded as well.

    Naturally, Xia Shenji would not openly reveal himself at this moment, and he tried to simply sneak into Bai Wangyuan¡¯s clouds.

    Unfortunately, Kui Luo suddenly shouted, "Isn''t that Progenitor Xia Shenji? He was captured too? Are you alright?"

    Xia Shenji froze in ce, and his expression twisted horribly as he shot an angry re at Kui Luo.

    Lu Yin took advantage of this moment to speak up. "Dear Progenitor Shenji, I¡¯m sorry to see you go so soon. This junior was not a good host to you, and we also did not have a chance to catch up. I can only hope to make up for this oversight next time."

    Everyone from the Perennial World turned to look at Xia Shenji, and they all froze in shock.

    Xia De stared as though looking at a ghost. "Progenitor Shenji¡¯?"

    Xia Taili could not process what she was seeing.

    Everyone from the Xia family waspletely dumbfounded.

    Even Xia Luo, who was still disguised as Luo Zhong, felt terribly confused at the moment. Was this real life?

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes shed, and he quickly waved Xia Shenji into the clouds.

    Lu Yin nced back at Bai Wangyuan and stared at the old man for a moment.

    Bai Wangyuan could have easily taken Xia Shenji away the moment the clone had appeared, but that had not happened. Xia Shenji¡¯s exposure hadpletely humiliated the Xia family.

    Seeing as how all of his former prisoners were frozen in ce, Lu Yin let out a loudugh. "Progenitor Bai Wangyuan won''t attack me right now, so let me bid goodbye to you all. You won¡¯t have such an easy time of things if you fall into my hands again, but it¡¯s time to leave now!"

    Bai Laogui finally reacted and broke free from his stupor after seeing that Xia Shenji had also been captured, mostly because he had heard Bai Wangyuan¡¯s name. The Semi-Progenitor reacted to Lu Yin¡¯s words as though his tail had been stepped on. "How presumptuous! Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare you speak Progenitor Bai''s name?"

    "Enough!" Bai Wangyuan shouted. The pressure of a Progenitor suppressed everyone present.

    The old man¡¯s eyes ran across the gathered crowd. "Follow me to return."

    He then casually waved a hand, and everyone started obediently entering the clouds. No one dared to speak another word.

    However, not everyone was willing to leave with Bai Wangyuan. Crown Prince Gui Qian refused to leave. Specter Abyss was not on good terms with the four ruling powers, which was fine with Lu Yin. At worst, Gui Qian would remain Lu Yin¡¯s prisoner. Lu Yin still cultivated death energy, and he was the God of Death heir. No matter how one looked at matters, Lu Yin and Specter Abyss had a strong connection. Crown Prince Gui Qian did not feelfortable returning with Bai Wangyuan, and he felt that he would have no future if he returned to the Perennial World.

    Bai Wangyuan nced at Crown Prince Gui Qian, who quickly started begging Lu Yin. "I won''t go! I won¡¯t return with the four ruling powers. You are the God of Death¡¯s heir, which makes you my young master. I must follow you."

    Lu Yin nodded and pointed to Zenith Mountain. "Then head back on your own."

    Crown Prince Gui Qian quickly returned.

    Bai Wangyuan was unconcerned about someone from Specter Abyss. Even though Crown Prince Gui Qian was the heir of Specter Abyss, he remained nothing more than a junior, which made it impossible for him to matter to a Progenitor.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, don''t forget the deadline. You must take over protecting the fourth array base within ten days, or else our agreement will be void." Bai Wangyuan¡¯s cold eyes locked onto Lu Yin as he delivered a final warning.

    Lu Yin replied, "You don¡¯t need to worry about that. We will take control of the fourth array base within that time. Also, my name is Lu Yin."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I hope that your name really is Lu Yin."

    With that, the old man turned and left.

    Once Bai Wangyuan left, the Fifth Maind grew much clearer, and the jiao lowered its ws a great deal. The beast had never stopped baring its fangs and ws, as it had been constantly trying to intimidate Bai Wangyuan. It firmly believed that its antics were effective.

    Finally, Lu Yin turned to the surviving vassals and followers of the Lu family. There were thousands of people, most of whom had been prisoners of the four ruling powers for a very, very long time.

    Lu Yin observed the people, and they all did the same of him.

    As the two parties looked at each other, someone finally spoke up. "Young Master? Young Master?"

    The thin man who had been constantly searching for his young master in Crimson Garden stared at Lu Yin and hesitantly called out.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "I''m sorry that I¡¯ve made you suffer."

    The thin man grew excited, and he hesitantly started walking forward, his eyes never leaving Lu Yin. "You- are you really my young master?"

    At this time, the fat old woman pushed the thin man out of her way and started running towards Lu Yin, very excited. "I know! I know! Young Master! You are our young master!"

    Lu Yin held the old woman. Seeing as how she was quivering with excitement and how her eyes were flushed, he apologized yet again. "I''m so sorry, but I¡¯ve lost my memories. I can¡¯t remember any of you."

    The old woman shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It''s fine, Young Master. It¡¯s alright. All that matters is that you didn''t die. On that day, back then, this old servant believed you to have died. Young Master, are you hungry? Would you like this old servant to cook for you?"

    "Young Master, do you remember me? I was your first instructor. I was the one who taught you how to read and write." The old man from Crimson Garden who had madly sat at the bottom of the river stepped forward, also excited.

    After that, the little girl who looked ten years old stepped forward. "Young Master? I¡¯m your sister! Your own sister, Young Master!"

    Behind the girl, the man who had buried himself in the ground dragged the little girl back. "Don''t try to take advantage of the young master! Young Master, don''t listen to her. She¡¯s really an old woman who¡¯s be like this because of her cultivation art. She¡¯s looked like this for hundreds of years. When you first saw her, you felt pity for her and took her back home to the Lu family. The old woman¡¯s been taking advantage of you ever since, always iming to be your sister."

    The girl angrily shouted, "Lu San, you¡¯re nothing but a housekeeper, so don''t nder me! I really am the young master''s sister. Don¡¯t you remember how, when the young master was young, you buried your head in the ground just to scare him? You thought that the young master would enjoy that game, but just how old are you? How could it be alright for someone your age to bury your head in the ground to frighten the young master? The young master never mentioned it to you to help you preserve some of your dignity!¡±

    "Silence! How can all of you act so unruly in front of the young master?" The thin man turned around and shouted. His shout instantly silenced several of the excited people.

    Lu Yin looked at the gathered crowd, his emotions roiling. He was able to make sense of a few things. The madman that he had seen at the bottom of the river in Crimson Garden had been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s teacher. While the man had been insane, he had been lost within his own world and had still been teaching. It was possible that he had thought that he was still teaching Lu Yin.

    The fat old woman was a cook, and so even when she had lost her mind, she had continued cooking and preparing food for Lu Yin.

    The little girl was actually a cultivator that Lu Xiaoxuan had taken in whom he had enjoyed ying with.

    The man who had buried his head in the ground in Crimson Garden had been one of the Lu family¡¯s housekeepers. When Lu Xiaoxuan had been young, the housekeeper had yed with the boy, and he had once buried his head in the ground in order to startle Lu Xiaoxuan. When the housekeeper had been driven insane, that scene had yed over and over again in his mind, and he had continued to y with his young master, even when insane. The old man had enjoyed himself in his madness, ying with his young master.

    Finally, there was the frail-looking old man who was extremely thin. He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he seemed to have been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s guardian or something to that effect.

    The people who had been imprisoned in Crimson Garden were the servants who had been closest to Lu Xiaoxuan in his childhood. There were many of these people.

    However, hearing everyone refer to him as ¡°young master¡± was very ufortable for Lu Yin.

    The thin man stared at all the Lu family¡¯s servants with a stern expression. "The young master is tired, so please don''t disturb him."

    Everyone fell silent, though they fixed hopeful eyes onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin asked for the freed prisoners to be given amodations. Of course, the fat old woman and the rest were all given ces to stay within the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin¡¯s lost memories did not matter, as these people were some of the closest people to him. They had remembered Lu Xiaoxuan even when driven mad. They could only be considered family members.

    In addition to the people who had been released to Lu Yin, there was also arge group of the Lu family¡¯s former vassals who had been condemned to the rear battlefield, such as Tu Qiming and those with him. Those people would be sent to Lu Yin when he took control of the fourth array base, in ordance with the terms of the agreement that he had reached with Bai Wangyuan.

    Nearly everyone left, but the thin man alone stayed behind. "I am Young Master''s guardian, and thus I will never leave you, Young Master. Even if I die, it will be before you."

    "How ridiculous! How could the young master die?"

    Kui Luo had approached. "Old Shan, it¡¯s been a long time, haha."

    The thin man stared at Kui Luo, stunned to see him. After a moment, the man rubbed his eyes. "Kui?"

    Kui Luoughed loudly. "It''s me, Old Shan. I never thought that we¡¯d have the chance to meet again."

    The thin man smiled as he stared at Kui Luo in amazement. "I didn¡¯t think- I didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive. Have you been protecting the young master?"

    Kui Luo replied, "Of course. This kid would have died without me."

    He then looked at Lu Yin. "This old man is your protector. You always called him Master Shan. Don''t be deceived by his weak-looking appearance His forte is defense, and it¡¯s incredible. Everyone who fights him is left helpless."

 Chapter 2340: Lu Sanctum

    <h4>Chapter 2340: Lu Sanctum</h4>

    Lu Yin turned to look at Master Shan in surprise. "Incredible defense?"

    Master Shan said, "It''s nothing much. I¡¯m just a bit more durable than others."

    Lu Yin stared at Master Shan, but no matter how long he looked, this man did not seem to be someone with impressive defenses. Regardless, it was always good to have another Semi-Progenitor.

    Master Shan¡¯s existence was a glimpse into the terrifying strength that the Lu family had once possessed for Lu Yin. A Semi-Progenitor whose defense was considered to be practically invincible had been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s personal guardian. How could such an impressive powerhouse have willingly epted such a role?

    If one wanted to be delicate when referring to the thin old man, they would call him a guardian, but he had basically been Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s personal bodyguard.

    "Old Shan, you don''t need to bother protecting this kid anymore. Anyone whoes to this ce to make trouble for him will end up in a bad situation. He already beat up Xia Shenji," Kui Luo stated.

    Master Shan''s expression remained solemn. "The person just now was Bai Wangyuan, while Xia Shenji was also present. Young Master, what sort of agreement did you reach with them?"

    Lu Yin asked Kui Luo to fill Master Shan in on all that had happened. Lu Yin himself went to find Yao Di. The former emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire was being sent to the rear battlefield to serve as a general of the fourth array base.

    Yao Di was shocked. "Me?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Is there a problem?"

    Of course there¡¯s a problem! That¡¯s the rear battlefield!?Despite his internal thoughts on the matter, Yao Di would never say anything aloud to Lu Yin. The young man had already fought against Progenitors, and he had even beaten back someone with the strength of a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The youth was simply terrifying, and Yao Di knew that he did not have the qualifications to raise any objections to Lu Yin¡¯s decisions. "I understand."

    Lu Yin felt quite satisfied. He was assigning Yao Di as the general because the Astral Beast Army was going to be the primary force defending the fourth array base. However, they were certainly not going to be alone.

    In addition to a general, it was important for an array base to have colonels, and Lu Yin¡¯s first thought had been Hen Xin. Of course, the Semi-Progenitor might harbor ulterior motives, but that did not matter. He still represented a powerhouse from the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin also intended to send an additional two Semi-Progenitors. There were many Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Maind, and sending four of them to the fourth array base would not ce any pressure on Lu Yin. Besides, he also wanted to demonstrate the strength of the Fifth Maind to the entire Perennial World.

    The third Semi-Progenitor would be Jiu Yao. The people of the Sixth Maind were not nearly as loyal to Lu Yin as the people of the Fifth Maind.

    This meant that Lu Yin was sending a Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Heavens Sect era. The fourth Semi-Progenitor would therefore have to be one from the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin started considering his options. Elder Gong? The man was toozy for such an assignment. Highsage Grandmaster? Big Sis would tear Lu Yin apart. Jiu Chi? The man was practically useless given his constant drunken state. Xia Ji? No, Xia Ji was still a prisoner in Zenith Mountain. Lu Yin would never release that man. Qing Ping was also not an option, while Jue Yi had already been arrested and was simply awaiting sentencing. Who else was there?

    "It''s time for me to go to the rear battlefield." Arch-Elder Zen suddenly spoke up.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Senior, you want to go to the rear battlefield?"

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "I wanted to join you on yourst trip to the Perennial World, but I was unable to do so. This time, allow me to go to the rear battlefield. Forgetting all of my former responsibilities is the only way for me to be a Progenitor. I started on my path of cultivation on the battlefield and earned a senior¡¯s kindness there. The battlefield is where I will be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "Alright. I''ll have to trouble you then, Senior."

    War was constantly being waged on the rear battlefield, but in truth, it was very rare for Semi-Progenitors to die. Furthermore, Lu Yin was sending four Semi-Progenitors to defend a single array base, which was more strength than any of the other array bases that were protected by the Perennial World¡¯s forces.

    Additionally, none of the four Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin was sending could be considered average cultivators.

    Hen Xin needed no exnation at all. Arch-Elder Zen had cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique and was someone with the same level of strength as the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. Jiu Yao was the Sixth Maind¡¯s strongest Semi-Progenitor. As for Yao Di, he was a Celestial Demon and his spiritual force was strong enough topare to Kui Luo¡¯s.

    Any one of the four Semi-Progenitors that Lu Yin was sending to the Perennial World could absolutely crush a Semi-Progenitor at Xia Ziheng''s level. They wereparable to the Twelve Marquises of Aeternus.

    With his selection of Semi-Progenitors finalized, Lu Yin ordered the Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, the lesser giants, and the Astral Beast Army to prepare to go to the fourth array base. He intended to make the fourth array base a forbidden region that the forces of Aeternus would not dare approach.

    Everyone selected to go to the Perennial World gathered near the New Corridor in the Technocracy. Lu Yin reached out to Humility¡¯s Gate through Tong Yu, and they put Lu Yin in touch with Supervisor Qing Chen.

    Shortly after the New Corridor had been fully repaired, Lu Yin had discovered that his wireless jincan couldmunicate with Tong Yu¡¯s.

    Wireless jincans were able tomunicate with each other regardless of distance or being separated by spatial pockets or anything else. However, they had not been able tomunicate between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, which had left Lu Yin dissatisfied with the wireless jincans.

    Wireless jincans couldmunicate between the true universe and the visible universe, so why not between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind?

    As soon as the New Corridor had reconnected the two ces, wireless jincans had been able tomunicate between the two ces.

    In the Perennial World, Qing Chen and Tong Yu found a ce to meet. The supervisor stared down at the wireless jincan, a little dazed.

    Tong Yu quickly shared instructions on how to use the wireless jincan, and Qing Chen sent a message to Lu Yin.

    "Supervisor Qing Chen, it¡¯s been a long time," Lu Yin sent back.

    Qing Chen took a deep breath. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯ve stirred up a great deal of trouble in the Higher Realm."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You don¡¯t have to worry about that. Nothing will happen for now. I¡¯ve reached an agreement with the four ruling powers, and they¡¯ve agreed to not touch me until I be a Semi-Progenitor."

    Qing Chen was shocked. "The four ruling powers agreed to leave you alone?"

    Such an agreement was nothing less than a p in the face to the four ruling powers. So, very, very few people in the Perennial World were aware of this agreement. Most of the Perennial World werepletely ignorant.

    However, once the Fifth Maind took over defending the fourth array base, news of the truce would quickly spread to everyone in the Perennial World.

    "I''m looking to speak with themander, and I was hoping to get your help with this. Could you put me in touch with Commander Mu Xie?" Lu Yin sent.

    Qing Chen nced over at Tong Yu. "Do you still want to be themander¡¯s disciple?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Commander Mu Xie is my senior disciple brother."

    Without going through Qing Chen, Lu Yin could at best try to get some news to Mu Xie, but Lu Yin had no way to contact the man directly.

    The only way to reach Mu Xie was through Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s Semi-Progenitor, which meant Supervisor Qing Chen.

    It was not long before Mu Xie was looking at the wireless jincan. He was looking at it through a call from Qing Chen¡¯smunications crystal, and as Mu Xie observed the wireless jincan, he saw the messages from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin soon put his own wireless jincan down and let out a sigh of relief.

    He had wanted to ask his senior brother Mu Xie to keep an eye on the four ruling powers. Even if they had agreed upon a truce, if a Semi-Progenitor tried to attack Lu Yin with a Progenitor¡¯s weapon, it would be quite dangerous. He was not willing to rashly return to the Perennial World.

    If it was possible to kill Lu Yin by sacrificing a Semi-Progenitor, the four ruling powers would absolutely consider the results worth it. Lu Yin could not constantly have a champion summoned, and he could not always guarantee that the jiao would be by his side. So, he still needed to take adequate precautions.

    From Mu Xie, Lu Yin also learned that Progenitor Smoke had been freed from her mirror, which put Lu Yin more at ease.

    Progenitor Smoke would not help Lu Yin fight against the four ruling powers, but she also most likely would not help them attack Lu Yin.

    He needed to personally return to the Perennial World.

    .

    He could not avoid returning since he was sending an entire army from the Fifth Maind. After all, how would be able to reap the benefits without showing himself? Not to mention, there were many tasks that Lu Yin still needed toplete in the Perennial World.

    ¡­

    Everyone from the Fifth Maind who had been conscripted by the Heavens Sect and gathered through tremendous efforts was released after the truce was formalized.

    For most people, being released was a relief. They had expected to fight in a massive war.

    However, a war had not been fought, though the battles between Lu Yin and the powerful Progenitors who were his enemies had had a massive impact on everyone. An unprecedented faith in Lu Yin¡¯s abilities had taken root in people¡¯s hearts. Even if they faced an enemy Progenitor again in the future, the Fifth Maind would not easily lose heart.

    As time passed, people had started to develop a growing faith in Lu Yin.

    At the moment, Lu Yin and Master Shan were sitting on the back of the jiao. Lu Yin had questions about what had happened the day the Lu family had been exiled.

    Master Shan spoke in a bitter tone of voice, "Young Master, you¡¯ve lost all your old memories, but all of us have also lost portions of our memories. None of us remember certain parts of the day that your family was exiled."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed, though not surprised.

    His memory had been erased, and the people closest to him had been imprisoned in Crimson Garden. It only made sense for their memories to have been erased as well.

    "Our memories about what happened regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile have all been erased, but our memories from earlier in that day remain." Master Shan stared at Lu Yin. "I remember Young Master''s smile the most clearly. You were very, very happy on that day."

    Lu Yin muttered to himself, "I was very, very happy?"

    Master Shan nodded as he thought back. "You were indeed very happy. The entire family was entertaining guests, and you also entertained your own guests in Food Paradise. The patriarch brought your Food Paradise up beside the Lu Sanctum<sup>1 so that you could properly entertain your guests there." </sup>

    "What¡¯s the Lu Sanctum?" Lu Yin interrupted to ask.

    Master Shan was taken aback. "You¡¯ve even forgotten about the Lu Sanctum?"

    Lu Yin felt quite confused, as no one had mentioned this to him before, not even Kui Luo.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s confusion, Master Shan became infuriated, and his hatred for the four ruling powers soared higher than ever. "The Lu Sanctum was your family¡¯s home in the Higher Realm. The Perennial World has its Lower Realm, Middle Realm, and Higher Realm, but only the Lu family and their followers lived in the Higher Realm.

    "The soil of the Higher Realm is the sky of the realms below it. That is Lu Sanctum.

    "It is an informal title given to the Lu family by the Perennial World as a whole. Only the Lu family can live on the Lu Sanctum. Young Master, the Lu Sanctum is your home! It is the most highly regarded location in the entire Perennial World. Even if a Progenitor such as Bai Wangyuan wished to visit, he would have to send an announcement requesting ess in advance. The Lu Sanctum represents the pinnacle of all of humanity.

    "The family allowed Food Paradise to be moved adjacent to the Lu Sanctum so that you could hold your banquet there, which was a sign of how highly they regarded you, Young Master."

    Lu Yin stared at Master Shan. "What was the banquet that was held on that day?"

    Master Shan answered softly, "It was to celebrate your marriage to Bai Xian''er."

    Lu Yin nodded. Long Xi had once said that the day the Lu family had been exiled had been the day his dreams were supposed to havee true. It had been a day when red flowers had rained down the Mother Tree and across the Perennial World. The day that was supposed to have been the happiest day of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s life had ended up being the worst disaster the Lu family had ever suffered.

    Aeternus had destroyed four of humanity¡¯s Mainds. During the Daosource Sect era, the Fifth Maind had been at war with the Sixth Maind. However, no matter what had happened throughout the eons, the Lu family had always endured and led the Fifth Maind. However, because of the four ruling powers, the Lu family had disappeared.

    Lu Yin would not deceive himself into believing that his family¡¯s disappearance had nothing to do with him. The wedding, Bai Xian''er, and the red flowers all had to be rted.

    "What else can you remember?" Lu Yin asked.

    Master Shan replied, "All I remember is seeing you drinking with the rest of the Seven Heroes and hearing the patriarch¡¯sughter as the rest of the family offered their congrattions. Then, nothing more."

    Lu Yin stared at Master Shan. "Do you remember anything about the White Dragon Rolls Over?"

    Master Shan shook his head, clearly confused.

    "Yellow Springs?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Master Shan shook his head again.

    "Prison lock?"

    "Doesn¡¯t that refer to Shenwu''s Sky?"

    "Celestial Frost Fruit?"

    At that, Master Shan''s eyes finally lit up. "The Celestial Frost Fruit? Yes."

    "What do you remember about it?"

    Master Shan thought back. "That day was to be your wedding with Bai Xian''er, and it was a happy event bringing my Lu family together with the Celestial Frost Sect. My Lu family hosted a banquet, and the Celestial Frost Sect did as well. They sent someone to deliver a number of their Celestial Frost Fruits to the Lu Sanctum."

    "Was there some sort of problem with the fruit?" Lu Yin asked.

    Master Shan frowned. "There shouldn''t have been. While the Celestial Frost Fruits are precious treasures, our Lu family was always able to eat them whenever we wished, especially you, Young Master. You frequently went to the Celestial Frost Sect with your eldest sister and the second young master from your Seven Heroes to steal Celestial Frost Fruits. You would never admit it, but you had grown tired of eating the fruits.¡±

    [1] This ce is literally named the "Lu Sky Realm." "Lu" means earth or continent, so this name can be interpreted as "Earth and Sky Realm," or "Lu Celestial Realm," as the Ìì (tian) means both sky and heaven. It''s an arrogant name cing the Lu family literally and figuratively above everyone else.???

 Chapter 2341: Oppression

    <h4>Chapter 2341: Oppression</h4>

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. If the Celestial Frost Fruit had been somon, then why had the Celestial Frost Sect specifically recorded it down along with the Yellow Springs, Prison Lock, and the White Dragon Rolls Over? There had to be something more to it.

    "By the way, Bai Xian''er was the one who suggested moving Food Paradise up next to the Lu Sanctum. I was there when she made the request." Master Shan suddenly thought of something else and mentioned it.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Bai Xian''er brought it up?"

    Master Shan nodded. "Logically, the banquet to celebrate your marriage to Bai Xian''er should have been held in the Lu Sanctum, but I don¡¯t know what Bai Xian''er said to convince you otherwise. You happily arranged for your peers to be served on Food Paradise and then asked the family to move Food Paradise up next to the Lu Sanctum. It was such a trivial matter that I did not even pay attention to it at the time."

    Lu Yin started thinking. Had Food Paradise really been moved next to the Lu Sanctum just for a matter of convenience?

    However, the anecdote also made it clear that Lu Xiaoxuan had listened to all of Bai Xian''er''s requests.

    "Master Shan, is there some madman in my Lu family?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Master Shan''s expression changed drastically. "Young Master, why are you asking about that?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "It looks like you know something. Tell me about him."

    Master Shan''s face grew pale. "It is true that there is a madman from the family who has always been imprisoned. No one knows the reason. All that any of us know is that Patriarch Tianyi forbade anyone from ever visiting that man. Furthermore, no one was allowed to mention him or speak about the matter at all."

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "Patriarch Tianyi is gone now, so what are you afraid of?"

    Master Shan was stunned, and his expression grew dark.

    "On my wedding day, did that madman appear?"

    "Of course not! Patriarch Tianyi would never have allowed it."

    .

    Lu Yin continued his conversation with Master Shan for a bit longer. Then, he summoned the old cook and various other servants to find out if any of them knew what had happened on that day.

    ¡­

    Bai Wangyuan had returned to the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm after releasing the captives that Lu Yin had turned over. Xia Shenji''s clone also appeared, still seriously injured. This waspletely humiliating to Xia Shenji and the other Progenitors.

    Mu Xie was the first to speak after Bai Wangyuan returned. "Since an agreement has been reached, you should keep it. Don''t let me learn that any of you have broken this truce by attacking my junior brother. If I discover such a breach, I will kill someone."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes shed. "How arrogant! Do you really believe that you can deal with any of us? The more arrogantly you speak, the earlier you¡¯ll end up dying."

    Mu Xie looked over. "You are the arrogant one. Do you really believe that no one else knows that you possess the power of time?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression instantly changed.

    Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long all appeared perfectly calm after hearing Mu Xie¡¯sment, but that just made things even worse from Xia Shenji¡¯s perspective.

    "The power of time is certainly mysterious, but it is far from invincible. Any power can be restrained, and yours is no exception. Xia Shenji, in both the past and the present, you remain the most ignorant of all."

    With that, Mu Xie left.

    Xia Shenji was furious, but there was nothing that he could say to refute Mu Xie¡¯s words.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "Honestly, you¡¯ve tried so hard to measure up to Xia Shang, so how can you be surprised that your power of time was already exposed? After all, Xia Shang had it as well, hehe."

    She then also left.

    Xia Shenji looked over at Wang Fan and the others who had stayed behind. "You already knew?"

    "It was just a guess," Wang Fan answered indifferently.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "The power of time is something that rarely appears from nowhere, though it¡¯s certainly not impossible. We merely suspected that you possess the power of time as well, so we were not certain until just now."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes flickered. His hatred towards Mu Xie rose to a level that was second only to Xia Shang. Not only had Mu Xie prevented Xia Shenji from killing Lu Xiaoxuan, the man had also exposed Xia Shenji¡¯s power of time. It was absolutely despicable.

    While Bai Wangyuan and the others all appeared calm over the information that Mu Xie had exposed, they were inwardly shocked.

    The power of time was not some minor ability. It was extremely difficult to deal with, and it caused them all to feel a flicker of fear at the thought of facing Xia Shenji in a real fight.

    Fortunately, Xia Shang had stolen Xia Shenji¡¯s Mountain and Sea all those years before. Otherwise, the man would be an even more challenging opponent if he also possessed an inheritance from one of the Mountains and Seas.

    At this time, Xia Ziheng sent Xia Shenji a message regarding Virtue Archives.

    Xia Shenji was already furious, and he coldly answered, "Tomorrow. Deal with them tomorrow, or else we¡¯ll have no way in after the God of Food bes a Progenitor."

    The call was abruptly ended.

    Progenitor Long looked over. "I said from the beginning that we should just handle the academy directly, but you wanted to waste time winning over the students. You ended up giving Lu Xiaoxuan an opportunity."

    Wang Fan turned to look at the other man. "You shouldn''t have hid from us that Mr. Yu was on Dragon Mountain all this time. If we had known that, the God of Food could have never threatened us. Exposing Mr. Yu would have caused any breakthrough attempt to fail, as Mr. Yu¡¯s mere existence is enough to disturb the man¡¯s state of mind."

    Progenitor Long shook his head. "Isn''t it better to have another Progenitor join us? I might be quite certain that the God of Food will never be a Progenitor and am not interested in wasting time for his sake. However, if there is even a one in a billion chance of him bing a Progenitor, then it is worth it as it would be an incredible boon for our Perennial World. Another Progenitor means greater security for humanity. Besides, even if the God of Food does be a Progenitor, it would not make it impossible to hold negotiations.

    "Regarding that, I¡¯m far more curious as to why they are so insistent on hiding that Mountain and Sea. It simply doesn¡¯t line up with Virtue Archives¡¯ manner of handling things."

    Xia Shenji had already lost all his patience. "The reason doesn¡¯t matter, as Virtue Archives will be disbanded tomorrow. If the God of Food manages to be a Progenitor, it¡¯ll be fine, and we could even save Virtue Archives for him, but the Mountain and Sea must be handed over to us. If the God of Food can''t be a Progenitor, then the few people left in that academy can either disappear from my sight or be sent to the rear battlefield."

    None of the Progenitors paid much attention to Virtue Archives. After learning about Mr. Yu''s existence and understanding his history with the God of Food, all of them had be certain that the God of Food would never sessfully be a Progenitor. A failure was nothing to fear.

    Lu Xiaoxuan remained the greatest threat, and he was so terrifying that the men could not eat or sleep.

    Xia Shenji''s orders sent Xia Ziheng straight to Virtue Archives to deliver the news. Xia Ziheng remained as arrogant and overbearing as ever when speaking, and Headmaster Wen was so irritated that he wanted to attack the messenger.

    "How absurd is this? Is Xia Ziheng really openly threatening us to leave this ce? If not for me being worried about the four ruling powers, he could have forgotten about ever leaving the Virtue District after saying such things!" Headmaster Wen angrily eximed. He could not even remember thest time he had been so angry.

    First, all the academy¡¯s students had been taken away by four ruling powers. After that, the unexpected appearance of Mr. Yu had erased the danger of the God of Food possibly bing a Progenitor. On top of that, because the God of Food had helped Lu Yin by blocking a single attack, the four ruling powers had ended all measures of civility with Virtue Archives. The academy was facing an unprecedented crisis.

    "Tomorrow? Why so soon?" Ce Doni was stunned.

    Headmaster Wen shook his head. "Xia Ziheng doesn''t have the courage to do this to us. The only possibility is that this is Xia Shenji¡¯s order. It seems that, because of what happened with Lu Xiaoxuan, Xia Shenji has decided to throw aside all pretenses."

    Ce Doni said, "While Xia Ziheng may be relying on Xia Shenji''s backing, the words have already been spoken, and there is no way to change them now. No matter what, Xia Ziheng is still a Semi-Progenitor. If we aren¡¯t gone by tomorrow, we might end up facing more than just one of the four ruling powers¡¯ Semi-Progenitors."

    Headmaster Wen retorted, "They weren¡¯t even able to defeat Lu Xiaoxuan! What sort of Semi-Progenitors are they?"

    Ce Doni¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Don''t be ridiculous. Lu Xiaoxuan might have been able to face four Semi-Progenitors on his own, but hisbat strength isparable to an ordinary Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, despite the fact that he¡¯s only a three-tribtion Envoy."

    Headmaster Wen had been simply trying to mock Xia Ziheng, and he had not intended to insinuate anything at all about Lu Yin.

    The young man had single-handedly fought off four Semi-Progenitors while only a three-tribtion Envoy. Not only that, but he had even managed to kill one of the Semi-Progenitors. Such a feat waspletely unprecedented throughout all of human history, and Headmaster Wen had been truly impressed by it. Not to mention, Lu Yin could be considered at least partially affiliated with Virtue Archives, which made Headmaster Wen quite proud.

    "Unfortunately, we don¡¯t have any idea just what happened in the Forsaken Land," Headmaster Wen muttered to himself. Suddenly, the man grew excited. "Could Xia Shenji''s sudden change in attitude have something to do with what happened in the Forsaken Land? Could Lu Yin have escaped there?"

    Ce Doni was taken aback. They had not been able to obtain any information about what had happened in the Forsaken Land, as the people in the Dominion Realm had not let anything spread out.

    At this moment, the fact that Virtue Archivescked even a single student meant that it was not unreasonable to say that it had already been destroyed.

    Lu Yin had delivered Wen Diyi to Bai Wangyuan along with all the other captives, but the four ruling powers had kept all of Virtue Archives¡¯ students behind. That included Wen Diyi, as he had refused to join any of the four ruling powers while on Zenith Mountain. Unfortunately, Wen Diyi also did not know the situation that Virtue Archives was currently facing.

    "The God of Food is ready to challenge his breakthrough to be a Progenitor. No matter what, he has to take this chance. The secret of the Mountain and Sea that we have here cannot be revealed, but there¡¯s simply not enough time. It¡¯s impossible for him to calm his mind within a single day," Ce Donimented.

    Headmaster Wen''s eyes grew cold. "One day? That¡¯s ridiculous. Xia Shenji might be capable of driving us away from here, but he¡¯s dreaming if sending a few Semi-Progenitors to deal with us is enough! Lu Xiaoxuan had the courage to enter Shenwu''s Sky itself on his own in order to save his people, and then he single-handedly fought against four Semi-Progenitors. Are we weaker than even Lu Xiaoxuan? It''s time for them to experience the power of Progenitor Wen! Progenitor Wen might be dead, but the will that he left behind will never die!"

    Ce Doni straightened up. "Let''s fight! I want to see if the four ruling powers can truly control everything within the Perennial World."

    The next day, Xia Ziheng returned to Virtue Archives, just as he had said he would. He was joined by Wu Yao, Mr. Yu, as well as Semi-Progenitors Ji Feng and Liu Hua, who had been fighting in the New World.

    Five Semi-Progenitors arrived,pletely overpowering the strength of Virtue Archives.

    Headmaster Wen and the other faculty members had already known that the four ruling powers would attack, but they had not expected five Semi-Progenitors to immediately appear.

    "Ji Feng? Liu Hua? You two are here, too, huh." Headmaster Wen was both surprised and furious to see the two.

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng apologized. "I''m sorry, Wen Lai. We don''t want to act as the academy¡¯s enemies, but nothing is permanent."

    Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua sighed. "Just give the four ruling powers whatever it is that they want. What can be kept from them in the Perennial World nowadays?"

    Ce Doni sighed. "I didn''t expect graduates like the two of you to return and attack the academy."

    Xia Ziheng snapped, "Attack? What are you saying? Do you still want to resist?"

    Wu Yao stepped forward. "Wen Lai, does your Virtue Archives intend to be enemies with my four ruling powers?"

    Wen Lai raised his head up high. "That''s exactly what I intend to do! My academy is closed! Enter, if you can!"

    The headmaster stopped bandying words and promptly activated the academy¡¯s protective sourcebox array.

    Fire filled the sky, and the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird soared high above. They flew around the academy; one represented light, while the other represented darkness. The two never touched or met, but as soon as the sourcebox array was fully activated, the two converged to form an array so powerful that it stunned anyone who saw it. It was powerful enough to even threaten a Progenitor.

    Ji Feng and Liu Hua nced at each other and subconsciously stepped back. They had both graduated from Virtue Archives, and they knew a bit more about how terrifying the academy¡¯s defenses were. This sourcebox array was not nearly as simple as it appeared, as it was also filled with violent danger. It was the final protection that Progenitor Wen had left behind for Virtue Archives.

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "How stubborn."

    Wu Yao nced to the side. "We will have to ask you to step in after all. This is a sourcebox array left behind by Progenitor Wen."

    Behind the protection of the sourcebox array, Headmaster Wen and others watched in fear as someone emerged from the void. It was Mu Shang, also known as Grandmaster Mu.

 Chapter 2342: Big Event

    Chapter 2342: Big Event

    In the current universe, the only way for anyone to break through Progenitor Wen¡¯s sourcebox array, aside from asking a Progenitor to simply overpower the array, was to use an Array Grandmaster.

    Since the four ruling powers were determined to destroy Virtue Archives, they had naturally thought of Progenitor Wen''s sourcebox array. Thus, Mu Shang had already been invited to tag along.

    Mu Shang looked up at the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird, admiration lighting up his eyes. "Progenitor Wen truly deserved his reputation as an Array Grandmaster! This sourcebox array is unique andpletely different from normal. The sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones somehow simte the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird, and there¡¯s even additional threats hidden within. This won¡¯t be easy to open."

    Wu Yao asked, "Is it still possible to open it?"

    Mu Shangughed. "Every sourcebox array needs to be maintained. As long as there¡¯s no Array Master to maintain it, an array is just a dead formation. Of course it¡¯s possible."

    "Then we¡¯ll have to ask Grandmaster Mu for help. I must thank you for your assistance," Wu Yao replied.

    Mu Shang smiled. "I actually need to thank you seniors. It is this junior¡¯s honor to fight against Senior Progenitor Wen."

    The man then approached the sourcebox array on his own and immediately entered it. However, the array did not instantly kill the man. He walked a strange path that made no sense to anyone watching.

    Headmaster Wen''s expression turned ugly. This man was an Array Grandmaster. While both Progenitor Wen and even Headmaster Wen surpassed Mu Shang when it came to cultivation and pure strength, Mu Shang was the youngest Array Grandmaster in history, and his talent for lockbreaking was monstrous. Let alone Headmaster Wen, not even Progenitor Wen had necessarily surpassed Mu Shang¡¯s mastery of sourcebox arrays. After all, Progenitor Wen had only be an Array Grandmaster after bing a Progenitor, whereas Mu Shang was still an Envoy even years after bing an Array Grandmaster.

    Things became quite clear once Mu Shang boldly entered the sourcebox array after dering the array was dead. Headmaster Wen was an Array Master himself, and he was able to control the academy¡¯s defensive sourcebox array, but Mu Shang did not even acknowledge the man.

    As far as Mu Shang was concerned, only other Array Grandmasters warranted his notice. He was facing Progenitor Wen alone, as there was no one else who could make a difference.

    "If that''s the case, then allow me to experience the abilities of the youngest Array Grandmaster in history." Headmaster Wen also stepped into the sourcebox array, and he started attacking Mu Shang with the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird.

    Mu Shang''s expression remained calm, though he did smile. "It''s an honor."

    Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, Prof. Xiao Wen, Prof. Wei, and Prof. Huai all watched from inside Virtue Archives. The moment the sourcebox array could no longer hold back the four ruling powers, their academy would be gone forever.

    There was absolutely no chance of the God of Food sessfully bing a Progenitor. The four ruling powers knew it, and so did the academy.

    Deep inside the academy, the God of Food¡¯s eyes opened briefly before he closed them again and isted himself from all outside interference. If he wanted to break through and be a Progenitor, he needed a calm mind. He had until the sourcebox array was broken to calm himself before attempting his final breakthrough.

    As soon as he triggered his stellr tribtion, no one would be able to interfere. Everything would then depend on whether his years of preparation would prove sufficient to the task.

    One day.

    Two days.

    Three days.

    ¡­

    Ten days passed, and everyone was still watching the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird. As time had passed, the two birds had grown much dimmer and were even somewhat transparent now.

    Just a thousand meters away from the two birds, Mu Shang''s smile was brighter than ever. Across from him, Headmaster Wen was looking pale. He had already lost, and he could no longer control the sourcebox array any longer. It was also impossible for a Semi-Progenitor like Headmaster Wen to attack Mu Shang within the sourcebox array. The Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird would soon disappear, and the danger posed by the sourcebox array would be erased. At that moment, they would have to directly face the five Semi-Progenitors who stood outside of Virtue Archives.

    Headmaster Wen looked at Mu Shang''s proud and confident smile. The headmaster briefly wished that he could simply undo the sourcebox array and kill the other man with his superior strength as Semi-Progenitor. Unfortunately, that was too difficult, and Mu Shang also would not be unprepared for such an attack.

    "Wen Lai,e back. There¡¯s no need to keep resisting. You can¡¯t stop them," Ce Doni said.

    Headmaster Wen was helpless, and he could do nothing but leave the sourcebox array. It was better to preserve his strength to face the five Semi-Progenitors waiting for the sourcebox array to be taken down than to continue to resist Mu Shang¡¯s efforts. Giving up on the sourcebox array would buy the God of Food more time.

    Without Headmaster Wen''s interference, Mu Shang proceeded even faster.

    Many people from across the Perennial World were watching the developments happening at Virtue Archives. The academy had flourished in the years after its founding, and even members of the Lu family had gone to study at the academy. The four ruling powers, the Nong family, and the Liu family had all sent descendants to study at Virtue Archives. There were many talented cultivators throughout the Perennial World who had graduated from Virtue Archives.

    These people did not want to see the academy destroyed, but it was impossible for Virtue Archives to continue given the tyrannical fist of the four ruling powers.

    Outside the sourcebox array, Xia Ziheng let out a sigh of relief. He would no longer have to deal with Wen Lai¡¯s nonsense, or any of the other stubborn old men from the academy. Xia Ziheng was even hoping that Virtue Archives would try to fight back, so that all the remaining faculty members would either be killed or sent to the rear battlefield. No, it was better to cast them down to the New World and have them die in a final ze of glory, sacrificing themselves for humanity¡¯s sake.

    In the Higher Realm, Xia Taili, Wang Su, and the others who had just returned from the Fifth Maind watched the developments at Virtue Archives take ce with conflicted feelings.

    Liu Hao, Nong Sanniang, and many others had even asked their families to interfere, as they wanted to help the academy. Unfortunately, there was no one willing or able to help Virtue Archives at this moment. The Progenitors of the various powerful families knew that the four ruling powers had suffered a harsh loss in the Forsaken Land, so how could they risk helping Virtue Archives at this moment? Doing so would bring the wrath of the four ruling powers down upon whoever interfered.

    Not everyone was able to face the four ruling powers.

    The other families were able to restrain the four ruling powers, to some extent, but there were limitations as to how far they could push things.

    There was no avoiding the fact that Virtue Archives was about to be destroyed before countless witnesses. This would be a historical event in the Perennial World.

    However, no one expected an even bigger event to suddenly ur in the Higher Realm in the Wang family¡¯s territory.

    Xia Shenji and the others were not paying any attention to Virtue Archives, as they were all staring at a specific valley beneath the Wang family¡¯s maind. That valley held the entrance to the New Corridor that connected the Perennial World to the Fifth Maind.

    Ten days had passed, which meant that today was thest day for Lu Yin to appear and fulfill his side of the deal and take over the defense of the four array base on the rear battlefield.

    The entire Dominion Realm was staring at the valley. No one knew exactly when Lu Yin and the others would appear.

    However, it had to be this day.

    As people were thinking about this, someone exited from the New Corridor and appeared in the valley.

    The valley in the mountains had beenpletely emptied long before, so there was no one present from the Perennial World. Even the Wang family¡¯s people had all returned to the family¡¯s floating maind.

    The moment the person appeared, they drew the full attention of the Dominion Realm and the Wang family¡¯s maind. Countless eyes focused on the valley.

    The person who had arrived looked calm. He raised his head to look at the Wang family¡¯s floating maind, and irritation shed through his eyes. The man then raised a hand, and the void began to be peeled back inyers. The effect instantly spread across the entire mountain valley.

    Up on top of the Wang family¡¯s maind, Wang Zheng solemnlymented, "A domain that¡¯s reached the void god level."

    Hen Xin was standing in the valley. He was one of four Semi-Progenitors who had been sent over to protect the fourth array base, and he was the first of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor to arrive in the Perennial World.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew cold. "So the first person is a Semi-Progenitor. I wonder just how many Semi-Progenitors the Fifth Maind will send."

    At that moment, another person appeared: Jiu Yao. He was quickly followed by Yao Di.

    "An astral beast?" Wang Fan was surprised.

    Even Progenitor Smoke was surprised. "It looks like that kid conquered the Astral Beast Domain, which means that he¡¯s united the entire Fifth Maind. That''s amazing."

    After Yao Di, Arch-Elder Zen stepped out.

    The arrival of Arch-Elder Zen caused Bai Wangyuan to frown. Why does he look so familiar? I can¡¯t help but feel like I¡¯ve seen him before, but I simply can¡¯t remember.

    "Four Semi-Progenitors. It looks like Lu Xiaoxuan wants topete with the other array bases," Progenitor Long said.

    Wang Fanmented, "I wish he would take over defending the entire rear battlefield."

    "He first needs the strength to do so," Progenitor Long replied.

    Progenitor Smoke butted it, "And not without it."

    Progenitor Long was surprised by Progenitor Smoke¡¯s agreement. "Senior, what was that?"

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "Don''t be so stiff. You keep talking like I¡¯m so much older than you, but you¡¯re older than all of us."

    Progenitor Long blushed.

    Xia Shenji looked sullen, as he was currently remembering the gathering of countless cultivators that he had seen in the Fifth Maind. There had been more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors alone, and several of them had given the Progenitor an unusual impression. Given the numbers that Xia Shenji had seen, it might not be impossible for Lu Yin to take over the defense of the entire rear battlefield.

    The Fifth Maind did actually have the requisite strength.

    The Dominion Realm was surprised, as were Wang Zheng and the rest of the Wang family who were observing the valley. The returning army had informed people of the strength of the Fifth Maind, as well as the knowledge that a considerable number of their powerhouses were from the Heavens Sect era. Still, it was surprising to see four Semi-Progenitors appear at once.

    After all, it was impossible for any one of the four ruling powers to bring out four Semi-Progenitors without pulling people from the rear battlefield.

    In some sense, Lu Xiaoxuan''s forces had already surpassed the power of the four ruling powers. Naturally, this was only when ignoring the existence of Progenitors.

    "Bring Wang Shang here," Wang Zheng ordered.

    Wang Shang and the rest of the members of the Perennial World¡¯s army that had been sent to the Fifth Maind had been brought bacl by Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Shang had been returned to the Wang family.

    Wang Shang had assumed that returning would mean an end to all of his hardships. From the moment Wang Si had been killed, he had lived in fear. However, returning to his family had only meant facing an interrogation. Wang Shang had been exposed as an assassin of Realmless.

    Wang Shang had initially wanted to argue, but the Xia family had destroyed Realmless¡¯s known headquarters, and the evidence against Wang Shang was indisputable. The family did not tolerate his sophistry. Wang Shang had be a prisoner, and he was treated even worse than when he had been in the Fifth Maind.

    Behind Arch-Elder Zen came the Redemption Army, though they were nothing impressive. The Redemption Army consisted mostly of members of the Daynight n and the sylvan dragon n. The strength of this army was not enough to receive any acknowledgement from the Wang family. However, the Lu Elite Troops arrived next, and they caused everyone to do a double take.

    The Lu Elite Troops consisted of more than 10,000 Explorers and more powerful cultivators, as well as nearly 10,000 Explorer-level androids that the Great Yu Empire had built.

    Androids had been in production the moment Lu Yin had established the Lu Elite Troops. Even if production had stopped a few times due to various reasons, Lu Yin had resumed production as soon as he had returned, and he had even cooperated with the Technocracy to speed up production.

    This was why the Lu Elite Troops were bolstered by the presence of nearly 10,000 androids at the Explorer level. This was not an insignificant force, and even the Wang family was shocked.

    Given the fact that the army also had Cruisers, Hunters, and even a number of Enlighters, the Fifth Maind had already sent a force strong enough to defend an array base.

    "Hey, what are those people wearing?" a Wang family elder asked.

    Wang Shang was brought out, his face haggard. The man appeared to have aged a great deal.

    Wang Zheng pointed down at the valley. "What do you know about those people from the Forsaken Land?"

    Wang Shang looked down. After thinking for a few moments, he nodded. "Those people are the Lu Elite Troops. That army was created by Lu Xiaoxuan himself to face off against the threat of Aeternus before we were sent to the Forsaken Land. The individuals are not too strong, but their equipment is truly impressive. If not for Lu Buzheng and other Semi-Progenitors keeping an eye on this army, the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate would have stolen them away."

    During the twenty years that Lu Yin had gone missing, many things had taken ce that he knew nothing about. For example, Hen Xin had wanted to take the Lu Elite Troops, or more precisely, their equipment. He had also eyed the Tower of the Fifth.

    Many matters had simply disappeared as soon as Lu Yin had returned, and the people answering to Lu Yin had not seen the need to report every incident that had urred. This was why Lu Yin had never known that his Lu Elite Troops had almost disappeared.

 Chapter 2343: We Are Back

    Chapter 2343: We Are Back

    Wang Shang quickly gave a short exnation of the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ standard equipment. At the same time, he shared what he knew regarding the microarray technology that Aurora Enterprises had been developing.

    As soon as Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind, he had captured the Perennial World¡¯s army and executed Wang Si. However, before that, the Perennial World¡¯s forces in the Fifth Maind had been quite close to the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. Thus, Wang Shang was quite familiar with Aurora Enterprises¡¯ research.

    As Wang Zheng listened to Wang Shang''s narration, the patriarch¡¯s expression grew more and more somber.

    The patriarch was no fool, and Wang Shang¡¯s casual recounting opened Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes to extraordinary possibilities. In particr, microarray technology represented a new realm where humans did not have to rely solely on personal strength; one where they could also use equipment and tools to fight against the Aeternals.

    "This pyrolyte that you mentioned is mother soil, correct?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Wang Shang nodded. "The Forsaken Land doesn''t know the term ¡®mother soil,¡¯ and while we are familiar with it, we kept silent on that matter and hid our knowledge."

    Wang Zheng nodded. Microarray technology? Even the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates had taken an interest in such a thing, and Lu Xiaoxuan had not hesitated to offend many Semi-Progenitors in order to reim the technology. Once it was fully developed, microarray technology could potentially change the universe.

    The Perennial World had always ignored the development of science and technology.

    Ordinary humans struggled to cultivate, which was why they developed technology. Technology was used to alter their environments, resist bad weather, and cull threatening creatures. Cultivators desired to be stronger, and their goals were fully defined. Cultivators focused entirely on cultivation, on bing an Envoy, a Semi-Progenitor, or even climbing higher. To cultivators, the power achievable with technology was simply pathetic.

    There was a pond civilization in the Wang family¡¯s maind that focused on developing technology. However, every time their technology reached a certain threshold, Wang Zheng had destroyed their progress. He had done so for no other reason than, regardless of how advanced technology might be, weapons could neverpare to Envoys, let alone Semi-Progenitors. Civilizations that focused on science and technology would do their best to break free of their pond civilization¡¯s limitations, but they would always just be ordinary people in the Perennial World. In other words, they would always be worthless.

    As far as Wang Zheng was concerned, pursuing the development of science and technology was aplete waste of time.

    However, Wang Shang''s information opened Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes to new ideas and possibilities. Microarray technology was still a form of technology, one that hade about bybining sourcebox arrays with mother soil and battle techniques. However, thisbination had resulted in a technology that could change the universe.

    If such technology took off, would it not mean that a regr human being would be capable of wielding the power of a cultivator?

    Ordinary people possessed technology developed by ordinary people, while cultivators possessed technology developed by cultivators.

    The more Wang Zheng considered the possibilities, the more excited he became. The patriarch immediately wrote down his thoughts and prepared to send them over to the family¡¯s Progenitor.

    It was at this time that thest army from the Fifth Maind arrived. It was the Astral Beast Army.

    Neither the Redemption Army nor the Lu Elite Troops had shocked the Wang family too badly, but the sight of the Astral Beast Army certainly did.

    The army consisted of a million astral beasts of all different sizes and shapes, and they shook the void itself. There were 5,000 astral beasts that ranged from Explorers to Hunters, 300 with the strength of Enlighters, and a full twenty with the power of Envoys.

    The Astral Beast Armypletelypensated for theck of powerful cultivators among the two human armies that had been sent to defend the fourth array base.

    Upon seeing the Astral Beast Army, Wang Zheng understood that the fourth array base would be safe. In fact, the forces being sent to defend the fourth array base were several times more powerful than what the other array bases possessed. With these armies, the fourth array base would be an unscble cliff for the forces of Aeternus.

    Even the Progenitors in the Dominion Realm were surprised by the strength of the army that had gathered in the mountain valley.

    Mu Xie showed a rare smile. "Junior Brother did well."

    Progenitor Smoke praised, "This is absolutely enough to protect the fourth array base. The kid has not beenzy."

    Bai Wangyuan and Xia Shenji nced at each other. The two of them alone had seen the gathered power of the entire Fifth Maind for themselves. Compared with what they had seen there, the army that Lu Yin had brought to the Perennial World was too small. Still, it was enough to protect the fourth array base.

    Both Semi-Progenitors and armies had arrived in the Perennial World, and Lu Yin arrived after everyone else.

    Countless people stared as Lu Yin emerged from the New Corridor. He looked up, nced at the Wang family¡¯s maind, and then looked towards the Dominion Realm. He sped his hands behind his back and smiled slightly as he said, "I''m here."

    In the Dominion Realm, Xia Shenji reflexively wanted to attack.

    Bai Wangyuan let out a long breath. In the end, Lu Xiaoxuan actually had the courage to return to the Perennial World.

    Progenitor Smoke''s eyes lit up. "Here we go."

    Mu Xie nced around. With his junior disciple brother back in the Perennial World, Mu Xie could not allow anyone to leave the Dominion Realm.

    On the Wang family¡¯s maind, Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes red when he saw Lu Yin, and the patriarch shouted, "Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare youe back here?"

    Lu Yin looked over at the floating maind. "Wang Fan hasn¡¯t said anything, so why are you?"

    Wang Zheng became furious, and he wanted to attack. However, the patriarch was aware that Lu Yin had already reached an agreement with the four ruling powers. Before Lu Xiaoxuan became a Semi-Progenitor, the four ruling powers would not move against him. That was precisely why Lu Yin had returned to the Perennial World.

    Even so, Wang Zheng had not expected Lu Yin to actually have the courage to return to the Perennial World. This was not merely antagonistic, but rather an open challenge. The youth was challenging the four ruling powers themselves.

    "Strange, why don''t you have a Semi-Progenitor?" Jiu Yaomented as he looked up at the Wang family¡¯s maind.

    Yao Di remarked, "This ce is much less impressive than what I had imagined."

    Hen Xin frowned. "Is this ce truly so far removed from the Fifth Maind?"

    Arch-Elder Zen nced over. Behind?

    Lu Yin found the reactions hrious. The Perennial World looked down on the Fifth Maind, even calling it the Forsaken Land. However, when the Fifth Maind cultivators arrived in the Perennial World, as long as Progenitors were ignored, the Perennial World truly seemed a great deal inferior to the Fifth Maind. After all, just how many advantages did the Fifth Maind possess?

    Of course, in a realparison, the Fifth Maind could not truly measure up to the Perennial World. Just how many Semi-Progenitors were hidden throughout the Perennial World?

    Still, even with their hidden power, the Perennial World was not strong enough to pose a threat to the Fifth Maind. After all, they were forced to dedicate a great deal of their strength to defending the rear battlefield.

    Lu Yin understood the Perennial World, but the rest of the people from the Fifth Maind did not.

    As far as the people of the Fifth Maind could see, the arrival of their army in the Perennial World should warrant observation by various powerhouses, but not one could be found.

    The Astral Beast Army, the Lu Elite Troops, and the Redemption Army were the first forces the Fifth Maind were sending to the fourth array base. Later on, the Giants Army, the Heavens Corps, and the lesser giants would all take turns serving at the fourth array base. Lu Yin saw the rear battlefield as a training ground for his forces.

    "Don''t underestimate this ce. Do you really think that there aren¡¯t any powerhouses watching us? Look up," Lu Yin said. He did not want his people to becent, as they would be struck down without even understanding their ignorance.

    Yao Di, Jiu Yao, and the rest all looked upwards, but they could not see a thing.

    Lu Yin exined, "Just above that floatingndmass you see over there is a Mountain and Sea."

    The expressions of Hen Xin and the others instantly changed.

    "That''s right. As all of you know, if any master of a Mountain and Sea wants to attack us, we¡¯ll struggle to survive," Lu Yin warned in a low voice.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression turned serious. "Is that the Wang family¡¯s maind?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t underestimate this ce. There¡¯s a reason why they¡¯ve always referred to our Fifth Maind as the Forsaken Land. Today, I am going to show them that the Forsaken Land can protect the fourth array base. Let¡¯s show them the power of the so-called Forsaken Land!"

    Lu Yin then took a step out of the valley, and he was instantly followed by everyone from the Fifth Maind. As one, they all started making their way towards the rear battlefield.

    Not to mention Lu Yin, not one other person from the Fifth Maind restrained their auras as they moved out. Also, while Lu Yin had spoken to his senior brother, Mu Xie, Lu Yin still knew that he needed to remain wary of the four ruling powers. For that reason, he had ordered the jiao to shrink its body and pass through the New Corridor with everyone else.

    As soon as Lu Yin stepped out of the valley, the jiao recovered to its full size and let out a mighty roar that shook the Higher Realm. The roar spread to the Middle Realm and even the Lower Realm, intimidating the countless creatures that heard it.

    Hen Xin waited for all the Semi-Progenitors to release their auras. While a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s pressure was not nearly as terrifying as the jiao¡¯s, four Semi-Progenitorsbined with a massive army represented a power of their own. Then, they moved out as though they were trying to intimidate the entire Perennial World.

    Wang Zheng looked irritated, as it was clear that Lu Yin was putting on a demonstration for the Perennial World.

    The valley in the Wang family¡¯s territory where the New Corridor was connected to was a good distance away from the rear battlefield. Despite that, Lu Yin was in no hurry to cover the distance. He had agreed to take over defending the fourth array base within ten days, and while it was already the tenth day, he still had a few hours left before his deadline. As long as everyone moved atop of the jiao, they could arrive at the rear battlefield almost instantly.

    Lu Yin finally had an opportunity to reveal his power and the power of the Fifth Maind, and there was no way he would let it slip by.

    He did not want to show off to just the Higher Realm; he wanted to proim his return to the entire Perennial World.

    He had spent several days considering how to best go about unting both the strength of the Fifth Maind and his own return beforeing to the Perennial World. Lu Yin being allowed to openly return to the Perennial World revealed a great many things that had been kept secret, and Lu Yin wanted to show himself to the surviving vassals of the Lu family. Lu Xiaoxuan had returned.

    Lu Yin patted the jiao¡¯s head, and the beast¡¯s eyes twitched. It looked a bit confused.

    Lu Yin quickly pulled out the slipper. "Did you already forget what I asked you to do after just a few days?"

    The jiao was terrified by the sight of the slipper. Its eyes blinked rapidly and then grewrge when it remembered. Fangs were bared and ws stretched out as the jiao raised its head high.

    Up in the Dominion Realm, Wang Fan and the others frowned. What was Lu Yin nning next?

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, your ten-day deadline is almost over. What do you intend to do if you do not arrive in time to take over the fourth array base¡¯s protection?" Bai Wangyuan''s voice was heard, tantly carrying the pressure of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin sneered. "You''re about to find out."

    Bai Wangyuan suddenly had a bad premonition.

    The next moment, the jiao¡¯s power that was in the Progenitor realm was fully released. The void warped, and space peeled back oneyer after another. Images of the jiao and the Fifth Maind¡¯s army were transmitted through the void to the Middle Realm, the Middle Ocean, and the Lower Realm.

    It was simr to how the scene of Long Qi¡¯s disguise being seen through atop Dragon Mountain. The ceremony of Mu Xie epting Long Qi as a disciple had been transmitted throughout the Perennial World, and everyone had seen Lu Yin be exposed. Even the game of Stable Zone that he had yed against Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been transmitted. For countless people, that had been their first time seeing a game of Stable Zone.

    At this moment, Lu Yin wanted the entire Perennial World to know that Lu Xiaoxuan was back.

    The expressions of Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors all changed. "Stop!"

    They wanted to stop Lu Yin and the jiao but were blocked by Mu Xie. "Don''t forget your agreement."

    "Mu Xie, get out of the way! We won¡¯t allow that jiao to do anything! We don¡¯t have any intention of doing anything to Lu Xiaoxuan himself!" Wang Fan shouted.

    However, Mu Xie''s brief dy was enough for the image of the jiao to be sent to the Middle Realm and the Lower Realm.

    Countless people looked up, and all of them saw Lu Yin standing atop the jiao, as well as the millions of cultivators arrayed behind him.

    It was also seen by everyone preupied at Virtue Archives¡¯ sourcebox array.

    Even Mu Shang, who was still in the process of breaking through the defensive sourcebox array, was shocked by the sight. Is that Lu Xiaoxuan?

    Yu Hao''s true identity had already been exposed, so Mu Shang now knew that Yu Hao had actually been Lu Xiaoxuan. The news hadpletely shocked Mu Shang.

    Mu Shang had known Lu Xiaoxuan long ago, and they had reunited in such a bizarre manner.

    Lu Yin was standing high above all else, literally stepping upon a jiao with the strength of a Progenitor. He was leading an army of millions and tantly looking down upon the entire Perennial World while everyone in it could look up and see him.

    Looking down upon the Perennial World, Lu Yin announced, "My Lu family and I, we are back!"

 Chapter 2344: Showing Off

    Chapter 2344: Showing Off

    In every part of the entire Perennial World, countless people were staring at the sky with wide eyes that started to turn bloodshot. Had the Lu family returned?

    Adventure King stood atop a tree trunk and looked upwards. He let out a long breath. There was no longer a need for him to hide.

    The old man from the Nong family who had helped Lu Yin escape while fleeing through the Middle Realm sat on the ground in an undignified manner. They were finally back.

    One after another, people looked as though they had been reborn as they stared up at Lu Yin with eyes filled with admiration and anticipation.

    In Seed Garden, in the Middle Realm, Nong Sanniang, Nong Lie, and many others were badly startled. "The Lu family is back? How could the four ruling powers possibly agree to that?"

    Patriarch Nong Ya''s eyes flickered. "It would seem that Lu Xiaoxuan has forced the four ruling powers to take a step back."

    Nong Sanniang felt quite puzzled. "But why? The entire Lu family was exiled, so no one can help him. Any one of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors should be able to easily deal with Lu Yin, so how could he pull this off?"

    It was not that the Nong family did not want the Lu family to return, but rather that this deration was too shocking and confusing.

    While the four ruling powers had agreed to a truce with Lu Yin, they had not publicized anything about that matter. As a result, Lu Yin¡¯s announcement was far, far more shocking to everyone in the Perennial World.

    Nong Ya could not make sense of what was happening, so he immediately contacted his family¡¯s Progenitor.

    The Liu family did the same thing. Liu Yijian¡¯s hunched figure stared at the image of Lu Yin standing atop the jiao¡¯s head, and the old man smiled. "The child from back then really has returned."

    "It would be great if Little Pebble still lived as well. We all thought that Bai Xian¡¯er benefited the most by using the Seven Heroes as a stepping stone for her achievements, but it seems that it is all going to change now," Liu Yishoumented.

    A short ways away from the two men, Zhang Dingtian clenched the hilt of his saber while staring upwards. Are you really back?

    Once again, they were both beneath the same sky, and yet the distance between them was greater than ever.

    In one corner of the Middle Realm, countless pairs of eyes looked up at the sky from within Specter Abyss. "The God of Death¡¯s heir has returned. Await the Progenitor¡¯s orders."

    In the Higher Realm, countless people from the four ruling powers stared at the image in a stupor. Many of them asked why someone from the Lu family was still safe and sound. Just how could thest survivor of the Lu family act so arrogantly?

    There was no option but for the entire Perennial World to hunt the young man down and kill him. And yet, he had announced his presence and was looking down upon the entire world.

    Xia Taili hopped up in anger. "Hit him! Strike him! Why isn¡¯t the Progenitor attacking him?"

    Xia Luo was left speechless by the sight. This was just too much showing off.

    Wu Taibai shook his head whileughing. There were some people who existed above the heavens, and they were truly andpletely iparable to all others.

    Xia Xing looked miserable. The Death Seal was still inside the patriarch¡¯s body, and Lu Xiaoxuan had drawn the broken saber and taken it away. Now, it was impossible for Xia Xing to prove his worth to the family¡¯s Progenitor. This was something that outsiders did not know, but everyone from the Xia family certainly did.

    One of the most forbidden crimes within the Xia family among those who cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique was for a clone to rece the main body. Without the ability to draw the broken saber and prove his worth, would the family¡¯s Progenitor just kill Xia Xing? The patriarch had no idea.

    Recently, Xia Ziheng had started having some questions regarding Xia Xing, as the patriarch had helped Lu Yin get away with several deceptions. For example, Xia Xing had reported to Xia Ziheng that Yu Hao had spoken to Grandmaster Gu Yan in the patriarch¡¯s presence. He had also imed that Yu Hao had asked Gu Yan to attend the Xia family¡¯s ceremony to honor their ancestors.

    Xia Xing had defended himself by iming to have seen Yu Hao make the call and speak, though he had apparently never seen whom Yu Hao had been speaking with. The patriarch had imed that it was an honest mistake on his part, but there was no way for Xia Xing to know if the Semi-Progenitor believed his story or not.

    Xia Xing had been on edge for some time, and as he looked up at Lu Yin Xiaoyuan, the patriarch¡¯s anxiousness only grew worse.

    In the Celestial Frost Sect, Yu Chen stared upwards with a nk expression, though there was an odd glint in her eyes. She had once hated Lu Yin because he had caused Bai Shaohong''s death. However, as she looked at Lu Yin¡¯s brazen disy in the Higher Realm, the woman realized that she might be looking at an opportunity.

    Far away, a man was desperately fleeing from a pack of astral beasts that were trying to kill him. The man screamed and leaped into the sky from time to time to avoid attacks.

    Suddenly, the man noticed the image in the sky that was being transmitted through distorted space. "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    The man¡¯s name was Hua Beibei, and he had met Lu Yin on the rear battlefield before, but that was while Lu Yin had been using Long Qi¡¯s identity. It was only after Long Qi had been exposed that Hua Beibei had understood that he had met Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Had that man really be so arrogant? Was Lu Xiaoxuan actually unting himself so provocatively in the Higher Realm?

    A massive beast that looked like an enormous rhinoceros tried to gore Hua Beibei with a horn. The man grabbed his butt and fled once again. "Help me!"

    Atop the Wang family¡¯s maind, Xiao Can looked upwards. He also saw Lu Xiaoxuan, whom Xiao Can had also previously known as Long Qi. Xiao Can had even traded a Root of Intelligence with Long Qi shortly before he had been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan and pursued by the entire Perennial World. Just how was he able to openly appear in the Higher Realm?

    On Dragon Mountain, Long Tian clenched his fists. Lu Xiaoxuan, Long Qi, Yu Hao! They¡¯re all him, the bastard.

    While pretending to be Long Qi, Lu Xiaoxuan had fought against the four Junior Progenitors and trapped them in the Dominion Realm in the Forgotten Ruins. Long Xi had been captured, and Long Tian¡¯s cosmic ring had been stolen. The White Dragon n had beenpletely humiliated before the entire Perennial World.

    When pretending to be Yu Hao, the same bastard had seen through the disadvantages of the White Dragon n¡¯s blood pool that contained a trace of the Ancestor Python¡¯s blood. Even though no rumors had spread, the people who mattered had already learned of the matter. In particr, the other three ruling powers were now aware of the issue, and the White Dragon n had lost any advantage that they had previously enjoyed.

    It¡¯s always this bastard! Why is he behind everything?

    Long Tian really wanted to fight Lu Xiaoxuan, but he knew that that was nothing more than a dream. The bastard was only bing more and more of a freak. He had actually fought against four Semi-Progenitors as a mere three-tribtion Envoy. Long Tian could not even begin to imagine how one was capable of doing such a thing.

    Only Sister Xing could possiblypare to such an incredible talent.

    At this moment, countless people were staring at Lu Yin. They could feel his arrogance, as well as his desire to return to the Perennial World. Lu Yin had waited too long to openly return to the Perennial World, and the surviving vassals of the Lu family had waited even longer.

    The void that had been twisted and warped around Lu Yin was torn apart. Bai Wangyuan was interfering.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Dominion Realm. "Senior Bai, there¡¯s no need to be so touchy. It was just a greeting."

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors all had miserable expressions on their faces. The more arrogantly Lu Yin acted within the Perennial World, the more ipetent they all appeared to be.

    The entire Perennial World had just been informed that Lu Xiaoxuan had returned, and his return meant that the four ruling powers were unable to do anything to him. This failure was a huge blow to the four ruling powers¡¯ reputation.

    Unfortunately, everything had already happened, which meant that it was impossible to do anything about it. They could only hope for Lu Yin to be a Semi-Progenitor as quickly as possible so that they could kill him.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, the fourth array base has been evacuated. If you don''t take control of it now, Aeternus will seize control of it," Bai Wangyuan stated softly.

    Lu Yin just smiled. He ordered everyone following him to climb on top of the jiao, and then he pped the beast. "Go!"

    The jiao bared its fangs and shed its talons before releasing the full power of its Progenitor-level aura, which caused the Higher Realm to sway for a moment. Then, the jiao took off towards the rear battlefield.

    In the Middle Realm, Headmaster Wen and the other faculty members of Virtue Archives stared on in shock as the image in the sky vanished.

    "Was that- Was that Lu Xiaoxuan?" Mr. Tang was stunned.

    Prof. Xiao Wen was dazed. "That was definitely Lu Xiaoxuan. He''s back."

    "Impossible! How could Lu Xiaoxuan openly show himself in the Higher Realm? The four ruling powers would never be willing to let him go!" Prof. Zheng immediately denied what they had all seen.

    However, everyone had seen the same thing.

    "It wasn¡¯t only Lu Xiaoxuan. He brought countless people with him as well, though I have no idea what they were all doing in the Higher Realm," Prof. Weimented.

    Ce Doni and Headmaster Wen nced at each other. "That valley in the mountains."

    Headmaster Wen nodded. "That''s the only ce that¡¯s connected to the Forsaken Land. Very few people even know about it. But why would the four ruling powers let Lu Xiaoxuan go? Could Lu Xiaoxuan have joined one of the four ruling powers?"

    The moment those words were spoken, Wen Lai himself felt like he had said a joke. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan were able to set aside his personal hatred and was willing to join one of the four ruling powers, none of them would ever be willing to let him remain alive. They carried an unsolvable hatred for thest surviving member of the Lu family.

    There was only one possible exnation for Lu Yin¡¯s sudden appearance.

    Despite how unbelievable it seemed, no one could think of any alternative exnation: the four ruling powers had taken a step back.

    "How did he do it?" Ce Doni felt terribly puzzled.

    Headmaster Wen was also quite confused, but then his eyes suddenly lit up. "I¡¯ll keep stalling Mu Shang for as long as possible, so please get a hold of Lu Xiaoxuan as quickly as possible and ask him if he can help our Virtue Archives!"

    The rest of the faculty all grew excited as well, and Mr. Tang immediately tried to call Lu Yin. He has to answer! He has to!

    There was no one more desperate for Lu Yin to save Virtue Archives than Prof. Huai. He had been panicking for some time, as he was fully aware that he would be done for the moment the academy was destroyed. Watching Mu Shang open the sourcebox array had made Prof. Huai desperate, and he had almost stepped forward to surrender, but that was not possible. His only option was to live or die with the academy. You have to save us, Prof. Hao Yu! You¡¯re the greatest professor the academy has!

    In the southernmost part of the Higher Realm, the Mother Tree blocked the way to the rear battlefield.

    The rear battlefield was too cruel a ce, and there were certain things that were better off concealed from the public.

    The Tree Realmpletely blocked all sight of the rear battlefield from the rest of the Perennial World. It did not take the jiao long to reach the Tree Realm.

    The people of the Perennial World stared nkly at the jiao, having no idea how they should react to its sudden appearance. The beast¡¯s terrifying aura made people tremble. They had lived through life and death on the rear battlefield, but they had never experienced the pressure of a Progenitor. It was apletely different sort of pressure, and even fearlessness in the face of death did not help with this pressure.

    Not to mention, the jiao liked to sh its fangs and ws, and seeing the beast brandish such frightening weapons almost caused the people there to copse in terror.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to order the jiao to rush forwards, hismunication crystal vibrated.

    Since Lu Yin was back in the Perennial World, he was naturally using hismunication crystal, though he also kept his wireless jincan around so that he couldmunicate with the Fifth Maind.

    Having to use both a wireless jincan and amunication crystal was rather inconvenient, and the wireless jincan was easier to use. Thus, Lu Yin intended to push for wireless jincans to be more popr in the Perennial World.

    "Prof. Hao Yu, it''s me!" The image of Mr. Tang appeared on themunication crystal, though the man looked to be quite anxious.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the call. "Mr. Tang? What''s wrong?"

    "Yu- no, Lu Xiaoxuan, Virtue Archives is facing a disaster. I wonder, would you be willing to help?" He directed themunication crystal to show a more distant image, and Lu Yin saw Headmaster Wen inside the academy¡¯s sourcebox array, struggling to stall Mu Shang from unlocking the academy¡¯s final defenses. Further away, Lu Yin could make out the five Semi-Progenitors.

    "If it''s really impossible, we won¡¯t try to make any trouble for you, but-"

    "Mr. Tang, I am also one of Virtue Archives¡¯ instructors, and if the academy is facing difficulties, then as long as I have the ability to do so, I will offer my help," Lu Yin interrupted Mr. Tang.

    Mr. Tang was thrilled to hear such a response. "Thank you! Truly, thank you!"

    Lu Yin was in no rush to reach the rear battlefield, so he quietly listened just outside the Tree Realm as Mr. Tang exined the difficulties that Virtue Archives was facing. "So, as long as the academy has students, it will be allowed to continue?"

    "That''s what we were told, but even if we have students, they need to be able to enter the academy, and the sourcebox array can''tst much longer," Mr. Tang answered in embarrassment.

    "How much longer can the sourcebox array endure for?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mr. Tang looked over at Ce Doni, who replied, "Once the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Birdpletely disappear, we will have two days, at most. This is also on the premise that the headmaster puts forth his best efforts to stall Mu Shang. Without the headmaster, the sourcebox array would have been broken today. Mu Shang is an Array Grandmaster, and he¡¯s already been working on breaking this array for ten days."

    Lu Yin took out his wireless jincan and sent a message. He was contacting Skymender.

 Chapter 2345: The Way Of War

    Chapter 2345: The Way Of War

    Back in the Fifth Maind, within the Heavens Sect, Skymender responded to the message on his wireless jincan. "Dao Chosen."

    "I''m assigning you a task. I need you to lead a group of twenty year old cultivators into the Perennial World so that they can join Virtue Archives. When you get there, I want you to help the academy maintain their defensive sourcebox array and force back another Array Grandmaster," Lu Yin exined.

    Skymender answered respectfully.

    The astral beast was an Array Grandmaster. While Lu Yin had not originally been aware of this, he had learned of his abilities when visiting the ce in the Celestial Beast Empire where the humanoid sourceboxes were stored. Lu Yin was interested in seeing just how capable a Lockbreaker Skymender was.

    "There are five Semi-Progenitors currently blocking ess to Virtue Archives, so when youe, please request Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines to escort you," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin did not want to instigate a vicious fight with the five Semi-Progenitors blocking ess to Virtue Archives, but sending the Progenitor of Bloodlines would not trigger a fight. While the man was a crippled Progenitor who had lost his Progenitor¡¯s world, he still remained a Progenitor. The Progenitor of Bloodlines could still exert the pressure of a Progenitor, which would be enough to prevent Xia Ziheng and the others at Virtue Archives from doing anything to Skymender and the rest of the people that the Progenitor of Bloodlines would be escorting.

    After delivering his orders, Lu Yin turned back to hismunication crystal. "My people will arrive by tomorrow at thetest. You don¡¯t need to worry, Mr. Tang."

    Mr. Tang let a sigh of relief escape. "That''s good, that''s good. Right, what are you doing here?"

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "We are here to help humanity by taking over responsibility for the fourth array base. From now on, Virtue Archives can send its students to the fourth array base for training."

    Themunication crystal was then put away, and Lu Yin pped the jiao. "Go."

    The jiao roared as it rushed into the Tree Realm.

    The Tree Realm was able to block ordinary cultivators from seeing the rear battlefield, but it was useless against those that had the strength of a Progenitor. The jiao was able to clearly see the whaty behind the Tree Realm, and it was not afraid of any danger there. The threats to the jiao were all in the Dominion Realm¡¯s battlefield, not the rear battlefield.

    The jiao was looking at the rear battlefield by peering through the Tree Realm, but no one on the rear battlefield could see the approaching massive creature.

    As soon as the massive head of the jiao pushed into the Tree Realm, a crowd of people preparing to enter the rear battlefield were stunned by the sight. Most of the people were terrified andpletely unable to endure the immense pressure that the jiao radiated.

    Not too far away from where the jiao had entered the Tree Realm, Master Zan was rxing by pinching a maid''s waist and admiring her legs. When the jiao¡¯s head appeared, the Lockbreaker copsed to the ground in fear.

    The pressure of a Progenitor enveloped the rear battlefield, and a surge of power swept out and crushed an entire group of corpse kings who had just rushed up the array bases.

    The jiao had appeared at the second array base, and General Xia Yan looked up in amazement. The sight of the jiao caused the man¡¯s pupils to instantly constrict tightly.

    Long Laogui and all the array base¡¯s colonels turned to stare at the jiao.

    Lu Yin was still standing on top of the jiao''s head, and he observed the second array base. After so many years, he was back.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s presence on the rear battlefield was iparable to his previous visit. Looking at Xia Yan and Long Laogui again, Lu Yin¡¯s attitude towards the two men waspletely different from his former interactions with them.

    There was an ugly expression on Xia Yan''s face, as he was staring at the jiao. The beast was the symbol of Shenwu''s Sky, and yet it was being stepped on by Lu Yin. This was publicly humiliating Shenwu''s Sky.

    Long Laogui also had a rather bad expression at this moment. The old man had once done his best to protect Long Qi, and Long Laogui had even suggested that the White Dragon n ask an Array Grandmaster to ept Long Qi as an apprentice. The old man had even approached Grandmaster Gu Yan on Long Qi¡¯s behalf, but Long Qi had eventually shown himself to be Lu Xiaoxuan. Long Laogui had no idea how to react upon seeing Lu Xiaoxuan again after so many years.

    The jiao finished entering the rear battlefield, and its presence brought all fighting on the second array base to aplete standstill.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands were sped behind his back as he looked at Xia Yan. "General Xia Yan, have all the surviving vassals of the Lu family return to the Higher Realm now. I, Lu Yin, am taking over the protection of the fourth array base."

    Xia Yan said nothing and just stared ahead.

    A bit in front of the general, Liu Jing was in shock. Had the youth who had once been known as Long Qi truly risen to such an impressive height that even the array base¡¯s general did not know how to deal with the young man?

    Lu Yin did not bother waiting for Xia Yan to respond, and he instead directed the jiao towards the fourth array base.

    Each of the five array bases was beyond massive, and since the jiao had entered the rear battlefield at the second array base, it had to pass by the third array base to get to the fourth array base. The sight of the jiao passing through the rear battlefield startled countless human defenders.

    However, the sight also encouraged many people, as it was clear that the jiao was on humanity¡¯s side. The presence of a Progenitor-level creature at the five array bases was guaranteed to transform the situation on the rear battlefield.

    Unfortunately, such beliefs were nothing more than a dream. As soon as a Progenitor started protecting the five array bases, Aeternus would inevitably send Progenitors to attack the rear battlefield as well.

    It was not actually a good thing to introduce a Progenitor to the rear battlefield, as it would not truly protect the five array bases.

    It did not take the jiao long to reach the fourth array base.

    There was still a bit of fighting taking ce. Unlike what Bai Wangyuan had imed, the fourth array base had not been fully abandoned by humanity¡¯s forces.

    How could they dare topletely retreat? If the Aeternals were able to attack the other array bases from the top of the fourth array base, then it would be a disaster that no one was willing to take responsibility for.

    The general of the fourth array base was a woman known as Bai Qi. Lu Yin had never met the woman before, nor even heard her name. However, Bai Qi was Bai Wangyuan''s own daughter.

    The Array Master for the array base was another woman named Ru Ying.

    Lu Yin was genuinely surprised to learn that the two people in charge of the fourth array base were both women.

    When the jiaonded on the fourth array base, Lu Yin saw an overwhelming number of corpse kings. Innumerable creatures were ascending the fourth array base to attack it.

    The sightpletely shocked the people from the Fifth Maind.

    Fortunately, the Fifth Maind had also fought against the forces of Aeternus at the entrance to the Starfall Sea. Without that experience, Lu Yin¡¯s armies might have struggled to adapt to their new situation and take over the fourth array base¡¯s defenses.

    Bai Qi had been fighting against one of the Twelve Marquises, but the arrival of the jiao caused the Semi-Progenitor from Aeternus to immediately retreat. Countless corpse kings fell back like a tide as the marquis retreated.

    Yao Di, Hen Xin, Jiu Yao, and Arch-Elder Zen all stepped onto the array base and began to attack the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the armies arrayed behind him¡ªthe Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Astral Beast Army¡ªall rushed forward.

    The humans and astral beasts still needed time to adapt to fighting together, which made defending the fourth array base the best ce for them to practice.

    Bai Qi and Ru Ying pulled back and turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin said, "The two of you can leave now. The Fifth Maind is taking over the defense of this array base from now on."

    Bai Qi stepped forward, wet blood still staining her face. She wore a feathered cloak, and she stared at Lu Yin with a cold expression. "Lu Xiaoxuan, we meet again."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Sometimes it felt like everyone was familiar with his former self. "I¡¯ve lost my memories, so I don''t remember you."

    Bai Qi exined, "You previously fought on every array base. You acquired scars during your time here."

    "Really?" Lu Yin looked out at the fourth array base. "My name is now Lu Yin, and I am the Dao Chosen of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect."

    "Dao Chosen? Heavens Sect? Those are ancient names," Bai Qimented. She then began ordering her troops from the Perennial World to pull back as the Fifth Maind''s armies began to take over the array base¡¯s defenses. She had actually intended to leave immediately, as the fourth array base was defended by the jiao and four Semi-Progenitors. Even if a Progenitor from Aeternus arrived, they would struggle to take control of the fourth array base.

    However, as soon as Bai Qi noticed the odd style ofbat employed by the Fifth Maind¡¯s armies, she decided to stay. Not only Bai Qi, but Ru Ying also lingered. What they saw caused the former general of the fourth array base to stare in mounting surprise.

    The Aeternals were forced to retreat because the Fifth Maind''s armies were simply too powerful, though some corpse kings continued to fight.

    On the array base, each and every member of the Lu Elite Troops¡¯ had white smoke covering their body, a Void Wanderer hidden by them, and a microarray weapon attached to their left arm.

    Corpse kings were stronger than both humans and astral beasts at the same cultivation level, but the Lu Elite Troops easily defeated their opponents. Of particr note were the members of the Lu Elite Troops who were only Explorers or Cruisers, as they were still able to enter the void and move about.

    The situation on the battlefieldpletely transformed.

    The fourth array base was ustomed to bitter fights and trading a life for a life and relying on the defensive sourcebox arrays to defend their location. However, the Fifth Maind¡¯s armies not only held their own against the corpse kings, but the human forces even went on the offensive and started pursuing the retreating corpse kings.

    While the pursuit was partially because the Aeternals had started retreating, the sudden offensive was more because of the Fifth Maind¡¯s odd methods of fighting.

    The members of the armies were casually releasing sword qi attacks with the strength of an Enlighter behind them, and the corpse kings¡¯ attacks did nothing at all to harm the humans. What was that white smoke? What were those beams of light?

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s method of fighting on the battlefield waspletely different from what the Perennial World employed, and the sight even stunned a Semi-Progenitor like Bai Qi.

    Lu Yin was satisfied by the results that he saw on the battlefield. This was exactly what he had wanted to see. What was humanity¡¯s greatest advantage? Their intelligence. Humans were intelligent creatures, which was why they had created tools, civilization, deception, and even a cultivation system. Intelligence remained humanity¡¯s greatest weapon, so rather than brawling with the corpse kings, it was much better to fight in a smarter manner.

    From their Progenitors, down to their weakest cultivators, the Perennial World was too rigid in their thinking. It was not that the people of the Perennial World were not intelligent, but rather that the existence of powerful Progenitors had changed how humanity thought in the Perennial World. Bing a Progenitor was the goal of every cultivator, so they did not even consider anything else.

    The Fifth Maind was different. There were all kinds of civilizations that had flourished, and the absence of powerful Progenitors had essentially eliminated any form of faith in higher powers. This had led to various forms of cultivation blossoming, as well as the advanced development of technological civilizations.

    If Aurora Enterprises had tried to move to the Perennial World, thepany would have never survived. Transportation vehicles made from the white paper that came from the Mother Tree¡¯s bark could rece the vessels produced by Aurora Enterprises. But in the Fifth Maind, thepany had not only survived; it had flourished into a behemoth. This showed the difference between the two ces.

    The Perennial World had Progenitors, and it looked down on the Fifth Maind and referred to it as the Forsaken Land, but the Forsaken Land had reaped certain benefits by being abandoned.

    There was good and bad in all things.

    The Fifth Maind''s novelbat method was like a boulder crashing into a calmke as the Perennial World observed the battle. The arrival of the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces would definitely trigger huge waves and transform the originally rigid style ofbat employed in the Perennial World. This was part of Lu Yin¡¯s goals.

    Also, Lu Yin had only introduced the Lu Elite Troops to the Perennial World. He expected the Heavens Corps to create an even bigger sensation, as not only did they have the visualization method of the ancient golden characters, but they also employedyered microarrays and cooperated with various strange astral beast species. The appearance of the Heavens Corps would shock even the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors.

    One person could not change anything on the rear battlefield, but an entire army was different.

    Bai Qi stared nkly at the battle taking ce. She looked at the corpse kings that had been almost entirely wiped out so easily by the Lu Elite Troops. "Lu Xiaoxuan, is this how people fight in the Forsaken Land?"

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, "That''s right, this is how the Forsaken Land conducts warfare. Of course, it¡¯s far inferior to what your Perennial World is capable of, but you¡¯re wee to observe, General Bai."

    Bai Qi continued to stare at the battlefield. "What is that white smoke? It seems defensive in nature. Is it actually protecting the troops?"

    "That¡¯s the same power that the Smokecloud Sect uses. Ites from Progenitor Smoke." Lu Yin did not try to hide this information, as humanity as a whole would benefit if the Perennial World could improve how it fought against Aeternus¡¯s forces.

    As for potentially using it against the four ruling powers, Lu Yin was not very concerned. The pending battle between him and the four ruling powers was not something that ordinary cultivators would be able to affect in any way. To even hope to have any sort of influence on such a battlefield, one needed to at least be a Semi-Progenitor. Forget the Lu Elite Troops, as not even the Heavens Corps could do anything to a Semi-Progenitor by relying on sheer numbers.

    While the Perennial World¡¯s style ofbat was quite rigid, there were reasons why that was the case. When people saw a Semi-Progenitor easily suppress a region of the universe, it would inspire them to cultivate harder, unlike the very rare appearances of the Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Maind. Also, there were no Progenitors in the Fifth Maind.

    "Progenitor Smoke¡¯s power? Are you saying that the Smokecloud Sect cultivates Progenitor Smoke''s power?" Bai Qi asked.

 Chapter 2346: Officially Taking Over

    Chapter 2346: Officially Taking Over

    Lu Yin grew curious. "You didn¡¯t know that? Aren''t you Bai Wangyuan''s daughter? Bai Wangyuan can¡¯t recognize Progenitor Smoke''s power?"

    "How presumptuous! How dare you refer to Progenitor Bai by his name!" Ru Ying sternly shouted.

    Bai Qi nced over at the woman and then looked back at Lu Yin. "It¡¯s possible that he knows but just never mentioned it to me. The Smokecloud Sect is just a small sect, and it doesn¡¯t deserve his attention."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Qi, and then at Ru Ying. "Your four ruling powers are very skilled at manipting and altering history. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll publicize these events in a way that will work to your benefit."

    He then pointed at Ru Ying. "I don¡¯t want to hearments like that again, or else I¡¯ll make you pay for them.¡±

    Ru Ying red at Lu Yin, and she wanted to snap back, but she was stopped by Bai Qi.

    Ru Ying was just an independent cultivator, which was why she had no idea what had recently taken ce regarding Lu Yin. She only knew about the end results, and while she had various guesses and suspicions about what had led up to those results, not everything about Lu Yin was ttering.

    In fact, the four ruling powers had already started secretly spreading propaganda that imed that Lu Xiaoxuan had only been allowed to return because he was being used as bait to lure out more surviving vassals of the Lu family. This exnation seemed to be the most reasonable to the vast majority of people in the Perennial World.

    Bai Qi was different, as she had been informed of the temporary truce between the four ruling powers and Lu Yin. She also knew that Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng had been forced to retreat after suffering a terrible defeat in the Forsaken Land against Lu Yin. From this, Bai Qi knew that Lu Yin was not an easy opponent. In fact, offending him was nothing less than asking for trouble.

    "What are those beams of light that they¡¯re using to attack?" Bai Qi asked.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Those are weapons that we developed in the Forsaken Land. They¡¯re able to instantly kill a regr Enlighter, but given how tough corpse kings are, those beams are only able to deal with Hunter-level corpse kings."

    "Your troops are wearing armor."

    "They¡¯re strong enough to withstand attacks from a peak Enlighter."

    Bai Qi eximed, "That¡¯s so wasteful! Did you use up all of the Forsaken Land¡¯s resources just to defend the fourth array base?"

    Lu Yin answered with a smile. "Just a tiny fraction of it. You¡¯ll understandter."

    Bai Qi looked back at the battlefield. "In that case, where is all of that sword qiing from?"

    Before answering, Lu Yin pulled out the Void Rip sourcebox array from his cosmic ring, and he tossed it over to Bai Qi. "Does that look familiar to you?"

    Bai Qi took the item and examined it. "I feel like I¡¯ve seen it before."

    "That belonged to Bai Shaohong. I took it when I killed him," Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    Bai Qi¡¯s eyes red widely, and Ru Ying and the others standing behind Bai Qi werepletely stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    While everyone knew that Lu Yin had killed Bai Shaohong, bluntly admitting it to Bai Qi was nothing less than tant provocation.

    Bai Qi''s eyes grew cold as she stared at Lu Yin. "What are you trying to say?"

    Lu Yin was unconcerned with Bai Qi¡¯s thoughts at this moment, as he would have said the same words to Bai Wangyuan himself. "That thing is an instantly-activated weapon that uses a contained sourcebox array. We refer to it as a microarray. Within your Celestial Frost Sect, only Bai Shaohong possessed such a weapon, and it was regarded as a power vessel with a limited number of uses. However, in our Forsaken Land, we¡¯ve developed it into a weapon of war. We¡¯ve produced countless microarray weapons based off of this technology, and those weapons have been distributed to the soldiers. The microarrays contain the sword qi that you see."

    Lu Yin raised a finger. "With these weapons, an Explorer can instantly kill an Enlighter."

    The expressions of Bai Qi and the others listening to Lu Yin¡¯s exnation changed drastically, and they all stared at him in shock.

    "This should adequately show just how useful microarrays are. If your Celestial Frost Sect had discovered their usefulness before, this rear battlefield would have never been suppressed as badly as it has been. Bai Wangyuan¡¯s an idiot, and you descendants are all also idiots. Really, how dumb can you be?" Lu Yin mocked. He was unconcerned with the possibility of the Celestial Frost Sect being able to copy microarray technology. It had taken Aurora Enterprises so long to do so, so how could the Celestial Frost Sect make up for so much time and effort? Not to mention, the Perennial World had never focused on developing science or technology.

    However, no one listening cared at all about Lu Yin¡¯s insults, as they were all dazed and staring at the Void Rip sourcebox array that Bai Qi held.

    It was not easy to produce a power vessel that someone like Bai Shaohong would consider useful, so how could such a thing be mass-produced?

    They could not believe it at first, but as they saw the endless sword qi attacks shooting across the battlefield, they were forced to ept what Lu Yin was saying despite their disbelief.

    Every single attack made with sword qi was as powerful as an attack from an Enlighter, but how could the Fifth Maind have so many Enlighters? The only possibility was that they were able to mass-produce the powerful sword qi attacks, which was an absolutely incredible achievement.

    Bai Qi turned to stare at Lu Yin in shock. "How did you do it?"

    Lu Yin ignored the question. "Leave the fourth array base. From now on, this ce is my responsibility."

    He then stepped forward and arrived at the fourth array base¡¯s battlefield, a short ways away from what had been General Bai Qi''s headquarters.

    The corpse kings were being repelled, and the Astral Beast Army chased the corpse kings across the array base.

    Lu Yin entered the headquarters. Some of the original defenders of the fourth array base were still present, as they had not wanted to leave the battlefield.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors entered behind Lu Yin one by one.

    There were nearly a hundred people inside the headquarters, and they all watched as Lu Yin and his entourage entered. The presence of the neers stifled the breath of the veteran defenders of the array base, and they bowed as one. "Greetings-"

    The people all cut off mid-greeting, as they had no idea how to address Lu Yin. The young man was clearly the one in charge, yet he was neither the array base¡¯s general nor its Array Master. In that case, which of the Semi-Progenitors was the new general?

    Lu Yinughed. "You can call me ¡®Dao Chosen.¡¯ My name is Lu Yin, and I used to be called Lu Xiaoxuan."

    The fourth array base had already been informed that Lu Xiaoxuan would lead an army from the Forsaken Land to take over the fourth array base¡¯s defenses, so no one was surprised by his statement.

    Still, hearing that the young man in front of them really was Lu Xiaoxuan was overwhelming to the veterans.

    It was simply too ridiculous for the four ruling powers to allow Lu Xiaoxuan to freely move about the Perennial World.

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen." The defenders offered a respectful bow.

    Some veterans had stayed behind because they had been worried about handing the fourth array base over to the new defenders, and so they had remained behind to see if they could help protect the ce. Most of them had not had high expectations for the strength of the army that the Forsaken Land was sending, and many of the veterans refused to let the fourth array base fall simply because their recements were inadequate. Some veterans had been ordered to remain behind, while others had done so willingly. After all, there were some people who would not be able to survive if they left the rear battlefield.

    Lu Yin did not care what motivations had kept the veteran defenders behind, as it simply did not matter. The fourth array base was part of humanity¡¯s first line of defense against Aeternus, and neither Lu Yin nor any of the four ruling powers would take action on the rear battlefield. It also did not matter if the veterans from the Perennial World learned about Lu Yin from the Fifth Maind¡¯s armies, as they would only be more amazed at Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments.

    However, there was one person among the veteran defenders who caught Lu Yin''s attention: Jiu Zizai. The man had been one of the fourth array base¡¯s colonels, and he was the only one to have remained behind.

    The man also had another identity; he was a Redback.

    Lu Yin had once Possessed Jiu Zizai when rolling his die, which was how Lu Yin knew that Jiu Zizai was a Redback who had been groomed by Marquis Wu Yi. However, Jiu Zizai had never done anything to harm humanity or the fourth array base. Aeternus¡¯s goal was for the man to retire with honors. Then, when he returned to the Perennial World, they would be able to take advantage of his highly respected status to steal information.

    Seeing Jiu Zizai, Lu Yin wondered just how many simr people existed on the rear battlefield.

    There were different reasons for people to fight on the rear battlefield. Some were there to defend humanity, while others were there to avoid enemies. Yet others were ambitious for a better future. Regardless of the motivations, there was never ack of people volunteering to fight on the rear battlefield. Given the situation, it was entirely possible that there were arge number of Redbacks present.

    It was understood that arge number of the Perennial World¡¯s Redbacks had been recruited and groomed on the rear battlefield. After all, the rear battlefield was the first line of defense protecting humanity from the forces of Aeternus, and the Aeternals loved to recruit Redbacks from ces where human lives were in grave danger.

    Everyone quietly waited for Lu Yin to continue speaking.

    Lu Yin just stared at Jiu Zizai, which flustered the man quite badly.

    He had no fear that he would be exposed as a Redback, as that was simply impossible. Jiu Zizai had never once taken actions detrimental to the fourth array base. No, rather than being exposed, Jiu Zizai was worried that Lu Yin would drive him away.

    "Jiu Zizai?" Lu Yin said while looking down at the man.

    His heart trembling, Jiu Zizai stepped forward. "Yes, Dao Chosen?"

    Lu Yin asked, "Why have you stayed behind? All the other colonels left with Bai Qi. You were her second-inmand and the highest ranking colonel. If you had returned with her to the Perennial World, any number of top powers would have dly recruited you."

    Jiu Zizai was feeling incredibly frustrated, because not only was Lu Yin stating the truth, but he was also voicing Jiu Zizai¡¯s goals. However, because of the man¡¯s importance to Bai Qi, he had been ordered to remain behind and keep an eye on the forces from the Forsaken Land. It was not at all what Jiu Zizai himself wanted to do.

    "This- this subordinate swore to protect the fourth array until death. I will never retreat from this ce." Jiu Zizai gritted his teeth as he spoke. He was absolutely unwilling to speak such words, but his behavior simply made him look determined to those watching.

    Hen Xin and the other Semi-Progenitors all looked at the man with satisfaction. Not everyone was willing to stay behind on the battlefield, and such a person deserved their admiration.

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s a good and proper attitude to have. Since you want to stay here, we won¡¯t treat you badly. When my Fifth Maind¡¯s armies rotate, you can choose to go to our Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect, if you wish. You don''t have to return to the Perennial World. I¡¯ll leave the choice up to you."

    Lu Yin waved a hand, dismissing Jiu Zizai and the rest of the veterans.

    Jiu Zizai felt rather confused. Go to the Fifth Maind? Why would he want to go to the Forsaken Land? Only an idiot would choose that.

    Lu Yin watched as Jiu Zizai withdrew. Lu Yin had not been offering the choice to Jiu Zizai, but to the Aeternals who controlled the Redback. Lu Yin was curious to see how they would make use of the man.

    "Dao Chosen, it''s highly unlikely that such a person will choose to go to our Fifth Maind," Hen Xin said.

    The other Semi-Progenitors also felt that Lu Yin¡¯s offer had been rather odd. Why would he offer to let someone go to the Fifth Maind when meeting him for the first time? It seemed very strange.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Not necessarily. Maybe my charisma won him over, haha."

    Everyone was speechless.

    "Alright, we are now on the rear battlefield. From now on, this will be your battlefield as well. I, Lu Yin, want to thank you for your contributions to humanity," Lu Yin stated solemnly.

    After leaving the fourth array base, Bai Qi turned back to look at the Astral Beast Army that was still cleaning up the battlefield. The astral beasts moved about in a very orderly manner. They looked just like a normal army.

    The Forsaken Land was not nearly as weak and backwards as they had imagined. On the contrary, the Forsaken Land was quite powerful. At the very least, on a battlefield at the level of the rear battlefield, not even the fifth array base couldpare to the army that the Fifth Maind had sent to protect the fourth array base.

    Also, the manner in which the Forsaken Land¡¯s armies fought had greatly expanded Bai Qi''s horizons. She wanted to report what she had seen to the sect and to her father. She firmly believed that the Perennial World¡¯s manner of warfare needed to change.

    Bai Qi was not alone, as Wang Zheng had the same thoughts. However, Wang Zheng was a step ahead of Bai Qi, as Wang Fan had already received a report.

    After Bai Qi''s report was sent out, both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan grew far more wary. The Fifth Maind was not nearly as simple as they had believed it to be.

    On the Wang family¡¯s floating maind, Wang Zheng continued to listen to Wang Shang as the man reported everything that he had observed in the Fifth Maind. Progenitor Wang Fan also sent a message, stating that everything concerning the Fifth Maind had to be reported to him in full detail. Nothing could be left out, and no mistakes could be made in the information given to him.

    It was at this moment that someone delivered another report, "Patriarch, someone else just stepped out of the New Corridor."

    Wang Zheng grew curious. "They sent more people?"

    He then immediately went to the edge of the maind and looked down at the valley. In it, he saw that two people had just emerged from the New Corridor. One of the two was Skymender, while the other was the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

 Chapter 2347: Probing

    Chapter 2347: Probing

    When Skymender and the Progenitor of Bloodlines emerged from the New Corridor, the Progenitor of Bloodlines immediately looked up at the Wang family¡¯s maind, as he had sensed an unusual aura.

    Even though Semi-Progenitors could not sense anything from the Mountain and Sea in the sky above the floatingndmass, the Progenitor of Bloodlines could.

    "So this is the Perennial World? Since the great war back then, my Sixth Maind has never had any dealings with this ce. I never thought that I would actuallye here." The Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed as he solemnly stared at the Wang family¡¯s maind.

    Skymendermented, "If not for the Aeternals interfering in things back then, the war would not have ended as it did."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed again. "We were simply too arrogant and were used by the Aeternals."

    "Let''s go. We need to get to Virtue Archives."

    The two then left the valley in the mountains and made their way towards the Middle Realm.

    While the Progenitor of Bloodlines had been crippled and had lost his Progenitor¡¯s world due to his injuries, he was still a Progenitor. His strength was iparable to a Semi-Progenitor, and the old man could still move with the same speed as before. Because of that, the two new arrivals from the Forsaken Land instantly vanished.

    Up on the Wang family¡¯s maind, Wang Zheng was horrified. He had not been able to see either of the men¡¯s cultivation levels, which meant they were each at least Semi-Progenitors. Why did more Semi-Progenitors arrive from the Fifth Maind? What were they doing?

    Without any hesitation, Wang Zheng sent a report to Wang Fan.

    Eyes in the Dominion Realm quickly looked down. They found the Progenitor of Bloodlines and Skymender right after the two left the Higher Realm; they were headed for the Middle Realm.

    The two did not have any knowledge of the Perennial World¡¯syout, but given their strength, it was too easy for them to find a ce like Virtue Archives.

    In the Dominion Realm, Wang Fan was surprised by what he saw. "A Progenitor? No, he no longer has that strength. He seems to be a cripple."

    "What is someone like that doing in my Perennial World?" Xia Shenji was also looking down, and he frowned. "Regardless of what he¡¯s here for, throw him out."

    Bai Wangyuan interjected, "The Forsaken Land has assumed the task of protecting the fourth array base, and we have reached an agreement with Lu Xiaoxuan that our two ces will allow free travel between them. Sending those two back to the Forsaken Land without just cause is no different from viting the truce. Just wait and see what they are going to do."

    "Based on the direction they¡¯re traveling in, they seem to be going to Virtue Archives, right?" Progenitor Long guessed.

    There were several people staring down at the Middle Realm.

    Within the Middle Realm, the Progenitor of Bloodlines looked upwards. "We are being watched by this ce¡¯s Progenitors."

    Skymender''s expression grew ugly. If he had not been forced by Lu Yin, Skymender would never havee to the Perennial World. There were so many Progenitors watching him, which was a terrifying experience.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was also feeling a great deal of pressure. Any one of the Progenitors who belonged to the Perennial World could casually eliminate someone like him. Moving around with the feeling of a de at his throat was extremely ufortable.

    Unfortunately, it was impossible to refuse Lu Yin''s requests.

    The two remained focused as they searched for Virtue Archives. It did not take them long to find the ce.

    At the same time, Xia Ziheng and the other four Semi-Progenitors who were waiting outside of Virtue Archives were staring at the academy. The Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird had already disappeared. Mu Shang had proceeded quicker than expected in opening the sourcebox array. Headmaster Wen was no longer able to endure, and he copsed.

    "It won''t be much longer." The Semi-Progenitors all watched as the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird vanished and were reced by lines.

    These lines would not be unfamiliar to those who were familiar with Virtue Archives, as they were the academy¡¯s famous Eighteen Lines Formation, which was used as a graduation exam to test the students¡¯bat strength. However, there were not merely eighteen lines at this moment, but countless lines.

    Mu Shang was very interested in this sourcebox array, as understanding it would greatly benefit his lockbreaking abilities.

    "Wen Lai, why don''t you ask the God of Food toe out and challenge the Progenitor realm? How long do you intend to wait?" Xia Ziheng taunted.

    Headmaster Wen remained solemn. "Keep stalling them. We need to buy time for Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s people to get here."

    "Wen Lai, what you¡¯re doing is pointless. Just give up. No one can save Virtue Archives," Wu Yao said.

    "Master. Come out, old man. Your disciple wants to watch you be a Progenitor," Mr. Yu said in a soft voice. It sounded as though he genuinely wanted to see the God of Food break through and be a Progenitor.

    The expressions of Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, and the rest of the remaining faculty all grew ugly. As soon as the defensive sourcebox arrays were broken, they would be confronted with five Semi-Progenitors and one Array Grandmaster. Such a line-up was too intimidating.

    Prof. Wei emotionallymented, "Back then, Lu Xiaoxuan managed to fight against four Semi-Progenitors on his own. I can¡¯t even imagine the pressure that he must have faced."

    The others remained silent. There were so many of them facing five Semi-Progenitors, yet they were already suffering from the pressure. Just how had Lu Xiaoxuan managed to endure such a thing? Not only had he fought against four Semi-Progenitors, but he had also killed one. Was that what was known as a peerless genius?

    "Hey, someone¡¯sing!" Prof. Huai eximed.

    Headmaster Wen and Ce Doni had already noticed the new arrivals, and they were both solemnly staring into the distance. They had no idea if these strangers approaching were friends or foes, but the two men were afraid of the four ruling powers sending additional experts to deal with the academy.

    The headmaster and Ce Doni were not alone, as Xia Ziheng and the four Semi-Progenitors with him had also noticed someone was approaching. They turned around, looked, and saw Skymender and the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Xia Ziheng was terrified as he looked at the unfamiliar face of the Progenitor of Bloodlines. This person¡¯s aurapletely suppressed Xia Ziheng. It felt like confronting¡­ a Progenitor?

    Wu Yao''s eyes widened. "A Progenitor?"

    Mr. Yu was very wary of the two strangers. "Impossible. An unknown Progenitor?"

    Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng and Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua nced at each other in shock. How could a Progenitor be getting involved?

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines''s cultivation might have fallen, but only other Progenitors could sense that the man was a cripple. It was not something that Semi-Progenitors could pick up on. As far as the Semi-Progenitors were concerned, the Progenitor of Bloodlines was a powerful Progenitor, which was Lu Yin¡¯s entire purpose in sending the man to Virtue Archives. Without the Progenitor of Bloodlines intimidating Xia Ziheng and the others, there was no way that a single person would be able to get past the five Semi-Progenitors sealing off Virtue Archives.

    At first, Xia Ziheng and the others did not even guess that the two strangers were from the Fifth Maind. There were too many hidden powerhouses in the Perennial World, and asionally, one would reveal themselves. No one would know where such an expert mighte from, and it was even possible for such a person to be a hidden Progenitor from one of the four ruling powers.

    Given the five Semi-Progenitors¡¯ knowledge, the possibility that the Progenitor of Bloodlines came from the Forsaken Land was not even considered.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines and Skymender slowly approached Virtue Archives.

    Xia Ziheng stepped forward, staring at the Progenitor of Bloodlines in confusion and with great fear. "Might I be so bold as to ask who Senior might be? This junior is Xia Ziheng, a junior from Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines nced over indifferently, but he did not answer. The pressure of a Progenitor spread out, and it caused Xia Ziheng''s hair to stand on end. It had not been long since he hadst felt this same sort of pressure, though it hade from the jiao and Xia Shenji. Feeling such pressure again made it difficult for the Semi-Progenitor to breath, and he instinctively wanted to escape.

    Wu Yao and others felt the exact same reaction.

    Not one of the Semi-Progenitors dared to stop the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines and Skymender simply walked past the group of Semi-Progenitors and approached the edge of the sourcebox array that surrounded Virtue Archives.

    "The Dao Chosen asked us toe and offer our help to Virtue Archives," Skymender said as he looked at Headmaster Wen and others.

    Headmaster Wen was overjoyed to hear this. "Lu Xiaoxuan asked you toe here?"

    Xia Ziheng and the others stared nkly. Lu Xiaoxuan? Was he interfering yet again? How had he managed to ask a Progenitor to take action? Where had such a powerhouse evene from?

    Skymender gave a small smile. "That''s right."

    He then started to observe the sourcebox array. "It''s been a very long time since Ist performed any lockbreaking in front of others. Let me see the strength of this ce¡¯s Array Grandmasters."

    He then disappeared into the sourcebox array.

    Mu Shang waspletely engrossed in his lockbreaking, so Skymender¡¯s sudden appearance was aplete surprise. The man did not know how to respond.

    Skymender started working, and Headmaster Wen quickly handed over control of the sourcebox array to the neer. Instantly, the horizontal lines that had been fading away one after another returned. Soon, the images of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird reappeared in the sky.

    Mu Shang was startled. "An Array Grandmaster?"

    The power of a sourcebox array controlled by an Array Grandmaster was iparable to the strength that could be disyed without one.

    Progenitor Wen himself had left behind the sourcebox array that protected Virtue Archives. Progenitor Wen had not only been an Array Grandmaster, but also a Progenitor. How could his sourcebox arrays be easy to unravel? Skymender¡¯s presence was like a key that fully unlocked the true power of the defensive sourcebox array.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines turned to face Xia Ziheng and the others. "The four ruling powers have an agreement with my Fifth Maind. People are allowed to freely travel back and forth between the two ces, and I am here to submit applications to Virtue Archives on behalf of my Fifth Maind¡¯s elite youths."

    Xia Ziheng and the others stared in a daze. Applications? If the academy regained students, then given the agreement with Virtue Archives, would not all of their previous efforts be in vain?

    The five Semi-Progenitors were not the only ones who were shocked, as Xia Shenji and the others watching from the Dominion Realm also had not expected Lu Yin to y such a hand.

    Sending cultivators from the Fifth Maind to enroll in Virtue Archives would give the academy students once again. And as long as Virtue Archives had students, the four ruling powers would have no official reason to destroy the academy. Moving against Virtue Archives would destroy their reputation.

    If that was what was needed to deal with Virtue Archives, then the four ruling powers would not have waited so long to target the academy.

    "Attack now and destroy Virtue Archives!" Xia Shenji ordered angrily. "Does Lu Xiaoxuan really believe that he can help them? What a joke! This is the Perennial World, not the Fifth Maind."

    Wang Fan agreed. "I agree¡ªdestroy Virtue Archives. We don¡¯t need any reasons."

    "We should have done so long ago. Progenitor Wen died fighting for humanity, but that was his own contribution for humanity, not something that can be credited to Virtue Archives. All that matters is that we do not harm people like Wen Lai, but we absolutely have to get a hold of the Mountain and Sea," Progenitor Long said.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. While it was easy for them to destroy Virtue Archives, it would not work out well for them. They had avoided openly attacking the academy thus far not only because of Progenitor Wen¡¯s contributions to humanity, but also because the four ruling powers were wary of offending the Liu family, the Nong family, and Specter Abyss.

    Without just cause, what would those three powers do if Virtue Archives was destroyed by the four ruling powers? This was why the four ruling powers needed at least reasonable cause for their actions, as they did not wantonly destroy all that opposed them.

    Even more important, with Lu Xiaoxuan leading the Fifth Maind to assume the defense of the fourth array base on the rear battlefield, it was possible that many things would soon change.

    In the recent decades, the four ruling powers had dominated the Perennial World without contest. But given the recent developments, if they started acting too aggressively, they might end up pushing everyone not allied with the four ruling powers to Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The Liu family and the Nong family had always been close to the Lu family, so if Virtue Archives was carelessly destroyed, then there was no way of knowing how those two would react.

    Furthermore, there was still Specter Abyss. Given the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan had received the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, it was possible that Specter Abyss would be his sworn enemy and would fight him for the God of Death¡¯s inheritance. However, it was also possible that Specter Abys would ally with Lu Xiaoxuan instead.

    Bai Wangyuan did not want to gamble. If he lost this bet, Lu Xiaoxuan would instantly obtain the support of three more Progenitors. With both Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke added in, the four ruling powers would not have even the slightest advantage over Lu Xiaoxuan even in the Perennial World.

    While the current conflict only involved the unimportant Virtue Archives, the events that were ying out right now could have ripples that would involve the entire Perennial World.

    This was also the direction that Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts had traveled in when he had received Mr. Tang¡¯s call for help. Lu Yin wanted to see how the four ruling powers would deal with Virtue Archives, as well as how it would affect the attitudes of the rest of the organizations in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin was essentially tying a thread to a pebble and tossing it in ake to measure the depths of the water.

    Bai Wangyuan shared his hesitations, and Xia Shenji and the others remained silent for a moment. While they were able to suppress Lu Xiaoxuan and the Fifth Maind, if the Liu family, the Nong family, and Specter Abyss moved to join Lu Xiaoxuan as well, then things would be very difficult. It would essentially create a schism in the Perennial World.

    "I am going to go speak with Lu Xiaoxuan," Xia Shenji said.

    "Let me do that," Bai Wangyuan replied.

    Skymender¡¯s interference made it very difficult for Mu Shang to open the sourcebox array that protected Virtue Archives. As time passed and Skymender grew increasingly familiar with the sourcebox array, Mu Shang would eventually be leftpletely unable to open the sourcebox array, instead of just needing additional time.

 Chapter 2348: Questioning

    <h4>Chapter 2348: Questioning</h4>

    Ultimately, Mu Shang stepped out of the sourcebox array and stared at Skymender. "I don''t remember an Array Grandmaster like you."

    Skymender answered from within the sourcebox array, surrounded by the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird¡¯s mes. "I¡¯m from the Fifth Maind. I am the imperial advisor of the Celestial Beast Empire. Skymender is here on behalf of the Heavens Sect."

    Mu Shang felt puzzled. "The Heavens Sect?"

    He nced over at Xia Ziheng and the others in bewilderment.

    The expressions of Xia Ziheng and the others turned ugly. "Lu Xiaoxuan is involving himself in Virtue Archives¡¯ affairs? Why would he do that?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines casually replied, "We have nothing to do with Virtue Archives. We simply came to deliver a list of applicants from the Fifth Maind who wish to take the entrance exam to join Virtue Archives."

    The man then raised a hand and sent a sheet of paper floating towards Headmaster Wen .

    Headmaster Wen took the page and nced at it. It was truly a list of applicants. "Are these people the Fifth Maind¡¯s elites?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines replied, "We have heard that Virtue Archives teaches talented youths and that this ce even houses Progenitor Wen¡¯s inheritance. I wonder if the children of my Fifth Maind can enroll here?"

    Headmaster Wenughed. "Of course! They can take the entrance exam at any time. Where are these children?"

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines smiled. "They are still on their way, and they should arrive within a few days, though I¡¯m not sure how many will be able to pass the exam."

    Ce Doni was ecstatic, and he straightened up. "Don''t worry about that. If they were able to receive Senior¡¯s acknowledgement, they will definitely be able to pass the entrance exam. I must thank you, Senior, for regarding our Virtue Archives so highly."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines just smiled. The truth was that, before receiving Lu Yin¡¯s request, the old man had never even heard of Virtue Archives. He was now realizing that the academy was quite famous in the Perennial World, and he genuinely did not know if the Fifth Maind¡¯s geniuses would qualify to join.

    On the rear battlefield, on the fourth array base, Lu Yin was waiting to receive news regarding Zhou Tang and the other vassals of the Lu family.

    Since Lu Yin had already taken over the fourth array base, Zhou Tang and other surviving vassals of the Lu family were supposed to be released into his care. He had remained at the fourth array base just to receive them.

    The Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Astral Beast Army had already spread out across the fourth array base, and their presence had drawn the attention of all the other array bases.

    The five array bases were the defenses that protected the rear battlefield, and they each helped each other. However, they alsopeted with each other. The most obvious way in which theypeted was in the amount of territory that they were able to im in the New World. This had long since been a standing contest between the five array bases.

    Thepetition on the rear battlefield was different from how the various powers of the Perennial Worldpeted with each other. Thepetition between the five array bases had nothing to do with families or affiliations. All that mattered was which array base one belonged to.

    However, suchpetition had vanished for a long time. Ever since the Lu family had been exiled, the Perennial World had lost the ability to enter the New World. At best, they had been able to keep control of a single city.

    Even with thepetition to retake control of the New World gone, there remained a certain rivalry between the five array bases. This was further aggravated by the fact that the fourth array base had been taken over by people from the Forsaken Land. Knowing that, none of the other array bases wanted to fall behind the outsiders.

    "Those four Semi-Progenitors are certainly ruthless enough." On the first array base, General Bai Chi looked over with cold eyes. There were corpse kings everywhere on the first array base, and the defensive sourcebox arrays were never deactivated.

    A colonel beside the general respectfullymented, "There isn¡¯t a single corpse king anywhere on the fourth array base. Those four Semi-Progenitors came from the Forsaken Land itself, but given their strength, as well as the presence of the Xia family¡¯s jiao, the Aeternals won¡¯t be able to touch that array base unless a Progenitor arrives to help them. Any assault on the fourth array base will only result in death."

    Bai Chi responded in a contemptuous voice, "For the Forsaken Land, those four Semi-Progenitors must be more than half of their strength, if not all their strength. Once those four fall, I want to see just how the Forsaken Land will continue protecting the fourth array base. Keep an eye on things, and let me know the moment anything at all happens to the fourth array base."

    Despite Bai Chi¡¯s dislike for the people of the Forsaken Land, as a general, he could not allow anything to happen to any of the array bases.

    Nothing could be allowed to happen to any of the five array bases. If one fell, the other four would not be able to remain standing for long.

    On the second array base, Xia Yan took personal action. There were no corpse kings anywhere at all on the fourth array base, while they filled the sky around the second array base. This was basically proof that the second array base could not measure up to the strength of the fourth array base, which waspletely uneptable to General Xia Yan.

    ncing around, the general suddenly noticed Luo Fang, the second array base¡¯s Array Master. The sight of the Lockbreaker made Xia Yan feel ill. It was information from Luo Fang that had convinced Xia Yan to confirm to the Xia family that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. After it had been revealed that, not only was the information that Xia Yan provided false, but that Yu Hao himself was an imposter, Xia Yan had been scolded by the family¡¯s Progenitor himself!

    Xia Yan was the general of the second array base on the rear battlefield. Given his status, he had never once been reprimanded by a Progenitor. Recalling the humiliation caused Xia Yan¡¯s face to twist, and he even wanted to attack Luo Fang. This Array Master had actually helped Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Luo Fang also happened to see Xia Yan, and the two men looked at each other for a moment. Then, the Array Master panicked, turned around, and left.

    Xia Yan let out a disdainful snort, and he suddenly tore through the void to instantly appear directly in front of Luo Fang. The shockwave from the warp struck Luo Fang, and it knocked the wind out of the man.

    "Master Luo, why did you run away after seeing me?" Xia Yan demanded in a cold voice.

    Luo Fang held his head, as he had just fallen. He looked up at Xia Yan with an offended and indignant expression. "Why did you just attack me, General?"

    Xia Yan''s eyes flickered with a cold glint. "Do you really think that I don¡¯t know what you did?"

    Luo Fang looked up. "You are the general and a Semi-Progenitor, so while there is nothing wrong with you attacking a junior like me, you do need to have reasonable cause. Even if I, Luo Fang, am not from a powerful family, I am still an Array Master. Have you considered how you will answer to the other Lockbreakers for your actions against me?"

    "Do you actually dare to threaten me?" The pressure from Xia Yan increased yet again, rising to a level that Luo Fang could not endure. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he crumpled to the ground.

    At this moment, Master Deng Guo happened to pass by, and he saw what was happening. He quickly appeared in front of Xia Yan. "General Xia, might I ask what Luo Fang has done to offend the general and anger you so?"

    Xia Yan replied in a cial voice, "He helped Lu Xiaoxuan deceive the four ruling powers. Such a crime is enough to warrant his death 10,000 times over!"

    Master Deng Guo was taken aback, and he turned to stare at Luo Fang. "You aided Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Luo Fang remainedying on the ground, and he struggled to even speak. "No."

    Master Deng Guo looked back at Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan then proceeded to recount his previous conversation with Luo Fang, word by word. "If this man hadn''t verified that Grandmaster Gu Yan had epted an apprentice and had even said that the apprentice was good-looking, my Xia family would never have believed that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan''s apprentice! How could you allow Lu Xiaoxuan to deceive us?"

    Luo Fang coughed twice and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Might I be so bold as to ask the general, throughout that entire conversation, did I ever once mention that the Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice was named Yu Hao?"

    Xia Yan was taken aback.

    Deng Guo stared at Xia Yan. "General, was that ever said?"

    Master Deng Guo was a Realm Array Master, and as such, he enjoyed a status on par with Semi-Progenitors. There was no need for the man to show any deference to Xia Yan.

    Xia Yan took a deep breath. "No."

    Luo Fang continued, "Then, might I be so bold as to ask the general if I ever said that Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice was part of the four ruling powers?"

    Master Deng Guo stared at Xia Yan.

    The general¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Not once."

    "In that case, why is the general convinced that I helped Lu Xiaoxuan deceive the four ruling powers? I merely visited Grandmaster Gu Yan and overheard a bit of news. Could it be that the person who spread that news elsewhere should be responsible for what people interpreted? I, Luo Fang, admit that that I heard rumors being spread, and while I heard them, how can the general use me of trying to deceive the four ruling powers?

    "Everything about me, Luo Fang, has been recorded from the first moment I began cultivating. Not once have I had any sort of contact with any member of the Lu family, so how could I have helped Lu Xiaoxuan? How could Lu Xiaoxuan have contacted me? I didn''t even know that Yu Hao was actually Lu Xiaoxuan!" Luo Fang angrily stated.

    Xia Yan frowned. This was indeed a problem. Luo Fang had stayed on the rear battlefield ever since he had started studying lockbreaking, and he had not once had any interactions with Lu Xiaoxuan. There was no question about this at all.

    Furthermore, how could Lu Xiaoxuan, who had been in the Forsaken Land for so many years, make contact with Luo Fang? Why would Luo Fang be willing to take such a huge personal risk by lying? Nothing about the matter truly made sense.

    Was it possible that Luo Fang had beenpletely honest the entire time? Was it possible for such a coincidence to take ce? That was also impossible, as every word that Luo Fang had said during that first conversation had clearly been directing Xia Yan to a single conclusion, which was that Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice was Yu Hao. The timing and description that he had provided were too precise to be a coincidence.

    "You told me that Grandmaster Gu Yan personally asked you about the Celestial Frost Sect. Is that true?" Xia Yan suddenly asked.

    Luo Fang replied, "It is true. If you doubt me, you can speak with Grandmaster Gu Yan himself, and he will tell you the same."

    "What do you say, General? Why don¡¯t you go speak with Grandmaster Gu Yan," Master Deng Guo spoke up.

    Xia Yan let out a long breath. "It appears that I truly did misunderstand you. In that case, why did you flee the moment you saw me just now?"

    Luo Fang bitterly answered, "With so many corpse kings attacking the array base, why should I, an Array Master, head out intobat? General, if you are here, then you must be facing Semi-Progenitor level opponents. How can I survive anywhere near a battle at that level?"

    There was no w in anything the man said, and Xia Yan hesitated.

    "General Xia, is there anything else that you would like to ask Luo Fang? If not, I''ll be taking him to receive treatment." The Lockbreakers on the rear battlefield had a mentality of simply plodding along while doing the bare minimum and enjoying life to the fullest. Their situation caused them to be far more united than they would otherwise be.

    Xia Yan had openly attacked Luo Fang without cause or even first questioning the man, which left Master Deng Guo quite irritated.

    Xia Yan looked down at Luo Fang, and his voice was much gentler when he spoke again. "I misunderstood you this time."

    The general then pulled out a power vessel that he handed to Luo Fang. "This is topensate you."

    Only then did Master Deng Guo¡¯s expression improve.

    Luo Fang did not dare to make trouble for Xia Yan. After all, the man was the general of the second array base, as well as a powerful Semi-Progenitor. "If the misunderstanding has been resolved, then I¡¯ll take my leave now."

    Xia Yan nodded. He stared at the backs of the two Lockbreakers as Master Deng Guo led Luo Fang away. Something flickered across his eyes, but it was impossible to tell what was going through the man¡¯s mind.

    Wang Xun was the general of the third array base, and while his attitude towards the new defenders of the fourth array base mirrored that of Bai Chi, Wang Xun was more preupied with why the Progenitors had allowed Lu Xiaoxuan to go free. Just why had the four ruling powers agreed to a truce?

    No one had even considered the possibility that Lu Yin was capable of fighting against the Progenitors of the four ruling powers, as that was simply impossible. After all, the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors were equivalent to half of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Who in the current era could stand up to such powerhouses?

    Even if the Liu family, the Nong family, and Specter Abyss had an equal number of Progenitors as the four ruling powers, it would still be impossible for the four ruling powers to be challenged, as their Progenitors were simply too powerful.

    How had Lu Xiaoxuan pulled off a truce?

    The generalmanding the fifth array base was Kuang Yan, who was also known as General Kuang. Kuang Yan did not have many thoughts about what had happened. All he knew was that the defenders of the fourth array base had changed, and he had also felt the pressure of the jiao that had the strength of a Progenitor. However, not only had Kuang Yan not been scared by the jiao, but its arrival had also actually stimted his battle force.

    Unlike the people from the four ruling powers, Kuang Yan held no prejudice against the Forsaken Land, especially after he felt the strength of the jiao. He wanted to move closer to the beast to try to bear the pressure of its presence.

    Only by directly facing such power could he trulye to terms with it.

    Kuang Yan intended to do as he wished. After all, the fifth array base was not suffering from a difficult attack at the moment, and the former Array Master of the fourth array base, Ru Ying, had relocated to the fifth array base, which gave them three Semi-Progenitors. Given the current situation, Kuang Yan could leave his post for a bit.

    The general stepped off of the fifth array base and entered the open sky. Instead of moving to the top of the array bases where they joined together and then moving over to the fourth array base along that route, the general had opted for a different route. He was going straight towards the fourth array base by moving directly across the rear battlefield.

 Chapter 2349: Forgotten Ruins God Strikes

    <h4>Chapter 2349: Forgotten Ruins God Strikes</h4>

    While a straight line was certainly the shortest distance between two points, not everyone could take such a path on the rear battlefield. There were simply too many variables in the evershifting situation.

    However, for a Semi-Progenitor, moving between two array bases in a straight line was very simple. Kuang Yan was not the first to do so, nor would he be thest. This was a verymon path taken by the generals.

    It only took Kuang Yan two steps to reach the halfway point between the fourth and fifth array bases. He stared upwards at the massive form of the jiao in shock.

    Despite Kuang Yan¡¯s many years on the rear battlefield, he had never been so physically close to a Progenitor-level powerhouse before. Whenever Aeternus sent a Progenitor towards the rear battlefield, the expert would be blocked by someone from the Dominion Realm. The most recent incident had been the attempt by the Seven Skygods¡¯ Corpse God, who had fruitlessly attempted to attack Ceaseless Impetus, only to be stopped far away from the five array bases.

    The jiao opened its eyes and looked down at Kuang Yan. The general was not a mere Semi-Progenitor, as he was someone who had spent endless years on the rear battlefield; the man¡¯s killing intent drew the beast¡¯s attention like amp.

    After seeing that the jiao was looking at him, Kuang Yan became far more subdued as he took another step. He was facing a tremendous amount of pressure, but that just motivated him to move even closer. This was the general¡¯s character. This was General Kuang.

    Suddenly, the jiao¡¯s eyes opened wide as it stared in Kuang Yan''s direction.

    Kuang Yan was startled by the abrupt change in the jiao¡¯s demeanor, and he thought that the beast was about to attack him. Even if the massive jiao had been subdued, it was still a living creature. What would Kuang Yan be able to do if the jiao tried to take a bite of him?

    "Excuse me, you¡¯re in my way." A pleasant voice suddenly spoke up from right next to Kuang Yan''s ear.

    The general¡¯s pupils constricted to dots, as this situation defied his imagination. He spun around and saw someone calmly standing in the sky less than five meters away from him.

    The woman was stunningly beautiful, and her figure was impressive. Her eyes sparkled like bright stars, and even at a distance of several meters, Kuang Yan could see his own reflection in the woman¡¯s eyes. The most eye-catching detail about the woman¡¯s appearance was what looked like the image of a flower on her face. It was simply the shape, and there was no color in the flower image. And yet, the first sight of it gave Kuang Yan a mental image of the flower fluttering in a breeze. The flower that appeared in Kuang Yan¡¯s mind was red.

    The woman¡¯s captivating eyes and stunning face drew in even Kuang Yan.

    She was calmly standing in the middle of the sky, but she did not give Kuang Yan even the slightest nce. She was entirely focused on the fourth array base, and more specifically, on a certain person who was there.

    Kuang Yan did not dare to move. He instinctively felt that if he moved at all, he would likely disappear forever.

    The general did not feel any pressure from the woman at all, but that was exactly what was so terrifying about her.

    She had managed to arrive just a few meters away from Kuang Yan in absolute silence. He had not sensed anything when she had arrived, and he could onlye up with one possibility: this woman was a Progenitor.

    Kuang Yan had no idea just how many Progenitors belonged to Aeternus, but as he looked at the woman in front of him, her appearance gradually merged with someone¡¯s description: Forgotten Ruins God.

    At this same time, Lu Yin looked up from his location on the fourth array base. He looked past Kuang Yan and saw Forgotten Ruins God. The two stared at each other.

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled. It was a lovely smile. The curve of the lips was overwhelming, and her eyes took on an indescribable shape as the beautiful woman mouthed a message to Lu Yin. "I''m here to kill you."

    Lu Yin''s expression changedpletely. God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder, and he simultaneously called upon the runes of the Champions¡¯ Stage. A terrifying number of runes reinforced the punch that Lu Yin unleashed.

    The next instance, the void froze everywhere within the nearby region. This phenomenon instantly epassed the entire fourth array base, and then spread out to cover the fifth and third array bases as well.

    Andmass appeared beneath the three array bases, and the moment it appeared, the eyes of everyone on the three array bases went nk. It was as though all thoughts had left their minds. Everyone, including Semi-Progenitors Arch-Elder Zen and Hen Xin, had the exact same reaction.

    Not one person above the strangendmass that had appeared was able to remain conscious, with the sole exception of Lu Yin.

    With the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin was barely able to ward off the effect of thendmass that had appeared. ¡°In my name, I summon a champion."

    A voice fell, and E Chi raced towards Forgotten Ruins God while wielding his serrated de. It dropped down,pletely disregarding Kuang Yan.

    Kuang Yan just stood in ce. His back was to E Chi, and the general continued to simply stare at Forgotten Ruins God.

    He could see the reflection in her eyes, and Kuang Yan noticed E Chi approaching. The scent of blood arrived first, and the suffocating smell froze the Semi-Progenitor in ce. There was a Progenitor in front of him and another one behind him. Why were there so many Progenitors here?

    Forgotten Ruins God watched with great interest as E Chi''s de fell. "So, is this the trump card that the Lu family left behind for you?"

    She waved a hand, and E Chi¡¯s body was somehow sliced in half, but Lu Yin could not even see how. Half of E Chi¡¯s body was crushed, and it passed right through Kuang Yan.

    If not for Forgotten Ruins God, E Chi¡¯s strength meant that even the slight impact would have shattered Kuang Yan¡¯s body.

    The general nkly stared at E Chi, whose body had dropped down. The remaining half of the champion¡¯s body adopted a charging stance. Fear overwhelmed Kuang Yan, but something erupted within his heart forced him to move. He was Kuang Yan, the general of the fifth array base! He was Kuang Shuai! So what if there was a Progenitor in front of him? Move, move move!

    Kuang Yan released a low growl as the muscles in his arms swelled. He forced himself to move and punched at Forgotten Ruins God.

    Forgotten Ruins God had not expected Kuang Yan to suddenly make a move. "You¡¯re in my way."

    The woman then slowly raised a hand. A casual wave of her hand had just destroyed half of E Chi¡¯s body. For Kuang Yan, he would be finished if Forgotten Ruins God so much as twitched in his direction.

    Kuang Yan knew that he was already dead, and while he was not willing to ept his death, he was even more unwilling to allow fear to control him. He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he was fighting on the rear battlefield. He had worked hard to ensure that the fifth array base was thest ce the forces of Aeternus wanted to approach. Kuang Yan had his own pride, so why should he be afraid? In the worst situation, he would simply die.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he stared at the sky in front of Kuang Yan.

    Forgotten Ruins God indifferently waved her hand, and an invisible powershed out. It was the same attack that had destroyed half of E Chi''s body, and it was absolutely impossible for Kuang Yan to endure such a power.

    The Semi-Progenitor could not even understand how Forgotten Ruins God had attacked him.

    Lu Yin was simrly unable to understand the attack, but such?understanding was unnecessary.

    The moment Forgotten Ruins God attacked, Lu Yin had arranged a counterattack from the runes that were ced in front of Kuang Yan. Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack passed through the runes, and they weakened her attack by more than half, though the remnants of her attack still struck Kuang Yan and sent him flying.

    The general¡¯s body shed through the sky like a meteor.

    Lu Yin''s face turned pale. "Get down here!"

    The jiao let out a roar as it rushed down towards Forgotten Ruins God, its fangs and ws bared in a threatening manner.

    Forgotten Ruin God stared at the jiao with a stern expression. "Begone!"

    Her hand struck out again, and Lu Yin immediately focused his eyes on the space in front of the jiao.

    However, this time, the endless runes under Lu Yin¡¯s control were unable to influence Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack, and it struck the jiao with full power.

    A smile appeared on Forgotten Ruins God''s face. A technique from Truesight that relied on borrowed runes could never affect her attacks. She had only casually struck at Kuang Yan, but even a weakened attack had left Kuang Yan at death¡¯s door.

    How could Forgotten Ruins God possibly attack the jiao with the same level of attack that Kuang Yan had received?

    Lu Yin was unable to significantly weaken Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack, but she also failed to injure the jiao.

    The jiao was merely pushed slightly backwards, and it immediately rushed forward yet again, though with a hint of fear in its eyes.

    Forgotten Ruins God was quite surprised. "So it¡¯s pretty tough? In that case¡­"

    Just as she was about to attack the jiao again, E Chi charged at her from below again. Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly, and bloody tears streamed from his eyes as he used everyst rune avable to resist the invisible attack. Lu Yin did everything he could to put some pressure on Forgotten Ruins God.

    Even Xia Shenji had been cautious against such an encircling array of attacks, and Lu Yin believed that Forgotten Ruins God should be no different.

    However, Lu Yin hadpletely underestimated Forgotten Ruins God. No, Lu Yin had underestimated the Seven Skygods.

    Forgotten Ruins God just moved thendmass beneath the three array bases upwards a bit, and E Chi was crushed. At the same time, the jiao was sent flying, and all of Lu Yin¡¯s runes were dispersed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s body trembled as he spat out blood. He could not defeat this woman. They were not even on the same ying field. The strength that Lu Yin had just mobilized was enough to fight off Xia Shenji, as that Progenitor would have needed to pay a price to break free from such an assault. That was why Xia Shenji had retreated and then taken Bai Sheng to the Fifth Maind so that someone else could keep the jiao and E Chi busy.

    Unfortunately, all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts proved useless against Forgotten Ruins God.

    Was this the true power of one of the Seven Skygods?

    "Hehe, did you misunderstand something?" Forgotten Ruins God stared at Lu Yin with a smile on her face. Her eyes sparkled, and the image of the flower only entuated her beauty. "I am a Skygod!"

    With that, the pressure around the fourth array base solidified, cing an incredible amount of strain on everyone on it.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Do you really want to push things this far?"

    He pulled out the broken scythe and prepared to bring out the God of Death¡¯s Death''s left arm as well so that he could release his most powerful attack.

    However, another person suddenly appeared, and they stood before the fourth array base. This person was also a woman. Progenitor Smoke had appeared.

    "A Progenitor bullying a three-tribtion junior? Is this what the Seven Skygods are capable of?" Upon Progenitor Smoke¡¯s arrival, white smoke spread out, surrounding the fourth array base and forcing back thendmass that Forgotten Ruins God had caused to appear. Everywhere in sight, thendmass fought the white fog for dominance.

    The sight of Progenitor Smoke allowed Lu Yin to heave a sigh of relief. He had been saved.

    It was at this time that Arch-Elder Zen and everyone else recovered from their stupor, and they stared out into the sky between the array bases in shock. There were two Progenitors fighting each other in front of their eyes.

    The two women shed against each other in front of the fourth array base.

    "There¡¯s no need to be in such a rush. I was just stopping by to say hello," Forgotten Ruins God said while shing a charming smile at Progenitor Smoke.

    The other woman coldly retorted, "That¡¯s a rather frightening way of saying hi."

    The smile never left Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s face. "Of course. No ordinary people qualify to receive a greeting from one of the Seven Skygods. What¡¯s wrong? You seem worried about the little guy."

    Progenitor Smoke red at Forgotten Ruins God. "So you¡¯re Wang Miaomiao, the founding matriarch of the Wang Family? Why did you betray humanity?"

    Forgotten Ruins God blinked and then pointed at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll answer if he asks the question, but I won¡¯t answer any of your questions."

    Progenitor Smoke arched a brow and then automatically nced back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had also heard Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s words, so he bluntly asked, "Why did you betray humanity?"

    This was a familiar scene to Lu Yin, as he had experienced the same situation when the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall had traveled through time and space. Lu Yin and several others had been shuttled along within the main hall, and Forgotten Ruins God had said the same thing. Anything that Lu Yin had asked, Forgotten Ruins God had actually answered.

    The woman smiled. "It was too boring."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. He had heard her give this same answer before. She was not actually telling the truth, was she?

    "Hey, you should join Aeternus, too! Then you won¡¯t ever be bored," Forgotten Ruins God said to Lu Yin while grabbing his hand.

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "If you actually joined Aeternus just because you were bored, then you absolutely deserve to die."

    Forgotten Ruins God rolled her eyes. "Why are you being so serious? Every living creature is born from the universe, which means that all life shares the same origin. However, the form of life can bepletely different. What will worrying so much aplish? It just tires you out. You look exhausted. You know what? Just forget it. I just came by to say hello. Oh, also, I wanted to see how powerful you¡¯ve be for you to intimidate the four ruling powers."

    A smile returned to the woman¡¯s face. "Honestly, it''s just average."

    She then turned around and made to leave, but Progenitor Smoke immediately moved as well, blocking Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s path.

    The Skygod¡¯s entire demeanor instantly changed. She became dark and cold, and the air around the fourth array base stilled. "Little girl, you better let me leave. Have you considered the consequences of blocking my path?"

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression changed. At this moment, she felt an unimaginable pressure from Forgotten Ruins God. Progenitor Smoke was an ancient powerhouse who had lived through many things, but she was not skilled atbat, and no one else from the Dominion Realm had made any moves to help her.

 Chapter 2350: Ownership Of The Mountain And Sea

    <h4>Chapter 2350: Ownership Of The Mountain And Sea</h4>

    .

    The change that overcame Forgotten Ruins Godsted but a moment. The instance that Progenitor Smoke felt fear, Forgotten Ruins God smiled again, and the coldness vanished like an illusion. "Time to go. Let''s talk more next time we meet. You¡¯ll definitely join Aeternus, haha."

    With that, her body simply vanished.

    Progenitor Smoke stared nkly at the ce where Forgotten Ruins God had disappeared from. The woman¡¯s face flushed brightly. Had she actually been frightened? How could she have been scared? She was Progenitor Smoke! Little girl? How dare some traitor call her a little girl!

    Anger bubbled up within the woman¡¯s heart, and Progenitor Smoke clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to chase after the Aeternal.

    Aside from Progenitor Smoke herself, no one else heard what Forgotten Ruins God had just said, not even Lu Yin.

    He stepped into the sky between the array bases and approached Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, thank you for saving me."

    Progenitor Smoke red at him. "What senior? Scurry along."

    The woman returned to the Dominion Realm in a huff, leaving Lu Yin stunned. Had he somehow offended Progenitor Smoke?

    ¡­

    Almost no time passed between the moment Forgotten Ruins God had first appeared, to the end of her attack when she had left. There had barely been enough time for anyone from the Dominion Realm to even react, and the rear battlefield suffered no damage, aside from Lu Yin and Kuang Yan being injured. Well, the jiao had been struck twice as well.

    After everything was done, the people on the three array bases that had been affected fell into confusion for a short time.

    The sudden appearance of thendmass beneath the three array bases had not only confused the humans, but also the corpse kings, which was very fortunate. If the corpse kings had not also been stunned, then the human forces on the three array bases would have suffered catastrophic losses.

    Lu Yin calmly went to check on the seriously injured Kuang Yan. The man was still alive, but his injuries were so severe that he would need months to heal and recuperate. In fact, the man had not even regained consciousness yet.

    If Lu Yin had not blocked a portion of Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attack with Truesight, Kuang Yan would have died without question.

    "I honestly can¡¯t decide if that man is lucky or unlucky. He actually managed to survive a strike from one of the Seven Skygods at such close range," Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    Lu Yin was staring at Kuang Yan, but his mind was on other matters.

    It was clear that he had severely underestimated the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin had actually believed that, since he was capable of defeating both Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng with his abilities, that it meant that he could also stand up to the Seven Skygods. However, in reality, Lu Yin had not even been able to force Forgotten Ruins God to bring out her Progenitor¡¯s world. Thendmass that had appeared was the pinnacle of the Wang family¡¯s Sit and Forget. It was not even the woman¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Even with Forgotten Ruins God holding so much of her strength back, it was impossible for Lu Yin to ovee any of her attacks with the Progenitor-level runes that he had ess to from Lu Jian¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. The gap between Lu Yin and Forgotten Ruins God was simply too vast.

    He had always dealt with the Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor avatars before this. Even if Ancient God had once revealed the power of a Progenitor with his Semi-Progenitor avatar, he had only exerted the most basic physical might of a Progenitor. What he had revealed back then was iparable to the true strength of one of the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin had just witnessed the true strength of the Seven Skygods.

    Just as Forgotten Ruins God had said, Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength was average, but nothing more than that.

    Xia Shenji had not revealed his full strength when fighting against Lu Yin, and even Bai Sheng had likely kept some things hidden. The two Progenitors might have felt intimidated by Lu Yin¡¯s strength and not wanted to risk death fighting him. However, if a true death match had been fought, then Lu Yin might have found it impossible to pull out a victory even after utilizing everything avable to him, including the power that Progenitor Chen had left for the Fifth Maind.

    What actually made the four ruling powers afraid was his threat against Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. He felt that he should thank Forgotten Ruins God. If not for her, he would have likely grown a bit arrogant. He had truly believed himself equal to the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors, but the Skygod had shown Lu Yin that he was still far behind.

    Lu Yin was only a three-tribtion Envoy, but he was not far from triggering his fourth stellr tribtion. He was also confident that, after he became a Semi-Progenitor, he would be able to fight and even defeat Progenitors when they used their full power.

    Lu Yin tried not to think about such things, as he was still too far from that level.

    Fortunately, while Forgotten Ruins God had shown Lu Yin the gap between himself and truly powerful Progenitors, Lu Yin was not afraid. While he might not be able to defeat such powerhouses, he was not without the means to survive when facing them.

    Lu Yin had enough power at his disposal that even Progenitors felt wary of him.

    The rear battlefield fellpletely silent. After the Forgotten Ruins God left, the countless corpse kings that had been attacking the five array bases also retreated, pulling back like a tide.

    The war on the rear battlefield never ceased, but that did not mean that there were no moments of calm.

    Bai Chi, Wang Xun, and the other Semi-Progenitors all remained silent.

    They had watched as Forgotten Ruins God had attacked the fourth array base, but since they had not been present, they were unaware of the details. All that they had seen was Forgotten Ruins God attacking, the jiao moving out, and then Lu Yin summoning a Progenitor-level champion that attacked Forgotten Ruins God. In just a few moments, they had seen multiple Progenitors take action.

    Finally, the Semi-Progenitors on the rear battlefield understood why the four ruling powers had agreed to a truce with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was actually able to unleash the power of more than one Progenitor, so it was no wonder the four ruling powers feared him enough that they did not simply attack the young man.

    The attitude that all the generals held towards the new defenders of the fourth array base changed in an instant. All thoughts ofpeting vanished. If Lu Yin left behind even one of those Progenitor level powers, how could any of the other array basespete with the fourth array base?

    Even if Lu Yin did not leave behind some form of a Progenitor¡¯s power for the fourth array base, there were still four Semi-Progenitors stationed there. That was essentially the same as any other two array basesbined. Adding in thebat techniques and technology employed by the Fifth Maind cultivators, the fourth array base was well on its way to establishing itself as standing above all the other array bases.

    Forgotten Ruins God''s attack on the fourth array base had startled many people, but the base¡¯s instant reaction had been terrifying.

    The most unfortunate person was Kuang Yan, while the most terrifying was Lu Yin. Also, the jiao had proven itself to be the most durable.

    Lu Yin had not expected the jiao to possess such impressive defenses, though he did remember that, when both Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng had tried to attack him, the jiao had proven itself to be quite durable as well. All this time, it had never suffered any injuries at all.

    Forgotten Ruins God had held nothing back when attacking the jiao, but she had not left even the slightest hint of injury.

    Lu Yin looked over at the jiao in the distance. The beast was still shing its fangs and ws. Lu Yin could not help but wonder just who could have left such a vicious wound on the jiao¡¯s head that, even now, there was still lightning damaging the beast¡¯s brain and leaving it stupid. Was that something that Xia Shenji was capable of doing?

    Suddenly, the jiao lowered its head to look at Lu Yin. The enormous eyes took on a threatening look.

    Lu Yin reached out for the Champions¡¯ Stage and pulled out its Progenitor-level runes to fill the area around him. After a moment, he looked in a specific direction, and then Bai Wangyuan stepped out.

    "Do you intend to attack the fourth array base, Progenitor Bai?" Lu Yin asked coldly while warily staring at Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "I''m here to talk to you about Virtue Archives."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained cold. "Coming here without giving any warning and surprising me like this is something that I consider to be a show of hostility."

    Bai Wangyuanpletely ignored Lu Yin¡¯s irritation. "Lu Xiaoxuan, we''ve already agreed to a truce with you, so there¡¯s no need to be so cautious of us. We won¡¯t make ourselves liars, and even if we did, your vignce would mean nothing."

    "I''m just afraid that I might identally hurt you, Progenitor Bai," Lu Yin retorted.

    Bai Wangyuan remained indifferent to Lu Yin¡¯s provocations. "Are you certain that you want to get involved in Virtue Archives¡¯ affairs?"

    Lu Yin said, "The fourth array base was just attacked by one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies, and yet Progenitor Bai doesn¡¯t want to even ask about how we held back a Skygod?"

    "Xi Wei has already been here, so nothing needs to be said."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "The Seven Skygods are able to appear as they will, but does the Dominion Realm have no countermeasures in ce? Even if one of the Skygods only appears for a single moment, that¡¯s enough time for them to kill everyone here."

    Bai Wangyuan shook his head. "That is our responsibility."

    The man suddenly felt something pull at his emotions, and he refocused on Lu Yin. "Or, could it be that you would like to join us in defending the Dominion Realm? We would wee the assistance."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do I look like an idiot?"

    "The Forsaken Land has managed to drive the Aeternals out and seal them out. It seems that all of the Seven Skygods'' Semi-Progenitor avatars there have died as well. If they focus their attention entirely on the Dominion Realm, we will struggle to hold them back. It might be necessary for you to take action as well," Bai Wangyuan said.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Haven¡¯t you been holding back the Seven Skygods from pushing through the Dominion Realm for many years?"

    "Of course not," Bai Wangyuan stated solemnly. "Everyst one of the Seven Skygods is an ancient monster. Just like Forgotten Ruins God, whom you just saw, each one of them is far older than even your Lu family¡¯s patriarch, Lu Tianyi. When any one of the Seven Skygods releases their full power, it is absolutely terrifying, and Xi Wei is incapable of stopping any of them. All of us would struggle to hold them back."

    "Then why haven¡¯t the Seven Skygods simply attacked the Dominion Realm? Wouldn''t that be easier for the seven of them than trying to destroy the rear battlefield?" Lu Yin felt increasingly puzzled.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "Naturally, you¡¯ll understand such things when you enter the Dominion Realm. There are some things that you won¡¯t be told until you reach a certain level. You have no idea what is truly happening."

    "In that case, how powerful are the Progenitor-level enemies that have attacked the Dominion Realm for so many years?" Lu Yin asked another question.

    Bai Wangyuan sped his hands behind his back. "Like I just said, until you reach the necessary level of strength, there is no need for you to know about such things. I¡¯m here to speak with you about Virtue Archives right now."

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. "What''s going on with Virtue Archives?"

    Bai Wangyuan retorted, "Don¡¯t bother with the act. You sent people to help Virtue Archives, so you are clearly setting yourself up as an enemy of my four ruling powers. We agreed not to attack you, but that does not mean that we agreed not to attack other people from your Forsaken Land."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Virtue Archives is the best academy in the Perennial World. You keep referring to the Fifth Maind as the Forsaken Land, and we don¡¯t even have ess to stellr energy anymore. What¡¯s the problem with sending some of our elites to study in Virtue Archives?"

    "You know full well that we intend to destroy Virtue Archives."

    "I didn¡¯t know about that, but I do now. That makes me curious¡ªwhy do you want to destroy the ce?"

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin, who stared straight back at the Progenitor. "Whether you were aware of this matter or not, Virtue Archives cannot continue to exist."

    Lu Yinughed. "It''s just an academy, so why does Progenitor Bai care about it so much?"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, I¡¯ll be open and tell you that Virtue Archives is hiding a Mountain and Sea. We need that Mountain and Sea," Bai Wangyuan stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A Mountain and Sea? The Mountains and Seas should all already have masters."

    "How many of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas are still alive and how many are dead is unknown. We don''t know whom that particr Mountain and Sea belonged to, but regardless, it must be ours. Anyone who receives an inheritance from a Mountain and Sea will undergo a transformation in their strength, which will also help the rear battlefield," Bai Wangyuan said.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated. As long as the four ruling powers thought that he did not know about the Mountain and Sea hidden within Virtue Archives, he had a justifiable reason to help the academy. However, with Bai Wangyuan stating everything so openly, Lu Yin was being forced into a corner.

    "No matter whom that Mountain and Sea might have belonged to in the past, since it is now in Virtue Archives, the academy should retain control of it. However, I agree with what you said, Progenitor Bai. It can only be considered a pity for a Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance to be wasted, but not just anyone can acquire those inheritances. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas belong to the entire human race, not just your four ruling powers," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression quickly fell. "So, you want to steal the Mountain and Sea?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s not stealing, but simply fair ess. People from the four ruling powers should be allowed to try to inherit the Mountains and Seas, but I also want people from the Fifth Maind to try as well."

    "What a joke! Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really believe that you can fight against my four ruling powers? The Mountains and Seas must all be controlled by my four ruling powers. No one can change that. Anyone who tries to steal a Mountain and Sea will be immediately struck down by my four ruling powers. Just see if you can stop us."

    Lu Yin quickly continued, "Calm down, I haven''t finished speaking."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s cold eyes stared at Lu Yin. If it was possible, the four ruling powers did not want to destroy Virtue Archives, as in doing so, they risked offending the Liu and Nong families, as well as Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke. However, the four ruling powers were absolutely determined to seize the Mountain and Sea.

    Those inheritances were simply too important.

 Chapter 2351: Trade

    <h4>Chapter 2351: Trade</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Wangyuan. "You¡¯re only focused on the Mountain and Sea that¡¯s hidden within Virtue Archives, but why haven¡¯t you considered the fact that there are also Mountains and Seas in our Fifth Maind?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression changed drastically. It was as though he had just been enlightened. It was true; there were only two Mountains and Seas that they were aware of, which were the one that belonged to Progenitor Smoke and the one that was hidden within Virtue Archives. However, that meant that there were more of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that remained unounted for, and some were likely to still be in the Fifth Maind.

    It was something that the four ruling powers had never considered before, but why had they ignored such a thing?

    The Fifth Maind had been reconnected to the Perennial World, so it seemed only natural that the Mountains and Seas in the Fifth Maind would be considered as well.

    rity appeared in Bai Wangyuan''s eyes, as Lu Yin had suggested not focusing on just one Mountain and Sea, but targeting several.

    The old man stared at Lu Yin, unable to unravel why Lu Xiaoxuan had reminded him of such a matter.

    From Bai Wangyuan''s point of view, if there were Mountains and Seas in the Fifth Maind, then Lu Xiaoxuan should not have mentioned them. The young man controlled the entire Fifth Maind, which meant that he also controlled the Mountains and Seas that remained within the Fifth Maind. Did Lu Xiaoxuan not understand what the Mountains and Seas meant or how important their inheritances were? That was impossible. The young man had not revealed any hint of surprise after hearing the information regarding the Mountains and Seas that Bai Wangyuan had just revealed, which meant that Lu Xiaoxuan had already known about it.

    "Progenitor Bai, there is more than just one Mountain and Sea in my Fifth Maind. Do your four ruling powers not care about those?" Lu Yin asked with a smile. Bai Wangyuan could not discern any of the young man¡¯s thoughts or intentions at this moment.

    What was Lu Yin thinking? It was quite simple; he wanted to increase the value of the Fifth Maind.

    The Perennial World considered the Fifth Maind a Forsaken Land, and while a truce had been reached because of the threat to Bai Xian''er¡¯s life, the recent attack from Forgotten Ruins God had clearly demonstrated to Lu Yin the gap in strength between him and the Seven Skygods. However, that had also shown Lu Yin the level of strength that Bai Wangyuan and the others might have kept hidden. Lu Yin needed to raise his own value until he held sufficient leverage to negotiate with the four ruling powers.

    The inheritances of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was what the four ruling powers were most concerned about.

    "How many Mountains and Seas do you know of?" Bai Wangyuan asked as he stared at Lu Yin.

    "Two."

    Bai Wangyuan froze. "There are two Mountains and Seas?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "There are two Mountains, but just one Sea."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyebrows rose high. While he might not have any idea who the Mountain and Sea pair had belonged to, the solitary Mountain had to have belonged to Xia Shang. Of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, only Xia Shang had received the inheritances of two Mountains and one Sea.

    Of course, it was also possible that the two Mountains and one Sea had all belonged to Xia Shang. It was certainly not impossible. Bai Wangyuan remembered that Lu Yin was able to use Xia Shang''s power, but why was that? It was possible that it had something to do with the Mountain and Sea.

    Long ago, Hui Wen had messed around with things before leaving the Fifth Maind, and at that time, he had asked everyone to leave behind some power for the Fifth Maind. Bai Wangyuan had not done so, and neither had Wang Fan. But Xia Shang, Old Fu, and the others had left something behind. Lu Xiaoxuan was wielding Xia Shang¡¯s power in the Fifth Maind.

    "Why try to convince me of the existence of two Mountains and one Sea?" Bai Wangyuan asked in a low voice. He did not believe that Lu Xiaoxuan was simply being generous by sharing such information.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not has nothing to do with me. I''m just offering you a suggestion. If you insist on trying to get the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding, just act as though I didn''t say anything."

    Bai Wangyuan took a moment to think. "What do you want?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the Progenitor. "A trade."

    Bai Wangyuan was quite surprised. "A trade?"

    "That''s right. I¡¯ll allow your people here in the Perennial World to go to the Fifth Maind to try to ept the inheritance of the Mountains and Sea that¡¯s there. As long as anyone can receive an inheritance, it¡¯s theirs. However, you must stop targeting the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding," Lu Yin stated.

    "Why?" Bai Wangyuan''s first thought was that Lu Yin wanted to take the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives had hidden away. After all, the young man had spent some time in Virtue Archives, so it was possible that he might have learned some sort of trick that would help in inheriting the Mountain and Sea.

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Wangyuan. "Don''t bother overthinking things. I¡¯m simply returning a favor that I owe Virtue Archives.

    "When I used the name Yu Hao, I worked as one of Virtue Archives¡¯ instructors. When I was being attacked by the four Semi-Progenitors in Shenwu''s Sky, I might have died if the God of Food hadn''t helped me by blocking one blow. Even though I tried to sever my rtionship with the God of Food after that, things still ended up as they are now. What¡¯s happened to Virtue Archives can be considered at least partially my fault, so I need to repay the debt that I owe them."

    .

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. The Progenitor did not believe Lu Yin¡¯s excuse, but it was a very reasonable one. Still, Bai Wangyuan tended to think that Lu Xiaoxuan knew some method to receive the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea hidden by Virtue Archives and that he was targeting that inheritance.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Sometimes, as people get older, they begin to think too much. Why don¡¯t I just offer you two choices?"

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eye narrowed at that. "You want to offer us a choice?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile grewrger. "First, I will offer you ess to the one Mountain and Sea in the Fifth Maind. You won¡¯t even need to think about the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding, as you can simply send your people to the Fifth Maind to try to receive that inheritance whenever they want. Now, I understand that the Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives is not going to lose its appeal for you, and at the very least, it is located much closer for you. So, I¡¯ll throw in another benefit for you."

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Your Perennial World will also obtain ess to the Tower of the Fifth and can receive its inheritances."

    Bai Wangyuan had been intending to simply refuse Lu Yin¡¯s proposal, but the offer of giving them ess to the Tower of the Fifth was highly enticing.

    When the Perennial World¡¯s army had been released by Lu Yin, they had returned to the Perennial World with a great deal of information regarding the Fifth Maind, including information about the Tower of the Fifth.

    That tower held various inheritances, not only ones from the Fifth Maind, but also inheritances from the Sixth Maind. Of particr note, it held the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, various secret techniques, Xia Shang''s Inverse Step, and even Ku Jie¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed. Any one of those inheritances could move even the four ruling powers.

    After learning about the inheritances that were avable in the Tower of the Fifth, many people had wanted to go take them, as the Perennial World understood the value of the inheritances much better than the people of the Fifth Maind.

    The Thirteen Swords was not famous in only the Fifth Maind. In fact, the Thirteen Swords was far more renowned within the Perennial World. It was just a pity that the Liu family in the Perennial World had lost that particr inheritance. When Lu Yin had attacked Shenwu¡¯s Sky, he had managed to injure Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng with the Thirteenth Sword, and many people had witnessed that attack.

    The Ce Secret Art, the Yu Secret Art, the Daynight n''s battle techniques, sourcebox arrays¡ªjust which of them was not a priceless treasure?

    As for Inverse Step, even if others were ignorant of the technique, how could Bai Wangyuan and the others of his generation not know about it? Inverse Step had been Xia Shang''s movement technique, and it was able to create a field of chaotic time and space once one reached sufficient mastery. Such an ability was extremely powerful.

    Why had Ku Jie been such an incredibly difficult opponent that no one wanted to fight him? He had even had the courage to charge out on his own to challenge all of Aeternus. No one aside from Lu Tianyi had ever attempted such a thing even during the Daosource Sect era. All that Ku Jie had aplished was due to his Extremes Must Be Reversed being too freakish of a technique. Even Bai Wangyuan was forced to admit that Extremes Must Be Reversed was a peerless survival technique.

    Lu Yin had also shattered people¡¯s perceptions when he had challenged Shenwu¡¯s Sky due to how many times Extremes Must Be Reversed had saved his life.

    Who would not be moved by the inheritances and battle techniques that Lu Yin had made avable?

    "Are you really willing to open up the Tower of the Fifth to my four ruling powers?" Bai Wangyuan found this rather hard to believe, and he even assumed that he must have misheard.

    Lu Yin corrected the man, "I¡¯m not offering to open it up to the four ruling powers, but rather to the entire Perennial World."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. Was this youth really so impartial? His behavior seemedpletely contradictorypared to what the members of the army sent to the Fifth Maind had described.

    Of course, Lu Yin was not a selfless person. The rules of the Tower of the Fifth stated that, in order to receive a battle technique, one of equal value had to be left behind. Additionally, anyone who wanted to receive one of the core inheritances of the Tower of the Fifth that Lu Yin had personally left behind also needed to ept him as a half-master. After epting such a thing, how could anyone who received an inheritance from the Tower of the Fifth attack Lu Yin? Even if they did attack him, they would need to consider the potential ramifications for doing so.

    However, Bai Wangyuan could only think about Extremes Must Be Reversed at this moment. That battle technique could not actually be in the Tower of the Fifth, or else Lu Xiaoxuan would have never offered them ess to the ce.

    However, regardless of whether the technique was actually present, the allure was undeniable. Bai Wangyuan wanted to try to get it.

    "What''s the second choice?" Bai Wangyuan asked softly.

    Lu Yin replied, "Virtue Archives doesn¡¯t get to keep their Mountain and Sea, and you ce someone there to supervise the ce. However, you can still send people to the Fifth Maind to challenge the Mountains and Seas to receive its inheritance."

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes flickered, as Lu Yin¡¯s proposal would not cause the four ruling powers almost any harm. In fact, they only stood to lose a bit more time traveling around. However, it would have a tremendous impact on Lu Xiaoxuan. Bai Wangyuan had assumed that the young man had set his eyes on the Mountain and Sea hidden in Virtue Archives, but Lu Yin¡¯s second option proved Bai Wangyuan¡¯s assumption wrong.

    "I really don''t understand. Is the favor that you received from Virtue Archives really worth so much? You sent people to help them, and you insist on still doing more to pay them back." Bai Wangyuan was genuinely puzzled, and he wanted to hear from Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yinughed. "Alright, my debt is repaid, which means that both options are off the table. Sound good?"

    Bai Wangyuan was about to agree, but then he suddenly asked himself, why would he agree? When had Lu Xiaoxuan started to lead Bai Wangyuan through negotiations? The Progenitor was just about to speak when Lu Yin spoke up again. "Do you want the inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth or not?"

    Bai Wangyuan choked on what he had been about to say, and he let out a long breath. "Is there really a secret technique in there?"

    "Absolutely."

    "And the Thirteen Swords?"

    "It will be made avable."

    "What do you mean by that?" Bai Wangyuan was caught off guard by the answer.

    Lu Yin replied, "You don''t understand the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords at all. What has been made avable in the Tower of the Fifth is nothing more than an opportunity. Receiving that opportunity allows a person to visit the Sword Sect and attempt to inherit the Thirteen Swords. Of course, the tower also contains my understanding of the Thirteen Swords, so if someone is incredibly talented and capable, they might be able to obtain the Thirteen Swords from what I left there, but the chances of that happening are incredibly low."

    Bai Wangyuan continued to ask more questions. "Does it have Inverse Step?"

    "Yes."

    "Does it have Extremes Must Be Reversed?"

    "It will."

    Bai Wangyuan was left speechless. "What does that even mean?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Extremes Must Be Reversed is Progenitor Ku''s greatest battle technique, and it''s not easy to pass it on to others. As long as someone obtains that opportunity, they can turn it in, and I¡¯ll teach them the technique in the future as soon as I¡¯m able to teach it to others. There¡¯s no need to worry about it."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. This exnation was not very reliable, but the only way to receive those battle techniques was from the Tower of the Fifth.

    The Progenitor felt a bit frustrated. Given his lofty status, when had hest been led around by the nose by a junior?

    However, unless he was willing to walk away from the avable battle techniques, Bai Wangyuan had to do as Lu Yin suggested.

    "My Perennial World¡¯s youths will be given ess to the Tower of the Fifth, right? You won¡¯t send anyone to block them from receiving the inheritances?" Bai Wangyuan asked in a low voice. After all, if Lu Yin prevented the Perennial World¡¯s people from reaching the Tower of the Fifth, how would anyone be able to receive any of the inheritances?

    Lu Yin somberly answered, "Of course I will."

    Bai Wangyuan instantly became furious, and Lu Yin continued speaking right when the old man was about to erupt. "Regardless of whether someone is from the Perennial World, the Sixth Maind, or my Fifth Maind¡ªeven if my own child entered the Tower of the Fifth, they will all be blocked and challenged before they are allowed to receive an inheritance. How many inheritances do you think are avable? How many people want to obtain those inheritances? There are hundreds of millions of cultivators, and even if only one in a 100 million of those cultivators enters the Tower of the Fifth, the tower won¡¯t be able to endure giving out so many inheritances."

    Bai Wangyuan growled, "I''m referring to maliciously intercepting our youths. Whether it''s ess to the Fifth Maind, or even just ess to the Tower of the Fifth, if you send a Semi-Progenitor to stop our people, no one will be able to break through unless there are also a Semi-Progenitor or apanied by one. This would be no different from starting a war."

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, that won''t happen. I can promise you that people from the Perennial World will obtain inheritances. Of course, there are going to be people who don''t like the Perennial World, and they will likely try to stop your people from getting to the Tower of the Fifth, but I won¡¯t send anyone to explicitly stop your people. The Sixth Maind has the same conditions, so your people will likely deal with the same sort of resistance as them."

    Bai Wangyuan nodded. The situation did sound to be more or less the same.

 Chapter 2352: Lost

    <h4>Chapter 2352: Lost</h4>

    "It would seem that Progenitor Bai has agreed. In that case, I will have to ask Progenitor Bai to have Xia Ziheng and the others retreat so that they don¡¯t disturb the students'' entrance exams," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. "I hope that you will follow through on what we¡¯ve agreed upon and that you won¡¯t send anyone to maliciously intercept people from my four ruling powers. If you do, this agreement will be instantly invalidated. This is not a formal, public agreement, but rather a merely verbal agreement between the two of us."

    "Don''t worry, I won''t." Lu Yin reassured the man.

    Bai Wangyuan turned around and was just about to leave. Wait a minute¡­

    The Progenitor suddenly turned back to stare at Lu Yin. Before the old man even realized what was happening, he had been drawn into Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s pace. When had Bai Wangyuan even agreed to the first option that had been offered?

    Lu Yin just smiled at Bai Wangyuan.

    The Progenitor took a deep breath. Forget it, it doesn''t matter.

    The four ruling powers were going to be able to challenge the tests for the Mountain and Sea in the Fifth Maind, and they had even gotten ess to the Tower of the Fifth, which meant that they were not suffering any losses. "If you truly want to protect Virtue Archives, then don''t bother doing useless things like interfering with the decisions of my four ruling powers."

    After speaking, the man vanished.

    As soon as Bai Wangyuan was gone, Lu Yin pulled out his wireless jincan and started sending out some orders.

    A few more days passed. Lu Yin had assumed that he simply needed to wait for Zhou Tang and the others to be delivered to him, but they never arrived. As for Virtue Archives, nothing happened to the academy.

    Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors received new orders, and they all left the Virtue District. Peace returned to Virtue Archives.

    Headmaster Wen called Lu Yin in order to thank him, and at the same time, the headmaster asked how Lu Yin had managed to dissuade the four ruling powers.

    Wen Lai had no idea how Lu Yin could have reached an agreement with the four ruling powers. Even if he could, it was unlikely that any agreement would be able to help Virtue Archives. The man had only ordered Mr. Tang to reach out to Lu Yin with the faintest of hopes, but Headmaster Wen had not had any real hopes of sess.

    Lu Yin did not bother trying to hide anything, and he shared all the details of the agreement that he had reached with Bai Wangyuan with the headmaster. Wen Lai remained silent for a long time. Ultimately, he only had two words to say: thank you.

    Despite only being two words, they said more than a thousand.

    There were times when words were useless, no matter how many were spoken. There were times when just two words could mean the world.

    Several more days passed, and Lu Yin could not wait any longer. He directly contacted Bai Wangyuan about Zhou Tang and the others, as there was no need to bother going through anyone else.

    Bai Wangyuan had not even known that Zhou Tang and the rest had not left New City in the New World. Truthfully, the Progenitor had never even thought about the people banished to the New World, as their lives and deaths had nothing to do with him. He did not care at all if they were released. After Lu Yin made the matter one of his conditions to the truce, Bai Wangyuan had handed the matter over to Bai Qi, the former general of the fourth array base. The woman had no assignments after being reced by the Fifth Maind on the fourth array base, and she was actually still on the rear battlefield. She had been working on calcting herpensation for all that she had aplished on the rear battlefield.

    Bai Qi arrived at the fourth array base and sought out Lu Yin. "The people in New City can¡¯te up here for the time being."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered with a dangerous light. "That is what Bai Wangyuan himself promised me as part of our agreement."

    At this moment, an endless sea of corpse kings charged upwards. While the fourth array base had far more robust defenses than the other array bases, there was still constant fighting taking ce. Additionally, there were Envoy-level corpse kings that tore through the void to charge upwards, and they attacked the top of the array base.

    Lu Yin ignored the battle taking ce as he continued to stare at Bai Qi.

    The woman exined, "After you were exposed while posing as Long Qi, the White Dragon n was infuriated. As a result, everyone with any connection to your identity as Long Qi was investigated, and New City was not exempt from that, especially because of how many former vassals of the Lu family were sent there. People in New City clearly knew that Long Qi was you, Lu Xiaoxuan, but they kept it secret. A price was paid to Mu Shang so that he would set up a sourcebox array above New City.

    "People can only enter that sourcebox array. There is no exit, and Mu Shang has the key."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Mu Shang? He''s currently at Virtue Archives. Are you saying that the sourcebox array can¡¯t be opened until hees back?"

    Bai Qi shook her head. "Everything that has to do with the rear battlefield must remain on the rear battlefield. When Mu Shang left, he was required to leave the key behind. He left it with his apprentice, Qiao Er, but-"

    Suddenly, Bai Qi grew extremely hesitant, which puzzled Lu Yin. "But what?"

    "Qiao Er lost the key."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge. "What did you just say?"

    Bai Qi shrugged and repeated, "Qiao Er lost the key."

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Qi in a daze. After being stared at for some time, Bai Qi started to feel awkward. This was not the reaction that she had expected at all.

    "She lost the key?" Lu Yin reconfirmed. After seeing Bai Qi¡¯s nod, Lu Yin let out a loudugh. Hisughter spread across the fourth array base, and countless people heard it.

    Jiu Yao heard theugh, and while it was the first time he had heard such augh from Lu Yin, it gave the Semi-Progenitor chills. There was no hint of happiness in thatugh.

    Arch-Elder Zen recognized the sound; it was Lu Yin¡¯sugh of anger.

    Even the jiao could hear Lu Yin¡¯sugh, and the beast looked down towards Lu Yin. Confusion filled the creature¡¯s eyes, and it automatically raised a paw to show its ws and reveal its fangs, but after ncing around, it saw that no one was around. There was not even a corpse king willing to approach it, so after a moment, the jiao lowered its paw once again.

    Bai Qi watched Lu Yin as heughed. The woman started to feel nervous. Even though she had spent many, many years protecting the fourth array base, she had met Lu Xiaoxuan before. It was clear that the man before her was not Lu Xiaoxuan. This man was Lu Yin, a man who had the courage to openly challenge Shenwu¡¯s Sky. There was nothing such a person would not dare to do.

    "She didn''t lose it on purpose," Bai Qi said, but even she did not believe her own words. Who would believe that a cultivator would lose something so important? The key had definitely been ced in Qiao Er¡¯s cosmic ring, so how could it have been lost?

    If Bai Qi knew what Gu Xiao¡¯er, Lan Si, and Yao Gu had experienced in the past, she would not have had such doubts.

    Lu Yin showed a happy smile. This feeling was something that he had not experienced in a very long time. Was he being provoked? Treated like an idiot? He had recently fought against Xia Shenji and exchanged threats with Bai Wangyuan. Just what was going on?

    Even on his deathbed, Lu Yin would not have expected to deal with such pettiness. It was also not just Lu Yin, as even an old man like Bai Wangyuan most likely would not even consider such a thing. While the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors all dreamed of killing Lu Yin, they would never employ such petty methods.

    "Let''s go. Show me this sourcebox array," Lu Yin said. He looked calm once more, and there was no hint of happiness or anger on his face.

    Bai Qi stared at Lu Yin. "From what I know of Qiao Er, she didn''t do this on purpose. There¡¯s just too many things on the rear battlefield that can¡¯t be ounted for."

    Lu Yin replied, "I know. I don''t me her. Let''s go."

    Bai Qi was not very familiar with Lu Yin, so she could not determine what was going on in Lu Yin¡¯s mind at this moment.

    Lu Yin did not travel with the jiao, and he instead simply followed Bai Qi to the first array base. As Lu Yin moved along, a Champions¡¯ Stage appeared beside him. The presence of the Champions¡¯ Stage drew several nces from Bai Qi. Why was it there?

    She did not know that the Champions¡¯ Stage that traveled with Lu Yin was not his own. She could not even imagine a person transforming into their own innate gift happening.

    If not for what Lu Yin had experienced with God of mes, he would never have believed such a thing to be possible either.

    The first array base was situated closest to New City.

    In the past, when Lu Yin and the others had fallen to the New World from the second array base, they had traveled towards New City. Then, they had determined the direction by traveling towards the first array base.

    While the five array bases looked like they were all very close to each other, the distance between each one was vast enough for numerous stars to exist. If Lu Yin and the others had fallen from the fifth array base instead of the second, then they would have never been able to reach New City, as the distance would have been too great to traverse.

    The sourcebox array that Mu Shang had arranged for New City allowed people to enter, but not leave. The only way to open it was with the key that had been left at the first array base.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived at the first array base, he saw a battle taking ce everywhere.

    The first array base¡¯smanding general was Bai Chi, whom Lu Yin had heard of before.

    When Lu Yin had wanted to trade Qing Chen¡¯s merit points for the Cloudguard Robes, the robes had already been reserved by Bai Chi. If not for Xia Yan¡¯s interference, Lu Yin would have struggled massively to acquire the Cloudguard Robes.

    Also stationed on the first array base was Semi-Progenitor Xia De.

    Upon seeing Xia De again, Lu Yin acted as if he did not know the Semi-Progenitor, and he instead only looked at Bai Chi. Xia De was actually extremely nervous. His time spent in the Fifth Maind as Lu Yin¡¯s prisoner had been humiliating, and the Semi-Progenitor was worried that Lu Yin would say something in public, even though many people already knew of the matter.

    As for Bai Chi, he was staring straight at Lu Yin.

    The general of the first array base had not expected Lu Xiaoxuan to grow up so fast. Just how many years had passed? Once, the youth had needed to exchange borrowed merit points for the Cloudguard Robes to keep himself safe on the rear battlefield. But now, he had managed to negotiate a truce with a Progenitor of the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin had no interest in speaking with Bai Chi. The only people in the entire Celestial Frost Sect who could warrant Lu Yin¡¯s notice were Bai Wangyuan and Bai Xian''er.

    However, Bai Chi was very interested in Lu Xiaoxuan. More precisely, the general was interested in Bai Zhen''s death. "You killed Bai Zhen?"

    Lu Yin ignored the question and instead nced over at Bai Qi. "Where''s the sourcebox array?"

    Bai Qi nced at Bai Chi before leading Lu Yin away.

    Bai Chi''s expression fell. "Arrogant beast!"

    He then looked over at Xia De. "If not for your Xia family being so soft, thatst survivor of the Lu family would have died. Not only has he survived and caused so much trouble, but you were also almost killed by him."

    Xia De retorted, "That''s right. Lu Xiaoxuan is over there right now because of us, so why don¡¯t you go kill the three-tribtion Envoy?"

    Bai Chi snorted contemptuously before he turned around and left.

    Kill Lu Xiaoxuan? Ignoring whether such a thing was even possible, the four ruling powers had already agreed to a truce with Lu Xiaoxuan. If Bai Chi attacked Lu Xiaoxuan and broke the truce, then the fallout would be more than he could bear. After all, the truce had been negotiated by a Progenitor.

    Also, Bai Chi was aware of the fact that Lu Yin had fought against four Semi-Progenitors on his own while in Shenwu''s Sky. No matter how powerful Bai Chi might be, that feat was beyond him. Even more importantly, the entire rear battlefield had just watched as Lu Yin had fought against Forgotten Ruins God. Kill him? That was nothing less than suicide.

    Xia De mocked the general. "Nothing but talk."

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin was looking at the sourcebox array that filled the sky above New City.

    The sourcebox array could be seen all the way from the first array base, which suggested that the sourcebox array was not too far away from the array base. However, that also indicated that the sourcebox was very, very far away from New City, given the city¡¯s distance from the first array base.

    "Is it that light and shadow?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Bai Qi nodded. "That''s right. That light and shadow is from the sourcebox. Without that, it would be impossible to see it from the array base."

    Lu Yin was amazed. Sure enough, Mu Shang was qualified to be an Array Grandmaster. While Lu Yin was not certain about the underlying sourcebox array, the one that produced the light and shadow should be an original creation of Mu Shang. It did not add any abilities or power to the underlying sourcebox array, as it merely ensured that the sourcebox array could be seen from any distance.

    This was not something that Array Masters would normally add to a sourcebox array, but it was necessary for the current situation. No one was willing to enter the New World and undo the sourcebox array. So, since they were able to see it from the array base, a person could control the sourcebox array with the key. This oveying sourcebox array was very effective in this particr situation.

    "This sourcebox array is called Coiling Knot, ording to Qiao Er. I don''t know who created it or where it came from, but it prevents people from leaving New City. The city can be entered, but not left," Bai Qi said.

    Lu Yin asked, "Where is Qiao Er?"

    Bai Qi was rather surprised that Qiao Er was not present, so someone was sent to look for the woman.

 Chapter 2353: Second Visit

    <h4>Chapter 2353: Second Visit</h4>

    "She isn¡¯t here?" Bai Qi was genuinely surprised. The first thing she had done was contact Mu Shang, and then Qiao Er soon after. Bai Qi would have never led Lu Yin to the first array base without the minimum due diligence. She had only gone to look for Lu Yin after learning that Qiao Er had lost the key. The former general had not even known that Qiao Er was not at the array base.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained as calm as ever.

    Bai Qi had called over a Lockbreaker and asked them to inform her of Qiao Er¡¯s whereabouts. The man was one of Qiao Er¡¯s followers, and he was just a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. He respectfully answered, "Grandmaster Mu''s birthday is fast approaching, so Miss Qiao Er has gone to help prepare the birthday celebration. She is not here right now."

    Just as Bai Qi was about to ask another question, Lu Yin spoke up, "When did she leave?"

    The Lockbreaker did not recognize Lu Yin, and given the man¡¯s cultivation, it was impossible for him to have seen what had just recently happened at the fourth array base. "A month ago."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. The woman had left before Lu Yin had even arrived on the rear battlefield, but this matter had never been mentioned to him. He asked in a casual tone, "I heard that the key to the Coiling Knot down below was lost, right?"

    The Lockbreaker replied, "That¡¯s right. Miss Qiao Er identally lost it."

    "Then what¡¯s the n to open the sourcebox array?" Lu Yin continued.

    The Lockbreaker waspletely unbothered. "Open it? We can think about thatter. Miss Qiao Er ispletely upied with the preparations for Grandmaster Mu''s birthday, so how can she have time to deal with such a minor matter?"

    Bai Qi''s expression grew ugly.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin smiled. "True. It¡¯s better to just forget about the whole thing. It doesn¡¯t matter anyway, as the people in New City are already condemned, so they might as well just die."

    "Miss Qiao Er said the same thing," the Lockbreaker replied with augh, "Everyone down there was condemned to that ce by the four ruling powers. Since they¡¯re all criminals, it doesn¡¯t matter if they die. In fact, if theyy down their lives on the rear battlefield, it can be consideredpensation for their crimes, so they should really thank Miss Qiao Er."

    "Enough! Shut up!" Bai Qi sternly shouted.

    The Lockbreakers was badly startled, but he did not dare to say another word. He felt that something was wrong, which made him a bit nervous, but certainly not afraid. He followed Qiao Er, and Qiao Er was Grandmaster Mu Shang¡¯s apprentice. Given the Lockbreaker¡¯s connections, a mere Semi-Progenitor would not dare to risk offending Qiao Er¡¯s master.

    Lu Yin let out anotherugh and then looked at the Lockbreaker. "Does Grandmaster Mu know that the key was lost?"

    The Lockbreaker considered the question but gave no answer.

    "So apparently, he doesn¡¯t know about it. If Grandmaster Mu finds out that Qiao Er is hiding things from him, he will definitely get upset. Do you want to be the one to tell him?" Lu Yin murmured.

    The Lockbreaker instantly spoke up. "Of course Grandmaster Mu knows that the key was lost, but his birthday takes priority. He said that everything will be dealt with after his birthday."

    Lu Yin smiled and nodded. "It looks like those people down in New City will just have to wait until after Grandmaster Mu''s birthday to be let out."

    Before the Lockbreaker could respond, Bai Qi frowned and ordered, "Bring Qiao Er here."

    The Lockbreaker felt quite confused. "Miss Qiao Er is preparing for Grandmaster Mu''s birthday right now, so she¡¯s unavable."

    "It''s fine, don''t worry about it. Grandmaster Mu''s birthday is definitely important, so she can return after she¡¯s done working on that," Lu Yin said. He then dismissed the Lockbreaker with a wave of his hand. "You can go now. I¡¯m certain that you would like to prepare a present to send for Grandmaster Mu''s birthday, right?"

    "Thank you, Senior! This junior will leave now." The Lockbreaker was thrilled to be let go, and he quickly left without even asking Bai Qi for permission. All the man¡¯s nervousness disappeared. The Lockbreaker felt that Lu Yin was an easy person to talk to, and the Lockbreaker was very eager to speak with Grandmaster Mu and establish a good rtionship. If he was lucky, he might even be able to exchange a few words with the Array Grandmaster.

    After the Lockbreaker left, Bai Qi wanted to say something, but Lu Yin suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you believe that the key is actually lost?"

    Bai Qi¡¯s attitude shifted, and she grew quite hesitant. She was well aware that, even with the key, it would take a decent amount of time to open the Coiling Knot. At the very least, the process would require five days. With Mu Shang¡¯s birthday fast approaching, Qiao Er waspletely upied with preparations, and she was entirely focused on that matter. After considering the situation, Bai Qi felt that Qiao Er might have actually lost the key, but it was also possible that Qiao Er simply did not want to spend the required five days. Thus, the most likely possibility was that the key had simply been tossed away so that Qiao Er did not have to waste her time before the birthday celebration.

    Bai Qi hoped that Qiao Er was not simply avoiding her responsibilities. If the woman was found, and she was able to open the sourcebox array because the key had not truly been lost, then things would be far more difficult to resolve.

    Just as Bai Qi was about to discuss the matter with Lu Yin, the jiao was called over. Then, Lu Yin said, "It''s not that difficult to just open the Coiling Knot."

    At that moment, the jiao let out a terrifying roar that shook the entire first array base, startling countless people on it. Both the humans and the corpse kings were caught off guard, and Bai Chi was almost blown away by the sound.

    She red into the distance but did not dare to object. After all, the beast had the strength of a Progenitor.

    There was a hideous expression on Xia De''s face. The jiao belonged to Shenwu''s Sky, but it had been reduced to merely acting as Lu Xiaoxuan''s mount. It was disgusting to see.

    The jiao¡¯s sudden approach shocked Bai Qi. "Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you going to do?"

    Something as magnificent as a Progenitor-level beast would draw everyone¡¯s attention, including that of Bai Wangyuan in the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin answered, "Don''t worry, I don''t n on doing anything. However, that sourcebox array needs to be destroyed, or else I¡¯ll never be able to get my people out of there."

    He looked over at Bai Qi. "Or do you want me to continue to wait for Qiao Er and the key?"

    Bai Qi said nothing. Make Lu Xiaoxuan wait? That was something that only a Progenitor would dare to do, given the young man¡¯s current status. Mu Shang had gone too far, and so had Qiao Er. The young woman was very cute and thought herself to be quite clever. Was it possible that she had some sort of grudge against the Lu family?

    Even if that were the case, this was neither the time nor ce to try to get revenge.

    The jiao arrived, and it instantly tried to threaten Bai Qi with its fangs and ws.

    The Semi-Progenitor became nervous and was put on edge by the disy. She had risked death many times during her years on the rear battlefield, but she had never been so tantly threatened by a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the jiao¡¯s back. "Let¡¯s go."

    There was no need to open the Coiling Knot, as it could also be torn open. The jiao had the strength to rip the entire thing apart.

    As for any potential threats from the New World, there was essentially no difference between the five array bases and the New World for a creature with the strength of a Progenitor. If anything from Aeternus could threaten the jiao in the New World, then it could also threaten the beast above the array bases.

    As Bai Qi watched Lu Yin race towards the New World without any hesitation, she felt a burst of envy. The Progenitor realm was so distant for her. Countless people pushed themselves to reach that realm of cultivation with everything they had, but just how many Progenitors had appeared throughout all of history? While there might seem to be a lot, given the total human poption, the number of Progenitors was almost impossibly low. It was not even close to being a proportion as simple as one in a billion.

    In truth, it was quite impressive to have even one Progenitor rise up from a hundred people who were qualified to reach that level. Such qualified people were those with the abilities to receive titles like Junior Progenitor, gatemaster of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, and so on. It was already nearly impossible for such talented people to appear. So, the fact that, at best, only one in a hundred of them could actually be a Progenitor meant that the odds of reaching that highest realm were practically incalcble.

    Throughout the entire Fifth Maind, only a few people with the talent of the Ten Arbiters had appeared, but not all of the Ten Arbiters were talented enough to even qualify to challenge the Progenitor realm. Of those who did possess the requisite talent, how many had opened all three of their meridian points? That was one of the requirements for one to be given the title of Junior Progenitor. And after all of that, what were the actual chances of a Junior Progenitor bing a Progenitor? No, the chances of bing a Progenitor were far, far too low.

    But despite those impossible odds, Lu Xiaoxuan had subdued a beast with that level of strength, and he had done so as nothing more than a three-tribtion Envoy. Bai Qi really could not understand just how such a thing had been aplished.

    Lu Yin did not even consider what Bai Qi might be thinking. Not to mention Bai Qi¡ªeven Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors could notprehend how Lu Yin had managed to tame the jiao. The most frustrated person of all was Xia Shenji. If he had known that the jiao could be tamed, the Progenitor would have tried to do so long, long ago.

    Given people¡¯s understanding of the Progenitor realm, how could any such expert ept being used as a mount? It was something that was simply not even considered. Xia Shenji had only ever considered trapping the jiao in Shenwu''s Sky and then extracting a promise where the jiao would attack for him a given number of times. Each attack that helped Shenwu''s Sky would go towards reducing the amount of time before the jiao was released.

    This was the only possible use that Xia Shenji had been able to imagine for the jiao. Taming the beast had quite literally never crossed the Progenitor¡¯s mind. Given a choice, the jiao would have much preferred being tamed by Xia Shenji, if it had to be tamed. At least that way, the creature would have been able to continue to threaten others by shing its fangs and ws.

    One Progenitor had not thought of the possibility, while the Progenitor-level beast was an idiot. Thebination had ultimately benefited Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood on the jiao¡¯s head as the beast rushed down to the New World. How much time had passed since Lu Yin had fallen from the second array base to the New World? It had only been a few decades. He was returning to the New World after just a few decades, but during that time, everything had changed. Lu Yin already possessed the qualifications to rescue the people whom he wished to save.

    When he left, he had promised the people left behind that he would return to take them away, and that day had finally arrived.

    The closer he moved to the Coiling Knot, the more impressed Lu Yin was by Mu Shang''s ability. The knotted sourcebox array had no offensive or defensive capabilities, but it was interlocked and intertwined in such a way that not even a Semi-Progenitor could escape from the tangled danger zones that formed the Coiling Knot.

    Lu Yin started thinking as he studied the sourcebox array. This array appeared to consist of multipleyers, which meant that, provided he got his hands on the right kinds of sourceboxes, there was theoretically no limit to how manyyers could be created. Lu Yin could see the potential, but he had no idea if this possibility had been deliberately introduced by Mu Shang or not. If this was a self-created sourcebox array designed by Mu Shang, then the man absolutely deserved his title as the youngest Array Grandmaster in human history.

    Lu Yin had intended to simply destroy the Coiling Knot, but doing so would be a waste. Lu Yin could instead gain an understanding of the sourcebox array itself, and given his lockbreaking ability, he could then learn to create or use it himself.

    The reason why Mu Shang had agreed to go to Virtue Archives and open the academy¡¯s defensive sourcebox array was so that he could understand and even learn the sourcebox array left behind by Progenitor Wen that incorporated the powers of the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird. Any Array Master would seize the opportunity to learn a new sourcebox array, though none would try to do so on the rear battlefield.

    But upon seeing the Coiling Knot, Lu Yin had an urge to learn it.

    However, it was important to first rescue the people trapped within the sourcebox array. Zhou Tang and the rest had been trapped within New City for far too long, and they should have been released long ago.

    Since he had decided not to destroy the sourcebox array, Lu Yin ordered the jiao to shrink down, and they both entered the Coiling Knot. It allowed entry, but not exit, so there was nothing stopping Lu Yin and the jiao from reaching New City.

    In fact, given Lu Yin¡¯s mastery and understanding of sourcebox arrays, he was able to pass through most arrays. It was extremely difficult for any sourcebox array to trap an Array Grandmaster, and even if Lu Yin was not yet at that level himself, he had obtained at least as much experience as an Array Grandmaster.

    He observed the knotted danger fields on both sides as he passed through the array. It was not a difficult arrangement, but it was very time-consuming. Untangling one or two knots would be easy, but as Lu Yin looked around, he saw tens of thousands of knots, each of which was formed by a sourcebox array¡¯s danger zone. Opening this Coiling Knot was thousands of times moreplicated than unlocking a sourcebox. In fact, it would be difficult for anyone other than an Array Grandmaster to unlock this sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin did not spend much time studying the array. After entering it, he was able to see New City down below.

    New City was silent, and from high above, Lu Yin could see that the ground was a dark red.

    He frowned. With the Coiling Knot covering New City, not only were Zhou Tang and the others unable to escape, but all the corpse kings that entered the sourcebox array were also trapped inside. This meant that any and all fighting that broke out around New City would be to the death.

    There was no escape for the corpse kings or for the humans. Even the Semi-Progenitor level experts on both sides were trapped. This had created a battlefield far crueler than any Lu Yin had ever seen before.

    The final result was countless deaths on both sides of the conflict. Just how many humans were still alive within New City?

    Lu Yin told the jiao to suppress its aura, and the beast slowlynded on the ground within New City. Lu Yin had finally returned.

 Chapter 2354: Iâ€™m Taking You Back

    <h4>Chapter 2354: I¡¯m Taking You Back</h4>

    Lu Yin immediately unleashed his domain, and he quickly felt the presence of two Semi-Progenitors. One was on the mountain, while the other was deep underground.

    In New City, the more powerful a person was, the closer to the top of the mountains they could live. This was because the base of the mountains were more dangerous. So naturally, Semi-Progenitors lived at the peak.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s domain enveloped New City, which was actually called the Stacking Mountain Range, his expression quickly turned ugly. The number of living humans was less than halfpared to when he had visited the New World previously. He quickly found Zhou Tang, Guo Hai, Tu Qiming, and Big Sis Luo Sha. However, Lu Yin could not find Brother Hong, the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains, or Wan Sen.

    Lu Yin was able to see everyone in New City, and the Semi-Progenitor at the top of the mountain range had already noticed the young man¡¯s arrival. Surprise shed across the man¡¯s eyes as he stepped out and instantly appeared right in front of Lu Yin. "Have you also been banished to this ce? A three-tribtion Envoy has managed to reach the void god level with his domain¡­"

    "Senior?" Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. This Semi-Progenitor was an old man who was nearly five meters tall. There was a somber expression on the man¡¯s face, and his hair had been ited into braids. There were dozens of small skulls tied to each of the braids.

    The old man stared at Lu Yin, and he even circled the young man before letting out a sigh of admiration. "Such delicate skin and flesh. For such a young man to achieve such a cultivation, you areparable to the heirs of those monstrous powers. What¡¯s your name? Why were you punished? Who did you offend to be sent here?"

    Lu Yin frowned. He had smelled blood when this old man arrived, and it was a nauseating stench. Somehow, it felt a bit familiar. "I offended Bai Qi."

    "Bai Qi? The general of the fourth array base? You¡¯re quite unfortunate. She is not some ordinary person, but is actually the daughter of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Progenitor Bai. Killing you would have been a mercy, as sending you here is a fate worse than death." As the old man spoke, an odd smile appeared on his face. He looked at Lu Yin in a bizarre manner. "If an old man like me slowly tortures you, do you think that Bai Qi will notice? Would she be willing to let me go?"

    Lu Yin did not answer the man, and he instead looked up at where Tu Qiming was staring down at Lu Yin.

    He smiled at Tu Qiming, and Tu Qiming¡¯s mouth fell open. "Is that really you?"

    Complicated, conflicting emotions flickered across the man¡¯s eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. Tu Qiming looked worried, excited, and anxious all in one, as he knew that Lu Yin was actually Lu Xiaoxuan.

    When Lu Yin had fallen to the New World, he had posed as Long Qi. During that time, he had be acquainted with Tu Qiming, and he had also beat Tu Qiming due to a ratherplicated reason. Eventually, someone had been sent to New City who had brought news that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan. Tu Qiming and many others had not believed such a thing, and they had even thought that the story was a conspiracy concocted by the four ruling powers. But more and more people had been condemned to the New World with the story, and Mu Shang had evene to set up a sourcebox array; thus, people had graduallye to believe what they had been told.

    Tu Qiming hadughed loudly for an entire day, despite his mental torture. He hadughed through the pain. He had not been alone, as Uncle He and many others had joined in. There had even beenughter echoing up from beneath the ground.

    Learning that Lu Xiaoxuan was still alive had made them all feel like the sun was shining down upon the New World.

    No matter how much torture they endured, they had been given a glimpse of hope.

    Tu Qiming had been wondering about when he would see Lu Xiaoxuan once again, but he had never expected that day to arrive so quickly.

    "Do you still want a beating?" Lu Yin said to Tu Qiming with a happy smile.

    Tu Qiming gulped dryly, and his expression flitted from confused, to excited, to finally aggression. "I''ll be the one to beat you this time!"

    With that, the man charged to attack Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and simply avoided the attack, which caused Tu Qiming to m into the ground. The man ended up with a mouth full of dirt.

    More and more people emerged and noticed Lu Yin. Some grew excited, while others were left confused. Some felt curious, and others became anxious. Lu Yin''s arrival changed the entire mountain range.

    The Semi-Progenitor grew puzzled. "Tu Qiming, do you know this man?"

    "That¡¯s none of your business," Tu Qiming answered bluntly.

    The old man''s expression fell. "Watch your words! If not for Wan Zhiyi, I would have already thrown you out to feed the corpse kings!"

    Tu Qiming sneered. "If it weren¡¯t for Wan Zhiyi, you would already have be the corpse kings¡¯ food."

    The old man''s expression grew even worse.

    After yelling at the Semi-Progenitor, Tu Qiming turned back to face Lu Yin. "Don''t run away! Let me punch you."

    "Why?"

    "You beat me up before."

    "That''s because you deserved it."

    "You¡¯re the one who deserves a beating! If I¡¯d known who you were back then, I would¡¯ve just pissed on your face!"

    "The more you talk, the more I feel like I owe you a beating."

    Tu Qiming yelled and punched at Lu Yin again, but Lu Yin just rolled his eyes and casually tossed the man aside.

    Uncle He watched from above, looking quite distressed. Still, he did nothing to stop the two men. For Uncle He, this was a nostalgic scene, as the young master had frequently been beaten up by the Seven Heroes long ago. After so much time, such a scene had finally reappeared. ?It felt like Uncle He had gone back in time.

    Suddenly, someone rushed down and grabbed Tu Qiming. The man turned to stare at Lu Yin and softly demanded, "Why did youe back here?"

    It was Zhou Tang.

    There was a terrible expression on the man¡¯s face as he stared at Lu Yin. "There is absolutely no way out of here. Were you captured by the four ruling powers?"

    Tu Qiming let out a gasp, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Further away, others who had known Long Qi and learned that he was truly Lu Xiaoxuan stared at him. Everyone¡¯s expressions grew ugly as they all waited to hear Lu Yin¡¯s answer.

    He nced around at the gathered crowd. Just as he was about to speak, the Semi-Progenitor cut him off. "It appears that you have been here before and that these people all know you. You should be another surviving vassal of the Lu family."

    Tu Qiming shot the old man a frigid re. "Fuck off! You don¡¯t qualify to speak to him!"

    The old Semi-Progenitor grew furious. "Tu Qiming, do you really believe that I won¡¯t touch you?"

    "Try it." Lu Yin stared at the old man.

    Tu Qiming was taken aback, while Zhou Tang and everyone else nearby stared at Lu Yin in shock. They could hear the confidence and arrogance in his voice, but he was clearly just a three-tribtion Envoy. Where was his confidenceing from?

    The old Semi-Progenitor had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly threaten him, and a powerful killing intent blossomed in the man¡¯s eyes as he sneered at Lu Yin. "Well, it seems that not showing myself for so many years has caused the rest of the world to forget about Ancestor Ku. Even a mere junior has the gall to speak to me in such a manner now? Do you truly believe that Wan Zhiyi can keep you safe? He¡¯s already lost all his strength while imprisoned. I¡¯ll kill you right now! Let¡¯s see just what that old man can do."

    The man then reached out to grab Lu Yin. By all logic, it should be an easy matter for a Semi-Progenitor to capture a three-tribtion Envoy.

    Tu Qiming was terrified. "Grandpa Zhiyi!"

    The Semi-Progenitor who referred to himself as Ancestor Ku grew wary, and his attack instantly slowed. He was actually terrified of the underground Wan Zhiyi.

    Despite his certainty that Wan Zhiyi had been terribly weakened by his incarceration, the man¡¯s reputation still stood strong. Even the four ruling powers were reluctant to kill Wan Zhiyi, and they had instead merely imprisoned a powerhouse who had long been at the cusp of the Progenitor realm.

    However, Wan Zhiyi did nothing, and the old man''s hand quickly approached Lu Yin.

    Tu Qiming shouted, "He¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Zhou Tang and the others were unsurprised by the outburst, and they continued to watch in silence. However, the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s hand suddenly stopped, and he turned to look at Tu Qiming in disbelief before looking back at Lu Yin once more. "Lu- Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Tu Qiming let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw the old man¡¯s grab halt. Tu Qiming stared at the ground. "Grandpa Zhiyi, you should already know this. He is Lu Xiaoxuan! It¡¯s Lu Xiaoxuan."

    However, there was no response from beneath the ground.

    Uncle He and the others were surprised to see no reaction at all from Wan Zhiyi. Why wasn¡¯t the man responding to Lu Xiaoxuan''s return? Something was not right.

    The old Semi-Progenitor nced around suspiciously, but he did not have the courage to finish his attack. While Lu Xiaoxuan was certainly a junior, he was not someone whom the old Semi-Progenitor could afford to mess with. Even if the four ruling powers were pursuing Lu Xiaoxuan, the old man did not dare to take action without further information. The name ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan¡± was not merely a name; it also represented a remnant will from an unrivaled hegemon.

    Lu Yin looked down at the ground. He had clearly been noticed by the Semi-Progenitor who was at the cusp of the Progenitor realm. Wan Zhiyi was someone whom even Progenitors had been polite to, and the man should be a powerhouse on the same level as the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, or possibly even above them.

    "Grandpa Zhiyi, why won''t you say anything?" Tu Qiming felt quite puzzled. Lu Xiaoxuan had returned, so there was no reason for Wan Zhiyi to bepletely unresponsive.

    The old Semi-Progenitor grew sullen. "Are you certain that this kid is Lu Xiaoxuan? He¡¯s not an impostor?"

    Tu Qiming was caught off guard, and he reflexively turned to stare at Lu Yin. An impostor?

    Tu Qiming and the other surviving vassals of the Lu family had spent many years in the New World, and even the four ruling powers had forgotten about them long ago. All that awaited the banished survivors was death. Did they hold any value at all to the four ruling powers? Not once had anyone been sent to even question the survivors, nor had any imposters ever been sent to them in the past. Thus, they had not even thought to question Lu Yin¡¯s identity.

    When they had received news that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, they had all believed the information to be false, but the impossible news had eventually been proven true. The Long Qi that they had all met was indeed Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The Long Qi that they had gotten to know was Lu Xiaoxuan, but that did not mean that the person who had just arrived was the same person as the Long Qi that they had met in the past.

    In fact, it was possible that Grandpa Zhiyi had already noticed that something was off, which was why he had not appeared.

    Tu Qiming and others all stared at Lu Yin. "Are you a fake?"

    Zhou Tang''s eyes grew cold. If this person was indeed an impostor, then he would die, even if he was a direct descendant of one of the four ruling powers.

    Confronted with everyone''s stares, Lu Yin spoke slowly, "There are two possibilities for why Senior Wan would not take action. The first would be that I am an impostor."

    There was a pause before Lu Yin continued speaking. "Second," he enunciated as he stared at the Semi-Progenitor, "You are just trash that poses no threat to me."

    The Semi-Progenitor''s eyes red. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Did you say that your name is Ancestor Ku? Do you think that you deserve such a name?"

    The jiao suddenly rose into the sky, and its body returned to its full size. It immediately started shing its fangs and ws as the power of a Progenitor fell upon the Stacking Mountain Range.

    There was a split second where everyone was absolutely horrified and startled by the terrifying aura that erupted from the jiao. The old Semi-Progenitor was the main target of the beast¡¯s aggression, and he instantly copsed, spitting out blood as he fell. The blood sttered across his face, leaving him with a pathetic appearance.

    The old man¡¯s mind went nk from terror due to a Progenitor-level beast being so close to him. Anyone would be frightened, and a Semi-Progenitor was no exception.

    As for Tu Qiming and the others, they werepletely stunned, and they were just lucky that the jiao had not targeted them. Other than the Semi-Progenitor, everyone else merely felt the jiao¡¯s aura.

    The beast covered the sky, and its shadow enveloped the entire Stacking Mountain Range.

    The mouths of Zhou Tang and the rest fell open as they stared on in a daze. When had any of them ever gotten this close to a creature with the strength of a Progenitor? Was that truly the power that they were sensing? It was something that they had never encountered before, but it was the only possibility that they could think of while in the presence of such overwhelming strength.

    Lu Yin looked down at the old man on the ground. He kicked the Semi-Progenitor, which sent the old man tumbling down. "Starting today, you are no longer allowed to call yourself Ancestor Ku. You don¡¯t deserve that name."

    Everyone stared in stupefaction at Lu Yin''s disy of dominance. Everything was forgotten. There was no thought at all in anyone¡¯s mind. It was as though they were lost in a dream.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the jiao retracted its aura and shrank back down.

    Some timeter, people started to recover.

    Tu Qiming gulped. "You¡­"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''vee to fulfill my promise. I¡¯m taking you back."

 Chapter 2355: Blood Debt

    <h4>Chapter 2355: Blood Debt</h4>

    Tu Qiming''s eyes flushed red. This beast was not fake; there was no way that it was fake. Not even the four ruling powers working together would be able to face a Progenitor-level beast, and even if they could, what would be the point? Not to mention, the jiao was clearly the one that belonged to Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin looked back at Zhou Tang. "Where are Che Zhan, Brother Hong, and the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains? I told you all that I would definitelye back for you, so all that you needed to do was wait for me for a bit."

    Zhou Tang finally reacted, butplicated emotions flickered through his eyes. "They¡¯re dead."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. He had already suspected as much, but he had still hoped to hear a different answer. It was such a pity¡­

    "It was just the other day," Zhou Tang added.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly grew cold, and his fists clenched tightly. "What was that?"

    Zhou Tang answered softly, "There was a vicious battle here just two days ago, and Chen Zhan died then. Brother Hong died a short time after you left, and the Matriarch of the Eastern Mountains died about ten years ago."

    Lu Yin''s expressionpletely changed. Just two days ago? He had already been on the fourth array base, waiting for these people to be sent to him two days ago. If Lu Yin had checked on the people in New City just a few days earlier, Che Zhan would not have died.

    Many people had fallen to the New World together with Lu Yin, and they had survived by fighting against the Aeternals together. They had faced death together and survived together. Lu Yin could still see those smiling faces in his mind. They had been left to die, but Lu Yin could only remember hispanions¡¯ smiles.

    The promises that they had made to each other and the dreams that they had shared as they hoped to survive continued to echo in Lu Yin''s ears.

    He looked up at the sourcebox array, and an indescribable killing intent welled up within his eyes.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin moved underground to see Wan Zhiyi. The man was bound tightly in chains, and he had withered away to the point where he looked like a dried up corpse.

    Wan Zhiyi lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, and the old man¡¯s eyes lingered on Lu Yin''s face, staring at the young man intently.

    Due to his haggard appearance and how deeply sunken in his eyes had be, Lu Yin could not see Wan Zhiyi¡¯s eyes, but the old man¡¯s excitement could be sensed, as the chains that bound him were trembling.

    "You came back," Wan Zhiyi said in a hoarse voice.

    When Marquis Green Bamboo had attacked New City, he had mentioned that Wan Zhiyi had been powerful and energetic, but such a description could not be connected to the old man that Lu Yin was looking at.

    Lu Yin walked towards Wan Zhiyi and offered the old man a deep bow. "Grandpa Zhiyi."

    Wan Zhiyi gave a small smile, and hoarseughter could be heard. "Do you still remember me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯ve lost all of my old memories."

    Wan Zhiyi sighed. "That must be hard."

    Lu Yin straightened up. "It¡¯s not too bad."

    "I can no longer challenge the Progenitor realm, so I can''t help you." Despite the shocking words, Wan Zhiyi spoke them calmly. His tone of voice made it sound as though attempting to be a Progenitor no longer meant anything to him.

    However, it had been public knowledge that Wan Zhiyi had possessed a ny nine percent chance of sessfully bing a Progenitor. And yet, he had just admitted that it was impossible for him to ever do so. This had to be a massive blow to the man who had long since anticipated eventually bing a Progenitor.

    "It¡¯s still not impossible. There¡¯s always hope," Lu Yin said. He observed the chains binding the old man and then summoned the jiao. The beast raised its ws and instantly shattered the chains.

    For the chains to be able to restrain Wan Zhiyi, they had to be incredibly resilient. Yet, they tore like paper beneath the jiao¡¯s ws.

    Wan Zhiyi rubbed his arms. "Is this the jiao from Shenwu''s Sky? It appears that you¡¯ve grown up a great deal. You may have experienced a different life, but the results remain the same. No matter how high you climb, I will never be surprised. That¡¯s because your surname is Lu, and you are the master of this ce."

    "Grandpa Zhiyi, let''s go back." Lu Yin stepped forward to support the old man.

    Only after touching Wan Zhiyi did Lu Yine to understand just how ruined the old man¡¯s body had be. His body seemed more like the frail body of an old man in his final days, not that of a powerful Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin clearly remembered how the endless shoots of green bamboo of Marquis Green Bamboo had all been instantly crushed by Wan Zhiyi. Lu Yin had never expected the body of the powerhouse behind that attack to have been reduced to such a pathetic state.

    It was only after Lu Yin helped Wan Zhiyi to the surface that Tu Qiming and everyone elseid eyes on Wan Zhiyi for the first time.

    In the decades since Marquis Green Bamboo had exposed Wan Zhiyi¡¯s presence underground, the people in New City had done their best to meet with the Semi-Progenitor, but they had never been able to see him. Words had been exchanged on asion, but no one had ever been able to see the old man. It was also because of Wan Zhiyi that no one had killed Tu Qiming or attacked several others. Without the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s protection, Tu Qiming would have been killed long ago for his attitude.

    .

    When they finally saw Wan Zhi''s body, the man looked more like a dried-up corpse.

    Tu Qiming hurried forward to help as well.

    There had originally been thousands of former vassals of the Lu family who had survived and been sent to the Stacking Mountain Range, but fewer than a hundred were alive now.

    Lu Yin kept a tally of blood debts in his heart. The day would eventuallye when he collected all of those debts.

    Tu Qiming and several others moved about and identified everyone who should be taken away with Lu Yin, and they all climbed atop the jiao¡¯s back. Only some of the selected people had been the Lu family¡¯s vassals, as others had also been selected because the vassals believed that they should be taken away as well. Lu Yin had no intention of taking everyone. Many heinous criminals had been banished to the New World, and besides that, the New City was supposed to be a city in the New World that was inhabited by humans. It could never be entirely abandoned.

    As for the Semi-Progenitor who referred to himself as Ancestor Ku, he would be left behind.

    As the jiao rose up into the sky, Tu Qiming and the others looked back down. They felt torn by various emotions at this moment. They were finally leaving a life that had been worse than death in so many ways.

    The jiao was more than strong enough to easily tear through the Coiling Knot, but Lu Yin did not want that to happen. Instead, he went through a path that he found that led out of the sourcebox array, and it took half a day to leave. He did not want to destroy the Coiling Knot.

    After exiting the sourcebox array, the jiao instantly shot through the sky to arrive back at the first array base, where Bai Qi was waiting.

    As soon as the jiao arrived, she saw all of the surviving vassals of the Lu family, as well as Wan Zhiyi.

    Despite her youthful appearance, how could Bai Wangyuan''s daughter actually be young? Bai Qi had been born during the Daosource Sect era, and she was far older than Semi-Progenitors like Xia Ziheng. In fact, the woman was almost as old as Wan Zhiyi.

    Although she was looking at Wan Zhiyi, Bai Qi did not recognize the man at all.

    "You still haven''t changed, Bai Qi," Wan Zhiyimented upon seeing Bai Qi.

    Bai Qifu stared at Wan Zhiyi. "You¡¯ve changed a great deal."

    Wan Zhiyiughed. "You never thought that I would still be alive, huh?"

    Bai Qi had indeed never expected such a thing. She had never considered that a day woulde when the surviving vassals of the Lu family would be publicly released.

    The Perennial World will not be peaceful from now on. Why on earth did Father agree to such terms with Lu Xiaoxuan?

    Aside from the Progenitors themselves, no one in the Perennial World knew the true reason for the truce, not even Bai Qi.

    Lu Yin went back down into the Coiling Knot once again.

    Without the surviving vassals of the Lu family, the Coiling Knot lost its purpose, and Mu Shang would soon remove it. This was the only opportunity that Lu Yin had to learn this particr array.

    Back on the first array base, the Lockbreaker that Bai Qi had summoned to answer Lu Yin''s questions sent a message to Qiao Er and told her about what had happened. Qiao Er was unconcerned, but she soon received a call from Bai Qi as well, who warned Qiao Er to stay close to Mu Shang for a while.

    Mu Shang was part of the Celestial Frost Sect, while Qiao Er was Mu Shang''s apprentice. Bai Qi had met the apprentice on several asions, and she found her to be quite cute. Bai Qi had a good impression of Mu Shang¡¯s apprentice, and she did not want anything to happen to Qiao Er.

    Lu Yin did not care about Mu Shang, and while Bai Qi was not very familiar with Lu Yin, she did know that things definitely would not end as they stood. Lu Yin was someone who even the Progenitors of the four ruling powers referred to by name.

    Bai Qi wanted Qiao Er to stay with Mu Shang. That way, even if Lu Yin tried to make trouble for the woman, Mu Shang would be able to protect her.

    However, Bai Qi did not actually know Qiao Er very well. Rather, Bai Qi had been deceived by Qiao Er''s cute appearance, and she had assumed that the apprentice would obediently listen to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s warning. However, her years of being Mu Shang¡¯s apprentice had caused Qiao Er to be extremely arrogant, and she only adopted the cute demeanor that Bai Qi was familiar with when around specific people. Qiao Er was someone who would only be well-behaved in front of the people she regarded as important; everyone else simply did not matter to her at all.

    This was why, even if Qiao Er knew that Lu Yin had reached an agreement with the four ruling powers, and even though the four ruling powers themselves had asked her to use a key to open the sourcebox array sealing New City away, she had ignored it.

    She had too much confidence in Mu Shang''s status, and it caused her to be confident enough to ignore almost everyone in the entire universe.

    Not only was Qiao Er not concerned by Bai Qi''s warning, but receiving such a message also made the woman angry. She wanted to see just what Lu Xiaoxuan was capable of doing. From what Qiao Er could tell, the four ruling powers had to be using Lu Xiaoxuan as bait to eliminate all the surviving vassals of the Lu family.

    Qiao Er was not the only person to have such thoughts, as most people in the Perennial World believed the same. After all, why else would the four ruling powers leave Lu Xiaoxuan alive?

    Furthermore, many people from the four ruling powers had spread those rumors as a means of saving face.

    "He¡¯s nothing but bait!" Qiao Er spat contemptuously. After seeing that most of the preparations for her master¡¯s birthday celebration were already finished, she realized that it was time to check on the Coiling Knot again. After all, that was the task that she had been given.

    As for the lost key¡­

    A smile appeared on Qiao Er¡¯s face. As if she would ever throw it away! She had simply said that she had lost it.

    Qiao Er was not stupid. She first confirmed that Bai Qi was at the first array base, and knowing that her master would soon be returning as well, Qiao Er headed for the rear battlefield. If she stayed away, who knew if Lu Xiaoxuan might go crazy! Qiao Er believed that her own life was much more valuable than Lu Xiaoxuan''s.

    After all, Lu Xiaoxuan was nothing more than a lost dog.

    Ten dayster, Qiao Er finally returned to the first array base and approached the edge.

    When Bai Qi saw Qiao Er approaching, the Semi-Progenitor shouted, "What are you doing here? Where''s Mu Shang?"

    Qiao Er offered a respectful bow and schooled her expression into an appropriately submissive look. "Qiao Er identally lost the key, so she came here to apologize. Qiao Er failed in her assigned duty and has caused trouble for the general."

    Bai Qi frowned. "Go. Get back to Mu Shang right away."

    Qiao Er blinked. "Master is almost here."

    Bai Qi started to grow irritated. "Leave before Mu Shang arrives. Get far away."

    "General, that person down below is Lu Xiaoxuan, right? Does he want to open the sourcebox array? That¡¯s hrious! He¡¯ll be trapped there until he¡¯s dead!" Qiao Erughed as she looked down and mocked Lu Yin.

    Bai Qi had already seen Lu Yin go deep into the Coiling Knot, and while he had clearly been studying something, Bai Qi could not understand what was happening. After all, she was not a Lockbreaker.

    "Do you know what he''s doing?" Bai Qi asked.

    Qiao Er once again adopted a respectful tone of voice. "He most likely wants to learn Master''s Coiling Knot, but he has overstepped himself. Master is an Array Grandmaster, so how could that person ever grasp a sourcebox array set up by Master? He¡¯s trapped, and he¡¯s going to die."

    As she spoke, the corner of Qiao Er''s mouth started to twitch. "Given the fact that he can¡¯t even move right now, anyone could kill him."

    Bai Qi¡¯s brows rose high. Anyone could kill him? That was an extremely tempting suggestion to hear.

    Bai Qi did not have any personal enmity towards Lu Yin, and she also had no knowledge regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile, as she had not been involved. However, since the Lu family was gone, the four ruling powers had be mortal enemies with everyone from the Lu family. Naturally, it would be best to eliminate an enemy.

    Qiao Er nced over at Bai Qi as she continued, "Many people im that Lu Xiaoxuan is a Redback. General, if that¡¯s true, then he should be executed."

    Killing intent flickered in Bai Qi''s eyes. The four ruling powers had spread propaganda that imed that the Lu family had been thergest gathering of Redbacks in history.

    Regardless of whether it was true, the existence of a member of the Lu family threatened the stability of the human race. Thus, no matter the truth of if a member of the Lu family was a Redback, they all needed to die.

    "A mere Realm Array Master went deep into Master''s Coiling Knot, and now he¡¯spletely stuck. Hehe, he¡¯s as stupid as a pig! It would be great if those monsters came along right now," Qiao Ermented with a chuckle.

    Right as she was speaking, Lu Yin suddenly lifted his head and looked straight up at Qiao Er. An icy gaze locked onto the woman.

    Qiao Er was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions. Since the woman had spent years on the rear battlefield training and even fighting against corpse kings, she had long since lost all fear of others. But at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes triggered fear in the woman, and she unconsciously started to tremble. She felt as though the sky was falling and the ground was copsing.

    She looked down at Lu Yin in horror.

 Chapter 2356: Disposal

    <h4>Chapter 2356: Disposal</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s cold eyes stared at Qiao Er as he slowly emerged from the sourcebox array and approached the first array base.

    Qiao Er was shocked by the sight. "Impossible! How can he leave Master''s Coiling Knot?"

    Seeing the cold light in Lu Yin''s eyes, Bai Qi felt a bad premonition, and she yelled at Qiao Er, "Hurry up and leave! I''ll stall him."

    Qiao Er bit her lip hard. Why should she leave? What would someone who was nothing more than bait dare to do to her?

    With Mu Shang as her master, Qiao Er was a guest of honor absolutely everywhere she went, and even Bai Qi and the other Semi-Progenitors treated her well. Qiao Er had been safe and secure for so long that she had forgotten what her own strength and power was; she had never even once stopped to consider why a Semi-Progenitor like Bai Qi would tell Qiao Er to leave. Why would a powerful Semi-Progenitor act as though she had no control over the current situation? The only thought in Qiao Er¡¯s mind was that Lu Yin was being used as bait by the four ruling powers. She firmly believed this to be true, and seeing as she was Mu Shang¡¯s apprentice, there was no one who would dare to touch her here.

    However, Bai Qi grabbed hold of Qiao Er, and she was just about to throw the woman away from the first array base.

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared next to the two women, and his hand stretched out to grab Qiao Er¡¯s shoulder. He then looked past the woman at Bai Qi. "A powerful Semi-Progenitor like you wouldn¡¯t be trying to attack a junior, would you?"

    Bai Qi stared at Lu Yin. "Just let her leave. Give her something to do."

    Lu Yin smiled and looked back at Qiao Er. The woman was staring at Lu Yin, and so the two locked eyes.

    "My name is Lu .in," Lu Yin introduced himself with a gentle expression.

    Qiao Er felt terribly confused. Those terrifyingly cold eyes that she had just seen seemed to have been an illusion.

    "I heard that you lost the key to that Coiling Knot down below, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Only then did Qiao Er snap out of her daze, and she became upset when she realized that she was frightened. What was there to be afraid of? Thisst survivor of the Lu family was nothing more than a stray dog. "That¡¯s right. I''m sorry, but I lost it."

    "Why didn''t you let me know sooner? I¡¯ll be honest¡ªI just went down there and learned that several people died within thesest few days. If you told me earlier, they wouldn''t have died," Lu Yin said in a low voice. There was no indication in his tone as to whether he was happy or angry.

    Bai Qi''s heart fell. She had not known anything about this.

    Qiao Er casually answered, "It¡¯s an honor for them toy down their lives on the rear battlefield. Many of the people in the remnant army deserve death, and they¡¯ll all die eventually."

    Lu Yin nodded. "By the way, did you really lose the key?"

    Despite her arrogance, Qiao Er was not an idiot. There were some things that could be done, but only if she had enough of an excuse. She would not allow herself to lose the initiative. "I lost it."

    Lu Yin sighed. "That''s quite the problem. After all, how will you be able to save yourself without that key?"

    Bai Qi was startled by thement. ¡°Lu-¡°

    She only got a single word out before God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and an endless number of runes bombarded the Semi-Progenitor. The sudden attack caught Bai Qi off guard, and she was instantly rendered helpless.

    God of mes had never be a Semi-Progenitor himself, but after he had managed to cultivate himself into the form of a candle, his runes had increased to match those of a Semi-Progenitor.

    While the number of runes wereparable to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, it was nowhere near enough to actually pose a threat against someone with Bai Qi¡¯s strength. Still, the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power was invisible and undetectable to those who did not practice Truesight, and even Jue Yi, a gatemaster of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, had been caught off guard by the odd attack, let alone Bai Qi.

    If God of mes was still alive, then there was no way for him to be Bai Qi¡¯s opponent, but a sudden attack of runes was not something that Bai Qi could withstand at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Bai Qi was briefly shaken, as she had no idea what sort of power had just been used against her.

    During that time, Lu Yin grabbed Qiao Er and jumped down towards the sourcebox array.

    The sudden change terrified Qiao Er. "Lu Xiaoxuan, let me go! What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m taking you to where you can learn the sourcebox array that your master set up. Maybe this will help you be an Array Grandmaster even sooner and allow you to surpass your master."

    Lu Yin proceeded to drag Qiao Er deep within the Coiling Knot.

    By the time Bai Qi managed to recover enough to look down, her expression turned ugly. It was already over. Qiao Er was done for. Why had the woman spoken to Lu Yin in such a manner?

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, if there¡¯s something that you need to say, just say it! Qiao Er will take any punishment needed!" Bai Qi shouted.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the Semi-Progenitor. He dragged Qiao Er deep inside the sourcebox array and ced her within a particr node of knots. There were thousands of knots within the sourcebox array, and Lu Yin had ced the woman within the central node that consisted of thousands of knots. It was the most important location for opening or understanding the Coiling Knot, as it was also the section that corresponded to the key that was used to control the entire thing.

    Qiao Er looked around in a daze. All around her, she could see her master¡¯s unpredictable and iprehensible methods that could only belong to an Array Grandmaster. She could not help but marvel at her master''s creativity and admire his pure strength. Qiao Er had been absolutely correct when she had said that any Realm Array Master who pushed too deep into this Coiling Knot would find themselves unable to escape.

    However, that was precisely where Qiao Er was at the moment. She saw the endless interlockingyers of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zones, and their incredibleplexity left her feeling desperate. This was her first time venturing so deep into any sourcebox array that her master had set up, and the circumstances defied Qiao Er¡¯s imagination. Just how could this array have been set up to begin with?

    There was a specific pattern to the unending danger zones that surrounded her, but each wisp of energy from the sourceboxes felt so dangerous that just looking at them caused Qiao Er¡¯s scalp to tingle. She felt as though she was standing on the edge of a cliff that was so tall that falling would leave her without any bones at all.

    The woman had fought on the rear battlefield for many years, but every bit of fighting that she had ever been in had been carefully orchestrated, and she had always understood that her life had never been in any danger. The defenders on the rear battlefield, and even the generals, would not let her die, as they would have no way to justify her death to Mu Shang.

    Unfortunately, at this moment, Qiao Er understood that she was truly facing death, and the reality of her situation left her wanting to do nothing more than copse and wail in despair.

    Lu Yin was only about one meter away from the woman, and he watched her reactions with great interest. "This is what your master¡¯s Coiling Knot looks like from the inside. Since he hasn¡¯t shown it to you, I¡¯ll give him a hand and teach his apprentice."

    "Let me out! Let me out! I don''t want to be in here!" Qiao Er screamed, her face pale.

    Up on the first array base, Bai Chi and Xia De both arrived next to Bai Qi, and they stared down at the sourcebox array. "Lu Xiaoxuan, regardless of what you need, just bring Qiao Er up here, and we can talk about it."

    Xia De said nothing. Qiao Er was Mu Shang''s disciple, and the Celestial Frost Sect might need to keep Mu Shang happy since he belonged to the sect, but the Xia family owed nothing to the Array Grandmaster. In fact, Xia De was even hoping for a fight to break out between Lu Yin and Mu Shang. When it came tobat strength, there was no way for Mu Shang topare to Lu Yin no matter what the man might be capable of doing. After all, Lu Yin could fight against Progenitors. However, Mu Shang was an Array Grandmaster, and the methods avable to a Lockbreaker were iprehensible to anyone who was not also an Array Grandmaster.

    There were legends that imed that Progenitor Hui had been just as bad at openbat as Progenitor Smoke, but the Ceaseless Impetus that Progenitor Hui had created had protected all of humanity for endless years by holding back the forces of Aeternus. This was a perfect example of what an Array Grandmaster was capable of doing.

    Mu Shang was famous for being the youngest Array Grandmaster in history. Given his talent, no one could say whether or not the man would eventually be able to measure up to Progenitor Hui''s ability with sourcebox arrays.

    Lu Yin looked at Qiao Er and smiled at her. "You should be thanking me. I''m helping Mu Shang teach you, but I''m a very strict teacher. My standards for my apprentices are very high, so you¡¯ll have to see if you can measure up. If you can¡¯t understand this sourcebox array, then you might just¡­ die."

    Qiao Er stared at Lu Yin in terror. "Let me out! I¡¯m sorry! I''m sorry! I didn''t mean to lose the key! Just let me out, please!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s body then disappeared before the woman¡¯s eyes as he left the Coiling Knot and returned to the first array base.

    Bai Chi approached Lu Yin and stared at him. "Lu Xiaoxuan, bring Qiao Er up here right now. We will pay for her mistake."

    Lu Yin nced over at Bai Chi and addressed the general for the first time. "Get lost."

    The general went stiff, and a cold light flickered in his eyes. He reflexively wanted to attack, but Bai Qi stopped him. Ignoring whether Bai Chi could even do anything at all to Lu Yin, there was the jiao over the fourth array base.

    If the jiao had not returned to the fourth array base, Bai Chi would not havee close to losing hisposure no matter how furious he became.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, we will be sure to offer you a satisfactory exnation for what has happened. Anything can be discussed, so just bring Qiao Er back up here. She is Mu Shang''s apprentice, and Mu Shang is one of the four Array Grandmasters who helps protect humanity. If he bes upset due to what happens to Qiao Er, the entire rear battlefield will suffer for it," Bai Qi said in a soft voice. She did not want Lu Yin to feel like she was threatening him. After all, there was no way that Mu Shang could pose any threat at all to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced over. "If one of your Array Grandmasters goes missing, I will give you another one. If two disappear, then I¡¯ll provide you with two."

    Bai Qi and Bai Chi looked at each other. There was nothing that they could say to such a response.

    Xia De sighed. "So the Fifth Maind has more than one Array Grandmaster."

    Lu Yin looked down and sped his hands behind his back. Qiao Er was struggling and desperate, but she did not dare to move a single muscle. She was terrified that any movement at all would cause one of the danger zones that made up the Coiling Knot to touch and kill her. Master, where are you? Master!

    Bai Chi fell silent. Lu Yin did not like the general at all, and he waspletely uninterested in speaking to the man, even if he was a Semi-Progenitor.

    Bai Qi quietly asked, "Can''t you let her go?"

    Lu Yin looked up from staring at the sourcebox array. "If she has the key, she can get out."

    Bai Qi frowned. "And if she doesn¡¯t have it, then what? All that will do is prove that she lost the key. It was an ident, not something that was done deliberately. Negligence is not a crime worthy of death."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "If she had simply told me about it a few days sooner, Che Zhan would not have died."

    Bai Qi had nothing more to say. While certain people¡¯s lives did not matter to some people, they could be priceless to others.

    No one present actually regarded Qiao Er with much personal importance, but to Mu Shang, Qiao Er was priceless. The Semi-Progenitors on the first array base regarded Che Zhan as nothing more than a criminal who could be sacrificed at any moment, but to Lu Yin, the man had been arade-in-arms who had faced life and death together with him on the battlefield. Lu Yin had promised hisrades that he would take them away and rescue them, but Che Zhan had died because Qiao Er had supposedly been busy preparing for a birthday celebration. Forget Mu Shang¡ªnot even an old monster like Bai Wangyuan would be able to save the woman.

    Everyone stopped talking. Down within the sourcebox array, Qiao Er did not dare to move. No matter how desperate and frightened she became, she remembered that Mu Shang was on his way. As long as her master arrived, Qiao Er would be saved.

    Half an hourter, Mu Shang arrived. He noticed Lu Yin and the others standing at the edge of the first array base, and the three Semi-Progenitors were all staring at Lu Yin with amazement and shock in their eyes. There was something truly strange going on.

    As soon as he saw that Mu Shang had arrived, Bai Chi said, "Qiao Er is trapped in the sourcebox array. Please save her."

    Mu Shang felt confused. "How did she end up down there?"

    Bai Chi nced at Lu Yin, who looked up at Mu Shang. "We finally meet, Grandmaster Mu."

    Mu Shang and Lu Yin stared at each other. The Array Grandmaster nodded to Lu Yin, walked to the edge of the first array base, and then looked down. He saw Qiao Er.

    The woman had been eagerly waiting for her master for what had felt like an endless amount of time, and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Master, save me! Master!"

    Mu Shang frowned and turned back to look at Lu Yin. "You did that?"

    Lu Yin gave the man a small smile. "I was teaching your apprentice for you. I wanted to see if she could get out on her own."

    "You¡¯re executing her." Mu Shang''s eyes grew cold.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "She can get out if she still has the key."

    Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯ve changed."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Another old acquaintance? Sorry, but you only knew the old me. You don¡¯t know the current me at all."

    Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin for a moment, leapt down, and immediately entered the Coiling Knot.

    Bai Chi felt quite puzzled. The Coiling Knot had been set up by Mu Shang, so the man should be able to control and open the array even from the first array base, no different from how someone with the key could control the array. Why had the man personally entered the sourcebox array?

    Bai Qi suddenly thought of something, and she turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Did you change the array?"

 Chapter 2357: The First Meeting

    <h4>Chapter 2357: The First Meeting</h4>

    Lu Yin was impressed. "As expected of an Array Grandmaster, he was able to find the problem with just a nce."

    This was too cruel! Xia De nced sideways at Lu Yin. This youth was as ruthless as ever. If Mu Shang had not noticed that the Coiling Knot had been modified, then trying to open it with the original method would have killed Qiao Er and not even left a corpse behind. It would have been equivalent to Mu Shang personally killing Qiao Er. Such methods were just too cruel.

    Mu Shang arrived a few meters away from Qiao Er, but then the man frowned. He raised a hand and grabbed hold of a wisp of the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone. That simple action affected the entire sourcebox array, and the entire thing shifted.

    Qiao Er grew even paler than before. She could not understand why her master had shifted the Coiling Knot, as he should be able to easily get her out of it.

    It was impossible for Mu Shang to admit to Qiao Er that he was currently fighting against Lu Yin in order to unravel the sourcebox array. Lu Yin had altered the array, and Mu Shang wanted to undo all of the changes that had been made. As for Qiao Er, Mu Shang could take her away whenever he wanted.

    Up on the first array base, humans fought against the Aeternals while the Semi-Progenitors stood at the edge of the array base and looked down. Even though they could not understand anything about the sourcebox array, it was readily apparent that Mu Shang waspletely rxed.

    Bai Chi sneered. "I can¡¯t imagine what would give a mere Realm Array Master the guts to challenge an Array Grandmaster."

    Naturally, the Realm Array Master that was mentioned was Lu Yin.

    In contrast, Xia De was truly amazed. "There has never before been a case where a Realm Array Master could modify a sourcebox array set up by an Array Grand master."

    Bai Qi was simrly blown away, as what Lu Yin had aplished indicated that he was very close to bing an Array Grandmaster himself.

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Shang. Every action that the Array Grandmaster took gave Lu Yin a different feeling. Mu Shang truly deserved the title of Array Grandmaster. The Coiling Knot that he had set up above New City was not amon sourcebox array, and it was tooplicated for lesser Array Masters to attempt to set up, which even included Realm Array Masters. Despite theplicated arrangement, Mu Shang relied on his intuition to gain an understanding of the overall situation of the sourcebox array. This was apletely different style of working from Lu Yin, who relied exclusively on the vast lockbreaking experience that he had obtained.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking experience was simply too vast, and it had only increased after his Possession of Grandmaster Qiu Ling. Additionally, Lu Yin had the experiences of multiple Array Masters, a Realm Array Master, and even the lockbreaking methods used during the Daosource Sect era. Finally, while creating the unique power thaty in his chest, Lu Yin had been enlightened on the concept that all power returns to the same origin. This even applied to his lockbreaking experiences. Lu Yin had obtained the experiences of many different Lockbreakers, but when it all came together, it once again confirmed for him that all solutions led to the same destination.

    The changes that Lu Yin had made to the Coiling Knot were not very difficult for Mu Shang to find and correct. In the end, there was still a bit of a gap between Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking capabilities and those of a true Array Grandmaster.

    After just a short bit of?time, Mu Shang regained total control of the sourcebox array, and he moved over next to Qiao Er.

    The woman¡¯s eyes were bright red. "Master, Qiao Er thought that she would never see you again!"

    Mu Shang frowned. "Why did you lose the key?"

    Qiao Er instantly grew awkward.

    Mu Shang merely asked the question, but he did not pursue the matter any further. As Qiao Er had said earlier, the lives and deaths of the people who had been banished to New City simply did not matter.

    "Master, Lu Xiaoxuan is trying to kill me!" Qiao Er looked upwards and red at Lu Yin with fury. Hatred filled the woman¡¯s eyes. While she had only spent a short while in the sourcebox array, it had been an experience that she would never be able to forget. Lu Yin had actually traumatized the woman.

    The moment that Qiao Er¡¯s eyes looked upwards, she saw Lu Yin take out a sourcebox and slowly let it fall down.

    Qiao Er''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks. She screamed, "Master--!"

    Mu Shang¡¯s head snapped up, and he also saw the falling sourcebox. The sight startled him. "Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare you!"

    The Array Grandmaster grabbed Qiao Er and moved to escape from the Coiling Knot.

    Sourcebox arrays functioned because Array Masters could direct and coordinate the danger zones of one or more sourceboxes. It was something that only Array Masters could do, and this process could transform trash into something miraculous.

    However, if another sourcebox was suddenly introduced into an existing sourcebox array, it would be as if a mountain had smashed into a calmke. Not only would theke be disrupted, but it would also be smashed andpletely destroyed.

    The moment the falling sourcebox entered the array, the ordered structure of the sourcebox array would instantly change. It was unavoidable and impossible to predict. There was no way for anyone to know exactly what would happen.

    Even Mu Shang, an Array Grandmaster, would not dare to take such a risk.

    There were many anecdotes of Array Grandmasters dying within a sourcebox array throughout history. It could even be said that Array Grandmasters were destined to eventually be killed by a sourcebox array.

    As soon as Mu Shang saw the falling sourcebox, he grabbed Qiao Er and fled from the sourcebox array.

    Bai Chi and Bai Qi bothshed out, trying to stop the sourcebox from falling. No one had anticipated such a vicious move from Lu Yin. If the sourcebox fell into the array, then not only Qiao Er, but even Mu Shang might be lost.

    Unfortunately, all efforts were useless. Lu Yin used runes at the Progenitor level to force both Bai Qi and Bai Chi to the ground, and the sourcebox fell down uninhibited.

    It dropped closer and closer to the Coiling Knot.

    Mu Shang would clearly be able to get Qiao Er out of the sourcebox array before the sourcebox fell into it, but how could Lu Yin allow that to happen?

    Another wave of runes fell, this time aimed at Mu Shang. As the runes fell, Bai Wangyuan¡¯s power descended from the Dominion Realm. While the Progenitor did not care about whether Qiao Er lived or died, nothing could be allowed to happen to the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Array Grandmaster.

    The power of a Progenitor surrounded Mu Shang as the Progenitor-level runes fell upon him, but Lu Yin was notunching an attack. He had never intended to kill Mu Shang, just push him back down. Lu Yin was curious to see how the youngest Array Master in history would deal with a mutated sourcebox array.

    The runes with the strength of a Progenitor smashed down on Mu Shang, but thanks to Bai Wangyuan¡¯s protection, the man endured the attack. However, it was impossible for him to keep hold of Qiao Er, and she fell away from her master.

    Qiao Er stared up at Mu Shang in shock for an instant. At herst moment, she caught sight of Lu Yin''s cold eyes staring at her.

    She regretted her actions. She should not have behaved as she had, and she absolutely should not have antagonized Lu Xiaoxuan. She should not have said the words that she had spoken, nor even returned to the rear battlefield. Why had this happened to her?

    No one could answer Qiao Er''s question, as her body had already disappeared into the sourcebox array. The falling sourcebox also entered the array, and the entire thingpletely transformed. It became something monstrous as the various danger fields from the sourceboxes interacted and surged out in all directions. The void was torn apart by the chaotic powers. This could no longer be considered a sourcebox array, and it was instead nothing more than a mess of ovepping danger fields.

    As for Qiao Er, shepletely disappeared, never to be seen again.

    Mu Shang looked down. He watched as Qiao Er disappeared, and his expression grew dark.

    As soon as Mu Shang stepped foot back on the first array base, the power of a Progenitor that had been protecting him vanished.

    Bai Wangyuan''s voice entered Lu Yin''s ears. "Lu Xiaoxuan, don''t go too far."

    Lu Yin just smiled. He released the runes that he had borrowed as he looked down and watched the danger fields warp and twist as they interacted with each other. At this moment, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to calm the chaotic power of the sourceboxes. This was the mystery of sourceboxes. Only Lockbreakers could hope to be able to understand and unravel a sourcebox.

    They were the only ones who could discover the secrets that the universe had hidden away.

    Mu Shang straightened up and turned to re at Lu Yin with frigid eyes. "Her mistake did not warrant her death."

    Lu Yin had his back to the Array Grandmaster. He was still staring down at the chaos that he had triggered. "Your words mean nothing."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have be too cruel!" Mu Shang spat out.

    Bai Chi approached and quietly said something to Mu Shang.

    Bai Qi stared at Lu Yin. The woman felt rather conflicted at this moment. Would anyone show mercy to their enemies?

    Xia De justughed. Who was Qiao Er? Lu Yin had dared to publicly execute Semi-Progenitor Wang Si! Not only had the woman been a ?Semi-Progenitor, but she had also been an incredibly important figure in the Perennial World. Killing her had aplished nothing less than make him an eternal enemy of the entire Wang family, but had Lu Yin hesitated? He had not been at all concerned with the risks. After all, he and the four ruling powers had always been sworn enemies.

    At this point in time, the only people who could make Lu Yin pay attention were Progenitors.

    No one heard what Bai Chi said to Mu Shang, but the Array Grandmaster took a deep breath. Determination covered his face as he stared at Lu Yin''s back. "Last time we spoke, I came to an agreement with ¡®Yu Hao¡¯ that the first time we saw each other would be when he challenged me. Were you that Yu Hao, or was that someone else?"

    Lu Yin felt a bit lost. Had that happened? As he thought back, he remembered that while Virtue Archives¡¯ students had been traveling to Shenwu''s Sky, he had asked Liu Shaoge to act as Yu Hao for a bit. It seemed that Liu Shaoge hade up with an excuse to not be exposed.

    "Now, you and I are finally meeting for the first time. What do you say? Do you dare to challenge me, Lu Xiaoxuan?" Mu Shang coldly demanded.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at Mu Shang. Some timeter, Lu Yin answered simply, "Fine."

    Mu Shang appeared to be almost scarily calm. "You can choose the time and ce."

    "When¡¯s your birthday?"

    Mu Shang¡¯s eyes narrowed. "That would be a good day. My birthday celebration will be held in forty eight days. There will be many veteran Lockbreakers present, so we will allow them to bear witness to whether or not you, Lu Xiaoxuan, can rece me as the youngest Array Grandmaster in history."

    "I''m looking forward to it," Lu Yin answered casually.

    Mu Shang took a deep breath before turning around and leaving. He was going to prepare himself. He had not been entirely certain on how Lu Yin would respond to the proposed challenge even if he had been able to modify Mu Shang¡¯s Coiling Knot.

    It defied all reason that such a young Array Master could have modified Mu Shang¡¯s soucebox array. Even a veteran Realm Array Master such as Master Deng Guo might not be able to aplish such a thing. The fact that Lu Yin had agreed to apetition with Mu Shang was clearly not due to something like ignorant self-confidence.

    Lu Yin was an opponent whom even Mu Shang felt the need to take seriously.

    After Mu Shang left, Lu Yin also left the first array base. Challenging Mu Shang had truly been nothing more than an ident, but Lu Yin intended to see it through. Even if Liu Shaoge had been the one to set up the challenge, it had been done under Lu Yin¡¯s identity.

    Lu Yin knew that his current lockbreaking abilities were absolutely no match for Mu Shang¡¯s, but fortunately, Lu Yin still had more than forty days before the challenge took ce.

    Upon returning to the fourth array base, the first thing that Lu Yin did was reach out to Grandmaster Qiu Ling. The only way for Lu Yin to have the confidence to challenge Mu Shang was if he Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling once again and obtained all of the woman¡¯s lockbreaking experience.

    Mu Shang was indeed the youngest person to be an Array Grandmaster in history, and he was still very young. It was a very real possibility that the man was not yet Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s opponent. At the very least, Qiu Ling was at least as skilled an Array Grandmaster as Mu Shang.

    It was not difficult for Lu Yin to obtain Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s contact information.

    "Are you Lu Xiaoxuan?" Grandmaster Qiu Ling had not expected to receive a call from Lu Yin.

    Other people saw Grandmaster Qiu Ling as an Array Grandmaster, as well as someone who favored Shenwu''s Sky and had a good rtionship with the sect. While Lu Yin''s enmity with Shenwu''s Sky should not have any connection to Qiu Ling, there was something else about the woman that only Lu Yin was aware of: Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Grandmaster Qiu Ling. This junior has never had the opportunity to thank you for what happenedst time," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling felt quite puzzled. "What happened? Are you referring to the game of Stable Zone that we yed on Dragon Mountain? If it¡¯s just that, then there¡¯s no need to thank me. The White Dragon n paid me to ensure that Long Qi gave a good impression on everyone, and I merely agreed to help a junior. I never even considered that Long Qi would actually be you, Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior is of course not referring to that matter. If not for Grandmaster Qiu Ling, how else could this junior have managed to escape from the Higher Realm? Grandmaster Qiu Ling could have easily captured this junior back then, and this junior will remember your kindness in allowing me to escape."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling grew incredibly solemn. "Lu Xiaoxuan, don''t be ridiculous. I never once did anything to help you."

    Lu Yin also grew more serious. "No matter what you may say, Grandmaster, this junior must repay the kindness that you have shown me."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling shook her head. "There¡¯s no favor owed, and you should not even call me again. We¡¯re done."

    Even as she spoke, the woman was trying to end the call.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up. "Senior, I know that you are one of the surviving vassals of my Lu family!"

    These words startled the woman, and left her dumbfounded. "What is this nonsense now? How could I have ever been a vassal of the Lu family?"

 Chapter 2358: Forced To Meet

    <h4>Chapter 2358: Forced To Meet</h4>

    Lu Yin responded in an earnest tone, "If you aren¡¯t a surviving vassal of the Lu family, then why would you have helped me back then? You helped me just like Adventure King. He waster on targeted by the four ruling powers, and he nearly died. This junior has been very worried about your safety. I¡¯ve reached an agreement with the four ruling powers and am able to protect all of the surviving vassals of my Lu family, which means that as long as you admit to being one, no one will harm you, Senior. Not even Shenwu''s Sky. This junior will even speak to Shenwu''s Sky on your behalf."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling became quite anxious. "Don''t joke around, Lu Xiaoxuan! I was never one of the Lu family¡¯s vassals."

    "But you helped this junior. This junior is definitely not an ungrateful person!" Lu Yin protested loudly.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was speechless. She wanted to say that she had not helped him by choice, but only because she had been ordered to do so by the Aeternals! However, she would never say such a thing out loud even if it killed her.

    If Lu Yin told Shenwu''s Sky that Qiu Ling had helped him escape from the Higher Realm after fleeing from Dragon Mountain, she would be in grave trouble. Even worse, such a disruption could ruin Aeternus¡¯s ns for Lu Yin, and it was even possible that the four ruling powers might find out that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback!

    As long as she maintained a close rtionship with the four ruling powers, no one would look into her matters, but if she became one of their enemies, there was no telling what mighte to light.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you really have misunderstood the entire situation. I was truly never a vassal of the Lu family." Grandmaster Qiu Ling could not find a way to exin things, which was incredibly frustrating for her.

    Lu Yin internally grinned at the woman¡¯s desperation, but he revealed a solemn expression over the call. "This junior can¡¯t believe that."

    "What would convince you?" Grandmaster Qiu Ling angrily demanded.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Let''s meet face to face. Something like this can only be properly exined in person."

    "No. What will I do if someone finds out about me meeting with you and tells Shenwu''s Sky?" Grandmaster Qiu Ling instantly refused.

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior already knows that you were a vassal of the Lu family and that you don''t want to reveal your old loyalties. Don''t worry, this junior will make everything clear to Shenwu''s Sky so that you will be safe."

    He then moved to end the call.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling became desperate. "Wait! Alright, fine. Let¡¯s meet up. Where do you want to meet? Where are you right now?"

    Lu Yin answered, "This junior is on the fourth array base. If you don¡¯t want to be seen with me, Senior, then you can choose a secret ce for us to meet."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been backed into a corner. How was it possible that, decades after helping this person, he was dragging her down because of it? She had to give him a justifiable reason for her past actions, or else her rtionship with Shenwu''s Sky would bepletely ruined the moment they learned that she had helped Lu Xiaoxuan escape during his first visit to the Perennial World.

    The more that Grandmaster Qiu Ling considered her current situation, the more frustrated she felt. She had not felt so cornered in many, many years.

    Finally, the two agreed to meet in a hidden location on the rear battlefield. It was a location on the Mother Tree itself, and it was at the border between the second and third array bases.

    This location was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin, as it was the location that Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been in when Lu Yin had Possessed her.

    After agreeing to the location of their meeting, Lu Yin rushed over. He could not wait to Possess the woman once again and extract all of her lockbreaking knowledge and experience.

    At the same time, Grandmaster Qiu Ling was racking her brain, trying toe up with a solution for the issue she faced. She could not simply stay silent, as that would not resolve anything at all. She needed to give an exnation, but how was she supposed to provide a reasonable exnation for her actions?

    Both people¡¯s minds were fully upied as they headed towards the meeting location.

    ***

    Far away, in the Higher Realm, a group of people had gathered in the mountain valley beneath the Wang family¡¯s floating maind. All of the top youths from each of the four ruling powers were present, including Long Tian, Wang Su, Wang Yi, Xia Shenfei, and many more. They were being sent to the Fifth Maind to obtain the inheritances that were kept in the Tower of the Fifth. Bai Qi was going to lead them all there.

    They were all waiting for Bai Qi at the moment. The Semi-Progenitor had just left the rear battlefield and was rushing towards the valley.

    "Wang Su, out of all of us, you¡¯re the only one to have actually visited the Forsaken Land. Does the Tower of the Fifth really have that many worthwhile inheritances?" Long Tian asked.

    Everyone else immediately focused on Wang Su and Wang Yi.

    There was an indifferent expression on Wang Su''s face. Due to practicing the Supremacy secret technique, he had a rather unique demeanor. "There are some there, but not others."

    "What does that mean?" Xia Shenfei asked after taking a sip of wine.

    Wang Su had no interest in saying anything further. Instead, Wang Yi answered. "The Forsaken Land was attacked by Aeternus twenty years ago, and Lu Yin disappeared at the same time. Twenty years passed before he reappeared, and during the time that he was gone, Semi-Progenitors did enter and explore the Tower of the Fifth. Most of the advertised inheritances are actually there, but there¡¯s no inheritance from Progenitor Ku. Instead, there¡¯s a qualification to receive the inheritance when it bes avable.

    "Also, by epting many of the inheritances that are in the Tower of the Fifth, you agree to acknowledge Lu Yin as a half-master."

    Everyone headed for the Fifth Maind had already been informed about the need to ept Lu Yin as a half-master, but that stiption did not apply to ordinary inheritances. Also, the sole purpose of the people being sent to the Fifth Maind was to take the Thirteen Swords, Extremes Must Be Reversed, and Inverse Step techniques. If acquiring such techniques meant being forced to acknowledge Lu Yin as a half-master, then so what?

    The other inheritances avable in the Tower of the Fifth were regarded as worthless, and no one would ept them if it required acknowledging Lu Yin as a half-master.

    While Bai Wangyuan wanted to force Lu Yin to cancel the requirement to ept him as a half-master, there was no way that Lu Yin would agree to such a thing. After all, if he did retract the condition, then how would he be able to exin himself to the people from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds?

    For this reason, the Progenitor had not even brought the matter up with Lu Yin.

    The gathered crowd all chatted with each other as they waited for Bai Qi to arrive.

    Bai Qi was already on her way, and as she was traveling, she spoke with Bai Wangyuan and exined what had happened on the first array base of the rear battlefield.

    Bai Wangyuan had only interfered because he had sensed the power of the Rune Progenitor. It was impossible for any of the Progenitors to be constantly monitoring Lu Yin.

    Bai Qi''s report also informed the Progenitors of what had happened.

    None of them cared about some ant like Qiao Er, but they were very interested in the matter of Lu Yin challenging Mu Shang and the possibility of the young man stealing the title of youngest Array Grandmaster in human history.

    It was only then that the Progenitors remembered that Lu Yin was also a Realm Array Master. The fact that he had publicly challenged Mu Shang meant that Lu Xiaoxuan was confident about his chances against an Array Grandmaster.

    This was something that made the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors positively murderous.

    A Progenitor who was also an Array Grandmaster was a terrifyingbination. Much like Hui Wen, a Progenitor who was a Lockbreaker could achieve lockbreaking feats that defied what even Progenitors considered possible.

    During the Daosource Sect era, none of them had ever contemted a possibility that there woulde a day when humanity relied on Hui Wen¡¯s power of lockbreaking to defend them all. It had exceeded even Lu Tianyi¡¯s imagination. Would Lu Xiaoxuan be the next Hui Wen? It was certainly not impossible.

    Bai Wangyuan looked down at the rear battlefield. It would be perfect if Lu Xiaoxuan died during the uing challenge. He had been the one to initiate the challenge, which meant that whatever happened during the challenge would have absolutely nothing to do with the four ruling powers.

    ¡­

    On the rear battlefield, Lu Yin had already arrived at the location where he had agreed to meet Grandmaster Qiu Ling. He nced around and confirmed that it was the same location that the woman had been when Lu Yin had Possessed her.

    A Champions¡¯ Stage floated behind him. He nced behind and then shrouded the entire area with the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage. He intended to make sure that Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were not watching him.

    Even if Lu Yin could not defeat those Progenitors, he could at least determine if anyone was watching him with the Progenitor-level runes avable to him.

    There was actually no one watching at the moment. To begin with, Bai Wangyuan and the others knew that they were not able to keep an eye on Lu Yin, and on top of that, the Dominion Realm was also a battlefield, just one for Progenitors. It was not easy for any of the Progenitors to see what was happening down below.

    Wait.?Lu Yin suddenly wondered if Grandmaster Qiu Ling was responsible for the fact that no one was watching. There was no way that she would be willing to risk letting anyone from the four ruling powers observe her meeting with Lu Yin. Thus, it was possible that she had asked the Aeternals to keep Bai Wangyuan and the others in the Dominion Realm upied for a while.

    If that was true, then Lu Yin would have tough, as it would mean that Aeternus was helping him out a great deal. However, if Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions were correct, then that also meant that there was a very good chance that the fourth base would be targeted as well. Lu Yin was well aware of the fact that Grandmaster Qiu Ling would do almost anything to not have a long conversation with him, and that meant that she needed something to pull Lu Yin away from their meeting.

    "Come on out, Senior." Lu Yin shot a smile in a specific direction.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling stepped out, warily looking at Lu Yin while feeling rather helpless. "You got here very quickly."

    Lu Yin gave a genuine answer, "This junior can move as fast as a Semi-Progenitor, but I can also use some special methods to reach a Progenitor¡¯s speed. Just a few days ago, this junior even fought against one of the Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods, and it was even her true body. When I was still in the Fifth Maind, Xia Shenji cooperated with Bai Sheng to attack me, but they were still forced back. This is part of the reason why the four ruling powers agreed to a truce with this junior. Senior, you don''t need to worry about anything at all. This junior will definitely be able to protect you."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was left speechless. Although jealousy was the motivation that had set her on her current path, it was a darkness that had always remained buried deep in her heart. In fact, Qiu Ling¡¯s entire personality had changed somewhat after she became an Array Grandmaster, bing a bit gentler and softer. She had formed closer bonds with some people, and time had eventually caused Qiu Ling to be a different person from her younger self. There were even times when she questioned whether she would turn to Aeternus again if she were given a second chance with her older personality. Would jealousy still drive her to such extremes?

    Despite Qiu Ling¡¯s improved personality, she could not help but get upset with him after hearing what he had to say. Was he incapable ofprehending what she was saying?

    "I already told you, I was really never a vassal of the Lu family," Grandmaster Qiu Ling reiterated.

    Lu Yin warily looked around. "Is there someone watching us? Don''t worry, Senior. Even if one of those old freaks like Bai Wangyuan is watching you, you can admit the truth. Nothing will happen to you. This junior understands that you have been in the Perennial World alone for many years, enduring the humiliation, but this junior is here and can help you now."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s hands unconsciously clenched into fists before she forced them to rx. "Well, I will admit that I did help you back then, but that was only because I was given some favors by your Lu family long ago. Other than that, I have no connection with your Lu family. I don¡¯t owe you anything, and you also don¡¯t owe me anything. I¡¯ll say it once more: I am absolutely not affiliated with the Lu family in any way.¡±

    Lu Yin became agitated, and he stepped forward. "I don''t believe it! Adventure King still hasn''te to me even now, and you also won''t admit it. Did the four ruling powers do something to you?"

    Seeming to have suddenly thought of something, Lu Yin continued to say, "Is that it? A restriction? The four ruling powers have ced restrictions and seals on many others, but you don¡¯t have to worry! This junior can remove the four ruling powers¡¯ restrictions. I already removed the restrictions that were ced on the members of Star Alliance!¡±

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling felt terrified of Lu Yin. She did not know why she felt such fear, but as soon as Lu Yin approached her, she felt a terrible chill that caused her to instinctively want to keep her distance from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin abruptly froze in ce, and various emotions flickered across his face as he looked at Grandmaster Qiu Ling. "Senior, are you on guard against me?"

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling took a deep breath. "I already told you that I¡¯m not one of the surviving vassals of the Lu family. I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with you, especially since I am a part of Shenwu''s Sky. I won¡¯t do anything that will cause Progenitor Shenji to be upset with me."

    Bitterness filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at the woman, and then heughed at himself. "So that''s how it is? Right, you¡¯re part of Shenwu''s Sky now, so of course you wouldn¡¯t want to have anything to do with me, thest member of the Lu family."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Lu Yin did not continue moving forward. She nced towards the fourth array base. It should be just about time now.

    The moment that thought appeared, the power of a Progenitor swept across the five array bases.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around. "Not good! There¡¯s an enemy Progenitor!"

    He nced back at Grandmaster Qiu Ling. He clearly wanted to say something more, but he eventually left without saying another word and looking terribly disappointed.

    The moment Lu Yin left, E Chi appeared. Lu Yin had already summoned a champion and was racing back towards the fourth array base.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Lu Yin had summoned his Progenitor-level champion. This matter had finally been settled. She should really have never helped him to begin with, but who would have ever imagined that the youth would one day be allowed to openly roam about the Perennial World? It was something that still felt unbelievable.

    She took a long look in the direction of the fourth array base before turning around and leaving. Suddenly, the woman froze. Her eyes went ck, and Lu Yin stepped out from the shadows behind the Array Grandmaster. He had already Possessed her.

 Chapter 2359: Interception

    <h4>Chapter 2359: Interception</h4>

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling had been an Array Grandmaster for some time, but she was still only a peak Envoy. She had not been able to breakthrough and be a Semi-Progenitor. Given herbat strength, it was impossible for the woman to evade Lu Yin, not unless she wanted to cease all civilities and set up a sourcebox array. On top of that, Lu Yin had even hidden from the woman before approaching her, not giving her a chance to set up a sourcebox array.

    The Possession went far more easily than Lu Yin had anticipated. He had actually nned on patting Qiu Ling with the slipper, as he had assumed that she possessed some sort of emergency, trigger-type sourcebox array, but that had proven to not be the case.

    Lu Yin Possessed the Array Grandmaster without anyplications. As for the Progenitor who had attacked the rear battlefield, Lu Yin intended to leave that matter to the jiao and E Chi. In fact, E Chi had only been summoned to act as an alibi for Lu Yin. If Qiu Ling discovered that she was missing time due to being Possessed and suspected Lu Yin, then it would be a terrible mistake on his part.

    Before arriving at his meeting with Grandmaster Qiu Ling, Lu Yin had given a good bit of thought about how to deal with her Void Brand sourcebox array that allowed the woman to review the past. Fortunately, Grandmaster Qiu Ling had asked Aeternus to lure Lu Yin away from their meeting, which had greatly helped Lu Yin with theplication that the Void Brand introduced to his n of Possessing the Array Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin did not waste any time as he quickly searched for memories regarding lockbreaking, and he absorbed all those memories without hesitation.

    By essing and absorbing a person''s memories during a Possession, Lu Yin could very quickly acquire that person¡¯s skills and battle techniques. This was precisely the source of Lu Yin¡¯s confidence in facing Mu Shang. In fact, if Lu Yin had never Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling at all, he might not have agreed to challenge Mu Shang.

    After forcing Xia Shenji and the others to retreat from the Fifth Maind and formalizing the treaty with Bai Wangyuan, Lu Yin had always been at a disadvantage in his dealings with the Perennial World, and that even included when he had tried to help save Virtue Archives. Nothing about that had changed, and Lu Yin was still at a disadvantage.

    As the memories continued to pour into his mind, Lu Yin quickly increased his lockbreaking experience.

    The rear battlefield had not been attacked by the true body of one of the Seven Skygods, but rather by a Progenitor-level corpse king that had descended from the Dominion Realm. It appeared that the corpse king had been struck down by someone during an attack on the Dominion Realm. The truth was that even the attack on the Dominion Realm had been deliberatelyunched to ensure that Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were all upied and unable to watch Lu Yin for some time. Everything yed out in a very reasonable manner that did not appear suspicious at all.

    E Chi attacked the Progenitor-level corpse king, and the two crashed down to the New World.

    Lu Yin was eager to see some of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitor-level powerhouses that were not part of the Seven Skygods, but unfortunately, that was impossible at this time.

    E Chi did not attack alone, as the jiao also attacked the corpse king. As far as anyone knew or could tell, Lu Yin was handling the enemy corpse king, as only Lu Yin could summon E Chi, who was nothing more than a champion from the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    After half an hour, the Progenitor-level corpse king disappeared. It had only visited the rear battlefield to pull Lu Yin away from his conversation with Grandmaster Qiu Ling. The Aeternals were not looking to start a true war on the rear battlefield.

    Once the enemy Progenitor was gone, Lu Yin returned to his own body. He unsummoned E Chi and left. The timing was practically perfect, and he almost suspected that the Progenitor-level corpse king had been cooperating with him.

    Once Lu Yin was gone, Grandmaster Qiu Ling trembled as she regained consciousness. Nothing at all about her surroundings had changed in the least, but as an Array Grandmaster, Qiu Ling was very sensitive to any changes at all, and she felt as though something had been lost.

    Her expression soon changed. It was time. She had lost time! A full half hour was missing, and it was extremely noticeable because she had no memories of the fight against the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    The battle between the corpse king and E Chi and the jiao had been visible from everywhere on the rear battlefield. Given the fact that Qiu Ling was a peak Envoy, it was impossible for her not to have observed any part of the fight, which meant that she simply had no memories of the battle. That was extremely odd.

    What''s going on? Who could have taken control of me??The Array Grandmaster had experienced a simr situation before, and she had suspected Aeternus to be behind the matter. This time, she had been controlled by someone right after she made contact with Aeternus and requested help. Could the Aeternals really be the ones controlling her?

    At no point in time was Lu Yin suspected at all. The jiao and E Chi had fought off the Progenitor-level corpse king. If Lu Yin had been upied with a Progenitor-level opponent, how could he possibly focus on anything else, such as controlling Qiu Ling?

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was bing increasingly certain that the Aeternals were the ones taking control of her. Was it a warning? Or were they trying to use her for something?

    Either possibility caused the woman¡¯s heart to feel chilled. She regretted her past decisions, and she regretted bing a Redback. However, the choice had already been made, and regret would not help her at all.

    By this time, Lu Yin had already returned to the fourth array base, and he immediately went into seclusion. He wanted time to review and incorporate the memories that he had absorbed from Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and he also wanted to try to Possess another Array Grandmaster by rolling his die.

    Lu Yin was on the rear battlefield, which was where all of the Perennial World¡¯s Array Grandmasters spent their time. Possessing another one just might be possible.

    There was more than a month left to go before the contest with Mu Shang, which made the timing rather tight for Lu Yin.

    ***

    Far away, in the Higher Realm, Bai Qi arrived at the valley in the mountains. She did not say a single word and simply led the gathered crowd into the New Corridor and towards the Fifth Maind.

    Upon arriving in the Fifth Maind, the first thing that they saw was the Allied Forces of the Great Eastern Alliance, the army of lesser giants, and millions of astral beasts. These were the forces that would rotate with the Fifth Maind¡¯s troops that were already on the fourth array base.

    Further away, there was also Sky Creation Academy¡¯s Lost Course Army, the army of super-sized androids, and even more forces that were densely packed together. The sight of such powerful armies startled the people from the Perennial World, including Bai Qi, and many believed that the Fifth Maind was about to attack them. Bai Qi looked around at the forces gathered. Were there really that many cultivators in the Fifth Maind?

    None of the gathered armies was weak, and Bai Qi even saw many Envoys and Semi-Progenitors.

    The Semi-Progenitors who had been stationed just outside the New Corridor were Herb Immortal and Zhan Lin. They were part of the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin had tasked the two men with watching the New Corridor.

    Such an important location deserved more than just one Semi-Progenitor¡¯s protection, but two Semi-Progenitors and the full strength of the Technocracy was sufficient to guard the connection to the Perennial World.

    When Bai Qi led Xia Shenfei forward, Long Tian and several others appeared as well. In front of them, Herb Immortal and Zhan Lin simrly moved forward.

    Zhan Lin carried a deep hatred for the four ruling powers, which made him rather unsuited for standing guard at the New Corridor¡¯s exit. However, the man was also the most familiar with the Perennial World out of anyone supporting Lu Yin, which made him the most suitable to protect the New Corridor.

    "General Bai Qi of the fourth array base?" Zhan Lin was surprised to see the woman, but after recalling that the Fifth Maind had already taken over protecting the fourth array base, it made perfect sense for Bai Qi to have been freed from her responsibilities on the rear battlefield.

    Additionally, Bai Qi was Bai Wangyuan''s own daughter, so it made sense for her to be the first semi-Progenitor sent to the Fifth Maind to try to inherit the Mountain and Sea that had been made avable.

    Bai Qi also recognized Zhan Lin. "I didn''t expect you to also be here."

    The woman looked around, and sure enough, just as she had been told, the true universe was devoid of all stellr energy, and there was no star energy to be found in the visible universe either.

    Zhan Lin hated the four ruling powers, but those feelings did not really extend to Bai Qi. Despite being Bai Wangyuan''s daughter, Bai Qi had been the general of the fourth array base for many, many years, and she had been stationed there long before the Lu family had been exiled. The woman had no connection to Zhan Lin¡¯s hatred. "It appears that the Celestial Frost Sect indeed stands at the peak of the Perennial World now. First, it was Bai Wangyuan who agreed to a truce with the Dao Chosen, and now you are the first one to challenge the Mountain and Sea."

    Zhan Lin''sment caused Bai Qi''s expression to change. The man was openly antagonizing her. "The other three don¡¯t have any suitable candidates who cane here right now. Furthermore, the truce with Lu Xiaoxuan was agreed to by all four ruling powers."

    Xia Shenfei took a sip of wine. Was the truce really a joint decision by all four ruling powers? While Xia Shenfei could not be certain of any of the other parties, he was absolutely certain that Progenitor Shenji would have never willingly agreed to the truce. Xia Shenfei was very curious about exactly what had taken ce for the truce to form, but unfortunately for him, he did not qualify to be told such things.

    "Stop wasting your breath. Lu Xiaoxuan should have already told you that he has made the Mountain and Sea avable to us, as well as opened the Tower of the Fifth to our youths." Bai Qi red at Zhan Lin with a cold expression before she turned to Herb Immortal. Zhan Lin had been forced into Star Alliance, and he had not been in the Fifth Maind for very long. That meant that the second Semi-Progenitor should be Lu Xiaoxuan''s confidante for receiving the forces of the Perennial World.

    Herb Immortal nodded. "The Dao Chosen informed us of such. I¡¯ll provide you with the location, but getting there will be up to your people."

    The old man then tossed gadgets over to Bai Qi and those with her.

    All of the technological civilizations in the Perennial World were trapped pond civilizations, but the people from the four ruling powers at least had a bit of experience with such things. So, they quickly got used to using the gadgets.

    As soon as Bai Qi found the relevant locations, she turned back to stare at Herb Immortal. "I hope that you won''t vite the agreement, as doing so will also void our truce with Lu Xiaoxuan."

    "Don''t worry. The Dao Chosen won''t go back on his word, unlike your four ruling powers," Zhan Lin answered in a casual tone. He might not hate Bai Qi, but he would always be rude when it came to the four ruling powers.

    Bai Qi ignored the man and instead nced behind her.

    Xia Shenfei put away his gourd of wine, and Long Tian straightened up. Every single person from the Perennial World was staring towards the Outerverse. After a moment, they all shot forward. They had been given but one mission: obtain the best inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth. There was nothing else in the Fifth Maind that deserved their attention.

    "Shenfei, let''spete! Why don¡¯t we see which of us will be able to obtain the best inheritances quickest!" Long Tian shouted.

    Xia Shenfei wiped a bit of wine from the corner of his mouth. "Fine."

    Some distance away, Bai Weiwei looked solemn, and Xia Shenguang approached her. "Most of the people in this Forsaken Land have no idea just how precious those supreme inheritances are. But even so, if we allow them to learn of our goals, they will definitely work together to stop us. We should also cooperate."

    Bai Weiwei was taken aback. "You¡¯re actually considering working with others? That¡¯s a surprise."

    Xia Shenguang frowned. "While I might not like this Forsaken Land, they have sent many geniuses into our Perennial World to steal Origin Matter. It¡¯s not as if there are no true powerhouses here."

    The moment Xia Shenguang finished speaking, several sharp de attacks flickered out, startling people as they quickly dodged the sudden attack. "Who is it?"

    ].

    A person emerged from the void up in front of them and calmly stared at the Perennial World¡¯s cultivators. People felt quite confused, and they grew wary of the man. "Who are you?"

    "Wei An hase out to greet you all."

    It was Wei An blocking Xia Shenguang and the others. Wei An was a two-tribtion Envoy, as well as Leng Qing¡¯s disciple. This Envoy was dedicated to the de, and he was powerful enough to have participated in the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen selection.

    Bai Weiwei softly asked, "Did Lu Xiaoxuan send you here to stop us? Does he really intend to break the agreement?"

    A smile appeared on Wei An¡¯s face. "I''m still very young."

    The answer changed the expressions on everyones¡¯ faces. The agreement between Bai Wangyuan and Lu Yin had specified that no powerhouses from the older generations were allowed to stop the Perennial World¡¯s youths. However, the inheritances within the Tower of the Fifth were intended to bepeted for between the younger generation. What was wrong with members of the same generation participating in thepetition? Wei An and Long Tian were about the same age, so there was nothing wrong with Wei An stepping forward. All this meant was that thepetition regarding the Tower of the Fifth¡¯s inheritances had started even before they arrived at the tower.

    Of course, Wei An had not shown up unapanied. Young cultivators started appearing in all directions. As long as the difference in ages was not excessive, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors could not argue that Lu Yin was viting the agreement.

    Furthermore, not everyone who had been sent from the Perennial World was young. There were older cultivators present as well, as there was no age limit on challenging the Tower of the Fifth.

    Despite the ages of the people from the Perennial World, the people from the Fifth Maind who appeared were all youths.

    Hen Mo, Lu Lai, Lu Jiao, and other geniuses from the Heavens Sect era appeared one after the other. Soon, Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Liu Tianmu, and other former Ten Arbiters appeared as well, along with Lei N¨¹, Shu Jing, Yuhua Mavis, and more. The Perennial World¡¯s people quickly grew extremely serious.

    Long Tian hefted hisrge spear and then pointed it straight at Lu Lai, who stood at the front of the crowd from the Fifth Maind. "You want to stop us? Show us that you have the strength!"

    Since Wen Sansi and many others had not yet broken through to the Envoy realm, they were widely ignored. However, Wen Sansi and the others were not targeting Long Tian and the others of his level, but rather Bai Weiwei and those with simr levels of strength. Only the experts from the Heavens Sect era were capable of standing up to Long Tian and the other Junior Progenitors.

    "Be careful. There¡¯s no stellr energy or star energy here to recover our strength," someone warned the rest of the people.

    Xia Shenfei''s expression turned serious. Without stellr energy or star energy, this fight would be much more difficult.

    However, the depleted energy was not the greatest challenge before them. Everyone sent from the Perennial World had seen reports regarding the Fifth Maind, and they knew that there were even greater challenges awaiting them.

 Chapter 2360: To Fight

    Chapter 2360: To Fight

    Some distance away from where the two groups met, Sky Garan, Heluo Mavis, and Chu Yuan appeared. They blocked the path forward in three different directions, which sealed all paths to the Human Domain.

    Long Tian¡¯s expressionpletely changed when he saw these three as they were true Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era. They had each been the greatest genius of an entire Maind, descendants of familiesparable to the Lu family. Inparison, Long Tian and the other Junior Progenitors were nothing more than descendants of various powers that had lived under the Lu family¡¯s rule. If Long Tian or the other Junior Progenitors had lived during the Heavens Sect era, none of them would have been qualified topete with these Dao Chosen. They would have been limited to the Fifth Maind andpletely overshadowed by the Lu family.

    Xia Shenfei smiled. "Now this is quite interesting. This is perfect, as I want to see just how much of a difference there is between me and a Dao Chosen!"

    The man was the first to charge forward.

    Long Tian also rushed forward. If he could defeat one of these Dao Chosen, it would demonstrate that they were talented enough topare to the best of the Lu family. As forpeting with Lu Yin, that was something that no one even considered any longer.

    Wang Su looked serious, as she fully understood that they stood no chance whatsoever. The fact that these three people had appeared meant that Lu Yin had no intention of allowing anyone from the Perennial World into the Tower of the Fifth. There was no one from their generation who was capable of breaking through the defensive line that had been set up to block them. The youths of the Perennial World were being blocked by their peers of the same generation from the Fifth Maind, Sixth Maind, Astral Beast Domain, the ancient Heavens Sect Era, the Perennial World¡¯s Star Alliance, and even the surviving vassals of the Lu family. The power arrayed against them was unimaginable.

    Wang Su was much clearer about what the current situation entailed than Long Tian or any of the other Junior Progenitors because she had already spent years fighting in the Fifth Maind.

    Bai Qi looked rather upset by these developments, and she turned to look at Herb Immortal.

    To the side, Zhan Lin spoke up. "This is nothing more than apetition between peers, which doesn¡¯t vite any part of the agreement. Or, could it be that your four ruling powersck the courage to have your youthspete with their peers from the Forsaken Land?"

    Bai Qi responded in a cold voice, "They can do as they wish, as long as it remains apetition between peers. However, if I learn that either of you have interfered in things, then the four Progenitors will not be polite. My four ruling powers¡¯ truce with Lu Xiaoxuan is limited to not attacking him. It doesn¡¯t matter if a few Semi-Progenitors end up losing their lives."

    As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished.

    Lu Yin was able to stop the youths that the Perennial World had sent to the Tower of the Fifth, but nothing could be done to stop Bai Qi from attempting to receive the inheritance of the Mountain and Sea.

    ess to the Tower of the Fifth had been thrown in as an additional incentive, which was why Lu Yin was able to mess around a bit. However, ess to the Mountain and Sea and allowing them to attempt to acquire the inheritance was the core tenant of the agreement. Nothing would be allowed to interfere with that matter.

    If Bai Qi was actually able to receive the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea, then it was simply a matter of fate.

    However, such a thing was incredibly unlikely. Just how many Semi-Progenitors throughout all of history had managed to receive an inheritance from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? What were the chances of anyone that the Perennial World sent actually seeding?

    "How wonderful. They have so many Progenitors, they can just threaten whomever they wish," Herb Immortal muttered enviously.

    Zhan Lin replied, "The threats mean nothing. None of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors can get away from the Dominion Realm. If they could, things in the Perennial World would have changed long ago, and the matter with Virtue Archives would never have been allowed to even start. If those four Progenitors work together, not even the Dao Chosen can do anything to stop them."

    "True enough. In that case, we can just treat them as being trapped. I only hope that Bai Qi doesn''t obtain the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea, as that would be such a waste," Herb Immortal said.

    The Mountain and Sea that Lu Yin had given the Perennial World ess to was the one with the test with the me. It was one of the Mountains and Seas that had been in the ruins of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect, and it would be best if the inheritance could help improve humanity¡¯s strength.

    However, if the inheritance was obtained by an enemy, then something would have to be done about it.

    Bai Qi''s speed meant that she arrived in the Outerverse within half a day, and she had no trouble finding the Mountain and Sea.

    Unlike in the Perennial World, the two Mountains and the Sea had not been hidden in the Fifth Maind. In fact, everyone was wee to try to receive the inheritances.

    Bai Qi entered the Mountain and Sea. She crossed the Sea and approached the peak of the Mountain, at which point she disappeared. All she heard were the words, ¡°Challenger, enter."

    She watched as a circle of torches lit up in front of her. The same scene that Lu Yin had witnessed before appeared, and the mes rose up and merged together. Each time the mes merged, their color grew deeper, until the me becamepletely invisible. Bai Qi felt an iparably hot temperature.

    While the woman was a Semi-Progenitor, this heat was so intense that she felt like a mortal facing the sun.

    Bai Qi could not understand what was happening at all. Her fingers twitched, as she wanted to touch the me, but she did not dare to actually do so. She felt that the moment she made contact with the mes, she would be reduced to nothing more than a pile of ash.

    Was it really possible for someone as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor to be burned to death?

    Darkness fell, and Bai Qi withdrew from the Mountain and Sea. Again, she heard a voice. This time, it said, "Challenge failed."

    She found herself standing outside the Mountain, drenched with sweat. She stared at the imposing sight, unwilling to ept her failure. She did not understand the challenge. There was nothing about what she had encountered that she could understand.

    "That¡¯s perfectly normal."

    A familiar voice addressed Bai Qi. She turned around to look and found a thin man looking at her. She was surprised to see him. "Old Shan, is it really you?"

    Master Shan had arrived, Lu Xiaoxuan''s old protector.

    The old man stared at Bai Qi. "We meet again, General Bai."

    Bai Qi was puzzled to see the man. "I thought that you were also banished."

    Master Shanughed. "I was lucky. By trying to save my young master, I managed to survive."

    Bai Qi said nothing. She had met Master Shan several times in the past. When Lu Xiaoxuan had visited the fourth array base on a training excursion, Master Shan had remained within the array base¡¯s headquarters, secretly keeping Lu Xiaoxuan safe. The old man had even fought side by side with Bai Qi during that time. Despite the man¡¯s frail appearance, his defensive capabilities were frightening. Bai Qi had assumed the old man had died, so seeing him again was quite the surprise for her.

    The woman was suddenly reminded of the Lu family. Would they also reappear one day?

    No one actually knew what had happened to the Lu family. The four ruling powers had done their best, but they had only seeded in exiling the Lu family; it had been impossible to destroy them. Their only option had been to toss the family away from the Perennial World and out to the Aeternals. However, could even Aeternus truly destroy the Lu family?

    In addition to Lu Tianyi, the incredible powerhouse who was able to summon the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas with his Investiture of the Gods, the Lu family had another legendary existence.

    Personally, Bai Qi had always felt that the four ruling powers had done something wrong by exiling the Lu family. Only people who had defended the rear battlefield for most of their lives would be this certain that the four ruling powers¡¯ decision had been wrong. This was because the rear battlefield had been more affected by the Lu family¡¯s absence than any other ce in the Perennial World. The pressure on the defenders had increased drastically, and they had never invaded the New World again after the Lu family had been banished.

    Bai Qi moved to leave. There was nothing to be said between her and Master Shan, as they had be enemies.

    Master Shan looked at Bai Qi''s back. "You won¡¯t try again?"

    Bai Qi softly said, "There¡¯s no need. I don¡¯t understand, and that won¡¯t change no matter how many times I try. What about you? Have you tried it?"

    "Not yet, but I don¡¯t have any hope of sess," Master Shan replied.

    Bai Qi left. She was going to be reced by someone else, as each of the four ruling powers¡¯ Semi-Progenitors were going to take turns challenging the Mountain and Sea. Once they were done, their Envoys would take turns.

    Even though the idea of an Envoy inheriting a Mountain and Sea was something that had only been mentioned in one or two unconfirmed legends, the four ruling powers had chosen to ignore the impossibility and still send their Envoys to try to receive the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea. After all, the Mountain and Sea was in the Fifth Maind, and having a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas rise up in the Fifth Maind would not be a good thing for the four ruling powers.

    Master Shan stared at Bai Qi''s back as the woman left. The man felt conflicted. He had lost a memory that should have been unforgettable. If that had not happened, he definitely would have attacked the woman.

    The man stared out into outer space. "Young Master, the Lu family will definitely prosper once again."

    Bai Qi returned to the Technocracy after leaving the Outerverse. In the Technocracy, the Semi-Progenitor was met by the sight of a pale-faced Long Tian, an incredulous Xia Shenfei, and a bitter Wang Su. All of them had been soundly defeated by the Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect era.

    In contrast, Chu Yuan and the other two appeared calm. It was as though everything was within their expectations.

    "What kind of monsters are they? Why are they so strong?" Long Tian could not believe what he had just encountered. Even though he had crushed his self-esteem and stoppedparing himself to Lu Yin, he had not expected to discover that there was such a vast difference between him and the ancient Dao Chosen. After all, the Fifth Maind had no stellr energy, and the three people¡¯s cultivation progress had stagnated for twenty years. Still, the three Junior Progenitors had been utterly crushed.

    As for the three Dao Chosen, Sky Garan felt nothing but contempt for the three people from the Perennial World. They had not even been able to force Sky Garan to use his innate gift. Even though the Junior Progenitors seemed to be only a single step behind the Dao Chosen, this difference in ability could never bepensated for. This was the difference between a Dao Chosen and the heirs of a Maind¡¯s top powers.

    It was much like how the difference in strength between the Lu family and the four ruling powers could never be ovee.

    The more decisive the defeat of the Junior Progenitors, the more apparent Lu Yin¡¯s freakish strength became. He had defeated all three Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era by himself.

    Seeing the current situation, there was nothing that Bai Qi could do about it, as Lu Yin truly had not done anything to vite the agreement.

    "Time to head back," Bai Qi stated with a stony expression.

    Bai Weiwei and the others were unwilling to leave, but they followed Bai Qi''s orders.

    How could any of them break past three of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen? However, regardless of the Dao Chosen¡¯s incredible strength, it should be impossible for there to be survivors from the Heavens Sect era within every age range. There had to be people from the Perennial World who did not match the ages of the geniuses from the ancient era. They refused to believe that the people of the Perennial World could not measure up to their peers in the Fifth Maind.

    After Bai Qi returned to the Perennial World, the four ruling powers would send people of every conceivable age into the Fifth Maind. Would they really be able to stop all of the Perennial World¡¯s people?

    Given the strength of the Fifth Maind, it was impossible for them topletely block everyone from the Perennial World, but there was also nothing that prevented Chu Yuan and the others from crossing realms and challenging their seniors. Chu Yuan was strong enough to stop even four and five-tribtion Envoys.

    ***

    On the fourth array base on the rear battlefield, Lu Yin was feeling quite frustrated as he lowered his arm. He had just rolled his die, but even with four rolls, he had not managed to get even one Possession. Still, he had rolled Timestop once, and he had spent nearly a year practicing the Cosmic Art.

    At this point, Lu Yin needed to wait ten days before rolling again.

    Lu Yin had no idea if he could Possess another Array Grandmaster, but he felt that it was highly unlikely. It all depended on luck, and that was not much to rely on.

    In the past, Lu Yin had wanted to Possess someone from Star Alliance so that he could remove all of their restrictions at once, but that Possession had never happened. This showed what would happen when relying on luck.

    Actually, are there any cultivators with an innate gift that affects luck? Lu Yin wondered.

    Ten days passed, and Lu Yin lifted his head to resume rolling his die.

    It slowly came to a stop after spinning. Five pips.

    Seeing the five pips, Lu Yin was just about to re-roll the die, but then he suddenly remembered that he was on the fourth array base, surrounded by countless cultivators.

    With that, Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was Jiu Yao.

    Hen Xin had no innate gift. In fact, there was not a single member of Team Resolution with any sort of background or innate gift. It seemed to Lu Yin that Arch-Elder Zen alsocked an innate gift, as Lu Yin had never seen the old man use anything like it. No, the only reliable option was Jiu Yao.

    Once again, it all came down to luck. Besides, it would be a waste of a roll if Lu Yin did not try to take advantage of it somehow.

    Lu Yin vanished, and he instantly appeared on the active battlefield. At the moment, Jiu Yao was standing next to Hen Xin, and the two Semi-Progenitors were staring out at an endless sea of corpse kings in the distance.

    Suddenly, they both felt something. Lu Yin''s abrupt appearance startled the two men, and they nearly attacked him.

    Lu Yin patted Jiu Yao''s shoulder with a hand. "I didn¡¯t bring you here to the front lines to watch the fun, but to help with the fighting."

    With that, the young man disappeared.

    After Lu Yin was gone, Jiu Yao finally reacted, though only by turning around and directing a nk stare towards Hen Xin. The other man was also staring at Jiu Yao. Neither of them could understand what had just happened.

    Lu Yin returned to the headquarters and lifted his hand. He found a new symbol on the side of his die that normally showed five pips. It was an image that looked like a brain, which surprised Lu Yin. Just what was Jiu Yao''s innate gift? Why would it be represented by such an image?

    After considering the matter for a moment, Lu Yin set it aside while making a mental note to ask about the matter after returning to the Fifth Maind.

    With that, he tapped the die again. He needed to continue rolling.

 Chapter 2361: Verification

    Chapter 2361: Verification

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. He had just rolled the die for the fourth time, but none of his rolls hadnded on six pips. One of them had been Enhance, but at this point in time, the only things that Lu Yin had any interest in upgrading were things like the slipper, but how could he Enhance that on the rear battlefield? Doing so would probably trigger some kind of phenomenon that would attract extra attention from Bai Wangyuan and the others with him.

    Lu Yin needed to wait for another ten days.

    War was something that most cultivators rarely encountered, but that was far from the case on the rear battlefield. Fighting took ce at almost every moment on the entire battlefield, and there was a possibility of getting swept up into a battle at any moment.

    Not one of the five array bases was ever ignored, and there were seemingly endless waves of corpse kings attacking each one.

    In the days since the Fifth Maind had taken over the fourth array base, they had earned the attention of the entire rear battlefield, mostly due to the fact that they employed uniquebat methods and the fact that even their Explorers were able to move through the void and release attacks that should havee from Enlighters.

    Very few people had died on the fourth array base during these days, including the astral beasts. There were simply too many Void Wanderers present, and each of the fourth array base¡¯s defenders had one assigned to them. As soon as anyone encountered any real danger, a Void Wanderer would pull them through the void to escape, which meant that the corpse kings¡¯ killing blows aplished nothing.

    The fourth array base had the greatest number of defenders of any of the five array bases, and the average cultivation level of the defenders was also the highest. There were times when the fourth array bases actually seeded in forcing back the endless waves of corpse kings.

    The reason why people of the Perennial World feared the rear battlefield so much was precisely because of the endless fighting. It was extremely rare for any array base to force the corpse kings to retreat. Furthermore, the fourth array base had not had even a single one of their sourcebox arrays activate, which was also highly unusual.

    The Perennial World did not deploy any Lockbreakers to assist the fourth array base¡¯s defenders, but there was also no need for the Lockbreakers to offer any support.

    The fourth array base¡¯s amazing performance caused many people throughout the Perennial World to discuss whether the Fifth Maind should be given another array base to defend, though this was not something that any of them could decide.

    While it appeared that giving the Fifth Maind another array base to defend would be a good thing for the Perennial World, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors of the four ruling powers saw things differently.

    If the Fifth Maind protected two array bases on the rear battlefield, that would mean that the Perennial World could not touch the Fifth Maind, as doing so would instantly affect the situation on the rear battlefield. None of the Progenitors of the four ruling powers wanted to let Lu Yin lead them around by the nose.

    Ten more days passed in a blink of an eye. There were only twenty eight days remaining before Mu Shang''s birthday celebration. On this day, Lu Yin received word that all of the Perennial World¡¯s Array Grandmasters would be attending the celebration and observing the challenge between Lu Yin and Mu Shang. The celebration was to be held just outside the Higher Realm, between the Higher Realm and the rear battlefield. One step out of the location would see a person either step into the Higher Realm or enter the rear battlefield.

    Mu Shang chose this particr location to send a message to Lu Yin. It was possible to leave at any time, but leaving meant acknowledging a loss.

    Nothing had been wagered on this challenge, but both men were fully aware that they could not afford to lose.

    Lu Yin sat in the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters and tapped his die. It slowed to a stop, finally showing six pips. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as his consciousness entered the mysterious dark space. He looked around but was rather disappointed to see nothing but dim balls of light.

    His greatest desire was to Possess an Array Grandmaster, but there were only four such people in the entire Perennial World, and everyst one of them would be represented by an orb far brighter than what Lu Yin could currently see.

    He was not quite willing to ept such an oue, so Lu Yin directed his consciousness through the dark space, searching for a brighter light.

    He could not finely control his consciousness within the dark space, so he had no idea if he was moving despite how basic the concept was. Unfortunately, he still could not find any bright orbs of light.

    Given the fact that Lu Yin could fight against Semi-Progenitors, a truly bright light would mean a Semi-Progenitor, or at the very least, a five or six-tribtion Envoy. Given how strong the people that were suitable for Lu Yin to Possess were, how many qualified targets were there in both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin knew that the location of an orb of light in the dark space had practically nothing to do with the person¡¯s actual location.

    Luckily, he currently possessed a vast amount of star essence, and he could use them however he wished.

    His consciousness shifted through the dark space once again, only to still find no bright lights. Again.

    Lu Yin was absolutely certain that every time he shifted his location, he was also consuming a terrifying amount of star essence. However, if he was not able to Possess a suitable target, then it would be aplete waste of Possession. He had no idea when he would get this die roll again.

    After shifting through the darkness five times, Lu Yin finally found a bright light. It was extremely bright, even more so than the orbs representing Grandmaster Qiu Ling or Hen Ye. This light should belong to a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin hesitated for a moment and then chose to merge into the brilliant orb.

    The moment Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness entered the ball of light, his mind was ovee by abination of numbness and pain. He forced his eyes to snap open, but all he saw was pitch ck darkness. Where was this?

    Memories then started to pour into his mind, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. He was deep, deep underground in the New World. He had not Possessed a human, but rather Marquis Lan, one of the Twelve Marquises of Aeternus.

    Possessing one of the Twelve Marquises of Aeternus waspletely outside of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. While Lu Yin was able to fight against a Semi-Progenitor, that was only possible due to various contributing factors. To begin with, if Lu Yin did not have the unique power that he cultivated within his chest, he would bepletely and utterly helpless against a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. Finally, the Aeternals¡¯ Twelve Marquises were all powerhouses with simr levels of strength as the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Lu Yin would not be able to maintain the Possession for very long.

    Just as he had suspected, that bright ball of light really did indicate a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin did not move a muscle, and he instead simply allowed more and more of the memories to pour in. As they did, Lu Yin''s expression changed.

    Marquis Lan had not left the ce that he was currently upying for nearly a decade. He had spent all of this time healing and recovering deep underground. However, Lu Yin had already learned of where the endless numbers of corpse kings came from: parallel universes.

    It was possible to travel to parallel universes, but it was difficult to return. However, the Aeternals had ovee that difficulty by finding coordinates that pinpointed the different universes.

    This principle was the same as the foundational seal of Aeternus Nation that Lu Yin had been given. Through Marquis Lan''s memories, Lu Yin learned that the foundational seal hade from Aeternus¡¯s True God, and Lu Yin also learned of the symbol for True God: a scarlet eye with a slitted pupil.

    Upon learning of that symbol, Lu Yin also discovered the absolute reverence that Marquis Lan held for True God. The marquis was not alone, as even the Progenitor-level corpse kings felt nothing other thanplete and total respect for True God.

    It was just reverence, as there was also a great deal of fear. From Marquis Lan''s memories, there was no frightening or intimidating aura that could be felt from the slitted scarlet eye, but it provoked an endless, powerful fear that Lu Yin could feel it even during his Possession.

    In an instant, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness disappeared. It flitted through the dark space and returned to his own body.

    Lu Yin had not spent long Possessing Marquis Lan. It could actually be considered a very short Possession. After all, Lu Yin had just Possessed one of the Twelve Marquises of Aeternus.

    There had not been much useful information in Marquis Lan''s memories. Aside from learning about the symbol for the Aeternals¡¯ True God, Lu Yin had also seen a memory regarding the person who had injured the marquis. It had been a middle-aged man who wore a thunderbolt emblem. Marquis Lan had not been able to see the man clearly, but just a casual attack from the lightning had left the marquis terribly injured and had forced him to retreat and heal.

    That mysterious man had been encountered in a parallel universe, not the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. The Aeternals were able to create endless numbers of corpse kings by utilizing the countless parallel universes. This was the secret to their numbers. As long as humans could acquire the coordinates of a parallel universe, would they be able to invite people from that ce to help them with their war against the Aeternals?

    Lu Yin had truthfully already suspected that the Aeternals were using parallel universes to bolster their numbers. There were many cultivators who supposedly came from a parallel universe, such as Big Sis Luo Sha. The truth of those people¡¯s origins had never been confirmed, but Lu Yin had just done so.

    Without too much thought, he checked his cosmic ring. He knew that this Possession had to have consumed a vast amount of resources, as moving through the mysterious dark space multiple times was already expensive in and of itself. Even so, the truth was a bit shocking, as he had just used up nearly 250 billion star essence. That was about 100 billion more than what it had cost to Possess Hen Ye.

    Lu Yin had used up 146 billion star essence when Possessing Hen Ye, and at that time, Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World and Hen Ye had been in the Fifth Maind. It had made sense for such a long-range Possession to be extremely costly, but Marquis Lan was down in the New World while Lu Yin was on the fourth array base. This was not very far. Was the cost entirely because the marquis was a Semi-Progenitor?

    The increase in cost between Possessing an Envoy and Possessing a Semi-Progenitor was too steep. No, Lu Yin felt that a great deal of the cost had been spent shifting through the dark space. Each of those five moves had likely cost a staggering amount.

    Lu Yin sighed. The greater his cultivation level, the more he needed to spend. As he had always feared, no matter how much money he acquired, it was impossible topensate for what his die consumed.

    He forced himself to stop thinking about it. If he ran out of money, then he would just have to earn more. It was not that Lu Yin had some deep love for money, but rather that money provided him with the means to improve his strength.

    He tapped out again, and the die slowly stopped spinning, showing four pips. The scenery changed before his eyes as Lu Yin appeared in the Timestop Space.

    Once he was in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin would have as long as he needed to get the roll he wanted with his die. At worst, it would take a bit of time.

    He looked at his cosmic ring and started thinking.

    He had initially had an opportunity to Enhance the slipper when he had been on the Junior Progenitors, but he had decided not to. To begin with, the slipper would require an obscene amount of star essence to upgrade even once. On top of that, even if Lu Yin could Enhance the slipper to the point where it could instantly kill a Progenitor, he still had no way to approach a Progenitor. No matter how it was improved by, the slipper would always be a melee weapon.

    However, things had changed since. To begin with, he could summon E Chi as a champion,mand the jiao, and even use Progenitor-level runes. As long as Lu Yin was in the Fifth Maind, he could also ess the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind. It was no longer impossible for him to make proper use of the slipper.

    Xia Shenji and the others were already wary of the slipper, but that was not necessarily true for the Aeternals. If Lu Yin further Enhanced it, they might not be able to guard against it any longer.

    It was decided; it was time to Enhance the slipper. Lu Yin would keep it as a surprise weapon that he could use to defeat a Progenitor, like the God of Death¡¯s broken scythe.

    Once he rolled three pips, Lu Yin took a deep breath as he looked at the two screens of light before him. This was going to be when he really started spending his money.

    Back when he had Enhanced the needle-like weapon, it had cost him about 460 billion star essence. As for the slipper¡­

    Lu Yin took another deep breath. He was preparing himself to return to poverty.

    The slipper was set on the upper light screen, and then an endless amount of star essence started pouring out.

    Lu Yin had no idea how much time he spent providing an endless amount of star essence. He became numb to both the passage of time and to how much star essence he had remaining in his cosmic rings.

    It had been impossible to store all of the star essence gathered from the Astral Beast Domain in a single cosmic ring, so Lu Yin had rounded up all of thergest capacity cosmic rings in the Fifth Maind. It had taken three of those rings to store all of the star essence. Two rings were alreadypletely empty, and the third was being rapidly depleted.

    Lu Yin did not want to even start calcting how much he had spent on Enhancing the slipper. He simply watched as it slowly fell through the two screens.

    Finally, it fell out andnded beneath the lower screen.

    Lu Yin stared at the slipper for a moment. He swallowed, as nothing had changed. Wait, the ck mark from the foot on the inside of the slipper had be even darker.

    His expression fell. This should be impossible. If nothing had changed about the slipper even after spending so much star essence, the loss would kill him.

    He picked the slipper up. He really wanted to find someone to smack to test the slipper out, but there was no one. Wait, there was the jiao.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time in the Timestop Space eventually ran out, and he stepped out of the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters with the slipper in his hand. He looked up at the jiao.

    At this precise moment, the jiao had a wed toe lodged deep into a nostril, and Lu Yin did not even want to know what it was trying to dig out. There was nothing about the beast¡¯s behavior that even hinted at its Progenitor-level power, but everyone who spent any time around the jiao had grown numb to its antics.

 Chapter 2362: Canâ€™t Do It

    Chapter 2362: Can¡¯t Do It

    Lu Yin held the slipper as he climbed onto the jiao''s back. The jiao suddenly felt a terrible chill run down its spine, as though something horrible was about to happen to it. It slowly turned its head, a w still lodged in its nostril, as it stared at Lu Yin on its back. After seeing Lu Yin, the beast¡¯s eyes locked onto the slipper in the human¡¯s hand, and the massive pupils shrank sharply. The jiao let out a deafening roar without any warning, and the movement caused the w to identally stab into the beast¡¯s nostril and blood to start leaking from the jiao¡¯s nose.

    Lu Yin was startled by the abrupt reaction. "What are you making such a fuss about? Shut up!"

    The jiao tried to intimidate Lu Yin by baring its fangs and shing its ws. It was absolutely terrified of that slipper. However, when Lu Yin saw the jiao posturing about, he became upset. "You want to fight back?"

    The jiao instinctively lowered its ws and head. It blinked its eyes and cautiously moved its head closer to Lu Yin. He could see the pleading that filled the massive eyes.

    Countless people on the fourth, third, and fifth array bases were badly startled by the jiao¡¯s actions, and even the generals andmanding Lockbreakers were intimidated. Everyone assumed that an enemy Progenitor was on the way when they had heard the frightened roar of the jiao, but no one could feel any hint of a Progenitor¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin stared at the jiao that was begging him for mercy, and his heart softened a bit. "I just want to test my strength."

    The jiao kept its ws lowered and bent down, which was its way of demonstrating submission and surrender. It had been beaten by that slipper when it first arrived in the Fifth Maind, and the experience had badly traumatized the beast for life.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He really wanted to smack the beast and see how much of a difference Enhancing the slipper had made, but upon seeing the beast¡¯s submissive pleading, Lu Yin could only sigh. "Alright, fine. I won¡¯t p you again."

    The slipper was also put away, which delighted the jiao. It raised its head high and let out a joyous roar as it revealed its fangs and ws.

    "Shut up!" Lu Yin yelled.

    The jiao¡¯s roar was cut off short, but the beast did not show any sign of irritation at being silenced. As long as Lu Yin did not beat the jiao, the jiao was happy to do whatever the human wanted.

    Countless people were left stunned. They had just seen Lu Yin training the jiao like a dog! The beast had the strength of a Progenitor, so how was this even possible? Many people had their understanding of the universe shattered, and the Progenitor realm also suddenly seemed far closer than before. It was clear that even Progenitors were living creatures.

    After seeing Lu Yin treat the jiao like a dog, everyone on the rear battlefield looked at the fourth array base in a different light.

    Previously, they had thought that the jiao and Lu Yin had a cooperative rtionship, as no one believed that Lu Yin could actually tame a creature with the strength of a Progenitor. However, after that scene, it seemed that their understanding had been mistaken. The jiao really had been broken.

    The most infuriated person was Xia De, who felt that Lu Yin was stepping all over Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s reputation.

    Time passed, and the fighting on the rear battlefield returned to normal. Mu Shang¡¯s birthday celebration drew closer, and someone arrived on the rear battlefield from the Higher Realm to deliver some birthday gifts. The Lockbreakers on the rear battlefield also started discussing things, while asionally sending nces towards Lu Yin and the fourth array base.

    None of the Lockbreakers were optimistic about Lu Yin¡¯s chances regarding his challenge to Mu Shang. Mu Shang was already an Array Grandmaster, and the youngest one in human history at that. It was simply impossible for anyone to surpass the man, though people also acknowledged that it was impossible to usemon sense when it came to a person who had tamed a Progenitor-level beast.

    Bai Wangyuan himself went to speak with Mu Shang in person to ask the man about Lu Yin¡¯s challenge. Mu Shang responded by reassuring the Progenitor.

    "It is certainly amazing that he was able to alter my sourcebox array, which is something that very few Realm Array Masters are capable of doing. He will absolutely be an Array Grandmaster in the future, as he clearly has the talent, but it¡¯s still too early for him to challenge me. After seeing his alterations to my sourcebox array, he still can¡¯t measure up to my level, and it will take a great deal of time for him topensate for that difference between us." Mu Shang provided a rather thorough answer, which greatly reassured Bai Wangyuan.

    The Progenitors were worried that Lu Yin might have hidden his abilities by purposely revealing weak abilities, but Mu Shang had no such worries. A nce had been sufficient to determine whether Lu Yin had been hiding something, as it was simply impossible to do so from him. Lu Xiaoxuan simply did not have the skills to hide his capabilities from Mu Shang.

    The Array Grandmaster watched the time tick down. The anger that he had suppressed even began to disappear. It was not that Mu Shang had let go of his grudge against Lu Xiaoxuan, but rather that the anger was no longer needed. On Mu Shang¡¯s birthday, Lu Xiaoxuan would be forced to pay his debt, and there was no one who could help him.

    Not even Progenitors could necessarily be an Array Grandmaster, which was why such experts were respected even by Progenitors.

    Even if the Fifth Maind had Array Grandmasters, it was impossible for them to help Lu Xiaoxuanpensate for the difference in skill and ability between him and Mu Shang within such a short amount of time.

    In the Fifth Maind, Xia Ziheng returned to the Technocracy with an ugly expression on his face. He had also failed to obtain the Mountain and Sea¡¯s inheritance.

    As he returned, he saw a fierce battle raging between the Fifth Maind cultivators and people from the Perennial World. Thus far, not a single person from the Perennial World had entered the Tower of the Fifth.

    The Fifth Maind was well prepared, and it had be clear that the Perennial World had greatly underestimated the Fifth Maind. The Heavens Sect, which included the Sixth Maind, the Astral Beast Domain, and people of the Human Domain, had fielded an army of cultivators that the Perennial World could not push past. Furthermore, the agreement between Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan prevented the Perennial World from forcefully using powerhouses to bring their people through the barricade so that they could enter the Tower of the Fifth. The agreement actually rendered Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors helpless.

    Simply traveling to the Tower of the Fifth was a test in and of itself.

    ¡­

    On one particr day, at the entrance to the rear battlefield, Master Deng Guo, Master Song, Luo Fang, Master Zan, and the other Array Masters appeared one after another. People representing the Higher Realm also started to appear, including several Semi-Progenitors. Among them were Xia Zi Heng, Wu Yao, and other Semi-Progenitors who belonged to the four ruling powers. There were also experts from the Nong and Liu families, and even powerhouses from the Lower Realm.

    As one of the Perennial World¡¯s four Array Grandmasters, Mu Shang''s birthday celebration drew a great deal of attention. However, it was not Mu Shang¡¯s birthday that had brought people from the Nong and Liu families over, but rather the uing challenge.

    Mu Shang was part of the Celestial Frost Sect, and while there was no reason for the Nong or Liu families to show Mu Shang any face, they were interested in Lu Yin¡¯s affairs.

    Finally, people from the Outer Realm arrived, which drew a great deal of attention.

    There was a roar. It came from the jiao.

    Many of the gathered people looked over, and Xia Ziheng''s expression contorted horribly. That jiao belonged to the Xia family!

    Long ago, when the Lu family had still been around, the Xia family¡¯s defenses had been second only to the Lu family in the entire Perennial World. No matter what, the jiao was a beast with the strength of a Progenitor, and only the Lu family couldpete against Shenwu¡¯s Sky in terms of defense. However, not only had Lu Yin invaded and then escaped from Shenwu¡¯s Sky, but he had also stolen their jiao, which was the greatest humiliation that the Xia family could even imagine.

    Besides stealing their jiao, there was also the matter regarding Yu Hao and how Lu Yin had impersonated the man. Rather than just erasing the Yu family¡¯s humiliation, it had ced everything squarely upon the Xia family.

    The Xia family had used the Yu family as a means to intimidate the rest of the Perennial World so that no one would have the courage to hide or protect the Lu family¡¯s surviving vassals. However, the Xia family¡¯s intimidation tool had been turned against them by Lu Yin. The Xia family had suffered a far greater loss at Lu Yin¡¯s hands than even the White Dragon n.

    Even so, no oneughed at the Xia family. This was because Lu Yin had publicly managed to escape from even Xia Shenji, and the Progenitor was too terrifying a figure for anyone tough at.

    "It''s so impressive! That''s Shenwu''s Sky''s jiao. Brother, make sure you remember not to mess with the beast. That creature is a symbol that represents Shenwu''s Sky itself." A loud, piercing voice reached Xia Ziheng''s ear. Nong Sanniang was speaking to Nong Lie, but the woman had been looking at Xia Ziheng with a mocking expression on her face the entire time.

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes grew cold. In the past, he would have taught the youths a lesson, even if they did belong to the Nong family. But given the precarious situation between Lu Yin and the four ruling powers, the Nong family and Liu family had be even more important than ever, as everything would change if they chose a side.

    "The Sword Sect''s swordsmanship is quite impressive, especially their Thirteen Swords inheritance. It¡¯s exactly how the legends describe it." This time, it was Liu Hao speaking up. He had been released by Bai Wangyuan after the Progenitor returned to the Perennial World. After all, Progenitor Bai was not Lu Yin, and all of Lu Yin¡¯s prisoners had been released to return to their own homes.

    Liu Song, the master of the Graceful Sword Arts, was standing next to Liu Hao. "You must return to the Fifth Maind and see if you can bring the Thirteen Swords back to us. When attacking Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Lu Xiaoxuan managed to wound even Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng with the Thirteen Swords, which proves that it is a battle technique that can cross realms."

    Xia Ziheng''s expression grew worse than ever, and he shot a fierce re at Liu Song. Xia Ziheng then moved away and walked to another side of the gathering.

    "What? Is someone from the Xia family applying to our academy? No, no. What? He looks like Xia Ziheng? The young man can''t be his bastard child. That¡¯s impossible. That old thing¡¯s too old and dried up. How could he have a child? The youth might be his descendant, so don¡¯t ept him and drive him away. What a sneaky bastard!" the God of Food was shouting into hismunication crystal, and Prof. Wei stood behind the old man, blinking as she observed his conversation. She happened to also see that Xia Ziheng was right beside them.

    Xia Ziheng slowly turned his head and red at the God of Food, furious. This was simply too crass! Did anyone even speak like that? Thenguage was so crude that it was no different from cursing at Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor had never been openly insulted in such a manner in his entire life, and the manner was even more degrading and humiliating.

    The old man wanted to shout back and say something to the God of Food, only to realize that he had absolutely no idea what to say.

    "Old man, that can¡¯t be right! Why would you say that Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng''s all dried up?" A loud voice rang out from another location in the celebration venue.

    Xia Ziheng looked over, his face still covered in a terrible expression. The voice was so loud that everyone present could hear the man. When Xia Ziheng looked over, he saw that the speaker was Kui Luo, the shameless bastard.

    The God of Food¡¯s brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Do you have proof otherwise?"

    Ignoring everyone¡¯s odd looks, Kui Luo answered, "Don¡¯t you know that Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng has a harem with more than a hundred concubines back home?"

    The God of Food looked shocked. "Is that true?"

    "I know that you might not be aware of it, and you might even find it hard to believe, but Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng said that, since he is from a branch family and can¡¯t practice the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he¡¯d instead make his own clones. Each of his children is a clone, and they¡¯re all his. If all of his kids are added up, then he must have more descendants than the entire history of the Xia family¡¯s main line, including Progenitor Shenji," Kui Luo yelled loudly.

    "Kui Luo, don''t spout such bullshit!" Xia Ziheng shouted furiously. He simply could not tolerate any more nder as this was simply too much. Not only was this insulting to him, but Kui Luo was also insulting Progenitor Shenji.

    The God of Food and Kui Luo looked over in unison. "Oh? Semi-Progenitor Ziheng? You¡¯re still alive? I thought that you died in Shenwu''s Sky."

    Xia Ziheng roared, "Kui Luo, you are seeking death!"

    With that, Xia Ziheng charged.

    The surrounding guests were leftpletely speechless. Kui Luo''s tongue was too vicious. The worst part was that he was also famous for spreading gossip. He had publicized many families¡¯ secrets throughout the Perennial World, and everything that he leaked had proven to be true. Given Kui Luo¡¯s reputation, everyone looked at Xia Ziheng differently. After all, it was possible that Kui Luo had been speaking the truth. It was difficult to say.

    Xia Ziheng nearly vomited blood as he noticed the looks people were giving him. "Kui Luo, restore my innocence!"

    Kui Luo let out an odd groan. "Fine. You can¡¯t get it up any more. There¡¯s proof that you don¡¯t have that many concubines."

    Xia Ziheng became so angry that he attacked. The two men vanished in a blink of an eye.

    The God of Food pursed his lips. This had nothing to do with him.

    Prof. Wei shook her head and looked in another direction, where Mu Shang had revealed himself.

    Upon seeing the farce that was ying out, Mu Shang was not happy at all. "This is my, Mu Shang¡¯s, birthday. I would like to thank you all foring. I am truly very grateful to you all."

    "Old man, Xia Ziheng! I¡¯ve already said that it wasn¡¯t true. What more do you want?" Kui Luo let out a strange scream, and his voice echoed throughout the area, drawing everyone''s attention back to him.

    Many people felt incredibly frustrated. There had been rumors of Kui Luo¡¯s death, but the old bastard had reappeared with Lu Xiaoxuan. Everything about the man was revolting.

    Mu Shang''s expression fell. "Seniors, please show this junior a bit of face today. Can you call a truce for today?"

 Chapter 2363: Mu Shangs Confidence

    Chapter 2363: Mu Shang''s Confidence

    Xia Ziheng gritted his teeth. Nothing had gone well for him recently. In fact, ever since Lu Xiaoxuan had posed as Yu Hao, everything that Xia Ziheng had attempted to do had failed. He had even been med for the Yu family incident, which had ended up with Xia Shenji beating the Semi-Progenitor. Given all he had been through recently, Xia Ziheng¡¯s temper was nowhere to be found. "You old bastard, my Xia family will kill you one day!"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Sure you will."

    The man¡¯s casual attitude caused Xia Ziheng''s anger to rise higher than ever.

    "Seniors, please calm down," Mu Shang called out in a soft voice. Despite the fact that he, an Envoy, was addressing two Semi-Progenitors, the fact that Mu Shang was an Array Grandmaster meant that his status was actually higher than an ordinary Semi-Progenitor¡¯s. Mu Shang was qualified to speak with Progenitors, so he was far from intimidated by the two old men.

    Xia Ziheng slowly dropped back down to the ground. Kui Luo was a tough old man who feared nothing. Given the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan was Kui Luo¡¯s backer, it was possible that the old man might even openly insult Progenitors. However, Xia Ziheng was not in the same position, and he had to show Mu Shang a proper level of respect.

    Mu Shang stared at Kui Luo.

    Kui Luo smiled smugly as he alsonded on the ground.

    A cold light shed across Mu Shang''s eyes. There were simply too many people who hated Kui Luo. In fact, at least half of the guests at Mu Shang¡¯s party likely wanted to kill the old man, but they were holding themselves back because they were too intimidated by Lu Xiaoxuan. It was undeniable that Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s arrival had overturned the Perennial World¡¯s entire situation.

    Some time passed, and Grandmaster Qiu Ling soon arrived. Mu Shang quickly stepped forward to greet the woman. While they were both Array Grandmasters, Mu Shang was the youngest and most junior of the four.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling looked around and gave a small smile. "It seems that I am the first to arrive."

    Mu Shangughed. "The presence of other Array Grandmasters truly gives this junior a great deal of face."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling asked, "Are you certain?"

    Mu Shang immediately understood what was being asked. "Lu Xiaoxuan is not an easy opponent, so we shall have to see what he¡¯s capable of."

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling nodded and dropped the matter. She had not received any instructions from the Aeternals regarding Lu Yin. It seemed that not even Aeternus could control him any longer.

    More and more people arrived at the gathering just outside of the rear battlefield. Everyone who was able to attend this party was very familiar with the rear battlefield. Regardless of how fierce the fighting on the five array bases became, they would consider the sight perfectly normal.

    Gu Yan arrived next. He wore an exceptionally luxurious coat, and he moved very slowly towards the location of the gathering, apanied by both his maid, Xiao Cui, and his bodyguard, Er Gouzi.

    As soon as Grandmaster Gu Yan arrived, Mu Shang solemnly greeted the older man.

    Many of the people at the party stopped talking and turned to stare when Grandmaster Gu Yan arrived.

    Gu Yan was the number one Array Grandmaster of the entire Perennial World. He was someone whom no one could ignore.

    "Thank you foring, Senior," Mu Shang said with a smile as he offered a low bow.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan replied by humming in a manner that could mean anything. He immediately looked past Mu Shang. "So that Lu Xiaoxuan kid hasn''t arrived yet?"

    Mu Shang frowned slightly. The wording of Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s question made it sound like he was very familiar with Lu Xiaoxuan. "Not yet, Senior. Please,e in."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan clearly had note to the party for Mu Shang¡¯s sake. While the old man did not dislike Mu Shang, there was no denying that Mu Shang was part of the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant that Gu Yan would not offer the junior Array Grandmaster too much face. No, Gu Yan was attending the party almost entirely because of Lu Yin.

    Gu Yan had met Lu Yin once in the Lower Realm. If Lu Yin had not been exposed as an imposter while posing as Long Qi, it was very possible that he would have be Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice. Furthermore, Lu Xiaoxuan was an old acquaintance of Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    However, that rtionship was something that almost no one was aware of.

    As soon as Grandmaster Gu Yan arrived, Xia Ziheng, Wu Yao, and several other Semi-Progenitors all stepped forward to greet the man.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan remained as courteous and shameless as ever. He even did his best to manipte the conversations towards coercing the old men to give Xiao Cui some meeting gifts.

    Kui Luo pulled a bit back from the rest of the party. Aside from Progenitors, there were very, very few people in the Perennial World who Kui Luo was intimidated by, but one of them was in front of him.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan noticed Kui Luo and gave a brilliant smile. "Is that really Kui Luo, who pretended to be dead for so long? Why are you willing to show yourself now?"

    Many people were left confused by this reaction. What was going on between the two old men?

    Kui Luo was left speechless. He stared at Grandmaster Gu Yan. The old bastard really was not going to hold anything back. The Array Grandmaster had gone after him as soon as heid eyes on him. "I would like to thank Grandmaster Gu for his help back then. You don¡¯t need to worry, as this old man understands the situation. I will not embarrass you."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan blinked. What the hell?

    Many people turned to stare at Grandmaster Gu Yan with odd expressions on their faces. Had Gu Yan actually helped Kui Luo in the past? Why would the Array Grandmaster have helped the notorious bastard?

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was left speechless. "Old man, don''t be ridiculous! You really are shameless!"

    Kui Luo cackled. He had just made ament, and it was none of his business whether people believed him or not. Why did Gu Yan have to call Kui Luo out as soon as heid eyes on him?

    Grandmaster Gu Yan felt that not even he was as shameless as the old bastard in front of him. The more anyone spoke to Kui Luo, the more trouble they would end up in. Gu Yan looked beyond the gathering and saw the distant jiao. "Doesn¡¯t that belong to the Xia family? Did Lu Xiaoxuan really steal it?"

    As soon as the Array Grandmaster asked the question, Xia Ziheng''s expression grew ugly.

    Mu Shang quickly tried to change the subject.

    "Why hasn''t Lu Xiaoxuan arrived yet? This is just too rude! He challenged Grandmaster Mu, so he should at least have the courtesy to show up at a reasonable time!" someonemented.

    "Shhh, don''t don¡¯t say that! You don¡¯t want to mess with Lu Xiaoxuan! No one dares to make trouble for him now."

    "But didn¡¯t I hear that the four ruling powers are just using him as bait to lure out thest surviving vassals of the Lu family? He¡¯s nothing more than the four ruling powers¡¯ trap," someone spat contemptuously.

    "Wait, where''s Qiao Er? Why haven¡¯t we seen Qiao Er even after being here for so long?"

    Many people grew silent. There were some who knew what had happened, but many did not know that Qiao Er had been the trigger of the challenge between Lu Xiaoxuan and Mu Shang.

    Mu Shang''s birthday celebration had not been intended to be some grand event. If not for the fact that Lu Yin had challenged the Array Grandmaster, many of the guests would not have attended the party at all. The only ones who had always intended to attend the party were people from the Celestial Frost Sect, and other Lockbreakers. In fact, most of the people who had originally intended to attend the party were Lockbreakers, as they hoped to obtain the opportunity to learn from Grandmaster Mu Shang, which was also why practically all of the Lockbreakers had prepared gifts.

    As Mu Shang''s only apprentice, it was expected that Qiao Er would offer an even more generous gift than anyone else, but unfortunately, no one would ever see her gift, or even the woman herself.

    One person stepped away from the other guests and entered the rear battlefield. After looking around and seeing the endless fighting taking ce on the distant array bases, and expression of shock appeared on the person¡¯s face. It was Skymender.

    Given the fact that Lu Yin was going to challenge Mu Shang at this birthday party, how could only the Perennial World¡¯s Array Grandmasters bear witness to the event? Lu Yin had actually wanted to have Highsage Grandmaster and Grandmaster Xiu Ming attend as well, but had eventually decided not to do so.

    Skymender¡¯s arrival instantly drew the attention of Grandmaster Gu Yan. "An unknown Array Grandmaster?"

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling and Mu Shang immediately noticed Skymender as well.

    Mu Shang''s expression fell, as he recognized this individual. Skymender was the one who had helped Virtue Archives by taking control of the academy¡¯s defensive sourcebox array and stopped Mu Shang from opening the array. Mu Shang was already aware that Skymender was an Array Grandmaster as well.

    When Skymender arrived, Kui Luo approached and whispered something that no one else overheard.

    The God of Food then approached as well, as Skymender had allowed Virtue Archives to hold back Mu Shang, so the God of Food naturally recognized Skymender as well.

    There was a roar from the jiao, and Lu Yin suddenly stepped through the entrance to the rear battlefield. He slowly walked into the gathering as everyone turned to stare.

    Everyone fell silent as they looked at Lu Yin.

    Xia Ziheng''s eye twitched. He had notid eyes on Lu Yin since the young man had attacked Shenwu''s Sky. Upon seeing Lu Yin again, Xia Ziheng noticed that the young man had somehow changed. There was something incredibly intimidating about his mere presence.

    The enormous jiaopletely filled the entrance to the rear battlefield, and a Champions¡¯ Stage floated behind Lu Yin as he walked into the party. Every step he took rang out and was clearly heard by every single person present.

    As Lu Yin moved closer to the crowd of people, the Champions¡¯ Stage became much more defined, as he was essing the runes of the Champions¡¯ Stage so as to always be prepared.

    Given that he was about to have a lockbreaking match with Mu Shang, Lu Yin felt quite certain that countless people wanted to attack him. While the four ruling powers would absolutely not break the truce, that did not mean that nobody was willing to help the four ruling powers by attacking Lu Yin for them.

    Even if Lu Yin was not targeted by a Progenitor, there were other ways to threaten him, so he needed to remain on guard.

    When Grandmaster Gu Yan saw Lu Yin slowly approaching, various emotions flickered across the old man¡¯s eyes. Was this youth the person that Lu Xiaoxuan had be? It was a pity that the sunny and optimistic child had changed so much.

    As soon as Lu Yin appeared, Mu Shang instantly ignored everything else. This was the moment that he had been waiting for.

    "Brother Lu, how do you n to challenge me?" Mu Shang stepped forward and immediately asked Lu Yin directly to state the method of challenge.

    Everyone was focused on the two men. They were both so young, and yet both of them had truly unbelievable talent for lockbreaking.

    Almost no one present believed that Lu Yin had any chance of defeating Mu Shang. Lockbreaking was not the same asbat. Even if Lu Yin could fight against Progenitors, it did not mean that he hadparable lockbreaking skills. Lu Yin¡¯s future achievements in lockbreaking would be unquestionably grand, but that was only in the future. He simply did not have the experience to already be on the same level as Mu Shang.

    Almost everyone believed that Lu Yin¡¯s challenge was nothing more than an act of arrogance. The fact that he had fought against Progenitors and lived must have made him arrogant, and he clearly believed himself unbeatable in every way.

    High above in the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were all looking down.

    "Is Mu Shang confident?" Xia Shenji asked.

    Bai Wangyuan said nothing. While he had received reassurance from Mu Shang, the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan was the challenger made Bai Wangyuan nervous.

    Suddenly, Bai Wangyuan had a shback to when the New Corridor had first been repaired and when Xia Shenji had gone to the Forsaken Land to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. Bai Wangyuan had been confident at that time as well.

    Still standing in the entrance to the rear battlefield, Lu Yin calmly looked back at Mu Shang. "Stable Zone."

    Mu Shang also appeared to be calm as he looked at Lu Yin. "I¡¯ll offer you a chance to choose a different method. You have no chance of winning a game of Stable Zone."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Let¡¯s give it a try."

    Mu Shang nodded. "Back then, you used to call me Brother Mu. I¡¯ve given you a chance to change your mind, but since you¡¯ve refused, we¡¯ll y Stable Zone."

    While Stable Zone was considered a game, it was the best method of testing every aspect of a Lockbreaker¡¯s abilities. It was possible to almost instantly determine the better Lockbreaker with a game of Stable Zone.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan shook his head. Lu Xiaoxuan had dared to challenge to Mu Shang, and if they hadpeted in lockbreaking a sourcebox, Lu Xiaoxuan might stand a tiny chance of victory. However, there was no chance at all if they yed Stable Zone.

    "Hey, why is that guy trying to say that there¡¯s no chance in a game of Stable Zone? Is he that certain that the Lu kid will lose?" Kui Luo leaned over and asked Grandmaster Qiu Ling.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling frowned. She also hated the notorious bastard of a Semi-Progenitor. "I don''t know."

    "Aren''t you also an Array Grandmaster?" Kui Luo shot back.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling moved away from the old man.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes and looked back at Lu Yin. "Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just unlock a sourcebox if he¡¯s going to challenge an Array Grandmaster? Why go with something as unreliable as a game of Stable Zone? We don¡¯t want to see something that messy! Stop messing around¡ªwe want to see some lockbreaking!"

    "That¡¯s right, we want to watch some lockbreaking!" Nong Sanniang shouted.

    Liu Song coughed. "Lockbreaking would be more enjoyable to see."

    A smile spread across Mu Shang''s face as he calmly stared at Lu Yin. Everyone who was speaking up had enjoyed a close rtionship with the Lu family in the past. It was obvious that they wanted to help Lu Yin, but it was all up to Lu Yin whether he would appreciate their kindness.

    Lu Yin could not understand where Mu Shang''s confidence wasing from. Lu Yin had acquired all of Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s lockbreaking experience, and he believed himself to be close to Mu Shang¡¯s level when it came to lockbreaking. On top of that, Lu Yin had much, much greaterbat strength, and while that did not directly assist in lockbreaking, it did provide a few distinct advantages when ying Stable Zone. Given the situation, why was Mu Shang so confident that Lu Yin stood no chance at all?

    Lu Yin still had an opportunity to change his mind regarding his method of challenging Mu Shang.

    Suddenly, Xia Ziheng spoke up. "We are right next to the rear battlefield, and if anything goes wrong while opening a sourcebox, who will take responsibility if the rear battlefield is affected?"

    For sourceboxes that could challenge Lockbreakers of Lu Yin and Mu Shang¡¯s caliber, it was highly likely that there would be unexpected surges in the sourceboxes¡¯ danger zone. Given their close proximity to the rear battlefield, it was inappropriate for humans to risk anything if it might benefit the Aeternals on the rear battlefield.

 Chapter 2364: Game On

    Chapter 2364: Game On

    Not a thing that Xia Ziheng said was wrong, and not even Kui Luo coulde up with a reasonable argument.

    Lu Yin looked at Mu Shang. With a smile on his face and contempt in his eyes, he nodded. "It would be better to y a game of Stable Zone."

    Lu Yin did not believe that Mu Shang was capable of beating Grandmaster Qiu Ling in Stable Zone. The woman had been an Array Grandmaster for much longer, and since Lu Yin possessed all of the woman¡¯s lockbreaking knowledge and experience, there was no guarantee that Mu Shang would win.

    Mu Shang believed that he had a firm grasp of Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities, but Lu Yin had changed greatly since hisst interaction with Mu Shang.

    For a game of Stable Zone to be yed by Realm Array Masters or Array Grandmasters, the board would naturally be made with Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.

    "How many sourceboxes?" Mu Shang asked.

    "How many do you want?"

    Mu Shang was presenting himself as Lu Yin¡¯s superior in every way when it came to lockbreaking. The Array Grandmaster was allowing Lu Yin to choose the time, manner of challenge, location, and everything else. Mu Shang had even cautioned Lu Yin away from Stable Zone. No matter how anyone looked at the situation, Mu Shang seemed to be a senior helping a junior.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. All he cared about was the final results, not the process in which they were achieved.

    Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin. "I once yed a game of Stable Zone with Grandmaster Qiu Ling where we used eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Is that too much for you?"

    Many of the people present let out gasps. Master Deng Guo and many others were badly startled¡ªeight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes? Master Deng Guo could y a game with his peers with no more than five souceboxes, but three or four was the normal number. Eight source boxes was something that only Array Grandmasters could use for a game.

    "There¡¯s a rumor that Grandmaster Gu Yan and Grandmaster Li once yed a game of Stable Zone that used more than a dozen Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Is that actually true?" a Lockbreaker next to Master Deng Guo asked. "Huh? Why didn¡¯t Grandmaster Li didn''te?"

    Master Deng Guo quietly answered, "It¡¯s true, though I didn''t see it for myself. Still, I do know that that rumor is true."

    "Grandmaster Mu first proposed eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Unless his opponent is another Array Grandmaster, it would be impossible to y a game of Stable Zone on such a field. In fact, even Grandmaster Mu himself might struggle a bit," an Array Mastermented.

    Master Deng Guo¡¯s eyes never left the two men. It was true, as eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes would likely create a game board that even Grandmaster Mu might struggle with.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s eyebrows rose high. Eight? She had indeed yed such a game of Stable Zone with Mu Shang, but there had been a massive battle before they could finish the game. After that, they had never resumed the game.

    Even with Qiu Ling and Mu Shang''s lockbreaking capabilities, a game of Stable Zone with eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes had been a huge struggle for them. Such a game board would bepletely outside of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s capabilities.

    No one believed that Lu Yin was capable of using such a game board, and that included even Skymender. He was aware that Lu Yin was a very capable Lockbreaker, but, at best, Lu Yin was a Realm Array Master. Eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes was far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities.

    Lu Yin nced over at Grandmaster Qiu Ling. "You yed Stable Zone with Grandmaster Qiu Ling, right? I happen to have yed a game with her as well, though we only used three sourceboxes."

    "So, how about eight?" Mu Shang challenged. "If not, you can choose the number for yourself."

    Lu Yin looked quite curious. "How did the game between you and Grandmaster Qiu Ling turn out?"

    "We never finished," Mu Shang said.

    "Do you think that you could have won?" Lu Yin continued.

    Mu Shang frowned. "This game is between us. There¡¯s no connection to that previous game."

    "You won¡¯t even answer? Then it seems like you don¡¯t have any confidence in winning. You just said that, given your abilities, there¡¯s no way I can beat you in a game of Stable Zone. I guess that that means that I can¡¯tpare to Grandmaster Qiu Ling at all." Lu Yin shook his head, looking disappointed.

    Mu Shang¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Whether you¡¯re better or worse doesn¡¯t matter. Do you ept or not? Decide on how many sourceboxes."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You suggested eight, so we should go with eight."

    Skymender''s expression turned somber. Eight? Throughout history, very few games of Stable Zone between Array Grandmasters had ever used eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Each additional sourcebox made the game exponentially more difficult, and it was even possible for people to lose their lives during such a game.

    People looked at Lu Yin with mocking expressions. All of them either understood the current discussion themselves, or had received an exnation from a neighboring Lockbreaker. Thus, they all knew what a game of Stable Zone with eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes meant. Did Lu Xiaoxuan really believe that he could y such a game? He was being too arrogant.

    "You can provide the sourceboxes," Mu Shang offered.

    This game board would make the game of Stable Zone very challenging for Mu Shang as well, and whoever provided the sourceboxes would immediately gain an advantage. Unfortunately for Lu Yin, he only had four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. "We¡¯ll each provide half of the sourceboxes. I won''t take advantage of you."

    Kui Luo was left speechless. You don¡¯t have enough, do you?

    Boundless Advanced sourceboxes were not cabbages. Even Semi-Progenitors might not have one.

    Mu Shang had not actually expected Lu Yin to be able to bring out four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. After all, that was more than what even Mu Shang possessed. The Array Grandmaster had intended to borrow the necessary sourceboxes from Grandmaster Qiu Ling and the other guests, and he had only expected Lu Xiaoxuan to have one or two at most. However, Lu Yin had just pulled out four, and Mu Shang could provide the other four.

    "Grandmaster Gu Yan, as the greatest Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World, would you mind acting as the judge for this game?" Mu Shang asked as he looked over at the Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    The old man stepped forward, supported by Xiao Cui. He looked at the two young men. "I haven''t been able to watch such a wonderful game for a long time. I don¡¯t mind."

    Lu Yin was quite relieved that Grandmaster Gu Yan would be the judge.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan looked straight at Lu Yin and showed a bright smile as he stroked the cosmic ring on his hand. "Little guy, iming to be this old man''s apprentice helped you out quite a bit."

    Lu Yin coughed. So the old man wanted to settle ounts with him after being taken advantage of when Lu Yin had been posing as Yu Hao. "Well, actually, this junior never specifically imed to be your apprentice, Senior. Other people just pieced things together and made their own assumptions."

    Xia Ziheng immediately grew angry. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you certainly admitted to being Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice!"

    Before Lu Yin could even respond, Kui Luo stepped forward. "Old man, you must have been too rigorous with one of your concubines, as you¡¯re suffering from hallucinations. Did you really think that having countless descendants would be the same as having clones? If your ancestors found out, they¡¯d be furious. Wait, does this mean that all the members of the Xia family are just clones of your ancestor?"

    Xia Ziheng became furious. "Kui Luo, I swear that I will kill you!"

    "Presumptuous!" A burst of de qi appeared in the empty sky and dropped down, aimed precisely at Kui Luo.

    Instantly, everyone felt their hair stand on end. The killing intent of a Progenitor left everyone trembling, even Mu Shang and Grandmaster Qiu Ling. Everyone attending the party grew pale from the pressure of the sudden attack.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan''s expression fell. Xia Shenji''s killing intent was too terrifying, and that was merely what everyone else was experiencing. Kui Luo was the one being targeted, and the suppression he was facing had to be far worse than anyone else¡¯s.

    Kui Luo was lost in a daze. He had not expected a random insult to attract Xia Shenji¡¯s attention and earn his wrath. Frozen by the killing intent within the descending de, Kui Luo could not even try to dodge. He waspletely suppressed by the terrifying power of a Progenitor. If not for his consistent cultivation in the Origin Sutra, Kui Luo would actually lose consciousness.

    Lu Yin looked up, and the runes of a Progenitor moved out and protected Kui Luo. He then looked towards the Dominion Realm. "Xia Shenji, this is none of your business! Get lost!"

    The stern shout caused the five array bases of the rear battlefield to shake. Countless people looked over, horrified. There was another sh between Progenitors. Why were they sensing a Progenitor¡¯s power so frequently nowadays? What happened to all the Progenitors being in the Dominion Realm?

    "If someone dares to be so audacious as to insult the ancestors of my Xia family, then they should die." As soon as Xia Shenji replied, countless people on the five array bases looked up to see a massive de taking shape. Both the humans and the corpse kings on the battlefield stopped moving.

    Xia Ziheng smiled cruelly. Here¡¯s your damnation, you old bastard!.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to take action, a glowing pebble appeared above his head. Mu Xie was stepping in. "Xia Shenji, do you intend to tear up the truce?"

    In the Dominion Realm, Xia Shenji''s expression fell.

    To his side, Bai Wangyuan calmly stated, "This is not the time. Stop."

    Xia Shenji took a deep breath as he stared at the entrance to the rear battlefield. "If you dare to speak such nonsense again, you will be killed without mercy."

    The de disappeared from the sky.

    Just as quickly as it had appeared, the power of a Progenitor vanished. It was as though nothing had ever happened.

    However, everyone found that their backs had be soaked with cold sweat.

    When confronted by the iparable power of a Progenitor, people found it difficult to even walk, and even the Semi-Progenitors present had suffered the same sort of suppression.

    Kui Luo panted for breath. His teeth were bared as he red upwards at the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin nced over at the old man. "I¡¯ll make sure to find a chance for you to insult him in the future."

    Kui Luo snorted. "I¡¯ll plunder your Xia family''s grave one day."

    Xia Ziheng angrily shouted, "Kui Luo, you still dare to speak such nonsense?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Go y with your hundred concubines."

    Xia Ziheng was furious.

    "Enough!" Mu Shang''s face was livid. "Please give me a bit of face and allow me to y this game of Stable Zone with Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Xia Ziheng gave Kui Luo a cold re and then very reluctantly stepped back.

    Kui Luo finally stayed silent. He was more than a bit flustered by what had just happened.

    In the past, he had been chased and hunted throughout the Perennial World, but only Semi-Progenitors had ever gone after him. This time, he had antagonized Xia Shenji himself! Kui Luo was already thinking about returning to the Fifth Maind for some time so that Xia Shenji could not kill him.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan simply ignored everything that had happened. "Time to begin."

    He then raised a hand and pressed it down. Star energy filled the area in front of him. He had created the pieces for Stable Zone.

    As one, both Mu Shang and Lu Yin pulled out four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. Then, eight sourceboxes moved out at the same time. The various danger zones started ovepping and interacting with each other, and the void was torn apart. The strength of thebined danger zones was so powerful that even Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors felt a bit of fear.

    Liu Song stepped back. "Those danger zones are not simple."

    Wu Yao stared at the four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes that Lu Yin had tossed out, and the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression turned ugly. Three of those sourceboxes hade from him. They had been given as a gift when the Celestial Frost Sect had been trying to recruit Yu Hao, who had been Lu Yin in disguise.

    While the Celestial Frost Sect had not been humiliated nearly as badly as the Xia family, Lu Yin had still passed the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky trial. He had also received some benefits from the sect, causing the Celestial Frost Sect to also have suffered a loss to Lu Yin.

    The danger zone created by thebination of eight boundless advanced sourceboxes was something that ordinary cultivators could not even see.

    Between the two Array Masters, the danger zones ovepped to create a clear yet dark area. Even Gu Yan was wary of the game board in this game of Stable Zone.

    The old man nced over at Lu Yin. The kid was certainly ruthless enough. Three of the four Boundless Advanced sourceboxes that Lu Yin had brought out were five star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes, while Mu Shang had only thrown out three star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes.

    Mu Shang had not expected Lu Yin to use three five star Boundless Advanced sourceboxes for their game. The resulting danger field was no longer something that was simply difficult to deal with in the game of Stable Zone; it was now powerful enough that it was questionable whether it could even be blocked.

    Ordinary cultivators could only directly resist a danger zone, but Lockbreakers could also try to avoid a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone. However, even a Lockbreaker would be in danger if they were fully surrounded by a danger zone.

    The eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes each had a unique danger zone, and it took a full half hour for the game board to settle down. The final result was something that seemed simr to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world. No one could observe anything within thebined danger zone, aside from Semi-Progenitors and Array Grandmasters.

    Within this artificial inner world were the ovepping killing intent from the various sourceboxes, and the danger zones unexpectedly took on an actual form.

    As for the star energy that Gu Yan had ced on the field before the sourceboxes appeared, the vast majority had been destroyed. All that remained were a few bits and pieces here and there.

    Gu Yan waved a hand, and half of the star energy turned white, while the other half turned ck. "Lu Xiaoxuan, as the challenger, you can choose your color."

 Chapter 2365: Equally Matched

    Chapter 2365: Equally Matched

    Lu Yin stared at the area in front of him. Was he really seeing things correctly? Had the ovepping danger zonesbined to form what looked like a living creature?

    Mu Shang was also staring at the game board. He had yed many games of Stable Zone before, but rarely with eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes. The various danger zones ovepped in unique manners every single time, and it seemed that one of the sourceboxes had a danger zone that had pulled in the others and fused with them to create the beast before them.

    "White," Lu Yin finally said, meaning meant that Mu Shang was left with ck.

    "The colors have been selected, and the game board has been prepared. Begin!" Grandmaster Gu Yan announced.

    Everyone stared at the two yers of this game of Stable Zone. Neither man moved a muscle. They simply stared at the game board.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling could not stop herself from stepping forward to get a better look at the game board, and she also studied it carefully.

    Skymender, Master Deng Guo, and all the other Array Masters of different abilities did the same. All of them were fixated on the game board.

    Only by seeing through the danger zone could one be confident of entering the game board. This first step in a game of Stable Zone was also a way of evaluating the capabilities of the two yers. Whoever entered first would face greater danger, but taking action first also showed greater confidence.

    Three days passed. Mu Shang did not move, and neither did Lu Yin. The entire time, they simply studied the chaotic danger zone.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had spent so long ying a game of Stable Zone, and he had not even taken his first move yet.

    The truth of the matter was that Lu Yin could have entered the game board immediately, as hisbat strength meant that he could directly resist the ovepping danger zones. However, that would not be a demonstration of his lockbreaking abilities, but rather of hisbat strength. It was possible to use brute strength to deal with the danger zone, or even destroy itpletely. However, that would not win Lu Yin the game.

    Finally, on the fifth day, Mu Shang suddenly sped his hands behind his back. With a confident expression on his face and caution in his eyes, he lifted a foot, ready to enter the game board and the danger zone that filled it.

    At the same time, Lu Yin also moved forward.

    Mu Shang looked to the other side of the game board in amazement. Lu Xiaoxuan actually dared to enter the danger zone?

    Mu Shang was not the only one who was surprised, as Grandmaster Gu Yan, Grandmaster Qiu Ling, and Skymender were all equally shocked. The game board for this match of Stable Zone was not simple at all. In fact, it was impossible for anyone who was not an Array Grandmaster to see through the danger zones.

    While an Array Grandmaster was only one level above a Realm Array Master, the true difference between the two was worlds apart.

    Master Deng Guo and other Realm Array Masters were at aplete loss at this moment as they stared at the game board. If they were asked to participate in this particr game of Stable Zone, they would not dare to move or enter the field until they had spent at least a month studying the danger zone. Lu Yin was also a Realm Array Master, possibly even the most aplished Realm Array Master. But in the end, he was not an Array Grandmaster. How could he have the confidence to enter the field already?

    Given theplexity of the game board, only Array Grandmasters could hope to see through the danger zone. The more aplished the Array Master, the more clearly they understood just how dangerous this game board was. As for anyone present who was not an Array Master, they could not understand anything about the game board before them. That included even Lockbreakers, let alone other cultivators.

    All that most people could understand was that Lu Yin and Mu Shang had stepped onto the game board at the same time, which meant that the two seemed to be evenly matched.

    "He still moved a stepter. Lu Xiaoxuan moved after he saw Grandmaster Mu raise his foot to enter. He was confident in entering himself. Just wait, he will quickly lose. While he temporarily appears to be Grandmaster Mu¡¯s equal by entering at the same time, it¡¯s only after stepping onto the field that he will truly experience despair. He simply doesn¡¯t understand the gap between a Realm Array Master and an Array Grandmaster," an old man stated in a loud voice. His name was Bai Hong, and he was a member of the Bai family and also the Celestial Frost Sect. Furthermore, Bai Hong was a Realm Array Master.

    A Lockbreaker beside Bai Hong respectfully asked, "Master Bai, is this game really thatplicated? Even Grandmaster Mu studied the field for five days before entering."

    Many people looked over at Bai Hong.

    At the very least, only a Realm Array Master could even hope to have a bit of insight into the game of Stable Zone that was being yed. Any lesser Array Masters would be unable to see anything clearly. The onlookers were merely present to watch themotion. If only there was a Realm Array Master giving amentary on what was happening before them.

    The possibility of asking one of the Array Grandmasters present did not even ur to anyone.

    Bai Hong nced around and saw the many reverent expressions directed his way. It was obvious that Mu Shang and Lu Yin were ying Stable Zone, but Bai Hong felt as though he had be the protagonist at this moment. Unconsciously, his stooped waist straightened slightly as he coughed. "Stable Zone is a game for Array Masters, but it is impossible for ordinary Array Masters to y it. Only Senior Array Masters can actually y a game, and the difficulty of a game is determined by the level and quantity of the sourceboxes used to create the game board. Typically, Senior Array Masters will only use one or two Discerning Elementary sourceboxes, and three or four at the very most. Using Boundless Advanced sourceboxes is something that only Realm Array Masters will do.¡±

    The expressions directed towards Bai Hong grew even more respectful as he spoke.

    Mu Shang and Lu Yin were currently standing on opposite sides of the game board. Each man had found a location where they would not be attacked by the danger zone. This meant that the game had finally and truly begun.

    There were no turns in a game of Stable Zone, as either yer was allowed to take action freely, as long as they tried to eliminate their opponent¡¯s pieces. The rules of the game were very simple, but the simpler the rules were, the more difficult the game often was.

    "Have you truly forgotten what happened in the past?" Mu Shang looked over and asked Lu Yin.

    "I forgot everything, but you can remind me of what happened."

    Mu Shang gave a small smile. "Back then, all of you called me Brother Mu."

    The corners of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth were pulled upwards. "That¡¯s impossible."

    Mu Shangughed. "Back then, Lu Xiaoxuan loved tough, but he did not have the same kind of smile as you. His smile was bright and rxed. It was like seeing the sun, and he was pleasant for everyone to get along with."

    At this point, Mu Shang suddenly frowned. "Unfortunately, the person you have be is a disappointment."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It seems you aren¡¯t confident you can beat me, seeing how you¡¯re even trying to verbally antagonize me."

    Mu Shang shook his head. "I haven''t seen you in decades. I truly do wish to speak with the Lu Xiaoxuan that I once knew, but unfortunately, you really are not him."

    The Array Grandmaster suddenly made a move, pointing a finger. The danger zone started flowing, following along the path that Mu Shang had indicated. The movement spread out through the danger zone, as though it had been awakened by the movement.

    Mu Shang continued to take action, pulling the danger zone along however he wished. He was clearly manipting the danger zone.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan and several others grew solemn as they watched. The game was finally starting.

    They looked over at Lu Yin. Could he handle this? Stable Zone was a game that could be extremely time-consuming. Some games had taken several years or even decades to y out topletion. There were even rumors that the longest game ever had taken thousands of years.

    On the other hand, games of Stable Zone could also be concluded very quickly. If Lu Yin was not able to exert any sort of influence over the game board¡¯s danger zone, the game would instantly finish. That would also indicate that there was a vast difference in the capabilities of the two Array Masters.

    "¡­Usually, only people above the Realm Array Master level will use Boundless Advanced sourceboxes when ying Stable Zone, and only Array Grandmasters will ever use four star Boundless Advanced Sourceboxes.¡± Bai Hong was still exining things to the people around him, when someone else suddenly eximed, "It''s moving! Grandmaster Mu is making his move!"

    Despite being interrupted, Bai Hong did not get upset. He simply turned around to look at the game board. He had growncent and gotten so caught up in showing off that he had actually forgotten about the game itself.

    Upon looking over, Bai Hong saw that Mu Shang was directing the danger zone freely andpetently. However, it was clear that Mu Shang did not have perfect control of the danger zone. For every ten bits of Lu Yin¡¯s white star energy that were destroyed, three bits of Mu Shang¡¯s ck star energy was also destroyed. The Array Grandmaster could not avoid affecting his own pieces.

    A game of Stable Zone did not only depend on skill andprehension of the danger zone that formed the game board, as there was also an aspect of luck involved.

    Upon seeing Mu Shang take action, Lu Yin responded. Given the lockbreaking experience that Lu Yin had taken from Grandmaster Qiu Ling, he was fully capable of holding his own against Mu Shang.

    No one believed that Lu Yin could also direct the sourceboxes¡¯ killing intent in this game.

    After all, it should be beyond the capabilities of a Realm Array Master. Even if a Realm Array Master could direct the danger zone, they had to study the game board for half a month beforehand. Even the greatest of Realm Array Masters would need at least half a month, so how could Lu Yin make a move so early?

    Master Deng Guo felt terribly confused. Both he and Lu Xiaoxuan were Realm Array Masters, but could their abilities be so far apart from each other? Master Deng Guo still had not gained any understanding of the game board!

    As the two yers started to take action, the entire game board came to life. The killing intent twisted and surged wildly. If not for the fact that two people were actively ying Stable Zone, most people would assume that the men were just randomly manipting the danger zone. The entire time, the colored star energy of both yers was being destroyed.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was amazed. While he had expected suchpetence from Mu Shang, how was Lu Xiaoxuan showing an equal ability? This should bepletely impossible. Even if Lu Yin had regained his memories as Lu Xiaoxuan, he should not be capable of holding his own against Mu Shang in a game of stable Zone.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling was equally startled. Lu Yin''s performance had far exceeded her expectations, and she felt as though all of hermon sense was being challenged. If she were the one ying Stable Zone against Mu Shang at this moment, she would not be any more capable than Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Skymender stared intently at Lu Yin. This young man was bing increasingly difficult to see through. When looking back at Lu Yin¡¯s history and rate of improvement, there were many feats that he had aplished that no one could understand.

    However, it was only the Array Grandmasters who were shocked by what they were seeing. All that anyone else could determine was that Lu Yin and Mu Shang were performing equally at this moment.

    Stable Zone was clearly not a fight, but people felt that the game was just as intense as an actual battle.

    "Master Bai, what''s going on? Please exin it to us," someone asked.

    Many others also looked at Bai Hong in a somewhat pleading manner.

    Bai Hong was speechless, as he could not actually understand anything that was taking ce on the game board. "It¡¯s nothing that I can¡¯t understand. Lu Xiaoxuan is being suppressed."

    The people listening to the Realm Array Master were all taken aback, and they blinked as they stared at where the two men were ying Stable Zone. Both men were making moves, and the both colors of star energy were being destroyed at about the same pace. Given what they were seeing, how was Lu Xiaoxuan being suppressed?

    Bai Hong confidently exined, "See for yourself. Lu Xiaoxuan''s face is covered with sweat, but what about Grandmaster Mu?"

    Right when Bai Hong stopped speaking, atop the game board, Mu Shang¡¯s coat was torn open by a burst of the danger zone. The man took a step back, clearly surprised. "I didn''t expect you to be able to keep up with me this far. Did you hide your abilities before?"

    However, Mu Shang simply could not understand how a Realm Array Master could hide their skills from an Array Grandmaster. On top of that, why would Lu Xiaoxuan bother hiding anything from him?

    Across the game board, Lu Yin evaded a surge of the sourceboxes'' danger zone. This was the advantage that greaterbat strength could provide. In reality, the two men were still equally matched in terms of lockbreaking abilities, but Lu Yin was able to dodge the danger zone because of his greaterbat power. This meant that, to people watching, Lu Yin had seized the advantage and that Mu Shang was struggling more than Lu Yin.

    Many people gave Bai Hong strange looks. Had the Realm Array Master not just imed that Lu Xiaoxuan was being suppressed? Where was the sweat on Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s brow? Grandmaster Mu had clearly been beaten in that exchange.

    Bai Hong pursed his lips. "Grandmaster Mu is truly impressive. He managed to lead the game to this point so that he could educate his junior. Such an attitude is incredibly admirable."

    Everyone was left speechless at thementary. Bai Hong was clearly forcing things too far.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling took a few steps forward as she stared at Lu Yin. She could not understand why, but watching him gave her a feeling of deja vu. It felt like she was watching what she would do in this match. Every move that Lu Yin made felt like an echo of the exact decision that Qiu Ling would have made in his ce. It was very odd.

    Across from Lu Yin, Mu Shang''s expression grew ugly. Lu Xiaoxuan had actually managed to hide his lockbreaking abilities from Mu Shang. It was no wonder why he had had the courage to propose a game of Stable Zone. Things were starting to make sense.

 Chapter 2366: Hidden Corner

    <h4>Chapter 2366: Hidden Corner</h4>

    Mu Shang quickly reviewed everything that was known about Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking skills. The analysis had been provided by the Wang family, and it had been created after Lu Yin had designed sourcebox arrays for ordinary cultivators to set up. He had done so while posing as Yu Hao, and the aplishment had stood out, as it was something that even Mu Shang would struggle to pull off.

    At this moment, Mu Shang was personally experiencing Lu Yin¡¯s iprehensible abilities.

    Mu Shang relied on intuition and his understanding of the danger field that was the game board, while he could tell that Lu Yin was relying on experience.

    Mu Shang could sense the unstableness in Lu Yin''s movements, which was proof that the younger man was not able to perfectly control the danger zone. This essentially indicated that Lu Yincked the skills of an Array Grandmaster, but had the experience of one. How did that even make sense? Furthermore, how had Lu Yin managed to umte so much experience?

    Both experience and talent were critical for Lockbreakers, and it was difficult to say which of the two was more important. Lu Yin''s talent was no worse than Mu Shang¡¯s. However, Lu Yin waspensating for hiscking skills with pure experience, which should have been impossible.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan automatically turned to look at Skymender. "Does your Forsaken Land have many chances for Lockbreakers to practice?"

    Skymender had no idea how to answer. He was very familiar with Lu Yin¡¯s growth and history, and it was rather well known that Lu Yin had not opened very many sourceboxes. It was possible that they were observing pure talent.

    Lu Yin made one move after another, but each of his moves was very small. His eyes remained fixed on the condensed danger field that had taken on the form of a living creature. It was by far the most difficult aspect of the game board, and he simply could not find any way to seize control of the false creature.

    Mu Shang was also staring at the condensed danger zone. It was clear that whoever seized control of the false creature would also seize victory of the game.

    Thus far, the two yers had been fairly evenly matched, as neither had gained any true ?advantage. While the proportion of colored star energy had swayed slightly in favor of one person or the other, the discrepancy had remained slight and easy to recover from.

    Both of the men stopped their actions. With how things were progressing, there was no way for anyone to determine who would win. Whoever gained control of the gathered danger field that looked like a creature would certainly be the winner.

    The condensed danger field had gathered at the center of the game board. Neither man had tried to move that bit of the danger field. They both simply studied it, just like how they had studied the entire field before first entering the danger zone.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan scanned the game board before him and then secretly let out a sigh. Lu Xiaoxuan had already lost.

    Aside from Grandmaster Gu Yan, everyone else observing the game of Stable Zone believed that the two men were performing equally. Only Gu Yan knew that Mu Shang had secretly set up a sourcebox array the moment he had entered the game board. This was because no one besides Grandmaster Gu Yan could even see the sourcebox array. The array that had been created by Gu Yan himself, and it was specifically designed to be used during Stable Zone.

    Mu Shang had learned that particr sourcebox array from Grandmaster Gu Yan himself. Unless there was a massive difference in the abilities of two Array Masters, whoever knew this particr sourcebox array was guaranteed to win. This was why Mu Shang had always been so confident in his own victory.

    Given the same thing to work with, different people would show different results. Talented individuals would not perform in the same manner as other people, and they often took different paths. For true geniuses, there could be certain challenging tasks that would be seen as ying.

    ].

    For example, when Grandmaster Gu Yan had first be an Array Master, he had be obsessed with Stable Zone, and he had constantly sought out opponents to challenge. He lost almost all the time, as he challenged Array Masters who were far more skilled than he was. For example, when Gu Yan had been an Array Master, he had challenged Senior Array Masters. Once he became a Senior Array Master, he had moved on and started challenging Realm Array Masters.

    Gu Yan had lost again and again, and eventually, he had designed his own sourcebox array, and it was specifically designed to be used when ying Stable Zone. As long as he was capable of at least forcing the match to a draw, his sourcebox array would guarantee his victory. Furthermore, that sourcebox array paved the path for Gu Yan to be the Perennial World¡¯s premier Array Grandmaster. No one else came close to matching Gu Yan¡¯s skills. Even Mu Shang, who was iparably arrogant due to his abilities, would never dare topare himself to Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    Lu Yin was not the first Realm Array Master to challenge an Array Grandmaster, but if Lu Yin could pull off a victory, he would surpass the former aplishments of even Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s. Unfortunately, that was impossible. The sourcebox array that Mu Shang had learned from Gu Yan was essentially cheating in a match such as the one currently taking ce.

    Gu Yan slightly regretted sharing the sourcebox array with Mu Shang. The old man favored Lu Yin more than Mu Shang. No, he favored Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Unfortunately, it was already toote to change anything.

    The game had not stopped yet, but both of the yers had halted all movement. There were both staring at the condensed danger zone that had taken on the form of a living creature, and they were currently trying to seize control of it.

    From an outside perspective, the game had be a three-way battle. Not only were the two Array Masterspeting, but they were alsopeting against the game board itself.

    "Master Bai, just what is going on with that danger zone? Why does it look like a living creature?" someone asked.

    Bai Hong''s heart trembled. He had be terrified that more people would ask questions, but since someone had already spoken up, Bai Hong had to answer. Otherwise, he would lose face. "What do you mean, a creature? Don¡¯t be ridiculous! That¡¯s just the danger zone from the sourceboxes."

    "It looks like a creature," someone muttered.

    Bai Hong became upset. "Do you understand what we¡¯re looking at, or do I? Even a solitary sourcebox can have a danger zone that resembles a living creature, and even stranger phenomena are possible as well. However, those things are impossible with just the temporarybination of the various sourceboxes used to create the game board. You don¡¯t understand what is happening and are just spouting nonsense! What''s your name?"

    The man was startled by the question, and he quickly hid himself out of Bai Hong''s line of sight.

    Right after that, at the center of the game board, the false creature formed from the condensed danger zone started to move. It stretched its limbs like a tiger and even roared at the sky. There was no sound, but the roar shattered the void. It looked as though the sound had been materialized and shot out of the creature¡¯s mouth.

    Bai Hong¡¯s mouth fell open. Was this even possible? Can¡¯t we just enjoy the game without being in danger?

    At the moment, no one was paying any attention to Bai Hong. All the people present were staring at the danger zone that was moving about like a tiger. Every time it moved within the game board, it would erase some of both colors of star energy. Mu Shang and Lu Yin were constantly manipting the rest of the danger zone, trying to alter the beast¡¯s movements or even take control of the beast. However, neither was able to gain an upper hand with the other¡¯s interference.

    Sweat dripped from Mu Shang''s forehead. This was the most difficult game of Stable Zone that he had ever yed. He had suggested that they use eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes as an attempt to push Lu Yin into surrendering. However, Mu Shang was a little overwhelmed after concentrating so intently for so long while trying to analyze the danger zone.

    Lu Yin was in the same situation. If not for Grandmaster Qiu Ling¡¯s lockbreaking experience that Lu Yin had acquired, he would have never been able to endure for so long. This was the Array Grandmaster level.

    Lu Yin was truly qualified to be an Array Grandmaster. All that he was missing was opening some more sourceboxes. However, the most important thing at the moment was to defeat Mu Shang.

    Both men had focused all of their attention onto trying to seize control of the condensed danger zone. They were each determined to gain control of the simted tiger. The false beast ran to and fro across the game board like a puppet.

    "I have topliment you, Lu Xiaoxuan. It¡¯s very rare to reach this level, and as long as you are given a bit more time, you will definitely be an Array Grandmaster. However, for right now, you¡¯re still not quite there. It¡¯s over." Mu Shang looked over at Lu Yin and spoke in a voice that oozed pure confidence.

    Lu Yin frowned. Where was Mu Shang¡¯s confidenceing from all of a sudden? Lu Yin had done no worse than Mu Shang in taking control of the tiger-shaped danger zone. And right now, on the entire game board, there was actually a slight bit more white star energy than ck star energy. This was almost entirely due to Lu Yin¡¯s greaterbat strength, as he had been able to avoid several spikes of the danger zone that had struck Mu Shang. If the game was halted at this point in time, Lu Yin would be the victor.

    The situation was clear to Lu Yin, and there was no way that Mu Shang could not see the same thing, so why was he so confident? Was Lu Yin missing something?

    He started to get a bit nervous.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan let out a breath. The game was over.

    Aside from Mu Shang and Grandmaster Gu Yan, no one else present could see the issue. Not even Grandmaster Qiu Ling or Skymender could see what was wrong.

    This was not because the sourcebox array that Mu Shang had set up was so advanced that other Array Grandmasters were unable to detect it. They would easily see it if the sourcebox array were exposed. The problem was that this particr sourcebox array was used within the game board of a game of Stable Zone, as a secondyer beneath the danger zone.

    Normally, sourcebox arrays were made with sourceboxes or star energy, but the sourcebox array that Gu Yan had created used the danger zones of the Stable Zone game board itself as an alternative source of energy. This was something so unique that Array Masters did not even consider such a possibility, and it was so questionable that many people might not even consider Gu Yan¡¯s creation to be a true sourcebox array. This trap designed for Stable Zone was called Hidden Corner. The sourcebox array would use a single strand of the danger zone as a guide. It was a simple premise, but it was a technique that no one could see through. It was a sourcebox array that had been created solely for winning Stable Zone.

    Once the sourcebox array was set up, as long as the capabilities of the two Array Masters were not too different, the Hidden Corner would inevitably lead one to victory.

    Mu Shang held his head up high. He had never had any intention of seizing control of the condensed danger zone that had taken on the form of a tiger. No, the Array Grandmaster¡¯s goal the entire time had been to utilize his Hidden Corner at the ideal moment. It was just a wisp of the game board¡¯s danger zone.

    As soon as Mu Shang stopped fighting for control, Lu Yin instantly seized control of the false tiger. However, at the same time, the rest of the danger zone that made up the game board started writhing about. It looked like living snakes were slithering about. Lu Yin noticed the change. He forgot all about controlling the tiger and tried to steal control of the more dangerous attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, as he found that it was impossible to control the snake-like movements. It felt as though he was up against the full force of the entire game board¡¯s danger zone. It was practically impossible to do anything against such a force.

    Lu Yin watched as the danger zone surrounded all the remaining white colored star energy. Any further movement from the danger zone would eliminate all the white pieces from the game. In other words, Lu Yin was facing defeat.

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Shang in surprise. Lu Yin hadpletely missed this attack. How had Mu Shang pulled it off? It instantly made sense that Mu Shang had abandoned his attempt to seize control of the tiger.

    "Surprised? You¡¯re still just a Realm Array Master, and you can¡¯tpare to an Array Grandmaster. Lu Xiaoxuan, you are truly too arrogant. No matter how impressive your cultivation aplishment are, or how startling yourbat power may be, lockbreaking is different," Mu Shang stated in an utterly confident tone.

    Nothing that had happened during the game up to this point in time mattered, not even the fact that Lu Yin had gained control of the tiger-shaped portion of the danger zone. All that mattered was that Mu Shang needed a mere thought to destroy thest bits of the white pieces from the game board. The game was as good as over.

    It had always been impossible for Mu Shang to lose, but Lu Yin''s performance had been too outstanding. That was the only reason why Mu Shang had used the Hidden Corner, as all of his other efforts had been inadequate to clinch him the victory.

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Shang for a moment. "You set this up to take ce from the very beginning of our game. This is a sourcebox array."

    Mu Shang smiled arrogantly as he looked at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s right. This is why I asked you if you wanted to challenge me in a different manner, but you were too conceited. That aspect of you hasn¡¯t changed from back then. You are still arrogant enough to believe that you can control everything. That arrogance became your undoing, just the same as the Lu family."

    Everyone present felt quite surprised at these words, as Mu Shang had never before revealed any dislike for the Lu family. However, this was also the man¡¯s first time directly facing Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin felt rather curious. "Do you hate my Lu family?"

    Mu Shang sneered. "I don¡¯t hate them. I feel nothing for them, as they have never had anything to do with me. It¡¯s their arrogance that I have always hated."

    Lu Yin replied, "It appears that you¡¯ve always hated me as well, but honestly, I don''t like you either."

 Chapter 2367: Past Letters

    <h4>Chapter 2367: Past Letters</h4>

    Mu Shang¡¯s eyes narrowed as his smile faded. "If you want to challenge me as a Realm Array Master, you still have a long way to go. Go back and work hard. The Lu family already paid the price for their arrogance, and you will too."

    In the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan heaved a sigh of relief.

    Wang Fan admiringly said, "As expected of the youngest Array Grandmaster in history. The game looked even the entire time, but it was nothing more than Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s delusion."

    Xia Shenji said, "He truly believed that he became invincible in the entire Perennial World because of that truce with us. He has no idea how far from the truth that is, and now he has to pay the price."

    Progenitor Long was also looking downwards. "Yes, it''s time for him to pay the price."

    At the entrance to the rear battlefield, Bai Hong held himself up proudly. "See? Just as I said, Grandmaster Mu wasn¡¯t struggling from beginning to end. He was simply helping to teach a junior. It¡¯s too bad that Lu Xiaoxuan is simply too arrogant. He could not see the difference between him and Grandmaster Mu until it was forced upon him. I¡¯ll tell you now¡ªan Array Grandmaster is not someone whom a Realm Array Master can hope to challenge. You had best remember that."

    Bai Hong was proud of his exnation andmentary on the game, but there was no hiding the fact that Mu Shang looked far more miserable than Lu Yin. Still, the final results were undeniable.

    Everyone stared at the game board. The match was about to end.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "I''m curious about one thing."

    Mu Shang and Lu Yin stared at each other. "Are you trying to stall? That¡¯s useless, as I can instantly end this game whenever I wish. Stalling does nothing to help you."

    Lu Yin replied, "I know that, but I just want to ask you something. You don''t merely dislike my Lu family, do you?"

    Mu Shang''s eyes flickered.

    "I don''t know why, but I''ve felt hatred for you the first moment Iid eyes on you." Lu Yin''s expression fell as he stared at Mu Shang. "It''s as if just the sight of you irritates me somehow. Did something happen to us?"

    Mu Shang¡¯s eyes red, and a cold flicker of light suddenly appeared in their depths.

    "Don''t you think that defeating me after I recover my memories will feel far more satisfying?" Lu Yin challenged yet again.

    Mu Shang''s expression twisted. "While I agree, unfortunately, you haven''t recovered your memories."

    "Did I do something to you?" Lu Yin asked in a loud voice.

    Mu Shang shouted angrily, "Apologize after you recover your memories!"

    Just as the man was about to destroy thest bit of the white star energy, Lu Yin suddenly raised a hand. A gust of wind swept out, triggering an unremarkable bit of the danger zone in a random corner of the game board.

    It was apletely inconspicuous location that no one had touched from the very beginning of the game. However, the moment Lu Yin¡¯s gust of wind struck that area, the danger zone that had been manipted to surround the white star energy was instantly scattered without any resistance and then destroyed. Much of the white color disappeared as well, but a small bit remained.

    Mu Shang was shocked. This waspletely impossible.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. Without any warning, he controlled the tiger-shaped portion of the danger zone, and the false creature charged at Mu Shang. As it passed, all the ck star energy was destroyed. It arrived in front of Mu Shang and then mmed into the man.

    Mu Shang did not even react as the condensed danger zone mmed into him. After the man was struck, the tiger shape copsed and transformed into countless sheets formed from the game board¡¯s danger zone, and they rained down upon Mu Shang. Most of the sheets struck the man, knocking him out of the game board. The Array Grandmaster spat out blood as he flew through the air and mmed into the ground far away.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan instantly took action, and the eight Boundless Advanced sourceboxes that had been used to create the game board were separated with a speed that startled Lu Yin. He had intended to separate the sourceboxes so that the danger zones would no longer ovep, but Grandmaster Gu Yan hadpleted the task instantaneously.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was shocked by the demonstration of Gu Yan''s abilities.

    If it was said that Lu Yin had reached the same level ofpetence in lockbreaking as Mu Shang or Grandmaster Qiu Ling, then Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s demonstration had just revealed that the old man was on an entirely different level from the other Array Grandmasters.

    Lu Yin stared at Grandmaster Gu Yan, and after the sourceboxes were fully separated, the old man also turned to stare at Lu Yin. Gu Yan¡¯s expression was no longer indifferent, but instead revealed both excitement and confusion. "How did you manipte that bit of the danger zone?"

    Mu Shang had been defeated. It was a result that no one had anticipated.

    Lockbreaking was apletely different thing than cultivation. Before Lu Yin had abruptly defeated Mu Shang, regardless of how impressive his cultivation orbat power, no one had believed him capable ofparing to an Array Grandmaster in lockbreaking.

    Even if Lu Yin could defeat Xia Shenji or the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, it was only an indication of hisbat power. It had absolutely nothing to do with his lockbreaking abilities.

    At this moment, everyone was lost and dazed. They had just watched Mu Shang vomit blood and be sent spinning through the air. A Realm Array Master had just defeated an Array Grandmaster. This was a first in history.

    When Gu Yan had been a Realm Array Master, he had challenged Array Grandmasters to games of Stable Zone, and he had even managed to force some games to a draw. That achievement hadid the foundation for the man¡¯s future reputation as the greatest Array Grandmaster in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin had just defeated an Array Grandmaster as a Realm Array Master. What did that indicate for Lu Yin¡¯s future?

    While others simply saw a Realm Array Master defeating an Array Grandmaster, Grandmaster Qiu Ling was far more stunned by the results of the game, despite not knowing that Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s Hidden Corner sourcebox array that had been used. She had yed Stable Zone against Gu Yan before, but the old man had not needed to use Hidden Corner to defeat Qiu Ling. However, Qiu Ling had heard rumors of the unique sourcebox array, and she had even happened to discover that Mu Shang had learned the sourcebox array as well.

    When Qiu Ling had yed Stable Zone against Mu Shang, she had wanted to see the sourcebox array, but their game had never finished, due to an unforeseen interruption. During the match between Lu Yin and Mu Shang, she had watched the hidden sourcebox array instantly create an opening for a victory. It was like seeing someone seize their enemy by the neck. Victory was literally in hand in such a situation, and yet Mu Shang had still been defeated.

    Had Lu Xiaoxuan managed to find a w in the hidden sourcebox array?

    Qiu Ling stared at Lu Yin. How had he managed to win?

    This was the same question that Grandmaster Gu Yan could not find an answer to. He was still staring at Lu Yin. "How did you find the sourcebox array that was hidden within the danger zone?"

    How did he find it? Lu Yin looked over at Mu Shang. The man was still lying on the ground in the distance, badly wounded. Lu Yin looked away from his defeated opponent and turned to face Grandmaster Gu Yan. There was an odd expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "I just found it like that."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan slowly approached Lu Yin one step at a time. Wariness entered Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as the old man softly stated. "That¡¯s impossible. Let alone you, a Realm Array Master, even an Array Grandmaster could never find that sourcebox array given how it was hidden. For you to have managed to manipte that strand of the danger zone as you did, you also know that sourcebox array, don¡¯t you? You¡¯ve already learned it."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why would you say that, Grandmaster?"

    "Because I¡¯m the one who created that sourcebox array," Grandmaster Gu Yan carefully enunciated.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You created it? Wait, what''s your connection to Gu Yue?"

    Lu Yin had only been able to find the strand of the sourcebox array hidden in the danger zone of the game board because of Gu Yue''s journal.

    Gu Yue had been a powerhouse who had been buried on the Shenwu Continent. He had possessed a power level of over a million, and he had also been a Lockbreaker. He had set up the sourcebox array that used the five-sized sourceboxes that protected the Shenwu Continent, which had made it very difficult for the rest of the universe to even find the Shenwu Continent. Even when people knew where the ce was, they needed to force their way through the sourcebox array, and only after all of that would they be able to reach the continent hidden in a pocket dimension.

    Whether it was because setting up the sourcebox array had taken too long, or because Gu Yue had not wanted to seal the Shenwu Continent awaypletely, the protective sourcebox array was not overly powerful.

    Despite the strength of the sourcebox array, the size of the five-sized sourceboxes still shocked Lu Yin. In the past, he had not been able to understand how anyone could have set up a sourcebox array with such enormous sourceboxes, but he had sincee to understand things a bit better: Gu Yue had to have been a Realm Array Master, or even an Array Grandmaster.

    If the man had been an Array Grandmaster, then he had been a genius on the same level as Mu Shang, and he had even sessfully reached such a level before bing a Semi-Progenitor, or even a peak Envoy. However, it was indeed possible that Gu Yue had be an Array Grandmaster when he had been older than Mu Shang.

    Lu Yin had spent a great deal of time studying Gu Yue¡¯s journal and using it as an aid in his lockbreaking journey. The moment Mu Shang activated the Hidden Corner sourcebox array to finish the game, Lu Yin had suddenly remembered that the sourcebox array had also been mentioned in Gu Yue''s journal. Unfortunately, the information in the journal had been iplete. For that reason, Lu Yin had deliberately started a conversation to stall Mu Shang while Lu Yin thought back about what had been mentioned about the hidden sourcebox array. Then, he quickly tried to find some opening that could be exploited against it.

    He had been lucky and had found an opening.

    If Gu Yue had never seen the Hidden Corner sourcebox array and mentioned it in his journal, Lu Yin would have never been able to find the opening, and he definitely would have lost.

    Lu Yin had actually believed that many Array Masters were familiar with the Hidden Corner sourcebox array, but from Gu Yan''s reaction, that did not seem to be the case.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan grew even more excited when he heard Lu Yin mention Gu Yue. "Where is Gu Yue? He¡¯s my apprentice."

    Lu Yin stared at Grandmaster Gu Yan in a daze. Gu Yan, Gu Yue¡­ Really??"He died long ago and is buried in my Fifth Maind."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s body swayed and fell. He had always shown himself to be a money-grubber, but an otherwise inconspicuous man. However, at this moment, Gu Yan looked like nothing more than an old man who had lost a loved one.

    Xiao Cui quickly helped the old man back up.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan looked heartbroken. "I had already guessed he was dead. If he was still alive, why would he note to see me? So it turns out that he died."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, my condolences."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he pulled out Gu Yue''s journal and offered it to Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    The old man stared nkly at the journal before taking it and looking through it. His hands trembled as he did so.

    Gu Yue''s journal was iplete and missing parts. Lu Yin had not looked at it since he had be a Realm Array Master, but he had memorized the entire journal long ago, so there was no need for him to hang on to the book. It seemed proper to offer the journal to Grandmaster Gu Yan.

    Lu Yin never even considered the possibility that Grandmaster Gu Yan would be lying. What could the old man gain by lying about Gu Yue, a powerhouse who had died so long ago? There was nothing in Gu Yue¡¯s journal that would benefit the Perennial World¡¯s greatest Array Grandmaster.

    By this time, many people had surrounded Mu Shang, and someone helped him up. Unfortunately, the man¡¯s injuries were severe, and he kept coughing up more blood.

    No one said a word, though they all stared at Lu Yin in confusion. How had a Realm Array Master managed to defeat an Array Grandmaster in a game of Stable Zone? It should have been impossible.

    Xia Ziheng clenched his fists. Lu Xiaoxuan had done it yet again. The youth kept creating one miracle after another. First, he had attacked and escaped from Shenwu''s Sky. Then, he had escaped from Progenitor Shenji himself! He had forced two Progenitors to retreat from the Forsaken Land, though Xia Ziheng had no idea how he had aplished that. Lu Xiaoxuan had even managed to somehow force the four ruling powers to agree to a truce with him. Every single aplishment was unbelievable and should have been impossible, but Lu Xiaoxuan had created every single one of those miracles on his own.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was undoubtedly the most dazzling star within the entire Fifth Maind. His very existence seemed like a miracle. Could the Lu family truly be destined to rule over the Fifth Maind?

    Even Kui Luo remained silent. He had already guessed that Lu Yin might win, but that was only because Kui Luo knew that Lu Yin never did anything without being confident of victory. Still, Kui Luo found this victory particrly unbelievable.

    No one else heard the conversation that had taken ce between Lu Yin and Grandmaster Gu Yan, or else their surprise would have been diminished.

    If Mu Shang had not tried to win by using the Hidden Corner sourcebox array, and Lu Yin had not happened to find a solution to the sourcebox array, then the oue of the game would not have been certain at all.

    Lu Yin was not confident that he could have seized control of the tiger-shaped portion of the danger zone before Mu Shang. So, he could only say that he had been destined to win.

    Mu Shang was unwilling to even look at Lu Yin. The Array Grandmaster could not understand why he had lost. Was Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking talent so high that he was capable of understanding a sourcebox array with just a nce? That was also impossible. If Lu Yin was really so capable, Mu Shang would have lost far sooner.

    Up in the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors looked down in silence. Mu Shang had lost. He had actually been defeated.

    Bai Wangyuan suddenly realized that he was not overly surprised by the oue. Was it because Lu Xiaoxuan had already created too many miracles?

    Progenitor Smoke looked down with a bright smile on her face. She felt as if she could see Hui Wen¡¯s resemnce as she looked at Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2368: One Palm

    <h4>Chapter 2368: One Palm</h4>

    At the entrance to the rear battlefield, Lu Yin stored his sourceboxes and looked over at Mu Shang. "Satisfied?"

    Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin, only able to stand with the help of others. "You know the Hidden Corner."

    Lu Yin showed a cold and arrogant attitude. "Not convinced of your loss? If I beat you once, I can beat you a second time, as well as a third. I¡¯ll give you some time to recover, and then I¡¯ll go find you after I officially be an Array Grandmaster."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan and everyone else passed by as they prepared to leave.

    Mu Shang''s expression was hideous. Lu Yin''s attitude of superiority was as if he were a wealthy man giving alms to a beggar. There was no exnation, but the same scene had yed out. In the past, a young man who looked exactly like Lu Yin had stood above Mu Shang, smiling down at him in this exact same manner.

    Puff!

    The man spat out another mouthful of blood. Mu Shang was so weak that he nearly lost consciousness.

    Lu Yin was taken aback by the blood. After all, he had only spoken some words to the wounded man. Could Mu Shang¡¯s injuries be that serious?

    "Hey, why can I see that from here?" A surprised voice called out, and one by one, everyone turned to look up. They soon saw something inexplicable.

    A red had appeared in what was originally a dark sky. This was bright and dazzling red.

    Lu Yin looked up as well, and he frowned at the site. Was that Ominion?

    Lu Yin had once Possessed a man named Thyssen. Thyssen had been a powerhouse on Ominion and was a protector of Ominion Temple. The red that Lu Yin was looking at was clearly Ominion.

    Ominion was one of the sevens in the Outer Realm, and it should not be visible from the rear battlefield. On top of that, even if it could be seen, everyone should have been able to see the long before now. Did this mean that the had suddenly appeared?

    As he was considering the situation, the jiao suddenly straightened up and stared at Ominion with an unprecedented solemn reaction.

    Lu Yin stared at the red. There was also a ck dot approaching, moving closer and closer. It was traveling through outer space with a speed that sent ripples through the void before tearing it open. What was that? A Champions¡¯ Stage?

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted to pinpricks as he stared at the approaching object. That really was a Champions¡¯ Stage!

    Grandmaster Gu Yan, Kui Luo, the God of Food, and everyone else looked up and saw the approaching ck dot, and they also recognized the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage was a symbol of the Lu family, so no one had expected to see such a thing suddenly appear.

    Lu Yin was stunned and confused by the appearance of the Champions¡¯ Stage. Who did it belong to? Was there someone else from the Lu family who was still around?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a powerful sense of danger. It was so strong that it was almost painful, and a fierce chill climbed up his back. He instinctively wanted to escape as the killing intent directed towards him was powerful beyond any he had ever sensed.

    Before Lu Yin had any time to think, he tried to erase a portion of the Champions¡¯ Stage¡¯s power with the runes from Lu Jian¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage, only to be instantly suppressed. A champion appeared from the approaching Champions¡¯ Stage, and at that moment, the entire rear battlefield seemed to freeze. The violent, oppressive surge of a Progenitor¡¯s power swept through the area; humans, corpse kings, and astral beasts all froze in ce as the power that felt like a bloodthirsty hell pressed down on them. People felt like they were being both driven insane and suffocated at the same time.

    There was a violence inherent in the aura that had appeared, and its arrival seemed to trigger the darkest shadows within each individual¡¯s heart. Countless people¡¯s eyes turned a deep red.

    Lu Yin stared at the approaching Champions'' Stage as the sudden pressure crashed down on him. He waspletely unable to move. While Lu Yin had previously dealt with the pressure of other Progenitors, he had always made preparations to face Xia Shenji and the other Progenitors that he had confronted. Meanwhile, this Progenitor had released a surprise attack.

    A soft roar was heard from the side as the jiao reacted, but the sound of Lu Yin¡¯s own heartbeat filled his mind. He felt like he was looking at a pair of insane eyes that were peering at him through the approaching Champions'' Stage.

    These were familiar eyes. Lu Yin had seen them while traveling through time and space. These were Nutjob Lu¡¯s eyes.

    From the moment that Ominion appeared, to the sudden pressure released by the Champions¡¯ Stage, only a single moment had passed. Not even Mu Xie in the Dominion Realm had had a chance to react. The Champions¡¯ Stage was falling onto Lu Yin, but Lu Yin waspletely unable to react due to the unbearable pressure that restricted him.

    At this moment, no one could help him. While he still had the seemingly invincible corpse and the slipper, they were both in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring, and he was unable to move.

    This moment was a pre-nned surprise attack that had been prepared long ago by someone who did not intend to give Lu Yin any chance to defend himself.

    The man looked down. His madness drove his bloodlust. All members of the Lu family had to die!

    Everyone watching was certain that Lu Yin was about to die. Even Lu Yin himself felt as though he was already dead. Once the Champions¡¯ Stage fell, there would not even be any bones left, which meant that even his Arcane Art¡ªFatal Revival would be useless.

    Suddenly, the void opened up in front of Lu Yin, and a hand stretched out from empty space. It pped the Champions¡¯ Stage back and erased the pressure that had covered the entire area. The Champions¡¯ Stage was forced back.

    Everything happened in less than a second, and the hand vanished the moment the Champions¡¯ Stage was pushed back. In that instance, Lu Yin could only make out the scars and wounds thatpletely covered the back of the hand. ¡°Is it worth it?¡±

    However, Lu Yin had no idea if he had misheard.

    He wanted to see who the hand belonged to, but the fractured space had already recovered, and everything in sight appeared normal. The only anomaly was a hint of a streak of gray, which was the power of time.

    Lu Yin noticed the gray and recognized the power of time. Had Senior Brother Mu Xie saved him?

    At this time, a glowing ?ar¨©ra appeared above the rear battlefield before Mu Xie himself appeared. He looked up at the red. "I won¡¯t stand aside if you attack again."

    There was no answer from Ominion. Then, the red disappeared as though it had been summoned away.

    Only after Ominion left did people let out sighs of relief. The tyrannical power that had suddenly appeared and started driving people insane had made everyone feel as though they could not control themselves. Even the Semi-Progenitors had been strongly affected.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan stared out at the Outer Realm for a long moment. The power of that Progenitor had been utterly terrifying. If not for the fact that it had clearlye from that in the Outer Realm, Gu Yan would have assumed that one of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitors hadunched an attack.

    Kui Luo hurried over to Lu Yin''s side. "Kid, are you all right?"

    Lu Yin nodded, but he continued staring upwards into the Outer Realm until Mu Xie descended andnded on the ground next to him.

    Everyone bowed as one. "We greet Commander Mu Xie."

    "We greet Commander Mu Xie."

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin, the older man¡¯s expression extremely solemn. "Are you all right?"

    Lu Yin nodded again. "If you hadn¡¯t stepped in then, I really would have died this time, Senior Brother."

    Mu Xie softly replied, "I never did anything."

    Lu Yin felt quite confused. "You weren¡¯t the one who pushed the Champions¡¯ Stage away, Senior Brother?"

    Everyone listening was terrified by the conversation that they were hearing. Senior brother? Was Commander Mu Xie Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s senior brother?

    Only a few people were privy to this information, as it was impossible for the four ruling powers to spread information that showed Lu Yin in a positive light. They were hoping to convince everyone that Lu Yin was just being used as bait to lure out thest few surviving vassals of the exiled Lu family, just as Qiao Er had assumed.

    Mu Xie shook his head. "That wasn¡¯t me."

    Learning that Mu Xie was not the owner of the hand that had appeared was quite shocking to Lu Yin. Who had saved him? The gray wisp that Lu Yin had seen had clearly been the power of time, and when considering all the Progenitors that Lu Yin was familiar with, only Xia Shenji and Mu Xie possessed the power of time. However, even if another Progenitor had kept the fact that they could control the power of time a secret, none of them would have-

    Wait, if the power of time was involved, then could the hand havee from another moment in time? If that was possible, then could that hand havee from someone in the past, or even possibly, the future?

    "Do you know who attacked you just now?" Mu Xie asked.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Return to the Fifth Maind. Nutjob Lu won''t stop pursuing you. He¡¯s truly insane," Mu Xie stated solemnly.

    Mu Xie was confident in putting pressure on the four ruling powers into behaving and following the truce, but that was because the four ruling powers had various things that they cared about. The more things that were considered important, the easier it was for people to use them as leverage. However, Nutjob Lu was different. The man was insane, and it was impossible to reason with a madman.

    Lu Yin nced over at Xia Ziheng and the other people from the four ruling powers. Why had Nutjob Lu known where he was going to be? He had to have been told by the four ruling powers, and the most likely culprit was Xia Shenji.

    Using a borrowed knife to kill someone. Lu Yin realized that he had been careless. He had believed himself to be safe with both Lu Jian¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage and the jiao protecting him. However, there were other powerful Progenitors in the universe who were not part of the four ruling powers, and there was nothing stopping those powerhouses from attacking Lu Yin.

    Of course, Lu Yin¡¯s means of protection were by no means negligible, even to Progenitors. Aside from Nutjob Lu, it would be difficult for other Progenitors to force Lu Yin into such dire straits. The biggest reason why Lu Yin had been in such grave danger was because he had been confused by the appearance of a Champions¡¯ Stage. If not for that, he would have had enough time to react to the attack, but his shock had slowed his reactions.

    Who would have thought that the thing that had nearly killed Lu Yin would be something that he was incredibly familiar with.

    "Don''t worry, Senior Brother. He won''t get another chance," Lu Yin stated sharply.

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin. "I don''t know what Nutjob Lu is capable of doing. He was willing to betray the Lu family, which proves that there is nothing he won¡¯t do. It would be best for you to return."

    ].

    The man then left, returning to the Dominion Realm. Ultimately, he had not inquired into who had saved Lu Yin. Lu Yin had assumed that Mu Xie had saved him, which was proof that Lu Yin himself had no idea who might have saved him. On top of that, Mu Xie himself had not been able to notice anything, which was quite intriguing.

    Lu Yin knew that Mu Xie was right. The safest option would be for him to return to the Fifth Maind, but he still had to do some things in the Perennial World. Furthermore, it seemed that the four ruling powers were unaware that Nutjob Lu had clearly colluded with Aeternus. How else could they ever allow a traitor to control Ominion? Nutjob Lu, Ominion¡­ He should be Progenitor Ominion.

    The burst of bloodlust had ruined everyone¡¯s moods.

    Lu Yin¡¯s death was something that many people would celebrate, but people also considered their own safety. If even Lu Yin, who was someone who could fight against Progenitors, had nearly been killed by that sudden attack, then who among them could have survived?

    It had be clear that others controlled their lives.

    While people had always known that Progenitors could decide the lives and deaths of everyone beneath them, it was a distant sort of knowledge. After all, none of them had ever been targeted by a Progenitor before. But just now, they had felt the unmatched power of a Progenitor be directed towards them.

    Even Semi-Progenitors like Xia Ziheng and Wu Yao werepletely terrified by what they had just experienced.

    Mu Xie returned to the Dominion Realm, but he did not seek out Bai Wangyuan or anyone else from the four ruling powers. Mu Xie also suspected that one of the four Progenitors had given Nutjob Lu a message. After all, since Nutjob Lu was known for always being in seclusion, there was no way for him to have known anything at all about Lu Yin¡¯s existence.

    As far as Bai Wangyuan and the others were concerned, they had done nothing wrong. Nutjob Lu had been the one to attack, not the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors. However, everyone knew that the four ruling powers wanted Lu Yin dead.

    Elsewhere in the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan finally looked away. He appeared rather uncertain. "Someone saved Lu Xiaoxuan by forcing back Nutjob Lu¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. Who was that?"

    "Mu Xie? No, he never reacted," Wang Fanmented softly.

    Xia Shenji asked, "If even Mu Xie, who is constantly paying attention to the rear battlefield, was unable to react in time, then who could have saved Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Progenitor Long interjected, "Don''t forget that those three men also have a master."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "They were just trying to intimidate us. If they really did all share the same master, then we would have to know the person, even if they were someone from the Heavens Sect era."

    Wang Fan shook his head. "That¡¯s not necessarily true. Given the talent that those three possess, we have assumed that their master would be a simr genius, but what if their master is just an ordinary Progenitor? For example, that E Chi who Lu Xiaoxuan can summon. He was a Progenitor before any of us rose to fame, and back then, it would not have been impossible for someone like E Chi to have epted us as disciples. After all, a Progenitor is still a Progenitor to those weaker than them, even if E Chi is nothing but trashpared to us now."

    "Are you saying that their master might be an ordinary Progenitor who never became famous, and who is also not from our generation? Even if he¡¯s much older than us, is it possible for us to have never met such a person?" Bai Wangyuan asked.

 Chapter 2369: Wielder - Indestructible

    <h4>Chapter 2369: Wielder - Indestructible</h4>

    After hearing Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan''s thoughts, Xia Shenji spoke up. "That¡¯s possible. Why would their master have not shown themselves this entire time? If they are someone with a simr level of strength to E Chi, then they would not be able topare to us at all."

    "That¡¯s indeed possible. Although, it is also possible that Mu Xie and the other two simply invented a shared master to sow confusion. Don''t forget about Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s greatest skill," Progenitor Long said.

    Ugly expressions appeared on the other three men¡¯s faces. What was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s greatest skill? Tricks, lies, and false intimidation. If not for that, they would have never been forced to make a deal with him.

    "Unfortunately, we only had this one chance. Another attempt in this same manner will never seed, as Lu Xiaoxuan will be far more cautious from now on." Wang Fan sighed.

    ].

    Bai Wangyuan shrugged. He genuinely had no idea what to even say. How were they having so much trouble with a three-tribtion junior?

    The failed attack created multipleplications for many people, including even Lu Yin. Despite his vignce towards the powers of the Perennial World, he hade to realize his own weaknesses.

    Lu Yin undeniably had many tools that could be used against enemy Progenitors, and while he might not be able to actually defeat a Progenitor, it should not be too difficult for him to keep himself alive, or at least stall for some time. However, all of Lu Yin¡¯s methods required him to be able to react. If he could not react in time, or if he simply failed to respond to an attack, he would be in grave danger.

    For a Progenitor to lower themselves tounch a sneak attack was about the most they would go. No one would be bold enough to im that they could calmly handle a sneak attack from a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin knew that he was far from the level of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but he still did not want to leave the Perennial World. There were still many things that he was waiting on in the Perennial World, such as the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives had hidden, the various surviving vassals of the Lu family, the fourth array base, and Food Paradise. He needed to find a way to regain his confidence despite being targeted by a Progenitor.

    Power vessels and equipment could certainly be useful, but they also had too many limitations. The best option would be for Lu Yin to improve his own strength.

    Ideally, he wanted to raise his defenses to a level where not even a Progenitor could instantly kill him with a single attack.

    This was a dream that only Lu Yin would dare to consider. Not even a normal Semi-Progenitor would ever think that they could improve themself until they were able to withstand an attack from a Progenitor. Lu Yin could already single-handedly fight against four Semi-Progenitors. In fact, his realbat power was already quite high, so he was qualified to think so.

    There was only one way in which Lu Yin could attempt such a thing: battle force.

    Who was better qualified than Hen Xin when it came to the mastering and improving the human body? The Third Maind¡¯s ancient Dao Monarch had been famous for creating ways to improve the power of the human body, and he had even created battle force, domains, and spiritual force as means for humans to further their potential. Simr to Wu Tian, Gu Yizhi had been known for teaching others. His teachings had been known to let powerhouses cross realms and challenge Progenitors. Aside from the powers created by the ancient Dao Monarch, Lu Yin could not think of any other means that would strengthen himself to the standard he desired.

    He returned straight to the fourth array base to speak with Hen Xin.

    People from both the Nong and Liu families wanted to speak with Lu Yin, but they were all blocked by the four ruling powers'' people, either intentionally or unintentionally.

    Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back as the young man left. Would he really return for him after officially bing an Array Grandmaster? Mu Shang could only wait to find out. He refused to believe that Lu Xiaoxuan could surpass him.

    The Progenitor¡¯s surprise attack had caused everyone to forget about Mu Shang''s disastrous defeat, but the results of the challenge would still certainly spread out. Lu Yin¡¯s victory was guaranteed to shake the entire Perennial World yet again.

    Despite not yet officially bing an Array Grandmaster, many people had started thinking of Lu Yin as a quasi-Array Grandmaster. His lockbreaking abilities were widely regarded as quite possibly being on the same level as Mu Shang¡¯s, though a single game of Stable Zone was not enough to prove Lu Yin was truly at the Array Grandmaster level. The deciding factor in bing an Array Grandmaster was creating an original sourcebox array. This was a requirement that existed in both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s original intention had been to officially be an Array Grandmaster as soon as possible, but the surprise attack had changed his priorities. Increasing his personal strength had be his most important goal for the moment.

    The jiao let out a loud roar as itnded on the fourth array base, which only made Lu Yin stomp on it from atop of the beast. "You¡¯re so useless! All you did was sit there and watch as I was attacked! Why should I even want you?"

    The jiao felt quite offended, and its ws drooped while its head hung low. It turned its huge eyes to stare at Lu Yin, clearly terribly confused.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Do you really think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going through your head? I¡¯ll tell you right now¡ªeven if I die, someone else will just take control of you. You may seem dense, but you sure have a lot of thoughts running through your head."

    He did not believe that the jiao had been unable to react earlier. It had clearly seen the Champions¡¯ Stage, and it had even noticed the even before Lu Yin. However, the beast had deliberately done nothing. While there was no guarantee that the jiao could have sessfully blocked the attack, it had simply watched from the side.

    Lu Yin was not actually angry with the jiao. The beast had been tamed after being beaten by the slipper, so it was only natural for it to want to betray Lu Yin. The jiao simply required further training.

    "Dao Chosen, what was that just now?" After Lu Yin returned to the fourth array base, Yao Di approached and asked about the pressure that they had all felt.

    Arch-Elder Zen also approached, and he quickly examined Lu Yin. "Are you all right?"

    Lu Yin solemnly answered. "A shameless old freak tried to assassinate me, but everything worked out all right. Where¡¯s Hen Xin?"

    "Further down the base," Yaod Di replied.

    Lu Yin walked over to the headquarters. "Send him over to see me."

    Yao Di and Arch-Elder Zen nced at each other. Neither were certain what Lu Yin wanted this time.

    Hen Xin soon arrived at the headquarters and met with Lu Yin. "Dao Chosen, were you looking for me?"

    Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin while thinking of how to word his request.

    While Hen Xin and the other ancient powerhouses technically belonged to the Heavens Sect and were even gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, that did not mean that they were loyal to Lu Yin himself. Whether Hen Xin would remain a part of the reestablished Heavens Sect was still open to debate, as well as whether he would try to pull Lu Yin down and rece him. No, Lu Yin was actuallypletely confident that Hen Xin would try to pull him down if the opportunity arose.

    Despite the man¡¯sck of loyalty, Lu Yin had noints. All that mattered was learning how to train his battle force so that it could reach the highest level possible.

    "You were taught by the Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi¡¯s research into battle force and domains remains the best throughout all of history. Given that my battle force has reached the level of aurelian force, can you tell me how to proceed further?" Lu Yin asked.

    When Lu Yin mentioned Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi, Hen Xin already had a guess as to what Lu Yin was going to ask, which meant the man had already expected such a request long ago.

    The moment Hen Xin had revealed the power of the purpleish-ck substance, many people had asked him about it over the years, hoping to learn its secret from him. However, not even the members of Team Resolution possessed the same ability, let alone anyone else.

    Hen Xin had alreadye up with a prepared answer for Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    "Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi¡¯s research into battle force and domains is indeed unmatched. From his studies, he found that there was a level of battle force above aurelian force, and he called it Wielder - Indestructible," Hen Xin replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes brightened. Of course, he had already learned of the Wielder realm, though it was a name that very few people in the current era had heard of before. It was a level of battle force that had been created by the Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi. The fact that Hen Xin was willing to share the name indicated that, even if he was going to try to deceive Lu Yin, most of what the gatemaster was about to say would be true.

    Lu Yin had never expected Hen Xin to obediently tell him the cultivating method to bring battle force to the next level.

    "Given my understanding of the man, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi should have never be the Skygod that he is today. The entire reason why he studied battle force and domains was to provide people with no innate gifts, resources, or background a way to catch up to those who were born with such things. That was also why my Team Resolution was created. The Third Maind had a level of respect for Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi that did not exist in the other Mainds with their Dao Monarchs. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi spread his knowledge of cultivation methods, and the knowledge of how to cultivate a domain provided countless untalented people with the opportunity to grow," Hen Xin said as he reminisced a bit.

    "I''m not the first person who was taught how to reach Wielder - Indestructible. Thousands of others were taught before me, but all of them failed. The lucky ones had their cultivationpletely destroyed, while the unlucky ones,¡± Hen Xin paused as his eyes locked onto Lu Yin before continuing, "Werepletely torn apart."

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked at Hen Xin. "Are you telling me that all of those people had mastered aurelian force?"

    "Yes. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi¡¯s teachings meant that many battle force experts appeared over the course of many years. His ultimate goal was to have those people reach the Wielder realm and arrive at the peak of battle force. Unfortunately, not one person ever seeded aside from me. Not one," Hen Xin stated.

    Lu Yin grew quite curious. He did not doubt Hen Xin¡¯s words. Even if the story sounded a bit exaggerated, it was likely entirely true. Lu Yin had previously asked Lu Buzheng and others from the Heavens Sect era about the purple-ck materialized version of battle force, but no one had known anything about it. Battle force had not been a very popr cultivation method.

    "How did you seed?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hen Xin smiled wryly. "If I told you that I was just lucky, would the Dao Chosen believe me?"

    "Yes," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    Hen Xin shrugged. If Lu Yin had paused for a bit before replying, Hen Xin might have believed him. However, seeing that Lu Yin had immediately answered yes, it was obvious he did not believe Hen Xin at all.

    "The thing is, cultivating battle force to the Wielder realm is something that relies on luck. It is a level that essentially integrates battle force and a person¡¯s physical body at the most fundamental level. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi even theorized that it might be possible that Wielder - Indestructible doesn¡¯t even require a person to have attained aurelian force, as long as their battle force can be fully integrated with their body.

    "For example, a Sentinel can achieve two or three lined battle force, at best, but if that same person manages to fuse their battle force with their body through some miracle, then they would also be able to reach the Wielder realm of battle force.

    "Rather than saying that Wielder - Indestructible is the pinnacle of cultivating battle force, it would be more urate to say that the Wielder realm opens up an alternate path of cultivating battle force. ording to what Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi said, Wielder - Indestructible is the true path to cultivating battle force, and it can even be considered the true path of human cultivation."

    This conjecture shocked Lu Yin. The true path of human cultivation? That sounded rather extreme. Did that suggest that anyone who did not cultivate battle force was essentially a false cultivator? How did this im not essentially invalidate the Origin Progenitor himself? After all, the Origin Progenitor had created the true universe and stellr energy, but the man had not cultivated battle force.

    Hen Xin observed Lu Yin''s reaction. "I know that you don¡¯t believe that, Dao Chosen, but I do. Compared to astral beasts¡ªno, evenpared to some mere animals with no cultivation at all, humans are simply born too weak. While we have been able to rely on ourbined efforts and intelligence to be masters of this universe, there is no denying that we are innately too weak. If we lose our cultivation, how could humanity ever hope to fight against powerful enemies?

    "Battle force is a power thates from within people, from their core. It is rooted in the essence of the human body. There is no need for any sort of external energy to improve one¡¯s battle force. Even if the Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe is depleted and empty, it is still possible to cultivate battle force and reach the Wielder realm. That level of battle force canpare to the greatest power that humans have ever achieved, but without relying on any outside influences. Battle force is something thates from the individual themselves."

 Chapter 2370: Trying

    <h4>Chapter 2370: Trying</h4>

    Truthfully, Hen Xin¡¯s words would not have had much of an impact on Lu Yin, if not for the fact that the Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe had beenpletely drained of all stellr energy. Given what had happened, Lu Yin found himself actually approving of Hen Xin''s words.

    Human beings should not need to rely on the outside world to cultivate and grow stronger. With battle force, even in extremely harsh environments, they could still cultivate and strive for the pinnacle.

    Hen Xin himself cultivated battle force, and he was also confident in bing a Progenitor. Even if he failed his breakthrough, the man would remain one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. The man¡¯s strength was not inferior to any of his peers, and in a ce like the Fifth Maind, where there was no stellr energy, Hen Xin¡¯s advantage was simply monstrous.

    "From what you¡¯re telling me, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi created something incredible that has benefited all of humanity throughout all of history," Lu Yinmented.

    Hen Xin¡¯s voice turned bitter. "I don''t know why Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi betrayed mankind. However, while it¡¯s true that the Dao Monarch wanted to find a cultivation path that any human being alive could follow, essentially a ¡®perfect¡¯ cultivation method, the path that he found proved too difficult. After my sess, the Dao Monarch found hundreds of thousands of volunteers who also cultivated battle force, all with the goal of merging battle force with their physical bodies. However, everyst volunteer failed. There was not one who was sessful.¡±

    "It¡¯s possible that this path is actually blocked and is something that humans can¡¯t ess."

    Lu Yin thought of a question. "From the Dao Monarch¡¯s spections, if a Sentinel who cultivates battle force manages to establish this fundamental merging of their body and their battle force, could they also reach the Wielder realm of battle force?"

    "Yes," Hen Xin confirmed. "That is exactly what the Dao Monarch believed to be true."

    "In that case, just how powerful would that Sentinel be?" Lu Yin continued.

    Hen Xin replied, "ording to the Dao Monarch''s spections, such a person would easily be able to defeat a Limiteer inbat. However, there¡¯s one thing that¡¯s undeniable: such a person would gain a body that¡¯s capable of surviving in outer space. In essence, their body would beparable to an Explorer¡¯s. Thus, even a Sentinel would be able to freely travel through outer space due to how their body would be transformed."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "If even a Sentinel could freely travel through outer space and cross realms to defeat Limiteers, it would erase humanity¡¯s fear of Aeternus, and we would truly be the masters of this universe. What a pity that this path seems to be too difficult to pursue."

    Hen Xin said nothing. His entire exnation to Lu Yin had been to convey the idea that if not for the unbelievable difficulty in reaching the Wielder realm of battle force, all the members of Team Resolution would have already achieved such a thing. Even if Hen Xin hid something from everyone else in the universe, he would not hide it from the other members of Team Resolution.

    Hen Xin had provided this exnation because he was worried that Lu Yin would not believe him. No one else would receive such a thorough exnation.

    "Alright, you''ve already told me about the origin, development, and future of the Wielder realm of battle force. Now, it''s time to tell me how to reach that level." Lu Yin rubbed his head as he spoke.

    Hen Xin nodded. "You need to be mentally prepared, Dao Chosen, but reaching the Wielder realm depends entirely on luck. It¡¯s no different from trying to find a needle in a haystack."

    Lu Yin understood why Hen Xin was trying to be so cautious, but since someone else had already seeded, it meant that Lu Yin was not entirely without hope. Even though there was only a slight chance that Hen Xin was lying, Lu Yin believed that he would be able to determine if that was the case.

    "Aurelian force!" Hen Xin roared.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went still as he fully released his battle force. Aurelian force surged out in every direction. The void started burning wherever Lu Yin¡¯s battle force touched; this was indeed aurelian force.

    The moment Lu Yin released his aurelian force, many people nearby turned to look in the direction of the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters as they sensed the oppressive and domineering power that had appeared. The invisible battle force created visible ripples as it spread out further and further. Eventually, it enveloped the entire fourth array base, but it still continued to spread.

    All of the corpse kings that were within range of the aurelian force were instantly crushed to nothingness.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time personally attacking the corpse kings attacking the fourth array base. There had even been an Envoy-level corpse king present that was ?capable of a red eyes Corpse King Transformation, but it had also been instantly crushed by the aurelian force.

    Yao Di and the other Semi-Progenitors all wondered why Lu Yin had suddenly taken action.

    Inside the headquarters, Hen Xin was amazed at the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s aurelian force. He surpassed both the range and power of every other member of Team Resolution. As of now, only Hen Xin remained Lu Yin¡¯s better when it came to battle force. Seeing this, Hen Xin understood how Lu Yin had been able to face four Semi-Progenitors on his own even without relying on any Progenitor items.

    What Hen Xin did not know was that Lu Yin''s aurelian force had experienced a breakthrough after he had gathered all the forces of the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin¡¯s aurelian force had been much, much weaker when he had fought against the four Semi-Progenitors in Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    "Bring it back. You don¡¯t need to spread it out so far," Hen Xin said.

    Lu Yin had just used his aurelian force to crush an entire wave of corpse kings, so he quickly retracted it to within the range of the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters before he drew the attention of Aeternus¡¯s Semi-Progenitors or even Progenitors.

    Hen Xin raised a hand, and the purple-ck substance appeared on his fingertips. It easily passed through Lu Yin¡¯s aurelian force without any resistance as Hen Xin touched Lu Yin''s wrist.

    Shock blossomed in the depths of Lu Yin''s eyes. This was Wielder - Indestructible, and it was able topletely ignore aurelian force. Against this power, aurelian force was like nothing but air. It was reasonable to call the Wielder realm of battle force the true path of human cultivation.

    "This is the method that the Dao Monarch used to help us long ago, and it¡¯s also the only method that I¡¯m familiar with. The idea is to use a single point as a guide with which to transform a person¡¯s aurelian force. If you can sessfully transform your aurelian force and manifest the substance that you see, that indicates sess," Hen Xin said. He then slowly backed away while staring at Lu Yin''s wrist.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw that a ck spot had appeared on his wrist. It was the substance that was formed from Wielder - Indestructible. It looked like materialized battle force, which was not an incorrect way of thinking about it. Much like the difference between a stone and air, while both were made of matter, a stone could easily pass through air with little resistance. In the same manner, regardless of how powerful a person¡¯s aurelian force was, it would be like nothing more than air to Wielder - Indestructible, which was more substantial, like a stone.

    "How am I supposed to transform it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hen Xin replied, "Don''t worry about that. That substance just needs to enter your body. Once that happens, you will know, as your aurelian force will start to automatically transform. In essence, once the process begins, you will understand the process. This is something that no one can help you with. If that were not the case, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi and I would not be the only ones to have ever learned Wielder - Indestructible. This will be very difficult for you."

    Lu Yin stared at his wrist, wondering if what Hen Xin was saying was true or not. At this point in time, Lu Yin had no idea how to go about transforming his aurelian force.

    As soon as that thought urred to him, an agonizing pain erupted from his wrist. It felt as though his wrist was being melted away. Lu Yin stared at it, but there was no visible damage to his wrist. The feeling was incredibly distinct and strong, and more than that, it felt as though the pain had been magnified ten times, or even a hundred times, as it was much more powerful than it should have been. The agony crept upwards, enveloping his entire arm, before moving onto his chest, torso, and finally, his head.

    At that instance, Lu Yin felt as though his brain was going to be torn apart or melted.

    Cultivators were ustomed to pain, and normally, pain would not affect a cultivator. For example, Lu Yin had literally died on several different asions. He was able to endure the pain of having his body torn apart, but the pain caused by the substance on his wrist felt as though he had transformed back into a normal person who was suffering in hell. He felt as though his body was being melted and destroyed over and over, and the pain was magnitudes worse than anything else he had ever experienced.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as a tremor ran through his body. Suddenly, the pain vanished, and at the same time, the ck spot disappeared from his wrist.

    Hen Xin was not surprised by the oue. "Failure."

    Lu Yin stared at his wrist for a moment and then looked up at Hen Xin. "What just happened?"

    Hen Xin had never made any attempt to attack Lu Yin. Furthermore, Hen Xin¡¯s strength was such that, even if he could kill Lu Yin, the gatemaster could not force Lu Yin to suffer such excruciating pain. The agony had been too profound, and even after it disappeared, Lu Yin was still struggling to catch his breath. He still felt as though he had reverted back to being a normal human.

    Hen Xin replied, "Regardless of how profound our cultivation bes, as long as we possess a body, that pain will exist. Not even a Progenitor has absolute control over their body. If their body dies, then so will they. This is how Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi exined this matter to me. He said that the Wielder realm of battle force is the true path of human cultivation, and it is the only path that can allow a person to truly master their body.¡±

    "Dao Chosen, you suffered a terrible amount of pain just now, correct? Given your level of cultivation, it should have been impossible for you to experience such agony, and yet you did. This is because you still possess a human body, and with this cultivation method, you can¡¯t remove your sense of pain. What you experienced originated from the most fundamental senses of your body, and it¡¯s an indication that we simply don''t understand our bodies well enough."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Speak clearly."

    Hen Xin replied, "In the Dao Monarch''s words, if a person can gain true control over themselves, they will never be able to be injured, as any wound would instantly heal. As long as even a chance to recover exists, such a person would be able to live forever and have control over every aspect of themselves. They would enjoy a life expectancy equal to that of the universe itself, which is something beyond the abilities of even Progenitors.¡±

    "A human body has too many separateponents, such as the individual cells. What the Dao Monarch meant was that, once a person can obtainplete and total control of their own body, then each individual cell will be the equivalent of an entire universe."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi was certainly ambitious."

    Hen Xin let out a breath. "Dao Chosen, you¡¯ve already tried, but unfortunately, you failed. Do you still want to keep trying? Unfortunately, I can assure you that, regardless of how many times you try, the results will be the same. The only chance you stand is to simply be lucky and reach the moment where the materialized battle force merges with your body. If that can¡¯t happen, then the transformation will never take ce. However, the odds of sess are simr to finding a needle in a haystack."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment and then smiled. "I already have a domain, so it should be easy to find a needle in a haystack."

    Hen Xin froze for a moment. Was that really how Lu Yin was interpreting things?

    "Let¡¯s keep going. I want to try again," Lu Yin said.

    Hen Xin shook his head. It was clear that Lu Yin did not believe that sess was impossible. "Your aurelian force."

    As soon as the gatemaster spoke, Lu Yin released his aurelian force again. Hen Xin stretched out a finger, and the same ck spot reappeared on Lu Yin''s wrist. Everything repeated in the same manner as before; Lu Yin was enveloped by a terrible pain that struck his very soul and made him feel as though his body was being melted and torn apart at the same time. The pain would not matter if it filled him, as itsted for no more than an instance, but the problem was that Lu Yin did not die. He was forced to endure the agony, for as long as he wanted to find a chance to reach Wielder - Indestructible.

    Failed.

    Again.

    Failed.

    Again.

    ¡­

    After repeating the process multiple times, Hen Xin was exhausted. Lu Yin''s face had been pale for a long time, and he was suffering, but he refused to give up.

    Hen Xin had already told Lu Yin that trying to break through in this manner was practically impossible. However, Lu Yin had only heard that the Wielder realm of battle force could open up the true path of human cultivation. He hadtched onto the idea that a mere Sentinel could potentially survive in outer space, as their body would be transformed by the process. He had heard that each cell could be an individual universe.

    All that Lu Yin had heard about Wielder - Indestructible had made him desire it more than ever.

    As Lu Yin continued with Hen Xin¡¯s method of reaching a breakthrough, Lu Yin was testing out his own ideas as well.

    During the Heavens Sect era, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had only attempted a single method to awaken the Wielder realm of battle force. But with time, things had changed. Lu Yin knew of a proper response to deal with such extreme pain: Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    If the pain was real, then Extremes Must Be Reversed could be used. After all, Progenitor Ku¡¯s technique had even proven itself effective on something as ethereal as the power of time.

    Lu Yin went through agony multiple times as he tried to find a way to use Extremes Must Be Reversed on the pain. He was certain that it was possible, so he experimented with the technique, testing things out. He was certain that Extremes Must Be Reversed was useful in this case.

 Chapter 2371: Different Paths Lead To The Same Destination

    <h4>Chapter 2371: Different Paths Lead To The Same Destination</h4>

    "I¡¯m going to try to use a battle technique now, so I need you to make sure that the ck substance is reced as soon as it disappears. It should never go away." Lu Yin said as he looked over at Hen Xin.

    The gatemaster was taken aback. "You want to keep going?"

    "That¡¯s right," Lu Yin said.

    Hen Xin grew solemn. "Consider this carefully. You¡¯ve already experienced that same pain many times now, so you should understand that, no matter what, that pain will never diminish. You will also never grow numb to it. There was someone in the past who asked the Dao Monarch to do exactly what you are asking me to do, and the attempt quickly caused his mind to break. He went mad, and not even the Dao Monarch was able to help the man recover."

    "How long did that person endure?"

    Hen Xin took a deep breath. "A day and a half."

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. "Someone endured that pain for a day and a half?"

    The pain was so intense that even Lu Yin struggled to deal with it. Even if his mind could endure, his body could not. He could not understand where the pain came from, or how the ancient Dao Monarch had discovered it. But if Lu Yin did not use Extremes Must Be Reversed, he knew that he would not be able to endure the pain for long.

    The fact that someone had endured such pain for an entire day and a half indicated that their willpower had been unbelievable.

    "Don¡¯t worry about me. Let¡¯s just get started. If I can¡¯t handle it, I¡¯ll just stop," Lu Yin stated. As soon as he finished speaking, his body started to dry out.

    Hen Xin had already spent more than twenty years in the Fifth Maind. During this time, he had learned about the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Daosource Sect era, including Progenitor Ku. The gatemaster had already seen Lu Yin use Extremes Must Be Reversed before, but every time the man saw the battle technique, he felt that it was truly miraculous.

    Anyone who became a Progenitor was among the most elite of humanity, and Progenitor Ku had clearly been an extraordinary Progenitor. He could be considered a freakish genius on par with people like Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor.

    Anyone who understood the capabilities of Extremes Must Be Reversed would realize just how miraculous the technique was. It could even affect something like the power of time.

    Hen Xin watched as Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed. Was it possible that after so many attempts, Lu Yin had confirmed that this particr battle technique could be useful in his endeavor to reach the Wielder realm of battle force?

    Lu Yin released his aurelian force once again, and Hen Xin tapped Lu Yin with a finger, causing the ck spot to appear on Lu Yin''s wrist.

    Just like all the previous attempts, the same bone-aching pain appeared, and Lu Yin''s withered body started to slowly recover.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. What he was attempting was actually working! He reactivated the technique and continued enduring.

    The purple-ck substance quickly disappeared each time it appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s wrist, but each time, Hen Xin would tap Lu Yin¡¯s wrist as soon as it disappeared, preventing the substance from ever disappearing. In a simrly repeating cycle, Lu Yin¡¯s body kept recovering, drying up, and then recovering once again.

    An hour passed. Two hours. Half a day.

    Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin''s wrist, exhausted. Even after so long, Lu Yin still had not seeded. The gatemaster felt rather relieved, but also helpless. How long would Lu Yin remain stubborn for?

    After a full day passed, Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He knew that he could not have held on for so long without Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    He had the necessary willpower to endure the pain, but his body had only managed to endure thus far because of Extremes Must Be Reversed. The technique was the only reason why Lu Yin had been able to persevere until now.

    One day had passed, but Lu Yin still pushed ahead. The entire time, Hen Xin worked to ensure that there was a bit of the purple-ck substance constantly on Lu Yin¡¯s wrist.

    At first, Hen Xin had only needed to cover the very tip of his finger with the purple-ck substance, but as time passed, he had eventually needed to envelop his entire arm. After using it for so long, Hen Xin¡¯s amount of the substance had been significantly reduced.

    Hen Xin looked at his arm. If this was the state that he had been reduced to after a single day, he would not be able to endure for much longer.

    There was a limit to Extremes Must Be Reversed, but even though Lu Yin was suffering from excruciating pain, it was still iparable to thebined attacks that Lu Yin had suffered at the hands of the four Semi-Progenitors. Essentially, the attacks that Lu Yin had suffered in the past had increased the limits of what his Extremes Must Be Reversed could handle.

    Two days passed.

    Lu Yin found that it was indeed possible to counter the pain that he was using Extremes Must Be Reversed to endure.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to absorb attacks and then store their power to build up potential that could beter released. This was the method that Lu Yin had used to defeat the copy of Progenitor Chen that had appeared during his first stellr tribtion to be an Envoy, and it was also what Lu Yin had used to kill Semi-Progenitor Chai. At this moment, Lu Yin was absorbing the pain he was suffering, and he was even countering it with Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle technique was still revealing itself to be far more miraculous than Lu Yin had ever imagined. Not only was it able to influence the power of time and grant a person the ability to control that power, but it was also able to counter the unbearable pain that Lu Yin was currently suffering. He could not help but admire Progenitor Ku more and more as time passed.

    However, this was not the time for admiration.

    Since Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to counter the pain he was suffering, it meant that Lu Yin had the liberty to analyze his situation.

    Hen Xin watched as Lu Yin persisted for three days, four days, and then five days.

    The gatemaster had no words for what he was seeing, as he was acutely aware of the pain that Lu Yin was suffering. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had once said that even a Semi-Progenitor with the firmest willpower would not be able to endure for more than three days, and yet Lu Yin had already endured for five days.

    At this moment, Hen Xin desperately wanted to tell Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi that someone who could endure for five days had been found.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin had persisted for so long, Hen Xin had no idea whether Lu Yin would ever be able to acquire Wielder - Indestructible.

    Even if a person could find a needle in a haystack, it did not mean that they had the same chance of achieving the final breakthrough in their battle force. Truthfully, the chances of finding a needle in a haystack were far greater than achieving this particr breakthrough.

    Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had once said that if a person was able to endure for long enough, then they were guaranteed to achieve Wielder - Indestructible. But as for what amount of time was necessary, Hen Xin had no idea, and not even Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had known.

    Ten days. Even after a full ten days passed, Lu Yin continued to persist.

    However, Hen Xin could not. Even if he only needed to use a tiny speck of his manifested battle force each time, he had been doing so multiple times each day. After ten days, the purple-ck substance that covered Hen Xin¡¯s body had grown much, much thinner, and if not for Hen Xin¡¯s fear of Lu Yin, he would have stopped long ago, even at the risk of being attacked by doing so.

    Hen Xin truly admired Lu Yin for being able to endure such pain for ten full days. The Semi-Progenitor could not understand how Lu Yin was managing to do it. Had the young man perhaps already survived something that had tested the limits of his perseverance? That had to be it, as how else could such a young man be capable of during this much pain?

    Hen Xin¡¯s thoughts caused his admiration for Lu Yin to increase even further.

    In the past, Hen Xin had not felt any true admiration for the Progenitors or their power that he had seen. This was true when Lu Yin had used the power left behind by Progenitor Chen to overpower the entire Fifth Maind, and also when Lu Yin had defeated Xia Shenji and another Progenitor sent to kill him. Hen Xin had lived during the Heavens Sect era, and he had witnessed many true powerhouses whom the current Progenitors could notpare to at all. However, at this moment, Hen Xin felt genuine admiration for Lu Yin. He even felt that if Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi were present, he might also be impressed by what Lu Yin had endured.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors had stopped by the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters several times, as none of them knew what Lu Yin and Hen Xin were doing. Still, no one disturbed the two men.

    There was no worry for Lu Yin''s safety. Aside from Progenitors, who else was able to pose a threat to Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin had long since bepletely immersed in his continuous attempts to achieve the Wielder realm of battle force. It was true that Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to reduce the pain afflicting Lu Yin, but he was still suffering unspeakable agony. Enduring the pain for ten days had indeed strained Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    Hen Xin sighed. Thest of his purple-ck substance was about to disappear. His next touch would be thest of it. It would be utterly regrettable if his own strength was impacted by this.

    Suddenly, the Semi-Progenitor froze. He stared at Lu Yin''s wrist, dazed. The ck spot was not disappearing.

    Hen Xin thought that he had to be hallucinating. He had repeated the same thing over and over again these ten days, and he was very clear that the ck spot should have already disappeared, so why was he still seeing it?

    Unless¡­

    Hen Xin suddenly stared at Lu Yin in utter shock.

    At the same moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked at Hen Xin as a smile spread across his face. "Thank you. I¡¯ve seeded."

    Hen Xin was stunned by the sess. Such a simple statement caused Hen Xin¡¯s mind to instantly leap back in time to the Heavens Sect era. He remembered just how happy Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had been when Hen Xin had sessfully achieved Wielder - Indestructible, as the Dao Monarch had seen it as a sign that the cultivation method that he had created had been correct. At this moment, another person had finally seeded. "Really? You seeded?"

    Lu Yin nodded. All of his pain had already disappeared. The moment he seeded, all of his battle force had started transforming into the purple-ck materialized battle force that was indicative of the Wielder realm. The process would take a while, but Lu Yin had never feared time-consuming cultivation processes.

    Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin, his emotions in turmoil. Was he happy? Afraid? Something else? The Semi-Progenitor could not help but consider the possibility that Lu Yin had been gifted with all of humanity¡¯s luck, as he had actually sessfully reached the Wielder realm of battle force.

    "The way to fight with Wielder - Indestructible ispletely different from using aurelian force, right?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at the ck spot on his wrist.

    He had previously watched Hen Xin fight against Ancient God with Wielder - Indestructible, but because Hen Xin¡¯s opponent had been Ancient God, Lu Yin had not been able to see just how powerful the Wielder realm was. After all, Hen Xin had almost been killed by Ancient God.

    However, Lu Yin had also Possessed Hen Ye and seen many memories where Hen Xin had used Wielder - Indestructible. Every single instance had been closebat. Between Wielder - Indestructible and aurelian force, the former seemed to have a reduced range, but much, much greater destructive power.

    Hen Xin replied, "There are many ways to fight with Wielder - Indestructible, but the truth is that there¡¯s no difference in how it can be usedpared to regr battle force."

    "It doesn''t seem to have the same range as aurelian force," Lu Yin replied.

    Hen Xin shook his head. "Even if you face an opponent with aurelian force, it will mean nothing against your Wielder realm battle force. The range provides no advantage whatsoever."

    Lu Yin realized that this was quite urate after a moment¡¯s thought.

    "Besides, that is simply how I use my Wielder - Indestructible," Hen Xin continued, suddenly sounding nostalgic as a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.

    Lu Yin felt rather confused for a moment, but he quickly understood. "Does Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi use his Wielder realm battle force differently?"

    Hen Xin smiled wryly. "Of course. The Dao Monarch had already fully merged his materialized battle force with his body back then. While his Wielder - Indestructible still has a bit of texture, he no longer has the same purple-ck substance. Dao Chosen, you have already seen the power that the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas wield, and you have also experienced a Progenitor¡¯s world. A Progenitor¡¯s world is truly terrifying, and every Progenitor has one, just like how every Semi-Progenitor has an inner world. What we call a Progenitor¡¯s world is actually a region of space created by Progenitors. Such a space can have creatures, unique civilizations, religions, and more. The more stable the creations within the Progenitor¡¯s world, the stronger the Progenitor is."

    Lu Yin silently listened. While Progenitor Smoke had hinted a bit at this, she had not gone into any details, and Lu Yin also had not had any opportunity to speak with Senior Brother Mu Xie alone. Mister Mu had disappeared, and the entire Fifth Maind only had the Progenitor of Bloodlines left. However, the Progenitor of Bloodlines probably felt that Lu Yin already knew about this information, seeing as he could fight against Progenitors.

    Actually, there was one other option: Big Sis. However, Big Sis had probably forgotten to tell Lu Yin this.

    "When Xia Shenji went to the Fifth Maind, I could see that there were creatures that looked like they were formed from des within his Shenwu World. They were training, living, and worshiping. They are the source of Xia Shenji¡¯s power. There is no way to deal with such power, but Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi still believed that the Wielder realm of battle force is the true path of cultivation for humans. Can you guess why the Dao Monarch believed that?" Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin, his eyes zing as he asked this particr question.

    Lu Yin automatically replied, "Is it because the Wielder realm of battle force can also give birth to a Progenitor¡¯s world?"

    Hen Xin nodded.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. He had just made a guess based off of what Hen Xin had been saying earlier. It was only after Lu Yin finished speaking that his words actually registered in his mind and he understood the ridiculousness of such an idea.

    However, Hen Xin had actually nodded.

    How could such a thing be possible? Could a Progenitor¡¯s world really be created by battle force that reached the Wielder realm? A Progenitor¡¯s world was clearly the culmination of a Progenitor¡¯s energy and cultivation, which came from external sources, while battle force was an internal power. How could an internal power reach the same level?

    Was this really an example of reaching the same destination by a different path? Lu Yin had already guessed that once a given power rose to a threshold of strength, it could influence the river of time itself. Did this mean that a powerful enough person, even without the power of time, could still control time?

 Chapter 2372: Demonstration Of Loyalty

    <h4>Chapter 2372: Demonstration Of Loyalty</h4>

    "Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi¡¯s Wielder - Indestructible has at least reached the level of beingparable to a Progenitor¡¯s world. While it is somewhat different from a true Progenitor¡¯s world, it is by no means inferior. This is why the Dao Monarch was so convinced that Wielder - Indestructible is the true path forward for human cultivation. More importantly, when cultivating battle force, there is no need to open the three meridian points," Hen Xin stated solemnly.

    This was shocking information to Lu Yin. The Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, the man who had be the Seven Skygods¡¯ Ancient God, had actually created a cultivation method that allowed a person to create a Progenitor¡¯s world without opening their three meridian points. This achievement was in no way inferior to the Rune Progenitor¡¯s cultivation method, Progenitor Ku¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed, or Progenitor Chen¡¯s various achievements.

    Incredible people had lived during the Daosource Sect era, which was when the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had lived, as well as during the Heavens Sect era. The unique powers that they had created simply defied what the people of the current era believed to be possible.

    Lu Yin was indeed shocked by this revtion, but even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors would not be able to believe that someone could be a Progenitor without opening their three meridian points. And yet, Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had actually seeded in doing such a thing.

    "Wait, so you haven''t opened your three meridian points?" Lu Yin stared at Hen Xin in amazement.

    "I have."

    Lu Yin was taken aback.

    "While the Dao Monarch imed that it is possible to be a Progenitor with Wielder - Indestructible, he only ever attempted to prove that with a single individual, which was the person who persisted for a day and a half before eventually going mad. I can¡¯tpare to him, but in the end, he was not as lucky as me," Hen Xin said.

    Lu Yin has already achieved the Wielder realm of battle force, so Hen Xin shared a great deal of additional information with him. If Lu Yin had failed, Hen Xin would not have said anything at all.

    It was only at this time that Lu Yin understood why Hen Xin was so confident that he would eventually be a Progenitor: Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had paved the way.

    But could it really be that easy? Lu Yin believed so. Even though he had managed to reach Wielder - Indestructible, it would not be easy to improve it until it became as powerful as a Progenitor¡¯s world. On top of that, even if the power of Lu Yin¡¯s Wielder-realm battle force reached the same level as a Progenitor¡¯s world, would he actually be a Progenitor?

    Hen Xin watched silently as he saw Lu Yin digest the information that he had just been told. The gatemaster had spoken with the hope of causing Lu Yin to be wary of the Semi-Progenitor, but he already knew that such a thing was highly unlikely. Rather, it was more likely that Lu Yin wanted to understand the path that led to the Progenitor realm since he had reached the Wielder realm himself, and only Hen Xin could provide that information.

    Since Lu Yin had sessfully attained Wielder - Indestructible, Hen Xin¡¯s greatest fear at the moment was that he would be considered useless, or worse, that Lu Yin would feel fear towards Hen Xin. However, Hen Xin¡¯s fears were quickly proven wrong.

    Lu Yin genuinely wanted someone to help him find the path forward, and he had never considered acting against Hen Xin. Lu Yin would not eliminate a Semi-Progenitor just out of personal fear.

    Hen Xin left. He had already said everything that needed to be said, and Lu Yin would need a great deal of time for his aurelian force topletely transform into the purple-ck substance that was Wielder - Indestructible.

    After Hen Xin left, Lu Yin lifted a hand. He watched as his die spun after he tapped it. It slowly came to a stop. Five pips: Gift Copy.

    Lu Yin instantly disappeared, and he quickly arrived just outside of the array base¡¯s headquarters. Hen Xin had not gone far, as he had been thinking about many things as he moved along. His thoughts were disrupted by a hand suddenlynding on his shoulder, startling the man. Hen Xin reflexively attacked, and Lu Yin retreated while calling out, "Stop."

    Hen Xin stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Dao Chosen? What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Nothing much. I had just wanted to test out the strength of your Wielder realm battle force, but you reflexivelyshed out with your domain instead of battle force. What? Have you also cultivated your domain to a high level?"

    Hen Xin looked away. "There is a slight dy when using Wielder - Indestructible, but there¡¯s no such dy when using a domain."

    Lu Yin understood the reason for Hen Xin¡¯s reflexive attack with a domain. "I understand. In that case, is there really a level for domains above the void god level?"

    Hen Xin confirmed, "Yes, it''s also referred to as the Wielder - Void realm. From what Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi theorized, the pinnacle of a domain would allow a person to stretch orpress both space and time at their whim. It would grant them easy control of the power of time, and even the ability to travel between parallel universes. Unfortunately, Wielder - Void remains nothing more than a theory, as not even the Dao Monarch was able to achieve such a level of mastery."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "If there remains such amazing power in the next level of mastery for a domain, then you should continue training hard in hopes that you can achieve it some day."

    With that, Lu Yin vanished.

    Hen Xin just stared. Hope that he could reach the Wielder realm with his domain? That was something that had been impossible even for Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi. No matter how confident Hen Xin was in his own talent, he would never be able to aplish something that had been impossible for the Dao Monarch. There were some things that would simply remain forever out of reach.

    However, what had Lu Yin been doing? Had he been testing him? The Semi-Progenitor could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Back in the array base¡¯s headquarters, Lu Yin saw that there was no symbol for any new innate gifts on his die. Just as the rumors imed, Hen Xin had no innate gift.

    Lu Yin quickly gathered his thoughts and rolled his die for the second time.

    At the same time, someone arrived at the headquarters, asking to see Lu Yin. It was Jiu Zizai,<sup>1 the colonel that Lu Yin had reached out to and offered to take back to the Fifth Maind. </sup>

    Jiu Zizai quietly stood outside the general¡¯s office, waiting for Lu Yin to show himself.

    Lu Yin entered his Timestop Space after rolling four pips. He immediately started the process of transforming his battle force.

    This process required a very long time, but that was not a problem for Lu Yin, not as long as he had his die¡¯s Timestop.

    He proceeded to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra while working on transforming his battle force. A year soon passed, and purple-ck lines appeared across Lu Yin''s body. They started at his wrists, crept up his arms, and spread across his entire body to create a unique pattern.

    The amount of the purple-ck materialized battle force that a person possessed was dependent on how much aurelian force they were able to convert. Before Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough with his battle force, he might not have been able to convert enough purple-ck substance to cover his entire arms. However, his aurelian force had since improved to the point where Lu Yin was able to spread it out for a million miles in every direction, and it was being transformed into the materialized battle force of the Wielder realm. This meant that Lu Yin was able to shroud his entire body with the purple-ck substance, but it also meant that the transformation process had taken much longer than what Hen Xin had expected.

    It was possible that when Hen Xin had achieved the Wielder Realm with his battle force, he had not possessed as much aurelian force as Lu Yin.

    Eh? Who¡¯s that outside? Jiu Zizai?

    "Let him in," Lu Yin called out after he emerged from his Timestop Space. He had converted a portion of his aurelian force, and he took a moment to sense his newfound physical strength with this improvement. He quickly realized that just a bit of battle force would be enough to let him fight against a Semi-Progenitor.

    That reminded Lu Yin that Hen Xin and the others who cultivated battle force had already developed aparison between battle force and regr cultivation strength. ording to thatparison, what did aurelian forcepare to? A Semi-Progenitor.

    It would have been amazing if Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had seeded in his research for people to integrate their battle force with their bodies, as it would mean that a Sentinel would be able to freely travel through the universe like an Explorer. That single development would allow humanity¡¯s overall strength to spike to incredible heights.

    "Jiu Zizai greets the Dao Chosen."

    Jiu Zizai entered, and Lu Yin looked up at the man. He was a Redback, but that was something that no other human was aware of.

    "If you don¡¯t intend to remain on the rear battlefield, then why are you here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiu Zizai answered in a respectful tone, "Dao Chosen, do you still remember the choice that you offered this subordinate?"

    "Choice?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Jiu Zizai exined, "The Dao Chosen told this subordinate when you first took over the fourth array base that, if I desired, I could go to the Fifth Maind and join the Heavens Sect¡¯s army as an alternate choice. That is the choice that you offered this subordinate."

    Lu Yin thought back. "Right, I did do that. I appreciate the fact that you¡¯ve stayed on the fourth array base, but why are you here? Did you want to tell me your decision?"

    Jiu Zizai offered a deep bow. "This subordinate, Jiu Zizai, wishes to travel to the Fifth Maind, humanity¡¯s true home. I wish to join the Heavens Sect, and I wish to follow the Dao Chosen."

    The retired colonel¡¯s voice was so loud that even the array base¡¯s general could hear it.

    Many people were startled, as this was a deration of loyalty.

    Lu Yin was quite intrigued, and he stared at the man. "Why do you want to go to the Fifth Maind? Given your service here on the fourth array base, as soon as you leave the rear battlefield, you¡¯d definitely be able to join even the Celestial Frost Sect. Given how long you¡¯ve worked under Bai Qi, you can practically summon the wind and rain in the Perennial World. There¡¯s not much that would remain out of your reach."

    Internally, Jiu Zizai was quite bitter, as Lu Yin had just voiced the man¡¯s own thoughts. Unfortunately, it was not his decision to make.

    "This subordinate wishes to see humanity¡¯s true homnd. The Fifth Maind gave birth to this Perennial World and everything in it. This subordinate wishes to follow the Dao Chosen. Dao Chosen, you have fought against Progenitors and even forced the four ruling powers to agree to a truce with you. You have earned this subordinate¡¯s admiration, and in you, this subordinate can see the hope of another Progenitor Chen¡­" Jiu Zizai''s voice grew louder and more excited as he continued.

    Listening to the man, Lu Yin felt like he was seeing another Ku Wei. It seemed like whenever one Ku Wei left, another would arrive.

    Lu Yin understood that Jiu Zizai must have received orders from Aeternus to go to the Fifth Maind. The man could only be regarded as unlucky. Lu Yin was confident that, if given an actual choice, Jiu Zizai would much rather remain in the Perennial World instead of travel to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin said nothing to expose the man, but as Jiu Zizai offered his loyalty to Lu Yin, the man¡¯s words grew more and more excited.

    Lu Yin finally cut the man short. "Alright, I understand your thoughts. You can go to the Fifth Maind and join the Heavens Sect, or you can follow me personally. If you choose to follow me, you can go to the Fifth Maind immediately, after altering your appearance. I want to know if the Perennial World is stopping people from traveling to the Fifth Maind."

    Jiu Zizai''s heart skipped a beat. Given the task that he had just received from Lu Yin, the retired colonel not only saw a task, but also Lu Yin¡¯s attitude towards him.

    He was being ordered to go to the Fifth Maind. This meant that the people of the Fifth Maind would see Jiu Zizai as Lu Yin¡¯s confidant in the Perennial World, and with that, Jiu Zizai would enjoy a status second to none.

    Jiu Zizai had managed to survive for many years on the rear battlefield, and not only that, but he had also distinguished himself from countless other people and earned Marquis Wu Yi¡¯s attention. The retired colonel was quite the capable individual, and he was also skilled in seeing solutions to problems that others could not find.

    Jiu Zizai grew genuinely excited as he considered the new possibilities before him. This was the benefit that he had received for being the first to turn to Lu Yin and the Fifth Maind; Jiu Zizai had earned himself a leadership role. With this, Jiu Zizai would be able to enjoy a life in the Fifth Maind that would not be much worse than what he would have lived in the Perennial World. In fact, things might even be better. After all, in the Perennial World, he would only have the backing of the Celestial Frost Sect, but in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin was the sole ruler, and Jiu Zizai would answer directly to the ruler of the Maind.

    "Yes, this subordinate will do his best toplete this task for you." This time, Jiu Zizai was beingpletely sincere.

    Lu Yin smiled. "There¡¯s no need to do too much. Just pretend to be apletely average cultivator for me, and see if anyone tries to stop you from going to the Fifth Maind. Let me know exactly what happens."

    Jiu Zizai offered another deep bow. "This subordinate will go now."

    Lu Yin grunted an acknowledgement and then handed the man a wireless jincan. From this point forward, Jiu Zizai would carry out errands on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf. Lu Yin¡¯s entire purpose was to see what the Aeternals would ask the Redback to do.

    After Jiu Zizai left, Lu Yin wanted to roll his die again, as he still had two more opportunities, but Tu Qiming arrived next.

    Ever since Lu Yin had brought all the surviving vassals of the Lu family away from New City, they had spent their time recuperating and healing, while also getting in touch with old friends and acquaintances. Lu Yin had also gone into seclusion for some time, as he had needed to prepare for his match with Mu Shang. Due to the variousplications, Tu Qiming and Lu Yin had not seen each other since leaving New City.

    It was important to take some time to speak with Tu Qiming, especially since it seemed that the man¡¯s memories were intact. Additionally, there was also Wan Zhiyi.

    "Bastard Lu, I''m here!" Tu Qiming walked into the fourth array base¡¯s headquarters with his head held high.

    Lu Yin looked over at the man. "Suffering from another round of mental torture? Do you need another beating?"

    "I¡¯m not here for that! No, I don''t want to be beaten- Wait, why would you beat me?" Tu Qiming shouted.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Call me ¡®boss.¡¯"

    Tu Qiming was briefly stunned. Confusion filled his eyes, and various emotions could be seen on his face. However, he quickly recovered, and then he continued yelling. "Boss? Bullshit! Back then, you called me boss! Hurry up and call me boss again!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned somber, and he started slowly walking towards Tu Qiming.

    [1] It wasn''t so long ago, but I could not remember this guy at all and had to go back. If anyone else needs to, ???

 Chapter 2373: The Charisma Of The Lu Family

    <h4>Chapter 2373: The Charisma Of The Lu Family</h4>

    Tu Qiming''s face twitched, and he started instinctively retreating. "What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin did not answer. He simply continued slowly walking forward. Tu Qiming gulped nervously, and his smile grew ugly. "Boss, it was just a joke! A joke. There¡¯s no need to be so serious."

    Lu Yin raised his hand and then suddenly it dropped down, startling Tu Qiming. "Eldest Sister, save me!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand dropped onto Tu Qiming''s shoulder. "Eldest sister? Are you referring to my?eldest sister?"

    Tu Qiming went pale. Staring at the approaching Lu Yin, Tu Qiming felt a sense of familiarity strike him; this scene ovepped with another from the past. It was an event that had yed out too many times before, and it had even appeared in his dreams on countless asions. This scene was why he had asked Lu Yin to beat him on the Stacking Mountain Range. Seeing Lu Yin had allowed Tu Qiming to escape from his mental torture by escaping from reality for a moment. However, at this moment, upon seeing such a familiar scene, Tu Qiming had lost himself and had subconsciously called out for Big Sister.

    Upon seeing Tu Qiming¡¯s pale and haggard face, Lu Yin withdrew his hand. "Tell me about what happened back then."

    Tu Qiming rubbed his eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. "Lu bastard, if not for you, things would have never turned out as they did!"

    Lu Yin stared at Tu Qiming. This person actually knew what had happened. "Exin things to me clearly."

    "It¡¯s all because you fell in love with that bitch, Bai Xian''er! All of us were tricked, and it¡¯s all because of you!" Tu Qiming shouted as he furiously red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Tell me exactly what happened on the wedding day."

    Tu Qiming roared, "How should I know? You got me drunk! I was only a child back then, a kid, and yet you actually got me drunk, Lu bastard! You¡¯re such a bastard! Everyone always talked about how cheerful and friendly you were, but in truth, you were a despicable bastard! You were always afraid that I would eventually surpass you, so you tried to stall my progress by getting me drunk."

    A p was heard as Lu Yin smacked the side of Tu Qiming¡¯s head, this time for real. "You don''t remember anything from that day?"

    Tu Qiming cradled his head. "No! You got me drunk!"

    "Trash!" Lu Yin was quite upset.

    Tu Qiming bared his teeth. "Who are you calling trash? If my innate gift had been crippled, I¡¯d be able to defeat a hundred of you!"

    "What is your innate gift?" Lu Yin was curious about this.

    Tu Qiming¡¯s head snapped up. "Figure it out for yourself!"

    Lu Yin snapped back, "It looks like your innate gift was for getting beat up!"

    "Lu bastard, I¡¯ll fight you when I recover!" Tu Qiming shouted, frustrated by his situation.

    Lu Yin ignored him. Instead, he looked out at the active battlefield of the fourth array base. He had noticed a Triple Gates and a Palm of Thousand Skies being used.

    Tu Qiming followed Lu Yin''s gaze and murmured, "Grandpa Zhiyi is still so impressive. He ughters them like cutting grass."

    At that same moment, Wan Zhiyi looked across the battlefield, and Tu Qiming pulled his neck back in fright before quickly slipping away.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and entered the battlefield.

    "Don''t attack. If you take action, you will easily draw out the Seven Skygods," Wan Zhiyi said, and while his voice was a bit hoarse, he sounded much, much better than when Lu Yin had found the man beneath the Stacking Mountain Range.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "You¡¯ve recovered a great deal."

    The old man¡¯s face was not nearly as pale as before, and his aura had grown much stronger as well. Whenever he released an attack, even Arch-Elder Zen and Hen Xin would take notice.

    However, Wan Zhiyi just shook his head and let out a sigh. "It¡¯s not enough. I¡¯ll never be able to reach the Progenitor realm in my life."

    "That¡¯s not guaranteed. As long as you¡¯re alive, there is always hope," Lu Yin replied.

    Wan Zhiyi gave a wry smile. He was well aware of his condition, but hearing Lu Yin offerfort still cheered the old man up.

    Wan Zhiyi took a deep breath and offered Lu Yin a slow, formal bow. "Wan Zhiyi, grand elder of the Wan family, greets the young master."

    Lu Yin quickly raised a hand to stop the old man. "Grandpa Zhiyi, there¡¯s no need for that."

    Wan Zhiyi somberly replied, "There are ceremonies that cannot be ignored. No matter what happens, my Wan family will remain a vassal family of the Lu family. You will always be our young master."

    Lu Yin stared at Wan Zhiyi. The old man¡¯s stubbornness was on full disy right now. There was both stubbornness and a tremendous respect for the Lu family. After considering the old man¡¯s feelings, Lu Yin dropped his hand and allowed Wan Zhiyi to finish his ceremony.

    Just beyond the active battlefield, Yao Di noticed what was happening, and his eye started twitching. Yet another Semi-Progenitor was dering their loyalty to Lu Yin, and this old man was far from an average Semi-Progenitor. Why were there so many Semi-Progenitors around Lu Yin? Yao Di could see no hope for the Astral Beast Domain to break free from the humans in the future.

    "Grandpa Zhiyi, can you tell me what happened back then?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wan Zhiyi shook his head. "All of us have had our memories erased."

    Lu Yin felt quite disappointed, as well as incredibly surprised. Why had the four ruling powers erased everyone¡¯s memories of that day? Was it really necessary? Both the people driven insane and locked up in Crimson Garden and the Lu family¡¯s vassals who had been banished to the Stacking Mountain Range had been ced in locations where they would never be able to see the Perennial World again in their lives. So why had their memories still been erased?

    The entire Perennial World knew that the Lu family had been exiled, so why had everything about the events surrounding their exile been erased? There had to be something that was being covered up.

    "Thest memory that any of us have of that day is of the wedding ceremony. All of us were only thinking of offering you our blessings, Young Master. There¡¯s nothing else from that day," Wan Zhiyi exined.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I¡¯m going to mention a few things, and maybe they¡¯ll mean something to you."

    Even Prof. Wei had been able to determine that the Yellow Springs referred to the Wang family from her research into ancient records. Wan Zhiyi was the leader of the Wan family, which had been one of the vassal ns beneath the Lu family, and the old man had enjoyed a statusparable to that of a Progenitor. So, it was likely that he would know more.

    "Young Master, please tell me," Wan Zhiyi said.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "White Dragon Rolls Over."

    Wan Zhiyi¡¯s eyes narrowed. "That refers to when the Ancestor Python turns over. The White Dragon n alone can get close to the Ancestor Python, while even members of the Lu family might be attacked if they try to get close to the Ancestor Python. When I say close, I mean touching ormunicating with the snake.

    "When the Ancestor Python turns over, he will shake the sky. Apparently, when the Lu Sanctum was cast out, it was because the Ancestor Python rolled over."

    "It wasn¡¯t the Lu Sanctum. It was the entire Higher Realm," Lu Yin corrected.

    While Wan Zhiyi was clearly shocked by this information, he still continued talking. "That is likely possible for the Ancestor Python, though I don¡¯t know how the White Dragon n caused it to happen. It¡¯s possible that the master knows, but I do not."

    "Yellow Springs," Lu Yin said next.

    Wan Zhiyi was caught off guard. "Are you referring to the Wang family¡¯s Yellow Springs? They¡¯ve kept that matter hidden for a very long time, but I once heard Patriarch Tianyi mention that the liquid referred to as the Yellow Springs is actually blood."

    "Blood?" Lu Yin was stunned. It was yellow, so could it be actual, biological blood?

    "Blood. Progenitor Tianyi believed that it belonged to one of the ancient Three Realms Six Dao of the Heavens Sect era, or even-¡± The old man paused as he grew incredibly solemn. ¡°The blood of the Origin Progenitor himself."

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. "The Wang family¡¯s homnd is shaped like a hand. That can¡¯t actually be?a hand, can it? If it is, why don¡¯t people notice it?"

    Wan Zhiyi and Lu Yin stared at each other. "So what if they do?"

    Lu Yin was stunned, but after considering the matter for a moment, he realized that it was quite urate. So what if people realized that the floating maind was an actual hand? Could anyone steal it? In the entire Fifth Maind, aside from the Lu family, who else could rob the Wang family? And even then, it was impossible for the Lu family to rob a lesser family, as how would all the other families and sects react?

    "The Lu family controlled the entire Fifth Maind. It is true that your family could be rather overbearing and arrogant at times, but they never robbed others. The talent of the family¡¯s members were typically superior, and as for resources, the Lu family ruled the entire Fifth Maind. Why would they care about a single hand, even if it is a real hand and not andmass that looks like one? So what if it belongs to the Origin Progenitor himself?" Lu Yin could hear Wan Zhiyi''s pride. It was the pride of being a vassal of the Lu family. It was Lu Yin¡¯s first time encountering such pride.

    This was his first time seeing the pride of the vassals of the Lu family, and it came from someone who had served under the Lu family at their peak. For the first time, Lu Yin was able to see evidence of his Lu family¡¯s charisma.

    "What use does the Yellow Springs have?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wan Zhiyi replied, "I remember hearing from someone who came in contact with some that the waters possess a terrifying restraining property and that it could even incapacitate a Progenitor. However, the Wang family has never released any information about it."

    Lu Yin nodded. While Wan Zhiyi had once enjoyed a statusparable to a Progenitor, even if the man had actually reached the Progenitor level, there were certain things that he likely would not know about.

    Since the Lu family¡¯s exile had something to do with the Yellow Springs, it suggested that the Wang family had kept the Yellow Springs a closely guarded secret before that, as the Lu family would have certainly taken corresponding precautions otherwise. Lu Yin felt that not even Patriarch Tianyi might have been fully aware of what the Yellow Springs were capable of.

    "Prison Lock." Lu Yin spoke two words next.

    Wan Zhiyi asked, "Are you referring to Shenwu''s Sky''s technique? That¡¯s the Origin Progenitor¡¯s secret technique."

    Lu Yin was truly shocked this time. "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s secret technique?"

    Wan Zhiyi nodded, and then proceeded to solemnly exin, "Since Young Master¡¯s family was exiled, and the Xia family is one of the four ruling powers, I assumed that this must have yed a part. Prison Lock is a secret technique thates from the Origin Progenitor himself. The legends im that the Xia family provided some great service during the Heavens Sect era, and the Origin Progenitor himself provided them with the secret technique as a reward. Even the Lu family was envious of such a gift, as in the entire Fifth Maind, only the Xia family possesses a secret technique from the Origin Progenitor."

    "Are the members of the Xia family able to learn the secret technique? If so, then why didn¡¯t Xia Shenji use it?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Wan Zhiyi was startled by the question. "It would seem that Young Master has fought against Xia Shenji. It is not that he did not need to use the secret technique, but rather that he no longer can. When it was used, the clone that used it must have been exiled with the rest of your family. Prison Lock is a secret technique that can only be used once."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. If that was how things were, then it made sense.

    For a bit of time, Lu Yin became lost in his thoughts as he considered what he had just learned.

    Origin Progenitor. The name was simply too intimidating. Lust hearing that the Xia family possessed a secret technique from the Origin Progenitor left Lu Yin¡¯s scalp numb. He could only think about how, if the Xia family had managed to keep such an option hidden, they could have instantly ended Lu Yin.

    This new information made it apparent that the Xia family had paid the highest price to banish the Lu family, as they had lost the Origin Progenitor¡¯s secret technique. They had sacrificed it just to exile the Lu family. What had they gained in return?

    .

    This question made Lu Yin incredibly wary. For the Xia family to willingly pay such a price, they must have received something in return to justify their sacrifice. Lu Yin had not yet seen or heard of anything that the Xia family had gained, which meant that they had kept this matter well hidden.

    "Celestial Frost Fruit," Lu Yin said.

    Wan Zhiyi was surprised yet again. "It''s just a fruit. The members of the Celestial Frost Sect use the fruit to help them cultivate their Celestial Frost Finger, and the fruit grows in their Celestial Frost Pond. It¡¯s a delicious fruit, and you used to frequently steal some when you were a child. I remember that one time, you were caught and picked on by some older children from the Celestial Frost Sect. That incident led to you seven bing sworn siblings, and then the seven of you beat up the thirteen other children.

    ¡°Such a fruit could not have had anything to do with when your family was exiled."

    Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring, as Wan Zhiyi¡¯sment had reminded Lu Yin of the piece of paper that he had, as well as the fragmented memories. Seven against thirteen? Yes, it was the same incident.

    So Lu Yin had been bullied because he had tried to steal some of the Celestial Frost Fruits, and he had been caught by children from the Celestial Frost Sect. No wonder he had a memory of being beaten up, despite being a descendant of the main branch of the Lu family. He had been stealing fruit from inside the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew soft as he looked down at his cosmic ring, and his emotions started to churn. Where were his brothers and sisters?

    "Are these things rted to the Lu family¡¯s exile?" Wan Zhiyi asked.

    Lu Yin shook away his thoughts. "Nutjob Lu."

    Wan Zhiyi''s expression changed drastically. "Nutjob Lu?"

    Lu Yin nodded as he stared at the old man. "How much do you know about that man?"

    Wan Zhiyi grew somber, and even seemed a bit fearful. "As his name indicates, he¡¯s a madman, a lunatic feared even by Patriarch Tianyi."

    Lu Yin asked, "He¡¯s strong enough to deserve Patriarch Tianyi¡¯s fear?"

    Wan Zhiyi shook his head. "I cannot tell you how strong the man is, but Patriarch Tianyi once said that the madman could never be released. He went so far as to say that if he ever dies, he would take the madman down with him."

 Chapter 2374: Qiming Star

    Chapter 2374: Qiming Star

    Lu Yin asked, "Who is Nutjob Lu?"

    There was only one answer Wan Zhiyi could give. "I don''t know. Not even your father, Lu Qi, knew. Out of the entire Fifth Maind, only Patriarch Tianyi, Bai Wangyuan, and the others are old enough to know the answer to that question.

    "To think that he had something to do with the family¡¯s exile! If I had known about that, I would have insisted that Patriarch Tianyi kill the man!"

    Lu Yin looked up into the sky at the location where Ominion had appeared. "Not only did he help exile the Lu family, he almost killed me just a short while ago."

    Wan Zhiyi frowned, and then nervously asked, "Where is he?"

    Lu Yin pointed upwards.

    "The Dominion Realm?" Wan Zhiyi was puzzled.

    "The Outer Realm."

    This was unexpected for Wan Zhiyi. "He actually went to the Outer Realm? It seems that the four ruling powers also fear him greatly."

    "What''s the situation in the Outer Realm like?" Lu Yin asked. He simply had too many questions without anyone to ask for so long. Now, he was trying his best to remember everything that he wanted to know. If he remembered somethingter on, he could also return and speak with Wan Zhiyi again.

    Wan Zhiyi thought for a while. "How can I exin this? If I remember correctly, you are an Array Master, so that makes things much easier. The Outer Realm is the sourcebox array that protects the entire Perennial World."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Thes in the Outer Realm are all sourceboxes?"

    Wan Zhiyi nodded. "As I thought, you were immediately able to understand something that most people will never even consider: an unimaginablyrge sourcebox. The truth is, the Outer Realm is part of Ceaseless Impetus, but this is something that very, very few people are aware of. I only learned this from your family, but the sevens scattered across the Outer Realm that surround the Perennial World are actually connected to Ceaseless Impetus. They are the power behind the first defense that protects humanity.

    "When the Lu family was still here, they protected two of thes. Each is unique, and because of the influence of the overall sourcebox array, the conditions on each are far different from the Perennial World itself. I won''t tell you any more than that. Regardless, you and I will never be sent to guard the Outer Realm.

    "The guardians of the Outer Realm are either people who are feared by the master of the Perennial World or volunteers. There are sevens, and if Nutjob Lu is protecting one of them, then the other six should be protected by Progenitors from the Nong and Liu families, as well as a few Progenitors from the four ruling powers themselves."

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of Bai Sheng. He was a member of the Celestial Frost Sect, but he needed to spend most of his time in the Outer Realm. This suggested that each of the four ruling powers had a Progenitor in the Outer Realm protecting a. It was truly impressive for each of the four ruling powers to have two Progenitors, but they still could notpare to the Lu family. The Lu family had protected twos in the Outer Realm, and even if one of those guardians was Patriarch Tianyi himself, when also considering Nutjob Lu, the Lu family had possessed at least three Progenitors. It was simply amazing.

    This was the power that should have been guiding the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin spent a good bit of time on the fourth array base asking Wan Zhiyi numerous questions, and the old man patiently answered everything that he could. He understood that Lu Yin had lost all of his memories, not just the ones about the Lu family being exiled. The young man had lost everything that had made him Lu Xiaoxuan. Only Bai Xian¡¯er had been so cruel to him.

    "The most frustrating thing is Tu Qiming. He was actually drunk instead of having his memory erased," Lu Yinined in an angry tone.

    "Lu bastard, don''t think that I can''t hear you even if I leave!" Tu Qiming''s voice rang out in the distance, as he had been listening in the entire time.

    Naturally, Lu Yin was aware that the young man had been listening. He looked up at Wan Zhiyi and saw regret in the man¡¯s eyes. He then asked, "What is Tu Qiming''s innate gift?"

    Tu Qiming had nearly been acknowledged as the Eighth Hero. To be able to receive such acknowledgement, it would never have been enough for him to be considered such by Lu Xiaoxuan or the rest of the Seven Heroes. The Seven Heroes had been named by the entire Perennial World. It had not been a self-given title.

    When people discussed the Perennial World during the Lu family¡¯s rule, aside from the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage and Patriarch Tianyi himself, the Seven Heroes were brought up the most. They had been the pride of their era, despite the fact that not a single one of the Seven Heroes had lived long enough to reach their full potential. They had left an indelible imprint on their era.

    The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been the pride of the Daosource Sect era, while the Three Realms Six Dao had been the pride of the Heavens Sect era. In the same manner, the Seven Heroes had been the pride of the era right before the Lu family¡¯s exile, even though it had not been too long ago.

    Wan Zhiyi looked over at Tu Qiming, who was in the distance, craning his neck and trying to eavesdrop. The old man let out a sigh. "Qiming Star. His name itselfes from his innate gift. When he was born into the Tu family, the Qiming Star descended from the sky, shaking the entire Higher Realm. Even Progenitors looked over, and the Tu family was ecstatic. They immediately renamed him. His original name was forgotten, and Tu Qiming became his name. Not one person in the entire family objected. His innate gift is the Qiming Star."

    "What kind of innate gift is that?" Lu Yin was amazed to hear that a family that had been acknowledged by the Lu family would be willing to ignore generational seniority and change a person¡¯s name. This showed just how shocking Tu Qiming¡¯s innate gift had been to his entire family.

    Far away, Tu Qiming heard the Qiming Star mentioned, and his eyes dimmed. He turned away and left.

    Wan Zhiyimented, "Qiming Star. Qiming means ¡®brilliant start.¡¯ As long as the Qiming Star is shining, Tu Qiming will not die. Tell me, how long can a star survive for?"

    Lu Yin''s expression changedpletely, and he blurted, "He can live as long as a star?"

    Wan Zhiyi replied, "Although it seems impossible, that is indeed what we understood back then. On top of that, ¡®qiming¡¯ also indicates a sense of wisdom. Tu Qiming¡¯s talent for cultivation proved to be extraordinary, and he was by no means inferior to any of the Seven Heroes, and he was evenparable to the best of you seven. You all stood above all of your peers, and the only person capable ofpeting with you was Tu Qiming. He was just as famous and impressive as all of you, and it was acknowledged that he would be the Eighth Hero when he matured.¡±

    "Patriarch Tianyi himself stated as much, and the rest of us could see it as well. His only goal has always been you, Young Master. Unfortunately, with his innate gift destroyed, he has lost himself."

    Lu Yin had not expected Tu Qiming''s innate gift to be something that powerful. He would live as long as a star! Even though that was most likely an exaggeration, as any random star wouldst for billions upon billions of years, which was a span of time that no human couldpare to. It was possible that the stars of the universe had witnessed the birth of humanity, the glory of the Heavens Sect, as well as the current era.

    However, even if Tu Qiming could not truly live for as long as a star, his Qiming Star innate gift was still incredibly beneficial.

    A brilliant genius with an incredible innate gift had been reduced to a cripple who was tortured every day.

    Lu Yin could understand Tu Qiming''s depression, even without the inhumane torture that he suffered each month.

    He immediately reached out to Yu Chen.

    Yu Chen had been released with everyone else from the Perennial World whom Lu Yin had captured, and she should have returned to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Lu Yin had nted a Death Seal in Yu Chen, and while he was not certain that Bai Wangyuan had not removed the restriction, it was very unlikely for the Progenitor to help someone as minor as Yu Chen. In fact, from Bai Wangyuan¡¯s point of view, it would probably be easier to simply kill Yu Chen than to remove the Death Seal.

    If Lu Yin could think of this possibility, Yu Chen likely had as well. Thus, there was a very small chance that she would have revealed the existence of the seal that controlled her fate.

    When a connection was established between the two wireless jincans, Lu Yin knew that Yu Chen was still under his control. If not, he would have never been able to connect to the wireless jincan that he had given Yu Chen.

    "Dao Chosen," Yu Chen sent back through the wireless jincan.

    Lu Yin got straight to the point. "I want to speak with Bai Xian''er."

    Far away, Yu Chen instantly grew hesitant. Very few people knew how to contact Bai Xian''er, and by giving the information to Lu Yin, Yu Chen would be exposing herself to Bai Xian¡¯er. This made Yu Chen very reluctant to obey.

    "I told you that I want to speak with Bai Xian''er." Lu Yin sent again.

    While the wireless jincans could not send a person¡¯s tone or attitude, Yu Chen could still sense Lu Yin''s rage. Yu Chen¡¯s reluctance no longer mattered, as she understood that even if Bai Xian¡¯er did not learn of this matter, Yu Chen would still be executed by Lu Yin. There was no choice for her but toply and provide him with the requested contact information.

    Yu Chen had revealed to Lu Yin that she could contact Bai Xian¡¯er in order to save her own life. It was her greatest value to Lu Yin, and she was being forced to use it at this moment.

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away, pulled out hismunication crystal, and tried to call Bai Xian''er.

    Next to Lu Yin, Wan Zhiyi¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a powerful killing intent erupted in his eyes. Bai Xian''er was a woman who had yed a key role in exiling the Lu family, and even more importantly, Tu Qiming had been ruined by the woman. She had caused suffering to many of the surviving vassals of the Lu family, including the people who had been driven insane in Crimson Garden. Bai Xian¡¯er had caused their madness.

    Despite the fact that his memory loss prevented Wan Zhiyi from feeling hatred for the Lu family¡¯s exile, his increasing knowledge of what had happened had triggered his hatred, and it continued to mount.

    Themunication crystal vibrated, and then an image appeared. The background showed red flowers raining from the sky, and the foreground was of Bai Xian''er¡¯s impressive figure.

    The moment Bai Xian''er appeared, Wan Zhiyi wished that he could kill the woman.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er, and the woman stared back at him. "So you¡¯ve finally found me."

    "You knew that I would find you? That I would be able to?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Bai Xian''er answered with a slight smile, "If you wanted to, you could find me. I won¡¯t run from you."

    Lu Yin had no interest in pointless small talk. "What''s wrong with Tu Qiming''s innate gift?"

    Bai Xian''er casually answered, "It''s gone."

    "Just because he was a vassal of the Lu family?"

    "No, because he is Tu Qiming. He was rude to me once."

    Lu Yin looked into the distance. "Tu Qiming, get over here!"

    When Tu Qiming heard Lu Yin call him, he wanted to ignore it, but when he looked over, he saw Bai Xian''er¡¯s image. Tu Qiming¡¯s eyes instantly red, and he shot towards Lu Yin as fast as he could move.

    Bai Xian''er waited calmly. She showed no reaction at all. It was as though she was speaking to a perfect stranger, rather than a mortal enemy like Lu Yin. Her eyes remained soft and peaceful as she gazed at Lu Yin. No animosity could be seen at all.

    Such an expression would normally cause people to rx, but Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s eyes left Lu Yin extremely irritated. He felt as if he saw pity in her eyes.

    Tu Qiming rushed over and red at Bai Xian''er. "You hag, I bet that you didn¡¯t expect your Grandpa Tu to still be alive, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Hag? Bai Xian''er was clearly one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and her demeanor made her even more attractive. Without the hatred that existed between them, Lu Yin would not mind offering a fewpliments, so it was a bit confusing as to how Tu Qiming could call such a woman a hag.

    On the other hand, Bai Xian¡¯er showed not even the slightest hint of surprise. It was clear that she had heard such insults from Tu Qiming before.

    She smiled at Tu Qiming. "Genius always introduces ws. I had assumed that your face-blindness was due to your talent being too exceptional. I never thought that after destroying your innate gift, you would still be as blind as ever. It seems that I was mistaken."

    "Your uncle is face-blind, not me, your Grandpa Tu! Eldest Sister, Fourth Sister, and Sixth Sister are all much prettier than you, and so is Long Xi. Actually, even Lu San¡¯s prettier than you!" Tu Qiming shouted.

    Bai Xian''er continued to smile. "Even if your innate gift has already been ruined, there are still many other things I can take away from you, such as your hands, feet, or even your tongue."

    Tu Qiming wanted to shout back, but Lu Yin stopped him. "Are you threatening him?"

    Bai Xian''er turned her eyes to Lu Yin. "You can''t protect him. People should be taught a lesson for speaking rudely."

    "Is that why you make him suffer every month?" Lu Yin''s eyes were cold.

    Bai Xian''er smiled again. "Should I not?"

    Tu Qiming gritted his teeth with so much force that blood fell from his lips. He acted happy and carefree, but in truth, his hatred for Bai Xian¡¯er had consumed him, especially since it was impossible for him to get revenge. His only way of venting his emotions was to insult and mock the woman, but she remained as indifferent as a cloud in the sky, which only aggravated Tu Qiming further.

 Chapter 2375: Boss

    Chapter 2375: Boss

    Wan Zhiyi kept staring at the image of Bai Xian''er, hoping to find out exactly where the woman was. Wan Zhiyi would dly die if he could drag this woman down with him and avenge his master''s family. It would also serve as revenge for Tu Qiming and the Lu family¡¯s vassals who had survived, only to be driven insane.

    After staring at Bai Xian''er for a moment, Lu Yin slowly said, "Actually, there¡¯s something that I wanted to tell you when Ist saw you in Crimson Garden."

    Tu Qiming and Wan Zhiyi both looked over at Lu Yin, and Bai Xian''er also focused on him and smiled.

    Lu Yin opened his mouth. "You really are a bitch."

    Bai Xian''er''s smile instantly disappeared.

    Tu Qiming¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared at Lu Yin in a daze. It was as if he was seeing Lu Yin in an entirely new light.

    Wan Zhiyi was alsopletely stunned.

    For some time, everyone waspletely silent.

    Tu Qiming finally was the first to respond. "You- what did you just say?"

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled at Tu Qiming. "What? Am I wrong?"

    Tu Qiming shook his head vigorously, and an excited grin spread across his face. "No, you¡¯re absolutely right! How could that be wrong? Hahahaha!"

    He then turned to re at Bai Xian''er. "Bitch, did you hear that? Lu bast¡ªno, Boss says that you¡¯re a bitch, hahahaha!"

    Wan Zhiyi continued to stare at Lu Yin in shock. The Lu Xiaoxuan that the old man had once known would never have ever said that to Bai Xian''er. After all, Lu Xiaoxuan had beenpletely obsessed with Bai Xian''er. Was this person really still Lu Xiaoxuan?

    Even though the young man was swearing and insulting someone, for some reason, Wan Zhiyi could not help but feel that, at this moment, Lu Xiaoxuan¡ªno, Lu Yin possessed a more arrogant personality. This sort of overbearing behavior was what the ruling Lu family was supposed to possess.

    "Hahahaha, bitch!" Tu Qiming cursed excitedly.

    Further down on the array base, the Lu Elite Troops shifted to a defensive strategy. More than one person nced upwards with an odd expression. It was just too strange to hearughter on an active battlefield.

    Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er stared at each other, but at this moment, there was open hostility between them.

    Still looking as calm as ever, Bai Xian''er stared intently at Lu Yin for a long moment. Then, without saying another word, her image disappeared.

    "Hey, why are you running away? I haven''t had enough yet! Get back here, bitch," Tu Qiming yelled, clearly enjoying himself quite a bit.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "Alright, that¡¯s enough. There¡¯s no one around any more. No matter how loudly you yell, it''ll still be pointless."

    Tu Qiming looked over at Lu Yin, still quite excited. "You¡¯ve convinced me, Lu basta- No, you''re Grandpa Tu¡¯s boss! Boss, I''m truly convinced today."

    Lu Yin stared at Tu Qiming. "So were you lying before?"

    Tu Qiming dismissively waved a hand. "You managed to convince me before, but this time, I¡¯m thoroughly convinced. You are my boss! My boss for life! Hahahaha, too cool!"

    The man walked off,ughing as he went. "Bitch! Hahahaha, bitch!"

    Wan Zhiyi stared at Tu Qiming¡¯s back as the younger man left and then let out a sigh. "He hasn''t been this happy in a very long time. While I did not speak to him almost at all while we were at the Stacking Mountain Range, I kept a close eye on him. I was afraid that he would eventually give up and want to kill himself, as it would provide relief for him. However, I always believed that the young master would return, and I¡¯m certain that he believes it as well. I¡¯m happy to see that he hasn¡¯t lost himself."

    The old man then looked back at Lu Yin. "You just insulted Bai Xian''er for his sake. That has resolved much of his hatred."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "I did that for my Lu family, and for all the surviving vassals of the Lu family. Forget insulting her¡ªgiven the chance, I¡¯ll kill her."

    Wan Zhiyi cautioned Lu Yin, "Do not underestimate Bai Xian''er. While she was never one of the Seven Heroes, nor even acknowledged as being capable of bing the Eighth Hero, she was the one who concealed themselves the deepest. That could not have been easy."

    Lu Yin was well aware of this. After all, if he had not received Progenitor Smoke¡¯s message and attacked Bai Xian¡¯er first, Bai Xian¡¯er would have traveled to the Fifth Maind and killed Lu Yin.

    The woman might not be a Progenitor, but she was an even greater threat to Lu Yin than any Progenitor-level enemy.

    ¡­

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm, in the mountain valley beneath the Wang family¡¯s floating maind, people from the Fifth Maind arrived one after another. Aside from the fourth array base¡¯s defenders and the Semi-Progenitors, these people were the first to be sent to the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind.

    When it came to these people, the four ruling powers would not do anything.

    Everyone entering the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind was required to cooperate with the four ruling powers and register themselves, as well as where they intended to go in the Middle Realm so that the four ruling powers could have their records.

    Even for residents of the Perennial World, it was not easy to travel from the Middle Realm to the Higher Realm. To do so, they would need to allow their cosmic rings to be searched, and all of their weapons confiscated. Naturally, the four ruling powers were not willing to allow people from the Fifth Maind enter the Higher Realm without passing through some level of security checks.

    If not for the fact that the New Corridor could not be moved, it would have absolutely been moved to the Lower Realm. Then, the people from the Fifth Maind would find it difficult to gain ess to even the Middle Realm.

    "Name." At the edge of the valley, a member of the Wang family was lost in the process of registering all the arriving foreigners.

    There was a long line in front of the clerk, as regardless of their strength, everyone from the Fifth Maind was required to register themselves and then travel to a specified location in the Middle Realm while being supervised by the four ruling powers. Only after that would the Fifth Maind cultivators be free to move about as they wished.

    "Leng Zhao."

    "Cultivation?"

    "Twenty-second cycle Enlighter."

    "Why are you visiting the Perennial World?"

    "To cultivate."

    "Can''t you cultivate in the Forsaken Land?" Other people from the Wang family looked over, disgust and contempt openly disyed on their faces. Everyone from the Perennial World had an innate sense of superiority towards the people of the Fifth Maind, and they always referred to it as the Forsaken Land. It was impossible to quickly remove prejudice that had been deeply ingrained, no matter how powerful the Fifth Maind had shown itself to be.

    Leng Zhao lifted his head. "No."

    "What''s with that attitude?" People from the Wang family became furious. All of the members of the family in the area looked over, their eyes cold. Even Envoys were paying attention.

    Despite the hostile reaction. Leng Zhao showed no hint of panic. "The Dao Chosen has already said that we are allowed to freely travel between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World."

    The clerk responded with a derisive snort. "This is the Perennial World, and this area belongs to my Wang family! Watch your tone when speaking, or else, while you may be allowed to enter this ce, there¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll be able to return home."

    "You know, I still can¡¯t believe this. Is your Wang family going to fight against our entire Fifth Maind?" Someone stepped out of line. His entire demeanor was arrogant, and he red at the people from the Wang family.

    Someone from the Wang family also stepped forward. It was Wang Yan, the patriarch of a branch family who had served as the acting patriarch of the entire Wang family while Wang Zheng had been missing. Wang Yan had stepped down as soon as Wang Zheng returned, but almost immediately after that, Wang Zheng had asked Wang Yan to oversee the registration of the arriving Fifth Maind cultivators.

    Wang Yan did not want this job. Everyone knew in advance that it would be a terrible, thankless job, but the four ruling powers had assigned the task to Wang Yan. Thus, he had no choice but to ept it.

    "Our Wang family has no intention of going to war, but we also won''t allow you to act this arrogantly in our domain," Wang Yan stated in a rather impressive manner. No matter what, he was still the patriarch of a Wang branch family.

    "What kind of attitude do you want from us? Do you want us to kneel on our knees when we speak to you?" Highsage Shenwei spat out. The man had a temper simr to Highsage Leon¡¯s.

    Wang Yan instantly had a headache. How could the Wang family possibly wage war against the Fifth Maind? They had taken over the defense of the entire fourth array base, which meant that war was simply impossible.

    "What? Do you want to question us about what secret techniques or battle techniques we know?" Highsage Shenwei continued. The other people from the Fifth Maind all shouted their support of the man.

    Of course, the people from the Wang family were unwilling to show any sort of weakness, which led to the tension between the two sides worsening.

    A few people from the Wang family suggested that they should kill the chickens to scare monkeys. In other words, killing Highsage Shenwei would certainly cow the Fifth Maind cultivators. However, Wang Yan instantly and aggressively shut down that suggestion.

    Even before the man stepped forward, Wang Yan had known who Highsage Shenwei was, which was why Wang Yan was hesitant to do anything. Besides, how could any normal cultivator have the courage to step forward and pick a fight with the Wang family?

    Highsage Shenwei was a disciple of Eversky Ind, and Eversky Ind belonged to a Semi-Progenitor. But most of Wang Yan¡¯s hesitation came from the fact that Lu Yin had a close rtionship to Eversky Ind, and Wang Yan did not want to give Lu Yin any cause to visit the Wang family.

    The Wang family had no desire to suffer the same humiliation that the Xia family had gone through.

    Wang Yan spoke to Highsage Shenwei, and the man raised a hand. Everyone from the Fifth Maind instantly stopped arguing. At the same time, Wang Yan silenced the members of the Wang family.

    "Arguing is pointless. You don¡¯t need to worry, as we won''t ask about anything private or sensitive," Wang Yan stated.

    Highsage Shenwei sneered. "Get rid of the stupid question asking why we¡¯re visiting the Perennial World. You already know why we¡¯re all here, which makes it a bullshit question."

    "You!" The people from the Wang family were infuriated by Highsage Shenwei¡¯s demanding tone.

    Wang Yan replied, "We ask that question because there are several locations in the Middle Realm for you to go to, and the question will help us determine where to send you. Of course, it¡¯s fine to refuse to answer, and the truce does mention free travel between here and your ce. However, let me remind you that the truce only allows for free travel. We cannot guarantee your safety here. The Perennial World is very vast and very dangerous.¡±

    Highsage Shenwei arrogantly replied, "My Fifth Maind¡¯s people have all emerged from blood and fire! We don¡¯t fear death."

    Everyone from the Fifth Maind cheered.

    The people from the Wang family forcefully suppressed their anger.

    On the other side of the New Corridor, there were many people from the Perennial World visiting the Fifth Maind as well, but they were not faced with a simr interrogation or registration. This was because there was no stellr energy in the Fifth Maind, and it was impossible to cultivate there. Nearly everyone from the Perennial World was visiting the Fifth Maind to go to the Tower of the Fifth, and if they could not reach it, they would quickly return to the Perennial World.

    At this point in time, the agreement for free travel between the two ces clearly benefited the Fifth Maind.

    At the same time, the four ruling powers could do nothing about that, and they could only do all that they could.

    "Name."

    "Wen Sansi."

    The clerk was surprised. "Wen? Destination?"

    "Virtue Archives."

    "Are you from Virtue Archives?"

    "No, I intend to enter the academy."

    "Cultivation?"

    "Enlighter."

    The man looked up at Wen Sansi in surprise. "So young?"

    Instantly, a smile appeared on the man¡¯s face, and he tried to look weing. "Have you considered joining my Wang family?"

    Wen Sansi was caught off guard. What was this?

    Behind the young man, Highsage Shenwei arched a brow and sneered. The Wang family wanted to recruit Wen Sansi.

    "Since you''vee to the Perennial World, you already understand the status of our four ruling powers, as well as what it means to join our Wang family. What do you say? If you join us, you will immediately be a member of my Wang family and obtain the backing of the entire Wang family."

    Wen Sansi stared at the man and smiled. "I don¡¯t need that."

    The clerk was genuinely shocked. He had not expected anyone to actually refuse such an offer. After all, this was an opportunity to join the Wang family. It was something that many people throughout the entire Perennial World dreamed of, including many of Virtue Archives¡¯ students. In fact, many former students of the academy had already joined the Wang family. "I''m offering you the chance to join the Wang family and officially be one of us. There¡¯s no need for any assessment. You will just be epted."

    Wen Sansi smiled and shook his head. "No, I enjoy studying."

    People from the Wang family who heard this response became upset. What was this Wen Sansi implying? That the Wang family were illiterates? The man questioning Wen Sasnsi opened his mouth to say more, but he noticed that Highsage Shenwei was staring at him, as well as Wang Yan. Helpless to do anything, the man irritatedly pointed to the side. "Just leave by yourself, you good-for-nothing!"

 Chapter 2376: Everyoneâ€™s Mad

    Chapter 2376: Everyone¡¯s Mad

    Wen Sansi was not bothered by the attitude of the man from the Wang family. He was a schr and was above such things. He then looked around and breathed in deeply. He was in the Perennial World. He had not had any opportunity to visit this ce before, but he had finally arrived.

    He examined himself. Was he about to break through? His cultivation had stagnated for too long due to ack of star energy.

    Wen Sansi had been with Xing Kai and many others who had been tasked with blocking the people from the Perennial World from reaching the Tower of the Fifth. However, Chu Yuan and the other two former Dao Chosen were simply too strong. Due to their ages, they were able to block absolutely everyone from the Perennial World whose cultivation ranged from Enlighter to four-tribtion Envoy. No one from the Perennial World was able to get past the three people, and there was no need for Wen Sansi or anyone else to remain there. Thus, he had decided toe visit the Perennial World.

    Wen Sansi was not the only one, as Xing Kai, Liu Tianmu, and Ling Gong had all made ns to visit the Perennial World as well.

    Wen Sansi was the first person from the Fifth Maind that the Wang family had attempted to recruit, and the refusal of their first target had set a bad precedent for the Wang family. The man who had registered Wen Sansi¡¯s arrival just dismissed the matter. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know any better."

    The next person in line approached.

    "Name?"

    "Nan Yanfei."

    "Cultivation?"

    "Enlighter."

    The clerk from the Wang family was taken aback again, and he looked up at Nan Yanfei. Another young Enlighter? While such a thing was by no means unheard of in the Perennial World, it was still quite impressive. Once again, the man thought that it would be best to try to recruit such a talented young person. His tone softened a bit. "What do you know about my Wang family?"

    Wen Sansi¡¯s reaction had made the man believe that these people from the Fifth Maind must not understand just how impressive the four ruling powers were.

    Nan Yanfei considered his response. "The Wang family is one of the four ruling powers that controls the entire Perennial World. They are based in the Higher Realm and are led by a Progenitor. No one is willing to cross them."

    The people from the Wang family were impressed. "Well said! Very well said! It seems that you are well informed of my Wang family! Would you like to join us?"

    "Don¡¯t wanna," Nan Yanfei replied sinctly.

    The clerk was stunned. "What did you say?"

    Nan Yanfei repeated, "Don¡¯t wanna."

    "Do you not understand how powerful my Wang family is?" The clerk felt quite confused, and he even Wang Yan looked over.

    Nan Yanfei responded in an earnest tone, "I understand it very well."

    As he spoke, he pulled out what was obviously a massive roasted bird wing from his cosmic ring. It was asrge as half a person, and it hade from some unknown creature. The scent it exuded was tantalizing.

    "So why don''t you want to join us?" The confusion only grew, as this person clearly understood just how powerful the four ruling powers were.

    Nan Yanfei replied, "If I say that I don¡¯t want to, then I just don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m leaving."

    He turned and walked over towards Wen Sansi.

    Nan Yanfei felt that the entire thing was simply ridiculous. After all, he was a former Realmling of the Sixth Maind, and the Sixth Maind had an ancient feud with the Fifth Maind. More importantly, the primeval surnames who had participated in the greatest battles of the ancient war had almost all moved to the Perennial World. How could Nan Yanfei ever have the courage to join an organization in the Perennial World that had so many primeval surnames? He was terrified of dying!

    Not one person from the Sixth Maind would ever be willing to join a ruling power of the Perennial World.

    The Wang family had failed to entice two people now, and they were starting to lose a bit of their confidence. What was wrong with these Fifth Maind cultivators?

    "Name?"

    "Silver."

    "Cultivation?"

    "Enlighter."

    The eyebrows of the clerk rose once again. How were there so many young Enlighters? Just how many geniuses did the Fifth Maind have?

    Even if the Perennial World had many young Enlighters, it did not mean that it was easy to achieve such strength at a young age. "Would you like to join my Wang family?"

    Wang Yan also stared at the youth.

    A brilliant smile crept across Silver¡¯s face. It was a foxy grin. Then, Silver started tough. The sound was so disturbing that it made everyone from the Wang family who heard it, including Wang Yan, ufortable.

    The young man just continued to stand in ce andugh without saying a single word. It was rather disturbing.

    The clerk felt his cheek start to twitch. "What are youughing at?"

    Silver just continued tough. The man¡¯s back grew cold as he listened to the disturbingugh, and he eventually waved Silver to the side. "Move on. Next!"

    "Name?"

    "God Taiyi."

    The clerk was literally speechless, and he stared at God Taiyi. "Is that really the name that you were given by your parents?"

    God Taiyi lifted his head higher. "I have no need for parents! I am a god! I can create things out of nothing."

    You create farts from nothing! The man wanted to smack God Taiyi. Just where did his arrogancee from? This youth was even more arrogant than the heirs of the four ruling powers!

    "Next! Name?" he didn''t want to talk nonsense.

    "Xin Jiao."

    The next person was a woman. The clerk let slip a sigh of relief. He felt like all of the people from the Forsaken Land were all mad.

    A woman should be a bit more normal, and this woman was also not young.

    "Cultivation?"

    "Enlighter."

    The clerk secretly rolled his eyes. Every single person answered the same way: Enlighter. "Purpose foring to the Perennial World?"

    "Brother, I wish to speak with your Wang family¡¯s patriarch," Xin Jiao stated with a smile.

    The clerk¡¯s eye started to twitch. "Who did you say you wanted to speak with?"

    "Your Wang family¡¯s patriarch," Xin Jiao answered naturally. "I am one of the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers, and there are some matters that I would like to discuss with the Wang family¡¯s patriarch on behalf of the Hall of Honor."

    The clerk restrained himself from swearing. He had never even heard of this Hall of Honor. "Our patriarch will not see you."

    The man then pointed to the side. "You can leave."

    "Brother, this is a matter that concerns both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. We need a viable n to facilitate travel back and forth between the two ces, and as one of the overseers, I intend to submit a proposal to the Heavens Sect. Brother, please put me in touch with your Wang family¡¯s patriarch¡­" Xin Jiao continued to tirelessly plead her case.

    She had no other choice. After the Heavens Sect had been established, the Hall of Honor had lost all of its previous authority. The overseers had all fallen from their lofty statuses, and they had not adjusted to the changes. Xin Jiao had been trying to find some way to catch Lu Yin¡¯s attention so that she could obtain a position within the Heavens Sect and regain a bit of her former status. This was why she had traveled to the Perennial World, to get Lu Yin''s attention.

    The clerk quickly drove the woman away. "What a mess! You don¡¯t even understand your own position, but you want to see our patriarch? Get the hell out of here!"

    Highsage Shenwei had been watching all of these interactions, and he nearlyughed out loud. What was the Wang family expecting? This was the first group of people that the Fifth Maind had sent to the Perennial World, which meant that everyone had to have been approved by the Heavens Sect. This meant that each person visiting the Perennial World at this moment had an important status within the Fifth Maind. How would any of them be easy to deal with? Even if any of these wanted to join the four ruling powers, they would never dare to do so in an open and public manner. What would happen if the Heavens Sect learned of the betrayal?

    Of course, Wang Yan already knew this as well, but he had no choice in the matter. The four ruling powers were hoping to recruit people from the Fifth Maind as a way of humiliating Lu Yin. In addition, it would also cause him to fear losing all of his manpower to the Perennial World. No matter how things turned out, they had to at least try to recruit the Fifth Maind cultivators. This was also why Wang Yan had considered his task a terrible job.

    Still, there seemed to be something wrong with all the people from the Fifth Maind. Not one of them seemed normal.

    High above, on the Wang family¡¯s maind, Wang Fan shook his head. Next to him stood Bai Teng, Xia Xing, and Long Ke.

    "No one from this batch will join us. After all, they are the first group being sent over, which means that they¡¯ve already been fully vetted by the Fifth Maind. If any of these people actually joined us, it would be too humiliating for Lu Xiaoxuan. There¡¯s no point in even trying," Wang Fan stated.

    Bai Teng and the others nced at each other. They had watched the Wang family¡¯s people try to entice and recruit people, sometimes even without asking the person about their level of strength. However, disappointingly, not one person was willing to join the Wang family.

    "Let''s go. None of these people will join us," Wang Fan said.

    As soon as he spoke, something happened below.

    "I''ll join! I¡¯ll join! Hurry and sign me up! Take me away! I want to join the Wang family. Bah, it doesn¡¯t matter who it is as long as they can take me away!" someone started shouting.

    Wang Fan and the others heard the shouts, and they all turned back and looked down. Was someone willing to join them? This was publicly pping Lu Xiaoxuan in the face!

    While there would definitely be people who were willing to join the four ruling powers in the future, there shouldn¡¯t be any in this first group of people.

    Down in the valley, the clerk from the Wang family was taken aback. He had already been rejected too many times, and he hade to expect it. It was aplete shock that the man at the front of the line actually wanted to join the Wang family without even being asked.

    The clerk examined the man before him.

    The man was old and rather worn down looking. He wore a in gray robe and carried a g on a wooden pole. One side of the g showed the words ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Grandpa Jiu¡± while the back read ¡°Fortune Telling¡ªBelieve It If You Will.¡±

    It was Xuan Jiu.

    Given the rtionship between Xuan Jiu and Lu Yin, no one would stop the old man from being among the first people to visit the Perennial World.

    Xuan Jiu¡¯s purpose in visiting the Perennial World was quite simple; he wanted to escape from Lu Yin. The further away, the better. It would be best if Xuan Jiu could find a way to prevent Lu Yin from ever affecting him again, as the old man had almost bled to death from the injuries that he had suffered when Lu Yin had triggered Destiny. Xuan Jiu never wanted to suffer through something like that again, but there was no escape in the Fifth Maind. The Perennial World was his only option.

    In order to stay away from Lu Yin, it was important that Xuan Jiu find a ce with a Progenitor supporting it. Maybe then he could avoid being affected when Lu Yin triggered Destiny again.

    "Little brother, I see that your cheeks are rosy, and there is a hidden purple auraing from the east. It hangs upon your forehead and your chest in the shape of a gxy. You will meet a noble person today. Now, hurry up and take me into the Wang family! This master will guide you so that you can find that noble person. Only then can you break away from your original fate and achieve a lifetime of glory," Xuan Jiu stated as he stared at the clerk from the Wang family.

    The man waspletely stunned, and he subconsciously replied, "You¡¯re a liar."

    Xuan Jiu instantly shouted back in a stern tone, "How could Grandpa Jiu be a liar? Just ask around! Grandpa Jiu is incredibly famous in the Fifth Maind, and it is your Perennial World¡¯s good fortune that I¡¯vee to visit you."

    The clerk looked over at Wang Yan as though pleading for help. The man had no idea how to handle this situation.

    It would be wonderful if a normal person was willing to join the Wang family, even if they were a perfectly average cultivator. However, there was clearly something wrong with this old man. There was no question about it.

    Before Wang Yan could say a word, he heard Wang Fan''s voice. "Get rid of him."

    Wang Fan would rather not recruit a liar who was clearly problematic. The old man would only be an embarrassment to the Wang family, and they were not nearly so desperate.

    Wang Yan waved a hand.

    The clerk pointed over towards where Wen Sansi and the others had gathered. "Move along. Keep going."

    "Little brother, you must trust me. Grandpa Jiu is the most urate fortune teller!" Xuan Jiu started begging. He was desperate to find a ce with a Progenitor protecting it to hide from Lu Yin. As for the organization¡¯s rtionship with Lu Yin, that was none of Xuan Jiu¡¯s business.

    Wait, what? They don¡¯t want me? But they were clearly just trying to recruit anyone they could.

    "Move along. Don¡¯t hold up the line." The clerk started to lose his patience.

    Xuan Jiu lost his temper. "You can¡¯t recognize good from bad! Boy, just how many people in the Fifth Maind do you think have begged Grandpa Jiu to do a divination for them? But they were never lucky enough to get Grandpa Jiu to listen to them! Well, you don''t want to ept Grandpa Jiu, right? In that case, Grandpa Jiu will do a divination for you. Your Wang family is destined to bask in glory forever. You will ascend to the peak, take control of the entire Fifth Maind, and lead all of humanity."

    The clerk frowned. "Your ttery is useless. Get the hell out of the way!"

    There were many people from the Fifth Maind giving the clerk odd stares. They were all people who were quite familiar with Xuan Jiu. Anything that the old man said, the opposite woulde to pass. If he said you have good fortune, misfortune would soon befall you. Likewise, if he said you have bad luck, good fortune would soone your way.

    Listening to how Xuan Jiu was praising the Wang family sovishly, Highsage Shenwei started sweating for the Wang family. There was no way that the same thing would happen, right? If this old man could curse the Wang family and destroy it, he would be more terrifying than any Progenitor.

 Chapter 2377: Escape

    Chapter 2377: Escape

    More and more people trickled into the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind. With the new arrivals, the Perennial World was certain to soon be far more lively.

    On the rear battlefield, Skymender wearily said, "No, there¡¯s not even one."

    Lu Yin started thinking. He had asked Skymender to do a divination for fatesand, only to find that there was not a single piece of fatesand in the entire Perennial World. Of course, Lu Yin did not believe this. It was far more likely that Bai Xian''er had gathered them.

    "Forget it." He looked around at the fourth array base. It was time for him to leave, so he handed over responsibility of the fourth array base to Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin left the fourth array base atop the jiao. As for Wan Zhiyi and the other vassals of the Lu family, none of them left with Lu Yin. He was headed for the Higher Realm to find Food Paradise. He intended to see if he could recover some of his memories there.

    ¡­

    There was a nging of heavy chains, as well as the sound of slowly approaching gentle footsteps.

    Liu Shaoge opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, and the magma gave everything a reddish tint.

    He was deep underground, far below Shenwu¡¯s Sky. This was where the people who were regarded as Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s worst criminals were imprisoned.

    There were chains everywhere, but not even a Semi-Progenitor could break free from these chains. All who entered this ce would never leave.

    The footsteps drew closer.

    Liu Shaoge was panting for breath. There were no wounds on his body, but that was because the people of Shenwu¡¯s Sky were not foolish. Liu Shaoge had clearly been abandoned by Lu Yin, and he was possibly even Lu Yin''s enemy. Thus, they wanted to extract some information from their prisoner.

    Liu Shaoge had proven cooperative, very cooperative. He had shared everything that he knew about Lu Yin. Things had gone so smoothly that he had only seen two people during his entire incarceration.

    One was Xia Xing, the sect master of Shenwu''s Sky. The other was the man responsible for interrogating Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s prisoners.

    At this moment, a third person was approaching him: Xia Ziheng.

    When he saw that Xia Ziheng was visiting him, Liu Shaoge heaved a sigh of relief. "You¡¯re finally here."

    Xia Ziheng stared at Liu Shaoge. "You knew that I woulde?"

    Liu Shaoge smiled. "There are very few people who have the authority to make decisions about someone like me. It was bound to be either you or Sect Master Xia Xing."

    Xia Ziheng calmly replied, "I don''t like people who act smart, but I will give you a chance to guess the purpose of my visit."

    Liu Shaoge answered without any hesitation. "You either need my help or my cooperation."

    "How could you cooperate with us?" Xia Ziheng sped his hands behind his back as he looked down at the prisoner.

    Liu Shaoge looked up at the Semi-Progenitor. He was like an ant begging for its life. "Lu Yin¡ªwell, the one you call Lu Xiaoxuan, wields a power that makes things difficult for all of you. While I don''t know what he might have done recently, I guess that you underestimated him somehow. Am I right?"

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Do you know him very well?"

    Liu Shaoge smiled. "So I was right? Yes, I know him very well. From when I first started cultivating until now, I have been very familiar with him. I know how he acts, how he thinks, and even his motivations. I know him very well. You also know this too, which is why you need my help. I can help you discover his ws."

    Xia Ziheng asked, "Then tell an old man what he is thinking right now and what he is about to do next."

    "May I know the current situation?"

    "You may." Xia Ziheng then proceeded to share a brief summary of the recent events.

    Liu Shaoge thought for a bit and then looked up at Xia Ziheng. "He has ced people near you."

    Xia Ziheng''s expression instantly changed. "Why would you say that?"

    Liu Shaoge exined, "Lu Yin will never do anything without being confident of sess. The fact that, even after he revealed his abilities to you, he still dared toe to the Perennial World means that he is prepared to face all of you. That means that he must have his own people nted within your four ruling powers, and more than just one. He would only act like this if he is confident that he can learn about everything that you do. For the time being, he is going to do his best to work with you.¡±

    "Your four ruling powerspletely dominate this Perennial World. The full power of the Fifth Maind is not enough to stand up against you all, which means that he is going to find a way to use the Perennial World¡¯s situation against you and destabilize your power."

    "What will he do?" Xia Ziheng asked softly. The four ruling powers were familiar with Lu Xiaoxuan, but they did not know much about Lu Yin. His personality waspletely changed, and Shenwu¡¯s Sky not only needed to be on guard against Lu Yin, but also against Bai Xian''er.

    Even after all that had happened, the Xia family still regarded Bai Xian''er as a greater threat than Lu Yin.

    Even after Lu Yin had fought against four Semi-Progenitors by himself as just a three-tribtion Envoy and contested Progenitors, he was still not considered as great a threat as Bai Xian''er. This was why Bai Wangyuan had chosen to agree to allow Lu Yin to be a Semi-Progenitor if it meant saving Bai Xian¡¯er. This was also why the Xia family, the Wang family, and the White Dragon n were forced to agree to the truce as well. Nothing could happen to Bai Xian''er. This was something that the Celestial Frost Sect would never allow no matter what it took.

    The four ruling powers were constantlypeting with each other. After all, there could only be one true master of the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin posed a threat that the four ruling powers were indeed wary of, but the Xia family needed to not only guard against Lu Yin, but also Bai Xian''er. They wanted to seize the initiative in dealing with Lu Yin, and hopefully aim that threat at the Celestial Frost Sect instead. If they could get Lu Yin to fight against Bai Xian''er, it would be best if both of them destroyed each other.

    Liu Shaoge straightened up. The chains binding him swayed, constantly nging from the movement. "I¡¯m not sure howplete his knowledge of the Perennial World might be, nor how much he¡¯s kept hidden. So while it¡¯s impossible for me to urately guess his next move, if I were in his ce, I would find people who aren¡¯t under your control and then use them against you.¡±

    As Liu Shaoge spoke, he stared at Xia Ziheng with greater intensity.

    "Aside from that, what else will he do?" Xia Ziheng showed not even a flicker of surprise. Naturally, the four ruling powers had already guessed this much themselves.

    Liu Shaoge replied, "Senior, you may not have heard what I said clearly. I mentioned people who are not under your control. I am not merely referring to the Nong and Liu families or Specter Abyss."

    Xia Ziheng frowned. "Then what do you mean?"

    Liu Shaoge took a moment to consider his words. "Look at the entire Perennial World and make a list of everyone in it who you consider worth your notice, regardless of whether they are friend or foe. Of those, list out all those who are not under your control. Oh, and make sure that you include the Aeternals."

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes instantly snapped wide open. "Aeternus? Has Lu Xiaoxuan colluded with Aeternus?"

    Liu Shaoge quickly denied the allegations. "That is not what this junior said. However, that does not mean that he can¡¯t use Aeternus. As for how he might use them, it depends on what he is capable of doing. It is much like when your four ruling powers exiled the Lu family, Senior. Did you not make use of Aeternus at that time?"

    As soon as the words left Liu Shaoge¡¯s mouth, Xia Ziheng casually waved a hand, and a de stabbed Liu Shaoge through his forehead. The young man¡¯s eyes went wide as blood tainted and blurred his vision. Even at that moment, disbelief filled his eyes. "Why? Why do this?"

    Xia Ziheng stared at Liu Shaoge. "I already told you that I don''t like people who act smart. There are some things that you can say, but there are also some things that cannot be said. Child, you are still too young."

    With that, the old man turned around and left.

    Lu Yin had disguised himself as Yu Hao, humiliating the Xia family beyond redemption. Afterwards, Xia Ziheng had been punished by Xia Shenji himself because the Progenitor was irritated that Xia Ziheng had been so badly outwitted in his assumption that Yu Hao was Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s apprentice.

    As Liu Shaoge analyzed Lu Yin''s future actions step by step, Xia Ziheng had seen Lu Yin¡¯s shadow ovep with Liu Shaoge¡¯s image. Both were cunning and smart, and Liu Shaoge¡¯sstment had triggered the final spark. As Xia Ziheng had said, there were certain things that could not be spoken. No, they could not even be thought.

    Liu Shaoge¡¯s death had absolutely no effect on the Xia family. Xia Ziheng dismissed the entire matter from his mind in an instant. His final thought was that Liu Shaoge had overestimated himself far, far too much. Had he truly believed that the Xia family needed to rely on him in order to deal with Lu Xiaoxuan? How ridiculous! They were the Xia family! One of the four ruling powers! They had an unshakeable foundation and powerful Progenitors. Mere children could not mess around and y tricks without consequences.

    Shortly after Xia Ziheng left, two other members of Shenwu''s Sky arrived to dispose of Liu Shaoge''s body.

    "I thought that they said that this guy wasn¡¯t going to be executed. I didn''t expect him to die anyway."

    "There aren¡¯t many people locked up down here who were killed by Ziheng himself."

    "This guy isn¡¯t an ordinary person. He actually impersonated Yu Hao and was captured inside Shenwu''s Sky. I heard that he was abandoned by Lu Xiaoxuan."

    "Whatever. Just toss his corpse into the magma and burn it."

    Dark-red blood stained the ground, but the liquid all quickly evaporated due to the high temperature. It caused ayer of blood mist to quickly form around Liu Shaoge''s body.

    The two men unlocked the chains that bound Liu Shaoge¡¯s corpse in ce, but right as they lifted the body, Liu Shaoge attacked. Both men¡¯s heads were sent tumbling into the magma, quickly followed by the headless corpses. A slight push had sent them into the magma, and they were quickly reduced to ashes.

    The two men had only been Explorers, and they had been helpless against Liu Shaoge.

    For some time, tremors ran through Liu Shaoge¡¯s body. "I''m so dizzy."

    He then looked in a direction where another person was bound by chains. At this moment, there was a wound on the man¡¯s head identical to the one that Liu Shaoge had suffered.

    "Nightking Zhenwu''s innate gift is incredibly useful, even if it does cause a bit of dizziness. My thanks, brother." Liu Shaoge wiped away thest of the blood stains and then took on the appearance of one of the guards who had arrived to collect Liu Shaoge¡¯s body.

    "I told you that I can escape, but you didn¡¯t believe me. How about it? I really can escape," Liu Shaoge muttered to himself, though he sounded like he was speaking to someone else.

    The chains vibrated, giving off a sound at a specific frequency. Liu Shaoge followed the chains¡¯ vibrations and stared deeper underground. "A Semi-Progenitor is staring at me? Seriously??"

    The chains vibrated again.

    Liu Shaoge touched his head. "That¡¯s going to be difficult. I don¡¯t have the key to unlock your chains. I saw what happened that day. The Progenitor with Lu Yin had to use a weapon to break the chains."

    The chain vibrated again.

    "It seems that you¡¯ve been preparing for this for a long time. Very well, Lu Yin is keeping Shenwu''s Sky busy, so we¡¯ll keep a low profile and sneak out of here." After speaking, Liu Shaoge followed the vibrating chains and entered the magma itself. He then moved towards the depths of the earth.

    Far deeper underground, a pair of eyes opened. The boundless depths of the eyes seemed capable of piercing through everything as they looked up, past Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and seemingly into the Dominion Realm itself. "Xia Shenji, I will find you!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin flew to the Dingshang Realm on the jiao. At this moment, he didn''t know that Liu Shaoge had escaped from Shenwu''s Sky.

    Towards Liu Shaoge, he had no feelings of guilt. This was simply the rule of the universe. The strong killed the weak. He was not a benevolent person, let alone a good person. Just like the people who had thrown him into the floating star as white meat, Lu Yin had no remorse for Liu Shaoge.

    He could abandon Liu Shaoge, because Liu Shaoge was not his friend. Simrly, Liu Shaoge would not hesitate to betray him, as they owed nothing to each other.

    Liu Shaoge understood Lu Yin, and Lu Yin also understood him. He knew very well that, if possible, Liu Shaoge would do his best to survive and win Shenwu''s Sky''s trust to deal with him. However, that was just for survival, not hatred.

    They were both all too aware of thews of survival in this universe.

 Chapter 2378: Food Paradise

    Chapter 2378: Food Paradise

    Was Liu Shaoge truly capable of dealing with Lu Yin? Lu Yin had nted the Death Seal in Liu Shaoge¡¯s body. That was because, while Lu Yin might not care about Semi-Progenitors or even fear certain Progenitors, he remained extremely wary towards intelligent and conniving opponents such as Liu Shaoge or Bai Xian¡¯er.

    Lu Yin believed that it would only be a short while before Liu Shaoge reappeared in Shenwu''s Sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled. It was a message from Jiu Zizai.

    Lu Yin immediately checked the message.

    "Dao Chosen, there are people stopping us. We can¡¯t even get close to the New Corridor," Jiu Zizi reported.

    Lu Yin sent back, "How many people have been stopped?"

    "Hundreds, and that is only in the direction that I traveled in. There should be more people who have been stopped along other routes, and this is just in the Higher Realm. Many people are unable to even reach the Higher Realm from the Middle Realm," Jiu Zizai replied.

    Lu Yin disconnected. Apparently, many people from the Perennial World were quite interested in visiting the Fifth Maind, but they were all being stopped by the four ruling powers. Many people were arriving in the Perennial World, but no one was visiting the Fifth Maind, which meant that no true interactions could take ce between the two ces.

    Lu Yin¡¯s intention was for the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind to be integrated rather than separated and isted.

    After considering the matter, Lu Yin sent a message to Wang Wen with his wireless jincan.

    "So the four ruling powers are stopping anyone from the Perennial World from visiting our Fifth Maind, huh? Alright, that¡¯s one more thing to deal with. I just arrived here myself, so what do you say? Do you want to meet up with me and catch up?" Wang Wen sent back. It appeared that he was in a good mood.

    Lu Yin asked, "You¡¯re already in the Perennial World?"

    "Yeah. I don¡¯t want to admit it, but this ce feels pretty good, and the Mother Tree is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, this Higher Realm is too depressing, and I feel stifled when I look up. It¡¯s not pleasant.¡±

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s also a bunch of people that we know here. I¡¯ve seen Wen Sansi and a bunch of those from his group. There was also an overseer from the Hall of Honor who wanted to speak with the Wang family¡¯s patriarch, but she was driven away because of her attitude," Wang Wen sent back as he smiled.

    "I almost forgot. The four ruling powers are trying to recruit some of us to humiliate you."

    Lu Yin replied, "No one from this first group will agree. None of them would dare."

    "You''re wrong on that. There was someone who was begging to join the Wang family," Wang Wen replied. "Wait, isn''t my surname also Wang? Do you think that I¡¯m from this Wang family? Maybe I can trace my roots back to their family tree and find my ancestors. Wang Wen, haha."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned stormy. "Who was asking to join the Wang family?"

    The first group of people sent to the Perennial World had been strictly checked. All of them had close connections to Lu Yin, and none of them should have ever been willing to betray the Fifth Maind. Joining the Wang family would indeed humiliate Lu Yin, and while it would not be anything more than an embarrassment, Lu Yin did not want to lose face in this manner.

    Whoever had asked to join the Wang family had to die.

    Wang Wen replied, "Xuan Jiu."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. He pursed his lips. "Did he actually join?"

    "No. The Wang family didn¡¯t want him. They thought that he was a liar," Wang Wen replied.

    As soon as Wang Wen sent the reply, Xuan Jiu rushed over, and he stared at Wang Wen with bloodshot eyes. "Boy, Grandpa Jiu has been watching you for a long time! Don¡¯t think that Grandpa Jiu doesn¡¯t see what you¡¯re saying! Who did you just call a liar?"

    Wang Wen stared at Xuan Jiu, who was panicking. The old man¡¯s reaction left Wang Wen rather speechless, so he sent another message to Lu Yin, "The man himself just came to me."

    "Pass the jincan over to Xuan Jiu," Lu Yin replied.

    Wang Wen handed the wireless jincan to Xuan Jiu. "Why don''t you talk to him?"

    Xuan Jiu warily eyed the wireless jincan. He knew Wang Wen, which meant that Xuan Jiu also knew whom Wang Wen had been messaging. It was definitely that rotten trash, Lu Yin.

    Xuan Jiu really wanted to curse Lu Yin, but after a moment¡¯s thought, he realized that he did not dare to do such a thing. This was not because Xuan Jiu was afraid of Lu Yin, but rather because the old man was afraid of influencing Destiny. The more involved one became with Lu Yin, the more contaminated by Destiny one would be. ¡°Grandpa Jiu doesn¡¯t want to waste time speaking with him. Just tell him that if he dares to trigger Destiny again and make Grandpa Jiu vomit blood once more, this old man will spend the rest of his life blessing that rotten trash!"

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. While it sounded like Xuan Jiu was being kind, he was actually cursing Lu Yin. "Got it."

    Xuan Jiu snorted disdainfully before turning around and leaving.

    Wang Wen informed Lu Yin about what had happened, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do. "Tell him that if he really wants to join one of the four ruling powers, I''ll give him an introduction."

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes again. An introduction? If someone was introduced to the four ruling powers by Lu Yin, they were guaranteed to be torn apart by the four ruling powers. These two men were amazing at cursing each other with good sounding words. Wait a minute, has he ever cursed me like that before?

    "By the way, where''s Wei Rong?" Lu Yin had just been about to end the conversation when he suddenly remembered something that he had wanted to ask.

    Wang Wen looked over at where a group of people was being sent down to the Middle Realm. There were multiple groups of people being separated and sent to different locations in the Middle Realm, just as Wang Yan had exined, and Wei Rong and Wang Wen had been separated. "He ns to join one of the four ruling powers after a bit of time."

    "Got it. Don¡¯t let him join the Celestial Frost Sect." Lu Yin sent a single reminder before ending the conversation.

    Wang Wen and Wei Rong had already arrived in the Perennial World, and only more and more people would arrive from the Fifth Maind. Things were going to start getting exciting in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away and turned to look forward. He had not even realized that he had already arrived at Mount Mei. This was the ce that the old servant had mentioned before his death. He had told Lu Yin that he had personally seen Food Paradise fall to Mount Mei.

    Mount Mei was absolutely massive, and it was actually an entire mountain range that wasrge enough to conceal the Astral River.

    Lu Yin released his domain, and it spread out further and further, distorting the void as it spread. Lu Yin was trying to find Food Paradise by seeing through all the space here.

    Surprisingly, Food Paradise was not difficult to find. He found a small pocket dimension in ake on Mount Mei Lake and quickly entered it.

    ¡­

    There were too many strange things in the universe, too many unique ces, and all kinds of bizarre astral phenomena. Zhi Yi had thought that she could ept anything, but then she had arrived at her current location.

    She was on an ind that wasposed entirely of food. It was not entirely urate to call it an ind, but that was the impression that it gave off. It looked like an ind floating in a sea of some sort of delicious fruity drink. Everything was colorful, and there were entirekes of various beverages. Rainbows frequently appeared in the sky from the light of the sun, but the sun was not an actual star, but rather some kind of jelly.

    The jelly glowed and provided heat while also being delicious. She had tried a bite.

    The soft ground underfoot was made of cookie crumbs that had a slightly bitter taste. At the edges of thekes where the wavespped at the shore, the crumbs formedplete cookies, and those cookies were incredibly tasty.

    Each of the trees on the ind were made of barbecued meat that each had a unique taste. The branches were covered with different snacks, such as potato chips. The grass asionally released bubbles into the wind. Some held roasted meat, while others held fruit. There were even some that contained drinks.

    The distant mountains changed in ordance with the seasons. What had impressed Zhi Yi the most was summer, during which the mountains were covered with ice cream.

    Behind the mountains appeared to be a desert, but it was formed from various kinds of fried rice and noodles, which all smelled amazing.

    When it rained, the raindrops were colorful candies. Many different species of delicious-looking fish lived in thekes, and as soon as they were removed from thekes, they would transform into grilled fish without the need for any preparation at all.

    Even the wind that blew across the ind had a unique effect, and it made people want to eat more food even if they had just finished eating.

    Zhi Yi had absolutely no idea how the ind hade into existence. Regardless of how strange things could be in the universe, something like this ind should never exist. The fried rice and fried noodles clearly looked man-made, but she had not seen anyone else on the ind.

    More importantly, Zhi Yi had never been able to leave the ind. She had been trapped on it for decades, and while her cultivation had improved greatly, she was still unable to leave. All she could do was cultivate, eat, and grow fat. There was so much food on the ind that Zhi Yi was not at all surprised that she had not eaten everything even after so many years, as it was simply impossible to consume all of the food. There was even a flower that was able to somehow summon various dishes as though by magic.

    She let out a heavy sigh. "How long are these days going tost for?"

    She stared out at ake. It was stunningly beautiful and illuminated with colorful lights. Unfortunately, even this magnificent beauty had grown rather dull in Zhi Yi¡¯s eyes after staring at it for decades. The only thing that had broken the monotony of the decades was the one person that she could asionally speak to, but that person very, very rarely visited.

    What should Zhi Yi do if she was never able to leave the ind?

    As she stared out at theke, she was suddenly ovee with ecstasy. Without even realizing when, she was staring at a person standing on theke with some sort of box floating behind him. After a short while, Zhi Yi walked closer to theke, approaching the person. Once she was close enough, Zhi Yi blinked. Lu Yin?

    She smiled wryly. Why would she suddenly think of him? It seemed that she had finally started hallucinating after spending decades living through the exact same day over and over again. Zhi Yi had known that she would eventually lose her mind if she was unable to leave the ind.

    As soon as Lu Yin entered Food Paradise, the first thing that he saw was Zhi Yi sitting on the edge of theke, staring at him, clearly dumbfounded. Lu Yin was shocked. What was Zhi Yi doing in Food Paradise?

    He nced around and instantly felt that the ce seemed incredibly familiar. Between the smells and the look, memories instantly started to appear in his mind, only to instantly vanish once again.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce for half an hour as he hoped to recover some of his old memories, but it never happened.

    "You¡¯ve been in Food Paradise? Is this where you appeared when we were sent to the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin finally walked over and spoke to Zhi Yi.

    Zhi Yi was still staring nkly at Lu Yin. "Wait, you can talk?"

    Lu Yin looked at Zhi Yi''s dull eyes, casually reached over, and patted her. The woman instantly came to her senses. She leaped to her feet, clearly ovee with excitement, and she grabbed Lu Yin''s shoulders. "It''s you! Is it really you?"

    Lu Yin looked at Zhi Yi oddly. "Have you lost your mind?"

    Her excitement mounting, Zhi Yi gripped Lu Yin''s arm tightly, as though terrified that he would suddenly disappear. "How did you get here? Can you leave?"

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous," Lu Yin replied. He stared off into the distance. The feeling of familiarity from Food Paradise was growing stronger and stronger. Already, Lu Yin had lost any sense of curiosity regarding where all of the food came from.

    Zhi Yi had no desire to learn how Lu Yin had managed to arrive on the ind. All she wanted to know was how to leave.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked back at Zhi Yi. "Let go."

    Zhi Yi replied, "Take me away from here! I don''t want to stay in this damn ce any longer."

    Lu Yin did not even move, but Zhi Yi was thrown back. "This damn ce?"

    He looked around, his emotions in turmoil. "For some people, this ce is the most beautiful ce imaginable."

    He then started walking towards a specific location, moving across Food Paradise.

    Zhi Yi had not been injured at all. Lu Yin would not harm her at all, though that was out of respect for the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Zhi Yi shot back to her feet and quickly chased after Lu Yin. "You came here on purpose? There¡¯s nothing here except for food."

    Lu Yin ignored the woman. He followed the feeling of familiarity, and they guided him deeper and deeper into Food Paradise. He passed through a forest, breaking off branches as he walked by a tree. He ate the potato chips that had reced the branches¡¯ leaves and happily devoured the barbecued bark of the trees. When bubbles appeared, he reached out and took a drink from one. He sipped it, and the taste was of pure nostalgia.

    After leaving the woods, he stared up at the tall mountains off in the distance. He breathed in the rich fragrance deeply. More and more, this ce felt familiar to him.

    Zhi Yi was taken aback by Lu Yin¡¯s actions. This was his first time visiting this strange ind, so why did he appear so familiar with the ce? Could Lu Yin have been to his ce before? Also, was the Champions¡¯ Stage that the youths of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds had fought over so many years ago floating behind him? What was Lu Yin doing with the Champions¡¯ Stage?

 Chapter 2379: Previous Home

    Chapter 2379: Previous Home

    The two continued on in the same manner; Lu Yin at the front with Zhi Yi following behind. They made their way towards the center of Food Paradise, to a ce that had wine bottles scattered all over it, as well as steaming dishes ced atop a blooming flower.

    As Lu Yin approached the wine bottles, a memory appeared. In it, many people were sitting in a circle,ughing, drinking, and talking loudly. He looked over in one direction, towards where Eldest Sister had been sitting. "Little Seven, drink less. You¡¯re supposed to be visiting the bridal chamber tonight."

    Lu Yin looked to the side, which was where Second Brother had sat. "Elder Sister, our Little Seven¡¯s all grown up! We won''t be needed in the future."

    "Second Brother, don''t be ridiculous! Little Seven,e over here. Fourth Sister will drink with you."

    "Fourth Sister, slow down a bit! Don''t forget, there are other people in your family waiting tofort you."

    "It''s not like you can only marry one, Little Seven. Take Long Xi with you."

    "I got it recorded, haha! y it for Bai Xian''er right now! Fourth Sister, she¡¯s always disliked you."

    "Old Five, you¡¯re asking to die! Don¡¯t start family conflicts."

    "Little Seven, don''t talk to me about Qiming. I can see his star has dimmed. The child is so pitiful."

    "Who forced that kid to always provoke me? Actually, why doesn''t he bother you?"

    "Little Seven, it¡¯d be best if you talk to him, and don¡¯t let him annoy me. Third Brother will put him in the ground! No, I¡¯ll toss him into the wheat circle! We won¡¯t have to even think about him for ten years."

    "Who- who dares to insult me, the Seven Heroes¡¯ eighth member, Tu Qiming? Boss, someone just insulted me!"

    "Hahahaha."

    "Hahahaha."

    Everyone had been sitting in a circle,ughing happily while drinking, celebrating, and offering their blessings. Lu Yin clenched his fists. At some point in time, his eyes had turned bloodshot. This particr memory appeared like a snapshot in his mind. It was exceptionally clear, and he could still remember what everyone had said, what they had worn, what they had done, and even the specific blessings that they had offered him. It was a warm memory, filled with family and friends. At that time, he had had family, siblings, and even a lover.

    However, everything after that memory shattered, and the clear picture disappeared. There was nothing at all left.

    When Lu Yin returned to his senses, he only saw empty wine bottles scattered across the ground. Where were the people? Where had everyone gone?

    Lu Yin sat down. This had been his seat.

    Zhi Yi watched Lu Yin from the distance as he sat down on the ground. For some reason, he was giving off an aura of extreme loneliness right now. This loneliness did not bother Zhi Yi, but she could tell that, no matter how many people might walk by, this loneliness would not be driven away. It was also clear that Lu Yin had visited this ind before and that something had happened in this particr ce.

    Zhi Yi had visited this location on the ind before, and when she had first seen all the empty wine bottles scattered across the ground, she had initially believed that there were still people on the ind. She had been very wary for quite some time, but she had never found anyone.

    Lu Yin spent an entire day sitting amidst the empty wine bottles. He did not move at all. He was reminiscing, trying to recall more of his lost memories of the past, memories of the happy times. Unfortunately, while he could remember certain people, he could not get them back.

    The old servant who had died in Lu Yin¡¯s arms had said that Lu Xiaoxuan had left certain important things in Food Paradise, but Lu Yin could not remember anything.

    "Have you explored this entire ind?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    After a moment, Zhi Yi replied, "Well, I''ve been here for decades, so I''ve seen the whole ce."

    "What else have you found?"

    "This whole ce is nothing but food. There isn¡¯t anything else."

    Lu Yin stopped talking.

    "Oh, right. Someone asionally stops by and talks to me, but she always reaches out to me. I can¡¯t contact her at all." Zhi Yi suddenly remembered something. "Thest time she visited and spoke to me was ten years ago."

    Lu Yin turned around and fixed a very intense stare onto Zhi Yi. "Who is it?"

    "She said that her name was Bai Xian''er."

    Lu Yin abruptly appeared right in front of Zhi Yi, his speed so fast that Zhi Yi could not even react. She was badly startled¡ªjust what level had Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation reached? Other than eating, Zhi Yi had spent all of her time on the ind cultivating, and given the abundant stellr energy, it had felt like an ideal location for secluded training. She had already be an Envoy, so why did she feel as powerless as a child before Lu Yin?

    "Take me to find her," Lu Yinmanded.

    Zhi Yi was stunned, and she frowned. "Lu Yin, I''m not your minion! I only approached you like that because I haven''t seen anyone for so long, and because I can''t find any way out of here. I-"

    She was not even able to finish her sentence when her mind suddenly trembled. A long-forgotten pressure enveloped her, and it felt as though the sky was copsing. The entire ind started shaking. The pressure was so intense that she struggled to even breathe, and she was forced to crouch on the ground, unable to resist at all.

    She could not believe what she was feeling, as she had only ever felt such an intense pressure from Semi-Progenitors. Not even the Sixth Maind¡¯s most powerful imprints had ever given her this much pressure, and it was a massive shock to feel such a sensation from Lu Yin. Zhi Yi could do nothing but stare at the ground, as she was unable to do so much as raise her head. She had the distinct feeling that, if she raised her head, she would die.

    "Take me to find her," Lu Yin ordered again, and after he spoke, all of the pressure instantly vanished.

    The tremendous pressure came and went so quickly that Zhi Yi actually coughed up blood. The abrupt disappearance of the pressure had ced too much strain on her body. Her hands fell onto the ground, and she slowly looked up. For the first time since seeing him again, Zhi Yi stared at Lu Yin with fear. She was afraid of someone from her own generation, someone who had once needed to cooperate with others just to survive a fight against her.

    When had shest seen him? ZENITH. However, even if Lu Yin had revealed the God of Death¡¯s power during thest battle of ZENITH andpletely overwhelmed every other finalist, his power had not been enough to make Zhi Yi feel such instinctive fear. Why did he give off such an overwhelmingly terrifying aura now?

    Lu Yin calmly looked down at the woman. Zhi Yi wiped the bit of blood from the corner of her mouth and shakily said, "I''ll take you there."

    Lu Yin looked back up and stared off into the distance. He was no longer worried about Zhi Yi.

    She had once been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, and her endless Vitality Qi had been extremely difficult to deal with. However, the once monstrous opponent had be as fragile as a piece of paper before Lu Yin¡¯s current strength. What was there to fear from her?

    Zhi Yi slowly rose to her feet. She let out another cough and then started walking in a specific direction.

    She had not felt any pain or suffered any injuries for literal decades. She had forgotten what pain felt like. Ironically, thest time she had suffered pain had also been at Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    Zhi Yi was desperate to ask about what had happened in the Fifth Maind, but given what had just happened, she felt too frightened to speak up. It was clear that the gap between them wasrger than what she could understand.

    Zhi Yi did not move quickly, though Lu Yin did not try to rush her. He was still thinking about various things.

    What did the fact that Bai Xian''er spoke to Zhi Yi in Food Paradise mean? It meant that Bai Xian¡¯er knew where Food Paradise had fallen and that she could visit the ce.

    When it came to Bai Xian''er, Lu Yin could only think of bad things. If she was able to enter and leave Food Paradise at will, then where was she at the moment?

    At this thought, Lu Yin immediately grew wary, and he prepared to utilize the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage at any moment. God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder, and beneath his clothes, Wielder-realm battle force spread upwards from his hand. He was ready to strike at any moment.

    Zhi Yi led Lu Yin to an exquisite wooden house that stood in the depths of Food Paradise. Well, it was not actually a wooden house, but rather a house made of water. The building¡¯s materials looked exactly like water, but it was actually as sturdy as wood. Fish swam within the water that made up the house, giving the ce a beautiful and elegant appearance.

    A fence ran around the water house. There should have been some animals within the fenced-in area, and there was even arge vegetable garden behind the house. The entire ce looked amazingly peaceful and rxing.

    A short distance away stood a waterfall, and a colorful drink fell down the cascade. Fish were constantly swimming, trying to climb the waterfall, as if they were trying to leap over the dragon''s gate.

    The cliffs on either side of the waterfall were covered with fruit trees, and not only did the trees bear various fruits, but their branches also held other delicacies, sauces, and even meat.

    As Lu Yin stared at the scene before him, his pupils fluctuated, and another image appeared in his mind. He saw a beautiful face with a delighted smile, and eyes that were filled with love as they stared at him. He was seeing Bai Xian''er.

    This was where he and Bai Xian''er had lived.

    "I met her inside that house," Zhi Yi said, standing still.

    Lu Yin slowly walked forward. He raised a hand and ced it on the fence. This action felt like it had been done countless times before, and it brought him feelings of happiness andfort. He pushed his way through the fence and looked to the sides. Rabbits and cats had been raised in this ce, as well as dogs and even hedgehogs. He could almost see a smiling, beautiful woman squatting on the ground and feeding the animals.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head suddenly snapped to the side to look at the forest. It felt like someone shoulde out from that direction.

    There had been a colorful deer, and whenever he returned to this ce, that colorful deer had run out from the woods and bumped into his arms, eager to see him.

    This was the house that had belonged exclusively to Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er. Aside from entertaining a few of his brothers and sisters, not even members of the Lu family had ever visited this ce. Lu Yin could very clearly remember that detail.

    Taking a deep breath, Lu Yin stepped forward again and approached the house. He opened the door and looked around.

    The first room was quite small, and the furniture perfectly matched his memories from the bygone years. He was certain that he was looking at the same wooden bed, the same dresser, and the same table. This was a very, very familiar ce, and as soon as Lu Yin stepped through the door, he had felt the urge to spend the rest of his life in this house.

    This had been his home. At this moment, Lu Yin could also remember why he had promised Bai Xian''er to move Food Paradise next to the Lu Sanctum; it had been because of this house.

    After getting married, this house was supposed to be their home, not the Lu Sanctum. That was why Lu Yin¡¯s family had agreed to move Food Paradise to the Higher Realm, and it was also why Bai Xian''er had requested the move. Lu Yin could remember Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s exact appearance when she had eagerly and excitedly suggested the move.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, let''s not care about the rest of the world in the future, alright? I just want to stay on Food Paradise in our little home. The universe might be vast and impressive, but that¡¯s not what I want." That was what Bai Xian''er had said at that time.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as he remembered everything. Bai Xian¡¯er had been the one who said those words. She had been the one who had suggested moving Food Paradise to the Higher Realm, but everything had been fake. Saying that she had wanted to stay in this house in Food Paradise, saying that she had wanted to leave the rest of the universe and live a humble life¡ªall of it had been an act.

    There was a bang, and the water house was shattered. Everything nearby was sted away by a surge of Lu Yin''s powerful aura.

    Zhi Yi reflexively stepped back, and she stared at Lu Yin as though she were looking at a psychopath.

    As she stared on, Lu Yin was panting heavily, his eyespletely bloodshot. It was clear that he was suppressing some powerful memory or emotion.

    At this moment, something vibrated inside the nightstand. Somehow, the nightstand had not been destroyed.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw amunication crystal.

    He took a deep breath and answered the iing call. An image of Bai Xian''er appeared.

    Lu Yin stared at her.

    She looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Xiaoxuan, what are your thoughts?"

    Lu Yin red at Bai Xian''er. "You were the one who suggested that we move Food Paradise next to the Lu Sanctum. You nned out everything that happened back then!"

    Bai Xian''er was taken aback. "Master Shan and the others didn''t already tell you? I thought that you already knew."

    "How are they? Eldest Sister?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Bai Xian''er¡¯s innocent eyes stared at Lu Yin. "They¡¯re all dead."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew fierce, and a boundless killing intent billowed up within his eyes. "I will make you pay for what you¡¯ve done!"

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "Would you like to dance again? I''ll wait for you. By the way, Brother Xiaoxuan, some of your things were left under the bed. Not even I could learn it, so I¡¯ll give it back to you."

    She looked around at the background of the image, taking in the destruction. "It seems that you are truly angry, seeing as how you even destroyed your house that I had managed to save.¡±

    "Oh." Bai Xian''er suddenly grew solemn as she looked back at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re going to need to speed up your cultivation. If I manage to be a Progenitor first, it¡¯s just possible that you¡¯ll die."

    With that, the image vanished.

 Chapter 2380: Flipping The Sky And The Investiture Of The Gods

    Chapter 2380: Flipping The Sky And The Investiture Of The Gods

    Lu Yin quietly stood where he was. He could not even determine his own thoughts at this moment.

    In the distance, Zhi Yi did not dare to move any closer. The Lu Yin in Food Paradise seemedpletely different from the one she had known in the past.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin emerged from the ruins of the shattered house. He had found a piece of jade beneath the broken bed, and he looked through it.

    As the jade shattered, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, his expression strange. The jade had a battle technique recorded in it: Flipping the Sky.

    Flipping the Sky was a technique that Lu Xiaoxuan had created, and Kui Luo had once mentioned that when Lu Xiaoxuan had first created Flipping the Sky, Progenitor Lu himself had appeared, as well as several other Progenitors. They had dered that Flipping the Sky deserved to be ranked as one of the Lu family''s greatest battle techniques, and it was shocking that Lu Xiaoxuan had created such an incredible technique at such a young age.

    When Lu Yin had first heard the story, he had not felt anything special. As his cultivation had grown and developed, he had be more and more certain that this story was simply impossible.

    How could someone who had not even been an Envoy create a battle technique that could be ranked among the best in the Lu family? It was impossible. After all, Enlighters and those weaker than them used star energy while Envoys used stellr energy. Without breaking through to the Envoy realm, no cultivator could ever understand the sensation of using stellr energy, not even if they could defeat an Envoy. Star energy and stellr energy were fundamentally different powers.

    Furthermore, it should have been impossible for an Envoy to create a battle technique that was regarded as one of the best in the Lu family¡¯s library. A person had to at least be a Semi-Progenitor to aplish such a feat, or even a Progenitor. How could Lu Xiaoxuan have done such a thing?

    If the story was true, then it was indeed something unprecedented, and it was a feat that not even Progenitor Chen¡¯s couldpare to. While Progenitor Chen had indeed created his Cosmic Art before reaching the peak of the Enlighter Realm, it had only been the foundation of the cultivation art, and it had been far from perfect.

    Lu Yin had never believed that, when he had been Lu Xiaoxuan, he had created such impossible perfection. He instead thought that the recognition given by the Lu family had been more of an encouragement.

    However, after finally seeing Flipping the Sky for himself, Lu Yin realized just how wrong he had been. When he had been Lu Xiaoxuan, he had indeed created an impossibly perfect battle technique. In other words, he had produced a true miracle.

    Flipping the Sky created a separate portion of the universe itself, and that formed the ¡°palm¡± of the battle technique. With the palm in the sky above the ground, the sky was overturned. This simple flip of a portion of the universe was all that there was to this battle technique. It was aprehension technique that did not have any requirements in terms of cultivation of strength. Theprehension of this technique depended solely on whether a cultivator could understand four simple words: Sky Will Flip Over.

    Bai Xian''er had just told Lu Yin that not even she had been able toprehend this battle technique. In that case, just who was capable of learning the technique? It was unique to Lu Xiaoxuan.

    After seeing Flipping the Sky, Lu Yin felt as though he already knew it. The technique simply felt natural to him. It was as though it belonged to him and to him alone out of everyone in the universe, as if he had created this technique for himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand slowly rose, and soil appeared within the void, slowly gathering and appearing. This soil was notmon earth, but rather the soil of the Fifth Maind itself. It was the dirt of thend of humanity¡¯s birthce.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand suddenly pressed down: Flipping The Sky.

    At that moment, invisible tremors radiated out from Food Paradise. The vibrations not only affected Food Paradise, but also the entire Higher Realm that held Food Paradise, as well as the Middle Realm and the Lower Realm. Every ce that contained the foundation of the Fifth Maind¡¯s soil shook at this moment, though the tremor was so weak that not even ants could feel it. Only Lu Yin could sense it.

    He had formed a piece of the universe by manifesting the soil of the Fifth Maind in the sky, and then, he had flipped it over with his palm. The more soil he could form, the stronger Flipping the Sky would be. This was the reason why Flipping the Sky had been ranked among the Lu family''s greatest battle techniques, as well as why Progenitor Lu had appeared at the moment of its creation.

    If the day came when Lu Yin could manifest all the soil of the entire Fifth Maind, he would be able to utilize the entire Fifth Maind as his own technique.

    In the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan suddenly looked down. Had that been a tremor, or had it just been an illusion?

    Bai Wangyuan was not the only one who had sensed something, as Wang Fan, Xia Shenji, Mu Xie, and the other Progenitors had all sensed the same thing. However, because of how weak the tremor had been, all of them believed that they had been mistaken.

    In Crimson Garden, Bai Xian''er''s eyes lit up. Did you really learn it again? It truly is a battle technique that you created for yourself. But why can''t anyone else learn it? Brother Xiaoxuan, you are still so amazing.

    Zhi Yi stared at the ruins of the water house in Food Paradise. She watched with an odd expression as Lu Yin constantly flipped his hand over. Zhi Yi could not understand what he was doing, as she could not feel any power at all in his movements. The longer she stared at Lu Yin, the more she felt that the man was weird.

    After testing out Flipping the Sky a few times, Lu Yin released his domain. Itpletely enveloped Food Paradise, and then he abruptly disappeared.

    Zhi Yi was startled. "Take me with you!"

    She realized that, even as she spoke, she could no longer sense Lu Yin anywhere at all. Zhi Yi spread out her Vitality Qi, stretching it further and further out as she tried to find Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already appeared at the highest peak of Food Paradise. He stepped onto the ice cream mountain, and then his body slowly sank down into it.

    There was a descendant of the Lu family who was named Xiaoxuan. He was born both intelligent and arrogant. He loved to fight against injustice, and he delighted in helping others. He trained hard, loved food, eventually built Food Paradise, and then shared it with the rest of the Seven Heroes!

    This was the public impression of Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as his motivation for creating Food Paradise. Everyone believed that Food Paradise was a ce that Lu Xiaoxuan had specifically created to host his friends, brothers, and sisters. Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s love of delicious food had made Food Paradise famous throughout the Perennial World.

    However, Lu Xiaoxuan''s true purpose for creating Food Paradise was very different from the public perception.

    Lu Yin descended to the bottom of Food Paradise. Once there, he raised a hand and ced it against the wall of the mountain. His hand wiped back and forth, causing wisps of golden light to shine through his fingers. The light spread out and burst out of the ground, zing high above Food Paradise.

    Zhi Yi stared nkly at the golden light that shot into the sky from the ground, and she started moving away. She had no idea what this golden light was, but she did not dare to approach it.

    The golden light illuminated Food Paradise, pierced through the sky, and lit up the bottom of theke on Mount Mei. It spread further and further, lighting up Mount Mei itself, and soon bing visible across the entire Higher Realm.

    The moment the golden light zed across the Higher Realm, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors in the Dominion Realm shot to their feet and stared downwards in shock. "The Investiture of the Gods?"

    Xia Shenji and the others lookedpletely stunned.

    Progenitor Smoke looked down, excitement filling her eyes. "Is the Investiture of the Gods reappearing?"

    The golden light refused to be restricted to the Higher Realm, and it continued to intensify, lighting up the Middle Realm, the Lower Realm, and even the Outer Realm. The entire Perennial World could not contain the golden light, and it even shone upon the rear battlefield.

    On the fourth array base, Wan Zhiyi''s eyes grew bloodshot as he let out an excitedugh. "The Investiture of the Gods, hahahaha! The Investiture of the Gods has reappeared! Young Master, you really do possess the Investiture of the Gods! Wan Zhiyi sees the young master!"

    Zhou Tang stared at the golden light in a daze as it shone down on the rear battlefield. He finally gave a deep bow. "Zhou Tang sees the young master."

    All the surviving vassals of the Lu family bowed in unison.

    Tu Qiming was stunned. "Boss actually awakened the Investiture of the Gods? I didn¡¯t even know about this! When did he do this?"

    No one had any idea when Lu Xiaoxuan had awakened the Investiture of the Gods. It had been universally acknowledged that Lu Xiaoxuan would eventually awaken the ability, but the sudden appearance of the Investiture of the Gods caught everyone off guard.

    The former vassals of the Lu family grew increasingly excited, but Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers grew nervous and even afraid.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage could summon the dead, while the Investiture of the Gods could summon copies of the living. These two abilities perfectlyplemented each other, and together, they had created the powerful and invincible Lu family. These two abilities were what had allowed the Lu family to uncontestedly rule over the Fifth Maind.

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at the golden light in shock. Was this the Investiture of the Gods? He had never seen it for himself.

    Just how many people throughout the eons had observed the Investiture of the Gods? Not to mention outsiders, even many members of the Lu family had never been able to see the Investiture of the Gods, and that was because the Investiture of the Gods could only be used to summon a god. What was a god? A cultivator? Of course not. An Enlighter? An Envoy? Absolutely not. A Semi-Progenitor? Still not quite.

    A Progenitor. Only a Progenitor was powerful enough to be considered a god, and only copies of Progenitors could be summoned with the Investiture of the Gods.

    How many Progenitors did the Lu family have?

    "Throughout history, most of the Lu family¡¯s direct descendants have awakened the Investiture of the Gods, but that meant nothing. Without breaking through to the Progenitor realm themselves, how could they ever hope to be able to summon a Progenitor? The only exception is when a Progenitor willingly volunteers to be copied onto the Investiture of the Gods." Up in the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan looked quite upset. He thought back as he said, ¡°Lu Qi charged into the New World entirely on his own just by relying on the power of Progenitor Wen when he first used the Investiture of the Gods. The man single-handedly swept aside all Twelve Marquises, but that was only because Progenitor Wen willingly submitted to being copied onto the Investiture of the Gods. Without the Progenitor¡¯s assistance, Lu Qi could have only held up four of the Twelve Marquises, at best, with just his Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Cold killing intent flickered in the depths of Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes. "Lu Xiaoxuan is not Lu Qi. Lu Qi¡¯s power cannotpare to that of his son. This child can already rival the strength of a Progenitor by relying on various means. Once he can summon a god, who will be able to resist him?"

    "What if Mu Xie takes the initiative and volunteers to be copied into Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s Investiture of the Gods?" Wang Fan suddenly brought up something that made all four men very uneasy.

    They nced at each other, as Wang Fan had brought up a very distinct possibility. If Mu Xie voluntarily allowed himself to be copied onto Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s Investiture of the Gods, then Lu Xiaoxuan would gain the ability to use Mu Xie''s power. That would give the youth yet another terrifying tool.

    "Even if Mu Xie volunteers, it is still impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to summon a being from the Investiture of the Gods as a mere three-tribtion Envoy. Such a freakish existence does not exist," Xia Shenjimented.

    Bai Wangyuan sped his hands behind his back. "I would like to see if Mu Xie is even willing to be a god summoned by Lu Xiaoxuan, or more importantly, does the child dare to make his senior brother a god?"

    At this moment, a pair of slitted scarlet eyes appeared. They belonged to a terrifyingly powerful Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Xia Shenji grew irritated. "The Investiture of the Gods has drawn out Aeternus! I really hope that they¡¯ll eliminate that Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Despite the man¡¯s words, he did not dare to shirk his duty. If he moved away, there would be disastrous consequences if any of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitors entered the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin did not expect his Investiture of the Gods to shake up the entire Perennial World. At this moment, a golden light shone upon the entire ce.

    The Investiture of the Gods had the appearance of a roll of cloth, which was exactly how Kui Luo had described it. Well, it was almost the same. It seemed more like a scroll than a roll of cloth.

    By wiping at the wall of the mountain, Lu Yin had caused his Investiture of the Gods to appear. He opened the scroll, and the infinite golden light shifted to form four distinct characters: Investiture of the Gods. These words appeared in the skies across the entire Perennial World, recing everything that anyone could see.

    The four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, Specter Abyss¡ªall cultivators in all parts of the Perennial World, including the people from the Fifth Maind who were visiting the Perennial World, looked up at the writing that spelled out ¡°Investiture of the Gods.¡± They could feel the overwhelming authority behind these words.

    The moment these four characters appeared, it felt as though the entire Perennial World- no, the entire Fifth Maind, began bowing and trembling beneath the golden light.

    At the same time, an image of Lu Yin also appeared in the sky above countless people together with the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods. It appeared as though he stood on the same level as the Dominion Realm, or even above the Dominion Realm.

    In the Dominion Realm, Xia Shenji and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers gritted their teeth. Lu Yin was brazenly unting the majesty of the Lu family with the help of his Investiture of the Gods, and yet they were trapped in the Dominion Realm, forced to stop powerful enemies from attacking the youth. The feeling of being used was so aggravating that the Progenitors coughed up blood.

    "Hehe, so you¡¯ve awakened your Investiture of the Gods? Things are getting more and more interesting. What will you four old freaks do now? Be careful that you don¡¯t get devoured by him." Forgotten Ruins God appeared as well, and she looked at the Perennial World with excitement zing in her eyes. She was clearly staring at Lu Yin.

    Further away, Corpse God rose up. He stretched out a hand and pped at the Dominion Realm, vainly attempting to smash Ceaseless Impetus.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s Shenwu World appeared, and countless chains shot out and twined around Corpse God in an attempt to stop the attack.

 Chapter 2381: Lu Yin And True God Wei Yi

    Chapter 2381: Lu Yin And True God Wei Yi

    Lu Yin was also able to see everything happening in turn. He saw the battlefield in the Dominion Realm, as well as Forgotten Ruins God and Corpse God.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin looked out into the distance. There, he saw a single slitted, scarlet eye. It looked perfectly ordinary and even lifeless.

    However, the moment Lu Yin¡¯s eyesnded on the eye, he felt an endless chill wash over him, and the coldness pierced straight to his forehead. He recognized the eyes out in the distant space, as he had seen it in Marquis Lan¡¯s memories during a Possession. This was the symbol of the Aeternals¡¯ True God.

    Lu Yin and the solitary scarlet eye stared at each other across a vast distance. One was framed by the darkness of the infinite universe, and the other was framed by the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods. One was dark, the other was light. Between the twoy the Dominion Realm and the Progenitors¡¯ battlefield. The two individuals were like chess yers, who were manipting Progenitors as the pieces in their game.

    This was a perspective that only these two individuals could see. If Xia Shenji discovered that he was being regarded as a mere pawn, he would absolutely attack Lu Yin out of pure rage.

    The golden light faded. While it felt like it had lit up the Perennial World for a long time, the ce had only been illuminated for a brief moment.

    At the bottom of Food Paradise, Lu Yin looked at the Investiture of the Gods that was slowly dimming in front of him. "Sorry, I left you gathering dust for too long."

    Even as he spoke, the Investiture of the Gods transformed into a stream of light that entered his forehead.

    An image of the Investiture of the Gods appeared in his mind. Lu Yin had not known that the scroll had been hidden in the depths of Food Paradise, but after entering what had once been his home and seeing so many familiar sights, many memories hade back. He remembered his home with Bai Xian''er, as well as her seven-colored deer. There was also more about Food Paradise, as well as the fact that he had left his Investiture of the Gods hidden there.

    Lu Yin had no idea when Lu Xiaoxuan had awakened his Investiture of the Gods. All that Lu Yin knew was that, as Lu Xiaoxuan, he had never told anyone that he had awakened the Investiture of the Gods, not even the Seven Heroes. Every instinct he possessed told him that same message.

    Of course, regarding the Seven Heroes, Lu Yin could only remember a bit of what they had all looked like, as he could not remember anything regarding their strength, cultivation, or innate gifts.

    After the Investiture of the Gods entered his body, Lu Yin was able to understand that the Investiture of the Gods was something that could only be used on Progenitors. Only Progenitors had the strength to qualify to be referred to as gods.

    This made Lu Yin quite curious, as Kui Luo had mentioned that Lu Yin¡¯s father, Lu Qi, had once brazenly charged into the New World on his own after awakening the Investiture of the Gods. Had Lu Qi summoned a god? He had not himself been a Progenitor at that time, so perhaps Kui Luo had remembered the details wrong.

    The Dominion Realm might have been attacked because Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods had revealed itself, but that did not matter to Lu Yin. After all, Bai Wangyuan and the other human Progenitors were holding back Aeternus¡¯s Progenitors.

    Zhi Yi had been watching him this entire time, so she saw Lu Yin emerge from the depths of the mountain. The woman had been terrified that Lu Yin would leave without her.

    "Can you take me away from this ce?" Zhi Yi asked nervously as she stared at Lu Yin. She would have never spoken to Lu Yin in such a manner in the past, but from her current point of view, Lu Yin was no different from a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin looked around. He was ready to leave, but he simply could not bear to leave Food Paradise behind. He had too many memories of the ce, and this was a ce that embodied Lu Xiaoxuan''s innocence. Lu Yin knew that he had to leave, but he was also determined to return as soon as he had a chance.

    "Are you Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ disciple?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hearing the question, Zhi Yi finally felt that Lu Yin resembled a normal person. He had given off the impression of a wandering soul before, and he had not even looked at her when he had first arrived.

    "That¡¯s right. My master will thank you for saving me, and it¡¯s not impossible for him to ept you as his disciple," Zhi Yi answered out of reflex.

    Lu Yin thought that this was hrious, but he did not reveal any of his internal mirth. "Let''s go."

    He then grabbed hold of Zhi Yi with a hand, and they disappeared from Food Paradise.

    The very next moment, the two people appeared just above theke on Mount Mei.

    The moment he emerged from Food Paradise, Lu Yin felt a surge of stellr energy pour into his body. He lifted his head and looked upwards, only to see that the sky was growing dark.

    Zhi Yi looked out at the darkness gathering in every direction. She initially assumed that she was simply looking out at dark clouds, but she quickly realized that she was staring at stellr energy. Due to the sheer quantity of stellr energy, the sky was growing dark, and the violence hidden within the stellr energy terrified Zhi Yi.

    Cultivators hoped to be able to absorb as much star energy or stellr energy as possible, but there were times when their bodies could not contain the energy. For example, when Lu Yin had traveled through time and space with Chu Yuan and the others, no one had been able to endure the fluctuating tides of stellr energy created by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, and only Lu Yin had tried to cultivate during the surges.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was experiencing a simr situation.

    To Zhi Yi''s eyes, the stellr energy that surrounded the two of them was aggressive and dangerous; it was stalking towards them like wild astral beasts that wanted to rip her to pieces.

    Lu Yin casually tossed Zhi Yi aside and stood above theke. He spread his arms open and floated upwards as he absorbed as much stellr energy as he could wish for.

    The battle in the Dominion Realm continued. Bai Wangyuan and other Progenitors all noticed the abnormality with the stellr energy near Mount Mei, but they had no time to deal with it.

    Furthermore, the violent stellr energy was restricted to the area around Mount Mei, and it was not spreading across the entire Higher Realm. If it did that, then not even Lu Yin would be able to endure the stellr energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods had triggered this event.

    Despite not having his former memories, Lu Yin was not surprised by the surge of stellr energy. When the Investiture of the Gods returned to his body, he had realized that he would be forced to absorb massive amounts of stellr energy. It came to him almost as though it was innate knowledge linked to the Investiture of the Gods.

    In the sky just above theke on Mount Mei, Lu Yin started frantically absorbing the stellr energy that had appeared. Normally, since he had four stellr energy vortices, he would fill them up one by one, and each time one became full, it would trigger a separate stellr tribtion. However, since Lu Yin was currently in the Higher Realm, he quickly removed the death energy that sealed away each of his vortices. He intended to fill all four of them at the same time, as this would prevent anyone observing from realizing that Lu Yin had multiple vortices. If Bai Wangyuan or the others learned the truth, they would make sure to cause even more headaches for Lu Yin.

    Just beyond the range of Mount Mei, Zhi Yi watched on in horror as Lu Yin absorbed the violent stellr energy that had suddenly appeared. She simply could not understand what was going on with him at this moment.

    Suddenly, the sky grew even darker, to the point where even the violent clouds of stellr energy that had just appeared were obscured as though something had hidden the entire sky.

    Zhi Yi slowly lifted her head. She saw an unbelievablyrge body fill the entire sky and even blot out the sun. The monstrous beast bared its fangs and shed its ws.

    This was the single most frightening moment in Zhi Yi''s entire life. Never before had she ever felt so afraid. Her terror was so overpowering that she started wishing that this meeting with Lu Yin was just a dream, as Zhi Yi would rather be trapped in Food Paradise than face this creature. Just what was she looking at?

    The jiao lowered its head and looked at Zhi Yi. Immediately, the creature bared its fangs and shed its ws. Saliva dripped from the beast¡¯s fangs, and even if it was only a single drop, to Zhi Yi, it was as though an entireke had fallen onto her.

    A biting cold covered Zhi Yi''s entire body as she stared up at the saliva that was about tond on her. She did not dare to even try to dodge.

    A sudden gust of wind swept by, pushing her out from under the falling saliva. Lu Yin had taken action. For the sake of the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Lu Yin would not allow the jiao to torment Zhi Yi. "Behave!"

    The jiao lowered its ws and bent its head. Instantly, its intimidating aura vanished.

    Only after that did Zhi Yi realize her situation, and she picked herself up off the ground in embarrassment, even as she stared at Lu Yin in horror. Did this terrifying beast actually listen to Lu Yin? Just what had he done in recent years? Even if Zhi Yi could not determine the jiao¡¯s strength, the pressure it gave off indicated that it was at least as strong as a Semi-Progenitor.

    The possibility of the jiao having the strength of a Progenitor did not even ur to the woman. Progenitors stood at the pinnacle of cultivation, and it was inconceivable for anyone to have tamed a living creature with the strength of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin looked away. His four stellr vortices were still filling up, and they soon reached their limits, triggering his fourth stellr tribtion. Instantly, a vortex appeared above his head. His fourth tribtion was about to descend.

    Lu Yin was not at all concerned about a minor tribtion like this, and he knew that he could even use a power vessel to pass it. He had already passed two other simr minor stellr tribtions.

    The only part of Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion that might attract undue attention was the fact that he needed to pass four tribtions instead of one, but luckily, due to Lu Yin¡¯s foresight, all four tribtions descended at the same time. Thus, no one would ever suspect that they were actually four separate tribtions.

    Even as the vortex began to dissipate, Lu Yin resealed his three meridian points and the stellr energy vortices that they held. He had officially be a four-tribtion Envoy.

    With the tribtion finished, Lu Yin gathered Zhi Yi and stepped onto the jiao¡¯s back. He directed the beast towards the Wang family¡¯s territory, as it was time to return to the Fifth Maind.

    The jiao was unbelievably fast, and it almost instantly covered half of the Higher Realm. The Wang family¡¯s floating maind soon appeared in the distance.

    The Wang family also saw the jiao approaching, and they knew that Lu Yin was on his way. The thought made everyone grow somber.

    When the people in the mountain valley beneath the hand-shaped maind saw the jiao appear, everyst person from the Fifth Maind bowed as one. "Greetings, Dao Chosen."

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, nor did he even nce down at the people who had arrived in the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind. He simply left through the New Corridor.

    The jiao also made its body shrink, and it followed after Lu Yin.

    Wang Yan watched on, envious. Despite being mortal enemies, the man had to admit that Lu Yin lived a very impressive life. It was aplete mystery, but regardless of the various powerhouses present, Lu Yin was able to freely enter and leave the Perennial World, and even the Higher Realm. This was something that Lu Xiaoxuan alone was capable of doing.

    If the Lu family had not been exiled, Lu Xiaoxuan would not only stand at the peak of the Fifth Maind, but also the pinnacle of the entire human race!

    Lu Yin passed through the New Corridor and returned to the Technocracy in the Fifth Maind. After the jiao emerged from the passage, the beast¡¯s body returned to its full size, and it immediately bared its fangs and ws.

    Some distance away from the New Corridor¡¯s exit, a group of people from the Perennial World who had just arrived on the Fifth Maind stared in horror, and one of them even blurted, "Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s jiao?"

    Lu Yin had been about to leave, but the outburst hade from a familiar voice. He looked over, and saw an old acquaintance. Long Zhang?

    Some distance away, standing within a group of people from the Sixth Maind, was Long Zhang. He regretted his outburst the moment he spoke, and so he had tried to hide. How could he speak up and draw Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s attention?

    When Lu Yin¡¯s eyesnded on Long Zhang, the man¡¯s expression grew bitter, as he knew that he had been discovered.

    Lu Yin just nced at Long Zhang and then paid the man no further attention. It was true that Long Zhang had caused some issues for Lu Yin when he had been impersonating Long Qi, but Long Zhang was a minor character who was not even worth Lu Yin¡¯s breath.

    The jiao quickly disappeared.

    The people from the Sixth Maind all heaved sighs of relief.

    Long Zhang stared into the empty region of space, and his bitterness grew stronger and stronger.

    If Lu Yin had tried to make trouble for Long Zhang, it would have been terrifying, but instead, Lu Yin had simply ignored the man. While this meant that Long Zhang did not have to suffer from fear, he was instead experiencing another ineffable emotion. Did Long Zhang no longer even have the right to be considered troublesome for Lu Yin?

    Long Zhang had matured a great deal in the decades that had passed, and he was no longer the spoiled brat that he had been before. He was the son of a patriarch of a branch family of the White Dragon n. Long Zhang¡¯s cultivation had originally been about on par with Lu Yin¡¯s, and in the intervening years, he had be an Enlighter. While such strength at his age was not terribly umon in the Perennial World, it was still quite impressive whenpared to most people in the Fifth Maind. This was why Long Zhang had been selected to join the people sent to try to enter the Tower of the Fifth.

    Unfortunately, Long Zhang had be a nobody in Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Zhi Yi was finally freed from Food Paradise, and Lu Yin released her at where the Astral River formed the border with the Innerverse. After sending word to the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Lu Yin rode the jiao and continued on towards the Cosmic Sea.

    The Soldier Crew had long since been a concern of Lu Yin¡¯s. They had once been heralded as one of the Four Pirate Crews of the Cosmic Sea, but Lu Yin had discovered a massive secret of the Soldier Crew: they could release a Progenitor¡¯s attack. This meant that, throughout the entire Fifth Maind, very few powers couldpare to the Soldier Crew. Despite their strength, they had never left their chosen region of the Cosmic Sea, even after many, many years. What were they doing there?

    Lu Yin would not feel at ease without understanding this secret.

    The jiao quickly arrived in the Cosmic Sea, but Lu Yin continued on to the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory on his own.

    The moment that Lu Yin stepped into the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory, the distant sky grew dark, and lightning fell into the sea with a deafening roar of thunder. Shouts rang out, and they drew closer and more distinct by the moment.

    "Kill."

    "Kill!"

    "KILL!"

    ...

 Chapter 2382: The Third Emblem

    Chapter 2382: The Third Emblem

    The sound moved closer and closer, and the shouts echoed across the entire Cosmic Sea.

    Once again, Lu Yinid eyes on the members of the Soldier Crew. He looked into their eyes and saw their determination, their unwavering will, and their bloodthirst. Every single soldier had been tempered. It was also clear that, as time passed, Hua Wu''s demeanor was growing more and more simr to that of the other soldiers.

    From the current distance, Lu Yin could see Hua Wu, but Hua Wu could not see Lu Yin. However, Hua Wu was also shouting ¡°kill¡± with the rest of the soldiers, and he sped a spear before his body in the same threatening manner.

    Lu Yin stood atop the sea, quietly waiting for the warship to arrive.

    Other ships were passing by in the distance, but not one of them dared to approach the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory. Only a thin line separated those ships from the restricted territory, but no one dared to cross it.

    "Captain! There¡¯s a person out there!" someone shouted.

    On one of the ships, everyone looked over and saw Lu Yin quietly standing atop the Cosmic Sea with his hands sped behind his back. In front of him was a warship from the Soldier Crew that was emerging from the darkness.

    The ship¡¯s captain''s face turned pale. "Go! Go, go, go! That man is seeking death! We need to get away."

    "Wait! Captain, why does that person look so familiar?" someone asked in surprise.

    The captain yelled, "Familiar my ass! No one can do anything right now. We need to hurry up and get away so that we aren¡¯t affected by whatever happens. I¡¯m not going to let that guy hurt us with his suicide. Send a message to the ships behind us. Tell them to stay far away from the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory."

    "I remember now! That¡¯s Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance and the founder of the Tower of the Fifth! That¡¯s the ruler of the Fifth Maind!" the man shouted in an excited tone.

    The rest of the people continued to stare at Lu Yin as well. "You¡¯re right, that¡¯s him! That¡¯s Lu Yin! Dao Chosen Lu!"

    "I also recognize him, I saw him during ZENITH!"

    "I watched the Astral Combat Tournament that he participated in decades ago."

    "Captain, we don''t need to escape! That¡¯s Dao Chosen Lu! This time, the Soldier Crew¡¯s going to be the one with the problem."

    The captain stared on in a daze, feeling very relieved. "That''s good. No wonder that person has the courage to face the Soldier Crew. So it¡¯s actually him."

    "The Soldier Crew keeps to their own area, but they have never allowed anyone to enter their territory. Not even Leon¡¯s Armada has ever dared to push past the line, but now, someone who can push them around has finally appeared." Some of the people on the ship grew excited.

    "As long as this area of the Cosmic Sea can be opened to the rest of us, our travel time will be cut down by at least a third."

    The captain grinned. He might not believe that anyone else could deal with the Soldier Crew, but if it was Lu Yin facing them, there was no way that there would be any issue. "Brothers, let¡¯s just wait here then. That area will soon be opened up to outsiders."

    "Long live Dao Chosen Lu!"

    "Dao Chosen Lu, ughter the Soldier Crew!"

    ...

    Far away, Lu Yin nced back at the ships behind him. Just what were those people getting all excited about?

    "Kill!" With a unified voice, thousands of spears struck the deck of the warship at the same instance. The incredible coordination meant that all of the soldiers¡¯ killing intent and attack power exploded as one, unleashing a single attack with a power level of a million at Lu Yin.

    The sky above the Cosmos Sea copsed, and the sea started trembling. Regardless of how far away or how close to the epicenter one was, regardless of if they stood on a ship or on an ind, at this moment, everyone in the entire Cosmic Sea could feel a powerful force that was about to erupt from the depths of the Cosmic Sea.

    Everyone from Leon¡¯s Armada grew solemn, and they turned to look towards the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory.

    Highsage Leon stepped out and stared over as well. "Why are they going nuts? Is someone messing with them?"

    "Captain, the seafloor is about to rise," Ghost Doc warned, still as hunched over as ever.

    Highsage Leon pulled out his war de. "They can''t raise it."

    As soon as he finished speaking, and even before he was able to release his attack, the oppressive power that everyone felt simply disappeared, and peace returned to the Cosmic Sea.

    The members of Leon¡¯s Armada looked back towards the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory in amazement.

    Highsage Leon frowned. Even he was helpless against the power that had just risen from the Soldier Crew. Who was antagonizing them?

    In the Soldier Crew¡¯s territory, Lu Yin had not attacked; he had simply suppressed the Soldier Crew¡¯s attack.

    The Cosmic Sea could not be allowed to be overturned, as there was no telling how many people would die from such a disaster.

    In front of Lu Yin, the united attack from the thousands of spears disintegrated, but a single spear still remained. All of the power of the spear was concentrated at the tip, and it thrust at Lu Yin. This spear seemed to have emerged from the river of time, and Lu Yin heard the same phrase again: Supreme Spear - Deathseeker.

    This attack carried the strength of a Progenitor.

    Throughout the entire Fifth Maind, there were very, very few people who could survive such an attack, but it could do nothing to Lu Yin. Forget an attack that had the strength of a Progenitor, even a genuine Progenitor might not be able to deal with Lu Yin if they were present.

    Lu Yin did not touch the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind. Instead, he borrowed the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage and used them to weaken the power of the approaching spear.

    Once the spear finally drew close to Lu Yin¡¯s face, only the spear itself was left. None of the Progenitor¡¯s power remained. There was nothing in this spear that posed even the slightest threat.

    On the warship, Hua Wu stared nkly at Lu Yin. Is that really him?

    Lu Yin raised his hand and grabbed hold of the spear. It was cold and hard in his grip, and it reeked of blood. He had no idea just how many people this spear had ughtered.

    He simply held the spear as he stepped onto the warship and confronted the soldiers.

    All of the soldiers were staring at Lu Yin, and it was at this moment that Lu Yin realized that there was no light or spirit in most of the soldiers¡¯ eyes. Only the soldiers at the front had any. They seemed to be the only ones actually aware of anything, while the rest seemed to practically be puppets.

    "You have crossed the line," a hoarse voice stated.

    Lu Yin looked over. "No. 0007, you participated in ZENITH, and you¡¯re clearly in control of yourself. Tell me, just what''s going on here?"

    It was indeed No. 0007 who had spoken up. During ZENITH, the man had been an eight-cycle Hunter, and as Lu Yin looked at the man, he saw the exact same cultivation level. There had been absolutely no change whatsoever. "We are the remnants of the garrison army who have been ordered to protect this ce. No one is allowed to enter. If you try to force your way in, we will protect this ce with our lives."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Whose garrison army?"

    No. 0007 did not respond.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What are you protecting? Just this region?"

    No. 0007 still did not respond.

    Lu Yin looked over at Hua Wu. "Why are you here?"

    Hua Wu lifted his head high. "The garrison army¡¯s new recruits will inherit the will of the garrison army! We will protect this ce and swear to fight against all outside enemies!"

    "Cut the bullshit," Lu Yin ordered.

    Hua Wu''s entire demeanor changed, and he quickly put on a smile and approached Lu Yin in a ttering manner. "Brother Lu, it¡¯s been a long time."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Why did you join the Soldier Crew?"

    Hua Wu could only respond with a single answer. "It certainly wasn¡¯t by choice. I was being chased and pursued, and I stumbled into this area. If I didn¡¯t agree to join, they would have killed me. I didn¡¯t have a choice."

    "So you used your secret technique Man of My Word to join the Soldier Crew?" Lu Yin felt that this was a bit strange.

    Hua Wu¡¯s face twitched. "I truly joined them. I meant it."

    "What''s going on here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hua Wu shrugged. "I have no clue."

    He noticed the coldness entering Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he quickly said, "Brother Lu, I really don''t know! I wouldn''t lie to you! You¡¯re strong enough to easily suppress the entire Soldier Crew, so I don¡¯t have any reason to lie to you! I¡¯ve been on this same warship from the moment I joined them, and I¡¯ve never left. It¡¯s a hard life, and if I¡¯d known what kind of suffering I¡¯d have to endure, I would have led my enemies in here with me. That way, at least I would have had someone to talk to.¡±

    "So you''repletely useless? Then just stay here," Lu Yinmented casually.

    Hua Wu quickly spoke up again, "Don''t worry, Brother Lu. Even if I don¡¯t know any of their secrets, I¡¯ve been able to figure some things out for myself."

    He then crouched down and started sketching out some images on the deck.

    Suddenly, No. 0007 attacked, stabbing his spear at Hua Wu. "Die, traitor!"

    A wave of Lu Yin''s hand sent No. 0007 flying backwards. At the same time, thousands of soldiers released another attack. Just like before, Lu Yin used the runes of the Champions¡¯ stage to sweep away the warship¡¯s unified attack. "If you all die, you won¡¯t be able toplete your mission."

    No. 0007 stared at Hua Wu. "We will destroy all who betray us!"

    The statement terrified Hua Wu, and given the odd coordination that all the members of the Soldier Crew exhibited, he did not dare to move.

    Lu Yin spoke up in a calm tone. "You¡¯ve already betrayed them, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up."

    Hua Wu thought for a bit and resumed drawing his pictures with a bitter expression.

    He drew a map of the Soldier Crew¡¯s region of the Cosmic Sea, and then pointed at a very specific location. "Brother Lu, no matter where this warship roams, it always ends up circling this exact spot, almost as if it¡¯s tethered to that ce. There has to be something weird about that ce."

    Lu Yin instantly released his domain so that he could examine the location.

    No. 0007 suddenly screamed, "Kill!"

    The moment the shout rang out, thousands of spears dropped into an attack position as one. The same overwhelmingly powerful spear appeared again, and it stabbed at Lu Yin, but he had already disappeared.

    The power that the Soldier Crew could summon was incredibly powerful. They were able to unleash an attack with the strength of a Progenitor, but such things were useless against Lu Yin¡¯s current abilities.

    Lu Yin was already at the location that Hua Wu had pointed out, and he was examining the bottom of the Cosmic Sea.

    Hua Wu shrieked, "Brother Lu, I won''t go! Toss me away, Brother Lu¨C!"

    Plop!

    Hua Wu choked on the sea water that suddenly filled his mouth.

    Lu Yin''s domain continued to spread out, though he had already discovered something. When he stopped and looked down at what he had found, shock filled his eyes. He was staring at Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol.

    Lu Yin had discovered a sourcebox array beneath the Cosmic Sea. It was not even a single sourcebox array, but rather abination of several of them, possibly as many as a dozen. Thebined sourcebox arrays created a seal that was almost perfectly identical to the seals that Lu Yin had already seen on the Royal Frost Continent and in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. Once again, the seal bore Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol, indicating that Progenitor Hui had left this seal in ce.

    Lu Yin had not expected to discover that the Soldier Crew was protecting one of these seals.

    "Brother Lu, what did you find?" Hua Wu asked curiously.

    Most people could not see the seal, and if not for what Lu Yin had learned from Geoffrey, he would not have been able to see Progenitor Hui¡¯s symbol either.

    "Nothing," Lu Yin casually replied.

    He then shot back into the sky above the Cosmic Sea. Already, the warship was approaching from the distance. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

    Thousands of spears released an explosion of killing intent once again. Thousands of soldiers were ring at Lu Yin, clearly aware and no longer in a fugue state. Lu Yin saw the animosity in the soldiers¡¯ eyes.

    Lu Yin sighed, turned around, and simply left.

    His actionspletely took Hua Wu by surprise. He had expected to see the end of the Soldier Crew.

    "Brother Lu, why aren¡¯t you fighting them anymore?" Hua Wu asked. He had hoped to see the Soldier Crew be destroyed, as if they were not, then given what No. 0007 had said so far, Hua Wu was terrified of the consequences that he would face. The Soldier Crew was far, far more powerful than any enemies that Hua Wu had faced in the past.

    But how could Lu Yin fight against the Soldier Crew? Not only could he not fight them, but he instead felt the need to help them protect their region of the Cosmic Sea.

    They were protecting a seal that Progenitor Hui had left behind, which meant that the Soldier Crew was Progenitor Hui''s garrison army. In that case, what about the people of Subzero City? Were they also following Progenitor Hui¡¯s orders?

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge, Progenitor Hui had left behind three seals in the Fifth Maind. The first that he had found was in the Royal Frost Continent, protected by the army in Subzero City. The second was in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect, which had been protected by the remnant spiritual forces that existed in that pocket dimension, one of which even possessed the power of a Progenitor. Furthermore, the Second Nightking had been training in seclusion in that ce, making it incredibly secure even without any official protectors. As for the third seal, it was protected by the Soldier Crew.

    Why had Progenitor Hui left the three seals in the Fifth Maind? What was beneath the seals? Lu Yin did not know, but he was absolutely certain that since Progenitor Hui had sealed something away, it could not be good for humanity as a whole. Thus, those seals could never be opened.

 Chapter 2383: Consciousness

    Chapter 2383: Consciousness

    "Hey, get over there and get on your knees. Bow to the Soldier Crew. You need to pay for your crimes." Lu Yin suddenly stopped and released Hua Wu.

    The man blinked. "Brother Lu, what are you talking about? On my knees? For what? What crimes?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You betrayed the Soldier Crew, so naturally you need to face your punishment."

    "Didn''t you ask me to betray them? I''m on your side!" Hua Wu eximed.

    Lu Yin replied, "That doesn¡¯t mean that you didn¡¯t betray the Soldier Crew. Since you joined them and became one of them, you need to keep your word to them."

    Hua Wu felt as though he had just seen a ghost. Confusion overwhelmed him, and he could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. Why was Lu Yin not helping him?

    Still, with Lu Yin¡¯s prodding, Hua Wu bowed to the members of Soldier Crew. "I''m sorry! I shouldn''t have betrayed you! I''m sorry¡­"

    After he finished speaking, Hua Wu lifted his head, only to see that Lu Yin was already gone.

    The man rose to his feet while cursing. He then ducked his head and nced around. He found a path and quickly slipped away. All these lunatics.

    Lu Yin rode the jiao into the Innerverse. He first went to Daynight Flowzone, where he entered the pocket dimension that held the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. He quickly passed through the Celestial Frost Pond and checked on Progenitor Hui¡¯s seal that was in the underground treasury to reconfirm for himself that the seal belonged to Progenitor Hui. That done, he ordered the entire ce to be sealed off before making his way towards zing Mist Flowzone.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived in zing Mist Flowzone, he went to the pocket dimension that held the Royal Frost Continent and entered it.

    It had been a very long time since Lu Yin hadst visited the continent.

    The cold weather of the continent was the same as ever. Lu Yin saw the distant Subzero City and immediately released his domain, enveloping the entire Royal Frost Continent.

    The Frost Emperor suddenly lifted his head. This power?

    The man stepped out of Subzero City, and he saw Lu Yin high in the sky. The Frost Emperor took a deep breath, stepped forward, and offered a slow bow. "Greetings, Dao Chosen."

    Suddenly, Che Han appeared as well, and he excitedly offered a bow as well. ¡°Greetings, Your Highness.¡±

    Che Han still addressed Lu Yin as the regent of the Great Yu Empire.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I was just passing through and thought that I¡¯d take a look."

    The Frost Emperor did not believe that at all. He had known Lu Yin for quite a long time, and he felt that he had a good understanding of the young man. There was no way that Lu Yin would visit the Royal Frost Continent without a good reason, but the Frost Emperor could not figure out what it might be.

    For Lu Yin, the full might of the Royal Frost Continent was negligible.

    Wait, the Frost Emperor suddenly remembered something. Could he be here about the seal?

    "Is the seal still fine?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Frost Emperor secretly felt that his suspicions had just been confirmed. "It''s perfectly fine. Everything¡¯s beenpletely normal."

    "Has anyone checked on the seal since myst visit?"

    "Only President Geoffrey stopped by a few times."

    There was no way that anyone who knew that the seal formed by the iprehensible sourcebox array had been created by Progenitor Hui could simply ignore it. Geoffrey had asionally stopped in to confirm that there were no issues with the seal.

    If only Geoffrey had visited the Royal Frost Continent, it meant that Hen Xin and his people did not know about the existence of the seal, as there was no way that man would have ignored such a thing.

    "I see. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯re busy, so I¡¯ll leave you to your work." Lu Yin dismissed the two with a wave of his hand.

    The Frost Emperor and Che Han nced at each other before offering another bow and returning to Subzero City.

    Lu Yin moved through the sky and arrived above the frozen mountains that held the seal, and he looked down, once again gazing at Progenitor Hui''s emblem. If not for Geoffrey, Lu Yin would have never noticed this symbol.

    He dropped down and descended into the cier.

    At this moment, back in Subzero City, the Frost Emperor grew worried.

    "Don''t worry, his highness won''t touch the seal," Che Han said.

    The Frost Emperor sighed. "He wouldn¡¯t have before, but now¡­"

    The man was genuinely worried that Lu Yin might have be arrogant enough to believe that he could handle anything and everything and that he wanted to open the seal and find out what it kept hidden away.

    There was no denying that Lu Yin was the current master of the Fifth Maind. He had already forced back enemy Progenitors, which had not only shocked the entire Fifth Maind, but also greatly encouraged them all. Lu Yin had earned a level of respect normally reserved for Progenitors. However, the more powerful he became, the easier it would be for him to lose his sense of caution.

    In the Frost Emperor¡¯s heart, Progenitor Hui was a truly elite Progenitor who had altered human history. If Lu Yin wanted topare himself to Progenitor Hui, he would definitely remove the seal, but how?

    Fortunately, the Frost Emperor was overthinking things. Not to mention the fact that Lu Yin was only a four-tribtion Envoy, but even if he became a Semi-Progenitor or a Progenitor and reached a level of power sufficient for him to face Bai Wangyuan and the others head-on, he still would not break any of Progenitor Hui¡¯s seals.

    There was no reason for Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation aside from the fact that the seals had been left by Progenitor Hui. Progenitor Hui was the person whose intelligence Lu Yin admired the most. No matter how powerful the man became, his dedication to humanity had remained unmatched. Without Progenitor Hui, the Fifth Maind would have ceased to exist long ago, and the Perennial World would have never existed at all. While the man might not have been an invincible Progenitor in terms ofbat, Lu Yin felt that no other Progenitor deserved more admiration than Progenitor Hui.

    Given the fact that the three seals had been left behind by Progenitor Hui, Lu Yin would never willingly open the seals, regardless of whether whaty beneath posed a threat to him.

    Lu Yin had only visited the Royal Frost Continent to verify that the seal was safe and secure. On top of that, he had also wanted to examine the seals themselves, as they consisted of multiple sourcebox arrays. Lu Yin was curious to see how far behind his own lockbreaking abilities werepared to Progenitor Hui¡¯s.

    From what he could see, there simply was noparison at all.

    Realizing this both frustrated and motivated Lu Yin. He believed himself to be at the cusp of bing an Array Grandmaster, and yet his lockbreaking skills did not allow him to understand anything about Progenitor Hui¡¯s work.

    Lu Yin was in the exact same position that Geoffrey had been in when the man had first seen the seal: absolutely nothing could be understood.

    Geoffrey was another Lockbreaker who was at the cusp of bing an Array Grandmaster, but he had not been able to do anything more than the slightest of repairs to the seal in the Royal Frost Continent. ording to Geoffrey¡¯s analogy, he had repainted a spacecraft, but that did not mean that he knew anything about how the vessel worked or what was inside of it.

    Progenitor Hui had proceeded too far down the path of lockbreaking, and his mastery had reached such a profound level that even Array Grandmasters could scarcely see Progenitor Hui¡¯s back.

    It was possible that, in the current era, Grandmaster Gu Yan alone might be able to understand anything from the seals.

    Lu Yin left after studying the seal for two days. There was no reason to spend any more time on the Royal Frost Continent, and he did not even say goodbye to the Frost Emperor before leaving.

    He wanted to resume training in the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Lu Yin had coveted this secret technique for a very, very long time, but he had been repeatedly blocked from learning it. He was not able to return to the Perennial World for the time being, as things needed to stabilize, and he wanted the four ruling powers to rx a bit. It would be best for Lu Yin to use the opportunity that had opened up to train himself.

    Just outside of the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise turned its head and looked at the massive jiao that was quickly approaching. The tortoise¡¯s eyes rolled, and it pulled its head back into its shell.

    The jiao had been eyeing Ancestor Tortoise from a great distance, and the jiao only felt content after seeing the tortoise pull its head back into its shell. Seeing that, the jiao could not help but brandish its ws a bit.

    Lu Yin ordered the jiao to remain near the Heavens Sect. Then, Lu Yin quickly appeared on the part of the jiao¡¯s head where the Nine Clones Secret Technique could be observed. Progenitor Chen''s blood emerged from Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring, and there were a full ten barrels of the blood, each barrelrger than an adult human. Even Progenitor Chen would feel dazed if he were present, as the man had not possessed so much of his own blood himself.

    Lu Yin looked at the jiao¡¯s scales beneath his feet. They looked no different from the scales on other parts of the jiao¡¯s body, but as soon as Lu Yin touched these particr scales, they would turn blood red, and once that happened, Lu Yin would suffer a rejection from his own blood.

    Lu Yin would not be in any real danger if he suffered bacsh from his blood, especially since he had reached the Wielder realm of battle force and had the overbearing power that he cultivated in his chest. Lu Yin could likelypletely ignore the bacsh from his blood, but the problem was that the bacsh was also preventing him from learning the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    During hisst attempt to learn the secret technique, he had been able to clearly see the secret technique, and he had even gained a rough idea of how to actually go about using the technique. However, he would not know whether he could actually learn the technique until after he tried.

    As Lu Yin considered this, Progenitor Chen''s blood spiraled up from one of the barrels, and it covered Lu Yin''s arm. Once his arm waspletely blood red, he squatted down and reached out to touch the scales with that hand. He instantly entered what seemed to be a trance. He seemed to see a drop of blood appear from nothing. He suddenly observed the jiao¡¯s bloodstained scales from the same high position that he had viewed before, and things continued to proceed in the same manner as before. He saw a person, and sometimes the person merged with themselves, and other times, they separated again, but even when there were nine copies of the person, they were all still connected to each other by a line.

    Lu Yin stared at this connection, as it was the key to cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    At the same time, the bacsh from interacting with the Xia family''s blood suddenly appeared, and Lu Yin went stiff. The purple-ck substance of the Wielder realm battle force appeared on his hand and then spread over his arms, though it remained hidden beneath ayer of Progenitor Chen''s blood. As soon as the Wielder realm battle force appeared, it easily tore apart the bacsh, rendering it useless. Stars appeared around Lu Yin, manifesting from the power in his chest, and they gave him a divine appearance.

    The jiao turned its head and rolled its massive eyes in an attempt to look at Lu Yin, but the human was above the beast¡¯s mouth, and he moved with the jiao¡¯s head to always remain above the scales. So, the jiao was never able to catch sight of Lu Yin.

    Both Lu Yin''s Wielder realm battle force and the power from inside his chest made the jiao pay attention. Beasts possessed sharper senses than humans, and two powers that made the jiao nervous had suddenly appeared.

    On the other side of the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise stared at Lu Yin, its head still pulled inside of its shell. In contrast to the jiao¡¯s nervousness, the tortoise looked at Lu Yin with familiarity. After all, Ancestor Tortoise had once been the Lu family¡¯s pet, and it had only been left behind in the Fifth Maind because it had not wanted to part with the fruit of the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree.

    Above the jiao¡¯s head, Progenitor Chen''s blood continued to swirl around and envelop Lu Yin''s arm. The blood was constantly being consumed, but as it was consumed, it also allowed Lu Yin to observe the secret technique for longer and longer.

    Initially, he was only able to see a single figure that separated and merged back together, as well as the ethereal lines that connected the various separated figures. As time passed, Lu Yin was able to observe more of the changes within the figures as they merged together. Gradually, things were bing clearer and clearer.

    Lu Yin had no idea how long a direct descendant of the Xia family needed toprehend the secret technique, but they would not have to deal with the bacsh from their own bloodline, which meant that they could observe the various changes for as long as they wanted.

    Lu Yin actually regretted not preparing more of Progenitor Chen''s blood.

    A day passed, and half a barrel of Progenitor Chen''s blood was consumed. Lu Yin only had enough of Progenitor Chen''s blood to endure for twenty days.

    Would he be able to achieve sess within twenty days? Lu Yin was not sure that he could master the Nine Clones Secret Technique within that amount of time, but his only option was to try his best.

    It felt like an instant, but ten days quickly passed, and half of Progenitor Chen''s blood had been used up. Lu Yin had been fully immersed in trying toprehend the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but during this entire time, his Wielder realm battle force was also being consumed as he resisted the bacsh from his blood. Neither Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood nor Lu Yin¡¯s battle force were infinite resources. Even Hen Xin had used up a great deal of his own battle force when he had helped Lu Yin achieve Wielder realm battle force.

    Fifteen days passed, but Lu Yin was still immersed in trying toprehend the secret technique.

    Sixteen days.

    Seventeen days.

    Finally, on the eighteenth day, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he withdrew his hand. He looked to the side and saw that only a single barrel of Progenitor Chen''s blood remained. As for the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he had finally learned it.

    Progenitor Chen''s blood was quickly put away as Lu Yin entered the Heavens Sect and immediately went into seclusion.

    He raised a hand, and brought out his die. He quickly tapped it as he removed his cosmic ring..

    This was not the time to risk rolling Possession. He needed to train while the experience was as fresh as possible.

    The die slowly spun and finally stopped on three pips. Lu Yin instantly tapped the die again: two pips. Again, four pips. Finally, he had rolled Timestop.

    After entering his Timestop Space, Lu Yin pulled out the Root of Intelligence that he had obtained from Progenitor Smoke and prepared some tea.

    What better time to use a Root of Intelligence than now?

    Lu Yin only had two Roots of Intelligence remaining, but they were only worth anything when they were appropriately used.

    With this, Lu Yin was down to hisst Root of Intelligence.

    After taking a sip of the tea made from the Root of Intelligence, Lu Yin let out a breath and closed his eyes. It was time to truly start practicing the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    Two monthster, pain twisted Lu Yin¡¯s face. The seal that restricted his cultivation had appeared, and he was panting. His progress with the Nine Clones Secret Technique was being stopped by the seal.

    After considering his situation, he decided to continue after resting for a day.

    However, this time, only a single month passed before the seal activated and stopped him from training in the technique.

 Chapter 2384: Direction

    <h4>Chapter 2384: Direction</h4>

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, exhausted. He lifted a hand and stared at it as he clenched his fist. Right now, he feltpletely helpless; he could not cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    The first step of the secret technique required a person to sense their own subconscious and then condense it to the point where it almost took on a physical state. After that, the person would need to split their subconscious into nine parts and then use their own blood and bone to create various bodies that the eight subconscious fragments could enter. Once the fragments of the subconscious merged with the sub bodies formed from the original¡¯s blood and bone, a person would have sessfully cultivated the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    This was why each of the nine clones would have a different and unique personality; each was formed from a unique fragment of a person¡¯s subconscious. This was also why there was never any possibility of them betraying the main body, as the eight clones were never true bodies, but rather portioned off bits of a person¡¯s body and subconscious. This was also why the eight clones could merge back with the main body.

    This was the foundational concept behind the Nine Clones Secret Technique. As long as a person understood this foundation, they would be able to follow the secret technique and split their mind apart and create the sub bodies. However, the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back prevented him from separating his blood and mind.

    Not only had the seal tried to stop Lu Yin from progressing with his cultivation, but it also prevented him from being able to use the Nine Clones Secret Technique. There was nothing that Lu Yin could do about it.

    He had already asked Master Shan, Wan Zhiyi, and others of the Lu family¡¯s vassals about who might have ced the seal on him, as there was no way that Bai Xian¡¯er had done it. Given her individual strength at the time that the Lu family had been banished, the seal that restricted Lu Yin would have beenpletely beyond Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s capabilities. However, no one could provide any answers.

    In some ways, Lu Yin could not decide if the seal was a good thing or a bad thing. While it had repeatedly tried to prevent Lu Yin from achieving a breakthrough in his cultivation, without the seal, Lu Yin would have been killed by the desated corpse during his breakthrough to be an Explorer, or even before that, during that attack on the pirate port. Without the seal, Lu Yin would have never survived.

    The seal confused Lu Yin, as he could not tell if the seal was intended to protect or harm him.

    The seal simultaneously hindered and blocked Lu Yin¡¯s progress with his cultivation, but it also protected his body.

    It was the protective aspect of the seal that prevented Lu Yin from being able to split away some of his blood and bone to create sub bodies for his clones. The seal possessed no consciousness, and it treated Lu Yin¡¯s attempt to split away his blood and bones as an injury, not cultivating a technique. This was what was stopping Lu Yin from being able to sessfully cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

    After analyzing things, Lu Yin let out a sigh of helplessness. As long as the seal remained in ce, he would never be able to use this secret technique.

    Wait.?His eyes suddenly lit up. The Nine Clones Secret Technique was all about separating a person¡¯s subconscious and creating sub bodies for each fragment. Since it was possible to use separated bits of blood and bone to create a vessel to house the fragments of the subconscious, then what about using a stellr energy vortex as a vessel instead?

    Lu Yin was still under the influence of the Root of Intelligence, so his mind was functioning at a much higher level than other people¡¯s. The moment the thought urred to Lu Yin, he was already trying to proceed and test the idea out. After all, he had already split his subconscious, so there was no reason to waste his efforts.

    As the scenery changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, he emerged from his Timestop Space and returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Only a single second had passed for the rest of the universe, but in that brief window of time, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation had taken a strange turn.

    While it was impossible for him to use the Nine Clones Secret Technique, Lu Yin had separated fragments of his subconscious and merged them into each of his four stellr energy vortices. With those fragments of his mind, he could separately use and train different cultivation arts and battle techniques. This also meant that when he became a Semi-Progenitor, he might have four inner worlds.

    No, it was not just a possibility¡ªhe would definitely have four inner worlds, and each one would manifest with different abilities, as they would be born from different skills and battle techniques.

    Lu Yin thought for a long time, but he could not think of a single person who had ever managed to develop more than one inner world in the current universe. It was possible that Lu Yin would be the first person in all of human history to develop four inner worlds.

    What would it be like to possess four inner worlds? He could not even imagine it. Even more importantly, due to the fact that one could merge back with the fragmented subconsciouses that he had split off, it was highly likely that he would be able to merge and fuse his inner worlds in the exact same manner that someone using the Nine Clones Secret Technique could merge with their clones. Of course, this was just Lu Yin¡¯s guess, but it was a possibility that he hade up with while under the effect of the tea made with the Root of Intelligence. The mere possibility left Lu Yin incredibly excited.

    Despite failing to cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique, Lu Yin was not terribly disappointed, as he had found an alternative way to use it. Besides, after the seal was removed, he would still be able to cultivate the technique.

    He intended to continue training. He needed to further refine his Wielder - Indestructible, the Cosmic Art, the Origin Sutra, and other techniques. Everything required extended amounts of time for training, and this was the best chance for Lu Yin to do so. The four ruling powers were fighting against Aeternus, and Lu Yin could rx while no one was targeting him for the moment.

    He raised his hand and brought out his die again. He tapped it and rolled four pips. His luck was pretty good this time.

    Back in the Perennial World, long queues remained in the valley beneath the Wang family¡¯s floating maind. More and more people from the Fifth Maind were trickling into the Perennial World.

    At the moment, a man in the middle of the line was happily looking around with evident curiosity. Most of his attention was focused on the distant Mother Tree. "I- I- I¡¯ve he- he- heard of the Mo- Mother Tree, a- a- and now I¡¯m finally see- seeing it.

    "It''s re- really i- i- impressive!

    "I- I- I-"

    "Kid, shut up!" Someone behind the man cut him off. The person appeared to be a woman, though their face was hidden beneath a ck veil. The person was ring at the stuttering man.

    The man turned his head around and blinked at the shrouded figure. "D- d- do we know each other?"

    "Listening to you talk is making me, your granny,?run out of air! Just shut up!" the woman hissed.

    The man pointed towards the distance. "Mo- Mo- Mother Tree!"

    "That¡¯s got nothing to do with you or your family! You want to see it? Fine! I¡¯ll nt you in the Mother Tree itself." The woman was clearly getting quite irritated.

    The man¡¯s head shrank back, and he no longer dared to say anything. He had a bit of a stammer, and he had once been a member of the Longevity Brigade. His master had been Ji Qiang, the captain of the Longevity brigade, as well as one of Xia Ji''s clones.

    When Lu Yin had defeated the Daynight n and taken Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s slot to go to the Neoverse andpete in the Astral Tower, Ji Qiang had ordered the stuttering man to follow Lu Yin. The intention had been for the young man to keep an eye on Lu Yin, but Ji Qiang¡¯s orders had been misinterpreted, and the stutterer had believed that his master had been showing him kindness, by telling him that there would be meat to eat if he followed Lu Yin.

    Afterwards, the Longevity Brigade had been eradicated during the war in the Cosmic Sea. The stutterer had been lucky to not die, and he had also never tried to get revenge on Lu Yin or Leon¡¯s Armada. The man had never developed any loyalty for Ji Qiang, as they had not even seen each other in decades.

    After arriving in the Perennial World, the stutterer was incredibly excited.

    As the line inched forward, the man¡¯s stammer grew worse due to the excitement. However, he no longer dared to speak up, though he continued to look all around.

    The woman red at the stutterer. "What are you looking for, littlemb?"

    Xiao stuttered, turned around slowly, and stared nkly at the woman, "Yo- yo- yo- you- Me!"

    "I already told you to stop talking! Didn¡¯t you hear me? Or do I need to mess up your face a bit?" The woman threatened as she ced a hand on the stutterer¡¯s shoulder and exerted a bit of force.

    The man stuttered from the pain, "Bi- bi- Big Sis?"

    The woman¡¯s eyebrows rose. She was indeed Big Sis. Since there was no stellr energy in the Fifth Maind, her cultivation rate had grown incredibly slow, and she had decided to visit the Perennial World. Of course, she could not allow herself to be discovered by any of the four ruling powers. It was possible that they might not do anything to her, but it was also undeniable that she was one of the people closest to Lu Yin, and she did not trust those old men¡¯s shamelessness.

    She was confident that she could help Lu Yin take revenge on the four ruling powers after fully recovering to her original strength, but not yet. It was best to keep a low profile for the time being.

    "You know me?" Big Sis had not expected this stutterer to recognize her.

    The man grew very frightened. "Li- li- littlemb is a phra- phra- phrase used by pirates in the Cosmic Sea."

    "That¡¯s all it took?"

    "Your granny, me."

    Big Sis was speechless, but this man had truly recognized her. "Are you from the Cosmic Sea?"

    The stutterer pursed his lips. "I fo- fo- followed Lu- Lu Yin. There was go- going to be meat to eat."

    Big Sis looked at the man with a strange expression. "What a mess, but since you know Little Seven, I won¡¯t mess with you. Just keep your mouth shut and don''t talk."

    The stutterer turned back around to face forwards. He felt rather offended, but also quite relieved. He knew that he luckily had not revealed his background, as there was no telling whether Big Sis would kill him if she knew of his connection to Ji Qiang.

    They soon heard people shouting from the back of the line, and many people turned around to check on themotion.

    Even Wang Yan looked towards the New Corridor¡¯s exit. "Go find out what''s going on. Why are they getting so worked up?"

    A short whileter, startling news arrived. "What? The Fifth Maind''s stellr energy has recovered?"

    In the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin rolled four pips on his die, and after a second, he reappeared. He had just spent nearly a year training, and during that time, his battle force had fully recovered. His intention was to rest for ten days and then try to roll Possession.

    As time passed and his strength improved, Possession was bing more and more valuable an ability. At the same time, it was bing more and more difficult for Lu Yin to find suitable targets, and the cost of each Possession was rising higher and higher.

    Suddenly, the peaceful state of the Fifth Maind changed. The mysterious droplets of liquid that had devoured all of the stellr energy from the true universe dissipated, and all of their stellr energy was released at once. The Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe returned to the state that it had been in before. But now, the stellr energy was being replenished even faster rate than it had been devoured in the past.

    Lu Yin noticed the change immediately, and he quickly let Sapling out to absorb the stellr energy. At the same time, Lu Yin did the same himself, and he also started to absorb the stellr energy that was being released.

    He stared out at where one of the strange droplets had dissipated. Was this the limit? Was this the longest that the Aeternals¡¯ liquid could absorb the stellr energy from the true universe?

    All across the entire Fifth Maind, countless cultivators stepped into outer space and began excitedly absorbing star energy and stellr energy. They had been waiting decades for this exact moment.

    Even Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors did the same.

    In fact, the Semi-Progenitors benefited the most from the sudden surge of stellr energy.

    .

    It took a tremendous amount of time for Semi-Progenitors to be Progenitors, and this sudden surge of stellr energy allowed all of the Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Maind to greatly reduce that time. Given this tremendous benefit, it was debatable whether the period of time without stellr energy and star energy had been good or bad for the Fifth Maind.

    In but a moment, Lu Yin¡¯s four stellr energy vortices were nearly full. However, he did not trigger his fifth stellr tribtion yet, as he had only just passed his fourth tribtion. It would be better for him to take his time.

    Lu Buzheng stood in outer space, his face solemn.

    "Third Uncle, what''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked when he saw Lu Buzheng''s expression.

    "I¡¯m getting closer and closer to the cusp of bing a Progenitor. It might be time for me to try to break through."

    Lu Yin smiled. "In that case, I should offer you my congrattions, Third Uncle. I hope to see Third Uncle sessfully be a Progenitor and be the Fifth Maind¡¯s first Progenitor since the Daosource Sect era."

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "Bing a Progenitor is far from easy, and failure means death."

    The man turned to look at Lu Yin. "I first need to calm myself."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Lu Buzheng was not the only Semi-Progenitor who stood a chance of challenging the Progenitor realm; the same was true of Cai Er, Destina, and the rest of the gatemasters of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. Obtaining that title indicated that a Semi-Progenitor stood at the peak of their realm and that they were among the closest to breaking through to be Progenitors.

    The restoration of the true universe allowed all of the Semi-Progenitors to take massive steps towards the Progenitor realm, and one by one, they started going into seclusion.

    Lu Yin was eager to see the results. He had no idea who would attempt their breakthrough first, but he had never seen a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    It did not take long for the stellr energy to bepletely restored, and soon, the Fifth Maind returned to its previous state for the first time in more than twenty years. There were many young cultivators who had never even had the opportunity to cultivate with star energy, so it was a novel experience for them.

    With the true universe restored to its normal state, many people who had been nning on visiting the Perennial World turned back.

    After all, the Perennial World was an unknown ce to them, and many people would not want to take such a risk unless it was absolutely necessary. It had been necessary before, as they had not been able to cultivate in the Fifth Maind, but that was no longer true.

    Lu Yin wanted to continue his own training, but just as he was about to return to the Heavens Sect and his seclusion, he noticed Sky Garan racing along, chasing after someone.

 Chapter 2385: Search

    <h4>Chapter 2385: Search</h4>

    In the Outerverse, outside Earth¡¯s sr system, dozens of cultivators were staring nkly at the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise as they swallowed their saliva.

    "My brother told me that the jiao from Shenwu¡¯s Sky is here and that it¡¯s massive, but I didn¡¯t believe him. I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯d really be here."

    "That''s your Shenwu''s Sky''s jiao? It''s absolutely terrifying. Your Shenwu''s Sky lost too much."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan will be forced to pay the price sooner orter."

    ¡­

    From what he overheard, Lu Yin knew that this group of people were from the Perennial World, and he wondered how they had gotten past Chu Yuan and the others.

    Lu Yin had paid a price to have Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and the others block everyone from the Perennial World trying to leave the area around the New Corridor and prevent all of them from reaching the Tower of the Fifth. However, since the four ruling powers were only letting their own people ess to the Fifth Maind for the time being, Chu Yuan alone was enough to stop everyone.

    However, even if Lu Yin did not know how these people had managed to get through the blockade, that was all that they had aplished. Sky Garan was already on their tails.

    "Run! It''s him!" The group from the Perennial World were shocked and startled when they saw Sky Garan suddenly appear, and they raced towards Earth¡¯s sr system as fast as they could. They knew that the Tower of the Fifth was in this sr system.

    In truth, a group from the Perennial World had already entered the Tower of the Fifth. Chu Yuan and the others were indeed able to block most people, but they were unable to take action against people younger than them. As long as there was no one ofparable age in the Fifth Maind who could stop the people from the Perennial World, they could only be allowed to enter the Tower of the Fifth.

    However, there were very, very few who were able to reach the tower, and they were also all extremely young. Even the most powerful was barely an Enlighter. Chu Yuan was able to block all of the Perennial World¡¯s Envoys, as long as they had not passed their sixth stellr tribtion. For those powerhouses, there were others in the Fifth Maind who could stop them, and there were also too many restrictions for Envoys that wanted to enter the Tower of the Fifth.

    This meant that the only people from the Perennial World who had entered the Tower of the Fifth so far were very young.

    "Hey, you can''t attack us!" someone yelled at Sky Garan.

    Sky Garan nced around. "That''s why I chased after you."

    He then waved a hand, and someone stepped forward. Lu Yin did not recognize the young man, but he should belong to the Sixth Maind. He was a Hunter and possibly one of the new Realmlings.

    "He will be your opponent," Sky Garan stated.

    The expressions of the youths from the Perennial World fell. With the passing of time, they hade to understand the Fifth Maind had some absolutely freakish cultivators. After all, not even the Junior Progenitors could defeat some of the Fifth Maind¡¯s geniuses. However, there were only a few such monsters, and the rest of the people from the Fifth Maind could not stop the Perennial World¡¯s cultivators. Still, the gap in strength was not veryrge.

    If this confrontation had taken ce more than twenty years earlier, there would have been a huge gap in strength between the people of the Fifth Maind and their peers from the Perennial World. The four Junior Progenitors would have easily swept through all of the finalists from the Fifth Maind¡¯s ZENITH, but things had since changed. Hen Xin, Lu Buzheng, and other powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era had appeared, and they had brought some of the Heavens Sect era¡¯s cultivation methods with them. That information had greatly reduced the gap in strength between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World

    At the least, the Fifth Mainders would not suffer too much in a contest of peers with the Perennial World. If they cooperated with a Void Wanderer as well, the youths of the Fifth Maind would not find it hard to achieve victory.

    However, at the moment, it was a fair duel.

    The Sixth Maind¡¯s Realmling that Sky Garan had brought along was able to defeat half of the people from the Perennial World by relying on his battle force, domain, and battle techniques that he might have directly learned from Sky Garan. The man also used a visualization technique, but he was unable to stop about half of the youths and had no choice but to let them enter the Tower of the Fifth. Still, the Realmling had done his best.

    Sky Garan watched as the people from the Perennial World entered the Tower of the Fifth. He was not bothered that some people had gained ess. Lu Yin had only asked them to stop as many people as possible. If they were unable to stop someone, then there was nothing to be done. Sky Garan could not personally take action against people that young. All of the people in this group had only been in their twenties or thirties.

    Lu Yin did not show himself. The Fifth Maind alone was still unable to stop all the people from the four ruling powers. This issue also needed to be addressed in the Perennial World. Lu Yin was not sure exactly what Wang Wen was doing, or whether he had already started to take action.

    ¡­

    It was undeniable that the four ruling powers rxed a great deal as soon as Lu Yin left the Perennial World. However, when Xia Shenji received a report, he instantly becamepletely furious. He then personally visited Shenwu''s Sky, disregarding the safety of the Dominion Realm.

    In Shenwu''s Sky, a man was kneeling on a patch of dark ground. His face was pale, and his head was hanging low. Fear and despair filled his eyes as he stared at the ground.

    Xia Ziheng and Xia Xing were both standing behind the man, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

    Xia Shenji stepped out of the void and approached the kneeling man. The pressure of a Progenitor fell upon the ce, which caused the ground to copse and the man to cough up blood.

    The man on his knees was a Semi-Progenitor. He was a hidden Semi-Progenitor of Shenwu''s Sky who remained deep underground to guard their prisoners. He would never reveal himself, no matter what happened to Shenwu¡¯s Sky. Even if the sect facedplete annihtion, this Semi-Progenitor would not show himself. There was only one purpose to his existence, which was to focus on the underground prison.

    "Say it again." Xia Shenji''s voice was frigid as he stared at the man.

    The man closed his eyes and answered in a tone full of despair, "That person escaped."

    Xia Shenji was beyond furious, and he instantly sliced the man''s arms off. Despite being a Semi-Progenitor, the man could do nothing to resist. Blood spilled all over the ground, and both Xia Ziheng and Xia Xing were terrified. They had never seen their Progenitor so angry before.

    "I ordered you to watch the prison. You never needed to do a single thing, and in return, you could enjoy Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s resources. I told you that, even if Shenwu''s Sky fell, you were not to show yourself. However, now you¡¯re telling me that that person escaped?" Xia Shenji squatted down to stare at the man. There was no hint of a Progenitor¡¯s dignity visible. "Lift your head and look at me."

    The man''s eyes flickered, but he forced himself to look up at Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes betrayed his fury. "How did he escape?"

    "I don''t know," the man answered helplessly. Fortunately, he was a Semi-Progenitor, or else there was no way he would be able to summon the courage to speak to Xia Shengji at this moment.

    "Then how did you discover that he had escaped?" Xia Shenji continued to ask. His eyes were filled with murderous rage as he stared at the kneeling man.

    The Semi-Progenitor knew that he would not survive the day. "Progenitor Xia, can you not go after my n members?"

    "All I want is that man found! Your people are worthless to me!" Xia Shenji shouted.

    The man sighed. He had no idea what would happen to his nsman, but he was forced to answer the Progenitor¡¯s question. "I discovered that a disciple who collects corpses had gone missing, so I immediately went underground to search myself. At that time, I found that that person had disappeared. At the same time, the man known as Liu Shaoge had also disappeared."

    Xia Shenji frowned. "Liu Shaoge?"

    "Liu Shaoge is dead," Xia Ziheng interjected. When Xia Shenji looked over, the Semi-Progenitor nervously exined, "Ancestor, Liu Shaoge was the person whom Lu Xiaoxuan abandoned here. We captured him and had him imprisoned. He impersonated Yu Hao in order to buy time for Lu Xiaoxuan, but we did not discover the deception until after Lu Xiaoxuan was on his way back."

    "He¡¯s one of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s people?" Xia Shenji''s eyes red.

    Xia Ziheng quickly exined further. "He was abandoned here by Lu Xiaoxuan, and he shared everything that he knew about Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s time in the Fifth Maind. I killed him myself. If I spoke a single lie, then this junior is willing to die a terrible death."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes narrowed as he listened. "Are you absolutely certain that he died?"

    Xia Ziheng reassured the Progenitor, "This junior killed him myself. There is no chance that he survived."

    "What if Lu Xiaoxuan helped him? How can you be absolutely sure that he was not deliberately left here by Lu Xiaoxuan?" Xia Shenji said through gritted teeth.

    Xia Ziheng instantly became terrified, as he could feel the Progenitor¡¯s mounting killing intent. "Ancestor, Liu Shaoge is definitely dead. If he is not, this junior is willing to suffer any punishment at all. I swear not to improve my cultivation for the rest of my life and ept my death instead."

    Xia Xing did not say anything at all. This entire matter was beyond his authority. In fact, neither the patriarch nor Xia Ziheng knew anything about who was in the underground prison. In truth, even the kneeling Semi-Progenitor had no idea who the man that had escaped was.

    Xia Xing could not understand why their Progenitor was so furious, but fortunately, this matter had nothing to do with him.

    "What do you think of all this?" Xia Shenji suddenly looked over at Xia Xing and asked.

    Xia Xing was badly startled. While he had not interacted with Progenitor Shenji that often, Xia Xing was aware that the Progenitor seldom asked for other people''s opinions. This indicated that the Progenitor was a bit perplexed.

    Not even everything that had happened with Lu Xiaoxuan had prompted such a reaction from Progenitor Shenji.

    Xia Xing''s mind raced, and he cautiously replied, "Ancestor, Lu Xiaoxuan should not have anything to do with this matter."

    Xia Shenji continued to calmly look at the sect master.

    Seeing that Progenitor Shenji had not said anything yet, Xia Xing took a deep breath. Then, as Xia Ziheng and the Semi-Progenitor who guarded the underground prison nervously watched on, Xia Xing exined, "Even if we don¡¯t consider Lu Xiaoxuan for the moment, not even I, the Xia family¡¯s current patriarch, know anything about the situation beneath Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and that is also true of Semi-Progenitor Ziheng. Only Semi-Progenitor Heng and you, Progenitor, know about the person imprisoned down there."

    At this point in time, Xia Xing nced over at the Semi-Progenitor who was the guardian of the underground prison.

    "It is simply impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to know about this matter, which also means that there is no way for him to have made any ns regarding this. Furthermore, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng is a Semi-Progenitor, which means that it is impossible for someone who is not even an Envoy to fake their death in front of him. Semi-Progenitor Ziheng was very cautious, and he even personally killed Liu Shaoge, which suggests that he should have no connection to this other matter."

    Xia Shenji asked, "Are you suggesting that this is nothing more than a coincidence?"

    Xia Xing''s face turned pale. "When observing all that Lu Xiaoxuan did here in the Perennial World, all of his actions only served a single purpose: rescuing the surviving vassals of the Lu family. He ordered Liu Shaoge to pose as Yu Hao and stay in Shenwu¡¯s Sky to buy some time so that he could infiltrate Crimson Garden. There¡¯s no connection between his motivations here and the people in the underground prison. I beg the Progenitor to find an answer to this matter."

    Xia Ziheng hastily spoke up as well, "I beg the Progenitor to find an answer to this matter."

    The Semi-Progenitor guardian of the underground prison also spoke up, "I beg the Progenitor to find an answer to this matter."

    Xia Shenji thought for a while, and the killing intent that had filled his eyes faded a bit. "Find that person for me. I¡¯ve done all that I can, but I have not been able to find any trace of him."

    Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng nced at each other, as they had no idea who the escaped prisoner was.

    Xia Shenji slowly spoke something, and his words shocked Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng so badly that all thoughts fled their minds. "Hi- him?"

    "Find him for me, and then I''ll personally capture him and drag him back," Xia Shenji said in a low voice before disappearing.

    As soon as Xia Shenji left, the Semi-Progenitor who was kneeling on the ground heaved a sigh of relief. While he had lost his arms, they could still be reattached. The only reason why he had not been executed was because he had been given a task toplete.

    Xia Xing and Xia Ziheng looked at the man. "You knew about this?"

    The Semi-Progenitor bitterly answered, "Yes, but logically speaking, unless I be a Progenitor myself, I should have never been allowed to leave the underground prison. I never thought that I would be allowed to leave because of this matter."

    Xia Xing looked away. Be a Progenitor? If this Semi-Progenitor had any chance of bing a Progenitor, then Progenitor Shenji would have never treated the man in such a manner. No, this man had already reached his limits.

    Very soon, Shenwu''s Sky sent out a massive number of people, and they moved across the Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and even the Lower Realm. They were all secretly searching for someone, and while nothing was said about the matter, even Sect Master Xia Xing had been sent out. This clearly showed that whatever was happening was more important than everything that had happened with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Xia Shenji''s clones moved out one after another. They avoided Bai Wangyuan¡¯s attention, as well as the other Progenitors, and they quickly scattered throughout the Perennial World to search.

 Chapter 2386: Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 2386: Dominance</h4>

    At the same time, due to reports from Wang Zheng, Bai Qi, and various others, the four ruling powers became interested in the various fighting methods employed by the Fifth Maind. Additionally, the wireless jincans also drew their attention. Finally, after two months passed, the four ruling powers sent someone to the Fifth Maind to visit the Heavens Sect and attempt to negotiate various deals. Bai Qi was sent, as she had never been involved in pursuing or attacking any of the Lu family¡¯s vassals.

    Furthermore, she did not have any prejudice towards the Fifth Maind, which meant that she was the perfect candidate to speak with the Heavens Sect. She was apanied by Wang Zheng.

    Unfortunately, the visit did not proceed very well. Bai Qi first met with Lu Buzheng, but the person responsible for the negotiations was actually Qiong Xi''er.

    When it came to the most skilled business mind in the Fifth Maind, there was no denying that it was Qiong Xi''er. She had once been regarded as one of the three most intelligent people in the Outerverse, ranked right next to Wang Wen and Wei Rong.

    Wang Wen excelled at manipting the overall situation, while Wei Rong focused on details and subtle scheming. As for Qiong Xi''er, she manipted the entire economy.

    The Heavens Sect had sessfully united the entire Fifth Maind not just because Lu Yin was able to ess Progenitor Chen''s power and suppress the entire universe. Absolute power might be able to scare people into not fighting back, but it could not force the entire Fifth Maind to cooperate and unite.

    Out of everyone, Qiong Xi''er had contributed tremendously towards these efforts. If not for her, the Fifth Maind''s economy would have copsed, and the consequences of that would have been unimaginable.

    Her role was in no way inferior to that of Wang Wen and Wei Rong.

    Negotiating with Qiong Xi¡¯er let Bai Qi feel the horror of dealing with a businessman for the first time in her life. Arge number of unnecessary details were thrown onto the Perennial World, and while Wang Zheng was slightly better off than Bai Qi, he was still out of his depth. In regards to business, the two people were mere Sentinels, while Qiong Xi''er might as well be a Progenitor.

    The two returned to the Perennial World with no sess after their first visit to the Fifth Maind, and they were also loaded down with a great number of unnecessary things from the Fifth Maind that had been traded for resources that the Fifth Maind desperately needed.

    Still, while the results were quite bad for Bai Qi and the four ruling powers, it was undeniable that the first round of negotiations had been sessfully carried out. It had opened a path for trade between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    Another month passed before Bai Qi and Wang Zheng returned, but this time, they were apanied by a middle-aged man with a big belly and a persistent smile that covered his face. The moment Qiong Xi¡¯erid eyes on the man, she knew that the situation was not good. This man looked like an old fox, and he was definitely a wily old businessman.

    Qiong Xi¡¯er was absolutely right. The four ruling powers were not stupid. Bai Qi had been sent first to establish trading precedent between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. After that, the business geniuses would step in.

    The negotiations that yed out between the man and Qiong Xi''er truly opened Bai Qi and Wang Zheng¡¯s eyes, and they finally understood how helpless they had been against Qiong Xi''er.

    For each transaction, from the very beginning to the final discussion of prices, the two tested each other. They continued to test each other for three entire days, and during that time, neither addressed any specifics regarding the trade negotiations. The entire time was spent testing each other and checking the contents of the negotiations.

    In the end, while the four ruling powers still failed to get what they wanted most, they were able to benefit from the negotiations. Ultimately, they could trade with the Fifth Maind for wireless jincans, but nothing else that they wanted was avable for sale.

    After leaving the Heavens Sect, the middle-aged man turned back with a look of admiration. "That woman has shocking business acumen, given her young age. This Forsaken Land truly gives birth to geniuses."

    "What do you mean?" Bai Qi felt quite puzzled. She had not been able to understand anything that had happened in the negotiations.

    The middle-aged man answered in a respectful tone, "This Forsaken Land has never even considered conducting open trade with us."

    The man hesitated for a moment to better organize his exnation. "Rather, I should say that the Heavens Sect never considered openly trading with the four ruling powers."

    "What do you mean by that?" Bai Qi''s expression fell, and Wang Zheng''s eyes flickered.

    The middle-aged man continued, "Although it was never addressed clearly, I believe that, given what was said, they likely hope to find one or two organizations in the Perennial World with which to trade with. However, those organizations absolutely will not be affiliated with the four ruling powers."

    "Who would that be?" Bai Qi frowned.

    The middle-aged man shook his head. "This lowly one can only guess at certain things, but as for whom they hope to work with, that is not something that I can consider."

    Finding a trade partner in the Perennial World while avoiding the four ruling powers was ying a game that involved the top powers of the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. Such things were no longer considered purely business matters, and the middle-aged man did not qualify to know about such things.

    Wang Zheng turned to stare at the Heavens Sect. This ce followed Lu Xiaoxuan''s will, and he would never agree to strengthen the four ruling powers himself. What he desired, the entire Fifth Maind saw carried out.

    An ability to unite people like this was beyond terrifying.

    Bai Qi thought of the same thing, and her face was sullen as they returned to the Perennial World.

    In the main hall of the Heavens Sect, Qiong Xi''er stood and stretched, revealing her beautiful curves. "I''m so tired! That horrible man is unbelievable! He nearly caught me a few times."

    Lu Yin stepped out with augh. "But weren¡¯t you able to stick to your bottom line throughout the negotiations?"

    Qiong Xi''er rolled her eyes. "Why did you have to put it in this way, Dao Chosen? As if I¡¯m going to let something go if my bottom line is breached."

    Lu Yin looked towards the Technocracy. "They definitely won''t give up."

    Qiong Xi''er shrugged. "Then things will depend on Wang Wen. It¡¯s going to be hard to find a trade partner, and they¡¯re going to face tremendous pressure."

    Lu Yin said nothing further, and he instead returned to seclusion.

    Even if he referred to his time as secluded training, it was more like time for Lu Yin to rest. He did not spend all of his time training or cultivating, nor was he constantly rolling his die.

    Being overly focused was not always a good thing, and there were times when it was important to rx a bit.

    More than a month passed. Bai Qi was not willing to ept the trade agreement that had been negotiated. The middle-aged man returned as well, but Wang Zheng did not.

    However, the results were no different from before; Qiong Xi''er was utterly exhausted by the negotiations.

    It was critical that trade connect the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. If not for that, Qiong Xi''er would have never even met with the four ruling powers¡¯ representatives.

    Lu Yin was fishing in ake thaty beside the Heavens Sect. He found joy in his seclusion, and the only thing that disrupted him was Zhao Ran asionally delivering some herbal teas that she had developed over the years. While each one was truly delicious, it was emotionally scarring to ingest the horrifying concoctions.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was most excited about Sapling.

    Sapling had spent its time absorbing stellr energy, and it had absorbed an unbelievable amount when the strange droplets had disappeared half a year ago. Sapling had to have absorbed an astronomical amount of stellr energy during the initial outpouring, and it had likely condensed a great deal of stellr liquid.

    Lu Yin was a four-tribtion Envoy, and he could trigger his fifth tribtion at any moment. As for his sixth stellr tribtion, he would need to rely on Sapling for that.

    The sixth stellr tribtion was another threshold. The tribtion for surpassing a power level of a million was one that even Lu Yin was wary of, as it would be far, far more dangerous than any of the previous tribtions.

    It was actually the threat of the sixth stellr tribtion that made Lu Yin in no rush to face his fifth tribtion. He preferred to have a bit of a buffer.

    Regardless of whether Lu Yin was training, time passed quickly.

    In the blink of an eye, half a year had already passed.

    Lu Yin had already spent a full year in the Fifth Maind now.

    During this year, the Perennial World had enjoyed a time of peace. Well, the four ruling powers enjoyed a time of peace, but the same was not true of the Middle Realm or the Lower Realm.

    The tremendous number of people who had flooded into the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind had created waves throughout the entire Perennial World.

    People of the Perennial World looked down on the Fifth Maind cultivators, but the people who qualified to travel from the Fifth Maind to the Perennial World were not easy targets. War had never broken out, but little skirmishes had never stopped.

    It was quite possible that the four ruling powers were behind the discord.

    However, the Fifth Maind cultivators did not actually suffer much. They united, and given the presence of some of the more powerful people from the Fifth Maind, the Fifth Maind cultivators did not suffer excessively even though they were in the Perennial World. Certain people grew more and more famous as time passed, such as Highsage Shenwei. After leaving the Wang family¡¯s territory and being delivered to the Middle Realm, Highsage Shenwei had confronted the forces of some family, and he had even destroyed an entire family.

    Another example was Yang Ji, the master of Light World, one of the hidden worlds from the Honor Zone. He had also gone to the Perennial World, as had many other people. Among them was Ya Mavis, who hoped to find traces of the Mavis family in the Perennial World. Another example was¡­

    More and more of the Fifth Maind¡¯s powerhouses arrived in the Perennial World, and while various conflicts constantly broke out, people were not stupid. The Fifth Maind cultivators did not confront super powers like the four ruling powers, as doing so could easily bring the wrath of a Semi-Progenitor down upon them.

    A beautiful woman stood in mid air in the Middle Realm. She was constantly searching for something. After a short while, she stared at a ce in the grasnds below her where the ground was cracked. "Found it."

    A de warped the void with its passage, and it shrouded the entire grasnds. The ground was shattered, and the de stretched out further and further. It soon covered hundreds of miles, beneath which not a single de of grass continued to grow.

    After delivering a single stab, the woman stared at the ground. The smoke cleared, and she frowned. "It''s useless?"

    She stabbed again, but after examining the results, her efforts still proved useless. Her de stabbed into the ground again and again after that.

    A transparent coffiny quietly in the cracks in the ground of the grasnd. There was a person curled up inside it, sleeping soundly. No matter how the woman attacked, the transparent coffin remainedpletely unharmed. In fact, there was not a single scratch on it.

    After half an hour, the woman was panting heavily. She stared in disbelief. Just how could there be such a ridiculous coffin? Why could she not cut it?

    She was a forty-cycle Enlighter, and her information had clearly stated that this person was likely not even an Enlighter. Why would he have such powerful protection? Did he expect to be attacked by Envoys?

    After spending a bit of time thinking, the womannded on the ground and approached the transparent coffin. She stared at the man sleeping inside and then took a deep breath. She straightened her clothes, made sure her shapely shoulders were exposed, took another breath, and schooled her expression. Once there was a slight smile on her face, she raised a hand and knocked on the coffin as though it were a door.

    Inside the coffin, Wang Wen opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. "Is it morning?"

    He caught a bit of movement outside of the coffin, and a lovely face entered his view. Wang Wen shot to his feet, and mmed his head against the top of the coffin, nearly knocking himself back unconscious. He clutched his head due to the pain and slowlyid back down. "Ow, ow, ow."

    "Hey, are you alright?" The woman looked at Wang Wen oddly. If he had stood up just a bit faster, would her task have beenpleted?

    Wang Wen waved a hand. "I¡¯m fine, it''s okay."

    He rubbed his head vigorously. "I nearly shattered my brilliant and mighty brain."

    The woman silently stared at the man, concern and curiosity filling her eyes.

    "Why are you in a coffin?" she asked.

    Wang Wen finally calmed down, and he sat back down in the coffin and stared at the woman. "Sleeping."

    "But only the dead sleep in coffins." The woman felt terribly confused.

    Wang Wen blinked. "Do the dead even sleep?"

    The woman chuckled. "You''re funny! It is already morning, so do you want to keep sleeping?"

 Chapter 2387: Lobbying

    <h4>Chapter 2387: Lobbying</h4>

    Wang Wen suddenly nced around and then shouted, "Where¡¯s the grasnd? Where am I?"

    The woman replied, "It was like this when I arrived. What¡¯s wrong?"

    Wang Wen scratched his head. "Is something wrong with my head? I was still in the middle of a prairie when I fell asleepst night¡­"

    He suddenly turned his head to look at the woman again. "Who are you?"

    The woman smiled. "I''m lost. Can you guide me?"

    "No," Wang Wen answered bluntly.

    "Why not?"

    "I¡¯m tired."

    "Didn''t you just wake up?"

    "If you oversleep, you end up even more tired."

    The woman was speechless. "Then I''ll wait for you to rest. I''m lost, and I have no idea where I am. I don¡¯t dare to try to go out on my own."

    Wang Wen stared at the woman for a long moment. After a bit of hesitation, he shyly asked, "Why- why don''t you squeeze in here with me? It might be big enough for both of us?"

    The woman was thrilled. "Can I? Honestly, I¡¯m quite frightened."

    "Then forget it. I won¡¯t try to force you," Wang Wen retorted.

    The woman grew anxious. "I meant that I¡¯m afraid of being left alone out here, not of being in the coffin."

    "Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? I thought that you were afraid that I¡¯m a bad person."

    "Of course you aren¡¯t a bad person. It¡¯s easy to tell that you¡¯re a good person."

    "Well, I think that you look like a bad guy."

    The woman was stunned.

    Wang Wen stared at the woman, and then suddenly let out a loudugh. "I''m just teasing you! Why so serious? Hahahaha."

    The woman gave a dry smile. "So, can I get in?"

    "Of course. Get in," Wang Wen offered.

    The woman was very happy, though a hint of murder flickered deep in her eyes. She had wasted too much time talking with this man. She would kill him as soon as she got in the coffin.

    "How does it open?"

    "You need to open it."

    "I can''t."

    "Sister, have you ever seen a coffin that opens from the inside?"

    The woman was momentarily stunned. That actually made perfect sense¡­

    She suddenly realized the man was toying with her. The woman gritted her teeth, and her face went from blushing to pale white. "If I could open it from the outside, I would have done so a long time ago!"

    Wang Wen pursed his lips. "It¡¯s supernatural if the coffin actually opens from the inside."

    "Open it for me!" the woman shouted. She could not deal with the conversation any longer.

    Wang Wen was shocked at the reaction. "Why are you getting so angry? Weren¡¯t we just having a nice chat?"

    "I¡¯m warning you. Open it, or I will leave you dead without aplete body!" The woman dropped her act and pulled out her de. The weapon pointed straight at Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen clutched his head and curled into a ball. "Sister, calm down! You need to calm down!"

    The woman raised the saber and chopped down.

    Suddenly, a hoe appeared behind her, and also fell. The woman''s expression changed drastically, and she spun around. Her de shed against the hoe, and there was a bang as she was sent tumbling through the air before smashing into the ground. She looked up from the site of impact, coughing up blood as she looked at her attacker. "Nong Lie?"

    Nong Lie was indeed the person who had appeared behind her, as she was within Seed Garden¡¯s territory.

    Wang Wen looked up and saw Nong Lie, which was a pleasant surprise. "Are you from the Nong family?"

    Nong Lie stared down at Wang Wen, uncertain of how to react to what he was seeing. "Don''t tell me that you¡¯re one of Lu Yin¡¯s."

    Wang Wen had not expected to be recognized. He casually shoved the coffin and stored it away. He introduced himself with a smile at Nong Lie, "Wang Wen, of the Heavens Sect. Pleasure to meet you."

    Nong Lie felt quite curious. "How did you get here alive?"

    The woman was wondering the same thing. Wang Wen had gone straight to visit the Liu family as soon as the Wang family had delivered him to the Middle Realm. Because of his actions, people had quickly concluded that Wang Wen was likely someone from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect. That was why the woman had been sent after Wang Wen. However, she had been sent out on nothing more than an assumption. If Wang Wen¡¯s identity was confirmed, they would have already sent an Envoy after him.

    The woman stared as Wang Wen easily opened the coffin, and she coughed up blood from the burst of anger. They guy had been ying with her from the very beginning!

    Nong Lie looked at Wang Wen and then back at the woman. "I know who sent you to kill him. Go back and tell your master that even if he personallyes to my Seed Garden, he will stand no chance. Leave!"

    The woman red at Wang Wen, unwilling to leave. Still, she had no choice, and she limped away.

    Wang Wen called after her, "Sister! We¡¯ll have another chance to sleep together in the coffin in the future!"

    The woman coughed up blood once more, and her head whipped around to shoot another vicious re at Wang Wen. She left without another word.

    Nong Lie found the entire situation more and more bizarre. This person was clearly not normal.

    Wang Wen was soon taken to Seed Garden where he met with Nong Ya, the Nong family¡¯s patriarch. They met in the middle of a field.

    The people of the Perennial World had long since be ustomed to the Nong family¡¯s way of doing things. No matter the status of a person in the Nong family, they frequently had meetings in their fields while working. Although this was Wang Wen¡¯s first time seeing such a thing, he did not show any hint of surprise. He simply took off his shoes and stepped into the field. Nong Lie rolled his eyes. "Brother, we have work shoes that you can use."

    Wang Wen dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand. "No need. This is morefortable."

    Nong Lie watched as Wang Wen walked towards Nong Ya in bare feet. As Nong Lie watched, much of the suspicion left his eyes. This person was alright.

    "You want to have my Nong family act as your liaison? You just want to give us a task that will make us offend the four ruling powers." Nong Ya held a hoe and squinted at Wang Wen as they stood in the field.

    Wang Wenughed. "How can you make any profit without offending a few people?"

    ¡­

    Wang Wen stayed with the Nong family for several days, and each day, he spent some time in the field speaking with Nong Ya. On Wang Wen¡¯s fourth day in Seed Garden, Bai Qi arrived.

    Nong Ya met with Bai Qi alone.

    "Bring that person here too. I know that he¡¯s one of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s people and that he¡¯s here to try to convince your family to be their trade partner in the Perennial World so that they can obtain the resources that they need," Bai Qi stated bluntly.

    Nong Ya replied, "Those who visit Seed Garden are all treated as our guests. If he doesn¡¯t want to see you, then I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you see him."

    Bai Qi and Nong Ya stared at each other. "Does Lu Xiaoxuan''s great representative to the Perennial World not even dare to meet me face to face?"

    Nong Ya was uncertain of how to answer, but Nong Lie quickly approached, and he delivered a whispered message, "¡¯I don¡¯t dare.¡¯"

    Nong Ya was utterly speechless. This Wang Wen was too timid! The patriarch looked at Bai Qi and shrugged. "I''m sorry, Senior, but he doesn''t want toe out."

    Bai Qi frowned. Ever since dealing with people from the Fifth Maind had be one of her responsibilities, she had felt as though nothing was going quite right and that nothing was being properly resolved. At this moment, the person visiting the Nong family would not even speak to her. All of these Fifth Maind cultivators were simply too weird.

    "Nong Ya, I don''t know what your family will do, but I¡¯ll tell you this much. With the Fifth Maind now present, our Perennial World should be uniting, not splitting apart," Bai Qi stated.

    Nong Ya stared at the woman. "If we should be uniting, then what of the New Corridor?"

    Bai Qi stared at the man, and Nong Ya quickly borated, "Right now, the members of my Nong family are blocked from entering the New Corridor. We are not allowed to even attempt to receive the inheritance of Mountains and Seas that are in the Fifth Maind¡ªnot even my Nong family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors are allowed passage. Is this the unity that you are referring to?"

    "I will report this matter to my Progenitor."

    "Then we¡¯ll wait for Senior to make her report," Nong Ya said, clearly done speaking and dismissing his guest.

    Bai Qi stared at Nong Ya. She wanted to say something more, but she had no idea what to say, even after thinking for a bit. The Nong''s family was not Virtue Archives, and they could not be threatened. If such a thing were possible, then this family that had enjoyed a close rtionship with the Lu family would have been erased long ago.

    This was not only true of the Nong family, but also of the Liu family and Specter Abyss. If it were possible, the four ruling powers would have wiped out all three organizations long ago, but that was impossible due to their Progenitors. Losing those powerhouses would destabilize the Perennial World.

    However, the Fifth Maind was trying to use trade as a means of splitting the Perennial World in two. It was clear for anyone to see.

    It was not even a problem for an organization to act as the Fifth Maind¡¯s liaison. The problem was the loyalties that would follow. If the Nong family became the Fifth Maind¡¯s trade partner in the Perennial World, then the Nong family would start leaning towards supporting Fifth Maind, and that was a far more serious matter to consider.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had left the Perennial World, but he was still trying to influence the ce.

    "Nong Ya, you should already know about my father¡¯s personality. There are times when it is better to have broken jade than to fight over the entire thing. When my father said that, he was referring to how some people are blinded by hatred. We can''t afford to gamble with the fate of all humanity."

    With that, Bai Qi left.

    She was not trying to threaten the Nong family, but rather Lu Yin and even the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin wanted to win over the Nong and Liu families and iste the four ruling powers. Regardless of whether he seeded, what effect would his attempts have on the four ruling powers? As Bai Qi had said, it was sometimes better to have a broken jade than an intact piece. Even if Lu Yin gained more Progenitor-level allies, was he guaranteed to be able to defeat the four ruling powers?

    Even if he did seed, so what? Who would stop Aeternus from destroying humanity after that?

    The Lu family had been exiled, and it appeared that the four ruling powers had won, but the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors were all trapped in the Dominion Realm and the Outer Realm. The same was true of the Nong and Liu families¡¯ Progenitors. If the four ruling powers were defeated in turn, then how would the rest of humanity defend the Perennial World?

    Bai Qi''s message was very simple: if the Nong and Liu families joined with Lu Yin, humanity itself would be in danger. Everyone could see Lu Yin''s hatred for the four ruling powers. What humanity needed at the moment was bnce.

    Nong Ya fell deep into contemtion. He had indeed been leaning towards supporting Lu Yin. After all, the Nong family had once been a strong supporter of the Lu family. However, Nong Ya realized that he needed to consider things very carefully.

    Bai Qi was not a skilled negotiator; she simply stated the truth. However, there were times when the truth was far more effective than any form of eloquence, and this was a possibility that Wang Wen had never even considered.

    Wang Wen had heard the conversation between Bai Qi and Nong Ya, and Bai Qi¡¯sst sentence made Wang Wen regret not stepping forward to meet with her.

    After Bai Qi left, Wang Wen met with Nong Ya once again, only to discover that Nong Ya no longer looked at him the same way.

    Wang Wen sighed. He had failed. Realizing what had happened, he rubbed his face. "I heard that the four ruling powers are going to start monitoring all of the pond civilizations, no?"

    ¡­

    Far away from Seed Garden, at the bottom of the Cloud Shuttle, was the ce Yun Tingting had been at for almost a year.

    She had also been released when Lu Yin had agreed to a truce with Bai Wangyuan. The Smokecloud Sect acted as the four ruling powers¡¯ gatekeeper, holding back the rest of the Middle Realm from entering the Higher Realm. Because of this, Bai Wangyuan had not made things difficult for Yun Tingting, and he had instead sent someone to escort her back to the Smokecloud Sect.

    However, Yun Tingting discovered that many things had changed in the Smokecloud Sect while she had been gone.

    She had previously been the Smokecloud Sect¡¯s princess, as her father, Yun Mubai, had been the sect master. No one had dared to make trouble for Yun Tingting in the past. However, Yun Mubai had been exposed as a Redback by Lu Yin, and he had been taken away by Humility''s Gate decades ago. Everyone in the Smokecloud Sect looked at Yun Tingting oddly. With her as Lu Yin¡¯s captive for decades, there were all kinds of rumors about her.

    The Smokecloud Sect¡¯s current sect master was Yun Wang. While Yun Tingting still loved her cousin as much as ever, things did not feel the same as they once had. Everything had changed, and Yun Tingting did not know where she belonged, so she simply stayed beneath the Cloud Shuttle and kept herself busy.

    "Cousin, you haven''t given an answer to the sect''s proposal." Yun Yang leaned over as he spoke to Yun Tingting.

    Yun Tingting did not even look over. "I won''t go to the Fifth Maind."

    "It has the Tower of the Fifth, which is supposed to have some very impressive inheritances," Yun Yang pushed.

    Yun Tingting looked over at the man. "I heard that you once made a deal with Lu Yin when he was posing as Long Qi. Is that true?"

    Yun Yang instantly became ufortable. Every time he dealt with Long Qi, things had turned out badly. "Why bring that up?"

    "I''m just reminding you that no one can take advantage of him."

    Yun Yang said, "That''s why they thought to send you, cousin. After all, you spent so many years in the Fifth Maind, so you should be more or less familiar with it."

    Yun Tingting frowned. "¡®They?¡¯"

 Chapter 2388: Strange Events

    <h4>Chapter 2388: Strange Events</h4>

    Yun Yang''s expression shifted slightly, and he let out a cough. "What¡¯s that? Cousin, we have some guestsing, so I''ll go greet them first."

    "Yun Yang, tell me now. Who are ¡®they?¡¯"

    Yun Yang tried to escape, but Yun Tingting easily caught him. The woman might have spent decades as a prisoner on Zenith Mountain, but she had never stopped cultivating. All of the prisoners there had continued training themselves, and Yun Tingting had be a thirty-one cycle Enlighter. While that was only a small improvement given the time that had passed, Yun Yang had only recently be an Enlighter, and he was only a twenty-five cycle Enlighter. He was much weaker than Yun Tingting.

    "Cousin, let me go! A guest is here. There really is a guest." He pointed at the bottom of the Cloud Shuttle as he shouted.

    Yun Tingting looked at where he pointed and saw a few people. "Are the four ruling powers still transport-"

    "Shhh! Cousin, this matter has be far more sensitive. Don¡¯t say anything at all, or else we¡¯ll be in big trouble." Yun Yang instantly cut Yun Tingting off.

    She was quite surprised. "I didn¡¯t see any of this during thest year, so I¡¯d assumed that they had stopped."

    Yun Yang exined, "It''s not that they¡¯ve stopped, but rather that they now wait a long time in between, as they¡¯re afraid of getting caught again. Some time ago, Lu Xiaoxuan made a huge fuss when he exposed it, but you don''t need to worry about it. Just let me deal with it."

    Yun Tingting released him. "If you don''t tell me who ¡®they¡¯ are, I promise that I¡¯ll never take you to the Fifth Maind with me."

    Yun Yang had no chance to reply, as he was hurrying to the bottom of the Cloud Shuttle to carefully make certain arrangements.

    Yun Tingting just watched on. She was aware of certain matters, but she did not care. When her father had still been the sect master, certain tasks had been given to Yun Yang. ording to her father, Yun Tingting was not allowed to get involved in anything that could be considered dirty.

    The thought of father ced Yun Tingting in almost a trance. Hatred for Lu Yin rose in her heart, but there was nothing that she could do.

    Suddenly, she saw a familiar person. Is that¡­?

    At the bottom of the Cloud Shuttle, Big Sis was staring at the small group of people who were quietly speaking to Yun Yang in the distance. She was about to attack.

    She had intended to simply pass through the Cloud Shuttle, but she had happened to bump into some people and had noticed traces of stellr liquid.

    As the former Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, what had she not personally experienced before? Long ago, she had frequently absorbed stellr liquid, and she had even been among the first humans to do so. However, when she had been caught by Progenitor Wu Tian, she had been forced to pay a very heavy price.

    The people beneath the Cloud Shuttle had carefully concealed their stellr liquid, but it was impossible to hide it from Big Sis.

    She not only wanted to get the stellr liquid for herself, but she also wanted to make sure that these people did use the stellr liquid for their own purposes.

    As for damaging the Mother Tree by absorbing stellr liquid, Big Sis was a pirate, and such matters had never concerned her.

    "I- I- I-" The stutterer from the Cosmic Sea was trying to speak. He had been dragged along by Big Sis, but when she heard him try to speak, she smacked him in the head.

    "Shut up! If you don¡¯t make yourself useful, I won''t bring you along."

    The man stammered as he cradled his head. "Yes. There¡¯s- there¡¯s something."

    "There¡¯s nothing! Nothing! Now shut up!" Big Sis smacked the man again.

    Xiao started to get anxious. "Fo- Fo- Fo-"

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed as she red at the man. "Littler stammerer, I, your granny, can see that you¡¯re losing it, and I won¡¯t let you get away with the excuse that you¡¯re biased."

    The man stuttered as he pointed at Yun Tingting. "I found it."

    Big Sis blinked, somewhat dazed. She looked over and saw Yun Tingting.

    At this moment, Yun Tingting was staring straight at Big Sis, and the moment the woman looked at Yun Tingting, the younger woman recognized her, and she eximed, "Big Sis?"

    Yun Tingting and several others had been released within the Heavens Sect by Lu Yin, and they had learned a great deal about the Fifth Maind. Naturally, they had learned about the incredibly famous Big Sister, who was one of the people closest to Lu Yin.

    Yun Tingting had recognized Big Sis, but Big Sis had no idea who Yun Tingting was. The stutterer also did not know Yun Tingting, but he had noticed that she was staring at Big Sis and had assumed that they had been discovered. He had mostly noticed Yun Tingting¡¯s attention due to a guilty conscience, as Big Sis had just told the man that she was going to steal something.

    When Yun Tingting mentioned Big Sis, many people looked over at the woman, including Yun Yang. Big Sis?

    Big Sis was speechless. Even the people here knew her?

    There was no hesitation. Big Sis nced at her targets and instantly attacked. A terrifying power erupted and swept through the area, shattering the Cloud Shuttle.

    As soon as Yun Yang saw what was happening, he copsed and started wailing. Another ident had urred.

    As for the people who were transporting the stellr liquid, their expressions changed drastically. Ever since Lu Yin had exposed the four ruling powers¡¯ practice of transporting and using stellr liquid, the job had be far more hazardous. Things had gotten much, much worse recently, as the transporters had been told in no uncertain terms that the stellr energy absolutely could not be exposed no matter what. They had been exceptionally careful, so how had they been discovered?

    Against an attack from Big Sis, who had a power level of over a million, a man rushed out from behind the small group of people. He had an ordinary appearance, but a power level of over a million erupted from him as well. He had a young appearance, but his eyes revealed his great age.

    There was a bang as Big Sis¡¯s attack shed against the man¡¯s counter. Instantly, the man used the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God - Defense battle technique to block and reflect the attack back towards Big Sis, but to his shock, his battle technique was instantly shredded apart. A ck and purple energy gathered around Big Sis as a stream of energy invisible to the naked eyeshed out and sted the Wind God technique away. The man was knocked unconscious, and his arms shattered. At the same time, the strange energy invaded the man¡¯s body and made it impossible for him to summon any energy from his stellr energy vortex.

    Big Sis did not give the man a second nce as she captured the transporters with a single move of her hand.

    As she did this, another person suddenly appeared. They also raised a hand and released an attack at Big Sis¡¯s head. The first man¡¯s attack had not concerned her, as her dark purple power was overwhelming, but she felt that something was wrong with this second person¡¯s attack.

    Boom!

    Another jarring impact urred, and the void twisted as it was torn apart. An unimaginable destructive force swept through the surroundings, and the Cloud Shuttle began to crumble.

    Yun Tingting watched everything happen in shock. She had never expected to see such an incident ur.

    As for Yun Yang, he had already passed out from the emotional shock.

    The second person who had appeared faced off against Big Sis, but neither was able to gain an advantage over the other.

    This shocked Big Sis, as she was using the Impious Sutra, which was an odd and overbearing power, but her opponent was just as oppressive. This person clearly was not ordinary.

    The person confronting Big Sis was equally surprised. "Leave this ce."

    Big Sis just sneered. "You''re seeking death!"

    With that, a massive hammer appeared in her left hand, and it smashed towards her opponent. A long saber appeared in the hand of Big Sis¡¯s opponent, and it swept out across the sky.

    Bang!

    There was another deafening impact, but once again, the two were evenly matched.

    Big Sis was even more surprised than before, as she had just used the Thundering Hammer battle technique, which hailed from the Heavens Sect era. It was impossible for it to be stopped by amon battle technique.

    As for her opponent, they were just as startled, as the power that they wielded was not something that an ordinary cultivator could hope to block.

    "Acting in such a sneaky manner? Just who are you?" Big Sis shouted. In the current era, very few people could measure up to her strength.

    However, her opponent simply retreated and did not make any further trouble for Big Sis. They even abandoned the people from the four ruling powers who had been transporting the stellr liquid.

    As Big Sis was wondering about her opponent, the void was sliced open diagonally a short ways away, and a person emerged and stared at her.

    Big Sis¡¯s expression changed drastically. "A Progenitor? Not good!"

    Without another thought, she fled. She ignored the people with the stellr liquid.

    The entire situation confused Big Sis. It was just stellr liquid, so why was a Progenitor getting involved?

    The Progenitor who had suddenly appeared was Xia Shenji, though it was one of his clones rather than his main body. He nced at Big Sis, but then his eyes shifted in the other direction. He was focused on Big Sis¡¯s second opponent, and he quickly gave chase.

    Big Sis nced back, but the Progenitor was already gone. It turned out that he had been chasing that other person.

    She had been nning on leaving, but after giving it some thought, she decided to go back and check what was happening.

    Soon, a massive battle broke out, and the power of a Progenitor could be felt as roaring shouts filled the air. When everything was over, nothing could be seen other than the destroyed ground that covered a massive region. In that area, no mountains or rivers existed.

    Big Sis popped up from underground. Her dark purple power faded from above her head. She had not gotten caught up in the battle. Even though one of Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor-level clones had been fighting, the clone was among the weakest of Progenitors.

    Staring out at the devastatednd, Big Sis pulled out her wireless jincan. It was clear that something massive had just happened.

    Back in the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was sitting by theke, staring intently at its center. There was a steaming cup of herbal tea beside him, and while it looked terrifying, it also tasted amazing.

    As soon as his wireless jincan trembled, Lu Yin checked the message.

    "Little Seven, I came across something very strange," Big Sis sent.

    Lu Yin had not expected to hear from Big Sis. "What happened?"

    "I ran into Xia Shenji."

    Lu Yin instantly grew stiff. "Isn''t he in the Dominion Realm? How did you run into him? Did he make any trouble for you?"

    "He was too busy making trouble for someone else. Wait, that¡¯s not quite right. It wasn¡¯t someone else. How do I say it? Uh, he was making trouble for himself," Big Sis tried to exin.

    Lu Yin felt even more confused. "What does that mean?"

    "I saw one Xia Shenji chasing after and trying to kill another Xia Shenji. While the Xia Shenji being chased hid his face and tried to not show himself, I¡¯m absolutely certain that it was him. As for the other Xia Shenji, I saw him clearly," Big Sis continued.

    At this moment, the fishing rod moved. A big fish had taken the bait. Someone behind Lu Yin grew excited. "Your Highness, you caught one! You caught one!"

    Lu Yin handed Zhao Ran the fishing rod. "Come catch the fish."

    He then stepped aside. He continued to listen to Zhao Ran''s excited shouts while exchanging messages with Big Sis.

    "Big Sis, are you certain? Are you sure that you saw Xia Shenji attacking himself?"

    "Absolutely. The second Xia Shenji chasing after the first was a Progenitor, but a very weak one. He didn¡¯t even have a Progenitor¡¯s world. The first Xia Shenji who was being chased was no more than a seven-tribtion expert. He wasn¡¯t even close to being a Progenitor."

    "How could someone who isn¡¯t even a Semi-Progenitor escape from a real Progenitor, even if he is one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones?"

    "I can¡¯t answer that, but could it be because of the Nine Clones Secret Technique? All I can tell you for sure is that one of Xia Shenji''s Progenitor-level clones was chasing after a seven-tribtion clone and trying to kill it."

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    Had one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clone betrayed the main body? Could this be the same situation as when Xia Luo had betrayed Xia Jiuyou? This was a very interesting development. At the same time, while the Nine Clones Secret Technique was incredibly powerful, if it was so easy for one of the clones to betray the main body, then the disadvantages would be too much.

    "Right, there was also someone else whom I recognized. While I don¡¯t know him well, I do remember his face. He¡¯s one of your enemies, Liu Shaoge." Big Sis sent another message.

    Lu Yin was shocked. "You saw Liu Shaoge?"

    "Yes, it was definitely him. He was hiding far away during the battle, and if I hadn¡¯t happened to chase after them to watch the fight, I would have never seen him. He fled with the clone that was being chased," Big Sis confirmed.

    Lu Yin was even more surprised. "The clone was able to escape from one of Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor clones, and yet you were able to see Liu Shaoge running away with him?"

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes flickered with a dangerous light as she sent a reply. "I can feel what you¡¯re insinuating¡ªyou¡¯re looking down on me. Me! Are you trying to say that I can¡¯t even measure up to one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones?!"

 Chapter 2389: Conditions And Confidence

    <h4>Chapter 2389: Conditions And Confidence</h4>

    Lu Yin was speechless. "Big Sis, that¡¯s not what I meant at all! Come on, you haven¡¯t even recovered your full strength yet."

    "Do you think that cultivation is all that matters? I can absolutely do it! Forget one of Xia Shenji''s Progenitor-level clones¡ªeven if one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas themselvese, I can still find whoever I want! Not even that clone of Xia Shenji¡¯s that was trying to run could escape me."

    Lu Yin straightened up. "In that case, I¡¯ll have to ask you for a favor, Big Sis. Make some trouble for him."

    "Which one?"

    "The clone who was being chased, of course. Make some trouble for him. I don¡¯t want Liu Shaoge to be able to make any trouble."

    Big Sis understood. "I can do it, but I don¡¯t want to. It sounds exhausting."

    Lu Yin suddenly grew solemn. "Big Sis, I always believed that you are the greatest goddess in the entire universe!"

    Big Sis felt her face twitch. "You¡¯re disgusting. Just wait a bit."

    She looked up and stared in a specific direction. She licked her lips, and took off.

    Plop!

    Lu Yin turned his head and blinked. Apparently, the fish had just pulled Zhao Ran into theke, which embarrassed the girl quite badly. She swam out of theke and sadly stated, "Your Highness, the fish got away."

    Lu Yinughed loudly and reached over to pull her out of the water. "If it got away, then it got away this time. Just keep fishing."

    "Well, I need to catch a big fish so that I can stew some herbal tea for you, Your Highness."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Fish? Stewed into an herbal tea? How was there even a connection between the two?

    He nced over at the strange cup of tea that sat nearby. It was clear that Zhao Ran¡¯s concoctions were bing increasingly disturbing.

    ***

    In the Perennial World, beneath the Cloud Shuttle, the stuttering man from the Cosmic Sea appeared stunned. Big Sis didn¡¯t want him around anymore?

    Eh??He looked around and saw that many people were still dazed by what had happened, including the people who had been transporting the stellr liquid.

    The stutterer mustered his courage and rushed over. He grabbed the cosmic ring and fled. He even remembered to break their fingers for blood to open the ring.

    Many people saw what he did, but not a person dared to stop him, as they were all scared that something else would happen.

    As for the man who had first taken action against Big Sis, he saw the stuttering man fleeing and wanted to attack the young man, but he could only watch him get away. Lu Yin had once relied on the stuttering man to escape because of his speed. The man was so furious that a mere Enlighter had escaped from him after stealing the stellr liquid under his protection that the powerhouse spat out blood and passed out.

    As for the stutterer himself, he had no idea just how dangerous his actions were. If not for Big Sis¡¯s powerful attack injuring her opponent so badly, a mere flick of the man¡¯s fingers would have been enough to instantly kill the stutterer.

    Far away, two people were carefully picking their way through a forest. One of the two was Liu Shaoge.

    "He won''t chase after you?" Liu Shaoge asked. He sounded perfectly calm, and not even the slightest hint of distress could be heard in his voice.

    Hispanion answered in a hoarse voice, "No. I inflicted harm to myself and attacked him through the Nine Clones Secret Technique. I may have suffered multiple injuries, but so has he."

    "Good."

    "Thank you. If you had not warned me that I could not afford to fight against that woman, I might not have been able to escape if I had dyed even a single second more." As the man spoke, he lifted his head, and the dim light of the forest revealed a face that was a perfect copy of Xia Shenji''s. However, this man¡¯s face had a much darker demeanorpared to Xia Shenji. This man¡¯s eyes concealed a ferociousness and incredible age.

    Liu Shaoge replied, "She¡¯s one of Lu Yin¡¯s people. I only warned you because I don''t want you to be found by Lu Yin. That would create a lot of trouble."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "Oh, so the child from back then was able to rise so high? Even if the Lu family had not been exiled, he should have never been able to rise so far. I never thought that he would be able to start recing the banished Lu family. He abandoned you in Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡ªdo you not hate him for that?"

    Liu Shaogeughed. "Why would I hate him for that? We were never friends."

    "That''s the right attitude. That¡¯s the way of life for cultivators. There is no right or wrong, so there is no need for any resentment. All that exists is sess and failure." As the man spoke, he stared upwards towards the Higher Realm. "We cannot remain in the Perennial World any longer. We need to find a way to leave."

    "You want to go to the Lower Realm?"

    "The Forsaken Land."

    Liu Shaoge shook his head. "Going there will only make the two of us into Lu Yin''s prey. I¡¯d rather deal with the four ruling powers than him, as he¡¯s a much greater threat to the two of us than they are."

    "Someone is pursuing us." The man shoved Liu Shaoge away as he said, "Stay back!"

    The man then turned around. A de appeared in his hand, and it pointed straight along the path that they had just traversed.

    Big Sis suddenly appeared, rushing towards the man while sneering. "How dare you ruin things for me! Stay here!"

    As she spoke, she attacked with a Thundering Hammer. The impact was enormous, and the shockwave sent Liu Shaoge flying.

    He smashed into the ground and coughed before wiping the blood from his mouth. Just how had Big Sis chased after them? Not even Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor-level clone had been able to track them down!

    Suddenly, Liu Shaoge¡¯s wireless jincan trembled. He looked down and let out a sigh. Sure enough, Lu Yin had discovered him.

    Liu Shaoge did not hesitate to answer the message and send a response to Lu Yin.

    "You¡¯re with one of Xia Shenji''s clones?" Lu Yin sent from the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Maind. At the moment, Big Sis was still fighting against the clone.

    "That''s right." Liu Shaoge looked up, only to see that, while Xia Shenji''s clone was too upied to do anything to help Liu Shaoge, Big Sis was throwing him an asional nce.

    It was clear that Lu Yin had sent Big Sis after the two men.

    "What''s going on?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Liu Shaoge replied, "I was imprisoned in Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and while there, I happened to meet this clone, so I escaped with him."

    "You know that that¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking."

    Liu Shaoge sent back, "Remove the seal from me, and I''ll tell you everything that you want to know."

    "Are you trying to negotiate with me?"

    "What I can tell you is worth more than having me under your control."

    "Is it that big?" Lu Yin had only reached out to Liu Shaoge to find out more about Xia Shenji''s clone. Lu Yin had merely been curious about whether one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones had betrayed his main body. After all, there was no way for Lu Yin to deal with Xia Shenji for the time being, and even if there was, they had a truce in ce.

    Surprisingly, Liu Shaoge imed to have information that was far more valuable than that for Lu Yin.

    A smile spread across Liu Shaoge''s face. "Brother Lu, this clone is connected to the Lu family¡¯s exile."

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. "The Prison Lock secret technique?"

    "It seems that you already know about that little detail, Brother Lu. In that case, I believe that my request isn¡¯t too much to ask," Liu Shaoge replied.

    Lu Yin started thinking.

    "Take your time, Brother Lu, but you won¡¯t lose out from this agreement." Liu Shaoge was confident that Lu Yin would agree, so he simply ended the conversation and put his wireless jincan away before fleeing from the battle.

    When Big Sis noticed that Liu Shaoge was running away, she wondered whether she should capture him, but even if she wanted to, it would not be easy. The clone was just as strong as her, and neither of them could defeat the other.

    "Woman, get out of my way!" Xia Shenji¡¯s clone roared in his hoarse voice.

    Even while speaking, the hammer in her right hand smashed downwards while a blood-red lotus appeared in her left hand. Xia Shenji''s clone looked incredibly somber, and he instantly sealed the attack with a secret technique.

    The moment that Big Sis¡¯s attack was sealed, the clone turned around and immediately fled.

    Big Sis¡¯s dark purple power swirled around her body and her head. It looked beautiful and mysterious, and she quickly shattered the chains that had blocked her attack. She looked around, but the clone had already fled and taken Liu Shaoge with him.

    The woman let out a contemptuous snort and pulled out her wireless jincan to send Lu Yin a message. "Little Seven, what do you want to do?"

    Lu Yin stood up and stretched. "Can you still find them, Big Sis?"

    Big Sis raised her head proudly. "That¡¯s no problem at all! I can find anyone I¡¯ve faced before."

    "Good. I''ll head over to join you, and then we can find them together." Lu Yin untied the cloak and bamboo hat that he always wore while fishing, and then he put the wireless jincan away. He had been in seclusion for a year, and it was time to take a little walk.

    For the past year, he had been in seclusion. Some of his time had been spent training, and at other times, he had been fishing and rxing. As Kui Luo had described it, Lu Yin had beenzy.

    An Envoy could easily go into seclusion to train for hundreds or even thousands of years without any trouble, while Lu Yin had taken breaks during his one year of seclusion to go fishing. Just what kind of secluded training had he been carrying out?

    However, only Lu Yin knew that he had used Timestop no less than twenty times in the past year, and he had also rolled six pips on his die six different times. Unfortunately, not one of the Possessions had targeted anyone of any real worth or importance, so Lu Yin had only ended up wasting a tremendous amount of money.

    Twenty instances of training in the Timestop Space was equivalent to twenty years while only twenty seconds would have psed in the outside world.

    During his numerous visits to the Timestop Space, Lu Yin had improved his number of simted stars from 110,000 to 200,000. While he was still 180,000 stars away from mastering the Cosmic Art¡¯s sixth level, he had closed the gap tremendously.

    He had also greatly condensed his Wielder realm battle force.

    He had also spent his time in the Timestop Space practicing the Origin Sutra, Inverse Step, his visualization method, Truesight, Flipping the Sky, and various sourcebox arrays. All of his abilities had seen varying levels of improvements.

    For this uing visit to the Perennial World, Lu Yin intended to disguise himself in order to minimize his chances of being attacked by Nutjob Lu. Regardless of the potential danger, there were various pending tasks in the Perennial World, and there were certain tasks that Lu Yin had to see to himself. No matter how smart Wang Wen was, there were certain things that only Lu Yin could take care of.

    Hidden in the true universe, Sapling was happily swaying its branches and waving its green leaves as it absorbed more and more stellr energy.

    Sapling was thrilled when it noticed Lu Yin¡¯s visit, and a branch reached out to touch Lu Yin''s chin.

    At first, Lu Yin had been worried that Sapling would get lonely while absorbing stellr energy without anypany, but he hade to learn that Sapling did not feel lonely at all. Instead, it greatly enjoyed the process of absorbing stellr energy and growing and was quite content to do so.

    This caused Lu Yin to think of the Mother Tree.

    Given the fact that Sapling clearly possessed some level of sapience, Mother Tree should as well. And yet, Lu Yin had never heard of anyonemunicating with the Mother Tree.

    "If I didn¡¯te see you, and someone else did instead, would youmunicate with them?" Lu Yin muttered to himself as he stroked Sapling¡¯s branches.

    Sapling¡¯s branches and leaves all started drooping, and the tree looked incredibly depressed.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don''t worry, I¡¯lle visit you often."

    Sapling instantly cheered up, and its branches started shaking. After a moment, some crystal clear stellr liquid was squeezed out, and Lu Yin quickly gathered it up.

    There was a great deal of stellr liquid this time. It was several times more than what Lu Yin had been able to provide to Qing Ping.

    "Will giving away this much stellr liquid hurt your growth?" Lu Yin was quite worried. It was well known that harvesting stellr liquid from the Mother Tree like the four ruling powers did harmed the Mother Tree, ording to the Lu family. Naturally, Lu Yin was worried about hurting Sapling.

    Sapling quivered in a happy manner. As long as it was able to help Lu Yin, it was more than willing to do so.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for your hard work."

    Right as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. He turned back to look at Sapling. ¡°You really liked that big tree that ran away, didn¡¯t you? Don''t worry, I¡¯ll find it for you some day. When I do so, I¡¯ll bring it back so that you can y with it again."

    Sapling grew even happier, as it really did like that big tree.

    A few dayster, a very ordinary looking man whose only defining feature was arge mole on his face arrived at the New Corridor in the Technocracy. There was a scraggly beard on his chin, and his clothes appeared rather expensive. There was a small creature on his shoulder that resembled the jiao, and there was also something simr to a Champions¡¯ Stage behind the man.

    He was Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2390: Detection

    <h4>Chapter 2390: Detection</h4>

    There was a soft roar when the jiao opened its mouth to show its fangs and brandish its ws.

    Lu Yin turned his head just enough to nce at the jiao, and the beast quickly lowered its ws.

    The beast had no intelligence. Ever since it had chased Lu Yin from the Perennial World to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had subdued the jiao, and it had be no different than a normal pet, aside from when it feared death. It was obedient and submissive, and Lu Yin felt confident showing his back to the jiao.

    Still, just as a precaution, Lu Yin would periodically teach the beast another lesson.

    It was not easy to travel from the Fifth Maind to the Perennial World, as there was a strict review process. There was no way that Lu Yin would allow criminals or his enemies to reach the Perennial World.

    There was a long line of people waiting to pass through the security checkpoint, and it greatly resembled the scene that Lu Yin had seen when he had first traveled to the Innerverse on the Astral River Ark. There were no fewer than ten Envoys present, as well as Semi-Progenitor Zhan Lin. The powerhouse was the one in charge, and he was present to ensure that no one forced their way through to the Perennial World.

    "Name?" In the past, it would have been unthinkable to have an Envoy work as a clerk, but when Lu Yin had taken all the members of Star Alliance away from the Perennial World, only the surviving vassals of the Lu family had been innocent. There had been many Envoys in Star Alliance who hadmitted crimes. While some had been executed for the truly heinous crimes that they hadmitted, many were allowed to work to atone for their sins, and that was exactly the situation for the Envoy working as a clerk.

    Lu Yin took out a token that identified him as a high-ranking member of the Heavens Sect. After showing it to the man, the Envoy stated, "Please,e in."

    The token that Lu Yin had taken out was a special pass, and it was mostly used by people who traveled to the Perennial World with a false identity. Big Sis had used one of these tokens, as had Wang Wen. These tokens made their passage to the Perennial World untraceable, unless they were visually recognized by someone.

    As for the jiao on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders and the Champions¡¯ Stage behind him, when Lu Yin nced around, he saw that many other people had simr possessions as well.

    This was because Lu Yin had made a specific request to Qiong Xi¡¯er a year ago. There was a beast in the Fifth Maind that looked like a miniature jiao, and Lu Yin had asked Qiong Xi¡¯er to find a way to make these beasts popr pets so that many people would own them. The same thing had been done for the Champions¡¯ Stage, and countless imitations had appeared as well. All of this had been done in preparation for Lu Yin to be able to hide himself and sneak back into the Perennial World one day.

    Lu Yin would not feel safe visiting the Perennial World on his own, but the jiao and the Champions¡¯ Stage both made him far too easily identified, so he had instead tried to find a way to make them not stand out as much. Luckily, Qiong Xi¡¯er¡¯s efforts had been sessful, and people with simr essories as Lu Yin could be seen everywhere.

    Fake jiaos and Champions¡¯ Stages had be incredibly popr in the Fifth Maind, and any cultivator with even a bit of wealth would buy them and travel with them.

    Lu Yin made it into the Perennial World without any issue, and once there, he followed the standard procedures that were in ce. He could not try to sneak away, as that would expose his presence to the four ruling powers.

    The Wang family maintained extremely strict surveince over the New Corridor, and if they discovered Lu Yin running off without passing through their registration process, he would most likely be exposed. Then, many of the tasks that he needed to aplish would be extremely difficult toplete, especially since he would have to constantly worry about being attacked out of nowhere.

    More than twenty days passed before Lu Yin found himself standing on the Bifrost behind a group of Fifth Maind cultivators who were headed towards the Lower Realm. They were being escorted by people from the four ruling powers.

    "There aren¡¯t many people even in our Perennial World who are willing to risk the dangers of the Lower Realm. These people from the Forsaken Land are quite brave."

    The person next to him replied, "As soon as they suffer a bit in the Lower Realm, they¡¯ll understand how things really are, and then they¡¯ll definitely run back to the Middle Realm crying."

    "Huh, they won¡¯t have an easy time in the Middle Realm either. I heard that there¡¯s a group of ns from the Perennial World who have united to form the Forsaken Land ying Alliance. Their only goal is to drive everyst Fifth Maind cultivator out of the Perennial World. These guys have onlye here to waste our resources, and just them being here creates extra risks."

    "They might even be sneaking Redbacks in!"

    ¡­

    Behind the people from the four ruling powers, the Fifth Maind cultivators had ugly expressions on their faces. Thements directed at them were truly vicious.

    "Those guys deserve a beating even worse than my name! It¡¯s too bad that we don¡¯t have enough powerful people in our group. I heard that there were quite a few powerhouses in one of thest groups, and they taught the people from the four ruling powers quite a lesson! There were even some of the Lu family¡¯s followers, which means that they should have been connected to that Lu Yin guy. I know that you think that it¡¯s got to be nice to have connections like that, but I¡¯ll tell you now¡ªmy own connections aren¡¯t too bad either! You see, Big Mole Bro, Lu Yin¡¯s my brother. If you visit the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Maind and give them my name, Qian Zou, then Brother Lu wille out himself to greet you!"

    Lu Yin nced at the hand resting on his shoulder. The owner who was chatting away next to Lu Yin was indeed Qian Zou.

    Lu Yin had not expected to travel to the same destination in the Perennial World as Qian Zou. Lu Yin did not want to speak to the man, but Qian Zou did not seem to want to leave Lu Yin alone. In fact, Qian Zou had immediately approached Lu Yin and started calling him Big Mole Bro right away. That was the only way that Qian Zou had ever addressed the disguised Lu Yin.

    "Hey, Big Mole Bro, what¡¯s with that look? Do you want to teach those guys a lesson or something? Don¡¯t. You are way too weak. I¡¯m not trying to insult you, but honestly, you really are a bit too weak. When I see my Brother Lu next time, I¡¯ll put in a word for you and ask him to help you out, so just bear with things for now." Qian Zou patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "We¡¯re just unlucky that our group doesn¡¯t have any powerhouses."

    "Why don''t you go deal with them?" Lu Yin challenged.

    Qian Zou made a shushing gesture and then solemnly stated, "Bro, I¡¯ve been given an important job, so I can¡¯t risk being recognized. If I¡¯m noticed, then the four ruling powers will get worried. I¡¯m doing something for Brother Lu, and there can¡¯t be any mistakes!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and just stopped talking. There was no way he could have any semnce of a real conversation with someone like Qian Zou.

    In order to avoid attracting any attention from the four ruling powers, Lu Yin stayed with the group for more than twenty days, and needed to stay with them until they arrived in the Lower Realm. Of course, these twenty days had not been wasted. Big Sis had been tailing Liu Shaoge and the clone the entire time.

    In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s destination was the Lower Realm because of Big Sis¡¯s reports. It seemed that Liu Shaoge and Xia Shenji¡¯s clone had traveled to the Lower Realm.

    After a few more days, they finally arrived in the Lower Realm. Everyone from the Fifth Maind stared at the Ancestor Python¡¯s enormous coils that seemed to rece the sky itself. The shock that they felt was something that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

    Every so often, a subtle yet terrifying pressure swept through the area.

    In the Lower Realm, humans were just another part of the food chain, and they did not hold the top position. While humans were certainly predators in the Lower Realm, they were also just as likely to be prey.

    Staying in the Lower Realm would trigger a person¡¯s survival instincts, which was precisely why many people wanted to visit it. Most visitors were eager to achieve a breakthrough, but while the Lower Realm certainly provided an opportunity for a breakthrough, most people who visited the Lower Realm just ended up dead.

    As soon as the group arrived in the Lower Realm, they were met by the sight of distant mes that were so intense that they warped the void. It was like a star descending to the ground, and the heat and power of the mes were enough to melt everything. The mes terrified the people who saw it, as these mes were an Enlighter¡¯s attack, and there were very few Enlighters among the Fifth Maind cultivators.

    As for the people from the four ruling powers, they simply stepped back. There was no chance that they would protect the people from the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked up. Two people raced out from behind him and attacked the mes. One of the two even used Oveying Stacks to disperse the mes. The two people were both Enlighters, so they were injured by the mes.

    The people from the four ruling powers all felt that it was a pathetic disy. "They seriously want to go into the Lower Realm with this level of strength? They¡¯re just asking to die."

    Another person said, "That attack should be a wee present from the Forsaken Land ying Alliance. They hunt down and kill people from the Forsaken Land throughout the Middle and Lower Realms. They¡¯re getting more and more active too."

    "That¡¯s none of our business. Our four ruling powers didn¡¯t make the alliance, so just let them go. It''ll be better if they all just die."

    "Actually, it¡¯d be best if they were tossed onto the rear battlefield."

    ¡­

    A few of the Fifth Maind cultivators managed to act quick enough to disperse the mes. None of them were stupid, and the fact that they had been attacked the moment they arrived in the Lower Realm was too much to be a coincidence. It was clear that something was wrong, and several people started considering returning to the Middle Realm immediately. The Lower Realm was too dangerous.

    Lu Yin stepped off of the Bifrost. He lifted a hand while bringing out his wireless jincan so that he could send a message to Big Sis.

    "Big Mole Bro, where are you heading? I¡¯ll join you!" Qian Zou leaned over and called out.

    Lu Yin nced over and then started walking away. Qian Zou raced after Lu Yin, only to discover that he could not keep up. Lu Yin was far too fast, and he disappeared from Qian Zou¡¯s sight in an instant.

    Qian Zou was stunned. He could not keep up even after using Inverse Step. Big Mole Bro was a true powerhouse. Qian Zou¡¯s years of living as a thief in the Fifth Maind had caused him to develop his own way of judging people, and he had very urate senses. As soon as Qian Zouid eyes on Big Mole Bro, it had be clear that the man would not be an easy target. That was precisely why Qian Zou had stuck so closely to his target. Unfortunately, not only had Qian Zou¡¯s suspicions been proven correct, but he had also beenpletely unable to keep up with his target. In fact, Qian Zou had not been able to learn anything at all about Big Mole Bro.

    Qian Zou was rather irritated, as he felt like he had gotten very close to a big score.

    The Lower Realm had five regions. Lu Yin had previously visited the third region with Long Xi.

    The Ancestor Python was wrapped around the Mother Tree, and its head was in the third region while its tail was in the fifth region. The rest of its body ran through the other regions.

    Lu Yin took out the dirt that had been soaked in the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva that the White Dragon n had given him. It served as a powerful repellent against beasts and astral beasts. In fact, this dirt was how Lu Yin had instantly defeated Yao Di.

    However, the ce where this dirt showed its greatest use was in the Lower Realm.

    As soon as Lu Yin took out the soil, not a single creature in the Lower Realm would dare to approach him.

    In this manner, he quickly and easily met up with Big Sis.

    However, she was in a rather bad mood. "What took you so long?"

    More than half a month had passed since Lu Yin had left the Fifth Maind. "I couldn¡¯t afford to be discovered by the four ruling powers, so I had to be careful and travel slowly."

    "Fine. Let¡¯s hurry up now. It¡¯s this way." Big Sis acted decisively and charged forward as soon as she verified the direction.

    Lu Yin followed right behind her.

    As they traveled, Big Sis handed Lu Yin a tremendous amount of stellr liquid, whichpletely stunned him when he saw it. "Where did you get this? Have you been absorbing stellr liquid?"

    "I stole it from the four ruling powers. Before tracking down the two we¡¯re currently after, I went back and grabbed this from the little stutterer so that I could give it to you," Big Sis replied.

    "Little stutterer?" Lu Yin felt confused.

    "He''s another pirate. He used to be Ji Qiang¡¯s disciple and was part of the Longevity Brigade, but he doesn¡¯t belong to anyone now."

    "Ji Qiang? You actually kept a disciple of one of Xia Ji''s clones with you? I actually remember that stutterer. So he¡¯s not dead?"

    "No, he escaped early on."

    Lu Yinughed. He had met both the stutterer and Qian Zou during the Astral Towerpetition, and somehow, he had run into both of them again.

    After traveling for a day, the two arrived at a creature¡¯s den. The beast was being roasted over a fire, clearly by a person.

    "It''s them," Big Sis said.

    Lu Yin nced around. "Did youe here before to check it out?"

    "I didn¡¯t want to risk them realizing that they were being followed. We might not have been able to find them if they moved again."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The more one did not want something, the more likely they would encounter it. He released his domain and quickly discovered a hiddenmunication crystal. It was active and connected to another one.

    Lu Yin walked over and looked at themunication crystal. He shook his head as he crushed the thing with a foot. "We''ve been noticed, and our conversation just now was overheard."

    Big Sis frowned. "That shouldn''t be possible. Not even Xia Shenji¡¯s true body is guaranteed to be able to detect my methods."

 Chapter 2391: The True Headquarters

    Chapter 2391: The True Headquarters

    "You underestimate Xia Shenji too much." After hearing Big Sis¡¯sment, Lu Yin responded out of reflex. As soon as these words left his mouth, he noticed a dangerous glint in Big Sis¡¯s eyes, so Lu Yin quickly amended hisment. "Of course, while not even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could normally detect you, Big Sis, these two are just being too careful this time. It¡¯s possible that they might y a trick like this everywhere they go, just to see if anyone¡¯s following them. There¡¯s no way they were able to notice you."

    Big Sis snorted disdainfully and then grumbled, "Since we''ve been caught, there''s nothing that we can do about it. These two mice have been quite difficult to find."

    Lu Yin looked at the shards of the shatteredmunication crystals on the ground. This should have been Liu Shaoge''s doing. He was someone whom even Lu Yin was wary of. Liu Shaoge had managed to stay alive even when Lu Yin had been trying to kill him. He had joined the Celestial Frost Sect as an ordinary cultivator, but he had somehow risen through the ranks. Not only had he worked directly under Yu Chen, but Liu Shaoge had also eventually reced Yu Chen as someone with the qualifications to speak to the sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitor. There was no denying that Liu Shaoge was an extraordinary person.

    While it would be easy for Lu Yin to take Liu Shaoge¡¯s life, the man had put forth some conditions, which proved that he was still a valuable resource. Lu Yin simply could not decide what to do with this man.

    Lu Yin had taken advantage of his own inherent value to force others into making concessions, but Lu Yin could never gain any advantage when dealing with Liu Shaoge.

    "Let¡¯s see how long you can keep hiding for," Lu Yin muttered to himself as he took out a Netherworld River.

    Since it was not going to be possible to track down Liu Shaoge and Xia Shenji¡¯s clone, Lu Yin would simply find Realmless¡¯s true headquarters instead. Realmless¡¯s existence was something that had bothered Lu Yin for quite some time, and it was important to deal with them.

    Realmless possessed too much information, and they even had a great deal of information regarding Redbacks. If Lu Yin could ess all of their information, it would be a huge contribution to all of humanity, and protecting mankind was a universal responsibility for all humans.

    Not too far away from where Lu Yin and Big Sis were, Xia Shenji''s clone stared at Liu Shaoge. "Is there someone following us? Who is it?"

    Liu Shaoge answered solemnly, "I was just guessing at first, but I just confirmed that Lu Yin¡¯s chasing after us."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan? How did he find us?" The clone¡¯s expression changed, and he nced down at his own body. "It must be that woman. She¡¯s been tracking me after we fought. She must have left something on me that she can follow."

    Liu Shaoge replied, "It doesn¡¯t matter. Lu Yin knows that he''s been caught, so he won''t keep chasing after us now."

    The clonemented, "Young people are bing more and more impressive nowadays. I never imagined that I, Xia Shenji, would one day be pursued by a junior. This era has already moved past us, and we¡¯re bing obsolete with the passing of time."

    Liu Shaogeughed. "You''ve had to re-cultivate, haven''t you?"

    The clone stared at Liu Shaoge for a long moment. "Let''s go. I need to deal with whatever¡¯s hidden in my body first. Also, why is Lu Xiaoxuaning after us?"

    "That woman recognized me, which means that I caused this trouble for you," Liu Shaoge apologized.

    The clone shook his head. "It does not matter. Once I recover my strength, I will be able to raise you up to the stars, and then Lu Xiaoxuan will not be able to do anything to you."

    The man then stood up and left.

    A hint of mockery flickered in the depths of Liu Shaoge''s eyes, but it almost instantly disappeared as he chased after the clone. These people really did need to be swept away by the passage of time.

    ¡­

    "Realmless? Thergest assassinationwork in the Perennial World? They should have a lot of money," Big Sis said excitedly as she licked her lips.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Yes, a lot."

    As the two looked at each other, they each saw the greed in the other''s eyes.

    Big Sis possessed a pirate¡¯s greed, as she had been raised by Highsage Leon since childhood. As for Lu Yin¡¯s greed, it was something that came naturally to him.

    The two watched as the Netherworld River moved along, and they followed closely behind it.

    Netherworld Rivers were drawn to each other, and while this attraction was not something that Lu Yin could take advantage of, Big Sis could. She had taken control of a Netherworld River and was following it through the Perennial World. It was actually aimed for some ce in the Lower Realm.

    "Up ahead is the fourth region. I came here to check out some things before, but this is too odd. Why haven¡¯t any beasts attacked us along the way?" Big Sis felt quite puzzled by the peace.

    Lu Yin took out the soil that he had received from the White Dragon n and handed it over to Big Sis. "Some saliva was dripped on this dirt, and it works as a repellent for any kind of beast. It even works on beasts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors."

    "You have something that amazing? Wait, dirt? And saliva?"

    "It¡¯s the Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva."

    Big Sis blinked as she stared at Lu Yin. He half expected her to suddenly react with the same need for cleanliness that Progenitor Smoke had shown. Unexpectedly, Big Sis started cradling the dirt like it was a baby. "This thing is incredibly useful. Why haven¡¯t you brought it out before? Actually, even though most of my old memories are missing, I do have some vague impressions of being Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, and back then, I had a bit of an obsession with the Ancestor Python."

    "What kind of obsession?" Lu Yin grew curious.

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. "I don''t know."

    As the two chatted, they entered the Lower Realm¡¯s fourth region. With the clump of dirt exposed, they moved without any obstructions. As they traveled, Lu Yin even asionally noticed some beasts that were frozen in ce, terrified by the scent of the soil on them. Any beasts that Lu Yin found, he casually eliminated. It was important to protect the Mother Tree¡¯s roots from suffering too much damage.

    Given the speed at which Lu Yin and Big Sis were traveling, they quickly arrived in the fifth region. They were able to travel in a straight line due to the clump of dirt, and moving unimpeded allowed them to travel through the Lower Realm even faster than a Semi-Progenitor. It always took more time to traverse the Lower Realm, as the area was far more hazardous for Enlighters and weaker cultivators. At that level, people might find it impossible to ever cross the Lower Realm.

    Eventually, the Netherworld River stopped responding in front of a very ordinary-looking root that belonged to the Mother Tree. While it was indeed just a root, it wasrge enough to carry entire stars.

    Lu Yin looked down. If his guess was right, then directly below them was the broken Netherworld River that he had seen when he had Possessed the enved Envoy. Beneath his feet should be Realmless¡¯s true headquarters.

    Without being guided by a Netherworld River, how would anyone ever find this ce?

    "Is this it?" Big Sis felt rather puzzled.

    Lu Yin nodded as he released his domain. It spread deep underground, as Lu Yin immediately spread it to his furthest limits.

    Almost instantly, he discovered a massive underground opening, as well as the enved Envoy that he had once Possessed who had no knowledge of the universe outside these tunnels. Lu Yin also saw countless items that had been chewed to pieces, as well as a massive mountain of star essence that had been piled up. Added to the mix were various precious raw materials and power vessels. He even saw the corpse of the Envoy that the enved Envoy had identally stumbled upon one time.

    "This is it." Lu Yin stomped down and shattered the root before moving downwards.

    The enved Envoy with no knowledge of the outside universe stared nkly at Lu Yin''s sudden appearance. The man simply did not know what to do for a moment.

    Lu Yin pierced the void, following his memories of the underground tunnels. He quickly saw the fragments of the Netherworld River that he had seen before, exactly the same as when he had Possessed the ve. Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a powerful sense of danger, and a ck spot tore through the void with incredible speed to strike ata Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had kept his domain out, but he had not noticed the ck spot¡¯s existence at all.

    Not only did the ck spot move incredibly fast, but it also moved unhindered through Lu Yin¡¯s void god domain as it smashed straight into him.

    There was a burst of pain from his chest as he was sent flying by an overwhelming power. Big Sis quickly grabbed him. "Who is it?"

    Lu Yin had not been able to endure the impact at all, which frustrated him. He looked down at his chest, only to see the jiao¡¯s fangs and ws. Even though the ck spot had moved too quickly for Lu Yin to react, the shrunken jiao had not suffered the same difficulty. After all, the beast possessed the strength of a Progenitor.

    As Lu Yin looked around, the jiao opened its ws to reveal the ck spot that it had captured. It was a beetle about asrge as a fingernail, and it released a vibrating noise.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw it, he eximed, "A carrion beetle?"

    The beetle disappeared the moment Lu Yin spoke, and the jiao vanished as well.

    Not even the natural abilities of a carrion beetle were enough for the creature to escape from the jiao, and the carrion beetle was instantly recaptured.

    "Don''t kill it," Lu Yin warned.

    The jiao stared at the carrion beetle that it held with a great deal of interest. The jiao released the beetle and then captured it again. Release, recapture. The jiao was ying.

    Big Sis was startled. "The second-ranked beast on the Celestial Beast list?"

    Lu Yin nodded and grew solemn. "That''s exactly what it is. That bug can rip right through my void god domain with a speed that I can¡¯t even react to. If not for the jiao, I would have been in a lot of danger just now. Carrion beetles can basically ignore all physical defenses, and I¡¯m not confident in my abilities to actually stop that thing. It¡¯s as strong as a Semi-Progenitor."

    Big Sis was amazed, and she stared at the carrion beetle that the jiao was ying with. Every so often, the tip of the beast¡¯s ws would strike the beetle¡¯s carapace with a soft noise, but the noise gradually grew louder and louder. The jiao was using more strength as it yed.

    "Supposedly, carrion beetles are born from the dead bodies of Progenitors. Their bodies are incredibly hard, and they can even ignore a person¡¯s physical defenses. All of that seems to be true, as that bug¡¯s enduring even the jiao¡¯s attacks."

    Lu Yin turned and stared off into the distance at where the corpse was lying on the ground. If carrion beetles really were born from the dead body of Progenitors, then that corpse had to have been a Progenitor.

    Thinking of this, he walked over to the corpse. He soon approached it, and he looked down at it.

    The corpse had been a man, and it was impossible to determine how long the man had been dead for. While he had a very aged appearance, the corpse also gave the impression of polished jade, and the body even emitted a very faint and soft white light. The body did not look dead at all, and it instead appeared as though the old man could wake up at any moment.

    This person was not actually alive, right?

    Lu Yin had never heard anyone actually confirm that this body was a corpse, and the old man appeared to be asleep.

    Realizing this, Lu Yin was just about to check if the body had any sparks of life when a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s aura suddenly entered his domain. He spun around, and at the same time, Big Sis looked back as well. They saw someonend in the underground tunnels and heard the personment, "How could it be so rotten?"

    As the person spoke, they suddenly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin and Big Sis.

    Lu Yin was surprised at the person¡¯s identity. "Elder Song?"

    The Semi-Progenitor who had suddenly arrived was Liu Song, the elder from the Liu family who had mastered the Graceful Sword Arts. The stooped old man had once voiced his admiration for Lu Yin when he had been posing as Long Qi, and he had even offered him an extra opportunity to visit the Sword Monument. On top of all that, when Liu Ke had been exposed as a traitor to humanity, Liu Song had killed the young man without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Liu Song was a decisive old man. After all, if the man could execute his own descendant, then there was not much that could give him pause.

    Elder Song was surprised to see Lu Yin as well. "Lu Xiaoxuan? Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "This is Realmless¡¯s true headquarters. What are you doing here, Senior Song?"

    After meeting back up with Big Sis, Lu Yin had reverted to his normal appearance to make things morefortable for Big Sis.

    Liu Song was shocked by the revtion. "Realmless¡¯s true headquarters? This is actually the ce? It¡¯s no wonder why no one was ever able to find it."

    Seeing Lu Yin¡¯s open suspicion, the old man said, "I was visiting the fifth region to search for a nt known as sanmn, as it is very useful in treating sword wounds. I happened to pass by this ce, and I noticed that the Mother Tree¡¯s roots were badly damaged here, so I came down here to check on things.¡±

    The old man then turned to look at Big Sis. "And who is this?"

    Big Sis stared at Elder Song. "I¡¯m his sister."

    The man frowned and asked, "Xiao Qian?"

 Chapter 2392: Shocking Change

    Chapter 2392: Shocking Change

    "No, she¡¯s not Big Sister Lu Qian. She''s another big sister," Lu Yin exined. Lu Qian was the name of his big sister from the Lu family, who had also been the eldest of the Seven Heroes. She had been called Xiao Qian.

    Elder Song nodded. "I was going to say that she doesn¡¯t look like Xiao Qian."

    Right when Lu Yin was about to continue speaking, Big Sis turned her back to Elder Song and winked at Lu Yin. His pupils shrank, and he clenched a fist. Suddenly, Elder Song simply disappeared. Lu Yin struck out with a palm, but he was a step toote. The old man had already left.

    Big Sis turned back around and attacked at the same time as Lu Yin, but she also failed to catch Elder Song.

    When Big Sis had turned away from Elder Song, she had sent a voice transmission to Lu Yin and told him that she had sensed a trace of the carrion beetle¡¯s aura on the old man. The carrion beetles were only in Realmless¡¯s headquarters. This meant that, for the old man to havee into contact with the carrion beetle before, he had to be a member of Realmless, which was why Lu Yin had attacked. Surprisingly, he was still toote.

    "Jiao!" Lu Yin yelled.

    The jiao was still keeping a tight hold on the carrion beetle it was ying with, but at Lu Yin¡¯s shout, the beast looked around before focusing directly behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin spun around. At some point in time, Elder Song had arrived next to the corpse. He grabbed hold of the body, looked up, and smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin reflexively released a Hollow Palm while simultaneously sealing the void with his domain in an attempt to trap Elder Song.

    However, Lu Yin watched as Elder Song stepped away,pletely unbothered by Lu Yin¡¯s domain and Hollow Palm.

    "Die, old man!" Big Sis tore through the void to stop Elder Song with a blood-red lotus. The old man gave the flower a gentle flick, and threeyered sts of powerful wind instantly smashed the lotus to bits. Big Sis waspletely incredulous.

    At this moment, the jiao arrived, and the power of a Progenitor was released. Elder Song¡¯s expression finally changed, but in one step, he disappeared.

    Lu Yin was able to sense the void with his void god domain, but he could not even sense a trace of Elder Song¡¯s movements, which should have been impossible. Anyone who moved through space would leave evidence of their passage. If a person could see something, then it meant that it had been touched by the light, and even something as faint as that could be detected by a void god level domain. However, Lu Yin could not sense anything at all from Elder Song.

    "That old guy knows who I am, or else he wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat my battle technique like that," Big Sis said with a gloomy expression, "Let¡¯s go after him!"

    The two rode the jiao and raced after Elder Song. Unfortunately, as soon as the jiao left the underground area, it looked around in confusion, unable to determine where to go.

    "It can''t find any trace of him?" Lu Yin found this hard to believe. The jiao was a creature with the strength of a Progenitor, but it could not find any trace of Elder Song, who was just a Semi-Progenitor. Even though the jiao seemed to be a bit thick-headed, it was still a Progenitor realm creature.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping imed to be a Realmbreaker Semi-Progenitor, but at best, he was able to stand up to one of Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor-level clones, and it was practically impossible for Qing Ping to ever seize victory in such a fight. This was simr to how it had been extremely difficult for Qing Ping to defeat a Semi-Progenitor as a peak Envoy.

    It should be very difficult for anyone to escape detection from anything with the strength of a Progenitor, but Elder Song had perfectly disappeared while being pursued by the jiao.

    "Big Sis, you said that he knows you?" Lu Yin asked as soon as he remembered something.

    Big Sis exined, "No one can shatter my blood lotus battle technique the first time they face, at least not without using pure strength, which is what Xia Shenji''s clone did. He used his own battle technique to directly confront the blood lotus, but this old man shattered the lotus without the slightest hesitation. He used merely three sts of wind to strike the battle technique¡¯s weak points, shattering it. He¡¯s definitely faced my blood lotus before, and more than once at that.¡±

    "After retrieving my secret technique, I¡¯ve been regaining more and more of my memories. I¡¯ve only ever used that blood lotus battle technique in the Fifth Maind, and even then, I only used it a few times. I¡¯ve never seen that old man before. This was my first time facing him.

    "However, who aside from me knows my battle techniques?"

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Y¨­u Ye''er, as she had also used the blood lotus battle technique during ZENITH. However, Y¨­u Ye''er could have never run into someone like Liu Song.

    "If what you¡¯re saying is true, then it sounds like Liu Song might be someone who knew you during the Heaven¡¯s Sect era, right?" Lu Yin said.

    Big Sis nodded. "He definitely knew me in the past, but I can¡¯t tell you who he is, as I can¡¯t remember anything about him."

    Lu Yin looked up at the Middle Realm. "Well, looks like it¡¯s time to go visit the Liu family."

    "The Liu family? Is that the powerful family that¡¯s almost as strong as one of the four ruling powers here in the Perennial World? They were apparently quite close to your Lu family, and I know that you want to win them over. If you ruin your rtionship with them because of this Liu Song, will it be worth it?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "That depends entirely on who Liu Song really is. If he¡¯s another person who¡¯s awakened their memories of their time as an ancient Progenitor from the Heavens Sect era like you, then it won¡¯t matter, but I¡¯m afraid¡­"

    "Afraid that he belongs to Aeternus." Big Sis nodded.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s greatest concern. For Liu Song to know Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s battle techniques, it meant that he had either lived since the Heavens Sect era, or he had somehow awakened or obtained memories from the Heavens Sect era, much like Big Sis. The worst possibility was that the man was one of the Seven Skygods themselves.

    Those seven old monsters all seemed to be ancient powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era.

    The problem was, thest possibility was also the most likely. Liu Song had probably taken action against Lu Yin and Big Sis not only because he wanted to grab the Progenitor corpse, but also because his connection to Realmless had been noticed. After all, why would a Semi-Progenitor from the Liu family be connected to Realmless? Realmless was not only an assassination organization, but also an information broker that possessed countless secrets. The mere fact that one of the Liu family¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had had ess to so much information and yet done nothing about it presented a massive problem. Despite being a Semi-Progenitor and a member of the Liu family, Liu Song had not given his family the support he was capable of, proving himself to be as cold-blooded as the rest of Realmless.

    It was beyond terrifying that such a person had been hiding within the Liu family.

    "That old man dared to run away because even if we go to the Liu family, we don¡¯t have any proof. We can¡¯t use him of being a member of Realmless just because he had traces of the carrion beetles on him," Big Sis mentioned.

    Lu Yin also felt rather frustrated. Liu Song had moved faster than Lu Yin and Big Sis, and his actions showed that he was not worried about being exposed, or about Lu Yin confronting the Liu family about the matter. Clearly, the man was confident that his identity was safe, which was a big problem that needed to be dealt with.

    "No matter what, we need to first go visit the Liu family and find him. The fact that he was willing to expose himself just to recover that corpse suggests that there¡¯s something special about it," Lu Yin said.

    However, before going to visit the Liu family, everything needed to be stripped from Realmless¡¯s headquarters.

    It was a tremendous amount of resources, but Lu Yin¡¯s perspective had changed drastically after receiving the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s resources. The wealth of Realmless was not nearly enough to cause Lu Yin to lose hisposure.

    He also discovered that, unfortunately, a great number of the power vessels and natural treasures had been chewed to pieces, likely by the carrion beetles.

    Lu Yin nced at the carrion beetle that the jiao still held in its ws but decided not to do anything to the bug for the time being. The tiny creature might end up being useful.

    As for the Envoy ve who had never known of the world outside of the tunnels of Realmless¡¯s headquarters, Lu Yin took him away as well, as he was not a cold-blooded murderer.

    They failed to find any information at all. It appeared that Xia Shenfei had exposed Realmless''s intelligence center, which was also one of their primary bases. Practically all of Realmless¡¯s assassins had been eliminated.

    Lu Yin had hoped to acquire more information, but that proved to be impossible.

    Still, he had uncovered Liu Song.

    Before this incident, Lu Yin had never even considered that there might be something wrong with Liu Song. The man was a Semi-Progenitor, but he was rtively unknown. He had aplished very little in the Perennial World as a whole and had hidden himself and his abilities extremely well.

    "Let''s go visit the Liu family," Lu Yin said.

    He had already wanted to visit the Liu and Nong families during this visit to the Perennial World, and Lu Yin had just found a much stronger motivation to do so.

    ¡­

    As always, people were lined up in a seemingly endless file, waiting to visit the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument.

    Not everyone was allowed to visit the Sword Monument, as only arriving within ten meters of the Sword Monument could be considered truly visiting it. Some people had waited just outside of the Liu family¡¯s home for decades but were never allowed to get close to the Sword Monument. Such dedication showed just how much importance people ced on the Sword Monument.

    When Lu Yin and Big Sis arrived without issue, Lu Yin immediately released his domain, announcing his arrival to the Liu family¡¯s powerhouses.

    The person who stepped out to greet Lu Yin and Big Sis was Liu Lu, who had once sparred with Long Qi. At the time, they had both been Hunters, but Liu Lu had since be an Enlighter, which was quite impressive.

    Others could not match Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed, and over the course of several decades, it was quite decent for a talented cultivator like Liu Lu to be a thirty-cycle Enlighter.

    "Who are you?" Liu Lu asked as he stared at Lu Yin and Big Sis.

    Big Sis was quite surprised. "The Liu family is really looking down on us! They only sent a mere Enlighter to greet us?"

    Liu Lu heard thement and confidently said, ¡°This area belongs to my Liu family! No one would dare to cause any trouble here! Let alone an Enlighter like me, visitors wouldn¡¯t dare to make trouble if a Sentinel greeted them!¡±

    Big Sis raised a brow. "Boy, you¡¯re quite arrogant, aren¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin stepped forward, and as he stared at Liu Lu, Lu Yin¡¯s true face was revealed.

    As soon as Liu Lu saw who was visiting, his expressionpletely changed. "You?"

    Lu Yin reverted back to his disguise and put a finger to his lips to indicate silence. "We¡¯re here to visit the Liu family, so please show us in, Brother."

    Liu Lu stared at Lu Yin in shock. Lu Yin was not Long Qi, nor was he even Yu Hao. Lu Yin was a powerhouse who was able to negotiate with the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors, as well as personally fight against a Progenitor.

    "Please wait for a moment." Liu Lu instantly delivered a report. Given just how important Lu Yin was at the moment, he did not dare to simply allow Lu Yin in.

    The Liu family had already assumed that Lu Yin would visit them, but they had not expected a visit quite so soon.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival likely indicated that things would change in the Perennial World as a whole, and Liu Lu did not dare to get involved in anything on such a massive scale.

    Big Sis looked over at the distant Sword Monument with great interest. "While my memories are vague, I know that I must have seen that thing before. I do remember that there was a guy who guarded the monument back then¡ªhe was Wu Tian''s disciple."

    "Wu Xing. He¡¯s now the Seven Skygods¡¯ Undying God," Lu Yin replied.

    Big Sis became a bit upset. "What happened back then? Everything¡¯s changed, and I¡¯ve even forgotten how I ended up as I did. Still, I¡¯ll definitely remember one day!"

    Liu Lu quickly finished submitting his report, and he motioned to Lu Yin and Big Sis to wee them in. "It''s not convenient for our patriarch to greet you himself, so we hope that the two of you won¡¯t take offense to being received by a junior such as myself."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You and I are of the same age, so please show us in, Brother Liu."

    "This way, please."

    Big Sis was soon looking around at the Liu family¡¯s living conditions around the Sword Monument. To her, the entire setup looked primitive and barbaric. "This Liu family is really able to put up with some rough situations."

    Liu Lu replied, "My Liu family studies the Sword Monument every day. We wake and sleep while observing the Sword Monument.

    Big Sis shook her head. She could never live such a rustic lifestyle.

    Liu Lu led Lu Yin deep into the Liu family¡¯s territory, and they approached arger house. There was a fence around the house, but it was made of sword des. The closer one approached the house, the stronger the fierce aura of the sword des.

    "This sword qi ispletely exposed. Is this the sword style that your Liu family hasprehended?" Big Sis indicated towards the fence with her head.

 Chapter 2393: Visit

    Chapter 2393: Visit

    Liu Lu said, "This is where we receive foreign guests."

    He purposely looked at Big Sis. "We hope for everyone to see my Liu family in this manner."

    Big Sis sneered. "How unnecessary."

    Liu Lu frowned. Big Sis''s attitude was quite abrasive.

    Lu Yin also felt rather helpless. Big Sis had the behavior of a pirate, and she had acted exactly the same when she had joined the Hall of Honor¡¯s overseers¡¯ council. Big Sis had not been deliberately trying to make problems, but her way of interacting with people was not considered normal. In fact, she only looked favorably on the members of Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Liu Lu escorted Lu Yin and Big Sis into the house. A middle-aged man was already inside, waiting for their arrival. This man was Liu Du, the current patriarch of the Liu family.

    Lu Yin entered and met Liu Du''s gaze. For some reason, this man seemed very familiar.

    Liu Du stared at Lu Yin in amazement, though there was also something else present in the man¡¯s eyes. It was as if Lu Yin was one of his own juniors. "I haven''t seen you for so long. It''s good to see that you''re still alive, Little Seven."

    Lu Yin looked at Liu Du in a questioning manner. This man had called Lu Yin Little Seven, which was not something that most people would use. Upon hearing the nickname, Lu Yin¡¯s expression that he showed Liu Du shifted. "Um, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve lost all of my old memories."

    Liu Du sighed. "I¡¯m Little Pebble''s father. Little Pebble''s real name is Liu Shi. You always called him Fifth Brother."

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. This man was Fifth Brother''s father?

    Lu Yin had already regained some vague, indistinct memories of the Seven Heroes. During his visit to Food Paradise, he had managed to recall the appearance of each of the Seven Heroes, and he suddenly understood why Liu Du looked so familiar; he greatly resembled theughing Fifth Brother from Lu Yin¡¯s memories. "You¡¯re- you¡¯re Fifth Brother''s father?"

    Liu Du nodded. "I won''t talk about the past, but as long as you¡¯re alive, you don''t need to worry. I will do everything that I can to help you, though there are some things that I can''t do. Who is this with you?"

    Lu Yin reined in his wandering thoughts and introduced Big Sis. "This is Big Sis. She¡¯s my sister who saved me when I first started living in the Fifth Maind."

    Liu Du looked at Big Sis. "Thank you."

    Though simple, his thanks were very sincere, and anyone could hear the man¡¯s gratitude.

    Big Sis nodded, and her arrogant manner of speech disappeared. "Little Seven is my family as well."

    Liu Du smiled and gestured for the two people to sit down.

    After everyone was seated, Liu Du got straight to the point. "Little Seven, while I will do my best to help you, there are certain things that are beyond my abilities. You sent Wang Wen to meet with us, correct?"

    "Yes."

    "Then you should understand my Liu family''s answer," Liu Du said bluntly.

    Lu Yin much preferred such a straightforward conversation. It feltfortable, as it indicated that Liu Du regarded Lu Yin as one of his own. For that reason, there was no need to beat around the bush. "Uncle Liu, I know what you are worried about. It is indeed important for the Perennial World to maintain a certain stability, and the four ruling powers are indeed protecting the rear battlefield, while your family is helping to defend the Outer Realm. If this kind of stability couldst, I would have never bothered to approach you."

    "What are you trying to say?" Liu Du asked.

    When Wang Wen had visited and proposed a trade agreement between the Liu family and the Fifth Maind, the offer had been more like a partnership. Liu Du had initially been tempted by such a thing, but Bai Qi¡¯s words to Nong Ya in Seed Garden had triggered tremendous concerns for both the Liu and Nong families. Their greater understanding of the four ruling powers meant that the two families felt greater fear, as they were afraid that openly dering their position would take away any possibility of turning back.

    It was simr to when two people with equal strength fought each other. A cowardly person would fear acting ruthless, while a ruthless person would fear death.

    It was indeed possible for the Nong and Liu families to ally themselves with Lu Yin''s forces in order to suppress the four ruling powers, as doing so would likely see the entire alliance cut down together. Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had expended their full strength in order to banish the Lu family, and they had not paid that steep price to only rule the Perennial World for a few decades.

    Lu Yin carefully chose his next words. "The four ruling powers exiled my Lu family so that they could seize control of the Perennial World. For them, why would they be satisfied with the current state of the four ruling powers?"

    Liu Du froze.

    "While this junior has lost my memories of my time as Lu Xiaoxuan, I have visited the Perennial World several times already. I was both Long Qi and Yu Hao, and with both of those identities, my interactions with the four ruling powers made me feel like a fish in water," Lu Yin said.

    Liu Du found it strange to hear that Lu Yin imed to befortable among the four ruling powers. A fish in water? Things could not truly be that simple, as both of Lu Yin¡¯s visits to the Perennial World had ended in pure disaster.

    "Uncle Liu, do you know why each of my identities allowed me to toy with the four ruling powers?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Du did not answer.

    "It¡¯s because each of the identities that I assumed had a very specific trait inmon." Lu Yin leaned forward as he stared at Liu Du. "Both were geniuses. Peerless geniuses."

    Liu Du¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    The young man continued, "The reason why the White Dragon n was so humiliated when I was exposed as Long Qi was entirely because the White Dragon n praised Long Qi too highly. They made him so important that they were willing to abandon Long Ke''s family line as the n¡¯s main family and rece them with Long Qi. Why? Because Progenitor Mu Xie wanted to ept Long Qi as his disciple. Because Long Qi showed an unbelievable level of talent for lockbreaking. It was never because Long Qi did great things for humanity as a whole. The White Dragon n only ever saw a genius who could crush his peers in the future. They saw a chance to eventually surpass the rest of the four ruling powers.

    "Things were even more exaggerated when I impersonated Yu Hao. At that time, Yu Hao showed both an even more impressive talent for cultivating and lockbreaking than Long Qi ever did. In both aspects, Yu Hao was amazing. In fact, the talent that he revealed was so shocking that all the ruling powers wanted to recruit Yu Hao, as they could each see in him the chance to rise above the other ruling powers.

    "Each of the four ruling powers has been trying to do everything possible to break free from the current situation. Not one of the four will ever be happy with sharing control of the Perennial World with others. The most fundamental motivation for each of them to banish the Lu family was always because they each wanted to rece the Lu family."

    Naturally, Liu Du already knew everything that Lu Yin was saying. "But no matter how much they fight against each other, they will continue to keep each other in check and maintain the current status quo."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You¡¯ve already seen it yourself, Uncle Liu. If this junior¡¯s guess is correct, then the Liu and Nong families have already secretly formed an alliance to maintain the current bnce between the four ruling powers. If any one of the four manages to seize a dominant position, then your two families will help the other three powers as much as necessary in order to maintain the status quo. Am I wrong?"

    Liu Du denied nothing.

    "In fact, I believe that this alliance isn¡¯t merely limited to your two families, as it also includes Specter Abyss, and likely some others as well. Your only goal is the Perennial World¡¯s stability, and I¡¯m guessing that you can even use the four ruling powers to do so. Might I ask, can the power of your alliancepare to that of my Lu family of the past?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Du''s eyes shed. "Of course we can¡¯tpare to that."

    Lu Yin immediately resumed talking. "The four ruling powers were able to find a way to exile my Lu family, which means that there¡¯s no need to mention your alliance. From my understanding of things, I believe that, as soon as one of the four ruling powers gains some degree of confidence, they will immediately target not only the other three, but also your alliance in a show of force¡­"

    Big Sis yawned. Lu Yin spoke for a long time, and so did Liu Du. However, the two men were in different positions, and they each had their own concerns. Ultimately, neither was able to convince the other to change their mind.

    Lu Yin had never anticipated sess during these initial negotiations. Wang Wen had already failed, and he was far more eloquent than Lu Yin. No, Lu Yin¡¯s goal was not to convince the Liu family to join him, but rather to nt a seed. The seed would sprout sooner orter, and even if it failed, Lu Yin would simply force things to happen his way.

    "Little Seven, it''s not easy for us to meet like this. Stay for a few days. Little Pebble¡¯s quarters have been left empty." A few more words were exchanged as Liu Du and Lu Yin walked out of the room where they had been speaking, and Liu Du put on a weary expression. He looked at Lu Yin with an incredulous gaze. Lu Xiaoxuan back then did not have such an eloquent tongue!

    Lu Yin felt rather worn out by the long negotiations. "Uncle Liu, I would like to visit the Sword Monument."

    "Of course. You can go whenever you wish."

    "Can Big Sis visit it as well?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis looked over at Liu Du.

    The patriarch hesitated for a moment. "That would be fine, though I need to speak to Elder Song about it as well."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "I would also like to meet with Elder Song, as I have some questions regarding swordsmanship that I would like to ask him."

    "Questions about swordsmanship?" Liu Du¡¯s immediate reaction was to offer his own advice and insight, but after a moment¡¯s consideration, he banished the thought from his mind. This young man was not the Lu Xiaoxuan whom Liu Du had once known. But more importantly, he was a powerful cultivator who could fight against Progenitors and who had actually managed to force Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors to agree to a truce. Lu Yin might only be a four-tribtion Envoy, but he was able to face off against Progenitors, which was far beyond Liu Du¡¯s capabilities. It was true that, out of everyone present in the Liu family, Elder Song was the only one qualified to offer Lu Yin any sort ofbat advice.

    "Very well, I¡¯ll convey your request."

    Lu Yin and Big Sis stayed with the Liu family for the day.

    Lu Yin stared at a very simple wooden house. It was the house that had belonged to Fifth Brother. He had lived in this house for many years, and Lu Xiaoxuan must have visited this ce many times.

    Complicated emotions ran their course as Lu Yin fell asleep.

    The next day, he went to find Liu Yishou, whom Lu Yin had once Possessed. When Lu Yin found the man, he was speaking to Zhang Dingtian.

    At this time, Lu Yin could not reveal his true identity, so Zhang Dingtian did not recognize Lu Yin.

    As Lu Yin approached Liu Yishou, Zhang Dingtian warily nced over, and Liu Yishou also looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled at the two men as he passed by. One step. Two steps. Three steps.

    The third step happened to put Lu Yin within five meters of Liu Yishou, and at that moment, Lu Yin pulled the needle-like weapon from his cosmic ring and passed it into Liu Yishou¡¯s ring with a Possession thatsted less than an instant.

    Everything happened so quickly that the weapon entered Liu Yishou''s cosmic ring without him realizing that anything had happened.

    Lu Yin had spent a lot of time thinking while he traveled to visit the Liu family, and most of his thoughts had revolved around Liu Song. The more that Lu Yin considered the situation, the more certain he was that he could not allow Liu Song to remain free. However, Lu Yin had no evidence that he could use to prove anything. This meant that his only option was to see how he could use Liu Yishou to his advantage.

    This was the reason why Lu Yin had brought up asking Liu Song for guidance with matters regarding swordsmanship. When that happened, most of the Liu family would be watching, and there was no way that Liu Yishou would miss such an opportunity.

    Zhang Dingtian watched as Lu Yin walked away and felt rather puzzled. "Who was that?"

    Liu Yishou had no answer to offer. "I¡¯ve never seen him before, but that mole is quite distinct. Don¡¯t worry about him. Let¡¯s continue."

    Zhang Dingtian paid the matter no mind.

    Liu Du went to speak with Liu Song, but he could not find the man. Lu Yin grew worried that Liu Song might not show himself, but after three days passed, Liu Du returned to speak with Lu Yin. ¡°I asked. Elder Song also has a very favorable impression of you from the past."

    The patriarch was naturally referring to Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin and Big Sis nced at each other and then waited quietly.

    A short timeter, the hunched figure of Elder Song appeared. Lu Yin and Big Sis looked at the man, but there was nothing abnormal about his demeanor.

    The Elder Song that they saw appeared no different from the old man that they had seen in Realmless¡¯s headquarters. There was nothing different about the look in the man¡¯s eyes. Wait, he seemed a bit happier. "If I had knownst time that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, I would have made sure to keep you around for a few more days."

    Lu Yin politely greeted the old man. "This junior greets Elder Song."

    Elder Song nodded with a smile. "A year ago, I also watched the game of Stable Zone that you yed with Mu Shang. Evenpared to when you were Lu Xiaoxuan, you have climbed higher and further, which is quite impressive."

    "Thank you, Elder Song, for your kind words. During myst visit, this junior was acting on behalf of the Fourteenth Gate, and my mission caused me to offend the Liu family."

    Liu Song dismissed Lu Yin¡¯s concerns with a wave of his hand. "Liu Ke was a traitor, damn him. My Liu family would instead like to thank you."

    The old man then paused for a moment as he observed Big Sis. "You will be allowed to visit the Sword Monument."

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes never left Elder Song, and there was a good deal of apprehension in her eyes as she stared at the old man. "Have we met before?"

    Liu Song appeared puzzled. "Have you been to the Perennial World before?"

    "I only arrived about a year ago."

    "Then we have never met."

 Chapter 2394: Sword Arts Exchange

    Chapter 2394: Sword Arts Exchange

    Big Sis continued to stare at Liu Song, so Lu Yin quickly stepped forward to block her view. "Elder Song, I was hoping to ask for your guidance on this junior¡¯s sword skills."

    Liu Song was caught off guard. "Lu Xiaoxuan did not pursue the sword, yet you do. That¡¯s quite interesting. Unfortunately, given your current strength, I cannot guide you."

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior was only able to fight against Progenitors by relying on external tools, and it is not my own strength. My true strength cannotpare to Senior Song¡¯s, and my skill with the sword is greatly inferior. This junior would like to improve my sword skills, particrly those rted to the Thirteen Swords."

    "The Thirteen Swords?" Liu Du was surprised.

    Liu Lu and Liu Que were also present, as were some other elders of the Liu family, including Liu Yishou.

    Whenever Liu Song appeared, people always surrounded him. After the Thirteen Swords were mentioned, more people started to move over as well.

    This was also what Lu Yin wanted. He nced over at Liu Yishou as he continued speaking. "The Thirteen Swords is a technique that was obtained from the Sword Monument. This junior had the opportunity to learn it, but my talent is toocking to create the Fourteenth Sword. Obtaining the guidance of Elder Song would truly be ideal."

    "The Thirteen Swords was solely passed down in the Forsaken Land. Are you from the Forsaken Land?" Liu Que asked from a distance.

    Many other members of the Liu family looked on in confusion.

    Zhang Dingtian was also present, and he frowned. Was this person from the Fifth Maind?

    "Silence!" Liu Du yelled as he looked around. "Step back, all of you."

    Everyone slowly retreated some distance. Liu Du was highly respected within the Liu family, just like Wang Zheng within the Wang family. It was a status that neither Long Ke nor Bai Teng couldpare to. Even Liu Yishou, the master of the Graceful Sword Arts, had to listen to the Liu family¡¯s patriarch.

    Liu Song was surprised. "You want to create your own Fourteenth Sword? Have you already found a starting point?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Somewhat. I have created an initial version of the technique, but it seems to be going astray, which is why I was hoping to receive Elder Song¡¯s guidance. If this junior can receive guidance that leads to the sessful creation of the Fourteenth Sword, I will happily leave the Thirteen Swords with the Liu family."

    Many members of the Liu family grew excited, and they became excited at the prospect of seeing such a disy.

    Liu Hao was also present. The Thirteen Swords? That is only avable in the Fifth Maind, and even there, only a select few people know it.

    After Liu Hao had been released by Lu Yin, he had visited the Sword Sect and spoken with Liu Tianmu. However, Liu Hao had still failed to learn the Thirteen Swords, so how could this person know the Thirteen Swords?

    Liu Hao stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back, thinking that this person felt very familiar. It can¡¯t be him, can it?

    The Thirteen Swords was something that the Liu family coveted greatly. This was not because they believed that the Thirteen Swords surpassed all the techniques they possessed, as there was no such thing as an invincible sword technique. No, the Liu family wanted the Thirteen Swords because they would grow excited over any sword technique, not just the Thirteen Swords.

    Liu Song calmly observed Lu Yin. "Very well. Since that is what you are asking for, show me all that you are already capable of. Then I will help you toplete the Fourteenth Sword as much as possible."

    "Thank you, Elder Song," Lu Yin said. He then raised a hand and created a copy of Liu Huang¡¯s sword with stellr energy. The Fourteenth Sword that Lu Yin had imed to have created and felt was going astray was the Fourteenth Sword that Liu Huang had created. As time passed and Lu Yin had be more proficient in various skills, he became more and more certain that Liu Huang had been misguided with his Fourteenth Sword. Thus, it would be wonderful to receive some feedback from Liu Song.

    Still, advice was not Lu Yin¡¯s primary goal.

    Various members of the Liu family watched closely. It had been years since Elder Song hadst publicly used his sword, so how could they let the opportunity to observe him slip by?

    More and more members of the Liu family started to gather nearby.

    Liu Hao continued to stare at Lu Yin''s back. He¡¯s too simr. It has to be him, it has to!

    Only a few people in the entire Fifth Maind had managed to learn the Thirteen Swords, and that added coincidence made Liu Hao absolutely certain about Lu Yin¡¯s identity. He actually came back here? Things are going to go crazy again¡­

    As the gathering crowd watched, Lu Yin made his first move.

    He was in the middle of the Liu family and facing Semi-Progenitor Liu Song. If the old man made the first move, Lu Yin would appear far too arrogant.

    Liu Song just stood in ce, looking like nothing more than a hunched old man. Nothing at all about the old man gave off a feeling of a skilled swordsman.

    Lu Yin did not act polite, and he raised his hand to release the First Sword. It was the most basic of the Thirteen Swords, and each of the subsequent skills could almost be considered an extension of the First Sword.

    As the Thirteen Swords¡¯ First Sword was released, the eyes of everyone in the Liu family lit up, especially the Enlighters who were present. This sword inspired all of them.

    Liu Song casually raised a hand and pointed his index finger forward. A ringing sound filled the area.

    Many people were capable of shattering a sword attack with a finger, and Lu Yin often did so himself. However, Liu Song was using a sword technique with his finger, and even the sound that rang out was that of shing swords. In fact, the void was slightly cut apart as the old man¡¯s finger moved about, and it was vaguely possible to see that the damage was in the shape of a sword¡¯s edge.

    "A finger sword. I didn¡¯t expect to see Elder Song use a finger sword right away. Is this person really capable of making Elder Song get serious?" someone eximed.

    Liu Hao felt more bitter than solemn as he watched. If not for the fact that thispetition was limited to pure sword skills, nobody in the entire Liu family would be this man¡¯s opponent, aside from their Progenitor himself. Liu Hao looked at the jiao snoozing on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and realized that this beast was likely the real one.

    In recent days, many people had brought simr pets into the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind, iming that the creatures were popr pets in the Fifth Maind. However, Liu Hao was certain that he was looking at the true jiao right now. This beast had the power of a Progenitor.

    There was another ringing sound as des shed for a second time. Lu Yin had used the Fourth Sword this time, and it caused some ripples in space. He shifted his aura to change the environment around him into the unique domain that was the Fourth Sword. Liu Song¡¯s fingertip trembled as he pointed it forward, and the Fourth Sword¡¯s domain was torn apart as the finger stabbed at Lu Yin, striking him right between the eyebrows.

    Lu Yin was limiting his strength to that of a four-tribtion Envoy, and Liu Song was not using the strength of a peak Envoy. Instead, he had simrly limited his strength to the level of a four-tribtion Envoy.

    Despite these limitations, the Fourth Swords was utterly defeated.

    Lu Yin tipped his head to the side, evading the attack aimed at his head. Hemented, "While many people have been able to ovee the Thirteen Swords, you are the first who¡¯s done it so easily while relying on nothing but pure sword skills."

    Liu Songughed. "That was only the Fourth Sword. The true power of the Thirteen Swords lies in the final sword. You can just use that now, if you wish. It is said that when you attacked Shenwu¡¯s Sky, you were able to wound Xia Ziheng with the Thirteenth Sword. I am looking forward to seeing it."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face as he stared at Liu Song. The Twelfth Sword: Fathomless.

    Lu Yin had decided to simply skip the middle portion of the Thirteen Swords, and histest attack shocked many people from the Liu family. It was absolutely iparable to the previous four swords that they had seen.

    Liu Song''s eyes lit up. "This is good. With this technique, an attack from an Enlighter can injure an Envoy. This is worthy of the Thirteen Swords! Unfortunately, it is still not enough."

    The old man then stepped forward and brought his hand down.

    Lu Yin carefully observed his actions. This was clearly a palm strike, but Lu Yin saw five swords. Each of the five swords was sharp enough to cut through everything.

    Some distance away, Big Sis arched a brow. Why did this particr sword skill feel so familiar? She had definitely seen it before, but where? More and more, she was confident that she had known Liu Song in the past.

    Lu Yin dodged to the side as Liu Song''s palm fell down. The five swords swept by, and he reached out to grab the hilt of a sword that was stabbing downwards. A formless sense of danger appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he saw a strange pattern form off to the side. At the same time, he heard someone exim, "Unbounded Sword Art!"

    Was this another sword technique?

    Lu Yin had never retracted his domain, and as he observed Liu Song, there was no longer any hint of a hunched old man to be seen. This man was clearly a sharp sword that had been gathering dust for many years, only to finally be drawn at this moment.

    As the Unbounded Sword Art struck from the side, Lu Yin stared at the unique pattern that had formed, and he did not move a muscle. As Liu Song watched his attack fall upon Lu Yin, he was shocked to see the youth refuse to move. "Get out of the way!"

    Finally, Lu Yin made a move. Once again, he used his sword, but there was no earth-shattering destructive power, nor any sort of impressive battle technique this time. Instead, it was nothing more than an ordinary shift of a sword, and yet, Lu Yin managed topletely halt the Unbounded Sword Art. The attack froze in ce.

    Liu Du was shocked. How was this even possible?

    Further away, Liu Yishou''s eyes went wide. Had this person actually ovee Elder Song¡¯s Unbounded Sword Art?

    However, at this moment, Liu Song was the one who was the most shocked. The Unbounded Sword Art was what had made him famous. It was a sword technique that few could ovee with pure sword skills. In fact, only the family¡¯s Progenitor had ever managed to do so. Who else in the entire Perennial World was capable of defeating Liu Song in terms of pure swordsmanship, not to mention his Unbounded Sword Art? This was the first time that he had ever encountered such a situation.

    "You?" Liu Song stared at Lu Yin with clearly confused eyes. It was the first time that the old man had lost hisposure.

    The hand that held Lu Yin¡¯s sword was trembling. This was not from fear, but because he had just endured an unbelievably powerful attack. This so-called Unbounded Sword Arts was not a simple sword technique; rather, it was more urate to call it a skill that created a pattern through the utilization of a sword. It was a technique that froze the void. That was what the pattern that had appeared actually did¡ªit froze the void, which allowed anything to be cut. This was the Unbounded Sword Art.

    Lu Yin had been able to see through the technique due to the inheritance that he had received from the Sword Monument that allowed him to see through countless weapon-based attacks.

    Decades ago, Lu Yin had visited the Sword Monument when he had been posing as Long Qi. At that time, he had received an inheritance that had taught him how to ovee countless weapons and attacks. Lu Yin was not limited to using it with a scythe, as he had originally been taught, but also with a sword or a saber. Even moreplicated weapons were not impossible for him to use.

    This was a gift that Lu Yin had received from Wu Tian.

    Without that inheritance, Lu Yin would have never been able to instantly see through the Unbounded Sword Art.

    "Senior, please take this next attack: the Thirteenth Sword." As soon as Lu Yin spoke, he pulled his sword back and then disappeared. When he reappeared, the sword had already fallen, and Lu Yin was only a hundred meters away from Liu Song.

    No one was able to see just when the sword had struck, and only those with some understanding of the Thirteenth Sword understood what had happened.

    As a powerful wind blew by, Liu Song slowly lifted his head. "A sword of emotions. No wonder, no wonder."

    As the old man spoke, a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

    "Elder Song!"

    "Elder Song!" All the members of the Liu family grew worried.

    The old man raised a hand to silence everyone, and he stared at Lu Yin with open admiration. "Are you truly willing to leave this sword technique with my Liu family?"

    Lu Yin responded by raising his sword once more and pointing the tip at Liu Song.

    This reaction made many people from the Liu family absolutely furious.

    Even Liu Du was surprised. Had Lu Xiaoxuan gone insane?

    "As long as Elder Song can help meplete the Fourteenth Sword, there is no problem with me leaving the Thirteen Swords with the Liu family. There is no invincible sword technique in the universe, only invincible people," Lu Yin stated loudly.

    Liu Song let out a boisterousugh. "Invincible people? Do you think that you can be one?"

    "Of course. Elder Song, please guide me. This is my Fourteenth Sword!" Lu Yin shouted as his hand rose, and his sword shed out.

    Liu Song stared. He observed the edge of the sword that was slowly falling, but then, nothing happened.

    Everyone stared at Liu Song.

    Liu Du even took a few steps forward. "Elder Song?"

    There were times when no response was more worrying than a visible response. Everyone was worried that Lu Yin''s attack had been too powerful and that Elder Song had been badly wounded. They all feared that the old man would suddenly spit out blood.

    However, Elder Song never showed any reaction at all. He just stared at Lu Yin and then shook his head helplessly. "I understand now. I''m sorry, but I can''t help you perfect this sword for now."

    Lu Yin frowned. Why was there no response? Liu Huang had created the Fourteenth Sword: Misery. The truth was, the Fourteenth Sword was almost the same as the Thirteenth Sword. The difference was that the Thirteenth Sword created a sword from emotions, while the Fourteenth Sword created a sword from a person¡¯s past suffering. This simrity was why Lu Yin was so certain that the Fourteenth Sword was not quite right.

    However, the Thirteenth Sword had managed to wound Liu Song, so why had the Fourteenth Sword failed to induce even the slightest response? From what the old man said, he was able to understand the Fourteenth Sword, so why had he not been injured? It was simply impossible.

 Chapter 2395: Terrible Danger

    Chapter 2395: Terrible Danger

    While it might be possible for a person tock emotions, it waspletely impossible for anyone to have never suffered. Even someone born into wealth and power could still suffer from loneliness, and in fact, loneliness was one of the worst torments that one could suffer.

    "Elder Song, are you alright?" Lu Yin said.

    Liu Song coughed twice and then waved his hand wearily. "I¡¯m fine, but I cannot help you. Times have changed, and you must rely on yourself to perfect the Fourteenth Sword. I¡¯m tired, so I am going to return and rest now."

    Big Sis arched a brow. Go back? How could they allow that? She looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. He nced over at Liu Yishou. The man was standing far away from Elder Song, which meant that the needle-like weapon that Lu Yin had hidden in the man¡¯s cosmic ring was useless.

    However, Liu Yishou was not very far away from Lu Yin¡­

    Given the situation, Lu Yin took a few steps in Liu Yishou¡¯s direction without revealing anything. As he walked, he asked, "Elder Song, are you really all right?"

    Liu Song waved the question away, and Liu Du quickly stepped forward to help the old man.

    Coincidentally, it was at that moment that Lu Yin arrived within five meters of Liu Yishou, and the swordsman was instantly Possessed and made to step forward. "Elder Song, I''ll help you."

    Just a few steps took Liu Yishou beyond the range of Lu Yin¡¯s Possession, and Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to his own body.

    Liu Yishou felt terribly confused. Why was he in a different ce?

    Before Liu Yishou could process the shift, Liu Song nodded. "Then help me return. Liu Du, show them to the Sword Monument."

    Liu Du nodded, and told Liu Yishou, "Elder Yishou, I will have to trouble you to escort Elder Song home."

    Liu Yishou automatically walked towards Liu Song. He still could not understand what had just happened. He looked back at where he had been standing a moment before. Had he moved? If so, why could he not remember anything?

    Liu Song was just about to leave while leaning on Liu Yishou.

    Big Sis was growing impatient, and she wanted to stop the old man from leaving.

    Lu Yin winked, asking Big Sis not to make any moves. He then took a few steps towards Liu Song and Liu Yishou. "Senior, are you sure that you are fine? The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Swords are unblockable, and this junior is unable to fully control the strength of either of them."

    Liu Du looked over at Lu Yin. "Elder Song is fine. If you wish, you are wee to keep the Thirteen Swords for yourself. There is no issue if you do not want to share it with us."

    This was not the moment for Lu Yin to pay Liu Du any mind at all. Liu Song and Liu Yishou were almost in range. One more step, and as Lu Yin¡¯s foot struck the ground, his perspective changed. He had Possessed Liu Yishou and was holding Elder Song.

    Elder Song did not notice that Lu Yin had Possessed Liu Yishou. There was no hesitation at all as the needle-like weapon was taken out of Liu Yishou¡¯s cosmic ring and instantly stabbed at Elder Song.

    Given the current situation, no one had expected Liu Yishou to suddenly attack Liu Song. Even if every single member of the Liu family were asked about it, no one would believe it to be possible, and yet they had just witnessed it for themselves.

    The needle instantly pierced Liu Song''s heart, stabbing straight through his body. Blood ran down the needle-like weapon and fell to the ground. Lu Yin had purposely not used the slipper, as he was worried that doing so would instantly kill Elder Song, and then the old man¡¯s death would prove nothing. Instead, Lu Yin would earn the Liu family¡¯s eternal hatred.

    Furthermore, the slipper was too distinct a weapon, and there was no denying that it belonged to Lu Yin. He was the only person with a slipper as a weapon.

    "Liu Yishou!" Liu Du shouted as rage and disbelief filled his eyes.

    Every single member of the Liu family in the nearby area waspletely stunned by what had just happened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision shifted once more as his consciousness returned to his body. He stared at Liu Song.

    Big Sis was doing exactly the same thing.

    Liu Yishou regained consciousness, and he stared in a daze at the weapon in his hand. What? What? What just happened?

    His head tipped upwards, and he looked at Liu Song. Vibrant scarlet eyes were the first thing that Liu Yishou saw. Huh? Scarlet?

    Liu Song pped a hand at Liu Yishou, but right before the attack couldnd, Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Art to move Liu Yishou away. The palm strike hit nothing at all, but the old man instantly locked his eyes onto Lu Yin. Those scarlet eyes were absolutely terrifying. As soon as the old man stared at Lu Yin, many people were able to see how his eyes had changed color, including Liu Du.

    The patriarch was all too familiar with this color. To qualify to be the Liu family¡¯s patriarch, Liu Du had to spend time on the rear battlefield, and he would never be able to forget that distinctive color. "A corpse king?"

    "So, he is an Aeternal!" Lu Yin yelled as he raised a hand to release a Hollow Palm.

    A Hollow Palm incorporated Lu Yin¡¯s battle force and the oveying stacks method, and the strength of the attack caused Liu Yishou¡¯s scalp to go numb, as he was currently closest to Lu Yin.

    Big Sis raised her hammer and smashed it down.

    Liu Song stared at Lu Yin. "You took control of Liu Yishou. You are able to puppet people."

    As he spoke, the old man¡¯s body transformed, and he allowed the Hollow Palm to strike him. However, both the palm strike and the hammer simply passed through the old man¡¯s body, and they both struck the ground. The Liu family¡¯s territory trembled.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. It was this trick again. In the Lower Realm, this was the trick that the old man had used to escape. They could not allow him to escape a second time.

    The jiao shot into the sky from Lu Yin''s shoulders and instantly regained its full size,pletely covering the sky and blocking the sun. A terrible pressure enveloped the entire Liu family, and the beast stared down at the ce where Liu Song remained standing.

    "If I want to leave, you can''t stop me," Liu Song said. His voice carried the aura of endless years, which waspletely different from how he had been speaking but a moment before.

    Hearing the voice provided a sh of insight to Big Sis, and she blurted out, "Wu Xing!"

    Lu Yin was startled. "Wu Xing?"

    Big Sis shouted loudly, "That''s right! He¡¯s Wu Tian''s adopted son, Wu Xing. Actually, that exins why he was able to shatter my battle technique so easily, and it was also why I felt that his sword was so familiar. Wu Xing used both of those abilities."

    Liu Song looked over at Big Sis in surprise. "An old acquaintance? Who are you?"

    Big Sis had no interest in small talk, and her hammer rose back up and crashed down again.

    "The Thundering Hammer? Then you¡¯re another ancient person from the Heavens Sect era." Liu Song''s voice took on azier sound, and it suddenly became identical to the Undying God¡¯s manner of speech that Lu Yin had heard in the past.

    Lu Yin had never considered that Liu Song was actually Undying God. No, he was one of Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatars. "Uncle Liu, kill him! He¡¯s one of the Seven Skygods."

    Lu Yin¡¯s shout was unnecessary, as Liu Du was able to understand the situation. Even though the patriarch had never heard the name ¡°Wu Xing¡± before, he recognized the words ¡°Heavens Sect era¡± as well as the fact that Liu Song had admitted to being acquaintances with someone from the ancient era, which was far from normal. ¡°All members of the Liu family, fall back! Activate the defensive array! Protect the Sword Monument!"

    In the sky above, the jiao swatted a wed paw at Liu Song, and the pressure of a Progenitor swept out in all directions.

    Even the Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor avatars would be restricted by the pressure of a Progenitor.

    However, things turned outpletely different from what the Liu family expected, though Lu Yin and Big Sis were unsurprised¡ªLiu Song remainedpletely unscathed. How did he manage it?

    "No, he''s injured!" Big Sis screamed as she stared at Liu Song. "His breathing has changed!"

    Lu Yin looked up and yelled at the jiao, "Hit him again! Tear him apart!"

    It waspletely outside of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations for Liu Song to be Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar, but this exined why the Fourteenth Sword had been ineffective. In fact, this meant that the Thirteenth Sword had also done nothing, and Wu Xing had instead simply faked being injured. He had not known what the Fourteenth Sword did, so he had not been able to fake the effects of the attack.

    The jiao raised its head into the sky and roared as its ws fell once again.

    Liu Song continued to dodge the jiao, though Lu Yin and Big Sis¡¯s attacks werepletely useless. Still, the Skygod¡¯s avatar was not able topletely ignore the jiao¡¯s attacks that contained the strength of a Progenitor.

    How could a Semi-Progenitor avatar ignore the power of a Progenitor, even if the person was one of the Seven Skygods?

    The Liu family was entirely centered around the Sword Monument, and sword qi shot high into the sky as the family¡¯s defensive array appeared and gradually shrouded the entire area.

    The people further away who were waiting to visit the Sword Monument were all horrified by the sight. Throughout all of recorded history, the Liu family only activated their defensive array in a few rare circumstances. In fact, many people had forgotten that the Liu family also boasted a Progenitor and protective sourcebox arrays.

    The Liu family¡¯s defensive sourcebox array had been created by an Array Grandmaster who had risen from the Liu family itself. It utilized a danger zone that consisted of sword qi to create a that surrounded the Liu family¡¯s entire territory. Instantly, Liu Song was forced to deal with dozens of sword attacks that each contained the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. Theoretically, it was an assault that no Semi-Progenitor could endure, and even Progenitors would be hesitant to face it.

    Liu Song looked up at the of sword qi, and he also saw the jiao in the sky. He nced around and saw that both Lu Yin and Big Sis were also targeting him. "Can I not just quietly guard the Sword Monument, as is my duty? Forget it. If this is how things are, I¡¯ll first eliminate a scourge!¡±

    The man suddenly focused on Lu Yin, and then his body disappeared. He reappeared right in front of Lu Yin, and a long sword shot up from the ground, almost instantly creating an entire forest of swords. This was the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world: Sword Forest.

    Lu Yin continuously retreated, and the jiao quickly attacked, but Liu Song used the Progenitor-level attack to move closer to Lu Yin. The old man smiled at Lu Yin. "Honestly, I actually want to die, but unfortunately, you can''t kill me."

    The sword forest stabbed at Lu Yin, and there was no ce for him to escape on the ground or in the sky.

    However, Lu Yin did not even try to escape. Instead, he raised a hand and held it out towards the nearby Liu Song. "With the ground in the sky, the sky will flip."

    The moment Lu Yin spoke, Liu Song and his entire Sword Forest werepletely suppressed by an unseen power.

    This was something that not even a Progenitor could aplish.

    The moment Lu Yin used Flipping the Sky, the entire region trembled, and even the Fifth Maind itself gave a slight quiver.

    At this exact moment, a person arrived in the Dominion Realm from the Outer Realm. They traveled alone, and they instantly focused on the Liu family¡¯s home. Their body swayed slightly, and they shot through the Perennial World at an incredible speed.

    "Undying God, you will stay here!" Progenitor Long appeared, his eyes wide as he looked forward. There was something odd about the man¡¯s pupils, and they caused one side of the void to disappear, creating a point of indescribable darkness, which Undying God quickly avoided.

    "That¡¯s quite dangerous, but Long Er, you cannot stop me." As Undying God spoke, his body had already disappeared.

    Progenitor Long was startled. Could he not even find his opponent?

    Xia Shenji suddenly appeared, and his Shenwu World spread out. Chains formed from Divine Martial Armor appeared and shot out in a specific direction, and Undying God appeared in front of the chains. He shook his head and took another step, but at that moment, Bai Wangyuan also appeared. Clouds spread out and filled the entire Dominion Realm

    Wang Fan also appeared. He waved a hand, and countless ck ropes shot out from the void, creating a prison of ck ropes that filled the Dominion Realm.

    Undying God was essentially trapped in a cage, and there was no chance for him to escape.

    "Since you''vee here, you can forget about ever leaving! Attack now and kill him as soon as possible!" Bai Wangyuan shouted. All four Progenitors attacked at once, but as they stared, Undying God¡¯s body dissipated, almost as though he had never actually been present at all.

    Xia Shenji''s pupils instantly constricted. "He jumped through time!"

    "This is bad." Just as Wang Fan was about to give chase, an enormous pair of eyes appeared behind him. It was Corpse God.

    The massive figure raised a hand and struck at the Dominion Realm. One person after another appeared, and a massive battle suddenly broke out between Progenitors in the Dominion Realm.

    In the Middle Realm, Liu Song''s body was firmly held down by the jiao¡¯s ws. The jiao was clearly proud of itself, and it bared its fangs and shed its ws.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. He had suppressed Liu Song with Flipping the Sky, which had created a brief opening that the jiao had seized. At the moment, Liu Song waspletely incapable of escaping from the jiao.

    Lu Yin had no idea how Liu Song was able to ignore everyone¡¯s attacks, but at this moment, escape was impossible.

    Lu Yin bent down, but just as he was about to say something to Liu Song, the old man¡¯s body exploded, not even leaving bones behind.

    At the same time, above Lu Yin''s head, Undying God stepped out and looked down at the young man. His shadow covered him with a deathly silence.

 Chapter 2396: Unstoppable

    Chapter 2396: Unstoppable

    The shadow covered Lu Yin alone. He remained bent over and did not move at all. Sweat dripped from his nose because, with his domain, he could see Undying God. This was not another avatar, but Undying God¡¯s true body. This was a Progenitor-level powerhouse who had lived since the Heavens Sect era. An unprecedented sense of crisis overcame Lu Yin. He could not move. If he moved, he would die.

    The jiao stared at Undying God, as it also felt terrible danger from this person. The jiao wanted to do nothing but flee immediately.

    Liu Du stared in a daze at Undying God who had abruptly appeared. The overwhelming sense of fear made it hard for the patriarch to breathe.

    Big Sis gritted her teeth and gradually managed to bend her fingers. "Wu. Xing!"

    Undying God¡¯s eyes moved to the side so that he could look at Big Sis. "That¡¯s a familiar power. Are you Y¨­u Min-?"

    Just as Undying God was finishing his question, but before he waspletely done speaking, Big Sis attacked. A surge of spiritual force so dense that it was visible to the naked eye shot out. "Little Seven, DUCK!"

    Lu Yin instantly dropped to the ground, and the st of spiritual force shot over his head and smashed into Undying God.

    The man made no attempt to dodge the attack and instead endured the bombardment of spirit force. All that happened was his body trembled the slightest bit, but even that was enough topletely shock anyone who understood who Undying God actually was.

    Undying God was one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods. He had been adopted by Wu Tian and was a truly powerful Progenitor. Even when Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan had joined forces, they had been unable to trap or even touch Undying God, but he had just trembled from an attack.

    Big Sis''s face grew pale. "Little Seven, run!"

    Lu Yin fled towards the jiao with Inverse Step. He had no idea how Big Sis¡¯s attack had managed to affect Undying God, but Lu Yin did recognize that this was his best opportunity to escape.

    With one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies targeting him from such a close distance, even Lu Yin felt that his situation was hopeless.

    "Contaminated power. Y¨­u Ming, you have fallen far," Undying God said. Even while speaking to Big Sis, his eyes never left the Lu Yin¡¯s fleeing form. The Skygod took a step, and he used the same Inverse Step that Lu Yin was using to escape. In an instant, Undying God was standing in front of Lu Yin, apanied by a hint of gray that quickly dissipated.

    The gray was the distorted time created by Inverse Step.

    "You want to escape with the footwork I created? Child, you''re quite interesting," Undying Godmented in azy voice. He sounded as though he was still waking up, yet his inherent power was enough to send Lu Yin straight into the depths of despair.

    Roar!

    The jiao¡¯s ws fell, but Undying God stood in ce without moving. The ws passed right through the Skygod and mmed into the ground of the Liu family¡¯s territory, shaking the entire Middle Realm and opening a massive hole.

    "It''s useless! No human can harm him! Run!" Big Sis shouted.

    Lu Yin trusted Big Sis, and it was possible that she might have remembered a memory from her past that concerned Wu Xing. While it was impossible for absolutely no one to be able to harm Undying God, Lu Yin did not want to fight against one of the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin had visited the Liu family in order to eliminate the hidden danger that Liu Song posed, not recklessly try to fight against Undying God. Lu Yin was not even close to the level where he could afford such recklessness. How had one of the Seven Skygods even entered the Perennial World? What were Bai Wangyuan and his friends doing?

    Undying God finally turned to look at Big Sis. "How much do you still remember?"

    Big Sis stared at Undying God, but she merely gritted her teeth and refused to speak.

    Undying God immediately looked back at Lu Yin. "Shaman God was willing to indulge you, but allow me to expose everything. I will settle my debt with himter. For now, you can die."

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and the Champions¡¯ Stage suddenly appeared in front of him as he instantly summoned E Chi.

    A sea of blood swept out and tried to drown Undying God as E Chi rushed forwards. At the same time, Lu Yin continued trying to flee towards the jiao, intending to escape with the beast.

    Just what were Bai Wangyuan and the others doing? Why were they not trying to stop Undying God? Had they allowed him to enter the Perennial World on purpose? Lu Yin had too many questions at this moment.

    There was an explosion as the void shattered. Lu Yin swayed, and he nearly copsed. His death energy was being quickly drained from his chest, and when he turned to look back, E Chi had beenpletely crushed. In order for the champion to recover, Lu Yin would have to use a tremendous amount of death energy.

    Undying God nced over at Lu Yin and raised a hand. A single finger pointed forward and released an attack with sword qi.

    It was the same sword technique that Lu Yin had seen Liu Song use with his finger, but the power waspletely different in the hands of Undying God. As the finger fell, Lu Yin¡¯s scalp grew numb, and he felt death approaching. The finger swept across the sky and almost instantly appeared right above his head.

    Without any hesitation, he pulled the corpse out of his cosmic ring, and Undying God¡¯s finger struck the corpse¡¯s forehead. Even then, the corpse remainedpletely unharmed.

    Undying God was taken aback, but before he could release a second attack, a terrifying sword sh fell from above. "Begone from my Liu family, old man!"

    Lu Yin looked up and saw that the visible universe had beenpletely reced by infinite sword qi. Strands of sword qi moved about, forming what looked like fish of all different sizes in a sea. This was the Progenitor¡¯s world of the Liu family¡¯s Progenitor. Lu Yin did not even need to guess who had arrived. It was clearly Progenitor Liu.

    Undying God was one of the Seven Gods, and he had descended upon the Liu family. How could the family¡¯s Progenitor sit aside and do nothing?

    A sword fell straight down from the sky. A muscr old man stood on the edge of the sword and red at Undying God. At the same time, strange flowers blossomed that appeared to also be swords.

    The tip of the sword was aimed squarely at Undying God.

    The Skygod stared impassively as the tip of the sword approached him. He did not move or even try to dodge at all. He allowed the de to stab through him and then casually walked out from beneath the de. Undying God no longer chased after Lu Yin in an attempt to kill him, but instead started making his way towards the Sword Monument.

    "Begone!" Progenitor Liu shouted as he swept a hand sideways, causing his sword to sh to the side. The de cut through the sky and the ground in an attempt to kill Undying God.

    Big Sis grew increasingly nervous. "Old man, it¡¯s no use! Just let him go."

    Progenitor Liu red at Big Sis. "Are you his aplice?"

    Lu Yin spoke up, "She¡¯s myrade."

    Progenitor Liu¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "Lu Xiaoxuan? You came to visit my Liu family?"

    At a time like this, Lu Yin could not continue to hide. "Senior, you should let Undying God go, as you won¡¯t be able to injure him no matter what you do."

    Progenitor Liu became furious. "Such cowards! How can you cower in the face of the Seven Skygods?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. No matter how unwilling he was to let Undying God walk away, Lu Yin trusted Big Sis. If she said that no one could injure Undying God, then Lu Yin absolutely believed it to be true. Lu Yincked the strength to stand up to Undying God, and Progenitor Liu¡¯s presence did not change that at all.

    Only after a person had faced the true might of one of the Seven Skygods could they understand what true despair felt like.

    More importantly for Lu Yin, his senior brother Mu Xie had not shown up, which meant that he was stuck in the Dominion Realm. There was no other reason why Mu Xie would ignore the presence of one of the Seven Skygods.

    Undying God¡¯s sudden arrival waspletely unexpected, but he was a truly unstoppable enemy.

    Unfortunately, Progenitor Liu was so angry that hepletely ignored Lu Yin¡¯s warning. The infinite sword qi of the man¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s realm swept out, and Undying God nced over. "You should listen to him."

    In that instant, the aged andzy eyes of the Skygod transformed. They grew angry, arrogant, oppressive, and were filled with bloodlust.

    "I will kill you today!" Undying God let out an abrupt shout as a long saber appeared in his hand. The de swept upwards, shattering the endless sword qi with a Triple de Will that shot towards Progenitor Liu.

    The sudden change startled Progenitor Liu. "The Xia family''s saber technique?"

    Arge sword instantly appeared in the old man¡¯s hand. Although it appeared simple and ordinary, when the sword was thrust forward in a stab, it shattered the saber sh. The stab was aimed at Undying God, but it missed. Furthermore, not only did the thrust miss Undying God, but the attack alsonded in a different ce from where Progenitor Liu had aimed. It almost appeared as though the sword had retreated instead of continued forward. As the sword fell, a hint of gray energy could be seen along the de.

    "Both time and space?" Progenitor Liu¡¯s pupils shrank in an instant. At the same time, Undying God appeared behind Progenitor Liu, and therge saber fell.

    The de was supposed to strike Progenitor Liu in the back, but the moment the saber fell, an endless wave of sword qi arrived from every direction, and it fought against the saber until it finally stopped Undying God¡¯s attack.

    Progenitor Liu spun around and thrust his sword forward once more.

    This thrust was a very ordinary-looking stab that even amon person could evade, but while the sword itself was utterly silent, every other sword within the Liu family¡¯s territory began to shriek as one. This thrust looked to have been performed thousands of times, hundreds of millions of times, and even countless billions of times in the past. This sword actually managed to surprise Undying God.

    "All Swords Lead To One." Progenitor Liu looked perfectly calm as his sword was thrust forward. Undying God¡¯s saber was shattered, and the tip of the sword approached Undying God¡¯s eyebrows. It was close, so very, very close, but Progenitor Liu could not cross thatst minuscule step.

    Lu Yin had the jiao smash into Undying God in an attempt to m the Skygod into the sword.

    A sword and a jiao both attacked Undying God from two opposite directions, but the two attacks simply phased right though the Skygod¡¯s body at the same time.

    Off in the distance, Big Sis became furious. "You idiot! I already told you that you can¡¯t hurt him, so run away, quick!"

    Lu Yin looked back at Undying God from the back of the jiao. Sure enough, it was impossible to injure the Skygod, but why? From that position, Inverse Step had been impossible to use, and there had not been any trace of the power of time, so why had it still been impossible to injure Undying God.

    Progenitor Liu was considering the same thing. It was a massive obstacle that Undying God could not be harmed or even attacked, but how was such a thing possible?

    Progenitor Liu had never faced one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies before. Before the Lu family had been exiled, the Lu family alone had faced the Seven Skygods. After the Lu family¡¯s banishment, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers had taken over repelling the Seven Skygods and thwarting the Aeternals¡¯ main assault on humanity. Thus, Progenitor Liu had never faced one of the Seven Skygods.

    Was this truly the strength of the Seven Skygods?

    Undying God raised a hand, and his long saber took form once again. He looked at both Progenitor Liu and the jiao. "I guess that I must be serious about this. I¡¯ll cut you both down, as well as this damn sourcebox array!"

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This was a huge problem. Was it possible that Undying God had not yet taken them seriously?

    Progenitor Liu¡¯s eye twitched. Was his opponent going to get serious only now? Progenitor Liu had already done his best. Was there really such an incredible gap between them?

    At this moment, an eagle''s cry echoed throughout the Perennial World.

    Everyone in the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, the Lower Realm, as well as the Outer Realm, heard the eagle¡¯s cry, and they all reflexively looked upwards.

    Lu Yin, Progenitor Liu, Big Sis, and everyone else looked up as well. An eagle?

    Even the jiao¡¯s mouth fell open, and it bent its ws submissively. It had just sensed something incredible.

    Undying God frowned and slowly looked upwards to stare into the Dominion Realm. It was as though he had just met a pair of sharp eyes. "Your master is gone, so why do you still guard this ce? Are you really going to protect such fragile creatures as these humans?"

    Suddenly, the Skygod¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he looked beneath his feet. A huge tail suddenly appeared in the hole that the jiao had torn in the ground earlier in the fight. The tail shot upwards towards the Higher Realm and then abruptly smashed down.

    Undying God watched as the huge tail smacked him. There was a bang as his body smashed to the ground, and then he disappeared.

    Instantly, the Liu family¡¯s defensive sourcebox array waspletely shattered, and even the Sword Monument itself had been thrown away by the overwhelming power of the tail.

    Lu Yin and everyone else present just stared nkly. What had just happened?

    At this time, the jiao was lying prostrate on the ground, covering its head with its paws. It had just seen an absolute monster.

 Chapter 2397: Drifting

    Chapter 2397: Drifting

    "That''s right! Is that really the Python Ancestor''s tail?" Progenitor Liu was horrified.

    Lu Yin and Big Sis stared nkly at the hole in the ground. From where they were standing, they could see into the Lower Realm. There, they saw a gigantic python, and there was no end in sight to its body. It was the Python Ancestor. The Python Ancestor¡ªwas awake.

    "The Python Ancestor attacked Undying God?" Lu Yin never imagined such a thing would happen. The Python Ancestor had been in a deep sleep, but it had suddenly just attacked.

    Lu Yin looked back up at the Dominion Realm. He must have just heard the cry of the legendary eagle that supposedly lived in the Dominion Realm.

    In the Perennial World, there was an eagle perched high above in the Dominion Realm, while the Python Ancestor wrapped around the Mother Tree in the Lower Realm. They were both legends of the Perennial World.

    ording to even more ancient legends, the Origin Progenitor had always been portrayed with an eagle on his shoulder and arge python around his waist. The Origin Progenitor himself had been the master of the two beasts.

    Lu Yin looked back down and saw the Python Ancestor moving in the Lower Realm. He still had no idea how to deal with Undying God. Lu Yin was not sure what to do at all. "Big Sis, didn''t you say that no one can hurt Undying God? The Python Ancestor just smashed him with its tail."

    "Is it human?" Big Sis snapped back.

    Lu Yin was speechless. It was true, Big Sis had said that no human could harm Undying God, and the Python Ancestor was not human.

    "I just got to see the big guy show his power again. Wu Xing is in trouble now. It¡¯d be best if the Python Ancestor beats him to death." As Big Sis spoke, her eyes lit up. "Come on, Little Seven, let¡¯s go down and take a look."

    Lu Yin grew a bit excited. "Alright."

    Progenitor Liu suddenly appeared nearby, and he was staring straight at Big Sis. "How did you know that no human can hurt this Skygod? Who are you?"

    The jiaonded right behind Lu Yin, and it brandished its fangs and ws at Progenitor Liu.

    Lu Yin did not want any misunderstanding with Progenitor Liu. "She¡¯s one of the people from the Heavens Sect era who was frozen and recently awakened. She¡¯s seen Wu Xing before, and she even took his test back then and visited the Wu Stele. Right, it¡¯s called the Sword Monument now."

    "How do you know I took his test?" Big Sis gave Lu Yin an odd look.

    Lu Yin had wanted to deceive Progenitor Liu, but had not expected Big Sis to expose his lie immediately.

    Progenitor Liu¡¯s sword rose up and pointed straight at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I don''t have time to waste talking to you. Exin who she is clearly. While my Liu family may have been close to the Lu family, your growth has been too ridiculously fast, and it¡¯s not impossible that the four ruling powers¡¯ suspicions are correct¡ªyou might really be colluding with the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, do you really believe that I am working with the Aeternals?"

    "I don''t want to believe it."

    "If I were cooperating with the Aeternals, Undying God would not have tried to kill me, I would never have tried to expose Liu Song''s true colors, and my sister would never have warned you that Undying God cannot be hurt."

    Progenitor Liu quietly said, "When my Fifth Maind fought the war against the Sixth Maind, Progenitor Chen started the war, but the entire thing was orchestrated by Aeternus. We humans cannot afford to underestimate the intelligence of the Aeternals. You have already impersonated both Long Qi and Yu Hao to create all kinds of trouble for the four ruling powers. I won¡¯t trust any words based on deduction.¡±

    Lu Yin understood the man¡¯s reasoning. This was also a big reason why both the Liu and Nong families had been unwilling to agree to Wang Wen''s proposal; they had their own doubts. Even if Lu Yin had once been Lu Xiaoxuan, and even if he was willing to fight to the death against the Aeternals, it would never be enough topletely alleviate the families¡¯ doubts. Humanity had suffered too greatly from the deceptions of the Aeternals.

    In fact, if Lu Yin were anyone other than himself, he would also question Lu Yin¡¯s loyalties.

    How could anyone who had lost their memories and family background manage to rise up to dominate the entire Fifth Maind and even stand against the four ruling powers? Such a story was too unreasonable.

    There had been plenty of invincible powerhouses who had risen to power throughout human history, but all of their paths could be tracked and were recorded. Too much of Lu Yin¡¯s progress could not be exined.

    There were six sides to Lu Yin¡¯s die that was his innate gift, and each of the die¡¯s abilities were incredibly useful. Many people with unique innate gifts had appeared throughout human history, but Lu Yin could confidently say that his innate gift was one of a kind and iprehensible, as not even Progenitors could exin its abilities.

    Furthermore, if Lu Yin really dug into his past, then he would not have a clear conscience, as he had interacted with Shaman God. Only with the Aeternals¡¯ assistance had Lu Yin been able to escape from the Perennial World the first time. He had indeed been protected by one of Aeternus¡¯s conspiracies

    Boom!

    A vibration rang throughout the entire Perennial World. Lu Yin and the other two looked down into the Lower Realm. The Python Ancestor''s body was still moving, and asionally, it mmed into the Mother Tree. At the same time, the sky of the Lower Realm changed. It became yellow, rotten, dead, and lifeless. It was Undying God¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, and it had appeared because he was fighting against the Python Ancestor.

    Countless creatures that lived in the Lower Realm were terrified by the sh, and they did not dare to move, even if doing so caused them to be sttered into smears of blood by the Python Ancestor.

    And at this moment, unusually intense battles raged in both the Dominion Realm and across the entire rear battlefield.

    All five of the array bases were inundated by endless waves of corpse kings that rose up from below as the monsters tried to climb upwards. Sourcebox arrays immediately activated, and Lockbreakers appeared one after another to help protect the five array bases.

    Nearly all of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises had been mobilized for this attack.

    On the second array base, Xia Yan stared nkly at a scepter in his hand. He heard a cold voice ask, "Do you qualify to hold the king''s scepter?"

    The scepter transformed into a beam of light that pierced Xia Yan''s body. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s face grew pale, and he spit out blood. His inner world had been badly shaken.

    Long Laogui was startled, but just as he was about to go help, an odd face appeared right in front of him. He gritted his teeth. "Marquis Xiang."

    Elsewhere, a teacup appeared above the first array base. It wasrge enough to fill the entire sky, and everything that appeared within the teacup, whether it be human, corpse king, or other, all became tea.

    A strangeugh rang out at the third array base. It echoed out, and the sound caused countless people to howl. Somehow, theughter manifested into reality, creating countless strange human faces that appeared in the sky above the third array base. Each face belonged to a dead person, and they all rushed down towards the third array base.

    Marquis Lan appeared at the fifth array base, and at the same time, so did Marquis Midday. "You¡¯re here too? Don¡¯t you need more time to recover?"

    Marquis Lan coldly answered, "Undying God risked death to enter the Perennial World, and no one knows the oue. How could I not appear?"

    "Two of the Twelve Marquises are here? Are you looking down on my fifth array base?" Kuang Yan shouted as he charged out and red at Marquis Lan and Marquis Midday.

    Marquis Midday gave Kuang Yan a cold nce and then said, "It''s time to destroy these five array bases."

    With that, the marquis¡¯s figure disappeared as he went to fight with Kuang Yan.

    On the fourth array base, which was the strongest on the entire rear battlefield, not only were the defenders fighting off three of the Twelve Marquises, but the leader of the Twelve Marquises had also appeared: Marquis Wu.

    Marquis Wu looked no different from an ordinary human, but as soon as he fought, any who faced him would feel the pressure.

    Yao Di¡¯s body crashed into the array base.

    Marquis Wu stood high in the sky and stared down at the fourth array base. "Too weak."

    He then stepped forward, but as he did so, snow suddenly fell on his head.

    "Snow drifts through the world: A Thousand Cmities." Arch-Elder Zen had taken action, and he had already summoned Xue Wuqing with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Marquis Wu had managed to easily defeat Yao Di, proving his rather terrifying might.

    Endless numbers of corpse kings surged upwards. The tide spread out as far as the eye could see. Corpse kingspletely covered the slopes of the five array bases.

    As Hen Xin fought against another of the Twelve Marquis, the man pulled something from his cosmic ring and threw it down to the New World. It was a fragment of the Absolute Beast Cage, the all-consuming metal that had once brought disaster upon the Fourth Maind. Lu Yin had greatly Enhanced some metal fragments, and he had told the fourth array base¡¯s Semi-Progenitors that if the Aeternals ever exerted too much pressure, they should throw the metal down to the New World. It might not show much use right away, but as the metal grew and developed, it could potentially be terrifying, if it was able to consume flesh and blood to grow.

    Humanity waspletely unable to invade the New World, so there was no reason for them not to toss something so dangerous down and leave it for the Aeternals to deal with.

    As Hen Xin threw the metal downwards, Yao Di suppressed his injuries to do the same. One piece after another of the metal was thrown down to the New World. No one knew what woulde of it in the future.

    The attack had beenunched so abruptly that even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors could not understand why such arge-scale assault was being waged on the entire Perennial World.

    From the time the rear battlefield had firste into existence, very few attacks had beenunched by abination of the Seven Skygods and the Twelve Marquises.

    However, the truth was that, while this attack was powerful enough to let Undying God force his way into the Perennial World, there was also danger involved in such an attack.

    Given the Seven Skygods'' strength, if they joined forces, they should be able to easily force their way into the Perennial World, so why did they not do so? It was because there remained things in the Perennial World that even the Aeternals remained wary of, and the eagle and the Python Ancestor were just two of those things. At this moment, Undying God was fighting against the Python Ancestor, and even the Seven Skygods were worried that Undying God would not be able to return to them.

    Boom!

    There was another tremor, as a terrifying strength struck the Mother Tree.

    Then there was nothing.

    The Lower Realm grew quiet.

    Lu Yin and the others waited for some time, but after nothing happened for some time, they started making their way towards the Lower Realm.

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin and Big Sis moved atop the jiao, and Lu Yin ordered the beast into the Lower Realm.

    However, the jiao remained lying on the ground, unmoving. It simply clutched its head with its paws.

    "The guy must be terrified." Big Sis looked at the jiao oddly.

    Lu Yin could also clearly see that the jiao was afraid of the Python Ancestor, and its fear was overwhelming. It would not matter how Lu Yin tried to intimidate the jiao, as not even the slipper could make the beast move at this moment.

    "Forget it. We won¡¯t worry about it," Lu Yin said. He then rushed towards the Lower Realm, with Big Sis right on his tail.

    Progenitor Liu was wary of Lu Yin and Big Sis. Lu Yin stared as the Python Ancestor continued to wrap itself around the Mother Tree. After a short while, the massive snake closed its eyes and fell back into a deep sleep. "Where¡¯s Undying God?"

    Progenitor Liu stared at the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. In one particr location, beneath the coils of Python Ancestor, Progenitor Liu could feel Undying God¡¯s presence, so the man hurried over.

    Lu Yin and Big Sis followed the man, and they soon saw Undying God trapped between the Python Ancestor and the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    At this moment, Undying God had regained his standardzy appearance, looking as though he had not quite woken up. The Python Ancestor had the Skygod¡¯s body pressed against the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, and he waspletely unable to move.

    "I knew that this guy was difficult to deal with, but I didn''t think that it was this bad. I can''t leave for now," Undying God said slowly.

    Progenitor Liu unceremoniously shed at the Skygod with his sword, but the attack could not touch Undying God.

    "He still can''t be harmed." Progenitor Liu felt rather confused. "Is this an innate gift?"

    Big Sis answered somberly, "Drifting. His innate gift is Drifting. It¡¯s a very strange innate gift that initially seems useless, but once it¡¯s used, it bes very troublesome. With it, he can drift away from a person¡¯s attacks, drift away from space, and even from time."

    "So that¡¯s why our attacks can¡¯t do anything to him." Lu Yin was quite surprised.

    Big Sis nodded. "I vaguely remember Wu Tian once saying Wu Xing is a genius who could rise to the same level as him. Whenever he¡¯s our opponent, just run away."

    Undying God stared at Big Sis. "Your memory is iplete, Y¨­u Ming."

    Progenitor Liu was taken aback. "Y¨­u Ming?"

    "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming," Lu Yin answered, much to Progenitor Liu¡¯s shock. "Big Sis is Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, you heard right. She¡¯s the ancient powerhouse from the legends who¡¯s from the era as the Three Realms Six Dao."

    Progenitor Liu stared at Big Sis in shock. "You¡¯re Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    Big Sis nced over. "What? Are you surprised, kid?"

 Chapter 2398: The Only Nemesis

    <h4>Chapter 2398: The Only Nemesis</h4>

    After hearing Big Sis¡¯sment, Lu Yin was left speechless. In the past, it would make sense for Progenitor Y¨­u Ming to be referred to as ¡°Senior¡± by Progenitor Liu, but at the moment, Big Sis did not seem to be much older than Lu Yin himself.

    Progenitor Liu could not believe his ears. "How could you be Progenitor Y¨­u Ming? Even if Progenitor Y¨­u Ming was still alive, she should not be like you."

    Big Sis felt quite frustrated. "I don''t know how I got like this, but if I still had my former strength, I¡¯d crush the four ruling powers!"

    "I know," Undying God interjected, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

    He continued in his typicalzy manner, "You wanted to go to the Immemorial Citadel, but you failed because Ce Wangtian cheated you. It was just bad luck."

    "Ce Wangtian?" Lu Yin and the Big Sis eximed in unison; one in shock, and the other through gritted teeth.

    Big Sis did not know why, but the moment Ce Wangtian¡¯s name was mentioned, she felt a terrible wave of anger for no apparent reason. Her rage was so great that her face flushed red.

    Undying God continued, "Ce Wangtian cheated you, and he went to the Immemorial Citadel in your stead. Since you didn¡¯t make it, you can only be considered unlucky."

    "How did Ce Wangtian cheat?" Lu Yin asked.

    Undying Godzily turned to look at Lu Yin. "Doesn¡¯t matter, he cheated. Back then, Ce Wangtian cheated many people, and she was far from the only one. The man was a bastard."

    Lu Yinpletely agreed. After all, what kind of person would create a secret technique just to cheat at a chess game?

    "Alright, I''m going to sleep now. You guys leave," Undying Godzily ordered.

    Progenitor Liu frowned. "You want to sleep? You¡¯ll have plenty of time to rest after you¡¯re dead."

    The Progenitor then looked at Big Sis. "If you are truly Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, then is there a way to kill him? After all, he¡¯s currently trapped by the Python Ancestor."

    Big Sis became irritated. "There¡¯s nothing that I can do, and it¡¯s useless to bring anyone else in, not unless you have someone at the level of the Three Realm Six Dao, but even that might not be enough to ovee his innate gift."

    "So, is this guy trapped here? Can no one do anything at all to him?" Progenitor Liu refused to ept such a thing. "If things turn out like this, then does it not mean that the Seven Skygods are able to freely enter and leave my Perennial World?"

    "Do you have any better ideas?" Big Sis shot back.

    Progenitor Liu angrily swore, "This is bullshit! This will be the end of my Perennial World!"

    Big Sis wanted to argue, but Lu Yin interrupted by grabbing her attention. "Big Sis, can you injure him if we can incapacitate his innate gift?"

    "Why? Do you have a way to do that?" Big Sis looked over at Lu Yin. "Don''t bother trying to use the God of Death¡¯s attack. If you do, you¡¯ll be left helpless, and then who knows who might attack you. Don¡¯t trust the people here, as they¡¯re all worthless. Besides, the God of Death¡¯s power is only good for one attack, and that might not do anything unless the God of Death himselfunches the attack."

    Lu Yin was well aware that it was impossible to use the God of Death¡¯s attack. To begin with, there was not enough death energy to deal with a Progenitor let alone Undying God, not even if the God of Death¡¯s left arm and his scythe were both taken into consideration. Big Sis had brought the matter up out of habitual intimidation. She simply wanted to threaten the four ruling powers, even if there was no one to hear her.

    "Very few people even during the Heavens Sect era were able to deal with Wu Xing''s innate gift, and I have no idea if Bai Wangyuan or any of the others are capable of doing so. However, I can think of one person who was absolutely able to deal with it," Lu Yin said as he stared at Undying God.

    Undying God finally looked over. "Well, you¡¯ve certainly piqued my curiosity. Who is it?"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Progenitor Ku."

    Undying God''s expression instantly changed.

    Big Sis and Progenitor Liu¡¯s expressions also changed. "The master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? That Progenitor Ku?"

    "Was Progenitor Ku from the Daosource Sect era able to ovee Undying God¡¯s innate gift?" Progenitor Liu felt that he must have misheard. As far as most people knew, Progenitor Ku had been a Progenitor of very average strength. Even though the man was known to have been the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, almost no one would rank Progenitor Ku alongside people like Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, Bai Wangyuan, or the rest of his peers. Progenitor Ku had simply been too low-key, and so practically no one ever mentioned him, both during the current era and the man¡¯s own era.

    As far as most people believed, Progenitor Ku had only managed to master one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas out of luck. He must have found a Mountain and Sea that suited him perfectly.

    However, Lu Yin was iming that Progenitor Ku had been capable of oveing Undying God¡¯s innate gift.

    Only after fighting Undying God could a person understand just how iprehensible his innate gift was. Progenitor Liu believed himself capable of fighting against Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers, but he had beenpletely suppressed from the beginning to the end against Undying God. In that case, how could Progenitor Ku have been capable of standing up to Undying God?

    Lu Yin and Undying God stared at each other. "You should already be aware of this."

    Undying God''s eyes grew sharp, and they lost all of theirziness. "How do you know about this?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I saw it. Progenitor Ku didn¡¯t care about you at all. When he charged forward to fight against all of Aeternus on his own, he simply passed by you and injured you badly. Your innate gift can¡¯t do anything against Progenitor Ku."

    Undying God was stunned. "You saw it? Can you see through time?"

    Lu Yin did not exin himself, and he instead addressed Progenitor Liu. "Senior, no matter what you may think of this junior, the most important thing right now is to deal with the Skygod in front of us. I would like to ask Senior to continuously attack Undying God and to force him to remain in his drifting state."

    "Why?" Progenitor Liu was puzzled.

    Lu Yin answered softly, "This is the only way to kill him. If we can kill one of the Seven Skygods, then there will be one less."

    Progenitor Liu took a long look at Lu Yin, and then he nodded. "I am willing to trust Lu Xiaoxuan. I hope that you don''t let me down."

    The old man then turned to look at Undying God. At that moment, the infinite sword qi reappeared, filling the entire area before raining down endless attacks onto Undying God.

    It was not that Undying God did not want to avoid these attacks; rather, he waspletely pinned down by the Python Ancestor and could not evade the attacks at all. Still, none of the sword qi managed to cause even the slightest bit of injuries.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was time to demonstrate his mastery of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    There were many powerhouses that earned Lu Yin¡¯s great admiration. Progenitor Chen had possessed unparalleledbat power, and each of his nine clones had been capable of individually killing another Progenitor, making the man invincible during his era. Progenitor Hui had been able to calcte the future and ensure the continuation of humanity, which was also worthy of great admiration. Mister Mu was another whom Lu Yin admired. While Lu Yin knew almost nothing at all about his master, Mister Mu had shown Lu Yin kindness and taken him as a disciple.

    While Lu Yin had never seen the God of Death in person, his Arcane Art - Fatal Revival had allowed Lu Yin to survive as long as he had.

    Destiny was inscrutable.

    Wu Tian had developed the methods for humans to use weapons.

    The Origin Progenitor had managed to leave behind a sword that could transport people through time and space.

    However, none of these people had shocked Lu Yin as badly as Progenitor Ku had.

    Progenitor Ku had always maintained a very low profile, despite being one of the most powerful Progenitors of his generation. He had barely left a mark in history, yet he had faced all of Aeternus on his own. It had been a single, glorious moment at the end of his life, but no one knew about the man¡¯s sacrifice. Furthermore, Progenitor Ku had created Extremes Must Be Reversed, which provided an alternative path towards controlling the powers of time and space. This single technique had shocked Lu Yin more than anything else about Progenitor Ku.

    During his year of seclusion, Lu Yin had not merely fished when resting; he had also spent a great deal of time in contemtion. He had spent a great deal of time considering both Extremes Must Be Reversed and Wielder - Invincible, and hisprehension had greatly improved.

    He hoped that the results of hisprehension would prove useful now.

    Facing the distant figure of Undying God, for the first time, Lu Yin tried to activate Extremes Must Be Reversed without targeting himself.

    The truth was that Extremes Must Be Reversed was not truly a battle technique. More urately, it was a summation of Progenitor Ku¡¯s essential understanding of the universe as a whole. It was more or less a perspective made tangible.

    There existed too many extreme states throughout the universe, and Extremes Must Be Reversed referred to how, once an extreme was reached, things must begin to revert and regress from that extreme.

    For one example, time itself was an extreme state. Progenitor Ku had believed that his Extremes Must Be Reversed should be effective on time, and by using his Withered Bark as a medium, the man had managed to reverse time and gained mastery over the mysterious power. This was what had allowed Lu Yin to sense time and improve his mastery of Inverse Step until he could create a chaotic field of both space and time.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was attempting to use Extremes Must Be Reversed to undo Undying God¡¯s extreme state.

    Drifting was another extreme state. Undying God¡¯s innate gift was able to allow him to drift away from attacks that targeted him, space, and even time. If Extremes Must Be Reversed could seed, then Undying God¡¯s state of drifting would be undone, and while the attacks that were raining down were not deadly to Undying God, they would finally strike true.

    Lu Yin had thought of this method after unconsciously thinking back to when Progenitor Ku had attacked Undying God and instantly shattered half of the Skygod¡¯s body. Lu Yin felt that Progenitor Ku had most likely used this same method.

    If Lu Yin was correct, then Progenitor Ku could be considered Undying God¡¯s natural nemesis.

    Undying God did not care at all about Progenitor Liu¡¯s endless attacks of sword qi. The Skygod focused entirely on Lu Yin while remembering that attack from long ago.

    Ku Jie had not been regarded as very important or dangerous by the Aeternals, but ultimately, the man had shattered the Aeternals expectations time and time again. In the end, the Seven Skygods had been forced to step out and fight against the man. Undying God had lost to Ku Jie on more than one asion.

    Undying God had lived since the Heavens Sect era, but the person who terrified him the most was not Wu Tian, nor any of the other Three Realms Six Dao, but rather Ku Jie. The man had been a nobody, and yet his strength had been utterly terrifying. On top of that, the man¡¯sbat abilities had been impressive, and the fact that he had managed to create Extremes Must Be Reversed simply defied all understanding.

    Ku Jie had been praised by True God himself on more than one asion, with thement that Ku Jie had been born in the wrong age.

    Undying God had never expected toe across this power ever again, especially not at this moment.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s attempt to use Extremes Must Be Reversed failed, as he was not able to affect Undying God at all.

    Undying God was indeed struck by the sword qi, but that was not because Lu Yin¡¯s use of Extremes Must Be Reversed had been sessful, but rather because Undying God had reflexively released his drifting state to avoid being wounded by having his innate gift undone. As soon as he was struck by the sword qi, Lu Yin realized that Extremes Must Be Reversed had failed.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed had failed, but Undying God had still been hit by an attack. It was easy to see just how much Undying God feared Progenitor Ku.

    Progenitor Liu saw the attacksnd and believed that he had seeded. "Keep it up! I will use the way of the sword to unify. I refuse to believe that he can''t be killed!"

    It was never easy for someone to be a Progenitor, and while there appeared to be a massive difference in strength between Progenitor Liu and Undying God, that was simply because certain characteristics of Undying God countered Progenitor Liu too well. When it came to pure destructive power, even Bai Wangyuan and the other from the four ruling powers had to respect Progenitor Liu¡¯s abilities.

    Progenitor Liu''s All Swords Lead To One was not something that most couldpare to.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It failed."

    He found it to be quite a pity. If he had known Undying God was so afraid of Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin would never have bothered doing things in such a manner, and he would have instead simply used the slipper. What a pity.

    Progenitor Liu was quite surprised, but then he saw that his sword qi was no longer able to harm Undying God.

    Undying God gritted his teeth. "Boy, the difference between you and Ku Jie is greater than what you can imagine! You might be able to seed after you be a Progenitor, but for now, you should just stop dreaming."

    His entire demeanor constantly changed, flipping fromzy to intense and fanatical in a moment.

    The change showed that Undying God had lost his confidence. Progenitor Ku¡¯s abilities had shaken the Skygod¡¯s state of mind.

    However, shaking Undying God¡¯s mental state did not even matter. As long as it remained impossible to harm him, all efforts remained useless.

    "Again!" Progenitor Liu shouted. He could see how Undying God''s expression had changed from the power Lu Yin had just used, which suggested that it might eventually prove useful.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Let¡¯s continue."

    He did not believe that every attempt of Extremes Must Be Reversed would fail, and they only needed one sess. Just one would be enough.

    Undying God snorted contemptuously as he maintained his drifting state. He was absolutely certain that Lu Yin would never seed.

 Chapter 2399: Slapping

    <h4>Chapter 2399: pping</h4>

    Big Sis watched from the side while trying to recall everything that she knew about Wu Xing in order to find some sort of w, but how could she? His innate gift Drifting was simply too difficult to ovee.

    In the Dominion Realm, Mu Xie heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the Python Ancestor in the Lower Realm. There was a Progenitor-level corpse king that Mu Xie was fighting against, and he could not break away to go help Lu Yin.

    At this moment, the Mother Tree itself swayed, and cracks appeared in the sky.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s head snapped up. "Not good! The Outer Realm is being attacked now! Who¡¯s missing?"

    "Liu Yue!" Xia Shenji yelled.

    More and more cracks began to appear above the Perennial World.

    Far below, in the Lower Realm, Progenitor Liu was horrified at what he saw up above. "This is bad!"

    Without another word, he stepped across the sky and vanished.

    Lu Yin looked upwards. Had something happened to the Outer Realm as well?

    "That old bastard just ran away? What are we supposed to do here?" Big Sis was frustrated, but it was obvious that Progenitor Liu¡¯s sudden departure had to have been instigated by an emergency.

    Lu Yin stared at Undying God. The Skygod had regained hiszy demeanor. "Go on and leave. I''m going to sleep now. You can¡¯t hurt me since Liu Yue¡¯s gone."

    "It would be great if we could get him back to the Fifth Maind and Aeternus Nation," Lu Yin muttered to himself. In that ce, he could use the sea of death energy thaty beneath Aeternus Nation to release an attack from the God of Death.

    The only way that Lu Yin could still potentially harm Undying God was with the jiao. The beast¡¯s ws were incredibly sharp.

    This was an exceptionally rare opportunity to have Undying God pinned and trapped. Lu Yin had no idea if another such opportunity would ever present itself.

    Battle raged on in the Dominion Realm as the Aeternals did everything that they could to get Undying God back. The Python Ancestor might have trapped Undying God, but Lu Yin was certain that the Aeternals would eventually be able to free him once again, and having such a powerful enemy free would cause countless sleepless nights. Each Skygod was an absolute monster, and killing even one of them would be an amazing achievement.

    As long as Undying God''s innate gift Drifting could be ovee, the gap between him and Progenitor Liu was not something that could not be ovee.

    "Well, you can¡¯t take him away, so do you want to keep trying?" Big Sis asked.

    Lu Yin looked over at her. "The Python Ancestor has him trapped, but it didn''t kill him. The only reason why is that the Python Ancestor can¡¯t kill him. The Aeternals are frantically attacking the Perennial World just to save him. Big Sis, you should leave."

    "What about you?" Big Sis nodded.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I''m going to try again."

    He then shot upwards towards the Middle Realm and went to the jiao. Lu Yin threatened the beast with the slipper, but it was no use. The jiao was just too terrified of the Python Ancestor to get any closer to the snake.

    There was no chance of getting the jiao to approach Undying God, so Lu Yin had no choice but to abandon that option.

    He returned to the Lower Realm, only to find that Big Sis had not left. "Even if the Aeternals want to rescue him, they won¡¯t be able to get here any time soon, and the Python Ancestor won¡¯t just let him go. So, we¡¯re safe enough for now."

    Lu Yin knew that it would be impossible to convince Big Sis to leave, so he left her alone.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and Lu Yin also pulled out the broken scythe so that he could use death energy to summon E Chi. The champion should have wielded a jagged saber, but Lu Yin reced it with his needle-like weapon. He already knew that the needle could hurt a Progenitor, as Progenitor Smoke had once used it to break the chains of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s defensive sourcebox array.

    In E Chi¡¯s other hand, he held a slipper.

    When Big Sis saw the slipper, she scratched her head and rubbed her eyes, certain that she was seeing things.

    An evil sea of blood surged towards Undying God, but the Skygodpletely ignored E Chi. "An ordinary Progenitor has absolutely no chances of hurting me."

    "Little Seven-"

    Big Sis wanted to say something, but Lu Yin stopped her. "Big Sis, do you remember the Roots of Intelligence?"

    Big Sis was caught off guard. "Progenitor Hui''s Roots of Intelligence?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "A Root of Intelligence can be used to give a person heightened intelligence and enlightenment. While they don¡¯tst for very long, they are incredibly effective. Using one should allow me to understand how to use Extremes Must Be Reversed to ovee his innate gift."

    Undying God stared at Lu Yin. "Ku Jie and Hui Wen¡¯s stuff? Interesting theory. Give it a try."

    Lu Yin took out a Root of Intelligence and prepared some tea. He took a sip and then spent a moment considering things. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and heshed out with a palm strike while E Chi began bombarding Undying God with attacks from both the slipper and the needle-like weapon.

    The same moment that Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck, the slippernded as well.

    No one had any idea what Undying God experienced at that moment, but as Big Sis stared on incredulously, Undying God was stunned by a single attack from the slipper. It was an exact replication of what had happened to the jiao in the past.

    Lu Yin was ecstatic; it had actually worked! He had not used a real Root of Intelligence to make the tea, but rather some of the fakes that he had received from the Hui family. Everything had been done to trick Undying God.

    Out of all the powerhouses of the Daosource Sect era, Undying God had feared Progenitor Ku the most by far, but he had also been very wary of Progenitor Hui.

    Given that the initial threat of Progenitor Ku''s Extremes Must Be Reversed had caused Undying God to stop Drifting out of fear, Lu Yin suspected that the threat of Progenitor Hui might trigger the same reaction once.

    Lu Yin¡¯s guess had been spot on, and Undying God had undone his innate gift the moment the attack had fallen.

    E Chi had managed tond a solid strike with the slipper, and he had immediately started a frantic assault. At the same time, the needle was thrust forward, and Undying God was not given even a single moment to react.

    Big Sis waspletely dumbfounded. Was this for real?

    Throughout all of history, battles that involved Progenitor-levelbatants had always been serious affairs, terrifying and exciting. Given eons of precedent, why was Big Sis witnessing something so bizarre? Since when were a needle and a slipper weapons?

    From Lu Yin''s perspective, the form his weapon took did not matter, as long as it was useful.

    The slipper had caused the Ancestor Tortoise to cry, and it had also allowed Lu Yin to tame the jiao like a puppy. However, neither of the beasts had ever suffered the torment that Undying God was experiencing.

    Lu Yin had Enhanced the slipper once, and he no longer understood just how powerful it was. He had wanted to test it out on the jiao, but the beast¡¯s pitiful pleading look had changed Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Finally, Lu Yin was able to see the power of the slipper by testing it out on Undying God head.

    Undying God was unbelievably powerful. In fact, thebination of Progenitor Liu, the jiao, and Lu Yin had been helpless to do anything against the Skygod. Undying God had managed to force his way through the Dominion Realm and enter the Perennial World, which had incited an attack from the Python Ancestor. Even so, Undying God remained a Progenitor, and so long as the slipper struck, it would leave him stunned for at least a moment.

    The slipper rose and fell while the needle kept stabbing forward. Even Undying God was being beaten into a miserable state. His hair was in disarray, blood covered his entire body, and half of his head had been torn open. He looked as though he had been stomped on by a giant.

    It took Undying God several breaths before he was able to react, by which time, he had already been struck dozens of times with the slipper, and also stabbed dozens of times by the needle-like weapon.

    An ordinary Progenitor, or even someone like Progenitor Liu, would be at death¡¯s door by this point in time, or possibly even dead. However, Undying God managed to activate his innate gift and drift away from the attacks, rendering all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts useless.

    Lu Yin felt rather frustrated, as well as once more shocked by Undying God¡¯s impressive strength.

    The jiao had been stunned by the slipper even before Lu Yin had Enhanced it, and after upgrading the slipper, Lu Yin had thought that it would be capable of almost instantly killing Undying God, as long as a direct hitnded. However, Lu Yin had been proven wrong.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s failure, Big Sis was stupefied. From her memories, had Wu Xing ever been reduced to such a miserable state before? Even if the Heavens Sect era was ignored, Undying God was one of the Seven Skygods, and it should not be possible to harm him so badly. Was this something that Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, or any of the others could do?

    Half of Undying God''s head had been shattered. He stared at Lu Yin through unfocused, bloodshot eyes. The other half of the Skygod¡¯s face was unharmed, and he looked dead.

    Suddenly, he started tough. He sounded happy, very happy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. While it had been possible and reasonable to trick Undying God once, a second time would be impossible.

    In that case¡­

    Lu Yin pulled out the real Root of Intelligence. It was thest one in his possession. "I guess that I have to use it after all."

    "Is it a real one this time?" Undying God stared at the Root of Intelligence that Lu Yin held. The moment Lu Yin had seen the slipper strike true, he had tossed the false Root of Intelligence tea aside, and Undying God had seen it. Naturally, he knew that Lu Yin had tricked him.

    Lu Yin looked at Root of Intelligence, clearly reluctant to use it. "It''s real. Myst Root of Intelligence is for you."

    "Hahahaha!" Undying God startedughing in a crazed manner. He sounded utterly insane, and given his miserable condition, hearing himugh was quite confusing.

    Lu Yin had no idea what was so funny.

    Undying God red at Lu Yin through frenzied eyes. "Come on! If you can kill me, then kill me! I want to die. I always have, but even after so many years, no one has managed to kill me."

    "Then stop resisting, and we¡¯ll be happy to grant your wish." Big Sis could not resist speaking up.

    Undying God continued tough even as his roars echoed throughout the Lower Realm. "I''m talking about someone killing me with your own strength! Do it, if you can! This is your best chance. My Progenitor¡¯s world ispletely upied with countering this beast, so kill me now, or else you¡¯ll never have another chance. I¡¯m called ¡®undying,¡¯ but all I want is to die. Come on! Kill me! Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin was startled. Was this a third personality?

    Undying God''s first personality was hiszy self that looked as if he had just woken up. His second personality was arrogant, aggressive, and oozed bloodlust. This third personality was begging to die, though only to be killed with dignity.

    What the hell? Wu Xing had once been a human. Had he be like this after joining Aeternus? Seeing the Skygod¡¯s crazed reaction gave Lu Yin the chills, and he feared Aeternus more than ever.

    Lu Yin stopped hesitating. He formed some water in his hands and steeped the Root of Intelligence. He took a sip of the tea, closed his eyes, and started thinking hard.

    Undying God was right, this was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His Progenitor¡¯s world and the Python Ancestor were each restraining the other, and Undying God¡¯s body had been trapped by the massive serpent. As long as Lu Yin could bypass the Skygod¡¯s innate gift, it would be possible to kill him. With the slipper, there was indeed a possibility of sess. Lu Yin just needed some time. Even a few seconds would do.

    After taking a sip of the Root of Intelligence tea, Lu Yin immediately understood many new insights into Extremes Must Be Reversed, and hisprehension only continued to improve. Thousands of thoughts flitted through his mind as countless possibilities urred to him.

    His eyes snapped open, and he struck at Undying God with a palm, once again using Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Failure. Still not enough. Lu Yin could not target Undying God¡¯s drifting state. He needed to try again.

    E Chi kept attacking with the slipper and the needle. There was nothing that Big Sis could do to help, so she simply watched from the side.

    Soon, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened again, only to have his attack fail yet again. This time, he had managed to target the drifting state, but he was unable to target Undying God. Both the individual and the state of drifting had to be targeted at the same time with Extremes Must Be Reversed in order for there to be any effect.

    There was one sip of tea left.

    Lu Yin downed it in one gulp. Further understandings of Extremes Must Be Reversed instantly appeared in his mind. He pped out a hand once again, this time with his eyes still closed.

    This time, the attack struck true.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed managed to remove Undying God from his drifting state. Not only that, but being struck by the slipper badly wounded him yet again.

    The same scene from before repeated, leaving Big Sispletely dumbfounded. She could not understand what Lu Yin had done.

    Lu Yin stared at Undying God. Was it possible to kill the Skygod this time? It should be possible. Even the Seven Skygods could not endure an attack that could subdue even the jiao. After all, the jiao¡¯s defenses were so impressive that not even Forgotten Ruins God had been able to harm it. Xia Shenji had been left with no option but to use Xia Chan''s broken saber to trap the jiao in Shenwu''s Sky, and Progenitor Smoke had also struggled greatly against the jiao.

    Besides, Lu Yin had recently Enhanced the slipper as well.

    Kill a Progenitor¡­ Just the thought of such a possibility left Lu Yin a little short of breath. No matter what, Undying God was still one of the Seven Skygods, an ancient powerhouse from the Heavens Sect era.

 Chapter 2400: Calculations

    <h4>Chapter 2400: Calctions</h4>

    If not for the Python Ancestor, Lu Yin would have never had such an opportunity to begin with. Undying God would have never just stood in ce and allowed Lu Yin to attack him with Extremes Must Be Reversed. Instead, Lu Yin would have died within seconds from a single counterattack.

    There was no denying that several coincidences had aligned to give Lu Yin an opportunity to possibly kill one of the Seven Skygods. If he could truly grasp this opportunity, it would be an aplishment that would go down in history. Such a shocking feat would surpass all the aplishments of Lu Yin¡¯s countless predecessors.

    Undying God was struck hundreds of times. His entire head became deformed, and his body began to slowly copse. He was about to be beaten to death.

    Lu Yin did not reveal even the slightest hint of excitement. He was not even focused on Undying God, but rather on the Python Ancestor.

    Ever since Undying God had mentioned that his Progenitor¡¯s world waspletely upied with holding back the Python Ancestor, Lu Yin had been moving his runes closer and closer to the Python Ancestor, and he had noticed an obscure power within the massive snake¡¯s body. Lu Yin believed that the power should belong to Undying God, but even when the Skygod¡¯s body was about to be smashed to pieces, the power within the Python Ancestor''s body showed absolutely no signs of weakening at all.

    No.?Lu Yin suddenly stopped his assault and his use of Extremes Must Be Reversed. He stared at the nearly destroyed body of Undying God. No, absolutely not like this.

    "Why aren¡¯t you still attacking?" Big Sis screamed. "Hurry up and get rid of him!"

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "You¡¯ve been trying to get me to attack you like this."

    Big Sis was left confused.

    In front of them, the almostpletely broken body of Undying God started to wriggle for a bit, and then his wounds started to slowly splice themselves back together. Lu Yin was quickly able to start picking out facial features and the distinctive scarlet eyes. "So close. What a pity."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew ugly. He had very nearly made a mistake.

    "What''s going on?" Big Sis waspletely puzzled.

    Lu Yin softly exined, "He''s been trying to get me to smash his body apart so that he can escape from the Python Ancestor. Even if the slipper beats him to pieces, it won¡¯t kill him. He''s been using me. His Progenitor¡¯s world that¡¯s been suppressed entirely by the Python Ancestor hasn¡¯t weakened in the slightest, which means that he hasn¡¯t truly been injured."

    One of Undying God¡¯s eyes had fallen out, and it dangled in the air, apparently connected by a single fine thread. "How did you figure it out? Not even Y¨­u Ming was able to notice anything."

    Lu Yin said nothing about using the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power.

    When attacking Undying God, Lu Yin had simultaneously used the powers of Progenitor Ku, Progenitor Hui, and the Rune Progenitor. Despite that, he had still nearly been used by Undying God.

    While Lu Yin had absolutely no idea how Undying God was restoring his ruined body, it was absolutely a method that would allow him to escape his current predicament.

    Big Sis frowned. "Then why did he just use his innate gift to drift away again just now? If he hadn¡¯t done that and had allowed the first beating to continue, you wouldn¡¯t have ever noticed any issues."

    "That¡¯s because the first beating wasn¡¯t intense enough," Lu Yin solemnly stated.

    Big Sis did not understand Extremes Must Be Reversed. When the slipper had first managed to strike Undying God, it had not been because he had been afraid of Lu Yin achieving sufficient mastery of Extremes Must Be Reversed with the Root of Intelligence. Rather, Undying God had been testing something. He had wanted to understand just how powerful the slipper was.

    It was clearly very strange that Lu Yin had given E Chi a slipper and a needle to attack Undying God with, and even an idiot would realize that there was something special about the two items. Undying God had wanted to understand the power of the slipper. If possible, the Skygod would be more than willing to be beaten to pieces, but unfortunately, the slipper had simply not been powerful enough, which had necessitated the use of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    People possessed instincts, as did cultivators.

    If a person encountered fire, they would reflexively dodge it. In the same manner, a cultivator instinctively avoided fatal attacks, if at all possible. Even while trapped, Undying God¡¯s instincts would make him try to avoid at least a portion of the damage from the slipper, but he had been taking on the full brunt of the attacks.

    In other words, he was willing to be smashed into pieces.

    If Lu Yin had not discovered that Undying God¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world had not weakened the slightest bit, then no w would have been discovered. Undying God would have been smashed to pieces by the series of attacks, and then he would have restored his body with some unknown method that would simultaneously allow him to escape from the Python Ancestor. At that point in time, Lu Yin would undoubtedly have been killed.

    What Lu Yin had believed to be a third personality had been fake as well. In fact, Undying God had been putting on an act the entire time, as he had always been hoping to have someone smash his body to bits.

    "As expected of the genius who managed to unite the entire Fifth Maind. Lu Yin, you are definitely much sharper than Lu Xiaoxuan was. It¡¯s too bad it wasn¡¯t quite enough. In that case, let¡¯s make a mess of things. I may have been trapped here, but this Perennial World will suffer a catastrophe." As he spoke, Undying God¡¯s eyes red. His scarlet, bloodshot eyes looked like they were about to fall out of their sockets, but at that moment, everyone was able to see Undead God''s cruel and vicious eyes. This was not limited to where Lu Yin and Big Sis were standing, as it applied to every part of the Lower Realm, the Middle Realm, the Higher Realm, and even the Outer Realm.

    A pair of bloodshot eyes suddenly appeared within the vision of countless people across the Perennial World, and a deathly silence descended upon the ce. Everyone was horrified by the sight, and they all stared at what appeared before them.

    The eyes appeared in an instant, but they vanished just as quickly.

    Lu Yin stared at Undying God. What had he just done?

    Big Sis also felt quite confused. She had no idea what Undying God had done.

    Undying God let out a hoarseugh, and as he did so, his battered face grewrger andrger. It was terrifying to see.

    ¡­

    Far away from where Undying God had been trapped, Liu Shaoge stared on in awe. He had seen the scene of the Python Ancestor¡¯s tail piercing through to the Middle Realm, and he had watched the snake drag a powerful Progenitor into the Lower Realm. He had then witnessed a battle that had suppressed the entire Lower Realm, and just the shockwaves had left the creatures of the Lower Realm trembling and incapacitated out of fear.

    That was the level of power that a cultivator should strive for.

    "That''s the power of a Progenitor, and if the Python Ancestor took action, then that man has to be one of the Aeternals¡¯ top powerhouses. Most likely, he¡¯s one of the Seven Skygods," Xia Shenji''s clone solemnly stated as he stared off into the distance. He had seen a great deal, including Lu Yin¡¯s arrival with Progenitor Liu.

    "The true body of one of the Seven Skygods?" Liu Shaoge was shocked.

    The clone nodded. "What else could have drawn the Python Ancestor''s attention and caused the eagle to cry out? Over the course of countless years, that eagle has rarely ever made a sound. It only ever reacts to invaders at this sort of level."

    "The Divine Eagle in the Dominion Realm?" Liu Shaoge had believed the bird to be nothing more than a legend. Despite rising to be Yu Chen''s assistant while in the Celestial Frost Sect, it had still been impossible for Liu Shaoge toe into contact with information at that level. No one would speak to an Enlighter about such things, and he did not dare to ask for further information about such things.

    The clone looked over. "Many legends are true, but the truth is too fantastic for most people to believe, and so the truth is regarded as myth. Progenitors are legends to ordinary people, but did you see what just happened? Your old enemy over there is able to get involved in a Progenitor¡¯s battlefield."

    Liu Shaoge took a deep breath. Ancient legends, such as the eagle, the Python Ancestor, the God of Death, and Destiny had all gradually proven to be true. The universe as Liu Shaoge knew was bing more and more exciting.

    Suddenly, Xia Shenji''s clone turned to look in a specific direction. In that ce, the ground was moving as though something was about to emerge.

    The clone frowned. What was that? A corpse king?

    Boom!

    A figure leaped out of the ground, and dark, empty eye sockets turned to stare at the clone and Liu Shaoge. If Lu Yin were present, he would instantly recognize what had erupted from the ground; it was the same as the desated corpse that had chased him down in the Fifth Maind and nearly killed him. Aeternus had released many of the dried up corpses to hunt down people with ancient bloodlines after Burial Garden had opened.

    That same sort of desated corpse had just appeared in the Perennial World.

    Naturally, the corpse had no fear, and it charged at Xia Shenji''s clone, only to be casually destroyed. "How could something from Aeternus be here in the Lower Realm? This is very odd."

    Liu Shaoge stared at the shattered remains of the dried up corpse, also feeling that something was very odd about the situation. He could note up with any possible answers.

    Neither of the two noticed that, when the corpse was destroyed, a hint of something dark red seeped into the ground and disappeared. This dark-red color seemed to then deliberately make its way towards Undying God. However, even if someone noticed it, they would assume it to be blood.

    At the same time, more of the desated corpses appeared throughout the entire Lower Realm. They posed no danger at all to the beasts living in the Lower Realm, but the moment the corpses came across any humans, they would instantly attack.

    Qian Zou also noticed a dried up corpse. He had made his way to the Lower Realm to train himself, never expecting to see the Python Ancestor pierce through to the Middle Realm. Qian Zou was nearly squashed by a falling boulder. No matter how fast he might be, it was impossible for him to escape the shockwaves of a battle at the Progenitor level, and he had managed to survive through sheer luck.

    Afterwards, as he was walking away, a desated corpse had appeared in front of him. Such a thing was not unfamiliar to Qian Zou, as he had encountered them in the Fifth Maind. "They¡¯re here, too? Help¨C!"

    The corpse chased after the man.

    Meanwhile, in the Middle Realm, many additional corpses wed their way out of the ground, and many more emerged from various pond civilizations. The families who owned the pond civilizations were ughtered, and blood soon covered the Middle Realm. In the city thaty directly beneath the Wang family¡¯s floating maind, no less than a hundred dried up corpses appeared, and they immediately started killing everyone that they encountered. Some of the corpses even appeared in the valley of the New Corridor¡¯s exit, but with the presence of so many cultivators from both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World, the corpses were instantly wiped out in that location.

    Yet even as the dried up corpses were being eliminated, more and more of the dark-red color was seeping into the ground.

    Back down in the Lower Realm, Semi-Progenitor Wu Yao was rushing to the location where Undying God had been trapped.

    The battle that had broken out at the Liu family¡¯s home had been violent enough that the surface of the Middle Realm had been pierced through, and it was impossible for the four ruling powers to ignore such a thing.

    Only a short amount of time had passed since Undying God had entered the Perennial World, but people from the four ruling powers were already starting to appear.

    After Wu Yao arrived, he was quickly joined by Xia Ziheng, Mr. Yu, Qing Chen, and two unfamiliar Semi-Progenitors.

    Not even the four ruling powers were certain as to how many powerhouses remained hidden throughout the Perennial World.

    Ce Doni had also arrived.

    When it came to the Seven Skygods, no one dared to be the slightest bit careless.

    If not for the massive assault on the Dominion Realm, it would not be Semi-Progenitors visiting the Lower Realm, but rather Progenitors. After all, only the top powerhouses had a clear understanding of the situation.

    Lu Yin briefly exined what had happened.

    Wu Yao spat coldly, "So he was hiding as that old bastard Liu Song? I always thought that there was something was wrong with him, but I never thought that he would be a Semi-Progenitor avatar of one of the Seven Skygods."

    "You knew that there was something wrong with Liu Song? Why didn''t you ever say anything?" Qing Chen was immediately upset, and he turned to re at Wu Yao.

    Wu Yao had only made thement out of reflex due to the fact that he had simply not liked Liu Song for a long time. How could Wu Yao let an opportunity to add insult to injury slip by? He had not considered that Qing Chen would actually take such ament seriously.

    "I asked you something!" Qing Chen yelled.

    Wu Yao looked at the man. "I''m not some criminal for your Humility¡¯s Gate to capture, so don¡¯t use that tone with me!"

    "If you knew that there was something wrong with Liu Song, why wouldn¡¯t you say something?" Lu Yin asked the same question, though whenpared to Qing Chen, Lu Yin was a much more intimidating interrogator.

    Qing Chen and Wu Yao were both Semi-Progenitors, and neither believed that they could overwhelm the other, but Lu Yin was different. He had already fought against four Semi-Progenitors on his own, and he had even managed to kill one of them. Since then, he had shown himself capable of using various tools to repel Progenitors, and even the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors were wary of Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Against Lu Yin, Wu Yao instinctively grew afraid. "I just felt that there was something off about him. I actually feel the same way about the God of Food. Is Humility¡¯s Gate going to investigate him as well just because of my feelings?"

    Lu Yin frowned.

 Chapter 2401: Wrong

    <h4>Chapter 2401: Wrong</h4>

    Qing Chen became quite upset by Wu Yao¡¯s answer. ¡°Anything to do with Aeternus cannot be taken lightly! You need to immediately inform us if you notice anything that seems abnormal. If we find out that you¡¯ve been purposely hiding things from us, the consequences will be harsh!¡±

    ¡°Qing Chen, are you threatening me?¡± Wu Yao clenched his fists.

    Mr. Yu slowly spoke up at this moment. ¡°I also feel that something isn¡¯t quite right with Master. Qing Chen, you should go ahead and start investigating him.¡±

    Ce Doni angrily shouted, ¡°You useless brat! Get lost!¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. While he was not particrly familiar with the man, during the few times that Lu Yin had seen Ce Doni, he had never seen the man this furious. The God of Food¡¯s hatred for Mr. Yu had be an obstacle in his cultivation, and it had blocked him from challenging the tribtion to be a Progenitor. This matter caused all of Virtue Archives to harbor an intense hatred for Mr. Yu as well.

    ¡°Hehe, humans are so boring.¡± Undying God¡¯s voice grated on everyone¡¯s ears. He appeared to be quite entertained by their disagreements.

    Everyone turned to face the trapped Skygod. Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors who had just arrived all turned pale. This was their first time seeing the true body of one of the Seven Skygods.

    Never before had one of the Seven Skygods appeared within the Perennial World with their true bodies, which meant that this was the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ first opportunity to see one. These Semi-Progenitors werepletely incapable of dealing with the terrors of the Dominion Realm.

    ¡°Can he not be killed?¡± Qing Chen asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°He can recoverpletely, so I don¡¯t dare to actually try to kill him.¡±

    ¡°Burn him to ash,¡± one of the two unfamiliar Semi-Progenitors suggested. The man had a burly figure, and there were intense mes shrouding his body.

    Ce Doni replied in a voice that was absolutely dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Go ahead, Jin Ta, give it your best shot. If you can actually burn one of the Seven Skygods to death, your name will echo throughout all of history.¡±

    Hearing the name Jin Ta triggered one of Lu Yin¡¯s memories. Was this man a part of the Purple-Gold family? Lu Yin had never thought that they would have a Semi-Progenitor amongst them.

    However, after thinking about it for a moment, Lu Yin realized that he should not be too surprised. After all, the Smokecloud Sect had a Semi-Prognitor, and the Purple-Gold family was so powerful that even Shenwu¡¯s Sky had to take notice of them.

    Semi-Progenitor Jin Ta shook his head. ¡°I could try it if I were a Progenitor, but unfortunately, I¡¯m destined to never reach that level.¡±

    ¡°Ce Doni, you¡¯ve been stuck as a Semi-Progenitor for a long time now. Why don¡¯t you attempt to break through to the Progenitor realm?¡± the other unknown Semi-Progenitor suggested.

    Ce Doni nced at the man. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try? I¡¯m also destined to never be a Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°You can simply drag Undying God into your stellr tribtion as you attempt your breakthrough to the Progenitor realm. If you die, he will as well,¡± Xia Ziheng cruelly suggested.

    Ce Doni sneered. ¡°You could do the same thing. As a Semi-Progenitor from the Xia family, your stellr tribtion will absolutely be more intense than anything that I could trigger.¡±

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the bickering Semi-Progenitors. There was no telling how long these old men had been cultivating for, and they had definitely stepped on some toes along the way and created various grudges. Even in the short amount of time that Lu Yin had been cultivating, he had created enough enemies that they could form a line from the Fifth Maind to the Perennial World.

    Big Sis walked over to Lu Yin¡¯s side and stared intensely at Ce Doni. ¡°Is his surname Ce? Is there a chance that he¡¯s one of Ce Wangtian¡¯s descendants?¡±

    ¡°That should be the case. He knows the Ce Secret Art.¡±

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flickered in their depths. It was clear that she harbored no good feelings for the man.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Big Sis, don¡¯t tell me that you actually believe what Wu Xing told you, right?¡±

    Undying God had said that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been cheated by Ce Wangtian. If Big Sis believed that im and decided to get revenge through Ce Doni, the man would be destined to suffer horribly. While the man was a Semi-Progenitor and Big Sis was not, Ce Doni had a personality that was as docile and innocent as amb¡¯s.

    ¡°Not yet,¡± Big Sis replied.

    Lu Yin was uncertain as to how he should interpret her reply. Did this mean that she might believe Undying God¡¯s words in the future? Lu Yin looked at Ce Doni with pity. ¡°Don¡¯t drag Virtue Archives into things.¡±

    ¡°Has the battle in the Dominion Realm still not ended? It doesn¡¯t look like the Progenitors will make it here in time, and I doubt that these Semi-Progenitors can kill Wu Xing. Let¡¯s leave this mess to them and leave now,¡± Big Sis suddenly dered without bothering to lower her voice. All of the Semi-Progenitors heard her, and the chatter and bickering trailed off into an awkward silence.

    Out of everyone present, Lu Yin was the only one who had the ability to get involved in a fight at the Progenitor level. All the others here were rather average Semi-Progenitors who were far from able to face Undying God in a true battle. As soon as Lu Yin left, none of them would even have the courage to look at Undying God. Another worrying issue was that the Python Ancestor, who was under them, could roll over at any moment. That action had previously thrown the entire Lu family out of the Perennial World, so there was no need to even mention their little group.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, the Seven Skygods are the greatest threat to humanity, and we finally have one trapped after much difficulty. You¡¯re the only one here with the strength to truly kill him¡ªhow can you just wash your hands of this matter?¡± Jin Ta was the first to speak.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You have a responsibility to handle this matter since you have the strength to do so. Even if you can¡¯t kill the Skygod, you should at least wait here until a Progenitor to arrives before leaving. Otherwise, there¡¯s no telling what might happen if Aeternus sends another powerhouse here to rescue him.¡± The still unknown Semi-Progenitor agreed.

    Lu Yin nced sideways at the two men. ¡°I will choose whether I do anything. Your opinions make no difference to my decisions.¡±

    The unfamiliar Semi-Progenitor wanted to protest, but he reluctantly held his tongue.

    Lu Yin was someone who could directly fight against Progenitors in a battle. Naturally, all of the Semi-Progenitors feared him, and they did not dare to argue. However, they still did not treat Lu Yin with the same degree of respect that they would a true Progenitor. No matter what, Lu Yin had not reached that level.

    The Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers never once addressed Lu Yin directly. They were perfectly aware that any suggestions that they offered would simply go in Lu Yin¡¯s ear and out the other.

    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss the issue with Undying Godter, as there¡¯s not much that we can do about him for the moment. First, we should settle the issue of the Liu family. I suggest that we conduct a thorough investigation of them. All of their family members should be arrested and sent to the Higher Realm for individual interrogations,¡± Xia Ziheng proposed in a stern voice.

    Wu Yao instantly agreed.

    Mr. Yu replied, ¡°I also agree. However, Progenitor Liu is helping to protect the Outer Realm, so if the members of the Liu family are deemed innocent, they should be immediately released.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Apart from the Liu family, we will also need to investigate arge number of other people from the Middle Realm. Who knows if there might be further problems with other families? Those dried up corpses emerged from many different pond civilizations, and how could all of those families not know about them? We need to start monitoring all of the pond civilizations as well,¡± Wu Yao added.

    As Lu Yin listened, he felt that the various suggestions were all reasonable. Liu Song had turned out to be Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar, and he had also been part of the Liu family. How could the Liu family bepletely oblivious of their imposter? How could Progenitor Liu have not seen that something was wrong from a single nce? Progenitor Liu might not agree with the idea that it was better to kill an innocent man than risk allowing a guilty one to go free. But even if Liu Song had been innocent, Progenitor Liu would still be guilty of negligence.

    It had been pure coincidence that Lu Yin had Possessed the unnamed Envoy and discovered Realmless¡¯s true headquarters, which had also managed to lure Liu Song into exposing himself. It had also been pure chance that Lu Yin had once Possessed Liu Yishou. The two separate Possessions had given Lu Yin the unique opportunity to expose Liu Song as an imposter. Otherwise, with the man¡¯s secretiveness, he would never have been discovered as an imposter if not for Lu Yin.

    The deeper the secret, the greater the problem that was kept hidden.

    Still, no matter how secretive Liu Song had been, there was no excusing Progenitor Liu¡¯s oversight.

    As for overseeing the Perennial World¡¯s pond civilizations, Lu Yin had already decided to not contest the four ruling powers¡¯ decision to start monitoring them. Corpse kings had previously been discovered in pond civilizations, and the existence of these farmed civilizations also vited basic human rights, which made them a breeding ground for darkness within the Perennial World.

    Wait a moment, dried up corpses?

    ¡°What are you talking about? What dried up corpses?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Qing Chen answered, ¡°Arge number of dried up corpses have started appearing in the Higher and Middle Realms. Some rose up from underground, but most of them emerged from different pond civilizations.¡±

    ¡°What kind of dried up corpses?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s expression was no longer calm.

    Qing Chen gave a brief description.

    Lu Yin turned to Undying God, his eyes sharp. ¡°Did you do this?¡±

    Undying God answered by rolling his scarlet eyes. ¡°This is the fruit of years of mybors. I hope you enjoy it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°So were those dried up corpses in the Fifth Maind that were hunting down and killing people with ancient bloodlines also your handiwork?¡±

    Undying God no longer responded, but his shattered body was disturbing to look at.

    ¡°Have these corpses also appeared in the Forsaken Land?¡± Xia Ziheng asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind was racing, and he could not be bothered to answer such an obvious question. At the moment, his thoughts were scrambling, desperately trying to uncover some connection between the desated corpses, ancient bloodlines, and Undying God.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about those corpses. They¡¯re easy enough to eliminate. Even if there are a lot of them, their numbers mean nothing in context of the entire Perennial World,¡± Wu Dao casuallymented.

    ¡°Wrong.¡± A cold voice echoed out from a rip in the void that had opened up behind the group,

    The sound of the voice made Lu Yin go stiff, and he could hear his heart start to pound in his ears as he slowly turned around. He was greeted by the sight of an ethereal beauty: Bai Xian¡¯er.

    Everyone was stunned by Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s arrival, though each person reacted differently.

    Wu Yao¡¯s expression showed respect and deference. Xia Ziheng and Mr. Yu both shrank back, clearly intimidated. Qing Chen¡¯s face showed aplicated mix of emotions, though there was a good bit of pure admiration. No matter what Bai Xian¡¯er might have done, she was a true legend of the Perennial World. Not even Lu Yin¡¯s monstrous talent and aplishments could overshadow Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s brilliance.

    As far as the people of the Perennial World were concerned, Bai Xian¡¯er was their goddess.

    Undying God¡¯s eyes jerked over, clearly shocked by Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s appearance. A rarely seen trace of seriousness overcame the Skygod.

    ¡°Why am I wrong?¡± Wu Dao was genuinely confused.

    Bai Xian¡¯er stood in the air, her long skirt gently flowing with the breeze. She appeared sacred, untouchable. She calmly stared at Lu Yin,plicated emotions filling her eyes. Was it love? Kinship? Friendship? Something else? No one could understand the mix of emotions within Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin met Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s emotional eyes. He thought back to what Bai Teng had once told him. ¡°There are people who naturally don¡¯t possess a single spec of humanity in them! That girl has felt nothing for her family ever since she was a child, but she¡¯s good at keeping it hidden.¡±

    ¡°You truly believed that she loved you back then, but you werepletely wrong. She doesn¡¯t possess any emotions at all.¡±

    ¡°She''s different from normal people, and she can¡¯t even be considered human at all.¡±

    Bai Teng¡¯s various words echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s mind as Bai Xian¡¯er looked at him with eyes that held myriad emotions. Such an extreme contradiction made Lu Yin¡¯s mind spin. What was triggering such powerful emotions in her?

    ¡°Bai Xian¡¯er?¡± Ce Doni was confounded by her behavior.

    Bai Xian¡¯er continued to simply stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back. Neither one said a word.

    Big Sis carefully observed Bai Xian¡¯er. After having spent a year in the Perennial World, Big Sis had naturally heard of the famous Bai Xian¡¯er. However, Big Sis knew almost nothing about the matters between Lu Yin and Bai Xian¡¯er, though she could readily see that the two had aplicated rtionship.

    ¡°If these corpses are as easy to dispose of as you im, then would one of the Seven Skygods spend so much time and effort to keep them hidden?¡± Bai Xian¡¯er asked. She looked past Lu Yin to stare at Undying God.

    Undying God¡¯s battered head cocked to the side as he stared back at Bai Xian¡¯er with eyes that seemed to prate her soul.

    Bai Xian¡¯er lifted a hand and brought out one of the corpses from the Middle Realm. As everyone watched, she destroyed the corpse. The shattered remains rose up and floated in mid-air. To everyone¡¯s shock, a droplet of blood-red liquid fell out of the corpse. The droplet seemed to take on a life of its own, and it suddenly shot towards Undying God.

    Wu Dao reflexively reached out to stop the droplet, but it pierced right through his hand before entering Undying God¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin stared at where the droplet had disappeared with an ugly expression. ¡°Divine energy.¡±

    ¡°It seems that this isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve encountered it,¡± Bai Xian¡¯ermented as wariness filled her eyes. ¡°With this, we can see his true motive. As long as these desated corpses are destroyed, they will release the Aeternals¡¯ True God¡¯s divine energy, and it will alle here to Undying God. He will be able to use it to recover, no matter how severe his injuries may be. The only way to avoid this is topletely annihte him and scatter the ashes. Unfortunately, none of us have the power to do that.¡±

 Chapter 2402: Come With Me

    <h4>Chapter 2402: Come With Me</h4>

    Lu Yin finally understood Undying God¡¯s scheme. He wanted to use divine divine energy to recover from his injuries.

    Lu Yin had first personally experienced the power of divine energy when Forgotten Ruins God had demonstrated its power. It was domineering yet iprehensible, and it had left a deep impression on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Each time a dried up corpse is destroyed, a little bit more divine energy will be sent to Undying God¡¯s body. If that¡¯s the case, then why did he disperse the divine energy in the first ce?¡± Big Sis felt rather confused.

    Bai Xian¡¯er looked over. ¡°Because divine energy is unable to enter the Perennial World.¡±

    This was something that not even Wu Dao or any of the other Semi-Progenitors had known about. The mere existence of divine energy was the full extent of their knowledge on the matter. They had never known that it was unable to enter the Perennial World.

    ¡°Divine energy is the created power of Aeternus¡¯ True God Wei Yi. It¡¯s able to bless any of the Aeternals with an exponential increase in strength. If divine energy was able to freely enter the Perennial World, Aeternus wouldn¡¯t need to break through Ceaseless Impetus to get in here. The Perennial World would already belong to them,¡± Bai Xian¡¯er exined, ¡°As for what¡¯s stopping divine energy from entering the Perennial World, it¡¯s-¡±

    She pointed into the distance. ¡°The Tree Realm.¡±

    ¡°The Tree Realm?¡± Wu Dao, Xia Ziheng, and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors were all taken aback.

    Lu Yin was equally shocked. He had thought that the only function of the Tree Realm was to keep the rear battle hidden from the rest of the inhabitants of the Perennial World.

    Bai Xian¡¯er revealed a small smile. ¡°The Tree Realm is the Mother Tree¡¯s gift to us. It¡¯s not something man-made. If not for the Tree Realm, Aeternus¡¯s True God could easily attack the Perennial World directly.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up toward the Higher Realm while processing this new piece of information. The Tree Realm was the barrier that kept divine energy out of the Perennial World, while at the same time, Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the Progenitors in the Dominion Realm defended humanity from Aeternus¡¯s Progenitors. If the Seven Skygods or powerhouses of simr strength took action, then the eagle or Python Ancestor would step in. These were the defenses that protected the Perennial World from Aeternus. Humanity had been able to survive in this part of the universe for so long thanks to all of these measures, as well as Ceaseless Impetus.

    Beyond all that, the ones who had been the primary force against the Seven Skygods had always been the Lu family. If they were still around, Progenitor Tianyi would have been able to summon the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas to fight against the Seven Skygods. Lu Tianyi had been able to hold back several Skygods on his own. Unfortunately, the Lu family had been exiled, which was why Lu Yin felt nothing butplete contempt for the four ruling powers.

    ¡°If the Tree Realm is able to block divine energy from entering the Perennial World, then how did Undying God get any in?¡± Ce Doni hesitantly asked.

    Bai Xian¡¯er looked back over at Undying God. ¡°That¡¯s a question that only he can answer. I have no idea how he managed to split up so much divine energy and infuse it into the bodies of these dried up corpses, but it should have been a slow process. Still, he managed to sessfully create a backup revival method for himself within the Perennial World, giving him an option to escape even in the worst-case scenario.¡±

    ¡°If he absorbs enough divine energy, will even the Python Ancestor be unable to stop him?¡± Qing Chen¡¯s expression grew ugly. ¡°If he manages to escape from the Python Ancestor, he¡¯ll bepletely unstoppable. Why isn¡¯t the Tree Realm interfering with his ability to absorb divine energy?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er replied, ¡°The Tree Realm is nothing more than a barrier that stops divine energy from entering. Since he¡¯s already managed to bypass that barrier and bring divine energy into the Perennial World, then the Tree Realm can¡¯t do anything unless the divine energy enters the Tree Realm itself.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean that he can¡¯t return to Aeternus?¡± Jin Ta asked hopefully.

    Lu Yin sped his arms behind his back. ¡°There¡¯s still the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er turned to face Lu Yin, and once again, their eyes met.

    ¡°Aeternus has always known about the New Corridor within the Wang family¡¯s territory. Undying God spent such a long time sneaking divine energy into the Perennial World because he knew that he could leave by simply passing through the Fifth Maind. He cane and go as he wishes,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Bai Xian¡¯er gave a slight smile. ¡°Big Brother Xiaoxuan, none of us have the power to reduce Undying God to ashes. Such a thing might only be possible if the Progenitors decide to intervene, but all of them are held up in the Dominion Realm. Aeternus won¡¯t easily allow Undying God to die. However, I have an idea that we can try.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°What is it?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er turned back to face the massive body of the Python Ancestor that seemed to stretch into infinity. ¡°Even the Python Ancestor would likely struggle to kill Undying God if he regains his full strength, but if we break him into smaller pieces, his strength will plummet. After that, the Python Ancestor should be able to finish him off, perhaps by swallowing and digesting him.¡±

    A short ways away, Undying God¡¯s eyes darted about in agitation. ¡°What a vicious woman! You¡¯re quite cruel despite your youth.¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er was unfazed by thement. ¡°Given the fact that we are facing one of the Seven Skygod, there¡¯s no choice but to think outside of the box.¡±

    ¡°Will the Python Ancestor even listen to us?¡± Big Sis was quite skeptical. She was reluctant to disturb such a massively powerful creature. Furthermore, from what she had been able to remember, the Python Ancestor was vegetarian.

    ¡°Little Seven, the Python Ancestor is also a vegetarian,¡± Big Sis quicklymented.

    Bai Xian¡¯er was surprised by the conviction in Big Sis¡¯s voice. ¡°You know that the Python Ancestor is vegetarian for certain, Senior?¡±

    ¡°What ¡®Senior¡¯? I¡¯m younger than you! Also, stop calling him Big Brother Xiaoxuan. It¡¯s creepy,¡± Big Sis scoffed in her typical rough manner.

    However, Bai Xian¡¯er did not seem to mind at all. ¡°What does any of this have to do with what the Python Ancestor eats? All that matters is whether it can finish off one of the Seven Skygods.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯ll also be willing to eat shit?¡± The crass question announced Kui Luo¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin smirked. When it came to dealing with refined and proper people like Bai Xian¡¯er, Kui Luo was unmatched.

    ¡°Kui Luo, we are currently having an important discussion about how to deal with Undying God. This is not the time for you to mess around!¡± Xia Ziheng was quite irritated by the interruption. If at all possible, he would happily eliminate Kui Luo for good.

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine. This old man will just listen then.¡±

    ¡°Right now, the main obstacle we¡¯re facing is that we need someone to ask the Python Ancestor to cooperate with us. If the Python Ancestor doesn¡¯t agree to the n, then even if we manage to shatter Undying God¡¯s body, the Python Ancestor will not do anything more than fight against Undying God¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world without understanding our aims,¡± Bai Xian¡¯er exined.

    ¡°Whoever came up with this should go talk to it,¡± Kui Luo remarked.

    Lu Yin could not have worded it any better himself. Kui Luo had perfectly summarized Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, which was a very refreshing feeling.

    Big Sis was thoroughly impressed by Kui Luo. The old man clearly possessed a gift with words.

    Wu Dao shot Kui Luo a contemptuous nce. He wanted to do nothing more than kill Kui Luo and be done with it.

    Qing Chen¡¯s brow furrowed. He did not want to waste time dealing with the grudges between these various parties. All he wanted was to ensure that Undying God was permanently dealt with.

    For the first time, Bai Xian¡¯er looked towards Kui Luo as she addressed him in a frigid, monotonous voice. ¡°When I be a Semi-Progenitor, you will be the first person that I kill.¡±

    Her tone was utterly devoid of all emotion, which made it all the more frightening.

    Before Kui Luo could snap back, Lu Yin interrupted. ¡°If you kill him, I¡¯ll make sure that Bai Teng dies.¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er turned to Lu Yin. ¡°You intend to vite the truce?¡±

    Lu Yin scoffed, ¡°There are countless ways for a person to end up dead. I don¡¯t have to be the one to kill him, but I can certainly make sure that no one can protect him.¡±

    He knew that Bai Xian¡¯er personally could not care less about Bai Teng¡¯s life, but she could not allow him to die since she needed to maintain a certain reputation.

    Bai Xian¡¯er gave Lu Yin a long look before finally sighing. ¡°Big Brother Xiaoxuan, you¡¯ve changed. Big Brother Mu was right. The current you is not a good person.¡±

    ¡°Oh,e on! You¡¯re so much older than Little Seven! Don¡¯t you cringe every time you call him ¡®big brother?¡¯¡± Big Sis mocked.

    Kui Luo showed a creepy smile. ¡°I guess that she has a thing for being a child bride.¡±

    Big Sis eximed, ¡°Child bride?¡±

    ¡°Enough!¡± Qing Chen bellowed, grabbing everyone¡¯s attention. He continued in a voice of steel, ¡°Mankind¡¯s greatest foe is right before us! Everyone, please set aside your grudges for the moment. Talk all you want after we¡¯ve eliminated Undying God.¡±

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes, but he did at least stop antagonizing everyone.

    Wu Dao and the others all shot resentful res at Kui Luo. Their wrath was practically palpable.

    ¡°Bai Xian¡¯er, regarding the matter that you mentioned aboutmunicating with the Python Ancestor, I believe that someone from the White Dragon n would be the best choice,¡± Qing Chen suggested.

    Bai Xian¡¯er shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s pure chance that people from the White Dragon n are able to borrow the Python Ancestor¡¯s power to cultivate. All of them are beneath the Python Ancestor¡¯s notice. The only ones actually able tomunicate with the Python Ancestor,¡± she paused as she once again turned to stare at Lu Yin, ¡°Are the Lu family.

    ¡°One person from the Lu family was one of the Three Realms Six Dao. That ancient Progenitor from the Lu family was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, and he was able to meet the Origin Progenitor as he wished. He was no stranger to the Python Ancestor, and the snake is also able to identify others with the Lu bloodline. Only someone from the Lu family can hope to speak with the Python Ancestor.¡±

    ¡°Lady, do you even hear yourself? The Lu family was exiled because the Python Ancestor¡¯s body rolled over. But despite that, you still want to say that the Python Ancestor will listen to someone from the Lu family?¡± Big Sis rebuked.

    This time, Qing Chen did not interrupt, as Big Sis¡¯s argument made sense.

    Bai Xian¡¯er smiled. ¡°Did the Python Ancestor rolling over have to be rted to the Lu family¡¯s exile?¡±

    The entire ce instantly fellpletely silent. Everyone aside from Bai Xian¡¯er looked quite confused.

    Lu Yin also did not understand what was being insinuated. ¡°Wasn¡¯t my Lu family thrown out of the Perennial World by the Python Ancestor rolling over?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is that the Python Ancestor rolled over because it wanted to roll over. The Lu family was banished because they were thrown out of the Perennial World. The two events are not linked through karma. All that happened was the four ruling powers took advantage of the Python Ancestor¡¯s movements to cast the Lu family out from the Perennial World and towards the Aeternals. Throughout the entire ordeal, the Python Ancestor never once intended to do anything at all to the Lu family. It was simply used. Did you actually believe that the White Dragon n could control the Python Ancestor¡¯s movements? If that were true, how could any of the four ruling powers dare to remain in the Upper Realm?¡±

    Lu Yin felt enlightened. Why had he not realized this earlier? If the White Dragon n could truly control when the Python Ancestor rolled over, how would any of the other ruling powers be willing to remain in the Higher Realm where they risked being exiled at any moment?

    The Python Ancestor was able to easily break through the Middle Realm, and it had used its gigantic body to push the entire Higher Realm away. However, the four ruling powers appeared quite settled in the Higher Realm and showed no worry about facing a simr catastrophe, which went against their usual cautious manners.

    ¡°The White Dragon n relies on the Python Ancestor¡¯s power to cultivate, which is why they can get somewhat close to the Python Ancestor and also receive some warning as to when it will roll over. They took advantage of this knowledge when targeting the Lu family. This isn¡¯t some well-kept secret¡ªit¡¯s just something that you never considered,¡± Bai Xian¡¯er exined. She looked at Lu Yin. ¡°This is the only way to kill Undying God. Big Brother Xiaoxuan, it¡¯s your decision.¡±

    Qing Chen turned to face Lu Yin, as did everyone else.

    ¡°Don¡¯t believe her. This woman¡¯s always wanted you dead,¡± Kui Luo warned.

    This time, Bai Xian¡¯er ignored the old man. She had already exined the only way to resolve their current dilemma, and Lu Yin needed to take the first step. However, one thing was certain. If Lu Yin chose to not take this step, he would be known as the person who wasted humanity¡¯s opportunity to kill Undying God, which would create an eternal stain on his reputation. As for whether everything was nothing more than a trap that Bai Xian¡¯er wasying out, that did not matter. All that anyone would see was that Lu Yin had decided to ignore a path to victory, as any potential trap would not have appeared. Thus, no one would ever be certain whether Bai Xian¡¯er had tried to trap Lu Yin.

    This was simply how human minds functioned. When it came to manipting human thinking, Bai Xian¡¯er was extremely skilled.

    As to whether they should believe Bai Xian¡¯er, Wu Dao, Ce Doni, and everyone else present was contemting things at this moment.

    Anyone with even a slight bit of understanding of the history between Bai Xian¡¯er and the Lu family at least somewhat suspected that Bai Xian¡¯er had created a n to send Lu Yin to his grave. They had never heard of anyone who had managed tomunicate with the Python Ancestor before. Who knew how the beast would react to such an attempt?

    However, Lu Yin did not consider any of that. To him, this was not a matter that needed to be considered at all.

    ¡°I can go, but you muste with me,¡± Lu Yin quickly replied.

    All eyes turned back to Bai Xian¡¯er.

    Bai Xian¡¯er beamed. ¡°Naturally. It¡¯ll be like the good old days all over again! I¡¯ve always loved going on adventures with Big Brother Xiaoxuan.¡±

    In a rare turn of events, Kui Luo was left speechless. Since Bai Xian¡¯er willing to apany Lu Yin, there were no objections he could raise.

    Lu Yin was far more wary of Bai Xian¡¯er than he was of Xia Shenji. It was undeniable that Bai Xian¡¯er was incredibly powerful, but that was not what Lu Yin was concerned about. No matter what, it was impossible for Bai Xian¡¯er to directly face a Progenitor, no matter how unbelievable her strength might be. No, what put Lu Yin on edge was Bai Xian¡¯ers ability to scheme and obtain information from the Book of Destiny that she possessed.

 Chapter 2403: Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 2403: Attitude</h4>

    Since it was just Lu Yin and Bai Xian¡¯er approaching the Python Ancestor, the only thing Lu Yin needed to worry about was the Python Ancestor suddenly listening to Bai Xian¡¯er. However, Lu Yin refused to believe Bai Xian¡¯er had any way to control the Python Ancestor. If the snake actually obeyed hermands, Lu Yin knew that he would have died long ago.

    As soon as they found the right direction, the two started moving towards the Python Ancestor¡¯s head.

    ¡°Big Brother Xiaoxuan, do you remember the times when we explored the Higher Realm together in our younger days?¡± Bai Xian¡¯er asked with a fond, nostalgic look in her eyes.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I¡¯m curious. Given your talent, why weren¡¯t you ever considered one of the Seven Heroes back then?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er blinked. ¡°That¡¯s something that you should be asking yourself, Big Brother Xiaoxuan.¡±

    ¡°Ask myself?¡± Lu Yin was stumped. He had no memories of any such thing.

    Bai Xian¡¯er exined, ¡°Back then, I was not included in the lineup when the Seven Heroes were first established. Though, at that time, Big Brother Xiaoxuan liked me a lot and spent much more time with me than them.¡±

    Lu Yin found the entire matter to be rather strange. ¡°Then who stopped you from bing one of the Seven Heroes?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er shook her head. ¡°No one stopped me, but no one ever mentioned the possibility to me, either. Tu Qiming kept begging you to let him be the Eighth Hero, and all of you agreed to it. However, when it came to me, no one ever brought it up.¡±

    As she spoke, she lowered her head.

    Lu Yin retracted his gaze. ¡°How did we lose our memories?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er gave a small smile. ¡°That is my biggest secret. You¡¯ll have to guess, Big Brother Xiaoxuan.¡±

    ¡°Was it really you?¡± Lu Yin was dumbfounded. Aside from him, Wan Zhiyi, Master Shan, and many others had also had at least some of their memories removed, and some of them were Semi-Progenitors. Given Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s level of strength at the time when the Lu family had been banished, how had she managed to do it?

    Bai Xian¡¯er denied nothing.

    ¡°What about the seal on my body?¡± Lu Yin continued asking.

    Bai Xian¡¯er maintained the same slight smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t living a simple life good enough? Big Brother Xiaoxuan, you could have enjoyed a safe and stable life in the Forsaken Land. There was no need to burden yourself with this part of the universe. Don¡¯t you think that that is also a good way to live? Why return here?¡±

    ¡°Answer the question.¡± All traces of amusement vanished from Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Bai Xian¡¯er calmly met his gaze. ¡°When I see you again, you will die. I¡¯ve said it before, and I¡¯ll say it once again: Big Brother Xiaoxuan, you will soon die. Let me know if you need me to help you fulfill any of yourst wishes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand shot out to grab Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s neck, only to be blocked by some invisible power. An influx of runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage reinforced his efforts, battering against the barrier as Lu Yinshed out at Bai Xian¡¯er with a Progenitor¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Are you going to kill me?¡± Bai Xian¡¯er suddenly asked.

    The surge of runes allowed Lu Yin¡¯s hand to break past her defenses, and he grabbed the woman¡¯s delicate throat. He felt as though he could snap it at any moment.

    Bai Xian¡¯er stared at Lu Yin with a serene expression. ¡°Can you kill me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Killing Bai Xian¡¯er would mean breaking the truce. Bai Wangyuan would be absolutely obsessed with getting revenge. Lu Yin was not capable of handling such consequences. Furthermore, he refused to believe that Bai Xian¡¯er could die so easily.

    When the Sea King had broken open the Upper Three Gates, Bai Xian¡¯er had pressed a Semi-Progenitor to death with a single finger. Lu Yin simply could not see the full extent of this woman¡¯s strength, but he would not at all be surprised if she was actuallyparable to a Progenitor.

    While Lu Yin felt like he was currently holding her life in the palm of his hand, in reality, she most likely wanted him to feel that way.

    He took a deep breath and slowly breathed out as he suppressed the temptation to snap the neck in his hands. Lu Yin pulled his hand back, turned around, and then continued moving towards the Python Ancestor¡¯s head without saying another word.

    Bai Xian¡¯er stared at him from behind, her expression calm and impassive, terrifyingly impassive.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the Python Ancestor¡¯s head. In the past, Long Xi had taken Long Qi to meet the Python Ancestor, and at that time, Lu Yin had seen the snake¡¯s head from below, though he had not seen its entire body. This time, Bai Xian¡¯er and Lu Yin both stood in the sky, and it was possible to see the unbelievable size of the python¡¯s body that filled the entire sky. Lu Yin¡¯s fingers grew slightly numb. There would be no escape if this ancient beast decided to bite at him.

    ¡°It looks like it¡¯s sleeping,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Bai Xian¡¯er replied, ¡°Blood.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Bai Xian¡¯er. Runes from the Champion¡¯s Stage shot out and enveloped her body. ¡°If anything happens to me, you won¡¯t survive either.¡±

    While he was not certain that he could actually kill Bai Xian¡¯er, if he was going to die, then he was absolutely capable of dragging her down with him. Of course, the chances of something happening were not very high. The Lu family had led the Fifth Maind for many years, which meant that the Python Ancestor had only been allowed to live in the Lower Realm because it had been able to coexist with the Lu family.

    Bai Xian¡¯er remained silent.

    Lu Yin cut one of his fingers and watched as his blood dripped down.

    He saw the Python Ancestor¡¯s head in front of him twitch. Then, the beast opened its eyes. The color of the sky and ground both changed, and every single creature in the entire Lower Realm prostrated.

    Some distance away, Xia Shenji¡¯s clone grew pale. He turned to stare at the Python Ancestor¡¯s head in a daze. The man was frozen stiff.

    The same thing happened to Liu Shaoge.

    Whether human or creature, everyone was forced to stop moving the moment the Python Ancestor opened its eyes.

    It was an inexplicable feeling. Lu Yin had seen many giant creatures throughout his life after he started cultivating, but none of them could even begin topare to the Python Ancestor.

    When faced with this overwhelmingly immense creature¡¯s stare, Lu Yin felt as though the heavens themselves were staring at him. A soul piercing fear that far surpassed what he had felt when Xia Shenji had tried to kill him overcame him.

    No matter how strong Xia Shenji might be, he was still a human. However, the Python Ancestor was apletely different species, and it far surpassed humans.

    The Python Ancestor¡¯s colossal eyes looked as though they were able to pierce through and examine every inch of the entire Lower Realm. However, Lu Yin knew that the beast was staring straight at him. Its gaze was focused on him.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s voice rang out after a long moment of silence.

    In this situation, anyone would struggle terribly to act normally. Forget speaking¡ªeven the smallest of movements were impossible. The fact that Lu Yin was able to say anything at all was an incredibly impressive feat.

    The Python Ancestor lowered its head towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted, and he unconsciously nced sideways at Bai Xian¡¯er.

    The woman¡¯s expression was as indifferent as ever. There was no trace of any emotions whatsoever.

    Lu Yin felt a sudden impulse to make a break for it. This was too much pressure for him to handle. He felt as though he was an ordinary human facing a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists tightly as the Python Ancestor continued moving closer to him. Finally, he could not endure any longer, and he blurted out, ¡°Can you eat Undying God?¡±

    As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Yin¡¯s heart stilled in suspense. He tightened his jaw in agitation as he waited for the Python Ancestor¡¯s response.

    The Python Ancestor continued to stare at Lu Yin without giving any reply. Lu Yin could not determine the beast¡¯s expression from its eyes, as they were simply too massive. However, he felt that the Python Ancestor was certainly sapient.

    Suddenly, the Python Ancestor¡¯s head rose far above Lu Yin and Bai Xian¡¯er. Then, there was a wet sound as something left its mouth. Lu Yin looked upwards in a daze, only to see a ridiculouslyrge glob of saliva that seemed capable of covering the entire Lower Realm falling towards him. There was no mistake; the Python Ancestor had just spat at him.

    Lu Yin had never imagined that the Python Ancestor would spit at him. He reflexively started to form a barrier above his head with the Progenitor-level runes that he could borrow. Once the spit fell on him, it would be no different than having an entire ocean dumped onto him. The Lower Realm would bepletely inundated.

    Far away, Xia Shenji and Liu Shaoge also happened to be within the affected area. The two of them were instantly submerged in the Python Ancestor¡¯s saliva.

    Countless other people and creatures suffered the same fate.

    To the Python Ancestor, it was just a bit of spit, but to everyone else, it was an entire ocean.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu Yin was baffled. The absurdity of being spat at had shaken him out of his near paralyzed state.

    Bai Xian¡¯er pursed her lips. ¡°Bring out the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.¡±

    ¡°The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er exined, ¡°This snake was raised by the Origin Progenitor. If you want it to obey you, you''ll need to use the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.¡±

    ¡°Why did it just spit at me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s something between your Lu family and the Python Ancestor.¡±

    Lu Yin was lost for words. Did this beast actually respond to people from the Lu family by spitting at them?

    ¡°Back then, Uncle Qi said that the Python Ancestor had some sort of rapport with the Lu family, and I believed him. It looks like he was just bluffing,¡± Bai Xian¡¯er said as she pouted.

    ¡°My father, Lu Qi?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and bring out the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword,¡± Bai Xian¡¯er urged, no longer replying to his questions.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°So this was your goal all along.¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er nced over. ¡°Just one of many. The Python Ancestor was raised by the Origin Progenitor. It¡¯s only possible to get it to listen to you by using the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Or are you saying that you don¡¯t want to kill Undying God?¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, still hesitating a bit.

    At that moment, the saliva struck.

    Lu Yin was now quite upset. No one had ever spat at him before, but this old snake clearly had no intention of stopping. Just who had pissed it off so badly? If it wanted to get revenge, then it should go find the person who was actually responsible. Why take things out on an innocent descendant?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s annoyance reached its limit, he pulled the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword out from his cosmic ring.

    The moment the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword appeared, nothing seemed to change in anyone else¡¯s perspective. It was no different from how no one in the Fifth Maind had sensed anything from this sword when it had appeared. However, the Python Ancestor instantly froze.

    As Lu Yin got rid of the saliva above his head with runes, the Python Ancestor¡¯s head gradually dropped back down. It stared at the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword in Lu Yin¡¯s hand and let out a low hiss.

    Although it was just a hiss, Lu Yin could hear the beast¡¯s nostalgia. The Python Ancestor was yearning for this sword, or rather, it was missing the sword¡¯s owner.

    Bai Xian¡¯er also turned her attention to the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. This sword represented the greatest heights that humanity had ever reached in this part of the universe.

    ¡°Why did you spit at me?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Python Ancestorpletely ignored Lu Yin. Its attention was fully upied by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    Lu Yin put the sword back away, and the snake¡¯s attention reverted to Lu Yin, though it seemed a bit confused. Suddenly, Lu Yin looked up, as he felt another gaze fall upon him. He could not see whom the eyes belonged to, but he guessed that the eagle was staring at him.

    Since the Python Ancestor had been able to feel the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, the eagle was capable of doing the same.

    The Python Ancestor remained dazed, as though trapped within its own memories. Lu Yin quickly decided to exin the n while the beast remained in such a state. After saying his piece, Lu Yin left with Bai Xian¡¯er. He had no idea whether the Python Ancestor would agree.

    ¡°Why didn''t it ever say anything?¡± Lu Yin found the entire matter rather confusing.

    Bai Xian¡¯er shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. Even astral beasts with the strength of an Explorer were capable of speech and taking on human form. Surely, the Python Ancestor and the eagle were capable of the same, so why had it not replied? It seemed simr to the situation with the jiao. Perhaps therger and more powerful the creature was, the more difficult it was to ovee its species¡¯ natural limitations.

    Even without a reply from the Python Ancestor, Lu Yin intended to give the n a shot. At the very least, Undying God would be seriously injured. As for those dried up corpses, the four ruling powers had already spread word to the rest of the Perennial World to only capture the corpses and not destroy them since Bai Xian¡¯er had exposed the truth behind their existence.

    One year ago, Lu Yin had returned to the Fifth Maind, which had granted the Perennial World a year of peace. The four ruling powers had thought that they would be able to enjoy an extended period of calm. Even if Lu Yin returned to the Perennial World, they did not expect him to immediately make waves, nor for him to try to overthrow them right away.

    They had severely underestimated Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    But the moment that Lu Yin arrived, Undying God had forced his way into the Perennial World, and the Seven Skygods hadunched a massive assault on the Dominion Realm. The eagle and the Python Ancestor had both been forced to take action, and the fighting that raged on the rear battlefield reached a scale that had not been seen in dozens of years. It was as if Lu Yin¡¯s mere appearance had triggered the entire Perennial World.

    However, no one med Lu Yin. While his presence had catalyzed these battles, it was to humanity¡¯s benefit. At the least, the Perennial World had obtained a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to truly kill Undying God.

 Chapter 2404: Supreme Existence

    <h4>Chapter 2404: Supreme Existence</h4>

    Every single one of the Seven Skygods was a powerhouse from a truly ancient era. Everyst one of them was extremely difficult to deal with. Even Lu Yin himself had not expected his search for Realmless¡¯s headquarters to lead to Undying God being drawn out.

    He wondered just how many secrets the Perennial World held.

    If Liu Song had been one of Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatars, then was it possible for some of the other Semi-Progenitors to be avatars of the other Seven Skygods as well? Could the Aeternal¡¯s True God have an avatar active in the Perennial World?

    When Lu Yin and Bai Xian¡¯er returned, all of the Semi-Progenitors present turned their attention to them.

    Lu Yin unhesitatingly used Extremes Must Be Reversed while also bringing out the slipper. He intended to smash Undying God apart. Hopefully, the Python Ancestor would agree to swallow the pieces.

    Lu Yin sessfully undid Undying God¡¯s istion with Extremes Must Be Reversed and then he started smacking the Skygod with the slipper. However, before the slipper could strike, it was blocked by a faint, dark-red power. Lu Yin was being blocked by divine energy.

    His heart sank. Undying God had already umted enough divine energy to block the slipper.

    Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s face fell. ¡°We¡¯re toote.¡±

    Qing Chen suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s attack together.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless.¡± Ce Doni shook his head. ¡°How can Semi-Progenitors like us deal any damage to him?¡±

    Qing Chen became quite indignant.

    Threads of the dark-red divine energy emerged from Undying God¡¯s broken body. The threads pierced through different parts of his body, connecting all of them together. The process gave the body an internal red glow. ¡°Did you seriously think that all the effort I spent gaining divine energy was just to recover my body? You are seriously underestimating True God! He is the only one who can rival the Origin Progenitor¡¯s existence. Furthermore-¡±

    Undying God was interrupted mid-sentence.

    Lu Yin struck Undying God again and again. He continuously bashed at the evil energy, refusing to believe that Undying God¡¯s divine energy could not be exhausted.

    A thought suddenly urred to Lu Yin, and he pulled out the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword once more. Since their True God was able to rival the Origin Progenitor, then that suggested that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword was capable of dealing with divine energy.

    .

    Divine energy shone as bright as lightning when Undying God saw that Lu Yin was wielding the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. ¡°Is that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword?¡±

    The group of Semi-Progenitors stared at the sword in Lu Yin¡¯s hand. Was that the sword that had been carried by the one and only ancient Origin Progenitor?

    Lu Yin leaped forwards as the sword shed. ¡°Let¡¯s see if the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword can deal with you!¡±

    As he spoke thest word, the swordnded.

    Lu Yin had always avoided using the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword out of fear that it would be recognized. Even when Xia Shenji had chased after Lu Yin and the two of them had fought in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had always kept the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword hidden. At this moment, there was no longer a need to keep it a secret. Asmunication opened up between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World, the four ruling powers had to have learned that Lu Yin possessed the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword long ago. There would never be a better time to use it than at this very moment.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had a particrly terrifying aspect: once someone touched it, they would be reduced to ashes. Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar and Wang Si had both disappeared into nothingness in that manner. At this moment, Lu Yin wanted to see if Undying God would suffer the same fate.

    From the Origin Progenitor¡¯s perspective, there should not be much of a difference between a Progenitor and a Semi-Progenitor.

    Undying God¡¯s eyes remained fixed on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword as it fell towards him. Everyone was staring, including the Python Ancestor. Lu Yin could even sense the eyes of the eagle far overhead.

    Whoosh!

    Wind blew, and the Mother Tree shook, which made the entire Perennial World tremble.

    Where had a gale strong enough to shake the Mother Treee from?

    As the sword slowly fell, Lu Yin felt that it was taking a suspiciously long time. He even had enough time to consider where a st of wind strong enough to shake the Mother Tree could havee from. Was time being extended for Lu Yin? Or had time stopped entirely?

    Wait a second. Lu Yin turned to the side, only to see that falling leaves had frozen in the air.

    He looked to the other side. Big Sis, Bai Xian¡¯er, and everyone else present waspletely frozen. Time had stopped, but the world had not turned gray.

    Lu Yin¡¯s vision turned dark red. Even the broken body of Undying God had been frozen. The only movement that he could see was the sword slowly falling bit by bit. However, Lu Yin had a feeling that, within the dark-red world, his sword would never actually reach Undying God.

    Who was doing this?

    Beads of sweat dripped down from Lu Yin¡¯s forehead. The sword that he held had suddenly be much, much heavier.

    ¡°Let go. It¡¯s too heavy for you. You cannot wield it.¡± A gentle voice entered his ears. Lu Yin wanted to turn around, but he found that he could no longer move. He could not even make a sound. What was happening? Was he being controlled?

    His hands tightened on the sword¡¯s hilt. Let it go? No. There was no chance of that happening.

    ¡°Why are you so stubborn? Life is nothing more than a coincidence of the universe. As soon as the universe changes, life changes as well. Humans are no longer human, but instead a different type of being. Of course, you can still call the new creature ¡®human.¡¯ Why is there a need to concern yourself with your current form?¡±

    Lu Yin had been renderedpletely immobile, and his vision began to fracture. This voice clearly belonged to an Aeternal. Was it one of the Seven Skygods? That should not be the case, as Lu Yin knew each of their voices. Besides, they were currently being held up in the Dominion Realm. Could it be¡­?

    ¡°Even after the essence of your life changes, you can still call yourself human. Or, you can give yourself any name you desire. You can grow stronger, betterprehend the mysteries of the universe, and even obtain eternal life. You will then acquire all the time in the world to observe the birth of new creatures. Wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful? Why would you want to live as a lower life form that is instead observed?¡±

    Lies, that¡¯s illogical. Lu Yin wanted to respond, but other than the slow descent of the sword in his hand, nothing else moved.

    The power within his chest was raging to be unleashed, but within the dark-red space, there was nothing that Lu Yin could do.

    ¡°You are still too stubborn, but the day wille when you will finally be enlightened. When that dayes, you will kill everyone that you know and hold dear. You will let go of everything and transform into a new creature. You will expose the mysteries of the universe. On that day, you will no longer stubbornly cling to the word ¡®human.¡¯ You can still call yourself human, but at that time, you will no longer choose to do so.¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as cracks started to appear in the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. How was this possible? It was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword!

    It was not just the sword that was affected. At that moment, the Mother Tree itself started to creak as it swayed more and more. With a resounding echo, a fissure stretching further than the eye could see appeared on the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. The ear-deafening crack caused countless people to cough up blood.

    Lu Yin was sent flying, tumbling through the Lower Realm. He even lost his grip on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword as he fell.

    He spat out a massive amount of blood. This blood had remained trapped in his heart for a long time, though only a moment had truly passed.

    However, in that single moment, everything changed.

    Seeing the crack open up in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk left Xia Ziheng and the others aghast. For them, it was as though their universe was breaking apart. Bai Xian¡¯er stared at Lu Yin¡¯s bleeding arm. There was no way to avoid reality; the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had actually cracked.

    Just a single moment had passed, but it felt as though eons had gone by.

    Undying God¡¯s eyes flitted upwards as he took in the break in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. ¡°Is True God here?¡±

    ¡°Little Seven, what happened?¡± Big Sis asked. No one understood what had just happened. They had only seen Lu Yin attacking with his sword before he was sent flying. Then, the sword fell from his hands, and a crack had opened on the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression was grave. ¡°Aeternus¡¯s True God made his move.¡±

    ¡°True God?¡± Exmations rose from the crowd. This name was all too familiar to Xia Ziheng and the others. True God Wei Yi was the sole ruler of Aeternus. He was to Aeternus what the Origin Progenitor was to humanity. An existence thatpletely eclipsed the Seven Skygods had taken action.

    It waspletely unheard of within the Perennial World for True God to take action. This was his first time.

    Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s expression was somber. ¡°He cracked the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword and damaged the Mother Tree. Did he really do all that just to save Undying God?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. Had True God really only intended to save Undying God? Lu Yin had a sinking feeling that the true reason for his actions was connected to the words that had been spoken to him.

    True God had clearly told Lu Yin that he would one day kill everyone he knew and cared about before transforming into a new creature.

    ¡°Since True God has descended, I can no longer afford to bezy,¡± Undying God casually said, ¡°Do you know what our greatest weapon is against humanity?¡±

    Everyone stared at the Skygod.

    ¡°It¡¯s not battle techniques, massacres, or transforming them. Rather-¡± Undying God paused dramatically, ¡°It¡¯s the human heart.¡±

    Undying God¡¯s eyes grewrge, and Lu Yin felt the same sensation that he had experienced earlier. Everyone felt a chilling presence behind them. It felt as though Undying God was staring at them from behind. ¡°Tell me, what would it look like if all of humanity underwent a Corpse King Transformation?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks. This was bad.

    Everyone felt their hearts plunge.

    ¡­

    In the Middle Realm¡¯s Blue Moon District, there was a grim expression on Liu Zhan¡¯s face. Blood dripped down the sword in his hand, and behind him were several people from Humility¡¯s Gate.

    ¡°Gatemaster, why don¡¯t you enter first?¡± someone asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Liu Zhan answered coldly. His eyes flickered downwards. ¡°He¡¯s in this area, so search carefully. He¡¯s the key to many more cases, so he must be found.¡±

    The cultivators from Humility¡¯s Gate exchanged hopeless looks.

    After it came out that the Liu family¡¯s grand elder, Semi-Progenitor Liu Song, had actually been Undying God¡¯s avatar, Humility¡¯s Gate had quickly received a report. With that, the Liu family had quickly experienced drastic changes. Their territory had been shattered by the Python Ancestor, and the Sword Monument had been lost. They had not even been able to tally their death toll. While Liu Zhan was Humility¡¯s Gate¡¯s gatemaster for the Blue Moon District, he was also a member of the Liu family. Thus, they had requested his return to help settle matters. However, he had recently confirmed the existence of a traitor who was an Envoy, so Liu Zhan was unable to leave the Blue Moon District.

    Given the current crisis and what his family was facing, Liu Zhan naturally wanted to return and help them, but his responsibilities prevented him from doing so. Thus, he could only hope that his n would safely survive the crisis.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± someone shrieked.

    Liu Zhan looked at where the person was pointing at, and his expression hardened. ¡°One of the desated corpses. Capture it, but make sure not to destroy it.¡±

    The four ruling powers and Humility¡¯s Gate had already made public announcements to the entire Perennial World, exining that the dried up corpses could not be destroyed and that they had to be captured. Although no one understood the reasons for these orders, they had been clear and were being strictly enforced.

    The dried up corpse near Liu Zhan only had the strength of an Enlighter, so it was easily captured.

    However, the moment it was captured, the mummy started erratically reciting something. It was the Corpse King Transformation.

    The moment Liu Zhan realized the corpse was reciting the Corpse King Transformation, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately sent a message to Supervisor Qing Chen.

    Far away, two figures were hiding underground. One was a man who was panting heavily. Fresh blood dripped from cuts across his back. The other figure was one of the desated corpses. The man had captured it, and as soon as he heard the chant for the Corpse King Transformation, the man¡¯s eyes lit up.

    After being exposed as a traitor, the man had already known that it was the end of the road for him. Since his path of cultivation had been severed, he decided to embark on a new path; he would cultivate with the Corpse King Transformation.

    Ever since he had betrayed humanity, he had never had the opportunity to use the technique, not until this day. Once Aeternus took over the Perennial World, he would no longer need to try to exin his identity. The Corpse King Transformation would be the only exnation that he needed.

    He was uncertain as to whether he actually required the corpse¡¯s assistance to use the Corpse King Transformation, but he decided to grab one of the dried up corpses and escape as quickly as possible. The only thought on his mind was to sessfully cultivate the Corpse King Transformation as soon as possible.

 Chapter 2405: Responsibility

    <h4>Chapter 2405: Responsibility</h4>

    On a barren ind in the Middle Ocean, a raging inferno soared into the sky as an old man howled in despair and fury, ¡°I will never let you go! I will have my revenge! Revenge¡­¡±

    Suddenly, he heard a soft but disturbing sound. The old man turned to look at the source; off in the distance he spotted a desated corpse slowly making its way towards him. This dried up corpse did not try to attack, and instead, it simply walked around while reciting the Corpse King Transformation technique.

    The old man¡¯s instinct was to destroy the corpse right away, but after processing the words that the corpse was saying, the man¡¯s expression grew solemn. He recognized that it was reciting the Corpse King Transformation.

    As someone who had fought on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, the old man was extremely familiar with the Corpse King Transformation. He had never dared to attack a corpse king that could transform. Each subsequent transformation allowed their physical might to rise tenfold, which meant that a corpse king at his level of strength would suddenly be able to crush him like a bug. Such a level of strength was just too terrifying for the old man to face head-on. However, it appeared that he had just been granted the opportunity to learn the technique.

    No, he could not. Learning the Corpse King Transformation was no different than betraying humanity. The Corpse King Transformation was more than just a technique, it was a method ofpletely reforming one¡¯s body into a corpse king¡¯s. It literally transformed a person from one species into another. No, he could not cultivate this. Doing so would make him an Aeternal.

    However, how else could he get his revenge?

    The old man stared at the smoldering ashes and burnt remnants around him. This was all that remained of his wife of hundreds of years, his son, grandson, disciples, and old friends. They had all been killed by his enemies. He was growing old, and his bodycked its former strength. He was nothing more than a single old man, but his enemies were numerous. What could he even do to them? Aside from possibly using the Corpse King Transformation, he did not possess even the slightest chance of getting revenge.

    The more the old man thought about his situation, the fiercer his eyes became. He clenched his fists tighter and tighter, until his nails dug into his palms. He watched as the fresh, crimson blood dripped from his hands. All he could see was red. Finally, he grabbed the dried up corpse. The desire for revenge had consumed his mind. At worst, he would end things by taking his own life.

    Simr scenes yed out in many other ces. People all across the Higher Realm and the Middle Realm would asionally capture the desated corpses, while other people would simply hide them. All intended to increase their strength with the Corpse King Transformation.

    None of the people wanted to betray humanity, but there were times when people simply ran out of options.

    This was what Undying God had been referring to with ¡°the human heart.¡±

    On the rear battlefield, a flood of corpse kings swept over the five array bases. The defenders of humanity were not given even a single moment¡¯s reprieve.

    Countless corpse kings fell from the fourth array base, collected whatever pieces remained of their bodies, and then attempted to climb upwards once again. Even the corpse kings that only had half of their bodies left refused to give up. Their only goal was to reach the humans and ughter them.

    None of the corpse kings noticed the ravenous hunger of the things growing down below in the New World.

    Some things were devouring the corpse kings¡¯ blood and flesh without pause, growingrger andrger as time passed. They devoured their way across the New World, as they could sense the location of swarms of corpse kings further away. All needed to be made into sustenance.

    In the Dominion Realm, the eagle cried out, causing Ancient God and ckless God to lose control of their bodies and fall down. The two of them, Forgotten Ruins God, and Corpse God were all attacking the perennial World. Undying God was in the Lower Realm, which meant that only Whiteless God and Shaman God had not made an appearance yet.

    ckless God stared at Xia Shenji¡¯s Shenwu World and said, ¡°Undying God¡¯s life doesn¡¯t seem to be a worthy enough reason for a descent. He¡¯s always been tired of living. In the past, he lived for Wu Tian, but what does he live for now?¡±

    Ancient God looked over as Corpse God collided with the eagle¡¯s attacks before stepping forward. ¡°The One True God has ordered us to stop all of these people from leaving the Dominion Realm. None of them will take even a single step away from here.¡±

    Across from the Ancient God, Bai Wangyuan and the others asionally nced down. All of them were wondering if Lu Xiaoxuan would be able to kill Undying God. They werepletely pinned down by Aeternus and were unable to leave the Dominion Realm.

    Down in the Lower Realm, Qing Chen and the rest of the people grew serious as they received streams of bad news.

    Before even half a day had passed, it was clear that a sizable number of people had taken and hidden away desated corpses, and it was clear that this number would only rise. There was only one goal for anyone hiding a dried up corpse: to learn the Corpse King Transformation.

    They needed the dried up corpses to learn the Corpse King Transformation. After the process was triggered, the divine energy within the desated corpses would leave and fuse into Undying God¡¯s body, which meant that he would continue to grow more and more powerful. This had been Undying God¡¯s n all along, and it was nearly impossible to stop it.

    Because he had once been human as well, Undying God had an excellent understanding of theplexities of the human heart. Given the fact he had been enticed to join Aeternus and be one of the Seven Skygods, he naturally knew how to tempt others to join as well.

    Lu Yin felt that one of the most realistic examples of someone betraying humanity that he had seen was Long Xian from the Flying Armor Troops. If Lu Yin had been in Long Xian¡¯s shoes, he might have also made the choice to be a Redback under those same circumstances.

    Aeternus did not merely tempt people to join them; they forced people who had no other choices.

    The situation on the rear battlefield remained unchanged.

    However, these were not the only problems facing the Perennial World. Lu Yin looked down at the cracks running through the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword before looking up at the crack in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. Things were quickly taking a turn for the worse. The united front that humanity had once shown towards Aeternus was slowly but surely failing.

    Humanity was too passive. Lu Yin had to find a way to reverse the situation.

    He could hear Xia Ziheng and a few others arguing over something.

    Qing Chen was fully upied exchanging messages with different people from Humility¡¯s Gate. His demanding tone restrained his murderous rage as he repeated his orders to kill anyone who was caught hiding a desated corpse. There were no exceptions.

    Ce Doni took advantage of Virtue Archives¡¯ influence to uncover more people who were hiding the Corpse King Transformation cultivation method, hoping to capture as many of the dried up corpses as possible.

    Bai Xian¡¯er stood there in silence. No one knew what she was thinking about.

    ¡°Little Seven, you¡¯ve done your best,¡± Big Sis said in a heavy voice.

    Kui Luo sighed. ¡°True God is a truly legendary being. He even managed to crack the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Other than the Origin Progenitor, no one can stand against him. The Mother Tree¡¯s trunk is now cracked, which will definitely impact Ceaseless Impetus. We¡¯ll start seeing some of those effects soon. The Perennial World is in danger.¡±

    Lu Yin silently stared at the fissure that extended from the ground to high in the sky. Kui Luo was absolutely right; Ceaseless Impetus was tied to the Mother Tree, and with the Mother Tree suffering such terrible damage, the performance of Ceaseless Impetus would soon suffer.

    Undying God had used his desated corpses to sow chaos throughout the Perennial World while the Seven Skygods attacked the Dominion Realm. Even True God had descended, and the eagle and the Python Ancestor were unable to do anything. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

    ¡°If only the Lu family were still here,¡± Ce Doni said with a sigh.

    Xia Ziheng snorted coldly. ¡°What use were they? Even after being thrown to Aeternus, they didn¡¯t manage to reduce the Aeternals¡¯ strength the tiniest bit.¡±

    E Chi suddenly raised his hand and pped Xia Ziheng¡¯s face, sending the Semi-Progenitor flying into the distance. The man mmed into arge root, where he furiously red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were ice cold. ¡°Say something like that one more time, and you¡¯ll be the Python Ancestor¡¯s next meal.¡±

    Xia Ziheng grit his teeth as he red daggers at Lu Yin, but the old man no longer had the courage to say a word.

    Mr. Yu, Wu Dao, and the others were unfazed. Xia Ziheng¡¯sment had basically been asking for a beating, especially with Lu Xiaoxuan so close by. The attack had also only been a warning as Lu Yin could have easily killed the man.

    Xia Ziheng had actually made thement out of habit, and he had regretted his words the moment they had left his mouth. However, Lu Yin had reacted too quickly, and his champion, E Chi, was a Progenitor. Xia Xiheng had had no way to defend himself at all.

    Lu Yin dismissed the champion and put the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword away. He turned to face Bai Xian¡¯er. ¡°Why did you exile the Lu family?¡±

    Qing Chen impatiently said, ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, this is not the time! Can¡¯t you settle the grudges between your Lu family and four ruling powers AFTER we settle the matter of Undying God?¡±

    Lu Yin remained solely focused on Bai Xian¡¯er. ¡°Why?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er had yed a key part in exiling the Lu family, and this was the first time that he asked her this question.

    Bai Xian¡¯er met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°There is no why. I wanted to rece them, nothing more.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Do you really believe that the four ruling powers can rece the Lu family?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er looked away from Lu Yin and stared at the Higher Realm. ¡°Some believe it¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how this part of the universe was formed?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian¡¯er did not reply.

    ¡°Aside from knowing that the Lu family was able to dominate the Fifth Maind, do you know what else they didpletely differently from you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian¡¯er remained silent.

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Ziheng, Wu Dao, and then Mr. Yu. Not one of them spoke.

    Lu Yin raised his chin. ¡°Big Sis, tell me, if we reopen the path to the Starfall Sea, what will happen?¡±

    Big Sis was startled. ¡°What''s that? Open the path to the Starfall Sea?¡±

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s right. In the Fifth Maind, what will happen if we open the path to the Starfall Sea?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not! If the Starfall Sea is reopened, the Fifth Maind will immediately be invaded by Aeternus. Our Fifth Maind will be dragged into hell.¡± Big Sis immediately refused to acknowledge such a possibility. ¡°Little Seven, why would you even think about doing something so dangerous?¡±

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin with shocked expressions. They could not understand why Lu Yin would consider purposely exposing the Fifth Maind to danger.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°Right now, things don¡¯t look good for the Perennial World. Undying God is supposed to be trapped here, but he¡¯s still able to make trouble. He¡¯s using his understanding of human psychology to wreak havoc throughout the Perennial World. The other Skygods are locking down the Dominion Realm. The Mother Tree¡¯s trunk has been cracked. As soon as Ceaseless Impetus weakens even a bit, the Perennial World might not be able to continue holding back the Aeternals. I need to create a new battlefield so that the Perennial World can be saved.¡±

    ¡°No way! That¡¯s too dangerous. I won¡¯t agree!¡± Big Sis immediately refused.

    Lu Yin knew that his idea was extremely risky. However, if the Perennial World failed to stop Aeternus, the Fifth Maind would soon face the same danger.

    In the past, Progenitor Tianyi had relocated to the Perennial World to save the Fifth Maind, establishing the rear battlefield. When Aeternus had invaded the Fifth Maind and drained all the stellr energy from the true universe, the pressure on the Fifth Maind had only eased when the intensity of the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield had increased.

    The Perennial World and the Fifth Maind were inseparable from each other. No matter how much Lu Yin might hate the four ruling powers, they had to cooperate to stop Aeternus.

    He had already calcted the risk of carrying out his suggestion, and he had even considered the worst-case scenario of the Seven Skygods attacking the Fifth Maind with their true bodies. In the end, Lu Yin had decided that while he absolutely needed to exercise extreme caution, the risks were still eptable.

    Qing Chen¡¯s initial annoyance transformed into admiration for Lu Yin. The respect he felt for the young man welled up from the bottom of his heart. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really intend to open up the Fifth Maind¡¯s Starfall Sea?¡±

    Xia Ziheng, Ce Doni, and the others waited for Lu Yin¡¯s answer.

    Bai Xian¡¯er eyes flickered, though her thoughts remained inscrutable.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Long time ago, when my Lu family was around, they were able to lead the Perennial World¡¯s forces to invade the New World. Now, while my Lu family might no longer be around, I, Lu Yin, am still here. I will also lead humanity to invade the New World.¡±

    ¡°Little Seven-¡±

    Big Sis started, but Lu Yin cut her off with a reassuring smile. ¡°Big Sis, trust me.¡±

    Big Sis stopped and held back from voicing any further objections.

    Lu Yin turned to Bai Xian¡¯er. ¡°This is the difference between my Lu family and the four ruling powers. It¡¯s not our strength, but-¡± He raised his chin. ¡°Our sense of responsibility.

    ¡°Back when my Fifth Maind went to war with the Sixth Maind, the Progenitors of that era not only had to face the Sixth Maind, but also Aeternus. Progenitor Tianyi separated the Fifth Maind, using all his efforts to hold back the Aeternals with the Perennial World. That was what allowed the Fifth Maind to enjoy a time of peace. Now that the Perennial World is facing a crisis, the Fifth Maind must also do its part.¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er gave a slight smile to Lu Yin. ¡°Now this is the Big Brother Xiaoxuan that I know.¡±

 Chapter 2406: From Passive To Proactive

    <h4>Chapter 2406: From Passive To Proactive</h4>

    Kui Luo¡¯s expression changed several times over the course of Lu Yin¡¯s speech. The old man detested people with such selfless, self-sacrificing spirit.

    ¡°This old man thinks you¡¯ve got a hole in your head. ?Opening the Fifth Maind back up to Aeternus? That¡¯s ridiculous,¡± he grumbled. Suddenly, his expression changed. Wait a second.

    Kui Luo was well aware that Lu Yin was not a selfless person. Even if he was truly willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, there was no chance that he would ever sacrifice himself to save the four ruling powers. Something was not right. Kui Luo started carefully observing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin appeared to bepletelyposed at the moment. He brought out his wireless jincan and sent messages to several different Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Maind of importance; there was Arch-Elder Zen, Qing Ping, Elder Gong, the Sixth Maind¡¯s Jiu Yao, and the Astral Beast Domain¡¯s Skymender. All of them were citizens of the Fifth Maind. While Lu Yin had already made the decision to open the path to the Starfall Sea, he still needed these people¡¯s support.

    Lu Yin had seized the right to rule over the Fifth Maind as its undisputed master, but that did not mean that he could make arbitrary decisions about matters that concerned the lives or deaths of the residents of the Fifth Maind.

    One after another, Lu Yin connected to the other wireless jincans. The results were within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. While almost everyone initially disapproved of Lu Yin¡¯s decision, all of them eventually agreed. This was because of a single bit of news that he had shared: ¡°The Seven Skygods have broken into the Perennial World due to Undying God. They will eventually be able to use the New Corridor to travel directly to the Fifth Maind. Opening the entrance to the Starfall Sea now will allow us to take on some of the Perennial World¡¯s burden. If the Perennial World is forced to face all of Aeternus on its own, both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World will bepletely destroyed once they reach their limit.¡±

    In the past, the Perennial World had been an unknown ce to the Fifth Maind. Practically no one had known that the Perennial World existed to hold Aeternus back and protect the Fifth Maind. This was something that even most people in the Perennial World did not know. However, since Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors had personally fought on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, they had witnessed the cruelty and mercilessness of the war against the Aeternals, and they were quite clear on what would happen once the rear battlefield was breached.

    For this reason, Arch-Elder Zen was the first to agree to Lu Yin¡¯s proposal. However, he also brought up a few conditions of his own.¡°Opening the entrance to the Starfall Sea will allow for us to take on some of the pressure that the Perennial World is facing, but we cannot simply condemn ourselves to death. If the Aeternals decide to abandon their attempts in rescuing Undying God and instead focus their full efforts on invading the Fifth Maind, then we will certainly be doomed. There needs to be a counter n for that scenario.¡±

    Naturally, Lu Yin already had his own ns. After he exined them to Arch-Elder Zen, the old man agreed.

    The others agreed as well.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to ask the opinions of the people from the Heavens Sect era. They, like himself, were not true residents of the Fifth Maind. The only people who were qualified to make this decision on behalf of the entire Fifth Maind were people like Arch-Elder Zen.

    Having convinced the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin reached out to Bai Wangyuan.

    Xia Ziheng and the others from the four ruling powers hadplicated expressions on their faces as they listened to Lu Yin convince the powers of the Fifth Maind to agree to his n.

    They fully understood the massive risk the Fifth Maind was about to take by carrying out Lu Yin¡¯s n. They had absolutely no idea why Lu Yin would be willing to go so far for their sakes.

    Given the fact that Ceaseless Impetus would soon start to weaken and show effects from the crack in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, the Seven Skygods¡¯ assault on the Dominion Realm, and True God¡¯s recent activity, the stability of the Perennial World was in serious jeopardy. Even the Mother Tree looked like it was just about to snap in half. Creating a new battlefield in the Fifth Maind would absolutely help reduce the pressure the Perennial World was facing. If the Lu family was still in power, Lu Yin¡¯s n would have been a breeze to execute. But at the moment¡­

    In the eyes of the Perennial World, Lu Yin¡¯s appearance seemed to ovep with the spirit of Lu Xiaoxuan that they had known in the past. It was as though Lu Yin hadpletely retained the determination of a direct descendant of the Lu family. The optimistic, bright, kind spirit without any ulterior motives who had been heralded in his era as the Seventh Hero.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re willing to open the path to the Starfall Sea in the Fifth Maind?¡± Bai Wangyuan waspletely stunned. While speaking with Lu Yin, the Progenitor was actively fighting against the Seven Skygods. Xia Shenji and the other human Progenitors could all hear the shock in Bai Wangyuan¡¯s voice.

    Xia Shenji could not believe his ears.

    Wang Fan and Progenitor Long exchanged mutual looks of disbelief. Even if the Perennial World was potentially facing an even worse situation than its current state, they had never expected the scenario where the Fifth Maind would take the initiative to share their burden. Given their knowledge of Lu Yin and his hatred for them on behalf of the Lu family, they would have expected that, even if the Fifth Maind had suggested such a thing, Lu Xiaoxuan would vehemently reject it.

    ¡°Aeternus is doing everything that they can to rescue Undying God. He¡¯s gone ahead and spread the Corpse King Transformation throughout the Perennial World, which has destabilized the unity of the Perennial World¡¯s people. Their True God attacked the Mother Tree and might even follow up with another attack at any moment. No one can block his attacks. Given the current circumstances, keeping Undying God trapped here is not advantageous for us. Still, we absolutely cannot release him, or else we will lose all hope of facing Aeternus.

    ¡°Are you willing to be shackled by a prisoner of war?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Of course Bai Wangyuan was unwilling to ept such a situation. He had assumed that they would finally be able to finish off one of the Seven Skygods. However, the guaranteed kill that they had been anticipating had actually escted the ongoing conflict and ced the entire Perennial World in a precarious position. What was happening now showed just how much Aeternus surpassed humanity by. Even when trapped in the heart of the enemy¡¯s base, the Aeternals did not have to fear death.

    ¡°What do you n to do?¡± Bai Wangyuan asked in a low voice.

    ¡°I n to open up the entrance of the Starfall Sea andunch a counterattack on Aeternus. Regardless of whether they give up on saving Undying God, you will need to continue holding back the full force of Aeternus¡¯ assault in the Dominion Realm, which includes the Seven Skygods and the Progenitor-level corpse kings. Right now, the war in the Dominion Realm has reached a certain bnce, which means that we hold the advantage at the moment. In that case, I will open the entrance to the Starfall Sea and invade the New World through the Upper Three Gates,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    ¡°You want to use Undying God as bait so that you can recover your territory in the Starfall Sea while we prevent Aeternus from rescuing him?¡± Bai Wangyuan¡¯s voice rose significantly.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°If Aeternus wants to keep the Starfall Sea, they will give up on saving Undying God. Once the Aeternals gather enough power to break away from the battlefield in the Dominion Realm, you will need to arrange for Progenitors to make their way to the Starfall Sea. If nothing changes in the Dominion Realm, I can lead the Fifth Maind to open a path straight into the New World. Even if we cannot share the burden that the Dominion Realm is facing, we can at least relieve some of the pressure from the rear battlefield.

    ¡°The Mother Tree has cracked, which will soon create problems with Ceaseless Impetus. Even if things go smoothly in the Dominion Realm, the Perennial World will be doomed if we don¡¯t do anything to reinforce the rear battlefield.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan and the rest had realized this issue long ago. The moment the Mother Tree cracked, they had all known that the situation had be very bad, and it had be a source of constant distraction for them. Even if the pressure of Aeternus¡¯s invasion increased and the pressure that they were putting on Ceaseless Impetus was raised even higher, the sourcebox array would not have any trouble keeping the Aeternals out. However, if anything went wrong with Ceaseless Impetus, it meant that the entire array might malfunction and fail entirely. If that happened, the Perennial World would face the greatest disaster imaginable, and even dispatching Progenitors to the rear battlefield would not be enough to save them from Aeternus¡¯s invasion.

    ¡°If Aeternuspletely abandons their efforts to save Undying God and instead focuses their efforts on the Starfall Sea, it will mean that the battlefield in the Dominion Realm will be moved to the Starfall Sea. Are you asking all of us to stand guard outside the entrance to the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°While in the Fifth Maind, I can use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. If the battlefield is moved from the Dominion Realm to the Starfall Sea, we will gain the upper hand.¡±

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, only five of the Seven Skygods have revealed themselves so far, and True God has yet to step forward,¡± Bai Wangyuan responded in a gravelly voice.

    If Aeternus managed to gain ess to the Perennial World through the Forsaken Land, Lu Yin¡¯s n would cease to be about sharing the Perennial World¡¯s burden and would instead force the Perennial World to deal with an additional battlefield. If the Perennial World¡¯s forces went over and were trapped in the Starfall Sea, left unable to return to the Fifth Maind, they would bepletely doomed. Not even a powerful figure like Corpse God had been able to force open the path between the Starfall Sea and the Fifth Maind, which meant that none of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors stood the slightest chance.

    Everyone had different opinions and perspectives.

    From Bai Wangyuan¡¯s point of view, Lu Yin¡¯s proposal initially seemed to benefit the Perennial World while forcing Lu Yin to pay a steep price, but after a bit of analysis, there were actually many ways for Lu Yin to trap the four ruling powers. There was a possibility that this n was not suggested out of selflessness, but rather due to insidious motives.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had expected Bai Wangyuan¡¯s excited endorsement for the n. After all, the Perennial World would clearly reap all of the benefits while shifting the costs onto the Fifth Maind. It was unexpected that Bai Wangyuan would be so wary of Lu Yin¡¯s proposal. Not only was the Progenitor worried about Lu Yin abandoning them in the Starfall Sea, but he also questioning whether the Fifth Maind¡¯s defenses would hold.

    Lu Yin had never intended to deal with Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers by trapping them in the Starfall Sea. Still, it was true that, if Aeternus abandoned Undying God and the battlefield was shifted from the Dominion Realm to the Starfall Sea, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors would end up fighting a defensive war in the Starfall Sea. If Lu Yin opted to use Mt. Microcosms to seal the path to the Fifth Maind, the Progenitors would indeed be trapped outside.

    It would actually be very simr to how the Lu family had been exiled.

    Still, there was a right time and ce for everything. This was clearly not the best time to have trust issues. Lu Yin was also afraid that the four ruling powers would simply panic and betray humanity and join Aeternus. If that happened, humanity would truly be doomed.

    Lu Yin found it amusing, as without Bai Wangyuan¡¯s reminder, Lu Yin would never have truly never even considered such a possibility.

    Some distance away, Kui Luo was entirely focused on Lu Yin. There was no way that this young man was selfless enough to expend himself to help the Perennial World. Sharing the risk? There was absolutely some sort of loophole somewhere that Lu Yin nned to exploit.

    ¡°If True God and two more Skygods joined the current attack on the Dominion Realm, will you be able to endure?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Bai Wangyuan said nothing. Lu Yin had actually posed a rhetorical question, as there was no way the human Progenitors would be able to endure.

    ¡°You already know the answer to that. Since that¡¯s impossible, why do you think Aeternus sent Progenitor-level corpse kings to attack the Dominion Realm to create the current stalemate instead ofunching an all-out attack?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s pupils shrank. ¡°What do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything for sure, but I can make a few guesses. The reason why True God has never taken personal action is because he can¡¯t. The reason the Seven Skygods have never attacked all together in a concerted effort is that they can¡¯t?either. This should be the limit of what the Aeternals can send against you.

    ¡°Regardless, there¡¯s only one path forward. It¡¯s up to you to take it.¡± Lu Yin hung up.

    As Bai Xian¡¯er and the others all stared at him, Lu Yin left, apanied by Big Sis and Kui Luo. Lu Yin had chosen to not stick around any longer. ¡°If this ce can¡¯t hold, I won¡¯t hesitate to destroy the New Corridor to ensure our safety.¡±

    A dark-red light illuminated Undying God¡¯s broken body with a faint glow as he stared at the group of people in front of him. It was rather disturbing how he stared at them without making a single movement, and it gave them all chills.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin led Big Sis and Kui Luo up to the Middle Realm, and then they rode the jiao to the New Corridor.

    Once on the jiao¡¯s back, Kui Luo muttered under his breath while asionally shooting suspicious looks towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°Juste out and say it.¡±

    Kui Luo shook his head. ¡°Something about this isn¡¯t right. Kid, there¡¯s something wrong with you.¡±

    Big Sis also turned to face Lu Yin. ¡°Just what happened to you?¡±

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and turned to face the questioning faces. Slowly, he began to exin. ¡°Big Sis, do you believe in parallel universes?¡±

    Big Sis arched a brow. ¡°What¡¯s not to believe? They¡¯ve always existed.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at Kui Luo.

    ¡°Of course they exist. However, being able to reach one depends entirely on luck. Even Progenitors who can shatter the void can¡¯t necessarily travel between parallel universes, because they need to know the coordinates of the ce they want to reach. Why do you ask?¡±

    Lu Yin looked towards the rear battlefield. ¡°There¡¯s more than one battlefield like that one.¡±

 Chapter 2407: Accept Me Or Donâ€™t

    <h4>Chapter 2407: ept Me Or Don¡¯t</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯sment badly shocked both of hispanions. ¡°The Perennial World has another battlefield like the one behind the Mother Tree?¡±

    ¡°Not the Perennial World, but a parallel universe. Aeternus has the coordinates of countless parallel universes, and they use those ces as fuel to create their endless hordes of corpse kings and other monstrosities. That¡¯s the source of their near-infinite numbers. The humans inhabiting those other universes can¡¯t possibly allow the Aeternals to do as they wish, which means that they are at war. In order words,¡± Lu Yin paused as his expression grew somber, ¡°Our universe is but one of the many battlefields that they are fighting across various parallel universes. While our battlefield might be absolutely massive, there¡¯s no way that it¡¯s the only one.¡±

    Kui Luo immediately understood. ¡°So that¡¯s it. This is why you¡¯re confident that Aeternus doesn¡¯t have the numbers to deal with an additional battlefield in the Starfall Sea. Unless they give up on saving Undying God and summon their full forces to attack the Fifth Maind instead, we¡¯ll hold an unquestionable advantage over them in the Starfall Sea.¡±

    ¡°Corpse God, Ancient God, and some of the other Skygods are in the Dominion Realm, trying to save Undying God. However, why hasn¡¯t Shaman God and Whiteless God appeared yet, especially when their presence would guarantee Aeternus¡¯s victory? There¡¯s no way that a stalemate is their true goal. Besides, we always knew that the Seven Skygods have Semi-Progenitor avatars spread throughout the Fifth Maind, Perennial World, and the Sixth Maind. So why would their avatars be restricted to only those few ces?¡± Lu Yin smiled. ¡°They probably have many Semi-Progenitor avatars, but they¡¯re scattered throughout multiple parallel universes.¡±

    ¡°Under this theory, while opening the path to the Starfall Sea certainly has its own risks, it¡¯s quite possible that our gains will far outweigh our losses. However, your entire theory could also be wrong. Aeternus might just be pretending to be weaker than they truly are to trick us into opening the entrance to the Starfall Sea. In that case, the Seven Skygods will gather in full force and charge into the Fifth Maind. What will we do then? Even if your theory is correct, they can still temporarily leave those parallel universes and deal with this ce first. What¡¯s the n for that?¡± Big Sis remained hesitant.

    Lu Yin spread his arms out and smiled. ¡°Then we¡¯ll all die together.¡±

    Big Sis blinked in confusion.

    ¡°If Aeternus was actually able to pull away from the other battlefields in the various parallel universes and end things here first, they would have done so long ago,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    The more Big Sis thought about it, the more Lu Yin¡¯s exnation made sense to her.

    ¡°Undying God is extremely important to them. If he weren¡¯t, they would have never sent five of the Seven Skygods to attack the Dominion Realm, nor would True God have taken action here. However, we still haven¡¯t seen all Seven Skygods, and the only possible exnation is that it¡¯s impossible for all of them to appear. My guess is that the assault on the Dominion Realm won¡¯tst long,¡± Lu Yin mused.

    The reason behind Lu Yin¡¯s confidence was that he was not sharing a personal theory, but rather a confirmed fact. He had learned the truth of the matter when Possessing Marquis Lan.

    As one of the Aeternals¡¯ Twelve Marquises, Marquis Lan was able to jump between parallel universes. During Lu Yin¡¯s Possession, he had seen a memory where Marquis Lan had been attacked and badly injured by a bolt of lightning. Lu Yin had essed several other memories and had seen battles being fought on an unimaginable scale, as well as massacres, carnage, and endless ughter. However, the ces that Lu Yin had seen did not match anything that he knew or had personally seen, so he had no idea where those ces might be. After that particr Possession, Lu Yin had specifically sought out Big Sis Luo Sha, who had finally proven Lu Yin¡¯s theory by verifying her own origins.

    One of Marquis Lan¡¯s memories included a battle that Big Sis Luo Sha had been involved in. Furthermore, many corpse kings that were sent to fight in the New World originated from various parallel universes.

    After learning the truth, Lu Yin could say with full confidence that Aeternus was unable to summon additional reinforcements to deal with the Fifth Maind. They were simply spread too thin across too many different battlefields and were already stretched to their limits. This was also the reason why the Perennial World had been able to endure for so long.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers understood this as well, and this information also exined why the four ruling powers had beenfortable exiling the Lu family; it was entirely because of the existence of the parallel universes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew dark. If his guess was correct, then people from a parallel universe¡ªor multiple parallel universes¡ªmust have provided the four ruling powers with some form of proof that the Aeternals were not capable of invading the Perennial World even if the Lu family were absent. The Lu family had been the bulk of the Perennial World¡¯s defenses against Aeternus, so how could the Perennial World hope to endure without the Lu family?

    The exile of the Lu family had instantly eliminated the majority of the Perennial World¡¯s defenses against Aeternus. However, it also meant that they were in a parallel universe that Aeternus had to contend over.

    There was more to the Lu family¡¯s exile than what met the eye.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. One problem still remained; there was no way the four ruling powers could have aplished such a feat on their own. This was something that had troubled him for some time now. The Lu family had had Progenitor Tianyi, who had copied the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas down in his Investiture of the Gods, and the Lu family had also had other Progenitors as well. The story that the four ruling powers had publicized was that they had coborated with the Python Ancestor to sessfully exile the Lu family, but how had that coboration taken ce? Even Undying God could not kill the Python Ancestor.

    The more that Lu Yin considered the matter, the more confident he became that his assumptions were correct.

    At that moment, hismunication crystal trembled, and he quickly answered the call.

    ¡°We agree to your n. We¡¯ll maintain the current bnce between Aeternus and humanity. If one of their Progenitors goes to the Fifth Maind, then one of us will follow them. We¡¯ll prevent them from entering the Fifth Maind,¡± Bai Wangyuan finally gave his answer.

    Lu Yin grew somber. It was time to set his n in motion. Even if all of his theories were true, the danger that they were about to face was very real. His n literally put the entire Fifth Maind in danger, as well as the Perennial World. However, it was also the only way for them to end their passive situation and seize initiative in the war against the Aeternals.

    If everything went well, then either Undying God would be eliminated, or they would take back the Starfall Sea. There was no telling which oue would take ce.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. He flung his arms out and released all of his suppressed emotions in a long, thunderous roar, which badly startled both the jiao and Kui Luo.

    ¡°In life, the greater the risk, the greater the rewards! I, Lu Yin, have narrowly escaped death again and again. Now, let¡¯s see if I¡¯ll meet my end here today or not!¡± Lu Yinughed hysterically as he rode the jiao into the mountain valley and returned to the Fifth Maind.

    In that valley, a group of people stared upwards in confusion.

    A short timeter, a booming voice rang out throughout the Lower, Middle, and Higher Realms. ¡°From this moment forward, all cultivators who are at the Explorer realm or above are conscripted to the rear battlefield! Any who shirk the summons will be regarded as a traitor and will be punished ordingly. All transactions with star essence are banned. All resources that are found must be sold to the rear battlefield. Our entire universe is now at war!¡±

    The entire Perennial World fell silent as everyone turned to look at the Mother Tree. Mandatory conscriptions had only happened twice in the Perennial World¡¯s history. While the reasons for the first remained unclear, the second had urred right after the Lu family had been exiled. That was when the four ruling powers had made their move to take control of the Higher Realm and assume control of the rear battlefield. As soon as the announcement was made, everyone throughout the entire Perennial World readied themselves for the announcement that would send them to the rear battlefield. It coulde at any moment.

    Too many had lost their lives during thest conscription. As soon as the Lu family had been exiled, the Aeternals had tried to seize an opportunity to take control of the Perennial World. However, the four ruling powers had made preparations long in advance, and through paying the price of countless lives, they had managed to defend the five array bases of the rear battlefield.

    At this moment, another mandatory conscription had been announced.

    The Perennial World epassed a massive area, and it enjoyed an unbroken history. It was perfectly set up for hidden experts to exist throughout the Lower, Middle, and Higher Realms. With this mandatory conscription, all of those hidden experts were forced to make their way to the rear battlefield, no matter if they were in seclusion or simply wished to remain hidden.

    This was the moment that the Perennial disyed its full power.

    At the same time, Lu Yin arrived back in the Fifth Maind, and he also announced a mandatory conscription. The difference between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World was that the people of the Fifth Maind had been mass-summoned multiple times in recent decades. So, this conscription was regarded as a normal urrence.

    Only a handful of people understood that this conscription was different from those before. This time, the goal was to take back the Starfall Sea that had once been lost. The Fifth Maind was about to be humanity¡¯s de that sliced through Aeternus.

    Lu Yin did not return to the Heavens Sect. Instead, Destina, Lu Buzheng, the other Semi-Progenitors, Chu Yuan, and many others received a message. It said that Lu Yin intended to open the entrance to the Starfall Sea andunch an attack upon Aeternus. No one could understand the reason behind this decision. It had taken them incredible effort and harsh sacrifices to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea, and there was no sign of anyone bing a Progenitor anytime soon. No one could understand the reasoning behind Lu Yin¡¯s decision, and they impatiently waited for Lu Yin¡¯s exnation.

    However, instead of Lu Yin, they were met by Kui Luo.

    ¡°He sent an old man to exin things. First, do any of you have any water? I¡¯m parched¡­¡± Kui Luo grumbled. Lu Yin did not have any time to waste on exnations, as he was already on his way to the Neoverse to speak with Xiu Ming.

    Even with all that Lu Yin knew, he refused to risk his life while reopening the entrance to the Starfall Sea. He did not think it wise to pin his hopes on the Perennial World, and only a defensive sourcebox array would provide him with sufficient assurance.

    Since the Perennial World had Ceaseless Impetus as its defensive sourcebox array, then the Fifth Maind might have a simr sourcebox array. Even if it was greatly inferior, something even somewhat close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus would be sufficient.

    In the Lockbreaking World, Xiu Ming gave Lu Yin a strange look. ¡°A sourcebox array that¡¯s close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus? You¡¯re joking, right? Forget me¡ªeven a Progenitor Array Grandmaster wouldn¡¯t find it easy to create such a thing. Progenitor Hui waspletely unique. There¡¯s no chance of finding what you want.¡±

    Lu Yin had already known that, but he had still wanted to try his luck. ¡°Do we have any sourcebox arrays that are useful against Progenitors?¡±

    Xiu Ming replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Highsage Grandmaster? He¡¯s also an Array Grandmaster, as well as a Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°This junior knows that you, Senior, surpass Highsage Grandmaster when ites to lockbreaking.¡±

    Xiu Ming¡¯s smile fell. ¡°You¡¯re right, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t fulfill your request.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell.

    Xiu Ming asked curiously, ¡°Why did you announce a mandatory conscription? Are we going to war again?¡±

    Lu Yin had not yet publicly announced his intentions to reopen the entrance to the Starfall Sea, which meant that only a handful of Semi-Progenitors were aware of the matter. Xiu Ming was also qualified to know about such things, but he had not received the news yet as he had been in the Lockbreaking World when Lu Yin had sent out the initial exnations.

    As Lu Yin exined the situation, Xiu Ming¡¯s face grew increasingly pale.

    ¡°Your decisiveness is absolutely frightening,¡± Xiu Mingmented with a bit of shock and awe. ¡°You do understand that the entire Fifth Maind will be buried with just a single mistake, correct?¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°If I don¡¯t do this, the Aeternals might be able to save Undying God, and they might even break through the Perennial World¡¯s defenses. If that happens, our Fifth Maind will be humanity¡¯sst haven for survival. If that happens, what hope will we have?¡±

    ¡°You are the only one who is qualified to take such a risk. If this works out, we might be able to regain control of the entire Starfall Sea, or perhaps make history by eliminating one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies. However, if things do not work out¡­¡± Xiu Ming stared at Lu Yin. ¡°We will all pay with our lives.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°If that happens, I will be the first to offer my life.¡±

    ¡°Even so, others won¡¯t wish to die,¡± Xiu Ming said. He had his reservations, but there was nothing that he could do to stop Lu Yin.

    Every time Xiu Ming dealt with Lu Yin, the old Lockbreaker felt as though he had somehow wasted his life.

    Xiu Ming had only known Lu Yin for a short few years, but no matter if it was Lu Yin¡¯s friends, enemies, or even his master, everyone felt that Lu Yin had far surpassed anything that they had imagined possible.

 Chapter 2408: Sealing Path

    Chapter 2408: Sealing Path

    At least, those were Xiu Ming¡¯s feelings. Just several decades ago, he had considered epting Lu Yin as an apprentice. At that same time, the Array Grandmaster had encouraged Wu Dan to surpass Lu Yin by using himself and Highsage Grandmaster as examples to motivate the young Lockbreaker.

    Xiu Ming sighed. Already, Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities exceeded those of an Array Grandmaster. This was not a matter of mere talent. This went far beyond what Xiu Ming had thought possible.

    ¡°Neither Highsage nor I can do it. Like it or not, it remains a fact that the Perennial World is much stronger than the Fifth Maind overall. Even disregarding their unbroken history and legacies, someone like Grandmaster Gu Yan is in a ss of his own. He is far more capable than either Highsage Grandmaster or myself. His reputation as humanity¡¯s greatest Lockbreaker is well deserved.¡±

    Lu Yin looked away, wondering if he had no choice but to seek out Grandmaster Gu Yan. Suddenly, he had a thought. ¡°Senior, have you ever met Grandmaster Gu Yan?¡±

    Given Xiu Ming¡¯s abilities, he would not be willing to admit his inferiority to another Lockbreaker without personally witnessing it for himself.

    Xiu Ming nodded. ¡°He should still be in the Fifth Maind. I¡¯m not sure of his exact location, but I saw him once about half a year ago.¡±

    Lu Yin left to go find Grandmaster Gu Yan, confident that he knew where the old man was. Lu Yin was rather reluctant to visit the ce himself, but there was no choice.

    It was Shenwu Continent, a ce that had once aroused pure, untainted joy in Lu Yin. Even now, it still triggered many old memories of his.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Ming Yan had been separated for dozens of years now. The new regent of Shenwu Continent who represented the Ming family was a man named Ming De.

    Back when the traitor, Ming Zhaoshu, had taken the throne, he had ughtered almost every member of the Ming family. Only a handful of distant rtives had managed to survive, but Ming De was someone whom Lu Yin had ordered his people to nurture after Ming Yan had left Shenwu Continent.

    The entire continent was an insignificant speck in the scope of the entire universe. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s memories of Ming Yan, he would have zero cares about who held the throne, provided that theyplied with all of his orders.

    An obvious example of that was Bei Qing. The man had left Shenwu Continent long ago to join the Great Yu Empire and run Lu Yin¡¯s auction house. With that position, Bei Qing had enjoyed a meteoric rise in status. A single sentence from him could decide the fate of the rulers of any individual, and a single continent like Shenwu Continent meant nothing to him.

    Although Shenwu Continent was tiny, it had two unique features. The first was the five enormouss that sealed it in a pocket dimension. Each of thes was a sourcebox, though they were each asrge as a. The second feature was the Tower of Resonating Light, which was where Gu Yue had been buried.

    At this moment, an old man was sitting beside the Tower of Resonating Light. He had been waiting there for an exceptionally long amount of length of time. He was wearing ridiculously gaudy clothes and was apanied by a female attendant. The old man asionally nced at the Tower of Resonating Light, seemingly a bit dazed, and he was constantly murmuring something under his breath.

    When Lu Yin arrived in Shenwu Continent, the female attendant near the Tower of Resonating Light sensed his presence and instantly looked over. Upon recognizing Lu Yin, she rxed.

    ¡°My condolences, Senior/¡± Lu Yin addressed Grandmaster Gu while still approaching.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a lofty, arrogant man who looks down on others, especially when ites to lockbreaking. This became even more prevalent when epting apprentices. I thought that I would never have an apprentice in my entire lifetime, but then, I met him. His natural aptitude for lockbreaking left me in awe. He possessed an unbelievable kindness and a pure heart. I gave him five tests, and hepleted everyst one of them without issue. In the end, I took him in as my apprentice and named him Gu Yue.

    ¡°Gu Yue was named after the battle technique that I created: Moonstar, which causes the moons and stars to fall, reverting everything back until only dust remains. I once hoped to see him grow into someone who could strike down the stars throughout the universe, but instead, while the stars did fall, he also fell before he had the chance to shine in the Perennial World.¡±

    Until that moment, Lu Yin had never known that Moonstar had been created by Grandmaster Gu Yan, rather than Gu Yue. Lu Yin listened in silence as Grandmaster Gu Yan reminisced. For a long time, no one had apanied the man or offered a willing ear, aside from his attendant.

    ¡°Do you know who the Three Monarchs are?¡± Grandmaster Gu Yan suddenly asked. With the old man¡¯s back facing Lu Yin, it was impossible to determine the Array Grandmaster¡¯s expression.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of them.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan nodded as he let out a long breath. ¡°I already knew that he might no longer be alive, but it still hurts to see the truth for myself. The child had such an incredibly kind heart.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°This junior knows that the test Senior Gu Yue left behind for his heir was one that tested the purity of one¡¯s heart.¡±

    ¡°Did someone seed?¡± Grandmaster Gu Yan turned to look at Lu Yin with eyes full of hope.

    Lu Yin felt a pang in his heart. Grandmaster Gu Yan watched in silent shock as Lu Yin pulled out a frozen Ming Yan from his cosmic ring. ¡°Her name is Ming Yan. She is my-¡± He choked up for a moment. ¡°Lover. She inherited Senior Gu Yue¡¯s Moonstar battle technique, and she was also the person who gave me Gu Yue¡¯s journal.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan walked up to Ming Yan and studied her condition. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin struggled a bit to make himself answer. ¡°She was injured by a Semi-Progenitor. Even Progenitor Smoke said that saving her is beyond her capabilities. I had no choice but to freeze her in order to save her.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan frowned. ¡°No cultivator is omnipotent, and it¡¯s impossible for anyone to create life. There are some injuries that can¡¯t be healed, no matter how powerful one bes. If even Progenitor Smoke is helpless, then other Progenitors will be equally helpless.¡±

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°I will definitely find someone who can help.¡±

    Gu Yan shook his head, but he no longer tried to persuade Lu Yin. The old man looked back at Ming Yan with regret and sorrow. He had been excited to meet a grand disciple, but unfortunately, fate was not so kind. ¡°Did youe here specifically to find me?¡±

    When speaking to Lu Yin, the whimsical attitude that Grandmaster Gu Yan usually disyed towards other people waspletely absent.

    Lu Yin exined all that had recently happened, which caused Grandmaster Gu Yan to exim, ¡°How bold! It takes guts to take such a risk.¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t take this risk, Aeternus will save Undying God, and then what hope of victory will we have left? With the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk cracked, Ceaseless Impetus will start to weaken, and I can¡¯t even imagine those ramifications,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan nodded. ¡°There is no such thing as an eternal sourcebox array. Setting up a sourcebox array is a very tedious process, but destroying one is rather simple. The endless waves of corpse kings that Aeternus has sent to the rear battlefield have already pushed Ceaseless Impetus to the limits. Even if the crack in the Mother Tree is ignored, Ceaseless Impetus will start to malfunction soon. You are right to take action. So, you want to ask me to set up a sourcebox array, right?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°This junior hopes to ce a sourcebox array in the entrance to the Starfall Sea. It doesn¡¯t need to be at the same level as Ceaseless Impetus, but it should make things difficult for enemy Progenitors and form a barricade to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea. This is something that only Senior can do.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan chuckled. ¡°Even if I had Progenitor Hui¡¯s abilities, setting up such a sourcebox array would be no easy feat. The difficulty of creating Ceaseless Impetus lies not only in setting up the actual sourcebox array, but also in finding a reliable base, sourceboxes, and other necessary materials. Even if Progenitor Hui were here right now, he would not be able to recreate Ceaseless Impetus without all of those requirements.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Senior, please make a list of all that you need, and this junior will mobilize the entire Fifth Maind to find everything and have it delivered to you.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, as you won¡¯t be able to find any of those things. Even Progenitor Hui did not know how to acquire them.¡± Grandmaster Gu Yan shook his head and sighed. ¡°However, your luck is pretty good, as there¡¯s no need for you to search¡ªsomeone else already found them for you.¡±

    Lu Yin was confused.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan turned to look at the Tower of Resonating Light while he raised a hand and pointed upwards.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw the five sealings. His eyes lit up. ¡°The five sealings?¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan nodded. ¡°Everything that Gu Yue learned about sourcebox arrays, he learned from this old man. Among them was an array named Sealing Path. After I became an Array Grandmaster, I gained several insights from True Insight that Progenitor Hui left behind, which eventually led to me creating that sourcebox array. While it¡¯s nowhere close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus, it¡¯s still able to exert roughly the same level of power. It should be able to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea, and with Mt. Microcosms thrown in, there should be no issues.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. If this Sealing Path sourcebox array could exert a level of power on par with Ceaseless Impetus, it would truly be too good to be true. Ceaseless Impetus consisted of not only the five array bases, but also the Mother Tree itself as the foundation, as well as the sevens of the Outer Realm. Everything worked together to make up Ceaseless Impetus. The five array bases alone were not nearly enough to keep Aeternus at bay.

    The reason why Bai Wangyuan and the others were able to hold back Ancient God and the rest of the Aeternals was only partially due to their strength. The truth was that most of the credit for their sess had to be given to Ceaseless Impetus and the presence of the eagle.

    Lu Yin had never thought that he would be able to set up a sourcebox array even remotely close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus to protect the entrance to the Starfal Sea. At best, he had hoped to gain something that could hold back the Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    ¡°But, Senior, these five sealings are only able to stop an Enlighter.¡± Lu Yin had trouble understanding how this would work.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan exined. ¡°The true Sealing Path uses seven massive sourceboxes and follows the same configuration as the sevens used for Ceaseless Impetus. I might have never been able to design the array if not for studying Progenitor Hui¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus. As for Gu Yue,¡± the man continued in a mournful tone, ¡°He was a true genius! Given the fact that he was able to use these five sealings to form the foundation of the Sealing Path, he must have be an Array Grandmaster. It¡¯s really such a pity.¡±

    Lu Yin alsomented, ¡°A true pity. Rumors im that someone went after Gu Yue, which led to his death. Senior must find the truth. If the perpetrator still lives, they must give Senior an exnation.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s gaze grewplicated, ¡°The Sealing Path requires seven giant sourceboxes. There are five here, so you need to find two more. This should not be too difficult.¡±

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°If I needed to find all seven required sourceboxes, it would be nearly impossible, but fortunately, Senior Gu Yue found these five. This junior will search for thest two.¡±

    He recalled that the Lockbreaker World had six simrly-sized sourceboxes that were used for the Six Ancient Spirit Array that was there. If Lu Yin could not find two more appropriately-sized sourceboxes, then he would simply dismantle the Six Ancient Spirit Array. After all, the Starfall Sea entrance was far more important than the Lockbreaker World.

    ¡°Go ahead then. The sooner you find them, the better.¡±

    ¡°How long will Senior need to set up the Sealing Path?¡±

    ¡°With these five sealings as a foundation, a few days will be enough.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll have to trouble you with this, Senior.¡±

    It was a day that the people of Shenwu Continent would never forget, as it was the day that the five sealings that had long kept them safe from the rest of the universe vanished.

    The five sealings had been a persistent part of Shenwu Continent¡¯s history from the very beginning. Their sudden disappearance caused the continent¡¯s people to panic.

    Ming De urgently reached out to the Great Yu Empire, but the only reply that he received informed him that the Heavens Sect was using thes. Many people from Shenwu Continent understood that Lu Yin had a unique rtionship with the Heavens Sect. As for the rest of the universe, no one cared when they heard that Lu Yin was using the five sealings that had once isted Shenwu Continent. Unless Gu Yue¡¯s tomb was revealed, nothing about the ce was worth most people¡¯s attention.

    ¡­

    All sourceboxes had their own danger zones, and the five massive sourceboxes were no exception. They had worked together to create the barrier that had isted Shenwu Continent from the rest of the universe.

    Transporting the five sourceboxes to the Starfall Sea was no easy feat, as whoever did so would have to endure constant attacks from the danger zones as they traveled. However, Grandmaster Gu Yan was able to move all five together as a single unit.

 Chapter 2409: Aid

    Chapter 2409: Aid

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s entire military force had been ordered to assemble in several different locations. Semi-Progenitors then used their inner worlds to transport people from the gathering points to the entrance of the Starfall Sea. It would have taken far too long for people to gather directly at the Starfall Sea, given the various regions that they had to travel from.

    In the Outerverse, Wendy Yushan left Zenyu Star. Apanying her were Liu Ye and Fei Hua, who both frequently chose to remain on Zenyu Star instead of the Heavens Sect.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to take part in this battle,¡± Fei Hua told Wendy Yushan. The woman was gradually bing an overprotective older sister.

    Wendy Yushan stared in the direction of the Starfall Sea. ¡°Everyone has their own responsibilities. I also have people whom I want to protect.¡±

    Several weaves away, Hai Dashao and Hai Feng slowed to a stop and looked behind themselves. ¡°Qiqi, you cane out now.¡±

    There was no response.

    Hai Feng flicked at the seemingly empty space, and the gesture created ripples in the void that quickly revealed Hai Qiqi¡¯s figure. ¡°Why did you use so much strength, big brother? That hurt!¡±

    Hai Feng scolded her sternly, ¡°The assembly of the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire military forces is not part of some game. Go back.¡±

    Hai Qiqi rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with the lies. Thest time Lu Yin sent out a mandatory summons, no one had to do anything at all. Everyone who went even got to enjoy watching a Progenitor-level battle. I¡¯m not falling for it this time, and I¡¯m not missing out on any of the action.¡±

    Hai Daoshao¡¯s voice rose in frustration, ¡°Stop messing around! War is a matter of life or death, and it¡¯s not something that you should be joking about.¡±

    Hai Feng¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°As themander of the Lu Elite Troops, father has already faced death many times while fighting on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. Before he left for that ce, he entrusted us with your safety. You¡¯re not allowed to follow us. Go back now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going back! I know Lu Yin very well, and he¡¯s only making this fuss to mess with us. There won¡¯t be any fighting this time around either. I¡¯ll ask him right now, since you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Hai Qiqi pouted and argued as she pulled out her gadget. However, her call did not connect even after half a day.

    At that point, Hai Dashao grabbed her and dragged her back.

    Hai Qiqi was not the only one with such thoughts. A fairlyrge percentage of people believed that thetest conscription notice was nothing more than a military drill. With both the Sixth Maind and Astral Beast Domain currently under the Heavens Sect¡¯s authority, as well as the truce with the Perennial World that allowed for trade and travel between the two ces, there did not seem to be anything that could cause a war.

    ¡°What a waste of time. If we used this time to cultivate instead, we might have a couple more Envoys.¡± Cultivators began gathering outside Heavens Sect, one of the designated meeting points. The n was for Semi-Progenitors to transport them to their final destination by carrying them in their inner worlds.

    ¡°Exactly. Dao Chosen Lu is abusing his status to mess with us time and time again. There¡¯s no repercussions for him to fear at all,¡± someone replied in a helpless tone. They were not trying to nder Lu Yin and were just venting their irritation at having their cultivation disturbed. Naturally, everyone had their own cultivation methods and ns.

    ¡°Silence!¡± A shout pierced the chatter, instantly ending all conversations. Everyone turned to see a distraught-looking old man. He was Elder Qin of the ze Realm, whom Lu Yin considered to be Ku Wei¡¯s rival bootlicker. ¡°How dare you speak ill of the Dao Chosen when he has dedicated his entire life to protecting mankind? If not for the Dao Chosen, everyone in this entire region of the universe would already have be ves of Aeternus. If not for the Dao Chosen, all of you would have been captured by the Perennial World and made into cannon fodder on the rear battlefield. If not for the Dao Chosen, how would any of you have ever managed to see the Heavens Sect that you¡¯re standing in front of right now?¡±

    ¡°All of you are ungrateful bastards! How long has it been since the Dao Chosen did all that to save your pathetic lives? Barely any time has passed at all, but you¡¯ve already forgotten about all of his sacrifices and meritorious deeds! In this universe, the Dao Chosen represents the heavens! He is our ruler and our protector. Watch your attitude, and use somemon sense to realize that you should show the proper respect and sincerity when speaking about him. All of you should take a good look at yourselves and reflect on your failure to appreciate the Dao Chosen¡­¡±

    The crowd stared on nkly as Elder Qin spoke for a good half an hour, scolding them the entire time. Not once did the man repeat even a single sentence as he praised Lu Yin to the heavens. Most people started to slowly back away from the old man as he ranted.

    The Ghost Monkey was appalled at how much Elder Qin¡¯s bootlicking abilities had improved. No, there was no way in hell the Ghost Monkey would ever allow this old man to actually meet Seventh Bro. Ku Wei already far surpassed the Ghost Monkey¡¯s abilities, and having another rival would be too challenging.

    As the Ghost Monkey observed Elder Qin¡¯s tirade, his eyes zed with determination to eventually surpass the old man.

    At this time, a couple was enjoying a sumptuous meal at an elegant restaurant on Earth. Towering above the restaurant was an enormous statue of Lu Yin that stood nearby.

    The man gracefully dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. He affectionately addressed hispanion, ¡°Dana, today is the twenty third day of our vacation in the Outerverse.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? We¡¯ve already visited so many scenic parts of the Outerverse, but there are still so many more that I want to see. I¡¯m sorry, Ian, but I don¡¯t want our vacation to end yet.¡± Dana smiled sheepishly. All traces of the tomboy who once wore crop tops, low cut V-necks, tight leather pants, and knee-high boots were gone. Recing them was a refined, elegant-looking woman who possessed a gentle demeanor and gorgeous smile.

    Ian¡¯s expression grew apologetic. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, but it might be best to put our ns on hold for a while.¡±

    Dana was unsurprised. ¡°Are you nning to return to the Allied Forces¡¯ Third Legion?¡±

    Ian remained somber. ¡°We can always resume our trip in the future, but for now, the Third Legion needs me. The Dao Chosen would only announce a universal conscription if war is already upon us, which means that duty calls.¡±

    Dana chuckled as she reached across the table and inteced her fingers with Ian¡¯s. ¡°Then you need to go. Regardless of your decisions, I¡¯ll always support you.¡±

    Ian gave a firm nod. He was no longer the assistant to the First Legion¡¯smander, Liuying Zishan, as he had risen to bemander of the Allied Forces Third Legion, which was an important position within the Heavens Sect.

    The man was truly grateful to Lu Yin for his current position. His life hadpletely turned around after he had met Lu Yin on Earth. No matter how high Ian¡¯s status rose, he would never forget what Lu Yin had done for him. He had sworn allegiance to Lu Yin, and his loyalty would never sway, not even if he was threatened with death.

    Gradually, people gathered at the various designated locations throughout the Outerverse, Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and Neoverse.

    Two dayster, Master Shan arrived at the entrance to the Starfall Sea. As he raised a hand, a sphere of light appeared and flickered. From that orb, battleships and people started to emerge.

    This sphere was a hidden world. Some Semi-Progenitors used their inner worlds to transport the armies, while others instead chose to use hidden worlds. The manner of transportation did not matter, as long as the troops were safely delivered.

    Li Zimo stared out. From his position, he was able to see the blocked entrance to the Starfall Sea, and the sight caused shock to cover his face. If this was the location of the uing battle, then it meant that humanity was about to face the Aeternals again. Furthermore, it appeared that humanity would be the instigator this time around.

    Every person who realized where they were had the same thought, and expressions of shock, trepidation, and dread appeared all around. Most people had thought that this conscription would be the same as thest one, and the truth facing them quickly triggered fear and nervousness. Most of the people who had gathered here had fought in thest battle against Aeternus, and they had personally experienced the absolute despair and hopelessness of fighting against the Aeternals. Word of the location for the new battlefield quickly spread across the Fifth Maind.

    No one made any efforts to stop the news. It was better to let people know beforehand that they would be facing Aeternus. While this guaranteed that there would be more deserters, those who remained to fight would have a much better attitude, and this greatly benefit humanity¡¯s army overall.

    Before long, Elder Gong arrived with anotherrge group of people. Numerous battleships, each carrying many cultivators, appeared.

    Elder Gong and Master Shan exchanged knowing nces. With so many cultivators congregating in one location, it was guaranteed that there would be squabbles and fights. However, these men did not need to concern themselves with such issues. As soon as the fighting started, all internal conflicts would cease.

    ¡°Li Zimo, you traitor!¡± someone shouted. The voice rang out from someone on a sword-shaped spacecraft, the design of which was unique to the Sword Sect. The person calling out to Li Zimo was a girl named Liu Ying. Just like Liu Ling, Liu Ying was also one of Liu Shaoqiu¡¯s cousins. She red at Li Zimo, her face red from anger.

    The light of distant stars illuminated Li Zimo¡¯s apologetic expression as he met Liu Ying¡¯s furious eyes. He did not say a word.

    Liu Ying continued angrily, ¡°You were actually Lu-¡±

    Before she could even finish the sentence, someone hurreidly whisked her away.

    Li Zimo¡¯s identity had been revealed long ago. By this point in time, everyone who knew of him also knew that Lu Yin had sent him into the Sword Sect as a spy whose goal was to learn and share the sect¡¯s secrets. It was due to Li Zimo¡¯s efforts that Lu Yin had always been one step ahead of the Sword Sect.

    After being exposed, the Sword Sect had stopped treating Li Zimo the same. Even though Lu Yin had united the entire Fifth Maind and forced the Sword Sect into submission, the sect did not allow Li Zimo to remain a sect member. At the same time, they did not dare to push too far in trying to punish Li Zimo either.

    As for Liu Ying, it was an open secret that she was obsessed with Li Zimo.

    The Sword Sect disciples stared at Li Zimo with cold eyes. While none of them dared to berate him given his rtionship with Lu Yin, they also no longer epted the man as a part of their sect.

    Li Zimo gave a silent bow towards the Sword Sect¡¯s spaceship. It was directed towards Elder Lianxin, who had been his master while he was in the Sword Sect. She was the person from the Sword Sect whom he was most indebted to.

    A voice entered his ear. ¡°I¡¯ve never med you. When Lu Yin nearly killed me, you saved my life. This next battle will not be simple, so take care of yourself and survive.¡±

    It was a message from Elder Lianxin.

    Li Zimo bowed a second time, the regret in his eyes even stronger than before. After a moment, he turned and left.

    Liu Qianjue watched the young swordsman¡¯s shrinking figure. Banishing Li Zimo from the Sword Sect had actually been a great loss for the sect. Li Zimo¡¯s talent for the sword was no worse than Shaoqiu''s. Losing him was a true pity.

    One dayter, the jiao arrived, and it carried two gigantic sourceboxes that it was delivering from the Lockbreaking World. When Xiu Ming had first heard that Lu Yin was nning to dismantle the Six Ancient Spirit Array, the Array Grandmaster had almost attacked Lu Yin out of pure reflex. Eventually, with much difficulty, Xiu Ming had managed to find two suitable sourceboxes, which had saved the prized sourcebox array from being destroyed.

    Everyone was startled by the size of the two sourceboxes, including the Semi-Progenitors. Sourceboxes of such a size were impossibly rare.

    Another day passed before Grandmaster Gu Yan arrived, and with him came the five sealings.

    Seven sourceboxes were ced into Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s care. Lu Yin had taken exceptionally quick action. Only three days had passed since he had left the Perennial World, and he intended to open the entrance to the Starfall Sea in just two more days. He was not certain how much longer the Dominion Realm would be able to endure for. They might be able tost anywhere from a few days to even a few years. No one could say for sure.

    An entire crowd of Lockbreakers flocked to Grandmaster Gu Yan to observe how he set up the sourcebox array. Unfortunately, everyone beneath the Array Master level had absolutely no idea what the man was doing, and Array Masters were only able to understand a tiny fraction of what they observed.

    Even Realm Array Masters found it challenging to understand what was happening. Only Array Grandmasters were capable of truly understanding Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s actions, and thus they were the only ones to truly benefit from watching the old man set up the sourcebox array.

    Both Grandmaster Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster had followed Lu Yin, and the two men stared intently at the array as Grandmaster Gu Yan set everything up.

    "Dao Chosen, someone has requested a meeting. She ims to have something to report regarding this battle that is of paramount importance." The Second Nightking delivered a message in a respectful tone.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°A woman named Zi Jing.¡±

    This was a surprise. Zi Jing was the president of the Cyberstars Network, as well as the mastermind behind the integratedwork that connected the entire Fifth Maind. She had convinced Grand Marshal Shui Chuanxiao to sacrifice half of Endless Weave so that humanity could be connected via a universalwork. Lu Yin had met the woman on several asions in the past, and he had a decent impression of her. She had also helped him before, so he wondered why she was looking for him at this time.

    Was it really rted to the uing battle?

    ¡°Let here,¡± Lu Yin said lightly.

    Zi Jing arrived very quickly, and Lu Yin turned around to face the woman. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    She smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m here to provide the Dao Chosen with some aid.¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused. ¡°What kind of aid?¡±

 Chapter 2410: Battlefield Navigation System

    <h4>Chapter 2410: Battlefield Navigation System</h4>

    ¡°Dao Chosen, do you find the Fifth Maind¡¯swork useful during war?¡± Zi Jing asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Of course. Having a clear channel ofmunication is crucial during any battle.¡±

    ¡°What if a simrwork were employed on the battlefield?¡± Zi Jing prompted.

    Lu Yin was not certain what the woman was suggesting. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°On the battlefield, the situation is always unpredictable and constantly changing. No one knows where an attack might appear from, or the enemies¡¯ exact positions. But what if I told you that there''s awork that can envelop an entire battlefield and provide real-time updates on the enemy¡¯s attack configuration, positions, and even their resources? How do you think that would affect things?¡± The corners of Zi Jing¡¯s mouth curled upwards as she spoke. She already knew the massive impact that her words would have on Lu Yin.

    ¡°Are you telling me that yourworks are able to navigate a battlefield?¡± Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    Zi Jing¡¯s expression instantly grew serious again. ¡°I call it the Battle Navigation System, and if you have a moment, Dao Chosen, I highly suggest that you test it out by conducting a simted battle between two of your forces within a designated area. Let the Battle Navigation System demonstrate its utility for itself.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Zi Jing for a long moment. He did not ask any questions about the principles behind the system, who had created it, or anything else. He quickly ordered the Second Nightking to find two hundred cultivators of simr cultivation levels and to split them into two armies of one hundred each. They were to conduct a battle simtion within the confines of a single spacecraft, and this battle would demonstrate the effectiveness of the Battle Navigation System. Lu Yin intended to ask questions only after confirming that the system had a practical use in war. Otherwise, anything further would be nothing but a waste of time.

    However, given the fact that Zi Jing had taken the time to personally visit Lu Yin and offer assistance, Lu Yin was already convinced that the system would be incredibly useful.

    Lu Yin waited eagerly for the two hundred cultivators to start their battle.

    Fu Shi had never expected his first opponents after answering the Heavens Sect¡¯s conscription to not be monsters from Aeternus, but rather his own human allies.

    He looked at the one hundred solemn-faced cultivators who stood opposite his own group. Was he really supposed to fight against these people?

    He unconsciously nced over at the distant form of Lu Yin, a trace of worship appearing in his eyes. Lu Yin was the man whom Fu Shi respected most even though he did not know the Dao Chosen personally. Fu Shi had heard many things about Lu Yin since his youth, including how Lu Yin had crushed all of his peers with pure strength, established himself as invincible, and be the champion of ZENITH. From that moment on, Fu Shi had vowed to one day follow Lu Yin into battle. While Lu Yin did not even know that Fu Shi existed, even if Lu Yin would never spare a nce for him, they were alreadyrades in battle. For Fu Shi, this was enough.

    At this moment, all one hundred of Fu Shi¡¯s opponents turned red.

    He was initially taken aback, but he quickly remembered that he was currently wearing a lens in his eye that he and hispanions had all been given by the woman standing beside Lu Yin.

    It was this lens that painted the people opposing them red.

    ¡°Begin!¡± The moment themand was shouted, the two teams charged toward each other and shed.

    The battle¡¯s observers expected to see a draw, as both teams had been specifically selected to possess approximately the same level of strength, and no exceptional geniuses had been ced on either team. Most observers therefore felt that it would take some time for a victor to be decided.

    However, the true results of the simtion left everyone gasping in disbelief.

    The firstpany followed the anticipated approach of charging headfirst into their opponents. However, the secondpany demonstrated unusual behavior by predicting and avoiding the offensive. People who observed carefully would notice that the firstpany only managed tond a few strikes on the members of the secondpany. Conversely, after the secondpany dodged the initial assault, theyunched a quick counteroffensive, only to retreat after just a brief moment. After the twopanies separated, it was clear that the firstpany had sustained more injuries, as the secondpany was almost entirely unharmed. Such a stark contrast led to a suspicion that the twopanies had rehearsed their performance beforehand.

    Lu Yin was blown away by the system''s effectiveness. He had also ced a lens in his right eye, and it highlighted all the members of the firstpany in red, while those in his ownpany were blue. An arrow constantly shifted about, providing real-time information about an individual''s position, avable angles of attack, and movements to counter enemy actions through suggested courses of action. By following the arrows, when the entirepany attacked as directed, it became rtively easy for them to evade enemy attacks and even follow up with urate counterattacks.

    At this moment, Fu Shi and the other members of his team who were using the lenses for the battle simtion were the most stunned out of everyone present.

    They had simply followed the arrows¡¯ directions to a tee. Even if they had not attacked at all, they had still been able to avoid all of the iing attacks, and were even able to join or leave the fighting at will.

    Who could possess a view of an entire battlefield amidst the chaos? Who could enter or leave a battlefield at will? It was something that only those who possessed immense power and were capable of single-handedly dominating the battle could do. For ordinary cultivators, they could only blend into the background of the chaos and conflict.

    At this moment, the members of the secondpany felt like they were not even participating in a real battle. Instead of confronting living opponents, it felt as though they were facing a simtion. The final results? The firstpany waspletely annihted, while the secondpany sustained negligible injuries.

    Fu Shi looked at Lu Yin, his reverence for the man zing to fanatical levels. With this system, could battles in the future still even be called battles?

    Lu Yin had a simr feeling. He gestured for everyone else to leave before turning to face Zi Jing, his eyes full of shock and awe. ¡°Did you create this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin removed the lens from his eye. It was amon-looking lens that many cultivators wore to estimate other people¡¯s power levels. Such a lens would estimate an Explorer¡¯s power level at 10,000, while Envoys would start with a power level of 500,000. This was why those numbers were used as a basis for each cultivation realm. However, Zi Jing had invented and installed a new system into thesemon lenses, which hadpletely transformed their functionality.

    ¡°Why did you invent this?¡± Lu Yin was curious.

    Zi Jing replied, ¡°War is a matter that will always be part of our universe. Whether it is against humans, other creatures, astral beasts, or even unknown enemies, we will always have to deal with war. While cultivators have the responsibility to continuously improve their strength and cultivate, our duty is to reduce the number of casualties during such wars. Dao Chosen, you worked with Aurora Enterprises to create weapons that use microarray technology, while I invented this, the Battle Navigation System.¡±

    ¡°The Battle Navigation System,¡± Lu Yin muttered to himself. He then looked back at Zi Jing. ¡°The impact that this system will have on humanity is immeasurable. Can this be used on any battlefield? For example, can it be used during battles against Aeternus?¡±

    Zi Jing nodded. ¡°Of course. The system will automatically read and analyze the data regarding opponents¡¯ speed, strength, attack methods, and movement patterns. It can instantly provide the user with an optimal route or angle of attack. If the system determines that the user is not a good match for their opponent, it will issue a warning. Furthermore, it will also send a signal to other nearby users who would be a better match for that particr opponent. The system is not simply designed for individual use. Instead, it truly shines in its ability to coordinate all of the people on a given battlefield into an unified system that can help everyone determine their ideal opponent to face¡­¡±

    .

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he listened in silence. From this moment forward, humanity¡¯s military strategies and battlefield techniques would undergo aplete revolution. The transformation caused by this Battle Navigation System was in no way inferior to the way that microarray technology had transformed weapons.

    Humans had used their intelligence to create new inventions since the dawn of time. They hade up with deceit, civilizations, cultivation, and inheritances. The invention of the microarray technology paved the way for new, more powerful weapons, and the Battle Navigation System represented the dawn of a new era for humanity.

    ¡°A node needs to be installed every one million miles to expand the battlefield¡¯s location, as without nodes, the Battle Navigation System can only provide individual functions for each user. Once the nodes are in ce, the system can connect every user within a million-mile radius and provide an overview of the entire battlefield¡­¡± Zi Jing continued her exnation. As she spoke, Lu Yin shared her exnation with Shui Chuanxiao. In the forting battle, Shui Chuanxiao would bemanding all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces.

    As soon as Shui Chuanxiao heard the first part of Zi Jing¡¯s exnation, he immediately dropped everything and rushed over. He then led Zi Jing away to privately learn everything about the Battle Navigation System and its uses in greater detail.

    Before the two left, Lu Yin asked Zi Jing what reward she desired.

    Zi Jing silently considered the question before seriously replying, ¡°No matter what, as long as I don¡¯t betray humanity, I would ask the Dao Chosen to guarantee my safety.¡±

    There was nothing that could threaten Zi Jing¡¯s safety within the Fifth Maind. The Hall of Honor and Heavens Sect would absolutely protect her. However, she had specifically requested safety as her reward. Or rather, it was her condition for providing him with the Battle Navigation System, and she appeared to be extremely serious when stating her request to Lu Yin. That raised the question¡ªjust who or what was she so worried about?

    ¡°I will borate further after the battle,¡± Zi Jing said before leaving with Shui Chuanxiao.

    Lu Yin looked away. Zi Jing was yet another person who harbored her own secrets. Still, since she was certain that Lu Yin was able to protect her, it was unlikely that her secrets were a serious matter.

    Lu Yin redirected his attention to the entrance to the Starfall Sea. The war had already begun.

    ¡­

    Six days had passed since Lu Yin had left the Perennial World. During these six days, the Seven Skygods had increased the pressure on the Dominion Realm, and at the same time, corpse kings had continued to flood the rear battlefield without giving the array bases any reprieve. Lu Yin had not wasted a single second of these six days, and at the moment, he was finally standing next to Mt. Microcosms.

    Mt. Microcosms had originally been known as the Sky Pir, and it had held up the Daosource Sect during the ancient eras. It was a treasure that had been created by the Origin Progenitor himself. Even Progenitors struggled to damage it.

    There was also a sourcebox array within Mt. Microcosms that had once forced Corpse God back, which had let them seal the path to the Starfall Sea in the first ce. The sourcebox array possessed a strengthparable to Ceaseless Impetus. In fact, Lu Yin had a strong feeling that Progenitor Hui had only managed to create Ceaseless Impetus after gaining inspiration from Mt. Microcosms.

    This was simr to how Grandmaster Gu Yan had created the Sealing Path sourcebox array after studying Ceaseless Impetus.

    Sealing the Starfall Sea with Mt. Microcosms had only been aplished after long and arduous effort from the entire Fifth Maind. On this day, the path would be reopened.

    Everyone looked up at Lu Yin as he stood beside Mt. Microcosms. Even at this moment, many people did not agree with his decision to remove Mt. Microcosms. They preferred to live their lives out in peace and safety. After learning that the Perennial World was facing disaster, some short-sighted people had even suggested destroying the New Corridor in order to protect the Fifth Maind and to avoid fighting against Aeternus for a period of time.

    Lu Yin had told Bai Xian¡¯er that there was a difference between the Lu family and the four ruling powers, and he was purposely demonstrating that difference with his actions.

    The Lu family had refused to live in a repressed and self-deceptive manner just to prolong their own survival for a few more days. They had always been trying to force Aeternus to retreat so that they could assure the long-term security and future prosperity of mankind.

    When the Lu family had still been around, they had asionally led invasions into the New World and had struck deep into the heart of Aeternus. While the rest of his family was no longer around, Lu Yin had every intention of once again invading the New World.

    If Aeternus was truly invincible, then humanity would no longer exist. The fact that humans still lived proved that there was a way to defeat Aeternus.

    With that thought in his mind, Lu Yin turned to look at Lu Buzheng.

    The sourcebox array within Mt. Microcosms had originally been activated with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and it had remained active since that time. Deactivating the sourcebox array also required the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Lu Buzheng had a solemn expression on his face as he pressed a palm against Mt. Microcosms. The gears spinning on the back of the Mt. Microcosms gradually slowed down. When they finally stopped, the entire mountain trembled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s determination was written all over his face. ¡°Open it.¡±

    At hismand, Lu Buzheng drew on his entire strength as a Semi-Progenitor and removed Mt. Microcosms from where it had stood.

    There was a bang as the seal was removed.

    Everyone intently stared past where Mt. Microcosms had stood, their breaths held from the suspense. One pair of scarlet eyes after another appeared, and they all stared straight back at the human army. These eyes brought back many memories of endless ughter and battle. That war was beginning once again.

 Chapter 2411: Get Out

    <h4>Chapter 2411: Get Out</h4>

    Countless scarlet eyes glowed in the depths of the Starfall Sea past Mt. Microcosms, all of them staring into the Fifth Maind. Corpse God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar was the closest one to Mt. Microcosms, and he opened his eyes to find Lu Yin staring straight at him. The Skygod¡¯s mind spun in confusion; had humanity actually removed Mt. Microcosms?

    Past the newly opened path was a long, horizontal ckhole that stretched across the Starfall Sea and towards the Sixth Maind. This barrier was what had caused the Sixth Maind¡¯s downfall.

    There was a small hole in the barrier that led to the Fifth Maind, and if not for the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors protecting it, the Fifth Maind would have faced the same fate as the Sixth Maind.

    The size of this gap had originally been so small that it had taken a long time for the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators to filter through it when they had evacuated from the Sixth Maind, but the hold had since expanded to the point where the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire military forces could pass through at once. Given enough time, the gap would expand even further.

    The jiao roared, interrupting Corpse God¡¯s train of thought. It revealed its sharp, deadly ws as it shot through the gap in the barrier, dove into the Starfall Sea, and tore into the horde of corpse kings. Atop the jiao, Lu Yinshed out with a palm strike towards Corpse God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar.

    In the past, Corpse God¡¯s main body had maintained the passage to the Fifth Maind, and just a single, massive hand had been enough to destroy Lu Yin. This time, only one of Corpse God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatars remained in the Starfall Sea, as his true body was busy in the Dominion Realm.

    The attack struck Corpse God with a bang, and he was sent stumbling backwards several steps. He looked up and shot a vicious re at Lu Yin. The Skygod confronted the jiao, fearless. Lu Yin¡¯s attack had done no damage whatsoever.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. While he felt a powerful desire to test himself against Corpse God¡¯s avatar and probe the avatar¡¯s true strength, this was a battlefield. The people of the entire Fifth Maind were relying on Lu Yin, thus he needed an overwhelming victory to cement their unwavering faith in him.

    "Annihte them." Lu Yin''s eyes gleamed with determination. From the Champions'' Stage behind him, Progenitor-level runes pulsed and flowed towards Corpse God. The Skygod stretched his arms out, but Lu Yin never gave him any opportunity to retaliate. This was the moment where he would prove himself worthy of the Fifth Maind¡¯s absolute trust. The runes mmed into the avatar, and all of Corpse God''s strength was sapped away. At that moment, the jiao''s razor-sharp ws shed through the body, tearing it to shreds with unbelievable power.

    Despite only facing a Semi-Progenitor avatar, the runes from the Champions¡¯ Stage had been insufficient to entirely eradicate Corpse God¡¯s runes in a short time. Lu Yin had been left with no choice but to order the jiao to join the attack. This was testament to Corpse God¡¯s absurd strength.

    Not one of the Seven Skygods was a pushover. Lu Yin¡¯s determination to truly kill Undying God only grew stronger.

    From behind Lu Yin, the armies watched as Lu Yin instantly eliminated a Semi-Progenitor the moment Mt. Microcosms was removed. Right after that, the jiao tore into the horde of Aeternals, leaving only destruction in its wake. Swaths of corpses littered the horde within the glowing scarlet eyes.

    Lu Buzheng roared, ¡°Fifth Maind, kill! Humanity must defeat Aeternus!¡±

    ¡°Defeat Aeternus!¡± Master Shan yelled.

    The Semi-Progenitors¡¯ shouts stirred the blood of every human present. The scene of utter domination that they had just witnessed stirred up a frenzied bloodlust. There was no hesitation as the human forces charged into the Starfall Sea. A mass of battleships formed a river of metal that opened fire, releasing sts of light that exploded all across the battlefield. It was time for humanity to reim what was rightfully theirs.

    Chu Yuan was standing on a spacecraft, a lens in his eye. He was one of the nodes. For a million miles in all directions, all the other people using the Battle Navigation System were connected through him.

    There were many other nodes as well, and their presence extended the coverage of thework to approximately a ten million-mile radius. It was not arge area, but it was the limit of what Zi Jing could achieve with her current Battle Navigation System.

    Behind the battlefield, the entire Fifth Maind ran like a well-oiled machine. Materials and resources were being transported to factories where new weapons were being manufactured at top speed.

    This was the Fifth Maind¡¯s battle. Not the Heavens Sect¡¯s, nor that of any individual.

    At this moment, Lu Yin carried the will of the entire Fifth Maind with him.

    Seven massive sourceboxes revolved next to Mt. Microcosms. The Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators entered and left the Starfall Sea, but all movement went ording to Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s orders. Not one of the corpse kings beyond the Starfall Sea¡¯s barrier was able to enter the Fifth Maind. Grandmaster Gu Yan was confident that his Sealing Path could even hold back a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    The Sealing Path sourcebox array functioned simrly to Mt. Microcosms, with the primary difference being that humans were still able to traverse the path.

    In the depths of the Starfall Sea, what had once been the ruins of the Sea King¡¯s Dome had long since been transformed into an Aeternus Kingdom, which Lu Yin had once visited.

    Yang Yi, the city master of the Aeternus Kingdom, as well as the Progenitor of Secret Arts¡¯ disciple, felt a wave of dread wash over him when he saw Mt. Microcosms move away, followed by the sudden death of Corpse God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar.

    This is not good! ?He thought. They must have gone insane!

    Feeling the sudden pressure, Yang Yi quickly made his way underground.

    The region beneath the Aeternus Kingdom was an enormous production nt for corpse kings.

    Yang Yi dropped to his knees after arriving underground. ¡°Master, the Fifth Maind has opened the path to the Starfall Sea, and they have dered war on us.¡±

    From the depths, a pair of eyes flickered open. A man slowly walked out. He was one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors: the Progenitor of Secret Arts, Yi Ren. ¡°The humans took the initiative to open the entrance to the Starfall Sea?¡±

    Yang Yi raised his eyes, only to be met with a startling sight that caused his own pupils to constrict. The once-human Yi Ren had finished transforming into something unnatural. The iris of one of his eyes had changed to a deep, blood-red color, while the other remained human. His body gave off the pungent odor of a decaying corpse king, and he appeared to have been corroded. At this moment, he resembled a ferocious, malevolent ghost.

    .

    "I implore Master to take action," Yang Yi said, his voice tinged with urgency.

    Yi Ren''s gaze turned to gaze across the Starfall Sea.

    "Has Xia Shang emerged?" he wondered aloud, "I cannot fathom any other reason for humanity to have gained the audacity to initiate an attack.

    ¡°Lead everyone to form a line of defense. I will take action when the time is right,¡± Yi Ren instructed.

    Yi Yang quickly acknowledged his orders and hurried away. Being in the presence of his master, who had be almostpletely unrecognizable, left the man¡¯s scalp tingling with unease.

    Yi Ren had taken Yang Yi under his wing and raised him, allowing him to enjoy a prestigious status within the Sixth Maind. When Yi Ren had joined Aeternus, Yang Yi had naturally followed his master¡¯s orders and done the same.

    After joining Aeternus, little had changed for the man. He still had a distinguished title and status as the city master of an Aeternus Kingdom, and he had never been forced to stop being human. He felt no remorse or regret regarding his decision.

    However, after finally seeing Yi Ren''s grotesque appearance, Yang Yi¡¯s positive attitude had taken a sharp turn. He was instead gripped by fear. If he had known that joining Aeternus would result in his master transforming into a creature that was neither human nor ghost, Yang Yi would have never agreed to it. Sadly, it was already toote for him to turn back.

    Yang Yi¡¯s master had once stated that he would always remain human and that he would never be a monster. How had reality turned out so differently?

    Underground, Yi Ren clenched his fists tightly, guilt covering his face. He had seen the terror and shock in Yang Yi¡¯s eyes. The Progenitor was well aware of the thoughts that must have gone through his disciple¡¯s mind. But what choice had Yi Ren had? Xia Shang¡¯s de had shed through his Progenitor¡¯s world, and half of his body had been crushed when he had helped the Aeternals try to invade the Fifth Maind. Yi Ren had never wanted to turn into such an abomination, but he had had no other choice.

    The only way for him to recover his strength as a Progenitor was to transform into a monstrosity. Otherwise, he would be inferior to even Xue Manzi, and the Aeternals would disregard Yi Ren as worthless.

    He wanted to be supreme above his fellow humans and to wield power and status within Aeternus. He refused to be just a mere pawn.

    ¡°Xia Shang, Xia Shang,¡± Yi Ren muttered under his breath. His eyes zed with intensity and overflowed with killing intent.

    Yang Yi quickly started mobilizing all of the forces of the Aeternus Kingdom for war. He concentrated most of his efforts on the eastern portion of the city. As for the western half of the city that was home to the corpse king poption, he refused to take even one step into that ce.

    ¡°City Master Yang, is the Fifth Maind invading?¡± Fan Chen asked quietly. Fan Yu stood behind the older man.

    More than a dozen years ago, the Fan family had betrayed humanity and taken refuge with Aeternus. During the Aeternals¡¯ invasion, the Fam family had taken advantage of the chaos to establish an Aeternus Kingdom with Fan Chen as the city master, but when the Aeternals had eventually retreated and Mt. Microcosms had sealed them out from the Fifth Maind, the Fan family had fled.

    Bu Kong had also escaped to the Starfall Sea.

    Given the former Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators¡¯ understanding of things, the entrance to the Starfall Sea should have never been reopened, not unless the Aeternals chose to force Mt. Microcosms out of the way. Why had the Fifth Maind decided to open the passage andunch an attack?

    Yang Yi¡¯s expression was solemn. ¡°There¡¯s no mistake. The Fifth Maind has taken the initiative to remove Mt. Microcosms. Corpse God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar has already been killed. Everyone, war is at our door.¡±

    There was a quiver of panic in Fan Chen''s voice as he said, "The Fifth Maind would only decide tounch a war if they were confident in victory."

    He nced over at Fan Yu, who appeared even more upset. They had not willingly betrayed humanity, but had been forced to do so. To be exact, Fan Chen''s actions had left the family with no option other than to betray mankind.

    In order to learn a powerful sword technique, Fan Chen had secretly kidnapped the Cloud Valley¡¯s master. ?After that, he had even gone after the Higher Temple¡¯s sword techniques. No one knew who had revealed his secret, but the aftermath had been disastrous for the Fan family, and they had been reduced to living as destitute street rats. They had not chosen to betray humanity; rather, they had done so in a desperate attempt to survive.

    If Aeternus won, all would be fine for the Fan family, and they would maintain their lofty status. What of the Cloud Valley? What of the Higher Temple? Everyone from those ces would be firmly suppressed beneath their feet.

    However, due to the fact that the Fifth Maind was initiating a war against the Aeternals, the various traitors were all feeling rather unsettled.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he turned to face the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance. ¡°Where¡¯s Master?¡±

    Fan Chen and Fan Yu both felt their hearts skip a beat. Right, even though none of the Seven Skygods were standing guard in the Starfall Sea, there was still the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    Yang Yi replied, ¡°Master has his own ns that he will follow. Everyone, prepare to receive the enemy.¡±

    In the eastern city, Si Xiao¡¯er sat on the steps of Water God Dojo. The area was sparsely popted, and there were only a few people around.

    In the past, Water God Dojo had enjoyed an impressive status within the eastern city, which had been entirely thanks to Dojo Master Si¡¯s existence and the fact that she had been an Envoy. When Dojo Master Si had died in Burial Garden, the status of Water God Dojo had plummeted, and its size had reduced by more than half.

    ¡°Senior Sister, the city master has announced a mandatory conscription. War ising! What should we do?¡±

    ¡°Senior Sister, the Fifth Maind won¡¯t believe that we¡¯ve actually turned and joined Aeternus, right? We were forced into this!¡±

    ¡°Senior Sister, you¡¯ve got to help us think of something!¡±

    Si Xiao¡¯er clenched the hilt of her knife as she looked up. ¡°As long as our conscience remains clear, nothing else matters! Sisters, do your best to survive!¡±

    The jiao¡¯s ws shed down, tearing a path through the endless horde of corpse kings in the Starfall Sea. Behind the beast followed a fleet of battleships arranged in a neat formation, each carrying the members of the Allied Forces and Heavens Corps. The enormous army ughtered their way through the sea of corpse kings.

    The jiao elerated, vanishing within less than a second. Lu Yin, determined to put as much pressure on Aeternus as possible, forced his way deep behind their lines so that he could eliminate any formidable foes that might be able to resist the army¡¯s progress.

    As he approached the Sea King¡¯s Dome, an Envoy-level corpse king charged out to meet him. The monster¡¯s body almost instantly shattered into fragments after a single burst of Progenitor-level pressure.

    The jiao¡¯s aura settled onto the Aeternus Kingdom, increasing the nervousness of the inhabitants. As the colossal creature moved closer, a chill spread across Yang Yi''s body when he realized that the might given off by this Progenitor-level beast far exceeded his master¡¯s strength. The most important question on everyone''s mind at this moment was how they were supposed to face the jiao. Where were the forces of Aeternus? Where were the Seven Skygods when they were needed the most?

    Fan Chen, Fan Yu, Bu Kong, Si Xiao¡¯er, and many others stared up at the horrifying creature, unable to move or even react. There was no defending against something like this. The beast utterly suppressed everyone and everything in existence. Its mere presence sparked a terror so primal that all the people here werepletely paralyzed.

    Lu Yin stood atop the jiao¡¯s head as he stared down at the Sea King¡¯s Dome. He spread his domain outward so that it epassed the entire Aeternus Nation. He could sense Bu Kong, Fan Chen, and many others, but they were nothing more than ants to him. There was only one person who mattered in the entire ind. Lu Yin sensed the strength of a Progenitor, and he called out, ¡°Yi Ren, get out here!¡±

    Booming soundwaves swept through the air, creating waves that surged in the Starfall Sea and crashed intos, drowning them entirely. The humans in the Aeternus Kingdom looked up in terror as all color drained from their faces.

    Bu Kong¡¯s eyes grewrge. ¡°Lu Yin! It¡¯s Lu Yin!¡±

    Si Xiao¡¯er was simrly startled by the familiar voice.

    Yang Yi swallowed his fear and called for his master. This person clearly intended to make trouble for the Progenitor.

 Chapter 2412: The Progenitor Of Secret Arts

    <h4>Chapter 2412: The Progenitor Of Secret Arts</h4>

    Yi Ren¡¯s expression grew serious as he stared at the jiao. Slowly, he released the aura of a Progenitor, and it spread out from beneath the Aeternus Kingdom to eventually epass the entire Starfall Sea.

    The man had already recognized Lu Yin. The young man was the rival of his disciple, and the two had previouslypeted. How had Lu Yin be capable of riding atop that enormous, Progenitor-level beast¡¯s head?

    A four-tribtion Envoy was riding a Progenitor-level creature. It was hard to believe without seeing it personally, but that was exactly the scene before Yi Ren. Lu Yin was arrogantly provoking a Progenitor while standing atop the jiao¡¯s head.

    The strength of the jiao left Yi Ren nervous. The only other beings he had ever felt such majestic power from were the Seven Skygods themselves. He was rather hesitant to step out.

    Xia Shang¡¯s de had broken Yi Ren¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, which was the disk that he had used to attack. After that, when Yi Ren had tried to force his way into the Fifth Maind, he had been attacked by that man, and half of the Progenitor¡¯s body had been crushed. Subsequently, he was suffering from a bit of psychological trauma.

    He brought out a scarlet eye and attempted to get in contact with the Seven Skygods, but he failed to connect to anyone. What was going on? What were the Seven Skygods doing?

    ¡°Yi Ren, you traitor! Get out right now!¡± Lu Yin¡¯s stern shout rang out again. As the jiao moved closer, its body cast a dark shadow over the entire Aeternus Kingdom which had previously been the Sea King¡¯s Dome. The beast¡¯s overwhelming might left the people below it quivering.

    The Progenitor realm was the peak of cultivation. Countless people had dreamed of bing a Progenitor, only to fail. There were many more who had never even dared to dream of reaching such heights, but at this moment, their Progenitor was actually hiding while Lu Yin hurled insults at him. The scene left Yang Yi and many otherspletely speechless.

    ¡°Yi Ren, you¡¯ll be the shame of all Progenitors if you refuse to get out!¡± Lu Yin continued to antagonize the Progenitor of Secret Arts. Purplish-ck battle force covered Lu Yin¡¯s body, and the Champions¡¯ Stage floated behind him. His appearance atop the jiao was that of someone who should not be trifled with.

    Bu Kong¡¯s mouth fell open. How had such a massive gap opened between them? They had both possessed the same level of strength just a short time ago and had beenpeting, but was Lu Yin already qualified to challenge his master?

    Deep underground, Yi Ren continued his attempts to connect with the Seven Skygods. He was not afraid of Lu Yin, but he was very intimidated by the jiao, as well as Xia Shang, who was still hiding in the Fifth Maind. Yi Ren was absolutely terrified of that man.

    With a junior boldly insulting him from the sky above, Yi Ren started to grow anxious. Something had to have happened.

    Lu Yin started observing the ground beneath the Aeternus Kingdom. The Progenitor of Secret Arts was more of a coward than Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. Even after he had spent so much time humiliating the man, the Progenitor was still afraid to show himself. Since when were Progenitors so weak-willed?

    Although the Progenitor of Secret Arts did not emerge, Lu Yin also did not try to go underground and search for the man. Lu Yin was worried that there might be some sort of trap waiting for him down below. As for the battlefield, things had reached a stalemate for the moment.

    Far away, at the entrance to the Starfall Sea, Hai Feng and Hai Dashao relentlessly fought against the corpse kings with Elder He supporting them from behind. All the three men wanted nothing more than to rush to the Sea King¡¯s Dome and reim their home.

    After decades, they had finally caught a glimpse of hope.

    ¡°Little Feng, Little Shao, there¡¯s no need to rush. We will definitely take back the Sea King¡¯s Dome. Don¡¯t get separated from me,¡± Elder He worriedly called out. Hai Feng and Hai Dashao were right at the edge of the Envoy¡¯s line of sight. While he also wanted to rush to the Sea king¡¯s Dome, he was a node, and he needed to stay behind to maintain a connection between all the cultivators within a million miles of his location. He could not afford to move further ahead.

    Hai Dashao fell back, following the path indicated by an arrow that appeared in his lens. In the ce where he had been standing just seconds before,yers of the void shattered from the aftershock of powerful, distant attacks that were not even aimed at the man. If he had not followed the instructions provided by the Battlefield Navigation System, he would have been forced to suffer the full force of the damage with his body.

    Attacks always filled an entire battlefield, and it wasmon for people to die without even knowing how they died or who had killed them.

    However, with the Battlefield Navigation System in ce, the human armies were able to receive advance notice regarding iing attacks, which provided them with a great deal of confidence and assurance. Each person felt as though they were being directly guided by someone far above who was able to analyze the entire battlefield and give appropriatemands.

    Even Envoys and Semi-Progenitors were shocked by the system¡¯s utility, despite the fact that it was much less useful to individuals at their level.

    Envoys and Semi-Progenitors used different techniques from regr cultivators. The Battlefield Navigation System needed further upgrades before it could offer the same degree of assistance to more powerful cultivators.

    Even given the current abilities of the system, its performance was outstanding. The damage and casualty rate that the human forces were suffering were extremely low, both forbatants and for the battleships.

    Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, Sky Garan, and many others were stunned by humanity¡¯s progress. While the Heavens Sect era represented the pinnacle of human civilization that had featured more than tens of thousands of different races and cultures, in some ways, the modern era was no less impressive. They had learned about miracles such as Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, the Rune Progenitor, and many others who had been born after the Heavens Sect era. More recent inventions included microarray technology and the Battlefield Navigation System, both of which were in the process of transforming the way wars were fought. The quest for progress and innovation had remained constant throughout all of human history.

    Even in the eyes of the people from the Heavens Sect era, the creativity of the modern era would have made the entire ancient society stare on, wide-eyed in awe.

    Zi Jing was inside a vessel, observing the battlefield from outside the Starfall Sea, still within the Fifth Maind. The attitude that humans held toward Aeternus hadpletely changed. Despair and the desperation to survive werepletely gone, reced by a burning anger and a fiery fighting spirit. Each movement that was made was more agile, more confident, and more precise than the ones before. This was the true capabilities of humanity.

    ¡°I just pray that it wasn¡¯t a mistake to ce all my hopes on you. I hope that you¡¯re able to keep me safe,¡± Zi Jing murmured to herself. Although she was staring at the Starfall Sea, her mind was far from the battle.

    Above the Aeternus Kingdom, Lu Yin¡¯s spittle continued to fly as he came up with new lines to insult the hidden Progenitor. After some time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines caught up with Lu Yin and the jiao. Upon hearing the young man using all sorts of colorfulnguage to try to draw Yi Ren out, the wounded Progenitor grew a bit pale. ¡°Dao Chosen, let me try.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed, and the Progenitor of Bloodlines stepped onto the jiao''s back. "Despite being a Progenitor, he''s too timid toe out and face me, even after I¡¯ve been openly insulting him from here. Senior, could you tell me about the kind of person that Yi Ren is?¡±

    Of the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors, the first that Lu Yin had personally met was the Progenitor of Combat, Jiu Xiang. When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, Jiu Xiang had personally taken action, only to be forced to retreat by the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power.

    The second was the Progenitor of Bloodlines. After Lu Yin had sessfully passed his first stellr tribtion to be an Envoy, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had visited and spoken to Lu Yin in person.

    As for the Progenitor of Secret Arts, Yi Ren, Lu Yin had never crossed paths with the man. This was primarily due to the fact that Yi Ren had betrayed humanity. Before that, there had never been any chances for the two to meet. Lu Yin had no knowledge regarding what kind of person Yi Ren was, and this was the closest that they had evere to meeting each other.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines arrived at the top of the jiao¡¯s head and then turned to stare at the Aeternus Kingdom. ¡°Yi Ren, I¡¯m here.¡±

    Yi Ren''s expression darkened after he saw the Progenitor of Bloodlines standing beside Lu Yin

    ¡°The Yi family once ruled over the Brahman Realm. Long ago, our Sixth Maind warred against the Fifth Maind. During the war, Xia Shang was killed, and entire generations of ns and families were wiped out. Yi Ren, do you still remember?¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines asked.

    Yi Ren¡¯s expression turned ugly, and a cold glint flickered through his eyes.

    "The Yi family may be gone, but our Sixth Maind has not forgotten them. Thousands of families offered you food and shelter, and thousands more gave you resources and offered you cultivation arts. It was due to their help that you were able to develop your various secret techniques. Do you still remember who provided you with the tribtion crystals that allowed you to open your three meridian points? Or the person who gave you your Origin Matter?

    ¡°Do you remember what you once said? Your goal was to bring glory to the Yi family by taking back control of the Brahman Realm. You wanted to repay the Sixth Maind and return all of the favors owed to those who had helped you. Have you forgotten all this?¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines reprimanded.

    Yi Ren lifted his head and said, "Xue Manzi, there''s no need to bring up the past. I have already repaid the debts I owed."

    "Which family does your disciple Bu Kong belong to?" asked the Progenitor of Bloodlines in a harsh tone.

    Yi Ren¡¯s entire body twitched.

    Within Aeternus Nation, the words rang out like thunder in Bu Kong¡¯s ears. Which family was he from? He was an orphan, no?

    "He¡¯s a member of the Heng family, which provided you with the tribtion crystals. However, they werepletely wiped out while you were training in seclusion. After you managed to be a Progenitor, your first action was to avenge their destruction and eliminate all of their enemies¡¯ families. It was at this time that you took in Bu Kong as your disciple. To cleanse his heart of all hatred, you kept him in cryostasis for several decades before allowing him to start cultivating. You devoted a significant amount of time and effort to train him, and yet you asked him to join you in betraying humanity. Additionally, there''s Yang Yi, your eldest disciple. The Progenitor of the Yang family was the one who gave you your Origin Matter, but he was killed by Xia Shang. He left that Origin Matter for you, but you also convinced Yang Yi to apany you when you betrayed humanity.

    ¡°Is this how you repay the Heng and Yang families? How will you ever manage topare to Xia Shang when you are nothing more than an ungrateful traitor?¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines yelled.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yi Ren roared.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines continued in the same stern tone. ¡°I know that Yang Yi and Bu Kong are both in this Aeternus Kingdom right now. I dare you to look them in the eye and tell them how their ancestors helped you be the Progenitor you are, and yet how you¡¯ve brought them to betray humanity with you, setting them up to be monsters. Go ahead, exin yourself to them.¡±

    There was a deafening boom as the Aeternus Kingdom erupted and Yi Ren shot into the sky. His disk wasunched towards the Progenitor of Bloodlines, apanied by a shout. "I said, shut up!"

    Lu Yin quickly pushed the Progenitor of Bloodlines out of the way, and the jiao raised its ws and shed at the disk. There was a collision as the sound of screeching metal filled the air. The jiao¡¯s strength was suddenly sapped away, and its power dropped. Even the size of its body seemed to reduce a bit.

    ¡°Be careful. He became a Progenitor through the Reversal Cycle technique, and that disk is his Progenitor¡¯s world. It¡¯s called the Reversal Disk, and it is able to revert his opponents¡¯ power back to their childhood state,¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines warned.

    The jiao examined its bleeding ws in confusion.

    The disk sliced through the void, shooting back towards them a second time. Wherever the disk passed by, it left behind an absolutely ck nothingness. Lu Yin quickly summoned his champion, E Chi, andmanded him to attack the disk with his serrated de. Another ear-splitting screech rang out as the two weapons shed, releasing a shower of sparks. Then, the disk swept upwards, and E Chi was sliced in two. This was something that not even Bai Sheng had been able to aplish. Not only was the edge of this disk honed to an unbelievable level of sharpness, but Yi Ren was also using Reversal Cycle.

    This technique was very difficult to handle. However, as soon a w was discovered, exploiting it became quite straightforward.

    Thankfully, Lu Yin had already encountered Reversal Cycle several times in the past. Bu Kong had been defeated by Lu Yin so many times that the former Daosource Three Skies no longer had the confidence to challenge Lu Yin.

    There were two methods to defeat Reversal Cycle; one could either avoid the attack entirely, or one could erase its power. Lu Yin had had a tough time erasing Reversal Cycle with Truesight when he had fought against Bu Kong in the past, so he had chosen to either dodge the attacks or use another method to attack. However, at this moment, Lu Yin had ess to Progenitor-level runes.

    The disk once again streaked towards the jiao, but before it could strike, the jiao¡¯s body recovered its original strength. Despite both of them possessing the strength of a Progenitor, the jiao was much more powerful than Yi Ren. Thus, Reversal Cycle was only able to affect the jiao for a short time before wearing off.

    Realizing that the disk was capable of injuring it, the jiao made sure to avoid any further contact with the weapon.

    Lu Yin left the jiao¡¯s head. While the jiao exchanged blows with Yi Ren, Lu Yin covered the disk with multipleyers of Progenitor-level runes. Since it was impossible for Lu Yin to destroy the disk, he wanted to at least limit its movements.

    Since the disk was Yi Ren¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, it acted as his main weapon and yed a key role in almost all of his attacks. With the disk somewhat suppressed, the Progenitor immediately started to struggle. Moreover, his old injuries had weakened him to the point where even Bai Sheng would be a more challenging opponent.

    Still, Progenitors stood at the pinnacle of cultivation, and there was a reason for this. Despite being unable to inflict any damage to the jiao, evading the beast¡¯s attacks required no effort from Yi Ren.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many of your men can survive my attacks!¡± Yi Ren threatened with a cold gleam in his eyes. The attacks from the disk never stopped, though the man himself started moving towards the entrance to the Starfall Sea.

    Lu Yin could no longer remain calm. Yi Ren was nning to attack the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces, which left Lu Yin with no choice but to leave the Starfall Sea to stop the Progenitor.

    There was no longer any reason for Lu Yin to hide his abilities, and he instantly started using Star Stomp. Yi Ren looked down in terror as the star beneath him suddenly shot upwards. Then, it exploded.

    The st¡¯s overwhelming force left Yi Ren reeling backwards, and a crack appeared in the middle of his disk. In utter disbelief, he turned to stare at the man who had just unleashed such devastating power.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on using Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, but since you don¡¯t have any intention of showing mercy to my people, then I¡¯ll borrow his strength to send you on your way.¡± As Lu Yin spoke, more stars ands throughout the Starfall Sea began to rise.

    The Starfall Sea was part of the Human Domain, which meant that a number of the stars ands in it were Progenitor Chen¡¯s creations. Not one of the astrological bodies that Lu Yin detonated was home to any living creature. In fact, no living creature lived on any of thes in the Starfall Sea, as Aeternus had moved all of them to either the Aeternus Kingdom or Grayweed Continent.

 Chapter 2413: Resentment

    Chapter 2413: Resentment

    The second star¡¯s explosion sent Yi Ren hurtling backwards, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he flew. His eyes opened while he was still tumbling through space, and one of them took on a blood-red color. At this moment, Yi Ren looked exactly like when Yang Yi had seen him underground.

    But this time, fluctuations started to ripple within the blood-red eye. Suddenly, a tentacle tore out of the eye and shot towards Lu Yin. At the same time, more tentacles wrapped around Yi Ren¡¯s body, binding him within a tight cocoon.

    Lu Yin hurriedly dodged the tentacle. What the hell were those things?

    The tentacles were a muddy brown color, and they were also covered in a disgustingyer of slime. The near endless number of runes that Lu Yin observed from the tentacles were in no way inferior to Yi Ren¡¯s own.

    Lu Yin looked over at the Progenitor of Bloodlines and saw the old man¡¯s confused expression. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen Yi Ren disy an ability like this.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to detonate one star after another while simultaneously manipting runes to erase Yi Ren¡¯s power.

    Yi Ren''s power was continuously weakened by the Progenitor-level runes, and due to that, the explosions that struck his body had the ability to severely injure him. His strength was merelyparable to Progenitor Xia Shenji''s clone¡¯s. However, the revolting tentacles were neverpletely destroyed, despite the force of the various explosions, as they were able to regenerate after breaking apart. On top of that, their resilience was remarkable, and often endured the force of the explosions.

    Everyone gaped at the cocoon of tentacles. How did a Progenitor end up looking like such a freak?

    The disk suddenly broke free from the restraints of the Progenitor-level runes. Within the slimy mass of tentacles, one of Yi Ren¡¯s arms reached out and grabbed hold of the disk. The tentacles began to unwrap from his body.

    As soon as Yi Ren was exposed, everyone who saw him shuddered in horror as a cold chill ran down their spines.

    A squirming, wriggling mass of tentacles stretched out from one of his eyes.

    Si Xiao¡¯er felt her stomach heave, and she vomited on the ground within the Aeternus Kingdom. The grotesque sight left her stomach churning in revulsion.

    Other onlookers were ovee with the same inclination to empty their stomachs¡¯ contents.

    Yang Yi¡¯s face grew pale from fear. Master, what has be of you?

    Bu Kong¡¯s face had a simrly ugly expression. He clenched the shaft of his spear so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

    Yi Ren fixed a death re at Lu Yin. The Progenitor was fully aware of just how nauseating his appearance was, but there was no other way. The strength that Lu Yin could unleash by borrowing Progenitor Chen¡¯s power meant that Yi Ren had to exert his full strength.

    He shoved his hand into his eye socket, grabbed it, and ripped the scarlet eye out. The tentacles were rooted within the eyeball itself. ¡°This is called Decaying Diablo. Heaven only knows where Shaman God found it, but regardless, he gave it to me. With this, I¡¯m strong enough to fight against Xia Shang! It might look disgusting, but it¡¯s rather useful, as well as very obedient.¡±

    With the eyeball removed, Yi Ren no longer had such a hideous appearance. He was just a man who was missing an eye.

    Of course, that was also assuming that he did not rece the eyeball.

    ¡°I never expected that a junior who oncepeted with my own disciple would one day force me to such a point.¡± Yi Ren stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Since you are able to use Xia Shang¡¯s power, then killing you means that I¡¯ll finally avenge my Yi family!¡±

    The eyeball then turned around so that the pupil faced Lu Yin. Swarms of tentacles surged out, converging upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was well and truly grossed out by this point in time. He essed his cosmic ring, retrieved the slipper, and then tossed it to E Chi. The champion stood with a serrated de in one hand and the slipper in the other. Both weaponsshed out at the approaching tentacles.

    The moment the slippers came into contact with the tentacles, even though they were durable enough to withstand the multiple star explosions, they instantly shattered.

    Yi Ren¡¯s remaining eye bulged out of its socket from shock. Impossible! That¡¯s impossible!

    E Chi continued to attack with the slipper, and hepletely smashed all of the approaching tentacles.

    At the same time, Progenitor-level runes continued erasing Yi Ren¡¯s power while the jiao wed at the Progenitor from behind. Besieged from three different directions, even someone like Xia Shenji would struggle, much less Yi Ren.

    He raised his disk over his head, and it rapidly expanded. The might of a Progenitor surged out to epass the entire Starfall Sea. The waves grew, and the water became turbulent.

    Right when everyone was anticipating the Progenitor¡¯s next attack, the entire disk vanished, as well as the man himself. The only trace that remained of Yi Ren was a pitch-ck shadow that instantly shot off into the distance.

    The void waspletely empty. There was no sign of the disk, Yi Ren, or those tentacles. All was still and silent.

    Within the Aeternus Kingdom, Yang Yi felt as though he had just been doused by a bucket of ice water. Gone! His master had just abandoned them and left by himself.

    Everyone had seen Yi Ren escape.

    However, all this remained within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. After all, even Xia Shenji had been helpless against Lu Yin. If not for the tentacles, Yi Ren himself would have been destroyed.

    There was no denying that the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors were far weaker than Xia Shenji or any of the other Progenitors from the Perennial World. At best, the three were around Bai Sheng¡¯s level of strength.

    However, even Lu Yin would be hard-pressed to actually stop a Progenitor who was determined to escape.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s power was not without limits.

    ¡°Senior, why did Progenitor Chen wipe out the Yi family?¡± Lu Yin asked the Progenitor of Bloodlines out of curiosity. Lu Yin¡¯s impression of Progenitor Chen was that he was a man who had been unrivaled throughout the universe, someone who could easily extinguish the lives of other Progenitors. That was not someone who would use their power to wipe out an entire family for no reason.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines sighed. ¡°The resentment between him and that family ran too deep, and it was impossible for them to ever resolve those grudges. Back then, the Sixth Maind had dered war and even vowed to not cease until either they or their enemies died. Progenitor Chen had a faithful group of followers who were practically his disciples. All of them participated in the war, and during a battle at Fan Qingshan, almost all of those people were ughtered. The ones who killed them were from the Yi family.

    ¡°If they had merely died on the battlefield, things would simply have ended there, but the Yi family decided to drive their spears through the bodies and stake them to the ground. It was a cruel form of torture, and the bodies all shriveled up as the elements stripped them bare, and they dried out. Some were subjected to even worse horrors, such as being impaled within the bodies of astral beasts. Just thinking about the torment that those people suffered makes me shudder.¡±

    A thought shed in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    ¡°The ancient centipede!¡± he blurted.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was startled. ¡°A centipede? That¡¯s one of the astral beasts that the Yi family reared as a pet.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as everything suddenly clicked into ce. Many things finally made sense.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s followers were defeated at Fan Qingshan, and some of them were impaled to the ground to weather the wind and rain, while others were impaled within the ancient centipede¡¯s body. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had seen dead bodies pierced through with spears within the body of the ancient centipede when its corpse had appeared many years ago. Those dried up bodies had all been impaled by spears, which had made for a heart-wrenching sight. Before they passed on, those victims had written the words, ¡°My only regret is that I am not able to protect our master while awaiting for the rain to end! Hate! Hate! Hate!!¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood that the ¡°master¡± mentioned in their messages referred to Progenitor Chen.

    Progenitor Chen had loved Wang Xiaoyu, and he had often stared out at rain that fell onto blossoms. Lu Yin finally understood the full meaning of that message.

    ¡°There is no right or wrong in war. Dying on the battlefield is simply expected. However, the unspeakably cruel way that those people were tortured drove Xiao Shang to the point of insanity. Like a madman, he sought out everyst member of the Yi family, and he sessfully killed almost all of them, except for Yi Ren alone. Despite never openly expressing his hatred for Xia Shang, Yi Ren has kept all of his emotions hidden in his heart, unlike Jiu Xiang.¡±

    ¡°Jiu Xiang was always exceptionally wary of the Fifth Maind, and that was why he tried all different methods to weaken or enve the Fifth Maind. Eventually, he even took matters into his own hands. On the other hand, Yi Ren decided to betray humanity. The darkness in his heart is as deep as an abyss,¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines exined.

    Lu Yin did not offer his own opinion. In war, opinions were thest thing that mattered.

    ¡°Senior, in that case, is it true that Shaman God gave him that eyeball?¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines immediately grew solemn. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it before, so it¡¯s possible that he spoke the truth. I cannot say.¡±

    Thoughts regarding the ancient centipede drifted through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Apparently, the Yi family had possessed special methods to tame such a disgusting astral beast.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines turned to look at the Aeternus Kingdom. ¡°What do you n to do with this ce?¡±

    Lu Yin waved the question away. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that for now. Senior, can I trouble you to tell me more about what happened during that era?¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines gave Lu Yin a dubious look. ¡°Right now?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines looked back down. ¡°Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to settle things here first?¡±

    Just as Lu Yin was about to reply, he suddenly focused on a single location. E Chi, who had not yet been unsummoned, stepped into the void andshed out with the slipper. His target was Bu Kong.

    Bu Kong waspletely frozen as he watched the attack close in. The might of a Progenitor rendered both him and Yang Yipletely immobile, unable to even attempt to react. Bu Kong¡¯s only thought was that Lu Yin was about to kill him, though he also thought that it was overkill to use a Progenitor¡¯s power for him.

    However, Lu Yin was not actually aiming to kill Bu Kong. His target was actually Yi Ren.

    Lu Yin had been preparing this attack the moment that Yi Ren had fled. From what the Progenitor of Bloodlines had said to Yi Ren, Lu Yin had heard about how the Heng family and Yang family had been Yi Ren¡¯s benefactors. That was why the Progenitor had taken Bu Kong and Yang Yi along with him when he had decided to betray humanity. No matter which side the Progenitor of Secret Arts stood on, Bu Kong and Yang Yi were people whom he cared about. Lu Yin was betting that Yi Ren would return to save his two disciples.

    Theck of hesitation to abandon his disciples and the decisiveness of the man¡¯s escape was something that Lu Yin had taken note of.

    By conversing with the Progenitor of Bloodlines and maintaining a certain distance from the Aeternus Kingdom, Lu Yin had been deliberately giving Yi Ren an opportunity.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s expectations were met, Yi Ren would return to save Bu Kong and Yang Yi.

    Yi Ren moved fast, but Lu Yin was already one step ahead. He had made preparations well in advance, and runes permeated the entire region. The moment Lu Yin sensed something abnormal, he had not hesitated to attack with the slipper. Regardless of whether Yi Ren was the one making a move, Lu Yin intended to strike first and ask questionster.

    Tentacles emerged from the void, reaching for Bu Kong and Yang Yi in an attempt to take them away. However, all of the tentacles were instantly destroyed by the slipper. The eyeball fell from the void, and standing behind it was Yi Ren. He brought out his disk and mmed it against the slipper that E Chi was wielding. There was a crack, and a portion of the disk crumbled. Yi Ren spat out blood as he once again suffered from the slipper¡¯s terrifying power. He gave onest nce at Bu Kong and Yang Yi, turned around, and left. He did not even stop to collect the eyeball that had fallen.

    Everything happened in an instance. No one was able to react in the slightest.

    Lu Yin finally made his way down to the Aeternus Kingdom, E Chi behind him. Overhead, the jiao blotted out the sky with its colossal body.

    Lu Yin stared at the eyeball lying on the ground. On one hand, he was tempted to smash the thing to pieces, but on the other, he felt that it was wasteful to simply destroy something so powerful.

    There was no way in hell Lu Yin would ever use it himself, but it was still a Progenitor-level treasure.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlinesnded beside him and noticed Lu Yin staring at the eyeball. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Do you have any interest in it, Senior?¡±

    Goosebumps appeared on the Progenitor¡¯s arms. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°Whether you are interested or not, we¡¯ll talk about itter, after we test it. It seems that it won¡¯t attack without someone controlling it.¡±

    Without waiting for a reply, Lu Yin disappeared as he made his way to the eastern city.

    This Aeternus Kingdom was split into two cities, and the eastern city was inhabited by humans while the western city was popted by corpse kings.

    Just a short whileter, the western city had been razed to the ground. Within the eastern city, humans nervously waited around for the hammer of judgment to fall.

    As soon as the Human Domainunched an assault on the Starfall Sea, Yang Yi had quickly sent out a mandatory conscription order for all cultivators. The city master looked upwards. Who still had the courage to defend the city?

    After the eastern city surrendered, Lu Yin instructed everyone to remain where they were and to await trial by the Interster Supreme Court. Then, he pulled out Yang Yi, Bu Kong, Fan Chen, and Fan Yu.

    These four did not qualify for a trial; they had been traitors from the very beginning.

    Fan Chen¡¯s face was ashen. Fan Yu stared up at Lu Yin, despair and fear written across his face. Bu Kong seemed unwilling to ept his fate. Yang Yi appeared to be at peace, as though he had alreadye to terms with death.

    ¡°Senior, I¡¯ll leave the Fan family¡¯s punishment to your Sixth Maind,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was still studying the strange eyeball. Looking at it from up close made him nervous, but just as Lu Yin had said, as long as no one was controlling it, the eyeball would not attack on its own. At the moment, the Progenitor was attempting to control it.

    Although the thing was quite grotesque, it was also a highly effective weapon. It had already proven itself to be durable enough to withstand even exploding stars. The only object that had been able to damage the tentacles was the slipper.

 Chapter 2414: Investigation, Checks, And Balances

    Chapter 2414: Investigation, Checks, And Bnces

    After the Fan family was taken away, Lu Yin turned to Yang Yi and Bu Kong. ¡°Do you regret betraying humanity?¡±

    Yang Yi sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t dare to question Master¡¯s orders.¡±

    Bu Kong red at Lu Yin. ¡°I only hate the fact that the gap between us has widened.¡±

    Lu Yin gave Bu Kong a long look, simply captured him alive, and then ced him on Zenith Mountain. Bu Kong would be Lu Yin¡¯s bargaining chip when the time came to deal with Yi Ren. Lu Yin then spoke to the Progenitor of Bloodlines while eyeing Yang Yi. ¡°Senior, when the people of the Sea King¡¯s Dome arrive, turn him over to them. They will decide his fate.¡±

    Having aplished all he needed to at the Sea King¡¯s Dome, Lu Yin left, riding atop the jiao. He made his way towards the Upper Three Gates. It was only a matter of time before word of Yi Ren¡¯s defeat reached the Seven Skygods.

    Shortly after Yi Ren escaped from the battlefield, news of the matter reached Ancient God¡¯s group in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Shaman God give him Decaying Diablo? How was he still defeated so quickly? How can such a person ever qualify to rule over humanity?¡± Forgotten Ruins God blocked an attack from Xia Shenji as she spoke.

    Upon hearing Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s words, Xia Shenji knew that Lu Yin had already gained the upper hand in the Starfall Sea. The Progenitor clearly remembered the tricks and abilities that Lu Yin had employed against him, and he dearly wished for Aeternus to have an even more difficult time dealing with the young man.

    Ancient God replied, ¡°That brat uses all kinds of strange methods. He has the ability to upgrade objects, instantly heal himself, and even seize control of others. It¡¯s not surprising that Yi Ren isn¡¯t his match. Are any of you able to withdraw from here to deal with him?¡±

    ¡°Not possible.¡± ckless God was fully focused on holding back Wang Fan. This was not an easy task, as Wang Fan had fought against ckless God on more than one asion before, and he was no stranger to the Skygods¡¯s abilities.

    Corpse God and Progenitor Long faced off against each other. Progenitor Long was using the White Dragon Transformation, and his body had grown to an enormous size due to the Python Ancestor¡¯s blood. The massive body mmed into Corpse God.

    Forgotten Ruins God fought against Xia Shenji.

    Ancient God had two opponents: Bai Wangyuan and the Divine Eagle.

    The four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors were just barely able to hold their own against the Seven Skygods with the assistance of the Divine Eagle and Ceaseless Impetus.

    Ancient God looked up as the eagle swooped down towards him once more. ¡°Even the Arkfish could brush off that attack. What makes you think that it could do anything to me?¡±

    He stretched out his arm with his palm facing the eagle and then curled his fingers into a fist. Ancient God¡¯s fingers seemed to seize hold of some ce within the Divine Eagle. Then, he swung his hand to the side, tossing the eagle away. Ancient God quickly followed up with a punch at Bai Wangyuan, which caused the Progenitor to grimace. The stars in the Outer Realm shook, and the sevens fell, leaving trails of light behind them as they blocked Ancient God¡¯s attack.

    Ancient God pulled his hand back and nced at Bai Wangyuan before turning to leave.

    Bai Wangyuan recalled the agreement that he had made with Lu Yin, and he desperately tried to stop Ancient God from leaving the battlefield, but all of his attempts were in vain, even with the Divine Eagle¡¯s help.

    ¡°Ancient God, if you dare to leave, I¡¯ll immediately go kill Undying God!¡± Bai Wangyuan threatened.

    Ancient God left without so much as a nce backwards.

    Bai Wangyuan also left the Dominion Realm.

    Forgotten Ruins God rolled her eyes. ¡°So he took the initiative and opened the path to the Starfall Sea to dere war on Aeternus? How bold.¡±

    In the Starfall Sea, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan vibrated. After giving it a quick nce, he hastily turned the jiao back to the sea¡¯s entrance. At the same time, he ordered all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s forces to immediately retreat.

    Ancient God soon arrived in the Starfall Sea, and he took a step towards its entrance. He prepared to attack the seven enormous sourceboxes, but something made him pause. He looked up to see the massive jiao waiting just outside the Starfall Sea, along with Lu Yin and the human army. His scarlet eyes briefly flickered before Ancient God turned and left.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Ancient God¡¯s figure retreat.

    Progenitors with Xia Shenji¡¯s level of strength were within Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities, but he knew that he was nowhere near being able to put up a fight against Ancient God. As one of the Dao Monarchs from the Heavens Sect era, Ancient God was on an entirely different level. Lu Yin¡¯s tricks and tools would only copse before such power.

    It was likely that even a full-powered blow with the God of Death¡¯s power would not affect Ancient God too much.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan also let out a sigh of relief. There was no way his Sealing Path sourcebox array could ever stop Ancient God.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, if he ever returns, just use Mt. Microcosms to reseal the path to the Starfall Sea. Anything else is too risky,¡± Grandmaster Gu Yan said.

    Lu Yin agreed. They were lucky that Ancient God had decided to leave. If the Skygod had tried to force his way through, no one would be able to stop him.

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Lower Realm, Undying God directed a disturbing stare at Bai Wangyuan as the mannded one blow after another onto Undying God¡¯s body. If no one arrived to stop Bai Wangyuan, there was a possibility that Undying God would truly die.

    Bai Wangyuan hoped to kill Undying God once and for all, but the stars in the Outer Realm soon trembled, which signaled Ancient God¡¯s return. Bai Wangyuan knew that his goal was already out of reach. Sighing at his failure, he returned to the Dominion Realm.

    Undying God continued to rebuild his body with divine energy.

    As far as Bai Wangyuan was concerned, the best possible oue would have been if he had killed Undying God in the Lower Realm while Ancient God killed Lu Xiaoxuan in the Starfall Sea. Unfortunately, Ancient God had chosen to prioritize rescuing Undying God, which had left Bai Wangyuan with no choice but to return to the Dominion Realm to block Ancient God from entering the Perennial World. Bai Wangyuan was well aware of just how disastrous it would be if Ancient God were not stopped.

    Lu Yin had never intended to rely on the four ruling powers to keep him alive. Instead, he had ced his bet on the Seven Skygods, as he was absolutely certain that they would prioritize saving Undying God over anything else. As long as the Seven Skygods remainedmitted to that mission, everything would go smoothly for Lu Yin. However, if they abandoned Undying God, then the Fifth Maind would face an absolute disaster, which would also impact the Perennial World. After all, the copse of the Fifth Maind would allow the Seven Skygods to ess the Perennial World through the New Corridor. Lu Yin had already made arrangements at both ends of the New Corridor, as he was unwilling to entrustplete control of it to the four ruling powers.

    In other words, even if the Seven Skygods chose to give up on rescuing Undying God, the four ruling powers could not afford to let the Fifth Maind lose. As Lu Yin had once said, they would either achieve aplete victory together, or suffer an utter defeat together.

    Lu Yin became certain that he had made the right decision to open up the path to the Starfall Sea as soon as he saw Ancient God leave just moments after arriving. This meant that it was time to make a trip to the New World. Although this did not mean that the humans had won their war against Aeternus, an achievement as impressive as invading the New World would be enough to etch Lu Yin¡¯s name in the annals of history. It was crucial for his future ns that the Lu family name regain prominence and be regarded for their valuable contributions to humanity.

    Of course, the underlying assumption was that the Seven Skygods would not abandon Undying God regardless of what else happened.

    He could achieve his goals, as long as the Seven Skygods ignored him. They would have to do so no matter how much he provoked them.

    Lu Yin had one more desire, one that he had not shared with anyone at all. He was hoping to investigate and discover the depths of Aeternus¡¯s hidden strength. Lu Yin wanted to assess the scope of Aeternus''s power and their ability to influence not only the universe he knew, but also other parallel universes.

    If Aeternus was able to effortlessly rout the Fifth Maind¡¯s army and save Undying God at the same time, then it indicated that Aeternus possessed a significant amount of power in all of the parallel universes that they were present in. It would mean that they possessed enough strength to smooth over any and all incidents that urred in any given universe. However, if Aeternus was unable to handle matters on both fronts at the same time, it would show that their strength had limits.

    Whichever result urred, Lu Yin had already prepared a corresponding counter for Aeternus. He truly hoped that they were not overly powerful, as that was the only way for humanity to still stand a chance at victory.

    After Ancient God returned to the Perennial World to resume fighting in the Dominion Realm, Lu Yin made his way back through the Sealing Path sourcebox array and returned to the Starfall Sea. His target was the New World. He needed his name to be engraved in the hearts of all humans. The Fifth Maind¡¯s armed forces followed behind Lu Yin, and upon entering the Starfall Sea, a second massive battle erupted against the corpse kings. Just like before, the army remained close to the entrance, and only a few powerhouses moved forward and prated deep behind the enemy lines. Most people remained with the main force to ensure that everyone could quickly retreat into the Fifth Maind at a moment¡¯s notice.

    As for the Perennial World, all attention was focused on the rear battlefield. Every eye in the Fifth Maind was focused on the Starfall Sea. This was why no one noticed when Leng Qing was ambushed near the Extreme Path. He was instantly immobilized by eight matrices and then trapped within a white inner world that had the ability to dissolve anything. The perpetrator was none other than Whiteless God.

    Each of the Seven Skygods was an incredibly powerful Progenitor who stood above their peers. In the same manner, their Semi-Progenitor avatars were far superior to other Semi-Progenitors. Leng Qing had been the gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, and he was no pushover himself. And yet, even he was unable to find any way tounch a counterattack. Still, his strength allowed him to survive the ambush.

    Whiteless God¡¯s purpose was very simple: to open up the Extreme Path and release a flood of corpse kings into the Fifth Maind from the Sixth Maind. As soon as this happened, the human army that was invading the Starfall Sea would be forced to withdraw to save the Fifth Maind from total annihtion.

    In the same manner as how Lu Yin had attempted to use an attack on the Starfall Sea to divert Aeternus¡¯s focus, Whiteless God intended to use an invasion from the Sixth Maind to divert Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    However, before Whiteless God could open up the Extreme Path, a thread shed through the void, slicing through the inner world formed from white mountains and rivers. Destina stepped out. ¡°Let¡¯s see who you really are.¡±

    Leng Qing seized this chance to break free of the eight matrices. His sword rose high, and he shed at the inner world.

    The sharpness of this de was unparalleled, and by coordinating with Destina, the two Semi-Progenitors sessfully shattered Whiteless God¡¯s inner world. Blood sttered across space, and Whiteless God¡¯s presence instantly vanished from the region of the universe. Throughout the altercation, she had not shown herself even once.

    Lu Yin soon received a report about the incident, and after seeing it, he lowered his wireless jincan.

    Whiteless God¡¯s sneak attack on Leng Qing waspletely within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. The only one of the Seven Skygods who still had a Semi-Progenitor avatar in the Fifth Maind was Whiteless God. Her presence was a ticking time bomb that had been troubling Lu Yin for some time.

    Since he was up against Aeternus this time, Lu Yin had already envisioned every possible scenario that could potentially lead to his defeat, and he had then devised strategies to prevent them.

    Destina was confident that Whiteless God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar was no longer a threat to Lu Yin¡¯s ns. This meant that, even if the avatar had managed to survive, she was no longer able to carry out Aeternus¡¯s ns. The ticking time bomb had be nothing more than a dud. However, Lu Yin still had no idea who Whiteless God was.

    Lu Yin was confident that he personally knew Whiteless God¡¯s avatar, and it was even possible that he was close to the person. Not knowing her true identity had made him nervous for a long time.

    Lu Yin had sent out orders for everyone whom he was close to be checked on and for any mysterious absences reported to him. It was the only method avable.

    The jiao flew past the Sea King¡¯s Dome, moving closer to the huge waterfall. The beast tore through space, delivering them right before the cascade that concealed the Upper Three Gates.

    He looked up at the majestic waterfall that appeared to connect the sky and the ground. This was the ce.

    Lu Yin took in the sight of the Upper Three Gates. When he had traveled through time and space in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, he had personally witnessed the moment when the Sea King had sted the gates open with pyrolyte-wrapped clothes that had been soaked with Progenitor Chen¡¯s blood. Lu Yin had also watched Bai Xian¡¯er casually eliminate a Semi-Progenitor from the Sixth Maind with a single finger. That was the day that the Fifth Maind¡¯s true sky had been returned. It had also been the spark that triggered the Sixth Maind into dering war on the Fifth Maind.

    Only history could judge whether the Sea King''s actions were morally justifiable. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, that previous decision had presented him with an opportunity¡­

    As long as Lu Yin passed through the Upper Three Gates, he would enter the Perennial World¡¯s New World. After the Lu family was exiled, the New World had been left uncontested to Aeternus. People from the Perennial World were no longer able to even step foot on the New World.

    Actually, there was one exception: Bai Xian¡¯er had managed to enter the New World. It was the only way she could have attacked the Sixth Maind Semi-Progenitor and break the Fifth Maind¡¯s false sky.

    But just how had she done it?

    The flood of corpse kings that had poured into the New World had only urred after Aeternus took over the Starfall Sea. That meant that, before, Aeternus had not known about the Upper Three Gates in the New World. Their presence had only been discovered after the Starfall Sea was upied. That was why countless corpse kings had poured into the New World, to increase the pressure on the rear battlefield. Bai Xian''er had sneaked into the New World before all of that, which would not have been an impossible task.

    The jiao¡¯s massive body moved closer to the waterfall where the Upper Three Gates were hidden. Just as the beast was about to enter, a red glow in the corner of his eye caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention. He turned to see what it was.

    He ordered the jiao to move towards the red glow, and it passed the waterfall to do so. Considering where the barrier that protected the Fifth Maindy, the glow wasing from the Aeternals¡¯ territory. The barrier demarcated the territory of the Fifth Maind in much the same way that the five array bases separated the New World from the Perennial World.

    An endless sea of corpse kings charged forward to block Lu Yin from moving forward, but all of them were easily eliminated by the jiao before they could even draw close to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could only see scarlet eyes ahead of him. He had already be numb to the sight.

 Chapter 2415: Cosmic Door

    Chapter 2415: Cosmic Door

    It was not long before a massive scarlet eye entered Lu Yin¡¯s sight. This eye was only slightly smaller than the jiao. All of the corpse kings present had emerged from this scarlet eye. The region behind the eyes waspletely devoid of any and all Aeternals.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide as he realized what he was seeing. The enormous scarlet eye was a marker that identified the coordinates of the universe that he lived in, and swarms of corpse kings were being transported to the eye¡¯s location.

    Lu Yin had once assumed that Aeternus¡¯s territory bordered both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World and that the Lu Family had separated the Perennial World to position it at the frontlines of the border with Aeternus as part of their strategy. Reality waspletely different from what Lu Yin had thought.

    Since all of the corpse kings wereing from the enormous scarlet eye, it indicated that Aeternus was not even native to this universe. They were aliens.

    Lu Yin summoned E Chi while studying the enormous scarlet eyes. He ordered his champion to charge forward. Lu Yin wanted to shatter the eye. If it was destroyed, this part of the universe would be freed of corpse kings.

    E Chi swung his serrated saber, and each sh cleared entire swaths of corpse kings.

    Lu Yin swept the area with all the Progenitor-level runes that he could use. Any location this important to Aeternus¡¯s operations was practically guaranteed to have a powerful defender nearby. It was even possible that Yi Ren was the guardian.

    However, even as E Chi approached the scarlet eye and prepared to hack at it, Lu Yin had yet to discover any powerful member of Aeternus standing guard. This should be impossible. There was no way the Aeternals would leave this ce unprotected.

    The serrated de struck the scarlet eye, releasing a resounding ng. The scarlet eye responded with a sudden shift. The corpse kings that appeared on either side of the eye were suddenly split in two, but the scarlet eye itself remained undamaged.

    ¡°Keep attacking!¡± Lu Yin ordered. The jiao also joined in the attack, and it shed at the eye with its ws. At the same time, Lu Yin also used Progenitor-level runes to weaken the eye.

    Any item that existed in this part of the universe was subject to thews of the universe. There were no exceptions. The runes that Lu Yin was using were a product of one suchw. Any and all objects could be represented by a corresponding number of runes, but the number of runes could be increased or decreased. As long as Lu Yin erased some of an object¡¯s runes, there would be a corresponding drop in strength.

    The Rune Progenitor¡¯s Truesight was just as miraculous as Progenitor Ku¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed. Both powers defied human imagination.

    The moment that E Chi¡¯s saber struck the scarlet eye, back in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, Ancient God¡¯s expression fell. ¡°This is bad. Something is happening to the cosmic door.¡±

    Forgotten Ruins God stood beside Ancient God, and a flicker of shock ran across her face. ¡°Lu Yin discovered the cosmic door?¡±

    Ancient God grew solemn. A wave of his hand stilled the void, which then started to shatter oneyer at a time. Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and the other human Progenitors were all immediately sent flying in various directions.

    Xia Shenji watched as a swirl of gray forced theyers of the void to shatter. Ancient God had just countered Xia Shenji¡¯s ability to manipte time.

    ¡°Corpse God, protect the cosmic door!¡± Ancient God gave a direct order.

    The moment he said the order, seven rays of light shot out of the sevens of the Outer Realm, targeting Ancient God. Bai Wangyuan and the others had almost instantlyunched a new attack on Ancient God and the rest of the Skygods who were in the Dominion Realm. The humans refused to give any of the Skygods a single moment of reprieve. However, Ancient God¡¯sst attack had been enough. Corpse God managed to extricate himself from the new assault, and he left the battlefield.

    As Corpse God left, Ancient God continued to shatter the void with his domain, which prevented Bai Wangyuan or anyone else from contacting Lu Yin with their wireless jincans.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were being held back by Ancient God, and they were also prevented from sending any messages to Lu Yin. However, both Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke remained free.

    Lu Yin was not naive enough to trust the four ruling powers¡¯ promises, nor would he ever entrust them with his life. He had only ever ced his trust in Senior Brother Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke.

    Back in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin pulled out the slipper and handed it to E Chi, and the pping quicklymenced. Lu Yin had no other weapon that could damage this giant scarlet eye.

    Suddenly, his wireless jincan trembled. It was a warning message from Senior Brother Mu Xie; Corpse God had left the Dominion Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ordered the jiao to leave the area as fast as possible. At the same time, Lu Yin kept careful watch over E Chi.

    Crack!

    The enormous scarlet eye finally cracked from E Chi¡¯s furious barrage of ps with the slipper.

    Lu Yin pumped his fist in joy. He urged the jiao to increase its speed. Hurry!

    He had been so focused on the giant eye that he hadpletely forgotten about how far he was from the Upper Three Gates and the waterfall. Corpse God woulde from the Upper Three Gates, which meant that if Lu Yin were even a second toote, his retreat would bepletely cut off by Corpse God¡¯s massive body. Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine what the consequences of that would be in that case.

    Fortunately, the jiao rushed past the Upper Three Gates waterfall and continued to race towards the entrance to the Starfall Sea unimpeded.

    Just a single moment after that, Corpse God stepped out, and his mighty aura sent shockwaves rippling across the Starfall Sea. The Fifth Maind¡¯s army immediately retreated. There was no need for them to receive any orders from Lu Yin. Shui Chuanxiao was practically screaming at his soldiers to hurry back.

    Corpse God¡¯s presencepletely terrified the humans, and they felt an unprecedented wave of hopelessness unlike anything they had felt before.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He had fought countless battles on the rear battlefield, and he had even faced Progenitors before. He was typically able to remain calm before such powerhouses, but the Seven Skygods were different. They seldom appeared on the rear battlefield, and they normally only participated in attacks on the Dominion Realm. Despite his many years of fighting, Gu Yan had never experienced the terror of the Seven Skygods¡¯ true bodies.

    In just a few days, both Ancient God and Corpse God had appeared. This was already the most stimtion that Grandmaster Gu Yan had ever experienced throughout his long life.

    ¡°Hurry and get back here, kid!¡± Grandmaster Gu Yan anxiously kneaded his hands as he stared out into the Starfall Sea, searching for any sign of the jiao¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin was also eager to return, but Corpse God instantly threw a punch, and the attack created two hurricanes that swept across the Starfall Sea andpletely cut off Lu Yin¡¯s path of escape. The jiao took one look at Corpse God and immediately decided to make a break for it. It charged straight into one of the hurricanes blocking its path, only to be forced to retreat.

    This was Corpse God¡¯s terrifying strength. Lu Yin suspected that only Progenitor Chen¡¯s colossal giant clone was a match for Corpse God when it came to physical might.

    As Corpse God¡¯s hand swung forward, the jiao brandished its fangs and ws. Terror filled the beast¡¯s eyes.

    E Chi rushed over and struck Corpse God¡¯s arm with the slipper. Only the slipper stood even the slightest chance of making trouble for one of the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin thanked his past self for having the foresight to Enhance the slipper, as its original power would not have posed any threat whatsoever to Corpse God.

    Corpse God pulled his hand back and looked down. Upon seeing E Chi, the Skygod casually pped the champion as if it were a mosquito.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the slipper appeared in his own hands through the Yu Secret Technique. At the same time, E Chi¡¯s body was squished.

    Pu!

    Lu Yin coughed up blood as he felt the death energy within his body rapidly drain away. He raised his hand and spun his die, hoping to roll four pips, which would allow him to recover from his injuries within his Timestop Space.

    Corpse God flicked a finger at the young man, and a gust of wind pierced the void, trailed by a ck nothingness that devoured everything. The entire void was literally shredded by the attack.

    Every drop of blood drained from Lu Yin¡¯s face. Without any hesitation, he pulled out the corpse that had saved his life on numerous asions and used it as a shield in front of his body.

    The jiao let out a shriek of terror as it spun around and showed its back to the attack. This left Lu Yinpletely exposed to Corpse God¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Technique as quickly as possible and shifted their positions.

    The ferocious st of wind struck the corpse, pressing it against the jiao¡¯s back. The jiao was flung far away, and it let out a howl of pain. The beast quickly righted itself and then dashed towards the Starfall Sea¡¯s entrance. While the jiao¡¯s intelligence had been damaged, its terror gave it the necessary rity to find the right path towards escape.

    As for the indestructible corpse, there was finally a hairline crack that ran through it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face grew pensive when he noticed the crack. This corpse had helped him survive numerous crises before, including even the final attack during his stellr tribtion for the Envoy realm. The corpse had blocked Xia Shenji¡¯s attack. It had never let Lu Yin down before. However, Corpse God¡¯s attack had broken the corpse¡¯s previous invincibility. Still, if not for the corpse, Lu Yin was certain that both he and the jiao would have been sted to pieces.

    The die stopped on one pip: Pilfer. Useless. Lu Yin continued rolling.

    Lu Yin looked back, only to see that Corpse God was no longer attacking him. Instead, the Skygod was simply staring at Lu Yin. Well, Lu Yin could not determine if Corpse God was staring at him or the jiao. Lu Yin had nothing else that could endure an attack from Corpse God. He only had the God of Death¡¯s left arm and broken scythe. Even the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had been cracked by True God.

    Everything in Lu Yin¡¯s possession seemed feeble and insignificant before the power of Aeternus.

    ¡°Bi Rong,¡± Corpse God called out in a rumbling voice.

    Lu Yin unconsciously nced down at his cosmic ring that once again held the corpse. Was Bi Rong the name of the man whose corpse had just protected Lu Yin? Neither the people from the Heavens Sect era, such as Lu Buzheng and Destina, nor anyone from the Daosource Sect era, such as Progenitor Smoke or Xia Shenji, had ever recognized the corpse, despite all of them seeing Lu Yin use it to protect himself. It was actually Corpse God who told Lu Yin the name of the man who had saved him so many times.

    At the entrance to the Starfall Sea, Grandmaster Gu Yan and the rest of the humans finally caught a glimpse of the jiao¡¯s massive body.

    At the same time, the jiao caught sight of the entrance, and it instantly shot towards it.

    Corpse God no longer held back. A single step put him directly behind the jiao, and a single hand grabbed at the beast.

    Everyone outside the Starfall Sea stared on in a daze. Was that Corpse God?

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines gritted his teeth and threw the eyeball forward. Numerous tentacles grew out from the small orb, and they formed a barrier behind Lu Yin that blocked Corpse God¡¯s vision.

    Under Lu Yin¡¯s hand, his die stopped at five pips: Gift Copy. The ability to borrow someone¡¯s innate gift.

    He copsed to a half-kneeling position, grasping the ground as he tried to catch his breath. Fresh blood poured from his open wounds. Without entering Timestop, Lu Yin could not heal himself and return to peak condition. It seemed that the God of Death¡¯s power was the only way for him to return to the Fifth Maind.

    Just as he was about to pull out the God of Death¡¯s arm, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at the face of his die. The image of a thunderbolt had appeared next to the five pips.

    A thunderbolt? When and where had he managed to copy such an innate gift?

    Unbeknownst to Lu Yin, the moment he used the Ce Secret Art to avoid Corpse God¡¯s attack, he had relocated to the jiao¡¯s head, right where the lightning continuously attacked the beast. Lu Yin usually avoided that ce, as it was only a step from the jiao¡¯s forehead. Standing in that location would only expose Lu Yin to his enemies during the jiao¡¯s attacks. However, when the jiao had turned its body to avoid Corpse God¡¯s attack, Lu Yin had reflexively moved to a safer location, which was close to the beast¡¯s forehead.

    The lightning that continuously attacked the beast¡¯s head was the reason why the jiaocked intelligence. Shockingly, the lightning was not from a battle technique, but was rather someone¡¯s innate gift.

    Since it had appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s die, that was his only option.

    Gift Copy allowed Lu Yin to store and use another person¡¯s innate gift. The strength of the innate gift depended entirely on the strength of the person that Lu Yin used Gift Copy on. For example, when he had been pursued by a Hunter, he had used the lightning rabbit¡¯s innate gift, which had allowed Lu Yin to kill the attacker. There was no way Lu Yin could have withstood the power of that lightning with his strength at the time, so did that mean that he was able to borrow the full strength of the lightning that made the jiao stupid even now?

    All hesitation fled. Behind Lu Yin, Corpse God tore through the barrier of tentacles, once again gaining a clear view of Lu Yin. Lu Yin clenched his jaw. He decided to judge the effectiveness of Gift Copyter. For the moment, all he could do was try. He mentally selected the thunderbolt print in his mind and willed the die to unleash that power.

 Chapter 2416: The Might Of Lightning

    Chapter 2416: The Might Of Lightning

    Kacha!

    The colors of the sky and sea both shifted. The entire Starfall Sea started to quake and break apart. Endless tongues of lightning appeared from the void, and all of them streaked toward Corpse God.

    The dazzling glow of lightning lit up the entire Starfall Sea, the ck barrier, and even the entire Fifth Maind. Shock covered Corpse God¡¯s face. ¡°The Lord of Thunder?¡±

    There was a deafening boom. The shockwave from the bolts of lightning sent the jiao careening toward the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Buzheng used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, activating the sourcebox array thaty within Mt. Microcosms. The mountain slowly moved to reseal the entrance to the Starfall Sea.

    Even though Mt. Microcosms moved slowly, Corpse God was helpless to stop the process. He was being attacked by incredibly powerful bolts of lightning. The blinding light of the lightning left everyone¡¯s visionpletely white. It was impossible to see what was happening through the blinding light.

    Only after Mt. Microcosms hadpletely sealed off the Starfall Sea was anyone able to recover their vision. The first thing that they saw was the jiao¡¯s mad dash towards the center of the Fifth Maind. The beast was clearly still terrified. The lightning that had erupted behind it had felt disturbingly familiar.

    Lu Yin was lying on the jiao¡¯s back, panting. His entire body had gone numb, and his muscles were too sore for him to even move. Releasing that storm of lightning had also injured him. He needed to heal and recover. His body slowly withered into a desated husk as he allowed the jiao to freely rampage through the Fifth Maind.

    In the Dominion Realm, Forgotten Ruins God and ckless God¡¯s heads snapped towards the New World. They had both sensed an abnormally strong power.

    Ancient God felt it as well.

    A short timeter, Corpse God returned, and his appearance created a massive sensation.

    Throughout all the years that humanity had fought against Aeternus, Corpse God hadunched numerous attempts to break through Ceaseless Impetus. He could be considered humanity¡¯s most active enemy. However, he had rarely ever sustained any injuries. At this moment, wounds covered his entire body, and he looked as though he had been burned by lightning strikes.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Forgotten Ruins God gasped.

    Corpse God brought out the enormous scarlet eye. The height of the eye rivaled his own, whichpletely dwarfed Forgotten Ruins God and the other Skygods. However, they could clearly see the fracture that ran through the eye.

    Ancient God frowned. ¡°The descendant of the Lu family did this?¡±

    Corpse God looked at him. ¡°It¡¯s broken. We should make the most of it.¡±

    ckless God sighed. ¡°This was supposed to be the final step of our n. I never expected to be forced to use it now. It must¡¯ve been discovered because it was too close. We need to ce it further away next time. They aren¡¯t that sturdy.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. There¡¯s only one in this part of the universe as well. It will be enough,¡± Ancient God said. ¡°Use it.¡±

    Corpse God held the scarlet eye in both of his hands and then raised it high overhead.

    As Bai Wangyuan and the other human Progenitors watched with confused and wary looks, Corpse God threw the eye toward the Perennial World.

    No one, either in the Dominion Realm or in the Outer Realm, had ever seen such a scene before. The moment the eye touched the Tree Realm, it started to glow dark red, and a beam of light shot out from the eye. Where this red light of divine energy made contact with the Tree Realm, the barrier melted, creating arge hole.

    ¡°Not good!¡± Bai Wangyuan yelled.

    Ancient God, Forgotten Ruins God, Corpse God, and ckless God all immediately attacked. Dark-red divine energy shot through the hole that had opened in the Tree Realm, and into the Perennial World. It pierced through the Higher Realm, the Middle Realm, and the Lower Realm. Finally, it struck Undying God.

    Undying God¡¯s broken body started to recover at a visible rate. Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitors still present were terrified by the sight. ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°What a steep price to pay.¡± Undying God raised his head. His eyes traced the holes in the Middle and Higher Realms. He looked at the dark-red beam that had melted a hole in the Tree Realm. After suffering some level of damage, the hole had already begun to repair itself. The red beam would not be able to maintain the hole for very long.

    Progenitor Long tried to block the beam of divine energy, but it instantly vaporized his arm.

    Soon, Undying God¡¯s body fully recovered, and his internal reserves of divine energy were also replenished. He looked down at the Python Ancestor and saw the snake staring back at him.

    ¡°Your master will never return. I¡¯ll let you off this time, but soon enough, this part of the universe will be destroyed.¡± Undying God pushed the coils that had held him in ce aside, releasing divine energy that burned the Python Ancestor¡¯s body. The snake released a cry of agony, but it refused to loosen its coils. From overhead, the Divine Eagle swooped down, its ws outstretched to attack Undying God.

    Undying God looked up. ¡°Scram!¡±

    His body disappeared, and the eagle wed at nothing. Undying God reappeared in the Middle Realm, and he turned to face a specific direction where an item stood. Suddenly, a ?ar¨©ra appeared. The ancient characters that circled it shot towards Undying God.

    Mu Xie stood atop his ?ar¨©ra, and he thrust a palm strike straight at Undying God. Threads of gray energy appeared from the man¡¯s palm: Origin Tracer.

    Undying God¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°I thought that I had been mistaken earlier, but I see that it was truly this battle technique. I never expected him to have the time to ept disciples in this part of the universe.¡±

    ¡°Leave now! We don¡¯t have any more time!¡± Ancient God called out.

    Undying God reluctantly tore his eyes away from the distant Sword Monument, and then his body vanished.

    Mu Xie missed his target. He turned around just in time to see Undying God shoot out of the Tree Realm and back into the Dominion Realm. No one could stop the Skygod from leaving.

    ¡°I wanted to take the Sword Monument with me,¡± Undying God grumbled after arriving in the Dominion Realm.

    Forgotten Ruins God gave a coldugh. ¡°We just sacrificed a divine beam for your sake. You should be content with that. Right now, you¡¯d best start thinking about how you¡¯re going to exin yourself to True God Yi Wei.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve dyed too long. Hurry, everyone. We¡¯re leaving!¡± Ancient God shouted. He was then the first to leave.

    Right behind him, Forgotten Ruins God, Corpse God, ckless God, and Undying God all retreated as well. The flood of corpse kings receded like a tide from the rear battlefield, leaving just as quickly as they had arrived.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other human Progenitors could do absolutely nothing to stop the Seven Skygods from leaving.

    Mu Xie immediately sent a message to Lu Yin, worried that he might have returned to the Starfall Sea. However, Lu Yin could not go there even if he wanted to. The jiao had dived headfirst into the Astral River, nearly drowning Lu Yin.

    At the moment, he did not even have the energy to punish the beast with his slipper. Lu Yin had even lost the Champions¡¯ Stage at some point in the chaos. He simply allowed the jiao to continue its crazed rampage. The beast¡¯s erratic behavior was not because of Corpse God, but rather because of the storm of lightning that Lu Yin had unleashed. That lightning had triggered the jiao¡¯s trauma.

    Boom!

    The jiao crashed into something, and it was sent tumbling backwards, and Lu Yin was thrown off from the impact. Atst, they had finally stopped.

    Lu Yin looked forward. They were at the bottom of the Astral River, but the jiao¡¯s overwhelming aura had frightened all of the nearby creatures away.

    What is that? Lu Yin saw a gigantic metal box some distance away.

    The jiao¡¯s head lolled about, and then it slumped to the ground. It was already fast asleep.

    Lu Yin approached the box. The huge rectangr face of the object loomed high above him. He knocked on it, confirming that it was indeed metal. It was an absurdlyrge box, and it was no wonder the jiao had crashed into it. Still, the material was incredibly durable, as even the impact of the jiao¡¯s full weight had not chipped or dented any part of the box. Hang on, is that Progenitor Guai¡¯s symbol?

    Lu Yin took a moment to recall what he had learned about Progenitor Guai. Kui Luo said that Progenitor Guai had lived during the Daosource Sect era and that he had specialized in crafting weapons out of precious materials, though most people were unable to wield any of them. Also, the Progenitor had supposedly left behind a hidden armory. Could this box be that?

    Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled, and it did not stop. He finally checked it, to see that Lu Buzheng was sending a message.

    ¡°How are you doing?¡± Lu Buzheng asked.

    Lu Yin leaned against the side of the metal box. ¡°How are things at the Starfall Sea?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve sealed it with Mt. Microcosms.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±

    As he thought back to what had just happened, that lightning strike had been insanely, exaggeratedly powerful. He had not expected his die to copy such a frighteningly powerful innate gift. The person who had rendered the jiao an idiot, whose innate gift Lu Yin had managed to copy, was an absolute powerhouse.

    After giving a few orders to Lu Buzheng, Lu Yin started carefully studying the metal box before him. As for the Perennial World, helping them was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s abilities at this time. Furthermore, when Corpse God had arrived in the Starfall Sea, not a single Progenitor from the Perennial World had appeared. Still, that did not mean that the four ruling powers had definitely broken their promise. The fact that Senior Brother Mu Xie had sent Lu Yin a warning indicated that Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group had not even had the chance to do so. If Lu Yin rashly entered the Starfall Sea, he might find that his luck had run out entirely. However, Aeternus had not paid a small price this time.

    Lu Yin had already done his best.

    Wait, has there been any change to the residual lightning atop the jiao¡¯s head? Lu Yin hurried over to check. The remnant lightning that had been attacking the jiao¡¯s forehead had disappeared.

    Lu Yin touched the area but felt no trace of any sort of lightning. The innate gift had been used up by Gift Copy. Did this mean that the jiao¡¯s intelligence would soon recover?

    Lu Yin took a long look at the jiao and then quietly brought out the slipper and the needle-like weapon. He prodded the jiao with the needle.

    The jiao instantly woke up with an angry snarl and ws extended. It was ready to murder whoever had disturbed its rest. But then it saw Lu Yin and the slipper in one of his hands. The jiao blinked rapidly and then retracted its ws and bent its head in submission.

    Lu Yin breathed out in relief. It was good that the beast had not recovered its intelligence yet. It would be extremely difficult to tame the beast if it was not aplete idiot.

    ¡°Go back to sleep,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Suddenly, he clutched at his chest and vomited a mouthful of blood. Even something as simple as speaking had aggravated the injuries that Corpse God¡¯s attack had inflicted on him. If the corpse had failed to block that attack, then there was no way Lu Yin would have gotten away with such minor injuries. That attack had brushed aside even Lu Yin¡¯s Wielder-realm battle force.

    None of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities were even remotely useful in protecting him from a serious attack from one of the Seven Skygods.

    During the jiao¡¯s panicked retreat, the Champions¡¯ Stage had fallen, though retrieving that was a small matter. What was truly terrible was that the corpse had finally been damaged. On top of that, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had been cracked by True God''s attack when Lu Yin had been in the Perennial World. The damage to the sword was a particrly massive loss for Lu Yin. He had no idea if it was even possible to restore the sword to its original state.

    Instead of going back to sleep, the jiao looked at Lu Yin with evident curiosity.

    Lu Yin circled the metal box, but he was unable to find any openings.

    He looked up at the jiao and pointed at the metal box. ¡°Flip it over.¡±

    The jiao extended a single w and pointed with it. Lu Yin looked where the beast indicated and saw a door. ¡°That¡¯s why I need you to flip it over.¡±

    The jiao used a bit of strength and flipped the metal box on its side.

    The metal box was about the size of the jiao¡¯s head, and when it flipped over, it shook the entire Astral River, triggering tsunamis that crashed onto the shores. The people who were mining for pyrolyte along the shores found themselves dragged into the Astral River by the waves. Everyone believed that some sort of enormous creature had appeared.

    Lu Yin struck the door with a bit of force, but it did not budge. He next tried the Oveying Stacks Path. With a boom, the door flew open, and he entered.

    To Lu Yin, the metal box was asrge as an entire, butpared to the jiao, it was just a box.

    As Lu Yin entered, he saw a mountain range that held some sort of liquid with an ultra-high temperature. It was scalding even to Lu Yin, which meant the liquid was far hotter thanva. The fact that the mountains were able to endure such heat showed that they were no ordinary mountains.

    When the box had been flipped over by the jiao, the hot liquid had sshed everywhere, and some was even dripping down from above.

    As he explored the interior of the metal box, Lu Yin soon found a hook-like weapon that was floating in a pool of the ultra-hot liquid. He waved a hand, and the weapon appeared before him.

    The hook was around ten meters long, but it was only about as wide as a human¡¯s palm. The length of the hook made the weapon unsuitable for humans, but the small size of the handle meant that it was impossible for even lesser giants to wield it as a weapon. Progenitor Guai¡¯s symbol was imprinted upon it.

    Lu Yin shook his head. This certainly matched Progenitor Guai¡¯s style. No one could use this weapon.

 Chapter 2417: Deeds

    Chapter 2417: Deeds

    Lu Yin grabbed the hook and squeezed it to test its toughness. The results were incredible. Wherever his fingers touched the hook, they were almost frozen stiff. The overpowering coldness of the weapon sent pain shooting up from Lu Yin¡¯s hand. What a strange material. But what a pity that it was useless.

    He ventured deeper into the box. Before long, he spotted a long saber, and the sight caused his eye to twitch. From afar, it looked like a de. Up close, it still looked like a saber, but the de and the spine of the saber were intertwined. It was impossible to discern where the de ended and where the spine of the saber started. Both sides were simultaneously de and spine. As for the hilt of the saber, a wicked-looking barb was carved onto it. Lu Yin had no idea whether such an odd weapon could actually damage a person¡¯s opponent, but it was clear that anyone who tried to use the saber would injure themselves. Progenitor Guai truly had an odd mind.

    Lu Yin shook his head and continued along.

    By this point, he had already explored half of the metal box. Not a single weapon could escape his detection due to his domain. The strangest weapon that he saw so far was a tail. No matter how it was swung around , the pointed tip would always stab at the user. The sharpest weapon that he found was an arrow, but the shaft was curved and had been hollowed out. There was no way anyone who fired the arrow would ever hit their target. The arrow was even useless in closebat; while the arrowhead was extraordinarily sharp, the tip was blunt. The arrow had only been sharpened at the ce where the arrowhead met the shaft. Even after examining it for half a day, Lu Yin still had no idea how to use the thing.

    Dozens of weapons floated behind him. Some were quiterge, while others were small. Each and every one had been constructed from incredible materials that were so precious that even Lu Yin could not help but take notice of them. However, all of the precious materials had been used to makepletely useless weapons.

    Lu Yin believed that these materials had to have been considered precious in every era, and he was certain that many of the materials no longer even existed. He felt a pang in his heart at the sight of the sheer waste that Progenitor Guai had created.

    Luckily, the situation was still salvageable. With his die¡¯s ckhole Disassembly, all of these materials would see use once more.

    After some time, Lu Yin arrived in the central area. This was where the temperature was highest. Some distance away, he could see a sword hilt that stretched out of sight that stood upright at the base of the mountain range. The hilt looked rather simr to the swords of the Sword Sect, with the only difference being that this one was far, farrger. No ordinary human would ever be able to use such a thing. Only colossal giants might be able to do so. This sword was evenrger than the broken saber that Lu Yin had seen in Shenwu¡¯s Sky that Xia Chan had left behind. Much, muchrger.

    For some reason, Lu Yin exhaled in relief. If the colossal giants could use this sword hilt, then it wouldn¡¯t be wasted. However, most colossal giants preferred using their fists to swords,

    A single step brought Lu Yin above the sword hilt, and he looked down. He had wanted to check just howrge the hilt truly was.

    Upon looking down, his jaw dropped.

    The hilt of the sword was so massive that Lu Yin believed that only colossal giants could hope to wield the weapon, but the de was so short that he nearly missed it. He took another step to arrive next to the de. The hilt was both long and wide, but the de was only one meter long, though just as wide as the hilt. This weapon perfectly matched its creator¡¯s style of using valuable resources to create weapons that absolutely no one could ever hope to use.

    Even if a colossal giant could grab the hilt, they would not be able to use this sword. As for normal humans, they could never even lift the hilt, no matter how they tried.

    Even if someone could lift the hilt of the sword, Lu Yin could only imagine the person¡¯s opponentughing themselves to death at the sight of the de.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. At this moment, he really wanted to have a chat with Progenitor Guai. He wanted to know just what kind of person was capable of creating such loathsome weapons, especially while insisting on using the most expensive and rare materials avable.

    It was no wonder why even the Daosource Sect had feltpelled to order Progenitor Guai to melt down his weapons. If Lu Yin had been present at that time, he probably would have given the man a vicious p. The weapons that he made were too damn despicable.

    Hm? There was writing on the back of the de.

    It was in thenguage of the Daosource Sect era, which Lu Yin could not read. Instead, he sent a message to the Ghost Monkey with his wireless jincan, ordering the monkey to use hismunication crystal so that he could trante the writing that Lu Yin was looking at.

    I am Progenitor Guai. Brother, or perhaps sister, no matter who you are, did you be upset when you saw the weapons that your senior brother has left here? Are you really mad right now? Calm down for a moment and listen to what your senior brother has to say.

    Your senior brother had no choice in the matter as I was forced to do this. By whom, you ask? Well, it was Aeternus. Now, don¡¯t jump to any conclusions. Your senior brother has never betrayed humanity. I¡¯m not a Redback or a traitor. Still, fate sometimes works in strange and mysterious ways. I was once saved by a Redback. It was when I was very, very young. That Redback fervently indoctrinated me with the notion that I should betray humanity, and since I was just a mere child at the time, I simply followed along. Now, you may be wondering why that Redback valued me so much. Well, that¡¯s entirely because your senior brother was always extraordinarily gifted and talented, as well as the most beautiful man alive at that time. Right, that Redback was a woman.

    However, it¡¯s easier said than done to change the mentality that one has been indoctrinated with from a young age, but who do you think your senior brother is? Even then, I was someone guaranteed to be a Progenitor! How could ordinary logic ever apply to me? I did indeed end up a traitor, but not to humanity¡ªI betrayed that woman. However, it wasn¡¯t easy for me to betray her. She held some evidence of my past actions regarding a certain matter. You should already know what I¡¯m referring to.

    Left with no other choice, I used my dashing looks and glib tongue to reach a deal with her; I would do one thing to harm humanity in order to repay the kindness that she had shown me, while also not leaving any evidence behind. In return, I¡¯ll be able to leave her to her own devices.

    Don¡¯t me me, your senior brother, for keeping her identity a secret. You would only be able to understand my feelings back then if you were in my shoes. Of course, I also kept an eye on her to make sure she was never able to make any trouble, hahahahaha! Onest thing¡ªexhausting humanity¡¯s precious resources to create these useless weapons was the only thing that I ever did to harm humanity for her. Other than that, your senior brother has never done anything to hurt humanity.

    Your senior brother has only ever had two goals in life: constructing the Guai Armory and ughtering all the Aeternals! The day I stop doing either will be the day I die!

    Progenitor Guai ¨C Yun Yi.

    It took the Ghost Monkey more than an hour to trante the long passage of text.

    Lu Yin felt rather amused by the story behind the armory. Just as Progenitor Guai had written, no one could fault him for his actions. No one was willing to simply die. As a Progenitor, choosing to not betray humanity was already the greatest contribution that Progenitor Guai could have made. He had even saved humanity from further potential harm by keeping a powerful Redback in check. Both Progenitor Guai and that woman had to have died in the years that had passed. Everything had changed with the passing of time with only the weapons remaining behind.

    Every single person who managed to be a Progenitor was a true legend. Even the most low-profile of all Progenitors, Progenitor Ku, possessed an awe-inspiring story that could only be learned by digging into his history. It was the same with Progenitor Guai. Although the man¡¯s name had not echoed down through the ages, his aplishments could still be considered a legendary feat.

    ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t me you. Also, you don¡¯t need to worry, as I can recycle all of the materials in these weapons. You didn¡¯t waste humanity¡¯s resources. Instead, you helped me save them. Yun Yi, you say? My thanks, Senior Brother,¡± Lu Yin muttered. There was a spring in his step as he stored the various weapons away before continuing to explore the interior of the box. He only stopped to sit down after he collected everyst weapon in the Guai Armory. It was time to roll his die. He needed to heal and recover, as well as Disassemble these weapons.

    The mountain range and extremely hot liquid still within the metal box were also valuable treasures, but Lu Yin had no urgent need for them. He decided to leave them untouched as a memorial to Progenitor Guai¡¯s legacy.

    Everyone left some sort of mark in the universe during one¡¯s life. But with the passage of time, these marks would one day be erased.

    Lu Yin left the metal box

    . He wondered how long the traces of his own aplishments wouldst for in the universe. If humans in this part of the universe lost the war against Aeternus, then all traces of his existence would likely bepletely erased.

    Feeling somewhat mncholic, Lu Yin prepared to roll his die, but a sudden tremor from his wireless jincan gave him pause. Mu Xie was reaching out.

    Lu Yin immediately answered.

    ¡°The battle has ended,¡± Senior Brother Mu Xie sent over.

    Lu Yin silently waited for the man to continue.

    ¡°We never managed to eliminate Undying God, and in the end, he managed to escape¡­¡± Mu Xie filled Lu Yin in on everything that had transpired, including the fact that the corpse kings had retreated from the rear battlefield.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°The enormous scarlet eye that burned a hole in the Tree Realm is basically a locator device. The Aeternals use it to send corpse kings to various universes¡­¡±

    Mu Xie had not expected Lu Yin to be involved in the final events of the battle in the Dominion Realm. Still, even if Lu Yin had not managed to crack the scarlet eye, Aeternus likely would have made the same choices, given that there was no better option. They had almost instantly abandoned the battle in the Starfall Sea and allowed Lu Yin to do whatever he wanted there. It was only when Lu Yin had attacked the giant scarlet eye that Ancient God had used his power to suppress the entire Dominion Realm, which had given Corpse God the opportunity to make his way towards Lu Yin.

    ¡°No matter what happened, there was no way they would have ever left without rescuing Undying God. Four of the Seven Skygods appeared, and even True God Wei Yi personally took action to crack the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. They paid too high a price to simply abandon him,¡± Mu Xiemented.

    Their conversation soon ended, but just a momentter, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled once more. This time, he was being contacted by Progenitor Smoke.

    ¡°Are you sure that you saw Nutjob Lu? Four of the Seven Skygods just attacked the Perennial World, and if Nutjob Lu has truly betrayed mankind and is a Redback, then why didn¡¯t he help them over the course of the entire battle?¡± Progenitor Smoke asked.

    The person that Lu Yin was the wariest of was not any of the Seven Skygods, but rather Nutjob Lu.

    When he had traveled through time and space, he had witnessed Nutjob Lu conversing with Ancient God. Nutjob Lu had also yed a key role in the Lu family¡¯s exile, and had even attempted to assassinate Lu Yin. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that the man was a Redback.

    Lu Yin had been near certain that Nutjob Lu would help Aeternus rescue Undying God, which was why he had told Progenitor Smoke ahead of time to hold back a bit of strength and to keep a close eye on Nutjob Lu.

    This was why Progenitor Smoke had barely had any impact whatsoever throughout the entire battle. By all rights, even if Progenitor Smoke¡¯s forte was notbat, there was no way that any one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could be held back by a Progenitor-level corpse king and forced out of the main battle. Given her strength, Progenitor Smoke should have faced off against one of the Seven Skygods.

    The woman also felt rather frustrated that she had been forced to put on such an act. Still, in the end, Lu Yin had been right. If Nutjob Lu had decided to attack humanity¡¯s forces, the entire battlefield would havepletely changed. She felt like she had actually been the one carrying the greatest burden during the battle.

    The Seven Skygods had not had an easy time attacking the Perennial World, but even when Undying God had been rescued, Nutjob Lu had never once revealed even the slightest hint of betraying humanity. He had cooperated fully with Ceaseless Impetus to stop Aeternus, and such behavior left Lu Yin scratching his head in confusion.

    ¡°I also have no idea what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m absolutely certain that Nutjob Lu is a Redback. He has a connection to Ancient God. Maybe all of this is just ying into somerger scheme. Senior, don¡¯t lower your guard,¡± Lu Yin reminded her.

    Progenitor Smoke snorted. ¡°Are you sure that you aren¡¯t just trying to get back at him for almost killing you with that sneak attack?¡±

    Lu Yin grewpletely serious. ¡°This is a matter that concerns the safety of all humanity. If this junior has spoken a single word of falsehood, then I swear to never take a step into the Progenitor realm¡ªI will die during my stellr tribtion.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine. No one asked you to make such a heavy vow. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure that he never leaves my sight,¡± Progenitor Smoke replied before ending the call.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. He actually would have preferred it if Nutjob Lu revealed himself. Given Progenitor Smoke¡¯s strength as a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, she would have been able to hold the man back. The fact that Nutjob Lu had acted normally throughout the entire battle left Lu Yin far more worried.

 Chapter 2418: Decision

    Chapter 2418: Decision

    There were only two possible exnations for why Nutjob Lu had done nothing during the attack on the Perennial World. The first was that the person that Lu Yin had seen speak to Ancient God in the past was not actually Nutjob Lu and that Lu Yin was mistaken about who he had seen. That would mean that Nutjob Lu was not a Redback and that he merely wanted to kill everyone from the Lu family. The second option was that Nutjob Lu was involved in some other, even more important n, to the point where Ancient God preferred to risk losing Undying God rather than expose Nutjob Lu as a Redback.

    The second possibility absolutely terrified Lu Yin.

    After spending half a day mulling over the possibilities, Lu Yin decided to first focus on healing his injuries. After that, he would pay the four ruling powers a visit and also have a showdown with Nutjob Lu. Removing this thorn from his side was imperative.

    Whiteless God, who had been hiding in the Fifth Maind, had already been dealt with. While Lu Yin still did not know her identity or even have a list of possible ones, it was enough to know that the Skygod¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar had been neutralized and that she could no longer cause any trouble for the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was also confident that, with careful scrutiny of those close to him, he would eventually discover Whiteless God''s hidden identity. It was time to deal with Nutjob Lu.

    His die slowly came to a stop, showing six pips: Possession. The result startled Lu Yin.

    His consciousness quickly arrived in the familiar dark space. A blindingly bright sphere of light overshadowed everything else nearby. This orb also seemed to somehow pull at Lu Yin, drawing him closer. He subconsciously understood that this ball of light represented someone that he had Possessed before.

    This brightness of the sphere indicated that the person had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, and Lu Yin had only ever Possessed one Semi-Progenitor before: Marquis Lan, one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. Lu Yin was shocked to see the same ball of light yet again.

    Lu Yin immediately rushed over. Possessing Marquis Lan had been an invaluable experience, and Lu Yin wanted to learn more details about Aeternus¡¯s ns, as well as ess the marquis¡¯s memories regarding parallel universes.

    Discovering the enormous scarlet eye had confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s assumption that Aeternus was spread across at least a few parallel universes, as well as the fact that they were fighting wars in those ces. When Lu Yin had first essed Marquis Lan¡¯s memories, he had caught glimpses of those parallel universes. This Possession could let him gain an even clearer understanding of those matters.

    His eyes opened, and he looked down to see that he was in a body that was absolutely covered in injuries. These wounds had been dealt to the marquis by Kuang Yan. Marquis Lan and Marquis Midday had attacked the fifth array base during the massive assault on the rear battlefield.

    Kuang Yan truly lived up to his reputation as a madman. He hadpletely disregarded his own safety to exchange blows with Marquis Lan during the battle. By cooperating with Semi-Progenitors Elder Qiu and Ru Ying, the three humans had left Marquis Lan in a miserable state. Marquis Midday also had not gotten away unscathed. Still, the final oue was that Kuang Yan¡¯s side had suffered the worse exchange.

    Marquis Lan¡¯s worst injuries were the ones that Hen Xin had inflicted. The ancient Semi-Progenitor had used abination of both Wielder-realm battle force and his domain to not only suppress the Twelve Marquises who had attacked the fourth array base, but also to deal serious damage to them from a vast distance. He had proven himself to be one of the Aeternals¡¯ most difficult opponents.

    Lu Yin examined Marquis Lan¡¯s memories of Hen Xin¡¯s attacks. It was possible that the man was not too far from bing a Progenitor.

    As Marquis Lan¡¯s memories continued rushing into his mind, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. The moment the Seven Skygods retreated from the Dominion Realm, they hadpletely left the known universe. At the moment, only one Progenitor from Aeternus remained on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, or rather, in the entire known universe. That Progenitor was Yi Ren.

    This was the first time that Aeternus had left such a small presence behind in the known universe, even when considering the time when the Perennial World had first been established.

    Marquis Lan had not been far from the Seven Skygods when they had left. In fact, he had seen them hurry away with his own eyes.

    ¡°Yi Ren, you will stay here.¡±

    Yi Ren had been taken aback. ¡°Ancient God, are you going to leave me here by myself?¡±

    ¡°Scared?¡± Forgotten Ruins God snickered.

    ckless God spoke up in a cold voice. ¡°Rx. Ever since the Lu family disappeared from this ce, the people of this universe have never once stepped foot onto thisnd, much less pushed into its depths. You only need to remain here and protect the cosmic door. We cannot waste any more time. We need to leave now.¡±

    ¡°No one has the courage toe all the way out here. Just don¡¯t chase after death yourself, and you¡¯ll be fine, haha.¡± Forgotten Ruins Godughed as she stepped into the giant scarlet eye.

    A few Progenitor-level corpse kings also disappeared.

    Undying God said something else before leaving. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan has the ability to control others when he is close to them. I understand that two of your disciples have fallen into his hands. Don¡¯t be manipted by him.¡±

    Yi Ren looked around at the suddenly empty surroundings. Only the Twelve Marquises remained. There was not a single other Progenitor to be seen.

    Sighing from his helplessness, Yi Ren epted his fate to remain behind.

    This memory of Marquis Lan¡¯s was particrly vivid. From his other memories, the universe that Lu Yin knew about was Aeternus¡¯s main battleground. Most of the Seven Skygods themselves had been born in this universe with many of theming from the Heavens Sect era. At that time, Aeternus had barely had a foothold in the known universe. Only after the Heavens Sect era had ended and the Daosource Sect era began did humanity start to lose to the Aeternals. However, the most recent battle had resulted in the humansing out on top.

    After scanning that particr memory, Lu Yin¡¯s ns for the future solidified. He wasted no time examining any of Marquis Lan¡¯s other memories.

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness returned to the dark space before entering his own body once again. His eyes opened, a trace of excitement dancing in his pupils. The departure of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses was an opportunity for humanity.

    Marquis Lan''s memories had revealed to Lu Yin that, during the Lu family''s peak, the furthest that humanity had ever pierced into Aeternus''s territory was the New World. At least one of the Seven Skygods had always remained on guard there, apanied by several Progenitor-level corpse kings. Despite the Lu family''s strength, Aeternus had always maintained a formidable presence in the known universe. However, at the current moment, Aeternus¡¯s forces were the weakest that they had ever been since the Heavens Sect era.

    They were overconfident and were absolutely certain that humanity would never be able to push deep into their territory.

    This confidence was well-founded since the four ruling powers, Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, and the other human Progenitors had no ns tounch any sort of counterattack on Aeternus. Their focus was entirely on maintaining the safety of the Perennial World, particrly because the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk had cracked open. The presence of that fissure left all of the human Progenitors extremely uneasy.

    It was no wonder why True God had purposely damaged the Mother Tree. It might have actually all been part of Aeternus''s n to allow them to leave the Perennial World without worrying about about any sort of counterattack.

    Unfortunately, they had never once considered the possibility that Lu Yin could learn their ns. The fate of Aeternus in the known universe had already been sealed.

    The die was rolled once more. Everything had to wait until after Lu Yin¡¯s injuries were healed. He was still in a withered state from Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Three pips: Enhance. Lu Yin shook his head as he looked at the two light screens. He rolled again. Four pips: Timestop.

    He let out a sigh of relief and entered his Timestop Space.

    While in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin intended to not only heal his injuries, but more importantly, Disassemble all of Progenitor Guai¡¯s weapons with ckhole Disassembly.

    While recovering from his injuries, Lu Yin continued to roll his die.

    Almost a full year passed within the Timestop Space, but only a second passed in the outside world. Lu Yin rose to his feet, left the metal box, and stepped atop the jiao. ¡°To the Perennial World.¡±

    With a roar, the jiao¡¯s massive body shot out from the Astral River and headed towards the Technocracy.

    The war between Aeternus and humanity spanned countless years. It had first started escting during the Daosource Sect era, and it had continued to grow to the present day. Over the years, humanity had gained a good understanding of Aeternus, though Aeternus had gained an even greater understanding of humanity.

    The Seven Skygods were absolutely certain that the Perennial World would never dare to invade the New World, and they were right to be confident.

    Among the four ruling powers, Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, as well as the Progenitors from the Nong and Liu families, not one of the human Progenitors had any thoughts of invading the New World. In fact, the same was true of everyst cultivator in the entire Perennial World. Everyone¡¯s thoughts were focused solely on defending the rear battlefield. The crack in the Mother Tree made nearly everyone panic.

    Riding atop the jiao, Lu Yin arrived in the Perennial World. He quickly made his way to the Wang family¡¯s floating continent.

    The jiao¡¯s massive shadow shrouded the Wang family¡¯s continent, frightening many of the Wang family¡¯s cultivators.

    Wang Zheng clenched his fists. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you doing here?¡±

    He did not believe that Lu Yin would actually dare to attack the Wang family at the moment, but the jiao seemed to have a rather aggressive attitude.

    Lu Yin stared down at the Wang family¡¯s continent for a moment, and then looked up at the Dominion Realm. ¡°Everyone,e down here. We need to talk. There¡¯s something important that I need to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, what brings you to visit our Wang family?¡± Wang Fan asked without even showing himself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed as he asked, "Are all of you so afraid after being beaten up by the Seven Skygods that you won''t even leave the Dominion Realm?"

    ¡°How presumptuous! Lu Xiaoxuan, no matter what the case may be, we are still your seniors!¡± Xia Shenji shouted.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to burn some incense for you in the future.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Lu Xiaoxuan, what exactly has brought you here? The Aeternals are not any less intelligent than humans, and it is possible that their retreat is nothing more than a show that they are putting on to make us rx our guard,¡± Bai Wangyuan said.

    Lu Yinposed himself before transmitting his voice to only the few Progenitors who were in the Dominion Realm. ¡°I want to invade the New World.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were all stunned. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°I want to invade the New World,¡± Lu Yin repeated.

    Xia Shenji shook his head and let out a coldugh. "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you truly believe that Aeternus is so foolish? We''re currently on high alert to prevent them from exploiting any temporary peace tounch another attack while our guard is lowered. Despite that, you want to walk straight into their trap?"

    ¡°Right now, Aeternus is at war with more than one universe, which I¡¯m sure you already know,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others no longer interrupted.

    ¡°I will not say how, but I am absolutely certain that not a single one of the Seven Skygods in this universe at this moment. This is an unbelievably rare opportunity, and if we don¡¯t seize this chance to destroy the scarlet eye in the New World, we will never obtain such an opportunity again after Aeternus settles their battles in the other universes,¡± Lu Yin said.

    ¡°You are underestimating them.¡±

    ¡°I am not underestimating them. Rather, all of you are overestimating them. When the Lu family was still here, Aeternus always left at least two Skygods to stand guard over the Perennial World, but the Lu family was still able to maintain a foothold in the New World. If Aeternus truly had the strength topletely suppress this universe, and the Seven Skygods are so powerful that no one can match them, that would have never happened. I exined this to you before when I decided to open the entrance to the Starfall Sea, Bai Wangyuan. Have you already forgotten?¡±

    ¡°Given the crack in the Mother Tree, Ceaseless Impetus may start to exhibit malfunctions if another attack isunched against us.¡±

    ¡°All the more reason to resolve the threat of Aeternus in our universe once and for all.¡±

    Wang Fan found the conversation to be rather odd. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, You keep referring to ¡®this universe.¡¯ Exactly what do you know?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered, ¡°I know just as much as any of you, if not more.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers exchanged nces.

    Progenitor Smoke transmitted her voice over. ¡°You guys need to exin what¡¯s going on. Even I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, so what kind of joke is this? Little Lu, what are all of you talking about?¡±

    Lu Yin found this question extremely strange. ¡°Senior, how can you not know about parallel universes?¡±

    ¡°What do I need to know about them?¡± Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin did not understand. Progenitor Smoke was the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, so how could she not know that Aeternus was fighting wars in multiple parallel universes? If she did not know about this, then it meant that even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eights Seas during the Daosource Sect era might not have known about it either. In that case, how did Bai Wangyuan and the others learn about the matter? Also, had the people during the Heavens Sect era known about it?

    Lu Yin remained silent, waiting for Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors to answer Progenitor Smoke.

    Bai Wangyuan transmitted his voice over. ¡°There are infinite parallel universes. Anyone can travel to a parallel universe by chance, even Hunters. However, the chances of returning to one¡¯s original universe are less than one in a billion. Only Aeternus possesses the coordinates that allow them to ess numerous parallel universes. Right now, they are at war in many parallel universes. We are just one of many.¡±

    Regardless of an individual¡¯s strength, it was impossible to travel between two different parallel universes without the ability to determine the coordinates of each universe. In some parallel universes, the same person could be alive in two different universes. The entire concept was inexplicable, and it was possible that only the creator of all the universes could fully understand this phenomena.

 Chapter 2419: Counterattack

    Chapter 2419: Counterattack

    ¡°What the hell? When did you learn about all this? How much do you know about Aeternus¡¯s wars in parallel universes?¡± Progenitor Smoke asked, frustrated that she was the only one ignorant of such things.

    Wang Fan replied, ¡°Even though we know about this, we have no way of interfering with it, as we don¡¯t have the means to travel between parallel universes. Xi Wei, if even a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas like you can¡¯t do it, then you should understand just how difficult such a feat is. It has nothing to do with one¡¯s strength. Even the Three Realms Six Daos during the Heavens Sect era were unable to do this. It¡¯s possible that only the Origin Progenitor had the means to do it.¡±

    Xia Shenji added, ¡°In our known universe, only a handful of people have learned about this since the ancient era. The Origin Progenitor might have been the only person to ever live who had the ability to freely travel between parallel universes in the same way as Aeternus. We are not able to exert any influence on the wars being waged in parallel universes, so nothing would have changed even if we had told you about this before.¡±

    Lu Yin rebutted, ¡°What do you mean, ¡®Nothing would have changed?¡¯ Even if we aren¡¯t clear on the exact situation in different parallel universes, that doesn¡¯t stop us from making certain predictions given Aeternus¡¯s reactions. Take our current situation, for example. Four of the Seven Skygods were sent here just to rescue Undying God. That shows that they diverted most of their strength from their wars in the other parallel universes during their time attacking us. The reason why they were in such a hurry to leave is that they needed to quickly regain control of those other battlefields. There¡¯s no difference between that and us choosing to reopen the Starfall Sea to take on some of the Perennial World¡¯s burden.

    ¡°You people are too cowardly. As I¡¯ve already said, we can reim the New World. Aeternus doesn¡¯t have the time to create new avatars, as they are too busy dealing with their wars in the parallel universes right now. This is our only opportunity to rid our universe of Aeternus once and for all. If we miss this chance, we might never get another in the future. Do any of you dare to guarantee that one of the Seven Skygods will be trapped by himself once again?¡±

    Xia Shenji answered in a stern tone, ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, are you able to bear the consequences? If this is all part of Aeternus¡¯s n to lure us away so that they can destroy Ceaseless Impetus, our defenses in this universe will suffer a terrible blow.¡±

    ¡°So do you n to hide here forever like tortoises in your shell? Do you merely want to protect this little territory you control?¡± Lu Yin mocked.

    Bai Wangyuan sighed. ¡°Billions of lives reside in the Perennial World. Who can shoulder the responsibility for their safety?¡±

    ¡°If you know that, then you should have never exiled the Lu family,¡± Mu Xie interrupted.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were unable toe up with any response to that. Humans were innately selfish. They may have seeded in exiling the Lu family, but they had also failed.

    With the Lu family gone, the sky that had once protected humanity had been removed. The four ruling powers had never stopped to consider who would protect them from the outside world if they removed that protective sky. The outside world was dark and terrifying.

    Lu Yin stared up at the Dominion Realm. ¡°It appears to be impossible to get you people to join me in retaking the New World. In that case-¡± He nudged the jiao toward the rear battlefield. ¡°I¡¯ll lead the fourth array base and pave a road of blood.¡±

    There was no right or wrong choice, given the current situation. If Bai Wangyuan and the others possessed the same certainty as Lu Yin that Aeternus had only left Yi Ren in their universe, they would definitely choose to attack the New World as well. In fact, it would be their top priority, as doing so would allow them to surpass the Lu family¡¯s aplishments. However, they had no way to confirm Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge, and they also could not trust Lu Yin. He was an enemy that they hated just as much as Aeternus.

    A cautious, defensive strategy was simply logical since they had no way of knowing Aeternus¡¯s future ns. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s confidence in knowing the Aeternals¡¯s ns, Lu Yin would not be willing to rush into the New World either. It would be pure suicide.

    ¡°It looks like Lu Xiaoxuan really intends to clear a path to the New World,¡± Wang Fan mused. ¡°How is he so confident that Aeternus won¡¯t concern themselves with this ce?¡±

    ¡°If he wants to go, then let him. He¡¯s nning to demonstrate the Lu family¡¯s power by pushing into the New World. He won¡¯t get too far,¡± Progenitor Long said.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°I¡¯d actually prefer it if he pushed deep into the New World.¡±

    The discussion died down. Based on what the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors knew, Aeternus¡¯s strength was as unfathomable as an abyss. If Lu Yin pushed too deep into the New World, he was guaranteed to run into a tough opponent, such as Progenitor-level corpse kings or even one of the Seven Skygods. If he died in the New World, it would be the best oue imaginable for them.

    They had no intentions of stopping Lu Yin from trying to reim the New World.

    The moment Lu Yin arrived at the rear battlefield¡¯s fourth array base, Mu Xie transmitted his voice to Lu Yin. ¡°Regardless of how things turn out, if the Fifth Maind is unable to protect the fourth array base, the agreement that forms the truce will be broken. If that happens, the four ruling powers will no longer have any reason to amodate you, as they yed no part in your current decision. Have you carefully thought this through?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn. ¡°I¡¯m aware of all of that, Senior Brother. I have asked Progenitor Smoke to keep an eye on Nutjob Lu. It still isn¡¯t time for me to end the truce, or else I won¡¯t be able to aplish much in the New World. If I do run into a strong opponent, I¡¯ll have to trouble Senior Brother to help me.¡±

    ¡°Are you not certain that you¡¯ll win?¡± Mu Xie asked.

    Lu Yin remainedpletely serious. ¡°This is war.¡±

    While the Seven Skygods had indeed left the known universe, that did not mean that they would never return. It was simply a matter of time.

    The fact that the Seven Skygods had been in such a rush to leave indicated that, just as Lu Yin had told Bai Wangyuan and the others, the Aeternals were starting to struggle on their battlefields in other universes. If this was true, then they would need some time to turn the tides on those battlefields before they could return. Lu Yin estimated that the Skygods could only return after a month at the earliest, though there were no guarantees.

    It was undoubtedly risky to clear a path through the New World. Lu Yin would never take on such a risk if he were not at least ny percent sure of achieving victory. Still, at the end of the day, there was no such thing asplete reliability in war.

    The four ruling powers had established themselves quite firmly in the Perennial World after they banished the Lu family. If Lu Yin wanted to uproot them, he would need to take risks. There were also some other things that he simply needed to do no matter what.

    The Champions'' Stage floated behind Lu Yin¡¯s back as he stood atop the jiao. He had already retrieved it earlier. The sight of the jiao¡¯s enormous body raised cries of shock and fear across the rear battlefield as it slowly descended upon the five array bases.

    Defenders on all of the five array bases warily eyed the jiao. Its massive body hid Lu Yin from their sight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept across the fourth array base. ¡°We defend because our enemy is strong and we are weak, but my forte is attack! All of you just fought against Aeternus. Tell me, were you afraid?¡±

    Across the entire fourth array base, the Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, the Astral Beast Army, and the rest of the army of cultivators turned their attention to just above the jiao¡¯s head.

    ¡°We were not afraid!¡± someone shouted.

    ¡°We were not afraid!¡±

    ¡°We were not afraid!¡± More and more voices joined in, from both humans and astral beasts. They were terrified of the jiao, but they knew that it was on their side. The powerful, tyrannical beast would not attack them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were filled with determination. ¡°All of you have carved a path through blood and fire. Whether we are friends or enemies, ourmon enemy remains Aeternus. I¡¯ll tell you this: they do not belong to this universe. They are aliens who are determined to destroy and enve us. We have always been weaker than them, but this time, they lost to us! We forced them to turn tail and retreat! If I ask you to join me in clearing a path from this array base into the New World, will you join me?¡±

    ¡°We will!¡± The shout came without any hesitation.

    Atop the jiao¡¯s head, Lu Yin pointed at the other four array bases. ¡°They may not dare to, but we do! They call us the Forsaken Land, but let our Forsaken Land clear the path for them! Let us show them that the so-called Forsaken Land is their ancestralnd!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡­

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words, the defenders of the other four array bases felt their faces grow hot. Kuang Yan started cursing at Lu Yin, Xia Yan clenched shaking fists, Bai Chi¡¯s expression grew dark, and Wang Xun took a step forward as he swore in anger. Since when had they been cowards who needed someone else to clear a path for them? They had all defended the rear battlefield for countless years, and reiming the New World was their greatest dream.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled bitterly. Lu Yin¡¯s words were incredibly offensive, but that did not matter.

    Lu Yin was not aiming his contempt towards the people who had fought and risked their lives to stave off Aeternus, but rather the four ruling powers. If he was going to take this risk, then the potential rewards he reaped needed to be substantial. Regardless of whether he could actually eradicate the forces of Aeternus from their universe, Lu Yin needed his name to shine brighter than any other from either the Perennial World or the Fifth Maind. He needed to be known as someone who was able to guide humanity¡¯s future. He needed to be the light that pierced the darkness that was Aeternus.

    ¡°Fifth Maind, kill them all!¡± Lu Yin yelled. The jiao extended its ws as it let out a howl. The beast charged out of the fourth array base, killing every Aeternal in sight as it began to clear a path to the New World.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Hen Xin, Jiu Yao, and Yao Di all rushed forward behind the jiao. Behind them followed the Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Astral Beast Army. A flood of humans and astral beasts left the fourth array base in formation. With the support of the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ inner worlds, the defenders of the fourth array base made their way toward the New World, toward and that humanity had not managed to set foot on for dozens of years. This charge signaled the start of humanity¡¯s counterattack on Aeternus.

    The scene left every single person on all the other array bases with a fire in their belly. They had dreamed of stepping onto thatnd for so long. Back when the Lu family had still been around, humanity had done it, but with the Lu family gone, they had started to believe that they might never be capable of setting foot there again. Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s appearance had ignited a dying spark of hope in their hearts. He had proven that it was possible to pave the path once more. Every fiber of their being wanted to charge forth and ughter their way into the New World, to reim thatnd for humanity.

    Xia Yan looked up at the Dominion Realm where Xia Shenji was, the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s eyes pleading for permission to go as well. Wang Xun, Bai Chi, Kuang Yan, and all the other generals looked up at their Progenitors, begging to be permitted to leave their array bases.

    The expressions on Bai Wangyuan and the others¡¯ faces grew dark as they watched the situation unfold. They had underestimated just how important invading the New World was to humanity. What Lu Yin had just done represented a new chapter for humanity, one in which they regained the ability to actually fight back against their ancient enemy. Regardless of whether Lu Xiaoxuan ultimately seeded or failed, he would still be the overall winner, as his name was destined to be engraved in every historical record for years toe.

    News that Lu Yin was leading the fourth array base into the New World quickly spread across the Perennial World¡¯s Higher, Middle, and Lower Realms. This was all due to Kui Luo¡¯s efforts. Lu Yin wanted his name to resonate across the universe. He wanted the Lu surname to be a symbol of belief, of faith.

    There would not be any short term benefits as he worked towards that goal. It was also impossible for Lu Yin to eliminate the four ruling powers with mere fame. Still, the true results would begin to showter on. It was much like how he had established the Tower of the Fifth in the Fifth Maind as a source of benefits far into the future.

    Lu Yin had be the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen, but his indispensable contributions to the Tower of the Fifth remained unforgettable. This was the power of fame.

    There were cities and humans living in the New World, but they were in the same situation as those in the various Aeternus Kingdoms; these humans were all being transformed into something else.

    The jiao¡¯s colossal body dropped into the New World. Upon arriving, the first thing that Lu Yin noticed was not an endless sea of corpse kings, but rather the devouring metal that had been dropped down earlier.

    He frowned as he watched the huge shards of metal twisting about, devouring the nearby corpse kings¡¯ flesh and blood. He ordered the jiao to pick up one of the shards.

    These hunks of metal had no intelligence whatsoever, and they acted solely on their innate mechanisms. It had absolutely no fear of the jiao, and the metal actually tried to devour the jiao¡¯s flesh and blood, only to be easily shattered by the jiao¡¯s ws.

    ¡°Be more careful! Don¡¯t y around!¡± Lu Yin scolded.

    The jiao dived towards the city that stood closest to the fourth array base. It dropped to the ground like a meteor, stomping numerous corpse kings to death. The ground broke apart, revealing tens of thousands of people who were in the middle of being transformed underground. Some of them looked like they had only just arrived, while others looked to have justpleted the process.

    A corpse kingunched a sneak attack through the void at Lu Yin. Lu Yin did not pay the monster any attention, as the jiao¡¯s tailshed out and destroyed the corpse king.

    Corpse kings had the advantage of beingpletely fearless, which meant that the jiao¡¯s aura did not hinder them at all. Any normal beast would have already prostrated on the ground in terror.

 Chapter 2420: Entrance To The Upper Three Gates

    <h4>Chapter 2420: Entrance To The Upper Three Gates</h4>

    Behind Lu Yin and the jiao, the fourth array base¡¯s defenders flooded into the New World with the protection of the Semi-Progenitors¡¯ inner worlds. Upon arriving, everyone started to eradicate the scattered corpse kings that had been left behind.

    ¡°Be careful. The true depths of Aeternus''s power are unfathomable. They have both Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors, such as the Twelve Marquises. Everyst one of them is a terrible opponent to deal with,¡± Arch-Elder Zen called out.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Senior, make sure our men don¡¯t spread out too far. Staying close will prevent them from encountering idents, as well as ensure that they can quickly retreat, if necessary.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    After the city was smashed apart, Lu Yin decided to have Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors oversee the rest of the cleanup. In the meantime, Lu Yin had the jiao take him deeper into the New World. His target was the huge scarlet eye. If he could destroy it, then Aeaternus¡¯s endless streams of corpse kings would be cut off. Still, that did not mean that the Seven Skygods themselves would be hindered, as the Aeternals still had the coordinates for the known universe. For those at the Seven Skygods¡¯ level, it would not be too difficult for them to return.

    While Lu Yincked the strength necessary to exterminate the Seven Skygods, or any Progenitor, for that matter, destroying one of Aeternus¡¯s giant scarlet eyes would still be a meaningful loss for the Aeternals.

    The fact that Corpse God had abandoned everything to rush over to the Starfall Sea as soon as the giant eye near the Fifth Maind was threatened proved just how important these things were to Aeternus.

    Cities were scattered along the path into the depths of the New World. The jiao instantly destroyed each city without any hesitation. When Lu Yin turned back, he saw that they were moving further and further away from the Mother Tree. At this moment, Lu Yin was seeing the Perennial World from the Aeternals¡¯ perspective. To them, Mother Tree was stained blood-red.

    Even after all this time, Lu Yin still had no idea just how the Mother Tree had managed to reach its current size. It wasrge enough to separate humanity from Aeternus. Just how long would it take Sapling to reach that size?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze focused on a location some distance away. There, his domain had detected the presence of a Semi-Progenitor. It might even be one of the Twelve Marquises.

    The jiao was ordered to attack, and it raised a w and shed at the location that Lu Yin had indicated.

    The void was torn apart, and the attack even channeled into the ground below as well. The damaged extended further than the eye could see. The power of a Progenitor could suppress absolutely everything, and all the nearby corpse kings were instantly crushed, producing rivers of blood.

    A figure shot out from the ruins of a city, and numerous shapes that resembled centipedes materialized in the air. They almost instantly scattered in all directions.

    Sure enough, Lu Yin had found one of the Twelve Marquises, and from Marquis Lan¡¯s memories, Lu Yin was able to identify the Semi-Progenitor. He had an innate gift that created creatures known as chilopods. They looked like centipedes with ck bodies and crimson mandibles, and their venom was iparably deadly.

    Whenever this marquis appeared, the five array bases always ended up struggling. His chilopods were so venomous that even touching the tiniest amount was lethal. Furthermore, the victims would suffer unbearable pain during their final moments. Throughout history, this one enemy had ughtered countless defenders from each of the five array bases. Of the Twelve Marquises, this particr marquis ranked among the top three for those who had killed the most humans. He had also participated in thetest assault on the rear battlefield, and no one could calcte how many he had killed.

    This marquis was absolutely worth a bit of Lu Yin¡¯s time.

    Endless numbers of chilopods scattered in all directions. The cacophony caused by the disturbing sounds of rustling chitin and the clicking of sharp, crimson mandibles was enough to give anyone chills.

    The jiao raised its ws and shed down.

    There was a deafening boom, and enormous cracks opened up, crisscrossing across the ground. The void crumbled as spatial cracks spread far into the distance. The aftermath of this one attack reached all the way to the five array bases.

    When the jiao raised its ws again, not a single chilopod remained. All of them had been instantly crushed to death, and their bodies had fallen into the spatial fissures.

    A marquis who had frustrated and terrorized the Perennial World over the years had been killed just like that. He had never even had the opportunity to actually show himself.

    This was the strength of a Progenitor. The jiao had been too close to the marquis, making it impossible for him to escape. Of the Twelve Marquises, this individual had actually been one of the weakest, and he had only been able to create so much death and destruction due to his odd innate gift.

    After eliminating the marquis, Lu Yin continued to ride the jiao towards the depths of the New World.

    The jiao zed a trail of carnage, destroying one city after another as it moved through the New World. Trailing close behind it were Yao Di and Hen Xin, who had been ced in charge of cleaning up the leftover corpse kings. Finally, Arch-Elder Zen and Jiu Yao brought up the rear, as they needed to oversee the weaker cultivators while remaining ready to pull any of the humans¡¯ forces into their inner worlds at the first sign of danger.

    As Lu Yin pressed deeper into the New World, several stranges started to appear overhead. They were the sevens from the Outer Realm, and among them was the green, Azure Hills. Another one was beautiful and hazy, as though it had been covered by a veil, and it was known as Blossom. There was also a teeming with activity that looked like an eyeball from the outside, and it was known as Iris. Besides them, there was also a triangr called Broken Star.

    Lu Yin kept a wary eye upwards, as he was worried that Ominion would appear as well.

    However, Ominion never appeared. Theses that did appear all fell down to the New World as streaks of light, crashing into the surface.

    Over the years, Aeternus¡¯s Redbacks had infiltrated the Perennial World, and their information had given Aeternus a very thorough understanding of the Perennial World. However, the Perennial World had not simply passively remained on the defense during all this time. Starting from the time of the Daosource Sect era, the Lu family and the four ruling powers had also sent their scouts deep into Aeternus¡¯s territory. The Perennial World had also gained a thorough understanding of the New World and its various cities.

    The Outer Realm¡¯ss had not been left above the New World merely so that they were in position to attack, but also to serve as markers. This was the Perennial World¡¯s method of informing the defenders of the fourth array base of where the corpse kings were located, where cities could be found, and even where powerhouses were hidden.

    Marquis Midday frowned when petals rained down from Blossom. Someone¡¯s keeping tabs on me?

    Blossom had always stayed a great distance away, which meant that the petal rainu had never posed any threat to Marquis Midday. However, if the humans¡¯ invasion of the New World incited the Perennial World¡¯s Semi-Progenitors to join the attack, then the situation could quickly change.

    Marquis Midday started making his way deeper into the New World.

    Marquis Xiang followed suit.

    No one was tracking Wang Xiaoyu, but she also moved deeper into the New World.

    One after another, each of the Twelve Marquises began to move away. This was the first time that the New World had ever experienced such a change.

    Lu Yin spotted another one of the Twelve Marquises, though he did not find this marquis through his domain. The jiao also had not been the one to uncover this marquis, as the beast was toozy to do anything as proactive as searching. No, this marquis had exposed themselves.

    A strange peal ofughter rang out across the New World. In a world that was filled with death and despair,ughter sounded incredibly abnormal. Corpse kings were incapable ofughing, and no normal person wouldugh after arriving in the New World, so where had thisughtere from?

    Lu Yin eventually found the source of theughter. It came from one of the Twelve Marquises. Lu Yin examined a vague memory from Marquis Lan regarding this mysterious marquis, but during his Possession, Lu Yin had been focused on the memories of the Aeternals¡¯ wars in parallel universes. Still, after focusing on the memory, Lu Yin began to recall some details.

    This marquis possessed an innate gift called Howl of the Dead. When the innate gift was used,ughter would fill the air andpletely overpower one¡¯s senses. After that, faces of dead people would start to manifest. It was a strange and chilling innate gift, and while this marquis was not responsible for as many human deaths as thest one, his innate gift had traumatized countless defenders from the five array bases. Even after they returned to the Perennial World from the rear battlefield, many people had struggled to ovee the PTSD caused by this particr innate gift.

    Since the marquis had been found, there was nowhere for him to flee. He also died to the jiao¡¯s ws.

    Two of the Twelve Marquises had been in as Lu Yin had paved a path across the New World, but there were still many who remained alive.

    Lu Yin was the most eager to run into Marquis Lan, as he wanted to Possess the marquis again and continue to ess his memories. Using the die¡¯s Possession had only allowed Lu Yin to Possess the marquis for a very short time before the Possession was forcibly ended. The limit was due to the fact that Lu Yin was not a Semi-Progenitor yet. He was also interested in meeting Wang Xiaoyu, as he wanted to learn more about what had happened between her and Progenitor Chen.

    For the moment, Lu Yin could not find a single one of the Twelve Marquises.

    Hmm, something¡¯s strange.?With his domain, Lu Yin could sense that all the corpse kings were moving in the same direction. Among them were corpse kings with the strength of Envoys, and there was even one with the power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain was able to spread across a vast region, and he had kept it extended as far as possible. His instincts told him that something odd was happening, so he guided the jiao to move in the same direction. Soon, Lu Yin¡¯s domain could sense that the corpse kings were leaping into a fissure in the ground, only to vanish without a trace.

    Underground, ripples parallel to the ground above spread through the void inyers that were nearly imperceptible to the naked eye. There were various ruins in the area surrounding the phenomenon.

    Lu Yin studied the situation for a moment, and then his eyes grewrge. That ce might very well be what connected the Upper Three Gates and the New World!

    There were only a few paths of escape avable to the corpse kings. The first was the enormous scarlet eye, while the second was to pass through the Upper Three Gates and head to the Starfall Sea.

    The jiao howled as itshed out with its ws, tearing open the ground next to the fissure that connected to the Upper Three Gates. The pressure of a Progenitor¡¯s strength was enough to keep all the corpse kings away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked down. Sure enough, this fissure was the opening in the New World that connected to the Upper Three Gates.

    When the Sea King had forcefully opened the Upper Three Gates, this ce in the New World had been connected to the Fifth Maind. After Aeternus upied the Starfall Sea, they had moved through the Upper Three Gates toe to the New World, which had increased the pressure on the rear battlefield multiple times over.

    Lu Yin looked back at the five array bases. The entrance to the Upper Three Gates was very far away from the rear battlefield. Just how had Bai Xian¡¯er made it to this ce?

    He looked around. No matter what might have happened in the past, the exit of the Upper Three Gates waspletely different from how it had been a few dozen years ago.

    If Lu Yin had arrived right after the Sea King broke through Upper Three Gates, Lu Yin might have been able to glean something about how Bai Xian¡¯er had arrived. But right now, it was impossible to determine anything.

    Getting to this location could be regarded as a milestone, as it meant that the Starfall Sea had beenpletely recovered for humanity. Next, Lu Yin would im the entire New World.

    The defenders of the other array bases watched as Lu Yin led the defenders of the fourth array base into the New World and then killed two of the Twelve Marquises. As they pushed through the New World, thebined efforts of Hen Xin and Yao Di felled another marquis, and the people watching were starting to twitch from their growing impatience.

    All the array basespeted with each other on the rear battlefield. Regardless of any outside opinions, the fourth array base hadpletely and undeniably surpassed all the other array bases at this moment. Their sess,bined with Lu Yin¡¯s mocking remarks before leaving, made the rest of the protectors of the rear battlefield grinding their teeth in frustration.

    Having fought on the rear battlefield for so many years, being looked down upon by people from the Forsaken Land had left a sour taste in their mouths.

    Up in the Dominion Realm, Progenitor Long quietlymented, ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan has already pushed quite far into the New World. Regardless of whether a Skygod appears or whatever might befall him, we¡¯ll beughingstocks if we still refuse to act.¡±

    ¡°If this is all just a part of Aeternus¡¯s n to force us into losing the rear battlefield, then all of mankind will have to pay the price,¡± Bai Wangyuan said gravely.

    ¡°If Aeternus wanted to trick us, they wouldn¡¯t have waited so long. The crack in the Mother Tree will naturally make all of us more worried, which means that we are less likely to fall for their tricks than normal,¡± Wang Fan said.

    Bai Wangyuan lifted a hand, and Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s image manifested from hismunication crystal. ¡°Xian¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Bai Xian¡¯er calmly gazed at the Progenitor. ¡°Senior Progenitor Bai, Lu Xiaoxuan will never throw his life away.¡±

    This single sentence struck Bai Wangyuan¡¯s mind like a bolt of lightning. He quickly put hismunication crystal back away. ¡°Let¡¯s fight.¡±

    Within moments, battle cries rang out from the remaining four array bases. The Shenwu World spread across the New World. Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and Progenitor Long all attacked as one. Xia Yan and the other Semi-Progenitors released their inner worlds to envelop their troops, and they all charged from the array bases and into the New World.

    Lu Yin turned his head back to look. ¡°Couldn¡¯t hold yourselves back any longer? Then let¡¯s work together. We¡¯ll talk after Aeternus ispletely and permanently driven out.¡±

    A determined glint appeared in his eyes. ¡°Jiao, forward!¡±

    This was the first time that the mood on the rear battlefield had been elevated by hope and excitement. Armies from each of the five bases charged into the depths of the New World, ughtering their way from city to city.

    Progenitors from each of the four ruling powers entered the New World, and they immediately began to push into its depths.

 Chapter 2421: Launch

    <h4>Chapter 2421: Launch</h4>

    Lu Yin represented the Fifth Maind, and the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors represented the Perennial World. At this moment, all grudges and hatred between them had been set aside. In order to face their nemesis, humanity had united into one force for the first time in known history.

    In the past, the Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind and had also faced off against the Seven Skygods in the New World. The forces had represented the peak of strength and power for Aeternus and humanity, and there had never been any clear victor in their contests. In more recent years, it had seemed quite clear that the humans had fallen to the disadvantage. However, Lu Yin had suddenly appeared, and he was paving a road for mankind tounch a counterattack against Aeternus.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s greatest regret at this moment was that he had hesitated to reim the New World. It could have been his name that went down in history, but instead, Lu Yin¡¯s name would shine the brightest.

    However, at this moment, Lu Yin was not even thinking about leaving his name down in history. He also did not intend to die just yet. All he wanted to do was destroy that giant scarlet eye.

    The giant eye sat in the deepest parts of the New World. The New World was connected to the rear battlefield that was behind the Mother Tree, and crossing the New World would take them to another part of the universe, one that Lu Yin had no knowledge of.

    The giant eyes sat at the intersection between the New World and the unfamiliar part of the universe. With the speed that the jiao was traveling at, it would not take them long to reach that ce.

    Yi Ren was no fool, which meant that there was no way he would even try to stop Lu Yin. Yi Ren was also the only Progenitor that Aeternus had left behind in the New World, and Lu Yin had agreed to a truce with the four ruling powers. Right now, all of them were making their way across the New World as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s assumption was spot on. At this moment, Yi Ren was standing in front of the giant scarlet eye between the New World and the foreign region of the universe. The Progenitor looked to the north and sighed. His chances of stopping the attackers were zero. The Seven Skygods had told him that no one would dare to invade the New World. However, not only had the humans done just that, but they had alsounched a full force assault. Even if two of the Seven Skygods were present, they would only be able to mount a futile resistance, while Yi Ren waspletely on his own.

    He stared at the jiao¡¯s massive body as the beast drew closer. The Progenitor knew that Lu Yin had to be there as well.

    ¡°The more impressive you be, the more horrible your death will be. Lu Yin, I¡¯ll be waiting for that day,¡± Yi Ren said with a hint of reluctance. He then turned around and entered the giant scarlet eye.

    The surviving Twelve Marquises had already left before the Progenitor. They were individuals who were regarded as far more important than any corpse king, and each of them had their own ns. This was why they feared death.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyesnded on the massive scarlet eyes, and he also saw whaty beyond it. While there were fewer stars therepared to the Fifth Maind, it was still a part of the same universe, even if it was apletely unknown region.

    Behind Lu Yin, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were moving closer. They were already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, and they wanted to steal the aplishment of destroying the giant scarlet eye away from him. The honor of driving Aeternus out of the Perennial World for good was not something that should be given to the Lu family.

    As the jiao grew closer, Lu Yin was finally able to make out details of the eye.

    Suddenly, the jiaopletely stopped. The beast remembered how attacking a simr object had previously brought out that horrifying monster that had attacked it. The jiao was scared of experiencing that again.

    The sudden stop nearly threw Lu Yin off of the jiao¡¯s head. He angrily shouted, ¡°You stupid beast, what are you doing? Move!¡±

    The jiao fearfully nced around, expecting Corpse God to suddenly appear.

    Lu Yin looked back, knowing that Bai Wangyuan and the others were about to arrive as well. He started growing anxious, and brought out the slipper. ¡°Move, or else¡­¡±

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled, but he just ignored it. He lifted the slipper high to smack the jiao. If Lu Yin tried to cover the remaining distance by himself, Bai Wangyuan and the others would surely overtake him. Only the jiao¡¯s speed would let Lu Yin reach the giant scarlet eye before them, which would let him be the one to destroy the thing.

    Both Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan andmunication crystal alerted him to iing calls and messages without end. After several hard smacks from the slipper, the jiao reluctantly continued moving closer to the scarlet eyes.

    Someone suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin. They were an old man with a kind looking face. Both of the man¡¯s eyes were scarlet, and he was holding a teacup in his hand.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°One of the Twelve Marquis?¡±

    This old man was indeed one of the Twelve Marquises. He had only returned to the known universe after thest assault on the Perennial World, but instead of leaving through the scarlet eye, this man had remained behind. ¡°I¡¯m West Mountain Tea King. Descendant of the Lu family, I¡¯ve hunted you once before.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow creased. He had no memory of this man, which meant that the marquis was saying that he had once hunted Lu Xiaoxuan, rather than Lu Yin. ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    He had no time to waste with the old monster. Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers were about to catch up. Lu Yin had to be the one to destroy the scarlet eye, so he prepared to order the jiao to attack.

    ¡°Murkiness.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s movements froze. He stared at the old man. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    West Mountain Tea King stared back at Lu Yin. ¡°Murkiness has already been set in motion. The Fifth Maind¡¯s safety is currently at stake. Descendant of the Lu family, someone should already be trying to contact you.¡±

    Lu Yin pulled out his wireless jincan. It had been trembling for some time, but he had not bothered to deal with it. He quickly responded.

    ¡°We¡¯ve got a massive problem. All of the star energy and stellr energy in everyone¡¯s bodies has started flowing in reverse. Everyst cultivator has been seriously injured,¡± Lu Buzheng quickly reported.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide from shock. He could no longer remain calm as he looked up at West Mountain Tea King.

    At that same moment, all four of his stellr energy vortices started to circte in reverse. He quickly suppressed the change with his death energy.

    Unfortunately, while it was possible for Lu Yin to suppress his stellr energy with death energy, this was something that others were not capable of doing.

    A sudden thought shot through his brain like a bolt of electricity. He quietly said, ¡°It¡¯s those liquid droplets.¡±

    West Mountain Tea King replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I was merely tasked with offering you a deal. Aeternus can stop Murkiness and allow the Fifth Maind to return to normal. In exchange, you cannot attack our cosmic door.¡±

    ¡°That enormous eye is a door?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Correct. This deal works to your benefit. Don¡¯t forget. As soon as Aeternus disappears, you won¡¯t be the only one looking toe out on top¡ªyour enemies will as well. Once you lose us as your enemy and Murkiness unfolds, how do you expect to stop them?¡±

    Behind Lu Yin, Bai Wangyuan and the others were drawing very close.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°Even if I agree, they will never agree.¡±

    ¡°Regardless, our cosmic door must not be destroyed. It¡¯s your decision, direct descendant of the Lu family. Since you¡¯ve managed to force the four ruling powers to reach an agreement with you once, then you can do so a second time. I¡¯ve stated the terms. Murkiness is extremely important to Aeternus, and the fact that we are offering this exchange in order to ensure that our cosmic door?is not destroyed should be an honor to you. Even after you¡¯ve managed to reach this ce, as soon as Murkiness is in full motion, the Fifth Maind will bepletely wiped out. All cultivation in the Fifth Maind wille to an end,¡± West Mountain Tea King stated.

    ¡°If you destroy the cosmic door and we leave, you will doom yourself. It will be of great benefit for you to be a little selfish right now.¡±

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. He could feel his stellr energy struggling against him to flow in reverse. Even with his death energy, he was having trouble suppressing his stellr energy. Others had to be having an even worse time. He could feel his wireless jincan andmunication crystal vibrating nonstop. Countless people were trying to get in touch with him.

    There was no more time to consider things. Lu Yin opened his eyes, and Progenitor-level runes enveloped West Mountain Tea King¡¯s body, instantly weakening the marquis.

    West Mountain Tea King was shocked. ¡°Direct descendant of the Lu family, you-!¡±

    Lu Yin yelled, ¡°Go!¡±

    The jiao swiped a w at West Mountain Tea King. The marquis was a peak Semi-Progenitor, whose strength and toughness wasparable to Qing Ping, but he was still only a Semi-Progenitor, and he was facing an attack from a beast with the strength of a Progenitor. The marquis might have been able to avoid the jiao¡¯s attack if Lu Yin had been rushing through, but the man had simply never expected Lu Yin to attack him directly.

    There was not a single Semi-Progenitor, Qing Ping included, who could escape abination attack of being weakened by Progenitor-level runes while being attacked by the jiao.

    West Mountain Tea King was instantly torn to shreds by the jiao¡¯s ws. With Lu Yin¡¯s continued threats, the jiao quickly rushed over to the giant scarlet eye, reaching it in the blink of an eye. Lu Yin quickly summoned E Chi and tossed the slipper to the champion. ¡°Hit it!¡±

    Still some distance away, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long saw E Chi begin to attack the giant scarlet eye. With a resounding p, a crack appeared.

    The sight of the crack caused all four Progenitors¡¯ expressions to turn to shock.

    E Chi lifted the slipper and struck the eye a second time. This attack caused the giant scarlet eye topletely shatter into small pieces.

    The fragments slowly fell down, the dark-red, ss-like material glittering in the light. A hushed silence fell upon the New World.

    At this exact moment, all the surviving corpse kingspletely stopped moving.

    ¡°See? I told you that we can defeat Aeternus,¡± Lu Yin said to Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the Progenitors. He then immediately answered the call requests spamming hismunication crystal. Hen Xin was the first one that Lu Yin connected to. ¡°Everyone¡¯s star and stellr energy is circting in reverse. We cannot remain in the New World any longer. Something¡¯s very wrong.¡±

    Lu Yin softly replied, ¡°It¡¯s not just the New World. It¡¯s the entire Fifth Maind.¡±

    Through the image on hismunication crystal, Lu Yin could see cultivators from the Fifth Maind, all sitting cross-legged on ground that was stained with blood. Everyst person that Lu Yin could see seemed to have been seriously injured. There was even blood on Hen Xin¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°The Fifth Maind? What are you saying?¡± Hen Xin asked with a sinking feeling.

    Lu Yin ended the call. Murkiness had still ultimately beenunched. Master, the Murkiness that you were investigating for so long has finally started. Just like you thought, this is Aeternus¡¯s grand scheme to finish off humanity. Unfortunately, your disciple was unable to stop it. I couldn¡¯t learn anything about it at all.

    There was no way that Lu Yin could have protected the giant scarlet eye, as doing so would have forced him to wage an all-out war against the four ruling powers.

    What Aeternus had asked Lu Yin to do went far beyond acting on a mere personal grudge; they had asked him to truly betray humanity. The moment the four ruling powers obtained proof that Lu Yin was a Redback, he would be doomed. Even if Aeternus kept their side of the deal and abandoned Murkiness and allowed the Fifth Maind to recover, what would be of the Fifth Maind without Lu Yin?

    This was not Lu Yin being arrogant. In the Fifth Maind, he alone was qualified to speak to the four ruling powers as their equal. As soon as he was removed from the picture, the Perennial World¡¯s attitude towards the Fifth Maind wouldpletely change. The ultimate result for them would not be not too different from living with Murkiness.

    Lu Yin was unwilling to sacrifice himself just to stop Murkiness.

    With Bai Wangyuan and the others fast approaching his location, his only choice had been to ?immediately destroy the giant eye. As for Murkiness, he woulde up with a solutionter on.

    The current situation in the Fifth Maind affected every single person who had ever absorbed energy from the Fifth Maind as a part of their cultivation. This even included people from the Perennial World who had visited the Fifth Maind.

    As for the people from the Fifth Maind, their role in the war in the New World had reached its end.

    Lu Yin ordered Yao Di to return the fourth array base¡¯s troops. If Murkiness was not dealt with, the Fifth Maind would be done for.

    Lu Yin looked down at the broken shards of the scarlet eye that littered the ground. From what Lu Yin could remember, the Tree Realm had been pierced by the eye from the Starfall Sea. In that case, could these broken fragments serve any purpose?

    ¡°What? How did this happen?¡± Wang Fan eximed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    News of what had befallen the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators had quickly reached Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers. They exchanged nces while also looking at Lu Yin for answers.

    They knew that something had happened to the Fifth Maind, but they were uncertain of the exact details. All they knew was that every single person who had visited the Fifth Maind had suddenly found their star energy or stellr energy circting in reverse. This waspletely unprecedented.

 Chapter 2422: Hidden Divine Energy

    Chapter 2422: Hidden Divine Energy

    ¡°Lu Xiaxuan, just what is happening?¡± Xia Shenji angrily demanded. The four men stared at Lu Yin, waiting for an exnation.

    Lu Yin dropped to the ground and calmly examined the fragments of the scarlet eye. ¡°Aeternus¡¯s Murkiness involves using the droplets of unknown liquid to drain all the stellr energy from the true universe and then release the absorbed energy. The released energies have been tampered with.¡±

    ¡°You knew about this?¡± Bai Wangyuan frowned.

    Lu Yin answered expressionlessly, ¡°Aeternus just told me that they would stop Murkiness if I stopped their cosmic door from being destroyed, but-¡± He stared at the four men. ¡°How could I ever agree to that?¡±

    Conflicted expressions appeared on four faces. How could Lu Yin have agreed? Even if he had agreed, they would have never agreed.

    The destruction of the giant eye meant that Aeternus could no longer flood the known universe with an endless supply of corpse kings. Their obvious concern for the eyes showed just how important these ¡°cosmic doors¡± were to the Aeternals. Constructing one could not possibly be easy. Even if they were able to return to the known universe and bring another scarlet eye, the destruction of the eye in the New World was still a terrible loss for Aeternus.

    How could they ever abandon such an opportunity just to save the Forsaken Land?

    Only a short bit of time had passed since Murkiness had been activated, and no one could say just how far this would go on for. It was possible that the current situation would onlyst for a short while, but it was also possible that the era of cultivation had alreadye to an end for the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin did not expect any answers from the four Progenitors. He knew that they only had one answer for him: nopromises.

    He continued studying the shards of the shattered eye.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other three also descended to the ground.

    Without any warning, the fragments instantly dissolved, transforming into a beam of light that shot into Lu Yin¡¯s heart while horror filled his eyes.

    No one had anticipated such a change.

    They only saw a stream of red light send Lu Yin¡¯s body flying far away, where he eventually crashed into the ground.

    The jiao sent a quizzical look towards where Lu Yin hadnded.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged wary gazes before moving over to where Lu Yiny.

    Lu Yin was on his back, his expression contorting in pain. The beam of red light had struck his chest dead center, and it had nearly pierced his body. There were deep cracks that had been cut into the ground as well.

    Cough, cough!

    Lu Yin started coughing up blood. He looked down to check his wounds and saw that his clothes were now bloodstained. He had not expected the shattered remains of the cosmic door to suddenly attack him. How unlucky.

    Mu Xie arrived at that moment, and he squatted down next to Lu Yin and helped him up. ¡°What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin held his wounded chest. ¡°Senior Brother, what brings you down here? I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just a small injury.¡±

    Mu Xie examined Lu Yin¡¯s chest. The wound was clearly deep, and it had practically perforated his chest. However, it also was not a fatal injury, and would leave nosting damage. The Progenitor sighed in relief and looked upwards.

    Lu Yin followed his senior brother¡¯s gaze, and his eyes grew wide. Ominion was overhead. The star possessed a deep red color.

    It was no wonder why Mu Xie had arrived. He had been constantly keeping an eye on Ominion. Since it had appeared in the New World, Mu Xie had also arrived to ensure Lu Yin¡¯s safety.

    ¡°He won¡¯t attack me right now, will he?¡± Lu Yin asked. He looked directly at Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. Nutjob Lu had not yet been exposed as a Redback, and they would never believe such usations without irrefutable evidence.

    Mu Xie answered somberly, ¡°With me here, no one can harm you.¡±

    Lu Yin coughed another two times. ¡°Senior Brother, please help me get back to the fourth array base. Disaster has struck the Fifth Maind.¡±

    Mu Xie helped Lu Yin up, and the two of them left. Bai Wangyuan and the others remained behind.

    A short whileter, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors separated, moving in different directions. They were preparing to exterminate all of Aeternus¡¯s forces for good, fully reiming the New World for humanity. This was the first time that the Perennial World had ever obtained such an opportunity.

    As Mu Xie led Lu Yin back to the fourth array base, Lu Yin examined the state of things within his chest.

    The beam of red light had been extremely powerful. He had activated his Wielder - Indestructible at the veryst moment, but the light had still easily pierced his body. The toughness of Lu Yin¡¯s body had already surpassed a normal Progenitor¡¯s, let alone when Lu Yin also used his battle force. Despite that, the beam of light had still easily injured Lu Yin.

    Mu Xie and Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group had witnessed the entire thing unfold.

    However, the beam of light was far moreplex than what its appearance belied. The moment it struck Lu Yin, the power within the beam had tried to spread throughout his body, which had been even more horrifying than having his stellr energy flow in reverse. The beam of light had been formed from divine energy, which was the power of True God Yi Wei. If it could not control Lu Yin, then it would simply destroy him.

    How many people in the entire universe were capable of resisting True God¡¯s power?

    If not for the fact that an equally domineering power already existed in Lu Yin''s chest, he would have been done for then and there.

    Lu Yin was not even certain that the power in his chest was what had managed to counter the divine energy that had tried to rampage through his body. Even if that was what had happened, it did not prove that the power in his chest was somehow superior to divine energy. Far more likely, there had simply been too little divine energy present. After all, even Bai Xian¡¯er had proven herself capable ofpletely suppressing Lu Yin¡¯s unique power when they had shed in Crimson Garden.

    However, suppressing the divine energy was just half of the story. In Lu Yin¡¯s chest, a red dot had appeared a short distance away from the ck and white mist. That red dot was divine energy.

    Lu Yin had only discovered the existence of the red dot after returning to the fourth array base. He had immediately tried to use his ck-and-white mist to dissolve the red dot, only to discover that it was impossible. The dot did not move, but it also did not resist him. It simply stayed exactly how he had found it. Lu Yin felt incredibly frustrated by its presence.

    ¡°The people from the fourth array base are over there,¡± Mu Xie said.

    Lu Yin looked down and saw Yao Di and a few other Semi-Progenitors transporting the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators within their inner worlds. Only a few Semi-Progenitors were still able to use their inner worlds. Given the severity of the repercussions from having their stellr energy reverse its flow, people with Lan Xian¡¯s strength had been essentially crippled.

    Lu Yin quickly found Arch-Elder Zen. The old man¡¯s face was a bit pale, but other than that, he appeared fine.

    ¡°The stellr energy in my inner world almost started circting in reverse. If that ever happens, my cultivation will be crippled,¡± Arch-Elder Zen said.

    Out of all the Semi-Progenitors who had been stationed at the fourth array base, Hen Xin was faring the best. While his stellr energy had also started flowing in reverse, he mostly cultivated with battle force and domain. Since his Wielder realm battle force was still intact, his overall strength had not been greatly impacted.

    At this moment, Wan Zhiyi alone was responsible for the fourth array base¡¯s protection. However, this was not a problem.

    Lu Yin instructed Arch-Elder Zen and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors to return the fourth array base¡¯s defenders. While they did that, Lu Yin himself rode the jiao back to the Fifth Maind.

    Due to the activation of Murkiness, all the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators had been essentially crippled. This even included people from the Perennial World who had visited the Fifth Maind, though the vast majority of the Perennial World¡¯s cultivators remained unaffected.

    The moment Lu Yin arrived atop the jiao, a wave of cheers and apuse erupted.

    The people were cheering for Lu Yin''s decision to lead the fourth array base into the New World. After decades of hopelessness, their hope of defeating Aeternus had been restored, and they were celebrating humanity''s resilience.

    Word that Lu Yin had destroyed the giant scarlet eye had not yet spread to the public, but it would happen very soon. When it did, Lu Yin¡¯s fame would soar to new heights, in both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts were not on any of that at the moment.

    Almost as soon as the jiao arrived in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned dark.

    As soon as he exited the New Corridor, he saw the crippled state of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators, as well as the visitors from the Perennial World. Regardless of their cultivation realm, as long as anyone had absorbed any bit of star or stellr energy, their energy reserves had started to flow in reverse. Forget fighting¡ªeven movement had be difficult for these people. Only those who possessed strengthparable to Arch-Elder Zen or Hen Xin were able to even remain standing.

    Lu Yin moved through the Technocracy, the Innerverse, and finally arrived at the entrance to the Starfall Sea. The troops who had taken part in the assault on the Starfall Sea had not yet been dismissed, but they were also no longer the same as before. They were able to demonstrate a bit of strength due to their various tools and power vessels, but this was not enough topensate for the fact that their cultivation had been crippled. Just a light touch would force them to copse.

    Lu Yin found Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, the Fifth Maind¡¯s other Semi-Progenitors, as well as the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but they were all in the same condition. Even Grandmaster Gu Yan, who had only spent a very short time in the Fifth Maind, had been affected.

    No one had been able to escape this disaster.

    This was the true face of ¡°Murkiness.¡±

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood why the true universe had been restored, why there had been a massive surge of stellr energy that had greatly aided the cultivation of Lu Buzheng, the other Semi-Progenitors, and everyone else¡¯s. Absorbing that surge of stellr energy after their cultivation had stagnated for decades was far more beneficial than normally cultivating for dozens of years.

    At the time, Lu Yin had not been able to understand the rationale behind Aeternus¡¯s actions, and that confusion had continued until now. There was no way that the Aeternals would ever do anything that would benefit Lu Buzheng or any of the other human Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin had believed it to be a mistake or oversight on Aeternus¡¯s part.

    Unfortunately, it had be clear that there had been no oversight or mistakes. Regardless of how far Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors might have been able to improve their cultivation, no one could escape after Murkiness was set in motion. So what if they became Progenitors? They would still be affected by this phenomena.

    One could never underestimate Aeternus¡¯s plots.

    Lu Yin also finally understood why Mister Mu was so wary of Aeternus, and why he had been so eager to learn more about Murkiness.

    If the current issue was not properly dealt with, Murkiness could very well end cultivation in the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin ordered the jiao to travel around the Fifth Maind. He was hoping to find at least one person who was unaffected by the reversed energy cirction within all the cultivators¡¯ bodies.

    Unfortunately, not a single person could be found who was unaffected.

    At this moment, the war on the rear battlefield had resumed its original ferocity. Aside from the people of the fourth array base, all the other people stationed on the rear battlefield were moving through the New World. They destroyed and reimed one city after another, while massacring corpse kings and rescuing the surviving humans who had not yet been transformed. Waves of good news continued to spread. It was almost as if the New World had already be human territory.

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled. He was receiving a message from Bai Wangyuan.

    ¡°Are you still able to defend the fourth array base?¡± Bai Wangyuan asked. He understood the situation in the Fifth Maind, but so what? Aeternus had been forced to retreat from the Perennial World, and the overall situation had changed repeatedly in recent years. At this particr moment, having the Fifth Maind be crippled would greatly benefit the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin could hear the insinuations from Bai Wangyuan¡¯s message, but Lu Yin was not very surprised by it. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Bai Wangyuan replied, entirely serious, ¡°If you are unable to defend the fourth array base, you are viting the terms of our truce, and you should be fully aware of those consequences.¡±

    ¡°Rx, we have the strength. The fourth array base will remain protected,¡± Lu Yin sent back. With that, he ended the conversation.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. He had never expected Aeternus¡¯s Murkiness to take ce at this moment, of all times. Was this the Aeternals¡¯ way of getting revenge on Lu Yin?

    The moment that Murkiness was activated, the Fifth Maind had been crippled. The timing coincided with Aeternus being ousted from the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World, which meant that the four ruling powers were able to establishplete dominance. This was not good at all for Lu Yin.

    West Mountain Tea King had warned Lu Yin about these exact consequences, and he had even given lu Yin time to consider his options. However, was there ever a need to even consider a deal offered by Aeternus?

    There were times for a person to act selfishly, but even more importantly, a person always had to remain true to their own moralpass. If Lu Yin had allowed Aeternus to remain in the known universe to continue making trouble for humanity just because of his hatred of the four ruling powers, the resulting guilt would stay with him forever.

    Lu Yin did not see himself as some selfless person, but there were still certain things that he simply could not force himself to do. Everyone had their own bottom line.

 Chapter 2423: Report

    Chapter 2423: Report

    Lu Yin intended to rece the crippled defenders of the fourth array base with the surviving vassals of the Lu family, as well as the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators who focused on battle force or domains. Their overall power was barely enough to protect a single array base, but there should be no problems, as long as enough Semi-Progenitors were present. After all, the array bases were no longer a battlefield. The final traces of war were being fought down below, in the New World.

    Having Wan Zhiyi and Hen Xin present was enough.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other three Progenitors from the four ruling powers spent half a month thoroughlybing through the New World, eliminating every Semi-Progenitor Aeternal who was capable of giving the weaker cultivators a hard time.

    ¡°What did Lu Xiaoxuan say?¡± Xia Shenji asked Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, ¡°He says that he has the manpower to take care of it. He wants us to continue to allow the Fifth Maind to protect the fourth array base.¡±

    ¡°The Fifth Maind has already been crippled. He simply knows that there won¡¯t be another battle fought on the array bases. He¡¯s just going to send a bunch of people to put on a facade.¡± Xia Shenji snorted contemptuously.

    Bai Wangyuan turned to stare at the men behind him. "Regardless, the terms that we agreed to never specified that the array base had to maintain a constant state of being ready for war. We only asked the Fifth Maind to take over the fourth array base¡¯s defenses. Those conditions remain the same."

    Wang Fan frowned. ¡°Aeternus actually managed to cripple the Fifth Maind. Right now, we should be most concerned about how they did that.¡±

    ¡°Aeternus has already retreated, and they won¡¯t be able to pull off any tricks in our universe any longer. Even if the Seven Skygods do manage to return, they won¡¯t be able to bring their endless hordes of corpse kings with them. Furthermore, the fact that Aeternus has retreated proves that they must be at a disadvantage in their other wars in different parallel universes. If that were not the case, then there¡¯s no way they would not react to all that we¡¯ve done,¡± Progenitor Long said.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s guess was absolutely urate. While his knowledge of parallel universes must be rather limited, his maniption of the overall war has been exceptionally precise,¡± Wang Fan remarked.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Given the current state of the Fifth Maind, Lu Xiaoxuan can no longer cause us any trouble. So what if we allow him to be a Semi-Progenitor? Right now, our top priority should be to seizeplete control of our Perennial World.¡±

    ¡°Agreed,¡± Xia Shenji concurred.

    Wang Fan asked, ¡°Then are we simply going to leave the Fifth Maind as it is?¡±

    Xia Shenji nced sideways at the man. ¡°After all these years, what help has the Forsaken Land ever given us?¡±

    Wang Fan said nothing further.

    Progenitor Long was still worried. ¡°My only fear is that those effects might spread to our portion of the universe.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan gazed at the Higher Realm. ¡°We will immediately seal the New Corridor. People may leave from here, but no one will be allowed to enter the Perennial World.¡±

    ¡­

    After more than half a month passed, the entire Fifth Maind descended into a state of despair. Most cultivators had suffered heavy injuries, and only a handful of people, such as Big Sis and Lu Yin, had been able to get away with minor injuries.

    Lu Yin still had not found a single person who was unaffected or even affected to a lesser degree than other people. He wanted to understand the underlying reason behind the sudden reversal in everyone¡¯s energy flows, as well as identify cultivators in the Fifth Maind who possessed unique inheritances. Unfortunately, doing this was not easy. Cultivators as a whole were ustomed to keeping a low profile and hiding their cards.

    ¡°Dao Chosen, based on my observations, this energy reversal may harm people¡¯s bodies in the short term, but once all energy has dissipated from their body, they will no longer suffer any harm at all. Therefore, the length of this process depends on how much power each person needs to dissipate. Right now, most people have absolutely no control whatsoever over their star or stellr energy, so they are slowly leaking energy while alsopletely unable to use any battle techniques,¡± the Progenitor of Bloodlines reported.

    Lu Yin felt his headache growing. ¡°I know that much, but the real question is, what exactly is causing their energies to flow in reverse? If we can¡¯t get to the root of this problem, then no one in the Fifth Maind will be able to cultivate any longer. The consequences of that will be far worse than our previous situation, where there was no stellr energy.¡±

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines said nothing, as he also could not find the reason behind this energy reversal.

    A short whileter, Herb Immortal arrived. However, he also bore no good news.

    Lu Yin also continued to personally search, but all efforts proved fruitless.

    Since Aeternus believed that Murkiness couldpletely end cultivation for the Fifth Maind, there was no way for there to be a simple solution to the problem.

    When the Second Nightking arrived, there was an ugly expression on his face. ¡°Dao Chosen, our casualty rate in the Perennial World has risen yet again. The Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators have always been the target of the so-called ¡®Forsaken Land ying Alliance¡¯ whenever they visit the Perennial World, but they are bing much bolder in their actions. It¡¯s clear that they¡¯re following the orders of the four ruling powers.¡±

    Lu Yin just listened.

    ¡°Right now, more and more of our people want to relocate to the Perennial World. Rumors are spreading that the Fifth Maind has already fallen to Aeternus¡¯s scheme and that they will soon invade our Fifth Maind from parallel universes. It¡¯s said that crippling our cultivation is just the first step in their n. People everywhere are saying that Aeternus is taking their revenge on you. Your incredible aplishments in the New World granted the Perennial World peace and stability, but they have also ced the Fifth Maind in jeopardy. This is why everyone wants to leave this ce, but the Perennial World has closed their end of the New Corridor.¡±

    Lu Yin tapped a finger in the air. ¡°Find out who is starting these rumors.¡±

    He looked up at the Second Nightking. ¡°Kill them. No trial.¡±

    The Second Nightking offered a respectful bow. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Lu Buzheng was also visiting Lu Yin, and thus he overheard the Second Nightking¡¯s report. A bitter expression appeared on Lu Buzheng¡¯s face. ¡°Just ending the gossip won¡¯t be enough to reassure people. Everyone wants to escape from the Fifth Maind. What¡¯s more, even if we do get through this crisis, the mentality that Aeternus must be behind every single problem that humanity faces will remain engraved in people¡¯s hearts. We can¡¯t me them either. No one is willing to stay put and simply wait for death. People are afraid, and what cultivators fear the most is losing our cultivation and having to simply wait for death.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I know. I¡¯m searching for a solution.¡±

    With that, he left the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall.

    He found Sapling, only to see that nothing unusual had befallen the odd tree.

    When it saw Lu Yin, Sapling submissively leaned against him and caressed Lu Yin¡¯s face with some twigs and leaves.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re alright, but I want you to stop absorbing stellr energy for a while,¡± Lu Yin said while stroking Sapling.

    Sapling was more than happy to do anything that Lu Yin asked, even if it did not understand why.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. How had Aeternus managed to enact Murkiness so quickly? How had they managed to influence the entire Fifth Maind? Such a thing should be impossible without a Progenitor. Well, there was actually another possibility; it could all be pure coincidence.

    Murkiness might have been initiated long ago, and it was simply that its effects were only starting to show now. If that was the case, then Lu Yin might have been misled into believing that Aeternus had initiated Murkiness just to protect their cosmic door. Such a coincidence was also quite possible.

    Regardless of the motivations behind it, Lu Yin found himself helpless before Murkiness for the time being. The biggest problem was that he had absolutely no idea what was affecting the true universe.

    Several dayster, his wireless jincan trembled, and Lu Yin was surprised to see that Yu Chen was taking the initiative to send him a message.

    ¡°Stellr liquid is about to leak from the crack in the Mother Tree,¡± Yu Chen reported.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°Stellr liquid?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The stellr liquid that is inside the Mother Tree. The Celestial Frost Sect intends to break through the crack on the surface of the Mother Tree to release the stellr liquid. As soon as a hole is made, a massive quantity of stellr liquid will be ejected. Right now, Semi-Progenitor Wu Dao and Semi-Progenitor Bai Qi are standing guard beneath the crack, waiting for the stellr liquid to be released,¡± Yu Chen sent.

    ¡°How do you know about this?¡±

    ¡°I received a report from my jade butterflies. There was a small sect in the Middle Realm that was based directly beneath the crack in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk. It was known as the Yue Sect, and I had a jade butterfly stationed there. Half a month ago, the Celestial Frost Sect destroyed the Yue Sect. Before his death, my jade butterfly reported personally seeing a trickle of stellr liquid. Only a thinyer of the Mother Tree¡¯s bark is preventing the stellr liquid from spurting out. The Yue Sect had secretly made ns to siphon a bit of that stellr liquid, but they werepletely destroyed by the Celestial Frost Sect. There¡¯s no longer any trace of that sect remaining.¡±

    Lu Yin found this rather strange. ¡°Why are you telling me about this? I would have never learned anything about this if you hadn¡¯t told me.¡±

    Yu Chen paused for a moment. ¡°I want to regain the status that I held when my Junior Progenitor was still alive.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing rather well for yourself in the Celestial Frost Sect right now?¡±

    ¡°Without my Junior Progenitor, even someone with Liu Shaoge¡¯s previous position canpletely ignore me. The Sect Master also finds me displeasing to his eyes. He says that seeing me reminds him of my Junior Progenitor. I cannot remain in the Celestial Frost Sect any longer.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you reach out to Bai Xian¡¯er?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t dare.¡±

    It was an honest reply, and Lu Yin believed it. The smarter a person was, the warier they would be of someone like Bai Xian¡¯er. Yu Chen had even provided Lu Yin with the means to contact Bai Xian¡¯er. So for all Yu Chen knew, Bai Xian¡¯er was already aware of Yu Chen¡¯s betrayal. How could she possibly ask Bai Xian¡¯er for help?

    Yu Chen was hoping that Lu Yin would provide her with a path to survival.

    Lu Yin ended the conversation. He was in desperate need of stellr liquid at this moment. People from the Fifth Maind were facing a dire situation in the Perennial World, and it was also time for Lu Yin to deal with the Forsaken Land ying Alliance once and for all.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered Wang Wen. How was it possible that Wang Wen did not have any information for Lu Yin even after such a massive event had urred? Had something happened to Wang Wen?

    The wireless jincan connected, but no one answered Lu Yin¡¯s message. Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. He tried to connect several more times, but there was still no answer.

    He immediately left the Heavens Sect, riding on the jiao towards the Perennial World.

    The Perennial World had already sealed their end of the New Corridor to prevent anyone from the Fifth Maind from entering the Perennial World. People were only allowed to move from the Perennial World into the Fifth Maind.

    However, such a seal was useless against Lu Yin. With a single wave of his hand, all of the Semi-Progenitors who had sealed off the New Corridor were knocked back.

    The Semi-Progenitors were shocked. They stared at the New Corridor and quickly found themselves staring at Lu Yin, who had juste out of the New Corridor. He had a miniature jiao perched on one shoulder, and the Champions¡¯ Stage was floating behind him.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan?¡± The Semi-Progenitors eximed.

    Nearby, the cultivators from the Fifth Maind rejoiced. They had all just arrived, but due to the issue with the Fifth Maind, not only were they unable to leave, but they were also forced to return. None of them were willing to go back after they had just got here.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes moved past the Semi-Progenitors and roamed around for a bit before finallynding on the distant form of Wang Yan.

    Wang Yan¡¯s expression grew ugly. Why had this guy returned?

    ¡°Dao Chosen, I heard that something¡¯s happened to the Fifth Maind. Are you alright?¡± Wang Yan greeted Lu Yin in a courteous manner.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s reputation in the Perennial was at an all-time high. He was the person who had taken the initiative to clear a path across the New World. At this point in time, everyone was also aware that Lu Yin had personally destroyed Aeternus¡¯s cosmic door, ensuring that the Aeternals could not easily return to the Perennial World. Such an achievement deserved to be recorded down in history. Furthermore, Lu Yin was already a direct descendant of the Lu family, which meant that there were many voices supporting a return of the Lu family, and they grew louder each day.

    Lu Yin¡¯s reputation in the Perennial World had essentially caught up to his reputation in the Fifth Maind. In fact, if not for the four ruling powers¡¯ constant efforts to suppress word of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments, he would have gained a much greater following in the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin did not even answer Wang Yan. He instead started trying to get in touch with Wang Wen through amunication crystal. This time, the call went through, and Lu Yin saw Wang Wen¡¯s pale and miserable face on themunication crystal. He was hiding within his transparent coffin. ¡°You finally remembered that I¡¯m alive! If you hadn¡¯te over here, I wouldn¡¯t be alive for much longer.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Lu Yin asked. Wang Wen was in a truly terrible situation.

 Chapter 2424: Under My Feet

    <h4>Chapter 2424: Under My Feet</h4>

    Wang Wen angled hismunication crystal so that he could share his surroundings. Upon seeing where the man was, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. Wang Wen was surrounded by at least twenty people, all of whom were sting attacks at the transparent coffin. Some of the attackers were even Envoys.

    ¡°These guys have been at it for a few days now, and it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re nning to give up any time soon. They¡¯re members of the Forsaken Land ying Alliance. Pui!?Break your foot! They¡¯re just dogs of the four ruling powers,¡± Wang Wen stated angrily.

    Wang Yan was able to see the entire conversation, and his expression changed. He nced at Lu Yin. There was about to be trouble, but this was not the best time for Lu Yin to take action. If his truce with the four ruling powers fell apart while Aeternus was gone, the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors could simultaneously attack Lu Yin.

    They were only missing a reason to break the truce at the moment.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were ice cold. ¡°Wait for me.¡±

    He stepped forward and vanished.

    Were the four ruling powers deliberately targeting Wang Wen? If that was true, then it meant that they could no longer afford to wait for the truce to expire.

    But could they afford to break the truce? Lu Yin¡¯s face was solemn as he rode the jiao toward the Middle Realm.

    Wang Fan and the other Progenitors sensed Lu Yin¡¯s presence. ¡°Strange. Shouldn¡¯t he be trying to fix the Fifth Maind¡¯s problems ? What¡¯s he doing here?¡±

    ¡°Forget about him. We can talk after finishing them off.¡± Xia Shenji nced down with cold eyes. He then looked out at the Outer Realm, specifically at Broken Star. The Perennial World had toepletely under the control of the four ruling powers. As for that other man, Xia Shenji wanted to see just how far he could run.

    With Aeternus gone, Xia Shenji could spread out and search the entire Perennial World. There was no escape.

    A transparent coffiny on the bank of a greenke in the Middle Realm. Wang Wen shouted, ¡°What are you trying to do? What is this ce? Don¡¯t just throw me anywhere! It won¡¯t be good if you damage all of these nts.¡±

    Some distance away, about a dozen cultivators looked at him coldly. They were led by an Envoy who was blurring his features. No one could get a clear image of the man¡¯s face, and a bit of wind surrounded his entire body. While it seemed like a gentle breeze, the way that it shredded the void made it clear that it was far more powerful than its appearance.

    ¡°Throw him in,¡± the Envoy ordered.

    Beside the man, a woman waved a hand. The transparent coffin was thrown into the greenke with a ssh, and it quickly sunk out of sight.

    ¡°He can only me his own bad luck that not even I can break that damn coffin open. This greenke is directly connected to the Middle Ocean that circles the Middle Realm. Anyone who falls in thiske can forget about ever returning. Even if he does manage to escape, that water is so corrosive that it will instantly dissolve his bones,¡± the Envoy stated coldly.

    The dozen or so cultivators behind the man watched on in fear. They had all heard about this green saltke before. Not even an Envoy who fell in was certain to be able to escape alive.

    ¡°Oh really? It looks like you¡¯re pretty familiar with thiske,¡± a cold voicemented from behind the group.

    The unfamiliar voice startled the small group, and everyone turned around. They saw an enormous jiao blocking out the sun. No one knew when the beast had arrived, but standing atop it was Lu Yin.

    The faces of everyone present turned ashen. Their hands and feet grew numb, and many of them nearly copsed.

    The jiao opened its maw and let out a roar.

    Some of the people had their knees give out, and the Envoy began to tremble as he stared upwards in horror. ¡°Lu- Lu- Lu Xiaoxuan?¡±

    ¡°Since you know this greenke so well, I¡¯ll let you experience it for yourself,¡± Lu Yin said as he flicked a finger at the man. Before the Envoy could understand what was happening, he was already flying through the air. He fell into the greenke with a huge ssh. Lu Yin had covered the man with battle force before dropping him in theke, which would prevent the Envoy from dying for at least an hour. The man would experience the sensation of sinking to the bottom of the corrosive greenke and then drifting wherever the currents took him. This punishment was far worse than death. The Envoy could only wait for death to take him, as there was no way he could save himself.

    The other people present all started trembling in despair as they watched their leader¡¯s punishment.

    Lu Yin frowned, and then a st of wind sent everyone else present tumbling straight into the greenke. Their fates would be determined by luck.

    ¡°That¡¯s seriously messed up, but I like it,¡± Wang Wenmented. Lu Yin had collected the coffin the moment it had been thrown into theke, though no one present had seen that take ce. Everyone had thought that Wang Wen had fallen into theke.

    ¡°Those guys were all from the four ruling powers. Their actions are only going to get more and more aggressive. They know that you won¡¯t break the truce, so they¡¯re going to do everything that they can to force you to do so,¡± Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°Not necessarily. As long as they¡¯re unable to find a way to ensure Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s safety, they won¡¯t break their agreement with me.¡±

    Wang Wen rubbed his head and then shook it side to side, looking like he was trying to shake water out of his ears even though he had touched the greenke water. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the four ruling powers. Back then, your Lu family controlled the entire Fifth Maind, but you all still fell for their schemes.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth curled out. ¡°I might not be the smartest person, but I do have the most tricks up my sleeve. Let¡¯s make a bet. I believe that they won¡¯t break the truce with me for now.¡±

    Wang Wen rolled his eyes. ¡°A small bet only deals emotional damage, but arge bet can leave you seriously wounded.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled and looked toward the Mother Tree. ¡°While they won¡¯t break the truce, they will absolutely continue to get more and more aggressive. They¡¯ll keep pushing to test my bottom line. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll show them what happens when they manage to touch it.¡±

    He carried Wang Wen up onto the jiao, and together, they rode toward the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin did nothing to hide his movements.

    The people in the Dominion Realm were constantly watching the jiao as it rushed toward the Mother Tree.

    At first, they thought that the jiao was heading for Huai Yuan or possibly the Upper Realm, but Bai Wangyuan¡¯s expression quickly grew serious when he noticed the jiao¡¯s precise direction. The Progenitor started to get a bad feeling, and once the jiao stopped right beside the Mother Tree, he was unable to stop himself from stepping forward. At this moment, his expression was incredibly grave.

    Given the size of the Mother Tree, the crack in its trunk was not particrlyrge. However, from the perspective of the Perennial World¡¯s residents, the break was beyond massive. It stretched from the sky to the ground, and its width was so wide that a normal person could not evenprehend it.

    The four ruling powers and various powers from the Middle Realm had already visited the crack, hoping to repair the Mother Tree. The Celestial Frost Sect had discovered a specific location where stellr liquid could be siphoned out, despite it being a mere dot to the Mother Tree. The location was so small that no one else had managed to discover it.

    /p>The Celestial Frost Sect had no idea how much stellr liquid they could extract, but they were certain that it was far more than what they had managed to harvest from the Mother Tree so far. Naturally, they did not want a single soul to know about this ce, and to protect this secret, they had even eliminated the Yue Sect, which had once existed right beneath the location where the siphoning would ur.

    The jiao came to a stop directly above the former Yue Sect.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you trying to pull?¡± Bai Wangyuan could not stop himself from speaking up. Lu Yin¡¯s exact position left the Progenitor feeling exceptionally nervous.

    Right beneath the jiao, hidden in the shadows of dense foliage, two Semi-Progenitors, Bai Qi and Wu Yao, restrained their auras as much as possible in hopes of preventing Lu Yin from noticing their presence.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Where¡¯s the Yue Sect?¡±

    Bai Wangyuan arched a brow. ¡°The Yue Sect? What Yue Sect? Lu Xiaoxuan, shouldn¡¯t your priority right now be to rescue your Fifth Maind? While Aeternus may have retreated, that doesn¡¯t mean that they¡¯re unable to return to our universe again in the future. If the Fifth Maind is still crippled at that time, how do you intend to resist the Aeternals?¡±

    Lu Yin jumped down from the jiao and entered the ruins of Yue Sect. ¡°The Yue Sect should be right here, so why is it gone? There are ruined buildings, and everything¡¯s been destroyed. Were they taken out by a rival? Who could it be? I must take revenge.¡±

    Underground, Wu Yao¡¯s face twisted. Since when had Lu Yin ever been close to the Yue Sect? It was just a tiny, negligible sect. Wu Yao had never once heard the Yue Sect even mentioning Lu Xiaoxuan. Had they also been surviving vassals of the Lu family? That could not be the case, as the Yue Sect had been around even when the Lu family had been in power, though it had always been a minor existence.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, what the hell are you trying to do?¡± Bai Wangyuan angrily demanded.

    Wang Fan and the other Progenitors found Bai Wangyuan¡¯s attitude to be quite strange. He was clearly acting a bit differently from normal.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and furrowed his brow. ¡°I¡¯m looking for my people, which is none of your business.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan clenched his fists. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s exact location, Bai Wangyuan would not care about what the brat did. At this moment, their top priority was to establishplete control over the entire Perennial World. After that, they intended to deal with Lu Yin. This was truly infuriating, and Bai Wangyuan simply hoped that the youth would not discover anything.

    ¡°Hm? Is this the location of the crack in the Mother Tree?¡± Lu Yin looked off into the distance while standing in the ruins of the Yue Sect. The sect had been built right next to the Mother Tree.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s heart lurched, but he remained silent. Saying anything right now would simply give him away.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the crack in the Mother Tree. At the same time, the distance between him and the two hidden Semi-Progenitors shortened. They were hiding underground right in front of him.

    The two men exchanged nces and then shut their eyes. They did their absolute best topletely restrain their auras.

    Above them, the jiao picked at its nose. Its eyes flitted about constantly. No one could tell what the beast was looking at.

    Lu Yin took another step forward, which ced him directly above Wu Yao.

    Bai Wangyuan nearly attacked right there and then.

    Beneath the ground, Wu Yao opened his eyes but did not dare look upwards. He gritted his teeth and continued to suppress his aura.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and let out augh. ¡°I never thought that I¡¯d see Semi-Progenitors hide like rats. Get up here.¡±

    He put some force into his right leg and shattered the ground. The overwhelming forcepletely suppressed Wu Yao. The Semi-Progenitor let out a roar as his half ring sliced upward. Bai Qi quickly blocked the attack. ¡°Stop.¡±

    Lu Yin kicked at the center of the ring, and with a ng, it shattered. Wu Yao spat out a mouthful of blood,pletely aghast. This was impossible.

    The Semi-Progenitor had traded blows with Lu Yin before, and because of that, Wu Yao believed that Lu Yin needed to use items to fight against Progenitors. However, reality proved that he was already able to fight against Semi-Progenitors with nothing more than his own power. Even then, there was no way that Lu Yin should have been able to shatter Wu Yao¡¯s inner world so easily. It was simply inconceivable to the Semi-Progenitor. There was no way that there could be such a massive gap between them.

    The sight of Lu Yin shattering the half ring with a single kick not only shocked Wu Yao, but also Bai Qi, and even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors.

    Only a single year had passed, but Lu Yin¡¯s abilities had already undergone aplete transformation. He far exceeded the strength that he had demonstrated when he had fought his way out of Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    Lu Yin lowered his head to look at Wu Yao. Seeing the blood drain from the man¡¯s face, Lu Yin spoke slowly, ¡°How does it feel to be stepped on like a rat?¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Wu Yao started furiously, only to spit out another mouthful of blood. His inner world shattered in front of him as he fell to the ground.

    Bai Qi looked up at Lu Yin. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°That¡¯s something that I also want to know¡ªwhy are you guys hiding like rats in this ce?¡±

    Up in the Dominion Realm, Wang Fan and the others turned to look at Bai Wangyuan. They had no idea why two of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors were hiding in such a random location that held no importance whatsoever.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, how did you do that?¡± Wu Yao had an unwilling expression on his face. He was hoping to hear that Lu Yin had only managed to break his inner world by borrowing the strength of a Progenitor through some means.

    However, Lu Yin had not borrowed any strength at all. He had simply used Wielder - Indestructible.

    The Wielder realm was the pinnacle of battle force, and it was something the ancient Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch had developed. Using it allowed Lu Yin to shatter the half ring with a single kick that utilized nothing more than pure physical strength.

    In truth, even Lu Yin had not expected to shatter the man¡¯s inner world. He had only intended to kick it aside, but Wielder-realm battle force was simply too powerful. Lu Yin had previously guessed that once aurelian force transformed into Wielder - Indestructible, a cultivator would be able to utilize the same level of strength as a Semi-Progenitor.

 Chapter 2425: Preparations For A Stellular Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 2425: Preparations For A Stellr Tribtion</h4>

    ¡°Brother Bai, what¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Fan asked.

    Bai Wangyuan quietly replied, ¡°Stellr liquid will soon appear in that location.¡±

    Xia Shenji grinned as he looked down. ¡°It appears Lu Xiaoxuan already knew about the two old rats hiding there. No matter what, we can¡¯t allow him to obtain that stellr liquid without doing anything.¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡± Bai Wangyuan¡¯s anger was continuing to simmer. Everyst bit of stellr liquid that came from that crack in the Mother Tree was supposed to belong to his Celestial Frost Sect. He had intended to use it to help Bai Qi¡¯s cultivation, potentially allowing her to reach the Progenitor realm. With Lu Yin exposing it, there was no way the other three families would allow such a thing to ur. The Celestial Frost Sect had just lost a massive amount of a truly invaluable resource, and the Progenitor¡¯s hatred for Lu Xiaoxuan grew deeper than ever.

    ¡°Let¡¯s first chase Lu Xiaoxuan away.¡± Xia Shenji raised a hand and pressed it down, causing a de to plummet.

    Before it fell more than halfway, Mu Xie eliminated the attack. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Mu Xie, this has nothing to do with you. We¡¯re just chasing Lu Xiaoxuan away. This isn¡¯t a breach in the agreement,¡± Bai Wangyuan said while preparing to attack as well. With the threat of Aeternus resolved, they were no longer restricted to the Dominion Realm.

    Down below, Lu Yin looked upwards. Chase me away? What a joke!

    He tore through the void to appear right in front of the crack in the Mother Tree. Veins filled with stellr liquid could be seen running just beneath a thinyer of bark. He stretched out a hand and ripped the bark open.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, stop!¡± Bai Wangyuan roared. The vtile stellr liquid could only be absorbed through a unique method, and with how Lu Yin was doing things, the vast majority of the stellr liquid would simply dissipate.

    The Progenitor believed that Lu Yin was aiming for mutual destruction, intending to prevent anyone from getting their hands on the stellr liquid if Lu Yin himself could not absorb any of it.

    However, Lu Yin had no such intentions; he was nning to take all of the stellr liquid for himself.

    The moment the bark was torn open, Lu Yin instantly started absorbing the stellr liquid. Within just a few breaths, a ck vortex appeared directly above him. He was about to face his fifth stellr tribtion.

    It had only been a short while since he had passed his fourth stellr tribtion, but the stellr energy within his body had already reached the limit for a four-tribtion Envoy. Another breakthrough was hardly surprising.

    The sight of Lu Yin¡¯s fifth stellr tribtion did not surprise anyone watching. After all, he was already powerful enough to rival Semi-Progenitors. While improving one¡¯s cultivation did raise their overall strength, there was no surprise that Lu Yin¡¯s strength had never stopped improving. Seeing him face another stellr tribtion would not shock anyone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength meant that he could have increased his cultivation realm long ago. Compared to any of his peers, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation speed was beyond absurd.

    His fifth stellr tribtion descended, which prevented Bai Wangyuan and everyone else from attacking for the moment. While a person¡¯s fifth stellr tribtion was not a major tribtion, no one knew what might happen if other people interfered in the tribtion. It was possible that they might be drawn into it.

    ¡°Wait for his tribtion to end before attacking,¡± Bai Wangyuan said. He was determined to chase Lu Yin away from the crack. How dare he use that stellr liquid to make a breakthrough! Fortunately, only a small portion of the avable stellr liquid had been used up so far. The vast majority of it was still untouched.

    They simply needed to wait for the stellr tribtion to end.

    /p>¡°We can¡¯t allow him to pull us into a lose-lose situation. We need to attack the moment his tribtion ends,¡± Wang Fan cautioned.

    Beside the Mother Tree, Lu Yin easily passed his fifth stellr tribtion. However, given the fact that he possessed four stellr energy vortices, he had to pass four tribtions for each breakthrough. He took the same actions as before in order to prevent anyone from discovering his secret.

    Mu Xie appeared a short distance away from Lu Yin and calmly observed.

    His appearance caused disgruntled frowns to appear on the faces of Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors. Even though Mu Xie was alone and incapable of stopping the four of them from chasing Lu Xiaoxuan away, he could provide Lu Xiaoxuan with enough time to react. If Lu Xiaoxuan let the stellr liquid evaporate, they would be helpless to stop him.

    ¡°Mu Xie, are you certain that you can face the consequences of making us your enemies?¡± Xia Shenji threatened.

    Mu Xie did not even bother answering. He simply stared at the stellr tribtion over his head. How strange. Why is there more than one tribtion for his fifth tribtion? Junior Brother¡¯s tribtion is very unusual.

    At this moment, Lu Yin called out, ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t allow the stellr liquid to evaporate.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan red daggers at Lu Yin. ¡°Since you¡¯re stealing that stellr liquid, you clearly must be prepared to break your truce with us, Lu Xiaoxuan.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile disappeared. ¡°Just a short time ago, I forced Aeternus to retreat. I was the one to destroy their cosmic door. I led the forces of the fourth array base to ze a path through the New World. I took the initiative to open up the entrance to the Starfall Sea in order to relieve your burden. Are you people really so ungrateful that you intend to attack me already?¡±

    The four Progenitors hesitated for a moment. This was not the right time for them to break the truce. Even if they were confident that they could gainplete control of the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, they would not be able to stop dissenters from speaking up, as it was impossible for them to deny what had happened.

    No matter what excuses were given for breaking the truce, at this point in time, everyone would assume that the four ruling powers were merely trying topletely exterminate the Lu family. They could not afford to take such a blow to their reputations. Of course, reputation was just one aspect to consider. In truth, no one knew exactly what would happen once the truce was broken.

    How many of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors would help the four ruling powers? How many would support Lu Xiaoxuan? There were rumors that when the Progenitor of Secret Arts had attacked the Fifth Maind, Xia Shang¡¯s de had appeared. There were many variables to consider.

    The four ruling powers wanted to gainplete control of the entire Perennial World first, and at the same time, also verify exactly who supported Lu Xiaoxuan before eliminating all of them in one go. It was not time to get rid of the young man yet.

    If they acted too soon, it would just cause all sides to suffer mutual losses. At the very least, the four ruling powers were certain to lose a few Progenitors, which was a loss that they refused to ept.

    With their cosmic door?destroyed, Aeternus could no longerunch arge-scale invasion on the Perennial World or the Fifth Maind, but the Seven Skygods and Progenitor-level corpse kings could still attack them. If the Perennial World was weakened too much, they would end up in dire straits when Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses returnedter on.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how the Python Ancestor is doing. It¡¯s time to pay it another visit,¡± Lu Yin quietly added.

    The expressions of Bai Wangyuan and the other three instantly grew ugly. Right, they also needed to consider the Python Ancestor.

    Lu Yin was the one who had asked the Python Ancestor to cooperate with them after Undying god had been captured. That was something that was beyond even Progenitor Long¡¯s abilities. When they attacked Lu Xiaoxuan, who would the Python Ancestor help? That was yet another variable to consider.

    No one spoke as the stellr tribtion dissipated above Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Mu Xie looked up toward the Dominion Realm.

    Wu Yao, Bai Qi, and everyone else simply waited.

    The jiao snarled and pranced about while looking up at the Dominion Realm.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, we can give you a portion of the stellr liquid, but before the issue facing the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation is resolved, you will not be allowed to return to the Perennial World.¡± Bai Wangyuan offered apromise.

    Lu Yin turned away and pressed his hand against the Mother Tree, continuing to absorb stellr liquid.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan!¡± Bai Wangyuan roared.

    Mu Xie stepped forward and turned up to face the Dominion Realm.

    ¡°What¡¯s all this racket? Who has the audacity to absorb stellr liquid?¡± Progenitor Smoke¡¯s voice cut through everything.

    Through the void, Lu Yin saw the furious expression on Bai Wangyuan¡¯s face, as well as the looks of irritation on Wang Fan and the others. ¡°Excuse me while I face my sixth stellr tribtion. This bit of stellr liquid seems to be sufficient.¡±

    Stellr liquid flowed into Lu Yin¡¯s body in an unending stream, rapidly filling his four stellr energy vortices.

    Bai Wangyuan came down. ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    He threw an attack, only to be blocked by Mu Xie. Xia Shenji, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long all appeared as well, and so did Progenitor Smoke. The jiao roared. A battle between Progenitors was about to erupt.

    Hiding his right hand behind his back, Lu Yin stretched out his index finger, and his die slowly stopped spinning. One pip: Pilfer. Useless.

    ¡°Do you really think that we can¡¯t touch you? Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯re the one who started things this time! Prepare to face the consequences!¡± Xia Shenjiughed coldly as his Shenwu World filled the region and des rained down. All of the man¡¯s repressed anger was released with this attack.

    Lu Yin tapped again.

    ¡°Xia Shenji, stop!¡± Progenitor Smoke blocked the attack and then turned to frown at Lu Yin. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, you better stop right now! Stellr liquid must not be absorbed!¡±

    The die stopped on four pips: Timestop. Lu Yin let out a breath of relief as he entered his Timestop Space.

    He had indeed managed to absorb arge amount of stellr liquid, but it was a mere fraction of what he actually needed. He intended topensate what he was missing with what he had received from Sapling. In this manner, he would be able to limit how much stellr liquid he took from the Mother Tree, while also hiding how much stellr energy he actually needed for his own cultivation.

    It took time to process stellr liquid after it entered one¡¯s body. It was not instantaneous.

    This was also why Bai Wangyuan and the others had started by threatening Lu Yin rather than instantly attacking him. However, they could have never imagined that Lu Yin was able to freeze time and cultivate there until hepleted the entire process.

    Almost a year passed in an instant. Lu Yin could sense that all four of his stellr energy vortices were just about to reach the limit, which would trigger his sixth stellr tribtion. He only needed to absorb a small bit more. This was the result of nearly a year dedicated solely to cultivating.

    The scenery changed before his eyes, and time resumed its normal flow. Only a single second had passed in the outside universe.

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, step back right now, or else you can¡¯t me me for what I¡¯m about to do!¡± Progenitor Smoke was truly furious with Lu Yin this time. She refused to allow anyone to absorb the Mother Tree¡¯s stellr liquid. That included both Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group as well as Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met Progenitor Smoke¡¯s gaze. ¡°Senior, you are right. Stellr liquid must not be absorbed. Anyone who does so is not acting responsibly towards the Mother Tree or the entire Perennial World. My Lu family will stand firm with Senior¡¯s position, and I will personally punish anyone who dares absorb stellr liquid. Senior, let¡¯s work together and do our best.¡±

    He then pointed at Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group. ¡°You had better not think of taking advantage of the Mother Tree!¡±

    Progenitor Smoke was left utterly speechless. Lu Yin was talking as though he was not the one currently absorbing stellr liquid. Just how was she supposed to respond? How had she managed to change his mind so quickly?

    Mu Xie also found Lu Yin¡¯s sudden change of attitude very strange. Progenitor Smoke had not said much.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s anger red. ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, right now, you?are the one absorbing stellr liquid!¡±

    Lu Yin blinked twice, then coughed. ¡°I¡¯ve already stopped absorbing it. From now on, no one is allowed to absorb stellr liquid. I will personally ensure that anyone who absorbs stellr liquid will receive a beating. Senior, am I right?¡±

    Progenitor Smoke arched a brow. ¡°You promise to stop right now?¡±

    Lu Yin was about to reply, but he was cut off by a crack of thunder. Everyone looked up to see that an enormous ck storm had appeared from nowhere, and it was rapidly growingrger. It was a stellr tribtion.

    ¡°I¡¯m about to face my stellr tribtion. Would you like to join me?¡± Lu Yin asked. His sixth stellr tribtion had arrived.

    The moment everyone heard the words ¡°stellr tribtion,¡± they instantly scattered and disappeared.

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin in confusion. How had his junior brother¡¯s cultivation risen so quickly?

    Progenitor Smoke nced at the stellr liquid within the Mother Tree. Only a small bit had been absorbed, and there was no way that such a small amount of stellr energy was enough for this particr young man. Besides that, he had only just passed his fifth stellr tribtion. There was no logical reason for his sixth stellr tribtion to arrive so quickly. It took time to convert stellr liquid within one¡¯s body, after all.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were equally confused as to why Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion had arrived so soon.

    A sixth stellr tribtion was iparable to a fifth tribtion, as there was a qualitative difference between the two.

 Chapter 2426: Sky-like Field Of Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 2426: Sky-like Field Of Destruction</h4>

    Every cultivator had some specific breakthroughs that were of far greater importance during their cultivation. The first would take ce when an ordinary human became a Seeker. The second was when one became a Melder. The third urred upon bing an Explorer. The fourth happened when a person became an Enlighter. The fifth happened when one became an Envoy. The sixth took ce when a person faced their sixth stellr tribtion.

    Passing one¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion meant that the person would experience a qualitative change in their strength. For this reason, the breakthrough triggered a far stronger rejection from the true universe, which resulted in the most terrifying stellr tribtion an Envoy would experience up to that point in time.

    The stronger a cultivator was, the more desperate the true universe would be to prevent them frompleting their breakthrough.

    For someone like Lu Yin, Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the people observing his tribtion believed that it might be even more powerful than what most people faced when breaking through to be a Semi-Progenitor.

    The true universe would never allow someone like him to have an easy breakthrough.

    Lu Yin looked up at the ever-expanding ck vortex that had appeared above his head. It was finally about to begin. Wait a moment, will the Mother Tree be alright?

    He quickly tore through the void and moved away to the Yinshan District. Lu Yin was quite worried that his stellr tribtion might regard the Mother Tree as an external aid and thus grow even more powerful.

    The Yinshan District was thergest of the Middle Realm¡¯s nine districts, but it was also the most sparsely popted.

    Lu Yin was also quite familiar with the district, as he had stayed there for some time when he had been a member of Humility¡¯s Gate.

    At this moment, Zhuo Si was leisurely sipping on a bit of wine within the Humility¡¯s Gate headquarters for the Yinshan District. The four ruling powers had recently given him some trouble, due to Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s actions when he had been disguised as Long Qi. Thankfully, Supervisor Qing Chen had stepped in and saved the gatemaster. After that, no one else had tried to cause any further trouble for him. After all, Lu Xiaoxuan had been strutting about the Perennial World with his head high.

    While Zhuo Si was indeed a former vassal of the Lu family, he had no ns to jump into Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s camp. The man needed to repay his debt to Humility¡¯s Gate, as well as itsmander. Furthermore, themander was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s senior brother, and Humility¡¯s Gate had always had a close rtionship with the young man.

    ¡°These rtionships are such aplicated mess,¡± Zhuo Si muttered to himself. He took a long swig of wine, basking in a feeling of contentment.

    Suddenly, a short fat man approached him. ¡°Gatemaster, the sky just turned dark. Is it about to rain?¡±

    Zhuo Si rolled his eyes. ¡°Since when does our Yinshan District have any rain? Go find someone else to bother. Your gatemaster is busy reminiscing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright.¡± The little fatty left.

    Zhuo Si snickered. ¡°Rain? These brats are getting dumber by the day.¡±

    He then looked outside, only for his jaw to drop at the sight. Isn¡¯t that a stellr tribtion? F**k my life!

    Zhuo Si quickly gathered all of his people, and evacuated along with them.

    ¡°Pardon my intrusion, Gatemaster Zhuo Si. I¡¯ll have to trouble you for a bit,¡± Lu Yin called out.

    For a moment, Zhuo Si just stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°You brought your stellr tribtion here?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice. The Yinshan District is massive, and it only has a few people. It¡¯s the perfect ce to face a stellr tribtion,¡± Lu Yin said with a shrug.

    Zhuo Si continued to curse under his breath. He thought that he had seen themander for a brief moment, but he quickly shook his head. Whatever was happening, Zhuo Si would consider it after escaping. Still, isn¡¯t this stellr tribtion a bit too big?

    The same thought was on everyone¡¯s mind. The size of this stellr tribtion was a little too much.

    Lu Yin finally stopped moving. Even he felt that his tribtion was getting excessivelyrge. It was already even bigger than the one he had faced to be an Envoy.

    The Yinshan District exceeded the size of a dozen of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves, but Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion shrouded the entire district, and it continued to expand from there.

    The sky above the Middle Realm grew dark.

    The stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex contained an indescribable darkness in its depths, and it left many people quivering in terror.

    Lu Yin squinted up at the ck darkness, but he was unable to see anything. He could only wait for the attacks to begin.

    Countless people looked toward the Yinshan District after sensing the oppressive aura that spread out from the region.

    Many guessed that a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion had been initiated, while others believed it to be a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Lu Yin appeared to be calm, but he was actually quite anxious.

    After all, he possessed four stellr energy vortices, which he had created during his first stellr tribtion. After they were formed, his tribtion had retaliated by sending down an unstoppable attack. If not for the corpse, he would have died at that time.

    Since he was able to use an external item like the corpse to block the attack, it seemed that it was not part of the tribtion, but rather a form of punishment.

    At the moment, Lu Yin had unsealed all four of his vortices to face this tribtion. Given the situation, he had no idea what he might face, and he ?was feeling rather apprehensive.

    As he waited, the darkness within the depths of the vortex suddenly changed. Absolutely all sound disappeared; not only that, but all air, stellr energy, and everything else vanished. Lu Yin was surrounded by a perfect vacuum. He stared off into the distance and looked at a sea¡ªno, it was ayer of clouds¡ªno, it was neither. It looked like a sky had been formed by the gathering of stellr energy. It filled an enormous region and shadowed everything down below.

    Beyond the reaches of the stellr tribtion, Mu Xie and the other Progenitors were all frozen in shock. Why was this thing appearing during Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the field of destruction that only appears during a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion?¡± Progenitor Smoke gasped in shock.

    All kinds of different expressions could be seen on the faces of Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. Some looked delighted, and others worried. Such a sight would only ever appear when the true universe tried to attack a truly powerful cultivator, such as those attempting to break through and be a Progenitor. A field of destruction had appeared during Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion, which waspletely unprecedented.

    A field of destruction was the culmination of everything that a universe could throw at a cultivator. It was something that had ughtered countless Semi-Progenitors, stopping them from ever hoping to see the Progenitor realm.

    Having faced a field of destruction during their own tribtions, none of the Progenitors had expected to see it appear during Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion. This meant that the true universe evaluated the threat posed by Lu Yin¡¯s existence as no weaker than a Progenitor¡¯s.

    It was important to remember that Lu Yin was not using any sort of tool or equipment, or receiving any form of assistance whatsoever. He was not using the Champions¡¯ Stage, the jiao, or even the slipper. He was facing this stellr tribtion entirely alone.

    Was Lu Yin on his own really able to threaten the true universe as much as a Progenitor? That did not seem possible.

    One by one, eyes in the Outer Realm were drawn to the sight of the stellr tribtion.

    Only Progenitors could understand the true meaning of what Lu Yin was facing.

    Mu Xie wanted to warn Lu Yin, but he knew that if he tried to send his voice into the field of destruction that surrounded Lu Yin, it would induce a bacsh. Lu Yin was truly on his own at this moment.

    People could seek advice during their tribtion to be an Envoy, just like how Lu Yin had once guided Da Qiu. Such was also normally true of a person¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion, but the field of destruction that had appeared made such assistance impossible. This went far beyond anything that could appear in a normal cultivator¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion.

    While Lu Yin did not understand the trial that he was facing, he was able to sense its immense power. Stellr energy was being pulled out from all four of his stellr energy vortices and drawn into the field of destruction that epassed the sky.

    Without stellr energy, how could anyone pass this particr tribtion?

    ¡°It begins. First, all the stellr energy will be stolen from Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s body. Then, the sky formed from stellr energy will unleash a powerful attack. If he can¡¯t ovee this trial, it will show that he doesn¡¯t qualify to be a Progenitor. Progenitors stand at the peak of humanity. Each one is an existence capable of creating new powers from nothing. It¡¯s very, very difficult to rely on just stellr energy to be a Progenitor,¡± Wang Fan said.

    Progenitor Smoke watched with aplicated expression. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem fair to Lu Xiaoxuan. He¡¯s not trying to be a Progenitor right now, so why is this the trial that he¡¯s facing?¡±

    Mu Xie watched on in awe. Their master¡¯s conditions to ept someone as his disciple was for the person to possess exceptional talent and an incredible work ethic. On top of that, an Envoy needed to be capable of challenging Semi-Progenitors, and a Semi-Progenitor needed to be powerful enough to fight a Progenitor. That was Mister Mu¡¯s standard. Despite that, not even Mu Xie could have passed this challenge during his sixth stellr tribtion. This trial was normally only given when cultivators tried to be Progenitors. How monstrously talented was his junior brother?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he released his unique power from within his chest. His own power created a small, starry universe that held back a section of the field of destruction.

    At this time, Lu Yin stopped leaking stellr energy from his four vortices. The power in his heart had managed to iste him from the pulling force of the true universe.

    Many people watching were shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s sess.

    ¡°He actually blocked it?¡±

    ¡°How can that be? Has he created his own unique power?¡±

    ¡°Only Semi-Progenitors who have created their own cultivation method and formed inner worlds from that are able to stop the true universe from taking back its stellr energy, but Lu Yin somehow managed to aplish the same feat as a mere Envoy.¡±

    ¡°Come to think of it, four Semi-Progenitors once worked together to fight him in the past, but he managed to ignore the suppression of their inner worlds and even killed one of the four. He must have created his own power long ago.¡±

    ¡­

    Several Progenitors were actively discussing Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. Semi-Progenitors and below were unable to even see what was happening.

    A thunderous roar echoed through the sky and across the Middle Realm. It was as though the sky itself was being crushed, and the earth below started splitting apart. How insignificant were humans inparison to the vastness of the sky and earth? How could humans ever hope to ovee the power of the sky?

    The power that you cultivate was granted to you by the sky. How can you resist the sky?

    You are nothing more than an ant. Beneath this sky, all shall be destroyed.

    Don¡¯t resist. Die.

    Die.

    Die.

    Numerous voices swirled through the air, each one encouraging Lu Yin to give up and give in to the embrace of death. The true universe was trying to destroy Lu Yin¡¯s will to resist.

    Even as the field of destruction that filled the sky continued exerting an oppressive pressure on him, Lu Yin still arrogantly raised his chin. ¡°You want me to give up? What a joke! Since you are the sky, then I will¡ªFlip the Sky!¡±

    He raised a hand, causing dirt to manifest in the sky and form andmass beneath the sky that had formed from the field of destruction.

    It looked as though andmass had been added beneath the new sky. It looked quite simr to how the Middle Realm sat far above the Lower Realm.

    Numerous people watched from outside the Yinshan District, and they gaped in awe at the sudden appearance of a new maind. Was the Perennial World about to gain a fourth Realm?

    The sight stunned everyone who saw it.

    There was no battle technique that could override the sky formed by this field of destruction, but the soil that appeared was from a Maind. The true universe was not an actual universe, but rather a phenomenon caused by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s power, and it had been created from a Maind. Therefore, the true universe could not stop the movement of the soil that came from a Maind.

    ¡°The ground below and the sky above. Today, the ground shall dominate the sky. I will flip the sky!¡± Lu Yin turned his hand over and swung his hand downwards. The maind that appeared in the sky suddenly swapped ces with the field of destruction that had formed a sky.

    Both the sky and ground shook violently as the field of destruction was flipped over. Tremors spread through the ground across the Middle Realm and further across the entire Perennial World. The tremors continued even further and even affected the Fifth Maind. Countless people looked up in despair. Everyone felt helpless when the sky was overturned.

    Who could stop the sky from flipping over?

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes flickered. This technique was not particrly powerful, but Flipping the Sky was actually able to ovee the field of destruction. It was absolutely shocking to see.

    ¡°So is this the Flipping the Sky that Lu Xiaoxuan created back then? How did he do it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a technique that no one else is able to learn. There¡¯s a reason why it¡¯s regarded as one of the Lu family¡¯s top techniques.¡±

    Awe filled Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyes. ¡°This is a conception technique that relies entirely onprehension and will. The strength of the user doesn¡¯t matter at all, but they can still potentially release a peerless disy of strength. It¡¯s hard to imagine how such a young man created this. I wonder how he managed to develop such extraordinary willpower.¡±

    Mu Xie was equally awestruck. His junior brother could flip the sky as a mere Envoy. If others could learn this technique, then the field of destruction would no longer pose a threat to those who tried to be Progenitors. It was no wonder why this Flipping the Sky was regarded as one of the Lu family¡¯s best battle techniques, as well as why its creation had drawn the attention of the Lu family¡¯s senior Progenitor.

 Chapter 2427: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 2427: Ambush</h4>

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time using Flipping the Sky on such arge scale. He gave an internal nod of satisfaction at the looks of shock that he noticed on everyone¡¯s faces.

    He did not actually understand just how terrifying the field of destruction that had formed a sky truly was. To the few people watching who did, his actions were not merely shocking. They were truly unbelievable.

    Lu Yin had just defeated a Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion.

    The overturned sky started to gradually break apart and dissipate, as did the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex.

    Lu Yin looked up. Is that it?

    Nearly everyone watching was asking themselves the same question. Was the stellr tribtion already over?

    The stellr tribtion dissipated as quickly as it arrived, but this was perfectly understandable. After all, Lu Yin had just faced the same challenge that was given to people who attempted to be Progenitors. Since he had sessfully passed a trial far above his level, the true universe should not force him to face any additional trials.

    Lu Yin frowned. No matter how difficult the challenge that he had just passed might have been, there was simply no way his stellr tribtion would end that simply. There was no possibility of the true universe letting him off with just that, considering the fact that he possessed four stellr energy vortices within his body.

    Still, the stellr tribtion vortex had truly disappeared. It was extremely strange.

    Normalcy returned to the Yinshan District once the looming ck vortex vanished.

    Zhuo Si wiped sweat from his forehead. It was finally over.

    The field of destruction that had filled the sky earlier had scared him silly. Given his level of strength, it would not matter in the slightest if he tried to interfere with such a tribtion. Facing such a thing would crush him without the slightest hope of survival.

    Thankfully, Lu Xiaoxuan had proven himself reliable, which had allowed Zhuo Si and his people to survive.

    ¡°Junior Brother, how is your investigation progressing into the problem with the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy?¡± Mu Xie asked as he made his way over to Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Lu Yin looked quite troubled. ¡°I can¡¯t find the actual cause of the problem. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s an issue with the true universe, but I can¡¯t figure out what it is.¡±

    He looked up. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect my sixth stellr tribtion to end so quickly. Something doesn¡¯t feel right¡­¡±

    Progenitor Smoke arrived by Lu Yin¡¯s side as well. ¡°Do you know what the trial that you just faced was?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°Have you seen it before, Senior?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s referred to as a field of destruction. It¡¯s a trial given to cultivators during their tribtion to be a Progenitor, and it¡¯s a trial that has struck down countless Semi-Progenitors. It¡¯s quite impressive that you managed to pass it,¡± Progenitor Smoke exined, showing a bit of admiration for Lu Yin¡¯s aplishment, ¡°Since you were able to defeat that near-impossible trial, how could you still have any further trials for your tribtion?¡±

    This exnation caused things to make a bit more sense to Lu Yin. This was quite reasonable, as it was already freakish that the true universe had given him a Progenitor-level tribtion.

    Suddenly, his scalp started to tingle, and a chill ran from his head all the way down to his feet. Lu Yin knew this feeling; he was in grave danger.

    His expression grew wary. He looked up, only to see that the vortex for his stellr tribtion waspletely gone. There was nothing to be seen overhead, so where was this feelinging from?

    At that moment, a red entered his vision. Was that Ominion? Was Nutjob Lu about to attack again?

    ¡°Senior Brother,¡± Lu Yin growled.

    Mu Xie also caught a glimpse of Ominion, and his pupils constricted. ¡°This is not good. Your tribtion hasn¡¯t actually left! It¡¯s moved to the Outer Realm. Go, now!¡±

    Progenitor Smoke eximed, ¡°A stellr tribtion that can hide? Kid, you must pose a serious threat to the true universe.¡±

    Lu Yin finally saw his stellr tribtion. It had left the Middle Realm and hidden in the Outer Realm. He expected it to attack him again soon. Since when did a stellr tribtion use such tactics? He merely had four stellr energy vortices, so was it really necessary to make it this difficult for him?

    Still, this was not the time to consider the mysteries of this stellr tribtion. Lu Yin kept a wary eye on Ominion, as it was quite close to where his stellr tribtion had moved to.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and his gaze grew cold. Nutjob Lu clearly intended to interfere with his stellr tribtion. If that happened, his sixth stellr tribtion would be powerful enough to threaten even a Progenitor. The madman was trying to use this stellr tribtion to kill Lu Yin.

    This tactic prevented both Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke from getting involved, as any interference on their part would only further increase the strength of the stellr tribtion.

    Since Lu Yin was able to determine things so quickly, Mu Xie and the others were able to reach simr conclusions as well. Lu Yin leaped up and arrived close to Ominion.

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s expression grew ugly. This madman was willing to face a strengthened stellr tribtion just to be able to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. Nutjob Lu was truly going all out.

    ¡°Stop him! This tribtion will destroy Ceaseless Impetus!¡± Bai Wangyuan shouted in horror. He hadpletely lost allposure. He had not been this frightened even when Ancient God and the other Skygods had worked together to assault the Dominion Realm.

    Wang Fan and the other Progenitors all tore through the void, making their way to the Outer Realm.

    Before they were able to arrive, the others of the Outer Realm also appeared. The rear battlefield started shaking. It seemed as though the Perennial World was slowly being pried open.

    Ceaseless Impetus consisted of both the five array bases and the sevens in the Outer Realm. If Ominion got involved in Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion, then the entire Ceaseless Impetus would actually be dragged in as well. At that point, the stellr tribtion would no longer simply target Lu Yin and Nutjob Lu, but instead threaten the entire Perennial World.

    This was why Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had all panicked. None of them wished for anything to happen to Ceaseless Impetus.

    ¡°That maniac.¡± Progenitor Smoke arrived and looked over at the.

    Lu Yin had not expected Nutjob Lu to try to drag the entire Perennial World to the grave with him. If Ceaseless Impetus stopped working, then the Perennial World would be a sitting duck when Aeternus returned. This was nothing less than betraying humanity.

    ¡°Kid, suppress your aura,¡± Progenitor Smoke warned.

    Lu Yin quickly suppressed his aura in an attempt to dy his tribtion.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors all tried to stop Ominion from moving forward. The other sixs also took action, and they used the strength of Ceaseless Impetus to drag Ominion backwards.

    The finally stopped moving.

    Lu Yin saw someone leave Ominion. His eyes narrowed, as this person¡¯s appearance caused what looked like a st of wind to stir up all of Ominion, violently shaking the. The man¡¯s oppressive aura seemed to dominate the as he looked down to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Within the man¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin could see madness, excitement, mercilessness, and a terrible ferocity. There was no rationality to be seen at all. The man burst out with crazedughter.

    This man was Nutjob Lu.

    Even though no words were exchanged, Lu Yin could feel the man¡¯s unquenchable hatred directed at him. This hatred would persist until one of them died.

    Nutjob Lu left Ominion. Since the had been stopped, the man intended to seek out Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion on his own. So what if he had to face the wrath of the stellr tribtion himself? The final descendant of the Lu family had to die.

    Suddenly, a ?ar¨©ra appeared, blocking Nutjob Lu¡¯s path. Mu Xie had taken action.

    The man was the first to try to stop Nutjob Lu, and he stood between Ominion and the stellr tribtion. ¡°Scram. Get back in there.¡±

    Nutjob Lu gave Mu Xie a long look. Lu Yin thought that the madman might attack, but he eventually turned around and retreated to Ominion. Right after that, Ominion itself left. The other sixs did the same.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors finally appeared, and they all leveled somber stares towards Ominion.

    Why were they the ones left sweating while Lu Yin was the one facing his stellr tribtion?

    ¡°He¡¯s gonepletely mad! If we hadn¡¯t stopped him, he fully intended to destroy Ceaseless Impetus along with Lu Xiaoxuan,¡± Wang Fan stated. Traces of lingering fear could still be seen in man¡¯s eyes.

    Xia Shenji replied, ¡°We must eliminate him as well. Given the fact that he was willing to attack even his own Lu family, he will also eventually attack us. He¡¯s a madman in the truest sense of the word.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan cut Xia Shenji off abruptly with a sharp gesture and then turned to look at Mu Xie. ¡°What did he say?¡±

    Mu Xie¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°He never said anything.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan looked back at Ominion and let out a long breath. That man was truly insane.

    With the retreat of Ominion, the incident ended just as quickly as it had started.

    Lu Yin turned his attention back to his tribtion.

    At this moment, a frightening attack shot out from the stellr tribtion. It was powerful enough to shatter a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, and it was more than powerful enough to annihte anyone who was facing their sixth stellr tribtion. Even so, it was not enough to kill Lu Yin.

    The threat of this attacky not in its strength, but rather its ability to hide.

    This attack granted the people watching Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion a glimpse at an unknown side of the true universe. There were truly a plethora of ways for stellr tribtions to threaten those who were attempting a breakthrough.

    As soon as the attack was dealt with, everyone stared intently as the stellr tribtion vortex slowly disappeared from the Outer Realm.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that it¡¯s truly over this time. A sixth stellr tribtion is somewhatparable to the tribtion that one faces to be an Envoy, and neither of the two trials that have appeared were easy to pass, especially that field of destruction. Even Semi-Progenitors would struggle to survive that,¡± Progenitor Smoke said.

    There was not a single sign of rxation on Lu Yin¡¯s face. His sixth sense told him that it was impossible for his tribtion to already be over, and his stomach churned from a feeling of unease. The tribtion was even able to hide, so who knew what might being next?

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group, Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, and the Progenitors of the Outer Realm all watched on in silence. Even Bai Xian¡¯er was watching from inside Crimson Garden. Everyone waited with bated breath. Was the stellr tribtion going to continue?

    Some were disappointed, as the stellr tribtion really did reappear.

    Just like the first trial, the tribtion appeared right above Lu Yin¡¯s head as a massive swirling vortex of darkness.

    Lu Yin smiled painfully. It was truly not easy to ovee this tribtion.

    Xia Shenji and the others exchanged looks and let out sighs of relief. If Lu Xiaoxuan died during his stellr tribtion, it would certainly be a matter worth celebrating. They wondered what the stellr tribtion would give him next.

    From within the darkness of the vortex, stellr energy converged and the void twisted. A dark, featureless figure appeared.

    ¡°A humanoid tribtion!¡± Progenitor Long eximed.

    Mu Xie frowned. Of all the various trials that one could face during a stellr tribtion, the most feared one was a humanoid tribtion. If the true universe manifested such a trial, it indicated that the manifestation was in some aspect superior to the person facing the tribtion. This was why it was so difficult to defeat a humanoid tribtion; the cultivator was certain to be weaker than the tribtion in at least one aspect.

    No one knew who had been chosen as the manifestation, as the humanoid tribtion waspletely featureless.

    Still, there was no way the stellr tribtion would pick someone at random. The humanoid tribtion had to at least be a six-tribtion cultivator. After all, there would be no chance of sess if the tribtion could send out a manifestation of a Progenitor.

    Looking back at the entire history of mankind, how many people from the entire Perennial World could rival Lu Yin within the same cultivation realm?

    Everyone was curious to find out the identity of the person that the tribtion had chosen.

    Lu Yin was simrly curious. Would he face the manifestation of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Or a certain Progenitor from the past? Could it be someone from the Heavens Sect era? Since the true universe was confident that this manifestation was able to defeat Lu Yin, then it had to be someone capable of bing a Progenitor.

    The humanoid tribtion silently stood in the air above the Yinshan District while facing Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waited for the future to attack, his expression somber.

    The humanoid tribtion suddenly vanished, only to instantly appear right in front of Lu Yin. It mmed a hand down, while Lu Yin retaliated with a Hollow Palm.

    Boom!

    The void shattered, and countless spatial cracks spread out from the point of impact between the two hands. The humanoid tribtion was sent reeling back 10,000 meters from Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palm.

 Chapter 2428: A Member Of The Lu family

    <h4>Chapter 2428: A Member Of The Lu family</h4>

    Hollow Palm was an attack that merged all the different aspects of Lu Yin''s strength: Oveying Stacks Path, battle force, and even his domain. There was usually no need for Lu Yin to even use his Wielder-realm battle force, as Hollow Palm alone was enough to deal with most of his opponents, even if they were a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin did not use his full strength in this Hollow Palm, as he simply wanted to test out his opponent''s strength. He was shocked to discover that the humanoid tribtion only flew back about 10,000 meters.

    Only the absolute cream of the crop was capable of surviving one of Lu Yin¡¯s Hollow Palms when they possessed the same level of cultivation as him. As expected, the true universe had chosen Lu Yin¡¯s opponent well.

    Hmmm? He noticed an ache from his right arm. He raised his arm to check it, only to see that the arm had be slightly withered. Lu Yin had not immediately noticed the change due to his frequent use of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Was this due to the tribtion¡¯sst attack? If that was the case, had Lu Yin been attacked by the Lifeseizer Palm?

    Lu Yin stared at the humanoid tribtion in shock. Was this the manifestation of someone from the Lu family?

    The only battle technique capable of absorbing a person''s vitality was the Lu family''s Lifeseizer Palm. The fact that this humanoid tribtion had managed to steal Lu Yin¡¯s vitality while at the same cultivation level as him indicated that this tribtion was the manifestation of someone who had been exceptional even within the Lu family.

    Right, Lu Yin had nearly forgotten; there was also the Celestial Frost Sect''s Celestial Suppression.

    The humanoid tribtion reappeared, ready to attack with another palm strike. Lu Yin frowned. Since he had narrowed it down to one of the two battle techniques, the attack had been rendered ineffective. He used Extremes Must Be Reversed and met the attack with his own palm strike, once again sending the humanoid tribtion tumbling back. The figure quickly righted itself andshed out with another palm strike.

    This time, the hazy image of a Maind appeared behind the tribtion.

    "It¡¯s someone from the Lu family!" Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and the others eximed.

    Progenitor Long grew somber. "That''s the visualization technique of the Lu family¡¯s direct line."

    The two palms collided yet again. This time, the humanoid tribtion was not forced back. Lu Yin felt a domineering powering from the manifestation that felt as though countless life forms within the image of the Maind were attacking him at the same time. The pressure of an entire Maind pressed down on him.

    He was facing the Fifth Maind.

    "A member of the Lu family?" Finally, Lu Yin reacted. Lu Buzheng had already told Lu Yin that the visualization method used by the Lu family¡¯s direct lines was a massivendmass: the Fifth Maind. As the rulers of the Fifth Maind, the Lu family was able to borrow the power of the Fifth Maind itself.

    The direct line of the family visualized the Fifth Maind, while other members of the family visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    Lu Yin was absolutely facing the Lifeseizer Palm and not Celestial Suppression. This was the manifestation of a direct descendant of the Lu family.

    Faint noises mored in Lu Yin¡¯s ears. These sounds came from the visualization technique, and they increased the pressure he was facing to an entirely different level. Anyone else would have already been crushed to death, but Lu Yin felt fine. He was hearing¡­ the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra. This erased any possible doubt that this humanoid tribtion was the manifestation of a direct descendant of the Lu family. At this point in time, the only question was, who exactly Lu Yin was facing?

    The more Lu Yin considered his situation, the more things made sense. Other than another person from the Lu family, who else was capable of facing him with a cultivation of only six stellr tribtions?

    Lu Yin grew excited, and he decided to stop holding back. Wielder - Indestructible twined about his arm as he released a powerful push.

    Boom!

    The humanoid tribtion was sent flying, and the image of the Maind vanished.

    Even with thebination of the Fifth Maind visualization technique and the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, a single palm strike from Lu Yin was enough to force back the direct descendant of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin had built up a broad and deep foundation in his cultivation over the years. So what if his opponent was someone else from the Lu family? So what if his opponent was the direct descendant of a family that had ruled over one of the Mainds? Even Chu Yuan, who had received personal guidance from the Origin Progenitor, Heluo Mavis, and Sky Garan had been swept away by Lu Yin.

    The humanoid tribtion tumbled back,pletely out of control. Its physical body had been nearly shattered by Lu Yin¡¯s palm.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others watching were all stunned. Lu Xiaoxuan''s strength surpassed all the previous generations of Lu family¡¯s direct descendants¡¯. His battle record and experience were both things that no one else from the Lu family could contend with.

    The humanoid tribtion finally came to a halt a thousand meters away. It then raised a hand, the palm facing downwards. Dust swirled up from the ground which then fused together to form a needle, which instantly shot at Lu Yin. This was the Hidden Needle technique.

    Hidden Needle was a battle technique that harnessed the aura of a Maind and then formed a needle from it. This needle could then be used for various medical purposes, including treating poison.

    Every single skill that the humanoid tribtion used could be regarded as one of the Lu family¡¯s best battle techniques.

    "I''m really curious to find out just who you are," Lu Yin said with a smile. He was intrigued by everyone from the Lu family.

    Again, the humanoid tribtion raised a hand. A Champions'' Stage appeared, and champions were summoned one by one.

    Lu Yin was unsurprised by this move. Even though this figure was a powerful direct descendant of the Lu family, it could not defeat him with just the abilities that it had disyed thus far.

    However, there was one detail that Lu Yin could not wrap his head around: how could a humanoid tribtion created by the true universe activate a Champions'' Stage?

    The universe was filled with countless unexinable phenomena, and it was said that the true universe that shrouded the Six Mainds had been created by the Origin Progenitor. However, why had the Origin Progenitor created stellr tribtions? Also, how were stellr tribtions able to urately determine the level of difficulty for each cultivator¡¯s trials? The Aeternals imed that the Origin Progenitor was dead, but if that was true, then how was the true universe still able to continue to exist without any issues? Was it the same as how the God of Death had left death energy behind and how Destiny had left fatesand and her Books of Destiny behind?

    Perhaps it was only possible to unravel such secrets after bing a Progenitor.

    More and more figures appeared, formed from stellr energy.

    These summoned champions were nearly indistinguishable from actual people, and the only exception was thepleteck of any discernible facial features.

    Champions of various shapes and sizes were summoned. In the blink of an eye, several hundred creatures had already appeared. There were humans, astral beasts, and even other creatures that Lu Yin had never encountered before.

    Almost every champion was an Envoy, and several were peak Envoys. However, there was not a single Semi-Progenitor, or any more powerful champions. As the champions appeared, they charged at Lu Yin.

    One man with the power of a nation¡ªthat was the Champions'' Stage.

    A sword appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, formed from condensed stellr energy. Without any Semi-Progenitors among them, the champions could not pose any threat to Lu Yin.

    With every sh of his sword, an Envoy-level champion was sliced in half and reduced back to the stellr energy that it had formed from. Numerous Envoys flocked towards Lu Yin like moths to a me, using various battle techniques, skills, and innate gifts. Even so, every one was cut down with a single sh of the sword.

    Even Semi-Progenitors were suppressed by Lu Yin''s strength, much less Envoys. Even peak Envoys were only able to withstand a few shes before vanishing, but even so, that was the limit.

    Lu Yin absolutely dominated the battlefield with unmatched strength.

    Zhuo Si''s eye twitched as he watched from the distance. Every single one of those summoned champions was incredibly powerful, and some even gave him chills. Even so, they seemed as powerless as toddlers against Lu Yin.

    This sight was a greater shock to Zhuo Si and those with him than seeing the field of destruction that Lu Yin had faced first. This was because they could not truly understand what the field of destruction had been or what it had represented.

    On the contrary, Bai Wangyuan and the others were unfazed by Lu Yin¡¯s disy of dominance against the summoned champions. Envoys and all other cultivators at lower cultivations could be disregarded as insignificant to the Progenitors.

    Soon, everyst champion was eliminated.

    Lu Yin raised his sword once more, this time using it to attack the humanoid tribtion directly. This was the Thirteenth Sword.

    The humanoid tribtion had not been a difficult opponent for Lu Yin so far. The stellr tribtion must have anticipated that the visualization technique would make the humanoid tribtionparable to Lu Yin, but the manifestation had not been able to suppress Lu Yin in any aspect whatsoever.

    The Thirteenth Sword fell, and the humanoid tribtion dropped to one knee. The Champions'' Stage began to fade away. Although the stellr tribtion had demonstrated an impressive array of abilities, it could not match Lu Yin''s absolute power.

    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± Lu Yin raised his sword.

    Before he could attack again, a scroll materialized above the humanoid tribtion. As it unfurled, the contents of the scroll glowed with a blinding light, much like a sun being uncovered. Four words could be seen on the scroll: Investiture of the Gods.

    Lu Yin blurted, ¡°Investiture of the Gods?¡±

    Everyone who saw the scroll felt equally shocked.

    While it was not rare for the Lu family¡¯s direct descendants to awaken the Investiture of the Gods, less than a handful were actually able to use it. An Investiture of the Gods could only create copies of Progenitors, which was incredibly difficult for even a member of the Lu family to aplish.

    The history of the Lu family was intimately intertwined with the history of the Fifth Maind itself. While the Lu family had managed to produce a number of Progenitors, that number was still minuscule inparison to the total number of direct descendants. There might have been tens of thousands of direct descendants of the Lu family, but fewer than ten Progenitors had ever emerged from the Lu family. In order to be able to utilize the Investiture of the Gods, a person had to both be a direct descendant of the Lu family as well as a Progenitor. This demonstrated just how rare it was for anyone to actually use the Investiture of the Gods.

    As for people who had managed to seal a Progenitor before bing a Progenitor themselves, everyst one had been famous in their own right. For example, there was Lu Tianyi. When he had first sealed a Progenitor, it had been before the start of the Daosource Sect era, during the Heavens Sect era. No one knew just how powerful the man had been when he first sealed a Progenitor in his Investiture of the Gods, but Bai Wangyuan and the others were aware that it was definitely before Lu Tianyui had be a Progenitor.

    Another example was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s father, Lu Qi. He had sealed a Progenitor as a Semi-Progenitor. By summoning a copy of Progenitor Wen, Lu Qi had been able to charge headfirst into the New World, shaking the rear battlefield.

    Anyone who could seal a Progenitor before bing a Progenitor themselves had been an absolute genius who would have qualified to be appointed as a Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era.

    The humanoid tribtion that Lu Yin was facing had been one of those geniuses. No, this person had actually been on another level beyond that. Lu Qi had only sessfully sealed a Progenitor after bing a Semi-Progenitor, while Lu Yin was facing the manifestation of someone who had sessfully sealed a Progenitor as a mere six-tribtion powerhouse.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be right. It can¡¯t be a six-tribtion expert,¡± Progenitor Smokemented.

    Wang Fan¡¯s expression grew more serious. ¡°Even if this humanoid tribtion is a Semi-Progenitor, it must be a peak Envoy at the least. The trials given by the true universe are chosen not only by the challenger¡¯s cultivation, but more so by their actual strength.¡±

    Bai Wangyuan interjected, ¡°When this humanoid tribtion first appeared, it was only a six-tribtion expert, but after the Champions¡¯ Stage was destroyed, its cultivation increased to seven tribtions. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a humanoid tribtion¡¯s strength increase.¡±

    ¡°Just what is it that Lu Xiaoxuan cultivates? His first trial was a field of destruction that only those attempting to be Progenitors ever face. His second trial was a hidden attack, and his third trial is a humanoid tribtion capable of increasing its cultivation,¡± Progenitor Long eximed. He looked at Lu Yin with a mix of both wonder and curiosity.

    ¡°Every single trial that he¡¯s faced thus far has been beyond abnormal.¡± Xia Shenji¡¯s expression was grave. ¡°We cannot allow him to survive.¡±

    ¡°This humanoid tribtion was also no simple person. It¡¯s possible that not even Lu Tianyi was able to seal a Progenitor as a peak Envoy.¡±

    The sight of the Investiture of the Gods raised Lu Yin¡¯s caution to new heights. If he actually needed to fight against a Progenitor without any of his equipment, this tribtion would be extremely difficult.

    It was possible that this was exactly why this particr person had manifested for Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion.

 Chapter 2429: Fathers Power

    <h4>Chapter 2429: Father''s Power</h4>

    All eyes were fixed on the Investiture of the Gods that illuminated the sky above the entire Yishan District.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank as a figure emerged from the scroll. A Progenitor had truly been within conferred to this scroll. Who was it?

    The summoned figure had one hand behind his back, while the other held several scroll-like objects close to his chest as he calmly stood in midair.

    Despite only being a summon called by a manifestation, the figure radiated a schrly demeanor that was readily apparent to all who saw him.

    Wait a moment, a schr?

    Lu Yin was struck with a strange feeling.

    Wang Fan¡¯s mouth hung open in astonishment. ¡°That¡¯s Progenitor Wen! That¡¯s Lu Qi!¡±

    Bai Wangyuan and all the other Progenitors watching did not know how to feel about this revtion. Was Lu Xiaoxuan really facing a manifestation of his own father?

    In the Outer Realm, on Broken Star, Liu Yue stared in stupefaction at the manifestation of Progenitor Wen. Progenitor Liu had actually been present when Lu Qi had first worked up the courage to confer Progenitor Wen. Naturally, Liu Yue could recognize the figure summoned by the tribtion¡¯s Investiture of the Gods. He would recognize the aura anywhere. What the heck? Are we really watching a father thrash his son? Or is this more like a son thrashing his father?

    Mu Xie also recognized the summoned figure, and a conflicted look covered his face as he looked at Lu Yin. Should he tell him?

    While Lu Yin had never met, or felt Progenitor Wen¡¯s aura before, the silhouette bore a strong resemnce to the images of Progenitor Wen that Lu Yin had seen before. In fact, this figure looked exactly like the portrait of the Progenitor that Lu Yin had once seen in Virtue Archives.

    The identity of the humanoid tribtion had been confirmed to be none other than Lu Yin''s own father, Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi was the only member of the Lu family to ever have conferred Progenitor Wen, but it was known to have only happened after Lu Qi became a Semi-Progenitor. However, the humanoid tribtion that Lu Yin was facing was only a peak Envoy.

    Lu Yin felt a lump in his throat upon realizing that he had been unwittingly attacking his own father.

    ¡°Junior Brother, be careful!¡± Mu Xie cautioned Lu Yin. It was clear to the man that Lu Yin had realized who he was facing by the changes in the young man¡¯s expression.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as a bitter smile appeared on his face. The identity of his humanoid tribtion did not matter; he could not afford to lose.

    His greatest challenge at this moment was not the humanoid tribtion, but rather the summoned copy of Progenitor Wen.

    Despite his confidence in his own strength, Lu Yin knew that facing a Progenitor solely with his own strength was absolutely impossible. This was not nearly as simply as crossing realms to challenge a stronger opponent. There was a fundamental, qualitative difference between Lu Yin and a Progenitor.

    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t defeat the Progenitor, you can still deal with the humanoid tribtion,¡± Progenitor Smoke transmitted to his ear.

    Lu Yin nodded. He had also realized that this was his only possible chance to pass this tribtion.

    In the Outer Realm, Xia Shenji burst into hystericalughter. ¡°How ironic for a father to kill his own son. Hahahaha!¡±

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s previously tense expression rxed. ¡°It no longer matters what sort of ridiculous abilities Lu Xiaoxuan might possess. With Progenitor Wen as his opponent, this tribtion is already guaranteed to end in failure.¡±

    Wang Fan, Progenitor Long, and all the other Progenitors in the Outer Realm were thinking the same thing. Some felt despair, while others mocked Lu Yin. Still, more than anything else, everyone felt a chill strike their hearts as they understood just what the true universe was capable of doing.

    If a truly impossible trial could appear during Lu Xiaoxuan''s stellr tribtion, then what did that signify for everyone else? Was it possible that they would also be forced to face aparable trial during their own tribtions?

    Who could possibly manage to defeat a Progenitor as a six-tribtion Envoy?

    Perhaps the real question was, just what was Lu Xiaoxuan cultivating that had triggered such an excessive reaction from the true universe?

    Lu Yin carefully observed Progenitor Wen and then threw a palm strike at the manifestation of his father. Lu Yin used his full power in this attack, hoping to eliminate the humanoid tribtion with a single hit.

    Unfortunately, no matter how fast his Hollow Palm might be, it was no match for the transformation that took ce across both the sky and the ground.

    Before the attack couldnd, writing of ancient characters swirled through the sky and across ground, blocking the Hollow Palm. This was Progenitor Wen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world: World Changer. Speed meant nothing when both the sky and the ground were both sealed off.

    Progenitor Wen casually pointed at Lu Yin, and a stream of the characters shot at him.

    As the characters crashed into him, Lu Yin quickly released Wielder - Indestructible to protect himself. Unfortunately, the pinnacle of battle force was effortlessly shattered, which left Lu Yin gasping for breath. It was clear that he was still far from being capable of enduring a Progenitor''s attack.

    He quickly brought out the unique power thaty within his chest in an attempt to push back at least a portion of the Progenitor¡¯s world that surrounded him, but unfortunately, all of his efforts were futile. Lu Yin¡¯s unique power was capable of dispersing a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, but it waspletely helpless against a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Wave after wave of ancient characters bombarded Lu Yin, and countless more swirled through the air, falling upon him like raindrops. It was utterly impossible to evade the assault.

    Desperation took root as he realized that even a few of these ancient characters were enough to cause severe injury. If all of the characters filling the sky and ground struck him at the same time, then not only would he die, but there would also be nothing left of him at all.

    Regret overcame Lu Yin, as he had never attempted to confer a Progenitor himself. After all, he was supported by both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and Senior Brother Mu Xie. If Lu Yin had conferred either of those Progenitors, then there would be no reason for him to fear Progenitor Wen.

    Lu Yin felt that he had been overly cautious in this matter. He had been too conservative by intending to confer a Progenitor to his Investiture of the Gods only after passing his sixth stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin had been bold enough to try to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion when he had only been a one-tribtion Envoy. He had taken the risk despite the severe bacsh that he had faced from the attempt, so why was he so afraid to attempt to confer a Progenitor?

    Blood spilled from the corners of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth as he stared at the distant forms of Progenitor Wen and the humanoid tribtion. They were simply toying with him, as he was caught in the palm of their hand. Was there truly no chance for him to win?

    There was no such thing as a battle that was impossible to survive, and this stellr tribtion was no exception. There had to be a path out.

    Since Lu Yin had been the one to trigger such a terrible situation, then there had to be a corresponding way for him to ovee this tribtion.

    But what was the solution?

    The first thing that came to Lu Yin¡¯s mind was Extremes Must Be Reversed, but Progenitor Wen did not exist in an extreme state. Undying God¡¯s innate gift that allowed him to drift in and out of existence could be regarded as an extreme state. Time was also an extreme state, in and of itself. In that case, what if Lu Yin forced Progenitor Wen into an extreme state?

    Lu Yin reopened his eyes and stared at his humanoid tribtion.

    The power of Progenitor Wen was more than enough to defeat Lu Yin in mere seconds. The fact that Lu Yin had not been defeated yet meant that the attacks that he had taken so far were the limit of what the humanoid tribtion could bring forth from the summoned Progenitor. The master of the Investiture of the Gods was currently unable to disy the full strength of the summoned Progenitor¡¯s power.

    It should have beenpletely impossible for anyone to confer a Progenitor into an Investiture of the Gods before bing a Progenitor themselves, as doing so was essentially crossing realms to challenge a Progenitor. Thus, it made sense for there to be limits to this ability even if someone could somehow pull it off.

    This meant that Lu Yin was only facing an iplete version of a summoned Progenitor. With that, it meant that he had a chance.

    It was impossible for him to defeat an actual Progenitor, but Lu Yin could at least create an opportunity for himself.

    Another ancient character smashed Lu Yin to the ground, where he vomited a mouthful of blood.

    Everyone watched as Lu Yin struggled against his stellr tribtion. This was most likely the most difficult sixth stellr tribtion in all of history.

    Progenitor Smoke peered up at the stellr tribtion vortex. How brutal.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers became visibly more rxed as they watched the ancient characters knock Lu Yin around. Each time he was struck, he coughed up more blood. Each attempt to dodge provedpletely futile.

    Without his tool, weapons, or other aides, it was impossible for Lu Yin to defeat a Progenitor, but did he dare to use such things against a stellr tribtion?

    Mu Xie¡¯s expression became increasingly grave, and he slowly said, ¡°Junior Brother, if you truly can¡¯t do it, then abandon your breakthrough.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Abandoning his breakthrough would mean failing to pass his tribtion, and that meant that his next attempt would be even more difficult than his current tribtion. However, it would at least allow him to survive.

    If Lu Yin truly wanted to guarantee passing his sixth stellr tribtion, he could abandon his breakthrough and then dissolve three of his four stellr energy vortices. After that, he would be regarded as just another ordinary cultivator, and he would thus face a much easier stellr tribtion.

    But why should he do that?

    Lu Yin lifted his head and braced himself as he was once again struck by the ancient characters. Bloodpletely soaked his clothes. Why should a stellr tribtion mark the end of his current path?

    His mind raced as he tried to find a possible solution to his predicament.

    His Wielder-realm battle force was instantly shattered the moment he used it, and his physical body was in rough shape. Even the power he cultivated within his chest was incapable of standing up to Progenitor Wen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin red at the humanoid tribtion. Screw it, it¡¯s all or nothing.

    An Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feat, and it stretched out far into the distance. Lu Yin tried to swap positions with the humanoid tribtion, but he was blocked by a series of ancient characters.

    Xia Shenji chuckled coldly. ¡°What a joke! Using a secret technique against a Progenitor?¡±

    The Astral Chessboard exploded, and Lu Yin¡¯s eyes filled with determination. His attempt to change positions had been thwarted. ¡°Astral Chessboard: board maniption.¡±

    You might be able to block my path, but I can still manipte the board!

    Lu Yin had influenced space with his attempt to change positions, while Progenitor Wen had also influenced space by blocking the attempt. Lu Yin had then used board maniption to undo Progenitor Wen¡¯s spatial influence, which allowed Lu Yin to sessfully move to the position of the humanoid tribtion, as he had originally intended.

    This was the entire reason why he had used the Ce Secret Art¡¯s board maniption.

    Lu Yin had tried to swap positions, been thwarted, and then after that, space had stabilized once again. Throughout the entire series of events, his body had experienced a blur of changes, and it began to break down from the spatial pressure.

    Board maniption allowed Lu Yin to sessfully get close to the humanoid tribtion.

    Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, and everyone else just stared, wide-eyed at what Lu Yin had aplished.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to appear right next to the humanoid tribtion, he looked away from this target. Ancient characters had appeared yet again, and they blocked his path once more.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to sessfully use any of his battle techniques or other abilities against a Progenitor. Not even the mysteriousness of the Ce Secret Art was or its ability to revert space to a previous state was enough. The reason for this was simple: Progenitors stood at the pinnacle of cultivation.

    Bai Wangyuan and the four ruling powers¡¯ other Progenitors had never felt the slightest bit of worry, as they were well aware of Progenitor Wen¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin would never be able to break free from Progenitor Wen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, no matter what methods he employed.

    Cracks appeared all over Lu Yin¡¯s entire body, and the distance between him and the humanoid tribtion started to grow. No, he refused to let things end at this point.

    He raised a hand and aimed an attack at the ancient characters, rather than the humanoid tribtion. He used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to affect any extreme state or phenomena, such as time or the Undying God¡¯s drifting state.

    At the precise moment that Progenitor Wen stopped Lu Yin from using board maniption, space was no longer being suppressed, and it returned to its normal state. In other words, space was no longer being controlled by either individual, which could be considered an extreme state and was precisely what Lu Yin had been waiting for. The state of the space suppressed by Progenitor Wen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world was extreme in the exact same manner as how the Withered Bark that Lu Yin had Enhanced had been in an extreme state of time.

    As soon as Extremes Must Be Reversed was used, the suppression that was preventing space from recovering, which was an extreme state, was stopped.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was not a secret technique, but rather a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique that Progenitor Ku had created. Even Undying God had been unable to prevent himself from being forced out of his drifting state, and Progenitor Wen could have never hoped topare to Undying God.

    When Extremes Must Be Reversed collided with the ancient characters, the space that had been suppressed returned back to normal. ?Lu Yin instantly appeared next to the humanoid tribtion. There was no time for anyone at all to react, aside from Lu Yin himself.

    He mustered all of his strength and mmed a palm into the humanoid tribtion¡¯s back.

    From when Lu Yin had first used the Ce Secret Art to the moment his attacknded upon the humanoid tribtion, less than a single second had passed. Everything yed out in a blur, and Lu Yin¡¯s body was almost torn apart from the myriad spatial forces pulling at him. Only when Lu Yin¡¯s handnded on the back of the humanoid tribtion was Bai Wangyuan and the rest able to see what Lu Yin had been trying to pull off.

 Chapter 2430: Incomparable

    <h4>Chapter 2430: Iparable</h4>

    The moment Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck, the humanoid stellr tribtion started to fade. At the same time, Progenitor Wen and the Investiture of the Gods began to dissipate as well.

    The ancient characters vanished one at a time. The effects of Progenitor Wen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world also disappeared. The Investiture of the Gods was gone, and the humanoid tribtion itself was slowly disappearing.

    Lu Yin stared at the figure¡¯s back as it slowly faded from existence. ¡°If you really are my father, I suppose that I¡¯ll suffer divine punishment for this.¡±

    A gust of wind sted through the area, sending strands of bloodstained hair drifting through the Outer Realm.

    Lu Yin turned to smile at Mu Xie. ¡°Senior Brother, how did I do?¡±

    For the first time, Mu Xie showed a grin of his own. ¡°Junior Brother, I can see why Master epted you. Not only do you possess immense talent, but you are also capable of creating miracles.¡±

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. ¡°The one who created a miracle is Progenitor Ku. The more I understand his Extremes Must Be Reversed, the more miraculous it seems.¡±

    Elsewhere in the Outer Realm, Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers had serious expressions. It had seemed impossible for Lu Yin to pass his tribtion. It was simply unthinkable that a five-tribtion Envoy could face a Progenitor during a tribtion and still pass it.

    ¡°It¡¯s that Extremes Must Be Reversed. What¡¯s truly unbelievable is Ku Jie¡¯s battle technique,¡± Wang Fan said.

    Bai Wangyuan and the somberly stared at Lu Yin. Only they understood just how terrifying Ku Jie was. They had thought that they already understood just how incredible his Extremes Must Be Reversed was, but the facts revealed that they had still been underestimating it all along.

    It was a battle technique that could potentially target any object or phenomenon. It could reverse time and revert space, heal injuries, and allow a person to withstand powerful attacks. Ku Jie, just what did you create?

    Aside from the Progenitors themselves, no one else watching Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion could understand what had just happened. All they knew was that Lu Yin had just passed another trial of his stellr tribtion.

    This time, the tribtion should finally be over!?Everyone had the same thought.

    Lu Yin stared up at the dark vortex of his stellr tribtion. Things should truly be over. If he hadn¡¯t managed to force Progenitor Wen to create an extreme state, it would have been absolutely impossible for Lu Yin to have passed that trial. Who else could have possibly seeded in such a situation?

    Everyone felt certain that the stellr tribtion was over.

    But contrary to all expectations, the stellr tribtion vortex expanded once more.

    A vein on Lu Yin¡¯s temple throbbed, and he shook his fist at the sky. ¡°You must really want me to die! You seriously deserve a good beating.¡±

    Mu Xie frowned. "How is this possible? Wasn¡¯t he already forced to face a desperate situation? Why would there be another trial?"

    Progenitor Smoke also felt terribly confused. ¡°Another one? What else is going to show up? Don¡¯t tell me that an actual Progenitor is going to be sent to fight him, right?¡±

    Even the two of them had abandoned hope for Lu Yin¡¯s sess. They were seeing things that should not be happening.

    Silence fell upon Bai Wangyuan¡¯s group as well. All of them were hoping that this stellr tribtion would kill Lu Yin, but even they felt that things were going a bit too far. None of the three trials that he had faced so far had been even remotely easy to handle. Of their families¡¯ top geniuses, who could have even passed Lu Yin¡¯s first trial? Even if someone could miraculously defeat the first trial, despite the terrible odds, what about the summoned copy of Progenitor Wen? It truly seemed practically sphemous that Lu Yin had even managed to defeat that trial.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had already defeated the impossible, and yet, there was more.

    Was the true universe not going to let up until the man was dead?

    This stellr tribtion deserved to be recorded down in history.

    ¡°Come on! Show me what else you¡¯ve got!¡± Lu Yin shouted into the dark vortex. If an actual Progenitor emerged, he would have nothing more to say.

    Looks of anticipation turned to disbelief as a familiar object descended from the depths of the vortex.

    Lu Yin¡¯s jaw dropped.

    Progenitor Smoke, Mu Xie, everyone with Bai Wangyuan, all of the Progenitors throughout the Outer Realm, and everyone who was watching from the Middle Realm stared at the object in disbelief.

    Tremors ran through the entire Perennial World, and countless creatures in the Lower Realm panicked and fled for their lives.

    The Higher Realm started to fracture from the pressure of a monstrously massive entity.

    With the sole exception of the fourth array base, everyone stationed on the rear battlefield was currently working on eliminating thest few corpse kings from the New World. As the trial of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion descended upon him, the people in the New World felt the ground beneath them tremble slightly. What was going on? It felt as though Mother Tree itself had moved.

    The floor of the Middle Ocean shook, stirring up tsunamis that crashed onto shores.

    Countless people looked in the direction of the Yishan District, only to be met with a startling sight.

    Another Mother Tree had appeared.

    Lu Yin stared, ck-jawed. Isn¡¯t that the Mother Tree?

    He had never imagined that the true universe would actually send the Mother Tree itself against him.

    There was no mistake. It was the Mother Tree.

    Stellr tribtions could consist of pure attacks, natural phenomena, astral beasts, and even manifestations of humans who had once lived. Since the Mother Tree absorbed stellr energy, it meant that it could be sent out as well.

    While the logic was indisputable, seeing the copy of the Mother Tree still left Lu Yin speechless.

    Bai Wangyuan and everyone else watched on in a daze.

    In the Outer Realm, people on each of the sevens blinked in disbelief as they saw the Mother Tree emerge from the dark vortex.

    No one had ever even heard of the Mother Tree appearing during someone¡¯s stellr tribtion. What could the Mother Tree even do?

    Lu Yin wondered just what the Mother Tree was going to do to attack him. Simply crush him?

    He briefly turned to stare at the true Mother Tree, but it had not reacted at all.

    "Young man, what kind of atrocities have youmitted to cause the true universe to send you such a tribtion? It seems determined to kill you,¡± Progenitor Smoke called out.

    Mu Xie''s expression turned grave. Although the appearance of Progenitor Wen had seemed quite excessive for someone¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion, the appearance of a manifestation of the Mother Tree suggested that Lu Yin hadmitted a truly serious offense. What sort of sin had Lu Yinmitted?

    Lu Yin was too preupied to hear the question. His mind had gone nk, and he nervously swallowed. He stared intently at the copy of the Mother Tree, waiting for it to make some sort of move.

    Slowly drifting downwards, the copy of the Mother Tree appeared smaller than the actual one. This was likely due to the limitations of a sixth stellr tribtion, which limited the size of the tree, simr to how the humanoid stellr tribtion was limited in power. Nevertheless, it was stillrge enough to engulf the Yinshan District, Huaiyuan District, Blue Moon District, and parts of other districts.

    Countless onlookers felt despair clench their hearts as they stared at the descending copy of the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin threw out a palm strike to test the tree.

    The attack seeded in destroying a portion of the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, but the damage was practically negligible. Even though it was a copy, the Mother Tree was incrediblyrge and tough. Even Lu Yin¡¯s full strength would only damage a minuscule portion of it.

    Lu Yin could not help look up towards the Dominion Realm. It was no wonder why the Mother Tree was able to support the entire Perennial World and endure battles between Progenitors. It was extremely durable.

    As the Mother Tree continued to descend, the pressure on Lu Yin quickly multiplied. He sent attack after attack towards the copy of the Mother Tree, but unfortunately, all of his efforts were insignificant, given the sheer size of the tree.

    If the copy of the Mother Tree descended any further, it would start to pressure the Middle Realm. That could not be allowed to happen.

    Lu Yin suddenly heard a rumbling from down below. He looked down and saw that the true Mother Tree¡¯s roots were twitching and undting. The sight caused Lu Yin¡¯s pupils to shrink to pinpricks.

    The roots of the true Mother Tree were clearly about to attack the copy that had been summoned by Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. The attack would ur as soon as the manifested tree descended far enough. If the stellr tribtion regarded the real Mother Tree¡¯s actions as helping Lu Yin, then he could kiss his life goodbye.

    What should he do?

    Lu Yin mmed his body against the copy of the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. They stretched as far as his eyes could see, and his attack did not seem to affect them in the slightest. An overwhelming force threatened to crush him.

    Lu Yin had never imagined that he would have to face the Mother Tree of all things. It was what literally held up human civilization and what ensured the survival of the human race by shielding them from Aeternus. How could any human be expected to defeat such a thing?

    The Mother Tree was the most formidable existence in the entire universe. Lu Yin¡¯s strength might have surpassed what other humans could even imagine, but the power of the Mother Tree was something that no one could even begin toprehend.

    How was anyone supposed to face such a thing?

    Humanity would not have survived this long if Aeternus was capable of destroying the Mother Tree.

    Only True God Yi Wei was capable of dealing any actual damage to the Mother Tree.

    A thought started to form within Lu Yin''s mind. He released his power from his chest and then studied the red dot that had recently appeared. This red dot hade from the attack of a giant scarlet eye that was one of Aeternus¡¯s star gates. It was actually True God Yi Wei¡¯s divine energy.

    If True God Yi Wei was the only being in existence who was able to damage the Mother Tree, then the red dot might very well be Lu Yin¡¯s only path to victory.

    Lu Yin was not certain, but regardless, the red dot was technically part of the unique power that he cultivated within his chest, which meant that it was not a form of external aide. Using it was certainly worth a try.

    Lu Yin¡¯s unique power emerged from his chest and surrounded him. The red dot appeared a short distance away from his body. He had unsessfully tried to erase it on several asions, but at this point in time, he decided to try to use it. He no longer cared about its origin, regardless of whether it was from True God Yi Wei. He had no intention of abandoning his breakthrough and failing his stellr tribtion. Giving up was simply not an option.

    Bai Wangyuan and hispanions waited for Lu Yin¡¯s imminent demise. As they waited, far below, the roots of the real Mother Tree writhed, prepared tounch their own attack. Time was running out.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and reached out for the red dot. As he held it in his hand, his eyes snapped open. Scarlet red light flickered in the depths of his pupils.

    Beyond the bounds of the stellr tribtion, Mu Xie¡¯s nails dug into the palms of his hands. Junior Brother, hurry up and abandon your breakthrough! There¡¯s nothing that you can do against the Mother Tree.

    Progenitor Smoke just shook her head. The fact that Lu Yin was facing such a cruel stellr tribtion could only mean that he was cultivating something truly catastrophic. Even as the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, she felt that this stellr tribtion was beyond excessive.

    Bai Wangyuan and hispanions held their breath as they watched intently. Was Lu Yin finally dead? He should be. There should not be any room for more surprises. No one could defeat the Mother Tree itself, not even them.

    Kacha!

    A crack appeared on the trunk of the manifested Mother Tree, and it quickly grew both upwards and downwards. The scene closely resembled the moment when True God had attacked the Mother Tree.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed abruptly. Impossible!

    No one could believe what they were seeing. Had the manifestation of the Mother Tree actually been broken?

    The copy of the Mother Tree stopped descending as Lu Yin let out a roar. ¡°You aren¡¯t enough to kill me!¡±

    As Lu Yin shouted, the fissure in the trunk of the giant tree grew evenrger. After a moment, an explosion rocked the entire Perennial World.

    Not one person looked away.

    The trial of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion that was a manifestation of the Mother Tree itself¡­ vanished. Lu Yin dropped his head, panting heavily. Streaks of blood painted his entire body, exacerbating his miserable appearance. Every breath that he took caused him to also vomit a mouthful of crimson blood.

    Lu Yin was already at his absolute limit.

    A trickle of fear appeared in the jiao¡¯s eyes as it peeked at Lu Yin from far away. It had just sensed a terrifying power from Lu Yin for a brief moment. Creatures were far more sensitive to such things than humans.

    Lu Yin stood in the middle of the sky, his head hanging low as he tried to catch his breath.

    A wisp of stellr energy extended into Lu Yin¡¯s body. It was finally time for him to be rewarded for sessfully passing his stellr tribtion. He remained utterly motionless as stellr energy streamed into his body.

    Stellr energy flowed into Lu Yin in a long river that looked like a vertical rainbow.

    Lu Yin kept all three of his meridian points open. First, the stellr energy flowed into his lower meridian point. Once that was filled, he redirected the flow to his middle meridian point, and then his upper meridian point. Finally, he allowed the stream to fill his fourth stellr energy vortex.

    The reason why Lu Yin had faced such a perverse stellr tribtion finally became apparent to everyone. The amount of stellr energy that he was absorbing was beyond excessive. It was so much so that many people found it hard to believe.

 Chapter 2431: Divine Light

    <h4>Chapter 2431: Divine Light</h4>

    ¡°Members of the Lu family always possess an abnormallyrge reserve of stellr energy, but even so, this is quite excessive,¡± Progenitor Smoke eximed.

    Mu Xiemented, ¡°Even if we consider Semi-Progenitors, I¡¯ve never seen anyone absorb so much stellr energy after passing a stellr tribtion.¡±

    ¡°This is more than what even some newly ascended Progenitors are able to absorb,¡± Progenitor Smoke said with a bitter smile.

    Elsewhere in the Outer Realm, Bai Wangyuan''s expression fell. The difficulty of a person¡¯s stellr tribtion reflected the threat that they posed to the true universe. Everyone had expected Lu Yin to either fail his stellr tribtion or be killed by it. But to their utter shock, he had sessfully passed it. This unexpected oue had greatly increased their wariness towards the young man.

    Lu Yin greedily absorbed all the stellr energy surging towards him. It looked as though he was going to consume everyst scrap of stellr energy from the Middle Realm. The four Progenitors exchanged uneasy nces. They could not allow this person to reach his full potential.

    After a long time, Lu Yin finished absorbing all of the stellr energy. Not only had the massive influx drastically increased his cultivation, but it had also significantly enhanced the other aspects of his strength.

    Lu Yin''s already overwhelming physical strength was merely the most noticeable aspect that had been improved.

    In the past, Lu Yin had to be cautious when fighting against Semi-Progenitors, but at this moment, he felt confident that he could deal with a Semi-Progenitor with just his physical strength alone. If he also used his Wielder - Indestructible, then he would be able to easily defeat a Semi-Progenitor.

    Progenitor Smoke, Mu Xie, and the other Progenitors all continued to watch as the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex gradually vanished. This time, the tribtion was truly over.

    The entire Perennial World had gotten caught up in a single stellr tribtion. Even some of the stellr tribtions to enter the Progenitor realm were not this widespread.

    Mu Xie returned to Lu Yin¡¯s side. ¡°Junior Brother, it¡¯s finally over.¡±

    Lu Yin inhaled deeply and looked up at the fading vortex of his stellr tribtion.

    "Let''s see what you have in store for me next time," he muttered challengingly.

    He had truly been forced to his limit. Everyone, including the observing Progenitors, felt that this stellr tribtion had gone too far. Not even Semi-Progenitors could have passed this stellr tribtion.

    Progenitor Smoke arrived as well, and shemented, "That was an impressive stellr tribtion, but you were even more impressive. What did you do to provoke such a freakish tribtion?"

    Bai Wangyuan and the others arrived, and they surrounded Lu Yin.

    Mu Xie looked at Bai Wangyuan.

    Progenitor Smoke nced around at the four men. ¡°What¡¯s this? Are you guys nning to attack?¡±

    The jiao roared, but it kept its distance. On its back was Lu Jian¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage.

    Lu Yin slowly asked, ¡°Do the four of you intend to break our truce?¡±

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, you are the one who provoked us,¡± Xiao Shenji answered coldly.

    Lu Yin remained unruffled. "I came here to find the members of the Yue Sect, but all I found were the destroyed ruins of the sect, as well as the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors in hiding. There''s no doubt that the Celestial Frost Sect is behind their destruction. Furthermore, I will emphasize once again that the stellr liquid exposed by the crack in the Mother Tree cannot be touched. Anyone who dares to do so ismitting a grave offense against the Mother Tree and this entire region of the universe."

    He shot a very pointed look at Bai Wangyuan, and the Progenitor¡¯s expression grew significantly colder.

    Progenitor Smoke spoke up, ¡°That¡¯s right. No one is allowed to touch the stellr liquid.¡±

    Her eyes then narrowed. ¡°I also haven¡¯t forgotten about what just happened. You still need to pay the price for absorbing that stellr liquid!¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression grew somber as he replied, "Absolutely. While absorbing that stellr liquid just now, I had the profound realization that I wasmitting a grave sin. Therefore, I solemnly swear to stand firm against the usage of stellr liquid from this moment forward, alongside you, Senior. Anyone who dares to absorb stellr liquid shall be regarded as an enemy against myself, Senior, and all of humanity."

    Progenitor Smoke was rendered speechless by Lu Yin¡¯s words. Such a brazen attitude reminded her of Hui Wen. While she was still displeased by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, she had no choice but to y along. She could not allow the four ruling powers to absorb stellr liquid as well.

    Progenitor Long said, ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan¡ªno, I should call you Lu Yin. You are far more shameless than Lu Xiaoxuan ever was.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to Progenitor Long. ¡°I heard that you only sessfully became a Progenitor after receiving some guidance from Senior Progenitor Smoke. Are you going to attack her now? Tell me, who is the shameless one here?¡±

    ¡°Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡¯ve pushed us time and time again. Do you really believe that we won¡¯t dare teach you a lesson?¡± Xia Shenji angrily demanded.

    Lu Yin shot back, ¡°Stellr liquid belongs to the Mother Tree. Does me happening to discover stellr liquid and absorbing a bit of it mean that I¡¯ve provoked your four ruling powers? Since when did the Mother Tree be your private property?¡±

    Bai Wangyuan replied, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about what happened before. The problem with the Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe is clearly one of Aeternus¡¯s schemes. Lu Xiaoxuan, you are not allowed to enter the Perennial world until the matter is fully resolved, lest it spread to our true universe as well. This is not just the will of our four ruling powers, but also that of the entire Perennial World. Can you agree to this? If not, we will publicly announce the matter to the entire Perennial World. Since you care so much about humanity, we can have humanity decide whether you are allowed to stay.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. Bai Wangyuan¡¯s words made sense. It was no surprise that the people from the Fifth Maind wished to escape from there, while those from the Perennial World refused to allow them to enter. No one knew if the true universe in the Perennial World could be contaminated by the problem facing the Fifth Maind. This was a matter that concerned not only Bai Wangyuan, but also Lu Yin.

    The Fifth Maind was already facing a terrible dilemma, and if trouble also befell the Perennial World, then who would stop Aeternus?

    Regardless of what Lu Yin had done for the Perennial World, the people of the Perennial World would definitely concur with the four ruling powers on this matter: no one from the Fifth Maind could be allowed to enter the Perennial World.

    "Very well, I''llply with your request and leave," Lu Yin replied nonchntly. "However, from this point on, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of all cultivators from the Fifth Maind who have entered your region of the universe. Return all of them to the Fifth Maind unharmed. Until this current matter is resolved, no harm should befall any of them."

    ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll throw all the cultivators from the Fifth Maind back to where they belong,¡± Wang Fan replied.

    With that, both sides reached an agreement.

    As Lu Yin made his way back to the Fifth Maind, he understood that it would be quite some time before he could return to the Perennial World. The four ruling powers had banned him from this ce so that they could consolidate their control. Lu Yin''s presence was a massive obstacle to their ns.

    As the jiao vanished from sight, Xia Shenji''s demeanor reverted to his normal state. "Aeternus has done us an immense favor. With Lu Xiaoxuan gone, we can quickly establishplete control over the Perennial World. Once we achieve that, even if the issue with the Fifth Maind is resolved, Lu Xiaoxuan will no longer be able to exert any influence over our Perennial World."

    ¡°Watch what you say. We do not require Aeternus¡¯s help,¡± Wang Fan warned before turning to leave.

    Bai Wangyuan watched as Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke also left. Although Lu Xiaoxuan had left, it was important to remain wary of those two. The four ruling powers would only truly live up to their title once they controlled the entire Perennial World.

    Lu Yin sank deep into thought as he rode atop the jiao. The four ruling powers¡¯ motive for sending him away was crystal clear, but unfortunately, he had no choice but to go along with them. Murkiness¡¯s timing could not have been any worse, and he even considered the possibility that Aeternus had initiated the n to deliberately alienate him from the four ruling powers and give them the opportunity to bolster their power.

    It was far from impossible.

    Together with Wang Wen, Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind.

    This time, Mu Xie apanied him.

    Lu Yin wanted to confer the Progenitor into his Investiture of the Gods.

    ¡°Senior Brother, will being conferred affect you in any way?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Xie replied, ¡°It won¡¯t have any effect on me, though most people are unwilling to allow others to make a copy of them. Who knows¡ªmaybe they¡¯ll eventually be enemies?¡±

    ¡°Just like the four ruling powers and Progenitor Lu Tianyi,¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    Mu Xie replied, ¡°That whole incident is very strange to me too. Only a few select individuals from the four ruling powers fully understand just what happened that day. Logically, as long as Progenitor Tianyi used his Investiture of the Gods, no one could ever touch him. He was capable of confronting two Skygods on his own, but they still managed to somehow exile him.¡±

    Lu Yin had gleaned some knowledge regarding parallel universes from Marquis Lan''s memories, and those memories had led him to believe that his family¡¯s exile was somehow rted to parallel universes. Just like how there was enmity between him and the four ruling powers, it was possible that the parallel universes themselves were not united either. When two distinct universes intersected, they could be either allies or foes.

    From what Lu Yin had learned from Marquis Lan¡¯s memories, none of the parallel universes had any human forces as powerful as the Lu family, and only a handful possessed as much power as the four ruling powers. In fact, most of the universes that the marquis knew about only needed to defend against a single Progenitor-level corpse king at most. Furthermore, very few of those universes were even aware of the Seven Skygods'' existence.

    Eventually, he returned to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin first dropped Wang Wen off at Sky Creation Academy, and then he found a deserted location that was suitable for conferring Mu Xie.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion, he had greatly regretted not conferring a Progenitor into his Investiture of the Gods beforehand. If he had done so, then he would have had a much easier time dealing with Progenitor Wen¡¯s manifestation by simply oveing every part of the tribtion.

    "I¡¯ve never personally witnessed the process of conferring a Progenitor. Senior Tianyi conferred the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but I was not present at that time, and it only happened that one time. You will have to do this on your own," Mu Xie exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Senior Brother.¡±

    The sess rate of conferring a Progenitor was dependent on two factors: the cultivation level of the one with the Investiture of the Gods, and the willingness of the Progenitor being conferred. Without the Progenitor¡¯s consent, it was impossible to sessfully confer them into the scroll. This was unlike the Champions'' Stage, which did not require consent. After all, anointed champions were already dead.

    While the two techniques were fundamentally different, the ultimate oue was the same. Both greatly increased the strength of the Lu family¡¯s members, and it had allowed the family to dominate the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin and Mu Xie stood a hundred meters apart, both with their eyes closed. After a brief pause, Lu Yin waved his hand, and a cloth scroll appeared. As it unfurled, golden light burst out and illuminated the entire Technocracy with its glow. The light continued to spread further, and it eventually spread across the entire Fifth Maind. It looked as though a deity had arrived.

    Numerous people knelt down and began to pray to the light. The Investiture of the Gods not only radiated a golden light, but also a divine aura that resonated with the Fifth Maind.

    The only thing that could be seen on the scroll were the words, ¡°Investiture of the Gods.¡±

    The light from the scroll shone down on Mu Xie¡¯s face, entuating his solemn expression. He had once expected to be conferred by Progenitor Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi was one of humanity¡¯s first lines of defense against Aeternus, and he had proven himself by single handedly charging deep into Aeternus¡¯ forces.

    Lu Yin certainly had not been the first human to have seen the giant scarlet eye; Lu Tianyi was the first. However, it had been too difficult for the man to destroy it when he saw it, as Lu Tianyi would have had to fight past multiple Progenitor-level corpse kings, as well as the Seven Skygods just to reach the eye.

    When Lu Tianyi disappeared, so had the Investiture of the Gods. A long time had passed since this ability¡¯sst appearance.

 Chapter 2432: Willing To Be Conferred

    Chapter 2432: Willing To Be Conferred

    Since another direct descendant of the Lu family had appeared, Mu Xie was looking forward to seeing how many Progenitors Lu Yin would eventually confer into his own Investiture of the Gods. It was possible that Lu Yin would eventually be the same sort of ultimate deterrent that Lu Tianyi had once been to protect humanity from their fiercest enemies.

    "Mu Xie, are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin''s voice was noticeably deeper than usual. As he spoke, there was an air of sanctity and grandeur thatmanded respect even from Mu Xie.

    "I am willing."

    Suddenly, the golden light converged into a beam that enveloped Mu Xie''s entire body. Within that beam, both light and darkness existed, and a silhouette of darkness took form and headed toward the Investiture of the Gods.

    The process to confer Mu Xie into his Investiture of the Gods would bepleted as soon as the figure entered the scroll. After that, Lu Yin would be able to borrow Mu Xie¡¯s strength by using the Investiture of the Gods.

    This was what it meant to confer a Progenitor.

    Mu Xie took a deep breath as he watched the silhouette make its way towards the scroll. From this moment forward, Lu Yin''s power would undergo an exponential increase, as he would be capable of facing a Progenitor with his own strength. He would no longer need to rely on items or external aides.

    Mu Xie was quite clear about his own level of strength. With him being conferred into Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods, the youth would no longer need to fear any of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas in a direct battle.

    Pu!

    Lu Yin suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and at the same time, the golden light from the Investiture of the Gods vanished.

    A look of rm instantly appeared on Mu Xie''s face, and he instantly appeared at Lu Yin''s side and supported the young man.

    Lu Yin''s face had be as white as a sheet, and his body was racked with uncontroble convulsions. He tasted blood in his mouth, his thoughts were in disarray, his vision was blurry, and his hearing was impaired.

    The process of conferring a Progenitor had been unsessful. He had failed.

    Lu Yin knew that he had been simply trying his luck. Based on the Lu family¡¯s records, a person had to at least be a Semi-Progenitor to sessfully confer a Progenitor into their Investiture of the Gods, but during his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had discovered that his father, Lu Qi, had apparently seeded in conferring a Progenitor as just a peak Envoy. There was absolutely no precedent of anyone seeding with an even lower cultivation.

    For Lu Yin, trying to confer a Progenitor as a six-tribtion Envoy was essentially the same as trying to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion as a one-tribtion Envoy. The gap in realms was simply too great, and that was what had induced such severe bacsh.

    He had failed to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion in the past, and he had just failed to confer his first god as well.

    After a long while, his spasms went away, and then his hearing gradually returned.

    "Junior Brother, can you hear me now?" Mu Xie asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. He looked down at his hands and saw that the blood dripping from his nose had pooled in his hands. Red stained his vision.

    Trying to confer a Progenitor into an Investiture of the Gods while the master was not themselves a Progenitor was no small matter. The agony that Lu Yin had to endure had been far worse than when he had failed to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion. It was painful beyond anything he had ever experienced before; it was different from both the pain that he had suffered during his stellr tribtion and the agony that he had endured to master Wielder-realm battle force.

    "It seems that you will need to rest for some time. I believe that it really is impossible to confer a Progenitor as a mere six-tribtion Envoy after all." Mu Xie sighed.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "I guess that it was just wishful thinking. Still, I''m sure I''ll be able to confer a Progenitor after bing a seven-tribtion Envoy."

    "Not necessarily," Mu Xie countered.

    Lu Yin gave him a puzzled look.

    Mu Xie exined, "When ites to conferring a Progenitor, the strength of both the master of the Investiture of the Gods and the targeted Progenitor needs to be taken into ount. The fact that Senior Tianyi was able to confer all the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that he was stronger than all of them¡ªit just means that there wasn¡¯t too great a difference in their strength. If he had instead tried to confer one of the Three Realms Six Daos, or the Origin Progenitor, do you think he would have seeded?"

    Lu Yin felt that he understood. "So Senior Brother, are you saying that the difference between your strength and mine is toorge?"

    Mu Xie straightened up and sped his hands behind his back. "Rather, it''s that the gap between Progenitor Wen''s strength and my own is too vast."

    There was an unmistakable arrogance in Mu Xie''s voice. Mu Xie believed that he had far surpassed Progenitor Wen.

    Progenitor Wen''s Progenitor''s world had been able to knock Lu Yin about like a rag doll, but there were still drastic differences between different Progenitors. Progenitor Wen¡¯s strength wasparable to the Sixth Maind''s three Progenitors. However, Mu Xie''s strength was high enough for him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    One could neverpare the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas to ordinary Progenitors.

    Lu Yin slowly processed what Mu Xie had said. The fact that Mu Xie was Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother meant that he had also received Mister Mu¡¯s acknowledgement, which meant that Mu Xie was someone with immense talent and incredible potential.

    How much had Lu Yin had to go through to earn Mister Mu''s acknowledgement? Even with his numerous fateful encounters, he had only barely managed to pull it off. The fact that Mu Xie had also sessfully earned Mister Mu¡¯s acknowledgement meant that his luck and talent were at least on par with Lu Yin¡¯s own. Furthermore, as Qing Ping had once mentioned, Mister Mu¡¯s disciples needed to be Envoys who could fight Semi-Progenitors and Semi-Progenitor who could fight against Progenitors.

    Trying to confer Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie was not nearly as simple as a six-tribtion Envoy attempting to confer a Progenitor. Given the difference in their cultivation and strength, it was essentially the same as a newly ascended Envoy trying to confer a normal Progenitor.

    Lu Yin sighed. He had truly bitten off more than he could chew this time.

    If he had known about this earlier, he would have chosen to confer another Progenitor. But who would be willing? Mu Xie was the only one, and there was no need for him to seal the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Mu Xie seemed to read Lu Yin''s mind. "It''s possible that no Progenitor from the Fifth Maind will consent to be conferred into your Investiture of the Gods, but I have no doubt that you will find a way to confer someone from the Perennial World. Alright, I¡¯ll be going now."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Many thanks, Senior Brother."

    After Mu Xie left, Lu Yin let out a long sigh and brought out his die. Barely any time had passed since his stellr tribtion, and while he had been fully healed by absorbing the stellr energy afterwards, he had just received even worse injuries.

    The die stopped on three pips: Enhance. He shook his head. Again. This time, it stopped on one pip: Pilfer. It had only been a few days since hest rolled the die, which meant that he needed to wait ten days before he could roll it again.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin finally rolled a four: Timestop. He entered the Timestop Space and began recovering from the injuries that he had suffered due to the bacsh from the failed conferment attempt.

    One secondter, he reappeared. However, he was already fully healed. He began making his way back to the Heavens Sect.

    With the New World reimed for humanity, it was time to erase all the Aeternals from the Starfall Sea.

    Just a few days after returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin left again, this time for the Starfall Sea. About halfway there, he ran into Hai Feng, Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, and Elder He.

    They all offered respectful bows as Lu Yin approached.

    Although only a few decades had passed, things were no longer the same between them and Lu Yin. The Fifth Maind as a whole had experienced substantial changes, and Hai Dashao found that he had to lower his head in front of Lu Yin now.

    "Are you returning from the Starfall Sea?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hai Feng replied, "We just executed Yang Yi and are preparing to return to the Outerverse."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You executed Yang Yi?"

    Hai Qiqi tightened her fists. "Yang Yi betrayed humanity. Of course we executed him."

    Lu Yin turned to her.

    She wanted to continue, but she held her tongue as soon as Lu Yin''s eyesnded on her. Surprisingly, she picked up on the hint that this was not the right time for her to speak her mind.

    "Didn''t I deliver Yang Yi to the Progenitor of Bloodlines? He betrayed the Sixth Maind, so why were you all involved in his execution?" Lu Yin asked.

    Elder He politely replied, "Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines invited us to participate in the execution. That Aeternus Kingdom was built on the ruins of what was once our Sea King''s Dome. He¡¯s the reason why our home has been lost forever. That''s why¡­"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I see. Congrattions on getting revenge."

    The group bowed once again. "Many thanks for your blessing, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin waved them off, and the group proceeded towards the Outerverse.

    Hai Qiqi turned around and shot a fleeting nce at Lu Yin. They had once gone through hell and high water together, but at this moment, it felt like a great distance had opened up between them. Lu Yin had changed so much.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin smiled at Hai Qiqi, and at that moment, it was as if nothing at all had ever changed.

    Hai Qiqi''s eyes lit up. She blinked and mouthed a few words.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The words she mouthed were, ''You''re still as ugly as ever.'' This girl''s tongue was as poisonous as ever. It even evoked a sense of nostalgia in Lu Yin.

    Just as he was about to continue on his way towards the Starfall Sea, his wireless jincan vibrated, and Lu Yin answered.

    "This is Liu Tianmu."

    Lu Yin found it strange. Why would Liu Tianmu contact him? "What is it?"

    "Liu Hao asked me to pass this information along to you: Liu Yue is dead."

    Lu Yin did not react for a moment. Then his expression started to change. "What did you just say? Liu Yue? The Liu family¡¯s Progenitor?"

    The question shocked Liu Tianmu. "Is Liu Yue the Liu family¡¯s Progenitor?"

    "What did Liu Hao tell you?" Lu Yin asked hastily. He had a bad feeling.

    Liu Tianmu replied, "Liu Hao told me to inform you that the four ruling powers suddenly attacked Liu Yue. Liu Yue managed to save Liu Hao''s life, but many are still hunting for him. Prior to his death, Liu Yue said that the four ruling powers are confident of their sess. He also disclosed the location of the Sword Monument."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dark. Liu Yue, Progenitor Liu, had fought against Undying God alongside Lu Yin. The old man had mastered the sword and been a very experienced fighter. Despite that, he had died without a sound.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to call his senior brother, Mu Xie, but he could not get through.

    He next tried Progenitor Smoke, who answered quickly. "You got the news already? That''s fast."

    Lu Yin replied, "Is Progenitor Liu Yue really dead?"

    Progenitor Smoke paused for a moment. "Yes."

    "Why?" Lu Yin could not understand. It had barely been more than a dozen days since he had left the Perennial World, so how could a Progenitor have died in such a short span of time? Liu Yue had not been a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but he had still been a powerful Progenitor. How could he have died so suddenly? Also, what had given the four ruling powers the confidence to kill a Progenitor so decisively? Were they no longer concerned about losing one of the protectors of the sevens in the Outer Realm or a possible fight breaking out against the Nong family and Specter Abyss?

    "It all happened too quickly. For some unknown reason, Liu Yue left Broken Star and returned to visit his Liu family. At that time, Bai Wangyuan and the other three ambushed him. Forget Liu Yue¡ªeven I couldn¡¯t survive a united attack from two masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, not to mention Xia Shenji and Progenitor Long. Liu Yue died so quickly that no one could even react quickly enough to save him," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    "What excuse did the four ruling powers offer for the attack? Also, how is my senior brother doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke rubbed her temples as she answered, "Rtionships between ordinary cultivators can getplicated, but things are much worse for Progenitors. The Lu family used to reign over the entire Fifth Maind, and part of that was to prevent conflicts between Progenitors by directing them towards Aeternus. But now that both the Lu family and Aeternus are gone, internal conflicts have broken out between humanity¡¯s Progenitors."

    Lu Yin understood the reasoning behind this, but he still had not expected internal conflicts to erupt so quickly, let alone result in the death of a Progenitor.

    "Mu Xie went to the Celestial Frost Sect in the Higher Realm to talk to Bai Wangyuan. The four ruling powers have announced that Liu Yue betrayed humanity and that he was rightfully sentenced to death. The Nong family and Specter Abyss¡¯s Progenitors have gone there as well. Right now, the Outer Realm is inplete chaos," Progenitor Smoke exined.

    "What about you, Senior? Are you going to go as well?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke remained calm. "Their feuds are none of my concern. Mu Xie represents Humility''s Gate, Progenitor Nong and Specter Progenitor both represent their own powers, but I represent no one."

    Lu Yin kept silent. He could not criticize Progenitor Smoke''s decision. No one could force her to lend support to any particr side.

    If Aeternus was still around, she could restrain both sides by forcing them to focus on the bigger picture, but without Aeternus, she had no reason to interfere in such matters. Was it wrong for Lu Yin to have chased Aeternus away? Of course not. The problem was human emotions.

 Chapter 2433: Promise

    Chapter 2433: Promise

    Lu Yin stared down at the wireless jincan in his hand. While he had long since known that the four ruling powers would find ways to strengthen their control over the Perennial World, he had not expected them to use such radical methods. Liu Yue had been a Progenitor, one of the strongest humans alive, but they had killed him without the slightest bit of hesitation.

    With Liu Yue dead, who was next? Progenitor Nong? Specter Progenitor? Or maybe Humility''s Gate¡¯s Progenitor?

    Regardless of whether the four ruling powers took down another victim, everyone had already raised their guards. Those whose interests aligned were certain to form troublesome alliances for the four ruling powers, but the four ruling powers¡¯ authority had already increased drastically in the Perennial World.

    Liu Yue¡¯s death showed that the four ruling powers were confident, but what was the reason behind their confidence?

    Lu Yin again attempted to contact Mu Xie, but there was still no answer.

    Lu Yin was worried about Mu Xie''s safety. No matter what, he had to return to the Perennial World and personally see the state of things. In the past, he had been powerless to stop the Lu family¡¯s exile, but Lu Yin refused to be helpless again.

    He decided against traveling back through the New Corridor, as the four ruling powers were certain to have set countermeasures to prevent Lu Yin from doing just that, and it would be too risky to leave any traces that they could track.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin mounted the jiao and set off towards the Neoverse. While still on the way, he contacted Jiu Chi.

    "What? The sourcebox array is broken?" Lu Yin had a huge shock.

    Jiu Chi exined, "An unidentified Semi-Progenitor attacked with the clear intention of destroying the array. Highsage Grandmaster is already trying to repair it, but for now, it¡¯s unavable."

    "When did this happen?"

    "Two days ago."

    Lu Yin frowned. Disabling the sourcebox array before Liu Yue¡¯s murder was clearly just part of the four ruling power¡¯s n. The four ruling powers must have taken Lu Yin¡¯s reaction into consideration long ago.

    However, aside from the New Corridor and the sourcebox array, Lu Yin could also enter the Perennial World through Jupiter.

    Ever since Aeternus had invaded the Fifth Maind, it had be widely known that it was possible to travel to the Perennial World through Jupiter, though no one had been able to confirm it as true.

    The four ruling powers were naturally aware of Jupiter as well, but they were unable to take any preventive measures against that means of entry to the Perennial World. Additionally, no one knew precisely where one would arrive after traveling through Jupiter.

    The more preparations that the four ruling powers made, the stronger Lu Yin¡¯s feeling that he had to make a trip to the Perennial World. Once the four ruling powers managed to gain total control of the Perennial World, he would lose any chance of making aeback. The moment he became a Semi-Progenitor, the truce would be void, and the four ruling powers would spare no effort to kill him.

    Given the current situation, the Fifth Maind waspletely unable to stop the four ruling powers.

    ¡­

    In the Perennial World, the disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect looked upwards in terror. They all felt the pressure of Progenitors bearing down upon them. This was the first time that they had ever encountered such a frightening ordeal.

    Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji stood on one side while Mu Xie, Progenitor Nong, and Specter Progenitor stood across from them. Considering the number of years it took for even a single Progenitor to appear, seeing six in one ce was beyond amazing.

    "Mu Xie, Humility''s Gate was established to fight against Aeternus and expose Redbacks, not to confront us, the four ruling powers. Our affairs and rtionships do not concern you," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    Mu Xie turned to stare at Bai Wangyuan and firmly replied, "I have no intention of meddling in your affairs, but if you decide to engage inbat due to the presence of Redbacks or spies, then Humility''s Gate cannot remain idle. You im to have executed Liu Yue because he was a Redback who sheltered Undying God. However, my Humility''s Gate has yet to ascertain whether that is the truth.¡±

    "What does that have to do with you? The four ruling powers have verified matters, and we reached our own consensus. There''s no need for you to poke your nose in this matter," Xia Shenji retorted.

    "What evidence do you have to show that Liu Yue was a Redback? Just the fact that Undying God infiltrated the Liu family? There''s been no shortage of Redbacks and spies within your four ruling powers," Progenitor Nong said with a contemptuous snort. He rested his weight on the branch of a tree, lounging on its leaves. Greenery sprouted from all over his body, and while he appeared quite vigorous, his muscr physique resembled a manualborer¡¯s, and the hoe slung over his back and his deep voice matched that appearance.

    Specter Progenitor was shrouded by a haze of death energy. "Today, they killed Liu Yue. Tomorrow it could be me, and the day after, it might be Nong Yi¡¯s turn. The four ruling powers are truly ruthless. Not even Aeternus is able to kill a Progenitor as efficiently as them. You guys are even more merciless than Aeternus."

    Wang Fan turned to address Specter Progenitor. "Our actions against Liu Yue are fully supported by evidence. There¡¯s no need for us to exin ourselves to you."

    He then turned to Mu Xie. "What does Humility''s Gate want? Or are you simply using this incident as a means to assist your junior brother?"

    High in the sky, six Progenitors faced each other. A fierce gale had whipped up around them, and their powerful auras swept across thend and covered the sky. Even light warped around them, changing everything¡¯s color. It looked as though a fight was about to break out.

    In the middle of the argument, the wireless jincan in Nong Yi''s hand vibrated.

    Liu Yue had left Broken Star to return to the Liu family''s territory because the four ruling powers had falsely used and executed several members of the Liu family. That had lured Liu Yue out, as he had wanted to save his people. In order to prevent simr urrences, Nong Yi, Specter Progenitor, and even Mu Xie had started to carry wireless jincans so that they could constantly maintain lines ofmunication with their people.

    Nong Yi answered the message. Nong Sanniang was reaching out to him.

    Nong Yi''s expression changed as he observed the iing message. He pondered for a moment before saying, "I have to go now, but I''ll be back soon."

    Specter Progenitor was quite puzzled by his reaction. "Do you really have something more important than this?"

    Nong Yi looked at Mu Xie and implored, "Please take care of things here."

    With that, the man turned around and left the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged looks of surprise. They had not expected Nong Yi to leave in the middle of their discussion. What could be more important than their talks?

    After leaving the Celestial Frost Sect, Nong Yi went straight to Seed Garden. There, he saw Lu Yin standing beneath a waterfall, just outside of a garden.

    Lu Yin had returned to the Perennial World through Jupiter, and he had appeared above the Middle Ocean, just like before. After verifying his location, he had went straight to Seed Garden and then asked Nong Sanniang to contact Nong Yi.

    ¡°Progenitor Long is currently guarding the New Corridor for the sole purpose of stopping you from returning. How did you get here?" Nong Yi asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin looked at Nong Yi. "Senior, time is running out, so I won''t beat around the bush. Are you willing to allow me to confer a copy of you?"

    Before arriving in the Perennial World, Lu Yin had no ns to make the Nong family¡¯s elder Progenitor the first Progenitor that he conferred.

    Only after departing from the Middle Ocean and catching a glimpse of the Seed Garden in the distance did hee up with a sudden idea to contact Nong Sanniang and request a meeting with Nong Yi.

    The four ruling powers had made a ruthless and decisive move to target Liu Yue, and their actions showed that they were preparing for something big. Inevitably, that would be unfavorable to both the Liu and Nong families.

    The four ruling powers had to be fully aware of the consequences of killing Liu Yue, but they had done so anyway. For this reason, Nong Yi considered epting Lu Yin¡¯s request.

    "Do you know why they are so confident?" Nong Yi asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t."

    Nong Yi frowned. "Are you lying to me?"

    ncing over at Nong Yi, Lu Yin replied, "Knowing is unnecessary. Even if the Liu family, your Nong family, Specter Abyss, and my senior brother join forces, you all will still not be a match for the Lu family of old. Despite that, the four ruling powers were able to exile my Lu family. Now that Liu Yue is dead, the four ruling powers have as many as eight Progenitors among their ranks. If a war were to break out, the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and Humility''s Gate will definitely suffer the same fate as the Liu family. All of you will be wiped out."

    Nong Yi fell silent, as Lu Yin¡¯s words werepletely urate. They were also the reason why the three Progenitors had gone to the Celestial Frost Sect together.

    The alliance of the four ruling powers posed an immense threat to everyone else.

    "Let me repeat my question: Senior, are you willing to allow me confer you into my Investiture of the Gods?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Yi stared into Lu Yin''s eyes for a long moment. Being conferred had both advantages and disadvantages. If the owner of the Investiture of the Gods was an ally, then it meant gaining another Progenitor-level expert who could support them. However, if they became enemies, then Nong Yi would end up fighting against a copy of himself. That would undoubtedly be unpleasant.

    "Senior, are you willing to allow me to confer you?" Lu Yin asked for the third time.

    No further exnation was needed, given the current situation. It was a straightforward matter of whether Nong Yi was willing. Nong Yi also was not eloquent enough to deceive Lu Yin by saying ¡°no¡± when he actually meant yes.

    Nong Yi let out a sigh. "Lu Xiaoxuan, can you promise that, as long as my Nong family does not betray humanity, you will not attack my Nong family?"

    Lu Yin raised his head. "Yes. I, Lu Yin, swear that I will never attack your Nong family unless they betray humanity. I do reserve the right to defend myself."

    The farmer nodded and said, "Then confer me. I would like to see how a sixth-tribtion Envoy will confer this old man."

    Lu Yin smiled and waved his hand. A golden light spread across the entire Perennial World.

    Back in the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Wangyuan and his group grew pale as soon as they saw the golden light from below. "This is bad! That¡¯s the Investiture of the Gods! It''s Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    They all headed straight towards the Middle Realm, but Mu Xie and Specter Progenitor blocked their path.

    Specter Progenitorughed. "Whoever Lu Xiaoxuan wants to confer is his own business, and it has nothing to do with you."

    It immediately became clear why Nong Yi had left; he must have gone to be conferred into Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s Investiture of the Gods. As soon as that happened, they would gain another Progenitor on their side. Adding Lu Xiaoxuan to the mix would make the situationpletely unpredictable.

    Xia Shenji''s expression grew ugly. The image of Lu Tianyi facing True God Wei Yi with the Investiture of the Gods reappeared in the man¡¯s mind. It was a scene that had been etched deep into his memory.

    No, Lu Xiaoxuan could not be allowed to grow any stronger! Xia Shenji¡¯s body blurred, and he charged toward the Middle Realm.

    Specter Progenitor reacted quickly, and death energy surged out from him, instantly enveloping half of the Higher Realm. Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan exchanged looks. A battle was inevitable. Since they were unable to stop Lu Xiaoxuan, there would be a fight to determine the ruler of the Perennial World.

    Suddenly, Xia Shenji coughed up blood and staggered, nearly falling.

    The sudden change startled both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan. How had Xia Shenji suddenly been hurt? Was it because of Specter Progenitor?

    They looked over, only to see a bewildered expression on the face of Specter Progenitor. He clearly had no idea how Xia Shenji had been injured either.

    No one could understand how Xia Shenji had been wounded.

    Xia Shenji clutched his abdomen and lowered his head, his face a mask of unadulterated rage. Damn that fool. How dare you hurt your own body? You bastard!

    "Xia Shenji, what''s wrong?" Wang Fan asked.

    Xia Shenji coughed and replied, "I still haven''t recovered from the injury that I sustained during the assault on the Dominion Realm."

    Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan were confused. An injury from the previous battle in the Dominion Realm? When had Xia Shenji been injured?

    Mu Xie also felt puzzled, but he had been far away from Bai Wangyuan and the others during the previous attack, so he was not very clear on what had happened to them during Aeternus¡¯s attack. Thus, Mu Xie believed Xia Shenji¡¯s excuse.

    Bai Wangyuan lowered his voice, "Can you still fight?"

    Just as Xia Shenji was about to reply, he was attacked by another bout of coughs that overwhelmed him. More blood poured from his mouth. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "I must head back and heal my injuries. My apologies."

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan exchanged nces. They knew that Xia Shenji¡¯s condition was far moreplicated than what he was letting on. However, it was also clear that he was refusing to tell them.

    Without waiting for any response, Xia Shenji left and made his way back to Shenwu''s Sky. Before leaving, he cast a sharp look at Mu Xie and Specter Progenitor, as though trying to figure something out.

    Mu Xie and Specter Progenitor stared back at him nkly, neither one having any idea about what was happening.

    At that same time, the golden light from the Investiture of the Gods disappeared.

    Every single Progenitor present turned their attention back to the Middle Realm. Had it seeded? Or failed?

    Conferring a Progenitor into an Investiture of the Gods as a mere six-tribtion Envoy was an aplishment unheard of throughout the entire history of the Lu family. However, after considering Lu Yin''s previous aplishments, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were not confident that Lu Yin was certain to fail.

 Chapter 2434: Changing The Situation

    <h4>Chapter 2434: Changing The Situation</h4>

    In the Lower Realm, Xia Shenji''s clone heaved and vomited mouthfuls of crimson blood even as more blood oozed from his skin. He looked as though he had just been fished out from a pool of blood. "Hurry! Xia Shenji can sense our location, which means that he should be on his way."

    Liu Shaoge helped Xia Shenji''s clone stand up, and then they fled along a route that they had prepared beforehand.

    Their path traced the position of the Python Ancestor''s body high above them. They were using the Python Ancestor''s aura to deter Xia Shenji and impede his ability to track them.

    "Was it worth it?" Liu Shaoge asked as he looked at Xia Shenji''s clone. For the first time, there was a hint of surprise in Liu Shaoge¡¯s eyes as he looked at the man.

    The clone grinned, even as blood dripped from his mouth. The excessive amounts of blood gave the man a ferocious and vicious appearance. "An injury this severe is something I can recover from only after a hundred years of seclusion. In exchange, I can extract a promise, so of course it''s worth it."

    Liu Shaoge''s voice fell low. "You already knew?"

    "That you were still in contact with Lu Xiaoxuan? Young man, you are clearly underestimating me. It''s not a bad thing to rece the old generation with the new, but don''t forget¡ªwe are not the old generation. Progenitors will never be outdated. When Lu Xiaoxuan tracked us down, I already knew that something was wrong. Why would Lu Xiaoxuan chase after me? Is it just because I am one of Xia Shenji''s clones? Furthermore, why have you been so cautious? You take everything step by step, and you even try to factor in Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s thoughts so that he can''t catch up. No matter how I look at things, it looks like you two are ying a game with each other.¡±

    "If it is a game, then there must be some sort of wager on the line, and that wager must be me. The only reason why such a game can be yed is that you have always been in contact with Lu Yin," Xia Shenji''s clone enunciated slowly and carefully as he deliberatelyid out his reasoning.

    He was injured so heavily that he needed assistance to even move. If Liu Shaoge intended to do any harm to the man, he was already too weak to offer any resistance, but the man continued to chat away.

    Liu Shaoge praised, "I have to admit that Senior is smarter, stronger, and more ruthless than I had imagined."

    Xia Shenji''s clone sneered, but almost instantly, his head snapped up. Both men froze for a moment. "Let''s go. It''s Xia Shenji. If not for the Python Ancestor''s aura, he would have already pinpointed my location.¡±

    "You used me tomunicate with Lu Yin and offered to injure Xia Shenji in exchange for a promise that he will help you deal with Xia Shenji in the future. Senior, do you really trust him?" Liu Shaoge asked.

    This interaction had also taken ce after Lu Yin arrived in the Perennial World and made his way to Seed Garden. He had been inspired to confer Nong Yi, and at about the same time, Liu Shaoge had contacted Lu Yin to offer a deal with Xia Shenji''s clone.

    .

    Xia Shenji''s clone looked upwards while gasping for breath. He gestured for Liu Shaoge to set him down and then leaned back against the Mother Tree¡¯s roots. "The Lu family¡¯s banishment was a gamble that the four ruling powers took. They won that round. This time, it''s my turn to gamble, and I¡¯m betting that the Lu family will be able to turn the tables."

    He looked at Liu Shaoge as he continued, ?to say"I know that you have a grudge against Lu Xiaoxuan¡­"

    Liu Shaoge interrupted the man with augh. "I don¡¯t have any grudge against him! I''m just one of the many people in this dark forest."

    Xia Shenji''s clone stared at Liu Shaoge for a long moment. "It¡¯s possible that one day in the future, you''ll also have a ce in this part of the universe."

    Liu Shaoge smiled faintly. "Only time will tell. With Xia Shenji''s injury, the Perennial World won''t fall into chaos for the moment. Senior, you not only helped Lu Yin so that you could obtain his promise, but also because you believe that the four ruling powers will win if war erupts. You¡¯re helping yourself as well, not just Lu Yin."

    Xia Shenji''s clone closed his eyes, no longer responding.

    ***

    In the Middle Realm, not far from Seed Garden, Lu Yin watched as his Investiture of the Gods slowly drifted down. There was now an image that looked identical to Nong Yi on the surface of the scroll.

    Across from Lu Yin, Nong Yi''s eyes were filled with awe as he stared at the Investiture of the Gods. He did not feel any different from before. Where there was light, there were shadows. The golden light from the Investiture of the Gods had created a shadow, and those shadows had be Nong Yi¡¯s silhouette.

    "Do you feel any different?" Nong Yi asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stored his Investiture of the Gods. "I don''t feel any different, Senior. Let''s go talk to Bai Wangyuan and the others."

    He then took out Zenith Mountain and released the jiao. The beast roared as Lu Yin stepped onto it.

    Nong Yi eximed, "This jiao never ceases to amaze me. I can never understand how you managed to tame it."

    "Let''s go, Senior. We shouldn''t keep the Celestial Frost Sect waiting," Lu Yin called out.

    Nong Yi''s body flickered, and he next appeared atop the jiao''s head.

    With another ferocious roar, the jiao charged toward the Higher Realm while unleashing the might of a Progenitor.

    In the Celestial Frost Sect in the Higher Realm, Bai Wangyuan''s expression fell. They had just felt the jiao''s power sweep through the Perennial World. Lu Xiaoxuan was truly back already.

    In the valley beneath the Wang family''s floating continent, Progenitor Long''s face twisted into a grimace when he sensed the jiao''s aura. The beast¡¯s presence meant that the Progenitor really had sensed the Investiture of the Gods a moment ago. Lu Xiaoxuan had arrived for real.

    Beside the man, Bai Sheng asked in confusion, "How did Lu Xiaoxuan get here?"

    Progenitor Long frowned and stepped forward. It had to have been Jupiter.

    It was no secret that Jupiter could transport a person into the Perennial World, but no one had managed to pull it off before. Lu Yin''s arrival finally confirmed that it was possible.

    With his presence, the situation was bound to change.

    In the Dominion Realm, Progenitor Smoke calmly watched as everything yed out. She would take no sides in this conflict. If she were forced to choose a side, she would side with humanity.

    Regardless of one¡¯s realm or cultivation level, there would always be grudges and enmities. She was not a member of the Lu family and had no desire to rule over the Fifth Maind, much less get involved in others¡¯ enmities and grudges. All she would do was watch.

    The jiao and Progenitor Long arrived in the Celestial Frost Sect at nearly the same time.

    They actually ran into each other just outside the Celestial Frost Sect, and Progenitor Long was shocked to see Nong Yi. "Nong Yi? Why are you with Lu Xiaoxuan? Wait, he conferred you?"

    Nong Yi¡¯s cold eyes swept past Progenitor Long as he entered the Celestial Frost Sect along with the jiao.

    Progenitor Long hurriedly followed them.

    "Where''s Xia Shenji?" Progenitor Long asked when he saw that only Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were present.

    Wang Fan provided a brief exnation of Xia Shenji¡¯s situation.

    Progenitor Long''s expression grew even worse than before. How could the situation have changed so quickly? Lu Xiaoxuan conferring Nong Yi meant that their opponents had gained not only Lu Xiaoxuan, but also a copy of Nong Yi. Given Xia Shenji¡¯s heavy injuries, the four ruling powers were already down in numbers. How were they supposed to handle this changing situation?

    The three Progenitors turned to look at Mu Xie¡¯s group.

    Mu Xie was surprised to see Lu Yin, and asked, "You managed to confer a Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Yes."

    Mu Xie nodded.

    Specter Progenitor and Lu Yin stared at each other. This was the first time that the two were meeting in person. They both cultivated death energy, and the members of Specter Abyss had risked their lives to help Lu Yin escape from the Perennial World decades ago when he had been exposed while impersonating Long Qi.

    However, things had changed greatly since that time.

    When Lu Yin had been posing as Long Qi, he had been nothing more than an ant, someone who needed to be protected from the pursuing four ruling powers. Specter Abyss had been willing to protect him and support him in hopes that he would one day lead Specter Abyss to the peak. Or, perhaps, Specter Abyss would simply make use of him before tossing him aside after extracting everything of value from him.

    However, things hadpletely changed since that time. With Lu Yin¡¯s current power, Specter Abyss could no longer control him. Hence, they had stopped contacting him.

    Neither man had ever expected their first meeting to ur within the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Specter Progenitor?" Lu Yin spoke first, looking at the man with the cold aura who stood in front of him. The intensity of the death energy emanating from the Progenitor was truly astonishing, and the quantity was simr to the sources of death energy that existed in the Fifth Maind. The amount that Lu Yin was sensing right now should be enough for him to unleash a single attack through the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe.

    At the moment, Specter Progenitor had no idea what Lu Yin was thinking about. If he did, there was no way that he would be able to remain so rxed. After all, a single attack of the God of Death¡¯s arm and scythe would exhaust everyst drop of the Progenitor¡¯s death energy, which would essentially be the same as him giving away his inheritance.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, it¡¯s been a long time," Specter Progenitor said, his eyes shining as though he were looking at a rare treasure.

    Lu Yin replied, "It has been a long time. I promised to repay you for your past kindness, and I will do so when the opportunity arises."

    Specter Progenitor did not reply, but instead turned to face Bai Wangyuan.

    Lu Yin also said nothing further to Specter Progenitor, and he turned to face Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan. He then asked, "So what now? Are you looking for a fight?"

    As he spoke, he waved a hand, and golden light erupted once more. This time, the light created a lifelike image of Nong Yi.

    Everyone was amazed by the sight, aside from the two masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and Progenitor Long, who was even older than the two men. For most people, this was their first time seeing the Investiture of the Gods be used.

    "This is my first time using the Investiture of the Gods, so please don¡¯t me me if I am unable to control it properly." Lu Yin¡¯s voice was dripping with aggression.

    Wang Fan replied in a deep voice, "Lu Xiaoxuan, a few days ago, you promised to not set foot back in the Perennial World. Are you already going back on your word?"

    "A few days ago, Senior Liu Yue still lived, but now he''s dead," Lu Yin retorted.

    "The matter with Liu Yue has nothing to do with you," Bai Wangyuan replied.

    Lu Yin sighed. "As arade who fought against Undying God with me, how can his death have nothing to do with me? Senior Liu specifically invited me to visit his Liu family for tea and to discuss swordsmanship. He also wanted to pass his All Swords Lead To One to me, as he felt that I was the most suitable sessor. While he didn''t have the time to teach me just yet, I must repay the favor that he showed me. How can you nder and kill him so casually?"

    "What a load of nonsense! Liu Yue never drank tea, and why the hell would he pass the Liu family''s All Swords Lead To One to you?" Bai Wangyuan shouted incredulously.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Were you there when Senior Liu Yue spoke to me?"

    Bai Wangyuan simply sputtered in response.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, stop trying to stir up trouble. We all know what kind of person Liu Yue was. You should quickly return to the Fifth Maind. This matter has nothing to do with you," Wang Fan said.

    Lu Yin gave him a look. "Wang Fan, send the statue of Senior Chong Yue to Seed Garden immediately."

    Wang Fan was briefly stunned. "What?"

    Lu Yin shouted in a righteous manner, "Senior Chong Yue had close ties to the Nong family and vowed to join them! After his passing, his statue should stand in Seed Garden."

    Wang Fan turned to stare at Nong Yi.

    Nong Yi looked at Lu Yin, wondering just when such a thing had happened. He had not been very familiar with Chong Yue.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, what¡¯s this nonsense that you¡¯re spouting?" Progenitor Long frowned.

    Chong Yue had been an independent cultivator and a powerful Progenitor who had died in the Dominion Realm. However, only Wang Fan had been with him at the time of his death.

    After Chong Yue''s death, Wang Fan had erected a statue of him on the Wang family¡¯s floating continent in order to lure other independent cultivators to join the Wang family. He had imed that Chong Yue had instructed him to do so, but no one knew the specifics of exactly what had happened.

    "How can youpare Senior Nong Yi''s rtionship with Senior Chong Yue to yours? Wang Fan, you shameless liar!" Lu Yin used.

    Wang Fan felt his veins throbbing. "Chong Yue was more than willing to join my Wang family! He said so himself."

    "Who else heard him say that? You may as well admit that Senior Liu Yue invited me to drink tea and guide my swordsmanship!" Lu Yin retorted with righteous indignation.

    Wang Fan yelled furiously in response¡­

    Lu Yin refused to back down.

 Chapter 2435: Snatching The Sword Monument

    <h4>Chapter 2435: Snatching The Sword Monument</h4>

    While the two men engaged in a heated argument, everyone else remained silent. However, their previously tense expressions rxed a great deal.

    The fact that Lu Yin and Wang Fan were arguing indicated that a fight most likely would not break out. If it were, it would have started before Lu Yin even arrived.

    The two parties continued to argue for a good thirty minutes before finally taking a break.

    Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long both slowly rxed. Given how the situation was ying out, they could already see the inevitable oue.

    Mu Xie also rxed a bit as he observed Lu Yin, and the man soon revealed one of his rare smiles. His junior brother was such an intriguing character. Whenever he appeared, events unfolded in unpredictable ways.

    There were some individuals who possessed a natural ability for inciting chaos and who were skilled at utilizing abination of various misceneous details to make it very difficult for their opponents to counter them. Regardless of whether his identity had been Long Qi, Yu Hao, or Lu Xiaoxuan, Lu Yin had always exploited everything at his disposal to great effect. His talent was so exceptional that he had single-handedly altered the course of human history.

    Master, how did you find and ept this disciple? If he wasn¡¯t my junior brother, I would have wanted to ept him as my own disciple.

    Lu Yin had alreadypletely disrupted the four ruling powers¡¯ original n, and he had even created a situation that minimized the possibility of war breaking out, which would have been the worst possible oue.

    However, that particr detail was hardly a concern for Lu Yin. His primary objective foring back to the Perennial World had been to check on his senior brother, Mu Xie. As long as his senior brother was unharmed, Lu Yin could tolerate everything else.

    The end result was eptable, though no one sought justice for Liu Yue''s death. The Liu family would have to handle the matter themselves.

    Lu Yin could only do his best to save certain members of the Liu family, such as Liu Du, who was his Fifth Brother''s father, which made him important to Lu Yin. Additionally, there was Liu Que, Liu Yishou, and even Zhang Dingtian.

    Lu Yin spent two weeks in the Middle Realm, searching for various members of the Liu family.

    He managed to find Liu Que, and through him, Zhang Dingtian. Unfortunately, Liu Yishou had died during the battle between the various Progenitors.

    "If not for Master, I would have died." Zhang Dingtian stood atop jiao''s back and watched as the ground rapidly dropped away. The jiao''s speed made all the nearby scenery sh by in a blur.

    Lu Yin remained silent. Life and death were both normal experiences for cultivators.

    "Brother Lu, Master told me that he encountered something inexplicable," Zhang Dingtian suddenly said.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the other man. "And?"

    "Don''t you want to know what happened?" Zhang Dingtian asked.

    Lu Yin looked away. "When someone dies, it''s like amp being extinguished. What would be the purpose in asking?"

    Zhang Dingtian nodded in agreement. "True, there¡¯s no point in asking. Oh, there''s also no need to look for the family patriarch. He''s dead."

    "How did he die?" Lu Yin asked. Almost all his motivation for trying to save members of the Liu family hade from wanting to help Fifth Brother, but Lu Yin had been toote.

    Zhang Dingtian replied, "He died in the same manner as my master¡ªfrom the Progenitors'' battle. My master died protecting me, but the patriarch charged directly at Xia Shenji."

    Lu Yin''s expression sank. Why had Liu Du charged at Xia Shenji?

    Liu Du had only been an Envoy, not even a Semi-Progenitor. And yet, he had bravely charged at Xia Shenji. He must have been prepared to die.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin asked himself if he was the cause of the Liu family''s misfortune. If he had not exposed Liu Song¡¯s true identity, it was possible that the Liu family would not have been targeted. Then again, the four ruling powers would have simply found some other excuse to justify attacking Liu Yue. The Liu family had been fated to suffer.

    Lu Yin soon spotted Liu Lu, who happened to have been sent out on a mission and had started rushing back to his family after learning about what had happened. Lu Yin intercepted the man and took him away.

    Liu Lu red hatefully towards the Higher Realm before finally suppressing his burning desire to tear the sky apart.

    In the past, the members of the Liu family had all been obsessed with the sword, but suddenly, hatred had taken root in their hearts. For Liu Lu, Liu Que, and even Zhang Dingtian, resentment had be an inseparable aspect of their very being.

    Finally, Lu Yin arrived at the location that Liu Hao shared with him through Liu Tianmu.

    Lu Yin found the situation rather strange; why had Liu Hao sent a message to Lu Yin, of all people, when he had been at the cusp of death? There was also the Nong family and Humility''s Gate. Had the man really been that confident in Lu Yin?

    It was also possible that Liu Hao had realized the direction that the Perennial World was heading in. He might have felt that the only way to disrupt that course of events was through external influence, such as Lu Yin.

    If Liu Hao could see that, then others could as well.

    The jiao jerked to a stop, disrupting Lu Yin¡¯s contemtions. He looked down and saw Xia Ziheng together with an unknown Semi-Progenitor.

    Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitor both looked up and met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin dropped down, tearing through the void before appearing before Xia Ziheng and the stranger. "Why are you here?" he asked.

    "That¡¯s none of your business, Lu Xiaoxuan. You should go back to the Forsaken Land," Xia Ziheng answered coldly.

    Lu Yin immediately struck out with a palm attack. Wielder - Indestructible further amplified Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength as a six-tribtion Envoy, and the resulting palm strike was so powerful that even Semi-Progenitors would find it deadly. Xia Ziheng gasped in shock when his de shattered when he tried to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack. On top of that, the palm strike sent the man flying backwards. The other Semi-Progenitor instantly retaliated, but Lu Yin just stretched out a hand. "The sky will be overturned by the earth."

    With a loud bang, the Semi-Progenitor was smashed into the ground by Flipping the Sky.

    Simr to Extremes Must Be Reversed, Flipping the Sky was a battle technique that required the user toprehend the technique¡¯s meaning. This was why it had been able to crush Undying God''s Semi-Progenitor avatar, as well as why it was more than enough for Lu Yin to deal with a Semi-Progenitor whose arms were crippled.

    Lu Yin easily dealt with both Semi-Progenitors.

    Xia Ziheng could taste blood in his mouth. Right when he moved to attack again, he was stopped by a roar from the jiao, which was staring at him. With that, the man panted for breath, no longer daring to make any further moves.

    "I''ll ask you again, why are you here?" Lu Yin asked calmly as he sped his hands behind his back and stared at Xia Ziheng.

    While it had not been long since the two had previously fought each other at Shenwu''s Sky, Lu Yin''s strength had already risen to apletely different level. Not only had he broken through and be a six-tribtion Envoy, but he had also acquired Flipping the Sky and Wielder realm battle force. With this much strength, Lu Yin could easily handle four Semi-Progenitors without using any tools or external equipment.

    Even with the jiao¡¯s pressure, Xia Ziheng stubbornly refused to answer.

    Lu Yin walked over to the unknown Semi-Progenitor and bent down to scrutinize the man, just like he had done with Undying God. "Who are you?"

    The unfamiliar Semi-Progenitor quivered under Lu Yin''s stare and answered, "Xian Su."

    "Is that your name?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes."

    "What''s your rtionship with the Xia family?"

    After clearly thinking about things for a moment, Xian Su refused to answer, just like Xia Ziheng.

    The smile slowly disappeared from Lu Yin''s face. "You''d better start talking. If you aren¡¯t connected to the Xia family, then you''ll die here and now. What do you say, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"

    Xia Ziheng gritted his teeth and replied, "He''s in charge of Shenwu''s Sky prison."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, as everything suddenly clicked into ce. This man had been tasked with keeping an eye on Xia Shenji''s clone by the Progenitor himself. After the clone had escaped with Liu Shaoge, Xia Shenji must have sent this Semi-Progenitor to search for the clone. Most likely, Xia Shenji had personally crippled the man¡¯s arms as well.

    Lu Yin stepped over Xian Su and walked towards Xia Ziheng. "You''re not talking because you assume that I won''t do anything to you, right?"

    Xian Su seethed with rage. Being walked over was a huge insult.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin. "Progenitor Shenji won''t let you get away with this!"

    Lu Yin burst outughing. "Tell Xia Shenji to say that to my face. Can he even do that?"

    Xian Su waspletely stunned by Lu Xiaoxuan''s arrogance. Who else in the entire universe dared to speak about Progenitor Shenji in such a rude manner? It was no wonder why this young man had been able to break out of Shenwu''s Sky and fight the four ruling powers into a truce. This person truly did stand at the pinnacle of humanity¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin alone was qualified to speak in such a manner.

    At that moment, all shame of being walked over evaporated.

    "Still, you''re right. I don''t intend to harm you right now." Lu Yin looked away as he released his domain to examine the area. Suddenly, he simply vanished.

    Xia Ziheng was initially stunned by Lu Yin''s sudden departure, but then realization dawned, and the man¡¯s eyes went wide in rm. "Not good!"

    He started looking around frantically, trying to find out just where Lu Yin had gone, but it was already toote. When Lu Yin reappeared, he was apanied by the massive form of the Sword Monument.

    Xia Ziheng''s jaw fell. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you¡ª"

    Lu Yin tossed the Sword Monument onto the jiao''s back. As the jiao slowly rose into the sky, the young man looked down at Xia Ziheng andughed. "Many thanks, Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng! If not for you, I wouldn''t have bothered stopping here, let alone find the Liu family''s Sword Monument. Hahaha!"

    He then rode off atop the jiao.

    Xia Ziheng nched. This was the end. He waspletely done for! That bastard Lu Xiaoxuan had just handed him a death sentence.

    Progenitor Shenji had personally tasked the two Semi-Progenitors to search for the Sword Monument. Many others were also searching for it, but Xia Ziheng had gotten very close to finding it after following various clues, but that damn Lu Xiaoxuan had grabbed it at thest second.

    Why did he have to show up just at that moment? There was no way that Lu Yin had arrived just because of Xia Ziheng. The Middle Realm was incredibly vast, so how could such a coincidence ur? The two Semi-Progenitors had deliberately concealed their auras, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s chances of randomly running into them was akin to that of finding a needle in a haystack. That bastard had to have known that the Sword Monument was nearby, but he had still put on an act to ensure that Xia Ziheng would suffer Progenitor Shenji''s punishment. What a despicable bastard!

    After toying with Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin left the Perennial World. He had no intentions of returning anytime soon, as long as nothing serious urred. Then again, he had held simr intentions in the past, only to be forced to return to the Perennial World for one reason or another.

    He shook his head and idly watched as the scenery passed by. Lu Yin stared at the Sword Monument and then up at the Dominion Realm. The four ruling powers did not appear to have any intention of stopping him. Perhaps they wanted to avoid further trouble for the time being.

    However, the fact that they were not stopping him did not mean that they had given up. Since they had already killed Liu Yue without hesitation, there was no way that they would not have a n in ce. Lu Yin might have disrupted this unknown n, but it would absolutely start up again in the future. The only question was when.

    Bai Sheng had left the New Corridor¡¯s exit in the Perennial World long ago. The Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators were being sent to the mountain valley and then forcibly escorted back to the Fifth Maind.

    The jiao flew through the valley, rushed straight towards the New Corridor, and disappeared.

    A few months went by. While people from the Fifth Maind were not allowed to visit the Perennial World, trade and transactions continued unabated. In particr, the Fifth Maind¡¯s wireless jincans were slowly recing the Perennial World¡¯smunication crystals that had once beenmonly used.

    At the same time, the Perennial World continued to study the Fifth Maind''s battle tactics and unique weapons.

    As for the fourth array base, Lu Yin dispatched soldiers to man it, but the Perennial World refused to ept anyone at all.

    Until the issue of the Fifth Maind''s true universe was fixed, no one dared to let any cultivators from the Fifth Maind into the Perennial World, not even on the rear battlefield.

    Also, the situation on the rear battlefield hadpletely changed, and very few defenders remained on the five array bases. Most of the defenders had entered the New World, and they were close to recapturing the entire ce.

    Bit by bit, the Perennial World was transforming, entering an ideal state.

    On the other hand, the Fifth Maind searched incessantly to find the cause of the issue guing the true universe.

    Time flew by, and three years passed in a sh.

    On one particr day, a crack appeared in the void at the bottom of Shenwu Continent¡¯s Tower of Resonating Light.

    A figure shot out from the fissure in the void, only to crash into a wall. After the person appeared, the crack was mended.

    The figure turned around, noticing that the crack had already vanished. "Damn, now I can''t go back! Curse that Gu Yue."

    The person then looked around and carefully emerged from the Tower of Resonating Light. Looking out, they could see rows of cultivators, all guarding the tower.

    .

 Chapter 2436: Please Proceed

    Chapter 2436: Please Proceed

    "All of these people are weak and injured¡ªthey''re practically cripples. No wonder Gu Yue refused to connect the two universes and kept us stuck outside. Hehe, now that I''m here, I''ll take control of this weak universe! I, Attendant Wu, finally have the opportunity to rule a universe, hahaha!" As the man spoke, his voice grew louder, quickly attracting the attention of the guards.

    "Who are you?" The guards took action and surrounded the Tower of Resonating Light.

    Attendant Wu rose to his feet and arrogantly peered down at all of the guards. "Ants, I am Attendant Wu! Kneel before me!"

    "How dare you!" The guards attacked.

    Attendant Wu sneered. His eyes shed as a mighty aura swept across Shenwu Continent, causing the entire continent to sway like a boat tossed by a storm. The ground shook and started to break apart.

    Far away, in the imperial pce, Ming De''s face grew tense. "A powerful enemy has appeared. Hurry and notify the Heavens Sect."

    Half an hourter, in that same imperial pce, Ming De was on his knees. His jaw was clenched as he was forced to endure humiliation. Bei Hong stood behind the acting ruler, and further back stood the various ministers of Shenwu Continent.

    Attendant Wu lounged on the throne, and he gazed down at the gathered crowd with open contempt. His eyes flickered to Ming De, and a spark of interest entered his eyes. "Tell me, who is the strongest in this part of the universe? How strong are they?"

    Ming De lifted his head and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could utter a word, his body flew back and crashed against a pir.

    Cries echoed throughout the pce. "Your Majesty!"

    "Your Majesty!"

    Bei Hong stepped forward to help the man, but his body was instantly pressed to the floor by the power of Attendant Wu''s overwhelming aura. The aura spread out in every direction, and the man forced the entire Shenwu Continent to bow down.

    He seemed to be looking for something, or perhaps, testing something.

    "Did I say that you could look up? Ants are not allowed to look at their master. Even if your master permits you to look, you can¡¯t do so. This is the rule," Attendant Wu exined in a patronizing manner.

    Ming De coughed up blood, and his body twisted as he suffered.

    Attendant Wu merely nced at the man before turning to Bei Hong. "Your status appears to be second only to his. Tell me, who is the strongest in this ce, and how strong are they?"

    Bei Hong remained sprawled on the ground, and he continued looking down as he replied, "The strongest is someone named Lu Yin."

    Attendant Wu watched calmly.

    "He is an Envoy," Bei Hong said.

    Attendant Wu arched a brow as he murmured to himself, "An Envoy? The same realm as Gu Yue? I remember that it was separated into several stellr tribtions. Gu Yue mentioned that he had passed seven of those tribtions."

    The man looked back at Bei Hong and raised his voice, "How many stellr tribtions has this Lu Yin passed?"

    Bei Hong had no idea where Attendant Wu hade from, but everyone present believed that the man had entered Shenwu Continent from outside.

    After the five sealings were removed, Shenwu Continent had received many visitors, though all of them had only been passing by or been on a specific mission. No one dared to act arrogantly in Shenwu Continent, as everyone knew that the ce held a special significance to Lu Yin. Attendant Wu''s actions baffled the residents of the Shenwu Empire, and his question further exacerbated their confusion.

    Was there anyone from the Fifth Maind who did not know about Lu Yin?

    Bei Hong did not understand what was going on with Attendant Wu, but he still gave an honest answer. "I heard that he has passed five stellr tribtions, but some say that he has passed six."

    "How many stellr tribtions exactly?" Attendant Wu was not satisfied with this answer, but he also was not overly concerned. Even if Lu Yin were a seven-tribtion expert, so what? It would mean that his strength wasparable to Gu Yue¡¯s at best.

    "Five stellr tribtions," Bei Hong replied confidently.

    Attendant Wu scanned the crowd and asked, "Have any of you heard of the Three Monarchs?"

    There were looks of confusion and everyone shook their heads.

    Attendant Wu continued in a cold voice, "Then what about Gu Yue?"

    Startled, Bei Hong looked up. There was instantly a loud boom, and the man¡¯s body mmed into a pir.

    "Raise your head again, and you will be killed without mercy," Attendant Wu warned.

    Bei Hong coughed several times, and blood poured from his mouth. His condition was now simr to Ming De¡¯s. Seeing what had happened to the two men, everyone else in the room kept their heads low, terrified of the consequences of looking up.

    "So, you know Gu Yue," remarked Attendant Wu as he nced outside. These people knew of Gu Yue, but not the Three Monarchs. Gu Yue, oh Gu Yue. You''ve done quite well, blocking off the space-time passage between the Three Monarchs'' universe and keeping the people of this universe in the dark. Unfortunately, you were too short-sighted, for the day of our arrival hase. The ants that you tried to protect know nothing of us, and that will lead to your greatest tragedy.

    The strongest cultivator in this universe was only a six-tribtion expert, which could not evenpare to Gu Yue. The strength of this universe had fallen too far. At this realization, Attendant Wu''s eyes burned with excitement. "I shall be the king of this universe."

    Ming De had not spoken a single word since Attendant Wu appeared, but the moment he heard Attendant Wu''s deration, mockery filled Ming Du¡¯s eyes.

    Bei Hong felt the same way.

    Most of Shenwu Continent¡¯s residents only had the vaguest understanding of the outside universe due to the five sealings. However, Ming De and Bei Hong were far more informed, especially Bei Hong. His son, Bei Qing, had be a prominent figure in the Great Eastern Alliance, and for that reason, Bei Hong¡¯s knowledge of certain topics far surpassed Ming De¡¯s.

    What was Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation realm? This questionpletely missed the actual point. Could Lu Yin¡¯s strength be measured by his cultivation realm? Those with actual knowledge of the universe beyond Shenwu Continent understood that Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation did not matter, as even Progenitors could only submit before Lu Yin.

    "Go. Bring Lu Yin to me here,"manded Attendant Wu. His words left Ming De, Bei Hong, and everyone elsepletely speechless.

    No one dared to lift their heads, which meant that Attendant Wu had unfortunately missed the magnificent expressions on everyone¡¯s faces.

    "Whoever brings Lu Yin to me will be rewarded by me," Attendant Wumented indifferently, though a hint of arrogance could also be heard. He adjusted his expression and posture into a more regal bearing. It was extremely urate and natural, as though he had practiced this millions of times in order to perfect it.

    Bei Hong coughed softly and replied, "It is difficult for any of us to even approach Lu Yin, given our cultivation, but I can take you to his sect. With your invincible strength, you will surely be able to conquer all, and everyone in this universe will lower their eyes before you."

    Attendant Wu looked at Bei Hong. "You''re rather eloquent and quite insightful. You will be the emperor of this continent from now on. After I be the king of this universe, you will understand that serving me is the correct choice."

    Having served four generations of emperors of the Shenwu Empire, it was only natural for Bei Hong to have a gift for words. "Yes, this small one will lead you to Lu Yin. It''s not too far away, and given your power, such a distance is merely going around the corner."

    Attendant Wu looked approvingly at Bei Hong. "Mmm. I will allow you to raise your head when speaking to me, but your eyes should never rise above my waist."

    Bei Hong reacted as though receiving a great favor, and he answered as though he waspletely overwhelmed with gratitude. "Being permitted to raise my head is my greatest honor. This small one shall lead you to Lu Yin right away."

    A short timeter, Attendant Wu and Bei Hong entered outer space.

    Attendant Wu¡¯s strength truly impressed Bei Hong, as the man used a tricolored power that circled around his body as he carried both himself and Bei Hong into space.

    At the moment, all of the cultivators in the Fifth Maind were either in the process of or had lost all of their stellr or star energy. Not a single person with the strength of an Explorer or above had been spared from this fate. Was it possible that this person''s tricolored power used some sort of energy other than stellr or star energy?

    "Curious?" Attendant Wu asked lightly.

    Bei Hong used a respectful tone as he replied, "I admire your power, Senior. It is truly awe-inspiring."

    Attendant Wu lifted his chin up proudly. "This is Monarch Essence. It¡¯s only natural for the people in this universe to not know about it, though I must admit that this universe is far weaker than what I had imagined. Not a single person has cultivated the strength to venture into space without a spaceship."

    Bei Hong replied, "This small one''s universe is naturally iparable to your own, Senior."

    Through this conversation, Bei Hong understood that Attendant Wu came from some unknown region of the universe. Both the Perennial World and Sixth Maind knew about the Fifth Maind, which suggested that this person had most likelye from a parallel universe.

    People would asionally appear from parallel universes. After all, even Hunters could tear through the void and arrive in a parallel universe, if they were lucky. It was a rtively normal urrence.

    After confirming Attendant Wu¡¯s origins, Bei Hong let out a sigh of relief. His greatest concern had been not knowing the man¡¯s origins.

    As for Attendant Wu¡¯s true level of strength, everything would be made clear after they arrived at the Heavens Sect.

    The Shenwu Continent had been relocated to the Innerverse. Due to what had happened with the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy, people were only able to travel through spaceships, as even cultivators could no longer travel on their own. Attendant Wu''s expression showed his contempt as he observed the state of the universe. He sped up and took Bei Hong into the Outerverse, headed for Frostwave Weave.

    As soon as they arrived in Frostwave Weave, Attendant Wu hesitated and looked to the north. He could faintly sense a powerful presence that left his heart trembling. He shook his head, thinking that it had to just be his imagination as he continued forward.

    They soon arrived and saw Earth¡¯s sr system. From the distance, Attendant Wu saw the massive form of Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao, and the sight made his jaw drop. Just what were these beasts?

    In his shock, the man turned to look at Bei Hong.

    However, the moment that Bei Hong had arrived at the Heavens Sect, not even a shadow of his previously respectful attitude remained. He returned Attendant Wu''s questioning look with a mocking gaze.

    Attendant Wu''s expression said everything; if the man actually possessed the strength to dominate the Fifth Maind, then he would have never been taken aback by the sight of the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise. This person was not nearly as impressive as he believed himself to be.

    Almost every person and creature in the Fifth Maind had been affected by the problem with stellr energy, but Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao were two very rare exceptions. Simrly, Lu Buzheng was one of the few people who were unaffected.

    After seeing the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise, the sight of the majestic Heavens Sect finally registered in Attendant Wu¡¯s mind.

    Given the terrifyinglyrge structure of the sect, as well as the presence of the two freakish monsters thaty next to it, even an idiot would understand that this was not some ordinary sect.

    After seeing Bei Hong''s expressionpletely transform, Attendant Wu turned to leave without another thought. However, there was already someone behind him: Lu Buzheng.

    "Wee, guest from afar," Lu Buzheng said with a cheerful smile.

    Attendant Wu swallowed a mouthful of saliva. When did this person arrive? Where did hee from?

    "Are you Lu Yin?" the man asked.

    Lu Buzheng¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. "This one is Lu Buzheng, gatemaster of the Heavens Sect''s Lu Heavenly Gate. I¡¯ve been waiting for your arrival for a long time."

    Attendant Wu''s pupils constricted, and he answered in disbelief, "The Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Buzheng was caught off guard. "It appears that you have heard of us, so there should be no need for any further exnation. Please proceed, dear guest. The Dao Chosen has been waiting for you for some time."

    Attendant Wu was stunned. The name "Heavens Sect" echoed in his mind, as it was impossible. That name should not even exist anymore! Right, it must be a different sect with the same name.

 Chapter 2437: The Three Monarchs

    Chapter 2437: The Three Monarchs

    "Is this ce called the Heavens Sect?" Attendant Wu asked nervously.

    Lu Buzheng''s lips curled up. "Come inside, we¡¯ll talk there."

    Attendant Wu immediately attacked. Enter this sect? What a joke! How could he enter when they had two such enormous monsters? He had to return to Shenwu Continent and go back through that passage at any cost.

    A tricolored stream of energy shot toward Lu Buzheng like a twisting dragon. The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s expression fell. "So, you''re a visitor with dark intentions? Then you can¡¯t me me for no longer being polite!"

    As the man spoke, he raised a hand and pped at Attendant Wu. A terrifying strength scattered the tricolored energy and sent Attendant Wu flying backwards. The man could not believe his eyes; that counterattack had nearly killed him!

    "A Demi-Monarch?" Attendant Wu''s face was aghast, and he did not dare to attack again.

    "Oh, so where youe from, Semi-Progenitors are known as Demi-Monarchs? In that case, are Progenitors referred to as Monarchs? You clearly think quite highly of yourselves," Lu Buzhengmented.

    Attendant Wu stared at Lu Buzheng. "I''m merely passing by, so why are you being so aggressive towards me, Sir?"

    Lu Buzheng gave Bei Hong a pointed look. "That''s not what Shenwu Continent has told us. You owe a debt for harming Ming De and the other ministers of the empire there. How do you intend to pay us back?"

    Attendant Wu gritted his teeth. He had been tricked! This universe was clearly far more powerful than what he had been led to believe. While it appeared that there were no true experts in this ce, it had all been nothing more than a ploy to lure him to this sect. These scoundrels were absolutely despicable! "I canpensate you for that matter."

    "Enough talk. The Dao Chosen is already waiting for you, and we don''t keep him waiting." Lu Buzheng took a step forward and stood directly in front of Attendant Wu. "Unless, you wish to challenge me?"

    Attendant Wu swallowed his saliva and finally gave in. "I''ll follow you."

    Not everyone could remain as arrogant as Lu Yin or Qing Ping when facing a Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouse. Such experts were rare, even when looking down the long river of time. Even an expert who approached the Semi-Progenitor realm would struggle to challenge an actual Semi-Progenitor. On top of that, Lu Buzheng was someone who had be a Semi-Progenitor during the Heaven Sect era and had even been recognized as one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Beyond that, Lu Buzheng had barely been affected by the problem that the Fifth Maind was facing with its stellr energy.

    Lu Buzheng led Attendant Wu and Bei Hong into the Heavens Sect.

    The closer Attendant Wu moved to the Heavens Sect, the clearer the jiao''s terrifying power became. Every breath that the beast took caused Attendant Wu¡¯s heart to lurch. Fear of being eaten by the creature nearly paralyzed him. It was a suppression that he had only ever experienced when facing a Monarch. Were both of these two monsters Monarchs? If that was true, then this Heavens Sect might truly be the legendarynd of divine beings that he had heard of before.

    An expression of absolute reverence appeared on the man¡¯s face as he and Bei Hong followed Lu Buzheng in.

    Attendant Wu carefully observed the Heavens Sect, observing the surroundings. After a while, he let out a sigh of relief. This ce was not nearly as terrifying as he had initially imagined. Much like the other ces in this universe that he had passed on his way to the Heavens Sect, most of the people here had surprisingly little strength. This was likely because this universe¡¯s resources were allocated to only a select few, which allowed them to raise several absolute monsters. That was quite simr to his own universe.

    This was good, as it meant that this Heavens Sect was indeed just a replica.

    By this time, the three men had already arrived at the Heavenly Stairway. Destina slowly descended the stairs, lost in thought.

    Lu Buzheng instinctively shifted his body to avoid the woman.

    Destinapletely ignored Lu Buzheng, as her mind waspletely upied with the Book of Destiny that Lu Yin possessed. She had been consumed by her desire to obtain that book for herself.

    As Attendant Wu approached Destina, he felt a pressure from the woman that was simr to what he felt from Lu Buzheng. Another Demi-Monarch!

    After climbing the stairs, the three men arrived outside the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. The Progenitor of Bloodlines stepped out and nodded at Lu Buzheng before disappearing.

    Attendant Wu stood rooted in ce, a look of horror decorating his face. How was that anything other than the pressure of a Monarch?

    The moment the Progenitor of Bloodlines looked Attendant Wu straight in the eye, the man had received the same feeling as when Monarch Mu had gazed upon him. Was that man a Monarch as well?

    Attendant Wu''s pupils fluctuated, his mind nk.

    Monarchs and Demi-Monarchs werepletely different concepts. Even if Attendant Wu was met by the sight of a hundred Demi-Monarchs, it still would notpare to the shock of encountering a single Monarch.

    "Keep moving," Lu Bucheng prodded.

    Attendant Wu kept swallowing. For the first time, his gaze toward the sect¡¯s main hall held both fear and obedience. He adopted a look of submission, and this posture appeared far more natural than his previously regal bearing. In fact, submission seemed to practically be innate to the man, as though it was engraved into his very bones.

    By the time he stepped into the main hall, Attendant Wu''s previous demeanor had beenpletely erased. He slowly moved forward, his eyes fixed to the floor like a pilgrim on the way to meet their god.

    A clear voice rang in his ears. "Raise your head."

    The voice was youthful, yet it held absolute authority. The tone contained apelling power that made Attendant Wu feel as though obeying thismand was the most natural thing in the world.

    Attendant Wu slowly lifted his head to see a young man looking at him with open curiosity.

    Upon seeing the young man, Attendant Wu quickly bowed. "Greetings, Senior."

    The sudden shift in the man¡¯s overall demeanor left Bei Hong terribly confused. Just a short time ago, this same man had been arrogantly strutting about Shenwu Continent, boldly iming that he would rule over the entire Fifth Maind. But as soon as he saw Lu Yin, the same man instantly dropped to his knees and bowed like a servant. He looked more like a ve than anything else.

    "Greetings, Dao Chosen," Bei Hong said respectfully.

    Lu Yin acknowledged the greetings with a nod. "There¡¯s no need for such formalities."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he took a seat, and he also noticed that Attendant Wu''s eyes dropped to the floor once more. This was rather amusing.

    Lu Yin had already heard about everything that had taken ce on Shenwu Continent. This man was quite interesting, especially since he had no understanding about the current situation in the Fifth Maind, but had immediately wanted to be its ruler.

    "Sit," Lu Yin said.

    Attendant Wu quickly replied, "This small one dares not."

    "If I tell you to sit, then sit," Lu Yinmanded.

    Attendant Wu looked incredibly nervous as he nced at a chair. He slowly lowered himself into it, and even then, he remained perched on the very edge of the seat.

    Lu Buzheng waspletely baffled by the man¡¯s odd behavior. He was an Envoy who was close to bing a Semi-Progenitor, but he was acting like a ve.

    "Bei Hong, take a seat as well," Lu Yin said.

    Bei Hong bowed deeply. "Dao Chosen, this small one¡­"

    "Enough. Sit down," Lu Buzheng interrupted the man before taking his own seat one step below Lu Yin.

    Bei Hong took a deep breath and then also cautiously sat down, acting just like Attendant Wu.

    The Shenwu Continent was less than a speck in the scope of the entire Fifth Maind. Bei Hong had served four emperors, from Ming Zhaotian to Ming De. On Shenwu Continent, he was someone whose status was second only to Ming De¡¯s, and he was a true leader of the continent. Even so, he had never imagined that he would one day sit in the main hall of the Heavens Sect.

    Bei Hong¡¯s son, Bei Qing, had left Shenwu Continent long ago to follow Lu Yin, and he had be a rather prominent figure among Lu Yin''s followers. Even so, Bei Qing had never once set foot in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. Being given such a rare opportunity, the man could barely contain his excitement. The more he considered his current situation, the more appreciative he grew of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin suddenly addressed Attendant Wu. "Speak. You should already know what I want to hear."

    Attendant Wu hastily rose to his feet, though his eyes remained fixed on the floor in front of Lu Yin''s feet as he answered in a respectful tone, "Ie from the Three Monarchs Universe, and I arrived in this universe by pure chance while evading my pursuers. I implore you to forgive my intrusion."

    "Is that all?" Lu Yin calmly asked. There was no pressure in his voice, nor any indication that he believed what he was hearing. He already knew about the Three Monarchs from the inscription at the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light. Grandmaster Gu Yan had also asked Lu Yin about them. It turned out that ¡°Three Monarchs¡± was referring to a parallel universe.

    Attendant Wu''s eyes flickered. "There''s more."

    His fingers curled. "This small one was tasked with watching the space-time passage between this universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. As soon as the passage opened, I was ordered to immediately deliver a report to the Three Monarchs."

    "You¡¯ve heard the name ¡®Gu Yue¡¯ before, haven¡¯t you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Attendant Wu nced over at Bei Hong. Attendant Wu had not been careful with his words at all when he was in Shenwu Continent, and Bei Hong and Ming De had both heard everything. Naturally, all of that information had already been delivered to Lu Yin.

    "That passage was discovered by Gu Yue and a senior from my Three Monarchs Universe by using coordinates that they obtained from Aeternus," Attendant Wu replied.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Tell me more about that."

    Given his current circumstances, Attendant Wu decided that it was best to keep hidden from Lu Yin. The man slowly shared a bit of history that no one in the entire Fifth Maind knew about. Even Grandmaster Gu Yan, Gu Yue''s master, was ignorant to this story, as it had all started after Gu Yue arrived in the Fifth Maind.

    As for why Gu Yue had visited the Fifth Maind from the Perennial World, Grandmaster Gu Yan had never exined, and Attendant Wu only knew what had happened after Gu Yue identally entered the Three Monarchs Universe, as those events were not a secret to him.

    "After Gu Yue arrived in our Three Monarchs Universe, he spent a hundred years traveling around and making friends. During that period, he never revealed that he was from another universe, until his friends found out for themselves. At that time, he admitted that he had happened to obtain the coordinates of his own dimension from Aeternus and that he was able to relocate it. No one knows what happened between them, but shortly after opening the passage, Gu Yue sealed it once again with his mastery of sourcebox arrays. Not even the Three Monarchs were able to reopen it, which is why they ordered me to keep an eye on it.

    "It was only yesterday that I discovered that the passage could be opened, so I went through it. As this small one mentioned earlier, I''m being pursued."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Coordinates? Seal?

    "Where are those coordinates located?"

    Attendant Wu replied, "This small one doesn''t know, but they are definitely not in my universe, or else the Three Monarchs would have visited this universe by now. They should be saved near where I first arrived."

    Lu Yin looked at Bei Hong. "Look for something that appears to be arge seal inside the Tower of Resonating Light."

    Bei Hong quickly rose from his seat and bowed in acknowledgment of his orders. He then immediately exited the hall, as he recognized that there were certain matters that were beyond what he was qualified to know. This was the best moment for him to take his leave.

    Lu Yin looked back at Attendant Wu. "So, Gu Yue didn''t seal Shenwu Continent away with the five sealings for no reason. He was really sealing away your Three Monarchs Universe, right?"

    Attendant Wu respectfully answered, "That should be the case."

    "In that case, give us an introduction to your universe," Lu Yin said with a bit of interest.

    Attendant Wu nodded. During the entire course of the conversation, his eyes had not once drifted away from the floor. "A long time ago, our Three Monarchs Universe had a different name, but no one remembers it was. Its current namees from the three powerful Monarchs that rule our universe: Monarch Luo, Monarch Mu, and Monarch Xing. They are Monarch realm powerhouses and are also married. They have ruled our universe for many years, and everyone answers to them. Even the terms used to determine our cultivation realms and the energy that we cultivatee from the three Monarchs."

    "They¡¯re all married?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Attendant Wu exined, "Monarch Luo is a man, while Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing are his wives."

    Lu Buzheng was shocked. "Such a situation actually exists?"

    Lu Yin asked, "Is this that surprising?"

    Lu Buzheng exined, "Monarchs are what they call Progenitors."

 Chapter 2438: Time Poison

    Chapter 2438: Time Poison

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Now this was some surprising information. Regardless of how many people an ordinary person married, Lu Yin would never bat an eye. It waspletely normal for emperors to retain harems of thousands of women, but two female Progenitors deciding to marry the same man was highly unusual. Just what kind of character did a man have to possess to aplish such a thing?

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he looked at Attendant Wu. "Is Monarch Luo very strong?"

    Attendant Wu replied, "This small one does not know."

    "You mentioned coordinates that were taken from Aeternus just a moment ago. Is your universe also being attacked by Aeternus?" Lu Yin continued his questions.

    Attendant Wu answered, "Yes, Aeternus ravages our part of the universe. If not for the three Monarchs, all of us would have been turned into corpse kings by now. Even with the Monarchs fighting against Aeternus, our situation is still not very optimistic. The reason why Gu Yue sealed the passage long ago might have also been rted to this."

    Lu Yin asked, "Where did you pick up that arrogant attitude you showed in Shenwu Continent?"

    Attendant Wu flinched and dropped to his knees. "My lord, this small one does not dare to do such a thing again! I am willing to ept any punishment! Please, give this small one a chance!"

    Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng exchanged looks. This man was the equivalent of a peak Envoy, but he was incredibly submissive. Not even the Second Nightking had ever shown so much deference after he had submitted to following Lu Yin.

    "I asked you a question. What is your answer?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Beads of sweat streamed from Attendant Wu''s forehead. After a slight hesitation, he replied, "I learned it from Monarch Luo."

    "So, is Monarch Luo the one who demands that you demonstrate such a submissive attitude?" Lu Yin asked.

    Attendant Wu nodded. "Monarch Luo does not allow us to raise our eyes to him, let alone look at Monarch Mu or Monarch Xing, so¡­"

    Lu Yin''s smile faded. If the man learned everything from Monarch Luo, then his behavior madeplete sense.

    Lu Buzheng asked, "What does your title of ¡®Attendant¡¯ mean?"

    The terms Monarch, Semi-Monarch, and Attendant all seemed to be rted.

    Attendant Wu exined, "From weakest to strongest, the realms of cultivation in the Three Monarchs universe are ve, Servant, Attendant, Semi-Monarch, and Monarch. This small one is an Attendant, which is equivalent to this universe¡¯s Envoys. Servants are the same as what you call Enlighters, while ves are equal to Explorers."

    "That''s quite straightforward," Lu Buzheng remarked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This direct corrtion had most likely been decided upon in order to make things easier for the rulers. Even the terms for their cultivation realms emphasized the superiority of Monarchs. It was evident that Monarch Luo had a penchant for being high and mighty.

    "Where did you hear the name ''Heavens Sect'' before?" Lu Buzheng questioned.

    Lu Yin was startled, "He knows about the Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded.

    Lu Yin nced at Attendant Wu. Thisplicated things, as it meant that the two universes must havee into contact with each other an extremely long time ago.

    Before Lu Buzheng and the others had been released from the sourcebox, Lu Yin had never even heard the name ¡°Heavens Sect.¡± It was a name that had faded into obscurity long, long ago, which made it unimaginable for someone from a parallel universe to know about it.

    Attendant Wu adjusted his posture and respectfully replied, "''Heavens Sect'' is a term that has long fallen into oblivion. I only learned about it after unintentionally overhearing Monarch Luo mention it. Monarch Luo once said that the Heavens Sect was the strongest and oldest alliance in human history. The word ''sect'' even originates from it. In Monarch Luo''s words, the Heavens Sect was a ce full of legends and mysteries. Us Attendants, the servants of Monarch Luo, naturally also yearn to venture there."

    "The Heavens Sect is regarded as a ce of myth and legend in the Three Monarchs Universe because of an powerful ancient cultivator whose existence we have never been able to prove: the God of Death."

    Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng both eximed, "The God of Death?"

    Attendant Wu said, "That¡¯s right. A long time ago in my universe, an incredibly powerful individual once appeared, and he ushered in a new era of cultivation for humanity, awakening our wisdom. He was both the origin of human civilization, as well as an executioner who reaped life and sent it into the cycle of reincarnation. That was the God of Death.¡±

    "In our Three Monarchs Universe, the God of Death is regarded as a myth, or a god. Even Monarch Luo has nothing but respect whenever he mentions the God of Death. Legends im that the God of Death came from the Heavens Sect."

    After speaking, Attendant Wu was tempted to try to see Lu Yin''s reaction, as the two men were clearly startled by the mention of the God of Death. The God of Death and the Heavens Sect; everything matched together perfectly. It appeared that the myths were actually true, though this Heavens Sect was definitely not the same as the one from their legends. After all, if Attendant Wu was in the fabled Heavens Sect, then he would not be meeting with these two men, but rather the legendary figures of old.

    Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng exchanged another look. They had not expected Attendant Wu to mention the God of Death.

    However, there was a chance that the man was not referring to the same man. After all, the title "God of Death" existed in many other mythologies.

    "How much do you know about the God of Death? What do you know about him?" asked Lu Yin.

    Attendant Wu replied, "ording to the legends, the God of Death carried a scythe and chains were wrapped around his body. The sound of death apanied him wherever he went. It¡¯s said that he emerged from the darkness and that he also departed in darkness¡­"

    The two men just listened as Attendant Wu described what his universe knew of the God of Death. There was not much, as the man was recounting mere legends.

    Regrettably, all of Attendant Wu¡¯s knowledge came entirely from the legends that he had heard, and thus, there was no practical information to be had. Legends usually had a very subjective description of their subjects.

    "Do you know the name of the strongest monster among the Aeternals in your Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Buzheng asked.

    Attendant Wu blurted, "Forgotten Ruins God."

    Lu Buzheng was taken aback. "Forgotten Ruins God?"

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly grew serious. The fact that Forgotten Ruins God had taken a personal interest in the Three Monarchs Universe indicated that the universe possessed exceptional strength.

    Lu Yin had heard of the Seven Skygods for a long time, but for many years, his knowledge had been limited to their Semi-Progenitor avatars and mere theories regarding their true identities. Only three years ago, during his battle against Undying God, had Lu Yin personally witnessed the true might of Corpse God. Only then had he trulyprehended the strength that the Seven Skygods wielded. They were absolute monsters whom even most Progenitors could not hope to stand up to.

    The jiao possessed incredible defenses, but it had not dared to charge at Corpse God.

    Undying God had easily forced his way into the Perennial World by utilizing his innate talent of drifting, which had forced the Python Ancestor to attack him. The two had mutually restrained each other, but humanity had still failed to kill Undying God.

    The power of the Seven Skygods remained as fresh as ever in Lu Yin''s memory.

    "Is your Three Monarchs Universe able to stop Forgotten Ruins God?" asked Lu Yin.

    Attendant Wu replied, "None of our Monarchs are able to stop her on their own, but the three Monarchs are able to employ a special ability when they cooperate, which they call the Three Monarchs Array. With that, they are able to withstand Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s attacks. That is also what will allow them to protect the Three Monarchs Universe from destruction for another billion years."

    Lu Yin was genuinely impressed. "Blocking Forgotten Ruins God is no small feat."

    If this parallel universe¡¯s three Progenitors were able to stop Forgotten Ruins God by cooperating, then each individual should possess a level of strength close to that of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. One of the three might even be as powerful as one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Three normal Progenitors would never stand a chance against one of the Seven Skygods, even if they didbine their strength.

    Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng then continued to question Attendant Wu, which allowed them to slowly gain some understanding of the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Not bad, you''ve answered all of my questions, though I do hope that you haven¡¯t been lying to me." Lu Yin slowly made a rather threateningment after about half a day of questions. He then took a sip of tea.

    Attendant Wu immediately prostrated himself. "This small one would never dare to deceive you! I can no longer return to the Three Monarchs Universe, so from now on, I shall obey only yourmands and serve you faithfully! How could I dare to lie to you?"

    "Since the passage exists and the coordinates for your universe should be here as well, you''ll definitely get a chance to go back. Come, let''s go search for the coordinates. If I get the chance, I would also like to visit the Three Monarchs Universe," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Yin was highly intrigued by the Three Monarchs Universe. If he could establish a cooperative agreement with the parallel universe, it would have a tremendous impact on the endless war against Aeternus. At the very least, it would be an opportunity for him to target Forgotten Ruins God. Still, everything depended on whether cooperation was even possible.

    There had to be a reason why Gu Yue had sealed the passage between the two universes, though Lu Yin needed to uncover that reason for himself.

    He was not Gu Yue, and if faced with the same choice, then given different ideas and different perspectives, Lu Yin mighte to an entirely different decision.

    More importantly, if the God of Death who was mentioned in the legends of the Three Monarchs universe was indeed the God of Death from the Heavens Sect era, then it was possible that the man might have left something behind in that universe, which was an incredibly enticing possibility.

    Attendant Wu quickly rose to his feet and offered to apany Lu Yin back to Shenwu Continent.

    Suddenly, the man coughed up blood, and the tricolored power that swirled around his body spiraled out of his control. Lu Buzheng pressed a hand down. "Did you absorb stellr energy?"

    Attendant Wu clutched at his chest, bewildered by the fact that his own power had torn free from his control. "What¡¯s happening?"

    He had automatically absorbed a bit stellr energy after being injured by Lu Buzheng. This had not been done for cultivation or even for recovery, but simply topare the energy with what the Three Monarchs universe cultivated. Why was he reacting like this now?

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "Don''t absorb any power from this ce. Disperse everything that you absorbed. You¡¯re lucky that you don¡¯t cultivate with stellr energy, or else you would be facing far worse injuries, and your cultivation would have even been destroyed.¡±

    "Did you really think that our universe is this weak? If not for the problems that we currently face with our stellr energy, we would have had a new batch of Semi-Progenitors popping up anytime now."

    Attendant Wu suppressed the power within his body even as blood filled his mouth. It took him some time to calm himself back down.

    Lu Yin observed the energy that surrounded the man¡¯s body with open interest. "Is this the power that you use to cultivate? It''s not bad."

    For the first time, Attendant Wu looked directly at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s face had gone pale, and his voice quivered when he spoke. "This, this is Time Poison!"

    Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng''s expressions both changed. "What did you just say?"

    Attendant Wu muttered in a shaky tone, "This is Time Poison! Has Aeternus released Time Poison in this universe? It¡¯s no wonder why I didn''t see anyone cultivating here."

    "What do you know?" Lu Yin anxiously asked. For thest three years, he had tried to do everything he could to unravel the mystery behind the changes that had urred with their stellr energy, but it was all to no avail. He had no idea how much longer he would need to find the cause of everything. This problem had been haunting him for far too long already.

    He had considered the idea that Aeternus might have used Vitality Poison, but the symptoms of Vitality Poison were very different from what the Fifth Maind was dealing with. Upon hearing the words "Time Poison," he had immediately rted it to Vitality Poison.

    Attendant Wu softly replied, "Senior, if I''m not mistaken, Aeternus has contaminated this power that this universe uses to cultivate with their Time Poison! When cultivators absorb this power, they are contaminated by the poison, which can cause the absorbed power to reverse or elerate its flow. The problem is not in the cultivators themselves, but rather by the fact that the ambient energy has been influenced by the power of time. That is how Aeternus''s Time Poison works.¡±

    "This small one knows of this because my Three Monarchs Universe once faced destruction from Time Poison. Before the Three Monarchs Universe was renamed, we used a different type of energy to cultivate, but Time Poison crippled every aspect of our cultivation system. If not for the arrival of the Three Monarchs who changed the underlying energy of our cultivation system, we would have beenpletely enved by Aeternus. That¡¯s why we will never forget about Time Poison."

 Chapter 2439: Do You Have Money?

    Chapter 2439: Do You Have Money?

    Lu Buzheng asked in a low voice, "Is changing the very foundation of our cultivation system the only way that we can remove Time Poison?"

    Attendant Wu said, "It cannot be removed. Our universe still has Time Poison, but we simply no longer absorb it."

    Lu Buzheng looked at Lu Yin, whose eyes had narrowed after hearing Attendant Wu¡¯s answer. Lu Yin had never heard of a poison that could affect time before. How had Aeternus developed such a thing?

    Attendant Wu also was not lying, as there was no reason for him to do so.

    "Let''s go visit Shenwu Continent first," Lu Yin said, immediately leaving with Attendant Wu.

    Attendant Wu was still reeling from the shock of realizing that this universe¡¯s cultivation civilization had already been destroyed by Time Poison. When the man looked at Lu Yin, his expression was different from before.

    What kind of person could not only survive Time Poison, but even retain his strength? That might be beyond even the Three Monarchs. Time Poison had thoroughly destroyed the previous cultivation civilization of the Three Monarchs Universe, but this person acted as though nothing had changed for him. What kind of terrifying control did this man have over his own power?

    Attendant Wu could not even begin to imagine it.

    In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s achievement was as unbelievable to Attendant Wu as the idea of a person smashing a with a punch or wandering among the stars was to an ordinary human.

    During the return to the Tower of Resonating Light, Attendant Wu''s attitude had changedpletely.

    He regretted his previous arrogance and the fact that he had already offended people whom he could not afford to offend. His status in this unknown universe was actually quite simr to what he had enjoyed in the Three Monarchs Universe. In fact, it was possibly even lower, given that he was not a native of this universe.

    With a clear goal in mind, Lu Yin easily found arge seal at the base of the Tower of Resonating Light. It was identical to the one that had been in Aeternus Nation. Beneath the seal, he also found an area in the void that appeared rather unstable, though it was firmly suppressed by the seal. It would be difficult for him to remove the suppression, let alone Attendant Wu.

    It was no wonder why the man had said that he was unable to return home.

    "It''s difficult to open the passage from this universe, and it¡¯s even harder to open it from the Three Monarchs Universe," Attendant Wumented.

    "Can your Monarch Luo open it?"

    "This small one does not know. Even without the suppression of the sourcebox array that Gu Yue put in ce, it may or may not be possible. A thousand years ago, Monarch Luo failed to open it, and he said that it was because of Gu Yue''s sourcebox array, though the Monarch had also mentioned that the passage would eventually open on its own. Monarch Luo was able to influence Gu Yue''s array in this universe."

    "Influence?" Lu Yin looked up at the starry sky. The five sealings¡­ A thousand years ago¡­ Wait, aren¡¯t there records in the Shenwu Continent''s history that im that Ming Tai moved the five sealings to defend the Shenwu Continent during a war against a foreign civilization?

    Was it just a coincidence that Ming Tai had moved the five sealings during the same period of time when Monarch Luo had tried to open the passage?

    Gu Yue''s five sealings essentially sealed the passage to the other universe, not Shenwu Continent. The reason why Shenwu Continent had been sealedter on was that Ming Tai had moved the five sealings. However, how could an Enlighter like Ming Tai have sessfully moved Gu Yue''s sourcebox array? There was a massive gap in strength between the two men.

    If the sourcebox array had not been moved by Ming Tai, but rather by Monarch Luo¡¯s attacks from the other end of the passage, then everything made far more sense.

    Following this reasoning, no one in Shenwu Continent had ever done a single thing to the five sealings.

    Things were finally starting to make sense. Why else would such a huge sourcebox array protect a tiny ce like the Shenwu Continent?

    Even if one scoured the entire Fifth Maind, only the Lockbreaking World possessed a sourcebox array of simr size, and even Grandmaster Gu Yan hadmented how difficult it was to find sourceboxes of such size. Why had Gu Yue spent so much effort to find these massive sourceboxes just to defend the Shenwu Continent? The only reasonable answer was that he had wanted to seal the passage to the other universe.

    After sorting out his thoughts, Lu Yin felt that he finally uncovered the truth behind the Shenwu Continent.

    In that case, how had Gu Yue ultimately died? Why had he insisted on sealing the passage?

    Lu Yin did not believe that he had to rify every single detail of the past, as some truths would be forever lost to history.

    However, he also knew that Grandmaster Gu Yan would never give up. It was quite possible that the old man should be made aware of these details that Lu Yin had just learned.

    Back when Grandmaster Gu Yan had visited the Tower of Resonating Light, he had asked who the Three Monarchs were. At the time, Lu Yin had been entirely focused on reopening the entrance to the Starfall Sea, and thus he had not paid much attention to the question. Looking back, there had to be a reason for it. After observing the entire Tower of Resonating Light with his domain, Lu Yin found a block that had some writing etched onto it. It read, "Beware of the Three Monarchs."

    If not for Grandmaster Gu Yan''s question, Lu Yin might have missed those words, even with his domain. The characters were crooked, faint, and covered with such a thickyer of dust that they had been rendered practically invisible.

    It was no wonder why Grandmaster Gu Yan had asked who the Three Monarchs were. The old man definitely believed that Gu Yue had been killed by them.

    It was clear that Grandmaster Gu Yan had beenpletely heartbroken after visiting the Tower of Resonating Light, and it was certain that he had meticulously examined every single inch of the tower and that he had discovered the writing.

    Lu Yin took out his wireless jincan and contacted Grandmaster Gu Yan, quickly connecting to the old man.

    Lu Yin shared everything that he had recently learned about the Three Monarchs Universe.

    There was a long silence before Grandmaster Gu Yan sent a reply. "I will rearrange the five sealings array. Since Gu Yue wants that passage sealed, it shall be done."

    "Senior, although Gu Yue was wary of the Three Monarchs, that does not necessarily mean that he was killed by them. After all, the Three Monarchs are Progenitor-level powerhouses. If they had actually wanted him dead, he would not have been able to return to this universe, let alone set up the sourcebox array with the five sealings," Lu Yin replied.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan grunted and sent back. "I understand. You don''t want topletely seal off all ess to the Three Monarchs Universe. Am I right?"

    Lu Yin replied, "This concerns the overall strategy of the war against Aeternus. This junior would like to first gain a clearer picture of things."

    "Very well. I can set up the sourcebox array so that it still leaves a way through," Grandmaster Gu Yan sent over.

    Lu Yin ended the conversation and then made arrangements for Attendant Wu to stay in the Heavens Sect before going to the Neoverse to visit Xiao Shi.

    "Help me look up Time Poison," he said.

    Xiao Shi immediately flipped through his massive book. He pushed his sses up and scratched his mushroom head. "I found it. ¡®Time Poison is used specifically to affect time. This poison causes time to flow irregrly, or even in reverse.¡¯"

    There was only a single sentence written on the matter. Xiao Shi looked at Lu Yin, waiting for the next prompt.

    "Who developed it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi shook his head. "It doesn''t say."

    "Your book records past events that urred in this universe, so this means that Time Poison appeared in this universe before, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi blinked. He did not answer, but instead flipped through his book again.

    Lu Yin continued to ask, "Is there any mention of how the poison can be removed?"

    Xiao Shi''s fingers moved deftly as he flipped through the book withser-sharp focus. After some time, he looked up. "Nothing was mentioned."

    Lu Yin was disappointed.

    "But there''s an image." Xiao Shi then copied the image onto the floor.

    The star energy in Xiao Shi¡¯s body had also reversed its flow, leaving him unable to cultivate, which was why he had no choice but to draw on the floor.

    Referencing the book, he drew a sword on the floor.

    Lu Yin stared at the drawing, and his brow furrowed. How was this anything other than the Origin Progenitor''s sword?

    "What does this mean?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Shi looked a bit confused as he said, "I don''t know. When I asked how it was possible to remove Time Poison, the only thing that appeared was a drawing of this sword."

    Lu Yin studied the diagram of the Origin Progenitor''s sword. Suddenly, his head jerked up as an idea urred to him.

    The entire cultivation system of the Three Monarchs universe had once been destroyed by Time Poison. The Fifth Maind should have also dealt with Time Poison at some point in the past; otherwise, nothing would be recorded in the Book of Destiny.

    Time Poison and the Origin Progenitor''s sword; one created a chaotic flow of time, while the other could travel through time and space, allowing people to dive into the river of time.

    In ancient times, the Origin Progenitor had established the Heavens Sect, which had overseen six Mainds, each of which had held one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s six swords.

    Lu Yin had previously thought that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s six swords had been ced there with the intention of suppressing the six Mainds as a symbol of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s authority and a means of raising the Heavens Sect''s prestige. However, this new information seemed to suggest that there was more behind that than Lu Yin had initially believed.

    If the Origin Progenitor''s swords were truly rted to Time Poison, then was it possible that their entire purpose was to counter Time Poison?

    Lu Yin silently thumbed his cosmic ring.

    Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin with evident curiosity while waiting for any further questions.

    Instead of asking another question, Lu Yin pulled the Origin Progenitor''s sword out of his cosmic ring.

    Ever since True God Yi Wei had cracked the Origin Progenitor''s sword when Lu Yin had tried to use it against Undying God, Lu Yin had not taken the sword out again. More than three years had passed since that day.

    As soon as the Origin Progenitor''s sword appeared, a visible ripple spread out, and it quickly covered the entire Fifth Maind.

    The strange ripple caught Lu Yinpletely off guard. There did not seem to be any power from the ripple, but wherever it passed, the Fifth Maind was slightly distorted.

    Lu Yin lifted the Origin Progenitor''s sword. There had not been any such reaction when he had taken it out before. What was going on?

    Suddenly, the ripple shattered, dissipating in every direction that it had traveled. At the same time, strange phenomena started to manifest across the Fifth Maind. Many people suddenly returned to their previous locations, carrying out actions that had already urred, while others who had originally been in one ce suddenly appeared elsewhere. Some people even recovered from their injuries.

    The ripple had created a disturbance in time.

    At first, Lu Yin did not notice anything. However, he soon received call after call informing him about all the phenomena. Many people had just experienced a disturbance in time.

    Lu Yin had known that the Origin Progenitor''s sword could travel through time and space, but it had never caused any disturbances before. Why had it suddenly done so at this point in time?

    The only difference from the previous times that Lu Yin had brought the sword out and the current moment was¡­ Time Poison.

    The presence of Time Poison was the only usible exnation.

    Time Poison was indeed rted to the Origin Progenitor''s sword, so any abnormality that appeared along with the sword most likely had something to do with Time Poison. Determination filled Lu Yin''s eyes. It was very possible that the sword was the key to removing Time Poison.

    However, given the fact that the Origin Progenitor''s sword had been damaged, repairing it was essentially impossible for anyone other than the Origin Progenitor.

    Lu Yin let out a slow breath. There actually was another way; Enhancing it with his die.

    He could use Enhance and an absolutely terrifying amount of resources to test if the sword could be repaired.

    If he set his heart on Enhancing the sword, then the amount of star essence that he would need to fully enhance the weapon was unimaginable. Even exhausting the entire Fifth Maind¡¯s resources might not be enough. This was the Origin Progenitor''s sword, which was an object that was far, far more valuable than the slipper. This was likely going to be his most costly upgrade ever.

    If enhancing the sword did not fix the problem, then the Fifth Maind would suffer a huge loss.

    To Enhance or not to Enhance?

    Lu Yin pondered for a while before he put the Origin Progenitor''s sword away again. He then squatted down to look directly at Xiao Shi. "Do you have any money?"

 Chapter 2440: The Cost

    Chapter 2440: The Cost

    Xiao Shi blinked and rubbed his cosmic ring. He pulled out a single star essence and several dozen star crystals. "Brother Lu, here you go."

    Lu Yin took a nce at the money in the man¡¯s hand and chuckled. "That¡¯s not enough."

    Xiao Shi pursed his lips. "I''ll borrow some from Xiao Chi. He has a bit too."

    "It still won¡¯t be enough," Lu Yin replied.

    Xiao Shi hesitated. "Then¡­ I''ll borrow some from my other friends?"

    Lu Yinughed. "How much can you borrow?"

    Xiao Shi considered the question very and then raised five fingers. "Five star essence."

    Lu Yin looked away. Five star essence was not bad for an ordinary cultivator. He still remembered the joy that he had felt when he obtained his first star essence. It had been a huge sum to him at that time, but at present, anything that he wanted to Enhance required tens or even hundreds of billions of star essence. Even if he consumed everyst star essence in the Technocracy, it would still be far from enough to satisfy his needs.

    Most of the universe''s wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few. There were individuals who were more wealthy than an entire domain.

    Lu Yin stood and patted Xiao Shi on the shoulder. "There''s no need for that. I''ll go and borrow some myself."

    After speaking, Lu Yin vanished.

    Xiao Shi stared nkly at where Lu Yin had just been standing. Was he seriously that desperate for cash?

    The star essence that the Astral Beast Domain had promised Lu Yin had already been delivered over the course of thest three years. As Yao Di had estimated, there had been nearly 5 trillion star essence.

    It was a mind-boggling number, and Lu Yin had felt his breath quicken when he first saw it. Before this day, Lu Yin had been wondering how he should spend this money.

    Not once had he considered repairing the Origin Progenitor''s Sword over thest three years, and it was precisely because of the ridiculous cost in doing so. He had nned to wait until he became a peak Envoy before attempting to repair the sword.

    Unfortunately, that choice had been taken from him.

    Even if the attempt was unsessful, he still had to give it a try.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation could not be allowed to disappear.

    Looking back, saving Undying God might have only been a single fraction of the reason why True God Yi Wei had fractured the Origin Progenitor''s sword. The other part was likely linked to Time Poison.

    While Lu Yin did not fully understand the connection between Time Poison and the Origin Progenitor''s Sword, the phenomena that had appeared when he brought the sword out had made it clear that the sword had reacted to Time Poison. There was no need for Lu Yin to understand how to use the sword, as it would act on its own.

    This perfectly exined why True God Yi Wei had taken action to damage the Origin Progenitor''s sword.

    Upon returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin ordered all of the star essence to be brought to him, which attracted the attention of Lu Buzheng and several others.

    Although the star essence that Lu Yin had received from the Astral Beast Domain had been intended to be for his own personal use, the sheer quantity of resources had drawn many eyes, especially given the recent issue with stellr and star energy.

    Lu Yin did not offer any exnation, and he simply announced that he was going into seclusion.

    He raised a hand, brought out his die, and immediately rolled it.

    During thest three years, Lu Yin had frequently rolled his die. He was close to simting 350,000 stars with the Cosmic Art, and he had also constantly striven toprehend Extremes Must Be Reversed to a high level of mastery. One day, he hoped to be able to influence time like Progenitor Ku had been able to.

    Additionally, he had seen significant improvements in other aspects as well. Lu Yin¡¯s die meant that one could not judge his strength or level of technique by the normal passage of time.

    When the die came to a stop on four pips, time froze. Lu Yin ced his hand on the mountain of star essence beside and disappeared with all of it.

    Upon entering his Timestop Space, he waspletely confident that he could roll a three: Enhance.

    After multiple rolls, Lu Yin was finally able to ce the Origin Progenitor''s sword on the upper screen of light that was his Enhance. He took a deep breath and then began. From the day he first used his innate gift of the die to the day he eventually became a Progenitor, all of the resources that he had and would use on upgrading various items could not even begin topare to the amount that he would have to use for this single Enhancement. What terrified him was not the quantity of resources that he would use, but rather the fact that he had no idea how much it would cost, or even worse, potentially discovering that the sword could not be Enhanced at all.

    If the Origin Progenitor''s sword could not be Enhanced, then Lu Yin would have to seek out the Origin Progenitor¡¯s other swords.

    Lu Yin started to frantically throw out star essence. As he watched it all vanish, he breathed a sigh of relief. Enhancing the sword was indeed possible. Everything would eventually be fine.

    If the Fifth Maindcked sufficient star essence, then he would simply visit the Perennial World to get more. He would do so regardless of whether he needed to cheat, borrow, or steal. As long as he had the will, there would be a way.

    In a blink of an eye, a trillion star essence had been sacrificed, but the sword had fallen less than a tenth of the way through the light screens. On the bright side, the cracks that riddled the sword had started to disappear, which proved that it could indeed be repaired.

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s calctions, he would need at least ten trillion star essence to fully Enhance the sword, which was nearly impossible to obtain from just the Fifth Maind.

    Even if all of humanity was incapable of supplying what he needed, Lu Yin could always take more from Aeternus. A cruel glint flickered in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. He was determined to make True God Yi Wei pay for this intolerable loss that Lu Yin had suffered.

    Right, Aeternus.

    Lu Yin''s eyes glittered with a cunning light. Aeternus also used star essence, and while Lu Yin had liberated a decent amount from the Aeternus Kingdom in the Starfall Sea, that had only been the Starfall Sea. What about the New World?

    How could he have forgotten? There had to be tons of star essence in the New World. Every city had to have had some star essence, but Lu Yin had not heard anything about that. Something was not right. The four ruling powers must have kept the information from him.

    Lu Yin cursed himself for forgetting about such an important matter. No, he had to get back what he was owed from the four ruling powers. He had been the first to conquer the New World, so how could fame be his only reward?

    Lu Yin grew increasingly upset. Three years had passed since he hadst stepped foot in the Perennial World. It was time to go back.

    Three years might not seem like a long time to most cultivators, but it was very different for Lu Yin. He was able to freeze time for himself, so while the rest of the universe had only lived through three years, he had experienced the passage of hundreds of years. He felt that he had already lived for a very long time.

    Lu Yin threw out most of his remaining star essence, only reserving 500 billion.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword dropped almost halfway through, which meant that he needed at least another five or six trillion star essence toplete the task. Just the thought of such a sum was intimidating.

    Almost a yearter, Lu Yin emerged from the Timestop Space, and he immediately headed to the Ancestor Tortoise, which housed the Mavis n on its back.

    The Mavis n was not exactly weing when Lu Yin arrived. This was because Lu Yin only visited them when he had a problem with funds. The Mavis n had already spent a great deal on Lu Yin, and they were rather reluctant to spend any more.

    Lu Yin and Yunying Mavis sat at opposite sides of a tea table.

    Yunying Mavis stared at Lu Yin as he drank his tea. Almost half an hour passed before the woman finally spoke. "Dao Chosen, there''s no need to beat around the bush."

    Lu Yin lowered his teacup and asked, "What will happen if the Fifth Maind''s economy copses?"

    Yunying Mavis''s expression immediately grew somber. "It would spell a disaster for humanity. The economy is the foundation of every system, so if that copses, every other system that humanity relies on would copse as well. This is something that Dao Chosen definitely would not want to see happen."

    Lu Yin pressed, "But what about right now? Is the current situation not already considered a disaster for humanity?"

    Yunying Mavis grew puzzled. "What are you trying to say, Dao Chosen?"

    Lu Yin smiled faintly. "Our cultivation."

    Yunying Mavis sighed. "Naturally, this is a disaster. Given the problem with our stellr energy, all of mankind is in the midst of a terrible crisis. I would even go so far as to say that our current situation is even worse than when the true universe was drained. While cultivators were unable to absorb any energy at that time, at least we did not suffer any harm. Now, anyone who has ever cultivated with stellr or star energy will experience an inexplicable reversal in the flow of their energy. Just surviving that is already a blessing, let alone continuing to cultivate."

    "If I had the means to restore the true universe, but at the cost of copsing our economic system, what would your opinion on that matter be, Senior?" Lu Yin asked casually while refilling his teacup.

    Yunying Mavis''s eyes widened. "Does the Dao Chosen have a way to fix things?"

    Lu Yin set down his teacup. "Is there anyone else who can restore the true universe aside from me?"

    Yunying Mavis stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. At this moment, he was the most powerful figure in the Fifth Maind in terms of both strength and status. He was the highest authority in the Fifth Maind. If anyone could save the Fifth Maind, then it was Lu Yin.

    "What do you mean by copsing our economy?"

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before replying, "I won''t say much, just two things: first of all, with ten trillion star essences, I can attempt to restore the true universe. Second, I can''t guarantee sess, but the chances of seeding are nine out of ten. Senior, would you take such a gamble?"

    Yunying Mavis''s eyes flickered. This was not a gamble that anyone could take lightly. What did ten trillion star essences represent? It represented a sum more than what could be obtained even by bankrupting the entire Mavis Bank. If the bank copsed, then mankind¡¯s economy would also copse. Even so, it might not be possible to restore their universe¡¯s stellr energy back to normal.

    "Dao Chosen, what are you trying to say by visiting our Mavis n?" The voice of Heluo Mavis drifted over from behind.

    Lu Yin had noticed the moment she arrived, but he had not turned around.

    The highest authority in the Mavis n was not Yunying Mavis, but rather Heluo Mavis. She had once been one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen, and she had inherited the Mavis family¡¯s core battle techniques. She was the only person capable of truly inheriting the Mavis family after the fall of the Second Maind, and thus, Helua Mavis held a higher status than any other member of the family.

    "Leaving aside whether the true universe can be restored, but even if it is a sess, the copse of our Mavis Bank and the resulting economic turmoil would still be a disaster for humanity. We would be terrible criminals against humanity. Dao Chosen Lu cannot possibly want to sacrifice the Mavis family in order to save the Fifth Maind, right?" Heluo Mavis sat down next to Yunying Mavis and stared Lu Yin in the eye as she spoke calmly.

    Lu Yin''s lips curled upwards. "What if I told you yes?"

    Yunying Mavis¡¯s brows rose, but she remained silent.

    Heluo Mavis continued to meet Lu Yin''s eyes. "We don¡¯t have the power to refuse a request from the Dao Chosen. We will do as youmand."

    Lu Yinughed. "Don''t try to pressure me with words. I''m not stupid enough to sacrifice the Mavis family. Besides, I doubt that even the entire Astral Beast Domain can gather ten trillion star essences, let alone the Mavis family."

    Yunying Mavis let out a sigh of relief. "The Human Domain possesses a much greater quantity of star essence than the Astral Beast Domain, but it is also spread across a muchrger area. The amount that our Mavis family holds does not ount for even a single percentage of the total amount held by the Human Domain. Many powerful families and sects have their own reserves. If we consider the size of the entire human poption, gathering 10 trillion star essences is not impossible. It simply depends on how we go about it."

    Heluo Mavis was quite curious. "Is there truly a way to revert stellr energy to its previous state?"

    Lu Yin stood up. "Possibly. Just be prepared, as I might start collecting star essence at any moment. After all, this is for the entire Fifth Maind, and everyone will have to pay a price, including myself."

    Before leaving, he added, "This won''t be in vain, and I will pay an equivalent price."

 Chapter 2441: The Bet

    Chapter 2441: The Bet

    Heluo Mavis continued staring at the empty seat across from her.

    Yunying Mavis felt her head ache. "He¡¯s not asking for small amount of change this time."

    "When has he ever borrowed a small amount of money? We gave him five billionst time, and this time, even 500 billion isn¡¯t anywhere near what he¡¯s asking," Heluo Mavis scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

    Yunying Mavis sighed. "Truthfully, our Mavis family has never been obsessed with money. When we ruled over the Second Maind, I''m certain that we didn''t oversee the economy. Am I wrong?"

    "We didn''t," Heluo Mavis replied.

    Yunying Mavis shook her head, "The reason why we control the economy here was all in order to repay the Lu family. The members of the Lu family consume absurd amounts of resources during their cultivation. After they were exiled, controlling the economy was something that had already be a habit for us. I never expected that all of our actions would still end up benefiting the Lu family anyway. Eh, I suppose it''s fine."

    Heluo Mavis turned to look at the divine tree and its enormous fruits. She did not care about the Fifth Maind¡¯s economy, but she was quite concerned about the cost that Lu Yin had mentioned. She yearned to stand on the same level as him once again, regardless of how remote the chances of that happening were. She refused to ept the status quo.

    She had surpassed all others to be a Dao Chosen, so why should she be any weaker than him? During the Heavens Sect era, she had stood equal to Lu Tianyi, so why was she so far behind Lu Yin?

    Helua Mavis was not alone. Chu Yuan and Sky Garan were both eager to have a rematch with Lu Yin as well. The day would surelye. Even if he did be a Progenitor before them, they would eventually catch up.

    After leaving the Mavis family, Lu Yin rode the jiao towards the Technocracy. He nned to visit the New World to look for the star essence that Aeternus had left behind.

    ¡­

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Realm, the Yinshan District had changed over the course of three years. Lu Yin''s sixth stellr tribtion had transformed the entire district. The ground had be more solid, and it was also covered with a densework of cracks that spread out from the Mother Tree''s roots. There was a depression in the middle of the district that had since be ake. At the moment, only the bottom had been filled, but over time, theke would grow as the water level rose. Eventually, the entire Yinshan District might even be submerged underwater one day. If that happened, the Yishan District would be thergest indke in the Middle Realm.

    At the moment, a huge crowd had gathered around theke. Descendants of various major families, countless independent cultivators, and even members of the four ruling powers were all staring at two individuals who stood above theke: the God of Food and Mr. Yu.

    This was the third day of their duel. The battle had started in this same ce three days ago, and the two men were engaged in a deathmatch that no one was allowed to interfere in.

    Mr. Yuughed as drops of red blood dripped down his arm and fell into theke. Behind him stood the two-faced giant that was his inner world. The sacred face was shedding tears, while the enraged face roared with hatred.

    mes danced along the edge of the God of Food''s butcher knife as he pointed it at Mr. Yu. "You''ve exhausted everything that you are capable of using: battle techniques, poison, and threats. What else can you do?"

    Mr. Yuughed bitterly. On the first day of their battle, he had tried to disrupt the God of Food''s momentum by kidnapping Virtue Archive¡¯s students and threatening the man with their lives. However, the God of Food had been prepared for such a thing, and all of the students were rescued.

    On the second day, Mr. Yu hadced his inner world with poison, hoping to poison his opponent when he made contact with the inner world. The God of Food was too wily to fall for such a trick, and he never touched the giant.

    It was the third day of their battle, and just a few hours ago, Mr. Yu had explicitly detailed how he had killed his junior sister, hoping to drive the God of Food into a rage. Unfortunately for Mr. Yu, even that had failed to faze the older man. The God of Food was determined to take revenge for his years of suffering and to end Mr. Yu''s life once and for all. While the incident that Mr. Yu had recounted had developed into a mental obstacle that prevented the God of Food from ever bing a Progenitor, it was no longer able to affect him.

    Mr. Yu had made plenty of preparations for this day, but so had the God of Food.

    It was a fair deathmatch that no one could interfere with, not even Progenitor Long.

    "Master, are you enjoying getting your revenge? Junior Sister must be happily watching us from heaven." Mr. Yuughed heartily despite the blood that trickled from his mouth. The two-faced giant had a huge burn wound on its back, matching a wound on Mr. Yu''s own body.

    The God of Food disyed no emotion whatsoever as he spoke. "I''ve waited a long time for this day. You''re far weaker than me, yet you still dared to challenge me, believing that the support that you¡¯ve gained from the White Dragon n and your various tricks would be enough to defeat me. Unfortunately, you¡¯ve failed to realize that personal strength forms the foundation of victory. It''s time for me to send you on your way."

    Mr. Yu shook his head. "Master, you didn''t expect me to kill Junior Sister, did you?"

    The God of Food''s eyes zed with resentment and killing intent, but his expression remained terrifyingly calm.

    "There''s still so much you haven''t considered. Junior Sister is dead. You couldn''t save her. You''ll soon be dead, as you can''t save yourself either," Mr. Yu stated as he brought an eyeball out from his cosmic ring. The eye stared at the God of Food, seemingly alive.

    The old man¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "Progenitor Long''s power vessel!"

    Anger erupted from the watching crowd, which included Ce Doni and Headmaster Wen. "How despicable! He actually brought out a Progenitor-level power vessel."

    Xia Ziheng shook his head with contempt. "Mr. Yu has the support of the White Dragon n. They won''t let him die easily. Did the God of Food really believe that he could get revenge? What a fool."

    Qing Chen frowned. Indeed, since the White Dragon n had already paid a price to bring Mr. Yu under their wing, they would not be willing to stand by and watch his life end. A Progenitor-level power vessel could easily reverse the situation.

    "Senior," Wen Diyi said to express his concern.

    Mr. Tang, Prof. Zheng, and the others from Virtue Archives all red at Mr. Yu, furious and cursing him for such shamelessness.

    The enormous eye stared at the God of Food from above Mr. Yu''s head. "Master, do you have any more tricks that you¡¯ve kept hidden? Virtue Archives might have Lu Xiaoxuan''s support, but even Lu Xiaoxuan needs external items to fight against a Progenitor. Did he lend you any?"

    Some distance away, Lu Yin had arrived, and he heard what Mr. Yu said. Subconsciously, Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring as his brows furrowed. He seriously considered tossing the slipper over to the God of Food so that the man could p Mr. Yu to death.

    "Do you want to help the God of Food?" Bai Xian''er appeared out of nowhere, her arrival startling Lu Yin.

    "I thought that Bai Wangyuan or one of the others woulde," Lu Yinmented casually. He had not hidden his arrival in the Perennial World, and he had merely ordered the jiao to retract its aura. Bai Wangyuan and others should have discovered Lu Yin the moment he entered the Perennial World.

    Bai Xian''er replied, "They might have said that you can¡¯te to this part of the universe, but they can''t stop you."

    "Are you using me of going back on my word?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian''er looked forward again and repeated her question, "Do you want to help the God of Food?"

    "Long Er helped Mr. Yu, so what''s wrong with me helping the God of Food?" Lu Yin retorted.

    "There isn¡¯t any problem, but the God of Food doesn''t need your help."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin grew puzzled. That eye possessed the power of the Progenitor, which was not something that the God of Food could endure. Lu Yin could not bear to just watch on as Progenitor Long tantly assisted Mr. Yu.

    Bai Xian''er calmly replied, "Brother Xiaoxuan, do you believe that everyone should rely on you for help?"

    Lu Yin frowned.

    "Everyone has their own path. Did the God of Food contact you before this battle?" Bai Xian''er asked.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance as Mr. Yu made his move. That eye had the power to obliterate even the void. While the God of Food could evade those attacks for the moment, he would only be able to do so for so long.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, let''s bet on this fight." Bai Xian''er suddenly gave Lu Yin a sweet smile. He could see his reflection in her eyes.

    Lu Yin met her gaze. "We might disagree on the results."

    Bai Xian''erughed. "Do as you like. You can choose to intervene, but-" She paused for a moment. "It won¡¯t change the oue. This fight will end in mutual destruction."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "If I act, the God of Food won''t die. Long Er and the others won''t have a huge falling out with me just because of Mr. Yu. I was able to stop their actions three years ago, and I can do so again."

    "Then that¡¯s all the more reason for Brother Xiaoxuan to ept this bet. It should be an easy victory for you," Bai Xian''er taunted.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er. "Did you see this oue in the Book of Destiny?"

    Bai Xian''er smiled, but she said nothing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Ever since he had learned about Destiny, he had never stopped feeling uneasy. Between Xuan Jiu''s attitude and the various myths about Destiny, the idea that a person¡¯s entire life could be predetermined was unsettling. However, it truly did appear that Destiny had already scripted out the fate of every person.

    While the Stargazing Deck had indeed helped Lu Yin force the four ruling powers to agree to a truce, he still could not ept that Destiny had already seen his future, let alone the possibility that she had directly interfered in it.

    "Alright, I''ll take your bet¡ªthe God of Food won''t die. Even if Progenitor Long, Bai Wangyuan, and others try to intervene, I won''t let him die. As for Mr. Yu, whether he lives or not, that has nothing to do with me," Lu Yin stated. His meaning was crystal clear: he wanted to intervene and end the duel, regardless of the grudge that existed between the God of Food and Mr. Yu. Lu Yin wanted to prove that the oue that Destiny had foreseen could be changed.

    Of course, Lu Yin already knew that the God of Food would hold a grudge against him if he interfered in the battle, which meant that Lu Yin would also owe the God of Food a favor in order to settle the matter.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes lit up. "Brother Xiaoxuan, it¡¯s a bet. What will you wager?"

    Lu Yin did not hesitate in the slightest. "I want to know the truth behind the Lu family''s banishment. The whole truth."

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "Very well."

    "What about you?" Lu Yin asked. Despite his confidence that he could keep the God of Food alive, Bai Xian''er''s attitude left him wondering why she held such unwavering faith in the Book of Destiny. He was certain that he could change the results, so he had asked for what he wanted most. He was curious to hear what Bai Xian''er wanted most.

    Bai Xian''er''s gaze returned to the sky above theke. She watched as the God of Food struggled to avoid being destroyed by the eye. "If I win, I want tobine two of the Books of Destiny."

    "You want the Book of Destiny that I have?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Bai Xian''er shook her head. "I only want to take a look. Combining Books of Destiny can allow us to see the future. You won''t suffer any sort of loss, and you can also take a look."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Alright, it''s settled."

    The God of Food''s inner world had already copsed, and he had lost his left arm. The eye was destroying increasinglyrger sections of the void, and the destruction induced coughing fits that caused the old man to spit up blood. Mr. Yu''s giant raised a hand and mmed it down. "Master, what are you doing? This is so pathetic! Hahaha, so pathetic! Junior Sister''s mocking you from heaven right now. Aren''t you going to avenge her? Come on, Master! Come on!"

    The God of Food gritted his teeth and coughed up blood without end. He searched for an opportunity to retaliate, but none could be seen.

    At the shore of theke, Ce Doni called out, "This isn''t a fair battle! Hurry! End it now! Everything else can be dealt withter!"

    "End it now!"

    "Senior, please end it now, or else you''ll die before you can get your revenge!"

 Chapter 2442: Confronting Destiny

    Chapter 2442: Confronting Destiny

    Mr. Yu¡¯s behavior was so detestable that even the members of the four ruling powers could not stand him. On the other hand, the God of Food had spent years running Hope Restaurant, selflessly helping others. As a result, even the four ruling powers held the man in high regard. Many individuals had benefited from his generosity, and thus they did not wish for him to meet a tragic end.

    However, the God of Food refused to give in. This was his only chance at a proper fight, and it was clear that the eye was Mr. Yu''sst resort. As long as the God of Food could avoid the Progenitor-level attacks and hit the traitor even once, it would be enough.

    "Master, do you know how happy junior sister was before she died? She was delighted to help me fulfill my dreams! While her death was brutal, it was simply her fate. There was no escaping it," Mr. Yuughed.

    The God of Food''s body trembled, and he clutched at his chest as he vomited a mouthful of blood. He stared at Mr. Yu with eyes that were bloodshot from rage. The butcher knife in his hand had already shattered. The void in front of him vanished and then reappeared. The phenomena brushed past the man¡¯s shoulder, instantly fracturing the bone, and the man¡¯s entire body started to break apart.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "It''s time to end this."

    He waved his hand, and the jiao appeared with a deafening roar. The strength and pressure of a Progenitor swept across the entire Yinshan District, causing everyone to look up in shock.

    Mr. Yu and the God of Food both froze in the middle of their attacks to look at the jiao.

    Ce Doni and the others breathed sighs of relief. Lu Yin had arrived. The God of Food would be safe, even if one of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors tried to intervene.

    Mr. Yu''s expression grew gloomy. He had not expected this person to return after three years.

    The God of Food watched as the jiao''s massive body blotted out the sky. He closed his eyes, bitterness covering his face.

    Standing atop the jiao¡¯s head, Lu Yin looked at Bai Xian''er. Her expression was still calm, and there was even a faint smile on her face.

    Did she really have that much faith in Destiny?

    Lu Yin turned to the God of Food and said, "Senior, it''s time to put an end to this. You can seek your revenge again in the future."

    At this moment, Bai Wangyuan and the others were standing guard in the Dominion Realm in case Aeternus made an unexpected appearance.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan has returned yet again. He promised not to enter the Perennial World until the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy has been deal with. This kid is grantly disregarding our agreement," Progenitor Long said with a disapproving tone.

    Bai Wangyuan looked down. "Let''s just wait a bit longer. We missed our opportunity three years ago, and it will take some more time before another one arrives. There are also issues regarding Xia Shenji to consider."

    Progenitor Long¡¯s brow furrowed. "Mr. Yu cannot be killed by him."

    He left the Dominion Realm and descended down to the Yinshan District.

    Auras shed between Progenitor Long and the jiao, creating winds that howled across the Middle Realm.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have no right to interfere in this battle." Progenitor Long''s voice echoed throughout the Yinshan District.

    Lu Yin looked at Progenitor Long and replied, "I didn''t n to interfere, but Mr. Yu was rude to me in the past. It''s time for me to settle the score."

    "You''re purposely being difficult!" Progenitor Long shouted.

    It had always been Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, or one of the others who had dealt with Lu Yin in the past, and Progenitor Long had rarely spoken to the young man. The Progenitor was finally realizing just how infuriating it was to interact with Lu Yin. He was aplete scoundrel who interrupted battles between others and then cooked up excuses to justify his actions.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Long Er, you''re beyond shameless. For a Semi-Progenitor fight, you gave one of the two people a Progenitor-level power vessel. And yet, you still have the nerve to use others of interfering?"

    Progenitor Long replied, "I gave him that power vessel when he joined my White Dragon n. You saw it when you visited Dragon Mountain. I did not hand it to him just for this battle."

    "Then I can lend the jiao to the God of Food. I already did so three years ago," Lu Yin casually replied.

    Progenitor Long was rendered speechless by Lu Yin''s bullshitting abilities.

    The people overhearing the conversation started looking quite confused. Was this really how Progenitors spoke to each other? This was no different from a conversation between ordinary people, and thenguage was actually quite crude.

    "Let¡¯s resume the battle," said the God of Food. His voice sounded tired and weak, but it remained firm.

    Lu Yin looked at the old man. "Senior, you won''t be able to kill him."

    "I know," the God of Food said. He looked up at Lu Yin, aplex expression on his face. "Thank you, Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin asked, "If you know that revenge is impossible, why continue?"

    The God of Food¡¯s voice grew hoarse as he replied. "I simply can''t wait any longer. Even when I thought that this traitor was dead, I was still troubled by that incident and went to Hope Restaurant to ease my mind. Ever since I learned that this traitor was still alive a few years ago, my mind has never been able to settle down again. Lu Yin, thank you. I''ll be troubling you to take care of Virtue Archives in the future."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, I won''t let this battle continue. This-"

    Suddenly, a wave of indescribable horror swept him, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

    He looked upwards, and his pupils constricted. It was a stellr tribtion.

    "A Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion?!" Progenitor Long eximed before fleeing without the slightest hesitation.

    Everyone on the shore of theke was momentarily stunned. As soon as they started to recover, the people there began to flee.

    Cai Doni was startled. Why had the God of Food triggered his Progenitor stellr tribtion at this moment? Did he have a death wish?

    Lu Yin stared at the God of Food. "Senior, you-"

    The God of Food took a deep breath. His eyes locked onto Mr. Yu, whose expression hadpletely changed. "Traitor, your master was the one who led you onto your current path, so now, your master will personally send you off!"

    The old man¡¯s inner world reappeared, this time taking the form of a huge table. At the same time, both he and Mr. Yu transformed into food on the table. Mr. Yu frantically tried to escape from the old man¡¯s madness.

    Unfortunately, Mr. Yu''s struggle was futile. The God of Food was giving everything in this final attack, and his inner world endured the various attacks from the eye while also forcibly restraining Mr. Yu. The God of Food intended to challenge his stellr tribtion together with Mr. Yu.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. It was already over. The stellr tribtion had started, and the ck vortex continued to expand without end. Nothing could stop it at this point in time.

    The jiao turned tail and fled in terror, afraid of getting pulled into the stellr tribtion.

    This was a Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion, the most terrifying stellr tribtion in all of cultivation. Even Progenitors would not want to be pulled in by this tribtion.

    As soon as an outsider became involved in a stellr tribtion in any way, it wouldpletely transform, depending on the strength of the outsider. No one knew what would happen if a Progenitor stellr tribtion became influenced by another person.

    No wonder. So this is the so-called "mutual destruction."

    An ugly expression covered Lu Yin¡¯s face. There was nothing that he could do to stop this situation from unfolding. It had never urred to him that he would be so helpless. He had not even considered the possibility of the God of Food triggering his stellr tribtion.

    Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s prediction had beenpletely urate. The battle was indeed going to end in mutual destruction

    Lu Yin turned to look at where Bai Xian''er had been standing earlier, but she had already left. He had lost the bet.

    Was one''s destiny truly irreversible? Bai Xian''er had seen the oue of the battle, and it had be reality. That was destiny.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first confrontation with Destiny, and he hadpletely, utterly lost.

    There was no possibility for Lu Yin to interfere in a stellr tribtion. As for the God of Food, there was no chance of him surviving this stellr tribtion. Even if the tribtion had not started, he had been destined to be killed by the Progenitor-level power vessel.

    Lu Yin moved beyond the range of the stellr tribtion and turned back around to watch. He saw the same scene that he had experienced during his own most recent stellr tribtion: the sky-like field of destruction. During Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion, he had ovee this particr trial with Flipping the Sky, but at this moment¡­

    As the field of destruction spread out to epass the entire Yinshan District, one could hear Mr. Yu¡¯s indignant roars, as well as the hystericalughter of the God of Food echoing from within the tribtion.

    This was a true Progenitor stellr tribtion. Aside from Progenitors, no one could clearly see what was happening inside.

    Not even Lu Yin could see anything. He was able to rely on external aides to boost his strength to the level of a Progenitor, but if any of that power even approached the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin would be dragged in as well. At this moment, he was no different from anyone else watching,pletely unable to see what was happening inside.

    It was not long before the stellr tribtion dissipated.

    Both the God of Food and Mr. Yu had disappeared. It was as though they had never existed.

    Lu Yin stared out at the sky above theke. This had been his first time watching someone challenge a Progenitor stellr tribtion, and it had been a failed attempt. Regardless of whether Mr. Yu had been dragged in or if the God of Food had resolved his inner demons, the difficulty of a Progenitor stellr tribtion would still be beyond imagination.

    Opening the three meridian points did not ensure that one could be a Progenitor, just the same as how bing a peak Semi-Progenitor did not mean that one would reach the Progenitor realm. The pinnacle of cultivation was impossibly difficult to reach.

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Lingzhi Mavis had also died when challenging her Progenitor stellr tribtion. The God of Food had simrly died during his tribtion. Who would be next?

    Beside theke, Ce Doni, Headmaster Wen, and many others mourned their loss. Virtue Archives had been protected by the God of Food for a long time, but he was finally gone.

    The God of Food had been well-regarded across the entire Perennial World, and his death left many feeling conflicting emotions. Manymented his passing.

    Others wondered if it had been worth the cost. If the God of Food had abandoned the battle, he would have survived, and then he could have sought out another opportunity to take revenge in the future. Was dying together really worth it?

    Everyone who had been watching silently left one after another. Many people died during their stellr tribtions, but a Progenitor stellr tribtion remained a rare sight.

    "I thought that he would be able to endure one or two trials at the very least, but he was unable to withstand even the first one," Qing Chenmented to Lu Yin from below.

    Lu Yin dropped down to the ground. "How has the capture of the desated corpses gone?"

    Qing Chen shook his head. "Most of them have been caught, but I don''t know how to deal with them. Destroying them isn¡¯t an option, but neither is simply imprisoning them. There are also corpses that are being secretly kept by people, and more and more people are learning the Corpse King Transformation, revealing it at critical moments. The technique has already spread across much of the Perennial World."

    "If a technique that rivals or surpasses the Corpse King Transformation appears, it can rece it," Lu Yinmented.

    Qing Chen was surprised. "What sort of technique could rece the Corpse King Transformation?"

    Lu Yin lightly replied, "I was merelymenting. Maybe one day, if I destroy the four ruling powers, I can rece the Corpse King Transformation with one of their techniques."

    With that, he left, leaving apletely stunned Qing Chen behind.

    Lu Yin had sounded so calm when mentioning the destruction of the four ruling powers, but the implications behind his words were outrageous enough to shake all of humanity.

    How would Humility''s Gate respond if Lu Yin actually went to war with the four ruling powers?

    That was not something that humanity should ever see.

    Lu Yin left to find Bai Xian''er, who had already given him a location.

    Lu Yin needed to pay up for the lost bet, which meantbining two of the Books of Destiny.

    Soon, Lu Yin saw Bai Xian''er again.

    "There''s one more person we¡¯re still waiting for. Ask the Wang family to let him in," Lu Yin said before contacting Skymender.

    The Book of Destiny in Lu Yin¡¯s possession had been taken from Skymender. Lu Yin had no idea how Bai Xian''er wouldbine the two Books of Destiny, so he naturally had to call upon someone who understood what was going on.

    He had originally thought of calling Destina, but he had quickly decided against it.

    Compared to Destina, Lu Yin had more control over Skymender. After all, Destina could attempt to challenge the Progenitor realm at any moment, and if she seeded, it was hard to say how her rtionship with Lu Yin would change.

    Bai Xian''er did not refuse. She stood still and closed her eyes, causing the void around her to gradually grow hazy and indistinct.

    Lu Yin had no interest in talking with her. He had already brought up everything that he wanted to, and since Bai Xian''er had refused to say anything before, she certainly would not suddenly be willing to talk now.

    Still, Lu Yin was tempted to try to steal her Book of Destiny, if the chance arose.

    He nced at Bai Xian''er.

 Chapter 2443: A Glimpse Of The Future

    Chapter 2443: A Glimpse Of The Future

    It was difficult to get Skymender ess to the Perennial World, but once Bai Xian''er personally made the request, people were left with no choice but to give her some face.

    Several days passed before Skymender arrived at the designated location.

    Lu Yin retrieved the Book of Destiny and tossed it to Skymender. "This woman has a Book of Destiny as well. She wants to merge the two of them together to see the future."

    Skymender was taken aback, and he immediately looked at Bai Xian''er. "Merge them? Is that possible?"

    The haziness that surrounded Bai Xian''er grew clear once more as she opened her eyes. They glittered like stars but revealed no emotion. "Combining two books can reveal the future, so let''s begin."

    As she spoke, she raised a hand, and a book identical to the ones that Skymender and Xiao Shi possessed appeared from nowhere.

    Lu Yin focused on the book. Ifbining two books could reveal the future, did that mean that he could see the future any time he wanted? After all, he possessed two books.

    But that should not be the case. In the past, Lu Yin had tried topare the two books, but he had failed to see the future.

    Skymender held his book up, and a strange force pulled the two books to the middle of the three individuals. Soon, the books began tobine.

    "Heaven''s Enigma," Bai Xian''er murmured.

    Skymender instinctively invoked Heaven''s Enigma as well, and a mysterious sensation emanated from him. Hints of images and scenes appeared around Skymender, like snapshots of time. Space warped and transformed into lines that connected to his Book of Destiny. Bai Xian''er also started using Heaven''s Enigma, but her reaction was vastly different from Skymender¡¯s.

    Bai Xian''er''s use of Heaven''s Enigma gave Lu Yin the odd sense of seeing yet not seeing. At this moment, he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. He did not know where they were, nor what era they were watching him from, but it felt as though he was watching the great river of time flow by, magnificent and grand. It felt as though time had been transformed into something tangible.

    Skymender¡¯s eyes instantly snapped open, his shock evident. "Is that the true Heaven''s Enigma?"

    At that moment, the two Books of Destiny abruptly opened, and their pages started to rapidly turn. None of them were able to get a clear look at any of the pages, though they could tell that every page showed a distinct scene. Lu Yin''s breath quickened. Did these images show the future? Was every page a scene from the future?

    He had previously been skeptical, but after Bai Xian''er demonstrated the magnificence of the river of time, Lu Yin started to believe. Destiny seemed to be connected to time in some way.

    All of a sudden, the pages stopped flipping. The image shown within the book disyed a pair of crimson eyes that were filled with fury and insanity. Were they the eyes of a corpse king?

    All three individuals stared intently at the page.

    The image suddenly zoomed out, which allowed them to see the face of the corpse king. Was that¡­?

    Skymender''s mouth fell open, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Bai Xian''er''s expression grew solemn, and she also looked at Lu Yin.

    The owner of the crimson eyes proved to be none other than Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank, and disbelief covered his features as he stared at the page. It was him?

    The page disyed a scene where Lu Yin''s red eyes gleamed with madness as he thrust a sword into Kui Luo''s body. Kui Luo roared and wed at Lu Yin''s face as though trying to tear him apart, but the old man¡¯s body slowly dissipated until nothing but ash remained. Lu Yin''s hand held the Origin Progenitor''s sword.

    With a single sh of the sword, Lu Yin had erased Kui Luo from existence. He then turned and struck Lu Buzheng¡¯s shoulder. Fury covered the man¡¯s face as his body also dissipated, followed by Ku Wei, the Ghost Monkey, Wendy Yushan, Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping, Big Sis, and even Highsage Leon. Everyone struck down had the familiar faces of Lu Yin¡¯s loved ones. Everyone vanished with a strike of the sword, reduced to nothing but dust.

    The scene shown on the page that the books showed left all three individualspletely stunned.

    Skymender stared at Lu Yin with a mixture of fear and panic. It was the first time that he had ever looked at Lu Yin with such an expression.

    Bai Xian''er gazed at Lu Yin with mourning filling her eyes.

    Lu Yin felt all energy drain from him, and his arms dropped limply to his sides. He was the one with those crimson eyes, and he was killing everyone that he cared about one after another with the Origin Progenitor''s sword. He was doing it himself.

    He suddenly remembered what True God had mentioned three years before: "You are still too stubborn, but the day wille when you will finally be enlightened. When that dayes, you will kill everyone that you know and hold dear. You will let go of everything and transform into a new creature. You will expose the mysteries of the universe. On that day, you will no longer stubbornly cling to the word ¡®human.¡¯ You can still call yourself human, but at that time, you will no longer choose to do so."

    At the time, Lu Yin had believed that True God had just been trying to convince him to join Aeternus, so he had not paid much attention to the words. However, after seeing the scene from the Book of Destiny, Lu Yin realized that thisment perfectly matched what he had just seen: he would kill all the people he knew and cared about, abandon everything, and transform into a new creature.

    Those crimson eyes seemed to pierce his very soul.

    With a thud, the two books fell, and Lu Yin snapped out of his thoughts.

    He watched as the two Books of Destiny fell to the dirty ground.

    Skymender''s heart trembled, and he quickly picked up one of the Books of Destiny, while the other flew into Bai Xian''er''s hands.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, should we silence him?" Bai Xian''er looked at Lu Yin, showing the same smile as ever.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. "Do you really think that I¡¯m going to believe what I just saw?"

    Bai Xian''er''s smile grew slightlyrger. "Destiny is inevitable. You saw what happened to the God of Food. What you just saw will definitely happen in the future. Time has shown us a moment in the future, and you cannot change it.¡±

    "I am actually very curious. Brother Xiaoxuan, you are a direct descendant of the Lu family, so why did you be a monster?"

    Lu Yin coldly replied, "Your petty tricks can¡¯t affect me. I don''t know how you did it, but you clearly know far more about Destiny than we do. Even if this is truly the future that Destiny has foreseen, so what? Since I can travel through time, I can naturally change the future. There''s no way I will ever be a monster of Aeternus."

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "I hope so. In that case, do you want to take another look at the future?"

    "Yes, leave your book behind." Lu Yin suddenly reached out to seize the Book of Destiny that Bai Xian''er held.

    Bai Xian''er chuckled, and then the void behind her tore open, and Bai Sheng emerged. He held his staff out in front of Bai Xian''er. "Lu Xiaoxuan, it''s been a long time."

    Lu Yin stopped and met Bai Sheng''s gaze. "It certainly has been."

    As he spoke, he withdrew his hand.

    "I''m leaving now, Brother Xiaoxuan. Don¡¯t worry, I will keep everything that we just saw a secret," Bai Xian''er said before leaving with Bai Sheng.

    Bai Sheng shot one more nce at Lu Yin before leaving.

    After the two left, Lu Yin remained standing where he was. He rubbed his cosmic ring, remembering everything that he had just witnessed. Would he really end up killing everyone he held dear? Would he really be a monster?

    It was not impossible, as there was divine energy in his chest.

    During thest trial of his sixth stellr tribtion, he had managed to defeat the manifestation of the Mother Tree with that divine energy. Lu Yin knew that his eyes had turned red at that time, and while it had been a different shade than the crimson that had filled his eyes in the Book of Destiny, they had still definitely been red.

    True God Yi Wei¡¯s words, the divine energy within Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and the visions that he had just seen all seemed to tell the same tale: in the future, he would no longer be human, and he would cut down his family, friends, and everyone else he cared about.

    Even long before any of those incidents urred, Xuan Jiu had told Lu Yin that anyone who became close to him would meet a terrible end and that he would bring bad luck to all his loved ones. Given what Lu Yin had just seen, were Xuan Jiu¡¯s words going to be proven true?

    Behind him, Skymender waited respectfully, beads of sweat forming across his forehead.

    Skymender had never before felt so nervous. He knew that he had just seen something he should not have, as once the matter was exposed, Lu Yin would be the enemy of all mankind. There was no way Lu Yin would ever allow that to happen, so the safest course of action would be to permanently silence Skymender.

    The more he thought about it, the more Skymender felt that he was most likely about to die.

    After having lived for many years, Skymender had experienced many things, and hardly anything fazed him anymore. He had not been this panicked even when Lu Yin had conquered the Astral Beast Domain, but at the moment, Skymender knew that he was standing at the very cusp of death.

    "Skymender, do you believe what we just saw?" Lu Yin asked calmly, keeping his back turned to Skymender.

    Skymender instantly replied, "No, I do not."

    "But we just saw a glimpse of the future from two Books of Destiny."

    "Lu Yin, Bai Xian''er just used the true Heaven''s Enigma. That technique has been lost for ages, and it should not even exist any longer. All the rest of us use the Inverse Enigma. Everything that we just saw was under her control. With her ability, it''s not impossible for her to have created a vision of a false future."

    Lu Yin nodded, "Yes, what we saw may indeed have been a false image created by Bai Xian''er."

    Skymender continued in a low voice. "Not may have, definitely. I''ve never heard that merging two Books of Destiny could reveal the future. Dao Chosen, you can check with Destina if such a thing is possible, but Bai Xian''er must have fabricated the whole thing."

    Lu Yin found Skymender¡¯s reaction rather amusing. The astral beast was adamantly refuting everything that he had just seen, worried that he would be silenced.

    "But what if it''s true?" Lu Yin suddenly threw out a question.

    Skymender''s eyes flickered, and he firmly replied, "If it''s true, then the Dao Chosen will betray humanity, but that has nothing to do with my Astral Beast Domain. Whether it''s Aeternus or humanity, it doesn''t matter to us, because we are astral beasts, not humans."

    Lu Yin stood there with his hands sped behind his back. Astral beasts were astral beasts, while humans were humans. Aeternus was humanity¡¯s archenemy, but to many humans, astral beasts were no different.

    "You can go back now. Leave the book," Lu Yin said.

    Skymender handed the book over in a respectful manner before silently leaving.

    Only after putting a vast distance between himself and Lu Yin was Skymender able to breathe once again. He felt incredibly lucky that he was an astral beast and not a human. Else, he might not have survived this incident. Anyone who saw what had appeared in that book would never be allowed to live unless they followed Lu Yin and defected to Aeternus. However, Lu Yin currently had no intentions of turning to Aeternus, which meant that there was no escape for anyone who witnessed such a scene.

    If Skymender defected to Aeternus, Lu Yin would kill him. If he did not defect to Aeternus, Lu Yin would have to worry about the matter being exposed. It was a situation with no answer.

    Lu Yin lifted the Book of Destiny and opened it, only to be met with nk white pages. There was nothing in the book at all.

    Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma¡­ Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    After a long time, he put the book away and sent a message to Xuan Jiu with his wireless jincan.

 Chapter 2444: Ancient Existence

    Chapter 2444: Ancient Existence

    In a bustling city in the Middle Realm¡¯s Blue Moon District, Xuan Jiu looked down at the wireless jincan in his hand. His face was scrunched up. To answer or not to answer?

    He had remained hidden in the Perennial World for three years, doing whatever it took to avoid Lu Yin. During this time, he had enjoyed a carefree life, just as he had during the twenty years of Lu Yin¡¯s disappearance. Since Xuan Jiu had left the Fifth Maind before the return of stellr energy, he had not been afflicted by Time Poison, unlike so many others.

    Unfortunately, the four ruling powers did not ept him into their families, so he spent his dayszing about in Middle Realm.

    He only hoped to never have any more dealings with Lu Yin ever again.

    However, Lu Yin had unexpectedly reached out to him.

    The wireless jincan finally stopped vibrating, allowing Xuan Jiu to heave a sigh of relief.

    Then it started vibrating again.

    Stop. Vibrate. Stop. Vibrate.

    Xuan Jiu finally answered, sending back, "I can see that you¡¯re not nning to give up."

    Lu Yin replied, "You once told me that I¡¯m bad luck and that whoever gets close to me will suffer from, right?"

    "Right," Xuan Jiu replied without any hesitation, though he immediately added, "They don''t even need to be close to you to suffer bad luck."

    "Do you know the true Heaven''s Enigma?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu was surprised. "You actually know about the true Heaven''s Enigma? I¡¯ve never learned it. Nobody else has."

    "Someone has."

    Xuan Jiu was startled. "Who?"

    Lu Yin answered, "If I tell you, will you be able to get the true Heaven¡¯s Enigma from her?"

    Xuan Jiu winced. "Of course not. The technique was split into Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma, but Destiny only ever taught her disciples the Inverse Enigma. It''s a huge deal if someone has actually learned the true Heaven''s Enigma."

    "Didn¡¯t the Starsibyl Sect not believe that Destiny existed? You seem quite certain about her existence," Lu Yin remarked.

    "Those people from the Heavens Sect era have already proved that Destiny lived. Why doubt it still?"

    "And yet I get the feeling that you guys have known about Destiny¡¯s existence for a very long time," Lu Yin pressed.

    "Even if we knew before that she lived, so what? Let me tell you, the Starsibyl Sect reached its current heights through their Abacus Divination. When we first imed to be able to perform divinations, no one believed us. Now, one of Destiny¡¯s true heirs has appeared, so there¡¯s no longer any need for us to exin anything."

    Lu Yin dropped the matter. "The person who knows Heaven''s Enigma is my enemy. Is there any way to deal with her?"

    "No! I''m just a useless old man, so don''t count on me for anything! I only have one wish right now," Xuan Jiu paused before saying, "I want to live for another 500 years."

    "500 years? That''s too short," Lu Yin replied.

    "Hmph, we can talk about that after I survive the next 500 years, though I''m afraid that you won''t live for even that long," Xuan Jiu mocked as he rolled his eyes.

    "Let''s meet up," Lu Yin requested.

    Xuan Jiu instantly ended the conversation and then proceeded to stomp on his wireless jincan until it broke. "Meet? Meet your ass!"

    Lu Yin put away his own wireless jincan. It seemed that Xuan Jiu was determined to not meet him.

    Just what was Destiny¡¯s goal? The scene that he had just witnessed would not leave Lu Yin''s mind.

    He observed the red divine energy thaty within his chest. Would it eventually transform him?

    He then looked up at the Upper Realm. The biggest variable that he needed to consider was Nutjob Lu. The man had never missed any opportunity to attack Lu Yin, which meant that Lu Yin had to eliminate the madman as soon as possible. Otherwise, who knew what would happen in the future?

    Also, there were the resources of the New World that he needed to collect. The four ruling powers had to have taken some, but other powerful forces, such as the Nong family, should have also collected quite a bit.

    With that in mind, he brought his wireless jincan back out and sent a message to Nong Yi.

    "So you''re here." Nong Yi was unsurprised by Lu Yin''s presence in the Perennial World. Three years was a short time, but anyone who knew Lu Yin also knew that he never remained in seclusion for more than a year. "Has there been any news regarding stellr energy?"

    Lu Yin replied, "No. I wanted to ask you about something."

    Nong Yi felt puzzled. "What is it?"

    "Where are you? In the Dominion Realm?"

    "Seed Garden."

    "I''ll head on over." Lu Yin ended the conversation and immediately headed towards Seed Garden. It was not long before the ce entered his sight.

    The jiao¡¯s huge shadow drew countless eyes from within Seed Garden. There were looks of shock, fear, and awe.

    In a field inside Seed Garden, Nong Yi wiped his forehead. "Show-off. Yazi, go bring him here."

    Behind the man, frustration covered Nong Ya¡¯s face. The nickname Yazi sounded terrible, but since his family¡¯s Progenitor loved to use it, Nong Ya decided to let it go.

    At his feet, a Guo jumped and skipped about yfully while yipping joyfully.

    Farther away, Nong Sanniang, Nong Lie, Nong Siniang, and others, including Bai Xue, were present as well.

    Nong Yi usually spent most of his time outside of Seed Garden, only rarely returning. When the Lu family had still been around, he had also been one of the Progenitors guarding the Outer Realm. After the Lu family¡¯s banishment, Nong Yi''s role meant that he had even fewer interactions than ever with the Nong family.

    Now that Aeternus had finally beenpletely driven out from the Perennial World, the Progenitor was allowed to return home any time he wished. No one wanted to miss this opportunity to get close to the family¡¯s Progenitor.

    Even if Nong Yi''s identity as the Nong family¡¯s Progenitor was ignored, many cultivators and even ordinary Progenitors would still flock to the man.

    Soon, Lu Yin followed Nong Ya into the field. "Senior Progenitor is up ahead, Dao Chosen Lu, please."

    Lu Yin saw Nong Sanniang, Bai Xue, and the others. He exchanged nces with Bai Xue and gave her a nod. Then, he removed his shoes and stepped into the field, acting exactly like the members of the Nong family.

    The Guo happily bounced over to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the Guo in surprise. This was not his first time meeting the little fellow. In the past, it had followed Nong Lie around, but whenever it saw Lu Yin, it always tried to jump onto him. His current visit was no exception.

    The Guo jumped up, and Lu Yin caught it out of reflex. He then ced the Guo on his shoulder, causing it to let out a happy grunt.

    "That little guy really likes you," Nong Yi said with a smile. He was dressed in simple clothing, and there was a towel tied around his forehead. He looked nothing like a Progenitor.

    Lu Yinughed. "We''re old friends. Senior, do you enjoy spending time out in the fields?"

    Nong Yi nodded. "For our Nong family, the sky, the earth, and a cup of tea make for the greatest enjoyment. If we can instruct some of our juniors from time to time, then it¡¯s even better."

    Nong Ya and the others sighed and automatically retreated a bit.

    Bai Xue felt conflicted as she watched the two men converse. During her time in Seed Garden, she had heard many things about Lu Yin. However, it was hard to believe that Lu Yin, someone who was around her age and who had left Earth with her and several others, could already fight against Progenitors. Apparently, he had even managed to confer the Nong family¡¯s Progenitor into his Investiture of the Gods. It was unthinkable.

    Was it just because he was a descendant of the Lu family?

    "Senior, don''t you n on returning to the Outer Realm?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Yi replied, "If the threat returns, of course I''ll return."

    He moved his hoe, digging it into the ground.

    Others followed suit, and people started tilling the soil.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and then took a hoe out from his cosmic ring so that he could join the rhythmic digging, much to everyone¡¯s surprise.

    Even Nong Yi was taken aback. "Where did you get that hoe?"

    "Someone gave it to me," Lu Yin replied casually.

    Nong Yi studied the hoe. "A hoe that¡¯s a power vessel? Is there anyone other than my Nong family who would do such a thing?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I received it from someone with the Nong surname, just the same as yours. He''s from the Sixth Maind."

    "There are Nong family members in the Sixth Maind?" Nong Ya eximed.

    On the other hand, Nong Yi was not surprised at all. "I see, no wonder. The Nong family spread to both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. ording to legends, one of our ancestral Progenitors had a grand n to cultivate farnd on all six Mainds. Because of that, many members of my Nong family spread across all the different Mainds to till fields,peting with each other in order to please that Progenitor."

    "What happened after that?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Yi¡¯s how stabbed into the ground. "When those Mainds were destroyed, my family¡¯s farms naturally disappeared along with them. That''s why I don¡¯t find it strange to learn that there are members of the Nong family in the Sixth Maind."

    The Guo jumped from one of Lu Yin''s shoulders to the other, greatly enjoying itself while ying on its own.

    "Senior, how much do you know about my Lu family?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Nong Yi felt a bit puzzled. "What exactly do you mean?"

    "Nutjob Lu," Lu Yin softly replied.

    Nong Yi''s movements faltered. He stared at the ground, seemingly deep in thought.

    Nong Ya and the others all gradually left the field, leaving Nong Yi alone with Lu Yin and the Guo.

    "If you want to know about Nutjob Lu, then you¡¯re asking the wrong person," Nong Yi replied, "Aside from Senior Lu Tianyi, no one else knows the madman''s history. Even the other Progenitors from your Lu family might not know the man¡¯s full story."

    Lu Yin felt his heart lurch. "Senior, are you trying to say that Nutjob Lu is an ancient powerhouse?"

    If Nutjob Lu was from his father''s generation, or even from the same generation as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Sea, then his background would not be much of a secret. The fact that only Lu Tianyi was aware of the man¡¯s past indicated that he came from an older era.

    Nong Yi arched a brow. "It appears that I need to be more careful when speaking to you, though you are right that Nutjob Lu is from a much, much older generation. Let me put it this way: I was among the first humans born after the Perennial World broke away from the Fifth Maind, so I can only barely be considered a junior to Progenitor Bai and the others. Back then, my grandfather was still alive, and he told me that even his father had heard of Nutjob Lu. His name is also mentioned in ancient records, always regarding him as the ck sheep of the Lu family.

    "Whenever outsiders mention the Lu family, the first person to mind will be Senior Lu Tianyi. However, those who know about Nutjob Lu will also think of him."

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious. "Then how long has Nutjob Lu lived for?"

    Nong Yi shook his head. "No one has any idea. Only Senior Lu Tianyi could have answered that question."

    Lu Yin looked up, wondering if Nutjob Lu had been born during the era of the Heavens Sect. If that were the case, then why did he hate the Lu family so much? Also, why had the Lu family never dealt with the man?

    Nutjob Lu had be a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, stabbing deeper than even the four ruling powers.

    The four ruling powers might be Lu Yin¡¯s mortal enemies as well, but he did not have to worry about them for the moment due to the truce. Nutjob Lu waspletely different, as he might strike at any moment.

    So far, Nutjob Lu had attacked Lu Yin twice, and he had nearly seeded both times.

    The first attack hade right after the game of Stable Zone that Lu Yin had yed with Mu Shang. If not for the mysterious hand that had appeared and blocked the attack, Lu Yin would have been in terrible danger.

    The second attack had urred during Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion. At that time, Nutjob Lu had tried to interfere with the tribtion, just like how the God of Food had dragged Mr. Yu into his stellr tribtion. Nutjob Lu had clearly intended to die with Lu Yin.

    The man was truly, undeniably insane. If Lu Yin did not get rid of the man, he would never be able to sleep peacefully.

    But how could he deal with Nutjob Lu?

    If not for the interference of the four ruling powers, he could ask Senior Brother Mu Xie to intervene by telling him that he suspected Nutjob Lu of being a Redback. He just had to inform his Senior Brother about what he had seen while shuttling through space-time. Although Senior Brother might not act without evidence, he could at least confront Nutjob Lu face-to-face.

    However, with the four ruling powers there to block Lu Yin, he might never get an opportunity to confront Nutjob Lu.

 Chapter 2445: Worse Than Your Old Man

    Chapter 2445: Worse Than Your Old Man

    Mu Xie was just one person. Progenitor Smoke would not intervene, and Nong Yi did not want to get involved. All of them also valued stability over all else, which meant that Lu Yin was alone against Nutjob Lu. Alone, there was nothing that he could do.

    Even if Nutjob Lu stood right in front of Lu Yin at that very moment, there was no guarantee that Lu Yin could take the man¡¯s life.

    Nong Yi continued swinging his hoe. "Some things can''t be rushed. Take it slow."

    Lu Yin gripped his hoe tightly. "Liu Yue is dead," he hissed.

    Nong Yi briefly froze in ce.

    "Three years ago, we managed to hold back the four ruling powers, but that doesn''t mean that we can do so again. Senior, have you ever wondered why the four ruling powers were so determined to exile the Lu Family? You know what role the Lu family yed in defending humanity from Aeternus. Without them, Aeternus gained a huge advantage and was suddenly able to easily invade the Perennial World. The four ruling powers were powerless to stop them.

    "I looked into the battles that were fought after the Lu Family was exiled, and I learned that the Seven Skygods who were previously held back by the Lu family also disappeared. The pressure on the five array bases increased, and the four ruling powers¡¯ most powerful Progenitors were stuck defending the Dominion Realm. However, the overall intensity of the fighting droppedpared to when the Lu Family was still around. That doesn''t make sense," Lu Yin said.

    "Then there''s Liu Yue''s death. The four ruling powers dared to kill a Progenitor without any evidence. They must have already been prepared to have a falling out with the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and Humility''s Gate. Where do they gain such confidence from?

    "The four ruling powers have acted in confusing ways at times. While they have always had a reasonable-sounding excuse, when looked at closely, things don''t add up. It feels like¡­"

    Nong Yi looked up. "It feels like something is giving them confidence, but I don¡¯t know what it could be."

    Lu Yin and Nong Yi locked eyes for a moment, and then Lu Yin nodded.

    Nong Yi''s smile faded. "Lu Qi asked me if I was willing to be conferred by him. Can you guess what I replied?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What did you say?"

    Nong Yi chuckled, "I told him to get lost."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but remained silent.

    "Lu Qi is your father. I couldn¡¯t believe that he was shameless enough to ask me such a question. My surname isn''t Wen, and I''m not the type to y the role of a martyr and sacrifice everything for humanity, so spare me the titudes. On top of that, your father wasn¡¯t very eloquent, so I kicked him out of the Outer Realm that I was guarding back then," Nong Yi said. "And yet, you managed to convince me. This isn¡¯t because you''re more charming than your father.¡±

    "Honestly, if I were topare the two of you, I would rather have him confer me than you. He might be shameless and a thick-skinned bastard, but at least he has always been honest. You are too scheming, and it terrifies me," Nong Yi continued.

    Lu Yin took the words as apliment.

    "But the times have changed. The Lu family is gone. The four ruling powers have exiled the Lu family and killed Liu Yue. I was willing to allow you to confer me not only because I fear the four ruling powers, but also because of their means. Everyone can tell that they''re hiding something, and whatever it is, it''s given them the confidence to eliminate Liu Yue."

    Nong Yi drew a deep breath. "Only those who guard the Outer Realm for many years can understand how important it is to the Perennial World. With Liu Yue dead, who will rece him in the Outer Realm? Destroying that giant scarlet eye may be enough to prevent more corpse kings from invading us, but it can¡¯t stop any of the Progenitor-level corpse kings. While the five array bases have be far more rxed than before, the Dominion Realm has never lowered its guard.¡±

    "Despite this, the four powers still decided to kill Liu Yue, which is practically no different from choosing to abandon the Outer Realm. There''s no way they are unaware of their actions¡¯ consequences, so the fact that they proceeded anyways means that they have some secret source of confidence that we don''t know about."

    Lu Yin asked, "You have no idea what they might be hiding, Senior?"

    Nong Yi shook his head. "No, none at all."

    The less he knew, the more uneasy he felt.

    Nong Yi had cultivated to the Progenitor realm, which meant that he was no fool. But even with his Progenitor-level strength, the Nong family''s support, and the Liu family¡¯s help in the past, they had still never been able to uncover just what the four ruling powers were keeping hidden. This secret was extremely well concealed.

    "You''re much worse than your father," Nong Yi suddenly said.

    Lu Yin stiffened. "How am I worse than him?"

    Lu Yin knew that his cultivation speed andbat strength were both unparalleled for his age and level of cultivation. Looking back throughout all of time, perhaps only the Three Realms Six Daos couldpare to him. No one with the same cultivation level was even close to a match for him, and that included the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Despite that, was he still regarded as much worse than his father?

    Nong Yi sighed. "Although your father wasn''t very talented in terms of cultivation, he has a way with women. In the past, he was quite the yboy in the Perennial World. There''s nothing that he couldn¡¯t handle, so long as it involved women."

    Seeing Lu Yin''s strange expression, the older man continued to say, "If you had your father''s ability, Bai Xian''er would have never been a problem."

    Lu Yin''s face flushed. "I''m not exactly gifted in that aspect, Senior."

    Nong Yi sat down and pointed at the ground next to him.

    Lu Yin followed suit, sitting beside the man.

    The two of them sat on the muddy field, each holding their hoes. They looked like nothing more than two simple peasants.

    "Cultivation is all about extending one''s lifespan, but over the course of one''s life, people fight for power, wealth, and all sorts of other things. Who do they fight against?" Nong Yi asked.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Who were they fighting against?

    "Naturally, theypete against their rivals and enemies," he replied.

    Nong Yi smiled. "Exactly. The opponents that youpete with, no matter if it¡¯s in cultivation,merce, or politics, will always remain other humans. If you win, are the means by which you won important?"

    "Of course not."

    "Even if an ordinary person manages to defeat a Progenitor, a win is still a win. Ultimately, youpete with other people. If you can understand people, then you can beat them. You¡¯ve always followed the path of cultivation and violence, but your father was different. He understood women, and that made him invincible against them, even if they were Progenitors. So, don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re inferior to him?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s true. Qiong Xi''er mentioned that business isn¡¯t just about making money, but rather people. Understanding and defeating your opponent is the very essence of business, and the same is true of cultivation."

    "Is Qiong Xi''er the woman who represented the Heavens Sect during the trade negotiations for equipment and resources?" Nong Yi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "All matters regardingmerce throughout the Fifth Maind have been entrusted to her."

    "You''re a pretty good judge of people¡¯s abilities. I''ve heard of that woman¡ªshe''s a tough nut to crack. The four ruling powers were more or less chewed up by her." Nong Yi chuckled.

    "It''s mainly due to the resources. If not for the quality of the equipment that we can provide, the four ruling powers would have never spared her a single nce."

    "This part of the universe has gone through tremendous changes over thest three years. Even if the threat of Aeternus has temporarily subsided, cultivators have constantly been improving their equipment. The five array bases remain strong, and every cultivator hopes to obtain their own copsible spacecraft, microarray weapons, universal armor, wireless jincan, and most importantly, a Void Wanderer. You must have made quite the profit from these sales, no?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Not too much. Actual sales only made up a portion of the various transactions. Most of the trades were made with the exchange of provisions."

    During thest three years, the Fifth Maind had generated an impressive stream of revenue by providing various tools to the Perennial World, but Qiong Xi''er had her own ns. For this reason, Lu Yin had not touched any of the money yet.

    Lu Yin said, "Speaking of profits, that reminds me of the New World. There are many cities there, and each of them should have a considerable amount of star essence. Where did all of it go?"

    He had finally brought up his primary motivation for this visit.

    Nong Yi replied, "There are 272 cities in the New World. As you mentioned, star essence was recovered from each city. It has all been divided up, and a portion naturally belongs to you. ording to the four ruling powers, other than simply eliminating all the corpse kings, all of the cities apportioned to you have remained untouched."

    Lu Yin asked, "How many cities did I get?"

    "The four ruling powers each received fifty cities. My Nong family was given twenty, and another twenty were divided among the defenders of the five array bases as their reward. The Lockbreaker Society was given ten cities, you were given ten, and the final twelve were split among independent cultivators and other various families of the Perennial World. After all, such people have also participated in protecting and defending the rear battlefield."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew hard. "Why was I only given ten cities?"

    Nong Yi replied, "When the New World was retaken, you certainly did contribute greatly as the trailzer, but you left almost immediately due to the issues that arose in the Fifth Maind. The fourth array base did not join in the attack on the New World, and they mostly remained behind to hold the defenses. That is why you were only given ten cities."

    Lu Yin asked, "On average, how much star essence does each city hold?"

    "Approximately 10 billion."

    Lu Yin nodded. Nong Yi did not say much about the rationale behind how the cities had been divided. If Lu Yin was unhappy with his allotment, then he could only voice hisint to the four ruling powers. Of course, he was already nning to do exactly that.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something. "By the way, is there someone trapped in your wheat field?"

    Nong Yi was confused. "Who? There¡¯s no one trapped."

    Lu Yin replied, "A woman named Qiu Shi. She has been trapped there for a long time."

    Nong Yi pped his forehead. "Ah, Qiu Shi. It is true that I left her there for quite some time. One day, she mysteriously appeared in my Seed Garden, her originspletely unknown. I guessed that she was from the Forsaken Land."

    "That¡¯s right. She¡¯s the top disciple of the Fifth Maind''s Cosmic Sect and is likely going to one day inherit the sect. How is she doing?"

    Nong Yi replied, "She''s fine. We''ve kept an eye on her from the moment she arrived. I have to say, the girl is quite likable, and her innate gift is truly outstanding. Her talent is in no way inferior to Sanniang¡¯s. I made the impulsive decision to take her in as my disciple, and she has been in secluded training for more than ten years since."

    Lu Yin understood. This exined why Qiu Shi had never returned home, even after so long. If she had not gone into seclusion after escaping from the wheat field, she would have returned to the Fifth Maind long ago. She was most likely unaware of the most recent events that had yed out in the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind during her seclusion.

    Nong Yi asked, "Should I ask her toe out?"

    Lu Yin waved the question away with a hand. "There¡¯s no need. Let her focus on her cultivation."

    There was a rustic charm to Seed Garden that made Lu Yin feel as though he had returned to nature each time he visited it.

    He was in no hurry to leave. He swung his hoe in the field, just the same as Nong Yi. The two hoes methodically rose and fell.

    Nong Siniang approached Lu Yin, a strange look on her face. She was still haunted by the matter of Yu Hao.

    Lu Yin felt rather awkward. "Your staring is a bit ufortable."

    Nong Siniang blinked. "I miss Professor Hao Yu."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    Nong Sanniang quickly arrived as well, and she dragged Nong Siniang away. "You''re still too young to be interested in appearances!"

    She then turned to Lu Yin. "The way you look now is more eye-catching."

    Lu Yin grinned. "You too."

    Nong Sanniang went stiff. Lu Yin¡¯s response did not feel quite sincere.

    Bai Xue also approached, and she handed each person a cup of tea.

    As she handed a cup to Lu Yin, there was no change in her expression. Lu Yin realized that she had never revealed anything about her rtion with him to the Nong family. It was possible that she had be emotionally attached to the Nong family after living with them for so long and did not wish for any misunderstandings to arise.

    From the edge of the field, someone called out in a voice that soundedpletely exhausted, "Sanniang, it''s your turn now."

    It was a middle-aged man who looked as though he had just fought a great battle.

 Chapter 2446: The War Of Turtledove River

    Chapter 2446: The War Of Turtledove River

    Nong Sanniang let out an audible sigh. Clutching her hoe, she trudged away from the field, heading in a specific direction.

    Nong Lie plopped down into the muddy field and let out a groan. "Here we go again."

    Lu Yin asked curiously, "What''s going on?"

    Nong Lie sighed. "It''s our turn to chat with Big Face Tree."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up as he remembered his own interactions with the strange tree. The tree¡¯s voice carried some kind of mysterious force that smashed the listeners¡¯ minds like a sledgehammer. The tree had spoken to Lu Yin in the past, as well as Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin had also met the tree while posing as Long Qi, and the tree had been the first to recognize that he was actually Lu Xiaoxuan.

    "Does Big Face Tree know a lot of things?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Lie nodded. "It knows a lot, but who can listen to it? Even Father can''t."

    Lu Yin nced at Nong Ya, who had started working the field with an unpleasant expression on his face.

    Nong Yi leaned on his hoe as he said, "Old people like to reminisce, and Big Face Tree is absolutely ancient. It often recounts the same old stories that we¡¯ve already heard, but it never gets tired of repeating them."

    The old man looked at Lu Yin. "You can go chat with it, if you want. For all you know, you might learn something useful."

    Lu Yin considered the offer for a moment before putting away his hoe. "I''ll go chat with it."

    "Xue''er, take Lu Yin over," Nong Ya ordered.

    Nong Lie''s face lit up. "Father, why not let Lu Yin take my ce?"

    "Dream on. Go tend the crops," Nong Ya retorted.

    "Yes¡­"

    Lu Yin followed Bai Xue as she led the way toward Big Face Tree.

    "It¡¯s been a long time," Lu Yin greeted.

    Bai Xue ran a hand through her hair. "It''s been quite a while. You''ve changed."

    "Do you want to stay with the Nong family from now on?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xue nodded. "It''s nice here. The people lead simple lives."

    Lu Yin did not try to keep the conversation going. It was not umon for close friends to grow apart. It was not because of any tension in their rtionship; rather, their different perspective would only grow with time and cause them to drift apart.

    Bai Xue had nothing to say and no way to rte to Lu Yin''s current situation, while Lu Yin had no interest in bringing up the past just to bridge the gap between them.

    "What happened to the person who came to Seed Garden with youst time?" Bai Xue suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Person? Shang Qing? "Why ask about him?"

    Bai Xue replied, "His eyes were special."

    Lu Yin chuckled. There was no doubt about that, as Shang Qing had been quite attracted to Bai Xue. Still, a woman''s intuition was quite scary. Shang Qing and Bai Xue had only met a single time in Seed Garden, but Bai Xue clearly still remembered him.

    "He disappeared when Burial Garden closed," Lu Yin said.

    "Oh." Bai Xue then fell silent.

    They soon came face to face with Big Face Tree.

    Nong Sanniang fled almost immediately, though not fast enough to avoid a tremendous amount of agony.

    Bai Xue turned to Lu Yin. "Are you sure about this? I''m Big Face Tree''s caretaker, and I¡¯ve heard that even the family¡¯s Progenitor can''t endure a conversation with it for very long."

    Taking a deep breath, Lu Yin stepped forward to approach Big Face Tree.

    During hisst visit, he had only heard the words "Third Maind" before losing consciousness. This time, he wanted to carefully listen to what the tree had to say.

    "Oh, little one, you''vee to see me again! Uncle Tree is delighted! You''re one of the few people who can listen to Uncle Tree''s nagging for a bit. Come, let Uncle Tree tell you a bit more. We previously left off at the War of Turtledove River, right? Let''s continue from there. There''s a river that runs from east to west across the Third Maind called Turtledove River¡­"

    Each word Big Face Tree spoke pummeled Lu Yin¡¯s brain with the force of a massive hammer. It was still insanely difficult to tolerate the tree¡¯s words despite the incredible increase in Lu Yin''s strength since hisst visit. This was not just a spiritual force attack, as every word delivered a strange power that hammered at Lu Yin¡¯s very soul.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he endured the pain. Despite the agony, he was able to handle Big Face Tree''s words much better than before.

    "And that was the War of Turtledove River, which buried half of the Third Maind''s Progenitors and broke the Maind apart, splitting it into two pieces. It paved the way for the Third Maind¡¯s destruction. Speaking of the War of Turtledove River, it¡¯s impossible to not mention one person: Progenitor Y¨­u Ming."

    Lu Yin''s head throbbed as his vision spun. He had no choice but to recite the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra in order to deal with the pain.

    As soon as the name "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming" was mentioned, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide.

    Big Face Tree blinked, and its cheeks puffed out. "Oh, little one, are you suddenly interested? Then Uncle Tree will tell you the story of the War of Turtledove River again! There''s a river that runs from east to west through the Third Maind called Turtledove River¡­"

    Lu Yin''s mouth dropped. "Um, can you start from the part about Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    Big Face Tree continued to prattle on, not even hearing Lu Yin''s request.

    Every word continued to m into Lu Yin''s brain, and he only managed to endure the pain by mentally reciting the Origin Sutra.

    "Speaking of the War of Turtledove River, it¡¯s impossible to not mention one person: Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. She was a ruthless character, and it was she, not those monsters of Aeternus, who tore Turtledove River apart. At the cost of splitting the Third Maind in twain, she single-handedly buried an ancient monster, achieving a remarkable victory rarely seen throughout the Human-Aeternus war. Although her victory practically broke the Third Maind in two, it sessfully forced Aeternus''s forces back. Gu Yizhi was ecstatic, and he personally raised a toast to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming,vishing her with praise. He generously imparted hisplete cultivation method for spiritual force, which caused her to focus her cultivation around spiritual force. This ultimately led to the birth of the Impious Sutra."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is the Impious Sutra rted to Gu Yizhi?"

    "What did you say? The Impious Sutra? Oh, if one mentions the Impious Sutra, then we have to trace its origins back to the War of Turtledove River. There''s a river that runs from east to west through the Third Maind called Turtledove River¡­"

    Lu Yin fled without any hesitation. He had reached his limits. Was Big Face Tree suffering from dementia?

    Some distance away, Nong Sanniang and several others were watching, and they all looked quite impressed. It was rare for anyone to be able to listen to Big Face Tree for this long.

    Even Nong Yi was amazed. "Even I find it hard to listen to it for so long."

    Lu Yin had to ask, "Why do its words have such an effect? That¡¯s not a battle technique or even spiritual force. Or rather, it¡¯s not just spiritual force."

    Nong Yi shook his head. "I don''t know. Senior Lu Tianyi once came to study Big Face Tree, but he couldn''t figure anything out either. Still, the tree knows about many things that have been lost to history. What did it talk to you about?"

    "The Third Maind¡¯s war."

    Nong Yi sympathized. "You¡¯re quite unfortunate. Every time the tree sees you, it will recount the story of the Third Maind¡¯s war from beginning to end, and it will even mention some meaningless battles."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "How long will that take?"

    "A very, very long time."

    "Can I ask it any questions?"

    "No."

    Lu Yin sighed. Apparently, that was his fault. He should not have interrupted the tree, as every time he did so, Big Face Tree would restart from the very beginning.

    He had automatically interrupted the tree, as what Lu Yin had heard had been too shocking. In the future, he needed to mentally prepare himself so that, no matter how shocking or unbelievable the story was, he would keep his mouth firmly shut.

    "Do you want to keep listening?" Nong Yi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded and said with firm determination, "It mentioned something that I''m quite interested in. As long as I keep listening, I''ll be able to learn something important."

    Nong Yi did not discourage him. "Then go ahead."

    The Nong family members slowly drifted away, until only Bai Xue remained.

    Lu Yin looked back towards Big Face Tree and then decided to take a break. He felt like he might be able to learn many secrets from Big Face Tree.

    His wireless jincan vibrated. It was a message from Jiu Yao.

    "I''ve checked. Altogether, your ten cities have 6 billion star essences," Jiu Yao transmitted over.

    Lu Yin had asked Jiu Yao to check on his ten cities after learning about them from Nong Yi. Not a single person had mentioned anything to Lu Yin before that, and if he had not asked, all of the cities¡¯ resources would have been taken by others.

    "Only 6 billion star essences?" Lu Yin''s expression fell.

    Nong Yi had said that each city held an average of 10 billion star essences, but all ten of Lu Yin¡¯s citiesbined only had 6 billion.

    "Yes, only 6 billion star essences. I found evidence of people trespassing underground. After inquiring, I learned that all the other cities hold far more star essence, so someone must have stolen what was there," Jiu Yao replied.

    Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan. There was no need for any guesses. Even if the four ruling powers did not directly steal the star essence, they must have tacitly approved of the theft. The cities had been allocated to Lu Yin¡¯s name, so who else would have dared to touch what belonged to him?

    The amount of resources in those ten cities would not be enough to tempt any of the four ruling powers themselves. Thus, they must have allowed others to do so. Moreover, many people had taken action, which made it impossible for Lu Yin to track down each and every thief.

    Since the four ruling powers had given what belonged to Lu Yin to others, Lu Yin would be the one offending the people if he asked for anything to be returned. If he offended too many people, then not only would the four ruling powers retain their goodwill because of the gifts, but Lu Yin would also sow a grudge against them.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were unlikely to be behind this, as this was the role of Semi-Progenitors like Xia Ziheng. Such people did not have as wide a perspective of the universe as a Progenitor.

    Regardless of who was behind the theft, the four ruling powers had clearly taken advantage of Lu Yin. Did they really expect him to just let this matter go and eat the loss?

    The primary purpose of his visit to the Perennial World was to gather enough star essence to repair the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Anyone who dared toy a finger on his star essence must have grown tired of living.

    He sent a message to Wang Wen, "I want to make some trouble for the four ruling powers, but I can''t use brute force. Any ideas?"

    Wang Wen replied, "Talk to Qiong Xi''er. She should already have some things nned out."

    Lu Yin immediately reached out to Qiong Xi''er.

    After receiving the message on her own wireless jincan, Qiong Xi''er''s eyes started to ze. "It¡¯s time for us to take action? Then let the games begin! I can''t wait to show them what it means to make money without spending a cent."

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan back down. He had no intention of leaving Seed Garden for the time being. He would stay here and listen to Big Face Tree. The matters involving the rest of the universe could be left to Qiong Xi''er and her team for the time being.

    One day, chaos erupted in the Perennial World. This was not due to war, revenge, or a power struggle, but rather because the wireless jincans were malfunctioning.

    For three years, the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World had traded frequently with each other. The Perennial World had bought arge number of Void Wanderers, wireless jincans, and universal armor, as well as other goods from the Fifth Maind.

    These things were just too useful on the battlefield. Void Wanderers allowed cultivators of any strength to move through the void, and while the wireless jincans were unable to transmit images likemunication crystals, they allowed their users tomunicate across any distance. Furthermore, the messages sent through a wireless jincan werepletely impossible to intercept, unlikemunication crystals. These attractive features made them very popr among powerful families and sects.

    As the value of wireless jincans continued to rise, more and more people in the Perennial World had abandonedmunication crystals and switched over. Although three years was not a very long time, a significant number of people had already be ustomed to using wireless jincans.

 Chapter 2447: Profit Without Sacrifice

    Chapter 2447: Profit Without Sacrifice

    On this day, the wireless jincans that belonged to the Perennial World¡¯s cultivators went still. No matter how people toyed and prodded their jincans, it was impossible to use them to send or receive messages from another person.

    The discovery sent shockwaves through the Perennial World. Over thest three years, the Perennial World hade to heavily rely on the use of wireless jincans. If the jincans failed, then not only would the resources that they had spent to acquire them go to waste, but even providing an exnation to the people who had bought them would be a challenge. This was because the sale of wireless jincans had been facilitated directly by the four ruling powers.

    Three years ago, Lu Yin and Wang Wen had devised a n to split the Fifth Maind¡¯s trade efforts with the Perennial World between the Liu family, the Nong family, and the four ruling powers. However, with Liu Yue''s demise, the matter had been left without a conclusion. At that time, Qiong Xi''er had proposed the idea of entrusting the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire trade to the four ruling powers alone.

    Thus, many people from the Perennial World had acquired their wireless jincans directly from the four ruling powers and not the Fifth Maind. For this reason, when the jincans stopped working, people automatically approached the four ruling powers for answers. Even if people wanted to confront the Fifth Maind, the New Corridor had been sealed off, and more importantly, the problem with the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy was terrifying. Who in their right mind would venture to such a ce?

    "What did you just say? There''s a problem? What kind of problem?" A middle-aged man sent orders through the wireless jincan in front of him. He was the same plump individual who had apanied Bai Qi during their trade negotiations with the Fifth Maind. After engaging in a long verbal sh with Qiong Xi''er, the man had been given the responsibility of overseeing the trade between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind. Unlike most people, this man¡¯s wireless jincan was still functioning as normal.

    From the connected wireless jincan, Qiong Xi''er replied, "At the moment, I¡¯m unsure of the problem¡¯s nature, but I am conducting an investigation into it."

    "Then why is mine unaffected?" the man asked while gritting his teeth.

    Sighing, Qiong Xi''er sent back, "That is precisely why I started an investigation. Are you hoping for yours to encounter problems as well?"

    "How long will it take to resolve this?"

    Qiong Xi''er replied, "I cannot give you a definite answer, but please be patient."

    With that, the call ended.

    The middle-aged man''s eyes darted about as beads of sweat covered both his palms and his forehead.

    A short whileter, Bai Qi arrived, looking rather distressed. "What¡¯s going on?"

    The middle-aged man respectfully delivered a report, "Qiong Xi''er has informed me that there is an issue with the wireless jincans. She is currently investigating the matter."

    Bai Qi furrowed her brow. "How long will the investigation take?"

    The middle-aged man clearly wanted to say something, but he was reluctant to do so.

    Bai Qi ordered, "Speak!"

    The middle-aged man fell to his knees beneath the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor. Panting, he answered, "Something is not right."

    "What isn¡¯t right?" Bai Qi was puzzled.

    The middle-aged man took a deep breath and then exined, "My wireless jincan is still working normally, despite the issues that the others are facing. This is not some mere malfunction. The Fifth Maind has deliberately sabotaged the wireless jincans that they sold us. This is an attack."

    "What did you say? They''re attacking us? But why?" Bai Qi simply could not understand the situation.

    The middle-aged man was equally clueless. "This small one doesn''t know why, as this trade agreement is crucial for both the Perennial World and the Forsaken Land. This has be more than just trade, as it is actually an exchange of resources. I never expected them to use this move against us. I can only hope that it is truly just a mere malfunction and that my fears are unfounded. Otherwise¡­"

    "Otherwise what?" Steel entered Bai Qi''s voice.

    Swallowing nervously, the middle-aged man forced himself to continue speaking. "If I''m not mistaken, then they¡¯ve struck at this exact moment because they''re confident that we don¡¯t have any option but to rely on their wireless jincans. They intend to restrain the Perennial World by targeting the wireless jincans."

    Bai Qi smirked, "What a joke. Even without the wireless jincans, we can still usemunication crystals¡­"

    As she stared at the trembling middle-aged man, Bai Qi¡¯s smile faded. "Check on that right now! Ourmunication crystals cannot bepromised."

    One dayter, their investigations revealed that extensive areas of the Perennial World''smunication crystal mines were no longer under the four ruling powers¡¯ control. Unprocessedmunication crystals, which were known as cloudstones, could not facilitate dialogue or disy messages in their raw form. Cloudstones had to be processed before they became functionalmunication crystals. However, the parties in control of the cloudstone mines refused to carry out the necessary processing, which rendered the crystals useless to anyone who obtained them.

    The middle-aged man exhaled. "So it really is an attack. They started by first recing ourmunication crystals with wireless jincans. As these jincans rapidly became popr, it drove down the prices ofmunication crystals and cloudstones. They then covertly seized the opportunity to buy up all the cloudstone mines. Everything that they did has led to this exact moment."

    As he spoke, he grew even more confused. "Cloudstone mines should be strictly regted, so how did they purchase any?"

    Even an idiot would understand that anything regarded as a strategic military resource would be tightly regted. The four ruling powers were guaranteed to own a considerable number of cloudstone mines, given that they were involved in the refining process. Communication crystals were unquestionably one of the foundational pirs of profit for the four ruling powers, so how had the Fifth Maind managed to buy any of the mines?

    Bai Qi''s expression soured. "Some people from our sect saw that wireless jincans were recingmunication crystals, so they promptly sold off the cloudstone mines to gain personal profits, believing it to be a smart move. To make matters worse, Bai Teng even rewarded them for it."

    "They sold the mines to the Fifth Maind?" The middle-aged man could not believe his ears.

    Bai Qi rified, "Of course not! They would rather destroy those mines than sell them to the Fifth Maind. The mines were sold to a family from the Virtue District."

    The middle-aged man understood. "So, the Fifth Maind exploited the Perennial World''s residents to gain control over numerous cloudstone mines. But how did they manage to acquire so much influence? Not to mention, how did they even locate the cloudstone mines?"

    Bai Qi stopped answering the man. While he possessed extraordinary business acumen and had been capable of deciphering Qiong Xi''er''s intentions almost instantly, his thinking was still confined to the realm of business. He was unable to perceive matters from a higher level.

    Given the means at Lu Yin''s disposal, as well as his pervasive influence throughout the Perennial World, learning the locations of the mines and assuming control of them was certainly not beyond him.

    If Lu Yin controlled the cloudstone mines, then it meant that the four ruling powers could no longer producemunication crystals. That meant that they were being forced to rely on wireless jincans for all long distancemunications, but unfortunately, the wireless jincans were under their enemy¡¯s control. If the jincans malfunctioned, then it was possible to demandpensation, but the culprits were currently giving a simple excuse in order to dy¡ªthey were investigating the matter. Even ifpensation was warranted, it would have to wait until the investigation waspleted, and no one could say how long that would take.

    "Madam," the middle-aged man spoke up.

    Bai Qi looked back at the man.

    "The Fifth Maind has gained a significant amount of star essence from our Perennial World by selling us things like wireless jincans and Void Wanderers. They then used that star essence to purchase cloudstone mines. Throughout the entire process, they haven''t actually sacrificed anything. Even after buying all the cloudstone mines, they should have still made enough star essence to cover all of their initial costs," the middle-aged man exined.

    "Now that the wireless jincans are malfunctioning, they stand to reap even greater profits by selling the cloudstone mines back to us at a high price. Not only do they stand to make a considerable profit, but they can also leverage this situation for further negotiations. I don''t think that Qiong Xi''er is the person we should actually be speaking to. Instead, we should speak directly to the person in charge of the Fifth Maind. Without approval, Qiong Xi''er would have never dared to initiate such a daring scheme," the middle-aged man suggested.

    Bai Qi''s expression froze. This much was obvious. How could a mere Qiong Xi''er have the audacity to plot against the entire Perennial World? She would be crushed to death with a single p.

    This was also why the middle-aged man had been caught so off guard. His perspective was confined to business transactions, and he focused solely on turning a profit. How could he have possibly anticipated that his opponent would target the entire Perennial World? This was not something that the man could be held responsible for.

    Bai Qi also did not me the man. How could he have anticipated Lu Yin''s attack?

    At this point, Bai Qi no longer considered her previous questions, and instead, she thought about Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. Why would he suddenly take action? Was he prepared to directly go up against the four ruling powers?

    Three years ago, when the four ruling powers had killed Liu Yue, they had been prepared to cut down all who opposed them. At that time, Lu Yin had intervened. This time, he had proactively taken action.

    Bai Qi quickly contacted Bai Wangyuan. This was a matter beyond what she could handle alone.

    Upon learning of the situation, Bai Wangyuan was filled with anger.

    The four ruling powers were undoubtedly headed for an eventual fight with Lu Yin, but they had never expected the first confrontation after three years of peace to be this kind of issue.

    The Progenitor immediately tried to contact Lu Yin.

    At this exact moment, Lu Yin was suffering from a headache. He was in front of Big Face Tree, who was joyfully recounting one battle after another while not leaving out even a single detail. Lu Yin did not dare to interrupt, for if he did, the tree would start over from the very beginning.

    Lu Yin needed to endure the entire recounting of the war before he could make his escape. There was no other option but to sit through the entire lecture. Otherwise, he would have to listen to the tale again when he returned.

    Little by little, the story passed as he listened. Eventually, he would learn about what he wanted to know.

    His wireless jincan vibrated without stop as Bai Wangyuan repeatedly tried to contact Lu Yin. Finally, he answered. "What''s wrong?"

    "What''s going on with the wireless jincans?" Bai Wangyuan demanded.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he massaged his forehead. "What wireless jincans?"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, stop the act! You and I both know the truth. I want to know what your intentions are," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    Bai Xue handed Lu Yin a cup of water, and he slowly took a sip. "I was the first to head into the New World. I also destroyed Aeternus''s cosmic door. If not for me, you would have never had the courage to set foot in the New World. But in the end, I was only given ten cities."

    This was not the topic that Bai Wangyuan had been expecting. The Progenitor had thought that something else was at the heart of this attack, but after considering the matter, things linked up quite nicely. This was an attack that involved no violence or death; it was pure business. And in business, the goal was naturally profit. "How much do you want?"

    "It''s not about just the ten cities anymore. Those ten citiesbined also only have 6 billion star essences in them. Bai Wangyuan, is this some kind of joke?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes grew cold. "You were allotted those ten cities long ago. You failed to send people there to collect your star essence. It''s none of our concern if it was stolen by others. Don''t try to ce the me on us. I don''t have the time to argue with you about this."

    "Give 2 two trillion. Do that, and I''ll pretend that this whole thing never happened," Lu Yin replied.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes grewrge. "2 trillion? Now you''re joking with me."

    While a Progenitor like Bai Wangyuan would not attach much importance to material items such as star essence, 2 trillion was still a somewhat exaggerated number.

    Lu Yin said, "Each of your four ruling powers just has toe up with 500 billion. That¡¯s not too much."

    "If those ten cities¡¯ resources aren''t enough, then I can give you a few more. That¡¯s just a small matter, but don''t try to push all of the me onto the four ruling powers!" Bai Wangyuan sternly replied.

    Lu Yin sent back, "Fine. Since you''re not willing, then just forget it."

    The call ended abruptly.

    With the cloudstone mines in Lu Yin''s control, the only way the four ruling powers could get them back was to buy them. Trying to seize them through force would be no different from outright robbery, and they could not afford to humiliate themselves in such a manner. Destroying a sect or family to acquire their resources was different from outright robbery. Debasing themselves in such a manner was not worth it for such a trivial sum of money.

    It was just human nature. Regardless of how deranged a person might be, they would always hold true to what they consider their own values and bottom line, let alone Progenitors like Bai Wangyuan.

    The concept or robbery could never be associated with the four ruling powers. Such a reputation would permanently mar them, and they would never be able to wash themselves of it.

 Chapter 2448: Lu Sanctumâ€™s Treasury

    <h4>Chapter 2448: Lu Sanctum¡¯s Treasury</h4>

    ].

    Several days passed without anyone contacting Lu Yin. Finally, after ten days passed, he received an update from Qiong Xi''er: "The four ruling powers have agreed."

    "Mhmm. Restore their wireless jincans," Lu Yin instructed.

    "Their current priority isn¡¯t the wireless jincans, but rather the cloud stone mines."

    "In that case, sell them. This entire transaction was a one-time opportunity. Trying this again in the future will aplish practically nothing. The Perennial World¡¯s losses will be limited to mary ones," Lu Yin said.

    Qiong Xi''er said, "Financial losses won''t have much of an effect on the four ruling powers, but you seem to consider this very important, Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin had been left with no choice. Even if he did not repair the Origin Progenitor''s sword, he was still in dire need of funds. His die was absurdly expensive to use.

    As he had once mentioned to Qiong Xi¡¯er, the current situation was a scheme that could only be used once. Three years ago, Qiong Xi''er had suggested the idea, and Lu Yin had agreed, believing that it would likely be better than just taking the profits as they came in. Fortunately, the scheme had yielded substantial returns three yearster.

    With the n being sessful, fully restoring the Origin Progenitor''s sword did not seem too far away. He onlycked another four trillion at most.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. The question was, where could he acquire such a sum?

    As for thetest scheme, the four ruling powers did not appear to be too enraged by what Lu Yin had done.

    "It''s quiteughable to see Lu Xiaoxuan resorting to such methods for mere star essence,"mented Xia Shenji.

    Wang Fan added, "The rumors are certainly true. Lu Xiaoxuan holds star essence in exceptionally high regard."

    "While it''s true that all members of the Lu family consume massive amounts of resources to cultivate, it¡¯s rare to see someone so unscrupulous," noted Progenitor Long.

    Bai Wangyuan chimed in. "Since he likes it so much, let''s give it to him. I''m quite curious to see just how much he can handle."

    ¡­

    In a single stroke, Lu Yin had managed to obtain 2 trillion star essences from the four ruling powers. He had just 4 trillion more to go.

    It might be possible to acquire this amount from the Fifth Maind if he wished, but the consequences would be terrible. Even if it was possible to gather this amount, it would cause the Fifth Maind¡¯s entire economy to copse.

    Obtaining the remaining funds from the Fifth Maind was not an option. Lu Yin looked around, realizing that the Perennial World was his only bet.

    At that moment, Nong Yi approached. "What trouble are you creating for the four ruling powers this time? All of the wireless jincans have started malfunctioning."

    Lu Yin silently stared at Nong Yi.

    Nong Yi felt a chill crawl up his spine from Lu Yin''s scrutiny.

    "What does your Seed Gardenck?" Lu Yin suddenly inquired.

    Perplexed, Nong Yi asked, "What do you mean?"

    "What do you need? If the Fifth Maind possesses it, we can negotiate a trade," Lu Yin elucidated.

    Nong Yi exhaled deeply. "So you are truly in dire need of money."

    At that moment, the man¡¯s wireless jincan trembled, and Nong Yi answered the message. After a brief conversation, he ended the transmission and looked back at Lu Yin with a peculiar expression. "Why do you require such an exorbitant sum of money?"

    "You know about that?"

    "The wireless jincans that stopped working suddenly returned to normal. The four ruling powers purchased a significant number of cloud stone mines, and the rumors are iming that everything was orchestrated by you. Are you truly that desperate for money?"

    Lu Yin sighed, but then admitted it. "Very much so. In that case, how much can Seed Garden lend me?"

    Shaking his head, the Progenitor replied, "My Seed Garden isn¡¯t wealthy. At best, I can lend you a few billion star essence."

    "You''re that poor?" Lu Yin eximed involuntarily.

    Nong Yi was clearly irritated by thement. "Seed Garden has always been self-sufficient."

    "Then where can I get more money?" Lu Yin inquired.

    Nong Yi contemted for a while. "Of all the families in the Perennial World, the Lu family always possessed the greatest wealth. The members of the Lu family consume a tremendous amount of resources for their cultivation, and as a result, the entire Perennial World offered tribute to the Lu family in the form of mary wealth. They had the family¡¯s treasury within their territory, and if you can find that, you should no longer need to worry about your finances."

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed. "The family¡¯s treasury?"

    "The Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury was used exclusively for the Lu family¡¯s cultivation resources. They allocated resources based on each individual''s aptitude, taskspleted, and so on. Nobody knows the exact quantity of star essence in that treasury. I suppose that only a few of the Lu family''s Progenitors were privy to that information," Nong Yi sighed.

    Lu Yin eagerly asked, "Where can I find the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury?"

    Nong Yi shook his head. "I don''t know. After the Lu family was exiled, the four ruling powers, our Nong family, the Liu family, and Specter Abyss all searched for it, but to no avail. Nevertheless, no one is too concerned, as the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury mostly holds resources such as star essence, which isn¡¯t vital to the four ruling powers. After more than a decade of fruitless searching, everyone gave up, and the matter has long since been forgotten."

    Lu Yin felt a sense of disappointment.

    "How much longer do you n to remain a guest of my Seed Garden?" Nong Yi asked.

    Lu Yin looked back towards Big Face Tree. "I''m going to keep listening to it. Perhaps I¡¯ll gain some valuable insights."

    Nong Yi responded, "That''s fine with me. Our Nong family has always encouraged our descendants to listen to Big Face Tree. Our greatest hope is for it to help us gain insights into the ancient Heavens Sect era. Unfortunately, very few individuals possess the ability to fullyprehend its words."

    "As long as you don''t chase me away, I''ll continue to stay for now," Lu Yin replied nonchntly.

    Nong Yi cautioned, "Don''t push the four ruling powers too far with your schemes. It''s better to hold back until you are absolutely certain that you can deal with them."

    The four ruling powers would never let Lu Yin go. As for Lu Yin, he would not spare them either. Although the two had agreed to a temporary truce to avoid a major conflict, the day of their sh was inevitable.

    Everyone was worried about this conflict.

    No open conflict had broken out ever since the truce had been agreed to, but the two were constantly at odds and struggling against each other. Nong Yi did not want his Seed Garden to be entangled in the situation, and he sought to avoid the eventual confrontation as much as possible.

    As Nong Yi left, Lu Yin watched the man¡¯s retreating figure.

    Some ideals could never be realized.

    Unless Nong Yi himself died and his Nong family was scattered, it was futile to hope that Seed Garden could escape the uing conflict.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin spent two months in Seed Garden, during which he frequently went to visit Big Face Tree and learn about various events that had urred on the Third Maind.

    However, he had only scratched the surface of the history of the Third Maind¡¯s war. For instance, why had Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi betrayed humanity and be Ancient God? How had Progenitor Y¨­u Ming been deceived by Ce Wangtian, who had also hailed from the Third Maind?

    However, during these two months, Lu Yin did hear some tales regarding parallel universes.

    Big Face Tree mentioned that cultivators hailing from universes beyond the Third Maind had also participated in the War of Turtledove River. These cultivators had possessed the ability to fill Turtledove River with trees. When Progenitor Y¨­u Ming split Turtledove River apart to kill one of the Seven Skygods, the Third Maind had not been fully split apart. Instead, the two pieces had been connected to each other by a forest of trees that spanned the entire Maind, and that had held it all together.

    The cultivators who had used this forestry technique hade from parallel universes. Lu Yin had instinctively asked about the people¡¯s origins, which had prompted Big Face Tree to restart his entire narrative from the top yet again.

    Lu Yin had only been left with a throbbing headache.

    "Do you really intend to keep listening to it? The Nong family is grateful that you are sparing them from all this torment." Bai Xue smiled as she poured tea for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "Tell them that I¡¯ll continue to frequently visit in the future."

    "Are you leaving?" Bai Xue asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance and casually responded, "I¡¯m just stepping away for a bit."

    Just a short whileter, Lu Yin headed towards Huaiyuan.

    At the moment, Skymender was on a Cloud Shuttle, apparently calm. Standing beside him was an elderly woman. Her face was wrinkled and weathered, and her expression was weary and sorrowful. "You will meet him soon. Even if Shenwu''s Sky discovers you, they can''t do anything any longer. You belong to the Lu family, and the four ruling powers won''t turn on the Dao Chosen for now."

    The old woman''s name was Lu Xun, and she was an elder of one of the Lu family branches. She had once been a powerful Semi-Progenitor, but her inner world had been destroyed and her cultivation had been ruined. She had been imprisoned beneath Shenwu''s Sky for many years.

    It had only been thanks to Xia Xing that she had been able to leave that ce.

    More than four years ago, Lu Yin had made an agreement with the four ruling powers, and part of that agreement was for all surviving members of the Lu family and their vassals to be released into Lu Yin¡¯s custody. As long as people identified themselves as such, the four ruling powers would not harass them unless first provoked.

    Members of the Lu family and their followers were able to openly walk about the Perennial World.

    However, Lu Yin had never believed that the four ruling powers would actually release every single member of the Lu family that they had captured. If he were in their position, he would not do so either. Some people were definitely still hidden away.

    Lu Xun had been a powerful Semi-Progenitor of the Lu family who had been kept hidden in Shenwu''s Sky.

    Xia Xing was the reason why she had been able to regain her freedom.

    Lu Yin had a bit of leverage against Xia Xing, which allowed him to control the Xia family¡¯s patriarch. Even so, it had taken nearly four years for the man to release Lu Xun from Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s underground prison. As for the methods that the man had used, Lu Yin had no interest in learning them.

    Lu Xun became agitated. "The young master has truly returned."

    Skymender nodded. "We have agreed to a truce with the four ruling powers. From now on, you can enjoy your years in peace."

    Lu Xun had never expected such a day toe. "Peacefully enjoy my years? No, we must seek revenge! The Lu family should not have died in vain. The Lu family is the true ruler of the Fifth Maind!"

    As the two spoke, the Cloud Shuttle continued to descend, and members of the Smokecloud Sect approached them to conduct an inspection.

    Skymender soon took Lu Xun away from the Cloud Shuttle, and they headed towards Huaiyuan. There, Lu Xun met Lu Yin.

    The moment the old womanid eyes on Lu Yin, her eyes grew bloodshot, and she dashed forward,pletely flustered. Lu Yin quickly reached out to support the woman.

    "Young Master, it really is you!" Lu Xun''s body trembled out of excitement.

    Lu Yin apologized, "I''m sorry I took so long."

    Lu Xun quickly stopped him. "Don''t me yourself, Young Master. Your aplishment has already brought sce to the departed souls of the Lu family.¡±

    Lu Yin said, "I¡¯ve lost my former memories, so I don¡¯t remember you."

    Lu Xun nodded and immediately introduced herself. "I understand. My name is Lu Xun, and I am an elder from the Qin Mountain branch of the family. Back then¡­"

    Lu Yin listened attentively, and Skymender stood a short distance away.

    As time passed, Lu Yin was able to slowly piece together Lu Xun''s status and position. The Lu family wasposed of both direct and branch lines of the family, and Lu Xun had been a Semi-Progenitor who was an elder of a branch family.

    Only someone of such importance warranted being imprisoned by the four ruling powers.

    After a while, Lu Xun''s emotions gradually calmed down.

    Lu Yin took out his wireless jincan and contacted Xia Xing.

    "Have you received her?" Xia Xing asked.

    "Is she the only one?"

    "It was just her. If you have any doubts, you can ask around. Shenwu''s Sky no longer holds any members of the Lu family. She was thest and the most important one," replied Xia Xing.

    "The most important?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Xia Xing paused for a moment before replying, "Do you know how I managed to get her out? It was through deception. I lied and said that Lu Xun was already dead and that she had been buried deep underground. I had to report that the person who met with you is not Lu Xun, but rather somemon old woman. This matter has exhausted all of the favors that Xian Su once owed me. In the past, I spoke up to save him, but he has now returned that favor. We no longer owe each other anything."

    "That sounds like a lot of effort on your part, using the favor of a Semi-Progenitor," replied Lu Yin. He was familiar with Xian Su, as that was the name of the Semi-Progenitor who presided over Shenwu''s Sky''s underground prison. They had met three years before, when Lu Yin had collected the Sword Monument. "Why is Lu Xun so important?"

    Xia Xing answered, "Because she most likely knows the location of the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury."

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly grewrge. "The Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury?"

    "Exactly. Of the Lu family¡¯s various branches, the Qin Mountain branch enjoyed an exceptionally high status. Whenever resources were distributed to members of the Lu family, the people would always gather in Qin Mountain. The Qin Mountain branch was responsible for allocating funds to the members of the family, which suggests that the Qin Mountain branch was the only line of the family, aside from the main family, that had ess to the Lu family¡¯s treasury. You can judge her importance for yourself. Lu Xiaoxuan, I have already delivered her to you, so I hope that you will honor your promise," Xia Xing exined.

    Lu Yin responded, "Rest assured, I will no longer bother you."

    "I certainly hope so." Xia Xing breathed a sigh of relief and ended the conversation.

 Chapter 2449: 10 Trillion

    <h4>Chapter 2449: 10 Trillion</h4>

    Shenwu''s Sky had kept a member of the Lu family hidden away. In theory, Lu Yin could kick up a fuss for Shenwu''s Sky, but that would be meaningless. Going to war was not an option, and the fact that Lu Yin wanted to avoid open war meant that Shenwu''s Sky could simply im that they had forgotten to return Lu Xun and brush the whole thing off. In fact, they could give any excuse they wanted.

    Lu Yin could only suppress the frustration mounting within his heart, promising himself to resolve things whenever the opportunity arose in the future.

    He put away his wireless jincan and turned to Lu Xun. "Where is the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury?"

    Lu Xun was surprised. "The Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Lu Xun stared at Lu Yin intently, carefully observing him for a while. "Regarding your identity as the young master, I received a bit of information from Xia Xing, as well as a little from the person who just left. Can I confirm what they told me with you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course. You can confirm what you were told with anyone you wish. I can also take you to the Fifth Maind, which you know of as the Forsaken Land."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. All I need is amunication crystal that can connect me to someone from Realmless," Lu Xun requested.

    She could not be certain that what she was seeing and hearing was actually true. She had grown far more skeptical after Lu Yin inquired about the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury so quickly after hearing her story.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the request. "You have a contact in Realmless?"

    Lu Xun exined, "Many members of our Lu family have hidden within Realmless. They were sent there to find Realmless''s headquarters and eliminate the threat."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "In that case, I''m sorry to disappoint you, but Realmless has already been destroyed."

    Lu Xun became confused. "Realmless is gone?"

    Lu Yin briefly recounted what had happened to Realmless, which left Lu Xunpletely stunned. "You¡¯re telling me that Xia Shenfei, Xia Xing''s son, found the superficial headquarters of the Realmless and destroyed it, while you discovered their true headquarters?"

    Lu Yin handed the woman amunication crystal. "I don''t know who you want to contact from Realmless, but let''s hope that they answer."

    He then moved some distance away to give Lu Xun a bit of privacy.

    The old woman nced at Lu Yin¡¯s distant silhouette and then shifted her attention to Skymender. Tightly clutching themunication crystal in her hand, she started trying to contact someone.

    Her mind raced. If Realmless had truly been annihted, then was that person even still alive?

    Each breath felt like years were passing as she waited nervously. Her eyes went wide when themunication crystal suddenly trembled in her grip.

    "How are you?" she asked.

    No image appeared from the othermunication crystal, only a voice, which asked, "Who are you?"

    "Qin Mountain of the Sky, Maple Red Moon Dew." Lu Xun replied with eight words.

    Suddenly, the image of a face appeared from themunication crystal. It was of an elderly man, and his eyes betrayed his turbulent emotions as he stared at Lu Xun. "Elder, is it really you?"

    Lu Xun¡¯s eyes locked with the elderly man¡¯s. "Lao Hui."

    "It is me, Elder! You''re still alive?" The old man felt both ted and exhrated at this moment.

    Lu Xun was also unable to contain her joy. "You''re also alive! That''s wonderful, just wonderful!"

    "Elder, weren''t you banished with the main family? This-"

    Lu Xun cut the old man off, "We''ll discuss such matterster. First, I need to know, what happened to Realmless?"

    Nervously swallowing, the old man proceeded to share everything that had happened to Realmless. His story practically echoed Lu Yin''s, though Lu Hui was ignorant of the fact that Lu Yin was the one who had discovered Realmless''s true headquarters. The old man believed that Xia Shenfei had destroyed Realmless''s headquarters. The incident had created a massive stir in the Perennial World, and it had also elevated Xia Shenfei''s status above his peers. Even if Bai Shaohong were still alive, his reputation would pale inparison to Xia Shenfei¡¯s.

    As Lu Xun listened carefully to everything that the old man shared, her eyes involuntarily flickered over towards Lu Yin. She eventually interrupted the old man. "Has the young master truly returned?"

    The old man affirmed, "Yes, the young master has returned. What¡¯s more, he did so in a grand manner. His mere presence has caused the four ruling powers to hesitate to take any action. On top of that, the young master pushed into the New World and drove Aeternus out of the Perennial World, surpassing even our main family¡¯s previous aplishments."

    Lu Xun found this quite strange. "If the young master has returned, then why haven''t you sought him out?"

    The old man sighed. "Who can vouch for my connection to the Lu family? I once caught a glimpse of the young master while in the Lower Realm, but he almost immediately disappeared into the void while riding atop the jiao. Unless I be a Semi-Progenitor, there''s no way I can contact the young master. If I fail to connect with him and my enemies discover my true identity, then I''ll be done for."

    Lu Xun nodded. She understood the current situation.

    How could an ordinary cultivator keep up with the speed of a Semi-Progenitor or a Progenitor? The young master had forced the four ruling powers to agree to a truce, which meant that they had regarded him as a threat on the same level as a Progenitor. Even if Lu Xun managed to regain her previous cultivation, it would be impossible for her to catch up to the young master while he was traveling.

    "I will inform the young master of your situation. For now, remain hidden," advised Lu Xun.

    The old man nodded. "I understand, Elder. It''s wonderful that you''re still alive. Our Lu family will undoubtedly regain our former glory with the young master¡¯s guidance."

    After ending the call, Lu Xun went to find Lu Yin.

    With his back still to the old woman, Lu Yin asked, "Is that person another member of our family?"

    Lu Xun sighed. "Realmless always stayed neutral, so the main family decided to eliminate it. However, locating their headquarters was no easy task. They sent various people to infiltrate Realmless, but the main family was banished just a short while after. That''s why Lao Hui remained hidden within Realmless for so many years."

    "Are there many others like him?"

    Lu Xun nodded before exining, "Our family ruled the Perennial World, and while many people only ever saw our family''s splendor, that was because they did not realize the many actions that we took in the background. If not for the main family''s exile, Realmless would not have survived for this long. Humility''s Gate was only established by Progenitor Mu Xie after our Progenitor approved the matter and supported it. Our family has yed a significant role in countless simr events over the years. We have sacrificed a great deal, but outsiders have only ever seen our dominance over the Perennial World. They have remained oblivious to everything else."

    Naturally, Lu Yin understood this situation. He ruled the Fifth Maind and led the Heavens Sect, overseeing countless tasks. If not for his need to consider what was best for the Fifth Maind, he would have long since obtained the star essence that he needed. He had been the one to propose opening the entrance to the Starfall Sea and creating a second battleground on which to face Aeternus. He had been the first to venture into the New World, carrying the future of humanity.

    Despite his various actions, few had witnessed them.

    There were times when people would only receive as much as they gave, but outsiders would only see the gains without understanding the sacrifices that had been made.

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Xun and asked, "Do you believe that I am who I say now?"

    Lu Xun apologized. "I''m sorry, Young Master. I was overly suspicious."

    Lu Yin replied, "No, I should apologize to you. As a direct descendant of the main family, I should have protected all of you, but you were all forced to live in constant fear and worry. I promise you, it will never happen again."

    Lu Xun''s body trembled and she bowed deeply to Lu Yin. "I believe you, Young Master.

    "The family¡¯s treasury is essible from Qin Mountain, in what is currently known as the Northern Stone Forest."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "The Northern Stone Forest?"

    Lu Xun confirmed, "Yes, but it¡¯s in a pocket universe, and a key is needed to ess it. Without that key, forget the four ruling powers¡ªeven Progenitor Tianyi cannot get in."

    "A key? The coordinates?" One of Lu Yin''s memories was triggered.

    Lu Xun nodded in affirmation.

    "Then, where is the key?"

    Lu Xun clenched her fist and raised her head, fixing her gaze on a particr direction above as she revealed, "Although my memories are fragmented, when the main family was exiled, I distinctly remember Qin Mountain piercing through the void and heading in that direction. The key is in Qin Mountain."

    Lu Yin followed Lu Xun''s gaze, and saw Ominion.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are you absolutely certain that¡¯s the direction it went?"

    Lu Xun firmly nodded and said, "Yes, I¡¯m absolutely certain. My duty was to protect Qin Mountain, so I would never be mistaken about such a thing."

    Lu Yin''s head began to throb. If the key was in the hands of the four ruling powers, then he could havee up with another n to obtain it. However, the key actually turned out to be in Qin Mountain, which had fallen to Ominion, which was Nutjob Lu''s territory.

    Lu Yin was far warier of Nutjob Lu than he was of the four ruling powers. Nutjob Lu had a profound understanding of the Lu family, and from Nong Yi, Lu Yin had learned of Nutjob Lu''s incredible age. Wan Zhiyi hadmented that Progenitor Tianyi had once dered that if he were to perish, he would make sure to take the madman with him. There was no doubt that Nutjob Lu was extremely dangerous.

    That man was not simply a madman; he was also an incredibly powerful lunatic who would do anything to kill Lu Yin, even if it meant dying in the process.

    It was nearly impossible to obtain the key from such a person.

    "What does the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury hold?" Lu Yin asked, not willing to take the risks if the reward was insufficient.

    Lu Xun thought back. "During ourst round of inventory, not many resources were left."

    Lu Yin instantly felt a mixture of disappointment and relief.

    "There was only about 10 trillion star essence remaining," the old woman stated.

    Lu Yin was certain he had misheard. "What was that? How much?"

    Lu Xun repeated, "There was no less than 10 trillion star essence."

    Lu Yin''s breath grew a bit ragged, and his eyes became bloodshot.

    Ten trillion¡­ 10 trillion!?He had never obtained such an enormous amount of star essence at one time.

    10 trillion star essence was more than enough for him to repair the Origin Progenitor''s sword, and he would certainly have some left over for future use. This was a massive amount, no less than double what Lu Yin had received from the Astral Beast Domain.

    Even if he plundered the entire Fifth Maind without any regard for the consequences, he would never be able to acquire that much star essence in the short term.

    "How can there be so much?" Lu Yin wondered. He felt aplicated mix of excitement, anticipation, as well as a faint bit of reluctance and irritation.

    Such arge quantity of star essence felt like he was practically being forced to find the key to the Lu family¡¯s treasury.

    Lu Xun was not sure why there was such aplicated expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Our family controlled the Perennial World, and others were required to periodically send tribute to us. Sects and families were required to sendrge sums of resources to meet the requirements of our Lu family¡¯s cultivation."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. 10 trillion star essences¡­ It was really too much, but it was also a good thing. He would happily ept such a windfall.

    However, despite his wishes, he needed to face reality.

    He looked up towards Ominion. Without the key, forget the full 10 trillion¡ªhe would not even be able to obtain ten star essences from the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury. Only after the key was in his hands would the Lu family¡¯s treasury rightfully be his.

    After moving a bit away from both Lu Xun and Skymender, Lu Yin reached out to a certain someone: Wei Rong.

    Four years ago, when the two regions of the universe had first connected, Wei Rong had arrived in the Perennial World. Given his exceptional abilities, he had gradually made a mark that the four ruling powers had noticed. The man had imed that, given ten years, he could shake the bedrock of the four ruling powers¡¯ very foundation.

    More than three years had passed since that day. It was time to enlist Wei Rong¡¯s help.

    "Dao Chosen, as of now, there are still many secrets that I''m unable to ess given my current status. However, this subordinate believes that it''s time to sacrifice a few pawns," Wei Rong responded.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Are you referring to¡­?"

    "Yu Chen," Wei Rong instantly replied.

    Lu Yin silently considered the suggestion.

    "I understand that you are reluctant to abandon anyone, Dao Chosen, even your former enemies. However, there are some things that simply need to be done. Sacrificing a pawn to overturn the entire chessboard is absolutely worthwhile," Wei Rong exined.

    Lu Yin ended his call with Wei Rong. Without any hesitation, he then reached out to Yu Chen.

 Chapter 2450: Position Of Prestige

    Chapter C.2450: Position Of Prestige

    Chapter 2450: Position Of Prestige

    Life had been harsh for the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Yu Chen, which was precisely why she had previously taken the initiative to contact Lu Yin. She had informed him about the sect''s intentions to harvest stellr liquid from the crack in the Mother Tree''s fissure, which had allowed him to trigger his sixth stellr tribtion.

    After decades of struggling, the woman had finally turned to Lu Yin.

    She had not expected Lu Yin to reach out to her at such a time, but fortunately, few people paid her any more attention after her status had fallen. "Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin sent, "Three years ago, I asked you to investigate if the Celestial Frost Sect has been keeping any survivors from the Lu family imprisoned. What have you found?"

    Yu Chen replied, "I¡¯ve found them, but while they do exist, it will be very difficult to save them."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew firm. After learning that Shenwu''s Sky had kept Lu Xun hidden, it had been all but guaranteed that the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, and even the White Dragon n kept some hidden prisoners of their own.

    It was also of no surprise to learn that Yu Chen was incapable of saving any of the prisoners. In fact, it would have been very odd if she could.

    "You don''t need to rescue them, just deliver a message to someone for me. I want him to intervene¡­" Lu Yin sent his orders to Yu Chen.

    After seeing the message, Yu Chen''s face grew pale. "Dao Chosen, what should I do? As soon as this happens, I¡­"

    "Come to the Fifth Maind. I will protect you," Lu Yin replied.

    Yu Chen hesitated, uncertain of whether she could trust Lu Yin. Following the orders that she had just received would mean betraying the Celestial Frost Sect, and most likely being hunted down by them. Could she truly rely on Lu Yin to keep her safe?

    "You don¡¯t have any choice," Lu Yin transmitted once again.

    Yu Chen clenched her teeth. "I don''t want to die."

    Lu Yin reassured her, "Don''t worry, I won''t let you die. You''re still quite useful."

    Yu Chen intently stared at her wireless jincan, as though she wanted to peer through the jincan to see the expression on Lu Yin''s face. She felt as though a giant hand was puppeteering every action she took.

    Could she refuse? No, absolutely not. Refusal would be no different from betraying Lu Yin.

    There was no question that Lu Yin possessed the power to utterly annihte Yu Chen, but if she obeyed his orders, then the most slender thread of hope would still remain.

    "As soon as youplete this task, leave the Celestial Frost Sect and hide in the location that I just shared with you. I won¡¯t send someone to assist you just yet, as I will send you further tasks toplete. Don¡¯t worry, no harm will befall you," Lu Yin transmitted.

    Yu Chen considered the matter for a moment before determination entered her eyes. "I understand, Dao Chosen. Leave this to me."

    After ending his conversation with Yu Chen, Lu Yin contacted one more person: his senior brother, Mu Xie.

    ¡­

    Half a monthter, somewhere within the Celestial Frost Sect, an idyllic scene could be seen. Birdsong filled the air, and thendscape looked like something from a picture. In the distance, a cascading waterfall could be seen. Lush green grass carpeted the ground and gave off a wonderful fragrance. It looked like a perfect paradise.

    Woond creatures freely roamed the area, frolicking about. Majestic aerial beasts soared high into the sky, some with iridescent plumage that further enhanced the grove¡¯s otherworldly air.

    However, whenever the colorful birds graced the skies, the creatures on the ground below, as well as the rare cultivator, instinctively hid from the birds. The birds¡¯ attention was fully fixated on the cages that hung from vines. At first nce, the cages looked like they were adorned with iridescent feathers, but if one looked closer, they would discover that the cages were actually sturdy metal prisons that had been cleverly disguised by the rainbow plumage.

    Each metal cage held a single person captive. Whenever the colorful birds appeared, the prisoners would shrink back as far as possible within their cage, terrified of bing the beasts¡¯ next meal.

    In one of the steel cages, a man leaned against the bars. He was perilously close to the colorful birds, and he was actually within arm''s reach of the beaks. Despite his proximity, many years had passed without the birds making a single move against the man. Each time, they flew past him and entirely ignored his presence.

    The man idly toyed with some colorful feathers in his hand while muttering something indistinct.

    After the colorful birds left, the terrestrial creatures would reemerge and resume their yful actions.

    Yu Chen arrived nearby, and she immediately started carefully searching for something in the valley. The asional passerby would cast a scornful nce her way, mockery filling their eyes.

    Yu Chen paid little attention to the looks thrown her way. This treatment had be all too familiar since Bai Shaohong''s demise. She was well aware of how people viewed her, but all of this would end soon.

    She approached the man''s cage, and once she was directly beneath him, her lips moved subtly.

    Inside the cage, the man''s eyes went in disbelief. "Young Master, you''ve returned?"

    Yu Chen quickly left the area.

    The very next day, word spread from the secluded paradise that one of the prisoners was seeking an audience with Progenitor Bai.

    Bai Qi arrived, apanied by Bai Teng, Bai Laogui, and several others, though before arriving at the man¡¯s cage, she ordered, "Wait here."

    At that moment, the colorful birds took flight again. Bai Qi looked upwards, briefly ncing at them. Instantly, terror overcame the birds, and they fled, much to the prisoners¡¯ relief.

    "What business do you have with my father?" Bai Qi asked.

    This prisoner was a member of the Lu family. If anyone else had requested to meet with Progenitor Bai, Bai Qi would have never made a personal trip to check on the matter.

    The man stared at Bai Qi. "You''ve kept me caged for so long. When will it end? Either execute me, or set me free."

    Bai Qi¡¯s brow furrowed. She had no interest in dealing with the Lu family. When everything had happened in the past, she had been defending the fourth array base on the rear battlefield. If it had been possible, she would have chosen to try to stop her father. The disappearance of the Lu family had put unbelievable pressure on the rear battlefield. However, by the time she learned of what had happened, everything had already concluded. Thus, her only choice had been to stand with the Celestial Frost Sect.

    For the moment, the Perennial World was rtively stable. Aeternus had been driven out, and everything was developing in a positive direction. As soon as Lu Xiaoxuan was dealt with, the situation would get even better. "Is that all that you wanted to say?"

    As the man moved, creaks and snaps echoed from his body. It seemed as though he had not moved in a very long time. "What''s happening in the outside world now? How many members of my Lu family have you in?"

    Bai Qi answered without batting an eye, "We have found and eliminated all of them."

    The man''s finger twitched, and a cold light filled his eyes as he stared at Bai Qi. "Did anyone turn traitor?"

    Bai Qi met the man¡¯s steady gaze. "Yes."

    "Who?"

    "I have nothing to share with you."

    "What happened to them?"

    "He currently holds a prestigious position."

    The man chuckled bitterly, misery turning hisughter into a haunting sound. "To gain a position of prestige through betrayal¡­ With the Lu family gone, the Perennial World is all yours. Who could have anticipated such a turn of events?"

    "Are you done talking? If so, I won''t apany you any longer," Bai Qi responded coldly.

    A thunderous ng rang out as the man fiercely grabbed hold of the bars of the cage.

    Down below, Bai Laogui became rmed, worried that something might have happened to Bai Qi.

    "If I betray the Lu family, what kind of rewards can you offer me?" the man asked softly, a feverish light zing in his eyes. He sounded both desperate and excited, as though he had finally found the answer to a difficult puzzle.

    Sorrow entered Bai Qi''s eyes. In the end, this man had finally chosen betrayal. "You will join the Celestial Frost Sect and be named an elder, enjoying a status no different from that of a Semi-Progenitor with the Bai surname. No one wille after you, and you will receive a greater allotment of resources than other Semi-Progenitors."

    "What of my inner world? It¡¯s been crippled," the man rasped, his voice filled with reluctance.

    Bai Qi reassured him, "It doesn''t matter."

    The man bitterlymented, "If only I had offered my allegiance from the start. Why did I have to wait until after my inner world was destroyed? What a joke!"

    Bai Qi silently studied the man as he released pent-up emotions.

    Some timeter, the man spoke to Bai Qi again, "I need to see Progenitor Bai. There¡¯s a matter of the greatest importance that I must share with him. It concerns the Progenitors, and if there¡¯s any dy, the consequences could be catastrophic."

    Bai Qi stared at the man for a long moment. "If what you say turns out to be not as crucial as you im, you won''t enjoy the consequences."

    "I understand. I should speak to Progenitor Bai as soon as possible," the man insisted.

    While waiting for Bai Wangyuan to return to the Celestial Frost Sect, the man took the opportunity to freshen up a bit. He seemed far more spirited and lively than before.

    Upon noticing that Bai Wangyuan had arrived, the man forced his resentment to remain hidden and offered a slow bow. "Lu Gong greets Progenitor Bai."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at the man. "You have something to share with me? Speak."

    "If Progenitor Bai feels that what I say is important, what can this junior receive in return?" Lu Gong inquired.

    Bai Wangyuan chuckled. "Are you trying to barter with me?"

    "As someone who has already died once, I don''t care if I¡¯m killed again," Lu Gong replied without hesitation.

    Standing a bit to the side, Bai Qi knitted her brow.

    Bai Wangyuan nodded. sping his hands behind his back, he replied, "As a member of the Lu family, you do have this right. Very well, I promise that I will do my utmost to restore your inner world. If I fail, I will guarantee that there will be a Semi-Progenitor among your descendants."

    Lu Gong visibly grew excited by the promise, and he offered another bow. "Many thanks, Progenitor Bai."

    At that moment, ice entered Bai Wangyuan''s gaze. "However, if this matter is not as important as you have suggested, I will make you long for death."

    Lu Gong answered with the utmost seriousness in his tone, "This matter concerns the safety of the entire Perennial World."

    His eyes twitched over to Bai Qi.

    Bai Qi arched an eyebrow.

    Lu Gong looked at Bai Wangyuan, his expression making it clear that he was struggling internally.

    Bai Wangyuan calmly stated, "Go ahead and speak."

    Lu Gong nodded and then took a deep breath. "Nutjob Lu is a Redback."

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes widened in disbelief. "What was that?"

    Bai Qi was simrly stunned, and she struggled to ept what she had just heard. Nutjob Lu was a Redback?

    Lu Gong repeated, "Nutjob Lu, the madman of the Lu family, is a Redback."

    Bai Wangyuan red at the prisoner. "Details."

    Lu Gong gathered his thoughts and organized his memories before slowly replying, "No more than two individuals in the entire Lu family know about this matter, and one of them is Progenitor Lu Tianyi himself. Aside from those two people, it is highly unlikely that anyone else knows anything, not even Progenitor Lu Feng. I obtained my knowledge of this matter from the records I''ve read that belong to my branch of the family: the Converging Streams lineage.

    ¡°No one knows just how long Nutjob Lu has lived for, but there is no doubt that he was alive long before the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas era. In fact, it¡¯s possible that he has been alive since the Heavens Sect era.

    "My Converging Streams line possesses records so old that we cannot even date them. Only the current patriarch of the Converging Streams branch is informed of the existence of these records.

    "When the main family was banished, the Lu Sanctum disappeared. Only Nutjob Lu, who cooperated with you, was left behind. He is a Redback who is connected to Ancient God, one of the Seven Skygods."

    Bai Qi shouted, "Impossible! If Nutjob Lu were truly a Redback, then how could the Lu family have allowed him to live?"

    Lu Gong calmly replied, "The members of the Lu family are still human. ording to our ancestors, someone from Nutjob Lu''s generation owes him a great debt, and because of that, a Progenitor decree has been passed down, forbidding the Lu family from killing Nutjob Lu, unless hemits a grave crime that endangers humanity. This is why Nutjob Lu has always been kept prisoner. Elder Progenitor Tianyi would never have let the man go free. Despite being a Redback, he only met Ancient God a single time, and he has never taken any actions to harm humanity."

    Bai Wangyuan''s forehead furrowed. Was Nutjob Lu actually a Redback? How was that possible? However, it was not entirely impossible either. Why else would the Lu family have kept Nutjob Lu imprisoned for so long? For the Lu family, even mentioning the man¡¯s existence had been considered taboo. Lu Tianyi had once mentioned that, if he died, he would be sure to take Nutjob Lu to the grave with him. There was ample evidence that Nutjob Lu was a great danger.

    If what Lu Gong was telling the truth, then the danger that Nutjob Lu posed extended to far, far more than just the members of the Lu family. He could potentially threaten the entire human race.

 Chapter 2451: Confrontation

    Chapter C.2451: Confrontation

    Chapter 2451: Confrontation

    "Father," Bai Qi protested. "I find this hard to believe. Everyone is well aware of the Lu family¡¯s members¡¯ natures, and they would never allow a Redback to live. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan were a Redback, the Lu family would have executed him without hesitation. Why would they spare his life?"

    Bai Wangyuan also struggled to ept the usation. The motivation behind the Lu family¡¯s banishment was the desire to rece them, not because their methods were evil or uneptable.

    Strength was not the sole reason for the Lu family''s past dominion over the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Gong bowed respectfully to Bai Wangyuan. "If you doubt my words, you may keep me imprisoned. Once you obtain evidence confirming that Nutjob Lu is truly a Redback, you can fulfill your side of our agreement."

    "Why reveal this now?" Bai Wangyuan asked curiously.

    Lu Gong sighed. "The Lu family is nothing more than a relic of the past. I want the Lu line to continue, not as rulers of the Fifth Maind, but rather as loyal disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect."

    The phrase "loyal disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect" struck a chord deep in Bai Wangyuan¡¯s heart. If not for Lu Xiaoxuan, he would have instantly agreed to Lu Gong¡¯s proposal. However, given the current situation¡­

    Bai Wangyuan could not reveal everything that had recently happened to Lu Gong.

    "I must verify your ims. While this is happening, you shall remain confined. As soon as the truth is confirmed, I will uphold my end of the bargain," Bai Wangyuan dered before instructing Bai Qi to escort Lu Gong back to his cage.

    Bai Qi quickly returned. "Father, do you truly believe what he said?"

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s brow furrowed. "Nutjob Lu is undoubtedly a very enigmatic figure, and none of us have ever confirmed any details regarding his origins. Lu Tianyi was always extremely cautious of the man. Until now, we have always believed that it was his hatred of the Lu family that formed the foundation of his alliance with us, but what if that¡¯s not true? What if he is coborating with us because he is a Redback?"

    "But Nutjob Lu has vigntly protected Ominion for many years. He has never once cooperated with Aeternus," Bai Qi retorted, still very perplexed.

    Bai Wangyuan shared her confusion. "Either this information is false, and Nutjob Lu''s sole goal is the destruction of the Lu family, or¡­"

    He hesitated, and his expression grew extremely grave. "He has a much grander scheme."

    Progenitor Bai left the Celestial Frost Sect and went to discuss the matter with Wang Fan and others. If Nutjob Lu truly harbored ambitious ns, they needed to prepare for the worst.

    When Wang Fan and the others heard that there was a possibility that Nutjob Lu might be a Redback, their first reaction was that of utter disbelief. They could point out numerous asions that contradicted such a possibility. However, if the man was truly a Redback, then could they afford to bear the consequences?

    "I never expected Nutjob Lu to be a Redback," Wang Fan confessed.

    Bai Wangyuan looked at him in astonishment. "You knew about this already?"

    Wang Fan exined, "About ten days ago, Humility''s Gate interrogated a member of Realmless. Specifically, the Envoy that Lu Yin brought out of Realmless''s headquarters in the Lower Realm mentioned the name ''Nutjob Lu.'' He ims to have overheard it while cleaning.¡±

    "Qing Chen, who performed the interrogation, promptly reported the matter to Mu Xie. Consequently, there are some members of Humility''s Gate who specte that Nutjob Lu might actually be a Redback."

    Progenitor Long''s curiosity was piqued. "And someone from your Wang family learned of this matter?"

    "That¡¯s correct," Wang Fan confirmed, "A member of my family learned of it through Qing Chen''s disciple, Cai Shu."

    Xia Shenji expressed confusion. "How can we suspect Nutjob Lu of being a Redback based solely on secondhand usations?"

    Wang Fan responded, "I can¡¯t be certain, but we may have overlooked something."

    Bai Wangyuan faced a dilemma. He could choose not to believe Lu Gong''s usations, but if Humility''s Gate also harbored suspicions towards Nutjob Lu, then the likelihood of the man being a Redback rose drastically.

    After a few moments of contemtion, Bai Wangyuan proposed, "Let¡¯s consult with Mu Xie. We definitely have to investigate this matter thoroughly. If Nutjob Lu is truly a Redback, then he must be involved in an even greater n. He remained inactive even when five of the Seven Skygods took action. Still, while the possibility seems highly unlikely, one can never be too careful."

    The four ruling powers had banished the Lu family so that they could seize control of the Perennial World, not to let it fall to Aeternus¡¯s clutches. Their primary objective had always been to eradicate all Redbacks, which was why Humility''s Gate still enjoyed such great authority to this day.

    If Nutjob Lu truly was a Redback, then he could be regarded as the greatest threat in the current Perennial World. He would be as dangerous as Wang Xiaoyu had been, and that person had instigated the war between Progenitor Chen and the Sixth Maind.

    The four Progenitors soon met with Mu Xie. Upon learning that Wang Fan had been investigating Humility''s Gate, Mu Xie''s eyes narrowed, but this was not the time to address such a matter. "I suspect Nutjob Lu based on the word of my junior brother."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan?" Bai Wangyuan frowned.

    Mu Xie exined, "When my junior brother traversed through time and space with the Origin Progenitor''s sword, he witnessed a conversation that took ce between Nutjob Lu and Ancient God. He informed me of this matter long ago. Thus, when Undying God was trapped and the Seven Skygods attacked us, I kept a very close eye on Nutjob Lu, as did Senior Smoke. You can confirm all this with her, if you doubt my word."

    The matter with Undying God had taken ce three years earlier, and it had indeed involved Progenitor Smoke. Bai Wangyuan felt many of his doubts dissipating. Lu Yin must havee to the conclusion that Nutjob Lu was a Redback long, long ago.

    "Given this information, the probability of Nutjob Lu being a Redback has increased, but we stillck definitive proof. Mu Xie, have you gathered any evidence?" Xia Shenji inquired.

    Mu Xie shook his head. "If we had evidence, we would have captured him long ago. By the way, how did all of youe to suspect him as a Redback?"

    Bai Wangyuan remained silent. He had learned of the matter through Lu Gong, who should have been released years ago, ording to the agreement with Lu Yin. Exposing such a vition of the truce would be a direct admittance of their guilt.

    Mu Xie repeated his question, but no one offered any response.

    "No matter how you all discovered this, I must verify what you have learned about Nutjob Lu with the information provided by that captive Envoy and my junior brother," Mu Xie dered.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged nces. It was true that this was a necessary step for such an important matter. Regardless of any extenuating circumstances, it was vital that they ascertain whether Nutjob Lu was a Redback. After all, Nutjob Lu was a Progenitor from the Lu family, not some ordinary cultivator. The danger that he posed was potentially no less than that of a Skygod.

    Wang Fan hesitated. "Interacting with Nutjob Lu is extremely unpleasant. Confronting him about this won''t be easy."

    Progenitor Long suggested, "Then let¡¯s have Lu Xiaoxuan confront him instead. I believe that he''ll be willing to do that."

    Bai Wangyuan nced at Wang Fan before agreeing. "That''s true. Tell him that Lu Xiaoxuan wants to face him."

    Mu Xie agreed, "I''ll speak to my junior brother."

    ¡­

    Wang Fan arrived at Ominion Temple on the.

    Liquor Hero was sitting in front of the temple, drinking wine from a gourd. Wang Fan''s sudden appearance startled her. This was the first time that she had met any outsider over the course of the many years that she had spent on this.

    "Are you from the outside?" she asked.

    Wang Fan nced at the woman and then vanished from her sight.

    Liquor Hero''s eyes went wide. This person was a true powerhouse. While she was unable to determine his exact cultivation, he was clearly formidable. He also seemed to be searching for her master.

    Behind the templey a dpidated courtyard. A Champions'' Stage sat in it, though it was covered in a thickyer of dust. At the center of the courtyardy two deep imprints, marking the spot as where someone had once knelt.

    If Lu Yin were present, he would have recognized this ce as one of the scenes that he had seen when he had triggered Destiny at the Stargazing Deck. It was the location where Lu Zhen had knelt.

    Wang Fan entered the courtyard.

    Suddenly, the dusty Champions'' Stage crashed towards him.

    Wang Fan swiftly stepped back and exited the courtyard. The Champions'' Stage smashed onto the ground, blocking the entrance.

    "Nutjob, are you attacking me?" Wang Fan shouted.

    A deep voice resonated from within the courtyard. "So what if I am?"

    Wang Fan''s gaze turned cold. "We are allies."

    "Heheh. Our alliance was only valid for as long as the Lu family existed. Now that they''re gone, why would there still be an alliance?"

    Wang Fan answered in a low voice, "Lu Xiaoxuan is still alive."

    "I''ll make sure to kill that brat. There''s no need for your constant reminders. Ah, I get it now. He''s be too much of a threat to you, so you''vee here personally to beg for my help, right?"

    Wang Fan truly loathed speaking with this person, but there was no choice. "I''m not here for myself. Lu Xiaoxuan wants to confront you. He has used you of being a Redback and having a connection with Ancient God."

    After a moment of silence, maniacalughter erupted from the courtyard. "The Lu family ims to be righteous and honorable, and yet that brat has resorted to false usations? Interesting, interesting, hahaha! He truly is Lu Qi''s son. Fine, if he wants to confront me, then he shall do so. I''m only worried that he won''t have the courage to show up."

    Wang Fan quickly turned around and left. He could not stand to remain in the madman¡¯s presence any longer.

    Given Aeternus¡¯s temporary retreat and the fact that the immediate threats against the Perennial World had subsided for the moment, the four ruling powers¡¯ goal of gaining total control of the Perennial World had been set in motion. The Liu family, the Nong family, Specter Abyss, and even Nutjob Lu were all pawns in their grand scheme. Unfortunately, Lu Xiaoxuan had disrupted their ns three years ago.

    Fortunately, this new situation had given them another opportunity to have Nutjob Lu deal with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The madman had already nearly seeded twice before.

    "Confrontation, hahaha! So, we¡¯ll finally meet, little brat!" The courtyard trembled, and a cloud of dust filled the air.

    Ten dayster, Mu Xie led Lu Yin, Bai Wangyuan, and the other Progenitors of the four ruling powers to Ominion.

    Every time Lu Yin saw this, he felt a sense of impending danger. However, this was his first time actually setting foot on the.

    In truth, Ominion was not an unfamiliar ce to Lu Yin. Rather, one could even say that he was quite knowledgeable on it. He had Possessed more than one native cultivator of Ominion through his die.

    First, he had Possessed Thysen, the guardian of the Ominion Temple. During thest three years, Lu Yin had rolled his die quite frequently, and he had managed to Possess another powerful cultivator who lived on Ominion. This person owned a wireless jincan, which had allowed Lu Yin to establish contact with people on Ominion. Through this connection, he had also sessfully made contact with Liquor Hero.

    "When we meet with Nutjob Lu, stay close to me. Ignore everything that he says. As a member of the Lu family, you should understand how terrifyingly powerful the family¡¯s Progenitors can be," Mu Xie warned Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded, and the group soonnded on Ominion. Right in front of them stood the massive temple.

    "Whose sense of humor is so twisted that they would build a temple in a ce like this?" Progenitor Smoke was also present. She was there as a witness, not to testify that Nutjob Lu was a Redback, but rather to confirm that Lu Yin had indeed informed people of Nutjob Lu''s connection to Ancient God years before.

    Progenitor Long interjected, "Madmen have their own unique way of thinking."

    "Nutjob Lu is inside," Wang Fan informed the group.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. He was finally going to meet Nutjob Lu. No one knew the man¡¯s real name, not even Wan Zhiyi, Nong Yi, or Master Shan. Nutjob Lu had lived for as long as anyone could remember.

    Lu Yin had asked Lu Buzheng, but even he did not know Nutjob Lu''s true name.

    ording to Lu Xun, there was no record of anyone named "Nutjob Lu" in the Lu family¡¯s genealogy. Thus, the person''s name had either never been revealed or had been intentionally stricken from all family records.

 Chapter 2452 â€“ Unnoticed

    Chapter C.2452 ¨C Unnoticed

    A group of people emerged from the temple. They were led by Liquor Hero, while Thyssen and Chou Mang stood at her sides. They were apanied by more cultivators from various families that belonged to the, and their dark, rough skin reflected the fact that they cultivated with ominion energy.

    The most formidable individual present had reached the ninth stage of ominion energy, which made themparable to a Semi-Progenitor. His name was Feng Lan, and he was the second person that Lu Yin had Possessed from Ominion.

    In recent years, Lu Yin had experienced terrible luck with his die¡¯s Possession. Most of the spheres of light that he encountered in the dark space were dull and lifeless. On the few asions that he hade across a brightly glowing orb, the brightness had indicated that the person was either a peak Envoy or a Semi-Progenitor. Feng Lan had been one of the few Semi-Progenitor-level experts that Lu Yin had Possessed during thest three years.

    By Possessing Feng Lan, Lu Yin had gained a deeper understanding of Ominion. All of his ns and actions were based on the extensive knowledge he had obtained from Possessing that man. Without that knowledge, achieving his goals would be impossible.

    "Everyone, Progenitor Ominion awaits your arrival," Liquor Hero announced. As the temple¡¯s saintess, Liquor Hero¡¯s status was essentially equal to Feng Lan¡¯s.

    Just as Wang Fan and the others were about to move forward, Lu Yin suddenly spoke up. "What will happen if this madman attacks me?"

    He turned to Bai Wangyuan and the others and asked, "Will you help me?"

    Xia Shenji answered bluntly, "Conflicts within your Lu family are none of our concern."

    "In that case, I won''t go," Lu Yin dered.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s brow creased. "Lu Xiaoxuan, are you going to go back on your word? Or are you simply afraid to face this man?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "From the very beginning, I had no intentions of confronting anyone. My senior brother invited me here, and so here I am. However, I just realized that, if this madman attacks, Senior Brother alone might not be able to keep me safe. After all, this is Nutjob Lu¡¯s home. Therefore, all of you must ensure my safety as well."

    "Coward," Xia Shenji sneered.

    Lu Yinughed. "Coward? Do you dare to face me one-on-one?"

    Xia Shenji seethed with rage. When Lu Yin had fought his way out of Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Shenji had had no fear of a one-on-one battle with the youth, even in the Fifth Maind. In the very worst situation, Xia Shenji would have simply gone all out. The reason why he had suffered any injuries at all during that battle was because of the God of Death''s power. However, there was a limit to how many times such an attack could be used.

    However, things had changed, and a one-on-one battle was nowpletely out of the question. Not only had Lu Yin gained the power of a Progenitor for himself by conferring Nong Yi into his Investiture of the Gods, but the youth had also gained the assistance of Xia Shenji¡¯s rogue clone.

    Three years ago, the four ruling powers¡¯ carefullyid out ns had been ruined because that clone had severely injured Xia Shenji. The Progenitor refused to believe that Lu Yin had nothing to do with that matter.

    If he fought Lu Yin again, who knew when that clone wouldsh out again? If Xia Shenji suffered serious injuries now, how would he put up a fight?

    "Xi Wei is also here. She and Mu Xie together are enough to protect you," Bai Wangyuan said.

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "What? Am I his bodyguard now? Bai Wangyuan, have you lost your mind? What gives you the right to make arrangements for me?"

    Mu Xie stared at the temple. "Once someone from the Lu family bes a Progenitor, their true level of strength bes entirely unpredictable. I cannot guarantee your safety."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Wangyuan. "Either find another ce for this meeting, or all of you must promise to keep me safe during my time on Ominion."

    Bai Wangyuan and the others could never agree to such a promise. They were more than eager to watch as Nutjob Lu killed Lu Yin, no matter what means were used.

    "Where do you want to confront me?" a deep, hoarse voice rang out from within Ominion Temple, followed by a series of unsettlingughter. Nutjob Lu was speaking up.

    Lu Yin''s expression hardened. "Outer space."

    "Fine."

    The entire group soon arrived in outer space. Nutjob Lu emerged from the temple, his hair disheveled and his eyes gleaming with a fierce light revealed an unsettling madness. His eyes were always glued onto Lu Yin, burning with an inextinguishable killing intent.

    As the Progenitor emerged, the deep red color that enveloped all of Ominion paled significantly.

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu, and Nutjob Lu stared right back. This was their first formal meeting.

    Although Nutjob Lu''s face was partially hidden by his long hair, Lu Yin could still make out the man¡¯s features. There was indeed a resemnce between the two of them, but Nutjob Lu had a more determined aura and also a more robust frame. A slight smile constantly decorated his face, though it was a savage smile. At this moment, his focus was entirely fixed on Lu Yin.

    Seven Progenitors gathered in outer space. If the jiao on Lu Yin''s shoulder were included, then there were eight Progenitors here. Including Lu Yin, nine individuals were present.

    No one else was able to clearly see the gathering, but these nine individuals held enough power to determine the fate of both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    "So, I finally get to meet you, Lu Qi¡¯s little brat, hahaha!" Nutjob Lu moved closer to Lu Yin, but Mu Xie instinctively stepped forward to intercept the man.

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu. "What''s your name?"

    "You should address me as Ancestor!" Nutjob Lu suddenly shouted, the madness in his smile growing more and more apparent. Dark-red energy surged from his body, ominion energy. Nutjob Lu had reached the tenth stage of cultivating ominion energy, and that alone ced him in the Progenitor realm.

    Progenitor Smoke arched a brow. "Quiet down! You startled me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Your name was erased from the Lu family''s records long ago. Where does this title of ¡®ancestor¡¯e from?"

    "Hehehe, erased? I was the one who erased the Lu family! I abandoned them! Take a good look at this part of the universe! Aside from you, is there anyone from the Lu family still alive? They''re all gone! But I''m still here, and I will have descendants. My descendants will be the Lu family. Both the Champions'' Stage and the Investiture of the Gods will endure. I am the only Lu family! You are nothing more than an abandoned brat!" Nutjob Luughed loudly, though hisughter grated on everyone''s ears.

    Mu Xie spoke up, "We are here to verify whether or not you are a Redback. You can discuss personal matters at ater time."

    Nutjob Lu continued to stare at Lu Yin alone. "Brat, throughout the history of the Lu family, few people were ever as shameless as you and your father. Your father forcibly took amoner as his wife, while you are framing others to escape me. If that old Lu geezer was still alive, you two would have driven him to his death."

    Lu Yin''s voice grew deep. "I didn''t frame you. Several years ago, Aeternusunched a massive attack on the Fifth Maind¡­"

    For the next few hours, Lu Yin detailed Aeternus''s invasion of the Fifth Maind, his trip into the Dao Source Sect''s main hall, and the journey through time and space that the Origin Progenitor''s sword had brought him on. The time needed for the recounting could have been greatly reduced, but Lu Yin made sure to carefully share every single detail.

    At the same time, on Ominion, far behind Ominion Temple, Liquor Hero found a mountain. This particr mountain was not native to the; rather, it had been ced there by Nutjob Lu. It was called Qin Mountain.

    Lu Yin had learned of the location of the key to the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury from Lu Xun, but it remained unknown whether or not Nutjob Lu had taken the key away from the mountain.

    Qin Mountain was an inconspicuous mountain on Ominion with absolutely nothing remarkable about it. If not for Lu Xun revealing that Nutjob Lu had taken the mountain, as well as drawing a map of its location, no one would have realized that it was Qin Mountain.

    Liquor Hero began searching through the mountain. There were other people there as well, though they all appeared to be half-dead.

    In outer space, Lu Yin continued his ount of what he had seen while traveling through time and space. The story had already taken so long that Bai Wangyuan was starting to grow impatient. "Get to the point."

    Lu Yin nced over and said, "If I don''t exin things clearly, you might think that I¡¯m making things up. Bai Xian''er can confirm some of what I¡¯ve said."

    This shocked Bai Wangyuan, and he asked, "Xian''er can vouch for you?"

    Lu Yin exined, "When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Upper Three Gates were opened and the Sixth Maind tried to interfere, Bai Xian''er killed one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. This allowed the Fifth Maind''s sky to be changed with the power of the Perennial World. I can provide all of that incident¡¯s details, and you can confirm it all with Bai Xian''er to know that I¡¯m telling the truth. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes while traveling through time and space."

    "Even if you did travel through time and space, it doesn''t prove that you aren¡¯t fabricating things. Without evidence, no one can simply use a Progenitor of being a Redback," Wang Fan stated.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Then how did Liu Yue die?"

    Wang Fan looked at Nutjob Lu and said, "You should follow our lead. After all, you two also have a grudge."

    Nutjob Luughed hoarsely. "Brat, I heard someone mention ''one-on-one'' just now. How about it? A death match, just you and me."

    Lu Yin turned back to Nutjob Lu and sped his hands behind his back. "I''ll happily fight you one-on-one after I be a Semi-Progenitor."

    The smile faded from Nutjob Lu''s face. "Brat, you are the most talented person in the Lu family¡¯s entire history. Even Old Ghost Lu might not be able to match you in terms of talent. It''s beyond frightening. A mere Envoy ughtered a Semi-Progenitor with his own strength. With a few of your toys, you can even threaten a Progenitor. As a mere Envoy, you have already conferred a Progenitor. I must kill you, or else I will never be able to sleep or eat in peace."

    His words reflected the thoughts shared by Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. Every moment that Lu Yin drew breath left them all uneasy.

    "You can talk about killing him after we¡¯ve determine whether you''re a Redback," Mu Xie stated coldly. He then looked back at Lu Yin. "Continue."

    At Qin Mountain, Liquor Hero finally found the key by following Lu Xun''s directions.

    While it was called a key, it was actually a seal that provided a set of spatial coordinates, exactly the same as the seal that Lu Yin had obtained from beneath Aeternus Nation.

    The seal waspletely covered with dirt, and it looked like a piece of normal scrap metal. Even if someone saw it, they would never bother to pick it up. It was possible that this was why Nutjob Lu had not paid any attention to it.

    Liquor Hero let out a sigh of relief and left Qin Mountain.

    Back in outer space, Lu Yin recounted what he had witnessed, "When you met with Ancient God, it was at the same time when Progenitor Tianyi decided to move the Mother Tree."

    Nutjob Luughed. "You speak as though you saw it with your own eyes. Where is your evidence? Can you find any?"

    Bai Wangyuan grew puzzled. "ording to what you¡¯re saying, why didn''t Lu Tianyi take Nutjob Lu away at that time?"

    Lu Yin''s face froze. This was precisely the detail that had nagged at him for so long. Nutjob Lu had not been far away from Progenitor Tianyi and the others when he had met with Ancient God, so they should have absolutely noticed Nutjob Lu. Given Progenitor Tianyi''s attitude towards the madman, how could he have not taken him away?

    The more Lu Yin understood Nutjob Lu''s status within the Lu family, the more he was unable to understand this particr detail.

    "Also, we didn''t notice this madman at all at the time," Wang Fan said, looking at Lu Yin. "I remember the scene that you just described. Both Hui Wen and I were present, but I never saw the madman at all."

    Lu Yin''s body went stiff. "You didn''t see him?"

    "No."

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. This should not be possible. When he had seen that scene, he had assumed that Progenitor Tianyi and Wang Fan had known that Nutjob Lu was nearby. How could they not have noticed him?

    Progenitor Long spoke up, "This is quite interesting. Not even Wang Fan noticed the man''s presence at that time. Lu Xiaoxuan, do you care to exin yourself?"

    Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin. Given the close proximity, there was no reason why Wang Fan would not have noticed Nutjob Lu. Either Wang Fan was lying, or Lu Yin was.

    However, given Lu Yin¡¯s earlier warnings about Nutjob Lu, he did not seem to be lying.

    The woman nced at Wang Fan. For something this serious, Wang Fan should not be lying either, as this potentially involved a Progenitor-level Redback. Just what was going on?

 Chapter 2453 â€“ The Same Person

    Chapter C.2453 ¨C The Same Person

    Lu Yin asked once more, "Are you sure that you didn''t see Nutjob Lu?"

    Wang Fan replied, "I swear on my name that I didn''t see him there."

    Lu Yin looked back at Nutjob Lu. What was going on?

    Nutjob Lu chuckled. "If you want to try to frame someone, then you shouldn¡¯t forget about some evidence. Even fabricated evidence is better than nothing at all. Unfortunately, you can''tpare to your old man. That brat Lu Qi was also raised under my watch. He was the biggest jerk that I''ve ever seen. At best, you¡¯re only a little conniving."

    "I want to see your Champions'' Stage," Lu Yin said solemnly.

    Nutjob Lu arched a brow. "It''s in Ominion Temple. Do you have the courage to go there?"

    "Yes," Lu Yin replied firmly. "I have a responsibility to confirm whether you''re a Redback. However, you can''te with me."

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s lips curled upwards. "Fine, go take a look, but you should know that that Champions'' Stage is stained with the blood of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin left with Mu Xie while Bai Wangyuan and the others just watched.

    "Let him go," Nutjob Lu told Progenitor Smoke. "This is your only chance to confront me. If he can''t prove that I''m a Redback, don''t bother me again."

    Progenitor Smoke just stared at Nutjob Lu. She had never seen this man before, as he had always been imprisoned by the Lu family. Just who was he to the Lu family?

    Lu Yin made his way to Ominion Temple, and then he followed a familiar path.

    As he moved along, his path crossed Liquor Hero¡¯s, and he took the seal from her.

    When he arrived in the ramshackled courtyard, he saw the dusty Champions'' Stage sitting in a corner. When Lu Yin had first felt Nutjob Lu¡¯s hatred for him, it hade from this Champions¡¯ Stage. Standing in the courtyard, Lu Yin also noticed the two deep marks on the ground. Had those been left by Lu Zhen when he had knelt there?

    Lu Zhen had wanted to be Nutjob Lu''s disciple, but he had failed.

    Nutjob Lu harbored a deep hatred for the entire Lu family, and he had continuously sought their total annihtion. Ironically, Lu Zhen¡¯s failure seemed to demonstrate the importance with which Nutjob Lu viewed the members of the Lu family. While both Nutjob Lu and Lu Zhen had betrayed the Lu family, the madman had never seen Lu Zhen as anything more than a lowly servant.

    Aside from the Champions'' Stage, there was nothing else in the entire courtyard. The house was also simple, and it contained nothing at all.

    Lu Yin left Ominion Temple and returned to outer space.

    "How did it go?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head and stared at Nutjob Lu. "I know that you''re a Redback. I''ll be watching you."

    Nutjob Luughed. "I''ll be watching you too, brat. Watch out, as if I catch you, I¡¯ll skin you and hang your hide on my Champions'' Stage."

    This entire matter left Bai Wangyuan and the others feeling rather irritated. Lu Yin possessed no evidence, but he had still used Nutjob Lu of being a Redback. How could he even prove it?

    Lu Yin asked Wang Fan once more, "Are you absolutely certain that you didn''t see Nutjob Lu?"

    Wang Fan said, "I''m absolutely sure."

    This discrepancy was not something that Lu Yin had expected. Although everyone here possessed different motives, Lu Yin had been quite confident that this would be a turning point. He had been betting on the scene where Wang Fan, Progenitor Hui, and Progenitor Tianyi had all been present, but why had Wang Fan never noticed Nutjob Lu?

    Progenitor Smoke also looked quite irritated.

    "What a waste of time," she said with a grunt before leaving.

    The Progenitors from the four ruling powers and Mu Xie all left as well. Before leaving, Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother reminded Lu Yin to remain wary of Nutjob Lu going forward. After meeting the madman in person, Mu Xie had be even more certain that Nutjob Lu possessed a terrifying level of strength. The ominion energy that he controlled was frighteningly profound.

    Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind. He already held the key to the treasury, so his next step was to enter the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury.

    While Lu Yin and the Progenitors had been confronting Nutjob Lu in outer space, Liquor Hero had gone and retrieved the key to the treasury from Qin Mountain, and Yu Chen had fled from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    She had carefully chosen her timing and had made her escape precisely when the confrontation in outer space started.

    By the time the confrontation ended, Yu Chen had already traveled a good distance from the Celestial Frost Sect. She then met up with two individuals, who were none other than Xia Shenji''s clone and Liu Shaoge.

    Xia Shenji''s clone then led the other two along, and the three people soon arrived in the valley beneath the Wang family''s floating continent. Once there, they waited to enter the Fifth Maind.

    Wang Yan noticed Yu Chen, but he did not pay much attention to her presence. The four ruling powers had a decent opinion of the woman through her reputation, and Wang Yan had even interacted with her directly on asion.

    However, just a short timeter, Wang Yan received word that the Celestial Frost Sect was searching for Yu Chen. Apparently, she had stolen something important to the sect.

    The patriarch found this rather strange, and he immediately assigned someone to keep an eye on Yu Chen. Wang Yan was ready to immediately capture the woman, but the decision no longer belonged to the Wang family alone; Skymender had been waiting in the valley for some time.

    Yu Chen was trying to get to the Fifth Maind, so it was possible that she wanted to seek refuge with Lu Yin. If the Wang family tried to capture her, they would likely be stopped by Skymender. Given the situation, it was better to have someone follow the three people into the Fifth Maind. Once Yu Chen lowered her guard and separated from Skymender, it would be possible to take action. Furthermore, Wang Yan did not recognize either of Yu Chen¡¯spanions.

    After arriving in the Fifth Maind, Skymender separated from the other three. The tracker that Wang Yan had dispatched was able to recognize Liu Shaoge, and he considered attacking. However, he decided to hold back out of fear of contracting the problem that haunted the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy. More than a month passed, during which the man carefully followed Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge. Eventually, they arrived at the Shenwu Continent.

    After they entered the Shenwu Continent, the tracker finally managed to get a clear view of Xia Shenji''s clone. The man had never seen Xia Shenji before, so he simply shared a picture of the clone in his report to the Wang family.

    Wang Yan had never expected to see Xia Shenji. After all, he had only casually sent someone to follow after Yu Chen.

    At this point in time, more than a month had passed since Lu Yin¡¯s return to the Fifth Maind himself.

    It was time for him to find the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury.

    He looked in the direction of the Shenwu Continent. Xia Shenji should have received word by this point in time, right?

    Back in the Perennial World, Wang Zheng stared at the picture of Xia Shenji with a dumbfounded expression.

    Xia Shenji? Why is he in the Fifth Maind? And why is he with Yu Chen?

    Wang Zheng felt that something about the matter was not right, and so he immediately reported the matter to Wang Fan. The Progenitor was also stunned. "Xia Shenji? Are you sure that he''s with someone from the Celestial Frost Sect? And they both went to the Fifth Maind?"

    "I''m sure. This image was sent to us by the tracker we sent," Wang Zheng replied.

    Wang Fan chuckled. "If that man really is Xia Shenji, would anyone that you sent be capable of tracking him?"

    Wang Zheng also thought it was quite odd. "Could the person be using a disguise?"

    Suddenly, Wang Fan remembered something, and he quickly ordered Wang Zheng to also send the images of Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge over. With those, the Progenitor went straight to speak with Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan had never expected Yu Chen to be with someone disguised as Xia Shenji. "Something about this is not right. Why would anyone disguise themselves as Xia Shenji and then go to the Fifth Maind? Wouldn¡¯t they be afraid of Lu Xiaoxuan finding them? If Lu Xiaoxuan discovered that Xia Shenji went to the Fifth Maind, he would never let the matter slide. The fact that your people were able to track this person also indicates that they''re not very powerful."

    "It could have been intentional," Wang Fan suggested.

    After discussing things a bit longer, they settled upon a possible theory. Then, they decided to rify the situation with Xia Shenji himself. If they were right, then it would exin Xia Shenji''s recent abnormal behavior.

    When Xia Shenji saw the images of Liu Shaoge, Yu Chen, and his own face, his expression fell. "Where did they go?"

    "Brother Xia, you need to first exin this matter to us," Wang Fan said.

    Xia Shenji hesitated.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "We already have a rough idea. Is this rted to Prison Lock?"

    Xia Shenji looked towards the Upper Realm, specifically towards where the Lu Sanctum had once stood. "It''s him."

    "Didn''t you say that he was dead?" Bai Wangyuan questioned.

    Wang Fan also spoke up, "Back then, we agreed to sacrifice that person and release Prison Lock in order to keep the Lu Sanctum trapped. I never thought that you would go back on your word."

    Xia Shenji replied curtly, "As I said at the time, there was no need to sacrifice him. With Prison Lock¡¯s power, simply keeping him imprisoned is enough to ensure that the Lu Sanctum remains trapped. The results have proven themselves; the Lu Sanctum has never managed to break free from Prison Lock."

    "Do you realize how risky this is?" Wang Fan was quite upset. "As soon as Prison Lockcks the power to keep the Lu family trapped in their exile, everything will be over."

    Xia Shenji was unconcerned. "So? Will the Lu family start a war with us? There''s no point in discussing this now, as everything has already happened. Regardless, he didn''t die, and there¡¯s no need for him to. I want him to be one of my nine clones again."

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan exchanged nces, their expressions grim.

    They both understood quite clearly why Xia Shenji had kept this particr clone alive; it was to protect himself against the two of them. Having less than the full nine clones was a weakness, as sacrificing even one clone would significantly impact Xia Shenji¡¯s strength. However, each of them had paid their own steep price. They could only curse Xia Shenji for his greed to cling to as many gains as possible by keeping the clone alive.

    It was no wonder why the clone had fled, and it was also no wonder why Xia Shenji had been chasing after the clone for more than three years.

    "This is not the time to settle old scores. Tell me, where did my clone go? Since you saw it, you must know where it is," Xia Shenji demanded from Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan''s eye twitched. "Your clone went to the Fifth Maind."

    "The Forsaken Land?" Xia Shenji grew puzzled. "He went there with Yu Chen and someone named Liu Shaoge. Did they join up with Lu Xiaoxuan''s people?"

    "No, my people never saw them trying to make contact with Lu Xiaoxuan," Wang Fan said.

    Bai Wangyuan chimed in, "That actually makes things even worse. No matter how weak your clone might be, it still possesses the strength to rival a Semi-Progenitor. How could some tracker from the Wang family be able to keep up? Lu Xiaoxuan must be using them as bait to lure you into the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Three years ago, your mysterious injuries were caused by this clone, weren¡¯t they?"

    Xia Shenji had alsoe to the same conclusion. "Lu Xiaoxuan wants to lure me to the Fifth Maind. He¡¯s scheming against me, which is understandable, but he greatly underestimates me. I need to go and retrieve that clone."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan is no fool. If he¡¯s trying to lure you to the Fifth Maind, then he must be prepared," Bai Wangyuan said.

    Wang Fan agreed, "That''s true. Based on what we know of Lu Xiaoxuan, he won¡¯t do anything without being confident of the final oue."

    Xia Shenji replied, "If I told you that that clone is able to detect Prison Lock, would you still tell me that I shouldn''t go?"

    Both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were shocked. "He¡¯s able to sense Prison Lock? What does that mean?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression turned grim. "Did you really believe that I kept him imprisoned for all these years simply because I couldn''t bear to let one of my clones die? The truth is that I¡¯ve been using him to trace the location of the Lu family. Even after all these years, the Lu family has yet to be annihted. I know this for a fact, because¡­" His voice dropped low. "Prison Lock still exists."

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan''s expressions changed. This news was not good at all.

    "Are you certain?" Bai Wangyuan asked, "Brother Xia, this is not something that you can joke about. If the Lu family is really still alive, and Lu Xiaoxuan manages to pinpoint their location and bring them back, then there will be terrible trouble¡ªnot just for us, but for everyone. The Lu family is not easy to deal with."

    Xia Shenji shrugged. "I don¡¯t want to believe it either, and I hope that he''s just lying to me, but that¡¯s precisely why we need to capture him and determine the truth."

    "I''ll go with you," Wang Fan stated.

    Bai Wangyuan spoke up as well. "I''ll go too."

 Chapter 2454: Death Trap

    Chapter 2454: Death Trap

    Xia Shenji agreed to let the two other Progenitors join him. "Since everything has been rified, this is a good opportunity to bring him back. With our abilities, it doesn¡¯t matter how well-prepared Lu Xiaoxuan is. It won''t make any difference."

    The three immediately set out for the Fifth Maind. However, as soon as they arrived at the valley beneath the Wang family''s floating maind, Lu Yin appeared. He saw Bai Wangyuan and the others and curiously asked, "Are you three nning to visit my Fifth Maind?"

    Within the valley, the various members of the Wang family all gave respectful bows. "Greetings, Senior Progenitor."

    "Greetings, Senior Progenitor."

    ¡­

    Wang Fan''s expression grew cold upon seeing Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you doing here?"

    Lu Yin raised his chin. "Just taking a stroll."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, we agreed that you are not to step foot into the Perennial World until the problem with the Forsaken Land¡¯s stellr energy has been resolved. You are viting our agreement," Bai Wangyuan challenged.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "That agreement only applies to those affected by the issue with the stellr energy. Since I cultivate death energy, I am not affected by the Fifth Maind¡¯s issue. Besides, I was here just a month ago, so what¡¯s the problem?"

    Xia Shenji spoke in a somber tone. "We are about to visit the Forsaken Land in order to help you investigate the issue with your stellr energy. You should return."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You want to help me investigate the problem with our part of the universe¡¯s stellr energy? Go ahead, but I''ll be staying right here. I''m taking a break for the moment."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, we''re the ones offering to help you right now. Are you seriously telling us to go by ourselves?" Wang Fan frowned, clearly irritated.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "If I can¡¯t solve the problem we¡¯re facing, then you won''t be able to either. Going with you will just waste my time. If you want to go, you¡¯re wee to do so. I think that I might be close to a breakthrough. The energy in this part of the universe is really suitable for breakthroughs."

    Bai Wangyuan and the other three exchanged nces. Things just became moreplicated. Technically, capturing Xia Shenji¡¯s clone would be easier if Lu Yin was not present in the Fifth Maind, but his timing was unexpected.

    "What? Still not going?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Xia Shenji addressed Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, "I''ll go capture him. You two stay here and keep watch."

    "Something doesn''t feel right. This timing is too coincidental. Your clone was exposed, and at the same time, Lu Xiaoxuan chose to visit this ce. This can''t be pure coincidence," Bai Wangyuan said in a pondering tone.

    Wang Fan also felt that something was off about the situation. "Did he find out?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "That¡¯s impossible. If he knew, then why would hee here? Only a few of us know about this matter."

    "But it''s very suspicious that your clone even went to the Fifth Maind, not to mention that he did so while apanied by one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. Something is very suspicious about this whole thing," Wang Fan said.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes flickered. "Without Lu Xiaoxuan, the Fifth Maind stands no chance against me, even if they somehow manage to resurrect Xia Shang. Who there can stop me from leaving as I wish? Besides, we have our truce with Lu Xiaoxuan. If he dares to attack me, you can attack him. Since he hase to the Perennial World, there''s no way that he can escape."

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

    Lu Yin nced at them. Leaving his shoulder, the jiao took flight, instantly casting a shadow over the entire valley. He then took his ce atop the jiao''s head and immediately headed towards the Middle Realm.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other two exchanged nces. Reaching a mutual understanding, they entered the New Corridor and made their way towards the Fifth Maind.

    After the four Progenitors entered the New Corridor, the jiao turned back around and headed towards the center of the Upper Realm. Lu Yin was in the Perennial World to recover the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury. With Bai Wangyuan and the others all gone, this was the perfect opportunity for him to take action.

    The jiao quickly arrived at Qingshan''s original location, which was now the Northern Stone Forest. It was also where the treasury was located.

    Lu Yin took out the seal with the spatial coordinates and pushed it into the void. "Open up. I hope that there really is ten trillion star essence in there."

    At this same time, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan turned around, no longer heading towards the Fifth Maind. Xia Shenji continued on towards the Shenwu Continent on his own, relying on the information provided by the Wang family.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan soon returned to the mountain valley. "Lu Xiaoxuan really did go there. This time, he won''t be able to leave alive."

    At the center of the Upper Realm, in the Northern Stone Forest, outer space tore open. Through the rift, Lu Yin could see a vast in that waspletely covered in star essence. His eyes shed, and the jiao shrank down until it could perch on his shoulder. After that, Lu Yin entered the rift.

    Just as Lu Yin passed through, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan arrived, quickly followed by Progenitor Long.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan already went in? What about Xia Shenji?" Progenitor Long asked.

    Bai Wangyuan said, "Starting today, Lu Xiaoxuan will no longer exist."

    At the same time that Lu Yin passed through the spatial rift, Xia Shenji arrived at the Shenwu Continent.

    "Where is he?" Xia Shenji asked. He stood at the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light. The person that he was talking to was none other than the tracker that the Wang family had sent.

    The man pointed downwards. "That¡¯s where he went."

    He was startled to see someone who looked exactly like the man he had been following appear.

    Almost immediately, the man thought of Shenwu''s Sky''s Nine Clones Secret Technique. Could this man be from the Xia family?

    Xia Shenji looked down, only for his heart to skip a beat, shocked by what he was seeing. Was that a spatial passage?

    He hesitated. Who knew what he might encounter if he entered that passage?

    They had set a trap for Lu Xiaoxuan, but could this be a trap that Lu Xiaoxuan had set for him?

    The four ruling powers had deliberately released Lu Xun. The fact that Xia Xing had been controlled by Lu Yin had already been exposed three years ago. Xia Xing had helped Lu Yin several times, which had roused Xia Ziheng¡¯s suspicions, and he had reported the matter to the family¡¯s Progenitor. Xia Shenji had sensed the death energy within Xia Xing''s body, which had confirmed that Xia Xing was being controlled by Lu Yin.

    However, Xia Shenji had not killed Xia Xing, but neither had he saved the man. Instead, Xia Shenji wanted to take advantage of the situation, and he had ordered Xia Xing to take Lu Xun to Lu Xiaoxuan and expose the location of the treasury to him. This would definitely motivate Lu Xiaoxuan to find a way to obtain the key for himself so that he could enter the treasury.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had not disappointed them. By using Yu Chen to deliver a message to Lu Gong, he had used Nutjob Lu of being a Redback and had initiated a confrontation. During that confrontation, Lu Yin had obtained the key to the Lu family¡¯s treasury. All this had been known to the four ruling powers, as well as to Nutjob Lu. It had all been an act so that Lu Xiaoxuan would believe that he was entering the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury through his own capabilities. However, as soon as he entered the treasury, he could forget about ever returning alive.

    So he loved money? Then he could die for it.

    They were not viting the truce, as they would not be the ones to deal with Lu Xiaoxuan.

    They had set a trap for Lu Xiaoxuan, but at the same time, Xia Shenji was now certain that Lu Xiaoxuan had simrly set a trap for him. Whaty on the other end of the spatial passage? The Progenitor had no ideas.

    "Are you certain that they entered this passage?" Xia Shenji asked coldly.

    The man from the Wang family trembled under the overwhelming pressure of a Progenitor, and he was forced to the ground. "I- I''m sure."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes flickered. Just what was Lu Xiaoxuan plotting? Without a Progenitor present, did he somehow intend to deal with him? Or was it possible that Lu Xiaoxuan simply wanted to lure the Progenitor away from the Perennial World? If that was true, then the only possible exnation was that he already knew that there was something wrong with the Lu family¡¯s treasury. Perhaps this was all to divert his attention.

    What was Lu Yin thinking? Did he know about the trap that had beenid? Also, whaty on the other side of the spatial passage? Xia Shenji''s eyes shifted as he considered the situation. He was a powerful Progenitor, and he even considered himself to be equal to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. He had not hesitated this much in countless years, but at this moment, he had no confidence in his decision, and he was actually growing increasingly ufortable.

    Such a feeling of unease had only ever appeared when he had faced the Seven Skygods before. Why would a mere Lu Xiaoxuan give him the same feeling? What qualified Lu Xianxuan to make him worry so much?

    Determination entered Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes. No matter what, he had to take his clone back. Without it, he would never be whole, and he would remain inferior to Bai Wangyuan and the others for the rest of his life.

    He took out his wireless jincan and sent a message to someone. Then, he took a step forward and disappeared into the void.

    At the same moment that Xia Shenji entered the spatial passage, Highsage Grandmaster and Xiu Ming appeared. Then, they sealed off the Shenwu Continent by using the five sealings. At the same time, the tracker from the Wang family was captured.

    While it was true that Lu Yin could not directly deal with Xia Shenji, he could still get rid of Xia Shenji.

    The spatial passage led to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    It was not easy for people from the Three Monarchs Universe to reach the Fifth Maind¡¯s universe, but given Xia Shenji¡¯s strength, it was not too difficult for him to traverse the passage and reach the parallel universe. However, after he left, he would find it incredibly difficult to return.

    Back in the Perennial World, Lu Yin entered the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury. As he looked around, he saw that the ground was covered with star essence as far as his eyes could see. This was not a small bit of star essence. The deeper into the treasury he went, the more star essence that he found. Off in the distance, star essence piled up to form mountains, and the sight caused his heartbeat to quicken.

    The amount of star essence here nearly rivaled what had been on the Junior Progenitors, and there was definitely over a trillion star essences in this treasury.

    Was there more further in? Lu Yin unleashed his domain, but suddenly, his expression changed. It was gone? Why was there only a thinyer of star essence?

    At that moment, Lu Yin spun around and stared at the entrance to the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury. At some point in time, a man had appeared there. An aura of violence radiated from the man, as well as madness. A cruel smile decorated his face as he stared at Lu Yin. A tform floated beside the man, and it gradually started to emanate a red glow.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Nutjob Lu?"

    This man was indeed none other than Nutjob Lu. The four ruling powers had set a trap to lure Lu Yin into the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury, solely to give Nutjob Lu an opportunity to kill Lu Yin. They had not hesitated to put on a show of confronting Nutjob Lu in outer space so that Lu Yin would have a chance to snatch the treasury¡¯s key. They had even ced trillions of star essence inside the treasury, all for the sake of luring Lu Yin into it.

    "Given that you are a member of the Lu family, there¡¯s nothing strange about youcking sufficient cultivation resources. Throughout history, the Lu family has always had deep pockets. The star essence here is certainly tempting, isn''t it? Haha." Nutjob Lu''s unsettlingughter echoed through the treasury. He gazed at Lu Yin with eyes that held a mix of insanity and sadism. It seemed as though he wanted to tear the young man apart with just his gaze.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned solemn. "So it was all an act to lure me in here. If my guess is right, then Bai Wangyuan and the others are already outside to stop my senior brother and Progenitor Smoke from entering."

    "It looks like you aren''tpletely stupid," Nutjob Lu said as his Champions'' Stage slowly floated up.

    Lu Yin cocked a brow. "It seems that I won''t live past today. Before I die, can you tell me why you hate the Lu family so much? Isn''t your surname also Lu?"

    Nutjob Lu let out a hystericalugh. "Are you curious? Then go ask that Lu geezer and the others."

    The man thenunched his Champions¡¯ Stage towards Lu Yin, the movement caused the space within the treasury to tremble from the violent aura that was released.

    The jiao perched on Lu Yin''s shoulder instantly grewrger, and it stretched out a w towards the Champions'' Stage.

    Nutjob Lu suddenly turned his eyes to stare at the jiao. This piercing stare seemed to fill the void itself.

    The jiao jerked back, frightened by the violent aura that Nutjob Lu gave off. The beast was afraid of the man, just like when Nutjob Lu had attacked before.

    The jiao withdrew its ws, and Lu Yin inwardly cursed the beast¡¯s cowardice. He immediately summoned E Chi and ordered the champion forward.

    E Chi lifted his serrated saber and struck the Champions'' Stage. There was a metallic ng, and the de cracked.

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "Nothing but trash."

    Lu Yin raised a hand and invoked his Investiture of the Gods. Golden light illuminated the entire treasury. After conferring Nong Yi, it was finally time for Lu Yin to put his first Progenitor to use.

 Chapter 2455: Schemes Within Schemes

    Chapter 2455: Schemes Within Schemes

    Green leaves drifted through the void and enveloped the Champions'' Stage, suddenly restraining it. E Chi released a fierce attack and mmed his serrated saber against the Champions'' Stage, forcing it back.

    "Nutjob Lu, do you really think that you can kill me?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Nutjob Lu licked his lips. "Kid, you might be much better than that idiot Lu Qi, but it¡¯s still only so much."

    He threw out a palm strike, releasing a dense burst of ominion energy. The attack resembled a malevolent spirit, and it went right through E Chi, rumbling towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. Nutjob Lu¡¯s ominion energy was brutal and possessed an irresistible natureparable to Divine Martial Armor. If the two were on the same level, then it would be possible for Lu Yin to use the power within his chest to counter ominion energy. However, Nutjob Lu¡¯s ominion energy had been cultivated to the tenth stage, which was equivalent to the Progenitor level. This made it far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s ability to resist.

    With no other choice, he utilized the runes of his borrowed Champions'' Stage and did his best to weaken the approaching ominion energy.

    Ominion energy mmed into the glowing sphere of runes that Lu Yin had manifested. By the time the palm strike forced its way through the sphere, it had already been greatly weakened.

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "Not bad, but let¡¯s see just how long you can endure for."

    Another palm strike was thrown out.

    At this moment, Progenitor Smoke appeared right outside of the Celestial Treasury.

    When Nutjob Lu had first attacked Lu Yin, Progenitor-level shockwaves had rippled out, and that had instantly drawn her attention. She was not alone, as Nong Yi, Specter Progenitor, and the others had simrly noticed the fight.

    "Bai Wangyuan, what are you doing?" As soon as Progenitor Smoke appeared, she stared at the entrance to the Celestial Treasury. She could sense the domineering ominion energy within it.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "This has nothing to do with you, Xi Wei. This is an internal feud of the Lu family. This is something that they need to resolve by themselves."

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression instantly and drastically changed. "Is Lu Xiaoxuan inside? Did you send Nutjob Lu in to kill him?"

    Wang Fan said, "Xi Wei, this is none of your concern."

    Progenitor Smoke became furious, and she shouted, "Are you trying to start a major war? If anything happens to Lu Xiaoxuan, Mu Xie won''t hold back."

    "So what?" Bai Wangyuan shouted right back.

    Progenitor Smoke recoiled. She was instantly reminded of Liu Yue''s death three years ago, as well as the confrontation that had taken ce more recently. The enmity between the four ruling powers and the Lu family had never disappeared, but merely somewhat suppressed. At this moment, Nutjob Lu was the one attacking Lu Yin, not the four ruling powers. They were still being careful to not vite the truce.

    Bai Wangyuan and two other Progenitors were standing guard at the entrance to the treasury. Even if Mu Xie appeared, he would not be able to charge in.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had fallen into their trap.

    Nong Yi had never expected such a situation to ur, but at this moment, there was nothing that they could do. Even if an all-out war erupted, they would not be able to contend with the deep foundations of the four ruling powers. Aside from the three Progenitors standing guard outside the entrance to the treasury, the four ruling powers were also protecting four of the sevens in the Outer Realm.

    Specter Progenitor''s eyes flickered. Lu Xiaoxuan was currently in grave danger. If he died, what would happen to the God of Death''s inheritance? Who knew how the youth had obtained the God of Death inheritance? That inheritance had to go to him, Specter Progenitor!

    Bai Wangyuan turned to look into the Celestial Treasury. Everything should be just about finished.

    Inside the treasury, Lu Yin hid behind the jiao, doing his best to evade Nutjob Lu''s various attacks. The jiao tried to break free, but Nutjob Lu blocked the entrance.

    The summoned Nong Yi and E Chi, even after being supported by Lu Yin¡¯s Progenitor-level runes, were still unable to measure up to Nutjob Lu''s ominion energy. Nutjob Lu''s strength had exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    This man was absolutely no weaker than Xia Shenji.

    "Kid, how long do you think you canst for?" Nutjob Lu nced at the jiao. With a wave of his hand, his Champions'' Stage was sent flying toward the beast.

    The jiao howled as it tried to evade, but the Champions'' Stage chased after the beast.

    Lu Yin cursed the jiao for being so useless, and he nced towards the entrance. Progenitor Smoke and the others should have already arrived. In that case¡­ He took out Zenith Mountain. "Senior, it''s up to you now."

    Mu Xie stepped out from Zenith Mountain. He looked over at Nutjob Lu and then simply vanished. Countless afterimages could be seen in the sky as Mu Xie instantly appeared right next to Nutjob Lu, at which point the man struck out with a palm of his own. Nutjob Lu quickly raised a hand that was entwined with ominion energy.

    Boom!

    A deafening bang shattered the void within the Celestial Treasury, and countless spatial cracks spread out in every direction, exposing a darkness so deep that it seemed to devour all light.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others looked into the Celestial Treasury in shock. "Mu Xie? How is this possible?"

    Lu Yin roared withughter. "Did you really think that I would fall for such a trick? Since you wanted to create an opportunity for Nutjob Lu to kill me, then why wouldn''t I create an opportunity for Senior Mu Xie to help me put down Nutjob Lu? Nutjob Lu will die today!"

    Lu Yin pulled out the slipper and delivered it to Senior Mu Xie with the Yu Secret Art.

    Beneath the scroll of Investiture of the Gods, Nong Yi raised a wooden staff and pointed it at Nutjob Lu.

    E Chi raised his serrated saber and shed down.

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and he focused all his attention on weakening Nutjob Lu.

    The ominion energy covering Nutjob Lu''s body grew faint, weakened by Lu Yin¡¯s runes.

    Again, Mu Xie¡¯s palm struck Nutjob Lu¡¯s. The madman wielded a terrifying level of ominion energy, and he also possessed the inherent physical strength of the Lu family, which meant that he was able to suppress a Progenitor with nothing more than his physical prowess. Surprisingly, Mu Xie was on equal footing with the madman.

    No one had anticipated that Mu Xie, who did not appear particrly robust, would actually beparable to Nutjob Lu in terms of physical strength.

    Lu Yin had never been worried about Mu Xie. Mister Mu''s standards for epting disciples were beyond extraordinary. The more that Lu Yin understood his master¡¯s standards, the more confident he became in his senior brother, Mu Xie. As one of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples, Mu Xie¡¯s true strength would absolutely astonish Bai Wangyuan and the others. This was the source of Lu Yin¡¯s confidence about killing Nutjob Lu after joining forces.

    If Mu Xie were reced by the Progenitor of Bloodlines, then even three Progenitors would not give Lu Yin as much confidence as Mu Xie did on his own.

    Mu Xie gripped the slipper and fiercely mmed it down.

    The Champions'' Stage appeared in front of Nutjob Lu as the slipper struck, shattering the stage.

    Nutjob Lu spewed out a mouthful of blood. He tilted his head back and let out a roar. Ominion energy spread in an endless surge as it formed a Progenitor''s world.

    A ?ar¨©ra appeared beneath Mu Xie''s feet, and the glowing energy formed characters in the air that shed with Nutjob Lu. At the same time, the hand holding the slipper pped down again. There was no hesitation.

    The slipper was truly an extraordinary weapon. Even Undying God¡¯s body had nearly been shattered by it, let alone Nutjob Lu¡¯s.

    In his current state, Nutjob Lu waspletely unable to block the entrance to the Celestial Treasury, and the jiao was constantly looking for an opportunity to escape.

    However, Bai Wangyuan and the others were also blocking the entrance from the outside.

    Wang Fan wanted to rush in and kill Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yin stood atop the jiao, and he looked out at Bai Wangyuan and the others who were standing at the treasury¡¯s entrance. He had no intention of charging out of the Celestial Treasury, but it would also be problematic if Wang Fan or anyone else entered to assist Nutjob Lu out of desperation to end Lu Yin¡¯s life. Lu Yin had no way of knowing what the three Progenitors would choose to do, especially if Nutjob Lu started to fall to a disadvantage.

    Fortunately, this was something that Lu Yin had already considered in advance.

    As the jiao approached the entrance, Lu Yin pulled someone else out: Master Shan.

    Master Shan appeared at the entrance of the treasury, right between Bai Wangyuan''s group and Lu Yin. The massive jiao was blocked by Progenitors in both directions, which left it unable to escape or retreat.

    Lu Yin stood on the jiao''s head and called out. "Master Shan, it''s up to you now!"

    Master Shan lifted his head. "Rest assured, Young Master! Finally, the day that this old servant can be of use has arrived. I have long dreamed of repaying my debt to the Lu family."

    Bai Wangyuan and the others stared at Master Shan. What use could a crippled Semi-Progenitor possibly be?

    Suddenly, Wang Fan thought of something. "Not good!"

    Master Shan¡¯s head snapped up. The dark abyss at the center of a vortex appeared overhead, signaling that the man¡¯s stellr tribtion had been triggered. "It''s time to undergo my stellr tribtion to be a Progenitor! Young Master, you must kill Nutjob Lu and avenge us."

    Lu Yin firmly replied, "You can rest assured."

    Master Shan looked back outwards, and his eyes locked onto Bai Wangyuan and the others. He took a step forward and then charged out.

    At this moment, nobody dared to do anything to stop the man or interfere in any way, either to help him or attack him. Anyone who used any power beneath the vortex of a stellr tribtion would draw its attention, and that was something that no one was willing to experience. The stronger a cultivator was, the stronger their stellr tribtion would be. Bai Wangyuan and the others did not dare to risk antagonizing a stellr tribtion.

    This was what Lu Yin had prepared. He was going to use Master Shan to block Bai Wangyuan and the others with a Progenitor-level stellr tribtion, which would give Lu Yin and Mu Xie enough time to deal with Nutjob Lu.

    The four ruling powers had fully prepared to spring this trap, but Lu Yin''s preparations proved to be even more thorough.

    The truth was that Lu Yin had noticed a problem from the very beginning. Lu Xun had reported that the Celestial Treasury¡¯s entrance had been in the Lu Sanctum¡¯s Qingshan, but the location had changed names and be known as the Stone Forest to the North. However, the stone forest had only appeared after the Lu Sanctum was banished. Thus, how could Lu Xun know about it? How could she have found out?

    Furthermore, how had Xia Xing managed to rescue Lu Xun?

    Lu Yin had agreed to a truce with Bai Wangyuan, and they had sealed it with three strikes. Included in the terms of the truce was the fact that all surviving members of the Lu family, or vassals of the Lu family, would be released to Lu Yin. Despite this, Lu Xun had been kept incarcerated, which meant that she was someone of great importance. Despite those circumstances, Xia Xing had actually been able to rescue Lu Xun without any bit of trouble. Even an idiot should have realized that something was wrong.

    Lu Xun and Lu Gong had both been considered important prisoners by the four ruling powers. Not to mention Xia Xing, but even Xia Ziheng should not have been able to rescue either one.

    Lu Yin had taken a risk in sending Yu Chen to deliver a message to Lu Gong. After delivering the message, Yu Chen had immediately fled from the Celestial Frost Sect, which showed that she had also been aware of just how dangerous her task had been.

    The four ruling powers had set up this trap for Lu Yin, hoping to lure him into the Celestial Treasury. Naturally, he had cooperated with them.

    Both sides knew what the other party was aware of, but not what they had nned. In the end, the oue would be determined inside the Celestial Treasury.

    It could be said that the Celestial Treasury was a battlefield that had been unanimously agreed upon by both sides.

    It was only at this point in time that Bai Wangyuan and the others finally realized that Lu Yin had wanted the same thing as them. This caused them to fret over whether Nutjob Lu would be able to sessfully kill Lu Yin, whilst also remembering that Xia Shenji had been lured away.

    Since Lu Yin had known about their trap, there was no doubt that things would not go smoothly for Xia Shenji either. The fact that the Progenitor had yet to appear even after all this time proved that Lu Yin had done far more than just distract Xia Shenji.

    Things had just gottenplicated.

    Progenitor Long immediately attempted to get in contact with Xia Shenji through a wireless jincan, but the attempt failed.

    While wireless jincans could connect to each other regardless of distance, they could not establish a connection between parallel universes.

    The expressions of Bai Wangyuan and the other two grew decidedly unpleasant at this moment.

    Inside the Celestial Treasury, Nutjob Lu continued topress his Progenitor''s world in an attempt to crush the ?ar¨©ra. Slipper in hand, Mu Xie had gained a slight advantage, much to Nutjob Lu¡¯s great frustration. Behind the madman, the image of a Maind appeared. This was the visualization technique of the Lu family¡¯s direct line. At the same time that the Maind appeared, the chanting of the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra began to ring out through the Celestial Treasury.

    Mu Xie''s expression grew solemn. Blood started to leak from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Nutjob Lu swung a hand, his attack amplified by the visualization technique. Mu Xie met the palm with the slipper.

    The powerful resulting vibrations caused the Celestial Treasury to start to fracture and break apart. Nutjob Lu had relied on his visualization technique and the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra to endure Mu Xie¡¯s attacks with the slipper. The madman¡¯s eyes grew ferocious. "Brat, let me show you the true strength of the Lu family!"

    As Nutjob Lu spoke, the image of the Maind grewrger, and the chanting of the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra grew even louder.

    Mu Xie''s face flushed red from the strain that he was enduring, and more blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Each word of the Origin Sutra mmed into his mind, and the image of the Maind seemed to rece the sky itself as it pressed down upon Mu Xie.

 Chapter 2456: Battle Force At The Progenitor Level

    Chapter 2456: Battle Force At The Progenitor Level

    Nutjob Lu''s Champions'' Stage released a powerful burst of pressure that mmed down onto Lu Yin.

    The space within the Celestial Treasury was filled with ominion energy, which rendered both the summoned E Chi and Nong Yi immobile.

    Nutjob Lu was single-handedly standing against thebined efforts of Lu Yin and Mu Xie.

    Mu Xie lifted his head and used Origin Tracer. Suddenly, a gray color filled his surroundings. With a wave of a hand, he threw his own palm strike at Nutjob Lu.

    The power of time was always impressive to see. There was no overwhelming power behind Mu Xie''s attack, but it somehow nullified both the madman¡¯s visualization technique and his Origin Sutra.

    Seizing the opening, Mu Xie threw his ?ar¨©ra down, which sent Nutjob Lu crashing underground.

    Lu Yin quickly ordered E Chi to take action, and at the same time, Progenitor-level runes fell down while forming into a massive de.

    Outside the Celestial Treasury, Bai Wangyuan and the others watched everything take ce in utter shock. Mu Xie''s ability to manipte the power of time left all of them wary. He had used a single palm to dissolve all of Nutjob Lu''s methods, effectively wiping the te clean and reverting the battlefield to its original state. It was no wonder why Xia Shenji''s power of time had been so easily neutralized.

    Mu Xie absolutely possessed a level of strengthparable to one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    The ground shattered as the ?ar¨©ra pushed Nutjob Lu deeper underground. Then, the de fell down and delivered a ruthless attack.

    Everyone focused on the ce where Nutjob Lu fell, but no one could see his condition clearly.

    Soon, the red glow of ominion energy that filled the Celestial Treasury contracted and moved underground. Then, Nutjob Lu''s Progenitor''s world vanished.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This attack should have sent Nutjob Lu halfway to death.

    At the entrance of the Celestial Treasury, the first trial of Master Shan''s Progenitor-level stellr tribtion had arrived. It took the form of a mountain with thick clouds beneath it. As the stellr tribtion continued to expand, Bai Wangyuan and the others were forced to retreat further and further back, which meant that they were forced to move away from the entrance to the treasury.

    Lu Yin took a brief moment to check on Master Shan.

    "Abandon your breakthrough," he ordered. It was impossible for Master Shan to pass his stellr tribtion, as he had never opened his three meridian points. Even disregarding the terrible injuries he had suffered after the Lu family¡¯s exile, the man would have never seeded in this breakthrough even if he had been at his peak state. Master Shen¡¯s powerful defense stemmed solely from his innate gift.

    If he truly challenged his tribtion to be a Progenitor at this moment, there was absolutely no chance of him surviving.

    Master Shan turned to look at Bai Wangyuan and the other two Progenitors, and tremendous reluctance filled his eyes. "If only this were a sealed space. Just my sacrifice alone would be enough to eliminate all of the Lu family¡¯s enemies!"

    "Master Shan, abandon your breakthrough, NOW!" Lu Yin bellowed.

    Master Shan still did not move. He wanted to buy as much time as possible. He was well aware that every second he obtained was another second that Bai Wangyuan and the others were unable to interfere in the battle taking ce within the Celestial Treasury.

    Lu Yin grew anxious. "Master Shan, Nutjob Lu will surely die. As your young master, Imand you: abandon your breakthrough now and end your stellr tribtion!"

    A tremor ran through Master Shan''s body, but he finally obeyed Lu Yin''s order. The man¡¯s cultivation fell rapidly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    He had been a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and even after suffering his various injuries, he had still been stronger than any Envoy. But at this moment, his strength had fallen to less than even that of a peak Envoy.

    As he proceeded to abandon his breakthrough, the mountain that was the first trial of his Progenitor stellr tribtion started to dissipate as well.

    Some distance away, Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged nces. Once this stellr tribtionpletely dissipated, they would immediately storm into the Celestial Treasury. They could not believe that Nutjob Lu would die so quickly. As long as Nutjob Lu remained alive, he would be a threat to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced out at the three men. How could he not understand what they were thinking at this moment? Thus, while he ced Master Shan back in Zenith Mountain, he also released Wan Zhiyi.

    Upon seeing Wan Zhiyi, the expressions on the faces of Bai Wangyuan and the others grew much uglier.

    Specter Progenitor was speechless at what he was seeing. He had a reputation for being the most shameless of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors, and it was acknowledged that he had the thickest skin. However, at this moment, he realized that he had lost this position. He could not even begin topare with Lu Xiaoxuan when it came to shamelessness.

    The reason for Wan Zhiyi''s appearance was quite simple: he also intended to trigger his tribtion.

    The truth was that both Master Shan and Wan Zhiyi had lost the ability to ever reach the Progenitor level after all their suffering after the Lu family''s exile. Still, while breaking through was impossible, they were still capable of triggering their stellr tribtions. As long as a stellr tribtion blocked the path to the entrance of the treasury, no one would dare to try to rush in.

    Wan Zhiyi stared at the distant forms of Bai Wangyuan and the other two. "It¡¯s been a long time. I never thought that we would meet again under these circumstances. Why don¡¯t we have a chat?"

    Wang Fan answered in a solemn tone, "Wan Zhiyi, if you begin your tribtion, the only way you can hope to survive is by abandoning your breakthrough. Doing so will make it impossible for you to ever regain the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, let alone have any hope of reaching the Progenitor realm."

    Wan Zhiyi erupted withughter. "From the moment the main family was banished, it was already impossible for me to ever be a Progenitor! Perhaps I¡¯ll have a chance in my next life. At the very least, my crippled body can still be of some use to the young master!"

    Nong Yi sighed. "Only the Lu family has the charisma tomand such fervent loyalty. Even Semi-Progenitors are willing to sacrifice their lives."

    Within the Celestial Treasury, Lu Yin averted his gaze and instead stared into the hole in the ground. With Wan Zhiyi present, Bai Wangyuan and the others had been held back yet again.

    Mu Xiepletely ignored everything that was urring outside of the treasury. His attention was focused on the hole. Suddenly, his expression changed. "Not good!"

    As he spoke, his ?ar¨©ra flew back,pletely out of his control. A figure emerged from the ground. The man¡¯s head was bowed, and he was panting heavily. Purplish ck lines formed patterns that covered his skin while strands of ominion energy flickered along the ck and purple patterns before disappearing, giving the patterns a profound appearance.

    Lu Yin''s face grew pale. "Wielder-realm battle force?"

    He had a sudden sh of insight. "You''re one of the madmen who worked with Ancient God to develop Wielder - Indestructible!"

    Mu Xie was left confused. "What are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "He is someone who¡¯s lived since the Heavens Sect era. He''s probably even older than Progenitor Tianyi. Back then, Gu Yizhi, the Third Maind''s Dao Monarch, developed Wielder - Indestructible, the highest level of battle force, and many people participated in his experiments. Some of them went insane during the experiments. You''re one of them, aren¡¯t you?"

    A deep, eerieughter echoed throughout the isted space, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it.

    Theughter grew louder and louder as Nutjob Lu slowly lifted his head and looked straight at Lu Yin. "It seems that you know quite a bit about that era."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned grim. This was going to be a problem. The terrifying nature of Wielder-realm battle force was something that could only be understood by those who had mastered it. It was a cultivation system that had been developed by Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi, and it was in no means inferior to the systems created by the Rune Progenitor or Progenitor Chen. In fact, the system that Gu Yizhi had developed could even rival the God of Death¡¯s cultivation system. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had thought that his cultivation system was the true path of cultivation that humanity should take and that it was capable of recing stellr energy as the Fifth Maind¡¯s primary cultivation method.

    Given the issues affecting the Fifth Maind''s stellr energy, the only cultivators who could still fight were those with the strength to forcibly suppress their stellr or star energy, or those who had cultivated battle force, a domain, or spiritual force. Those systems were unaffected by the changes that had assaulted the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy. Even though Gu Yizhi had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, Lu Yin had to admit that the ancient Dao Monarch¡¯s cultivation system was a true marvel that was almost perfectly suited for humans.

    If he was being honest, Lu Yin felt much of his confidence flee after seeing that Nutjob Lu possessed Wielder - Indestructible as well.

    "Gu Yizhi believes that the power he developed is the true path of cultivation for humanity! Let me see if that''s actually true!" Nutjob Lu''s previously violent aura instantly vanished, leaving both Lu Yin and Mu Xie far warier than before.

    Nutjob Lu heaved his cracked Champions'' Stage high into the sky before mming it down onto Mu Xie. Stepping forward, he shattered the void to appear in front of the jiao, at which time he unleashed a devastating punch.

    The jiao let out a roar. It had be confident as soon as Nutjob Lu''s terrifying aura was retracted. Mustering its courage, it raised a w and fiercely struck back.

    There was a sharp crack, and the w twisted. It had been bent by the power of Nutjob Lu''s fist.

    Lu Yin was astounded. The jiao''s defense was so strong that even Forgotten Ruins God had been astonished. Xia Shenji had been forced to simply trap the beast with the broken saber, and yet it seemed surprisingly feeble against Nutjob Lu.

    Nutjob Lu was simrly shocked. "You actually endured my punch?"

    The jiao bellowed in rage as pain wracked its body. It thrashed about and swung its tail toward Nutjob Lu.

    At the same time, Mu Xie pushed the Champions'' Stage aside. He tore through the void to arrive behind Nutjob Lu and throw out a palm strike. The madman found himself trapped between the jiao''s tail and Mu Xie''s attack. It was possible for him to evade the two attacks, but instead, Nutjob Lu turned and met Mu Xie''s palm strike head-on. To Mu Xie, it did not feel like he was striking another hand; the unstoppable force behind Nutjob Lu¡¯s palm felt like an indestructible mountain. The madman¡¯s attack tore Mu Xie¡¯s hand open, and he staggered back, bleeding.

    At the same time, Nutjob Lushed out with a powerful kick that connected with the jiao''s tail. It was a direct and violent maneuver without any sort of battle technique orplicated movements. The man used nothing but pure physical might and Wielder-realm battle force to simultaneously fend off both the jiao and Mu Xie.

    At this juncture, the silhouette of the summoned Nong Yi fell from above, while E Chi shot up from below.

    Nutjob Lu was practically surrounded on all sides.

    "Is this all that you¡¯re capable of?" Nutjob Lu swung his fist, shattering the form of Nong Yi. With a fierce stomp, he then shattered E Chi.

    Even though Nong Yi and E Chi were nothing more than summons, each still possessed the strength of a Progenitor. Despite that, they could put up little resistance against Nutjob Lu.

    The destruction of the two summons also wounded Lu Yin. The jiao had been utterly terrified by Nutjob Lu''s peerless strength, and it immediately fled from the battle.

    Nutjob Lu looked up at the beast, but just as he prepared to give chase, a ?ar¨©ra descended from above, apanied by glowing characters that twined around the madman. The ancient characters formed from ?ar¨©ra¡¯s energy possessed a mysterious strength, and not even Nutjob Lu''s repeated punches were able to break through them.

    Seizing the opportunity, Mu Xie brandished the slipper.

    Nutjob Lu raised a hand, and a golden light filled the treasury. An Investiture of the Gods appeared, and Lu Yin felt a stabbing pain in his eyes. All color drained from his face. An Investiture of the Gods? Had Nutjob Lu conferred someone? Who could it be? How were they supposed to handle another Progenitor?

    Lu Yin was not alone, as Mu Xie, Bai Wangyuan, and everyone else watching shared the same thought as soon as they saw the Investiture of the Gods appear.

    None of them had expected Nutjob Lu to also possess an Investiture of the Gods.

    The thought of this madman conferring a god had never crossed anyone¡¯s mind. Who would be willing to be conferred by someone insane?

    However, the way in which Nutjob Lu''s used his Investiture of the Gods startled everyone. There was a powerful golden radiance, but no shadow appeared. Instead, the man simply used his Investiture of the Gods to block the slipper from striking him.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge. Could the Investiture of the Gods actually be used like this?

    The impression that everyone had of the Lu family''s Investiture of the Gods was that it was a sacred object capable of sealing copies of gods. The only known application was to confer Progenitors and allow the owner to borrow their power. No one had ever tested the resilience of the scroll itself, but at this moment, they witnessed it for themselves; the slipper did not shatter the Investiture of the Gods.

    Nutjob Lu''s eyes turned bloodshot. Both of his hands were lit up by the golden radiance of his Investiture of the Gods as heunched a fierce assault on Mu Xie.

 Chapter 2457: A Cultivatorâ€™s Stellular Tribulation

    Chapter 2457: A Cultivator¡¯s Stellr Tribtion

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin yelled. An astral chessboard started to appear beneath his feet, but it was unable to fully manifest given the brilliant golden light. The Ce Secret Art was useless at this moment.

    Both of Nutjob Lu''s hands struck Mu Xie''s body at the same time, causing the man to cough up blood. The attack left two palm prints on Mu Xie¡¯s chest, but he managed to grab hold of Nutjob Lu''s arm. Despite being sent reeling, Mu Xie kept a firm grip on Nutjob Lu and fiercely mmed the slipper down.

    Nutjob Lu sneered as his Investiture of the Gods shielded his back and blocked the slipper.

    Suddenly, the slipper disappeared, only to reappear in Mu Xie¡¯s other hand that he had been using to hold Nutjob Lu in ce. The madman stared in astonishment as the slipper struck him.

    The slippernded directly on the man¡¯s right arm, instantly shattering it.

    This attack relied entirely on the coordination between Mu Xie and Lu Yin. The Ce Secret Art may have been ineffective, but the Yu Secret Art still worked fine. This did not mean that the Yu Secret Art was superior, but rather that each secret technique had different usages.

    In most cases, the Ce Secret Art was far superior to the Yu Sect Art, since board maniption allowed the user to undo a move by controlling space. It was essentially a technique that was able to turn back time. However, in specific situations, the Yu Secret Art could perform ingenious feats as well.

    In the past, it was entirely thanks to the Yu Secret Art that humanity had managed to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea with Mt. Microcosms.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gratitude towards Undying Yushan blossomed from the bottom of his heart. It was true that Undying Yushan had tried to use Lu Yin, but the Yu Secret Art had also provided him with tremendous assistance over the years.

    Nutjob Lu and Mu Xie faced each other in midair. The madman¡¯s right arm was broken and could no longer be used, but the Investiture of the Gods still emitted a brilliant golden light from above his head.

    Mu Xie was not in much better condition. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and two very clear palm prints marked his chest, close to his heart.

    He eximed, "Master once told me that, since he has epted me, it will be difficult for me to find worthy opponents. I never expected that this madman''s strength would be so terrifying. He''s definitely at the level of a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Lu Yin could clearly see that as well. After Nutjob Lu had revealed his Wielder - Indestructible, it had be perfectly clear that he possessed at least the same level of strength as one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Even if nothing else was taken into ount, Nutjob Lu¡¯s abilities were already far beyond Xia Shenji¡¯s.

    Xia Shenji had yet to demonstrate any ability that would allow him to withstand even a single attack from the slipper, whereas Nutjob Lu''s Investiture of the Gods had done exactly that. Furthermore, Xia Shenjicked battle techniques that allowed him to utilize the full potential of his physical strength, such as Wielder-realm battle force.

    Senior Brother Mu Xie had been unfazed by Xia Shenji¡¯s strength when they had started fighting, but he was extremely wary of Nutjob Lu¡¯s. Moreover, Nutjob Lu might not have revealed his full strength yet.

    This battle was a very difficult one.

    At the entrance to the treasury, Wan Zhiyi had already started his stellr tribtion.

    Just moments ago, Nutjob Lu had held the upper hand, but the situation was turning increasingly unfavorable for him.

    Progenitor Smoke, Nong Yi, and Specter Progenitor were unable to interfere in the battle. There were certain conflicts which were simply not reasonable for them to get involved in, simr to what had happened to Liu Yue.

    Above, the dark vortex of the stellr tribtion continued to expand. It was not overlyrge, given the fact that Wan Zhiyi''s strength had been greatly reduced from his peak.

    A single finger descended, signaling the start of the stellr tribtion. The finger wielded a power that had appeared in the universe before, and it was being replicated by the universe¡¯s stellr energy as Wan Zhiyi''s first trial.

    Wan Zhiyi stared at the finger. "You want to crush me like an ant? In the past, I would have shattered this finger."

    "Senior, abandon your breakthrough!" Lu Yin''s voice called out.

    Wan Zhiyi hesitated.

    Lu Yin shouted, "As the young master of the Lu family, Imand you to abandon your breakthrough!"

    Wan Zhiyi looked up once again, his eyes tracing the descending finger. He sighed. In the past, everyone had been absolutely certain that he would be a Progenitor. Even Bai Sheng and the others had treated him with a level of reverence that was normally reserved solely for a Progenitor. He had even frequently visited the Lu Sanctum. Who could have expected him to fail his Progenitor stellr tribtion?

    "Senior, if you die to your tribtion right now, how can I ever rely on the strength of the Lu family''s vassals again?" Lu Yin''s voice rang out once more. He could tell that Wan Zhiyi truly wanted to challenge his tribtion, even if it meant his death. This tribtion was the lifelong goal of every cultivator.

    However, while Wan Zhiyi had his own perspective, Lu Yin had a different one. There were times when staying alive was all that mattered. After one was born into the universe, they had to try their best to survive. One did not live only for themselves, but also for their friends and loved ones.

    Wan Zhiyi lowered his head. He struck his chest with a hand, damaging his cultivation.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I didn''t expect you to avoid your tribtion, Wan Zhiyi. You will never be a Progenitor in your life."

    Wan Zhiyi looked at Bai Wangyuan''s group and replied, "If I can''t be a Progenitor, then so be it! Being an ordinary person is fine too."

    As Wan Zhiyi abandoned his tribtion, the dark vortex in the sky started to dissipate.

    After a great deal of painstaking effort, Lu Yin finally managed to calm the jiao. He then made his way towards the entrance of the Celestial Treasury and brought Zenith Mountain back out. As everyone watched in a daze, Arch-Elder Zen appeared.

    "Another one?" Wang Fan waspletely fed up with Lu Xiaoxuan. One Semi-Progenitor after another was triggering their tribtions! Just how well-prepared was this guy?

    Arch-Elder Zen asked, "Neither of them seeded?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Senior, I hope that you will seed."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled and shook his head. "I¡¯ll have to give it a try."

    Bai Wangyuan and the others all stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, this battle should end now. I''m sure that you don''t want to see a war between humans. Humanity has already lost so many potential Progenitors, and who will guard Ominion if Nutjob Lu dies? If either you or Mu Xie die, mankind will also suffer significant losses. What will happen to the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Enough nonsense."

    Inside the Celestial Treasury, Nutjob Lu clutched his right arm. "I won¡¯t be able to use this for a while. What a nuisance."

    He looked over at Mu Xie. "The two of you can¡¯t kill me."

    "We¡¯ll see about that." Mu Xie''s voice dropped low. He was clearly suppressing his own injuries.

    Lu Yin summoned E Chi, and Nong Yi¡¯s form emerged from the Investiture of the Gods once again. The Champions'' Stage revolved around his body as he spoke. "Senior Brother, we have to take him down today."

    Progenitor-level runes shot towards Nutjob Lu, and Mu Xie pushed his ?ar¨©ra forward so that it crashed into Nutjob Lu at the same time.

    The madman justughed. "I also can''t kill you two! Mu Xie, you are just as strong as I expected. Without such strength, you would have never been able to protect this brat back then.

    "I''m not ying with you any longer. This will all end as soon as that old man finishes his stellr tribtion." Nutjob Lu red at Lu Yin. "Brat, you may have escaped from me this time, but Mu Xie won''t be able to apany you forever! One day, I will definitely catch you, and then I¡¯ll drape your skin on my Champions'' Stage!"

    Lu Yin lifted his chin. "That day will nevere. You can die now."

    He thenshed out with a palm.

    From the moment the battle had started , Lu Yin had not attacked with his own strength even once. He had only relied on his summons and Progenitor-level runes. However, at this moment, he attacked with his own power, and this palm strike also contained the power of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Not once had Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed throughout this battle, and it had all been for precisely this moment.

    Nutjob Lu no longer intended to kill Lu Yin, as he instead wanted to simply end the fight. He was no longer vignt, as Mu Xie was also injured. The battle looked as though it was about to trulye to an end. This meant that it was finally Lu Yin¡¯s turn to make a move.

    The palm that contained Extremes Must Be Reversed struck Nutjob Lu''s body. The man¡¯s pupils constricted as he looked down. The purplish-ck battle force that had been shrouding his bodypletely disappeared in an instant. How was this possible?

    The ?ar¨©ra flew over, but Nutjob Lu quickly blocked it with his Investiture of the Gods.

    Mu Xie had been prepared for this, and he evaded the Investiture of the Gods, allowing the attack tond on Nutjob Lu.

    E Chi, Nong Yi, and the jiao all attacked in unison, as well as the Progenitor-level runes. While still under the effects of Extremes Must Be Reversed, Nutjob Lu was once again besieged in all directions. This time, he was unable to block them all. His left shoulder was pulverized when it was struck by the slipper, and his back and chest both received injuries. The man¡¯s flesh tore apart, and his blood sprayed into the sky.

    Nutjob Lu howled. His Investiture of the Gods wrapped around him like a curtain as he rushed towards the Celestial Treasury¡¯s entrance.

    He had not expected Lu Yin to suddenlyunch such an attack. If not for Extremes Must Be Reversed, Nutjob Lu would have never suffered these miserable wounds.

    Arch-Elder Zen noticed Nutjob Lu rushing towards him, and while he felt a bit helpless, he also felt a bit of hope. He had already triggered his tribtion.

    Right as Nutjob Lu approached the entrance, he suddenly froze. He might be insane, but that did not mean that he wanted to die. How could he force his way into a Progenitor tribtion that was about to descend?

    At this moment, the effects of Extremes Must Be Reversed finally ended, and the madman¡¯s battle force reappeared.

    Lu Yin attacked again, but Nutjob Lu did not allow Lu Yin¡¯s attack tond. He evaded the palm strike and asked, "What kind of technique is this?"

    Lu Yin was puzzled. Did Nutjob Lu not know about Extremes Must Be Reversed?

    "That''s Ku Jie''s Extremes Must Be Reversed! Don''t get hit by it, or else you''ll definitely die," Bai Wangyuan warned.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed had left a strong impression on all of the other Progenitors. Even Undying God had been nearly beaten to death by it. It had only been a short amount of time, but Lu Xiaoxuan had already be very proficient with the technique.

    Only a few people in the previous era had truly understood Progenitor Ku. Most people had simply seen Progenitor Ku as someone with unbelievable luck, but whose actual strength had ranked at the bottom of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Given the countless years of Nutjob Lu¡¯s imprisonment, how could he possibly know about Progenitor Ku? At the time of his release, the Lu family had already been banished, and Progenitor Ku had long since disappeared into Aeternus''s territory.

    Nutjob Lu was unfamiliar with both Ku Jie and Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    He had nearly died the first time he had witnessed Extremes Must Be Reversed. If not for his quick reactions, he might have actually died.

    Bai Wangyuan gave another warning, "Be careful of Lu Xiaoxuan. He may not be very powerful, but he uses extremely unpredictable methods. Not only does he possess Ku Jie''s Extremes Must Be Reversed, but he also wields the God of Death''s power. Don''t let him catch you off guard!"

    Nutjob Lu shot a vicious re towards Lu Yin. "Brat, I was wrong. You''re even more shameless than Lu Qi."

    Lu Yin raised a hand and struck out with another palm strike, despite knowing it was nearly impossible for Extremes Must Be Reversed tond again. With Nutjob Lu prepared for such an attack, Lu Yin''s strength meant nothing.

    Mu Xie held Origin Tracer within a hand, but just like Lu Yin, the man could not find any openings to attack through.

    Inside the Celestial Treasury, Nutjob Lu grew far warier of his two opponents. It was now his turn to try to stall for time. As soon as Arch-Elder Zen finished his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin intended to break out of the Celestial Treasury.

    Finally, Arch-Elder Zen''s Progenitor stellr tribtion appeared.

    When the ck vortex of the stellr tribtion appeared, everyone was stunned by its sight. Arch-Elder Zen''s vortex waspletely different from the previous two tribtions. Neither of the first two men¡¯s tribtions could even measure up to the strength of an average stellr tribtion, as their foundations had been damaged too severely. They had only triggered their tribtions as a means to stop Bai Wangyuan and the others from entering the Celestial Treasury.

    However, Arch-Elder Zen waspletely different; he truly intended to attempt to break through and be a Progenitor.

 Chapter 2458: A Narrow Path

    Chapter 2458: A Narrow Path

    Lu Yin looked out of the entrance of the Celestial Treasury. He would not even try to ask Arch-Elder Zen to abandon his breakthrough. The old man was not a vassal of the Lu family, nor was he a survivor from the Lu family. He was also not present just to hold back Bai Wangyuan and the others. He truly intended to face his stellr tribtion, and he had simply volunteered to follow Lu Yin to this ce and face his tribtion in a more convenient location.

    Ever since the Sixth Maind had covered the Fifth Maind''s sky, no Progenitor had risen from the Fifth Maind. Even after the Upper Three Gates were opened, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had not been confident enough to attempt the breakthrough to the Progenitor realm. The first one to attempt it, Lingzhi Mavis, had died to her tribtion. Arch-Elder Zen was the second to make an attempt.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s first trial was the field of destruction.

    A vast expanse of stellr energy in the Higher Realm formed a field of destruction that looked like it had reced the sky, and it pressed down upon Arch-Elder Zen from every direction, sapping away the stellr energy from within his body. Many Semi-Progenitors could not pass this trial.

    Lu Yin had relied on the unique power within his chest to stop his stellr energy from being taken away.

    The Progenitor realm was the final step of human cultivation. To be a Progenitor, one had to create their own cultivation system.

    The power within Lu Yin''s chest was strong enough to let him disregard a Semi-Progenitor''s inner world. It was a system of his own creation. At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen needed to do the same thing for himself. He needed to find a way to stop his stellr energy from being taken away, or else he would struggle terribly toplete this particr trial.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin realized something. Even after all this time, Lu Yin had never seen Arch-Elder Zen''s inner world.

    What was Arch-Elder Zen''s inner world? Lu Yin focused in on the old man.

    Arch-Elder Zen took a deep breath. Behind him, stone pirs shot up, towering overhead. Each one held various buildings, and nature flourished around the pirs. It was possible to see trees, jungles, and stars. This was the Hall of Honor.

    Lu Yin blurted out, "The Hall of Honor?"

    Arch-Elder Zen stood in ce, his hands sped behind his back. He looked around at what surrounded him. Indeed, his inner world was the Hall of Honor.

    Each Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world was unique to themselves. Some were focused on killing, such as Xia Ji''s long saber or Wu Yao''s crescent ring. Some had a wide area of effect, such as Lan Xian''s cherry blossoms or Kui Luo''s dragon gate. There were also unique inner worlds, such as Qing Ping''s, which was able to deliver judgment. However, Lu Yin had never seen an inner world that mirrored the real world.

    Lu Yin stared at Arch-Elder Zen with aplicated expression. If this man¡¯s inner world was based on something in the real world, then had the Hall of Honor been based on Arch-Elder Zen''s inner world?

    Mu Xie praised, "This man possesses extraordinary talent. He used his inner world as a blueprint to manifest a scene identical to one in the real world, which is essentially a form of self-hypnosis. The stronger the true Hall of Honor is, the stronger his inner world bes. Fascinating!"

    Lu Yin had no idea that this was how it worked. "If the real Hall of Honor were destroyed, then what would happen to Arch-Elder Zen''s inner world?"

    "It would weaken ordingly."

    Lu Yin stared at Arch-Elder Zen''s back in a daze.

    When Aeternus had attacked the Fifth Maind, a section of the Hall of Honor had been destroyed. Many things had happened afterward, and the Hall of Honor had eventually disappeared entirely. Instead, the Heavens Sect had been established, and that had be the new center of power for the Fifth Maind. Throughout everything, Arch-Elder Zen had always supported Lu Yin, but not once had the man ever mentioned a desire to rebuild the Hall of Honor.

    Arch-Elder Zen had willingly weakened himself in order to support Lu Yin.

    "The Hall of Honor was destroyed a long time ago now, and his inner world has been greatly weakened. It''s highly unlikely that he can use it to stop his stellr energy from being pulled away." Mu Xie sighed.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    Senior, why didn''t you tell me about your inner world? He did not voice this question aloud, as Arch-Elder Zen was already facing his stellr tribtion and Lu Yin¡¯s voice might be treated as interference.

    Although Lu Yin did not say anything out loud, Arch-Elder Zen seemed to have heard the unspoken question. As he watched stellr energy seep out from his body, he said, "I''ve only ever had one goal, which is to protect the Fifth Maind. Whether it''s me or you, Lu Yin, as long as the Fifth Maind is protected, that¡¯s good enough for me."

    Suddenly, the Hall of Honor that was his inner world copsed around him.

    The little stellr energy that the man had left was no longer able to sustain his inner world.

    "It''s worse than I imagined. It seems that the real Hall of Honor holds a powerful influence on him. He undoubtedly possessed terrifying power in the past, and he may have even been capable of fighting against a Progenitor as a mere Semi-Progenitor, just like Junior Brother Qing Ping. The power that he had received from the Hall of Honor back then must have been immense. However, as it weakened, it¡¯s adverse effects on him are just as strong," Mu Xie exined.

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Arch-Elder Zen had never used his inner world. Everything made sense now.

    As the field of destruction drew closer, the Hall of Honor copsed around Arch-Elder Zen. Suddenly, he burst outughing. "I understand now! Stellr energy flows in reverse, just as prosperity begins to decline. Since my inner world has copsed, then why cling to it any longer? If stellr energy can flow in reverse, then I will simply reform my inner world with the reversed stellr energy."

    As the man spoke, his eyes opened wide. Waves of invisible power rippled out in all directions, abruptly causing the field of destruction to pause. At the same time, the stellr energy inside his body started to flow in reverse, which stopped it from draining away.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were all amazed. When the man¡¯s inner world had copsed, they had all expected Arch-Elder Zen to end up just like Wan Zhiyi: forced to damage his cultivation to escape the stellr tribtion. They had never expected to see someone reform their inner world. Reforming an inner world was nowhere near as simple as it sounded, especially during their stellr tribtion to be a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin was simrly shocked, "Senior Brother, he¡­"

    Mu Xie eximed, "The Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy has started flowing in reverse, and his original inner world was created by the normal flow of stellr energy. However, he just stopped suppressing his stellr energy from flowing in reverse and is instead using that power to reshape his inner world. He is truly worthy of being the master of the Hall of Honor, the ruler of the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin squinted. Reforming an inner world?

    It sounded simple, but who could actually pull such a thing off? This was no different from trying to be a Progenitor. Some people seeded, but how many people throughout all of history had managed to be a true Progenitor?

    Lu Yin simply could not understand how Arch-Elder Zen was reforming his inner world. Even if it was possible, was there even enough time?

    Arch-Elder Zen suddenly turned around to stare at Lu Yin. Hope filled the old man¡¯s eyes. "Lu Yin, ever since you appeared, the Fifth Maind has transformed. Regardless of whether you are a direct descendant of the Lu family or someone else, I firmly believe that you can lead the Fifth Maind to its former glory. Since this is the case, I will support you wholeheartedly. I will help you as much as I can with my own strength. I just hope that you won''t disappoint me."

    Suddenly, a path appeared beneath the old man¡¯s feet. It was a simple, rustic path that looked like a dirt road running through the countryside.

    Everyone knew that this was Arch-Elder Zen''s new inner world. A path? An inner world could actually take such a form?

    As soon as the path appeared, it started to extend. Simultaneously, both ends began to stretch out towards the field of destruction. Almost instantly, the path propped up the field of destruction, much like a ruler that measured the sky.

    Everyone watched intently. No one had ever seen such a strange inner world before, nor had any of them ever witnessed someone passing this trial in this manner.

    The field of destruction stopped moving. It was being held firmly in ce by the path.

    Lu Yin could not understand what Arch-Elder Zen had meant by saying that he would support him.

    The appearance of Arch-Elder Zen''s tribtion had caused all the fighting within the Celestial Treasury to pause. Neither Mu Xie nor Lu Yin were confident that they could kill Nutjob Lu. If Nutjob Lu focused solely on evading their attacks, they were helpless. For the moment, Lu Yin could not find any solution to this problem.

    After nearly half an hour, the sky-like field of destruction dissipated. Arch-Elder Zen had managed to ovee his first trial with his new inner world.

    Everyone looked up at the vortex of the Progenitor stellr tribtion that lingered above Arch-Elder Zen. There were still more trials toe.

    How could the tribtion to be a Progenitor be passed so easily?

    Arch-Elder Zen stared upwards. The path remained beneath his feet, though it had shrunk down until it was only wide enough to support his feet.

    Suddenly, the ck hole of the stellr tribtion sent out a dazzling light that was quickly followed by a saber dropping down.

    "Xia Shenji''s de?" eximed Wang Fan.

    The true universe could potentially manifest any power that had appeared in the past, and Xia Shenji¡¯s attacks were no exception.

    It was just that no one had expected to see Xia Shenji''s powerful attack appear.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked up. "Back when you chased after Lu Yin, I was powerless and unable to offer any help. Today, I will destroy your de! From this moment forward, I will be able to handle your attacks!"

    As the man spoke, his path extended out from beneath his feet in the same manner as before, and it quickly arrived just beneath the saber. However, the saber did not m into the path, but instead shed towards Arch-Elder Zen who stood atop the path.

    As the de descended from one end of his path, Arch-Elder Zen stood at the other end.

    As the saber approached, Arch-Elder Zen lifted a hand and actually caught the de. It shattered.

    Although this saber had not beenunched by Xia Shenji himself, and although it also did not have the power of a Progenitor-level Xia Shenji, Arch-Elder Zen also was not yet a Progenitor. This meant that, within a simr cultivation realm, Arch-Elder Zen was capable of stopping Xia Shenji''s de. The old man was strong enough to stand against Xia Shenji.

    Bai Wangyuan carefully observed the path that had appeared. He had no idea what it actually did. Was it unbreakable? Something else? He simply could not understand it at all.

    The ck vortex of the stellr tribtion still did not dissipate. A deep, thunderous boom echoed from above, shaking the heavens and the earth. It seemed as though the tribtion was trying to shake the life out of the person challenging it. While no one could tell where the sound originated from, everyone knew that the sound was far from ordinary due to the expression of agony on Arch-Elder Zen''s face.

    As the sound grew louder, it became obvious that it was the sound of drums. As the sound grew louder, it became more familiar to Lu Yin. Were these the battle drums of the Heavens Sect? Was this the rhythm of Thundering Hammer?

    Battle drums existed to raise morale, and each drum beat could make a person¡¯s blood boil, or even cause them to lose their fear of death while on the battlefield.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the battle drums had been beaten by the Thundering Hammer battle technique. That battle technique had allowed Big Sis to fight toe to toe against a Dao Chosen.

    The sound of drums during this trial were far more intense than what the Thundering Hammer could produce on its own. This sounded like numerous people banging on drums all at the same time.

    No one could help Arch-Elder Zen. Even though Lu Yin knew the Thundering Hammer battle technique, he could not offer any assistance.

    Fortunately, Arch-Elder Zen ultimately managed to withstand the drumming of the Thundering Hammer for an hour, though he bled from all seven orifices.

    "The breakthrough to the Progenitor realm is not easy. The stronger a person is, the more terrifying their stellr tribtion will be. Oftentimes, it¡¯s easier for mediocre cultivators to proceed along their path of cultivation," Mu Xiemented while looking towards Nutjob Lu. Mu Xie intended to find a way to deal with Nutjob Lu while Arch-Elder Zen was dealing with his tribtion, as they might not have another chance in the future.

    Lu Yin also kept a wary eye on Nutjob Lu, fully intending to cooperate with Mu Xie with Extremes Must Be Reversed. Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring, itching to pull out the God of Death''s left arm and scythe. However, Bai Wangyuan and the others had already warned Nutjob Lu about that particr attack, which meant that it would be nearly impossible for that attack tond.

    Every idea that the two men coulde up with seemed powerless against this madman.

    One trial after another appeared from the stellr tribtion, but Arch-Elder Zen passed them all. Each one was incredibly difficult, and blood streamed from the old man¡¯s body without stopping. The scent of blood filled the air.

    Lu Yin did not dare to look over, as he feared that the next sight would be that of Arch-Elder Zen''s death.

 Chapter 2459: Power And Wisdom

    Chapter 2459: Power And Wisdom

    A Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion was beyond ruthless. The true universe treated every single potential Progenitor as an enemy.

    Stellr energy was the power that the Origin Progenitor had created, but instead of fostering additional human powerhouses, he had created stellr tribtions, which prevented most people from ever bing a Progenitor. Why was that?

    "It looks like he''s about to die!" Nutjob Lu roared with maniacalughter. He was also in a miserable condition. He had sessfully dodged most of Mu Xie and Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, but the madman¡¯s injuries were still worsening.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from looking over, and he saw that Arch-Elder Zen had already started using his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Even so, the old man could barely stand after surviving all of the previous tribtion trials.

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "Doesn''t it hurt, brat? All of them faced their stellr tribtions just for your sake, but all of them either ruined their cultivation and abandoned all hope of ever bing a Progenitor or died during their tribtion. All of them are important to you, right? Isn¡¯t it painful? Hahaha!¡±

    "Every member of the Lu family will experience the pain that I suffered back then! I will make the entire Lu family disappear and rebuild it as my own Lu family."

    Lu Yin looked away from Arch-Elder Zen to stare at Nutjob Lu. "No one can live solely for themselves, and not even you are an exception to that. Since you¡¯ve experienced such misery, it only proves that you once cared deeply about someone. Would that person want to see you like this?"

    Nutjob Lu''s pupils constricted. "You know nothing!"

    With a furious roar, red ominion energy surged from his body,pletely filling the Celestial Treasury. At the same time, a purplish-ck substance appeared within the ominion energy, dying the entire space a purplish-ck color.

    Lu Yin was horrified to find himselfpletely unable to move.

    The jiao was started by the unfathomable pressure that had suddenly reappeared, and it howled in utter panic as it frantically tried to escape.

    Mu Xie''s expression turned solemn. "A Progenitor''s world? No, but it''sparable. What is this?"

    Lu Yin eximed in shock, "You''ve formed a Progenitor''s world with your Wielder-realm battle force?"

    Hen Xin had once mentioned that Dao Monarch Gu had been certain that it was possible to form the equivalent of a Progenitor''s world with Wielder - Indestructible. Reaching that level of mastery over battle force was Hen Xin''s dream. Once one was able toprehend Wielder - Indestructible, they would be invincible among their peers. It was truly the ideal path of cultivation for humanity.

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "Brat, I didn''t want to do this, but since you¡¯re so desperate to die, I''ll grant you your wish!"

    The purplish-ck substance spread out even further, draining the patterns from the madman¡¯s body. However, the purplish-ck substance that filled the Celestial Treasury then started topress, as though trying to trap Lu Yin, Mu Xie, and the jiao in an inescapable swamp.

    Even the jiao was unable to break free. Strands of purplish-ck matter wrapped around the limbs of all three of Nutjob Lu¡¯s opponents, restricting their movements.

    The madman took a step forward to appear directly in front of Lu Yin. Madness and cruelty danced in the man¡¯s eyes. "I said that I would skin you and drape your hide across my Champions'' Stage! I won''t let anyone from the Lu family enjoy even a single moment of peace, not even in death!"

    He reached out to grab Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head abruptly snapped up, his gaze profound. A purplish-ck substance started to spread across his body as well as he released his own Wielder - Indestructible. He easily broke free from the purplish-ck restrictions. A hand came up, and the Yu Secret Art was used. Nutjob Lu¡¯s expression betrayed hisplete disbelief as he was yet again pped with the slipper.

    There was no time for Lu Yin to use Extremes Must Be Reversed, as even such a slight dy would give Nutjob Lu an opportunity to escape. No matter what, the man was effectively a Progenitor.

    There was a loud smack as the slipper struck Nutjob Lu''s head, crushing half of his skull. He was sent crashing downwards.

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin shouted as Mu Xie swung his hand, smashing his ?ar¨©ra down.

    Outside the Celestial Treasury, Bai Wangyuan and everyone else had their eyes locked onto the ongoing battle. This was the end. Nutjob Lu had underestimated Lu Xiaoxuan. The youth simply had too many odd methods at his disposal, and he was too damn unpredictable. He always found a way to scrape by at thest possible moment.

    Who could have imagined that an Envoy could possess so many options that were effective even against a Progenitor? Additionally, Nutjob Lu had never expected Lu Yin to have also achieved Wielder-realm battle force.

    The more one understood Wielder Realm, the more unbelievable the concept appeared.

    In the past, the experiments that Nutjob Lu had gone through had gradually driven him insane. Even so, he had failed to learn Wielder - Indestructible. If he had not been imprisoned by the Lu family for so many years and persevered through the agony while diligently practicing, not to mention leveraging the power of Ominion, he would have never been able to achieve Wielder-realm battle force.

    What right did Lu Xiaoxuan have to it? Was his luck really that fantastic?

    A single unbelievable opportunity could be attributed to pure luck, but multiple opportunities indicated that such things were simply inevitable.

    Nutjob Lu was mmed deep underground once more. His eyes red. This should not be happening! Was he truly destined to die at the hands of the Lu family? No, absolutely not! Even if he was fated to die, he could not be killed by a member of the Lu family.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared once again, and it enveloped the madman.

    A wave of pressure fell from the ?ar¨©ra. Lu Yin tossed the slipper over to Mu Xie, who charged forward. This time, there was no hesitation at all to be seen. He was determined to kill Nutjob Lu with thisst strike.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, stop!" Bai Wangyuan shouted sternly.

    Wang Fan roared, "Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Progenitor Smoke''s expression showed internal feelings of conflict. After all, another Progenitor was about to die.

    Boom!

    A deafening noise reverberated throughout the Upper Realm. Nutjob Lu''s Champions'' Stage rose to block the ?ar¨©ra. The stage was covered with images of various individuals and astral beasts.

    Mu Xie mmed the slipper down, and the Champions'' Stage shattered from the blow.

    The next moment, the Investiture of the Gods rose up, radiating its signature golden light and pushing aside both the ?ar¨©ra and Mu Xie.

    Mu Xie mmed the slipper down yet again. Although the Investiture of the Gods had endured several blows before, it had reached its limits, and this time, the scroll was torn apart. The ?ar¨©ra crashed down towards Nutjob Lu through the tears.

    The madman¡¯s eyes opened, revealing a pair of scarlet irises. He struck out with a palm, striking the ?ar¨©ra.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods obstructed Mu Xie¡¯s vision, leaving him unable to get a clear view of Nutjob Lu. The man only knew that his Progenitor''s world was suddenly about to copse. Mu Xie instantly spat out blood as Nutjob Lu pushed the ?ar¨©ra back and attacked Mu Xie, sending the man flying.

    Lu Yin quickly summoned E Chi and Nong Yi at the same time. A flurry of drifting leaves descended, slowly but surely covering the ground.

    Still underground, Nutjob Lu''s irises regained their original color before he leaped up. He confronted both E Chi''s saber and Nong Yi''s drifting leaves. The serrated de shed the madman¡¯s chest open, scattering his blood. As the leaves surrounded the man, Lu Yin raised his hand and used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    With a casual flick, the slipper instantly appeared in E Chi''s hand, and another pnded.

    Nutjob Lu clenched his fists, and his eyes turned scarlet once more. This time, nobody could see his eyes through the shroud of leaves.

    As his eyes zed crimson, he punched a fist forward, shing directly against the slipper. There was a loud bang, and both the leaves and E Chi shattered instantly as the slipper flew away.

    Lu Yin had been watching Nutjob Lu very carefully, and he caught the barest glimpse of the scarlet eyes. As expected, Nutjob Lu was a Redback. "Senior Brother."

    Mu Xie remained motionless. Nutjob Lu''s previous attack had dealt severe damage to Mu Xie¡¯s Progenitor''s world, and his ?ar¨©ra had been nearly destroyed.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw Mu Xie''s pale face.

    Across from them, Nutjob Lu gasped for breath as his eyes returned to normal. A cruel grin appeared as he looked at Lu Yin. "Without Mu Xie, what else can you do?"

    "There''s still me." An overwhelming ripple of power tore through the entrance of the Celestial Treasury, shredding the vortex of the stellr tribtion. Arch-Elder Zen had sessfully surpassed his tribtion, and he now unleashed the formidable power of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had not been able to see how Arch-Elder Zen had defeated his tribtion, but the shocked expressions on the faces of Bai Wangyuan and the rest spoke volumes.

    A Progenitor had been born right before their eyes, and he was clearly no ordinary Progenitor.

    Nutjob Lu''s face twisted. Sess? How was that possible?

    Lu Yin ecstatically eximed, "Senior!"

    Arch-Elder Zen looked to be in an even worse state than Nutjob Lu, but his aura remained powerful. He used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique again, and a stream of qi transformed into the Sixth Maind''s Progenitor Xue Wuqing. Snow fluttered down, carrying a deadly chill that tried to freeze Nutjob Lu.

    Nutjob Lu''s scalp started to tingle. Someone who cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had just be a Progenitor. This was genuinely troublesome.

    The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was an invincible technique. Anyone who cultivated it was considered invincible because the summons that came from the Ancestral Qi would always possess the same cultivation level as the user.

    During ZENITH, Shang Qing had used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to practically sweep through thepetition. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s God of Death Transformation, he would have never been able to match up to Shang Qing at that time.

    Shang Qing''s strength had even prompted the Progenitor of Combat to intervene in ZENITH, as the Progenitor had wanted to prevent the Fifth Maind from giving birth to a new monster.

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen had just sessfully surpassed his tribtion and stepped into the Progenitor realm. For the first time, a Progenitor was using the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    The figure to appear was Xue Wuqing.

    Xue Wuqing''s original cultivation was no longer relevant. Since Arch-Elder Zen was a Progenitor, so was his summon. Heaven and earth both froze. This was dominance, ruthless and limitless.

    The entire Celestial Treasury was transformed into a world of ice and snow. Heaven and earth were instantly transformed.

    Every ke of snow that fell down carried a cold killing intent.

    Outside the Celestial Treasury, Progenitor Long''s expression grew solemn. "That¡¯s Xue Wuqing! Watch out for his Thousand Cmities. That spiritual force technique will now have the strength of a Progenitor."

    Progenitor Long was aware of Xue Wuqing''s strength, as he had fought against the man during the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds.

    The greatest powerhouses in the Fifth Maind during that war had been the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. For the Sixth Maind, Xue Wuqing had held a position equal to that of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Nutjob Lu continuously retreated, but since they were in an isted space, there was nowhere for him to escape.

    Lu Yin had not expected Progenitor Long to be so wary of Xue Wuqing. Lu Yin had thought that Xue Wuqing was merely someone on par with the Progenitor of Bloodlines or the Progenitor of Combat, at best. However, it seemed that none of Arch-Elder Zen''s summons had been ordinary powerhouses. The countermeasures that Progenitor Tianyi had left behind to protect the Fifth Maind were truly impressive.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Bai Wangyuan shouted, as he readied himself to rush into the Celestial Treasury and save Nutjob Lu.

    Arch-Elder Zen turned around, and his second stream of Ancestral Qi appeared. It took on the form of none other than Lu Tianyi.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others froze in shock. "Impossible!"

    Nong Yi and Progenitor Smoke were simrly astonished.

    The same was true of even Mu Xie and Nutjob Lu.

    No one had expected to see Arch-Elder Zen summon Lu Tianyi. Lu Tianyi had long since been recognized as the strongest individual in the entire Fifth Maind, second only to the legendary ancient Dao Monarch. Even during the era when all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had possessed a master and Progenitor Chen had controlled two Mountains and one Sea, Lu Tianyi had still been irreceable. He had conferred the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, standing firmly at the pinnacle of humanity.

    Confronted with Lu Tianyi, Bai Wangyuan and the others involuntarily trembled.

    Wang Fan attacked. "Do you really think that a summoned Lu Tianyi can possibly possess Lu Tianyi''s true strength? Ridiculous!"

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s brow furrowed. With a wave of his hand, the third and final stream of Ancestral Qi transformed. Progenitor Hui suddenly appeared.

    Once again, Bai Wangyuan and the others were shocked to their core.

    If Lu Tianyi represented absolute power, then Progenitor Hui represented the pinnacle of intelligence.

    The appearance of the two figures caused an unparalleled shock for those who saw them. It felt as though they were once again witnessing the moment when the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had fought against Aeternus; Progenitor Hui disyed hismanding presence while Lu Tianyi radiated invincible might. At that time, Bai Wangyuan, Progenitor Long, and Wang Fan had all stood behind Lu Tianyi, but at this moment, they stood against him.

 Chapter 2460: A Red Dot

    Chapter 2460: A Red Dot

    No matter how much the three Progenitors tried to convince themselves that they were only facing a summon, terror still gripped their hearts.

    Over many years, each of them had developed a deep-seated fear for both Lu Tianyi and Progenitor Hui.

    Specter Progenitor felt his teeth ache in frustration. Why was every single Progenitor-level powerhouse from the Fifth Maind so freakishly powerful? Lu Xiaoxuan alone counted as three people, and this old guy who had just be a Progenitor was able to use the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon other Progenitors, and shockingly enough, Lu Tianyi was among them. This was essentially another three Progenitors. How were they supposed to win?

    For the first time ever, Specter Progenitor felt that Bai Wangyuan''s group was the weaker of the two sides. He even considered possibly helping the four ruling powers.

    "Junior brother!" Mu Xie shouted.

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen looked up at the same time to see rays of light falling down towards each of them. These attacks were from Ceaseless Impetus. When the Seven Skygods had tried to rescue Undying God three years ago, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had only managed to stop the Seven Skygods from wreaking havoc with the assistance of Ceaseless Impetus, as well as the support of the Divine Eagle. At this moment, Ceaseless Impetus was targeting Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen.

    Progenitor Smoke became absolutely furious. "Stop!"

    As she shouted, a hazy mist swept forward. At the same time, Nong Yi took action.

    Ceaseless Impetus was a sourcebox array intended to be used to deal with Aeternus, but at this moment, it was being used against other humans. Humanity had turned one of their greatest weapons against themselves. This was a truly despicable act.

    No one would ever be allowed to use Ceaseless Impetus against another human. This time, the four ruling powers were going too far.

    Wang Fan shouted sternly, "Stop! Ceaseless Impetus cannot be used against our own people!"

    Bai Wangyuan also yelled angrily, "Stop!"

    At this moment, every Progenitor present was trying to block Ceaseless Impetus''s attacks from striking Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen. Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long were more proactive than anyone else, even going so far as tounch their own attacks against the descending beams of light.

    At first nce, they appeared to be protecting Lu Yin.

    In truth, that was exactly what they were doing: protecting Lu Yin. They had already achieved their goal, as Nutjob Lu had managed to break through the blockade put up by Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen and escaped from the treasury. At this moment, the madman was racing towards Bai Wangyuan and the other two.

    Not only had they managed to rescue Nutjob Lu, but they had also maintained a certain distance, absolving them of any responsibility for this particr matter. No matter who was controlling Ceaseless Impetus to attack Lu Yin and hispanions, it could not be med on Bai Wangyuan and the other two, as they were protecting Lu Yin from it.

    Lu Yin watched as Nutjob Lu shot past him, a mocking smile on the man¡¯s lips. Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched, and he reached into his cosmic ring. Out came the God of Death''s scythe and left arm. Lu Yin wielded the scythe in his left hand.

    Instantly, an endless flood of death energy covered the entire sky, shadowing a portion of the Middle Realm. Darkness fell from the heavens, shrouding the earth. Space was nearly severed apart as the death energy connected with the God of Death''s left arm.

    This was a scene that Xia Shenji had witnessed once before, as had Bai Sheng, but none of the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers had.

    Despite this being their first time witnessing this attack, they were ovee by an indescribable sense of danger that overwhelmed the minds of everyone present. They were all leftpletely horrified.

    Specter Progenitor''s mouth hung open as he sensed the surge of death energy. That direction¡­ Specter Abyss?

    The man¡¯s head whipped back around to stare at Lu Yin, and Specter Progenitor saw the young man using the God of Death''s left arm while holding the scythe and summoning Specter Abyss¡¯s death energy. He hurriedly yelled, "Stop! That death energy belongs to Specter Abyss!"

    Lu Yin had no time to pay attention to the man at this moment. Death energy instantly covered the vast distance, moving at a speed beyond even Progenitors. It was as though the energy simply ignored any concept of distance. Focusing on Nutjob Lu, Lu Yin shed his scythe across.

    Death energy swept through the sky, shattering space as an endless darkness engulfed the Upper Realm. Everyone looked up at the sky, witnessing a mass of what looked like ck air. It was as if the apocalypse had arrived.

    An indescribable darkness pierced the void, trapping Lu Yin and Nutjob Lu within the shadows and cutting off everyone else''s vision. Within the darkness, Nutjob Lu opened his scarlet eyes, madness distorting his features. As the God of Death''s attack fell, those scarlet eyes suddenly changed color. They shifted to gray, then green, then red, before finally shifting into ghost eyes. Ultimately, the eyes transformed into pupilless eyes, which was the pinnacle of the corpse king transformation technique.

    Each level of the corpse king transformation was apanied by a tenfold increase in physical strength, as well as a corresponding improvement in Nutjob Lu¡¯s Wielder - Indestructible that used physical strength as its foundation.

    Once the pupils vanished from the man¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin could not even begin to imagine how physically powerful Nutjob Lu must have be.

    Specter Abyss boasted a well of death energy that was far greater than the one in Gaia''s Swamp in the Fifth Maind. The amount of death energy that Lu Yin was pulling also far surpassed what he had used in the attack against Xia Shenji. Despite the increased power, Lu Yin stillcked the confidence that his attack could actually y Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu''s terrifying pupilless eyes and saw the man smile as he moved his lips. Lu Yin''s pupils shrank, and a dark aura billowed about him as he instantlypleted the God of Death Transformation while the scythe fell.

    A crazed, hate-filled smile covered Nutjob Lu''s face as he stared intently at Lu Yin and mouthed, "You will share the same fate as the Lu family."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Kill! This man had to be killed! If this opportunity was missed, Lu Yin would have no chance to do so again in the future. Kill, kill, kill!

    A fierce surge of killing intent overtook Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and his eyes turned red. He was unaware of the change, but a red dot had appeared inside his pupils. It was the same red dot that sat in the energy within his chest.

    Lu Yin could not see the light in his own eyes, but Nutjob Lu could.

    At this moment, only the two of them were within the flood of death energy. Nutjob Lu stared at the red dot in Lu Yin''s pupils. Could that be¡­ divine energy? How¡­ is that even possible?

    This was the first time that Nutjob Lu had felt such horror. He had not been this shocked during any one of the countless dire situations that he had faced previously, or even when Lu Yin had revealed his own Wielder-realm battle force. What the madman felt at this moment was beyond horror; he felt as though the heavens and earth themselves were copsing. It was as though the entire Lu family had joined forces with Aeternus. It was simply an unimaginable concept.

    Lu Xiaoxuan, a direct descendant of the Lu family, actually cultivated divine energy? Was Nutjob Lu the madman, or had the rest of the Lu family gone mad? Or was it possible that Lu Xiaoxuan was the true madman?

    The scythe descended, swift and decisive. Death energy flooded the void, tearing open spatial cracks that filled the sky above the Upper Realm. Everyone in the Upper Realm looked up at the all-consuming darkness that filled the fissures. This was something that they had never seen before, but their instincts were screaming that, if they touched this darkness, they would die without even leaving a corpse behind.

    A massive cut appeared on Nutjob Lu''s body, starting at his forehead and extending downward. The wound was filled with lingering death energy.

    The dark flood of death energy started to recede.

    All eyes were fixated on the two reappearing men.

    Nutjob Lu appeared, looking like he had just been fished out of a pool of blood. His head hung low, and his body had been nearly severed.

    As for Lu Yin, he gasped for air. The red dot had disappeared from within his pupils, returning to their normal appearance.

    What just happened? He looked at the God of Death''s scythe. Thest thing that Lu Yin could remember was hearing Nutjob Lu''sugh. Thatughter had utterly disgusted Lu Yin, and he had been ovee by the desire to kill. Thoughts of frenzied ughter had suppressed his mind to the point where he had no memory of wounding Nutjob Lu.

    Nutjob Lu had used the corpse king transformation. Lu Yin¡¯s previous attacks with the God of Death''s power would not have even been able to scratch Nutjob Lu, so just what had wounded this heavily?

    Both Lu Yin and Nutjob Lu lifted their heads at the same time. The two locked eyes.

    Lu Yin had confirmed that Nutjob Lu was a Redback and that he could even use the corpse king transformation, but no one else had seen it.

    As for Nutjob Lu, he had witnessed divine energy appear in Lu Yin''s eyes. Just what sort of creature was this child? He certainly was not just a direct descendant of the Lu family, but what exactly was going on?

    Blood dripped.

    An uncontroble tremor swept through Nutjob Lu''s body due to his severe injuries. He was no longer able to even control his own body.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others approached, examining the wounds covering Nutjob Lu. Even for a Progenitor, these injuries were quite severe, and they would require hundreds or even thousands of years to fully recover from. This was the power of the God of Death, and it would take a long time for it to dissipate, unless someone with the same level of strength aided Nutjob Lu¡¯s recovery.

    Lu Yin clenched the God of Death''s scythe so hard that his knuckles turned white. Death energy continued to flow towards him from Specter Abyss. He had not depleted their reserves yet, but he had already used all that he was capable of.

    Not enough, it''s still not even close to enough! One more attack, just one strike will be enough to end his life!

    Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen arrived at Lu Yin''s side and studied him.

    "Junior Brother?" Mu Xie spoke, sensing that something was not right about Lu Yin. The intensity of the killing intent in the youth¡¯s eyes was far too strong. Something was very off.

    Lu Yin responded in a deep voice, "Senior Brother, I''m not willing to let things end like this."

    Mu Xie''s expression softened. He looked over at Nutjob Lu and Bai Wangyuan. "I feel the same."

    It might not be possible for just Lu Yin and Mu Xie to deal with Nutjob Lu by cooperating, but at this moment, they also had Arch-Elder Zen, who wielded the power of the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique and had just be a Progenitor. Even so, Nutjob Lu had managed to escape in the end. This was what made Lu Yin so reluctant to ept this oue; they had clearly had an opportunity to kill Nutjob Lu.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, it''s over. No matter how this matter started, it''s over now," Wang Fan stated.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Nutjob Lu achieved Wielder - Indestructible, the highest level of battle force that only a handful of people have ever achieved. One of them is Gu Yizhi, who was once the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind and created battle force. Another is Hen Xin, one of the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s the Twelve Heavenly Gates. I learned it from Hen Xin, who learned it from Gu Yizhi. Where did Nutjob Lu learn it?"

    Bai Wangyuan and the others looked back at Nutjob Lu, as they were also curious about Wielder - Indestructible. This was their first time hearing the term, but as Nutjob Lu had just demonstrated, it was an incredible power. Nutjob Lu had used that power to face off against Mu Xie and break free from the encirclement formed by E Chi and the other Progenitor-level figures. Without that power, Nutjob Lu would have never survived the battle.

    Nutjob Lu looked at Lu Yin, "Whose Champions'' Stage is that?"

    Lu Yin nced at the Champions'' Stage that floated next to him. "It belongs to Lu Jian."

    "Lu Jian? I remember him. He¡¯s the guy who wasn¡¯t able to cultivate the family''s power, so he went to cultivate someone else''s power. If he could do it, then why can''t I do the same?" Nutjob Lu asked in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin shouted back, "Don''t try to change the subject! I''m asking you how you learned Wielder - Indestructible! You''re a Redback, and you''ve met with Gu Yizhi more than once before. Gu Yizhi is the leader of the Seven Skygods, Ancient God. Only he could have helped you achieve Wielder-realm battle force. You''ve been following him since the Heavens Sect era."

    Nutjob Lu broke out with crazedughter, which aggravated his wounds and caused them to bleed more. The ground around the man was stained red. "I did learn Wielder - Indestructible from Gu Yizhi, but it was soon after that that I was imprisoned by the Lu family. If I have been conspiring with Gu Yizhi, how could the Lu family have allowed such a thing to happen? That would mean that they intentionally allowed it. How could Gu Yizhi have taught me without the Lu family''s knowledge? Now, you''ve also learned this power, so who can guarantee that you weren¡¯t also taught by Gu Yizhi?

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, the Lu family has already been banished, but you have still managed to gather power in the Forsaken Land and reach your current level of power. Even if you had all of the resources of the entire Lu family at your disposal, such a thing would be impossible, so how did you pull it off? There''s something fishy about your growth. You''re the Redback!"

    Lu Yin remained silent. Without evidence, any usation meant absolutely nothing. Nutjob Lu could only nt a seed of doubt in people¡¯s hearts.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, how do you exin your maniption of theSpecter Abyss''s death energy just now?" Specter Progenitor jumped in and also used Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin fixed a cold stare at the man. "Are you the God of Death?"

    Specter Progenitor grew agitated. "The God of Death disappeared long ago, and death energy is the blessing that he left for all the cultivators who follow his path. Even if you are the God of Death¡¯s heir, you are not allowed to touch Specter Abyss¡¯s death energy. You must give me an exnation."

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "Alright, I¡¯ll find a chance to visit Specter Abyss and offer you an exnation."

 Chapter 2461: The Universe Behind The Scenes

    Chapter 2461: The Universe Behind The Scenes

    Specter Progenitor hesitated. He stared at Lu Yin and then instinctively nced at Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen. Lu Xiaoxuan had agreed to give an exnation, but there seemed to be a hidden threat within his words. If he visited Specter Abyss to offer an exnation for his actions, would all three of them travel together?

    Specter Progenitor then looked at Nutjob Lu. Even this man was barely clinging to life, so who in Specter Abyss could possibly hope to stop these three from causing trouble?

    The man coughed. "We¡¯ll discuss thister. I hope that you''ll take Specter Abyss into greater consideration in the future. After all, we have so many people who rely on death energy, and once you deplete that death energy, all of them will struggle to ever make further progress," Specter Progenitor said grumpily.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered disdainfully.

    Nong Yi shook his head.

    Specter Progenitor was unhappy, but what could he do? No one present was capable of facing the three men together. They had just seen how badly Nutjob Lu had been beaten. Moreover, if Specter Abyss was the battlefield, then Specter Progenitor could not even imagine the power that Lu Xiaoxuan would be capable of wielding there.

    At this thought, a fervent glint appeared in the man¡¯s eyes as he looked at Lu Yin''s cosmic ring. For Lu Yin to be able to manipte Specter Abyss¡¯s death energy, he clearly possessed a weapon that had once belonged to the God of Death. Also, there was that arm that Lu Yin had taken out. Could that have belonged to the God of Death as well? If Specter Progenitor could obtain that, then who in the Perennial World would dare move against Specter Abyss?

    Nutjob Lu suddenly erupted withughter. For a moment, Specter Progenitor thought that the madman was mocking him. "You''re unwilling to leave things here, huh?"

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s. "You worked hard to set up an opportunity to kill me, but it all ended up being for nothing. How frustrating that must be for you, brat? Hahaha!"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and rxed his face. "You might have escaped once, but you won''t escape a second time. I will kill you."

    Something strange flickered through Nutjob Lu''s eyes as the corners of his mouth curled upwards. He did not mention the change in Lu Yin''s eyes that he had witnessed, just as Lu Yin made no mention of the fact that Nutjob Lu had used the corpse king transformation. Without evidence, there was no point for either man to say anything. "Will you get another chance? No, not at all. I''m done ying around. Without the Lu family here, nothing in this universe is worth my time."

    As the man spoke, he pulled out a seal.

    The seal was identical to the one that Lu Yin had obtained from Aeternus Nation; it was a seal that recorded the coordinates of a parallel universe.

    Lu Yin found this strange. From what he had seen, only Aeternus was capable of creating these seals that could pinpoint a ce in time and space. For example, Gu Yue had used a simr seal to travel to the Three Monarchs Universe, and he had also obtained that one from Aeternus.

    "Nutjob Lu, you¡­?" Bai Wangyuan hesitated.

    Everyone was transfixed as Nutjob Lu opened a spatial rift with the seal he held. A voice called out through the rift, "Is this¡­ the Origin Universe?"

    The voice came from the other side of the rift.

    As soon as Bai Wangyuan and the others heard the voice, their expressions grew solemn.

    Nutjob Lu grinned. "I want to travel to the Main Universe."

    "We wee your visit," the voice echoed from the void. Then, someone stepped out and arrived beside Nutjob Lu.

    This neer was wearing a gray robe and holding a staff. He had an elderly appearance and a long beard. There was a kind smile on his face, but his entire demeanor radiated an air of superiority. When he appeared, ripples spread through the void in all directions, as though there was some kind of weight pressing down on space. The pressure was suffocating.

    "It¡¯s been a very long time, old friend." The gray-robed old man smiled as he looked at Nutjob Lu and Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuanmented, "I didn''t think that this madman had the means to contact you directly."

    The gray-robed old man chuckled. "Master Sovereign thinks well of him. Long ago, he gave this man a choice. Although it¡¯s taken a long time, he¡¯s finally made his decision."

    The man suddenly frowned. "It looks like he just went through a terrible battle."

    His eyes moved over where Lu Yin and the others stood.

    The moment the old man¡¯s gaze fell upon Lu Yin, his eyes narrowed, and his expression slowly fell as he examined Lu Yin''s features. "A member of the Lu family?"

    Ever since the gray-robed old man had appeared, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes had never once left the old man. Lu Yin knew that the hidden hand behind the Lu family''s exile had finally been revealed. Even with the White Dragon Rolls Over, it was impossible for the four ruling powers to exile a family with several Progenitors, as well as one who could summon the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The only reason for their sess was the people who had supported them from the shadows.

    Not only had these people helped exile the Lu family, but they had also reduced Aeternus''s strength in the Perennial World by stepping up to handle a portion of the battle that the Lu family had once been responsible for. Without that, Aeternus would have been unstoppable in the Perennial World.

    Undying God had been able to enter the Perennial World despite the Tree Realm¡¯s presence, which meant that Ancient God should also be able toe through.

    Back when the Lu family had still been around, Aeternus had undoubtedly kept enough power in the Perennial World to hold back the strength of the Lu family, which meant that their forces here had to have been as powerful as a second Lu family. If the forces that Aeternus had sent three years ago werebined with something as strong as the former Lu family, then how could the four ruling powers even hope to survive?

    However, Aeternus had not fielded that additional force, which meant that those forces had to have been kept upied by other parallel universes.

    If Lu Yin was not mistaken, then the parallel universe that this gray-robed old man hade from was precisely that ce.

    As soon as the man recognized Lu Yin as a member of the Lu family, his expression had changed abnormally, causing Lu Yin to immediately grow vignt. "Who are you?"

    Killing intent filled the gray-robed old man''s eyes, and he addressed Nutjob Lu, "Did you call me here to deal with this child?"

    The madman answered, "That would be difficult. The brat is a direct descendant of the Lu family, and he¡¯s already conferred a Progenitor as well as obtained Lu Jian''s power. His strength is equivalent to two or three Progenitors. The man beside him is his senior brother, Mu Xie, who is as strong as one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, while the old man just passed his breakthrough and became a Progenitor. However, he cultivates the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, which means that all of them are extremely difficult to deal with."

    The gray-robed old man was taken aback, and he turned to stare at the three men. "No wonder you were beaten to such a pathetic state."

    The man then turned to Bai Wangyuan and the two others. "Why didn''t you help him?"

    Bai Wangyuan answered, "This fight was an internal dispute of the Lu family."

    The gray-robed old man''s eyes flickered.

    At this moment, Progenitor Smoke stepped forward while staring at the old man. "Who are you?"

    The man turned to look at her. "And who are you?"

    Progenitor Smoke arrogantly raised her chin. "Progenitor Smoke of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas: Xi Wei."

    The gray-robed man was stunned. "Progenitor Smoke of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    "It seems that you''ve heard of me."

    "I''ve heard your name be mentioned more than just once. Aren''t you supposed to be dead?"

    "That was just a minor issue. Let me ask you again, who are you? Where did youe from? What''s your rtionship with Nutjob Lu and Bai Wangyuan?"

    The gray-robed old man took another nce at Progenitor Smoke before looking back at Lu Yin and the two men with him. "My name is Sage Yuan. As for the rest, you will learn more in the future."

    After speaking, the man turned to look at the jiao off in the distance. "Not a bad pet. Sovereign Master would be happy to ept it. It¡¯s a worthy gift for when that day arrives."

    With that, he beckoned to Nutjob Lu. "Let''s go. Sovereign Master is waiting for you."

    Lu Yin cocked an eyebrow. "Hold up, you''re not leaving just yet. Which universe do you represent?"

    The gray-robed old man turned back to look at Lu Yin. "Descendant of the Lu family, if you want to live, then don''t ask too many questions. The Lu family deserved to be wiped out. Learn your lesson and don''t be as arrogant as they were, or else you will meet the same fate."

    Out of nowhere, Lu Yin attacked, and Progenitor-level runes enveloped the gray-robed old man.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other two instantly moved in front of the man. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you must not attack him!"

    Lu Yin immediately summoned E Chi and invoked his Investiture of the Gods. "Move."

    Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen both stepped forward as well.

    The gray-robed old man just sneered. "Bai Wangyuan, discipline your universe¡¯s dogs, or else Sovereign Master won''t mind making a personal trip to this ce."

    With that, he entered the spatial rift, quickly followed by Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin watched as the tear in the void closed, his eyes never once leaving Nutjob Lu until the riftpletely disappeared.

    Once space had returned back to normal, Lu Yin turned to stare at Bai Wangyuan and the other two. "Exin."

    Progenitor Smoke added, "I need one too."

    Nong Yi and Specter Progenitor were simrly curious about what had just transpired.

    Some distance away, the jiao bared its fangs and ws. With Nutjob Lu gone, it was no longer afraid.

    "Bai Wangyuan, start talking! What''s the deal with that old guy?" Progenitor Smoke pressed.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other two exchanged nces, and then he started to slowly exin. "There are many parallel universes in existence. This is one, but Aeternus is waging war across numerous parallel universes with the goal of conquering all of reality. That man just now, Sage Yuan, is a representative of one of those parallel universes."

    The man then looked at Lu Yin before continuing, "When we exiled the Lu family, they assisted us."

    Lu Yin''s finger twitched. "Why?"

    Wang Fan''s voice turned cold. "Because the Lu family was too arrogant. It''s no wonder that there were people who couldn''t stand them."

    "Stop dancing around the answers," Lu Yin shouted sternly.

    Wang Fan grew furious and opened his mouth to chide Lu Yin, but Mu Xie spoke up. "Is that parallel universe very powerful?"

    Progenitor Long nodded. "Extremely. Our universe can¡¯t even begin topare to them. I strongly advise that you do not provoke them."

    He nced at the jiao before continuing, "The strongest individual in that universe is known as the Great Sovereign. He¡¯s a terrifying being who¡¯s on par with the Origin Progenitor."

    Lu Yin and the others felt their scalps tingle. Someone on the same level as the Origin Progenitor? That was beyond horrifying.

    So far, the strongest opponent that any of them had ever encountered was Ancient God, who had once been one of the Three Realms Six Dao. The most powerful attack that Lu Yin could use also came from one of the Three Realms Six Dao: the God of Death. As for the Origin Progenitor, he had been a powerhouse above even the Three Realms Six Dao.

    "Is Aeternus¡¯s True God being held back by them?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

    Bai Wangyuan did not answer the question. "In regards to that universe, it is best to not provoke them. They refer to their universe as the Main Universe, and they are the greatest human force fighting against Aeternus. They have been keeping the Seven Skygods upied for many years, and they have even spread across more than one parallel universe. Lu Xiaoxuan, do not provoke them, as doing so will invite a disaster upon us all.¡±

    "Of course, provoking them is also easier said than done, as you can¡¯t even reach their universe."

    Lu Yin silently started thinking. Main Universe? A powerhouse equal to the Origin Progenitor? It¡¯s no wonder why my family was banished.

    "Where is Xia Shenji?" Wang Fan suddenly asked.

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin. In the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin alone possessed the strength of a Progenitor. Absolutely no one else could have possibly dealt with Xia Shenji, but Lu Yin had stayed in the Perennial World while there had been no word at all from Xia Shenji in the Fifth Maind. It was very odd.

    Lu Yin casually replied, "I don''t know."

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Lu Xiaoxuan, Xia Shenji is one of our most powerfulbatants against Aeternus. You¡­"

    Lu Yin looked up. "Are you really about to lecture me about righteousness?"

    Bai Wangyuan stiffened. Righteousness? Lecture Lu Yin? What use would that serve?

    Nong Yi sighed. "While we may have forced Aeternus out in recent years, our power has also weakened significantly. If Aeternus returns, we no longer even have seven Progenitors to protect the Outer Realm with."

    Progenitor Smoke said, "Lu Xiaoxuan, since you drove Nutjob Lu away, you will take over Ominion in his stead. Mu Xie can guard Broken Star."

    She then looked at Arch-Elder Zen. "You can take Xia Shenji¡¯s ce.

    "If we¡¯ve lost three Progenitors, then we just need to rece them."

    Nong Yi thought about this suggestion. The loss of Nutjob Lu, Liu Yue, and Xia Shenji was indeedpensated for with the addition of Lu Yin, Mu Xie, and Arch-Elder Zen. Their strength would more or less remain the same.

    No one mentioned the matter of the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury again, as they had all reached an unspoken understanding.

    As for Xia Shenji, the four ruling powers would definitely send someone to investigate Shenwu Continent, and Lu Yin was already prepared for them. He intended to ask Arch-Elder Zen to watch over Shenwu Continent, not because of the four ruling powers¡¯ investigation, but rather because of the Three Monarchs Universe.

 Chapter 2462: Shattered

    Chapter 2462: Shattered

    Xia Shenji was now in the Three Monarchs Universe. If he cooperated with the three Monarchs and attempted to force the passageway between the two universes back open, then the fate of the Fifth Maind would be put in jeopardy.

    Gue Yue had previously spent a great deal of effort to seal the passage, and there had to be a good reason for that.

    If Arch-Elder Zen were present, then the four ruling powers would not dare to act recklessly. Even if they wanted to interfere in Shenwu Continent¡¯s situation, there was nothing that they could do.

    While it was nearly impossible to grasp the spatial and temporal coordinates of a specific parallel universe, one¡¯s home universe would always ze like a beacon to them. It was for this reason that people from the Fifth and Sixth Mainds could always return to their own universe if they ever got lost in a parallel universe, as long as they were capable of traveling between parallel universes to begin with. Of course, this was also far from easy; the more powerful andrger a universe was, the more resistance one encountered when entering or leaving it. However, that resistance was not a problem to Progenitors, as long as they were capable of finding their way back home.

    The Perennial World was an exception to this.

    Lu Yin had specifically investigated this matter in the past. Because the Perennial World had originally been a part of the Fifth Maind, no one was able to pinpoint the Perennial World from one of the infinite parallel universes. Furthermore, the fact that the Perennial World had been separated from the Fifth Maind meant that the people born in the Perennial World were unable to sense the Fifth Maind. This meant that the Perennial World¡¯s citizens would be truly lost if they identally entered a parallel universe.

    This was most likely the main reason why the Lu family was unable to find their way back.

    Xia Shenji waspletely unable to find the Perennial World after being thrown into the Three Monarchs Universe as well. The only way he could hope to return was by reopening the passage between the Three Monarchs Universe and Shenwu Continent.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s sessful breakthrough was a huge assurance to Lu Yin. The old man who had stood guard over the Fifth Maind for his entire life had finally reached the peak. If Lu Yin did not alreadymand such a high level of respect, then Arch-Elder Zen could easily seize back control of the Fifth Maind. However, he had no intention of doing so.

    The gathering dispersed, and Lu Yin returned to the Lu Sanctum''s treasury. Progenitor Smoke followed behind him.

    "I¡¯ll ask for more information about the Main Universe. Lu Xiaoxuan, if things prove unfeasible, then it would be better for you to bide your time," Progenitor Smoke cautioned.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don''t worry, Senior. Even if I want to take my revenge on that universe, I first need to be able to get there."

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "I know you quite well, and as long as you desire to do something, you will absolutely find a way to do it. You know that the four ruling powers are able to contact the Main Universe, so you''re already targeting them, aren¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The woman had practically read his mind. As for whom he intended to use to aplish this goal, the first person that he had thought of was Xia Xing. However, since he had already exhausted all of Xia Xing''s value, Lu Yin was trying to figure out who else he could use. Progenitor Smoke had perfectly read his intentions. She had spent quite some time apanying him, after all.

    "Regardless, I will help you find out more about the Main Universe, but don''t bring this matter up again until you have be a Progenitor," Progenitor Smoke continued to say.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Given my current strength, revenge is impossible, even if I can get to that Main Universe or whatever. Bai Wangyuan even said that there¡¯s a powerhouseparable to the Origin Progenitor there."

    Progenitor Smoke snorted. "I highly doubt that. However, if they really are able to keep Aeternus¡¯s True God upied in their universe, then I guess I don¡¯t have any choice but to ept it."

    She then looked at Lu Yin. "Where did Xia Shenji go?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Are you asking me for Bai Wangyuan?"

    "No," Progenitor Smoke replied bluntly.

    "I threw him out."

    "What does that mean?"

    "The Main Universe might be a parallel universe, but it¡¯s certainly not the only one. There are many more, and I simply threw Xia Shenji into one of those universes. He¡¯ll have a tough time getting back here."

    Progenitor Smoke eximed, "How ruthless! The four ruling powers banished the Lu family, and now you''ve banished Xia Shenji."

    Lu Yin straightened himself. "You¡¯re right, I did banish him. Thank you, Senior. Now this junior knows what I need to do."

    Progenitor Smoke coughed, and as she turned and left, she mumbled, "I didn''t teach you that."

    At this moment, there were two opposing groups in their universe: the four ruling powers, and Lu Yin. Lu Yin and those supporting him had been the weaker of the two parties all this time, but the tides seemed to have finally shifted.

    Nutjob Lu had been driven away, and Xia Shenji had been banished. The strength of the four ruling powers was being chipped away.

    Progenitor Smoke knew that she could not stop the two groups from eventually fighting against each other to settle their conflict. Thus, she only intended to preserve her own strength and prepare for Aeternus''s inevitable return.

    Before leaving, Progenitor Smoke offered onest reminder. "Aeternus will return for this ce. They¡¯ll never let us go."

    Lu Yin believed this to be true as well. He could either finish off the four ruling powers before Aeternus arrived while preserving the minimum strength necessary to deal with the Aeternals, or he could set aside his own grudges and join forces with the four ruling powers to resist Aeternus.

    Looking up at the sky, Lu Yin mused aloud, "Even if I put aside my own grudges, the four ruling powers will never do the same. The grudges between us need to be settled sooner orter."

    The treasury was already on the verge of copsing after the massive battle that had taken ce inside, and space continued to fracture and break apart. The entire ce was about to disappear.

    While there had been a shallowyer of star essence left within the treasury, most of it had been destroyed during the battle, which meant that less than ten million remained behind.

    Lu Yin still gathered every bit that remained. No matter how little remained, money was still money.

    Arch-Elder Zen returned to the Fifth Maind, and Mu Xie returned to the Dominion Realm. Lu Yin no longer needed them to apany him.

    With Nutjob Lu gone, there was no one in their entire universe who was capable of threatening him.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood what true freedom tasted like.

    Sometimes, the stronger one was, the less freedom they had. What were humans pursuing through cultivation? Eternity? What was the meaning of eternity?

    Without freedom, what was the point of living?

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and released Lu Xun.

    After emerging, the woman looked around in confusion.

    "Does this ce look familiar?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Xun''s expression changed. "Is this the Lu Sanctum''s treasury?"

    She turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Young Master¡­"

    Lu Yin met her eyes. "That¡¯s right, I fought Nutjob Lu right here."

    All the color drained away from Lu Xun''s face.

    "After the Lu family was exiled, countless family vassals and family members who had been left behind died or were tortured. You helped the four ruling powers set up a trap to kill me. I''m curious, just what made you betray the Lu family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Xun closed her eyes and slowly dropped to her knees before Lu Yin. "I''m sorry, Young Master."

    "I don''t me you. The Lu family couldn''t protect you," Lu Yin replied calmly.

    Lu Xun lifted her head, revealing swollen, bloodshot eyes. "It was my own weak will that led to my betrayal. Even though Young Master has led our family to aeback and even forced the four ruling powers to agree to a truce, I still turned against you. Please, Young Master, kill me. I have no excuses. The fault lies with me alone."

    Lu Yin truly did not me the woman. Everyone had their own weaknesses, and while some could handle certain things, others could not. He could never demand all members of the Lu family to face death in any possible situation with utter fearlessness. He did not even have the right to do so.

    "These recent years have been painful for you, haven''t they?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Xun remained kneeling on the ground. She clenched her fists, but said nothing.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You may go now."

    Lu Xun¡¯s head snapped up as she stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. She had assumed that her death was an inevitability.

    Lu Yin turned around and simply left the treasury. "From now on, you have no connection to the Lu family."

    As Lu Xun watched Lu Yin''s receding figure, tears streamed down her face. The direct line of the family no longer wanted her to be part of the family.

    Betraying her family had been agonizing for her, but being removed from the family hurt far more. It was a pain worse than death.

    Nong Yi had oncemented that only the Lu family was capable of having people like Wan Zhiyi and so many others swear to serve to their deaths. It was the Lu family¡¯s charisma.

    The treasury continued to fall apart. The entire ce was about to disappear.

    Lu Xun closed her eyes. She sat down and then looked around at her surroundings.

    She thought back to the times when the main family would send people over here. She had always been the one to apany them and assist them when selecting resources from the treasury. She had been the manager of the Lu Sanctum''s treasury. The family¡¯s direct line had ced a great deal of trust in her, but yearster, she had schemed against a direct descendant of the Lu family with her knowledge of the treasury. She had no idea how the young master had managed to survive, but the state of the treasury revealed just how fierce the battle must have been.

    Some distance away, she caught a glimpse of several fragments of a Champions'' Stage, as well as specks of dim golden light from the shredded remnants of the Investiture of the Gods. The image of the once prosperous Lu family rose to her mind, and she suddenly burst outughing. "I shouldn''t have betrayed them! I shouldn''t have betrayed them!"

    Her wails echoed throughout the treasury, though nothing could be heard outside. The treasury no longer existed, as the space that it had previously upied had shattered into the void, taking everything that had been inside it along, including Lu Xun.

    Lu Yin looked back and realized that Lu Xun had never left the treasury. He had offered her a way out, but she had chosen not to take it.

    Betrayal was wrong, and she had decided to pay for her sins with her life.

    A wave ofplicated emotions washed over Lu Yin. Familial ties, kinship, friendship, and love were things that were truly worth pursuing throughout one¡¯s life. They were what represented freedom.

    He threw his head back and roared at the sky, releasing everyst bit of suppressed emotion that remained.

    Bai Xian''er had shown Lu Yin a future in which he ughtered his own family and closest friends with a sword. That vision had created a shadow in his heart, and he still found himself unable to face it.

    Lu Xun''s sacrifice showed Lu Yin what people should truly pursue in their lives. He would never harm his loved ones, no matter what happened. It did not matter if Destiny was able to see down the river of time, or if she could only see a piece of the future. He would change the future that he had seen.

    He knew why that future had appeared for him, as well as why he had lost consciousness when he had attacked Nutjob Lu with the God of Death''s power. It was all because of the divine energy, the red dot thaty in the power within his chest that had been left there by the beam from the cosmic door.

    Lu Yin would do everything that he could to deal with that red dot.

    The ominous events that Xuan Jiu had spoken of and the future that Bai Xian''er had revealed would never happen.

    Lu Yin took a step, instantly appearing atop the jiao''s head. "Let¡¯s go to Ominion."

    The jiao roared and started making its way to the Outer Realm while showing off its teeth and ws.

    Lu Yin looked at the red as he drew close to it. He had not expected it to belong to him so soon.

    Years ago, when he had first seen Ominion, Nutjob Lu had attacked Lu Yin with his Champions'' Stage, almost killing him. Nothing good had ever happened whenever Lu Yin saw Ominion since.

    Even if the thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, Nutjob Lu, had not beenpletely removed, the matter had been temporarily settled.

    The jiao crossed through outer space andnded on Ominion. The beast¡¯s arrival attracted attention from all over across Ominion.

    The¡¯s environment was beyond harsh. There was both star energy and stellr energy present, but neither could be absorbed or used for cultivation. The only power that could be cultivated on this was ominion energy.

    The massive jiao¡¯s shadow fell over Ominion Temple.

    Inside the temple, people gasped in shock and horror.

    There was a loud thud as Lu Yinnded on the ground in front of Ominion Temple. He nced around to observe the ce.

    Feng Lan led all of the people from the temple, stopping them a short distance away from Lu Yin. Everyone stared at Lu Yin with confusion and bewilderment filling their eyes.

    "Progenitor Ominion is gone. From now on, Ominion belongs to me," Lu Yin ndly announced.

    Feng Lan and the others were shaken. "May I know who this Progenitor Ominion you are referring to is?"

    With a roar, the jiao bared its teeth and ws while glowering at them. All of the people present jumped in fright, and their faces grew pale.

 Chapter 2463 â€“ Vast Resources

    Chapter 2463 ¨C Vast Resources

    The cultivators who inhabited Ominion often faced life-threatening situations, and many hade to ept that it was only a matter of time before death came for them. However, all humans retained an instinctive fear of overwhelming power. The only beings who would not lose theirposure when faced with the jiao were Aeternus''s corpse kings and those stronger than the beast.

    "I killed him," answered Lu Yin. He instantly appeared directly in front of Feng Lan, causing the man to step back in surprise.

    Lu Yin took another step forward, which put him within five meters of Feng Lan, and the man was quickly Possessed.

    Lu Yin had Possessed Feng Lan once before during the three years that he had spent in seclusion in the Fifth Maind. Thus, Possession triggered again as soon as he was close enough.

    This time, Lu Yin merged his mind with Feng Lan¡¯s body to see if there were any new memories regarding Nutjob Lu.

    The others looked at Feng Lan in shock, though no one dared to speak.

    At this moment, Liquor Hero stepped out of Ominion Temple and looked up at the jiao. Her only reaction was to take a swig of wine.

    The jiao looked down at the woman and instinctively bared its fangs. It enjoyed seeing creatures react to its presence with terror.

    Unfortunately, the jiao was disappointed. Liquor Hero waspletely drunk, and thus she had no concept of fear. To her, the jiao might as well be an illusion.

    Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body, and at the same time, Feng Lan woke up. He stared at the young man before him in confusion.

    "Everyone, you may return." Lu Yin also turned to leave. These people had almost nothing to do with Nutjob Lu. Their growth and cultivation had never been supported by the madman, as it was instead a result of natural selection.

    Cultivation on Ominion involved seizing ominion energy from other living creatures. These people were like raised like gu; the losers perished, while the winners were allowed to join Ominion Temple and serve Nutjob Lu.

    Only Liquor Hero had ever held any true value in Nutjob Lu''s eyes.

    Hup!

    The loud sound reverberated in the area.

    Lu Yin watched as Liquor Hero stumbled towards him. "How much have you drunk?"

    Liquor Heroughed. "When you''re happy, you have to drink more."

    "Are you happy that Nutjob Lu is gone? I thought that he treated you well," Lu Yin said.

    Liquor Hero tossed her gourd of wine over to Lu Yin. "He did treat me well. Drinking buddies are hard toe by, and he was one."

    Lu Yin looked at the wine gourd and sloshed it around.

    The Lu Sanctum''s treasury had been a trap that had beenid out for him at the very beginning. The four ruling powers had used Lu Xun to entice Lu Yin and encourage him to try to ess the treasury. Of those involved, Lu Xun had been a traitor, but Lu Gong was not. For this reason, Lu Yin intended to rescue the man from the Celestial Frost Sect. The key to the treasury had been acquired by Liquor Hero, but what had her role been in the entire scheme of things?

    Lu Yin had first contacted Liquor Hero three years ago. In theory, Liquor Hero had helped Lu Yin, but it was also possible that she had been acting entirely on the four ruling powers¡¯ orders, just like Lu Xun.

    Pa! Liquor Hero pped herself in the head to clear her mind. "Oh, Lu Yin, you''re here."

    Lu Yin tossed the gourd back. "How did you manage to get this drunk?"

    "You should drink when you''re happy!" Liquor Hero said with augh as she grabbed the gourd and shook it. She offered it to Lu Yin again. "Do you want some? This is Ominion¡¯s specialty. It¡¯s super spicy and has a strong aftertaste. Even an Envoy can get drunk off of this. I guarantee it!"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, thanks."

    Liquor Hero took a big gulp.

    "Are you happy that Nutjob Lu is gone?" Lu Yin repeated.

    Liquor Hero wiped her mouth. "He was a rare drinking buddy, so of course I''m not happy he¡¯s gone, but it also means that I can finally leave this hellhole, and that makes me happy."

    As she spoke, she put the gourd of wine away. "He also knew that I passed you the key."

    Lu Yin arched a brow but said nothing.

    "After I gave you the key, he stopped treating me as well," Liquor Hero said with a chuckle, "Still, he didn''t do anything to me. We''re nothing more than drinking buddies. It''s hard to survive in this hellhole without at least a friend or two."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Drinking buddies? Isn''t he your master?"

    "Of course not. He doesn''t ept any disciples, but he did tell people that he''s my master. He was just looking out for me.¡±

    "He knew that we were in contact when you first contacted me, but he didn''t say anything about it. He tacitly allowed me to pass you the key, so I¡¯m guessing that the whole thing was probably a trap. I''m d that you''re alright."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m fine. You''ve suffered a lot, living on this for so many years."

    Liquor Hero grinned. There were few women as straightforward as her. "As long as there''s alcohol, it''s all good. If there''s no alcohol-" She kicked the ground. "I would''ve been buried here."

    For some reason, Lu Yin believed her, though it was only based on a gut feeling.

    "What did the two of you talk about when drinking?" Lu Yin asked. "I¡¯d like to learn more about him."

    Liquor Hero rubbed her head. "Let me think¡­ He never talked much, and he always seemed like a rather taciturn person. He always just started cursing whenever he got drunk, especially about someone surnamed Lu."

    "Who did he curse at?" asked Lu Yin.

    "¡¯That old Lu geezer, the senile bastard,¡¯" Liquor Hero replied.

    "Why did he curse him?"

    "He ranted about wanting to destroy the Lu family or something. They told him not to do something, so he wanted to do it even more. They disliked someone, so for that reason, he helped them and even became a test subject. It was all stuff like that. He was basically cursing at people to vent his anger."

    Lu Yin frowned. This was quite simr to what he had already heard from Nutjob Lu. The madman held a deep hatred for the entire Lu family, and the person who had used him as a test subject had probably been Gu Yizhi. Lu Buzheng and the others had said that the Fifth Maind and the Third Maind had been at odds with each other because the Lu family¡¯s senior Progenitor had disliked Gu Yizhi.

    Nutjob Lu''s decision to be Gu Yizhi''s test subject should have primarily been fueled by his desire to spite the Lu family.

    It was no wonder why Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone had not been tolerated within the Fifth Maind. Colossal giants were Gu Yizhi''s creations, which meant they were from the Third Maind. For that reason, the Fifth Maind had seen the colossal giant clone as an outcast and had hunted Progenitor Chen down for it, at least before he received the Lu family¡¯s forgiveness.

    Lu Yin felt himself breaking a sweat for Progenitor Chen. If the enmity between the Lu family and Third Maind had run any deeper, then that clone might not have survived.

    In that case, who was this "Old Ghost Lu" that Nutjob Lu had referred to? What was the reason behind Nutjob Lu''s intense hatred toward the Lu family?

    The jiao soared into the sky and circled Ominion.

    Lu Yin entered Ominion Temple. Following the information that he had pulled from Feng Lan''s memories, he stepped into a simple courtyard behind the temple.

    The courtyard looked like the home of an ordinary human. Lu Yin stepped over the two divots in the ground and looked over at the corner where the Champions'' Stage and the Investiture of the Gods had oncey. However, Nutjob Lu''s Champions'' Stage and Investiture of the Gods had both been destroyed, having vanished with the destruction of the Lu Sanctum''s treasury.

    After walking through the courtyard, he arrived at the house and pushed the door open.

    Compared to the small cottage that Lu Yin had built for Bai Xian''er and himself in Food Paradise, the interior of this house was even simpler.

    It appeared that Nutjob Lu had beenpletely immersed in his own world and had paid no attention to anything else at all.

    The back of the small house opened up to a deste, dark-red garden that had an asional strange-looking bug crawling about.

    Lu Yin walked to a specific corner and raised a hand. The tips of his fingers touched something, and ripples spread through the air.

    These ripples revealed a hidden pocket dimension, simr to a hidden world.

    Lu Yin entered it.

    He had seen this ce in Feng Lan''s memories. Nutjob Lu had not been afraid of others seeing him enter the pocket dimension, and Feng Lan had never even thought of touching it. Everyone on Ominion held an innate fear of Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin entered Nutjob Lu''s pocket dimension, and his eyes were met with the sight of countless star essence glittering brightly.

    His mouth fell open. This, this is-?

    He had suspected that Nutjob Lu had been hiding something incredible in his back garden, but he had never expected to discover such a vast amount of star essence.

    Where had Nutjob Lu gathered so much star essence from? From what Lu Yin was seeing, there was more here than what had been on the Junior Progenitors, possibly several times more.

    Lu Yin''s face lit up as he suddenly understood what he was seeing. This actually made sense. Since Nutjob Lu had known that Liquor Hero would pass the key to the Lu Sanctum''s treasury to Lu Yin and had still done nothing about it, the man must have already known about the location of the key. Thus, this was probably the original contents of the treasury.

    The more he thought about things, the more likely his suspicions seemed. Nutjob Lu had only ever wanted to destroy the Lu family, not help the four ruling powers.

    It made perfect sense for the madman to have taken the resources from the Lu Sanctum''s treasury after the Lu family was banished.

    The four ruling powers also had no idea about this, as if they had, they would have never agreed to give the man control of Ominion.

    Lu Yin grew ecstatic. He had thought that the treasury had never been anything more than a trap, but it had truly held incredible wealth.

    There were no less than 10 trillion star essence in front of his eyes.

    He swallowed. He was finally rich. With so much wealth, not only could he repair the Origin Progenitor''s sword, but he would even have some star essence left over. Would it be possible to further Enhance the slipper?

    No, the slipper had already been exposed, and his opponents would surely be wary of its appearance against him. No matter if he fought against Nutjob Lu, the four ruling powers, or even Aeternus, all of them would remember the slipper. He needed a new weapon, but what would be a good recement for the slipper? The needle-like weapon? That was no good, as it had also been publicly exposed.

    Lu Yin felt a growing headache appear. He needed an inconspicuous weapon that could rival the slipper¡¯s power.

    Having used the slipper so many times before, he was aware of just how useful it was, and he had not forgotten how many times it had saved him.

    It would be difficult to take this much star essence away, so he decided to repair the Origin Progenitor''s sword right here in the pocket dimension.

    Lu Yin retrieved the Origin Progenitor''s sword, but then he instantly froze. The images that he had seen suddenly reappeared in his mind.

    He saw himself wielding the sword with crimson eyes, mercilessly ughtering his family and friends.

    Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor''s sword while feeling conflicted. Just moments ago, he had beenpletely determined to alter his future, but the cold touch of the sword in his hand seemed to chill his heart.

    He took a deep breath, and his eyes grew determined. No matter whaty in his future, he would definitely change it from what he had witnessed. No one could control his future.

    With a flick of his finger, his die appeared and started spinning.

    Things proceeded smoothly, as he managed to get three pips on his first roll.

    The Origin Progenitor''s sword was ced on the upper screen, and then mountains of star essence were thrown out.

    Whether a person¡¯s expenditure of resources was considered exorbitant or not depended on how it was spent.

    For Explorers, dozens of star essence were enough tost them until they became a Hunter.

    For Hunters, several thousand star essence was a considerable sum.

    Enlighters could spend tens of thousands, or even more, but after bing an Envoy, the amount of star essence that a cultivator needed dropped significantly, as Envoys cultivated with stellr energy.

    Those were the expenses of an average cultivator, but for Lu Yin, tens or even hundreds of millions of star essence was not nearly enough even when he had only been a Hunter. Now that he was an Envoy, his expenses had risen to the trillions.

    The star essence in the isted space reduced at a visible rate as the Origin Progenitor''s sword moved closer and closer to the bottom.

    By the time the sword finally fell out of the lower light ne, more than half of the star essence in the hidden dimension had disappeared.

    It had taken a total of 12 trillion star essence to fully Enhance the sword. It was a truly staggering amount.

    It was a mind-boggling number, as it surpassed even the total sum that Lu Yin had acquired from the entire Astral Beast Domain.

 Chapter 2464 â€“ So What?

    Chapter 2464 ¨C So What?

    The Mavis Bank might control the Fifth Maind''s economy, but the bank¡¯s total liquid assets were not that impressive. Furthermore, that money did not even belong to the Mavis family.

    Lu Yin let out a long sigh. He picked up the Origin Progenitor''s sword, which had returned to its original condition. There was not a single crack to be seen. It was time to return to the Fifth Maind.

    He stored the roughly 3 trillion remaining star essence in his cosmic ring. When added to the 2.5 trillion that he already held, he currently possessed a total of 5.5 trillion star essence. For Lu Yin, this was an ambiguous amount of money, as it was neither too much nor too little.

    It had only taken 1.1 trillion star essence to upgrade the slipper, which meant that he had enough funds at the moment to upgrade the slippers again.

    Should he upgrade it, or not?

    The two screens of light that were his die''s Enhance had not vanished yet. Lu Yin''s brow furrowed as he was stuck on this particr dilemma. After a moment, he sighed. Forget it. Even if he Enhanced the slipper again, it would amount to nothing if he could not strike his target.

    Lu Yin emerged from the pocket dimension. When he looked up, he saw an arc that spanned the sky.

    When he had first seen it, he had had no idea what it was. At that time, he had been Possessing Thyssen. Since then, Lu Yin had learned that this arc was the danger zone that connected the sourcebox that was Ominion to Ceaseless Impetus. It was precisely this danger zone that created Ominion''s extreme environment. The conditions of each of the Outer Realm¡¯s sevens were different due to each sourcebox¡¯s unique danger zones.

    Blossom Star was the most beautiful of the sevens, and it had flowers blooming all year round. In contrast, Ominion had the most extreme climate. Only Array Grandmasters could exin the peculiar phenomena brought about by a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone.

    In the past, someone had been required to permanently stay on Ominion, but with Aeternus gone for the moment, there was no need for Lu Yin to do so.

    Instead of immediately returning to the Fifth Maind, he went to pay a visit to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    He only had one purpose for visiting the sect: rescue Lu Gong.

    In the past, Lu Yin had needed Senior Brother Mu Xie to watch over him whenever he wanted to do something that might provoke the four ruling powers, but that was no longer necessary.

    As the jiao approached the Celestial Frost Sect, the sect''s rms started to sound.

    Countless disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect stared out into the distance, watching as the jiao unted its majestic aura as it approached.

    Many envied Lu Yin for being able to ride the jiao. Not just anyone could have a Progenitor-level beast as a mount. In fact, not even Bai Wangyuan or any of the other Progenitors of the Perennial World had such a thing.

    Bai Wangyuan had only just returned to the Celestial Frost Sect himself when he learned that Lu Yin was about to arrive. The Progenitor instantly understood what was happening.

    "Father, Lu Yin is here for Lu Gong, isn¡¯t he?" Bai Qi asked.

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression remained solemn. "Give him Lu Gong."

    Bai Qi nodded. "Understood."

    Bai Wangyuan watched as Bai Qi left, and then his expression turned ugly. After returning to the sect, he had been tempted to kill Lu Gong, but he had restrained himself. At this point in time, Lu Xiaoxuan had already be a force to be reckoned with, as he represented another colossal power in their universe that practically stood equal to the four ruling powers.

    While it was possible to kill Lu Gong, the Celestial Frost Sect would then have to bear the consequences.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was not the same as the Lu family had been in the past. Lu Yin was far more scheming, ruthless, and vengeful. Bai Wangyuan had no intention of suffering Lu Yin''s revenge and taking any losses, now or in the future, just because of Lu Gong''s death.

    Just a little longer. The Main Universe already knew of Lu Xiaoxuan''s existence, which meant that Bai Wangyuan only needed to wait for their response. Also, Nutjob Lu would never let Lu Yin go free.

    Bai Qi stepped out of the Celestial Frost Sect with Lu Gong following behind her.

    Lu Gong watched in awe as the jiao descended. He had seen the creature in the past. Isn''t that the jiao from Shenwu''s Sky? Is the Celestial Frost Sect sending me to Shenwu''s Sky?

    "Bai Qi, you''re breaking your promise!"

    Bai Qi did not turn to look at the man, and he simply continued to stare at jiao. "There¡¯s no need to put on the act any longer. Lu Xiaoxuan was the one who ordered you to tell us that Nutjob Lu is a Redback, and it was all done to provoke a confrontation that would give him a chance to steal the key to the Lu Sanctum''s treasury from Ominion. It was all part of our n. Yu Chen delivered the message to you."

    Lu Gong''s heart skipped a beat from the shock of hearing these words, but the man¡¯s expression remained calm. "You intend to use this as an excuse to break your promise? That¡¯s absurd! The entire Perennial World belongs to your four ruling powers, so what¡¯s the point of using such an excuse? Who are you trying to prove something to?"

    Bai Qi lifted her head. "Him."

    Lu Gong looked up just in time to see a young man drop down from the jiao¡¯s head. The man looked down at Lu Gong and shed a joyful smile.

    As Lu Gong stared at the young man, a wave ofplex emotions overwhelmed him. He opened his mouth to say something, only to hesitate, fearing that he would be disappointed. Finally, he croaked, "Young Master?"

    Lu Yinnded and approached Lu Gong. "I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m here for you sote."

    Lu Gong grew agitated, and his eyes grew wide. "Young Master, is it really you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m here to take you away."

    Lu Gong closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trembling from sheer excitement. Suddenly, his eyes snapped back open and he burst outughing. "Bai Wangyuan, you still released me in the end. Hahaha!"

    In the depths of the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Wangyuan felt a surge of anger. How dare a mere Semi-Progenitor disrespect him like this!

    Bai Qi angrily shouted, "Lu Gong, this behavior is out of line!"

    Lu Gong red at Bai Qi. "Out of my way! Everyone in the Celestial Frost Sect is mere trash!"

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You''re courting death."

    Lu Gong looked towards the depths of the Celestial Frost Sect. "Bai Wangyuan, you old bastard, you may let me go today, but someday, I''ll lock you up and make you beg for mercy! Hahaha!"

    Bai Qi immediately attacked, but Lu Yin instantly appeared in front of her and calmly looked at her. She was furious. "Lu Xiaoxuan, step aside! I must punish him for disrespecting a Progenitor."

    "So what? Have Bai Wangyuane out here." Lu Yin stood in front of Bai Qi with his hands sped behind his back. He spoke in a calm tone, but his words were so domineering that the disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect trembled. The presence of the jiao only added to the pressure. The entire Celestial Frost Sect froze in terror. Everyone was too afraid to make even the slightest sound.

    Bai Qi had no idea how to respond. If she chose to fight, she already knew that she was no match for Lu Yin, but if she did not fight, how would she uphold her father''s dignity?

    She knew that she could not handle Lu Yin, and her father also could not get directly involved. If he did and they still failed to execute Lu Gong and Lu Xiaoxuan, the Progenitor¡¯s reputation would bepletely ruined.

    Her father absolutely could not appear.

    Bai Wangyuan watched from the distance. No matter what Lu Gong yelled or how arrogantly Lu Xiaoxuan behaved, Bai Wangyuan could not reveal himself, not unless he was prepared to personally fight to the death.

    Lu Gong stared at Lu Yin''s back and carefully listened to everything he said. He was already certain. This man truly was the young master.

    Initially, Lu Gong had been worried that someone was impersonating the young master, and for that reason, he had insulted Bai Wangyuan in order to test Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin¡¯s response had assured Lu Gong of his identity.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, can''t you do anything peacefully? Do you really have to stir up trouble wherever you go?" Bai Sheng appeared after tearing through the void to arrive. The aura of a Progenitor spread across the area.

    The jiao snarled, feeling provoked. It felt no fear towards Bai Sheng.

    Bai Qi breathed a sigh of relief at Bai Sheng¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin looked over at Bai Sheng. "I was promised that you would release all of the surviving members of the Lu family and our vassals when I agreed to the truce with Bai Wangyuan. What about this? How do you exin Lu Xun and Lu Gong?"

    Bai Shengughed. "People make mistakes. This is perfectly normal. If you never make mistakes, then you''re simply not human, you''re a machine. Forgetting about a few members of the Lu family ispletely understandable. Do you really need to make a big fuss about this? Haven''t they already been released?"

    Lu Gong said nothing more. He had only spoken up before to verify the identity of the young master who had appeared. With that settled, Lu Gong had no desire to cause any further trouble. He was not certain about the young master''s strength, but it was never a good idea to recklessly challenge the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yinughed. "You''re even more shameless than Bai Wangyuan! At least he has a sense of shame and won''t reveal himself. You''re just a scoundrel."

    Bai Sheng rolled his eyes. "Young people these days are so rude. Progenitor Bai is in seclusion. If he wasn''t, do you really think that you would be able to behave so rudely here? I intended to speak with you up among the clouds, but now¡­ Please just leave. The Celestial Frost Sect doesn''t wee you."

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Lu Gong''s shoulder. "Pray that I don''t return, as I won¡¯t leave so quietly next time."

    The two men then appeared atop the jiao''s head. The beast let out a roar and fully unleashed its Progenitor-level strength before turning around and heading toward the Wang family¡¯s territory. It was time for Lu Yin to return to the Fifth Maind.

    After the jiao left, Bai Sheng''s expression became solemn.

    "Father could not intervene," Bai Qi spoke up.

    Bai Sheng replied, "I know."

    He then appeared in front of Bai Wangyuan within the depths of the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "How is Xia Shenji?" Bai Wangyuan asked.

    Bai Sheng shook his head. "There¡¯s a ce called Shenwu Continent in the Fifth Maind, and it has a passageway that¡¯s connected to an unknown parallel universe. Xia Shenji was lured into the passage, but he hasn¡¯t returned. I wanted to keep an eye on the ce, but just a short while ago, a Progenitor named Arch-Elder Zen appeared. He is quite difficult to deal with."

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. Arch-Elder Zen was like another Lu Xiaoxuan in that they both wielded the strength of several Progenitors. Dealing with Arch-Elder Zen would not be the slightest bit easy. The man had mastered the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, which had been regarded as the most powerful technique in the Fifth Maind during the Heavens Sect era. Bai Wangyuan had never expected someone who had mastered the technique to not only be a Progenitor, but to even be capable of summoning Lu Tianyi.

    Truth be told, Bai Wangyuan was quite curious about just how strong the summoned Lu Tianyi was. As for Bai Sheng, he did not dare to do anything rash.

    "It seems that Xia Shenji has been banished," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    Bai Sheng was shocked. "Banished? Like what happened to the Lu family?"

    "The Lu family was banished into Aeternus''s territory, so Aeternus will naturally keep them busy. Lu Xiaoxuan has not gone that far. Xia Shenji should have been exiled to an unknown universe. It will be difficult for him to return," Bai Wangyuan exined.

    "When I left, I saw that Shenwu Continent was surrounded by seven huge sourceboxes, which should be a sourcebox array. I heard that the ce was originally sealed away by five sourceboxes, so it appears that Lu Xiaoxuan found two more and established a new sourcebox array to seal the ce off," Bai Sheng reported.

    "By the way, how are things over here? Did Nutjob Lu fail?" he asked.

    Bai Wangyuan let out a sigh before sharing the recent events that had taken ce in the Perennial World.

    At this same time, Lu Gong was apologizing to Lu Yin, who was taken aback by the apology. "So you were testing me? I simply thought that after being imprisoned for so many years, you had lost your temper."

    Lu Gongughed bitterly. "With the tragedy that befell the main family, the chances of you being able to travel safely about the Perennial World were extremely low. I still can''t understand how you¡¯ve managed to get so far. That¡¯s why I suspected that the four ruling powers were attempting to trick me."

    "Then why did you believe Yu Chen''s words and follow my instructions?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Lu Gong replied, "I had nothing left to lose. If Nutjob Lu really did help outsiders harm our family, then it would be best for him to die! Whether it was some sort of internal dispute between the four ruling powers or something else, it all would lead towards avenging our family."

    Lu Yin nodded. This was typical of the members of the Lu family. Even if their family was gone, they would still pursue revenge.

    "It won''t be long before I force the four ruling powers to pay for their actions. Xia Shenji may have been the first, but he won¡¯t be thest!" Lu Yin muttered.

 Chapter 2465: Sixverse Association

    Chapter 2465: Sixverse Association

    The jiao soon exited the New Corridor, and Lu Yin was back in the Fifth Maind. He sent a message to Lu Buzheng, asking him to meet them and collect Lu Gong.

    Upon seeing Lu Gong, Lu Buzheng''s first words were, "Greet your ancestor."

    Lu Gong instantly became furious.

    Lu Yin sighed and then proceeded to exin that Lu Buzheng really was their ancestor. Lu Gong''s anger transformed into confusion. How had he suddenly gained another ancestor?

    "Where is Lu Xun?" Lu Buzheng asked.

    Lu Gong looked over at Lu Yin. Lu Xun? The Qin Mountain branch¡¯s elder?

    "Dead."

    Lu Gong''s eyes went wide in shock. "Dead? Young Master, how did Lu Xun die? I must avenge her!"

    Lu Yin waved the question off with a hand and then left Lu Buzheng to exin everything to Lu Gong. As that happened, Lu Yin went and paid Attendant Wu a visit. "You previously mostly told us about the Three Monarchs Universe. Today, I want to learn more about the Main Universe."

    Attendant Wu stared at Lu Yin in shock and utter disbelief.

    Lu Yin was amused by the reaction. "What? Are you surprised to see that I know about the Main Universe?"

    Attendant Wu''s mind was in chaos, and his fear of Lu Yin rose to new heights.

    Thest time the two of them had spoken, Lu Yin had not even known about the Three Monarchs Universe, but he now knew about even the Main Universe. Attendant Wu considered something for a moment and then mumbled, "Is it possible to travel between this universe and the Main Universe?"

    Lu Yin inquired, "Is that not normal?"

    Attendant Wu exined, "The Main Universe is the leader of the Sixverse Association, and they possess unimaginable power that¡¯s evenparable to the once-prosperous Origin Universe. However, they are restricted and can only travel to a few other universes. At least, that is what our Monarch said. So why is it that¡­"

    The man suddenly cut off and stared at Lu Yin in horror. It had just dawned on him, but from what he remembered, the Heavens Sect had been in the Origin Universe, right? In that case¡­ "Is this the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin remembered hearing Sage Yuan call their universe the Origin Universe. "That''s right."

    Attendant Wu''s scalp went numb. "How is that possible? Was Gu Yue from the Origin Universe? He never mentioned that! If this is the Origin Universe, then why did he seal it off from us? Our Three Monarchs Universe can¡¯t even hope topare with the terrifying power of the Origin Universe!"

    The realization of where he was shocked the man to the core. Why would a giant block an ant''s path? Gu Yue had even used such an intricate method, sacrificing himself in the process.

    Lu Yin did not bother to exin to Attendant Wu that Gu Yue had been born in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Perennial World. As far as Gu Yue was concerned, the Fifth Maind was the Forsaken Land thatcked even a single Progenitor. How could the Forsaken Land possibly hope topare to a parallel universe? On the other hand, if the passageway had instead connected to the Perennial World, things would likely have yed out very differently.

    "It seems like there are many things that you haven¡¯t told me," Lu Yinmented.

    Attendant Wu shrugged. "Senior, I didn''t purposely leave things out. Rather, I was ignorant of the fact that this ce is the Origin Universe. The chances of two parallel universes intersecting is infinitesimally low, and aside from Aeternus, there is no universe that would dare to im to intersect with more than ten other universes. That includes even the Sixverse Association itself. If we exclude the Sixverse Association, then no universe, not even the Main Universe, can connect with more than five parallel universes. This is not only because of the small chances of two universes intersecting, but also because the only way to acquire a universe¡¯s coordinates is to steal a coordinate seal from Aeternus.

    "Given the strength of Aeternus, it is extremely difficult to steal anything at all from them. This is why I never said anything about various parallel universes before now," Attendant Wu exined.

    Lu Yin did not argue with him. There had been no reason for Attendant Wu to deliberately keep such things hidden from him. The only possible argument that could be put forth was that, by concealing certain things, Attendant Wu could ensure his safe return to the Three Monarchs Universe. However, such assurances simply did not exist.

    "Tell me about the Main Universe, the Origin Universe, and the Sixverse Association," Lu Yin ordered.

    Attendant Wu answered in a respectful tone, "Absolutely. This small one will not leave out even a single detail¡­"

    Several dayster, Lu Yin arrived at Shenwu Continent to meet with Arch-Elder Zen.

    "The five sealings have been incorporated into the Sealing Path sourcebox array. How is Grandmaster Gu Yan doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Just the same as everyone else. The flow of his stellr energy has reversed, but since he is an Array Grandmaster, his injuries aren''t grave. He simply appears to be any ordinary human. Right now, he is at the base of the Tower of Resonating Light."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s good."

    "A few days ago, I drove a Progenitor from the Perennial World named Bai Sheng away," Arch-Elder Zen mentioned casually.

    Lu Yin smiled. "He''s still upset about that."

    Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. "He¡¯s quite decisive. The moment he realized that there was nothing he could do, he immediately retreated.¡±

    ¡°What brings you here now?"

    Lu Yin''s expression turned serious. "Senior, the state of the universe is far moreplicated than I previously understood."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression grew sharp. "Tell me more."

    Arch-Elder Zen had be a Progenitor, and thanks to the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique that he cultivated, his strength was unfathomable. Even Bai Wangyuan and those at his level were wary of the new Progenitor. Lu Yin might be the ruler of the Fifth Maind, but he still needed to consult with Arch-Elder Zen on all matters.

    Fortunately, Arch-Elder Zen was not Hen Xin, and the old man held no desire topete with Lu Yin for authority. Arch-Elder Zen had ruled the Fifth Maind for an extremely long time. Before the Heavens Sect¡¯s reestablishment, his Hall of Honor had ruled over the Fifth Maind, and Arch-Elder Zen had always been the one to lead the Hall of Honor.

    "Our reality consists of countless parallel universes, but they rarely connect with each other. Even if someone identally travels from one universe to another, it¡¯s nearly impossible to actually connect the two universes. The only ones capable of doing so are Aeternus. They possess coordinate seals that can allow people to sense other parallel universes, and thus travel to them. They are able to freely travel to any new universes that they discover, and due to their aggression, these new universes are eventually transformed into battlefields.¡±

    "Some universes are so weak that sending a single Envoy is enough to seize control of them, but there are others that are incredibly powerful, to the point where not even Aeternus dares to push them too hard. Right now, our universe is the only one that has ever truly intimidated Aeternus, but that was during the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak.¡±

    "That period of prosperity didn¡¯tst, and as our Mainds shattered one after the other, we were eventually left with just the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. These two regions make up our universe, which is known as the Origin Universe. Beyond our universe, many others are still at war with Aeternus, and the situation has reached an impasse. These parallel universes have varying levels of strength, and the strongest power is known as the Sixverse Association. They aren¡¯t actually a parallel universe, but rather six parallel allied universes that are connected together, forming a massive battlefield against Aeternus.

    "The Three Monarchs Universe that Attendant Wues from is a member of the Sixverse Association, and the Main Universe that Sage Yuanes from is another. In fact, the Main Universe created the Sixverse Association¡­"

    Although Attendant Wu did not know many specific details, he had learned a few things. While his level of cultivation was rtively low, he had still been an Attendant chosen by the three Monarchs of his universe. This meant that he was rtively close to the Progenitor-level powerhouses, and he had gained a fair amount of knowledge from them.

    Based on Attendant Wu¡¯s understanding, the Main Universe had reced the Origin Universe as the most powerful known universe. Even the three Monarchs of Attendant Wu¡¯s universe were cautious of the Main Universe. The Main Universe also had another name: the Cyclic Universe.

    "From what Sage Yuan said, I now know that the Main Universe was the universe that helped exile my Lu family," Lu Yin said in a low voice.

    Arch-Elder Zen considered everything that Lu Yin had told him. "I never thought that our reality was so vast. We haven¡¯t even fully explored our own endless universe, but now we''re learning about the existence of parallel universes. Are the people who live in some of these parallel dimensions identical to us?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Possibly, though we might not be connected to them. Attendant Wu confirmed to me that there are no two universes in the Sixverse Association that have identical individuals."

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "Some parallel universes are essentially exact copies. I''ve seen some myself. Others experience various changes after a period of time, which leads to them giving rise to all sorts of different creatures. Even-"

    The man stared off into the distance. "The allied universes that make up this so-called Sixverse Association may not necessarily be mirrors of our known universe. They could reflect parts of the Astral Wilderness."

    Suddenly, Arch-Elder Zen asked, "Is the Perennial World also part of the Sixverse Association?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That''s the most interesting thing. They''re not."

    Arch-Elder Zen was surprised. "The Perennial World isn''t a part of it?"

    Lu Yin replied, "ording to Attendant Wu, his universe only knows about one of the Seven Skygods: Forgotten Ruins God. They have no knowledge of the other six Skygods. This means that most of the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s strength is spent fighting against Forgotten Ruins God. Inparison, the Perennial World is much, much stronger. While the Perennial World is nowhere close to the level of the ancient Heavens Sect, the Three Monarchs Universe still can¡¯t evene close to it.¡±

    "However, the Perennial World isn¡¯t part of the Sixverse Association, while the Three Monarchs Universe is. It makes you wonder."

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Lu Yin. "What are you thinking about?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I want to join the Sixverse Association."

    Arch-Elder Zen did not appear surprised at all. He knew Lu Yin very well, and while the young man appeared quite cautious, he frequently took unconventional approaches to his problems. Most of the time, his methods led to unexpected sess. Without these methods, Lu Yin would have never made it so far. "There are two possibly reasons why the Perennial World isn''t part of the Sixverse Association: they either don''t wish to join, or they have been deliberately excluded. If you want to join, then not only will you have to deal with the hostility that the Main Universe holds towards the Lu family, but you''ll also be the target of a great deal of public criticism."

    Lu Yin casually said, "I never said that I would do so while representing this universe."

    This caught Arch-Elder Zen off guard. "Then you¡­"

    Lu Yin pointed down, and Arch-Elder Zen immediately understood. He nodded. "That''s not a bad idea."

    "The only thing left to do is to restore the true universe," Lu Yin said.

    "How do you intend to remove the Time Poison?"

    Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen and said, "This junior can only give it a try."

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "You found a way to remove the poison?"

    Lu Yin nced at his cosmic ring as he replied, "I''m going to try. Regardless of whether it works or not, I¡¯m going to need a new status. I can no longer remain as the Dao Chosen."

    Arch-Elder Zen stared at Lu Yin intently. "Dao Monarch?"

    Dao Monarch. The title for the ruler of a Maind. These two words represented both the ancient era and a true leader of humanity.

    Since the time of the Heavens Sect era to the current era, only six people had ever received the title of Dao Monarch, and those were the six rulers of the original six Mainds. Those six, together with the God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian, had made up the invincible Three Realms Six Dao. Those nine people had formed a power that had left Aeternus trembling in fear.

    Lu Yin''s current strength was still far from enough for him to im the title of Dao Monarch.

    Upon hearing the two words from Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin could not help but feel a bit of anticipation. However, it also seemed that the title of Dao Monarch was not something that could be taken lightly.

    "We¡¯ll talk about thatter," Lu Yin replied.

    He had intended to immediately take the Origin Progenitor''s sword out upon returning to the Fifth Maind and attempt to restore the true universe. But while Enhancing the sword, Lu Yin had considered many things. The most prevalent thought had been that it was not worth it.

    He had spent more than 10 trillion star essence to repair the cracked sword. That was enough to tempt even Progenitors. Not just anyone could gather such an excessive amount of wealth, as it was enough to represent a significant portion of all of humanity¡¯s collective wealth. Since Lu Yin had used all of that on repairing the Origin Progenitor''s sword, then how could he pay such a steep price to merely restore the true universe?

 Chapter 2466: A Madmans Stellular Tribulation

    Chapter 2466: A Madman''s Stellr Tribtion

    Restoring the true universe was something that simply had to be done, but if Lu Yin could somehow use it to his advantage, then that would be even better.

    He remembered hearing Hen Xin and the others previously mention that the Dao Monarchs had each been a figure of special significance.

    "The significance of a Dao Monarch?" Destina asked with some surprise. "Why do you ask?"

    Lu Yin replied, "As a Dao Chosen, once I eventually be a Progenitor, I¡¯ll also be a Dao Monarch, so shouldn''t I know?"

    "True." Destina nodded. "But unfortunately, even we don''t know. Remember, we are only Semi-Progenitors."

    "Third Uncle doesn''t know, Hen Xin doesn''t know, and even you don''t know?" Lu Yin pressed.

    "I might be Destiny¡¯s disciple and heir, but before personally bing a Progenitor, there are some things that I will never be told. There is one thing that all of us do know, though: the Dao Monarch holds exceptional significance to their Maind. There are some things that only the Dao Monarch knows. As for precisely what those things are, no one has ever told us. On top of that, in this current era, even if you do be a Dao Monarch, there is no one to tell you those things either. The title of Dao Monarch no longer holds any special significance," exined Destina.

    Lu Yin looked at Destina. There was sincerity in her voice, as well as logic. Even if there were things that a Dao Monarch should know, how was he supposed to learn about them if there was no one to tell him?

    However, if he did not even possess the right to learn that information, then it would be impossible for him to ever find out.

    "Do you want to be the Dao Monarch?" asked Destina.

    "What do you think?"

    Destina stared at him. "I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" This strange reaction of Destina left Lu Yin puzzled. Also, what was he seeing in her eyes? Mockery? Disdain? Ignorance?

    "What do you know?" he asked.

    Destina replied, "Master once told me a few things. I can tell you, but¡­"

    She drifted off without saying anything more, but Lu Yin understood what the woman was thinking and said, "I can''t give you the Book of Destiny that I have, but I can tell you where another one is."

    Destina¡¯s eyebrows climbed her forehead as she asked, "Another Book of Destiny?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right, another Book of Destiny. The person who holds it isn''t even a Semi-Progenitor. I''ll tell you where it is, but you¡¯ll have to get it yourself."

    Destina¡¯s gaze grew sharp as she looked at Lu Yin. "Many things have happened since we arrived in this era, and I¡¯ve learned a great deal about you, Dao Chosen. If this book could be taken away, you would have done so long ago. Since even you can''t take it, then it must be in the hands of one of the four ruling powers."

    "That¡¯s true. I can¡¯t go after the book because of my status, but you are different. As Destiny¡¯s heir and disciple, it''s perfectly reasonable for you to go after Destiny''s treasures. Even if Bai Wangyuan and the others learn of what you¡¯re doing, I can still protect you," Lu Yin exined.

    Destina considered the matter for a moment before saying, "If I do manage to get the book, then it will be mine."

    Lu Yin readily agreed. He much preferred the Book of Destiny to be in Destina¡¯s hands rather than Bai Xian''er¡¯s. He hoped that Destina would be able to put up a good fight against Bai Xian''er, as neither woman could be underestimated.

    Destina was no fool, and she had instantly made the connection to the four ruling powers. She might even be able to guess precisely who had the Book of Destiny. Still, she needed confirmation from Lu Yin. "You''ve heard of the Origin Progenitor, the Three Realms Six Dao, and the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. All of these titles have been mentioned repeatedly since we emerged, but do you know what the difference between Three Realms and the Six Dao is?"

    "The Three Realms and the Six Daos?" Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled.

    Destina continued, "The Three Realms and the Six Dao are separate entities. Regardless of which might have been individually stronger, there''s one thing about them that only a few know. This is something that not even Lu Buzheng, Leng Qing, or Cai Er are aware of. That is¡­" The woman grew increasingly solemn. "The Three Realms can never rece the Six Dao."

    "What does that mean?" Lu Yin asked.

    "What are the Six Dao? The dao is a guide, the path that one follows. Someone who is ordained by Dao is one who can be a Dao Monarch. My master never mentioned what Dao Ordainment is, but I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s the Origin Progenitor''s sword.

    "The Six Dao governed the six Mainds. I don''t know what secrets one might learn after bing a Dao Monarch, as my master never shared that with me. But based on what she did say, there are a few things that I¡¯ve been able to deduce. One is that bing a Dao Monarch should have something to do with the Origin Progenitor''s swords. Each Maind held a branch of the Daosource Sect, and each of the Origin Progenitor''s statues in those branches held one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords. Why did only the Six Dao have these swords, while the Three Realms did not? Why did only the Six Dao be rulers of their Mainds? Why did the Origin Progenitor personally be the Dao Monarch of the First Maind? All of that must somehow be connected to the Origin Progenitor''s swords.¡±

    "The six Dao Monarchs were each able to wield one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords, while the Origin Progenitor himself could control all six."

    "So what you''re saying is that whoever can control one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords can be a Dao Monarch?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina looked at Lu Yin. "I know that you can touch an Origin Progenitor''s sword, Dao Chosen, but touching it is not the same as controlling it. My teacher is also able to touch the swords, but she will never be a Dao Monarch. We acknowledged you as the Dao Chosen not only because you wield Progenitor Chen''s power and are able to rule the Fifth Maind, but also because one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords has acknowledged you. However, you have merely been acknowledged. Are you able to use the sword to travel through space and time? Can you sense the whereabouts of the other five Origin Progenitor''s swords? You cannot."

    Lu Yin looked down at his cosmic ring. She was not wrong; he could not truly control the Origin Progenitor''s sword. The sword was capable of taking people through time and space to see the past, but while he had made several attempts to use the sword again, he had never seeded.

    "How do you know that a Dao Monarch can control one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I''m not certain. The Origin Progenitor and the Three Realms Six Daos are all gone now, so everything that I¡¯ve told you is based on my own inferences."

    "If no one can control the Origin Progenitor''s sword, then will the Fifth Maind never have another Dao Monarch?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Destina grew curious, "Is the title of Dao Monarch that important to you?"

    Lu Yin was not sure, but if he could not be a Dao Monarch, then it would feel inappropriate for him to rule over the Fifth Maind. Furthermore, Uncle Lu Buzheng had also said that the title of Dao Monarch was important. Lu Yin wanted to see what would happen after everyone recognized him as a Dao Monarch.

    Destina left with the information that she wanted: Bai Xian''er had a Book of Destiny.

    Lu Yin not only gave her the information, but even allowed her to ask Skymender for help for her confrontation with Bai Xian''er.

    He then sought out the Second Nightking.

    "Dao Chosen." The Second Nightking had be far more respectful towards Lu Yin, and reverence could be seen in the old man¡¯s eyes when he looked at Lu Yin.

    Even without any external power, Lu Yin was now able to easily crush the old man.

    "Spread word for me. The more people that know, the better," Lu Yin said as he stared towards the Technocracy.

    The Second Nightking soon left the main hall of the Heavens Sect.

    Mere moments after he left, the Second Nightking returned with an unpleasant expression. "Dao Chosen, apart from Astral-10, all of the Stargazing Decks that the Astral Combat Academy possesses have been destroyed."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he took a step, instantly vanishing from the Heavens Sect.

    At the same time, in the Innerverse, a section of the Astral River that glowed blue suddenly warped. Arge halo appeared,rge enough to epass stars. More and more appeared, one after another, and they formed what looked to be a corridor that aimed at a huge warship. The warship was none other than Astral-10.

    Outside the halo stood an old woman with a pale face. "A mere Envoy from the Forsaken Land dares to block my inner world?"

    Inside Astral-10, the Rainmaster, Sandmaster, and the other mentors all rushed forward, their hands raised as they tried to force the halo away. Behind everyone else, the Trialmaster raised his hand to form a Channeling Diagram with stellr energy, only to spit out blood and copse. The Rainmaster and others quickly fell as well. None of them were able to even touch the halo.

    All of them had been injured by their internal stellr energy flowing in reverse.

    The old woman sneered and shifted her focus to a dispirited figure who stood atop a massive tree near the Rain Observatory. The woman had just been about to destroy Astral-10¡¯s Stargazing Deck when this madman had appeared, and he had pushed her away with a hand.

    She had been warned before being sent on this mission that she would only have a single opportunity to act. Even a small dy would greatly increase the chance of her being killed by Lu Xiaoxuan. This was why the old woman had immediately used her inner world, as she had hoped to instantly annihte Astral-10.

    When the halo that was her inner world fell, it would be more than enough to shatter the entire warship.

    The crazed headmaster stood atop an enormous tree in Astral-10. He showed no indication of trying to stop the halo from falling.

    The Starmaster''s eyes went wide in horror, and he rushed over to shove the headmaster aside. Many of Astral-10¡¯s students watched on in despair as the halo fell towards them. All of them werepletely powerless to resist.

    Suddenly, the crazy headmaster¡¯s head slowly rose to look upwards, his gaze still hazy. A ck hole appeared above him, and a vortex quickly expanded.

    The old woman''s pupils shrank, and her inner world simply disappeared. "A stellr tribtion?"

    The Trialmaster, the Rainmaster, Old Cai, and all of the rest of the academy¡¯s faculty grew puzzled. Had the headmaster triggered his stellr tribtion? What was going on? Was he not insane? From the moment he had gone mad, he had never faced a single stellr tribtion.

    Could a madman even pass a stellr tribtion?

    The crazy headmaster looked up and started tough as the stellr tribtion manifested. Then, he charged straight into the vortex¡¯s ck hole,pletely stunning everyone watching.

    The old woman''s mouth hung open in shock.

    As a Semi-Progenitor, she was someone who had passed multiple stellr tribtions of her own. She had witnessed numerous tribtions as well. Even so, she had never seen anyone charge into the ck hole at the center of a tribtion¡¯s vortex before. No one knew whaty in those depths, and only a madman would enter it.

    Old Cai, the Rainmaster, and others shouted frantically as they tried to stop the crazy headmaster.

    The madman justughed maniacally. "You were the ones who started the war! It was you! Hahaha!"

    It looked as though he was mocking the stellr tribtion.

    The Starmaster was shocked. "This is his eighth stellr tribtion. He''s finally going to break through, but¡­"

    The eighth stellr tribtion represented the pinnacle of the Envoy realm.

    No one had expected the headmaster to trigger his tribtion while the true universe was in such a state. How could he hope to seed? No one had any idea.

    The old woman turned to look at the Stargazing Deck. There was no need to even think about that madman. He was doomed. What she needed to worry about was how to destroy the Stargazing Deck.

    The crazy headmaster seemed drawn to the depths of his stellr tribtion like a moth to me. Everyone anxiously watched the man. Entering a stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex was somethingpletely unheard of. Even if someone did attempt it, no one had ever lived to tell the tale.

    Suddenly, the ck hole at the center of the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex started to expand and contract unpredictably. It had originally been rotating clockwise, but it suddenly started rotating counterclockwise. The stellr tribtion that should have fully manifested, inexplicably disappeared. Everyone was stunned.

    The old woman stared in a daze. What the hell?

    The abnormality of the stellr tribtion resulted in the surrounding space to be unstable. While the crazy headmaster had been flying upwards, he suddenly started falling back down, only to fly upwards once again. He waspletely unable to control his own movements.

    The Trialmaster was shocked. "The problem with the true universe is affecting the stellr tribtion!"

    Old Cai was stunned. "What the hell is going on?"

    Who would have thought that there the true universe would eventually suffer a problem? If that had been unforeseen, then naturally, no one could have predicted that the vortex of a stellr tribtion would end up behaving so abnormally either. Stellr tribtions were from the true universe, so if the true universe was altered, then stellr tribtions would naturally be affected as well.

 Chapter 2467: Tranquil Like Water

    Chapter 2467: Tranquil Like Water

    Just like that, the headmaster¡¯s eighth stellr tribtionpletely vanished.

    The tribtion had ended, which meant that the crazy headmaster had sessfully passed his eighth stellr tribtion. Normally, a majestic tide of stellr energy would pour down, and the cultivator would absorb it into their body, allowing them to arrive at the peak of the Envoy realm. Their next step would be to break through again to the Semi-Progenitor realm. However, the stellr energy dissipated before fully appearing and then reappeared again shortly after. This abnormal behavior was clearly rted to the oddities of the stellr tribtion itself.

    Regardless, the crazy headmaster just let out a hystericalugh. He showed no intention whatsoever of absorbing the stellr energy.

    Old Cai muttered to himself, "I don''t know if he''s lucky or unlucky. Given the problems with his tribtion, it''s a miracle that he even managed to survive. However, he also didn''t receive any benefits from passing his eighth stellr tribtion."

    "It''s a good thing that he didn''t. If he had absorbed that stellr energy, it would have killed him as soon as it started flowing in reverse," the Rainmastermented.

    "This is bad!" The Trialmaster looked up at the sky. Where had that Semi-Progenitor gone to?

    The old woman was already inside Astral-10. With the stellr tribtion gone, she intended to seize the opportunity and destroy the Stargazing Deck.

    Suddenly, an indescribable chill shot up her spine. She looked up to see another stellr tribtion¡¯s enormous vortex hovering above Astral-10. The vortexpletely filled the entire sky.

    At this moment, the insane headmaster was not the only person within the stellr tribtion¡¯s range, as the entirety of Astral-10 was also included, along with the old woman.

    Her face grew pale. What was going on? Another stellr tribtion?

    Elsewhere beneath the massive vortex, Old Cai and the other mentors were simrly staring upwards in confusion. Where had this stellr tribtione from?

    "It¡¯s the Headmaster! He¡¯s trying to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm!" the Trialmaster said incredulously, his eyes growing wide.

    Everyone¡¯s initial reaction was pure disbelief. The crazy headmaster had just finished his eighth tribtion, so his stellr energy vortex could not have possibly reached the pinnacle of the Envoy realm. Even if he had, it was never easy to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm, as it required a cultivator to transform their stellr energy vortex into an inner world. The difficulty of this requirement was on apletely different level from all earlier breakthroughs. How had the man triggered this tribtion so easily? He was attempting to cross two breakthroughs at once!

    Lu Yin was also surprised, as he was observing the situation from a distance. A stellr tribtion? Who was undergoing it? This tribtion was quiterge. Hang on, were people from the Fifth Maind even capable of facing stellr tribtions at this point in time?

    Right as that thought urred to Lu Yin, the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex changed in size. It started expanding and contracting randomly, almost as though it was messing around.

    From the Heavens Sect era to the current era¡ªfrom the time of the very first stellr tribtions, this was the first time that such a bizarre tribtion had ever appeared.

    The crazy headmaster''s stellr tribtion engulfed everyone. In particr, the old Semi-Progenitor woman¡¯s presence caused the tribtion to grow to a jaw-dropping size. Everyone was being forced to face the tribtion with the headmaster. However, due to the problem with the true universe, the vortex was unable to send down any trials. It simply hung above everything, undergoing several transformations. Everyone craned their necks to look upwards, their hearts palpitating wildly. Only the headmaster continued tough. However, hisughter had changed, and he no longer repeated his same rants.

    As heughed, tears started to fall. Hisughter seemed to contain an entire lifetime of ups and downs.

    Anyone who heard theughter could not help but shed tears themselves as they experienced their entire life shing before their eyes.

    The old Semi-Progenitor was no exception. She could not understand why such overwhelming sadness was filling her heart. At this moment, numerous doubts drifted through her mind; had all the people that she had killed during her life as a cultivator truly deserve to die? Had her previous actions been right or wrong? What was she doing at the moment? Questions assaulted her mind.

    The headmaster looked up into outer space andughed heartily. There was no downpour of vast amounts of stellr energy. Instead, numerous columns of water fell from the sky. It was as though it was raining in outer space.

    The Astral-10 students stared at the falling water columns in stupefaction. The water sshed down in front of the students, spraying them with mist before rising up once again to formkes with unfathomable depths. Eachke seemed like an isted region of space, and eachke held an image.

    Thekes extinguished the fires that had been constantly ravaging Astral-10. For the first time in a long while, Astral-10 was clean.

    One student reached out and touched a column of water. He then witnessed a man¡¯s entire life, from when he had been full of vigor, to the time he went insane. It was the headmaster''s life.

    His life experiences formed the odd columns of water that had fallen from outer space and created countlesskes.

    As the columns of water appeared, the ck vortex of the stellr tribtion silently vanished from up above.

    It had appeared and disappeared with equal suddenness, despite being a stellr tribtion.

    The old Semi-Progenitor woman was shocked to see the endless columns of water. "Is this a phenomenon?¡±

    Off in the distance, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "A phenomenon?"

    The universe was never fair. Absolute fairness simply couldn¡¯t exist. Innate gifts varied between each individual who possessed one. Some people would only ever achieve average results, and they would never cause any phenomena to appear regardless how difficult their tribtion might be or what level their cultivation reached, including even the Progenitor realm. However, for some, even passing a minor tribtion could cause the colors of the sky to change and a phenomenon to appear.

    For example, Lu Yin had triggered phenomena during his breakthroughs to be an Explorer, Enlighter, and even an Envoy. At this moment, the crazy headmaster¡¯s breakthrough had simrly triggered a phenomenon.

    It was hard to determine whether the Headmaster had actually passed or failed his stellr tribtion. The stellr tribtion had indeed appeared, but then it had mysteriously disappeared. The only reasonable answer was that the headmaster had sessfully broken through without facing any trials during his two tribtions. However, this also meant that he had not reaped any benefits from sessfully breaking through. Still, he seemed to have passed, as even a phenomenon had appeared.

    "Tranquil like Water,1" murmured the Starmaster.

    Those who heard him were puzzled.

    The Starmaster continued, "Only those who have achieved enlightenment can attain the state of tranquil like water. Through the Stargazing Deck, the headmaster saw his own past, but he was unable to move past it. That was the cause of his mental disorder thatsted for so many years. However, it also acted as a sort of mental tempering. Just now, the headmaster has reawakened with a true understanding of the universe. He has reached the state of tranquil like water, while also stepping into the Semi-Progenitor realm."

    "How do you know this?" Old Cai asked, a bit confused.

    No answer came. Everyone was staring at the headmaster. He was no longerughing. Rather, he was standing at the center of endless columns of water, drowning in an ocean of memories.

    Inside Astral-10, the old woman suppressed her aura as much as possible and then started moving in a certain direction. She knew that making anymotion at this moment would definitely attract the attention of the Forsaken Land¡¯s powers. She no longer had any intention of destroying the Stargazing Deck, and instead, she simply wanted to leave as soon as possible. The madman gave her the chills, and it was possible that he posed a threat to her. He was the strangest cultivator she had ever seen. Who passed a stellr tribtion without facing a single trial and then even triggered a phenomenon? She had to leave as soon as possible.

    "Guest from afar, why are you leaving in such a hurry?" a gentle voice called out, echoed through the region.

    The old woman froze before turning around. There was a clear pair of eyes staring at her from the depths of outer space. They were like a calm sea thatcked even a single ripple.

    Old Cai and the others all stared at the old woman.

    A fierce light flickered across the old woman''s eyes. "Do you think that you can stop me after you just became a Semi-Progenitor? I suggest that you understand your limits, or else, while you may have passed your stellr tribtion by luck, you still might not live past today."

    Even as she spoke, the Semi-Progenitor prepared to leave.

    The headmaster''s expression never changed, but he raised his left hand and lightly tapped a finger. The movement seemed to travel through space to touch a distant column of water. A single droplet shot out from the column to instantly appear behind the old woman.

    The old woman became furious. "You''re courting death!"

    As she yelled, the halo that was her inner world appeared once more, and this time, it pressed down upon the headmaster and all of Astral-10. She was attempting to destroy the entire warship with her inner world.

    However, while she could ignore the people in Astral-10, she could not disregard the Heavens Sect or Lu Xiaoxuan. Thus, there was no hesitation as the old woman fled from Astral-10.

    She did not even notice that the drop of water had easily passed through her inner world and touched her back.

    Drip.

    The sound of dripping water rang out, clear and pleasant, even to the old woman¡¯s ears. Her eyes slowly lost focus, and her movements slowed. Her body only continued moving forward out due to its previous momentum. No one stopped her as she drifted away.

    "Headmaster," Sandmaster couldn''t help but call out.

    The headmaster looked away, and the old woman''s inner world disappeared as though it had never even existed. "Everyone, you have worked hard for these many years."

    Old Cai and the others were overjoyed. "Headmaster, you''re awake?"

    "Has the headmaster awakened?"

    "Has the headmaster awakened!"

    ¡­

    In Astral-10, both teachers and students rejoiced.

    The Rainmaster and some of the other mentors were still a bit uneasy. The headmaster had asionally regained rity over the years, so who knew how long his rity wouldst this time? Also, what had just happened?

    The headmaster slowly descended.

    All of the mentors instinctively surrounded the man, carefully examining him.

    The headmaster smiled slightly as he looked around. "See to the students first. As for my matters, we''ll talkter."

    The man then looked upwards. "He''s finally here."

    Lu Yin had arrived outside Astral-10 with the old Semi-Progenitor woman dangling from his grip.

    Lu Yin slowly descended and looked at the headmaster. "Headmaster?"

    The manughed. "Young man, have you made up your mind? Are you willing to leave your name on Boundless?"

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Headmaster, have you really recovered?"

    The headmaster just smiled before turning his attention to the old woman. "What was the point of bringing her here? That¡¯s nothing but a husk now."

    Lu Yin let go of the old woman, and she fell to the ground. Her eyes were filled with confusion, much like a babe who had never interacted with the world before. Drool dribbled from her mouth, and she was unable to control her body.

    Seeing the woman¡¯s condition, Old Cai and the other mentors felt a sharp chill, and they all looked at Lu Yin as though he were a monster, but Lu Yin just shrugged. "Don''t look at me. This was all the headmaster''s doing. I just brought her here."

    They all turned to stare at the headmaster, who shrugged as well. "She brought it upon herself. She had the chance to leave, but chose not to take it. So be it."

    Lu Yin remarked, "Headmaster, you just broke through to the Semi-Progenitor realm, and yet you can already easily defeat another Semi-Progenitor. That is truly impressive. This junior congrattes you on your awakening."

    "We also congratte you, Headmaster, on your awakening," Rainmaster and the others echoed with absolute sincerity.

    The headmaster let out a long breath and then bowed low to everyone. "I, Shao Chen, would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your constantpanionship. Also, thank you all for helping Boundless."

    At this moment, the old woman was already aplete invalid, so Lu Yin left her for Astral-10 to handle. He had hurried over to protect Astral-10¡¯s Stargazing Deck, but fortunately, the headmaster had reawakened at a critical juncture. If not for that, Lu Yin would have lost all means of dealing with Bai Xian''er.

    The four ruling powers truly could not be underestimated. They had eventually uncovered exactly how Lu Yin had injured Bai Xian''er.

    However, Lu Yin was no longer concerned about that. Between Arch-Elder Zen and the Astral-10¡¯s headmaster, Lu Yin finally saw hope for the Fifth Maind to rise up once again.

    Every era had its own heroes. The Heavens Sect era had heralded the Three Realms Six Dao, the Daosource Sect era had seen the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and the other eras had to have had powerful individuals of their own, even if they had been simr to Progenitor Ku, who had never been famous despite his indomitable strength. The current era had its own fair share of impressive talents, with the likes of Hen Xin and the other gatemasters of the Heavenly Gates, Astral-10¡¯s headmaster, Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin, and other youths. Given enough time, the Ten Arbiters would reach their full potential as well.

    This was the strength of the Fifth Maind.

    [1] This is a reference to Chapter 8 of Dao De Jing by Lao Zi: ÉÏÉÆÈôË®(the highest form of goodness is like water) is found in the first sentence of the chapter.

 Chapter 2468: Pearl

    Chapter 2468: Pearl

    The Fifth Maindcked the time for their talents to fully grow into their own power, but Arch-Elder Zen''s Progenitor breakthrough had given Lu Yin hope. So what if the four ruling powers did not approve? They had no right to rule the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin picked up his vibrating wireless jincan. "Dao Chosen, this is Astral-1."

    "Has your Stargazing Deck been destroyed?" asked Lu Yin.

    "It was the four ruling powers. They sent an Envoy. Immediately after destroying the Stargazing Deck, he killed himself by self-destruction. He left no evidence behind whatsoever."

    "It doesn¡¯t matter. It''s fine," Lu Yin sent back.

    Truthfully, he was not at all indifferent to the matter, but with the Stargazing Decks already destroyed, there was nothing that he could do about it. He could only continue to protect the Stargazing Deck in Astral-10.

    "A pearl emerged from the ruins of the Stargazing Deck."

    "A pearl? What do you mean by that?" asked Lu Yin, puzzled.

    "It¡¯s just a pearl. It looks perfectly normal, just like the ones that people wear as jewelry. The only special aspect about it is that it survived the destruction of the Stargazing Deck. I¡¯ve contacted several of the other academy branches, and all of them also found a pearl in the ruins of their Stargazing Decks as well."

    "Wait for me," Lu Yin replied. He then told Astral-10¡¯s headmaster that he would be leaving for a bit before making his way for the other academies.

    He understood that the Stargazing Decks could be used to trigger Destiny, but he had also uncovered the reason why they allowed a person to peer into the river of time. Since each destroyed Stargazing Deck had left a pearl behind, these pearls had to somehow be connected to Destiny. However, Lu Yin had never heard of Destiny having any connection to pearls.

    Wait a minute. Lu Yin''s pupils suddenly contracted. The Sect Master of the Starsibyl Sect, Mr. Zhu!

    Lu Yin quickly arrived at Astral-2, which was the closest academy branch to Astral-10. To his horror, he was greeted by a sea of blood that looked like a boiling crimson wave. A group of pale-faced students and teachers surrounded the horrible scene.

    Lu Yin tore through the void and stepped out in front of the crowd. "What happened?"

    He had visited Astral-2 before, so he knew that he was standing where the Stargazing Deck had once been. The destruction of the Stargazing Deck and the death of the academy¡¯s Starmaster were within his expectations, but what was with this sea of blood? How many people had died in this ce?

    One of Astral-2¡¯s mentors stepped forward to greet Lu Yin and then respectfully reported, "Dao Chosen, our headmaster is dead. All of the mentors and students who tried to rescue him died as well. Among them was Han Chong, of the Han family."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he asked, "How did they die?"

    "We don''t know. Everyone within a certain area died, leaving nothing behind but this sea of blood. No part of their bodies remained," the mentor replied.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed and he stepped into the void again, heading towards the otherbat academies. Simr zones of death emerged in all the other academies, except for Astral-10. These zones weren¡¯t always seas of blood, and neither were they always located at the Stargazing Deck''s position. However, they all shared one thing inmon¡ªthey were all where the pearls had been located.

    "The headmaster left this ce with the pearl that appeared from the Stargazing Deck. I saw it with my own eyes, but- but-" The mentor choked up. "When I turned around again, the headmaster was already blown to pieces! There was no one around. Absolutely no one!"

    Lu Yin''s expression darkened. The Astral Combat Academy had a total of ten branches. Astral-3 had been destroyed during the Sixth Maind''s invasion, and their Stargazing Deck had also been lost to the Sixth Maind. The other nine academy branches had not suffered any real damage at that time, but just now, eight headmasters of the remaining nine branches had perished. No one had seen anything. All that remained of their deaths was a sea of blood. There was no other evidence that anyone had stood where the headmasters had been standing before they died.

    Not a single person in any of the affected academies understood how the headmasters had died or who was responsible.

    The four ruling powers? That was impossible. Their only goal was to destroy all the Stargazing Decks, not to start a war. Such an act would be too far even for them. If the four ruling powers were discovered to be the culprits, then war would be inevitable.

    Lu Yin fully believed that the four ruling powers were not that foolish. The Stargazing Decks had already been destroyed, so they had no reason to kill the academies¡¯ headmasters as well. There was nothing to gain from their deaths.

    Aeternus? Impossible.

    Lu Yin stepped away and headed back for Astral-10. He was afraid that something might happen there as well, though he also found himself somewhat hoping that some mysterious attack would ur. If not, there would be no denying the horrifying spection that had just appeared in his mind.

    Upon returning to Astral-10, Lu Yin found that the Headmaster hadpletely transformed. Gone were the perpetually filthy clothes. The man now looked refined, and he possessed a gentle demeanor and a ruddyplexion. However, beneath the appearance of softnessy an unmistakable killing intent in the man¡¯s eyes.

    "Who did it?" he asked.

    "You already know what happened?"

    "All the other headmasters of the Astral Combat Academy have perished. How could this still remain a secret? Have you learned who did it?" the Rainmaster asked.

    Old Cai and the others all solemnly listened as well.

    Lu Yin did not answer, but instead asked his own question. "Is everything alright here?"

    "With the headmaster here, what could possibly happen?" the Sandmaster asked.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. Were his suspicions actually correct? Could it be that the headmasters had not been killed by a person, or even Aeternus, but rather by¡­ Destiny?

    The onlymon factor in all of the deaths was that all of the headmasters hade in contact with the pearl left behind by the destruction of the Stargazing Decks.

    Pearls, Mr. Zhu, Starsibyl Sect, Destiny¡­ What was the connection between all of them?

    Lu Yin went back to the Stargazing Deck and asked for Destina and Skymender to join him.

    "Pearls?" Destina eximed in surprise.

    Lu Yin stared at her. "Do you know something about them?"

    "My master did indeed have a string of pearls, but they were nothing more than a bit of jewelry. They weren¡¯t anything that could be considered a treasure or a power vessel. What kind of pearls appeared?" Destina asked.

    "A few solitary pearls," Lu Yin replied.

    Destina almost said that the description was useless, but she held herself back and instead asked, "I meant to ask, what do they look like?"

    Lu Yin frowned, as he did not actually know what the pearls looked like. He had started moving as soon as he had received the call from Astral-1''s headmaster, and then everything had practically happened in an instant. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s speed, he had not been able to arrive in time. "Tell me what you know about the pearls."

    Destina thought back. "My master wore a bracelet of pearls on her wrist for many years. I saw it while I was with her. Before I was sealed away, there were only eleven pearls of the original thirteen, since my master had given away two of them.

    "One was given to a child, while the other was given as a gift to the Lu family after Lu Tianyi was selected as a Dao Chosen."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "A pearl was given to my family? To whom? Progenitor Tianyi?"

    Destina shook her head. "I don''t know whom it was given to. My master only told me to deliver it to the Lu family. I personally ced it in the hands of a member of the Lu family¡¯s direct line. From there, it either found its way to the Lu family''s senior Progenitor or Lu Tianyi. That''s all that I know about those pearls. There was honestly nothing special about them."

    Suddenly, Skymender asked, "What about the child?"

    "I don''t know why my master favored that child. I asked, but my master didn''t say."

    Skymender grew more curious and asked, "What kind of child was it?"

    Destina nced at Skymender, and the white clouds surrounding her shifted to block his view, which was rather disconcerting to Skymender. "I never saw the child myself. My master never said much about them, just that she had given one of her pearls to a child."

    Lu Yin had a headache. He was not afraid fear of directly confronting the four ruling or dealing with their various tricks, but he was afraid of getting involved with Destiny. She was just too mysterious. Lu Yin felt this even more strongly after witnessing the prediction of the future that had shocked him so deeply. At this moment, some items connected to Destiny had caused numerous deaths. This situation needed to be taken very seriously, and a thorough investigation was required.

    However, this investigation would absolutely cause him to be tangled up with Destiny.

    Even more disturbingly, Destiny had gifted a pearl to the Lu family. Lu Yin did not know what the Lu family¡¯s attitude towards Destiny had been at the time, but if he were to receive the gift now, he would definitely throw it far away.

    Given that this matter was rted to Destiny, Lu Yin could not seek help from Xiao Shi, as Lu Yin feared that doing so would cause Destiny to drag Xiao Shi into the situation as well.

    "Skymender, investigate these pearls." Lu Yin tossed the Book of Destiny over to Skymender.

    Skymender caught the book and immediately started flipping through it.

    Destina stared intensely at the book, but she was unable to see even a single word. Only after a long period of cultivating Heaven''s Enigma with the book would a person be able to even see the text.

    News of the headmaster''s breakthrough quickly reached the Perennial World, as well as Lu Yin¡¯s appearance at the Astral Combat Academies and the deaths of all the other headmasters.

    The attack targeting the Stargazing Decks had not been nned overnight. Many backups had been ced and hidden in order to prevent the possibility of failure. They had known that, if they failed at their first attempt, their future attempts would be far, far more difficult.

    The final results were a mix of sess and failure. Almost all of the Stargazing Decks had been destroyed, with the sole exception of the one in Astral-10. As long as the headmaster was present, then even the hidden backups that they had put in ce would find it impossible to destroy the Stargazing Deck. Not even the Semi-Progenitor that they had sent had been able to seed, and the four ruling powerscked the manpower to send two Semi-Progenitors.

    Aside from Astral-10, only Envoys had been sent to destroy the Stargazing Decks in the other academies. This was because Astral-10 had once managed to stop Xia Meng from forcefully barging in, and the four ruling powers had learned of this during their investigations. For this reason, they had sent a Semi-Progenitor, but even that had not been enough.

    At this moment, Bai Wangyuan and the other two were not only concerned about the remaining Stargazing Deck, but also the surviving headmaster.

    "Is this really true? Could they be mistaken? How could anyone have passed two consecutive stellr tribtions given the state that their true universe is in? It''s simply impossible," Progenitor Long responded with shock.

    Wang Fan added, "Exactly. After passing the eighth stellr tribtion, there is a long and arduous road before one can trigger the tribtion to be a Semi-Progenitor. How could someone who¡¯s unable to even absorb stellr energy after his eighth stellr tribtion even trigger a Semi-Progenitor tribtion, let alone seed?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes shed as he spoke. "The appearance of a phenomenon is already an unusual event. In our era, who was able to trigger a phenomenon?"

    "Xia Shang and Ku Jie," Progenitor Smoke¡¯s voice rang out as she answered.

    The three men turned to see Progenitor Smoke approaching. "I knew that there would be nothing good from you three gathering together."

    "You know what happened too?" Wang Fan was surprised.

    Progenitor Smoke sneered, "Do you really think that only you three have the ability to get information regarding the Fifth Maind?"

    "Then I''m guessing that you also know about the madman''s breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm," Bai Wangyuan said.

    Progenitor Smoke instantly grew solemn. "To cross from the realm of existence to the realm of non-existence, and then to use non-existence to break through existence. This person is someone who has achieved true enlightenment. The Fifth Maind is blessed to have him.¡±

    "To my knowledge, during our era, the only people whose breakthroughs caused phenomena were Xia Shang and Ku Jie. Lu Xiaoxuan should have done so as well. He certainly isn¡¯t an ordinary cultivator."

    Wang Fan replied, "Unfortunately, this man hasn''t opened his three meridian points, so he will never be a Progenitor."

    Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "Who can decide that? As long as he gets some tribtion crystals, there¡¯s still a chance that he''ll seed. In fact, you three should provide them, as having another Progenitor will benefit us. That fool, Xia Shenji, is gone, and you three killed Liu Yue. We simply don''t have enough manpower."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan also drove Nutjob Lu away, so why didn¡¯t you mention that?"

    "Nutjob Lu is most likely a Redback, and even if he isn''t, given his personality, who knows if he might randomly attack his own allies? He''s already shown that he¡¯s willing to interfere in another person¡¯s stellr tribtion, and if he had seeded, he would have dragged the entire Higher Realm down with him. Can you really trust someone like that?"

    "That''s still no reason for Lu Xiaoxuan to have driven him away."

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. I¡¯m not going to bother quibbling with you anymore. I''m going to go visit this amazing person," Progenitor Smoke retorted as she started making her way towards the Fifth Maind.

 Chapter 2469: Alive Or Dead

    Chapter 2469: Alive Or Dead

    Progenitor Long said, "If that man can open his three meridian points, then he will definitely be worth our attention. But for now, we don''t need to worry about him too much. Still, he is absolutely exceptional among Semi-Progenitors."

    Bai Wangyuan watched as Progenitor Smoke left. Just one Stargazing Deck remained. It was such a pity.

    Back in the Fifth Maind, Skymender spent a good half day flipping through the Book of Destiny. Finally, he shook his head. "There is no mention concerning the whereabouts of the pearls. While there are many mentions and records of various pearls that are power vessels, none of them are connected to the Stargazing Decks."

    "See what you can find about the Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Mr. Zhu," Lu Yin requested.

    Destina found this question odd. "Mr. Zhu? He''s already dead."

    Lu Yinpletely ignored thement. If what Destina said was true, then it would appear while Skymender was investigating the man.

    Skymender did not hesitate. In the past, he had been wary of Lu Yin, but he had not feared the young man much as he had believed himself to be of use to Lu Yin. However, after witnessing the scene that had appeared after merging two Books of Destiny, Skymender had started to feel genuine fear towards Lu Yin. This person would betray his own kind species, so was there anything that he would not do?

    Luckily, Skymender was an Astral Beast and not a human, or else he would have already been killed.

    "Huh? He''s still alive," eximed Skymender.

    Destina was astonished. "That''s impossible. He was already dead when I first found the Starsibyl Sect."

    Lu Yin''s expression darkened as he demanded, "Where is he?"

    Skymender shook his head. "It doesn''t say. I''ve fought Mr. Zhu many times in the past, as we often confronted each other over the course of the continuous war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain. However, because I held a Book of Destiny, I never took Mr. Zhu very seriously. Even so, I didn''t underestimate him either. I''ve investigated him before, and he was clearly dead, so why is he alive again now?"

    "Do you think that the pearls are rted to Mr. Zhu?" Destina asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin gave a snort. "If even a ck hole can possess intelligence and be capable of fighting, then there is nothing impossible in this universe. Skymender, keep looking. Find out where he is."

    "I''ll fight him right now." Skymender stretched out a hand, and the Book of Destiny floated into the air. He started using Inverse Enigma with the intention of attacking Mr. Zhu with Destiny¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin was no stranger to this sight. He had already seen Destina use the power of Destiny to attack Skymender. Still, the power of Destiny was as mystical as ever.

    Skymender was about tounch his attack when the Book of Destiny suddenly fell. He frowned. "He¡¯s dead again."

    "What does that even mean?" Destina eximed in surprise.

    Skymender replied, "It means that Mr. Zhu died again."

    Lu Yin stared at Destina, "Is there anything else about Destiny''s pearls that you''re hiding from me?"

    Destina swore, "Absolutely not! I always thought that they were just something Master liked."

    "Useless." Lu Yin was growing irritated. For someone who was supposed to be Destiny''s heir and disciple, Destina hardly knew anything about Destiny. He grabbed Skymender and tore through the void.

    Destina''s face flushed red. During the Heavens Sect era, no one had ever spoken to her in such a manner. She had even dared to be enemies with Lu Buzheng. Given the fact that she was Destiny¡¯s disciple and heir, Destina had enjoyed a level of status no lower than that of an average Progenitor. She had always been an extremely proud woman, but Lu Yin was scolding her like a child.

    "Hmph!" She gritted her teeth and headed for the Starsibyl Sect.

    What was going on with Mr. Zhu? The only way she could find out anything about him was through the Starsibyl Sect. Destina had thought that, given her identity and strength, no one would dare to try to deceive her. That was why she had never investigated Mr. Zhu''s death or performed a divination regarding the man. However, it had be extremely obvious that something about the man and his death was very fishy. The Starsibyl Sect better not have lied to her, or else¡­

    Lu Yin took Skymender with him, and they headed straight for the Neoverse to look for Xiao Shi. At this point, Lu Yin had no desire to continue hiding anything.

    The recent frequency of Destiny''s power¡¯s appearances was making Lu Yin very uneasy. He was far warier of Destiny than he was of even the four ruling powers.

    Besides, Skymender already believed that Lu Yin would eventually betray humanity at some point in the future and join Aeternus. With that exposed, what could possibly be worth keeping hidden from Skymender? Naturally, a Death Seal had to be nted within Skymender''s body so that Lu Yin would have full control over his life and death.

    Beneath a giant mushroom head, Xiao Shi¡¯s eyes were full of confusion. He stared at Lu Yin and Skymender, who had just appeared. "Brother Lu?"

    Lu Yin looked at Xiao Shi and then at the massive book in the man¡¯s hands. "Let me borrow your book for a while."

    Xiao Shi immediately handed the book over.

    The moment Skymender arrived, his eyes were immediately drawn to the book. This book was perfectly identical to his own Book of Destiny. "Dao Chosen, what is this?"

    "It''s a Book of Destiny," Lu Yin replied as he took the book and handed it to Skymender. "Let''s see if we can learn anything more by merging the two books together."

    Skymender nervously swallowed as he looked at Lu Yin in fear. Finally, Skymender understood exactly why Lu Yin had been able to confirm so many things over the years; he had long since controlled a Book of Destiny. Still, something seemed off.

    Skymender stared at Xiao Shi. This person did not seem like someone who cultivated Destiny''s power. He asked, "Do you know Heaven''s Enigma?"

    "What is that?" Xiao Shi was perplexed.

    Skymender was about to say something more, but Lu Yin interrupted, "He doesn¡¯t know anything. Just check for me."

    Skymender did not waste another moment as he quickly repeated what he had observed from Bai Xian''er. The two Books of Destiny were held in the air, and they slowly started to merge as Skymender used Inverse Enigma. However, unlike the time when Bai Xian¡¯er merged two books, nothing happened this time. No phenomena appeared in the area around the three people.

    Skymender helplessly replied, "Bai Xian''er was right. If we want to merge two Books of Destiny, then we need to use both the true Inverse Enigma and the true Heaven¡¯s Enigma. In this era, she''s the only one who knows Heaven¡¯s Enigma."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Since it¡¯s possible to merge these two books, then it¡¯s possible that something has already changed. Just check the book."

    Skymender nodded and opened the merged Book of Destiny. However, he only saw nk pages.

    He was shocked by the sight. "I can''t see any text."

    This startled Lu Yin as well. "You can''t see anything?"

    Skymender shook his head.

    "Aren''t the words right there?" Xiao Shi cautiously asked.

    Skymender spun to face Xiao Shi and demanded, "You can see the text?"

    Xiao Shi nodded as he hid behind Lu Yin. He was rather scared of Skymender.

    Skymender stared at the young man in amazement. How could such a person see the text? Skymender himself could not see anything. Just who was this young man?

    "Leave us," Lu Yin ordered Skymender.

    Skymender briefly hesitated before slowly walking out of the library.

    Lu Yin grew serious as he looked at Xiao Shi. "Can you really see the text?"

    Xiao Shi nodded. "Brother Lu, I''ve always been able to see them."

    Lu Yin had investigated Xiao Shi before. Both Skymender and Destina imed that it was impossible for anyone to see the text within a Book of Destiny without cultivating either Heaven''s Enigma or Inverse Enigma. The only exception to that was Destiny herself. Lu Yin had started investigating Xiao Shi when he first learned of that limitation, but everything about Xiao Shi was quite normal.

    Xiao Shi''s birth and everything about his ancestors was quite clear. He had never had any connection to the Starsibyl Sect, and he had never exhibited any special abilities. There was no connection between Xiao Shi and Destiny no matter how thoroughly Lu Yin looked. However, both Skymender and Destina were certain that Xiao Shi was doing something that only Destiny was capable of.

    Lu Yin simply could not understand what was going on with Xiao Shi.

    Since the people from the Heavens Sect era had been released from the sourcebox, Lu Yin felt that there were more and more mysteries out there waiting to be unraveled.

    However, this was not the time to be thinking about such mysteries. "Help me look into Destiny''s pearls."

    Xiao Shi nodded and immediately started flipping through the merged Book of Destiny.

    Lu Yin had never allowed Xiao Shi to investigate anything rted to Destiny out of fear of drawing Destiny''s attention or triggering Destiny. However, he no longer had any other choice.

    "Nothing," Xiao Shi reported. It was the same result as what Skymender had found.

    "The Starsibyl Sect¡¯s Mr. Zhu."

    "Dead."

    Lu Yin frowned. Again, the result was the same.

    He then asked Xiao Shi to look up several other things that might be connected to Destiny, but the results were always either missing, or could be easily found by just about anyone. Destiny was like ayer of fog that shrouded the truth, and while the Books of Destiny might be the keys to unlock that truth, things were neither simple nor straightforward.

    "Heaven''s Enigma," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Shi flipped through the Book of Destiny. "Oh, here it is."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Write it down."

    Xiao Shi hesitated. He stared at the page for a long time before finally saying, "Brother Lu, I can understand these words, but as soon as I look away from the page, I forget them entirely."

    Lu Yin felt quite disappointed. As expected, Destiny''s methods were not easy to cultivate. "Oh right, you should cultivate that."

    "Cultivate what?"

    "That Heaven''s Enigma that you just saw," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Shi gasped. "My talent for cultivation is terrible."

    "It doesn''t matter. If you use this, you''ll be able to cultivate twice as fast with half the effort."

    Regardless of Xiao Shi''s rtionship with Destiny, things eventually had to change. There were certain things that simply could not be stopped. If Xiao Shi truly was Destiny, then cultivating the true Heaven''s Enigma would be a walk in the park for him. After that, he might not even need to use a Book of Destiny. Given the situation, it was better to have Xiao Shi cultivate under Lu Yin''s supervision.

    Xiao Shi still hesitated. He did not want to spend time cultivating. All he wanted to do was quietly read in the library.

    Lu Yin patted Xiao Shi''s shoulder. "I promise that if you seed in mastering this cultivation art, Brother Lu will help you promote the mushroom head hairstyle throughout the universe."

    This offer left Xiao Shi overjoyed. "Really?"

    Lu Yin nodded vigorously. "Really."

    "I''ll work hard in cultivating! I won''t let you down, Brother Lu!" Xiao Shi excitedly eximed.

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief, but after seeing Xiao Shi''s excitement, Lu Yin had no idea if this was the right choice or not.

    It was said that a man could conquer his fate, and Lu Yin was confident that he would eventually find a way to defeat the elusive Destiny. Taking this step meant that Lu Yin was stepping onto the path to victory.

    He could only hope that Xiao Shi was not Destiny herself. No, even if Xiao Shi was Destiny, he simply had to remain true to his current self.

    "Can you find out anything regarding Inverse Enigma?" Lu Yin asked again.

    "Yes."

    "Then practice both."

    Xiao Shi pursed his lips, still extremely reluctant. "Okay."

    "Look up Time Poison."

    "Didn''t we check this before?" Xiao Shi asked curiously.

    "Check it again." The answer avable from the merged Book of Destiny might not be the same as what they had seen before.

    Xiao Shi browsed the merged book, and his eyes soon lit up. "Someone lifted a sword and thrust it into the ground."

    Lu Yin reflexively looked at the merged Book of Destiny, only to see nk pages. "Who was it?"

    Xiao Shi had no idea how to describe the person.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and used star energy to form an image. Xiao Shi grew excited when he saw it. "Yes, that''s him! He lifted the sword and stabbed it into the ground."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Sure enough, it had been the Origin Progenitor who had stabbed his own sword into the ground. This was the only way to remove Time Poison. The Origin Progenitor''s sword could indeed eliminate Time Poison, which exined why each of the six Mainds had one of the Origin Progenitor''s swords. Time Poison must have first appeared during the Heavens Sect era.

    If Time Poison had been discovered so long ago, then why had the Origin Progenitor not made any moves against Aeternus?

    Given the Heavens Sect¡¯s strength at its peak, dealing with Aeternus should not have been an issue. A good number of the Seven Skygods had risen to power during the Heavens Sect era.

    Something had to have happened during that era that caused the Mainds to break apart, the Heavens Sect to be destroyed, and for Aeternus to grow much stronger than it had originally been.

    The Book of Destiny seemed to hold the answers to the questions of the universe, just waiting for someone to read it.

 Chapter 2470: Burned

    Chapter 2470: Burned

    Xiao Shi always enjoyed being asked questions, as it gave him a purpose when browsing through the Book of Destiny. Lu Yin had asked numerous questions as he had sought various answers. "Help me search for information regarding the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Xiao Shi grunted in acknowledgement as he started to search. "There¡¯s nothing."

    This exined things a bit to Lu Yin. Destiny belonged to their own universe, and all the books that she had left behind contained no information regarding parallel universes.

    Lu Yin asked, "Search for Dao Monarchs."

    Flipping through the book, Xiao Shi responded, "Several peoplee up. Six in total."

    "Does it only show their images?"

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Search for secrets known only to Dao Monarchs."

    Xiao Shi again flipped through the book, but after some time, he reported, "Nothing."

    Was there truly nothing? Was that because Destiny had not recorded the information, or was it because she herself did not know the answers?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something else. "Search for the Immemorial Citadel."

    Xiao Shi flipped through the pages of the book, but unexpectedly, the pages started quickly turning by themselves, and then mes rose up and burned Xiao Shi.

    He screamed and moved away from the book. Lu Yin tried to extinguish the mes with his stellr energy, but his efforts were fruitless. The mes seemed to exist in a different dimension, and while they burned the Book of Destiny, they had absolutely no impact on Lu Yin¡¯s level of reality. Even Xiao Shi''s hands were unharmed by the mes.

    "Skymender!" Lu Yin sternly called out.

    Upon rushing in, Skymender was startled to see the merged Book of Destiny covered in mes. He quickly started using Inverse Enigma.

    At the same time, in the Perennial World, Bai Xian''er¡¯s eyes snapped open. Her own Book of Destiny was in her arms and had started burning. She quickly grew pale. "What''s going on?"

    She raced to try to extinguish the mes.

    Both Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma were used to attack the mes in the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, respectively. The mes possessed an indescribable power that exceeded what Lu Yin could touch. They seemed like a cmity that specifically targeted the Books of Destiny.

    Elsewhere in the Fifth Maind, nine ck pearls hung in the air in front of a figure. If Lu Yin were present, he would instantly recognize the man as Mr. Zhu, who was supposedly dead. Eight of the pearls in front of him had appeared from the ruins of the destroyed Stargazing Decks. Mr. Zhu had collected all of the pearls, except for the one from Astral-3, which had been taken by the Sixth Maind. Also missing was the pearl from Astral-10, as that Stargazing Deck remained intact.

    The moment the Books of Destiny started to burn, a look of irritation flickered across Mr. Zhu''s eyes. "Who dares probe into areas that even Destiny herself dared not to touch?"

    Eight pearls circled around the man, and he started to use Destiny''s power to attack.

    In three different locations, three different individuals utilized Destiny''s power for the same purpose.

    Only Destiny''s power was able to affect objects rted to her, and since the mes were on the Books of Destiny, only Destiny''s power could extinguish them.

    Lu Yin watched as the merged Books of Destiny continued to burn. He was not even able to touch the mes, but they somehow felt strangely familiar.

    Right! He suddenly remembered the torches that he had encountered when attempting to im the inheritance from one of the Mountains and Seas. The mes from those torches had emitted a terrifying temperature that could have instantly reduced Lu Yin to ashes. Were the mes burning the Books of Destiny simr to what he had observed from those torches?

    Lu Yin stared at the mes burning the merged Books of Destiny and then reached out with a hand once again. He refused to believe that he could not touch the mes.

    "Brother Lu, don''t touch it!" Xiao Shi fearfully warned.

    Instinctively, Lu Yin''s finger pulled back a bit. Honestly, he was a bit fearful that this me would burn him to ash.

    Suddenly, the mes noticeably weakened. Lu Yin looked over at Skymender.

    His forehead was covered in sweat. "Several of Destiny''s powers are acting on these mes right now, and they¡¯ll soon be extinguished."

    A thought struck Lu Yin. If Skymender and the others were able to extinguish the mes by using Destiny''s power, then it meant that the mes might not be as terrifying as they seemed. They were simply on a level that was too high for him to touch. If he could touch the mes, then wouldn¡¯t it mean that he could wield powers at that level of understanding?

    The more Lu Yin thought about the possibilities, the more intrigued he became. Setting aside why the mes had even appeared and the possibility that someone did not want the words "Immemorial Citadel" to be investigated, Lu Yin truly wanted to obtain these mes.

    He started trying various things, first reciting the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra. The Origin Sutra was Lu Yin¡¯s go-to solution for anything that he could not easily resolve.

    However, it did not work. He was still unable to touch the mes.

    He then released the power from within his chest. Fatesand was part of that unique power, and fatesand was another item that hade from Destiny. Hopefully, having the same origin would allow Lu Yin to touch the mes.

    Unfortunately, he failed again. However, from a different perspective, if his fatesand could enable him to touch the mes, then it would also allow the mes to potentially burn the fatesand, which would have harmed Lu Yin.

    Death energy simrly proved useless. Visualization did nothing. It was as though the small bit of me did not even exist. It was burning the book, but he could not touch it.

    It was an infuriating feeling, as though an invisible hand was controlling things and Lu Yin could not resist the hidden maniption. It was incredibly frustrating.

    He watched as the mes grew weaker and weaker. Finally, there was only a flicker left.

    Lu Yin extended his hand, and his die spun. Pilfer. Useless. Again. Enhance. Useless. Again.

    Just as the me was about to disappear entirely, the die stopped on five pips. Again, Lu Yin reached for the merged Books of Destiny.

    He had run out of options, as he had already tried everything he could think of. His innate gift was the only thing that he had left.

    His palm touched the Book of Destiny, and the me disappearedpletely.

    A short distance away, Xiao Shi let out a sigh of relief. Those mes had terrified him.

    Skymender panted for breath. This disaster had left his back covered with sweat. Even though he had not been burned, just looking at the mes had left him feeling a fear that had welled up from the bottom of his heart. It had felt like a higher level power had been observing him. He had felt like an ant.

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back and looked down at his die. On the face with five pips, a me pattern had just appeared. He pumped his fist in joy¡ªhe had obtained the me! While he had no idea just how powerful the bit of mes were, or where they hade from, the fact that he had been able to copy it with his die''s five pips meant that the mes were someone¡¯s innate gift, but whose?

    That person had to be beyond terrifying if they were able to burn the Books of Destiny.

    There was a loud bang as the merged Books of Destiny split apart into two books that fell apart. Almost half of each book had been burnt away.

    Xiao Shi wailed, "How could this happen? It''s over! These books belong to the library, and we''ll be scolded for this!"

    Skymender nced sideways at Xiao Shi. Was that really the biggest problem in front of them? These were two Books of Destiny! On top of that, this young man was able to read the merged Book of Destiny. Could this man actually be Destiny?

    Skymender suddenly remembered Lu Yin''s question long ago about someone being able to read the text from a Book of Destiny without cultivating Heaven''s Enigma or Inverse Enigma. Clearly, this young man was the reason for that question.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, and the Books of Destiny floated up from the floor. Skymender and Xiao Shi each received one. Lu Yin ordered, "Check if you can still read them."

    Xiao Shi hurriedly flipped through the pages, while Skymender took a deep breath before checking his own book.

    After a while, the two nced at each other, and then they both replied. "There''s no text."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. Had the mes truly destroyed the two books?

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled. He nced down and saw that Bai Xian''er was contacting him. She had clearly been one of the people working to fight against the mysterious mes that had appeared. How had her Book of Destiny turned out?

    Lu Yin did not want to answer the message, but curiosity quickly got the better of him. "What do you want?"

    "What did you try to look up?" Bai Xian''er asked.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "That¡¯s none of your business."

    Bai Xian''er frowned. "Brother Lu, the universe is vast, and even after you be a Progenitor, you still might not understand everything. There are certain concepts that can only be grasped by Progenitors, and trying to touch those things too early will only bring disaster upon you."

    "What happened to your Book of Destiny?" Lu Yin asked.

    "It''s burned."

    Lu Yin nced over at Xiao Shi and Skymender. Xiao Shi looked upset, while Skymender, though expressionless, probably held a strong grudge against Lu Yin. However, there was nothing that Lu Yin could do about it. Who could have thought that his question regarding the Immemorial Citadel would cause the Books of Destiny to be destroyed? Lu Yin had also hoped to learn a great deal more from the books.

    "Can it be fixed?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Not unless Destiny herself appears. The Books of Destiny are her power vessels, and only she is able to fix them," Bai Xian''er replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes brightened. Right, they were power vessels, and since they were power vessels¡­ He looked at his cosmic ring. Since he was even able to repair even the Origin Progenitor''s sword, then why not the Books of Destiny?

    Even though the Books of Destiny were truly mystical objects, the Origin Progenitor''s sword certainly was not inferior to them.

    It had cost Lu Yin ten trillion star essence to repair the Origin Progenitor''s sword. With another ten trillion, he should also be able to repair the Books of Destiny.

    This thought left Lu Yin feeling much better.

    "If it can''t be repaired, then so be it. It''s not always good to know everything in advance," Lu Yin answered in a casual manner, though Bai Xian''er found the words particrly grating.

    "Even with a Book of Destiny, it''s impossible to learn about things that can burn one of Destiny''s items. Brother Xiaoxuan, you have two Books of Destiny, don''t you?"

    Lu Yin denied the allegation. "You''re overthinking things."

    "A single book cannot cause what just happened," Bai Xian''er insisted.

    "I already told you, you''re overthinking things. Even if I did have two books, it doesn''t matter now, as the books are already burned."

    Bai Xian''er felt helpless, as Lu Yin was absolutely right; the books had all been burned.

    Throughout her life, Bai Xian¡¯er had always believed that she could control everything, including even Lu Xiaoxuan and the Lu family, her own family¡¯s Progenitor, Bai Wangyuan, and the entire Perennial World. She had always been confident in her ability to control everything around her, and not even Lu Yin''s regained cultivation had been enough to unsettle her. However, at this moment, for the very first time in her life, Bai Xian¡¯er felt that things were slipping out of her control.

    Only Destiny¡¯s power could touch or influence the mes that had appeared and burned the Books of Destiny. It was certain that Lu Yin held two Books of Destiny, which was outside of Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s expectations. What was even harder to ept was that her own Book of Destiny had been burned, which had severed her vision.

    This was no different from going blind for a normal person, and Bai Xian''er felt helpless and vulnerable.

    Lu Yin had no idea how badly he might have wounded Bai Xian''er in the past, but with all of the Books of Destiny being burned, he was confident that she had suffered greatly this time. That actually made the destruction of the Books of Destiny in Lu Yin¡¯s possession worthwhile.

    Lu Yin ended the conversation, pleased with how things had ultimately turned out. Even if the Books of Destiny could not be repaired, it was satisfying to know that he had exacted some bit of revenge.

    "I''m done for! I''m going to be scolded so badly!" Xiao Shimented.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and said, "Enough, you won''t be scolded. I''ll send word to Senior Brother Qing Ping."

    Xiao Shi nodded and answered through his tears, "The instructions for the cultivation art of Heaven''s Enigma are gone now. Without those, the Mushroom Head Promotion is also dead."

    The young man stared at Lu Yin in a pitiful manner.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. It was hard to be stared in such a manner at by a man. Lu Yin quickly relented. "I¡¯ll help you promote it, alright?"

    Xiao Shi was thrilled. "Really? Thank you, Brother Lu!"

    Skymender''s eye twitched uncontrobly. Is that all?! The Books of Destiny, the mighty Books of Destiny, have been burned, but this is what you¡¯re focused on?

    Lu Yin looked over at Skymender and said, "From now on, I want you to stay here and teach Xiao Shi how to cultivate Inverse Enigma."

    Skymender was startled. "You want me to stay here?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ll inform the Hall of Honor that you¡¯ll be staying here to teach him. You can leave when he¡¯s learned Inverse Enigma."

    With that, Lu Yin stepped away and left the library, making his way towards Senior Brother Qing Ping¡¯s location.

 Chapter 2471: Dao Monarch

    Chapter 2471: Dao Monarch

    Since Lu Yin had asked Arch-Elder Zen to leave his semi-retirement to stand guard over Shenwu Continent, Qing Ping had taken charge of the Hall of Honor¡¯s affairs.

    Lu Yin had not seen Qing Ping ever since his senior brother had returned to the Fifth Maind after bing a Semi-Progenitor. Lu Yin wondered how he had been doing.

    "Senior Brother, who¡¯s currently in charge of the Interster Supreme Court?" Lu Yin and Qing Ping sat on the trunk of a tree, facing each other.

    Qing Ping had changed. He felt less mysterious and more carefree now. His temperament had changed and be more simr to Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s. It was a change brought about by Qing Ping¡¯s elevated status.

    The former Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court was clearly not suited to run the Hall of Honor.

    "Mu En," Qing Ping replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Judicial Commissioner Mu En is quite suitable for that role."

    Qing Ping looked at Lu Yin. "If the true universe persists with its current state, technology will eventually rece cultivation as the path to strength. The changes can already be seen."

    "I know, but don''t worry. It will be taken care of soon," Lu Yin replied.

    This answer startled Qing Ping. "You can fix it?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''m 70% confident in sess."

    Qing Ping nodded and dropped the subject.

    "Senior Brother, the next Heavens Assembly is a month from now. Make sure that you¡¯re on time," Lu Yinmented before leaving.

    Not only was Qing Ping given this news, but it was also spread to the Fifth Maind¡¯s various Semi-Progenitors, as well as to the Perennial World.

    However, there was an additional bit of news that quickly reached the Perennial World, and it quickly caught the attention of Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors in particr.

    "Dao Monarch?" Progenitor Long eximed in surprise.

    "Yes, that¡¯s the word from the Fifth Maind. Lu Xiaoxuan intends to refer to himself as Dao Monarch and no longer represent the Heavens Sect," Wang Fan stated.

    "An Envoy calling himself Dao Monarch! How ridiculous." Progenitor Long sneered.

    Bai Wangyuan was not particrly concerned, and he said, "Leave him be. Even if he calls himself the Origin Progenitor, it won¡¯t matter. He rules the Forsaken Land, which means that he can ignore all of our objections. However, the day he takes the title of Dao Monarch for himself, he will also have to pay the corresponding price. We may not have been epted by the Sixverse Association, but they also have not been ignoring us. The title of Dao Monarch holds a special meaning to the Sixverse Association, and if Lu Xiaoxuan wants to carry that burden, then he is wee to it."

    For Bai Wangyuan and the others, the crisis in the Fifth Maind regarding stellr energy remained unresolved, which meant that their entire cultivation system had copsed. Lu Yin''s self-given title had no impact on the four ruling powers or the Perennial World.

    This was the situation as a month passed by. After that, the Heavens Assembly started.

    This particr Heavens Assembly was a far smaller affair than the Heaven Sect¡¯s previous assembly, which was when the Dao Chosen had been selected. Everyone, including Semi-Progenitors, was currently in a weakened state, and thus they could only rely on their physical strength to travel through outer space to reach the Heavens Sect. The vast majority of cultivators were in low spirits and were absolutely not in the mood to appreciate the magnificence of the Heavens Sect.

    People could not understand why Lu Yin had called for a Heavens Assembly at such a time.

    The rumors that imed that Lu Yin wanted to call himself Dao Monarch had spread to not only the Perennial World, but also throughout the Fifth Maind, and these rumors left many people puzzled.

    What was the reason for holding a Heavens Assembly and iming the title of Dao Monarch when the crisis concerning the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy remained unresolved? Was this all simply for Lu Yin¡¯s own reputation?

    Many people approached Lu Yin about the matter, but his only response was that the Heavens Assembly would proceed as nned. Not once did he confirm any of the rumors.

    Step by step, he ascended the astral stairs. Cultivators stood on both sides and watched him, though confusion and befuddlement filled their eyes.

    Lu Yin looked up at the statue of the Origin Progenitor. He hoped that the answer provided by the Book of Destiny would truly save the Fifth Maind. After all, if it did not work, he had no other ideas on how to try to proceed. The only other option was to break through to the Progenitor realm and reshape the universe, much like how the Rune Progenitor had given rise to the rune civilization or how Gu Yizhi had created battle force and domains.

    Within the Technocracy, a figure stepped out from the New Corridor. It was Bai Wangyuan.

    He tore through the void, making his way towards the Heavens Sect.

    No one detected the man¡¯s presence.

    Lu Yin approached the top of the astral stairs, drawing closer to the statue of the Origin Progenitor with each step.

    Normally, Arch-Elder Zen and the Progenitor of Bloodlines would stand in front of the statue, but at this moment, Arch-Elder Zen needed to remain in Shenwu Continent. This meant that the person standing closest to the statue, aside from Lu Yin himself, was the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Directly below the two of them were Semi-Progenitors, such as Lu Buzheng and people like Master Shan. Despite the fact that Master Shan and several others had crippled their cultivation and were no longer truly at the Semi-Progenitor level, their status remained unaltered.

    Lu Yin walked up to the statue of the Origin Progenitor, bowed to it, and then turned around to face everyone.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s image spread across the entire Fifth Maind.

    However, this event did not create much of a stir. At the moment, no one was in the mood to be shocked by such things. Everyone only hoped for the true universe to return to normal so that they could continue cultivating.

    "Does anyone not know who I am?" was the first sentence out of Lu Yin¡¯s mouth.

    People on variouss, spaceships, andnds all over the Fifth Maind felt confused by this question, and they could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept across the audience as he continued speaking. "The people who have gathered here for this Heavens Assembly include not only the Semi-Progenitors and Envoys in front of me, but also everyone who has ever seen me, everyone in the Fifth Maind, and everyone under the protection of the Heavens Sect. All of you should know who I am, right?¡±

    "My name is Lu Yin. Over thest few decades, I¡¯ve made a name for myself in this universe. I fought battles and wars, vanquishing enemies one after another. Who was it that turned the tides when our enemies invaded? Who took over the war when a portion of the Outerverse faced a crisis? Who sealed off the entrance to the Starfall Sea when Aeternus tried to wipe us out? Who has taught and guided the cultivators of this ce? Who fought off enemy Progenitors?¡±

    "That was me. I''m standing here now. Do you see me? Even now, I''m still right here."

    Everyone in the Fifth Maind was engrossed in the moment, and they all stared at the various disys as they listened to Lu Yin''s words.

    In the Neoverse, Yaya''s eyes grew bloodshot. When the Sixth Maind had invaded and the Cosmic Sea had been thrown into turmoil, her parents had met tragic deaths, and she had been forced to survive on her own. She would never forget the despair that she had felt in those moments. She had been lucky,pared to others. After all, if not for Brother Lu, she might not have survived until the Hall of Honor found her.

    In the Outerverse, Elder Lohar clenched his fists. Wars had been fought in Ironblood Weave, and the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance had once taken the initiative to fight against the Astral Beast Domain when they had invaded the Outerverse. How could anyone forget that incident?

    This young man, Lu Yin, had repeatedly turned the tides and risked his life to save countless people.

    To many, Lu Yin was a symbol of faith.

    Highsage Grandmaster stared at Lu Yin in amazement. When Aeternus had invaded and drained all stellr energy from the true universe, it was this young man who had found a way to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea, saving humanity from extinction.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines nodded in agreement. Lu Yin had pulled him back from the entrance of the Starfall Sea, saving his life. If not for Lu Yin, the Progenitor of Bloodlines would have been trapped out in the Starfall Sea, bereft of any hope of survival.

    In recent decades, the Fifth Maind had witnessed many different events, from the Astral Combat Tournament, to the intense battles of the ZENITH tournament and deadly wars. Wherever Lu Yin appeared, he had proved that he possessed the ability to restore hope to even the most desperate of situations.

    Everyone in the Fifth Maind had faced disaster, and every cultivator had suffered pain. Still, all of them had persevered.

    Countless people thought about the various events that had taken ce in the recent past. As they stared at the image of Lu Yin on the numerous disys, hope filled people¡¯s eyes.

    Even people who had given up and simply wanted to escape from the Fifth Maind felt as though they could finally see a small glimmer of hope.

    Lu Yin stood with his hands sped behind his back. "Progenitor: the pinnacle of human cultivation. More than one Progenitor hase to this universe, determined to enve us or wipe us out, but I have defeated them all. Fear not. With me here, what is there to be afraid of?¡±

    "If there is a problem with the true universe, then believe me, it will be fixed. I, Lu Yin, promise you that, whether in the present or the future, we will find a solution to all of our problems.¡±

    "I am Lu Yin, Dao Chosen of the Fifth Maind, representative of the Heavens Sect. There is nothing that I cannot handle. Why fear? Why despair? Human history has always been filled with obstacles. This chapter will also pass, and who knows how many heroes will eventually emerge during this period?¡±

    "It is through adversity that true heroes appear. I hope that in the next few years or decades, a group of people who have passed through this chapter with me will stand by my side and bring true hope to humanity. The day will surelye.¡±

    "Why can''t it be you?¡±¡¯

    "Do you believe in me?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s words ignited a fiery passion within countless people. Cultivators rose to their feet, one after another. Burning excitement filled their eyes as they stared at the disys showing Lu Yin. Within the Heavens Sect, the people who had been ovee with despair were fervently shouting, "We believe!"

    "We believe!"

    "We believe in the Dao Chosen!"

    "We believe that Dao Chosen can solve disasters!"

    "The Dao Chosen is invincible!"

    "The Dao Chosen is invincible!"

    "The Dao Chosen is invincible!"

    ¡­

    In outer space, Bai Wangyuan''s expression turned grim. He heard the countless voices echoing out as they called out Lu Yin''s name. This boy¡¯s influence through the Forsaken Land far exceeded Bai Wangyuan¡¯s imagination. It even greatly surpassed the Lu family¡¯s influence in the Perennial World during their rule. Just what had Lu Yin done to be the embodiment of an entire generation¡¯s faith?

    Suddenly, Bai Wangyuan remembered something, and he took a step forward, instantly appearing directly outside the Heavens Sect.

    Outside the Heavens Sect, the jiao stared at the point where Bai Wangyuan had arrived, and the beast bared its fangs and ws.

    Ancestor Tortoise withdrew its head and turned around so that its rear end faced Bai Wangyuan.

    Lu Yin looked over. Sure enough, the man had arrived. Lu Yin shot a nce at the Second Nightking.

    The old man roared, "Dao Chosen, you are no longer fit to be Dao Chosen."

    Countless people fell silent, staring dumbfounded at the Second Nightking. Was he rebelling?

    Lu Buzheng was just as shocked as many others. Had the Second Nightking lost his mind?

    The Second Nightking continued to shout, "The title of Dao Monarch is much more befitting."

    People¡¯s eyes grew wide, and then cheers began to erupt, "Dao Monarch!"

    "Dao Monarch!"

    "Dao Monarch!"

    ¡­

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was taken aback. Dao Monarch? He had known that Lu Yin would eventually be a Dao Monarch, but this was too soon, no?

    Lu Buzheng nced at the Second Nightking, finally understanding just what was going on.

    Destina frowned. Dao Monarch. The title had finally reappeared.

    "Silence!" An authoritative shout echoed throughout outer space.

    Everyone looked over and saw Bai Wangyuan stepping forward, a grave expression on his face as he stared only at Lu Yin. "The title of Dao Monarch is not something that you can im for yourself!"

    "Progenitor Bai, are you here to cause trouble in our Heavens Sect?" the Progenitor of Bloodlines asked sternly.

    Bai Wangyuan only stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared straight back. "Bai Wangyuan, are you provoking our Heavens Sect?"

    Bai Wangyuan replied in a low voice, "The title of Dao Monarch represents the entire Fifth Maind, which includes my Perennial World. My Perennial World does not approve of you proiming yourself to be the Dao Monarch."

    "Who asked for your opinion?" Kui Luo suddenly shouted back.

 Chapter 2472: The God Of The Heavens Sect

    Chapter 2472: The God Of The Heavens Sect

    Lu Buzheng spoke up as well. "I see the Celestial Frost Sect wants to interfere in my Lu family''s affairs. Throughout history, the title of Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind has belonged solely to the Lu family."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s brow furrowed. In the past, he had not been concerned by the idea of Lu Yin calling himself Dao Monarch. However, recently, Bai Xian''er had contacted the Progenitor and said Lu Yin could not be allowed to im the title. The title held special significance, and Lu Yin seizing it for himself could lead to unforeseen events.

    That was why Bai Wangyuan had appeared to stop Lu Yin.

    Upon arriving in the Forsaken Land and seeing the countless people who were moved by Lu Xiaoxuan''s rallying cry, Bai Wangyuan had immediately known he could not allow the young man to im the title of Dao Monarch. For some reason, those two words made Bai Wangyuan extremely uneasy.

    It was like a singlemp being lit in a vast, dark sea. It felt as though those two words would act as a signal.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Wangyuan. The primary motivation for holding this Heavens Assembly was to raise the Fifth Maind¡¯s morale and to prevent the copse of cultivation in the Human Domain. Of course, it remained critical that Time Poison be removed from the true universe with the Origin Progenitor''s sword, but even if Lu Yin failed in doing that, the words that he had just spoken would be very useful in maintaining the spirits of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators. If he seeded, then the words would just be icing on the cake, raising his prestige even further.

    Still, even beyond the other objectives, there was another purpose behind Lu Yin¡¯s actions: as a test.

    The identity of Dao Monarch seemed to be quite extraordinary. As Destina had said, among the Three Realms Six Dao, the Three Realms could never rece the Six Dao. Lu Yin wanted to see what was so special about the Six Dao, and by doing so, to see if anyone in the Perennial World knew just what made the Dao Monarchs unique.

    Bai Wangyuan''s appearance was confirmation that the title of Dao Monarch was truly special, as well as confirmation that someone did not want Lu Yin to receive the title.

    However, the more that he was opposed to it, the more determined Lu Yin became to take the title of Dao Monarch. He wanted to see who would dare to stand in his way.

    "Bai Wangyuan, look at the Fifth Maind. With your strength as a Progenitor, you are able to see everything in the Fifth Maind. Do you think that it is I, Lu Yin, who desires to be the Dao Monarch? Or is it the will of the people?" Lu Yin pointed out to the stars. "Do you think that you can stop them?"

    "Dao Monarch!" someone shouted.

    Immediately, countless people began to chant the words ¡°Dao Monarch.¡± Even with Bai Wangyuan deliberately disying the pressure of a Progenitor, he was unable to suppress everyone. While in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had already defeated countless powerful enemies, including even Progenitors. His mere existence gave the people of the Fifth Maind overwhelming confidence, as well as a faith that bordered on the level of zealotry. This level of faith far surpassed what even the Lu family of the past had been capable of inducing.

    Bai Wangyuan found himself overwhelmed by the anticipation and ardent admiration that these people held for Lu Yin. The Progenitor was drowned out by the cheers and overflowing excitement. These people werepletely disregarding him, a pinnacle human cultivator, and were instead focused solely on Lu Xiaoxuan.

    It was apletely unfamiliar experience for Bai Wangyuan. If the Lu family had managed to wield simr influence in the Perennial World, then how could they have ever been overthrown? How could the Main Universe have been able to provide them with any assistance?

    Lu Yin lifted his head high and said, "Bai Wangyuan, your four ruling powers want to reign over all of humanity. All you think of is authority and power, and because of that, you will never be able to reach this step."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin and replied, "On the dark sea, a lone ship faces a storm. The ship¡¯s sailor has lit amp, hoping that someone will notice it and help him. Lucky for him, arger ship sees the light and rescues him. He believes that kindness and food awaits him, but what he doesn¡¯t know is that he is being delivered to his death feast. No one can survive such a terrible storm. Food and water are gone, and the only way to survive is through cannibalism. That sailor has be a source of food that allows others to survive.¡±

    "Lu Xiaoxuan. If you light thatmp, you will bring the entire Fifth Maind one step closer to its demise."

    Iprehension covered Lu Yin¡¯s face as he stared at Bai Wangyuan and asked, "What is thatmp?"

    Bai Wangyuan responded solemnly, "¡®Dao Monarch.¡¯"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he asked, "Is it really just the title of Dao Monarch?"

    Bai Wangyuan was not actually certain himself. When he had asked Bai Xian''er about this matter, she had not known either, but the title of "Dao Monarch" made Bai Wangyuan extremely uneasy. He also knew that Bai Xian''er cultivated Destiny''s power, which was why he trusted her judgment on so many things. He truly believed that she would eventually rece the role of the Lu family and rule the entire Perennial World.

    This matter was simply another one where Bai Wangyuan trusted Bai Xian¡¯er. If Lu Xiaoxuan became the Dao Monarch, then he would attract the attention of the Main Universe, just as the Lu family had done before. Even the Lu family had been banished, let alone a single Lu Yin. He would invite disaster upon himself, and the Main Universe would utterly destroy him. This was Bai Wangyuan¡¯s prediction, but because of Bai Xian''er''s warning, the Progenitor had abandoned his thoughts and moved to stop Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Furthermore, the words "Dao Monarch" made Bai Wangyuan feel very uneasy.

    "We¡¯ve formalized a truce, so I won''t stop you. I¡¯m only here to share a bit of advice. The universe is too vast for everyone to live however they wish. After the Heavens Sect era, the Dao Monarchs have disappeared. Even your Lu family¡¯s Progenitor went into seclusion for many years, not even showing themselves when the family was banished. The Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch betrayed humanity. Such is the fate of the Three Realms Six Dao," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    Lu Yin would never believe Bai Wangyuan''s words. If bing the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch was really so detrimental to Lu Yin, then why would Bai Wangyuan try to stop it from happening? However, Lu Yin was also unable to determine if Bai Wangyuan was trying to stop him from bing the Dao Monarch, or if he was simply trying to prevent certain changes that would ur once someone became the Dao Monarch.

    If it was thetter, then Lu Yin would need to proceed with extreme levels of caution.

    When Hen Xin and the others had first awoken in the current era, they had mentioned that there were secrets known only to the Dao Monarchs. Destina had also said that the Three Realms could never rece the Six Dao. She assumed that there was some connection to the Origin Progenitor''s swords, and Bai Wangyuan''s warning made Lu Yin even warier of what could potentially happen.

    Just what was the significance to this particr title?

    "Dao Monarch!"

    "Dao Monarch!"

    "Dao Monarch!"

    Countless voices echoed the words "Dao Monarch." Bai Wangyuan could not suppress the crowd¡¯s frenzy. Lu Yin looked up and saw countless eyes staring at him. There were Enlighters, Envoys, Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitors staring at him. But regardless of the individual¡¯s cultivation level, absolutely everyone was awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s decision and were prepared to follow his lead.

    Why did he need to think about this so much?

    Why should he be so cautious of a mere title?

    Why should he care about Bai Wangyuan¡¯s words?

    After losing his memory, Lu Yin had risen from amon independent cultivator to his current heights, often by relying on sheer fearlessness to surpass many of the challenges that had stood before him. So what if the universe was unbelievably vast? So what if there were unknown dangers? Humans were not soft persimmons that could be pinched and crushed. During the Heavens Sect era, humanity had been able to reach astronomical heights and had lived in harmony despite the existence of thousands of races. The same could be done once again.

    Was it really necessary for a person to have to care about more things as they climbed higher?

    Lu Yinughed at himself. He was overthinking things. It was pointless to worry about things when he did not even understand them yet.

    The title "Dao Monarch" held no significance to him, and he could choose to use it or not however he pleased.

    So what if Destiny was alive or dead? Why should it matter to him? Could Destiny truly manipte his future? If that were possible, then she would not have been Destiny, but rather the Origin Progenitor. That was a level that not even Aeternus could reach.

    Were the Three Realms Six Dao truly dead? Lu Yin¡¯s master had once said that it might be possible to meet them in the Immemorial Citadel.

    Did Progenitor Chen really die? Maybe not. Lu Yin had already seen the man in Burial Garden, and he had even witnessed him repel the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    Was the Rune Progenitor really dead? If so, then how could runes still cover the Fifth Maind?

    Had Progenitor Ku really died? With his Extremes Must Be Reversed, it was hard to imagine the man ever truly dying.

    Lu Yin¡¯s master and senior brothers still lived, and there was also the possibility that the once-glorious heroes of the past still lived as well. Perhaps they were even watching him from somewhere, waiting for him. He might appear to be alone, with only Arch-Elder Zen by his side in the vast Fifth Maind, but when Lu Yin looked down, Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, Destina, Kui Luo, and Highsage Grandmaster were all approaching the same level. How many of them would eventually be Progenitors themselves?

    Lu Yin was not alone.

    His worries all stemmed from the fact that there was no one able to stand by his side and that there was no one capable of sharing the burden of humanity''s future with him.

    However, that impression was not entirely true. He had simply failed to see the truth.

    Bai Wangyuan imed that lighting thismp would bring their death feast upon them, but it might also be possible to use themp to illuminate the surrounding darkness.

    No one could confirm if the Origin Progenitor was truly dead, and even the Three Realms Six Dao had not been confirmed dead. The Lu family still lived, and Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, Rune Progenitor, and others might once again appear in the future. If those people were truly still alive, then what did Lu Yin have to fear?

    Right, why was he so worried? Why was he feeling depressed? The expanse of outer space that he could perceive was indeed limited, but humanity''s future was infinite. There was a solution to every problem. Even if there was danger, there was nothing that Lu Yin had to face on his own. Since when had he be so hesitant?

    Abruptly, Lu Yin looked up and surveyed the crowd. "Dao Monarch? It doesn''t matter."

    The entire region fell silent as every eye was fixed on him.

    Even Bai Wangyuan was staring at Lu Yin, having noticed that something had changed in the young man.

    "Whether willing or unwilling, I, Lu Yin, have led the Fifth Maind to where it currently stands. Whether I''m Dao Monarch or not, I will continue to uphold the Fifth Maind''s sky. That has always been the case, and it will always remain so," he dered as he took out the Origin Progenitor''s sword from his cosmic ring.

    The moment the sword appeared, an invisible ripple shot out, quickly expanding to cover the entire Fifth Maind.

    The ripples passed through the Heavens Sect, the jiao, Ancestor Tortoise, Bai Wangyuan, and countless stars in the sky, sweeping through the entire Fifth Maind in an instant.

    Everyone nced at each other, feeling confused. What had just happened?

    Bai Wangyuan raised his guard, as he was also wondering what was happening. He quickly examined himself, but he could not find any changes.

    Lu Yin raised the Origin Progenitor''s sword and pointed it upwards. Only he was able to sense that the space within the Fifth Maind had already changed. The sword was trembling so badly that he was barely able to hold it.

    One ripple after another shot through the Fifth Maind, starting from the sword¡¯s sharp edge. The entire Fifth Maind was stirred up, but not one person was able to detect any noticeable changes.

    "My power has stabilized!" Lan Xian eximed in shock before turning to stare at Lu Yin with disbelief.

    Right after Lan Xian made thatment, Highsage Grandmaster and Cai Er realized the same thing, as well as the other Semi-Progenitors. Everyone quickly noticed their own power was stabilizing. The Semi-Progenitors were all able to clearly determine the stability of their inner worlds.

    Following the Semi-Progenitors, the Second Nightking and others at his level attempted to absorb stellr energy. Their power had also stabilized.

    In the middle of outer space, Bai Wangyuan was leftpletely astonished. Energy had stabilized? Had the Fifth Maind¡¯s true universe actually recovered?

    In one corner of the Heavens Sect, Attendant Wu¡¯s mouth hung agape as he stared dumbfoundedly at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s knees gave out, and he crumpled into a kowtow.

    He had witnessed Lu Yin holding a long sword and pointing it to the sky, instantly dispelling Time Poison from the universe and restoring order.

    This man had eradicated Time Poison, a power that manipted time!

    This man was a god! A god who transcended the Monarchs!

    This was the Heavens Sect, and this man was the god of the Heavens Sect.

 Chapter 2473: Cauldron Transformation

    Chapter 2473: Cauldron Transformation

    On this day, the adoration and worship directed towards Lu Yin reached an unprecedented level. Countless cultivators could not stop themselves from bowing low and worshiping Lu Yin. Their shouts rang with fervor as the people of the Fifth Maind realized that their strength had been restored. As Lu Yin pointed his sword upwards, their strength returned to them, which filled them with excitement and gratitude.

    The most ecstatic people in the Fifth Maind were none other than the cultivators.

    Losing their strength had meant losing their purpose in life.

    However, Lu Yin had just restored their abilities, which was akin to granting them a fresh start and a new lease on life.

    Lu Yin''s actions had already inspired gratitude and faith among the cultivators, but at this moment, his image was solidified within the hearts of everyone. He had be more than a mere object of belief; he had be their true faith and ideology.

    As people throughout the entire Fifth Maind understood what was happening and gazed upon Lu Yin¡¯s image, they all bowed towards the Heavens Sect and Lu Yin himself.

    Unbeknownst to anyone, the entire Fifth Maind trembled, as did the Perennial World and even the Mother Tree. However, it was a vibration that no one could sense.

    Even Lu Yin himself was unaware of it. Within his heart, the frequency at which the clump of fatesand vibrated resonated with the tremor of the Fifth Maind. In the depths of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, an indescribable profoundness and all-epassing vastness appeared.

    At this moment, certain changes took ce in the Fifth Maind, despite nobody being aware of them.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines stared at Lu Yin inplete shock. Was it really that easy to solve the crisis of the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy that had troubled them for years? After all, they had been struggling against something that Aeternus had designed.

    Were things really resolved so easily?

    Lu Buzheng and the others had assumed that they were very familiar with Lu Yin, but at this moment, even they were incredibly impressed by him. With the radiance of the Origin Progenitor''s sword, Lu Yin had be the brightest star in the Fifth Maind, and countless people engraved his image into their memories.

    Even Bai Wangyuan was shaken by the sight of Lu Yin at this moment. He found himself unable to move, not because he did not want to, but rather because his mind waspletely captivated by the scene ying out before him. He forgot everything else and was only able to watch as Lu Yin turned around and slowly inserted the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword back into the man¡¯s statue.

    Lu Yin gasped for breath as he slowly released the sword, his back still to the crowd.

    Everyone could only stare at his back. It was impossible for anyone to conceal the fanaticism and admiration in their eyes.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch." The Second Nightking bowed respectfully.

    Master Shan''s eyes lit up. "Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    The old man was moved beyond words. He had never believed that, after so many years, the title of Dao Monarch would return to the Lu family. Those two words had always belonged to their family.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch." Wan Zhiyi and many others also bowed.

    Kui Luo grinned. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines took a deep breath. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Whether they were cultivators from the Fifth Maind or the Sixth Maind, ordinary cultivators, Semi-Progenitors, or Progenitors, they all bowed to Lu Yin. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    In Astral-10, Headmaster Shao Chen stood and slowly bowed in Lu Yin''s direction. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Countless voices merged to form a torrent of sound that resounded across the sky of the Fifth Maind and shook the very heavens, creating ripples in the Astral River.

    In the Technocracy and Astral Beast Domain, countless individuals and various creatures werepelled to bow beneath this overwhelming current. Willing or not, they all found themselves unable to resist.

    In Shenwu Continent, Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "Regardless of your cultivation level, given everything you''ve done for this part of the universe, you deserve to bear this honor."

    He also gave a slow bow. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    As Arch-Elder Zen spoke, the will of the entire Fifth Maindpletely unified, and the words "Dao Monarch" seemed to explode from the void itself to ring within Lu Yin''s ears.

    He turned around. As he raised a hand, several suns rose from it. Nine suns soared high above him, growing more and more dazzling by the moment.

    "Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation," he said softly before bringing his palms together. The nine suns suddenly merged together to form a massive cauldron.

    Qing Ping''s eyes went wide from sheer astonishment. Was this their master''s Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

    When the cauldron appeared, an indistinct yet ancient aura spread out from it, evoking an indescribable sense of dread within Lu Buzheng and many others. While they had felt this before, at this moment, the sensation was far, far more pronounced.

    Bai Wangyuan also sensed the ancient aura, and it made his eyes growrge. Just what kind of aura was this? It even made him shiver uncontrobly.

    From the moment that Lu Yin had fully mastered the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation to now, he had never actually used it. This was not because he did not want to, but rather because it was incredibly difficult to properly utilize the technique. While its power was truly formidable, he did not actually understand how to wield it. It was only at this moment that Lu Yin had finally understood, and he had instantly put that understanding into action.

    The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation gathered a form of will, or possibly even faith. It had originally been developed to bring warmth by igniting a me. A cauldron had been the very first item that humans ever formed from mud, and it had provided humanity with a chance to survive. A cauldron had been the first tool to ever appear in human history, and thus a cauldron symbolized the inheritances, hopes, and civilization of human beings. This was the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. It was a technique that could absorb all forms of power and converge them into a vessel.

    As for what a tool that was the manifestation of human will could be used for, no one could say for sure.

    Lu Yin pressed his hands down, and the cauldron fell,nding with a bang. It fell to the enormous za within the Heavens Sect that stood at the entrance to the sect beneath the astral stairs.

    Initially, everyone believed that the cauldron was a technique, but they quickly realized that it was a physical object.

    Lu Yin had never expected that eliminating Time Poison with the Origin Progenitor''s sword would trigger such a powerful effect. While not even he could observe every corner of the Fifth Maind, he was able to determine without a shadow of a doubt that he had be the center of attention. This was why he had finally been able to sessfully use the true Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.

    After sessfully mastering the technique, Lu Yin had attempted to materialize the intangible into a physical cauldron, but he had failed. After that, he had been uncertain as to how to proceed with the technique. After all, how was it possible for a technique to transform the intangible into the tangible? It was as mysterious as cultivating Truesight to the point where a person¡¯s body could transform into their innate gift.

    At this moment, when Lu Yin had be the target of faith for the entire Fifth Maind, he had finally been able to sessfully use the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.

    Countless eyes stared at the gigantic cauldron that sat at the bottom of the astral stairs, wondering what it was for.

    Lu Yin himself did not know the answer to that question. Regardless, he would just leave the cauldron where it sat for the time being. It could be regarded as a weapon or even a symbol of the collective, united will of humanity. In essence, this cauldron equipped the Heavens Sect with the strength of the collective will of the Fifth Maind.

    As the cauldron fell, the Origin Progenitor''s Sword disappeared into the statue, and allmotion ceased.

    Lu Yin then turned to look at Bai Wangyuan. "I''ve restored the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr energy back to normal, so please reopen the New Corridor and fulfill your end of our agreed upon truce. We will take over the fourth array base¡¯s protection once again. Progenitor Bai, don''t underestimate Aeternus. They will eventually return."

    Bai Wangyuan gave Lu Yin a long look. Many iprehensible things always happened around this boy. If given the chance, the Progenitor would have happily struck down Lu Yin right then and there.

    The jiao roared and shed its fangs and ws at the old man.

    Bai Wangyuan looked over at the jiao, and then back at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, Sage Yuan has said that he wishes to give this creature to the Great Sovereign as a gift, as it will please the Great Sovereign greatly. Will you ept giving it away?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "So what if he will like it? That has nothing to do with me."

    Bai Wangyuan calmly replied, "The Great Sovereign is a powerful individual who stands equal to the Origin Progenitor himself, surpassing even the Three Realms Six Dao. If the Great Sovereign truly desires a gift, then it would be best to offer it to him. Doing otherwise will only invite trouble. The Lu family suffered their downfall precisely because they failed to recognize their ce."

    With that, the man turned around and left.

    After being unable to prevent Lu Yin from iming the title of Dao Monarch, Bai Wangyuan had decided to return to Bai Xian''er and discuss the true meaning of the title.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Wangyuan''s departing figure. It was clear that the four ruling powers intended to use another as their de to eliminate Lu Yin, as they had tried before. This time, the de that they hoped to use was the Great Sovereign.

    No one would be able to stop the Great Sovereign if such a powerhouse really did make a move, but Aeternus¡¯s True God would not allow that to happen so easily.

    There were times when achieving bnce was the best way to proceed.

    The restoration of the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr and star energy back to a normal state during the Heavens Assembly had injected a newfound vitality to the entire ce.

    Attendant Wu literally prostrated on the ground in worship of Lu Yin.

    After several days passed, Lu Yin stood in the za beneath the astral stairs, lost in his own thoughts as he gazed at the cauldron.

    Attendant Wu stood beside him, though adopting a very subservient demeanor.

    "Tell me more about the Main Universe, as well as everything that you know about the Great Sovereign," Lu Yin calmly ordered.

    Attendant Wu kept his head bowed, not daring to even look at Lu Yin. "In the Cyclic Universe, there are the three Sovereigns and nine Sages, all of whom are powerhouses equal to this universe¡¯s Progenitors. The Great Sovereign is their master."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This was something that Attendant Wu had mentioned before, but the specific details of the statement left Lu Yin quite concerned.

    The fact that the universe had twelve Progenitors, or that the Great Sovereign was a powerhouseparable to the Origin Progenitor did not particrly surprise Lu Yin. The Heavens Sect era of their own universe had been home to even greater numbers of powerhouses.

    No, what was unbelievable to Lu Yin was that the three Sovereigns and nine Sages were all disciples of the Great Sovereign.

    Even the Origin Progenitor himself had only had three disciples, who were the Three Realms. The Six Dao had not been the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciples, let alone other Progenitors of the Heavens Sect.

    No matter how talented a person might be, or what level their cultivation might have reached, simply guiding oneself to be an invincible powerhouse was already a remarkable feat. Sessfully guiding a few disciples was even more impressive, but how could one person possibly nurture so many Progenitors?

    "Throughout the history of the Cyclic Universe, there has never been a time when there were not three Sovereigns and nine Sages. On the other hand, the Great Sovereign is an eternal powerhouse who has always been present. ording to Monarch Luo, the Great Sovereign loves tea and will often discuss the Dao over tea. Over time, this tradition has led to the Cyclic Universe hosting thergest tea ceremonies of anywhere in the Sixverse Association¡­"

    Lu Yin quietly listened. No matter how many times he heard about the Cyclic Universe, he was always left with the same feeling: it was a truly powerful universe.

    The universe that Lu Yin lived in had reached its peak during the Heavens Sect era. After that, the six Mainds had been destroyed one by one, and they had continued to decline to the current era. In contrast, the Cyclic Universe had remained unaltered throughout the known ages. The universe¡¯s legacy of there always being three Sovereigns and nine Sages had continued uninterrupted, and the Great Sovereign had also always been present.

    How were they able to guarantee that their inheritance was passed down? Just how powerful were the people of that universe? What was the difference in strength between the three Sovereigns and the nine Sages? How strong were the other universes that made up the Sixverse Association? At the very least, each one should possess about the same level of strength as the Three Monarchs Universe. When all of these various factors were taken into ount, it presented an image of a tremendous and terrifying power.

    The Perennial World had been excluded from the Sixverse Association at the very beginning, and the Lu family had also been exiled. The Main Universe had reced the Origin Universe as the strongest power of all of the known universes. Everything that Lu Yin had learned indicated that his own universe had been deliberately marginalized.

    What would happen when they made contact with the Sixverse Association? How would the Main Universe react to him? How would the other universes react?

    At the moment, Lu Yin''s greatest desire was to learn more about the Sixverse Association.

    Attendant Wu''s knowledge of the Main Universe was limited to the asionalment that he had heard from Monarch Luo, which meant that Attendant Wu¡¯s understanding was far fromprehensive. Lu Yin not only wanted to learn about the Sixverse Association, but he also wanted to join it.

    In the Perennial World, Bai Xian''er emerged from Crimson Garden.

 Chapter 2474: Pathetic

    Chapter 2474: Pathetic

    Bai Wangyuan observed Bai Xian''er.

    "Are you injured? What happened?" he asked in a concerned tone.

    Bai Xian''er brought out her Book of Destiny, showing that it had been burned to about half of its original size.

    Bai Wangyuan felt puzzled. "What is it?"

    "Don¡¯t worry about it. It''s useless now. How are things regarding Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    "I couldn''t stop him. He has taken on the title of Dao Monarch," Bai Wangyuan replied.

    Bai Xian''er remained calm. "Then he will pay the corresponding price, but we can''t afford to be implicated with him. I''ll attend the tea ceremony."

    Thisment surprised Bai Wangyuan. "You''re going to attend the tea ceremony?"

    "It''s the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony, so naturally I''d like to experience it for myself. Senior Progenitor, if this trip goes well, we will be able topletely sever all our ties with the Forsaken Land after I return. We will no longer need to worry about whether Lu Xiaoxuan is dead or alive," Bai Xian''er said with a smile.

    "Alright, I''ll go prepare a gift," Bai Wangyuan said.

    "There¡¯s no need for that. I''ve already prepared one," Bai Xian''er replied.

    Bai Wangyuan became curious. "What did you prepare? The Great Sovereign is very picky."

    Bai Xian''er smiled brightly. "He will love this gift."

    Meanwhile, Xia Shenfei arrived at the Savage Star, one of the sevens of the Outer Realm.

    The moment he arrived on the, he was greeted by the tail of a giant rat.

    The tail mmed into Xia Shenfei¡¯s sword with a bang. The rat¡¯s body was tougher than expected, and Xia Shenfei found that he was unable to sever the tail with one sword slice. Only an additional wound appeared.

    Xia Shenfei finallynded onto the surface of Savage Star, which he found was also incredibly sturdy.

    The, if it could even be called a, was actually nothing more than a single massive rock. It was the same type of rock that wasmonly used to forge weapons. For example, the volcano inside Progenitor Guai''s armory had been made from the same kind of rock.

    Rocks could not give rise to life, which meant that all of the creatures living on Savage Star had been captured elsewhere and then brought to the.

    The mountains, rivers, and even the soil were all artificially made.

    There were also giant creatures that lived on the.

    Afternding on Savage Star, Xia Shenfei spent several days searching around, but aside from the massive creatures that found trouble for him, he found nothing at all.

    "Descendant Xia Shenfei asks Senior Xia Qin toe and supervise matters in Shenwu''s Sky," Xia Shenfei called out in a very respectful tone as he surveyed the.

    Roars echoed about as enormous creatures surged towards him from every direction, instantly surrounding him.

    Xia Shenfei''s expression remained firm as he fought against the massive beasts. A mess of blood and carnage covered the ground, attracting even more aggressive creatures.

    He moved to a new location and then again called out, "Descendant Xia Shenfei asks Senior Xia Qin toe and supervise matters in Shenwu''s Sky."

    This time, he was attacked by a swarm of giant hedgehogs.

    "Descendant Xia Shenfei asks Senior Xia Qin toe and supervise matters in Shenwu''s Sky."

    Countless earthworms emerged from the ground, much to Xia Shenfei¡¯s disgust.

    "Descendant Xia Shenfei asks Senior Xia Qin toe and supervise matters in Shenwu''s Sky."

    A huge bird descended. It was sorge that it covered a vast region of the sky and blocked out the sun.

    After ten days of continuous shouting across Savage Star, filled with utter chaos, someone finally responded. "Get lost!"

    Powerful soundwaves sent Xia Shenfei flying off of Savage Star. All of the creatures on the trembled as a Progenitor¡¯s aura swept through the Outer Realm.

    On the neighboring of Azure Hills, Bai Sheng rolled his eyes. "That crazy old woman. She startled me."

    Xia Shenfei stabilized himself in outer space as blood pooled in his mouth. "Senior Progenitor Shenji was ambushed and banished to an unknown universe. There is no one to oversee matters in Shenwu''s Sky. If Senior Progenitor does not act soon, our Shenwu''s Sky will drop out of the four ruling powers."

    A cold voice replied, "So what? You took something that doesn¡¯t belong to you. You should actually be grateful to return to your original status. At least the Xia surname hasn''t been erased."

    Xia Shenfei remained steadfast. "Senior Progenitor has received resources from Shenwu''s Sky and has promised to return that favor. Now, Shenwu''s Sky is in danger, and we are seeking Senior''s help. The least that Senior could do is make a trip to Shenwu''s Sky. At the very least, this will prevent others from looking down on us."

    Silence reigned on Savage Star, but after some time, a figure stepped away from the. The woman appeared graceful and beautiful, but also as cold as ice. She looked at Xia Shenfei with disgust and said, "I do owe the Xia family a debt, but it''s not your ce to collect it."

    Xia Shenfei offered another bow. "This junior was disrespectful, but there is currently no one else from the Xia family who can step forward. Our patriarch conspired with outsiders against the family and is currently imprisoned. Senior Progenitor Shenji has been banished to a parallel universe and is unable to return. There are no Semi-Progenitors among the family¡¯s direct descendants, and none of the Semi-Progenitors from the branch families dare to enter the Fifth Maind to seek out Lu Xiaoxuan. This junior was left with no choice, so I ask that you please forgive this junior."

    Xia Qin grew puzzled. "If Aeternus has been forced out of the Perennial World, then why is Shenwu''s Sky getting weaker?"

    Xia Shenfei sighed. Shenwu¡¯s Sky only had two Progenitors: Xia Shenji and the woman before him. However, this woman had no intention of getting involved with any matters that were rted to Progenitor Shenji, or rather, anything to do with Shenwu''s Sky itself. Her only desire was to remain on Savage Star. She had absolutely no interest in any outside affairs.

    She had aplicated rtionship with Shenwu''s Sky, and if not for how dire the situation had be, Xia Shenfei would have never visited this woman.

    After hesitating a bit, Xia Shenfei exined everything to the woman, Xia Qin. Instead of bing upset, she actuallyughed. "So, Xia Shenji was actually outsmarted by Lu Xiaoxuan? What goes aroundes around! The four ruling powers banished the Lu family, and then Lu Xiaoxuan banished Xia Shenji. It¡¯s retribution!"

    Xia Shenfei raised his head. "Lu Xiaoxuan can use Progenitor Chen''s power."

    Xia Qin instantly froze. "What did you say?"

    Xia Shenfei softly replied. "Lu Xiaoxuan was able to seize control of the Forsaken Land and force Progenitor Shenji out because he is able to wield the power that Progenitor Chen left behind in the Forsaken Land. If I remember correctly, that power is called the Cosmic Art."

    Anger flitted across Xia Qin''s eyes. Someone could use Progenitor Chen¡¯s power? How disgusting. Both Shenwu''s Sky and Xia Shang were equally detestable to Xia Qin.

    She grabbed hold of Xia Shenfei and flew towards the Wang family''s floating maind in the Higher Realm.

    Xia Shenfei let out a sigh of relief. While Xia Qin''s intervention would not guarantee Xia Shenji¡¯s safe rescue, at the very least, outsiders would receive verification that Shenwu¡¯s Sky still had a Progenitor. "Senior, where are you going?"

    "Didn''t you ask me to supervise Shenwu''s Sky? I''m going to go find Lu Xiaoxuan," Xia Qin answered coldly.

    Xia Shenfei hesitated. "Lu Xiaoxuan is able to rely on Progenitor Chen''s power, and he can also summon a Progenitor. On top of that, he has already conferred Nong Yi. Finally, he is supported by a Progenitor who has mastered the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Are you going to visit him on your own?"

    Xia Qin simply ignored Xia Shenfei. Her mind was fully upied by the matter rted to Xia Shang. She wanted to know why Lu Xiaoxuan was able to use Xia Shang¡¯s power, as well as what Xia Shang had left behind in the Forsaken Land.

    Xia Shenfei regretted mentioning Progenitor Chen to the woman. While he did not know how serious the issues between Xia Qin, Progenitor Chen, and the Xia family were, it appeared that the truth was even worse than he had imagined.

    At present, not even Progenitor Bai wanted to antagonize Lu Xiaoxuan. Xia Qin would not be able to aplish anything by going to see Lu Xiaoxuan on her own. Still, Xia Shenfei did nothing to try to stop the woman.

    Xia Qin and Xia Shenfei passed through the New Corridor and entered the Fifth Maind like a gust of wind.

    "Where was Xia Shenji banished from?" Xia Qin asked.

    The four ruling powers had already conducted a thorough investigation into the matter, so Xia Shenfei was able to give Xia Qin a location. The Progenitor took off, not bothering to suppress her aura. She radiated sharpness and the oppressive dominance of the Xia family.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. A Progenitor? This aura belonged to someone from the Xia family.

    Each of the four ruling powers had sent Progenitors to guard the Outer Realm. Generally, these Progenitors did not leave theirs, but the Xia family had no choice right now. Xia Shenji was banished. If the Xia family wanted to maintain their current position, they had to call upon their Progenitor in the Outer Realm for help.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and stared at it for a moment. At this moment, that particr Progenitor had entered the Fifth Maind, and he immediately detected their presence. In the past, he had not been able to sense such things, so why could he this time? How odd.

    He vanished, only to reappear in the Heavens Sect''s dungeon.

    The lowest depths of the dungeon held those who hadmitted the most heinous crimes.

    Lu Yin stopped outside a specific cell. "It¡¯s been a long time, Xia Ji."

    The cell held none other than Xia Ji. The Semi-Progenitor had been confined to this cell ever since Lu Yin had essed Progenitor Chen''s power and be invincible within the Fifth Maind.

    The man lifted his head, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the blurry image of Lu Yin standing in front of him.

    Lu Yin entered the cell and walked over to Xia Ji. "Being held prisoner must be tough."

    Xia Ji''s head dropped back down. He stayed silent, unwilling to respond. Being held captive for several years was nothing for a Semi-Progenitor like him. He had already mentally prepared himself to remain imprisoned for another hundred or even a thousand years. "Leave. I won''t teach you the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

    Lu Yinughed and casually removed all of Xia Ji''s restraints. The sudden freedom caused the man to jerk, and the moment the restraints fell to the ground, Xia Ji reached out to grab Lu Yin. The boy was clearly underestimating the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. Did Lu Yin really believe him to be so weak? He had been hiding his true power all along.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold as his own hand rose up and met Xia Ji''s palm. There was a cracking sound, and Xia Ji''s wrist bent oddly. The Semi-Progenitor was aghast. How could a mere Envoy have such strength?

    The sharp edge of a de took form, but Lu Yin just looked at it. "Know your ce!"

    Purplish-ck Wielder - Indestructible covered his hand as he simply squeezed and crushed the de. Then, the hand pressed down on Xia Ji''s shoulder, shattering his bones and forcing him to the ground.

    The Semi-Progenitor coughed up blood and stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. He was barely able to move his left arm given how mangled his shoulder was. He struggled to even look up at Lu Yin as he spoke up in a hoarse voice, "You, you¡­"

    Lu Yin squatted down so that he was just inches away from Xia Ji''s face. "They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. We haven''t seen each other for years, but did you really think that I would still be that same young Envoy who needed tricks to fight you?"

    Puh!

    Xia Ji spat out another mouthful of blood, still overwhelmed by shock. "It''s only been a few years since that time, and besides, you''re still an Envoy."

    "True, I am still an Envoy¡­ but I enjoy fighting against Progenitors," Lu Yin replied with a small smile.

    Xia Ji''s pupils shrank. His strength fled, and his right arm gave out, causing him to fall. His chin mmed into the floor, and blood spilled from his mouth, staining the floor red. He simply could not believe that someone could grow this much in such a short amount of time. It was impossible, simply impossible! The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s mind felt like it was about to explode.

    Lu Yin stood up and looked down at Xia Ji. "Look at you. You¡¯re no better than a dead dog. Do you still remember when you, a Semi-Progenitor, ambushed me to force me to give away my cultivation art? You even wanted to kill me. Now? Xia Ji, I truly pity you. You¡¯re still only a Semi-Progenitor even after everything that you¡¯ve done."

 Chapter 2475: Lu Yins Image

    Chapter 2475: Lu Yin''s Image

    Ever so slowly, Xia Ji lifted his head even as he strained from the effort. He red daggers at Lu Yin. "Are you here to humiliate me?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "What else would I be here for?"

    Xia Ji sneered. "I know that you want to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique from me. The more you humiliate me, the more desperately you expect me to cling onto life. Am I right?"

    Lu Yin said nothing as he simply stared at the man.

    Xia Ji spat out a mouthful of blood before craning his neck to look up at Lu Yin. "You win. I''ll teach you. I can teach you the Nine Clones Secret Technique, as long as you release me. Our grudge will end here. You''re too powerful for me to threaten you in any way, so let me go."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "It would¡¯ve been nice if you had said that sooner. Unfortunately, your guess ispletely wrong. I only came here to humiliate you."

    Xia Ji screamed, "No one else can teach you the Nine Clones Secret Technique! Do you think that that brat, Xia Luo, can teach it to you just because you two have a good rtionship? I know that Starsibyl can''t teach you either. I¡¯m the only one who can teach you the Nine Clones Secret Technique. You must let me go!"

    Lu Yin did not feel even the slightest hint of amusement as he watched Xia Ji scream and beg for his life, abandoning all traces of his dignity. This revenge was nothing more than him fulfilling his promise to himself, and it could not offer him any true joy. The score between him and Xia Ji was something that needed to be settled. With that in mind, he grabbed Xia Ji and departed.

    On the Shenwu Continent, Arch-Elder Zen had only just returned. Shao Chen, the headmaster of Astral-10, had transformed non-existence into reality when he stepped into the Semi-Progenitor realm. For this reason, both Arch-Elder Zen and Progenitor Smoke had gone to visit the man, and they had spent several days chatting with him.

    Despite the fact that Shao Chen''s cultivation level was much lower than the two Progenitors¡¯, he had achieved enlightenment by visiting the Stargazing Deck numerous times and witnessing events of the past. During their conversations, the three individuals hade to regard each other as equals, including Progenitor Smoke.

    Arch-Elder Zen felt a bit of pity for the crazy Headmaster, as without opening his three meridian points, he would never be able to be a Progenitor, which was truly unfortunate.

    "Who goes there? Please share your name," Arch-Elder Zen asked as he stared in a particr direction. As he stared, Xia Qin appeared with Xia Shenfei.

    Despite being opponents, Xia Shenfei did not show any sign of rudeness to Arch-Elder, and he offered the old man respectful greetings. "This junior is Shenwu''s Sky''s Xia Shenfei. Greetings, Arch-Elder Zen."

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Xia Qin. "Are you also from Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Xia Qin stared back at Arch-Elder Zen. "I¡¯ve seen you before."

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "When?"

    "It was during the war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds. You met Senior Lu Tianyi, and I was also present. I was behind Xia Shenji," Xia Qin said.

    Xia Shenfei did not expect the two Progenitors to have met in the past.

    Arch-Elder Zen was amazed. "So we are old acquaintances."

    "Back then, you were just a teenager, though I was about the same age. We¡¯re both so old now," Xia Qinmented. Her voice had already softened and warmed a great deal upon recognizing Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "True, we are both quite old now. Are you here regarding Xia Shenji?"

    Xia Qin replied, "I want to see Lu Xiaoxuan. Where is he?"

    "You''ll have to wait. I need to inform him."

    Xia Qin nodded and then looked away from Arch-Elder Zen to observe the Tower of Resonating Light and the Sealed Path sourcebox array. "I see now. This sourcebox array is sealing the passage to the parallel universe. So was Xia Shenji banished to that universe?"

    "That''s correct. If you are here to bring Xia Shenji back, I suggest that you leave. Seeing as how we''re old acquaintances, I hope to avoid any conflict."

    Xia Qin wondered, "Why are you helping Lu Xiaoxuan? Is it because you owe Senior Lu Tianyi a favor?"

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "I have already repaid any debts that I owed to Senior Tianyi. The person I''m helping is Lu Yin, not Lu Xiaoxuan, who was the descendant of the Lu family¡¯s direct line."

    "What''s the difference?" Xia Qin asked, puzzled by the answer.

    Arch-Elder Zen considered his response for a moment. "The descendant of the Lu family''s direct line was a person of noble character who only ever saw the beauty of the world. Given his position, he was quite simr to Senior Tianyi and was going to be someone who would stand at the very frontlines to protect all of humanity. No matter if one considered his talent, cultivation, appearance, or character, he was practically perfect in every aspect. On the other hand, Lu Yin is a person who sees the ugliness of the world. He is scheming, ruthless, vengeful, and greedy."

    Xia Qin arched a brow. This sounded like apletely mismatchedparison, and Lu Yin seemed anything but an admirable individual.

    "But despite being such a person, he is also willing to shoulder tremendous responsibilities and acts as a guiding light that will lead humanity forward. Everything that he does is for the sake of survival, and ultimately, he will do whatever it takes to ensure that humanity endures. Such a person is worth helping. He will neverpromise his principles or his bottom line," Arch-Elder Zen exined.

    As Xia Shenfei listened to Arch-Elder Zen''s words, an image of Lu Yin appeared in his mind. This description of Lu Yin was perfectly urate. Lu Xiaoxuan had projected an illusion of perfection, while Lu Yin was an authentic human who clearly possessed grit and street-smarts. Humanity did indeed need someone who possessed a wless appearance to lead them, but many such people already existed. When times grew truly desperate, what they actually needed was someone who knew how to survive and navigate various challenges. That was the role that Lu Yin fulfilled.

    How many times had Lu Yin faced death for this Progenitor to be so willing to help him?

    "This makes me even more curious about him," Xia Qinmented. She had always remained on Savage Star, so even though she had been aware of what was happening in the Perennial World, she had not been aware of the details.

    Arch-Elder Zen made a weing gesture. "Please, sit and chat with me. It''s not often that I get to meet an old friend."

    Xia Qin nodded and took a seat across from Arch-Elder Zen.

    The two appeared to be frompletely different eras, given one¡¯s aged look and the other¡¯s youthful appearance. However, the truth was that Xia Qin was even older than Arch-Elder Zen.

    Xia Shenfei respectfully kept some distance as he quietly waited. He asionally nced at the Tower of Resonating Light. Just what was this ce? Senior Progenitor Shenji had been tricked, but no one knew when he would return.

    Before much time passed, a massive figure appeared and cast a shadow bypletely blocking out the sun. The jiao let out a roar while fully revealing its teeth and ws as it looked around. Unfortunately, there was no one nearby. Disappointed, the beast lowered its ws.

    Lu Yin appeared on the Shenwu Continent and stood between Xia Qin and Arch-Elder Zen. "This junior apologizes for beingte."

    Arch-Elder Zen offered an introduction. "This is Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin observed Xia Qin, who returned his gaze. "You''re the one who exiled Xia Shenfei, aren¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "To be precise, he took the wrong path."

    Xia Qin furrowed her brow. "You''re unrepentant."

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "What brings you here, Senior?"

    "Can you bring Xia Shenji back?"

    "No, I cannot."

    "Then forget it," Xia Qin responded.

    Arch-Elder Zen was surprised. Was that really the end of it?

    On the other hand, Xia Shenfei was not surprised at all, and neither was Lu Yin. Both of them were a bit more familiar with Xia Qin''s circumstances.

    "I¡¯ve heard that you can use Xia Shang''s power. How did you acquire that?" Xia Qin asked another question.

    "Senior, let''s just get to the point. I know about your situation, and I can tell you right now that I acquired the power through the Cosmic Art. Nothing that I have was directly passed down to me from Progenitor Chen," Lu Yin exined.

    Xia Qin''s eyes grew cold. "You know about my situation? Who told you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "There''s no need for that question, Senior. Regardless, you hate both Shenwu''s Sky and Progenitor Chen, but you also owe both of them a debt. This junior has a suggestion that could fulfill all your needs."

    Xia Qin responded with a contemptuous snort. "You want to help me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and exined in an earnest manner, "I¡¯m helping myself. Shenwu''s Sky banished my Lu family, and that decision was made by Xia Shenji. Thus, I want Xia Shenji to be banished not only from our universe, but also from Shenwu''s Sky."

    Xia Qin grew puzzled as she stared at Lu Yin. "You certainly talk big."

    Xia Shenfei¡¯s eyes flickered as he stared intently at Lu Yin.

    Arch-Elder Zen also grew curious as to precisely what Lu Yin had in mind.

    Lu Yin took out Zenith Mountain and released a person: Xia Luo.

    "Luo Zhong? Why are you here?" Xia Shenfei was startled. Ever since the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Maind had been captured by Lu Yin, the perennial World had known that Luo Zhong was actually Xia Luo, who was a descendant of the Xia family from the Fifth Maind. However, Xia Ji had already pledged his family¡¯s loyalty to Shenwu''s Sky. Thus, there had been no need for anyone to consider Xia Luo.

    After Lu Yin released everyone from the Perennial World that he had captured, Xia Luo had remained within Shenwu''s Sky. However, due to his identity, he had been treated poorly and often struggled.

    Xia Shenfei had never paid much attention to Xia Luo in the past, and he had not expected to see him suddenly appear.

    "Senior Brother, we meet again," Xia Luo said with a smile.

    Xia Shenfei turned back to look at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin said, "Senior, this man is Xia Luo, descendant of Progenitor Chen."

    Xia Qin stared at Xia Luo, her expression aplex mix of both excitement and resentment.

    "If Senior owes Progenitor Chen a debt, then you simply need to return the favor to this man. Please lend your support and help Xia Shang¡¯s descendant take charge of Shenwu''s Sky," Lu Yin stated.

    "Absolutely not!" Xia Shenfei shouted.

    Xia Qin only paid attention to Lu Yin. "You want me to have Xia Shang''s descendant take charge of Shenwu''s Sky? Lu Yin, you''re just as maniptive as Arch-Elder Zen said you were."

    Lu Yin nced at Arch-Elder Zen. He did not know what Arch-Elder Zen had said to Xia Qin, but still, Lu Yin continued. "Senior, don''t be in a hurry to answer. Please let me first finish. This will allow you to repay the debt that you owe Progenitor Chen, and you can also repay the debt that you owe Shenwu''s Sky."

    Lu Yin turned to Xia Shenfei. "Your father is currently imprisoned. You can choose to take his ce in Shenwu''s Sky or simply release him. I can even remove the Death Seal that I ced in his body."

    Xia Shenfei''s eyes narrowed. "My father betrayed Shenwu''s Sky and colluded with you! He-"

    Lu Yin interrupted, "I controlled him with a Death Seal. If he hadn¡¯t cooperated with me, he would have had no way to survive. I can promise that I will remove the Death Seal from him and give him back his freedom. As for what he does in Shenwu''s Sky after that, that¡¯s none of my concern. You can choose to allow him to remain in charge of Shenwu''s Sky, with Senior''s support of course. If that is what you choose, Xia Xing¡¯s authority would be equal to Xia Luo''s. Otherwise, you can choose to take over the task yourself. It''s up to you."

    "This is ridiculous! Shenwu''s Sky''s affairs are not something that you can decide, Lu Xiaoxuan! Do you really think that you can determine who runs Shenwu''s Sky?" Xia Shenfei became increasingly upset

    Lu Yin then turned to address Xia Qin, a mischievous smile on his face. "Would you like them to experience the same pain that you were once subjected to?"

    Interest danced in Xia Qin''s eyes.

    Xia Shenfei''s heart sank as he finally understood Lu Xiaoxuan''s n. While Xia Shenei did not know the specifics of what happened to Xia Qin in the past, he did know that she had been hurt very deeply. Otherwise, as a Progenitor, there would be no reason for her to stay so far away from Shenwu''s Sky for so many years, not intervening in any of the sect¡¯s matters.

    As Xia Shenfei turned to Xia Qin, he sounded nearly desperate. "Senior, don''t listen to Lu Xiaoxuan! He''s trying to stir up discord within Shenwu''s Sky."

    Lu Yin''s grin only widened. "That makes things even more interesting. You¡¯re right, I am trying to make some trouble. Direct family line versus branch families. It seems that Shenwu''s Sky cares quite a lot about one¡¯s ancestry."

    Xia Qin closed her eyes. The family¡¯s direct line versus the branch families. Yes, Shenwu''s Sky cared about this more than anything else.

 Chapter 2476: The End Of A Grudge

    Chapter 2476: The End Of A Grudge

    No one could truly understand Xia Qin''s pain. She had suffered no less than Xia Shang himself.

    Xia Qin had been born into one of the Xia family¡¯s branch families and had also demonstrated incredible talent from a young age. She had quickly caught the attention of Shenwu''s Sky. However, due to everything that had happened with Progenitor Chen, the Xia family was extremely wary of talented individuals from branch families. For this reason, Xia Qin had been constantly suppressed. This had continued until the day Progenitor Chen personally appeared and exposed her full potential. He had then epted her as his own disciple and showcased her talent to everyone.

    From that point forward, the Xia family¡¯s direct line was no longer able to suppress her without decisively killing her. This was the choice that Progenitor Chen had forced upon the Xia family: either kill Xia Qing or allow her to grow up and be the next Progenitor Chen.

    The Xia family had not had the courage to kill Xia Qin, as she had been regarded as Progenitor Chen''s disciple, and they had feared his retaliation. However, if they did not kill Xia Qin, then another talented descendant of a branch family would rise to power, which terrified the Xia family¡¯s direct line.

    Ultimately, Shenwu''s Sky had invested all its resources into nurturing the woman and had then given her the choice of either them or Progenitor Chen. She had chosen Shenwu''s Sky, as she had family and loved ones in the sect. Inparison, Progenitor Chen had instead chosen to leave Shenwu''s Sky without any hesitation because his family had been killed by the Xia family¡¯s direct line. Their circumstances had beenpletely different.

    That seemingly simple choice had been unbearably cruel to a young girl. Her parents¡¯ lives had be a burden for her to carry, and she had also been forced to sever ties with the person that she had respected most. On top of that, she had been forced to endure the direct line¡¯s constant indoctrination of their own ideals and values, while listening to threats from various direct descendants, and she had even been forced to marry into the direct family line. She had suffered from all of these things.

    Progenitor Chen had gone through the pain of losing his loved ones, but that meant that nothing had held him back, and he had been able to take revenge without any worries. With the support of the Lu family, he had grown and developed until he became an invincible powerhouse in Fifth Maind.

    On the other hand, Xia Qin had been suppressed by Shenwu''s Sky from the very beginning, and her pain had be ingrained deep within her heart.

    There were countless times when she wished that Progenitor Chen had never noticed her at all. That had been the start of all her suffering. Progenitor Chen had nurtured her as a means of forcing Shenwu''s Sky to make a choice, but in doing so, the man had caused Xia Qin to suffer unbearable pain.

    She hated both Shenwu''s Sky and Progenitor Chen, but at the same time, she owed Shenwu''s Sky a debt for the resources they had provided her, and she also owed a debt to Progenitor Chen for discovering her potential.

    Every day, she dreamed of exacting revenge on Shenwu''s Sky and Progenitor Chen.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was forcing the Xia family to make the same choice that Progenitor Chen had forced upon them so many years ago. No, this time they were not being given a choice, but rather forced to make a single decision.

    When Progenitor Chen had forced the choice upon them, the Xia family could have chosen to kill Xia Qin or spare her. At present, Shenwu''s Sky had no choice but to ept a shared leadership between the direct and branch descendants of the Xia family. Only Xia Qin could make the decision to agree or not, and the main family had no way to stop her.

    Xia Shenfei''s face grew pale, and his usual charisma waspletely gone.

    The more panicked the young man appeared, the more Xia Qin wanted to go through with things.

    Finally, she said, "Very well, it shall be done."

    Xia Shenfei¡¯s head snapped up, and he was ready to object, but Xia Qin did not give him the chance. He might be a direct descendant of the Xia family, but as a mere junior, he barely qualified to even speak to her.

    "Truthfully, with Xia Shenji gone, the current main line of the Xia family can disappear entirely," Lu Yin suggested.

    Xia Shenfei restrained himself from saying what he wished to say.

    At this point in time, Shenwu''s Sky only had a single powerful Progenitor: Xia Qin. Thus, her word wasw. If she decided to abolish the direct family line, then no one could stop her.

    "I''ll allow Xia Shang''s descendant to take charge of Shenwu''s Sky. With this, I''ve repaid his favor," Xia Qin stated.

    Lu Yin added, "The favor has been repaid, so now it''s time for revenge. Shenwu''s Sky wants you to save Xia Shenji, but you can choose not to. Consider it retaliation for everything that Shenwu''s Sky has forced upon you over the years."

    Xia Qin remained calm.

    "As for Progenitor Chen-" Arch-Elder Zen, Xia Shenfei, Xia Luo, and Xia Qin all turned to stare at Lu Yin. He was the one who had received the greatest benefits from Progenitor Chen, so how could he help Xia Qin get revenge against Progenitor Chen?

    Lu Yin brought out another person from Zenith Mountain: Xia Ji.

    Xia Ji fell to the ground. His hair was disheveled, and his face was covered with dust.

    Everyone just stared at the man.

    "Xia Ji?" Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback.

    As soon as he heard Arch-Elder Zen''s voice, Xia Ji struggled to lift his head. Upon seeing Arch-Elder Zen, Xia Ji¡¯s expression changed drastically. "You- have you changed?"

    "Arch-Elder Zen has be a Progenitor. He¡¯s the first person from the Fifth Maind to do so in many years," Lu Yin exined.

    Xia Ji''s pupils fluctuated, and unwillingness, regret, anger, and various other emotions flitted across his face. The tangled mess of feelings left him grinding his teeth.

    He should have been the first in the Fifth Maind to be a Progenitor! If his n had seeded and he had obtained the Cosmic Art and inherited Progenitor Chen''s power, then he could have broken through. All had been lost because of Lu Yin, that bastard.

    Xia Ji dropped his head to hide the resentment in his eyes. He did not dare to let Lu Yin see his hatred.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed, never expecting to see a once-powerful Semi-Progenitor end up in such a state. However, who could be med but Xia Ji himself? The Semi-Progenitor had plotted against the Cosmic Sect, Leon''s Armada, and Eversky Ind, leading to countless deaths. He had even attacked Lu Yin directly, and thenter betrayed the Fifth Maind, defecting to Shenwu''s Sky. All of these choices had led to his current situation.

    "You knew that there would be consequences. You shouldn''t have taken those actions to begin with," Arch-Elder Zen said with another sigh.

    Xia Ji clenched his right hand into a fist as he replied in a hoarse voice, "Lu Yin, I''ll teach you the Nine Clones Secret Technique and the Xia family''s other secret technique, de Intent. All that I ask is that you spare my life."

    As long as Xia Ji could continue to live, he would still have a chance to be a Progenitor. Arch-Elder Zen, his former rival, was suddenly looking down on him and saying such condescending things. This was worse than death, and Xia Ji refused to ept this oue.

    However, Xia Ji¡¯s words caused Xia Shenfei to explode. "Xia Ji, how dare you offer to teach an outsider the Nine Clones Secret Technique! Saying such things in front of Senior Progenitor, you''re courting death!"

    Xia Ji was startled; Senior Progenitor?

    "Senior Progenitor Shenji?" Xia Ji gasped, craning his neck with great difficulty to look about.

    Lu Yin stood with his hands sped behind his back and a small smile on his lips. "Don''t worry, I have no interest in the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

    He turned to Xia Qin. "This man is Xia Ji, another one of Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendants. I''ll leave him to you. Please feel free to decide his fate as you see fit."

    Xia Qin looked at Xia Ji and asked, "Xia Shang''s descendant?"

    Finally, after a great deal of strenuous effort, Xia Ji managed to turn his head. He saw Xia Shenfei ring at him, Xia Luo with a faint smile on his face, and also Xia Qin.

    Upon seeing Xia Qin, Xia Ji noticed that she was another Progenitor. Xia Shenji was not present, but there was another powerful Progenitor who belonged to Shenwu''s Sky.

    The Semi-Progenitor immediately started to beg Xia Qin. "Senior Progenitor, please save this junior!"

    Xia Qin stared at Xia Ji and asked, "Are you truly Xia Shang''s descendant?"

    "Yes, I am a descendant of Progenitor Chen."

    Xia Qin frowned. "Xia Shang had no children with Wang Xiaoyu, so where did you descendantse from?"

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that he hadpletely overlooked this detail. If Progenitor Chen had been betrayed by Wang Xiaoyu, then where had all of his descendantse from? Had he just found some random woman?

    Xia Ji replied, "All of the members of the Xia family in the Fifth Maind are descendants of Progenitor Chen. We are able to prove that we are rted by blood, but we don''t know our origins. That is not recorded in our family history."

    Xia Qin started to ponder.

    Xia Ji continued to beg. "Senior Progenitor, this junior is Progenitor Chen¡¯s descendant, and I have also joined Shenwu''s Sky. Please, help me. I am a member of the Xia family. Please, help me!"

    Xia Qin indifferently replied, "You''re giving him to me, and I can deal with him as I see fit?"

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s right. As a descendant of Progenitor Chen, he should be dealt with however you see fit, as that should resolve any of your grievances."

    Xia Qin turned back to Lu Yin and asked, "You¡¯ve received Xia Shang''s power, and yet you act to harm his descendants?"

    Lu Yin exined, "When I had only just started cultivating, he, already a Semi-Progenitor, attacked me. If not for some tricks that I had up my sleeve, I would have died long ago. He also acted against my family and friends, which led to the deaths of seventy two people. During the Fifth Maind¡¯s recent crisis, he joined hands with our enemy and betrayed us. He already knew about Progenitor Chen''s history, yet he still sought to take refuge with Shenwu''s Sky, acting as though he was qualified to make decisions on behalf of Progenitor Chen. He isn¡¯t worthy of the Xia surname, nor can he be considered a true descendant of Progenitor Chen."

    Xia Ji shouted, "Lu Yin, you''re spouting nonsense! I plotted against the Cosmic Sect to take the Cosmic Art! That is Progenitor Chen''s inheritance and so it should belong to me! Those seventy two deaths were merely an ident. I also attacked you because you plotted against the Seven Courts. The power that you¡¯ve seized does not belong to you! Progenitor Chen''s power should belong to me and the members of the Xia family, not you!"

    Xia Qin addressed Xia Ji. "Why did you join Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Xia Ji lowered his head. "We both carry the Xia surname. If Progenitor Chen were still alive, he would have understood this by now and would be willing to return to Shenwu''s Sky."

    Xia Luo shook his head. Xia Ji had just sealed his fate with his own words. The grudge between Progenitor Chen and Shenwu''s Sky ran too deep, and Xia Qin was even a victim of that grudge. iming that Progenitor Chen would have chosen to return to Shenwu''s Sky was like saying that all of the grudges of the past should simply be erased, which was no different from denying Xia Qin''s past.

    "Goodbye, old man. Thank you for allowing me to rece Xia Jiuyou."

    "I''ll settle my grudges with Xia Shang myself. There''s no need to take things out on his descendants," Xia Qin stated indifferently.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Good."

    Xia Ji could tell that this Xia family Progenitor held some sort of grudge against Progenitor Chen, but she also seemed to hold one against Shenwu''s Sky as well. What was her story? Xia Ji instinctively nced at Xia Luo, the person whom he had tacitly allowed to rece Xia Jiuyou as the heir of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Xia family. Maybe this youth knew something¡­

    Just as Xia Ji lifted his head, a foot fell, crushing him underground with a thunderous boom. The earth cracked, and a tremendous force pierced through the Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Yin looked down from above as he smashed Xia Ji with a foot, just like what he had done to Nightking Zhenwu. Yet another grudge hade to a conclusion.

    Even at his moment of death, Xia Ji failed to understand why Xia Qin had not saved him and had allowed him to be crushed to death. Everything that he had said had been absolutely correct. They both carried the Xia surname, and many, many years had passed. Progenitor Chen should have returned to Shenwu''s Sky after so long. Everything that Xia Ji had done throughout his life had been to regain Xia Shang¡¯s power. Where had he gone wrong?

    Moreover, why had Lu Yin been so decisive in killing him? Did he not want the Nine Clones Secret Technique? It was Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s greatest technique, so why would Lu Yin not hesitate to give it up? Xia Ji simply could not understand this.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. Xia Ji was finally dead. The seventy two lives had been avenged. Did Lu Yin feel anyfort? Not really. Even though the enmity had been resolved and lives had been avenged, the dead would never return to life.

    The Champions'' Stage appeared, and Lu Yin immediately anointed Xia Ji. After all, the man had been a Semi-Progenitor.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had anointed a true Semi-Progenitor. Before this, his most powerful champion had been Tian Dou, who had only been a peak Envoy.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength, anointing a Semi-Progenitor as a champion posed no problems at all.

    Xia Shenfei watched as Xia Ji was anointed, and then when he nced at Lu Yin, there was a hint of fear in his eyes. This was an emotion that Xia Shenfei had never thought he would feel, but it appeared at this moment.

    There was nothing more cruel than anointing a champion after a person¡¯s death.

    It was possible that this ability was why the Lu family had been exiled. Their innate gift was simply too terrifying.

 Chapter 2477: Revenge

    Chapter 2477: Revenge

    Xia Qin stared intently at Lu Yin. This young man was showing himself to be exactly what Arch-Elder Zen had described him as: ruthless, cold-hearted, andpletely unlike Lu Xiaoxuan, who had been likened to a ray of sunshine. However, it was precisely this sort of ruthlessness that had allowed him to survive in the universe for so long.

    The Lu family was gone, but Lu Yin was flourishing, and it was entirely due to his ruthlessness.

    The woman stared into Lu Yin''s eyes, but she did not see any joy from obtaining revenge. Instead, she saw a bit of sadness, which was a relief to her. There was arge difference between someone who was forced to seek revenge and someone who took pleasure in it.

    It was no wonder why Arch-Elder Zen was so willing to help this young man.

    Arch-Elder Zen had little to say regarding Xia Ji''s death. As a cultivator of his age, he had long since learned to let go of many things.

    "I hope that you don''t have any objections to me killing Xia Ji," Lu Yin said as he looked at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo just shrugged. "He had no objections when Xia Jiuyou died. What goes aroundes around."

    Lu Yin nodded. It was true, what went around would certainlye back.

    Xia Ji had been a selfish man with no love for his family. In order to raise a better heir, he had allowed Xia Jiuyou to be killed by Xia Luo, despite being perfectly capable of stopping such a thing.

    Xia Yi''s methods of training youths had been cruel, but had Xia Ji not perpetuated the cruelty?

    Both men had been far, far inferior to Progenitor Chen, and they had instead more closely resembled the Xia family of Shenwu''s Sky.

    "So, Senior, have we reached an agreement?" Lu Yin asked as he looked at Xia Qin.

    Xia Shenfei''s heart pounded as he also turned his attention to Xia Qin.

    Xia Qin looked at Xia Ji''s corpse and then at Lu Yin. "Yes. It will be interesting to see a direct descendant rule Shenwu''s Sky side by side with a descendant of a branch family."

    "Senior Progenitor, this-¡±

    Xia Shenfei wanted to protest, but he was interrupted by Xia Luo. "Senior brother, please guide me in the future."

    Xia Shenfei clenched his fists as he red at Xia Luo.

    Xia Luo chuckled. "Dao Monarch, even with the support of Senior Progenitor Xia Qin, I won''t have an easy time of things in Shenwu''s Sky by himself."

    Hearing the title Dao Monarch mentioned startled Xia Qin, and she looked at Lu Yin in confusion. This was the first time that anyone had formally addressed Lu Yin directly as Dao Monarch, and even he was not used to it yet.

    He told Xia Luo, "Take everyone from the Xia family with you."

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch," Xia Luo replied with a smile.

    Killing intent appeared and quickly filled Xia Shenfei''s eyes as he locked eyes with Xia Luo.

    Arch-Elder Zen watched things y out with a smile. Shenwu''s Sky was about to be a lively ce in the near future, though they could only me themselves for offending Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had spent many years in the Fifth Maind, and he had ovee one enemy after another during his life as a cultivator. No matter how formidable his opponents had been, all of them had eventually met their downfall. Shenwu''s Sky would be no exception.

    This was the day that Lu Yin officially extended his influence into the four ruling powers.

    Xia Shenji was gone, but the Celestial Frost Sect would not easily allow Lu Yin to meddle with Shenwu''s Sky. However, even after Lu Yin and Xia Qin arrived at Shenwu¡¯s Sky, the Celestial Frost Sect remained silent. Naturally, this made Lu Yin uneasy.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were not fools. They definitely knew what he was up to, but for some reason, were allowing him to do as he pleased. Part of the reason was that their intervention would be useless, but to Lu Yin, it felt like they were waiting for something.

    The Lu family had been in control of the Fifth Maind for many years. Elder Progenitor Lu Tianyi had even dared to face Aeturnus¡¯s True God. That level of power was absolutely terrifying, but they had still been exiled by the four ruling powers.

    The four ruling powers seemed powerless at times, but they always found the strength to act at critical moments.

    Lu Yin reflected on his various shes with the four ruling powers. It had started with the truce. Then, after that, there had been the confrontation stemming from Liu Yue''s death, Lu Yin¡¯s schemes to take their star essence, his sixth stellr tribtion, their attempt to use Nutjob Lu to kill Lu Yin, and most recently, the moment when he had proimed himself as Dao Monarch. Throughout all these events, from an outside perspective, the four ruling powers had constantly seemedpletely powerless and unable to stop Lu Yin from doing anything he wanted.

    However, the four ruling powers had only taken direct action against Lu Yin once, and that had been when they had attacked the Stargazing Decks.

    The Stargazing Decks had been the key reason why the four ruling powers had agreed to a truce with Lu Yin in the first ce.

    The four ruling powers always demonstrated their strength at critical moments. If the Stargazing Deck that belonged to Astral-10 had also been destroyed, then Lu Yin would have lost his only means of dealing with Bai Xian''er, which was also his means of restraining the four ruling powers. After that, if any conflicts broke out, they would be able to act without holding back.

    The four ruling powers had not done much, but the ramifications of their single action had been catastrophic.

    This was why Lu Yin was incredibly vignt.

    He could not let himself be deceived by the four ruling powers'' facade. The more passively they behaved, the greater their hidden schemes.

    ¡­

    The jiao returned to Shenwu''s Sky.

    When the endless disciples of Shenwu''s Sky saw the jiao''s shadow as the beast covered the sky overhead, their first thought was that their Progenitor had taken the beast back.

    However, those with positions of some authority already knew that it was impossible for them to ever reim the jiao. Shenwu''s Sky simplycked the means to do so.

    Xia Qin, Xia Shenfei, Xia Luo, Xia Meng, and many othersnded along with Lu Yin.

    The jiao remained in the sky above Shenwu''s Sky, looking around at the familiar scenery. It involuntarily let out a roar, challenging anyone to try to capture it.

    "Shut up!" Lu Yin shouted sternly.

    The jiao snarled and red downwards, but the moment it saw Lu Yin, it retracted its ws and transformed its roar into a snarl that was quietly directed elsewhere.

    On a mountain range within Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s territory, the disciples and members of the Xia family were stunned to see Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s presence. Why was he visiting Shenwu''s Sky?

    When Xia Qin arrived, Xia De, Xia Ziheng, Xian Su, and an entire group of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s disciples stepped forward to greet her. "Greetings, Senior Xia Qin."

    "Greetings, Senior Xia Qin"

    "Greetings, Senior Xia Qin."

    Xia Qin nodded to them before ordering, "Summon all the disciples of Shenwu''s Sky here."

    "Yes, Senior Progenitor," Xia Ziheng replied. He nced up and saw Xia Shenfei, Xia Luo, and the other members of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Xia family, but more importantly, he noticed Lu Yin casually strolling around nearby. The Semi-Progenitor had a bad premonition, and he quickly gathered all of Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s disciples.

    In the shadows of the mountains, all the disciples of Shenwu''s Sky gathered and stood respectfully. No one dared to move at all.

    Xia Shenfei, Xia Luo, and the others who had just arrived also remained still.

    Xia Qin closed her eyes as though resting, though she asionally let out bursts of a Progenitor¡¯s aura, which shook the hearts of everyone present.

    High overhead, the jiao¡¯s massive form covered the sky.

    The atmosphere seemed grave and serious.

    Only Lu Yin continued to stroll about, asionally climbing to the top of a mountain to admire the view where he would let out an exmation of admiration.

    Xia De''s eye twitched as he watched Lu Yin, but the man did not dare say a word.

    Lu Yin was not the same person that he had once been. He was someone who could fight directly against Progenitors and even scold them. He had tricked Xia Shenji into leaving their universe, which had caused Shenwu''s Sky to lose their true master. Lu Yin was a sworn enemy of Shenwu''s Sky, and yet simultaneously someone whom they did not dare to provoke.

    There was a loud bang as Lu Yin shattered a stone on a mountain and examined the debris.

    The roots of the mountains in Shenwu''s Sky were incredibly tough, evenparable to the stones that Lu Yin had found in Progenitor Guai''s armory. He wondered if these stones could be Disassembled, and if so, what they might yield.

    The noise drew the attention of the people from Shenwu''s Sky, and they all looked over.

    Many people from Shenwu''s Sky hated Lu Yin, and their eyes were filled with resentment.

    ¡°Lu Yin, what are you doing?" Xia Taili demanded. She was the only one bold enough to confront him at this moment.

    Xia De quickly gave Xia Taili a look, indicating for her to remain silent. While he was not afraid of Lu Yin, he was afraid that Xia Taili might trigger Xia Qin¡¯s anger. The Semi-Progenitor knew a bit about the woman¡¯s past, as well as her hatred for the Xia family¡¯s main line.

    With the debris of the crushed stone in his hand, Lu Yin nced over at Xia Taili and retorted, "It''s none of your concern."

    Wu Taibai stood a bit away from Xia Taili, and his eyes revealed myriad emotions. He had once been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Three Skies, but as time passed, he was now worlds apart from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s disregard for Xia Taili only provided fuel for her rage. Memories of being imprisoned and bullied by Lu Yin flooded her mind, and she shouted, "Leave our Shenwu''s Sky at once!"

    Lu Yinughed loudly. "Ask your brother if he agrees with that or not."

    Xia Taili looked at Xia Shenfei.

    Xia Shenfei frowned. "Be quiet."

    Suddenly growing anxious, Xia Taili pleaded, "Brother, why did you bring him to Shenwu''s Sky? He''s our enemy."

    Xia Shenfei thundered, "Enough!"

    Xia Taili was about to continue arguing, but Xia Luo spoke up. "He will be Shenwu''s Sky''s benefactor in the future."

    Xia Shenfei nced over.

    The people of Shenwu''s Sky were incensed, and Xia Ziheng scolded, "Junior, you have no right to speak here! Get over here and kneel!"

    Xia Meng stepped forward. "Old man, keep your mouth shut."

    Xia Ziheng was furious. "And who are you?"

    On the other hand, Xia De was startled by Xia Meng¡¯s presence. "Aren¡¯t you from the Forsaken Land¡¯s Xia family?"

    Xia Luo smiled. "Since I''ve joined Shenwu''s Sky, I should be considered half a disciple of Shenwu''s Sky."

    "You¡¯re nothing more than a cast-off descendant of a branch family!" Xia Ziheng shouted.

    Finally, Xia Qin opened her eyes, and the aura of a Progenitor surged out, sweeping through Shenwu''s Sky and causing the ce to tremble.

    Everyone quivered, and no one dared to speak another word.

    Aside from the cultivators who were stationed on the rear battlefield and others who were out on missions, everyst member of Shenwu''s Sky had gathered here. They formed a massive crowd that looked like a sea of ck formed from millions of people.

    These were the people who qualified to cultivate in Shenwu''s Sky. The number of the sect¡¯s outer disciples and those who aspired to join Shenwu''s Sky was even greater.

    This was one of the four ruling powers.

    "Are you done arguing?" Xia Qin''s voice was cold.

    Her words startled everyone, and no one had the guts to answer.

    Xia Qin scanned the crowd. She was not actually angry, but she had achieved the reaction that she wanted. Shenwu''s Sky only regarded direct descendants of the Xia family as being of any worth, and members of the branch families were all oppressed. In fact, people even dared to try to scold and punish members of a branch family right in front of her. In that case¡­

    She would allow the direct descendants and the branch families to jointly run Shenwu''s Sky. She would let their ancestral Progenitors see where the Xia family would end up in the future.

    There was another bang, as Lu Yin crushed another bit of rock.

    Xia Qin frowned and nced over, rather irritated at the disruption.

    Lu Yin had not done it on purpose. He had merely noticed that the foundation of Shenwu''s Sky consisted of varying levels of hardness, and the materials grew more robust as one moved deeper. The underground prison was located in the furthest depths, so how had Liu Shaoge and Xia Shenji escaped from there?

    As he considered this question, he unleashed his domain and started to examine Shenwu''s Sky.

    However, just as he started, Xia Qin transmitted her voice to him. "Don''t go too far. While it¡¯s true that I''m dissatisfied with the direct descendants of the Xia family, I have no ns to betray Shenwu''s Sky. I understand the debt that I owe you, but even so, I remain a part of Shenwu''s Sky as well as a member of the Xia family."

    Lu Yin retracted his domain and smiled at the woman. "I understand."

    Xia Qin averted her gaze. "Where is the current patriarch of Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Xia De and Xia Ziheng exchanged nces before respectfully answering, "Reporting to Senior Progenitor, Xia Xing is being held captive. He is suspected of colluding with outsiders and betraying Shenwu''s Sky."

    "Bring him here," Xia Qin ordered.

    Xia Taili shot to her feet.

    "I''ll go," she said as she moved away.

    From the moment Xia Xing had been arrested, Xia Taili had been constantly worried about him and had attempted everything to visit him. She refused to believe that her father would betray Shenwu''s Sky, but the order for his arrest hade from Progenitor Shenji himself. With Progenitor Xia Qin¡¯s appearance, Xia Taili felt certain that her father would finally receive justice.

 Chapter 2478: Shaman Gods Reappearance

    Chapter 2478: Shaman God''s Reappearance

    There were several reasons that Xia Shenji had not made a big deal out of Xia Xing''s betrayal. For starters, the man had wanted to set a trap for Lu Yin. Secondly, Xia Shenji had not wanted such an ugly matter to leak out, as that would not bode well for Shenwu''s Sky at all.

    He had also nned to deal with Xia Xing after Nutjob Lu killed Lu Yin, but the Progenitor had never anticipated that he would be the one to fall into Lu Yin''s trap.

    Xia Xing was quickly brought over. While moving, Xia Taili informed her father that Xia Shenji had been banished. Xia Xing grew both anxious and hopeful after hearing that Lu Yin had arrived. After all, Xia Xing had no idea how Lu Yin would deal with him, as there was no denying that the patriarch had cooperated with Progenitor Shenji to plot against Lu Yin. Still, everything had been forced upon Xia Xing.

    "This junior, Xia Xing, greets Senior Xia Qin." Xia Xing quickly bowed upon arriving.

    The woman just waved a hand, tossing Xia Xing towards Lu Yin.

    Xia Taili''s face grew pale. "Senior Progenitor, my father¡­"

    "Taili, Senior Progenitor knows what she is doing," Xia Shenfei growled back.

    Xia Taili stared at Xia Qin for a moment before casting a worried look in Lu Yin''s direction.

    Xia Xing crashed to the ground in front of Lu Yin. Xia Qin did not bother showing the disgraced patriarch much courtesy, as she was thoroughly disgusted by the man.

    Xia Xing had betrayed Shenwu''s Sky. If she didn¡¯t need to repay a debt, Xia Qing would have never saved him. There was a fundamental difference between this and getting revenge against the Xia family''s direct line.

    "We meet again, Patriarch Xia Xing." Lu Yin showed some interest as he looked at Xia Xing.

    Xia Xing''s expression contorted with despair as he looked up at Lu Yin. "I didn''t expect that even Senior Progenitor Xia Qin would take your side. You are truly a master at manipting people''s hearts."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Didn''t you expect this day toe when you were helping Xia Shenji work against me?"

    Xia Xing shrugged. "When your identity as Yu Hao was exposed, of course I was exposed as well. After all, I worked to protect you on more than one asion. Senior Progenitor Shenji saw the truth that I''m a clone with but a nce. What could I do? I simply wanted to survive."

    "I know, you only wanted to survive. Still, I almost died because of you."

    "If you want to kill me, just do it."

    Lu Yin raised a hand. As Xia Taili and everyone else from Shenwu''s Sky watched, Lu Yin pped Xia Xing''s forehead.

    Xia Taili screamed, "Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand quickly drew back, exposing the death energy that he held in his hand. It was the Death Seal that he had ced in Xia Xing.

    Everyone could see that Lu Yin had extracted death energy from Xia Xing''s body.

    "I promised Xia Qin that I''d release you from my control. I''ve removed the death energy, so you''re free now," Lu Yin stated.

    Xia Xing was stunned, not only by the fact that Lu Yin had removed the Death Seal, but also by his words. Lu Yin had publicly exined why Xia Xing had betrayed Shenwu''s Sky: the patriarch had been forced to do so.

    Xia Taili covered her mouth. "Father, did you really betray Shenwu''s Sky?"

    Xia Shenfei frowned and stared at Lu Yin. Why did had he exined himself so clearly? Did Lu Xiaoxuan intend to use Xia Xing again?

    "What? Do you want to catch up on old times with me?" Lu Yin joked.

    Xia Xing quickly rose to his feet and made his way towards the members of Shenwu''s Sky, not stopping until he was at the edge of the crowd.

    Xia Qin''s voice rang out, "From this day forwards, Shenwu''s Sky will be jointly ruled by Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo. Xia Luoes from the Fifth Maind¡¯s branch of the family. The Fifth Maind branch will hold equal status to the Perennial World branch. I don''t see any issue with having both him and Xia Shenfei working together to run Shenwu''s Sky."

    Everyone was stunned by the announcement.

    Xia De immediately spoke up to object. "Senior Progenitor, it is uneptable to have the direct line rule Shenwu''s Sky together with a branch family!"

    Xia Qin''s eyes locked onto the man, and the aura of a Progenitor swept over Xia De''s body, sending him flying. He smashed into the ground, where he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

    The ruthless attack instantly silenced the entire crowd that had gathered in Shenwu''s Sky.

    "Does anyone else have any objections?" Xia Qin''s words were apanied by a intimidating pressure that suppressed all of Shenwu''s Sky.

    The vast majority of the members of Shenwu¡¯s Sky were only ordinary disciples, as there were only a few direct descendants of the Xia family, such as Xia De, Xia Shenfei, Xia Taili, and Xia Xing. In the past, the direct family line had held all the power in Shenwu''s Sky, but under Xia Qin''s supervision, they had lost the right to even speak.

    Xia Luo''s lips curled upwards. "I look forward to learning from all of you in the future."

    Xia Qin clearly saw resentful looks on the faces of Xia De and the other members of the direct family line. This was what she wanted; the more concerned the direct family line was about their authority, the more she would suppress them.

    Of course, this was simply her way of getting revenge against the Xia family. She did not want to actually destroy the family.

    Lu Yin understood that, as soon as Xia Qin relieved enough of her anger, or if Xia Shenji returned, the entire farce would end. However, things would not be nearly so simple.

    Xia Qin used her strength as a Progenitor to threaten Shenwu''s Sky and force everyone to agree to have the sect be jointly ruled by Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo. With that done, Lu Yin was ousted from Shenwu¡¯s Sky by the old woman. There was no denying that Lu Yin would always be considered an enemy of Shenwu''s Sky.

    Regardless of Xia Qin¡¯s view or the Xia family¡¯s opinion, her attitude towards Lu Yin was no different from that of any other member of Shenwu''s Sky.

    If not for the fact that she needed Lu Yin to remove the Death Seal from Xia Xing, Xia Qin would have never allowed him to enter Shenwu''s Sky.

    Before Lu Yin left, Xia Qin told him, "Shenwu''s Sky will not make trouble for you in the future. Your enemy is Xia Shenji, who has already been banished. I hope that you won''t stir up any further trouble for Shenwu''s Sky. As for the Celestial Frost Sect, we have no interest in their affairs."

    Lu Yin left Shenwu''s Sky, riding atop the jiao to return to the Fifth Maind.

    The changes in Shenwu''s Sky quickly caught the attention of the entire Perennial World.

    With Xia Shenfei and Xia Luo sharing power, it meant that the Xia family¡¯s direct line and branch families were both being represented, and many people spected that this change would lead to the decline of Shenwu''s Sky.

    However, for the moment, no conflicts erupted between the two sides, even if only because of Xia Qin''s suppressive authority.

    One day, Xia Ziheng arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect and requested an audience with Progenitor Bai Wangyuan.

    The Progenitor refused to see the man, but Xia Ziheng did manage to meet with Bai Qi.

    "Please go back. This matter is a private affair that concerns the families of Shenwu''s Sky. There is nothing that the Celestial Frost Sect can do about it," Bai Qi stated bluntly.

    Xia Ziheng was put in a difficult position. "This is clearly the result of Lu Xiaoxuan''s interference. Progenitor Xia Qin has been deceived by Lu Xiaoxuan. In the past, she clearly stated that she would not involve herself with any affairs that are rted to the four ruling powers. Is Progenitor Bai going to just watch as Shenwu''s Sky leaves the four ruling powers? Furthermore, how will we exin things to Senior Progenitor Shenji when he returns?"

    "What is it that you want us to do? Go to war with Lu Xiaoxuan or Senior Progenitor Xia Qin?" Bai Qi asked.

    Xia Ziheng fell silent. Just as Bai Qi had said, no matter what Lu Yin might have done to influence the situation, the one who supported the authority being shared between the branch and main families was Xia Qin, a Progenitor of the Xia family. What could the Celestial Frost Sect do about that?

    "May I meet with Progenitor Bai?" Xia Ziheng asked.

    "Go back. The root of your problem lies with Senior Progenitor Xia Qin. If she does not approve of it, how could a branch family ever rule over Shenwu''s Sky? How could Lu Xiaoxuan''s ploy ever seed? This is Senior Progenitor Xia Qin''s choice, and the Celestial Frost Sect cannot intervene," Bai Qi said.

    Xia Ziheng had no choice but to leave the Celestial Frost Sect. Given their attitude, the Wang family and the White Dragon n were sure to hold simr positions.

    It was not that they did not want to intervene; rather, the entire matter was simply an internal affair of Shenwu''s Sky. Also, no one could control Lu Xiaoxuan. All of them were very wary of Lu Xiaoxuan, and since no one was willing to start a war, mere words would aplish nothing.

    Xia Ziheng was not willing to ept his current situation. Despite also being a descendant of a branch family who wished to be treated like a direct descendant, he knew that Progenitor Shenji¡¯s return was inevitable. The branch families would never be able to rise to power. Instead of seeking temporary gains, he felt that it would be better to maintain their current status. If he crossed the line, not only would the Forsaken Land¡¯s branch of the Xia family ultimately suffer, but Xia Ziheng¡¯s own branch family would also suffer.

    He did not want to be implicated by the recent changes that had urred.

    Xia Ziheng had not originally nned to visit the Wang family, but as his uneasiness grew, he decided to seek an audience with Progenitor Wang Fan. The Semi-Progenitor intended to make his opinion as clear as possible, and that meant having witnesses for Progenitor Shenji¡¯s eventual return.

    Xia Ziheng started moving towards the Wang family''s continent.

    Somewhere along the way between the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family¡¯s continent, Hen Xin and Lu Yin were quietly waiting.

    Lu Yin had decided that it was finally time to finish off Xia Ziheng.

    This particr Semi-Progenitor had created a great deal of trouble for Lu Yin in the past, and he had even sworn to kill Lu Yin.

    Xia Ji was dead, which meant that it was now Xia Ziheng''s turn.

    Lu Yin did not enjoy getting revenge, but there were certain grudges that had to be dealt with.

    After a day had passed, Lu Yin did a mental calction and said to Hen Xin, "It''s about time. Are you ready to deal with Xia Ziheng?"

    Hen Xin replied confidently, "It won¡¯t be a problem."

    Lu Yin nodded and inquired, "When do you n to break through to the Progenitor realm?"

    Hen Xin''s eyes flickered as he replied, "I don''t feel the urge to break through yet. Ancient God once mentioned that, if one doesn¡¯t feel the urge to break through, the attempt should not be made. Otherwise, the chances of failure will be extremely high."

    Lu Yin thought back to what he had witnessed when he had Possessed Marquis Lan. During a battle on the rear battlefield, Hen Xin had attacked Marquis Lan, which had severely injured the marquis. Hen Xin¡¯s true level of strength was much higher than anything that he had revealed so far.

    Did Hen Xin fear Lu Yin? Was the man afraid that Lu Yin would try to prevent his breakthrough?

    Lu Yin stood with his hands sped behind his back. Would he try to stop Hen Xin''s breakthrough? If Hen Xin sessfully became a Progenitor, it would not help Lu Yin at all. The man was highly ambitious, so it made sense for Lu Yin to suppress him. However, stopping Hen Xin from breaking through would also mean one less Progenitor to protect humanity.

    As Lu Yin considered the situation, he felt some fluctuations in the distance. He looked up and said, "There''s a battle. Let''s go."

    Far away from Lu Yin and Hen Xin, Xia Ziheng stared in horror at a doll in front of him that was grinning at him. "Shaman God?"

    "Kaka. From now on, I will be Xia Ziheng," Shaman God¡¯s doll cackled as it floated in the air.

    Xia Ziheng''s pupils shrank, and he unhesitatingly turned to flee. He might be a Semi-Progenitor, but he never even considered trying to fight against one of the Seven Skygods'' Semi-Progenitor avatars. The seven ancient monsters were far beyond Xia Ziheng¡¯s ability to resist.

    The moment he turned around, Xia Ziheng felt an imminent sense of terrible danger. He released his inner world, which formed a birdcage around him that wasposed of countless des. An invisible power filled the area that surrounded the inner world. "Shaman God, this is the Higher Realm! How dare you show yourself here?"

    As soon as Xia Ziheng spoke, a figure appeared and reached out to grab Xia Ziheng. As this happened, Shaman God¡¯s doll remained floating behind the Semi-Progenitor.

    A de from Xia Ziheng¡¯s inner world shed out, but the figure before him waved a hand. That simple action mysteriously caused Xia Ziheng¡¯s de to simply vanish. At the same time, Shaman God¡¯s doll casually waltzed into the birdcage formed of des to stand face to face with Xia Ziheng.

    At that moment, Xia Ziheng experienced a rare feeling of pure terror. It was very simr to what he had felt when facing Undying God. As the man stared at the eerie and ominous Shaman God doll, he felt an overwhelming desire to escape and get as far away as possible, but at that moment, his vision changed. His sight came from his hands, he felt his feet from where his nose was supposed to be, while he began to smell from the top of his head while his hearing arrived from his feet. All of his senses became mixed up, while left him helpless and confused as his inner world copsed.

    Against Shaman God, Xia Ziheng was as powerless as a child.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll seized Xia Ziheng''s neck from behind and then forcefully twisted it. There was a crisp snap as Xia Ziheng''s bones shattered, and the birdcage of des that surrounded the manpletely disintegrated. A Semi-Progenitor became nothing more than a puppet that Shaman God held in a hand.

    Fear overwhelmed Xia Ziheng, and his vision from his hands spun. Desperate, he started to beg. "I surrender! I¡¯m willing to join Aeternus!"

 Chapter 2479: Buying A Life

    Chapter 2479: Buying A Life

    Shadows shrouded Shaman God¡¯s doll. It floated in the air before Xia Ziheng, letting out an eerieugh. "You''re willing to join Aeternus? Too bad! Aeternus has been banished from this universe. If that weren¡¯t the case, I might have considered epting you.¡±

    ¡°Your only use now is as my vessel," Shaman God finished with a cacklingughter.

    Panicked, Xia Ziheng shouted, "Wait! I know a secret! I know a secret!"

    The doll just sneered. "What secret could a branch family elder possibly know? Just behave and be my vessel."

    The doll moved closer to Xia Ziheng until its eyes nearly touched his face.

    Xia Ziheng trembled and fear made his pupils fluctuate. "I know the secret behind the Wang family''s Yellow Springs!"

    The doll instantly froze and raised its head. A pale chin was exposed to the sunlight. "The secret behind the Wang family''s Yellow Springs? How did you learn anything about that?"

    Xia Ziheng swallowed. "Wang Yi left that secret with the Xia family. Our branch family was the one to receive it."

    "Wang Yi?" Shaman God thought for a few moments before remembering. "The Semi-Progenitor woman who attacked Xia Shang and was eventually executed by the Lu family at the Daosource Sect¡¯s gate?"

    "Yes, her! Because of Lu Tianyi, she was never able to be with Lu Feng and was instead forced to marry an elder from a branch of the Xia family. That left her not only resenting the Lu family, but also the Wang family. The Wang family hoped to have another woman marry Lu Feng, and thus they never helped Wang Yi. She was married to my Xia family, which led to her hatred for the Wang family being just as strong as her hatred for the Lu family. Before dying, she left the secret of the Wang family''s Yellow Springs with my branch of the Xia family," Xia Ziheng exined.

    "The secret was supposed to be directly delivered to the main family, but it was intercepted by our branch family. Aside from the direct descendants of the Wang family, I alone know this secret," Xia Ziheng added.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll cackled. "It seems like you really do know the secret of the Wang family''s Yellow Springs. Well, let''s hear it."

    Xia Ziheng fearfully asked, "Will you spare my life?"

    Shaman Godughed. "I can let you join Aeternus."

    Xia Ziheng let out a breath of relief. He knew that this was as far as Shaman God was willing topromise. It was nearly impossible for him to use this secret to regain his freedom. "In my opinion, the secret that Wang Yi left with us can be considered the greatest secret in the entire Perennial World. Even if the Lu family were still around, this secret would overshadow everything."

    The doll stared intently at Xia Ziheng.

    Xia Ziheng slowly continued, "The Wang family''s Yellow Springs is located¡­"

    Suddenly, Shaman God''s head snapped up. "Who¡¯s there?"

    The doll immediately grewrger, and its eerie and sinister eyes seemed to rece the sky itself as they scanned the area.

    Lu Yin frowned. His impatience had gotten the better of him. He had arrived earlier and had assumed that Xia Ziheng was as good as dead. Lu Yin had intended to make attack Shaman God after Xia Ziheng was dead and eliminate the Semi-Progenitor avatar. However, Xia Ziheng had unexpectedly offered to reveal a secret, specifically one concerning the Wang family''s Yellow Springs. Lu Yin had briefly forgotten to keep his aura concealed, and Shaman God had instantly discovered him.

    Since he had been discovered, he would just deal with things right away.

    "The way you stare at Xia Ziheng," Lu Yinmented as he stepped forward and stared upwards at Shaman God¡¯s huge doll, "Is still as disgusting as ever."

    As he spoke, he raised a hand, and earth filled the sky and the world was turned upside down: Flipping the Sky.

    Shaman God was startled to see Lu Yin appear. "You?"

    Thendmass formed from Flipping the Sky mercilessly pressed down upon Shaman God¡¯s doll. It tried to resist, but it only had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor; how could itpete with the might of Flipping the Sky?

    In the past, Lu Yin had used his Flipping the Sky technique to pin down Undying God''s Semi-Progenitor avatar. How could a mere doll fight against such a thing?

    Shaman God waspletely amazed. "You''ve grown so much! What a pity that your growth surpassed our expectations. However, the more you grow, the lower the chances of the four ruling powers sparing you. It''s only a matter of time before a great war breaks out in this universe."

    Lu Yin stared at Shaman God. "How many more of you Aeternus rats are still hiding here?"

    "Kaka, you want to know? Then go find out for yourself," Shaman God retorted before vanishing.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Was this the result of a sourcebox array? He lifted a foot and distorted space and time with Inverse Step. Several threads of a barely visible gray energy appeared. It was the manifestation of the power of time.

    Even though Shaman God had disappeared, a shadow had remained in ce. The timing of the doll¡¯s escape had been warped.

    "Do you really think that you can escape from right under my nose?" Lu Yin¡¯s domain sliced through the void, severing the connection between Shaman God and the sourcebox array. A sourcebox abruptly appeared in the sky that had previously been hidden within the void. This was the reason why Shaman God had been able to leave so easily, and it was also why Xia Ziheng''s sh had vanished so mysteriously. However, after Lu Yin severed the connection with his void god level domain, Shaman God had no choice but to directly face Lu Yin.

    The doll¡¯s hand extended towards Lu Yin with curled fingers as it tried to mix up his five senses.

    Lu Yin''s body suddenly grew withered. He raised a hand and shot a Hollow Palm back at Shaman God.

    Bang!

    There was a loud bang, and both of them were forced backwards. Lu Yin''s body almost fully recovered from its withered state. Shaman God''s ability to rearrange a person¡¯s five senses approached the limits of what Lu Yin''s body could handle. Thankfully, the attack had been rebuffed by Extremes Must Be Reversed. On the other hand, Shaman God''s body had been shattered by Lu Yin''s Hollow Palm.

    Lu Yin was startled, as he had assumed that swapping the five senses simply meant that one''s senses were shifted about their body. He had never realized that the shift could cause so much damage as well.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll clutched the left side its body. "You can actually resist having your senses confounded? You truly are strong, little one."

    "I can be even stronger." Lu Yin raised his hand once again, and this time, a purplish-ck substance spread across his body as he started using his Wielder-realm battle force.

    This time, Lu Yin was relying on nothing but his own strength to face off against Shaman God''s Semi-Progenitor avatar. He was not relying on any borrowed Progenitor-level powers.

    The Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor avatars were among the most powerful of all Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin could not afford to be the slightest bit careless.

    Deep in the ground, Shaman God¡¯s doll moved its eyes as it floated into the air to stare at Lu Yin.

    A chill ran up Lu Yin''s spine, and he moved away quickly by using Inverse Step.

    Nothing changed in the ce where he had just been standing, but he knew that nothing good would have happened if he had remained in ce.

    Shaman God waspletely different from Corpse God. Corpse God fought straightforwardly in a manner that represented unstoppable strength, whereas Shaman God fought elusively in a manner that was difficult to pin down. Furthermore, Shaman God was an Array Master, and Lu Yin felt that Shaman God might even be an Array Grandmaster.

    In some ways, Shaman God was a much greater threat to Lu Yin than Corpse God.

    "Kaka, little one, I¡¯m not going to y with you anymore," Shaman God said before vanishing once again. The doll quickly expanded, again recing the sky.

    Lu Yin frowned. Shaman God¡¯s techniques were truly bizarre. He could have kept the Skygod in ce by using the power of a Progenitor, but he had not brought the Champions'' Stage or the jiao with him for this trip. His purpose had been to kill Xia Ziheng, and bringing those things would have made him far more conspicuous and would have likely drawn the attention of Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors. As for the Investiture of the Gods, using it would instantly pull the attention of the entire Higher Realm.

    Even if Lu Yin did use his Investiture of the Gods, there was no guarantee that it would be enough to prevent Shaman God¡¯s avatar from escaping. The avatar was the same as Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping; it was able to easily defeat most Semi-Progenitors, and it could even fight against Progenitors with the many methods that it had avable.

    High overhead, Shaman God¡¯s gigantic doll loomed over Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand andshed out, shattering the doll. Its only purpose was to provide a bit of cover so that the real Shaman God could escape.

    As the doll shattered and sunlight shone down once more, Lu Yin turned to face Xia Ziheng, who was being held by Hen Xin.

    Xia Ziheng had not expected Lu Yin to appear at such a critical moment. Instead of feeling happy, his heart had dropped. When he had only been dealing with Shaman God, Xia Ziheng had seen a chance towards survival, even if it had meant betraying humanity. However, Lu Yin had clearly been present for some time, and he must have heard everything that Xia Ziheng had said. That meant that Lu Yin was aware that Xia Ziheng was willing to betray humanity, and Lu Yin would never let such a person go.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s mind raced as he stared at Lu Yin, trying to find a path to survival from this predicament.

    Lu Yin turned to face Xia Ziheng. "You were really unlucky to be targeted by the Shaman God."

    Xia Ziheng''s eye twitched and he asked, "What are you doing here?"

    "I was just passing by."

    There was a bitter smile on Xia Ziheng¡¯s face as he said, "Passing by? What a coincidence."

    "Semi-Progenitor Ziheng, you''ve changed. In the past, whenever you saw me, you would scold or curse me. What''s happened? Are you scared?" Lu Yin asked in aid back tone.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s eyes never left Lu Yin. "You came here on purpose. You came to kill me."

    Lu Yin denied nothing, as Xia Ziheng was not stupid. Lu Yin had appeared in this remote ce, and he was clearly trying to avoid attracting attention, which made his intentions quite clear.

    "To avoid breaking the truce, you''re going to make him kill me rather than do it yourself," Xia Ziheng continued.

    Lu Yin smiled. "That was the n, but what you told Shaman God really piqued my interest. I''m willing to let you use that secret to buy your life."

    Xia Ziheng answered bitterly, "I am able to buy my life from Shaman God, but not from you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Do you want to die?"

    "Of course not, but I already know that you won''t let me go."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s not necessarily the case. It all depends on whether your secret is worth enough."

    Xia Ziheng solemnly stated, "It''s definitely worth what I¡¯m asking. This is the biggest secret of the entire Perennial World, and it¡¯s only known to five people."

    "Just because a few people know something doesn''t make it important or valuable."

    Suddenly, Xia Ziheng started shouting, "The Celestial Frost Sect acted against the Lu family because they believe that Bai Xian''er can rece the Lu family as the ruler of this part of the universe. My Xia family acted against the Lu family because of past grudges rted to Xia Shang. The White Dragon n participated because, if they didn''t, they would lose all hope of surpassing the Nong and Liu families. However, what of the Wang family? Why did they act?"

    Lu Yin answered, "Because of Wang Si."

    Xia Ziheng retorted, "She was never anything more than a Semi-Progenitor. Even if she were Wang Fan''s daughter, so what? Does Bai Qi run the Celestial Frost Sect? Besides, Wang Si wasn¡¯t Wang Fan''s daughter. To the Wang family, she was basically an outsider. What gave her the right to lead the n to exile the Lu family? Why did Wang Fan ever agree to such a n? Haven''t you ever questioned this, Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin had honestly never given the matter too much thought. He had learned the truth from Wang Si while interrogating her, and that was how he had learned that the four ruling powers had attacked the Lu family after being instigated by Wang Si. This aligned with everything that Lu Yin had learned through his own investigations; thus, he had naturally assumed that Wang Si was the primary reason why the Wang family had joined the plot to exile the Lu family. He had never really considered why the Wang family had listened to Wang Si.

    No matter how powerful or clever the woman might have been, Wang Si had never been anything more than a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Ziheng. "Is the secret that you n to reveal rted to Wang Si?"

    Xia Ziheng responded, "It''s rted to why the Wang family acted against the Lu family. It''s the Wang family¡¯s greatest secret, and it¡¯s the secret that Wang Yi left behind as her revenge against the Wang family."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then tell me, and I''ll let you go."

 Chapter 2480: Fellow Disciples

    Chapter 2480: Fellow Disciples

    Xia Ziheng gritted his teeth. "Why should I trust you?"

    At this point, he was risking absolutely everything just to survive, even if it meant betraying humanity. However, Lu Yin certainly would not spare the man after overhearing him express his willingness to join Aeternus.

    This young man held the same attitude towards Aeternus as every other member of the Lu family. He showed no mercy to Aeternus or Redbacks.

    Lu Yin calmly stared at the man and said, "To me, you are nothing more than an ant. I have no reason to lie to such a worthless creature."

    "But I''m an ant that bit you," Xia Ziheng protested. "You even said that you had to kill me."

    Lu Yin asked, "Do you want me to swear an oath?"

    Xia Ziheng''s eyes flickered, uncertain of what he should do next. All he wanted was to stay alive, and he was willing to pay any price for that.

    "I want to speak with Progenitor Xia Qin," he stated.

    Lu Yinplimented the man. "Smart move, telling Xia Qin I''m here. If you die, she¡¯ll automatically assume that I''m responsible, which will mean that I¡¯ve broken the truce with the four ruling powers."

    "Not only that, but I want you to swear that you will never harm me," Xia Ziheng said.

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Hen Xin stared at the man.

    "Not just you, but any of your people too. You can''t use anything to attack me, not even indirectly. Lu Xiaoxuan, I will admit that I''m afraid. I fear death, I fear your retaliation, and I fear your schemes. When you stole the Sword Monument from me, I ended up being punished by Progenitor Shenji, and I still haven¡¯t forgotten about that. I know that I''ll never be able to match up to you, and that¡¯s why I want to use this secret to protect myself for the rest of my life. Rest assured, this secret is absolutely worth that price, and I promise that, for the rest of my life, I will never try to harm you or anyone connected with you." Xia Ziheng dered.

    Lu Yin spoke slowly. "Don''t you think that your conditions are a bit extreme? I can spare your life and even make sure you stay alive on your way to Shenwu''s Sky, but you want me to agree to leave you untouched for your entire life?"

    "I swear that, if this secret is not worth such a price, you can kill me immediately!" Xia Ziheng suddenly shouted. He was truly putting it all on the line. "If you don''t believe that the information is worth it, you won¡¯t have to keep your promise."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You''re really confident. Fine, I swear that as long as the secret you tell me is worth it, I, Lu Yin, will nevery a hand on you, nor will any of my people. I won''t use any indirect means to try to deal with you, Xia Ziheng."

    Xia Ziheng spoke a few more sentences, which Lu Yin also added to his oath.

    As Lu Yin had said, Xia Ziheng was nothing more than an ant. If a valuable secret could be acquired with the man¡¯s life, it was absolutely worth it.

    "You can start talking," Lu Yin stated.

    Xia Ziheng closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened back up, he contacted Xia Qin, telling her that he was meeting with Lu Yin. Then, he handed themunication crystal to Lu Yin.

    "Lu Yin, are you trying to ambush Xia Ziheng?" Xia Qin''s voice was quickly heard, followed by her image.

    Lu Yin nced at Xia Ziheng as he replied, "I was just passing by. If I meant to kill him, do you think that he would have been able to contact you?"

    Xia Qin frowned. "I don¡¯t want to see the technique that you used to control Xia Xing used on Xia Ziheng."

    Lu Yin answered, "I no longer have any interest in your Xia family. There''s no conflict between us, and I won''t do anything to Xia Ziheng. I simply hope that your Xia family won''t cooperate with the Celestial Frost Sect and the others to try to deal with me.¡±

    With that, he ended the call.

    Bitterness filled Xia Ziheng''s eyes. This call to Xia Qin meant that things would not be easy for him after he returned to Shenwu''s Sky.

    Since he had been able to work out that Lu Xiaoxuan had appeared to ambush him, how could Xia Qin not understand the same thing? However, Lu Xiaoxuan had decided to let the man go, which was something that everyone would find suspicious. Unfortunately, Xia Ziheng had been left with no choice. He had taken the only option avable where Lu Xiaoxuan did not kill him. Even with Lu Xiaoxuan''s oath, the Semi-Progenitor still did not feel safe.

    "Start talking," Lu Yin said.

    Hen Xin looked at Xia Ziheng with open curiosity, as he also wanted to know what sort of secret could be worth such a big fuss.

    "Hen Xin," Lu Yin called out and made a gesture.

    Hen Xin was taken aback. Was Lu Yin asking him to leave? The man¡¯s expression immediately grew dark, but he had no choice. Lu Yin was staring, and Hen Xin could only leave.

    After confirming that Hen Xin was unable to hear or even see them, Lu Yin looked back at Xia Ziheng.

    The man took a deep breath and started speaking. "The Wang family has been excavating the Yellow Springs for many years, but there is no trace of the liquid that they¡¯ve harvested anywhere in their floating maind, the Dominion Realm where Wang Fan resides, or even in the Outer Realm. There is only one ce where any of the Yellow Springs water can be found."

    The man stared at Lu Yin and spoke two words.

    These words shocked Lu Yin greatly, and he almost did not believe what he was hearing. "How is that possible?"

    "Nothing is impossible. The more unexpected, the bigger the secret. This is the secret that Wang Yi left behind as her revenge against the Wang family. I swear, if I have uttered even a single false word, then let me be punished by the heavens," Xia Ziheng solemnly swore.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. How could the Yellow Springs water be in that ce? This did not make sense, and it defied all reason. Everything about this waspletely illogical, but if it was true, then Wang Fan had hidden things far too well.

    It was no wonder why Xia Ziheng had made such bold ims. If this information was true, then the Wang family would absolutely have the confidence to rule the Perennial World after exiling the Lu family.

    Bai Xian¡¯er was the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s source of confidence, while Wang Fan had simrly been certain that the Wang family was capable of recing the Lu family.

    Each of the four ruling powers had their own ns, and none of them were simple.

    In particr, no one knew just what Wang Fan, one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, was capable of. This was true of even Bai Wangyuan.

    Lu Yin realized that he had underestimated the two men.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were both masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, meaning they had been peers of Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor.

    Progenitor Chen and the others had left truly incredible legends recorded in history. Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan might have also aplished legendary feats, but Lu Yin knew nothing about such things.

    "Can I go now?" Xia Ziheng asked.

    Lu Yin looked at the man and asked, "How are you going to exin yourself to Xia Qin when you go back?"

    Xia Ziheng shrugged. "My inner world is on the brink of copsing, and it''s because of you."

    Lu Yin nodded. Xia Ziheng''s inner world had been shattered by Shaman God, but it made more sense for Lu Yin to be med for the damage.

    Xia Ziheng left. Lu Yin had gained somethingpletely unexpected from the attempted ambush, but this gain was not a good thing.

    Lu Yin also left. He had been exposed, which meant that he would no longer be able to aplish much in the Perennial World.

    Before leaving, he reached out to his senior brother, Mu Xie. "Shaman God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar escaped. I couldn''t catch it. There must still be a great number of Redbacks and spies in this part of the universe."

    "I know. Many have also captured and hidden the desated corpses left behind by Undying God. We have no idea just how many people might have sessfully cultivated the Corpse King Transformation. All we can do is try our best to catch each suspect," Mu Xie replied.

    Lu Yin remembered what he had told Qing Chen in the past. "Senior Brother, if a technique appears that can rece the Corpse King Transformation, we can put an end to the spread of that technique."

    "It would have to be a techniqueparable to the Corpse King Transformation. Are you nning to relocate the Tower of the Fifth here?" Mu Xie asked.

    "The Tower of the Fifth is useless. To obtain the battle techniques there, one has to fight for them. To rece the Corpse King Transformation, we must find a battle technique that is equivalent to it and can be widely circted. I''ll think about it," Lu Yin said.

    Mu Xie fell silent for a moment before saying, "Junior Brother, I''m d that Master epted you as one of his disciples."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''m also happy to have you and Senior Brother Qing Ping."

    "It''s not just us," Mu Xie said before abruptly ending the call.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Not just them? What does that mean? Does Master have other disciples? Lu Yin wanted to ask Mu Xie for rification, but the man had ended the call too quickly.

    Lu Yin felt a bit of excitement. Who else could there be?

    Although Mu Xie had not shared any details, Lu Yin could also ask his senior brother Qing Ping.

    "Senior brother, do we have any other fellow disciples?" Lu Yin asked.

    Back in the Fifth Maind''s Neoverse, Qing Ping was startled by the question. "Did Senior Mu Xie tell you of this?"

    "Yes."

    "Who?"

    "That¡¯s what I''m asking you," Lu Yin replied, exasperated.

    "Senior Brother Mu Xie didn''t tell you, and I also don''t know," Qing Ping replied.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "Are you able to contact Master?"

    "Do you still have his jade talisman?"

    "No."

    "Neither do I. If I did, I would have contacted our master when Aeternus invaded," Qing Ping exined.

    Lu Yin understood that he was no closer to finding an answer. He turned and left the Perennial World, returning to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had a certain suspicion regarding Mister Mu; could he be from a parallel universe? Why was it that, despite so many important things happening in both the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind, Mister Mu had never showed himself? Lu Yin¡¯s suspicion had only grown stronger and stronger. After all, Mister Mu had mentioned that he was in the Immemorial Citadel, which should be in some parallel universe.

    After returning to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin returned to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. There, someone was already waiting for him. If anyone from the Xia family could see this visitor, they would be astonished to see Xia Shenji, or rather, his clone.

    The person who had entered the passage in Shenwu Continent that was connected to the Three Monarchs Universe had not been Xia Shenji''s clone. The tracker sent by the Wang family had only been an Envoy, and he had been unable to tell the difference. Xia Shenji was too conceited and had firmly believed that no one in the Fifth Maind could do anything to him.

    He had not been wrong about that, as it was true that no one in the Fifth Maind could have matched him inbat. Even when borrowing Progenitor Chen''s power, Lu Yin had only been able to push Xia Shenji back. Only by joining forces with Arch-Elder Zen would there be a chance, but Arch-Elder Zen had not yet be a Progenitor at that time.

    Xia Shenji''s confidence had been fully justified, but he hadpletely underestimated Lu Yin''s methods. The Progenitor had never even considered the possibility that Lu Yin might banish him to a parallel universe.

    Lu Yin arrived at where Xia Shenji''s clone was waiting, and the clone calmly took a seat. "Shenwu''s Sky should no longer pose a threat to you."

    Lu Yin sat down as well, his eyes fixed on the face that belonged to Xia Shenji. "Every time I look at you, I feel the urge to attack."

    Xia Shenji''s clone chuckled. "This face is quite easily misunderstood."

    "When you helped banish my Lu family, you willingly participated. At that time, you were Xia Shenji''s clone and were unable to go against him. I am curious, how did you develop an independent will?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Shenji''s clone asked back, "How could a puppet without independence cultivate the Origin Progenitor''s secret technique?"

    Lu Yin understood. This clone had possessed an independent will from the very beginning.

    "This is also why he was willing to sacrifice me and watch me go down with the Lu family. Fortunately, he wasn''t aplete idiot and knew that, if I died, he would develop a weakness inparison to Bai Wangyuan and the others at that level. That''s why he secretly imprisoned me. He¡¯s been hoping to find a way to erase my will so that he can merge me back with himself," Xia Shenji''s clone slowly exined.

    This was their first conversation. Lu Yin had been looking for the clone ever since Xia Shenji was lured into the Three Monarchs Universe, but the clone was a very cautious individual and had been afraid Lu Yin would renege their agreement and attack. So, he had never exposed himself before this meeting.

 Chapter 2481: Where Is The Lu Family?

    Chapter 2481: Where Is The Lu Family?

    "You¡¯ve never shown yourself before, but you¡¯re doing so now. Is there a reason for your confidence?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Shenji''s clone looked at Lu Yin. "Yes. I''m not afraid that you''ll break our agreement."

    Lu Yin replied, "I never break my agreements. Still, I''m curious. What''s the source of your confidence? Was this Liu Shaoge¡¯s idea?"

    "Him? While he''s quite clever, he can''t influence me in this matter. My confidencees from you, Lu Xiaoxuan," Xia Shenji''s clone replied.

    Zhao Ran arrived to deliver a pot of poisonous-looking herbal tea. Lu Yin¡¯s guest went stiff. Just what was the meaning of this? He gave Lu Yin a confused look.

    Lu Yin did not see any anxiety in the man¡¯s eyes. He truly was confident.

    "Try it. This is a specialty of our Heavens Sect. All of our guests are offered a taste. It''s quite refreshing," he said as he took a sip. The herbal tea had evolved yet again. This time, Lu Yin could see living creatures moving about within the tea. At least, they appeared to be living creatures.

    Xia Shenji''s clone did not move even after Lu Yin took a sip.

    Zhao Ran eagerly stared, waiting for the man¡¯s reaction.

    "Your Lu family hasn''t been destroyed," Xia Shenji''s clone said while staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained unchanged as he continued to sip his tea.

    "I can find them," the clone continued.

    Finally, something was said that gave Lu Yin pause. He lowered his tea cup and stared at Xia Shenji''s clone. "I hope that you''re not lying to me."

    "In that case, why offer me this tea?" the man asked.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Please."

    Xia Shenji''s clone nodded and took a sip of the herbal tea. Since Lu Yin was still offering him the tea even after he revealed his key information, it proved that the tea was safe. He did not believe that Lu Yin was unconcerned with the fate of the Lu family.

    The sweetness and fragrance of flowers filled his mouth, along with a hint of bitterness. The tea tasted rather simr to a fruity drink, but it also still tasted like tea.

    "Not bad," Xia Shenji''s clone remarked.

    Zhao Ran beamed. "I have other vors as well! I''ll go prepare some others for you!"

    She then left with a spring in her step.

    Xia Shenji''s clone was a bit taken aback. "Your people here are quite lively."

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. "Where is my Lu family?"

    The clone shook his head. "The reason why I didn''t dare to meet you before was because, while I am indeed able to sense the existence of the Lu family, I cannot determine their location. However, I ampletely certain that the Lu family is safe, because Prison Lock has not been broken yet.¡±

    "Prison Lock is the secret technique that imprisoned the Lu family, but it also serves as a protective shield for them. As long as Prison Lock remains unbroken, the Lu family is safe from everything, aside from each other."

    While Lu Yin''s expression made him appear calm, countless emotions were mixing and churning within him. Mostly, he felt relieved.

    He had always told himself that the Lu family would return and that they were not dead, but until reality proved it so, his heart had been constantly hanging in suspense. Shaman God had also said that the Lu family still lived, but how could Lu Yin trust the word of Aeternus? At this moment, he was finally receiving true confirmation.

    Lu Yin took another sip of his tea. "As agreed, I have banished Xia Shenji. Once you be a Progenitor, you will be able to return to Shenwu''s Sky and take control of it. When that timees, I will help you."

    Xia Shenji''s cloneplimented Lu Yin. "It¡¯s no wonder why you have been able toe so far, Lu Xiaoxuan. I truly admire you. Not everyone has the confidence to make an enemy of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan had the entire Lu family as his support, he could not have aplished as much as you by the same age."

    Lu Yin looked over at the clone. "None of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas are even remotely simple people. Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan have known of your existence for a long time. The only way I can help you is by keeping them from interfering in Shenwu''s Sky''s affairs. As for Xia Qin, you''ll need to deal with her on your own."

    The clone looked away. "Xia Qin''s hatred for the direct line of the Xia family is not something that can be easily forgotten. Still, she is ultimately also a member of the Xia family. I might be just a clone, but I am still Xia Shenji."

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, "How can a clone harm the main body?"

    Several years ago, when Liu Yue had died, the four ruling powers had nned to consolidate their control over the entire Perennial World. While Lu Yin had conferred Nong Yi at that time, that was not nearly enough to disrupt such ns. The situation had only truly been disrupted because this clone had dealt serious injuries to Xia Shenji. At that time, Lu Yin had been shocked to learn that a clone could harm the main body from a distance. It seemed illogical.

    If a clone could harm the main body, then why had Xia Jiuyou dared to be so relentless and aggressive in his pursuit of Xia Luo? Xia Shenji also should not have been so eager to chase after his clone. Also, it seemed that the death of a clone would have a massive impact on the main body.

    Xia Shenji''s clone took a sip of tea before replying, "This is a secret of the Nine Clones technique."

    Lu Yin dropped the question. After all, he and the clone only had a cooperative rtionship and were not true allies.

    "Tell Liu Shaoge that I''ll deliver the resources that I promised him. He can also seek asylum in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect, provided that he does not betray humanity," Lu Yin stated.

    The clone soon left. He had also received asylum from the Heavens Sect and also obtained a power vessel from Lu Yin.

    The man was absolutely certain that Lu Yin would not allow anything to happen to him, as he was essentially the beacon that could potentially lead to the Lu family¡¯s return.

    Lu Yin would have liked to keep the clone imprisoned within Heavens Sect, but he also did not want to vite their previous agreement.

    Given how cautious the clone was, he could be allowed freely roam the universe, provided that he did not run into a Progenitor.

    As for Liu Shaoge, Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing his future achievements. Surprisingly, he had not requested to have the Death Seal removed from his body, despite having requested it the first time when he and Lu Yin had made contact.

    Just what were Liu Shaoge¡¯s ns with the presence of the Death Seal? Lu Yin was quite curious.

    ¡­

    The Fifth Maind¡¯s Lockbreakers had been truly lucky, as they had been allowed to personally witness the arrangement of the Sealing Path sourcebox array in Shenwu Continent. This sourcebox array far surpassed the previous sourcebox array that had been constructed with the five sealings. When Lu Yin had deceived Xia Shenji and a part of the Sealing Path had been opened, several Array Masters had been able to watch Grandmaster Gu Yan demonstrate his skills. At present, many Lockbreakers had flocked to Shenwu Continent, hoping the old man would ept new disciples.

    Inside the Tower of Resonating Light, Grandmaster Gu Yan solemnly stared at the seven gigantic sourceboxes high above him. He raised a hand and brought out his wireless jincan. "Come quickly. We have a problem."

    Several dayster, Grandmaster Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster both arrived. Three Array Grandmasters carefully examined the Sealing Path while performing numerous calctions.

    "There¡¯s a deviation in the position. The array is being affected by an unknown force," Highsage Grandmastermented somberly.

    "That influence must being from the other side," Grandmaster Xiu Ming replied.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan took a few steps forward. Multiple strange objects on his body emitted a soft sound, which caused Highsage Grandmaster and Grandmaster Xiu Ming to both look over. "The Three Monarchs Universe is taking action. ording to this continent¡¯s historical records, there was a disturbance in the five sealings a thousand years ago, and that was what exposed the continent to the rest of the universe. Fortunately, the other side wasn¡¯t able to force the passageway open. Since they''re taking action again, they must have made some preparations."

    "They also have Xia Shenji now," Highsage Grandmaster added.

    Arch-Elder Zen emerged from the void. "Things will soon change again."

    Lu Yin arrived soon after as well, and he observed the base of the Tower of Resonating Light. There were both pros and cons to sending Xia Shenji into the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The pros were that Lu Yin¡¯s universe no longer held the threat of Xia Shenji for a time, which greatly reduced the pressure that Lu Yin had to deal with. However, it was quite likely that Xia Shenji would exin the situation of their universe to the three Monarchs and help them try to open the passage, which was a terrible threat to the Fifth Maind.

    "Senior, you said that your Sealing Path can hold for a thousand years. What about now?" Lu Yin asked. The reason why he had decided to exile Xia Shenji to the Three Monarchs Universe was because Grandmaster Gu Yan had promised that the sourcebox array would remain strong for a thousand years. In that amount of time, Lu Yin was confident that he could be a Semi-Progenitor, which would drastically change the bnce of power in their universe. At that time, it would no longer be impossible for him to face the three Monarchs and Xia Shenji at once.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan replied, "I told you that it would hold for a thousand years, and so it will. Even if you add another Xia Shenji or Bai Wangyuan to the mix, it would not matter. This has nothing to do with strength of cultivation. It is nearly impossible to open a passageway between parallel universes. Long ago, Gu Yue was able to seal the passage with the five sealings that he left behind here. I have personally set up the Sealing Path, and if I can''t block this passage for at least a thousand years, I''ll have wasted my life."

    Lu Yin nodded. As long as the passageway would remain blocked for a thousand years, everything would be fine.

    Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers were in no hurry to save Xia Shenji. The four ruling powers were not on friendly terms with each other.

    "What if I want to go over?" Lu Yin asked.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan was caught off guard. "You want to visit the other universe?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I can''t always take the passive role. I need to understand the situations in the various parallel universes."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan considered the question for a moment before answering, "It''s not impossible, but it would be very dangerous. If you are discovered while in transit through the passage, they''ll most likely be able to open itpletely. That would fully connect the two universes, and those results arepletely unpredictable.

    "You need to think this through carefully."

    Lu Yin stared at the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light. For the moment, the situation in their own universe was quite clear. Without the threat of Aeternus, the only factions remaining were Lu Yin¡¯s own, the four ruling powers, and various neutral parties, such as Progenitor Smoke. These factions maintained a delicate bnce, but if the Three Monarchs Universe entered the picture, things would shift, and not to Lu Yin¡¯s advantage.

    Well, not unless Xia Shenji and the three Monarchs became enemies.

    "It''s shifting again. The people on the other side are determined to destroy the sourcebox array," Grandmaster Xiu Ming said.

    Lu Yin looked up at the enormous sourceboxes that had been used to set up the Sealing Path. "Senior, what would happen if someone unlocks such huge sourceboxes?"

    For a moment, Grandmaster Gu Yan looked as though he had just eaten a dead fly. "You don''t want to even try. It''s a hopeless process. Those sourceboxes are absolutely massive, and it would take thousands of years to unlock one of them. Even if you seed, you might find nothing at all inside, and that¡¯s a feeling that you''ll never be able to forget.¡±

    "There are records of people opening simrly massive sourceboxes, but the results¡­"

    The man did not finish his sentence, but Lu Yin could already guess that the oue had been less than ster. Judging by Grandmaster Gu Yan''s reaction to the question, the man might have even tried to do so in the past himself.

    "Regardless of the size of the sourcebox, if I gave you ten sourceboxes to open, at best, only one would contain anything at all. The same is true for these massive sourceboxes. Are you willing to spend millions of years lockbreaking just to end up with nothing?" Xiu Ming asked.

    "Not even Progenitors have so much time to waste," added Highsage Grandmaster.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. As long as he had enough money, he would also have enough time.

    After asking Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters to keep an eye on Shenwu Continent again, Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect. It was time to implement the next step of his n, which was to understand their universe.

    Understanding a universe was a grandiose idea, even for a Progenitor. At most, they would only seek to understand things that concerned them directly. However, Lu Yin''s goal was to gain a major understanding of everything happening in his own universe, and he intended to do so with Possession. He would roll his die and Possess various cultivators and take their memories.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength meant that he could Possess a Semi-Progenitor at best, regardless of whether the target was a cultivator or one of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings.

 Chapter 2482: A Leak

    Chapter 2482: A Leak

    Lu Yin gave instructions to the Second Nightking and others to make sure that he was not disturbed, and he also delegated a few tasks to Lu Buzheng and the rest before announcing that he was going into seclusion.

    This had been his n for quite some time, but Attendant Wu¡¯s appearance had forced Lu Yin out of seclusion after just a short while. Fortunately, some good hade of that. He had forced Nutjob Lu out of the Perennial World, which had temporarily removed a thorn from his side, and he had also learned the Wang family''s secret.

    Thus, after a short dy, Lu Yin returned to seclusion.

    He raised a hand, and his die appeared. He tapped it and then watched as it spun, hoping for six pips: Possession. He had more than enough resources and time to spare on this endeavor.

    Two yearster¡­ There was a ce in the Perennial World¡¯s Middle Realm that was perpetually shrouded in darkness. This darkness was different from the gloomy and deste atmosphere of the Yinshan District, and it brought about a feeling of despair.

    Everything was filled with darkness, including the sky, the earth, the rivers, and even the air that one breathed. This ce was Specter Abyss.

    Many people in the Perennial World knew of this ce, but few dared to venture within it. Even those who wished to join Specter Abyss found it difficult to leave after entering, and some who entered were never seen again, not even their corpses.

    Dense death energy enveloped every part of Specter Abyss, and the deeper one went, the thicker the death energy became. The region that was covered with death energy was hundreds of timesrger than Gaia''s Swamp.

    In thisnd filled with the silence of the dead, a group of people slowly pushed forward. There were both men and women with expressions of fear as they surveyed their surroundings with absolute focus and tread forward with extreme caution.

    "Brother Wan, do we really have to enter Specter Abyss? Isn''t this too dangerous?" someone asked, shattering the silence.

    Brother Wan was the person leading the group. He was a muscr young man with dry skin. It was clear that he was used to the sun and wind. Under a sparse beard, his face was covered with a concealed mishmash of scars. He nervously stared up ahead, clearly quite reluctant. "The person who killed Brother Qian must be around here. We have to find him."

    The others nced at each other.

    "That man isn¡¯t from Specter Abyss. If he entered this ce, then he''s probably already dead. Shouldn''t we just wait outside?" one person suggested.

    "Specter Abyss is vast. If we leave and that person manages to survive, he''ll easily escape," Brother Wan answered determinedly.

    A woman whispered, "But it¡¯s not worth it if we all die here."

    The man beside her quickly covered her mouth. "Keep your voice down! Brother Wan is Adventure King''s disciple. If you offend him, you can forget about remaining in Root!"

    While no one else spoke, everyone was thinking the same thing. After all, why else would they risk their lives to find this criminal? Brother Qian was the one on close terms with Brother Wan, but the rest of them were not.

    Brother Wan''s full name was Wan Wu, and he was Adventure King¡¯s disciple who had once made it to a Junior Progenitor decades ago. He had nearly seeded in apanying Long Tian to the Dominion Realm. However, he had been forced to withdraw from thepetition due to Lu Yin''s interference.

    "The title of Adventure King wasn''t nearly as useful a few decades ago. At the end of the day, he''s basically riding on Lu Xiaoxuan''s coattails," someone muttered quietly at the back of the group.

    Someone next to the man agreed. "Exactly. Who would have thought that Adventure King was actually a former vassal of the Lu family? It¡¯s no wonder why he was given all the assignments that no one else wanted, though that did allow him to eventually earn his title. It looks like the four ruling powers wanted to use him as a pawn, but didn''t expect Lu Xiaoxuan to rise to power and stop them from going after the former Lu family vassals. Honestly, Lu Xiaoxuan is incredibly ruthless."

    "Enough chatter. Stay sharp, or else you''ll end up dead," someone shouted sternly from the front.

    Wan Wu''s expression grew ugly as he stopped. "Let''s turn back."

    While he did want to get revenge, hispanions were also right. There was no reason for them to risk their lives for his own goals.

    Wan Wu''s decision thrilled everyone else in the group, and they eagerly turned back.

    Suddenly, a voice echoed in their ears.

    Everyone instantly grew pale, terrified that they were being targeted by Specter Abyss. However, as the voice grew louder, their expressions changed. Was this¡­ a battle technique?

    Everyone quietly listened, but the more they heard, the more that something seemed off.

    "This is the Xia family''s saber intent!" someone gasped in horror.

    "Shut up!" Wan Wu shouted with a look of horror on his face. This was absolutely the Xia family''s saber intent. He started to circte his star energy ording to the instructions that they heard from the voice. To Wan Wu¡¯splete shock, he produced a terrifying shing attack. He was already a peak Enlighter and was but a single step from breaking through to the Envoy realm. The Xia family''s saber intent had provided him with an epiphany, and he could no longer wait to break through.

    Still, he forcibly suppressed that desire. "Retreat!"

    "Brother Wan, this is the Xia family''s saber intent!" someone protested, unwilling to stop listening.

    Wan Wu sternly answered, "If you don''t want to die, then we leave now. If the Xia family''s saber intent has appeared here in Specter Abyss, do you really think that Shenwu''s Sky will just let things go? A war¡¯s about to break out here."

    The others grew even paler after hearing this warning.

    Some followed Wan Wu as he left, but others stayed behind.

    People who joined the Root Organization and adventured in the Lower Realm were those with fiercer natures. They followed Wan Wu because they hoped to receive help from Adventure King, as that would alter their futures. Even if they feared death, they had still followed Wan Wu into Specter Abyss. This was something that most people would never dare to attempt. Upon receiving the opportunity to learn the Xia family''s saber intent, how could they just give it up?

    Even after Wan Wu exited Specter Abyss, the voice that spoke of the Xia family''s saber intent continued to ring in his ears. This voice not only reached all of Specter Abyss, but also echoed throughout the surrounding regions.

    Wan Wu¡¯s expression continuously changed. He knew that big trouble was about to appear very soon.

    In the depths of the Specter Abyss, an old man opened his eyes and frowned. How could Adventure King¡¯s disciple be so timid? The old man had already shared the Xia family''s saber intent, but they had actually run away. How unfortunate. It seemed they were not fated to learn it.

    This old man was Specter Abyss¡¯s Semi-Progenitor and was second only to the Specter Progenitor. However, at the moment, he was actually Lu Yin.

    For two years, Lu Yin had sessfully Possessed many different people, most of whom were Envoys. He had also seeded in Possessing Semi-Progenitors on more than ten asions, including people from both the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. He had even Possessed Semi-Progenitors from the four ruling powers, such as Xia Yan, Wu Yao, and¡­ Bai Qi.

    Through these experiences, he had managed to learn many of the four ruling powers¡¯ secrets, including cultivation arts, battle techniques, and even secret techniques.

    It would be a shame to not make use of such secrets, and that had led to the current situation.

    Specter Progenitor was currently in the Outer Realm, so Lu Yin had decided to take advantage of the opportunity to inject a bit of entertainment into the Perennial World.

    The people of Specter Abyss did not hear the voice that was sharing the Xia family''s saber intent. Lu Yin was not able to Possess a Semi-Progenitor for very long, so he quickly imprinted the Xia family''s saber intent and Divine Martial Armor, the Celestial Frost Sect''s God of Wind technique and Celestial Suppression, as well as other battle techniques onto jade slips that he threw out. "My Specter Abyss is hereby extending the offer of charity as a blessing to all living beings. Starting today, humanity should abandon their differences and work together to fight against future disasters."

    Numerous jade slips flew out from the Specter Abyss to various points in the Middle Realm, the Lower Realm, and even the Higher Realm.

    After a few days, the entire Perennial World exploded. Countless people fought over the jade slips, resulting in fiercepetition.

    Shenwu''s Sky and the Celestial Frost Sect were both boiling in anger.

    "What? The God of Wind technique was leaked? How is that even possible? Ordinary disciples are not able to share it even if they do manage to learn it. Only Envoys and Semi-Progenitors are able to share that."

    "Elder, it''s true! Not only has our Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s techniques been leaked, but Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s Xia family''s saber intent and the Divine Martial Armor has also spread to the outside world. Countless people across the Perennial World are fighting over these jade slips."

    "How could this happen? Who leaked this information?"

    "Specter Abyss."

    In Shenwu''s Sky, Xia Luo was staring at a jade slip in his hand. This piece of jade recorded the Celestial Frost Sect''s Celestial Suppression. "What a powerful battle technique. It allows the cultivator to absorb an opponent''s vitality. Apparently, it was developed from the Lu family¡¯s Lifeseizer Palm."

    Xia Meng appeared. "Both the Divine Martial Armor and the Xia family''s saber intent have been leaked as well. Senior Progenitor Xia Qin will be arriving soon.¡±

    Xia Luo stared off into space. Just who was behind these leaks?

    Not just anyone could have leaked these techniques, but more importantly, powerful battle techniques from multiple sects had been leaked simultaneously. Who could have done it? Specter Abyss? If so, what were they nning?

    In the Middle Realm, when Qing Chen learned of what had happened, he immediately thought of Lu Yin. The young man had oncemented that, in order to stop the spread of Aeternus¡¯s Corpse King Transformation, it would be necessary to publicize a battle technique that could rece it. What was happening seemed to be exactly what Lu Yin had been referring to. Both Divine Martial Armor and the God of Wind were among the best techniques that belonged to the four ruling powers, and there were many other techniques that had been publicly leaked as well. What were Specter Abyss¡¯s intentions ?

    No one could determine Specter Abyss''s intentions given what had happened, and that included the members of Specter Abyss itself.

    In the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan released his strength, crushing a branch of the Mother Tree. "Specter Progenitor, get out here!"

    However, there was nothing beneath the branch.

    Bai Sheng left Azure Hills in the Outer Realm and descended onto Specter Abyss. With a strike of his staff, thend of Specter Abyss was split apart.

    This was the first time that a Progenitor had ever truly attacked Specter Abyss.

    Specter Abyss¡¯s Crown Prince Gui Qian was struck by the attack¡¯s shockwave, and blood pooled in his mouth. As he looked up, he saw Bai Sheng approaching. "Where is Specter Progenitor?"

    Crown Prince Gui Qian spat out a mouthful of blood. "I don''t know."

    Bai Sheng''s staff swept out once more, shattering the earth beneath Specter Abyss.

    It was at that moment that Xia Qin arrived. While she hated the Xia family¡¯s direct line, she herself was still a member of the Xia family. Having their Divine Martial Armor be publicly leaked had dealt a blow to the entire Xia family. Could they even still call it Divine Martial Armor after such an event?

    The woman looked quite upset. "Where is Specter Progenitor?"

    The disciples of Specter Abyss were all terrified and dared not show themselves, hiding within the death energy.

    Bai Sheng looked over at Xia Qin. "He''s not in the Dominion Realm either. Find him. We must find him."

    Not only did they need to know why Specter Abyss had leaked their sects¡¯ battle techniques, even more importantly was how Specter Abyss had even obtained the techniques. Everyst one of them was among the sects¡¯ greatest secrets.

    In the Fifth Maind, in the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was leisurely enjoying some tea. "What''s going on? Tell me about it."

    "I myself don''t know what''s happening. Techniques like Divine Martial Armor and God of Wind have been leaked from my Specter Abyss, but the problem is that I''ve never obtained these battle techniques," Specter Progenitor replied. At this moment, there was an extremely ugly expression on his face. No one had even imagined that the man might be with Lu Yin.

    After Specter Progenitor learned about what had happened, he had immediately left the Dominion Realm and gone to visit the Fifth Maind. At this moment, the Fifth Maind was the only ce where he could try to hide. If he was discovered in the Perennial World, nobody could save him.

    There was only one fate that awaited people who leaked battle techniques from other sects: death. The same had been true even when the Lu family had been in power. This was something that was forbidden throughout the entire cultivation world.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the older man. "Specter Progenitor, bying to me when you''re in trouble, you''re putting me in a difficult position."

    Specter Progenitor shrugged and said, "Seeing as how we both cultivate by relying on the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, I ask that you please help me, Dao Monarch. I''m sorry if I''ve offended you in the past, and I will show you my thanks for this in the future."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You want me to protect you? I can''t do that. I have no reasons to."

    Specter Progenitor was well aware of this. "Is there anywhere in the Fifth Maind I can hide? As long as I can survive this ordeal, I will definitely uncover the truth of this matter."

    "Even if you do learn the truth, what good will it do you? Will the four ruling powers just forgive you?" Lu Yin mocked the man.

 Chapter 2483: Hideaway

    Chapter 2483: Hideaway

    Specter Progenitor clenched his fists. He had no choice in this matter, as if he was unable to uncover the truth, he would never be able to return.

    Suddenly, the man thought of something, and his eyes fell onto Lu Yin''s back. Could it have been this youth?

    "Given the current situation, the four ruling powers are well within their rights to attack you. Neither I nor anyone else can protect you," Lu Yin stated.

    Specter Progenitor frowned. Lu Yin should not have been the one to leak the techniques from Specter Abyss. After all, this youth wanted to use Specter Progenitor to maintain the bnce of power against the four ruling powers. Lu Yin would not benefit from leaking the four ruling powers¡¯ techniques. "I don''t need protection, I merely hope that Dao Monarch Lu can provide me with a ce to hide."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before saying, "I actually do have a ce. Let''s go."

    Specter Progenitor heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin looked back. "Senior, you should already understand how I work. I expect a reward for my efforts."

    Specter Progenitor answered firmly, "As long as I am able to survive this ordeal, I am willing to offer you one trillion star essence, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin smiled. One trillion was a decent amount, especially considering how the people of Specter Abyss did not cultivate with star energy or stellr energy. Star essence was an unnecessary resource for them. Still, Lu Yin replied, "I want half of Specter Abyss."

    Specter Progenitor assumed he must have heard wrong. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man with apletely serious expression and repeated, "I want half of Specter Abyss."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, have you gone mad?" Even in his current situation, Specter Progenitor could not stop himself from cursing. "Half of Specter Abyss? Why don''t you ask for the whole thing?"

    "That works too."

    Specter Progenitor was rendered speechless. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you must know that you¡¯re asking me for the impossible! I can promise you that if you help me get through this, I will find you five trillion star essence, even if I must steal or rob to get it. That should be more than enough to show my sincerity. Not even the four ruling powers would find it easy to produce such a sum. Besides, in the future, I will also definitely stand with you against the four ruling powers. Don''t forget¡ªwhen you posed as Long Qi and were caught at the Cloud Shuttle in the Higher Realm, people from Specter Abyss risked their lives to save you and covered for you."

    Lu Yin replied, "I will absolutely repay that debt myself, but I also haven''t forgotten about what happened when I was fighting Nutjob Lu. You refused to allow me to use Specter Abyss''s death energy and even cursed me for it. You clearly hold a grudge against me."

    "But that didn''t stop you from using that death energy! Death energy is the very foundation of Specter Abyss. If you use all of it, what will happen to my Specter Abyss?" Specter Progenitor started to grow anxious. This guy waspletely unreasonable.

    "So there¡¯s no room for negotiation?"

    "Absolutely not," Specter Progenitor replied resolutely.

    "Then what about a trade?"

    Specter Progenitor was taken aback. "What would you propose to trade for Specter Abyss?"

    "This Aeternus Nation was here in the Fifth Maind, and it¡¯s filled with death energy. I can offer you that for half of Specter Abyss," Lu Yin exined.

    Specter Progenitor felt quite puzzled. "Where did Aeternus get death energy?"

    "Many things have happened in this part of the universe, and in order to survive, the Specter n joined forces with Aeternus andter on used death energy to transform humans into corpse kings. They even tried to create more powerful corpse kings that would be capable of wielding the power of the God of Death," Lu Yin exined.

    Specter Progenitor instantly became furious. "They actually colluded with Aeternus! The Specter n in this Fifth Maind are nothing but traitors! All of them are Redbacks!"

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ve already taken control of them, and their patriarch has since be one of my champions. However, there¡¯s no denying that the death energy left in the Aeternus Nation is real. I once used it to threaten Bai Wangyuan. So, do we have a deal?"

    Specter Progenitor remained adamant. "No. Specter Abyss is Specter Abyss. I cannot trade it with you for anything."

    "But Specter Abyss might already have been destroyed by the four ruling powers," Lu Yin warned.

    Thatment caused Specter Progenitor''s expression to change. Lu Yin certainly was not wrong. Specter Progenitor had no idea what fate might have befallen Specter Abyss after he fled. If Specter Abyss was truly destroyed by the four ruling powers, then Lu Yin''s offer could be regarded as an extension of an olive branch. This thought caused Specter Progenitor¡¯s expression to rx a bit. "Take me to this Aeternus Nation to have a look."

    Lu Yin rode atop the jiao with Specter Progenitor as they made their way towards the Neoverse.

    With the jiao''s speed, they quickly arrived in the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin sensed the coordinates of the parallel universe with the coordinate seal. It was still located at the foundation of Aeternus Nation. He had left a bit of death energy in it, and that allowed him to sense the location of Aeternus Nation from among the many parallel universes.

    Lu Yin opened a rift to Aeternus Nation. "Please."

    Specter Progenitor stared at the spatial rift. "This is a parallel universe, not a pocket dimension."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right. Aeternus left behind an unupied parallel universe."

    Specter Progenitor frowned while thinking of what had happened to Xia Shenji. He then gave Lu Yin a dubious look. What was this youth nning this time?

    Lu Yin asked, "Why aren''t you going in? Senior, are you worried that I¡¯ll exile you like I did to Xia Shenji? That wouldn¡¯t do me any good. You are a powerhouse who¡¯s key to maintaining the current bnce of power. If I exile you, how will I restrain the four ruling powers?"

    Specter Progenitor stared at the rift, still hesitant and unwilling to go in it.

    No one was willing to ce their life in the hands of another, and with the recent example of Xia Shenji fresh in his memory, Specter Progenitor was even more reluctant than normal.

    Lu Yin continued, "If you don¡¯t want to go in, then please feel free to do whatever you wish, Senior."

    Specter Progenitor asked, "Isn''t there anywhere else?"

    "No, there isn''t. Wait, there is one ce." Lu Yin paused. "The Astral Wilderness."

    Specter Progenitor''s expression darkened further. The Astral Wilderness was not a good ce. For ordinary cultivators, it was an unknown region that they could explore, exploit, or use to escape. However, for true powerhouses, things were not nearly so simple.

    The stronger the cultivator, the less willing they would be to venture into the Astral Wilderness.

    It was like how dropping a small stone into a pond would only create a few ripples at most. However, if a boulder was dropped in, massive waves would appear.

    If a Progenitor entered the Astral Wilderness, it would be no different from a boulder falling into a pond. No one knew what sort of unintended consequences might ur.

    The stronger the individual was, the more dangerous the Astral Wilderness would be for them. There were even many unexplored regions of outer space around the Perennial World where few or no humans had ever set foot.

    Suddenly, both Lu Yin and the Specter Progenitor looked to the west.

    "They sure got here quickly. They must be in a hurry," Lu Yin said.

    Specter Progenitor''s expression fellpletely. "Dao Monarch Lu, if I die, you won''t be able to gain any advantage against the four ruling powers."

    "I still have Arch-Elder Zen and my senior brother. Right, I must have forgotten to mention that several of the Semi-Progenitors from the Heavens Sect era are also about to have their own breakthroughs. I expect that one or two of them will even be sessful, and that should give me a bit of an advantage when facing off against the four ruling powers," Lu Yin replied.

    Before Specter Progenitor could say anything further, a de of light flew from the Technocracy across the Fifth Maind, head straight for the man, startling Lu Yin. This was Xia Qin''s attack.

    "How dare you leak my Shenwu''s Sky techniques? Die!" Xia Qin''s voice echoed across the Fifth Maind. With her grudges handled and her debts repaired, she had be a true Progenitor of Shenwu''s Sky whose consideration focused on what was best for the Xia family.

    Even so, Bai Wangyuan was even faster than her. As he traveled through space, white clouds reced the stars, and the phenomena spread to the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had never fought against Bai Wangyuan, and thus he did not know much about the man. Even so, Bai Wangyuan was the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which meant that he should be even stronger than Xia Shenji.

    The white clouds managed to almostpletely envelop the Neoverse.

    Arch-Elder Zen suddenly appeared. "Progenitor Bai, this is the Fifth Maind."

    With that, the strands of Ancestral Qi from the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique started to swirl around the man, one of which quickly transformed into Xue Wuqing.

    The jiao roared and stared towards the west.

    Bai Wangyuan stepped down from his clouds, looking like a deity. He gazed down at Lu Yin but then turned to look at Specter Progenitor before speaking. "This matter has nothing to do with the Fifth Maind. Lu Xiaoxuan, do you n to interfere in our affairs?"

    Before Lu Yin could answer, Specter Progenitor answered. "I did not leak any of your Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s techniques. This matter has nothing to do with me or Specter Abyss."

    "The techniques were leaked from your Specter Abyss, and the one who leaked them was your Specter Abyss¡¯s Semi-Progenitor, and yet you still dare to try to im that this has nothing to do with you?" Bai Wangyuan shouted. White clouds fell, carrying overwhelming fear and pressure with them. There seemed to be something almost sacred about the pressure, as those who felt it would also feel an urge to kneel in worship.

    At this moment, Bai Wangyuan was truly furious. Even when Lu Yin had imed the title of Dao Monarch, the Progenitor had not taken any direct action.

    "I won''t interfere, so feel free to do as you wish, as long as you don''t involve our Fifth Maind," Lu Yin replied while retreating.

    Arch-Elder Zen also spoke up, "We won''t interfere with the affairs of your Perennial World, but the Fifth Maind must not be destroyed."

    Bai Wangyuan had not expected Lu Yin to step back so readily.

    It was at that moment that Xia Qin arrived, and she was also surprised to see Lu Yin withdraw so easily.

    Specter Progenitor was already extremely anxious. Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen had both stepped back, which left Specter Progenitorpletely alone against Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin. In this situation, he might not even be able to escape. "Progenitor Bai, what must I do for you to believe me? Revealing your sects¡¯ battle techniques wouldn''t benefit me in the slightest."

    Bai Wangyuan retorted, "We also find this quite strange. You''re no fool, but this time you did something truly stupid. Perhaps you didn''t intend to reveal the battle techniques, but stealing them was definitely your doing."

    Death energy surged from Specter Progenitor. He understood that, no matter how he tried to defend himself, these two people would not listen to him.

    Lu Yin opened the rift to Aeternus Nation.

    Specter Progenitor shot through the rift without a moment''s hesitation. At this point in time, there was nothing that he even needed to be considered. Even being exiled to a parallel universe was better than simply waiting for death.

    Specter Progenitor instantly vanished.

    Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin turned to Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, what did you just do?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Specter Progenitor said that he was going to start a war, but this is the Fifth Maind. You can tell me that you won''t damage my Fifth Maind, but if a battle breaks out between Progenitors, that''s simply impossible. Given the risks, I just found you another battlefield to use. It''s an Aeternus nation that the Aeternals left behind, which is also the ce where we negotiated our truce. You¡¯ve been there before, Progenitor Bai, and that ce will be your battlefield. There¡¯s no need to stand on ceremony."

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression grew stormy. "That''s a parallel universe."

    Xia Qin arched a brow. A parallel universe? Those words felt like a trigger. Xia Shenji had already been banished to a parallel universe, so how could anyone else dare to enter one?

    Even Specter Progenitor had only entered after being pushed to his limits. If he had beenfortable with the prospect, he would have entered much earlier.

    "Exactly. It''s precisely because it''s a parallel universe that you are allowed to fight without any reservations," Lu Yin replied as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

    "You want us to enter that parallel universe?" Bai Wangyuan''s voice dropped low. "Are you nning to banish us just like you did to Xia Shenji?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he replied, "Don''t be ridiculous. I''m simply trying to find a suitable battlefield for Progenitors like you to use for your fight."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. "We can go in, but give us the coordinate seal so that we can leave our marks and freely travel between the two spaces."

    Lu Yin instantly realized that Bai Wangyuan was more knowledgeable than what he had let on. Only Aeternus had the ability to create coordinate seals. The Sixverse Association was only able to travel between various parallel universes after stealing the coordinate seals from Aeternus. Thus, the four ruling powers had to possess a coordinate seal that provided them with a path to the Sixverse Association, or more likely, the Cyclic Universe.

 Chapter 2484: Apprehension

    Chapter 2484: Apprehension

    Lu Yin replied, "How can I do that? I only have the one, so if I give it to you, what will I do?"

    "Without the coordinate seal, how can we return?" the two Progenitors demanded.

    "I won''t close the rift, so you can juste back."

    Arch-Elder Zen felt rather ashamed after hearing Lu Yin¡¯sment. If Bai Wangyuan and the others dared to enter the rift to the parallel universe, the man was absolutely certain that Lu Yin would not hesitate for a moment to close the rift and leave the Progenitors stranded in the parallel universe.

    The expression on Lu Yin''s face appeared somber and sincere, but Bai Wangyuan and the others could only see pure shamelessness.

    Wang Fan arrived and asked, "Where''s Specter Progenitor?"

    "He went in," Bai Wangyuan replied.

    Wang Fan felt confused by the answer, but after turning to look at Lu Yin, the man noticed the spatial rift. "Is that a parallel universe?"

    "Specter Progenitor went in there, but Lu Xiaoxuan is the one who holds the coordinate seal. He wants us to enter and look for Specter Progenitor," Xia Qin exined.

    Wang Fan stared at Lu Yin. "You want us to go in there?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Whether you go in or not is entirely up to you. All I¡¯m saying is that Specter Progenitor is inside."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, this matter has nothing to do with you. Specter Progenitor has leaked the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s battle techniques, and we must settle things with him," Bai Wangyuan retorted.

    "It doesn¡¯t have anything to do with me, which is why I won''t get involved. You¡¯re wee to do however you please," Lu Yin replied.

    "Then give us the coordinate seal so that we can go in and find Specter Progenitor," Xia Qin said.

    Lu Yin decisively answered, "That ce holds a great deal of death energy, which is the energy that I use to cultivate. How could I possibly allow you to leave your marks on the coordinate seal? What if you decide to ambush me while I¡¯m in the middle of cultivating? I''ll be a goner."

    Xia Qin and Wang Fan both turned to look at Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan nodded. "There is indeed death energy deep underground beneath the ruins of Aeternus Nation."

    "Since there''s death energy, doesn¡¯t that mean that we¡¯ll be at a disadvantage if we go in there to search for Specter Progenitor?" Xia Qin¡¯s brows rose.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan nced at each other. A disadvantage? What disadvantage? Even with ess to greater amounts of death energy, how much stronger could Specter Progenitor be? The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were different from ordinary Progenitors. Even if Specter Progenitor cultivated with the God of Death¡¯s death energy, he was not the God of Death¡¯s heir, and death energy¡¯s unique characteristics were far from enough topensate for the difference in strength between the man and one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Death energy had been developed by the God of Death, while the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been created by the Origin Progenitor.

    Lu Yin sat on the jiao¡¯s head. He told Arch-Elder Zen to go back.

    "They aren¡¯t here for me, and they won''t do anything to me," he exined before pointing to the nearby Champions'' Stage. "Besides, I can protect myself."

    As long as Lu Yin was in the Fifth Maind, he had ess to many powers that were at the Progenitor level, including Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. If the four ruling powers wanted to harm Lu Yin, they certainly would not find it an easy task, and Arch-Elder Zen could return at any time to help, if needed.

    The old man nodded. "Then take care of yourself."

    He needed to keep an eye on Shenwu Continent to ensure that no idents urred, so he quickly left.

    Lu Yin turned back to face Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Qin. Despite being alone, he lookedpletely confident.

    However, as Lu Yin had mentioned to Arch-Elder Zen, Bai Wangyuan and the others were not targeting Lu Yin, and they also had no intention of breaking the truce. They would not attack him at this time, even if he did get involved in the matter regarding Specter Progenitor. Regardless, in the worst case scenario, he could simply give them the coordinate seal.

    Space was quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were from the stars ands.

    No vessels dared to approach the area, as the pressure of the various Progenitors kept all at bay.

    Lu Yin held his chin with a hand while lounging atop the jiao¡¯s head and watching Bai Wangyuan and the others discuss their next move.

    Before long, Bai Wangyuan said, "Ask Specter Progenitor toe out. We won''t attack him, and tell him that we believe that he is not the one responsible for leaking our battle techniques. However, we absolutely must get to the truth of what has happened."

    Lu Yin pointed to the rift that led to Aeternus Nation. "Go tell him yourself."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, this matter has nothing to do with you, but you offered a parallel universe for Specter Progenitor to hide in. There''s no excuse for your actions, and even if Mu Xie were toe here, he has no reason to help you. Our universe is not yours to do with as you please. Since you''ve already gotten involved, there are certain things that you must do now," Bai Wangyuan stated in a low voice.

    Lu Yin asked, "Are you trying to reason with me?"

    "You could say that."

    Lu Yin took a moment to think things over. "Alright, I''ll go and talk to him for you."

    He vanished through the rift into the tiny parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation, stunning Bai Wangyuan and the others. Was it really going to be so easy?

    In Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin appeared in front of Specter Progenitor, but he only stayed there for a moment before turning around and leaving the universe again. Specter Progenitor was leftpletely confused.

    "He''s noting out," Lu Yin reported.

    Xia Qin frowned. "If he''s refusing toe out, then he must be guilty."

    "Those were my thoughts as well. Maybe you guys should go on in and fight it out?" Lu Yin suggested.

    Xia Qin thought that Lu Yin waspletely despicable. Thest time they had met, they had held simr positions due to her own past grievances that included both the Xia family and Xia Shang, so Xia Qin had agreed to a deal with Lu Yin. At that time, she had already felt that Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s description of Lu Yin had been perfectly urate: ruthless and scheming. However, this time, they were on opposite sides, and for this reason, not only did Xia Qin feel that Lu Yin waspletely shameless and incredibly gifted at spouting nonsense to muddy the waters, but she also felt like he was one step ahead of them, which was incredibly frustrating.

    Wang Fan spoke up next. "Lu Xiaoxuan, please ask Specter Progenitor toe out. We won''t harm him."

    "He''s noting out," Lu Yin replied.

    "Try asking him again," Wang Fan pressed.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I shouldn''t have bothered showing up here. Your issues have nothing to do with me."

    He reentered the parallel universe, and Specter Progenitor stared as Lu Yin simply left once again after making a brief appearance. The man waspletely confused by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    "He''s noting out."

    Wang Fan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What if we swear not toy a finger on him?"

    Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin both turned to look at Wang Fan in shock, and even Lu Yin was surprised. "You really care about Specter Progenitor, don¡¯t you? You''re even willing to swear an oath not to harm him. Whether he leaked your battle techniques or not, he clearly must have at least stolen some. Are you really willing to forgive him for that?¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, he only leaked battle techniques from the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky, but neither of those matters have anything to do with your Wang family, so why are you so eager to protect him?"

    Wang Fan replied, "Techniques from both the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky have already been leaked, but the moment any other technique is leaked, it¡¯s guaranteed to be from our Wang family. Since he clearly stole from the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky, how could he have not stolen from our Wang family?"

    Lu Yin praised, "Senior Progenitor Wang Fan, you are truly wise. Alright, I''ll go ask again."

    Just as Lu Yin was about to turn around, he remembered something. "Since you¡¯re so certain that Specter Progenitor stole from your Wang family, are you really sure that you don''t want toy a finger on him?"

    Xia Qin immediately added, "Senior Wang Fan, Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s battle techniques have already been leaked, and Specter Progenitor will have to take responsibility for that. If we don''t investigate what happened and his culpability, we might as well publicly announce that we¡¯ll allow anyone to steal our techniques in the future."

    Despite maintaining his silence, Bai Wangyuan felt the same way.

    While both he and Xia Qin hoped that Specter Progenitor would emerge from the parallel universe so that they could determine the truth of what had happened, it was absolutely impossible for the two of them to swear to noty a finger on the man.

    Wang Fan said, "What I am saying is that we won''ty a hand on him for the time being. We''ll wait until the truth is determined."

    Lu Yin said, "That''s true. If Specter Abyss really did steal your techniques as well, it won¡¯t be toote to take action after the truth is revealed."

    Just then, Wang Fan''s wireless jincan trembled, and he answered the message.

    "Ancestor, we found a disciple of Specter Abyss hiding in the Wang family''s continent," came a report.

    The wireless jincan''s movements allowed Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Qin, and Lu Yin to all observe the iing message.

    Wang Fan''s expression fell. "Are you sure that they are from Specter Abyss?"

    "Absolutely. They used death energy, as well as Sit and Forget."

    Bai Wangyuan sneered. "So your Wang family isn¡¯t able to escape from this either."

    Wang Fan''s expression grew incredibly ugly. "Where is he now?"

    "He escaped."

    Wang Fan became utterly furious. "How can the Wang family allow people toe and go as they please?"

    The person submitting the report started to panic. "It wasn¡¯t just one person! There were also people from within the family cooperating with them, in addition to people from outside our continent helping as well!¡±

    In a fit of anger, Wang Fanpletely crushed the wireless jincan while ring at the rift that led to the parallel universe.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Senior Progenitor Wang Fan deserves his position as one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Your prediction was absolutely urate¡ªthe next battle technique to be leaked indeed belongs to your Wang family."

    Wang Fan turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Ask Specter Progenitor toe out."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "He won''te out, so you can just go in and speak to him in there."

    "I that remember your Forsaken Land has some Specter n," Wang Fan suddenlymented while staring at Lu Yin.

    Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin also looked over.

    Lu Yin remained calm. "That¡¯s right. Do you suspect that your intruder was someone from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Specter n?"

    "Whether they were or not, we¡¯ll find out soon enough."

    Lu Yin said, "Fair enough. Long ago, the Specter n joined with Aeternus in order to receive protection. Later, Aeternus was sealed outside in the Starfall Sea, and the Specter n betrayed me by turning to Jue Yi. I¡¯ve since captured all of them and have records of each person''s cultivation level and whereabouts. You can check all of them. I don''t mind."

    Bai Wangyuan did not believe that the Specter n was capable of stealing from their sects. "This should have been the work of Specter Abyss. Stealing our battle techniques isn''t something that could have been nned overnight. How long have our two regions of this universe been connected?"

    Wang Fan fell into deep thought. No one could guess what was running through his mind.

    "The facts are quite clear: only Specter Abyss cultivates both death energy and has the ability to steal our battle techniques. Lu Yin, what do we need to do for you to give us Specter Progenitor?" Xia Qin spoke up.

    Lu Yin was hesitant. "It''s not that I don''t want to hand him over, but-"

    Bai Wangyuan interrupted, "What are your conditions for giving us the coordinate seal? Just be blunt."

    They had already abandoned the prospect of negotiating with Specter Progenitor.

    Wang Fan looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin pretended to be feeling conflicted. "In that case¡­"

    He was just about to say he would enter Aeternus Nation together with Bai Wangyuan, but that he would not share the coordinate seal. Of course, he had already decided to offer these conditions long ago, but before he could say anything, a bit of news was reported that was so shocking that the matter of Specter Progenitor was set aside for the moment.

    Bai Xian''er was about to break through.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at his wireless jincan. He was initially a bit surprised, but he quickly grew ecstatic. He quickly sent back a message, "Is Xian''er really about to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm?"

    "Yes." Bai Sheng was the one delivering the report.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. So was it true that Bai Xian''er actually was not a Semi-Progenitor yet? Lu Yin had never been able to determine the woman¡¯s strength or cultivation. When the Fifth Maind¡¯s Upper Three Gates had been forced open decades before, Bai Xian''er had used a mere finger to crush one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors. Such impressive power should have meant that she had been a Semi-Progenitor, but after that, Lu Yin had heard many people im that the woman had not yet be a Semi-Progenitor. However, others were confident that she had already broken through. There were truly all kinds of different rumors circting regarding Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s cultivation, and Lu Yin had never been able to determine the true from the false.

    He had even asked his senior brother, Mu Xie, who had said that Bai Xian¡¯er had not yet be a Semi-Progenitor, as Mu Xie was unable to sense any hint of an inner world from the woman.

    Finally, she was about to have her breakthrough.

    With the sole exception of the Celestial Frost Sect, Bai Xian''er''s breakthrough was bad news for everyone, including even the Xia and Wang families.

    Wang Fan''s expression instantly changed.

    Lu Yin''s expression was simrly grim. Even before bing a Semi-Progenitor, Bai Xian''er had been strong enough to leave Lu Yin nervous. A sessful breakthrough would ce her only a single step away from bing a Progenitor. Given her foundation, the woman should have been capable of breaking through and bing a Semi-Progenitor long ago. Lu Yin could not even imagine how deep her foundation must have be over the years.

 Chapter 2485: Attack

    Chapter 2485: Attack

    Every time Lu Yin witnessed any hint of her strength, Bai Xian''er had been significantly stronger than him. When they first fought in Crimson Garden, the unique power in Lu Yin''s chest had beenpletely useless against her. However, in subsequent confrontations, especially when they had bet on the results of the death match between the God of Food and Mr. Yu, Lu Yin had felt that, if not for Bai Sheng''s abrupt appearance, he could have killed Bai Xian''er, or at the very least, taken her Book of Destiny.

    Lu Yin had continuously grown stronger, but Bai Xian''er¡¯s strength had stagnated. It was very clear that there was something abnormal about this situation.

    Everyone in the Perennial World was aware of Bai Xian''er¡¯s incredible talent, even three-year-olds. Thus, it could only mean that herck of progress in the recent years indicated some sort of ulterior motive.

    Lu Yin could not even begin to guess what level her strength would reach after her breakthrough, nor what her breakthrough would mean for him.

    Out of all of humanity, the person that Lu Yin feared most was Bai Xian''er.

    "Hahaha, is she finally going to have her breakthrough? I''ve waited so long for this!" Bai Wangyuan, an incredibly powerful master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, was openly ecstatic about Bai Xian''er''s pending breakthrough.

    On the other hand, Xia Qin appeared quite solemn. It was true that Bai Xian''er was a junior, but she was also an inevitability. Her breakthrough to the Envoy realm had been a massive and memorable event, which had prompted Aeternus tounch a massive attack on the Perennial World. What would happen during her breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor?

    "Progenitor Bai, there''s no need for us to worry about Xian''er''s breakthrough, but if someone tries to cause trouble, things could end up very differently," Bai Sheng''s message came through.

    Bai Wangyuan''s smile faded, and he looked over at Lu Yin.

    Xia Qin and Wang Fan also looked over.

    The reason why the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World were able to coexist in peace was almost entirely due to Lu Yin''s ability to threaten Bai Xian''er¡¯s safety. If anyone could threaten her during her breakthrough, it would be Lu Yin.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, I need you to stay within my sight for the time being," Bai Wangyuan said unreservedly. His posture had changed. Now, he was like the calm before the storm and wouldn''t allow Lu Yin to try anything.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He had been hoping to disturb Bai Xian''er''s breakthrough by triggering Destiny again. Bai Xian¡¯er was simply too great a threat for him to do nothing. However, it was quite unexpected to have Bai Wangyuan keep an eye on him to prevent him from doing anything.

    Was this really just a coincidence?

    Lu Yin looked towards the parallel universe that held Aeternus Nation. If he had not made numerous arrangements in the process of trying to entrap Specter Progenitor and force the man into a corner, Specter Progenitor would have never visited the Fifth Maind. His visit had then drawn the attention of Bai Wangyuan, and at the same time, Bai Xian''er had chosen to trigger her breakthrough. Was this really just all a coincidence, or had someone been watching Lu Yin?

    Could Bai Xian''er be watching him?

    He thought back to when he had posed as Yu Hao and met with Bai Xian''er in Crimson Garden. She had been the one to reveal Shenwu''s Sky''s n. Just how much was Bai Xian''er really aware of? Her Book of Destiny had been burned, right?

    Lu Yin had his own goals that had induced him to force Specter Progenitor to step out, but Bai Xian''er''s breakthrough had disrupted all of Lu Yin¡¯s ns. There was no way for him to avoid Bai Wangyuan¡¯s attention. "Congrattions, Bai Wangyuan. Bai Xian''er¡¯s breakthrough will propel your Celestial Frost Sect to new heights. As a gift, I''ll help you by bringing out Specter Progenitor."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he remained atop the jiao and directed the beast through the spatial rift and into Aeternus Nation.

    "Stay right here!" Bai Wangyuan shouted as he attacked. It did not matter where Lu Yin wanted to go; Bai Wangyuan would not allow him to leave.

    However, Lu Yin had already been close to the spatial rift, and given the jiao¡¯s speed, Bai Wangyuan could do nothing to stop them from entering the parallel universe.

    Bai Wangyuan saw the jiao pass through the spatial rift, and he followed right behind. There was no hesitation as he chased after Lu Yin, as he had already done so once before with this particr parallel universe.

    Wang Fan moved no slower than Bai Wangyuan, as he also wanted to enter Aeternus Nation.

    The moment Lu Yin entered the parallel universe, he turned and closed the spatial rift.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan instantly appeared where the rift had just been standing, but at this moment, all that remained in front of them was Peacewater. Despite how quickly as they had moved, they had still arrived toote to pass through the spatial rift.

    Bai Wangyuan grew nervous. Lu Yin was out of the man¡¯s sight, and Bai Wangyuan had no idea where the youth might have gone. The Progenitor quickly sent a message to Bai Sheng. "Lu Xiaoxuan has hidden himself in a parallel universe, and I don''t know what he''s up to. Ask Xian''er to leave."

    "Understood."

    Bai Wangyuan and Bai Xian''er had been preparing for her breakthrough for a long time. Even with Lu Yin''s unexpected actions, they already had a n in ce, so he would not be able to lead them around and control their actions.

    After Bai Xian''er learned that Lu Yin had entered a parallel universe, she did not hesitate at all to tear through the void.

    "I don''t believe that Lu Xiaoxuan can affect me, but just in case, I''ll take the final step,¡± she told Bai Sheng. "Progenitor Sheng, no matter how well-prepared I might be for my tribtion, no one can guarantee sess. If I fail-" She hesitated for a moment, and her eyes took on a never before seen sharpness before she continued, "Kill Lu Xiaoxuan immediately."

    With those words, she left. No one, not even Bai Sheng, had any idea where she had gone.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan both looked quite solemn as they stood in the middle of outer space in the Fifth Maind.

    Xia Qin''s eyes were locked onto Wang Fan. Lu Yin had closed the rift to the parallel universe as soon as he entered, but thest person that he had looked at was Wang Fan. Why not Bai Wangyuan? Furthermore, Wang Fan¡¯s actions had been rather suspicious. Bai Wangyuan had been in a rush to enter the rift because of Bai Xian''er, but what was Wang Fan¡¯s motivation? Was he really just in a hurry to get to Specter Progenitor and investigate what had caused the leaked battle techniques?

    Charging into an unknown region for something like battle techniques did not match Wang Fan''s character.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the world after entering Aeternus Nation. With Arch-Elder Zen in the Fifth Maind, Bai Wangyuan and the others would not dare to act recklessly.

    Specter Progenitor saw Lu Yin enter the small universe for the third time and quickly approached him. "Dao Monarch Lu, how are things outside?"

    Lu Yin''s face went pale. "Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin both attacked me because of you! They will definitelye after you as part of their investigation into their leaked battle techniques."

    Specter Progenitor frowned. "They are losing patience. By the way, is it only Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It seems that something happened in the Perennial World, as Wang Fan and Progenitor Long did note."

    Specter Progenitor wanted to ask more questions, but Lu Yin waved a hand, which caused Lu Jian''s Champions'' Stage to appear in front of the two men. He somberly stated, "There are two coordinate seals for this universe, and they¡¯ve already taken one of them. As soon as they get in here, a fierce battle is going to be inevitable. Be prepared, Specter Progenitor. I¡¯ve sacrificed too much for you, which means that you need to survive so that you can provide me with adequatepensation for everything after this matter gets resolved."

    Specter Progenitor promised, "I will."

    "With my name, I summon a Champion," Lu Yin stated. The aura of a Progenitor started to emanate from the Champions'' Stage as E Chi appeared. At the same time, a golden light shone from above Lu Yin''s head, lighting up all of Aeternus Nation. It was his Investiture of the Gods appeared, and Nong Yi''s image stepped out from the scroll.

    Specter Progenitor eximed, "Even with just your strength, you essentially have the strength of several Progenitors! This sight amazes me every time I see it. You are likely the most powerful Envoy since the Heavens Sect era."

    Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes, and the God of mes figurine appeared on his shoulder as countless runes filled the area.

    As soon as the runes appeared, Specter Progenitor nced around andmented, "The Rune Progenitor¡¯s power is truly incredible."

    Lu Yin said, "There is a great deal of death energy beneath the ground. Fighting here should give you arge advantage, Specter Progenitor."

    The man actually shook his head. "It can¡¯t give me very much of an advantage. Before I became a Progenitor, the abundant death energy in this ce would have provided me with an endless supply of power, but ever since I became a Progenitor and created my own unique power, I have be different from the God of Death."

    Specter Progenitor looked at Lu Yin. "You have always believed that I coveted the power of the God of Death, but even if I were given that power now, it would be useless. I can no longer change."

    This was shocking to Lu Yin. "You can no longer cultivate the God of Death¡¯s death energy?"

    Specter Progenitor sighed. "Not any longer."

    "That''s such a shame. Now that I think about it, the Xia family¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique of the Xia family is really unbelievably useful, as it allows a single person to cultivate with nine different types of power," Lu Yinmented.

    Specter Progenitor responded with a bitter smile. "The Fifth Maind was ruled by the Lu family, and it was supported by the various families with the primeval surnames. Each of those families possesses unparalleled power even if none of them ever managed to be as strong as the Lu family. The Xia family''s Nine Clones Secret Technique, the Bai family''s secret techniques and battle techniques, the Wang family''s Sit and Forget, and many others are not to be underestimated. It is almost impossible for my Specter Abyss to ever surpass them."

    "But you cultivated with the God of Death¡¯s death energy, and the God of Death was never under my Lu family¡¯s authority," Lu Yin protested.

    "Aside from you, not one single person has ever cultivated the God of Death¡¯s entire inheritance. Not only do you have the inheritances of the Lu family and the God of Death, but you also have inheritances from the Rune Progenitor, Progenitor Ku, and Progenitor Chen. Lu Xiaoxuan, you will definitely eventually be humanity¡¯s greatest expert," Specter Progenitor stated confidently.

    "It''s still not enough."

    Lu Yin¡¯s response took Specter Progenitor aback. "What isn¡¯t enough?"

    Lu Yin was about to answer, but the void started to fluctuate off in the distance, and the sight caused his expression to change. "They''reing."

    Specter Progenitor turned to look.

    Suddenly, he felt a sudden chill, as well as a strong sense of danger. It was not danger from the direction he was looking in, but from behind.

    Without even looking back, Specter Progenitor picked up a foot to flee, only to be stopped by a green light that surrounded him. Was it Nong Yi? No, it was Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin had attacked, and his summoned Nong Yi wrapped Specter Progenitor''s body up with green leaves. At the same time, E Chi held the slipper and mmed it down.

    With a bang, Specter Progenitor was smashed in the back with the slipper, and he fell.

    Lu Yin''s eyes had turned sharp during his attack. Runes had weakened Specter Progenitor, and then Wielder-realm battle force spread up Lu Yin¡¯s arm as he raised a hand and brought it down to release a Hollow Palm.

    The flipper fell once more, brought down by E Chi.

    The summoned Nong Yi¡¯s hand fell as well, and a Progenitor¡¯s aura surged and took the form of a green light that shot up like a pir, increasing the crushing pressure that struck Specter Progenitor.

    Inside the green leaves, Specter Progenitor coughed up blood. Death energy formed sharp des that sliced through the void surrounding the man. He looked up to see the slipper in E Chi''s hand, as well as the green pir. "Lu Xiaoxuan-"

    A deafening boom echoed as Specter Progenitor''s body was smashed into the ground of Aeternus Nation. The earth shatteredpletely, and death energy surged out to spread in every direction. It was a boulder being thrown into ake.

    Lu Yin did not give Specter Progenitor the slightest opportunity to react. E Chi chased after the man, and the slipper rose up once again to attack.

    A strange, long spear thrust upwards from beneath the ground, and it moved to block the slipper. The spear was formed from multiple ck beads, and together, they took on the form of something that resembled a spear or a halberd. There was another bang, and the top of the odd weapon shattered, quickly followed by the rest of the weapon. It waspletely unable to withstand a blow from the slipper.

    Specter Progenitor rose to his feet underground, and he held the long spear in his right hand while waving his left hand. "Dead End."

    As he spoke, an endless amount of death energy swept out, splitting space into two separate spaces, one above the other. After that, the death energy formed a guillotine that shed toward Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly mounted the jiao to avoid the attack.

    "The heavens are the guillotine, while death energy is the de. Lu Xiaoxuan, you are seeking death!" Specter Progenitor roared as the guillotine¡¯s de ruthlessly chased after Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2486: Question

    Chapter 2486: Question

    The jiao raised its ws to block the guillotine de, howling as it was pushed back.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and the sky and the ground switched ces: Flipping the Sky.

    The de trembled, but then the edge abruptly flipped. Lu Yin had intended to make the guillotine fall beneath him, but that proved to be more than what he could manage. It was already terrifying that his Flipping the Sky was able to affect a Progenitor''s attack, but controlling a Progenitor''s battle technique was still too much to hope for.

    Meanwhile, under the scroll of Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods, Nong Yi raised a hand high, wielding what looked like a hoe that swept downwards.

    The ground shook, and Specter Progenitor was once again forced deep underground.

    The guillotine that had been formed from death energy dissipated.

    Lu Yin looked down and summoned a Semi-Progenitor from Lu Jian''s Champions'' Stage. The champion them charged down towards Specter Progenitor.

    Under the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods, Nong Yi raised his hoe once more.

    At this moment, a snow-white bone sprouted up from the ground. Lu Yin''s pupils constricted the moment he saw it.

    Nong Yi''s hoe descended, delivering the same strike.

    From deep underground, snow-white bones covered in dark death energy burst forth, resembling awakened behemoths as they emerged to bear the brunt of Nong Yi''s attack. Specter Progenitor stood within the midst of the bones, and he red at Lu Yin resentfully. "Why did you ambush me?"

    Lu Yin stared back at Specter Progenitor. The man was injured, but Lu Yin was not certain how severe the injuries that he had inflicted actually were. "I wanted to test Senior Specter Progenitor''s strength."

    Specter Progenitor was left speechless. Only a fool would believe anything that this child said. Still, why had he attacked?

    "Did you make a deal with Bai Wangyuan and the others?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I just wanted to test your strength, Senior. After all, we both cultivate the God of Death¡¯s inheritance, so I am quite curious to see what a Progenitor who cultivated death energy is capable of. That battle technique just now with the guillotine, did you develop that?"

    Specter Progenitor said, "Lu Xiaoxuan, I don''t want to be your enemy. Let''s stop here."

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. "But this junior has not yet managed to see just what a Progenitor who cultivates death energy is capable of doing and what sort of unique characteristics there are."

    As Lu Yin spoke, E Chi clenched the slipper tighter and swung it downwards.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you are courting death!" Specter Progenitor roared as the slipper shattered a bone. The Progenitor manipted a massive bone, and it shot through the void, aiming straight at Lu Yin. The jiao snarled as it lifted its ws to stop the bone. Despite the fact that the bone was much smaller than the jiao''s huge body, the two were evenly matched for the moment.

    Suddenly, Specter Progenitor emerged from the bone, and he thrust his spear at Lu Yin. The man was a Progenitor, and Lu Yin was no match for a Progenitor in terms of raw power. Even if he wanted to use the Ce Secret Art to dodge, it would not be enough to escape from a Progenitor''s strength.

    However, Lu Yin also had Inverse Step. He quickly retreated, moving away from Specter Progenitor.

    From behind, E Chi lifted the slipper and smashed it down yet again. The slipper had fallen multiple times throughout the fight. Even Undying God had been nearly beaten to death by the slipper, let alone Specter Progenitor.

    There was almost nothing in the known universe that could withstand the power of the slipper.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really want to fight me to the death?" Specter Progenitor shouted.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold. "Senior, let me see the power of a Progenitor who cultivates with death energy."

    "Fine. If you want to die, I''ll grant you your wish. At worst, I''ll escape into the Astral Wilderness," Specter Progenitor retorted.

    Then, the sky turned dark, and the entire space became devoid of all light. Countless spikes emerged from the void to form a forest. It was a forest created entirely by death energy. This was Specter Progenitor¡¯s Progenitor''s world: ck Forest.

    "Once you enter the ck Forest, you can never leave. Did you really believe yourself capable of facing me alone? If not for Mu Xie, you would have never been able to face Nutjob Lu at all." Specter Progenitor''s cold voice echoed through the void, but Lu Yin could not determine the man¡¯s location.

    Lu Yin had never underestimated Specter Progenitor. In fact, Lu Yin was even warier of Specter Progenitor than of Xia Shenji. It was possible to see through Xia Shenji''s methods, but Specter Progenitor was different, and that was because he cultivated death energy.

    Someone who had managed to be a Progenitor by cultivating death energy could not be taken lightly, even if what Specter Progenitor used was not truly the God of Death''s power.

    This was also why Specter Abyss had been able to safely exist in the Perennial World for so many years.

    Even the Lu family had held high expectations for Specter Progenitor, let alone the four ruling powers.

    The man¡¯s unique power was terrifying.

    Trapped in the ck Forest, the jiao, E Chi, and Lu Yin all reacted as though they were stuck in mud. They werepletely unable to see or touch anything due to being engulfed by endless darkness. It was an unnerving experience.

    Lu Yin did not dare to hesitate. The sense of danger was so powerful that his scalp felt as though it was about to explode. Even wrapping his Investiture of the Gods around himself was not enough to make him feel safe. Therefore, he took out the God of Death''s left arm.

    As soon as the arm appeared, the ck Forest twisted and copsed.

    Specter Progenitor was badly startled. Despite being a Progenitor who cultivated death energy, just like the God of Death, the difference in their strength was so astronomical that even just the appearance of the God of Death''s left arm was enough to destroy Specter Progenitor¡¯s Progenitor''s world.

    Lu Yin also had not expected to see the terrifying ck Forest crumble so quickly after the arm appeared.

    Specter Progenitor certainly was not weak; rather, the God of Death had been far too strong.

    Despite cultivating simr and rted energies, the strength of the two was iparable to each other.

    While holding the God of Death''s left arm in one hand, Lu Yin took out the God of Death''s scythe in the other. "Senior, you should be able to experience the difference between yourself and the true God of Death."

    Specter Progenitor shouted, "Lu Xiaoxuan, why are you attacking me?"

    The ck Forest continued to warp and copse as the death energy was absorbed by the God of Death''s left arm. It did not take long for the Progenitor¡¯s world to be on the verge ofplete failure, while the power contained within the scythe grew to a truly frightening level. Lu Yin silently stared at Specter Progenitor as the arm and scythe continued to absorb more and more death energy. Not only was the death energy from the ck Forest absorbed, but the death energy from underground was also sucked up; all of it rose up and formed a ck rainbow that tore through the sky.

    This scene was not unfamiliar to Specter Progenitor. Lu Yin had used this exact same attack against Nutjob Lu. However, just because Nutjob Lu had not died did not mean that Specter Progenitor would be able to survive. The man was well aware of the fact that he was much, much weaker than Nutjob Lu.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, what in the world do you want?" Specter Progenitor shouted again.

    Lu Yin still said nothing and merely stared at the man. With the protection of the jiao, E Chi, and his Investiture of the Gods, Specter Progenitor would find it difficult to harm Lu Yin, even if he tried his hardest, at least in the short term.

    All Lu Yin needed was just a little bit more time for his attack.

    This was the same attack that had severely injured Xia Shenji and made Bai Wangyuan so wary. It had also left Nutjob Lu badly injured.

    This was an attack that was capable of intimidating any Progenitor.

    "You¡¯re a madman!" Specter Progenitor was equal parts furious and frustrated. He simply could not find any reason for Lu Yin¡¯s actions, and it was proving impossible tomunicate with the youth. Without another word, Specter Progenitorunched a surprise attack of his own in a desperate counterattack.

    Then, he tore through the void and fled.

    Normally, traveling from one universe to another was a matter of almost nothing but luck, unless one had coordinates to guide them. This was why Xia Shenji had essentially been banished.

    However, when Specter Progenitor tore through the void, he immediately appeared back in the Fifth Maind, so he simply fled without hesitation.

    Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin were both startled by the man¡¯s sudden appearance.

    In the next instant, Lu Yin opened up the rift back up by using the coordinate seal. He aimed his attack at the escaping Specter Progenitor and released the attack despite the distance.

    If he were aiming at anyone else, Lu Yin''s attack would have nevernded. Even a single moment¡¯s dy could make a huge difference for a Progenitor.

    However, Lu Yin was targeting Specter Progenitor, who cultivated with death energy. Lu Yin''s attack did not merely contain death energy from the well of energy beneath Aeternus Kingdom, but also death energy from Specter Progenitor''s own Progenitor''s world. That death energy acted like a homing beacon, even if ced within multiple parallel universes. For this reason, Specter Progenitor¡¯s location was so clear to Lu Yin that he could hit his target even with his eyes closed.

    Bai Wangyuan also was not slow to reach. At the same moment that Lu Yin''s attack struck, Bai Wangyuan took action. White clouds had already enveloped the Neoverse, which meant that Specter Progenitor had no path to escape.

    Death energy formed what looked to be a long ck rainbow, and its appearance darkened outer space. The arc instantly connected Specter Progenitor and Lu Yin, and Lu Yin shed downwards with the God of Death''s scythe, attacking Specter Progenitor.

    Specter Progenitor bellowed with anger, and his Progenitor''s world made another appearance. However, unlike before, this time, the ck Forest started to gather at the center and quickly swallowed up Specter Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed greatly. What was that thing?

    The next moment, a flower-like object blossomed in space. From a distance, it looked like a dark and rather disturbing lotus, but up close, it was actually a mass of petals covered with sinister thorns. It looked like a man-eating flower that would devour everything.

    As the God of Death''s scythe swung downwards, the terrifying man-eating flower shattered, only to converge back together to form Specter Progenitor. The man stumbled backwards as he coughed up blood. He waspletely covered in injuries.

    Then, his head snapped up.

    In the distance, Xia Qin''s pupils shrank in shock. That¡¯s¡­ Wang Fan?

    Xia Qin wasn''t the only one who had noticed Specter Progenitor¡¯s altered appearance, as Bai Wangyuan had caught sight of the same thing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Could Specter Progenitor really be Wang Fan? How was that even possible? Was this the Nine Clones Secret Technique?

    Everything that Lu Yin had done had been put into y in order to expose the secret connection between Specter Abyss and the Wang family.

    Xia Ziheng¡¯s secret regarding the Wang family had been that the harvested Yellow Springs were not stored on the Wang family¡¯s floating continent, or even in the Dominion Realm where Wang Fan resided. Instead, everything was stored in Specter Abyss. However, the exact rtionship between the Wang family and Specter Abyss remained unknown.

    At that moment, Lu Yin''s wariness towards Wang Fan increased by several times.

    All along, the four ruling powers¡¯ negotiations with Lu Yin had been led by Bai Wangyuan, and Xia Shenji had been the one to actually fight against Lu Yin the most. Wang Fan and Progenitor Long had never done anything to stand out very much. Who could have guessed that Wang Fan was actually the one hiding the deepest secret?

    Lu Yin had believed that Specter Progenitor and Wang Fan were simply cooperating with each other, which was why he had enacted his n to trap Specter Progenitor. Lu Yin had wanted to expose Wang Fan''s aplice. Not once had Lu Yin ever imagined that Specter Progenitor was actually Wang Fan.

    Just what sort of method Wang Fan had used to create an existence simr to a clone from the Xia family''s Nine Clones Secret Technique, and then on top of that, nurture it into Specter Progenitor?

    Wang Fan was the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and yet he was the same person as Specter Abyss¡¯s Specter Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had originally intended to have Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the Perennial World force the truth out, but Bai Xian''er''s breakthrough had forced Lu Yin to personally take action.

    Fortunately, he had finally managed to expose the truth about Specter Progenitor.

    Unfortunately, it was not possible to kill Specter Progenitor. The man was far stronger than Lu Yin had anticipated, and he was not much weaker than Xia Shenji. After all, Specter Progenitor had also managed to survive one of the God of Death¡¯s attacks. In Specter Progenitor¡¯s final revtion, Lu Yin had been able to understand just how terrifying a Progenitor who cultivated death energy was.

    That was what Specter Progenitor, a Progenitor who cultivated death energy, was capable of doing.

    Nearby, Bai Wangyuan''s expression had grown unspeakably dark. He had also just attacked, but at the crucial moment, he had been blocked by Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan''s face appeared calm as he stared at Lu Yin.

    "No wonder you suggested that we swear to noty a hand on Specter Progenitor. No wonder you were in such a hurry to go in. No wonder you blocked me," Bai Wangyuan quietlymented while staring at Wang Fan. It appeared as though Bai Wangyuan was seeing a stranger.

    This man, whom Bai Wangyuan had known for countless years and who was also a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, suddenly seemed like aplete stranger.

    Xia Qin was also warily staring at Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan stared at Lu Yin. He had already contemted an excuse for why he had blocked Bai Wangyuan, but Lu Yin¡¯s one attack had instantly exposed everything. The secret had already been revealed.

    But why had the youth been so determined to deal such a devastating attack against Specter Progenitor?

    Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and everyone else present was asking the same question.

 Chapter 2487: Shadows Of Life

    Chapter 2487: Shadows Of Life

    The universe was currently at a stalemate. On one side was Lu Yin, Mu Xie, and Arch-Elder Zen, and they were opposed by the four ruling powers. Specter Abyss, Progenitor Smoke, and the Nong family had remained as neutral parties, but things had started to lean towards Lu Yin''s favor. Even so, Lu Yin had still attacked Specter Progenitor, which left many people badly confused.

    Not only had Lu Yin attacked Specter Progenitor, but it had also been a vicious and ruthless attack. He had clearly tried to kill Specter Progenitor just now.

    Silence reigned as Lu Yin rode the jiao through the rift that was connected to Aeternus Nation. To one side stood Xia Qin and Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan stood a distance away. The furthest away was Specter Progenitor, whose body was flickering oddly.

    After a moment of silence, Bai Wangyuan spoke up, "Wang Fan, exin what is going on. Specter Progenitor is you, which means that you are the one who leaked the battle techniques that belong to our Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu¡¯s Sky."

    Wang Fan instantly denied it. "I didn''t leak anything."

    "Then how do you exin Specter Progenitor? What''s your rtionship with him?" Bai Wangyuan demanded.????????????????????????.??????

    Xia Qin also felt quite curious. "Did you cultivate the Nine Clones Secret Technique?"

    Wang Fan turned to look at Xia Qin. "Not all clones originate from the Nine Clones Secret Technique. This has nothing to do with your Xia family''s secret technique."

    "It''s not a clone, it''s a shadow," Bai Wangyuan interrupted, staring at Wang Fan. "I understand now. The inheritance that you received from your Mountain and Sea is called Shadows of Life."

    Wang Fan replied, "So you do know. In that case, are you the one who tried to investigate this battle technique long ago?"

    Bai Wangyuan shook his head. "It wasn¡¯t just me, but also the Lu family, the Xia family, and even the Liu family. This is a battle technique that can allow one person to be two by creating a shadow that''s identical to the original person. Given its simrity to the Nine Clones Secret Technique, how could it not attract attention?¡±

    ¡°Throughout human history, many battle techniques can trace their origins back to a single source, and it¡¯s possible that even the Nine Clones Secret Technique was born from this Shadows of Life. In other words, the inheritance that you obtained from your Mountain and Sea came from the Mountain that originally belonged to the Xia family."

    Wang Fan replied, "While it¡¯s possible that Xia Chen was the first person to inherit my Mountain and Sea, that does not mean that it belongs to the Xia family. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas belong to all of humanity and all six Mainds. They don¡¯t belong to just the Fifth Maind alone. The reason why the Fifth Maind enjoyed such a prosperous period during the Daosource Sect era was because masters appeared for all Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Before that, no Maind had ever managed to gather all Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. It¡¯s a featparable to or even surpassing the Heavens Sect era."

    Xia Qin shouted, "I don''t care about your so-called inherited battle techniques! All I want to know is, why did you leak my Shenwu''s Sky''s battle techniques?"

    Wang Fan furrowed his brow. "I''ve already told you I did not do that. Why would I leak your battle techniques? What benefit could I gain from doing so? All that would do is expose Specter Progenitor''s true identity."

    Lu Yin sneered. "That¡¯s not right. Your goal was to force Specter Progenitor into a desperate situation."

    "What did you say?" Wang Fan turned to Lu Yin and scrutinized him.

    Bai Wangyuan, Xia Qin, and even Specter Progenitor all looked over as well.

    Lu Yin slowly exined. "Wang Fan, you are the most ambitious person of all, and you¡¯ve kept the deepest secrets. You intentionally leaked the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s and Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s battle techniques through Specter Abyss, all to stage a y that would force Specter Progenitor into a desperate situation. Your goal was to have Specter Progenitor approach me so that you could obtain the God of Death¡¯s true inheritance from me. The only reason why you were willing to team up with the Celestial Frost Sect and banish the Lu family is because you want to take control of the Fifth Maind. Specter Progenitor is your shadow clone, and he cultivates the God of Death¡¯s power. That was the source of your confidence.

    "The Celestial Frost Sect''s confidence has always been Bai Xian''er, while the Xia family acted because of past grudges, and the White Dragon n simply wanted to rise to power. You wanted to eliminate the greatest obstacle preventing you from ruling over the Fifth Maind: the Lu family. Ultimately, you would have united with Specter Progenitor to suppress the Fifth Maind with thebined power of the Wang family and the God of Death."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you''re spouting nonsense!" Wang Fan had be thoroughly infuriated by Lu Yin¡¯s allegations. He had been perfectly calm just moments before, even when Specter Progenitor had been exposed. What of it? Having a secret exposed was not a big deal. As for leaking the battle techniques, he had not done it, so he had no worries about being falsely used. However, Lu Yin''s exnation gave Wang Fan the perfect motivation to leak the battle techniques.

    If he was honest, as Wang Fan listened to Lu Yin, even the Progenitor felt like Lu Yin might be telling the truth. He found himself rather tempted to have Specter Progenitor steal the God of Death¡¯s inheritance from Lu Xiaoxuan and then use the power of the God of Death to take control of the Fifth Maind.

    The fact that Wang Fan found himself tempted meant that there was a possibility of him taking such actions. If even he could believe Lu Yin¡¯s story, then there was no need to mention Bai Wangyuan and Xia Qin.

    Their expressions on their faces as they looked at Wang Fan hadpletely changed.

    "As long as you take the God of Death¡¯s inheritance from me, then even Specter Progenitor, your shadow clone, can disappear. After all, he¡¯s just a shadow, which means that you can always reform him. At that time, the power of the Wang family, as well as the God of Death inheritance, and the inheritances of Progenitor Ku, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Chen that I¡¯ve received, will all belong to you. Who could stop you then?" Lu Yin continued speaking.

    Specter Progenitor angrily retorted, "Lu Xiaoxuan, you''re ndering me. How could I take your inheritance?"

    "You already attacked me in Aeternus Nation," Lu Yin returned.

    Specter Progenitor nearly exploded from his rage. "You ambushed me!"

    "I noticed that you were about to attack, so I struck first," Lu Yin exined.

    "This is bullshit!"

    "What? Angry that you''ve been exposed?"

    Wang Fan bellowed with anger, "All of this is just your spection, Lu Xiaoxuan. I honestly suspect that you were the one who leaked the cultivation methods. The Specter n exists in the Fifth Maind, and you are the descendant of the God of Death. Coupled with that scum Kui Luo, it''s not impossible for you to do this."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Are you trying to say that, just because I¡¯ve visited the Perennial World a few times, that I can steal the most valuable battle techniques from the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky and leak them to the public? Wang Fan, are you thinking too little of them or too much of me?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes moved back and forth between Wang Fan and Lu Yin. At this point, he felt thoroughly confused. Normally, Wang Fan would be the prime suspect, as Lu Xiaoxuan''s argument was quite convincing. However, it was Lu Xiaoxuan offering the exnation. He had previously disguised himself as Long Qi and created massive trouble within the White Dragon n and then posed as Yu Hao to stir up discord between the four ruling powers.

    The youth had already attempted many things that would be regarded as impossible, and yet he had almost always seeded. It was certainly possible that Lu Yin was once again the one behind everything.

    "What benefit would I gain from any of this?" Lu Yin shouted.

    At that, Bai Wangyuan and the others suddenly realized that Lu Xiaoxuan certainly had a point; what could he stand to gain from leaking the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s battle techniques? Fame? Fortune? He would gain nothing at all. The only motivation for Lu Xiaoxuan to have done anything would be if he had known of the rtionship between Specter Progenitor and Wang Fan in advanced and wanted to expose the matter.

    But had Lu Xiaoxuan known?

    Wang Fan quickly understood this as well, and he stared at Lu Yin, "You already knew about my rtionship with Specter Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Of course not! Not even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors knew anything, so how could I?"

    Once again, Wang Fan could not argue. No matter how powerful Lu Xiaoxuan might be, he could not have learned of this secret. This was something that not even the Wang family was aware of.

    Lu Yin truly had not known either. He had only known that the Wang family had had some kind of cooperative rtionship with Specter Abyss, but as for exactly what that rtionship was, he had had no any idea. He was not lying.

    "It seems that we need to investigate this matter thoroughly. No one is allowed to leave!" Xia Qin dered.

    Wang Fan''s expression turned ugly. If no one had been aware of his connection with Specter Progenitor, then there would have been no reason to target him. In that case, if he had not been targeted because of that rtionship, why would anyone want to frame Specter Progenitor? Wang Fan could not make any sense of this.

    Out of everyone, very few people possessed the ability to frame Specter Progenitor, and all of them were Progenitors. Who could it be? Who had a motive to go after Specter Progenitor?

    Wang Fan looked around at Bai Wangyuan, Xia Qin, and Lu Yin. Who had the motivation?

    Lu Xiaoxuan? Impossible. If the youth was unaware of Wang Fan¡¯s rtionship with Specter Progenitor, then he would consider Specter Progenitor to be someone who could help him restrain the four ruling powers. Lu Yin would not target Specter Progenitor.

    In that case, if Lu Yin was not a possibility, then who could be the culprit?

    There were only a few people who could even be considered.

    In order to uncover the truth about the leaked battle techniques, it was necessary to visit Specter Abyss. After all, that was where everything had happened.

    As for Bai Wangyuan, he would rather have Lu Yin stay in the Perennial World than remain in the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin also wanted to return to Perennial World to see Bai Xian''er''s Semi-Progenitor stellr tribtion. So far, there had been no news whatsoever, which meant that something was off.

    Naturally, Wang Fan was not allowed to part ways from the rest of the group.

    With Specter Progenitor''s true identity exposed, Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan''s rtionship would never be able to return to what it had once been. The two men had certainly suspected and plotted against each other in the past, but this incident would cause Bai Wangyuan''s distrust of Wang Fan to only increase even further. This would not be good for Wang Fan.

    As the group made their way to Specter Abyss, Wang Fan was thinking about how he should prepare for the future. It was possible that his Wang family would be targeted by everyone.

    Some timeter, the group arrived at Specter Abyss.

    This was Lu Yin''s first time visiting Specter Abyss, though he was already familiar with the ce. Possessing Specter Abyss¡¯s Semi-Progenitor had given Lu Yin the man¡¯s memories, and that had given him a clear understanding of the ce.

    However, the Specter Abyss that Lu Yin had seen in the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s memories had beenpletely different from what met them.

    Specter Abyss had been utterly destroyed by Bai Sheng. Death energy was still present, but it had been mostly dispersed. The bodies of many of Specter Abyss¡¯s disciples could be seen strewn across the ground. In the deepest regions, Specter Abyss¡¯s Crown Prince Gui Qian and many other people were kneeling in a line. Bai Sheng stood a short distance away from them.

    Wang Fan''s expression grew even colder at this sight.

    Lu Yin focused on Bai Sheng. Seeing him did not make any sense. If Bai Xian''er was challenging a stellr tribtion, then why was Bai Sheng not with her and protecting her? Why was he in Specter Abyss?

    He looked up towards the Higher Realm. Bai Xian''er''s stellr tribtion should be quite intense, so why did everything appear so calm?

    At this moment, Bai Wangyuan spoke up in a cold voice. "Bai Sheng went too far. Brother Wang, you shouldn''t have kept this from us. Things would have never turned out like this."

    Wang Fan answered in a low voice, "This has nothing to do with you. This is entirely on the person who leaked the battle techniques and framed Specter Abyss. I will get even with them."

    Xia Qin calmlymented, "Don''t be so hasty to absolve yourself."

    Lu Yin chimed in, "That''s right. Even if Specter Abyss ispletely destroyed, it''s your own fault."

    Wang Fan''s eyes grew even colder. It seemed impossible for his hatred towards the person who had leaked the battle techniques to increase any further.

    Specter Abyss''s sole Semi-Progenitor was an old man named Gui Jian. Lu Yin had Possessed the man and used that opportunity to leak the battle techniques.

    When the battle techniques had been leaked, Bai Sheng had rushed straight into Specter Abyss and captured Gui Jian along with everyone else who had been there. He had not done much to interrogate anyone other than ask who had leaked the battle techniques, but no one knew anything at all.

    When Lu Yin had Possessed Gui Jian to leak the battle techniques, no one from Specter Abyss had heard the man¡¯s voice. If Lu Yin had let that happen, the Semi-Progenitor would have been identified too quickly.

    "The person who leaked the battle techniques must be one of these people. When the techniques were leaked, no one from Specter Abyss heard anything. That¡¯s something that only an Envoy can aplish."

    "Master!" Crown Prince Gui Qian saw that Specter Progenitor had arrived and instinctively tried to ask for help.

    Specter Progenitor had returned to his former appearance. After all, he could not go around while wearing Wang Fan''s face.

    "Silence! Who leaked the techniques?" Specter Progenitor demanded.

    Crown Prince Gui Qian answered, "It definitely was not any of our disciples. Our disciples don''t even know the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu''s Sky¡¯s battle techniques."

 Chapter 2488: Guests

    Chapter 2488: Guests

    Xia Qin immediately looked toward Gui Jian. There was only one Semi-Progenitor who had been present in Specter Abyss, which made him the biggest suspect. Even if Crown Prince Gui Qian and his followers had managed to somehow learn battle techniques that belonged to the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky, it would not have been easy for them to leak them to the public. That was something that only a Semi-Progenitor could do.

    Gui Jian dropped his head. He was indeed Specter Abyss¡¯s only Semi-Progenitor, which was something that everyone knew, including Xia Qin.

    Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and others all focused entirely on Gui Jian.

    "Speak," Xia Qin said.

    Gui Jian slowly lifted his head, revealing a weathered face covered with fear. As a mere Semi-Progenitor, being stared at by an entire group of Progenitors was beyond horrifying. "I absolutely did not leak those battle techniques."

    Bai Sheng approached. "Some people who heard the instructions for the battle techniques have just been apprehended."

    "Bring them here," Wang Fan said eagerly.

    Lu Yin silently moved closer to Gui Jian and Possessed him without anyone noticing a thing.

    As soon as Lu Yin took control of Gui Jian''s body, he quickly nced at Bai Wangyuan and then instantly ended the Possession.

    Xia Qin noticed nothing, and Bai Wangyuan had been looking at the two cultivators being escorted over. They were members of Root who had infiltrated Specter Abyss with Wan Wu. Thus, Bai Wangyuan also did not notice the brief nce his way.

    However, someone else did: Wang Fan.

    He saw Gui Jian nce at Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan¡¯s pupils constricted at the sight.

    The two cultivators easily identified Gui Jian''s voice, leaving the manpletely aghast. He desperately tried to exin himself, but the facts were against him.

    "Why did you leak our sects¡¯ battle techniques?" Xia Qin demanded.

    "Where did you get the techniques from?"

    "Wang Fan, what else is there to exin? It¡¯s clear that the culprit is none other than your Specter Abyss¡¯s Semi-Progenitor!" Bai Wangyuan shouted while ring at Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan stared back at Bai Wangyuan with cold eyes. "Impressive move."

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s brow rose at thement. "What did you say?"

    Wang Fan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Bai Wangyuan. "Did you already know about the connection between Specter Progenitor and me?"????????????????????.??????

    Bai Wangyuan let out an incredulousugh. "That''s absurd! How could I have known?"

    Lu Yin spoke up. "It looks like Wang Fan is in a bit of a rush. First, he said that I already knew about their rtionship, and now he''s using Progenitor Bai of knowing about it as well. What''s next? Is he going to im that Senior Xia Qin knew?"

    Bai Sheng listened from the side, looking quite puzzled. What a mess. It had clearly been someone from Specter Abyss who had leaked the technique, so why were they not confronting Specter Progenitor instead of Wang Fan?

    Wang Fan stared at Gui Jian. "Just who forced you to leak the battle techniques? Speak up! If not, I''ll make you wish for death."

    Gui Jian looked over at Specter Progenitor. "Progenitor, I didn''t leak the techniques! I''m innocent! Someone must have controlled me. I beg Senior Progenitor to investigate this matter."

    Controlled?

    The moment the word was spoken, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors all turned to Lu Yin. They all felt quite certain that Lu Yin had the ability to control others.

    In the past, he had disguised himself as Yu Hao and controlled Long Ke to attack Wang Zheng, knocking the patriarch unconscious with a p from a slipper.

    Later on, in the Liu family''s territory, even Undying God had mentioned that Lu Xiaoxuan had the ability to control others.

    It was possible to analyze many things from mere clues, and this was why when the word "controlled" was mentioned, everyone looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin held up his hands. "I''ve always been in the Heavens Sect."

    "Who can prove that?" Wang Fan asked sharply.

    Lu Yin sneered. "What? Because of just one person''s words, I¡¯m now a suspect? This is ridiculous. Since when has a mere Semi-Progenitor been able to use me?"

    Gui Jian feltpletely lost. When had he ever used Lu Yin of anything? He had merely spoken a few words.

    Different levels of ess to information naturally led to different interpretations of the same words and actions.

    Not even Bai Sheng had any idea why everyone kept staring at Wang Fan.

    Xia Qin spoke up next. "This person was the one who leaked our battle techniques. Now that we have him, we can use him to find the source of the leak. There¡¯s no escape now for the criminal."

    She looked over at Wang Fan. "So please, Senior, don''t make unfounded usations."

    Wang Fan''s expression changed. He had not been making unfounded usations. He knew that he had seen Gui Jian nce at Bai Wangyuan. In their entire universe, there were only a few people who could frame Wang Fan. At the moment, he was most suspicious of Bai Wangyuan. "My Specter Abyss has many things avable to us, and whoever dared to frame me or nt evidence that points to me will not have a good ending."

    He stared at Gui Jian. "I will make sure to force him to speak and find the real culprit."

    Gui Jian felt terribly confused. He looked at Wang Fan, and then at Specter Progenitor, who had not yet said a single word. Was Specter Progenitor being suppressed?

    Bai Sheng also felt quite puzzled. "What''s going on? When did Specter Abyss be yours, Senior Wang Fan?"

    Bai Wangyuan coldly and contemptuously spat out, "He cannot be given over to you. You are the biggest suspect."

    Xia Qin agreed, "Exactly right. We will need to interrogate him ourselves."

    Wang Fan suggested, "Then let''s interrogate him together. I also won''t allow him to end up in anyone else¡¯s control."

    Bai Sheng nced over at Lu Yin. "Aren''t you going to try to get a piece as well?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "This has nothing to do with me, though I do need to make one thing clear: half of Specter Abyss is mine."

    Everyone turned to stare at him, and Wang Fan frowned. "Ridiculous."

    Lu Yin pointed at Specter Progenitor. "He said that as long as I helped him, he would split Specter Abyss with me."

    Specter Progenitor was indeed a shadow of Wang Fan, but he still possessed an independent personality and will, just like clones formed from the Nine Clones Secret Technique. At this moment, the man finally spoke, "Lu Xiaoxuan, not only did you not help me, you actually attacked me! I won''t let this matter go until one of us is dead!"

    Lu Yin sneered. "You''re just making excuses."

    Wang Fan spoke up in a deep voice. "You have no stake in any part of the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin said, "Take care of yourself first. Your conspiracy will soon be exposed. You want to steal the God of Death''s inheritance from me and have your Wang family join with Specter Abyss to take over the entire Fifth Maind. You¡¯re dreaming!"

    Wang Fan clenched his fists. Lu Yin''s arguments were making it very difficult for him to defend himself. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s arguments, Wang Fan would not have been forced into such a passive position.

    At this moment, the nearby void fluctuated.

    Lu Yin looked over to see a figure in white clothes step out. It was none other than Bai Xian''er.

    However,pared to when he hadst seen her, she appeared even more sacred now. She gave Lu Yin an indescribable feeling that was somehow both intimidating and magnificent. It felt as though there were somehow eyes behind her that were looking down.

    However, there was no one behind her.

    "Shall I investigate this matter?" Bai Xian''er''s appearance brought light to the darknd of Specter Abyss.

    Wang Fan looked at Bai Xian''er in surprise. "Where did you go?"

    Bai Xian''er smiled at the man. "I was fortunate enough to be able to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm in that ce."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Xian''er, shocked that she hadpleted her breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor so quickly. Where was "that ce"?

    Bai Xian''er was truly differentpared to the time theyst met.

    "Dear seniors, I promise to thoroughly investigate this matter," she stated. Her eyes nced over everyone, including Lu Yin. She smiled at him and asked, "What do you think, Brother Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I have nothing to do with this. This is your problem. All I want is half of Specter Abyss."

    Xian''er chuckled and asked, "Is it thend you want, or the death energy?"

    "Both."

    Bai Xian''er then turned to Wang Fan and said, "Senior, this matter is between the two of you."

    Wang Fan''s voice was cold as he replied, "He can keep dreaming if he thinks that he can have Specter Abyss."

    Bai Xian''ermented, "Then allow me to handle this matter. I believe that it was not Senior who is behind all of this."

    For the moment, Wang Fan was not thinking about himself, nor was he afraid of being wrongly used. Given his strength, even if others believed him to be guilty, what could they do about it? No, Wang Fan was only thinking about Bai Wangyuan. The nce that Gui Jian had shot at Bai Wangyuan had left a deep impression on Wang Fan. If Bai Wangyuan was indeed the one trying to frame Wang Fan, then what was his motive? Was the man really willing to leak his own sect¡¯s battle techniques just to expose Wang Fan¡¯s rtionship with Specter Progenitor? Furthermore, if Bai Wangyuan had not known about the connection between Wang Fan and Specter Progenitor, then why would he have done anything at all?

    Wang Fan¡¯s mind continued to race.

    Xian''er spoke up again. "This matter isplicated, and it may even involve Aeternus. Don''t forget¡ªAeternus still has power and influence in our universe. They¡¯ve spent countless years here and have developed many spies, Redbacks, and contingencies. No one knows all that they have kept hidden.

    "It is certainly possible that our Celestial Frost Sect''s and Shenwu''s Sky''s battle techniques have already been long since known by Aeternus."

    Xia Qin asked, "Do you believe that Aeternus is behind this?"

    "Yes," Bai Xian''er answered.

    Wang Fan''s cold eyes swept over Bai Wangyuan and Bai Xian''er. He still suspected that Bai Wangyuan was the one behind everything.

    Lu Yin remained silent. His goal had only been to expose the connection between Specter Abyss and the Wang family, while also hopefully dealing a blow to Wang Fan. Since he had already achieved his objectives, there was nothing left for him to do.

    Bai Xian''er spoke up, "It will take time topletely investigate this matter, and even before that, some guests will be arriving."

    Bai Wangyuan was surprised. "Guests from the Main Universe?"

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "They should be be here soon."

    "What are theying here for?" Wang Fan asked.

    "To discuss the war strategy against Aeternus," Bai Xian''er replied.

    ¡­

    In zing Mist Flowzone of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, a spaceship was making its way towards the Astral River.

    It was a perfectly ordinary spaceship that carried thousands of passengers and was basically a shuttle between the Outerverse and Innerverse.

    Suddenly, a void cracked open in front of the spaceship, causing an rm to re throughout the ship, and badly startling the captain. "Quick, turn around! Turn around!"

    Unfortunately, the spatial crack was too close to the ship, and despite sessfully turning around, the ship was torn apart, as were all of its passengers. Only the front of the ship was torn off and left floating in outer space.

    Three figures emerged from the spatial rift. An old man led the other two. He was the man that Lu Yin had met before, as he had been the one to take Nutjob Lu away: Sage Yuan. Two young men followed behind the old man.

    One of the young men wore a blue and white coat that had been made from a strange metal that glistened in the light. There was a crystal ball embedded in his chest where his heart should be, and he wore a green-tinted lens over one eye. It was essentially a power-level detector. Metal covered the man¡¯s entire body, giving him a sleek and handsome appearance. His hair was a bit long, as it fell to his shoulders. He appeared arrogant, as though he looked down upon everything around him.

    The other young man was wearing a pale gold robe and stood with his hands sped behind his back. There was a hint of a smile on his lips, and he exuded a sense of nobility. There was nothing in particr that stood out about him, yet he stood tall in outer space. He was not as handsome as hispanion, but there was something ethereal about him. He almost seemed like an illusory figure that it was impossible to see clearly.

    "It appears that a spaceship was destroyed."

    "It doesn''t matter. It¡¯spletely mundane."

    "Is this the Origin Universe? Is this the ce where the Heavens Sect is said to have once existed? It''s nothing special."

    "The Origin Universe no longer exists. These are nothing but ruins."

 Chapter 2489: I Cant Stand It

    Chapter 2489: I Can''t Stand It

    Sage Yuan''s eyes swept over the two young men before looking to the north.

    "Let''s go," he said. He led the two men across the Astral River and into the Outerverse. After just a few steps, they had already arrived outside the Heavens Sect, at the border of Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves.

    Once there, the three of them looked at the Heavens Sect, as well as Ancestor Tortoise that was next to it.

    One of the young men asked, "Is that the mount you mentioned, Senior?"

    Sage Yuan replied, "No, that''s a turtle. How could I offer such a beast to the Great Sovereign?"

    "That''s true."

    "Is this the current Heavens Sect of the Origin Universe? There don¡¯t seem to be any decent experts here."

    "They''re weak, and as is this entire universe."

    He looked towards the Heavens Sect in the distance. "We''ll start here. Since the Lu family has decided to show themselves, they must bear the consequences." He then took out a coordinate with a calm expression, "At the same time, it will serve as punishment for disrespecting us." With that, he tore the void with the coordinate. On the other side were endless pairs of scarlet irises.

    At that moment, Lu Yin, who was far away in the Perennial World, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. He had no idea what was causing him to feel such a suffocating feeling, but he knew that there was a problem.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, when someone from the Main Universe arrives, I hope that you''ll be polite to them. After all, they''ve shared the burden with us during the ongoing war against the Aeternus. Thus, we should also share their burden," Bai Xian''er''s voice rang in Lu Yin''s ear.

    However, Lu Yin did not pay attention to her words. His expression was solemn, and his eyes darted about. The suffocating feeling was growing heavier. Something was very wrong.

    Bai Wangyuan said sternly, "Lu Xiaoxuan, this is a matter of great importance-"

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s wireless jincan trembled. He immediately answered it. It was a message from Lu Buzheng.

    "Aeternus has reappeared. It''s a Progenitor-level corpse king," Lu Buzheng sent only a brief message before instantly ending the call.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Without another word, he raced back to the Fifth Maind. There was indeed a problem; something had happened to the Heavens Sect.

    Why had Aeternus appeared at the Heavens Sect? Were they targeting him?

    He had always believed that, even if Aeternus were to attack the Fifth Maind again, they would only appear in the Starfall Sea or the rear battlefield. Why had they appeared in the middle of the Fifth Maind?

    After forcing Aeternus out of the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had spoken with Mu Xie. Since the Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings were able to emerge from the colossal scarlet eyes, why had they not ced an eye within the Fifth Maind instead of on the rear battlefield? Mu Xie had not been able to give him an answer.

    Lu Yin had remained wary ever since the Aeternals had been chased out, and he had constantly been rolling his die, hoping to Possess a Semi-Progenitor from Aeternus to learn more. However, before he had been able to learn anything, the Heavens Sect was already in trouble.

    Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry¡­

    In the Fifth Maind, the Heavens Sect shook, and blood sprinkled outer space.

    Lu Buzheng fell, his body covered with wounds. A pair of scarlet eyes stared at him for a moment, and then the void was ripped from top to bottom, nearly severing the entire Heavens Sect.

    Behind the Progenitor-level corpse king was an endless sea of scarlet eyes.

    Within the Heavens Sect, people were panicking. "How could there be so many monsters?"

    "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

    ¡­

    At a critical moment, the Progenitor of Bloodlines took action. He charged forward to stop the Progenitor-level corpse king. "Call the Dao Monarch!"

    The Progenitor-level corpse king stood there with its head hanging low like an evil spirit. Its body suddenly disappeared as it shot through the void. The Progenitor of Bloodlines raised a hand to block the monster with thest remaining dregs of his power, but the corpse king¡¯s fist pierced through the man¡¯s chest. He coughed up blood.

    A majestic spiritual force swept through the area. "Leap over the dragon gate!"

    The Progenitor corpse king looked up. At some point, it had been surrounded by a waterfall with fish swimming upstream against the current. It seemed to have be one of those fish itself, and it was forced to follow the rules to try to leap over the dragon gate.

    At the top of the waterfall, Kui Luo gritted his teeth. "Where did this Progenitor-level corpse kinge from? Damn it!¡±

    The corpse king raised a hand with an open palm. With a wave of its hand, the void was slicedpletely in half, including the Dragon Gate, the Heavens Sect, and the entire Frostwave Weave.

    The Outerverse was nothing more than a piece of paper to the monster.

    Kui Luo retreated. "I can''t stop it."

    Lu Buzheng invoked the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, hoping to summon Destiny so that he could glimpse a path to survival.

    The Second Nightking and countless others were unable to even move. They could do nothing but helplessly watch on as the Progenitor-level corpse king ravaged the Heavens Sect.

    In one corner, Attendant Wu trembled in terror. A Monarch-level monster from Aeternus had suddenly appeared. How could such a monster appear in this ce?

    Outside the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise hadpletely withdrawn its head into its shell, not daring to expose itself.

    On Ancestor Tortoise''s back, the Mavis family¡¯s divine tree swayed. Corpse kings shot through the spatial rift in an unending stream, attacking Ancestor Tortoise, the Heavens Sect, and Earth.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king stepped onto the Heavens Sect''s gate, crushing it. Suddenly, the monster turned around. Arch-Elder Zen stepped out from the void and solemnly stated, "I am your opponent."

    ¡­

    Everything happened too quickly. By the time Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Maind, all he saw was Arch-Elder Zen standing tall in outer space, the shattered gate to the Heavens Sect, and the motionless bodies of corpse kings floating through space.

    "Senior!" Lu Yin hurried forward.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked to the east and said, "The Aeternals came from that direction. There was a tear in the void, but it''s gone now."

    Lu Yin examined the Heavens Sect with his domain and soon let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there had not been too many casualties. From the moment he had been informed of Aeternus''s appearance to his arrival, only a short bit of time had passed. Furthermore, with Arch-Elder Zen in the Fifth Maind, the situation had quickly calmed down.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed, and he dropped down tond on the shattered remnants of the sect¡¯s gate.

    Arch-Elder Zen looked down and sighed.

    At the Heavens Sect¡¯s gate, the Progenitor of Bloodlines was coughing. The Progenitor-level corpse king had pierced the man¡¯s body, destroying his vitality. He had lost thest bits of his Progenitor-level strength, and his entire body had be rather gray. He was barely able to move.

    Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, the Second Nightking, and others also appeared.

    Lu Yinnded and approached the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Senior, how are you?"

    The old man waved a hand. "Finally, I''m free."

    Sorrow filled Lu Yin''s gaze.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlinesughed. "Don''t look at me like that. I''m not going to die, I¡¯ll just became an ordinary human once more. I''ll retire here in the future. Dao Monarch, don''t force me out."

    "Master," Zhi Yi whispered, her eyes bloodshot.

    Lu Yin asked in a low voice, "Did the Progenitor-level corpse king do this?"

    Lu Buzheng spoke up, "If the Progenitor of Bloodlines hadn¡¯t charged forward to stop it, I would have died. Senior blocked an attack that was intended for me."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines coughed a few more times. "Don''t exaggerate things. I just happened to be here and ran into the corpse king. What happened has nothing to do with you."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Senior, please rest and recuperate here. I will help you recover, if there is any chance."

    "Haha, there¡¯s no need for that. It¡¯s not necessary to be a Progenitor in order to live. Powerhouses have too great a responsibility. Of course, things are different for you. You have a huge responsibility to bear regardless." As the man spoke, he coughed up even more blood.

    Lu Yin kept his words to the Progenitor of Bloodlines short, as he still needed to handle the aftermath of the sudden attack. The appearance and almost instantaneous retreat of Aeternus was truly abnormal.

    "The Aeternals¡¯ appearance this time was very unusual," Arch-Elder Zen said. He and Lu Yin had gone to visit Northcastle Weave to investigate the location of the spatial rift. The older man¡¯s voice grew heavy. "I never even managed to make contact with the Progenitor-level corpse king. As soon as it noticed my presence, it retreated. It was as though it did not actually want to get involved with us."

    Lu Yin found this quite strange. "They appeared and then retreated, but there''s nothing unusual around here."

    "Truthfully, I feel as though they were released by someone," Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    Lu Yin''s gaze sharpened as he used the Cosmic Art and touched upon Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. Instantly, the entire Fifth Maind was revolving around him, and he could see countlesss and all the weaves. Suddenly, his attention locked onto a specific location. Found you. Star Stomp.

    Far away, Sage Yuan lifted his head before leading two young men away from where they had been standing. Right after they moved, the ce where they had just been standing exploded. The massive force of the explosion swept out in every direction, and the void practically boiled.

    "So aggressive," the old man said as he looked up. "Members of the Lu family are still so rude to their guests."

    He then started making his way towards the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin stopped using the Cosmic Art and also headed towards the Heavens Sect together with Arch-Elder Zen.

    The two parties met in outer space just outside the Heavens Sect.

    "Sage Yuan." Lu Yin''s face darkened. "Bai Xian''er said that someone from the Main Universe would be visiting, but I didn''t expect it to be you."

    Sage Yuan calmly observed Lu Yin. "Descendant of the Lu family, you''re far too rude."

    "How did you end up here? Is the appearance of Aeternus rted to you?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Sage Yuan casually replied, "You''ve re-established the Heavens Sect, so a mere Aeternal Progenitor shouldn¡¯t be a big deal. If you can¡¯t even stop a Progenitor-level corpse king, then this Heavens Sect should be dismantled."

    A golden light shone above Lu Yin''s head as his Investiture of the Gods appeared. The jiao behind him returned to its true size and roared. "Since you admit it, then go to hell!"

    Lu Yin was ready to attack, and Arch-Elder Zen did not hesitate either. Three strands of Ancestral Qi surrounded him, and Xue Wuqing appeared and ruthlessly attacked Sage Yuan.

    Sage Yuan did not even move. Instead, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan stepped out in front of the man, quickly followed by Bai Xian''er, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, are you trying to invite disaster upon us all?" they demanded.

    Lu Yin frowned. If Sage Yuan were alone, he and Arch-Elder Zen could attack the man. This man would not even be able to tear through the void to make his escape. However, with Bai Wangyuan and the others present, things had be troublesome.

    "Senior, are you okay?" Bai Xian''er greeted Sage Yuan.

    Sage Yuan waved a hand dismissively. "I''m fine. It''s just that-" His gaze swept past Bai Xian''er and the others to lock onto Lu Yin. "The members of the Lu family are too rude."

    Bai Xian''er looked over at Lu Yin and asked, "Brother Lu, why did you attack senior Sage Yuan?"

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up to answer, "He opened a spatial rift to Aeternus¡¯s territory right next to our Heavens Sect, which caused us to suffer heavy losses. Corpses are scattered everywhere; can¡¯t you see?"

    Bai Wangyuan turned back to stare at Sage Yuan in shock.

    Bai Xian''er, Xia Qin, and Wang Fan were simrly shocked. They had never expected Sage Yuan to do such a thing.

    Lu Yin noticed their expressions. He had assumed that the attack had been a coordinated action between the four ruling powers and Sage Yuan, but their reactions made that highly unlikely.

    Sage Yuan''s expression remained indifferent. "¡®Heavens Sect.¡¯ That name represents the past glory of the Origin Universe. Adopting that name is not a simple matter. Descendant of the Lu family, if you want to use this name, then you also must bear the burden thates with it. Do you think that it''s easy to establish the Heavens Sect? Do you think that it''s easy to call yourself a Dao Monarch?"

    "This is our universe¡¯s affair. What does it have to do with you? You have no right to spout such nonsense," Lu Yin retorted coldly.

    Sage Yuanughed and arrogantly proimed, "I can¡¯t stand it."

    This was the sole reason why he had opened the rift to Aeternus¡¯s territory, which had nearly wiped out the entire Heavens Sect.

 Chapter 2490: A Game

    Chapter 2490: A Game

    Such a simple reason had shattered the Heavens Sect and reduced the Progenitor of Bloodlines to an ordinary human, while also causing many fatalities.

    Even so, Sage Yuan''s expression remained calm and lofty, and the two young men standing behind him mimicked his arrogant indifference. In fact, they even looked at Lu Yin with mocking expressions.

    While the two of them were not Progenitors, they were not intimidated by facing one.

    They believed themselves to be superior to Lu Yin¡¯s entire universe.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt calm. This was actually the best exnation. There was no need for aplicated exnation or anything formal.

    "Senior, are you here to discuss the war strategy against Aeternus? Pleasee to my Celestial Frost Sect. We will gather everyone there for the discussion," Bai Xian''er said while moving to block Lu Yin''s line of sight.

    Sage Yuan looked at Bai Xian''er and replied, "There''s no need. Those who are qualified to participate in that discussion are already here. Only Progenitors are allowed to join the discussion."

    He looked at Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan. "Where is Xia Shenji?"

    Xia Qin replied, "He''s missing."

    Sage Yuan turned to face the woman. "Why is he missing?"

    Xia Qin looked at Lu Yin.

    Sage Yuan followed her gaze and found himself once again looking at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, "I banished him to a parallel universe."

    Sage Yuan stared at the young man for a moment before stating, "Then it''s up to you to bring him back."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Who do you think you are? If not for those dogs by your side, you wouldn''t leave here today."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare you!" Bai Wangyuan shouted angrily. This was the first time that Sage Yuan had ever been disrespected like this.

    Bai Xian''er''s face darkened, "Brother Lu, saying such things serves no purpose."

    Lu Yin retorted, "Then move aside and let me prove that I¡¯m not all talk."

    Sage Yuan shook his head as he smiled. "You can try to kill me, but not here. Descendant of the Lu family, if you¡¯re not mere talk, thene with me to the Main Universe. In that ce, I will give you a chance at a fair fight."

    "Senior, let me fight him. There is no need for you to dirty your hands." For the first time, the young man in the golden robe who stood behind Sage Yuan spoke up. He was clearly looking down on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to point a finger that he crooked at the young man in the golden robe. "One move will finish you."

    The young man''s eyes grew cold, and he answered with a frigid smile, "It''s been a long time since anyone was so arrogant before me. Members of the Lu family are indeed audacious. Fine, today-"

    Sage Yuan lifted his hand and motioned for the young man to retreat. The youth was reluctant to back down. "Senior, let me go. I''ll teach this child from the Lu family a lesson on your behalf."

    Sage Yuan stared at Lu Yin as he replied, "This universe is not a suitable ce for us to act. Descendant of the Lu family, you must bring back Xia Shenji. Otherwise, a fate more tragic than the Lu family¡¯s banishment awaits you. Exiling the Lu family was already a sign of the Great Sovereign¡¯s mercy. You have been repeatedly impudent with your words, and thus your fate will be even worse than that of the Lu family."

    "Is this Great Sovereign the ruler of your universe?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Sage Yuan replied, "He is everyone''s mentor. If you are fortunate enough to ever meet the Great Sovereign, remember to kneel and pay your respects. Otherwise, if the Great Sovereign is angered, you will not be able to bear the consequences."

    Sage Yuan was not merely speaking to Arch-Elder Zen, but to everyone present.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan calmly looked at each other. It was clear that they had heard these words before.

    Xia Qin arched a brow. "Kneel and pay respects?"

    Sage Yuan nced over. "As a Progenitor, you may feel that it is beneath you to kneel and pay your respects to another, but after you see the Great Sovereign, you will understand. The Great Sovereign is the ruler to whom all living beings in the world must kneel and pay their respects. Regardless of one¡¯s realm or merit, the Great Sovereign deserves to be respected by all. If not for the Great Sovereign, all of humanity would have already been transformed into monsters by Aeternus long ago. Your Origin Progenitor failed and died at the hands of Aeternus, leaving the Great Sovereign to bear everything alone. Is the Great Sovereign not worthy of your respect?"

    Xia Qin was about to argue, but Bai Xian''er interrupted. "Senior, did youe here on the Great Sovereign''s orders?"

    Sage Yuan nodded. "When you and the others trapped Undying God, the rest of the Seven Skygods fought to rescue him, and even True God took action. That''s a power that you cannot hope to resist. The Great Sovereign held True God back, and the Sixverse Association forced the Seven Skygods away from your universe, which is why your universe sessfully expelled the forces of Aeternus. Now, pressure has increased on the Sixverse Association, as Aeternus has shifted the forces that were focused on your universe to other battlefields. You need to take action¡­"

    Lu Yin listened calmly. Speaking at this point would bepletely pointless. He simply wanted to understand this Sixverse Association, Main Universe, and the Great Sovereign.

    Although Sage Yuan spoke for a long time, everything boiled down to the fact that he intended to open a rift between the Origin Universe and Aeternus, forcing the burden that the Sixverse Association carried onto the Origin Universe.

    Naturally, Bai Wangyuan and the others disagreed with this. They had only just driven Aeternus out from their universe, so why should they take the initiative to restart the war?

    However, Sage Yuan''s words were the will of the Great Sovereign, which meant that they were in no position to refuse.

    "You won''t refuse, will you?" Sage Yuan stared at Bai Wangyuan and the others.

    Bai Wangyuan hesitated. "Nutjob Lu has gone to the Main Universe, Liu Yue was killed for colluding with Aeternus, and Xia Shenji has been banished. The power that our universe can field has greatly decreased, and True God cracked the Mother Tree, which means that our Ceaseless Impetus is likely on the brink of copse. If we try to face Aeternus now, we might not be able to endure."

    Sage Yuan was openly unhappy with this response. "Your universe may have been weakened, but you still have quite a few Progenitors. If not for this, the Great Sovereign would have never considered you. We won¡¯t give you a hopeless task.¡±

    "The Sixverse Association holds back most of Aeternus''s power, which means that you only need to deal with a portion of it."

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen exchanged nces. This situation reminded the two of them of when Undying God had been trapped. At that time, Lu Yin had taken the initiative to open up the passage to the Starfall Sea in order to share the Perennial World¡¯s burden. If the current situation was simr, then it would not be wrong to consider the overall situation of humanity.

    Was that really what the Sixverse Association was considering?

    Lu Yin carefully observed Sage Yuan, studying the man¡¯s tone of voice and expressions. There was pure arrogance in his eyes, and the two young men who stood behind him showed a hint of hostility in their eyes. Things were not as simple as they were being presented as.

    With the power of the Origin Universe, how could they not be qualified to be a member of the Sixverse Association? Even the Three Monarchs Universe, which was significantly weaker than the Origin Universe, was a member of the Sixverse Association. In that case, why had the Origin Universe been excluded? This indicated that the Sixverse Association, which was led by the Main Universe, had other intentions for the Origin Universe.

    If they agreed to follow the will of the Main Universe, the Origin Universe would be forced into a passive stance, and they would also have no means of seeking any assistance if the Sixverse Association redirected the majority of Aeternus¡¯s forces towards the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin knew that Bai Wangyuan and the others would also follow this train of thought. None of them wanted to die.

    "Senior Sage Yuan, there are many ways for the Sixverse Association to split the pressure that they are facing. Could you permit us to consider this ? Don''t worry, we will definitely help. No one can remain neutral when ites to Aeternus, humanity¡¯s mortal enemy," Bai Xian''er said respectfully.

    Sage Yuan''s expression improved after he heard Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s response. "It''s good that you understand. No one can afford to try to remain apart from this conflict. We helped you bear the pressure of Aeternus in the past and have never asked for any resources in return. You should be grateful," he said.

    The man then looked at Lu Yin and continued speaking. "Descendant of the Lu family, find Xia Shenji. He has met the Great Sovereign in the past, and the Great Sovereign thinks well of him. If it is learned that you have banished Xia Shenji, the Great Sovereign can easily eliminate you. Don''t provoke the Great Sovereign."

    The man then tore a rift in the void and nced back before leaving. "The Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony is fast approaching. If you offer him that mount, it is possible that it canpensate for the Lu family''s sins."

    Lu Yin remained calm throughout the entire monologue. He looked as though he had not heard a word that Sage Yuan had said.

    In fact, Lu Yin had remained perfectly calm even after hearing Sage Yuan¡¯sst words, and that was frightening.

    Only people who knew Lu Yin well understood that the calmer he was, the more terrifying things would soon be.

    Just as Sage Yuan was about to leave, Lu Yin finally spoke up. "Let''s y a game."

    Everyone felt confused. A game?

    Sage Yuan chuckled. "What game?"

    Lu Yin replied, "The game is called ''Cat and Mouse.'' You don''t have the courage to have a death match here, and these people will also protect you, which means that you can hide. However, no matter where you hide, I will find you and then-" He pointed at the Heavens Sect and the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "I will make you kneel before them."

    Sage Yuan stared at Lu Yin and burst into hystericalughter. He reacted as though he had just heard the funniest joke. The two young men behind him alsoughed at Lu Yin in a mocking manner.

    "Very well, I''ll y this game with you. We''ll soon find out who is the cat and who is the mouse," Sage Yuan replied before turning and leaving.

    No one spoke until Sage Yuan was gone. The situation in the Heavens Sect and the purpose of Sage Yuan¡¯s visit left everyone feeling rather uneasy.

    As for the game that Lu Yin had mentioned, no one believed that he had been joking. Sage Yuan simply did not understand Lu Yin, but the various Progenitors had no obligation to warn him. That was entirely Sage Yuan¡¯s own business.

    Bai Wangyuan finally looked away from Lu Yin. "The Sixverse Association wants us to reinitiate the war with Aeternus. If they are scheming against us, they will force the majority of Aeternus''s forces into our universe, which will make things even worse than before."

    Xia Qin asked, "Why should we listen to them?"

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. Few people, even among Progenitors, truly understood the Main Universe. Only people who understood the Main Universe knew just how terrifying it was. Even thebined might of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was not enough topare to the strength of the Main Universe. The Great Sovereign was a being who stood at the same level as the Origin Progenitor. Such a being needed nothing more than a single finger to destroy all of them.

    Things would have been fine if they had not had been in contact with the Main Universe, but since there was contact between their universes, they were no longer free to make their own decisions. At the moment, not only had the Origin Universe made contact with the Main Universe, but they had also asked for the Main Universe¡¯s assistance in dealing with the Lu family. There was no way to detach themselves from the Main Universe anymore.

    "This matter may not be the Great Sovereign''s idea," Wang Fan suddenly said.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes flickered. "Are you suggesting that this is all Sage Yuan''s idea?"

    Wang Fan replied, "The Great Sovereign is a transcendent being. Aside from fighting against True God, the Great Sovereign enjoys drinking tea. The Great Sovereign rarely interferes in the overall strategy of the war against Aeternus. Moreover, if all of this was the Great Sovereign''s idea, then why would Sage Yuan need to test the Heavens Sect?"

    Wang Fan then looked over Lu Yin before continuing. "You don''t truly believe Sage Yuan¡¯s answer that he tested the Heavens Sect because he can¡¯t stand the sight of it, do you?"

    Lu Yin looked over at the man and asked, "Then what would be his reason?"

    Wang Fan shook his head. "I don''t know that, but my guess is that they tested the power of our universe in order toe up with a n."

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up. "There is one detail that I find odd. Since Sage Yuan was able to open a rift to Aeternus¡¯s territory right next to the Heavens Sect, why does Aeternus need to attack the rear battlefield? Why not just open a spatial rift?"

    Bai Wangyuan was the one to reply, "Can Lu Xiaoxuan maintain the connection to Aeternus Nation for a long time?"

    With this, Lu Yin understood. It was not possible to maintain a rift connecting two parallel universes for very long, and that meant that Aeternus''s forces would not have unlimited ess to a given universe if they employed such means.

    "Aeternus has their own way of ensuring that their corpse kings can continuously enter a universe, but those means are very fragile and can be destroyed by Progenitors if the opportunity arises. Furthermore, those devices should have a limit to their usage. If not, Corpse God would have never left the battlefield in the Dominion Realm to protect one of them. Also, it is not easy to determine the spatial coordinates for a parallel universe, especially ours," Bai Wangyuan interjected.

    Wang Fan continued, "While it hasn''t been confirmed, we have hypothesized that therger a universe is, the more difficult it is to determine its coordinates. The coordinates of a small ce like Aeternus Nation are rtively easy to determine, but it''s not nearly that easy to locate our universe, not even for Aeternus. If that were not the case, our universe would have been torn apart long ago.

    "The Sixverse Association cannot continue to remain a secret, but it¡¯s possible that not all of its members have ess to the spatial coordinates of our universe."

 Chapter 2491: Transcendent Universe

    Chapter 2491: Transcendent Universe

    Bai Xian''er said, "The rift that Sage Yuan opened up should have led to a battlefield, which is why a Progenitor-level corpse king was drawn here. That''s also why it didn''t stay long and left as soon as Arch-Elder Zen appeared. It has its own battlefield."

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. They were afraid that someone like Sage Yuan could let Aeternus enter their dimension at any time, which would be the greatest threat.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, bring Xia Shenji back," Bai Wangyuan said abruptly as he looked at Lu Yin. "Sage Yuan meant what he said¡ªthe Great Sovereign has a good impression of Xia Shenji, and if the Great Sovereign decides to attack, no one can save you."

    "Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re hoping will happen?" Lu Yin sneered.

    Bai Wangyuan coldly replied, "We don''t want to draw the Great Sovereign to this ce."

    Bai Xian''er warned, "Regardless of whether Sage Yuan came here on the Great Sovereign''s orders or not, he still represents the will of the Sixverse Association. War with Aeternus is approaching, and if Progenitor Xia doesn''t return, we will have one less powerful ally. If Aeternus defeats us, then you already know what fate awaits humanity. Also, banishing Progenitor Xia doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ve gotten your revenge on him. Given his strength, he is able to roam freely in any universe."

    Lu Yin looked at her and asked, "Did you lure Sage Yuan here? Didn¡¯t you challenge your Semi-Progenitor stellr tribtion in the Main Universe?"

    Bai Xian''er refused to answer.

    Before long, most of the people left the Fifth Maind.

    Several dayster, the Wang family''s Sit and Forget technique was shared publicly, and Lu Yin learned that Wang Fan himself had decided to spread it as a form ofpensation.

    No one was able to learn the truth behind why Specter Abyss had leaked the battle techniques. Wang Fan refused to admit his guilt, but he was also unable to find a scapegoat. Bai Wangyuan and the others were not stupid, and Specter Progenitor¡¯s true identity had already been revealed.

    Wang Fan¡¯s only choice was to publicly disseminate the Sit and Forget technique in hopes of cating the anger of the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu''s Sky.

    Given a choice, he would have never chosen to reveal the technique, but he knew that it was impossible to keep his secret forever, and it would be far better for the Wang family if they revealed it themselves instead of waiting for the Celestial Frost Sect to do so. Wang Fan could also use this to raise the reputation of his family.

    With battle techniques from the four ruling powers all being released to the public, they quickly started to rece the Corpse King Transformation that people had acquired.

    Those who sought power for revenge, or aspired to learn a powerful technique, abandoned the Corpse King Transformation and instead started cultivating the Divine Martial Armor, the Sit and Forget technique, or the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Wind God battle technique. With this, Undying God''s ns were finally destroyed.

    Lu Yin once again visited Shenwu Continent to ask about the possibility of sneaking into the Three Monarchs Universe. However, he received the same answer as before.

    He wanted to enter the Three Monarchs Universe so that he could use that as a springboard to contact the Sixverse Association.

    He would always be at a disadvantage for as long as he did not understand the Sixverse Association.

    Even if he unified the entire Fifth Maind and eliminated the four ruling powers, it would all be for nothing before an existence like the Main Universe.

    The opinions of Bai Wangyuan, the other Progenitors from the Perennial World, and Sage Yuan had made many things very clear to Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, he still had time. He had reached his current level of cultivation after a few mere decades in the Fifth Maind. With such a starting point, he was confident that he could be sessful in the Sixverse Association as well.

    At the moment, the only way for him to interact with the Sixverse Association was through Shenwu Continent.

    After half a month passed, the Ghost Monkey suddenly approached Lu Yin, iming to have made a great aplishment.

    Lu Yin could not understand how someone who spent almost all of their time within the confines of the Heavens Sect could aplish anything.

    "Hehe, I made this aplishment inside the Heavens Sect, Seventh Bro! Little Monkey noticed that someone was asking about if any outsiders have recently appeared in the Heavens Sect. I didn''t think much of it at first, but I still secretly followed them. You know what? There really was something. That person was asking about Attendant Wu''s whereabouts." The Ghost Monkey proudly shared the entire story in detail.

    Lu Yin grew a bit curious. "Asking about Attendant Wu? Bring them here."

    Soon, a petite and frail-looking woman was brought before Lu Yin. She trembled with fear as soon as she saw Lu Yin, and she immediately dropped to her knees. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin looked over at the Ghost Monkey, who said, "Seventh Bro, don''t let her deceive you! This woman has a wireless jincan and a Void Wanderer."

    Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "Speak up. Since you''re already here, there¡¯s no need to beat around the bush. Otherwise, I can just kill you. Someone like you can''t do anything to affect me in the least."

    The woman trembled as her face grew pale. Her fear was genuine. "This small one was ordered to investigate if there were any suspicious foreigners within the Heavens Sect."

    "What do you mean by ¡®foreigners?¡¯"

    "Those who do not belong to this universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Who sent you here to investigate?"

    "The Celestial Frost Sect."

    "Do you think that our Seventh Bro is stupid? You confessed too quickly, which means that you must be lying! Tell us the truth¡ªwho sent you?" the Ghost Monkey shouted.

    The woman hurriedly said, "Everything that I told you is true! I would not dare to deceive the Dao Monarch! I was sent here by the Celestial Frost Sect. Several years ago, I was tasked with serving within the Heavens Sect, and I received my assignment from the Celestial Frost Sect at that time. I don¡¯t dare try to deceive the Dao Monarch!"

    "How dare you talk back! Take her away!" the Ghost Monkey yelled. Outside the main hall, the Second Nightking was left speechless. Should he go in or not? The damn monkey was bullying him! If the Second Nightking went in, he would be humiliated, but if he did not, what would happen if the Dao Monarch held it against him?

    The Ghost Monkey continued to shout.

    Lu Yin waved a hand to silence the monkey while looking at the woman. "When were you given this assignment?"

    "Half a month ago."

    Lu Yin waved his hand, gesturing for the woman to be taken away.

    "Seventh Bro, are you really going to just let her go like this?" The Ghost Monkey was unwilling to ept such a thing.

    Lu Yinughed. "What do you want me to do?"

    "Interrogate her until you''ve learned her ancestors¡¯ identities up to the 18th generation! You should even demand about her ancestor wetting the bed!" the Ghost Monkey answered seriously.

    Lu Yin stopped the monkey from continuing. "Enough. What can such an insignificant person do? I already know why she came here to ask about Attendant Wu. Head on out now."

    He bluntly dismissed the Ghost Monkey.

    The Ghost Monkey felt disappointed. He had worked hard on this self-appointed task, but everything had ended so quickly.

    Lu Yin stared into outer space. He had still been too careless.

    Half a month ago, Bai Wangyuan and several others had mentioned the Sixverse Association on numerous asions, but Lu Yin had not acted surprised and also had not asked any questions about the name. From his reactions, they must have assumed that he had already been aware of the Sixverse Association, and that was why the woman had been tasked with investigating the Heavens Sect. Whether or not she actually found anything did not matter, as they had never expected much from her.

    Ever since people had started to travel between the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World again, the four ruling powers had sent many people to infiltrate the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was aware of this, but he had never conducted any checks on anyone. After all, he had his own people within the four ruling powers.

    At the moment, he was contemting how he could make contact with the Sixverse Association.

    Should he really try to enter the Three Monarchs Universe through Shenwu Continent?

    Several days passed. One day, as Lu Yin was busy admiring a new tea that Zhao Ran had created, the Second Nightking delivered a report. "Dao Monarch, Zi Jing requests an audience with you."

    "Show her in."

    Zi Jing was escorted in front of Lu Yin by the Second Nightking. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin gestured for her to have a seat. "The scenery here is quite pleasant, isn''t it?"

    Zi Jing nodded. "It''s just a pity that so much has been destroyed."

    "What brings you here?" Lu Yin asked.

    At that moment, Zhao Ran delivered some tea, and Zi Jing took a sip. Her eyes lit up when she tasted it, and she eximed, "It''s delicious!"

    "Thank you," Zhao Ran was delighted by such a positive response.

    Zi Jing smiled and set down her teacup. She looked at Lu Yin and asked, "Do you remember the promise that you made to me, Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course. As long as you don''t betray humanity, I will protect you."

    Zi Jing''s expression grew serious. "Please fulfill your promise, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin swirled his tea, remembering the reward that Zi Jing had requested when she had provided him with the battlefield navigation system. She had asked for Lu Yiin¡¯s promise, and at the time, she had told him that they would discuss the details after the war with Aeternus, but Lu Yin had forgotten about it since then.

    "Have you heard of the Transcendent Universe?" Zi Jing asked, surprising Lu Yin.

    "Transcendent Universe?" Lu Yin gave Zi Jing a questioning look. Naturally, he had already heard of it. Just like the Three Monarchs Universe, the Transcendent Universe was a member of the Sixverse Association.

    "It appears that you do know of it, Dao Monarch," Zi Jingmented, unsurprised.

    Lu Yin set his own teacup down. "I don''t know if your Transcendent Universe is the same as the one that I know of."

    Zi Jing answered with another question. "What of the Sixverse Association?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. Was it fate that had brought him to this point? When he was short of money, the four ruling powers had given him the opportunity to enter the Celestial Treasury. Now, he wanted to contact the Sixverse Association, and the opportunity hade to him.

    "Speak up. Since you''vee to see me, then you must be in trouble. Is this rted to the Transcendent Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing sighed. "I''ve been located."

    From Zi Jing, Lu Yin gradually learned more about the Transcendent Universe.

    The Transcendent Universe was a member of the Sixverse Association, and it was a powerful parallel universe that had developed in apletely different direction from the Fifth Maind. In fact, the Transcendent Universe more closely resembled the Technocracy, though it was absolutely iparable to the Technocracy.

    The Technocracy was nothing more than a backup n that Progenitor Hui had left behind in order to deal with the Aeternus¡¯s endless hordes of corpse kings. On the other hand, the Transcendent Universe was one of the main forces that fought against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin listened as Zi Jing slowly lifted the veil that had covered the mysterious and brilliant Transcendent Universe. "The Transcendent Universe¡¯s cultivation systems are extremely rudimentary, to the point where it can be regarded as a cultivation wastnd. However, they have developed cultivation technology, which as the name suggests, is all about the usage of cultivation to drive technology. It can also be regarded as technology for cultivation.¡±

    "In the Transcendent Universe, there are two very well-studied cultivation technologies. With these two cultivation technologies, the Transcendent Universe has managed to be a member of the Sixverse Association, and it is certainly not the weakest universe either. One of the cultivation technologies is called ¡®energy converter,¡¯ which is able to interact with and analyze all material and immaterial power and then convert it into raw energy that is made avable to the user. The other cultivation technology is called Bestowal Art." Zi Jing looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, you are a lockbreaker, so you should have a good understanding of sourceboxes. The Bestowal Art is the technological version of lockbreaking. However,pared to lockbreaking, it is even purer. Bestowal Art is able to extract all material and energy from a sourcebox to create a force that the user can then utilize as an attack. For this technology, sourceboxes are essentially fuel."

    Lu Yin thought that he must have misheard. "What did you say? Fuel? Extract energy and material? What does that mean?"

    He had never heard anyone ce fuel and sourceboxes in the same category.

    Zi Jing exined, "The megaverse is a magnificent ce, but that does not mean that parallel universes are as well. Some parallel universes are nothing more than small spaces, which you must have already encountered, Dao Monarch. Other parallel universes are infinitely vast, just like our own Fifth Maind.¡±

    "Dao Monarch, if it¡¯s a small universe, is it possible to analyze all of the matter in that space, given our abilities?" Zi Jing asked.

    "Of course," Lu Yin replied.

    "The people of the Transcendent Universe have fully analyzed their entire universe. The sourceboxes and all matter thate from that universe can be analyzed, extracted, and then harnessed for their own use," Zi Jing replied.

 Chapter 2492: Visitor

    Chapter 2492: Visitor

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "How big is the Transcendent Universe?"

    Zi Jing took a deep breath. "Very. It''s not much smaller than thebined size of the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Despite their size, they were still able to analyze all matter and energy in their universe?"

    "That''s precisely why the Transcendent Universe is so remarkable. Despite being a cultivation wastnd, it still managed to be one of the six members of the Sixverse Association," Zi Jing exined.

    "I fled from the Transcendent Universe and stumbled into the Fifth Maind by chance. I thought that the Transcendent Universe would never find me here, but aftering here and learning about the Fifth Maind, I realized that it was only a matter of time¡­" Zi Jing sighed. "This universe has a profound history that exceeds anything that I could have imagined. As you grow stronger, Dao Monarch, you will inevitably interact with the Transcendent Universe. That''s why I provided you with the battlefield navigation system in exchange for your promise."

    Lu Yin silently listened.

    "Despite knowing that this universe will one day make contact with the Transcendent Universe, I still didn''t expect it to happen so soon. I don''t understand why I was located a few days ago, but now that the Transcendent Universe has found me, they will undoubtedly try to capture me and take me back."

    Zi Jing rose to her feet to bow deeply to Lu Yin. "Let me formally introduce myself. I am Zi Jing, the deputy leader of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Energy Research Group. I greet the Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin stared as Zi Jing maintained her bow.

    Are you important to them?" He asked.

    "Extremely. While my skills are not the best, they are absolutely essential. Without me, they will have to spend a much longer time developing their technology, and there is also no guarantee that they will ever make a breakthrough. The fact that I was able to do so was due to sheer luck," Zi Jing exined.

    Lu Yin understood. "Is the battlefield navigation system their technology?"

    "It''s a technology that we identally developed and simted in the Energy Research Group, which waster applied in the Transcendent Universe. I was one of the developers," Zi Jing said.

    "No wonder you created thework to connect the entire Fifth Maind after arriving here. For someone like you, not having ess to a unifiedwork must have been like living in a remote mountain vige."

    Zi Jing maintained her deep bow without saying a word.

    Lu Yin suddenly raised his hand and drew an image in the air. It was of the two young men who had apanied Sage Yuan. "Look at this. Do you recognize them?"

    Zi Jing looked up, and the moment she saw the man who had worn the blue and white metal outfit, she eximed, "He Shu?"

    Lu Yin let out a breath. Her recognition of the man had solved the mystery of how she had been found.

    It should have been impossible for Zi Jing to be located from among the countless parallel universes, not unless her pursuers had been unbelievably lucky. Since they had managed to suddenly locate Zi Jing, the only possibility that Lu Yin coulde up with was Sage Yuan''s group, especially the young man who had worn a lens over his eye. His style of dress and the tool over his right eye had made him stand out, and the lens had looked quite simr to the battlefield navigation system and power-level testing devices that Lu Yin was familiar with, which was why it had caught his attention.

    "No wonder I was found. He Shu must have detected that the Fifth Maind has a battlefield navigation system, which would have confirmed my presence here. That was how I was located." Zi Jing came to the same conclusion.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Can the Transcendent Universe locate our universe?"

    Zi Jing replied, "The Transcendent Universe has developed cultivation technologies that reach beyond their universe. No other universe possesses aparable technology. However, that particr technology can only locate someone. To actually travel over, the spatial coordinates are still required, but that is not a difficult task for the Transcendent Universe. The members of the Sixverse Association have each others'' spatial coordinates, so it is also possible for them toe to our universe."

    Over the next few hours, Lu Yin asked many more questions about the Transcendent Universe. The more he heard, the more interested he became in the universe. If Zi Jing was not exaggerating, then the cultivation technologies that the universe possessed could allow humans to undergo aplete transformation, just like what microarray technology had done.

    After a while, Lu Yin reached for his teacup again. "Since I promised to protect you, I won¡¯t break that promise. But-" He paused as he stared at Zi Jing while thinking for a moment. "What sort of punishment will you face if you return to the Transcendent Universe? Why did you flee from them in the first ce?"

    Zi Jing understood Lu Yin¡¯s line of thought. "Do you want to visit the Transcendent Universe, Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "We know nothing about the Sixverse Association, while they are able to watch our every move. We are in too passive a position."

    Zi Jing pondered, "If the Dao Monarch really wants to visit the Transcendent Universe, then you will need to be prepared, or at least ensure a way to return."

    Lu Yin replied, "You don''t need to worry about that. I already have a n."

    The coordinate seal to the parallel universe with Aeternus Nation was able to hold more than just a single person¡¯s trace as a locator. He could easily get someone who had been born in the Fifth Maind to leave a trace on the coordinate seal, and with that, he would be able to use the seal himself to locate Aeternus Nation, and then the other person¡¯s ability to return to the Fifth Maind.

    "What about you? What sort of punishment will you face if you return to the Transcendent Universe?" Lu Yin asked. He did not want Zi Jing to die.

    Zi Jing replied, "Imprisonment, coercion, and intimidation."

    "But you won''t die, right?"

    "No, they need me. They will do everything in their power to take me back to that universe."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Can you find the Transcendent Universe from among the numerous parallel universes?"

    "Yes, I can find it."

    "How quickly will people from the Transcendent Universe arrive here?"

    "Very soon."

    Lu Yin told Zi Jing to return to her own home, as he believed that it would be safer for her to remain in the Heavens Sect. People from the Transcendent Universe might not dare to look for her there.

    After making arrangements for Zi Jing, Lu Yin went to visit Arch-Elder Zen and then led the man to Aeternus Nation so that he could leave his own mark on the coordinate seal. Qing Ping was also taken there to do the same thing. He also asked the two men to regrly visit Aeternus Nation to see if he had returned.

    Two people were more reliable than one.

    After that, Lu Yin started to organize various arrangements in the Fifth Maind. There was no need to publicly announce that he was going into seclusion. After all, if he was too transparent about his actions, it might actually look more suspicious.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin also visited Sapling. Sapling was delighted to see Lu Yin, and he happily yed with the tree for a bit.

    The Perennial World was quiet for the moment. The four ruling powers had to be discussing how they would handle reinitiating the war against Aeternus. The Sixverse Association would surely pressure them into doing something, but that did not bother Lu Yin. Sage Yuan¡¯s attitude also was not enough to affect him.

    The only thing that he was worried about was Shenwu Continent¡¯s situation. Lu Yin was afraid that the Three Monarchs Universe might be able to force the passage open, which would result in the three Monarchs and Xia Shenji entering the Fifth Maind.

    Fortunately, with Arch-Elder Zen taking charge there and Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie offering his support, Lu Yin felt much more at ease.

    With all of his preparations made, Lu Yin went to Zi Jing''s home in CyNet World in the Neoverse to quietly await the arrival of someone from the Transcendent Universe.

    Nothing had changed within CyNet World, and business continued as usual.

    However, after arriving, Lu Yin was reminded of someone: Bai Qian.

    "Where is Bai Qian?" Lu Yin asked.

    "She first went to the Perennial World, but then she went to the Transcendent Universe."

    This took Lu Yin aback. "Why did she go there?"

    "It was her choice, though it is rted to you, Dao Monarch," Zi Jing replied. Her voice was filled with respect and nostalgia. "We met thanks to fate, and we are as close as sisters. She came from the tiny called Earth, and while she isn¡¯t particrly impressive, she remains the most grounded person I know. However, she waspletely overshadowed by your radiance, Dao Monarch. While on the surface, she appeared calm, I know that she is not the kind of person to ept defeat.¡±

    "She said that the cultivation arts in this universe are not suitable for her and that the same is true of the Perennial World. She wanted to find a path of cultivation that better suited her, and the Transcendent Universe turned out to be perfect for her."

    Lu Yin sighed. Although he had not met Bai Qian very many times, the people of Earth continued to speak of her as a legend. She had brought Nightking Qingyu from Neptune to Earth, which had brought about Earth¡¯s apocalypse and subsequent transformation. After receiving a letter of invitation from Starsibyl, Bai Qian had be the first person to leave Earth and embark on the path of cultivation in the greater universe.

    They had both studied in the Astral Combat Academy for a time, and at that time, Lu Yin had not surpassed Bai Qian by much. The primary reason why he had outshone her had been because of his near-death experience on Driftcharge, which had led to him learning Arcane Art - Fatal Revival. If not for that, it was possible that Bai Qian might have even been able to surpass Lu Yin.

    She was a true Earthling who had sessfully left her mark in the greater universe.

    "How is she doing in the Transcendent Universe?" Lu Yin inquired.

    Zi Jing shook her head. "I don''t know. We are currently in different universes, so I am unable to obtain any news of her."

    "Perhaps I¡¯ll meet her again in the Transcendent Universe," Lu Yin remarked.

    In a blink of an eye, ten days passed.

    Lu Yin continued to wait patiently.

    Finally, twelve days after his arrival at CyNet World, he opened his eyes. They had arrived.

    CyNet World was covered in dense forests, filled with animals that roamed about freely. For them, the hidden world was the entire universe.

    The sound of metal breaking a branch echoed through the forest, startling a rabbit.

    The sunlight filtered through the branches, shining down upon a middle-aged man.

    He lifted his head and looked at a distant tower, a red dot flickering within the green lens that covered his right eye. "There? I''ve finally found it."

    After speaking, the man disappeared with a blur. While he did not tear through the void, his pure speed left ripples in space.

    The man instantly arrived at the bottom of the tower, and with another step forward, he appeared behind Zi Jing, who had been watering nts at the very top of the tower.

    Zi Jing watched as the stream from her watering can slowly reduced to a mere trickle that eventually stopped entirely.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Zi Jing," the man said.

    Zi Jing did not turn around and instead simply set the watering can down while letting out a sigh. "You''ve found me."

    "If not for Lord He''s help, we would have never found you. Your escape created a great deal of trouble for us, and we¡¯ve suffered severe losses." The man continued to speak slowly.

    Zi Jing finally turned around to face the man. "I didn''t want to, but once that technology is developed, it will bring an unimaginable catastrophe down upon us."

    The middle-aged man''s expression immediately turned cold. "I don''t care about your technology. All that I know is that your departure caused the entire Energy Research Group to fall apart, which led to the deaths of at least a thousand people, either directly or indirectly. Now,e with me."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, he turned his head towards the door. Lu Yin stepped through it and fiercely shouted, "Who are you?"

    The middle-aged man¡¯s brow furrowed, and the numbers on the lens over his right eye flickered rapidly. "270,000. What is known as an Enlighter-realm cultivator in this universe."

    As the man spoke, he raised his hand and aimed it at Lu Yin.

    Zi Jing''s expression instantly changed drastically. "Stop! If you kill him, I''ll kill myself right now!"

    The man frowned.

    Lu Yin rushed forward while pulling a de from his cosmic ring. As he attacked, he shouted, "Get out of the way!"

    The middle-aged man did not move even the slightest bit, allowing Lu Yin''s attack tond on his face. As the de struck, a thinyer of metal instantly covered the man¡¯s face. Despite Lu Yin''s ability to warp the void with the strength of an Enlighter, it was impossible for him to deal the slightest bit of harm to the man.

    The man then grabbed the de with a hand and shattered it with a loud noise. He calmly pointed a finger at Lu Yin''s forehead and held it there.

    Lu Yin was stunned and did not dare to move a muscle. Beads of sweat streamed from his forehead.

 Chapter 2493: Know Your Crime

    Chapter 2493: Know Your Crime

    "You are far too weakpared to me. Know your ce," the middle-aged man stated slowly.

    Zi Jing grabbed hold of Lu Yin''s arm and pushed him away while ring fiercely at the middle-aged man. "Ke Jian, if you want me to return with you alive, let him go!"

    Ke Jian grew puzzled. "Why do you care about him?"

    Zi Jing''s face flushed red. "He saved my life."

    Ke Jian nced at Lu Yin. "Do you two have feelings for each other?"

    At this moment, CyNet World trembled, and Ke Jian''s expression grew serious. "A Semi-Progenitor from this universe has sensed us."

    The pearl on his chest glowed white, and power flowed out of the pearl and down his arm. He then raised that hand and tore through the void. He quickly grabbed hold of Zi Jing and Lu Yin, and all three people disappeared into the rift.

    After they were gone, Qing Ping stepped out and stared at the empty tower. Safe travels, Junior Brother.

    ¡­

    There were countless parallel universes that made up all of reality, and some chose to divide the megaverse into individual universes. Time and space served as the coordinates of these megaverses, which could expand infinitely.

    If one looked at a map that had numerous parallel universes, therger the parallel universe was, the greater the resistance one would encounter when trying to enter it. There would be hardly any resistance when entering a small parallel universe, such as the one that had held Aeternus Nation.

    After Ke Jian tore through the void while carrying along Zi Jing and Lu Yin, power continued to flow out from the white pearl on his chest, protecting the other two from the void while propelling them forward. Almost instantly, they appeared in a ce that was much brighter than the top of the tower in CyNet World.

    They had arrived in a ce that was full of metal and bright lights that shone down onto their faces from all different directions. Lu Yin and Zi Jing were suspended in mid air.

    Ke Jian appeared above them and kneeled. "I''ve brought them back."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Regardless of Ke Jian''s personal strength, he had just disyed a level of power equal to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s. The fact that he was behaving so respectfully indicated that he was facing a Progenitor-level powerhouse.

    There was no one that he could see in front of Ke Jian. Rather, there was a single ck pearl that emitted a mysterious and eerie glow.

    A voice suddenly erupted like a p of thunder. "Zi Jing, do you know your crime?"

    "Zi Jing, do you know your crime?"

    "Zi Jing, do you know your crime?"

    Voices fell one by one, each filled with conceit and superiority. They were not echoes but distinct words of different individuals.

    Zi Jing''s face grew ashen, and she fell to her knees in the same manner as Ke Jian. "Zi Jing knows her crime."

    "Why did you flee?" One resounding voice rang like the tolling of a doomsday bell and exploded within her ears.

    Caught off guard, Zi Jing coughed up blood. Blood leaked from her mouth, ears, nostrils, and eyes as she copsed to the floor and confessed, "Zi Jing knows her crime."

    "Why did you flee?" Another voice thundered. It was so forceful that it nearly took on a physical form. Zi Jing was crushed beneath its weight, but another invisible force appeared from below, forcing Zi Jing to endure the pressure from two different directions. She coughed up blood again. "Zi Jing knows her crime."

    "Why did you flee?"

    "Why did you flee?"

    "Why did you flee?"

    The voices continued to explode in a series. Each spoken word crushed Zi Jing while also tearing her clothing. Her once pure skin was now cracked and bleeding. She looked truly pitiful.

    "Enough!" Lu Yin finally spoke up. Were these individuals nothing but mindless parrots? They did nothing but repeat the same lines over and over again.

    Zi Jing''s face was deathly pale, and she did not dare to even raise her head.

    Ke Jian looked down at Lu Yin, surprised that the young man had spoken at all.

    Lu Yin was using the Mask of Death to conceal his face and hide his identity by slightly altering his appearance. He was revealing the strength of an Enlighter, which made him appear to be an average cultivator.

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, silence filled the space. A beam of light shone down, revealing a set of numbers in midair: 276,653.

    "How dare a weakling speak up in this supremend! Ke Jian, who is he?" one voice boomed, apanied by a powerful force that mmed Lu Yin to the ground. It was a level of pressure equivalent to a peak Enlighter¡¯s.

    Ke Jian ducked his head. "Zi Jing insisted on his safety. The two have feelings for each other."

    Lu Yiny on the ground and faked struggling to raise his head. "Don''t make things difficult for Zi Jing! She''s already returned and has even confessed to her crimes."

    "Audacious!" one voice shouted. The pressure intensified, tearing both people¡¯s clothes and forcing both Lu Yin and Zi Jing to spit out blood. "Weaklings are not qualified to speak here!"

    Zi Jing yelled, "Let him go! I''ll do anything you want, just don''t hurt him."

    "How pathetic. We humans have long since abandoned such emotions. You lowly beings are not even qualified to forsake your emotions, ultimately leaving you to be burdened by them.¡±

    "Zi Jing, do you want to protect him?"

    Zi Jing gritted her teeth, blood dripping from her mouth. "Yes."

    "And if he dies?"

    "Then I¡¯ll join him."

    "Fine, we will allow him to live." The moment these words were spoken, a ck hole appeared behind Lu Yin, and he was tossed into it.

    Lu Yin did not put up any resistance. In fact, he was unable to resist given the circumstances. Due to Zi Jing¡¯s great importance, the person interrogating her had to be a high-ranking individual of the Transcendent Universe. As part of the Sixverse Association, the Transcendent Universe absolutely had more than a single Progenitor-level expert, which meant that, if Lu Yin were to expose himself, the results would be far from pleasant.

    Fortunately, they were unable to detect his actual strength. Still, that made sense, as not even Progenitors were able to sense Lu Yin¡¯s true power. Even though the Transcendent Universe had developed their powerful cultivation technologies, leading them to head down a different path of human evolution, that did not mean that their path was able to surpass the means of cultivators.

    With a loud thud, Lu Yin crashed to the floor. Endless cheers echoed around him as a bright light once again shone onto him. He looked up and nced around. Was he in an arena?

    "He''s here! The sixth challenger has arrived! What kind of disy of ughter will he present us with? Will he be torn into pieces to satisfy your madness? Or will he instead kill the beast, demonstrating the power of humanity? Let the show begin!" a deafening voice echoed throughout the arena.

    Lu Yin slowly rose to his feet as a metal cage opened up behind him. Once it was fully open, a loud roar rang out.

    He turned around and saw a strange creature that resembled a tiger, which was over ten meters long and formed from a skeleton of white bones. mes surrounded the creature, and it stared at him in a menacing manner.

    Lu Yin looked at the creature''s abdomen and saw chunks of meat inside the bones. He then looked up to see that the beast had more than one head.

    It appeared that he was the sixth to challenge this creature.

    Elsewhere, Zi Jing stared up at a disy that showed her Lu Yin''s situation. Her face turned pale as she shouted, "You promised to spare him!"

    "Zi Jing, are you willing to be loyal to the Transcendent Universe?" a voice boomed.

    Zi Jing quickly replied, "I am willing!"

    Back in the arena, the beast roared as it took off, charging at Lu Yin so quickly that it left afterimages behind as it raised sharp ws to strike.

    This beast had a power level of over 300,000, and it far exceeded the level of strength that Lu Yin was disying. He managed to dodge the attack, but the ws still left deep gashes on his arm.

    "Zi Jing, are you willing to put forth your utmost efforts toplete the task given to you by this universe?"

    "I am!"

    Lu Yin constantly dodged therge beast¡¯s attacks, and blood leaked from wounds across his arms, legs, and even his stomach. The watching crowd had been stirred into a frenzy, and they threw out chunks of bloody meat, further stimting the beast. The look of cruelty in its eyes grew even more intense, and it started to move faster.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. He maintained control of his body and suppressed his aura. Given the current strength that he was revealing, this next attack should tear his stomach open.

    Right as he thought of this, the beast swiped its ws horizontally. Lu Yin lifted a foot to evade the attack with a battle technique, but blood still spilled from his stomach. His abdomen had been torn open, and it was a very severe injury.

    "Zi Jing, can you abandon your pathetic emotions to serve the Transcendent Universe? Can you dedicate yourself to the Transcendent Universe?"

    "I''m willing!" Zi Jing yelled. "Now release him!"

    In the arena, Lu Yin stared at the giant beast that stood before him. He would not be able to dodge the next hit without revealing his true strength. Blood dripped from the corner of his eyes, staining his vision red.

    The beast let out a roar of rage as it raised its ws high and shed them down.

    Countless people cheered, eager to see bloodshed. This was the reason they were in the arena. In this ce they could howl and scream, disying the cruel, sadistic aspect of human nature.

    The beast''s w descended, cracking the floor of the arena.

    Everyone stared at the beast''s ws. Blood? There was none to be seen. Where was the person?

    Lu Yin had been transported once again. This time, he appeared within a liquid that could treat his wounds.

    Looking at a disy, a woman was scanning his body. "His injuries are severe. He almost died. Healing time is five minutes."

    "Send him to be tested after that. Given his physique, he should pass," Ke Jian stated from where he stood nearby.

    The woman answered respectfully, "Understood."

    Soon, the woman left.

    Lu Yin stared at Ke Jian.

    Ke Jian walked over, and only then did Lu Yin get a good look at the man. At the same time, Ke Jian was carefully examining Lu Yin.

    "I admire your type of cultivation, as it meshes well with our cultivation technology. However, you are too weak to let me see the true strength of your civilization," Ke Jian stated.

    Lu Yin weakly asked, "What about Zi Jing?"

    Ke Jian¡¯s voice turned cold as he replied, "She is a highly valued asset given the fact that she hasprehended a critical technology. As for you, you have also been given a high value. If you perform well, you may even eventually be epted by us. Starting from now on, you are one of the Energy Research Group''s guards. If anyone asks, just tell them that you belong to us."

    The man stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "If the technology that Zi Jing is developing can achieve a breakthrough, she will be a very important individual in our Transcendent Universe. As for you, you will enjoy something that your civilization has never experienced. Bing an Envoy, a Semi-Progenitor, or even a Progenitor will no longer be a mere dream for you. Even if you are nothing more than a bug, we can still allow you to obtain the power of a Progenitor."

    With that, Ke Jian turned and left.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this meant that he passed the test!

    From this point forward, he would officially be a member of the Transcendent Universe, which meant that he had acquired a proper backstory for his identity!

    The injuries that he had suffered in the arena were nothing more than external wounds that Lu Yin had self-induced by tearing his skin in a manner that mimicked the beast''s ws. Even if he had stood still, that beast would have never been able to injure him.

    His injuries healed in just a few minutes in the healing liquid, which Lu Yin found to be quite impressive. This universe seemed to have quite advanced healing abilities.

    The woman returned to check on Lu Yin''s vital signs and then had him taken away.

 Chapter 2494: Energy Converter

    Chapter 2494: Energy Converter

    After being taken to the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin was repeatedly moved from one ce to another, and he quickly had no idea where he was.

    Zi Jing had warned Lu Yin not to use his domain, as the Transcendent Universe was able to detect any form of energy at all. Domains were still an invisible form of energy, which was why using it would lead to Lu Yin being discovered.

    "Stand on top of that."

    Lu Yin followed the voice¡¯s instructions and moved inside a circr device that looked like a teleportation device. It was actually quite simr to the ones used by the Astral Combat Academy.

    Scenery shed by, and Lu Yin quickly found himself in a bright, vast open space. It was muchrger than where he and Zi Jing had been interrogated. There was a blue sky overhead that was filled with clouds, though it appeared to be simted. There were people walking all around, giving the ce a lively appearance.

    Lu Yin looked to the side and saw an entire row of circr devices that people were continuouslying out of.

    "Arrival confirmed. Please leave."

    "Arrival confirmed. Please leave."

    Lu Yin stepped off of the device and turned to look back. A girl arrived, and she stepped forward to leave, only to find that Lu Yin was in her way. She red at him. "Move."

    Lu Yin took a few steps back, making room for the girl to pass.

    As Lu Yin nced around, he noticed something that he found rather interesting; there were no elderly people in the Transcendent Universe. Everyone that he saw appeared quite young. Ke Jian was the oldest person that he had encountered so far, and the majority of people that he had seen appeared to be adolescent boys and girls. Some hurried about, while others were standing around and talking.

    Amid his confusion, someone approached and patted his shoulder. Lu Yin turned around and saw someone smiling at him in a friendly manner.

    "Brother, you''ve been standing here for half a day. Are you lost?" The boy was thin and not particrly tall. He smiled warmly as he introduced himself. "My name is Luo Lao''er. What''s your name?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Xuan Qi."

    "What a great name," eximed Luo Lao''er.

    Lu Yin had no idea what was so great about the name. It was something that he hade up with on a whim.1

    "You don''t seem to know where to go. Were you forced here too?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. It was true that he had been forced to this ce.

    "I understand. Those guys at the top can be rather cold at times, and they don¡¯t care at all whether someone is willing toe here or not. They just drag people off to fight on the battlefield. I¡¯ve heard that they have no emotions. By the way, which noble family are you from? Since you¡¯ve been forced toe here, you should have a rather high position," Luo Lao''er inquired.

    "I''m not from a noble family."

    "Not from a noble family? Brother, are you kidding me? Alright, I understand that you want to be discreet, so I won''t question you any further," Luo Lao''er said. He then pointed to a door some distance away. "Head to the end of the road and then pass through that door. That¡¯s where you¡¯ll be tested for various indicators so that the color of your energy converter can be determined. After that, they¡¯ll let you leave. If you have any questions, don''t hesitate to ask me. I received the nickname ¡®Kind Luo¡¯ because I''m just that helpful, haha!"

    The young man then patted Lu Yin on the shoulder before walking on to another person, where he repeated the same friendly gesture.

    Lu Yin chuckled. That young man was certainly easygoing. Lu Yin then looked in the direction that he had been shown and walked towards the door.

    Luo Lao''er stroked his chin as he looked at Lu Yin''s back. "Xuan? I¡¯ve never heard of that surname before. He''s clearly hiding something. Even in this group of people, he should be quite a high-ranking noble."

    Lu Yin soon reached the door, and he pushed it open. Upon walking in, he saw someone exiting with an upset expression. They were grumbling about something, and Lu Yin caught the words "yellow" and "energy converter."

    During the few days that he had spent with Zi Jing, he had learned quite a bit of information about the Transcendent Universe.

    This person had only received a yellow energy converter after being tested, which corresponded to a power level of less than 100,000. In the Transcendent Universe, gray energy converters were equal to power levels of less than 10,000. They were the mostmon energy converters, and they were also what most soldiers received. People with slightly higher abilities were given yellow energy converters, which were equal to a power level of less than 100,000. These were reserved for captains and simr low-ranking officers.

    The subsequent levels of the energy converters were where things started to get a bit exaggerated. Green energy converters were equivalent to a power level of up to 500,000, and they could grant their users a level of strength nearlyparable to an Envoy¡¯s. In the Transcendent Universe, it was rtively rare for anyone to receive a green energy converter. Blue was above green, and matched a power level of up to one million. Furthermore, there were red energy converters, which could reach power levels of up to 1.2 million, which was a peak Envoy.

    After that were the white energy converters, such as the one that Ke Jian possessed. White energy converters allowed their users to wield the power of a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that they could tear through the void and travel between parallel universes without any issues. ording to the Transcendent Universe¡¯s calctions, a white energy converter had a power level of about two million, though they varied based on the amount of energy that the energy converter possessed.

    The final color was ck, which was the color of outer space. It had a power level equivalent to that of a Progenitor. The Fifth Maind also had detectors that could measure power levels, but they were only able to measure up to the Envoy-level and were unable to measure Semi-Progenitors, let alone Progenitors.

    However, the Transcendent Universe measured Progenitors as those with a power level that exceeded five million. ording to them, data supported that as the measure of a Progenitor''s strength.

    However, it was important to note that such a measurement was not an urate representation of an individual¡¯s true strength. A power level was nothing more than a reference point, and it could even vary between different civilizations and individuals¡¯ stages of development.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines had possessed a level of strength that was far, far weaker than Bai Wangyuan¡¯s and anyone else at his level. As for the Origin Progenitor, it was impossible to even estimate his power level. Even for the Transcendent Universe, any attempt to quantify a Progenitor''s strength was nothing more than a reference point.

    The boy who had just obtained the yellow energy converter was able to take an officer''s position in the Transcendent Universe''s army, but he was still dissatisfied. It indicated that his identity was far from ordinary. When Lu Yinbined that with what he had heard from Luo Lao''er, he was able to guess that the people in this space all had extraordinary backgrounds. In other words, these youths were nobles.

    There was a hierarchy of nobility in the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin pushed open the door and saw a series of testing equipment. Zi Jing had already exined how such equipment was used, so Lu Yin was prepared for it.

    Hepleted the various tests quickly and left. He had obtained a green energy converter.

    "His physical attributes are excellent. If he wants to use higher-grade energy converters, then he will need to meet the vitality as well as the physical requirements. He possesses exceptional strength and is qualified to use a green energy converter. Check which noble family hees from."

    "I can''t find it."

    "Not unexpected. Only thergest noble families are able to nurture such a talented individual. Since even we aren''t allowed to investigate him, then he should have a connection to the Ruling Council."

    "Speaking of which, there are some direct rtives of members of the Ruling Counciling."

    "Interesting. There might even be a true genius among them who¡¯s capable of using a blue energy converter."

    ¡­

    After Lu Yin stepped back out from the door and returned to the open space, Luo Lao''er ran over and asked, "Brother, what kind of energy converter did you get?"

    "Green."

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "As expected. Most noble heirs are able to receive green energy converters, as only a few of the very best families are able to nurture geniuses who can use blue energy converters. I''m sure that you''ve heard of He Shu. He managed to receive a red energy converter."

    Lu Yin remembered the two young men who had been standing behind Sage Yuan outside the Heavens Sect. One had been from the Main Universe, and the other had been He Shu.

    A red energy converter? Those were equivalent to a peak Envoy. Even the Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era, such as Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and Garan, despite having cultivated for aparable period of time in the Fifth Maind, had not reached the peak of the Envoy realm yet.

    "You can collect your energy converter from over there. See that long line? That''s it," Luo Lao''er told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin thanked him and walked over.

    Luo Lao''er felt quite puzzled. "That doesn¡¯t add up. I thought that he would get a blue energy converter. Green? That''s only average."

    A clear voice spoke up from behind him, "Green is just average? In that case, what color did you receive, Luo Lao''er?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "If I wanted to, I could get a blue."

    He turned around to see a lively, beautiful face that held a pair of mischievous eyes. "Blue? Alright then, let''s go take the test together."

    Luo Lao''erughed dryly. "Aren¡¯t you Sister Yu? What are you doing here?"

    The girl''s lips curved into a yful grin. "I wanted toe, and who can stop me? Luo Lao''er, let''s go and take the test together."

    "No, Sister Yu, you know me. I- I- my stomach hurts."

    "Stop pretending. Mu Duo says that you once beat him up. You''re far more impressive than him, and yet you still have the cheek to ept a green energy converter. Let''s go together."

    "Sister Yu, don''t listen to that bastard''s nonsense. He''s just trying to get revenge. It¡¯s just his revenge."

    Lu Yin was standing at the middle of the queue, and he turned his head to watch as a delicate-looking girl dragged Luo Lao''er off. The exchange reminded Lu Yin of Fatty Huang. Such people could be found everywhere.

    A green energy converter was equal to a peak Enlighter, and it even approached the strength of an Envoy.

    Such existences were rare in the Fifth Maind, and less than one in a billion could reach that level. If the Perennial World''s poption was also included, then such powerhouses were even rarer.

    However, in the Transcendent Universe, obtaining such power through a green energy converter could be aplished by simply getting in line. This did not mean that the Transcendent Universe surpassed the Fifth Maind in powerhouses, but rather that the two civilizations were fundamentally different. Thus, their overall situations were also different.

    If the Transcendent Universe randomly threw green energy converters onto the ground for anyone to pick up, then Lu Yin would truly be shocked.

    Suddenly, a hand pressed down upon Lu Yin''s shoulder, and a big, fierce face moved closer. "Kid, do you mind if I cut in line?"

    Lu Yin blinked as he looked at the fierce-looking youth who had appeared in front of him and then eyed the muscles on the young man¡¯s arms. "No problem."

    The youthplimented Lu Yin. "Smart."

    With a wave of his hand, several more people, both male and female, followed behind the hulking young man and moved in front of Lu Yin. All the while, they happily chatted away.

    Many of the people behind Lu Yin bristled in anger, but none of them dared to say a thing. They merely red at him in irritation. "Useless! He can''t even speak up when someone cuts in line."

    "Trash."

    "I''ll beat you to death!"

    Lu Yin just rolled his eyes at the insults.

    After a short wait, he received a green energy converter. He examined it carefully. When not in use, the energy converter waspletely transparent, and it was impossible to tell what color it was, as it did not emit any energy at all. As for its durability, Lu Yin was cautious. He was worried that he might identally crush it given his strength.

    After this thing was inserted into his body, he would be able to extract power and use it.

    The energy converters were supposed to be inserted into the heart.

    There was still a wound near Lu Yin¡¯s heart that had not healed yet. It had been deliberately left behind by the girl who had healed him for him to insert the energy converter into.

    [1] All Lu Yin was take the characters Xuan (Ðþ) from his original name of Lu Xiaoxuan and Qi (Æß) from Seventh Bro. ?

 Chapter 2495: Symmetry

    Chapter 2495: Symmetry

    Cosmic rings also existed in the Transcendent Universe. They were not considered rare items and were even still called cosmic rings. This led Lu Yin to make some spections about the universe¡¯s previous connection with the Fifth Maind, or rather, the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin stored the energy converter away in his cosmic ring. Before long, Luo Laoer stepped out, a rxed look on his face. "Sister Yu, what did I tell you? I couldn¡¯t get it, hahaha."

    The young girl gritted her teeth. "Are you hiding something, Luo Laoer? Tell me the truth."

    Luo Laoer rolled his eyes. "You¡¯re overestimating me. Do you really think that anyone can trick the testing equipment?"

    The girl retorted, "Powerful people from cultivation civilizations can do it. You''re Monarch Luo''s son, so I''m sure that you can do it too."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge as he looked at Luo Laoer. Monarch Luo¡¯s son? Could the girl actually be referring to the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe? That Monarch Luo?

    Luo Laoer quickly made a shushing gesture. "Sister Yu, don''t spout such nonsense about me. Monarch Luo abandoned me a long time ago. I don¡¯t have any status or talent now. Sister Yu, you can say whatever you like, but I really can''t get a blue energy converter."

    The young girl rolled her eyes, but she stopped arguing.

    For a while, several people tried speaking to the girl, but shepletely ignored all of them. This continued until a group of youths who clearly held high statuses arrived and joined the girl and Luo Laoer.

    Even the people whom Luo Laoer had previously struck up conversations with were driven away now.

    Wherever there were people, there would be a hierarchy. Luo Laoer might appear to be someone ordinary, but he actually moved around the same circles as the girl.

    If he was really the son of Monarch Luo, the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, then his status should be even higher, but that did not seem very likely.

    How could Monarch Luo¡¯s son be in a situation like this?

    Two days passed, and finally, some new arrivals appeared.

    Thousands of young people had gathered in the area now, and all of them had received energy converters. People socialized with familiar faces, and cliques were quickly being formed and established.

    The group that included Luo Laoer and hispanions drew envious gazes from almost everyone else.

    Many people also looked at Lu Yin with curiosity, due to the fact that he spent the entire time standing alone in a corner.

    "Sister Yu, have you ever heard of the surname ¡®Xuan?¡¯" Luo Laoer asked.

    The girl''s name was Zuo Yu. "Xuan? I¡¯ve never heard of it. Are they a family from your Three Monarchs Universe?"

    "Xuan? Could they be from the Arboreal Realm?" someone interjected.

    Luo Laoer at Lu Yin, who was still in the corner. "That person said that his name is Xuan Qi, but I can''t remember any noble family in the Transcendent Universe with the Xuan surname."

    "He''s just trying to appear mysterious. How pretentious." One boy sneered.

    Zuo Yumented, "I remember a few years ago that there was a low ranking noble with the Bai surname who created quite a stir. It was right after the family joined the Ruling Council, and that caused many people to believe that the low-ranking Bai noble and the family on the Ruling Council were one and the same. Many became curious about the matter, and even my grandfather looked into it. In the end, it was confirmed that the low-ranking noble had just been putting on an act."

    Luo Laoer said, "I remember that. The low ranking noble acted all aloof at first and ignored everyone. Many people sent them gifts and resources, and I heard that someone even gave the noble a white energy converter. All of them ended up being quite tragically scammed."

    As the group chatted, several people looked at the boy who had sneered. His name was Mu Duo, and he was the one who had been scammed; he had sent a white energy converter that belonged to his family.

    Mentioning such an incident left Mu Duo seething in frustration. He directed a condescending look at Lu Yin and walked over to him.

    Luo Laoer blinked. "Is he going to cause trouble for that guy?"

    Zuo Yu replied, "The low-ranking noble who scammed Mu Duo''s family disappeared without a trace, and the Mu family still hasn''t recovered from losing a white energy converter even now. They''ve been mocked for that incident for years. Do you really think that Mu Duo won''t cause trouble?"

    "But what if that person really is a high-ranking noble who¡¯s disguising himself?"

    "Then that¡¯s too bad for him. The Mu family¡¯s exhausted all of their resources in an attempt to secure their nomination for the next Ruling Council. Unless that guy¡¯s rted to the Ruling Council, he can only me his bad luck."

    Suddenly, Mu Duo turned back to Luo Laoer and asked, "What¡¯s the color of his energy converter?"

    Luo Laoer arched a brow. Mu Duo was not nearly as full of himself as he appeared to be. That was fine. Mu Duo could help Luo Laoer expose the guy''s background. Everything would be fine if the man was nothing special, but if he actually did have some sort of exceptional background, then the Mu family would be the unlucky ones. "Green."

    Mu Duo''s eyes flickered with a cold light. His gaze swept past everyone to lock onto Lu Yin, and then he walked straight over.

    Lu Yin had been keeping an eye on Luo Laoer and his group the entire time. He had realized that it was possible to learn quite a bit from eavesdropping on their conversation, including even the most recent bit. He was rather speechless at how things had developed. Had he really just be a scapegoat?

    Lu Yin was not someone who would passively ept being a scapegoat. He was the one who usually deflected the me onto others.

    Upon seeing Mu Duo approaching, Lu Yin suddenly stood up and walked over to another group of people. "Time¡¯s up."

    Everyone in the group looked at Lu Yin with confusion. They were the ones who had cut in line earlier.

    The muscr youth lookedpletely bewildered. "What time?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You told me to stand in the corner and stay there. Time''s up, so can I leave now?"

    The muscr youth and his friends nced at each other. When had they asked this guy to stand in the corner and stay there?

    Zuo Yu and others were stunned. This was an unexpected turn of events.

    They all watched Mu Duo. He was in an awkward position. He had been ready to cause trouble for the guy, but now he was simply being punished.

    Mu Duo was now standing in the middle of an open space, deliberating over whether he should proceed or turn back. As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, he finally decided that it only made sense for him to vent a little of his anger.

    So, he walked towards the muscr youth''s group.

    "Hey, you''re the one that we cut in front of in the line? Boss, did you punish him?" someone asked.

    A girl spoke admiringly, "Boss, he agreed to let us cut in line, and yet you still punished him? You''re so manly."

    "Boss is amazing."

    "We''re not even on the battlefield yet, and he¡¯s already starting to collect minions! Boss is really impressive."

    The muscr youth hesitated for a moment before rubbing the back of his head in a slightly embarrassed manner before he burst outughing. "I like this kid! He''s obedient now, after a bit of discipline. Hahaha."

    Lu Yin smiled. "May I leave now?"

    The muscr youth pped Lu Yin''s shoulder. "Where do you think you¡¯re going? Get back over there and don¡¯t move."

    Lu Yin obediently returned to the corner. A stream of ttery flooded into the muscr youth''s ears, boosting his ego to new heights.

    Lu Yin passed Mu Duo on his way back, but Mu Duo suddenly raised a hand and set it onto Lu Yin''s shoulder. Lu Yin stopped and looked at the man in surprise. Why did it seem like everyone in this universe was so fond of patting people¡¯s shoulders?

    "Go. p him," Mu Duo ordered.

    Lu Yin thought that he must have misheard. "What?"

    Mu Duo said in a deep voice, "Go p him. That''s what I told you."

    He then shoved Lu Yin back towards the muscr youth, causing Lu Yin to stumble and bump into the muscr young man, who became furious, "Do you want to die, brat?"

    Lu Yin pointed at Mu Duo. "He shoved me."

    The muscr youth red at Mu Duo, furious. "You-"

    Just as the young man was about to continue, he suddenly recognized Mu Duo. "You- aren''t you Young Master Mu Duo?"

    Mu Duo gave Lu Yin a hard look. "p him."

    Lu Yin hesitated and swallowed. "I don''t think that that''s a good idea."

    "This is thest time I¡¯ll tell you: p him," Mu Duo ordered angrily.

    Lu Yin spun around and instantly pped the muscr youth right across the face. The sound was crisp and loud, and it drew the entire crowd¡¯s attention.

    Zuo Yu and the others watched calmly. In the Transcendent Universe, the difference in status was always made clear. Given Mu Duo''s status, he could even cripple the muscr young man without facing any repercussions, let alone simply having him pped.

    The muscr youth was also fully aware of this, and thus he did not dare resist.

    Still, Lu Yin''s p left the man dazed.

    Mu Duo felt quite satisfied. "Not bad. Don''t act like such a weakling in the future."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Understood."

    He then turned around and pped the muscr young man again.

    The action startled Mu Duo. Why another p?

    The muscr youth stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Why another p? Who had told this guy to p him?

    The watching audience all stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin exined, "It''s for symmetry."

    The muscr youth seethed with rage, and a building anger filled his eyes.

    Some distance away, Luo Laoerughed heartily.

    Zuo Yu tried to suppress a smile.

    Mu Duo took a good look at Lu Yin and then praised him, "Not bad. Come with me."

    Lu Yin hurried over. "Yes, sir."

    Mu Duo had vented his anger with the first p, but the second p had given him the feeling that Lu Yin was a promising talent who could help build Mu Duo¡¯s reputation. The man quickly decided to take Lu Yin under his wing.

    While many people watched in surprise, Lu Yin, who should have been getting into trouble, ended up joining Mu Duo''s group. Despite having the lowest status and being bossed around, no one would dare to offend him with someone like Mu Duo as his backer.

    Luo Laoer no longer paid any attention to Lu Yin, though he was still interested in the Xuan surname.

    Three dayster, a bit of news arrived without warning: they were told that their destination had been changed to the Cloudflow Universe.

    "Cloudflow Universe? Isn''t that a parallel universe? Why are we going there?" Zuo Yu found it strange.

    Mu Duo replied, "Cloudflow Universe isn¡¯t just a parallel universe. It¡¯s one of the numerous battlefields where we fight against Aeternus. It¡¯s said that when we conquered the Cloudflow Universe, Aeternus actually interfered, which is why it became a battlefield."

    Luo Laoer spoke up in a mysterious tone. "I''ll let you in on a secret¡ªthere are rumors that the change in our destination has to do with a specific person."

    "Who?" asked Zuo Yu curiously.

    Everyone else also turned to look at Luo Laoer. He always managed to get a hold of confidential information.

    "Zi Jing," Luo Laoer answered in a very soft voice, making sure that only the people in his group could hear his answer. Everyone else could only watch with envy.

    "Zi Jing?" Mu Duo, Zuo Yu, and others all eximed in surprise.

    Luo Laoer instantly motioned for them to be quiet. "Don''t spread it around! I put in quite a bit of effort to find this out, so don''t let my work be for nothing."

    "Zi Jing? The notorious traitor?" Mu Duo was astonished.

    Luo Laoer retorted, "She''s not a traitor. She never betrayed the Transcendent Universe, though she did run away. It''s said that she fled because a certain technology that the Transcendent Universe is researching will bring about unpredictable and disastrous consequences."

    Zuo Yu pondered with a serious expression. "My grandfather once mentioned that that woman is very important. Her disappearance put a halt to the development of one of our crucial cultivation technologies. If she hadn¡¯t been found, our progress would have stalled for a very long time."

    "Since she¡¯s returned, we''ll soon see a breakthrough in that cultivation technology, which is why the Ruling Council has decided to move our battlefield to the Cloudflow Universe," Luo Laoer exined.

    "What does Cloudflow Universe have to do with anything? Is Zi Jing from there?" Lu Yin interjected.

    Someone sharply reprimanded Lu Yin, "Do you have the right to speak? Shut up!"

    Mu Duo red at the speaker. "He''s under me. You shut up."

    "Mu Duo, others might be afraid of you, but I''m not. My family has also been nominated to the Ruling Council."

    "So what?"

    Zuo Yu lost her patience. "Enough! Why are we arguing? My grandfather is part of the Ruling Council right now."

    The other two instantly fell silent.

    Lu Yin was speechless. These people were literallypeting in who their backer was.

 Chapter 2496: Cloudflow Universe

    Chapter 2496: Cloudflow Universe

    Luo Lao''er continued his musings. "Recently, there''s only been one topic that¡¯s truly newsworthy. I didn''t manage to find out any specifics, but¡­" He grinned slyly. "I heard that Zi Jing returned with a man. Hehe, I wonder what she''s like."

    Zuo Yu looked disgusted. "What does that have to do with you?"

    Luo Lao''er exined, "If Zi Jing can help the Transcendent Universe achieve a breakthrough in a critical technology, then she''ll definitely be a member of the Ruling Council eventually, even with her history of deserting. And whoever marries her¡­ Just think about it."

    Eyes lit up, and several of the young men started to unconsciously straighten up. While they might not know which cultivation technology Zi Jing was researching, if it was important enough to catch the attention of the Ruling Council, then there was no way it was simple. Even if Zi Jing did not end up as a member of the Ruling Council, she would still be one of the most important individuals in the entire Transcendent Universe. If anyone could win over Zi Jing, they would most likely also receive the chance to ascend into the heavens with a single step.

    "Brothers, it''s time to start working your charm. Do your best to gather information, ¡®cause if you can win that woman over, then your ancestors willugh themselves back to life," Luo Lao''er urged.

    One woman sneered. "How disgusting."

    Contempt practically dripped from Zuo Yu¡¯s voice, "If you''re a man, then you should climb to the top on your own rather than spend time thinking about things like this. This is sickening."

    "First, we must find the man that Zi Jing brought back. Once we find him, we need to beat him and suppress him!" Luo Lao''er shouted.

    Muo Duo became excited. "Yes, we¡¯ll find him and suppress him!"

    "Suppress him."

    "Suppress him."

    "Zi Jing is mine!"

    "Mine!"

    "Mine!"

    Before long, the shouts transformed into arguments. Luo Lao''er was the most excited, and he dered that he would join the Ruling Council and show his father who the true talent of the family was.

    Zuo Yu and the other girls moved away, each of them staring at the boys with expressions of disdain covering their faces.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. What were these guys yelling about? They would not actually uncover his identity, right? He started to put some distance between himself and the noisy crowd. "Xuan Qi, what are you waiting for? p him symmetrically."

    "How would he ever dare? Mu Duo, I''ll p you first."

    "Luo Lao''er, you¡¯re from a foreign universe. Butt on out of this!"

    "You¡¯re the one from a foreign universe! Your whole family is from a foreign universe! Both my body and spirit belong to the Transcendent Universe, and I will be staying right here for the rest of my life."

    "You were abandoned."

    "Your whole family was abandoned!"

    ¡­

    Things escted to the point where over a thousand people were now surrounding the small group, watching the young men argue. Even Lu Yin started to feel embarrassed from their antics.

    Finally, a burst of boomingughter interrupted the squabbling, and everyone turned to see a middle-aged man. Scars covered his face and his exposed arms while his body was as stocky as Ke Jian¡¯s; he did not look like someone who would be easy to mess with.

    "You guys are quite spirited. That¡¯s good, as it''s time to go. Use your energy on the battlefield instead of on women. If anyone mentions women again, I''ll make them spend the rest of their life on the battlefield. Haha!"

    Luo Lao''er''s jaw dropped open as he stared at the man. Then, he used a hand to push his chin back up as he quietly muttered, "Why is he here?"

    Next to him, Mu Duo asked, "What''s so surprising about it? Our destination has changed, so it only makes sense that the one in charge of us would also change, now that we¡¯re going to the Cloudflow Universe."

    "Qiu Zhan is known as the warmongermander, and he often charges to the front of a battlefield all on his own. He¡¯s fought in several major wars, and the Ruling Council was eventually forced to give him a ck energy converter for self-protection. He¡¯s one of the few individuals in the Transcendent Universe powerful enough to use a ck energy converter. However, I¡¯ve also heard that he¡¯s offended the Ruling Council, and that as a result, he¡¯ll never be allowed to use a ck energy converter again. Why would someone like him be sent to the Cloudflow Universe?" someone asked, puzzled.

    "Maybe he¡¯s been allowed to use a ck energy converter again," someone elsemented, their eyes zing.

    ck energy converters were some of the most powerful weapons in the Transcendent Universe possessed. Using one could allow a person to fight against a Progenitor. ording to Ke Jian, even a cockroach would have the strength of a Progenitor if the Transcendent Universe willed it.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe that. There were specific requirements for a person to use an energy converter, and while it was not connected to a person¡¯s cultivation level, it did have to do with their body. In some ways, these requirements were even more demanding.

    Lu Yin looked at the middle-aged man named Qiu Zhan. He was not using an energy converter, but he was still able to suppress the entire area. His strength should not be any weaker than an Envoy, but due to the differences in how their civilizations had developed, Lu Yin could not be sure just how powerful of an Envoy the man couldpare to.

    "You¡¯re all not talking anymore? Then get over here. The closer the better," Qiu Zhan shouted fiercely.

    Everyone looked as though they had just woken up from a daydream. They nervously stared at Qiu Zhan, not sure what to do. The pressure from the man was simply too strong.

    Even an Enlighter was able to easily suppress ordinary humans, let alone someone with Qiu Zhan''s strength.

    Zuo Yu was the first to step forward. She had never been very far from Qiu Zhan to begin with.

    Following her, the rest of the people from Mu Duo''s group moved forward, one by one.

    Even though some people were born with statuses that elevated them above others, the training and education that they received guaranteed that they would always remain elite in all aspects. Very few true heirs to great powers wereplete wastrels.

    Lu Yin followed Mu Duo and moved closer to themanding officer.

    Qiu Zhan''s eyes swept past each face. Everyone looked at him with pale faces as they pushed forward against the pressure pouring off of him.

    Eventually, thousands of people circled around Qiu Zhan. He sneered at them. "Get closer to me."

    Zuo Yu gritted her teeth and forced her way closer. She managed to reach a point only two meters away from Qiu Zhan while Luo Lao''er stopped five meters away. Lu Yin stopped about five meters behind Mu Duo.

    "To think that I have to transport the lot of you greenhorns myself. You should be thanking your ancestors that you can be useful. However, your ancestors can''t protect you on the battlefield," Qiu Zhan stated.

    With that, a transparent energy converter in his chest started to emit a bright white light. While this energy converter was the same color as Ke Jian''s, there were noticeable differences. Despite both of them being white, the whiteness of Qiu Zhan''s energy converter was far more blinding and pure.

    With a burst of power, white light enveloped everyone. Qiu Zhan stepped forward and dragged everyone with him through the void.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Was this really the way that the Transcendent Universe¡¯s people used power at the Semi-Progenitor level? This was too crude and forceful. It was simr to a Semi-Progenitor moving people with nothing but their stellr energy. However, no one in the Transcendent Universe possessed an inner world.

    In a one-on-one fight, it would be difficult for someone from the Transcendent Universe with a white energy converter to defeat one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitors.

    The scenery shed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and they next appeared in a ce that waspletely different from the Transcendent Universe. He looked up and saw some sort of substantial energy that looked like swirling dark clouds covering outer space. He also managed to barely catch a glimpse of some massive structures off in the distance.

    He stared intently into the distance. Just what was that?

    At that moment, Qiu Zhan was looking at Lu Yin. The other young people had not yet regained their senses. Lu Yin was the only one who had started looking around upon arriving in the parallel universe, which was extremely abnormal.

    Traveling between universes put a massive strain on the human body. The stronger the target universe, the greater the pressure.

    While the Cloudflow Universe was not a very strong universe, these young nobles were not people who should have been able to immediately react. Lu Yin¡¯s performance exceeded the older man¡¯s expectations.

    As Qiu Zhan stared at Lu Yin, numbers constantly flickered across the green lens over his right eye before eventually stopping at 270,000. This was surprising. Did this youth really have a power level of 270,000? Was he from a cultivation civilization?

    "Is this the Cloudflow Universe?" Yu Jing asked.

    Others also started to react and looked around.

    Qiu Zhan quit focusing on Lu Yin. It was not that unusual for the man toe across someone from a cultivation civilization. There had originally been such civilizations even within the Transcendent Universe. At present, most of the Sixverse Association''s members were cultivation civilizations, so people from those ces frequently visited the Transcendent Universe.

    The only thing that the older man could not understand was why Lu Yin, someone from a cultivation civilization, had been sent to the Cloudflow Universe.

    White light radiated from the older man¡¯s chest again, and he then led the young people in the direction that Lu Yin was looking in. As they moved, Qiu Zhan started investigating Lu Yin''s identity.

    He quickly found out that Lu Yin was Zi Jing''s man. Qiu Zhan shot another nce towards Lu Yin¡¯s way. With his status, Qiu Zhan had no difficulty essing Lu Yin¡¯s information, and the young man¡¯s story exined everything.

    Also, Lu Yin¡¯s background meant that nothing could be allowed to happen to him on the battlefield. Qiu Zhan had been assigned to keep Lu Yin alive on the battlefield by the Ruling Council. However, the old man did not feel like performing his task. How could no idents ur on a battlefield? He was unable to even guarantee his own survival.

    If the Ruling Council wanted to keep the young man safe, then they should not have sent him to the Cloudflow Universe in the first ce. Since he was there, he would have to determine his own fate.

    Qiu Zhan ignored the Ruling Council¡¯s orders and also resumed ignoring Lu Yin. In front of them, the massive structure loomed ever closer.

    Lu Yin paid no attention to Qiu Zhan, as his eyes remained fixed on the distant structure. This thing was not much smaller than the entire Heavens Sect. What was it? Even though it was still very far away, it had given him a sense of danger as soon as heid eyes upon it.

    After Qiu Zhan led everyone to the structure, many were awestruck by the sight.

    Out of everyone, Lu Yin was the most impressed. The others already had some level of knowledge regarding this object, as they were inhabitants of the Transcendent Universe. However, this was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such a thing. This was the Bestowal Art.

    As Zi Jing had exined, the Bestowal Art was a power that the universe had bestowed upon humanity.

    Every item that was sealed away in a sourcebox by the universe was able to be broken down and used as fuel by the Transcendent Universe. It was like a power that the universe had bestowed upon them, which was the origin of its name.

    Lu Yin had never imagined that sourceboxes could be used in such a way. To him, sourcebox arrays were already quite remarkable.

    After countless years of development, human ingenuity remained their greatest weapon.

    "Take a good look. This is one of thergest Bestowal Art carriers that we have developed so far. With enough sourceboxes, we can annihte creatures whose power levels are in the hundreds of thousands. Your mission is to defend the carrier¡¯sponents and ensure that they all remain open. Use your strength to act as a tiny cog in this vast machinery. Do you understand?" Qiu Zhan instructed.

    The crowd replied, "We understand."

    The Bestowal Art carrier was a massive, mechanical object that was nearly asrge as the entire Heavens Sect. No matter howplex its internal structure might be, the entire thing was fortified with a massive array of weapons and patrolled by numerous guards, which made it as secure as a fortress.

    Off in the distance, there were even more mechanical extensions that branched off from the main structure, and swarms of people were moving about them.

    At first nce, the whole structure looked like a monster designed to invade humanity.

    Mounted on the carrier were several enormous spheres, which appeared to be energy converters, though they were many timesrger than the ones used by individuals.

    Everyone present already understood what these spheres were, so as they talked, Lu Yin gleaned their usage as well.

    They were indeed energy converters, but they were also energy converters with refining properties. If attacked, these energy converters could break down the force of the iing attack and then refine it into the most basic form of energy, which would then be redirected into the energy converters that people used.

    This was how energy converters were used and recharged.

 Chapter 2497: Perfect And Flawless

    Chapter 2497: Perfect And wless

    The Transcendent Universe had fully developed two cultivation technologies: Bestowal Art and Energy Source. Both could be seen on the massive carrier.

    "These carriers rarely appear outside the Transcendent Universe. The fact that they moved such a massive one here shows just how importantly the Ruling Council views the Cloudflow Universe," Mu Duo muttered.

    Lu Yin replied, "Yes, these carriers are rare."

    Mu Duo sneered. "Rare? That¡¯s an understatement. There aren¡¯t more than ten of these even in the entire Transcendent Universe. When the Cyclic Universe asked to borrow one, the Ruling Council''s conditions were so harsh that the Cyclic Universe immediately abandoned the thought. They are the Transcendent Universe''s greatest weapons. How could we allow them to be taken away? The fact that one is here means that something huge is about to happen, and it has to be connected to the woman that Luo Lao''er mentioned earlier: Zi Jing."

    Lu Yin stared off into outer space. Would Zi Jing''s predictione true? After all, even she was not certain.

    Despite only having a vague theory, it had been so terrifying to Zi Jing that she had fled her homnd. If the cultivation technology that she had been researching seeded, then the consequences would be unimaginable.

    Lu Yin had initially believed the possibility to be quite low, but after seeing just how high a price the Transcendent Universe was willing to pay, her fears might actually prove to be true.

    Qiu Zhan led the group to a specific section of the Bestowal Carrier. Outer space stretched out above them, and all around them were metal tforms.

    Qiu Zhan pointed to a nearby cube and said, "I know that this ismon sense, but that thing can never be allowed to protrude from the carrier. That''s your mission. Even if none of you manage to survive, that thing cannot ever protrude out. Now, start, following the order that you received your energy converters."

    From the thousands of people here, a single young man walked up to the cube. He took a deep breath before cing his palm on the item. A green light bloomed from his chest, and a surge of power rushed into him. He pushed with all his strength, thrusting his hand deep into the machinery. After about half of his arm was submerged, the tform activated. Green light spread along the length of the metal tform, flowing in every direction and connecting to other tforms.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw that there were many other simr tforms. Some shone brightly, while others remained pitch ck. The tforms also shone with different colors, which was probably dependent on the person who had charged them.

    Qiu Zhan said, "Remember, that cube must never protrude out. If it does, it will be regarded as a vition of military orders, and all of you will be punished ordingly."

    "General, what if the enemy attacks?" one girl asked softly.

    Qiu Zhan red at her. "Fulfill your orders, even if doing so results in your death."

    He then pointed toward Luo Lao''er and said, "He is your team¡¯s captain, so listen to him."

    With that, the older man disappeared.

    As soon as Qiu Zhan was gone, people let out sighs of relief and quickly started chatting with each other as they visibly rxed.

    Luo Lao''er was rooted in ce, clearly dazed. What was going on? Why was he the captain?

    Zuo Yu, Mu Duo, and many others turned to look at Luo Lao''er, surprised that he had been appointed as their captain.

    "Captain, what are your orders? What should we do?" Mu Duo asked.

    Zuo Yuughed. "Captain, why don''t you show us your blue energy converter?"

    "Captain, do Monarch Luo and Qiu Zhan know each other?" someone else asked.

    Luo Lao''er felt like crying. He did not want to be the captain. What did this entire situation have to do with him? He had just wanted to go about his business quietly and listen to rumors. He had never wanted to bear such responsibility.

    He wanted to look for Qiu Zhan, but how was he supposed to find the man on the vast carrier?

    "Everyone, I feel like we''re all like brothers and sisters. Why don''t we just go home?"

    At the same time, back in the Transcendent Universe, Zi Jing was kneeling on the floor. She was in front of a staircase that had flowers blooming on each step. Strange creatures danced about,ughing happily.

    "Zi Jing, it¡¯s been a very long time," a sweet voice spoke from up above.

    Zi Jing trembled and looked up towards the top of the stairs, where a woman was sitting behind a cloud that had the colors of a rainbow. While it was impossible to see the woman¡¯s face, Zi Jing could already tell that this woman was perfect and wless.

    She was a truly perfect woman. There was no need to see her face or anything else about her. Just a single nce was enough to know this to be true.

    "It has been a long time," Zi Jing replied in a hoarse voice. She lowered her eyes and saw that the stairs had disappeared, as had the cute creatures, the happyughter, and the beautiful flowers. All that remained was an immeasurable gap between her and the woman atop the stairs. This woman was someone whom Zi Jing could never reach.

    "Your escape gave the Ruling Council a hard time, but luckily, it didn''tst too long," said the woman at the top of the stairs with a pleasant voice.

    "I was wrong," Zi Jing said in a low voice.

    "Raise your eyes," the woman ordered.

    Zi Jing subconsciously looked up, only to see an image appear in the air. There were pictures of Lu Yin standing on the Bestowal Art carrier, and confusion could be seen in his eyes.

    "Look at him. He understands nothing, knows nothing. With a power level of just over 200,000, he''s less than an ant on that battlefield and can be easily crushed. How can such a person hope to survive the battlefield?" The woman''s voice grew soft, though her words were enough to send shivers down one''s spine.

    Zi Jing¡¯s eyes went wide. "You promised that you wouldn''t harm him!"

    "Haha, of course we won''t. Not only will we not harm him, but we''ll also even train him. I want him to stay alive. His survival is valuable to both you and to us. However, everything depends on your loyalty, Zi Jing. I don''t sense any loyalty from you. The less loyal you are, the more confused and frightened he¡¯ll be.

    ¡°Humans are so interesting, aren''t they? When they express their emotions, their expressions also change. I can''t wait to see how his eyes will change," the woman continued.

    Zi Jing lowered her head in a respectful manner. "I have already informed the Ruling Council that I will loyallyplete the task assigned to me. There will be no hesitation or any thought of escape for the rest of my life."

    "Alright, I can finally see a speck of loyalty within you. As a reward, I''ll allow you to speak to him, and I will even bring him here," the woman said.

    "Thank you," Zi Jing said.

    "By the way, write down everything that you know about the universe you fled to. After all, that is the Origin Universe. There is value in learning about it," the woman said.

    Zi Jing nodded. "I understand."

    "You may leave."

    ¡­

    Stepping onto a battlefield meant that one was heading into war.

    Six days after Lu Yin and the others arrived at the carrier, battle erupted.

    Countless corpse kings suddenly appeared, and they all charged straight at the Bestowal Carrier.

    The carrier¡¯s mechanical extensions ughtered the corpse kings ruthlessly. It was like watching a giant in outer space freely massacring the enemy.

    Thissted for more than ten days. Once damage to the machinery started to build up slightly, the corpse kings were able to begin approaching the carrier.

    Lu Yin watched calmly as the huge carrier ughtered countless corpse kings for ten days. There were even Envoy-level corpse kings among the victims. Just how many had it killed? It proved itself worthy of its title of a machine of war. If only the Fifth Maind had such a carrier!

    It was important to note that not a single person from the Transcendent Universe had been injured thus far.

    Once the mechanical extensions were destroyed and the corpse kings started to approach the carrier, various weapons fired out, and countless odd-looking people with horns on their heads rushed out.

    "Those are natives of this Cloudflow Universe. I learned about them during my studies," someone eximed.

    Someone else nearby scoffed, "Who hasn''t seen them? The Cloudflow Universe is thergest parallel universe that our Transcendent Universe has taken over. Everyone knows about the situation here."

    Lu Yin really wanted toment that he did not, but no one would exin things to him.

    Everyone watched as countless indigenous creatures of the Cloudflow Universe rushed off into outer space, as though racing to sacrifice themselves. All of the creatures used gray energy converters, but they also had the ability to freely move about outer space. They were the perfect cannon fodder for the Transcendent Universe.

    The creatures looked nearly identical to humans, except for the horns on their heads. For the Transcendent Universe, these creatures were not considered human, but rather mere beasts.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin noticed a particrly powerful corpse king break away from the rest of the crowd and charge toward the Bestowal Carrier, quickly moving closer and closer.

    As soon as it was within a range, the corpse king abruptly released a punch. However, the force of the punch suddenly vanished, and the corpse king was instead shot down by the carrier''s weapons.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. The force of the iing attack had been absorbed by the energy converters. They had refined and absorbed the power of the corpse king''s attack.

    The battle ended quickly without the corpse kings ever getting even close to where the people from the Transcendent Universe were standing.

    Then, the carrier shook and began moving forward.

    "I guess that we''re going to reim control of the Cloudflow Universe," Luo Lao''er said thoughtfully while stroking his chin.

    "I''m running low on energy," the girl standing at the cube reported. Half of her arm was inside the cube, and the light given off by the energy converter in her chest was growing dim.

    Luo Lao''er waved a hand. "Next."

    Many people looked at Mu Duo. It was his turn.

    Mu Duo called out, "Xuan Qi, you go."

    Lu Yin remained calm and did not refuse the order. He stepped forward, feeling rather curious.

    When he arrived next to the girl, she looked over at him. "Are you ready?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The woman quickly pulled her hand out, while Lu Yin immediately inserted his arm into the cube. It was cold to the touch and had a metallic texture. He immediately activated the energy converter in his chest, and power spread through his body in an instant.

    This was an external form of power, and using it allowed Lu Yin to finally understand what it felt like for the people of the Transcendent Universe to use an energy converter.

    This power waspletely different from cultivated power, but it was able to easily be used.

    As the green light spread out, no one paid any more attention to Lu Yin.

    "Mu Duo, don''t tell me that you''re nning to ck off," Zuo Yu used.

    Mu Duo replied, "Xuan Qi will take my ce. It¡¯s just a matter of running a few more errands."

    After charging the cube, each person then needed to travel to a rather distant location to recharge their energy converter. It took an entire day to make the trip and return.

    Mu Duo had ordered Lu Yin to rece him, which meant that while others needed to make the trip once per round, Lu Yin needed to go twice.

    However, he did not mind.

    Since Lu Yin himself did not mind, no one else did either. After all, Mu Duo was someone with a huge power backing him.

    Of course, Mu Duo imed that Lu Yin had volunteered to help; otherwise, Lu Yin would undoubtedly be bullied to death by the muscr youth''s group.

    "Bing my follower is his good luck. Many people beg for this opportunity," Mu Duo proudly proimed.

    He was not wrong. Many people volunteered to help the others in Mu Duo''s group, but not everyone was qualified to do so.

    Zuo Yu chose someone to take her ce, as did everyone else in the small group, except for Luo Lao''er. Even though he was the captain of the entire team, he was also someone from the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that there was no point trying to get in his good graces.

    Luo Lao''er looked rather pathetic. Despite being the team captain, he still needed to personally take action. How humiliating.

 Chapter 2498: Bestowal Artv

    Chapter 2498: Bestowal Art

    It took about two hours for Lu Yin to fully deplete his green energy converter, after which someone reced him at the cube. Following the instructions that they had been given, he went to the designated location to recharge his energy converter.

    He had initially been nning to study the recharging tool, but he found that he could not understand it at all. So, he decided to leave it alone for the moment. When he got a chance, he would steal the entire thing and send it to the Technocracy for them to research.

    Lu Yin did not know just howrge the Cloudflow Universe was, but since Luo Lao''er had mentioned that the Transcendent Universe wanted to fully reim it, it should not be toorge. Otherwise, given the carrier''s speed, it would take an eternity for them to aplish their goal.

    Days passed before Aeternus¡¯s forces reappeared. This time, there were even more powerful corpse kings, as well as more of them. As the corpse kings approached the carrier, the energy of their attacks was absorbed.

    Eventually, the humans won this battle as well, and then resumed their journey.

    After several battles, a massive corpse king appeared. Seeing it caused everyone''s expressions to change.

    Although the corpse king was not asrge as the carrier, it was stillrge enough to crush stars.

    Luo Lao''er waspletely stunned. "Where did this huge monstere from?"

    Zuo Yu had also turned pale. "Some legends say that there are universes home to colossal giants, and thergest of them are so big that the stars revolve around their bodies while a single hand can cover outer space. Not even this Bestowal Carrier might be able to withstand a single punch from such a thing."

    Luo Lao''er eximed, "That''s insane!"

    The massive corpse king punched at the carrier, and since this was a purely physical attack, the energy converters were unable to absorb it.

    Qiu Zhan bellowed, "Come on!"

    He intercepted the iing punch and released a white light that was so bright that it illuminated the entire region. Then, he threw a counter-punch that contained as much force as the corpse king¡¯s.

    Despite the absurd difference in size, the strength of the two punches was very simr. They collided with an explosive bang while countless spatial fractures snaked out, swallowing many of the attacking corpse kings. Even a portion of the Bestowal Carrier was damaged.

    The massive corpse king lifted its head and raised its fist to release another punch.

    Qiu Zhan prepared to retaliate with another punch as well, but then, a cold voice suddenly entered Lu Yin''s ears. "Bestowal Attack. Power: level three. Fire."

    As the voice finished speaking, a beam of darkness appeared and pierced through the corpse king''s body before continuing to shoot into the distance. The monster had had no chance of dodging the attack.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank at the sight. That attack had clearly contained the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The speed was shocking and the range incredible. Was this the Bestowal Art?

    Countless people from the Transcendent Universe cheered.

    Zuo Yu''s eyes shone brightly. "This is the power of our Transcendent Universe! So what if we¡¯re up against Aeternus? We''ll annihte them all!"

    Mu Duo clenched his fists. In order to control that terrifying level of power, he needed to join the Ruling Council. Otherwise, even if he cultivated for an entire lifetime, he would never possess such strength.

    The ck light slowly faded away.

    Qiu Zhan was irritated. "Who fired? I haven¡¯t had enough yet."

    Cheers rang out.

    Everyone believed that the corpse king was as good as dead.

    The huge corpse king wobbled, and its arms hung weakly as it toppled forward.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a chill. The monster was not dead yet.

    Halfway down, the corpse king suddenly charged forward. It forced its way past Qiu Zhan with its full might and mmed its massive body into the carrier.

    Luo Lao''er lost his bnce and fell down, and many others tripped as well.

    Lu Yin looked up as the corpse king raised its left fist, ready to attack again.

    Qiu Zhan''s face flushed crimson, and fury zed in his eyes. He instantly appeared behind the corpse king and kicked its raised arm.

    As a brilliant white light red, Qiu Zhan''s attack shattered the corpse king''s raised arm into countless pieces, showering the area with flesh and blood. Clearly upset, he then leaped onto the corpse king''s head and yelled, "Die!"

    The sound of the impact reverberated through outer space, but another series of cracking sounds rang out from the carrier.

    This time, the enormous corpse king was truly dead, but many cracks had appeared across the carrier, and most of its energy converters had been extinguished as well.

    Scarlet eyes suddenly appeared in every direction. This time, there was not just one, but several enormous corpse kings charging at the carrier.

    "Fire!" Qiu Zhanmanded.

    Beams of ck light shot out, but these were a great deal weaker than the first one.

    The enormous Bestowal Carrier had more than just one cannon, but each one¡¯s power depended on the size of the energy converters connected to them.

    Lu Yin stared at the ck beams of light streaking across the sky, parting the cloud-like energy that filled this universe¡¯s outer space. Each attack shattered the void.

    An endless horde of corpse kings continued to surge forward.

    Just as someone had predicted earlier, Qiu Zhan moved to the front and charged towards the frontlines in a brilliant sh of white.

    Countless native creatures of the Cloudflow Universe rushed into outer space, both strong and weak. Lu Yin even spotted an expert with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The creature¡¯s horns absorbed the cloud-like power of the universe before it unleashed various attacks.

    These creatures, which looked practically identical to humans, had alsoe from a cultivation civilization.

    Corpses rained down from outer space. Some belonged to the natives of the Cloudflow Universe, while others belonged to Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings. There were even human corpses from the Transcendent Universe¡¯s people.

    The Bestowal Carrier possessed a huge energy converter that was able to absorb the energy of any nearby creature and convert it into the carrier¡¯s own attack power. This energy converter was the target of the Aeternals¡¯ horde, who were all eager to destroy it.

    However, only the enormous Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king had managed to even get close to Aeternus¡¯s target. All of the other corpse kings had been eliminated before they could even approach the carrier.

    "Are you scared?" Luo Lao''er shouted, and many eyes looked over at him. He raised his chin as he continued to say, "I''ve seen more than one battle at this scale before."

    "Would it kill you to stop bragging?" Zuo Yu asked with her back to him.

    Luo Lao''er chuckled. "Sister Yu, I''ve seen such battles in my own universe. After all, one of my own brothers died on a simr battlefield."

    Zuo Yu finally turned to look at Luo Lao''er, astonishment covering her face.

    Mu Duo and many others gave Luo Lao''er odd looks. Was that really something to be proud of?

    Luo Lao''er raised his head and puffed out his chest. "For us of the Three Monarchs Universe, dying on the battlefield is an honor!"

    He then added on, "Of course, now that I''m part of the Transcendent Universe, I have nothing to do with the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Bullshit," Mu Duo retorted.

    Lu Yin had half a mind to snap back as well.

    Corpse kings swarmed the edges of the Bestowal Carrier. Nobody knew how many there were, but they did know that the battle would never end until all of the corpse kings were eliminated.

    Everyone onboard had assumed that this would be a war of attrition, but once a corpse king appeared on a tform and ughtered everyone on it, their expressions contorted into masks of horror.

    "It- it''sing!" someone shrieked.

    Luo Lao''er quickly covered that person''s mouth. "Don''t talk! Do you want to die?"

    Mu Duo''s face nched. That corpse king had managed to force its way to the other human defenders. It had not seeded because it was more powerful than the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king, but rather because it had managed to avoid the ck beams of light while only using its physical strength to move about. Thus, its attacks had not been absorbed by the energy converter.

    The Bestowal Carrier could not destroy every single corpse king, and it was bound to miss a few. The corpse kings¡¯ goal was to ughter all of the people on the tforms, as they knew that they were powering the carrier¡¯s energy converters.

    As soon as the first corpse king broke through, a second followed.

    Powerhouses from the Cloudflow and Transcendent Universes attacked one after another, but the number of tforms that were destroyed and had their defenders ughtered continued to increase. Each destroyed tform reduced the capacity and range that the carrier could absorb energy into its energy converters.

    Lu Yin''s tform waspletely silent. No one dared to make any noise, lest they attract the attention of a corpse king. Even so, they ultimately could not escape detection.

    One youth stared nkly at a corpse king that was climbing up behind the tform. His pupils shrank, and he let out a scream. Lights flickered on as the lens that covered his right eye activated, pointing out a path of escape for him. This was the battlefield navigation system, and it was identical to the one that Zi Jing had developed for the Fifth Maind.

    However, the battlefield navigation system could not make up for the difference in strength between the corpse king and the youth. The corpse king swung a hand, easily smashing the boy''s head before he could use his energy converter. The monster then turned towards Mu Duo, who was the closest, and attacked. The green energy converter on Mu Duo''s chest lit up, and the light covered his arms and hands. It then swept forward, but the corpse king effortlessly evaded the attack. Mu Duo''s attack was as powerful as a peak Enlighter¡¯s, which meant that the corpse king must have the strength of an Envoy.

    The fact that Mu Duo was not scared stiff and had managed to fight back was quite impressive, even if it was ultimately meaningless.

    The corpse king took a step forward, its scarlet eyes reflecting the fear and despair that filled Mu Duo''s eyes. This was the first time that he had ever stared death in the face. Was he going to die here? He was a member of the Mu family, which might soon join the Ruling Council. He should not be dying in this ce.

    The corpse king''s palm fell, creating ripples in the void. This attack was meant to not only kill Mu Duo, but also destroy the tform.

    At this critical moment, another green light twined around Mu Duo like a whip and pulled him away.

    Zuo Yu had taken action.

    "Attack together, or else none of us will survive!" Zuo Yu shouted.

    Others joined her, most of them unleashing their yellow energy converters. However, the people in Zuo Yu''s group revealed green energy converters. A total of six attacks with the power of a peak Enlighter crashed into the corpse king. Even if the attacks were all exactly the same, the sheer number of attacks was rather surprising to Lu Yin.

    Was this the Transcendent Universe''s way of fighting? Even if energy converters gave each individual a powerparable to the raw strength of a cultivator, these people were far from able to fight against cultivators one-on-one.

    Ultimately, the Transcendent Universe relied on its Bestowal Art and energy converters.

    It did not matter how many Enlighters might be present; their efforts would be utterly futile against an Envoy, much less a corpse king. After all, corpse kings were stronger than cultivators.

    The corpse king''s strike did not manage to destroy the tform, but it simply ignored the various attacks striking it and instead set its sights on the girl who was keeping the tform activated.

    This girl had not removed her arm from the cube yet, even with all that was happening around her. More urately, she waspletely paralyzed by fear.

    When the corpse king''s scarlet eyes locked onto her, every trace of color drained from her face, and her body started to tremble uncontrobly.

    "Luo Lao''er, aren''t you from the Three Monarchs Universe? That¡¯s a cultivation civilization, so why don''t you do something?" Zuo Yu demanded through gritted teeth.

    Luo Lao''er appeared pained. "Cultivators¡¯ strength can vary greatly. I''m only a Servant, which is weaker than all of you guys."

    Right when the corpse king raised its hand again, Lu Yin took action. He used a movement technique to rapidly approach the corpse king, and then he struck the back of the monster¡¯s head with a palm. A surge of green energy erupted from his chest as he released an attackparable to a peak Enlighter¡¯s. Even an Envoy-level corpse king would suffer injuries from such an attack at that close a range.

    No one on the tform had expected Lu Yin to take action. He had moved so quickly that they had barely been able to follow them.

    They all believed Lu Yin''s attack to be sessful, but the corpse king was even faster, and it easily sidestepped the attack. The monster then instantly appeared behind Lu Yin, its arm raised high and already falling.

 Chapter 2499: That Man

    Chapter 2499: That Man

    Lu Yin did not move a muscle. At thest moment, a beam of ck light swept past his head, grazing his scalp. It continued forward, striking the corpse king''s head and instantly destroying it. The body slowly copsed to the floor of the tform.

    It was an attack from the carrier.

    Lu Yin looked up. He was fully aware that the Transcendent Universe would never allow him to be in any real danger, as how would they deal with Zi Jing then?

    However, Lu Yin also needed to stand out a bit so that the people of the Transcendent Universe would ept him.

    After the corpse king was killed by the beam of ck light, Lu Yin patted his chest and looked at the terrified young woman. "Let me handle it."

    Finally, the woman snapped out of her dazed state. She retracted her arm from the cube, her eyes bloodshot, and she moved to cower in a corner. She did not dare to let anyone see her tears. This experience had truly frightened her.

    At this point in time, no oneughed at Lu Yin. These noble heirs had never experienced such a horrifying situation before.

    The tform that Lu Yin was on was almost entirely upied by the heirs of various noble families. They must have only ever been sent to specific battlefields where the strongest enemies around were at the Envoy level. In those ces, they only had to worry about surviving, not facing corpse kings that could easily sweep them away.

    Lu Yin pressed his arm into the cube and wiped his forehead.

    Zuo Yu and the others stared at him as though he was a stranger. "Just who are you?"

    The speed and agility that Lu Yin had just disyed was extremely abnormal. None of the people present were capable of such dexterity.

    They were able to use their energy converters to release powerful attacks, but their physical abilities were greatly inferior to their energy converters. Lu Yin¡¯s movements were impossible for any of them to replicate, and it would even be impossible for them to ever learn it.

    "A cultivator!" Luo Lao''er blurted out.

    The others were surprised. "Cultivator?"

    "Yes! He must be a cultivator."

    "From which civilization?" someone asked.

    "Xuan? I''ve never heard of that surname before," someone elsemented.

    Mu Duo stepped forward and stared at Lu Yin. "Who are you?"

    Even an idiot would understand at this point in time that Lu Yin should not have been bullied by the muscr youth''s group. The fact that Lu Yin had not acted as a bully towards others was already a blessing.

    There was a loud bang as a nearby tform shattered. Shrapnel flew away in all directions.

    "Let¡¯s talk about this after the battle¡¯s over," Lu Yin answered firmly.

    Mu Duo gave him a long look. "You better give me an exnation."

    After giving the warning, Mu Duo walked away.

    The others all stared at Lu Yin, but their attention was quickly drawn back to the ongoing battle. They were all terrified that another powerful corpse king would appear.

    Fortunately, after several more days, the battle ended. No more corpse kings reached their tform. The closest one had been destroyed by the Bestowal Carrier. It appeared that their tform had somehow been protected.

    The space around the carrier was filled with drifting corpses, and the once-dark sky had been dyed red. The Bestowal Carrier resumed moving forward, still moving towards the south.

    Each of the damaged or broken tforms were repaired, and the casualties were tallied.

    The vast majority of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s losses in external wars were purely material, but they still suffered many casualties after thatst battle.

    A crowd of peoplepletely surrounded Lu Yin. Everyone was staring at him intently.

    "Brother,e on, tell us your background," someone asked.

    Mu Duo demanded, "Speak."

    Zuo Yu held a long whip in her hand as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Some distance away, the muscr youth''s group craned their necks to look over.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Let me introduce myself. I am Xuan Qi. I arrived in the Transcendent Universe less than a month ago with Zi Jing."

    Jaws dropped, and Luo Lao''er''s fell especially low. His mouth opened so wide that an energy converter could fit inside. "You- are you Zi Jing¡¯s man?"

    Lu Yin gave him a meaningful smile. "That¡¯s me."

    Luo Lao''er blinked.

    Many people found this rather strange. Before being sent to the Cloudflow Universe, they had discussed this particr matter quite thoroughly, and everyone had imed that they would find Zi Jing¡¯s man and then steal her from him. Unexpectedly, the man had been right beside them the whole time.

    Zuo Yu blinked several times. "Why didn''t you say so earlier?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I didn¡¯t know any of you. Also, I was captured and sent here. As far as the Transcendent Universe is concerned, I''m basically half an enemy."

    Mu Duo gritted his teeth. "You''ve been ying me this whole time."

    Lu Yin seriously answered, "Of course not. Since I¡¯mpletely unfamiliar with the Transcendent Universe, I was hesitant to provoke anyone, so I was truly being bullied, and you did save me. Those two ps felt great. Thanks a lot."

    Zuo Yu¡¯s eyes narrowed. Seeing Lu Yin''s smile gave her the feeling that this guy was not nearly as innocent as he appeared to be on the surface.

    "That¡¯s the only reason?" Mu Duo did not believe Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Who likes being bullied?"

    Mu Duo thought about it for a moment. This did sound quite believable.

    "How strong are you?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    This was the question that everyone wanted to hear the answer to. All of them wanted to know more about cultivation civilizations.

    There were an untold number of civilizations that had risen from the various universes. There were the cultivation technologies of the Transcendent Universe, more rudimentary technological civilizations, cultivation civilizations, and even mythological civilizations. The Sixverse Association had more than one or two civilizations among its members, and it was impossible to learn about all of them through studying. Luo Lao''er had been allowed to join his current group of friends precisely because he hade from a cultivation civilization which many people were curious about. At this moment, the same thing was happening to Lu Yin.

    No one reacted negatively to learning that Lu Yin had been hiding his identity. No one would reveal themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. On top of that, Lu Yin had just saved them.

    Qiu Zhan had ordered the tforms to remain active at all times. If not for Lu Yin saving the girl who had been charging the energy converter and stalling the corpse king, their tform would have been deactivated, which would have been a vition of their military orders.

    This alone was enough to cause the people on his tform to ept Lu Yin.

    "Brother, you''re too cautious. The Transcendent Universe is very open-minded towards foreign civilizations. Even monsters like Aeternus would be warmly embraced if they surrendered." Luo Lao''er patted Lu Yin on the shoulder.

    Mu Duo snorted and walked away. He was still unhappy about being deceived. He clearly knew now that he was no match for Lu Yin in a fight, which made him feel rather ufortable.

    Zuo Yu bombarded Lu Yin with questions about his civilization.

    Given the power that Lu Yin had revealed, there were certain things he should not be aware of. He presented himself as an Enlighter, so he should not know anything about the Origin Universe. For this reason, Lu Yin only provided Zuo Yu with answers that included information that was readily essible in his own universe.

    But even that basic information excited Zuo Yu. From Lu Yin, she learned about the Top 100 Rankings, the Ten Arbiters, ZENITH, and all kinds of incredibly exciting battles that could only exist in a cultivation civilization. This sort of excitement was something that their Transcendent Universecked.

    Humans everywhere loved the thrill ofbat. Qiu Zhan always charged into the front lines of a battle on his own because of his insatiable thirst for battle.

    As Lu Yin spoke, Mu Duo¡¯s ears perked up in the distance. The more he listened, the tighter his fists clenched. He also wanted topete for a ce on the Top 100 Rankings. He wanted to be regarded as a genius of the younger generation like one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Luo Lao''er eximed, "Brother, your universe sounds incredible! What¡¯s it called?"

    All eyes were glued to Lu Yin.

    "No idea."

    Just as Luo Lao''er was about to say something else, someone descended andnded on their tform with enough force that it trembled.

    Everyone instinctively pulled back, only to rx once they saw that it was Qiu Zhan.

    "How many died?" Qiu Zhan''s gaze swept over the crowd before finally stopping on Luo Lao''er.

    Luo Lao''er''s smile faded as he muttered, "One."

    Qiu Zhan looked at the corpse of the boy whose head had been smashed apart by the corpse king and thenughed. "Just one? Not bad! How was the experience? Exhrating, no? Hahaha!"

    The crowd fell silent as they were reminded of how close they hade to death. They wanted to hear more of Lu Yin''s story partly to distract themselves from their fear.

    Qiu Zhan then addressed Zuo Yu, "You did well, taking the initiative to save someone."

    Zuo Yu''s face was still pale. "It''s what I should have done."

    Qiu Zhan looked at Lu Yin. "I heard everything that you said."

    The older man then turned to face the crowd. "Just because you don''t know about something doesn''t mean that it doesn''t exist. All it means is that you aren''t at a high enough level to know about it. Once you reach a higher level and meet more people, you''ll understand that what he told you isn''t anything special.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me carefully: this tform must remain active. This is a military order that won''t change. This task is assigned to every single one of you. Even if you have to die, you mustplete it. Understood?"

    "Understood," the crowd replied.

    Qiu Zhan sneered. "What a bunch of weaklings! Say it again! Do you understand?"

    "Understood!" The crowd shouted.

    Qiu Zhan left, and the Bestowal Carrier resumed its journey south. Various metal tools were delivered and loaded onto the carrier as they moved along.

    ¡­

    After Lu Yin revealed himself as a cultivator, Mu Duo had stopped asking Lu Yin to take his ce charging the tform. Instead, Mu Duo actively took his own turn.

    Zuo Yu seemed almost fixated on Lu Yin, and she asked him an endless stream of questions about his civilization and universe. She was even eager to spar with him.

    After Lu Yin finally managed to get rid of Zuo Yu, Luo Lao''er approached him. "Brother, what sort of cultivation technology is Zi Jing working on? Can you tell me?"

    Lu Yin remained calmly sitting on the floor as he replied, "I don''t know."

    Luo Lao''er retorted, "How can you not know? You''re her man!"

    Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao''er with a serious expression and said, "Tell me about your Three Monarchs Universe. I''m curious about it."

    Luo Lao''er pursed his lips. "There''s not much to tell."

    "I''m curious," Lu Yin repeated.

    "Then why don¡¯t we do an exchange? I''ll ask you a question, and then you''ll ask me a question," Luo Laer suggested.

    "Sure. I''ll go first."

    Luo Lao''er did not mind. "Ask away."

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment before asking, "Compared to the Transcendent Universe, which is stronger, yours or theirs?"

    Rolling his eyes, Luo Lao''er replied, "Let me put it this way. I was sent here by the Three Monarchs Realm to be a hostage for the Transcendent Universe. The Transcendent Universe hasn¡¯t sent any hostages to the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin understood.

    "My turn. What¡¯s the cultivation technology that Zi Jing¡¯s researching that¡¯s making the Transcendent Universe put out so much effort? I''m guessing that the carrierunched that attack in thest battle to protect you. None of Qiu Zhan¡¯s troops ever get that sort of treatment. Even members of the Ruling Council don''t receive that kind of protection," Luo Lao''er pressed.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I don''t know."

    Luo Lao''er was stunned. "Brother, that''s not fair! I didn''t hide anything from you."

    Lu Yin truthfully answered. "I really don''t know what she¡¯s researching. Well, to be precise, I don''t understand it."

    Luo Lao''er felt his teeth ache. "Just tell me everything that she told you."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Qiu Zhan heard ourst conversation, which means that this tform is being monitored. Your question is something that could easily get us into trouble."

    Luo Lao''er''s cheek twitched. He had gotten too excited. If a hostage was discovered asking about an important cultivation technology that the Transcendent Universe was researching, it could turn into a major issue.

    He burst intoughter and patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "I''m just kidding! Why are you so nervous? There''s nothing that I can do to hurt you, Brother. Hahaha, don''t be making any wild assumptions. I''m just curious."

    Lu Yin said, "I really don''t know. I''ll ask Zi Jing the next time I see her."

    "That¡¯s not necessary. I''ll ask a different question."

    "It''s my turn now."

    "But you didn''t answer!"

    "I did. I told you that I don''t know."

    "How does that count?"

    "Then forget it."

    "It doesn''t count!"

    "Does it count or not?"

    Luo Lao''er gritted his teeth. "It counts¡­"

 Chapter 2500: Brother-in-Law

    Chapter 2500: Brother-in-Law

    Lu Yin asked another question, "What¡¯s the rtionship between the three Monarchs?"

    Luo Lao''er grew puzzled. "Husband and wives. Everyone knows that."

    "I mean their tempers and personalities," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Lao''er grew even more puzzled, "Why¡¯re you curious about that? Your universe isn''t connected to the Three Monarchs Universe, is it? If it is, you guys are doomed."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, but he otherwise remained calm. "What do you mean?"

    "Are they really connected?" Luo Lao''er¡¯s eyes lit up with schadenfreude, unable to hide his satisfaction at discovering Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune. "Wait, it''s my turn to ask. What''s your rtionship with Zi Jing?"

    Lu Yin replied matter-of-factly, "Friends."

    Luo Lao''er felt confused. "You¡¯re not husband and wife?"

    "Not yet." Lu Yin and Zi Jing were indeed friends and not yet husband and wife, though it was highly unlikely that would ever happen.

    Luo Lao''er leaned closer. "If I were to pursue Zi Jing, would you be okay with it?"

    Lu Yin gave the young man a strange look. "That sounds like you''re asking for a beating."

    Luo Lao''er looked offended. "Brother, try to understand me. As a hostage, it¡¯s my natural instinct to try to protect myself!"

    "I can ask Zi Jing to ept you as her younger brother," Lu Yin offered.

    Luo Lao''er whooped with delight. "Alright then, haha. It''s settled, Brother-inw!"

    Zuo Yu happed to pass by, and when she overheard Luo Lao''er refer to Lu Yin as "brother-inw," she immediately moved closer. "What brother-inw? Luo Lao''er, is he your brother-inw? Isn''t he Zi Jing''s man?"

    Luo Lao''er loudly announced, "I''m Zi Jing''s younger brother."

    "Nonsense." Mu Duo was also listening in. "You''re a pathetic soul who was abandoned by the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "You''re the pathetic soul! Your whole family are pathetic souls! I''m Zi Jing''s little brother, and this is my brother-inw," Luo Lao''er shamelessly dered.

    Lu Yin felt his cheeks burn, and he muttered, "Bad luck for the whole family."

    Luo Lao¡¯er grinned cheekily. "Brother-inw, don¡¯t be ridiculous. I¡¯m your pride and joy."

    Zuo Yu stared at Lu Yin. "When did Zi Jing recognize him as her little brother?"

    Luo Lao''erughed. "I acknowledged him as my brother-inw first. What''s wrong with that?"

    "Luo Lao''er, you''re asking for a beating." Zuo Yu pulled out her whip.

    After breaking the two apart, Lu Yin returned to asking more questions, "What did you mean when you said that any universe is doomed if it¡¯s connected to the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Brother-inw, now that you are my brother-inw, I won''t hide anything from you. My old man is a selfish, controlling,pletely despicable bastard. Do you know what he enjoys collecting the most?"

    Lu Yin gave a nk stare. Luo Lao''er continued in apletely serious tone. "Aeternus''s coordinate seals."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "What coordinate seals?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Brother-inw, you need to expand your knowledge. Read more books whenever you have the chance.¡±

    "If you tear through the void, it¡¯s possible to travel between parallel universes. It¡¯s always possible to return to the universe of your birth, but if you want to go to another universe, you need to have the spatial coordinates. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be relying on nothing but luck. My old man likes to steal coordinate seals from Aeternus and connect to various parallel universes. Whenever he finds one that he fancies, he simply uses the coordinate seal to visit it. You should already understand his motive, as it¡¯s quite straightforward.¡±

    "He calls himself a Monarch, and the cultivation realms are divided into Servant, Attendant, and others. What do you think he does to the various universes after gaining control of them?

    "The Cloudflow Universe is a universe that¡¯s controlled by the Transcendent Universe. They have the coordinates to this ce, and just look at how miserable the natives of this Cloudflow Universe are. They¡¯re sent to their deaths while the Transcendent Universe reaps all the benefits.

    "This isn¡¯t anything that I¡¯m afraid of Commander Qiu Zhan or anyone else overhearing, as none of them care."

    ¡­

    Whether it was because Luo Lao''er actually recognized Lu Yin as a brother-inw, or for some other reason, Luo Lao''er shared many details with Lu Yin. He spoke of how the Three Monarchs Universe was in aplete mess and how it had nearly became a second Aeternus, while also cursing his father.

    "But he''s your father," Lu Yin reminded.

    Luo Lao''er scoffed, "He''s no father! He doesn''t care about us at all. All he cares about is the son that he had with Monarch Mu. Do you know how many children he''s had so far? 125. I''m the second eldest, but many years ago, I was sent to the Transcendent Universe as a hostage. Even then, I¡¯m one of the lucky ones. Other than his son with Monarch Mu, most of the others have all died. Do you remember when I told you that my older brother died on the battlefield? He was forced there by Monarch Luo. In that bastard¡¯s eyes, all of us are nothing but tools."

    "Do the people of the Three Monarchs Universe understand Monarch Luo''s personality?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Anyone who reaches a certain level does."

    Lu Yin nodded. This exined why Gu Yue had sealed the passage connecting the two universes. If Monarch Luo¡¯s personality truly matched what Luo Lao''er was describing, then giving the man ess to the Fifth Maind would be a terrible idea.

    When Gu Yue had sealed the passage, the Fifth Maind¡¯s strongest cultivators had only been Semi-Progenitors, the strongest of whom had been Arch-Elder Zen. All of them would have beenpletely helpless against Monarch Luo. Even if they had opened up a path to the Perennial World, the four ruling powers would not have known what to do with the parallel universe, considering how Monarch Luo and his two wives were strong enough to hold back one of the Seven Skygods.

    "Brother-inw, is your universe really connected to the Three Monarchs Universe?" Luo Lao''er asked again.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No."

    "Then why ask so many questions about it?"

    "Curiosity."

    "That¡¯s it? I shouldn''t have wasted my breath¡­ By the way, when can I meet my sister?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the stars as he said, "Let''s worry about that after we get back alive."

    "Hehe, you¡¯ll definitely get back alive. My sister¡¯s too important. As for me, I should make it too, since I¡¯m a hostage. The others might not be so lucky," Luo Lao''er gloated.

    Mu Duo shouted angrily, "Luo Lao''er, how dare you curse us! You''re asking for a beating."

    Luo Lao''er eximed, "Mu Duo, don''t be ridiculous! I did no such thing! If you don''t believe me, just ask my sister."

    Lu Yin instantly understood that Luo Lao''er truly did deserve a beating.

    It appeared that Aeternus had suffered aplete defeat in the Cloudflow Universe. More than half a month passed without them seeing any sign of Aeternus.

    During this time, Luo Lao''er made it a habit to call Lu Yin "Brother-inw." He acted very affectionately, but whenever Lu Yin asked more questions about the Three Monarchs Universe, Luo Lao''er would respond by trying to pry information out of Lu Yin. Luo Lao''er refused to lose to Lu Yin, even when it came to trivial matters.

    "Brother-inw, something doesn''t feel right," Luo Lao''er whispered to Lu Yin.

    By this time, Lu Yin had already be used to the young man¡¯s constant antics. Whenever he tried to get close, he would always begin with the same words. "What''s wrong this time?"

    "It''s too quiet," Luo Lao''er said solemnly.

    Lu Yin frowned. He actually felt the same way. Given his own understanding of Aeternus, the only time they would allow humanity to experience such a lull would be after one of their cosmic doors was discovered and Aeternus¡¯s ess to a universe was destroyed.

    "I¡¯ve looked through the war records regarding this Cloudflow Universe," Luo Lao''er sat beside Lu Yin as he spoke in a hushed tone, "Whenever the Transcendent Universe sends more reinforcements, the frequency and scale of Aeternus''s attacks increase proportionately. However, despite the fact that several of their monsters that are just as strong as Qiu Zhan have been killed, Aeternus has yet to make any moves. Something isn¡¯t right.¡±

    "I¡¯m guessing that the next corpse king to show up will be far more powerful than anything we¡¯ve seen so far," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin''s heart stirred. "You mean a corpse king that can rival a ck energy converter?"

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "If I use the levels of my Three Monarchs Universe, then the next corpse king will be a Monarch, which means that it¡¯ll be powerful enough to stand up to my old man."

    "Have corpse kings at that level appeared in this Cloudflow Universe before?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "Not ording to the records that I could find. Also, Qiu Zhan has a white energy converter, which means that if one of those monsters really does show up, the Ruling Council won¡¯t be able to keep him from gaining ess to a ck energy converter just because of his previous offenses."

    "It¡¯s possible that the general already has a ck energy converter and that you just don''t know about it," Lu Yinmented.

    Luo Lao''er considered the possibility. "That could be true. Some of the old fogeys on the Ruling Council are quite cunning. They must have deliberately sent a general here who wasn''t on good terms with them in order to trick Aeternus into believing that Qiu Zhan doesn''t have a ck energy converter. Then, once Aeternus sends a Monarch-level corpse king over, it will be beaten silly."

    Lu Yin exhaled. "You should pray that such a corpse king doesn''t appear. Both you and I are from cultivation civilizations. You should know that relying on an energy converter isn¡¯t enough for someone topete against a cultivator withparable strength in a one-on-one battle."

    Luo Lao''er nced around and dropped his voice, "Brother-inw, look, it''s been a while. Why don''t we try to contact my sister and ask her to get us out of here?"

    Lu Yin nced over. This was Luo Lao''er¡¯s true intentions; he wanted to get closer to Zi Jing so that he could leave the battlefield.

    "You seem to be particrly wary of this Cloudflow Universe." Lu Yin grew curious.

    Luo Lao''er smiled. "I''m wary of every battlefield. If there¡¯s no need for me to be on one, I won''t."

    "Since you¡¯re a hostage, it doesn¡¯t seem very likely for you to be sent to a battlefield, so why are you here?" Lu Yin had been curious about this for quite some time. Who would send a hostage onto the battlefield? As soon as the hostage died, the tension between the two universes would only be exacerbated.

    Luo Lao''er''s eyes flickered, and he gave a wry smile. "I wasn¡¯t originally going to be sent to this battlefield. Also, you''re here as well, Brother-inw. That should mean that this is a rtively safe battlefield."

    Lu Yin stood up. "It''s my turn."

    It was time for him to charge the cube.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin withdrew his hand, and it was time for Mu Duo to rece him.

    Following the path next to the tform, Lu Yin moved into the depths of the carrier. He had already followed this path several times when recharging his energy converter.

    Their tform was quite a long ways away from the site where they recharged their energy converters. As Lu Yin moved along, he saw many other people either heading to recharge their own energy converter, or returning from doing so.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin froze. He slowly turned his head to stare at the metal wall next to him.

    These walls were made from some sort of golden metal and there were streams of various colors of light flowing within them. He focused on a specific stream of light that had an odd color. "What a unique innate gift."

    As soon as he spoke, the stream of light shot out from the golden wall, aiming straight for his head.

    With a casual movement, Lu Yin evaded the sudden attack. The stream of light shifted directions and formed a de that shed down.

    The green lens over his right eye flickered with numbers as Lu Yin dodged again and again. He removed the lens and then saw a blurry figure standing in front of him.

    This person had been hidden within a stream of light, which reminded Lu Yin of the inhabitants of the Light World. Lightson''s innate gift was light itself, which made him visible, yet also intangible while blinding his opponents.

    Lu Yin had traded blows with Lightson in the past, but that had been a long time ago. After bing the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen, the Light World had sent Lu Yin a grain of fatesand that had once belonged to Lightson.

 Chapter 2501: Blue

    Chapter 2501: Blue

    The person¡¯s figure that was hidden within the light was in a state of constant flux as she tried tond an attack on Lu Yin. Unfortunately, all such attempts were futile. She was unable to touch even the hem of Lu Yin''s clothes.

    Lu Yin finally retaliated, and he grabbed a hold of the person after instantly appearing at an intersection of the walls. It was a dead end, and Lu Yin was blocking the only exit. People who passed by the connecting corridor werepletely oblivious as to what was happening in the dead end, as Lu Yin was blocking their view.

    The details of the figure sharpened, and Lu Yin saw a girl who wore abat suit from the Transcendent Universe. She stared at Lu Yin with abination of fear and nervousness. He had noticed her and had dragged her to this dead end after seeing the horns on her head. This girl was one of the natives of the Cloudflow Universe.

    "Let me go," she growled.

    Lu Yin released her. "Don''t bother attacking me again. You can''t afford the consequences."

    The girl took a few steps back until she was right next to the wall and unable to move any further back. She then just stared at Lu Yin without saying anything.

    "You''re from the Cloudflow Universe?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    The girl continued to stare at Lu Yin. "You''re not from the Transcendent Universe."

    "How can you tell?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "If you were from the Transcendent Universe, I would have been captured by now."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''m just curious. As someone from the Cloudflow Universe, why are you hiding in a wall? Aren''t you fighting in this battle?"

    "Which universe are you from?" the girl demanded.

    Lu Yin''s gaze sharpened, and a crushing pressure fell. It felt as though the sky had fallen, and the nearby void waspletely shattered.

    At that moment, the girl felt as if a god had descended. The terrifying pressure sent her plummeting into the pits of despair. Her mind wentpletely nk as her body slowly crumpled. She had absolutely no control.

    However, the pressurested for only a moment.

    As soon as Lu Yin withdrew his aura, the girl twisted her body and regained her bnce right when she was about to fall to the floor. She looked over at Lu Yin with unmistakable fear in her eyes.

    "You- you..." The girl could not say a thing. She had never before experienced such a powerful force, and she struggled to believe what she had just felt.

    Lu Yin looked at the girl with open interest and asked, "Do you still have questions?"

    She dropped her head. "No, I dare not."

    Ever since Lu Yin had arrived in the new universe, his curiosity had been piqued by the ce. The odd power that flowed through outer space had captured his attention. The cultivators of the Cloudflow Universe were not weak, as they had proven during the previous battles. There were powerful cultivators with the strength of Semi-Progenitors. This universe had a true cultivation civilization.

    Even so, the civilization had beenpletely conquered by the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin wanted to learn as much as he could about the Transcendent Universe through the Cloudflow Universe¡¯s civilization.

    The Cloudflow Universe should not be a weak ce, considering it had managed to produce the equivalent of Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin had be curious about the ce and whether the universe might be home to any Progenitors.

    At this same time, in the Transcendent Universe. There were flowers in full bloom along a certain staircase. A melodious voice rang out, "How is your research proceeding?"

    Two boys and a single girl were kneeling at the bottom of the stairs. All three had expressions of devotion on their faces. "We have had smooth progress, Madam. We will not disappoint you."

    "Mmm. Whether it¡¯s a cultivation civilization or mythological civilization, all civilizations contain valuable information. If we immerse ourselves only in our own civilization, then others will eventually surpass us. I hope that you will be able to bring an enthusiasm for cultivation to all of the people of the Transcendent Universe. Show the Ruling Council that our future lies in integrating various civilizations." The beautiful voice soundedpletely wless.

    All three people enthusiastically replied in unison, "Yes, Madam!"

    "Go to the Cloudflow Universe and put on a show of what all you have learned. If you can rouse Qiu Zhan''s interest, he will be a part of my vanguard."

    "We dedicate our lives to fulfilling Madam¡¯s wishes."

    In the Cloudflow Universe, Lu Yin stared at the girl in front of him, shock filling his eyes. If what she had said was true, then the damage the Transcendent Universe had brought to the Cloudflow Universe was truly immense.

    Once again, Lu Yin was reminded of Gu Yue''s actions. That man had truly been wise to try to prevent the Three Monarchs Universe from connecting to the Fifth Maind!

    The Fifth Maind could not afford to follow in the footsteps of the Cloudflow Universe.

    "For us, it might be eptable to be a corpse king. At least that would be better than having to endure the torture that the Transcendent Universe puts us through day after day. They don''t have any emotions, and they don¡¯t even see us as living creatures, but only as mere tools," the girl spat angrily.

    "Who is the strongest person in the Cloudflow Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    The girl replied, "Lord Cloudflow."

    "Lord Cloudflow? This universe was named after him?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    The woman nodded. "Before Lord Cloudflow appeared, very few people in this universe cultivated, and space itself was different. Lord Cloudflow transformed this universe and created the power that drifts around the stars that allows us to cultivate.

    "Our horns are a natural side-effect of cultivating Lord Cloudflow''s power. They make it easier for us to cultivate his power."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. This Lord Cloudflow had to be a Progenitor, given that he had the power to change the universe. There was no other way that he could have altered the entire universe and influenced the evolution of the natives.

    Suddenly, an rm red.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. "Aeternus is attacking!"

    He turned and left, leaving the girl standing where she was in a daze. Wait, she was free to go?

    Lu Yin had no worries of the girl exposing him. He was not from the Transcendent Universe, and had no concern for any of the grudges between the two universes.

    Countless scarlet eyes had appeared beyond the carrier yet again, and they rushed towards the carrier.

    Lu Yin hurried to recharge his energy converter, yet by the time he managed to return to the tform, it had already been more than a day since he had left.

    "Brother-inw, this wave is even more intense than thest one, so be careful," Luo Lao''er warned.

    Lu Yin looked out into space. Beams of ck light crisscrossed to form a grid that acted as a shield overhead. Countless corpse kings howled as they rushed at the humans, and some had already reached the tform where Lu Yin and the others stood.

    Many tforms had already been destroyed.

    After having experienced thest battle, the noble heirs who were with Lu Yin were no longerpletely paralyzed by fear.

    Countless cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe rushed out, sacrificing their lives in gruesome battles.

    Lu Yin watched the people of the Cloudflow Universe, and his expression changed. These people were not merely being forced to suffer as the losers of a conflict.

    The intense battlested for days.

    "Corpse kings!" someone shouted.

    Multiple beams of light swept the area. A corpse king charged towards the tform from the metal corridor. Zuo Yu''s group quickly worked together to attack, but this corpse king had the strength of an envoy. The people on the tform were not able to hold it back.

    Luo Lao''er wailed, "Why do we always have such rotten luck?"

    Zuo Yu gritted her teeth. An aura of death radiated from the corpse king as it approached them. The pressure was so potent and oppressive that every nearby human instinctively wanted to flee, yet none of them dared do so.

    There was a bang as the corpse king smashed into the tform. It lifted its head and the sight of its crimson eyes brought a blooming despair to the entire crowd.

    They had already survived a battle with a simr corpse king, which meant that they were fully aware that even if they all worked together, they would only be offering up their lives.

    Zuo Yu let out a long breath. She removed the green energy converter from her chest and reced it with a different one.

    The corpse king released a punch. Once on the carrier, none of the corpse kings would use any attacks that were anything other than pure physical attacks, as anything else would be absorbed by the carrier¡¯s energy converters. The corpse kings could only rely on their physical might.

    A blue light shed, and the corpse king froze and turned its head. A long whip shed through the void, instantly tearing the corpse king''s body into pieces.

    Pu!

    Zuo Yu spat out a mouthful of blood as she fell to her knees, clutching her chest. Her face was deathly pale.

    Lu Yin shot over to her side and helped her up.

    She had forced herself to use a blue energy converter, which had allowed her to wield a power level of 800,000 for an instant, but it had nearly destroyed her body.

    "I''m alright," Zuo Yu said hoarsely as she sat down and removed the blue energy converter. She took a moment to catch her breath.

    Luo Lao''er patted his chest. "That was close. Thank goodness you''re fine."

    Mu Duo was stunned. "You can use a blue energy converter?"

    Zuo Yu wiped the blood from her lips. "After using it, I need to rest for half a month.¡±

    "That''s still impressive," Mu Duo said enviously.

    Luo Lao''er suggested, "Why don''t you use it, Mu Duo? No need to leave it going to waste."

    Others chimed in, "Yeah, use it. We believe in you."

    "Good idea. Who knows when another corpse king might show up," the muscr youthmented.

    A scream pierced the air. It came from a nearby tform.

    Everyone looked over to see a corpse king standing on that tform, ughtering the people who remained and leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

    People stared in a daze. This was exactly what the muscr youth had just mentioned.

    Zuo Yu clenched her fists. She had already used her blue energy converter once, which meant that she no longer had anything left to give. Suddenly, she remembered something and tossed the energy converter over to Mu Duo. "Quick, use it!"

    Mu Duo caught the energy converter and then looked up just in time to see the corpse king turn to look at them and start charging in their direction.

    Mu Duo raced to remove his energy converter and rece it with the blue one he had just received. Blue light illuminated the area, and people watched in anticipation. However, instead of defeating the corpse king, Mu Duo coughed up blood and copsed. He was unable to make use of the energy converter.

    "Luo Lao''er, you use it," Mu Duo said weakly. Blook leaked from his mouth, and he was clearly in terrible shape.

    Luo Lao''er directed a conflicted expression towards Lu Yin. "Brother-inw..."

    Lu Yin took decisive action and snatched the blue energy converter from Mu Duo''s hand.

    At the same time, the corpse kingnded on their tform. No one noticed that someone else had also arrived from the opposite direction.

    Right as the corpse kingnded, a girl fell from above. She was one of the three youths who had been kneeling at the bottom of the staircase covered with flowers.

    Everyone''s attention was so focused on the corpse king that no one other than Lu Yin even noticed the girl.

    As for the girl herself, she directed a curious look at the blue energy converter in Lu Yin''s hand, surprised to see that anyone on this tform was capable of using such a thing.

    The corpse king attacked, its arm swinging down to attack the people in front of it. Anyone who was touched by the attack would be doomed.

    "Brother-inw, hurry!" Luo Lao''er shouted in panic.

    Lu Yin pretended to grit his teeth. "Then let''s go all out!"

    As he spoke, he removed the green energy converter from his chest.

    The girl sneered at Lu Yin''s recklessness and drew a sword from her waist. Blue light shone brightly, drawing the corpse king¡¯s attention to her.

    She shed the sword upwards at an angle from beneath the corpse king¡¯s falling hand. Blue power tore through the void as an attack headed towards the corpse king''s arm.

    The corpse king''s arm was severed in an instant. The girl''s sword moved with clean and precise movements, without any unnecessary moves. Even Lu Yin was impressed by her attack. Her skill wasparable to Li Zimo''s when he had first joined the Sword Sect.

    Her skill with the sword wasparable to an Enlighter, but the boost from her blue energy converter meant that her attack was equivalent to that of a four- or even a five-tribtion Envoy. With such skills, killing this corpse king was a breeze for the girl.

 Chapter 2502: Nie

    Chapter 2502: Nie

    The edge of the sword sliced into the corpse king''s body at three different locations, though none of the wounds were fatal.

    The monster lost its right arm, but it just strengthened its grip on the sword with its left hand in response. It looked up at the girl, and its eyes changed colors from grey to green, indicating that its physical strength had just increased tenfold.

    The girl was shocked. "Corpse King Transformation?"

    The sword shattered with a loud bang, and the corpse king thrust the broken de back at the girl. Blue energy formed a shield in front of her, and she used more energy to propel herself away from the corpse king.

    The Corpse King Transformation had increased the corpse king¡¯s strength to the point where it was able to withstand the girl''s sword, but it was still unable to endure the attacks that she released with her blue energy converter. These attacks were equal to a fourth or fifth-tribtion Envoy.

    As the corpse king was forced to retreat, the girl clenched the hilt of her broken sword. She took a step forward and vanished. The broken de stabbed into the corpse king from an odd angle, and while the corpse king reached out to grab the sword, it failed. Instantly, the de pierced through the monster¡¯s forehead.

    When the de was removed from the corpse king''s forehead, the girl finally reappeared. She rose up, lifted a hand, and tossed the corpse king off of the tform.

    By that point in time, there was no sign of life from the corpse king.

    Everyone on the tform was gaping at the girl in amazement.

    "Sister Hong?" Zuo Yu eximed.

    The girl turned to look at Zuo Yu and smiled. "Little Yu, we finally meet again."

    Zuo Yu was taken aback. "Sister Hong, didn''t you go missing?"

    The girl smiled and looked at the rest of the gathered crowd. "Is everyone alright?"

    Mu Duo coughed. "Sister Hong, I''m not alright."

    "Your injuries are minor. You only need to rest for half a month, like Zuo Yu," the girl retorted.

    Luo Lao''er called out, "Sister Hong, it''s me! Luo Lao''er! Do you still remember me?"

    The girl turned to face him. "Of course I remember you. You always have quite reliable information."

    "Hehe. Sister Hong, where have you been these past few years?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    The girl looked up. "Let''s catch upter. This battle isn¡¯t going to be an easy one."

    She then leaped off of the tform, blue energy shrouding her body. She made her way towards a distant tform where another corpse king had appeared.

    Lu Yin watched as the girl left, impressed by her final sword attack. It had been truly powerful, as it had unleashed the full potential of an Envoy''s power; the technique had even rivaled the Sword Sect¡¯s battle techniques. Did the Transcendent Universe really have sword techniques that were this sophisticated?

    "Isn''t that Shi Hong, the genius?" someone whispered.

    "Yes. I met her once. They say that she was able to use a yellow energy converter by the age of ten and a green one by thirteen, which is impressive. Her family is also a part of the Ruling Council. She must be blessed by the heavens."

    "Didn''t she go missing? I never expected her to suddenly appear out of nowhere, let alone use a cultivator''s battle technique," someone elsemented.

    Thement about a cultivator¡¯s battle technique caused many people to look over at Lu Yin, as none of them knew much of anything about such things.

    The people of the Transcendent Universe focused almost entirely on their Bestowal Art and energy converters.

    "Brother-inw, did you see Sister Hong''s battle technique? Wasn¡¯t it amazing?" Luo Lao''er asked excitedly.

    Everyone else present, including even Zuo Yu and Mu Duo, was staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "We can talk about that after this battle. Keep an eye out around us. We can¡¯t let any corpse kings catch us off guard."

    By not saying anything, everyone got the impression that Lu Yin was too embarrassed to say anything. It might be possible that Shi Hong''s battle technique far surpassed his own, or maybe he was unable to evenprehend how impressive her attack had been.

    Blue light continued to sh across the various tforms. In addition to Shi Hong, there were also two young men using battle techniques to eliminate corpse kings. Their performances stunned the crowd of onlookers.

    The number of corpse kings steadily decreased, and after a few more days, Shi Hong returned to the tform with Lu Yin and the others. No more corpse kings were approaching the carrier anymore.

    "Sister Hong, that was amazing!" Zuo Yu praised.

    Shi Hong smiled. "You''re not bad yourself. I saw you kill a corpse king with a blue energy converter."

    Zuo Yu blushed. "I still can¡¯te even close toparing to you, Sister Hong. I was only able to use it to kill a single normal corpse king with a sneak attack, and even then, I need to rest for half a month afterwards."

    Shi Hong smiled. "Don''t worry, you''ll soon be like me."

    "What do you mean?" Zuo Yu did not understand.

    Shi Hong looked back, and when she saw that Luo Lao''er was tantly eavesdropping on their conversation, she snapped at him, "If you want to listen, then get over here and stop sneaking around!"

    Luo Lao''erughed awkwardly. "Sister Hong, I didn¡¯t want to disturb you two."

    Shi Hong said, "You''ll learn about this soon enough, but some changes will be taking ce soon. We''re paving the way for you."

    A boy approached the tform. "Sister Hong, we¡¯ve dealt with the rest of them."

    Shi Hong nodded. "Get ready. After this battle is over, we''ll meet with Commander Qiu Zhan. He should be satisfied with what we''ve aplished here."

    "Of course! We''ve eliminated at least ten corpse kings," the boy answered proudly.

    Lu Yin silently listened. It was quite evident that Shi Hong and the boys had used cultivators¡¯ battle techniques, and they also possessed physical strength that wasparable to Enlighters, which was no easy feat. Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity was growing stronger and stronger.

    Just when everyone believed that the battle was about to end, a powerful force shook the nearby stars, and the Bestowal Carrier came to a sudden stop. Even the energy converters suddenly dimmed.

    Everyone looked around, as they could sense an incredible and terrifying power off in the distance.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This was a Progenitor-level corpse king!

    On the carrier, Qiu Zhan''s pupils shrank as the numbers on the green lens in his right eye continued to flicker. His eyes went wide. "We''re in trouble."

    To the people of the Transcendent Universe, cultivators with certain levels of strength were nothing more than legends. The power to alter the universe was something beyond theirprehension.

    And yet, that was the power of a Progenitor, even if such powerhouses were known by various names in different cultivation civilizations. The only constant was that reaching such a level was the ultimate goal of all people.

    The floor of the tform crumbled from the horrifying pressure that had fallen upon the area. Bits of debris broke apart and flew off into space. The massive carrier was copsing.

    "Activate all tforms now! Again: activate all tforms!" Qiu Zhan roared. The next moment, a figure suddenly appeared next to the carrier, close enough to touch it with an outstretched hand.

    Everyone stared in shock. It was nearly impossible to travel through the void within the radius of an energy converter, as any energy used would be absorbed and refined. This was precisely why Aeternus had failed to approach the Bestowal Carrier thus far.

    However, this figure had managed to appear without any warning.

    Qiu Zhan licked his lips and rolled his shoulders. "It looks like I¡¯ll need to put in a bit of effort."

    The figure¡¯s head hung low, and it was wearing ragged clothes. Slowly, a hand rose up.

    Qiu Zhan''s eyes shed. "Attack!"

    The carrier fired a ck beam of light. Everyone was able to remember seeing the nigh infinite beam that was seemingly capable of ignoring space that had fired before. Several powerful corpse kings had already been killed by these ck beams.

    However, countless eyes widened in shock as the ck beam of light that should have fired out of sight was intercepted and severed when it reached the figure''s waist.

    The right hand slowly reached out towards the Bestowal Carrier while the left hand blocked the ck beam. The figure looked like a towering mountain, an insurmountable obstacle.

    As the right hand pressed forward, there was a loud bang. Cracks spread out from the point of impact, and the nearest tform instantly shattered. The people atop it scrambled to escape, but they were reduced to blood and flesh in less than a moment.

    The figure lifted its head, revealing scarlet eyes that flitted to the front. "My name is Nie."

    As soon as the corpse king¡¯s voice rang out, the void in the area started warping. Everything that came into contact with the twisted void was dissolved into nothingness.

    On the carrier, various energy converters emitted a deafening noise as the beam of ck light tightened and narrowed. It shrank to a diameter of just ten meters, fully epassing the figure. Only then was the carrier barely able to resist the Progenitor-level power that was attacking it.

    For the moment, a stalemate had been reached.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide in disbelief. This carrier was actually able to contend with a Progenitor-level powerhouse. Cultivation technologies werepletely different from both cultivation and technology. It was essentially abination of the two and was technology that provided cultivation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. This was something that he wanted.

    The energy converters shrank their effective range and focused on the corpse king, though this meant that they were no longer absorbing any energy from any of the other corpse kings.

    A sea of scarlet eyes appeared, and countless corpse kings raced towards the carrier from all directions. The people of the Transcendent Universe suddenly found themselves thrown headfirst into battle.

    Luo Lao''er''s legs lost strength. "Monsters¡­ Monsters areing¡­"

    Zuo Yu''s face had gone pale. Neither she nor Mu Duo were able to fight at all. They needed at least half a month to recuperate. She stared out at the endless horde of corpse kings, unable to understand how things had deteriorated so far.

    Given her background and her family''s status, she should have never ended up in such desperate straits.

    Mu Duo was feeling exactly the same at this moment.

    The tform with Lu Yin was full of noble heirs, but regardless of their statuses, they were also trapped and wallowing in despair at the moment.

    Faced with an endless tide of corpse kings, their survival was uncertain.

    "Sister Hong!" Luo Lao''er hurriedly called out. "Sister Hong, you have to protect us!"

    People retreated further and further, until their backs were pressed against the metal wall of the carrier. They stared outwards as the scarlet eyes drew close. The entire group was praying for Shi Hong''s protection. Only a blue energy converter could provide them with any sense of safety.

    Shi Hong''s expression was grave. She had not expected a Progenitor-level corpse king to appear. This had forced absolutely everyone on the battlefield to fight against the Aeternal monsters. Even she had no confidence in surviving this battle. There was no way to even estimate how many corpse kings would be in this next wave.

    "You two, don''t leave. We¡¯ll work together," Shi Hong whispered.

    The two young men beside her nodded. The only chance that they had for survival was if all three of them worked together. They were not natives of this universe, nor were they part of the military sent to protect the carrier. They had only been sent there to gain a bit of practical experience. Even if they escaped, no one would say anything, but that had to be their veryst resort.

    "Kill!" amand echoed through the region.

    Countless cultivators charged out from the carrier towards the sea of corpse kings. Then, following the natives of Cloudflow Universe, the people of the Transcendent Universe surged out into outer space, each fighting to theirst breath.

    Battle raged like an unstoppable tsunami, and everything was instantly inundated.

    Corpse kings surged onto the carrier, and they stormed into the corridors. This was the first time since Lu Yin had arrived in the Cloudflow Universe that Aeternus had put serious effort into an attack. He was already ustomed to fighting in the war against Aeternus, but the people with him from the Transcendent Universe clearly were not. They had no experience in fighting against the Aeternals in closebat.

    This led to a one-sided massacre once the fighting broke out. More and more people from the Transcendent Universe fell, and blood ran through the carrier and into outer space as multiple tforms were destroyed. A cacophony of cries for help and desperate screams blended together into a symphony of horror.

 Chapter 2503: Voidforce

    Chapter 2503: Voidforce

    Lu Yin grabbed a corpse king''s shoulder. A green light shed out from his palm, and half of the corpse king¡¯s body was crushed. He watched the corpse king fall and then looked around to see blue light constantly shing around the tform. It all came from Shi Hong and the two boys who were guarding the tform on three different sides, creating an imprable defense.

    However, their strength only drew even more corpse kings to the tform.

    Corpse kings fell one after another, only for more to rush in before the humans could catch their breaths at all.

    The adjacent tforms had all gone silent. All that remained on any of them was fresh gore.

    "Sister Hong, we can''t keep this up. We¡¯re only going to keep attracting more monsters. As soon as some with power levels of over a million start showing up, we won''t be able to hold them off any longer," one of the boys warned.

    Shi Hong''s face was grim. "We''ll rotate. You keep using a blue energy converter while we switch to green. When you run out, we''ll each take a turn using a blue energy converter."

    "Got it."

    With only a single person using a blue energy converter, the number of corpse kings drawn to their tform decreased noticeably.

    Lu Yin and the others on the tform had not beenzing around either. They had been working hard to make sure that there were no gaps in the tform¡¯s defenses while the corpse kings swarmed them. Fortunately, no Envoy-level corpse kings had appeared yet.

    In the past, only Envoy-level corpse kings had sessfully broken past the carrier''s energy converters and weapons, but right now, corpse kings of all levels of strength were attacking them. Most of them were not particrly strong, and the corpses started to pile up.

    "Brother-inw, slow down. Use your energy more sparingly, or else we''ll run out," Luo Lao''er cautioned Lu Yin. At some point in time, Luo Lao''er had equipped a piece of armor that was only about the size of a palm onto his chest. It shone colorfully.

    "Is that an armor that uses the power of your Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin asked as he nced at it.

    Luo Lao''er was surprised. "You can tell? You really are a cultivator. Others can''t see it."

    Lu Yin looked at the battle armor on his chest again. "So that power works on equipment. It¡¯s pretty good."

    "Alright, brother-inw, this is no time to chat. There¡¯s another oneing¡ªkill it!" Luo Lao''er shrieked.

    Lu Yin''s hands were already clenching a rod, and he swung out, sending a corpse king flying.

    The corpse kings kepting. From a distance, the entire tform appeared to be swarmed with the monsters.

    "This is the end! We had so many tforms, but they¡¯re all being slowly taken out. We¡¯re already down to less than half, and the beams aren¡¯t able to keep that monster back any longer. We''re all going to die!" Luo Lao''er wailed. He was seriously considering tearing through the void and returning to the Three Monarch Dimension. He could certainly do it, but it would also be very troublesome. He would definitely be sent back to the Transcendent Universe, and he would also bebeled as a deserter. His life after that would be miserable.

    This was the reason why the rest of the people on the tform did not dare to escape either. It was not that they did not want to, but rather that none of them dared do so.

    Escaping meant certain death. Not even someone like Zuo Yu would have any chance of survival, as the Ruling Council did not spare any deserters. As long as the defenders remained on their tforms, they would have at least a glimmer of hope.

    This was the most torturous part. Even if it was possible for them to avoid dying immediately, the path before them still led to death, justter on.

    There were times when waiting for death could be even worse than death itself.

    Lu Yin stepped back and others took his ce. Everyone staggered their use of their energy converters in order tost for just a bit longer.

    "Unless someone who can use a ck energy converter shows up, we''re all doomed," Mu Duo said as he looked at the distant Progenitor-level corpse king with terror in his eyes. The monster was just as strong as the carrier¡¯s ck beams.

    Zuo Yu looked at Lu Yin. "Actually, you can leave."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he met Zuo Yu and Mu Duo''s gazes.

    "You''re not from our Transcendent Universe, and everyone knows that Zi Jing has escaped from our universe before. If you leave, no one will say anything. On top of that, since Zi Jing is necessary, the Ruling Council might not even investigate your desertion," Zuo Yu exined.

    Mu Duo remained silent. Compared to everyone else, Lu Yin was truly lucky. Even if he deserted the battlefield, he would still have a chance to survive, as long as Zi Jing remained irreceable to the Transcendent Universe.

    "Brother-inw, take me with you!" Luo Lao''er begged as he ran over.

    Lu Yin said, "If I take you with me, you''ll be a deserter too."

    "That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just say that you kidnapped me and that I never wanted to leave, but would have rather died with everyone else. However, I couldn''t beat you, so you took me with you," Luo Lao''er excitedly exined the excuse that he had alreadye up with.

    As time passed, more and more of the carrier¡¯s tforms went dark as they deactivated.

    Qiu Zhan panted heavily as he stared at the Progenitor-level corpse king. The corpse king stood calmly where it was and looked up to meet Qiu Zhan''s eyes. The monster¡¯s lips curled up to form a strange smile.

    With a loud bang, one of the tforms exploded. An entire row of tforms went dark, and a corpse king emerged from the center of the explosion. Sharp, de-like mes zed across its body. It took a single step to instantly appear on the next tform. The moment the corpse king appeared, mes engulfed the tform and des shed through it, creating another explosion. The corpse king methodically continued on to the next tform.

    This corpse king possessed a power level of over a million. With Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings holding back Qiu Zhan and the other powerhouses, this one was practically invincible on the battlefield.

    Each tform that exploded moved the corpse king closer to Lu Yin''s tform.

    Shi Hong assessed the approaching corpse king with a stare. It was getting close.

    "Sister Hong, let''s leave. We''re no match for that thing," one of the boys suggested, a trace of panic in his voice.

    The other boy urged the same, "Sister Hong, we can''t just throw our lives away. Madam spent so much time and energy having us trained. And besides, at the academy¡ª"

    "I know!" Shi Hong snapped in annoyance. She clenched her fists as she watched another tform go down. "Let''s go."

    The two boys were overjoyed.

    No one heard their conversation, aside from Lu Yin.

    Are they nning to escape? He arched a brow. That won''t do. If they leave, who will protect this tform?

    He looked out into space. Given their current situation, Zi Jing would be extremely hard-pressed to protect Lu Yin, and the Transcendent Universe might not even have the ability to do so.

    Normally, this would mean that Lu Yin¡¯s death was basically guaranteed, and if he did not die, it would indicate that there was something abnormal about him. If he drew the attention of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s powers, they would most likely uncover his secrets. He had only just infiltrated the Transcendent Universe, and he was not ready to leave just yet.

    "Let''s go," Shi Hong softly stated. She raised a hand to tear the void and lead the two young men back to the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he froze the void with an unseen power. As long as these three were within his void god realm domain, they could forget about tearing through the void.

    Shi Hong waved her hand, but nothing happened at all. Puzzled, she tried again, but all of her efforts werepletely futile.

    "Sister Hong, hurry up! They''reing!" one of the boys urged.

    The zing corpse king had already shifted its attention to their tform.

    Shi Hong''s face flushed red, and blue energy shone as she waved her hand again. However, the void remained whole. She spluttered in disbelief, "What''s going on?"

    "Sister Hong!" the other boy yelled.

    Shi Hong was furious. "We can''t leave. The void has been forcibly stabilized."

    Her words startled the two young men, and they each quickly made their own attempts to tear through the void, but they were unable to produce even a single ripple in it. They could not escape.

    The same thought came to the minds of all three people. "It''s over."

    The burning corpse king charged at their tform. As it raised a hand, raging mes descended. Compared to the battle technique from zing Mist Flowzone that Lu Yin had faced in the past, these mes were on an entirely different level. Even the Karmic mes were but a tiny sparkpared to this ze.

    The sight of these mes sent chills down the spines of everyone on the tform. There was no way to escape.

    Shi Hong and her twopanions now had no choice but to fight back with everything that they had. They desperately released their blue energy in an attempt to resist the mes.

    To their surprise, they actually managed to block the mes.

    Not only did this shock Shi Hong and herpanions, but even the corpse king was astonished. Blue energy converters should not have been able to stop its mes.

    The corpse king suddenly appeared in front of Shi Hong and the two young men. It stretched out its arms and instantly absorbed all of the mes into its hands. They transformed into two suns that put incredible pressure on the three people. These two suns lit up half of the carrier, and they burned so hot that the metal started to melt. As soon as they made contact with the tform, it would bepletely destroyed.

    "Voidforce," Shi Hong spat out through gritted teeth. No one knew what the three people did, but a whalebone, a meteorite, and a huge shield suddenly materialized on the tform and mmed into the corpse king.

    Unbelievable heat collided with the three massive objects. The shield and meteorite both melted in a single moment, but while the whalebone melted as well, it also released a loud cracking sound. With thebination of the blue light, the bone was able to force back the corpse king and fling the monster back into outer space.

    Lu Yin was shocked. What in the world had just happened?

    "The power of the Voidforce Universe?" Luo Lao''er eximed.

    Everyone felt amazed, and they all wondered just where those three items hade from.

    After the corpse king was pushed away, Shi Hong stumbled. Burns covered her body, but the two young men were in even worse conditions. They fell to the floor of the tform, unable to even stand.

    Despite their best efforts, their attacks had only managed to push the corpse king away from the tform.

    The corpse king quickly stabilized itself. "Void- force¡­"

    mes erupted once again.

    "Ants," the corpse king mocked the defenders as it raised a hand. Its palm held a light so bright that everyone instinctively closed their eyes.

    Shi Hong felt bitter. All of their efforts were futile. Their voidforce power waspletely unable to harm this corpse king.

    The two boys felt their hearts plunge into despair. They both regretteding to this battlefield.

    Suddenly, the zing light in the corpse king''s hand started to dim, and then it disappeared entirely. Its scarlet eyes grew dull, and its head slowly slumped. No one had any idea when it had happened, but a deep wound had appeared in the monster¡¯s chest, right where it had been struck by the whalebone. Cracks spread out from the wound, and the corpse king finally shattered.

    This sudden turn of events stunned everyone. Even Qiu Zhan was surprised. He carefully appraised Shi Hong from where he was fighting. Had she really just used the power of the Voidforce Universe to do that? Was the fusion of the Sixfold Alliance¡¯s different powers truly that powerful?

    No one had expected the corpse king to die.

    As they stared out into the suddenly empty space, everyone was momentarily unable toe to their senses.

    Finally, Luo Lao''er managed to recover first. "Sister Hong, you''re amazing! Sister Hong, I love you!"

    The shout jolted Shi Hong back to her senses. Had- had she really done it? Was thebination of her voidforce puppet and a blue energy converter truly that powerful? The woman waspletely confused by what she had aplished.

    The two boys both fell backwards so that they were lying t on the tform. "Madam is truly wise. Theplementing powers of different civilizations is indeed the right path forward. This is how we will defeat Aeternus!¡±

    "Madam¡¯s foresight is incredible.¡±

    "Sister Hong, the voidforce puppet you chose was incredibly powerful. It''s a shame that it''s gone now."

    Shi Hong finally averted her eyes.

    "I''ll go back and choose another." As she spoke, her brow furrowed. She stared down at her own hands. The power of that voidforce puppet should have been far from enough to kill that corpse king. How had things turned out like this?

    A short distance away, Lu Yin observed Shi Hong and the two young men. Naturally, he had killed the corpse king himself, but he had given credit for the death to the strange objects that had pushed the monster back.

    Still, what had that power even been?

    "Luo Lao''er, what was that power that they just used?" Lu Yin asked. The three had used a power that exceeded their own, and Lu Yin was very curious about that.

 Chapter 2504: Pure Attack

    Chapter 2504: Pure Attack

    Luo Lao''er''s face lit up with excitement. "Brother-inw, that''s the power of the Voidforce Universe. They¡¯re an incredible civilization where their cultivation method allows them to control voidforce puppets. These voidforce puppets can be any living or non-living object, as long as a person can master it.¡±

    "That big whalebone of Sister Hong''s was a voidforce puppet, as were the other two items that we saw."

    Lu Yin was impressed. So this was another universe¡¯s power, huh? It sounded a bit like his die¡¯s six pips: Possession.

    "That was amazing! It¡¯s no wonder why the Voidforce Universe is referred to as the shield of the Sixverse Association. They don''t have to risk their lives when fighting, as they can just control their voidforce puppets. Their power is really incredible. Why didn''t my old man send me to the Voidforce Universe?" Luo Lao''erined.

    Zuo Yu was shocked. "That''s the power of the Voidforce Universe?"

    Mu Duo solemnly interjected, "Our universe has interacted with the Voidforce Universe in the past, and people from there have visited our Transcendent Universe before. You should know about them."

    Zuo Yu replied, "And yet it still never ceases to amaze me. But, how did Sister Hong and the other two manage to acquire the power of the Voidforce Universe?"

    That question made Luo Lao''er realize the oddity as well. "Right! How did Sister Hong obtain the Voidforce Universe¡¯s power? She¡¯s undeniably from the Transcendent Universe."

    With that, Luo Lao''er quickly ran towards Shi Hong and the two young men.

    However, they were still on a battlefield, which meant that danger could appear at any moment.

    Luo Lao''er ran towards Shi Hong and her twopanions, and everyone else¡¯s attention was also fixed on the three people. At the same time, another corpse king appeared beyond the metal walls of their tform, and itunched an attack at the distracted youths behind Luo Lao''er. However, a green light exploded, blocking the attack from reaching the humans. Lu Yin had taken action. He could not let these people die.

    The corpse king only had the strength of an Enlighter, which meant that Lu Yin was able to handle it with the strength that he had exposed thus far.

    The people on the tform spun around in horror to see a pair of scarlet eyes staring at them. They were nearly scared to death by the sight.

    "This is a battlefield," Lu Yin somberly reminded everyone. Green energy covered his hand as he thrust it forward. He used the Oveying Stacks Path to smash the corpse king''s forehead, and it was sent tumbling away with half its head crushed.

    Shi Hong was surprised. "A cultivator?"

    She stared at Lu Yin. "You''re a cultivator from another universe?"

    More corpse kings started closing in from every side. Lu Yin answered, "Let''s deal with these monsters first."

    "I think that we should retreat. This tform stands out too much," someone suggested, but the idea was instantly dismissed. Leaving the tform was no different from desertion.

    "We should all leave together! Who can condemn us then?" someone else shouted. Fear filled the woman¡¯s eyes. She had lost all hope. She had assumed that the battlefield would not be dangerous for her, but true threats to her just kept appearing. Nearly a thousand people had defended the tform at the beginning, but a third of them had already died. It was only thanks to Shi Hong and the other two that they had survived for this long. Without those three, the tform would have already fallen like so many others.

    Lu Yin scanned the area. Most of the people on the tforms were about to copse. The human psyche had its limits. While energy converters were able to provide people with external strength, they also forced people to endure pressure that was far beyond what they were ustomed to dealing with.

    Energy converters had both advantages and disadvantages. They allowed people who would never be able to reach the Enlighter realm to possess a level of strength that approached that of an Envoy, while simultaneously allowing them to freely travel through outer space, transcending their innate condition. The disadvantage was that such people never underwent the process of cultivating step by step from mortal to Envoy. The sudden increase in strength and responsibilities was more than what most could handle.

    It was like giving children divine weapons to wield. It was possible to exert a certain level of power, but no matter what, they would still be children.

    From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, these people were nothing more than children.

    Upon seeing the fear and despair filling people¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin''s excitement for energy converters waned. These were useful tools, but they also had to be used with caution.

    "Do you really think that we have any influence on the Ruling Council? Do you think that our numbers hold any significance? The moment we leave this tform, Qiu Zhan can execute us without a trial." Mu Duo shook his head.

    Luo Lao''er bitterly muttered, "If it was possible to leave, I would¡¯ve left ages ago. Why would I wait around here for you guys?"

    "This battle¡¯s already lost. We need to leave now. Qiu Zhan and the rest might not make it back alive," someone elsemented with a trembling voice.

    These words caused several faces to grow pale. Some were tempted, though others rebuked the man who had made the suggestion.

    Zuo Yu gave the speaker a cold look. "Shut up! You''re despicable. How can your life be worth as much as obtaining a victory in this battle?"

    Mu Duo and many others looked at the man with contempt as well.

    Even Luo Lao''er sneered at the man. "He¡¯s even more afraid of death than I am."

    The man desperately retorted, "We weren''t even supposed toe to this battlefield in the first ce! Why do we have to sacrifice ourselves here? We shouldn''t be dying here! Do all of you want to die? Look around! There are corpse kings approaching us everywhere! Look at the rest of the tforms! Half of them have already been wiped out. Who can stop them? Who can fight against those monsters? I don''t want to die! I want to go back."

    As he spoke, a yellow light shed as he prepared to return to his home universe.

    Just at that moment, a tall figure appeared behind the young man. A foul smell came with it as a daunting shadow fell over the man who had just spoken.

    The young man froze and swallowed. He slowly turned his head and saw that a corpse king was standing over him. "Hel-"

    His body exploded, sttering flesh and blood in every direction.

    Another Envoy-level corpse king had appeared without any warning. In Lu Yin''s opinion, it had been drawn over by the man¡¯s voice.

    Only those unafraid of death were worthy of survival. Lu Yin had no intention of saving such a person. After all, even if the man had survived this battle, he would be the first to betray humanity the next time he encountered any real danger.

    No one cared about the man¡¯s death, as they were all entirely focused on the sudden appearance of the corpse king. Who could fight against this monster?

    Shi Hong struggled to stand, and a blue light radiated from her hand.

    The corpse king''s gaze swept the crowd beforending on Shi Hong. Its eyes immediately red, and then its body transformed. It then almost instantly appeared in front of Shi Hong and pressed a hand down. Given her current state, she was unable to unleash the true power of her blue energy converter.

    There was no one on the entire tform who could save her.

    She had never imagined that she would die on this battlefield. She was supposed to be an outstanding talent, a prodigy whom the Transcendent Universe had high hopes for! At that moment, a blue light shed before her eyes. Blue? Who is it? Those two should be in an even worse state than me.

    The energy converter embedded in Lu Yin''s chest was emitting a blue light. He had finally used it.

    Shi Hong and the two boys all had the strength of Enlighters, so if they were able to use a blue energy converter, then so could Lu Yin. Doing so would not arouse any suspicion.

    Blue light represented a level of strength at near the peak of the Envoy realm. At best, it meant a power level of a million. The corpse king attacking them had a power level of just over 600,000.

    Lu Yin used a movement technique to step in front of Shi Hong. He then used a single hand to block the corpse king.

    Bang!

    The Oveying Stacks Path relentlessly pressed forth, breaking apart inch after inch of the corpse king''s hand until its entire arm was destroyed. Lu Yin stepped forward, and his body seemed to merge with the corpse king''s. Suddenly, a sword appeared in Lu Yin''s hand, and the de sliced through the corpse king before abruptly freezing it.

    The corpse king''s body fell to the tform, in by the blue edge of the sword.

    Nearly everyone on the tform stared on, open mouthed.

    Luo Lao''er was not surprised. He knew that many cultivators were able to use blue energy converters.

    Shi Hong was also unsurprised. The unknown man had demonstrated skillful use of a battle technique, as well as excellent swordsmanship.

    Lu Yin lowered his sword and patted his chest where the energy convertery. "Thankfully, I can use it."

    "Brother-inw, you really can use a blue energy converter!" Luo Lao''er praised.

    Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. Having another blue energy converter user was great news. Only with blue energy converters could they protect the tform.

    After that, two more Envoy-level corpse kings reached their tform, but Lu Yin managed to easily deal with both of them.

    Given the fact that this was Lu Yin''s first time using a blue energy converter to power his battle techniques, his movements were clearly clumsier than Shi Hong''s, but he was still able to protect the tform.

    However, protecting a single tform was not enough. More than half of the Bestowal Carrier¡¯s tforms were still extinguished in the end.

    Once half of the tforms went out, the ten-meter-wide energy beam that enveloped the Progenitor-level corpse king started to dissipate. At that moment, the enemy made its move.

    Everyone assumed that a massacre was imminent and that it was only a matter of time before the entire carrier was destroyed. However, Qiu Zhan suddenly appeared before the corpse king. At this moment, the man¡¯s energy converter was clearly ck.

    ck energy converters were the most powerful ones, and they corresponded to a power level of two to five million, which was equivalent to a Progenitor''s strength.

    The defenders had not expected Qiu Zhan to have a ck energy converter.

    After appearing in front of the Progenitor-level corpse king, Qiu Zhan unleashed a sideways sh with a de. The attack left behind a trail of ck light. The Progenitor-level corpse king raised a hand to block the attack, but its body was forced backward by the attack. As it flew back, the void copsed in its path, space was split asunder. The ripples that were created by the blow swept out and destroyed stars ands. A terrible pressure descended upon the entire region.

    Vibrations shook the Bestowal Carrier, and all of the defenders fell down onto all fours, struggling to even breathe.

    Even Lu Yin was affected. He looked up and stared at Qiu Zhan¡¯s silhouette against the backdrop of space. There was no Progenitor¡¯s power or Progenitor''s world infused in the attack. It was absolutely nothing but pure power, an explosion of the most basic form of energy, but in such quantity that it had reached the Progenitor level. Where did such powere from?

    Although this power that was at the Progenitor level did not involve any battle techniques or innate gifts, it still demonstrated an organism''s primal instinct to attack.

    The Transcendent Universe was able to convert various energies into a basic form of energy and then elevate it to the level of a Progenitor¡¯s power. Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings excelled in physicalbat, and this clearly applied to their Progenitor-level corpse kings as well. Even with its strength, this corpse king most likely did not have a Progenitor''s world.

    This was essentially a sh between the tip of a needle and wheat:1 one was pure energy, while the other was pure physical power. The collision created an explosive release of energy in outer space, as well as a shockwave that shook the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin was ustomed to seeing battle techniques and other simr attacks, and for this reason, he found these twobatants¡¯ methods to be rather crude. However, the others who were watching were unable to discern whether this battle was good or bad. To the people of the Transcendent Universe, the power of one¡¯s energy was everything. Even someone like Luo Lao''er, who also came from a cultivation civilization, might have never witnessed a Progenitor-level battle. He was likelypletely unfamiliar with what such a fight looked like.

    Everyone stared on, only able to see bursts of light that illuminated the area as space was ripped apart.

    None of the people knew if they were lucky or unlucky.

    The ck energy converter ced an extra burden on the human defenders as the Progenitor-level battle unfolded before their eyes. Regardless of whether they were able to see it clearly, all of them could feel the cmitous oppression, the power that was capable of overturning space. Those eager to achieve that level of power for themselves would get excited about their future, but most people would only feel discouraged.

    Everyone had varying degrees of understanding of themselves, but even so, the vast majority of people knew that they could notpare to true geniuses and elites. Witnessing the pinnacle of human power too soon would only leave them discouraged.

    [1] Always like to include the Chinese idioms and such when possible. This is one that means two different but equal opposing forces. It refers to the tip of a needle and the end of a bit of wheat, which is also apparently quite sharp.

 Chapter 2505: A Small Demonstration

    Chapter 2505: A Small Demonstration

    "Are you able to see it?" Shi Hong moved next to Lu Yin. Everyone on the tform was staring at the battle, but none of them were able to make out the figures of Qiu Zhan or the Progenitor-level corpse king. The youths were simply turning their heads to look at wherever the stars shattered.

    However, Lu Yin was different. He was not simply reacting. Shi Hong had observed Lu Yin for a while, and she had noticed that there were several asions when he would turn and look in a specific direction, but he would do so before any damage urred. Everyone else was only looking afterwards.

    Clearly, this young man was seeing things more clearly than anyone else present.

    Lu Yin replied, "I can''t see their battle. After all, they¡¯re at the peak of human power."

    Shi Hong felt that his answer did not make much sense. "But you¡¯re seeing things before the rest of us."

    Lu Yin exined, "It¡¯s instinct."

    "Instinct?" Shi Hong was left puzzled.

    Zuo Yu and the rest looked over.

    Lu Yin exined, "People refer to cultivation as a type of civilization, but it¡¯s actually all aboutpeting for resources and doing everything possible to improve yourself. The entire process is rife with death, danger, and dealing with various schemes. If you¡¯re not careful, you''ll die. I''ve already seen battles on this same scale more than once before, so I¡¯m able to instinctively detect changes quicker than you."

    "Brother-inw, you''ve seen battles like this before?" Luo Lao''er''s voice was filled with awe as he pointed into outer space. "A war with monsters like those two?"

    Lu Yin looked up, his expression growing mncholic. "Yes, I have. Actually, we¡¯re incredibly lucky. If it weren''t for this Bestowal Carrier protecting us, just the shockwaves from a battle between powerhouses like those two would have already wiped us all out."

    The Transcendent Universe was aware that Lu Yin came from the Origin Universe, so there was no need for him to hide some of his experiences.

    Lu Yin was portraying himself as a rather low-level cultivator, so everything that he shared wasmon knowledge to any cultivator with that level of strength. As for the name "Origin Universe" that was not something that an Enlighter would ever know about.

    Even so, his words did not convince everyone who heard them.

    Someone scoffed. "Do you even understand how strong those two are? That¡¯s the peak of what humans are capable of reaching. Do you think it¡¯s so easy to see that?"

    Mu Duo added, "That''s true. Our Transcendent Universe has studied many parallel universes, and most of them don''t even have any creatures with power levels of over a million, let alone pinnacle experts. What is the name of your universe?"

    "Brother-inw, which universe do youe from? It has to be famous," Luo Lao''er asked curiously.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I don''t know. My universe is just the universe. It¡¯s all that we know. As for what it¡¯s called, I have no idea."

    "Didn''t the Ruling Council tell you?" Shi Hong asked, feeling quite puzzled.

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    "Sister Hong, he''s Zi Jing''s man," Zuo Yu whispered.

    Shi Hong was taken aback. "Zi Jing''s man? Him?"

    The way she looked at Lu Yin changedpletely.

    Fierce explosions continued to erupt in outer space. While numerous spatial cracks spread across the region, the surviving tforms on the Bestowal Carrier were sufficient to support the carrier¡¯s energy converters, and that allowed the defenders to endure the shockwaves from the battle.

    Initially, the crowd focused entirely on the battle between the two powerhouses, but as time passed, they realized that they were not able to make out anything other than the impressive explosions. So, they eventually lost interest.

    Only Lu Yin continued watching.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king was simr to Qiu Zhan in that neither of them used any sort of battle techniques. The former relied solely on physical attacks, while thetter only used energy attacks. If the battle continued in such a manner, a victor might not emerge for months.

    However, Lu Yin had underestimated Qiu Zhan.

    From the very beginning, Qiu Zhan had possessed a ck energy converter, but he had not used it until half of the carrier¡¯s tforms were either destroyed or deactivated. This meant that he had his own ns, and he was finally carrying them out.

    A massive beam of ck light pierced through the starry sky. It looked like a passage that was connected to the dark depths of the universe.

    This beam was several timesrger than any of the attacks that had been used so far in the battle.

    Everyone stared at it in a daze.

    The ck beam of light shook the stars. The carrier was not durable enough to withstand its power, and chunks of metal began to break off. The beam shed past Qiu Zhan and collided with the corpse king with immense force.

    This time, the corpse king was unable to block the beam, and its body was forced backwards towards distant stars.

    Qiu Zhan instantly gave chase.

    The region grew quiet as the massive ck beam of light slowly diminished. Only after it was gone did the people watching realize that they had all gone deaf, and they only regained their hearing after the ck beam of light had vanished entirely.

    "Was that... Destruction?"

    Everyone grew solemn.

    Shi Hong looked up with fervor and admiration in her eyes. "Destruction, the final level of the Bestowal Carrier¡¯s attack power. It can eliminate powerhouses at power levels above one million. As expected, there was one hidden here."

    Lu Yin pensively stared off into the distance. When that final beam had struck the corpse king, it had shredded the corpse king¡¯s body apart oneyer at a time. The ck beam of light had been incredibly powerful. Was the Bestowal Art really so advanced that cultivation technology was able to create Realmbreakers? While microarray technology also relied on sourceboxes, the power that could be exerted was far from matching what Lu Yin had just seen.

    The future was uncertain, but at this moment, the power demonstrated by the Bestowal Art had continuously challenged Lu Yin''s understanding.

    "That monster¡¯s done for," Mu Duo said with relief clear in his voice.

    Zuo Yu confidently stated, "It was directly hit by Destruction, so it''s dead as a doornail."

    Is it really dead? Lu Yin''s gaze drifted off into the distance as he became lost in his own thoughts. There was more to Progenitors than just pure strength. They possessed various mystical abilities as well as their own tools and items. However, given everyone¡¯s confidence, this Destruction must have finished off a Progenitor in the past.

    This was one of the reasons why the Transcendent Universe was able to retain a stable position within the Sixverse Association.

    After Destruction struck the corpse king, a wave of relief swept through the defenders.

    Luo Lao''er was soon back to his usual self, and he began to pester Shi Hong for information about the Voidforce Universe as Zuo Yu and the others listened.

    However, Shi Hong would not say much. Rather, she herself expressed curiosity about Lu Yin''s civilization and even proposed a spar.

    Lu Yin stifled a sigh of exasperation. "This battle isn''t over yet, so it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to spar now."

    There were still corpse kings crawling around on the Bestowal Carrier, but Shi Hong did not seem to care. "General Qiu Zhan deliberately hid the fact that he had a ck energy converter, forcing us to face all of these monsters, and it was all because he was waiting for Destruction. Now that the attack has sessfullynded, all of the corpse kings will be dealt with soon enough. Just watch."

    Just as Shi Hong said, Lu Yin watched as the tattered outeryer of the Bestowal Carrier peeled off. After that, beams of ck light started to sweep through the area, targeting both outer space and the carrier¡¯s interior.

    The cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe also appeared, and they started activating energy converters on different tforms.

    More and more tforms were reactivated, and soon, more than half were working once again.

    The energy converters began to recover, which meant that the powers of the corpse kings climbing across the carrier were once again restricted. It only took moments for them to all be ughtered.

    "This battle¡¯s almost over." Shi Hong sighed in relief. Such a close brush with death had seemed to change her perspective on many things. The battlefield was always where humans underwent the greatest changes.

    She looked at Lu Yin. "Let''spare our sword skills. It will only take a few moves."

    The proposal excited Luo Lao''er. "Brother-inw, spar with Sister Hong! Her swordsmanship is amazing."

    "Compare your sword skills."

    "Show us which sword techniques are better¡ªthose from a cultivation civilization, or our own Transcendent Universe''s."

    Shi Hong raised her hand and gestured for people to be quiet. When she spoke, she sounded very serious. "My sword technique doesn¡¯te from our Transcendent Universe. You¡¯ll eventually learn about where ites from."

    She then looked at Lu Yin and lifted her long sword. "Please."

    Lu Yin did not want topete with mere children. "Your injuries still haven¡¯t healed. Competing now wouldn¡¯t be fair to you."

    However, Shi Hong insisted. "We''ll onlypare sword skills without using our energy converters."

    Lu Yin would not have used a sword if he had known that it would lead to such an oue. He casually waved his de around. "Alright, then let¡¯s go."

    Shi Hong arched a brow. How was this attitude anything but condescending towards her?

    The two boys who had arrived with Shi Hong leaned against a metal wall. Their injuries were too severe for them to even stand unaided, but even so, Lu Yin''s attitude aggravated them.

    The crowd backed up.

    Lu Yin faced Shi Hong, and she clenched the hilt of her sword. "I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then."

    She stepped forward, thrusting her sword straight. She caused the hilt to tremble, which made the de emit a strange sound, which caught Lu Yin off guard. She was using a different attack from before, though he still easily evaded it. The sword missed its target, and the de grazed past Lu Yin''s ear, but Shi Hong showed no surprise.

    Suddenly, she released her sword and thrust her palm forward instead. The sword twirled around her body, as if it had a life of its own. At the same time, it moved around Lu Yin.

    Everyone cheered as they watched the battle technique. The long sword spun around. Light glittered along its edge. Its movements seemed reminiscent of a coiling dragon.

    One of the boys following Shi Hong started to breathe heavily out of excitement after seeing the technique. "Dragon sh! No matter how hard I try, I¡¯ve never managed to learn it. It never ceases to amaze me."

    "Almost no one in the academy is able to learn that move! Fortunately, Sister Hong managed to pick it up a few days before leaving. The technique is so beautiful. Maybe with this, Sister Hong can challenge that person." As the young man spoke, both youths suddenly froze. The cheers that had started to erupt from the crowd also fell silent.

    In the middle of the audience, Lu Yin grasped Shi Hong''s sword between the index and middle fingers of his left hand. The sword in his right hand had not even moved. He stood firmly in ce, calmly staring at Shi Hong.

    She nkly stared back at him, still not reacting to what had just happened.

    "Do you like flying sword arts?" Lu Yin asked.

    Confusion covered her face. Dragon sh was one of the best techniques avable in the academy. It was a powerful battle technique from the Main Universe, so how had he managed to neutralize it so effortlessly?

    "It''s never a good idea to let go of your sword during a fight. Your opponent can easily grab hold of it," Lu Yin said as he released the sword, letting it drop to the floor of the tform with a metallic ng. The noise snapped Shi Hong and the rest back to reality.

    Shi Hong stared at the sword on the floor inplete disbelief. While it was true that letting go of one¡¯s sword could let an opponent steal the weapon, she had just used Dragon sh. How could such an elite technique be caught? Her eyes rose up to stare at Lu Yin once again. "You¡­?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Like I said, I¡¯ve already survived many battles like this one. I¡¯ve managed to survive thanks to these-" He pointed to his eyes. "They''re pretty good at picking out weak points."

    He picked the sword off of the floor and returned it to Shi Hong. "Don''t let go of your sword so readily in the future."

    Shi Hong epted the sword. She felt that something was not quite right about the situation, but she could not put her finger on it. There was nothing wrong with what the young man said. If she let go of her weapon, it was indeed a given that her opponents would be able to steal it.

    Still, she had just used Dragon sh!

    The exchange was rather odd, and the people watching were unable to understand what they had witnessed. Even though Shi Hong understood what had happened, she was just as confused as anyone else. Even the two young men felt like the Dragon sh that they had just seen could not be the true version of the battle technique.

    Was someone really able to catch a sword when their opponent used Dragon sh? They had never even heard of such a thing.

    "Sister Hong, what''s going on?" one of the men asked, ncing at Lu Yin with a quizzical expression.

 Chapter 2506: Desecration

    Chapter 2506: Desecration

    Shi Hong looked over at Lu Yin, who was leaning against a wall. She could not be sure whether he was telling the truth or not. It was indeed possible that he really was good at finding weaknesses and spotting ws, which had allowed him to survive the various battles he had survived.

    "Sister Hong, you shouldn''t abandon Dragon sh." One of the boys was unable to contain himself. He dreamed of learning that particr sword technique, but no matter how much he practiced, he had never been able to master it. He greatly admired the technique. How could it be seen through so easily?

    Shi Hong drew a deep breath and blew it back out. "I won''t give it up. I didn''t execute it correctly and was too careless. After I return to the academy, I will continue to train with it."

    As she spoke, Lu Yin set the tip of the sword onto the floor and spun the hilt with his fingers. The sword spun, reflecting light along its edge as it did so. The spots connected to form a single line.

    The girl''s swordsmanship was decent, but the critical aspect of the skill that she had used was not the rotating de edge. Instead, ity in the spots of light. The spots of light reflecting off of the sword were supposed to form a dragon, and that was the actual deadly aspect of the attack. Whoever had created the sword technique was a true expert, though the technique had likely been created on a whim. It had a shy appearance, but it concealed a deadly killing intent.

    The people of the Transcendent Universe did not use or create battle techniques¡­ Lu Yin¡¯s lips curled upwards as he stared into the distance. Things were getting interesting.

    "Brother-inw, you''re amazing!. Other than its beauty, I can''t see any value in that sword technique. Sister Hong seems very discouraged," Luo Lao''ermented as he approached.

    Lu Yin asked, "How does the Voidforce Universepare to your Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Brother-inw, can you please stopparing everything to my Three Monarchs Universe? We rankst in the Sixverse Association."

    "Last?" Lu Yin raised his eyebrows.

    "Yep. Deadst. If another powerful universe is discovered, our Three Monarchs Universe would be instantly dropped from the Sixverse Association. Why else would Monarch Luo¡¯s son be a hostage for the Transcendent Universe?" Luo Lao''er asked, seemingly not too concerned with what he was saying.

    "The six most powerful known universes form the Sixverse Association. Each universe has its own system, and there is only one criterion for joining the Sixverse Association." At this point, Luo Lao''er¡¯s voice dropped low, "To hold back one of the Seven Skygods. At least, that''s what my old man said."

    "Who are the Seven Skygods?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    "Brother-inw, you don''t know about the Seven Skygods?"

    "I''ve heard of them, but I don''t know much about them."

    "Well, to be honest, I don''t either. All I know is that they¡¯re Aeternus¡¯s most powerful monsters. Did you see Destruction just now? General Qiu Zhan can''t endure that beam even with a ck energy converter, but the Seven Skygods can. Every single one of them is absolutely terrifying. My father and the other two Monarchs of my universe are only barely able to contend with one of them by working together, which is what allowed them to join the Sixverse Association. Without that, they wouldn''t even be eligible."

    Lu Yin had not known that dealing with one of the Seven Skygods was the minimum standard to join the Sixverse Association.

    That was a rather high standard to meet.

    Even if the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors were quite powerful, which one of them could confidently im to be able to fight against one of the Seven Skygods by themselves? Not one of them. Not even Bai Wangyuan had been able to stop Undying God from forcing his way into the Dominion Realm. However, if those same Progenitors worked together, they were absolutely able to handle more than just one of the Seven Skygods. Despite that, the Perennial World was still not a member of the Sixverse Association.

    Clearly, the Sixverse Association was not very friendly toward the Origin Universe.

    The war finally ended.

    When Qiu Zhan returned, he did not share the results of the battle with Lu Yin or any of the others.

    After the battle was over, the Bestowal Carrier stopped moving. From a distance, it was clear that the carrier¡¯s size had shrunk by a third.

    Shortly after that, Shi Hong and the other two returned to the Transcendent Universe.

    A few more dayster, Lu Yin and the rest of the defenders received word that they were also allowed to return to the Transcendent Universe.

    Everyone became ecstatic when they heard the news.

    They had not stayed in the Cloudflow Universe for very long, but the multiple near-death experiences that they had all gone through were unforgettable. Everyone had changed. Those who had previously been afraid of death or wanted to escape had gained a temperament that could only be forged on the battlefield.

    However, Luo Lao''er still referred to Lu Yin as "brother-inw," which was aplete headache.

    As the scenery changed around them, the group of defenders returned to the Transcendent Universe, appearing in the samerge space where they had been gathered before being sent to the battlefield.

    They had returned to the same ce, but in less than two months, their numbers had been reduced by a third. The people who returned looked around at the familiar surroundings, their moodspletely different after their time in this space.

    "Finally, we''re back." A girl wept with joy. Their recent experience had been nothing short of a nightmare.

    "It feels good to be back here alive. I''m never returning to that damned battlefield again."

    "I almost died! I need to contact my dad. He almost wasn¡¯t going to ever see his son again."

    "It was you! When that corpse king appeared, you pushed me forward. Go to hell!" Someoneunched an attack the moment that everyone returned. One young man was ring fiercely at another person who had fought on the same tform. Everyone reacted differently when facing death. Some wanted to sacrifice the lives of others to save their own. Despite all being on the same tform, everyone had needed to endure their own emotions. They had been on a battlefield, a cruel world full of death. After returning, things were different. In this safe space, they could resolve their grievances.

    "Don''t be ridiculous. You ran forward yourself. That¡¯s not my problem." The young man who had been attacked scowled. There was a scar on his face, which was a memento of the battlefield. "Get lost. I need to get treatment."

    "How dare you run away after nearly killing me! I won''t let you go!" the first boy roared.

    The scarred boy sneered. "You''re nothing but the son of a low-ranking noble¡ªhow dare you act so presumptuously in front of me!"

    "Ignore him. Let''s just leave." A girl stepped forward and pulled the scarred boy away.

    Many people who stood nearby cursed and swore. Mu Duo stepped forward, staring at the two people, though primarily focusing on the girl. "I remember you. You''re the one who said that everyone should escape together. You were nning to desert the battlefield."

    The girl''s eyes shifted between anger and fear. However, she did not dare refute Mu Duo. Her family''s status was greatly inferior to the Mu family¡¯s.

    The scarred boy red back at Mu Duo. "That¡¯s none of your business. In a situation like that, no one wants to die. Mu Duo, you''re no saint either. You¡¯ve done many things that you don¡¯t want to be made public."

    "At least I didn''t try to desert the battlefield," Mu Duo shouted back.

    Luo Lao''er stood next to Lu Yin, contempt clearly disyed on his face. "What is there to even argue about? It¡¯s a natural reaction to fear death. Those who aren¡¯t afraid of death are heroes, and I¡¯m no hero. Brother-inw, when will you introduce me to my sister?"

    Suddenly, various disys appeared in the air above the gathered crowd. Everyone looked up to see various scenes featuring their tform from the most recent battle on the screens. Each and every action that had been taken by the defenders had been clearly captured.

    From the beginning, Lu Yin had noticed that the Bestowal Carrier¡¯s tforms were all being actively monitored. This allowed the Transcendent Universe to know the current status of each energy converter, as well as keep track of which tforms were active or not.

    An invisible power suddenly grabbed the scarred boy and hauled him up into the air. A loud voice echoed out. "You betrayed yourrades during the battle. You are convicted for your crimes."

    Fear contorted the boy¡¯s face. "No, I didn''t do it! He was just stupid! What happened to him has nothing to do with me! I''m innocent!"

    Nothing that the boy said mattered. His efforts werepletely useless, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

    The girl who had been standing next to him went pale. She was soon lifted off the ground by a force as well. "You sowed discord and shook the morale of the army. You are hereby convicted of these crimes."

    "Let me go! I didn''t do it. I didn''t¡ª"

    One after another, people were lifted up and taken away. Every action that they had taken on the battlefield had been recorded. No one could escape being punished.

    In the end, more than a hundred people were taken away. All of them hadmitted various crimes, some of which were far more serious than others.

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Why bother? If we¡¯re on a battlefield, it¡¯s guaranteed that we¡¯re being monitored. Am I right, Brother-inw?"

    He turned around, only to find that Lu Yin had vanished into thin air.

    "Brother-inw?" Luo Lao''er called out again, drawing the attention of Zuo Yu and several others, but no one knew where Lu Yin had gone.

    Lu Yin had been teleported away. He had received a message earlier informing him that he would be meeting Zi Jing.

    After arriving in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin had never remained in the same ce for very long. He had spent the most amount of time in the Cloudflow Universe, and that was where he had learned the most about the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin met Zi Jing in a floating garden. A flicker of surprise and happiness could be heard in Zi Jing¡¯s voice. "Are you alright?"

    "I''m fine. How about you?"

    "I''m fine. Did they send you to a battlefield?" Zi Jing asked.

    Lu Yin bitterly answered, "I almost died. The fighting was too intense. I''m only an Enlighter, but we were attacked by Envoy-level corpse kings. If not for three people who suddenly showed up, I would never have seen you again. I was really lucky."

    Zi Jing felt a bit disturbed. She had never known that the Dao Monarch was such a gifted actor. An Envoy-level corpse king? Not even Progenitors were capable of killing this man. "It''s good that you''re safe. Don''t worry, I won''t let you go to such dangerous ces again."

    "Where are we?" Lu Yin asked curiously. He looked around and saw a staircase leading up to a mysterious ce that was hidden behind wispy white clouds. There were flowers blooming along the stairs, and there were also many strange creatures flying around, filling the air with their infectiousughter and jubnt cries.

    The ce seemed like purend, an untainted haven.

    Zi Jing whispered, "This is the most sacred ce in the entire Transcendent Universe. It cannot be desecrated."

    Desecrated? Lu Yin nced at Zi Jing. Was this implying that he was about to meet some true big shot?

    "Zi Jing, is this the man whom you have chosen?" A pleasant voice echoed from above. It sounded as clear as a flowing spring. Anyone who heard this voice would feel a deep sense offort, as though the voice was caressing their senses.

    Lu Yin instinctively looked up. Whom did such a beautiful voice belong to?

    As his gaze pierced through the clouds, he saw a pair of dazzlingly white legs that looked like they had been sculpted to perfection. Beneath the pair of bare feet were blooming flowers. The white clouds slightly drifted through the air, vaguely revealing a young woman in a white dress. Lu Yin was able to make out a pair of wlessly beautiful eyes that shone like stars. At that instant, he forgot to even look at the girl''s face, as his mind was captivated by those eyes. They were truly beautiful and wless and perfect beyond words.

    "Bold!" The clouds immediately moved to block Lu Yin''s view.

    Zi Jing dropped to her knees and started begging, "Please forgive him, Madam! He doesn''t know the rules here!"

    Lu Yin was perplexed. "What''s going on?"

    "Gazing up at me is a profound privilege. Daring to do so without permission is a heinous crime, which you have justmitted." This time, the voice was apanied by an indescribable pressure. It felt as though a pair of eyes were fixed upon Lu Yin.

    His expression changed slightly. There was clearly a Progenitor-level powerhouse keeping an eye on this ce.

    He had only taken a single nce. Was it really necessary to make such a big deal out of that?

 Chapter 2507: Sixverse Academy

    Chapter 2507: Sixverse Academy

    Zi Jing opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Lu Yin was the Dao Monarch, ruler of the entire Fifth Maind. While Zi Jing could beg for mercy on her knees, Lu Yin could not do so. On top of that, Zi Jing could never admonish the Dao Monarch.

    She had literally just warned him to be careful and to not desecrate the ce where they stood, and yet this had still happened.

    "Kneel!" the voicemanded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Zi Jing grew pale. "Madam, he isn''t from the Transcendent Universe, and he doesn''t know our rules. Please give him a chance. I beg you!"

    At that moment, a cold and indifferent voice spoke up. "What¡¯s made Sister He so angry?"

    Lu Yin turned his head,pletely taken aback by this new voice. Bai Qian?

    It was clearly Earth¡¯s legendary Bai Qian who had asked the question. She was the first person to leave Earth, and she was regarded by Earthlings as the perfect woman.

    Lu Yin had made it a very long way since he had first started cultivating. In fact, even Semi-Progenitors had to look up to him. However, he had never forgotten about Bai Qian. Despite only meeting the woman on a few asions, her image had been engraved deeply into Lu Yin¡¯s memories.

    Bai Qian''s arrival caused the atmosphere to abruptly turn frigid. Ayer of frost crept across the ground towards the stairs, freezing the flowers as it proceeded and sending the once yful creatures fleeing in terror.

    "Bai Qian, what brings you here?" the pleasant voice asked, once again soundingpletely calm.

    Bai Qian''s expression remained icy. Despite the gentleness in her eyes, she radiated an unmistakable chill. She gave off the impression of a solid block of ice that froze everything that approached her. "Your people did well on the battlefield in the Cloudflow Universe. I watched the recordings. Qiu Zhan is now wholeheartedly requesting the Ruling Council to increase the number of people being sent to the Sixverse Academy. Your n has yed out well with both the nobles and the military."

    "Of course it did. As someone from the Transcendent Universe, I can see things with far greater rity than you. I''ve said this before, and I''ll say it again," the pleasant voice replied.

    Bai Qian looked up at the top of the stairs. "Have you ever considered going to the Sixverse Academy yourself?"

    "Bai Qian, please remember your ce. You won''t be able to defeat me, but since we¡¯ve been set on the same ying field, don¡¯t engage in such despicable acts. Interacting with such filthy mortals is not only shaming yourself, but also desecrating the Transcendent Universe."

    Bai Qian averted her eyes. "The more you say such things, the more I want to go."

    There was no answer from the top of the stairs.

    Bai Qian looked at Zi Jing, who was kneeling on the ground. "Is this Zi Jing?"

    "This matter has nothing to do with you," the melodious voice replied.

    Bai Qian then looked at Lu Yin, apparently intrigued by him. "Why isn''t he kneeling? It looks like you favor him, Sister He."

    "You may leave," the pleasant voice said.

    The corners of Bai Qian''s lips turned up, but even when smiling, she still appeared aloof and above everything.

    "What is your name?" she asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met her gaze, but he did not answer.

    Bai Qian asked again, "What is your name?"

    Lu Yin still said nothing. He had altered his appearance with the Mask of Death, but the changes were not significant. Given Bai Qian''s intelligence, she should have easily realized his true identity. Given the question directed at him, as well as the conversation between Bai Qian and that person atop the stairs, Lu Yin understood how to proceed.

    "That¡¯s none of your business," Lu Yin finally answered.

    Laughter rang out from above the stairs. It was a delightful sound that melted Lu Yin''s heart. He forced himself to resist the urge to look up at the woman''s face. When he had looked up before, he had only focused on her eyes and had failed to make out the rest of her appearance.

    "Bai Qian, you may leave. He won''t tell you," the voice seemed amused.

    Bai Qian stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment and then asked, "Do you know who I am?"

    Lu Yin remained calm.

    Bai Qian turned back to look at the stairs, her expression turningpletely icy and devoid of any emotion. "Your people have no respect for the rules."

    With that, she turned and walked away.

    Once Bai Qian was gone, Zi Jing resumed her pleading. "Madam, please consider the fact that he doesn''t understand our Transcendent Universe¡¯s rules and forgive Xuan Qi this one time. I beg you, Madam!"

    "Xuan Qi, do you know who that was?" the voice fell again.

    Lu Yin dropped his head. "I don''t know, and I don¡¯t want to know."

    "Why not?"

    "I belong to you, Madam."

    "Ha, you''re quite clever. Even more so than most of the people here. Most insist on doing things their own way, not understanding that, regardless of who wins, we will eventually settle the score with them. I can promise you that she''s going to lose." The voice paused for a moment. "However, before that happens, she might take your life. As someone who¡¯s risen up from the battlefield, she''s iparably ruthless."

    Zi Jing was horrified. "Madam, please save Xuan Qi!"

    "Don''t worry, Zi Jing. Xuan Qi is clever enough that I''m counting on him to serve me. He should go to the Sixverse Academy. She has no influence there."

    Lu Yin was confused. "Sixverse Academy?"

    "Uncle Mo, could you please take Xuan Qi to the Sixverse Academy? Without your protection, he''ll most likely die the moment he leaves this ce."

    A man emerged from the void close to Lu Yin and Zi Jing. "Understood."

    After looking over, Lu Yin understood that this man was the source of the eyes that he had felt earlier. The ck energy converter embedded in the man¡¯s chest was evidence that he was a Progenitor-level expert from the Transcendent Universe.

    Was the woman atop the stairs truly being protected by a Progenitor?

    Just what was this woman''s status? What was shepeting with Bai Qian for?

    Uncle Mo pressed a hand upon Lu Yin''s shoulder. Out of pure instinct, Lu Yin nearly resisted, but he managed to hold himself back.

    "Let''s go," the man said before tearing through the void and vanishing along with Lu Yin.

    Zi Jing let out a sigh of relief. The crime of desecration had been overlooked due to Bai Qian''s sudden appearance. If not for that, there was no telling how things might have turned out.

    "That Xuan Qi is quite interesting. It¡¯s no wonder why you¡¯re so taken with him," the voice echoed.

    Zi Jing answered in a respectful tone, "Thank you for sparing him this time, Madam."

    "Haha. I didn¡¯t spare him, but rather, he chose the right path. If he had dared to approach Bai Qian when she addressed him, he would be nothing but a lifeless husk right now."

    Zi Jing shivered. It was truly lucky that Bai Qian had made an appearance, as things would have be extremelyplicated otherwise. Would Lu Yin have ended up as a lifeless husk? How could that be possible? It¡¯s far more likely that you would have been captured by him and then sent to the Fifth Maind. However, if that happened, a war between the Transcendent Universe and the Fifth Maind would be inevitable, and that would be terrible.

    Sending Bai Qian to the Transcendent Universe had truly been one of the best decisions that Zi Jing had ever made.

    At the same time, after Uncle Mu took Lu Yin through the void, the two men arrived close to a deste that was surrounded by numerousrge spaceships.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing any of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s vessels.

    Overall, their style looked no different from the spacecraft of the Fifth Maind, though with a touch of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s influence. Each ship featured an energy converter, which created a protected area that extended a certain distance around each ship.

    Uncle Mo stepped forward and took Lu Yin onto one of the vessels.

    Within the ship¡¯s control room, several people were arguing fiercely. Upon seeing Uncle Mo, the arguing people jumped in fright before hurriedly bowing. "Greetings, Uncle Mo."

    "Greetings, Uncle Mo."

    "Greetings, Uncle Mo."

    Uncle Mo released Lu Yin and stated, "This is Xuan Qi. Take him straight to the Sixverse Academy."

    With that, the old man disappeared.

    The people in the room offered another bow as they replied, "Understood, Uncle Mo."

    Once they raised their heads, they started curiously studying Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met the gazes.

    "Hey, little brother,e sit over here." One of the people warmly invited Lu Yin over while making a gesture of invitation.

    Everyone else just watched.

    Lu Yin walked over and casually sat down.

    "Do you have tea?" he asked.

    "Yes." The person beside Lu Yin promptly ordered for some tea to be delivered.

    Lu Yin nodded and said, "Please continue. No need to mind me."

    The people in the control room exchanged looks of understanding. This young man was clearly a big shot, given that he had been personally delivered to them by Uncle Mo. Was he connected to that great person?

    The more indifferently Lu Yin behaved, the more everyone believed that he held an incredible status.

    However, Lu Yin''s nonchnce was not a mere act. He was trulypletely unconcerned about these people. He was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, as well as someone who could hold his own against Progenitors. If not for Bai Qian''s sudden appearance, he might have simply captured the woman above the stairs. After all, he was quite curious about just who was so important that just taking a single peek of her was regarded as an act of desecration.

    One day, he would capture her.

    "What are you discussing?" Lu Yin asked while listening in on the ongoing conversation.

    A middle-aged woman from the group smiled and replied, "We are designing a few challenges for an entrance exam for the Sixverse Academy that¡¯s intended to eliminate some people."

    "Oh? Are many people going to go to the Sixverse Academy?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Quite a few. The performances of Shi Hong and the other two have already spread throughout the Transcendent Universe, and their sess has enticed many of the noble families into sending their children there. Also, the military has be interested as well. General Qiu Zhan has sent more than a thousand people to the academy. However, the Sixverse Academy has limited resources, so how can all those people be amodated? We have to eliminate some of the prospective students."

    "General Qiu Zhan is really pushing for this. How many applicants have been sent to join the academy this time?"

    "No less than a hundred thousand people."

    "So many?"

    "It¡¯s the only possibility. Everyone is able to see that the integration of different civilizations toplement one''s shorings is the path to the future. No one wants to fall behind the new trend."

    "Exactly. That¡¯s why I¡¯m being forced to go to the Sixverse Academy," Lu Yinmented.

    The people in the control room nced at each other. Forced? There were countless people who dreamed of going to the academy but would never receive the chance. This man was truly a big shot.

    Before long, the shipnded on a, and the exam started.

    The judges for the current round of the selection process gathered to watch the group''s performance on various disys. Lu Yin also decided to watch, and no one tried to drive him away. He was free to go wherever he pleased.

    On the disys, Lu Yin saw Zuo Yu, Luo Lao''er, Mu Duo, and many others who had fought with him on the tform in the Cloudflow Universe. Even the muscr youth was present.

    Naturally, energy converters were not allowed during this elimination round. Given the weakness of the people being tested, the difficulty level was not very high. If thepetitors were sent to the Fifth Maind, then they would qualify to take the entrance exam for the Astral Combat Academy at best.

    It was quite interesting to watch more than a hundred thousand peoplepeting. Small groups of allies formed, and as the days and nights passed on the deste, people slowly moved closer to the spaceship.

    After two days, the first person finally arrived at the vessel, bing the first person to pass the selection exam. The person was a tall man who had already reached the strength of an Explorer, which was outstanding within the group of examinees.

    The man¡¯s level of strength was only for his physical power, as the people of the Transcendent Universe did not practice any form of cultivation.

    Out of the entire group of examinees, only a few had reached the strength of an Explorer, and naturally, these people were the first to reach the ship. After them, one group after another arrived as the exam waspleted.

 Chapter 2508: Enter

    Chapter 2508: Enter

    The screening examsted for a total of twelve days. Of the roughly 100,000 people, only 1,700 were ultimately allowed to enter the Sixverse Academy.

    Lu Yin was leisurely drinking tea when he received a notification, soon after which someone arrived to collect him.

    "What the¡­ Brother-inw?" Luo Lao''er eximed.

    Zuo Yu, Mu Duo, and the others who had fought with Lu Yin on the Bestowal Carrier in the Cloudflow Universe were all struck dumb by the sight of Lu Yin walking out from the spacecraft. None of them had expected him to be present.

    Lu Yin greeted them all with a smile.

    "Brother-inw, why are you here?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Lu Yin was simrly surprised to see Luo Lao''er. "How is a hostage like you allowed into the Sixverse Academy?"

    "Have you been here for a while?" Zuo Yu asked.

    The conversation attracted a small crowd. Most of the people did not recognize Lu Yin, and when they saw him walking out from the spaceship, many of them grew dissatisfied. They had worked hard to pass the selection exam, while someone else had entered through a back door.

    However, no one dared to make any trouble for Lu Yin. The fact that he was able to enter the academy through such means was proof enough of his background and status. The people who had passed the selection process were not fools, and none of them wanted to recklessly make an enemy.

    A few people tried to strike up conversations with Lu Yin, but he had no interest. At the moment, he was mostly curious about the Sixverse Academy, and Luo Lao''er was naturally the best person to ask.

    Despite only just passing the selection process, Luo Lao''er was already quite well-informed. Furthermore, the fact that he was allowed to enter the Sixverse Academy despite being a hostage made him quite unique.

    "Brother-inw, what do you know about the Sixverse Academy?" Luo Lao''er and Lu Yin were standing in a corner as they waited to be sent to the academy.

    "I have the feeling that it''s a ce where the people of different universes all interact with each other," Lu Yin replied.

    "That''s exactly what it is," Luo Lao''er whispered. "The Sixverse Association has always struggled to deal with Aeternus, and they¡¯ve usually been on the defensive side. However, a few years ago, the Seven Skygods inexplicably left, which gave the association an incredible advantage. They used that to reim their lost territory and gain an opportunity for greater coboration. That''s how the door to integrating different civilizations was opened.

    "The people of the Transcendent Universe do not cultivate, so as soon as their energy converters are drained, they¡¯re done for. That''s why they want to cultivate. It¡¯s not only to protect themselves, but also so that we can adapt to more powerful energy converters. This has already been proven effective, and they can even use their energy better through battle techniques. The power of the Voidforce Universe is especially useful for protection."

    Lu Yin interrupted, "Did you say this all happened just a few years ago?"

    "That¡¯s right. The Sixverse Association has almost always been on the back foot in the war against Aeternus, while Aeternus controlled many parallel universes that the association had ess to. Because of this, the members of the association weren¡¯t able to cooperate with each other, even if they wanted to. However, a few years ago, all of the Seven Skygods left one after another, and the Sixverse Association took advantage of that opportunity to take back a few universes. The Sixverse Academy is in one of those parallel universes."

    Things clicked into ce for Lu Yin. A few years ago? Isn¡¯t that when we tried to kill Undying God?

    It appeared that Lu Yin had helped the Sixverse Association a great deal.

    "Brother-inw, did you get selected early because of your rtionship with my sister?" Luo Lao''er was curious.

    Before Lu Yin could even answer, Luo Lao''er continued on in a sympathetic tone. "Then I really pity you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "What do you mean by that?"

    Luo Lao''er nced around in a sneaky manner before whispering, "Do you know how many people are going to show up when civilizations from multiple universes gather together? Do you know how many geniuses are going to be there? Too many! ording to my intel, some of the top geniuses from each of the different universes will be there, and that¡¯s on top of the people from the Transcendent Universe. There were only a few hundred people in Shi Hong''s ss at the academy, and that number is growing by more than ten times with our ss. On top of that, we¡¯re only the first expansion. Many of the other universes in contact with the Sixverse Association''s members are also going to start sending their own people over.¡±

    "There are all kinds of civilizations, and the Transcendent Universe is considered to be pretty normal. There are some civilizations where people call themselves gods. Just think about it! How great would it be to marry a goddess? If any woman from the Main Universe, Wood Realm, Voidforce Universe, or any other at that level takes a fancy to you, then it''s an instant jackpot! Unfortunately, Brother-inw, you won''t be able to get any of those opportunities.¡±

    "By the way, Brother-inw, which of the academy¡¯s schools do you n to join?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Lu Yin did not understand the question. "What do you mean?"

    Luo Lao''er became confused. "Didn''t my sister tell you?"

    "I wasn¡¯t even able to tell Zi Jing that I gave her a little brother," Lu Yin retorted.

    Luo Lao''er wailed, "Brother-inw, you can''t do this to me! I''ve called you Brother-inw so many times that you have to get my sister to ept me. I don''t intend to return to the Three Monarchs Universe for the rest of my life. I''ve already decided that I¡¯ll follow my sister forever. Brother-inw, you can''t go back on your promise!"

    Lu Yin felt his head hurt. "What do you mean by the academy¡¯s schools?"

    Luo Lao''er exined, "In the Sixverse Academy, there are a total of six schools, one for each member universe of the Sixverse Association. Anyone who attends the academy has to choose a school to join. After gaining mastery of the power possessed by whatever civilization is in charge of the school, a person is allowed to move on to the next school. Don''t think that the Sixverse Academy is easy. They¡¯ll kick out anyone who can¡¯t keep up."

    He held up a finger. "If you can master the power of a civilization other than your own within a year, you¡¯re allowed to remain in the academy and continue studying. If you can¡¯t, you¡¯re expelled."

    Lu Yin started to wonder. "Where did you learn all of this?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Everyone knows this much. The Sixverse Academy isn¡¯t a secret anymore. Why else would so many people be moring to get in?"

    Lu Yin looked around. There were over a thousand people present, and most of them were discussing the academy and different schools.

    He had been taken to see Zi Jing as soon as he left the battlefield, and then had been delivered to the exam location without ever being given the opportunity to learn anything about the situation in the Transcendent Universe.

    Although the Transcendent Universe was simr to a technological civilization in that they had awork, he still hadn¡¯t connected to thework. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t utilize it to increase his understanding of certain matters.

    "Brother-inw, which school do you want to join?" Luo Lao''er asked curiously.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Sixverse Academy¡¯s six schools were run by the six members of the Sixverse Association, which was led by the Main Universe, also known as the Cyclic Universe. Below that was the Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs Universe, the Arboreal Realm, the Voidforce Universe, and the Lost n.

    Attendant Wu had provided Lu Yin with a rough outline of the Sixverse Association, but the man did not know much due to his low status. Zi Jing''s exnation was what had truly opened Lu Yin''s eyes to the development of the different human civilizations.

    The Main Universe was a standard cultivation civilization, and it was led by the Great Sovereign. Below the Great Sovereign were the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, all of whom were Progenitor-level experts. No one knew how many powerhouses at the Semi-Progenitors or Envoy level were in that universe.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had Monarch Luo, Monarch Mu, and Monarch Xing. By working together, the three were able to stand up to Forgotten Ruins God. Attendant Wu had mentioned that his universe cultivated something known as monarch essence, which was very suitable for usage with weapons and equipment.

    The Arboreal Realm was a unique civilization where all life could be transformed into trees. Zi Jing had told Lu Yin that cultivators from the Arboreal Realm were able to obtain power from the trees by undergoing a certain transformation. In other words, every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm possessed an innate gift, which was truly bizarre.

    How many cultivators in the entire Fifth Maind had an innate gift? Anyone with an innate gift was automatically qualified to join the Universe Youth Council without any questions. This was evidence of just how rare innate gifts were. In contrast, absolutely every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm had an innate gift, which made the universe incredibly powerful.

    Zi Jing had not known much about the Voidforce Universe, which was why he had been so confused when he saw Shi Hong and the two young men using the power of the voidforce puppets in the Cloudflow Universe. Zi Jing thought that the Voidforce Universe used a method that was simr to puppetry, but Luo Lao''er''s exnation revealed that they actually cultivated a form of control. Truly, they were a very odd civilization.

    As for the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin had already learned a great deal about it.

    Thest of the six members of the Sixverse Association was the Lost n. Zi Jing knew almost nothing about them, other than amon saying that was used to describe the Lost n: every Lost n warrior would carefully n a crafted game of death that best suited themselves. That was the full extent of the knowledge that most people from the Sixverse Association had of the Lost n.

    Lu Yin could not make any sense of the description, which left him very curious about the Lost n.

    "Which school do you want to join?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "The Voidforce School."

    "Why?"

    "The Voidforce Universe is extremely well versed in self-protection, and they always fight with humans standing at the very back, which means that they stay rtively safe."

    Lu Yin said, "Voidforce? That does sound rather mystical. I¡¯ll join the Voidforce School too."

    "Great! Brother-inw, let¡¯s work together in the Sixverse Academy! We¡¯ll snatch goddesses, fight geniuses, and prove ourselves as the best!" Luo Lao''er proimed loudly. His shout drew a number of strange stares.

    Lu Yin quickly distanced himself from Luo Lao''er, greatly regretting speaking to the young man.

    After a while of waiting, someone appeared who gave all of the gathered youths a cold look. The person waved their hand, enveloping everyone with white-colored energy that pulled everyone to a parallel universe.

    After arriving in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin felt that his concept of distance hadpletely changed.

    In the Fifth Maind, distance was something that could be measured as a way of quantifying space, but at this moment, Lu Yin realized that distance could not only be a measurement of space, but also of positions and dimensions that humans were unable to calcte. What Lu Yin knew as reality had been expanded endlessly in a single instance.

    No matter how advanced humans became, it was impossible to escape the unknown. Even for Progenitors, there were endless parallel universes waiting to be explored. It was impossible for anyone to explore all the countless universes in a single lifetime.

    The Astral Wilderness and the endless parallel universe reminded Lu Yin of how vast everything really was, as well as how insignificant individual creatures were.

    In this short amount of time, Lu Yin had already traveled from the Fifth Maind to visit both the Transcendent Universe and the Cloudflow Universe. Already, Lu Yin was visiting his fourth universe.

    No matter how many parallel universes there might be, entering one always felt the same. Space was dark, profound, and filled with various revolvings, stars, and astral phenomena.

    However, Lu Yin was caught off guard when they arrived at their destination. This universe felt extremely pure.

    "This universe has been named the Singrity Universe because it hasn¡¯t been altered by any sort of power. This is the most primitive type of universe." Their escort stared off into space. "Many universes have been altered or developed by unique civilizations due to the appearance of extremely powerful individuals, though they may do so by using technology, cultivation, or other various extraordinary astral phenomena. However, this universe is different, as there are no unique power systems here. This ce ispletely clean, which is what makes it a suitable location for the Sixverse Academy."

    When this exnation was finished, everyone suddenly found themselves at the top of a mountain peak with clouds surrounding them. The clouds spiraled up toward outer space. It looked like they were standing at a gateway that led down from the darkness of outer space.

    Apart from clouds and stars, no one could see anything at all.

    "This mountain rises from the surface, yet it reaches the edge of outer space. This is the starting point of the Sixverse Academy. You will enter from this ce, and you should dream of leaving from here as well one day. Unfortunately, very few people are ever able to do so."

    Many looks of confusion appeared in the listening crowd. They were supposed to enter and leave the academy from this location?

    No further exnation was offered, and their escort waved a hand. Six enormous disys appeared above the crowd, each one showing a video of different people fighting battles.

    "Each image represents a different civilization. Choose the civilization that you wish to learn from, and that choice will be the school that you enter. I¡¯ll remind you now that if you do not meet the minimum requirements of your chosen civilization within a year, you will be expelled and will never be allowed to return to the Sixverse Academy again. You will only receive one chance."

    Everyone stared at the six disys. This was their opportunity to choose their school and enter it to learn a new power.

 Chapter 2509: Wu Tian Stone Disk

    Chapter 2509: Wu Tian Stone Disk

    Lu Yin looked ahead at a disy that showed a woman standing across from a corpse king in outer space. As the corpse king attacked, stars shattered. With a casual wave of the monster¡¯s hand, the void cracked as spatial tears extended into the horizon. The corpse king¡¯s scarlet eyes stared down from above, sending shivers down one''s spine.

    The woman''s appearance was blurry, but Lu Yin could see that, when she opened her arms, a green light radiated out from her that gradually enveloped the nearby area. Before long, the green light transformed into a towering tree that exuded a divine aura. The tree¡¯s branches coiled together to form a giant hand that grabbed the corpse king.

    The monster roared something unintelligible, and its scarlet eyes changed to gray, then green, and finally stopped at red. Its physical strength had risen to a shocking level, and it seemed palpable even through the disy.

    Despite its incredible strength afterpleting the Corpse King Transformation, the corpse king was still caught by the tree¡¯s hand. The hand clenched into a fist, and there was not a single gap between the fingers. The corpse king was crushed to bits.

    The tree branches then dissolved into specks of green light that drifted off into outer space. It was both a beautiful and ethereal sight.

    Lu Yin was startled. Had a single attack destroyed that corpse king?

    "Are all of the women of the Arboreal Realm that tough? I''d better take them off of my list of potential partners." Luo Lao''er felt his legs grow weak after seeing the corpse king be crushed to death. He quickly looked away from the disy. "Brother-inw, look, that''s the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin looked at the adjacent disy, which was showing the Transcendent Universe''s Bestowal Art. A beam of ck light pierced a corpse king on that image. The attack was clean and sharp, but less visually impressive than the Arboreal Realm''s demonstration.

    Shouts of amazement rang out, and Lu Yin turned to see what themotion was about. The disy behind him showed a stone disk. The disk expanded, and as it did so, the disy zoomed out to keep the entire disk in view.

    The stone disk was sorge that it now covered an entire region of space, but it continued to growrger. Before long, it seemed as though the disk was the only thing that could be seen,pletely recing outer space. After that, it started to give off an incredible pressure that pushed downwards.

    Stars shattered like beans as the void contorted, unable to withstand the power of the stone disk. The countless corpse kings beneath the disk were almost instantly annihted.

    The solitary stone disk cleaned up an entire battlefield.

    The scene caused Lu Yin''s eyes to grow wide from amazement. He had never seen such a massive stone disk before, but it seemed to be a weapon that was strong enough to destroy an entire battlefield. However, there was no way to know if there had been any truly powerful corpse kings on that battlefield.

    At that moment, the scene started to rey, and a colossal pair of scarlet eyes appeared in outer space.

    Lu Yin reflexively stepped forward. That was one of Aeternus¡¯s cosmic doors that allowed them to freely travel between parallel universes.

    As soon as the enormous eye appeared, corpse kings started to show up as well, and they started to spread out.

    Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance, standing atop a stone disk.

    An unending horde of corpse kings streamed into the region, shattering the void with their attacks. These attacks were apparently able to ignore distance, and they were at leastparable to the power of an Envoy.

    The stone disk beneath the person''s feet released an attack, and it smashed all of the approaching corpse kings apart.

    Then, a giant corpse king emerged from the cosmic door, and space itself trembled at the monster¡¯s appearance. A single breath from the enormous corpse king shattered a. This creature was no weaker than the red-eyed corpse king that had used the Corpse King Transformation against the woman from the Arboreal Realm in the other disy.

    The giant corpse king took a single step forward, but that was enough for it to appear right in front of the stone disk. Then, it released a punch.

    The fist smashed into the stone disk, but the first thing that happened was that the fist shattered, followed by the corpse king¡¯s head. There seemed to be no resistance from the corpse king as the stone disk destroyed it before the body copsed and fell.

    After that, more giant corpse kings appeared.

    The human rose up from the stone disk and raised a hand. The motion caused the disk to start growing, which was the point in the video where Lu Yin had started watching. The disk grewrger andrger until it reced space itself, crushing all of the corpse kings.

    "I know that battle!" someone eximed. "That person¡¯s Void Intent from the Voidforce Universe! That¡¯s his final battle."

    "Void Intent? The person who controlled the Wu Tian Stone Disk as his life-bound voidforce puppet?" someone else spoke up.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Wu Tian Stone Disk? Wu Tian?

    "That¡¯s right; that''s him! He was strong enough to stall Aeternus! Unfortunately, corpse kings with power levels of several million appeared from the cosmic door after the events shown in the video, and they managed to kill him. After he died, another powerhouse from the Voidforce Universe appeared, but they were only able to retrieve the Wu Tian Stone Disk."

    "What a legend! That¡¯s such a shame."

    "I want to join the Voidforce School and find the strongest voidforce puppet that suits me.¡±

    "I want to as well."

    Lu Yin stared at the screen, carefully observing the stone disk.

    Wu Tian Stone Disk? Is it just a coincidence? Wu Tian had been one of the Three Realms Six Dao, and he had been an expert equal to the God of Death. Why had his name appeared in the Voidforce Universe?

    In the Fifth Maind, Destiny had an impressive reputation despite also being known for her elusiveness. She had left behind her Books of Destiny, as well as fatesand, and there were even individuals like the members of the Starsibyl Sect who had made divination well known. After the people from the Heavens Sect era had been released from the sourcebox, especially Destina, everyone hade to know of Destiny, whether they believed in divination or not. At the very least, Destiny was regarded as one of the strongest powerhouses in the Heavens Sect era.

    The God of Death had be renowned throughout the Fifth Maind even earlier. The Specter n was the most famous group to have received the God of Death¡¯s power, but Lu Yin¡¯s use of the God of Death Transformation had caused the ancient powerhouse¡¯s fame to surpass even Destiny¡¯s.

    Compared to the other two Three Realms, Wu Tian had rarely even been mentioned.

    Wu Tian was the person who had developed the usage of weapons and techniques for them, and he had also left behind the Sword Monument. However, the Sword Monument was the only proof of Wu Tian¡¯s existence, aside from Undying God, whose name was Wu Xing. There were no other records of Wu Tian.

    Wu Tian had not left behind any battle techniques or invincible legacies. He had been just as low-key as Progenitor Ku of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas era.

    Lu Yin had never dreamed that he would hear the name ¡°Wu Tian¡± in a parallel universe.

    Did that stone disk have some connection to Wu Tian?

    "Brother-inw, the Lost n''s style of fighting really is truly unique. No wonder people call it a nned-out game of death," Luo Lao''ermented.

    Lu Yin followed the young man¡¯s gaze to see a strange scene on another disy.

    A corpse king stood in the middle of a desert. It looked around, but there was no one in sight.

    The sun zed overhead, and the air burned. Fire spread across the desert. Suddenly, another figure emerged from the sand. Sand gathered together to form a sword that shed sideways to cut the corpse king.

    The corpse king was extremely powerful, and it easily shattered the sand sword with a single palm, and it even pierced the image of the human who had just appeared. However, the image also turned into sand, and that sand then clung to the corpse king''s body. As the temperature in the desert rose, each grain of sand exploded, eventually killing the corpse king.

    After the corpse king died, the desert twisted and transformed into a card. A man casually reached out to grab the card and shove it into his pocket. The disy only ever showed the man¡¯s back.

    The card appeared unremarkable.

    "That¡¯s how the Lost n fights. They save their most optimal battlefield onto a card, and then once someone is captured and sent to that particr battlefield, escape bes impossible, unless there is a significant difference in strength. In the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus, these cards are the traps that the Aeternals fear the most. Many powerful corpse kings have fallen to these traps. The battles end with the card and its owner leaving, while the corpse kings simply vanish forever," Luo Lao''er quietly exined.

    This fight was not nearly as visually impressive as the style of battle used by the Arboreal Realm or the Voidforce Universe, but the video gave Lu Yin an inexplicable chill. This truly was a meticulously nned game of death, and it demonstrated a peculiar use of spatial anomalies.

    Lu Yin was amazed. How did they manage to condense space within a card? Did it work like cosmic rings?

    Was it truly possible to create a game of death within an isted space that perfectly suited a specific person¡¯s fighting methods?

    The Lost n truly did employ a unique style of fighting.

    "Brother-inw, never go to the Lost n School. Just watch them from a distance. Their fighting style is the most difficult to learn," Luo Lao''er warned. "Brother-inw, look over there. That¡¯s a battle from my Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin turned and saw a tri-colored light shing on another disy. This was the same monarch essence that he had seen Attendant Wu use before.

    The power that belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe was nothing special, though its ability to enhance tools and weapons was unparalleled within the Sixverse Association.

    "As long as a weapon is infused with monarch essence, it can be upgraded to a higher level," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised. If he infused his slipper with monarch essence, would it also be upgraded by a level? He was tempted to ask, but he assumed that Luo Lao''er would just curse him.

    Asking to enhance a slipper with monarch essence was no different from insulting the entire universe.

    Finally, Lu Yin looked at the disy to his right. This was the only one of the six that he had not observed, and it showed the fighting style of the Main Universe.

    The video of the Main Universe was not particrly interesting. Much like the Fifth Maind, they possessed a true cultivation civilization, and the showcase was of an array of battle techniques.

    However, the demonstrated battle techniques were not as powerful as the ones that Lu Yin had already mastered.

    However, there was no telling the limits that such a civilization could reach as it developed.

    Lu Yin was curious to find out how the Main Universe had managed to exist for so many years without ever losing a single one of its Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. He also could not understand how the Great Sovereign had managed to teach twelve peak powerhouses.

    Even the Fifth Maind¡¯s Origin Progenitor had not been able to raise Progenitor-level experts.

    The disys slowly faded before transforming into light beams that shot away in six different directions.

    "Six directions. Six schools. These represent the six civilizations that you just witnessed. Choose the school that you wish to attend and descend by the stairs that lead in the corresponding direction until you arrive at the bottom," their escort instructed as a pair of eyes swept over the crowd of youths. "Once you enter a school, returning above the clouds will not be easy. I hope to see all of you here next time."

    With that, their escort disappeared.

    Immediately, the crowd broke out into numerous conversations.

    "Where will you go?"

    "I''m going to go to the Main Universe¡¯s school for sure. There¡¯s no question that they stand at the peak of the Sixverse Association."

    I''m also going to the Main Universe School. They have the most powerful cultivation civilization. I heard that it¡¯s possible to achieve a power level in the millions with cultivation, which means that you can be one of the strongest powerhouses even without using a ck energy converter."

    "I''m going to the Arboreal Realm. Everyone who goes there and undergoes their transformation is able to obtain an innate gift from a specific tree. Who knows? Maybe I''ll obtain some legendary innate gift from the strongest tree."

    "I''ll go with you! There are all kinds of innate gifts in the Arboreal Realm, and any one of them could allow us to undergo a metamorphosis."

    "How can it be so easy to obtain a good innate gift? You¡¯re just dreaming."

    "I''m going to the Voidforce School. Wu Tian''s stone disk is incredible. On the battlefield, people from the Voidforce Universe are always the safest.¡±

    ¡­

    Everyone was engaged in heated discussions.

    Zuo Yu tapped on Lu Yin''s shoulder. "Hey, where are you going to study?"

    Lu Yin was not sure why she had sought him out. "The Voidforce School."

    Zuo Yu replied, "I''m going to the Cyclic School to find Sister Hong. You managed to see through her sword technique, and I want to avenge her."

 Chapter 2510: Voidforce School

    Chapter 2510: Voidforce School

    Mu Duo approached and said, "I think that the Lost n¡¯s style of trapping their opponents for a fight would suit me best."

    Luo Lao''er rolled his eyes. "Congrattions. We won¡¯t see you here next year."

    Mu Duo snorted. "I¡¯ll definitely master it!"

    Everyone quickly made their way to the stairs that led to their school of choice. Zuo Yu was the first to head towards the Cyclic Wheel School¡¯s staircase, followed by Mu Duo, who walked down the Lost n School¡¯s stairs. One by one, everyone approached their chosen stairs and descended towards their respective schools.

    Luo Lao''er followed Lu Yin, and they both headed for the Voidforce School. "Brother-inw, the power of the Voidforce Universe shouldn''t be too difficult for us to pick up. Look, there are many other people heading there as well."

    It was true that many people were heading for the Voidforce School. However, the most popr school was the Cyclic School, and the least popr was the Lost n School. Many people had the impression that the Lost n Universe¡¯s method of fighting would be very difficult to learn.

    Also, of the six showcases of the six different schools¡¯ fighting styles, the Lost n School¡¯s video had not been particrly impressive. There was no denying that their cards were quite mystical, but such a thing did not hold much appeal to most people. It was a style of fighting that best suited people who enjoyed scheming behind the scenes.

    As he watched Mu Duo step onto the staircase that led to the Lost n School, Luo Lao''er gritted his teeth and said, "If that kid¡¯s still in the academy after a year, it will mean that he¡¯s managed to learn their battle style. If you see him again, everyone, don''t let him ambush you."

    That singlement caused Mu Duo to receive a number of odd looks from the people nearby.

    Mu Duo''s face flushed with anger. "Luo Lao''er, just you wait! I¡¯ll kick your ass next year!"

    Luo Lao''er rolled his eyes. "Let¡¯s talk about that after you manage to stay in the academy."

    From a distance, the mountain peak seemed to stand at the center of the entire universe, as the Taiyi Universe was not thatrge. Six staircases descended from the peak in different directions. At the bottom of each staircase was a continent, rather thans.

    Beyond each continent was nothing more than ever-changing constetions that swirled through outer space.

    For some time, Lu Yin and the others walked down the stairs. None of them had any idea how far they had to go.

    Suddenly, they heard someone shout, "There''s someone down below!"

    The crowd all looked down.

    They saw a woman sitting next to the mountain beneath the transparent staircase. She was looking up at the new students with bright eyes. They were already directly above the woman.

    Lu Yin also looked down. Had this woman been their escort? They had arrived at the mountain peak from outer space, and then been told that they needed to climb back to the top in order to leave the academy. Was the woman a student of the Sixverse Academy?

    The woman suddenly tied a white rope to her waist, and then by using a battle technique, she threw the rope up towards Lu Yin and those with him. The rope shimmered with the aura of tri-colored monarch essence as it shot through the air.

    Luo Lao''er grew puzzled. "Is she hoping that we''ll catch that rope and pull her up?"

    "Impossible," Lu Yin responded. He knew that someone was monitoring this area. If the woman truly wanted to leave the Sixverse Academy, she would not try to take this shortcut.

    As the rope flew up to the stairs, the woman stared at Lu Yin. Her eyes grew unfocused, as though she was using a battle technique.

    The moment Lu Yin¡¯s eyes met the woman''s, he felt an invisible power envelop him. It was a simr sensation to the runes that he was familiar with, as they were both powers that ordinary people could not see.

    The woman''s gaze sharpened, and she gritted her teeth. "Control."

    Lu Yin''s body trembled. He furrowed his brow and twitched a finger, instantly breaking free from the restraint that had been ced upon him.

    Down below, rity returned to the woman''s eyes. She stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How can this be? Why can¡¯t I control him?

    She had wanted to seize control of one of the people on the stairs and then manipte them into grabbing her rope and pulling her up. That would allow her to ascend the stairs, which wouldplete her trial. However, what had happened? Had a new student broken free from her control? That should have been impossible. These were new students from the Transcendent Universe, no?

    She had received news that people from the Transcendent Universe would be arriving at the Sixverse Academy this day. People from that universe did not cultivate, and instead only relied on their energy converters forbat. This made them the easiest people to control, which the woman had already confirmed through many rounds of experimentation.

    She had calcted the timing,e up with a n, found a location, and properly arranged everything. But in the end, she had failed to control someone from the Transcendent Universe. How was that even possible?

    As Lu Yin and the others slowly descended the stairs, the rope fell in front of them and awkwardlynded on the ground.

    Resentment filled the woman''s eyes as she red at Lu Yin.

    "Brother-inw, she''s looking at you," Luo Lao''er said.

    Lu Yin nced back. "Let''s go. Stop being ridiculous."

    In the distance, someone gloated. "She failed, haha! What a cunning girl. I was wondering why she suddenly decided to challenge the trial, as she should be far from meeting the minimum strength requirements. Now I see why."

    "Hmph, taking advantage of a loophole. Even if she had seeded, she would have been disqualified."

    "Why? Sess is sess. It¡¯s called ''using your brain.'' Do you think everyone is as brainless as you?"

    "That''s just being cunning."

    "Say that to Zhi Bing, the old bastard. Now that I mention it, you''ve never beaten that old bastard, have you?"

    "I will find a way to destroy that card of his!"

    "I''ll be waiting for that, but for now, I''m more interested in watching that girl. I hope to see her go wild with her schemes."

    "Even if that girl was just trying to take advantage of a loophole, she still should have seeded. She only failed because she wasn¡¯t able to control that person from the Transcendent Universe."

    "That''s true. People from the Transcendent Universe should be easy to control, and are actually no different from an ordinary human. Given her abilities, it doesn''t make sense for her to fail to control one of them. That¡¯s quite strange."

    "Look into this. There has to be a reason why she failed. We can¡¯t allow anyone from Aeternus to sneak in. We can¡¯t allow any ident to befall the Sixverse Academy."

    ¡­

    The staircase was extremely long. After all, it spanned the length of the continent beneath it.

    Initially, the group did not move quickly, but suddenly, the stairs behind them started to crumble. Luo Lao''er screamed, "Brother-inw, run!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Such childish games. Following behind Luo Lao''er and the others, he ran down the stairs.

    A whileter, beams of light shot toward the group. They initially believed them to be some sort of test, but the beams stopped directly in front of the people and then revealed themselves to be jade slips.

    A nce was enough for Lu Yin to know that these jade slips were the work of the Main Universe. Only cultivation civilizations used these things.

    He grabbed the jade slip in front of him, and information soon entered his mind.

    The others did the same, and soon, everyone understood the general situation of the Voidforce School.

    Although it was called a "school," the Voidforce School had no instructors or anything along those lines. It was simply a ce for the students to cultivate.

    These jade slips did not contain much information, and they simply informed the youths on how they could learn Voidforce Universe''s power from the school.

    "Brother-inw, this looks pretty simple," Luo Lao''er said.

    Lu Yin replied, "It may look simple, but actually cultivating this might be a very different story. Let''s hurry."

    Half a day passed before they finally saw clouds above the continent. At the same time, the new arrivals also saw countless strange things.

    Various items were floating in the sky above the continent: weapons, stones, and even what appeared to be an entire vige.

    There was a vige floating in the sky.

    This group of new arrivals was stunned by the sight. While they did not understand the mechanism behind what they were seeing, they did understand that the floating objects in front of them were the voidforce puppets that the jade slips had mentioned. People from the Voidforce Universe, or those who learned their methods, could control these voidforce puppets.

    There were all sorts of different strange and peculiar objects floating about, though most of them were rtively normal. The only problem for most people was that there were rtively few weapons. The vige was the only one of its kind to be seen.

    Why would anyone want to control a vige? To attack people?

    Suddenly, the stairs disappearedpletely, and everyone plummeted.

    Fortunately, they had descended to a height where the fall was not a problem. Even without energy converters, the youths from the Transcendent Universe had physiques that were robust enough to handle such punishment.

    Everyonended safely. After a brief rest, everyone started seeking out familiar faces before leaving in groups of two or three.

    After learning about the situation in the Voidforce School, each person had specific ces that they intended to visit.

    As for Lu Yin, there was only one ce that he wanted to visit: he wanted to first perceive voidforce energy, which was the first step to cultivating the power of the Voidforce Universe. This was the same destination as most of the new arrivals.

    Luo Lao''er simply followed Lu Yin wherever he went.

    The school¡¯s continent was vast, but Lu Yin was pretending to be an Enlighter, which meant that he was still able to get around fairly quickly.

    Someone watched Lu Yin from the shadows. Upon seeing him disy a cultivation prowess at the Enlighter level, the person instantly grew wary.

    It was rare for someone as young as Lu Yin to achieve such a level of cultivation in the Transcendent Universe, and the young man was also clearly using battle techniques.

    Luo Lao''er was originally from the Three Monarchs Universe, and thus he also used battle techniques.

    There were two people who were clearly from cultivation civilizations, but they had arrived with the Transcendent Universe¡¯s group. Clearly, something was not quite normal about this situation.

    The first step to being able to cultivate the power of the Voidforce Universe was bing capable of perceiving voidforce energy.

    voidforce energy was an invisible power, and it was necessary to immerse oneself in the energy to learn how to perceive it.

    Simr to cultivating Truesight, the first step was Awakening.

    Before Lu Yin¡¯s group of students had joined, the previous students studying in the Voidforce School had already undergone an elimination process, which meant that everyone who remained either wanted to improve their mastery of voidforce energy or had transferred over from one of the other five schools.

    To graduate from the Sixverse Academy, it was necessary to reach the minimum requirements for at least four of the six different schools. This was why, after students met the requirements for a given school, they could apply to transfer over to another.

    The Void Ground was a ce within the Voidforce School where there were stones of varying sizes floating around. Each stone had been imbued with voidforce energy, though they did not possess any sort of offensive capability. Instead, the stones were designed to allow any who touched them to sense the voidforce energy that they contained.

    All they needed to do was touch a stone.

    As soon as Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er arrived in the Void Ground, they saw stones of all different sizes floating about. There were also other people already present. These people were like Shi Hong and the two young men who had apanied her. These were students who had entered the Sixverse Academy long ago.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er arrive, someone spoke up. "They''re finally here. Does this mean that we¡¯ve actually managed to start integrating the different universes¡¯ civilizations?"

    One of the men was sitting atop a stone that was more than a meter across. He looked at Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er. "Which universe do youe from?"

    Lu Yin replied, "The Transcendent Universe."

    "How many of you came?"

    "1,700."

    "1,700 people? So many?"

    "Interesting. It seems that those guys had a pretty significant impact when they returned to their universe. If the Transcendent Universe is showing such a strong reaction, then I imagine that it''s going to be the same for others as well."

    "Hmph, at least they have a bit of foresight. We might not have spent much time here in the Sixverse Academy, but we¡¯ve already gained far greater power than if we had stayed in our own universe. Not only have I acquired an innate gift after undergoing a wood transformation, but I¡¯ve also started to cultivate voidforce energy. When I go back, I''ll be able to suppress all of my peers."

    "Not necessarily. Those geniuses aren¡¯t stupid either. Soon enough, they wille here themselves, and there are also many geniuses who¡¯ve entered the academy in our ss. We can¡¯tpare to those kinds of people."

    "We¡¯ll catch up to them. It''s just a matter of time. All we need to do is determine which method of cultivation suits us best."

    Lu Yin looked around, seeking a stone to use for himself. Everyone that he saw was lounging on their own stone.

 Chapter 2511: Void Grounds

    Chapter 2511: Void Grounds

    The stones had been imbued with voidforce energy. As long as a person made contact with a stone, they would be enveloped by voidforce energy, much like an ordinary human being submerged in water. On average, people were only able to endure for around half a minute when they first encountered voidforce energy. After that, they would need to repeat the process until they could endure it for over three hours. At that point, they would most likely undergo Awakening, which would allow them to observe voidforce energy with the naked eye.

    Awakening was also the only way for a person to step past the threshold and begin cultivating with voidforce energy. Without Awakening, they would never be able to seed no matter how long they tried for.

    "Get back!" a nearby woman in green robes shouted fiercely at Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er.

    Her hair was long enough that it draped over the stone that she sat on, and each strand emitted a hazy glow. She stared at Lu Yin with sharp eyes.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Are you talking to me?"

    The woman coldly answered, "That stone already has an owner."

    Lu Yin nodded and walked towards another stone of simr size.

    "Get back! That one is taken as well."

    Luo Lao''er found a stone that was not particrlyrge, but was at least big enough for him to sit on.

    "Get back! That stone has an owner."

    Luo Lao''er then approached an even smaller stone, only to be yelled at again. "Get back! That one has an owner."

    Luo Lao''er finally lost his patience. "This one has an owner, and that one has an owner. Are there really that many people here? These stones can''t all be taken, right?"

    Someone sneered. "The ones on the edges don¡¯t have owners. Go take one of those."

    Luo Lao''er¡¯s brow furrowed. "There must be at least eighty to a hundred stones here, and I know that the first ss to enter the Sixverse Academy only had a few hundred in total, which means that no more than a few dozen people were assigned to each school. Most of your ss went to the Cyclic School, so how could all of these stones already be taken?"

    "I¡¯m saying that they¡¯re taken, so they¡¯re taken," someone replied in a derisive tone. The youth¡¯s attitudes did not stem from anything like a grudge against the neers; rather, but it came from a sense of superiority that they had developed as the first ss of students to attend the Sixverse Academy. Bullying the neers like Lu Yin was nothing more than a means of demonstrating their seniority.

    Luo Lao''er nced at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was looking at the woman who had spoken to him first. He nced at the stone that she was sitting on and then raised a hand to point at the stone. "I want that one."

    The statement stunned the woman. Everyone sitting on the stones stared at Lu Yin for a moment before bursting intoughter.

    "Xiao Fei, a neer just challenged you, hahaha."

    "Xiao Fei, he thinks that you''re an easy target."

    "Teach him a lesson."

    Luo Lao''er reverently said, "Brother-inw, you''re truly fearless."

    Xiao Fei''s expression fell, and she jumped off of her stone and approached Lu Yin. "Neer, you''ve got guts. I can see that you''re from the Transcendent Universe. Xie Wu, you won¡¯t mind if I teach him a lesson, will you?"

    A man in the back calmly answered, "Do as you wish. A little lesson won''t hurt."

    There were a few people from the Transcendent Universe who were also part of the first ss of students, but all of them in the Voidforce School acknowledged this young man as their leader.

    Xiao Fei nodded. "Good."

    She then looked back at Lu Yin. "I won''t make things difficult for you. Kneel down and apologize, and I''ll act like none of this ever happened."

    Luo Lao''er walked behind Lu Yin and whispered, "Brother-inw, Xie Wu is here. He''s not some nobody. Be careful."

    Lu Yin looked at Xiao Fei. "If you kneel down to me, and I''ll treat this as though it never happened."

    A hush fell over everyone present, and eyes grew wide. After a moment of silence, a raucousughter erupted.

    "Xiao Fei, if I were you, I wouldn''t let this go so easily."

    "Crush him, Xiao Fei!"

    The truth was that, even if trouble had note for Lu Yin, he had already intended to stir some up. He wanted to experience the fighting style of the Voidforce Universe, and even more so, he wanted to face someone who had alreadyprehended the power of the Lost n.

    "Which noble family are you from?" Xie Wu suddenly asked Lu Yin from afar.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, "You waste so much time."

    Xie Wu frowned. "Xiao Fei, cripple him. I''ll be heading back soon enough, and when I do, I¡¯ll take him away with me. I won''t allow his presence to continue ruining your vision."

    Xiao Fei smiled. "Many thanks, Xie Wu."

    "Xie Wu is certainly quick."

    "Xie Wu, make sure you tell his family that he was crippled here. We¡¯ll see if anyonees back to help him. We''ll look forward to it."

    "Haha."

    Xiao Fei moved away from the stones, directing a yful smile towards Lu Yin. "Go ahead and make your move now."

    Lu Yin curiously asked, "Why aren''t you wearing a lens to detect power levels?"

    Xiao Fei grew puzzled. "Why would we wear those?"

    "Without those, how can you be certain that you¡¯re up against someone weaker than you?"

    Xiao Fei''s smile faded. "This isn''t a normal school. This is no ivory tower¡ªthis is the Sixverse Academy! Death isn¡¯t forbidden here."

    Her eyes then grew unfocused, and an intangible power spread out into the sky. Most people were not able to even sense this energy, but there was a huge disparity between Lu Yin''s strength and most of the students in the academy. Even if he was not able to directly see the power being used, he could still sense it. It felt quite simr to the power that the woman beneath the stairs had tried to use to control Lu Yin on his way to the Voidforce School from the mountain peak. Even then, he had effortlessly broken free of the woman¡¯s efforts.

    "Brother¡­ Brother-inw!" Luo Lao''er shrieked as he pointed up at the sky.

    Lu Yin looked up to see a massive shadow fall upon him. It was being cast by a gigantic ship.

    He had noticed this exact ship while descending from the peak after passing through the clouds. There were all kinds of items floating in the sky above the Voidforce School, and there was more than one ship.

    The enormous ship crashed down towards Lu Yin.

    Sweat glistened on Xiao Fei''s forehead as she controlled the ship with her voidforce energy. Since they were in the Voidforce School, she had decided to attack with the power of the Voidforce Universe, hoping to attract a bit of attention from certain people.

    The ship plummeted down, and it reached Lu Yin''s head in a blink of an eye.

    There was a deafening roar, and the ground shook. It was indeed just a ship, but it was still impressively robust. The force of the impact wasparable to a peak Hunter¡¯s attack.

    Xiao Fei heaved a sigh of relief and swayed on her feet after seeing the ship crash into the ground. She had seeded.

    Someone off in the distance started cheering. "Not bad, Xiao Fei! You''re already able to manipte that ship? That¡¯s one of the top twenty voidforce puppets in the entire academy!"

    "Xiao Fei, when did you surpass me? No, I need to get serious."

    "That kid''s probably dead. Xie Wu, do you want his corpse?"

    Xie Wu stared at Xiao Fei. "In a real fight, no one will just stand there and let you smash them. That guy was an idiot, and he was unworthy of being your opponent."

    Xiao Fei felt exhausted. "Who could have guessed that he wouldn''t even have the guts to fight back? How useless."

    However, when she looked over at Luo Lao''er, Xiao Fei¡¯s expression faltered a bit. The man appearedpletely unfazed, and he was even looking at her in a mocking manner.

    Something was wrong.

    "So is this how the Voidforce Universe fights? It''s simr to how Shi Hong and the other two fought, but a bit weaker." Lu Yin stepped out from behind the fallen ship, and he studied the vessel as he moved around it.

    Xie Wu and the other senior students were all astonished. Had the newbie not died?

    Xiao Fei stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re better than I thought."

    Lu Yin circled the ship before finally looking at Xiao Fei. "All of you seem to enjoy bragging. Since that''s the case, I''ll use a bit of my power."

    With that, he vanished. He moved at a speed that an Enlighter was capable of.

    The expressions on Xie Wu''s and the others'' faces changed to shock. This was bad.

    Lu Yin instantly appeared behind Xiao Fei and reached out to grab her. She spun around, surprising Lu Yin. How was she actually able to keep up with an Enlighter¡¯s speed?

    As Xiao Fei whirled around, her hand flew out. She released dozens of palm strikes in an instant that merged together to create a single attack. It was a battle technique.

    Bang!

    Xiao Fei''s hand mmed into Lu Yin''s, but she felt like she had just struck a rock. Her palm broke open, shocking her. How could this be?

    She could not put up any resistance as Lu Yin pressed a hand to her head. At that moment, shepletely froze. If the exchange were observed from a distance, she looked like a well-behaved girl receiving guidance.

    "Are you from a cultivation civilization?"

    Xiao Fei stared at Lu Yin in shock, her eyes flickering. Lu Yin''s hand felt hot, yet her body was covered with chills. "You aren¡¯t from the Transcendent Universe. Are you from a cultivation civilization?"

    Lu Yin did not bother answering. His hand darted downwards, and he grabbed hold of Xiao Fei''s cor. He picked her up and threw her at Xie Wu.

    The woman¡¯s body flew through the sky like a shooting star, passing by the floating rocks and people before she mmed into Xie Wu.

    Xie Wu''s eyes went wide, and he hurried to dodge, but he could not move quite fast enough. Just as he was moving, Xiao Fei brushed his right shoulder, and they both went flying.

    How embarrassing.

    The rest of the people present stared at Lu Yin with various expressions. There were some people in the distance who had not done anything to antagonize Lu Yin, but this scene still caused their expressions to change. This man was strong.

    Xie Wu coughed a few times. Next to him, Xiao Fei had been knocked unconscious.

    Xie Wu clutched at his right shoulder as he stood up and red at Lu Yin. "Who are you? There¡¯s no way you¡¯re from the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin gave a slight smile. "Guess."

    Xie Wu gnashed his teeth in anger. "Do you know who I am?"

    "Don¡¯t care." Lu Yin then looked at the others. "Does anyone else want to challenge me?"

    The people who had been provoking him when he had first arrived at the Void Grounds remained silent. Xiao Fei might not be the best at cultivating the Voidforce Universe¡¯s power, but she was still someone from the Main Universe and thus had an impressive level of strength. Despite that, she had been easily defeated by Lu Yin. How could anyone else hope to challenge him?

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity that no one from the Lost n was willing to make a move. He was incredibly curious about their fighting method that employed cards.

    The stones in the Void Grounds came in all different sizes, but the one that Xiao Fei had upied was among thergest.

    Lu Yin touched the stone and felt a surge of power envelop him. Just as the jade slip had described, the first step in cultivating voidforce energy was very simr to what an ordinary person felt when drowning in water. Being able to endure for even a few minutes was already quite an impressive aplishment.

    Lu Yin sat down, curious to find out just how long he could hold out for.

    Xie Wu left. He was too embarrassed to stick around. He had stated that he would punish Lu Yin for his arrogance, but Lu Yin hadpletely ignored Xie Wu¡¯s mere existence. Xie Wu did not have the courage to attack Lu Yin directly, as it was already very clear that he was not Lu Yin''s match.

    Everyone else in the Void Grounds remained silent. Some of them grew curious and watched Lu Yin, while others continued their own cultivation.

    Luo Lao''er also found a stone to use. No one dared to provoke him any longer either.

    Complete silence filled the Void Grounds.

    Cough cough!

    Luo Lao''er jumped off of his stone while coughing violently.

    A short ways away, someoneughed. "Not bad. You managed to endure voidforce energy for three minutes on your first try."

    Luo Lao''er coughed and sputtered. "You timed me?"

    "It''s not just me. It¡¯s normal to time people during their first attempt to check their aptitude for voidforce energy."

    Luo Lao''er''s eyes lit up. "You just said ''not bad,'' so does that mean that I¡¯m pretty good?"

    "Just a bit worse than me."

    A nearby woman spoke up as well, "A little worse than me."

    "I did a bit better."

    Luo Lao''er could not tolerate the mockery. "Knock it off! You¡¯re clearly messing with me!"

    The woman smiled. "Isted four and a half minutes."

    The first man who had spokenmented, "Isted three and a half minutes."

    "I almost made it to four."

    Luo Lao''er rolled his eyes. "What? So I''m the worst one?"

    "Not entirely. There are actually many others out there who are even worse. Some can''t evenst two minutes, which just proves that they have no talent for cultivating voidforce energy and that they should switch to another school as soon as possible."

 Chapter 2512: Unparalleled Longing

    Chapter 2512: Unparalleled Longing

    "You can change schools?" Luo Lao''er was surprised, as this had not been mentioned in the jade slip. They only knew that, once they selected a school, students had to reach the minimum threshold within a year, or else they would be eliminated.

    One man who was not too far away sneered at the question. "Of course you can change schools, provided you have an invincible father."

    The woman then added, "The descendant of one of the Main Universe¡¯s Nine Sages changed schools. He wasn¡¯t able tost for even a minute when he first attempted to cultivate voidforce energy. He imed that it was due to mutual restraint between him and the energy and then headed straight to the Wood School without looking back. No one dared to speak up. If your ancestor is that powerful, then you can also switch schools."

    Luo Lao''er felt his teeth ache. His father was absolutely even more powerful than one of the so-called "Nine Sages," but it did not matter, as Luo Lao''er¡¯s father did not care at all about him. Never mind, I¡¯ll keep going with this ce. Wait, how about Brother-inw?

    He turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already attracted quite an audience. While they were speaking, Lu Yin had already passed the five minute mark.

    Five minutes was quite impressive, as only a few people could endure for that long on their first attempt.

    "Your brother-inw¡¯s amazing. Brother, which universe are you two from?" someone asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "We''re from the Transcendent Universe."

    "There¡¯s no need to brag. It''s impossible for anyone his age to defeat Xiao Fei without cultivating, not unless they¡¯re as good as He Shu. But if he were that impressive, how could Xie Wu not recognize him? Where are you two really from?"

    "We really are from the Transcendent Universe."

    "Fine, I won¡¯t ask anymore."

    Soon, another five minutes passed. Within the Void Ground, every head was turned to look at Lu Yin.

    "It''s already been ten minutes. The longest that anyone¡¯s managed tost during their first time with voidforce energy was twenty minutes, and that was the Main Universe¡¯s Shao Qingfeng. A senior from the Voidforce Universe even showed himself because of that aplishment, and then he allowed Shao Qingfeng to search for his life-bound False God in the best part of the Voidforce Universe. It became a legend in the Sixverse Academy. This guy won¡¯t be able to match up to Shao Qingfeng, right?"

    "There¡¯s no chance. Shao Qingfeng is the descendant of one of the Main Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns. When ites to cultivation talent, no one isparable throughout history. How could some random person possibly match him? If this guy canst for fifteen minutes, it¡¯ll already be pretty good."

    "Fifteen minutes is still very impressive. Those geniuses like He Shu, Luo Zang, and Mu Mu who all entered the Central School only managed tost for about fifteen minutes."

    "I doubt that he¡¯llst fifteen minutes."

    Fifteen minutes passed, and time moved closer and closer to twenty minutes.

    Lu Yin sat on the stone, enveloped by the invisible energy. It felt as though the energy was going to drown him, and it was difficult for him to even breathe. His instincts screamed at him to leave, but as someone who cultivated Truesight, he understood the invisible power acting upon him, and he had even grown ustomed to it.

    The essence of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s power was actually quite simr to Truesight¡¯s runes. Both powers could alter the universe, and both had been created by powerful experts. The only difference was the way in which the two powers were used.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current understanding of voidforce energy, it could notpare to Truesight¡¯s runes. Of course, Lu Yin had also only scratched the surface of voidforce energy.

    For a universe to join the Sixverse Association, the minimum requirement was for the universe to be able to repulse one of the Seven Skygods. How could the power of any of their member universes be weak?

    However, Lu Yin had no idea what the connection between the Voidforce Universe and Wu Tian might be.

    Lu Yin remained lost in his own thoughts as twenty minutes passed.

    Everyone remained silent as they stared at Lu Yin in stupefaction. Twenty minutes had passed, which meant that this person had already met Shao Qingfeng''s record, but Lu Yin still did not move from the stone. How was this possible?

    Someone asked Luo Lao''er, "Are you actually from the Voidforce Universe and came here to mess with us?"

    Luo Lao''er rolled his eyes. "No."

    "They really are from the Transcendent Universe." A few people had arrived, and one of them was staring at Luo Lao''er. "I never expected you toe here, Second Brother."

    The youth had a handsome face resembling jade, though he appeared to be a bit younger. He was Luo Shan, and he was Monarch Luo¡¯s fifteenth son.

    Luo Lao''er''s expression turned ugly when he saw his brother appear. "What rotten luck, meeting a dog."

    "What did you say?" someone shouted angrily.

    Luo Shan raised a hand to stop the man. "We''re brothers, so there''s no need for you to get upset."

    Luo Lao''er would not even look at Luo Shan, and hatred filled Luo Lao''er¡¯s eyes.

    Luo Shan turned to look at Lu Yin with curiosity. "Has he managed to beat Brother Qingfeng? Second Brother, you''ve found a pretty good backer."

    "Luo Shan, are these two really from the Transcendent Universe?" a woman asked loudly and in a rather exaggerated manner.

    Luo Shan smiled. "Yes. My second brother has been staying in the Transcendent Universe."

    "It''s very unusual for someone from the Transcendent Universe to be able to surpass Brother Qingfeng," someonemented.

    "The megaverse is vast and full of wonders. The Transcendent Universe really hit the jackpot this time."

    "I wonder what position he holds in the Transcendent Universe. Even if he does have a bit of talent, he won''t have an easy time after offending Xie Wu."

    "Not necessarily. He might be able to join the Voidforce Universe."

    "That''s too much of a stretch. While it might seem impressive to be able tost for twenty minutes, that¡¯s only for people from universes other than the Voidforce Universe. For people who¡¯ve spent most of their lives in the Voidforce Universe, it¡¯s rather normal for them to be able tost longer than fifteen minutes on their first try, and twenty minutes isn¡¯t umon."

    "Still, there shouldn''t be too many people who can do that, or else Brother Qingfeng wouldn''t have attracted the attention of that senior from the Voidforce Universe."

    ¡­

    As people were talking, Lu Yin had already been immersed in the voidforce energy for over twenty five minutes. No one present knew what this meant, as there was no one from the Voidforce Universe present. After all, they were in the Voidforce School of the Sixverse Academy, and people from the Voidforce Universe were not able to study in the Voidforce School. Even if the people in the school were shocked by Lu Yin¡¯s aplishment, it was only because he had surpassed Qingfeng.

    The people who were truly stunned by the aplishment were the people within the Sixverse Academy who were secretly observing Lu Yin.

    While Lu Yin had been descending the stairs from the peak, a woman had tried to control him by using voidforce energy in an attempt to cheat her way through a trial. She had perfectly prepared everything, and in theory, she should have seeded. However, Lu Yin had resisted and easily broken free from her control.

    The fact that someone from the Transcendent Universe was capable of resisting that woman''s control had already caught the attention of important figures within the Sixverse Academy, and they had immediately made it a point to keep an eye on Lu Yin.

    The person who had been assigned to watch Lu Yin realized that he was about to reach the thirty minute mark, and quickly submitted a report about it. This was no small matter.

    The Sixverse Academy had been created by the Sixverse Association for the purpose of integrating the six universes¡¯ civilizations to unite against Aeternus. For this reason, there were powerhouses stationed from all six universes within the academy.

    Upon hearing that someone hadsted for more than thirty minutes on his first contact with voidforce energy, one of the elders nearly jumped to his feet in astonishment. "Are you sure that it''s not a mistake? Half an hour?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s monitor replied, "The timer is still running, and he has shown no signs of leaving."

    The elder instantly disappeared.

    The academy¡¯s other important figures exchanged nces and saw the astonishment and envy in each other''s eyes.

    Forty minutes went by. By this time, a massive crowd surrounded Lu Yin, as they were all curious to see just how long he could endure for.

    It was at this moment that the elder appeared, and he casually waved a hand, releasing a force that swept everyone back. They heard his voice directly enter their ears. "Retreat. Don''t disturb him."

    The Void Ground waspletely cleared, and the elder remained standing a short distance away from Lu Yin, staring at the youth with a strange expression. Forty minutes. Someone not from the Voidforce Universe had actually managed to endure voidforce energy for over forty minutes at their first contact with it. This was a prodigy, a true prodigy.

    Even within the Voidforce Universe, it was rare for anyone tost for forty minutes on their first attempt, let alone an outsider.

    Fifty minutes came and went.

    The elder''s eyes zed brighter. He raised his hand, and amunication crystal appeared in his grip.

    The Sixverse Association also usedmunication crystals tomunicate between the different universes, which was something that Lu Yin had already learned from speaking with Zi Jing.

    The Origin Universe clearly had deep connections to the Sixverse Association, but for some reason, that connection had been severed long ago, and the universe was not allowed to be a member of the alliance.

    "Get me everything you have on someone named Xuan Qi. Hees from the Transcendent Universe. I want all of his information," the old man quietly ordered. His eyes remained fixed on Lu Yin, and the old man looked as though he had found a precious piece of jade.

    It was no wonder why this youth had managed to break free of Xu Yue''s control. This young man was clearly a phenomenal genius when it came to cultivating the power of the Voidforce Universe. A true top-tier prodigy. Fifty minutes had already passed, but if ¡°Xuan Qi¡± was able tost for just ten more minutes andst for a full hour, he wouldpletely change his future.

    Lu Yin had already sensed the old man¡¯s presence. While he had initially nned to stop a bit earlier, the old man¡¯s sudden appearance, and then the fact that he had cleared everyone else away from the Void Ground had made Lu Yin realize something: clearly, he had already endured for too long.

    Since he had already gone overboard, he might as well just keep on going. Lu Yin was different from the people who had arrived at the Sixverse Academy with Luo Lao''er and who wanted to slowly study in the academy. Lu Yin was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch. He was someone who was capable of fighting against Progenitors. It would be aplete waste of time for him to learn alongside the normal students.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin continued to persevere.

    An hour passed.

    The old man''s breathing started to pick up. An hour! This kid had reallysted for an entire hour! In the past, Xu Ji had been hailed as a genius with a talent that was rare throughout the entire history of the Voidforce Universe after enduring for an hour. This young man was not even from the Voidforce Universe, and yet he had also endured for an hour. This aplishment would shock the entire Voidforce Universe.

    However, ¡°Xuan Qi¡± was not done yet.

    The old man couldn''t help moving forward to better observe Lu Yin. Could this youth really continue?

    Lu Yin had felt the old man''s breath quicken, and he felt like he had done enough. Through the jade slip, Lu Yin had learned how a person¡¯s first time in contact with voidforce energy usually went. A normal person would only be able to endure for just a few minutes, but Lu Yin had endured for over an hour, which had prompted this old man to reveal himself as well as all the students in the Voidforce School. If Lu Yin pushed for more, things might backfire.

    As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw the face of an old man right in front of him.

    Lu Yin was startled by the sight, and he reflexively retreated a hundred meters, from where he warily eyed the old man.

    The man¡¯s mouth curled upwards as he attempted to show a kindly smile. "Hello there, young man."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Who are you?"

    The old man chuckled. "I am Xu Xiangyin. I was sent by the Voidforce Universe to be their supervisor here in the Sixverse Academy."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "So you are a senior from the Voidforce Universe. I am Xuan Qi. Pleased to meet you, Senior."

    "Good, good, but there¡¯s no need to be so polite. Come, sit with me. Let''s chat." The air warped in front of Xu Xiangyin, and a table and chairs took form.

    Lu Yin stared at the objects in astonishment.

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "They are formed from voidforce energy. Not only does voidforce energy allow you to control and use False Gods, but it can also be used in other unique ways. Don''t underestimate the Voidforce Universe just because we fight from the back of the battlefield. Even in closebat, we are not inferior to the other universes."

    Lu Yin was impressed. "From the moment I saw the Voidforce Universe¡¯s style of fighting, I¡¯ve yearned to learn it for myself. It¡¯s why I came to this Sixverse Academy and chose the Voidforce School without any hesitation. This junior believes that my choice was absolutely correct."

    "Hahaha, of course it''s correct. You are absolutely right!" Xu Xiangyin nodded enthusiastically.

    Lu Yin thought back to how the Ghost Monkey and Ku Wei spoke when ttering people, and open admiration shone from Lu Yin¡¯s face as he reverently continued. "I long for the day when I can use voidforce energy as masterfully and effortlessly as Senior! I yearn to connect with the Voidforce Universe. I long to meet the ruler of the Voidforce Universe, though I don''t dare pay my respects even in my dreams."

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes lit up. "You wish to join the Voidforce Universe?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "I long for itpletely, as it even upies my dreams."

 Chapter 2513: Wanted

    Chapter 2513: Wanted

    "Excellent!" Xu Xiangyin shouted approvingly as he pped his thigh. "Kid, as long as you''re willing, I can personally guarantee that you can join my Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is it really possible for me to join the Voidforce Universe?"

    "Absolutely." Xu Xiangyin beckoned with a hand. "Come, child, tell me what you know about the Voidforce Universe."

    As he sat across from Xu Xiangyin, Lu Yin proceeded to share all kinds of exaggerated theories that portrayed the Voidforce Universe as the most powerful force throughout all of human history. He imagined that he was extolling the virtues of Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and the God of Death, and he simply reced them with the Voidforce Universe.

    Xu Xiangyin became increasingly fond of Lu Yin as he listened to the youth¡¯s passionate words that overflowed with admiration for his civilization. The affection reached the point where the old man wished he could adopt the youth as his godson.

    Two hours passed.

    "Xuan Qi, it would be a pity for you to not join the Voidforce Universe. I''ll definitely take you there, I promise. For now, focus on cultivating here." Xu Xiangyin clenched a fist. Excitement covered his features as he turned and left. He needed to find a way to get ¡°Xuan Qi¡± to the Voidforce Universe.

    The old man had already reviewed all of the information regarding Lu Yin, but unexpectedly, the youth was a fugitive living in the Transcendent Universe, which made the situation moreplicated.

    Lu Yin called out in a respectful tone, "I''ll be waiting here, Senior!"

    Xu Xiangyin waved a hand as he disappeared.

    After seeing Xu Xiangyin disappear, a deep exhale escaped Lu Yin¡¯s lips. He had no idea how Ku Wei and the others managed to constantly speak in such a manner, as it was utterly exhausting.

    Even so, it appeared that Lu Yin¡¯s performance had been suitably impressive.

    After a short while, the Void Ground regained its previous liveliness as the people who had been driven away by Xu Xiangyin returned. Many of them gave Lu Yin strange looks.

    Luo Lao''er had practically praised Lu Yin to the heavens. When Luo Lao''er finally finished, Lu Yin patted the young man¡¯s shoulder and gave him a look of sympathy. "You''ve worked hard."

    Luo Lao''er felt thoroughly confused. What had he done?

    After Lu Yin¡¯s incredible performance that had even prompted Xu Xiangyin to show himself, no one dared to make any further trouble for Lu Yin.

    While things continued in the Sixverse Academy, Xu Xiangyin directly traveled from the Taiyi Universe to the Transcendent Universe, and he went to find Ke Jian.

    The information avable about Lu Yin revealed him as a member of the Energy Research Group''s guards, which ced him directly under Ke Jian¡¯s supervision.

    When Xu Xiangyin exined his intentions, Ke Jian was stupefied. "Xuan Qi has a powerful affinity with voidforce energy?"

    Xu Xiangyin answered somberly, "Yes. His aptitude is practically perfect. I wish to take him to the Voidforce Universe to continue cultivating there."

    "Absolutely not," Ke Jian bluntly refused. This had to be a joke! Xuan Qi was their means of threatening Zi Jing intopliance, and Zi Jing was absolutely crucial to developing a new cultivation technology for the Transcendent Universe. If Xuan Qi was taken away, then what would happen if Zi Jing betrayed the Transcendent Universe again, or even simply neglected her research? The Transcendent Universe could not afford such a loss, and neither could that great person.

    Xu Xiangyin said, "Xuan Qi managed to endure for over an hour during his first contact with voidforce energy. Do you have any idea what that means? I have to take him with me."

    Ke Jian''s expression grew ugly. He sent a message to someone, asking about Xuan Qi''s situation. Ke Jian received a response that essentially parroted what he had heard from Xu Xiangyin, though with the additional bit that the matter had already been recorded as a major event within the Sixverse Academy.

    Xuan Qi had actually persisted for more than an hour. How was it possible for him to have such an impressive level of talent?

    "Ke Jian, you already know about the Sixverse Academy''s policy. Xuan Qi is not someone here in your Transcendent Universe. If he were He Shu, I would never bothering here like this. But Xuan Qi is different, and his background is clean," Xu Xiangyin exined.

    Ke Jian frowned. A clean background? Wrong, his background is the messiest! After all, hees from that universe.

    However, Xuan Qi¡¯s true origins were something that only a select few people knew about. The members of the Sixverse Association had previously agreed that anyone who visited that particr universe needed to report the matter to the entire alliance. The Transcendent Universe had made a trip to capture Zi Jing, but they had not informed the other five universes, as they wanted to keep the matter a secret.

    "What is there to even consider? The policy is crystal clear! Do you want me to report this to Lord Xu and have him directly intervene? This child is absolutely worth it," Xu Xiangyin warned.

    Ke Jian sighed. "I need to report this further up."

    "As you wish."

    Ke Jian stood at the bottom of a staircase that was covered with blooming flowers, recounting the current situation. A melodious voice responded with surprise, "So Xuan Qi¡¯s affinity for voidforce energy is so strong that Xu Xiangyin actually came here to ask for him?"

    Ke Jian answered solemnly, "The Sixverse Academy¡¯s policy¡¯s cannot be ignored. If Lord Xu personally intervenes, then Xuan Qi''s origins will very likely be exposed."

    "In that case, don''t refuse."

    "Yes."

    "Summon Zi Jing."

    Zi Jing quickly arrived, and she kneeled before the stairs. "Greetings, Madam."

    "Zi Jing, that Xuan Qi of yours is quite capable," the pleasant voice echoed. Not a single discernible emotion could be heard.

    Zi Jing''s expression changed drastically. Had the Dao Monarch been exposed? Zi Jing¡¯s first thought was that Lu Yin had destroyed the entire Sixverse Academy. Given his strength, it would not be any issue for him at all. If Lu Yin went all out, he would be able to shake the entire Sixverse Association.

    "Are you worried?"

    Zi Jing forced herself to remain calm. "I don''t know how Xuan Qi might have offended you, Madam."

    "He didn''t offend me, he simply triggered the Voidforce Universe."

    Zi Jing was left utterly bewildered. "The Voidforce Universe?"

    "He¡¯s revealed a truly astonishing degree of talent for voidforce energy, and the Voidforce Universe has been worked into a frenzy. They''ve be adamant about taking him to the Voidforce Universe. What do you think I should do?"

    Zi Jing was taken aback, though she was not surprised at all. She had always known that the Dao Monarch''s talent was without equal. Throughout all of his time cultivating, the description of "genius"¡ªno, "prodigy"¡ªno, "unprecedented prodigy" had never been considered amiss. It only felt natural that the Sixverse Association would also notice such unparalleled talent.

    "You''re not surprised?" the voice asked.

    Zi Jing quickly regained her senses, and she respectfully replied, "I- I was momentarily caught off guard."

    "Haha, you sound much more rxed now."

    Zi Jing felt an involuntary tremor pass through her body. "I dare not, Madam."

    "Now that you know that your man is valued by another universe, you may believe that I can''t do anything to him any longer," the pleasant voicemented. A hint ofughter could be heard, and there was not the slightest sign of any sort of displeasure.

    Zi Jing dropped her head. Even if Lu Yin was not taken by the Voidforce Universe, this woman still would not be able to do anything to him. Of course, Zi Jin would never say that out loud.

    "Forget the Voidforce Universe. Even if he is taken by someone from the Main Universe, I can still leave him wishing for death," the voice from the stairs suddenly turned razor sharp. Cracks appeared on the staircase, and a powerful arrogance entered the voice. "You will never understand just how high I stand. Your man is nothing more than one Xuan Qi."

    Zi Jing quickly replied, "Madam, Xuan Qi will never betray you, and neither will I!"

    "Is that so? I don''t care about Xuan Qi. If he has the ability to break free from my control, then good for him. However, if you think that you can ck off and escape like you did before, you are sorely mistaken. I promise you, if you betray me again, I won''t kill Xuan Qi, but I will make him wish for death."

    "Madam, I don¡¯t dare!" Zi Jing dered her loyalty yet again.

    The woman at the top of the stairs shifted, and a dainty white hand held her chin. "Alright, you may leave."

    ¡°Understood,¡± Zi Jing respectfully acknowledged the dismissal and slowly left.

    After Zi Jing was gone, Ke Jian returned. "How should we handle Xuan Qi?"

    "If the Voidforce Universe wants him, then let them have him. Don''t allow anyone to think that we are going against the academy¡¯s policies," the woman replied.

    Ke Jian replied, "Understood."

    "Also, send Xuan Qi a message." The woman¡¯s hand left her chin, and her eyes grew bright and elusive. "The Transcendent Universe will always be his home.''"

    Ke Jian''s eyes flickered. "Yes."

    In the Taiyi Universe, in the Voidforce School, when the other people from the Transcendent Universe who had arrived with Lu Yin learned of his aplishment, they werepletely bbergasted. That person had managed to aplish an absolute miracle as soon as he arrived in the academy! Wasn''t this too fast?

    This was not something that people had expected, and it was even more shocking for the students of the previous ss.

    Xiao Fei had woken up, but after she heard about what Xuan Qi had miraculously achieved, she did not return to the Void Ground.

    Xie Wu stayed away as well.

    The Void Ground was the ce where students were able to start cultivating voidforce energy. Once one was gained an initial level of control of voidforce energy, it simply meant that they had crossed the threshold and no longer needed to visit the Void Ground. It was possible to attract the False Gods floating in the sky from anywhere in the Voidforce School. People could also search for voidforce energy that had been hidden on the school¡¯s continent. The hidden energy was regarded as both a test and a reward offered to the students.

    Even so, most of the time, even people who had passed the threshold would remain at the Void Ground, as it was the only ce where they could continuously perceive voidforce energy and improve their control of it.

    Unfortunately, Xu Xiangyin''s warning meant that the students who had already reached the threshold of perceiving voidforce energy were forced to leave the Void Ground so that the new students could ess it.

    "Do not disturb Xuan Qi''s cultivation. Anyone who disobeys this rule will be expelled from the Voidforce School." This was the exact warning that Xu Xiangyin had sent out, and it left the people who had already managed to perceive voidforce energypletely speechless.

    In prioritizing Lu Yin, Xu Xiangyin had essentially abandoned the rest of the students. Such favoritism was beyond excessive.

    Xie Wu waspletely furious. He did not really care if he could visit the Void Ground or not, but the tant favoritism was too much.

    Someone reported the matter to the Sixverse Academy¡¯s administration, but it aplished nothing. The Voidforce School was essentially ruled by Xu Xiangyin.

    "Forget it. Don''t provoke him while he''s in the Voidforce School. He¡¯s be the darling of the Voidforce Universe, but once he leaves this school, that might not continue," Xie Wu quietlymented.

    "Xie Wu, what do you mean?" someone asked.

    Xie Wu sneered. "That brat¡¯s been praised so much, and he even managed to gain Xu Xiangyin''s personal attention. Who would dare to offend him in the Voidforce School? How do you think he feels right now?"

    Nearby, Xiao Fei''s eyes grew cold. "Naturally, he''ll be arrogant and overconfident."

    "I would expect that he no longer sees us as his peers."

    "Definitely."

    "Since that''s the case, then let¡¯s make him be even more arrogant." Xie Wu''s lips twisted into a sneer.

    In the Void Ground, Lu Yin left his stone and stared up at the sky to observe the many odd-looking False Gods. It had been six days since he arrived in the Voidforce School, and he was already able tost for two hours while sitting on the stone.

    This was regarded as quite fast. Normally, people like Luo Lao''er who possessed the potential to master voidforce energy butcked any particr talent for it needed at least half a year before they could sit on a stone for two hours. Then, they would need another half year to reach the minimum threshold. This was considered an average speed.

    After the threshold was passed and a student could perceive and control voidforce energy, they would be allowed to continue on and visit other schools within the Sixverse Academy.

    The one-year time limit that the Sixverse Academy had set was also based on the average speed of the students.

    However, Lu Yin seemed to be able to reach the threshold in no more than a month, which made Luo Lao''er and the others appear rtively slow.

    The other students from the Transcendent Universe in Lu Yin¡¯s ss felt the same way. They sent the asional envious nce Lu Yin¡¯s way, though no one dared say a thing. This was nothing but pure talent.

    Some of the students tried to get closer to Lu Yin, but he only ever gave a few terse responses. It was clear to everyone that he was not interested, and as time passed, everyone stopped trying to strike up a conversation with him. However, their gazes still revealed a hint of dissatisfaction, even if no one dared to express it.

 Chapter 2514: Praised To The Heavens

    Chapter 2514: Praised To The Heavens

    "Brother-inw, all of these people are the heirs of various noble families from the Transcendent Universe. You¡¯ll reap tremendous benefits in the future if you can strike up good rtionships with them now." Luo Lao''er offered a bit of advice.

    Lu Yin indifferently responded, "Then help me build good rtionships with them."

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "If I only had half of your talent, Brother-inw, I¡¯d already be their sworn brother.¡±

    "Oh, that guy¡¯s an older student from the Voidforce School. Why¡¯s he here?"

    Lu Yin turned and saw a young man smiling as he approached them. He was someone else who had joined the Voidforce School along Xie Wu''s batch, which meant that he was also one of the first students to study in the Sixverse Academy. "Brother Xuan Qi, have you finished cultivating for the day? I hope that I''m not disturbing you."

    Lu Yin asked, "Which universe are you from?"

    The man had not expected ¡°Xuan Qi¡± to question him. "I''m from the Main Universe."

    Lu Yin nodded and stopped asking any questions. While he was curious about the Main Universe, it would be pointless to expect any useful answers from such a person.

    The young man immediately noticed that Lu Yin had lost interest, so he quickly continued. "Brother Xuan Qi, you''ve created a legend. The entire Sixverse Academy is in an uproar. Your talent is without equal when ites to cultivating voidforce energy.¡±

    "Before you arrived, the most talented person to visit the Voidforce School was Shao Qingfeng, but even he can''tpare to you. What you¡¯ve done has even attracted the attention of a senior from the Voidforce Universe. You might have already gained Lord Xu''s notice¡­"

    The young man continued to incessantly sing Lu Yin¡¯s praises, and things even reached the point where Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er started to find the man''s behavior suspicious, though they could not figure out his intentions.

    "I can tell that Brother Xuan Qi not only possesses talent for cultivating False God energy, but will also excel when you step onto the cultivation paths of the other universes¡¯ civilizations as well. It¡¯s possible for you to master the powers of the Arboreal Realm, the Lost n, the Three Monarchs Universe, and possibly even the Immortal-level powers that the Cyclic Universe controls. We¡­" The man continued in the same manner for a good half hour, and not once did he repeat even a single sentence.

    Lu Yin was thoroughly impressed. "What¡¯s your name?"

    The man did not answer. While he was staring at Lu Yin''s face, his mind was somewhere else entirely. It was as though the man was not even looking at Lu Yin, but rather reciting a memorized script.

    Luo Lao''er blinked. Were there actually people who recited boot-licking monologues? How long had the man taken to memorize this whole speech? This was a talent in and of itself!

    Lu Yin tapped the man on the shoulder, finally rousing himself from his reverie. "Brother Xuan Qi, what''s wrong?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Are you saying that I''m just as talented in cultivating the powers of other universes?"

    The question infused the man with newfound vigor. "Of course! There¡¯s no way that Brother Xuan Qi''s extraordinary talent is limited to just voidforce energy."

    "So, which school do you think I should visit next to continue my studies?"

    The man''s eyes flickered. "Any one of them, aside from the Transcendent Universe. Brother Xuan Qi, you should try them all."

    Lu Yin exchanged nces with Luo Lao''er. "Alright, I understand."

    The man eventually left, but before long, a beautiful woman with an enchanting smile arrived. Just like the young man, the woman also started showering Lu Yin withpliments.

    "Which universe are you from?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Her lips curved into a captivating smile. "I¡¯m from the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Do you know me?" Luo Lao''er shoved his face in front of the woman.

    She looked disgusted. "My sister knows you."

    "Who¡¯s your sister?"

    "She''s dead."

    "That¡¯s a terrible omen."

    The woman clenched her jaw and proceeded to simply ignore Luo Lao''er. She turned her full attention back to Lu Yin and resumed her shameless ttery.

    After the woman left, Xiao Fei randomly appeared, and then she offered Lu Yin an overly sincere apology. She was then followed by Xie Wu. Every single person who visited did exactly the same thing: praise Lu Yin¡¯s unprecedented talent.

    After everyone had finally left, Luo Lao''er lookedpletely bewildered. "What are these guys up to?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. The intentions were too simple; they wanted to inte his ego and have him grow arrogant before he left the Voidforce School. Once that happened, other people would be able to find an opportunity to deal with him.

    They were employing truly childish tactics.

    However, the people in the Sixverse Academy were all much younger than Lu Yin, and most of them were around the age that he had been when attending the Astral Combat Academy. At that time, the means he had used to fight back against the students from the Daynight n had been equally ¡°clever.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head, uninterested in ying such petty games. He instead focused on cultivating.

    Far away, Xie Wu and the others gathered.

    "Do you think that he fell for it?" Xie Wu asked.

    "He must have! We praised him to death. I¡¯ve never ttered anyone like that in my entire life!"

    "It¡¯s called brownnosing."

    "Shut up! Didn¡¯t you do the same thing?"

    "So why didn¡¯t he show any reaction?"

    Xie Wu felt the same way. "We''ll keep going again tomorrow. This time, we''ll throw in a bit about the Central School as well. Let''s see if he can resist that temptation."

    "Exactly! If he¡¯s here in the Sixverse Academy, how can he possibly resist the temptation to join the Central School?"

    "No matter what, that Luo Lao''er needs to be taught a lesson! He''s disgusting!"

    Suddenly, a voice cut through the crowd¡¯s chatter, "What¡¯s this about the Central School?"

    Everyone fellpletely silent, and they all turned to face a woman who was looking at the crowd with open curiosity.

    She was a stunning beauty, and she was wearing a tight purple dress. Her hair was pulled into long braids. She gave the impression of being skillful, though there was also a hint of mischief in her lively and yful eyes.

    "Xu Yue?" the crowd eximed.

    This was the same woman who had tried to seize control of Lu Yin with voidforce energy in order to pass a trial.

    "It appears that you are discussing something secretive." Xu Yue rubbed her chin.

    Everyone felt their faces blush with embarrassment.

    Xiao Fei stepped forward and offered a tight smile. "Sister Xu Yue, why have youe here? Aren''t you supposed to be in the Central School?"

    Xu Yue sped her hands behind her back as she slowly circled the crowd, carefully appraising each and every person present.

    The students exchanged nces, unsure of how to respond.

    Xie Wu spoke up, "Xu Yue, why are you here?"

    Xu Yue looked at Xie Wu, "Little Wu, are you plotting another shady scheme of some sort?"

    Xie Wu''s expression turned ugly. "Don''t spout such nonsense, Xu Yue."

    "Hmph. He Shu may give an initial impression of an upright person, but unfortunately, he has you, his treacherous strategist, offering him rotten ideas. You''re always plotting against people. My brother¡¯s already said that he¡¯ll deal with you sooner orter," Xu Yuemented in a threatening manner.

    Xie Wu''s expression grew even worse, and he let out a few coughs. "Don''t share baseless usations without any evidence."

    Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "Fine, I''m leaving."

    The crowd watched as Xu Yue left. "It looks like she''s going to the Void Ground."

    "Why would Xu Yuee to visit the Voidforce School? She doesn''t need to learn anything more from the Voidforce Universe," someone wondered aloud.

    Xie Wu''s eyes shed. "Let''s follow her."

    After leaving the crowd of students, Xu Yue soon arrived at the Void Ground, where she immediately spotted Lu Yin. Her eyes narrowed. She had finally found him. Well, well, so the boy really is here in the Voidforce School.

    She picked up her feet and moved closer.

    However, when Xu Yue had only covered half of the distance, Xiao Fei caught up. "Sister Xu Yue, you can''t just barge in like that."

    Xu Yue arched a brow. "This is the Void Ground, so why can¡¯t I? Are you guys trying to im this territory as your own?"

    Xiao Fei was speechless. What was this woman going on about?

    "Xu Xiangyin has given a warning to everyone who¡¯s passed the threshold to cultivating voidforce energy. None of them are allowed to enter the Void Ground for now," Xiao Fei exined.

    Xu Yue grew puzzled. "Why not? It''s not like this is some sort of special ce."

    Xiao Fei pointed at Lu Yin before sharing everything that had recently happened.

    Far away, Xie Wu watched the two women. He was certain that Xu Yue had been about to approach Xuan Qi, which meant that she had to have already heard about what Xuan Qi had pulled off.

    Things were getting interesting.

    Before Xuan Qi, the person who had demonstrated the greatest talent for cultivating voidforce energy had been Xu Yue''s older brother, Xu Ji. The most reasonable exnation for Xu Yue to seek out Xuan Qi was that she intended to create trouble for him.

    As far as Xie Wu was concerned, having Xiao Fei stir up a bit of trouble could only be a good thing.

    However, the assumption waspletely wrong, as Xu Yue had not heard anything about what ¡°Xuan Qi¡± had aplished. She had only just returned from her trial to reach the central peak.

    "What? During his first time making contact with voidforce energy, hested for more than an hour?" Xu Yue was absolutely shocked.

    Xiao Fei found this reaction to be rather strange. "Sister Xu Yue, you didn''t know about this?"

    Xu Yue stared at Lu Yin with apletely different expression from before. He had endured for more than an hour? Her brother, Xu Ji, was widely acknowledged as one of the most talented individuals in the entire history of the Voidforce Universe, but how had someone from another universe actually managed to rival her brother? Impossible!

    "Word of this has already spread throughout the entire Sixverse Academy, so how did you not know about this, Sister Xu Yue? Right now, Xuan Qi''s nose has risen so high into the air that he doesn''t even acknowledge us when we try to talk to him," Xiao Fei whispered.

    Xu Yue stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. No wonder, no wonder he was able to break free from my control with voidforce energy.

    It was clear that ¡°Xuan Qi¡± had never cultivated voidforce energy, which was precisely why Xu Yue had been so confused as to how he had managed to break free from her control. The truth was that he was a geniusparable to Xu Ji when it came to cultivating voidforce energy.

    "Has Senior Xu Xiangyin seen him yet?" Xu Yue asked.

    Xiao Fei replied, "He did, and he warned us not to disturb Xuan Qi''s cultivation. He said- he said¡­"

    Xu Yue felt confused. "What did he say?"

    Xiao Fei hesitantly answered, "He said that Xuan Qi is the most talented cultivator that the Voidforce Universe has ever seen."

    Xu Yue frowned. The most talented? While that might initially appear to be true, simply possessing talent was no guarantee that a person would be a sessful cultivator. Xu Yue refused to believe that ¡°Xuan Qi¡± would be able to surpass her brother, Xu Ji.

    Xu Yue had intended to speak to Lu Yin, but she stopped herself. She considered things for a moment before she simply turned around and left.

    "Ah! Sister Xu Yue, you''re not going over?" Xiao Fei felt puzzled.

    Xu Yue left quickly without saying a word.

    Xie Wu felt frustrated by how things had yed out. "What''s going on? Why did she leave?"

    Xiao Fei replied, "I don''t know. I did just as you said."

    Xie Wu frowned. He had been hoping to see Xu Ji make some trouble for Xuan Qi. Xu Ji was regarded as the heir to the entire Voidforce Universe, which meant that his status would make it easy for him to give Xuan Qi a hard time. Unexpectedly, Xu Yue had left without doing anything.

    Xie Wu considered what Xu Yue had said. Was Xu Ji going to arrive next to make trouble for the upstart? No, Xu Ji could not lower himself to such a task.

    At the same time, in the Cyclic School, Zuo Yu and several others had seeded in entering the school and had even found Shi Hong.

    Shi Hong was one of the top students in the Cyclic School who hade from the Transcendent Universe, and she had also maintained a good rtionship with many other people in the school. She expertly showed Zuo Yu around the Cyclic School.

    "Xiao Yu, everyone in the Cyclic School can be regarded as a half member of a single sect. Your senior brothers and sisters can provide you with guidance and assistance. You should thank your seniors in advance for their help." Birds flew past a waterfall. A lovely fragrance filled the air of the school. At the bottom of the waterfall, Shi Hong was giving the new students from the Transcendent Universe an introduction to the previous ss.

    Zuo Yu understood that this opportunity towork with these people would have a huge impact on her future. She quickly bowed. "Junior Sister Zuo Yu greets her senior brothers and sisters."

    With Shi Hong leading the way, Zuo Yu and the others did not experience any of the same issues that Lu Yin and the others who had gone to the Voidforce School had experienced on their first day in the school. The neers to the Cyclic School quickly got to know the other students, and the general atmosphere was very amicable.

 Chapter 2515: Biased

    Chapter 2515: Biased

    In fact, given Xie Wu¡¯s presence in the Voidforce School, Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er should not have faced any difficulties at all. Xie Wu had actually been waiting for people from the Transcendent Universe to pay him a formal visit. However, Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er had not known who Xie Wu was and had not recognized him, which had caused Xie Wu to harbor ill feelings toward them.

    If Zuo Yu had also chosen the Voidforce School, her first day would have turned out wildly different.

    Shi Hong had a sizable influence in the Cyclic School and introduced Zuo Yu to everyone in her social circle.

    "Little Yu, this is Senior Brother Mu Cheng, our Cyclic School¡¯s top disciple. Mu Cheng has already reached the Starseizer realm, and he is also passionate about cultivating Monarch Essence. He¡¯s also acquired an innate gift called Armament Pond from undergoing a wood transformation. He¡¯s someone whom we all look up to." Shi Hong introduced someone else to Zuo Yu.

    Upon hearing the introduction, the man named Mu Cheng waved his hands in an embarrassed manner. "Sister Hong is just teasing me. Who here doesn''t know that Sister Hong has the greatest mastery of Dragon sh in the entire Cyclic School? Even a few people from the Central School haven''t managed to learn that technique and have asked for her guidance."

    The moment that Dragon sh was mentioned, Shi Hong''s expression fell. "Senior Brother Mu Cheng is teasing me. How can my Dragon shpare to his swordsmanship? My use of Dragon sh was easily seen through."

    Mu Cheng was surprised. "Your Dragon sh was seen through? Was it by someone from the Central School?"

    Shi Hong did not want to go into detail, but Zuo Yu answered for her. "It was someone from our Transcendent Universe, but he¡¯s originally from a universe with a cultivation civilization. I really don''t know how he managed to see through Sister Hong''s Dragon sh."

    Mu Cheng''s curiosity was piqued. "Interesting. How many moves did he need to see through it?"

    Zuo Yu looked at Shi Hong, who revealed a bitter smile. "There''s nothing to say about it. He didn''t need even a single move."

    Everyone was puzzled. Mu Cheng asked, "What do you mean?"

    Shi Hong solemnly said, "I mean that I couldn¡¯t even see how he saw through it. He did so without any apparent effort and didn¡¯t even seem to need a single move."

    Mu Cheng''s expression changedpletely. "Did that persone to the Sixverse Academy?"

    Shi Hong nced at Zuo Yu, who nodded. "Yes. He¡¯s already joined the Voidforce School."

    "Hees from a cultivation civilization and was able to decipher the Dragon sh, but instead of joining the Cyclic School or the Three Monarchs School, he went to the Voidforce School? It seems that he¡¯s extremely confident," someone else said.

    Behind Zuo Yu, someone else from the Transcendent Universe spoke up. "His name is Xuan Qi. Of the 1,700 people who passed the selection process to enter the Sixverse Academy, Xuan Qi is the only one who got in without participating in that process. He was automatically epted."

    "He got in through a backdoor? It seems that he has quite the backing," someone said disdainfully.

    Shi Hong shot a piercing re at that person, which caused them to immediately duck their head.

    Zuo Yu¡¯s brow furrowed as well. It was no surprise that some people would be unhappy with Xuan Qi, butining about him in the current situation would only make a mockery of everyone from the Transcendent Universe.

    Shi Hong said, "Xuan Qi was able to see through my Dragon sh without using any moves at all. With that sort of ability, there was no need for him to pass any assessment."

    "Wait, Xuan Qi?" someone eximed.

    Some people nearby began to discuss the name Xuan Qi. Zuo Yu felt rather puzzled, and she exchanged nces with Shi Hong.

    Mu Cheng''s expression immediately grew serious. "Sister Hong, how many people who entered the Sixverse Academy this time have the name of Xuan Qi?"

    Shi Hong looked puzzled. "Just the one."

    There were several gasps of astonishment.

    Shi Hong asked, "Brother Mu Cheng, what''s wrong?"

    Mu Cheng smiled bitterly. "Junior Sister, you¡¯ve been entertaining Sister Little Yu and the others and showing them around, so you might not have heard about what just happened in the Sixverse Academy."

    "Is there something wrong with Xuan Qi?" Shi Hong asked.

    Zuo Yu and the others also grew curious. They had been following Shi Hong around the Cyclic School ever since they had arrived to familiarize themselves with the ce. So, they had not heard anything regarding the academy¡¯s current events.

    Someone finally stood up and spoke to Shi Hong. "Sister Hong, let me exin."

    Everyone looked at the young man as he took a moment topose himself before speaking. "Xuan Qi is undeniably the most talented genius in the Voidforce School. He managed to endure voidforce energy for more than an hour during his first contact with it, and he even attracted Senior Xu Xiangyin¡¯s attention¡­"

    Everyone fell silent. Shi Hong, Zuo Yu, and the others were dumbfounded. They had not expected ¡°Xuan Qi¡± to aplish such a heaven-shattering feat.

    Even the people who had already heard the news were just as stunned as when they first heard the story.

    Despite there only being two sses of students so far, the talent that Lu Yin had revealed for voidforce energy wasparable to Xi Ji¡¯s. It also greatly surpassed Shao Qingfeng¡¯s, who had once created a miracle in the Voidforce School.

    "Xuan Qi has surpassed Shao Qingfeng, who you should already know."

    Shi Hong was shocked, and the image of ¡°Xuan Qi¡± deciphering her Dragon sh reappeared in her mind. "It''s never a good idea to let go of your sword during a fight. Your opponent can easily grab hold of it."

    At the time, his words had dealt a huge blow to Shi Hong. There was nothing wrong with what he had said, but who among her peers was capable of catching a sword executing Dragon sh by someone who had mastered the technique? How could there be no fear of having their hand sliced off?

    Even after some time passed, Shi Hong still could not understand how her sword had been caught.

    It was unexpected that Xuan Qi had created another miracle almost as soon as he arrived in the Sixverse Academy.

    Mu Cheng sighed. "A dragon has crossed the river. A prodigy has arrived. The Sixverse Academy is not going to remain peaceful. I bet that those people in the Central School have already noticed him, which means that things are going to get quite lively."

    "I wonder if he¡¯ll alsoe to our Cyclic School," someone muttered.

    The person next to them replied, "Not likely. With that kind of talent, it''s very possible that he¡¯ll be taken away by the Voidforce Universe."

    "True. That¡¯s in line with the Sixverse Academy¡¯s policy. Maybe the next time we hear his name, he won¡¯t be on the same level as the rest of us."

    The gathering started to break apart, but the impact of the name "Xuan Qi" remained fresh in everyone¡¯s minds.

    Zuo Yu had never thought that the gap between her and an acquaintance would widen so much so quickly. They had barely even started their journey.

    Half a month passed, and then one day, in the Void Ground, a group of people witnessed history being made before their very eyes.

    Lu Yin sat on one of the stones for more than three hours.

    Exceeding three hours was an indication of crossing the threshold and bing able to cultivate voidforce energy.

    Xue Xiangyin stood a short distance away from Lu Yin, watching with absolute joy.

    It had only taken this youth a month, just one month. While this was simr, or possibly a bit longer than the amount of time that Xu Ji had used, Xuan Qi was from another universe, which meant that his talent for voidforce energy was absolutely terrifying.

    After more than three hours, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly opened. He was finally able to observe voidforce energy, and he saw clusters of it floating around. It was clear that each floating stone contained arge amount of voidforce energy.

    He looked up to the sky.

    The items that were floating around were also enveloped with varying amounts of voidforce energy.

    A considerable amount of voidforce energy surrounded the ship that Xiao Fei had pulled down, though the vige possessed the most. In fact, the vige had so much energy that it filled nearly half of the sky by itself.

    Why would a vige, a ce where ordinary people lived, be a False God? Lu Yin could not understand this.

    "Hahaha, Xuan Qi, how is it? Can you see voidforce energy now?" Xu Xiangyin grinned widely. Admiration filled the old man¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin stood to offer a bow to Xu Xiangyin. "This junior can see it."

    "Then tell me, which False God possesses the greatest amount of voidforce energy?"

    Lu Yin pointed up at the sky. "The vige."

    Xu Xiangyin nodded. "Correct. Xuan Qi, you have passed the threshold of the Voidforce School."

    Outside the Void Ground, several people quietly swallowed. It had only been a single month, but someone had already passed the threshold. Was there a need for such speed?

    Even Shao Qingfeng had needed half a year to reach the same stage, which was considered incredibly fast for anyone from a foreign universe when cultivating voidforce energy.

    Luo Lao''er ecstatically yelled, "Brother-inw, you''re amazing!"

    Xie Wu, Xiao Fei, and several others exchanged nces, only to see resignation reflected in each other''s eyes. The fact that Xuan Qi had crossed the threshold of the Voidforce School in just a month meant that his name would absolutely be recorded down in the Voidforce Universe. He was no longer on the same level as the rest of the students.

    Passing the threshold meant that Lu Yin had officially be a student at Sixverse Academy. He could choose to learn the power of another one of the six universes, or continue with the Voidforce Universe¡¯s power.

    "Senior, I''m curious about how things are progressing with me being epted by the Voidforce Universe," Lu Yin said.

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. The fact that this was the youth¡¯s first question after crossing the threshold for cultivating voidforce energy made it clear that Xuan Qi truly wished to join the Voidforce Universe from the bottom of his heart. "Don''t worry, I have already spoken with Ke Jian. Once you leave the Sixverse Academy, there will be no need for you to return to the Transcendent Universe. You can instead go straight to my Voidforce Universe. We will arrange everything for you."

    The old man¡¯s expression suddenly grew solemn. "You will even get the chance to meet Lord Xu."

    Lu Yin was overjoyed. "Will I really be able to meet Lord Xu?"

    Xu Xiangyinughed heartily. "Yes, absolutely!"

    Lu Yin''s breath quickened. This time, he was genuinely excited.

    The Sixverse Association had six member universes, each of which had powerful experts who had all reached a level equal to a Progenitor. The most remarkable were the Main Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as their legendary Grand Sovereign. The Voidforce Universe also had their own Progenitor-level powerhouses. Lord Xu was iparable to ordinary Progenitors, as he was the creator of voidforce energy. The man was a legendary figure and was nearly impossible to meet.

    The Voidforce Universe was a member of the Sixverse Association. If they needed the collective power of their entire universe to stand up to one of the Seven Skygods, it meant that their universe was simr to the Three Monarchs Universe and that their strength was somewhat limited. However, if Lord Xu alone was able to stand up to one of the Seven Skygods without needing to rely on any additional power, then his strength was absolutely extraordinary.

    This suggested that Lord Xu''s strength had actually surpassed an individual Skygod and wasparable to one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Three Realms Six Dao.

    This level of power exceeded Lu Yin''sprehension, as it was essentially the same as a resurrected God of Death. That ancient powerhouse had been hailed as invincible within the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yin was eager to meet such an expert.

    Even so, it was not yet time for that. If Lu Yin were to meet Lord Xu, Lu Yin¡¯s disguise would definitely be seen through.

    Lu Yin offered another respectful bow to Xu Xiangyin. "If I could have an audience with Lord Xu, I will be able to die without regrets."

    "Hahaha! Train hard. You¡¯ve already caught the attention of at least one senior, and you might even be epted as a disciple. Of course, there is also a small chance that Lord Xu himself might take you as his disciple. If that happens, make sure to not forget about me," Xu Xiangyin said with a chuckle.

    Lu Yin replied, "How could I ever forget you, Senior? To me, Senior is a mentor for life."

    Xu Xiangyin nodded in satisfaction, though a hint of regret could be seen in his eyes.

    The old man truly wanted to ept Xuan Qi as his own disciple, but the youth¡¯s talent was far too extraordinary. Xu Xiangyin did not have the authority to make such a decision, as only a few esteemed seniors would be allowed to ept this genius as their disciple. What a pity.

    Some distance away, Xie Wu and several others watched as Xu Xiangyin and Lu Yin chatted. The students were ovee with both envy and a feeling of helplessness. Where in the megaverse had such a persone from?

    Xu Xiangyin turned around and nced at the rest of the students. "Leave for now. You can return tomorrow."

    The students had no choice but to obey. They were not even allowed to linger outside the Void Ground. The old man was far too biased.

    "Xuan Qi, now that you have crossed the threshold and are capable of seeing voidforce energy, the next step is for you to absorb that energy. Only by possessing enough of your own voidforce energy will you be able to summon a False God to fight with¡­" Xu Xiangyin started to patiently guide Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2516: Voidforce Energy

    Chapter 2516: Voidforce Energy

    Xu Xiangyin was sharing information that Lu Yin had already learned from the jade slip. This was the second stage of cultivation in the Voidforce School. Only people who crossed the threshold put in ce by the school were able to even attempt to challenge the second stage.

    No one had taught the students how to absorb energy in the Voidforce School. The only way for them to do so was from the floating stones. This was what Xie Wu, Xiao Fei, and all of the others did, but Lu Yin was different. Xu Xiangyin personally shared a method to absorb voidforce energy that differed from what the students received from the jade slips.

    "The absorption method that¡¯s recorded in the jade slips isn¡¯t wrong, but it¡¯s also not the best. My superiors have allowed me to share a different method with you, and this one is far better than what the jade slips offer. You cannot share this," Xu Xiangyin gave another reminder.

    Lu Yin hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

    Was this fair? Of course not. Xie Wu and the others were also students of the Sixverse Academy and they had chosen to study the Voidforce Universe¡¯s power as well. Xie Wu had crossed the threshold of cultivating voidforce energy long before, and Shi Hong had studied at the Voidforce School before moving on to the Cyclic School. However, they would never be offered an improved method of absorbing voidforce energy. It was absolutely unfair to them, but this was the way of things.

    Cultivators challenged the heavens, as well aspeted against each other. The cultivation world was a cruel ce.

    As the first strand of voidforce energy entered his body, Lu Yin officially started cultivating the power of the Voidforce Universe.

    Xu Xiangyin did not ask Lu Yin what he had cultivated before, as it did not matter. Aside from a select few civilizations, what power could surpass the Voidforce Universe¡¯s voidforce energy? It could easily surpass any power that the youth might have cultivated in the past.

    Voidforce energy was an oppressive power, and after the first bit entered Lu Yin¡¯s body, it immediately started topete with his stellr energy for control. Lu Yin had sealed off his three meridian points, but he still had one more stellr energy vortex that sat next to the ck-and-white mist at his heart. This vortex was something that anyone could perceive, but at this moment, the voidforce energy started trying to push Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortex aside.

    It was only a tiny amount of voidforce energy, but it behaved in an unusually domineering manner. In Lu Yin''s opinion, the energy acted like an ignorant child that was challenging a giant.

    His stellr energy vortex was powerful enough to easily wipe out the tiny strand of energy, but doing so would mean that he would not be able to cultivate voidforce energy, which was uneptable.

    The voidforce energy most likely would not be able to peacefully coexist with Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortex, so he guided the voidforce energy toward the energy system in his chest.

    As the voidforce energy approached the ck-and-white mist, it automatically attempted to push the mist aside in the exact same way that it had attempted to push Lu Yin¡¯s stellr energy vortex. However, the ck and white mist pulled the strand of energy in. The first thing that the voidforce energy encountered after passing through the mist was the red dot. As soon as the two met, the voidforce energy instantly shot towards thendmass formed from Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand. It looked as though the energy had been frightened by the red dot.

    Strands of gray energy swirled around the Withered Bark that had taken root in the continent of fatesand. The domineering voidforce energy waspletely suppressed the moment it touched the fatesand. Now, a flowing river seemed to have been added to the continent.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes, feeling a bit strange.

    "How was it? The energy that you cultivated in the past should have just been erased," Xu Xiangyin said, already expecting such an oue.

    Lu Yin felt slightly perplexed. "Voidforce energy is really overbearing."

    "Hahaha, of course it is!" Xu Xiangyinughed merrily. "My Voidforce Universe is a member of the Sixverse Association. There might be countless parallel universes, but very few are able to stand up to my Voidforce Universe. I don''t know which universe you¡¯re originally from, and I don¡¯t need to know, but in the face of voidforce energy, any power that you may have cultivated before will be eliminated. This is perfectly normal, so don¡¯t overthink things. After you cultivate for a bit, you¡¯ll regain your previous strength.

    "Besides, your physical strength won''t drop at all. In the Voidforce School¡ªno, in the entire Sixverse Academy, there¡¯s no one who can harm you."

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior understands and will continue cultivating."

    "There¡¯s no need to rush things. You''ve already taken the second step, which means that next is the third step." Xu Xiangyin pointed upwards. "Do you see those objects? Anything that¡¯s enveloped in voidforce energy can be called a voidforce puppet. They can be living creatures or inanimate objects. Your next task is to manipte one of them for your first time.

    "Normally, people need about a year from when they join the Voidforce School to reach this step, but you¡¯re different from most people. You can try immediately, since it only took you a month to reach the threshold to begin cultivating voidforce energy. Out of all the cultivators from foreign civilizations, your talent is unprecedented."

    Lu Yin wondered, "Within the Voidforce Universe, I would guess that I''m not too outstanding, right?"

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "That''s not the case at all. Throughout our universe¡¯s entire history, only a few people have been able to surpass you. In the current generation, only Xu Ji has surpassed you, but he grew up in the Voidforce Universe and was far more familiar with voidforce energy than you. Aside from him, there is no one in the Voidforce Universe who surpasses you.

    "Alright, that¡¯s enough. Now, release your voidforce energy and move it up into the sky. After that, try to lure over a target. Typically, you should target a voidforce puppet that has three to five times more energy than your own stores. This is one of the key reasons why our Voidforce Universe is so powerful¡ªwe are able to wield a power three to five times greater than our own in battle."

    Lu Yin eximed, "This is the cultivation method that this junior has always yearned for!"

    With that, he manipted his voidforce energy out from his heart and sent it up into the sky, much like casting a fishing line.

    He finally understood what the woman beneath the stairs had done. The moment she hadid her eyes on him, she had manipted her voidforce energy towards him so that she could take control of him. Unfortunately for her, Lu Yin had instantly broken free from her control. She must have been absolutely furious.

    Next to Lu Yin, Xu Xiangyin watched as the voidforce energy moved out from Lu Yin''s body. It was very faint, to the point of nearly being invisible. Lu Yin had only just absorbed his first bit of voidforce energy, which meant that he had a truly minuscule amount. Even so, this was the first step for every cultivator from the Voidforce Universe.

    Xu Xiangyin wanted to see how well ¡°Xuan Qi¡± was able to control his voidforce energy, as well as how durable his voidforce energy was. These were crucial factors determined by a person''s aptitude for the energy.

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression turned solemn. The youth¡¯s performance during the previous stage of cultivating voidforce energy had been beyond abnormal. If he also proved himself capable of exerting precise control over his voidforce energy, his talent would be enough for many of Xu Xiangyin¡¯s seniors to ept Xuan Qi as their disciple.

    Lu Yin stared up at the sky. Fishing, fishing, fishing. This is just fishing. The voidforce energy was the fishing line, while his control over it was the bait. The fish could all be seen, which meant that Lu Yin was doing something much simpler than actual fishing. As long as he controlled his energy properly, it should be easy to score a catch.

    Soon enough, Lu Yin caught¡ªno, he attracted the first voidforce puppet. It was just a leaf, but it held about five times more voidforce energy than Lu Yin.

    The two men watched as the leaf fell.

    Xu Xiangyin was quite satisfied. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Attracting a voidforce puppet with five times your energy on your first try indicates that your control is quite good. How about trying to attract a voidforce puppet with more energy?"

    "Sure," Lu Yin replied confidently.

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes sparkled. "You really are a genius. Let''s continue."

    Lu Yin nodded, and his voidforce energy once again stretched up into the sky. This time, he drew a voidforce puppet with seven times more energy than him, which earned another round of praise from Xu Xiangyin.

    "Senior, I believe that I can attract a voidforce puppet with even more energy," Lu Yin dered.

    Xu Xiangyin was surprised. "A stronger voidforce puppet? Go ahead and try."

    Then, Lu Yin attracted a voidforce puppet that had ten times his energy.

    Xu Xiangyin was struck dumb by the sight. Ten times¡­ truly a genius. The old man stared at Lu Yin. Out of everyone in the Voidforce Universe¡¯s younger generation, only a few of their greatest geniuses were able to attract voidforce puppets with ten times more energy than their own. Xu Xiangyin was certain that Xuan Qi would definitely be epted as the disciple of one of the strongest experts in their entire universe.

    "Xuan Qi, I didn''t misjudge you. Your affinity for voidforce energy is unbelievable." Xu Xiangyin sighed emotionally.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Senior, I want to try for one that¡¯s even more difficult."

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes went wide. "You want to try for one that¡¯s even more difficult? Are you sure?"

    Lu Yin was eager to try, "Let me see if I can."

    "Alright, go ahead!" Xu Xiangyin eximed excitedly, as he watched with great anticipation. If Lu Yin could surpass ten times his energy reserves, it would ce him on an entirely different level. Xu Xiangyin nervously swallowed. People who were capable of attracting voidforce puppets with over ten times the voidforce energy of their own stores were truly special. If Xuan Qi seeded, Xu Xiangyin would need to report directly this to Lord Xu!

    Lu Yin had not yet actually challenged his limits. He cultivated too many different powers, and some of them were quite simr to voidforce energy, which meant that he was already quite adept at manipting it. Furthermore, beginners would find voidforce energy difficult to control mainly because of its excessively overbearing nature. When Lu Yin had initially absorbed a strand of the energy, it had resisted him. It was unimaginable for someone to easily seed on their first attempt.

    However, Lu Yin was different, as the voidforce energy had been subdued and tamed within his chest, which meant that he could now casually control the energy without any issue. As long as it was suppressed by the power within his chest, he would not have to worry about his control over it.

    He next focused on a voidforce puppet which was enveloped by twenty times more voidforce energy than he possessed. This voidforce puppet was a vase.

    Who would make a vase into a voidforce puppet? Oh well¡­ Lu Yin simply continued fishing.

    The vase moved and slowly descended. Xu Xiangyin waspletely bbergasted.

    The old man¡¯s pupils shrank. Twenty times? How is that even possible? It¡¯s actually twenty times more!

    He looked at Lu Yin in apletely different manner now.

    When taking the first step in cultivating voidforce energy, Xuan Qi had proven himselfparable to Xu Ji, which had shaken the Sixverse Academy.

    At the third step of their cultivation method, which was attracting a voidforce puppet, Xuan Qi had actually surpassed Xu Ji. Xu Ji had only managed to draw a voidforce puppet with twelve times more energy than himself during his first attempt, while Xuan Qi had seeded with twenty times.

    This seemed a bit extreme, no?

    Xu Xiangyin stared at Lu Yin with an odd expression, and he even almost asked if the youth was Lord Xu''s son!

    Pa! The strand of voidforce energy snapped.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and despondentlymented, "Senior, I failed."

    Xu Xiangyin suppressed his shock in order to console ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± "You didn''t fail. You¡¯re able to control it, but you simply don¡¯t have enough voidforce energy yet. That¡¯s not your fault."

    The old man suddenly felt that something was very wrong with the situation. Comforting the youth? Why was he doing that? Xu Xiangyin was the one who needed to be consoled!

    If only Xu Xiangyin had managed to attract a voidforce puppet with twenty times his own energy during his first attempt¡ªNo! Even ten times would have sufficed. If he could have pulled that off, he would not have been limited to his current level. He would have long since be one of the top figures in the entire Voidforce Universe. He would be someone who could meet Lord Xu at any time.

    Half, if he possessed just half of this youth¡¯s talent, how wonderful would his life be!

    "Senior?" Lu Yin looked at Xu Xiangyin with an expression of concern. "Are you alright, Senior?"

    Xu Xiangyin let out a breath and stered a bitter smile onto his face. "I''m fine."

    His tone of voice hadpletely changed. Xuan Qi would undoubtedly one day be one of the most outstanding figures in the Voidforce Universe, and at that time, Xu Xiangyin would undoubtedly retain his same status. At that time, he would have to bow to this child. "Xuan Qi, you are quite impressive. Attracting a voidforce puppet with more than twenty times your own energy on your first attempt is remarkable."

    "How does thatpare to Xu Ji?" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 2517: Life-Bound Voidforce Puppet

    Chapter 2517: Life-Bound Voidforce Puppet

    Xu Xiangyin fell silent after hearing Lu Yin''s question. This youth was greatly superior to Xu Ji in every aspect. "It¡¯s about the same. Don''t tell others about what happened, or you might be targeted."

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands."

    "Mmm. For now, stay here and continue to absorb more voidforce energy. The greater your own reserves, the stronger the voidforce puppet you''ll be able to control. When the time is right, I will take you to find your own life-bound voidforce puppet," Xu Xiangyin exined.

    Lu Yin was curious about this. "My own life-bound voidforce puppet?"

    "This is something that¡¯s not recorded in the jade slips given to the students here. Only students who enter the Central School are given this information, but life-bound voidforce puppets can be considered the fourth step of our cultivation method. At this moment, not a single student in the entire Sixverse Academy not from the Voidforce Universe has reached this fourth step. Not even Shao Qingfeng from the Cyclic Universe had done so. Most people need to cultivate for several years before attempting to find their life-bound voidforce puppet. But you-" Xu Xiangyin paused for a moment. "You¡¯ll be able to try rather soon. You might even go with Shao Qingfeng and the others to determine your life-bound voidforce puppet."

    "I¡¯m truly excited to acquire my life-bound voidforce puppet," Lu Yin said eagerly.

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "You seem to be rather curious about these, so let me show you."

    He held out a hand, and voidforce energy surged over his palm. After a moment, a fingernail-sized bug slowly crawled out.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted when he saw the insect. A carrion bug?

    "This is called a carrion bug. Don''t underestimate it. Even without any voidforce energy at all, it is already a very powerful weapon. Can you see how much voidforce energy it holds?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

    Lu Yin quicklyposed his expression in order to prevent Xu Xiangyin from noticing the recognition of a carrion bug. "It''s very powerful."

    The moment the carrion bug appeared, Lu Yin had already seen majestic waves of voidforce energy radiate from it. The energy destroyed the nearby stones and shook the entire Voidforce School. Even the voidforce puppets in the sky above trembled.

    It was power equal to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s.

    While the bug itself had not reached the Semi-Progenitor level, the boost that it received from the voidforce energy had pushed it to that level.

    Lu Yin had never considered that Xu Xiangyin would possess a carrion bug. "Senior, is this bug really that powerful?"

    Xu Xiangyin proudly stated, "Back when I was choosing my life-bound voidforce puppet, everyone else went off searching for whatever they believed to be powerful. I, on the other hand, had no family background, no master to teach me, and no exceptional talent. With no one to help me, all I could find was this insignificant bug.

    "When I returned, everyone ridiculed my choice. The first person to recognize the potential of this bug was Senior Xu Wuwei." Xu Xiangyin''s voice took on a more sincere tone at this point. "It was Senior Xu Wuwei who guided me and taught me how formidable this creature called a carrion bug can truly be. He also gave me countless pointers to guide me in my cultivation. That was the opportunity that led me to bing who I am today. Although Senior Wuwei did not ept me as his disciple, he is the only senior that I will acknowledge for my entire life."

    The old man then looked back at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, I have already sent a report to Senior Xu Wuwei about you. You must seize this opportunity. If you can be his disciple, it will be a bit of luck that will change your entire life."

    Lu Yin earnestly replied, "I understand."

    Someone who was able to make Xu Xiangyin acknowledge him as a senior and guide the old man¡¯s cultivation had to be someoneparable to a Progenitor. However, the name ¡°Xu Wuwei¡±[1] sounded quite strange.

    "By the way, Senior, when I was choosing which of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s schools I wanted to study in, I saw a video of a battle that the Voidforce Universe participated in. Is that Wu Tian Stone Disk another voidforce puppet?" Lu Yin asked. This was a matter that he was most concerned about.

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "That¡¯s right. The Wu Tian Stone Disk is a voidforce puppet. Ites from the Voidchaos territory."

    "Voidchaos territory?"

    "There are many ces where one can obtain a voidforce puppet in the Voidforce Universe, and of them, the Voidchaos territory is managed by Lord Xu himself. Only geniuses who are specially acknowledged are allowed to seek their voidforce puppets there. I didn''t get that chance myself, but you should be able to visit the Voidchaos territory," Xu Xiangyin said enviously.

    Lu Yin expressed a bit of curiosity. "Wu Tian Stone Disk? What a strange name."

    Xu Xiangyin exined, "There''s nothing strange about it. The stone disk came from a powerful individual whose name was Wu Tian, which is why it''s called the Wu Tian Stone Disk."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Wu Tian? That¡¯s also an odd name. Was he a powerful ancestor of the Voidforce Universe?"

    Xu Xiangyin shook his head. "He wasn¡¯t from my Voidforce Universe at all. From what I''ve heard, Wu Tian and Lord Xu were both alive during the same era. Of course, that¡¯s nothing but a rumor, so no one really knows for sure."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "If you want to know more, you can ask Senior Xu Wuwei after you be his disciple. He¡¯ll certainly know about this. It¡¯s said that Senior Wu Tian is connected to the mythical Origin Universe, but who knows about that. It¡¯s been ages since anyone has appeared from the Origin Universe," Xu Xiangyinmented.

    A short whileter, Xu Xiangyin returned to the Voidforce Universe to personally convey a report about ¡°Xuan Qi¡± to Xu Wuwei.

    Before leaving, the old man also assigned a task to Lu Yin: to attract the vige.

    The vige was enveloped with the most voidforce energy out of any of the voidforce puppets in the sky above the school, and Xu Xiangyin ordered Lu Yin to draw it down within six months.

    Lu Yin estimated that he would not need even that long to seed.

    He spent his time diligently cultivating voidforce energy by absorbing more energy in order to improve his own internal reserves.

    It was a time-consuming process. Cultivating with voidforce energy was no easier than cultivating with stellr energy. However, the ability to control voidforce puppets made fighting more convenient and safer for people who cultivated voidforce energy.

    Xie Wu and the others did not bother Lu Yin again.

    They had hoped that ¡°Xuan Qi¡± would leave for another school so that they could stir up trouble for him there, but Xu Xiangyin''s attitude towards the young genius had made the students abandon the idea. If ¡°Xuan Qi¡± met any sort of trouble that waster traced back to them, the students knew that the consequences would be more than what they could bear.

    Soon, another month passed, and one day, Luo Lao''er went to find Lu Yin for some help.

    "Luo Zang?" Lu Yin looked at Luo Lao''er. "Is he causing trouble for you?"

    Luo Lao''er answered bitterly, "He''s not trying to make trouble¡ªhe already has. As soon as I¡¯m not right beside you, someone immediatelyes after me. Brother-inw, look at this! Look!" He moved his clothes aside to reveal wounds that covered his arms. Then, he started to remove his pants.

    Lu Yin kicked him away. "Cut it out! No one gave you those injuries. You must have given them to yourself."

    Luo Lao''er crawled back over, feeling wronged. "Brother-inw, why don''t you believe me? It really was Luo Zang''s people who did this to me! There''s one guy here in the Voidforce School named Luo Shan. He''s Monarch Luo''s fifteenth son, as well as Luo Zang''sckey. He''s the one who''s beening after me."

    Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao''er. "I''ll only say this once, so listen carefully¡± I- do not- like being used."

    Luo Lao''er opened his mouth to protest, but seeing as how Lu Yin''s expression was growing colder by the second, Luo Lao''er ended up flopping onto the ground in exasperation. "Brother-inw, you''re too smart! I can''t hide anything from you."

    Lu Yin casually said, "Luo Lao''er, we haven''t known each other for very long, and aside from the slight connection that we made on the battlefield in the Cloudflow Universe, there¡¯s nothing at all between us. If you want me to help you, then you need to offer me enough in return."

    Luo Lao''er fell silent.

    Lu Yin continued speaking. "You aren''t weak. At the very least, you¡¯re better than Zuo Yu and the others. Even if you can''t measure up to Shi Hong, you aren¡¯t very far behind. Even so, you¡¯ve maintained a specific facade the whole time and have never revealed your true self. I have no interest in ying mind games with you."

    Luo Lao''er sighed and brushed some dirt off of his pants. "I knew that I couldn''t hide anything from you, Brother-inw. Actually, I never meant to hide anything from you guys. I just wanted to protect myself, nothing more."

    Lu Yin slowly absorbed voidforce energy. He expressed absolutely no interest in continuing the conversation with Luo Lao''er.

    Suddenly, Luo Lao''er asked, "Brother-inw, you and Zi Jing don''t have that kind of rtionship, do you?"

    Lu Yin''s expression flickered as he nced over at Luo Lao''er. "What do you mean?"

    Luo Lao''er smiled. "There are all kinds of rumors flying about that im that Zi Jing became obedient all because of you, Brother-inw, and that you risked your life to follow her. However, I think that it¡¯s all just a show you¡¯re putting on. Whenever Zi Jing¡¯s mentioned, there¡¯s never any emotion in your eyes."

    "You can tell what I''m feeling?"

    "I can," Luo Lao''er boasted, "That''s one of my few skills! I can verify that you two don''t have that kind of rtionship."

    Lu Yin''s lips curved up. "Whether we do or don''t, what does it matter to you? Are you trying to threaten me?"

    Luo Lao''er instantly replied, "Of course not! I''m just trying to show you my worth, Brother-inw."

    "There''s no need for that." Lu Yin never stopped absorbing voidforce energy.

    Luo Lao''er leaned closer. "What if I were to teach you how to cultivate monarch essence?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Monarch essence?"

    "That¡¯s right, the monarch essence from my Three Monarch Dimension," Luo Lao''er confirmed.

    "I''m not all that interested. Is monarch essence able to suppress voidforce energy?"

    "They¡¯re different kinds of power. Any weapon or tool will be much more powerful when Monarch Essence is applied to it. How else do you think the Three Monarchs Universe managed to join the Sixverse Association? The fact that we¡¯re a member means that we¡¯ve already proven ourselves worthy of that position," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment. Luo Lao¡¯er certainly was not wrong, and the young man might prove to be an asset, given time.

    "I can always learn from the Three Monarchs School," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Lao''er sneered. "How can anything you learn from that cepare to what I can teach you? Brother-inw, don''t tell me that you actually think they''ll teach you the true way to cultivate monarch essence here."

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of how he had received a different method of absorbing voidforce energy from Xu Xiangyin. After meeting Luo Lao''er¡¯s eyes for a moment, Lu Yin asked, "What are your conditions?"

    The young man took a deep breath. "After we return to the Transcendent Universe, I want to meet Zi Jing and receive her protection."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You really think that Zi Jing can protect you?"

    Luo Lao''er exined, "While I might not know anything about the cultivation technology that Zi Jing has been researching, I do understand the Transcendent Universe. Zi Jing betrayed her own universe, and that caused the Energy Research Group that she was part of to fall apart. All progress in the research even stalled out for years. What she did is considered a terrible crime that even powerhouses who can use ck energy converters wouldn¡¯t be able to get away with. Even so, Zi Jing was pardoned."

    A trace of disbelief could be seen in his eyes. "After going through the history of the Transcendent Universe, I found that only two people have ever been pardoned for simr crimes, and both of them were researchers who made significant contributions to the universe¡¯s cultivation technologies. One of them developed the Bestowal Art and was eventually regarded as the father of the Bestowal Art, Yu Cheng. The Yu family is still one of the most influential families in the Transcendent Universe even now.

    "Since Zi Jing has been pardoned for such a terrible crime, there¡¯s no denying that she has an exceptionally bright future ahead."

    Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao''er for a moment. "The fact that you were able to gather so much information suggests that your own future should be rather bright."

    Luo Lao''er answered with a bitter smile. "Brother-inw, if I didn''t have at least some skills, I would have died like the rest of my brothers. Do you know how many of my brothers were directly or indirectly killed by Luo Zang? At least five."

    "Your father doesn¡¯t punish him?"

    "Punishment means nothing to him, or maybe it¡¯s just that my father doesn''t care. Luo Zang is Monarch Mu''s son. The reason why our Three Monarchs Universe can be a member of the Sixverse Association is because we can stop one of the Seven Skygods, and the most vital reason why our Monarchs can do that is the Three Monarchs Formation, which requires all three of them. That¡¯s why, as long as Monarch Mu doesn''t go too far, my father won''t say anything. Besides, Luo Zang is his most precious son," Luo Lao''er stated calmly. Despite his stoic demeanor, Lu Yin could detect deep sorrow and hurt in his undertones.

    1. Wuwei means five vors. ?

 Chapter 2518: Tide

    Chapter 2518: Tide

    Nothing was more tragic than a person being abandoned by their own father.

    Lu Yin said, "Perhaps sending you to the Transcendent Universe to be a hostage was Monarch Luo''s way of protecting you."

    A tremor ran through Luo Lao''er''s body, but he said nothing more. A slight smile returned to his face. "Brother-inw, what do you think? I believe that my condition is quite reasonable. As long as I can use Zi Jing''s name to protect myself in the Transcendent Universe, I¡¯ll teach you the authentic cultivation method for monarch essence."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright, deal."

    "Brother-inw!" Luo Lao''er shouted loudly, which drew a number of stares.

    Luo Shan was one of the people who looked over, and his eyes flickered.

    "You may have climbed rather high, but unfortunately, Second Brother, your backer is no longer part of the Transcendent Universe," he murmured with a mocking smile.

    The cultivation method of monarch essence was simr to how one cultivated with star energy.

    For star energy, one needed to absorb it either from the environment or from star crystals before circting it correctly. In the same manner, weapons and tools that had been enhanced by monarch essence could be used to cultivate monarch essence in the same manner that star crystals were used to cultivate star energy.

    Lu Yin held a tricolored weapon that had been imbued with monarch essence. "Its durability has increased, and it has a sharper de edge."

    "That¡¯s the effect of monarch essence. It¡¯s actually quite simr to the energies cultivated by many other cultivation civilizations, but monarch essence has the additional effect of enhancing an item¡¯s performance. This, along with the fact that my father and the other two Monarchs are able to use the Three Monarchs Formation to deal with one of the Seven Skygods, is why my universe is able to be a member of the Sixverse Association," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Cultivating monarch essence was very simple. The threshold to cultivate monarch essence was to reach a level of strength that was equal to that of a Melder or a Limiteer. By the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s standards, the name of that cultivation realm was ve. Anyone beneath that level was regarded as an ordinary human in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s terms for its cultivation realms made it clear that all cultivators were considered servants of Monarch Luo and the other Monarchs, while ordinary people did not even qualify to be ves.

    This was a major reason why so few people chose to study in the Three Monarchs School at the Sixverse Academy. Reaching the required threshold for the cultivation method was rtively easy, and many of the students were capable of doing so, but they simply could not ept being referred to as ves.

    How could someone from a Main Universe cultivate monarch essence and be someone else''s ve? Even if it was just a title, many people refused to ept it.

    Lu Yin also found the naming to be rather strange. "Your old man certainly has a unique perspective when ites to ssifying cultivation realms."

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Our universe has never seen a true civilization develop. All we have is a typical ve society."

    "Alright, I know what to do now. You¡¯ll provide me with weapons, and I''ll absorb monarch essence from them to increase my own monarch essence, right?" Lu Yin rified.

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "There should be many weapons and tools in the Three Monarchs School that have monarch essence imbued in them just for cultivation purposes."

    Lu Yin was not very interested in monarch essence. It was just a fairlymon cultivation method. Without the Three Monarch Formation, their universe would have never qualified to be a true member of the Sixverse Association. The Three Monarchs Universe fell far behind the Transcendent Universe. Even though the Transcendent Universe did not possess a cultivation civilization, they did not require their members to cultivate. As long as they had enough energy, they could mass-produce energy converters with the strength of Progenitors. When their Bestowal Art was also taken into ount, that universe was truly terrifying.

    After sending Luo Lao''er away, Lu Yin continued cultivating. He raised his hand, causing his die to appear. It was time to roll it again. Would rolling a six in this universe allow him to Possess someone in the same manner as in the Fifth Maind?

    Thinking of that possibility, he tapped the die and watched as it slowly spun. Three pips. Useless. There was nothing in the Sixverse Academy for him to Enhance.

    Again.

    Two pips. There also was nothing for him to Disassemble. Again. Four pips: Timestop.

    As the scenery changed around him, Lu Yin entered the grayish-white Timestop Space. He would spend about a year cultivating in this ce, though he first needed to familiarize himself with monarch essence.

    In the future, he would definitelye into contact with the Three Monarchs Universe, so learning about monarch essence would definitely be beneficial.

    Lu Yin was different from other cultivators, as he was able to cultivate any type of energy, and it would even be docile and obedient after it entered the system that he was developing in his chest.

    All paths led to the same destination. That was the understanding behind the power in his chest.

    When the scenery changed once again, Lu Yin left his Timestop Space. By now, the continent formed from fatesand in his chest had gained a bit of color. It came from the monarch essence, and it was the result of half a year¡¯s cultivation in Timestop. Not only had he reached the threshold of the cultivation method, but his monarch essence reserves had also already reached the level of Servant, which was one realm above that of ve. If Luo Lao''er were to learn of this, it would surely scare him to death.

    After all, as far as Luo Lao''er was concerned, barely a few seconds had passed since he had shared the cultivation method with Lu Yin.

    Even Monarch Luo, who had created monarch essence and established the cultivation method, could not have proceeded so quickly.

    After spending half a year in the Timestop Space, Lu Yin had resumed focusing on the Cosmic Art and reciting the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra. He could not afford to lower his guard under any circumstances.

    Rising to his feet, he stretched his arms. While only a second had passed in the outside world, Lu Yin had lived for almost an entire year.

    It had been about one year since he hadst cultivated with voidforce energy. It was time for him to put in a bit of actual effort.

    Determined to take action, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes. The God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder, and invisible runes spread out.

    He had to be cautious to prevent any Progenitor-level experts from sensing anything.

    As the runes spread out, they gradually enveloped Xie Wu, Xiao Fei, Luo Lao''er, and everyone else who was in the Voidforce School, but none of them sensed a thing.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before starting.

    Far away from the Void Ground, Xie Wu looked up at the sky. Only people who had at least reached the threshold of the Voidforce School were able to observe the voidforce energy that stretched out from the young man towards the sky. His energy was approaching a gigantic, circr False God. While the energy surrounding the False God was not quite as much as the vige, it was still enough to ce the item within the ten most powerful False Gods in the sky.

    Xie Wu had attempted to attract this False God multiple times already. As long as he could lure it down, then he would be able to continue on to the next school and learn from another universe. One day, he would even be able to enter the Central School andpete with the incredible geniuses who studied there.

    He could not bear the idea of forever remaining someone else¡¯s follower.

    He absolutely had to seed.

    Xie Wu''s expression turned serious as he tightly clenched his fists. His voidforce energy had already merged with the round False God in the sky, and the object trembled before slowly starting to descend.

    Xie Wu was overjoyed. He had seeded! He focused his entire attention on the sky. As long as he could bring the False God all the way down, it would be a remarkable feat recorded down within the Voidforce School, and then he could leave the ce. He did not want to see Xuan Qi ever again.

    Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by. Xie Wu did not pay attention to it, but just secondster, his voidforce energy started to quiver. It felt as though it was trying to squirm out of his control.

    What was happening?

    He quickly strengthened his control over his voidforce energy, but as the wind picked up, his control over the voidforce energy nearly slipped from his grasp.

    Eventually, Xie Wu¡¯s strand of voidforce energy snappedpletely, which caused him to roar in fury. "Who is it? Who¡¯s doing this?"

    Xie Wu was not the only one who had been affected by the wind. At the same time, everyone in the entire Voidforce School was being affected. No matter if they had been trying to absorb voidforce energy or attract False Gods, everyone was interrupted in their activities. A powerful force was pulling in one direction, and it dragged over all of the voidforce energy in the Voidforce School.

    Xie Wu turned to look in the direction. Was it the Void Ground?

    The voidforce energy continued to flow towards the Void Ground, eventually forming a vortex. It looked as though all of the energy in the entire school was being devoured by some giant.

    People shot past Xie Wu, making their way towards the Void Ground.

    His eyes flickered. Could this be Xuan Qi yet again? Xie Wu gritted his teeth and followed after the others to visit the Void Ground.

    Arge crowd of students quickly formed outside the Void Ground, staring at Lu Yin as he absorbed voidforce energy at a rate that left everyonepletely dumbfounded.

    Was it possible to actually cultivate in such a manner?

    Luo Lao''er blinked. He had only just left the Void Ground, and yet he already found himself returning. "Brother-inw, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yin had not anticipated how effective it would be to use runes to absorb voidforce energy. As soon as he realized what was happening, he quickly restrained his runes, but voidforce energy was already surging towards him in an unstoppable manner. It was as though the energy had been incited into a frenzy, and he stood at the center of the vortex.

    He felt rather confused by the sudden development. Hopefully nothing would go wrong¡­

    Forget it, I¡¯ll just keep going.

    Throughout the history of cultivation, certain events that were inexplicable to ordinary people would often ur. Given what was happening to Lu Yin, everything depended on whether Xu Xiangyin could help him exin what was happening.

    "Voirdforce Tide¡­" Three words were muttered by Xu Xiangyin as soon as he arrived. He had rushed to the Void Ground as soon as he had received a report.

    Lu Yin was speechless. This event actually had a name?

    Excitement filled Xu Xiangyin''s eyes. "It''s actually a legendary False God Tide! Supposedly, only people who are extremelypatible with voidforce energy are able to trigger this. This is not merely absorbing voidforce energy, but rather being infused by voidforce energy. The energy itself desires to enter his body, and it¡¯s formed a resonance with him. His very existence has stirred the desires of voidforce energy, which has led to this cumtive effect.¡±

    "I need to report this matter immediately. His aptitude for voidforce energy surpasses that of everyone else," the old man muttered as he abruptly left, though not before warning everyone to not disturb Lu Yin''s cultivation. Anyone who vited the order would be executed without exception.

    Xu Xiangyin had given the students various warnings in the past, but this was the first time that he had openly threatened them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s importance had just spiked in Xu Xiangyin''s mind. Things had already reached the point where the old man believed that this youth might truly end up as Lord Xu''s personal disciple.

    Other important figures in the Sixverse Academy looked towards the Voidforce School.

    "The Voidforce Universe is really lucky. This child is truly blessed with an unrivaled talent for voidforce energy, to the point where this matter deserves to be recorded down in history. How long has he been here for? That old guy Xu Xiangyin has already gone over so many times."

    "In the future, the Voidforce Universe may deliver an unfathomable powerhouse to the battlefield between humanity and Aeternus. As long as this child does not die early, he has a very promising future before him."

    "He''s clearly from our Transcendent Universe."

    "I strongly suggest that you let that go. With his talent, he is destined to join the Voidforce Universe. If you try to stop it, Lord Xu might personally make a visit to the Transcendent Universe and make trouble for you. Still, it¡¯s such a pity. If only this child showed such talent for my Arboreal Realm¡¯s methods instead of voidforce energy."

    "I wish that he had the same talent for cultivating monarch essence."

    "What about you, Old Zhi? Don¡¯t you hope for someone with such remarkable talent for cultivating your Lost n''s power toe along?"

    "What I hope for doesn¡¯t matter. The Lost n''s power is unique. Anyone who canprehend our methods is already quite talented, but no one canpare to the members of our Lost n."

    No one spoke up to refute the man. The Lost n''s power was indeed unique, and it tested one''s character.

    One day. Two days. Three days¡­ Sixteen days. A full sixteen days passed as voidforce energy from all across the Voidforce School relentlessly poured into Lu Yin''s body. He could only watch as the river of voidforce energy that ran across the continent of fatesand in the power within his chest grew significantly. Finally, on the seventeenth day, the flood stopped.

    Opening his eyes, Lu Yin saw everyone gathered outside the Void Ground and staring at him in astonishment.

 Chapter 2519: An Absolute Genius

    Chapter 2519: An Absolute Genius

    Lu Yin looked downwards, staring at his hands while feeling a pinge of guilt. Using his strength that exceeded a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s to cultivate the powers of other universes meant that he progressed at a speed so absurd that others were forced to stop entirely.

    Luckily, no one was able to determine his true age, though even if they could, he was not much older than the other students.

    He stood and leisurely stretched. A subtle cracking sound rang out from his joints.

    Luo Lao''er decided to test the waters. "Brother-inw, aren''t you going to keep cultivating?"

    Lu Yin nced over. "Why aren''t all of you cultivating? It''s not good to ck off."

    The students all felt their blood boil. They were the ones who had been left unable to cultivate! Even so, no one had the courage to utter a single word to Xuan Qi. Xu Xiangyin''s attitude had frightened all of the students. If Xuan Qiined about any of the students, they might just be eliminated by the old man. It certainly was not impossible. If Xu Xiangyin truly wanted to get rid of any of them, they could only ept their fate.

    As the crowd dispersed, Luo Lao''er quickly moved closer to Lu Yin and began tovish him with praise. Shortly after, Xu Xiangyin also arrived, and he immediately tossed Luo Lao''er out. The old man stared at Lu Yin with unconcealed amazement and envy. "Xuan Qi, how do you feel?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Excellent! This junior feels much stronger after all of that voidforce energy entered my body."

    "Hahaha, that¡¯s only natural! A Voidforce Tide of sixteen days is the equivalent of several years, or even dozens of years, of cultivation for other people. You were able to progress so much in just sixteen days. Just how did you do it?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

    Lu Yin looked conflicted. "I¡¯m not really sure myself. I simply found it very easy to absorb voidforce energy, so I tried to pull in as much as possible, and the rest just followed."

    Xu Xiangyin made no attempt to hide his own jealousy. "Even I''m getting envious. You actually triggered a Voidforce Tide. Throughout the history of my Voidforce Universe, such things have only happened a few times, and every single one of them was triggered by individuals who obtained special enlightenment. Everyst one of them gained supreme power, and it seems you will also be such a powerhouse one day."

    Lu Yin did not understand, "Senior, is this a good thing?"

    "Of course! I¡¯ve already reported the fact that you triggered a Voidforce Tide to my superiors. Your future undoubtedly belongs in the Voidforce Universe," Xu Xiangyin proimed.

    Lu Yin proudly raised his head. "No one can stop this junior from joining the Voidforce Universe!"

    Xu Xiangyin felt content to hear such a response. "Excellent. It''s just a pity that my own strength is limited, as I cannot introduce you to Lord Xu myself. If that were possible, I would have spared no effort to advocate for you so that you would have the best chance possible to be one of Lord Xu¡¯s disciples. It''s such a shame."

    The old man shook his head before continuing. "You should have gathered quite a bit of voidforce energy for yourself by now, so what do you think? Which voidforce puppet do you want to try attracting?"

    Lu Yin confidently looked up at the sky and pointed a finger. "The biggest one."

    Xu Xiangyin chuckled. "Only two and a half months here, and you already want to challenge the most difficult trial of the Voidforce School. Are you sure?"

    Lu Yin answered somberly, "Yes."

    "Very well then. Show me how you''ll create another miracle. I can tell you right now, even the most talented disciple in your generation from the Voidforce Universe, Xu Ji, might not have been able to attract such a powerful voidforce puppet just two and a half months after passing the threshold for cultivating voidforce energy. I hope that you won''t disappoint me," Xu Xiangyin said.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn as he dered, "This junior will begin now."

    With that, his voidforce energy surged out and shot into the sky.

    At this moment, Xu Xiangyin was far from being the only person paying attention. The students who were gathered outside of the Void Ground were blown away after they heard Xu Xiangyin''sment.

    Did Xuan Qi really want to attract the vige just two and a half months after passing the threshold to cultivate voidforce energy? Was this for real?

    Xie Wu''s eye twitched uncontrobly. He had spent about two years in the Voidforce School before finally deciding to attempt to attract the circr voidforce puppet. While that voidforce puppet was ranked among the ten most powerful in the school, it could not evene close toparing to the vige. Xuan Qi was actually attempting to attract the vige already, which was pure insanity.

    "I remember that thest person who tried to go for the vige was Shao Qingfeng, right?"

    "It was He Shu."

    "I think Luo Zang also tried."

    "In any case, almost everyone who¡¯s entered the Central School has tried it, but the only one who actually seeded was Shao Qingfeng. Even then, he only seeded after spending almost a year in the Voidforce School."

    "One year versus two and a half months. That¡¯s a massive difference."

    "How can he even hope to seed? I heard Luo Zang say that the vige doesn''t only have a crazy amount of voidforce energy. It also has paths, houses, courtyards, and even living creatures. All of thosebined make it very difficult to attract the entire ce as a single entity, which is why he gave up. You¡¯d need to spend at least a year in the Voidforce School to seed, which is just not worth it.¡±

    "Xuan Qi¡¯s a fool if he thinks that he can move the vige with nothing but talent alone. It won''t work."

    ¡­

    The crowd buzzed with discussion.

    Lu Yin was fully focused on his task at hand. His voidforce energy had already made contact with the vige, but he instantly felt that something was wrong. The vige¡¯s voidforce energy was not a singr entity like the voidforce puppets that he had worked with before; rather, it was scattered. Each of the houses, gardens, paths, and even the animals within the gardens were individually enveloped with different bits of voidforce energy.

    To draw the vige down, he not only needed arge amount of voidforce energy, but he also needed to have extremely precise control over it.

    This level of control had to be honed over a long period of time. It was not something that could be achieved overnight.

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. Xuan Qi should have discovered the truth by this point in time. The kid was still too young. Did he really think that it was so easy to attract the most powerful voidforce puppet in the Voidforce School? If so, he was truly underestimating the Voidforce Universe.

    Xuan Qi had so much talent that he had never experienced any obstacles while cultivating voidforce energy. On top of that, Xu Xiangyin''s constant praise and attention must have caused the youth to grow a bit arrogant. The old man wanted the current situation to serve as a lesson for the youth and suppress his arrogance. Otherwise, if Xuan Qi truly came to believe that cultivating with voidforce energy was this easy, it would create problems for him in the future.

    "Xuan Qi, how do you feel?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

    Lu Yin remained very serious. "It''s very difficult. The voidforce energy is scattered throughout the vige, making it difficult to move the vige as a single entity. It''s like trying to move a mountain with a needle. Even if the needle breaks, it''s still impossible to make the mountain budge."

    "Hmm, it''s good that you understand. In that case, leave things here for now. Even if you can''t attract it yet, you should be able to do so with another half year of training. With your talent, half a year is the maximum," Xu Xiangyin said.

    Outside the Void Ground, the watching crowd was shocked by these words. Half a year? Was that really what Xu Xiangyin expected from Xuan Qi?

    Even Shao Qingfeng had taken an entire year. The difference between the two could not have been made clearer.

    Lu Yin replied, "I want to keep trying. I think that I can do it."

    Xu Xiangyin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "What was that? You think that you can do it?"

    "Yes." As Lu Yin spoke, he stared intently at the sky.

    Xu Xiangyin chuckled. The young man refused to admit defeat¡ªinteresting. "Alright then, I''ll wait and see."

    Lu Yin chuckled inwardly. Was luring the vige down difficult? Of course it was. Even if there were individuals who were truly talented in cultivating voidforce energy, it would be impossible for them to attract the vige in the same situation as him. However, for Lu Yin, seeding was almost too simple. Of course, he still needed to maintain the facade of a challenge. He could not look too rxed.

    As minutes ticked by, everyone stared at the sky, unable to understand why Xuan Qi refused to give up.

    Admiration filled Xu Xiangyin''s gaze. Although Xuan Qi was not able to move the vige, he still persevered for so long, which was rare in and of itself. Despite hiscking control of voidforce energy, he still disyed exceptional talent. Not bad. Truly quite impressive.

    Xu Xiangyin truly wanted to take Lu Yin for his own disciple, but unfortunately, he simply did not qualify.

    Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out, "It''s moving!"

    Everyone stared at the vige in the sky.

    Xu Xiangyin was startled by the exmation, and he also looked up. He had never imagined that Xuan Qi might actually seed, so the old man had only been looking at Lu Yin himself. Not once had Xu Xiangyin paid attention to the vige. However, the vige had actually moved. As long as it moved at all, it meant that there was a possibility for Xuan Qi to seed.

    How was that even possible?

    Xu Xiangyin could not understand what he was seeing. The young man could not have seeded. It was simply impossible.

    As the old man contemted the situation, he stared at the vige. Suddenly, his expression changed and he was ovee with disbelief. He looked back at Lu Yin, who had be drenched with sweat. The shock filling the old man¡¯s eyes grew stronger and stronger. The young man had actually fused all of the separate voidforce puppets that made up the vige to make a single entity. Was that even something a beginner who had only recently started cultivating could pull off?

    Lu Yin roared, "Get down here!"

    The next moment, the vige started to slowly move downwards.

    Everyone felt their jaws drop. It moved. The vige actually moved!

    No one outside of the Void Ground noticed that Xu Yue had arrived. She also watched the vige slowly fall, and her mouth hung open just the same as everyone else¡¯s.

    This- this- She stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. Was he the one moving the vige?

    The vige was a challenge that the Voidforce School had put in ce for the students. While it was easy for someone like Xu Yue to pass the challenge, how long had she taken to reach the necessary level of control? Inparison, how long had Xuan Qi taken?

    The vige struck the ground with a resounding crash, shattering the earth.

    Xu Xiangyin stared at Lu Yin in a daze, once again blown away by the youth¡¯s talent.

    Lu Yin released a long breath and wearily sank to the ground. He lookedpletely exhausted.

    "Senior, this junior has fulfilled the task you assigned to me," Lu Yin said.

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes flickered. He forced down his shock as he stared at Lu Yin. "How did you do it?"

    Lu Yin breathed heavily as he replied, "By breaking through the barriers separating the voidforce energy and merging the different bits together."

    Xu Xiangyin had no idea how to respond. While the process sounded simple, actually carrying such a thing out was far from simple. Could a novice even break through the barriers of the voidforce puppets?

    Then the old man remembered the Voidforce Tide that Xuan Qi had triggered. The youth possessed an extraordinary affinity for voidforce energy. He had only just crossed the threshold, but he had already triggered a Voidforce Tide. Such a thing was unprecedented. Xuan Qi was a brilliant anomaly, and his talent defied conventional exnations.

    It was possible that the youth would one day usher the Voidforce Universe into a new era of glory.

    Xu Xiangyin felt like he was seeing the dawn of a great era.

    "Congrattions, Xuan Qi, you did it." Xu Xiangyin waspletely sincere with his praise.

    Outside the Void Ground, everyone was staring at Lu Yin in awe. Regardless of their attitude towards him, Xuan Qi had just achieved something that would forever remain beyond the reach of ordinary people. For the youths who were watching, Xuan Qi had just kicked down the geniuses that were held in the highest regard by a notch, including even Shao Qingfeng. They had just witnessed a miracle.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly as he shook his head. "That was too difficult, Senior. The Voidforce Universe is truly vast and profound. I need to continue working hard and cultivate much more."

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression lit up. "Well said! You didn''t get arrogant with your sess, which is very good. The reason why you were able to attract the vige was solely due to your talent. I hope that you can eventually attract it with your own skill as well."

    Lu Yin rose to his feet and answered in an earnest manner, "I understand. I definitely won¡¯t let you down, Senior."

    Xu Xiangyin was happy with Xuan Qi¡¯s attitude. It was clear that the young man was sincere, unlike those who grew arrogant after demonstrating some small bit of talent. Lu Yin purposely did not demonstrate such behavior, which put Xu Xiangyin at ease.

    "Xuan Qi, remember this well: there will always be people who are beyond anything you can imagine, even in this Sixverse Academy. Some people may appear ordinary, but through various means, they can obtain special powers that most people will never be able to acquire throughout their entire lives. It¡¯s not a matter of talent, but rather one of status," Xu Xiangyin said seriously, "Status alone can change everything, including even talent. Talent is like adder that you can use to climb upwards. The greater your talent, the taller thedder that you are able to climb. However, status means that there¡¯s no need for adder, as you already stand at the peak."

 Chapter 2520: Cliff Town

    Chapter 2520: Cliff Town

    Feeling that his words might be insufficient, Xu Xiangyin continued speaking. "Youe from the Transcendent Universe, so you should already understand the advantages of energy converters. As long as your physical abilities can keep up, you can use an energy converter that can give you a power level of millions without any cultivation. That is the same as status. You¡¯ve heard of He Shu, right? If he wants to obtain a ck energy converter, he will get one. Even if hecks sufficient talent, he can still obtain whatever power he desires.

    "The path before stretches further than you know."

    Lu Yin gave Xu Xiangyin a very deep bow. This time, he waspletely genuine in his show of respect. Even though Xu Xiangyin treated Lu Yin differently because of the talent that he had revealed and also possibly harbored ulterior motives, the advice that he was offering was undeniably sincere. Lu Yin had already understood the truth of the old man¡¯s warning after he had been thrown onto Driftcharge as white meat. That incident was precisely why Lu Yin had never stopped trying to find ways to further increase his status. He had first united the Outerverse, then the Innerverse, and had ultimately be the ruler of the Heavens Sect. Eventually, he would seize control of the Perennial World as well. Everything had sprouted from the realization of exactly what Xu Xiangyin was trying to share.

    If Lu Yin were truly just an extraordinarily talented young man, then he might not be touched by such words, but given his own experience, Lu Yin was deeply moved.

    "Thank you for your guidance, Senior," Lu Yin said solemnly.

    Xu Xiangyin nodded. "It''s good to see that you understand. Alright, resume cultivating. I¡¯ll remind you again that a powerful senior from the Voidforce Universe will definitelye here to test you. It might be Senior Xu Wuwei, or possibly someone else, but whoever it is, remember to do your best. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing your future."

    With those final words to Lu Yin, Xu Xiangyin left. He could not constantly apany Lu Yin. Still, before the old man left, he warned the other students onest time. They were already ustomed to hearing such things, as from the day Lu Yin had arrived at the Voidforce School, Xu Xiangyin had threatened the rest of the students. All of them were incredibly frustrated by the unfairness of it all, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

    Luo Lao''er ran over. "Brother-inw, you''re too amazing! You actually brought the vige down! Is there anything that you can''t do?"

    While Lu Yin could not understand the rest of what Luo Lao''er said afterwards, he imagined that it was a bunch of exaggeratedpliments. "How much do you know about the other universes?"

    Luo Lao''er grew puzzled. "A little bit. Why, Brother-inw? Do you want to know more about them?"

    "Sooner orter, I¡¯m going to need to know about them. Isn''t there some Central School?"

    "That''s right. That guy Luo Zang is already in the Central School, as is Xie Wu''s young master, He Shu. It''s the ce where the geniuses all gather, and all of the people in there are the most famous youths from all parts of the Sixverse Association. Brother-inw, if you go there, you''ll definitely open their sorry eyes and show them how it''s supposed to be done!" Luo Lao''er continued with the endless ttery.

    "Instead of just telling you about things, why don''t I take you somece where you can learn more about the Sixverse Association?"

    "Where? Are we allowed to leave the Voidforce School?" Lu Yin asked, rather intrigued. ording to the jade slips that they had been given, students were forbidden to leave a given school until they had passed the threshold. Even then, they could only leave to apply to another school.

    Luo Lao''er mysteriously said, "Cliff Town."

    Lu Yin frowned.

    "Cliff Town is the ce where all six schools meet. It¡¯s at the bottom of a cliff in space. The Sixverse Academy¡¯s rules state that no one is allowed to leave their school, but all of the students here are young and energetic, so how can they be expected to obediently remain in one ce? That''s why we have Cliff Town, a recreational haven that amodates anyone in the Sixverse Academy. In fact, the academy itself tacitly allows the ce to exist. After all, this is the junction of six different universes, and they all need tomunicate with each other. As long as you¡¯re able to get to Cliff Town, no one will bother you," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin was fascinated. "Interesting. Let''s take a look."

    "Alright." Luo Lao¡¯er suddenly hesitated. "By the way, Brother-inw, do you have any money?"

    Lu Yin instinctively touched his cosmic ring. Having money was not an issue, but the problem instead was how much he had. Ever since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had almost always possessed greater wealth than anyone else, to the point where he was wealthier than even the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers. However, the way that he spent his money was also something that no one else could copy. Unfortunately, all of Lu Yin¡¯s wealth was in the form of star essence, and there was no way that it would be epted currency in the Sixverse Academy. "I don''t have any."

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Alright then, I guess that we can only window shop then. Honestly, the primary purpose of Cliff Town is to facilitate a ck market.¡±

    "When ites to trading illicit goods, nothing¡¯s safer than selling them to a parallel universe. Whether it''s ordinary cultivators with remarkable talent, or the young heirs with powerful backgrounds, all of them have picked up things that they can''t sell openly. In Cliff Town, those things can be sold to parallel universes, as there are very few people who can track things down across universes. It¡¯s incredibly safe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "In that case, there must be tons of good stuff in Cliff Town, right?"

    "Plenty. The Sixverse Academy isn¡¯t sealed off from the Sixverse Association, and it¡¯s possible to apply to leave. Once you''re out of here, you can help other people sell their items in Cliff Town. This is all tacitly permitted, as no one interferes," Luo Lao''er replied.

    The more he heard, the more intrigued Lu Yin became in Cliff Town. There was no reason to wait, so Luo Lao''er led the way, and the two men headed straight for Cliff Town.

    Just as the name said, Cliff Town had been built beneath a cliff and was surrounded by outer space.

    The Taiyi Universe had the tall peak at its center, and the six continents spread out from it to form the Sixverse Academy. As for Cliff Town, it was located directly beneath the center of the Sixverse Academy, which meant that it was far below the peak.

    From the peak, it was possible to reach Cliff Town by going straight down.

    The peak was the highest point in the Sixverse Academy. while Cliff Town was the lowest.

    When they arrived at Cliff Town, Lu Yin looked up and saw an overhead section of rock blocking the view of outer space. The town seemed to have been carved from the rock itself, and the emptiness of outer space surrounded it.

    "Who made this ce?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er lowered his voice, "I don''t know, but it probably wasn¡¯t the people in the Sixverse Academy¡¯s first ss. They don''t have that much strength. There are actually rumors that im that this ce was made by academy¡¯s big shots because they wanted the students to interact and also trade goods between universes.

    "It¡¯s also necessary to hide your face before you enter Cliff Town. The people you meet there might not just be students, but could also be some of the academy¡¯s faculty. For example, Xu Xiangyin might even show up."

    Lu Yin looked forward. This town that had been hewn out of solid rock gave off a dim light, as the only light sources around were artificial illumination, which gave the ce a rather quaint atmosphere.

    His first impression of Cliff Town was that it was actually quiterge. No one in this ce had an ordinary background. At the very least, they needed to be able to cross a vast distance through outer space with a single step. Anything less meant that they would not be able to reach Cliff Town.

    "Brother-inw, do you see that big tree up ahead that¡¯s covered in fruit? The fruits have a dough-like texture and can be kneaded into various shapes. They¡¯re used to create masks to cover our faces. We need to put one on in order to enter Cliff Town, or else we won''t be allowed in," Luo Lao''er said as he approached the big tree.

    Lu Yin was amazed. The universe was truly full of wonders.

    "Can''t I just alter my appearance? Why do I have to use one of these fruits?" Lu Yin held a fruit in his hand and squeezed it. It really was soft and malleable.

    Luo Lao''er smirked. "This is to prevent people from ''borrowing a knife to kill'' and manipte some third party into resolving a grudge."

    The young man lowered his voice. "In a ce like this, someone could easily use their enemy¡¯s appearance to go around and intentionally offend others, which could ruin someone¡¯s reputation. Things like that have happened too many times before. While it¡¯s possible to knead these fruits into looking like someone else¡¯s face, it''s easy to tell when that happens."

    Lu Yin blinked. He had certainly done something simr in the past, and he had even invested a considerable amount of time to formte the n.

    Luo Lao''er kneaded a fruit into a handsome appearance, and he even went so far as to add strands of hair before he put it on. An ordinary human would not be able to tell if it was a disguise or the man¡¯s real face. "Brother-inw, do I look good?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Fix the way you refer to me. You¡¯re the only person in the entire Sixverse Academy who uses that form of address."

    Luo Lao''er pped his forehead. "Right, then I''ll call you Seventh Bro."

    Lu Yin nodded. Many people already called him Seventh Bro. As he thought of that, he kneaded his own fruit into the appearance of a fish. More specifically, it was the Arkfish, as that image had suddenly popped into his head.

    Luo Lao''er gave a forced smile. "Seventh Bro, your mask has its own personality."

    Lu Yin raised his head. "Let''s go."

    With that, the two of them entered Cliff Town.

    As they stepped past the big tree, an invisible curtain parted and allowed them past without any resistance.

    Lu Yin turned around. If he had not been wearing the fruit mask, that curtain of energy would have stopped him from proceeding.

    Cliff Town was arge, dimly lit marketce. When the two men entered, they saw that many masked people had set up stalls. None of the stall owners spoke, as each of them was instead focused on cultivating.

    Lu Yin scanned the various masks, briefly taking in their appearances. How could these masks possibly block his gaze?

    If he desired it, he could unleash his domain and see the true appearance of everyst person in Cliff Town without issue. No one would be able to escape.

    They arrived at a stall that had various strange items on disy.

    "This is a special product of Pearlrain, the Water-Engulfing Pearl. When this is thrown out, it will envelop the sky and earth with droplets of water to essentially form a torrential downpour. Its power is also quite impressive. ording to the measurements of the Transcendent Universe, it has a power level of 300,000¡­ Hey, you must be from the Three Monarchs Universe, aren¡¯t you?" Luo Lao''er said to the stall owner.

    The stall owner looked up. "Are you trying to vite the rules of Cliff Town?"

    Luo Lao''er waved his hands dismissively. "I was just kidding."

    He then straightened up and continued, "Water-Engulfing Pearls aren¡¯tmon even on Pearlrain. This one-"

    Before he could finish speaking, the stall owner had snatched the pearl back and left without looking back.

    Luo Lao''er sneered. "It''s actually him."

    "You figured out his identity?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "More than a decade ago, the third prince of the Pearlrain Empire died. Among his various treasures that were lost was a Water-Engulfing Pearl. That particr pearl has a unique mark, and it¡¯s different from ordinary Water-Engulfing Pearls. It looked exactly like the one that we just saw. It seems that that guy¡¯s the one who killed the unlucky third prince.¡±

    "He should be someone from the academy¡¯s first ss. He probably has a decent enough talent that he made a good impression on my old man and got sent here."

    They then continued to stroll around Cliff Town. It was quite a distance to the next stall.

    The people who had set up stalls to sell things in Cliff Town were not eager to interact with other people, and after being recognized by Luo Lao¡¯er, the first stall owner was unlikely to return to the town for some time.

    "There are quite a few people here." As they walked around, they passed by severalrge groups, each which had about a hundred people.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "All of them are neers who are being led around by older students. Brother-in¡ªno, Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve been cultivating this whole time, so no one told you about these things."

    "So how did you learn about all this?"

    "Have you forgotten about my intel-gathering abilities?"

    Lu Yin remembered how Luo Lao''er had proven himself capable of gathering vast amounts of sensitive information that was always very urate. His ability to gather information was truly impressive. He had even managed to find out that Zi Jing had brought a man back to the Transcendent Universe with her.

    Out of nowhere, a sudden gust of wind blew past, and a wooden stick was lodged into a wall.

    Luo Lao''er pulled the stick out and saw that there was an arrow drawn on it. "Seventh Bro, you¡¯re in luck! An underground auction is about to happen. These secret auctions are limited to people within a certain range, and only the people within that range will be informed of it, which means that joining one is entirely dependent on luck. This right here? This is a ticket!"

    He waved the wooden stick.

 Chapter 2521: Subhuman

    Chapter 2521: Subhuman

    The two men followed the direction indicated by the arrow on the wooden stick, and they soon arrived in front of a stone.

    Luo Lao''er pushed the stick into the stone in a practiced manner. The stone then slowly disappeared to reveal a long corridor.

    After they passed through, the stone reappeared and resealed the corridor.

    After walking through the corridor, they quickly arrived in a spacious, dimly lit cave. There were only a few scatteredmps illuminating the area.

    A woman approached them and gestured invitingly before leading Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er to a more secluded area that was surrounded by walls on three sides. It was very simr to an auction house¡¯s private booth. The cavern was filled with hundreds of these "rooms."

    Lu Yin studied his surroundings as more people arrived.

    "These secret auctions are always shrouded in mystery. Where the goods for salee from or who the final winner is will always remain a secret to everyone. Everything that appears here is usually of dubious origin, but also quite valuable," Luo Lao''er whispered.

    Lu Yin was left puzzled. "Aren''t they concerned that we won¡¯t be able to afford anything?"

    "These secret auctions are directed towards everyone within a certain area. The number of attendees varies greatly, but there''s never any need to verify funds in order to attend. Everything is determined by luck. These secret auctions won''t affect anyone''s reputation, so even if an item doesn¡¯t sell, it doesn¡¯t matter. No one ever knows who sets these auctions up, so they¡¯re just treated as a gathering of strangers," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Not far from Lu Yin, there were several people having a conversation in another room. "Sister Hong, how many times have you attended these secret auctions?"

    "At least ten times."

    "So many? You must have bought a lot of good items."

    "Not really. Before your ss arrived, there weren''t very many people here in the Sixverse Academy. Only recently has the number of people attending the auctions increased."

    "That makes sense."

    "Quiet now, it''s starting."

    Before long, someone stepped forward and offered a bow to the surrounding rooms. Then, the man spoke in a hoarse voice. "Thank you all for attending. We have a total of seven items up for auction this time, and the auction will now officially begin. The first item for sale is a blue energy converter."

    Inside his room, Lu Yin arched a brow. A blue energy converter meant a power level of nearly a million, which was at about the level of a six-tribtion Envoy. In the Fifth Maind, such strength indicated a true expert. After all, just how many Envoys did the Fifth Maind have?

    And yet, such power was simply being sold off in this auction. This was the ability of the Transcendent Universe, where power levels could be quantified and measured urately. Who knew just how many energy converters the universe actually had?

    A blue energy converter was highly attractive to everyone at the auction. After all, it could let anyone obtain the strength of an expert.

    The energy converter was also just the first item up for auction, which sparked the crowd''s interest and anticipation for the following items for sale.

    "You''re lucky, Seventh Bro! This isn¡¯t some minor underground auction. Whoever¡¯s behind this really has to have some skill," Luo Lao''ermented.

    The blue energy converter was quickly sold after a round of aggressive bidding.

    Every member of the Sixverse Association had their own unique resources, which meant that these auctions depended on what resources the house would ept as payment. Typically, an auction would specify which universe¡¯s resources would be epted as payment, which would also signify which universe was behind that auction. If resources from all six universes were epted, then it meant that whoever had arranged the auction had extraordinary means at their disposal.

    Not everyone was able to freely enter and leave all six universes.

    The current auction epted resources from all six universes.

    "Next up, a battle technique: Meteor Strike. This battle technique primarily¡­"

    Luo Lao''er was impressed. "This battle technique is pretty good, isn¡¯t it, Seventh Bro? Are you interested?"

    "Do you have money?"

    "No."

    "But your father is Monarch Luo."

    "He abandoned me. I''m nothing but a hostage."

    Lu Yin continued staring at the auctioneer. The battle technique up for sale was indeed quite impressive. It was from the Cyclic Universe and had been created by an Demi-Immortal, which was equivalent to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Semi-Progenitor realm. A Semi-Progenitor¡¯s battle technique would naturally be valuable, though it was useless to someone like Lu Yin.

    "Next item up for auction: a Four-Handed Wood from the Arboreal Realm. People who cultivate the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power will be able to obtain the four-handed innate gift within this."

    Lu Yin leaned forward, his eyes glued to the odd-looking tree. Four-Handed Wood? This was a truly extraordinary treasure from the Arboreal Realm.

    Anyone who cultivated the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power was able to obtain innate gifts from the trees there, which was why everyone from that universe possessed an innate gift. It was not some exaggerated im, but rather the truth.

    Luo Lao''er looked repulsed. "Four hands? Disgusting! Who would want four hands?"

    "Having four hands means that it would be possible to use the same palm battle technique twice at the same time, which is very tempting to many people," Lu Yin exined.

    "Seventh Bro, do you want it?"

    "Not interested."

    Neither of them were interested, but many other people were. The item was sold in the blink of an eye.

    The items continued to appear, and each one was quickly bought. Soon, five items had been sold, and each one was a unique treasure from a different universe.

    "Our sixth item is quite special. I wonder if anyone will be interested in it," the auctioneer said. As he spoke, the void warped, and someone fell to the ground. It was a woman, and her appearance created quite a stir.

    Luo Lao''er eximed in shock, "A subhuman?"

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Subhuman¡± was not a term used for a specific race, but rather the term used for the collective group of ¡°losers.¡±

    Civilizations waged war on each other throughout the vast megaverse, and these wars were not limited to individual universes; sometimes, they even spanned entire parallel universes. A perfect example was how the Cloudflow Universe had been defeated by the Transcendent Universe. Some of the Cloudflow Universe¡¯s natives had been captured by the Transcendent Universe and forced into very. The term subhuman was basically a slightly more civilized term for a ve.

    The crowd stared at the woman on disy.

    She did not look much different from an ordinary human, aside from being about twice asrge. She was nearly the size of a lesser giant. As for her appearance, she was stunning. If not, she would have never been put up for auction.

    However, the crowd was not focused on the woman herself, but instead on whoever had brought her to the auction.

    They were in the Sixverse Academy, which was a universe where everyone who entered needed to be cleared before they could enter and learn from the different members of the Sixverse Association. People who entered individually needed to go through extremely stringent background checks. There was no way anyone unauthorized could sneak in. If such a thing were possible, how would they defend against Aeternus?

    Despite this situation, someone had actually managed to bring a subhuman into the academy and was even openly selling her in an auction.

    This simply defied imagination.

    Even bringing the woman into the Sixverse Academy was a challenge enough, let alone getting her to the auction.

    Luo Lao''er sucked in a sharp breath. "Whoever put her up for auction is definitely a big shot. They must have a treasure in their cosmic ring that can hold living creatures."

    Cosmic rings were referred to by the same name in both the Fifth Maind and the Sixverse Association.

    In fact, ever since Lu Yin had first arrived in the Transcendent Universe, he had noticed many simrities between the Sixverse Association and the Fifth Maind. Furthermore, many of these simrities stemmed specifically from the Main Universe.

    The Fifth Maind represented the Origin Universe, and all these coincidences meant that something must have happened between the Origin Universe and Main Universe. It also had to be rted to the reason why the Perennial World had been excluded from the Sixverse Association despite its strength.

    "Seventh Bro, you don''t seem surprised," Luo Lao''er remarked.

    Lu Yin replied, "This is beyond my understanding, so there¡¯s no point in even thinking about it."

    He himself had Zenith Mountain which could hold countless people and be ced in a cosmic ring, but it was the only such treasure in the entire Fifth Maind. He had never heard of another treasure that was capable of both holding living creatures and being stored in a cosmic ring, so he actually was very curious about what kind of treasure had been used.

    Luo Lao''er thought about it for a moment. "True, it''s beyond anything that I know as well. I''ve heard of people storing living creatures in a cosmic ring, but not even my old man has a treasure like that. I''m really curious who could be behind this."

    Just as the auctioneer was about to start the bidding for the subhuman, a loud voice cut in. "I don''t know who brought this subhuman here, but are there any thoughts about selling the treasure that can store living beings? If you''re willing,e find me, Jiang Xiaodao. I guarantee that you¡¯ll be satisfied with my offer."

    Someone else spoke up, "Jiang Xiaodao, you¡¯re viting the rules of the secret auctions."

    Jiang Xiaodao arrogantly replied, "So what if I do? Who''s going to punish me?"

    "How obnoxious," someone else said.

    Lu Yin was curious, "Who is this Jiang Xiaodao?"

    Luo Lao''er whispered, "He¡¯s the son of Sage Jiang from the Cyclic Universe. Sage Jiang is unquestionably a pinnacle expert, as very few in the entire Sixverse Association can match his status. This guy does whatever he wants without any thought for the consequences. He considers himself above usmon folk."

    Lu Yin observed the distant Jiang Xiaodao. The man had left his room and even removed his mask. He appeared young, though his voice was practically dripping with condescension. Even so, no one could do anything to him.

    "I¡¯ll repeat myself: sell me that treasure, and I guarantee that I will offer a price that can satisfy you. You can ask about my reputation in the Cyclic Universe. When I say that I''ll shake hands, I won''t touch any legs. When I say that I''ll kiss faces, I won''t kiss mouths," Jiang Xiaodao dered.

    The crowd was rendered speechless. Was that really something to brag about?

    "Jiang Xiaodao shut up! Do you even have any shame at all?" a woman shouted from the other side.

    Jiang Xiaodao arched a brow. "Mu Mu? Are you trying to cause trouble for me?"

    "Stop embarrassing yourself!" the woman shot back.

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around?"

    Then, it looked like he suddenly realized something, as his eyes went wide. "Are you trying topete with me for that treasure? I''m warning you¡ªdon''t steal what''s mine, or else things won''t end well for you!"

    "So what? I''ve got a better reputation than you, so it would make more sense for the owner to sell it to me," the woman retorted.

    Jiang Xiaodao lost his temper and yelled, "Nonsense! Not even one single man is trying to woo you! There¡¯s clearly something wrong with you¡ªmaybe you have smelly feet!"

    "Shut your mouth!" the woman thundered in anger. She rose to her feet and removed her own mask, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face with delicate features.

    As they listened to the two argue, Luo Lao''er felt envious. "If not for that bastard Luo Zang, I would be able to speak up right now too. s, all I have left are tears."

    Despite all the squabbling, no one actually tried to make any moves.

    After a while, the argument finally died down, after a bit of persuasion from a few others.

    However, the subhuman had be the new focus of the two people¡¯spetition. Both Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu startedpeting for therge woman being sold. Bids rose exponentially as the two tried to outdo the other.

    The auctioneer was thrilled with this development, while the others attending the auction were dazzled by the wealth that the two were unting.

    "Mu Mu, you''re a woman, so why are youpeting with me? There really must be something wrong with you. Do you like women?"

    "Her future will be miserable if she falls into your hands. I¡¯m going to take her away."

    "Nonsense! I''m just trying to leave a good impression on the person who¡¯s selling her. I¡¯m paving the way for our future transactions."

    "Are you sure that they¡¯re even willing to sell it to you?"

    "Who else would they sell it to?"

    "Maybe she was brought in by someone important, and they might not have even used a cosmic ring," Mu Mu said.

    Many others had already thought of this possibility as well.

    Lu Yin had naturally also thought of such a possibility. Semi-Progenitors had their inner worlds, and Progenitors had Progenitor''s worlds. Either one would make it possible to bring other people along.

    "That''s impossible. Only those old monsters don¡¯t need treasures to bring someone into the academy, and how could any of them openly auction off a subhuman? They would be seeking death."

    "Not necessarily. A white energy converter from the Transcendent Universe can aplish the same thing."

    "True. The Transcendent Universe upies the Cloudflow Universe, so maybe this subhuman is from there. Also, I heard that someone shy from the Transcendent Universe recently arrived."

 Chapter 2522: Calligraphy Scroll

    Chapter 2522: Calligraphy Scroll

    Immediately, the others attending the auction started chatting. "That person¡¯s name is Xuan Qi, right? I heard that his talent is even greater than Shao Qingfeng¡¯s when ites to voidforce energy."

    "He''s monstrously talented, but I don''t know if he¡¯ll go to the Great Academy."

    "It isn¡¯t easy to get in there. Maybe he¡¯ll visit the other schools first."

    Jiang Xiaodao proimed loudly, "Surpassing Shao Qingfeng? Hmph, he has some skills. I hope that hees to the Lost n institute. I will reluctantly ept him as my little brother and show him off in front of Shao Qingfeng."

    Mu Mu sneered. "Aren''t you afraid of getting beat up by Shao Qingfeng?"

    "Get lost! I''ll give you this woman. She''s too big, so I''m not interested," Jiang Xiaodao said.

    In the end, the subhuman went to Mu Mu.

    Some distance away, Luo Lao''er whispered, "Seventh Bro, don''t pay him any mind. This is just how he always is, a typical ignorant young man. He''ll offend anyone and everyone. If it weren¡¯t for his father, Sage Jiang, always protecting him, he would have died countless times already."

    "What¡¯s Mu Mu like?" Lu Yin asked. He could not care less about Jiang Xiaodao. The guy was nothing more than another Ku Wei. He simply needed to be beaten into submission, or else he would continue to strut over everyone.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "I haven''t learned much about Mu Mu, but she has to be someone else with an amazing background. She must be supported by someone who can rival Sage Jiang."

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Xiaodao and then at Mu Mu. He rubbed his chin. He should find an opportunity to capture both of them on Zenith Mountain. If he did that, chaos would likely break out within the Sixverse Association.

    "Now we have our final item for today, a calligraphy scroll." The auctioneer raised amunication crystal, and an image appeared in it. Sure enough, it was a calligraphy scroll that was covered with characters, but in contrast to everyone''s expectations, the characters on the scroll were horrendously ugly. They looked like nothing more than a child''s scribbles.

    As soon as the crowd saw the writing on the scroll, a wave of curses erupted. Jiang Xiaodao was especially vocal. "Are you seriously trying to make money from this? I can write better with my feet! What sort of bullshit is this? I can''t even make out a single character!"

    "The fact that it¡¯s illegible doesn¡¯t have anything to do with the fact that it¡¯s hideous."

    "That handwriting is truly ugly."

    The auctioneer sighed before stering a bitter smile on his face. "Everyone, please listen to my exnation: while the handwriting is undeniably ugly, it contains a uniqueprehension. Every stroke carries a special charm, which means that anyone who sees the true writing on the physical scroll will be able to unconsciously receive some sort of insight. The scenes that each person sees will also be different. Some people will witness battle techniques, while others might see andscape. Some have even witnessed strange phenomena. In short, this calligraphy scroll is the highlight of this auction."

    "Why should we believe you? What evidence do you have?" Jiang Xiaodao yelled as a challenge.

    The auctioneer replied with a shrug, "If you don''t believe me, then there''s nothing I can do. All that can be done is to withdraw the scroll from the auction. Fortunately, the first six items were enough to satisfy your interest, which means that everyone did not waste the trip here."

    Not one bid was ced. The handwriting was truly revolting. It would not be any surprise at all if the scroll was withdrawn from the auction.

    "Luo Lao''er, do you have any money? How much?" Lu Yin asked quietly as he stared at the calligraphy. While the characters were indeed ugly, they were ancient characters, just like the ones that the Wen family used for their Literary Prison or the ones that the ancient Daosource Sect had used.

    Lu Yin wanted the scroll. He had never expected to see these ancient characters from the Fifth Maind in the Sixverse Academy.

    The fact that it bore ancient characters meant that there was something exceptional about the scroll, and he wanted it badly.

    Luo Lao''er rummaged through what he had before pursing his lips. "Seventh Bro, I really don''t have much money. I''m not lying to you."

    "Just give me whatever you have," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "Seventh Bro, just forget about it. Every item in this auction has a starting price, or else someone like Jiang Xiaodao would threaten everyone so that he could take everything while barely spending anything."

    Lu Yin had not considered that.

    Luo Lao''er exined, "This scroll definitely has a higher starting price than any of the previous items. Just think about what the starting price for that first energy converter was. I don''t have anywhere close to enough money on me to buy even that energy converter."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. He observed the appearance of the person below. At the same time, he marked the person with his domain. He was determined to obtain this calligraphy scroll. It seemed like he had done something simr before, and more than once at that.

    He assumed that the calligraphy scroll would simply be withdrawn from the auction.

    No one knew what happened to start it, but Jiang Xiaodao ended up getting into another argument with Mu Mu, and the two started another bidding war, this time for the scroll.

    The bids jumped higher and higher, to the point where even Lu Yin¡¯s brow started to rise. If star essence could be used as funds in this auction, he could terrify everyone with a random amount.

    The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the bidding war continued. They were no longer simplypeting for the scroll, but rather for their pride.

    In the end, Mu Mu lost due to her previous purchase of the subhuman woman, so the scroll went to Jiang Xiaodao.

    "Hahaha, in the end, you''re still just a woman! I wasn¡¯t evenpeting with youst time, but you still had to show off. Just a flick of my finger would be enough to make you kneel," Jiang Xiaodao boasted.

    Mu Mu snorted contemptuously. "You paid so much for such an ugly calligraphy scroll. Jiang Sheng¡¯s going to kill you when you take that back to show him."

    Jiang Xiaodao red at the woman. "I''ll kill that freak of yours first! I''ll teach him how to behave properly and that there are people he should never offend!"

    "Jiang Xiaodao, how dare you!" Mu Mu yelled threateningly.

    "Keep an eye on me, if you dare."

    "You must be itching for a fight. Today, I''ll help Sage Jiang finally discipline his son."

    "Bring it on."

    "Anytime."

    The two quickly left the auction cave.

    The rest of the crowd quickly followed, eager to see the rest of the confrontation.

    Luo Lao''er was also excited. "Seventh Bro, Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu are going to fight! Let''s go watch the show!"

    Lu Yin was also a bit interested. One of the two was the child of a Progenitor-level figure from the Cyclic Universe, while the other came from the Arboreal Realm. Since they had both studied in the Sixverse Academy for quite some time, they should already have picked up some of the other universes¡¯ tricks as well. Watching their match should give Lu Yin a better understanding of the Sixverse Association.

    There were plenty of open spaces throughout Cliff Town. It was not set up like a regr market town where the stalls were grouped together. Instead, all of the stalls were spaced a great distance apart.

    After leaving the cave, the various people who had attended the secret auction all continued on in the same direction, though some moved faster than others.

    Lu Yin chose not to stand out, so he stayed behind the majority of the crowd.

    The fastest person had long since disappeared.

    Boom!

    The loud noise was apanied with a wave of energy. The power felt like a flowing stream, and it forced Luo Lao''er to retreat a few steps. Some of the nearby people were even sent flying.

    The noise startled Lu Yin, and he looked into the distance. There, he saw a graceful figure flipping and flying about like a crazed, raging dragon. Every move was apanied by shadows of flying palm strikes. On top of that, every move contained minute transformations.

    Could it be a Semi-Progenitor battle technique?

    The woman¡¯s palm technique had a deceptively simple appearance, but each shadow palm was intricately linked together. Most people were unable to see the changes, and if they lost track of the changes, the subsequent attacks wouldnd. Even if this was not a Semi-Progenitor battle technique, it had to have at least been created by someone at the six-tribtion Envoy level.

    "Eight Hands of the Stone Gate? How many hands have you learned?" Jiang Xiaodao called out with irritation in his voice as he retreated.

    The graceful figure belonged to none other than Mu Mu. Her face appeared calm during the fight, but a fierce madness filled her eyes. Her attacks quickly grew even more aggressive.

    "Take a guess!" As she spoke, her battle technique changed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had just seen a secondyer of changes in the technique. Eight Hands of the Stone Gate? In that case, were there eightyers of changes? Just the first and secondyers already had the power of a Semi-Progenitor battle technique, which meant that the full battle technique was very likely a Progenitor battle technique.

    Luo Lao''er gasped for breath. He was barely able to withstand the shockwaves from the battle. "I was almost blown away! Seventh Bro, let''s watch from here. We can''t get too close."

    The people closest to the battle retreated several times. Both Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao possessed formidable power, and they had already revealed a strength equal to a peak Enlighter¡¯s. In Lu Yin¡¯s perception, the two actually possessed the strength of Envoys. If they released their full power, the onlookers would not be able to see anything, as they would not be able to get close enough.

    Within the Sixverse Academy, Shi Hong''s cultivation was regarded as decent, but at best, she could onlypare to an Enlighter, and she was also far from reaching the strength of a peak Enlighter. This showed the difference between her and the two currently fighting.

    On the other side of the battle, Shi Hong led Zuo Yu to a ce some distance away from Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu¡¯s fight. While Zuo Yu wanted to get closer, Shi Hong stopped her from doing so.

    "I don''t know what level Jiang Xiaodao''s cultivation has reached, but Mu Mu¡¯s strength is definitely between a green and a blue energy converter, which is not something that you or I can contend with. The fact that Jiang Xiaodao dares to fight her means that he might be at the same level. We can¡¯t risk getting closer, as it''s too dangerous."

    Zuo Yu''s eyes brightened as she stared into the distance. Longing filled her eyes. These were cultivators! This was a real battle! Compared to this, fights with energy converters were simply too monotonous.

    Mu Mu''s aggressive onught forced Jiang Xiaodao to retreat. He looked overwhelmed by the relentless attacks, but he was also surrounded by a soft force that constantly broke down and cushioned Mu Mu''s endless palm strikes. If not for this, Luo Lao''er and the others would have been coughing up blood instead of merely being blown away.

    "Only two hands? How boring. I''ll finish you off." Jiang Xiaodao''s power suddenly spiked, and a terrifying, visible energy spread out, shattering the void. The man took a single step and instantly disappeared from Mu Mu''s sight.

    Mu Mu refused to be outdone, and an equally terrifying aura shot high into the sky. The change in the twobatants caused everyone in Cliff Town to turn around and look in astonishment.

    Such power was rare even in the Sixverse Academy, and few couldpare to the two who were fighting.

    Jiang Xiaodao suddenly reappeared behind Mu Mu, and when he did so, water was flowing from his hands. "Try taking my Heavenly River."

    Mu Mu spun around, and the nearby vegetation shot upwards to form a round shield of bark. "Wood Wheel."

    A river surged from Jiang Xiaodao''s palm. While it only appeared to be asrge as a hand, anyone whoid eyes on it would have the impression that it was a raging river roaring towards them. It seemed to even somehow be capable of flooding outer space. The shield that Mu Mu had manifested was alsorge enough to cover the sky, and it shed against the Heavenly River.

    Powerful shockwaves radiated out from the point of impact, and they instantly reached Lu Yin and the other onlookers. Caught off guard, the audience was lifted off their feet by the impact.

    Lu Yin pretended to be blown away as well, though his eyes never left the two people who were fighting.

    Both the Heavenly River battle technique and Wood Wheel were quite impressive battle techniques that had undoubtedly been created by Progenitor-level powerhouses.

    These two were geniuses in the Sixverse Academy who had Progenitor-level figures behind them. The other students simply could notpare to them.

    Luo Lao''er let out a strangled cry as he was sent flying, but Lu Yin grabbed him and helped him find some footing.

    Far away from the two, Shi Hong repeatedly retreated with Zuo Yu. Despite their distance from the battle, they had still been affected by the shockwaves and were forced to retreat even further. Zuo Yu felt like an oppressive force was suffocating her, and she could not help but gasp for breath. Fear entered her eyes as she stared at Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu.

    Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao both stepped back. Mu Mu took a few steps back before firmly nting her left foot. Tri-colored monarch essence emerged from her body and formed an imprint on her Wood Wheel. "Let¡¯s go for another round."

    Jiang Xiaodao arched a brow. "Foolish woman."

 Chapter 2523: Eternal Presence

    Chapter 2523: Eternal Presence

    Mu Mu took a step forward, furious at thement, but suddenly, she felt uneasy. She looked down and found that, out of nowhere, a card had appeared beneath her feet. Her heart dropped. This was not good, as it was the Lost n''s technique.

    Before Mu Mu could even react, a strange vortex appeared, and her body was sucked into the card.

    The sight astonished Lu Yin. "So that''s a card of the Lost n?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Yes. Members of the Lost n possess the ability to create and use these cards. Each one is a deadly trap that¡¯s been specifically made by its owner. Each cardholder will study and then seal their preferred battlefield within the card, which will be their opponents¡¯ worst nightmare. This is true even for Aeternus.¡±

    "I once saw a battlefield where the Lost n was fighting. They used their cards as traps, and it was extremely difficult for any of Aeternus¡¯s monsters to escape after they were pulled into one. It''s safe to say that, for every ten who enter, only one will be able to reemerge. Also, out of ten members of the Lost n, at worst, only one will die. Out of all the Sixverse Association¡¯s members, the Lost n has the lowest casualty rate in the war against Aeternus. Not even the seemingly safest Voidforce Universe canpare to them."

    Jiang Xiaodaoughed maniacally as Mu Mu was dragged into the card. As heughed, he also entered the card. Then, both people and the card simply disappeared.

    Lu Yin instinctively released his domain to search for Jiang Xiaodao. It was possible to sense that the card was still where Lu Yin hadst seen it, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn¡¯t see it. It was as though the card had vanished into thin air.

    His domain had reached the void god level, which allowed him to eavesdrop on conversations between Semi-Progenitors, intercept conversations throughmunication crystals, and more. Despite all of that, he still was unable to pinpoint the card, which was truly bizarre.

    At that instant, he found himself captivated by the Lost n¡¯s strange cards. It reminded him of when he had first discovered the existence of runes.

    The people who had been sent flying by the battle¡¯s shockwaves slowly regained their senses.

    "Mu Mu¡¯s been sucked into the card. She¡¯s in trouble now," someonemented in the distance.

    Someone standing next to the first speaker replied, "Not necessarily. Jiang Xiaodao only recently reached the threshold to mastering the Lost n''s power, which means that he hasn''t had enough time to set up a truly powerful trap. Mu Mu might still be able to fight back. Besides, we can''t underestimate the power of the Arboreal Realm.¡±

    "Every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm possesses an innate gift, but Mu Mu hasn''t used hers yet. Supposedly, she has an innate gift that allows her to nurture some kind of bird called a Golden Crow."

    "I''ve heard about that too. She apparently got it from a species of tree in the Arboreal Realm that¡¯s famous for its exceptional heat resistance."

    ¡­

    The crowd swelled as more people poured in from every direction to watch the rest of the battle.

    The various neers were quickly filled in on the situation, and they eagerly watched on to see how things would be resolved. Many people coveted the power of the Lost n, but their methods were incredibly difficult to learn. Many students had been driven out of the Sixverse Academy because they failed to reach the threshold for studying in the Lost n School. It was a power that not many could master.

    After a short while, the crowd watched carefully as the card materialized once again. It now had a vibrant shade of red, and it soon spontaneously burst into mes.

    At the same time, two people appeared.

    Mu Mu was engulfed in a zing inferno, and a palm-sized bird was gracefully perched on her shoulder. The raging mes wereing from the bird''s body, and they spread across the sky to instantly envelop Cliff Town in an intense, searing heat.

    Jiang Xiaodao stood across from Mu Mu. His outer robe were now charred, and most of his eyebrows had been singed off. "Mu Mu, you''re really devious. You publicly stated that you weren¡¯t able to use your Golden Crow for a while, but you¡¯ve actually been able to use it for quite some time."

    Mu Mu sneered. "Who''s the fool now? I think that it''s you."

    Jiang Xiaodao snorted. "As if you''re any better off than me! My arrows must have hurt quite a bit."

    The dazzling mes had prevented the crowd from noticing that Mu Mu had also been injured, and they only noticed her wounds when Jiang Xiaodaomented on it. There were several red patches on the woman¡¯s body that were clearly bloodstains.

    No one knew what had happened within the card, but it was clear that neither of thebatants were in good condition right now.

    Mu Mu¡¯s eyes snapped back to Jiang Xiaodao. "If I don''t burn your transformation today, my name won¡¯t be Mu Mu!"

    The zing bird then melted into a red substance that looked likeva. It flowed down to cover Mu Mu''s body, and she looked like she had just donned a battle robe made of fire.

    Across from her, Jiang Xiaodao stretched out his hands. "Just try it!"

    With that, rivers surged from both of his hands. He lifted his hands and thrust them forward, causing the rivers to surround both him and Mu Mu, trapping them within.

    Mu Mu charged forward and threw a palm strike at Jiang Xiaodao, once again using the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. This time, with the boost from the mes, Jiang Xiaodao was extremely wary of the attack. "Foolish woman, look behind you."

    Mu Mu whipped around, only to see that an arrow had appeared out of nowhere. Its was dangerously close to her and had actually almost reached her. She quickly dodged aside, and the arrow passed through her illusory form, heading for Jiang Xiaodao. However, the arrow simply skimmed past Jiang Xiaodao and was absorbed into the rivers that surrounded the two. As soon as the arrow disappeared, another one shot out from the river on the opposite side.

    The arrows appeared weak, but Mu Mu was very cautious of them.

    The people watching the battle were unable to determine the strength of the techniques being used, but Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. This was a secret technique. Jiang Xiaodao was using a secret technique. While the arrows that shot out from the rivers appeared to be weak, as they approached Mu Mu, they suppressed the mes that covered her body. Although it was not obvious, the fact that the arrows were able to suppress those mes indicated that they had the potential to harm her. Mu Mu remained extremely alert, as she was able to sense the threat of the arrows, and she managed to quickly evade the various attacks.

    It would be bad for her if she was struck by a secret technique. She was right to avoid all of the arrows.

    Unexpectedly, the Progenitor-level powerhouses from the Cyclic Universe had also developed secret techniques, which was eerily simr to the Fifth Maind.

    Relentless arrows darted back and forth between the surrounding rivers, their speed growing with each moment that passed. At first, Mu Mu was able to skillfully evade the attacks and evenunch her own counterattacks. However, as the arrows elerated, even just evading became a struggle.

    When one of the arrow from the rivers managed to graze her shoulder, a fresh wound opened up, and Mu Mu''s expression changed. She raised both of her hands and revealed the third change of her battle technique.

    Jiang Xiaodao eximed, "The Third Hand? You are truly a treacherous woman."

    The various attacks of the third change merged into a single palm strike. As that happened, Mu Mu infused her attack with monarch essence and even wrapped it in ayer of moltenva. Multiple techniques werebined as she reached out and grabbed an arrow that was aimed at her.

    She easily caught the arrow. Even though the arrow still managed to tear the skin of her hand open, this was a manageable injury.

    Upon seeing that Mu Mu had managed to deal with his secret technique, Jiang Xiaodao did not hesitate to flee.

    The raging rivers swept back and transformed into four heavenly rivers that shot towards Mu Mu.

    Without Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s direct control, the rivers posed no threat to Mu Mu. She incinerated the waters and took off after Jiang Xiaodao. "Stop right there, Jiang Xiaodao!"

    Jiang Xiaodao yelled, "Stupid woman! I''ll show the Arboreal Realm some face by letting you off!"

    "How shameless! I''ll burn your eyebrows offpletely!" Mu Mu shouted as the two disappeared into the distance.

    The watching crowd still wanted to see more.

    Even Lu Yin felt a bit unsatisfied with the oue. While the fight had been exciting to watch and had allowed him to observe the battle styles of various universes, the twobatants were simply too weak.

    It would be much better if he could watch two people at the Semi-Progenitor level fighting.

    The crowd slowly dispersed.

    Zuo Yu felt a surge of envy. "Sister Hong, will I be able to do that one day?"

    Shi Hong replied, "Of course. Eventually, you¡¯ll be able to do everything that you just saw."

    Zuo Yu clenched her fists. "One day, I¡¯ll have a match against those two."

    Shi Hong was taken aback. That was not what she had meant at all. The two people that they had seen were indeed stronger than Shi Hong and Zuo Yu, but the two would eventually reach that level. However, when that happened, Jiang Xiaodao and Mu Mu would both be even stronger. Shi Hong was not confident that she could ever catch up to them herself, so where was Zuo Yu¡¯s confidenceing from?

    "It''s good to have confidence. Keep working hard." Shi Hong did not try to discourage Zuo Yu and simply led her away.

    Lu Yin approached the ce where Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao had fought. He carefully observed the cracked ground and unstable void before turning to examine the location where the card had been ced.

    "Seventh Bro, are you interested in the Lost n''s power?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It''s a very interesting power."

    Luo Lao''er quickly said, "You should give up on it. Countless people have tried to learn the Lost n¡¯s power, only to fail. Of the first batch of students, twelve people joined the Lost n School. Of them, only three managed to reach the threshold. On top of that, I doubt that Senior Xu Xiangyin will allow you to study in the Lost n School."

    Lu Yin stayed silent. While he was quite curious about the Lost n''s power, there were too many different civilizations throughout the megaverse. The Sixverse Association might not even be the strongest alliance of parallel universes. There was no doubt that there were other universes with no connection to the Sixverse Association that had never encountered Aeternus. Who knew what kinds of civilizations might have developed in those universes?

    Lu Yin knew that it was impossible to learn the powers of every single universe that he encountered.

    "To qualify to enter the Great Academy, it¡¯s necessary to pass the thresholds of four different schools. I¡¯ve already reached mastered Voidforce Energy, and monarch essence isn''t difficult either. I just need to learn at least two more universes¡¯ powers. While I¡¯m not really familiar with the Transcendent Universe, I can''t visit the Transcendent School, but as long as I wear an energy converter, shouldn¡¯t that be the same as reaching the threshold?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Of course not. Actually, passing the requirements for the Transcendent School isn¡¯t much easier than the Lost n School. The Transcendent Universe doesn¡¯t need cultivation talent¡ªthey need brains.¡±

    "Reaching the Transcendent School¡¯s threshold means providing research results for cultivation technology."

    Lu Yin had already guessed as much. Otherwise, anyone would be able to reach the Transcendent School¡¯s requirements.

    Luo Lao''er noticed that Lu Yin''s gaze was focused on the ground, and a thought sparked in his eyes. It would be very good if Lu Yin was able to enter the Central School. After all, if Xuan Qi left the Sixverse Academy for the Voidforce Universe, then how would Luo Lao¡¯er get to know Zi Jing through Xuan Qi? As far as Luo Lao¡¯er was concerned, the longer Xuan Qi stayed in the academy, the better.

    "Seventh Bro, you still need to reach the requirements for two more schools. Which are you going to visit next? The Cyclic School, the Transcendent School, the Arboreal School, or the Lost n School? There¡¯s four options, so just pick two. I¡¯d suggest that you give up on the Lost n School, as going there is too dangerous. The Cyclic School suits you best, since you are originally from a universe that focuses on cultivation. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for you to meet the Cyclic School¡¯s requirements. As for thest school, it seems that only the Arboreal School remains."

    Lu Yin considered the recent battle Mu Mu had fought. "I¡¯ve heard that every cultivator from the Arboreal Realm has an innate gift. How exactly do they get one?"

    Luo Lao''er cleared his throat. "This is connected to the Arboreal Realm¡¯s cultivation method. There are rumors that the Arboreal Realm has some sort of fruit that allows people to gain an affinity with trees. Then, they can experience a wood transformation to obtain an innate gift. Anyone who gets one of those fruits and eats it can then obtain an innate gift from one of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s various trees.¡±

    "Few outsiders know much about the Arboreal Realm. I only managed to learn this much from my father¡­"

    Lu Yin quietly listened as Luo Lao''er shared everything that he knew about the Arboreal Realm. It was clear that the young man was not holding back at this time.

    The two left the battlefield and continued to wander about Cliff Town as Lu Yin gradually gained a better understanding of the Arboreal Realm.

    After hearing Luo Lao''er''s exnation, the first thing that Lu Yin thought of was the Mother Tree. If he cultivated the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power, then would it be possible to obtain an innate gift from the Mother Tree? If so, then why did people from the Arboreal Realm not try to visit the Perennial World?

    The massive and powerful Mother Tree was just sitting there, and Lu Yin could not believe that the people from the Arboreal Realm were not at least a little tempted.

    "What about the Cyclic Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er cleared his throat a second time. "The Cyclic Universe is rather straightforward, as it¡¯s quite simr to other cultivation civilizations. However, they do have one distinct aspect that sets them apart, which is also the reason why they¡¯ve always maintained their position as the leader of the Sixverse Association. That is the eternal presence of their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. The Cyclic Universe has always maintained Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Also," the young man¡¯s expression grew solemn, and a touch of reverence entered his voice as he continued speaking, "They have their Great Sovereign."

 Chapter 2524: An Unexpected Old Acquaintance

    Chapter 2524: An Unexpected Old Acquaintance

    Lu Yin was astonished. "Why is that?"

    Luo Lao''er whispered, "It''s because they are positions! The Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages don¡¯t actually refer to twelve individuals, but rather twelve positions. Anyone is eligible to receive one of those positions and then obtain the power connected to it."

    Lu Yin''s pupils contracted. "How is that even possible?"

    Luo Lao''er sighed. "It''s hard to believe, isn''t it? When my old man told me about it, he had the same expression every time the Cyclic Universe was mentioned. Every. Single. Time. How should I put it? He showed a mix of envy and jealousy."

    Lu Yin frowned. Twelve positions upied by twelve Progenitors. Gaining a position could grant a person the strength of a Progenitor? How was that possible?

    Lu Yin could ept the fact that the Transcendent Universe¡¯s ck energy converters could grant someone the raw power of a Progenitor-level expert. However, it should bepletely impossible for a cultivation civilization to grant someone the strength of a Progenitor.

    Luo Lao''er whispered, "Seventh Bro, this is one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s greatest secrets. Of course, it¡¯s something that a lot of the big shots know about, but this information can¡¯t be spread, as it would upset the current bnce. Do you know why Jiang Xiaodao is so arrogant? As long as he doesn''t run into any idents, Sage Jiang''s position is as good as his. You can even think of Jiang Xiaodao as a quasi-Sage. That¡¯s why countless people are falling over themselves to tter him and be his followers. No one wants to sow enmity with a quasi-Sage."

    Lu Yin was amazed. "Besides the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, are there any other positions?"

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "Yes, there are also the Immortal Seats, which can also grant power."

    Lu Yin looked towards the Cyclic School. What was the deal with this universe? How did they aplish such things? If what Luo Lao¡¯er was saying was true, then it would exin why the positions of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had never been empty, and it would also exin how the Great Sovereign was the master of all of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. If everything was true, then the Great Sovereign absolutely possessed unimaginable strength.

    It was no wonder why Sage Yuan had acted so arrogantly and ordered everyone to kneel before the Great Sovereign. It was no wonder why he had looked down on the Fifth Maind.

    "The moment this secret of the Cyclic Universe was exposed, countless people have entered that universe in an attempt to win one of the positions, but almost no one¡¯s ever managed to aplish anything of note. There are some positions that people canpete for, while there are others that can never be obtained," Luo Lao''ermented.

    "You know quite a lot," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Lao''erughed. "My father is Monarch Luo after all."

    Lu Yin nced over. It was bing increasingly clear that Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s rtionship with Monarch Luo was not as simple as it first appeared to be. If Monarch Luo did not care about his son, he would have never shared such things with him.

    Just as Lu Yin had first thought, there was a hidden meaning behind sending Luo Lao¡¯er to the Transcendent Universe as a hostage, and it had most likely been done to protect him.

    As the Transcendent Universe¡¯s hostage, Luo Lao''er would be protected by that universe, which was much safer for him than staying in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    As they continued to wander around Cliff Town, Lu Yin checked on many of the items for sale from different universes, and he also witnessed several exciting battles, though nothing couldpare to the showdown that had urred between Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao.

    He was just about to return with Luo Lao''er when Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed dramatically. He had just witnessed something truly unbelievable. Is that Seruzen?

    Seruzen, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Xu San, and Lu Yin had all left Earth and entered the greater universe together. However, soon after that, they had all been separated from each other. They had been taken away by the Hidden Earth Society¡¯s Hai Dalu, who had hoped that at least one of them would be able to be a true expert.

    Over the years, Lu Yin had found Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, and Xu San, but Seruzen had never reappeared. Lu Yin had thought that the man was dead. After all, so many years had passed. Lu Yin had risen to fame within their universe, which meant that Seruzen would have surely contacted Lu Yin if he were still alive.

    Unexpectedly, Lu Yin had actually run into Seruzen in the Sixverse Academy.

    As he watched Seruzen set up a stall ahead of him. Lu Yin almost went to greet the man.

    Even with the self-control that Lu Yin had built up over his many years of cultivation, he could barely contain his excitement.

    He felt incredibly curious. How had Seruzen ended up in the Sixverse Academy? This was not a ce that ordinary people could hope to enter. On top of that, Seruzen was already rather old. If Lu Yin did not include his years as Lu Xiaoxuan, then he, Zhang Dingtian, and the others who had left Earth could all still be considered part of the Heavens Sect¡¯s younger generation, but the same could not be said for Seruzen. The Sixverse Academy only epted youths, and yet Seruzen had somehow managed to be epted as well.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Seruzen, astonished to find that the man had obtained the strength of an Enlighter, which was quite impressive. Furthermore, Lu Yin could make out some peculiar changes in Seruzen¡¯s body, though he failed to determine exactly what those changes were. They were particrly evident in the withered arm that Seruzen still held upright.

    "Seventh Bro? Seventh Bro?" Luo Lao''er called out several times.

    Lu Yin finally looked away and then approached Seruzen''s stall.

    Luo Lao''er followed.

    Seruzen closed his eyes andpletely ignored Lu Yin and any others who approached his stall.

    Lu Yin nced at Seruzen before looking down to see what sort of goods were for sale in his stall.

    "All of these things are verymon, Seventh Bro. Is there something here that interests you? I''ll buy it for you," Luo Lao''er offered generously. This was not something that he could have offered during the underground auction.

    Lu Yin calmly asked, "Brother, could you provide an introduction of the items you''re selling?"

    Seruzen opened his eyes and his eyes locked with Lu Yin¡¯s. A hoarse voice stated, "We''ve met before."

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "You can see what I look like?"

    Seruzen replied, "I can''t, but we''ve definitely met."

    "Where?"

    Luo Lao''er felt incredibly curious. After all, he still had no idea which universe ¡°Xuan Qi¡± hade from.

    Seruzen considered things for a moment before answering, "I''ve met so many people that I can¡¯t remember, but I''m certain that we''ve met before."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Isn''t this sales method a bit clich¨¦?"

    Seruzen did not respond and instead closed his eyes once again.

    Luo Lao''er got annoyed. "Hey! You''re supposed to be telling us about your goods, not taking a nap!"

    Seruzen calmly replied, "If fate dictates that you buy something, then you will. If not, please leave."

    Luo Lao''er sneered. "Don''t give me that kind of cryptic bullshit, pretending that you have some amazing item. Push me too far, and I''ll take your entire stock!"

    At that moment, Lu Yin looked to his left. Someone had suddenly run into them and knocked Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er aside. Just as Luo Lao''er was about to curse the person, his mouth snapped shut. He had just recognized Jiang Xiaodao as the one who had run into them.

    "Stupid woman, your weirdo¡¯s right here! Try burning me now, if you dare!" Jiang Xiaodao shouted. He then instantly moved behind Seruzen. Given such close proximity, Lu Yin found himself almost unable to resist the urge to kick the young man.

    Lu Yin was actually speechless. Even after all this time, the two were still fighting!

    Mu Mu finally arrived, panting heavily and ring at Jiang Xiaodao. "Is this what Sage Jiang taught you? To use hostages?"

    "I taught myself!" Jiang Xiaodao shouted proudly.

    Mu Mu dismissively waved a hand. "Get lost. I won''t deal with you today."

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "You should consider yourself lucky this time."

    "Jiang Xiaodao, it seems like you''re asking for a beating!" mes erupted and covered Mu Mu''s body.

    Jiang Xiaodao warned her, "Your weirdo¡¯s in the Lost n School. If you dare to provoke me again, I''ll make sure that he never reaches the threshold."

    Seruzen spoke up in a calm andposed voice, "I have already reached the threshold."

    Jiang Xiaodao blinked. "What? When? Wait, that''s not important! If you dare to provoke me, I''ll make sure that he never finds a card!"

    Seruzen lifted his head. "I have already found a card."

    "You found one?" Jiang Xiaodao was shocked, but he gritted his teeth and continued to say, "Then I''ll destroy your card! After all, that idiot woman has already burned my card, soe on, let''s have a go."

    Mu Mu felt her head start to hurt. She nced at Seruzen before sending another fierce re at Jiang Xiaodao. "Watch out! Make sure I don''t catch you."

    With that, she turned around and stomped off.

    Jiang Xiaodao smirked. "Foolish woman, aren''t you aggressive? Come on, let''s see who''s more manly, haha!"

    Lu Yin was just about to kick him.

    Even Luo Lao''er felt his patience start to run thin. This person absolutely deserved a beating. If he ever managed to inherit Sage Jiang''s position and be the new Sage Jiang, who knew how many people would suffer?

    Mu Mu was soonpletely out of sight.

    Jiang Xiaodao let out a sigh of relief as he casually patted Seruzen''s shoulder. "Thanks a lot, weirdo! Without you, that stupid woman would have forced Grandpa Dao out of Cliff Town, and then Grandpa Dao''s reputation would have been ruined."

    Seruzen answered as calmly as ever. "As fellow outcasts, we should help each other whenever possible."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s eye twitched. "What¡¯s with this nonsense? You''re the outcast! Grandpa Dao doesn''t even know if you''re insulting me or not. Alright, I¡¯m not going to argue with you. Grandpa Dao is leaving."

    At that moment, he finally noticed Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er who were standing nearby and let out an awkward cough. "Did you see Grandpa Dao''s heroic bearing just now?"

    Luo Lao''er took a while to recover. "Yes, I saw it."

    Jiang Xiaodao looked satisfied. "That''s good. Do you know what to sayter?"

    "I do," Luo Lao''er replied obediently. He had no desire to antagonize this person.

    Jiang Xiaodaoughed. "Smart! Which school are you from?"

    Luo Lao''er subconsciously answered, "The Voidforce School."

    The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted speaking. He had identally revealed his identity.

    Jiang Xiaodao had only been asking a casual question, but as soon as he heard the name ¡°Voidforce School,¡± his eyes sparkled. "I heard that there''s a guy in that school who''s been making waves recently. People keepparing him to Shao Qingfeng. Is he really better than Shao Qingfeng?"

    Luo Lao''er sighed internally. With his identity exposed, he had no choice but to answer. "I¡¯ve heard that that''s true, but we don¡¯t understand the world you geniuses live in."

    Jiang Xiaodao praised Luo Lao¡¯er, "You sure know how to talk right! Go back and tell that person Xuan Qi that I, Grandpa Dao, admire him. Tell him that I¡¯m giving him the chance to join me. This is an opportunity that countless people dream of. The future Sage Jiang is giving him this chance."

    The man then patted Seruzen''s shoulder again and swaggered off.

    Luo Lao''er looked at Lu Yin. "Brother-inw, did you hear that?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ll go to the Lost n School next."

    As soon as Luo Lao''er''s initial surprise faded, he swiftly warned, "Brother-inw, don''t bother getting into a fight with that idiot. He''s nothing but a troublemaker who enjoys provoking other people. He¡¯s not worth your time."

    Lu Yin had no intention of starting a dispute with Jiang Xiaodao. He simply wanted to get closer to Seruzen, as well as learn the Lost n¡¯s power. Since it was necessary to learn the cultivation methods of two more universes, then why not learn the Lost n¡¯s method? Their power fascinated him, and there was no rule in the Sixverse Academy that stipted that a person could only learn from four universes. As long as he wished to try it, he could learn the cultivation methods of all six members of the Sixverse Association.

    It would not be appropriate for Lu Yin to hold a conversation with Seruzen out in the open, so Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er left Cliff Town and returned to the Voidforce School.

    The visit to Cliff Town had only increased Lu Yin¡¯s interest in the various universes thatposed the Sixverse Association. He had also confirmed that the next school he wanted to visit was the Lost n School. To move on, he first needed to submit an application to the Voidforce School, but that should not pose any problems, aside from one: Xu Xiangyin.

    Lu Yin''s assumption was urate. Xu Xiangyin was the highest-ranking person from the Voidforce Universe who was present in the Sixverse Academy. As soon as he learned that Xuan Qi wanted to apply to the Lost n School, the old man rushed over.

    "You want to attend the Lost n School?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

 Chapter 2525: Card Tap

    Chapter 2525: Card Tap

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "Yes, Senior. This junior would like to attend the Lost n School next."

    Xu Xiangyin immediately rejected the idea. "No, your talent for voidforce is phenomenal. It would be a waste of time for you to bother learning from other universes. That old ghost from the Lost n, Zhi Bing, will also never agree to it."

    Lu Yin exined, "During this junior''s visit to Cliff Town, I had the opportunity to witness the fighting style of the Lost n. It struck a chord with me. Senior, as you are aware, on the path of cultivation, there are moments of profound enlightenment. I firmly believe that studying the Lost n''s methods will grant me valuable insights and inspire my cultivation, which could potentially lead to a breakthrough."

    Xu Xiangyin was doubtful. "What sort of connection does the Lost n have with our Voidforce Universe? Can observing their battle style possibly deepen your understanding?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I''m also not certain, just like how I can¡¯t say why I have talent for cultivating voidforce."

    Xu Xiangyin considered Lu Yin''s reasoning. He carefully observed ¡°Xuan Qi¡± while trying to determine whether the youth was lying. It was hard to tell. Even setting aside the possibility that the youth might be lying, could the Lost n actually offer any inspiration?

    The world of geniuses was frequently iprehensible to ordinary people. As far as most people were concerned, there was only only a thin line separating genius from madness.

    Xu Xiangyin considered himself an ordinary cultivator who could note close toparing with true geniuses. He could not fathom the thoughts of such people.

    Lu Yin continued to say, "I¡¯ve heard that Xu Ji is in the Arboreal School. I wonder if it¡¯s possible that the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power serves as inspiration for him."

    Xu Xiangyin was taken aback, but then he nodded. "That''s true. I found it strange when Xu Ji asked to attend the Sixverse Academy. Given his talent for voidforce, there was no reason for him to learn from any other universe, but it seems that there might be a reason for it."

    The old man stared at Lu Yin for a moment before asking, "Are you certain that the Lost n¡¯s power can provide you with some sort of inspiration?"

    "Absolutely," Lu Yin confirmed.

    Xu Xiangyin still hesitated. "Still, it''s very difficult to pass the required threshold for cultivating the Lost n¡¯s power. Do you know how low the sess rate is?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "If I fail to reach the threshold, it will dispel any thoughts that I have about learning from other universes. Then, I would be able to focus my full attention on cultivating voidforce without any regrets."

    Xu Xiangyin sighed. "Very well. I''ll speak to Zhi Bing and tell him that you want to attend the Lost n School. However, let¡¯s make a deal: no matter how long you spend in that school, even if it''s just one day, if Zhi Bing determines that you have no chance of reaching the threshold, then you will return straight back to me."

    "I understand. Thank you, Senior."

    "Continue to train here for now. You''ll make your way over to the Lost n School soon enough," Xu Xiangyin instructed. The truth was that the best way for Lu Yin to continue cultivating Voidforce was to absorb more voidforce energy. However, he had already absorbed as much as an average cultivator would in multiple years within just a few short months. Remaining in the Voidforce School was really just a waste of Lu Yin¡¯s time. Xu Xiangyin wanted to take the youth to the Voidforce Universe as soon as possible, but he was still waiting for a decision from his superiors.

    It did not take Xu Xiangyin long to reach the Lost n School.

    "What? You want your precious treasure to join my Lost n School?" a shriveled old man eximed in shock.

    Xu Xiangyin exined, "He submitted an application himself, iming that he received inspiration from your methods. I can¡¯t even begin to understand where he might have received such inspiration."

    The shriveled old man was named Zhi Bing, and he was the Lost n''s representative in the Sixverse Academy, their equivalent of Xu Xiangyin for the Voidforce Universe. The withered man stared at Xu Xiangyin for a moment before speaking. "Given your talent, of course you can¡¯t understand. The Lost n holds the very essence of human development. Your cultivation method, on the other hand, is nothing more than an essory."

    Xu Xiangyin lost his patience. "Enough. Allow Xuan Qi to attend your Lost n School for just two days and then help me by providing an assessment of him. If he can''t pass your school¡¯s threshold, then send him back to me early. You already understand just how incredible his talent for voidforce is. With the threat of Aeternus, humanity cannot afford to lower our guard for even a moment. People like him are the pirs supporting humanity, and they cannot be allowed to waste their time."

    Zhi Bing grumbled, "How is learning our cultivation methods a waste of time?"

    Still, he agreed to Xu Xiangyin''s request in the end.

    Despite their disagreements, they had some shared, specific goals. This was true not only of the two old men, but also of the entire Sixverse Association. This was the same reason why the Transcendent Universe had been willing to allow Lu Yin to go, as well as why the Sixverse Academy had been established to begin with.

    The Sixverse Academy¡¯s purpose was not merely to integrate the different universes¡¯ various civilizations and enhance humanity¡¯s overall strength, but also to match geniuses to the cultivation methods that they had the greatest talent for.

    Lu Yin was one of the exceptionally few prodigies who possessed an unparalleled aptitude for voidforce. ording to Xu Xiangyin, Lu Yin was the greatest talent that they had found since the inception of the Sixverse Academy.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin received a notification informing him that he could leave for the Lost n School.

    Luo Lao''er was reluctant to part ways. "Brother-inw, if you leave the Voidforce School, what will I do?"

    "You should hurry up and try to meet the requirements here so that you can head over to the Lost n School."

    "Are you sure that you''ll even be allowed to stay there? Senior Xu Xiangyin won''t allow you to waste your time, so if you can''t make any progress, you might be sent back here after just a few days," Luo Lao''er spected.

    Lu Yin pped him on the head. "How dare you curse me!"

    Luo Lao''er felt offended. "I wouldn''t dare! Brother-inw, if the Lost n School kicks you out, where will you go next? Will youe to the Voidforce School or try another school?"

    Lu Yin had not even considered the question. He stood up and looked back at the Void Ground.

    He had created many miracles in the Voidforce School that had astonished everyone, which had also prevented Xie Wu and the others from making any trouble. However, Lu Yin had never actually explored the Voidforce School. He had spent all his time cultivating in the Void Ground, so the rest of the school actually felt quite unfamiliar. He did not actually know what the Voidforce School looked like.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current cultivation realm, it should not be overly difficult for him to meet the Lost n School¡¯s requirements!

    Off in the distance, Xie Wu and many others heaved sighs of relief as they watched Lu Yin leave the school. He had been suppressing all of them the moment he arrived, and even just his presence prevented them from visiting the Void Ground. Finally, he was gone.

    "I heard that he¡¯s headed to the Lost n School. It¡¯s too bad that we don''t have any people there, so we still can''t get even with him. How many people does that school have?" someonemented reluctantly.

    Xie Wu frowned. Did these people still want to deal with Xuan Qi? That was no different from asking to be punished. The only exception would be if he entered the Central School, where Young Master He Shu would be able to take action. Beyond that, it would be difficult for anyone to deal with Xuan Qi, especially in a ce like the Lost n School.

    Wait, the Lost n School?

    Xie Wu¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Isn¡¯t that troublemaker, Jiang Xiaodao, in the Lost n School? Xie Wu muttered to himself, "If I let Jiang Xiaodao find out that Xuan Qi entered the Lost n School, he¡¯ll most likely be very interested."

    Xiao Fei was standing close enough to hear thement, and her head picked up. That''s right, Jiang Xiaodao. Hmph, Xuan Qi, let''s see whether you''ll have a good time in the Lost n School!

    Many of the Voidforce School¡¯s students watched as Lu Yin left. The person escorting him to the Lost n School was the same person who had originally brought him to the Sixverse Academy.

    The escort asionally nced over at Lu Yin. Who could have guessed that this youth would possess such an incredible talent for voidforce? This was not even close to the average genius.

    "The Lost n is a very peculiar civilization. This is where I¡¯ll leave you. Take care of yourself."

    Lu Yin expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Senior."

    The Lost n School had a gloomier atmosphere than the Voidforce School. The air was heavy with a dense gray mist, and the ground underfoot was a muddy mire. There were numerous weapons stabbed into the ground with their sharp des hidden so that only their handles stuck out.

    Massive creatures asionally flew past, their presence only marked by random strange sounds.

    If the Voidforce School was on an ordinary continent, then the Lost n School was on a continent with a harsh and treacherous environment where the unexpected lurked at every turn.

    Suddenly, a streak of light shot towards Lu Yin. He caught it and found that it was a jade slip.

    He immediately examined it.

    He soon put it back down and started making his way in a specific direction.

    The starting point for the Voidforce School was the Void Ground, as it was only possible to reach the school¡¯s required threshold by perceiving voidforce energy before one could actually start cultivating. In a simr manner, the Lost n School had a starting point as well, and it was known as Card Tap.

    The name sounded strange, but the meaning very literally portrayed the ce¡¯s function.

    Lu Yin arrived at Card Tap and found a vast, deste prairie that was covered with yellowed wild grass that swayed in the breeze. The sky was a dark, eerie shade of yellow, and there was something that resembled ck smoke in the distance. Overall, the area had a solemn aura.

    He could see dozens of people scattered across the grasnd. Some were sitting, while others were standing. However, the majority of people seemed to be chasing after things, as they were striking at the air with various weapons.

    If not for the jade slip, Lu Yin would have had no idea what was going on.

    These people were literally tapping cards.

    The Lost n used their cards to battle. Lu Yin had understood this after seeing Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s card drag Mu Mu into it before hiding within the void. The minimum threshold for the Lost n School was to find cards that were hidden in the void in a process known as card tapping.

    A powerful gust of wind appeared from behind, and Lu Yin quickly dodged to the side. A massive stick mmed down, narrowly missing Lu Yin.

    "Apologies, Brother! I wasn''t paying attention. I''m really sorry!" A man apologized profusely as a greeting to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "No worries."

    The man truly had not intended any harm, and the stick that he wielded possessed no destructive power. The only thing special about it was its size.

    "I''ve been here for over a month, and I still haven''t tapped a single card. I don''t even know if there really are any cards here, or if I¡¯m just looking in the wrong ce," the manmented in a dejected manner as he tossed his stick to the ground.

    There was a good number of people nearby who were attacking the air, hoping to find a card.

    Lu Yin shook his head. The cards were hidden in the void, which meant that they could not be easily found.

    He nced around. While the people who were searching were unable to detect the cards, he could sense them fluttering all around him. However, even if these people struck the cards with their weapons, the weapons would phase right through the cards, as was the nature of the void.

    "Please, carry on. Sorry for the trouble." The man rose back to his feet and psyched himself up as he grabbed his stick and continued striking at the air.

    The prairie was quite vast. After spending a bit of time observing the people who were searching for cards, Lu Yin finally noticed a familiar face: Mu Duo.

    Mu Duo was surprised to see ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± "What are you doing here?"

    "The same as you."

    Mu Duo''s eye twitched. "I heard about what happened in the Voidforce School, but even so, aren''t you here a bit too quickly?"

    "Not really, voidforce energy was pretty easy for me to pick up," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Duo was stunned. Was this true?????????????????????????.??????

    This prairie was the ce where the Lost n School¡¯s new students from both the first and second sses started studying the Lost n¡¯s cultivation method. There were other people present who had recently left the Voidforce School, and from one of them, Mu Duo had heard that voidforce energy was not much easier to cultivate than the Lost n¡¯s power. Why did Xuan Qi make it sound like it had been a walk in the park?

    "Have you not tapped a card yet?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Duo grumbled, "I can''t find any. It''s too difficult."

    Lu Yin nodded. Instead of fostering growth and education, the Lost n School seemed to be more like an arena to eliminate the students. There was no guidance or support offered to the students, and instead, they were only given the challenge of finding a card. How could anyone whocked a level of understanding of the void ever hope to seed? It was practically guaranteed that the vast majority of the students would be eliminated.

 Chapter 2526: Extraordinary Individual

    Chapter 2526: Extraordinary Individual

    From Lu Yin''s perspective, the cards around him were not hidden very well. Inparison, Jiang Xiaodao''s card had been hidden so well that not even Lu Yin had been able to find it at first. The cards scattered across the prairie might as well have been zing torches to him.

    Lu Yin casually reached into the void and pulled out a card.

    Mu Duo''s mouth dropped open in astonishment, his baffled eyes glued to the card. How¡­ how is this possible?

    "See? It''s pretty simple," Lu Yin said before heading to the second area, where the cards were better hidden.

    ording to the information provided by the jade slip, there were three Card Tap areas. Students were required to sessfully find a card in the first prairie before they were allowed to continue on to the second field. The same thing was true of the second area before they could continue on to the third Card Tap area.

    Only by finding cards in all three areas would a student sessfully pass the Lost n School¡¯s minimum requirements.

    Most people were eliminated in the first and second prairies, as very few ever made it to the third area.

    Lu Yin held his card in his hand as he headed towards the second grassfield. As he moved, Mu Duo stared at him, still dazed.

    Mu Duo had spent more than two months in the first prairie, but he still had no clue how to find a card, and yet Xuan Qi had managed to just casually grab one. What the heck?

    Quite a few people who had been closeby had also noticed Lu Yin¡¯s sess, and they also stared at him nkly.

    The person holding the huge stick feltpletely confused. "But, he should have just arrived¡­"

    ¡­

    Lu Yin crossed the first prairie and noticed that the void underwent a change up ahead. He looked back, and in doing so, he saw arge group of people staring at him, stupefied.

    The void in the first area was very weak. Anyone with even a little bit of cultivation or talent should be able to tap a card there. Unfortunately, people from the Transcendent Universe were at a decided disadvantage. They did not cultivate, which basically handicapped them inparison to other universes.

    People continued to stare as Lu Yin slowly continued to move out of their sight.

    Mu Duo gritted his teeth. Was this really the gap between them? How could it be so vast? Xuan Qi had already disyed a monstrous talent in the Voidforce School, so why was he also doing so well in the Lost n School?

    There were noticeably fewer people in the second area, and hardly anyone at all from the Transcendent Universe. Most of the students were from other universes, and the vast majority were cultivators who had reached the equivalent of the Explorer or Cruiser realm.

    It was not difficult for such people to find a card in the first area, given their cultivation, but tapping a card in the second prairie was not nearly as easy.

    Lu Yin gazed into the void. These cards were hiding deeper in the void. Even someone with the strength of an Enlighter might not be able to find them. This was a process of elimination.

    "I tapped one! I tapped one!" an ecstatic voice rang out. Everyone turned to look and saw a woman. She was holding a dagger that had stabbed a card in the void. The card shook, but it was not able to break free of the dagger.

    "Congrattions! Now that you¡¯ve managed to find a card, you can move on to the third area," someone said enviously.

    "To think that you could find a card after just four months. You''re truly a genius of the Arboreal Realm."

    "She transferred here from the Three Monarchs School. She¡¯s already managed to pick up a second universe¡¯s power. Her talent is truly impressive."

    The woman happily weed the praise, her face glowing with pride.

    As long as she was able to grasp the power of the Lost n, her next steps would be to visit the Cyclic School and the Transcendent School. Given her talent and intelligence, it was only a matter of time before she was able to join the Central School. That was the ce where she truly belonged.

    She rxed her grip and allowed the card to disappear back into the void. She then started walking toward the third prairie, her head held up high.

    As she walked, she realized that someone was approaching her from behind. She turned and saw Lu Yin. "Why are you following me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I''m going to the third area."

    The woman¡¯s brow furrowed as she asked, "You managed to tap a card here? You must be new here. I know everyone in the second region."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I just arrived, but I was lucky enough to find a card."

    The woman was shocked. "You managed to tap a card right after you arrived? Which universe are you from?"

    "The Transcendent Universe," Lu Yin replied.

    The woman frowned. "That¡¯s ridiculous! How could anyone from the Transcendent Universe seed so quickly?"

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose, startling the woman. His fingers approached her face, causing her to immediately think that this stranger was trying to tease her. However, Lu Yin''s hand stopped in front of the woman¡¯s eyes. There, pinched between his fingers, was a card.

    Her pupils shrank. "You- How is this possible?"

    Lu Yin just chuckled. "I seem to be hearing those words quite a lottely."

    He then continued on towards the third grassfield.

    The woman stared at Lu Yin''s back, a bitter expression on her face. She had taken more than four months to seed at finding a card in the second area, but this man had seeded as soon as he arrived. How was that even possible? Could he be a geniusparable to Sister Mu Mu? Thinking of that possibility, the woman hurried to catch up and ask, "Hey, what''s your name? Which universe are you really from? Don¡¯t try to tell me you''re from the Transcendent Universe. I won''t believe you."

    "Xuan Qi," Lu Yin replied casually.

    The woman froze. Xuan Qi? Xuan Qi? That sounds kind of familiar. Isn¡¯t that the name of the new genius in the Voidforce School? The one who beat Shao Qingfeng¡¯s record? The freak that the Voidforce Universe is adamant about stealing from the Transcendent Universe? The name ¡°Xuan Qi¡± had already be famous throughout the Sixverse Academy.

    Was this man that Xuan Qi?

    At the same time, elsewhere in the Lost n School, Jiang Xiaodao burst outughing after receiving a bit of news. "Xuan Qi actually came here? That''s great! Grandpa Dao wants to see what this person who managed to surpass Shao Qingfeng looks like. Haha!"

    With that, he headed towards the Card Tap area.

    News that Xuan Qi had moved on to the Lost n School quickly spread throughout the academy.

    Determination entered Zuo Yu''s eyes. He moved on to the Lost n School so quickly? It had only taken Xuan Qi a bit more than two months to meet the requirements of the Voidforce School, surpassing the records set by Shao Qingfeng and the other most talented geniuses in the Sixverse Academy. Xuan Qi, how far does your talent go?

    Shi Hong also heard the news. A sword danced in her hand. The next time they met, she would not allow that man to see through her Dragon sh.

    In a ce that looked like a paradise within the Sixverse Academy, two people sat across from each other in the shade of a pavilion.

    One of the two was Mu Mu, and across from her sat a man who had a lens over one eye. This was one of the young men who had once apanied Sage Yuan to the Fifth Maind; he was none other than He Shu.

    "What''s the point in getting mad at Jiang Xiaodao? You should already understand his personality very well," He Shumented as he poured a cup of tea for Mu Mu.

    The woman snorted disdainfully. "I''ll beat him up sooner orter!"

    She nced at the tea in her cup. "When did you start taking an interest in brewing tea? Are you hoping to attend the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony?"

    He Shu shook his head and chuckled. "I''m far from qualified for that. I simply want to try to get a bit closer to the Great Sovereign, is all."

    Mu Mu replied, "Everyone wants to get closer to the Great Sovereign. Unfortunately, that¡¯s easier said than done."

    He Shu took a sip of tea, lookingpletely at peace.

    Mu Mu seemed to recall something. "I heard that there''s a genius from your Transcendent Universe who¡¯s incredibly talented at voidforce. It seems that he¡¯s even surpassed Shao Qingfeng."

    He Shu replied, "He is not from our universe."

    He set his teacup down and gazed off into the distance. "Still, he can be regarded as half a citizen of our universe."

    "He¡¯s moved on to the Lost n School," Mu Mu continued.

    He Shu was taken aback, but then he chuckled. "Things are going to get lively there. Jiang Xiaodao won''t let him go easily."

    Mu Mu leaned closer to He Shu. The atmosphere seemed incredibly rxed andfortable. "Tell me honestly. Just how strong is that guy? Don''t try to tell me that you don''t know."

    He Shu sighed. "But I really don''t."

    "Your sister must know."

    "I won''t ask my sister. I shouldn¡¯t bother her with things like this."

    "I hope that he''s strong enough to put up a fight against Jiang Xiaodao and give him a good beating," Mu Mu said through gritted teeth.

    He Shu smirked. "Jiang Xiaodao is almost as strong as you. What you¡¯re hoping for is impossible."

    Mu Mu sighed. "Given our ages, there are very few people who can match our strength. I can only hope that this guy has a bit of a spine and that he won¡¯t just let Jiang Xiaodao destroy his self-esteem. It''s not easy to find someone with truly peerless talent who can reach the pinnacle of cultivation. It¡¯s possible that there will be one more human powerhouse in the future."

    He Shu''s eyes flickered. He was not giving any thought at all to Xuan Qi. That person was just a kid who had not matured yet. No, the person who had appeared in He Shu¡¯s mind was a man who had stood before the Heavens Sect and fearlessly shouted at Sage Yuan, demonstrating no fear even towards the Great Sovereign. That man was also young, but he had already risen to such an incredible level. That was a truly talented person.

    That person had be He Shu¡¯s goal.

    While He Shu did not want to admit it, no one in the entire history of the Sixverse Association had ever managed to surpass that man¡¯s aplishments. Even Sage Yuan had been shocked. If that person was not a member of the Lu family, the Great Sovereign would already have taken him in as a disciple, qualifying him to attend the tea ceremony.

    "Do you believe that there''s anyone close to our age who can seize control of an entire universe, send all of reality into chaos, scold one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and even ignore the Great Sovereign?" He Shu suddenly asked.

    Mu Mu was caughtpletely off guard. "That¡¯s impossible. Unless they¡¯re someone who moves from a powerful universe to a weaker one, but even then, in any universe, regardless of a person¡¯s strength, their position is almost always determined by how long they¡¯ve spent cultivating. If we grew up in weaker universes, we wouldn''t have reached our current level of strength so quickly."

    "What if the universe is no weaker than the Main Universe?" He Shu muttered to himself.

    Mu Mu grew increasingly puzzled. "What''s wrong with you? Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

    Staring at He Shu, she remembered something. "Are you thinking about those people? Forget them. All of them took shortcuts. It¡¯s true that they¡¯re close to our age, but they¡¯re alreadyparable to peak-level experts. Still, they didn''t achieve that power on their own. Isn''t your sister the same? Don''t overthink things."

    He Shu¡¯s eyes narrowed. There were certainly a few monsters within the Sixverse Association, but all of them had taken shortcuts. That descendant of the Lu family was different. He Shu wanted to follow the path of that person from the Lu family, not take a shortcut. Still, it was too difficult to tread that path. In fact, it was so difficult that He Shu could not even determine which direction was the right one.

    Perhaps he should return to the Origin Universe and start there.

    In the Lost n School, Lu Yin moved to the third prairie from the second. The third area had almost no people at all, and he could only see about a dozen in total. Furthermore, Lu Yin felt a simr sensation from almost all of the people. They all seemed toe from the same universe.

    When they saw someone new approaching, the dozen or so people all looked over.

    It was far from easy to reach the third area, and the people in it had all be familiar with each other. It was only natural for them to feel curious about any neers.

    Lu Yin calmly entered the third prairie, and as he did so, his eyes grew sharp. Things were not nearly as straightforward this time.

    In the same manner as how Jiang Xiaodao''s card had hidden within the void, the cards hidden in the third Card Tap area were not readily visible. Even so, they were not too difficult to find.

    At this moment, the woman finally caught up with Lu Yin.

    "Oh, Xinxin, you¡¯ve arrived? She¡¯s only taken a bit more than four months to reach this third area. Impressive." Someone recognized the woman and openlyplimented her.

    Of the others in the third area, some recognized the woman, while others did not.

    Xinxin stared at Lu Yin for a moment before turning to face the senior students and smile at them. "It wasn''t easy to find a card in thest area. I wonder how long it will take here."

    "Don''t worry about it. You still have more than half a year in this school. Given your talent, you¡¯ll definitely find a card, though the rest of us might not be so lucky," someone reassured.

    "Xinxin, could you give us some soft water when you have the time? Training here is both tiring and muddy," someone requested.

    Xinxin smiled. "Not a problem."

 Chapter 2527: Youre Still Here

    Chapter 2527: You''re Still Here

    "By the way, I don¡¯t recognize this brother who came with you. Did you just arrive?" someone looked over at Lu Yin and asked curiously.

    Everyone else also turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ve been here for a bit."

    "How long is ¡®a bit?¡¯" a woman with a mole on her eyebrow asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Not too long."

    It was such a vague answer that it could not even be considered an answer.

    The woman''s face fell slightly, but she said nothing. Not everyone enjoyed stirring up trouble, and simply reaching the third Card Tap area was proof that one possessed some level of ability.

    The third region was not asrge as the first or the second. Lu Yin went to a secluded corner, sat down, closed his eyes, and started searching for cards.

    The other people continued chatting.

    "Xinxin, how long did that guy spend in the second zone? He seems rather arrogant," asked one man standing close to the woman with the mole.

    Xinxin replied, "He just passed through."

    The people listening all felt rather confused. "What do you mean by that?"

    "He came here without finding a card?" Someone''s voice turned sour. If this person had truly tried to force his way through the Card Tap areas, then they would definitely drive him out. Not just anyone was qualified to enter the third area.

    Xinxin was not sure how to exin things clearly. "He found a card as soon as he arrived in the second area, so he didn¡¯t stop there. He literally just passed through."

    Everyone was stunned by her exnation, and they turned to look at Lu Yin in astonishment.

    Instantly finding a card? Was that even possible?

    "I remember that Senior Jiang Xiaodao managed to instantly find a card in the first area, but he needed five days for the second," the woman with a mole on her eyebrowmented.

    The man beside her added, "I remember that too. Senior Jiang''s sess was quite impressive, and it seems that only those select few canpare to him. Even so, this man found a card immediately. Xinxin, are you sure that you aren¡¯t mistaken? Is it possible that you were too focused on searching for a card yourself and that you just didn''t notice him?

    "Right, do you know his name?"

    Xinxin nced at Lu Yin as she replied, "Xuan Qi."

    "Xuan Qi!" everyone eximed.

    "Is that the same Xuan Qi who surpassed Senior Shao Qingfeng with the miracles that he created in the Voidforce School?"

    Xinxin nodded. "It should be. There isn''t anyone else with the name of Xuan Qi."

    At this moment, all eyes were glued onto Lu Yin, and the expressions on people¡¯s faces hadpletely changed. Most of the people in the third area were from the Cyclic Universe, which meant that they understood just how terrifying Shao Qingfeng''s talent was. ording to what they all knew, people with truly exceptional talent would shine no matter what they cultivated. Even so, had this Xuan Qi really managed to surpass Shao Qingfeng? They could not believe it.

    Knowing that Xuan Qi had joined them, everyone stopped talking, though they continued to asionally nce at him. All of the initial discontent hadpletely dissipated. There were certain people who were innately arrogant, though they had every right to be.

    At the same time, Jiang Xiaodao arrived in the first prairie, and he immediately started searching for Xuan Qi. "Where''s Xuan Qi?"

    There were many people on the first grassfield, and as soon as they saw Jiang Xiaodao, they all bowed. "Greetings, Senior Jiang."

    Jiang Xiaodao shouted, "Where is Xuan Qi? Isn''t he supposed to be here? Has he not arrived yet?"

    Mu Duo responded, "Xuan Qi went to the second area."

    Jiang Xiaodao arched a brow as a smile crept across his face. "Interesting. He found a card as soon as he arrived? That¡¯s almost as impressive as my past glory."

    With that, he took off towards the second area, and quickly arrived. "Where is Xuan Qi?"

    The people in the second region all felt confused by the question. Xuan Qi? Had Xuan Qi arrived? The genius from the Voidforce School?

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What are you all staring at? I''m looking for Xuan Qi. Xuan Qi, get out here!"

    The people exchanged bewildered nces.

    Jiang Xiaodao grabbed a random person. "Where is Xuan Qi?"

    The person trembled in fear. "Senior Brother Jiang, Xuan- Xuan Qi isn''t here."

    Jiang Xiaodao shouted angrily, "He just got here! Are you blind? Didn''t you see him?"

    The person was on the verge of tears. "Senior Brother Jiang, I really didn''t see him!"

    Suddenly, the man thought of something. "Wait, there was a person who passed through on his way to the third grassfield. Could that man have been Xuan Qi?"

    Jiang Xiaodao was stunned. "He went to the third region?"

    "Senior Brother Jiang." A beautiful woman approached and smiled as she bowed to Jiang Xiaodao. "I also saw someone pass through. He followed Mu Xinxin to the third grassfield. I don''t know his name, as he didn''t stay here long. The two of them exchanged a few words, while the rest of us were unable to see him clearly due to the distance."

    Jiang Xiaodao snorted coldly. "He actually went straight to the third area? How arrogant! I stayed here for five days when I was here."

    With that, he shot off towards the third grassfield.

    It did not take him long to arrive, and he immediately shouted. "Where is Xuan Qi?"

    The people in the third area were startled by Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s sudden arrival. They were just about to yell at him, but as soon as they realized that he was Jiang Xiaodao, they all stood and bowed. "Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang."

    "Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang."

    "Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang."

    Jiang Xiaodao scanned the crowd for a moment before his eyesnded on the corner where Lu Yin was sitting.

    Jiang Xiaodao approached and looked down at Lu Yin in a condescending manner. "You must be Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked up at Jiang Xiaodao. "Yes."

    Jiang Xiaodao sped his hands behind his back. "My name is Jiang Xiaodao. Have you heard of me?"

    "I haven''t," Lu Yin answered indifferently.

    Jiang Xiaodao flicked his hair. "My father is the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sage Jiang, and I am the future Sage Jiang, a quasi-sage. Do you understand now?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I do."

    "I heard that you achieved a miracle in the Voidforce School, surpassing Shao Qingfeng¡¯s aplishments."

    "Who is Shao Qingfeng?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Xiaodao flicked his hair once again. "He''s a guy who looks like he deserves a beating. He wears gold clothes and acts all high and mighty."

    "I don''t know him."

    "I don''t need you to know him! Just tell me if you''ve beaten his record!" Jiang Xiaodao impatiently demanded.

    "I don''t know."

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s eyes went wide. "Hasn''t anyone told you?"

    "No."

    "Xu Xiangyin didn''t tell you either?"

    "You can go ask him," Lu Yin answered as casually as ever.

    In the distance, everyone started to move back. Xuan Qi was quite bold, and he waspletely disrespecting Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao also realized what was happening. "Kid, you''re quite arrogant, just like Shao Qingfeng. Do you know that the Sixverse Academy doesn''t prohibit fighting or killing? Don''t think that, just because you have Xu Xiangyin covering for you means that you can act however you want. I have Sage Jiang behind me! One of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages who answer to the Great Sovereign!"

    Lu Yin just closed his eyes and continued searching for a card.

    Jiang Xiaodao became furious. "Are you ignoring me? Kid, get up! I''m going to beat you and teach you who''s in charge of the Lost n School! Get up! Don''t think that you can ignore me just because you''ve managed to do something a bit impressive! Even if Xu Xiangyin were here, he still wouldn''t dare to treat me like this! Get up!"

    The other people moved even further back. Xuan Qi was in serious trouble, and no one could help him.

    Mu Xinxin watched with curiosity. She knew how difficult and stubborn Jiang Xiaodao could be. Just what was Xuan Qi thinking? Why would he dare to offend this quasi-sage?

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly snapped open, and he rose to his feet.

    Jiang Xiaodao yelled, "Make your move! Grandpa Dao will let you make the first move."

    Lu Yin made his move. He tore through the void and snatched a card.

    Jiang Xiaodao blinked. Card tapping?

    Behind them, everyone was stunned. Card tapping? Wait, he actually tapped a card, how long had he taken?

    Mu Xinxin waspletely stunned. She had not even started searching for her third and final card, so how had Xuan Qi already finished? How could he be so fast?

    The third grassfield fellpletely silent.

    Jiang Xiaodao stared at the card in Lu Yin''s hand. Jiang Xiaodao had taken more than a month to find a card in the third region. How had this guy seeded so quickly?

    Lu Yin stroked the card in his hand. It was just like the other two cards that he obtained in the first regions. There was absolutely nothing special about it.

    He released the card, and it vanished back into thin air.

    So, the first grassfield eliminates those who have no chance of ever cultivating the Lost n Universe''s power. The second is a test to see if a person can subconsciously determine the general location of the cards that are hidden in the void. And now, this third grassfield is to sort out the people who can actually find the cards.

    Each grassfield had its own purpose.

    If Lu Yin had started searching in the third region first, he would have taken a longer time to find a card. He had mostly seeded so quickly because the second section had guided him along in the right direction.

    Did this mean that, once the Lost n''s cards were activated, they would continue to hide in the same location in the void? If that was true, then finding them would be easy. Still, Lu Yin could not shake off the feeling that things could not be so simple. The Lost n would not be so foolish as to reveal their greatest weapons so easily.

    "Oh, you''re still here." Lu Yin looked at Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s expression shifted between anger, astonishment, and disbelief. He simply could not understand how Xuan Qi had managed to find a card so quickly. It had taken him more than a month, and even Shao Qingfeng had needed half a month.

    Wait a minute, not only did he beat me, but he also just beat Shao Qingfeng¡­ He just set a new record for the Lost n School.

    "You-" Jiang Xiaodao was about to say something, when suddenly, the void beside him warped and someone stepped out.

    It was a withered old man, and he stared at Lu Yin with astonishment as he pushed Jiang Xiaodao aside. "Get out of the way."

    Jiang Xiaodao was furious, but after looking at the withered old man, the young man¡¯s lips twitched, and he retreated a few steps, clearly rather afraid.

    "Kid, how did you find that card?" This old man was none other than Zhi Bing, the person that Xu Xiangyin had asked to assess Lu Yin¡¯s potential for the Lost n¡¯s cultivation methods. If Zhi Bing had determined that Lu Yin was incapable of reaching the school¡¯s minimum requirements, then he was to send Lu Yin back as quickly as possible so that ¡°Xuan Qi¡± would not waste his time.

    When Lu Yin had instantly found a card in the first grassfield, the old man had not been surprised. Many people were capable of the same, such as Jiang Xiaodao.

    In the second Card Tap section, Lu Yin had once again instantly found a card. Zhi Bing had been surprised, but he knew that there were others capable of doing the same. So, he did not consider it anything too exceptional.

    However, in the third Card Tap area, ¡°Xuan Qi¡± had once again found a card almost instantly. This aplishment had rattled Zhi Bing, and he was unable to maintain hisposure, as this was truly miraculous. Even the members of the Lost n might not be able to find a card so quickly. This required an understanding of the void that practically reached the level of instinctual knowledge.

    This was no longer something as simple as mere talent, and Zhi Bing had no longer been able to resist personally visiting the youth.

    Lu Yin had been fully aware that, the moment he arrived in the Lost n School, there had been eyes on him. Apparently, this withered old man had been the one watching him. This old man should the Lost n School¡¯s equivalent of Xu Xiangyin.

    "I am Xuan Qi. Greetings, Senior." Lu Yin offered a respectful bow and acted sincerely towards the older man.

    Zhi Bing nodded. "Kid, how did you find that card?"

    Jiang Xiaodao watched from the side, very curious, and the rest of the students instinctively inched closer.

    "I just saw the card flying around," Lu Yin said.

    Everyone was stunned speechless. Even Zhi Bing was astonished. "You saw the card flying?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

 Chapter 2528: Card Seeking

    Chapter 2528: Card Seeking

    Zhi Bing raised his hand, and his fingertips started to slowly disappear, followed by his hand, and then his entire arm. "Do you know where my finger is?"

    Jiang Xiaodao squinted but could not see anything.

    Naturally, the others were unable to see anything either.

    Lu Yin pointed at Zhi Bing''s head. "You''re scratching your hair."

    Everyone looked over.

    Zhi Bing''s arm slowly reappeared, revealing that his finger was indeed scratching his hair.

    His arm disappeared again. "Now where is it?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This time, the old man¡¯s hand had been hidden even better. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s void god domain, he would not be able to sense anything. However, since he was unable to use his domain, he could only gain a rough idea of where the hand was.

    "It should be on that guy''s head." Lu Yin pointed at Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao was annoyed. That guy? "I''m Grandpa Dao!"

    "Hahaha, not bad. Where now?" Zhi Bing said again.

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s mouth fell wide open, and he subconsciously reached up to touch his head while putting some distance between himself and Zhi Bing.

    Lu Yin admitted, "I can''t feel it anymore."

    Zhi Bing''s arm returned to normal as he stared at Lu Yin. "If you were able to feel it, it would no longer be a matter of your talent, but rather a problem with you."

    Lu Yin did understand, though he replied, "I don''t understand what you mean, Senior."

    Zhi Bing waved thement away. "It doesn''t matter. I was entrusted by Xu Xiangyin to determine whether you are able to meet the requirements to cultivate my Lost n¡¯s methods. I can see that you definitely have the necessary aptitude, so work hard, little one."

    With that, the man disappeared.

    Lu Yin bowed. "Goodbye, Senior."

    The distant crowd waspletely shocked. Xuan Qi had managed to pull Zhi Bing out, who was known for rarely revealing himself. Out of all of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students, Xuan Qi had spent the shortest amount of time finding cards, and his talent had opened the other students¡¯ eyes. Also, they had learned that Zhi Bing had been entrusted with Xuan Wi¡¯s care by Xu Xiangyin, which meant that one of the Sixverse Academy''s overseers was constantly keeping a constant eye on the young man. How enviable.

    It was guaranteed that Xuan Qi¡¯s future achievements would be incredible.

    Jiang Xiaodao approached Lu Yin and circled around him.

    Lu Yin picked up his feet to walk away.

    "Hey, kid, do you really think that you can just leave? Do you think that I''ve already forgotten how you disrespected me?" Jiang Xiaodao moved to block Lu Yin''s path.

    Lu Yin calmly asked, "What do you want?"

    Jiang Xiaodao had originally intended to teach Xuan Qi a lesson, but after seeing Zhi Bing''s attitude, there was a distinct possibility that the old man was still watching. Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s mind went nk for a moment.

    Lu Yin had no desire to waste any more time on the arrogant young man, so he proceeded to make his way away from the third Card Tap area. He was eager to move on to the next step in the Lost n School, which was to search for his own card.

    All of the Lost n School¡¯s true students were allowed to search for a card for themselves. After finding a personal card, they would then be able to set up the inside with their desiredyout, which was the Lost n¡¯sbat method.

    After finding his card, Lu Yin wanted to visit Seruzen and ask the man about what he had experienced over the years and why he was in the Sixverse Academy. It was readily apparent that Seruzen did not have a low status, as Mu Mu was clearly very concerned about the man.

    "Senior Jiang, he left," someonemented.

    "Left? Xuan Qi, stop!" Jiang Xiaodao chased after Lu Yin.

    Everyone who was left in the third Card Tap area silently looked at each other. They were still dumbstruck by all that had happened.

    This was especially so for Xinxin. Despite finally leaving the second Card Tap area and making it to thest region, her excitement had beenpletely dampened.

    The news of what had happened spread through the academy like wildfire.

    At this time, Xu Xiangyin sought out Zhi Bing. "So? How is it? Does Xuan Qi have any chance of reaching your school¡¯s threshold?"

    Zhi Bing gave Xu Xiangyin an odd look before replying, "Of course, old friend. We''ve discovered a genius."

    Xu Xiangyin became confused. "What do you mean?"

    Zhi Bing exined what had happened and proceeded to praise Xuan Qi. "He passed through the three prairies in less than half an hour, if you don¡¯t consider the time that he spent traveling from one to the next. Such an achievement is outstanding even for members of my Lost n. What he did is no different from what Xu Ji has aplished in your Voidforce Universe."

    Xu Xiangyin waspletely stunned, and then he asked, "Is his talent really that impressive?"

    Zhi Bing replied, "That¡¯s just how some people are. Those with exceptional talent will drive others insane. Xu Ji''s performance in the Arboreal School and the Transcendent School have both surpassed what the other students can ever hope to achieve, just like Shao Qingfeng and He Shu. Xuan Qi is the same as them. No matter what cultivation method he attempts, he will excel at it."

    Xu Xiangyin grew wary as he stared at Zhi Bing. "Old man, you''re not considering trying to steal him away, are you?"

    Zhi Bing chuckled. "Do I need to?"

    "Of course not," another voice interjected. It was the person who had escorted Lu Yin and the other students to the Sixverse Academy from the Transcendent Universe, and who had also escorted Lu Yin from the Voidforce School to the Lost n School. The man¡¯s name was You Teng, and just like Xu Xiangyin and Zhi Bing, he was the representative in the academy for the Transcendent Universe.

    You Teng looked at Zhi Bing and asked, "I heard the news. Is it true?"

    Zhi Bing nodded. "Yes, and the news has spread quickly, if it¡¯s even reached you."

    You Teng crossed his arms and proudly stated, "After all, he''s someone from our Transcendent Universe."

    "Not anymore," Xu Xiangyin rebutted.

    You Teng ignored thement as he continued to say, "Your Lost n is closed to outsiders, so unless Xuan Qi demonstrates some iprehensible level of talent, they won''t try to take him. Am I right, Senior Zhi Bing?"

    Zhi Bing smiled. "It''s not about being closed to outsiders. Rather, our Lost n''s cultivation methods are tooplex for talents from foreign universes to adapt to."

    Xu Xiangyin said, "Good! In that case, there¡¯s no one topete with us over Xuan Qi. The kid''s talent for voidforce is unfathomable. It''s just a pity that he wasn''t born in our Voidforce Universe, as he would definitely have be unmatched throughout our entire history if that were true."

    You Teng sighed. "I never expected to find such a genius among the Sixverse Academy¡¯s second ss. It¡¯s aplete surprise."

    News continued to spread through the Sixverse Academy, especially since there were fewer than 10,000 people in the academy all together. Aside from people who werepletely immersed in their cultivation, everyone else heard about Xuan Qi¡¯stest achievement.

    With this, Xuan Qi was acknowledged as a genius on the same level as He Shu and Shao Qingfeng.

    Jiang Xiaodao lowered hismunication crystal, an ugly expression on his face. He had just received a call from Mu Mu, who had made several sarcasticments. Rumors had already spread about Jiang Xiaodao trying to make trouble for Xuan Qi, which had caused his reputation to fall sharply. Senior Zhi Bing was alsopletely ignoring him, which was a massive loss of face.

    He absolutely had to regain his dignity.

    Within the Lost n School, the Card Tap area consisted of three prairies. As for the area where students could seek their personal card, that epassed the entire continent. As long as a student was on the Lost n School¡¯s continent, they could try to find a personal card. This was simr to how the Voidforce School had numerous voidforce puppets floating across the entire continent¡¯s sky.

    The jade slip had rmended that students search for their card in a secluded area, as if they happened to find a valuable card, it would not be good if others caught sight of it.

    Lu Yin had cultivated for long enough topletely understand this principle.

    Even so, he was not concerned about someone trying to steal his card. Instead, he wanted to find Seruzen and get closer to him after finding his own card.

    "Xuan Qi, stop right there!" Jiang Xiaodao was chasing after Lu Yin.

    He stopped and looked back.

    Jiang Xiaodao leaped in front of Lu Yin to block his path. "Let''s have a contest."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "A contest? What kind of contest?"

    Jiang Xiaodao raised his chin. "Card seeking."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Why should Ipete with you?"

    "Why not?" Jiang Xiaodao stared at Lu Yin. "Aren''t you supposed to be a genius? Aren''t you better than everyone else? So, let''spete."

    Lu Yin was speechless, "I never said any of that."

    "But you did it," Jiang Xiaodao stated in a cold voice, "Don''t think that just being able to tap cards quickly means that you can find a good card. I need topete with you, and if you lose, you have to be my follower."

    "And what if I win?" Lu Yin retorted. Jiang Xiaodao was the heir to one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and was someone highly important. He could help Lu Yin gain a much clearer understanding of the Cyclic Universe.

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "If you win? Do you really think you can beat me?"

    "Absolutely," Lu Yin said. It would be his first time seeking a card, but he could always win the contest by simply preventing Jiang Xiaodao from finding one. In that manner, Lu Yin would win with any card that he found.

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "You''re certainly confident¡­ Fine. If you win, I''ll avoid you from now on whenever I see you in the Sixverse Academy."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "How would you avoiding me be a prize?"

    "Then what do you want?"

    Lu Yin considered the question for a moment. "How about this? If you lose, you''ll tell me about the Great Sovereign."

    "The Great Sovereign?" Jiang Xiaodao''s voice dropped low. That name held tremendous significance within the Cyclic Universe, as it represented the highest power that deserved the utmost reverence from inhabitants of the universe.

    Lu Yin said, "In your Cyclic Universe, the Great Sovereign should be the strongest human. I''m very curious about such a powerhouse, and as Sage Jiang¡¯s son, you should have some understanding of the Great Sovereign."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s gaze grew solemn. He continued in a low voice. "Of course. The Great Sovereign is the supreme figure whom all of us worship and admire. Alright, if I lose, I''ll tell you everything that I know about the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Deal. Let''s begin."

    "Wait." Jiang Xiaodao flicked his hair, a touch of disdain entering his voice. "We can''t start just yet. This is an important contest."

    He reached for hismunication crystal and sent a message to someone. "Gather everyone from the Lost n School. I¡¯ve challenged Xuan Qi to a card-seeking match."

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. "You want everyone to watch?"

    Jiang Xiaodao smirked. "What? Scared? Hmph! Thispetition will allow me to prove to everyone that I, Jiang Xiaodao, am not someone whom you, Xuan Qi, canpete with! I¡¯ll tell you that it¡¯s already toote for you to back out. Word¡¯s spread, so if you try to back out, you¡¯ll never be able to hold your head up high again. Even the Voidforce Universe will look down on you."

    "It''s not that serious, but don''t worry. I have no intention of withdrawing," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s lips curled up. "Good to know."

    It did not take long for news of the contest to spread to everyone in the Lost n School. Many students rushed over. Some came for thepetition itself, while others wanted to observe the card search. In the end, almost the entire Lost n School was in attendance.

    Mu Duo was also present. He cast a nce at ¡°Xuan Qi,¡± who was standing next to Jiang Xiaodao off in the distance. Mu Duao shook his head in disapproval. Xuan Qi¡¯s arrogance was practically palpable. Jiang Xiaodao had already proven that he could find a card, while this would be Xuan Qi¡¯s first attempt at doing so. He was sure to lose.

    Mu Xinxin and others also arrived, silently watching as they waited for the show to begin.

    As more people gathered, Lu Yin came to understand just how many students there were in the Lost n School.

    More than a thousand people from the Transcendent Universe hade to the Sixverse Academy as part of the second ss, and people from other universes had been gradually arriving as well. This was why there were so many people in the Lost n School. Even so,pared to other schools, there were far less students. After all, it was difficult to even meet the minimum requirements of the Lost n Universe. Only four people from the first ss had managed to do so.

    "Little Lian? Little Lian, you''re here too! Look over here!" Jiang Xiaodao suddenly grew excited and waved in a certain direction.

    Many people in that direction immediately felt awkward, and the men all backed away.

    Among the crowd was an adorable little girl whose rosy cheeks were simply begging to be pinched. She radiated a wholesome charm and seemed to be the quintessential image of the girl next door.

    "Brother Xiaodao, if you keep doing that, I''m going to leave," the girl stated shyly as she blushed brightly.

    Jiang Xiaodao quickly lowered his hand and showed the girl what he believed to be his kindest and most charming smile. "Little Lian, don''t leave. Watch how Brother Xiaodao teaches this hooligan a lesson."

    As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Lu Yin. "Do you see this hooligan? Brother Xiaodao is going to teach him a lesson."

    Lu Yin wanted to punch the man.

 Chapter 2529: Star Tier

    Chapter 2529: Star Tier

    Little Lian looked over at Lu Yin and gave him a shy smile. She then nced back at Jiang Xiaodao and proceeded to scold him. "He''s not a bad person! Brother Xiaodao, you''re not allowed to bully him."

    Jiang Xiaodao instantly replied, "His name is Xuan Qi, and he''s aplete rogue! He ims to be an unrivaled genius who¡¯s greater than even Shao Qingfeng. Just watch, Brother Xiaodao is going to teach him a lesson."

    With that, the man turned to re at Lu Yin. "Come on, Xuan Qi, let''s settle this!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Can we start already?"

    Jiang Xiaodao looked puzzled. "Do you have a good understanding of the Lost n School?"

    "Why do you ask?" Lu Yin did not understand the question.

    Jiang Xiaodao exined, "Do you know how many cards can be found in the Lost n School? How many of them are valuable or ordinary? What star tiers are? Do you know any of this?"

    "I don''t," Lu Yin replied honestly. He had no idea at all.

    "Since you don''t know about this, and we don¡¯t have anyone to act as a judge, then why are you so eager to begin? Even if you get a good card, will you even be able to recognize it?" Jiang Xiaodao sneered.

    Lu Yin remained silent. He actually had no intention of trying to recognize any of the cards. As long as he prevented Jiang Xiaodao from getting a card, he would win. Or maybe it would be better to just steal Jiang Xiaodao''s cards. Lu Yin did not see any need to know anything that Jiang Xiaodao was mentioning.

    The only issue was that Lu Yin would need to reveal a hint of his strength.

    The Transcendent Universe had already confirmed that his power level was at around 270,000, while Jiang Xiaodao was as powerful as an Envoy. In order to deal with such an opponent, it was necessary for Lu Yin to reveal a little of the truth. He was simply considering what would be best to expose.

    The possibility of directly defeating Jiang Xiaodao in an honestpetition never even urred to Lu Yin. After all, Jiang Xiaodao was very experienced in seeking cards, given the length of time that he had stayed in the Lost n School. He already knew which cards were valuable and which ones to search for. How could Lu Yinpete with him?

    "I''ve already found a referee for us. Don''t worry, I¡¯m not going to bully you. I¡¯ll defeat you openly, and then defeat Shao Qingfeng," Jiang Xiaodao dered.

    Someone in the distance muttered, "What does beating Xuan Qi have to do with Shao Qingfeng?"

    Jiang Xiaodao turned angrily and shouted, "Who? Who dares to question Grandpa Dao?"

    "Brother Xiaodao, could you be a bit quieter? You''re too noisy." Little Lian rolled her eyes as she shot a re at Jiang Xiaodao.

    The man¡¯s face immediately transformed into a smile. "Little Lian, don''t be mad. I''ll be quiet now, alright?"

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. Competing with this buffoon was humiliating.

    After two hours had passed, Lu Yin frowned. "Why hasn¡¯t your referee shown up yet?"

    Jiang Xiaodao nced over impatiently, "What''s your rush? I''ve never seen someone in such a hurry to lose. Just wait. He''ll be here soon."

    Lu Yin looked around and saw that Seruzen had also arrived.

    Seruzen was staring at Lu Yin with a strange look in his eyes. This person felt so familiar.

    Lu Yin looked away. It was not time for the two of them to speak, and Lu Yin also had no intention of revealing himself to Seruzen. After so much time had passed, it was impossible to know whether Seruzen might betray Lu Yin, though given theirparative levels of strength, Seruzen might not be able to betray Lu Yin even if he wanted to.

    After another half hour went by, even the onlookers were starting to tap their feet with impatience.

    Finally, a man arrived. He was short, thin, and appeared to be rather weak. He seemed rather listless and pale, as though he was suffering from some kind of constant ailment. "Sorry to keep you all waiting."

    "It''s Zhi Xiao. I didn''t expect Senior Jiang to ask him over."

    "Isn''t Zhi Xiao supposed to be at the Cyclic School? Why is he here?"

    "Some of the rules don''t apply to people like him. He probably passed through Cliff Town to get here. It¡¯s no wonder why it took him so long."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin examined the neer. Zhi Xiao? His name sounded simr to Zhi Bing¡¯s. This man had to be another member of the Lost n.

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes. "Why did it take you so long?"

    Zhi Xiao shrugged. "Do you think that it¡¯s easy to move between schools?"

    "Whatever. Since you''re here, exin things to that guy so that no one uses me of bullying a neer," Jiang Xiaodao ordered with a wave of a hand.

    Zhi Xiao looked over at Lu Yin, who was still staring at him.

    "You must be Xuan Qi, right? You''ve made quite the name for yourself in the Sixverse Academy," Zhi Xiao said while showing a pale smile.

    Lu Yin responded with a slight smile of his own. "Are you from the Lost n?"

    Zhi Xiao replied, "The Lost n¡¯s Zhi Xiao. This is our first time meeting, but I''ve long since heard your name."

    "Enough with the nonsense! Little Sister Lian is waiting for me to teach this guy a lesson!" Jiang Xiaodao urged.

    In the distance, Little Lian scoffed and sent another re Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s way.

    Zhi Xiao shook his head and turned his focus back to Lu Yin. "The Lost n''s cards are categorized into Seasonal cards, Ancient cards, Primordial cards, and Immemorial cards. You should already know this much from the jade slip that you received. Each category is then split into seven star tiers, with one-star being the lowest and seven-star being the highest. All card¡¯s quality can be measured like this. Determining the star tier is simple, as can be seen on the card itself. A mark is left behind when the card is first made. It¡¯s a process exclusive to our Lost n, so you don''t need to know about it.¡±

    "What you do need to know is that there are a total of 135 cards within the Lost n School. Of them, there are 120 Seasonal cards, but only 15 Ancient Cards, and they range from one to seven stars. You two arepeting to find the best card, and I will determine which card is superior overall. Rest assured, as while I am acquainted with Jiang Xiaodao, I will not show him any favoritism."

    Jiang Xiaodao instantly got upset. "Do I, Jiang Xiaodao, need someone to show me favoritism? Winning against him is like ying with a child!"

    Zhi Xiao continued to look at Lu Yin. "Any questions?"

    "No, thank you."

    Zhi Xiao nodded and stepped back. "You two may begin."

    Jiang Xiaodao looked at Lu Yin and gave him a smug smile. "Kid, I¡¯ll remind you that the most crucial thing to remember when searching for cards is to check the card¡¯s stars. Of course, that¡¯s not easy to do, as it''s quite difficult to check without holding a card in your hand, as it means that you need to observe them while they¡¯re still in the void. Don''t assume that you¡¯ll be able to see things clearly. There are only one or two people in the whole academy who canpare to me when ites to card seeking. It''s over for you!"

    The man then looked upwards into the void. A gentle power spread out from him, just like what Lu Yin had felt during the battle against Mu Mu. Jiang Xiaodao was using his power to search for cards.

    Everyone held their breath as they watched. The result of thispetition had been determined long ago. No matter how talented Xuan Qi might be, it was impossible for him to defeat Jiang Xiaodao. The crowd had only gathered so that they could study Jiang Xiaodao''s method of searching for cards.

    Each person had their own way of examining the void. While it was impossible to perfectly copy whatever another person did, it was still possible to gain some inspiration.

    Lu Yin also started. Instead of using his domain or stellr energy, he released voidforce energy.

    For him, it actually made no difference whether he used stellr energy or voidforce energy. What mattered was the fact that Lu Yin had a much greater control of space than Jiang Xiaodao.

    The Ce Secret Art¡¯s Board Maniption had greatly improved Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of space given how often he had used it, and Inverse Step even allowed him to interact with the power of time.

    Was it difficult to see the marks on the cards in the void that revealed their star tier? Lu Yin believed that it was, but only for others.

    He had assumed that it would be impossible to directly defeat Jiang Xiaodao in searching for cards, but unexpectedly, thepetition was far simpler than what Lu Yin had initially believed. If all he needed to do was see the star tier rating on the cards, then thepetition was as good as over.

    Not long after, Jiang Xiaodao found a card, and he examined it.

    Zhi Xiao arched a brow. "Not bad, it''s an Ancient card."

    Jiang Xiaodao casually tossed the card aside, allowing it to disappear back into the void. "It¡¯s just a one-star card. I¡¯m not interested."

    Zhi Xiao frowned. "I¡¯ll have to ask you to show a bit of respect for our cards. Since you are studying my Lost n Universe¡¯s methods, you should respect our beliefs as well. These cards are the core of my Lost n."

    Jiang Xiaodao shrugged. "Alright, fine. My bad."

    He immediately resumed searching for cards.

    Before long, he found another.

    "A two-star Ancient card," Zhi Xiao said.

    Jiang Xiaodao shook his head, but this time, rather than simply toss the card away, he opened his hand and allowed the card to vanish back into the void before continuing to search for other cards.

    Jiang Xiaodao managed to find several cards. Some were Ancient and some were Seasonal, but none of them were good enough to satisfy him. In contrast, Lu Yin had not found a single card. As time passed, everyone stopped paying attention to him.

    Mu Xinxin looked at Lu Yin andmented, "That guy looks really serious."

    "He''s acting like he can actually see the star tier on the cards. Even Zhi Xiao might not be able to do that, let alone him," someone nearbymented.

    Mu Xinxin considered the remark. She felt that it made sense.

    Soon after, Jiang Xiaodao eximed, "Ha, I found one!"

    As he spoke, he pulled a card out of the void.

    Zhi Xiao''s eyes lit up as he looked at it. "A five-star Ancient card. Not bad at all."

    Everyone was shocked. "It''s actually a five star Ancient card! There are only fifteen Ancient cards in the entire school. There are three Ancient cards that range from one to four stars, but only one of each from five to seven stars. Before, Senior Brother Jiang managed to find a four-star Ancient card. It¡¯s surprising that he was able to find a five-star Ancient card."

    "Senior Brother Jiang is amazingly lucky. His four-star card burned up during his fight with Mu Mu, but he surprisingly managed to obtain a five-star card."

    Jiang Xiaodao felt quite proud. There was only one five-star Ancient card in the entire Lost n School, which meant that the only cards that could surpass it were the six-star and seven-star Ancient cards, but those two were even more difficult to find. He had practically gone blind while searching for just the five-star Ancient card. It was clearly the limit of what he could manage. Unable to resist, he looked over at Lu Yin and asked, "You still haven''t found a card?"

    Zhi Xiao came to Jiang Xiaodao''s side and looked at the card in his hand before admiring it. "Quite good. It¡¯s even better than your previous card. If you had used this one during your duel with Mu Mu¡­"

    Jiang Xiaodao expected to hear that his card would not have been incinerated.

    "It would''vested a bit longer," Zhi Xiao finished.

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes. "Are you saying that it would have still been burned?"

    "Of course. Mu Mu''s strength can¡¯t be underestimated. She used her Golden Crow innate gift, which means that if you want to rely on your card to win, you need to set up at least a seven-star card. If your mastery is high enough to use a Primordial card, or something even close to that, then a one-star Ancient card would be enough to deal with Mu Mu."

    Jiang Xiaodao sighed. "If I had that kind of strength, why would I even bother with a card? I would easily crush her with just a flick of a finger."

    Zhi Xiao agreed, "That''s true. You¡¯re strong enough to use an Ancient card, but not a Primordial one. In order to use a Primordial card, you will need another 1,000 or even 100,000 years of cultivation."

    "Not necessarily. Having a white energy converter would be good enough," Jiang Xiaodaomented with gleaming eyes.

    Zhi Xiao nodded. "That''s another possible method."

    As the two spoke, Lu Yin still did not manage to find a single card.

    Jiang Xiaodao grew frustrated as he looked at Xuan Qi. "I forgot something! If he keeps searching, how long are we supposed to keep waiting?"

    Zhi Xiao rebuked the man, "Who told you to not set a time limit on yourpetition?"

    Jiang Xiaodao wanted to rush Lu Yin, but Zhi Xiao stopped him from doing so. Xuan Qi was not to be disturbed.

    Before thepetition, Lu Yin had nned to simply prevent Jiang Xiaodao from getting a single card. However, upon learning that it was possible to determine each card''s star tier, Lu Yin had changed his mind. It was better if he did not waste time and energy exining the revtion of an abnormal strength to people, which meant that it was better to win fair and square.

    However, the cards flew all over the Lost n School¡¯s continent while Lu Yin remained immobile in one ce. It would not be easy for him to find the seven-star card, as he needed to wait for it toe to him.

 Chapter 2530: Hidden Mountain

    Chapter 2530: Hidden Mountain

    The watching audience also started to grow Impatient as they waited. Watching nothing happen for so long was mentally taxing, and many of them started questioning their own ability to reach the school¡¯s required threshold within the one year time limit. Time was already an exceedingly preciousmodity for them.

    Some people had left earlier, believing that thepetition¡¯s oue had already been determined. No matter how talented Xuan Qi might be, what were his chances of finding the sole six-star Ancient card? If he could manage to find even an Ancient card, it would be rather impressive.

    "What a waste of time."

    "He''s just deliberately stalling. Xuan Qi was praised so highly in the Voidforce School. Even Senior Zhi Bing remarked on his skill after he passed the third Card Tap area. He no longer understands his ce. Now that he knows that he¡¯s about to be defeated, he¡¯s dragging things out until we all lose patience. After we¡¯re gone, he can avoid losing face despite losing thepetition.¡±

    "True, I didn''t consider that. He¡¯s really cunning. Let''s make sure to stay and watch until the end."

    "Yes, let him keep dragging things out. We¡¯ll see just how long he can stall fpr."

    "Brothers, we''ll wait here with you."

    ¡­

    Jiang Xiaodao heard the various conversations, and he also seemed to have figured something out, and it caused him to smirk. "Grandpa Dao won''t rush you. Let''s see how long you can keep going. You definitely want Grandpa Dao to rush so that you canter use me of disturbing you in your process of searching for cards. Then, you¡¯ll invalidate the results of the contest. Hmph! How devious."

    Zhi Xiao was caught off guard. Was this what was happening? It made sense.

    The people who had already left came back after learning that Lu Yin was intentionally stalling for time. They decided to wait around to see how long he would drag things out for.

    Further away, Zhi Bingmented, "Thispetition will be a blow for him."

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "It''s just a small setback. Those children are right. I praised him to the heavens while he was in the Voidforce School, especially after he brought the vige down and created a miracle. He¡¯s already be arrogant and overconfident. This defeat will wake him up."

    "Aren''t you afraid that his confidence might be shattered?"

    "Hmph, if he can''te back from even a tiny setback like this, how can he hope to bear the responsibility of facing Aeternus on the battlefield? Talent is just one aspect of a person, but oftentimes, character is even more important."

    Zhi Bing nced over. "I don''t think he''s actually stalling."

    Xu Xiangyin frowned, as he actually felt the same. "He''s been releasing voidforce energy. The kid wants to find a card by using voidforce energy. After Xu Ji and Xu Yue, he¡¯s now the third person to try this. Unfortunately, neither Xu Ji nor Xu Yue found any decent cards."

    "There are no good or bad cards¡ªit simply depends on the person using them. Believe me, I can make you suffer even with a Seasonal card." Zhi Bing felt irritated when his universe¡¯s cards were being disparaged.

    Xu Xiangyin rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I didn''t mean to insult your cards."

    "Hmph."

    ¡­

    At this moment, Lu Yin suddenly took action. He leaped upwards and snatched a card from the void before slowly descending back to the ground.

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s eyes went wide. What a cool way to grab a card! If he had known about it beforehand, he would have made sure to draw his cards in the same manner. That thought made him unconsciously nce over at Little Lian, only to see that she was staring at Lu Yin with open admiration. Jiang Xiaodao instantly felt a pang of jealousy.

    "Zhi Xiao, hurry up and check what card he grabbed. It¡¯s meaningless to try to look cool. True men should rely on their inner virtues," Jiang Xiaodao contemptuously spat out.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Cool? Aside from the time that he had disguised himself as Yu Hao, he had never received apliment like that before. "Thank you."

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "I¡¯m notplimenting you!"

    The moment Zhi Xiaoid his eyes on the card in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, his gaze grew sharp, and he quickly reached out to take the card. He repeatedly examined both sides of the card.

    Jiang Xiaodao impatiently demanded, "Zhi Xiao, hurry up and announce the results!"

    The onlookers let out sighs of relief, feeling lucky that the contest had not been dragged out too long. They had thought that Xuan Qi would shamelessly dy things for several days.

    Zhi Xiao looked up at Lu Yin, his gaze heavy and his expression solemn. "How did you find it?"

    Lu Yin casually answered, "Luck."

    Zhi Xiao frowned. "You¡¯re insulting my intelligence."

    "What''s going on, Zhi Xiao? Hurry up and announce the results already!" Jiang Xiaodao anxiously urged. He had noticed that Little Lian''s eyes shone brighter when she looked at his opponent. No, I have to keep an eye on him in the future.

    Zhi Xiao looked at Jiang Xiaodao. "You lost."

    Jiang Xiaodao felt triumphant. "See? I told you that he would lose. Arrogant and ignorant! Little Lian, look, your big brother taught the arrogant guy a lesson!"

    Suddenly, Jiang Xiaodao froze, and he turned to face Zhi Xiao, blinking several times. "What did you just say? Who lost?"

    Zhi Xiao raised the card that Lu Yin found. "Hidden Mountain."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s pupils shrank. "Hidden Mountain?"

    Many people around were shocked. "Hidden Mountain? A named card? That means that it¡¯s a seven-star card!"

    "Impossible! How could someone who just entered this school find a seven-star card? Senior Brother Jiang has been in the Lost n School this whole time, and even he can only find a seven-star card. How long has Xuan Qi been here? How could he have found it?"

    "It''s absolutely impossible."

    Jiang Xiaodao rushed over to Zhi Xiao and snatched the card from his hand to personally examine it carefully. After a while, he stared over at Lu Yin in disbelief. "How did you find it?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Like I said, luck."

    "Do I look like an idiot? How can luck help you find a seven-star card?" Jiang Xiaodao shouted.

    He could have left the Lost n School long ago, but he had stayed just for this seven-star card.

    Regardless of their ss, only seven-star cards were named, and the seven-star Ancient card that Lu Yin had found was called "Hidden Mountain." Coincidentally, it was also the entire reason why Jiang Xiaodao had remained in the Lost n School.

    He understood just how rare a seven-star card was, and even his father had told him to do his best to find one. Jiang Xiaodao had endured Xu Ji, He Shu, and Shao Qingfeng, all for the sake of this card. And yet, in the end, it had been taken by Xuan Qi.

    "You must''ve been sent here by my father to screw with me!," Jiang Xiaodao eximed.

    In the distance, Zhi Bing''s expression grew serious. He took a step forward and instantly appeared next to Lu Yin. He snatched the card from Jiang Xiaodao''s hand and gave Lu Yin an appraising stare.

    "You¡­" The old man also wanted to ask ¡°Xuan Qi¡± how he had found the card, but the two young men had already asked that question.

    Xu Xiangyin also appeared, and he stared at Lu Yin in astonishment.

    Lu Yin quickly offered a bow. "This junior greets seniors."

    Despite wanting to say something, Zhi Bing ultimately kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he patted Lu Yin''s shoulder and said, "A true prodigy."

    With that, he ced the card in Lu Yin''s hand and left.

    Xu Xiangyin also wanted to say something, but then he suddenly thought of something. His expression instantly transformed, and he disappeared without a single word.

    The crowd of students nkly stared on as things yed out. The shocking appearance of the seven-star card made the victor perfectly clear.

    "Xuan Qi, of everyone from foreign universes who¡¯s attempted to learn our methods, your talent ranks first," Zhi Xiao eximed in astonishment.

    Little Lian arrived and curiously stared at the card in Lu Yin''s hand. She softly asked, "May I take a look?"

    Lu Yin smiled and handed the card over.

    As she looked at it, she eximed, "This is the seven-star card Hidden Mountain! I heard about it the day I joined the Lost n School. It looks so powerful! I heard that it contains the Hidden Mountain ability. Is it true?"

    Lu Yin was astonished. Was there a battle technique within the card?

    Zhi Xiao spoke up to reply. "Yes. All seven-star cards contain unique abilities. Once an enemy is dragged into this Hidden Mountain card, it can then suppress them with its special ability. Depending on the user¡¯s cultivation level, the power of the Hidden Mountain¡¯s ability can vary, but it doesn''t affect the setup ced within the card itself."

    Exmations rose from the crowd as they stared at Xuan Qi enviously.

    "I refuse to ept this!" Jiang Xiaodao suddenly roared. He red at Lu Yin so hard that his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "How could you possibly find the Hidden Mountain card during your first search? It''s impossible!"

    Little Lian frowned. "Brother Xiaodao, you lost. ept your defeat."

    Jiang Xiaodao ground his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin. "I want another contest with you!"

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "Another round of card searching?"

    Zhi Xiao shouted in a stern voice, "Stop fooling around! Every member of the Lost n is only allowed to have one card for life, and they can only change it if their card is damaged. Jiang Xiaodao, you have already found a five-star card, and you cannot change it without a special reason, nor can you search for another one. These are the rules!"

    Jiang Xiaodao shouted back, "I don¡¯t want topete in card searching! I want a decisive battle!"

    The crowd was surprised. A decisive battle?

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "A decisive battle?"

    Jiang Xiaodao clenched his fists. "I cannot lose to you, so let''s have a decisive battle."

    "Like the one that you had with Mu Mu?"

    Jiang Xiaodao raised his head arrogantly. "Are you afraid?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "My cultivation level isn¡¯t as high as yours, which means that a fight with you would be asking to die."

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Are you afraid of a fight? Fine, as long as you admit that I, Jiang Xiaodao, am stronger than you, I won''t force you."

    "Brother Xiaodao, you''re being despicable," Little Lian reprimanded angrily.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s face fell. "Little Lian, I¡­¡±

    He had no idea how to even exin himself. The only way he could express his frustration was by fiercely ring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s eyes. "We can have a match, if you want."

    The crowd stared at ¡°Xuan Qi¡± like he was aplete idiot. Did he really intend to fight Jiang Xiaodao? It was clear to all of them that Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s cultivation was much stronger than his.

    By the Fifth Maind¡¯s standards, this was no different from an Enlighter challenging an Envoy. Could that even be considered a fight? Everyone watching was thinking the same thing.

    "You don''t have to fight. He won''t do anything to you," Zhi Xiao said.

    The talent that Lu Yin had revealed was enough to earn Zhi Xiao¡¯s respect.

    Little Lian also spoke up. "That''s right, you don''t need to pay attention to Brother Xiaodao. He''s not a bad person¡ªhe just hates losing, the same as anyone else."

    Jiang Xiaodao snorted but did not argue. He already regretted suggesting a fight. Winning would only embarrass him further, but losing would be absolutely humiliating. It would be better to just quickly take a step back.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for that reminder, but since he has challenged me, we¡¯ll consider it a lesson. Besides, losing won''t be shameful for me at all."

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin. "You really dare to fight me? Alright, I''ll teach you a lesson!"

    Lu Yin said, "I don''t mind fighting, but there need to be stakes."

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Do you really think that you can beat me?"

    "You said the same thing before we started searching for cards," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s words only annoyed Jiang Xiaodao even more. "Alright, what sort of reward do you want? If I win, you¡¯ll have to call me Brother Dao and follow me from now on."

    Little Lian became upset. "Brother Xiaodao, you''re sure to win! This isn''t fair."

    Jiang Xiaodao had a pained expression on his face. "Little Lian, why are you helping some outsider? Brother Xiaodao grew up with you!"

    Little Lian turned to re at him. "If you¡¯re being unfair, it''s not eptable! This match is too unfair to Brother Xuan Qi, so you¡¯re not allowed to get any prize for winning!"

    She then turned to Lu Yin and smiled at him. "Brother Xuan Qi, what kind of reward would you like? Little Lian will be the referee."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s jaw dropped. He felt like the cabbage in his own backyard was being stolen by some stranger. He started to be increasingly annoyed by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed. "Thank you, Little Lian."

    Little Lian giggled happily.

    Jiang Xiaodao clenched his jaw. "Xuan Qi, you''re not allowed to call her that!"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes and said, "For my prize, I want the calligraphy scroll that you bought at the auction."

    Out of anything that Lu Yin could possibly get from Jiang Xiaodao, the scroll was one of the things that he wanted the most. However, its value made it improper to be the stakes for their firstpetition, but it was just right for this second match.

    Jiang Xiaodao was left puzzled. "Calligraphy scroll? What calligraphy scroll?"

    He finally had an epiphany. "Oh, right! I bought a calligraphy scroll. No wonder I don¡¯t have any money left¡­ That foolish woman, Mu Mu."

 Chapter 2531: Battle Strategy

    Chapter 2531: Battle Strategy

    "What do you say? I¡¯ll agree to fight you if the prize is that calligraphy scroll," Lu Yin suggested.

    Jiang Xiaodao paused and fell deep into thought. He was usually brimming with self-confidence and would have immediately epted, but his recent defeat in the card searchingpetition left him feeling a bit uncertain. He was not an idiot, and Lu Yin''s swift agreement had roused some suspicions.

    "Then it''s settled, Brother Xiaodao. Bring out the calligraphy scroll." Little Lian arched a brow at Jiang Xiaodao while extending a fair and tender hand for the scroll.

    Jiang Xiaodao felt like he was just about to cry. "Little Lian, why do you keep supporting him? Are you starting to feel something for him?"

    Little Lian''s face flushed red as her temper snapped. "Wha- how ridiculous! If you say that again, I won''t talk to you anymore!"

    Jiang Xiaodao quickly apologized and handed the calligraphy scroll to Little Lian.

    She smiled at Lu Yin again and raised a dainty fist. "Seventh Bro, beat him up!"

    Lu Yin chuckled. This little girl was absolutely adorable.

    Jiang Xiaodao decided to vent all his anger onto Lu Yin. "Come, Xuan Qi! Watch how I beat you up!"

    "Wait!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Jiang Xiaodao, who had been just about to attack, instantly froze and red at Lu Yin. "What kind of trick are you trying to pull?"

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. "Let me think about how I should try to deal with you."

    Jiang Xiaodao thought that this had to be a joke. "What did you say?"

    Zhi Xiao and everyone else who was watching were simrly stunned. Xuan Qi needed time to think? What kind of request was that?

    Little Lian threw a punch at the air and said, "Seventh Bro, take all the time you need! Brother Xiaodao, you''re not allowed to move."

    A twinge of pain struck Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s heart. "Little Lian, he''s plotting against me!"

    Little Lian shot an angry re his way. "With the massive gap between you two, just let Seventh Bro do whatever he wants."

    Lu Yin felt that the little girl was entirely too cute.

    The truth was that he was waiting for the voidforce puppet to arrive.

    He wanted to defeat Jiang Xiaodao without exposing his true strength, which meant that his only option was to pull over a voidforce puppet. All of the voidforce puppets were in the Voidforce School, which was quite far away. Given Lu Yin¡¯s reserves of voidforce energy, it was very difficult to lure a puppet from so far away. However, with his experience using Truesight, he was able to convert many of his skills rted to manipting runes over to voidforce energy, which provided him with an absurd level of control over his voidforce energy. With this, he was able to trigger another Voidforce Tide.

    However, this time, it was not a surge of energy being pulled towards Lu Yin, but rather voidforce puppets.

    He manipted a trace of voidforce energy that stretched across two schools¡¯ continents so that he could drag the vige over to him.

    At this moment, at the border of the two schools, Xu Xiangyin had just caught up to Zhi Bing. "Old man, what are you up to?"

    Zhi Bing looked puzzled. "What nonsense are you bringing up now?"

    Xu Xiangyin stared at Zhi Bing. "You''re thinking about Xuan Qi, aren''t you?"

    Zhi Bing nodded. "That¡¯s right, I am thinking about him. To be honest, it''s quite rare for a cultivator from a foreign universe to find a seven-star Ancient card on their first search attempt. It¡¯s something that even few within our Lost n can aplish, though Zhi Xiao was one. Xuan Qi¡¯s talent is truly astonishing.¡±

    "Still, his talent for your culture¡¯s methods isn¡¯t as extreme as his talent for voidforce energy. Do you realize that, the first time he tried to absorb voidforce energy, he actually triggered a Voidforce Tide? He was even able to attract the vige in just a bit more than two months! The very first time he tried to manipte a puppet, he was able to draw one that had twenty times his voidforce energy. His aplishments are so stunning that he¡¯s even caught the attention of Lord Xu," Xu Xiangyin rambled on excitedly.

    Zhi Bing raised a hand to stop his colleague. "I understand what you''re saying. Don''t worry. While Xuan Qi clearly has the talent to master our Lost n Universe¡¯s power, and his talent is indeed quite eye-catching, it''s not so extreme that I¡¯ll try topete with you for him. He still belongs to your Voidforce Universe."

    Zhi Bing''s words finally allowed Xu Xiangyin to let out a sigh of relief. "I hope that you stand by those words."

    Zhi Bing shook his head. He was not too concerned about the level of talent that Xuan Qi had demonstrated. Even if the youth disyed a greater level of talent, could he possibly surpass the entire Lost n? They valued cards first, and then people.

    "Ah, a Voidforce Tide?" Xu Xiangyin looked at the sky above the Voidforce School in astonishment. He then happily eximed, "Could there be another genius who¡¯s triggered a Voidforce Tide?"

    Zhi Bing was also impressed. "It seems that your Voidforce Universe has uncovered many geniuses. Congrattions."

    As Xu Xiangyin hurried into the Voidforce School, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. What he was seeing was not a Voidforce Tide; rather, all the ambient voidforce energy within the school was being drawn away by some force. And it¡¯s headed¡­ There?

    Zhi Bing also noticed the anomaly. "What''s going on?"

    Xu Xiangyin looked up and saw a trace of voidforce energy spanning the two institutes. Because the voidforce energy was too weak, he hadn¡¯t initially paid any attention to it. But now, he realized that the Voidforce Tide was being pulled by this trace of voidforce energy, and above the Voidforce Tide was the vige.

    The moment he realized this, Xu Xiangyin whirled around and rushed back to the Lost n School.

    Zhi Bing''s expression turned solemn, and he also returned to the Lost n School.

    The two men quickly arrived back at where Lu Yin and Jiang Xiaodao were about to have their match. At this moment, Jiang Xiaodao was still talking to Little Lian, a pained expression on his face. As for Lu Yin, he was pretending to be lost in deep contemtion. Meanwhile, his voidforce energy stretched past the Lost n School to pull the vige to him.

    None of the students who were present cultivated voidforce energy, so none of them were able to notice what was happening.

    Xu Xiangyin was yet again blown away by Xuan Qi¡¯s talent. After cultivating voidforce energy for such a short amount of time, he was already able to use a delicate strand of voidforce energy to attract the vige from such a great distance. The youth¡¯s control over his voidforce energy had grown even stronger.

    While impressed, this was still within reasonable bounds for Xu Xiangyin. After all, the Taiyi Universe was small, and although the six continents were quiterge, they were spread across a distance that an Enlighter could cross in practically no time at all.

    If Lu Yin''s strand of voidforce energy could cross the entire Taiyi Universe, then Xu Xiangyin would have been truly shocked. That was something that only experts at the Envoy level could achieve.

    Lu Yin''s cultivation with voidforce energy had not reached the Envoy level yet, but the vige that he was attracting certainly possessed that much energy. This was the reason why Xu Xiangyin had been so shocked when Lu Yin had first drawn the vige to him. In the Fifth Maind¡¯s terms, it was no different from an Enlighter defeating an Envoy.

    Zhi Bing looked up at the sky. "Is that little guy drawing a voidforce puppet over?"

    He was already able to see the vige.

    Xu Xiangyin nodded in approval. "Impressive, isn''t it? He¡¯s been cultivating for less than three months."

    Zhi Bing nodded. "A true prodigy."

    The man then looked at Jiang Xiaodao and shook his head. "The foolish child is still waiting. If he had taken action sooner, it would already be over by now. As it is, he''s in for a rough time."

    A sinister smile spread across Xu Xiangyin¡¯s face. "To be honest, I''ve never liked that brat. He''s been constantly causing trouble, and it¡¯s time that he¡¯s taught a lesson."

    "Unfortunately, even though that vige is rich in voidforce energy, defeating him in a single blow won''t be easy. After all, he is Sage Jiang''s son," Zhi Bing remarked.

    Xu Xiangyin did not deny it. He was already prepared to save Lu Yin. Sage Jiang¡¯s son couldn''t be defeated in an ambush, because his power level was equivalent to the voidforce energy enveloping the vige.

    Jiang Xiaodao finally managed to coax a heartyugh out of Little Lian. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Hey, have you made up your mind yet? Are you going to fight or not? Stalling for more time isn''t going to help you."

    "What- what is that?" someone eximed.

    Everyone looked up and saw the distant form of the vige quickly approaching.

    Jiang Xiaodao, Zhi Xiao, and the others all looked over. What on earth was that?

    Zhi Xiao''s expression turned cold. "A voidforce puppet."

    While he had not yet visited the Voidforce School, he was quite knowledgeable of their cultivation methods. He already heard about the vige from the Voidforce School¡¯s students.

    Suddenly, Jiang Xiao recalled the same thing. He slowly turned to stare at Lu Yin, his mouth wide open.

    Lu Yinughed and said, "Thanks for waiting. It turns out that stalling for time was very useful."

    He then raised a hand and pressed it down.

    The vige came crashing down. Voidforce energy fell first, sealing off arge region of the void, which made it difficult for Jiang Xiao to escape.

    He shouted angrily, "How despicable!"

    Both of his arms rose upwards. "Heavenly River!"

    As he shouted, his hands moved so quickly that one could make out their movements. At the same time, a gentle power rose up from below. A roaring Heavenly River swept upwards toward the vige.

    The vige shed with the Heavenly River in a breathtaking collision before everyone''s eyes.

    The void shattered, and spatial cracks spread out in every direction.

    The students fled without stopping.

    Zhi Xiao grabbed hold of Little Lian and dragged her away.

    After creating more distance, Mu Duo was stunned. He had previously seen Shi Hong''s voidforce puppet, butpared that to Xuan Qi''s, Shi Hong had been using a mere toy.

    Mu Xinxin was shocked. Was this the true power of a voidforce puppet?

    Countless tremors reverberated throughout the Lost n School, causing the very air to vibrate. The gentle force and invisible voidforce energy swept through the surroundings, and the onlookers could barely withstand it.

    Finally, the vigepletely fell down with a resounding bang, burying Jiang Xiaodao beneath its weight.

    "Brother Xiaodao!" Little Lian eximed, her face turning pale.

    Zhi Xiao stared at the ground, his brow furrowed. With the tremendous power of this attack, even Jiang Xiaodao had been suppressed.

    Off in the distance, a few people peeked back in terror, looking at the trembling ground in fear.

    Lu Yin stood by the broken ground. "I''m sorry, but the gap between us is too big. This was the only move that I could use to deal with you."

    Little Lian looked at Lu Yin, clearly upset with him. She pursed her lips and looked at the bottom of the vige. "Brother Xiaodao, it''s Little Lian''s fault that you didn''t take action earlier."

    Lu Yin heard thement and looked over at the girl. "Don''t worry, Little Lian. He''s fine."

    Little Lian''s eyes lit up. "He''s fine?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "How could I let anything happen to him? After all, he¡¯s your friend."

    At that moment, a disheveled figure rose up from a fissure. It was none other than Jiang Xiaodao. He shot a furious look at Lu Yin and raised a hand that he instantly thrust forward. The water in the palm of his hand transformed into a river that surged towards Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin just pointed behind Jiang Xiaodao. "Watch out!"

    Jiang Xiaodao trembled as he turned around. There, he saw that a card had mysteriously appeared. It was¡­ Hidden Mountain?

    The next thing Jiang Xiaodao knew, he was being dragged into the Hidden Mountain card. At the same time, Lu Yin also disappeared. The river smashed into a distant, empty region of the Lost n School.

    Everyone stared at the ce where the card had vanished. Jiang Xiaodao had just fallen into a trap.

    Lu Yin had used the vige as a distraction to prepare the Hidden Mountain card and drag Jiang Xiaodao inside. This was a perfect example of the Lost n¡¯s standard battle strategy. Seeing it be executed so well caused Zhi Bing''s eyes to light up. "Not only does he possess impressive talent, but his fighting style also perfectly fits our Lost n. It''s such a pity that he''s from a foreign universe, or else I¡¯d happily take him as my own disciple."

    Xu Xiangyin instantly grew wary. "Old man, you promised me."

    Zhi Bing reassured Xu Xiangyin, "Don''t worry, my Lost n won''t steal him from you. I just find it to be a bit of a shame."

    Xu Xiangyin let out a sigh of relief. From the moment Xuan Qi had entered the Lost n School, he had constantly been on edge, worried that someone would steal his genius. It was utterly exhausting.

    "What about that Hidden Mountain card? Can Xuan Qi win inside there?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

    Zhi Bing shook his head. "To be honest, only someone with Jiang Xiaodao''s level of strength can actually use an Ancient card. The fact that Xuan Qi managed to find it and even use it is already quite impressive. It just goes to show that he has exceptional talent for my Lost n Universe¡¯s power, just like his talent for voidforce.

    "Of course, there are people who are capable of using cards beyond their level, but the power that they can unleash still depends on the individual. Jiang Xiaodao''s strength means that he won''t be defeated by anyone who¡¯s using a card above their level for the first time. We''ll see the results soon enough."

 Chapter 2532: Obsession

    Chapter 2532: Obsession

    Shockingly, the actual scene ying out within the Hidden Mountain card was a stark contrast to everyone''s expectations.

    Unlike what Zhi Bing had mentioned earlier, not even Jiang Xiaodao had any confidence in being able to eke out a victory here.

    "Xuan Qi, you''re despicable!" A mountain pressed down upon him from above. He was struggling to hold it back with both hands, but another mountain came crashing down, followed by another. Each mountain pressed deeper and deeper into the ground.

    Lu Yin looked around in astonishment. Was this the pocket dimension within the card? It looked exactly like one of the 3,000 hidden worlds of the Honor Zone. However, this card also had a special function. Every time Lu Yin waved his hand, a mountain would inexplicably appear and then fall onto Jiang Xiaodao. This was the card''s battle technique. No wonder it was called Hidden Mountain.

    He was growing increasingly intrigued by the Lost n¡¯s cards. What sort of abilities did their other cards have?

    "Xuan Qi, get over here and fight me fairly!" Jiang Xiaodao roared, ring at Lu Yin as though he wanted to devour him.

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curled upwards. "Sorry, but the gap between us is too big, and I won¡¯t stand a chance in a fair fight."

    Jiang Xiaodao coughed up blood. He lookedpletely pathetic, like someone who had just crawled out of a trash heap, and red rivulets ran from the corners of his mouth. "Stop pretending! Even with this Hidden Mountain card, you shouldn''t be able to suppress me like this. You''re definitely stronger than you im."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Thanks for thepliment."

    Rage coursed through Jiang Xiaodao''s entire body, causing him to cough up blood once again. "Xuan Qi, let me go!"

    "If I let you go, I¡¯m sure to lose," Lu Yin replied.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s eyes turned bloodshot as he struggled to breathe beneath the mounting pressure. "You''re despicable, so despicable! I won''t let you off the hook! Once I take the position of Sage, I''ll definitely get revenge!"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It''s way too early to be thinking about that. Besides, whenever you be a Sage, I won''t be far behind in the Voidforce Universe."

    As soon as Jiang Xiaodao remembered Lu Yin''s talent for voidforce, he grew increasingly agitated. As long as this guy did not die, his future aplishments would be no less impressive than his own. Even when he faced off against Mu Mu or Shao Qingfeng, he had not felt as overwhelmingly frustrated as he was at this moment. Jiang Xiaodao howled in exasperation, "Xuan Qi, just what is it that you want?"

    Lu Yin waved his hand again, and another mountain came crashing down. Jiang Xiaodao wailed as he coughed up even more blood.

    "I know that you don''t want to lose, as that would be embarrassing."

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "Obviously."

    Lu Yin sighed. "But you need to give me some reason to let you win. Otherwise, why should I?"

    Jiang Xiaodao''s eyes flickered. "You''ll let me win?"

    "Give me a reason."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s breathing quickened. He cared far more about his reputation than the oue of this fight. As the son of Sage Jiang, he could not afford to be defeated by this person. Despite the fact that he had been taken by surprise, a loss was still a loss. Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s defeat would be regarded as a disgrace to both him and Sage Jiang. "The calligraphy scroll is yours."

    "Not enough, it''ll already be mine when I win," Lu Yin replied.

    Jiang Xiaodao clenched his teeth. "I''ll give you more resources. Vast amounts of resources."

    "The Voidforce Universe will provide me with that."

    Jiang Xiaodao mentioned a few more things, but everything was rejected. "Then what do you want?"

    Lu Yin stepped forward, only stopping when he was but a few meters away from Jiang Xiaodao. Such distance meant nothing for Jiang Xiaodao, and if not for the mountains pressing down on him, he could seize victory in a single move.

    "I''m also struggling with this. What should I ask for? Why don¡¯t you give me some advice?" Lu Yin countered.

    Jiang Xiaodao opened his mouth to say something, but instead coughed up another mouthful of blood due to the pressure of the mountains. "How am I supposed to know what you want?"

    Lu Yin said, "Well, I want to join the Central School, so I''ll need to learn the power of four different universes. I might as well get a headstart and start now, so help me learn how to cultivate the power of the Cyclic Universe. That way, I can reach the threshold for their school as quickly as possible."

    Jiang Xiaodao was surprised. "Is that it?"

    "Is there something else?" Lu Yin''s gaze flickered. "Is this too easy?"

    Jiang Xiaodao quickly corrected himself, "No, what I meant was, that¡¯s it!"

    Everyone outside was staring at the location in the sky where the Hidden Mountain card had vanished, waiting for the battle to be decided. Before too long, the Hidden Mountain card reappeared, and two people emerged from the void. One person fell back, clearly in a sorry state, theirplexion pale. As for the other, they soared through the air like a powerful expert.

    Lu Yin was the one retreating, while Jiang Xiaodao stood in the sky with his head held high.

    It was easy to tell who was the victor and who was the loser.

    Jiang Xiaodao forcefully suppressed the need to cough up more blood, and suppressing his injuries caused his face to turn an unnatural shade of red. "Xuan Qi, you''re not bad. You were able to hold out for so long against my Heavenly River. You''ll achieve great things in the future."

    Lu Yin returned the praise, "You are indeed Sage Jiang''s son, the future Sage Jiang. That Heavenly River battle technique is truly profound. I admit defeat."

    "Hahaha, there¡¯s no need to be so modest. With your abilities, you¡¯re able to surpass Shao Qingfeng and the others. While you¡¯re clearly a bit inferior to me, work hard, and your future will be limitless."

    "Thank you for the praise, Brother Jiang. Your open-mindedness clearly shows that you deserve to be a quasi-saint."

    "Don''t mention it. Hahaha, you¡¯re the real genius."

    "Please continue to guide me, Brother Jiang."

    ¡­

    People felt utterly confused as they listened to the two men praise each other. What was going on? Had they not just been locked in a death match? Why were they suddenly being so friendly to each other?

    Even Little Lian felt terribly confused. "Big Brother Xiaodao, you two¡­?"

    Jiang Xiaodao waved the question off. "As we fought, we started to understand each other better. There¡¯s no need to mention those little misunderstandings from before anymore. By the way, I''ve managed to obtain some sudden inspiration. Brother Xuan Qi, I''lle find youter."

    "I''ll be waiting for you, Brother Jiang."

    Jiang Xiaodao turned around. His face turned a deep red as the blood rising in his throat threatened toe out. He fled.

    After Jiang Xiaodao was gone, Lu Yinmented in a voice that betrayed a hint of admiration, "He truly is the rightful heir of a Sage with a remarkable demeanor. I admire him greatly."

    He then turned to smile at Little Lian and Zhi Xiao. "I apologize for taking up so much of everyone''s time."

    Zhi Xiao was left puzzled. Based on what he knew of Jiang Xiaodao, the man would never step back so quickly. Exactly what had happened inside that card?

    Little Lian asked, "Seventh Bro, what happened between you guys in that card? Brother Xiaodao isn''t the kind of person to easily make new friends."

    Lu Yin smiled. "He is the Sage''s sessor. No matter what, he still maintains proper bearing."

    It was not long before everyone dispersed.

    Lu Yin spotted Seruzen and went after him. "Excuse me, friend, could we chat for a moment?"

    Seruzen turned to look at Lu Yin. "We¡¯ve met before."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In Cliff Town."

    Seruzen shook his head, "No."

    Lu Yin replied, "We met in Cliff Town, and then Jiang Xiaodao bumped into us."

    Seruzen stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Your eyes remind me of someone I used to know."

    "Oh, really? That means there''s some fate between us." Lu Yin smiled. He nced at Seruzen''s withered left arm and curiously asked, "What happened?"

    Seruzen answered, "It''s the manifestation of obsession. Don''t worry about it. Did you seek me out because of this?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Actually, I wanted to ask you about arranging the interior of a card. Not many people are here in the Lost n School, and I remembered that in Cliff Town, you mentioned that you were a student here. I assume that you''ve been here a while, so I wanted to ask you for your advice."

    Seruzen always maintained a calm demeanor. He also looked much older than the other students and resembled a middle-aged man. His presence in the Lost n School was outside of everyone¡¯s expectations, so no one approached him to speak to him. This was why he found it quite surprising that Lu Yin had sought him out.

    Seruzen was not good with words, so he could only make his best attempt to share his knowledge with Lu Yin. He made no attempts to hide anything at all, nor did he ask Lu Yin why he had not approached someone else.

    Humans were curious creatures. Some people would change due to their obsessions or beliefs. Seruzen was a typical example of this, though he had changed from the person that Lu Yin had met on Earth.

    On Earth, Seruzen had raised his left arm because of his beliefs, but in the Sixverse Academy, he imed that it was due to obsession. It was a significant difference.

    The two men found a ce where they could talk without any disturbances.

    Lu Yin had created quite amotion by pulling the vige from the Voidforce School into the Lost n School. However, Xu Xiangyin settled all of that easily.

    The old man had not revealed himself this time, as he felt that it was inappropriate for him to praise ¡°Xuan Qi¡± every time.

    Zhi Bing had also wanted to approach and offer Xuan Qi a bit of praise, but Xu Xiangyin had stopped the old man. Not only was Xu Xiangyin worried that too much praise would overinte the youth¡¯s ego, but he was also afraid that Zhi Bing would not be able to hold himself back from trying to steal Xuan Qi away.

    Lu Yin remained with Seruzen for several days in a row. A few people sought him out during this time but were unable to find him.

    "What kind of card do you have?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Seruzen lifted his hand, and a card appeared, a three-star Seasonal card. It could not be considered either good or bad. Being able to meet the Lost n School¡¯s requirements was an achievement in and of itself.

    "Have you already set things up inside?" Lu Yin asked.

    "You can go in and take a look."

    "Thank you." Most people would not allow anyone into their cards, unless they were enemies. After all, a card¡¯syout was absolutely crucial to the owner. The main reason why Seruzen was willing to allow Lu Yin to enter was because of his personality. As long as someone was not his enemy, Seruzen would almost never refuse anyone who expressed a desire to visit his card.

    After Lu Yin was pulled into the card, he was met by the sight of an endlessly vastke. Its surface was serene. It waspletely still, and there was no sign of any sort of life.

    He initially believed that Seruzen must have set up some kind of offensive mechanism, but upon closer inspection, he found nothing at all. There was just theke.

    Given Seruzen''s strength, it was impossible for him to hide anything from Lu Yin. His card truly did just contain the solitaryke.

    Seruzen entered and exined, "The methods of the Lost n are quite peculiar, but they don¡¯t suit me. This card¡¯s only purpose is to provide me with a quiet ce to contemte life."

    "Contemte life?" Lu Yin found this a strange description. The words seemed to hold a deeper meaning.

    Seruzen''s gaze remained calm. "A person''s life is wondrous. From birth to death, everything that they experience, see, and obtain seems to be predestined. I want to understand the lives of others. I want to understand the lives of everyone."

    "You will go mad," Lu Yin reflexivelymented.

    Seruzen did not seem to understand. "Why?"

    Lu Yin thought of Astral-10¡¯s insane headmaster. "Eventually, one will go mad from seeing too much."

    Seruzen considered the idea. "An interesting philosophy."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Everyone is different, so perhaps you won''t."

    Seruzen looked back at Lu Yin. "Madness is also a way of life."

    Lu Yin had never considered this possibility before, and the idea weighed heavily on him.

    "Have you ever seen a mad person?" Seruzen asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Too many, you can just find a mental hospital on any random."

    "I mean, someone who goes mad in order to achieve their desired realm," Seruzen said.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to speak, he caught a glimmer of theke''s reflection, and he blurted out, "Tranquil like water?"

 Chapter 2533 â€“ Sovereign Ninth Lotusâ€™s Disciple

    Chapter 2533 ¨C Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s Disciple

    Seruzen''s eyes lit up. "Tranquil like water. Has someone achieved this state?"

    "I¡¯ve heard of it."

    "Where?"

    "I can''t recall at the moment."

    Seruzen bowed deeply to Lu Yin. "If you ever remember, please make sure to let me know."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ll do my best. By the way, would you like to take a look at my Hidden Mountain Card?"

    "I¡¯ll have to trouble you then."

    Lu Yin led Seruzen into the Hidden Mountain card. With a wave of his hand, a massive mountain appeared.

    Seruzen was amazed. "The person who created this card is absolutely extraordinary as this card can replicate the pressure of mountains. Jiang Xiaodao must have lost after being suppressed by this mountain."

    "How do you know that he lost?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Seruzen calmly replied, "Given Jiang Xiaodao''s personality, if he hadn¡¯t lost, he would have never let you off."

    Lu Yin smiled, but he offered no further exnation.

    Shortly thereafter, Lu Yin left. He could not stay with Seruzen for too long, or else someone would notice. Mu Xinxin had been keeping an eye out for ¡°Xuan Qi,¡± and Seruzen seemed to hold a significant position within the Arboreal Realm. Lu Yin did not want to attract too much attention.

    Ten days went by, and during this time, Little Lian sought Lu Yin out. "Seventh Bro."

    Lu Yin felt both warmed and embarrassed by the girl¡¯s way of addressing him. He felt like he was deceiving a small child.

    Jiang Xiaodao arrived soon after that, and he immediately started threatening Lu Yin. "You''d better not get any ideas about Little Lian, or I''ll never let you go!"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "Not interested. I¡¯ll just treat her like a little sister."

    "That¡¯s no good either," Jiang Xiaodao growled, though he seemed to be trying to suppress his voice.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "You don''t seem like you¡¯re threatening me because of some crush."

    Jiang Xiaodao''s eyes flickered. "I''m warning you for your own good. If you don¡¯t listen, no one will be able to save you, not even the Voidforce Universe."

    "Who is Little Lian?" Lu Yin asked. Jiang Xiaodao''s warning seemed to hold some special significance.

    Jiang Xiaodao took a deep breath. "Since you were willing to admit defeat, I¡¯ll tell you so that you won''t be clueless and suddenly die."

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, he solemnly stated, "Little Lian is the youngest disciple of my Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Little Lian is also the favorite disciple."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he asked, "Sovereign Ninth Lotus?"

    Jiang Xiaodao remainedpletely somber. "That''s right, Sovereign Ninth Lotus. In my Cyclic Universe, there are three Sovereigns, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus is one of them. She stands as one of the four most powerful individuals in the entire Cyclic Universe as a formidable existence who stands just below the Great Sovereign. Even my father is wary of her and doesn¡¯t dare to offend her. She has disciples scattered throughout the Sixverse Association, and provoking Little Lian means provoking all of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, which means provoking-" His voice suddenly dropped even lower. "A bunch of overprotective lunatics."

    Lu Yin had already known that the Cyclic Universe had three Sovereigns, and he had even heard of Sovereign Ninth Lotus, though he was not familiar with her.

    Still, there were some things that did not require any exnation. Thement of the woman being ¡°just below the Great Sovereign¡± and Jiang Xiaodao''s deep-seated fear were exnation enough. After all, even the Voidforce Universe was supposed to be beneath this Sovereign¡¯s concern.

    "I''m not interested in any of this. As for Little Lian, I''ll just treat her like a little sister," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Xiaodao nodded. "That would be best."

    "Let''s get started then. Teach me the power of the Cyclic Universe." Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth, as he was rather upset that he was being forced to teach Xuan Qi anything at all, but he had made a promise and could not back out. He also took something out from his cosmic ring and threw it to Lu Yin. "Absorb that."

    Lu Yin caught the object and looked at it, only to immediately freeze. Is this¡­ a star crystal?

    "What is this?" Lu Yin looked at Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao took out another star crystal and weighed it in his hand. "Absorbing that power will kickstart your cultivation. I¡¯ll teach you a battle technique afterwards. Mastering it will mean that you¡¯ve met the requirements of the Cyclic School."

    Lu Yin looked back down at the star crystal. It definitely seemed to be a star crystal, but how was that possible? Star energy was supposed to be the Fifth Maind''s power, no? The Cyclic Universe was clearly knowledgeable about the Origin Universe and its power system, so why would their own power system be a copy? If they were truly the same, then why had Sage Yuan mentioned that the Fifth Maind was not a suitable ce for him to fight?

    It had seemed as though the Cyclic Universe looked down on the Fifth Maind¡¯s unique energy.

    Lu Yin held the star crystal and finally started absorbing the star energy within it. No matter what the truth was, he decided to cultivate first without making any judgments.

    Star energy quickly entered his body. It felt simr to when he had first started cultivating, and the energy really was star energy.

    Lu Yin suppressed his questions and directed the star energy through his body. He expected his stellr energy vortex to absorb the wisp of star energy, but shockingly, the energy was rejected by his stellr energy vortex.

    This caught Lu Yinpletely off guard. Both energies were the same, so why would his own stellr energy vortex reject this star energy?

    He directed the trace of star energy back close to his stellr energy vortex, only to find it be rejected once again. This was too strange. Could it be that the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star energy and the Fifth Maind¡¯s star energy were ipatible?

    "How is it? Have you absorbed it?" Jiang Xiaodao asked.

    Lu Yin said, "Give me another one."

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Just one more? Do you think that that¡¯ll be enough for you to reach the requirements? Do you think that you''re more talented than even the Sovereigns?"

    With that, he casually dumped a pile of star essence next to Lu Yin, who was once again stunned. The Cyclic Universe even had star essence.

    "This is the good stuff. Before reaching the Demi-Immortal realm, you need to absorb the energy in these to cultivate. This should be enough for you to meet the school¡¯s requirements, and after that, I will teach you a battle technique. After you move on to the Cyclic School, you''ll be able to learn the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate in no time at all. With that, your reputation as a genius will soar," Jiang Xiaodao stated as a smile crept across his face, "Watch carefully."

    Jiang Xiaodao raised his hands, and his palms moved quickly as he demonstrated an unarmed battle technique. Just a nce was enough to see that it was quite powerful. Just as the man had said, it would be possible for Lu Yin to learn the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate in no time if he mastered what Jiang Xiaodao had demonstrated.

    However, suspicions mounted in Lu Yin''s eyes. This guy clearly wanted toy a trap for him. It was clear that the battle technique was part of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate, even if Lu Yin had never seen these particr moves before. He had seen Mu Mu use the Third Hand of the Stone Gate, and that had been enough for him to partially deduce the movements of the Fourth Hand. While the two were not identical, there was not much of a difference.

    Lu Yin was someone who could easily defeat a Semi-Progenitor, and he had spent many years cultivating. On top of that, he had spent years reciting the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra and being strengthened by that.

    Jiang Xiaodao shared a selection of the moves of the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate and then told Lu Yin to show what he had learned during a fight. However, the moment these movements were recognized, everyone would use Xuan Qi of cheating. The reputation that he had picked up in the Voidforce School and the Lost n School would be ruined.

    Jiang Xiaodao was quite cunning.

    "How is it? Did you see it clearly?" Jiang Xiaodao asked excitedly. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I couldn¡¯t make it out clearly."

    Jiang Xiaodao felt irritated. "You''re so stupid! These moves aren''t difficult at all. Don¡¯t youe from a cultivation universe? You should already understand battle techniques. Let me watch you cultivate. With the knowledge that I''ve received from my father, I''m sure that I can correct any of your mistakes."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. I want to practice the palm technique you just showed me. It looks very powerful," Lu Yin said eagerly.

    Jiang Xiaodao chuckled to himself. Of course it was powerful. It was the true Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate. If not for his father''s status, Jiang Xiaodao himself would have never been able to learn it.  Mu Mu and the others were stuck practicing the first three hands of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate in the Cyclic School, but Jiang Xiaodao had already surpassed them. Still, his mastery of the Fourth Hand was not very proficient, though it was enough to easily fool the person in front of him.

    "Do you really want to learn this battle technique?"

    "Yes."

    "Then watch carefully. I''ll show you again."

    "Thank you."

    Jiang Xiaodao felt proud of himself as he demonstrated the technique again. "How about now? Were you able to learn it?"

    "I couldn¡¯t see it clearly," Lu Yin replied.

    Jiang Xiaodao erupted in frustration. "I''ve shown you twice, and you still weren''t able to see it clearly?"

    Lu Yin answered in a sincere manner, "This battle technique is just tooplicated, so it''s hard for me to see it clearly. Please show me again."

    Jiang Xiaodao snorted and repeated it once more.

    "How was it?"

    "It¡¯s tooplex."

    "You must be an imbecile! I''ve already shown you three times!"

    "That only shows how unfathomable and mysterious this technique is."

    After Jiang Xiaodao finished his fourth demonstration and Lu Yin imed to still not be able to clearly see the technique, Jiang Xiaodao seemed to realize something, and he asked, "Are you messing with me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head, looking somewhat frustrated himself. "I want to learn it, but I just can''t seem to remember the moves. It''s strange. Could Ick the necessary talent?"

    Jiang Xiaodao looked at Lu Yin, unable to determine if he was telling the truth or not. "You really can¡¯t remember it?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Maybe I really don¡¯t have any talent for this. Forget it, I''ll just continue with voidforce energy."

    Jiang Xiaodao quickly spoke up. "Don''t! I¡¯ll show it to you again."

    He had already put in so much effort, if Xuan Qi was unable to learn any of the Fourth Hand at all, how would Jiang Xiaodao get his revenge? Even if he suspected that Xuan Qi might already know his intentions, that seemed unlikely, not unless he had somehow managed to recognize the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate. However, how could that even be possible?

    With this in mind, Jiang Xiaodao continued his demonstrations.

    ¡­

    After the tenth demonstrations, Lu Yin finally reported that he was able to remember the moves and promised to practice the technique diligently, as he hoped to astonish everyone when he moved on to the Cyclic School.

    These words reignited Jiang Xiaodao''s excitement. "Very well, Xuan Qi. While I may not like you, we¡¯ve gotten to know each other during that fight. The day you n to impress the Cyclic School, make sure to let me know ahead of time so that I can be there to cheer you on."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯ll make sure to do that."

    Jiang Xiaodao left, gloating to himself, while Lu Yin shook his head. It was good to have a bit of fun every once in a while.

    He released his domain to confirm that no one was watching. Then, he started to absorb the star energy from the star essence.

    Given his level of strength, the amount of star energy in the star essence that Jiang Xiaodao had left behind was quickly absorbed, strengthening the bit of star energy from the Cyclic Universe that was stored within Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    He tried to bring that star energy closer to his stellr energy vortex, but it was repelled once again.

    He raised his hand and a wisp of energy appeared over it. It was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star energy. Why was it being rejected by the Fifth Maind¡¯s energy? He needed to study this.

    Several dayster, news spread that Jiang Xiaodao had moved on to the Voidforce School.

    The news was not surprising to anyone. The image of Xuan Qi bringing the vige down upon Jiang Xiaodao had not only shaken Jiang Xiaodao, but everyone else who had seen it as well.

    The Voidforce Universe had its own unique characteristics. Of the members of the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe was acknowledged as the weakest, while the Cyclic Universe was recognized as the strongest. Aside from those two, the other four civilizations were unranked. Each of them possessed valuable knowledge and abilities that could be learned from.

    Lu Yin also obtained a battle technique from the Lost n while in the Lost n School. This was something that could only be obtained after a person joined the Lost n, and it was called the Third Rampart.

    The name was strange, and it sounded more like the name of a location than a battle technique. Lu Yin consulted Little Lian about it, who was happy to exin. "The Third Rampart is theplete collection of the Lost n¡¯s entire battle techniques. It includes countless battle techniques, both ordinary and powerful. We¡¯re limited to only the ordinary ones.

    "The Lost n doesn¡¯t ept outsiders, but they still allow their battle methods to be learned by anyone here. Brother Xuan Qi, setting up your card¡¯s pocket space is one of the Lost n¡¯s methods."

 Chapter 2534 â€“ Future Powerhouses

    Chapter 2534 ¨C Future Powerhouses

    Lu Yin found it strange. "Does that mean that any universe¡¯s battle methods can bebined with the Lost n''s cards?"

    Little Lian chuckled. "That''s right. Grandpa Zhi Bing said that there¡¯s no reason for us to be restricted to just a single universe¡¯s methods. After all, we¡¯re here to integrate our civilizations, and the Lost n''s cards can act as a tform where we can unleash the power of any universe."

    "It seems that the battle techniques we¡¯ve received from the Third Rampart aren¡¯t even necessary," Lu Yin remarked.

    Little Lian stuck out her tongue as she replied, "I never use them either."

    After bidding farewell to Little Lian, Lu Yin continued studying the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star energy. However, he could not find the slightest difference between the two star energies. However, he did discover that he could still use the foreign star energy by adding it to the power system within his chest. That power was a convergence of multiple paths that had beenbined into  one. After the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star energy made aplete circuit through his unique power system, it could then be absorbed by his stellr energy vortex. This meant that Lu Yin was able to cultivate in the Cyclic Universe.

    Had Bai Xian''er gone to the Cyclic Universe to face her Semi-Progenitor stellr tribtion?

    It was a pity that Jiang Xiaodao had already gone to the Voidforce School, or else Lu Yin would have gotten more star essence from the man. He wondered if his die could be activated with the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star essence¡­

    One monthter, Luo Lao''er sneaked into the Lost n School to find ¡°Xuan Qi.¡±

    "What grand underground auction?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "I knew that you wouldn''t have heard anything. Today, someone truly powerful in the Sixverse Association is hosting the biggest underground auction in the history of Cliff Town. I''vee to take you there."

    "Aren¡¯t the underground auctions restricted to people within a certain area?" Lu Yin questioned.

    "That''s true for normal auctions, but this one is different. Someone actually contacted me and told me to spread the word, which means that many people already know about it. All of them are all preparing to go, even people from the Central School."

    He then leaned in to whisper, "Brother-inw, do you remember that subhuman woman from thest underground auction?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "I do."

    Luo Lao''er continued, "Well, after that auction, everyone was incredibly curious about how a subhuman was brought into the academy. Some people started thinking that she must have been brought in by some powerhouse, while others believe that she was brought in by using special connections, and a few have even brought up the possibility of a cosmic ring that can carry living creatures. Now, an answer¡¯s been given: it¡¯s the third option!"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "There¡¯s a cosmic ring that can hold a living person?"

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "It''s not a cosmic ring, but a mountain."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed.

    "It''s a mountain that can change its size. Selling off that subhuman during thest auction was actually a bit of marketing for this auction. How ruthless is that? I wonder who would be bold enough to y this game? I¡¯m guessing that it''s the Sixverse Association itself," Luo Lao''er said.

    Lu Yin nced down at his cosmic ring. A mountain that could hold a living person? Zenith Mountain?

    Zenith Mountain had originally been a Sky Pir, which were the stone pirs that had held up the six Daosource Sects during the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect era. How could one of the Sky Pirs appear in the Sixverse Association? No, this should be something different.

    "What do you think, Brother-inw? Are you interested?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Lu Yin nodded and replied, "Lead the way. Let''s see for ourselves."

    "Alright, then let''s go," Luo Lao''er said excitedly.

    The environment in the Lost n School made Luo Lao''er rather ufortable. "Seventh Bro, I¡¯ve heard that you''ve been doing pretty well in the Lost n School. Did you get the best card?"

    "It''s not bad," Lu Yin replied.

    "When are we going to the next school? We should go together," Luo Lao''er suggested.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You¡¯ve already met the Voidforce School¡¯s requirements?"

    Luo Lao''er raised his head proudly. "Just about!"

    Lu Yin said, "I don''t know which school I''ll move on to next. I¡¯m stuck between the Cyclic School and the Arboreal School."

    "Let''s go to the Arboreal School. We can get an innate gift from a tree," Luo Lao''er said eagerly.

    Lu Yin nodded. The Cyclic School held very little appeal for him, whereas going to the Arboreal School seemed to be a good idea. If possible, he wanted to try to obtain an innate gift from the Mother Tree after he returned to the Fifth Maind.

    The two young men were far from the only ones making their way to Cliff Town from the Lost n School. They met up with several others as they moved along, including even Seruzen.

    "Seventh Bro, I think that I''ve heard of this strange person before. He''s from the Arboreal Realm, right?" Luo Lao''er whispered to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You''ve heard of him?"

    "I heard about someone joining the Sixverse Academy from the Arboreal Realm, despite being too old, and that should be him. I heard that he holds a very prestigious position within the Arboreal Realm and that he managed to obtain an incredibly rare innate gift that no one¡¯s obtained for countless years."

    "Can you find out what innate gift it is?" Lu Yin was very curious about this, as he had asked Seruzen about it, but Seruzen had refused to say anything at all.

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "I haven¡¯t been able to find out. I asked people from the Arboreal Realm, but it seems not many of them know anything about it. Don''t get fooled by his old appearance. He has a mysterious background that¡¯s at least as good as Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s."

    Lu Yin looked back over at Seruzen. It seemed that, out of everyone who had left Earth, the person who had integrated the best after being relocated was Seruzen, if Lu Yin himself was excluded.

    Zhang Dingtian had lost the protection of the Liu family and be an independent cultivator in the Perennial World, where he hoped to one day avenge the Liu family.

    Bai Xue was caring for Big Face Tree in Seed Garden. She had be someone who pursued peace and tranquility.

    Xu San had followed Ancestor Lingtong for his own reasons, though Ancestor Lingtong treated him quite well.

    Even so, not one of those three had a background that couldpare to Seruzen''s.

    Oh, there was also Bai Qian who seemed to hold an extremely high position in the Transcendent Universe, as Lu Yin had seen even Ke Jian bow to her.

    After meeting up with Seruzen, the three men naturally continued on together.

    They soon arrived in Cliff Town after covering their faces with the strange fruit.

    Lu Yin nced over Seruzen and suddenly realized that there was no point for the man to hide his face, as his arm was too conspicuous. No matter what, everyone would be able to recognize him.

    Cliff Town was incredibly busy, and it was filled with more people and stalls than ever before.

    Luo Lao''er led the other two to the location of the underground auction. As they moved through the town, they encountered several people who offered Seruzen very respectful greetings. Lu Yin also noticed Shi Hong and Zuo Yu traveling with another person from the Arboreal Realm.

    "Sister Hong, is that the strange person from the Arboreal Realm that you mentioned to us?" Zuo Yu whispered.

    Shi Hong nodded. "Yes. While I don''t know what kind of innate gift he has, even Senior Brother Mu Cheng needs to be respectful to him. His innate gift is definitely extraordinary, and the Sixverse Association has recognized him as one of humanity¡¯s few future powerhouses."

    "One of humanity¡¯s future powerhouses?" Zuo Yu eximed in surprise.

    Shi Hong nodded again. "Someone recentlypiled a list. The people referred to as powerhouses are all at least as strong as someone wielding a ck energy converter. In terms of power levels, that means that theirs exceeds five million."

    Zuo Yu gasped. She had lofty ambitions and dreamed of bing strong herself, but she had never even fantasized about one day reaching such a high level.

    What did a power level of five million mean? Such a person could probably destroy most of a universe with a single wave of a hand. Even a Bestowal Carrier would be destroyed in a single blow.

    "Who else is on that list?" Zuo Yu asked curiously.

    Shi Hong replied, "As far as I know, the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Shao Qingfeng and Jiang Xiaodao, Seruzen from the Arboreal Realm, Xu Ji from the Voidforce Universe, and Zhi Xiao from the Lost n. Right, there¡¯s also our Transcendent Universe¡¯s He Shu, and quite a few more. Oh, and¡­" She paused, her expression growingplicated. "Xuan Qi might also be on the list."

    Zuo Yu felt confused. "How could Xuan Qi end up on the list? Because of his talent?"

    Shi Hong exined, "There¡¯s no way that Xuan Qi''s talent won¡¯t attract the attention of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s powerhouses, and there are even rumors that more than one is interested in him. As soon as any one of them takes him under their wing, it¡¯s practically guaranteed that his talent will eventually make him a powerhouse equal to the others on that list.

    "Of course, the people that I just mentioned simply have the potential to be powerhouses, but there are also already a few individuals who have almost reached that level despite being about as old as us. Those people are the true monsters, and they would nevere to this Sixverse Academy. If they want to learn from other universes, they have no need toe to this ce."

    Zuo Yu did not understand. "Real monsters?"

    Shi Hong did not answer, as Mu Cheng had returned. "Strange, I don''t know who those two people with Seruzen are. It''s not easy to get close to him."

    "Is Seruzen difficult to get along with?" Shi Hong wondered.

    Mu Cheng exined, "It''s not that he¡¯s difficult to get along with. Rather, it''s not easy to get close to him."

    The man continued to watch Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er.

    People from all around Cliff Town started heading towards a specific area. The size of the crowd quickly grew.

    Lu Yin suddenly noticed several people approaching him. Everyone nearby gave the people a wide berth, and it seemed that no one dared to get too close to the approaching people.

    Lu Yin paid attention to two of the people. One was wearing a blue and white coat and had longish hair that hung loose upon his shoulders. He had an indifferent expression.

    As for the other person, he was wearing a pale golden robe and moved along with his hands sped behind his back, and he gave off an illusory feeling.

    Both of these young men had already left a deep impression on Lu Yin, as they were the two young men who had followed Sage Yuan to the Fifth Maind.

    From Zi Jing, Lu Yin had learned that one of them was named He Shu. Lu Yin had repeatedly heard this name after he entered the Transcendent Universe. He Shu was one of that universe¡¯s greatest geniuses, as well as the brother of that perfect woman. As for the other man, Lu Yin had also learned of his identity. He was Shao Qingfeng, the Cyclic Universe¡¯s genius whose record Lu Yin had surpassed in the Voidforce School.

    The two men were both regarded as two of the greatest young geniuses in the entire Sixverse Association. They were also both in the academy¡¯s Central School.

    A woman walked in between the two men, and Lu Yin recognized her as Mu Mu, the woman who had fought against Jiang Xiaodao.

    "Seventh Bro, I think that that¡¯s Mu Mu," Luo Lao''er said. He was able to recognize the woman because Mu Mu had not changed her mask from the one that she had used during the previous auction.

    Pride meant that there were some people who were simply unwilling to hide their identities. In this, Mu Mu and Jiang Xiaodao were no different from each other.

    At this moment, Mu Mu and the others also noticed Lu Yin and the other two,. Her expression changed, and she moved a few steps closer to stand in front of Lu Yin''s group. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin spoke, "Cliff Town has its own rules, and asking this question means that you¡¯re breaking them."

    Mu Mu frowned. "Rules only apply to certain people. Who are you? And why are you with Seruzen?"

    Seruzen spoke up, "Mu Mu, you don''t need to worry. He''s a friend."

    Mu Mu felt lost. "You have a friend?"

    Seruzen spoke calmly, "I''m willing to make friends. You are also my friend."

    Seruzen''s words caused the woman¡¯s expression to improve slightly, though she still shot Lu Yin a threatening look. "You''d best not have any ideas about Seruzen, or else an unimaginable fate will await you."

    Lu Yin found the threat very odd. The Arboreal Realm truly seemed to value Seruzen highly. Whatever innate gift he had obtained must be truly exceptional.

    Shao Qingfeng and He Shu remained standing a short distance away and did not bother approaching. They both looked quite calm.

    Arge crowd gathered, all of them waiting for the secret auction to begin.

    Two hours passed, but there was still no sign of the auction starting.

    The auction was supposed to be held through the cliffside, but the passage did not open.

 Chapter 2535: Sequence Particles

    Chapter 2535: Sequence Particles

    "Wasn''t there supposed to be a super-sized underground auction? Why hasn''t it started yet?"

    "Let''s wait a little longer. Maybe it takes more time to prepare something bigger."

    "But shouldn''t someone have let us know by now? We''ve been waiting for so long."

    ...

    Another hour passed. "I need to get back to cultivating. When is this thing going to start? If it doesn''t start soon, I¡¯m just going to leave."

    "That won''t do. We came all this way, using up the time meant for cultivation. If we leave empty-handed, it''s as good as wasting all that time."

    "Where''s Luo Lao''er? He¡¯s the one who told me about this. He should get out here and give us an exnation."

    "I was also informed by that guy."

    "I heard about this from Old Jiu."

    "Old Jiu told me too."

    "I found out from Kang Laodi."

    "Where did all of them go to?"

    Luo Lao''er¡¯s stomach was churning. "Why hasn''t it started yet? Please hurry! My heart can''t handle this."

    If the auction did not take ce, he could only imagine how many people would be after his hide.

    Another hour soon passed. Lu Yin and the others had been waiting for three hours, but some people had arrived even earlier and had been waiting for five or six hours. The atmosphere was growing increasingly tense.

    A sudden scream caught everyone''s attention.

    "Old Jiu, how dare you run!" someone shouted.

    A person with a mask that had a flower pattern started to panic and escape, but was quickly captured. "I don''t know! I didn''t deceive you all. Someone really did ask me to spread word about this! I wouldn''t dare to deceive all of you seniors, not even if I had ten times more courage!"

    "You told everyone about this just because someone told you to?" Someone raised a hand and pped the man.

    Luo Lao''er instinctively covered his face and shrank behind Lu Yin.

    Old Jiu shrieked, "The person who asked me to spread the word said that they¡¯d reward me with 0.001% of the auction''s sales!"

    "Then where''s the auction? Where¡¯s the person who got you to tell us? Find them!" With a loud smack, another pnded.

    Luo Lao''er''s heart pounded as he clung to Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro, Brother-inw, please protect me!"

    Suddenly, Lu Yin softly growled, "Let''s go."

    He immediately grabbed Luo Lao''er and Seruzen and rushed toward the west.

    Mu Mu had been keeping an eye on Lu Yin the entire time, so the moment she saw him grab Seruzen, she shouted furiously, "Bold!"

    She leaped forward, but a powerful aura abruptly nketed the area. It felt like a dark cloud pressing down on the students that made it hard for them to breathe.

    Shao Qingfeng''s expression changed to shock. "It''s the Blind One, run!"

    The moment the words "Blind One" were mentioned, everyone panicked and fled in every possible direction.

    Lu Yin turned back to see an old man descending upon the chaotic crowd. The man¡¯s eyes were covered by a ck veil, but his sinister smile could be seen. With a nonchnt flick of his hand, people were sent crashing to the ground, instantly incapacitated. The old man was as strong as a six-tribtion Envoy.

    Luo Lao''er was astonished. "Why is the Blind One here?"

    "Who¡¯s ¡®the Blind One¡¯?" Lu Yin asked as he and Luo Lao''er fled as far as possible with Seruzen.

    Luo Lao''er said, "The Blind One is the expert who patrols the borders of the schools. The Sixverse Academy strictly prohibits students from visiting other schools, and anyone caught breaking that rule is punished. However, the Blind One is just one person, and he¡¯s also blindfolded, so many people are able to make the trip between different schools, and also visit Cliff Town. Besides, the Blind One rarely does anything, which makes this strange. Why did he show up today?"

    He suddenly thought of a possibility, and it made his expression turn ugly. Had the promised reward been fake? Had someone been ying a trick on them? That would be a huge problem, as Luo Lao¡¯er had helped out with the promotion. Damn it!

    Behind them, the Blind One continued aggressively capturing students. Because he had noticed things early and slipped away, Lu Yin and the other two were already out of the Blind One''s range.

    Mu Mu chased after him. "Let go of Seruzen!"

    Lu Yin let go as he turned around, only toe face to face with a punch from Mu Mu. However, before the punch couldnd, Mu Mu was dragged into a card¡¯s pocket dimension.

    Lu Yin had ced his Hidden Mountain card between them. Mu Mu had been caught off guard, so she had fallen right in. Lu Yin quickly followed her and also entered the Hidden Mountain card.

    Seruzen stared at the card as it disappeared back into the void. How was that possible? Even if it had been a surprise, it should not have been that easy to drag Mu Mu into a card. There had been a fair distance between them, and Mu Mu should have also noticed the card.

    Luo Lao''er was amazed by the battle style of the Lost n. He also wanted to learn it.

    Inside the Hidden Mountain card, Mu Mu held back a mountain with both hands, just like what Jiang Xiaodao had once done.

    Lu Yin stared at her andmented, "With your strength, just one punch would have either killed me or left me severely injured. That was going too far."

    Mu Mu stared at Lu Yin and said, "You''re Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin took off his mask. "That¡¯s right."

    Mu Mu had not expected to also be deceived by Xuan Qi. She had heard about how Jiang Xiaodao had been tricked by Xuan Qi during their match, and even though Jiang Xiaodao had ultimately won, it had not been easy for him. She also knew that Jiang Xiaodao must have actually lost. Given his personality, how would he willingly stepped back if he had won?

    Xuan Qi had achieved victory by utilizing abination of voidforce energy to control the vige voidforce puppet, and thenbining it with the Hidden Mountain card. She had not expected to be simrly tricked into falling into the card.

    However, why had she not noticed the card in the void?

    The Lost n''s fighting style was quite unique, but it was not so strange that she could not notice a card with so much distance between them. "How did you hide the card?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Why should I tell you?"

    Mu Mu took a deep breath. "I''m sorry, I acted impulsively. I thought that you were going to do something to Seruzen."

    Even knowing that she had targeted Xuan Qi did not cause the woman to think too much about her actions.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The Blind One had already appeared, and despite seeing him, you still attacked me. I can understand that you''re eager to protect Seruzen, but I can''t ept that you still attacked me."

    "What do you want?" Mu Mu asked.

    At that moment, several mountains appeared and pressed down upon Mu Mu, burying her underground, just like what had happened to Jiang Xiaodao. She spat out a mouthful of blood as she red at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, there are no grudges between us."

    "You almost killed me with that punch!" Lu Yin coldly retorted.

    Mu Mu lowered her head. "I apologize."

    Lu Yin''s expression softened a bit. "That''s more like it."

    He then left the Hidden Mountain card, and as he did so, Mu Mu followed closely behind.

    She had initially wanted to burn Lu Yin''s Hidden Mountain card as she had done when captured by Jiang Xiaodao''s card, but the Hidden Mountain Card was different from the other cards that she had encountered before. The moment she was dragged into the isted space, she had been suppressed by the mountains. Even with her Golden Crow, burning the card was impossible.

    It could be said that, when someone was pulled into a seven-star card, half of the battle had already been lost.

    Mu Mu watched as Lu Yin put away the Hidden Mountain card. "If Jiang Xiaodao had that card, he would go wild."

    "Which is why he doesn''t have it. All things follow their predetermined course," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Mu gave him a strange look before ncing over at Seruzen. "Did you teach him that?"

    Seruzen calmly replied, "Fate brought us together. We share simr thoughts."

    Mu Mu rolled her eyes. "I don''t understand what you''re saying. Anyway, hurry back before the Blind Onees. If he catches you, the punishment will be no joke."

    After saying that, she gave Lu Yin a pointed look and left.

    Luo Lao''er also left to head back to the Voidforce School, while Lu Yin and Seruzen returned to the Lost n School.

    The incident in Cliff Town had a very extensive impact on the academy. Dozens of people had been captured by the Blind One, and they were all incarcerated.

    Little Lian let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Lu Yin was unharmed. "Seventh Bro, I¡¯m so thankful you didn''t go to Cliff Town. It would''ve been terrible if you were caught. Nobody can endure his confinement."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I did go. I was just lucky enough to not get caught."

    Little Lian gave him a look of admiration. "That¡¯s impressive, Seventh Bro. I heard that the secret auction never even started, right?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The organizers should have known that the Blind One would being, so it never started. Little Lian, why didn''t you go?"

    Little Lian shook her head. "I couldn''t get there in time."

    After chatting for a while, Little Lian left, and Lu Yin settled down to cultivate.

    More than ten days passed before things calmed down after the events that took ce in Cliff Town. Luo Lao''er struggled during this time, as people caused trouble for him everywhere he went, and the same was true for the other people who had been involved in spreading word of the auction.

    Also during this time, Lu Yin asionally met with Seruzen and grew closer to the man. Eventually, Lu Yin managed to ask about Seruzen''s past.

    Seruzen had no awareness of the existence of either the Fifth Maind or the Origin Universe. He only knew that he had identally ended up in the Arboreal Realm and had cultivated there ever since. Through a fortunate coincidence, he had obtained a specific innate gift, and that had then led to his current status.

    Seruzen exined that, while his cultivation had not gone smoothly over the past few decades, it also had not been filled with obstacles. His progress had been neither fast nor slow, but quite normal for a cultivator.

    If not for his innate gift, he would have died in the Arboreal Realm, and Lu Yin would have never gotten the chance to meet the man again.

    As Seruzen himself said, everything was an arrangement of fate.

    "The Arboreal Realm is rather bizarre. When ites to researching trees, they''ve achieved the pinnacle of knowledge. In their eyes, trees are not merely trees, but rather organisms that breathe, think, feel, and most importantly, possess souls," Seruzen murmured.

    "Each tree has its own unique soul, just like people. It¡¯s important to them that trees be respected the same as you would a person. The more respect that¡¯s given, the more you may receive in return."

    Lu Yin listened, somewhat understanding, but also a bit confused.

    More than two months had passed since he had arrived in the Lost n School. Whenbined with the two and a half months that he had spent in the Voidforce School, Lu Yin realized that he had spent exactly five months in the Sixverse Academy. It was time for him to move on to the third school.

    He had decided to go to the Arboreal School.

    The Fifth Maind was home to both the Mother Tree and Big Face Tree. If the Arboreal Realm could give him the ability to obtain an innate gift from a tree, he wanted to save that opportunity for after he returned to the Fifth Maind. Receiving an innate gift from the Mother Tree would certainly be worth looking forward to.

    ¡­

    In a hidden space within the Transcendent Universe, a group of people were staring at a disy while holding their breaths as they watched the spinning images.

    An old man stood at the front. He had a rotund figure and disheveled hair, which gave him the appearance of a madman. His eyes were practically glued to the screen.

    The images on the disy spun faster and faster until, eventually, a green light emerged.

    Mouths fell open, and then everyone erupted into cheers.

    The old man clenched his hands into fists as he leaped into the air. "We''ve seeded! We¡¯ve finally seeded!"

    He looked over at Zi Jing, who was next to him, also staring at the disy. "Girl, you''re the only one who could have helped us make this breakthrough. Now, we''ve finally seeded."

    Zi Jing looked back at the old man. "We''ve only just begun."

    The old manughed. "Even though this is just the beginning, we can at least confirm that this method is correct. Our analysis was right, haha."

    "Congrattions, Teacher. You''ve achieved your goal. You''ve analyzed the sequence particles," someone said.

    Right after that, the round of congrattions continued.

    News of their sess almost instantly reached the ears of the perfect woman. She descended the stairs, her bare feet stepping on the flowers that covered them. Her passage stirred up a gentle breeze that caused the petals to spin upwards behind her. The drifting petals only added to the sacredness of the scene. Each step that was taken caused the red bells worn on the woman¡¯s bare feet to tinkle softly. "Lock down that news. Anyone who dares to leak anything will be killed without mercy."

    "Yes."

    "The day my Transcendent Universe reigns over the Sixverse Association is fast approaching," the woman said as she raised her head. Her wless face seemed unattainably lofty in the light as the red ribbon that bound her long hair fluttered gently in the breeze.

 Chapter 2536: High Above

    Chapter 2536: High Above

    Zi Jing was the only person in the hidden room who was not excited. This breakthrough in the cultivation technology that they had been researching had only confirmed her previous hypothesis, which was not the oue that she had wanted to achieve.

    The old man waved his hand, silencing the crowd. Then, he looked at Zi Jing with aplex expression and said, "Throughout my life, I have taught countless students, but none of them were able to shoulder the responsibility of finding the sequence particles. Only you, Zi Jing, have disyed talent for sequence particles that not even I canpare to. Without you, this experiment would have been dyed for at least a thousand years, possibly forever. You are the only one who managed to visualize the sequence."

    Zi Jing remained silent.

    "With this experiment¡¯s results showing that it truly is feasible, our next step is creation. Only by truly creating sequence particles can we ever hope to reign supreme," the old man continued. He then waved a hand to dismiss the others before leading Zi Jing alone to a more secluded space.

    It was a dim ce, and a cloud-like energy floated in the air. Zi Jing had never visited this ce before.

    She touched the cloud-like power in the air and asked, "Is this the power of the Cloudflow Universe?"

    The old man nodded. "More urately, it is Cloudflow''s power."

    "The ruler of the Cloudflow Universe?" Zi Jing eximed in astonishment.

    The old man continued to lead Zi Jing down the path. "The Cloudflow Universe is where we will test this cultivation technology. Once we achieve sess, not only will we surpass the entire Sixverse Association, but even Aeternus will be beneath us. Our Transcendent Universe will reach the pinnacle of the human species¡­"

    The old man spoke incessantly as they walked, as though he was already able to see the future.

    Zi Jing¡¯s eyes narrowed. She was not certain just how powerful the Transcendent Universe was, but no matter how powerful it might be, it had already attracted the attention of that person. How well could things possibly turn out if that person had gotten involved? These people were too arrogant, and they were always looking down on other universes. They had no idea that the universes they disregarded could give rise to truly extraordinary individuals.

    As they descended further and further down, the cloud-like power grew more dense, until it nearly reced the air itself. It gave the impression of walking through clouds.

    Finally, the old man stopped outside a metallic golden door that he opened with the barest crack. Endless cloudflow power surged through the opening like a tsunami, causing Zi Jing to retreat, her face pale.

    "Take a look," the old man quietly ordered.

    Zi Jing took a step forward to approach the metal door. As she peered through the crack, a single bloodshot eye that was filled with madness suddenly filled her vision.

    She was badly startled, and she stumbled back until she tripped and fell. Horror filled her eyes. She looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

    The old man closed the metal door and looked down at Zi Jing. "What did you see?"

    Zi Jing nervously swallowed and said in a trembling voice, "I saw an eye."

    "What kind of eye?"

    "A crazed, desperate, cruel eye."

    "Anything else?" the old man asked again.

    Zi Jing closed her eyes and thought back for a moment. Her eyes suddenly snapped back open. "They were exhausted, lifeless, andpletely devoid of vitality."

    The old man looked satisfied, and he sped his hands behind his back. "Not bad. Exhausted, devoid of vitality. Do you know who the person is?"

    Zi Jing had a suspicion, but she did not dare believe it. She looked at the old man, who softly stated, "Cloudflow."

    Zi Jing''s pupils contracted. "The ruler of the Cloudflow Universe? That Cloudflow?"

    The old man nodded. "That''s right."

    Zi Jing could not believe it. The ruler of an entire universe who had managed to transform it as Cloudflow had had to be a powerful Progenitor. Despite that, the man was imprisoned in this ce, and despair filled his eyes. It was clear that the man felt that living was more painful than death. How could such a person be the ruler of the Cloudflow Universe?

    "At your level, you are not qualified to know this, but in order to show you just how great our Transcendent Universe is, and also so that you can understand just what kind of civilization you are serving, I¡¯ve made an exception and told you. Cloudflow has the power to change the universe, which is what gave him the ability to transform the Cloudflow Universe. His power level surpasses five million, at the very least.¡±

    "Five million. It¡¯s a number that is hard to wrap your head around. It¡¯s equivalent to a ck energy converter. Just how many ck energy converters are there in the entire Transcendent Universe? How many powerhouses with that level of strength does the entire Sixverse Association have?¡±

    "Despite that, Cloudflow was still captured and is now experiencing a life worse than death. This should let you understand the power of our Transcendent Universe."

    Zi Jing took a deep breath. "I understand now."

    The old man looked satisfied. "Good. In the future, more than just Cloudflow will be imprisoned in this ce. We will have prisoners from different parallel universes, Aeternus, and we might even imprison our enemies from within the Sixverse Association here. What we need to do is transform this possibility into a reality in order to establish the Transcendent Universe as the true ruling universe. Zi Jing, understand this clearly, as this is what you should do."

    Zi Jing stood up and offered a deep bow to the old man. "I understand, Teacher."

    The elder smiled. "Good. You have sessfully visualized sequence particles and given them physical form, making the impossible possible. I believe that the day when you manage to develop this cultivation technology to reach its fullest potential wille.¡±

    ¡°Alright, you''ve had a tiring day. Go back and rest."

    Zi Jing nodded before turning around. She took another long look at the metal door. Even a Progenitor could be imprisoned in this ce. This was the power of the Transcendent Universe, a member of the Sixverse Association. They were researching a power that could suppress Progenitors.

    Once this power was fully developed, the price that would be extracted by the entire megaverse would be unimaginable. Dao Monarch, I wonder what you will think when you see this power.

    Neither the elder nor Zi Jing noticed the few specks of dust clinging to them. The dust was inconspicuous, and it simply stuck to their clothes when they had arrived in front of the underground metal door.

    As Zi Jing turned to leave, the dust on their clothes suddenly transformed into a cloud-like power that wrapped around the two people¡¯s necks and attempted to strangle them.

    The sudden attack caught Zi Jingpletely off guard. She watched helplessly as the cloud-like force wrapped around her neck and cut off her breath. Her body mmed into the floor and was dragged back towards the metal door. The old man suffered the same fate. However, just as they were about to crash into the metal door, they heard a hoarse shout out, "Escape, immediately!"

    Zi Jing''s consciousness grew blurry. Escape? Who was telling her to escape?

    At that moment, the power that twined around their necks suddenly disappeared. People emerged from the void, and one woman who appeared looked up and screamed in despair, "Release Lord Cloudflow!"

    The moment she spoke, her limbs snapped off and vanished. Blood fell to the floor.

    The pungent smell of blood filled Zi Jing''s nostrils as confusion filled her eyes. Next to her was a woman with a fierce re on her face. She had no limbs, just a torso.

    Zi Jing''s face turned pale as she stared at the woman. Neither could move.

    "Transcendent Universe, let them go! Let them go!" a hoarse voice echoed from behind the metal door from Cloudflow.

    Only then did Zi Jing react, and she tremblingly rose to her feet. She hade very close to death just then.

    Close to her, the old man let out a few coughs. "I almost met my end. You subhumans are truly ruthless. A million subhumans from the Cloudflow Universe will be eliminated aspensation for this old man¡¯s anger!"

    "Release Lord Cloudflow!" Several cultivators with horns on their heads fell to the ground, howling in despair as their energy seeped away.

    The old man waved a hand. Despite the fact that no power appeared, the people¡¯s horns suddenly fell from their heads. They screamed in pain, half-dead and losing consciousness. As for the woman who had already lost her limbs, she red at the old man like she wanted to kill him.

    Zi Jing watched the grisly scene in shock,pletely unable to react.

    "Release them, release them!" Cloudflow''s voice continued to hoarsely ring out from behind the metal door.

    However, the old man was unfazed. "Do you really believe that you can save him? All of the Cloudflow Universe;s matter was analyzed by us long ago. We''ve always known where you are and what you''ve been doing. If not for our desire to increase the potency of your horns, we would have captured you long ago. Ah, sometimes researching cultivation technologies requires a bit of risk.¡±

    The man let out a few more coughs.

    "Come, Zi Jing, let''s go."

    Zi Jing stared nkly. "Teacher, what about them?"

    "Ha, they¡¯re just a group of test subjects who foolishly attempted to rescue Cloudflow. We¡¯ve been allowing them to continue on with their efforts because we wanted their horns to be more potent, which gave them a bit of hope. This is actually perfect. They managed to find Cloudflow, which agitated their emotions. Look, their horns are much brighter than what we usually see," the old man said with some satisfaction.

    Zi Jing''s finger twitched. "Yes, they are much brighter. But what about them?"

    "Transcendent Universe, release them! Release my people!" Cloudflow''s voice grew deeper, hoarser, and even more despair filled it. Despite being a powerhouse with the strength of a Progenitor, which was the peak of what humans could theoretically achieve with cultivation, the man was still nothing more than a prisoner.

    The old man nced over at the metal door. "Cloudflow, how many groups does this make?"

    "Release them."

    "Is that all that you can say? I gave them some hope, and they were even able to hear your voice before they died. They should be satisfied with this."

    The limbless woman on the floor became so furious that her eyes bulged from her head. She murmured something, and the pure venom in her gaze left Zi Jing''s heart trembling.

    The old man shook his head. "Other subhumans will soone here to save him again. Their horns are the best materials for experiments."

    With that, the old man turned around. At that same moment, all of the bloodstains and corpses vanished without a trace.

    Just as the old man had said, the Transcendent Universe had already thoroughly analyzed all of the matter and energy in the Cloudflow Universe. The creatures from that universe were formed from that very matter, so there was no problem with making them disappear.

    There was a loud bang that caused the floor to tremble. The cloud-like power surged from below, but it was still unable to get any closer to the old man and Zi Jing.

    A short timeter, Zi Jing was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Flowers along the stairs were still in full bloom, andughter and joy filled the area. Yet just moments before, Zi Jing had witnessed a mountain of corpses and seen eyes that were filled with despair and lifelessness.

    "I''m sorry for startling you," a pleasant voice came from above.

    Zi Jing knelt down. "I dare not."

    "If one day, powerful beings like Cloudflow kneel before you in this same manner, what would you think?" the voice asked.

    Zi Jing was startled. Cloudflow, kneeling to her?

    She remained silent, and her head remained bowed while she did not answer.

    The perfect woman did not press, and she also remained silent.

    After enough time passed for a stick of incense to burn, Zi Jing finally responded. "Will that day trulye?"

    "Who do you want to see kneeling before you?" the voice asked.

    Zi Jing swallowed and lowered her head deeply. "This small one understands."

    "Go to the Singrity Universe and meet Xuan Qi. He has revealed tremendous talent for both Voidforce and the Lost n¡¯s methods."

    Zi Jing nodded. "Understood."

    After Zi Jing was gone, a voice asked, "Why do you allow her to meet with Xuan Qi? He already belongs to the Voidforce Universe."

    "Constant stimtion and a near-death experience have worked to ignite her ambition. Ambition can easily go out of control. Xuan Qi is what can be used to control her."

    "Can Xuan Qi do that?"

    "Of course. Xuan Qi is also quite outstanding, isn''t he? It¡¯s possible that we can also help Xuan Qi be even better. He may even be so outstanding that he is actually worthy of Zi Jing. Perhaps he can be the tform that we use to analyze the Voidforce Universe."

    "I understand."

 Chapter 2537: Disrupting The Rules

    Chapter 2537: Disrupting The Rules

    In the Singrity Universe, Lu Yin submitted an official application to the Lost n School to request a transfer to the Arboreal School.

    Zhi Bing made a personal visit to acknowledge ¡°Xuan Qi¡¯s¡± achievements in the Lost n School. "Out of all of the people from the various foreign universes who have visited our Lost n School, you undoubtedly have the greatest talent. The Hidden Mountain card won''t be wasted in your hands."

    Lu Yin felt grateful and replied, "Although I''ve only recentlye into contact with the Lost n Universe, I feel that it is a civilization with vast and profound knowledge. Given the opportunity, I would like to visit the Lost n Universe so that I may gain a deeper understanding of your methods."

    Zhi Bing chuckled. "Young man, you are insatiable. There''s no point in you visiting our Lost n Universe. That Hidden Mountain card is enough tost you until you grow old."

    "Old Zhi, that''s not how you should talk to someone," Xu Xiangyin interjected as he appeared out of nowhere. He hade to prevent Zhi Bing from poaching the Voidforce Universe¡¯s genius, unlikely as though it may be. However, the moment he arrived, he had heard such words.

    Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised. "Senior, you''re here too."

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "You''ve made quite the name for yourself in the Lost n School over the past two and a half months."

    Lu Yin answered humbly, "It was just luck, Senior."

    Xu Xiangyin shook his head and then looked back at Zhi Bing. "Old man, you''re getting more and more shameless. You''ve even started deceiving the younger generation now."

    Zhi Bing frowned and retorted. "Don''t be ridiculous."

    Xu Xiangyin sneered. "Even though that Hidden Mountain card is excellent, it''s still nothing more than an Ancient card. Such a card won''tst him for his entire lifetime. I mean absolutely no disrespect to your Lost n''s cards, but that''s the truth."

    Zhi Bing remained calm.

    "Even a Primordial card might notst Xuan Qi for his entire lifetime. Only a Prehistoric card could possibly qualify," Xu Xiangyin continued.

    Lu Yin''s eyes brightened. The lower limit of the strength of a Primordial card was the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, while a Prehistoric card could reach the strength of a Progenitor. As for Ancient cards, they could only measure up to Envoys.

    Thus, Lu Yin''s current strength allowed him to fully unleash the power of the Hidden Mountain card, but so what? It was impossible to trap even a Semi-Progenitor, as they would escape, just like how Mu Mu had incinerated Jiang Xiaodao''s card. There was no need to even mention a Progenitor.

    Zhi Bing sneered in turn, "Now you''re just being delusional. I¡¯ve already made a huge exception by allowing someone from a foreign universe to take a seven-star Ancient card. Unless he joins our Lost n Universe-" The old man suddenly looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "What do you think, Xuan Qi? Would you consider joining our Lost n Universe?"

    Xu Xiangyin immediately jumped in. "Old man, you promised you wouldn¡¯t try to poach him!"

    "You¡¯re the one who¡¯s trying to get him a Prehistoric card. Do you think that any outsider can be given a Prehistoric card?" Zhi Bing said as he rolled his eyes.

    Xu Xiangyin looked upset. "Just forget it, Xuan Qi. Let''s move on to the Arboreal School."

    Zhi Bing smiled at Lu Yin. "Just think about it."

    Xu Xiangyin quickly led ¡°Xuan Qi¡± away. Why bother arguing with that old man? Xu Xiangyin was genuinely afraid that the young genius would be stolen away before his very eyes. If that happened, he would not be able to offer any exnation to the Voidforce Universe.

    He also would have no exnation to give to Senior Xu Wuwei.

    Lu Yin had expected Xu Xiangyin to take him straight to the Arboreal School, but instead, they arrived in outer space. Before them was the same man who had escorted Lu Yin from the Transcendent Universe to the Sixverse Academy. The man¡¯s name was You Teng.

    "I''ll leave him to you. Zhi Bing truly is despicable for trying to poach him right in front of me!" Xu Xiangyinined.

    You Teng was taken aback. "Zhi Bing tried to steal him from you? That seems unlikely. The Lost n is very closed off, so it''s highly unlikely that they would ever ept any outsider, no matter how talented they might be."

    Xu Xiangyin would never admit to You Teng that he had been the one to bring trouble upon himself. Instead, he just grumbled a bit before allowing ¡°Xuan Qi¡± to continue on to the Arboreal School with You Teng.

    The old man soon left.

    Lu Yin gave You Teng a curious look.

    You Teng said, "There''s someone who wants to meet you."

    The first thing that came to mind was the image of that perfect woman atop the staircase.

    However, instead of that woman, Lu Yin saw Zi Jing.

    The two had been separated almost as soon as they arrived in the Transcendent Universe, and over half a year had passed since that time. Unexpectedly, they were reunited in the Singrity Universe.

    "Take your time." Yu Teng smiled at the two before disappearing.

    Lu Yin gave the man a grateful look. "Thank you, Senior."

    Once Yu Teng was gone, Lu Yin released his domain to confirm that no one was observing. Only then did he look at Zi Jing.

    As for Zi Jing, she was looking at Lu Yin with a strange expression.

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before asking, "Is it a powerful temptation to have a Progenitor kneel to you?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Not really."

    Zi Jing felt puzzled by the answer. "Why not?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew meaningful as he leaned closer to Zi Jing. From a distance, it looked as though he was embracing the woman, but the truth was that he was whispering in her ear, "It will cut your life short."

    Zi Jing went stiff, and she gave Lu Yin a confused look.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just kidding. Did someone try to tempt you with this?"

    Zi Jing nodded and shared what had happened.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "They¡¯ve imprisoned a Progenitor-level expert? No wonder it affected you so much. Even I wouldn¡¯t be able to resist such temptation. The human mind weighs things like a scale, with conscience and self-interest on either side. There¡¯s no absolute bnce, and things depend on which side gains more weight. The Transcendent Universe just ced a truly heavy weight on you."

    Zi Jing felt puzzled. "Why doesn''t the Dao Monarch ask me for my thoughts?"

    Lu Yin said, "I''m still safe here, which proves that you haven¡¯t been crushed by the weight."

    Zi Jing sighed. "Truthfully, I hesitated. A Progenitor is the pinnacle of human power. Anyone who reaches such a realm is undoubtedly one of the strongest beings in existence, and yet such a person can still be imprisoned. The power of the Transcendent Universe is beyond terrifying. They can even force Progenitors to kneel before me. The temptation of such power is too great."

    "Then why did you resist that temptation?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing¡¯s eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s. "If I tell you that I''m waiting for a more opportune time, will you believe me, Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand and gently ced it on Zi Jing''s forehead. She stood still and just looked at him.

    He proceeded to stroke her hair. "I can see that something¡¯s changed in your eyes. It''s quite obvious. Once something like that appears, it will never go away. Since that''s the case," he paused as he smirked, "Let it sprout and grow."

    "Aren''t you afraid that I will one day betray you, Dao Monarch?" Zi Jing asked, confused.

    Lu Yinughed heartily. "Even if they make a Progenitor kneel to you, it won¡¯t change the fact that you still will have to kneel to that woman. However, I can change that."

    Zi Jing''s eyes flickered as she took a deep breath and revealed a bitter smile. She turned to stare into a distant point in outer space. "I never imagined that the day woulde where I would be governed by ambition. I escaped from the Transcendent Universe because I didn''t want to do their bidding and didn''t want to be bound. I wanted to live freely, but in the end, I still couldn''t avoid it."

    Lu Yin said, "You should be grateful to be used. Not everyone is qualified to have their ambitions awakened. They even exposed something as confidential as the fact that they have Cloudflow imprisoned just to spark your ambition."

    Zi Jing nodded. "I understand."

    "Enough, let''s get to the point. What exactly happened that made the Transcendent Universe go to such lengths to awaken your ambition and alter your very personality?" Lu Yin felt very curious about this. There was nothing more difficult than changing a human heart. The Transcendent Universe had clearly spent a tremendous amount of effort to change Zi Jing.

    In the past, they had done nothing at all to change anything about Zi Jing, which made things rather strange. Something must have happened to cause Zi Jing to force them to try to change her character.

    Zi Jing''s finger twitched. "I visualized- I visualized sequence particles."

    Lu Yin frowned, "What does that mean? You mentioned the same thing to me back in the Fifth Maind, but I never understood what that actually means."

    Zi Jing solemnly exined, "I didn''t understand it before, either. Despite grasping the technology to visualize the particles, I didn''t know how such a technology could be used. All that I knew was that it could eventually allow for entire universes to be destroyed. That''s why I fled. However, I might be able to understand a little more now.¡±

    "Simply put, the Transcendent Universe has the ability to analyze all matter and energy within a given universe. However, such things are invisible. It¡¯s only through cultivation technology that each particle of matter can be visualized and analyzed."

    Zi Jing looked over at Lu Yin, her head beginning to throb. She did not understand how to exin this. "The birth of humans is not a coincidence. Many people say that they are grateful to live on a that has the optimum temperature and environment for human survival, but that¡¯s the wrong outlook. It¡¯s actually the opposite¡ªit¡¯s because of that environment that humans were born on that. If humans were creatures of magma, then the environments that we currently enjoy would not be suitable for our survival.¡±

    "The entire megaverse is the same. The vast megaverse is home to countless creatures and practically infinite matter. This matteres into existence following the rules of a given universe. The universe creates matter, not the other way around. We call this process of how universes function matter ¡®sequence.¡¯¡±

    "What I managed to aplish was to visualize that matter sequence. Just imagine¡ªonce a matter sequence is disrupted, what would happen to a given universe?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew sharp. He was not stupid. While he could not understand overly technical exnations, he could perfectly understand what Zi Jing was saying. "Are you saying that you¡¯ve found a way to disrupt the fundamental rules of a universe?"

    Zi Jing nodded. "That¡¯s one way of looking at it. Those rules are elusive and hard toprehend, let alone disrupt. However, the Transcendent Universe is already able to understand the rules that govern a given universe¡¯s matter sequence. They can then create an antimatter sequence that can undo the matter sequence. Once that is developed and released within a universe, it is possible to overturn the universe, reorganize it, or even erase all life and trigger the birth of new life.¡±

    "Such destruction woulde from the universe itself, which means that no individual or creature can resist it. Progenitors are able to alter the universe, but not even they can destroy a universe. Once a universe has been reorganized, all life and matter must start anew. This is what the Transcendent Universe is nning to do. This is a third cultivation technology that they want to develop alongside energy converters and the Bestowal Art."

    Lu Yin stared at Zi Jing. Restructuring the rules of a universe was an incredible concept. He had previously fought against Progenitors who had recklessly unleashed their power in outer space, tearing apart the void and eliminating entire civilizations. However, even for such powerhouses, it was impossible to annihte an entire universe. "Is this really possible?"

    Zi Jing did not answer. She also felt rather perplexed about it, but her teacher''s reaction was proof that it was possible.

    "Since the Transcendent Universe was able to imprison Cloudflow, does that mean that they¡¯ve already analyzed the matter sequence of the Cloudflow ne?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing nodded. "Yes. They intend to use Cloudflow for an experiment to explore the possibility of antimatter sequence."

    "The deeper they delve, the greater their ambitions be. The top authorities of the Transcendent Universe are no longer satisfied with their current status. They want to rece the Cyclic Universe." Lu Yin sighed. "If the Cyclic Universe learns of this, do you think that they will start a war?"

    Zi Jing asked, "Does the Dao Monarch intend to inform the Cyclic Universe?"

    "Not necessarily." Lu Yin looked at Zi Jing. "Besides, given your current state, I doubt that you¡¯d want that to happen either."

 Chapter 2538: Evolving Relationship

    Chapter 2538: Evolving Rtionship

    Zi Jing did not deny Lu Yin''s allegation. After several near-death experiences, the temptation of having a Progenitor submit to her had been enough to shift her personality.

    Lu Yin stared off into outer space as he considered things. "How much longer until the antimatter particle sequence is developed?"

    Zi Jing shook her head. "I can''t answer that. It could go fast or slow. This research has already been divided into several dozen areas, and all of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s greatest minds have been put on this project. The Energy Research Group I was part of was supposedly disbanded, but the truth is that the members were all reassigned to other research groups. The research did not actually stagnate during my absence, and instead was only temporarily paused at a certain stage. With my return, it only took a few months to reach a breakthrough in the research progress.

    "This is the fruit of the Transcendent Universe never cking off over many years. All I actually did was confirm their research."

    "Yet without you, no matter how thorough their research, it would have been useless. They can¡¯t conduct an experiment without performing it on an entire universe, and when ites to analyzing a universe, I don''t believe the Transcendent Universe can fully analyze even the smallest universe in a short amount of time," Lu Yin said.

    Zi Jing denied nothing.

    "Continue as you are. As for how long I''ll stay hidden within the Sixverse Association, I¡¯ll head back after I gain a full understanding of them. If possible." Lu Yin smiled. "I''ll take this research with me."

    Thement did not surprise Zi Jing at all. She understood Lu Yin quite well. "Even if you take the research with you, even if you take the entire research group with you, the Fifth Maind doesn¡¯t have the ability toplete an experiment. The Fifth Maind doesn''t even have the capability to fully analyze a universe. Even the Transcendent Universe has only managed to analyze itself and the Cloudflow Universe so far, and just those two are already the result of countless years of effort that can be traced back to the time of the Daosource Sect, or even further."

    "It doesn''t matter. If the Fifth Maind can''t do it, then I''ll just get the Transcendent Universe to do it for us," Lu Yin replied as he looked at Zi Jing. "From now on, we are in a cooperative rtionship."

    Zi Jing looked at Lu Yin. This evolution of their rtionship was too sudden, and she needed time to adapt to it. She could also refuse to ept the change and simply continue to help Lu Yin for the time being, and then follow him back to the Fifth Maind when he returned, holding him to his promise to protect her. Zi Jing believed Lu Yin would keep that promise. However, could she ept that future? She thought back to the excitement of the researchers when the experiment had seeded, as well as the miserable state of the indigenous creatures of the Cloudflow Universe, the powerful Cloudflow¡¯s despair, and the perfect woman¡¯s words.

    "I look forward to cooperating with you," Zi Jing replied softly.

    Lu Yin smiled. Zi Jing would not be nearly as valuable to him if she was willing to leave with him. Far more valuable was a Zi Jing with ambition who wanted to establish herself in the Transcendent Universe. Lu Yin respected Zi Jing''s choice and would not have interfered regardless of her decision. However, with how the Transcendent Universe had changed her, he would simply allow things to run their course. After all, it was Zi Jing''s choice.

    Zi Jing was soon led away. Considering her importance to the Transcendent Universe, it was a very rare opportunity for her to be allowed to meet with Lu Yin in the Singrity Universe.

    Developing ambition required strength. It would be too difficult for Zi Jing to climb to the top of the Transcendent Universe on her own, even if she did manage to master a cultivation technology that was beyond what others couldprehend. It would simply take far too long. However, Zi Jing was no longer alone in the Transcendent Universe. There was also the enigmatic Bai Qian, whose position Lu Yin did not understand. With Bai Qian''s help, Lu Yin was curious to see just how far Zi Jing could go.

    She was too weak at present.

    After Zi Jing was sent away, You Teng returned andmented, "I¡¯ve never seen her treat anyone so well. She actually allowed you two to meet."

    It was obvious that ¡°she¡± referred to the perfect woman, He Ran. Within the Transcendent Universe, even Ke Jian and You Teng, whose white energy converters gave them the strength of Semi-Progenitors, needed to show respect to that woman.

    "Let''s go. I''ll take you to the Arboreal School," You Teng said.

    Lu Yin expressed his gratitude, "I''ll have you trouble you, Senior."

    You Teng smiled before leading Lu Yin towards the Arboreal School. As they moved along, the man asked, "Do you know much about the Arboreal Realm?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I''ve heard of it and seen some battles fought by people from the Arboreal Realm, but I don¡¯t know much about it."

    "The Arboreal School¡¯s requirements involve picking something called a Wood Fruit. This is the same requirement that all cultivators from the Arboreal Realm must meet. The grade of the Wood Fruit that one can pick essentially reflects a person¡¯s future achievements. Also, the Arboreal School is known to be the school with the fastest pass or fail process in the Sixverse Academy..." You Teng started exining how the Arboreal School worked.

    Lu Yin wondered why You Teng was saying so much. Was it because of Zi Jing?

    It would normally take just a short amount of time to travel to the Arboreal School, but You Teng slowed their pace so that he could share more information about the school with ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± However, everything the man shared was likely avable in the jade slips given to new students upon their arrival in a school. Lu Yin had already gone through the process twice before, and he was certain that things would be the same in the Arboreal School.

    Suddenly, You Teng mentioned, "Think more about the most precious, magical, or powerful trees you havee into contact with. That will help you reach the school¡¯s requirements."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "That will help me pick a Wood Fruit?"

    You Teng smiled. "Some opportunities appear to be fair, but the reality is that most are still unfair. The Wood Fruit a person picks may seem to be dependent on their luck and talent, but the reality is that there are ways around that. How else would people like Xu Ji and He Shu manage to pick a tri-chromatic fruit and receive the opportunity to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary? Almost all of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s elites were able to pick tri-chromatic fruits. Do you really believe that is just a coincidence?"

    As the man spoke, they arrived at the Arboreal School.

    "Go on then," You Teng said, giving Lu Yin a gentle push toward the school.

    Lu Yin was not even allowed the opportunity to offer his thanks.

    You Teng watched as Lu Yin entered the Arboreal School, and then muttered to himself, "Why did they specifically ask me to tell him all of this? He already belongs to the Voidforce Universe. Is Zi Jing really so important?"

    ...

    The Arboreal School, the Voidforce School, and the Lost n School all had different appearances. The Arboreal School was not a continent like the other schools, but was instead a massive tree. It was truly huge, as it wasrge enough to hold stars. It was evenrger than the Mavis n''s divine tree. Leaves and branches filled outer space, creating a truly magnificent sight.

    There were different fruits hanging from the tree, each a different color. Some only had one color, while others had two, three, four, or even five colors. These were the Wood Fruits.

    Meeting the Arboreal School''s requirements meant picking a Wood Fruit. As long as that happened, the school¡¯s requirements were met. If a student could not obtain a fruit, they instantly failed.

    There was no need to prepare to pick a Wood Fruit. Anyone who could pick a fruit was allowed to enter the school, while anyone who failed needed to leave. It took many of the Voidforce School¡¯s students a year to fail to meet the school¡¯s requirements, and the Lost n School was the same. On the other hand, the Arboreal School was known to be the school that passed or failed students the quickest, given the requirements.

    A jade slip shot out towards Lu Yin.

    He raised a hand to catch it and quickly browsed the contents. The information was very simr to what he had heard from You Teng, though the man¡¯s finalment was not included.

    The detail that was most stressed in the jade slip was the fact that if a person could not pick a Wood Fruit, it meant they had no talent for the Arboreal School¡¯s methods. Without any talent, there was no reason to waste time in the school.

    ¡°Xuan Qi¡¯s¡± transfer was no secret. From the moment Lu Yin had left the Lost n School, news had spread throughout the Sixverse Academy that he was headed to the Arboreal School.

    Everyone was curious to learn what would happen in the Arboreal School, given his extraordinary performance in both the Lost n School and the Voidforce School. Xuan Qi had managed to surpass even people like Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and Jiang Xiaodao, which had created quite the stir within the Sixverse Academy.

    As a result, all of the Arboreal School¡¯s students who had already managed to meet the school¡¯s requirements arrived at the entrance and waited for Xuan Qi to arrive.

    Lu Yinnded on a branch of the giant tree. He poked it with a foot. Sure enough, he was standing on a tree branch. The sensation reminded him of his trip to the Dominion Realm. The only difference was that green bubbles continued to float out. These bubbles were the source of the Arboreal Realm''s unique power, much the same as the Fifth Maind¡¯s star energy.

    "He''s here! It''s Xuan Qi!" someone in the distance eximed.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw the flickering images of different people approaching him. He arched a brow. Were these people wanting to make trouble for him?

    "Xuan Qi, pick a Wood Fruit," a woman excitedly called out, clearly eager as she stared at him.

    After that, he heard more people call to him from every direction, urging him to pick a Wood Fruit.

    Lu Yin understood that all of these people hade to witness a spectacle, as they all wanted to see his performance in the Arboreal School.

    His performance in the Voidforce School and the Lost n School had drawn the entire Sixverse Academy''s attention. He vaguely made out somement or other about a bet; something about the odds being one to three, or even one to five.

    He looked up and took in the tree branches that wereden with Wood Fruit that sparkled like stars in the sky. However, even with so many Wood Fruits, not everyone was able to pick one. Many people were disqualified from the school.

    At that moment, a man appeared before the students. Lu Yin looked over to see the man. He had an unremarkable appearance that contrasted with an extraordinary aura. As the man drew closer, a hush fell over the area. It was as though the man¡¯s mere presencemanded respect, despite the totalck of words or actions.

    Lu Yin felt a familiarity from the man, both from his appearance, as well as the faint presence of voidforce energy that clung to him.

    "Xu Ji. It''s a pleasure to meet you," the man spoke calmly as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You¡¯re Xu Ji?"

    Xu Ji nodded. "And you are Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ve heard of you. Xu Xiangyin mentioned you frequently."

    "He probablypared us," Xu Ji said.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Xu Ji frowned. "Even in the Voidforce Universe, there are few who canpare to me. The fact that hepared you to me means you must be truly outstanding."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You seem quite confident."

    Xu Ji stared at Lu Yin while saying, "You are already half a citizen of the Voidforce Universe. I hope you''ll be even more outstanding in the future. Grow enough that you can make me feel a bit of pressure. Otherwise, it will be too boring."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯ll do my best."

    "Hey, Xuan Qi! Stop talking and pick a Wood Fruit!" Someone finally lost their patience.

    "Stop talking and pick one first."

    "If he can''t pick a Wood Fruit, he won''t be able to stay here."

    "Don''t joke around. That¡¯s Xuan Qi! He¡¯s already made it onto the list of future powerhouses. How could he possibly fail to pick a Wood Fruit? Didn¡¯t you see Shao Qingfeng and He Shu pick a tri-chromatic fruit?"

    "Zhi Xiao shouldn''t have been any worse than those two, yet he only got a di-chromatic fruit. How worthless."

    "That''s because he¡¯s from the Lost n. The Lost n is exclusive and they don¡¯t bother with interacting with other universes. If not, given Xuan Qi''s talent, they would have started fighting to have him a long time ago. Who knows, maybe he¡¯ll pick a penta-chromatic fruit."

    "Don''t joke around. How could that even be possible?"

    "Hurry up and pick a Wood Fruit. I need to get back to cultivating," someone urged.

    ...

    "Shut up," Xu Ji coldly ordered as he looked around.

    Everyone immediately fell silent.

    Xu Ji turned to look back at Lu Yin and said, "Only by picking a tri-chromatic fruit can you qualify to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary, which is a mysterious ce in the Arboreal Realm. I hope you can go there as well."

    It was clear that Xu Ji had already qualified to go.

 Chapter 2539: Attempt

    Chapter 2539: Attempt

    Lu Yin ignored Xu Ji and instead looked up at the numerous Wood Fruits. "Should I touch them?"

    Xu Ji nced back at ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± "You can, but that¡¯s rather embarrassing."

    "Embarrassing?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Xu Ji exined, "Most people will stand in one ce as they sense the nearby Wood Fruits before choosing one. Only people who fail will try to physically pick a specific fruit."

    As they spoke, a man flittered above the audience, his arms spread out to touch the various fruits. He used a battle technique to ensure that he touched every single fruit, an extremely ugly expression covering his face.

    Xu Ji spat contemptuously, "People like him will never be able to get even a single Wood Fruit throughout their entire lives. They are simply failures. I hope you won''t be like that."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he started trying to sense the Wood Fruits.

    Everyone watched intently. Even the man who was frantically touching all of the nearby fruits paused to watch Lu Yin. Complex emotions filled the man¡¯s eyes. He was hoping that Xuan Qi would also fail to get any Wood Fruit. In that way, there would be another to bear the ridicule with the man.

    The Arboreal School did not immediately drive the man away. Instead, it seemed that he had been simply forgotten, which was even more cruel. Wouldn''t it be great if Xuan Qi, a genius blessed by the heavens, can¡¯t pick a single Wood Fruit?

    Outside the Arboreal School, Xu Xiangyin, Zhi Bing, and You Teng were joined by a pale faced middle-aged man. This man was the Arboreal Realm''s representative to the Sixverse Academy, and his nickname was Mu Sanye.

    "I wonder what fruit that child will pluck. It will be good enough if he can get a tri-chromatic fruit," Xu Xiangyinmented expectantly.

    Zhi Bingmented, "You''d be better off hoping he doesn¡¯t reveal too much talent here. The Arboreal Realm is different from our Lost n. If that child manages to get a tetra-chromatic fruit, or even a penta-chromatic fruit, there might be someone willing to fight with you for him."

    Wariness entered Xu Xiangyin''s eyes as he looked over at Mu Sanye. "Surely not. Mu San, you and I have a good rtionship. There¡¯s no need to let someone make trouble between us."

    Mu Sanye chuckled. "Picking a tetra-chromatic fruit is easier said than done. Even in the Arboreal Realm, only a few are able to do so. Just getting a tri-chromatic fruit is already an impressive achievement. Don''t worry, we have no shortage of talented individuals in the Arboreal Realm. We won''t fight you for him."

    "Xu Ji must have gotten a tetra-chromatic fruit," You Tengmented.

    Mu Sanye nodded. "The child''s previous voidforce puppet was a tree, but it was destroyed during a battle with Aeternus. He has a connection with trees."

    "The more talented the person, the more likely they are to achieve perfection. In the vast megaverse, everyone pursues perfection, but how many can truly achieve it? I don''t know how far Xuan Qi can go, but for now, he can be considered to have achieved perfection in both the Voidforce and Lost n Universes," You Teng said.

    Mu Sanye''s eyes shed as he asked, "True perfection? Like that Junior Sovereign?"

    "Mu San, what kind of Wood Fruit did you get in your time?" Xu Xiangyin asked curiously.

    Mu Sanye replied, "I obtained a tri-chromatic fruit."

    "Not bad," Xu Xiangyin said before everyone fell silent. They were all curious to see which Wood Fruit ¡°Xuan Qi¡± would pick.

    The entire Sixverse Academy was waiting.

    Some hoped to see another miracle appear, while others hoped for Xuan Qi¡¯s failure. There were many opinions.

    While everyone was waiting, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open and he took a step forward. He had sensed a Wood Fruit, though he did not know what kind. He simply followed his instincts and grabbed it. The fruit felt soft, as though it could be easily crushed, yet it also possessed a resilient quality. When he took a closer look at it, he saw that he held a grayish-white fruit. It had only a single color.

    Everyone was stunned. "Monochromatic? Just a monochromatic fruit? That¡¯s even worse than me! At least I got a di-chromatic fruit."

    "It''s over; pay up. Xuan Qi''s series of miracles has ended, hahaha!"

    "Damn. He performed amazingly in both the Voidforce and Lost n Schools, only to prove worthless when he got here. He¡¯s made me lose money!"

    "I thought he¡¯s at least get a di-chromatic fruit. It would have been better to just disqualify him from this school. Who could have expected him to get just a Monochromatic Fruit?"

    Everyone around started discussing what had just happened.

    Even Lu Yin could not believe that he had actually only sensed a Monochromatic Fruit. This was a pretty terrible result, no?

    Outside the Arboreal School, Xu Xiangyin''s face twitched. Monochromatic Fruits were the worst ones. Still, it did not matter. Xuan Qi¡¯s talent for voidforce energy was terrifying, so it really did not matter too much if his talent for the Arboreal Realm¡¯s methods was rathercking.

    Zhi Bing shook his head and started to walk away.

    You Teng felt disappointed. He had purposely given a bit of advice, yet the youth still only managed to get a Monochromatic Fruit. Without You Teng¡¯s suggestion, would the child have been disqualified?

    Mu Sanye sighed. "A monochromatic Fruit¡­ He may have managed to meet the requirements, but..."

    The man shook his head. "Even if he manages to obtain an innate gift from a tree, it will be nothing more than a burden for him. Xu Xiangyin, there is no need for you to worry about me trying to steal him from you, right? Don''t keep staring at me like you''re watching a thief."

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "No one¡¯s staring at you. I''m just worried about Xuan Qi."

    "Should we take him away? He''s already passed this school¡¯s requirements. That means he¡¯s learned the methods of the Transcendent Universe, the Voidforce School, the Lost n School, and now my Arboreal School. With all fourpleted, he can make his way over to the Central School. It''s a waste of time to keep him here," Mu Sanye said.

    Xu Xiangyin considered the matter for a moment. "That''s true. Let''s take him away."

    In the Arboreal School, Lu Yin stared at the fruit in his hand, lost in thought. Was it an illusion? It felt like power in his chest actually wanted to devour the fruit.

    The Arboreal School¡¯s Wood Fruits were meant to be eaten, as only by doing so could one attempt to obtain an innate gift from a tree. However, why did the power in his chest want to devour this fruit? What was going on?

    "Xuan Qi, you''ve disappointed me," Xu Ji''s voice rang out.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Then I apologize."

    Xu Ji said, "You still have a chance. As long as you manage to pick a Wood Fruit, you can try to get a better one. While the chances of seeding are small, it is notpletely impossible. I picked a tri-chromatic fruit on my first try. Three monthster, I tried again, and that time obtained a Quadruple Radiance Fruit.

    "Everyone here wants to try again, but those who are unable to get even a single Wood Fruit will never be able to get any at all. Only those who have already seeded have any chance."

    Lu Yin nced around and saw hope rekindle in the eyes of many people.

    "Thank you. In that case, I¡¯ll give it another shot," Lu Yin said before closing his eyes again.

    During his first attempt, his mind had been nk, and he had not thought of anything. He only sensed the Monochromatic Fruit. For his next attempt, he wanted to try sensing a Wood Fruit while thinking of the powerful and magical trees he had encountered, as You Teng had suggested.

    Of all of the trees Lu Yin had ever seen, the most powerful was the Mother Tree.

    "I didn''t ask you to try right now. That¡¯s pointless," Xu Ji said.

    Lu Yin ignored the young man as he pictured the Mother Tree in his mind.

    Several people started to mock him, "Don''t be fooled by his indifferent expression. He was already praised as a genius in the Voidforce School and the Lost n School, but now he finally went through a massive setback."

    "Even though I lost money, it still feels great to see a genius humiliated like this."

    "He''s just trying to save face. Let''s go. Staying here¡¯s a waste of time."

    ...

    Outside the Arboreal School, Mu Sanye shook his head. "It seems he doesn''t want to face reality."

    However, Xu Xiangyin answered, "Xuan Qi doesn¡¯t have a bad mindset. There were several time I thought he would face a setback, yet in the end, I was the one who was wrong. Common sense does not apply to this child."

    ¡°Haha, you care too much for this child. No wonder you''ve been keeping such a close eye on us and fretting about us trying to steal him away. Don''t worry, he is all yours." Mu Sanyeughed.

    You Teng smiled and shook his head as he prepared to leave.

    Suddenly, Mu Sanye''sughter cut short, which left the man coughing. "How is this possible?"

    He was not alone, as everyone who had been watching Lu Yin was dumbfounded. They saw that he was holding another Wood Fruit in his hand, this time with three alternating colors. It was far more beautiful than the Monochromatic Fruit. This was a tri-chromatic fruit.

    Silence filled the area, as everyone was stunned.

    Even Xu Ji''s expression had changed. This was the first time he had ever revealed such a shocked expression. He stared nkly at the tri-chromatic fruit that Lu Yin held. "Is that¡­ did you pick that?"

    Lu Yin squeezed the fruit gently and said, "It feels the same. I wonder how it tastes..."

    With that, he first took a bite of the monochromatice Fruit, and then one of the tri-chromatic fruit. He ate both as though they were regr fruits.

    Everyone would eat the Wood Fruit they picked, but no one had ever heard of someone eating two at the same time. Most people only ever managed to pick a single Wood Fruit throughout their lives. Very few were like Xu Ji and managed to pick a second one, not to mention obtaining two at the same time and being able to take a bite from a different one in each hand.

    Soon, Lu Yin finished them andmented, "Tasteless."

    The crowd stared in silence. Was the taste really the problem at this point?

    "You actually picked a second fruit?" Xu Ji was shocked.

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Didn''t you just tell me to try? You said it could be done."

    Xu Ji''s eye twitched. He fought the urge to reply that he had not meant for Xuan Qi to attempt so quickly. He had taken three months to try again, whereas Xuan Qi had made his second attempt immediately after his first. The nature of their second attempts waspletely different, yet Xu Ji simply could not bring himself to admit it.

    Actually, he did not even understand what Xuan Qi¡¯s bizarre sess even meant.

    Outside the Arboreal School, Mu Sanye stared at Lu Yin while eximing, "A genius! An absolute prodigy! While he only managed to pick a tri-chromatic fruit, the fact that he was able to do so at almost the same time as his first fruit indicates a different kind of talent. What a prodigy."

    Xu Xiangyin, who was carefully listening to Mu Sanye''s words, suddenly returned to his senses, and wariness returned to his eyes. "Mu San, you haven''t forgotten what you just told me, right? You can''t take him from me!"

    Mu Sanye withdrew his gaze and looked at Xu Xiangyin. "You can rest assured, unless he manages to pick a penta-chromatic fruit, I won''t fight you for him. While it¡¯s true the child has incredible talent, the Arboreal Realm has more than one youth who surpasses him. I''m merely voicing my admiration."

    Xu Xiangyin let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good."

    "Old Xu, you''ve truly struck gold," Mu Sanyemented sincerely.

    Xu Xiangyin felt a wave of satisfaction, though he continued to speak humbly. He was still afraid that Mu Sanye would try to snatch his gem away. Even if Mu San might not be sessful, even the attempt would be troublesome.

    After Xuan Qi finished eating both of the Wood Fruits, Xu Ji''s expression returned to normal. "Xuan Qi, you are indeed qualified topete with me. If there¡¯s a tree you''re familiar with, you might even be able to pick a tetra-chromatic fruit."

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. "A tree I''m familiar with?"

    Xu Ji exined, "Myst voidforce puppet was an impressivelyrge tree. It was because I was so familiar with it that I was able to pick a tetra-chromatic fruit. The fact that you picked a tri-chromatic fruit proves you also have a connection with trees, so you can try picking a better fruit again in the future."

    "The more familiar I am with a tree, the better the fruit I''ll get?" Lu Yin asked, his expression growingplicated.

    "Of course," Xu Ji replied.

    Lu Yin realized he had been mistaken. He had believed that simply thinking about the Mother Tree would give him the best results, considering its power. However, he had only managed to pick a tri-chromatic fruit. The truth was that he was not particrly familiar with the Mother Tree, and was instead far more familiar with Big Face Tree. In that case, he should give it another try.

    With that thought in mind, Lu Yin closed his eyes and started remembering Big Face Tree.

 Chapter 2540: Sudden Contest

    Chapter 2540: Sudden Contest

    Seeing Lu Yin close his eyes again left Xu Ji speechless. "You''re trying again?"

    "It''s not like I have anything to lose," Lu Yin replied as he thought about Big Face Tree.

    Just thinking of that tree gave him a headache. His mind was filled with the booming voice as it recounted the story of the Third Maind''s glorious war. After hearing it so many times, Lu Yin could recite the entire thing. After a moment, he opened his eyes and took a step forward. He then grabbed¡­ a tetra-chromatic fruit.

    The entire Arboreal School fell silent.

    Xu Ji was utterly dumbfounded. Was this even possible?

    This was the day that the students of the Arboreal School finally understood who the students in the Voidforce and Lost n Schools had felt before.

    When Lu Yin triggered the Voidforce Tide and pulled down the vige, the students of the Voidforce School had been left in a collective state of shock.

    When he had sessfully finished tapping all three cards in less than half an hour, and then found the Hidden Mountain card, the people of the Lost n School had been stunned.

    At this moment, he had sessfully sensed and grabbed different wood fruits three times in a row, one of which was a tetra-chromatic fruit. At this moment, the people of the Arboreal School were struck speechless.

    Even Mu Sanye was visibly taken aback. Was this actually possible? He had not seen such a thing in many years.

    Xu Xiangyin actually recovered the quickest. He moved to stand in front of Mu Sanye and showed a friendly smile. "Trustworthiness is the most important quality in a person."

    Seeing Xu Xiangyin''s smile, Mu Sanye felt irritated and somewhat resentful. Given Xuan Qi¡¯s Yin''s talent, he could easily be epted as a member of the Arboreal Realm, but because the Voidforce Universe had made a move first, Mu San had missed such a talented individual. Why had Xuan Qi not gone to the Arboreal School first?

    "Talent is the driving force behind a civilization¡¯s development," Mu Sanye somberly replied.

    Thement struck a nerve in Xu Xiangyin. "Mu San, you promised you wouldn¡¯t try to steal him away from me."

    "I regret that," Mu Sanye replied.

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes grewrge. "You-"

    Before Xu Xiangyin could even get started, Mu Sanye raised a hand to cut the man off. Rubbing his forehead, Mu San said, "I regret it, but I did indeed tell you that I wouldn¡¯t try to fight you for him, and I will keep my word."

    Xu Xiangyin sighed in relief and a smile resurfaced on his face.

    "However, Xu Xiangyin, you need topensate me," Mu Sanye continued in a low voice.

    Xu Xiangyin wanted to argue, but after considering the situation for a moment, he decided that it would be best to offer some sort ofpensation to avoid any furtherplications. After all, the youth was simply stood out too much.

    "Don''t hesitate. That child just obtained the tetra-chromatic fruit, which means that he is eligible to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary. You know what that means. If he can acquire an incredible innate gift, it can change his future. Compared to that, thepensation you give to me means nothing," Mu Sanye said gloomily.

    Naturally, Xu Xiangyin understood this as well. "Your Arboreal Realm¡¯s Mu Mu has simrly been given the opportunity to search for a powerful voidforce puppet in my Voidforce Universe, which is our universe¡¯s equivalent to the opportunity Xuan Qi has just obtained. Nobody loses out."

    "Mu Mu can¡¯tpare to Xuan Qi''s talent," Mu Sanye snorted.

    Xu Xiangyin quickly changed the topic.

    A green bubble floated up next to Lu Yin. He reached out a hand to gently touch it. A slight bit of energy entered his body from his fingertips, simr to when he absorbed energy from a star crystal. It was almost indiscernible, but this was the power that the people from the Arboreal Realm cultivated. It was another energy that was a type of power that had been created by immensely powerful individuals who could induce changes to the universe.

    He wanted to guide the energy to the system of energy in his chest, but it was not the time. He wanted to try one more time to choose a fruit.

    While Lu Yin was familiar with Big Face Tree, that was not the tree he was the most familiar with. That could only be Sapling!

    "Xuan Qi-" Xu Ji started speaking, but stopped after uttering just two words. He stared at Lu Yin in astonishment. What is he doing? He just closed his eyes again? Is he trying again?

    The crowd remained rooted in ce in absolute silence. Their expressions ranged from shock to confusion. Lu Yin had shocked them too much in too short a time. They all watched as Lu Yin closed his eyes once more, and a ridiculous premonition arose in people¡¯s minds: would he actually pick a penta-chromatic fruit?

    Despite their disbelief, the inexplicable premonition steadily intensified within the people watching.

    Outside of the Arboreal School, Mu Sanye, Xu Xiangyin, and You Teng all stared at ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± When they saw him close his eyes again, the same thought struck them: He isn¡¯t trying again, is he?

    Mu Sanye and the other two had never imagined they would see the day that their understanding of reality would bepletely shattered.

    Picking a Wood Fruit was not nearly as simple as it seemed. In the Arboreal Realm, there were numerous families and sects who longed to pick the best Wood Fruits, but had no sess. These families and sects would go to great lengths as they sought out the strangest trees in the entire universe, and would even search parallel universes, just to allow their descendants contact with them. Even so, it was considered rather impressive if those descendants could pick a tri-chromatic fruit.

    Most of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s cultivators were quite satisfied with picking a di-chromatic fruit.

    He Shu, Shao Qingfeng, and the others in the Sixverse Academy were regarded as the greatest geniuses of their own universes, which had led to many of them sessfully obtaining tri-chromatic fruits when in the academy. Even so, overall, there was a very low rate of people from the academy obtaining such fruits, and that was not even mentions the tetra-chromatic fruit that Xu Ji had picked.

    The fact that Lu Yin had already picked a tri-chromatic fruit indicated that he had seen some incredible trees, which could only be expected. If he could pick a tetra-chromatic fruit, it meant that the trees he had seen were extraordinary, even within the Arboreal Realm. There was no other way to immediately pick a tetra-chromatic fruit. Despite that, he was already making another attempt, which meant that there were even more powerful trees that he was intimately close to.

    How many extraordinary things could an ordinary person see throughout their entire lifetime? Just what had this child witnessed? What had hee into contact with?

    Regardless of whether Xuan Qi would seed or fail, the fact that he was willing to try again demonstrated a measure of confidence.

    Lu Yin¡¯s time spent with Sapling entered his mind. Those delightful green leaves, the way that Lu Yin had gently stroked the twigs and branches, the way the little tree had always depended on him and trusted him, all such thoughts left Lu Yin feeling as though Sapling was right beside him.

    At this same time, within the void in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect, Sapling¡¯s green leaves suddenly lifted up from its branches, and its trunk shifted. Limbs slowly stretched out, as though stroking something. There was a sense of dependence that could be felt.

    It was a dependence that transcended the barriers between parallel universes.

    Lu Yin reached out a hand, a warm smile touching his lips. As far as he was concerned, Sapling was like his own child.

    Suddenly, he felt something soft in his hand.

    What¡¯s this? Lu Yin opened his eyes to find a Wood Fruit had appeared in his hand at some point in time. He stared at the five shining colors. Is this¡­ a penta-chromatic fruit?

    There was a whoosh, and Mu Sanye instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin, his eyes wide as he ced a hand on Lu Yin''s shoulder, already preparing to whisk him away.

    Suddenly, Xu Xiangyin also appeared. "Mu San, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yin had sensed the two men long before they had appeared, but he made no efforts to resist and simply allowed them to grab hold of him.

    "Old Xu, just take this as the Arboreal Realm owing you a debt. Please give him to us," Mu Sanye spoke with a soft voice, yet it carried an unprecedented weight. A rarely seen seriousness could be seen on his face.

    Xu Xiangyin angrily retorted, "Impossible! Xuan Qi is already part of my Voidforce Universe! No one is allowed to take him away. Mu San, you promised you wouldn''t try to steal him!"

    Mu Sanye¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. "This isn''t the time for such discussions. Do you understand the significance of a penta-chromatic fruit proactively entering his hand?"

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "In that case, do you understand what it means to trigger a Voidforce Tide while cultivating?"

    "Old Xu, stop making trouble! Xuan Qi belongs to my Arboreal Realm."

    "Xuan Qi must return with me to the Voidforce Universe. Don''t even dream of taking him away."

    The nearby crowd watched withplicated expressions, disbelief filling their eyes. Not only had Xuan Wi seeded, the penta-chromatic fruit he had obtained had practically jumped into his hand. This was a myth in the Arboreal Realm, as there was not a single record of such a thing actually happening. How could it have urred?

    Xu Ji turned and left, eagerness filling his eyes. With such opponent, he would not be lonely. The future Voidforce Universe would belong to them.

    The argument between Mu Sanye and Xu Xiangyin did not stop even after the students had all dispersed. Instead, it grew even more heated.

    Lu Yin had a headache. "Seniors, what is happening?"

    Xu Xiangyin rolled his eyes. What''s happening? The man was on the verge of yelling at Xuan Qi to stop standing out so much. His performance in the Arboreal School had been no less impressive than his performance in the Voidforce School. This was no longer a merely being a genius, but an absolute monster. If not for the Lost n¡¯s closed nature, there would definitely be anotherpetitor fighting for the youth, considering his performance in the Lost n School.

    ¡°You''ll be a Arborean."

    Arborean was the cultivation rank that was equivalent to a Progenitor in the Fifth Maind.

    Xu Xiangyin cursed, "Mu San, you''re shameless! How dare you promise him that he will be a Arborean when you aren¡¯t even one yourself?"

    "That doesn''t matter. In the past, I was only able to pick a tri-chromatic fruit, but Xuan Qi actuallypelled a penta-chromatic fruit to offer itself to him! His talent surpasses that of anyone in the entire Arboreal Realm! Bing a Arborean is simply a matter of time."

    "Nonsense! The road to bing a peak powerhouse will be influenced by countless factors. It''s absurd for anyone to im that they will reach that level with absolute certainty."

    "Then how do you exin the Cyclic Universe?"

    Xu Xiangyin choked. The Cyclic Universe was an abnormal universe. Despite the passing of countless years, there had always been three Sovereigns and nine Saints. This was not a question of whether or not it was possible for one to reach that level on their own, but rather whether or not they could be bestowed such a position by the Great Sovereign.

    "And how do you exin the Transcendent Universe?" Mu Sanye continued.

    As long as anyone from the Transcendent Universe was capable of physically enduring the power, they could control a ck energy converter, which would instantly grant them the power of a peak powerhouse.

    Xu Xiangyin gritted his teeth. "Your Arboreal Realm can''t do the same."

    "That''s simply because you are ignorant," Mu Sanye retorted.

    "Everything out of your mouth is just a load of crap!"

    "You''re the one spouting a load of crap! Why haven¡¯t you promised Xuan Qi that he can be a peak powerhouse? Because you can''t!"

    "You!"

    ...

    Lu Yin remained calm throughout everything. Even this argument was within his expectations. Given the talent he had demonstrated, it would be more strange if people were not fighting over him. He felt like he was impersonating Yu Hao once again. In order to gain a better understanding of the Sixverse Association, it was necessary that he disy such talent, and he had already proven himself proficient with such acts.

    In the end, You Teng appeared and intervened to end the argument.

    No matter what, Lu Yin was still a part of the Transcendent Universe. If there were no contenders, he would eventually be acknowledged as a member of the Voidforce Universe, but withpetition appearing from the Arboreal Realm, Xuan Qi¡¯s eventual destination had be uncertain.

    This was precisely Xu Xiangyin''s greatest fear. Xuan Qi¡¯s fate did not only depend on his own choices, but also on the opinion of the Transcendent Universe. For this reason, both men were quite polite to You Teng.

    "No matter what, we shouldn''t be disrupting his cultivation. No matter which universe Xuan Qi ultimately belongs to, it will still be a blessing to humanity. I would like to invite you both to the Transcendent Universe for a discussion," You Teng stated.

    Mu Sanye and Xu Xiangyin exchanged nces before nodding in unison. "That¡¯s not a problem."

    "Xuan Qi, there''s no need for you to concern yourself with such thoughts. I know that you hope to join our Voidforce Universe, so rest assured, I will definitely get you there," Xu Xiangyin smiled as he spoke to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin bowed. "Thank you, Senior."

    Mu Sanye leaned close andughed. "Xuan Qi, stay here and rx. Learn more about my Arboreal Realm, and you will soon discover that it is even more formidable than that Void-whatever Universe. We offer humanity¡¯s true orthodox cultivation method."

    " Mu San, don''t be so shameless!" Xu Xiangyin grumbled.

    "Enough, both of you. It''s time to go," You Teng said. He then offered a smile to Lu Yin before leaving.

 Chapter 2541: Determined By Aptitude

    Chapter 2541: Determined By Aptitude

    Lu Yin remained in the same position and casually waved a hand, which caused a green bubble to drift over to him. It was time for him to find a ce where he could focus on absorbing the power of the Arboreal Realm.

    It was not long before news of Lu Yin''s performance at the entrance of the Arboreal School spread. He had gone from initially picking a Monochromatic fruit, to a tri-chromatic fruit. The, he had picked a tetra-chromatic fruit before finally a penta-chromatic fruit had taken the initiative to literally jump into his hand. His demonstration of talent raised a storm throughout the entire Sixverse Academy, and the name Xuan Qi was elevated above even that of Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and the other famous geniuses. He was hailed as the most talented individual in the Sixverse Academy at the moment.

    Zuo Yu was astonished. Was this really the same man who had been so clueless in the Cloudflow Universe? How could he be so unbelievably talented?

    Shi Hong¡¯s arm grew weak and her sword ttered to the ground. No wonder he had seen through her Dragon sh so easily. It was possible that his talent for cultivating had always been so exceptional, but that it had simply never been discovered. No, she should have realized it herself. He had seen through Dragon sh with but a nce; what could have allowed that if not pure talent?

    The news left Luo Lao''er ecstatic, and he began sharing the news that Xuan Qi was his brother-inw. This was terrifying to those who hated Luo Lao¡¯er due to what had happened in Cliff Town, and no one else tried to attack him. It was clear that Xuan Qi was peerlessly talented, and that talent would eventually be transformed into strength. Who knew how far Xuan Qi would go?

    Xu Yue¡¯s jaw clenched when she heard the news. Xuan Qi had surpassed her older brother? First he had ruined her trial, and then he had started overshadowing her older brother. She would definitely keep an eye on Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many enemies he had created. For him, he was simply ying a game, the goal of which was to learn more about the Sixverse Association. After he obtained sufficient knowledge of the association, the person known as Xuan Qi would disappear. Instead, the one who would appear would be Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing the reactions when that day came.

    Green bubbles drifted about the entire Arboreal School. Lu Yin spent his time seeking out and absorbing the bubbles in order to cultivate the power of the Arboreal Realm. Whenever traces of this power entered the unique power system in his chest, green shoots would sprout on the continent of fatesand thaty there. The greenery shone brightly.

    Lu Yin had never considered that the power of the Arboreal Realm would actually sprout from thend that was fatesand within his chest. What would happen next? Would the nts grow into a tree?

    The power system developing within his chest was beyond Lu Yin¡¯sprehension. Voidforce energy gathered like a river, True God¡¯s divine energy hung like a red star in the sky, alone with the Withered Bark and the ck and white mist. As time passed, it looked more and more like an embryonic universe was forming. This was vastly different from other people¡¯s inner worlds.

    Could a universe really grow inside of him?

    He wondered how things were developing between Xu Xiangyin and the others.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin received a notice that instructed him to prepare to visit the Arboreal Sanctuary.

    "The Arboreal Sanctuary?" Lu Yin was surprised. You Teng had arrived to deliver the message.

    The man sighed. "Because of you, the Arboreal Sanctuary is opening early."

    "I don''t understand," Lu Yin said.

    You Teng exined, "The Voidforce Universe and the Arboreal Realm are both vying to take you as their own. We cannot favor either side, so it was decided that your aptitude will decide which universe you end up in. Mu San immediately submitted a request to the Arboreal Realm that the Arboreal Sanctuary open ahead of schedule. As long as the innate gift you obtain there surpasses the quality of the voidforce puppet you obtain in the Voidforce Universe, you will go to the Arboreal Realm. Otherwise, you will go to the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin anxiously replied, "I feel guilty that I¡¯m disrupting the normal process for opening the Arboreal Sanctuary."

    You Teng gave Lu Yin a t stare. "Do you know how many people envy your talent right now? You are already being hailed as the most talented student currently in the Sixverse Academy, and there are no contestors. Xuan Qi, work hard. It is possible that I will be looking up to you in the future."

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "You will always be my senior. I don¡¯t dare entertain such grandiose dreams."

    You Teng smiled. "Prepare yourself. We need to head to the gathering point. Some people might feel grateful towards you, but others will likely resent you."

    The man then started leading Lu Yin away from the Arboreal School and into outer space.

    Lu Yin did not initially understand what You Teng meant, as the man did not offer any rification. Only when they met with the waiting group of people did Lu Yin finally understand.

    "In one month, Grandpa Dao was intending to head back to the Cyclic Universe to familiarize myself with a marvelous tree and cultivate a rtionship with it before making the trip to the Arboreal Sanctuary, but now, the date for opening the Arboreal Sanctuary has been moved forward, and it¡¯s all because of you! Well done, Xuan Qi," Jiang Xiao sneered, his eyes darkening with irritation as Lu Yin joined the group.

    Beside to the young man, Xu Yue coldly snorted, "Same for me. I''ve already prepared to get closer to several great trees back at home."

    Of the people present, nearly half of them were looking at Lu Yin with resentment.

    The people who had gathered were the select few who had obtained tri-chromatic fruits from the Arboreal School. It was no surprise that people had been utilizing influential backgrounds in order to locate unique or powerful trees before visiting the Arboreal Sanctuary. It was even possible that some of them had established a connection with specific trees even before entering the Sixverse Academy. Such a task would pose no challenge for such people.

    Picking a Wood Fruit was simply the first step. The significance of a good Wood Fruit actuallyy in the Arboreal Sanctuary, which was the most crucial step. The Arboreal Sanctuary opened on a fixed schedule, and everyone would always prepare as much as possible beforehand. Who could have imagined that Xuan Qi would disrupt that process? There was incredible resentment in many of the eyes staring at Lu Yin.

    Only a few people were happy. They were the ones who had picked tri-chromatic fruits with their own abilities. Even if they were given more time to prepare, it would not be any help. Opening the Arboreal Sanctuary worked out perfectly for them, and made things fair and square.

    Of course, this did not mean that people like Jiang Xiaodao were unable to pick a tri-chromatic fruit on their own. Even without their powerful families, their personal capabilities far outstripped others. However, they also found being merely outstanding to be far from sufficient. They sought perfection.

    In the Sixverse Association, the word "perfection" held a special meaning.

    Lu Yin paid no attention to the resentment directed his way. As his eyes swept the crowd, he saw the Sixverse Academy¡¯s geniuses arrayed before him: Xu Ji, Xu Yue, Jiang Xiaodao, He Shu, Shao Qingfeng, and a man who bore a strong resemnce to Luo Lao''er, but with a more elegant appearance. Clearly, he was Luo Zang. He was supposed to be Monarch Luo''s most cherished son; the child of two Progenitors. He was a true second-generation elite.

    None of the others were ordinary individuals, either. Any who could join this particr group had some sort of connection or another to Progenitors. In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Perennial World, each of these people would be considered a Junior Progenitor, even if their specific progress and cultivation varied, given their home universes.

    If aparison were to be made, even the most exceptionally talented cultivators from a cultivation universe might not surpass the geniuses from the Transcendent Universe, Voidforce Universe, or the Lost n Universe, given the same ages. For example, Bai Shaohong, one of the Perennial World¡¯s Junior Progenitors, had be an Enlighter, which was an achievement few individuals from the Transcendent Universe could achieve by the same age. In fact, doing so was practically impossible. However, the Transcendent Universepensated for that disparity with their energy converters.

    Shi Hong was a cultivator as strong as an Enlighter, yet he could unleash a power level almost at the same level as a six-tribtion Envoy when he used an energy converter. This was far beyond anything Bai Shaohong was capable of.

    The same principle applied to the Voidforce Universe. The fact that their cultivation method allowed them to control a voidforce puppet with multiple times more energy than themselves was no different from being able to unleash a level of strength multiple times their own.

    Despite the Lost n¡¯s unique aspects, they had individuals who spent years, or even decades, honing their skills and designing the traps within their cards. Any battle fought against such people were predetermined.

    The differences in strength between the different universes Lu Yin had encountered were quite significant.

    The Cyclic Universe and Fifth Maind were both typical cultivation civilizations. The Cyclic Universe¡¯s strengthy in its ability to bestow strength to individuals. Once they were recognized by the Great Sovereign, anyone could reach the peak. This ensured the continued existence of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Saints. The Fifth Maind was unable to do the same.

    Six different universes formed the Sixverse Association. The more Lu Yin interacted with each of them, the more curious and fascinated he became. Still, he did not believe the Fifth Maind was inferior to any of them. The Heavens Sect era was a legend in the Three Monarchs Universe, and was possibly the same in the rest of the Sixverse Association as well. However, there was no reason for Lu Yin to not use the powers of the Sixverse Association to enhance the Fifth Maind.

    He wanted to equip cultivators with energy converters that could dispel an enemy''s power while also delivering devastating attacks with the Bestowal Art that could send beams sweeping through outer space. Every cultivator would have an innate gift from the Arboreal Realm, and would also not need to risk their lives in battle, as they would instead be able to control voidforce puppets. At critical moments, they could use cards to drag their enemy to their death. Even so, the most crucial detail was the ability to bestow power.

    The fusion of the various powers of the Sixverse Association could allow a person to truly soar. This was not only what the Sixverse Association aimed for but also what Lu Yin wished to seee to be.

    However, Aeternus would never allow this to happen.

    With what Lu Yin knew of Aeternus, he was certain that they would eventually make a move. The quieter they were, the more perilous the situation would eventually be.

    "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Shao Qingfeng," a man said with a smile as he approached Lu Yin. He wore a pale golden robe that gave him a noble appearance.

    Lu Yin felt he needed to ask, "Do you also wear that outfit on the battlefield?"

    The question took Shao Qingfengpletely off guard. "Is that a problem?"

    "Just curious," Lu Yin replied.

    Shao Qingfeng was not offended, and actually proved to be quite friendly. In fact, he actedpletely different from the arrogant attitude he had demonstrated when he had challenged Lu Yin outside the Heavens Sect. It was clear that the young man was intrigued by Xuan Qi. "Your performances in the Voidforce School, the Lost n School, and the Arboreal School prove that you deserve to be acknowledged as the Sixverse Academy¡¯s greatest prodigy. Xuan Qi, I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of innate talent you will acquire from the Arboreal Sanctuary."

    Lu Yin remained rather quiet, opting to maintain a low profile. He considered the possibility of encountering a Progenitor-level expert when visiting the Arboreal Realm. In stark contrast to the Fifth Maind, the Arboreal Realm was the home of a formidable Arboreal Overlord, who was capable of reshaping the universe. Should that powerhouse take notice of Lu Yin, he had no idea if his identity would be exposed and his Mask of Death would be seen through. As he looked at his recent behavior, Lu Yin realized he had been too reckless. In the future, he resolved that he would adopt a more inconspicuous approach. Additionally, word had spread that a Progenitor-level expert from the Voidforce Universe would soon pay him a visit.

    Time passed, and more people quickly arrived. Aside from students who were already in the Arboreal School, there were others who had moved on to other schools as well. No less than twenty more people arrived.

    Each of these people was a genius who had obtained a tri-chromatic fruit. Among them were people like Xu Ji, who had obtained a tetra-chromatic fruit, as well as Lu Yin, who had obtained a penta-chromatic fruit. Before long, the entire party of those qualified to visit the Arboreal Sanctuary had gathered.

    Looking at the crowd, Mu Sanye expressed his amazement. "Never before have we seen such a sizable gathering for the opening of the Arboreal Sanctuary. In my universe, thergest group to enter was a mere fifteen individuals. This is a truly spectacr sight."

    As he spoke, he nced over at Lu Yin and offered a smile. "And there is also a rare penta-chromatic fruit recipient, which have been rarely seen throughout all our history."

    Lu Yin smiled politely and acted humble.

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s irritation was leaving him almost twitching. That bastard was truly an incredible actor.

    "Everyone, we will now be traveling to the Arboreal Realm," Mu Sanye announced. Right at that moment, a green light instantly enveloped everyone, including Xu Xiangyin and You Teng. Then, Mu San tore open the void and stepped through.

    Before long, people were able to clearly make out their surroundings again. They had already arrived in a strange and unfamiliar space.

    Lu Yin looked forward. He could see outer space and a starry sky, yet it was decorated with innumerable green bubbles that scattered across the dark canvas. Even so, what truly caught his attention were the countless tree branches that stretched out endlessly into the distance. No matter how far he looked, it was impossible to see the end. Did these branches fill the entire Arboreal Realm?

 Chapter 2542: Arboreal Realm

    Chapter 2542: Arboreal Realm

    Mu Sanye paid special attention to Lu Yin. All of the other students who were present were from foreign universes, including Xu Ji. Despite acquiring a tetra-chromatic fruit holder, Xu Ji would never be a part of the Arboreal Realm. However, Xuan Qi was different, and Mu Sanye was determined to recruit this prodigy for the Arboreal Realm.

    Seeing the awe with which ¡°Xuan Qi¡± observed his surroundings in awe, Mu Sanye remembered the information he obtained from the Transcendent Universe. Xuan Qi was not actually from the Transcendent Universe originally, but had been taken there with Zi Jing when she had been found. The young man knew practically nothing about the Sixverse Association. In that case¡­ "Ahem, what you see before you is the Arboreal Realm. The Arboreal Realm''s foundation is based on the cultivation of arboreal energy, which we use alongside battle techniques and our acquired innate gifts. We possess a formidable level of power that ranks just below the Cyclic Universe. As long as you are willing, Arboreal Realm can quickly groom you into a powerhouse."

    Xu Xiangyin arched a brow. "Just below the Cyclic Universe? Mu San, have you received the approval of the Sixverse Association to make such a im?"

    Mu Sanye lifted his head in a proud manner. "This is the true strength of my Arboreal Realm. There¡¯s no need for any approval."

    Xu Xiangyin sneered. "Self-praise only serves to showcase your narrow-mindedness."

    Mu Sanye pointed out towards outer space up above. "You want to argue about narrow-mindedness? Aeternus has invaded both the Cyclic Universe and the Voidforce Universe on numerous asions, yet has rarely done so to the Arboreal Realm. The reason for that is that these trees are spread throughout the universe. These trees have been gathered by the inhabitants of the Arboreal Realm over the course of countless years, and have also been created by our Guardian, and they are able to ensure that our enemies have no means of escape. Can any of you say the same?"

    Lu Yin was thoroughly impressed. So these trees really did cover the entire universe!

    He did not know just howrge the Arboreal Realm might be, but there was no way it was much smaller than the Fifth Maind, and it was possible that they were even of equal size.

    For the trees to fill an entire universe, the Arboreal Realm''s heritage was indeed profound.

    Xu Xiangyin argued, "In my Voidforce Universe, our voidforce puppets also fill our entire universe."

    You Teng interjected, "Gentlemen, isn''t it nearly time for the Arboreal Sanctuary to open?"

    The two men instantly stopped arguing.

    Mu Sanye led the students in a particr direction by using arboreal energy.

    As they traveled along, Lu Yin saw many of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s natives. Some walked through outer space, while others were working on cities that existed among the branches. He even saw what looked like spacecraft flying around. Aside from the trees and green bubbles that were scattered throughout, the Arboreal Realm did not seem much different from the Fifth Maind.

    He saw rivers flowing through outer space, extending far into the distance.

    Suddenly, his expression froze. Someone was observing them from a vast distance. He could not tell just how far away the person was, but their gaze caused his muscles to tense up, and he was filled with fear. This was the gaze of a powerful Progenitor.

    In the distance, a blindfolded man was sitting cross-legged on a branch, a long de next to him stabbed into it. He was looking towards Lu Yin and hispanions.

    Mu Sanye noticed the man¡¯s gaze as well, and quickly bowed in respect.

    Xu Xiangyin and You Teng did the same.

    The others were unable to sense the man¡¯s observation, but as soon as they noticed Mu Sanye and the others bowing towards a certain direction, the students all followed suit.

    "Hey, what''s going on?" Jiang Xiaodao whispered to Xu Yue as he bowed at the waist. After they had both mocked Xuan Qi, the two had discovered they shared a specific interest.

    Xu Yue shook her head and pursed her lips. "What could possibly make those seniors bow like that? What do you think?"

    "Could they have noticed a peak powerhouse?"Jiang Xiaodao eximed.

    Suddenly, the blindfolded man in the distance drew his de and it swept out. A razor-sharp sh surged toward the group at an unimaginable speed. Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Was this an attack? No! He forced down the instinctive reaction to flee. The sh sliced through something beneath their feet, and the entire group to vanish from where they had been standing.

    Aside from Mu Sanye, all of the others, including even Xu Xiangyin, had beenpletely unprepared.

    When they finally regained their senses, they were already a vast distance from where they had just stood.

    People turned to look at Mu Sanye with confusion and fear.

    Mu Sanye bowed again, this time towards behind them, and solemnly said, "Just now, Senior Mu Ke gave us a ride."

    "Senior Mu Ke? That Senior Mu Ke?" You Teng and Xu Xiangyin eximed.

    Mu Sanye proudly replied, "Yes, that esteemed Senior Mu Ke."

    No matter how Xu Xiangyin had tried to belittle the Arboreal Realm, everyone felt deep respect when the name Mu Ke came up, including You Teng.

    He Shu felt shocked. "That was actually esteemed Senior Mu Ke? The person who single-handedly killed one of Aeternus¡¯s peak corpse king during a Corpse King Transformation."

    Thisment left Lu Yin shaken. A person who could kill a powerhouse Aeternus corpse king after it had undergone a Corpse King Transformation without any assistance? Any Progenitor-level corpse king that had mastered the Corpse King Transformation was beyond terrifying. Given that the corpse king had possessed the strength of a Progenitor meant that it had undoubtedly possessed perfect mastery of the Corpse King Transformation, which would have given the creature an unimaginable level of physical strength and defense. It could not have been much weaker than Corpse God himself. Even if Lu Yin exhausted all of his means, he would still be unable to kill such a monster. No wonder everyone was so shocked by Mu Ke''s aplishment.

    "Senior Mu Ke is a legendary figure in the Sixverse Association. I never imagined we would receive the honor of meeting him. This is something to boast about for the rest of our lives!" someone eximed.

    Mu Sanye nced over at Lu Yin. Seeing the shock on the young man¡¯s face was quite satisfying. "With Senior Mu Ke kindly helping us out, we''ve already arrived at the Wood Spirit Realm."

    As the man spoke, everyone saw an immense, majestic green light appear in the distance before them. It shone as bright as a sun and illuminating outer space.

    Mu Sanye led the group closer, and a ray of green light descended that pulled them inside.

    Enveloped within the green suny a world that seemed reminiscent of a whimsical fairy tale. Luminous green bubbles effortlessly drifted through the air to create a mesmerizing disy. The ground seemed to be floating, and waterfalls fell from high above in defiance of gravity. Delicate creatures gracefully danced about the sky, giving off a radiant glow. The air was filled with the fragrance of blossoming flowers that seemed to rejuvenate the senses.

    It was a vast isted space.

    Mu Sanye said, "It is possible to receive an innate gift from a tree in any part of the Arboreal Realm, but only those who manage to pick Triple Radiant Fruits are given the chance to enter the Wood Spirit Realm where they can obtain rare and powerful innate gifts from the trees here. You should all have heard of Mu Mu; she encountered a tree here in the Wood Spirit Realm that nurtures the Golden Crow. From that, she received an innate gift that enables her to nurture a Golden Crow for herself. With that power, she is able to incinerate stars and turn seas to ash. I hope all of you can also obtain powerful innate gifts from the Wood Spirit Realm.

    "When searching for trees here in the Wood Spirit Realm, remember one thing: show no malice. The trees here have lived for eons, and many of them are far beyond your strength. They will not attack you unless provoked. Even if you wish to obtain an innate gift from them, they won''t strike at you. You simply need to get close to them. However, if they sense any malicious intent, things be apletely different story. You can¡¯t me me if you end up dead."

    Xu Xiangyin spoke up, "Alright, send them out to search for their trees."

    Mu Sanye shot a re at the man. "What''s the rush? Since the Wood Spirit Realm has opened, were are also people from our Arboreal Realm on their way."

    "Since the Wood Spirit Realm opened ahead of schedule, the Arboreal Realm''s selection process shouldn''t have even started yet, right?" Yu Teng asked, feeling puzzled.

    Mu Sanye sighed. "There''s no choice. Whoever can make it wille. If no one shows up, so be it. We will wait and see."

    At the moment, the group was standing at the peak of a low mountain. Before them was a green screen of light that stretched from the sky to the ground and split the space in two.

    Lu Yin watched as creatures that looked lik butterflies with bright green spots danced about the air. It was a mesmerizing sight.

    "Xuan Qi, let''s see who can obtain a more powerful innate gift," Jiang Xiaodao eagerly suggested.

    Lu Yin nced over. "Weren''t you unable to prepare?"

    Jiang Xiaodao scoffed, "Do I need to prepare to be able topete with you?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I got a penta-chromatic fruit."

    Jiang Xiaodao crossed his arms. "That doesn''t mean anything. So, are wepeting or not?"

    Xu Yue approached. "Xuan Qi, justpete with him. You got a penta-chromatic fruit, so what are you afraid of?"

    "Little Yue,e back here," Xu Ji sternly ordered.

    Xu Yue stuck out her tongue even as she walked away.

    Luo Zang then approached. "All of us have some understanding of this Arboreal Sanctuary, and each of us have our own goals. Xuan Qi, on the other hand, knows nothing of this ce. Such apetition is unfair."

    Jiang Xiaodao nced at Luo Zang and retorted, "You want to argue about fairness? Both of your parents are peak powerhouses. Anyone dealing with you doesn¡¯t stand a fair chance."

    Luo Zang smiled and said, "That may be true of ordinary people, but Xuan Qi is no ordinary person."

    He looked at Lu Yin and added, "Thank you."

    Lu Yin was puzzled, "For what?"

    "My useless second brother has caused you trouble."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "No worries; he¡¯s helped me quite a bit."

    Luo Zang nodded. "You¡¯ve already done him a great favor, but from here on out, he will need to walk his own path. Unfortunately, he will never be able to reach your level in his life."

    "Not necessarily," Lu Yin said as he sped his hands behind his back. "It¡¯s possible that someone important will assist him."

    Luo Zang burst outughing and said, "You¡¯re quite interesting."

    With that, he moved away.

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered. "Devious."

    Because of Luo Zang''s interruption, Jiang Xiaodao did not continue to try to challenge Xuan Qi. Others huddled in little groups, talking or discussing various matters.

    After half a day passed, an old woman appeared, escorting a group of people into the Arboreal Sanctuary. When she saw Mu Sanye, she hurriedly approached to pay her respects.

    Mu Sanye looked behind the old woman and asked, "Only three?"

    The old woman replied in a helpless manner, "The Arboreal Sanctuary has opened earlier than expected, so not many were prepared. They decided not to enter for this time, and instead intend to do so the next time it opens. These are the ones who were ready."

    Three children followed behind the old woman; two boys and one girl. They appeared to be around five or six years old, and yet they had already begun cultivating.

    There were two different paths taken by the inhabitants of the Arboreal Realm. One was to allow the children to pick Wood Fruits and acquire innate gifts that could support their cultivation, which could enable them to progress faster. The other option was for children to first start cultivating, and thenter try to find an extraordinary tree to use for selecting a Woods Fruit, which could allow them a greater possibility of obtaining a better Wood Fruit, and thus a better innate gift.

    It was clear that the three children were using the first path.

    Mu Sanye announced, "Alright, I will now open the Arboreal Sanctuary."

    Everyone grew solemn and turned to look into the space thaty behind the green curtain of light. Anticipation filled all of the eyes.

    In the Fifth Maind, it was rare for a person to be born with an innate gift, while it was possible for every cultivator in the Arboreal Realm to acquire one. How wonderful would it be if all of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators could acquire innate gifts from the Arboreal Realm?

    It was only possible to obtain an innate gift from a tree within the Arboreal Realm. Lu Yin had only learned about this after he had entered the Arboreal School. He found It regrettable that he would not be able to obtain an innate gift from the Mother Tree.

    That thought was still in his mind when the green barrier suddenly vanished.

    "Enter," Mu Sanye softly ordered.

    Everyone shot into the space.

    Despite being young, the three children reacted quickly and immediately rushed forwards as well.

    The green barrier reappeared in an instant, separating the two spaces.

    Lu Yin looked ahead. This was the Arboreal Sanctuary? It was a ce filled with various exotic trees.

    "Everyone, shall wepare our innate giftster?" someone said with augh as they rushed in.

    Jiang Xiaodao sneered, "Of course! I''m no coward."

    He nced provocatively at Xuan Qi before leaving.

    One by one, Shao Qingfeng and the others all left as well.

 Chapter 2543: Arboreal Sanctuary

    Chapter 2543: Arboreal Sanctuary

    Before Xu Ji led Xu Yue away, he turned back towards ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± "Don''t disappoint me."

    After everyone had left the area, including the three children, Lu Yin looked around and prepared to leave as well. However, he suddenly stopped and turned, choosing a different direction to take.

    He had just received a message from Mu Sanye, who had informed Lu Yin that there were powerful trees in a specific direction.

    In order to obtain Xuan Qi, Mu Sanye had basically cheated. Even so, how much of even being able to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary was actually based on pure merit? This was how the megaverse worked.

    "He''s already left, so why are you still staring?" Mu Sanye said as he sneered at Xu Xiangyin.

    Xu Xiangyin felt puzzled. "Xuan Qi was clearly about to head west, so why did he suddenly change direction?"

    He looked at Mu Sanye. "Are you behind that?"

    Mu Sanye replied, "Don¡¯t be ridiculous."

    You Tengughed. "Just wait patiently, both of you. It shouldn''t be long for we see the results."

    Xu Xiangyin nodded. "Mu San, stop making things difficult and just wait for the results."

    Mu Sanye sighed. "I didn''t expect that after so many years, we would be fighting with each other over a child. In a way, we relied on each other to survive that battlefield back then."

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression grewplicated. "Only those who have fought on a battlefield can truly understand the desire to recruit a genius like Xuan Qi."

    Mu Sanye did not argue, and instead nced at Xu Xiangyin before waiting in silence.

    Inside the Arboreal Sanctuary, Lu Yin was utterly unfamiliar with how to navigate the ce. Even if he had heard from Mu Sanye that there were powerful trees in a particr direction, he did not dare release his domain. After all, he was in the Arboreal Sanctuary, and the ce was said to have been created by the Guardian of the Arboreal Realm. Who knows if that peak expert who had delivered them to the Arboreal Sanctuary was still monitoring Lu Yin? It would be better for him to be cautious.

    In the distance, a woman''s eyes lit up when a tree the size of a person¡¯s hand emerged from the void. The tree had no features that resembled a face, and yet it gave off a feeling of pure innocence as it bounced up and down in a joyful manner.

    "What a cute little tree!" the woman said. She then stretched out her hand. "Come here."

    The little tree hopped toward the woman and jumped onto her palm as she watched it with delight.

    The next moment, the woman screamed in agony as her arms were both crushed. The void copsed, and ck ripples spread out.

    Lu Yin was astonished; was that gravity?

    The woman retreated, and did not stop fleeing. All color drained from her face as she stared at the little tree.

    Her arms had been destroyed. She waspletely unable to resist the gravity. When she saw that the little tree was still hopping toward her, terror overwhelmed her. "Stay away! Stay away! AHH¨C!!"

    The little tree hesitated, and then slowly retracted its branches. It reluctantly turned to move in another direction.

    The woman gasped for breath and slowly crumpled to the ground. She had nearly died just then. A single touch had taken her arms. Fortunately, the little tree had not intended to attack her, or else she would have simply died.

    Lu Yin shook his head. The woman could only me herself. Even a tiny tree that emerged from the void would not be simple.

    Before long, Lu Yin encountered a ten-meter-tall tree. Its branches hung low, each shaped like a in, sharp sword. When the breeze blew, the branches sliced through the void.

    A person was sitting in front of the tree, lost in thought with a bitter expression on their face. When they caught sight of Lu Yin, they immediately put their guard up. "Xuan Qi, I found it first!"

    Lu Yin said nothing and simply left.

    While that tree appeared to be extraordinary, it was not to his liking. Even so, an innate gift obtained from that tree would clearly be rted to swords, which was not bad.

    The Arboreal Sanctuary was an incredibly vast isted space. After searching for several hours, only a few trees were able to catch Lu Yin¡¯s attention, but none of them caught his interest.

    Hmm? Someone¡¯s over there.

    On a towering mountain peak that shot high into the sky, Lu Yin saw a man had captured a child and was interrogating him.

    "Boy, don''t test my patience! I''ll count to ten, and if you don''t speak by the time I finish, you can forget about ever speaking again!" the man said menacingly.

    The child was one of the three children from the Arboreal Realm. Despite his obvious fear, he refused to obey the man. "I won''t speak!"

    The man sneered, "One."

    "Two."

    "Three."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. It was clear that the man wanted to force information about the Arboreal Sanctuary from the child. A child who had managed to pick a tri-chromatic fruit at such a young age had to have an extraordinary background. His family would have told him what kind of trees to seek after arriving in the Arboreal Sanctuary. Since the man had not been able to find anything suitable on his own, he had decided to resort to such a method.

    Each of the three children had their own goals, and everyone knew it. But However, most people would not lower themselves to harm a child.

    "Four."

    "Five."

    The boy¡¯s lips trembled as his eyes filled with fear. However, he clenched his fists tightly. "I won''t speak! I won''t!"

    The man grabbed the boy¡¯s neck and picked him up. "Then I guess you''re tired of living."

    Lu Yin was about to make a move, but suddenly, the sky went dark. He looked up and saw an enormous tree, as tall as a giant, raise its branches high. It reminded him of a giant stomping a foot down, and the mountain peak shattered. The young boy fell to the broken ground, a severed arm still clutching his neck. Blood trickled down the arm and onto the boy¡¯s body.

    He swallowed. The arm no longer had an owner.

    The man had been crushed by the giant tree and been reduced to a mere puddle of blood. Only his arm remained intact as evidence.

    The boy fled. He had also narrowly avoided being crushed to death.

    Lu Yin watched as the giant tree left. Mu Sanye had warned everyone not to show any malic within the Arboreal Sanctuary. That tree had sensed the man''s malicious intent, and he had met his fate. It had also been well deserved.

    While it was possible that Lu Yin could obtain an innate gift from the colossal tree, Lu Yin had no interest in an innate gift that would cause his body to grow bigger.

    As days passed, Lu Yin encountered a tree that had a river twined around it that radiated a dazzling light. Jiang Xiaodao was also chasing that tree. It was clear that it suited him almost perfectly.

    Lu Yin also found a tree that shone like a bright moon in the sky. Several people tried to approach it, only to discover that it was difficult to even get close. He saw a tree with strange fruits growing on it. Some people managed to get their hands on the fruits, yet they hesitated to eat them.

    As he witnessed the numerous bizarre trees of the Arboreal Sanctuary, he felt as though his eyes were being opened to the wonders of the universe.

    Unfortunately, he had still not yet found any tree that truly caught his eye.

    Lu Yin''s ears picked up the distant echoes of a battle. He stepped through the void and looked, only to discover Luo Zang and Xu Yue engaged in a fierce fight. Not far from the two was a roaring storm of purple thunder that filled a vast portion of the sky.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge, and he felt a pinge of envy. That was clearly no ordinary tree. The destructive power of that purple lightning surpassed a power level of a million.

    As they fought, Luo Zang and Xu Yue moved away from the purple lightning. Each sought to defeat the other.

    Xu Yue''s figure flickered as she avoided Luo Zang''s battle techniques, but as time went on, Luo Zang started to close the distance.

    "Closebat isn''t the Voidforce Universe''s focus. I''ll let you leave for Xu Ji''s sake. Don''t engage in pointless battles," Luo Zang stated.

    Xu Yue coldly contemptuously as her hair danced in the wind. She flipped and avoided a flick of Luo Zang''s finger. The attack pierced the void and continued on in Lu Yin''s direction. It pierced his shoulder and left a hole in the void.

    Both Luo Zang and Xu Yue had noticed ¡°Xuan Qi.¡±

    Xu Yue frowned. This person was not even able to dodge Luo Zang¡¯s finger flick, despite the vast distance between them. Aside from raw talent, it seemed that Xuan Qi had no redeeming qualities.

    Luo Zang nced curiously at Lu Yin. He had always believed that Xuan Qi was not as simple as he appeared. Had he not seen the finger flick, or had he truly been unable to react in time? With that question, Luo Zang raised his hand once again and pointed toward Xu Yue. The woman dodged out of instinct, and again the attack shot towards Lu Yin. This time, it was aimed straight for his head.

    However, Lu Yin had already moved to a different location.

    It was impossible to determine if Xuan Qi had moved because he had sensed the approaching attack, or if he had already been intending to move. Not even Luo Zang could tell, which made him very ufortable.

    "Luo Zang, let me show you the power of my Voidforce Universe," Xu Yue said as she widened the distance between them. She raised her right hand and dered, "Voidforce puppet, appear!"

    The next moment, the void twisted, and a blue phoenix appeared. It cried at the sky before its narrow eyes locked onto Luo Zang and it charged at him.

    The blue phoenix¡¯s extreme heat incinerated the void as it passed, leaving burned traces in its wake.

    Luo Zang also made his move. "You may have a voidforce puppet, but so do I."

    He pushed a hand forward, also twisting the void. As it distorted, it revealed... a table.

    Lu Yin was astonished. A table? The first thing that came to his mind was the Voidforce School. Only the Voidforce School carried such strange puppets.

    Xu Xiangyin had mentioned that many of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students were waiting for the opportunity to seek their life-bound voidforce puppets. Xu Yue''s blue phoenix was undoubtedly her own life-bound puppet, while Luo Zang''s table was just as clearly a puppet he had obtained from the Voidforce School.

    Regardless, the origins of the table did not matter, as the strength it possessed was what was important.

    Xu Yue had initially wanted to use voidforce energy to seize control of Lu Yin. If she had seeded, she would have essentially obtained a human voidforce puppet.

    The table mmed into the blue phoenix, but the bird disdainfully raised its talons.

    There was a loud bang, and the table shattered. The voidforce energy was torn apart by the blue phoenix. While a portion of the blue phoenix''s voidforce energy was also consumed, it remained more than powerful enough to pose a threat to Luo Zang.

    The blue phoenix possessed ten times more voidforce energy than Xu Yue''s internal reserves, which proved she was an exceptional genius within the entire Voidforce Universe. After all, her voidforce puppet could unleash attacks ten times more powerful than Xu Yue herself.

    Luo Zang had no choice but to retreat before the blue phoenix.

    His bright eyes remained fixed on the blue phoenix that pursued him. This was the sort of power he desired; the powers of the Voidforce Universe, the Arboreal Realm, the Lost n Universe, the Transcendent Universe, and the Cyclic Universe. He wanted to take all of those powers for his own, as only by doing so could he ascend to greatness.

    The creation of the Sixverse Academy was not regarded as a big deal by the Cyclic Universe, but the Three Monarchs Universe had already expressed huge interest in the school, and had been actively promoting it. At this moment, it was finally revealing some results.

    Not only did Luo Zang want to obtain a good innate gift from a tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary, he also wanted to find the most powerful life-bound voidforce puppet in the Voidchaos territory. Only then would his time in the academy not be in vain. In addition, he should get an energy converter from the Transcendent Universe. If he obtained all of that, where in the vast megaverse would he not be able to go?

    There was no question that he would one day surpass his father, and Luo Lao''er was not worth even a second thought.

    When Luo Zang turned around, he saw the blue phoenix fast approaching.

    "Luo Zang, admit defeat, or you''re finished," threatened Xu Yue.

    The blue mes drew closer, and Luo Zang could feel a heat so extreme that it nearly melted his body. He saw Xu Yue behind the blue phoenix, as well as the more distant figure of Xuan Qi. Raising his hand, a stone cudgel appeared in Luo Zang¡¯s grip. "The stone cudgel sweeps the world, leaving no trace in destiny."

    As thest word fell, Monarch Essence surged from him for a moment before condensing onto the stone cudgel. He took a step forward.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This guy was seeking death. The destructive power of the blue phoenix was far beyond what Luo Zang could contend with. No matter what sort of power he might be capable of, he would definitely die if he tried to sh with the blue phoenix. However, Luo Zang was also not reckless.

 Chapter 2544: Tree Of Lightning

    Chapter 2544: Tree Of Lightning

    Xu Yue arrived at the same conclusion as Lu Yin. Without any hesitation, the blue phoenix charged forward. Even if Luo Zang died, it had nothing to do with her. The mighty Voidforce Universe did not fear the Three Monarch Universe, and besides, Monarch Luo had plenty of other sons.

    The blue phoenix¡¯s power surged and swept out in every direction, reducing all to ash. It arrogantly raised its head, and was about to let out a cry, only to abruptly stop. Luo Zang''s stone mace was pressed to Xu Yue''s forehead. Both of them were pale, though Xu Yue was in just a slightly better condition than Luo Zang.

    "How did you do it?" Xu Yue asked, confused.

    Luo Zang smiled. "Have you ever heard of the secret techniques that can only be created by peak powerhouses?"

    Xu Yue red at him. "Despicable."

    Luo Zang shook his head. "Secret techniques are another form of strength. There is nothing despicable about using them."

    He then lowered his stone mace. "Enough; I win."

    Xu Yue snorted and reluctantly muttered, "Blue phoenix, return."

    The blue phoenix stared at Luo Zang, also clearly reluctant. It could burn the tiny human to death without much effort.

    "Blue phoenix, return!" Xu Yue shouted sternly.

    The blue phoenix released a cry and transformed into a blue me that disappeared into the void.

    Luo Zang breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I wouldn¡¯t have any idea how to escape from your voidforce puppet."

    Xu Yue did not want to even look at the man, and instead turned to Lu Yin. "How long are you going to just stand there and watch? If you want to steal it, then do so. If you don''t have the courage, then leave."

    Luo Zang looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Xuan Qi, there''s only the one tree. While there¡¯s no rule that each tree can only grant an innate gift to one person, it''s better for one person to try than two. Are you going to fight for it or not?"

    Lu Yin leaped down. "I won''t fight. Firste, first served. Go on ahead."

    "Coward," Xu Yue scoffed.

    Luo Zang nodded. "In that case, I won''t hold back."

    He then made his way straight for the thunderstorm.

    Kacha!

    A bolt of lightning pierced the void, splitting the earth right in front of Luo Zang, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued to approach the great tree one step at a time. Even with the lightning raining down on him, his stride never faltered. He continued walking forward, making his way closer to the tree.

    Xu Yue gritted her teeth, still feeling rather resentful. Even so, she had lost to Luo Zang, and thus could only watch. Only if Luo Zang failed could she make her own attempt.

    Despite hoping for Luo Zang''s failure, if he did, it would mean that Xu Yue would also be incapable of seeding.

    Complicated emotions ran through her, and she nced at Xuan Qi with irritation. The guy lookedpletely indifferent, which only aggravated her annoyance.

    "Hey, don¡¯t you understand what this tree represents? It''s most likely the most powerful tree in the entire Arboreal Sanctuary," Xu Yue said.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, that''s very likely."

    "And yet you''re just going to watch him?" Xu Yue raised her voice.

    Lu Yin looked over at the woman. "I can''t defeat him."

    Xu Yue opened her mouth to respond, yet ultimately remained silent. It was true, even she was incapable of defeating Luo Zang, so what could Xuan Qi hope to aplish?

    "Hmph, useless!" Xu Yue turned her head back to continue watching Luo Zang.

    At the moment, less than a hundred meters separated Luo Zang from the tree. The area between them was densely filled with bolts of lightning, to the point that hardly any gap could be seen.

    He stopped and did something, and when he was done, a shadow identical to his own appearance appeared in front of him.

    Xu Yue¡¯s eyes went wide. This was it. This was the technique that had defeated her. With this, Luo Zang had evaded the blue phoenix and moved close to Xu Yue to threaten her. This was the secret technique he had used.

    Lu Yin was also amazed. A secret technique? The shadow that he was looking at appeared to be simr to a mirage, though Luo Zang could trade positions with the shadow. This was not a bad secret technique. When it came to movement, it was not as effective as the Ce Secret Art, but a shadow like this could asionally create miracles during a battle.

    Luo Zang''s intention was to exchange positions with his shadow so that he could appear directly next to the big tree.

    However, right at the moment when Xu Yue believed that Luo Zang was about to seed, the thunderstorm suddenly became a furious downpour, and the entire area within a hundred meters of therge tree was reduced to dust. Luo Zang was terribly startled, and he quickly retreated. Luckily, he had managed to react quickly. If he had stood even another half meter closer, he would have been struck by the lightning.

    The tree¡¯s lightning was horrifying, and it far exceeded anything that Luo Zang could hope to withstand.

    His eyes flickered as he stared at the tree before him. After a moment of consideration, he sighed and turned to leave.

    Xu Yue frowned. He had actually failed.

    Luo Zang walked out of range of the thunderstorm. He gave Xu Yue and Lu Yin a look of resignation. "I failed. That tree doesn''t acknowledge me. Xu Yue, you can try."

    Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "If you failed, so will I. I¡¯d say that only someone who picked a tetra-chromatic fruit stands even the slightest chance of sess."

    As soon as she said that, they both turned to look at Lu Yin. Of the three of them, only Xuan Qi had any hope of sess. He had not merely picked a tetra-chromatic fruit, he had also obtained a penta-chromatic fruit. It was infuriating to the other two.

    Lu Yin looked at the huge tree that was in the distance. From it, it should be possible to receive an innate gift of lightning. Lightning was not a bad power, but he felt that it was not what he wanted.

    He had not had many interactions with lightning throughout his time cultivating. The most powerful lightning he had ever encountered had been the bit that he had used to block Corpse God that he had obtained from the jiao''s head. The terrifying power of that lightning was still vivid in his memory. Was he going to obtain a simr innate gift of lightning?

    "Brother Xuan Qi, are you not satisfied with this tree?" Luo Zang asked curiously.

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s not that. I''m just wondering if there is any danger."

    Xu Yue sneered at him. "You don¡¯t need to wonder about that; you can''t go."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Why not?"

    Xu Yue took a few steps forward and positioned herself so that she was blocking Lu Yin''s path. She raised her head. "Do you remember a few months ago when you ruined my trial?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not at all."

    Xu Yue red at him. "Whether you remember it or or not doesn''t matter. I will have revenge. You ruined my trial, so now, I won''t let you get anywhere close to that tree unless you can defeat me."

    "Xu Yue, preventing others from obtaining something simply because you can¡¯t have it for yourself demonstrates ack of moral integrity," Luo Zang said.

    Xu Yue retorted, "What does this have to do with you?"

    Luo Zang shook his head. "Xuan Qi, I can''t help you here."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Both of you are talented elites, and I can''tpare to either of you. If you won''t let me get close, then I¡¯ll just leave."

    Even as he spoke, he turned to walk away.

    Both Luo Zang and Xu Yue were stunned. Was Xuan Qi really going to give up so easily? Both of them understood how valuable and precious thisrge lighting tree was, and yet Xuan Qi was just abandoning the opportunity?

    "Hey, don¡¯t you want it anymore?" Xu Yue asked, growing slightly flustered.

    Lu Yin replied, "You¡¯re blocking the way."

    "You could try to get past me.¡±

    "I can¡¯t evade you.¡±

    Xu Yue no longer knew how to respond to this man. She had just wanted to find an excuse to teach him a lesson, and had never wanted to actually stop him. After all, he was already more or less regarded as a member of the Voidforce Universe, which meant that the Voidforce Universe would be the one to benefit if he obtained a powerful innate gift from the Arboreal Realm. Xuan Qi was not truly Xu Yue¡¯s enemy. However, the guy was simply too honest, and it was also difficult for Xu Yue to back down.

    Most importantly, if Xuan Qi did not manage to obtain a good innate gift from any tree, if heterined to whoever became his master, it would mean trouble for Xu Yue. Given Xuan Qi¡¯s talent for voidforce energy, there was no doubt that a peak powerhouse would be his master.

    The more she thought about it, the more nervous Xu Yue became.

    However, Lu Yin had already left. Xu Yue could not simply drag him back, either.

    "Hmph, if he doesn''t want it, then forget it," Xu Yue muttered as she also turned to leave.

    Luo Zang watched as Xuan Qi left, surprise filling his eyes. It was odd how quickly Xuan Qi had given up, and Luo Zang had not been able to sense any discontentment from the man. There was something odd about Xuan Qi¡­

    With that though, Luo Zang started to follow behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had ultimately decided not to choose an innate gift of lightning. After all, he had never cultivated any sort of lightning power, and he was more interested in discovering what other kinds of trees were in the Arboreal Sanctuary.

    Besides, even if he was unable to find a suitable tree, it would not be the end of the matter. He could always adopt a new identity and try again.

    Luo Zang silently trailed behind Lu Yin, always remaining out of sight.

    The first impression that Luo Zang gave off was that he seemed to possess an extraordinary bearing. Give the fact that he was Monarch Luo''s son, Luo Zang had an impressive background, and yet he was willing to set that aside to interact with others. No matter how one looked at the young man, he was a genius. Even so, he had decided to test his strength against Xu Yue, and was currently following behind Xuan Qi. His behavior mirrored that of most cultivators, or more urately stated, he was a true cultivator at heart. He could not be regarded as righteous, nor could he be considered evil.

    However, while Luo Lao''er possessed impressive concealment abilities, Luo Zang was not nearly his brother¡¯s equal, despite receiving far superior resources for his training and cultivation.

    At this same time, Jiang Xiaodao wasughing maniacally. "Sess! Hahaha, Grandpa Dao has obtained an innate gift!"

    As heughed, he manipted a stream of water around him. The water revealed different colors, and was beautiful to look at as it flowed around. It was the innate gift that Jiang Xiaodao had obtained from a tree; River Chroma. It matched the young man¡¯s abilities almost perfectly.

    He believed that his new innate gift would allow hisbat power to soar to new heights. His mastery over the Sky River battle technique would also improve tremendously. "Mu Mu, just wait for me toe back! Grandpa Dao will teach you a lesson you¡¯ll never forget."

    Elsewhere in the Arboreal Sanctuary, He Shu was slowly approaching an odd tree. Its branches were covered with stones instead of fruit.

    That did not seem right. How could stones grow on a tree?

    He Shu wanted to get a closer look, which was why he was approaching the tree. Suddenly, one of the branches rose up. It arched back, and then released its stones at He Shu. He quickly dodged the sudden projectiles. The stones shot through the air with impressive speed, much like arrows, and he nearly failed to evade the attacks even with his quick reflexes.

    Right after that, more of the tree¡¯s branches arched back, and a storm of stones shot at He Shu from the tree.

    Startled, He Shu quickly used all sorts of abilities to defend himself. Even so, he was eventually struck by a stone and sent flying, coughing up blood. He looked back at therge tree. It was undeniably remarkable, but he decided not to approach it. An innate gift of stone-throwing would be too embarrassing to ever use, so he chose to move on and seek out another powerful tree.

    Shortly after He Shu had left, a young child arrived. As soon as he saw the tall tree, he excitedly ran forward. He was one of the three children from the Arboreal Realm.

    The child was not struck by any stone, and he managed to sessfully approach the tree. He ced his hand on the tree, and attempted to receive an innate gift from it.

    Not just anyone could approach a given tree. Just as people chose their trees, the trees also chose their humans. One criteria for the selection was the fruit that a person picked. He Shu had picked a tri-chromatic fruit, which qualified him to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary and seek a tree, but did not qualify him to approach all of the trees in it, just the same as Luo Zang and Xu Yue.

    There was only one exception to this, which was the people who picked a penta-chromatic fruit. That fruit could allow a person to approach almost any tree. This was also why Mu Sanye had decided to fight Xu Xiangyin for Xuan Qi.

    Only people from the Arboreal Realm had any knowledge of what trees inhabited the Arboreal Sanctuary. Some of the innate gifts that could be obtained there were extremely powerful. After Lu Yin obtained one of those, Mu Sanye could not even imagine what would happen. All that seemed certain was that humanity would most likely gain another peak powerhouse in the future. Given that, how could Mu Sanye ever abandon Xuan Qi?

 Chapter 2545: Elegant Lines

    Chapter 2545: Elegant Lines

    In the Arboreal Sanctuary, many people witnessed a surprising scene; Xu Ji was engaged in a fierce battle with someone else. At first nce, it appeared that they were fighting over a great tree, and yet there was no great tree to be seen near them. Even more shocking was the fact that Xu Ji was actually fighting against Xu Ji.

    The spectators were dumbfounded. Xu Ji was fighting against himself, and the two¡¯s fighting styles were perfectly identical. What in the world was going on?

    "It''s the Replication Tree, the Replication Tree!" a little girl shouted excitedly.

    Someone asked, "Little girl, what is the Replication Tree?"

    The child was one of the three who were from the Arboreal Realm. She answered in a well behaved manner, "It''s a powerful tree in this Arboreal Sanctuary that can replicate anyone who approaches it. It can copy their appearance, their cultivation, and even battle techniques. It¡¯s one of the most formidable trees in the entire Arboreal Sanctuary, and very few people have ever managed to obtain an innate gift from it. That big brother is incredible have even provoked the Replication Tree."

    "That¡¯s Xu Ji, the only person from the Sixverse Academy to obtain a tetra-chromatic fruit," someone replied.

    The little girl''s eyes sparkled. "A tetra-chromatic fruit? That''s amazing!"

    As the battle between Xu Ji and his replica moved further away, the watching crowd quickly followed, eager to see the final results.

    Across the Arboreal Sanctuary, everyone sought out the trees they wanted, all the while seeing the various bizarre trees that existed there.

    Lu Yin saw the enormous tree again, as unlike most of the other trees, the giant tree was constantly on the move and did not remain in one ce.

    Seeing this, Lu Yin decided to chase after it.

    Luo Zang watched as Lu Yin moved after the giant tree, only to grow puzzled. What was Xuan Qi nning?

    Lu Yin quickly arrived at the base of the enormous tree, and then leaped onto one of the tree''s limbs. The tree continued to move, not paying any attention to Lu Yin.

    Luo Zang''s eyes flickered, and he imitated Xuan Qi, approaching the giant tree. Perhaps, he would be able to witness something extraordinary in the Arboreal Sanctuary by traveling with the tree.

    However, Luo Zang did not receive the same treatment as Lu Yin. The enormous tree shifted its branches and effortlessly flicked Luo Zang away. He waspletely unable to put up any resistance at all. If not for a defensive power vessel he pulled out at thest moment, he might have even died from that single flick.

    Luo Zang smashed through several mountains that hung in the sky, coughing up blood the entire way. By the time he recovered, the massive tree was already far away.

    Bang!

    He punched the Cliffside resentfully. He was seeing the advantage of a penta-chromatic fruit. However, it was possible to act recklessly in the Arboreal Sanctuary, and Luo Zang would not let Xuan Qi off.

    After climbing onto the giant tree, Lu Yin settled down onto a limb and sat cross-legged. There was no longer any need for him to search on his own. He intended to let the tree¡¯s path determine what he would encounter.

    The giant tree did not move fast, yet each step covered a tremendous distance.

    As it moved along, Lu Yin saw many people. Some hid from the tree, while others stared nkly, afraid to approach.

    He saw Jiang Xiaodao, whose body was surrounded by streams of water. At first nce, it looked quite simr to Shang Qing''s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Jiang Xiaodao wasughing hysterically to himself.

    Lu Yin also saw Shao Qingfeng. It was not possible to determine if Shao Qingfeng had obtained any innate gift, but he did notice Lu Yin from the mountaintop where he stood, and for a moment, their eyes met.

    The Arboreal Sanctuary was vast, which meant that people rarely saw each other after parting ways. Eventually, from his perch atop the giant tree, Lu Yin saw one tree that surprised him.

    It was a tree that held up three vast skies, and each held an entire world of its own. The tree was at least the same size as the lightning tree, if not even taller. However, this tree also did not meet Lu Yin''s desires.

    He saw a tree that gave off ripple-like patterns in the shape of gourds. He touched the ripples, and at that moment, felt as though space itself was spinning, and enemies appeared before his eyes one by one.

    This tree intrigued him, and he made a note of its location. Despite not knowing what sort of innate gift he would receive from the tree, it might be a good idea to try to give it a try.

    He saw a tree that did not quite look like a tree, but instead resembled tears that hung in the void. Both the branches and the trunk were crystal clear.

    Over the course of several days, Lu Yin saw all kinds of strange trees from atop the giant tree. It was almost as if he had encountered a whole new world.

    He took note of several trees, and prepared to choose from among them.

    He noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. A blur darted past. Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he turned to investigate. Without hesitation, he leaped off of the towering tree and pursued a massive shadow. He did not even notice that he started using Inverse Step, which allowed him to swiftly close the distance. He firmly grabbed hold of the figure and eximed, "Why are you here?"

    Therge figure that Lu Yin had caught turned out to be therge tree that had continuously tried to escape from him in the past. It was therge tree that Sapling loved so much. Lu Yin had ordered his people to search the entire Fifth Maind for this tree.

    He never would have imagined that the tree would appear in the Arboreal Sanctuary, of all ces.

    The tree continued to struggle and escape Lu Yin''s grasp, which was exactly the same as before.

    Lu Yin held the tree and asked, "Do you have any intelligence at all? Why are you here?"

    The tree writhed, determined to escape. Nothing would restrain it.

    "Sapling misses you," Lu Yin shouted.

    The tree paused for a brief moment, and then started struggling again, resuming its attempts to flee. Lu Yin grabbed hold of it with both hands, and at that moment, an inexplicable, strange sensation came over him, startling him. This was bad. He had just obtained an innate gift from the tree.

    Mu Sanye had warned Lu Yin that after he had eaten the Wood Fruits, he should not carelessly touch any trees, as he would most likely obtain an innate gift from the first one he touched. However, that should only apply to trees from the Arboreal Realm. It should not have been possible to acquire any innate gift from a tree from other universes. Otherwise, he would definitely have gone to touch the Mother Tree.

    In that case, what was the deal with the big tree? Was the fleeing tree actually from the Arboreal Realm?

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused, however, he had already obtained an innate gift from the tree.

    What kind of innate gift could such a tree give him? Some sort of ability to escape?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s vision changed. He saw lines bisecting lines that ran through the void, forming squares and circles. The lines twisted and stretched out. Unconsciously, he let go of the tree, which immediately lifted a branch and vanished. Lu Yin instantly reacted and tried to grab hold of tree again, but it waspletely gone.

    The tree had vanished from the Arboreal Sanctuary, yet to Lu Yin''s vision, the tree had not simply disappeared. Instead, it had opened up lines with the movement of the branch, as though it had unlocked countless portals that it could continuously flee through.

    Was this¡­ spatial visualization?

    Lu Yin slowly extended a hand, his fingers gradually approaching a line. Finally, he touched it. He was ovee with a strange sensation. The line could be manipted. His vision changed to apletely different scene, and he felt as though he could understand space.

    His touch firmed, and he plucked at the line. The void twisted, and with a single step, Lu Yin''s body disappeared. He instantly reappeared, but he was already far away from his previous location.

    Lu Yin looked back, ovee with exhration. The sensation he had just experienced was undoubtedly a form of spatial maniption. The tree had given him heightened control of space, and it far surpassed what he had previously been capable of, even with his void god domain. This newfound ability had manifested so unexpectedly that Lu Yin was overwhelmed by a profound sense of mystery and wonder.

    Could this be the legendary realm of a domain that was above even the Wielder realm? The level of domain that Gu Yizhi had always sought to reach?

    No, Lu Yin had simply obtained an improved sense and control of space. The next level of mastery of his domain would theoretically allow him to expand and shrink space, and even pursue the elusive power of time. He was still far from that level. However, the fact that he had be able to visualize space, he would eventually be able to control the void, so long as he continued cultivating. The day woulde when he would experience another breakthrough with his domain.

    Lu Yin looked down at his hands, his heart overflowing with excitement. He had managed to obtain such an incredible innate gift out of nowhere. Once again, his future prospects had been changed. In the future, even his method of fighting would change.

    Still, what in the world was thatrge tree? It was able to control space, and yet it could still be captured?

    In the remaining time he had in the Arboreal Sanctuary, Lu Yin no longer wandered around. Instead, he would walk one step at a time while observing the spatial lines he could observe. The lines were intricate and elegant, and when he touched them, there were times that they would make the void warp. If he stretched them, sometimes they would expand space.

    He was immersed in his own world as yed with his newfound powers.

    Before long, it was time for everyone to leave the Arboreal Sanctuary. Everyone was enveloped in green bubbles and taken back to the mountain peak where they had first arrived.

    "Xuan Qi, what innate gift did you receive?" As soon as Lu Yin arrived on the peak, all eyes were on him.

    Mu Sanye took a few steps forward and stood in front of the crowd. He gently asked, "Xuan Qi, which innate gift did you receive? Which trees did you see?"

    Jiang Xiaodao, Luo Zang, and the others also moved closer.

    Lu Yin was the only person who had obtained a penta-chromatic fruit. He should not have encountered any obstacles in the Arboreal Sanctuary, which meant that he could essentially have chosen any tree he wished.

    Xu Xiangyin started to grow nervous. He did not know himself whether he wanted Xuan Qi to have acquired a good innate gift or not. The man felt terribly conflicted.

    Xu Yue was also nervous, as she was worried that Xuan Qi would tattle on her.

    Lu Yin said, "I saw a tree that held three worlds."

    Mu Sanye¡¯s eyes grew wide, and excitement filled them. "You obtained the innate gift of three skies?"

    Everyone tensed up and held their breath. Just by Mu Sanye''s reaction, it was clear that the three skies innate gift was absolutely incredible.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior only saw that tree, and I didn''t try to obtain an innate gift from it."

    Mu Sanye felt disappointed. "What else did you see?"

    "I saw a tree that created ripples that were shaped like gourds," Lu Yin replied.

    Once again, Mu Sanye became excited. "You obtained your innate gift from that tree?"

    Lu Yin shrugged as he answered, "I didn''t have a chance."

    The crowd was speechless and felt an urge to hit him.

    Mu Sanye''s face twitched. "Just tell me what innate gift you obtained from a tree."

    Lu Yin said, "I don''t know how to describe it, so let me draw it."

    He raised his hand and drew an image in the air of therge tree that had fled.

    He had no idea if Mu Sanye would recognize the tree or not. Lu Yin was quite curious about thatrge tree.

    Everyone stared at the tree that Lu Yin had drawn, their astonishment filling their faces.

    Mu Sanye blinked. "So¡­ that''s it?"

    "That''s it."

    "There was no sign of any sort of phenomena?" Mu Sanye asked unwillingly.

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    "What about your innate gift?" Mu Sanye pressed.

    Lu Yin had already decided on his answer for this. "Faster speed."

    Mu Sanye''s face twisted as a mix of disappointment, anger, and reluctance flickered across his features.

    There was no doubt that he did not recognize therge tree.

    "Just faster speed?" Mu Sanye asked, clearly unhappy.

    "It feels like the wind wraps around my legs, and I can move at least twice as fast as before."

    "Mu San, what kind of tree did he encounter?" Xu Xiangyin asked.

    Mu Sanye gritted his teeth. "I don''t know."

    Xu Xiangyin was surprised. "You don''t know?"

    Mu Sanye exined, "There are countless different trees in the Arboreal Sanctuary, and more are constantly being added. How could I know? But-" He nced at Lu Yin. "If the tree doesn¡¯t show any phenomena, it should be rather ordinary. Xuan Qi, why did you choose that tree?"

    Everyone else was asking the same question. After all, Lu Yin¡¯s image showed a tree that looked somon that any random tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary seemed like it would have been a better choice.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There was nothing I could do. It suddenly bumped into me. I wasn¡¯t even looking for it. It was aplete ident, but the tree moved too fast for me to move out of the way."

 Chapter 2546: War Situation

    Chapter 2546: War Situation

    Mu Sanye''s fingers trembled, and he almost released an attack from sheer rage. The kid had idently bumped into the tree? Such a casual remarkpletely invalidated all of Mu San¡¯s efforts! The long hours and the effort he had spentpeting with Xu Xiangyin had just beenpletely wasted! Mu San felt his work and desires that had caused him to push to have the Arboreal Sanctuary open early crumble to dust.

    "Do you know how much I sacrificed just to have the Arboreal Sanctuary open ahead of schedule?" Mu Sanye gritted his teeth, and fury zed in his eyes.

    Xu Xiangyin quickly moved to stand in front of Lu Yin and said, "Mu San, the oue has been dictated by the heavens. Since things havee to this, there¡¯s no longer any need for more words. Xuan Qi now belongs to my Voidforce Universe. Do you have any objections?"

    Mu Sanye wanted to retort, but not a single word came out. What was the point ofpeting for the youth at this point in time? The only reason he had regarded Xuan Qi as important had been because of the priceless nature of the penta-chromatic fruit the child had obtained. The penta-chromatic fruit should have determined what innate gift Lu Yin would obtain from a tree, but the fact that Xuan Qi had already received his innate gift and yet did not demonstrate any sort of anomaly indicated that the penta-chromatic fruit had been wasted on a useless innate gift. Even if the Arboreal Realm won Xuan Qi, what would be the point?

    Moreover, there was no guarantee that Mu San could defeat Xu Xiangyin in thepetition for Xuan Qi. Many people from the Arboreal Realm were already unhappy that the Arboreal Sanctuary had opened early, but had kept silent due to the penta-chromatic fruit. With such results, Mu San was guaranteed to be aughingstock. If he continued to fight for Xuan Qi, he would only be seen as a scoundrel.

    The Sixverse Association¡¯s current mission was to enhance the overall strength of all of humanity. This was why the Sixverse Academy had been founded. Since Xuan Qi had obtained a worthless innate gift, the most suitable ce for him was indeed the Voidforce Universe.

    There was the sound of mockingughter, as someone sneered. "This absolutely wasn''t worth opening the Arboreal Sanctuary early for him."

    "Yeah, if we had been given more time to prepare, we would definitely have obtained even better innate gifts."

    "I came across a tree I really liked, but I just couldn''t get close to it. If I had just had a bit more time. Xuan Qi has ruined my life!"

    "Whose life wasn¡¯t ruined?"

    Jiang Xiaodao was ecstatic. "Grandpa Dao''s innate gift is pretty good! Xuan Qi, you haven''t ruined my life in the least, haha!"

    Xu Yue felt guilty. If not for her interference, Xuan Qi would have been able to at least obtain an innate gift from that lightning tree. At that thought, she looked at Lu Yin apologetically. However, why was he still so indifferent? He lookedpletely unconcerned with the results.

    Luo Zang frowned. Something was not right. Was Xuan Qi¡¯s innate gift really so worthless? Was Luo Zang just overthinking things?

    Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and several others calmly looked at ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± An innate gift from a tree was simply an additional gift, and what Xuan Qi had obtained did nothing to affect his status as the most talented person in the Sixverse Academy. Unless he simrly failed to obtain a good life-bound voidforce puppet in the Voidchaos territory, he still possessed the potential to eventually be a peak powerhouse.

    With that thought in mind, Shao Qingfeng stepped forward. "Senior Xu Xiangyin, since Xuan Qi already belongs to the Voidforce Universe, I suggest that we postpone our journey to the Voidchaos Territory. We cannot allow the events of this Arboreal Sanctuary to repeat."

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression changed slightly and he reflexively nced over at Lu Yin.

    He Shu stepped forward and agreed to the suggestion, "I also hope that Senior Xu Xiangyin will postpone opening the Voidchaos territory and allow us some more time to prepare."

    Jiang Xiaodao shouted, "It definitely needs to be dyed! Grandpa Dao hasn¡¯t even met the minimum requirements!"

    Many other people spoke up as well, each voicing their hopes that Xu Xiangyin would not open the Voidchaos Territory ahead of schedule.

    The man turned to look at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, what do you think?"

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "Since everyone else doesn¡¯t wish to have the Voidchaos Territory opened early, I naturally have no objections."

    Xu Xiangyin felt satisfied and admired this attitude. There was no longer any need for him to worry about the Arboreal Realm. "In that case, the Voidchaos Territory will open ording to the original schedule. Mu San, do you have any objections?"

    Mu San waved a hand dismissively. "This concerns your Voidforce Universe and has nothing to do with me."

    He then looked at Xu Ji, the only person who had obtained a tetra-chromatic fruit. "What innate gift did you receive?"

    Everyone else turned to look at Xu Ji, including even Lu Yin.

    However, Xu Ji remained silent. It was clear he had no intention of answering.

    Mu Sanye''s face turned red from abination of difort and embarrassment. He had been hoping to receive at least a bit of reassurance after suffering such a tragic loss. Only toote had he remembered that it was inappropriate to ask about another¡¯s innate gift, just as it was taboo to ask about a cultivator¡¯s battle technique or cultivation arts.

    "I know! It''s replication!" a crisp voice rang out. The little girl had spoken up. She was staring at Xu Ji with open admiration. "Big brother fought the Replication Tree."

    Mu Sanye was surprised by this information. "The Replication Tree?"

    Xu Ji lifted his head. He nced at the little girl, and then looked at Mu Sanye. "Yes."

    Mu Sanye eximed, "That tree easily ranks among the top ten of all the trees in the Arboreal Sanctuary. It is a top-tier tree. Even if you pick the tetra-chromatic fruit, you may not necessarily obtain the innate gift of that big tree. But you managed to get it. It''s a pity, such a pity."

    Xu Xiangyin frowned, "Mu Sanye, what''s the pity?"

    Mu Sanye did not restrain himself at all. "It''s a pity that Xuan Qi didn''t get it."

    He shook his head and fell silent.

    Xu Xiangyin proudly raised his head. "Xu Ji has obtained a powerful innate gift, and Xuan Qi also belongs to my Voidforce Universe. Hehe, my Voidforce Universe is destined to surpass all others."

    Xu Xiangyin''s attitude left Mu Sanye even more disgruntled. "Alright, our time in the Arboreal Sanctuary is at an end. We need to leave."

    "Come on, Mu Sanye, don''t you want to see what innate gifts the other children have obtained? Let''s all have a look." Xu Xiangyin looked at Xu Yue and smiled at her. "Little Yue, what innate gift did you get?"

    Mu Sanye annoyance mounted. The old bastard was clearly showing off.

    Aside from Xu Ji, Mu San had no desire to learn about anyone else''s innate gift. People who had only managed to obtain tri-chromatic fruits would find it immensely difficult to approach any of the more powerful trees.

    Without waiting for Xu Yue to answer, Mu Sanye started moving everyone away. Eventually, Xu Xiangyin and You Teng carried the group back to the Singrity Universe.

    Xu Xiangyin felt that the excursion had been quite rewarding.

    Jiang Xiaodao was also in a good mood. He approached Lu Yin and boasted, "Look, this is Grandpa Dao''s River Glow. Impressive, isn¡¯t it? Itplements the Sky River technique I have, and makes it unbeatable. Anyone who goes up against Grandpa Dao now will be beaten so badly that even their ancestors will feel it."

    Lu Yin praised, "It''s not a bad innate gift."

    "That''s right," Jiang Xiaodao proudly agreed. He then suddenly felt that something was off, and he red at Lu Yin. "What¡¯s with that tone of voice? What do you mean by ''not bad''? It''s excellent! Absolutely excellent! Perfect even. Forget it, there''s no point in talking to you."

    The young man left.

    He decided that after returning to the Sixverse Academy, he would make some trouble for Mu Mu. As for Xuan Qi, the guy had relied on luck to defeat Jiang Xiaodao in the past. He was just a small fry, and not worth worrying about. Jiang Xiaodao needed to set his sights higher. Mu Mu and Shao Qingfeng were his truepetitors.

    Thinking of this, he approached Shao Qingfeng. "What innate gift did you get?"

    Shao Qingfeng nced over, but otherwise ignored Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "He needs a beating."

    Xu Ji stared at Lu Yin''s back. Given that he had picked a penta-chromatic fruit, his innate gift really was such a pity. Xu Ji had considered Xuan Qi someone who would be hispetitor. After all, it was clear to everyone that Xuan Qi possessed incredible talent for voidforce energy, but the innate gift he had received from the Arboreal Realm had not amounted to much of anything.

    Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, Luo Zang, and most of the others did not reveal the innate gifts that they had obtained.

    Lu Yin also expressed no curiosity. All of them had only obtained tri-chromatic fruits, and after what had happened with the lightning tree, he felt confident that no one who had obtained a tri-chromatic fruit could have acquired anything too remarkable. In fact, he felt it was quite possible that some of them had not obtained any innate gift at all, and were in fact waiting for the next time the Arboreal Sanctuary would be opened.

    After all, they were certainly not able to cultivate these innate gifts from a young age, so they might as well wait.

    As Lu Yin listened to the conversation between You Teng and Xu Xiangyin, his interest was piqued.

    "Aeternus is continuing to increase the pressure on our Voidforce Universe. Three of the Seven Skygods have appeared together on the battlefield. It¡¯s only thanks to Sovereign Nine Lotus that we¡¯ve managed to maintain a tenuous bnce." Xu Xiangyin sighed.

    You Teng''s voice turned solemn as he replied, "At the same time, the situation in the Origin Universe directly influences our own ongoing efforts here in the Sixverse Association. Some time ago, nearly all of the Seven Skygods were drawn to that universe, which allowed us to take advantage of the opportunity and regain some of our lost territories. We seeded in extending our control almost beyond the boundless battlefield. Now that Aeternus haspletely withdrawn from the Origin Universe, the pressure we face is increasing."

    The two men were not hiding their conversation from Lu Yin and the others students. As far as the older men were concerned, it did not matter if the children understood what they were saying or not, as they were not discussing anything secret.

    "The Cyclic Universe¡¯s Senior Sage Yuan has already asked the Origin Universe to re-open a battlefield there. When it¡¯s time, we''ll have the Origin Universe fight Aeternus. Given their strength, they should be able to pull over one or two Seven Skygods, which would alleviate some of the pressure."

    "That would be good. What happens to the Origin Universe is inconsequential. Our priority is to prevent Aeternus from seizing back the territories and resources we took. Let the Origin Universe fight a decisive war with Aeternus, even if it means they fight to the death."

    Xu Xiangyin frowned. "At its prime, the Origin Universe reigned as the unrivaled powerhouse of all universes. All other parallel universes, including even the Cyclic Universe, could only look up to that ce with reverence. The Origin Universe''s supremacy was iparable, and even in its current weakened state, they still possess the strength to restrain several of the Seven Skygods. Their foundation is remarkable even now. Rumor has it that a significant event urred there which involves the rise of a member from the Lu family."

    You Teng nodded. "He¡¯s a direct descendant of the main line of the Lu family, Lu Xiaoxuan, though he¡¯s now known as Lu Yin. I don''t know how he managed it, but he almost singlehandedly shifted the course of the war in the Origin Universe. The Sixverse Association is now studying him, though he might also be trying to investigate us."

    Xu Xiangyin chuckled. "I wonder how he ns to investigate us. Even so, it¡¯s an interesting situation. Any young man who can achieve such things is truly a legend. Even the Cyclic Universe¡¯s wless Junior Sovereign wouldn¡¯t be capable of doing all of that, right? It''s been so many years, maybe it''s time to reestablish contact with the Origin Universe. I¡¯ve heard that the Cyclic Universe has already made contact. You Teng, what about your Transcendent Universe?"

    You Teng remained calm as he replied, "I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s possible that they also sought to establish a connection. Even so, the depths of that universe are shrouded in mystery and that ce ispletely unpredictable. One can never be certain when some ancient monster might emerge from those depths."

    Suddenly, Xu Xiangyin seemed to have remembered something. His eyes lit up as he nced at You Teng, though nothing was said. Instead, Xu Xiangyin fell into deep thought.

    "For so many years, the Origin Universe¡¯s strength has been constantly monitored by our Sixverse Association. In fact, we should thank Aeternus. Without them, it would have been difficult to restrain the Origin Universe¡¯s development."

    "This is their retribution."

    It did not take long to return to the Sixverse Academy, and Lu Yin returned to the Arboreal School.

    As soon as Xuan Qi and the others returned, news of the events in the Arboreal Sanctuary started to spread.

    Lu Yin''s mind waspletely upied with studying and toying with space, which left him with no room to be distracted by rumors.

    ...

    In the Transcendent Universe, Zi Jing arrived at the bottom of the stairs that were covered with flowers.

    He Ran looked down from and said, "Xuan Qi''s experience in the Arboreal Sanctuary was not very impressive."

    Zi Jing''s heart trembled and she quickly asked, "Did something happen to him?"

    He Ran stared at the concern on Zi Jing''s face, and a faint smile appeared. "No, but unfortunately, he didn''t obtain a good innate gift despite picking a penta-chromatic fruit."

    Zi Jing heaved a sigh of relief. "As long as nothing happened to him."

    He Ran stared at Zi Jing for a while. Eventually, she just said, "You can leave now."

    Zi Jing felt quite puzzled, and she could not understand why she had been summoned to speak with He Ran. Had it really just been to deliver a message?

 Chapter 2547: Opportunity

    Chapter 2547: Opportunity

    After Zi Jing left, He Ran cupped her chin with a hand and absentmindedly stared at the dancing flowers in front of her.

    Before long, a voice echoed in the room, "Bai Qian went to the Sixverse Academy."

    He Ran was surprised. "So, she actually went."

    "Yes."

    "Hmph, embarrassing me by associating with those filthy mortals! Just the thought of it makes me sick." He Ran sneered. "Leave her be. She just a failure anyway."

    After pausing for a moment, He Ran asked, "Uncle Mo, do you think Zi Jing genuinely cares about Xuan Qi?"

    "The fact that she didn''t ask about his innate gift and was only concerned about his health should mean she does," Uncle Mo replied.

    He Ran looked upwards. "Is that the case? But she never asked about his innate gift at all."

    ...

    In the Sixverse Academy, Xu Ji left the Arboreal School and transferred to the Lost n School.

    Lu Yin waspletely captivated by the graceful spatial lines that he had be able to observe, and he found himself unable to tear his gaze away. That is, until he was interrupted by someone mocking him. It was the individual who had initially ced a bet on which Wood Fruit Lu Yin would choose.

    People had not only made bets on which Wood Fruit Xuan Qi would acquire, but also on which innate gift he would pick up in the Wood Spirit Realm.

    Most people had bet that Xuan Qi would pick up a better innate gift than Xu Ji, but a few had ced bets on other individuals, hoping to reap massive profits if they won.

    Ultimately, the vast majority of people suffered losses, which resulted in a great deal of discontentment. People actively sought out Lu Yin, just to be able to unload by mocking and ridiculing him. Some even went as far as trying to escte the situation and trigger a physical confrontation.

    Most people understood that Xuan Qi¡¯s actual strength to be quite low, unlike Xu Ji and the other geniuses in the academy. Many were confident that they could defeat Xuan Qi in a fight, at least if they joined forces.

    After suffering and enduring the mockery for some time, Lu Yin¡¯s brow finally furrowed.

    "Noisy," he muttered. Suddenly, a green bubble emerged from a branch before him, and then slowly drifted into the sky.

    Abruptly, someone shot towards Lu Yin, practically brushing past him as they approached the bubble and absorbed the energy from it. The person then turned back and said, "Sorry about that, Brother Xuan Qi."

    With that, the person left, howling withughter.

    Lu Yin remained calm, choosing not to make an argument of things.

    Soon after, another green bubble appeared behind Lu Yin, and another person shot past him to absorb the bubble, just like before. They even taunted him, "Sorry about that, Brother Xuan Qi. Your reflexes are just too slow."

    The same scene repeated again and again. "Sorry about that, Brother Xuan Qi. I heard that you picked up an innate gift rted to speed, so why are your reactions so slow?"

    "Brother Xuan Qi, you can¡¯t be so careless when ites to your cultivation." Another manughed as he darted past Lu Yin.

    "Brother Xuan Qi, cultivation is all about seizing opportunities," a man said with augh. He was about to make contact with another green bubble, but it suddenly disappeared. Bewildered, he nced around for a moment before looking just behind himself to his right side. Xuan Qi had appeared there and was standing next to the green bubble.

    The man was stunned.

    Lu Yin looked at him, his lips curling up into a smile. "You''re right, cultivation is about seizing opportunities."

    With that, Lu Yin touched the green bubble and absorbed its energy.

    The man returned to his senses and sneered. "Then try to seize it. I promise you that you won''t be able to touch another bubble."

    "Let''s see," Lu Yin replied indifferently. He had originally not wanted to deal with the people who had been mocking him, and had instead nned to leave the Arboreal School and move on to the Cyclic School. However, the continuous provocations had grown annoying. If he allowed things to continue without any sort of retaliation, he would need to continuing dealing with trouble after entering the Cyclic School as well. Given the situation, he might as well resolve the matter sooner.

    These people had forgotten what had happened in the Voidforce School. It was time that Lu Yin jogged their memory.

    Another green bubble appeared, and the man shot towards it by using a battle technique. However, the bubble had already disappeared in an instant. By the time the man had arrived at where the bubble had been, the air was empty. Confused, he turned around, only to find Xuan Qi bouncing a green bubble in his hand.

    "Come and get it," Lu Yin said.

    The man became furious. "You''re courting death!"

    As he yelled, he took a step forward. He was not reaching for the green bubble, but was instead attacking Lu Yin with a palm strike that exuded a terrible coldness. Clearly, the man was using a battle technique.

    Xuan Qi disappeared.

    The man¡¯s palm strikended, but it froze a branch of a tree. He turned around, searching for his opponent. "Xuan Qi, don''t run."

    Lu Yin was no longer anywhere in sight.

    Strange events started ying out in the Arboreal School. Green bubbles started to disappear one by one.

    As soon as anyone was about to touch a green bubble, it would vanish. This phenomenon spread until it epassed the entire Arboreal School.

    "Who is it? Who dares steal my bubbles?"

    "It''s Xuan Qi, I saw him. He''s the one stealing the bubbles."

    "He¡¯s that fast?"

    Lu Yin spread his voidforce energy out so that he could search for the green bubbles. Any time he found one, he would rush towards it.

    His speed was equal to that of an Envoy, which surpassed Xu Ji and the others. As long as he could find a green bubble that was not too far away, he could take it. Given his speed, he was able to cover the entire Arboreal School.

    Eventually, everyst student in the Arboreal School had a bubble stolen. They then started to track Xuan Qi, and they used all kinds of methods to try to surround him, but Lu Yin was simply too fast, and none of the youths could react in time. This meant that for half a month, only barely anyone at all in the Arboreal School was able to cultivate. All of the green bubbles were stolen by Lu Yin.

    News of what was happening soon spread to the other schools, and the students reveled in a sense of schadenfreude.

    When news reached the Voidforce School, Xie Wu felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

    If Xuan Qi was being bullied, then what did that make the people who had been suppressed by him?

    With Xuan Qi sweeping through the Arboreal School, things had changed. It had be clear that Xu Wie and the others were not weak, but rather that their opponent was simply too strong.

    Luo Lao''er cheered, "Brother-inw is mighty!"

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes when he heard the news. "He managed to defeat even Grandpa Dao with deception, so how can ordinary people hope topare to him?"

    In the Lost n School, Little Lian eximed, "He¡¯s stealing all of the cultivation resources from the entire Arboreal School? Brother Xuan Qi is amazing!"

    Mu Duo''s reaction was also admiration. He thought back to the first time he had met Xuan Qi. The man had pretended to be bullied, yet the reality was that he had been showing kindness by not bullying others.

    In the Cyclic School, Shi Hong did not reveal any reaction at all. She had attacked only once, and yet Xuan Qi had destroyed her Dragon sh. There was no doubt that he was quite formidable.

    Mu Sanye knew of what was happening, but did not intervene. After all, Xuan Qi was using his own strength to gather the Arboreal School¡¯s cultivation resources. Besides, there was no prohibition against fighting in the Sixverse Academy. Even so, the older man went to take a look for himself, only to be astonished by Xuan Qi¡¯s speed. "He truly is fast, but it''s just such a pity."

    For an entire whole month and a half, Lu Yin plundered all of the resources of the Arboreal School. More than half of the resources intended for over a thousand people were seized by a single person. As a result, his cultivation with the Arboreal Realm''s power had already reached the equivalent of the Fifth Maind''s Enlighters.

    In the system within his chest, the little green sprout had grown a bit stronger.

    It was important that he continue. The strength of an Enlighter was far from sufficient. He wanted to cultivate until he reached the same level as an Envoy.

    Unfortunately, he had no idea how much longer he would need to reach that level if he only used the resources of the Arboreal School.

    One day, the Arboreal School dispatched a representative to negotiate with Xuan Qi. The students sincerely apologized for their previous behavior, and begged that Xuan Qi would stop stealing all of the green bubbles.

    Despite having reached the Arboreal School¡¯s minimum requirements, the students had loftier goals than merely picking a Wood Fruits. Most of the students had picked Monochromatic Fruits or di-chromatic fruits, which was not enough to qualify them to enter the Arboreal Sanctuary. Their only option was to enter the Arboreal Realm to search for a after achieving a certain level of cultivation.

    Lu Yin¡¯s actions meant that the other students had lost more than a month that they could have been cultivating. They could not afford to squander their time on such things, and there was no telling how long Xuan Qi would remain in the Arboreal School.

    The students were not merelypeting with the others in the Sixverse Academy, but also with their peers from their own universes. Thepetition was intense.

    After the people apologized, Lu Yin no longer stole resources from them. Instead, he submitted an application to Mu Sanye, requesting to transfer to the Cyclic School.

    Mu Sanye was surprised. "You still want to go to the Cyclic School? But you can already enter the Central School."

    Xuan Qi was supposed to havee from the Transcendent Universe, and on top of that, he had already met the requirements of the Voidforce School, the Lost n School, and the Arboreal School. He was fully qualified to enter the Central School.

    "Thank you for the reminder, Senior, but I still want to visit the Cyclic School to see if I can cultivate the Cyclic Universe¡¯s power as well," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Sanye nodded. "That is also fine. I will reach out to You Teng and have him escort you to the Cyclic School."

    Almost all of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students, aside from the natives of the Cyclic Universe themselves, would visit the Cyclic School at some point in time. This was because the Cyclic Universe was the leader of the Sixverse Association, and the students wanted to cultivate that power. Additionally, there was also an even more important reason.

    The Cyclic School offered two techniques to its students. One was called the Stone Cudgel, and the other was the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. Both of the battle techniques belonged to the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sage Stone. ording to the rumors, Sage Stone had already lived a very long time, and had received severe injuries during a battle with Aeternus. Supposedly, the sage was not far from death. Once Sage Stone passed away, another would need to inherit his position. Whoever that was would obtain the power of one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages. That person would be bestowed power by the Great Sovereign himself, which meant instantly bing a peak powerhouse. It was the opportunity to ascend the heavens with but a single step.

    This opportunity had been announced publicly when the Sixverse Academy had first been established. In other words, anyone who met the Cyclic School¡¯s minimum requirements could potentially obtain the opportunity. The position of Sage Stone was not limited to only the people of the Cyclic Universe itself.

    This was the primary reason that countless people were eager to enter the Cyclic School. After all, Sage Stone would continue to live for a bit longer, and that gave them time to improve their cultivation.

    Within the Sixverse Academy, the Lost n School had the fewest students, while the Cyclic School boasted the most. There were over 3,000 students in the Cyclic School.

    If one reviewed all of the academy¡¯s students, they would find that most people visited the Cyclic School at least once. He Shu, Mu Mu, Luo Zang, Xu Ji, and the other top geniuses in the academy all cultivated the power of the Cyclic Universe, hoping to receive the opportunity, even if they knew it was only a one-in-a-billion chance.

    When Lu Yin submitted a request to attend the Cyclic School, Mu Sanye believed he also wanted to try for the opportunity.

    The man sighed as he watched You Teng escort Xuan Qi away. "What a waste. Such a promising seedling."

    The man shook his head. Despite his age, he had put up a fiercepetition against Xu Xiangyin, and had even managed to get the Arboreal Sanctuary opened ahead of schedule. Even so, the results were rather pathetic. It was such a pity.

    As You Teng escorted Lu Yin to the Cyclic School, he asked, "Do you hope to inherit Sage Stone''s position?"

    Lu Yin replied, "If this junior were to say no, I would not even believe myself."

    You Teng chuckled. "That''s only normal. No one can refuse such an opportunity. Even if Xu Xiangyin learned of what you are doing, he would not me you. This opportunity guarantees that you can be a peak existence within the Cyclic Universe, while the opportunity he offers you only promises the chance of bing a peak powerhouse. Anyone would choose the first."

    Lu Yin said, "However, this junior does not expect to receive that opportunity. It is too difficult, and too arduous. Instead, this junior merely hopes to be able to witness the strength of the Cyclic Universe so that I can firmly take a seat at the top of the Sixverse Academy."

    Yu Teng nced over at Lu Yin, but said nothing.

    Soon, Lu Yin arrived at the Cyclic School.

    The Cyclic School had a quite normal appearance. The continent had mountains, dense forests, and even a city. This made sense, considering that nearly half of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students studied in the Cyclic School at any given time. While the city had not been established by the Sixverse Association, it had been built by people from the Cyclic School.

 Chapter 2548: Stone Gate Battle Technique

    Chapter 2548: Stone Gate Battle Technique

    As Lu Yin set foot on the grounds of the Cyclic School, a jade slip shot towards him.

    After reviewing the new information, Lu Yin started moving in a specific direction.

    News that Xuan Qi had transferred quickly spread throughout the Siverse Academy, just like when Lu Yin had transferred from the Lost n School to the Arboreal School. As soon as he set foot in the Cyclic School, news started swiftly circted throughout the academy.

    However, the Cyclic School was different from the Arboreal School. The Arboreal School required the students to meet or fail the minimum requirements as soon as they entered the school. That was why there was frequently a crowd gathered to observe the new transfers. On the other hand, meeting the Cyclic School¡¯s requirements required a long period of learning and cultivating. If the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate was an easily cultivated battle technique, Mu Mu would have learned far more than just the Third Hand.

    For this reason, despite many people in the Cyclic School knowing of Xuan Qi¡¯s arrival, there was no crowd to receive him.

    They would only gather once he decided to challenge the school¡¯s examination.

    In the Voidforce School, Jiang Xiaodao learned that Xuan Qi had already moved on to the Cyclic School, and he quickly left. "That bastard! He didn''t even tell me before he got there! How can I, Jiang Xiaodao, not be present for such an important moment? Just wait patiently! I''m on my way."

    He was eagerly anticipating the moment that Xuan Qi would use the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate, exposing himself as a cheater.

    If it came out that the greatest genius the Sixverse Academy had ever seen was actually a cheater, just the thought of the reactions left Jiang Xiaodao growing excited. There was finally an opportunity for him to get his revenge.

    The Cyclic School¡¯s requirements were for the students to use the First Hand of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate to inscribe their name on a smooth stone wall. The wall would then reveal whether the students sessfully met the requirements. There was no alternative method other than the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate to meet the school¡¯s requirements, as it was the only way to leave one¡¯s name on the stone wall.

    This assessment had been put in ce by Sage Stone for his potential recements.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was walking towards that stone wall.

    His performance in the Arboreal School had been remarkable, and Lu Yin had forced Mu San to fight with Xu Xiangyin over Xuan Qi. The Wood Spirit Realm had been opened early, and from a tree in that ce, Lu Yin had obtained an innate gift of spatial control. Thus, his reasoning was if the Cyclic School also started topete with Xu Xiangyin for Xuan Qi, it might be possible to see the Voidchaos Territory opened early as well.

    The suggestion Shao Qingfeng had made that the other students had all endorsed to dy opening the Voidchaos Territory would not benefit Lu Yin at all. In that case, he might as well force things a bit.

    After all, force was what drove people to take action.

    Lu Yin had long since forgotten about the matter with Jiang Xiaodao. As for the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate, he had already managed to understand the First Hand after skimming the technique recorded in the jade slip once. There was no need for him to demonstrate the Fourth Hand.

    In the center of the Cyclic School stood a stone wall that had many names etched onto it. There were many students surrounding the wall, and whenever envy blossomed in their eyes any time they looked at the wall.

    Suddenly, a girl moved to approach the stone wall, at which point she silently stood in ce.

    "Hey, isn''t that someone from the Transcendent Universe? I think I remember her name¡¯s Zuo Yu," someonemented in surprise.

    Other people nearby turned to look.

    Sure enough, Zuo Yu was standing in front of the stone wall. She entered the Cyclic School half a year before, and it was time for her to challenge the examination.

    Over the course of thest six months, Xuan Qi had aplished numerous remarkable feats. He spent time in the Voidforce School and the Lost n School, and then even moved on to the Arboreal School. He had finally transferred to the Cyclic School. During this time, he had be acknowledged as the greatest talent in the academy, surpassing even the likes of He Shu and his peers.

    As for Zuo Yu, she had not even met the requirements of a single school.

    After learning that Xuan Qi was about to enter the Cyclic School, Zuo Yu had be determined to meet the Cyclic School¡¯s requirements before he arrived, or else she would be too embarrassed to even face him.

    A short distance away, Shi Hong, Mu Cheng, and others also arrived.

    "Little Yu, there''s no need to rush. Concentrate and calm your mind. You¡¯ve already mastered the First Hand, so you¡¯re guaranteed to pass the exam," Shi Hong said reassuringly.

    Zuo Yu clenched her jaw, her eyes determined. She took a deep breath and cleared the random thoughts from her mind. The then slowly raised a hand and started to move, demonstrating the First Hand of the Stone Gate.

    Everyone standing around the stone wall became focused on Zuo Yu. They, watching her graceful and fluid movements. Sure enough, she was demonstrating the First Hand of the Stone Gate. On top of that, she revealed herself to be quite skilled with the technique.

    Stroke by stroke, she carged her name into the wall by using the First Hand. Each stroke left a deep gouge.

    Shi Hong felt satisfied. "The truth is that Little Yu could have met the requirements for the school a month ago. She¡¯s been spending this past month learning Dragon sh."

    Mu Cheng praised, "Her talent is impressive."

    He then looked at Shi Hong and asked, "What about you? Have you decided which school you¡¯ll move on to next? You could have gone to the Central School a long time ago."

    Shi Hong sighed. She sounded quite frustrated. "I want to visit the Lost n School."

    Mu Cheng was not surprised. "It¡¯s true that the Lost n''s power is definitely worth learning. I¡¯ll go with you."

    Shi Hong took a long look at Mu Cheng before nodding. "Thank you."

    In front of the stone wall, Zuo Yu finally withdrew her hand. Her name had been left deeply engraved on the wall, signifying that she had met the school¡¯s requirements.

    She released a sigh of relief. As she turned back to look at Shi Hong, she saw the admiration on her senior sister''s face. However, just as Zuo Yu was opening her mouth to say something, a stunned expression covered her face. "Xuan Qi?"

    Shi Hong was bewildered and turned around to look. "Xuan Qi?"

    Mu Cheng and the others also turned to follow the two women¡¯s gazes. This was everyone else¡¯s first time seeing Lu Yin.

    "So he¡¯s Xuan Qi? He actually transferred to the Cyclic School."

    "It''s not unexpected. Who wouldn''t want to try for that opportunity? Xuan Qi is already regarded as the most talented person here in the Sixverse Academy. He has been praised to the heavens, so it¡¯s only natural that he would want toe here."

    "He only got an innate gift of speed in the Arboreal Sanctuary, so the Arboreal Realm doesn''t want him anymore."

    ...

    Lu Yin slowly walked over and looked at Zuo Yu. He smiled at her. "Congrattions on passing the school¡¯s exam."

    Zuo Yu answered in a bitter tone, "It doesn¡¯te close toparing with you. You can already move on to the Central School."

    Lu Yin smiled, but said nothing.

    Mu Cheng stepped forward and politely introduced himself to Lu Yin, "I¡¯ve heard as your name has be famous. I am Mu Cheng."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Xuan Qi."

    "I heard that you instantly saw through Dragon sh the first time you saw it. We should spar sometime," Mu Cheng suggested.

    Before Lu Yin could respond, Shi Hong stepped forward. "Xuan Qi, why are you here?"

    Lu Yin replied, "For the requirement exam."

    Shi Hong was taken aback, and assumed she must have heard wrong. "What did you say?"

    Mu Cheng stared at Lu Yin. "You want to take the requirement exam? For the Cyclic School?"

    The crowd erupted.

    Zuo Yu''s mouth fell open in disbelief.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yep."

    "Have you learned the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate?" Shi Hong eximed.

    Lu Yin replied, "I just went through the technique now. It doesn''t seem very difficult."

    Shi Hong was startled. Not very difficult?

    Zuo Yu spent only a few months studying the battle technique before attempting the school¡¯s exam, and that had been because she had received Shi Hong''s guidance. It was impossible for a normal cultivator meet the requirements of learning the technique¡¯s First Hand in less than half a year. Even a genius would need at least a month or two. For example, from Mu Mu, He Shu, and their peers, the person who had seeded the fastest had taken one month. How could anyone challenge the examination as soon as they had arrived?

    Mu Cheng was surprised. "Xuan Qi, are you sure you want to challenge the test? Have you even tried to use the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate?"

    "I¡¯ll try it right now," Lu Yin said with a smile. He walked past the two people and moved closer to the stone wall.

    If this had taken ce as soon as Lu Yin had entered the Sixverse Academy, or if the name Xuan Qi were still unknown, everyone would be mocking him at this moment. Moreover, if he were to fail, he would likely end up suffering rather harshly. The other students had already invested a considerable amount of time into mastering the battle technique, so seeing someone im to have effortlesslyprehended it with a single nce would unquestionably create resentment.

    However, Xuan Qi had already established a reputation of being the most talented person in the academy. His rate of progress had been absurd, and so no one tried to stop him from moving for the stone wall. Instead, they all quietly watched him. Since he wanted to challenge the exam, it would not cause any damage to let him do so.

    Lu Yin stood in front of the stone wall. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, but there was also a thinyer of nearly invisible stellr energy spread across the stone in a unique pattern. A person could only leave a mark on the stone by utilizing a special method, which was also why anyone who could carve their name on the stone sessfully met the school¡¯s requirements.

    Ordinary cultivators would not be able to see what was happening, as only those who possessed a level of strength equal to a peak Envoy, or possibly even the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, could see what was protecting the stone.

    There were already many names written on the stone wall. All of the students who qualified to even enter the Sixverse Academy were elites from their own universes. They either possessed impressive talent, or a powerful background. Reaching the Cyclic School¡¯s requirements was not particrly difficult for the students, but simply something that took time.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked back at Zuo Yu. "Who met this school¡¯s requirements the fastest?"

    Zuo Yu froze, unable to even formte a response.

    Next to her, Mu Cheng spoke up, "The Transcendent Universe¡¯s He Shu. He took only a month and three days."

    Lu Yin nodded and looked back at the stone wall. He slowly raised a hand and started using the First Hand of the Stone Gate.

    As Lu Yin performed the First Hand of the Stone Gate, everyone stared, watching his smooth and elegant movements. His use of the First Hand gave off a feeling of stability like a mountain, and seemed even more refined that Zuo Yu''s First Hand. Everyone was stunned to see that Xuan Qi had truly learned the technique.

    Zuo Yu could not believe what she was seeing. Despite spending several months diligently studying, and the praise her talent for cultivating the Cyclic Civilization''s power had received, she was unable topare to Xuan Qi in even the slightest bit. He had learned the technique from just a nce; a single nce! This was true talent.

    Mu Cheng''s scalp went numb. Was it really possible for anyone toprehend the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate after by reading it just once?

    Shi Hong''s hands tightened into clenched fists as she once again experienced the same frustration she had felt when her Dragon sh had been deciphered in an instance. Xuan Qi had consistently managed to leave her feeling confused, helpless, and astonished, while utterly shattering her understanding of reality.

    It did not take Lu Yin long to leave his name on the wall. Xuan Qi could be seen written clearly, marking his sess.

    The people in the surroundings were lost in awe of his achievement.

    Lu Yin''s instant sess had invalidated the efforts of everyone who had painstakingly studied for so long within the Cyclic School to master the technique. Their tremendous hard work was not enough topare to Xuan Qi¡¯s talent.

    This was an aplishment that could not be exined by mere talent.

    He had established a record that waspletely unprecedented. It stood apart from all others.

    "This is impossible! He must have learned the technique before," someone murmured.

    Someone standing next to the first person reacted. "Xuan Qi, have you learned the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate before?"

    "That¡¯s right, he must have learned it before! How could he master it with but a nce?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze swept the crowd. He could not be bothered to exin anything to these people. While it was true that he had learned the Fourth Hand before, what of it? Given his current strength, even if the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate was a Progenitor¡¯s battle technique, it would still not be any struggle for him to learn it. In truth, he was simply bullying these students a bit.

    They could only me their bad luck!

    Lu Yin continued to raise his hand, "Stone Gate, Second Hand."

    His move startled the crowd even worse. Had he really already learned the Second Hand?

    Mu Cheng stepped forward and stared as Lu Yin demonstrated the technique. Sure enough, it was the Second Hand. There was no doubt about it. On top off that, Xuan Qi demonstrated a level of skill and proficiency that surpassed anything Mu Cheng was capable of. It appeared to be a wless and effortless demonstration of the battle technique. How could such a person exist? Compared to Xuan Qi, even Mu Mu, He Shu, and the other geniuses of the Central School could notpare.

    Many of the people watching felt had the bitter taste of ashes fill their mouths. They finally understood what the students in the Voidforce School, the Lost n School, and the Arboreal School had all experienced. The Cyclic School¡¯s students understood why Xuan Qi was acknowledged as the academy¡¯s greatest genius. There was simply no question about it.

    Of course, there was also an increasing number of people who were starting to believe that Xuan Qi had to have already learned the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate before arriving at the Cyclic School. They refused to believe that such a level of genius was possible.

    "This is the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate, not somemon battle technique! How could anyone learn it from just a nce? Not only does this invalidate all of our efforts, it also diminishes the glory of the Stone Gate and Sage Stone!" someone shouted.

    Lu Yin suddenly spun around, instantly moving past the Second Hand. The Third Hand of the Stone Gate appeared along with Lu Yin, right in front of the person who had spoken. The student was not even able to react before he had been pped ten times in quick session, each impact ringing crisp and loud. Only after the beating ended did the young man regain his senses. "Xuan Qi, you..."

    Lu Yin coldly shouted, "How dare you try to sow discord! I learned the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate because this battle technique suits me, not to diminish the greatness of Sage Stone! If you dare speak another word, I will cripple you."

    The student cradled his cheek, not daring to speak another word. Even so, resentment filled his eyes.

 Chapter 2549: Cheating On The Assessment

    Chapter 2549: Cheating On The Assessment

    Suddenly, a woman appeared. Astonishment filled her eyes that were glued to Lu Yin. She had an unremarkable appearance, though there was a touch of ruggedness to her. Such women were rather umon among cultivators, especially her calloused hands. She asked, "Are you Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin had known all along that someone was watching him. He did not know why Xu Xiangyin had not shown up, but this woman was equal to a Semi-Progenitor, just the same as Xu Xiangyin. She was most likely the Cyclic Universe''s representative for the Sixverse Academy.

    "Greetings, Senior Shi Jiao."

    "Greetings, Senior Shi Jiao."

    ¡­

    Everyone bowed in an orderly manner.

    Lu Yin hurriedly bowed as well. "I am Xuan Qi. Greetings, Senior Shi Jiao."

    Shi Jiao suddenly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, where she looked him over with an odd expression. "How do you perceive the First and Second Hands of the Stone Gate?"

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "The First Hand is gravity, while the Second Hand is ry."

    "What about the Third Hand?"

    "The Third Hand is release."

    "How do you release it?"

    "It is released by using the fifth movement of the Third Hand."

    "Which movement of the first three hands is the most powerful?"

    "The fifth movement of the First Hand."

    The students looking on all felt confused, as they could not understand the conversation at all. The most powerful move should be part of the Third Hand, no? And what were they talking about with gravity, ry, and release? All the students had learned was how to disy the different aspects of the battle technique ording to the instructions they had been given. Where did all of this extra informatione from?

    Shi Jiao spat out more than a dozen questions in a row, yet Lu Yin answered them all without any hesitation.

    "You really do understand the first three Hands," Shi Jiao eximed.

    Lu Yin replied, "When this junior first saw the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate, for some reason, I felt a sense of familiarity with it. It felt as though I was not receiving words, but observing a person."

    Shi Jiao''s eyes grewrge. "Watch carefully; this is the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate."

    She then raised a hand and demonstrated the Fourth Hand. Not one of the people watching from the crowd had ever seen it before.

    The Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate could only be learned by those in the Central School. Even Mu Mu had not been able to learn it yet, let alone the students who were still in the Cyclic School.

    People like Mu Cheng, who already passed the Cyclic School¡¯s requirements, might choose to no longer continue studying the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. They could instead choose to learn the Stone Cudgel, or even other battle techniques. There were seven different battle techniques avable in the Cyclic School, one of which was Dragon sh. Everyone had their own path that suited them the best.

    Shi Hong had stopped after learning the First Hand of the Stone Gate, as it had been enough for her to pass the school¡¯s requirements.

    Zuo Yu, on the other hand, had found the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate to her liking, and thus had also learned the Second and Third Hands.

    Shi Jiao did not mind that she was allowing the crowd of students to witness the Fourth Hand. Even with seeing it, learning it was still far from easy. Even if there were people within the crowd of students who had already learned the first three Hands of the Stone Gate, it would be impossible for them to learn the Fourth Hand from seeing a single demonstration. If they were capable of that, they would already have be famous in the Sixverse Academy.

    Lu Yin watched as shadows of Shi Jiao''s palm flitted about. This Fourth Hand revealed itself to be a technique that required trueprehension. The Eight Hands of the Stone Gate required that one be as immovable as a mountain. No wonder it was called the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate.

    Shi Jiao quickly finished her demonstration, and she looked expectantly at Xuan Qi. "What do you think?"

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "This junior can only try."

    Shi Jiao was shocked. Could there be another perfect genius who could rival the Junior Sovereign?

    Until this moment, the only person capable of instantlyprehending the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate with a single nce had been the Junior Sovereign, who had established the legendary record of the shortest time required to learn the battle technique. Shi Jiao had always assumed that it was impossible for anyone to surpass that feat, but who could have expected someone like Xuan Qi would emerge from the Sixverse Academy?

    This child unquestionably possessed unrivaled talent in many aspects, but was it also true for cultivation?

    Lu Yin started demonstrating the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate.

    At this time, Jiang Xiaodao rushed up, having moved at his top speed. Upon arriving at the stone wall, he happened to see everyone surrounding Xuan Qi, who was in the middle of demonstrating the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate. Jiang Xiaodao was filled with joy at what he saw.

    The Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate was aplex technique that was incredibly difficult to master. It required a great deal of time spent practicing it. Jiang Xiaodao had only taught Lu Yin a small bit of the Fourth Hand, not even a tenth of the full thing. On top of that, it had been the final portion of the Fourth Hand. As it so happened, it was precisely that final portion of the Fourth Hand that Lu Yin was executing as Jiang Xiaodao arrived and saw what was happening. The early portion of Lu Yin¡¯s demonstration had been entirely missed by Jiang Xiaodao.

    As Lu Yin finished the Fourth Hand, the people surrounding him remained lost in their shock. Before Shi Jiao could even open her mouth, Jiang Xiaodao shouted, "He¡¯s cheating! That guy¡¯s a cheater!"

    Everyone looked over.

    Jiang Xiaodao leaped into the clearing and pointed a finger at Lu Yin, an arrogant look on his face. "Xuan Qi is cheating! He just demonstrated the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate technique."

    "That was the Fourth Hand," Zuo Yu said.

    Jiang Xiaodao lifted his head high. "I taught it to him."

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin in surprise.

    The man who had received ten ps from Lu Yin shouted, "I knew it! He must have learned the first four Hands a long time ago!"

    "So Jiang Xiaodao taught him."

    "Xuan Qi¡¯s trying to trick us all."

    ...

    Lu Yin calmly listened to the variousments around him. He looked at Jiang Xiaodao, and simply said, "It couldn¡¯t have been easy to get over here."

    Jiang Xiaodao snorted disdainfully and lifted his chin in an arrogant manner. "As a noble, I won¡¯t waste words with a cheater! Xuan Qi, you used the Fourth Hand I taught you to deceive others and gain the reputation of a genius. Do you feel guilty?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "No."

    "Good! You should feel guilty," Jiang Xiaodao suddenly froze before staring at Lu Yin. "You don¡¯t feel guilty?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I never was able to understood anything that you taught me. I had to figure it out myself."

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "Then how did you just perform it? If you didn¡¯t learn it from me, then who could have taught you the Fourth Hand?"

    "I did," Shi Jiao stated while directing a cold stare at Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao looked at the woman and blinked. After the briefest moment, an endearing smile appeared on his face. "Oh, Sister jiao? How did you find the time toe over here?"

    Shi Jiao continued to look at Jiang Xiaodao through cold eyes. "Did you teach Xuan Qi the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate?"

    Jiang Xiaodao stood up straight. "Yes, I taught it to him."

    Shi Jiao then looked over at Lu Yin. "Did you learn it?"

    Lu Yin admitted, "I was taught it, but I didn''t really learn it. What you taught me, Senior, this junior grasped in an instant."

    "You¡¯re being ridiculous! How could you be unable to learn what I taught you? If you didn''t learn it from me, then how did you just demonstrate the Fourth Hand? Wait a minute." Jiang Xiaodao grew puzzled. "Sister jiao, why did you show him the Fourth Hand?"

    Shi Jiao asked in a frigid tone, "Did you teach him the first three Hands?"

    Jiang Xiaodao shook his head. "No, I didn''t."

    "How many moves in the Fourth Hand did you teach him?"

    "Just thest few."

    "You didn''t teach him the first moves?".

    "Uh, I didn¡¯t have enough time," Jiang Xiaodao replied, inwardly rolling his eyes. If he had actually taught Xuan Qi the entire Fourth Hand, who knew how long it would have taken him to learn it all? After all, it was perfectly normal to take at least a year to learn the Fourth Hand.

    Shi Jiao looked back at Lu Yin. "To be honest, I can¡¯t believe that anyone can master the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate from a single nce. However, you just performed all of the moves of the Fourth Hand, while Jiang Xiaodao says he never taught you the first three Hands. For the moment, I''ll believe you.

    ¡°I will show you the Fifth Hand, and if you can learn it in a short amount of time, I¡¯ll acknowledge your talent. However, if you can''t-" The woman¡¯s expression turned cold. "I will show you the terror of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate."

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "I understand. Please show me, Senior."

    Jiang Xiaodao frowned. Wait a minute, he just performed the first three Hands and theplete Fourth Hand? How is that even possible? Where did he learn all of that? Something isn¡¯t right.

    Everyone nearby stepped back. At the Fifth Hand, the power of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate underwent a massive improvement.

    "Xuan Qi is done for! I knew it was impossible for him to master the Stone Gate''s Fourth Hand with just a nce. As it turns out, Jiang Xiaodao taught him," someonemented.

    "Didn''t Jiang Xiaodao just say that he didn''t teach the first three Hands? Also, that he only taught Xuan Qi part of the Fourth Hand," someone elsemented.

    "What? You don¡¯t like the fact that he was taught by someone? Since he learned the Fourth Hand, the first three Hands would have been much easier for him to grasp," another person spected.

    "I hope he''s a cheater. Even He Shu needed a month to learn the First Hand of the Stone Gate and pass the school¡¯s requirements. How could anyoneprehend the same technique with but a nce? Such a person doesn''t exist."

    ...

    Lu Yin was unaffected by the discussions of the watching crowd. He was focused entirely on the FIfth Hand that Shi Jiao was performing. As she moved through the battle technique, the power of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate increased more and more, and the artisticprehension that the battle technique required grew increasingly profound.

    Theplexity of the Fifth Hand far surpassed that of the Fourth Hand.

    As Shi Jiaopleted her demonstration, everyone¡¯s focus returned to Lu Yin.

    His eyes were unfocused, as though immersed inprehending the battle technique. Slowly, he lifted a hand and attempted to copy Shi Jiao''s movements. Gradually, he demonstrated the Fifth Hand.

    As Xuan Qi proceeded through the technique, Shi Jiao¡¯s eyes grewrger. This child was sessfully executing the Fifth Hand.

    After just a few movements, Lu Yin froze. He was unable to grasp the underlyingprehension needed for the technique. While he could remember the actual moves, he could not perform them. He needed toprehend the artistic aspect of the battle technique.

    He spent three days contemting the Fifth Hand. Nobody tried to rush him, as everyone who had gathered was eager to see his results.

    News of what was happening in the Cyclic School quickly spread, reaching the entire academy. Some people imed that Xuan Qi was indeed a cheater, while others believed he possessed peerless talent, and endless arguments erupted.

    Xu Xiangyin finally arrived, though he did not reveal himself. Instead, he watched from just outside of the Cyclic School.

    Why did Xuan Qi create so much trouble everywhere he went? Also, had he really cheated? Even Xu Xiangyin could not believe that the youth had learned the first portions of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate with just a nce.

    "I hope he didn''t cheat, as that would mean that he will need to endure the wrath of Sage Stone." Mu Sanye also appeared, though he was reveling in Xuan Qi¡¯s misfortune.

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression contorted, but he said nothing.

    If Xuan Qi was exposed as a cheater, then his entire character would be questioned. Even if he possessed exceptional talent, it might not be a good idea to take such a person to the Voidforce Universe.

    Zhi Bing intervened, "Actually, there is someone else who managed to learn all eight Hands from observing them just once."

    "Are you referring to that perfect Junior Sovereign?" Mu San asked.

    Zhi Bing replied, "As someone has already aplished such a feat, it should not be too surprising if others are able to do the same."

    Mu Sanye shook his head. "It is inappropriate topare the Junior Sovereign to this child."

    Xu Xiangyin frowned. He had devoted a great deal of time and effort to Xuan Qi. If it was revealed that the child had cheated in order to be recognized as a genius, the old man would not be able to ept it.

    "Ah, he¡¯s moving!" Zhi Bing eximed in surprise.

    All three men turned back to look into the Cyclic School.

    Shi Jiao''s eyes grewrge as she watched Lu Yin perform a wless demonstration of the Fifth Hand of the Stone Gate. Sure enough, the youth had gotten the Fifth Hand correct. He had fullyprehended the artistic aspect of the technique. He had truly mastered the Fifth Hand.

    While the watching students were unable toprehend the Fifth Hand, Shi Jiao''s reaction made it clear that Xuan Qi had seeded.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s mouth fell open. How was this possible? He had struggled greatly to learn the Fourth Hand, and yet Xuan Qi had managed to learn the Fifth Hand in just three days?

    As he thought back to when Xuan Qi had repeatedly failed to learn a few movements of the Fourth Hand when Jiang Xiaodao had demonstrated them, the young man gritted his teeth. The bastard had been messing with him!

    Lu Yin stopped and let out a breath. He turned to face Shi Jiao. "Thankfully, I didn''t disgrace the technique. The Fifth Hand is truly profound and has opened my eyes. It is worthy of being Senior Sage Stone¡¯s battle technique. Learning this will surely benefit this junior for the rest of my life."

    Shi Jiao''s eyes flickered. "Xuan Qi, are you confident that you can also learn the Sixth Hand right now?"

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Shi Jiao continued, "If you can master the Sixth Hand within a month, you can make a request. Whatever your request, I will do my best to fulfill it. If I am unable, our Stone Gate will do so. If even they are unable to fulfill your request, a report will be made to our Honored Master, and Honored Master will carry out your request."

    Everyone was stunned in disbelief. This was no different from a promise from Sage Stone himself, one of humanity¡¯s most powerful experts!

    Lu Yin was simrly astonished. Was learning this battle technique really so important?

 Chapter 2550: Not A Disappointment

    Chapter 2550: Not A Disappointment

    Lu Yin had no idea that the only person to master the Sixth Hand within a single month was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Junior Sovereign. After all, the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate was a Progenitor-level battle technique. Even a Semi-Progenitor would not be able to master the Sixth Hand within a mere month. The moves were easy, but understanding the concept behind them was difficult.

    The Junior Sovereign''s aplishment had shaken the entire Cyclic Universe, and Shi jiao was eager to see if Xuan Qi could match that feat. If he seeded, he would undoubtedly be the best sessor for Sage Stone¡¯s seat. After all, the Junior Sovereign could not inherit just the seat of one of the Nine Sages.

    Shi jiao was fully cognizant of the task her master had entrusted to her before he had made his way to the battlefield. She was to find the most suitable sessor for him. Her master did not want the seat of Sage Stone to be left vacant, but there was no one within the Stone Gate who was qualified to receive it.

    Shi jiao would rather search for her master¡¯s sessor herself, and then bring them into the Stone Gate in order to ensure that the Sage Stone seat would remain within the Stone Gate.

    "I am willing to make an attempt," Lu Yin finally answered respectfully.

    "Stop!" Xu Xiangyin instantly appeared, unable to remain silent any longer. While Lu Yin was unaware of Shi jiao¡¯s motivations, Xu Xiangyin was fully aware of them.

    Shi jiao shot Xu Xiangyin a cold re. "Are you trying to interfere?"

    Xu Xiangyin answered in a low voice, "Xuan Qi is already a member of my Voidforce Universe. Whether or not he can learn the Sixth Hand, it means nothing to your Cyclic Universe. Since he has already met your school¡¯s requirements, I will be taking him to the Central School."

    "Impossible." Shi jiao''s voice sliced through the air like a de.

    "Shi jiao, the Cyclic Universe has given birth to countless talented individuals. A single Xuan Qi won¡¯t make any difference!" Xu Xiangyin raised his voice.

    Dealing with Shi jiao, Xu Xiangyin demonstrated apletely different attitude from when he had argued with Mu Sanye.

    Shi jiao replied, "You should already be aware of Honored Master''s situation. The Stone Gate needs to find the most suitable person to inherit his seat, and no one will be allowed to hinder these efforts. Doing so will make them an enemy of my Stone Gate."

    When Xu Xiangyin replied, each syble that escaped his mouth carried a chilling undercurrent. "Is your Stone Gate powerful enough to make an enemy out of my entire Voidforce Universe?"

    Shi jiao stared at Xu Xiangyin, but Xu Xiangyin did not back down.

    Mu Sanye, Zhi Bing, You Teng, and another, unknown, powerhouse appeared. All of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s highest authorities had arrived. The stranger was the Three Monarchs Universe''s representative.

    The unknown man nced at Xuan Qi. This youth¡¯s talent was so overwhelming that everyone wanted him. At every school he visited, people fought over him. If not for the isted nature of the Lost n, another group would have already entered thepetition. Xu Xiangyin had truly suffered in order to keep his chosen genius.

    Mu Sanye was speechless. If he had known the young man was capable of learning the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate from a single nce, he would have continued to fight for him regardless of how terrible his acquired innate gift had proven. The Arboreal Realm had many powerful battle techniques, some of which were just as important to their universe as their innate gifts. What a pity.

    "Everyone, please calm down," You Teng spoke up, acting exactly the same as he had when things had gotten heated between Xu Xiangyin and Mu Sanye in the past. Hearing thement left Mu Sanye rolling his eyes.

    Xu Xiangyin also felt that thement sounded familiar. He had heard them mentioned more than once already.

    Shi jiao¡¯s voice was frigid, "Honored Master''s inheritance is rted to the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages, and the Great Sovereign is personally involved with this matter. If you continue to obstruct me, I will send a report regarding Xuan Qi''s suitability for the seat to the Great Sovereign."

    The words "Great Sovereign" were a weight that hung heavily on everyone¡¯s hearts, leaving them struggling to breathe.

    "Of course, I still need to examine his character before making a decision," Shi jiao continued.

    Xu Xiangyin was confident about fighting the Arboreal Realm for Xuan Qi, but he had no confidence in facing off against the Cyclic Universe. The moment the matter was reported to the Great Sovereign and Xuan Qi was chosen to inherit Sage Stone''s seat, it would not matter even if the entire Voidforce Universe opposed the decision.

    As for Xuan Qi himself, since he applied to transfer to the Cyclic School, it indicated that he already had some thoughts regarding Sage Stone''s seat. Given a choice between the two universes, even an idiot knew that anyone would choose to ept Sage Stone''s seat.

    "You Teng, remember that this is the Cyclic School. You cannot disrupt our regr activities. Since Xuan Qi is now a student of the Cyclic School, he is free to learn any technique provided by the Cyclic Universe until he leaves this school," You Teng reminded Xu Xiangyin.

    Xu Xiangyin looked over at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, why did you enter the Cyclic School?"

    Under Xu Xiangyin''s gaze, Lu Yin could not help but feel a pinch of guilt. The old man had been incredibly helpful and supportive, and had always been looking out for Lu Yin. "Senior, this junior still hopes to join the Voidforce Universe."

    Everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin in surprise.

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes went wide. "Good! Good! Good!"

    Hepletely failed to hide his excitement. "You truly wish be a part of the Voidforce Universe?"

    Shi jiao gave Lu Yin a strange look, as did the others present.

    Lu Yin answered in a sincere manner, "Yes."

    "Then why did you transfer to the Cyclic School?" Mu Sanye could not help asking. He also wanted to ask why Xuan Qi had transferred to the Arboreal School.

    Lu Yin replied, "''The convergence of the different universes is inevitable. A great person once said this."

    You Teng arched a brow. "Madam He Ran?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Yes."

    You Teng praised the young man, "It''s good to see that you still remember Madam He Ran''s words."

    Shi jiao was astonished. "Do you not want to inherit my Honored Master¡¯s seat? Do you not want to be the next Sage Stone and be one of humanity¡¯s greatest powerhouses?"

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin, looking into his eyes. This was the question that truly mattered. Who could resist the temptation to instantly be a peak powerhouse?

    There was not a single flicker in Lu Yin''s eyes. "I do, but that is something I can achieve on my own. There¡¯s no need for me to inherit a seat to achieve it. Even in the Voidforce Universe, I can be a peak powerhouse."

    "Hahaha, Shi jiao, did you hear that? This is Xuan Qi! He is determined to join my Voidforce Universe! That is his true desire!" Xu Xiangyinughed heartily. This was a moment of unprecedented joy for him. He even started to regard Xuan Qi like he were his own son, and affection filled the old man¡¯s eyes.

    He made a solemn promise to himself that he would strive to acquire the best resources for Xuan Qi. The youth had impressed Xu Xiangyin greatly, and had honored the Voidforce Universe. This matter had to be reported to Lord Xu.

    Shi jiao''s cold expression suddenly warmed, and a faint smile appeared. "Xuan Qi, I find that admirable. However, regardless of your choice, you are a student of my Cyclic School for the moment. Continue and study the Sixth Hand. Anyone who is uninvolved in this matter needs to please leave."

    Xu Xiangyin became upset. "Shi jiao, you still won''t give up?"

    Shi jiao looked at Xu Xiangyin. "I am teaching a student my Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sixth Hand of the Stone Gate. Do you also wish to learn it?"

    You Teng and the others dragged Xu Xiangyin away before he could get out another word.

    No matter what, things were taking ce in the Cyclic School, and there were rules to follow.

    Xu Xiangyin stared at Shi jiao''s face. It was clear that the woman was refusing to give up. She was most likely trying to think of a way to lure Xuan Qi away from the Voidforce Universe. There were times when the desires of a few people could not sway the decisions of the Sixverse Association. Xuan Qi may have decided to join the Voidforce Universe, but Shi jiao was absolutely capable of forcing the youth to join the Cyclic Universe. She possessed the capability to do that much.

    No. Xu Xiangyin remained outside the Cyclic School to watch. He needed to see what Shi jiao would do.

    Shi jiao returned her focus to Lu Yin and asked, "Do you really want to join the Voidforce Universe? It¡¯s impossible for anyone to be able to resist bing a peak powerhouse. Be honest with yourself."

    Lu Yin replied, "Senior Xu Xiangyin has shown me a great deal of kindness, and I don''t want to disappoint him."

    "Fool!" Contempt appeared on Shi jiao¡¯s face. "In the world of cultivators, the weak will be preyed upon by the strong in thepetition for resources. It''s only normal for cultivators to pay any price to acquire greater strength. On top of that, Xu Xiangyin hasn''t shown you any true kindness. If you had firste to my Cyclic School, I would have treated you in the exact same manner, given the talent you''ve shown."

    Lu Yin calmly met Shi jiao''s stare. "No matter what others may choose to do, this junior seeks only to retain a clear conscience."

    Xuan Qi¡¯s words left Jiang Xiaodao gritting his teeth. Did this bastard have any idea what it was that he was rejecting? As long as Xuan Qi agreed to Shi jiao¡¯s offer, his status would immediately be equal to Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s own, and yet the offer was being refused?

    Shi Hong, Mu Cheng, and the others stared in a daze after witnessing Xuan Qi reject Shi jiao''s offer. Not everyone possessed the will to refuse such an opportunity.

    Shi jiao looked into Lu Yin''s eyes for a long time before casually saying, "Continue. The conditions remain unchanged. Provided that you can learn the Sixth Hand of the Stone Gate within one month, you can make any request."

    "Even if I don''t join the Cyclic Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shi jiao replied, "I will keep my word."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Very well. Senior, please begin."

    Outside the Cyclic School, Mu Sanye let out a sigh, "Old Xu, I now regret my choice."

    Xu Xiangyin did not care. The Arboreal Realm had already given up on Xuan Qi, which meant that Mu San was out of the fight for the youth.

    "Although the innate gift from the child''s wood transformation is not good, his talent for battle techniques is remarkable. What''s even more rare is that he understands how to repay kindness he is shown. He is willing to give up Stone Sage¡¯s seat for your sake. Personally, I could never do such a thing," Mu Sanmented.

    You Teng alsomented, "I never expected him to have such a reason to refuse the Cyclic Universe. People like him are rare. No wonder Zi Jing likes him."

    Zhi Bing nodded. "It truly is rare to see such things. If I had known about his character before, I wouldn''t have minded epting him into my Lost n."

    "Unfortunately, he is still far too naive. The Cyclic Universe won''t allow him to refuse them. The fact that Shi jiao is continuing to teach him is proof enough," the person from the Three Monarchs Universe said.

    Xu Xiangyin continued to stare at Lu Yin. The child did not wish to disappoint Xu Xiangyin, or be ungrateful. What kindness had Xu Xiangyin ever shown the youth? If another person had happened to discover Xuan Qi''s talent for voidforce energy, they would have taken the exact same actions. Xu Xiangyin had simply been lucky, nothing more.

    Xuan Qi, oh Xuan Qi. Since the child did not want to disappoint Xu Xiangyin, he would not disappoint Xuan Qi, either. No matter what it took, the old man would ensure that Xuan Qi would be a powerhouse who belonged to the Voidforce Universe. Even if it meant using up an entire lifetime''s worth of effort, he swore to see it done.

    Lu Yin had no clue that his words had caused Xu Xiangyin to make such a vow to himself. The main reason Lu Yin did not want to join the Cyclic Universe was because he was afraid that he could be exposed. To begin with, there were simply too many powerful Progenitors in the Cyclic Universe. Secondly, the Great Sovereign was too mysterious a figure. If Lu Yin took the Sage Stone seat, he would inevitably have to meet with the Great Sovereign.

    There was no way the Great Sovereign would not be able to see through the Mask of Death, and for that reason, facing the Great Sovereign was thest thing that Lu Yin wanted to see happen.

    Even if encountering the Great Sovereign was something that would only happen in the more distant future, Lu Yin felt confident that crossing paths with Sage Stone would happen much sooner. Trying to hide behind the Mask of Death before Sage Stone would be equally futile. Not to mention, there were variousplications concerning the Cyclic Universe itself. While the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages could be appointed, there were many other things that Lu Yin did not understand about that particr universe, and that made it imperative that he avoid going there at any cost.

    Compared to the Cyclic Universe, the Voidforce Universe was a much better choice.

    Shi jiao demonstrated the Sixth Hand of the Stone Gate for Xuan Qi.

    Ifpared to the Fifth Hand, the Sixth Hand revealed itself to be far moreplex, and required an even greater degree ofprehension, which meant that it required even greater artistic concept. Lu Yin was confident he could master it within a month, possibly even less, but he quickly reminded himself that he needed to avoid going too far. It was important to pace himself carefully.

    After Shi jiao demonstrated the entire Sixth Hand, Lu Yin spent two days considering what he had seen, and then asked Shi jiao to repeat the demonstration.

    The request did not surprise Shi jiao, and she gave a second disy of the Sixth Hand.

    No matter how many times she needed to perform the Sixth Hand, as long as Xuan Qi could master it within a month, it meant that he possessed a level of talent that rivaled that Junior Sovereign.

    In the past, the Junior Sovereign had needed a month to learn the Sixth Hand.

 Chapter 2551: Offended Lu Yin

    Chapter 2551: Offended Lu Yin

    A few people left the crowd that had gathered near the stone wall, and others arrived. The eyes of everyone present were fixed on Lu Yin. They were all curious to see whether he could master the Sixth Hand within a month.

    For the other students, Xuan Qi had been given an impossible task. Only people like He Shu were able to master even the First Hand in a month, so there was no need to even mention the Sixth Hand.

    After just seven days, Lu Yin finally started to move, which instantly attracted everyone''s attention.

    Shi Jiao stared at Xuan Qi, carefully watching each move he made. While he did not move smoothly, he continued to execute the Sixth Hand slowly and steadily.

    Seeing Xuan Qi left Shi Jiao, Xu Xiangyin, and the others all astounded. Had this youth truly mastered the Sixth Hand within less than a month?

    They had clearly been underestimating Xuan Qi the entire time, or perhaps, his abilities were beyond what humans were capable of. Within a span of just twelve days, he had mastered the Sixth Hand, which left Shi Jiao at aplete loss for words. Xu Xiangyin''s expression grew grim, and he quickly left the Sixverse Academy. Things had just gotten very serious.

    The fact that Xuan Qi had mastered the Sixth Hand in just twelve days made it perfectly evident that his sess could not be solely attributed to mere talent. Instead, it indicated that the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate perfectly resonated with him, as though it was destined for him.

    Shi Jiao suppressed her astonishment long enough to say, "Continue with the Seventh Hand."

    Before Lu Yin could even refuse, the woman was already demonstrating the Seventh Hand.

    The Seventh Hand had a qualitatively increase in strength whenpared to the Sixth Hand, and it was also far moreplex. Even so, Lu Yin seeded inprehending it after just twenty days. Without allowing Xuan Qi to speak a single word, Shi Jiao immediately started demonstrating the Eighth Hand¡ªthe final portion of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. "The Eighth Hand incorporates all the changes of the previous seven Hands, while also epassing a distinctive approach in how the power is released. Watch carefully."

    The power fluctuations that emanated from the Eighth Hand of the Stone Gate caused the Cyclic School¡¯s continent to tremble ande close to copsing. The Eighth Hand far surpassed the previous seven Hands, and it demonstrated the true power of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate.

    The crowd of students retreated further and further until they werepletely out of sight.

    Bitterness welled up in Shi Hong''s heart. She had initially believed that, by working hard to master Dragon sh, she would be able to get her revenge. However, she had instead be painfully aware of just how peerless Xuan Ji''s talent was. Even if she dedicated another hundred years to perfecting Dragon sh, her technique would still be effortlessly seen through in a single nce. There were people who innately possessed a level of talent that surpassed all effort.

    Lu Yin observed Shi Jiao''s demonstration of the Eighth Hand. After she was finished, he shared his impression. "This junior is unable to execute that technique. The power needed for the Eighth Hand is beyond my current capabilities."

    Shi Jiao replied, "There is already someone about your age who is able to force out the Eighth Hand with their own strength. They used their abilities to surpass the limits of their cultivation realm. I don''t know how they did it, as it is beyond me. Even so, I hope that you can aplish it."

    Lu Yin was astonished. The Eighth Hand required the user to have the strength of an Envoy it, and that was beyond the strength that he had revealed so far.

    Provided that there was proper instruction, there were many Progenitor-level battle techniques that he could learn. For example, the Heart Seeker that Nightking Zhenwu had previously used was a battle technique from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Arrow Progenitor. Heart Seeker was a rather standard Progenitor-level battle technique. There was also Progenitor Chen¡¯s Cosmic Art. However, some of the most powerful aspects of Progenitor-level battle techniques required specific thresholds of strength, such as the Eighth Hand of the Stone Gate.

    Lu Yin did not want to reveal himself as too talented, so when he saw that the Eighth Hand needed the strength of an Envoy to be used, he had immediately reported that he was unable to learn the technique. It was shocking to learn that someone had been able to forcefully execute the Eighth Hand without meeting the prerequisite strength. "Senior, may I ask who possesses such incredible talent that they are able to perform the Eighth Hand with a lower level of power?"

    Shi Jiao said, "You don''t need to know about that. Still, I¡¯m not trying to deceive you. Someone truly did do exactly what I told you. Even so, I won''t me you if you can¡¯t do the same."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He could tell that the woman was indeed not lying. There was also no need for her to lie. It seemed that the Cyclic Universe was capable of producing truly exceptional individuals. In that case¡­ "I am willing to try."

    Shi Jiao nodded. "Three months. If you can do it within three months¡­" She paused for a moment. "Your entire future will transform."

    Lu Yin remained silent. Naturally, it was possible for him to seed, but seeing Shi Jiao''s attitude had only reinforced Lu Yin¡¯s determination to avoid seeding, no matter what. Even so, he needed to put forth a show of effort.

    Still, three months seemed rather long!

    Lu Yin frowned as he considered how he should proceed.

    Shi Jiao''s eyes betrayed her anticipation as she asionally turned to look at the young man. He simply had to seed. If he could do as she had asked, then he would undoubtedly meet the criteria to join the Stone Gate, and he would also meet her master''s expectations of a worthy sessor.

    Peace returned to the Sixverse Academy. When Shao Qingfeng and others learned about what had taken ce in the Cyclic School, they all fell silent.

    They had originally expected Xuan Qi to keep a low profile for a while after he acquired such a terrible innate gift from his wood transformation, and it was aplete surprise that he had created such an uproar in the Cyclic School. On top of what Xuan Qi had pulled off, Xu Xiangyin and Shi Jiao had nearly started a fight over him.

    Yet again, Xuan Qi¡¯s reputation as the greatest genius in the school was reinforced.

    Zi Jing was once again summoned to meet with He Ran. As she looked down at the respectful attitude of the woman below, He Ran could not help but wonder how Zi Jing had managed to find a person with such incredible talent yet such a mediocre level of cultivation.

    "Zi Jing, what is going on with Xuan Qi?" He Ran asked.

    He Ran was certainly no fool. As soon as Xuan Qi had demonstrated an impressive level of talent in the Voidforce School, an investigation had immediately been conducted. However, the information that the Transcendent Universe provided merely mentioned that he came from a parallel universe. There was no mention of the universe¡¯s name, or even any hints. While the rtionship between Lu Yin and Zi Jing had been leaked, no one was aware that Zi Jing had been hiding in the Origin Universe. Thus, Xuan Qi¡¯s origins became even more mysterious.

    More than one person had visited and asked about Xuan Qi¡¯s origins, but He Ran sent all of them away, iming that it was impossible to ever visit that universe again.

    Zi Jing respectfully dropped her head. "I don''t understand what you mean, Madam."

    He Ran''s lips curled upwards to form a beautiful smile. "While in the Origin Universe, Xuan Qi''s cultivation only allowed him to be an Enlighter. However, since entering the Sixverse Academy, he has demonstrated an absurd level of talent that even the Main Universe has entered thepetition to take him. How could such a person only be an Enlighter in the Origin Universe?"

    He Ran did not even consider that Xuan Qi could be hiding his cultivation level. Unless one was a peak powerhouse, it was impossible for anyone to hide their cultivation level from the Transcendent Universe, considering their abilities to analyze matter and energy. Instead, He Ran was simply curious as to why Xuan Qi had not surpassed the Enlighter realm.

    Zi Jing replied, "Xuan Qi is too emotional. Whether it¡¯s his family, friends, or loved ones, he cares too much for people. This has made it difficult for him to obtain resources for his cultivation."

    "Even so, he shouldn''t be merely an Enlighter," He Ran pressed as she stared at Zi Jing.

    Zi Jing fell silent for a moment. When she spoke again, there was a hint of sadness in her voice, "He offended someone."

    "Oh? Who would that be?"

    "Lu Yin."

    "Lu Yin?" He Ran''s eyes instantly grew sharp. She knew this name. The first time she had heard it was from the Main Universe¡¯s Sage Yuan. The second time, He Shu had mentioned the name.

    Lu Yin was the name of the undisputed overlord of the Origin Universe. The Origin Universe was currently split into two parts, and Lu Yin ruled one of the two. He was also the founder of the Heavens Sect, and he held the title of Dao Monarch.

    The Origin Universe and the Heavens Sect. He Ran understood what both of those names meant, and she also knew about the Origin Universe¡¯s past glory, as well as the strength of the ancient Heavens Sect. However, times had changed, and the megaverse no longer bowed to the Heavens Sect. Even so, Lu Yin was someone with the ability to change everything. Even without bing a peak expert, he had already confronted the entire Perennial World. He was the number one person on the Sixverse Association''s watchlist.

    Sage Yuan once said that, if Lu Yin were given just a little more time, he would be able to unify the entire Origin Universe. It was apparent just how shocked Sage Yuan had been by the young man. While Sage Yuan looked down on the current Origin Universe, he remained extremely wary of Lu Yin.

    "Xuan Qi offended the overlord of the Origin Universe?" He Ran asked.

    Zi Jing replied, "That¡¯s right. In fact, Lu Yin and Xuan Qi are about the same age, as they are from the same generation. They fought over resources on numerous asions, but Xuan Qi always lost. No matter how talented he may be, he was never able topare to Lu Yin''s background. Lu Yin has too many supporters, while Xuan Qi is just an independent cultivator."

    "How did he manage to survive after offending Lu Yin?" He Ran set her chin on her hand. "I heard that Lu Yin has a bit of a temper. He even attacked Sage Yuan and forced him to leave the Origin Universe. How has Xuan Qi managed to survive?"

    Zi Jing sighed bitterly. "Lu Yin doesn''t care about Xuan Qi at all. He simply wants to prevent Xuan Qi from achieving anything and to never give him the slightest chance to rise up. He wants to see Xuan Qi''s talent rot away until he dies of old age. That would be the greatest torment."

    He Ran''s eyes gleamed. "Doesn''t that leave a sour taste in your mouth, haha! Never mind, let''s not discuss him. Now that Xuan Qi has left the Origin Universe, he is no longer under Lu Yin''s control. If Lu Yin ever manages to one day reach our Transcendent Universe, I''ll make sure that he experiences the same thing. Compared to us, he is unworthy."

    Zi Jing cast her gaze downward, a tiny smirk tugging at her lips. He¡¯s right here, and you¡¯ve already met him face-to-face, He Ran. If not for his curiosity about the Sixverse Association, he would have taken you long ago.

    Both when Lu Yin had unified the Outerverse and when he had shed with the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers, Lu Yin had always remained a step ahead of his opponents. The current situation was no exception. The Sixverse Associationcked any true understanding of Lu Yin''s nature.

    "If you have the time, then reach out to Xuan Qi more often. He has be someone whom both the Cyclic Universe and the Voidforce Universe are pursuing, and there might be a chance for us to coborate with him in the future. Keep that in mind, Zi Jing," advised He Ran.

    Zi Jing was overjoyed. "I understand. Thank you, Madam, on Xuan Qi¡¯s behalf."

    He Ran felt quite satisfied. She had already heard from You Teng that Xuan Qi had remembered her words. Given the situation, she did not mind giving him some help. At the very least, he had be pleasant in her eyes.

    A month passed, and Xu Xiangyin returned to the Sixverse Academy. At this time, Lu Yin opened his eyes inside the Cyclic School and wearily rose to his feet. "Senior, I can''t do it."

    Shi Jiao felt disappointed. "It hasn''t been three months yet."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Forget three months. Even if I were given three years, I still might not be able to seed."

    Shi Jiao sighed, knowing that Xuan Qi was telling the truth. There were things that people could never aplish throughout their entire lifetimes, though others could aplish them in an instant. The differencey in one¡¯s talent.

    She had believed that Xuan Qi could stand shoulder to shoulder with that perfect Junior Sovereign, but it seemed impossible.

    There were some things that could not be forced.

    "If you can''t do it, then forget it. You''ve already done very well. As I told you before, if you seeded in mastering the Sixth Hand in a month, you could make a request. What would you like?" Shi Jiao asked.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "I haven''t considered that."

    "In that case, tell me when you''ve thought of something. Do you know about the Stone Gate?" Shi Jiao asked.

    At this moment, Xu Xiangyin appeared. "Shi Jiao, are you still not giving up?"

    Shi Jiao looked over at Xu Xiangyin. "This is still the Cyclic School, and you are not wee here. Leave."

    Xu Xiangyin sighed. "I¡¯m here because it is time."

    "Time for what?" Shi Jiao asked, confused.

    Lu Yin also felt confused, and he gave Xu Xiangyin a quizzical look.

    Xu Xiangyin lifted his head. "It¡¯s time to open the Voidchaos Territory."

    Lu Yin blinked. The Voidchaos Territory was opening? Had it not been postponed?

 Chapter 2552: Voidchaos Territory

    Chapter 2552: Voidchaos Territory

    Shi Jiao frowned. "The Voidchaos Territory?"

    "That¡¯s right. My Voidforce Universe¡¯s Voidchaos Territory is about to open. Xuan Qi will go there now in order to seek a suitable life-bound voidforce puppet," Xu Xiangyin said.

    Shi Jiao''s expression turned cold. "To my knowledge, the Voidchaos Territory should not be opening already."

    "You should thank Mu San. It¡¯s thanks to him fighting with me for Xuan Qi that caused the Arboreal Sanctuary and the Voidchaos Territory to open early," Xu Xiangyin remarked.

    "The Arboreal Realm has already given up on him, so the Voidchaos Territory should open ording to the promised schedule.¡±

    "Since the decision has already been made, there is no turning back. If I say that it will open, then it will open. If you don''t believe me, you can go see for yourself." Xu Xiangyin waved a hand.

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Xiangyin. This guy was incredibly thick-skinned. He had clearly already promised Shao Qingfeng and the other students that the opening of the Voidchaos Territory would be postponed, but because of Shi Jiao, Xu Xiangying had reneged on his promise and still opened it early. Even so, his reasoning was solid, which made it difficult for Shi Jiao to argue.

    Shi Jiao had no reason to refuse to let Xuan Qi go. She knew that there was a reason why Xu Xiangyin had insisted on opening the Voidchaos Territory early: once Xuan Qi obtained an excellent life-bound voidforce puppet, he might gain the notice of a peak powerhouse and be epted as their disciple. Then, the Voidforce Universe would have the leverage topete with Sage Stone.

    However, even though Shi Jiao understood Xu Xiangyin''s motives, she could do nothing to thwart his n. The decision to open the Voidchaos Territory early had been made several months before, and it had indeed stemmed from the argument between Xu Xiangyin and Mu San. At that time, she had not paid any attention to Xuan Qi.

    "Xu Xiangyin, give Xuan Qi to me. My Stone Gate will owe you a favor," Shi Jiao said.

    "I don''t need a favor!"

    Shi Jiao''s tone instantly grew cold, "If Xuan Qi joins the Voidforce Universe, he will be taken in by a powerful individual, but that will have nothing to do with you. If you give him to my Stone Gate, then not only will you receive our favor, but Xuan Qi will also be grateful to you. The reason why he insists on joining the Voidforce Universe is to repay your kindness. As long as you agree to it, he can happily join my Stone Gate."

    Xu Xiangyin looked at Lu Yin, his eyes filled with various emotions.

    Lu Yin was at a loss for words. He had done nothing more than spout off a few random sentences that he had used as an excuse, so why was the old man so moved? He wouldn¡¯t push Lu Yin to join the Stone Gate, right? Lu Yin did not want to go to the Cyclic Universe!

    "Xuan Qi, what would you choose, if not for me?" Xu Xiangyin asked. As a senior, he was willing to leave this choice up to Xuan Qi. Xu Xiangyin understood that, if the Voidforce Universe were to lose this genius, he would have to bear the consequences.

    Lu Yin said solemnly, "I will listen to you, Senior."

    "Listen to yourself," Xu Xiangyin said.

    Lu Yin shook his head, "I will listen to you, Senior."

    Shi Jiao stared at Lu Yin, surprised by his stubbornness.

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "I never expected toe across someone like you. I know that you would rather inherit Sage Stone''s seat in the Cyclic Universe, but you also worry about burdening me, don¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Completely wrong!

    "Go to the Voidchaos Territory. If you can obtain an excellent life-bound voidforce puppet there, then I will allow you to stay with us. However, if the events of the Arboreal Sanctuary repeat again and you are unable to acquire a good voidforce puppet, then you will join the Stone Gate. I will let you go." As Xu Xiangyin finished, conflicting emotions covered his face.

    "Senior-"

    Lu Yin wanted to say something, but Xu Xiangyin raised a hand to stop him. There was a piercing light in his eyes as he said, "I believe that you will obtain the greatest life-bound voidforce puppet. You are the person with the greatest talent for voidforce energy that has ever appeared in a foreign universe, a rarity throughout all of history. I am certain of what I''ve seen."

    Shi Jiao looked at Xu Xiangyin, and her gaze softened slightly. "Since you aren''t continuing to stubbornly cling to him, my opinion of you has changed. What you are doing also motivates him to obtain a good life-bound voidforce puppet. I won''t oppose this."

    Xu Xiangyin soon took Lu Yin away from the Cyclic School.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s mouth hung open. He had heard what had been said. The Voidchaos Territory was opening ahead of schedule. What the hell was with that? It had already been agreed upon that the opening would be dyed, giving him more time to cultivate voidforce energy. Damn it! Xuan Qi, you damn bastard.

    Several of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students received a notification, "Immediately assemble in outer space. We leave for the Voidchaos Territory."

    Shao Qingfeng felt terribly confused. The opening of the Voidchaos Territory should have been dyed. He had suggested it, and Senior Xu Xiangyin had agreed, so why were they already heading there?

    He Shu, Mu Mu, Luo Cang, and several others started making their way into outer space one by one. The first thing that they saw was Xuan Qi, which instantly soured their expressions.

    It was him yet again.

    The moment the studentsid eyes on Lu Yin, they were already able to guess what had happened. The Voidchaos Territory was opening early, and it was undoubtedly because people were fighting over Xuan Qi. This was not the first time that this had happened. After all, he was the reason why the Arboreal Sanctuary had opened early as well.

    Shi Hong also arrived. She had transferred to the Cyclic School from the Voidforce School, which meant that she also cultivated voidforce energy now. Lu Yin had first taken an interest in the power because of Shi Hong¡¯s demonstration in the Cloudflow Universe. She also qualified to enter the Voidchaos Territory.

    The Voidchaos Territory was not a ce that just anyone could enter. Shi Hong was also quite talented.

    Out of the Sixverse Academy entire student body, only fifteen people qualified to apany Lu Yin to the Voidchaos Territory. Aside from the familiar people like He Shu, about half were people whom Lu Yin had never met before.

    The expressions directed his way mirrored what he had encountered on the way to the Arboreal Sanctuary. Xu Yue, Jiang Xiaodao, and many others looked at him with eyes filled with resentment. They had not adequately prepared for this opportunity.

    "I wanted to prepare a bit longer, but you''ve forced me toe out early. Thanks a lot, Xuan Qi." Mu Mu¡¯s words dripped with sarcasm.

    Lu Yin replied, "You''re wee. I¡¯ve heard that Jiang Xiaodao has be able to fight you to a draw, right?"

    Mu Mu''s face twitched, and she snorted contemptuously. "I also need to thank you for helping him by getting Arboreal Sanctuary to open early."

    "Xuan Qi, we meet again," Luo Zang greeted.

    Lu Yin smiled before ignoring the young man. Luo Zang had followed Lu Yin in the Arboreal Sanctuary and had deliberately tried to test him. He was a treacherous individual.

    Lu Yin''s current demonstration of ability meant that he was able to ignore many people without appearing hypocritical, unlike before.

    Luo Zang''s expression shifted slightly, and he looked elsewhere.

    He Shu nced at Xuan Qi. He had received instructions from He Ran to try and create a good rtionship with this person. He Shu had also learned that Xuan Qi held a grudge against Lu Yin, which was quite interesting. He Shu also did not like Lu Yin.

    "Joining the Stone Gate would be a good choice," He Shu casually stated as he walked past Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at Hu Shu¡¯s back. Was this a warning?

    Fifteen people gathered in outer space. While far more of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students had sessfully cultivated voidforce energy, only these few qualified to enter the Voidchaos Territory.

    These people could all be regarded as geniuses. It needed to be remembered that not even Xu Xiangyin had qualified to search for his life-bound voidforce puppet in the Voidchaos Territory.

    As Lu Yin entered the Voidforce Universe, he felt an unprecedented shock.

    He could see voidforce energy filling the starry sky and every corner of the Voidforce Universe. At this moment, he finally understood what it meant to transform a universe. The entire Voidforce Universe was like a Progenitor''s world, though an even purer Progenitor''s world than Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World.

    It felt as though a gigantic creature was sitting above the sky, casually manipting the entire Voidforce Universe.

    Upon seeing Xuan Qi¡¯s astonished expression, Xu Xiangyin experienced a strong flush of pride. "Xuan Qi, wee to our Voidforce Universe. How does it strike you?"

    Lu Yin swallowed his saliva. "Mind-blowing."

    The Voidforce Universe was filled with voidforce energy, much like how the Fifth Maind was filled with star energy. To be fair, seeing the star energy in the Fifth Maind for the first time was far more impactful than the Voidforce Universe. However, due to Lu Yin''s origins in the Perennial World and his time cultivating in the Fifth Maind, he had never experienced that astonishment.

    The closest thing that he had ever experienced to this was when Progenitors used their Progenitor''s world. While that was simrly able to transform a portion of the universe, it could only affect a limited area of the Fifth Maind, not the entire universe.

    In the Arboreal Realm, the sprawling branches that had spread across the entire universe did not release arboreal energy. They were simply branches, and green bubbles drifted about, which did not seem particrly remarkable. Only after arriving in the Voidforce Universe, with its vast amount of voidforce energy, did Lu Yin experience a huge shock.

    The voidforce energy that filled the Voidforce Universe could be said to fill the entire universe. For people like Lu Yin who were arriving from a foreign universe, they would experience an unprecedented sense of oppression.

    He was certain that a single thought from Lord Xu could make him simply disappear. He could not offer any resistance here.

    Lord Xu, the ruler of the Voidforce Universe, had created this universe¡¯s civilization. He clearly possessed unimaginable strength, far surpassing that of Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, and the other masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    From this perspective, it was possible that the Sixverse Association''s exclusion of the Perennial World was not actually maliciously targeted at them. When Lu Yin had first gained some understanding of the Three Monarchs Universe, he had felt that the Perennial World was being targeted, but after seeing the Voidforce Universe, there was not a single person in the entire Fifth Maind who couldpare to Lord Xu.

    Lu Yin had to admit to himself that he had underestimated the Sixverse Association. The Sixverse Association was not only about the Cyclic Universe.

    "The Voidchaos Territory¡¯s domain is a vacuum that is devoid of any substance. Everything upying this region is a voidforce puppet streaking through it like meteors. These voidforce puppets possess different amounts of voidforce energy. Some are weak while others have such incredible amounts of energy that they can shake even the strongest beings. It is up to you to discern the difference.¡±

    "However, regardless of the amount of voidforce energy that the various puppets possess, all of them are currently within your reach. As your individual reserves of voidforce energy increase, you will be able to harness the power of these puppets. This is an ongoing process, and it is my Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivation method¡­" Xu Xiangyin led the group to the edge of the Voidchaos Territory as he exined.

    "Life-bound voidforce puppets are our Voidforce Universe¡¯s primary cultivation method. Additionally, we have battle techniques and other methods that have been developed to use voidforce energy that are in no way inferior to those of any other universe. You wille to understand this more in the future.

    "Life-bound voidforce puppets are not mere lifeless objects. What you saw in the Voidforce School were nothing more than puppets that float about. The truly powerful voidforce puppets far surpass what you can imagine. Some of them possess power distinct from the Voidforce Universe. If you can obtain them, then that power will be your own as well."

    After that, what looked like jade slips appeared in front of Lu Yin and the other students. Shao Qingfeng and the others grabbed theirs and put them away. Lu Yin held onto his and felt a warmth in his hand. It felt quitefortable.

    Xu Xiangying continued exining. "This is a void nest. These are able to hold your life-bound voidforce puppet. After all, there are some voidforce puppets that are toorge to be stored in a cosmic ring."

    Lu Yin was surprised. Could these items actually store living creatures? Did that make them the same as Zenith Mountain? That was impossible. If that were the case, then the appearance of the subhuman at the secret auction would not have been such a huge sensation.

    He put away his own void nest, deciding to study itter.

    "In front of you is the Voidchaos Territory. You may enter it now," Xu Xiangyin said as he stared at the distant form of a massive vortex in space. Across the vortex was a region of space that was devoid of any matter whatsoever. There were nos, no stars, nothing at all that could be seen. It was impossible to differentiate the Voidchaos Territory from the Voidforce Universe.

    Shao Qingfeng took a step forward and started moving toward the Voidchaos Territory.

    The other youths quickly followed close behind.

 Chapter 2553: Yi Ren Reappears

    Chapter 2553: Yi Ren Reappears

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Xiangyin, who nodded before secretly sending him a voice transmission, "A truly powerful voidforce puppet is something that even the void struggles to endure. If you observe things carefully, you might notice certain anomalies."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and turned his head back to look at the Voidchaos Territory before starting to move towards it himself.

    Shi Jiao indifferently asked, "Xu Xiangyin, if you were given another opportunity to choose a life-bound voidforce puppet, then would you be certain that you could choose the best one?"

    "Of course not," Xu Xiangyin replied.

    "Then what sort of guidance can you give Xuan Qi?"

    None of the people present were fools, and thus they had naturally all noticed Xu Xiangyin¡¯s actions.

    Xu Xiangyin remained silent.

    Just as the group of students was about to enter the Voidchaos Territory, a stern shout rang out from behind them. "Stop!"

    Apanying the voice was a majestic wave of voidforce energy that nketed the entire region of space, causing it to tremble.

    Even Xu Xiangyin and Shi Jiao were almost left unconscious by the overwhelming surge of voidforce energy that had suddenly enveloped the area.

    The person who had just arrived was a tall, muscr man. He reached a height of five meters, and there were two bull horns on his head, giving him a rather strange appearance. His arrival was apanied by a violent pressure that fell upon everyone, and they all heard resounding roars.

    "Senior Xu Han?" Xu Xiangyin eximed in shock.

    Xu Han threw a palm strike towards the Voidchaos Territory. As soon as his attacknded, Shao Qingfeng and all of the other students would die. There was no other possibility.

    "Senior!" Xu Xiangyin shouted.

    Shi Jiao''s eyes went wide.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw the shocked expressions on everyone¡¯s faces, including people like Shao Qingfeng. No one had expected a sudden attack from a peak powerhouse. All of their defensive measures would be futile against this strike. This solitary attack was enough to annihte all of them.

    "Has the Voidforce Universe gone crazy?" This was the only thought that appeared in Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and the other students'' minds at that moment.

    Lu Yin was able to clearly make out the images of the hands in Xu Han''s palm strike as it fell. Suddenly, an invincible power enveloped the students, and it instantly swept them into the Voidchaos Territory. Anyone who could use such a force to escape from Xu Han was undoubtedly a powerhouse as well.

    Right at the border of the Voidchaos Territory and the rest of the Voidforce Universe, one person turned back to face Xu Han, a sinister smile on their face.

    Xu Han''s attack had missed its intended target, but the shattered void revealed a person. "Oh no."

    Xu Xiangyin and Shi Jiao raced forward, immediately asking, "Senior, who is that?"

    They had already realized that a powerful expert had been hiding within Sixverse Academy and that they apanied them to the Voidchaos Territory. There was no question that the person harbored ulterior motives.

    Xu Han said not one word, and instead shot towards the Voidchaos Territory, only to be repelled by a counterforce. "As expected. Even so, how long can you continue to stop me?"

    At the same time, Lu Yin and the other students were thrown back and into the Voidchaos Territory. Practically simultaneously, they all scattered in every direction, too afraid to look back. They had also understood what had just happened; a powerful expert had been hidden in their midst.

    An ugly expression appeared on Shao Qingfeng''s face. The hidden expert was Qi San, one of Sage Qi¡¯s disciples. Someone whom Shao Qingfeng hadpletely ignored had turned out to be a powerful expert. No, it was clear that the Qi San who had apanied them was only an imposter. Who could it be? The only suspect that Shao Qingfeng could think of was someone from Aeternus.

    They could not turn back, and they could not stop. They had to escape, which meant that they had to get away.

    Shao Qingfeng was not alone, as several others had also recognized Qi San, including He Shu.

    For the moment, escape was the only thought that filled their minds¡ªthe farther, the better. However, their chances of sess were extremely remote. Escaping from a peak powerhouse was nothing more than wishful thinking for people with their strength.

    Lu Yin was also trying to escape, but his mind was filled withpletely different thoughts. While he did not recognize Qi San or know who he was, Lu Yin was able to recognize the power that had sent them tumbling into the Voidchaos Territory: it belonged to the Progenitor of Secret Arts, Yi Ren.

    Lu Yin had never even considered the possibility that Yi Ren would be hidden in the Sixverse Academy and that he would apany the students to the Voidchaos Territory. Yi Ren must have been hidden within the Sixverse Academy long before Lu Yin himself had arrived.

    Surprisingly, Yi Ren did not attack any of the youths. From his perspective, the young geniuses held some value to him, but it paled inparison to the value of the Voidchaos Territory itself. That was the goal of his mission: the Voidchaos Territory.

    A disc appeared, and it sliced through the void as it shot into the distance.

    The power of a Progenitor spread out without encountering any restrictions. Yi Ren was a Progenitor, and such powerful experts wielded the power to change the universe itself. Despite not being in the Fifth Maind and having no ess to stellr energy while in the Voidforce Universe, Yi Ren was not greatly affected.

    Mu Mu and the other youths felt their scalps go numb. The appearance of a Progenitor''s power had erased any thoughts that they might have had of trying to resist.

    The disc flew past Mu Mu. There seemed to be an incredibly strong attraction that was pulling the voidforce puppets towards the disc.

    Countless voidforce puppets streaked through the Voidchaos Territory like meteors, clearly no match for the force that was pulling them towards the disc. Mu Mu found that even she herself was being pulled toward the disc. She crashed into a voidforce puppet and lost consciousness.

    She could be considered lucky, as some of the students were decapitated once they were pulled closer to the disc, while others had their bones shattered into dust after colliding with the voidforce puppets.

    As the disc swept through the entire Voidchaos Territory, Yi Ren muttered, "Ten."

    Shao Qingfeng was also dragged towards the disc as well, but a powerful, unknown item on his body allowed him to survive the impact. As a result, he merely ended up unconscious, the same as Mu Mu.

    "Nine."

    One by one, all of the voidforce puppets were pulled over. The disc acted like a ma, attracting all of the voidforce puppets in the Voidchaos Territory.

    "Eight."

    Mu Cheng coughed up blood. He did his best to escape, but hecked the strength needed to resist the disc. His body was reduced to blood that then scattered.

    "Seven."

    Zhi Xiao took out a card and entered it. The card disappeared into the void, but even the void was being distorted. Before long, the card was dragged out of the void, and it also stuck to the disc.

    "Six."

    The Voidchaos Territory was neither massive nor minuscule. For someone like Yi Ren, it was possible to cross the entire ce in a single stride. However, for people like Shao Qingfeng and the rest of the students, it would take them a great deal of time to scour the Voidchaos Territory for a voidforce puppet. As for Lu Yin, he was also capable of crossing the region in a single step.

    He put on a show of frantically trying to escape, all the while keeping an eye on Yi Ren. For this reason, Lu Yin saw the man countdown to five.

    "This should be enough." Yi Ren nced at the vortex that was the Voidchaos Territory. He waved his hand, and the disc returned to him. He then shook off Shao Qingfeng and the other students from his Progenitor¡¯s world. To him, such people were nothing but trash. Zhi Xiao¡¯s shattered card was flung away together with the young man himself. That done, Yi Ren left, along with countless voidforce puppets. In total, only five seconds had passed. Even so, no one had any idea just how many voidforce puppets the man had stolen in that brief amount of time.

    The puppets in the Voidchaos Territory formed the very foundation of the Voidforce Universe. ording to Xu Xiangyin''s exnation, even the weakest voidforce puppets in the Voidchaos Territory were powerful enough for Lu Yin to cultivate until he reached the equivalent of a peak Envoy. The normal puppets found in other ces would only allow him to reach the level of an ordinary Envoy, or possibly not even the level of an Envoy at all. After a person reached the same level as their life-bound voidforce puppet, they would then need to cultivate together with that puppet.

    Xu Xiangyin only managed to obtain his own life-bound voidforce puppet, which was a carrion bug, through a stroke of luck. Even whenpared to the puppets kept in the Voidchaos Territory, Xu Xiangyin¡¯s puppet was impressive. If he had only obtained an ordinary voidforce puppet, he would have been limited to the Envoy level at most, and he would have never been able to reach the level of a Semi-Progenitor.

    There were both advantages and disadvantages to the Voidforce Universe''s cultivation method. At this moment, Yi Ren had reduced the number of voidforce puppets kept in the Voidchaos Territory by half, which had effectively sealed the fate of the Voidforce Universe.

    The moment Yi Ren left, Lu Yin''s pupils transformed into runes. The God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder, and countless runes spread out.

    Lu Yin believed that Yi Ren¡¯s countdown had been an indication of the time in which he could act. He had only counted five seconds, which suggested that he had kept five more seconds as a precaution. Lu Yin decided to use just two seconds. Since Yi Ren was enjoying a feast, Lu Yin wanted to at least steal a bit of soup!

    Even so, Lu Yin had no intention of randomly searching the area, which was why he had instead decided to use Truesight¡¯s runes to search it.

    The power of runes was unique. Any sort of power would be reflected by the runes. While Lu Yin¡¯s naked eye was unable to observe the amount of voidforce energy that each puppet contained, he could still try to make that out by using the power of runes.

    One second passed, and the power of runes quickly spread out. No, things were not as easy as Lu Yin had hoped. His runes were not able to determine the amount of voidforce energy contained within the various puppets. As long as the voidforce puppets did not release their voidforce energy, it was essentially the same as hidden strength. The Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse had many ways for people to avoid detection by runes.

    Helpless, Lu Yin could only grab a few random voidforce puppets. He lifted his foot, and the space around him became filled with lines.

    Hm? Lu Yin looked to his right. Then, without any hesitation, he reached out and grabbed a voidforce puppet. He instantly stored it away, without even looking at it. That puppet had actually managed to influence the spatial lines that Lu Yin could observe, and that had reminded him of Xu Xiangyin¡¯s advice: some voidforce puppets made it difficult for even the void to endure.

    With the sight of the spatial lines filling his vision, Lu Yin could observe the Voidchaos Territory from apletely different perspective. Even so, he was out of time. He could only collect two more voidforce puppets before he needed to pretend to be unconscious.

    One secondter, Xu Han appeared within the Voidchaos Territory and examined the ce. His expression fell. He had been toote.

    Xu Xiangyin entered as well. "Senior, was that someone from Aeternus?"

    Xu Han''s was twisted by an extremely ugly expression. "More than half of the voidforce puppets have been stolen. It will be difficult to exin this matter to Lord Xu."

    Xu Xiangyin''s heart dropped at the news. Then, he suddenly remembered something. He looked around and quickly saw that both Shao Qingfeng and He Shu were unconscious. The old man then saw Xuan Qi. Still alive!

    Xu Xiangyin heaved a sigh of relief.

    Xu Han quietly said, "Take them back to the Sixverse Academy. Inform them that Lord Xu appeared and dealt with the enemy, but the opening of the Voidchaos Territory has been temporarily postponed."

    Xu Xiangyin wanted to say something, but Xu Han had already left to pursue Yi Ren. Whether or not the man could catch up, he needed to at least try. If not, he would never be able to exin himself to Lord Xu.

    It was clear that the day¡¯s events had to have been nned far in advance. Lord Xu had been kept upied, as Aeternus hadunched a massive attack on the Voidforce Universe, weakening the universe¡¯s defenses. On top of that, a peak powerhouse had been hidden within the Sixverse Academy, which had provided the enemy with the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Voidforce Universe. Everything had been carefully nned out.

    Things needed to change on the battlefield, or else the same events would y out again.

    Xu Xiangyin stared at the nearly empty Voidchaos Territory. There had previously been so many voidforce puppets shooting through the area, filling the sky, but only a few remained now. He sighed. With this, Xuan Qi would no longer be able to find a life-bound voidforce puppet. There was nothing that he could do about it. With such a great loss of voidforce puppets, there was no choice but to save what remained for the people of the Voidforce Universe. Geniuses from foreign universes would never be able to get a chance to enter the Voidchaos Territory, not even Xuan Qi. The only way that would change was if he became a part of the Voidforce Universe.

    With a heavy heart, Xu Xiangyin took everyone back.

    Shi Jiao asked about what had happened, and Xu Xiangyin shared the exnation that he had been given by Xu Han.

    "If the enemy¡¯s already been dealt with, then why do we need to return to the Sixverse Academy right away? The students can still search for their life-bound voidforce puppets after they awaken," Shi Jiao questioned.

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "Senior Xu Han suspects that more than just one enemy might be hiding in the Sixverse Academy. Lord Xu is currently stationed at the frontlines, so he cannot remain here for long. This is why the opening of the Voidchaos Territory needs to be postponed."

    Shi Jiao''s eyes flickered. "That''s such a pity."

    Xu Xiangyin said little. He cooperated with Shi Jiao to take all of the students back to the Sixverse Academy.

    When Xuan Qi regained consciousness, three days had already passed. Upon opening his eyes, the first person that he saw was Xu Xiangyin.

    Xu Xiangyin had truly treated Lu Yin very well. Even if it was because of his demonstrated talent, the concern filling the old man''s eyes was genuine. "Senior."

    Xu Xiangyin looked down at Xuan Qi and spoke softly, "You''re awake."

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. "Senior, what happened?"

    Xu Xiangyin thought for a moment. "An enemy from Aeternus infiltrated the Voidchaos Territory. You were caught in the attack, but fortunately, Lord Xu appeared and dealt with the enemy."

    Lu Yin shot to his feet in shock. "Lord Xu appeared? I actually fainted and missed it? What a pity!"

 Chapter 2554: Stone

    Chapter 2554: Stone

    A troubled expression appeared on Xu Xiangyin¡¯s face. "Xuan Qi, do you truly want to join my Voidforce Universe?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Of course. It¡¯s something that I¡¯ve always dreamed of."

    Xu Xiangyin opened his mouth, but no sound emerged. He no longer knew how to respond to this youth.

    It would be difficult to take Xuan Qi away from Shi Jiao, as long as the youth did not possess an impressive life-bound voidforce puppet. However, the only way to find the best puppets was by entering the Voidchaos Territory. Unfortunately, outsiders would no longer be allowed to enter that ce, which was a dilemma.

    Would Xu Xiangyin really be forced to send this child to the Cyclic Universe? That would be such a shame. Even so, for the child''s own sake, sending him to the Cyclic Universe might be the better option for his future prospects.

    "For now, the Voidchaos Territory won''t be opened," Xu Xiangyin quietly informed the youth.

    Lu Yin showed a puzzled face. "Wasn¡¯t the enemy already defeated?"

    Xu Xiangyin exined, "This matter is hard to exin. Regardless, I will do my best to secure an excellent voidforce puppet for you. Should I fail, I will instead support your entry into the Cyclic Universe. Once you inherit Sage Stone¡¯s seat, you will be one of humanity¡¯s peak powerhouses."

    "Senior-"

    Lu Yin wanted to say something, but Xu Xiangyin stopped him. "Say nothing for now. Even if you end up as part of the Cyclic Universe, I won''t me you, and I will support you. Xuan Qi, you need to continue to fight for your own future."

    With that advice, Xu Xiangyin left.

    Lu Yin watched Xu Xiangyin''s departing figure and felt a sense of loneliness.

    He checked the contents of his cosmic ring. The three voidforce puppets that he had taken were all inanimate objects. Two had been stored in his cosmic ring, while one had been ced in his Void Nest. He wanted to find a way to bring one of the puppets out and to use it to join the Voidforce Universe, as he absolutely had to avoid joining the Cyclic Universe.

    After Xu Xiangyin left, Shi Jiao arrived. "This time, the Voidforce Universe has suffered terrible losses. There¡¯s no need for you to go there now."

    Lu Yin again appeared confused. "Didn''t Lord Xu appear and defeat the enemy?"

    Shi Jiao replied, "Lord Xu did not show up. On top of that, the Voidforce Territory suffered tremendous losses. It¡¯s to the point where¡­" She looked at Xuan Qi. "The voidforce puppets are gone."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "The enemy stole them?"

    Shi Jiao replied, "The Cyclic Universe is partially responsible for what happened this time. Qi San was one of Sage Qi¡¯s disciples, and thus Senior Sage Qi needs to take responsibility for this matter. Even so, the losses that the Voidforce Universe has suffered are not something that can be easilypensated. Xuan Qi, if you can''t obtain a good voidforce puppet from the Voidforce Universe, then going there will waste your talent. I will speak with Xu Xiangyin and ask him to allow you to join my Stone Gate."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Shi Jiao took out a mace and stabbed it into the ground. "Your talent belongs to all of humanity, and it is not something that should be used to repay a debt. If you waste your talent for mere gratitude, it would be irresponsible towards humanity itself."

    Lu Yin lifted his head to meet Shi Jiao''s gaze. An abrupt smile touched Shi Jiao''s lips as she continued, "Would adopting this mindset remove some of your burden?"

    Seeing the astonishment on Xuan Qi¡¯s face led Shi Jiao to remark, "Many people will frequently discuss righteousness, and I failed to grasp the significance before. However, I now believe that such words can serve a purpose by offering sce to oneself. Do you agree?"

    Without waiting to hear the youth¡¯s response, Shi Jiao grabbed hold of the mace and continued to speak. "Your talent qualifies you to receive Sage Stone¡¯s seat. However, possessing the qualifications is no guarantee of sess. To be the next Sage Stone, you must first undergo the Stone Gate¡¯s assessment. The Eight Hands of the Stone Gate is merely the first trial, while the second is the Stone Cudgel.¡±

    "The stone mace sweeps the world, leaving no trace in destiny. This is the core of the Stone Cudgel technique. Xuan Qi, pay close attention."

    For the next month, Shi Jiao taught Lu Yin the Stone Cudgel battle technique. Once again, he demonstrated a learning speed that exceeded all of the woman¡¯s expectations, and her eyes lit up whenever she looked at Xuan Qi.

    During this month, contrary to Xu Han''s expectations, news of what had happened in the Voidchaos Territory spread. Not only did the Sixverse Association learn of what had happened, but the information even spread to the youths in the Sixverse Academy. There, the students started discussing the steep losses suffered by the Voidchaos Territory.

    In order to suppress such rumors, the Voidforce Universe would need to reopen the Voidchaos Territory. However, that simply was not possible. Theck of reaction led everyone to be certain that the Voidforce Universe had suffered tremendous losses.

    Within the expansive grounds of the Cyclic School, two people were engaged in a fierce exchange, each utilizing the Stone Cudgel technique. No additional power was involved, only pure technique. Even so, the movements revealed a certain artisticprehension of the battle technique, which gave off the impression of it being imprable and invincible.

    There was a thud as Shi Jiao stopped and stared at Xuan Qi in amazement. "Not bad, you''ve mastered the Stone Cudgel technique after a bit more than a month. Most people will fail to learn this battle technique after even a full year. When ites to techniques that requireprehension of their intrinsic concepts, many people struggle to seed throughout their entire lives. Xuan Qi, you truly are perfectly suited for the Stone Gate¡¯s battle techniques."

    Lu Yin responded with gratitude. "Many thanks, Senior, for your guidance. Without it, I would have never been able to learn the battle technique. The Stone Cudgel is truly profound, and I still have a long way to go with it."

    Shi Jiao was satisfied with Xuan Qi¡¯s attitude. Despite the young man¡¯s incredible talent, he remained humble and well grounded. Such temperament was truly rare.

    "You do not need to go to the Central School for the time being. The knowledge and skills that you have acquired here already surpass what the Central School can offer you. Given that, stay here and focus on cultivating," Shi Jiao instructed.

    "This junior understands," Lu Yin replied.

    Shi Jiao soon left.

    Lu Yin slowly released his domain, checking and ensuring that no one was monitoring him. He then raised a hand and started rolling his die. He was eager to see what the three voidforce puppets he had picked up were, especially the one that could influence the void.

    The die slowly came to a stop, showing six pips. Lu Yin eagerly stared forward, but nothing happened. He felt disappointed. It seemed that his innate gift of Possession could only be used in the Fifth Maind.

    Still, his Timestop remained usable. How odd.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin lifted his hand and tapped the die again to continue.

    This time, he got one pip, but just like when he had rolled six, there was no reaction at all. Both rolls had failed to function in the Singrity Universe.

    Lu Yin shook his head and tried again.

    His third roll gave him four pips. His eyes lit up as he entered his Timestop Space.

    After entering, Lu Yin immediately pulled the two voidforce puppets from his cosmic ring.

    One wasrge and resembled a skeleton, while the other looked like a small sword.

    Lu Yin was interested in the sword. He picked it up, and it felt quite heavy in his hand, giving off a disturbing sensation.

    The sword had a rathermon design, though the de was colored ck-and-white, which matched the bicolored mist that surrounded the power system inside Lu Yin¡¯s chest. There were a few lines of text on both sides of the sword''s hilt.

    "The power of frost is of Yin, the power of heat is of Yang," Lu Yin murmured. On the opposite side of the hilt, the text read, "When Yin and Yang converge, the heavens shatter¡ªVenerable Xuyi."

    "Venerable Xuyi?" Lu Yin was puzzled. This seemed to be the name of some powerful figure from the Voidforce Universe. Since the sword had been left in the Voidchaos Territory, it indicated that Venerable Xuyi had most likely already passed away.

    Lu Yin tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword and then slowly released the power from within his body. Powerful voidforce energy reverberated inside the sword, resisting Lu Yin¡¯s efforts in a way that felt as though it was trying to shake off his power. He immediately released the power from within his chest. Stars appeared around him, shining brightly as a ck-and-white mist spread out. Instantly, the voidforce energy within the sword became tame and obedient.

    This was not because Lu Yin''s cultivation surpassed Venerable Xuyi¡¯s, but rather because the power within his chest was truly unique and had proven itself capable of suppressing all different kinds of energy and merging various powers into a single system.

    Lu Yin had not been mistaken, as the sword possessed enough voidforce energy topare to at least a Semi-Progenitor. As for the skeleton¡­

    Lu Yin put away the Yin Yang Sword away and looked over.

    He touched the skeleton, and a crisp sound rang out. The skeleton cracked open to reveal a clear fingerprint on the bones. The voidforce energy within the skeleton waspletely suppressed.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. This skeleton was nearly as tough as a Semi-Progenitor. However, just Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength alone was enough to easily crush a Semi-Progenitor, let alone the skeleton. As for the voidforce energy that the skeleton contained, it was clearly also at the Semi-Progenitor level.

    Since the skeleton contained Semi-Progenitor-level power, then did that mean that the voidforce energy within the Yin Yang Sword was actually at the Progenitor level?

    After putting away the skeleton, Lu Yin took out the void nest. This held thest voidforce puppet that he had acquired.

    What about this puppet was the void unable to endure?

    After a moment, Lu Yin put away the void nest. He was unable to open it. Rather, he was unable to open it in his Timestop Space. After spending a moment observing the nest, he had discovered that it was not actually a storage device, but rather a unique void construct that used voidforce energy. Its primary function was not storage, but rather concealment. It functioned in the same way that the Lost n''s cards hid themselves in the void.

    In other words, Lu Yin had not brought his third voidforce puppet into his Timestop Space with him.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin emerged from Timestop and returned to the Cyclic School. Only a single second had passed for the rest of the world.

    A stone fell in front of him, and he reflexively caught it. He was stunned. Was this the voidforce puppet that the void was unable to endure? How was it anything other than a Peaks and Rivers Rock?

    Lu Yin was very familiar with such stones. What he was holding was a Peaks and Rivers Rock just like the one that Aeternus had wanted so badly. They had gone to great lengths to track down the stone, even going so far as to send a corpse king to monitor the Lost Radiance Academy. Lu Yin had obtained that Peaks and Rivers Rock by negotiating with the academy. He had never even considered that he coulde across another one in the Voidchaos Territory.

    Lu Yin took out the Peaks and Rivers Rock that he had obtained from the Lost Radiance Academy andpared it to the one that was a voidforce puppet. They looked identical, though there were some differences in the artwork on each stone. It looked as though a singlendscape painting had been broken apart and he held two fragments of the original painting.

    As he held the voidforce puppet, Lu Yin closed his eyes and tried to sense how much voidforce energy it held.

    After a while, he opened his eyes, astonished. The vast amount of voidforce energy within the stone was absolutely at the Progenitor level. Could this puppet be the work of Lord Xu?

    Lu Yin put the two stones away. Regardless of who was behind them, he had no intention of revealing either to anyone. The secret behind the painting was no small matter either.

    There was no longer anything in the Sixverse Academy that was worth Lu Yin learning. He had already mastered the power of the Three Monarchs Universe. As for the Transcendent Universe, their school¡¯s requirements revolved around intelligence and specialized study. He intended to leave such things to Zi Jing.

    It would not be long before he left the Sixverse Academy.

    In the Voidforce School, Luo Lao''er grimaced as he stared up at an iron te in the sky. He was currently trying to attract it.

    It had been exactly nine months since he had entered the Sixverse Academy, and he had already met the Voidforce School¡¯s requirements. He had moved on to trying to attract voidforce puppets and control them. It was a speed of improvement that was regarded as normal for most of the students who met the school¡¯s requirements. Naturally, Luo Lao¡¯er was unable topare to Xuan Qi. There was nobody who could.

    Shao Qingfeng had needed almost half a year to meet the school¡¯s requirements, while Xuan Qi had seeded in drawing the vige down after just two and a half months.

    "Keep going, keep going¡­" Luo Lao''er encouraged himself. A twisted thread of voidforce energy rose up in a shaky manner. After a moment, it jerkily tugged at the iron te as he tried to pull it down. Only by personally attempting to do so did he understand how difficult it was to lure a voidforce puppet down. He simply could notprehend how Xuan Qi had sessfully lured a puppet that had twenty times more voidforce energy than him on his very first try. Luo Lao¡¯er was unable to pull down even the iron te that only had four times his voidforce energy reserves.

 Chapter 2555: Needs To Be Taught A Lesson

    Chapter 2555: Needs To Be Taught A Lesson

    A long whileter, the iron te finally descended. However, Luo Lao''er''s voidforce energy was also almostpletely depleted. Despite spending half a month absorbing voidforce energy, he had barely moved the iron te. It was too difficult. It¡¯s too difficult, Brother-inw.

    Luo Lao''er retracted his thread of voidforce energy before flopping onto the ground, panting heavily. Sweat stered his clothes to his body.

    Hismunication crystal trembled, and his eyes went wide as soon as he nced at it. He immediately answered the call. "You actually dare to call me?"

    A deep voice answered, "There was an identst time. It won¡¯t happen this time."

    Luo Lao''er sneered. "So many people were caught after they showed up for thatst secret auction. Do you know how long it took for the hunt for me to finally die down? Two months! If not for Xuan Qi backing me, they¡¯d still be after me."

    "You will bepensated for that."

    "Don''t waste your breath. I can''t help you anymore. I¡¯ve never seen any trace of your so-calledpensation."

    "Move forward 300 meters, and then dig ten meters into the ground."

    Luo Lao''er blinked. "Is this a joke? Why should I start digging because you tell me to? What if there¡¯s a trap there waiting for me?"

    "Setting a trap for someone like you is not worth my time."

    The blunt answer convinced Luo Lao''er, even if he did not like it. "You''re the one not worth my time! I am Monarch Luo''s son."

    Even so, he followed the instructions and started digging. To his astonishment, he really did find something: a cosmic ring.

    "These are¡­ flourishing crystals? So many flourishing crystals?" Luo Lao''er was amazed. The cosmic ring contained tens of thousands of flourishing crystals, which was a substantial amount of wealth.

    Hui crystals were the best way to absorb Monarch Essence. Many people used the crystals to support their cultivation of Monarch Essence in the Three Monarchs Universe. As the options were to absorb Monarch Essence from either tools or flourishing crystals, flourishing crystals were naturally the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s standard currency.

    For someone with a cultivation equivalent to an Enlighter, tens of thousands of flourishing crystals was a significant amount.

    The deep voice echoed, "How is it? Have you beenpensated enough?"

    Luo Lao''er''s expression softened. "When did you put this cosmic ring here?"

    The question was ignored, as the deep voice spoke again. "The secret auction will still happen, though we will invite a much smaller number of people, so as to prevent the information from leaking. I will provide you with a list. You need only to invite those on it. The auction will take ce in three days¡¯ time."

    Luo Lao''er felt torn. Should he do it or not? It was quite the question. After all, he had already been paid for the work. Even if he chose not to follow through, it would be impossible for anyone to take back the money. Luo Lao''er had already passed the Voidforce School¡¯s requirements and could transfer to the Cyclic School whenever he wished. As long as he was close to Xuan Qi, this mysterious person would not be able to cause any trouble for Luo Lao¡¯er. There were too many eyes on Xuan Qi.

    "Forpleting this task, you will be rewarded with 100,000 flourishing crystals," the deep voice echoed.

    Shock made Luo Lao''er''s eyes go wide. "100,000 flourishing crystals? Are you sure?"

    "Compared to what will be sold in the secret auction, such resources mean nothing."

    Luo Lao''er¡¯s astonishment only grew. "Just what are you guys selling?"

    "You don''t need to worry about that. Will you perform the task, or not?"

    "I¡¯ll do it," Luo Lao''er said through clenched teeth. He desperately needed the resources. Despite being Monarch Luo''s son, he continuouslycked sufficient resources, as he was forced topletely rely on himself to support his cultivation. He was not being offered an insignificant amount of resources.

    Shortly thereafter, Luo Lao''er gathered himself together and started heading towards the Cyclic School.

    The next day, Luo Lao''er was speaking with Lu Yin. "Brother-inw, I have met the requirements."

    Lu Yin was surprised, "You¡¯ve met the Voidforce Universe¡¯s requirements?"

    Luo Lao''er nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

    "Congrattions," Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Luo Lao''er''s expression fell. "Brother-inw, couldn¡¯t you be just a little more excited for me? After all, your younger brother just passed a school¡¯s requirements."

    "What is it that you want?" Lu Yin asked. He was well aware that Luo Lao¡¯er was not free enough to travel across the academy just to share that he had met one school¡¯s requirements.

    Luo Lao''er leaned close and stated in a hushed tone. "There¡¯s going to be another underground auction. Interested?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Is this the one that was canceled?"

    "Yes, but things are going to be done differently this time. They''re not inviting as many people, and are instead limiting things to just a small circle. Only the top elites of the Sixverse Academy, like Shao Qingfeng and He Shu, will be attending," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course I''ll go."

    "Alright. It¡¯s going to take ce tomorrow. Should we start heading over now?" Luo Lao''er suggested.

    Lu Yin was quite interested in the secret auction. He wanted to see if the mountain that was capable of holding living creatures was truly a Zenith Mountain.

    After the Sixverse Academy¡¯s administration had swept through Cliff Town during thest time the secret auction had been scheduled, the once bustling town had transformed into a deste wastnd. Even so, the Sixverse Academy had notpletely destroyed Cliff Town, which had puzzled many of the students.

    Since the academy clearly knew that Cliff Town existed, why had they deliberately interfered with thest secret auction?

    "Do you know why the Sixverse Academy performed a sweep of thest auction?" Luo Lao''er whispered. "Apparently, they believed that there was a traitor among the students."

    "A traitor?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Luo Lao''er continued, "It was that Qi San. Aeternus won¡¯t allow the Sixverse Association to integrate the powers of the different universes, and it was known from the beginning that they would target this Singrity Universe. The Sixverse Academy had already predicted as much. Themotion that was stirred up by thest secret auction was supposed to have let them to capture any Aeternal infiltrators, which was the entire reason for the raid on that auction. With Qi San already exposed, there won''t be any problems with this underground auction."

    "Shouldn¡¯t there still be other traitors?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "There can''t be that many peak powerhouses who¡¯ve snuck in, and anyone who¡¯s not at that level can''t stay hidden in the Singrity Universe. At best, they can only match the few old people overseeing the academy here. If they can''t even beat those old people, then it¡¯s almost impossible for them to do anything to the true elites here. People like Shao Qingfeng and He Shu unquestionably have some tricks up their sleeves. I can promise you that He Shu has a hidden blue or even red energy converter.

    "When ites to people like Shao Qingfeng and Jiang Xiaodao who have peak powerhouses behind them, keeping a good trick or two is nothing."

    As the two men chatted, they entered Cliff Town.

    Everyone there was wearing masks, just like in the past. Even so, it was easy to make out who each person was, as there were only a few students present.

    "That Shao Qingfeng is really despicable," Luo Lao''er whispered. When he and Lu Yin arrived at the location of the secret auction, several people had already been present, including Shao Qingfeng.

    His signature golden robe was all too easily recognized.

    Mu Mu was also present, easily identified due to the fact that she simrly never changed her style of dress.

    He Shu soon arrived, followed by Jiang Xiaodao, Luo Zang, and others, one after another.

    Lu Yin recognized everyone, as they had either visited the Arboreal Sanctuary, the Voidchaos Territory, or both with him.

    When Luo Lao''er saw that Luo Zang had arrived, he retreated a few steps, and resentment filled his eyes.

    Luo Zang looked over, his eyes sweeping over Xuan Qi beforending on Luo Lao''er. He walked forward and stopped in front of the two. "Brother Xuan Qi, we meet again."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Luo Zang then looked at Luo Lao''er. "It''s been a long time, Second Brother."

    Luo Lao''er answered in a t tone. "I''m unworthy of that title."

    Luo Zang chuckled casually. Despite the mask on his face, contempt and disregard clearly radiated out from him. "You''ve worked hard representing our universe while being a hostage in the Transcendent Universe. Still, you shouldn''t havee here."

    "The Transcendent Universe agreed to it," Luo Lao''er said.

    Luo Zang shook his head. "The Transcendent Universe may have, but Father has not."

    Luo Lao''er said nothing.

    "You¡¯re a hostage, and you should know your ce. Your ignorance will cause others to look down on us. Don''t you agree, Second Brother?" Luo Zang whispered.

    Luo Lao''er clenched his fists. "That¡¯s not your decision."

    Luo Zang chuckled. "I''m just considering your safety. This Sixverse Academy doesn''t forbid killing."

    He took a step forward, eliminating the space between the two brothers until there was less than a meter. Luo Lao''er instinctively pulled back. Luo Zang stopped and studied Luo Lao¡¯er in a curious manner. "You don''t want to end up like our other brothers, do you?"

    He then turned around and walked away. "Brother Xuan Qi, thank you for watching over my useless second brother. I, Luo Zang, owe you a favor."

    The slightest tremor ran through Luo Lao''er''s body as abination of fear and anger coursed through him.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had ever seen the young man lose control of his emotions. He set a hand on Luo Lao''er''s shoulder. "Your little brother needs to be taught a lesson."

    Luo Lao''er made himself calm down and forced a bitter smile onto his face. "Brother-inw, I''ve embarrassed myself in front of you."

    The secret auction was scheduled for the following day, so the invited participants needed to spend the night in Cliff Town. The entire night was silent, and only a few conversations broke out. Luo Zang did nothing more to bother Luo Lao''er, and everyone else acted like strangers. However, all of that changed the moment Jiang Xiaodao arrived, as he immediately started by directing a provocative challenge towards Mu Mu.

    Mu Mu felt quite frustrated, but she had no answer to his pestering. After Jiang Xiaodao had obtained the River Chroma innate gift, his Sky River battle technique had be powerful enough to put him on equal footing with Mu Mu.

    Seruzen also arrived.

    "Were you the one who invited Seruzen?" Lu Yin asked Luo Lao''er as soon as he noticed Seruzen.

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "It wasn''t me. The person behind this auction has contacts in each of the schools. Seruzen is still in the Lost n School."

    "In that case, why were you the one to invite me?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Luo Lao''er smiled. "That might have been because they felt that you¡¯d be more likely to believe the information if it came from me, Brother-inw."

    He hade to understand why he had been rewarded with such a generous amount of flourishing crystals; it had been his payment for inviting Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin found this rather odd. Auctions were held to make a profit, so why would anyone invite Seruzen? It was in as day that the man was penniless.

    Mu Mu found Seruzen¡¯s presence to be just as out of ce as Lu Yin, and she pulled Seruzen aside to talk to him.

    "Have you managed to find out what Seruzen¡¯s acquired innate gift is?" Lu Yin asked. He had previously asked Luo Lao''er to look into the matter.

    Luo Lao''er became irritated. "I couldn''t, though I did learn one thing, which is still unconfirmed."

    He nced at Mu Mu before whispering, "There''s a rumor that he managed to pick a pentachromic fruit."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. How many people throughout the entire history of the Arboreal Realm had managed to pick a pentachromatic fruit? Considering the importance that Mu Mu openly ced on Seruzen and how tight a secret his innate gift was, it seemed quite possible that he had obtained a truly extraordinary innate gift.

    As he recalled the various peculiar trees that he had seen in the Arboreal Sanctuary, Lu Yin wondered which one Seruzen had acquired.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin turned to face a certain direction. In that direction, an enchanting figure was approaching. Despite her mask, she radiated a peerless beauty, giving off the impression of a proud white lotus. Even her gentle footsteps were enough to instantly capture everyone''s attention.

    The entire area fell silent as all eyes were drawn to the approaching woman. For a moment, even the stars lost their brilliance.

    He Shu stepped forward and respectfully greeted the woman. "Mdy."

    She stopped and addressed him with a cold voice, "Such an attitude towards me will anger your sister."

    He Shu ducked his head, though an intense desire filled his eyes. It was as though he wanted nothing more than to devour the woman before him. It was a look of obsession. "For you, mdy, I would willingly bear any punishment."

 Chapter 2556: Undercover Spy

    Chapter 2556: Undercover Spy

    The other students watched in silence. Shao Qingfeng¡¯s brow furrowed. He had already guessed the woman¡¯s identity, but such a person should not be in such a ce.

    Luo Zang, Mu Mu, and even the troublesome Jiang Xiaodao, looked at the woman with respect.

    Seruzen stared at the graceful figure in front of him. She seemed rather familiar.

    The woman''s eyes swept the crowd, briefly pausing on Seruzen''s withered arm. She then looked at Lu Yin before looking away and silently making her way to a corner.

    He Shu immediately moved to follow her.

    "I desire solitude," she stated in a cold voice.

    He Shu froze in his tracks and suppressed the burning desire that zed in his eyes. "Understood."

    He remained stationary, and proceeded to disregard both the woman and the gathered crowd. His gaze grew distant, like that of a statue.

    With so many people gathered, there was no way for them to not attract attention. Some people chose to stay, but others did not dare stick around.

    After two hours, the cliffside started to rumble.

    Everyone turned to see the passage that had appeared. Lu Yin had witnessed the same scene before; this was the entrance to where the secret auction would be held.

    The few people who had not been invited to the auction but who had stumbled upon the gathering exchanged exhrated nces. It was clear that they had chanced upon something extraordinary. The gathered crowd had clearly been invited, which indicated that this particr secret auction would not be able topare to the regr ones. This seemed much closer to the auction that had been disrupted.

    Despite knowing that they would be unable to actively participate in an auction of such a level, simply observing was still an opportunity, as they would witness something truly special.

    He Shu was the first to reach the entrance. He bowed and gestured for the white-d woman to enter.

    Everyone else held back, their eyes all fixed on the woman.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s lips. The woman was none other than Bai Qian. While her cultivation level was only that of an Enlighter, her status was tantly somethingpletely outrageous. This was quite interesting.

    Of all of the people who had left Earth, Bai Xue had lost the ambition to seek greater strength, and instead weed a peaceful retirement in Seed Garden. Zhang Dingtian was solely focused on avenging the Liu family, and spent this time honing his cultivation. Xu San remained at Ancestor Lingtong''s side, enjoying the associated power and authority. Only Seruzen and Bai Qian had continued to move forward. Seruzen was regarded very highly by the people of the Arboreal Realm due to the innate gift he had acquired from his wood transformation. As for Bai Qian, she enjoyed a status on par with He Ran''s in the Transcendent Universe.

    When it came to pure cultivation level, Bai Qian was second only to Lu Yin himself.

    Zhang Dingtian¡¯s persistence and dedication to cultivating might fool people, but the reality was that he was unable to catch up to Bai Qian. The woman¡¯s cultivation had risen to nearly match that of the Ten Arbiters.

    At the moment, Liu Tianmu, Ling Gong, Wen Sansi, and other former Ten Arbiters were also Enlighters, as none of them had yet advanced to the Envoy realm. Bai Qian was also an Enlighter, which ced her firmly among the most talented cultivators of their generation.

    Bai Qian entered the passage first, followed closely by He Shu. After the two of them had entered, the other people started to stream in as well.

    It appeared that everyone was aware of Bai Qian''s identity.

    Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er joined the entering crowd. After following the passage, they arrived in a ce that appeared very simr to where the previous secret auction had been held. The walls of the mountain did little for privacy, as it was easy to determine who was bidding from their voices.

    Roughly fifteen to twenty students had received invitations, while another ten or so had stumbled upon the small gathering and found themselves attending the auction. All together, there were only about thirty individuals present for the secret auction, which meant that the spacious venue appeared rather deste.

    As everyone settled into their seats, the void twisted, and a beautiful woman gracefully emerged. She wore a pale yellow dress, and greeted the guests with a sweet smile, "Wee to this secret auction, esteemed senior brothers and sisters."

    "Tu Shuangshuang?" eximed Jiang Xiaodao.

    Shao Qingfeng was simrly startled; was this woman the one who had organized this auction?

    Mu Mu, He Shu, and the others leaned forward to get a closer look, all surprised by the woman¡¯s appearance.

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "Who is this Tu Shuangshuang?"

    He did not recognize the woman. Of course, he had noticed the woman had been hidden within the mountain even before the auction had begun, even though no one else had been able to detect her presence.

    Luo Lao''er exined, "The Cyclic Universe has their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Tu Shuangshuang is one of the Hua Gate¡¯s most elite disciples. The Hua Gate is subordinate to one of the Nine Sages, Sage Hua. Despite this woman¡¯s young age, she¡¯s already be a third revolution Demi-Immortal. She¡¯s been a student in the Central School for quite some time, and rumors have imed that she¡¯s in seclusion."

    "You didn''t know that she''s the one behind this auction?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "The voice of the person who spoke to me sounded male, so who would have thought it belonged to her? Brother-inw, Tu Shuangshuang is far more formidable than she seems. Supposedly, she is the only one of Sage Hua¡¯s disciples who¡¯spletely mastered the Heavens Harmony technique. Her status within the Hua Gate rivals isparable to Little Lian in the Nine Lotus Gate. On top of that, she has good rtionships with Shao Qingfeng, Jiang Xiaodao, and many others."

    Lu Yin nodded. His main concern was the Zenith Mountain that the woman seemed to possess. Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s cultivation was only equivalent to that of a three-tribtion Envoy, which was utterly iparable to Lu Yin¡¯s own strength.

    Still, there was no denying that having a powerful master could have a tremendous impact. Even if this woman''s talent was not a match for that of the Ten Arbiters, her cultivation far surpassed theirs. This was a perfect demonstration of the significance of background.

    "Everyone here should know of me. It¡¯s true, I am the one responsible for arranging this auction. s, cultivation demands significant amounts of resources, and I find myselfcking said abundance. Nevertheless, I have scraped together an array of interesting items that I wish to share with my fellow brothers and sisters, while hopefully reaping a few benefits in the process," Tu Shuangshuang stated, her smile radiating warmth. Her yellow attire gave her a delicate charm that shed with the backdrop of the dim interior of the mountain, and her voice was melodious and sweet.

    Jiang Xiaodao called out, "Sister Shuangshuang, if you need money, just tell me! I can help."

    Tu Shuangshuang answered with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Xiaodao, but I prefer to make my own way.

    ¡°Alright, let''s officially begin this auction. I believe all of my brothers and sisters here should already be aware of the subhuman that appeared during the most recent auction. That subhuman was able to enter the Sixverse Academy because of a specific mountain. The first item on our list for today is that same mountain."

    As the woman spoke, she brought a mountain out from her cosmic ring. She set it on the ground with a loud thud that echoed throughout the mountain chamber.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Yes, this was a Zenith Mountain. The feeling from it was unmistakable.

    The Zenith Mountain that Lu Yin possessed had once been the Fifth Maind¡¯s Sky Pir from the Daosource Sect era. His own Zenith Mountain was nothing more than a fragment of the original Sky Pir, but which Sky Pir had the Zenith Mountain he was looking ate from? On top of that, how had it been split off from the whole?

    The Sky Pirs had been created by the Origin Progenitor, and not even Corpse God was capable of destroying them. No one knew how Zenith Mountain had been broken off the rest of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Sky Pir. It might be possible to gain answers from this new Zenith Mountain.

    "Sister Shuangshuang, are you telling us that this mountain can contain living creatures?" Jiang Xiaodao asked in astonishment.

    Tu Shuangshuang smiled. "Brother Xiaodao, if you don''t believe me, you can enter it and take a look for yourself. Truthfully, today''s auction will not be held in our current location, but inside this mountain."

    Everyone stared at the mountain in shock, though none of them volunteered to be the first to enter. After years of cultivating, all of the students were extremely wary.

    "It seems that my brothers and sisters have some concerns. In that case, I¡¯ll go on first," Tu Shuangshuang said with a smile before quickly entering the mountain.

    Shao Qingfeng stood. "There''s nothing to worry about. We have all known Shuangshuang for decades. It¡¯s only natural to trust her for such a small matter."

    He then also leaped into the mountain.

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes. "Show off."

    He also entered.

    One by one, the various attendees entered the mountain.

    Lu Yin also entered, taking Luo Lao''er with him.

    He Shu nced over at Bai Qian.

    She stood and took a step forward, entering the mountain.

    He Shu immediately followed right behind.

    Those who were not invited exchanged looks and gritted their teeth, "The important figures have all gone in, what are we afraid of?"

    "We should broaden our horizons. It wasn''t easy for us toe across such an opportunity, we can''t miss it," someone said.

    "Let''s go."

    One by one, more and more people entered, until finally, only the mountain remained within the auction venue.

    At the same time, apletely different scene yed out inside the mountain.

    All of the students looked around in astonishment. "It truly can change size, and the stone it¡¯s made of seems to be exceptionally tough."

    Lu Yin scanned the area. The scenery waspletely unremarkable, as it just looked like a mountain. However, since this was the same as Zenith Mountain, this mountain could most likely consume resources to create a protective barrier that could prevent people from entering, though also prevent people from leaving.

    Literally as soon as Lu Yin thought of such a thing, a barrier covered the sky.

    The appearance of the barrier startled him, as he saw his suspicions were true.

    "Shuangshuang, what is this?" He Shu asked from where he stood beside Bai Qian.

    Tu Shuangshuang smiled, her hands sped behind her back. "This mountain is the first item up for auction. Naturally, it¡¯s important to allow my brothers and sisters understand its functions clearly. Please observe; this barrier is one of the mountain¡¯s features. It can withstand external attacks, while the mountain itself is capable of holding billions of people."

    The crowd gasped in awe.

    Luo Zang raised a hand and struck the barrier with a palm strike, but only some ripples spread across the barrier. There was no sign of it breaking.

    He attacked again, but still failed to break through. He started to grow uneasy, and his expression fell. "Let us out first."

    Tu Shuangshuang looked confused by the request. "Why do you want to leave so quickly?"

    Shao Qingfeng and the others stared at Tu Shuangshuang.

    Tu Shuangshuang''s smile grew mischievous. "I was originally wanting to simply capture all of the students, so imagine my surprise when a big fish swam right into my.¡±

    As she spoke, she turned to stare at Bai Qian.

    He Shu''s eyes narrowed, and he instantly attacked Tu Shuangshuang. Jiang Xiaodao and the others had not yet realized the meaning behind the woman¡¯s words.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Something was not right.

    He Shu used the Third Hand of Stone Gate Eight Hands, but the attack passed right through Tu Shuangshuang''s body, and he struck nothing but air.

    The expressions on everyone¡¯s faces drastically changed.

    Shao Qingfeng blurted, "Wood transformation innate gift!"

    He then leaped up to join Luo Zang, He Shu, Mu Mu, and the rest. They all attacked the barrier that surrounded the mountain. It was clear to them all that there was something very wrong. Tu Shuangshuang was trying to capture them!

    Despite their cooperation, the attacks showed no effect on the barrier.

    They heard Tu Shuangshuang''s voice from beyond the barrier, "This barrier can endure an attack from an Immortal. Brothers and sisters, there is no need for you to tire yourselves."

    "Tu Shuangshuang, what are you doing? These actions will make trouble for Sage Hua!" Shao Qingfeng shouted sternly.

    Tu Shuangshuang merely chuckled. "What does this have to do with him?"

    "Don''t forget that you are part of the Hua Gate!" Jiang Xiaodao yelled. He was still unable to believe that Tu Shuangshuang would trick them. There was no logical reason for Tu Shuangshuang to attack them.

    Tu Shuangshuang simply smiled. "Yes, I am part of the Hua Gate, but I¡¯m not Sage Hua¡¯s disciple. I''m not so important. Besides, my master has many more disciples.

    ¡°Anyways, time is running out, brothers and sisters, so we should be on our way."

    Shao Qingfeng and Jiang Xiaodao brought out power vessels, and He Shu equipped a blue energy converter that he took from his cosmic ring. The intensity of their attacks approached the strength of a peak Envoy, but it was still not enough to break the barrier.

    Luo Lao''er''s face grew pale. How had he gotten himself into yet another catastrophe? Where were all of these problemsing from? On top of that, what was wrong with Tu Shuangshuang?

    Lu Yin looked up at the barrier. He had already been nning to leave the Singrity Universe, but not in such a manner. It was very likely that Tu Shuangshuang was a spy for Aeternus, and if he was taken by such a person, it would mean confronting an Aeternal powerhouse. Lu Yin was not confident that he had the strength to deal with such an encounter.

    It was clear that the Sixverse Association''s predictions were proving valid; Aeternus had indeed targeted the Sixverse Academy. The previous auction had been postponed so that not all of Aeternus¡¯s spies would be captured, though Yi Ren''s cover had been blown during the visit to the Voidchaos Territory.

    Unfortunately, he had not been the only spy.

 Chapter 2557: Taking Action

    Chapter 2557: Taking Action

    Not even the Sixverse Academy had expected Tu Shuangshuang to wait patiently until the Sixverse Association lowered their guard before making her move.

    Still, how did she n to leave?

    Lu Yin quickly made his own move, shattering the barrier surrounding the mountain with an attack that possessed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. He moved so quickly that no one was able to make out who or what had managed to destroy the barrier.

    Tu Shuangshuang was caughtpletely off guard. Right when she was about to store the mountain back in her cosmic ring, she noticed the missing barrier. What was going on?

    Knowing she had little time, she immediately retrieved a blue energy converter and equipped it near her heart. She knew her captives were about to emerge from within the shattered barrier, and with the barrier broken, she also knew that she would not have any opportunity to replenish her resources. Thus, she decided to settle everything at once.

    Surprisingly, the first person to appear from the mountain was not Shao Qingfeng or any of his peers, but someone who had been an uninvited attendee of the auction. The individual had a darkplexion, and appeared panicked, but still moved with remarkable speed.

    Tu Shuangshuang showed a charming smile. "You''re quite foolish, acting as a guide for others."

    As she spoke, she closed the distance between her and the other student, the movement causing her pale yellow dress to gracefully sway. Even as she moved, she prepared tounch a palm strike. A subtle fragrance wafted through the air.

    When the student heard Tu Shuangshuang''sment, he realized his mistake. How could he be faster than those elite students? Unfortunately, he realized the truth toote; Tu Shuangshuang''s palm was almost upon him. His only option was to brace himself.

    Shockingly, Tu Shuangshuang''s palm did notnd a direct blow, and instead merely grazed the young man¡¯s cheek. Still, the attack carried enough force that he was left dazed. The true target of the attack was the second person to rush out from the mountain: Jiang Xiaodao.

    Jiang Xiaodao had also heard Tu Shuangshuang''s words, and he inwardly cursed himself for being used as a pawn. It was toote, and there was nothing he could do. All he could do was me his attacker for plotting against them, even at such a dangerous moment.

    Jiang Xiaodao released his Sky River battle technique. Swirling streams of water appeared from his hand, and quickly formed towering waves. Enveloped by the water, he started to radiate an iridescent glow. Even Mu Mu was unable to counter this particrbination. "Don''t me Grandpa Dao for not showing respect to Sage Hua."

    Bang!

    There was a deafening crash, and the water was scattered in all directions. At that instance, Jiang Xiaodao sensed that the power in his hand was dissipating. Even the stellr energy vortex inside his body had been suppressed and was starting to fade away.

    His pupils shrank. This was not good; this was the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    Jiang Xiaodao reacted quickly, and endured an intense pain from his left hand as he swung to execute the Arrows of River Technique. To his surprise, Tu Shuangshuang vanished from his sight, leaving behind a bewitching scent that confused his senses.

    At the exact moment of the greatest confusion, Jiang Xiaodao stumbled. His river dissipated, and his Arrows of River Technique was disrupted before it could even be fully unleashed.

    Less than two seconds after Jiang Xiaodao appeared, He Shu and Shao Qingfeng also emerged from the broken barrier. They had been using Jiang Xiaodao to pave their way. The fact that Tu Shuangshuang had the audacity to remain behind demonstrated her confidence in facing all of the captured students. Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaodao had proven unable to force the woman to reveal her true strength. She had not even utilized the power of her blue energy converter.

    He Shu silently cursed Jiang Xiaodao for being so worthless. He Shu activated his own blue energy converter, and a blue glow enveloped his body. He then executed the Third Hand of the Stone Gate, which caused a series of transformations to unfold around Tu Shuangshuang.

    Simultaneously, Shao Qingfengunched his own attack. He also had a blue energy converter.

    Tu Shuangshuang should not be able to withstand abined assault of two blue energy converters on her own.

    However, an indifferent expression remained on the woman¡¯s face as she extended her wless white arms. After images of her hands danced through the air, and her energy moved to resemble a coiling dragon. This was a manifestation of the Harmonious Heavens Technique she was using.

    "You are courting death!" He Shu''s eyes shed with a fierce light. He quickly shifted from the Third Hand of the Stone Gate, to the Fourth Hand. As for Shao Qingfeng, he stopped attacking all together and just stared at Tu Shuangshuang. Something felt very off.

    A pair of immacte hands pierced through the Fourth Hand of the Stone Gate. It resembled a small boat being sucked into a vortex at sea, and everyone anticipated their destruction. Yeet, what yed out was that those wless hands were shrouded with blue energy, and they proceeded to rip apart the Fourth Hand. Blood sprayed out, and fell onto even Shao Qingfeng''s face. He stared in horror as Tu Shuangshuang practically shattered He Shu''s arms, leaving the man in a pitiful state.

    Tu Shuangshuang swung her arms again, manipting the coiling dragon that was her Harmonious Heavens Technique to shift and target Shao Qingfeng.

    With He Shu already defeated, Shao Qingfeng quickly brought out a power vessel that he had reserved for an attack from an Immortal. The power vessel protected him from Tu Shuangshuang''s attack, yet he was still able to feel his protection tremble. He muttered in disbelief, "A seventh revolution Demi-Immortal? Impossible, you..."

    A smirk tugged at Tu Shuangshuang''s lips. At some point in time, colorful bubbles the size of a hand had started to drift up from the mountain.

    One of the bubbles hovered in front of Shao Qingfeng''s face as he stared at Tu Shuangshuang. As the bubble entered his vision, his eyes instantly grew dull.

    Seizing the opportunity, Tu Shuangshuang reached out and grabbed hold of Shao Qingfeng while evading his power vessel.

    They had only exchanged a few blows in such a short span of time, yet the other students had already managed to emerge from the broken barrier.

    As they emerged, Luo Zang, Mu Mu, and all the rest froze in shock as they stared at the astonishing spectacle unfolding before them.

    Jiang Xiaodao was unconscious. He Shu''s blood stained the floor of the mountain chamber. Shao Qingfeng resembled a puppet with his empty gaze. Tu Shuangshuang had defeated all three geniuses in a matter of seconds.

    Without any hesitation, Luo Zang fled. He held absolutely no intention of trying to fight against Tu Shuangshuang.

    Everyone else followed suit, and they all fled the scene.

    Tu Shuangshuang chuckled. "A group of arrogant, heaven-blessed prodigies scatter and run away like frightened dogs. How amusing. Still, can you even escape?"

    As she spoke, a cold glint appeared in her eyes, and colorful bubbles suddenly materialized in front of each person. As they looked at the bubbles, their eyes also grew vacant, and they quickly mimicked Shao Qingfeng''s state.

    A chilling voice resounded, "Cheng Kong''s Bubble Fantasy."

    With a soft sound, the bubble in front of Shao Qingfeng popped. All of his thoughts were shattered, leaving his mindpletely nk.

    After that, the other bubbles started to pop, and the people in front of the popped bubbles copsed to the floor. No matter what methods they tried to use, none of them were able to avoid the popping bubbles.

    Mu Mu and Luo Zang were no exceptions.

    The final group to escape the mountain consisted of Lu Yin, Luo Lao''er, Bai Qian, Seruzen, and a few uninvited individuals.

    These uninvited students deeply regretted pushing themselves to attend the secret auction they had stumbled upon. They had no business getting involved in affairs of such magnitude.

    Shao Qingfeng and the other elite prodigies were lying where they had copsed on the floor. How could ordinary cultivators hope to survive?

    Tu Shuangshuang''s eyes gleamed as her eyes fell upon Bai Qian. "I had originally only intended to capture these few. I didn¡¯t expect to capture such a big fish with my. Care to enlighten me on how you came to learn of this auction?"

    Bai Qian''s expression remained as calm as ever. "I merely happened to be passing by."

    "Hehe, then you''re simply unlucky. No, wait." Tu Shuangshuang gave Bai Qian an odd look. "He Ran is the one who¡¯s unlucky."

    Bai Qian looked around at the drifting bubbles. "So, not only are you a member of the Sage Hua¡¯s faction, you are also Cheng Kong¡¯s subordinate."

    Luo Lao''er shouted, "Cheng Kong? The Dreamweaver, Cheng Kong?"

    Curious, Lu Yin asked, "Who is Cheng Kong?"

    Luo Lao''er''s face had already gone pale. "Brother-inw, it''s over for us! We''re doomed! If this is Cheng Kong''s n, then there¡¯s no one at all who can save us!"

    When Bai Qian spoke again, her voice had turned cold, "Aeternus worships True God Wei Yi as their supreme ruler. Below him are the Seven Skygods, each of whom is a peak powerhouse. Beneath the Seven Skygods are other peak powerhouses, and the most fearsome of them all is Cheng Kong. No one has ever seen Cheng Kong¡¯s true appearance, but once that person sets their sights on you, you enter a living nightmare. Cheng Kong is someone on par with the Seven Skygods¡¯ Whiteless God, and that monster is also known as the Dreamweaver.

    "If I''m not mistaken, Cheng Kong is responsible for what happened in the Voidchaos Territory, and that was nothing more than setting the stage for this moment right now."

    Tu Shuangshuang chuckled yfully. "Thank you for praising my master. Well now, it''s time for this n to be concluded."

    "Concluded? What do you mean by ''concluded¡¯?" Luo Lao''er trembled in fear. The moment he finished speaking, a bubble appeared in front of him, joined by more bubbles that appeared in front of Bai Qian, Lu Yin, and everyone else.

    The bubbles started to burst, each one causing a person to lose consciousness.

    Just as the bubble in front of Bai Qian popped, a hand appeared and blocked her view of the disappearing bubble. The hand was Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Only three people remained standing: Tu Shuangshuang, Bai Qian, and Lu Yin.

    Tu Shuangshuang stared at Lu Yin in astonishment, intently observing him for the first time. "Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "You got it."

    Tu Shuangshuang continued to stare at Lu Yin. "You-?"

    She feltpletely confused. None of these students should have been able to withstand the effects of the bubbles. What was the deal with this young man?

    Lu Yin stared at Tu Shuangshuang as well, and asked, "Is Cheng Kong a powerhouse who stands just below the Seven Skygods?"

    "Cheng Kong¡¯s exact strength remains unknown, as no one has ever seen them. That makes it difficult to answer that question," Bai Qian replied.

    Lu Yin pressed further. "How do you know about this?"

    Bai Qian lifted her head to look at Lu Yin. "My status in the Transcendent Universe is very high."

    Lu Yin then turned to look at Bai Qian. "I''m quite curious about what you¡¯ve experienced. We should talk soon. Seruzen is also here."

    Bai Qian nodded and agreed, "It¡¯s true, we should find the time to chat."

    Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s eyes narrowed, and her yful demeanor that she had been exhibiting the entire time she had faced Shao Qingfeng and everyone else finally disappeared. As she stared at Lu Yin, suspicion filled her eyes. It was clear that this young man was far, far more powerful than he appeared. There was no other way for him to be able to resist the bubbles. On top of that, the exchange between him and Bai Qian did not seem to be a conversation between strangers. The two seemed to be rather familiar with each other.

    With cold eyes, the woman took a step forward. Her hand rose, and a sh of blue energy erupted.

    Lu Yin turned his head back towards Tu Shuangshuang and raised his own hand in response.

    A fierce gleam flickered in Tu Shuangshuang''s eyes. He was courting death!

    She moved forward, and her unblemished hand met Lu Yin''s, resulting in a loud impact. The next instant, a crisp sound rang out, and Tu Shuangshuang''s arm was suddenly twisted in an unnatural direction. An intense, searing pain ran through her body. She stared in horror at her hand that was bent backwards. Lu Yin spoke in an icy tone, "You did well, using an illusion to disguise your red energy converter as a blue one. That allowed you to hold an absolute advantage over the others."

    Tu Shuangshuang staggered backwards, disbelief covering her face as she clutched her right arm to her body. "How did you find out?"

    Lu Yin offered a slight smile. "We¡¯ll talkter."

    An invisible power then covered the woman. Tu Shuangshuang tried to escape, only to feel as though the world around her was copsing. Her consciousness grew fuzzy, and she copsed just the same as Shao Qingfeng and the others. Before shepletely lost consciousness, the only thing in her mind was that she had encountered a true monster.

    Curious, Bai Qian asked, "What are your ns now?"

    Lu Yin replied, "There''s no longer any reason for me to remain in the Sixverse Academy, since I¡¯ve learned enough there. It¡¯s time for me to move on to learn about the Sixverse Association¡¯s different universes."

    Bai Qian nodded and offered, "Do you require any assistance?"

    "Certainly." Lu Yin then gathered each unconscious form from the floor and stored them in his own Zenith Mountain before storing Tu Shuangshuang''s mountain. He had gained possession of two Zenith Mountains that were capable of holding living creatures.

    In the end, Luo Lao''er alone remained in the chamber, as even Bai Qian had entered Zenith Mountain. Since this had been a trap set by Cheng Kong, none of the youths should be capable of escaping from it.

    A sharp p jolted Luo Lao''er awake. He blinked in a daze as he struggled to remember what had just happened to him. As his surroundings came into focus, his memory swiftly returned, which prompted a shriek of terror to escape him.

    "Utter another sound, and you won''t even live to regret it," a cold voice warned.

    Luo Lao''er turned his head to find himself face-to-face with Tu Shuangshuang''s cold eyes. His fear mounted, causing him to stammer his response, "Wha- wha- what do you want?"

    Of course, this Tu Shuangshuang was merely a disguised Lu Yin. "Show me the way to the Three Monarchs Universe."

 Chapter 2558: The Truth

    Chapter 2558: The Truth

    Luo Lao''er was stunned by the unexpected demand. "The Three Monarchs Universe?"

    "Hurry!" ¡®Tu Shuangshuang¡¯ shouted sternly.

    Luo Lao''er''s heart nearly leaped from his chest. He cried, "We¡¯re in the Sixverse Academy! Space here has been stabilized, so I- I can''t open the passage. I can only do that from outer space."

    Lu Yin frowned. Outer space? Moving there would draw the attention of those old guys.

    Suddenly, his expression shifted. They had already noticed. In that case... He grabbed Luo Lao''er and condensed his spiritual force to form what looked like colorful bubbles. The bubbles revolved around his disguised form before tearing through the void. Without taking any measures to hide his presence, he stepped into the open.

    "Sure enough, something happened. Bubble Fantasys?" Shi Jiao eximed in shock. She swung her stone cudgel.

    As the woman attacked, endless cudgels morphed into hands that shot downwards towards her opponent. This was Shi Jiao¡¯s inner world.

    From another direction, both You Teng and Zhi Bing appeared at the same time. One released a white-colored energy that had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, while the other vanished into the void, concealing his killing intent.

    Still disguised as Tu Shuangshuang, Lu Yin stared at Shi Jiao. "Get lost."

    As he spoke, blue energy filled the area around him, and he threw a palm strike upwards to sh with Shi Jiao''s inner world.

    Normally, blue energy from an energy converter would be suppressed by an inner world, but Lu Yin''s attack was only repelled. Bubbles appeared in front of Shi Jiao, and as they popped, they released their true form as spiritual force that relentlessly assaulted the woman.

    If Tu Shuangshuang was the one attacking, the bubbles would not be able to cause any harm to someone like Shi Jiao. After all, the woman was a powerhouse on the same level as a Semi-Progenitor. However, it was Lu Yin who was actually attacking, and he was someone who had spent years cultivating his spiritual force with the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra. The bubbles were able to daze Shi Jiao, leaving her mindpletely nk. She stumbled and copsed.

    Shock filled Shi Jiao''s eyes. She had believed that she had a good understanding of Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s strength. Even if the young woman used a blue energy converter, no, even a red energy converter, she should not be able to harm Shi Jiao, not even with the dream-woven bubbles that were Cheng Kong¡¯s greatest technique.

    White energy filled the sky, quickly transforming into spears that shot at Lu Yin. From behind Lu Yin, Zhi Bing released a frigid aura. The man held a broken de that radiated an undeniable killing intent that fully enveloped Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin tightened his grip on Luo Lao''er and took a step forward. To Lu Yin¡¯s vision, space was filled with intersecting lines. He stepped from one line to another, which caused him to instantly disappear from You Teng and Zhi Bing¡¯s sight. He crossed space instantaneously, and next appeared high above the two men.

    Zhi Bing''s felt an indescribable sense of shock. His Lost n excelled in mysterious and deadly assassinations. For his attack, he hadpletely sealed the void. Even a powerhouse with his same level of strength would find it impossible to escape unscathed. Only a peak powerhouse should be capable of doing so. However, this woman who was not even as strong as her three opponents had casually escaped. How? Zhi Bing was not able to discern what had happened at all.

    "She must be Cheng Kong!" You Teng shouted.

    No one had ever seen Cheng Kong¡¯s true appearance. That fearsome person was the personification of illusions and nothing. There were no recognizable attributes that could be attributed to Cheng Kong, such as power level or gender. All that anyone truly knew about Cheng Kong was their dream-woven bubbles.

    ¡®Tu Shuangshuang¡¯ had just seeded in dodging Zhi Bing''s attack and injuring Shi Jiao despite revealing nothing more than the strength of an Envoy. This was a demonstration of skill that far exceeded the three people¡¯s imagination. The only possibility that they could conceive was that they were facing Cheng Kong.

    There was a swoosh. Lu Yin frowned and took another step, disappearing in an instant. The moment he was gone, a carrion bug appeared at his previous location. Xu Xiangyin had arrived.

    Maintaining a firm hold of Luo Lao''er, Lu Yin moved along by utilizing the spatial lines only he could see. Zhi Bing and the others had no idea where their opponent had gone.

    However, by this point in time, Lu Yin had already entered a parallel universe. He moved just like that big tree that was constantly trying to escape. Moving to different spatial lines was simr to stepping from one frame to another, though each frame represented a parallel universe.

    Understanding this, Lu Yin considered that there mighte a day when he would be able to travel between parallel universes without having to pre-determine their coordinates, which would allow him to move just the same as the big tree.

    "I found it!" Luo Lao''er eximed.

    Lu Yin then entered the Three Monarchs Universe, dragging Luo Lao¡¯er along.

    In the Singrity Universe, Zhi Bing and the other representatives overseeing the Sixverse Academy gathered, their expressions grim. "All we can do at this point is report what happened to those above us. No one expected Cheng Kong to appear."

    Shi Jiao frowned. "That wasn¡¯t Cheng Kong, or else we¡¯d all be dead. That was Tu Shuangshuang, a member of the Hua Gate. She¡¯s a spy for Aeternus."

    Xu Xiangyin''s voice grew heavy, "We believed the academy would be safe after that peak powerhouse attacked the Voidchaos Territory, but it proved to be nothing more than an additionalyer of deception. Xuan Qi and the others have all been captured."

    Shi Jiao''s voice was steely, "We must find them. Shao Qingfeng, Jiang Xiaodao, and Xuan Qi... No harm can be allowed toe to any of them!"

    ...

    Attendant Wu had once told Lu Yin that the Three Monarchs Universe had been afflicted with Time Poison long ago. Just the same as the Fifth Maind, Aeternus had poisoned the universe, which had put an end to their previous cultivation civilization. The three Monarchs hadpletely transformed the universe, which had created the current Three Monarchs Universe.

    Upon arriving in the universe, Lu Yin knocked Luo Lao''er out again before observing his surroundings. He nced to the east, then the north, and finally the west. He was able to sense the auras of Progenitor-level powerhouses in each direction, and they belonged to both Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings and human experts. It was a raging war in this universe.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was smaller than the Fifth Maind, the Voidforce Universe, or the Arboreal Realm.

    The more time Lu Yin had spent among the Sixverse Association, the more certain he became that the Three Monarchs Universe was only included to fill out the numbers.

    He descended onto a deste, still with Luo Lao''er. Soon, fierce battles broke out in outer space. It seemed as though Aeternus was working on surrounding the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Lu Yin released Bai Qian from Zenith Mountain. "I apologize for dragging you into this."

    Bai Qian nced around. "A battlefield?"

    "We¡¯re in the Three Monarchs Universe," Lu Yin replied.

    Bai Qian looked at Lu Yin. "Starting here is a wise choice. Out of the different members of the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe is the easiest to conquer."

    Lu Yin choked. "Easiest to conquer?"

    "Aren¡¯t you here to conquer this ce? The Sixverse Association is deeply connected to your Lu family being exiled."

    "How do you know about that?" Lu Yin asked with a light cough. Bai Qian seemed to have ess to a great deal of information, which seemed to be rted to her high status in the Transcendent Universe.

    Bai Qian stretched a bit. "How are you doing in the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin considered the question for a moment. "About the same as you are in the Transcendent Universe."

    "So, unrivaled, but there are still one or two people with whom you don''t get along."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "True enough."

    Bai Qian locked eyes with Lu Yin and asked, "You¡¯re curious about what I¡¯ve gone through?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course. I can¡¯t believe that someone from Earth has managed to climb to such a high position."

    Bai Qian stared out at the stars in the sky. "Someone felt that I could be useful. While I might appear strong in certain circumstances, the reality is that I''m quite powerless. I¡¯m nothing more than a puppet."

    "If you don''t mind, I hope you can share what¡¯s happened to you with me. We can pretty much be considered old neighbors," Lu Yin said.

    Bai Qian calmly replied, "The true ruler of the Transcendent Universe is..."

    The more one understood Bai Qian, the more one would admire the woman. The phrase ¡°fear of the unknown¡± was not something that existed in her dictionary. As long as there was a path before her, no matter how difficult it might be, she would always continue forward. Exploration was all that she knew, and that had led to her not hesitating to leave Earth. Her only motivation had been an invitation from Starsibyl.

    In the woman¡¯s heart, while Earth was her home, it was not a ce worth dwelling on. Her true desire was the thrill of the unknown, even if she knew the results might not be favorable to her.

    "Whether you believe me or not, I always knew that our paths would cross again," Bai Qian said with augh. This was the first time Lu Yin had seen the woman smile. They had only met a few times before, with the most memorable encounter being their meeting in CyNet World. The first time he had caught a glimpse of her, her elegant figure had been as stunning as a painting, and she had radiated an unparalleled grace. However, her personality was as cold as her sword, capable of freezing everything.

    There was a captivating allure to Bai Qian that went beyond womanly charms. It was an allure not brought about by mere appearance, but by her unique personality.

    Lu Yin took a bottle of wine out from his cosmic ring. "Do you drink?"

    Bai Qian''s eyes sparkled with nostalgia. "While I lived on Earth, I used to love visiting the bars. Nights would be calm and peaceful outside, but inside, things would be bustling and lively. Those were ces for people to unleash their hidden passions and expose their darker sides."

    She took a sip from the bottle, and even let the wine dribble over her lips. She did not seem at all bothered if Lu Yin drank directly from the same bottle.

    Perhaps it was Bai Qian¡¯s influence, but Lu Yin also started drinking. He actually preferred tea to alcohol, as it allowed him to remain clear-headed.

    "Without me, you can¡¯t break free of your current situation," Lu Yin stated.

    Bai Qian nodded. "True enough; without you, I cannot break free."

    "I¡¯ll help you."

    "That¡¯s helping yourself."

    "What do the Transcendent Universe records say about what happened with my Lu family being exiled?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Qian gently wiped her mouth clean. "The Lu family carried a burden of sin."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew sharp as he stared at Bai Qian.

    Bai Qian said, "It''s ironic. I didn''t know the name of the universe where I was born, and only came to find out during my time in the Transcendent dimension. Our universe is known as the Origin Universe, which was home to the glorious era of the Heavens Sect long ago. During that era, countless organizations traveled from far and wide to pay their respects. At that time, the Sixverse Association was nothing more than an alliance of ordinary universes. So what if there was Lord Xu, the Arboreal Overlord, or even the Great Sovereign? Before the might of the great Heavens Sect, all of them still needed to pay their respects and offer gifts. The Heavens Sect was unquestionably superior to the Sixverse Association.

    "However, that era was too glorious, and the Heavens Sect was blind to the corruption and ambition that bred in the shadows. That was the start of Aeternus."

    Bai Qian gulped more of her drink before letting out a burp. "Many reported the dangers of Aeternus to the Heavens Sect, but the Heavens Sect did not heed those warnings. As a result, the Origin Universe fell, and one Maind after another was destroyed. The Seven Skygods, each an ancient monster, came to be. The current Sixverse Association¡¯s primary opponent is the Seven Skygods, most of whome from the Origin Universe.

    "In the history that the Transcendent Universe has recorded, everything is the fault of the Origin Universe and the Heavens Sect. They were too arrogant, and refused to lower themselves to interact with the mortal world. In the end, they were cast down, and disaster struck not only the Origin Universe, but the Sixverse Association as well.

    "How many people have lost loved ones and friends to Aeternus''s hands? Take this Three Monarchs Universe, for example. This ce had its original cultivation civilization destroyed, and that death toll cannot even be estimated. The Sixverse Association united to fight back against Aeternus, though they also hoped to hold the Heavens Sect ountable and force the Origin Universe to take responsibility for the catastrophe. However, the Origin Universe now only consists of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. The Sixverse Association did not originally want to let either of the two Mainds off, however, they also need that strength to help fight against Aeternus. Even now, the Origin Universe is still able to resist a portion of Aeternus''s might.

    "This continued until some started to believe that the Sixverse Association has be capable of holding back Aeternus on its own. For that reason, the Lu family was thrust forward and forced to pay the cost for the Heavens Sect¡¯s arrogance. This is why the Cyclic Universe joined forces with the four ruling powers to exile the Lu family."

    Lu Yin stared out into space. The cost of arrogance¡­ was this really true?

    Repercussions from the Heavens Sect era should be born by those of that same era. However, how of the Three Realms Six Dao remained? Only the Lu family had survived the eons that had passed, and thus, only the Lu family could be held ountable and punished for the ancient sins.

 Chapter 2559: Rainbow Wall

    Chapter 2559: Rainbow Wall

    Lu Yin''s mind started to wander. He was not entirely sure what he should feel. Hatred? Resentment? Something else entirely? What he heard from Bai Qian seemedpletely absurd. Why should his Lu family need to pay the price for the Heaven Sect''s errors? This was not a matter of justice or fairness, but rather the simple fact that the Sixverse Association wanted an outlet to use to release pent-up frustrations. They had struggled during the Heaven Sect''s reign, yet when it copsed, Aeternus had taken up the position of the oppressor. The Sixverse Association had sought someone to take their revenge, and the Lu family had be a convenient target.

    "Who decided that the Lu family should bear this guilt?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Qian shifted her gaze. "The Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. As he had suspected, only the Great Sovereign had the power to make such a decision.

    "The decision was made by the Great Sovereign, but the proposal to hold the Lu family ountable was not initiated by him. The Sixverse Association has held a long grudge against the Origin Universe, and that resentment needed an outlet. The proposal provided a convenient opportunity," Bai Qian continued.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman intently. "Who did suggest that proposal?"

    Bai Qian shook her head. "There are still a few things I don''t know about. I might be able to find out after I defeat He Ran."

    Lu Yin continued staring at the woman for a moment. It would be easy to mistake such ament for a suggestion to trade, but Lu Yin could tell that she had merely shared her honest thoughts with him.

    Whoever had made the proposal had to be from the Sixverse Association, though that did not mean that they had also been the one toe up with that idea. It was possible that the four ruling powers had first conceived the idea.

    The four ruling powers were familiar with the Sixverse Association''s sentiments, so they might have condemned the Lu family and prodded the Sixverse Association into channeling old grudges for the Origin Universe towards the Lu family. By taking advantage of the strength of the Cyclic Universe, they had seeded in exiling the Lu family and assumed control of the Perennial World. Such tactics had been an attempt to pacify the Sixverse Association''s hostility towards the Origin Universe, but had not been enough to allow the Perennial World to qualify as a member of the Sixverse Association.

    This had subsequently led to the current situation.

    The Perennial World was aware of the Sixverse Association, but was unable to join.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Bai Qian''s exnation had expanded his understanding of the Sixverse Association and rified some of his thoughts. He finally knew what needed to be done.

    Regardless of whether the Lu family had been rightfully condemned or not, they had already been banished. Past grievances should already have been settled, which meant that he needed to work towards bringing the Lu family back. Both the four ruling powers and the Sixverse Association would undoubtedly oppose it, but Lu Yin¡¯s goals were crystal clear to him.

    "If possible, I¡¯ll find a way to help you defeat He Ran," Lu Yin said as he turned back to face Bai Qian again. He reached out a hand. "We¡¯re allies now."

    Bai Qian shook the bottle of wine. "We already became allies with drinks."

    She chuckled, and then reached out her hand as well. A clear sound echoed across the deste.

    ...

    Two people were lying on a barren, sand covering their bodies. There were looming yellow clouds overhead that carried a pungent smell.

    A hideous creature that looked somewhat like an oversized scorpion rapidly closed in on the two figures. It extended tentacles, instead of pincers, to grab its prey. Suddenly, one of the two people woke up, only to find themselves face to face with the scorpion''s grotesque mouth. The person screamed and instinctively released their strength. Tri-colored Monarch Essence tore through the scorpion, leaving it in pieces. Green blood and shattered organs sttered onto the ground.

    Ugh.

    The man fought off a wave of nausea and decided to move away. When he turned, he noticed the second person lying on the ground nearby. Upon recognizing the person, the man eximed, "Brother-inw?"

    A short whileter, Luo Lao¡¯er was sitting on a withered hillside, stuffing his mouth with a voracious appetite. Next to him, Lu Yin slowly regained consciousness.

    "Brother-inw, you''re awake!" Luo Lao''er happily eximed.

    Lu Yin saw Luo Lao''er next to him, and asked, "What happened to us?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "That despicable Tu Shuangshuang captured us! Now we¡¯re in the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "The Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin was astonished. "Isn''t that where you¡¯re from? Why did she send us here? Did she let us go?"

    The bombardment of multiple questions left Luo Lao''er with a headache. "I don''t know, either. Honestly, she should have just captured us. Those Bubble Fantasys she used is Cheng Kong¡¯s best technique. That woman''s a spy for Aeternus, so she shouldn''t have let us go. Even so, here we are, which is very strange. I have no idea what might have happened to everyone else."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he quickly checked his own condition.

    "I''ve already checked. I can¡¯t sense any foreign power that might have been nted in my body, so I doubt we''re being controlled by anyone. On top of that." Luo Lao''er held out the dark green lens in a hand. "There''s no issue regarding how much time might have passed. It¡¯s only been a day since we were attacked in Cliff Town."

    No one wore such lenses in the Sixverse Academy, as the students preferred to store such things in their cosmic rings, but Luo Lao¡¯er had retrieved his.

    Lu Yin frowned. "So you''re saying that we''re really free?"

    Luo Lao''er rubbed his head. "It really doesn¡¯t make any sense. Something had to have happened, but I can¡¯t think of what.

    "Why are we in the Three Monarchs Universe? Why are we still together? Where is everyone else? Everything about this is very strange."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Can you contact the Sixverse Academy?"

    Luo Lao''er grimaced. "No, I can''t. I don''t have any ability to contact that ce, but even if I did, I couldn¡¯t do so. Brother-inw, neither of us have any exnation for what happened to us."

    Lu Yin nodded. Luo Lao''er was currently facing the same situation as Lu Yin had after he had been captured by Aternus and taken to Aeternus Nation during the Astral Towerpetition. Both young men had been captured by Aeternus, so how had they managed to escape? Why were they not being controlled?

    Luo Lao''er stared off into the distance with a mncholic expression, though there were various other emotions that could be seen as well.

    "No matter what, we still will need to contact the Sixverse Academy. All we can do for now is try to find the others. It¡¯d be best if they¡¯re here too. Even if we''ve been put under some form of control, the Sixverse Academy will find a way to save us. After all, Jiang Xiaodao and Shao Qingfeng were also captured," Lu Yin said. "Also, where are we right now?"

    Luo Lao''er checked their location with his green lens. "The Three Monarchs Universe is not a veryrge universe, and is much smaller than the other universes that make up the Sixverse Association. That''s because our cultivation civilization was once destroyed.

    ¡°Right now, we¡¯re at the border between the Lower King Domain and Aeternus''s territory."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Well, lead the way. This is your stomping grounds."

    Luo Lao''er smiled bitterly. "You already know my situation very well, Brother-inw. I¡¯m actually in worse danger here than in the Transcendent Universe or the Sixverse Academy. No matter if we can find the others or not, we need to leave this Three Monarchs Universe."

    "How do we do that?" Lu Yin asked.

    Neither of them had been born in the Transcendent Universe, which meant that they had no means to locate the Transcendent Universe from among the various parallel universes.

    Luo Lao''er''s eyes flickered. "I do know someone who can help us, but for that to happen, we first need to get back to the Lower King Domain. That means we need to cross the boundary."

    Lu Yin frowned, suddenly realizing that he had made a mistake; he should have crossed the boundary before he had woken Luo Lao''er up, as it would have saved a good deal of time and effort. Given the strength of Luo Lao¡¯er and Xuan Qi, how were the two young men supposed to they break through Aeternus''s defenses?

    Surprisingly, Lu Yin discovered that he had underestimated Luo Lao''er. While Lu Yin had no idea who had been contacted, Luo Lao¡¯er led L uYin across the battlefield with unwavering confidence, crossing out of Aeternus¡¯s territory and back into the region that belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe. The battle being fought was a typical war, which meant that few experts were involved. As a result, the two young men crossed the boundary without nearly as much difficulty as Lu Yin had anticipated, and they soon arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

    Lu Yin squinted at the rainbow wall up ahead of them. This wall was a physical manifestation of monarch essence.

    The towering rainbow wall separated the human region of the Three Monarchs Universe from Aeternus¡¯s territory, and the sight of it amazed Lu Yin. While the Three Monarchs Universe was essentially a ceholder for the Sixverse Association, its strength still could not be underestimated. Even if other factors were ignored, just the power of this rainbow wall wasparable to the power needed to alter a universe.

    Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and other Progenitors from the Perennial World were able to fill an entire region of a universe with their Progenitor''s worlds, though they might not be able to maintain it for a long time. While the rainbow wall before Lu Yin was not a Progenitor''s world, its power was able tost indefinitely. It was essentially the same as a colossal wall of stellr energy that stretched across a vast expanse of space.

    "What do you think, Brother-inw? This boundary¡¯s impressive, isn¡¯t it?" Luo Lao''er quietly bragged. The two young men were in a spacecraft that was shrouded with monarch essence. The area around them was filled with wounded soldiers and corpses.

    Lu Yin openly praised the sight before him, "It¡¯s spectacr."

    "In this Three Monarchs Universe, this rainbow wall is almost as impressive as confronting one of the Seven Skygods. This ce has actually be a bit of a tourist attraction. Anyone who visits this Three Monarchs Universe will definitely visit the rainbow wall," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. "If even the other members of the Sixverse Association are impressed by this wall, then your father must possess a truly impressive level of strength."

    Luo Lao''er shook his head. "It¡¯s not real. The power of this wall is built entirely upon the Three Monarchs Formation. Without that formation, this wall would never exist."

    Lu Yin''s heart stirred. He had heard the Three Monarchs Formation mentioned many times before, but still did not understand what it was. "Is the Three Monarchs Formation some sort of sourcebox array?"

    Luo Lao''er shrugged. "I don''t know about that. After Lao Zang is dead, I¡¯ll be able to return here openly and I can then help you find out."

    There was a gate at the bottom of the rainbow wall where a beam of light fell. The vessel slowly approached the gate and prepared to pass through it.

    Lu Yin watched as the beam of light approached them. "Will there be any problems getting in?"

    He was genuinely worried. From what he had learned from Luo Lao''er, the Three Monarchs Universe was not very big. This meant that if an issue arose at the border, the three Monarchs might suddenly show up, which would be a huge problem for Lu Yin.

    He was fully aware that it was impossible for him to contend with any one of the Seven Skygods. If he was forced to face the Three Monarchs Formation, no, even just Monarch Luo alone, there would not be any chance at all.

    Additionally, where was Xia Shenji?

    "There won''t be any problems. Don¡¯t worry about it, Brother-inw," Luo Lao''er confidently dered.

    Both nervousness and anticipation filled Lu Yin as the beam of light swept over the spacecraft. There was a gentle tinkle from the lens in Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s hand, and then the two smoothly passed through.

    Luo Lao''er had tampered with his lens during the inspection. It seemed that he had done something with amunication token and the lens, which had allowed the two through the rainbow wall.

    The rainbow wall was not merely expansive, but also exceptionally thick. It took a good bit of time for the spacecraft to fly through it.

    The moment Lu Yin passed through the rainbow wall, he was again able to sense powerful fluctuations of monarch essence. If so much power were to erupt, it would easily be enough to utterly destroy him. No wonder the wall was able to hold back the Aeternals.

    "Brother-inw, let''s go." As soon as the ship had docked, Luo Lao''er led Lu Yin away. They encountered no obstacles at all, despite stealing a small vessel that was also shrouded with monarch essence.

    The two proceeded to simply fly away through outer space.

    Luo Lao''er stretched. "We¡¯re finally out!"

    "Who helped you?" Lu Yin casually asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Even if I¡¯m not wee or safe here in the Three Monarchs Universe, I still lived a ratherfortable life before Luo Zang was born. I still have a few friends."

    "Aren''t you afraid you¡¯ll be betrayed?" Lu Yin felt rather curious.

    Luo Lao''er pped his chest. "My friends are loyal and true men! There''s no way any of them would betray me."

    Lu Yin looked out into space. Given how cautious Luo Lao¡¯er always was, there was no way that he had reached out to mere friends for help. As he had said, while Luo Zang¡¯s existence meant that Luo Lao¡¯er was not safe in the Three Monarchs Universe, he still had ess to some resources. Also, he clearly had a hidden helper.

    This was a bit reassuring. If Luo Lao¡¯er did not have at least that much ability, there would be no point in Lu Yin helping the young man.

 Chapter 2560: Fenglei Clan

    Chapter 2560: Fenglei n

    After a day of traveling, Lu Yin finally beheld the true Three Monarchs Universe.

    The ce they had reached bore a resemnce to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse. There weres revolving, and the asional cultivator passing through outer space. Battles and massacres sporadically erupted, and interster pirates prowled the region.

    As they continued further, things grew increasingly prosperous.

    "Brother-inw, up in front of us is where the Lower King Domain officially starts. In our Three Monarchs Universe, there''s a saying: those dwelling in the Upper King Domain enter the Emperor Domain, while those residing in the Lower King Domain are relegated to the mortal realm. It¡¯s supposed to be about how the people in the Upper King Domain are esteemed dignitaries who can directlymunicate with the Emperor Domain, while the Lower King Domain is only home to normal people," Luo Lao''er exined.

    "It seems that everyone in your dimension is subservient to the three Monarchs," Lu Yinmented.

    Luo Lao''er responded, "That''s just my father being overbearing. While it might sound like everyone serves the three Monarchs, can he even use so many people? There¡¯s really only a select few who genuinely serve the three Monarchs. Like I mentioned in Cliff Town, this universe has an empire, yet many of thes here don¡¯t even have the ability to reach outer space. They have no idea what our universe is even called."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Fair enough. It¡¯s possible that even everything we¡¯re facing ourselves is just a game in the eyes of even higher-level beings."

    Luo Lao''er was horrified by thement. "Brother-inw, that''s terrifying."

    Lu Yin smiled and said nothing more.

    Luo Lao''er guided the spacecraft in a specific direction. Once they arrived in a specific region, Luo Lao''er started searching for something, his expression grim. They continued towards the north, but his expression grew uglier as he continued to fail to find what he was seeking. Things continued in this manner as they ventured further and further into the northern reaches of the Lower King Domain. Finally, Luo Lao''er let out a sigh of relief. "So it¡¯s really just this small."

    Soon after that, their vessel docked. In front of them were ten interconnecteds that had beenbined to create an astral city in outer space. It looked to be extremely prosperous.

    As they strolled through the city, Lu Yin observed the customs and traditions of the Three Monarchs Universe. Tri-colored monarch essence could be seen everywhere, covering many different items, including the flourishing crystals that were used as currency. The intery of the energy¡¯s three colors gave the entire cityscape a bit of a shimmering glow.

    Aside from the fact that their cultivation methods were different, the ce looked no different from the Fifth Maind.

    Luo Lao''er confidently led Lu Yin through the city, and they soon arrived at a tall, magnificent building.

    Lu Yin stared at the grand building before them for a moment before directing a rather confused look towards Luo Lao''er.

    With a smirk, Luo Lao''er teased, "Brother-inw, do you find it appealing?"

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin inquired.

    "Don''t y dumb. As a man, you should understand what this ce is at first nce. Do you like it?" Luo Lao''er prodded.

    "A brothel?" Lu Yin questioned.

    "Don''t be so crude! It''s called Spring Lightning. It¡¯s a chain that the Fenglei n runs. All of their different locations use the name Spring Lightning. This Spring Lightning Manor is the most opulent entertainment venue, and it¡¯s directly overseen by the Fenglei n.[1] Come on, Brother-inw, let''s enjoy a bit of rxation. As soon as you enter, I promise you you won¡¯t want to leave.¡±

    Seeing the lecherous expression on Luo Lao''er''s face, Lu Yin chose not to refuse and simply followed the young man inside.

    Having visited simr establishments before, Lu Yin was not a stranger to such ces. However, Spring Lightning Manor was quite different from the Azure Mansions Lu Yin had previously visited. The women of the Spring Lightning Manor were far more uninhibited, which left Lu Yin feeling a bit ufortable. No matter where he looked, his eyes were met with the sight of baster skin that dazzled his vision, and the scent of various powdered cosmetics filled his nostrils.

    "What do you think, Brother-inw? Beautiful, aren''t they? Every single one of them is a remarkable beauty! I can promise you, all of the women in a Spring Lightning Manor are only chosen after a rigorous selection. Each one can be regarded as a national beauty. Haha!" Luo Lao''er eximed excitedly.

    Setting a hand on Luo Lao''er''s shoulder, Lu Yin urged, "Let''s stay focused on our current task."

    Confused, Luo Lao''er replied, "But this is our task?"

    The pressure under Lu Yin¡¯s hand increased until Luo Lao''er winced in pain. "Don''t waste my time."

    In agony, Luo Lao''er quickly conceded, "Alright, alright! I''ll make the arrangements we need to aplish here."

    Suddenly, the ground trembled, and a deafening explosion shook the Spring Lightning Manor. The apanying shockwave was powerful enough that many people were lifted off the ground.

    Luo Lao''er''s expression instantly turned somber. "Something¡¯s wrong."

    He raced towards the source of the disturbance.

    Raising his head, Lu Yin spread his domain out until it epassed the entire area, which naturally included the entire Spring Lightning Manor.

    Just a short distance away, there were two men engaged in a fierce battle. One of the two used monarch essence and threw out bolts of lightning, while the other used only monarch essence, though it was tinged with a bit of darkness. The explosion had been a result of the two men¡¯s fight.

    Both were only in the ve realm, and were about as strong as one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Hunters.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the ve realm wasparable to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Explorers all the way to their peak Hunters. The Enlighter realm wasparable to the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Servants, and the two men fighting were at the very cusp of bing Servants. Such strength was quite impressive, given their age, as they were almostparable to the Ten Arbiters of the past.

    Explosions shook the air as one of the two released a furious barrage of attacks that forced his opponent to retreat. Lightning struck the man again and again, visibly suppressing him.

    An entire crowd of onlookers had already gathered, all of them watching the battle from a safe distance.

    Luo Lao''er elbowed his way to the very front of the crowd, from where he proceeded to watch the fight. The whole time, a very serious expression decorated his face.

    Seeming to sense sudden danger, the lightning wielder abruptly cut his assault short, and evaded a wave of monarch essence that swept by him. If he had continued his attack, he would have lost both of his hands.

    Seizing an opportunity, the man¡¯s opponent threw out a powerful kick, which sent the lightning wielder hurtling through the air.

    Luo Lao''er''s eyes sharpened, reflecting a bone-chilling coldness.

    "Young Master Guishan!" Several people stepped forward to block the path of the lightning wielder, though they all looked at the man warily.

    On the opposite side of the battlefield, the other man lowered his foot with a cruel smirk on his face. "Fenglei Guishan, like I told you before, you¡¯re no match for me. Your presumed status as the greatest talent of your generation in the Lower King Domain is nothing but a joke."

    "Hmph, if not for someone else interfering, would you ever be a match for me?" Fenglei Guishan looked to the side, where a group of people stared at him with cold eyes. The young man¡¯s gaze locked onto a middle-aged man within the crowd. "Wu Sanzhou, do you have no shame at all? How could a Retainer like you ambush someone like me?"

    The middle-aged man, Wu Sanzhou, showed a slight smile as he stood in ce with his hands sped behind his back. "A loss is a loss. Are the Fenglei n''s members socking in integrity that they can''t even ept a loss?"

    Fenglei Guishan roared in anger, "You''re despicable!"

    Wu Sanzhou lifted his head and scanned the area. "Did anyone witness me, Wu Sanzhou, make a move?"

    Silence filled the air, as no one responded.

    Wu Sanzhou asked the same question a second time, only to be met with further silence. He then turned back to Fenglei Guishan. "You see? No one saw anything. You lost, and are now merely making excuses. No one will stand up for you."

    Fenglei Guishan seethed with rage and coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, helped by the people close to him.

    "Well, the oue is quite clear. I don''t believe the Fenglei n should have any objections, which means this Spring Lightning Manor no longer needs to exist," a young man spoke up. He was the only person who had remained seated, and he was fanning himself with a fan in rather a carefree manner.

    Wu Sanzhou gave a respectful bow. "Young Master Bao is absolutely correct. This Spring Lightning Manor ispletely unnecessary."

    The man then nced around and shouted, "What are you all still gawking at? Be gone!"

    The echoing shout caused the crowd to scatter. Almost instantly, not a single guest remained inside the Spring Lightning Manor, and even the women who worked the establishment had been driven away.

    Fenglei Guishan red at Young Master Bao with cold eyes. The young man stood and copsed his fan. "Brother Guishan, you¡¯ve lost our bet. There is nothing you can do."

    The moment the words were spoken, the Spring Lightning Manorpletely shattered. The destruction was not even limited to the building itself, as all of the nearby area was destroyed as well. All who suffered from this destruction would certainly approach the Spring Lightning Manor to seekpensation.

    Fenglei Guishan remained silent, and simply watched as Young Master Bao and hispanions departed.

    The nearby spectators shook their heads. "The once illustrious Spring Lightning Manors are being taken out one by one... Oh well, we''ll just have to find another ce to visit from now on."

    "At the Fenglei n''s peak, they had over ten thousand Spring Lightning Manors. Now, there probably aren¡¯t even a hundred left."

    "It¡¯s not even just the Spring Lightning Manors. The Fenglei n itself is in trouble. Young Master Bao is part of the Upper King Domain¡¯s Mu family."[2]

    "Mu family? That Mu family?"

    "Shh... Don¡¯t even guess about conflicts in the Emperor Domain. We''re all just insignificant characters. Let''s go."

    "Let''s leave. We won''t being back to this ce again."

    ...

    Just outside the ruins of the Spring Lightning Manor, Luo Lao''er and Lu Yin sat facing across from each other while they looked at the rumble. It had been a thriving business just a few minutes before, yet had so quickly been reduced to ruins.

    The bar they were upying had also been damaged when the Spring Lightning Manor had been destroyed, as had many other nearby buildings. The barkeep muttered something aboutpensation, though he did not dare approach the ruins himself.

    "Tell me, what just happened?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er face betrayed a mix ofplex emotions, including a powerful hatred. When he spoke, his tone was heavy, "My mother''s name was Fenglei Zhao."

    Lu Yin understood. From the name alone, he already knew what had happened.

    The Mu family represented Monarch Mu, and Luo Zang had clearly influenced them to deal with the Fenglei n, which was Luo Lao''er''s maternal family.

    "What happened to your mother?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Luo Lao''er''s gaze dimmed. "She¡¯s no longer alive."

    Lu Yin looked up.

    Luo Lao''er continued, "She passed away from an illness."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "She died from an illness?"

    Luo Lao''er gave a bitter smile. "It soundspletely absurd, doesn¡¯t it? As Monarch Luo¡¯s wife, she was a Demi-Monarch, yet in the end, she sumbed to an illness."

    Lu Yin nodded silently. He held himself back from saying anything.

    After some time, someone arrived. It was none other than Fenglei Guishan.

    Upon seeing Luo Lao''er, Fenglei Guishan became highly agitated, and he dropped to his knees. "Ancestor."

    Lu Yin was startled. What in the world? Ancestor?

    Luo Lao''er cleared his throat and exined, "Fenglei Guanqin, the current patriarch of the Fenglei n, is my mother''s brother. With that, when ites to seniority, I really am an ancestor within the Fenglei n."

    Lu Yin was speechless. The difference in the two young men¡¯s seniority was quite staggering.

    "Please rise," Luo Lao''er said.

    Fenglei Guishan stood. "Ancestor, why have you returned? This ce is exceedingly dangerous for you! The Mu family has been keeping a close eye on us, waiting for you to return."

    "What? Would the Mu family dare move directly against me?" Luo Lao''er frowned.

    Fenglei Guishan''s expression turned bitter. "They won¡¯t dare do so openly, but with Luo Zang¡¯s support, they fear nothing."

    Luo Lao''er breathed a sigh of relief. "Don''t worry. My whereabouts are still a secret. As long as you don¡¯t divulge anything about it, no one will know."

    Fenglei Guishan solemnly dered, "The Fenglei n swears to never disclose Ancestor''s location!"

    The young man then gave Lu Yin a curious nce.

    Despite their simr ages, Luo Lao''er and Fenglei Guishan needed to maintain a degree of formality in their interactions, due to the vast disparity in their statuses within the family. As for Lu Yin, people all had their own opinions about his rtionship with Luo Lao''er.

    "This is my brother-inw," Luo Lao''er introduced.

    Fenglei Guishan became confused. "Brother-inw?"

    Luo Lao''er smacked Fenglei Guishan¡¯s head. "Is that how you should address him?"

    Fenglei Guishan stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Ancestor."

    Lu Yin blinked. This was the first time anyone had addressed him with such a title. It felt incredibly awkward.

    "Brother-inw, this should be fine with you, right?" Luo Lao''er chuckled. The respectful attitude he showed to Lu Yin left Fenglei Guishan bewildered.

    Lu Yin nodded. "You two go ahead and talk. Just ignore me for now."

    1. Fenglei means "sealed lightning." ?

    2. This is ãå (mu), which means cleanse/bath. This is not the same as Mister Mu''s name (Ä¾ = wood). ?

 Chapter 2561: Concealed Dangers

    Chapter 2561: Concealed Dangers

    Luo Lao''er turned back to look at Fenglei Guishan. "What''s the current situation? It seems we''ve lost a lot of territory. Even Mu Bao had the audacity to show himself. How did this end up happening?"

    A bitter expression appeared on Fenglei Guishan''s face. "I''m not sure of the specifics myself. Let''s return home, where Ancestor can exin things to you."

    Luo Lao''er nodded.

    The Fenglei n''s residence was not far from the destroyed brothel, so the three men soon arrived.

    As they traveled, Luo Lao''er shared the Fenglei n¡¯s former glory with Lu Yin. At the moment, the n possessed less than ten percent of their original holdings.

    "There was a time when the Fenglei n was regarded as the most powerful n in the entire Lower King Domain. That''s why they were able to establish a connection with Monarch Luo. My mother was ced within the Fenglei n by Monarch Luo..." Luo Lao''er shared the specifics of the n¡¯s history, but as far as Lu Yin was concerned, the sordid details seemed all toomon, as all that had happened was simply the results of a power struggle.

    Fenglei Zhao''s passing had allowed the Mu family to start targeting the Fenglei n in order to gain control over the Lower King Domain, which was not unexpected.

    Still, as far as the Fenglei n was concerned, this was a conflict they had to stop.

    Normally, such internal struggles would take ce rather discreetly and outside of the public eye. However, the members of the Mu family had openly joined forces with the Wu family in order to deal with the Fenglei n, which was quite unusual.

    It was not long before Fenglei Guanqin provided an exnation. "It all started with the sudden appearance of a Monarch by the name of Xia Shenji."

    Lu Yin kept hisposure. Luo Lao''er was sitting right in front of Lu Yin, while Fenglei Guanqin sat at the head of the table.

    It was only thanks to Luo Lao''er that Lu Yin was allowed to be present.

    Fenglei Guanqin sighed. "Little Zhao was Monarch Luo''s woman, so initially, no one daredy a hand on the Fenglei n, even after her demise. At most, the Mu family would make some covert moves that didn¡¯t cause any significant harm. However, Xia Shenji¡¯s sudden appearance changed everything.

    "How can the Three Monarchs tolerate the presence of a foreign powerhouse? There was a major battle in the Emperor Domain after Xia Shenji suddenly appeared there. That battle destroyed a massive area, yet Xia Shenji managed to escape. He fled past the border. We don''t know any of the specifics, but we do know that Monarch Mu was stationed at the eastern border to guard against Xia Shenji. We don''t know what Mu Bao did after that, but surprisingly, Xia Shenji somehow made amends with the three Monarchs, and then Mu Bao rapidly started expanding his influence. Since then, the Mu family has started acting exceptionally arrogant, and it¡¯s entirely rted to Monarch Mu and Xia Shenji.

    "While it remains unclear exactly what Monarch Mu has done, Mu Bao is daring to openly confront my Fenglei n. Monarch Mu''s involvement in what is happening is not a simple matter. Whatever happened, it was enough to have Monarch Luo turn a blind eye to everything that the Mu family is doing. I suspect that..."

    Fenglei Guanqin directed a weary look towards Luo Lao''er. "Even if Luo Zang attacks you or genuinely tries to kill you, Monarch Luo may no longer intervene, because of Monarch Mu."

    Lu Yin remained asposed as ever, though inwardly, he felt a sinking sensation. He was seeing the worst-case scenario unfold before him. Xia Shenji had somehow reached an agreement with the three Monarchs, which had also managed to greatly elevate Monarch Mu''s status. This implied that Xia Shenji might soon manage to leave the Three Monarchs Universe and return to the Fifth Maind.

    Was Xia Shenji even still in the Three Monarchs Universe, or had he already returned to the Fifth Maind?

    In order to deal with Nutjob Lu, Lu Yin had banished Xia Shenji to the Three Monarchs Universe. At that time, he had already considered the possibility of the current situation. However, whenpared to the threat of Nutjob Lu, the threat of a parallel universe had seemed rather insignificant at the time. Onlyter had Lu Yin learned of the Sixverse Association''s ability to enter the Origin Universe, but such knowledge could only provide understanding in hindsight.

    Lu Yin grew increasingly uneasy. He needed to return and check on the Fifth Maind no matter what. If Xia Shenji announced his return, things would be fine due to the presence of Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen, which would prevent retaliation. However, if Xia Shenji conspired with the Three Monarchs Universe and returned in secret, it would be a huge problem for Lu Yin.

    The Cyclic Universe was about to force the Fifth Maind to resume fighting against the forces of Aeternus, which would divert the war away from the other universes. If Xia Shenji lured the Three Monarchs into the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin would face true danger.

    "My father has always excelled at weighing the pros and cons of a matter. Since the Mu family dares act so boldly, it means he won''t interfere," Luo Lao''er said indignantly. He looked at Fenglei Guanqin. "Uncle, you should leave. Come with me to the Transcendent Universe. You need to escape from the Mu family''s reach."

    Fenglei Guanqin sighed. "Leaving is easier said than done. No matter what, I will ensure your safety and send you away first. It''s too dangerous for you to remain here."

    "Staying here will guarantee your death! Luo Zang is merciless enough to murder even his own brothers, let alone the Fenglei n," Luo Lao''er argued.

    Fenglei Guanqin repiled, "Even if we escape to the Transcendent Universe, what then? You are a hostage there being protected by the Transcendent Universe, while we would be nothing more than traitors to our own universe. If we flee, we won''t just face the Mu family, but the Transcendent Universe itselfing after us. ording to the Sixverse Association''s treaty, traitors will be hunted down by the entire association."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. Traitors would be hunted down by the entire Sixverse Association? The association appeared to be quite stable. Did this mean that if the Origin Universe joined the Sixverse Association as a member, and he remained the ruler of the Origin Universe, any who hebeled as traitors would be hunted down by the entire Sixverse Association?

    Luo Lao''er quickly changed tact, "Then don¡¯t go to the Transcendent Universe. We¡¯ll go to a parallel universe instead. Any universe will do, as long as we can leave this ce."

    Fenglei Guanqin smiled, feeling reassured. "Your intentions are enough. Uncle appreciates your concern for the Fenglei n, but if we leave, what will be of you?

    "You were already isted and left without any allies before you were sent to the Transcendent Universe to be a hostage. If we leave as well, you won''t be able to remain a hostage. You''ll be forced to return to the Emperor Domain, and there you will face a fate worse than death. Luo Zang will have his way with you, and you will have no means to protect yourself."

    Luo Lao''er turned to Lu Yin and reminded, "Brother-inw, remember what you promised me."

    Fenglei Guanqin looked at Lu Yin in confusion. What sort of promise could this young man have made to Luo Lao''er that could shield him from Luo Zang? After all, this unknown youth was only as strong as a Servant. Was it possible that he held some sort of impressive position in the Transcendent Universe?

    As the two men stared at him, Lu Yin straightened up and replied, "I won''t go back on my word. As long as Zi Jing is able to do so, I will ensure that she protects you, even if pressured by Monarch Luo."

    Fenglei Guanqin was left puzzled. "Zi Jing?"

    Luo Lao''er smiled. "As long as you carry out your promise, Brother-inw, it will be enough."

    "Lao¡¯er, he¡­?" Fenglei Guanqin felt terribly confused. All he had heard Luo Lao¡¯er mention upon his return was the name Xuan Qi, but nothing about the stranger¡¯s identity or status. Luo Lao''er had also said that there were no secrets between the two of them, which was why Fenglei Guanqin had assumed the two were friends who had survived life and death experiences together. However, it was starting to seem that things were not how they appeared.

    Luo Lao''er coughed and said, "Uncle, let me formally introduce you two. This is my brother-inw, Xuan Qi. Zi Jing is part of the Transcendent Universe Energy Research Group, and is his woman. He is also the Voidforce Universe¡¯s treasure, and he¡¯ll eventually have a peak powerhouse take him as their disciple. No, it¡¯s even possible that he might be the Cyclic Universe¡¯s next Sage Stone."

    "Sage Stone?" Fenglei Guanqin shot to his feet as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Are you a part of the Stone Gate?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Not right now."

    Luo Lao''er continued, "My brother-inw is currently being targeted by both the Transcendent Universe and the Cyclic Universe. Regardless of which universe he eventually joins, he has the potential to be a pinnacle powerhouse at the same level as the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. As for Zi Jing, her status in the Transcendent Universe will soon beparable to the You family¡¯s ancestor."

    Fenglei Guanqin¡¯s confusion only mounted. The Transcendent Universe, the Voidforce Universe, Stone Gate; the man was leftpletely lost. Had his nephew been scammed?

    Lu Yin stood up. "You two keep talking. Please show me somewhere I can rest."

    Luo Lao''er hastily asked Fenglei Guishan to have someone escort Xuan Qi to another location where he could rest, while also reminding the patriarch not to be negligent.

    After Lu Yin was gone, Fenglei Guanqin frowned. "Lao¡¯er, who is that man really? Are you sure you haven¡¯t been deceived? The Mu family has its own connections to the Transcendent Universe."

    Luo Lao''er dismissively waved a hand. "No, Uncle. Let me exin..."

    As Luo Lao¡¯er spoke, Fenglei Guishan led Lu Yin to a serene courtyard.

    Lu Yin had excused himself so that Luo Lao''er and Fenglei Guanqin could be allowed to speak without any reservations. While the two spoke, Lu Yin started considering how he should go about returning to his own universe, as well as what sort of agreement Xia Shenji might have made with the three Monarchs. Lu Yin was very curious about that matter.

    It would be impossible to learn anything from the three Monarchs, which meant that the only potential avenues of information would be Luo Zang or others who were able to approach the three Monarchs.

    However, Lu Yin had already thrown any such people into various parallel universes before Luo Lao''er had woken up. The parallel universes had been chosen at random, and it was up to each individual to figure out how to return to the Sixverse Academy.

    With his identity as Xuan Qi, Lu Yin had already left a deep impression on the Sixverse Association. He was unwilling to erase that so quickly, especially since his alias was closely connected to Zi Jing.

    If not for that, he would already have imprisoned the students in Zenith Mountain, simr to what he had done with Long Xi and the others from the Perennial World in the past. However, letting those people go did not matter, as he could capture them whenever he wished.

    In the absence of Luo Zang, the person who was most likely to have ess to the information Lu Yin sought was... He looked up and nced towards the Mu residence.

    Lu Yin did not know what Luo Lao''er had shared with Fenglei Guanqin, but when Lu Yin met with the patriarch the next time, the old man¡¯s enthusiasm rivaled that of Xu Xiangyin''s. Fenglei Guanqin looked at Xuan Qi with indescribable awe, as though seeing one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    The man¡¯s attitude hadpletely changed, and a deep respect was readily evident.

    "My Fenglei n is not a noble family, but rather the family of hardworkingmoners. I''m afraid I must have embarrassed myself before you, Mr. Xuan Qi," Fenglei Guanqin said politely as he invited Lu Yin to sit next to him.

    Lu Yin replied, "Your dedication ismendable. I, Xuan Qi, am also an independent cultivator. In my own universe, I¡¯ve been pursued by a peak powerhouse for many years. If not for my luck in being taken to a different universe, my life would never have changed. My sesses pale whenpared to those of the Fenglei n."

    "Brother-inw, which universe are you from?" Luo Lao''er asked curiously. He had already asked this question many times before.

    Fenglei Guanqin quietly scolded, "Show some respect, you little brat!"

    Luo Lao''er grumbled, "I was only thinking that when my brother-inw eventually bes a formidable figure, he should take me with him when he returns to his own universe to get revenge. I truly enjoy watching a gentleman seek vengeance. It''s inspiring."

    Fenglei Guanqin turned to apologize to Lu Yin, "Mr. Xuan Qi, please forgive his insolence. This is simply how the young brat is. He didn''t mean to pry into your privacy."

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I''m already used to it."

    "That¡¯s right, Uncle. There''s no need to treat him like a stranger. My brother-inw and I have already survived hardships together," Luo Lao''er proudly dered.

    Hearing this reminded Fenglei Guanqin of the current situation, and his expression instantly became somber. "Considering that you were both captured by that Aeternus spy, why were you set free? It doesn''t make any sense."

    Lu Yin replied, "We can¡¯t answer that ourselves. It¡¯s possible that we weren''t the primary target."

    Fenglei Guanqin nced at Luo Lao''er and asked, "Who all did they capture?"

    Leaning closer, Luo Lao''er whispered, "One of the captives was Bai Qian!"

 Chapter 2562: Mo Courtyard

    Chapter 2562: Mo Courtyard

    "Bai Qian?" Fenglei Guanqin shouted. He and Luo Lao¡¯er had gotten so caught up in discussing the Mu family¡¯s matters that Luo Lao¡¯er had forgotten to share much about being captured by Tu Shuangshuang. With the full exnation, Fenglei Guanqin was leftpletely shocked. "That Bai Qian?"

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "I''m guessing Tu Shuangshuang let the rest of us go and took only Bai Qian."

    Fenglei Guanqin nodded. "That''s certainly possible, but from what you¡¯ve told me already, it was aplete coincidence that Bai Qian was captured, and she was not Tu Shuangshuang''s original target."

    Lu Yin agreed, "That¡¯s my feeling as well; Bai Qian was certainly not their original target."

    "Could the targets have been Shao Qingfeng and the other top students?" Luo Lao''er wondered.

    Lu Yin exined, "Tu Shuangshuang did say that she wanted to capture them, but someone else must have been her motivation for the entire scheme. We just don''t know who that is. Besides, even if she wanted to capture someone, that isn¡¯t a reason for her to just let everyone else go. Everyone she captured would have been a valuable prisoner.¡±

    "My guess is it¡¯s that freak," Luo Lao''er said, referring to Seruzen. "His status in the Arboreal Realm is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, just look at how Mu Mu treats him."

    "It could also be He Shu. After all, he¡¯s He Ran''s younger brother," Fenglei Guanqin suggested.

    Luo Lao''er added, "Shao Qingfeng is also possible."

    "Stop making random guesses. Everyst one of us who was captured is a possible target. Who knows, it could even have been you," Lu Yin told Luo Lao''er.

    Luo Lao''er rolled his eyes. "I¡¯m at least a bit aware of myself; they wouldn''t look at me twice. Luo Zang, on the other hand, could certainly be a target. I have no idea where any of the others might have ended up, but if they ended up here like us, the Sixverse Association will definitely send a search party here and they¡¯ll be returned to the academy."

    That''s why they were thrown into random parallel universes, Lu Yin thought to himself.

    "Uncle, have you made a decision? You should leave first. With Brother-inw and Zi Jing there, I''ll be fine in the Transcendent Universe," Luo Lao''er pushed.

    Fenglei Guanqin considered the proposal again. "Let me think about it."

    "By the way, how do we get back to the Transcendent Universe?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Fenglei Guanqin answered, "Every year, we send resources there for youyou. This time, we¡¯ll just send you with those resources and you¡¯ll make the trip together."

    "Resources? What resources?" Luo Lao''er wondered.

    Fenglei Guanqin''s expression changed. "You didn''t receive the resources we sent for you?"

    Luo Lao''er shook his head.

    The two men stared at each other, and their expression quickly turned dark.

    With a loud bang, Fenglei Guanqin smashed the table and chairs with a palm. "The Mu family has gone too far!"

    Luo Lao''er clenched his teeth. "Those bastards! They¡¯ve even stolen our resources!"

    Lu Yin frowned. The Fenglei n had been so severely oppressed by the Mu family that they had not even been able to send resources to Luo Lao¡¯er.

    "That path is cut off," Luo Lao''er dered.

    Fenglei Guanqin''s expression turned ugly. "I''ll find another way."

    Two dayster, the territory under the Fenglei n¡¯s control shrank even further. In addition to the Fenglei n, there were dozens of other powerful families and organizations of varying size and power that upied the Lower King Domain. All of them had agreed to attack the Fenglei n in some manner or another. On top of that, all of the women were taken away from the remaining Spring Lightning Manors, reducing the Fenglei n to theughingstock of the Lower King Domain.

    Halfway through their third night with the Fenglei n, Lu Yin opened his eyes. He had just sensed powerful experts.

    Thunder echoed as Fenglei Guanqin bellowed, "How dare you attack my Fenglei n? You won¡¯t be leaving!"

    "Hmph! Fenglei Guanqin, you think you can stop us? Your Fenglei n''s days are already numbered," a mocking voice rang out. Many members of the Fenglei n were ovee with fear. Their opponent a Demi-Monarch, just the same as Patriarch Fenglei Guanqin himself.

    Three times the two Demi-Monarchs collided, and each impact destroyed countless buildings that belonged to the Fenglei n.

    Lu Yin stood by a window. Fenglei Guanqin was strong enough to hold the attackers back, but not strong enough to keep them from escaping. The attackers were well prepared, as Lu Yin could sense other hidden experts, still some distance away.

    Did the Three Monarchs Universe have many Demi-Monarchs? Three of them had been sent at the same time just to deal with the Fenglei n.

    "Brother-inw." Luo Lao''er arrived, a panicked expression on his face. He asked Lu Yin to stay close.

    Lu Yin was curious about what he was seeing. "There are at least two attackers who are as strong as your uncle. Does your Three Monarchs Universe have a lot of experts at that level?"

    Luo Lao''er instantly grew somber. "In that case, they should be from the Mo Courtyard."

    "Mo Courtyard?"

    "It¡¯s the defensive force that¡¯s intended to exclusively guard the Emperor Domain. They only allow Demi-Monarchs into their ranks. ording to the records, there are fifteen members, and they will only take action when the Emperor Domain is directly attacked by outsiders. I never considered the possibility that the Mu family would be able to ask these experts to perform personal requests. Just what was it that Monarch Mu did for Monarch Luo to consent to even the Mo Courtyard helping her family?" Luo Lao''er gritted his teeth.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. A defensive forceposed of fifteen Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouses, that was quite formidable.

    If the Mu n was able to utilize the Mo Courtyard, then the rtionship between Monarch Mu and Xia Shenji was far moreplicated than Lu Yin had imagined. He needed to return to his own universe as soon as possible.

    After a little more than half an hour, the two Demi-Monarchs who had struck the Fenglei n during the night finally retreated. However, the hidden Demi-Monarch never made a move. They had been waiting for the opportunity tond a fatal blow on Fenglei Guanqin, but the patriarch had risen to his current strength from the very bottom. He possessed impressive battle experience, and the assassin was given no chance to act.

    It was likely that the three attackers had refrained from acting in unison out of fear that Fenglei Guanqin would do whatever it took to kill one of them, even if he was forced to sacrifice himself.

    "In our Three Monarchs Universe, all cultivators are servants of the three Monarchs. Because of this, Father onceid down strict orders that any experts at the Attendant realm or above are not allowed to engage in fights to the death, as their lives belong to the three Monarchs," Luo Lao''er exined.

    Lu Yin understood. No wonder a winner had not been determined even after half an hour of battle. It also made sense that the attackers had not dared to stick around for too long.

    Breaking the rules was one thing, but tantly ignoring them was something else all together. The Demi-Monarchs feared attracting Monarch Luo''s attention.

    Despite his injuries, Fenglei Guanqin made sure to take a moment tofort Luo Lao''er and Xuan Qi before retreating to deal with his own injuries. He assured the two young men that he would arrange for them to leave the Three Monarchs Universe as soon as possible, as the Mu family was bing increasingly bold and reckless.

    After Luo Lao''er left, Lu Yin let out a deep breath. It was time for him to make his move.

    Far away, three Demi-Monarchs gathered before heading north without a word between them. They were headed straight for the Upper King Domain.

    Lu Yin followed close behind while concealing his presence.

    In order to avoid being noticed, he had not asked for directions to the Mu residence, and had instead decided to follow the three attackers.

    While there was a vast distance between the Lower King Domain and the Upper King Domain, it was a quick trip for powerhouses at the level of Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin soon caught sight of the Mu estate, as it was a grandiose edifice that far surpassed the grandeur of the Fenglei n. Regal structures created a noble atmosphere that elevated the grounds to a different level from the Fenglei n¡¯s home.

    The three Demi-Monarchs went directly into the Mu estate.

    Lu Yin maintained a bit of distance from the Mu estate, and just quietly observed.

    It was not long before two of the Demi-Monarchs left again. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; one of the powerhouses had remained inside the estate. There was also another Demi-Monarch who had already been in the Mu residence, which meant that there were two people with the strength of Semi-Progenitors. He needed to n his actions carefully to ensure that he did not alert the three Monarchs.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a purplish-ck substance spread across his skin. Wielder realm battle force spread across his body as his pupils transformed into runes. Slowly, the runes enveloped the entire Mu estate. After that was aplished, Lu Yin started observing the spatial lines, and then, a single step allowed him to enter the Mu family¡¯s home.

    The estate was massive. Lu Yin first moved towards the only one of the three Demi-Monarchs who had participated in the attack on the Fenglei n. This was the person who had remained hidden throughout the entire attack.

    However, the man was not resting, but was instead examining something.

    Lu Yin again touched the spatial lines, instantly appearing behind the man and striking out with a Hollow Palm.

    The Demi-Monarch sensed the sudden appearance of a formidable expert, but had not expected to be ambushed within the Mu estate. There was no hesitation as he tried to flee, only to be blocked by Lu Yin''s sudden appearance. Lu Yin covered the man¡¯s face with his left hand beforeshing out at the man¡¯s back with his right hand. The attack pierced the man¡¯s body and shattered it. Lu Yin¡¯s victim was unable to dodge his attack, or even release any sound.

    The man''s pupils contracted as his monarch essence erupted as he tried to fight back. He refused to die without a sound. He had to resist!

    At that moment, runes created an impregnable cage that isted the room. The cage nullified all of the Demi-Monarch¡¯s strength. Lu Yin maintained a firm hold of the man''s face, and then squeezed, shattering the man¡¯s head into pieces.

    A mighty Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouse had just been instantly and silently killed.

    Lu Yin released the corpse. "I didn¡¯t actually want to kill you. You can only me your bad luck that you stayed behind."

    After taking everything of value from the man, Lu Yin left. He next went to find thest Semi-Progenitor-level expert who was residing in the Mu estate. That person should be the one in charge of the family, just like Patriarch Fenglei Guanqin.

    In another part of the Mu estatey a vast courtyard that was filled with embroidered tapestries. At the center, a silver-haired old woman stared at a tapestry in a trance.

    "Madam, there''s still no news." A pale-faced young woman approached, despair filling her eyes. She trembled as she knelt down.

    The silver-haired old woman answered in a soft voice, "It¡¯s already been five days. Where has poor Zang''er been taken?"

    The maid remained kneeling on the ground, afraid to make even the slightest movement. Beads of sweat streamed down her forehead.

    All of the tapestries were red. This red did note from paint, but from blood. Each of the tapestries had been soaked with blood.

    "If Zang''er is not here, why are you?" The silver-haired woman looked down.

    The young woman¡¯s head shot up. rmed, she started pleading, "Madam, please spare my li-"

    Before the woman could even finish, a needle pierced her arm, pinning her to a tapestry. Blood ran down the threads, staining the tapestry red. It took on an eerie crimson hue beneath the dim starlight. "Take her away."

    Another person entered the courtyard and dragged the corpse away in a practiced manner.

    "Tell that person, in five days, we''ll go to the Fenglei n again. This time, all three of us will take action. I don''t believe that all of us won¡¯t be able to deal with that old bastard Fenglei Guanqin. I willplete this embroidery with his blood!" the silver-haired woman said.

    "Understood," someone answered from outside the courtyard.

    The old woman closed her eyes. Zang''er, where have you gone?

    As she turned around, a figure appeared in front of her. It was Lu Yin. His appearance startled the silver-haired woman, but she still reacted very quickly. Three silver needles appeared in her hand, and they instantly stabbed at her opponent. It was clear that the old woman possessed far greaterbat experience than the Demi-Monarch Lu Yin had already dealt with. She clearly understood that trying to escape would only put her on the defensive.

    As she released her monarch essence, her needles shot forward. As she attacked, numerous desperate roars rang out. They came from something that was reminiscent of a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world.

    The old woman managed to react quickly, but Lu Yin responded even faster. With a single palm strike, the silver needles were shattered. The woman stared in disbelief as her opponent reached out and grabbed her arm, twisting it and pulling her back a step. The next moment, a card appeared beneath the two people¡¯s feet. Both Lu Yin and the old woman disappeared from the courtyard. The entire ordealsted less than a second, and with runes suppressing the entire courtyard, not even the faintest bit of energy leaked out.

 Chapter 2563: Return

    Chapter 2563: Return

    Naturally, the card that had briefly appeared was the Lost n''s Hidden Mountain.

    Lu Yin grabbed the silver-haired woman, and both of them were dragged into the Hidden Mountain card. The woman turned to stare at Lu Yin, suppressing the pain of her broken arm. "A member of the Lost n? Why would you attack me?"

    Lu Yin squeezed a bit with his right hand, crushing the woman''s arm. She let out a piercing scream that mounted and created an intense pressure that descended upon Lu Yin. It felt as though an endless sea of blood was pressing down on him.

    "The strength of your blood sea doesn¡¯tpare to even one percent of E Chi''s." As Lu Yin spoke, the woman again tried to stab him with her silver needles again. A hand moved forward, and the moment a needle made contact with the purplish-ck substance that covered the hand, the weapon instantly crumbled. Lu Yin pressed a hand onto the woman¡¯s shoulder, slowly but steadily increasing the pressure he exerted.

    Suddenly, hundreds of strands of the woman¡¯s silver hair flew from her head. They moved to create a peculiar pattern before shooting at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his left hand to block the attack, and expressed his surprise, "That battle technique is rather simr to a sourcebox array, though itcks power."

    Even as he spoke, another silver needle appeared in the midst of the pattern and shot straight for Lu Yin. He actually felt danger from this weapon, as it was a Progenitor-level power vessel.

    Lu Yin casually took out a slipper and smashed the approaching weapon, leaving the elderly woman absolutely stupefied. How was this possible? She had just used an Progenitor level weapon that had been personally crafted by Monarch Mu. It was capable of easily piercing any Demi-Monarch. She had been nning to kill Fenglei Guanqin with the power vessel, but shockingly, it had just been shattered by a slipper.

    The silver-haired woman red at Lu Yin. Both her needles and her monarch essence were useless against this person. In fact, everything she was capable of seemed useless. "Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"

    Lu Yin pressed down a bit more firmly with his right hand, forcing the woman down to one knee as her shoulder started to fracture. "What is your rtionship with Monarch Mu?"

    "What''s it to you?" the silver-haired woman retorted.

    Crack

    Her shoulder shattered. Lu Yin shifted his hand, this time setting it down upon the silver-haired woman''s head.

    Sensing the terrifying threat to her head, the silver-haired woman screamed, "She¡¯s my sister! My blood sister!"

    "What sort of agreement did Monarch Mu and Xia Shenjie to?" Lu Yin asked again.

    The silver-haired woman''s eyes flickered. Just who was this man? He had trapped her within one of the Lost n¡¯s cards, but why would anyone from the Lost n target her?

    "You won''t tell me?" Lu Yin started to squeeze, causing the silver-haired woman''s head to throb in pain.

    "I don''t know! That''s a concern of the three Monarchs! I have no idea1"

    "I don''t believe you. If you don''t tell me, you''ll die."

    "I truly don''t know what to tell you!" she replied.

    "Then make something up," Lu Yin answered bluntly.

    The silver-haired woman stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Make something up? Did she dare even try? Could she get away with that?

    "As long as you can convince me, I''ll let you go," Lu Yin stated coldly as he looked down upon the woman.

    The woman swallowed. She did not want to die. She led the Mu estate, as she was Monarch Mu''s sister. In the Three Monarchs Universe, the number of people who held a higher status could be counted on one hand. She was one of the very rare individuals who was not a servant of three Monarchs. She held unquestionable authority in their universe, and she was not at all tired of living.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s icy stare, the silver-haired woman felt true fear. She could not attempt to tell this man a story, as doing so would kill her.

    "Monarch Mu and Xia Shenji agreed to open a passage to the Origin Universe. After that, he would join forces with the three Monarchs to seize total control of that universe, splitting it in half. One half will belong to Xia Shenji, while the other will be given to the three Monarchs," the silver-haired woman blurted. She truly did not want to die.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "The four ruling powers will allow the three Monarchs to take control of the Origin Universe?"

    The silver-haired woman grew puzzled. "What are the four ruling powers?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could not discern if this woman truly did not know, or if it was just an act. He had also seeded in deceiving many people with various lies. This old woman had lived a long life, and could likely do the same. "Do you want to live?"

    "Yes," the silver-haired woman answered without hesitation.

    "Then buy your own life," said Lu Yin.

    The old woman raised a hand, showing Lu Yin a cosmic ring. He casually waved a hand, tearing the woman¡¯s arm off and causing blood to stter everywhere.

    "That was already mine from the very start. I''ll give you one chance. If you can¡¯t offer me something valuable enough, you die," Lu Yin slowly spoke each word with a voice so cold that shivers ran down the old woman¡¯s spine.

    She quickly considered anything that she could use to buy her life. A few matters urred to her, though she was not confident that any of them would actually be enough to save her. She had no idea who this person was or what his motives might be. If she died because of some whim, it would cost her everything.

    What could possibly save her?

    Suddenly, she thought of something. Her eyes flickered. No, she absolutely could not give him that.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand pressed firmly down upon the woman¡¯s head. "Time''s up. It¡¯s over."

    "Wait, I have something!" the silver-haired woman shrieked in panic.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I just told you, it''s over."

    "Spatial coordinates!" the woman screamed in terror.

    Lu Yin eyebrows rose. "What?"

    The silver-haired woman gasped for breath. For a split second, she had fully understood the despair of facing death. She had felt that her entire world had gone gray at that moment. It was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.

    The more cruel the person, the more they feared death. This was especially true of those who indulged in a life of extreme luxury.

    "Monarch Mu left a seal with spatial coordinates here in our Mu estate. It shows the location of the Three Monarchs Universe. I... I can get it for you," the silver-haired woman said fearfully.

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "Isn''t Monarch Mu from this Three Monarch Dimension?"

    The old woman gulped as she shook her head. "The Three Monarch Universe¡¯s previous cultivation civilization was destroyed when it became impossible to cultivate here. All of us are from foreign universes. The Mu familyes from a small parallel universe, while no one knows where Monarch Luo came from. He was the one who cooperated with Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing to create monarch essence, which they used to transform this entire universe. That then gave rise to the current civilization that lives here."

    Lu Yin created a Death Seal that he pressed into the woman''s body. "This seal allows me to kill you instantly. If you don''t believe me, go ahead and ask Monarch Mu to remove it. Of course, you¡¯ll only get a single chance."

    The woman was indeed tempted to ask Monarch Mu to remove the seal. Given her rtionship with the Monarch, even if the entire incident was revealed, it would not be a big deal. However, it was true that there would only be a single chance, and if the seal was not removed, she would die. Such a risk was uneptable.

    The woman¡¯s mysterious attacker had easily suppressed her. While it was possible he was also a Demi-Monarch, he could also be a Monarch. If that were the case, it was highly unlikely that the seal could be removed by anyone other than him.

    "I dare not! I absolutely dare not!" the silver-haired woman stated, a bitter taste in her mouth.

    The woman then led Lu Yin through the estate, and he soon came upon the seal that was the spatial coordinates. It was one of therge seals that originated from Aeternus.

    Lu Yin had often wondered why humanity did not possess the ability to create such coordinate seals. There was a chance that it was the result of a specific cultivation method, or even an innate gift.

    As long as he left a mark on the seal, he would be able to find the Three Monarchs Universe from among the countless parallel universes, which would allow him to return whenever.

    While the coordinate seal was kept within the Mu estate, it acted only as a locator for the universe, and was not the same as a portal. The chances of Lu Yin appearing in the Mu estate when using the coordinate seal were not high, which made facing an ambush upon using the coordinates quite unlikely.

    "Will Monarch Mu inspect the seal?" Lu Yin asked.

    The woman replied, "It wasst inspected a hundred years ago. The next inspection might be in ten years. That is how it usually goes."

    Lu Yin nodded. He needed another n, as Monarch Mu would erase his mark from the seal as soon as she inspected it, and that would leave him without the means to return to the universe. On top of that, even if the Monarch did not erase Lu Yin¡¯s mark, there was no guarantee that the silver-haired woman would not do so.

    While the woman clearly feared the Death Seal, there was no way to truly predict human nature. If something unexpected came up at the Mu estate, an ident could certainly ur. Lu Yin would never be willing to leave his fate in the hands of others.

    Right, there was also Attendant Wu, who was still in the Heavens Sect.

    The first time Lu Yin had met Attendant Wu, the man had imed that he was unable to return to the Three Monarchs Universe, but Lu Yin had long since known that people were able to find the universe of their birth from among the countless parallel universes that made up reality. The only exception he knew of was the people born in the Perennial World. For this reason, Lu Yin had long known that Attendant Wu had been lying. The man clearly did not want Lu Yin to know that he was able to return to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    However, after that particr conversation, Attendant Wu had absorbed a bit of stellr energy, which had afflicted him with Time Poison. From that moment on, the man had been truly left unable to return to his home universe. Even if he had tried to return, he had been left as nothing more than a cripple. For that reason, he had remained in the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had not exposed the man¡¯s lies until after he had used the Origin Progenitor''s sword to remove Time Poison from the Fifth Maind. Only then had Lu Yin ced a Death Seal within Attendant Wu, while also extracting more information concerning the Three Monarchs Universe. Lu Yin had made sure that the man would not return.

    This was why Attendant Wu continued to remain in the Heavens Sect.

    With Attendant Wu, Lu Yin was able to freely travel to and from the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that he did not actually need a coordinate seal.

    This was nothing more than a bit of insurance.

    Also, it seemed that the Wu surname indicated a connection to the Wu family that had attacked the Fenglei n. Lu Yin wondered what sort of connection the family had with Attendant Wu.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin left the Mu estate. He sensed Aeternus Nation from among the myriad parallel universes, and then tore through the void and left the Three Monarchs Universe.

    After six months, he had finally returned home. He had obtained a decent understanding of the Sixverse Association, though it was still far from enough.

    The coordinate seal in Aeternus Nation was what had allowed Lu Yin to return to the small parallel universe.

    Upon arriving, Lu Yin first noticed Qing Ping¡¯s presence.

    The man also noticed Lu Yin, and said, "You''re back."

    "Senior Brother, have you been waiting here for me the whole time?" Lu Yin asked.

    "It¡¯s not even been a year, which is not very long." He then led Lu Yin back to the Fifth Maind.

    Staring out at the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin felt his entire body rx.

    While the universes that made up the Sixverse Association had seemed quite simr to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had never been able topletely rx. It had only been a subtle difference, yet as more time had passed, the feeling had only grown stronger. It was simr to how the busy outside world could neverpare to a person¡¯s hometown.

    After bidding farewell to Qing Ping, Lu Yin made his way back to the Heavens Sect.

    He quickly spotted the massive forms of Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao. The jiao had already sensed Lu Yin''s return, and its ws shifted. Still, the beast refrained from baring its fangs, as it felt that doing so would be inappropriate.

    At this moment, there was more than one Progenitor within the Heavens Sect. In addition to Arch-Elder Zen, Progenitor Long was present.

    Lu Yin wondered at Progenitor Long¡¯s presence.

    ...

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, there was an unhappy expression on Progenitor Long¡¯s face as he looked at Arch-Elder Zen.

    "This is the fourth time. How many times do you intend to stop me?" Progenitor Long asked in a deep voice.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "The Dao Monarch is in seclusion. No one is allowed to disturb him. We must wait for him to emerge before discussing any matters."

    "There are varying degrees of importance to things, and some matters are urgent. Should he remain in seclusion for thousands of years, are we supposed to wait those thousands of years?" Progenitor Long expressed his irritation.

    Arch-Elder Zen calmly took a sip of his tea, ignoring Progenitor Long.

    The old man¡¯s brow furrowed as he stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "The pressure we are facing from Sage Yuan is increasing. He¡¯s already visited us a second time, urging us to prepare to fight in the war against Aeternus as soon as possible. As soon as the fighting breaks out, it will involve the entire Fifth Maind. There is no one who can escape this, especially not Lu Yin."

 Chapter 2564: Tragic

    Chapter 2564: Tragic

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed after hearing Progenitor Long¡¯sment. "Senior, you should understand how important seclusion is for a cultivator. If the Dao Monarch rashly ends his training early and his cultivation subsequently destabilized, who will take responsibility?"

    "We are not ignorant of Lu Yin; any time he has entered seclusion to train, he has never done so for more than a single year. While we may not know what he does while in seclusion, it is clear that such training is not highly important to him," Progenitor Long said.

    "Then wait. As you said, it will not be more than a year," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    "But Sage Yuan cannot be kept waiting!" Progenitor Long retorted impatiently.

    "Since when did Progenitor Long be Sage Yuan''sckey?" Lu Yin''s voice cut through the air, a mix of indifference and irritation evident in his tone as he emerged from the void.

    Progenitor Long''s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "Child, despite your aplishments, you should refrain from insulting me."

    Lu Yin casually took a seat. "Am I wrong? What is so impressive about Sage Yuan? Why doesn''t hee push me himself? The Cyclic Universe, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages... They¡¯re truly amazing. For all his arrogance, he got you to speak for him. What a joke."

    "This is not the time to argue. The war between the various parallel universes and Aeternus is raging right now," Progenitor Long reprimanded.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Have you already forgotten how hard we fought to drive away Aeternus from this universe?"

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at Progenitor Long.

    Progenitor Long remained silent.

    Fighting had never ceased between the Perennial World and Aeternus on the rear battlefield. The Fifth Maind had simrly fought an endless war against the Neohuman Alliance, which had eventually forced them to open the sourcebox that had released the people from the Heavens Sect era. Also because of that, Lu Yin had ended up traveling through space and time, which had caused him to disappear for twenty years. It could be said that all of human history was tangled up with the war against Aeternus.

    "After all of the challenges we faced in order to defeat Aeternus, you''re going to allow them back here because of just a few words? Isn''t that ridiculous? What was the point of all our efforts?" Lu Yin questioned.

    Progenitor Long''s expression grew conflicted, and his voice dropped as he replied, "We are all aware of this. This matter has caused Progenitor Smoke to go into seclusion. She refuses to speak to anyone. Furthermore, while I don''t know who leaked the news, the entire Perennial World is making usation against those who are demanding that we re-start the war with Aeternus. But what can we do?"

    The old man stared at Lu Yin. "Aeternus is at war with the Sixverse Association, as well as all of humanity here in the Fifth Maind. Each small battlefield is nothing more than a single part of the whole, but if any one of us loses, it will cause total defeat for all.

    "When Aeternus attacked you, the Perennial World stepped forward to resist the majority of their forces, which allowed you the chance to catch your breath. Later, Undying God''s interference led to the rear battlefield being destabilized, and then you opened the passage to the Starfall Sea in order to take some of the pressure off of the rear battlefield. If not for those moments of assistance, how could we ever have held back Aeternus?

    "While I hate to admit it, Aeternus was repelled partially because of the Sixverse Association. They were the ones who maintained the pressure on Aeternus."

    Lu Yin looked up. "They didn¡¯t do that for us, but for themselves. Aeternus is fighting a war that spans every single universe that makes up the Sixverse Association. When the Seven Skygods were drawn here to the Fifth Maind, the Sixverse Association seized that opportunity to reim lost territory. We helped them, not the other way around. Even in normal circumstances, the Sixverse Association and Aeternus would have established a stalemate, so why are they insisting that we restart the war here? It''s simply because they want to keep the territory that they reimed and gain a strategic advantage. They want to minimize their own sacrifices.

    "If they refuse to sacrifice anything, we will end up being the ones to suffer. The Fifth Maind has finally attained peace, yet now we¡¯re being forced to take the war back up, just for the Sixverse Association. Senior, can you me people for cursing you?"

    Progenitor Long shot to his feet with a bang. He openly expressed his rage as he red at Lu Yin. "Ridiculous! All you are doing is spouting spections! You have taken the lead in the war multiple times in the past, so how can you not understand the importance of seeing the bigger picture? You should already realize that this is far beyond the gains or losses of a single city or even a region. You refuse to step back into the war because the Cyclic Universe banished your Lu family! You¡¯re after revenge!"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "I will get revenge, but not this way."

    Progenitor Long''s tone turned grave, "Lu Yin, if the Sixverse Association suffers a terrible defeat, Aeternus will then be able to focus their full strength on us. We won''t be able to endure that. What we need right now is bnce."

    "There is no such thing as bnce," Lu Yin coldly retorted. "All that there is is a cmity being pushed upon us so that people can watch others die without saving them."

    Lu Yin had overheard a conversation between Xu Xiangyin and the other Semi-Progenitor level experts who oversaw the Sixverse Academy. Lu Yin had learned of the Sixverse Association''s attitude regarding the Origin Universe. On top of that, he had also learned the true motivations behind the Lu family''s banishment from Bai Qian.

    From the Sixverse Association''s perspective, the Origin Universe was the one responsible for allowing Aeternus to grow in power. The association¡¯s universes did not care about the Origin Universe''s development or how many people from that universe died. All that the Sixverse Association was concerned with was the resources and territories they had managed to retake, such as the Cloudflow and Singrity Universes. All of that was entirely thanks to the majority of the Seven Skygods descending upon the Perennial World. However, for the parallel universe to retain those territories, they needed to push the fight with Aeternus back onto the Origin Universe.

    This was not about bncing the overall battlefield of humanity¡¯s war against Aeternus, but about ensuring that the Origin Universe received its punishment and carried the weight of the war.

    The Heavens Sect had been arrogant in the past and had ignored Aeternus, which had led to Aeternus bing a monster of an organization. As far as the Sixverse Association was concerned, the Heavens Sect was responsible for Aeternus rising to power, but that responsibility should have vanished when the Heavens Sect had copsed and the six Mainds were destroyed. Instead, the Lu family had been forced to bear the burden of me. With the family¡¯s exile, everything that had happened before should have been moved to the past and the Fifth Maind should have lost any association of guilt.

    Clearly, the Sixverse Association did not agree with that mindset. They instead wanted to see the Origin Universe spend an eternity paying for ancient sins. This was also why the Perennial World was not allowed to join the Sixverse Association. The association would never ept the Origin Universe. Lu Yin even believed that if Aeternus waspletely eradicated, the Sixverse Association would next direct their wrath to none other than the Origin Universe. After all, the Sixverse Association had never stopped monitoring the Origin Universe.

    Progenitor Long sat back down. "Lu Yin, I thought you to be someone who considers the entire situation. I didn''t expect you would be blinded by hatred."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned cold. "If I were blinded by hatred, you wouldn''t leave here today."

    Progenitor Long and Lu Yin locked eyes. "We will exin things to Sage Yuan. I hope you don''te to regret your decision. The Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages are not the same as our four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re actually threatening your own people with outsiders. How sad."

    "When ites to dealing with Aeternus, all humans are our people." Progenitor Long stood back up and prepared to leave.

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. "Progenitor Long... "

    Progenitor Long paused and looked back at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at him. "You are the ones who managed to force Aeternus out of the universe, so why can''t the members of the Sixverse Association do the same? With how long you¡¯ve lived, you really should use your brain a bit."

    Progenitor Long''s eyes looked back, and he stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before leaving.

    Once Progenitor Long was gone, Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, "If the Sixverse Association really is facing such an unfavorable situation, perhaps helping them by sharing the burden of war is the only way."

    Lu Yin sneered. "That¡¯s just what they¡¯re hoping for. I''ve visited the Arboreal Realm and the Voidforce Universe. Every one of the universes that make up the Sixverse Association is protected by powerful Progenitors. They just don''t want to suffer too badly."

    He then made calls to both Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke. "We¡¯ll wait until everyone gets here before continuing this discussion. After this little trip, things have be much clearer."

    The following day, Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke arrived together. Lu Yin then proceeded to share the ounts of his visit to the Sixverse Association.

    Progenitor Smoke was surprised to learn that Lu Yin¡¯s seclusion had actually been a facade so that he could enter the Sixverse Association.

    All three of the Progenitors were taken aback by what Lu Yin shared about the different cultivation methods used by the members of the Sixverse Association.

    The Transcendent Universe¡¯s energy converters and Bestowal Art, the innate gift provided by the Arboreal Realm¡¯s wood transformation, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s voidforce puppets, and the Lost n''s cards. Even more terrifying than everything else was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s ability to raise up cultivators to perpetually maintain their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. The Progenitors felt their eyes opening to an entire new world.

    "So, you''re saying that as long as they have ess to enough energy, they can create an unlimited number of these ck energy converters?" Progenitor Smoke eximed.

    Lu Yin replied, "You could say that. There¡¯s no way the requirements for creating a ck energy converter is anything other than shockingly high, or else the entire Transcendent Universe would have been flooded with such energy converters long ago."

    "Just that is already terrifying enough. They are able to grant people the power to change the universe when they wish," Progenitor Smoke continued.

    Mu Xie also spoke up, "Can the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages really be inherited?"

    Lu Yin nodded solemnly, "Yes, they can. I don¡¯t understand how it works, either, but the Cyclic Universe is a typical cultivation civilization, just like what we¡¯re familiar with. Gaining such power should be a step-by-step process, requiring people to first be Envoys, and then Semi-Progenitor. Bing a Progenitor can''t be easy, why can those seats be inherited?"

    Arch-Elder Zen felt quite puzzled. "Just who is this Great Sovereign? Did Sage Yuan reallypare this person to the Origin Progenitor? Can it be true?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t know the answer to that. Judging by the attitude Bai Wangyuan''s showed Sage Yuan, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages should all be quite formidable on their own. Of course, it¡¯s also possible that such an attitude was shown because the four ruling powers are wary of the Cyclic Universe, but regardless, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages are all Progenitors. There¡¯s no question about that."

    "Aside from the Three Monarchs Universe, none of the other five universes seem to be simple or straightforward. Each one has some unique characteristics." Progenitor Smoke sighed.

    Mu Xie asked, "What''s the next step of your n?"

    "Sage Yuan wants our Origin Universe to reinitiate our war against Aeternus. Are you aware of this?" Progenitor Smoke had her own question.

    Lu Yin thoughtfully replied, "We won''t start the war again. It''s not that the other universes can''t hold on, they simply don¡¯t want to suffer the pressure. They want us to take a portion of their burden so that they can instead focus on further developments. In other words, they want us to act as their shield that they can use to protect their own benefits."

    Lu Yin then shared the conversation he had overheard between Xu Xiangyin and the other academy supervisors.

    While grateful to Xu Xiangyin, the man¡¯s kindness had beenpletely premised on Lu Yin¡¯s false identity. If it was discovered that he was someone from the Origin Universe, would Xu Xiangyin maintain the same attitude?

    It was a question that Lu Yin had not considered before. From the moment he had learned the truth of the Lu family¡¯s exile from Bai Qian, Lu Yin had understood that the Sixverse Association as a whole hated the Origin Universe. It was an attitude instilled in their people from childhood, and thus the attitude towards the Origin Universe would never change. The Origin Universe would always be regarded as guilty. The rtionship between the different universes was irreconcble.

    Progenitor Smoke became furious. "That¡¯s what they said? They want us to fight against Aeternus for them while not caring if we all die?"

    Mu Xie understood something else. "This is the reason why the Perennial World hasn¡¯t been allowed to join the Sixverse Association."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "No wonder you were so determined yesterday. Do the four ruling powers not understand the Sixverse Association¡¯s attitude towards us?"

    Lu Yin replied, "They do, but they just don''t dare acknowledge it. Sage Yuan once mentioned that Xia Shenji has offered his respects to the Great Sovereign. If the Great Sovereign really is someone as powerful as the Origin Progenitor, then¡­" Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. "How does Xia Shenji regard the Great Sovereign? How does Bai Wangyuan see the Cyclic Universe? Are they still confident in their power as masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    This was a terrifying suspicion.

    Both Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie grew somber.

    Even if a person was defeated, they could not allow their will to be crushed. However, considering the attitude Sage Yuan had shown, it seemed possible that Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers had already had their wills crushed. This was far worse than merely being defeated.

 Chapter 2565 â€“ Suspicious

    Chapter 2565 ¨C Suspicious

    "I need to get deeper inside the Sixverse Association and learn more about this mysterious Great Sovereign. As for Sage Yuan, there¡¯s no need for us to worry about him. If the Sixverse Association has enough room to be able tounch an attack on us, that will only confirm my suspicions, and it will only prove that we absolutely shouldn¡¯t start fighting a war against Aeternus here again. I can promise you, the Sixverse Association is not struggling right now. If the situation ever esctes to the degree that Progenitor Long is suggesting, I know how to handle things," Lu Yin stated with earnestness.

    Progenitor Smoke gave a solemn nod before letting out a heavy sigh. "How did the Fifth Maind end up like this? If the Lu family were still here, we wouldn''t be forced to cower before some Cyclic Universe. Who would dare stand up to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at our peak? Xia Shang would probably have charged into the Cyclic Universe all on his own to challenge the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin agreed, though he also felt that Progenitor Chen would not have been the only one to make such a move. Neither Progenitor Ku nor the Rune Progenitor had been people who would have been afraid of the Great Sovereign, either. Progenitor Ku had left on his own to invade Aeternus''s territory, unintimidated by even True God. Furthermore, there had also been Progenitor Hui''s foresight and schemes that had led to the eventual copse of the Sixth Maind. If such abilities had been applied to the Cyclic Universe instead, it was likely that the Sixverse Association would not even exist in the current era.

    There were times that human wisdom could ovee pure power.

    The Lu family had only been banished after all of the powerful individuals had already disappeared. If they had still been present, even the Cyclic Universe joining forces with the four ruling powers would not have been enough to exile the Lu family. They would not have been able to handle the Fifth Maind at all.

    "Oh, by the way, Xia Shenji might being back," Lu Yin mentioned.

    With that, Progenitor Smoke left. She refused to be involved in the matter. Her stance had always been very clear; she was willing to help fight Aeternus, but would not intervene in the conflict between Lu Yin and the four ruling powers.

    "How could Xia Shenji possibly return? The Sealing Path is still intact," Arch-Elder Zen asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin then shared all that he had learned in the Three Monarchs Universe. "Truthfully, there¡¯s no way for us to be sure whether or not Xia Shenji has already returned. He used the passageway on Shenwu Continent to get to the Three Monarchs Universe, but before that, the three Monarchs did not know that Gu Yue was someone from the Origin Universe. They should have learned the truth after Xia Shenji showed up in their universe, and if they already have the spatial coordinates for here, Xia Shenji is able to return whenever. Even if they don¡¯t, they must have other means for getting back here, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m most concerned about.

    "If Xia Shenji reaches an agreement with the three Monarchs, we¡¯ll be stuck in a moreplicated situation than if we were just dealing with the Cyclic Universe. This is also one of the reasons I¡¯m convinced that the Sixverse Association isn¡¯t really facing any real crisis in the war against Aeternus.

    "If the three Monarchs are too being pressured by the war against Aeternus, how could they possibly find any time to strike a deal with Xia Shenji and work against us ?

    "The most important thing for now is to confirm Xia Shenji''s location. If he returns, Shenwu Continent will be in danger."

    Arch-Elder Zen immediately left to return to Shenwu Continent.

    Mu Xie also left. He intended to investigate the four ruling powers to learn if Xia Shenji had already returned.

    Lu Yin decided to not visit the Perennial World for the time being. It was guaranteed that Bai Wangyuan and his allies would target Lu Yin, which would prevent him from aplishing anything there.

    Instead, he sought out Wang Wen. Someone who could think on their feet like Wang Wen was better suited for the situation Lu Yin currently faced.

    After a great deal of deliberation, Wang Wen finally offered his advice, "Go back to the Three Monarchs Universe and find that olddy Mu. Get her to tell you why the Mu family is so eager to get rid of the Fenglei n right now, as well as who gave that order. The answer to this is very important."

    Confusion flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes. "The Mu family¡¯s going after the Fenglei n because Luo Zang is trying to target Luo Lao''er."

    Wang Wen shook his head. "You¡¯re thoughts have been swayed by what you¡¯ve heard from Luo Lao''er. Regardless of whatever Luo Zang might do to him, no matter how high Monarch Mu''s status might be, the Mu family shouldn''t be kicking up such a massive fuss. The fact that they¡¯ve even brought the Mo Courtyard into things is a big deal, as it¡¯s an open insult to Monarch Luo. I might not know much about the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s culture, so maybe family ties aren¡¯t so important there, but under normal circumstances, even if the Mu family intends to deal with the Fenglei n, they shouldn''t be in such a rush.

    "The Fenglei n has been the most powerful family in the Lower King Domain and controls impressively vast territories and resources. Something about this seems extremely suspicious."

    The very same day, Lu Yin returned to the Three Monarchs Universe by using the coordinate seal he had essed, and he secretly met with the olddy from the Mu family.

    The silver-haired woman stared nkly at Lu Yin. It had only been a few days since they had met, so why was this man back already?

    "Didn''t you tell Monarch Mu?" Killing intent overflowed from Lu Yin''s eyes.

    The old woman grew terrified. "No! Absolutely not."

    Lu Yin asked, "Why is your family going after the Fenglei n?"

    The question startled the olddy; could this young man be connected to the Fenglei n?

    A cold light flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes. "Speak."

    The old woman ducked her head. "Monarch Mu ordered us to destroy the Fenglei n as quickly as possible."

    "Luo Zang didn¡¯t give the orders?" Lu Yin started to feel uneasy. Wang Wen had been right, there was something wrong with what was happening.

    Lady Mu replied, "They did note from Luo Zang. It was a direct order from Monarch Mu herself."

    "Why would she give such orders?"

    "I don''t know. Monarch Mu merely instructed us to gather certain resources."

    "What kind of resources?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lady Mu took out a list and handed it to Lu Yin.

    It was a list of resources that included tens of thousands of different items.

    "Many of these materials can only be found in regions of the Lower King Domain that are part of the Fenglei n¡¯s territory. That''s why..." Lady Mu started to exin, but she did not even finish her sentence. Lu Yin already understood the situation. This list was the reason why the Mu family was in such a hurry to deal with the Fenglei n. The entire thing had almost nothing at all to do with Luo Lao''er.

    Wang Wen''s prediction had beenpletely urate. Lu Yin had indeed been led astray by Luo Lao''er¡¯s ount of things, and had assumed that the Mu family had been targeting Luo Lao¡¯er. However, the reality was that it was an entirely separate matter. It was simply a coincidence that the Fenglei n was in control of the resources that the Mu family needed. If another n controlled those resources, the Mu family would not have targeted the Fenglei n at all.

    No wonder the Mu family had been acting so rushed. The Mo Courtyard answered directly to the three Monarchs, so how could Monarch Luo have allowed the Mu family to use them? This was something Luo Lao''er had not been able to understand, but Lu Yin had uncovered the reason.

    Lu Yin left the olddy with a few more threats before he returned to Aeternus Nation. With the help of his senior brother Qing Ping, Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind.

    Upon hearing the details, Wang Wen said, "Xia Shenji probably hasn''t returned. The Three Monarchs Universe isn''t able to send him straight back here, and instead, they need another universe¡¯s help. They¡¯ve made an agreement with that universe, and the conditions for their assistance is that list of resources. If it was simply to deal with Luo Lao''er, the Mu family wouldn''t be nearly so desperate. If I were in their shoes, I¡¯d much rather take my time and torture the Fenglei n and Luo Zang, rather than settle things in one go.

    "The Mu family is acting too hastily."

    Lu Yin replied, "While this is all just spection, it makes a lot of sense."

    Wang Wen smiled. "True, it is just spection. Unless we actually see Xia Shenji again, it''s going to be difficult to confirm our suspicions. Still, I''m ny percent certain that this is urate, and I also now know what Xia Shenji will do first when he gets back."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Find his clone?"

    Wang Wen nodded with a smile. "He¡¯lle back in secret, find his clone, and then attack Shenwu Continent so that he can cooperate with the three Monarchs to attack the Fifth Maind. Once that happens, the four ruling powers will join them, and we won''t have the strength to stand up to all of them."

    Lu Yin had a headache. "Did I dig myself into a hole?"

    Wang Wen replied, "If you didn''t dig this hole, how would you have dealt with Nutjob Lu? Things would have beenpletely different if Xia Shenji had been around as well. All I can tell you is that there are pros and cons to the decision you made, and we can make up for things now. Besides, we knew almost nothing about the Sixverse Association back then."

    "Are you saying we should get rid of the listed resources?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen looked up. "We need to muddy the waters. Our advantage is the fact that no one knows we''ve already made a move. We¡¯re hidden in the shadows, and an enemy lurking in the dark is usually the most terrifying. Also, Dao Monarch, you have an alias known as Xuan Qi. You should take advantage of that."

    Lu Yin also still felt that his identity as Xuan Qi carried value, but the fact that he had been captured by Tu Shuangshuang might make some problems for that identity in the future. Fortunately, he had thrown Shao Qingfeng and the other students into various parallel universes, and from there, all of them should have returned to their home universes.

    "How has Wei Rong been doing recently? What¡¯s he been up to?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen''s expression grew a bit awkward at the mention of Wei Rong. "He¡¯s now a son-inw of the Wang family."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "He¡¯s the Wang family''s son-inw?"

    Wang Wen smiled and nodded. "That¡¯s right. I know it''s hard to believe, but he actually managed to use his looks to seduce some woman who¡¯s from a branch of the Wang family. He married into the Wang family. We¡¯ve also been helping to keep his identity hidden, even if he did just marry into a low-ranking branch of the Wang family. Not many people took note of the marriage, though he did tell me to pass a message on to you."

    Wang Wen paused before continuing, "He¡¯s going to give you a surprise."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. A surprise? He had been rather curious about the Wang family for some time. There was their Yellow Springs, Wang Fan, and Specter Abyss¡¯s Specter Progenitor, who was actually Wang Fan''s shadow clone. Of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, if Progenitor Hui was regarded as the smartest, Wang Fan had to be the most well hidden. Not even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had been able to see through Wang Fan.

    It was a bad idea to have someone infiltrate the Wang family.

    "By the way, Wei Rong was the one who started spreading the news about the four ruling powers wanting to restart the war with Aeternus," Wang Wen added.

    Lu Yin said, "Don''t let that happen again. Such small matters aren¡¯t very impactful, and they can easily get us exposed. If you want to surprise me, then keep things better hidden. Something like this isn''t enough to surprise me."

    "I understand"

    Lu Yin and Wang Wen spoke at length before Lu Yin made his way back to the Three Monarchs Universe and to the Fenglei n.

    There were already many rumors circting regarding the Fenglei n, and Patriarch Fenglei Guanqin had been trying to find a way to get Luo Lao''er out of the Three Monarchs Universe. However, the patriarch had no idea that the Mu family was not actually targeting Luo Lao''er and that their goal was the resources that could be found in the Lower King Domain.

    When Lu Yin returned, he did not see Luo Lao''er, but by releasing his domain, he discovered that Luo Lao''er and Fenglei Guanqin were discussing whether or not to leave their universe.

    Luo Lao''er was certain that Luo Zang and the Mu residence would not let the Fenglei n go. Fenglei Guanqin was worried about the fact that they had nowhere to go. The n¡¯s strength waspletely inadequate to try to conquer a parallel universe. In fact, all they could rely on was pure luck. If their luck was bad and they entered an inhospitable universe, the entire n could be instantly wiped out. The truth was that the possibility of that happening was quite high.

    As long as cultivators in any universe reached the strength of an Enlighter, they would be able to tear through the void, which would also allow them the ability to travel between parallel universes. However, few people ever dared attempt such a thing, and it was precisely because of how likely it was to encounter dangerous universes.

    Out of every ten thousand universes, only one would be inhabitable by humans. This was also not even ounting for if there were any powerful creatures already inhabiting a given universe. If those universes were also taken into ount, then the chances of finding a safe parallel universe was less than one in a million.

    Only experts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors or Progenitors could be confident in trying such things.

    Xia Shenji had been confident in his strength as a Progenitor when he had entered the passage in Shenwu Continent. Without sufficient power, he would never have dared attempt such a thing.

    "If we stay here, we aren¡¯t necessarily doomed. Given Monarch Mu''s status and strength, while the Mu family might oppress our Fenglei n, they won¡¯t dare to outright exterminate us. However, if we go to a parallel universe, we face a much greater chance of beingpletely wiped out," Fenglei Guanqin said with a sigh.

 Chapter 2566 â€“ True Motive

    Chapter 2566 ¨C True Motive

    Luo Lao''er urged, "Uncle, you must believe me. Luo Zang will never let the Fenglei n go, and neither will Monarch Mu."

    Fenglei Guanqin solemnly replied, "I''ve already found a way to meet with Monarch Luo. As long as I can speak to him, I''m confident that the Fenglei n will be safe. At worst, I''ll sacrifice our businesses. Besides, didn¡¯t you tell me that Luo Zang was also captured by Tu Shuangshuang? Just because you''re fine doesn''t mean that he is as well."

    Luo Lao''er fell silent. This was true. It was indeed possible that Tu Shuangshuang had killed Luo Zang. After all, Luo Zang''s status was quite different from Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s.

    Lu Yin pulled his domain back. The Fenglei n had not yet reached the point of true desperation. The n that he had discussed with Wang Wen could only be initiated once the Fenglei n was close to abandoning hope, so Lu Yin needed to wait a little longer.

    If Wang Wen''s spections were urate, then Monarch Mu was pushing this hard because she wanted to reach an agreement with another universe and send Xia Shenji back to his own universe. It would not take too long to collect the resources that were required for that deal. Thus, the Mu family would likely be taking action again soon.

    Lu Yin could technically choose to get involved by disguising himself as someone from the Mu family and suppressing the Fenglei n himself, or he could even force the olddy from the Mu family to take action. However, Lu Yin was so confident in Monarch Mu¡¯s impatience regarding the matter that he decided to not do anything yet. The less he did, the less likely he was to be exposed.

    Since he had some free time on his hands, Lu Yin decided to examine the calligraphy scroll that he had acquired. He still found it quite surprising that he hade across the Fifth Maind¡¯s ancient writing in the Sixverse Academy.

    At the same time, in a ce where the sky was gold, and thend, clouds, rivers, and seas were all bathed in a golden light that gave the ce an unparalleled majesty, people in golden robes `were somberly focused on their cultivation. No one was speaking to anyone else.

    A different sky swiftly passed by, like a silhouette of time. It swept across the golden sky to cast a dark shadow over thend.

    All of the people quickly looked up. ¡°We greet Sovereign Shao Yin.¡±

    "We greet Sovereign Shao Yin."

    "We greet Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Countless voices rang out as a formidable power erupted from every corner of thend.

    Countless people looked to the sky, their gazes fervent, as though gazing upon their god.

    Suddenly, the world froze. In the middle of the sky, the void twisted and spat out a figure that fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

    The person was also dressed in golden robes, though they looked disheveled and worn out. The person was none other than Shao Qingfeng.

    "Where have you returned from?" a voice echoed from the sky like a drum at dusk and bells at dawn. Shao Qingfeng instantly awakened.

    There was no hesitation as he dropped to his knees. "I was in a small universe called Kes. There are no humans there, though it is filled with astral beasts."

    "Return to the Sixverse Academy. Your time there is still unfinished," the resounding voice reverberated.

    Shao Qingfeng looked up. "Honored Master, is there anything unusual about this disciple?"

    "No."

    Shao Qingfeng was left confused. Why had nothing happened to him after he was captured by Tu Shuangshuang?

    "One of Sage Hua''s disciples has revealed themselves as a spy. I have reported this matter to the Great Sovereign, and Sage Hua will be forced to pay a price. As for you, someone intervened in your capture, preventing that spy from delivering you to Aeternus."

    Shao Qingfeng felt even more confused. "Then why did this disciple appear in the Kes Universe? Who intervened?"

    "We have yet to determine that person''s identity. Everyone who was captured appeared in different parallel universes. I believe that the person who prevented your capture does not want Aeternus to seed, but they also do not wish to aid our Sixverse Academy. Whether all of you lived or died was left to luck."

    Shao Qingfeng''s eyes flickered. "Honored Master, may I ask who else has returned?"

    "Return to the Sixverse Academy. The Voidforce Universe is preparing an interesting trial for you. Prepare yourself for that."

    With that, Shao Qingfeng disappeared.

    When his eyes opened again, he looked around only to find that he had already been delivered to the Singrity Universe.

    Shao Qingfeng soon confirmed that Mu Mu, Luo Zang, and Jiang Xiaodao had all returned, but more than half of the captured students were still missing. Of the missing people, Bai Qian and Xuan Qi were the most famous ones. One held an important status in the Transcendent Universe, while the other was a genius who was being pursued by both the Voidforce Universe and the Cyclic Universe. The absence of the two left both the Transcendent Universe and the Voidforce Universe very nervous.

    Ever since the students had disappeared, various theories and spections had arisen within the Sixverse Academy. Some people had suggested that Aeternus had been targeting Bai Qian due to her status in the Transcendent Universe, while others believed that the kidnapping was merely the beginning of Aeternus''s attack on the Sixverse Academy. There was even some spection that the true target had been Xuan Qi, due to his extraordinary talent.

    Rumors were already running wild.

    Even so, it had already been confirmed that Shao Qingfeng and the others who had returned had no problems.

    As for the identity of whoever had thwarted Tu Shuangshuang''s n and thrown Shao Qingfeng and the others into the various universes, the guesses were even wilder. Some students had evenpiled a list of powerhouses who were at odds with the Sixverse Association, while also enemies of Aeternus.

    Xu Xiangyin and the other universes¡¯ representatives in the academy believed this to be the case as well, and they left to investigate the matter. The Transcendent Universe was also looking into the situation.

    While not many people had been captured, their disappearance had a significant impact on the Sixverse Academy.

    ¡­

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin stared at the calligraphy scroll with an odd expression.

    When the scroll had been introduced during the auction, the auctioneer had imed that everyone would see something different. Some could see battle techniques, while others might see cultivation arts or even strange phenomena.

    As for Lu Yin, at the moment, he was staring at a secret technique.

    The secret technique before him was called ming Ink, and the concept behind it likened life to ink. Once ignited, the power contained was inexhaustible.

    In''t this Progenitor Wen''s secret technique?

    Lu Yin startled to find Progenitor Wen''s secret technique on the calligraphy scroll. Progenitor Wen had been born in the Perennial World, and he had also founded Virtue Archives. The man had even been an Array Grandmaster. Did the calligraphy scroll belong to him?

    Lu Yin found that hard to believe. How could the great Progenitor Wen''s handwriting be so hideous?

    The characters on the scroll were nothing more than scribbles. Even a toddler''s handwriting would be more attractive than what had been left behind on the scroll. How could Progenitor Wen have written the scroll?

    Still, as Lu Yin stared at the scroll, he could not deny that this was Progenitor Wen''s secret technique.

    Lu Yin studied the scroll for two days, but even after that time, Luo Lao''er still had not sought him out.

    During this time, not only did Lu Yin see the ming Ink Secret Technique in the calligraphy scroll, but he also saw Literary Prison and the Sevenfold Literary Prison, which were battle techniques that he had previously seen Wen Diyi use. Everything that Lu Yin saw in the scroll was from Progenitor Wen.

    Given this, the scroll must have been left behind by Progenitor Wen, but the man had died in the Perennial World¡¯s Dominion Realm, killed while fighting against Aeternus. How had his calligraphy scroll ended up in the Sixverse Academy?

    A moment of inspiration urred to Lu Yin, and he released Tu Shuangshuang from Zenith Mountain.

    He had not killed the woman. Since she had a connection to Aeternus¡¯s mysterious Cheng Kong, she was more useful alive.

    Moreover, he was very interested in the Bubble Fantasies battle technique. This was not because Lu Yin wanted to learn the technique, but rather because he wanted to understand how it worked through Tu Shuangshuang. After all, Lu Yin would likely eventually face Cheng Kong at some point in the future, so it was best to be prepared.

    Tu Shuangshuang looked around before her gaze settled upon Lu Yin. "What do you want?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand and unfurled the calligraphy scroll.

    The young woman¡¯s pupils contracted when she looked at the scroll. "You have it?"

    Lu Yin put the scroll back away. "It appears that my assumption was right¡ªthe scroll came from you. You received it from Aeternus, didn¡¯t you?"

    Tu Shuangshuang became confused. "How did you know that?"

    "Didn''t you use that scroll to plot against us?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tu Shuangshuang stared at Lu Yin. "What do you know?"

    Suddenly, her eyes grew cold. "You nned all of this. Since you already knew that the scroll came from Aeternus, you put it up for auction to draw me out. All of this was your doing!"

    Lu Yin finally understood what had happened.

    The fact was that Tu Shuangshuang''s n to capture the students was not actually Cheng Kong''s n. Lu Yin had been wondering about this before. Why would Cheng Kong, a powerful Progenitor, plot against mere students? Even if Shao Qingfeng and the others were disciples or rtives of Progenitors, they were still not worth Cheng Kong''s attention. If Bai Qian had been the target, then Lu Yin could believe it, as Bai Qian held a very high position in the Transcendent dimension. However, it was quite clear that Bai Qian¡¯s appearance had been a surprise for Tu Shuangshuang.

    In that case, why had Tu Shuangshuangid out a trap for the students of the Sixverse Academy?

    It was only after Lu Yin saw the calligraphy scroll that he understood; Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s target had been the calligraphy scroll, or more specifically, Jiang Xiaodao.

    The scroll was incredibly important to Tu Shuangshuang. Not only did it contain a Progenitor¡¯s secret technique, but it could also be used to expose her as one of Aeternus¡¯s spies. As soon as Jiang Xiaodao had bought the scroll at the previous secret auction, he had be Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s target, and the only way for her to capture him in the Sixverse Academy was during another secret auction.

    Still, there was something that did not add up. During the auction where the scroll had been sold, Tu Shuangshuang had also auctioned off a subhuman woman. The subhuman had been used as a ploy to promote the next secret auction, which Tu Shuangshuang intended to use to capture all who attended. During that earlier auction, the woman should not have known that the scroll would be sold, as she would have simply taken it before the auction. Why had she allowed it to be sold?

    "Why was the scroll sold at the secret auction?" Lu Yin stared at Tu Shuangshuang and asked.

    Tu Shuangshuang angrily shouted, "Didn''t you steal it?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Steal it?"

    Tu Shuangshuang frowned. "It wasn''t you?"

    "What happened?" Lu Yin grew increasingly curious.

    Tu Shuangshuang stared at Lu Yin, thoroughly confused. After some time passed, she bitterly said, "If it wasn''t you, then I am truly just unlucky."

    She hid nothing. She had already been captured, and there was no hope of escape.

    From Tu Shuangshuang, Lu Yin was able to confirm what had previously just been spection. Cheng Kong''s true n had been to capture at least half of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students through a massive secret auction, not merely Shao Qingfeng and a few other of the best geniuses. However, because Xu Xiangyin had opened the Voidchaos Territory early, Cheng Kong''s attention had been diverted from the original n. It had been decided to abandon the Sixverse Academy and shift focus to let Yi Ren steal as many voidforce puppets from the Voidchaos Territory as possible.

    Tu Shuangshuang had only taken action because of the calligraphy scroll.

    The scroll could potentially expose her as one of Aeternus¡¯s spies, and it had been stolen. Because of that, she had spent some time pretending to be in seclusion, but she had secretly been trying to gather information about the scroll.

    Only after discovering the location of the scroll during the secret auction had Tu Shuangshuang learned that Cheng Kong was still scheming against the Sixverse Academy. She had thought that she could create an opportunity to retrieve the scroll, but she had not realized that Cheng Kong had abandoned the original n in favor of the Voidchaos Territory. She had been left with no choice but to take matters into her own hands. At first, things had gone quite well for her. In fact, if not for Lu Yin¡¯s interference, the scroll would have been recovered, and all of the top students like Shao Qingfeng would have been captured. While there would have been some setbacks, she would have also aplished something impressive.

    Lu Yin sighed. "You truly are unlucky."

    Tu Shuangshuang sighed as well, fully agreeing with the sentiment.

    "Now, tell me about Cheng Kong," Lu Yin asked.

    Tu Shuangshuang regained herposure. "Just kill me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    "I would sooner die than reveal my Master''s n," Tu Shuangshuang resolutely dered.

    Lu Yin did not bother trying to continue the conversation, and he instead threw the woman back into Zenith Mountain. He could tell that she was determined not to reveal anything at all about Cheng Kong, just like how Xia Ji had once vowed not to teach Lu Yin the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Xia Ji had eventually caved, but by that point in time, Lu Yin had no longer needed anything from the man.

    Lu Yin already believed that Tu Shuangshuang would suffer a fate simr to Xia Ji¡¯s.

 Chapter 2567 â€“ Karmic Cause and Effect

    Chapter 2567 ¨C Karmic Cause and Effect

    After Lu Yin reimprisoned Tu Shuangshuang in Zenith Mountain, the next person that he brought out was Seruzen.

    It was time to chat with his old friend.

    Seruzen stepped forward, his eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "You are Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin was rather surprised to hear thement, given that he was still maintaining Xuan Qi¡¯s appearance. While he had intended to have their conversation after revealing his identity, Seruzen had exposed him before he could. "When did you know it was me?"

    "The first time we met in Cliff Town," Seruzen said.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Cliff Town? You recognized me all the way back then?"

    Seruzen calmly replied, "I consider myself to be determined, but I am still human in the end, and all humans have weaknesses. I still wish to return to Earth, the ce where I first set foot onto the path of cultivation. I long for the water and the people of my hometown. I''ve thought back to that ce countless times, so naturally, I have a deep impression of you."

    "After so many years, I¡¯m surprised that you even still remember me." Lu Yinughed and returned to his normal appearance.

    Seruzen poignantly replied, "We''re fellow countrymen."

    The words triggered an inexplicable warmth in Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    "Why didn''t you tell me in the Lost n School that you recognized me?" Lu Yin wondered.

    "That situation was rather special, and I didn''t have true freedom."

    "Has someone been restricting you?" Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed.

    Seruzen shook his head. "Not exactly restricting me, but rather assessing me. It¡¯s because I left my name in the Arboric Scripture."

    "The Arboric Scripture?"

    "The Arboreal Realm¡¯s supreme scripture that was created by the Arboreal Overlord. Anyone whose name is recorded in the Arboric Scripture has a chance of being epted as the Arboreal Overlord''s disciple. Every word I speak and action that I take is being monitored."

    "Mu Sanye?"

    Seruzen shook his head. "While that is possible, I¡¯m not necessarily being monitored by someone from the Arboreal Realm. The Sixverse Association can be regarded a single entity."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "It should be Zhi Bing."

    "That¡¯s indeed possible," Seruzen replied.

    Lu Yin understood. It was possible that Seruzen had been continuously monitored by the representative of whatever school he attended in the Sixverse Academy. When Tu Shuangshuang had attacked the students, Shi Jiao seemed to have been the first to arrive, but Zhi Bing had not been any slower. In fact, he had actually arrived earlier, but had remained hidden in the void. The reason for his quick reaction might have been rted to monitoring Seruzen.

    "What kind of innate gift did you pick up that made the Arboreal Realm see you as so important?" Lu Yin''s curiosity was genuine. He had asked Seruzen the same question before, but the man had never been willing to share.

    Seruzen raised a hand, and a murky light emerged from Lu Yin''s body to gather over the other man¡¯s palm.

    Lu Yin watched in astonishment. He could not feel that anything was missing from within him. What was the meaning of this murky light?

    "Jenny Auna, do you feel guilt towards her?" Seruzen asked as he scrutinized the murky light in his palm.

    Lu Yin''s features twisted as a certain face appeared in his mind. The woman in his mind was staring at him with lifeless eyes that were filled with sorrow and loneliness. He suddenly found it hard to breathe. "You¡­?"

    Seruzen waved his hand, which dispersed the murky light. "The innate gift that I obtained is called Karmic Fruit. From birth until death, everyone will feel guilt towards specific people or regarding certain events. No one can live a life free of guilt, as even children feel it. It is truly unavoidable. This guilt, or perhaps the feeling of having sinned, is the fruit of Karma they have sown. I can extract the Karma and return an equivalent amount of damage to anyone that I target."

    The exnation triggered a storm in Lu Yin''s mind. Such an innate gift actually existed? How was that even possible? This defied all belief.

    Seruzen¡¯s eyes remained locked onto Lu Yin, and he saw the astonishment in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "When I obtained my innate gift, I also felt that it was unimaginable. Still, the megaverse is a wondrous ce, and such things truly do exist. After obtaining this innate gift, I have started to think that the reality we know is a quantifiable existence. Whether it''s power levels, behavioral predictions, emotions, past events, or even virtue and sin, everything can be measured. Anyone, any organism, nt, animal, or inanimate object, can be measured, or rather, designed.¡±

    "Everything that you have ever experienced will be recorded on some sort of unseen, higher level. And I, by chance, am able to see that record."

    Lu Yin''s pupils flickered. Seruzen¡¯s innate gift defied belief, but for that matter, so did Lu Yin¡¯s die. Even the Champions'' Stage and the Investiture of the Gods were incredible powers that defied any sort of logic. Just as Seruzen had said, everything in existence could be quantified, which meant that everything could be recorded. In that case, who or what was doing the recording? Was it the megaverse itself? Or was it some higher-order existence beyond anything that was known?

    Was the direction of human history somehow predetermined? After all, that should be even easier to weigh and measure than something like sin and guilt.

    "No wonder you were able to leave your name in the Arboric Scripture, and it¡¯s no wonder why Mu Mu is so worried about you," Lu Yin eximed.

    This secret that Seruzen had revealed without hesitation was no less important than Lu Yin''s die. To be able to observe and read a person¡¯s guilt was little different from reading their memories. This was a truly terrifying innate gift.

    "Aren''t you afraid that I¡¯ll do something to you?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Seruzen responded with a slight smile. He rarely smiled, and when he did, it was a very disturbing sight. "There are certain matters that are destined, and it is impossible to escape them."

    Lu Yin found this a strange reaction. Was that really how things were? He stared at Seruzen and his withered arm that was held up high. This man¡¯s thoughts were quite strange. If Lu Yin had exposed his die soon after he had started cultivating, he would have never survived for so long. Could that be regarded as destiny? No wonder Seruzen had managed to obtain such a unique innate gift; he himself was extremely peculiar.

    "I can see that you have a great deal more guilt and remorse in your heart. Do you need to remember them?" Seruzen offered.

    Lu Yin stepped back. "There¡¯s no need for that."

    He did feel guilty about many things. Once, he had forced Destina to conduct a divination for him, and that had led to many, many people being sacrificed to keep Destina alive during the process. That was just one of many sins that Lu Yin had to bear.

    Countless people had been sacrificed for him to reach his current position.

    The same was also true for Progenitor Hui. In order to get revenge against the Sixth Maind, he had allowed Aeternus to upy the Maind. In that situation as well, the ones who had suffered the greatest were the ordinary humans. The people with cultivation and power had been the first to escape and seek refuge in the Fifth Maind.

    No one could live a life without guilt.

    Seruzen soon returned to Zenith Mountain. He was not a native of the Arboreal Realm, so if he was tossed into a random universe, he would not be able to find his way back to the Arboreal Realm. Because he had left his name in the Arboric Scripture, such an event was all too rare. Lu Yin knew that he needed to find a way to get Seruzen back as well.

    Lu Yin emerged from the courtyard that he had been given, and the moment he did so, Luo Lao''er immediately approached him. "Brother-inw, why didn''t youe out for so many days? Don''t tell me that you were in seclusion. If that was the case, it wouldn¡¯t have been so short."

    "I had an epiphany," Lu Yin replied.

    Luo Lao''er was equal parts bbergasted and envious. An epiphany would lead to a drastic improvement in strength.

    "What¡¯s going on? Are we heading to the Transcendent Universe now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Soon. My uncle has already gotten in touch with an expert from the Transcendent Universe who¡¯s currently living in our Three Monarchs Universe. When it¡¯s time, that expert will take us back."

    "Is he reliable?" Lu Yin looked uneasy.

    Luo Lao''er¡¯s voice dropped low. "He should be."

    "One wrong move will cost us everything. I don''t want to die because of you," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    Luo Lao''er pursed his lips. "I don''t want to die either."

    After several more days, Luo Lao''er returned to speak with Lu Yin, this time with an extremely upset expression on his face. "We can''t go now. The expert from the Transcendent Universe who was supposed to take us has already left. My uncle looked into it and learned that the Mu n spoke with him. It wouldn¡¯t have been safe."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "So how much longer do we need to wait?"

    "Don''t worry, we¡¯ll definitely get back there," Luo Lao''er said, though without much confidence.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Is your uncle going to be able to keep the fact that he contacted someone from the Transcendent Universe hidden?"

    Luo Lao''er''s expression grew even worse.

    Since the Mu family was targeting the Fenglei n, every move that the n made was undoubtedly being watched.

    "The Mu family probably already knows you''ve returned," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Lao''er''s turned pale, and he raced away to find Fenglei Guanqin.

    At the same time, the old woman from the Mu family had a grim expression on her face as well. She had just received another reminder from Monarch Mu to deal with the Fenglei n and obtain the necessary resources as quickly as possible.

    The task had seemed very straightforward at first, but then, a powerful expert had suddenly appeared, who possibly had ties to the Fenglei n. If the Mu family attacked again, would that person appear to help the Fenglei n? The old woman considered just fleeing in order to escape any potentialplications, but she was restrained by the Death Seal that had been left inside her body. Escape was impossible.

    Monarch Mu continued to put greater and greater pressure on her family, and she had even sent three experts from the Mo Courtyard to assist her. The old woman was no longer able to stall.

    That very night, three Demi-Monarchs attacked the Fenglei n, and a fierce battle between them and Fenglei Guanqin erupted.

    How could Fenglei Guanqin hope to stand up to attacks from three Demi-Monarchs? He had barely held his own against two.

    "Today is the day that your Fenglei n will be wiped out!" one of the attackers roared. Fenglei Guanqin watched as monarch essence filled the air and took on the form of an enormous de. As the de fell, Fenglei Guanqin''s eyes went wide from fear. No one could survive this attack.

    "Stop!" the n patriarch howled.

    The olddy from the Mu family approached from the distance, carefully observing everything. Was that expert going to appear again?

    Suddenly, the massive de stopped falling. The silver-haired woman¡¯s eyes grewrge. There was a line stopping the de. No, was that one side of a set of scales?

    A set of scales took form beneath the de, forcing back the attack¡¯s killing intent. Standing on one side of the scales was a person who waspletely shrouded within pure darkness.

    The three Demi-Monarchs turned to face the mysterious dark figure, as did Fenglei Guanqin. None of them were certain who had appeared, nor why the person was helping the Fenglei n.

    "Who are you?" one of the Demi-Monarchs asked. It was his de pressing down upon the scales. He stared into the darkness.

    From within the darkness, a deep voice replied. "I am a guest of the Fenglei n."

    Everyone turned to look at Fenglei Guanqin.

    Fenglei Guanqin feltpletely confused, but this was not the time to think about such things. Instead, he just said, "I''ll leave that person to you."

    Lightning erupted as the patriarchunched a counterattack against the two Demi-Monarchs before him.

    The de-wielding Demi-Monarch snorted contemptuously. "Stop trying to act so mysteriously."

    Monarch essence spread out to shroud the de with three colors. Suddenly, the de seemed to twist and melt before it reformed into countless des that filled the entire sky. As they appeared, they fell upon the figure hidden in the darkness.

    The unknown figure raised a hand before instantly being engulfed by the falling des.

    Fenglei Guanqin''s expression changed. This was bad. The stranger had severely underestimated the experts from the Mo Courtyard. The patriarch readied himself to provide some assistance, but the scene that yed out before his eyes shocked everyone.

    The fathomless darkness spread out, quickly enveloping the Fenglei n entire grounds, including even Fenglei Guanqin and his two Demi-Monarch opponents. Everyone dropped into the darkness.

    "Skyless." A deep voice rang out in the silver-haired woman¡¯s ears. Right after that, the darkness dissipated. All three of the attacking Demi-Monarchs slowly lowered their heads, their eyes zed. Blood streamed from their bodies, staining the sky red as three figures slowly fell to the ground.

 Chapter 2568 â€“ Time To Leave

    Chapter 2568 ¨C Time To Leave

    Fenglei Guanqin''s eyes trembled. Stretching out from the depths of the darkness, an indescribable horror had seized hold of his heart. He feltpletely and utterly powerless, as though his life was no longer under his control.

    As he stared at the figure within the darkness, the patriarch¡¯s mouth started to go dry. What was this person¡¯s cultivation level? They seemed to just be a Demi-Monarch, but they were also capable of instantly defeating three peers. When had any such expert appeared in their universe?

    The silver-haired woman from the Mu family did her best to conceal her presence, terrified of being discovered.

    In the sky above the Fenglei n, Fenglei Guanqin¡¯s power swept over the three fallen Demi-Monarchs, confirming that the three people had all lost consciousness. While not dead, none of them would wake up anytime soon.

    The patriarch approached the person inside the darkness and bowed. "I don''t know who you are, but if possible, my Fenglei n will definitely repay your kindness."

    The person within the darkness descended. "Gather every member of your Fenglei n. It''s time for you to leave."

    Fenglei Guanqin asked in confusion, "Leave?"

    The dark figure calmly replied, "The Mo Courtyard has failed, which means that the next person to take action will be Monarch Mu."

    Fenglei Guanqin''s expression changed drastically. "Monarch Mu will attack us herself? How is that possible? She is a Monarch! Would she really stoop so low just because of Luo Qian?"

    Luo Qian was Luo Lao''er''s real name.

    The other members of the Fenglei n were watching from a distance, and fear filled their eyes. Luo Lao''er was no exception.

    "She will definitely take action against you, but not because of Luo Lao''er. She¡¯s moving because of the Lower King Domain." Lu Yin stepped out of the darkness as he spoke.

    While most of the members of the Fenglei n felt confused, Luo Lao''er''s mouth dropped open. Brother-inw?

    Fenglei Guanqin was equally surprised. "Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin smiled as he approached Fenglei Guanqin. "Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Lu Yin. This is my senior brother, Qing Ping. Patriarch Fenglei, time is short, so we must leave. The old woman from the Mu family has already escaped, and by now, she should have reported their failure to Monarch Mu. It¡¯s likely that Monarch Mu will soon take action."

    "What do you mean by that? Monarch Mu will attack our Fenglei n because of the Lower King Domain?" Fenglei Guanqin could not make any sense of what he was being told.

    Luo Lao''er stepped forward. "Brother-inw, what¡¯s going on?"

    Lu Yin nced around. "There''s no time to exin now. We have only this one chance. Eithere with me, or stay here to be exterminated by Monarch Mu. It''s your choice."

    ¡­

    At the same time, the silver-haired woman was indeed reporting the results of the attack to Monarch Mu. The Monarch was incredulous to hear about an unknown expert instantly defeating three Demi-Monarchs. Even Chen Le, who was known as the most powerful Demi-Monarch in the Three Monarchs Universe, could not do such a thing. While Chen Le could defeat three Demi-Monarchs, it was absolutely impossible for him to do so instantly. When had such a powerful expert arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe?

    She was reminded of Xia Shenji. Could this matter have something to do with that universe? But that had to be impossible. From the moment that Xia Shenji arrived, Monarch Xing had constantly been monitoring the passage that connected the two universes, and there were no signs of it opening.

    Could some powerful individual have arrived by ident? Or could they be someone from the Sixverse Association?

    Monarch Mu reached out to Monarch Luo after deciding that she needed to reveal her ns. She had intended to eradicate the entire Fenglei n in order to gather the necessary resources to send Xia Shenji back to his own universe. After that, they could unite the two universes while also granting the Three Monarchs Universe a backdoor in case of an emergency.

    Monarch Luo thought for a moment. "You want to abandon the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Monarch Mu responded in a gentle voice thatcked the imposing aura of a Progenitor-level expert. She seemed charming. "Neither you nor I were born in this universe. I''ve received word from Sage Yuan that the Heavens Sect in the Origin Universe has already made it clear that they will not step back into the war with Aeternus. Even if Sage Yuan forces that Lu Yin person topromise, it will most likely take a long time. After all, the Sixverse Association is already dealing with a great deal of pressure. If another one of the Seven Skygods is added to that burden, we won''t be able to endure any longer. The better choice is for us to quickly cooperate with Xia Shenji to seize control of the Origin Universe."

    "You agreed to that with Xia Shenji back then."

    "Have we received any word of Zang''er?"

    "Not yet, but Shao Qingfeng and He Shu have already returned to the academy. I believe that it will be the same for Zang''er. He is not someone destined to have a short life."

    "That''s good.¡±

    "Do you agree to wipe out the Fenglei n?" Monarch Mu continued after hearing some reassurance.

    Monarch Luo answered in a low voice, "Yes, but leave a remnant of the n''s bloodline behind. We shouldn''tpletely annihte them."

    "Understood." Monarch Mu rose to her feet and took a step forward. Her eyes glittered with a cold light that contrasted sharply with undeniable beauty. Despite the woman¡¯s appearance, there was no warmth to her at all.

    The time hade for the Fenglei n to meet their end!

    Monarch Mu raced towards the Lower King Domain as fast as possible, even risking encounters with Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses as she passed along the border. The only thought on her mind was to swiftly take care of the Fenglei n once and for all.

    However, upon arriving at the Fenglei n¡¯s home, she discovered that the entire n had vanished. She only found three Demi-Monarchs lying on the ground, still unconscious. Even worse, all of the resources that the Fenglei n had gathered and collected over the years had disappeared. Included among them were a considerable number of materials on the list that she had been given, and they were resources unique to the Lower King Domain that could not be found in any other universe. Extracting those resources was extremelyborious, which was precisely the reason why she had moved against the Fenglei n. This was a secret that not even Monarch Mu¡¯s sister had been aware of.

    However, all of those resources were now gone.

    Soon, Monarch Mu also started to receive word that many of thes that were used for mining resources had been destroyed. The Fenglei n could not have acted so quickly, which meant that the person who had instantly defeated the three Demi-Monarchs had to have done it.

    Monarch Mu was absolutely livid. Her aura swept through the Lower King Domain in a surging wave, and she ordered the entire Three Monarchs Universe to search for the Fenglei n.

    ¡­

    As for the members of the Fenglei n, they had already gathered in Aeternus Nation.

    Qing Ping had apanied Lu Yin to the Three Monarchs Universe, while Highsage Grandmaster had remained in Aeternus Nation.

    The Fenglei n members were astonished to see another Demi-Monarch-level expert meet them.

    Fenglei Guanqin suppressed his shock as he waited for Lu Yin to exin matters.

    Lu Yin provided a truthful exnation of his identity to both Fenglei Guanqin and Luo Lao''er.

    Luo Lao''er was beyond stunned. "The Origin Universe? The legendary Origin Universe?"

    Fenglei Guanqin felt his face twitch. This youth was the ruler of the Origin Universe?

    Lu Yin smiled. "Calling me brother-inw isn''t too bad now, is it?"

    Luo Lao''er¡¯s eyes grew massive. "Brother-inw, you''re not ying a joke on me, are you? You¡¯re only as strong as a Servant, right?"

    "Wrong," Lu Yin replied, "I can fight against your father."

    Luo Lao''er was lost for words. Even if Lu Yin had kept his true strength hidden, given his age, he should only beparable to a Servant. Having the strength of a Demi-Monarch would already be enough to frighten Luo Lao¡¯er to death, but Lu Yin was iming to beparable to Monarch Luo!

    Lu Yin did not offer any further exnations regarding his strength, and instead, he shared an exnation with Fenglei Guanqin as to why the Mu family had been so eager to eliminate the Fenglei n.

    Before leaving the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin had given specific instructions for the Fenglei n to bring all of the resources that they had gathered in their cosmic rings. Anything that they could not bring along had instead been destroyed. This was to prevent the Mu family from obtaining the required resources, as that would allow Lu Yin to continue with his n.

    The truth terrified Fenglei Guanqin. He had assumed that the Mu family had targeted his n because of Luo Lao''er. The patriarch had naively believed that, as long as Luo Zang was stopped, the n would be safe. He had even nned to meet with Monarch Luo! The Fenglei n was truly lucky to have met with Lu Yin, as they would have beenpletely annihted otherwise.

    "The Fenglei n has already fled from the Three Monarchs Universe, which means that you¡¯ll need to live in the Origin Universe from now on. Still, the situation in the Three Monarchs Universe needs to be resolved. Luo Lao''er, that¡¯s going to be up to you."

    Luo Lao''er felt confused.

    It did not take Lu Yin long to share his n. Fenglei Guanqin was the first to refuse. "No! If anything goes wrong, Little Qian will die. From everything that you¡¯ve told us, Monarch Mu hates us to the bone right now. As soon as Little Qian shows up, it will be the end for him!"

    Lu Yin said, "Monarch Mu only wants your resources, as they are extremely useful to her. Killing Luo Lao''er serves no purpose for her other than to waste her time."

    Luo Lao''er muttered, "You don''t need to be that blunt."

    "But-" Fenglei Guanqin still wanted to object, but Lu Yin''s gaze sharpened. An invisible pressure fell upon Fenglei Guanqin. This was the aura that Lu Yin had developed by fighting against Progenitors. He had been fearless even against Nutjob Lu, so how could a mere Semi-Progenitor hope to resist?

    Fenglei Guanqin waspletely suppressed. The overwhelming pressure that he faced was no less than the darkness that he had previously encountered in Qing Ping''s Skyless.

    At this moment, Fenglei Guanqin finally understood that the young man before him might truly have the strength to stand against Monarch Luo. The Demi-Monarch was facing an unbearable pressure. He was a Demi-Monarch, someone who was but a single step away from bing a Monarch like Monarch Luo.

    "Uncle, what''s wrong with you?" Luo Lao''er looked at Fenglei Guanqin in confusion. The older man¡¯s face had gone pale, and his back was soaked with sweat.

    Fenglei Guanqin was the only one facing the pressure from Lu Yin. After a moment, Lu Yin retracted the pressure. "I saved your Fenglei n. Do you really think that I did so just because you call me your brother-inw?"

    He looked from Fenglei Guanqin to Luo Lao''er. "We''re all intelligent people here, so stop acting clueless. Luo Lao''er, I already told you in the Sixverse Academy that I don''t like being used. Allow me to teach you another lesson today." Lu Yin paused for a moment before continuing in a deeper tone. "We¡¯re mutually using each other."

    Luo Lao''er''s expression shifted when he noticed the changes in Lu Yin''s expression. Luo Lao¡¯er still had not fully adjusted to the fact that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin. The two identities werepletely different.

    Fenglei Guanqin took a deep breath. Sweat covered his palms. When he spoke again, it was in a respectful tone. "Lu- Dao Monarch Lu, is there no other way? Must Little Qian risk his life?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew sharp again. "This isn''t a risk, but revenge. This is for your Fenglei n, for Luo Lao''er''s brothers and sisters, and even for himself."

    He looked back at Luo Lao''er. "Do you want to remain a hostage forever?"

    Fenglei Guanqin opened his mouth to say something, but not a single word came out. The lives of every single member of the Fenglei n was at the mercy of this person''s whim. The patriarch had no right to negotiate.

    "I''ll go," Luo Lao''er stated earnestly.

    Fenglei Guanqin looked at the young man with a conflicted expression. "Little Qian¡­"

    Luo Lao''er patted the older man¡¯s back, feeling the sticky sweat. He turned back and stared at Lu Yin for a moment before smiling. "Brother-inw, I¡¯ll do whatever you say. After all, you are my brother-inw, now and forever."

    Lu Yin smiled and patted Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s shoulder, just as he had done when he had first met Luo Lao''er. "I¡¯ll protect you. No one will be able to harm you."

    "Brother-inw is so powerful!" Luo Lao''er ttered, reverting to his previous behavior.

    While returning to the Origin Universe, Lu Yin had not only brought the Fenglei n with him, but also an expert from the Transcendent Universe. Qing Ping had found the man before the attack on the Fenglei n. Lu Yin intended to use the man to get to the Transcendent Universe.

    It turned out that Monarch Mu had reached an agreement with the Transcendent Universe. That was the only universe that would give her such an extensive list of resources

    Luo Lao''er''s task was to make his way to the Transcendent Universe.

    ¡­

    There were many small Bestowal Carriers throughout the Transcendent Universe. A beautiful woman sat cross-legged on one of them while revealing snow-white thighs. There were several people nearby who could not help but nce at the woman, lust filling their eyes.

    Sitting across from the woman was a man whose appearance was aplete contrast from the Transcendent Universe¡¯s inhabitants. He had a gloomy appearance, though his eyes were calm.

 Chapter 2569: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 2569: Taking Action</h4>

    The emerald green lens on the woman¡¯s eye suddenly beeped.

    All eyes turned to her. The gaze of the man sitting across from the woman was as sharp as a sword.

    "Sir, your gaze is too much for a delicate woman like me to endure," the womanmented yfully. As she gently tapped her lens, a glimmer of light shed within it. "Luo Qian."

    The man abruptly rose to his feet. "Where is he?"

    The woman raised a hand to stop the man from speaking before she tapped her lens again. She let out a softugh. "Luo Lao''er, I knew that you''d be fine. What happened? You¡¯re only willing toe back now? Hehe."

    Luo Lao''er''s voice answered from the other end of the call. "Sister, don''t joke around. Your little brother almost lost his life."

    "Oh, how did that happen?" the woman asked curiously. She motioned downwards with her hand again, gesturing for the man to remain patient.

    Luo Lao''er sighed bitterly. "Do you have any idea where I woke up? The Three Monarchs Universe! I woke up in the Three Monarchs Universe!"

    The woman was astonished. "You returned to the Three Monarchs Universe? On your own?"

    "Of course not! It was that woman, Tu Shuangshuang, who captured me. I don''t know why I woke up in the Three Monarchs Universe, especially since I was even at the border. I barely made it back. Thankfully, I was able to contact my mother''s family, and they sent me back to the Transcendent Universe," Luo Lao''erined resentfully.

    The woman said, "Your mother''s family? That¡¯s the Fenglei n, right?"

    "Yes."

    "The Fenglei n must still be quite powerful. But haven''t they been targeted by the Mu family for quite some time?"

    "Sister, you''re pretty well informed."

    "Hehe, my job is to keep an eye on you, our hostage. Of course I need to know about everything around you."

    "Ah, there''s no need to know anything anymore. My family¡¯s gone."

    The man''s expression turned cold, and he slowly and solemnly approached the woman.

    The woman was surprised by Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯sment. "The Fenglei n is gone? What do you mean? Were they really destroyed by the Mu family?"

    "Of course not! How could just Monarch Mu, that foolish woman, possibly hope to destroy my Fenglei n? We escaped. The Fenglei n¡¯s been around for years, and we haven¡¯t been wasting that time. We picked something up on the battlefield-" He paused for a moment. "Sister, there are some things that aren¡¯t convenient for me to share with you. Still, I''vee to find you now."

    The woman tersely responded, "Meet me at the usual ce. Come alone."

    With that, she ended the call.

    The man frowned. "Where is he?"

    The woman gave a location to the man, who immediately left.

    Someone nearby wondered aloud, "Why did Luo Lao''ere back? Shouldn''t he have disappeared with the Fenglei n?"

    A smile crept across the woman''s face. "He isn¡¯t willing to give up. None of you understand him at all. He may hide his emotions deeply, but he wants revenge. If he disappears with the Fenglei n, he¡¯ll never be able to get revenge. Why else do you think he worked so hard to get into the Sixverse Academy?"

    "Isn''t he afraid of being captured by the Mu family?"

    "Why would he be captured? The Mu family went after the Fenglei n because of him, but since he¡¯s our hostage, we¡¯re responsible for keeping him safe. He¡¯ll never learn about the agreement that¡¯s been made between the Three Monarchs Universe and the Transcendent Universe. He still believes that he''s a hostage. Let''s not talk about him anymore. We¡¯ll never see him again."

    Far away from the group, Luo Lao''er let out a pent up breath. Death was merely a thought away.

    Before long, the gloomy looking man passed through outer space to appear directly in front of the vessel that Luo Lao''er was traveling in. With a single step, the man took Luo Lao''er away, leaving the other upants of the spacecraftpletely bewildered.

    "Esteemed senior, might I ask how I¡¯ve offended you?" Luo Lao''er showed a shameless smile.

    The man looked at Luo Lao''er and slowly answered, "I apologize, Second Young Master."

    Luo Lao''er''s expression instantly and drastically changed. "You¡¯re from the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    The man answered softly, "Mo Courtyard, Fu Yuan."

    Luo Lao''er''s face grew pale, and he looked at the man warily. "Why did youe find me?"

    "Monarch Mu has requested your presence," Fu Yuan said.

    Luo Lao''er started to struggle. "I am a hostage of the Transcendent Universe. What right does Monarch Mu have to take me away? I want to speak with someone from the Transcendent Universe! I want to see my father!"

    Fu Yuan kept a tight grip on Luo Lao''er and abruptly vanished. The two had returned to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Luo Lao¡¯er was soon tossed down. He recognized where he had ended up; it was the very core of the Three Monarchs Universe, a ce where only the three Monarchs and a few others were allowed to enter. He had once frequently visited the ce, but that had all changed after Luo Zang was born. It had been a very long time since Luo Lao¡¯er hadst visited this particr location.

    "Luo Qian," said a woman sitting atop a giant staircase. Her face appeared calm, but her eyes were cold enough to freeze space itself. Still, there was no denying that she was incredibly beautiful. She was Monarch Mu.

    Luo Lao''er slowly lifted his head and looked up at the woman sitting in an unreachable position. For some reason, the scene suddenly ovepped with the first time that he had met He Ran. That woman also stayed at the top of a staircase, but the one in the Three Monarchs Universe exuded a sense of majesty, while He Ran''s staircase, whilecking such majesty, had separated Luo Lao¡¯er from the woman above like an uncrossable chasm.

    "Monarch Mu." Luo Lao''er''s voice was heavy as he lowered his head.

    Monarch Mu¡¯s cold eyes looked down from high above. "Where has the Fenglei n gone?"

    Luo Lao''er looked confused. "The Fenglei n? Aren''t they in the Lower King Domain?"

    Monarch Mu''s eyes grew even colder. "Monarch Luo asked me to preserve a remnant of the Fenglei n''s bloodline. Your blood is half of the Fenglei n''s bloodline, which will do. However, that''s only on the condition that you tell me where the Fenglei n has gone."

    Luo Lao''er clenched a fist. "I am Monarch Luo''s son!"

    Monarch Mu smiled lightly. "Which also makes you <i>my </i>son. I will protect you, but you must first tell me where the Fenglei n is."

    Luo Lao''er looked puzzled, and he asked, "Why do you want to find the Fenglei n? Luo Zang wants me dead. What does any of this have to do with the Fenglei n?"

    Monarch Mu stared at Luo Lao''er for a long time before saying anything, "These years must have been hard for you."

    Luo Lao''er trembled but said nothing.

    "All I need is to find the Fenglei n. As long as I can find them, you can return to where you were. I will even promise that no one will dare to harm you. You will forever remain the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Second Young Master and Luo Zang''s second brother. This is what I will promise you," Monarch Mu said.

    Luo Lao''er looked conflicted, his eyes flickered as he hesitated over something.

    "It''s just the Fenglei n. The most that I can do is spare Fenglei Guanqin''s life, as he is your uncle. What is your rtionship with the others? You are their ancestor. If you ask for their deaths, they will die, no?" Monarch Mu''s voice sounded extremely tempting, and Luo Lao''er found himself forced to consider her words despite his own feelings. The more he thought about what she suggested, the more sense it made. It was true, he was the Fenglei n¡¯s ancestor. That was what they called him. If he wanted them to die, they should be willing to offer him their lives. As various thoughts bounced around his mind, Luo Lao''er''s eyes took on an abnormal shade of red.

    He suddenly looked upwards. "I''ll take you there."

    Monarch Mu''s eyes lit up. It was just too easy to control this child. A smile appeared on her face, giving her a charming expression. "That''s good, my son."

    As she spoke, she appeared next to Luo Lao''er. "Let''s go."

    She was impatient to get her hands on the resources that she required so that she could send Xia Shenji back to the Origin Universe. Soon, she would take over the Origin Universe, which would be the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s new territory. Compared to the Three Monarchs Universe, the Origin Universe was much better.

    This was important enough that it was worth even keeping Luo Lao¡¯er alive. He did not truly matter, as he was nothing more than trash.

    Luo Lao''er drew on the power of his energy converter to tear the void open, and he quickly identified Aeternus Nation from the innumerable parallel universes before making his way to it, alongside Monarch Mu.

    As Monarch Mu appeared in Aeternus Nation, she immediately saw seven broken towers in the distance, as well as the brokennd surrounding her. She could also feel the pervasive death energy that seeped up from deep underground. What was this ce?

    "Mu? Monarch Mu?" A desperate scream came from below.

    Monarch Mu looked away from the death energy deep underground and saw the frozen Fenglei n members some distance away. Her expression grew cold, and she tossed Luo Lao''er aside. She vanished from where she had stood, and instantly reappeared right in front of Fenglei Guanqin.

    The patriarch¡¯s face was covered with despair as he looked at Monarch Mu. Next to the man was Fenglei Guishan.

    "How did you find this universe?" Monarch Mu asked, very curious. She was shocked, as the power that she sensed underground left her very uneasy. She was Monarch Mu; how could a Monarch feel uneasy from mere energy?

    Fenglei Guanqin swallowed. "It was an ident."

    "An ident?" Monarch Mu frowned. She had lost all interest in the Fenglei n, as there was no escape for them. Rather, she was more concerned about the underground death energy. The more she studied it, the more ufortable she became.

    Suddenly, the death energy surged up from underground. It was like a colossal creature revealing itself.

    Monarch Mu was very wary, and her attention was entirely focused on the energy surge. Suddenly, Fenglei Guishan attacked the woman from behind. Given his close proximity, the palm would strike Monarch Mu without anything stopping it.

    Out of sheer instinct, Monarch Mu''s monarch essence blocked the attack, and a terrifying pressure appeared, stifling everyone as Fenglei Guanqin was sent flying.

    The impact of the palm strike forced Monarch Mu to take several steps. She looked back in disbelief. Was the man a hidden Monarch?

    Three streams of energy appeared around Fenglei Guishan, and each one transformed into the form of a person that then attacked Monarch Mu as one.

    The woman let out a contemptuous snort. She had no intention of participating in this fight. Seeing that she had walked into a trap, as well as the audacity of whoever had set it, she could see their confidence. She was not the same as Xia Shenji, who would recklessly walk into a trap even if he knew that it was there.

    While Monarch Mu¡¯s opponent was a powerhouse who was as strong as her, that did not mean that they could stop her from leaving. Her only regret was that she would need to abandon the resources that she needed.

    Monarch Mu tore the void open, but nced at Luo Lao''er before leaving. She could see the hatred that filled his eyes. "I killed your mother."

    Luo Lao''er''s eyes grewrge, and a cold light glittered in them.

    Monarch Mu sneered. She only needed to take a single step to leave this small universe. There was no need for her to know who had set the trap for her, or even who the unknown Monarch was. Only by cooperating with the other two Monarchs could she fight against such a powerhouse. Monarch Mu was far more cautious than most people.

    However, she had also overestimated herself, or rather, underestimated the person who had set the trap.

    Just as she was prepared to take the step away from the parallel universe, her body was inexplicably forced back from the spatial tear she had created. It was as if her previous action had somehow been undone. This was the effect of Origin Tracer.

    Mu Xie appeared and started fighting against Monarch Mu.

    Monarch Mu was badly startled. "Who are you?"

    Countless silver needles abruptly appeared, each one was covered with monarch essence. They formed a diagram around the woman, and she pushed it forward to stop Mu Xie''s attack.

    The resulting thunderous boom caused Aeternus Nation to tremble. It had already endured the battle between Lu Yin and Specter Progenitor, and it was being forced to endure another fierce battle now. The pressure of the peak experts¡¯ battle strained the universe.

    Mu Xie was astonished. Could a diagram formed from silver needles really block his attack?

    The moment the thought urred to him, the diagram shattered. Monarch Mu''s figure flickered, and she fled. More silver needles shot out from her body, and they filled the Aeternus Nation in an instant. The power was quite simr to a Progenitor''s world, as endless silver needles reced the sky. Monarch Mu manipted the needles, and they moved to resemble a starry sky that ced an intense pressure on all of Aeternus Nation.

    Fenglei Guanqin and the other n members were mortified by the battle unfolding before them. Resistance was futile before such power. This was a level of strength that they would never be able to withstand. The strength of a Monarch was capable of reducing all to dust.

 Chapter 2570: That Power

    <h4>Chapter 2570: That Power</h4>

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen, who had disguised himself as Fenglei Guishan, revealed his true appearance. Three streams of ancestral Qi flowed around his body before taking on the forms of three individuals. The first form unleashed a blizzard that froze the countless silver needles, starting from below. The cold restrained Monarch Mu''s Progenitor''s world.

    The second form raised a hand, and the earth surged upwards to form a single needle that shot at Monarch Mu. This was Hidden Needle, and the figure who had used it was the summoned Lu Tianyi from Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    The summoned Lu Tianyi had been released several times after Arch-Elder Zen had sessfully be a Progenitor. However, this was the first time that Lu Tianyi¡¯s true power had been disyed.

    The Hidden Needle pierced Monarch Mu''s Progenitor''s world and stabbed into her shoulder. She was horrified to see that she had been injured, and blood leaked from the wound, sttering onto the ground.

    Monarch Mu was left aghast. How was this possible? Not only had the earthen needle broken through her divine hologram, it had also pierced her body despite the protection of the power vessel that she was wearing. Even if Monarch Luo was capable of breaking Monarch Mu¡¯s divine hologram, he would still find it difficult to injure her.

    She needed to escape. Staying around was not an option.

    Monarch Mu tore the void open once again, as she attempted to escape. However, she had failed to notice the invisible streams of energy that had already appeared around her. She was surrounded by a sourcebox array: As If Closed. The summoned form of Progenitor Hui from the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had taken action.

    As If Closed had once sent Lu Yin into despair when he faced it during ZENITH. If he had not managed to trigger the God of Death Transformation, he would have never been able to break free from the sourcebox array.

    There were few people who possessed the power to break free from As If Closed when used by someone with the same level of power. On top of that, Progenitor Hui had not been weak.

    Monarch Mu screamed, "Do you understand the consequences of attacking me? Do you think that the Sixverse Association will spare you?"

    Lu Yin looked up from deep underground. He was already holding the God of Death''s scythe in his hand. He lifted it high, and the sea of death energy split in two.

    When Monarch Mu saw the energy move, her pupils contracted. While Lu Yin clearly was not a Progenitor himself, his attack was far more frightening than what her two Progenitor opponents had released so far. She did not hesitate, and her monarch essence fully erupted. A ss bottle appeared above the Monarch¡¯s head, and it started devouring her surroundings. As If Closed was warped and twisted. This was the woman¡¯s innate gift, and it was something that she rarely used, even in the Three Monarchs Universe. However, at this moment, she had no other choice.

    As If Closed flickered, and Monarch Mu grabbed the opportunity to tear through the void. However, Mu Xie took action yet again. His Origin Tracer negated everything that had happened at Monarch Mu''s location. As If Closed was negated, as was the ss bottle, and even the void that Monarch Mu had torn apart.

    Origin Tracer was not invincible, and it could only briefly undo what had been done. Monarch Mu had also been prepared for it. The moment the void recovered, she moved again. Mu Xie''s battle technique was beyond herprehension, but the more mysterious the technique was, the less frequently it could be used. She knew that it could not be used again so soon.

    Even so, it was already enough. Origin Tracer had managed to dy Monarch Mu for a moment, and in that moment, an unassuming path had appeared between the woman and the spatial tear that she had created. This was Arch-Elder Zen''s Progenitor''s world.

    Because of the presence of Time Poison, Arch-Elder Zen had shattered his inner world and then recreated it in the middle of his Progenitor''s tribtion. He had created his Serene Path while vowing to support Lu Yin. This was the only purpose of his path¡ªit existed to allow people to travel along the path. Ignoring any sort of physical distance, it delivered Lu Yin before Monarch Mu.

    The woman stared nkly at Lu Yin, recalling what the Three Monarchs Universe had learned from Sage Yuan. Lu Yin was the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch, as well as the person that the three Monarchs had agreed to cooperate with Xia Shenji to fight against. Was Lu Yin the person behind this trap? Why had he allied himself with the Fenglei n? How had he managed to set up an ambush for her? When had he started plotting against her?

    Countless questions flooded Monarch Mu''s mind, but they were all instantly reced by an excruciating pain that started coursing through her body, bringing an oppressive fear. The God of Death''s power entered her body from Lu Yin¡¯s ruthless attack that used the God of Death''s scythe. The Monarch was severely injured, and death energy filled her body. Thistter part had been Lu Yin''s true intention.

    Without death energy suppressing the Monarch, how could he hope to imprison such a powerhouse?

    Monarch Mu plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground.

    What they had just witnessed left the Fenglei nsmen reeling in unparalleled shock. How long had the three Monarchs ruled over their universe as invincible powerhouses? Everyone from the Three Monarchs Universe believed that the three Monarchs would rule for all eternity. However, they were now seeing Monarch Mu lying on the ground, severely injured. The shock of this moment was something that they would never be able to forget.

    Luo Lao''er''s entire body trembled, but was it from the excitement of revenge? No, he had not yet taken revenge for himself. What he was feeling was a mix of excitement, admiration, and the desire to personally obtain a power that would allow him to do the same to Monarch Mu.

    Luo Lao¡¯er stared at Monarch Mu. Her hair was slick with blood that ran into the ground. In a daze, the young man slowly approached the woman. The once high and mighty powerhouse who had always looked down on everyone and oppressed the Fenglei n to the point where Luo Lao¡¯er had barely been able to even breathe was nowying defeated before him.

    Lu Yin exhaled and put away the God of Death''s scythe beforending on the ground himself.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xiended as well.

    "This woman is certainly no weakling," Arch-Elder Zen marveled, "If not for your assistance, Mu Xie, we wouldn''t have been able to prevent her from leaving."

    Mu Xie replied, "No matter what, she is a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin flexed his arm. "So what if she''s a Progenitor? She still fell. Thank you, Senior Brother."

    Mu Xie looked over at Lu Yin and said, "The Three Monarchs Universe cannot be a weakness for Aeternus to exploit and harm humanity."

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, "Don''t worry. Without Monarch Mu there, someone else will need to step up. That responsibility is going to fall upon Xia Shenji. After all, he just so happens to already be in the Three Monarchs Universe."

    This was the n that Lu Yin and Wang Wen hade up with. After Luo Lao''er lured Monarch Mu to Aeternus Nation, they would capture her in that small parallel universe, which would leave the Three Monarchs Universe vulnerable. That weakened state would force Xia Shenji, as well as Bai Wangyuan and others, to support the Three Monarchs Universe, which would relieve some of the pressure that the Fifth Maind was facing.

    Naturally, if the situation grew worse, Lu Yin would release Monarch Mu. The final decisiony in his hands.

    The n was far from wless. If Monarch Mu had arrived together with Monarch Xing or Monarch Luo, if Monarch Mu had given up on the materials she wanted, or if any unexpected change had urred along the way, then the n would have utterly failed. There was no such thing as a perfect n, and even Progenitor Hui''s calctions had gone awry. That had resulted in ZENITH taking ce after the Sixth Maind threatened the Fifth Maind. Lu Yin was well aware of the fact that hecked the same sort of strategic mind as Progenitor Hui, which meant that perfection waspletely unattainable.

    They had only intended to execute the n for as long as it remained viable.

    <i>Cough, cough!</i>

    Monarch Mu coughed up blood. When she opened her eyes, her vision was a blur of red.

    "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lu Yin. Wee to the Origin Universe, Monarch Mu," Lu Yin said with a smile on his face.

    Monarch Mu nced at the young man, but then she looked at Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie. "How did you two end up working with the Fenglei n?"

    "It¡¯s called cooperation." Lu Yin squatted down in front of Monarch Mu¡¯s face, staring at her pale features and haggard appearance. "Actually, you are the first Progenitor I''ve captured, though you definitely won''t be thest. The real show is just about to begin."

    Luo Lao¡¯er watched from the background. He suddenly set the goal for himself to be as domineering as Lu Yin in the future.

    Half a monthter, the Three Monarchs Universe suffered from a massive Aeternus attack, and Forgotten Ruins God herself participated in the assault. Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing desperately searched for Monarch Mu, but to no avail. Ultimately, the two were forced to join forces with Xia Shenji, which allowed them to barely fend off Forgotten Ruins God.

    After the battle, Monarch Luo stood outside the ruins of the Fenglei n, a dark expression on his face.

    The silver-haired old woman from the Mu family trembled with fear. She did not dare to speak a single word.

    "Zang''er has already returned. He''s in the Sixverse Academy," Monarch Luo said.

    The old woman let out a sigh of relief, but then she thought of Monarch Mu, and she instantly tensed back up.

    "Little Mu has gone missing. Can anyone tell me what happened?" Monarch Luo''s expression turned grim.

    The old woman¡¯s heart pounded as memories of the person who ced the seal in her body flooded her mind. Could it have been him? Aside from that person, she could not think of anyone else capable of harming Monarch Mu. Even so, did that man truly have the strength to deal with Monarch Mu?

    Monarch Luo looked up into outer space. "The Fenglei n has escaped, and Qian''er has returned to the Transcendent Universe. It''s one thing if Qian''er didn''t know about the n involving Xia Shenji, but if he did know and still returned to the Transcendent Universe, then there was a conspiracy against Little Mu."

    Lady Mu''s eyes flickered. She no longer had any doubts; it had to have been that man. She had personally shared those details with him, and he had specifically asked about the Fenglei n.

    She wanted to confess everything to Monarch Luo and beg him to bring Monarch Mu back, but the old woman knew nothing about the culprit. The only clue was the Fenglei n, and they had disappeared.

    The old woman regretted every decision that she had made. She should have warned Monarch Mu. Even if the old woman had died, nothing could be allowed to happen to Monarch Mu. Without her, the Mu family would suffer the same fate as the Fenglei n.

    At that moment, a figure appeared. "Monarch Mu still hasn''t been found?"

    It was none other than Xia Shenji, and his expression was grim.

    Monarch Luo replied, "There¡¯s not a single trace of her."

    "Then what should I do?" Xia Shenji frowned.

    "I will do my best to gather the necessary resources and deliver them to the Transcendent Universe so that they will send you back."

    Xia Shenji stared at Monarch Luo''s back. Send him back? Was that even possible anymore? If the three Monarchs were all present, they would not fear Forgotten Ruins God, but Monarch Mu was gone. If Xia Shenji also left, how would Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing hold off Forgotten Ruins God? Xia Shenji waspletely certain that Monarch Luo would do everything in his power to keep Xia Shenji in the Three Monarchs Universe to help protect the universe from Aeternus.

    He did not want to stay here.

    "You and Monarch Xing can work together to temporarily hold off Forgotten Ruins God, but the two of you are unable to activate the Three Monarchs Formation. If Forgotten Ruins God is serious in her attack on this universe, you will be in grave trouble," Xia Shenji said.

    Monarch Luo looked over. "Do you have a solution?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "If Monarch Mu has truly disappeared, then we won''t be able to stop things from getting worse, but we can push the trouble onto others."

    "Meaning?"

    "The Heavens Sect."

    Monarch Luo shook his head. "The direct descendant of the Lu family has already made it quite clear that he will not voluntarily restart the war with Aeternus, and Sage Yuan is powerless to change his mind."

    "Help me return, as we¡¯ve already agreed. I will open the passage to this universe from where it connects in Shenwu Continent," Xia Shenji suggested.

    Monarch Luo''s gaze grew thoughtful. Just as Xia Shenji had suspected, the Monarch had no intention of letting the Progenitor go. If Xia Shenji left, what would happen to the Three Monarchs Universe? Monarch Mu was already gone, and would Xia Shenji continue to cooperate after he left for his own universe? Furthermore, the Heavens Sect would not be easy to handle. Monarch Luo needed to ensure that he had a way out. Without that certainty, Xia Shenji would not be allowed to leave. Unfortunately, all of the parallel universes that Monarch Luo had conquered so far were too weak. None of them could evene close toparing to the Origin Universe.

    "There is another option." Xia Shenji stared at Monarch Luo. "I can bring people from the Perennial World to this universe."

    Monarch Luo was astonished. "Is that possible?"

    Xia Shenji sighed in a helpless manner. If at all possible, he would have loved to push everything onto Lu Yin. In that way, both Aeternus and the threat of the Lu family returning would be resolved together. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was too stubborn, and he had even ignored the Cyclic Universe¡¯s orders. The child did not understand his ce. The Cyclic Universe would eventually extract a price from him, but for the moment, no one could touch Lu Yin.

    Xia Shenji needed to get back.

    He had no idea how long it would take the Cyclic Universe to deal with Lu Yin. The Progenitor had no intentions of dying in the Three Monarchs Universe, and since there was nothing that he could do about Lu Yin, the only remaining option was Bai Wangyuan and the Perennial World¡¯s other Progenitors.

    Xia Shenji refused to suffer alone. Since the Perennial World had sessfully driven Aeternus out and was free of war, those people were definitely livingfortably or even scheming against Shenwu''s Sky. In that case, he would drag them into the Three Monarchs Universe.

 Chapter 2571: Threat

    <h4>Chapter 2571: Threat</h4>

    The four ruling powers were not truly united. Without amon enemy, they had immediately started to turn on each other.

    Monarch Luo asked Xia Shenji, "Are you referring to the other Progenitors who are part of your four ruling powers? Will they be willing toe here?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "That is a matter for Sage Yuan to handle."

    Monarch Luo took a deep breath. "I know what to do."

    He looked back at Xia Shenji and added, "If you do manage to return home, our previous agreement will still stand."

    "Of course. I won''t let the Lu family go," Xia Shenji said, killing intent flickering through his eyes.

    ...

    The Heavens Sect once again weed Progenitor Long to the Fifth Maind. It was his fifth visit, but this time, he was apanied by Bai Wangyuan.

    As usual, Progenitors were received by Arch-Elder Zen.

    Bai Wangyuan got straight to the point. "Things are getting increasingly urgent. The pressure that the Sixverse Association is facing is constantly increasing, and they can barely hold on any longer. We are no longer asking you to restart the war, only to offer some assistance to the Three Monarchs Universe. If you still have any concern at all for the overall situation, don''t refuse. We can make a new treaty with you, agreeing to not enter the Fifth Maind for as long as you support the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Bai Wangyuan appeared serious about a new treaty, but Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "The Heavens Sect only has a single Progenitor, which is me. Even if we count Lu Yin, as he isparable to a Progenitor, we can''t offer much support to the Three Monarchs Universe. On the other hand, your four ruling powers have many Progenitors, which means that you can easily send one or two. Why do you need our help?"

    Progenitor Long said, "Aeternus is not run by fools. They are forcing the Three Monarchs Universe to face a crisis, but it might just be a ruse to divert our attention there before theyunch a massive attack on the rear battlefield again. We cannot take such a risk."

    Bai Wangyuan stared intently at Arch-Elder Zen for a moment before saying, "The Sixverse Association wants us to help by sharing the Aeternus¡¯s pressure, but that does not mean that we must take on the entire burden. We merely need to take on a portion of it. This is why only two Progenitors need to go to the Three Monarchs Universe, while the others remain here to guard the rear battlefield. As long as we provide support for the Three Monarchs Universe, Sage Yuan will have no reason to force us to fully enter the war again. Isn''t this what Lu Yin wants? Or are you expecting our Perennial World to take on everything?¡±

    "Arch-Elder Zen, you¡¯ve lived since the Daosource Sect era, and you¡¯ve also be a Progenitor. You possess great insight and should not have the same perspective as a child like Lu Yin."

    "What''s wrong with having the same perspective as this child?" Lu Yin''s voice rang out as he emerged from a spatial tear and confronted Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan''s voice dropped low, "Young man, your vision is too narrow. You cannot see the bigger picture, but I don''t me you. If what you value is mere gains and losses, then so be it. Let us agree to another treaty. As long as you or Arch-Elder Zen lend your support to the Three Monarchs Universe, we won¡¯t enter this Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Wangyuan and then nced at Progenitor Long. "Who will make this treaty with me?"

    "It will be me, of course," Bai Wangyuan replied.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Can you represent all four ruling powers?"

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "When we agreed to the truce, you and I agreed to the treaty. From that moment until now, the four ruling powers have never taken the initiative to attack you. You have even been allowed to ban specific people. You have been given all control."

    "And yet you guys did everything you could to kill me, like telling Nutjob Lu about me, or luring me into the trap that you set up in the Lu family¡¯s treasury so that Nutjob Lu could attack me. Or even sending that old man, Sage Yuan, here to the Fifth Maind. Bai Wangyuan, your promises are less than worthless. Enough of this nonsense." There was no hesitation as Lu Yin scolded the Progenitor.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes grew sharp. "I have upheld all of the truce¡¯s terms. None of what you¡¯ve mentioned were conditions of that truce. This time, you can present your own conditions. As long as I agree, we can establish a treaty."

    Lu Yin shook his head and sighed. "I truly pity you, Bai Wangyuan. Do you really believe that you can represent all four ruling powers?"

    "What does that mean?" Bai Wangyuan asked calmly.

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the table. "Are Wang Fan and Specter Progenitor under your control? Can you speak for Xia Shenji?"

    Progenitor Long replied, "Both Wang Fan and Specter Progenitor can be included in the treaty¡¯s conditions. As for Xia Shenji, you banished him."

    "And what if hees back?" Lu Yin asked bluntly.

    Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long exchanged nces, seeing the surprise in each other''s eyes. Could this child know?

    "Only you know where Xia Shenji went, Lu Xiaoxuan. What are you trying to say?" Bai Wangyuan asked in a deep voice.

    Lu Yin said, "I¡¯m not an unreasonable person. What you said is true, and if the Three Monarchs Universe really can¡¯t hold on, then it won''t just be the Sixverse Association who will suffer, as we¡¯ll also be affected. I will agree to support the Three Monarchs Universe, but I first need to ensure that the Heavens Sect will be absolutely safe. First, the Sixverse Association needs to send someone to make a treaty with me as well, agreeing to not enter the Fifth Maind without permission. Second, Xia Shenji needs to appear and agree to the treaty with me as well. If you can fulfill these two conditions, I¡¯ll agree to whatever you say."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you must be delusional! What make you think that the Sixverse Association will ever be willing to agree to a treaty with you?" Progenitor Long shouted sternly.

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s brow furrowed tightly. "Lu Xiaoxuan, what does the Sixverse Association have to do with you? Even if they want us to restart the war with Aeternus, they will never agree topromise with you. Besides, the Sixverse Association poses no threat to you."

    Lu Yin interjected, "That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. They do pose a threat, and a very significant one at that."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he looked over towards the sect¡¯s main hall.

    The others also turned to look.

    There, they saw an elderly man slowly approaching them while leaning heavily on a cane. Zhi Yi was supporting the man, who was none other than the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet, his expression solemn and deep respect filling his eyes. "Senior, thank you for making this trip."

    At this time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines lookedpletely different from before. The first time that Lu Yin had seen the man had been after his first stellr tribtion. At that time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines, despite his many years, had been full of vitality. There had been no resemnce at all to an old man. He had possessed an energy that could leave the stars trembling, and a wave of his hand had been enough to effortlessly shatter space. At that time, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had stood behind Lu Yin, and his presence had left the four ruling powers mistakenly believing that Lu Yin was protected by a Progenitor from the Fifth Maind. This had prevented any of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors from directly attacking Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin had seen the Progenitor of Bloodlines for the second time, it had been after Lu Yin had traveled through time and space, going missing for a period of twenty years. While Lu Yin had been gone, the Progenitor of Bloodlines had fought for the Fifth Maind¡¯s very survival, and he had blocked the gap between the Sky Pir and the barrier protecting the Fifth Maind with his body in order to prevent Corpse God from attacking. Lu Yin had used the Cosmic Art and borrowed Progenitor Chen''s power to rescue the Progenitor of Bloodlines. However, by that time, the Progenitor had already lost his Progenitor''s world and fallen from being a true Progenitor.

    The third time had been after Sage Yuan opened a rift to a parallel universe that had allowed corpse kings to attack the Heavens Sect. The Progenitor of Bloodlines had risked his life to stop the corpse kings, which had cost him his cultivation and left him as a cripple who needed medical care to even remain alive.

    Lu Yin would readily admit that, out of everyone in the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, the Progenitor of Bloodlines was the person whom he admired the most. This admiration had nothing to do with cultivation or strength; the old man was a Progenitor-level expert who had readily and truly sacrificed himself for the sake of humanity. He possessed a fearless spirit and was someone who truly deserved to be addressed as ¡°Senior.¡±

    If not for already having epted Mister Mu as his master, Lu Yin would have long ago chosen to be the Progenitor of Bloodlines'' disciple.

    "I¡¯m merely taking a stroll. Being able to greet old friends isn''t bad at all," the Progenitor of Bloodlines said with a chuckle. He looked to be rather cheerful and quite content with his fate. He seemed to have alreadye to terms with how brief his remaining life would be.

    Before the Progenitor of Bloodlines, even someone like Bai Wangyuan, who was the master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, could not help but feel a measure of respect. Regardless of his past grievances between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, there was no denying that the Progenitor of Bloodlines deserved to be respected by everyone.

    "Zhi Yi, escort Senior to Mount Lang to look around. The scenery there is splendid. Also, have Zhao Ran brew tea for the two of you," Lu Yin instructed.

    Zhi Yi offered a respectful bow. "Yes, Dao Monarch."

    She continued to assist the Progenitor of Bloodlines as the two left again.

    Despite the few words that had been spoken, the sight of the Progenitor of Bloodlines leaving left both Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long unable to speak for a long time. An esteemed Progenitor had reduced to such a state, and for what? Was it worth it?

    "The Progenitor of Bloodlines could have lived out his final days in peace. Even after having his Progenitor''s world destroyed, he still possessed enough strength to enjoy the rest of his life," Lu Yin clenched his fists as he continued, "But because of that old bastard, Sage Yuan, who brought corpse kings here, Senior lost all of his remaining strength, and he could die at any moment now."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Wangyuan. "Tell me, how am I supposed to trust the Sixverse Association? Do you still think that they don''t pose any threat to my Heavens Sect? Should I change my opinion just because you, Bai Wangyuan, say I should?"

    Bai Wangyuan wanted to retort, but no words came out. The example of what had happened to the Progenitor of Bloodlines left the Progenitor with absolutely no room to argue. He silently cursed Sage Yuan for the man¡¯s unnecessary meddling. If the Sixverse Association had wanted to use Aeternus, then they should have made sure to eradicate that brat. Unfortunately, not only had they failed to aplish anything, but they had even given Lu Yin ammunition to use against Bai Wangyuan.

    "Alright, please leave now. We won''t be getting involved. I don''t know about this Sixverse Association, Three Monarchs Universe, or whatever. All I know is that the Fifth Maind needs to be protected. I, Lu Yin, only care about the Fifth Maind and the Heavens Sect," Lu Yin said as he dismissed the two men.

    There was nothing more to discuss, so Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long left.

    Arch-Elder Zenmented, "It seems that your assumptions are true. They never mentioned anything about bringing Xia Shenji back."

    Lu Yin replied, "They¡¯ll bring it upter. Right now, they just wanted to reassure me. Senior, Shenwu Continent is about to face a crisis, so I¡¯ll have to trouble you to make a trip there."

    Arch-Elder Zen stepped out to leave the Heavens Sect.

    However, as soon as the man entered outer space, he found Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long were still waiting. "What else do you need to say? There''s nothing further to discuss. Go back."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Arch-Elder Zen as he said, "Why do you follow a child like Lu Xiaoxuan? You''ve already repaid your debt to the Lu Family."

    Arch-Elder Zen opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, his expression froze. He looked towards Shenwu Continent. "This is bad!"

    Bai Wangyuan immediately moved to block Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s path. "There''s no need for you to go anywhere. It''s already toote."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression turned ugly. "You dare to attack Shenwu Continent?"

    Bai Wangyuan stood in ce and sped his hands behind his back as he replied, "Since you refuse to assist the Three Monarchs Universe, then you need to allow Xia Shenji to return. We can then spare two people to support the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin suddenly appeared. "The older you get, the more shameless you be, Bai Wangyuan. Don''t you already know that Xia Shenji was banished to the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Bai Wangyuan and Progenitor Long''s faces turned pale. This question proved that Lu Yin already knew that Xia Shenji was in the Three Monarchs Universe. Their determination to open the passage on Shenwu Continent had revealed their motivations to Lu Yin. Since Lu Yin had already figured things out, then what was happening on Shenwu Continent?

    At this moment, there were four individuals locked in a standoff above the Tower of Resonating Light on Shenwu Continent. They were Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, Wang Fan, and Specter Progenitor.

    Wang Fan stared at Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke in astonishment. "How did you two know that we would attack Shenwu Continent?"

    Energy from his ?ar¨©ra twined around Mu Xie as he answered, "Leave. With us here, you can forget about aplishing anything here."

 Chapter 2572: Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2572: Appearance</h4>

    Wang Fan looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "Xi Wei, you have always stayed out of our feud with Lu Xiaoxuan."

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s brow furrowed. "Your feud doesn''t concern me, but this passageway that connects us to a parallel universe must remain sealed."

    Wang Fan¡¯s voice betrayed his irritation as he replied, "This matter doesn''t concern you."

    Progenitor Smoke lifted her head and dered, "Then I will stay right here. If you''re capable of it, then break through."

    "I''m trying to bring Xia Shenji back. Isn''t that what you want?" Wang Fan challenged.

    Shaking her head, Progenitor Smoke replied, "Let''s not try to muddy the waters. This passage connects to the Three Monarchs Universe, which is part of the Sixverse Association, isn''t it?"

    Wang Fan''s eyes narrowed, though he chose to remain silent.

    "I won''t allow our universe to be connected to any part of the Sixverse Association. If Xia Shenji wishes to return, then he''ll need to find a way that doesn''t involve this path. I''ve seen Sage Yuan''s nature for myself. The Sixverse Association has no good intentions towards us. Now that we''ve reached a state of peace, I wish to avoid getting involved with them in any way," Progenitor Smoke said.

    While this conversation was taking ce, Bai Wangyuan was focused entirely on Lu Yin. "Were you aware that you exiled Xia Shenji to the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Lu Yin showed a smile as he responded, "The instability of the passageway beneath the Tower of Resonating Light in Shenwu Continent was made known to me by someone from the Three Monarchs Universe. It¡¯s understandable that you wish to retrieve Xia Shenji, but you cannot be allowed to establish a link to the Three Monarchs Universe, which is a member of the Sixverse Association. As far as I¡¯m concerned, they present the same kind of threat to us that the Sixth Maind did decades ago.

    "I''m intrigued. How did you discover that Xia Shenji was sent to the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Bai Wangyuan refrained from offering any exnations. Their attempt had already failed. Lu Yin had anticipated their actions. While Xia Shenji was able to send messages from the Three Monarchs Universe, he was unable to return. It would be impossible to form an alliance with the Three Monarchs Universe to strike at the Heavens Sect.

    It was at this moment that Bai Wangyuan started to suspect that Lu Yin might have had a hand in Monarch Mu''s disappearance.

    Ultimately, Bai Wangyuan and the others from the Perennial World withdrew. With Sage Yuan''s authority, the Three Monarchs Universe had forced the four ruling powers to send two people to help hold off Aeternus. Xia Shenji counted as one, which meant that the four ruling powers needed to select another.

    Regardless of whom the four ruling powers sent, Lu Yin did not care. He also received a sinct message from Sage Yuan. "The Heavens Sect''s downfall is imminent."

    The unambiguous threat fully encapsted the domineering nature of the Cyclic Universe.

    When a messenger from the four ruling powers arrived, Lu Yin told the man to pass a message back to Sage Yuan. "The debt of blood will be repaid with blood."

    This message was not only intended only for Sage Yuan, but also for the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Great Sovereign, who had helped the four ruling powers banish the Lu family.

    The Sixverse Association was already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s existence, as well as his quest for revenge for the Lu family¡¯s exile. Lu Yin thus saw no reason to mask his feelings. He did not anticipate any mercy from the Great Sovereign, as he had never expected forgiveness from any of his adversaries.

    The more pressure that fell upon the Sixverse Association, the safer Lu Yin would be. For that reason alone, he needed to avoid restarting the war between the Fifth Maind and Aeternus.

    Deep beneath Aeternus Nation, Monarch Mu¡¯s body was being slowly eroded by the vast ocean of death energy. It was bing increasingly difficult for the woman to endure with her monarch essence, and her strength was steadily seeping away.

    Lu Yin arrived, and asked, "What¡¯s it feel like, being enveloped by death energy?"

    Monarch Mu had a badly disheveled appearance, and her face was haggard as she stared at Lu Yin. "Is this the God of Death¡¯s power?"

    "That¡¯s right. I understand that your Three Monarchs Universe has legends about the God of Death," Lu Yin replied.

    Monarch Mu said bitterly, "Those are legends from the Three Monarchs Universe. I am not of that universe."

    "I know. I just wanted you to feel the strength of a true powerhouse from the Origin Universe that you covet so badly. The God of Death was one of the Origin Universe¡¯s Three Realms Six Dao. Did you ever even consider the possibility of encountering such a power when you were divvying up the Origin Universe with Xia Shenji?" Lu Yin asked.

    Monarch Mu shut her eyes. "I ept being defeated by the power of the God of Death. Lu Yin, as Dao Monarch, what are your terms for releasing me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I can¡¯t let you go for now."

    Monarch Mu stared at the young man before her. "Xia Shenji agreed to cooperate with us to deal with you and to eliminate any threat posed by the Lu family. However, you¡¯ve captured me, which means that the Three Monarchs Formation is no longer avable. This will only benefit Aeternus.¡±

    "Is this your goal? With Xia Shenji trapped in the Three Monarchs Universe, it is necessary for them to receive outside strength in order to continue blocking Aeternus¡¯s forces. For that reason, Xia Shenji will be unable to return to the Origin Universe. In fact, he might even force the Origin Universe¡¯s four ruling powers to send additional help."

    Lu Yin admired the woman¡¯s deductions. "Smart thinking."

    He would never dismiss anyone, as he believed that there were no true fools, just varying levels ofprehension.

    Monarch Mu had managed to grasp Lu Yin''s motives almost instantly. If Xuan Qi was ever exposed as Lu Yin, Monarch Luo would instantly realize who was behind Monarch Mu¡¯s disappearance.

    The woman continued to stare at Lu Yin and stated, "We will work with you to fight against the four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin just chuckled. "I justplimented your intelligence, and yet you follow that up with such a naive proposal? Do you really think that I''d fall for such a thing?"

    "Why do you not believe me? Working with you is safer than cooperating with the four ruling powers. ording to my understanding, even if you are counted as one, the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect currently only has two Progenitor-level powerhouses. On the other hand, the four ruling powers possess far more such experts," Monarch Mu reasoned.

    Lu Yin smirked. "To begin with, my Heavens Sect certainly has more than just two Progenitor-level experts. Apparently, Xia Shenji has deceived all of you."

    Monarch Mu''s countenance hardened at this revtion, and a cold wariness appeared in her eyes.

    "Secondly, I have no interest in working with you. The three Monarchs stand united, and yourbined strength is enough to fend off Forgotten Ruins God. You are only useful to me when you are not part of the Three Monarchs Universe. Aside from that, you hold no value.¡±

    "Finally, even if you are truly open to an alliance, how do you n to justify such a decision to the Cyclic Universe?"

    Monarch Mu¡¯s expression shifted, and she responded, "The members of the Sixverse Association each operate independently."

    "Is that so? Then maybe I should add something." Lu Yin stared into Monarch Mu''s puzzled eyes and slowly stated, "I am Xuan Qi."

    Monarch Mu was caught off guard for a moment, but then her expression changed rather drastically. "Xuan Qi? The young genius, Xuan Qi?"

    Amused by her reaction, Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right, I am the genius Xuan Qi. I''ve already managed to gather a decent amount of information regarding your Sixverse Association. So, is there anything else that you''d like to share?"

    Monarch Mu grew pale. She waspletely stunned by this revtion. She simply could not believe that Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, was also Xuan Qi. <i>Wasn''t he brought in from the Transcendent Universe? Wait a moment, they never revealed where Xuan Qi came from. Is it possible...?</i>

    "So, you deceived the Transcendent Universe." Monarch Mu already understood that Lu Yin had acted deliberately from the very beginning. He had assumed the alias of Xuan Qi and then been taken to the Transcendent Universe. After that, he had used that identity as a starting point to further immerse himself into the Sixverse Association. The irony of this was not lost on the woman, as the entire Sixverse Association was under the impression that Lu Yin waspletely ignorant of their universes.

    What she found even more hrious was the ongoing struggle between the Cyclic Universe and the Voidforce Universe for who would take Xuan Qi in. Monarch Mu found herself wondering what sort of reactions the two universes would have once they discovered Xuan Qi¡¯s true identity.

    Lu Yin left Aeternus Nation a short whileter. Monarch Mu had only recently been captured, and she was thus focused on trying to find a way to deal with the Heavens Sect and escape. She had not yet epted that she had fallen from being a powerful Progenitor-level expert to a mere captive. Lu Yin was confident that the next time he spoke with the woman, he would be able to extract the answers he sought from her.

    The fact that both Shao Qingfeng and He Shu had already sessfully returned to the Sixverse Academy was Lu Yin¡¯s cue to return as well.

    Before leaving the Origin Universe again, Luo Lao''er requested to speak with Lu Yin.

    Luo Lao''er had found himself in a ce where he had no path back to the Sixverse Association. He could no longer meet with anyone even associated with the Sixverse Association.

    "The Fifth Maind is home to myriad sects, and they can be found throughout the Outerverse, Innerverse, Cosmic Sea, and the Neoverse. You''re free to join any sect you choose, or even just be a pirate," Lu Yin suggested.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Brother-inw, I want to apany you."

    "I currently go by the name of Xuan Qi," Lu Yin rified.

    Luo Lao''er found himself with nothing to say. He yearned to give voice to his thoughts, but words seemed to elude him.

    "What''s on your mind?" Lu Yin asked, his brow furrowing.

    Luo Lao''er felt a bit intimidated. He was standing in front of a man who had left Monarch Mu severely wounded. This was not the Xuan Qi whom Luo Lao¡¯er was familiar with. "Brother-inw, is it possible for me to seek out a formidable master?"

    "That''s something that you''ll have to figure out on your own. I can''t force anyone to ept you as their disciple. Besides, the Fifth Maind is home to only a single peak powerhouse, which is Arch-Elder Zen. He is a senior who truly deserves respect," Lu Yin replied.

    Luo Lao''er wanted to say more, but before he could speak another word, Lu Yin patted his shoulder and tried to reassure him. "The time wille when you''ll be able to return to the Three Monarchs Universe and reunite with Monarch Luo. On that day, I believe that you¡¯ll be the most worthy sessor of monarch essence. That energy isn''t bad at all."

    With that, Lu Yin departed.

    Luo Lao''er''s expression betrayed his mixed emotions. It was true that monarch essence was an impressive power, but what did that matter? Monarch Mu had still been captured. The young man longed for the day when he would be a peak powerhouse and avenge his mother.

    Luo Lao¡¯er wanted to meet with Monarch Mu, but Lu Yin did not give him that opportunity. For the time being, there was no need for the two to meet. Monarch Mu no longer cared about Luo Lao¡¯er.

    ...

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin appeared on a in the Lower King Domain, close to the ruins of the Fenglei n.

    It was time for Xuan Qi to make a return appearance.

    Taking on the image of Xuan Qi, Lu Yin made his way towards the Fenglei n¡¯s ruins in a spacecraft.

    It took him several days to arrive at his destination, and he inspected the wreckage. Looking puzzled, he asked the locals, "Is this where the Fenglei n lived?"

    The people he questioned were taken aback, and they quickly distanced themselves from the young stranger.

    No matter who Lu Yin asked, no one had the courage to give him an answer.

    Soon, a middle-aged man appeared to confront him. "Young man, what brings you to the Fenglei n?"

    Bowing, Lu Yin exined, "I am a friend of Luo Qian, who is a member of the Fenglei n. I am seeking assistance."

    The man was taken aback. He was aware that Luo Qian was Luo Lao''er¡¯s real name. "You are acquainted with Luo Qian?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "May I know your name?"

    Lu Yin had already identified the middle-aged man, as he was one of the two Demi-Monarchs from the Mo Courtyard who had participated in the attack on the Fenglei n. The man had been closely monitoring the area.

    In a deliberately respectful manner, Lu Yin stated, "This junior is Xuan Qi."

    An hourter, Lu Yin found himself in a courtyard, where the Demi-Monarch had brought him.

    "Senior, may I know why you brought this junior here?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I am Cang Bi," replied the middle-aged man.

    "Greetings, Senior Cang," Lu Yin acknowledged.

    "There¡¯s someone who wishes to see you, which is why I brought you here. You''ll need to be a bit patient," Cang Bi exined.

    "Is it someone from the Fenglei n?"

    After a moment of silence, Cang Bi replied, "That might be it. For now, just enjoy the peace here while you wait."

    "Very well," Lu Yin answered with a bow. He watched as Cang Bi faded into the distance.

    Was it possible that Monarch Luo wanted to meet with Xuan Qi? Unfortunately for the Monarch, this was not the right timing. Lu Yin had chosen to reveal his presence at this moment because he had sensed Forgotten Ruins God''s presence in the Three Monarchs Universe. Another massive battle was about to ur at the border of the human territory of the universe, and Monarch Luo would most likely be busy for some time. Furthermore, Lu Yin expected Xu Xiangyin to soon receive word that Xuan Qi had appeared, and he hoped that Xu Xiangyin would take Xuan Qi away from the Three Monarchs Universe before Monarch Luo returned. Lu Yin was not certain that he could conceal his identity before the Monarch.

    Tens of thousands of individuals, all seemingly prisoners, had been gathered outside of the courtyard. All of them were people who had connections to the Fenglei n. Compared to the rest of the people, Xuan Qi had been given quite special treatment, clearly due to his unique status.

    For the time being, Lu Yin could do nothing but wait patiently.

 Chapter 2573: Tea Ceremony Seat

    <h4>Chapter 2573: Tea Ceremony Seat</h4>

    A few dayster, two people arrived: Xu Xiangyin and You Teng.

    Cang Bi blocked their path. "Xuan Qi is being investigated for his connections to Luo Qian and the Fenglei n. I cannot allow you to take him away yet."

    "Out of my way! You have no right to stop me!" Xu Xiangyin raised his hand and brought out his carrion bug. There was a surge of voidforce energy, and it caused Cang Bi to hesitate.

    Cultivators from the Voidforce Universe were able to harness voidforce energy that exceeded their own strength by several fold. This meant that, even if Xu Xiangyin and Cang Bi possessed simr power levels, the moment that Xu Xiangyin summoned his voidforce puppet, he would wield a level of strength equal to multiple Cang Bis. This was not an opponent that Cang Bi could stop on his own.

    Even so, Cang Bi remained firm. "I cannot stop you on my own, but I''m not alone. The Mo Courtyard is here too."

    As his words echoed, streams of monarch essence shot into space across the Emperor Domain.

    The Mo Courtyard consisted of fifteen Demi-Monarchs. Even after three had been crippled by Qing Ping, there were still twelve experts present.

    The united power of twelve Demi-Monarchs was enough to halt Xu Xiangyin and You Teng in their tracks, though Xu Xiangyin just sneered. "Are you threatening me with the Mo Courtyard?"

    Cang Bi did not back down.

    You Teng spoke up, "The Mo Courtyard¡¯s duty is to protect the Emperor Domain. If you can gather all of the order¡¯s Demi-Monarchs to stand here against us, we will retreat immediately. If not, you will need to step back."

    Cang Bi responded, "Why are you cing me in such a difficult position? I was assigned this task by Monarch Luo himself. Everyone who has had any dealings with the Fenglei n must be detained and investigated."

    "Did Xuan Qi have dealings with the Fenglei n?" Xu Xiangyin arched a brow. "He only just arrived at the Fenglei n ruins and was detained before he even managed to meet with someone from the n. So, exactly who from that n has hee into contact with?"

    "Luo Qian," Cang Bi replied.

    Xu Xiangyin sneered. "Xuan Qi and Luo Qian met each other in the Sixverse Academy before they were both captured by an Aeternus spy. Even if both of them were sent to this universe, they wouldn¡¯t have been able tomunicate with each other. If they had, after Luo Qian escaped, why would Xuan Qi willingly walk into a trap?"

    Cang Bi¡¯s brow furrowed, as he was unable to refute the logic of Xu Xiangyin''s argument. This was also the reason why Xuan Qi had merely been captured and confined, rather than interrogated like all the others.

    Xu Xiangyin then turned to You Teng. "Time waits for no one. We can¡¯t allow them to dy matters."

    You Teng brushed past Cang Bi. "Leave any issues that arise to Monarch Luo and Madam He Ran. We will be taking Xuan Qi with us now."

    Cang Bi raised a hand and blocked You Teng''s path.

    You Teng stared at Cang Bi. "Surely you''re aware of what Monarch Luo is doing."

    Cang Bi froze, and his hand reflexively dropped back down.

    You Teng entered the courtyard with Xu Xiangyin following, though not before giving a contemptuous grunt.

    Upon entering the courtyard, You Teng and Xu Xiangyin were greeted by the sight of Xuan Qi cultivating his voidforce energy.

    Xu Xiangyin excitedly called out, "Boy, finding you was no easy task."

    Lu Yin directed a surprised look at Xu Xiangyin, immediately growing excited himself. "Senior, you¡¯ve finally arrived! I was about to lose hope."

    A heartyugh erupted from Xu Xiangyin. "Rest assured, we will take you back right away."

    The man was genuinely relieved. He had watched the kidnapped students return one by one, but he had never seen Xuan Qi among the returnees. The old man had started to fear that the youth might have died. Xu Xiangyin had been truly concerned about the young man¡¯s fate. It was beyond rare to find a child with such incredible talent, obedience,prehension, and desire for the Voidforce Universe.

    Despite the fact that there was a very real possibility of Xuan Qi being poached by the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Stone Gate, Xu Xiangyin had not given up. In fact, he even felt a bit guilty, as it would be his Voidforce Universe''s loss if they failed to keep the child.

    You Teng also let out a sigh of relief. Xuan Qi was incredibly important to the Transcendent Universe as well, and He Ran had urged You Teng to find the youth on several asions. For this reason, You Teng had rushed to the Three Monarchs Universe along with Xu Xiangyin at the first opportunity. Thankfully, everything had worked out.

    "Senior, am I allowed to leave now?" Xuan Qi asked apprehensively.

    Xu Xiangyin dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "Let''s go. What does the mess in this universe have to do with you? You were just unlucky to be stranded here."

    Hearing these words, Lu Yin''s expression fell and turned bitter. "Senior, you have no idea what I''ve gone through recently! I wasn¡¯t able to find anyone at all, and only after a tremendous amount of effort was I able to learn of the Fenglei n¡¯s location. I wasn¡¯t even able to reveal my strength, as my power doesn''t belong to this universe. After several events, I finally arrived, only to be taken captive. Senior Cang Bi made things sound nice and told me to patiently wait here, but I can see that I was nothing more than a prisoner."

    Outside the courtyard, Cang Bi looked quite troubled as he repeatedly attempted to contact Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing. Unfortunately, the fighting at the border would likelyst for several months at minimum, which made any sort ofmunication very difficult.

    "Enough," Xu Xiangyin sighed, "You can recount your struggles after returning. Shi Jiao has been searching for you this whole time, and she even mobilized the entire Stone Gate to search through the various universes that other students appeared in. While I hate to admit it, the Stone Gate genuinely cares about you."

    With that, the old man and Lu Yin left the Three Monarchs Universe, headed back to the Sixverse Academy.

    While Cang Bi was reluctant to allow them to leave, he did not try to stop them. Out of all the members of the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe had the least say, and they could even be reced at any moment. With Monarch Mu¡¯s disappearance, their universe was already on the verge of being eliminated. They did not dare to offend anyone at such a delicate juncture.

    As for Xuan Qi, they would be able to find him in the Sixverse Academy, the Voidforce Universe, or the Cyclic Universe. If the investigations uncovered anything suspicious about the youth, he would not be able to escape no matter where he went.

    Only after arriving in the Sixverse Academy was Xu Xiangyin finally able to rx. "Fortunately, Cang Bi isn''t too stubborn. If we had run into Chen Le, he might have stopped us. Honest, we would¡¯ve struggled against Chen Le, and he might have even mobilized the entire Mo Courtyard to keep us from leaving."

    You Teng replied, "Chen Le rarely leaves the Emperor Domain, and it''s even said that he''s at a crucial point in breaking through to be a Monarch himself. He can''t be bothered with such matters."

    "Chen Le is breaking through?" Xu Xiangyin eximed. "He really deserves the title of the most powerful Demi-Monarch in their universe. After he breaks through, he will be able to offset the problem caused by Monarch Mu''s disappearance. Even so, it will be quite a challenge to fully integrate him into the Three Monarchs Formation."

    "That''s none of our concern. We have seeded in returning with Xuan Qi, so now it''s your turn to take over. After all, he will end up going to either your Voidforce Universe or the Cyclic Universe," You Teng said before leaving.

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Xiangyin with confusion.

    The old man stated, "It¡¯s lucky that you showed up when you did. If you had been even just a few dayste, you would have missed this opportunity."

    "An opportunity?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    Xu Xiangyin grew serious. "The Sixverse Academy''s trial."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "The academy¡¯s trial? Climbing the mountain?"

    "That is the first trial. You Teng told you that you needed to leave from the same ce that you arrived, yes?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "That trial is designed for those who have integrated different cultivation methods of the members of the Sixverse Association. Uponpleting that trial, a student is allowed to leave the Sixverse Academy and return to their original universe. It¡¯s inevitable that the trial be taken repeatedly, but that does not matter. At the moment, there is an additional trial. It is both a test and a challenge, as well as a reward. This is the good news that I mentioned to you. Have you ever heard of the ''Origin Universe?''"

    Lu Yin''s finger twitched, but he pasted a confused look on his face. "The Origin Universe?"

    Xu Xiangyin straightened up. "I guess that you haven''t heard of it. Before achieving my current level of strength, I hadn''t either. You can think of the Origin Universe as a powerful parallel universe. The current trial is to capture specific people from the Origin Universe." The man paused for a moment. "Bypleting this task, you will be given a reward from the Sixverse Association."

    "It sounds dangerous." Lu Yin hesitated, and a sense of unease crept into his heart. Was the Sixverse Association starting to move against him? Capturing people from the Origin Universe most likely meant capturing people with connections to him. Where had they gotten the confidence to send people into the Fifth Maind?

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "Of course, it will be dangerous, but we''re not sending students on a suicide mission. Sovereign Nine Lotus, who is one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s three Sovereigns, is providing Lotus Artifacts for this trial. If anyone encounters terrible danger, activating their Lotus Artifact will teleport them back to the Sixverse Academy. Even a peak powerhouse will find it difficult to break through the defenses of a Lotus Artifact, and there are very few such experts where you''ll be heading, and none of the targets to be captured will be in close proximity to such people. As long as you don''t expose yourself, the danger that you will face won¡¯t be significant.¡±

    "Xuan Qi, you should take advantage of this opportunity. The Origin Universe is a special ce for those of us in the Sixverse Academy. This is something that you will eventuallye to understand, but besides that, the greatest reward for this trial is enough to drive people mad."

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes positively zed as he asked, "Do you know what that reward might be?"

    Lu Yin managed a bitter smile. "How could this junior know?"

    A wild light lit up Xu Xiangyin''s eyes. "A seat!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "One of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s seats?"

    "No, a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony!" Xu Xiangyin said, carefully emphasizing each word.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. He had heard of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies on more than one asion. They were events that everyone in the Sixverse Academy was keenly interested in.

    In normal situations, the Great Sovereign seldom made any appearances. Only during his tea ceremonies did most people even have a chance to gaze upon the Great Sovereign.

    What were referred to as tea ceremonies were not merely for tasting tea, but also a tform for cultivators to listen to the Great Sovereign''s teachings. Any mention of a tea ceremony never failed to stir up excitement within the Sixverse Academy, and everyone would do whatever it took to listen to the Great Sovereign. Despite this, how many were allowed to attend a ceremony? As for the tea, only by being granted a seat could one even hope to sip tea that had been brewed by the Great Sovereign himself.

    Xu Xiangyin lifted his head, longing clear in his eyes as he continued. "There are only ny nine seats at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies. Out of the entire Sixverse Association and all its associated parallel universes, only ny nine people are given the chance to sit at a tea ceremony and engage in conversation with the Great Sovereign while savoring tea that was personally brewed by the Great Sovereign. Aside from those ny nine, another 9,990,000 individuals are allowed to listen in on the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings. I was able to reach my current state as one of the strongest individuals in the Voidforce Universe because I was allowed to hear the Great Sovereign''s teachings. That opportunity was a gift from Senior Xu Wuwei."

    The old man stared intently at Lu Yin. "Do you understand how many people die each time the Great Sovereign holds a tea ceremony, just because they are fighting for a chance to hear those teachings? These deaths are not from internal discord, but rather because people die on the battlefield while gloriously sacrificing themselves in an attempt to make a name for themselves throughout the megaverse. Being powerful is not nearly enough to secure a ce at a tea ceremony, as opportunities and merit are far more important. As for the ny nine seats, those are far more difficult to secure. Even I struggle to obtain one. How many peak powerhouses are there throughout the Sixverse Association? How many more at my level? If all of the associated parallel universes are included, how high does that number climb? There are just too many. Any seat that bes avable is valuable enough to start a war."

    Lu Yin was already aware of everything that Xu Xiangyin was sharing. He had heard plenty of people talking about how badly they hoped to be able to attend a tea ceremony. They were something that even Progenitors longed to attend.

    "Throughout history, seventeen people have had breakthroughs and be peak powerhouses because of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies," Xu Xiangyin added at the end.

    Lu Yin sucked in a sharp breath. Seventeen peak powerhouses! That meant that seventeen Progenitor-level experts had risen to power because of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies. It soundedpletely unbelievable.

    "Now, do you understand just how important these seats are?" Xu Xiangyin asked solemnly.

 Chapter 2574: Bounty List

    <h4>Chapter 2574: Bounty List</h4>

    Xu Xiangyin''s question left Lu Yin even more puzzled. "Senior, why would such a precious seat be offered as a reward for a trial for the Sixverse Academy''s students?"

    Xu Xiangyin shook his head. "I myself don¡¯t know the answer to that. I asked Senior Xu Wuwei, and he told me that anything involving the Origin Universe cannot be understood with normal reasoning. He also mentioned that the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sage Yuan has visited the Origin Universe on several asions and that he has some sort of conflict with a man named Lu Yin. This Lu Yin refused to enter the war against Aeternus. This trial itself might be a sign of the Great Sovereign''s intent to move against the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin felt a tremendous weight settle onto his heart. The tea ceremony seats were extremely significant, but one was being offered up as a reward for a trial.

    "Who is supposed to be caught?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Xiangyin pulled out a list that he handed to Lu Yin. "As long as the trial participants seed in capturing someone on this list, they will have sessfullypleted the trial and will be rewarded ordingly. The top three people on that list represent tea ceremony seats. Capturing any one of them will earn you a seat. If all three are caught by different people, then there will be another method to determine who is granted the seat."

    As Lu Yin studied the list, his expression subtly changed. From top to bottom, he saw the names of Lei Qingqing, Highsage Leon, Wendy Yushan, You Ling, the Impure Brothers, Luo Shen, Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, Xu San, Ku Wei, Mira, and several others. Every single name belonged to someone that Lu Yin knew. Some were regarded as family, others as friends, while some simply had business ties with him.

    Given the detail of the list, it had clearly beenpiled by someone closely connected to Lu Yin, or it might be the results of an in-depth investigation conducted by the Sixverse Association.

    What was the point of this trial? Vengeance? Some scheme concocted by Sage Yuan? Even so, how could Sage Yuan arrange for the trial to award a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony?

    "This trial is not particrly dangerous, since each of you students will have a Lotus Artifact to protect you, though those won''t be of much help inpleting the trial. I don''t believe that the people of the Origin Universe will dare to actually harm any of you. Lu Yin won¡¯t dare to offend the entire Sixverse Association. For all of these reasons, I hope that you do participate. Even if you are not able to get a seat at the tea ceremony, if you can bring back someone on that list, I can rmend you to Senior Xu Wuwei. There might even be a chance for you to listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings. 9,990,000 people are granted such an opportunity, so you might be able to be included among them," Xu Xiangyin said.

    Lu Yin put away the list and earnestly replied to the old man, "I understand, Senior. I''ll do my best to capture the people on this list during the trial."

    Xu Xiangyin looked quite satisfied. "Don''t try to force things. After all, that ce has peak powerhouses. For now, go rest. You''ll be leaving in no more than five days."

    "Yes, Senior," Lu Yin replied.

    Shi Jiao was not in the Cyclic School, or else she would have greeted Xuan Qi soon after his return.

    Lu Yin sat in a pavilion, staring at a waterfall in front of him, lost in thought.

    The Sixverse Association was being more aggressive than he had anticipated. He had expected Sage Yuan to try to deal with him, which was why Lu Yin had returned to the Sixverse Academy so quickly with his identity as Xuan Qi. His primary goal was to gain a greater understanding of the Sixverse Association, find the means to deal with Sage Yuan, and make various preparations. It waspletely unexpected for the Sixverse Association to move so swiftly.

    Even so, their first move was nothing more than a trial for youths. The cultivation of the people on the capture list were not particrly high, as the strongest was Highsage Leon. Not a single person had a power level of even one million.

    With energy converters, it would be easy for Shao Qingfeng and several of the other students to exceed the power levels of everyone on the bounty list.

    As long as a Semi-Progenitor level powerhouse was not involved, the trial would not have drawn Lu Yin¡¯s attention. If he had not returned to the Sixverse Academy so quickly, several people would have likely been captured before he realized, which would have ced him in a reactive position.

    A cold light flickered across Lu Yin''s eyes. He was not worried about the trial. Despite the fact that the reward of a seat at the uing tea ceremony would spur many students into participating, as long as the trial was conducted in the Fifth Maind, the students would not pose any real threat. Rather, what concerned Lu Yin was the open hostility that the Sixverse Association held for the Fifth Maind. This was a continuation of hatred that originated from the Heavens Sect era, onlybined with a feeling of indifference.

    Several times, Xu Xiangyin had imed that Lu Yin would not harm the students who traveled to the Origin Universe. From the Sixverse Association¡¯s perspective, the Origin Universe had long since fallen into decay, and Lu Yin was a minor threat that could be easily dealt with at any time.

    It was even possible that Xu Xiangyin regarded the Origin Universe as no different from the Cloudflow Universe. This likely reflected the popr opinion of the people of the Sixverse Association.

    Since Lu Yin had be aware of the trial, how should he respond to it? Dealing with the students would be a breeze for him, and their Lotus Artifacts would not be enough to protect them. However, what would happen afterwards? The next people sent to the Origin Universe might be at the Semi-Progenitor level, or even Progenitor level. The Sixverse Association had no shortage of such powerhouses.

    Lu Yin spent a day sitting in the pavilion, alone and mulling over things. The following day, Shi Hong and Zuo Yu unexpectedly arrived.

    "Xuan Qi?" Both of them were surprised to see Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin responded with a slight smile, "What a coincidence."

    "Coincidence? I thought that you were here because you also received the news," Shi Hong said, puzzled.

    Lu Yin looked at her, confused. "What news?"

    "News of the trial," Shi Hong borated, her eyes bright as she looked at Lu Yin. "Many of us will be going to the Origin Universe for the trial. There are quite a few bounties. Since it''s an unfamiliar ce, everyone¡¯s decided to gather here first and select their targets so that we can avoid infighting."

    Nodding, Lu Yin said, "That¡¯s quite a coincidence."

    Then turning to Zuo Yu, he asked, "Are you also going?"

    Zuo Yu irritably replied, "Anyone who¡¯s passed a school¡¯s requirements is allowed to participate."

    Shi Hong stepped forward. "Xuan Qi, who will you be targeting?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Naturally, I''m going for the top three."

    Zuo Yu looked surprised. "You''re going after the top three?"

    Shi Hong chimed in, "The top three are Lei Qingqing, Highsage Leon, and Wendy Yushan. Which one do you n on capturing?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t really know anything about any of them, so I¡¯ll decide who to target after I get to the Origin Universe and find out more about where they are."

    "These people aren¡¯t individuals that you can target just based on how close they are," a voice spoke up from a distance. Luo Zang had arrived.

    The three turned towards where he was approaching, seeing several people following as well. From a different direction, Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, and Mu Mu were also arriving, along with several strangers that Lu Yin had never met before. Each of the individuals had a simr level of cultivation to Shao Qingfeng and the others, and they also had people following them. Clearly, several teams had already been formed.

    Once Luo Zang drew closer, he said, "The Origin Universe isn''t weak. If we scatter aimlessly, we¡¯ll risk being exposed and surrounded by the people there. That''s why we¡¯re gathering here. We need to discuss our targets."

    Shi Hong and Zuo Yu stepped back, silently acknowledging that the people who were gathering were not individuals whom they could afford to offend. They moved behind He Shu, which made sense, as they were all from the Transcendent Universe.

    Xu Ji also arrived. He nced at Xuan Qi before focusing on Luo Zang. "There''s nothing to discuss. Everyone is naturally going to aim for the top three. With so many people participating, how are we supposed to split the different targets?"

    Shao Qingfeng nonchntly replied, "The targets should be assigned based on cultivation level."

    Xu Yue popped out from behind Xu Ji. "This is a trial set up by the Sixverse Academy. There''s no reason for any discussion. We should just get on with things, and whoever catches the targets will prove their ability."

    He Shuughed. "As I''ve mentioned before, randomly capturing people will only alert the Origin Universe. If we are surrounded, or possibly even betrayed by one of our own, none of us will seed. The trial is just one aspect of this task, but this is all unquestionably rted to Senior Sage Yuan. I''ve visited the Origin Universe once before, and that Lu Yin is quite audacious."

    "Audacious? Heh, I like audacious people." A burly man clenched his fists. "It''s just a pity that Lu Yin isn''t on the list. It would be great if we could catch him too."

    He Shu''s eyes flickered. "Lu Yin is able to fight against Senior Sage Yuan."

    His previous threats against Lu Yin had been nothing more than posturing merely for show, a gesture to assert his stance in front of Sage Yuan. He wasn''t a fool¡ªhe recognized the great chasm between their abilities. Thus, upon returning, he had always considered Lu Yin his hypothetical enemy.

    The burly man fell silent. Sage Yuan was one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. That was not a level that any student could contend with.

    "Everyone on this list has to have some sort of connection to that Lu Yin, right? I never imagined that even Senior Sage Yuan would resort to capturing people just to threaten someone," a petite, adorable-looking girl withpletely white eyesmented. Her appearance was rather unique, as even her hair had a bit of white to it, though it was also readily evident that she was extraordinarily intelligent.

    He Shu looked at the girl. "Le Le, how do you think we should divide up the listed targets?"

    The girl absentmindedly toyed with her with her white-ish hair, creating an even bigger mess of it. She looked as though she had not groomed herself in months. "I don''t know. I don''t like talking to you."

    He Shu''s eyes narrowed.

    Suddenly, Xu Yue reached over and grabbed Le Le''s hair. The girl let out a startled yelp, which in turn, also startled Xu Yue.

    "Le Le, what are you doing?"

    "Yue Yue, what are you doing?"

    "I was looking for you."

    "You scared me!"

    "You scared me too!"

    Xu Ji was left speechless by the exchange. "Le Le, everyone here regards you as the smartest of us all. What do you think we should do?"

    Le Le blinked, her eyes somehow bing even whiter. "Well, just capture whoever¡¯s closest to each of us."

    Everyone rolled their eyes.

    Luo Zang posed a question. "We''ll all arrive in the same location, so if we seize whoever¡¯s closest, won''t we just end up all targeting the same person?"

    Le Le retorted, "That''s just stupid. We know nothing about that universe, so of course the first thing that we need to do is spread out and learn about the situation there. When the timees, then we can just capture whoever¡¯s closest to us. Also-"

    She paused to scratch her head, causing white bits to scatter from her hair. Xu Yue shrieked in horror and quickly retreated far away. "Le Le, you''re disgusting!"

    Le Le looked down at her hand, and then smugly asked, "Disgusting? It''s not like you''ve never eaten this before."

    Xu Yue''s eyes went wide with shock. "When have I ever eaten <i>that</i>?"

    Le Le smirked. "Do you remember the snack that I gave you three months ago? You certainly seemed to enjoy it quite a bit."

    Xu Yue nched. "Don''t tell me..."

    Le Le nodded. "Yep. I made it from this."

    Everyone instinctively backed away, all of their faces showing disbelief when they looked at Le Le and sympathy when they looked at Xu Yue.

    Xu Yue screamed in disgust, "Le Le, I''ll kill you!"

    She lunged at Le Le, who instantly fled. The two quickly disappeared from the gathering.

    He Shu gave a small chuckle. "Everyone, don''t take Le Le too seriously. She''s always like this."

    Shao Qingfeng added, "She thinks that this discussion is just a waste of her time."

    Xu Ji countered, "Isn''t it, though? Even if we decide on our targets, who here will willingly give up on an opportunity to capture someone higher on the list? Even if it¡¯s only a one-in-a-billion chance, all of us would readily stake everything for the chance to win a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony. Given our strength, capturing the people on this list is not really the challenge. The real challenge is the race to see who gets there first."

    "Then why are we wasting our breath on this nonsense?" Mu Mu frowned.

    Shao Qingfeng exined, "We''re here to caution everyone. The Origin Universe may not be formidable, but it''s also not weak. We need topletely avoid the Heavens Sect."

    He Shu chimed in, "That''s the exact reason why we''ve gathered here, to avoid the Heavens Sect. No one is allowed to go anywhere near that ce.

    ¡°Also, one more thing: betraying each other, even at the brink of death, is forbidden. Anyone who dares to do so will not be spared if they return alive.¡±

    "Whoever we manage to capture will ultimately depend on our own abilities," the burly man dered.

    "If we capture someone, won''t that make them a subhuman?" a voice suddenly piped up.

    "Those on that list are already all considered subhuman," Luo Zang stated coldly.

 Chapter 2575: Hostages

    <h4>Chapter 2575: Hostages</h4>

    He Shu lifted his head and proimed, "The day I be a peak powerhouse, even Lu Yin will be nothing more than a subhuman."

    Shao Qingfeng chuckled. "That day wille. Our Cyclic Universe will conquer the Origin Universe and punish them for offending us. We¡¯ll start by targeting those close to Lu Yin. It will be a unique experience for him to watch his loved ones being sold off as subhumans."

    "Haha, I''m really looking forward to it."

    "We are the first ss from the Sixverse Association¡¯s Sixverse Academy to integrate the power of the six universes. In the future, there is no doubt that we will ascend to the top echelons of the association. Conquering the Origin Universe shall be our goal. What do you say?"

    "Sounds good. I''m in."

    "I''m in as well."

    ...

    "Xuan Qi, what about you?" someone asked.

    Shao Qingfeng and the others looked over.

    As everyone stared at him, Lu Yin chuckled. "Sure."

    He Shu arched a brow. He was the only one present who was aware that Xuan Qi was also from the Origin Universe. He Shu found Xuan Qi''s smile iprehensible. Was the man reallyughing? About what? After all, the Origin Universe was also his universe.

    No one had any idea what Lu Yin wasughing about, as he had just released a genuine, heartfeltugh.

    Given what was happening, he would not have anyck of motivation to pursue vengeance for the Lu family.

    ver the next two days, all of the participating students gathered near the pavilion to wait. Soon, a woman named Yuan Qiunan arrived. She was one of Sage Yuan¡¯s disciples.

    "I overheard some discussion about conquering the Origin Universe. Allow me, Yuan Qiunan, to congratte you all in advance on your sess." Yuan Qiunan happily greeted the students upon arriving.

    The students responded modestly, "Sister Qiunan is ttering us. Our skills are not much, and we were just chatting about our dreams for the future."

    Yuan Qiunan continued, "My master has heard of your ambition and is quite satisfied. He sent me here to provide you with some information regarding the Origin Universe in hopes that it might aid you in your trial."

    The crowd was overjoyed. "Many thanks to Senior Sage Yuan. With this, we won''t need to waste time investigating."

    "Thank you, Senior."

    "Thank you, Senior."

    Some timeter, Yuan Qiunan left, though not before expressing her satisfaction with everyone''s attitude yet again. The students grew increasingly confident about Sage Yuan''s, or perhaps the entire Cyclic Universe''s, disdain for the Origin Universe. The youths¡¯ contempt for the Origin Universe also grew more evident in their words, as did their hostility towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also received the delivered information, and he proceeded to calmly review it.

    It was very detailed information, as each person on the bounty list had their location listed, their cultivation level, and even their battle techniques.

    Essentially, the students had been given a guidebook for their trial.

    It was not actually a trial at all, but rather a kidnapping operation that was targeting Lu Yin.

    He Shu approached Xuan Qi and whispered, "Don''t even touch the top three. Regardless of whether you are capable of capturing them, the other students won''t be polite if they notice what you¡¯re doing. Be careful."

    Lu Yin did not reply, and he just watched as He Shu walked away. He had likely delivered a warning from He Ran. She cared about Xuan Qi because of Zi Jing.

    While the students were caught up in discussing who they would capture, Lu Yin left.

    The day of the trial finally arrived, and everyone was gathered in outer space. Their escort was an unknown Semi-Progenitor-level expert from the Cyclic Universe whom they learned was under Sage Yuan''smand.

    The escort soon arrived, and when he raised a hand, several palm-sized power vessels that looked like ss lotuses flew out and into the hands of the gathered students.

    Lu Yin caressed the Lotus Artifact that he had been given. It was a power vessel that had been created by Sovereign Nine Lotus, and it was capable of directly transporting him to the Sixverse Academy.

    "These Lotus Artifacts can spare you from death once. Use them only as your final resort. Also, these are intended as rewards for participating in this trial. You are not required to return the Lotus Artifacts even if you still have one when the trial ends," the Semi-Progenitor stated.

    The students were ecstatic, as they had each essentially been granted an extra life.

    Lu Yin carefully stored his Lotus Artifact while ncing covetously at the other students. He wanted all of the Lotus Artifacts.

    The unknown Semi-Progenitor tore through the void and led the students away. A single step delivered them to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin looked around. Were they at the edge of the Astral River now? The bank that he saw off in the distance looked familiar.

    Seeing that the Sixverse Association could freely enter and leave the Fifth Maind greatly worried Lu Yin. He had no idea how many coordinate seals they might have nted within the Fifth Maind.

    Coordinate seals were unique to Aeternus, and the Sixverse Association could only acquire them by stealing them from the Aeternals.

    Coordinate seals acted as beacons to specific spatial coordinates, which allowed people from other parallel universes to find a targeted universe. At the same time, the seals quite literally sealed off small areas.

    It was not impossible for parallel universes to intersect. An example of this was how the Fifth Maind and the Three Monarchs Universe met at the base of the Tower of Resonating Light. Long ago, Gu Yue had managed to seal that connection by using a coordinate seal that he had somehow obtained.

    Lu Yin yearned to obtain numerous coordinate seals, as that would enable him to freely travel between parallel universes.

    He suddenly thought of Jiang Chen. How had that guy visited Earth on multiple asions? He had mentioned that his father was something of a powerhouse, and there was also that lightning rabbit that Jiang Chen had been persistently hunting.

    The more Lu Yin learned about parallel universes, the more intrigued he became with Jiang Chen. If only he could find that man again.

    Additionally, there was also Lu Yin¡¯s own acquired innate gift of space. It was possible that it would one day allow him to freely roam about parallel universes in the same manner as the big tree.

    "Everyone, I believe that all of you are aware of the information provided by Senior Sage Yuan regarding this ce and your targets. Be extremely cautious and act within your limits," Shao Qingfeng said. His gaze briefly rested on Lu Yin before the young man left.

    Luo Zang, He Shu, and the others followed suit, each leaving on their own.

    With the information that the students had been provided, they had a general idea of the targets¡¯ locations. All they needed to do was confirm that information.

    Lu Yin was confident that the majority of the students would make their way to the Cosmic Sea. Of the top three names on the bounty list, two of the people could be found in the Cosmic Sea: Highsage Leon and Lei Qingqing.

    As everyone dispersed, Shi Hong led Zuo Yu away.

    Noticeably, Seruzen was missing from the trial.

    Jiang Xiaodao was acting unusually subdued, and he seemed lost in thought.

    Lu Yin left the others without attracting any attention. Despite Xuan Qi¡¯s extraordinary talent, one¡¯s cultivation level and intelligence would be far more important factors in their sess during this particr trial, which was why everyone had overlooked Xuan Qi.

    After separating from the other students, Lu Yin quickly crossed the Astral River and returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Upon arriving, the first person that Lu Yin met with was Wang Wen.

    "Capturing people?" Wang Wen''s surprise was evident.

    Lu Yin handed the bounty list to Wang Wen. "I knew that the Sixverse Association would take action, but I didn''t expect them to move so quickly. Furthermore..."

    Wang Wenpleted the sentence, "...this childishly."

    <i>Childishly?</i> Lu Yin considered the sentiment, but he found himself agreeing. "Exactly. For a grudge between universes, the idea of sending a group like this to capture hostages is rather naive. Still, if they manage to seed, it could prove quite effective."

    Wang Wen grew solemn as he set the list down and stared intently at Lu Yin. "Why isn''t my name here?"

    Lu Yin locked eyes with the man. "You want to be captured?"

    ¡°Of course not! But the fact that my name is missing from this list is an insult! I was instrumental in unifying the Outerverse, and I''ve given you solutions to many other issues. The fact that I¡¯ve beenpletely overlooked is quite irritating," Wang Wenined.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Then let''s broaden their perspectives. Just like the Astral Beast Domain, we¡¯ll make you their greatest threat."

    A coldugh escaped from Wang Wen. "They¡¯ll learn to respect me! How dare they underestimate me? Hmph!"

    Having vented his annoyance, Wang Wen picked the list back up. "Let''s select a few to give to them."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. "That¡¯s just what I was thinking."

    Wang Wen''s voice grew harsh, "They''ve made their move, and we naturally need to respond. We must maintain some level of control over this situation, as we need to appear both defiant and manageable. This is how they won''t go all out topletely crush us. As you¡¯ve said, just their reserve strength is more than enough to deal with us, and I don''t n on dying.

    "They are openly provoking us and revealing their hatred in a tant manner, but we still need to maintain some level of bnce."

    Lu Yin said, "This is exactly why I wanted to infiltrate the Sixverse Association with the identity of Xuan Qi. I had hoped to be able to strike first, but unfortunately, time didn''t allow for that."

    Wang Wen shook the list. "They¡¯re already resorting to kidnapping hostages, presumably to strong-arm us into sending help to the Three Monarchs Universe. Regardless, since we have Monarch Mu, we might as well extend a bit of help. The four ruling powers won''t be able to do much against us as long as Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen are around. On top of that, we don¡¯t need to worry about Aeternus for now. Even if worsees to worst, we can always just return Monarch Mu, though that is ourst resort."

    Lu Yin also hoped that they would not be forced to take that step. Should things develop in that manner, not only would they be at odds with the Three Monarchs Universe, but they would also have openly offended the Transcendent Universe, which would be no different from making enemies with the entire Sixverse Association.

    At the moment, the Sixverse Association looked down on the Origin Universe and felt contempt due to past grievances, but this was not the same as apletely hostile position. There was a distinct difference.

    "I''ll let you choose the candidates," Wang Wen said. "Find out who''s willing to be captured. The Sixverse Association needs our cooperation, so none of the captives will suffer."

    Lu Yin also understood this. "They¡¯re essentially going to be hostages."

    "Just like that Luo Lao''er," Wang Wen agreed. He soon left, and Lu Yin stared at the bounty list. He was lost in thought for a rather long time. Eventually, he marked a few names. He intended to negotiate with those people. Even if he needed to offer them up as hostages to the Sixverse Association, they needed to first consent to it.

    For the moment, Lu Yin was quite curious to see what methods the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students would employ to aplish their task.

    The information that they had been provided with would result in various tactical moves, and this would then reveal key strategies of the Sixverse Association.

    ...

    The information that Shao Qingfeng and the others had received led to most of the students moving in secret until the targets were located. The students wielded a variety of powers, which meant that they should not face any problems in capturing their targets. They believed that the only obstacles in their path were each other, which made speed the most important aspect of this trial.

    The target who could be found closest to the Astral River was Mira.

    Mira, who was also known as the Red Lotus Witchbow, could be regarded as Lu Yin''s guide for when he had first stepped into therger universe when leaving Earth. Without her, even if Lu Yin had sessfully disguised himself as a descendant of King Zishan, it most likely would not have been nearly as smooth a process. Mira had been the person who had sent Lu Yin to the Astral Combat Academy, and she had also ensured his membership in the Outerverse Youth Council. Lu Yin owed the woman a debt.

    While Lu Yin hadter risen to prominence and his interactions with Mira had be few and far between, she remained someone of great importance to him. It was only natural that she had been listed as a bounty.

    Three people were targeting Mira. Two of the students were people that Lu Yin had never even spoken with. They could be considered the most average type of students in the Sixverse Academy.

    Even after decades, Mira''s long white hair still hung to her feet, and she also had cute little bangs on her forehead. She looked the same as before. She was dressed in a light summer dress, and her skin was clear andpletely unblemished.

    The only change was that she had matured. One¡¯s temperament was enough topletely transform a person. In the past, Mira had put on an act in order to appear more mature, but at present, every move she made radiated feminine charm.

    Mira came from a called Dream Locust in Erudite Flowzone. She had once been a follower of Wen Sansi, but she had since joined the Heavens Sect and be one of countless cultivators who patrolled the Fifth Maind.

    "Return to base," Mira ordered as she stared at her gadget.

    "Yes."

    The spacecraft soon adjusted course, and Mira stood and stretched her weary body. She felt truly exhausted!

 Chapter 2576: Clash Of Universes

    <h4>Chapter 2576: sh Of Universes</h4>

    At that moment, the vessel swayed slightly, and Mira looked up to see someone standing on the roof of the spacecraft.

    There was a deafening crash as the hull copsed into a gaping hole appeared that the person stepped through. Almost immediately, the unknown silhouette unleashed a downward palm strike aimed at Mira.

    Mira did not panic. She had cultivated for decades and had be quite ustomed to being ambushed. Death had already be a constantpanion during the war against Aeternus.

    The attacker¡¯s palm technique was unpredictable, though it radiated an overwhelming pressure that felt like the descent of an immovable mountain. Many people would clearly recognize it as the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate.

    A red lotus bloomed beneath Mira''s feet. It looked quite strange, though also beautiful. Red threads drifted up from the lotus and shed with the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate, a Progenitor-level battle technique. While the attacker possessed a cultivation level that wasparable to Mira''s, just the Second Hand was enough to shatter her red lotus.

    However, the sh between the two techniques had already given Mira an opportunity to dodge. A red longbow appeared in her hand, and she loosed an arrow that had the power of the red lotus twined about it. This was her Red Lotus Witchbow.

    The attacker was a bit stunned.

    "Impressive power," heplimented before throwing out a piece of broken wood from his cosmic ring. The wood not only shattered Mira''s arrow, but it also continued flying towards her. She felt an unprecedented sense of danger from the piece of broken wood.

    It was a voidforce puppet, and it possessed three times more voidforce energy than Mira¡¯s attacker. While the Sixverse Academy student was only equal to a Hunter and had only spent a bit more than a year in the Voidforce School, he had sessfully cultivated his voidforce energy to nearly the Hunter level. Mira was incapable of standing up to what was essentially three times the strength of a Hunter.

    She was shocked by the sudden change. Where had such a strong opponente from?

    After uniting the entire Fifth Maind, the Heavens Sect had dispatched countless cultivators to patrol the Maind and maintain order. Mira had been on patrol for six months, but not once had she encountered any true danger. She had not expected to be suddenly attacked, and she also had no idea of where her assailent might havee from.

    At the most dangerous moment, an ancient character appeared above Mira''s head. This was the recently developed visualization method.

    The ancient golden characters were a visualization method that had been spread by the Heavens Sect, and it allowed people to significantly increase their strength during a battle.

    After activating her visualization method, Mira lifted a palm to block the approaching piece of broken wood. The power of her red lotus surged yet again as she drew on the Cosmic Art that she had learned in the Tower of the Fifth. The broken piece of wood was shattered, stunning Mira¡¯s attacker. <i>Impossible!</i>

    Mira retreated a few steps, her face pale. "Who are you? You dare to attack the Heavens Sect?"

    The attacker snorted contemptuously before vanishing. However, he almost immediately appeared next to the shattered remains of the broken piece of wood.

    Mira''s eyes flickered. An innate gift?

    She quickly tried to respond, but the piece of broken wood shot off, and her attacker reappeared next to the item, making a quick exit.

    Right when Mira was about to give chase, a beam of green light appeared out of nowhere and swept through the area. It grazed her body as it zed through outer space, obliterating everything in its path.

    Just the ncing impact of the green beam of light was enough to send Mira hurtling through outer space. Had she been struck directly, the attack would have killed her outright.

    Shey sprawled on the ground of a, and looked up.

    A man stepped out from the wreckage of her vessel, a smug smile on his face. "This is why cultivation civilizations are weak. Even after entering the Sixverse Academy, I didn''t enter the Cyclic School. The Arboreal School was clearly the better choice, as I obtained a free innate gift there, haha."

    "Who are you?" Mira growled through gritted teeth. There was blood trickling from her hair, and there was no strength left in her body.

    The man walked closer and squatted down. "Allow me to introduce myself-" He suddenly stopped, changing his mind. "On second thought, I¡¯d better not. You''re quite a beauty."

    Mira red at the man through cold eyes. "Do you know who I am? You actually dare to attack the Heavens Sect?"

    The man released a coldugh. "The Heavens Sect? That name doesn¡¯t sit well with us."

    He reached out and cupped a hand to Mira''s cheek. "I''ve caught one, but there''s still time to capture another."

    Suddenly, Mira was dragged into a card, which caused the man''s expression to instantly change. He quickly drew back while shouting, "The Lost n? Who is it? Show yourself!"

    A shadowy figure appeared behind the man, brandishing a dagger at a deadly speed. The shes left numerous wounds across the man''s body. The man was originally from the Transcendent Universe, and he was not particrly powerful. Thus, he could only rely on his green energy converter as he attempted to defend himself. The person from the Lost n had no way to respond to a green energy converter, so he instead shot past the man from the Transcendent Universe, grabbed the card, and fled.

    The student with the energy converter became livid. A wave of his hand caused a wave of green energy to sweep out. "You bastard! Go to hell!"

    The man from the Lost n was already long gone.

    Throughout the entire ordeal, Lu Yin had seen everything.

    Three people had tried to capture Mira. The first had attacked openly and directly, the second had tried to collect the spoils, and the third had acted covertly. The different approaches showed the differing mindsets of the three individuals¡¯ universes that were part of the Sixverse Association.

    Mira had been trapped inside a card that belonged to a member of the Lost n. However, she could break free whenever she wished. The card was not the same as Zenith Mountain, and it was incapable of holding a person for an extended period of time.

    The man from the Lost n believed that he had captured Mira, but could it really be that easy? Anyone who qualified to join the Heavens Sect would not be captured so simply.

    In a distant location in outer space, the man from the Lost n stared at the card in his hands. His eyes zed with anticipation. Capturing even just one person would give him a chance to listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings. While his Lost n did not care about those teachings, it was undeniable that many had experienced breakthroughs after listening to the Great Sovereign. This student hoped to surpass his fellow nsmen and reach or even possibly exceed Zhi Xiao''s level.

    Suddenly, the card in his hand cracked. The man was startled. How was this possible?

    He reflexively released the card, and it shattered. Mira stumbled out, looking rather disheveled. She had not yetpletely lost the ability to move and had instead been putting on an act to lure out her attacker. She had not expected another person to suddenly show up, so she had been forced to use a Money Bomb to blow up the card to escape.

    The man from the Lost n stared at Mira as she emerged from his card. He immediately decided to retreat. Anyone who could break free from his card was not someone whom he could handle.

    But he was already toote.

    Mira took a gun out from her Cosmic Ring and shot the man, knocking him down.

    The gun was a microarray weapon.

    In the distance, the man with the green energy converter pursued Mira. She looked back at him. All of these people could forget about escaping. She put on a dark green lens, and numbers flickered across it before ultimately settling on 460,000.

    "He actually has a power level of 460,000? Time to switch weapons," she muttered to herself.

    Mira kept a close eye on the man from the Lost n while simultaneously watching the approaching man with the green energy converter.

    The man with the energy converter stared at Mira, surprise evident on his face.

    "You escaped?" he asked. As he spoke, the numbers on his own lens leaped to 480,000. He burst out, "You actually have a power level of 480,000?"

    Mira raised a hand and fired a shot. At the same time, the man with the energy converter fired a beam as well. Both people had reacted with the same speed.

    The microarray gun wasposed of five sourcebox arrays, and the shot shattered the beam of green energy and continued on to pierce through the man¡¯s shoulder. He looked down at his paralyzed arm in disbelief. This woman¡¯s power level had instantly leaped from around 100,000 to almost 500,000, and her attack had possessed a power level of more than 500,000! This was simply impossible!

    Mira held another gun in her left hand, aimed it at the man from the Lost n, and demanded, "Start talking. Who are you people?"

    The man¡¯s eyes briefly flickered. "We¡¯ve failed. Time to go back."

    The man with the green energy converter was unwilling to admit defeat, but there was nothing that he could do. No matter if it was Mira''s personal strength or the power of her power vessel, he was no match for her. On top of that, they were in the Origin Universe, and it was possible for them to be suddenly surrounded at any moment.

    "Go back?" Mira unhesitatingly fired both guns, aiming at the men¡¯s hearts with the intent to immobilize them.

    Neither bulletnded, as they were instead stopped before they reached their targets. They were obstructed by an unseen power. Both of the men were stunned, as they were unaware of where the power protecting them hade from.

    Suddenly, they both felt their minds reel, and they fell unconscious.

    Mira was startled by this sudden development, as it meant that another expert was present.

    A shadowy figure appeared and said, "Well done."

    Mira looked at the neer in surprise and gasped, "Lu Yin?"

    She immediately corrected herself and bowed low. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin gave a nod. "You''ve been injured. Treat your wounds."

    "These are nothing," Mira replied. She was quite startled by Lu Yin''s sudden appearance, as this meant that he had been watching everything from the start. At least he was satisfied by her performance.

    Lu Yin proceeded to relieve both of the Sixverse Academy students of their Lotus Artifacts. He held the power vessels in his hand as he studied them in admiration. These power vessels that Sovereign Nine Lotus had crafted were truly impressive. They were capable of enduring even a Progenitor¡¯s attack. However, the two students had not been able to activate their power vessels in time. They had assumed that they would be able to use the Lotus Artifacts when they encountered danger, but they had not even been able to react when someone who truly possessed the strength of a Progenitor had attacked.

    Storing the two men away, Lu Yin turned back to look at Mira. "You coordinated your tactics well."

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch," Mira answered respectfully.

    Lu Yin studied the woman. "How long has it been since west saw each other?"

    A slight tremor ran through Mira¡¯s body. "Many years."

    "Yes, it has been many years." Lu Yin sighed. "How¡¯s Michelle?"

    "She''s well."

    Lu Yin dropped the topic and instead gave a warning. "You might be attacked by others as well. Stay on guard at all times."

    Mira felt confused by the warning, and she asked, "Dao Monarch, just who are these people?"

    Lu Yin waved the question away with a hand. "You don¡¯t need to know about that, but you also don¡¯t need to show any mercy. If you can kill them, consider it your own strength."

    With that, he left with his two captives. As for the first man who had attacked Mira, he had also been collected by Lu Yin, which gave him a total of three additional Lotus Artifacts.

    The fact that Sovereign Nine Lotus was capable of producing so many Lotus Artifacts was quite impressive. While each one was only able to block a single attack, they were still quite useful. Lu Yin wondered just how many she was able to create. If she could make enough for everyone, then Aeternus would truly be in trouble.

    Mira had been the closest target from the Astral River, which was why it had only taken the Sixverse Academy students six days to find her. However, the other targets would not be so easy to find. The Fifth Maind was enormous, and even with the students¡¯ numerous methods, locating the other targets was far from easy.

    Half a monthter, in the Erudite Flowzone, Wen Sansi was attacked. However, his attackers sessfully used their Lotus Artifacts to escape.

    Wen Sansi was attacked by two people; one was from the Cyclic Universe, and the other was from the Transcendent Universe. One possessed a cultivation level that was close to an Envoy¡¯s, which made them second only to the top geniuses of the Sixverse Academy, such as Jiang Xiaodao. The man had assumed that he would be able to capture Wen Sansi.

    As for the second attacker, that person had used a green energy converter.

    The final result was no different from when Mira had been attacked; both students were defeated by Wen Sansi, and they were ultimately forced to use their Lotus Artifacts to survive.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to steal all of the students¡¯ Lotus Artifacts.

    Several dayster, Ling Gong was attacked, though she likewise defeated the students from the Sixverse Academy.

    The students had been rather unlucky so far. The targets closest to where they had arrived in the Origin Universe were people like Wen Sansi and Ling Gong, who not only possessed formidable personal strength, but also the advantage of the recently developed weapons of the Heavens Sect. Even the students¡¯ energy converters offered little advantage. All the top geniuses were making their way to the Cosmic Sea, which led to the Sixverse Academy failing repeatedly.

    Six students had already returned in failure, each a picture of utter dejection. The most unfortunate of them had been stabbed through the heart by Ling Gong''s spear and had only narrowly escaped death. It was only through pure luck that the young man had survived.

 Chapter 2577: Mission Accomplished

    <h4>Chapter 2577: Mission Aplished</h4>

    Time flowed by, and half a month passed before any of the Sixverse Academy students managed to reach the Outerverse¡¯s western weaves, which was where Ancestor Lingtong stayed. The student confirmed Xu San¡¯s presence and then ambushed him.

    There was hardly any resistance at all before Xu San was captured.

    Lu Yin stopped Ancestor Lingtong from taking action, as it was necessary for Xu San to be taken away.

    Xu San had been targeted by more than just one person, as there were three. Each of the three had targeted Xu San, which had led to internal fighting among the students. Just as the students had originally predicted, their greatest obstacle was not the Origin Universe, but each other.

    Xu San''s capture almost seemed to be a signal. After his capture, Y¨­u Ye''er was soon kidnapped, followed closely by both Coco and Zhuo Daynight. All three women were attacked and sessfully captured.

    Four targets in a row were attacked and captured by the Sixverse Academy students. All the while, Lu Yin closely monitored everything.

    He had actually intervened when Zhuo Daynight had been attacked, but only because the attacker had been about to immediately leave upon capturing her, which was uneptable.

    Lu Yin had allowed Xu San and the others to be captured so that he couldunch his own attacks after the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students were exposed. This way, Lu Yin could steal more Lotus Artifacts. The people who had captured Xu San and the others had all been eager to capture more targets, which was why they had not tried to immediately leave the Origin Universe. This worked to Lu Yin¡¯s benefit, as the captured individuals were not the ones whom he intended to allow to be taken away.

    Zhuo Daynight was not supposed to be among the captured people.

    The person who had targeted Zhuo Daynight carried no ambition, and naturally, Lu Yin would not allow things to proceed.

    "I need to go," Zhuo Daynight told Lu Yin, her voice determined.

    "The situation right now isplicated, and I can''t ensure your safety if you leave," Lu Yin warned.

    "As long as I stay in this universe, no matter how much I cultivate, I will only ever be able to reach the same level as my ancestor, the first Dayking. However, even he was weak whenpared to peak powerhouses," Zhuo Daynight exined.

    Lu Yin stared at her for a moment. "Are you sure?"

    "Absolutely."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright."

    After Lu Yin left, Zhuo Daynight nced over at the unconscious woman. She was the student who had tried to capture Zhuo Daynight, and the student had used a green energy converter to do so. Zhuo Daynight had only been captured because she had been training outdoors without her smoke or microarray weapons.

    Upon sensing that the woman would soon awaken, Zhuo Daynight quickly feigned being unconscious andid down beside the woman.

    As soon as the student woke up, she looked around, quickly finding the unconscious form of Zhuo Daynight. What had happened? The woman could only remember that she had been just about to leave, so why had she unexpectedly fainted?

    The woman felt that there was something wrong with the situation, so she quickly grabbed Zhuo Daynight and fled.

    That woman became the first student to sessfully capture someone and return to the Sixverse Academy.

    A full month passed. One day, Leon''s Armada was attacked. The resulting battle was so shockinglyrge that it affected the entire Cosmic Sea.

    Shao Qingfeng had attacked Highsage Leon. Shao Qingfeng had an impressivebat strength that allowed him to challenge an expert with a power level of about 700,000. With Shao Qingfeng¡¯s recent integration of techniques and abilities from the other universes in the Sixverse Association, he managed to fight Highsage Leon to a draw. In the end, he even left a wound on the pirate king after taking advantage of a blue energy converter.

    Fortunately, Big Sis appeared in time, and she easily defeated Shao Qingfeng. In fact, Shao Qingfeng was even forced to use his Lotus Artifact to escape.

    Sage Yuan had provided a bit of information regarding the Fifth Maind, and some of it was even quite detailed, but the man knew almost nothing about Big Sis.

    Big Sis was no longer the same person that she had once been. She had be a formidable powerhouse after unsealing a portion of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s power. When she visited the Perennial World, Big Sis had even managed to fight against Semi-Progenitors, such as one of Xia Shenji''s clones. Shao Qingfeng was absolutely no match for Big Sis.

    Big Sis''s interference also revealed the truth behind the trial.

    Lu Yin then took swift action, saving Xu San and others who had been captured but were still in the Fifth Maind. In doing so, Lu Yin picked up five Lotus Artifacts. Combined with the three that he had previously taken, as well as his own, he now possessed nine Lotus Artifacts.

    He Shu and the others quickly learned of Shao Qingfeng''s defeat and escape to the Sixverse Academy. From that moment on, the rest of the students abandoned any thought of trying to capture Highsage Leon or Big Sis. As for Wendy Yushan, they found her to be just as difficult to capture. She resided in Frostwave Weave, which was within the Heavens Sect¡¯s territory. Even entering the region would be seeking death. With no other option, the students moved on to other targets.

    Even if they were unable to obtain the most valuable reward, they absolutely could not return empty-handed. Total failure was not an option.

    ...

    While shrouded in smoke, Wen Sansi fought against a figure who was d in a blue and white coat. The former Arbiter was facing off against He Shu. "Are you from the Sixverse Association?"

    He Shu replied, "Come with me. Your resistance is fruitless and will only bring disaster down upon your Wen family."

    Wen Sansi retorted, "That depends on how capable you are."

    He Shu had no desire to waste time, so he quickly activated his red energy converter, which caused his power level to spike to over one million. The sudden increase in strength left Wen Sansi helpless, and he was instantly captured.

    Ling Gong was also captured, though it took thebined efforts of Xu Ji and Xu Yue; one of the two attacked openly, while the other attacked from the shadows.

    With two targets captured, Lu Yin exposed his strength. He used the Cosmic Art to ess Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, and with Star Stomp, Lu Yin had control of the entire Fifth Maind. The revtion of Lu Yin¡¯s true capabilities scared the remaining Sixverse Academy students so badly that they all fled.

    Jiang Xiaodao immediately tore through the void in order to escape. Was this Lu Yin''s true power? How terrifying! That man was an absolute monster!

    Jiang Xiaodao felt incredibly frustrated. He had maintained a low profile the moment the trial had been announced, and he had intended to take advantage of Shao Qingfeng. Jiang Xiaodao had prepared himself, expecting to see Shao Qingfeng capture Highsage Leon during their fight in the Cosmic Sea. However, when Big Sis had exposed her terrifying strength, Jiang Xiaodao had been scared into hiding, and Shao Qingfeng had been forced to flee.

    After that, Jiang Xiaodao had decided to target Ku Wei, who was still in the Astral Beast Domain. Since he needed to cross the Heavens Sect and enter the Astral Beast Domain, Jiang Xiaodao had assumed that he would not face any trouble. However, he had not anticipated Lu Yin''s horrifying abilities. Discovering Lu Yin¡¯s strength had made Jiang Xiaodao instantly decide to return, just to be safe.

    In the Sixverse Academy, Shi Jiao and the universe representatives were staring at Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, and Zhuo Daynight. After some time, they exchanged nces. "This is worse than what we expected."

    "At least they¡¯ve managed to capture a few targets," Zhi Bing said.

    Xu Xiangyin nced over at Shao Qingfeng and the other students who had already returned. "We''re still missing some."

    "Lu Yin took action. He must have captured the rest of the students. The Lotus Artifacts are able to defend against an attack from a Progenitor, but for that to happen, the students need to be able to respond. How could any of them possibly react in time if they faced a Progenitor?" Mu Sanyemented.

    Xu Xiangyin noted the absence of Xuan Qi, and his brow furrowed. Had Xuan Qi simply not returned, or was he unable to do so?

    Shi Jiao also noticed, and she quickly asked, "Does anyone know where Xuan Qi went?"

    Not one student responded.

    You Teng suggested, "It¡¯s possible that he simply hasn''t returned yet. Provided that he doesn''t expose himself, not even a Progenitor would be able to locate him."

    Out of everyone in the Sixverse Academy, You Teng alone knew that Xuan Qi was someone from the Origin Universe. This was also why he was the only person who carried some expectations for Xuan Qi. It was even possible that the youth would return with a pleasant surprise for them.

    Several dayster, Xuan Qi suddenly arrived in the Sixverse Academy, a frantic expression and a Lotus Artifact protecting him.

    As soon as they saw Xuan Qi, Shi Jiao and the representatives heaved a collective sigh of relief. They had all been waiting for him.

    Xu Xiangyin walked over, looking at Lu Yin with concern. "Are you alright?"

    Lu Yin looked up at Xu Xiangyin. "This junior has sessfullypleted my mission."

    He then pulled a person out from behind him: Wendy Yushan.

    As the glow of the Lotus Artifact slowly faded, everyone in the area was stunned silent. Only Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, and Zhuo Daynight, the three captives, had strange expressions on their faces as they watched.

    All of them had been captured because Lu Yin had made arrangements with them.

    Ling Gong stared at Lu Yin with an odd expression. How could someone so high and mighty act like such a loser? If she were in his ce, she would have ordered all of these useless people away.

    Lu Yin licked his dry lips. "Senior?"

    Only then did Xu Xiangyin regain his senses. Xuan Qi¡¯s achievement had given the old man a considerable shock. Wendy Yushan lived under the close watch of the Heavens Sect. She was someone whom the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch, Lu Yin, was very close to, and whom he almost considered a member of his own family. She had been listed as one of the three most important targets on the list. Capturing this woman meant securing a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony.

    It was the prize that Xuan Qi had just won that left everyone stunned in silence.

    Not one of the people present had ever been granted a seat at a tea ceremony. As for the 9,990,000 spots for people to listen in on the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings, only a very select number of people in the Sixverse Academy had been granted that privilege.

    Shi Jiao stared at Xuan Qi with a bit of confusion as she approached him, her eyes heated. "How did you manage to capture her?"

    Wendy Yushan looked around. ¡°Are all of you from the so-called Sixverse Association?¡±

    Shi Jiao turned to Wendy Yushan. ¡°Indeed. Wee to the Sixverse Association. You are currently our guest.¡±

    Wendy Yushan''s eyes grew cold, and they swept past Shi Jiao to settle on Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong scoffed. ¡°Just eat and drink as much as you please. There¡¯s no need to overthink things. Just wait for your Dao Monarch toe rescue you.¡±

    A scornfulugh erupted from the representative of the Three Monarchs Universe. His name was Suo Xian. ¡°Do you really think that anyone can save you now that you¡¯re inside the Sixverse Association? Do you really believe that your Origin Universe is still home to the glorious Heavens Sect of the past? That era is long gone! Your so-called ¡®Heavens Sect¡¯ is nothing more than a pathetic remnant that¡¯s living in self-deception.¡±

    Wen Sansi looked at the man and cautioned, ¡°Consider your actions thrice before acting, lest they bring disaster upon yourself.¡±

    Suo Xian suddenly struck at Wen Sansi with a st of monarch essence that sent Wen Sansi flying back. The man was a Demi-Monarch, and even a casual strike was enough to leave Wen Sansi severely wounded.

    The young man coughed up blood, his face deathly pale as hey on the ground.

    ¡°You should watch your attitude,¡± Suo Xian coldly retorted.

    No one stepped in. No matter if it was because of events from the ancient past, or from the recent trial, no one held any particrly good feelings toward the Origin Universe.

    Wen Sansi struggled to his feet before looking at Suo Xian with a frighteningly calm expression.

    ¡°Hey, old geezer, why don''t you just kill us and see if you can capture some more hostages from the Fifth Maind?¡± Ling Gong mocked.

    Suo Xian directed a cold re at Ling Gong.

    To the side, Zhuo Daynight chimed in, ¡°Given your strength, going there would be nothing less than suicide.¡±

    Enraged, Suo Xian was just about tosh out again, but Shi Jiao interjected in a harsh tone, "Enough! These people were personally requested by Senior Sage Yuan. If you kill them, you''ll have to exin things to him yourself."

    Suo Xian''s expression shifted at the thought of Sage Yuan''s terrifying might. Finally, the Demi-Monarch had no choice but to back down.

    "Xuan Qi, how did you manage to capture Wendy Yushan?" Xu Xiangyin asked in a gentle voice. The question drew everyone¡¯s attention back to the mainmotion.

    Shao Qingfeng was missing, as he had entered seclusion to recover from his injuries. However, He Shu and the top students had all stayed and waited, as all of them were curious to see the final results of the trial. They were also all aware of just how difficult it must have been to capture Wendy Yushan, as even a single misstep would have meant death. None of the students dared to underestimate the Origin Universe any longer.

    After personally experiencing the strength of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivators, all the students hadpletely given up on capturing someone from under the Heavens Sect¡¯s nose. So how had Xuan Qi, given his rather modest strength, pulled it off?

    You Teng''s eyes flickered as he stared at Lu Yin.

    As everyone stared at him, Lu Yin coughed once and then looked at Xu Ji and Xu Yue. "Actually, I should be thanking the Xu siblings. Without them, I wouldn''t have been able to capture her at all."

    Everyone turned to look at the brother and sister. How were those two involved?

    The siblings exchanged baffled nces. "We''re involved?"

 Chapter 2578: The Origin Universes Resources

    <h4>Chapter 2578: The Origin Universe''s Resources</h4>

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before speaking. "I am well aware of my own limitations. Rather than acting rashly, I looked into the various rtionships between the people on the target list. It took a great deal of effort, but luckily, I finally managed to obtain a bit of valuable information. It turns out that Wendy Yushan and a person on the list named Ling Gong have a very close rtionship. Ling Gong even acted as a guide, which allowed Wendy Yushan to join the Ten Arbiters Council. So, this junior simply waited at the Lingling n. As long as someone managed to capture Ling Gong, it was certain that Wendy Yushan would leave the Heavens Sect¡¯s territory and make her way to the Lingling n.¡±

    "As expected, not long after Ling Gong was captured, Wendy Yushan arrived. I took that opportunity to capture her, but she still had quite a few bodyguards around her. If not for some resourcefulness and my Lotus Artifact, I might not have been able to return."

    Xu Xiangyin nced at Lu Yin before turning to the Xu siblings. "I see now."

    Xu Yue gritted her teeth. "Xuan Qi, you used us!"

    Lu Yin gave a sheepish grin, "I wasn''t using you. It was just a coincidence, nothing more."

    Shi Jiaoplimented, "Smart! So, you didn''t believe the information that Senior Sage Yuan provided you with from the very beginning?"

    Lu Yin answered sternly, "That¡¯s not it. The information that we received from Senior Sage Yuan was very urate, and the fact that these other people were captured is proof of that. However, as one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, he doesn¡¯t have time to waste on the Origin Universe, and only the locals would know more about the situation there. That''s why I investigated multiple sources."

    "You¡¯re despicable!" Wendy Yushan spat.

    Ling Gong mocked, "Does everyone from the Sixverse Association have such lowly behavior? You even exploit your own people. You really are disgusting."

    Xu Xiangyin shouted, "Shut up! As long as the goal is achieved without viting the association¡¯s treaty, all methods are eptable."

    He looked at Lu Yin, and continued praising with open admiration, "It¡¯s clear that you don''t rely solely on your talent. You''re also capable of assessing a situation and making urate judgments. Xuan Qi, your future is limitless."

    You Teng also expressed his admiration. "Impressive."

    Mu Sanye added, "This is the kind of person who can survive on the battlefield. Someone without a brain won¡¯t make it."

    Mu Sanye¡¯s words grated on Xu Yue''s ears, as it sounded like the older man was implying that she and her brother were brainless. Wendy Yushan had indeed been captured, but Xu Yue and Xu Ji had essentially handed Xuan Qi the victory. If they had just waited a bit longer for Wendy Yushan to arrive, the siblings would have been the ones to secure a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony instead.

    Xu Yue had not been fond of Xuan Qi from the very beginning. However, after the incident with the Lightning tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary, she had started to feel a hint of guilt toward him. After the trial, she found herself liking the man less than ever. He was nothing but a scoundrel.

    "It seems that no one else will be returning. For this trial, twelve of the participants have disappeared without a trace. They either ran into trouble after activating their Lotus Artifacts or never had the chance to use them at all. The most likely exnation is that they¡¯ve been captured by a peak powerhouse," Shi Jiao guessed as she looked around, "We''ll leave this matter to Senior Sage Yuan. If those twelve are still alive, Senior will surely bring them back. However, don''t hold out much hope. After all, death is only to be expected during any trial."

    All the Sixverse Academy students bowed in unison. "Understood."

    Xu Xiangyin left, gleefully returning to the Voidforce Universe to report Xuan Qi''s sess. The fact that the youth had secured a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony was more than enough to make anyone green with envy.

    You Teng stared intently at Lu Yin for a long moment before also departing.

    As for Zhuo Daynight and the other captives, Shi Jiao took them all to the Cyclic Universe. Before they left, Wen Sansi and the other three nced at Lu Yin. He met their eyes. Not one of them knew if they were headed for fortune or disaster.

    Initially, Lu Yin had only chosen Wen Sansi and Ling Gong to be captured, and the two had also been willing to go to the Sixverse Association in order to improve their strength. They felt that there were not enough opportunities left for them in the Fifth Maind. As former members of the Ten Arbiters, they were unable to ept the gap that had appeared between themselves and Lu Yin. Later, Wendy Yushan and Zhuo Daynight had also eagerly volunteered to participate.

    When Wendy Yushan learned of the trial and that she was a target, she had contacted Lu Yin and insisted on being captured. Her resolve had been so strong that Lu Yin had found himself unable to refuse her, and he had ultimately decided to include her in order to have Xuan Qi achieve something impressive.

    He was confident that none of the captives would be in any sort of danger for the time being, as Sage Yuan needed them for negotiations.

    You Teng returned to the Transcendent Universe and met with He Ran to report the results of the trial.

    He Ran was taken aback by the news. "Xuan Qi captured someone important and won a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony?"

    You Teng nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    He was not as servile to He Ran as Ke Jian. You Teng did not need to kneel in obeisance, as his You family held an important status within the Transcendent Universe.

    He Ran was quite impressed. "Xuan Qi really is a prodigy. His talent is outstanding, and his intelligence is alsomendable. Now that he has obtained a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony, his future has only be even more promising. If he joins the Stone Gate and inherits Sage Stone¡¯s seat, then he will truly be someone extraordinary."

    You Teng replied, "Regardless of whether he joins the Stone Gate or the Voidforce Universe, the young man stands a very good chance of eventually bing a peak powerhouse."

    "Bring Zi Jing here," He Ran suddenly ordered.

    Someone in the shadows soon delivered Zi Jing.

    Upon hearing that Lu Yin had captured Wendy Yushan during a trial in the Origin Universe in order to secure a seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony, Zi Jing felt not even the slightest bit of surprise. After all, Lu Yin had been acting on his home turf.

    "You''re not surprised?" He Ran asked curiously.

    Zi Jing replied, "Madam is already aware of Xuan Qi''s history. He knows that universe all too well."

    He Ran nodded in agreement. "True. Let alone Wendy Yushan, it might have even been possible for him to capture a true member of the Heavens Sect.¡±

    A thought suddenly urred to Zi Jing. "Madam, it might be possible that the Origin Universe has the resources that we require."

    He Ran''s eyes lit up. "Are they avable in the Origin Universe?"

    Zi Jing respectfully exined, "The Origin Universe is one of thergest known universes, and it is also the universe that was home to the Heavens Sect when it was at its peak. When ites to resources, it¡¯s possible that no other parallel universe can rival the abundance found there."

    You Teng interjected, "The Sixverse Association''s treaty forbids any unauthorized entry into the Origin Universe."

    Zi Jing turned to You Teng. "Unauthorized entry is forbidden, but nothing mentions anything forbidding people from the Origin Universe from leaving."

    You Teng was taken aback and found himself speechless.

    He Ran abruptly stood up. "Bring Xuan Qi to me."

    You Teng looked up at He Ran. "If the Cyclic Universe learns about this, it will be hard to exin things to them."

    He Ran¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold. "Why should we exin ourselves? We are the Transcendent Universe! We are not subordinate to the Cyclic Universe. We are not some disposable pawn like the Three Monarchs Universe. Bring Xuan Qi here now."

    You Teng hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. "Very well."

    With that, he turned and left. Before leaving, he gave Zi Jing a deep look. In the past, this woman¡¯s intentions had been as clear as water. She had changed a great deal since.

    In the Sixverse Academy, Lu Yin was about to return to Aeternus Nation when You Teng returned to the academy.

    The man¡¯s arrival relieved Lu Yin. If You Teng had returned just a short whileter, Lu Yin would have already left, and if he vanished from the Sixverse Academy without any exnation, then even an idiot would realize that something was wrong.

    "Xuan Qi,e with me. Madam He Ran wishes to see you," You Teng ordered before leading Lu Yin away.

    Lu Yin soon found himself at the foot of the staircase that was covered with blooming flowers. He bowed to He Ran. "Xuan Qi greets Madam He Ran."

    He Ran''s voice sounded as melodious and refreshing as ever. "Xuan Qi, you are no stranger to the Origin Universe, are you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s correct. I¡¯m quite familiar with the ce."

    Zi Jing handed Lu Yin a list and asked in a gentle voice, "Look at this. Could you find these materials there?"

    As he took the list, Lu Yin met Zi Jing''s eyes. "Do you need these?"

    Zi Jing hummed in acknowledgment, but she said nothing as she stepped back.

    He Ran''s eyes flickered at the brief exchange, though she also remained silent.

    As Lu Yin looked at the list, surprise flickered across in his eyes. This was the same list that he had received from the olddy from the Mu family! Monarch Mu had attacked the Fenglei n precisely because she needed these resources, and that was because she was negotiating a trade with none other than the Transcendent Universe.

    It appeared that the Transcendent Universe was truly in dire need of these materials.

    There was an odd expression on He Ran¡¯s face as she asked, "Well, Xuan Qi? Do these resources exist in the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin responded, "I don¡¯t know."

    He Ran felt puzzled. "You don''t know?"

    Lu Yin exined, "This list only contains the names of various materials, but names are bound to be different between the Origin Universe and Transcendent Universe. I¡¯m not certain what these materials are just by their names, but I can search the Origin Universe for what you need, provided that I have a sample or a description."

    He Ran turned to Zi Jing. "Give him some samples."

    She then turned back to observe Xuan Qi. "Are you truly willing to search for these materials in the Origin Universe on my behalf?"

    Lu Yin soundedpletely sincere as he dered, "Madam has been taking good care of Zi Jing, so I''d be grateful for a chance to serve you."

    The answer pleased He Ran. "Good. Ke Jian will apany you. As long as you manage to find these materials in the Origin Universe, you can request anything you wish. You don''t need to worry about Zi Jing. I''ll make her the second most important person in the entire Transcendent Universe, after me."

    "Thank you, Madam," Lu Yin expressed his gratitude.

    Suddenly, He Ran asked, "Have you seen Bai Qian?"

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. "Bai Qian?"

    "The woman who was here the first time we reunited," Zi Jing reminded him.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment before doubtfully rifying, "The arrogant woman?"

    A smirk tugged at He Ran''s lips. She enjoyed hearing others belittle Bai Qian.

    "I haven¡¯t seen her, Madam," Lu Yin replied.

    He Ran looked confused. "She was supposed to attend that secret auction with you. She was most likely captured by Tu Shuangshuang."

    Lu Yin replied in a helpless tone, "I was captured by that madwoman Tu Shuangshuang as soon as I left the auction. I''m not sure what happened to the others."

    He Ran nodded. "No matter. Even if she dies out there, it''s nothing important. Xuan Qi, when can you return to the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Due to the recent trial, the Origin Universe is currently on high alert. Twelve of the academy¡¯s students are still missing, and I don''t know if they were captured or if something else happened to them. I think we should wait a bit."

    Zi Jing spoke up in a respectful tone, "Madam, we can''t wait too long. We need to have those materials in ce within six months at most, or else our experiment will be dyed."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Zi Jing. "Is it that urgent?"

    Zi Jing nodded. "It¡¯s very urgent. The Origin Universe is huge, so as long as we don''t expose ourselves, returning there shouldn''t be too dangerous."

    After thinking for a short bit, Lu Yin replied, "Alright, I''ll move out as soon as possible."

    He Ran chuckled. "In that case, you may return to the academy for now. I''ll be waiting for good news."

    You Teng quickly took Lu Yin back to the Sixverse Academy.

    When they arrived, You Teng seemed hesitant about something, but he eventually left without speaking a word.

    Lu Yin immediately announced that Xuan Qi would be going into seclusion. He needed to return to the Heavens Sect. He had not expected to be summoned by He Ran, and her request to gather the various materials had also been a surprise to him, albeit a pleasant one.

    After half a month, the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect was yet again graced by Progenitor Long¡¯s sixth visit. However, this time, Progenitor Long was apanied by Sage Yuan.

    Lu Yin stepped out, seeming rxed andid back as he looked at the two men. "Progenitor Long, you''ve got quite the nerve, knocking at my door all the time. Are you asking to be thrown out?"

    Progenitor Long retorted indignantly, "Lu Xiaoxuan, you''ve be too conceited! Even your father needed to show respect when he spoke to me!"

    "Bullshit." Lu Yin contemptuously dismissed the man¡¯sints before turning to Sage Yuan. "It took you longer to show up than I had anticipated."

 Chapter 2579: Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 2579: Attitude</h4>

    Sage Yuan demonstrated the same arrogance as before as he stood before Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you will soon learn the proper attitude with which you should address me. You shouldn''t dismiss the Cyclic Universe so lightly.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down, unfazed. "So what? Should I serve my enemies tea and bow to them? You should be grateful that I haven''t already told you to get lost."

    Sage Yuan remained impassive. "You should have brought Xia Shenji back, as I told youst time."

    Lu Yin scoffed. "And like I told youst time, get lost."

    Progenitor Long frowned. "Lu Xiaoxuan, our guest deserves your respect. Don''t embarrass our Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin looked at the Progenitor. "Just how do you think the Sixverse Association views our Origin Universe?"

    He waved his hand, and a dozen people suddenly fell out from a tear in the void. They were the students from the Sixverse Academy that he had captured. "Why don''t you ask these people what they think of our Origin Universe? Or do you already know?"

    Progenitor Long looked troubled. He was only all too aware of the Sixverse Association¡¯s attitude towards the Origin Universe; they wished to see the Origin Universe devolve into a primitive and chaotic hellscape and be torn apart by internal conflicts, or even bepletely annihted by Aeternus.

    If not for Aeternus, the Sixverse Association would have likely already openly attacked the Origin Universe.

    Sage Yuan responded with a coldugh. "You¡¯re a sharp-tongued little brat. I didn''te here to discuss anything with you. Since you clearly know why I came and haven¡¯t attacked me yet, then does that mean that you''re willing to ept my terms?"

    Lu Yin''s expression hardened. "When faced with shameless people, what else can you do? What do you want? You''d better not overstep yourself!"

    Sage Yuan sped his hands behind his back. "Send support to the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the request. "Fine, but return my people first."

    "Impossible."

    "I''ve already epted your conditions."

    "Your people will live well, but they can never return to you."

    Lu Yin gave the matter a bit of thought and then said, "My people will join the Sixverse Academy then."

    Sage Yuan arched a brow. "Are you trying to negotiate terms with me?"

    Lu Yin locked eyes with the man. "What if I am?"

    Sage Yuan scrutinized Lu Yin. This was their third time meeting each other. During both of their previous meetings, Sage Yuan had been attacked by the youth. This had led to him forming an impression that Lu Yin would rather be a shattered piece of jade than aplete tile. Sage Yuan believed that the only thing preventing Lu Yin from another violent disy was the hostages that the Cyclic Universe had acquired.

    The young man¡¯s true thoughts were indiscernible to Sage Yuan.

    Even so, that did not matter. As long as Lu Yin was able to support the Three Monarchs Universe, the four ruling powers would have an opportunity to invade the Fifth Maind.

    "Agreed," Sage Yuan replied, his tone icy.

    ¡°They will be given the same opportunities as everyone else," Lu Yin continued.

    Sage Yuan responded in a cold voice, "Once they join the Sixverse Academy, their origins will no longer matter. At the very least, I can promise you that the academy itself will not mistreat them."

    "That''s all I¡¯m asking for," Lu Yin replied before casually tossing the twelve students over to Sage Yuan. "I don¡¯t have any interest in touching this trash."

    "What about their Lotus Artifacts?" asked Sage Yuan.

    Lu Yin nonchntly answered, "I don''t know about those."

    Sage Yuan''s face twitched. "Do you realize that those were gifts from Sovereign Nine Lotus?"

    "I don''t know about those," Lu Yin repeated.

    Sage Yuan took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well. I hope that you don''t regret this."

    Lu Yin snorted. He had already been threatened with the Great Sovereign himself, so why would he fear Sovereign Nine Lotus? Even if he did return the Lotus Artifacts, would it cause the Cyclic Universe''s attitude toward him to improve at all?

    "Our deal is done. Now scram," Lu Yin said dismissively.

    Progenitor Long clenched his teeth in frustration. He had never been so humiliated in all his years as a Progenitor, being shooed away multiple times.

    Sage Yuan''s eyes glittered with a chilling light. "Lu Xiaoxuan, if I were you, I would make sure to clearly grasp my situation. The Lu family has already paid for their crimes; don''t continue down this path. If you provoke the Cyclic Universe into taking action against you, it won¡¯t end with something as simple as banishment."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "How many times have you threatened me?"

    Sage Yuan''s expression fell.

    "And have I ever shown any hint of fear?" Lu Yin continued.

    Sage Yuan huffed in dissatisfaction before turning to leave.

    Lu Yin spoke up again. "Did you receive the message that I sent you?"

    Sage Yuan hesitated, "Do you wish to repay a blood debt with blood? Fine. Come to the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony and challenge me there. No one will interfere, and I¡¯ll give you a fair chance to decide your fate. Of course, you need to get there first."

    With that, the man disappeared.

    Progenitor Long spoke up, his voice solemn. "As Sage Yuan just told you, you need to send aid to the Three Monarchs Universe. Any further resistance is meaningless. Lu Xiaoxuan, you''re no longer facing the four ruling powers, but rather the Sixverse Association. That is six powerful universes."

    Ice entered Lu Yin''s voice as he responded, "For Long Xi''s sake, I''ll give you one more reminder. Once Aeternus is eliminated, you¡¯ll be looking at the same future as Progenitor Liu."

    Progenitor Long frowned. "There¡¯s no need for such threats. Do you intend to help the Three Monarchs Universe yourself, or will you send Arch-Elder Zen?"

    "Arch-Elder Zen," Lu Yin replied without hesitation.

    "If he goes, who will protect Shenwu Continent for you?"

    "That¡¯s my business. If you guys want to try to open that passageway again, go for it.¡±

    Progenitor Long finally left, having achieved his goal. Once Arch-Elder Zen was gone, the Fifth Maind would only have Lu Xiaoxuan to protect it. Things seemed to be about to revert to how they had been originally. The treaty between the four ruling powers and Lu Xiaoxuan was still in ce, but the recent addition of the Sixverse Association provided them with more room to maneuver. Additionally, Lu Xiaoxuan still needed to protect Shenwu Continent.

    Lu Xiaoxuan would not be able to endure for much longer.

    Upon seeing Progenitor Long leaving, Wang Wen approached him. "Now that we''ve given the Sixverse Association back the hostages that we captured, their guard should be lowered. They might try to toy with us like a cat with a mouse. To them, we are toys that they can manipte at will, but to you, you might as well be dancing on the edge of a knife. Even though we are hidden and they are exposed, the gap in strength between us is toorge."

    "I know," Lu Yin responded casually, "The four ruling powers want to use the Sixverse Association as their de against me. If I hadn''t captured Monarch Mu, the Three Monarchs Universe would''ve been the first toe after me, but for now, I can restrain the Third Monarchs Dimension and even deal with the others.

    "The Transcendent Universe is developing a terrifying cultivation technology. If they seed, they could potentially unbnce the entire Sixverse Association."

    "Do you want to move against the Transcendent Universe now?" Wang Wen asked in surprise. It was too early, given his original ns.

    "They brought it upon themselves. Which of our people would be the most suitable for cooperating with the Transcendent Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The Technocracy?" Wang Wen suggested.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The Transcendent Universe far surpasses the Technocracy in almost every aspect. Forcing the Technocracy to work with the Transcendent Universe will only make them look down on us, and we''ll be pushed into a passive position."

    "Who else do we have?" Wang Wen asked, feeling confused. With the Fifth Maind almostpletely under the Heavens Sect''s control, if the Technocracy was not an option, then was Lu Yin intending to use the Astral Beast Domain?

    Lu Yin looked south. "Gods'' Origin."

    The moment Zi Jing had given the list of materials to Lu Yin, his first thought had been of Gods'' Origin. To begin with, the members of Gods'' Origin referred to themselves as gods and were incredibly arrogant, believing themselves to be superior to all others. This attitude would likely reassure the Transcendent Universe in two ways. First, it would show that Gods'' Origin most likely would not scheme against the Transcendent Universe, and secondly, it would show that Gods'' Origin was unwilling to submit to the Heavens Sect.

    Finally, Gods'' Origin''s derived their power from Truesight. They wielded a unique power that could even be described as magical. After all, they were able to create something from nothing. This was in no way inferior to the abilities of the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin had already infiltrated the Sixverse Association and learned about its member universes. He had also reached the point where he was able to fight against Progenitors, but he still felt that the cultivation and battle style of Truesight waspletely unique in the megaverse. It would undoubtedly astonish the Transcendent Universe.

    The only way to earn respect was through power.

    God of Mirrors had never dreamed that Lu Yin would one day return to Gods'' Origin.

    Lu Yin was able to fight against Progenitors, and he could not gain much benefit from the ruins that belonged to Gods'' Origin. Both of them wanted to enter Burial Garden and seek greater relics from the Rune Civilization that had been lost.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch." God of Mirrors bowed.

    Other members of Gods'' Origin simrly paid their respects.

    Lu Yin stared at God of Mirrors. "You need to be more arrogant."

    The man blinked, feelingpletely perplexed. Arrogant?

    ...

    Several dayster, Arch-Elder Zen officially left to support the Three Monarchs Universe. He was led to the universe by Bai Sheng.

    As soon as Arch-Elder Zen left, everyone assumed that the Fifth Maind had lost its only true Progenitor. To everyone''s surprise, Humility''s Gate announced that they were setting up a branch in the Fifth Maind, and Mu Xie,mander of Humility''s Gate, personally arrived to oversee activities in the Fifth Maind.

    This was an even worse situation than if Arch-Elder Zen had stayed, as the Perennial World had lost a Progenitor, while the Fifth Maind had suffered no loss at all.

    The four ruling powers tried to stop Mu Xie from leaving, but their efforts were futile. He was not weaker than any of the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors.

    After Lu Yinpleted making arrangements with Gods'' Origin, he used a Lotus Artifact to return to the Sixverse Academy. After arriving in the Singrity Universe, he disappeared from where he had gone into seclusion, though no one could detect anything.

    He felt his heart ache at the thought of consuming a Lotus Artifact just to make a trip.

    He could not allow himself to continue on in this manner. He absolutely had to find the coordinate seal for the Singrity Universe. Otherwise, he would have to use a Lotus Artifact every time he made a trip to the Fifth Maind, which not an expense that he could afford.

    There was no doubt in his mind that Xu Xiangyin, Shi Jiao, and the other universe representatives had left energy traces on a coordinate seal in the academy. There was no other way for them to locate the small universe.

    A few days after returning to the Sixverse Academy, Lu Yin went to find You Teng to request another meeting with He Ran.

    You Teng was rather unwilling to facilitate a meeting between He Ran and Xuan Qi, but the man was also unable to refuse.

    "Xuan Qi, are you aware of the Sixverse Association''s feelings towards the Origin Universe?" You Teng abruptly asked, his tone calm and steady.

    Lu Yin replied, "I participated in a student gathering before the trial that took ce in the Origin Universe. From what I could learn there, there seems to be some bit of animosity."

    You Teng exined, "It''s not so much animosity as it is a grudge from an ancient era, and that grudge persists even today. It¡¯s why the Sixverse Association holds such ill-will towards the Origin Universe. It has even led to some radicals calling for more aggressive action against that universe. However, with the looming threat of Aeternus, as well as how powerful the Heavens Sect once was, the Sixverse Association has decided to adopt a policy of non-interference when ites to the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin listened attentively.

    "This non-interference policy means that, no matter what happens to the Origin Universe, we will neither get involved in their affairs, nor will we reveal our existence. This is rather simr to their attitude toward us during the Heavens Sect era," You Teng continued as he recalled the past. "Aeternus is a formidable enemy, and while I hate to admit it, they''re bing increasingly difficult for us to contend with."

    The man looked at Lu Yin. "The longer we wait, the harder Aeternus will be to deal with, as they grow stronger with each passing day. The chances of the Sixverse Association defeating Aeternus on our own are quite slim, and for that reason, the Origin Universe is an existence that cannot be ignored.¡±

    "There is a chance for that universe to one day regain the splendor of the Heavens Sect era, which would provide humanity with the possibility to defeat Aeternus. Despite their current fractured state, the Origin Universe is still able to restrain some measure of Aeternus''s power. In terms of pure strength, that ce far surpasses the Three Monarchs Universe, which makes them an essential weapon in the war against Aeternus."

 Chapter 2580: Trading Partner

    <h4>Chapter 2580: Trading Partner</h4>

    Lu Yin''s gaze flickered. You Teng¡¯s attitude towards the Fifth Maind was quite bnced, as the man bore a mix of distaste due to past grudges, while also the hope that the Origin Universe would be able to help stop Aeternus. This was a sharp contrast to the people who were single-mindedly bent on destroying the Fifth Maind. "Are you telling me all this because of the materials that you need from there?"

    Somethingplicated and conflicted flickered through You Teng''s eyes. "If it was just about those resources, that would be one thing..." He paused a moment before finishing. "I am aware of your grudge with Lu Yin."

    Subconsciously, Xuan Qi¡¯s hands clenched into fists.

    You Teng¡¯s voice grew stern. "It¡¯s possible that you have secretly started to hope to wield Madam He Ran''s power to deal with Lu Yin."

    "This junior has absolutely no such thoughts!" Lu Yin immediately denied.

    Raising a hand to stop the young man from continuing, You Teng said, "You don¡¯t need to justify yourself. Revenge is something that should be sought and taken. If there is power avable to be borrowed, then why not use it? There''s no need to hesitate over such a thing."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    "I am sharing all this with you just to inform you, or rather, to provide you with a choice. Given your rtionship with Zi Jing, it is indeed possible for you to borrow Madam He Ran''s power against the Origin Universe. On top of that, Lu Yin already has plenty of enemies in the Origin Universe. All of that,bined with He Shu''s attitude, means that it''s not impossible to dismantle the current Heavens Sect. However, you always need to consider Aeternus in any n.¡±

    "Aeternus is a sword that hovers above humanity''s throat. My hope is that, even if you find yourself able to exact revenge, you won¡¯t drag the entire Origin Universe down as well," You Teng finished.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Do you believe that this junior has the ability to influence the entire Origin Universe?"

    An intense light blossomed in You Teng''s eyes. "Zi Jing''s influence in the Transcendent Universe is only growing. Madam He Ran and He Shu both harbor contempt for the Origin Universe. Xu Xiangyin favors you greatly, and the Stone Gate has also recently started to fight to win you over. Yes, you should be able to influence the attitude of an entire universe. With so many details added together, you already wield a terrifying level of influence.

    "Xuan Qi, you are already able to threaten Lu Yin."

    You Teng said nothing more and instead tore through the void and led Lu Yin to meet with He Ran.

    "Madam, has Zi Jing ever mentioned Gods'' Origin to you?" Lu Yin asked He Ran.

    Zi Jing, who was standing to the side, quickly spoke up. "I''ve already organized all the information regarding the Origin Universe and delivered it to you, Madam."

    Up on the staircase, He Ran shifted slightly. "Gods'' Origin? Isn¡¯t it an organization in the Neoverse?"

    "Yes," Lu Yin confirmed.

    He Ran asked, "Do they have the resources?"

    Appearing serious, Lu Yin proceeded to borate, "Gods'' Origin controls vast regions of the Neoverse, but more than that, they have an extensivework that spans the entire Fifth Maind. They use this to find and collect relics from the Rune Civilization. They also engage inmerce, build sects, and have even established empires. It''s safe to say that they wield incredible influence from the shadows of the Fifth Maind. In the past, I managed to establish a good rtionship with Gods'' Origin¡¯s God Taiyi, so I can ask him to use Gods'' Origin''s influence to gather the resources that you¡¯ve requested."

    Zi Jing quickly countered Xuan Qi¡¯s im. "Lu Yin seems to have a pretty good rtionship with God Taiyi. It would be best if you don¡¯t approach him."

    Lu Yin replied, "You''re mistaken, God Taiyi despises Lu Yin."

    Zi Jing¡¯s brow furrowed. "How is that possible? Everyone in the Fifth Maind knows that he and God Taiyi have a good rtionship. Even I''ve heard of it."

    Lu Yin confidently stated, "That was only at the beginning. The truth is that Gods'' Origin looks down on everyone. They see themselves as the Rune Progenitor¡¯s heirs, and their ability to create something out of nothing causes them to regard themselves as gods. As far as they¡¯re concerned, Lu Yin was a prodigy of their methods, and as he advanced further, Gods'' Origin certainly did want to curry his favor. However, everything changed after the incident with God of Magenta."

    God of Magenta had been one of Xia Ji¡¯s clones, and Xia Ji had hidden the clone in Gods'' Origin as a part of his schemes against the other forces of the Neoverse. However, those ns had been exposed by Lu Yin. In the end, only a few people knew the truth about God of Magenta, as Gods'' Origin had sealed all information. This made it impossible for the Transcendent Universe to uncover anything, even if they sent people to the Neoverse.

    They would only be able to find what Lu Yin allowed them to see.

    Lu Yin narrated what had happened with God of Magenta, though he was following a prepared script, and Zi Jing was stunned by the story. She had beenpletely unaware of the events that Lu Yin was sharing.

    He Ran interjected, "I have no interest in the Origin Universe¡¯s internal disputes. All that matters is if this Gods'' Origin can truly help me gather those materials."

    "Absolutely," Lu Yin reassured the woman, "They have extremely extensive influence throughout the Fifth Maind, and publicly, they have a good rtionship with Heavens Sect, which will make gathering resources a breeze."

    He Ran''s eyes lit up. "Ke Jian."

    Ke Jian emerged from the void and offered a respectful bow. "Madam."

    "Apany Xuan Qi to that universe. Verify that it''s possible to gather the necessary resources," He Ran instructed.

    Ke Jian acknowledged his orders and nced over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin courteously addressed the man, "Thank you for your assistance, Senior."

    Ke Jian nodded. He had been the one to take Lu Yin and Zi Jing to the Transcendent Universe from the Origin Universe. Despite only a brief amount of time passing, the man¡¯s previous superior attitude had disappeared. When facing Xuan Qi, Ke Jian was obligated to show some measure of courtesy.

    The man soon led Lu Yin through a spatial tear and back to the Origin Universe.

    Zi Jing anxiously asked, "Madam, if Gods'' Origin is unable to gather the resources, what will happen to Xuan Qi?"

    "Don''t worry," He Ran replied. "He has already gained the Voidforce Universe¡¯s attention, and he is also your man. Even if Xuan Qi is discovered by Lu Yin, he will be fine."

    Zi Jing answered respectfully, "My only fear is that your ns will be dyed, Madam."

    He Ranughed. "That doesn¡¯t matter. If a deal with Gods'' Origin doesn''t work out, we can always find others to work with. I absolutely expect the Origin Universe to have plenty of resources that we can use, and Xuan Qi has already aplished something of note by making this journey to assist me. I will not treat him poorly. Even if he bes a part of the Voidforce Universe, I can still assist him."

    The undertone of He Ran¡¯s words were perfectly clear; even if Xuan Qi was epted by the Voidforce Universe, she could still deal with him.

    He Ran was very confident, but she was also unable to see Zi Jing''s mocking expression hidden beneath her bowed head. <i>Deal with Lu Yin? Please. If not for hisrger ns, you would have been captured long ago.</i>

    As the two women spoke, Ke Jian and Lu Yin arrived in the Neoverse.

    While the Transcendent Universe was able to locate the Origin Universe in the endless ocean of parallel universes, it was impossible to arrive at an exact location in the Fifth Maind. Even so, one would never arrive too far away from the coordinate seal that was used. The fact that Lu Yin and Ke Jian had arrived in the Neoverse strongly suggested that the coordinate seal used by the Transcendent Universe was also in the Neoverse.

    "Where is Gods'' Origin?" Ke Jian asked.

    After a few moments of careful deliberation, Lu Yin pointed in a specific direction. "That way."

    A glow of white light appeared around Ke Jian, and then he carried Lu Yin through outer space and towards Gods'' Origin.

    Gods'' Origin appeared the same as ever before, majestically standing on the backs of enormous statues of different people. It was truly a sight to behold. There were rainbows in the skies, ethereal fog, the resonating sound of bells, sacred creatures frolicking about, and the scent of incense drifting all the way into outer space.

    The statues were each of specific enemies of Gods'' Origin. The statues were erected after Gods¡¯ Origin had defeated their enemies, as they were forced to symbolically support Gods'' Origin on their backs as penance for their crimes. Among the statues, Lu Yin could see the faces of Jin Mie and God of Magenta. Their erged faces were clear to everyone as the statues knelt in perpetual servitude to Gods'' Origin.

    There were countless people who were also kneeling in worship throughout Gods¡¯ Origin with adoration on their faces as they gazed upwards. It looked as though they were gazing upon deities.

    Lu Yin had been struck speechless the first time he saw Gods¡¯ Origin for himself, and at this moment, Ke Jian found himself in the same shocked state.

    The Transcendent Universe was not home to a cultivation civilization, and instead, they advanced with the use and development of cultivation technologies. For this reason, they had no concept of religious devotion in their universe.

    As he saw the fanaticism in the eyes of the worshippers, Ke Jian understood that these people would happily sacrifice their lives for a mere word. This was something that he had never before witnessed or experienced.

    "What is this ce?" Ke Jian asked, visibly shaken. He might possess the strength equal to a Semi-Progenitor, but that was because of his energy converter rather than any personal strength. The mancked the mindset that others at his level of strength typically possessed. Without that mental fortitude, Ke Jian suffered a far greater shock from his first glimpse of Gods¡¯ Origin than Lu Yin had felt during his first visit to the ce.

    "This is Gods'' Origin," Lu Yin replied, "They consider themselves to be gods, seeing as how they are able to create and destroy at will. They im that such things can only be done by gods."

    Ke Jian forcibly suppressed his shock to ask, "Create something from nothing?"

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s a truly wondrous power. If you wish to see it, I can arrange a demonstration for you, Senior."

    As the two men spoke, God Taiyi moved out from Gods'' Origin, greeting ¡°Xuan Qi¡± with a heartyugh. "Seventh Bro, where have you been all this time?"

    Lu Yin stepped forward with a smile. "I''ve been to a truly mystical ce, but we¡¯ll need to leave that aside for now. Brother Taiyi, allow me to introduce Ke Jian."

    As Lu Yin spoke, his expression grew solemn. "He is a Semi-Progenitor."

    God Taiyi was taken aback. "A Semi-Progenitor?"

    Ke Jian calmly stared at God Taiyi.

    God Taiyi looked over at Ke Jian, and he also grew significantly more solemn as he stepped forward to greet the older man, ¡°Junior God Taiyi pays respects to Senior Semi-Progenitor.¡±

    Ke Jian responded with a slight nod, ¡°Apologies for the disturbance.¡±

    God Taiyi replied, ¡°We are quite lucky to have someone like you gracing Gods¡¯ Origin with a visit, Senior. Please,e inside.¡±

    Ke Jian nced at Lu Yin before epting the invitation into Gods'' Origin.

    Having a Semi-Progenitor visit Gods¡¯ Origin was enough to draw out all the most important people. Naturally, they were led by God of Mirrors.

    After the formal introductions and greetings, Lu Yin stated the purpose of his visit.

    God of Mirrors dismissed everyone other than God Taiyi. "These materials are no simple matter, as they are quite difficult to acquire."

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Senior God of Mirrors, are you saying that it will be difficult for even your Gods'' Origin?¡±

    God of Mirrors and God Taiyi nced at each other before turning to Ke Jian. ¡°If possible, we would naturally be happy to help Senior Ke Jian, but many of these materials are controlled by the Heavens Sect, which makes it extremely difficult to obtain them.¡±

    "Difficult, but not impossible?" Ke Jian pressed.

    God of Mirrors sighed. ¡°In the past, before the Heavens Sect was established, my Gods'' Origin was a powerful force in the Neoverse, and gathering such resources would have been a simple matter. Unfortunately, since the establishment of the Heavens Sect, and with Dao Monarch Lu in control of the entire Fifth Maind, these materials have be heavily regted.¡±

    ¡°Also, it¡¯s not even just that...¡±

    ¡°Even the statues here in the Gods'' Origin are being dismantled,¡± God Taiyi finished in a bitter tone.

    Ke Jian was taken aback. "Lu Yin is taking control of even that?"

    God of Mirrors¡¯ only response was a bitter smile.

    In a rather anxious tone, Lu Yin asked, "Senior God of Mirrors, is there any way for you to acquire these materials?¡±

    God of Mirrors considered the question. "Every system has inherent ws. Given my Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯swork and connections, it isn¡¯tpletely impossible to gather all of these materials, but the cost would be prohibitive. Furthermore-"

    Before the man could finish speaking, Ke Jian cut him off with augh. "If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s no obstacle at all. Regardless of the cost, we will pay it, provided that you can gather the materials that we need."

    God of Mirrors looked at the man in surprise before looking over at Lu Yin with confusion. The man silently mulled the matter over.

    God Taiyi mirrored the reaction.

    Lu Yin turned to Ke Jian. "Senior, the cost is certainly one concern, but also, if they are caught gathering these supplies, it¡¯s possible that Gods'' Origin will bepletely destroyed. Lu Yin is infamous for his brutality."

    God of Mirrors somberly agreed, "That''s precisely how God of Magenta met his end."

    God Taiyi growled through gritted teeth, "God of Magenta met his doom solely because he opposed Lu Yin visiting our ruins from the Rune Civilization. Lu Yin is-"

    "Taiyi!" God of Mirrors silenced God Taiyi with a harsh warning.

 Chapter 2581: A Tough Match

    <h4>Chapter 2581: A Tough Match </h4>

    Ke Jian frowned as a sudden burst of white energy swept across Gods'' Origin.

    "I must obtain these materials, regardless of the cost," he dered. All of Gods'' Origin trembled beneath the pressure that apanied his words.

    The people kneeling in worship were ovee with terror, and they started begging for mercy.

    God of Mirrors, God Taiyi, and the rest of the true members of Gods¡¯ Origin felt the sudden surge of suffocating pressure that crushed all the nearby furniture. Even the people themselves were almost forced to the ground.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up. "Senior Ke Jian, these are my friends."

    The words caused Ke Jian''s expression to harden, and he retracted his overwhelming aura.

    God of Mirrors and the others let out sighs of relief as they looked at Ke Jian with open fear. "The strength of a Semi-Progenitor is terrifying."

    Lu Yin apologized, "Senior God of Mirrors, I am genuinely sorry. Senior Ke Jian didn''t intend for that to happen, but he is also under immense pressure."

    Ke Jian interjected, "Ie from the Transcendent Universe."

    Xuan Qi was clearly taken aback by the statement, but Ke Jian just continued on, saying, "There''s no need to hide such things. Compared to a mere Heavens Sect, the help that my Transcendent Universe can offer is much greater. If they are exposed, all of them can leave with me."

    God of Mirrors looked perplexed. "What is the Transcendent Universe?"

    "Have you ever heard of the Sixverse Association?" asked Lu Yin slowly.

    God of Mirrors and God Taiyi both took several steps back in shock, wary expressions on their faces. "The people whom the Heavens Sectmanded be captured?"

    Ke Jian snorted disdainfully, and Lu Yin started to exin a bit about the Sixverse Association to God of Mirrors.

    Before long, the man grew to have some understanding of the situation.

    "Should anything go wrong, Senior Ke Jian has promised to take you away. What do you think?" Lu Yin proposed.

    God of Mirrors frowned in contemtion.

    Ke Jian did not press the man, and he instead waited patiently for an answer.

    Almost half an hour passed before God of Mirrors finally spoke. "If we go to the Transcendent Universe, will Gods'' Origin retain our freedom?"

    Ke Jian¡¯s expression rxed. "Of course. The Transcendent Universe won''t ce any sort of restrictions on you. If you don''t wish to remain in our universe, I can also make arrangements for you to be moved to a parallel universe. Although it would be small, you would also be the masters of such a ce."

    "How much of these materials do you need?" the God Taiyi asked.

    Lu Yin turned to Ke Jian.

    Ke Jian answered with utter seriousness, "The more, the better."

    God of Mirrors inhaled sharply. "If we gather sufficient resources, will we be provided with any benefits? In addition to taking us to the Transcendent Universe, I mean."

    Ke Jian narrowed his eyes, "What kind of benefit are you seeking?"

    God of Mirrors looked to Lu Yin, who replied, "I''m not from the Transcendent Universe, so I can''t negotiate for you. However, as your friend, I will say that I hope that you will gather as much as possible. The Transcendent Universe is much, much more powerful than this universe. If you aren¡¯t caught gathering these materials, then Madam might even allow you to rece the Heavens Sect. At least, that¡¯s not impossible."

    Ke Jian nced at Lu Yin. <i>What ruthless ambition</i>. "I will make that request on your behalf when I return, but before that, are you confident that you can gather enough of the required materials?"

    God of Mirrors answered confidently, "The resources on the list you have given us are plentiful in our Origin Universe, Senior. Even if they are controlled substances, we can still gather a fair bit without exposing ourselves. If we spare no cost, we can even obtain several times more than you have listed for your requirements."

    He then curiously asked, "Does the Transcendent Universe not have these materials? Given that my Gods'' Origin can gather so much of what you require, the Cosmic Sect, the Court of Seven Names, or several other groups would be able to do the same. These materials don''t seem particrly hard toe by."

    Ke Jian, filled with confidence from God of Mirrors'' words, quickly left to consult with He Ran.

    Lu Yin, however, remained behind.

    God of Mirrors inquired, "Dao Monarch, these materials..."

    Lu Yin reassured the man. "I already have them. There''s no need for you to worry."

    God of Mirrors nodded, but God Taiyi hesitated. "Are we really going to the Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yin asked in a teasing tone, "What? You don¡¯t want to leave?"

    God Taiyi responded with a bitter smile, "Of course I''m reluctant to leave."

    Lu Yin offered some advice, "Don¡¯t worry, all of us wille back here. Besides, none of you will be leaving just yet."

    Lu Yin nned to devour the Sixverse Association one bite at a time. He did not have any intention of confronting the entire Sixverse Association, but he also would not allow them to control him, either.

    After a day, Ke Jian returned with He Ran''s offer.

    "If you provide us with sufficient resources, we can reserve a seat for Gods'' Origin on the Ruling Council," Ke Jian stated.

    The offer confused both God of Mirrors and God Taiyi, so they looked over at Lu Yin, who appeared ecstatic. "Did Madam He Ran really say that?"

    Ke Jian affirmed, "Of course."

    Lu Yin quickly exined to God of Mirrors just how generous the offer was.

    "Additionally, the moment you are exposed, the Transcendent Universe will whisk you all away. Not even Lu Yin will be able to stop you from leaving. The power of two ck energy converters is enough to hold him back," Ke Jian stated in a voice that overflowed with confidence.

    God of Mirrors then brought up several additional questions, but Ke Jian was able to answer all of them. It was clear that He Ran desperately needed the materials on the list, as well as the fact that she was losing patience.

    "Onest point." God of Mirrors took a deep breath as his tone grew increasingly somber. "We will onlyplete this deal with Zi Jing."

    Ke Jian''s eyebrow quirked in curiosity, "Zi Jing?"

    God of Mirrors nodded.

    Ke Jian quickly nced at Lu Yin before nodding. "Agreed."

    God of Mirrors let out a breath of relief. "That''s reassuring. We trust your reassurances, Senior. My Gods'' Origin will immediately start gathering the materials that you have requested."

    Internally, Ke Jian heaved a sigh of relief. Things were finally settling into ce. The Transcendent Universe had scoured numerous parallel universes, but they had failed to find even a single one of the materials that they required, aside from the universes that belonged to the other members of the Sixverse Association. At best, they had managed to locate a portion of the materials, but never all of them.

    It had been a difficult journey that had eventually led them to discover that the required resources could be acquired from the Three Monarchs Universe. However, the sudden disappearance of Monarch Mu had be a source of immense frustration for He Ran. Finally, they had finally stumbled upon all that they needed in the Origin Universe.

    While what they were doing broke the Sixverse Association''s policy of non-interference with the Origin Universe, what of it?

    Ke Jian was unaware of what purpose the materials would serve, but judging from He Ran''s behavior, he was certain that they would elevate the Transcendent Universe to new heights.

    For such a goal, small sacrifices were a negligible concern.

    With the deal sealed, Ke Jian requested a demonstration of Gods'' Origin''s powers, as he was intrigued by what he had heard.

    Ke Jian¡¯s shocked reaction to witnessing people from Gods'' Origin conjure myriad weapons, homes, mountains, and even rivers from nothing was greatly satisfying to God of Mirrors and the rest. Even a Semi-Progenitor was astounded by their abilities.

    Ke Jian¡¯s shock was not at all faked, and he felt as though his understanding of the megaverse had been overturned. Was it truly possible to create something from nothing?

    The power to create from nothing did not exist in any part of the Sixverse Association. What was the deal with this Gods'' Origin?

    When he next met with He Ran, Ke Jian reported everything that he had witnessed.

    He Ran was simrly surprised. "They can create something from nothing? Xuan Qi, do you understand how they are capable of this?"

    Lu Yin respectfully exined, "This is the power of the Rune Progenitor, though I don¡¯t know much about it myself. If you wish to learn more, you could bring Gods'' Origin here to the Transcendent Universe."

    The corners of He Ran''s mouth curved upwards. "Intriguing... Such a power exists?"

    Lu Yin was soon sent back to the Sixverse Academy, taken there by You Teng.

    Ke Jian also shared God of Mirror''s conditions with He Ran, but she justughed. "This is Xuan Qi trying to be clever. He¡¯s trying to leverage the value of Gods'' Origin in order to enhance Zi Jing''s influence and give her a greater voice in the Transcendent Universe."

    Ke Jian frowned. "Should we give him a warning?"

    He Ran''s expression grew contemtive. "There¡¯s no need for that. Leave him be. After all, she''s his lover."

    Despite He Ran¡¯s words, some doubt could be heard in her voice. Was it possible that her assumptions could be wrong?

    She had already suspected that Xuan Qi and Zi Jing were not truly lovers, as their interactions seemed too deliberate. However, after seeing the risk that Xuan Qi was taking for Zi Jing, it seemed possible that their rtionship was indeed genuine.

    ...

    After returning to the Sixverse Academy, Lu Yin enjoyed a brief moment of peace until Xu Yue arrived.

    She wanted to make trouble for him.

    "Xuan Qi, get out here!" Xu Yue shouted.

    Lu Yin stepped out. "What''s the matter?"

    Xu Yue bared her teeth. "You took advantage of us and used our attack on Ling Gong as a distraction to kidnap Wendy Yushan so that you could win the seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony. How do you n on settling this debt?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "I never told you to target Ling Gong. What does your choice have to do with me?"

    Xu Yue grew increasingly furious. "You arepletely despicable!"

    Lu Yin red at the girl. "Are you talking about me? In the Arboreal Sanctuary, if not for your interference, I would have obtained an innate gift from that lightning tree. I used to think that you hated me because I disrupted your trial, but I¡¯m honestly starting to think that someone might have ordered you to sabotage my chances of acquiring a decent innate gift in order to ruin my chances of joining the Arboreal Realm."

    Xu Yue seethed with rage. "You- you''re spouting nonsense!"

    Lu Yin smirked. "I¡¯ve already done you a favor by not making any trouble over that matter. Leave, and stop bothering me."

    "Not so fast! That seat should belong to my brother!" Xu Yue gritted her teeth.

    "Nonsense." Lu Yin proceeded to ignore the girl.

    Xu Yue clenched her fists. "You''re asking for a beating!"

    As she spoke, she summoned a stone mace into her hand and leaped forward. "Everyone says that you''re skilled with the Stone Gate''s battle techniques, but I don''t believe it! Let me see for myself!"

    At that moment, a long spear flew over from a distance, and it was aimed straight at Xu Yue. She whirled around and knocked the spear aside with the stone mace. "Who''s there?"

    Lu Yin looked over and saw Ling Gong approaching from the distance. The spear fell back into her hand as she directed a cold stare at Xu Yue.

    The girl was shocked to see Ling Gong. "You? How are you here?"

    Ling Gong pointed the tip of her spear at Xu Yue. "I''ll deal with you first, and then your elder brother."

    The spear twirled and then transformed into a sh of white light that stabbed at Xu Yue. The girl merely arched a brow and sneered. "You¡¯re seeking death!"

    The stone carved a path through the air. <i>The stone mace sweeps the world.</i>

    ng!

    There was a thunderous bang that sent sparks scattering in all directions. Each tiny ember warped space with its passage before leaving deep scorch marks where they fell.

    Both Xu Yue and Ling Gong were forced back at the same time. Their blows were evenly matched.

    Xu Yue was from the Voidforce Universe, and she focused on cultivating voidforce energy. Her cultivation with that energy made her the equivalent to an Envoy from the Fifth Maind. While Ling Gong had yet to be an Envoy herself, she was famous for being a Realmbreaker. At the peak of the Ten Arbiters'' fame, she had only been a Hunter, but she had been able to hold her own against Enlighters. Afterpleting her forty third cycle as an Enlighter, she was well-equipped to challenge Envoys.

    This was the strength of the Ten Arbiters, the geniuses who had suppressed an entire generation.

    If not for Lu Yin''s meteoric rise to power, the Ten Arbiters would have been the greatest legends of their generation in both the Innerverse and Outerverse, given that none of them were in any way inferior to the geniuses from the Neoverse.

    Since they were fighting in the Sixverse Academy, Xu Yue was unable to use an energy converter, while Ling Gong was unable to use her smoke or any of her normal equipment, such as her microarray weapons. This was a true test of the two women¡¯s individual abilities.

    The two fought vehemently at a speed so fast that the people drawn to themotion were barely able to make out anything.

    Xu Yue''s expression turned somber. She had not expected this woman to be such a difficult opponent. When they had shed in the Origin Universe, Shao Qingfeng had exposed himself first, which had pulled the Fifth Maind''s attention to the trial. Xu Yue and Xu Ji had been worried about attracting the Lingling n''s attention, so they had ambushed Ling Gong with a sneak attack. Upon facing Ling Gong in a fair fight, Xu Yue was shocked to find herself struggling to gain the upper hand.

 Chapter 2582: Looking For You

    <h4>Chapter 2582: Looking For You</h4>

    <i>Impossible!</i> Xu Yue believed that she was peerless within her generation in the Voidforce Universe, so why was she struggling to defeat this nobody?

    Ling Gong was simrly startled. Because of Lu Yin¡¯s warning, she had allowed herself to be captured, which was why the sneak attack had seeded so easily. Even so, while she was prepared, she had still been surprised by thebined power of Xu Ji and Xu Yue. They were truly strong enough to capture her, but even more astonishing to Ling Gong was Xu Yue¡¯s strength when she was fighting alone.

    The two continued to fight for the length it took a stick of incense to burn. Even after that much time, neither was able to establish themselves as the clear victor.

    Lu Yin watched with rapt attention. The true fight was about to happen.

    Xu Yue summoned a series of voidforce puppets by tossing them out from her cosmic ring. Her most powerful puppets possessed twice the girl¡¯s personal voidforce energy reserves.

    This was the true battle style of the Voidforce Universe.

    The puppets struck Ling Gong fiercely, which caused her to spit out blood. She was left with no choice but to resort to her Soulsplitting Technique, which caused three clones to appear, each with the same strength as her original body.

    The sight of the Soulsplitting Technique startled Xu Yue. Was this even possible?

    The gathered audience watching the battle was equally shocked.

    Jiang Xiaodao had already arrived as well. He hade to consult Xu Yue about voidforce energy, and he had happened to stumble upon the fight.

    "What an impressive battle technique!" he eximed, his booming voice causing several people to jump in fright.

    Without a clear target, Xu Yue''s voidforce puppets were confused by the Soulsplitting Technique. Xu Yue did not have enough puppets to target each clone, so Ling Gong seized the moment to thrust her spear at Xu Yue''s belly.

    At thest moment, blue mes burst into life above Xu Yue, setting the sky on fire.

    The wave of blistering heat that shot towards Ling Gong instilled a sense of impending doom, and she quickly fled.

    Xu Yue glowered. "You should feel honored that you have pushed me to summon the blue phoenix!"

    Ling Gong''s scalp went numb. The terrifying pressure that she felt from the mes,bined with their terrifying heat, made it almost impossible for her to even approach Xu Yue. The pressure on Ling Gong hadpletely spiked¡ªwas it threefold? Fivefold? More?

    Lu Yin furrowed his brow. This was the trump card of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivators. They would summon voidforce puppets that possessed several times their own voidforce energy to overwhelm their opponents. Ling Gong was being forced to fight a powered-up Xu Yue, and the blue phoenix''s mes were relentless. No matter how anyone looked at this fight, Ling Gong seemed to have no chance of winning.

    Xu Yue waved her hand, and the blue phoenix screeched as mes swept towards Ling Gong.

    Determination firmed Ling Gong''s expression. She was one of the Ten Arbiters, the White Knight! She could ept that Lu Yin had surpassed her, but how could she fall to this woman? Despite being an entire cultivation realm weaker, Ling Gong refused to lose to anyone.

    Her Skycastle appeared, grand and majestic. Bells rang out and echoed, shaking people¡¯s hearts as they heard the ringing.

    Xu Yue looked up. What the hell was she seeing?

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Ling Gong''s Skycastle was an innate gift formed from thebination of ten innate gifts. It was a domineering innate gift, and few within the same realm were capable of defeating Ling Gong simply because of her Skycastle. Even against Xu Yue and her powerful voidforce puppets, Skycastle was still capable of suppressing this formidable opponent.

    The blue phoenix fiercely charged at the Skycastle, determined to burn the thing down.

    Ling Gong''s face had be deathly pale, yet she still refused to give up. <i>Skycastle¡ªsuppress!</i>

    mes shot out from the castle in every direction, transforming the sky into a surreal blue.

    Xu Yue staggered, surprised to realize that she was being suppressed by the Skycastle. She stared at Ling Gong. How could this woman be so powerful? Was this the strength and pride of the Origin Universe?

    As the Skycastle burned, Ling Gong coughed up blood. Her unyielding will resonated with the ringing bells, granting them additional weight. Each time the bells tolled, Xu Yue''s heart trembled again. Blood trickled from her ears despite covering them. As time passed, she was no longer able to endure the sound, and she threw her arms open. Lightning erupted and took on the form of a giant tree that crashed towards Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong stared up at the descending lightning and lifted her spear to shield herself.

    There was a deafening boom that caused the ground to shake.

    Ling Gong was sted backwards by the force of the lightning.

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Yue, surprised to discover that she had sessfully obtained an innate gift from the lightning tree after Luo Zang had failed. The innate gift from her arboreal transformation had to be her trump card.

    Between the two women, Ling Gong had never ventured out of the Fifth Maind, and she had been exposed to little of the wider megaverse, which ced her at a great disadvantage against Xu Yue.

    Such exciting battles seldom took ce in the Sixverse Academy.

    Panting heavily, Xu Yue gazed at Ling Gong with open admiration. Above Ling Gong¡¯s head, her Skycastle grew faint as the blue phoenix flew out from it and disappeared into its void nest.

    Xu Yue''s body swayed. She looked utterly shocked; the power of her blue phoenix had been greatly depleted.

    Across from her, Ling Gong held herself upright with her spear. She stared at Xu Yue. Ling Gong was covered with burns from the lightning, and her injuries looked terrible.

    "You''ve lost," Xu Yue dered in a low voice. She sounded weak. Her initial contempt for Ling Gong hadpletely vanished and been reced with the respect for a peer. Ling Gong¡¯s unyielding courage, determination, and awe-inspiring Skycastle had left a deep impression on Xu Yue.

    Ling Gong slowly pulled her spear out from the ground, pointed it at Xu Yue, and moved forward, one step at a time.

    Xu Yue frowned. "You''ve already lost! Stop being so stubborn."

    The helmet that had covered Ling Gong''s head fell to the ground to reveal a beautiful face.

    The woman¡¯s true appearance was a stark contrast to her tough demeanor. She hid her natural, unassuming beauty that fit the "girl next door" look perfectly behind a set of heavy armor.

    Everyone was stunned by the sight, just like Lu Yin when he had first seen Ling Gong¡¯s face.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s jaw fell open in surprise. "Unbelievable..."

    Xu Yue stared nkly at Ling Gong. While Xu Yue and her brother had captured Ling Gong, she had remained in her White Knight armor the entire time, so they had never seen her face. Seeing the delicate features of the White Knight was a shock, as Ling Gong''s appearance was truly deceiving.

    "You¡¯re the one who¡¯s lost," Ling Gong retorted coldly.

    Xu Yue was taken aback. "What did you just say?"

    At that moment, Ling Gong disappeared from in front of Xu Yue. That figure had been nothing more than a clone from the Soulsplitting Technique.

    Xu Yue spun around, only to see the cold tip of a spear. It was pointed straight at her throat. At that moment, her life was in Ling Gong''s hands.

    The crowd fell silent. Xu Yue had actually lost, and to a hostage from the Origin Universe at that.

    "You-" Xu Yue could not believe her loss.

    Ling Gong lowered the spear, and then used it to steady herself to avoid copsing.

    Xu Yue red at Ling Gong, indignant. "You¡¯re despicable!"

    Ling Gong arched a brow.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Is that the only thing that you know how to say?"

    Xu Yue red at ¡°Xuan Qi.¡± "Stay out of this, or else!"

    Ling Gong looked confused. <i>Or else?</i> Even so, she also turned to face Lu Yin. "Stay out of this! That¡¯s an order."

    Xu Yue looked confused. <i>Whose order?</i>

    Lu Yin was speechless. This girl was still unable to change her catchphrase.

    Jiang Xiaodao ran over, staring at Ling Gong with great excitement. "Little sister, your battle technique that allows you to split into multiple clones is really amazing! Can you teach me?"

    Ling Gong frowned. "Beat it."

    Xu Yue shot a re at Jiang Xiaodao. "Stay out of this."

    She then immediately turned back to Ling Gong. "I won¡¯t ept this defeat. I only lost because I was caught off guard. There''s no way you could have beaten me, given your current state."

    Lu Yin butted in again. "She hasn''t even learned anything here yet. Just wait until she picks up some of the different powers from the Sixverse Academy."

    Ling Gong turned to Lu Yin. "Is that what the strange technique that she used at the end was?"

    Lu Yinughed. "That wasn¡¯t the only one. It¡¯s also possible that you might be able to go through an arboreal transformation and acquire an innate gift, or pick up something like an energy converter. Right, there''s also monarch essence which can greatly strengthen weapons and equipment. Actually, now that I think of it, monarch essence would suit you almost perfectly. You could use it to reinforce your entire floating castle and then suppress anyone you encounter."

    "Is it really that useful?" Interest lit up in Ling Gong''s eyes.

    Xu Yue interjected, "Don''t listen to him. Monarch essence is the weakest of the powers avable from the members of the Sixverse Association. I don''t want you to have any excuses when you lose to me."

    Of course, Ling Gong paid more attention to Lu Yin. Despite his joking tone, it was clear that he was suggesting something. Monarch essence was indeed quite well suited for Ling Gong.

    Xu Ji then arrived, and he immediately checked on Xu Yue''s injuries. After confirming that she had not been seriously hurt, he started showing interest in the just-finished battle.

    "Choose a time topete again," Xu Ji said to Ling Gong.

    Ling Gong looked at him. "Next time, I''m fighting you."

    Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "Stop bragging. My brother could beat ten of me."

    Ling Gong''s eyes narrowed. If that was true, then she was absolutely no match for the man.

    Once the fight was over, amotion kicked up somewhere else; someone had tried to make trouble for Wen Sansi, only to be trapped within his Literary Prison. Wen Sansi wanted to face He Shu. When Wen Sani was captured, He Shu had used a red energy converter, which had caused his power level to surpass a million, and Wen Sansi had been left utterly helpless.

    Unfortunately, Wen Sansi was unable to find He Shu, and He Shu also had no intention to fight against Wen Sansi.

    Zhuo Daynight did not target the person who had captured her, and instead, she immediately entered the Lost n School. She was very interested in the Lost n¡¯s methods.

    As for Wendy Yushan, she entered the Cyclic School.

    The Sixverse Association''s attitude towards the Origin Universe could still be seen after the hostages entered the Sixverse Academy, as the other students were less than friendly to Ling Gong and the others. However, that hostility only ended up bringing misfortune upon the students who tried to stir up trouble.

    Out of all the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students, just how many could hope to defeat Ling Gong? Almost all those who could were in the Central School.

    After a flurry of activity during which many students were taught a lesson, the dust finally started to settle.

    Lu Yin was eager to see the results of the hostages¡¯ studies and their efforts to cultivate alternate powers. He was certain that he would soon hear news of Wendy Yushan''s and the others'' rapid progress.

    As for Lu Yin himself, he intended to enter seclusion for a period of time. He wanted to further explore the power within his chest. He had to carefully study the additions of voidforce energy, the power from the Arboreal Realm, the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star energy, and more. While all the different energies had gathered into a single system within his chest, it felt chaotic, and he felt like he needed to sort things out.

    But how should he go about it?

    He stared at the river that flowed through the desert that was the continent of fatesand in his chest. There were buds sprouting along the banks of the river...

    Lu Yin sank deep into contemtion.

    Unbeknownst to him, his surroundings turned gray. When Lu Yin suddenly regained his senses, he looked up to find a familiar figure standing in front of him. He shot to his feet in excitement. "Master!"

    Even if the twenty years that Lu Yin had missed due to traveling through time and space were not counted, it had been a decade since he hadst seen Mister Mu. While a decade was not a long time for cultivators, Lu Yin''s longest seclusion had onlysted for a few years. Thus, to him, ten years felt like a long time.

    He had been hoping to see Mister Mu again one day, but he had never imagined that he would get the opportunity in the Sixverse Academy, let alone so abruptly.

    Mister Mu remained as calm and unruffled as ever, though there was evident surprise filling his eyes. "I didn''t expect to find you here."

    Lu Yin stared at Mister Mu in utter shock. Ironically, that was exactly what Lu Yin was wondering as well. "Master, why are you here?"

    "I was looking for you," came the reply. Mister Mu¡¯s voice was as nonchnt as when he had encountered Lu Yin in the Perennial World. At that time, Mister Mu had simply told Lu Yin, ¡°I came because I wanted to.¡± As for when they had met in the Technocracy, the answer of ¡°I was just passing by¡± hadpletely floored Lu Yin.

    The most recent answer was perfectly in line with what Lu Yin knew of his master.

    Lu Yin tried to suppress his excitement. "Master, do you know about the Sixverse Association?"

    Mister Mu stared into Lu Yin''s eyes for a moment. "I haven''t seen you for some time, but your power has changed."

    The exact issue that Lu Yin had been troubled with had already been brought up. "Master, how has my power changed? It feels increasingly chaotic. You once told me that, as long as I cultivate any sort of power to the peak, I would find that they led to the same destination. However, I still find myself clueless as to how to find that path."

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin''s chest. "Hmm... it is quite chaotic."

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped and his face turned pale. Did even Mister Mu think that his energy was chaotic? That did not match with what Lu Yin had been told back in the Technocracy.

 Chapter 2583: Responsibility

    <h4>Chapter 2583: Responsibility</h4>

    Despite the chaos that seemed to exist in the power in his chest, Lu Yin was confident in its strength. After all, it had already proven capable of overpowering and dominating multiple types of energy, including Divine Martial Armor. It was a culmination of myriad energies that had beenbined into a single system, which made it iparably strong. He had been hoping to hear some words of approval from Mister Mu, not just ament of "chaotic." Lu Yin wished to find his own path with Mister Mu''s guidance.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "All things in existence follow a specific order: matter, energy,ws, opportunities, disasters, and so on. By tracing any one of these back, it is possible to find their origin. Even the most chaotic powers follow this order as well. Your power, even with the chaos that fills it, possesses infinite possibilities and epasses everything."

    Lu Yin eagerly asked, "Are you saying that this disciple can continue cultivating this power?"

    Mister Mu answered with approval, "Continue. I¡¯m curious to see just how far you can go. Your path is unlike any other¡¯s."

    "Unlike any other¡¯s?" Lu Yin felt puzzled by this. He thought back to what Mister Mu had said in the past and then asked, "Master, you just said that all things in existence follow a specific order. Am I understanding correctly that you are referring to sequence particles?"

    Mister Mu was taken aback. "Sequence particles?"

    Lu Yin exined what he had learned about sequence particles from Zi Jing. After listening, Mister Mu was quite impressed. "There truly are no limits to human creativity. They''ve managed to analyze the essence of the power that regtes a universe. You are correct, the sequence particles that you¡¯ve described are indeed the source of a Progenitor¡¯s power."

    Of course, this was also the conclusion that Lu Yin had reached after hearing Zi Jing¡¯s exnation. If humans could influence sequence particles, then it would essentially give them the power to influence a specific universe, which was no different from transforming a universe.

    "As you have proceeded along your path of cultivation, you have repeatedly encountered powers beyond your own level. When you were a Hunter, you fought against Enlighters. As an Enlighter, you fought Envoys. Now, you are an Envoy and are facing off against Semi-Progenitors and even standing up to Progenitors. You have gained experience and insight that far exceed your strength. I originally believed that, even if you could borrow a Progenitor''s strength, you would not be able to understand it. Instead, you have done just that by using this interesting method. I cannot say for certain if this is a good or a bad thing for you," Mister Mumented with a sigh.

    Lu Yin asked, "If the Transcendent Universe can truly master sequence particles, will they be able to mass-produce Progenitors?"

    Mister Mu responded with a question of his own, "What does this question mean to you?"

    Lu Yin admitted what he had been thinking. "If that is possible, I would like to master this method."

    Mister Mu sped his hands behind his back as he replied, "I won''t interfere with their research, and it might indeed be possible. There are times when people fail to truly understand the power that they possess, and that can even be true for Progenitors."

    A sh of insight struck Lu Yin, and he blurted, "Is that the line that separates powerful Progenitors from the rest?¡±

    Mister Mu revealed a rare smile. "You''re growing more insightful."

    Lu Yin responded modestly, "That¡¯s only because of your excellent guidance."

    Mister Mu shook his head. "I haven''t provided you with very much guidance. I only came to visit you this time to fulfill my duty as a teacher, but the power system that you¡¯ve developed has transformed far beyond my expectations. There is only one in this megaverse who can guide you on your current path. You will need to figure things out for yourself."

    Lu Yin felt quite troubled. "I need to figure it out on my own? That''s going to be extremely difficult."

    "You can do it," Mister Mu reassured Lu Yin, "The tea from the Roots of Intelligence that you drank before offered you a decent boost, but the further you progress, the less useful such things will be for yourprehension. There are certain realms that are unreachable, and that is true even for Hui Wen. You are currently in the Sixverse Association, so it¡¯s possible that the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony will suit you better."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You know about the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies?"

    "Why wouldn¡¯t I?" Mister Mu countered.

    Lu Yin blinked. "Why have you never mentioned the Sixverse Association before?"

    Mister Mu exined, "It didn¡¯t matter if I mentioned it or not before. Without some very unexpected development, there would have been no reason for you to know anything about it, given your cultivation level. The Sixverse Association does not actively interfere with the Origin Universe, and thus the Origin Universe has no need to concern itself with the Sixverse Association. They both work to resist the Aeternus but arepletely independent of each other."

    Suddenly, Lu Yin asked, "Do you know about my Lu family being banished?"

    Mister Mu nodded. "I do."

    "Then-" Lu Yin wanted to ask why his master had not said anything, but he quickly remembered what Mister Mu had just said. If Mister Mu had not felt that it was the right time to mention the Sixverse Association to Lu Yin, then how could he have brought up the Lu family¡¯s exile?

    Mister Mu set his hand on top of Lu Yin''s head in a rare gesture of affection. No matter how old Lu Yin became or how powerful he grew to be, Mister Mu would always see the young man who was trying to be his disciple.

    Whenever Lu Yin faced an insurmountable crisis, his first thought was always of Mister Mu. While the man was not Lu Yin''s father, Mister Mu meant even more to Lu Yin.

    "It must be tiring, having to bear the burden of the Lu family on your own," Mister Mu said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin''s fingers clenched into tight fists. "I''m not tired!"

    Mister Mu lowered his hand and then gently waved it. A colorful light carved a path into the distance. Lu Yin watched as people walked along the path. Some wereughing, others were crying. Some struggled for life, while others became lost in decadence. "Humans areplex creatures that are filled with various emotions and desires. Rtionships between them can foster love or breed hatred. You don¡¯t need to hide such things. If you feel love, express it. If you possess hate, vent it. This is the meaning of being human¡ªit is to be a living, breathing person. If you wish to seek revenge, I won''t stop you, but you must remember to never lose your sense of self."

    The colorful pathway seemingly stretched on endlessly, and as Lu Yin looked down, he saw that it led to a statue of himself. The statue stood on Earth, and he could see countless people worshiping the statue and looking at it with reverence. The fanaticism in their eyes was almost enough to melt his heart.

    These people truly respected and worshiped him.

    As he looked, he could see that such events were not only ying out on Earth, as his statues had been erected on multiples. They acted like points of light that stabbed through an entire region.

    "My child, when you grow up, you must serve the Dao Monarch and protect our part of the universe."

    "Go, cultivate and join the Heavens Sect to serve and protect the Dao Monarch."

    "Our family is only able to continue cultivating because of the Dao Monarch''s grace. From this day forward, our family''s first ancestral rule is loyalty to the Dao Monarch and to always fight for the Dao Monarch."

    ...

    Numerous voices echoed in Lu Yin''s ears. He could hear the fervent shouts and see the passion in their eyes. The sight ignited a fire within him.

    He had long known that he was revered in the Fifth Maind, but he had never before felt so deeply touched by it.

    Countless people looked up to him, worshiped him, and swore to protect him. It was a promise of care, a pledge to protect the Dao Monarch with their lives.

    "No matter how you choose to seek revenge, never lose your responsibility to humanity. These people are your responsibility." Mister Mu pulled his hand back, and the colorful path disappeared. Lu Yin found himself once again surrounded by the familiar gray color of a frozen universe.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Mister Mu. "I understand, Master. I won¡¯t let you down."

    Mister Mu responded with a small smile, "I cannot guide your path onwards, but I will do my best to protect and support you. You can attend the Great Sovereign''s tea party, as the Great Sovereign will not harm you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped back up. He could hear the confidence in his master¡¯s calm voice. What Lu Yin had just heard would be considered sacrilege to anyone from the Sixverse Association, and there was no one in the Origin Universe who would dare to utter such a thing. Mister Mu¡¯s aura ofplete dominance left Lu Yin¡¯s eyes wide with awe.

    "I understand," Lu Yin responded excitedly. "Master, does this mean that you are no longer going to the Immemorial Citadel?"

    The gray suddenly disappeared, and Mister Mu''s figure grew blurry. "When you ascend to the Progenitor realm, I will reveal the truth of reality to you."

    Then, Mister Mu vanished.

    "Master, wait! I have more questions!" Lu Yin shouted, but everything had already returned to normal. The gray had disappeared, and with it, Mister Mu.

    Disappointment filled Lu Yin. He still had so many questions, about the Immemorial Citadel, the me that had nearly incinerated the Books of Destiny, how to save Ming Yan, reopening Burial Garden, True God Wei Yi, and more. Such matters could only be answered by someone at Mister Mu''s level, but the man had not given Lu Yin any opportunity to ask any additional questions.

    Was it really like Mister Mu had said? Did Lu Yin need to first be a Progenitor to obtain the answers that he sought?

    At that moment, Lu Yin understood even more than ever just how lucky he was to have Mister Mu as his master. He realized that what he had seen as incredible opportunities were perfectly mundane events in Mister Mu''s eyes. Lu Yin had alsoe to understand, as the gap between him and Unseen Light had grown, why Unseen Light had not been qualified to ept Mister Mu as a master. From the very beginning, Lu Yin¡¯s path of cultivation had started at a peerlessly high level that was superior to even what the Lu family could offer to their descendants.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as he dismissed such thoughts. Mister Mu had answered his most pressing question, and he had also promised that the Great Sovereign would not personally act against Lu Yin, which was a massive relief. With the assurance that the Great Sovereign would not go after him, Lu Yin became fearless. He did not fear anyone else in the Sixverse Association, not the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, or even the Three Realms Six Daos of the ancient Heavens Sect era. At worst, he would avoid a direct confrontation with such powerhouses. His greatest concern had been the Great Sovereign for some time.

    With Mister Mu¡¯s guarantee that the Great Sovereign would not act himself, it suggested that Lu Yin might even stand a chance against the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    Such spection caused Lu Yin to be less apprehensive of the Cyclic Universe. It was even possible that visiting that universe was not a terrible idea after all.

    Right as Lu Yin was settling his reservations regarding the Cyclic Universe, Shi Jiao arrived.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this time, he had no intention of rejecting the Stone Gate¡¯s invitation.

    However, it seemed as though fate was toying with Lu Yin. Shi Jiao was not visiting to give him an invitation, but rather to inform him that someone else had assumed the seat of Sage Stone.

    "Someone has already be the new Sage Stone?" Lu Yin eximed in shock.

    Shi Jiao''s expression was grave, and her eyes were filled with open sorrow. "Stone Sage died in battle. The positions of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages cannot remain empty, so the Great Sovereign bestowed the seat to another."

    Lu Yin was speechless. He had been ready to ept the Stone Gate''s invitation, but in an ironic twist, they no longer needed him. What was going on?

    Shi Jiao seemed quite apologetic. "Xuan Qi, while the seat of Sage Stone has been filled, you are still wee to join our Stone Gate. I can assure you, we will find you the best possible master, or even rmend you to another peak powerhouse. With your talent, you are guaranteed to find a master among the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages."

    "There¡¯s no need to me yourself, Senior," Lu Yin replied, "I simply wish to know of the circumstances around Sage Stone''s demise. He was a hero of humanity, and should this junior be fortunate enough to one day be a peak powerhouse, I will make sure to seek revenge for Sage Stone."

    As Shi Jiao stared at Lu Yin, a new respect filled her eyes. Losing the opportunity to inherit Sage Stone¡¯s seat was an unbearable setback, and Shi Jiao had expected to be met with fury when Xuan Qi learned of what had happened. Surprisingly, he was more concerned about what had happened to Sage Stone than the missed opportunity.

    This was not amon response, not even within the Stone Gate. Xuan Qi''s demonstration of maturity surpassed that of many other people.

    "I aming to understand why Xu Xiangyin holds you in such high regard," Shi Jiao admitted, "When you initially imed to refuse to join my Stone Gate because of a desire to repay Xu Xiangyin''s favor, I was skeptical. I was certain that you had other motives in mind, but now, I believe that you were indeed being sincere. Xuan Qi, it is my Stone Gate''s loss to not have you inherit the seat of Sage Stone."

 Chapter 2584: Endless Frontier

    <h4>Chapter 2584: Endless Frontier</h4>

    Lu Yin replied, "Since the Great Sovereign made these arrangements, I''m certain that there are good reasons for what happened. This junior simply wishes to know how Senior Sage Stone died in battle."

    Gaining a better understanding of Aeternus''s power was one of the primary reasons why Lu Yin had infiltrated the Sixverse Association, so his words werepletely reasonable.

    Other than the Seven Skygods, he knew that Aeternus had other Progenitor-level powerhouses as well. The Sixverse Association, as well as a number of other parallel universes and the Origin Universe itself, were home to a number of Progenitor-level figures. And yet, Aeternus was able to suppress them all, which was an ample demonstration of their formidable strength.

    The light dimmed from Shi Jiao''s eyes. "Senior Sage Stone died at Cheng Kong''s hands."

    Lu Yin was surprised, "Cheng Kong? The one famous for Bubble Fantasy?"

    Shi Jiao nodded. "The same one behind your capture. Tu Shuangshuang is a disciple of Cheng Kong. That person is incredibly mysterious, as no one knows their true identity, nor even their gender. They are a master at pinpointing people¡¯s weaknesses, and Senior Sage Stone was the closest to death of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, so Cheng Kong targeted him. Sovereign Nine Lotus tried to offer some support, but she arrived just one step toote.¡±

    "Over the course of countless years, no fewer than three peak powerhouses have fallen to Cheng Kong."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Cheng Kong had killed at least three Progenitors? What did that say about Cheng Kong? Lu Yin had to join forces with both Elder Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen just to deal with Monarch Mu. Experts at the Progenitor level were formidable opponents, especially if they were trying to escape. In even the worst-case scenario, such individuals could simply tear the void open to escape. Despite that, Cheng Kong had sessfully killed three such experts.

    "Not even the Great Sovereign can find Cheng Kong?" Lu Yin felt rather confused.

    Shi Jiao exined, "The Great Sovereign''s opponent is True God Wei Yi. The one pursuing Cheng Kong is Sage Hua. Unfortunately, even after many years, there has been no progress in finding Cheng Kong. Instead, Tu Shuangshuang betrayed us and joined Cheng Kong, which has made Sage Hua theughingstock of the entire Cyclic Universe. Speaking of which..." The woman¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. "Xuan Qi, are you interested in Sage Hua¡¯s seat?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Sage Hua¡¯s seat?"

    Shi Jiao¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper, "Tu Shuangshuang betrayed us, joined Cheng Kong, and then even captured Shao Qingfeng and many other students from the Sixverse Academy. This has made many universes and powerhouses upset, including even Shao Qingfeng''s master, Sovereign Shao Yin, who reported the matter to the Great Sovereign. There are rumors that Sage Hua might be stripped of his seat. If that happens, someone will need to inherit it.

    "There are many people currently trying to join Sage Hua''s faction, as if Sage Hua is stripped of his seat, his most likely sessor will be someone else from that faction."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This junior still wishes to join the Voidforce Universe."

    With the opportunity to receive Sage Stone''s seat no longer avable, Shi Jiao was no longer able to use the same motivations to persuade Xuan Qi.

    "Your deep sense of loyalty and righteousness ismendable," she said, "but in the world of cultivation, such qualities can sometimes be deadly ws. Xuan Qi, Xu Xiangyin has indeed shown you kindness, but he is very limited in his ability to help you. Even if he rmends you to a peak powerhouse, your chances of acquiring a good voidforce puppet are much lower after the Voidchaos Territory has been plundered."

    Before Lu Yin could respond, Shi Jiao interrupted him. "Or, if I put things another way, you could instead help Xu Xiangyin."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Help senior Xu Xiangyin?"

    Shi Jiao replied, "Are you familiar with the Endless Frontier?"

    Lu Yin went stiff. "Yes, it''s supposed to be the battleground for the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus."

    Shi Jiao nodded, and a somber look clouded her eyes. "That¡¯s right. The Endless Frontier is a meat grinder. It¡¯s where the Sixverse Association has connected numerous empty parallel universes in order to resist Aeternus. Everyone needs to periodically serve on that battlefield, including peak powerhouses. Since ancient times, no less than twenty pinnacle powerhouses have died on that battlefield, including Sage Stone. Xu Xiangyin will soon need to head there himself. As soon as he enters the Endless Frontier, he will no longer be in control of his own life or death.¡±

    "If you truly wish to help him, reach the peak as fast as possible and go to the Endless Frontier so that you can protect him. Otherwise, given his strength, he is not likely to survive.¡±

    "Don''t be mistaken in thinking that the higher one¡¯s cultivation, the greater their chances of surviving. There are battles that can only be fought by people at our level. Xu Xiangyin was lucky enough to have survived thest time he served on the battlefield, but he may not be so fortunate this time."

    Lu Yin dropped his head. The Endless Frontier was also known as the Hundred Alliances Battlefield. It wasposed of sixty two parallel universes, all of which were either allied with the Sixverse Association or had been conquered by them. The Endless Frontier was far more dangerous than any other within the universes of the Sixverse Association''s members, and the entire Endless Frontier was filled with various civilizations participating in endlessbat.

    Lu Yin had learned about the Endless Frontier from Luo Lao''er shortly after arriving in the Sixverse Academy. ording to Luo Lao''er, "It¡¯d be better to die than go to the Endless Frontier. If you go there, you¡¯ll nevere back."

    The Endless Frontier was the Sixverse Association¡¯s equivalent of the rear battlefield in the Perennial World. The Perennial World had the Mother Tree and Ceaseless Impetus keeping Aeternus at bay, while the Endless Frontier was the Sixverse Association''s equivalent of the Mother Tree and Ceaseless Impetus. The association had sacrificed too many people on that battlefield during their costly shes with Aeternus. That battlefield was the only thing keeping most of Aeternus''s forces out of the Sixverse Association''s universes, and without it, none of the association¡¯s members would have been able to develop to their current state.

    When Undying God had been trapped by the Python Ancestor and the Seven Skygods had appeared to rescue him, the Sixverse Association had pushed hard against Aeternus to recover many lost territories. This was why Aeternus had eventually withdrawn from the Perennial World. Aeternus could not afford to lose territories within the Sixverse Association''s parallel universes, as it would be difficult to recover any territory that was lost due to the Endless Frontier.

    If not for being held back by the Endless Frontier, Aeternus would not have been nearly so concerned about losing a few regions.

    Truthfully, the Perennial World''s ability to keep the war against Aeternus almost entirely isted from the rest of the universe with the Mother Tree and Ceaseless Impetus ced it in a much better position than the Sixverse Association.

    Few people ever returned from the Endless Frontier, which meant that only sparse and infrequent bits of information were avable. Most people only knew of the battlefield as and of death.

    "Of my Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, five are currently fighting on the Endless Frontier, not to mention the powerhouses from other civilizations in various parallel universes. You can only imagine just how horrifying that ce is," Shi Jiao continued.

    Lu Yin lifted his head, his eyes determined. "I understand. If possible, I will try to inherit Sage Hua''s seat."

    Shi Jiao gave a small smile. "That would be good."

    She was not without personal motivation for pushing Xuan Qi to attempt to inherit Sage Hua¡¯s seat. Based on what Shi Jiao had seen of the youth, she had a fairly good impression of him. If such a person became a peak powerhouse, she would gain additional support. Gaining the support of such a powerful figure was worth more than a proactive stance on her part.

    "By the way, who inherited Sage Stone¡¯s seat?" Lu Yin asked, curious about this detail. While he had never had any intention of inheriting that seat, he still felt rather annoyed to learn that someone else had stolen the opportunity.

    Shi Jiao frowned. "I don''t know."

    This surprised Lu Yin. "You don''t know?"

    Shi Jiao replied somberly, "The person is not someone from my Cyclic Universe. My Stone Gate doesn''t know where theye from, and their background ispletely unknown. I suspect that only the Great Sovereign and a select few know anything."

    Lu Yin grunted to acknowledge what was being said, but he was no longer concerned about the matter.

    "The Eight Hands of the Stone Gate and the Stone Cudgel battle techniques will soon be removed from the academy¡¯s Cyclic School, and they¡¯ll be reced with the Harmonious Heavens Technique." Shi Jiao gave Lu Yin a heads-up. "You should already understand the importance that my Cyclic Universe puts on the Sixverse Academy. Any of the seats which will soon have their upants reced will find their techniques showing up here, which will effectively inform everyone that a given seat can be inherited by someone from the Sixverse Academy. This is also why I initially believed you would very likely inherit Sage Stone¡¯s seat.¡±

    ¡°Things will be essentially identical to before, so practice the Harmonious Heavens Technique diligently so that you can attract the Cyclic Universe¡¯s attention. It is even possible that the Great Sovereign himself may look this way one day."

    The woman¡¯sst sentence gave Lu Yin goosebumps. The Great Sovereign may look at the academy? That would simply not do. Lu Yin¡¯s Mask of Death might be able to deceive Bai Sheng, but there was no way the Great Sovereign would not see through such a technique. Lu Yin had no idea how many peak powerhouses in the Sixverse Association could see through his Mask of Death, but he was particrly wary of any such individual.

    Shi Jiao soon left.

    Her warning was soon proven urate, as the Cyclic School changed its requirements for its students to assessing their mastery of the Harmonious Heavens Technique. Both the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate and Stone Cudgel techniques were removed.

    The change created amotion throughout the Sixverse Academy, and countless eyes filled with longing as they looked at the Cyclic Universe.

    News that Sage Hua could be reced had already started to spread. People already understood that whoever managed to sessfully cultivate the Harmonious Heavens Technique stood a chance to be the next Sage Hua.

    While Sage Hua¡¯s seat would be avable, no one knew when that would happen. Since the Harmonious Heavens Technique had been made avable in the Cyclic School, many people believed that they had ample time to practice the technique and master it.

    People instantly started flocking towards the Cyclic School, including even the students in the Central School.

    The Harmonious Heavens Technique was Sage Hua''s ultimate technique. It was capable of dissolving all forms of energy, absorbing them, and then transforming them into a person¡¯s own strength. This meant that a cultivator would be stronger when facing more powerful opponents.

    Tu Shuangshuang had been able to fight against opponents like Shao Qingfeng and overpower Jiang Xiaodao because of the Harmonious Heavens Technique. This was a perfect example of the technique¡¯s formidability.

    Even Xu Xiangyin was drawn to the Harmonious Heavens Technique. ording to the old man, with the Stone Gate no longer fighting for Xuan Qi, the youth could be regarded as practically a citizen of the Voidforce Universe. Xu Xiangyin advised Lu Yin to cultivate diligently, and he also promised to find the earliest opportunity to take him to meet Senior Xu Wuwei in the Voidforce Universe.

    Lu Yin was intrigued by Xu Wuwei''s strength, and he was also curious to discover if Xu Wuwei would be able to see through the Mask of Death.

    "Senior Xu Wuwei," Xu Xiangyin said as he lifted his head, revealing a reverent expression, "Is one of the oldest and most powerful individuals in my Voidforce Universe. As for his age, it¡¯s possible that only Lord Xu himself is older."

    Thisment made Lu Yin immediately decide that there was no way in hell he would meet Xu Wuwei. Doing so would be nothing more than a death wish. Such a person was undoubtedly at least equal to Bai Wangyuan and the others, and Lu Yin had no confidence in his Mask of Death when dealing with such a powerhouse.

    The simplest way to avoid Xu Wuwei would be to master the Harmonious Heavens Technique. The more skilled he revealed himself, the more different parties would want him. If the Stone Gate was able to fight back against Xu Xiangyin for Xuan Qi, then so too would Sage Hua''s faction.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to end his seclusion with a bit of anticipation, and he quickly headed outside. As soon as he did so, a jade slip fell towards him, and he scanned it to learn the basics of the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    Lu Yin¡¯s level of cultivation meant that he could easilyprehend the Cyclic Universe''s battle techniques and master them at a mind-boggling speed. With the Eight Hands of Stone Gate, once he had put his mind to mastering it, his learning speed had been enough to frighten even Sage Stone. Lu Yin assumed that the same would be true for the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    However, upon learning the basics of the Harmonious Heavens Technique from the jade slip, Lu Yin was briefly stunned. Even if he did not possess his current strength, he felt confident that he could be able to master this technique quickly. <i>Isn¡¯t this basically lockbreaking?</i>

    Lockbreaking was a method of neutralizing congealed energies in order to release the precious treasures trapped inside sourceboxes. It was a process that required precise control and discernment while evaluating the ever-shifting energies that made up the sourcebox until all of those energies were unraveled and the sourcebox was fully opened.

    The Harmonious Heavens Technique operated on the same principles. Its user needed to swiftly analyze an opponent''s power, as well as have the ability to counteract or even absorb that power before transforming it into their own strength.

 Chapter 2585: Astonishing Speed

    <h4>Chapter 2585: Astonishing Speed</h4>

    The Harmonious Heavens Technique seemed very challenging, but as long as a person achieved a certain degree of mastery over their own energy, the technique would actually be easy toprehend.

    This was the very essence of the Harmonious Heavens Technique; it appeared simple, but the most challenging aspect was that a person¡¯s energy control had to be able to neutralize their opponents¡¯ energy. Such a level of control was the equivalent to the Skywise level of star energy control, ording to the rating system of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lockbreakers.

    Lockbreakers separated star energy control into different stages: Intricacy, Cloudwalk, Skywise, Divine Gaze, Creation, and Worldliness. The Skywise level was only the third level of control, but how many Lockbreakers in the entire Fifth Maind had actually reached that stage?

    When Lu Yin first had met Ku Wei, he had yet to reach the Skywise level of control, while Ku Wei had only barely touched it.

    In order to achieve some level of mastery of the Harmonious Heavens Technique, it was necessary to reach a level of control equal to the Skywise level of star energy control. This was the greatest obstacle to mastering the technique.

    In order to achieve higher levels of mastery of the Harmonious Heavens Technique, a person needed to have even greater control over their own energies. From what Lu Yin was learning, he believed that Tu Shuangshuang might have reached the Divine Gaze or even the Creation level of star energy control, given that she had sessfully suppressed people like Jiang Xiaodao.

    After putting the jade slip away, Lu Yin stared off into the distance. The students joining the Cyclic School had to be very happy, as the appearance of the Harmonious Heavens Technique was a chance for them to inherit Sage Hua''s seat, as long as they could demonstrate a sufficient aptitude for the battle technique. Unfortunately, many of the students who had joined the Cyclic School were not even close to the Skywise level of energy control, which prevented them from even meeting the school¡¯s graduation requirements.

    Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin hurried to where he had previously taken the requirement exam for the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. The stone wall had been removed and reced with orbs of condensed star energy that spun so rapidly that it distorted one¡¯s vision.

    This was the Cyclic School¡¯s new examination for the Harmonious Heavens Technique. Anyone who could neutralize the star energy within an orb would pass, which was quite simr to the aptitude test for Lockbreakers in the Fifth Maind. In the Fifth Maind, these orbs were called Starburst Orbs, but the orbs in the Cyclic School had no name. So, many of the students had started referring to them as star energy orbs.

    By the time Lu Yin arrived, a crowd had already gathered. He saw that Shi Hong, Zuo Yu, and Zhi Xiao were present, as well as other students from the Central School, such as Xu Yue and Mu Mu. Everyone had arrived to learn the Harmonious Heavens Technique. Regardless of whether they were aiming for Sage Hua''s seat, it was always beneficial to learn a new technique.

    The number of star energy orbs present was rted to the number of students in the Cyclic School, which meant that the students from the Central School were not taken into ount. Thus, they were taking a portion of the school¡¯s orbs. Given Lu Yin¡¯s rtivelyte arrival, he was unable to obtain even a single star energy orb. As he looked around, he noticed that many students had two orbs, while Xu Yue actually had three. She smirked at Lu Yin antagonistically.

    "Someone showed upte and didn''t get any star energy orbs. What are you going to do? Fight for one?¡± Xu Yue taunted.

    Quite a few people watched. Most of them were relieved to see that Xuan Qi had failed to obtain a star energy orb. His level of talent frightened them; regardless of which school he attended, he would somehow manage to break records or aplish the impossible. It was only natural that the other students were afraid of the same thing happening with the Harmonious Heavens Technique. If Xuan Qi demonstrated the same monstrous level of talent for the technique and drew the attention of the Cyclic Universe, the students knew that they would stand no chance.

    The best solution was to simply prevent Xuan Qi from even learning the battle technique to begin with.

    Lu Yin looked back at Xu Yue and asked, "Why do you have three orbs?"

    Xu Yue arrogantly raised her head. "I wanted them. Who are you to question me? Try to take them from me, if you dare."

    She had been itching to give Xuan Qi a good beating. When they had been In the Arboreal Sanctuary, the coward had retreated from a fight, andter on, Ling Gong had interfered and prevented Xu Yue from dealing with the bastard. Every missed opportunity to beat him up had only increased her irritation towards Xuan Qi. He had be a thorn in her heart.

    Lu Yin had no intention of starting a fight with the girl, but someone else suddenlyshed out. Wendy Yushan had recently joined the Cyclic School, and when she heard Xu Yue''sment, Wendy swiftly drew her sword in a single motion.

    Xu Yue quickly retreated. She had not expected Wendy Yushan to suddenly attack. "Are you mad?"

    Wendy Yushan was still wearing her white outfit with a golden trim. It made her look extraordinarily heroic. Her long ck hair hung loose, which gave her a serene and ancient-feeling aura. She ordered, "Hand them over."

    Xu Yue bounced the three star energy orbs in her hand. "These?"

    Wendy Yushan''s eyes remained firm.

    Xu Yue snorted disdainfully. "Who do you think you are? Why should I give these to you? Just because you¡¯re telling me to?"

    Wendy Yushan had spent several days in the Cyclic School already. At first, she had faced bullying and condescension, but her strength and peerless beauty had quickly put a stop to such trouble, and she had even gained a number of admirers. When people saw her confronting Xu Yue, one student immediately tried to persuade her to stop. "Wendy, don''t get involved. If you want a star energy orb, then we have some right here. Don''t fight with Xu Yue."

    "Wendy, Xu Yue is very strong. Don''t fight her directly."

    "Wendy..."

    ...

    As Lu Yin listened to the students shouting out warnings to Wendy Yushan, he chuckled self-deprecatingly. Such special treatment was only reserved for beautiful women. He suspected that both Ling Gong and Zhuo Daynight had not been faring too poorly in their respective schools, either.

    Wendy Yushan pointed her sword at Xu Yue, her heroic image sending many male hearts aflutter.

    "Hand them over now."

    Xu Yue scoffed as she arched a brow. "I just finished dealing with Ling Gong, and now another one¡¯s already arrived? You people from the Origin Universe just don''t seem to understand your ce. Allow me to teach you a lesson."

    With that, Xu Yue brought out her stone mace. With a single step, she was already in front of Wendy Yushan. <i>The stone mace sweeps the world.</i>

    At the same time, Wendy Yushan''s sword multiplied. <i>10,000 swords as one.</i>

    Wendy Yushan''s cultivation was a bit inferior to Ling Gong''s. Initially, Ling Gong had greatly surpassed Wendy Yushan in strength. While the resources that Lu Yin had given her had allowed Wendy to shrink that gap, she had not been able topletely close it.

    The fact that Wendy Yushan was weaker than Ling Gong meant that the gap between her and Xu Yue was even wider. However, this was also assuming that Wendy Yushan did not use her innate gift, which involved the power of time. She had never openly revealed the truth of her innate gift, but if she did use it, she might stand a chance against Xu Yue. Even so, victory would remain a challenge.

    Lu Yin did not want Wendy Yushan to expose her innate gift, so he decided that it was time for him to reveal some of his own strength. If he continued to appear weak, there would always be some student or another trying to pick a fight with him.

    Xu Yue''s stone mace instantly suppressed Wendy Yushan''s sword technique. There was a serious expression on Wendy¡¯s face as her eyes searched for an opening in her opponent''s defenses, even while she was being overpowered.

    Xu Yue sneered contemptuously. This woman was much weaker than Ling Gong, and Xu Yue did not even need to use her life-bound voidforce puppet.

    "Leaving no trace in destiny!" She roared as her stone mace swept at Wendy Yushan from an unexpected angle.

    Wendy Yushan''s eyes grew hard. She knew that she could not block this attack, which meant that her only option was to revert the stone mace¡¯s time, eliminating the attack.

    Suddenly, Xu Yue felt an unexpected pull on her stone mace. Before she could react, her weapon had vanished.

    Suddenly losing her stone mace caused Xu Yue to almost topple over from the abrupt change in momentum.

    Wendy Yushan''s sword froze mid-strike when she saw that Xu Yue''s mace had disappeared. She turned her head to look in a specific direction.

    Xu Yue was also staring incredulously in that same direction.

    To her right, Lu Yin was somehow holding Xu Yue¡¯s stone mace in a hand. He swung it casually while muttering, "It¡¯s pretty heavy."

    Mu Mu took a step forward, her eyes glued to Xuan Qi. She had not seen him move at all. How had he gotten there so quickly?

    Zhi Xiao was also staring intently at Lu Yin. That speed was terrifying.

    Luo Zang was also present, and his eyes narrowed. He had also been unable to see anything clearly. How had Xuan Qi moved so quickly?

    Everyone was astonished to see that Xuan Qi had actually managed to steal Xu Yue¡¯s stone mace mid-swing. This was not just unbelievable¡ªthis was an open p to the face!

    Xu Yue red at Lu Yin, her face flushed red with anger. "Impossible! How could you move so quickly?"

    Wendy Yushan did not look at all surprised. Given Lu Yin''s strength, he could have razed the entire Sixverse Academy to the ground if he had wished.

    Lu Yin casually tossed the stone mace aside. It shot through the air and lodged itself in the ground in front of Xu Yue. "Try again. See if you can keep your weapon this time."

    Xu Yue¡¯s expression hardened as she quickly grabbed her stone mace. However, at that same instant, a breeze brushed her ear. Before she could react at all, her mace once again disappeared from her hand.

    The students watching were astounded. If the first time had been an ident, then the second time was a clear demonstration of pure ability.

    Luo Zang clenched his fists. This speed exceeded what should be possible for anyone within Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation realm. How was such speed possible? How was he moving so quickly? Even if Luo Zang himself used a red energy converter, he doubted that he could reach the same speed.

    Once again, the stone mace shot through the air and mmed into the ground in front of Xu Yue. "Try again. If you still can¡¯t keep a hold of your weapon, hand your star energy orbs over."

    Xu Yue¡¯s head suddenly rose to reveal a far more serious expression on her face. There was no longer any contempt to be seen. She understood that Xuan Qi¡¯s speed was something to be feared.

    The stone mace trembled and started to emit a soft hum.

    Above Xu Yue''s head, a blue phoenix shot high into the sky. mes billowed out from the bird and set the sky ame, scorching the Cyclic School with an unbearable heat. "If you can still steal my mace from my hand, then I, Xu Yue, will concede defeat."

    After her deration, blue mes started to fall. They enveloped both Xu Yue and her mace. She looked like a goddess born of mes. Her hair whipped about, and her eyes zed with a blue light as she stared at Lu Yin. "Come on!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he slowly lifted a foot and took a step forward. The moment his foot touched the ground, he vanished. No one saw what happened, but the next moment, they saw him holding a stone mace in his hand. Xu Yue stood frozen from disbelief. How was this possible? He had broken through her barrier of voidforce energy. That was not possible with mere speed.

    Xu Yue whirled around to re at Lu Yin. "You''ve been hiding your true power."

    Lu Yin indifferently tossed the stone mace aside. "Don''t start making random guesses just because you don''t understand what¡¯s going on. Hand over your star energy orbs."

    Although reluctant, Xu Yue was forced to admit that Xuan Qi¡¯s demonstration had been truly extraordinary. If he had chosen to attack her instead of simply stealing her mace, she would have been left with no choice but to take all of his attacks without any way to defend herself.

    After catching the star energy orbs that Xu Yue tossed over, Lu Yin threw one to Wendy Yushan. "Thanks."

    Wendy Yushan''s answered in a cial tone, "I''ll get my own."

    She refused to even nce at the star energy orb that Lu Yin had given her.

    Lu Yin felt rather awkward. Despite knowing that this was just an act, the coldness from Wendy still stung. He felt like he was meeting her for the first time again.

    With the star energy orbs settled, everyone resumed trying to cultivate the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    The jade slip had clearly exined to the students how to go about improving their star energy control until it reached the Skywise level, but even with those instructions, sess was far from easy.

    Many of the academy¡¯s students who came from the Cyclic Universe also transferred to the Cyclic School. Their energy control already surpassed most of the other students.

    When Jiang Xiaodao arrived, he went to find Xu Yue. Two of the extra star energy orbs that Xu Yue had secured had been reserved for others, and one had been intended for Jiang Xiaodao. Even though Wendy Yushan had refused to ept one of the orbs from Lu Yin, someone else had snatched it up instead.

    "What? My star energy orb is gone? Who dared to steal it?" Jiang Xiaodao erupted in fury.

    Xu Yue reluctantly shared what had happened.

    Jiang Xiaodao shouted, "Xuan Qi? That guy¡¯s fast?"

    Xu Yue''s face turned serious. "It''s not just speed."

    "It''s definitely not just speed." Xu Ji joined the conversation while calmly observing Lu Yin. "Speed alone isn¡¯t enough to break through a barrier of voidforce energy, but Xu Yue¡¯s barrier couldn¡¯t stop him at all."

    "Brother, what does that mean?" Xu Yue asked, still puzzled by what had happened.

    A strange light flickered across Xu Ji''s eyes as he suddenly remembered an ancient legend. If that legend was actually true, then Xuan Qi had obtained a truly miraculous innate gift from his arboreal transformation.

    This possibility caused Xu Ji to nce back over at Lu Yin before he walked over to him.

 Chapter 2586: Not Real

    <h4>Chapter 2586: Not Real</h4>

    Lu Yin held a star energy orb in his hand as he considered how long he should take to neutralize the contained energy and ¡°officially¡± meet the Cyclic School¡¯s new graduation requirements for the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    Xu Ji approached Lu Yin and said, "I want to test your speed."

    Lu Yin turned to face the man. "Is this for revenge?"

    "That¡¯s unnecessary," Xu Ji answered calmly.

    Lu Yin looked away. "Then there¡¯s no need."

    Xu Ji frowned. "So stubborn. I just want to get a feel for your speed."

    "That¡¯s a waste of my time."

    "Then I want to get revenge," Xu Ji simply stated.

    Lu Yin gave the man an odd look. "Do you really want to test my speed that badly?"

    Xu Ji''s expression instantly grew sharp. "Yes."

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "I¡¯m not going to give you a demonstration for free."

    "What do you suggest?" Xu Ji asked.

    Lu Yin responded, "I heard you''ve obtained the Wu Tian Stone Disk, right?"

    The Wu Tian Stone Disk had been revealed in a video featuring the Voidforce Universe when the students had first arrived at the Sixverse Academy. Each of the academy¡¯s schools had recruitment videos, and Lu Yin had seen a recording of the previous master of the Wu Tian Stone Disk wielding it in battle. Unfortunately, that person had died during that same battle. Since then, Xu Ji had be the master of the Wu Tian Stone Disk.

    After learning of this, Lu Yin had hoped to find a chance to determine the connection between Wu Tian''s stone disk and the ancient powerhouse from Xu Ji.

    The question did not surprise Xu Ji in the least, as many people were interested in his Wu Tian Stone Disk. "You want to see it?"

    "Of course."

    "I¡¯ll allow it, provided that you can withstand the voidforce energy that shrouds it."

    "You don¡¯t need to worry about that." A smirk tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s lips as he replied, "How do you want to test my speed?"

    Xu Ji extended a hand, and voidforce energy radiated from it to form a barrier between him and Lu Yin. The amount of energy that he used was equal to what an Envoy was capable of using. "Pass through it."

    Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for Xuan Qi to prate such a strong barrier of voidforce energy. What Xu Ji was asking was no different from asking an Enlighter to push an Envoy away. Only the most talented individuals were capable of being Realmbreakers at that level, which made it an extremely challenging task.

    Lu Yin looked at the dense barrier of voidforce energy. "You''re certainly trying to challenge me."

    "Since you were able to get past the blue phoenix, you can pass through this," Xu Ji stated.

    Lu Yin grinned, took a single step forward, and shot right past Xu Ji.

    Xu Ji felt a light breeze caress his face, but by the time his mind registered the sensation, Lu Yin was already standing behind him.

    Turning around, Xu Ji stared intently at Xuan Qi. "You didn''t even touch the voidforce energy."

    "You just said that I needed to get past it¡ªyou never said that I needed to touch it," Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Ji''s eyes flickered, "Back in the Arboreal Sanctuary, you mentioned that you were struck by a very fast moving tree. I''d like to see the image of that tree again."

    Lu Yin did not refuse the request. What he had just used was not speed, but rather spatial maniption. He intended to draw the Arboreal Realm''s attention.

    Thepetition for Sage Hua''s seat would be fierce, and even if Lu Yin revealed an unbelievable level of talent, it could not guarantee that he would be a top contender, let alone win the seat; it was just like the situation with Stone Sage''s seat. Lu Yin could secure a better position in the contest by dragging the Arboreal Realm into the mix. He was determined to not give Xu Xiangyin ay opportunity to arrange a meeting with Xu Wuwei. If he could just stall for a bit longer, Lu Yin was confident that he could find a way to remove himself from the Sixverse Academy while still being able to delve deeper into the Sixverse Association¡¯s secrets. He was quite determined to prevent his identity of Xuan Qi from beingpromised.

    After considering the situation for some time, Lu Yin decided that the only way to buy himself enough time was to pull the Arboreal Realm in and have them fight with Xu Xiangyin over Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin was confident that revealing his innate gift of spatial maniption would be enough to attract Shi Jiao and Mu Sanye¡¯s attention, but unexpectedly, Xu Ji had also noticed.

    Mu Sanye had not recognized therge tree that had escaped from Lu Yin and given him an innate gift, and he did not expect Xu Ji to fare any better. Even so, judging by Xu Ji''s interest, there seemed to be a small chance.

    Lu Yin drew the image of the big tree once again.

    Xu Ji frowned. No matter how he looked at the image, it appeared to be apletely normal tree. There was nothing strange about it whatsoever. Could it really be that legendary tree?

    "Your turn. I want to see the Wu Tian Stone Disk," Lu Yin said.

    A void nest appeared above Xu Ji''s head, and from it, a stone disk appeared. It flew over to Lu Yin, eventually stopping in front of him.

    Lu Yin examined the stone disk before him. At first nce, it seemed perfectly ordinary, but the sheer power that it held blew him away. This Wu Tian Stone Disk was unquestionably one of the greatest voidforce puppets in existence, and it had enough power to elevate Xu Ji until he became a peak powerhouse.

    "How is it able to change size?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Ji exined, "It''s also a power vessel."

    "A power vessel?" Lu Yin was surprised. "Did your Voidforce Universe make it?"

    Xu Ji calmly replied, "It came from the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin was even more astonished. "It¡¯s a power vessel from the Origin Universe? So why does your Voidforce Universe have it?"

    Xu Ji answered, "That involves an ancient story that you don''t need to know about."

    "Does your universe have many of these power vessels?" Lu Yin asked, his eyes zing with desire.

    Xu Ji frowned. "We used to have quite a few, but after the Voidchaos Territory was attacked, I can¡¯t say how many might be left."

    "What a pity," Lu Yin sighed regretfully.

    "What changed after you went through your arboreal transformation and obtained your innate gift?" Xu Ji probed.

    Lu Yin answered somewhat distractedly as he continued to examine the stone disk, "Nothing special. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve grown much, much faster."

    "What about your sensitivity regarding space?" Xu Ji pressed.

    Lu Yin''s expression hardened. It was clear that Xu Ji had already figured things out. There must be some record of the big tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary, but if not even Mu Sanye had been able to recognize it, then how had Xu Ji? Wasn¡¯t he from the Voidforce Universe?

    "I haven¡¯t felt anything," Lu Yin replied.

    Xu Ji moved away, though he was filled with doubts and spections.

    Lu Yin had not been able to discern anything from the Wu Tian Stone Disk, but he was more certain than ever that it was rted to Wu Tian. Xu Xiangyin had already admitted as much, and Xu Ji had even gone so far as to admit that the disk was from the Origin Universe.

    What sort of connection could there be between Wu Tian and the Voidforce Universe?

    Lu Yin had revealed his arboreal transformation¡¯s innate gift, but it would take a while for any results to appear. In the meantime, it was time for him to show off a bit. He stretched out a hand and brought out the star energy orb once again. The more parties there werepeting for Xuan Qi, the smaller the chances of him meeting Xu Wuwei.

    Three days passed, and Lu Yin¡¯s star energy orb was fully neutralized. Everyone was stunned.

    Luo Zang, He Shu, Xu Yue, Xu Ji, and even Shao Qingfeng were all taken aback.

    Reaching an initial level of mastery in the Harmonious Heavens Technique in just three days was something that none of them could ept.

    Shi Jiao instantly appeared once again, and she stared at Xuan Qi in amazement.

    Upon seeing the woman¡¯s reaction, Lu Yin knew that something was wrong. He must have overdone things. He quickly mentioned, "This junior has learned this before."

    Shi Jiao was shocked, "You''ve studied this before?"

    Lu Yin replied, "One of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s foundational cultivation technologies is rted to the breakdown and analysis of matter and energy. This junior once studied that cultivation technology with Zi Jing by employing methods from my own universe to try to break down and analyze things. This is why gaining an initial mastery of the Harmonious Heavens Technique was not difficult for me."

    A strange light glittered in Shi Jiao''s eyes. "It appears that you are fated to learn the Harmonious Heavens Technique. It¡¯s true that the Transcendent Universe is proficient in analyzing matter and energy with their cultivation technology, but you relied on your own cultivation to do so. That¡¯s as good as practicing the Harmonious Heavens Technique before you came here. Xuan Qi, it¡¯s possible that you are destined to be the next Sage Hua."

    "Shut up, Shi Jiao!" Xu Xiangyin suddenly arrived, clearly irate. "Stone Sage¡¯s seat has already been taken, and yet you''re still trying to lure Xuan Qi over to your Cyclic Universe with Sage Hua¡¯s seat. What does that seat even have to do with you?"

    Shi Jiao replied, "There''s no need to rush ahead. I am not trying to persuade him to join my Cyclic Universe. Rather, I¡¯m merelyying out some pros and cons for him."

    "Whoever inherits Sage Hua''s seat has nothing to do with you!" Xu Xiangyin stated again, clearly annoyed. He shot a nce at Xuan Qi, uncertain of what to say to the youth. The young man''s talent was simply too overwhelming. The Stone Gate had wanted him before, and with thistest achievement, word of his proclivity for the Harmonious Heavens Technique would likely soon reach the Cyclic Universe.

    "Xu Xiangyin, Xuan Qi is trying to learn the Harmonious Heavens Technique in order to grow as strong as possible, as soon as possible. That way, he can help you when you return to the Endless Frontier," Shi Jiao said.

    Lu Yin quickly interjected, "Senior-"

    Shi Jiao cut him off with a raised hand. "There''s no need to hide it."

    Xu Xiangyin turned to stare at Lu Yin, stunned. "Xuan Qi, is this true?"

    Lu Yin sighed, "Even if I do join the Voidforce Universe, there¡¯s only a remote chance of me ever bing a peak powerhouse, and even then, it would take too long. On the other hand, if I can quickly be the next Sage Hua, it¡¯s possible that I might be able to assist you when you return to the Endless Frontier, Senior."

    Xu Xiangyin was touched. He had never been so moved by a junior before. He felt a surge of familial affection for the young man before him. It was a feeling that he had not experienced in a very long time.

    Lu Yin felt rather helpless; how had things gotten to this point?

    Xu Xiangyin drew a deep breath. "Xuan Qi, if you truly believe that you can seed, then go for it. Take Sage Hua''s seat. It¡¯s possible that doing so is the best possible future for you. However..."

    The man¡¯s voice trailed off as he nced at Shi Jiao. The woman¡¯s brow furrowed deeply, and she turned to leave.

    Xu Xiangyin leaned in closer to Lu Yin and spoke in a hushed tone. "While this is indeed the fastest path to bing a peak powerhouse, the power that you would obtain is not real."

    Lu Yin looked at the older man in confusion. "What do you mean?"

    Xu Xiangyin shook his head. "I''m not entirely sure myself. This is something that I once heard from Senior Xu Wuwei. He told me that, if ever given a choice, to never ept a seat for any of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. They do not possess true power. As soon as he shared this, he made me swear to never share this with anyone, even if it cost me my life."

    Lu Yin sank into deep thought. Never ept a seat to be one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages? They did not possess real power?

    It was true that, when he had first heard that people could be granted the positions of Sovereigns or Sages, he had felt the same thing. After all, power that was granted could also be taken back, and what was happening with Sage Hua was a clear example of this being true.

    "Senior, what if Senior Xu Wuwei learns that you''ve shared this with me?" Lu Yin asked with concern.

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "Surviving a stint on the Endless Frontier is uncertain enough as it is. I¡¯m running out of time, so I¡¯m not particrly concerned. Besides, Senior Xu Wuwei will surely approve of you, and if he epts you as his disciple, the fact that I shared this information with you won''t be any issue at all."

    <i>That''s impossible</i>, Lu Yin thought to himself.

    Xu Xiangyin pped a hand onto Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Xuan Qi, of all the people I''ve met, you possess the greatest talent. Only that perfect Junior Sovereign canpare to you. Strive for the pinnacle. No matter if you end up in my Voidforce Universe or the Cyclic Universe, as long as you can obtain strength, go for it. Don''t let me be an obstacle on your path."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "I understand, Senior."

    At this same time, Mu Mu was speaking to Mu Sanye about what had happened between Xu Yue and Xuan Qi.

    "He moved at a speed so fast that not even you could keep up?" Mu Sanyemented in surprise.

    Mu Mu shared everything that she had witnessed, and Mu Sanye thought for a moment. Something was off, very off, about this matter. Such speed was simply not possible. Even if Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation level would allow him to move at such a velocity, his body would not be able to handle it. Well, unless he had been hiding his true strength all along. However, how could anyone hide their strength within the Sixverse Academy? It was impossible.

    As the man¡¯s mind spun, a sudden thought urred to him. "I need to leave for a while. Keep an eye on Xuan Qi for me, and do your best to prevent him from leaving with Xu Xiangyin."

    Mu Mu felt troubled. "How am I supposed to stop Senior Xu Xiangyin?"

    Mu Sanye hesitated for a moment. "You''re right. I''ll find someone else. Speak to no one else of today''s events."

    Mu Mu nodded as she watched Mu Sanye disappear.

 Chapter 2587: Lamentation Of Sages

    <h4>Chapter 2587: Lamentation Of Sages</h4>

    No one knew just how long the Arboreal Realm had existed for. It had once fought side by side with the Origin Universe¡¯s Third Maind in a great battle against Aeternus, along with numerous other parallel universes. The Arboreal Realm had been one of the few universes capable of matching the Third Maind¡¯s strength, and they had allied together in the battle at River Jiu. If one tried to trace the Arboreal Realm¡¯s history back to its origin, it was possible that the Arboreal Realm might prove to be even older than the Voidforce Universe.

    Throughout its long history, who knew how many unique trees had been born? Just as the Origin Universe¡¯s history had been broken and interrupted, the same was true of the Arboreal Realm.

    Mu Sanye wanted to return to the Arboreal Realm in order to gather some information, as he felt that he might have thought of something.

    ...

    One dayter, a resounding voice echoed throughout the entire Sixverse Academy, ¡°Everyone is to gather in outer space within ten breaths¡¯ time.¡±

    Lu Yin immediately moved out and entered outer space. Other figures immediately started to appear around him.

    You Teng, Shi Jiao, and all the other universe representatives were present, and each of them portrayed a respectful attitude.

    Within ten breaths of time, the tens of thousands of students from the Sixverse Academy had assembled in outer space.

    Lu Yin had not expected to see so many people. Apparently, a new ss had recently joined the Sixverse Academy.

    He also saw Wen Sansi, Zhuo Daynight, and the others from the Fifth Maind.

    Shi Jiao stepped forward, sweeping the crowd with her Semi-Progenitor-level power. The pressure radiating from her was so intense that the void started to warp. ¡°Starting from now, no one is allowed to speak. We will be leading you to witness a historical moment. This may be long, or brief, but regardless, do not speak.

    ¡°Any who disobey these instructions will be killed.¡±

    The students were shocked. All of them were elites from their own universe, and while their levels of strength certainly varied, their future potential was undeniable. They enjoyed high statuses in their home universes, but they were being openly threatened with death now. This was something that most of them had never dealt with before, and no one dared to speak a single word.

    By utilizing a power that seemed quite simr to an inner world, Shi Jiao led the entire group away from the Sixverse Academy, assisted by You Teng, Xu Xiang Yin, and Mu Sanye.

    Lu Yin realized that they were headed for the Cyclic Universe; otherwise, Shi Jiao would not have been the one to take the lead.

    Were they really about to enter the Cyclic Universe? Just the thought left Lu Yin¡¯s heart fluttering with unease. This was a universe where even a Progenitor¡¯s power could be given to an individual. Would the Great Sovereign sense Lu Yin¡¯s presence? Would they stumble upon a Progenitor? The unexpected nature of this visit left Lu Yinpletely unprepared.

    In the blink of an eye, they emerged from the void to find themselves in an unfamiliar region of the universe.

    Even for the students from the Cyclic Universe, they did not recognize where they had appeared. However, Lu Yin felt that the ce felt oddly familiar. He could see a vast continent stretching across the vastness of space, and there was also the presence of stellr energy pulsating around him. If thendmass before him was not so incredibly vast, he might have mistaken this ce for the Fifth Maind.

    The only portion of the Fifth Maind where any part of the Fifth Maind¡¯s originalndmass still existed was the Neoverse. Everything else had long since crumbled into nothingness.

    Thendmass before them was beyond massive, and it stretched out so far that it filled their vision, extending into the heart of the Cyclic Universe. The sight awed everyone present who was looking at it.

    Lu Yin had glimpsed such a scene before in the memories of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators, and then again when he had been traveling through space and time.

    The Origin Universe had once boasted continents like what Lu Yin was seeing, but they were all gone now.

    "Why is there a continent here?" an adorable, lively looking girl cried out in surprise. Curiosity filled her eyes as she turned to look at Zhi Bing with her question.

    The man¡¯s face fell when he heard her words, and the very next moment, the girl was gone. All that remained was a spatter of blood in space.

    The other students who saw what had happened were ovee with absolute terror at what they had just witnessed.

    The girl was dead. A spirited young woman had been instantly silenced by Shi Jiao.

    "I already warned you¡ªany who speak will be killed," Shi Jiao''s voice rang out, her tone even colder than before.

    The gravity of the woman¡¯s words were embedded into the hearts of everyone who was present. This was not a joke; she really would kill any one of them without a bit of hesitation.

    The girl had been from the Lost n, and she had even been one of Zhi Bing''s favorite students. Despite that, she had been executed without a second thought. Zhi Bing could have intervened, but he had chosen not to. This was not merely the judgment of the Sixverse Academy, but a representation of the collective resolve of the entire Sixverse Association.

    The student¡¯s demeanors shifted. They sealed their mouths, determined to remain silent.

    Lu Yin stared down at thendmass below. They were in the Cyclic Universe, but it was surprisingly simr to the Fifth Maind, or rather, the Origin Universe. There had to be some sort of connection between the two universes.

    A somber atmosphere settled over the crowd as Shi Jiao led them along. Even with her great speed given her strength as a Semi-Progenitor, they needed several days to cross thendmass. Once they reached the other side, Lu Yin and the others saw something truly shocking.

    Everyone stared dumbfounded at a distant battlefield. They saw countless cultivators and corpse kings fighting a fierce battle. An impressive wall had been erected on thendmass, but it was sorge that it no longer appeared to be a wall, but rather more like a folded continent. This was something that had been put in ce to keep Aeternus at bay. It was simple and crude, but it was even more breathtakingly impressive than the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s rainbow wall. The wall before the students had a wild grandeur to it.

    Stars could be seen shining both within and beyond the wall. Lu Yin could clearly make out a sourcebox array that wasposed of countless stars that were scattered throughout the wall and beyond.

    The wall seemed to berge enough to encircle the entire Cyclic Universe, though it was also possible that it only blocked one direction. It was possible to see dark-red stains across the wall. The battlefield was not only filled with humans and corpse kings, but also with various astral beasts.

    There were countless cultivators fighting atop the wall, along it, and even within its deep crevices. While those fissures seemed small inparison to the entire wall, they were enormous for the people fighting within them, and some were sorge that they even helds the size of Earth.

    This was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s battlefield where they fought against Aeternus. This was their version of the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield.

    Violence and ughter filled the air, and every breath was tainted with the stench of blood.

    There was a literal mountain of corpses, and a sea of blood.

    "This is the battlefront for the war between my Cyclic Universe and Aeternus. Here, aside from peak powerhouses, everyone else is nothing more than an ant. Even people like us can easily fall in a moment¡¯s carelessness. This wall has already been stained with the blood of two peak powerhouses, and today, you might witness the blood of the third be spilled upon this wall. This wall is known as the Wall of Purity." Shi Jiao''s voice echoed in everyone''s ears.

    The crowd stared into the distance. The Wall of Purity?

    It looked like a wall, but it was vast enough to contain stars ands and tough enough to endure the attacks of Semi-Progenitors. It was even able to endure battles involving Progenitors. This was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s battlefront.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He was seeing fighting at least as intense as what he had witnessed on the rear battlefield. The bloodstains across the wall made it clear that this ce had been a battlefield for a very long time. If the fighting was so intense at this location, he could only imagine how fierce the war on the Endless Frontier had to be.

    The students did not know what they were supposed to be looking at. It was impossible for them to participate in the battle across the Wall of Purity, as it would be nothing less than suicide.

    Shi Jiao''s words sparked a great deal of spection among the students. What had she been hinting at when she suggested that they might see the blood of a third peak powerhouse stain the wall? Was it possible that such an expert was about to enter the fray?

    Even in a ce like the Wall of Purity, it was rare for such experts to interfere.

    The students continued to watch in silence.

    War raged for ten days straight in the Wall of Purity. Day after day, the endless ughter continued unabated, and blood continued to soak into the ground.

    On the eleventh day, there was a sudden shift in outer space, and a sense of impending doom abruptly appeared and pressed onto the students¡¯ very souls.

    Lu Yin''s expression hardened. A Progenitor-level figure had just arrived.

    Shi Jiao and the others looked up to see an elderly man standing in outer space. There was a serene expression on his face as he gazed down upon the Wall of Purity.

    The old man¡¯s arrival caused the entire Wall of Purity to tremble from an overwhelming pressure that only a Progenitor could produce.

    Shi Jiao bowed low. "Greetings, Sage Hua."

    You Teng and Xu Xiangyin also bowed. "Greetings, Sage Hua."

    All across the Wall of Purity, countless cultivators paid their respects.

    Lu Yin and the other students followed suit, paying their respects to the Progenitor.

    However,pared to Lu Yin and the others, Shi Jiao''s eyes held a hint of sadness. Only she knew what was about to happen. It was one of the rarest moments in the Cyclic Universe and was something that would be recorded down in history: Lamentation of Sages.

    Sage Hua spent two days staring at the Wall of Purity before he suddenly vanished. The next moment, countless corpse kings that had gathered beyond the Wall of Purity were crushed. Sage Hua had appeared and personally ughtered the monsters.

    ¡°Sage Hua, you are seeking death!" A stern warning echoed from beyond the Wall of Purity. It was a Progenitor-level corpse king, and the voice that spoke was deep and cold. The corpse king charged forward to engage Sage Hua in a battle that shook the space and the entirendmass down below.

    Fights between Progenitor-level figures were rare urrences, and few ever had the opportunity to witness such a battle. Even as the people from the Sixverse Academy watched, their eyes stung. They were unable to see anything that was happening in the battle.

    Countless cultivators fled from the Wall of Purity, with more constantly getting caught up in the powerhouses¡¯ battle.

    Space shattered. The pressure of just the aftershocks of the battle were intense enough to leave a Semi-Progenitor vomiting blood.

    The Wall of Purity started to break apart as two figures traded ferocious blows. One of the two was the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Sage Hua was at a distinct disadvantage, and he physically fell behind in the battle. Humans had a significant disadvantage against corpse kings due to the difference in their physical abilities. However, Sage Hua was able to counter the corpse king''s massive strength by employing the Harmonious Heavens Technique, and the corpse king was pushed to its limits.

    Shi Jiao and everyone else watched intently, despite barely being able to make out any details at all.

    Lu Yin remained calm. Sage Hua had arrived to die. He had charged away from the Wall of Purity and invaded Aeternus''s territory. This was the punishment that he had been given by the Cyclic Universe and the Great Sovereign.

    Pu!

    Again and again, Sage Hua spat out blood. His corpse king opponent did not fare much better, as cracks covered its entire body.

    "How much longer can your sourcebox array hold?" the corpse king roared as it hammered at the array with its weapon. Every blow tore the void apart and exposed an endless darkness that looked like the universe had been torn apart.

    Even so, something deflected each of the attacks, and the blows were slightly diverted. Sage Hua was using a sourcebox array, though Lu Yin could not determine the array¡¯s functions. The only clear thing was that the sourcebox array guaranteed that the Progenitor-level corpse king''s attacks would miss Sage Hua, while the corpse king was forced to withstand Sage Hua''s attacks.

    It was clear that Sage Hua was an Array Grandmaster.

    As soon as Lu Yin had been exposed to the Harmonious Heavens Technique, he had started to suspect something. If sourcebox arrays existed in other universes, then Array Grandmasters had to also exist, and Sage Hua was very likely one such expert. Lu Yin had already confirmed those suspicions, though he felt a pang of regret at the realization. How wonderful would it be if he could learn Sage Hua''s sourcebox array.

    Unfortunately, that opportunity seemed to be lost forever.

    Sage Hua fought recklessly with no apparent concern for his life. No matter where the corpse king went, even if it retreated from the Wall of Purity, Sage Hua pursued the monster.

    "I understand now¡ªLamentation of Sages. You were punished with the Lamentation of Sages," the corpse king said in a deep voice.

    Sage Hua said nothing. He ignored the numerous wounds that had torn his body open, as well as his diminishing strength. With the fearlessness of someone who was determined to die, the man shot away from the Wall of Purity.

    "Come, if you dare! Since you wish to die, I''ll grant you your wish!" the Progenitor-level corpse king shouted once more.

    As Sage Hua once again invaded Aeternus¡¯s territory, and ake took form around him. Unconsciously, Lu Yin stepped forward. He was seeing a Progenitor''s world, Sage Hua''s Progenitor''s world.

    The appearance of the Progenitor''s world meant that Sage Hua was truly utilizing his full power. It was also a sign that the end was fast approaching.

 Chapter 2588: Nipping It In The Bud

    <h4>Chapter 2588: Nipping It In The Bud</h4>

    Theke that was Sage Hua''s Progenitor¡¯s world spread past the Pure Realm. Any corpse king that the water touched melted away. It was a sight that sent chills down the spines of the countless onlookers.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king kept retreating. Sage Hua charged straight into Aeternus''s territory as though he were walking into the embrace of death. All the while, hiske surged out.

    Dayster, theke had shrunk by nearly half, and its surface had been stained a bloody red.

    "Unsullied Lake is Senior Sage Hua''s ultimate power," Shi Jiao mourned, "He oncepared it to a human soul, insisting that it must remain unstained. Despite its great might, it has be stained with blood. Senior... is leaving us."

    You Teng and the other overseers of the Sixverse Academy clenched their fists as they watched theke steadily shrink.

    They heard mournful howls from the Progenitor-level corpse king, as well as crazedughter from Sage Hua. The man¡¯sughter was tinged with suppressed misery and despair.

    An unusual calm settled upon the Pure Realm. Countless cultivators stood along and above the wall, each of them staring off into the distance, respect on their faces as they slowly bowed.

    Two days passed, and Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings were nowhere to be seen throughout the Pure Realm. The Unsullied Lake had melted countless monsters away, putting a temporary pause to the endless battle, though that also marked the end of theke itself.

    "Cheng Kong!" a howl of rage ripped out of Sage Hua¡¯s throat.

    Everyone shuddered and stared in horror at the distantke. The bloody waters suddenly scattered throughout space, piercing stars,s, and even the wall that was the Pure Realm. People were able to vaguely make out the sight of Sage Hua''s body being torn apart. The man¡¯s corpse king opponent roared as it relentlessly hammered at the man. Each blow produced a crack in Sage Hua''s skull, but the man still defiantly clutched the corpse king¡¯s neck. A final burst of power erupted.

    "Cheng Kong!" Sage Hua roared at the sky while unleashing his full power. The area around him was plunged into a perfect darkness.

    The darkness was soplete that it left Lu Yin trembling. Not even Progenitors would dare to enter a ce so devoid of light.

    Sage Hua used thest dregs of his strength to drag the Progenitor-level corpse king into the endless darkness. s, he had already exhausted his power. While the corpse king''s lower body waspletely destroyed, the upper half managed to escape. The Progenitor-level corpse king did not die, though it had clearly been greatly weakened for a time.

    Beyond the Pure Realm, Sage Hua''s power suddenly transformed into beams of light that shot back towards the Cyclic Universe and straight towards a high and mighty ce where a pair of eyes seemed to be watching.

    Shi Jiao bowed. "Farewell, Sage Hua."

    Everyone else bowed as one. "Farewell, Sage Hua."

    "Farewell, Sage Hua."

    ...

    Rain fell upon the Pure Realm. Each drop contained portions of Sage Hua''s final reluctance to leave the world of the living. It was part of hisst radiant eruption of power, and his feelings for being forced to perform Holy Sorrow had filled his Progenitor¡¯s world with a profound reluctance. Upon receiving the Great Sovereign''smand, Sage Hua had been ready to atone. He had been willing to ept death, but he did not wish to die. Up until his veryst moment, Sage Hua had hoped to find Cheng Kong, wishing to die with that terrible enemy. If not for Cheng Kong, Tu Shuangshuang would have never betrayed Sage Hua, and he would not have been forced to bear this burden of sin.

    He had lived the life of a Sage, but he had died so tragically. Despite dying in the war to protect humanity, Sage Hua had not died in a deserving manner. The Cyclic Universe would only ever remember him as a pitiful figure who had been condemned with Holy Sorrow in order to atone for his sins.

    No one spoke. Regardless of whether they were abatant in the Pure Realm or a student of the Sixverse Academy, everyone felt their hearts being weighed down. They wanted to release the feeling, but they did not know how to go about it.

    Had sacrificing Sage Hua for the sake of Tu Shuangshuang been worth the price? The more pointless such a sacrifice appeared, the more indifferent the Great Sovereign seemed. Such an individual had not been concerned with Sage Hua''s life or death at all.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Progenitors stood at the pinnacle of human cultivation. Regardless of their varying strengths, such individuals did not deserve such a death. Sage Hua had died in as wasteful a manner as Progenitor Liu.

    Progenitor Liu had been ndered and murdered by the four ruling powers¡¯ collusion, whereas Sage Hua had been implicated by Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s betrayal of humanity and thus been forced to pay with his very life. Both Progenitors had suffered the most tragic fates that Lu Yin had ever witnessed.

    This was the way of the Cyclic Universe, which followed the will of the Great Sovereign. Even Progenitors could not defy such things.

    Witnessing Sage Hua¡¯s death had granted Lu Yin a new understanding of the Cyclic Universe. While the universe¡¯s civilization appeared to be quite simr to that of the Origin Universe, the cores of the two universes were entirely different. This was no different from how the two star energies were ipatible with each other.

    It was no wonder why Xu Wuwei had told Xu Xiangyin to never ept the seat of any of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, if he was ever given the opportunity; such positions did not grant real power.

    It was even possible that, at the end of his life, if Sage Hua had wanted to betray mankind and defect to Aeternus, he had been prevented from doing so due to his strength being granted to him by the Great Sovereign.

    What was the point of being a Progenitor with such artificial power?

    After a moment of silence, Shi Jiao lifted her head and nced around at the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students. "Within 100 years, someone must inherit Sage Hua¡¯s seat. Work hard on your cultivation with the goal of entering the Great Sovereign¡¯s sight within this time. Chase after Sage Hua¡¯s seat with everything that you have."

    In the past, such a statement would have created a stir of excitement within the students, but at the moment, for some reason, the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had lost a great deal of appeal.

    Lu Yin could notprehend why the Cyclic Universe had chosen to show such a tragically heroic scene to the Sixverse Academy¡¯s students. Were they being told to strive to be a Sage themselves? Or was it a reminder that, even if they ascended to the heights of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, they would still be under the Great Sovereign¡¯s control? If that was the case, why pursue any of the seats?

    It was also possible that the Great Sovereign was simply sending a message: throughout all time and across the vast expanse of the megaverse, the Great Sovereign alone ruled supreme!

    After returning to the Sixverse Academy, the students silently dispersed. Shi Jiao spoke to Lu Yin for a moment, but the conversation was rather stilted.

    Shi Jiao''s perspective was that Sage Hua''s death had deeply affected Xuan Qi. All she could hope to do wasfort the youth and caution him not to overly dwell on the matter, while also encouraging him to chase after Sage Hua''s seat.

    As Lu Yin watched Shi Jiao leave, he considered how every creature in the Cyclic Universe lived under the rule of the Great Sovereign. Even if a person became that universe¡¯s equivalent of a Progenitor, nothing would change. Was that even a universe? To Lu Yin, it sounded more like a prison.

    Half a month passed, and one by one, students started to leave the Sixverse Academy. Shao Qingfeng, He Shu, Mu Mu, Luo Zang, and many others departed. There was nothing more for them to learn within the Sixverse Academy. If they wanted to pursue any of the cultivation methods that they had learned, they would need to visit the home universe that they were interested in. This would involve much more than simply integrating the different universes¡¯ civilizations into an academy.

    Lu Yin started considering when he should leave the academy as well.

    He had underestimated the cultivation level that he should reveal. When he had been taken to the Transcendent Universe by Ke Jian, Lu Yin finally understood that he should have revealed a level of strength close to that of an Envoy. However, given his age, such strength also would have drawn too much attention.

    After all, people like Shao Qingfeng who possessed such strength were the pride of the Sixverse Association. Lu Yin had originally intended to keep a low profile, but he was starting to understand that it would not be as easy to leave the Sixverse Academy as he had expected.

    Why had there not been any reaction from the Arboreal Realm? They should have already learned something from his exchange with Xu Yue. After all, even Xu Ji had noticed that something was off, which would make it strange if the Arboreal Realm had not noticed anything.

    All Lu Yin could do for the moment was wait. Was there any way he could demonstrate arge increase in strength from some kind of breakthrough? Would a moment of enlightenment be enough to warrant such a transformation?

    Instead of being approached by the Arboreal Realm, Lu Yin was instead approached by an alluring aroma. The scent of food was so wonderful that his mouth watered.

    Throughout his years of cultivating, Lu Yin had rarely craved food so eagerly.

    He followed the tantalizing scent. Who could have produced food with such an irresistible aroma that not even he could hold back?

    Lu Yin soon parted some bushes to reveal a campfire burning in the grass. Next to it stood a person with their back to Lu Yin. There was something roasting over the mes, and the scent that had drawn Lu Yin to the fire came from that meat.

    "High-quality ingredients often need nothing more than simple roasting. The true essence of food is in the original taste. Hehe, it¡¯s delicious." An aged voice came from the man sitting on the ground who was facing away from Lu Yin.

    Without a moment of hesitation, Lu Yin turned to leave. The moment he hadid eyes on this man, he had felt an instinctive warning of danger. He had felt such danger more than once in the past, but each time had been a premonition of life-threatening danger. This man was not someone to be trifled with, and Lu Yin did not even consider probing the man with his domain.

    However, when Lu Yin turned around, he found himself once again facing the man¡¯s back and the roasting meat. When did that happen?

    He turned back around, only to discover that the ce where the man had been standing just a moment before had already been reduced to a pile of ashes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. This man had instantly moved at a speed too fast for Lu Yin to even notice anything, which should be impossible. Not even someone as powerful as Xia Shenji could move fast enough to leave Lu Yin unable to even react. Who was this man?

    "Child, why are you trying to run?" the man asked, his back still to Lu Yin. He stood and dusted off his behind before casually rotating the meat on the spit. "Feeling guilty?"

    Lu Yin maintained hisposure. "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior."

    The meat sizzled on the spit as the fat dripped onto the fire. The man sprinkled a bit more something onto the food, and the mouthwatering smell grew even more enticing. Lu Yin gulped, not even realizing what he was doing. His eyes were inevitably pulled to the roasting meat. The smell was far too enticing, and it could even be regarded as otherworldly. How could a primitive food like roast meat give off such an extraordinary scent?

    "I am Xu Wuwei," the man casually stated as he continued to turn the spit.

    A heavy weight fell onto Lu Yin''s heart, and he bowed a second time. "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior Xu Wuwei."

    Xu Wuwei kept his back to Lu Yin and his eyes fixed on the meat that he was cooking. "That kid Xiangyin tells me that you possess great talent. He¡¯s begged me time and again to meet with you. Hmm, his efforts have not gone to waste. It¡¯s true, you do possess impressive talent."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    "You are even able to keep your true strength hidden from him. Aside from peak powerhouses, there should be no one capable of seeing through your disguise. That is a very rare ability," Xu Wuwei continued as he turned to look straight at Lu Yin. He had the appearance of an old man whose face told tales of struggles endured. Even so, the man¡¯s eyes remained bright, and he seemed to see through all that Lu Yin was.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped even further. Just as he had suspected, it was impossible for him to deceive this man. There were varying levels of strength even within the Progenitor realm, and Xu Wuwei was clearly someone at the very top level. He was at least on the same level as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, if not even higher. However, the man had not reached Mister Mu''s level yet, or else he would have simrly sensed the power that sat in Lu Yin''s chest. If Xu Wuwei could see that, then his attitude would lkely be much different.

    Even Mister Mu had been astonished by the power system that Lu Yin was developing in his chest. The only other possibility was that Xu Wuwei far surpassed Mister Mu¡¯s cultivation, which was simply impossible. Every time Lu Yin met Mister Mu, his understanding of his master was transformed. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Mister Mu was a powerhouse on the same level as the Great Sovereign at least; there was no other way for the man to guarantee that the Great Sovereign would noty a hand on Lu Yin.

    No matter how strong Xu Wuwei might be, there was no way he was greater than the Great Sovereign.

    "The fact that you¡¯ve hidden your strength here in the Sixverse Academy initially led me to assume that you might be a spy from Aeternus," Xu Wuwei calmly stated as he turned back to look at the food he was cooking. It seemed evident that the man did not view Lu Yin with the same importance as the roasting meat.

    Lu Yin''s heart pounded, "Senior, I am definitely not a spy from Aeternu-."

    Xu Wuwei raised a hand to stop Lu Yin from speaking. He leaned closer to the grilled meat and sniffed. "The smell is a bit off... Did it overcook? No, that''s not it. The seasoning is wrong. Let me think..."

 Chapter 2589: The Only Ruler

    <h4>Chapter 2589: The Only Ruler</h4>

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the scene ying out before him. His eyes followed Xu Wuwei¡¯s movements as the older man focused on seasoning the meat perfectly. It finally made sense why the old man was called "Xu Wuwei." The old man clearly had an obsession with food and using the five vors to elevate the quality of food to the peak. The mouth-watering aroma that teased Lu Yin¡¯s nose was irresistible. Naturally, everything was only enhanced by the exceptional quality of the meat itself.

    ¡°I got it! That¡¯s how it should be!" Xu Wuwei happily eximed. He carefully rotated the meat as he carefully sprinkled the adjusted seasoning, and the smell intensified. The man was clearly satisfied.

    "There we go," he dered as he tore a piece of meat off and contentedly ate it.

    Lu Yin remained silent the entire time. He tried to act like a ghost, invisible and unobtrusive.

    Xu Wuwei spent nearly two hours savoring his meal. He ate slowly and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

    After finishing his meal, he stretched and turned to look at Lu Yin. "Not bad, child. You''ve done well by not disturbing my feast. For that, I promise that your ending will be less painful."

    Lu Yin''s face hardened. "I am not a spy. Why do you wish to kill me, senior?" he questioned.

    Xu Wuwei picked at his teeth with a bone. "If you can prove that you''re not a spy, that will suffice. I have no interest in useless chatter."

    Lu Yin fell silent, lost in thought.

    ¡°My time is limited." Xu Wuwei flicked the bone away. "I can''t remain here for long, and even if you intend to stall until Xu Xiangyin appears, it won''t change my decision."

    After some thought, Lu Yin pulled one of the Zenith Mountains out from his cosmic ring.

    Xu Wuwei was stunned by the sight. ¡°A Sky Pir?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. As expected, Xu Wuwei recognized the Sky Pir. It seemed that long, long ago, the Sixverse Association had once had a deep connection with the Origin Universe. Lu Yin started to wonder what sort of role the association¡¯s members had yed during the destruction of the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds.

    ¡°This is a power vessel that I took from Tu Shuangshuang. It is able to hold people, but can also be stored in a cosmic ring." As Lu Yin offered an exnation, he removed Tu Shuangshuang out from the Zenith Mountain. "She is proof that I am not a spy of Aeternus. This is Tu Shuangshuang."

    Xu Wuwei was stunned yet again. "The traitor who instigated Sage Hua''s death?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s right. During the secret auction here, she attacked all of the students. She did so because this power vessel is something that she received from Aeternus, and she even admitted that it is from the Origin Universe. If anyone saw her with it, they would certainly assume her to be a spy, which is why she took such a risk to capture everyone. I am the one who saved everyone and scattered the students across the various parallel universes.

    "If I were a spy for Aeternus, why would I do such a thing? Even if there might be valid excuses for some of my actions, there would be no reason for me to not have simply killed all of the students. Why else would I save them and let them return? All of them have been examined by the Sixverse Association, and they¡¯ve confirmed that there are no issues with any of them. Aeternus is not able to deceive the Sixverse Association."

    Xu Wuwei nodded. "That is indeed a valid argument, but the Sixverse Association¡¯s position when ites to potential spies is that we would rather kill an innocent person than let a potential spy go free by ident. Child, even if you aren''t a spy for Aeternus, there is clearly some reason why you are hiding your strength here in the Sixverse Academy. This academy is the Sixverse Association¡¯s future, and the center of where the various civilizations converge. If something happens to this ce, it will be a terrible disaster. I will only give you one more chance to prove that you have benign intentions towards the Sixverse Association, or else you will not escape death."

    Lu Yin sighed inwardly. Having his strength exposed was extremely frustrating, and the unique nature of the Sixverse Academy gave him very little to work with. The fact that Xu Wuwei was offering Lu Yin the chance to exin himself demonstrated that he was confident that Lu Yin was not a spy of Aeternus. However, the Sixverse Association, as well as many other parallel universes, was far from a peaceful ce. Without Aeternus, there most likely would not be any Sixverse Association, as conflicts between the various universes were inevitable. How could the man allow an unknown factor like Lu Yin to remain in such a sensitive location?

    Xu Wuwei needed Lu Yin to clearly demonstrate his identity.

    After a moment of internal debate, Lu Yin brough another person out from the Zenith Mountain: Bai Qian.

    She felt a little confused when she was released, as the first thing that she saw upon emerging was Xu Wuwei.

    While it might be possible for many people to not recognize Bai Qian, how could any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s high-ranking individuals not know who she was?

    Xu Wuwei was a someone from the Voidforce Universe with a status just below Lord Xu¡¯s, and he immediately recognized Bai Qian. For the first time, he expressed his surprise in front of Lu Yin. "The Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bai Qian?"

    Bai Qian looked at Lu Yin in a questioning manner. She did not recognize Xu Wuwei. It was true that she had high status in the Transcendent Universe and was readily recognized by high-ranking figures of the Sixverse Association, but that was mostly because of herpetition with He Ran. Bai Qian herself did not have much experience and had only been able to meet a few of the powerhouses from other universes, such as Xu Wuwei.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I''m sorry, but I can''t hide it anymore. I need to reveal the truth."

    He looked back at Xu Wuwei. "Since you recognized Lady Bai Qian, you should have guessed the truth of the matter. You are correct. I was sent to He Ran¡¯s side by Lady Bai Qian. My mission is to help her defeat He Ran."

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered before she calmly looked at Xu Wuwei. "Who are you?"

    Xu Wuwei was quite startled, as he had not anticipated this situation at all. Guessed the truth of the matter? How was that possible? Still, after considering Xuan Qi''s identity, his rtionship with Zi Jing, his peerless talent, and not to mention what Xu Xiangyin had mentioned about He Ran''s attitude towards the youth, what Xuan Qi was saying was far from impossible.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "This is Lady Bai Qian''s desperate counterattack. Compared to He Ran, Lady Bai Qian holds no advantage in the Transcendent Universe, so she can only try to use my talent to win over various parallel universes before attempting to suppress He Ran with Zi Jing''s breakthrough in the cultivation technology she is researching. This is the only path that can hope to lead to victory-"

    Xu Wuwei interrupted, "Stop."

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Wuwei in confusion.

    Xu Wuwei rolled his eyes. "I have no interest in your messy state of affairs."

    Lu Yin replited, "But this junior needs to rify this matter."

    "Things are already quite clear." Xu Wuwei nced at Bai Qian, and then back at Lu Yin. "You attacked Tu Shuangshuang because of her?"

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Nothing escapes you, Senior. When Lady Bai Qian arrived at the secret auction and was unexpectedly captured by Tu Shuangshuang, I was forced to take a risk. That woman is Cheng Kong¡¯s disciple, and while my cultivation far exceeds her own, I was still uncertain of victory. Even senior Sage Hua died because of Cheng Kong¡¯s maniptions, and that enemy¡¯s schemes are unfathomable."

    Xu Wuwei''s expression grew conflicted. "Sage Hua... What a tragic fate. He died without even seeing the face of his enemy, and everything was because of a single rebellious disciple."

    The man stood up again and dusted off his behind. "Come."

    His voice echoed, and the stars shook. Lu Yin looked up in time to see Xu Xiangyin arrive, and the man looked equal parts nervous and eager as he descended. He visibly twitched upon seeing Bai Qian, and the first thought in the man¡¯s mind was that Xu Wuwei had saved all of the kidnapped students. Xu Xiangyin bowed to Xu Wuwei. "Senior."

    Xu Wuwei grunted. "The child that you''ve chosen truly does possess a remarkable level of talent."

    Xu Xiangyin grew ted, and he eagerly awaited Xu Wuwei¡¯s next words.

    The man looked to have something more to say, but after ncing at Bai Qian, he restrained himself. "I won''t ept him."

    Xu Xiangyin thought he must have misheard as he stared at Xu Wuwei in surprise. "Senior, what did you say? You won''t ept him?"

    Xu Wuwei remained indifferent. "I won''t ept him, and my Voidforce Universe doesn''t need him."

    Lu Yin frowned, but there was nothing that he could do. It was clear that he had already left an extremely bad impression on Xu Wuwei. He also realized just how lucky he was to have not sent Bai Qian away, as her presence had given him the means to muddle through this crisis. Without her, he would have struggled tremendously to try to exin himself.

    Xu Xiangyin felt incredibly confused., "Senior, not only is Xuan Qi extraordinarily talented, but he is also humble and courteous while greatly admiring our Voidforce Universe. Could you have misunderstood something?"

    The man spun around to face Lu Yin. "Hurry up and rify the situation with Senior. What did you do to upset him so?"

    It was clear that Xu Xiangyin genuinely cared for Lu Yin. The man was more desperate than anyone else present.

    Lu Yin felt a pang of guilt.

    "Enough. He did nothing wrong, but our Voidforce Universe does not need him. Don''t bother asking anyone else, as no one will ept him as their disciple."

    With that, Xu Wuwei nced back at Lu Yin for a brief moment before he vanished.

    Xu Xiangyin cried out, "Senior, please wait!"

    However, Xu Wuwei was already gone, and it was impossible for Xu Xiangyin to find any trace of the man.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "Senior, there¡¯s no need to call him. Just let things be."

    Xu Xiangyin turned back to look at Xuan Qi, unable to understand what could have happened. "Just what is going on? Given your talent and character, this should not have happened. Xu Wuwei is usually very eager to nurture juniors. Even when he identally met me in the Cyclic Universe, he offered me a few words of guidance. Why is his attitude toward you so different? Xuan Qi, tell me, what just happened?"

    A sudden thought struck the man as he was speaking, and he turned to look at Bai Qian. "Is it... is it because of her?"

    Bai Qian spoke up in a calm voice, "Xuan Qi, it''s time for me to leave."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes met Bai Qian¡¯s. "Stay safe."

    She nodded, tore through the void, and then left the Singrity Universe. She had already connected to a coordinate seal in the Transcendent Universe, which allowed her to return without any difficulty.

    "Xuan Qi, tell me the truth. What is your rtionship with Bai Qian? Why won''t Xu Wuwei ept you as his disciple or even allow you to join the Voidforce Universe?" Xu Xiangyin asked seriously.

    Lu Yin responded with a helpless shrug, "Senior, I truly appreciate your concern, but I can''t share this with you. Xu Wuwei also forbade me from speaking of it."

    Xu Xiangyin grew upset and started scolding Lu Yin. "Do you understand just what kind of opportunity you''ve let slip by you? Do you really not care at all? Do you understand Xu Wuwei¡¯s position within the Sixverse Association is?

    "He is second only to Lord Xu in our Voidforce Universe. In the Cyclic Universe¡¯s terms, he is equal to one of the three Sovereigns! A word from him canpletely change your destiny, as he can overturn the association¡¯s decisions. He is one of the few individuals qualified to meet with the Great Sovereign at any time, as well as one of the few who has a designated seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies.¡±

    "Do you have any idea just how many people in the Sixverse Association dream of being Senior Xu Wuwei''s disciple? I did not tell you any of this before because I didn''t want to put further pressure on you. Under normal circumstances, given your talent, you should be more than qualified to be his disciple. Why can''t you pull yourself together?"

    Hearing Xu Xiangyin¡¯s angry chastisement suddenly became amusing to Lu Yin. Somehow, he had managed to create a familial bond with this old man. Affection filled Xu Xiangyin''s eyes, and his anger stemmed from his disappointment in Xuan Qi. Lu Yin had never before been looked at in such a manner.

    While Highsage Leon and Big Sis were both family to Lu Yin, he had already outshone both of them, which gave them no opportunity to scold him in a simr manner.

    Lu Yin was filled with warmth, as he was experiencing something that only Xu Xiangyin was capable of giving him.

    Lu Yinughed.

    Xu Xiangyin red, speechless. "You can stillugh?"

    Lu Yin justughed again. "Thank you, Senior!"

    Xu Xiangyin pointed a finger at Lu Yin. His mouth opened to resume the scolding, but instead, the old man just sighed from frustration. "Not only have you lost the chance to be Senior Xu Wuwei''s disciple, but that single sentence from him also guarantees that you will never be able to join the Voidforce Universe throughout your entire life. Do you understand this?"

 Chapter 2590: Void Pass

    <h4>Chapter 2590: Void Pass</h4>

    Xu Xiangyin''s question caused Lu Yin''s expression to subtly shift. He had not expected Xu Wuwei to harbor such animosity against him. From the moment Lu Yin had started cultivating, he hade across both mentors and enemies, but rarely had he encountered strangers who disliked him with such intensity. Xu Wuwei had actually sealed off Lu Yin¡¯s path into the Voidforce Universe.

    "Sigh, while Senior is a forgiving person, he also does not easily change his mind once he¡¯s made a decision. Let me try to persuade him. Even if he won¡¯t ept you as his disciple, he might at least allow you to join the Voidforce Universe," Xu Xiangyin''s expression grew solemn as he spoke, "Xuan Qi, do you understand the consequences if the news leaks that Xu Wuwei has refused to admit you into the Voidforce Universe?"

    Lu Yin could certainly imagine what would happen. Not only would he be prevented from joining the Voidforce Universe, but even worse, all the other members of the Sixverse Association would also close their doors to him. The impact of Xu Wuwei''s refusal would be tremendous. Simply put, even if Xuan Qi perfectly mastered the Harmonious Heavens Technique and revealed an unprecedented level of talent, it would not be enough to change anything. As soon as word spread, the Cyclic Universe would also close its doors to him. No one would be willing to ept a person rejected by Xu Wuwei, not even the Transcendent Universe.

    Even He Ran would reconsider things after learning about Xu Wuwei''s decision.

    Of course, He Ran would also moderate her reaction because of Zi Jing, though there was no doubt that her attitude would change.

    Xu Wuwei''s decision would determine how far Lu Yin could rise in the Sixverse Association as Xuan Qi, and that had a tremendous impact on his future ns.

    After thinking of this, he could not resist asking, "Senior, why didn''t you tell me that you had invited Senior Xu Wuwei before he arrived?"

    Xu Xiangyin greatly regretted that decision. "If I had known how things would turn out, I would have never invited Senior Xu Wuwei to meet you. Any of his peers would have been eptable instead. Just what is going on with you?"

    Lu Yin took a moment to think before confessing, "This junior is actually working together with Lady Bai Qian."

    After a moment¡¯s confusion, Xu Xiangyin quickly understood. "I see. No wonder Senior reacted so strongly to you. Given He Ran''s attitude towards you, the fact that you are working with Bai Qian means that you must have been Bai Qian''s pawn from the start."

    Lu Yin gave a sheepish smile. "That''s a bit harsh. What we have is simply a coboration."

    Xu Xiangyin showed a bitter expression. "You should have told me about your situation earlier. Senior Xu Wuwei detests such things. Of all the members of the Sixverse Association, our Voidforce Universe is the most united. We have never gotten involved in such matters, and we have no intentions of ever doing so. Do you have any thoughts of trying to use my Voidforce Universe to aid Bai Qian?"

    Lu Yin denied nothing, which was essentially an admission.

    Xu Xiangyin''s expression grew conflicted. "Then, what about your admiration for the Voidforce Universe?"

    Lu Yin answered sincerely, "That¡¯s real. On that matter, I have never deceived you, Senior. My rtionships with Bai Qian and He Ran go no further than the Transcendent Universe. After I join the Voidforce Universe, I only ever intended to use my own influence to help Bai Qian. This junior won¡¯t deny my intentions, but I would never implicate the Voidforce Universe.¡±

    "On top of that, given the existence of both Senior Xu Wuwei and Lord Xu himself, there¡¯s no way this junior would ever be able to sway the Voidforce Universe."

    Xu Xiangyin nodded, as this was by no means inurate. "Regardless, Senior Xu Wuwei now has a very poor impression of you. Also, I have no confidence that I can convince him to forgive you. Given this situation," The man looked at Lu Yin with resignation inly on his face as he said, "You should join the Arboreal Realm. They will not treat you poorly."

    Lu Yin looked confused. "Hasn''t the Arboreal Realm already given up on me?"

    Xu Xiangyin grew serious. "Xuan Qi, are you sure that the innate gift you obtained from the Arboreal Sanctuary is actually enhanced speed?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I was very certain about that at first, butter, I started to question that. Then, I discovered-"

    Xu Xiangyin cut him off, "Whatever innate gift you¡¯ve obtained doesn¡¯t matter. While Senior Xu Wuwei was speaking with you, I was fighting with that bastard Mu Sanye. He went straight to the Transcendent Universe to ask that you be given to the Arboreal Realm without even speaking to me beforehand."

    "Mu Sanye?" Lu Yin was puzzled by this.

    Xu Xiangyin cursed, "Just thinking about that bastard''s face makes me angry! He sneaked off to the Transcendent Universe to speak with He Ran, hoping to convince the Transcendent Universe to send you straight into the Arboreal Realm¡¯s arms. He had no intention of notifying me or my Voidforce Universe at all! If He Ran hadn¡¯t been reluctant to make trouble, you would have already joined the Arboreal Realm."

    Despite his anger, Xu Xiangyin also feltpletely helpless. "After we fought, I told him that Senior Xu Wuwei was already meeting with you, and it was only then that he backed down. Given these recent developments, you should join the Arboreal Realm. Their attitude towards you has changed dramatically, so it¡¯s possible that they¡¯ve recently confirmed something."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, isn''t there some other way for me to still join the Voidforce Universe? This junior only wishes to join the Voidforce Universe."

    Before meeting Xu Wuwei, Lu Yin had fully intended to instigate a tug-of-war between several different universes over this Xuan Qi identity in a bid to avoid meeting Xu Wuwei. However, after Xu Wuwei learned that Xuan Qi was hiding his own secrets, Lu Yin had realized that it would be better for him to join the Voidforce Universe to avoid any furtherplications. It was possible that he would find himself in a position that left him unable to exin himself after being exposed by other universes.

    Xu Wuwei was clearly a reclusive expert who avoided political affairs and internal conflicts. This was why the man had been disgusted by Xuan Qi. If any other peak powerhouse from the various universes had discovered that Xuan Qi was hiding his strength, they could have had a very different reaction. They might have even traveled to the Transcendent Universe and conducted an investigation into Xuan Qi, which could even lead to them learning of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity. The more people who knew who he was, the easier it would be for He Ran to learn the truth as well.

    Lu Yin had not been lying when he had said that he wanted to work together with Bai Qian to deal with He Ran.

    Given theplications of the current situation, joining the Voidforce Universe seemed to be his best path forward.

    Xu Xiangyinforted the youth, "Given your talent, whether you join the Arboreal Realm or the Cyclic Universe, your future will not be any worse than if you had joined my Voidforce Universe. It¡¯s not necessary for you to join my universe."

    Lu Yin remained insistent, "But I still admire the Voidforce Universe the most! In my eyes, the other civilizations are greatly inferior to the Voidforce Universe. Even if I were offered a Sage¡¯s seat, I wouldn''t want it. I only wish to join the Voidforce Universe."

    Xu Xiangyin sighed. "I am truly convinced that you have no thoughts of using my Voidforce Universe to help Bai Qian work against He Ran. Given Mu Sanye''s attitude towards you, you could easily use the Arboreal Realm to help Bai Qian. There¡¯s no reason for you to win the support of my Voidforce Universe to achieve those goals. Moreover, because of Senior Xu Wuwei, you will never be able to utilize the power of the Voidforce Universe. Despite this situation, the fact that you still insist on joining my Voidforce Universe shows that you are truly sincere. What a pity, what a pity."

    "Senior, is there really no other way?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Xu Xiangyin thought for a long time before answering, "Given Senior Xuwei''s status in our Voidforce Universe, he has already sealed your path to joining it. However, there is another path that no one can block, not even Lord Xu himself."

    The old man hesitated for a moment and stared intently at Lu Yin. "That path is to cross the Void Pass."

    "Cross the Void Pass?" Lu Yin felt genuinely puzzled, as he had never heard of this before.

    Xu Xiangyin solemnly exined, "The Void Pass is an unusual ce in my Voidforce Universe. It is as old as Lord Xu himself, and it is rumored to have some connection to Wu Tian. Anyone who crosses the Void Pass is unconditionally allowed to join the Voidforce Universe, and they may even choose any pinnacle powerhouse as their master¡ªnot even Lord Xu himself can refuse."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Why is that?"

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "This is something that has been set in ce since ancient times. No one knows why these rules were established, and there is no mention of it in any of our historical records. Even so, these rules have existed throughout the entire history of my Voidforce Universe."

    "How many people have sessfully crossed the Void Pass?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Xiangyin met Lu Yin''s gaze and raised a single finger.

    "One?" The answer startled Lu Yin. Throughout all of the countless years that the Voidforce Universe had existed, only one person had ever seeded in this challenge? That waspletely unbelievable. The Voidforce Universe was not a weak universe, and had even raised up a significant number of Progenitor-level experts. Was it possible that not even Progenitors could cross the Void Pass?

    Xu Xiangyin chuckled. "No, not even one."

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted. "How is that possible?"

    "I honestly find it impossible myself, but that''s the truth. Throughout history, despite the numerous prodigies who have been born, even the most powerful experts, such as Senior Xu Wuwei, have failed to cross the Void Pass. Even if they tried to do so right now, they would not be able to seed. That is how the Void Pass is, which is why it is such a legendary ce in my Voidforce Universe," Xu Xiangyin exined.

    Lu Yin subconsciously muttered, "Could it be a hoax?"

    "Nonsense!" Xu Xiangyin red at Lu Yin. "Lord Xu himself has verified that everything is true, and it is all written down in our historical records. How could it be a hoax? During one of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies, Lord Xu personally promised that if anyone from the Cyclic Universe crosses the Void Pass, they will receive the exact same reward. Despite the countless ages that have gone by, and even after several attempts by the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, not one person has ever seeded. This is why I did not even consider it as an option at first."

    Lu Yin sighed helplessly. "If not even the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were able to seed, then how could I hope to do so with my meager cultivation?"

    "Anyone can challenge the Void Pass, regardless of their cultivation. This is a promise made by Lord Xu himself. This has drawn countless young people to challenge the Void Pass in an attempt to prove themselves. To sessfullyplete the challenge would mean bing Lord Xu¡¯s disciple, which is an opportunity no different from ascending to the heavens with a single leap. Such a status is no lower than that of a peak powerhouse. That is something that no one could hope to resist," Xu Xiangyin continued his exnation.

    Lu Yin felt quite intrigued. "Have you ever challenged it, Senior?"

    Xu Xiangyin''s face twitched. "This old man has no need for that."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, already convinced that Xu Xiangyin had indeed challenged the Void Pass, only to also fail. "This junior has decided to challenge the Void Pass then."

    "Then there''s no time to waste. Let''s go now," Xu Xiangyin replied. Despite offering Xuan Qi the opportunity to challenge the Void Pass, the old man had no thoughts whatsoever that the youth could seed.

    The Void Pass was just a challenge, which meant that there was no need for any sort of preparation. After the challenge was attempted, they would simply return to the academy.

    Just as they were about to travel to the Voidforce Universe, Mu Sanye appeared. "Xu Xiangyin, what ended up happening?"

    Lu Yin looked at Mu Sanye, only to see that there was an even more fervent glint to the man¡¯s eyes than Lu Yin had seen in the past when the man had been interested in Xuan Qi.

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "Senior Xu Wuwei has suggested that we take him to the Voidforce Universe for further tests."

    This was Xu Xiangyin¡¯sst chance to fight for Xuan Qi to be admitted to his universe. While the old man had already decided to give up on Xuan Qi and allow the Arboreal Realm to have the youth, Xu Xiangyin was still reluctant to give up that easily.

    Mu Sanye warily asked, "Tests? Everyone knows what Xuan Qi has already aplished. If Senior Xu Wuwei intended to ept him as his disciple, he would have already done so."

    Xu Xiangyin responded in a mocking fashion, "How bold, Mu San. Do you actually dare to question Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    Mu Sanye snorted. "Where is Senior Xu Wuwei now?"

    "He has already returned, obviously."

    "Then wait for a bit. Since Xuan Qi is not Xu Wuwei''s disciple yet, my Arboreal Realm still has a chance."

    Xu Xiangyin was stunned. ¡°Mu San, have you lost your mind? Xuan Qi is in the process of being selected as Xu Wuwei''s disciple!"

    Mu Sanye lifted his head high. "Senior Mu Ke wishes to meet Xuan Qi."

    Xu Xiangyin''s eyes went wide in shock. Mu Ke was an incredibly powerful person from the Arboreal Realm. In fact, his status was equal to Xu Wuwei¡¯s in the Voidforce Universe. "Senior Mu Ke ising?"

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This would not do at all. Just meeting with Xu Wuwei had alreadyplicated things terribly. What would happen if Mu Ke arrived as well?

 Chapter 2591: That Tree

    <h4>Chapter 2591: That Tree</h4>

    Mu Sanye solemnly dered, "Before, thispetition was only between you and me, but now, it''s apetition between Senior Mu Ke and Senior Xu Wuwei. This has gone beyond us, Xu Xiangyin."

    Lu Yin hastily protested, "Senior, this junior only wishes to join the Voidforce Universe."

    Mu Sanye took no offense to Xuan Qi¡¯s words. In fact, his expression softened a bit, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with admiration and even apology. "Xuan Qi, I owe you an apology."

    Lu Yin promptly responded with humility, "Please, there¡¯s no need."

    Mu Sanye took a deep breath. "I was blind to not recognize a precious gem in the dust. Xuan Qi, the innate gift that you''ve gained from your arboreal transformation is truly great."

    Xu Xiangyin moved in front of Lu Yin. He wanted to say something, but then swallowed his words. Despite his reluctance, reason said that Lu Yin would never be able to join the Voidforce Universe. Senior Xu Wuwei had already made that decision, and the young man''s future undeniably belonged with the Arboreal Realm.

    This thought caused Xu Xiangyin''s previously aggressive stance to weaken noticeably.

    Mu Sanye found Xu Xiangyin¡¯s reaction odd, but he did not question it. Instead, he said, "Xuan Qi, let''s speak privately."

    "There''s no need to hide any of this junior¡¯s matters from Xu Xiangyin," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Sanye was taken aback by this response, and he looked at Xu Xiangyin with open envy.

    Xu Xiangyin walked away without speaking another word, only gesturing for Mu Sanye to continue. Resignation had caused Xu Xiangyin¡¯s entire body to slump.

    Lu Yin watched as the old man moved away. It was clear that the rapidly changing situation was hard to ept for him. Lu Yin had overdone his act as Xuan Qi, and in doing so, had unwittingly created a powerful bond with the old man.

    Mu Sanye wondered, "Since when did that old ghost be so amodating?"

    Lu Yin silently stood in ce as he waited for Mu Sanye to speak. He was about to learn the identity of the big tree that was always running away.

    Mu Sanye turned his head back to stare intently at Lu Yin. He turned grave as he spoke, "Xuan Qi, I will not bbor the need for my apologies. I hope that our previous interactions will not hinder your future. Do you know the nature of the tree you received your innate gift from?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I know nothing about it, Senior."

    A frown caused Mu Sanye''s forehead to furrow. The man appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, and his expression grew conflicted.

    Expectation sparkled in Lu Yin''s eyes. The tree that had given him his innate gift of spatial control was a source of continuous fascination for him. The power that it had granted him was as incredible as the power of time, which was a concept so profound that even Progenitors struggled to grasp it. How could a mere tree possess such power?

    "Honestly, there is no one in the Arboreal Realm realm who truly knows what that tree is, exactly. However, I can tell you that it is a legend in the Arboreal Realm. We initially believed it to be a mere myth, and no one actually thought that it was actually real. Your innate gift of spatial maniption has forced us to reconsider those doubts."

    Mu Sanye took a moment to collect his thoughts before exining, "Human history is essentially a story of war. This does not just include our internal conflicts, but also wars against other species as well. Our adversary that has endured the longest has been Aeternus, of course.

    "Countless wars have been recorded in my universe¡¯s history, and this particr tree has shown itself during numerous significant battles, such as the historically renowned Seventy Five Day Campaign, the Great Migration War, and the Civilization Rebirth Battle within the Arboreal Realm itself. The impact that the tree had on each of those conflicts is undeniable. During the Seventy Five Day Campaign, it led us to victory by spiriting away a powerful member of the enemy on the neenth day. During the Great Migration War, it inexplicably connected several different battlefields together, which led to our defeat. No one knows how that was aplished. It seems as though the concept of space is meaningless to that tree.

    "The Civilization Rebirth Battle didn¡¯t even start simply because of that tree¡¯s interference, but its influence was so massive that the tale persists even to this day. If not for that tree, the Arboreal Realm would not be what it is today.

    "That tree has not only shaped the course of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s history, but also left a mark on our external conflicts. The most famous example would be the War of the River Jiu in the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. <i>The War of the River Jiu? Isn¡¯t that the battle that nearly destroyed the Third Maind?</i> Lu Yin had heard about that story from Big Face Tree, who had recounted how Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had torn the River Jiu apart and vanquished an ancient demon of Aeternus. Apparently, that opponent had been one of the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin had even wondered if the Seven Skygods that he knew of were simply recements for the original ones. Countless trees from a parallel universe had connected with each other during that war, which had prevented the Third Maind from splitting apart.

    Lu Yin was finally learning that those foreign trees had been from the Arboreal Realm.

    "The War of the River Jiu was thergest foreign battle that we ever supported. More than half of our peak powerhouses participated in that battle, and if not for that great tree mysteriously taking a number of people away from the battlefield, the oue would have been very different."

    Mu Sanye paused. When he continued, his voice was heavy. "Xuan Qi, regardless of what that tree may have done in the past, its potential is undeniable. If you can fully master your acquired innate gift, you will undoubtedly be a peak powerhouse. Mu Ke shared these historical ounts with me. Unfortunately, he is unable to be here himself, but he has offered you an invitation to join my Arboreal Realm. He believes that that is where your future lies."

    "War of the River Jiu? Origin Universe?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    "Those are matters for another time. If you''re interested, you can ask Mu Ke about them, as he has already expressed interest in epting you as one of his disciples," Mu Sanye replied.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, realizing that the situation was moreplicated than what he had initially understood. He could not dy anymore. He needed to leave as soon as possible. Given the extraordinary abilities attributed to the tree that Lu Yin had touched, it seemed that Mu Ke had a keen interest in it. The fact that Mu Sanye was sharing so many closely-guarded secrets that were only known to the most powerful Progenitor-level figures of the Sixverse Association with him only made Lu Yin more anxious. The more that Mu Sanye revealed, the more clear the Arboreal Realm¡¯s deep interest in Xuan Qi, which made Lu Yin increasingly nervous.

    "Can the innate gift from that great tree really make me a peak powerhouse?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Sanye responded, "Without question. Do you have any idea just how many people that tree has leftpletely helpless? The reason why we lost the War of the River Jiu was because that tree dragged one powerhouse after another away from the battlefield, which eventually led to the copse of the Origin Universe¡¯s Third Maind."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. That did not sound right at all. Big Face Tree had said that the War of the River Jiu had been won after Progenitor Y¨­u Ming killed one of the Seven Skygods. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had been thrilled and had raised a toast to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. After that, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had created her Impious Sutra. Lu Yin had learned all this from Big Face Tree, so why was Mu Sanye saying that the War of the River Jiu had resulted in a defeat?

    <i>Hang on</i>. Lu Yin reorganized his thoughts. Mu Sanye had just mentioned that the defeat during the War of the River Jiu had led to the copse of the Third Maind. That meant that the war that Mu Sanye was talking about was not the same one that Big Face Tree had told Lu Yin about. Rather, it must have been a different battle that had taken ce at a muchter point in time. During the War of the River Jiu that Big Face Tree had spoken of, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had not yet created the Impious Sutra. Meanwhile, the War of the River Jiu that Mu Sanye was talking about had to have been the final battle of the Third Maind, and that defeat had led to the copse of the Maind.

    And apparently, that big tree that always tried to escape had taken away numerous powerhouses during the battle?

    "Senior, could a tree really steal peak powerhouses away?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Sanye replied, "Mu Ke did not share any details, but I have looked into the historical records myself. While the evidence is quite fragmented, I was at least able to verify that among those who were taken away were the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and Ce Wangtian. There must have been others, but there was no mention of who those people were."

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin''s body as a sudden sh of insight flickered through his mind, only to instantly vanish. He had just thought of something, but it had slipped away before he could fully process it. What was it?

    It was certainly important. <i>Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, Ce Wangtian, the fleeing big tree, the War of the River Jiu... What could it be? What connects all of them?</i>

    <i>What was the connection between Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and Ce Wangtian?</i>

    Lu Yin''s expression transformed. He remembered. Undying God had mentioned that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been deceived by Ce Wangtian. Ce Wangtian had gone to the Immemorial Citadel, while Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had not been able to do so. Both of them had been taken by the big tree during the final War of the River Jiu. Could there be a connection there?

    Lu Yin had a guess, and while he felt that it was a bit far fetched, it was notpletely impossible.

    Could the big tree be the path to the Immemorial Citadel?

    The fact that the big tree had stolen both Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and Ce Wangtian away during the War of the River Jiu was not enough to link the tree to the Immemorial Citadel, but Lu Yin had just received a sh of insight regarding the Immemorial Citadel. Undying God had said that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been deceived by Ce Wangtian, who had gone to the Immemorial Citadel, while Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had be Big Sis. These events were inexplicably linked in Lu Yin''s mind.

    There were times when a sudden sh of insight could reveal something that deep contemtion could not.

    Lu Yin believed his own hypothesis; that big tree most likely had some sort of connection to the Immemorial Citadel.

    "Xuan Qi? Xuan Qi?" Mu Sanye called out twice before Lu Yin was shaken from his thoughts.

    "I apologize, Senior. I became lost in thought."

    "You seem particrly interested in the War of the River Jiu," Mu Sanye noted, feeling rather puzzled.

    "That tree intrigues me, Senior. In the Arboreal Sanctuary, I was nearly taken away by it," Lu Yin exined.

    Mu Sanye suddenly looked envious. "That¡¯s an experience that many people would do anything for. Only the strongest of the most powerful experts have ever been taken away by that tree. You should consider yourself lucky to have even touched it. Do you now understand just how mysterious that great tree is? Only by joining my Arboreal Realm can you truly unlock the potential of your innate gift¡ªyour potential has be truly limitless! What do you say? Join my Arboreal Realm. The Voidforce Universe cannotpare to us."

    "Mu San, you¡¯re crossing a line!" a voice rang out. Xu Xiangyin suddenly appeared, ring at Mu Sanye. "How dare you im that my Voidforce Universe is inferior to your Arboreal Realm!"

    Mu Sanye matter-of-factly responded, "My Arboreal Realm was able to support the Origin Universe during a war. That is something that your Voidforce Universe was never capable of doing."

    "Nonsense! Who can say for certain what happened in such an ancient era? It¡¯s even possible that my Voidforce Universe actively attacked Aeternus! Your Arboreal Realm might have fallen behind and causedter issues to arise," Xu Xiangyin retorted.

    Lu Yin was speechless. These men were being truly brazen.

    Mu Sanye became disgusted. "How could you even say that? That¡¯spletely uncalled for!"

    Xu Xiangyin snorted contemptuously and then set a hand on Lu Yin''s shoulder. "Let''s go."

    Mu Sanye swiftly moved to intercept the two men. "Xu Xiangyin, wait for Mu Ke to arrive!"

    Xu Xiangyinpletely ignored the other man and pulled Lu Yin away. "Senior Xu Wuwei is waiting for us."

    "Stop!" Mu Sanye cried out. At that moment, Shi Jiao appeared right between the two men. "You are in the Cyclic School right now! Take your fight elsewhere."

    Seizing the opening, Xu Xiangyin tore through the void and whisked Lu Yin away to the Voidforce Universe.

    Mu Sanye felt incredibly frustrated. "Dammit!"

    Shi Jiao frowned. She could have intervened, but she had chosen not to. It would be best to allow Xuan Qi to decide his own fate.

    ...

    Once again, Lu Yin found himself in the Voidforce Universe.

    "Hahaha, that old ghost Mu San was lucky this time! Shi Jiao arrived at the perfect time! Xuan Qi,e, I''ll take you to the Void Pass," Xu Xiangyin gloated.

    Lu Yin nodded in gratitude, "Thank you, Senior."

    Xu Xiangyin chuckled. "Why are you thanking me? That old bastard Mu San must be beside himself right now. He''ll do everything he can to get here, and when he does, I''ll be able to secure even more resources for you."

    The man paused for a moment and then let out a sad sigh. He patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "This is all that I can do for you, Xuan Qi. Once you''ve joined the Arboreal Realm, try not to be so upright. When you see Mu San again, go ahead and ask him to allow you to join the Arboreal Realm. I''ll make sure to get as many benefits as possible for you."

    Lu Yin felt deeply grateful to the old man. "I understand."

    Xu Xiangyin had gone above and beyond to help Lu Yin. Not only had the old man done his best to get as many benefits as possible for Lu Yin, but he was also trying to protect the young man from any resentment Mu Sanye and the others might develop towards him. All the while, Lu Yin would be the only one to reap any of the benefits of Xu Xiangyin¡¯s efforts.

    However, Xu Xiangyin''s words also implied that he did not believe for a moment that Xuan Qi could sessfully cross the Void Pass. Was sess truly impossible?

 Chapter 2592: Squeezing Forward

    <h4>Chapter 2592: Squeezing Forward</h4>

    It took more than ten days for Lu Yin and Xu Xiangyin to arrive at the Void Pass.

    As they traveled, Xu Xiangyin shared more information about the Void Pass with Lu Yin. This ce was essentially a massive storm of voidforce energy, like an ocean of energy in the middle of space. It consisted solely of voidforce energy that pushed outwards in all directions from the center. The challenge of the Void Pass was simple: reach the center. However, that was precisely what no one had ever managed to aplish.

    Regardless of a person¡¯s cultivation level, the more power they exerted within the Void Pass, the stronger the repulsion force on them would be.

    "Over six peak experts from the Sixverse Association have attempted to cross the Void Pass, but all of them failed," Xu Xiangyin remarked.

    Lu Yin found this quite odd. "What would a peak powerhouse gain from crossing the Void Pass?"

    Xu Xiangyin replied, ¡°Mostly just fame. None of them would ask Lord Xu to ept them as his disciple. Everyone who manages to reach the pinnacle has already developed their own unique power. All those from my Voidforce Universe who have reached the peak have developed energies based off of voidforce energy.¡±

    In the Voidforce Universe, their cultivation stages started at Void Ascendia and continued on to Void Brillium, Void Morphora, Void Suprema, and Voidlord. The Void Ascendia realm was equal to the stages of Explorer through Enlighter, while Void Brilliums were the same as Envoys. Void Morphoras were equivalent to Semi-Progenitors, and Void Suprema were equal to Progenitors. As for Voidlord, that title was solely reserved for a single person: the creator of this Voidforce Universe, Lord Xu.

    Within the Voidforce Universe, anyone who had not reached the Void Ascendia realm yet was considered a beginner cultivator.

    At the moment, Lu Yin had cultivated his voidforce energy to the Void Ascendia level, and this was entirely due to the Voidforce Tide that he had triggered during his time in the Voidforce School. Only that incident had allowed him to draw down the vige that was the school¡¯s most powerful voidforce puppet.

    Roiling voidforce energy gathered together to create a veritable ocean that filled an entire region of the Voidforce Universe. This magnificent sightpletely astounded Lu Yin.

    The Fifth Maind was home to both the Astral River and the Cosmic Sea, but neither of those seascapes wereposed of stellr energy. The ocean that Lu Yin was looking at was formed from pure voidforce energy.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin asked, "Senior, would cultivating here yield good results?"

    Shock instantly covered Xu Xiangyin''s face. "Absolutely not! While it might be possible to absorb a bit of voidforce energy here, the Void Pass¡¯s tides would end up stealing all of your voidforce energy, leaving you crippled. Many people have tried cultivating here before, but none of them ever managed to escape that fate."

    Lu Yin sighed. That was a true pity.

    "Unless you possess enough strength topletely push the tides back, you won''t be able to resist their pull. That is something that is beyond even a peak powerhouse," Xu Xiangyin continued to caution Xuan Qi.

    In addition to the two men, countless other people were present at the Void Pass. From what Lu Yin had learned from Xu Xiangyin, many people were always trying to cross the Void Pass, each of them hoping to ascend the heavens in a single step. These ambitions remained unrealized, but they were universally shared by all who visited the Void Pass.

    "Proceed when you''re ready," Xu Xiangyin instructed.

    Lu Yin stretched briefly before plunging headfirst into the tide.

    The moment he entered the sea of voidforce energy, he felt a wave of pressure relentlessly trying to push him back out. It was an ufortable sensation much like how an ordinary person would be helplessly tossed about by ocean waves.

    The more he resisted the pressure, the stronger it became. The pressure even came from all directions at once, and he was forced out almost the moment he entered the Void Pass.

    Being ejected so quickly would have beenpletely humiliating. After all, Lu Yin had heard from Xu Xiangyin that people like Xu Ji had already challenged the Void Pass and had even seeded to reach unseen depths. While they had still ultimately failed, there was a certain level of aplishment in reaching so far before being defeated.

    All who challenged the Void Pass had given up on sess before even starting. Instead, theypeted with each other over who could endure the longest and travel the closest to the center.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He felt the pressure battering at his body from every direction.

    The only way to proceed through the Void Pass was to find the weakest point in the surrounding pressure, and then use the rest of the pressure to push through that weak point. Essentially, moving through the Void Pass was not like swimming or pushing, but rather squeezing. The way forwardy in finding a path to squeeze oneself forward, though even that squeezing force depended on the pressure of the surrounding voidforce energy. This was why sess was solely dependent on a person¡¯s mastery of voidforce energy.

    Lu Yin easily found the weak points and then used the surrounding pressure as a vector of force that squeezed him forward.

    Xu Xiangyin watched, satisfied with Xuan Qi¡¯s progress. The youth had quickly grasped the correct method. There was no denying that he was extraordinarily talented in voidforce energy. Regrettably, there were other cultivators throughout history withparable levels of talent, but all of them had failed to defeat the Void Pass. It was universally epted that it was impossible to defeat the challenge.

    Slowly, Lu Yin moved out of sight.

    Xu Xiangyin waited calmly. He knew that Mu San must have arrived in the Voidforce Universe by now, and he would be wondering where Xu Xiangyin had taken Xuan Qi. That uncertainty would undoubtedly make Mu San somewhat frantic, and the more anxious he became, the weaker Mu San¡¯s bargaining position would be and the more benefits that Xu Xiangyin would be able to extract for Xuan Qi. Sadly, this was all that Xu Xiangyin could do for the child.

    One day. Two days. Three days. Lu Yin continued to advance rapidly. He had reached an impressive level of mastery with Truesight, and he also possessed an incredibly powerful spiritual force and domain. While it was impossible for him to reach a level of speed that could match one of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Void Suprema, he was not much worse.

    Before long, he saw someone up ahead of him. He slowed his pace in order to not attract attention and then moved closer.

    The person up ahead was a woman. She was wearing a thin, translucent fabric that barely hid any of her fair skin. She was struggling to squeeze her way forward, and the sight of Lu Yin caused her eyes to light up. "Dear brother, you''re moving quite fast! Would it be possible for you to help this little sister move along?"

    Lu Yin felt no inclination to help the woman, and he instead squeezed past her. His speed and mastery over the squeezing method inside the Void Pass produced ripples that pushed the woman back a great distance. Her face flushed with anger, and she raged, "Bastard!"

    A short whileter, Lu Yin noticed someone else trying to force their way forward to his side. It was impossible to move straight towards the center, as no one could control the tides of energy¡¯s movements.

    "Brother, you''re quite fast," the person called out to greet Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin just nodded. "You''re not too slow yourself."

    The manughed. "Then why don¡¯t we see who''s faster?"

    Lu Yinughed and sped off, startling the man when he was left behind. "Where did someone so impressivee from? With that speed, he must be a Void Brillium at the least. What a monster!"

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin continued onwards. His path was erratic, but his aim always remained the center of the Void Pass. At least, he thought that he was traveling towards the center. All he ever saw were the backs of people he met, with a single exception of someone who he met head-on. Both of them had been taken aback by the meeting, each absolutely certain that the other was going the wrong way.

    Some people moved quite fast and others rather slow. Some did not want to waste any time. The further along Lu Yin proceeded, the stronger the repulsive force inside the sea of voidforce energy. Some people had reached the point where they were unable to bear the pressure, and they voluntarily left by using the repulsive force to quickly leave the Void Pass. Others tried to endure for as long as possible, all for bragging rights. Ultimately, the length of time that a person could endure was not what really mattered.

    Lu Yin was among the faster people moving through the Void Pass. In fact, no one had caught up to him or passed him. Instead, he was the one passing everyone that he met.

    After a month passed, Mu Sanye finally found Xu Xiangyin. "You let him challenge the Void Pass?"

    Xu Xiangyin replied, "This is the test that Senior Xu Wuwei gave him. We need to see how far he can reach."

    Mu Sanye remained skeptical. "Old Xu, enough nonsense. The losses that your universe suffered when the Voidchaos Territory was plundered are too damaging. Allowing Xuan Qi to join your Voidforce Universe will be aplete waste. He might not even be able to find a suitable voidforce puppet. In line with the Sixverse Association¡¯s principles, leave him to my Arboreal Realm. I will owe you a favor for this."

    Xu Xiangyin retorted, "Have you forgotten about Senior Xiu Ci?"

    Mu Sanye was taken aback. Xiu Ci was a legend of the Voidforce Universe, as well as a pinnacle expert. Despite being born in the Voidforce Universe, he had broken all conventions by not using any voidforce puppets. Instead, he had established an alternative path for many people from the Voidforce Universe. It was a path that did not require them to be forced to follow the traditional path.

    ¡°You want Xuan Qi to follow Senior Xiu Ci¡¯s path?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. That will depend entirely on him. Besides, the losses in the Voidchaos Territory aren¡¯t that terrible. There are still some powerful puppets there, and it¡¯s possible that one of them will be well suited to Xuan Qi.¡±

    ¡°But the innate gift that he obtained is incredibly important! Have you forgotten about our initial bet? Xuan Qi still has not found his life-bound voidforce puppet, but he has obtained an exceptional innate gift. I¡¯ve already won.¡±

    Xu Xiangyin retorted in a mocking fashion. ¡°You¡¯ve already abandoned Xuan Qi once, and now you want him back? You are trulypletely shameless.¡±

    Mu Sanye angrily roared, ¡°Xuan Qi <i>must</i> join the Arboreal Realm!¡±

    Xu Xiangyin remained calm. ¡°Then you need to discuss things with Senior Xu Wuwei.¡±

    Mu Sanye remained furious and wanted to argue, but Xu Xiangyin quickly changed the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait until Xuan Qi emerges. We¡¯ll then see what he decides. I will clearly exin the pros and cons of our two universes to him and will not boast about my Voidforce Universe nor belittle your Arboreal Realm. The choice will be his.¡±

    He stared at Mu Sanye. ¡°However, there is one thing. If Xuan Qi chooses the Arboreal Realm, you cannot mistreat him! I see him as my own son, and not just because of his value.¡±

    Mu Sanye was caught off guard. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to see him in such a light. Very well, I agree. We will let Xuan Qi decide.¡±

    Xu Xiangyin turned his head back to stare at the Void Pass, his expression somber. There was no way that Xuan Qi would ever belong to the Voidforce Universe.

    At the same time, within the tides of the Void Pass, Lu Yin continued to elerate forward. He had spotted two figures up ahead of him half a month ago, but despite his best efforts, he had not been able to catch up to them. He had slightly closed the distance, but his progress was very slow.

    The two people ahead of him were extraordinary, and they were moving nearly as fast as him.

    The two people ahead of Lu Yin were also advancing in a zigzag manner. They moved at practically the same speed and were in what appeared to be a neck-and-neck race.

    One was a man, while the other was a woman. The man appeared to be aposed and experienced person. His face contained a mature handsomeness that hinted at how charming he must have been in his youth.

    As for the woman, she was stunningly beautiful. She had a pair of beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, though she was asionally directing cold res at the man, usually along with a disdainful snort.

    ¡°Leng''er, we¡¯vepeted with each other so many times before, but we¡¯ve never been able to determine a clear victor. Why are you so persistent?¡± the man asked with a deep voiceced with bitterness.

    The woman replied curtly, ¡°Without defeating you, how can my Void Yin n ever hope to thrive in the Voidforce Universe?¡±

    "The grudges of our predecessors have lingered for far too long. Must we, their descendants, continue to carry them?" the man asked.

    Unswayed, the woman retorted, "If you''re afraid, then apologize on behalf of your Void Yang n and return the Yin Yang Sword to my n!"

    A bitter smile appeared on the man¡¯s face as he responded, "As I''ve told you countless times before, my Void Yang n does not have the Yin Yang Sword. When will you believe me?"

    She stared at him. "Men can never be trusted."

    He sighed. "Let''s drop this matter. Instead, there is someone slowly catching up on us from behind, even though we are already moving at our greatest speed. Do you know him?"

    Shaking her head, the woman replied, "I don''t. He''s very young, and his cultivation is low, though his control of voidforce energy surpasses even our¡¯s. There¡¯s no doubt that he¡¯s an absolute genius."

    "Could he be Xu Ji? No, that shouldn¡¯t be. I''ve met Xu Ji before, and this young man doesn¡¯t look like him. Besides, Xu Ji is in the Sixverse Academy," the man mused as he spoke.

    The woman remained silent, focusing her entire attention on proceeding forward as fast as possible.

 Chapter 2593: Ten Meters

    <h4>Chapter 2593: Ten Meters</h4>

    After another half month passed, Lu Yin finally managed to narrow the distance between himself and the two people ahead of him to just ten meters.

    The man looked back. "Young man, you''re pretty fast."

    Lu Yin replied, "You''re quite fast yourself, Senior. This junior has been chasing you for over a month."

    "Haha, there aren''t many in the entire Voidforce Universe who can catch up to me. What''s your name?" the man asked.

    His eyes steady, Lu Yin answered, "Xuan Qi."

    The man looked puzzled. This was a name that he had never heard of, so he turned to the woman beside him. "Have you heard of him?"

    The woman remained aloof. "No."

    "We''ve beenpeting here in the Void Pass for years now. We didn¡¯t even know that such a talented junior had appeared," the man replied before turning back to Lu Yin. "Young man, who is your master?"

    Lu Yin countered, "And who might you be, Senior?"

    "We just asked you a question," the woman interjected as she stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin answered bluntly, "I don¡¯t dare tell you. If I give you the name of my master, only to learn that you have a grudge against him, wouldn''t I just be asking for trouble?"

    "Hahaha, interesting answer!" The man burst outughing, though he looked at Lu Yin with a good bit of appreciation. "You¡¯re quite frank with your words, which indicates that you¡¯re an upright man. Good. My name is Xu Heng, and this here is Xu Leng."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Oh."

    Xu Heng gave Lu Yin a nk stare. "Is that all you have to say?"

    "What sort of reaction were you expecting?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Xu Leng''s eyes flickered. "You''re not from the Voidforce Universe, are you?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No, I¡¯m from the Transcendent Universe."

    "The Transcendent Universe?" The two people were stunned. Because all the members of the Sixverse Association were allowed ess to the Void Pass, many people had attempted to cross it over the years. Even so, it was very rare for someone from the Transcendent Universe to challenge the pass. The Transcendent Universe focused on their cultivation technologies and used energy converters, which means that most people from the Transcendent Universe were rather poor cultivators. Let alone challenging the Void Pass, most of them were unable to even move through the sea of voidforce energy by utilizing the pressure of the tides. Most people from the Transcendent Universe would be forced out almost immediately after entering the Void Pass, which was why such people were very seldom seen in the depths.

    Xu Leng and Xu Heng had certainly not anticipated meeting someone from the Transcendent Universe, let alone someone clearly so talented in voidforce energy.

    "You''re from the Transcendent Universe?" Xu Heng asked again to confirm what Lu Yin had told them.

    "In a manner of speaking. How did you know that I¡¯m not from the Voidforce Universe?"

    Xu Leng exined, "Because you didn¡¯t show any surprise when you heard our names. That means that you either already knew of us long before, and possibly even came here to find us, or that you¡¯re from a foreign universe."

    Lu Yin felt rather intrigued. "Does that mean that you two are quite famous in the Voidforce Universe?"

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng exchanged nces. "Not particrly. How are you, someone from the Transcendent Universe, able to move through the Void Pass so quickly despite your low cultivation? Have you cultivated voidforce energy before?"

    "You''re from the Sixverse Academy," Xu Leng guessed.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right, I¡¯m a student from the Sixverse Academy."

    As the three spoke, the distance between them steadily decreased. This was because Lu Yin was constantly moving closer to the pair in front of him, while the distance between the man and woman remained constant.

    "How many students are in the Sixverse Academy now?" Xu Heng asked, intrigued.

    Lu Yin replied, "There are several tens of thousands."

    "That many?" Xu Heng eximed in surprise.

    Xu Leng broke in, "I told you a long time ago that the merging of the different civilizations is an inevitable trend. The people who stubbornly stick to ancient traditions will eventually be eliminated."

    Xu Heng grew awkward when he replied, "Leng''er, don''t say things like that. I''m often forced by circumstances, as you well know."

    Xu Leng scoffed. "If a woman like me can do it, then why can''t you? Men are always saying one thing and doing another."

    Xu Heng gave Lu Yin an apologetic nce.

    Lu Yin felt a bit curious. "It seems as though you two arepeting somehow?"

    Xu Leng suddenly turned to look straight at Lu Yin. "Young man, why don¡¯t you do me a favor? Given your abilities, help me get a bit further ahead. If you can just put him ten meters behind me, you can choose from any treasure in my Void Yin n''s treasury."

    Xu Heng gasped, "Leng''er, don''t be reckless!"

    Xu Lengughed coldly. "There is no one in the Void Yin n who dares to oppose me! What do you say? Xu Heng, are you afraid?"

    Xu Heng frowned. "You are underestimating the human heart. It¡¯s true that you are strong enough to overpower all others in your n, but what about in the future? When adversity strikes, all those who oppose you will immediatelye out of the woodwork."

    "Then I''ll crush them!" Xu Leng''s voice expressed her ruthless determination. "What is there to fear?"

    Xu Heng sighed, his head already throbbing. "There are other ways to solve problems aside from killing. They are your nsmen, so why do you insist on crushing them? It would be better to reach apromise and use reason to convince them. That¡¯s the only way for them to trust you in the future. The methods that you employ are too extreme, just like what happened to your parents."

    Xu Leng instantly shouted back, "There''s no room forpromise on the path of cultivation! Get lost!"

    Xu Heng sighed. "My Void Yang n remains united, which is precisely how we¡¯ve managed to surpass your Void Yin n. You still haven¡¯te to understand that even after all these years? Excessive killing only intensifies conflicts."

    "Who am I doing this for?" Xu Leng''s eyes reddened as she red at Xu Heng.

    Xu Heng briefly hesitated, andplicated emotions flitted through his eyes as he looked at Xu Leng. He said nothing more.

    Lu Yin had managed to more or less grasp the two¡¯s situation. They were clearly from rival ns and shared a past, though they were unable to be together. Xu Leng suppressed her n with pure force, clearly caring little about the opinions of others, whereas Xu Heng persuaded his n with words and reason, valuing them. His treatment of his n had caused Xu Leng to harbor a mixture of resentment and enmity towards him.

    Lu Yin certainly had not expected to stumble upon such a situation while challenging the Void Pass. Still, these incidents happened all too frequently, and outsiders had no right to meddle in them. People¡¯s personal tribtions needed to be resolved by themselves. Besides, Lu Yin had no time to spare for such matters.

    If not for the fact that it had been so challenging to catch up to these two people, Lu Yin would not have interacted with them whatsoever.

    A full day passed without a single word being spoken. Lu Yin, focused purely on moving forward, was slowly closing the distance between him and the other two. Even so, it would take him a few more days to move past them, and even longer to increase the distance between them.

    Xu Leng turned her head to look back. "Young man, what do you say? I promise you, my offer is extremely generous. Since you¡¯re from the Transcendent Universe, you may not know about my Void Yin n''s status within the Voidforce Universe, but I can guarantee you that, whatever voidforce you choose, will at the very least allow you to be a Void Brillium, and at best, a Void Suprema."

    Xu Heng also looked at Lu Yin. "Young man, I would suggest that you refrain from getting involved in this matter. As a gift, I, Xu Heng, can offer you a voidforce puppet that will ensure that you can be a Void Morphora."

    Xu Leng shot Xu Heng a venomous re. Once again, things were bing apetition, and Xu Heng was offering the youth a powerful voidforce puppet just to do nothing. This also gave Xu Leng the appearance that she was the one kicking up a fuss.

    "Xu Heng, eitherpete or get lost," she snapped before turning back to Lu Yin. "Two puppets."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. The stakes were climbing!

    Xu Heng attempted to cate Xu Leng. "Leng''er, please stop this nonsense. You''ll be risking a n rebellion!"

    Xu Leng instantly snapped back, "That''s none of your business! Isn''t the downfall of my Void Yin n exactly what your Void Yang n wants?"

    Xu Heng quickly turned to Lu Yin. "Young man, you shouldn¡¯t heed her words. She''s just making amotion."

    Infuriated, Xu Leng raised her offer. "Three puppets!"

    "Leng¡¯er!" Xu Heng eximed sharply.

    Lu Yin was left utterly speechless by the exchange. How was it possible for this man to be so socially clueless? The more Xu Heng tried to dissuade Xu Leng, the more defiant she became, and his repeated usations were doing the opposite of helping.

    "Four!" Xu Leng stared at Lu Yin. "You may choose four voidforce puppets from my Void Yin n''s treasury, as long as you help me push him ten meters back."

    Xu Heng quickly nced at Lu Yin, worried that the youth might ept the tempting offer.

    The constant pressure of the Void Pass''s tides was formidable. While Xu Heng was able to simply attack Lu Yin, it would most likely cause the pressure of the tides to throw him out in an instant, and that would create a much greater gap than just ten meters. This left the man with no leverage to use against the youth, and he could only try to use verbal persuasion.

    The two individuals continued battling with words. One offered tantalizing incentives to entice Lu Yin into helping, while the other tried desperately to discourage him from getting involved. During the entire time, the two were bickering and arguing.

    Finally, Lu Yin became fed up with the entire thing. Enough time had passed that his steady gains on the two had also brought him almost even with them.

    "Seniors, please allow me to say something!" Lu Yin bellowed, causing both Xu Heng and Xu Leng to look at him at the same time.

    Lu Yin continued, "Senior Xu Leng, I can offer you my assistance-" The words caused Xu Heng''s expression to instantly change drastically, but his ready argument was silenced by a raised hand from Lu Yin, who then proceeded to address Xu Leng. "However, this junior has no interest in your voidforce puppets."

    "Then what do you want?" Xu Leng asked, suddenly suspicious. Despite her rash personality, she was no fool, and there were things that she would not concede no matter what.

    Lu Yin replied earnestly, "I simply ask that you allow Senior Xu Heng to speak his mind for one hour. For that time, you will remain silent and will not interrupt him at all."

    Xu Leng and Xu Heng were both equally bbergasted. What kind of demand was this?

    Xu Heng looked horribly confused. "Young man, what...?"

    Lu Yin turned to face the older man. "Senior, you should carefully consider what you will say during that one hour. Pick out what is meaningful from the meaningless from what you have said in the past. You are clearly smarter than most, so you should understand what I am saying. Besides-" Lu Yin nced around before saying, "Right now we are in the middle of the Void Pass, and we have nopany aside from ourselves. Both of you possess an astounding level of cultivation, so why not relinquish all worldly distractions, forsake the feud between your ns, and simply be yourselves?"

    Xu Heng turned to look at Xu Leng, his feelings clearlyplicated.

    Xu Leng initially looked back at Xu Heng, but she reflexively looked away when their eyes met.

    Lu Yin turned back to speak to Xu Leng again. "Senior, will you agree?"

    Her eyes flickered, and she let out a huff. "Very well. As long as I can seize victory, I can tolerate his drivel for an hour."

    After listening to the arguing for days, Lu Yin hade to thoroughly understand the situation; Xu Leng was impulsive and decisive, and frequently interrupted Xu Heng before he had the chance to fully exin his thoughts. Lu Yin¡¯s condition would allow Xu Heng to finally speak his mind.

    However, the more important detail was the fact that Lu Yin had be fed up with the entire situation. He had decided to help Xu Leng win, hoping that her sense of victory would buy him an hour of silence, as well as a bit of distance from the pair.

    However, a single hour would not nearly be enough.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips, regretting that he had not asked for a day. Still, it no longer mattered. They would not argue during the agreed upon time, and no matter if it was an hour or a day, it would not make much of a difference in how much distance Lu Yin put between himself and the two. No, the most important thing was that he had managed to buy a few moments of peace, during which he could focus entirely on speeding ahead.

    "Senior, move three paces to your left," Lu Yin instructed Xu Leng as he also started to move forward.

    "Five paces to the right."

    "Hold there for three seconds, and then go straight ahead at full speed."

    ...

    With Lu Yin''s help, Xu Leng managed to slowly gain a bit of distance from Xu Heng, who calmly followed behind.

    In the blink of an eye, five days had already passed. Xu Leng was just about to reach a lead of just over ten meters on Xu Heng.

    Lu Yin believed that, even with the help that he had offered, it should have taken Xu Leng at least ten days to gain a ten meter lead on Xu Heng, but she had managed to do so in just five days. This was not solely due to Lu Yin ¡®s help, but also because Xu Heng had deliberately slowed his own pace to let Xu Leng quickly gain a bit of distance. He intended to give her the lead in order to obtain his hour of time.

    Lu Yin looked back and made brief eye contact with Xu Heng. The man gave Lu Yin a knowing smile, gratitude filling his eyes.

 Chapter 2594: A Familiar Power

    <h4>Chapter 2594: A Familiar Power</h4>

    It did not take much longer before the gap extended to a full ten meters. Xu Leng was overjoyed. "I won! I won!"

    She gave Lu Yin a grateful look.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Seniors, please proceed to the left. This junior will move to the right from here. After a day''s time, I can assure you that you''ll have a peaceful environment for your conversation and won¡¯t have to deal with any disturbances."

    "There¡¯s no need for that, young man," Xu Heng said from behind, "You can listen. It''s fine."

    Xu Leng cast a cold nce back towards Xu Heng. "I¡¯ve won, so does our first bet still count?"

    Lu Yin had been unaware of any bets that had been made regarding the two¡¯spetition before he arrived, but he also did not care. Since Xu Heng had also thanked Lu Yin, it mattered even less.

    Xu Hengughed. "Of course it counts. Leng''er, you¡¯ve won."

    Xu Leng''s lips twisted into a smirk. "You can start talking now. I can put up with an hour of your nonsense."

    Xu Heng gave Lu Yin another look of gratitude before clearing his throat and speaking, "Then I shall begin, Leng''er."

    Xu Leng snorted disdainfully, but she did not speak a single word or make any attempt to interrupt.

    "First of all, my Void Yang n does not have the Yin Yang Sword," Xu Heng began. Every time he had tried to exin this in the past, Xu Leng had immediately interrupted. Even at this moment, Xu Leng was tempted to speak up, but she restrained herself and instead listened quietly, despite not believing a word that Xu Heng said.

    "I know that you won''t believe me, so let me start from the beginning. Initially, there were two direct family lines that descended from Venerable Xuyi: the Void Yang and the Void Yin ns. The founding ancestors of the two ns were brothers, and they both..."

    As Xu Heng began his hour-long speech, he failed to notice how Lu Yin''s expression shifted the moment the Yin Yang Sword was mentioned.

    <i>The Yin Yang Sword? There¡¯s no way that that¡¯s the sword I picked up... right? What are the odds?</i>

    Lu Yin had intended to move ahead while the two spoke, as even an hour was enough for him to put some distance between himself and the two. However, the mention of the Yin Yang Sword changed his mind, and Lu Yin stayed close to listen.

    As Xu Heng spoke, Xu Leng''s expression slowly changed. He carefully went through everything from the appearance to the disappearance of the Yin Yang Sword, and made sure to offer evidence supporting his im that the sword was absolutely not in the hands of the Void Yang n. "You assume that we have the sword because of what your mother told you..."

    After half an hour went by, Xu Leng''s face had grown pale. "Why didn''t you say all of this before?"

    Xu Heng¡¯s voice grew bitter, "Was there ever a chance for me to do so?"

    Xu Leng stared at him, stunned. After a moment, her expression fell.

    "I¡¯ve managed to clear up matters regarding the Yin Yang Sword, but there''s also another matter to address," Xu Heng continued. He spoke for an hour, but at the end of that time, he did not stop speaking, and Xu Leng still did not interrupt. Instead, she simply listened.

    Xu Heng spoke at length, addressing one issue after another, clearing one misunderstanding after another.

    After hearing so much, Lu Yin found himself most impressed by Xu Leng''s mother, who had managed to create a massive misunderstanding between the two ns, which had also ensured that Xu Leng and Xu Heng could never be together. Xu Leng''s mother had been well aware of her daughter¡¯s personality, and after so many misunderstandings were introduced, Xu Leng would never calmly listen to Xu Heng''s exnations. If not for Lu Yin, the misunderstandings would have most likely continued on until the two¡¯s deaths.

    Throughout human history, many grudges stemmed from simple misunderstandings, which then led to at least as much death and ughter as actual wars. Even wars had been triggered over such misunderstandings.

    Lu Yin started to move on, as he was uninterested in hearing Xu Heng''s derations of love. It had be clear that the sword in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring was indeed the Yin Yang Sword that the two ns were desperately searching for. It had once belonged to an ancestor of both the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, who had been one of Venerable Xuyi¡¯s disciples.

    Learning this made Lu Yin feel rather guilty. While he had not stolen the sword from the ns, there was no denying that it was in his possession.

    After an unknown amount of time had passed, Xu Heng called out, "Young man, please wait."

    Lu Yin hesitated briefly before slowly turning around.

    Xu Heng had finished speaking, and as he looked at Lu Yin, his expression was full of gratitude. As for Xu Leng, she seemed to have mellowed a fair bit. It seemed as though many of her sharp edges had softened.

    Lu Yin had already managed to move a considerable distance from the two, but for people with their level of cultivation, such distance could not be considered far.

    The pair had spent several days talking, which had allowed the distance between them and Lu Yin to grow. From a distance, Xu Heng bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hastily spoke up. "Senior, please, there¡¯s no need for such things!"

    Xu Heng solemnly asserted, "It is absolutely necessary. Brother, the kindness that you¡¯ve shown to me cannot be expressed with words. Furthermore, it¡¯s not just about me."

    As he spoke, he nced over at Xu Leng, who also offered a bow to Lu Yin from where she stood. "Myself as well."

    "This concerns both of our ns," Xu Heng exined as he stared at Lu Yin, "Your assistance, little brother, has essentially saved both of our ns. We owe you our deepest gratitude, and if you ever need any help in the future, just seek out the Void Yang or the Void Yin ns. We will spare no effort to lend you whatever aid you may need."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Seniors, there¡¯s no need to be so concerned about this."

    For the first time since Lu Yin had met with the two, Xu Lengughed. "Brother Xuan Qi, if you don¡¯t have any objections, then consider yourself my little brother and Xu Heng your older brother. Make sure to call on us if you ever need any help. We are not ones to forget favors."

    Lu Yin was touched by the obvious sincerity of the two, though it also left him increasingly ufortable. The life of a cultivator was fraught with deception and battles, and Lu Yin had already be experienced with the power struggles of the Fifth Maind. Such an open, honest disy of emotion was beyond rare, and he had only ever witnessed them from people who were exceptionally close to him, such as Ming Yan, Highsage Leon, Big Sis, Wendy Yushan, Brother Hui Kong, his ssmates from the Astral Combat Academy, as well as Arch-Senior Zen, Qing Ping, and Senior Brother Mu Xie. Also, Lu Yin had recently experienced something simr from the Sixverse Association¡¯s Xu Xiangyin. At this moment, Xu Leng and Xu Heng had added themselves to that number.

    Despite their brief acquaintance, Lu Yin could clearly feel the sincere and heartfelt gratitude from these two people.

    He was tempted to hand the Yin Yang Sword over to them immediately, but that was simply not possible. If he revealed that he had the sword, it would only arouse their suspicions about his original intentions in meeting them, which would lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

    "I understand, Brother Xu Heng, Sister Xu Leng. If the opportunity ever arises, I will do my best to find the Yin Yang Sword for you and give it to the two of you. My cultivation may not be very impressive, but I know many people," Lu Yin stated firmly.

    Xu Heng burst outughing. "Then we are much obliged, Brother Xuan Qi. I wish you sess in crossing the Void Pass."

    Xu Leng nced sideways. "Stop spouting nonsense! It¡¯s impossible for anyone to cross the Void Pass!"

    After scolding the man, she looked back at Lu Yin and chuckled. "Little Brother, don¡¯t be too stubborn. No one has ever managed to cross the Void Pass, even after all this time. I won¡¯t pretend to encourage you to seed."

    Xu Heng just gave Lu Yin a wry smile.

    "If circumstances allow it, I invite you to visit my Void Yin n."

    Xu Heng¡¯s eyes lit up. "And I would like to invite you to my Void Yang n."

    "I will definitely visit you both when I have a chance," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    "Brother, be careful on your journey. While sess may indeed be impossible, I still hope that you can cross this Void Pass, which would be an unprecedented miracle," Xu Heng shouted encouragingly.

    After receiving the two¡¯s blessings, Lu Yin continued on his way, his heart warmed by the gratitude that he had been shown.

    Meeting those two had not been so bad.

    As they watched Xuan Qi move out of sight, Xu Heng sighed. "The younger generation is catching up to us. We need to work hard, Leng¡¯er."

    Xu Leng rolled her eyes. "What''s the point in working hard? We¡¯ve already studied the Venerable Xuyi¡¯s greatest techniques and even honed them to perfection. If we aren¡¯t able to find the Yin Yang Sword, we''ll never break through to the Void Suprema realm."

    Xu Heng rubbed his head. "True enough. However, now that the misunderstandings between us have been settled, we should join forces. We can mobilize both of our ns to search for the Yin Yang Sword. After we obtain it, it might be possible for us both to have a breakthrough and be Void Suprema. That would certainly shock the Voidforce Universe."

    "What do you mean by ¡®both of us?¡¯ Don''t be so shameless!" Xu Leng blushed.

    Xu Hengughed heartily. "It''s time that the Void Yin and Void Yang ns joined forces. Let''s give the Voidforce Universe a shock. They might have forgotten Venerable Xuyi¡¯s power, so why don¡¯t we remind them."

    ...

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng decided not to continue on, which meant that Lu Yin was alone as he pushed towards the center of the Void Pass.

    He had already arrived quite close to the center. Not everyone could get this far.

    After several days passed, Lu Yin saw a man lounging on the drifting tides of the Void pass, floating about in azy manner. The man propped his head up on an arm, and he even had a drink beside him. He was humming an unfamiliar tune and looked quite content and rxed. The man had dark skin and an ordinary appearance, though he also seemed to be wearing something that looked quite simr to sunsses.

    As Lu Yin passed by, the man offered him a drink. "Want one?"

    "There¡¯s no need. Thank you," Lu Yin replied as he moved ahead without another word. His mind was in chaos. <i>A Progenitor! It¡¯s actually a Progenitor!</i>

    He could not believe that he had met another Progenitor-level figure, and this was even within the Void Pass. Had the man seen through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise?

    The Mask of Death was a truly impressive technique, to the point where even Bai Sheng had failed to see through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise. While Xu Wuwei had seen through the Mask of Death, Lu Yin had no idea what sort of strength or capabilities the man with the sunsses possessed. Even so, Lu Yin had absolutely no intention of engaging the powerhouse in conversation.

    As the man watched Lu Yin continue onwards, he sipped his drink and adjusted his dark sses.

    "Interesting..." he muttered, before lounging back on the pressure of the tides, allowing himself to be effortlessly carried away.

    A few more days passed before Lu Yin was finally able to breathe easy again. Progenitors were not frequently encountered, and he could not decide if the meeting had been a stroke of luck or disaster.

    He looked up ahead and saw a vortex before him. This was the very core of the Void Pass. Xu Xiangyin had once said that every era had people who managed to venture into this vortex, but they were always swiftly expelled. No one had ever managed to truly enter, as only by doing so and receiving the Light of the Firmament could one sessfully cross the Void Pass.

    Lu Yin was already aware that he would never see the Light of the Firmament, whatever it was, in his life, if Xu Xiangyin¡¯s words were to be believed.

    Lu Yin was the only person even close to the vortex. By observing the various tides of voidforce energy, he continued to relentlessly press forward, eventually reaching the edge of the vortex.

    He then squeezed himself forward again.

    After struggling against the tides for so long, he had assumed that the vortex would possess an even stronger pressure than what he had encountered in the Void Pass so far. Shockingly, he crashed into the vortex without meeting any resistance at all. Everything went ck. Lu Yin instinctively tried to release his domain and get a sense of his surroundings. The next moment, a familiar power filled the area around him; it was stellr energy.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed dramatically. <i>Stellr energy? Why is there stellr energy here?</i>

    A majestic wave of stellr energy suddenly descended. It was filled with an oppressive power, but it vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. The stellr energy inside Lu Yin swirled and started absorbing the energy that surrounded him.

    This was not the stellr energy of the Cyclic Universe, but the energy of the Fifth Maind, or rather, the Origin Universe.

    Two words suddenly appeared in Lu Yin''s mind: Wu Tian.

    Could this energy belong to Wu Tian?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin found himself falling. He was unable to control his own body, as the pressure of the surrounding stellr energy had reached the level of a Progenitor¡¯s power. Without releasing the Investiture of the Gods to counteract the pressure of a Progenitor''s power, it was impossible for Lu Yin to withstand the forces acting upon him.

 Chapter 2595: Bone Pike

    <h4>Chapter 2595: Bone Pike</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly found himself standing in an open area. A setting sun caused a stretch of colors to spread across the horizon in a breathtaking disy. Where was this?

    A beam of light shed from the setting sun, shooting straight at Lu Yin. His pupils constricted, and he quickly sidestepped to avoid the beam.

    It turned out to be a white bone pike that hade from some unknown creature. It floated in the air above the grass, stopping about a hundred meters away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin studied the bone pike. Why had it appeared? He used Inverse Step to arrive next to the spur and then reached out to touch it. It was cold to the touch, and despite using his full strength, he was unable to crush the bone. It was clearly a material at the Progenitor level.

    As soon as Lu Yin made contact with the bone, a mental surge flowed into him, giving him the method to wield the pike. The piece of bone was actually a power vessel that was capable of bypassing all defenses.

    <i>The ability to bypass all defenses?</i> Lu Yin was stunned. He stared at the bone in his hand. Could this power vessel really be that powerful?

    "It was left here by Wu Tian," a voice spoke from behind.

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine. Someone was with him?

    Upon turning around, Lu Yin saw an average looking middle-aged man standing there. Lu Yin was instantly on edge, yet felt no threat from the man. Either the man was no danger, or he was extraordinarily powerful, to the point of being beyond Lu Yin¡¯s understanding.

    How could anyone who was not a threat get so close to Lu Yin without him sensing anything at all? The only exnation was that the man was incredibly powerful, and he even far surpassed Xu Wuwei.

    Was there anyone in the Voidforce Universe who surpassed Xu Wuwei? There was only one: Lord Xu.

    Was Lu Yin really standing before Lord Xu?

    "You''re from the Origin Universe. Since Wu Tian has acknowledged you, you deserve to have this," the man said casually as he looked at the bone pike in a nostalgic manner.

    Reflexively clutching the pike, Lu Yin bowed. "Junior Xuan Qi pays his respects to Senior."

    "Do you know why no one has managed to cross the Void Pass after so many years?" the man asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Because it is necessary to be acknowledged by Wu Tian in order to cross the Void Pass."

    The man nodded. "Wu Tian would only acknowledge someone from the Origin Universe, and even then, he has standards. When the Origin Universe fell, I brought a group of its geniuses here to challenge the Void Pass, but they all failed. Even I started to question whether or not it was possible for anyone to seed."

    He gave Lu Yin a strange look. "The fact that you have been acknowledged by Wu Tian fulfills one of my long-held wishes."

    Lu Yin remained silent, terrified that the man would force him to give his true name. Lu Yin was very nervous about this particr man¡¯s feelings towards the Lu family.

    The Origin Universe and the Lu family were not one and the same, and Lu Yin was already a potential enemy of the Sixverse Association.

    If the man before him was truly Lord Xu, then how would he feel about Lu Yin? Lu Yin did not dare to imagine anything, and he also knew it was impossible for him to ever escape from Lord Xu.

    At that moment, the only person that Lu Yin could think of was Mister Mu. Lu Yin¡¯s master had promised him that the Great Sovereign would not harm him, but Lord Xu was another powerhouse who was far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities.

    The man raised a hand, and the bone pike moved away from Lu Yin and floated into the man''s outstretched hand.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no thoughts of resistance, and he simply stood there quietly.

    The next thing he knew, the world around him transformed. The tranquil light of the setting sun trembled beneath a surge of voidforce energy. Stunned, Lu Yin watched as a massive, endless amount of voidforce energy rushed out from the man in front of him and flooded into the bone pike. The terrifying amounts of voidforce energy made the omnipresent voidforce energy throughout the Voidforce Universe seem weak. This was something that Lu Yin had never experienced before.

    Beneath the oppression of the surge of voidforce energy, Lu Yin felt an uncontroble urge to drop to his knees in worship. It was a reflexive reaction when faced with such immense power.

    Kneel in worship? While his body was trying to force such a reaction, Lu Yin¡¯s mind rejected it.

    Determination filled his eyes. Apart from his acknowledged seniors, family members, and mentors, he would never bow in worship of anyone in his life, not even Lord Xu, the Great Sovereign, or even the Origin Progenitor himself!

    For Lu Yin, it felt like it took an eternity for the voidforce energy to merge with the bone pike, but in reality, only a few seconds had passed.

    The man released the weapon and allowed it to return to Lu Yin''s hand. "This bone pike is a power vessel that Wu Tian held in high regard. It''s never been used, and it was left here as a reward for crossing the Void Pass. I''ve now infused it with voidforce energy. What it holds should be enough to allow you to cultivate to the Void Suprema realm. If possible, you might even be able to borrow my power from that weapon."

    Lu Yin bowed low to show his gratitude. "Thank you, Senior."

    The man smiled as he stared at Lu Yin. "I admire you¡ªyou have a strong backbone."

    Lu Yin''s cheek twitched. While it sounded like apliment, what he was hearing was not necessarily a good thing. Being admired meant that a true powerhouse was paying attention to Lu Yin.

    "I have a bit of time. Is there anything you wish to ask?" the man inquired, clearly interested in Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wanted nothing more than for the man to leave immediately, but that was not something that he could say out loud. Instead, he said, "I haven''t thought of anything yet."

    "Even if you do manage to think of something, you might not be able to find me again," the man replied.

    Lu Yin offered another respectful bow, but he could note up with an adequate response. His mind was still spinning, and he only wanted this man to leave as soon as possible.

    "Have you ever had any contact with Wu Tian?" the man asked.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of the Liu family''s Sword Monument, which was actually Wu Tian''s Stone Monument, and it was currently in the Heavens Sect. Only people who had contributed greatly to the Heavens Sect were allowed to visit the Sword Monument.

    While considering any possible interactions with Wu Tian, Lu Yin could only think of the Sword Monument. "I have encountered Wu Tian''s Stone Monument," he stated.

    The man nodded. "I see, that monument. Indeed, even with exceptional talent, without having any exposure to one of Wu Tian''s relics, it would be impossible to be acknowledged by him."

    The man paused for a moment, clearing considering something. "Return to the Voidforce Universe. This bone pike might help you find Wu Tian''s legacy. No one in history has ever managed to best Wu Tian when ites to weapon mastery, but if you can inherit Wu Tian''s legacy, then it might be possible for you to do so. I look forward to seeing the appearance of a second Wu Tian among humanity."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "No one has ever bested Wu Tian in weapon mastery?"

    The man¡¯s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "Wu Tian pioneered the usage of weaponry, and created the techniques to use weapons. Are you unaware of this?"

    Lu Yin responded, "This junior knows that much, but what you mentioned earlier was something that this junior never heard of before."

    The man stood with his hands sped behind his back as he stared at the sunset. "Every person must tread their own path upon reaching the peak of cultivation. Wu Tian was one of the Three Realms Six Daos, and he was no different. The God of Death created death energy, which reaps life. Destiny peered through time in a mysterious manner. Wu Tian had a unique fondness for weapons, and he pioneered battle techniques for weapons, as well as his Heaven''s Sight. His eyes could see through any and all weapon technique, and no one could hide anything from his sight. He could peer through countless parallel universes. If you can obtain his techniques and Heaven''s Sight, it is possible that you might be the next Wu Tian."

    "Weapon techniques? Heaven''s Sight?" Lu Yin muttered to himself. This was his first time that he had heard of any of the powers or abilities that Wu Tian had wielded.

    The God of Death and Destiny were both famous throughout the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. On the other hand, Wu Tian had remained rather unknown. Despite that, no one who knew of him would ever underestimate him. He had been one of the Three Daos, though the full extent of his strength had always been a mystery. Even Lu Yin was hearing about two of the ancient powerhouse¡¯s abilities for the very first time.

    Was it true that no one had ever managed to surpass Wu Tian in terms of weapon mastery? Was it really impossible to hide from his sight? Had Wu Tian been able to peer through parallel universes?

    Lu Yin''s eyes sparkled as he held the bone pike. Could this weapon really guide him to Wu Tian''s legacy? If that was true, then he had just acquired something incredible.

    The man left without ever disclosing his identity. Lu Yin knew that the man was Lord Xu, but he also never mentioned it. For Lu Yin, it had been a matter of tacit understanding, though it was possible that Lord Xu had simply not been concerned about it.

    Lu Yin looked back at the bone pike before putting it away. He bowed towards the setting sun. "I, Lu Yin, am grateful for this gift from Senior Wu Tian."

    As he finished speaking, the glow of the sunset blossomed into a beam of light that connected heaven and earth.

    At this same time, outside the Void Pass, Xu Xiangyin and Mu Sanye had been chatting with each other. When the beam of light shot upwards, they both turned to look, their faces covered with astonishment and disbelief.

    "Wha- wha- what?" stuttered Xu Xiangyin.

    Mu Sanye''s pupils shrank sharply. "Someone... has actually crossed the Void Pass."

    People within and all around the Void Pass stared nkly at the beam of light that shot upwards. All of them werepletely dumbfounded. All of them knew that this ray of light would only appear after someone sessfully crossed the Void Pass. However, it had never appeared, despite so many years passing. On this day, the beam had finally appeared. Who? Who could have crossed the Void Pass?

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng nced at each other in disbelief. "No way."

    "Could it be Brother Xuan Qi?"

    Further ahead of them, the man who had been rxing on the drifting tides of the Void Pass suddenly rose to his feet. His sunsses fell from his face as he gaped. "Someone crossed the Void Pass? Was it that kid?"

    He was the only person that knew that only one other person had recently entered the vortex at the center of the Void Pass: Lu Yin.

    Countless people had challenged the Void Pass over the years, and the man had thought that he would never see someone seed. How had that boy done it?

    At the center of the Void Pass, the beam of light shot high into the sky. Not only did the sight shock the people in and around the Void Pass, but ripples also spread out until they reached every corner of the Voidforce Universe.

    This beam of light triggered the calm voidforce energy that once permeated the entire Voidforce Universe, causing the energy to roil in an agitated manner. One pair of eyes after another turned to stare at the beam of light, each one filled with shock and confusion, as well as endless envy.

    Whoever sessfully crossed the Void Pass was allowed to be Lord Xu''s disciple, which would instantly elevate them to a position where they would stand second to only one, and above countless others. The level of that person¡¯s cultivation would be irrelevant. Even a normal human who was given that status would be qualified to stand next to peak powerhouses. Lord Xu¡¯s disciple would be a high-ranking figure throughout the entire Sixverse Association, as no one would be able to belittle them.

    It would be a status equal to that of He Ran or Bai Qian in the Transcendent Universe. It would be no different from the Cyclic Universe¡¯s perfect Junior Sovereign.

    A hushed silence enveloped the area surrounding the Void Pass. Everyone was staring at the beam of light, curious to discover who hadpleted the challenge.

    Suddenly, the entire Void Pass trembled. The repelling pressure instantly vanished. The fact that someone hadpleted the challenge had caused the pressure to cease to exist. Also, the Void Pass itself would soon disappear.

    The moment the pressure vanished, all of the voidforce energy that had been contained by the tidal forces started to seep out. At that moment, the former Void Pass had be the best location in the entire Voidforce Universe for people to cultivate.

    Some people immediately started absorbing the voidforce energy. Despite their curiosity regarding who hadpleted the challenge, that curiosity was undoubtedly weaker than their desire to improve their own strength. Whoever had seeded would eventually be revealed, while the copse of the Void Pass was a limited opportunity.

    Regardless of who they were, everyone quickly began absorbing the ambient voidforce energy.

    The disappearance of the Void Pass meant that Xu Xiangyin and Mu Sanye were finally able to move closer to the beam of light. The man wearing sunsses had already arrived at the edge of the beam, and Xu Heng and Xu Leng arrived soon after him.

    When Xu Xiangyin and Mu Sanye arrived, they found that there were only three people present.

    "Junior Xu Xiangyin greets Senior Wuji," Xu Xiangyin greeted the man with a respectful bow.

    "Junior Mu San greets Senior Wuji." Mu Sanye did the same.

    The man in sunsses simply grunted his acknowledgment, his eyes never leaving the beam of light.

 Chapter 2596: Guide

    <h4>Chapter 2596: Guide</h4>

    Xu Xiangyin and Mu Sanye stood at the base of the beam of light that shot upwards. They stared at each other for a moment before turning back to look at the light. Who could have sessfully crossed the Void Pass? Could it have possibly been Xuan Qi? They had not yet seen him, which meant that he had either left long ago, or...

    Xu Xiangyin felt his pulse quicken as he thought of something impossible.

    Mu Sanye''s face grew pale. <i>It can¡¯t be Xuan Qi, can it? There¡¯s no way we would be so unlucky.</i>

    Then, Lu Yin emerged from the beam of light, revealing himself to the few people who had already gathered there.

    Xu Xiangyin let out a burst ofughter and ecstatically shouted, "It really was Xuan Qi!"

    Mu Sanye''s face turned ashen. Was this even possible? He had never even imagined the possibility of Xuan Qi sessfully crossing the Void Pass. It was supposed to be an impossible challenge. Just how terrifying was this child¡¯s talent for him to have ovee the Void Pass?

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng both cheered, "Congrattions, Junior Brother!"

    Their cheers caused the man in sunsses, Xu Wuji, to be surprised. <i>Junior Brother?</i>

    Xu Xiangyin was also rather startled. He recognized both Xu Heng and Xu Leng, as their Void Yang and Void Yin ns were famous throughout the entire Voidforce Universe. Individually, each n had a powerhouse with the strength of a Void Morphora, but if they joined forces, they could give rise to a Void Suprema. Both of the ns were the descendents of Venerable Xuyi.

    How did Xuan Qi know them?

    Lu Yin first offered a bow to Xu Wuji and proceeded to greet Xu Heng and Xu Leng with a smile. Only after that did he turn to face Xu Xiangyin. "Senior, this junior haspleted his task."

    Xu Xiangyin released another burst ofughter. There was only one thought on his mind at this moment: Xuan Qi belonged to the Voidforce Universe, and no one could steal him away.

    Lu Yin turned to Mu Sanye, "I apologize, Senior."

    There was a bitter expression on Mu San''s face. What could he even say? The young man had sessfully crossed the Void Pass, proving his determination to join the Voidforce Universe. Even if Mu San forcibly dragged Xuan Qi back to the Arboreal Realm, it would be pointless. "Congrattions."

    Xu Wuji lifted his sunsses. "All of you know him?"

    Xu Xiangyin answered, "Senior, his name is Xuan Qi, and he is here from the Sixverse Academy."

    Xu Wuji was surprised by the news. "Is he the exceptionally talented child from a foreign universe?"

    Xu Xiangyin beamed with pride. "Exactly so!"

    After that, Xu Xiangyin nced curiously at Xu Heng and Xu Leng. "How did you twoe to know Xuan Qi?"

    Xu Heng chuckled. "Our paths happened to cross just a short while ago in the Void Pass. Brother Xuan Qi helped the two of us, and we''ve already embraced him as our junior brother."

    Xu Leng smiled. "Xuan Qi is a younger brother to both our Void Yin and Void Yang ns."

    Both Xu Wuji and Xu Xiangyin reacted with shock, as they were both aware of the tumultuous rtionship between Xu Heng and Xu Leng. Were the two actually getting along with each other now? And on top of that, they seemed to be hinting that their ns would start working together. Could this be a sign of the two ns merging? That would be earth-shattering news.

    Lu Yin humblymented, "I merely yed a small part. It¡¯s often that the yers in a game are blind to the broader picture. Senior Brother, Senior Sister, please don''t praise me toovishly."

    Xu Leng justughed. "Junior brother, there''s no need for such modesty. Now that you''ve crossed the Void Pass, do you have any requests?"

    That question caused all eyes to once again turn to Lu Yin. Anyone who managed to cross the Void Pass would be granted the opportunity to be Lord Xu''s disciple, or ept any other powerhouse from the Voidforce Universe as their master.

    Everyone was eager to hear Xuan Qi¡¯s intentions.

    Normally, there would not even be a question, as everyone would undoubtedly decide to be Lord Xu''s disciple.

    No one considered any other option, as bing Lord Xu''s disciple was no different from instantly ascending to the heavens in a single step. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, as Lord Xu had already stated that not even he could decline a request from the person to ovee the Void Pass.

    More people started to arrive. They each first paid their respects to Xu Wuji before directing curious gazes onto Lu Yin from a distance. All of them were wondering who the youth was.

    Lu Yin drew a deep breath. Crossing the Void Pass did indeed allow him the opportunity to be Lord Xu¡¯s disciple, but Lu Yin already had Mister Mu as his master, which made epting Lord Xu as his masterpletely out of the question. With this in mind, determination filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "I wish to ask Senior Xu Wuwei to act as my guide in cultivating voidforce energy."

    A ripple of confusion swept the crowd. What did the young man mean by his guide? Could they have misheard? It seemed quite clear that "Lord Xu" had not been mentioned, but rather "Xu Wuwei" instead.

    Xu Xiangyin immediately asked, "Xuan Qi, what did you just say? Can you repeat it?"

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "I wish to ask Senior Xu Wuwei to be my guide in cultivating voidforce energy."

    Xu Xiangyin was baffled. What did Xuan Qi even mean? What was a cultivation guide?

    "Are you not going to ask Lord Xu to be your master?" Xu Wuji asked in surprise.

    Xu Heng grew anxious. "Junior Brother, don''t be reckless! You only have one chance!"

    "Think carefully before you speak," Xu Leng warned Lu Yin as well.

    The people who were listening from further away were also bewildered by Lu Yin¡¯s request. Had the boy lost his mind after crossing the Void Pass? Why had he not asked Lord Xu to be his master?

    Lu Yin solemnly repeated, "I wish to ask Senior Xu Wuwei to be my guide in cultivating voidforce energy."

    "Xuan Qi!" Xu Xiangyin barked, ring at the young man, "What is this nonsense that you¡¯re spouting? Do you understand that you are able to ask Lord Xu to be your master?"

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Lord Xu is too great a figure and is beyond this junior¡¯s reach."

    Xu Xiangyin¡¯s body trembled from rage as he pointed a finger at Lu Yin.

    Xu Wuji waved a hand, and a surge of voidforce energy swept over Xu Xiangyin, calming him down. Xu Wuji then redirected his attention to Lu Yin, giving the youth a strange look. "Too great a figure? Do you understand what you just said?"

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "I do. Lord Xu is the creator of this Voidforce Universe and an unprecedentedly great individual. Having the opportunity to ask Lord Xu to be my master is an opportunity that others can only dream of, but..." He hesitated and nced at Xu Wuji before ncing back at the beam of light that was starting to finally fade. "I still wish to ask for Senior Xu Wuwei''s guidance in my cultivation."

    Xu Wuji''s eyes flickered, as he immediately understood. Something must have happened after Xuan Qi had crossed the Void Pass, and that prevented him from asking Lord Xu to be his master.

    Xu Wuji was aware of just how important the Void Pass was. Xuan Qi had sessfully crossed it, but had Lord Xu appeared or not? It seemed very likely that he had. With this possibility in mind, Xu Wuji asked, "Very well, but even if you don''t want to ask Lord Xu to be your master, why would you not at least ask Senior Xu Wuwei to be your master? Why merely ask him to guide your cultivation?"

    This was something that Xu Wuji simply could not understand at all.

    Lu Yin exined in a resigned tone, "This junior has met Senior Xu Wuwei before, but due to certain circumstances, he did not ept me as his disciple. While I may be entitled to ask for it anyways after crossing the Void Pass, I have no desire to ce him in an awkward position. All I ask is for him to guide me and help me cultivate the power of the Voidforce Universe."

    Xu Wuji turned to look at Xu Xiangyin. "Is this true?"

    Xu Xiangyin heaved a sigh. "Yes."

    He had already considered that Xuan Qi might have undisclosed reasons for not being able to ept Lord Xu as his master, but Xu Xiangyin did not dare to specte on anything concerning Lord Xu.

    Xu Wuji shook his head in regret. The young man had amply demonstrated his worth by crossing the Void Pass, which made it quite unfortunate that he could not be Lord Xu''s disciple, or even Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s disciple.

    There had been a time when Xu Wuji himself had dreamed of bing Xu Wuwei''s disciple.

    "Junior Brother, there are many peak powerhouses in our Voidforce Universe. Why not ask one of them to be your master?" Xu Leng suggested.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This senior sister was setting a trap. Was she not subtly suggesting that he ask the Progenitor-level powerhouse in front of him to be his master? How could he possibly agree to that?

    "I wish to cultivate under Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s guidance, even if he holds no affection for me," Lu Yin quickly replied.

    Xu Leng seemed about to say something further, but Xu Heng stepped in and stopped her from saying anything more.

    It was clear to everyone that Xuan Qi wished to cultivate under Xu Wuwei¡¯s guidance. Any further discussion would only embarrass Xu Wuji.

    Xu Wuji wistfully remarked, "Having the chance to learn from Senior Xu Wuwei is indeed a stroke of luck. I also longed for that opportunity once, but he did not ept me." After a moment, the Progenitor turned to Lu Yin. "Your name is Xuan Qi, isn¡¯t it?"

    "Yes, Senior," Lu Yin replied respectfully.

    Xu Wuji nodded approvingly. "Treasure this opportunity and be diligent in your pursuits under Xu Wuwei¡¯s guidance. In the future, you might still have the chance to be epted as his disciple. You have chosen to forfeit the privilege that you are entitled to for crossing the Void Pass rather than inconvenience him, which could change his impression of you."

    After speaking, Xu Wuji left. With the Void Pass gone, he had lost his favorite ce to rx, and he needed to find a recement.

    A collective sigh of relief filled the area after Xu Wuji was gone.

    Xu Xiangyin looked disappointed. "What can I say?"

    Xu Heng replied, "Everyone has their own aspirations."

    Lu Yin said, "No matter what, I now have the opportunity to receive Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s guidance. Given his character, he will surely guide me to the best of his abilities."

    "You¡¯re not wrong." One of the more distant figures approached. He was another expert with a level of strength equal to a Semi-Progenitor, which made him a peer of Xu Xiangyin and the others with Lu Yin. "I once sought to be epted as Senior Xu Wuwei''s disciple, and I traveled far and wide while searching for fine cuisine to please him. While I never seeded, I still learned much from him, and that has led to my current strength. It¡¯s your great fortune to be able to receive Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s guidance. That will be no less of an advantage to you than bing the disciple of some other peak powerhouse in the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for your advice, Senior."

    The man nodded in approval before also leaving, noticeably impressed by Lu Yin''s behavior.

    "Xuan Qi, are you really certain that you want to stay here in the Voidforce Universe?" Mu San asked again.

    Xu Xiangyin grew annoyed. "Enough, Mu San! With things already reaching this point, what else is there to be said? It was only because Xu Wuwei was opposed to Xuan Qi joining the Voidforce Universe that I agreed to let him join the Arboreal Realm. Now that he has the chance to follow Senior Xu Wuwei, there is no way I will willingly allow him to leave."

    Lu Yin replied, "I am grateful for your gracious favor, Senior, but I really do wish to stay in the Voidforce Universe."

    Mu Sanye sighed. "Senior Mu Ke is no worse than Senior Xu Wuwei. If you can''t be Xu Wuwei''s disciple, why not be Senior Mu Ke''s?¡±

    Mu San saw that Xu Xiangyin was ready to argue again, and he let out a sigh. "Forget it. You¡¯ve alreadye this far, and further insistence is pointless. Xuan Qi, the doors of my Arboreal Realm will always remain open to you. If you ever regret your decision, you are wee toe to my Arboreal Realm, and I will find a way to free you from the Voidforce Universe."

    Mu San then quickly left before Xu Xiangyin could start cursing him again.

    "Bah, hypocrite!" Xu Xiangyin fumed.

    Lu Yin felt helpless. Because of the innate gift that he had obtained from his arboreal transformation, the Arboreal Realm had be overly persistent in getting him to join their universe.

    Suddenly, a thought dawned upon Lu Yin: could the Arboreal Realm be rted to Mister Mu? He had never considered the possibility before. If there truly was a connection, then he could only be humiliated. Still, if that connection did exist, Mister Mu had never mentioned it, so Lu Yin could not be faulted for his ignorance.

    "Junior Brother, would you like to visit our ns?" Xu Leng offered.

    Xu Heng stopped her. "This isn¡¯t the time. Our junior brother just crossed the Void Pass and has requested Senior Xu Wuwei to guide him. Senior should have learned of this by now, and he may even already be on his way."

    Xu Leng realized that there was some truth to these words.

    Lu Yin smiled at the two. "I''ll be sure to pay you both a visit in the future."

    "We''ll be waiting for you," Xu Leng replied.

    It was not long before the two also left.

    Xu Xiangyin said, "I never thought that you would have such a good rtionship with those two, especially since you¡¯ve only known them for a short time. How did you manage it?"

    Lu Yin smiled as he shared what had happened. It was not aplicated story, so he finished with just a few sentences exining everything. Xu Xiangyin stared at the youth in disbelief. "That¡¯s it? That¡¯s all?"

    "That¡¯s all," Lu Yin confirmed.

 Chapter 2597: Frantic Absorption

    <h4>Chapter 2597: Frantic Absorption</h4>

    With a chuckle, Xu Xiangyin said, "The feud between the Void Yang and Void Yin ns has gone on for a very long time. Xu Heng and Xu Leng¡¯s rtionship is even a legendary tale in the Voidforce Universe, with many stories woven around it. Even so, you resolved their matter so quickly."

    Lu Yin replied, "They only needed the chance to voice their grievances. I stumbled upon them by ident. Many people should understand the issue better than I do even now, but they just didn¡¯t have the chance to step in."

    Xu Xiangyin continued, "Regardless, you¡¯ve resolved the trouble thatid between the Void Yang and Void Yin ns for so long. In the future, they will be your greatest backers in this Voidforce Universe. Even if they are both Void Morphora for now, they are able tobine their strengths with their ns¡¯ techniques to be the equal of a Void Suprema. What I¡¯m saying is that you have a Void Suprema backing you here in the Voidforce Universe. Along with having Senior Xu Wuwei guiding you, I''ll be the one who needs you to look after me in the Voidforce Universe, haha."

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. "Senior, stop teasing me. I still don''t know what sort of attitude Senior Xu Wuwei''s will show towards me."

    Xu Xiangyin tried to reassure the young man. "Senior has a broad mind. Even if he does not like you, he won''t treat you poorly. Since he is now your guide, he will definitely teach you wholeheartedly. Don¡¯t worry."

    "When were you allowed to gossip about me, kid?" A voice that carried the vicissitudes of life rang out.

    Xu Xiangyin whirled around, startled to see Xu Wuwei standing behind him, holding a drink.

    "Junior Xu Xiangyin greets Senior.¡±

    "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior."

    Xu Wuwei sipped a bit of his drink and let out a breath of satisfaction. "Tastes pretty good."

    He dismissed Xu Xiangyin with a wave of his hand. "Leave us."

    Xu Xiangyin knew what to do, and he quickly took his leave, abandoning Xuan Qi to Xu Wuwei.

    Xu Wuwei moved closer to Lu Yin and then circled him once. Lu Yin started to feel rather uneasy.

    "Not bad, kid. You even managed to cross the Void Pass. You certainly have some skills," Xu Wuwei praised.

    Lu Yin bowed. "This junior took some liberties in asking Senior to act as my guide. Please forgive me, Senior."

    Xu Wuwei chuckled sardonically. "Why didn''t you be Lord Xu''s disciple?"

    Lu Yin started to answer, but then he hesitated.

    "Have you met Lord Xu?" Xu Wuwei inquired.

    Lu Yin nodded in confirmation.

    Xu Wuwei took another sip of his drink. "You¡¯ve concealed your original cultivation and strength and held impure intentions. Disappointed by how things have turned out,d? The chance of having Lord Xu be your master was already cut off for you. If not, your status would have instantly be equal to that of He Ran or Bai Qian.¡±

    "That''s the true peak of status. Are you ufortable, finding that you are unable to reach that level?"

    Lu Yin straightened up. "Yes."

    Xu Wuwei rolled his eyes. "Well, at least you can be honest."

    Lu Yin forced a bitter smile. "I can''t hide anything from you, Senior."

    "It¡¯s good that you know that," Xu Wuwei replied before taking another sip of his drink. "Given your other motivations, wouldn''t it have been better for you to take another peak powerhouse as your master? Xu Wuji is quite good, so why are you so determined to have your path cross mine?"

    "I wish to learn from you, Senior."

    Xu Wuwei stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Something''s not right."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat as he met Xu Wuwei''s eyes.

    It took a while before Xu Wuwei spoke again, "Your cultivation is very impressive. To reach such a level by such a young age, you must have a master."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, but he remained silent as Xu Wuwei continued, "Your master isn''t someone simple, are they?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I do have a master."

    Xu Wuwei continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Who your master is hardly matters at all. I doubt that they are a peak powerhouse, as if they were, the Transcendent Universe would not have failed to detect them, and you would have never been able to approach He Ran. In fact, you having a master is a secret. You gave up the chance to be the disciple of a peak powerhouse because of your master. Do you regret that choice?"

    Lu Yin replied solemnly, "There''s no reason for any regret. My master has treated me like a son and saved my life, in addition guiding my cultivation. I don''t mind admitting to you, Senior, that it was not because Lord Xu saw through my secrets that I do not wish to have him as my master. For someone like Lord Xu, whether or not I try to keep things hidden from him is irrelevant."

    Xu Wuwei raised an eyebrow.

    Lu Yin continued, "I turned down the chance to be Lord Xu''s disciple because I already have a master. Regardless of my master''s level of strength, I will never consider acknowledging another as my master, not even Lord Xu."

    Xu Wuwei stared at Lu Yin for a moment before bursting intoughter. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Believe it or not. It¡¯s the truth."

    Xu Wuwei scoffed at the youth. "Do what you want. After all, I''m not your master, but merely your guide. My only role is to help you cultivate voidforce energy. I will not interfere or get involved in anything else, though I do suggest that you keep your schemes to yourself. If you try any tricks, I''ll be the first to put you down."

    Lu Yin nodded. With how things had developed, he decided to forgo the traditional formal bow. "In that case, thank you, Senior."

    Xu Wuwei chuckled. Suddenly, voidforce energypletely surrounded them, and somehow, the void instantly seemed to be inverted. Lu Yin suppressed his urge to retaliate. After all, anything that he was capable of doing would be futile before Xu Wuwei''s power.

    "I will first take you to the Voidchaos Territory to find a voidforce puppet," Xu Wuwei exined.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "I already have a voidforce puppet, and it can even be used as my life-bound voidforce puppet."

    Xu Wuwei froze, and immediately became curious. "You have a life-bound voidforce puppet? Show me."

    Lu Yin certainly would not mind obtaining another puppet, but Lord Xu was already aware of his bone pike, and he had even personally ced voidforce energy inside the pike. If Lu Yin visited the Voidchaos Territory to obtain another voidforce puppet and Lord Xu learned of it, it might mean trouble for Lu Yin. He had no choice but to admit to what he had received.

    He brought out the bone pike and handed it to Xu Wuwei.

    Xu Wuwei appeared startled by the sight of the pike, and he quickly tossed the bone pike back to Lu Yin. "So, you really did meet Lord Xu."

    Silently, Lu Yin put the weapon back away.

    "The amount of voidforce energy contained within that voidforce puppet is rather terrifying, as it¡¯s quite possibly equal to this old man''s. That should be enough for you to cultivate until you be a peak powerhouse," Xu Wuwei exined as he observed Lu Yin. "It appears that Lord Xu favors you. I hope that you won''t disappoint his expectations."

    "I understand," Lu Yin responded.

    Xu Wuwei moved over, "This has somewhat convinced me that you refused to take Lord Xu as your master because you already have one. Given the amount of voidforce energy that Lord Xu has given you, he doesn''t seem at all bothered by your hidden cultivation."

    After seeing the bone pike, Xu Wuwei''s attitude toward Lu Yin had improved slightly. He had verified that the voidforce energy inside the pike was from Lord Xu, and if Lord Xu himself acknowledged Xuan Qi, then Xu Wuwei had no reason to continue doubting the youth.

    Xu Wuwei left the Void Pass with Lu Yin in tow. What remained of the tides of voidforce energy had be a surging wave of energy that everyone nearby was working hard to absorb. More people were arriving and joining in at every moment.

    "My cultivation art is known as the Five Earthly vors.[ref]Just a reminder, but "Wuwei" means five (earthly) vors. Xu Wuwei means "void" + "five vors," referring to his obsession with food and this cultivation art''s name. The five earthly vors are sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty.[/ref] It takes a long time to learn, and it requires one to wander the universe and immerse themselves in tasting all five vors. Given your age, even if you have lived through numerous experiences, it will still be nowhere near enough for you to experience the full variations of the five vors. Because of that, I can only help you absorb voidforce energy by using a pot. The amount that you manage to absorb will depend entirely on your own abilities," Xu Wuwei exined. He was duty bound to guide Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation of voidforce energy, and he would fulfill it.

    What the old man was offering was not something that he would do for an average cultivator, but he had already seen that Xuan Qi¡¯s true cultivation level was close to that of a peak Envoy. Given his level of strength, cultivating voidforce energy could be achieved with twice the results and half the effort, as the youth¡¯s body was already capable of enduring greater amounts of energy. Xuan Qi onlycked a cultivation method that would allow him to quickly absorb voidforce energy.

    Lu Yin had requested Xu Wuwei to be his cultivation guide because he feared being exposed by another peak powerhouse. Unexpectedly, this was also the best choice that he could have made. Xu Wuwei was one of the few Void Suprema who could help Lu Yin cultivate voidforce energy as quickly as possible. Within the mentioned pot, all five earthly vors boiled.

    Everyone around or within the dissipating Void Pass who was frantically working to absorb voidforce energy revealed odd expressions. A new tide of voidforce energy had appeared in the remnants of the Void Pass. All of the energy had started surging towards the center.

    Was the Void Pass going to reappear?

    Nearly everyone quickly fled from where the Void Pass had once been, as none of them could guess at what might ur with the return of the tides of energy.

    There were also those few with the boldness to follow the tides towards the center. They hoped that the new tide would help them be the second person to cross the Void Pass, or at least allow them to reach the center of the Void Pass.

    The remnants of the Void Pass had transformed once again, this time bing a massive vortex that was being pulled into a pot.

    Lu Yin was inside the pot. He had never dreamed that he would one day cultivate inside a pot. The world was full of the unexpected, and there was no predicting the future. A perfect example was the slipper that remained inside his cosmic ring. Lu Yin still had no idea who it had belonged to.

    The pot violently pulled in the surrounding voidforce energy, creating a vortex that then poured into Lu Yin''s body. His body acted like a bottomless abyss, and he found himself absorbing voidforce energy far faster than he could ever hope to do so on his own.

    Xu Wuwei calmly watched from a distance. If the youth had not already possessed sufficient cultivation, this method would have been impossible. Had the child chosen Xu Wuwei at random, or had he made the choice after researching the old man? Xu Wuwei fell deep into thought.

    Several dayster, a person was stunned to find the pot. After that, word started to spread through the nearby crowd that a pot was the source of the terrifying surge of voidforce energy.

    "A pot? You must be joking. Do you think I''m an idiot? How could a pot create a voidforce tide?"

    "Could there really be a pot at the center of the Void Pass? How is that even possible?"

    "A pot? That sounds vaguely familiar."

    "Isn''t Senior Xu Wuwei''s life-bound voidforce puppet supposed to be a pot?"

    "The Void Pass is known to have existed since the beginning of Lord Xu¡¯s time, and it seems that Senior Xu Wuwei also lived during that era."

    ...

    Everyone started specting about the pot that had been found.

    An indeterminate amount of time passed. Inside the pot, Lu Yin continued to frantically absorb voidforce energy. It was so extreme that he was stealing almost all of the voidforce energy from the area that had once held the Void Pass. The energy entered the power system within his chest, and the flow on the smallndmass quickly increased in size. If only a small trickle of voidforce energy had been previously running through the continent of fatesand, then now it had be a mighty river that continued to increase in size.

    Compared to the Fifth Maind''s cultivation levels, Lu Yin¡¯s voidforce energy had already reached the peak Enlighter level.

    Cultivating voidforce energy did not trigger bottlenecks or obstacles like stellr tribtions. There were no hindrances at all. As long as a person had enough resources and ability, they could absorb however much voidforce energy they desired. This was something that Lu Yin found himself envying.

    As far as he could tell, only the Origin Universe¡¯s cultivators were forced to face stellr tribtions. While he was not certain about the Cyclic Universe, even if stellr tribtions did ur there, that ce still held an incredible advantage as the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages could be bestowed upon anyone at all. This was something that the Origin Universe could neverpete with.

    Why would only the Origin Universe¡¯s cultivators need to struggle so much to reach the peak of cultivation?

    Lu Yin briefly opened his eyes and nced around before immediately resuming his absurd absorption of voidforce energy.

    Things continued on in this manner for half a year. For an entire six months, Lu Yin remained inside the pot, entirely focused on absorbing voidforce energy. The river that flowed through thendmass in his chest grew incredibly vast. It split the entire continent of fatesand in two, and it even started resembling the river that had once split the ancient Fifth Maind.

 Chapter 2598: Spiral Domain

    <h4>Chapter 2598: Spiral Domain</h4>

    Lu Yin''s voidforce energy had already grown to the point where it was now equal to the strength of a six-tribtion Envoy from the Fifth Maind, which was equal to his own level of stellr energy cultivation.

    Lu Yin was astonished to find himself reaching this level after just half a year. This progress could have only been achieved with thebination of Xu Wuwei''s abilities, Lu Yin¡¯s own inherent abilities, the unique nature of the Voidforce Universe, and the timely presence of the vast amount of energy present from the dissipation of the Void Pass.

    Given the same circumstances, if any of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors tried to cultivate voidforce energy, they should be able to swiftly be Void Morphora with Xu Wuwei''s assistance. However, bing Void Suprema, which was equal to a Progenitor, was definitely not such a simple task.

    Lu Yin stopped cultivating. This was not by choice, but rather because the surge of voidforce energy had waned. After looking around, he found that there was no longer any discernible difference between the area that had once been the Void Pass and the rest of the Voidforce Universe. The once overwhelming amount of voidforce energy had vanished. Could Lu Yin have absorbed it all? That should have been impossible. The Void Pass had been powerful enough to force back even Progenitors. If Lu Yin had absorbed all of the energy from that region, then he would have be a Void Suprema.

    The most likely exnation was that the majority of the energy had simply dissipated.

    The pot started to shrink and then returned to Xu Wuwei.

    Lu Yin quickly stepped forward and offered a deep bow. "Thank you, Senior."

    Xu Wuwei stared at Lu Yin in awe. "I expected you to be a mid-level Void Brillium at best. Instead, you¡¯ve seeded in reaching a level equal to your own original cultivation. How did you aplish such a thing?"

    Lu Yin felt genuinely confused. "Isn''t it just about absorbing the voidforce energy?"

    Xu Wuwei gave a wry smile. "You clearly have some misconceptions about our Voidforce Universe."

    Seeing Lu Yin''s obvious confusion, Xu Wuwei proceeded to exin. "It may be true that there are no bottlenecks for cultivating voidforce energy. That, along with the assumption that you can absorb as much as energy you can, means that the amount a person can absorb depends on their personal endurance, as well as theirpatibility with voidforce energy. Do you truly believe that I can help everyone absorb voidforce energy with the method you just used? Wouldn''t that make my Voidforce Universe invincible? Wouldn''t we have already produced countless Void Suprema? Our power isn''t fleeting, like the Cyclic Universe-"

    The man paused for a moment and then quickly changed the topic. "Essentially, every person has a limit to how far they can cultivate voidforce energy. This is why our Voidforce Universe ces such strong emphasis on talent. It''s why Xu Xiangyin kept such a close eye on you. Not everyone has the potential to be a Void Suprema. The vast majority of people simply cannot reach that level, even if they cultivated for billions of years."

    Lu Yin felt some of his misconceptions clear up. While voidforce cultivators did not face any sort of equivalent to stellr tribtions, they were also restricted by their innate talent, which was far more difficult to ovee than stellr tribtions. In the Fifth Maind, even people with below average talent could use various methods to elevate their cultivation, but to continue to cultivate voidforce energy beyond one¡¯s innate limits, they would need to undergo aplete transformation. Without that, a person would find their cultivation stagnating for their entire life.

    Voidforce energy was a cultivation method that had very clear limits.

    Understanding some of these limits caused Lu Yin to heave a sigh of relief. Every universe and civilization had their own pros and cons. The people of the Origin Universe were gued with stellr tribtions, which made every breakthrough a challenge. On the other hand, were stellr tribtions not also a means to push a person¡¯s potential to a higher level? There were no tribtions or bottlenecks for cultivating voidforce energy, but personal breakthroughs were far more difficult, as they relied solely on a person¡¯s inherent talent. In the Cyclic Universe, it was possible for a person to be granted a seat and instantly be one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, but the seats and the powers attached to them could also be taken back at the Great Sovereign¡¯s whim.

    There was no objectively better or worse universe.

    "Your talent for cultivating voidforce energy is so exceptional that it breeds envy. It¡¯s no wonder why Xu Xiangyin regards you so highly. You are also highly intelligent and have remained devoted to the Voidforce Universe by choosing not to join the Arboreal Realm with all that they offered," Xu Wuwei praised.

    Lu Yin did not respond to the observations, and he instead pulled out the bone pike and sensed the voidforce energy that it contained. "This junior wonders how much power can now be released...¡±

    Xu Wuwei replied, "Xu Xiangyin mentioned that you were capable of controlling a puppet with twenty times more voidforce energy than yourself. If that''s true, then you are already capable of fighting Void Morphoras with Xu Xiangyin''s level of strength."

    The man gave Lu Yin a hard stare as he spoke.

    Lu Yin was astonished. "Is that all it takes?¡±

    "As your guide for cultivating voidforce energy, I have now helped you reach your current cultivation level. From this point forward, you will have to walk ahead on your own. I will leave you with a battle technique, which will fulfill my duty and all of my obligations to you. However, if I ever learn that you have exploited my Voidforce Universe and instigated a conflict between us and the Transcendent Universe, or caused other harm to the Voidforce Universe, I will personally take back everything that I have given you. This is the responsibility of a guide."

    Xu Wuwei then raised his hand and gathered voidforce energy over his palm. It did not gather in a normal manner, but instead seemed to follow some sort of inexplicablew. The energy spread out in every direction, and not a single trace was left behind.

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s outstretched hand. That had not been a simple matter of gathering and condensing voidforce energy. He had watched the energy form into a sphere. Within the sphere, increasing amounts of voidforce energy were constantly connecting to the void. Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. What he had felt had been a form of spatial control!

    Even with the Ce Secret Art¡¯s board maniption, Lu Yin would not have been able to sense Xu Wuwei¡¯s spatial control. What had allowed him to do so was his recently acquired innate gift of spatial control. He had been able to see the voidforce energy subtly extend along the lines that allowed him to manipte space, and the energy had stretched out into an unknown distance. It was like adding color to the monotonous spatial lines.

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Wuwei, dumbfounded by what he had just seen. This man was able to manipte space.

    "If you¡¯ve been assuming that our Voidforce Universe only fights with voidforce puppets that we hide behind, you¡¯re gravely mistaken. The truth is that our universe also possesses just as many battle techniques as any other civilization. The amount of voidforce energy that you can control only indicates the strength of the power you can control, not the strength of an attack that you can unleash. The only true way to measure the strength of a person¡¯s voidforce energy is with a battle technique." As Xu Wuwei finished speaking, a sphere of voidforce energy once again gathered in his hand. Within the ball, countless threads of voidforce energy swirled about in a manner that made it impossible for Lu Yin to clearly track them. As this happened, lines of voidforce energy spread out into a grid in outer space.

    This grid was invisible to the naked eye, and it was only detectable to people who could observe voidforce energy. However, even voidforce energy cultivators would not recognize that the lines were more than just pure voidforce energy; rather, it was voidforce energy that followed spatial lines.

    Lu Yin was stunned. It was only at this instant that he started toprehend just how powerful the old man before him truly was. This man was able to manifest spatial lines in a manner that ordinary cultivators could observe, and he could also manipte space. Even with Lu Yin''s innate gift of spatial control, he could not do the same. It would take an extremely long period of training and practice, and it was clear that Xu Wuwei had done just that.

    The old man had used voidforce energy to trace out spatial lines, providing a visual representation of some of the hidden forces of the universe.

    At this same time, in a distant location, Xu Wuji was searching for a new location to rx. Suddenly, his expression changed. He watched as a grid of voidforce energy appeared all around him. He froze in ce, not moving a single muscle. He knew that he was surrounded by Senior Xu Wuwei''s power.

    Anyone who saw such a grid would instantly be deeply shocked. The immediate reaction to the sight of Xu Wuwei''s power was to freeze. To move meant to die.

    Nervously swallowing, Xu Wuji slowly turned his head to look back at where the Void Pass had once stood. <i>Senior, please don''t scare me!</i>

    "The concept behind this technique is quite simple. This battle technique is called Spiral Domain,¡± Xu Wuwei stated in a solemn manner. The sphere of voidforce energy in his hand flickered in and out of existence as voidforce energy retraced back from the grid. "As long as anyone is within the bounds of this Spiral Domain, my attack is unavoidable. I once used this Spiral Domain to kill a peak powerhouse of Aeternus."

    Lu Yin was shocked. He was once again speaking to a powerful individual who had killed someone equal to a Progenitor.

    "Today, I will teach you this Spiral Domain as a reward for crossing the Void Pass and not forcing me to be your master. Also, as your guide, I hope that you will not disappoint me. I have no desire to one day kill you with my Spiral Domain." After delivering his exnation, Xu Wuwei grabbed Lu Yin and threw him out into the grid. Lu Yin moved through the grid, experiencing Spiral Domain.

    Xu Wuwei watched calmly. Teaching someone his Spiral Domain was a unique gift reserved for his own direct disciples. It looked as though he was granting Xuan Qi a truly incredible opportunity, but...

    As Lu Yin traveled through Spiral Domain, he felt how the voidforce energy acted upon the spatial lines. While it initially appeared as though Xu Wuwei was treating Lu Yin very well, it was actuallypletely pointless to show Spiral Domain to anyone at his level. If Lu Yin did not have his newly acquired innate gift, then how could he have ever hoped toprehend Spiral Domain? This battle technique used the power of space. Even if he could manage to understand the proper way to gather the voidforce energy needed for the technique, how was he supposed to apply it to spatial lines after that? Even if Xu Wuwei held Lu Yin¡¯s hand throughout the entire process, it would not have changed the fact that the technique was simply impossible to learn.

    This was very deliberate. By teaching Xuan Qi the incredible Spiral Domain as his final lesson, Xu Wuwei was actually teaching the young man nothing at all. After all, he had not even shared his own cultivation method: the Five Earthly vors.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. He could not me Xu Wuwei. The two of them had very different perspectives, and from Xu Wuwei''s point of view, Xuan Qi was a devious man who was helping Bai Qian work against He Ran. Even if Lord Xu did not care about such conflicts, Xu Wuwei was determined to mitigate any impact such a conflict might have on his universe in his own way.

    With Xuan Qi ¡°learning¡± Spiral Domain, others would envy him, and no one would understand Xu Wuwei''s true intentions.

    The only thing that Xu Wuwei had overlooked was that Lu Yin was already capable of observing the spatial lines, which meant that he had alsoprehended the underlying principles of Spiral Domain. Xu Wuwei¡¯s lesson had not simply taught Lu Yin a battle technique; rather, he had revealed the method to properly use the spatial lines that he could observe.

    Before this revtion, Lu Yin had only been able to use the lines to teleport around. After learning how to apply battle techniques to these spatial lines, he had found a method to ignore the restrictions of distance when targeting an opponent. This included, but was not limited to, Spiral Domain itself. Lu Yin could apply the same concept with any of the various energies at hismand, including sword techniques, death energy, and even battle force. Xu Wuwei had just opened a brand new door for Lu Yin.

    Xu Wuwei could never have imagined that he was actually helping Xuan Qi instead of deceiving the youth. Xu Wuwei was perfectly performing his role as a guide.

    Lu Yin spent half a month moving about through Spiral Domain before he finally came to a stop. When he next saw Xu Wuwei, all that Lu Yin said was, "This junior doesn''t understand."

    Xu Wuwei inwardly felt quite satisfied, though his expression remained unchanged. "My Spiral Domain is not a battle technique that is easy to learn. Do you know how many people from the Voidforce Universe have dreamed of learning this battle technique? Whether it is Xu Wuji or Xu Xiangyin, which of them has not hoped to learn it? Unfortunately, neither of them ever received this opportunity, so you should cherish what you just experienced."

    Lu Yin thanked the man. "This junior understands."

    "I have not treated you any differently than I would anyone else. I¡¯ve merely performed my duty as your guide. Just be sure to remember my teachings."

    "I understand, Senior."

    With another nce at the youth, a smile spread across Xu Wuwei''s face. He found it quite entertaining to tease this youth. "Find a ce to meditate, and then reflect on what you felt while moving through Spiral Domain. I''m now headed to the battlefield. When we next meet, I hope to see that you have made some progress."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Progress? If he actually showed progress with this technique, how would this old man not bepletely infuriated?

    "Senior, you¡¯re heading to the battlefield?"

 Chapter 2599: Replacement

    <h4>Chapter 2599: Recement</h4>

    Upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s question, Xu Wuwei''s expression darkened noticeably. "The pressure that we are facing from Aeternus is increasing. They can''t afford to abandon the Sixverse Association Territories that we¡¯ve taken back from them, as losing them will force them to fight an uphill battle on the Endless Frontier. Thus, I have no choice but to take action. One day, you will inevitably find yourself on the front lines as well."

    "Senior, would you allow me to leave a mark on a coordinate seal for the Voidforce Universe? This junior has be a part of this universe, and if I ever find myself lost in a parallel universe, I would like to be able to find my way back," Lu Yin quickly requested.

    Xu Wuwei gave the youth a look of consideration before nodding. "Very well."

    The very next day, the old man apanied Lu Yin to a coordinate seal.

    There were many people¡¯s marks already on the coordinate seal, showing that it was used to help people from foreign universes find and return to the Voidforce Universe.

    Lu Yin left his mark on it as well.

    This meant that he now had ess to the Three Monarchs Universe, the Voidforce Universe, and the Sixverse Academy within the Sixverse Association. The rest of the universes remained out of his reach, and every trip he took to the Sixverse Academy also required him to use up a Lotus Artifact, which was a steep price to pay.

    Xu Wuwei left for the battlefield.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. The pressure on the Sixverse Association had already escted to the point where even Xu Wuwei needed to join the battlefield. Those troubles would soon spill over into the Origin Universe. With this in mind, Lu Yin tore through the void to return to Aeternus Nation.

    He had intended to return straight to the Heavens Sect, but after arriving, he remembered that Monarch Mu was still imprisoned in the small parallel universe.

    She had been confined for a bit of time, or at least long enough that Lu Yin felt the need to check on the woman.

    He disappeared and reappeared deep underground, where the pervasive death energy became almost suffocating. The Fenglei n stayed on the surface, and none of them were able to venture deep underground.

    The corrosive nature of the death energy was what kept Monarch Mu captive.

    The amount of time that had passed was not enough for Monarch Mu to change her mind since Lu Yin¡¯sst visit. For a person with the strength of a Progenitor, a few hundred years were but a fleeting moment.

    Monarch Mu said nothing when she saw Lu Yin arrive, and she merely looked at him.

    "I have some good news for you. I''ve sent some reinforcements to your Three Monarchs Universe," Lu Yin announced.

    Monarch Mu was unphased. "You were forced to do so by the Sixverse Association, weren''t you?"

    Lu Yin agreed, "That¡¯s right."

    Monarch Mu''s face remained expressionless. "Before, I suggested to you that we should coborate to deal with your Origin Universe¡¯s four ruling powers so that you could maintain your power, but you refused. I knew then that the Sixverse Association would do everything in its power to force you to send aid to my Three Monarchs Universe. They won''t stand by and allow my universe to be destroyed, nor will they simply watch as you grow stronger."

    "If that''s true, then wouldn''t working with me turn you into an enemy of the Sixverse Association?" Lu Yin asked, intrigued by the idea.

    Monarch Mu answered seriously. "Your real enemy is the Cyclic Universe and Sovereign Shao Yin, not us."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Monarch Mu sneered. "Haven''t you been investigating the Sixverse Association? Surely you''ve learned that the idea to push the sins of the Origin Universe onto the Lu family was first proposed by Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold as he stared at Monarch Mu. The woman could not help herself fromughing. "It seems like you actually did not know about that! Aside from my Three Monarchs Universe, every other member of the Sixverse Association harbors a deep resentment towards the Origin Universe. This is because the Origin Universe was the one that failed to eliminate Aeternus when they first appeared, and that negligence allowed them to grow stronger during the height of the Heavens Sect era. This building resentment was ultimately pinned onto the Lu family because of Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s words. Now, the Lu family has been banished, and the ancient resentment that was passed down has disappeared. Aside from a few individuals, no one is going after the Origin Universe anymore. At most, people merely dislike it."

    "What if I want to bring the Lu family back?" Lu Yin asked.

    Monarch Mu¡¯s eyes wentrge. "Bring the Lu family back?"

    Lu Yin looked deeply at her. "What if I seek revenge?"

    Monarch Mu reacted as though she had just heard somethingpletely unbelievable. "Is the Lu family still alive?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m not sure, but I do know that I will definitely get revenge for them. Will you really work with me, even if doing so means offending Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Monarch Mu replied, "Dao Monarch Lu, I believed you to be an intelligent person, but you''ve already chosen the dumbest path possible. Revenge? Against who? Sovereign Shao Yin? Or the Great Sovereign?¡±

    "Regardless, you will achieve nothing. No matter how powerful you be, how exceptional your talent might be, or how many people assist you, it''s impossible for you to ever surpass the Great Sovereign. As long as the Great Sovereign lives, you simrly will not be able to touch Sovereign Shao Yin. That¡¯s not even mentioning that Sovereign Shao Yin himself is extremely powerful and is capable of facing off against a powerhouse like Forgotten Ruins God on his own.¡±

    "I strongly suggest that you abandon your thoughts of revenge. I want to live, and I know that you do as well. Let go of your hatred. The grievances involving the Lu family have already ended.

    "You have achieved great things already. You can reestablish the Lu family once again. There''s no need for you to court death. The Great Sovereign¡¯s strength is beyond anything you can imagine."

    Lu Yin remained silent for a long time as he thought over her words. "Maybe you''re right. Maybe I should let go of my hatred."

    Monarch Mu exhaled. "It''s good that you understand."

    Lu Yin stared at Monarch Mu for a moment before suddenlyughing. "I didn''t misspeak just now. You heard me correctly."

    While Lu Yin¡¯sment was rather confusing, Monarch Mu understood what he meant, despite desperately wishing that she had not. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin stared into her eyes. "I told you that I want to bring the Lu family back."

    Monarch Mu frowned. "The Lu family is gone."

    "They are still alive."

    Monarch Mu''s expression fell. "You''re bluffing."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "It¡¯s actually you trying to bluff me. You clearly understood what I said, but you still tried to convince me to abandon my hatred and work with you. The moment I release you, I¡¯m certain that you¡¯ll run off to the Cyclic Universe to betray me."

    "That¡¯s ridiculous! The Lu family cannot possibly still be alive! The Great Sovereign himself personally exiled them into Aeternus¡¯s territory, so how could the Lu family have possibly survived?" Monarch Mu vehemently protested Lu Yin¡¯s im, trying to prove her sincerity with her argument.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "For someone of your level to stoop so low just to survive is pathetic."

    Monarch Mu''s expression grew even worse. "Just what is it that you want?"

    Lu Yin answered bluntly, "I want to rece the Three Monarchs Universe within the Sixverse Association."

    Monarch Mu felt as though she had just heard something beyond her ability to process. "What did you say?"

    "Don¡¯t believe me?" asked Lu Yin.

    Monarch Mu''s eyes flickered. "You must be out of your mind! How could the Sixverse Association ever ept your Origin Universe? Even if my Three Monarchs Universe disappears, your Origin Universe will never be able to join the Sixverse Association. Never!"

    "Why don¡¯t we put that to the test? I refuse to believe that there is anything impossible in this megaverse," Lu Yin countered, his eyes icy cold, "You either help me get the Origin Universe to be a part of the Sixverse Association, or you''ll find yourself trapped here for the rest of your life. I promise you that no one will ever find you."

    With that, Lu Yin turned around and walked away.

    "The Sixverse Association will never ept the Origin Universe! Never!" Monarch Mu screamed. Her voice faded into the distance as Lu Yin headed to the surface. There, he found Luo Lao''er and Fenglei Guanqin.

    When the two men saw Lu Yin, they both bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    They had already be ustomed to their new roles during Lu Yin¡¯s absence, especially Fenglei Guanqin. When he looked at Lu Yin, his attitude was no different from when he had previously looked at the three Monarchs. It was possible that, in the man¡¯s mind, Lu Yin was even more terrifying than the Three Monarchs. After all, Lu Yin had captured Monarch Mu.

    Lu Yin gave a nomittal hum. "Patriarch Fenglei, you should be well informed of the situation in the Three Monarchs Universe, right?"

    "I¡¯m aware of most matters there, Dao Monarch."

    Nodding, Lu Yin asked, "Make a list of all the most important people in the Three Monarchs Universe, as well as their rtionships, circumstances, and connections with other universes."

    Fenglei Guanqin agreed in a very deferential manner. "Of course, Dao Monarch."

    He already understood that Lu Yin was nning to move against the Three Monarchs Universe.

    At the moment, the Three Monarchs Universe only had Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing, which meant that it was not possible for them to activate the Three Monarchs Formation. This meant that it was possible for Lu Yin to deal with the universe at this point in time.

    Overall, the situation was rather messy, and there wereplicated matters on all sides. The Three Monarchs had tried to ally with the four ruling powers and split the Origin Universe apart, while Lu Yin had secretly captured Monarch Mu in order to eliminate the threat of the Three Monarchs Universe. The Sixverse Association had a rule that forbade anyone from entering the Origin Universe without informing the entire association, but Lu Yin had not bothered even thinking about that. Instead, he had passed that matter over to Wang Wen. Lu Yin was confident that Wang Wen would give him some suitable solutions.

    Raising his hand carefully, Luo Lao''er asked, "Brother-inw, what can I do to help?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Luo Lao''er. "What do you want to do?"

    Luo Lao¡¯er first nced over at Fenglei Guanqin before steeling his resolve and asking, "Brother-inw, do you have a n to deal with the Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had expected Luo Lao''er to make some sort of request, or possibly just contribute by offering a bit of knowledge regarding the Three Monarchs Universe. Bringing up the Transcendent Universe had not been within Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. "Whether I do or not, how can you help with that?"

    Luo Lao¡¯er stared at Lu Yin, his resolve clearly visible. "I can."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Could a mere hostage help him act against the Transcendent Universe?

    "You might not believe this-" Luo Lao''er cleared his throat before continuing to say, "But do you know why I¡¯ve always been so well-informed? When I first met you, you and Zi Jing had only just arrived in the Transcendent Universe, but I already knew about it and the connection between you two."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. He had not thought about it before, but only a select few members of the Ruling Council and other top authorities from the Transcendent Universe could have been aware of him and Zi Jing arriving within such a short amount of time. It was impossible for the news to leak to the public so quickly, especially since all the information regarding Zi Jing was top secret in the Transcendent Universe. If not for Luo Lao''er, no one would have known that Zi Jing had returned with someone. How had Luo Lao''er found out so quickly?

    Luo Lao''er did not hesitate to borate, "I learned about it so quickly because I paid for it. Even without the resources that the Fenglei n tried to send me, someone with my status wouldn''t normally be as poor as me. That¡¯s because I spent the vast majority of my wealth on buying information.¡±

    "The person who sells me information knows everything that happens in the Transcendent Universe, the decisions the Ruling Council makes, Zi Jing''s return, and even thetest research on the new cultivation technology. The prices for the information varies, but if you want to deal with the Transcendent Universe, then this information channel will definitely be helpful," Luo Lao''er added.

    Lu Yin grew increasingly intrigued. "Who is your information broker?"

    "I don''t know. He¡¯s extremely cautious and never reveals anything that might give away his identity. He doesn''t even use a codename. I only managed to first get in touch with him by chance. It¡¯s impossible to get to this guy."

    Lu Yin told Luo Lao''er to share the contact method tomunicate with his informant. It immediately became clear that Luo Lao''er had not been hiding anything, as records of the information received and the resources sent were recorded in a digital tform on Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s dark green lens. It was something that was only essible to Luo Lao''er, as it was keyed to his identity.

    "Does this person really have ess to so much information?" Lu Yin felt incredibly curious.

    Luo Lao''er remained utterly confident. "The information that this guy sells is alwaysplete and urate. Also, he works fast."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as he started running some calctions. "How can I persuade him to make a deal with me?"

    Luo Lao''er replied, "I can give it a shot, but I don''t know if he¡¯ll be willing. Even if he is, in order to try it out, we need to be in the Transcendent Universe."

    "We''ll tryter on, then," Lu Yin decided. He was not yet in a position to go after the Transcendent Universe, as that would be aplicated and long-term n. His identity as Xuan Qi had already been partiallypromised with Xu Wuwei seeing through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise. Lu Yin had been forced to create an exnation for his hidden strength, and he would have to be extremely cautious when moving against the Transcendent Universe. The most difficult challenge would be the ruler of the universe that Bai Qian had mentioned.

 Chapter 2600: Demands

    <h4>Chapter 2600: Demands</h4>

    Lu Yin soon left Aeternus Nation and returned to the Fifth Maind. Upon arriving, he immediately made his way to Gods'' Origin.

    The appointed time for the trade was quickly approaching. It had been close to half a year since the agreement had been made.

    It took Lu Yin a few days to travel to Gods'' Origin. Ke Jian also arrived, and with him was Zi Jing. Her presence had been agreed to during the negotiations, as Gods¡¯ Origin had stated that they would only conduct the exchange with Zi Jing. This was a rather obvious bid by Lu Yin to increase Zi Jing''s influence in the Transcendent Universe. People had seen through his intentions, but they also had not refused.

    Zi Jing was He Ran''s underling, and since He Ran held Zi Jing in high regard, the condition did not matter much to He Ran. After all, the materials from the trade were for Zi Jing¡¯s use and experimentation.

    Within Gods'' Origin, an inter-universal trade was conducted, unbeknownst to anyone else in the Fifth Maind.

    Only five people were present: Lu Yin, God Taiyi, God of Mirrors, Ke Jian, and Zi Jing. All of them understood the full magnitude of the situation. If word of what they were doing ever leaked, there would be massive repercussions, as even the Sixverse Association as a whole would take interest.

    "Excellent!" Zi Jing confirmed that all of the agreed-upon materials during the initial negotiations were in order, and Ke Jian generously gave God of Mirrors the gift of a blue energy converter.

    God of Mirrors appeared confused by the gift, and he turned to look at Lu Yin for some rification.

    Lu Yin exined, "Senior, this is one of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s energy converters. Once you equip it, you will be able to unleash an attack with a power level of almost a million."

    "A power level of nearly one million?" God of Mirrors eximed. He was only the equivalent of a three-tribtion Envoy, which put his power level at just barely over 700,000. God of Magenta had possessed a simr level of strength, and even Gods¡¯ Origin¡¯s strongest individual, God of mes, had only ever reached the peak Envoy level.

    God of Mirrors stared at the blue energy converter, excited. Could such a tiny device really increase his strength so dramatically?

    Ke Jian was pleased with God of Mirrors'' response. This was a reaction that indicated both ignorance and reverence, which were appropriate.

    "Xuan Qi, have you not told them about energy converters?" he asked.

    "Not yet."

    "Then allow me," Ke Jian said. He adjusted his tone as he proceeded to exin the usage of energy converters to God of Mirrors and God Taiyi, leaving both menpletely dumbstruck. With the existence of such a thing, what was the point of cultivating?

    "I¡¯ve already told you that my Transcendent Universe is far stronger than you people here. As long as we decide that you will be safe, Lu Yin will not dare toy a single finger on you," Ke Jian solemnly dered with a stern expression.

    Lu Yin chuckled as he nced from Ke Jian to God of Mirrors.

    God of Mirrors stared nkly at Ke Jian. While he was indeed amazed by the power of the energy converter, the man giving the exnation was overly arrogant. The Dao Monarch was already working against the Transcendent Universe right in front of the man and even at that very moment!

    "Senior, we made an agreement. We will gather materials for the Transcendent Universe, and in return, you will move us. If we offered you sufficient resources, you told me that my Gods'' Origin might even earn a seat on the Ruling Council. This energy converter..." God of Mirrors sounded troubled.

    "Treat it as a simple means of protection," Ke Jian replied.

    God of Mirrors instinctively turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Senior, there are many energy converters of this strength in the Transcendent Universe. Senior Ke Jian really doesn''t mind giving you one. If you manage to collect more resources for next time, it¡¯s even possible that you''ll receive a better energy converter, which could allow you to obtain the strength of a peak Envoy."

    Ke Jian remained indifferent, and he merely dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. "These are minor matters."

    God of Mirrors and God Taiyi quickly expressed their thanks.

    The transaction waspleted with both sides satisfied. Lu Yin was also able to take the opportunity and have a private conversation with Zi Jing, though he did so while putting on a show for Ke Jian''s benefit. After all, Xuan Qi and Zi Jing had a certain rtionship to maintain in the eyes of the Transcendent Universe.

    "How is Bai Qian doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zi Jing leaned close and whispered, "Not so well. She''s not from the Transcendent Universe, and so she doesn''t have too many supporters. Only a handful of the Ruling Council support her. When she disappeared, He Ran took advantage of the opportunity and struck back. Now, there is no one on the council who supports Bai Qian."

    Lu Yin started thinking, and he immediately realized that the Ruling Council, which was supposed to be the most powerful group in the Transcendent Universe, was actually nothing more than a collection of puppets for the true ruler of the Transcendent Universe to use to select contenders. The council¡¯s true purpose was not to oversee and manage the universe, but rather to select a winner between He Ran and Bai Qian.

    Bai Qian had done quite well by gaining some supporters in just a few decades, but her brief disappearance had cost her everything.

    On the surface, it appeared that He Ran held the upper hand.

    "What exactly happened?" Zi Jing inquired.

    Lu Yin replied, "You don''t need to worry about that. Just focus on researching your cultivation technology. That¡¯s your ticket out. I¡¯ll deal with Bai Qian''s matter myself."

    Zi Jing nodded and then casually rested her head onto Lu Yin''s shoulder. Ke Jian was watching them from a distance.

    It was not long before Ke Jian approached. "Xuan Qi, I need to speak with you."

    Zi Jing nodded at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin walked away with Ke Jian. The older man offered Zi Jing an apologetic smile. "We only have a limited amount of time here, but next time, I''ll make sure to let you two have a longer conversation."

    Zi Jingughed the matter off. "It''s no trouble."

    Ke Jian gave a smallugh of his own before leading Lu Yin a short ways away from the others. His need to speak with Xuan Qi was simple: Ke Jian needed to ask about the recent events of the Voidforce Universe. He Ran was very concerned about Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin provided a brief exnation of the events.

    "<i>You </i>crossed the Void Pass?" Ke Jian asked, shocked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes. It was difficult, but I was lucky enough to make it through."

    Ke Jian stared at Lu Yin. He had only been nning to casually catch up on a few minor details, which made such a startling bit of newspletely unexpected.

    "Did you not know, Senior?" Lu Yin asked, surprised by this. It had already been more than half a year since he had crossed the Void Pass, so how could someone with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor from the Transcendent Universe like Ke Jian have not heard about such an important event?

    Ke Jian responded with a bitterugh. "I''ve been so engrossed in my work with the Energy Research Group that I¡¯ve paid no attention to anything else. We are entirely focused on our cultivation technology, and we almost never hear any news from the outside world."

    "I see," Lu Yin said with a nod. "Madam He Ran should already know about it."

    "Of course," Ke Jian replied, though he gave Lu Yin an odd look. The youth¡¯s achievements were bing more and more exaggerated. He had crossed the Void Pass and then chosen Xu Xuwei as his cultivation guide. That,bined with his already close rtionship with Xu Xiangyin, meant that Xuan Qi¡¯s influence in the Voidforce Universe would undoubtedly continue to grow. It seemed that Madam He Ran''s ns might actuallye to fruition.

    "Xuan Qi," Ke Jian began, "We can get some of the resources that we need from the Origin Universe, but we can''t rely solely on this ce. The Transcendent Universe isn''t concerned about Lu Yin, but there¡¯s no denying the influence that he wields here. So, do you have any way to gather more materials for us from the Voidforce Universe?"

    This was the man¡¯s true purpose, as well as He Ran¡¯s orders.

    Lu Yin sank deep into thought.

    "Xu Xiangyin''s n holds a considerable level of influence in the Voidforce Universe. You could start there," Ke Jian suggested.

    "Senior Xu Xiangyin''s n?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    "That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve heard that you have a close rtionship with Xu Xiangyin. Do you not know about his n?" Ke Jian asked in confusion.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Senior told me that he was an independent cultivator."

    "Xu Xiangyin is indeed an independent cultivator," Ke Jian agreed, "However, after he became a Void Morphora, he was recruited by a n, the Cloudview n. They managed to produce a powerful Void Suprema a long time ago, which allowed them to expand their influence throughout almost half of the Voidforce Universe. At that time, it¡¯s imed that even Senior Xu Wuwei would frequently visit the Cloudview n. However, after that Void Suprema died in battle, the Cloudview n fell from power. A hundred years ago, their status plummeted once again when their elderly patriarch died, as the n was left without even a single Void Morphora. If not for the fact that they had managed to recruit Xu Xiangyin in time, the Cloudview n might have disappeared entirely.¡±

    "Xu Xiangyin is a necessary existence for the Cloudview n¡¯s survival," Ke Jian exined, "Also, while the n may have fallen from glory, they still maintain a considerable level of influence in the Voidforce Universe. Many have been helped by them in the past. If you can create a rtionship with the Cloudview n, it will not be difficult for you to gather the resources that we need."

    Lu Yin stared at Ke Jian. This man must have been incredibly busy recently. For a person from the Transcendent Universe to gain such a clear understanding of the Voidforce Universe, he had to have conducted a very lengthy investigation.

    The Transcendent Universe had not been idly waiting around while Zi Jing had been missing. They had prepared as many of the required materials for researching sequence particles as possible. Essentially, they had never given up on Zi Jing, and they had always acted as though she would be found eventually. In fact, they had acted more like Zi Jing¡¯s absence was an extended vacation, rather than a true loss.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "I understand. I will seek out the Cloudview n when I return to the Voidforce Universe."

    "First speak with Xu Xiangyin. If you use him as your connection, the Cloudview n will treat you as their honored guest," Ke Jian suggested.

    "By the way, what about the Void Yang n and the Void Yin n?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ke Jian was taken aback. "Why are you asking about them? Do you know the two ns?"

    Lu Yin gave a brief exnation of his encounter with Xu Heng and Xu Leng while traveling through the Void Pass. As Ke Jian listened, his eyes started to light up. "You have a good rtionship with the two ns?"

    "I have a good rtionship with Brother Xu Heng and Sister Xu Leng," Lu Yin rified.

    Ke Jian was overjoyed. "Excellent! Xuan Qi, do you know that there is a specific material that is only produced at the intersection of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns'' territories? We''ve tried hard to trade with both ns, but there have always been problems. Whenever one of the two agrees to a trade, the other sabotages the deal. We''ve even tried to negotiate with both at the same time, but those efforts were always bluntly refused. We''ve never been able to reach any sort of workable agreement. You having connections with both ns is perfect."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, feeling that he had just stumbled upon something interesting.

    "Wait here. I''m going to return to report this matter to Madam He Ran," Ke Jian said, unable to conceal his excitement. He immediately left with Zi Jing.

    God of Mirrors shook his head after watching things unfold. As far as he was concerned, the Dao Monarch waspletely dominating the current game.

    "God of Mirrors," Lu Yin called out calmly.

    The older man quickly approached. "Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin continued, "After a few more transactions, we can make a trip to the Transcendent Universe to see the situation for ourselves. There''s no harm in demonstrating a bit of arrogance. While it is certainly appropriate to be impressed by the power of the Transcendent Universe, that does not make us in any way inferior to them. The power of the Rune Progenitor allows one to create things from nothing at all, which is something that no one else can do."

    "But my current cultivation of Truesight makes it difficult to use runes outside of this region of this universe," God of Mirrors protested, feeling a bit troubled.

    Lu Yin blinked at the man¡¯sment. That was true. Even Lu Yin was only able to use runes in other ces because of the God of mes¡¯ figurine. Without the Semi-Progenitor-level runes from that small item, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to use Truesight in any other part of the Origin Universe, or any other parallel universe.

    "Don¡¯t worry about that," he replied, "The Transcendent Universe needs a lot of materials, so just act like you are already a future member of the Ruling Council."

    Lu Yin then casually chatted with God Taiyi for a while. It was only natural that Lu Yin acted differently around the younger man than with God of Mirrors. Even so, God Taiyi and Lu Yin did not return to how they had been during their first meeting, as Lu Yin¡¯s status hadpletely transformed since then.

    After three days, Ke Jian returned, though this time without Zi Jing.

    "Xuan Qi, Madam He Ran asks that you help us collect a certain material that is only produced between the territories belonging to the Void Yang and Void Yin ns. It is called dual-colored soil." Ke Jian was blunt with his request.

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior is willing to help."

    Ke Jian continued, "Your help will not be unappreciated."

    As he spoke, Ke Jian pulled out a white energy converter. It was much like the man¡¯s own, and it was simrly capable of unleashing a power equal to a Semi-Progenitor.

 Chapter 2601: Two Clans

    <h4>Chapter 2601: Two ns</h4>

    Lu Yin was astonished. A white energy converter right off the bat? It seemed that the dual-colored soil was extremely important.

    "If you can help us acquire five tons of dual-colored soil, this white energy converter will be yours. You already understand what this is worth. By equipping this, you will be able to fight even me," Ke Jian stated passionately.

    Lu Yin responded with a bitter smile. "Who knows when I will even be capable of using this white energy converter? I''m more than willing to help Madam He Ran with whatever she requests. There''s no need for anypensation."

    Ke Jian ced the white energy converter in Lu Yin''s hand. "This is a demonstration of Madam He Ran''s trust in you. You must ept this white energy converter."

    Lu Yin knew that if he continued to refuse, it would make people nervous.

    Of course, he was also more than happy to acquire an additional white energy converter. Even if he never used it himself, he could always give it to someone else. "In that case, thank you, Senior. Please share my thanks with Madam He Ran as well."

    Ke Jian nodded. "When will you return to the Voidforce Universe?"

    "Very soon."

    Ke Jian gave a warning, "Don''t forget that Lu Yin is in this universe, so try not to be too conspicuous."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand, Senior. You don¡¯t need to worry."

    Ke Jian merely grunted in response, and then he patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Don¡¯t worry. Madam He Ran has already said that, if there is a chance in the future, she will help you deal with Lu Yin and obtain everything that should belong to you. With the influence that you already have in the Voidforce Universe, plus Madam He Ran¡¯s support, it is not impossible that this Origin Universe will one day belong to you."

    Lu Yin was speechless; the Origin Universe had always belonged to him. "This junior understands. Please thank Madam He Ran for me."

    Ke Jian left, believing that his words had left a deep impression on Xuan Qi.

    God Taiyi was already eagerly anticipating the day that Ke Jian learned that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin. The reaction was guaranteed to be entertaining.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect. After receiving six months¡¯ of updates, he quickly left to return to the Voidforce Universe.

    There was longer any reason for him to return to the Sixverse Academy.

    After arriving in the Voidforce Universe, Lu Yin asked someone for the location of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, and then he headed straight there.

    The Voidforce Universe was vast, but the Void Yang and Void Yin ns sat side by side. Despite their history of conflicts, they had insisted on remaining together. Their story was quite well known throughout the Voidforce Universe.

    Interestingly, due to the differences in the two ns¡¯ cultivation methods, the astrological phenomena of their territories werepletely different.

    The Void Yang n''s territory was zing hot, with temperatures high enough to warp light. There were giant, red-hots scattered about, and just the sight of them would cause ordinary people¡¯s eyes to sting.

    On the other hand, the Void Yin n¡¯s territory was shrouded in darkness. Outer space was filled with a freezing power that resembled wind, though not quite. When the energy swept out, it was able to split the void.

    From a distance, the two territories appeared to be pr opposites. There was also a line that split the two regions, neatly separating the blistering heat from the bitter cold.

    Lu Yin stared at the line, as that was the most likely source of the dual-colored soil that the Transcendent Universe required.

    After getting a bit closer, Lu Yin realized that the line in his vision was actually a vast mountain range that sat in outer space. The mountains were a strange, dark-red color, though they also contained a hint of a grayish-white. Lu Yin felt that the grayish-white color was the dual-colored soil.

    As he drew closer, he was soon stopped. "This is the Void Yang n¡¯s territory! No one is allowed to approach without permission!"

    A deep voice rumbled out from the red-hot that Lu Yin had gotten close to. The voice created ripples that spread out, warping the void.

    Lu Yin stepped back. "Junior Xuan Qi requests to meet with Patriarch Xu Heng."

    "Xuan Qi?" The man on the zing opened his eyes and stepped forward to instantly arrive right in front of Lu Yin. Heat radiated from the man¡¯s body. "Are you Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man. He was a Void Brillium andparable to a six-tribtion Envoy from the Fifth Maind. The fact that such a powerful cultivator was standing guard at the entrance to the n¡¯s territory indicated that the Void Yang n was far from weak.

    "This junior is indeed Xuan Qi," Lu Yin answered politely.

    The man responded with a smile, "You are no junior. As the patriarch¡¯s brother, you are an honored guest of my Void Yang n. I am Xu Zhi. Mr. Xuan Qi, please."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the man¡¯s politeness. "Senior, please don''t address me in such a way. This junior doesn¡¯t dare to ept such treatment."

    Xu Zhi answered, "Mr. Xuan Qi, there''s no need for that kind of courtesy. Also, don''t call me Senior. Just Xu Zhi will do."

    Xu Zhi warmly weed Lu Yin to the Void Yang n and escorted him in.

    As Lu Yin entered the n¡¯s territory, the fiery red light from the zing stars ands became blinding.

    Xu Zhi waved a hand, and a shield of voidforce energy blocked the heat. "Mr. Xuan Qi, the patriarch is currently on the dual-colored mountain range, discussing unification with the Void Yin n. Please follow me."

    Lu Yin asked curiously, "Unification?"

    "Yes, our Void Yang n and the Void Yin n are both descendents of the ancient Venerable Xuyi, but for various reasons, our ns split apart. Half a year ago, our two patriarchs returned, and they suddenly announced their intentions to merge the Void Yang and Void Yin ns once more," Xu Zhi exined.

    Lu Yin felt a bit intrigued. "I''ve heard a bit about your history. There are all kinds of rumors floating around the Voidforce Universe. Once your ns arebined, you will be very powerful."

    Xu Zhiughed. "It''s not nearly that easy. While my Void Yang n is willing to listen to our patriarch, there are some people in the Void Yin n who are only pretending to agree to their matriarch while actually causing trouble behind the scenes. They¡¯ve given us quite the headache."

    As the two spoke, Lu Yin followed Xu Zhi up into the mountains that separated the Void Yang and Void Yin ns. The mountains were known as the dual-colored mountains, which was a straightforward name that was very easy to understand: dual-colored mountains, dual-colored soil.

    Lu Yin soon saw a crowd gathered on the mountain range. There were people from both ns, though they appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle that might also be a spar. Regardless, the atmosphere was quite energetic.

    "Haha, Brother Xuan Qi, you¡¯re finally here!" Xu Hengughed as he approached Lu Yin, instantly drawing the crowd''s attention.

    Lu Yin stepped forward with a smile. "Since Senior Brother invited me, how could I note?"

    "I''m d you¡¯re here. I''ve been looking forward to your visit since we parted, but since you were cultivating with Senior Xu Wuwei, I didn''t want to disturb you. I can¡¯t believe that I forgot to give you my contact information¡ªI can be so muddleheaded.¡±

    "Your Void Yang n is famous in the Voidforce Universe, so I only had to ask around to find you."

    Xu Leng also approached, but as she did, she started pouting. "Brother Xuan Qi, why didn¡¯t youe to my Void Yin n? You must prefer Brother Xu Heng over me..."

    Lu Yin forced a smile. "Senior Sister, don''t tease your junior brother. I just happened to approach from the direction of the Void Yang n."

    "It¡¯s no problem that you arrived through the Void Yang n, but that means that you must first tour my Void Yin n, or else I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯re showing favoritism."

    "Leng''er, are you really going to argue about this?"

    "Of course."

    "Haha, Junior Brother, your senior brother won''t make things difficult for you. Go ahead and visit the Void Yin n first."

    Lu Yinughed. "I''m happy with whatever arrangements you make. Regardless, your junior brother is already visiting, and I can''t run away."

    "Haha."

    ...

    The nearby crowd was buzzing as the people started discussing what they were seeing. "Who is that young man? Both of the patriarchs greeted him personally the moment he arrived. I¡¯ve never seen either of the patriarchs so excited to receive anyone."

    "If I''m not wrong, the recent changes in the two patriarchs are likely connected to that boy."

    "You mean, that¡¯s the child who crossed the Void Pass?"

    "Exactly."

    Someone¡¯s expression turned cold as they stared at Lu Yin. The ongoing conflict between the two ns had been detrimental to some but beneficial to others. With all of that changed because of Xuan Qi, some had naturally lost out and were upset with the direction that things were moving.

    With Xu Leng acting as his guide, Lu Yin started his tour of the Void Yin n¡¯s territory, and then he immediately continued on with a tour of the Void Yang n¡¯s region. The entire tour took several days.

    During this time, Lu Yin observed the overall atmosphere of the two ns.

    The Void Yang n was harmonious. While there were many ways in which Xu Heng¡¯s actions and decisions were limited by his n, the members of the n were overall content with their patriarch¡¯s management style. In contrast, Xu Leng was cold and ruthless to her n, and she used force to oppress them into silent submission. She even gave away their voidforce puppets at whim, and her behavior had led to an undercurrent of unhappiness within the n.

    Lu Yin could sense many hostile eyes following him.

    It seemed quite clear that many people from the Void Yin n were not happy with him!

    "Come, Junior Brother, try our n¡¯s unique delicacy." Xu Heng handed Lu Yin a three-meter-tall object that looked like corn. It had golden kernels, which was normal, but when Lu Yin looked closer, he noticed that the dark-red interior also held a hint of gray. The strange thing reflected the colors of the dual-colored mountains.

    Surprised, Lu Yin plucked a kernel and popped it into his mouth. When he bit into it, a burst of rich vor erupted. There was a smoky hint, a fiery vor, and also a cool sensation when it slid down his throat. "Delicious!"

    "Hahaha!" Xu Hengughed heartily.

    Xu Leng added, "This delicacy can only be grown here in the dual-colored mountains. You won''t find it anywhere else, but if you like it, we can send you off with a batch big enough tost you a lifetime.¡±

    Still munching on the corn kernel, Lu Yin replied, "Then I would be rude to refuse. I¡¯ll take your entire stock!"

    "Hahahaha, as long as you like it, brother," Xu Hengughed. Lu Yin could tell that they were genuinely in good spirits.

    In addition to the corn-like nt, the two ns also had other unique dishes, as well as certain drinks made from the same odd corn. There were also other ingredients mixed in, and each sip was thick and savory. Lu Yin immediately asked for some of that to take with him as well.

    "Senior Brother, I¡¯ve heard that things have not been going well with your efforts to unite your two ns?" His belly full, Lu Yin started asking some questions.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng nced at each other before looking back at Lu Yin. "There''s a bit of trouble, but it¡¯s nothing that we can''t solve. We just need a bit of time."

    Lu Yin nodded and dropped the matter.

    "If I''m not mistaken, you''re here for some sort of task, aren¡¯t you?" Xu Heng asked, his eyes fixed on Lu Yin.

    Xu Leng chimed in, "Speak freely. Both our ns will lend you our full support. All you need to do is ask."

    With a chuckle, Lu Yin asked, "Is your dual-colored soil for sale?"

    Both people were surprised by the request. "What do you need dual-colored soil for?"

    Lu Yin made no attempt to hide anything. "Aside from me, there should have been others trying to buy your dual-colored soil, right?"

    Xu Heng''s eyes briefly flickered. "That¡¯s right, there was a group of people. They tried to keep their identities hidden, but we managed to find out that they were from the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin bluntly replied, "It''s the Transcendent Universe that wishes to have me buy your dual-colored soil."

    With a wave of his hand, Xu Heng gestured at the mountain range. "Help yourself."

    Normally, they would have suspected the Transcendent Universe of sending Xuan Qi to get close to them in an attempt to gain ess to the dual-colored soil, but Lu Yin had crossed the Void Pass. That proved his true motives for entering the Void Pass, and he clearly had not been there to get close to the two ns. After all, if it was easy to cross the Void Pass, it would not have taken so long for someone to do so. Even peak powerhouses had been stumped by the challenge.

    Xu Leng spoke up, "We don¡¯t usually sell much of the dual-colored soil, but if you want it, Junior Brother, then take as much as you want. It¡¯s free."

    Lu Yinughed. "I can¡¯t do that. This is a transaction where I''m merely ying the intermediary. The real buyer is the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin''s face suddenly grew solemn. "Don''t even consider our rtionship when ites to this deal. Sell it ording to your normal methods."

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng both felt a bit puzzled, as they could not be certain of Xuan Qi¡¯s meaning.

 Chapter 2602: The Might Of The Bone Pike

    <h4>Chapter 2602: The Might Of The Bone Pike</h4>

    Lu Yin repeated for a second time, "Senior Brother, you should already know that, while I am from the Transcendent Universe, I''m not originally from that universe. I also don¡¯t have very strong ties to that ce. If selling the dual-colored soil is going to cause conflicts between the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, then just act like I never said anything at all. However, if it won¡¯t be a problem, then I''m open to participating in a normal transaction. While I''m willing to do a favor for the Transcendent Universe, your Void Yang and Void Yin ns should definitely be able to profit from this. If you want to thank me, then maybe throw in a few more of those drinks that you gave me."

    Xu Hengughed softly. "I understand. I know what to do."

    While Lu Yin was still with Xu Heng and Xu Leng, they agreed to sell the dual-colored soil to the Transcendent Universe. However, once Lu Yin retired to his quarters to rest, the two patriarchs were met with severalplications. In the past, the Transcendent Universe''s desire to buy the dual-colored soil had triggered many disputes between the two ns. When the Void Yang n had agreed to a sale, the Void Yin n had interfered. When the Void Yin n had conceded to a transaction, the Void Yang n had made it known that they did not agree. Ultimately, the conflicts had prevented the Transcendent Universe from being able to purchase any dual-colored soil.

    Unexpectedly, the ns were reconsidering a sale once again. The previous conflicts had not truly been resolved, only temporarily suppressed. With the sale to the Transcendent Universe brought back up, those conflicts reerupted, alongside a host of additional issues.

    Xu Heng did not face much trouble as his n held him in high regard. They carefully assessed the situation, and thus chaos was avoided. However, the Void Yin n was embroiled in internal turmoil.

    "Matriarch, both of our ns have already stated that we will not sell dual-colored soil to the Transcendent Universe, but we are now going back on what we said. Where does this leave our pride? Who will take our word seriously in the future?" An old, battle-scarred woman from the Void Yin n gravely voiced her objections.

    Soon, another voice spoke up. "We''ve fought the Void Yang n over the dual-colored soil on multiple asions. My grandson was gravely wounded during one of those skirmishes and can barely cultivate now. If we sell the dual-colored soil to the Transcendent Universe, what was the meaning of those sacrifices?"

    "Exactly! Matriarch, we cannot agree to this."

    "As for the matter of uniting with the Void Yang n..."

    ...

    Xu Leng¡¯s emotionless gaze swept the gathered n members. Suddenly, she released a burst of voidforce energy. The pressure fell upon the crowd, who all felt as though the sky had fallen down on them and that the earth was about to cave in.

    At that moment, the sky above the Void Yin n transformed.

    On the other side of the dual-colored mountains, Lu Yin had been speaking with Xu Heng, and he suddenly looked over. "What is that?"

    Xu Heng sighed. "Here we go again... If she keeps oppressing her n like this, there are eventually going to be problems that she can¡¯t force down."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Xu Heng. ¡°Is that Sister Xu Leng?¡±

    Xu Heng replied, ¡°Leng''er has a rather fierce temper. Her mother understood her best, which was also why she managed to create one misunderstanding after another. She knew that I would never have a chance to exin myself. The Void Yin n has been opposing certain decisions of hers, but she won¡¯t listen to them. She is determined to do things her way.¡±

    ¡°Is this because of the dual-colored soil?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Heng chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s just a minor issue. The real problem is theplications that have emerged from the merging of our two ns. While uniting can raise our strength and expand our influence, old enmities are not easily forgotten. This truly has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew heavy. ¡°If selling the dual-colored soil is the catalyst for igniting these conflicts, then that is far from being a minor issue. Senior Brother, let me handle this.¡±

    Xu Heng was surprised. ¡°Let you handle it?¡±

    Lu Yin said, ¡°Senior Brother, since you and my senior sister have epted me as your brother, then I, Xuan Qi, can be considered a member of both the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, which gives me the right to get involved in your ns¡¯ affairs. Besides, selling the dual-colored soil has onlye up because of me, so let me take care of this.¡±

    Xu Heng wanted to say something, but Lu Yin reassured the man. ¡°I¡¯ve already crossed the Void Pass, so there''s no need to worry about me.¡±

    Xu Heng¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Alright. How do you intend to handle this?¡±

    ¡°Take me over to the Void Yin n,¡± Lu Yin said.

    Xu Leng''s disy of power soon ended, though she had once again forcibly suppressed the members of the Void Yin n. Resentment was continuing to foment within the n. As soon as another person broke through and became a Void Morphora, it was very likely that a rebellion against Xu Leng would erupt.

    Both she and Xu Heng were aware of this possibility.

    In the beginning, Xu Leng only resented the Void Yang n. However, the fact that the opposition within the Void Yin n had prevented Xu Leng from being with Xu Heng had caused her to develop some resentment against her own Void Yin n. This was the reason why she typically acted willfully and was unconcerned about the opinions of her other n members. As time passed, she had gradually be ustomed to her own behavior towards her n. Even after she and Xu Heng got together, she had continued to exert her will upon her Void Yin n, as there was no one capable of standing against her.

    Many members of the Void Yin n were eagerly waiting for another person to be a Void Morphora, as that would give them the same status as Xu Leng. At that point in time, they would finally be able to vent all of the umting frustrations that they were suppressing.

    ¡°You¡¯re dismissed,¡± Xu Leng stated in an icy tone.

    The members of her n who were before her bowed and withdrew.

    It was at this moment that Xu Heng arrived with Lu Yin.

    "Wait a moment," Lu Yin called out.

    Xu Leng looked over. "Why are you here?"

    Xu Heng replied, "Brother Xuan Qi wishes to handle this matter himself."

    Xu Leng curtly answered, "I''ve already taken care of things."

    Xu Heng¡¯s brow furrowed. "I''ve told you countless times that the way you ¡®handle¡¯ things often leaves behind issues lingering beneath the surface."

    Xu Leng said, "There are no hidden problems. As long as I¡¯m the strongest, everything will be fine."

    Xu Heng felt helpless. There was no way that Xu Leng¡¯s n could ept such an attitude. No one could.

    At this moment, the departing Void Yin nsmen looked at Lu Yin, and there was no attempt from any of them to hide their contempt and dissatisfaction. There was not a single kind look directed his way.

    Not everyone from the Void Yin n opposedbining with the Void Yang n, but everyone who had met Xu Leng just now was part of the opposition. Those who favored thebination and supported Xu Leng had not been present for the meeting.

    Lu Yin faced the nsmen. "I¡¯m the one facilitating the sale of the dual-colored soil, so if anyone has an issue with this transaction, you can take it up with me."

    "You are not a member of our Void Yin n! What right do you have to interfere in our n''s matters?" the old woman demanded as she red at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    Lu Yin looked over. "I''m the one buying the dual-colored soil as the Transcendent Universe¡¯s representative, so why do I need to be a part of the Void Yin n? As long as you can get rid of me, the deal will be off. This is the simplest, quickest answer for you."

    "Junior Brother, you-"

    Xu Leng''s expression changed, and she tried to stop Lu Yin, but she was cut off when he looked over at her. "Senior Sister Leng, the easiest way for cultivators to solve any disagreement is through strength, isn''t it?"

    "Well said!" a man shouted. He stared intently at Lu Yin. "Young man, I don''t care what rtionship you may have with the matriarch, but since you dare utter those words, be prepared for the consequences!"

    The best way to vent grievances was throughbat. Allowing the members of Xu Leng¡¯s n to vent their frustrations onto Lu Yin was a better alternative than letting them stew and resent Xu Leng. That path would only create more trouble in the future.

    The man stepped forward, ring at Lu Yin. "What is your realm, boy?"

    Lu Yin answered with a smile. "Void Brillium."

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng were both astonished. When they had first met Lu Yin, he had only been a Void Ascendia, far from the Void Brillium realm. It had only been just half a year since that time, so how had he already be a Void Brillium? How was that possible?

    "I''m also a Void Brillium, but I definitely possess more voidforce energy than yours. Are you sure that you want to settle this through strength?" the man challenged.

    Lu Yin nodded. "If I can''t defeat you, the dual-colored soil sale is off."

    The man sneered. "Big words."

    He then turned to Xu Leng. "Matriarch, you''re not going to stop us, are you?"

    Xu Leng stared at the man with a firm expression. "Only if things reach a certain point."

    The man raised his chin. "Understood."

    He then turned back to Lu Yin. "You can have the first move."

    Lu Yin did not bother to show any courtesy, and he instead raised his hand to bring out the bone pike. None of the people watching could sense just how powerful the piece of bone was, not even Xu Heng or Xu Leng.

    When Lu Yin waved his hand, the bone pike pierced through the void, only stopping when it was a mere inch from his opponent¡¯s forehead. The man stood frozen in ce, not because he did not want to dodge, but rather because he was too startled to even react. How could it be so fast?

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. The bone pike was indeed worthy of being a power vessel left behind by Wu Tian. Just as Lu Yin had been told, the pike could ignore all defenses and distance to directly attack an enemy. This was an incredibly useful ability.

    Pulling the bone pike away, Lu Yin looked at his opponent. "So, what do you think?"

    The man was dumbfounded. He had not even had a chance to show off any of his strength before being thoroughly defeated. "You..."

    Xu Leng stared at the bone pike in Lu Yin''s grip. No wonder he had dared to speak so boldly. That weapon had to be a power vessel, as not even Xu Leng had been able to understand how the weapon had appeared in front of the man¡¯s head so suddenly. The pike had to be a gift that Xuan Qi had received from Senior Xu Wuwei.

    Xu Heng was thinking the same thing, as Xu Wuwei was the only way Xuan Qi could have gotten such a treasure.

    Lu Yin¡¯s opponent clenched his teeth, his expression shifting between anger and embarrassment. He was not willing to ept his loss, as he had been defeated before he could even release his voidforce energy, let alone make a single move. Such a loss was beyond humiliating.

    "I already know that you don¡¯t want to ept this loss," Lu Yin said, "Let''s forget what just happened and go again."

    The man sneered. "So what if I am unwilling? A loss is still a loss."

    With that, the man turned around and walked away.

    Lu Yin was surprised. The man was quite direct.

    Another person stepped forward. "Then allow me."

    This time, Lu Yin was challenged by a woman. She was quite attractive, though there was arge, unhealed wound on her face. It appeared that she had just finished fighting a battle and had not yet recovered.

    "You are Xuan Qi, right? I''ve heard of you," the woman said, "The genius from the Sixverse Academy who recently crossed the Void Pass. No wonder you dare to speak to us with such arrogance."

    There were a few gasps from the crowd. "He''s the one who crossed the Void Pass?"

    "That¡¯s him."

    "No wonder the matriarch has been so weing to him."

    "I heard that he asked Xu Wuwei to guide his cultivation and that he didn''t be Lord Xu''s disciple. What was he thinking?"

    ...

    "I know that you are incredibly talented, but unfortunately, you¡¯ve picked the wrong opponent. I''m also a Void Brillium, but there is arge gap between us," the woman stated coldly as she stared at Lu Yin. "You can make the first move again."

    The moment she finished speaking, voidforce energy filled the area, and a w emerged from the void. A violent, bloodthirsty aura filled the area from the w that was the woman¡¯s life-bound voidforce puppet.

    Xu Leng frowned. The woman who had stepped forward was named Xu Lie, and she was one of the most talented people ever born in the Void Yin n. Her talent had once shocked the entire Voidforce Universe, in a very simr manner as Xu Ji¡¯s. Xu Lie was regarded as a genius who would definitely be a Void Morphora one day. If not for the unique aspects of the Void Yin and Void Yang ns'' cultivation methods that depended on the missing Yin Yang Sword for them to be Void Suprema, Xu Lie would have instead been heralded as a genius capable of bing a Void Suprema, which meant that her talent was second only to Xu Leng¡¯s.

    Xu Lie¡¯s existence was precisely the reason why many of Xu Leng¡¯s nsmen dared to oppose her so openly.

    Xu Lie was already approaching the peak of the Void Brillium realm, and with just a few more years, she would definitely be a Void Morphora.

    This possibility worried Xu Heng a great deal, as when Xu Lie became a Void Morphora, there was no question that the Void Yin n would fall into chaos.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the sight of the woman¡¯s life-bound voidforce puppet. A white tiger?

    The moment the tiger appeared, a tempest of voidforce energy swept through the area. It nearly matched the surge of energy that Xu Leng had released when suppressing her n¡¯s dissenters. There was an unmistakable trace of killing intent in the aura. If someone had never experienced a true life-or-death battle, they would not be able to stand up to this aura.

    Behind Xu Lie, the old woman and the other n members looked quite satisfied. They had approached Xu Leng to test things out. The more their matriarch continued to suppress all opposition with pure force, the louder the voices would rise in opposition, and the stronger Xu Lie''s influence in the Void Yin n would grow. This was the perfect opportunity for her to demonstrate her ability and impress the n. Xu Lie had only just returned from the battlefield, and her show of force was sure to instill confidence in her nsmen.

 Chapter 2603: The Name "Spiral Domain"

    <h4>Chapter 2603: The Name "Spiral Domain"</h4>

    The amount of one¡¯s voidforce energy avable for battle was not just a person¡¯s own reserves that grew with their cultivation realm; there was also the power of their voidforce puppet.

    The white tiger that was Xu Lie¡¯s voidforce puppet had nearly ten times more voidforce energy than the woman herself. While she was only a Void Brillium, she was able to control and manipte enough voidforce energy to contend with a Void Morphora.

    Xu Leng''s expression grew dark. Her n members were clearly trying to threaten her with this disy of strength.

    Xu Heng frowned. The situation within the Void Yin n was even worse than what he had imagined. Xu Leng would soon be helpless to stop her n.

    Lu Yin was unconcerned. His opponent might control an absurd amount of voidforce energy, but even if she was a Void Morphora, what would it matter? The bone pike floated in front of him, and he asked, "Are you really going to let me have the first move?"

    Xu Lie''s eyes hardened. She had not been able to get a clear look at how the bone pike had moved during Xuan Qi¡¯s earlier spar, but as long as there was voidforce energy to block the attack, the pike would not be able to get close to her, even if it was a power vessel. "You will only have one chance."

    Lu Yinughed. "With your voidforce energy, my pike can''t get close to you. It certainly isn''t wrong to say that I only get one chance."

    The old woman and the other Void Yin n members all felt quite satisfied. This young man understood his ce.

    "However," Lu Yin continued to stare at Xu Lie as he spoke, "Since you know that Xu Wuwei acted as my cultivation guide, where is your confidenceing from? Do you think that voidforce energy is enough to stop me?"

    He raised a hand. "Spiral Domain."

    Xu Lie''s pupils shrank. Spiral Domain?

    Xu Heng, Xu Leng, the old woman, and everyone else were all stunned. Spiral Domain? Every single person in the Voidforce Universe knew those two words. They represented Xu Wuwei¡¯s power, the ability that allowed him to traverse the universes. It was practically an invincible battle technique. Was this child really able to use Spiral Domain?

    Voidforce energy gathered over Lu Yin''s palm. Once it formed, one line after another started to spread out, unhindered by Xu Lie¡¯s voidforce energy. The lines enveloped the Void Yin n¡¯s entire territory in a grid-like pattern.

    Xu Leng''s scalp went numb. It really was Spiral Domain. She had seen the technique be used once before. However, this should be impossible. Xuan Qi had only been taught for a short half year.

    The bone pike vanished from where it floated. In exactly the same manner as before, it reappeared directly in front of Xu Leng''s forehead. Nothing was able to slow or stop the weapon, and Xu Leng did not even have time to react. She waspletely unable to keep up.

    Xu Lie stared nkly at the tip of the bone pike floating in front of her eyes. With it so close, she was finally able to sense a horrifying amount of voidforce energy. This energy was not from Xuan Qi, but rather the bone pike itself. This voidforce puppet possessed a truly terrifying amount of energy.

    She looked over at Lu Yin and swallowed hard. Even life or death fights on the battlefield had never been able to make her lose herposure, but at this moment, her face had gone pale. "You- you''ve won."

    Lu Yin lowered his hand and the grid lines disappeared. He put the bone pike back away. "Thank you."

    The crowd was all bug-eyed and staring at Lu Yin. Spiral Domain was a truly amazing battle technique. It had allowed Xuan Qi topletely ignore Xu Lie''s voidforce energy, which had then decided the match in a single move from the young man¡¯s bone pike. At this moment, everyone present found themselvespletely speechless, as they were suffering the greatest shock of their lives.

    "Junior Brother, you''ve learned Spiral Domain?" Xu Heng was astounded.

    Lu Yin replied, "Just a little bit of it. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn''t. I was lucky this time."

    Xu Heng felt confused; was that really the problem?

    In the Voidforce Universe, Xu Wuwei''s Spiral Domain was essentially a symbol. The moment the grid appeared, it was a sign that Xu Wuwei had arrived. At this moment, there was one more person associated with that previously unique battle technique.

    Xu Lie stared at Lu Yin. "I ept my loss."

    She then turned to face Xu Leng. "Matriarch, I support uniting the two ns."

    Xu Lie then turned around and walked away.

    The old woman and the others with her just watched on, their expressions revealing their conflicted feelings. They had thought that letting Xu Lie demonstrate her power would be their first step in forcing Xu Leng to step down from her position as matriarch, but it had instead be the first step towards their own defeat. They stared at Xu Leng. How had this woman managed to find such a prodigy?

    Xu Lie''s deration meant that the Void Yin n would start fully supporting Xu Leng. The previous grievances were gone, and it was only because of Lu Yin, and because he had just revealed that he could use Spiral Domain.

    For other people, Xuan Qi did not merely represent himself, but also Xu Wuwei.

    No wonder the young man had managed to cross the Void Pass.

    "Congrattions, Brother Xuan Qi, on mastering Spiral Domain. I am Yun Yun. It''s an honor to meet you." Arge crowd had started to gather where Lu Yin and the others were standing, and a beautiful woman who had just arrived was the one to speak to Lu Yin. Her movements were graceful, and there was an air of nobility about her. Clearly, she was someone from a great family.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman, but he had no idea who she was.

    Someone approached and offered a report. "Matriarch, the young mistress of the Cloudview n, Yun Yun, hase to request an audience. The elder told me to show her to you."

    Xu Leng ordered, "Everyone, leave."

    She then turned to Yun Yun. "You''re the young mistress of the Cloudview n?"

    Yun Yun smiled. "Senior Xu Leng is too formal. I am the Cloudview n¡¯s Yun Yun. Greetings, Senior."

    Xu Leng nodded. "Please, follow me."

    Lu Yin watched Yun Yun. Was this the young mistress of the Cloudview n? He had not even needed to seek them out, as they had approached him first instead.

    Soon, Xu Leng made an inviting gesture, and Xu Heng, Lu Yin, and Yun Yun all took their seats.

    "What brings the Cloudview n¡¯s young mistress to visit my Void Yin n?" Xu Leng asked.

    Yun Yun replied, "I''m not here today for your Void Yin n, but rather to speak to Brother Xuan Qi."

    "For me?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Yun Yun looked over at Lu Yin, her eyes glowing with admiration and respect. "Our Grand Elder has specifically instructed our Cloudview n to assist Brother Xuan Qi with any and all matters that you may need while here in the Voidforce Universe."

    "Senior Xu Xiangyin?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yun Yun nodded. "That¡¯s right."

    "How did you know that I was visiting the Void Yin n?"

    "Our Grand Elder exined Brother Xuan Qi''s rtionship with Patriarch Xu Heng and Matriarch Xu Leng to us. Knowing that, it was only expected that Ie here to look for you. Furthermore," Yun Yun nced over at Xu Leng, "I''ve long admired the two ns, though I never had an opportunity to visit. This gave me the perfect opportunity to pay my respects."

    Yun Yun¡¯s manner of speech was both modest and respectful, which created a pleasant and rxed atmosphere. As the Cloudview n¡¯s young mistress, her n¡¯s connection to Xuan Qi meant that she was practically rted to the two ns.

    The timing of Yun Yun¡¯s arriving was quite fortuitous, as it saved Lu Yin a trip. He gave the young woman a list of materials that he had received from Ke Jian, hoping that the Cloudview n would be able to make the purchases on his behalf.

    It was a rather minor task, so Yun Yun readily agreed.

    She then invited Xuan Qi to visit the Cloudview n, but Lu Yin declined. He intended to wait at the Void Yang and Void Yin ns until the dual-colored soil that he needed had been excavated so that he couldplete that transaction for the Transcendent Universe.

    As time passed, the situation within the two ns continued to stabilize. What Xuan Qi had done in his spars with the two members of the Void Yin n quickly reached the Void Yang n. The mere sight of the stunning grid was enough to make anyone surrender. From this moment on, Spiral Domain would no longer represent just Xu Wuwei, but also Xuan Qi.

    Gathering the dual-colored soil was not as easy as expected, and Lu Yin was forced to wait for more than a month before enough soil had been excavated to meet the Transcendent Universe''s requirements.

    ...

    Instead of a representative from the Transcendent Universe, the next person to visit the two ns was a man named Wu Man, who delivered a letter of challenge.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, "A challenge letter?"

    Xu Heng grimaced. "I thought that this matter was already over."

    Lu Yin took the letter from the older man and read it. It was signed by Xiu Ci.

    He recognized the name. "Xiu Ci? The peak powerhouse?"

    "You''ve heard of him?" Xu Leng asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "He¡¯s a peak powerhouse from the Voidforce Universe who doesn''t fight with any voidforce puppets. For many people, he¡¯s considered a trailzer, as he¡¯s someone who forged his own unique path."

    Xu Heng sighed. "Xiu Ci is indeed a legendary figure, but his legend is tied to Venerable Xuyi."

    As Xu Heng shared the story, Lu Yin learned of an old grudge in the Voidforce Universe. It was not even really a grudge, but rather a duel, and a sh of beliefs.

    Venerable Xuyi had been an orthodox cultivator of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s methods. He had cultivated with voidforce puppets and had relied on their power. On the other hand, Xiu Ci had always been a maverick. He had never owned or used any voidforce puppets, and he had instead used battle techniques with his voidforce energy, simr to other cultivation civilizations.

    The two men¡¯s opposing beliefs had sparked a collision during their era.

    They had fiercely and repeatedly fought each other, which had led to a series of continuous victories for Venerable Xuyi. He had used the power of the Yin Yang Sword to beat Xiu Ci time and time again. Theirpetition had only ended with the death of Venerable Xuyi.

    "The Yin Yang Sword possessed nearly twenty times Venerable Xuyi''s voidforce energy reserves, so how could Xiu Ci fight against that? His many losses were exactly what everyone expected. Even so, Xiu Ci never gave up, though he also stopped insisting that he never use a voidforce puppet. He instead decided to cultivate his beard, and since his beard is a part of his own body, it does not vite his determination to not use a voidforce puppet.

    "To give Xiu Ci time to nurture his beard, the two agreed to hold their next duel a thousand yearster, but s," Xu Heng''s expression changed as hemented, "Venerable Xuyi died on the battlefield, which means that, unfortunately, Senior Xiu Ci never had the opportunity to face his rival once again and erase the stain of his defeats.¡±

    Xu Leng spoke up, "The two didn''t hate or resent each other¡ªthey merely had different beliefs. If anything, they were friends. After Venerable Xuyi died, Xiu Ci personally went to the battlefield and retrieved his body, though he was unable to find the Yin Yang Sword.¡±

    Lu Yin felt that this was quite strange. Since Venerable Xuyi had died on the battlefield, the Yin Yang Sword should have been with him. Why had it appeared in the Voidchaos Territory? Could Xiu Ci have put it there? No, that man had had no reason to do such a thing.

    The Void Yang n and the Void Yin n had only been officially united for half a year, but Xiu Ci had already sent his letter of challenge, stating his wish topete against the Void Morphoras Xu Heng and Xu Leng. The man was eager to face Venerable Xuyi''s power once again, which made it highly unlikely that he had hidden the Yin Yang Sword. If Lu Yin were in that man¡¯s shoes, he would have searched far and wide for the Yin Yang Sword, just to give the two ns the ability to disy their true power.

    "Are you confident about facing Senior Xiu Ci?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng exchanged nces, their expressions bitter. "How can we be confident? Even if Senior Xiu Ci suppresses his voidforce energy to the Void Morphora level, he''s still someone who pioneered the use of battle techniques in the Voidforce Universe. He has guided countless people on their path of cultivating voidforce energy. If it¡¯s said that Lord Xu created the Voidforce Universe, then Senior Xiu Ci zed a new path for our civilization, even if not everyone is willing to walk it.¡±

    ¡°Before Xiu Ci, did people of the Voidforce Universe not use battle techniques?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Xu Leng said, "That¡¯s not quite true. Xu Wuwei''s Spiral Domain first appeared long before Senior Xiu Ci¡¯ era, but at that time, everyone was focused on using voidforce puppets. The overall focus was on finding any and all means to enhance one¡¯s ability to control more voidforce energy and a stronger puppet. Very few people devoted any time to learning battle techniques. Xiu Ci destroyed this pattern by showing everyone that it was possible to use voidforce energy itself as a foundation to wield great strength, just like the other cultivation civilizations. This allowed certain people with below average talent to find a path that better suited them.

    "The person who delivered this letter, Wu Man, is a perfect example of this. Wu Man is only able to attract or control a puppet with as much voidforce energy as himself. With such terrible talent, many people regarded him a cripple. However, after following Xiu Ci, Wu Man¡¯s strength has continued to rise, and it¡¯s even possible that he will one day be a Void Morphora. It can be said that Xiu Ci has directed many people with lesser levels of talent to paths that are more suitable for them. He is highly respected throughout the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin nodded. Every parallel universe had people who were worthy of respect: for example, the Fifth Maind''s Arch-Elder Zen, Progenitor Smoke, Progenitor Chen, and more. And now, there were the Voidforce Universe''s Xiu Ci and Xu Wuwei. Even in the Cloudflow Universe, which had been conquered by the Transcendent Universe, there were simr individuals. ording to Zi Jing, that universe¡¯s Progenitor-level powerhouse, Cloudflow, had nearly gone insane when he witnessed his Cloudflow Universe¡¯s people being massacred. It was clear that Cloudflow also cared deeply for his own people. All such people deserved respect.

    This was how humans were. Some would live in obscurity, others would pursue fame and fortune, and still others would choose to pursue revenge or even be a spy for Aeternus. At the same time, there were also always people who were willing to dedicate themselves to the good of humanity as a whole, regardless of their personal strength or status. Humanity was always full of contradictions.

 Chapter 2604: Exploit

    <h4>Chapter 2604: Exploit</h4>

    Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring as he looked at Xu Heng and Xu Leng''s conflicted expressions. It seemed possible that returning the Yin Yang Sword to them would be the best course of action. However, how was he supposed to do that?

    Without the Yin Yang Sword, the people of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns were unable to break through to be Void Supremas. Theirbat style and cultivation methods heavily relied on that particr voidforce puppet. One could only imagine how important the Yin Yang Sword had been to Venerable Xuyi. It was no wonder why he had fought against Xiu Ci over their ideological differences so many times.

    "If you can get the Yin Yang Sword back, will that give you a bit of confidence?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng nced at each other. "Of course it would, but even after so many years, there is no clue as to where the Yin Yang Sword might be. We¡¯ve given up on that long ago."

    "I know a method to find it," Lu Yin boldly dered. These two people had treated him sincerely, and they also reminded him of his rtionship with Hui Kong. He truly wanted to help them. If he had not already picked up the Yin Yang Sword, he would let things be, but he did have the sword. Keeping it hidden from the two was making Lu Yin feel guilty.

    The two were taken aback. "Junior Brother, do you really have a way to find it?"

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Do you believe that it is possible to track things through amon source of power?"

    Both people looked confused.

    Lu Yin exined further, "The Yin Yang Sword was Venerable Xuyi''s voidforce puppet, which means that it''s connected to Venerable Xuyi''s power, right? Both of you cultivate Venerable Xuyi¡¯s power as well, which means that, as long as you are certain that your power stems from the same source, there is a chance of finding the sword. I know a rather unique person."

    "Is that so?" Xu Heng seemed skeptical.

    On the other hand, Xu Leng nodded in agreement. "In the vastness of the megaverse, there is nothing that is truly impossible. I¡¯m not surprised to hear of powers that you and I can¡¯t understand."

    She then looked at Lu Yin with hope on her face. "Junior Brother, how strong is this person you mentioned?"

    Lu Yin did a quickparison. "In the Voidforce Universe, she would be as strong as a Void Morphora."

    Xu Leng''s eyes lit up. "A Void Morphora? Where are they?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice took on a troubled tone. "She''s currently in my own universe, but she¡¯s also a bit difficult to deal with, which means that there¡¯s no way I can invite her myself. Given her status, I¡¯ll need to first make a trip to the Transcendent Universe to ask Zi Jing to help me. With her influence in the Transcendent Universe, I should be able to ask for this person¡¯s help."

    Naturally, Lu Yin was referring to Destina, but he could not take her to the Voidforce Universe himself. While Lu Yin did want to help the two ns, he could not afford to garner any unwanted attention onto himself.

    Given his current cultivation level, bringing a Semi-Progenitor to the Voidforce Universe would be rash and make people suspicious, especially since Lu Yin was being monitored by Xu Wuwei.

    Lu Yin was taking a ratherrge risk in order to help the two ns.

    "I''ll go with you," Xu Heng offered.

    Lu Yinughed. "entric people obviously have quirky personalities. This person is being restrained by the Transcendent Universe, which means that only Zi Jing can help with this. On top of that, they already know each other. Even if a powerful Void Suprema goes, she might not ept the invitation toe here."

    Xu Heng grew curious. "Is Zi Jing your...?"

    Lu Yin just gave a meaningful smile, which the two instantly understood.

    "Hahaha, so that''s how it is! Then your senior brother can rx. With our junior brother helping us, we won''t even need to owe the Transcendent Universe any debt," Xu Heng chuckled.

    Xu Leng nced over. "We owe <i>Xuan Qi.</i> This has nothing at all to do with the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin smiled. "What are you talking about, ¡®owe me?¡¯ Are you saying that if your junior brother needs some of your dual-colored soil, I¡¯ll owe the two of you a debt?"

    "Of course not! You can have as much as you want," Xu Heng generously offered as Xu Leng smiled at Lu Yin.

    "All right, I''m going to head to the Transcendent Universe to speak with Zi Jing. I can probably get that person here within half a month. By the way, how much time do you have left before the challenge?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Xiu Ci gave us a year to prepare," Xu Heng replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then that''s enough time. I''ll head out."

    "How are you going to get to the Transcendent Universe?" Xu Leng asked, seeming to recall something.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Since Zi Jing lives in the Transcendent Universe, I naturally have a way to get back and see her at any time. I¡¯ll head out now."

    With that, Lu Yin tore the void open and returned to Aeternus Nation.

    Seeing Xuan Qi leave, Xu Heng sighed heavily. "Regardless of whether he finds the Yin Yang Sword, we definitely owe our junior brother a favor."

    Xu Leng agreed, "We owe him more than just one favor, but that doesn''t matter. With the number of debts we owe him, one more won''t make a difference."

    "You..." Xu Heng started tough. He did not dwell on the matter too much. He truly cared for Xuan Qi. Calling him ¡°junior brother¡± had not just been lip service. As for the Yin Yang Sword, Xu Heng did not hold much hope either.

    ...

    As soon as Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Maind, he headed straight to Gods'' Origin.

    The Transcendent Universe had established an important rtionship with Gods'' Origin, and because of this, the Transcendent Universe had sent an ambassador to stay in Gods¡¯ Origin. Officially, it was for protection, in case any emergency arose. However, in reality, the ambassador was there to keep an eye on things. If Lu Yin wanted to visit the Transcendent Universe, his best option was to speak to the ambassador.

    However, visiting Zi Jing in the Transcendent Universe was nothing more than an excuse that Lu Yin had given Xu Heng and Xu Leng. He was not actually going to go there. Instead, he would have the ambassador in Gods¡¯ Origin send a message to Zi Jing and Ke Jian. This was a favor for Xuan Qi that the Transcendent Universe would not see any reason to refuse.

    It was because of Xuan Qi that the Transcendent Universe was finally able to obtain the dual-colored soil that had eluded them for so long. That,bined with Xuan Qi¡¯s considerable influence that he already held in the Voidforce Universe and the help that he had already provided for the negotiations with the Gods'' Origin, meant that he was bing increasingly significant to the Transcendent Universe. Without the woman even realizing it, the name Xuan Qi was already constantly floating about in He Ran''s mind.

    At the same time, Xuan Qi was also a recurring name for both the Energy Research Group and the Ruling Council.

    No one was more concerned about the materials that Lu Yin was acquiring for the Transcendent Universe than those who understood their purpose. The impact of the cultivation technology research currently underway was all too clear to the people in the know. If they sessfully concluded their research, the bnce of the Sixverse Association would invariably shift. The more this was understood, the more apparent Zi Jing¡¯s and Xuan Qi¡¯s importance became.

    Inparison, Bai Qian had be practically invisible. Not many people even thought of her anymore, and she was only offered a token disy of respect.

    After delivering his message, Lu Yin took a trip to the Heavens Sect and went searching for Destina.

    She had been spending her time searching for Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu.

    Back when the Stargazing Decks of the various branches of the Astral Combat Academy had been destroyed, pearls had been discovered within the rubble. After that, strange deaths had urred at every single ce where the pearls had appeared. Lu Yin had then asked Skymender and Destina to perform a divination on Mr. Zhu, and they had eventually learned that Mr. Zhu might still be alive. As soon as that was revealed, Destina had gone to speak with Starsibyl, only to find that the woman could not be found anywhere.

    Even with all the time that had passed since then, Destina still had not managed to locate Starsibyl.

    The Heavens Sect itself was also searching for both Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu, but there was no news of either of them yet.

    "Do we even have any leads?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina was furious. As Destiny''s heir, everything was supposed to be within her control, but she had been deceived by Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu, which was something that she had never experienced before. Every time she recalled Starsibyl''s submissive behavior, Destina felt her rage return. She hated those two even more than she hated Lu Buzheng. "No."

    "You are Destiny''s rightful heir," Lu Yin said.

    Destina clenched her teeth. "That Mr. Zhu is not simple. He deceived me the first time I visited the Starsibyl Sect. His connection to Destiny is no less than my own."

    Lu Yin frowned. The Starsibyl Sect had been an unavoidable topic from the moment he first started cultivating. As he had grown in strength, his perspective had also broadened, but the mysteries surrounding the Starsibyl Sect had only grown deeper. Just what was that sect hiding? Mr. Zhu had most likely faked his death in order to avoid Destina. "Since he wants to avoid you, it proves that you pose a threat to him. Keep looking. We need to find him."

    Destina was alreadypletely determined. She had never been so obsessed before. She had targeted Lu Buzheng on a mere whim, and she had created incredible trouble for the man as a result. At the moment, all of her energy was entirely focused on tracking down the Starsibyl Sect.

    "The most frustrating detail is that they''ve been ying me the whole time. From the very beginning, Mr. Zhu pretended to be dead. As soon as I started investigating, I found that everything connected to the Starsibyl Sect was already destroyed. That''s the real reason why I can''t find them."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. "Are you saying that you can find them if you have something that¡¯s rted to them?"

    Destina¡¯s eyes instantly locked onto Lu Yin, her gaze heated. "Do you have something?"

    Lu Yin nodded and smiled. "It just so happens that Starsibyl once gave me an invitation. I''ve been reluctant to throw it away since then, so it should be useful."

    He immediately essed his cosmic ring to pull the letter out. However, Destina sneered at him. "If you can find that invitation, I''ll hand them both to you."

    Lu Yin frowned. The invitation was not in his ring. He searched his entire cosmic ring, but he still could not find the letter. That was impossible. He had always kept Starsibyl''s invitation in his cosmic ring, so could it have disappeared?

    "What''s going on?" Lu Yin asked, his expression turning ugly.

    Destina replied, "You''re underestimating her. If she was able to deceive me, Destiny''s disciple, then tricking you would not be a problem at all. Besides, your cultivation was quite low when you first received her invitation, right?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    "When you were still weak, she gave you that invitation as a means of divining your future. As you grew strong enough to pose a threat to her, that invitation disappeared. How could someone who managed to deceive Destiny''s heir leave behind such a big loophole? You aren¡¯t the only one. All of the invitations that she left behind in this universe have disappeared. I¡¯ve already looked into this," Destina exined.

    "Some people regarded receiving an invitation from Starsibyl as an honor, but the wise would not dare to ept one. As for the confident, they eagerly epted the invitations, hoping to take advantage of them. Dao Monarch, you were one of thetter people. Unfortunately for you, that opportunity will nevere.¡±

    Nevere? Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. When the Sixth Maind attacked the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had once ended up on a continent that the Sixth Maind had been using to transport piged wealth away from the Fifth Maind. At that time, Lu Yin had only managed to escape because of Starsibyl''s invitation. In a way, that could be regarded as taking advantage of the invitation once, but that had been a rtively minor issue. Starsibyl had done nothing at that time, and she had allowed the invitation to remain in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring. After Destina had started investigating the Starsibyl Sect, all of Starsibyl¡¯s invitations had been destroyed, revealing a hint of her true abilities.

    Lu Yin had assumed that he could counter Starsibyl with her own invitation, only to find himself one step behind. Starsibyl was no fool, and the actions that she had taken were all designed for her to scheme against others, not to leave herself open to traps.

    "Let''s ignore this for the moment. I need you toe with me to the Voidforce Universe to put on a little act..." Lu Yin said before sharing with Destina what he intended to do.

    After hearing the exnation, Destina just rolled her eyes. "The best I can do is put on an act. Destiny''s power is useful in this universe, but as soon as I go to another universe, Destiny¡¯s power might stop working until I I cultivate the energy of that particr universe."

    Lu Yin remembered his innate gift of the die and how Possession had not worked in the Sixverse Academy. Was it only possible to Possess people in the Origin Universe?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something else, and he sank deep into thought.

    "So, when are we leaving?" Destina asked.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop Destina from speaking. He had just remembered something important, but what was it? He thought back to various conversations that he had held with people and carefully went through the exact wording. Suddenly, he looked up at Destina. "Did you just say that Destiny¡¯s power is ineffective in other universes?"

    Destina said, ¡°Not entirely so. It¡¯s more that it may or may not work there. After all, Destiny cultivated here in the Origin Universe, and there will naturally be issues with her power if I leave this ce for a different universe."

 Chapter 2605: The Only Flaw

    <h4>Chapter 2605: The Only w</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered the thought that had escaped him: Bai Qian had also once received an invitation from Starsibyl! It was that invitation that had allowed Bai Qian to leave Earth and enter therger universe. Right, Bai Qian.

    There was nothing in existence that waspletely wless. Starsibyl had been able to destroy all of the invitations that she had left in the Origin Universe, but Bai Qian''s invitation might be the one w in Starsibyl¡¯s n.

    "If I can get you one of Starsibyl¡¯s invitations, will you be able to capture her?" Lu Yin asked Destina.

    Destina''s eyes lit up as she clenched her jaw. "Absolutely!"

    "Good!" Lu Yinughed. "While I can¡¯t promise that there still is one, we can at least ask. There is a very real possibility that an invitation still exists."

    "Is it in a parallel universe?" Destina''s eyes positively zed with excitement.

    Lu Yin looked over and nodded.

    Destina''s breath started to quicken. "Then let¡¯s hurry up and go find it! I need to capture Starsibyl and that Mr. Zhu. How dare they trick me! They''re as good as dead!"

    "Don''t be in such a rush. It won¡¯t be easy to get a hold of that invitation. It''s actually going to be rather difficult," Lu Yin said. Bai Qian was being closely monitored by the Transcendent Universe, especially after He Ran had managed to gain the upper hand in their contest. He Ran would never allow Bai Qian to easily interact with other people, and Lu Yin doubted that another incident like Bai Qian¡¯s trip to the Sixverse Academy would repeat.

    When Lu Yin hadst spoken with Bai Qian, she had passed her understanding of the Three Monarchs Universe onto Lu Yin.

    All of this meant that Lu Yin would not be able to meet Bai Qian while she was in the Transcendent Universe, at least not for the time being. Other than Zi Jing, there also was no one in that universe whom Lu Yin could contact. It was practically impossible for him to get in touch with Bai Qian, and getting the invitation from her would be even more of a challenge.

    Destina quickly grew anxious. "What''s the problem? Even with your abilities as a Dao Monarch, you can''t get the invitation?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Just be patient. An opportunity will appear."

    He absolutely could not risk having Zi Jing get in contact with Bai Qian. If their rtionship was ever exposed, he would lose everything. If he was exposed, not only would the three of them have to deal with He Ran¡¯s faction of the Transcendent Universe as their enemies, but also that universe¡¯s ruler, who was the greatest threat.

    ...

    After ten days passed, Lu Yin led Destina to the Voidforce Universe.

    "There''s nothing special here," Destina remarked as she gazed up into outer space.

    Lu Yin exined, "If you cultivated voidforce energy, you would be able to see it permeating every single part of this universe. Lord Xu has the strength to alter an entire universe."

    Destina was startled. "Wouldn¡¯t that make Lord Xu as powerful as the Origin Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I can''t answer that. Honestly, I don''t even understand the full extent of the Origin Progenitor''s true strength. In the Sixverse Association, only the Great Sovereign is rumored to stand equal to the Origin Progenitor, and by that measure, Lord Xu still falls short. Besides, he was friends with Wu Tian, which should ce him firmly at the same level of strength as the Three Realms Six Dao."

    Lu Yin did not try to go into any real details with Destina. Since they were in the Voidforce Universe, their priority was to find the Yin Yang Sword for the Void Yang and Void Yin ns.

    Lu Yin and Destina used a few days to carefully hide the Yin Yang Sword before they started making their way to the two ns¡¯ territory.

    When they met Destina, who hid herself within white clouds, Xu Heng and Xu Leng both felt rather puzzled. "Junior Brother, who is this?"

    ¡°This is the person that I told you about, the one who can help you. Senior Brother, show her a bit of your energy, the part that shares the same origin as the Yin Yang Sword. She can use that to help us find the sword," Lu Yin replied.

    Destina''s cold voice rang out from within the white cloud, "I can''t promise that we''ll find what you are searching for. This universe is different from my own."

    Xu Heng nodded. As Void Morphora, he and Xu Leng had already considered this possibility.

    Neither of them actually harbored any hope of finding the Yin Yang Sword through Xuan Qi¡¯s contact. Still, since she was already there, there was no harm in at least trying her methods.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng quicklybined their energy to release one of Venerable Xuyi''s techniques. Only by cooperating was it possible for them to wield this particr power. This ability was also why Xiu Ci had challenged the two. As long as the two ns remained divided, there was no point in him challenging any of Venerable Xuyi¡¯s descendents.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing the power of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns.

    Xu Heng used a battle technique known as Scorching Sun, while Xu Leng performed one known as Heart Frost. One was hot, the other cold, but the two techniques twined and fused together to form a new power that was neither hot nor cold. Instead, the power leaned closer to the origin of the power the two used, and it reminded Lu Yin of the inscription that he had read on the Yin Yang Sword.

    The power of frost is of Yin!

    The power of heat is of Yang!

    When Yin and Yang converge, the heavens shatter!

    The power that appeared seemed able to tear the sky apart while bringing forth the origin of heat.

    Earth received energy from the sun. The power that Lu Yin was observing seemed like the sun to Xu Heng and Xu Leng, as it granted their voidforce energy endless possibilities.

    Separate, the two were ordinary, but together, they possessed infinite possibilities.

    The two powers converge and formed a single line. When Destina touched that line, it shot towards a distant location. "Follow that line."

    Destina was then the first to start moving as she started following the line. Xu Heng and Xu Leng nced at each other, each seeing disbelief in the other¡¯s eyes. Could the sword really be found like this?

    The four people followed the line a great distance. Eventually, they arrived at the location where Lu Yin had hidden the Yin Yang Sword.

    As they arrived, the line they had been following snapped, and stars of light erupted. The Yin Yang Sword shot upwards, straight for the energy from the fused powers.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng gasped in astonishment. "The Yin Yang Sword?"

    Lu Yin exhaled.

    Destina remained calm, as it had all just been an act.

    Her only real question was just where had Lu Yin found the sword that these people had been searching for for so many years? This was something that Destina could not make any sense of.

    There had already been so many times where Lu Yin had aplished feats that defied all logic.

    Thebined power of Xu Heng and Xu Leng pressed onto the Yin Yang Sword, increased exponentially, and then radiated out from the sword.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrow twitched, and he quickly reminded the two to tone things down a bit. If things continued much longer, the entire Voidforce Universe would learn that they had found the Yin Yang Sword.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng quickly returned to their senses, and they stored the Yin Yang Sword away before immediately rushing over to express their gratitude to Destina. She spoke to them coldly, "There is no need to thank me."

    She then turned to Lu Yin. "Don''t forget what you promised me. Let¡¯s return."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Senior Bother, let me return with her first. I¡¯ll be right back."

    Xu Heng immediately stepped forward. "Junior Brother, what did you promise her?"

    "Nothing much."

    Xu Heng would not relent. "Retrieving the Yin Yang Sword benefits both of our ns. Any promise that you made should be fulfilled by us."

    He then turned back to Destina and gave her a deep bow. "Xu Heng, patriarch of the Void Yang n, thanks you for your assistance in helping us retrieve our ancestral treasure."

    Xu Leng also stepped forward. "Xu Leng, matriarch of the Void Yin n, thanks you for your assistance in helping us retrieve our ancestral treasure."

    "Since the treasure has been found and returned to us, any condition that Xuan Qi may have promised you will be borne by our two ns. Please tell us what he has promised you." Xu Heng was fully determined.

    Lu Yin quickly stepped forward. "Senior Brother, it really isn¡¯t anything important. I''ll exin things to you when I get back."

    Xu Heng was very somber as he looked at Xuan Qi. "Junior Brother, you''ve already done enough. Now that the Yin Yang Sword has been found, the debt that our two ns owe you goes far beyond mere gratitude. We truly don¡¯t know how we can ever repay you, but the cost to pay for inviting this remarkable individual cannot be small. Regardless of whether you are our brother, there is no need for you to sacrifice anything more for us. Leave this much to us."

    Xu Leng patted Lu Yin on the shoulder andughed. "We''ll cover this cost, no matter what it is."

    Lu Yin gave them a tight smile. Destina had not been born in the Fifth Maind, which meant that she was unable to locate it from among the countless parallel universes. This meant that Lu Yin had to personally take Destina back to the Fifth Maind, which was why he had prepared the given excuse. Unexpectedly, Xu Leng and Xu Heng were being very stubborn about this matter.

    Destina spoke up, "I will tell Xuan Qi my price. It is time, so I need to go."

    Lu Yin hastily tore the void open. "I need to take her back first. I¡¯ll see you both soon."

    Xu Heng wanted to stop Xuan Qi from leaving, but Xu Leng spoke up first. "Let him go for now. No matter what price that remarkable person might demand, it won¡¯t be something that we can pay. After all, we belong to the Voidforce Universe."

    Xu Heng nodded. "True, but we do owe Xuan Qi an exnation."

    "Of course," Xu Leng replied. "However, for the moment, we need to return to our ns. Merging our powers a bit ago loosened the bottleneck restricting my cultivation. Brother Heng, I am about to breakthrough to be a Void Suprema."

    Xu Heng''s eyes lit up. "I feel the same way."

    Thus, the two quickly returned to their ns.

    As Xu Heng and Xu Leng were traveling through the Voidforce universe, Lu Yin led Destina to Aeternus Nation, and then on to the Heavens Sect.

    "Dao Monarch, those two are good people," Destina mentioned.

    "Thanks for your help," Lu Yin said.

    "When will you be able to retrieve the invitation?" she asked.

    "Don''t worry, I''m even more eager to get it than you. As long as the Starsibyl Sect''s purpose remains unclear, I won''t be able to rx. I will definitely find a way to get that invitation," Lu Yin replied.

    Destina then parted ways with Lu Yin, and he quickly returned to the Void Yang and Void Yin ns in the Voidforce Universe.

    Even if the Yin Yang Sword had only just been retrieved, news of that event could leak and spread through the Voidforce Universe at any moment. Such an important development might even catch the attention of Xu Wuwei or Xu Wuji, so Lu Yin could not remain absent from their universe for very long.

    When he returned to the ns¡¯ territory, he learned that both Xu Heng and Xu Leng had already entered seclusion. Lu Yin had known that the Yin Yang Sword was extremely important to the two ns, but he felt that they depended on it too much. Even so, that was their business, and Lu Yin had no intention of saying anything about it.

    With his friends in seclusion, Lu Yin was left free. It had been quite some time since he hadst rolled his die, so he nned to go into seclusion as well. However, before he could do so, Xu Lie found him and asked him about some matters regarding the Sixverse Academy.

    "Why are you interested in the Sixverse Academy?" Lu Yin asked, surprised.

    After losing to Xuan Qi, Xu Lie¡¯s attitude towards the young man hadpletely changed. She was no longer cold or condescending, and she instead spoke to him in a gentle tone. Her behavior was even more friendly than Xu Leng¡¯s.

    "Our ns'' strength has undergone a qualitative change after merging. The letter of challenge that Wu Man delivered forced me to realize this. Before we united, Xiu Ci never even looked at us, but now, a peak powerhouse finds us worthy of his attention." Xu Lie spoke with strong emotions, and she looked at Lu Yin as she continued, "This only happened after our nsbined, and I now find that I am more interested in the strength that can be obtained from fusing the powers of the different members of the Sixverse Association."

    Lu Yin was impressed. "I''m surprised that you¡¯ve taken an interest in such things. That academy usually only attracts the young. Powerful, older cultivators don¡¯t have any interest inbining the powers of different universes, and they instead prefer to focus and hone their existing powers. As far as most of them are concerned, it¡¯s more important to improve their existing strength than spend time learning and developing powers from another universe. Only the young can afford to sacrifice the time needed for such experimentation."

    "Is that your conclusion after your time at the Sixverse Academy?" Xu Lie asked.

    "I suppose that you could say that."

    Xu Lie stared at Lu Yin. "Am I considered an older cultivator?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the question. He had not expected Xu Lie to focus on that point. There was no question that Xu Lie was part of the older generation, as she was at least several hundred or even more than a thousand years old. "All I know is that you do not meet the requirements to study in the Sixverse Academy."

    Xu Lie was dismissive of Lu Yin¡¯sment. "As we proceed down the path of cultivation, the standard of time changes until it no longer bes relevant for most measures. Right now, the gap in our ages appears vast, but in another 10,000 years, do you think that the difference in our ages will matter at all?"

    "Did youe find me to talk about this?" Lu Yin asked, confused by where the conversation was heading.

    "Let''s take a walk," Xu Lie suggested, "I''m guessing that you don''t know much about the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin felt that that was a fair assessment and agreed. "Alright."

    The two soon left the ns¡¯ territory, and Xu Lie led the way as the two moved through outer space.

 Chapter 2606: Bureau

    <h4>Chapter 2606: Bureau</h4>

    The fundamental nature of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s energy was different from the Fifth Maind¡¯s. That,bined with the cultural differences, meant that the two universes had distinctly different architectural styles among other aspects. Even so, there were many consistent features, such as the fact that cultivation civilizations and technological civilizations in the Voidforce Universe were separated. This was something that Lu Yin had not expected. He had thought that everyone in the entire Voidforce Universe would cultivate voidforce energy.

    "This civilization hasn¡¯t even touched outer space. They can only rely on their own abilities to leave their tiny world. One day, they will find us and consider us aliens. Only after that can they truly understand the universe." Xu Lie and Lu Yin were looking at a dark-red that had only just started to develop their technology. They were still in the process of fusing cold and hot weapons, which meant that they would need at least a few hundred more years, if not more, before they were able to leave their.

    Lu Yin had observed simrly developed civilizations from afar on more than one asion before. To these civilizations, people who were not from their were aliens and also unreachable existences. If cultivators showed themselves, they might even be regarded as gods. However, once a civilization truly stepped beyond their own, they would discover that many of the differences between them and the ¡°aliens¡± could be attributed to the differences in their cultivation. There were no intrinsic differences between them and people from other parts of the universe.

    Lu Yin often wondered if there were eyes watching him from a higher level of existence, observing as the universe developed. As Seruzen had said, everything could be analyzed and measured. If there was an outside observer, then they might be able to influence anything that was quantifiable. Did such a being exist? If not, then where had Seruzen''s innate gift Karmic Fruite from? Where did Lu Yin¡¯s own diee from? If such a being did exist, then what kind of creature was it? How great was their power? They might wield power akin to a god¡¯s in the eyes of the universes that Lu Yin knew, but if he could ever step beyond the universes that he knew and make contact with such a being, then would he learn that there were no qualitative differences between him and them? Would the only difference lie in their cultivation levels?

    If that was true, then could there be another level above the Progenitor realm?

    Lu Yin looked up at the dark starry sky, lost in thought.

    After that, Xu Lie led Lu Yin on a tour of the Voidforce Universe, which was something that Lu Yin had not expected to receive from such an aloof individual.

    "I intend to send some people to the Sixverse Academy, and the more the better," Xu Lie exined.

    Lu Yin kept rather quiet. While it was true that he had helped the two ns, that did not give him the right to poke his nose into the Void Yin n''s business.

    After a few days of looking around, Lu Yin started to lose interest, and the two people returned to the ns¡¯ territory. As they headed back, they passed by the that was in the infancy stage of technology, and Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Do you think anyone will interfere with this world?"

    "What do you mean?" Xu Lie asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin said, "I mean visit this ce and interact with the people. Basically act like a god."

    Xu Lie¡¯s eyebrows rose. "I doubt it. Who has that much time to waste? Besides, if they were discovered, it would be incredibly humiliating."

    "It''s a means of escaping reality," Lu Yinmented.

    Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked to his right. The next moment, Xu Lie looked over as well, and her eyes grewrge. "Not good!"

    Voidforce energy surged from her as her white tiger emerged from its void nest and roared at the sky.

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked, feigning ignorance.

    Surrounded by her voidforce energy, Xu Lie had no time to answer. Some distance away, a pair of slitted scarlet eyes were staring at the two. Suddenly, those eyes disappeared.

    The white tiger voidforce puppet roared again before pouncing at the figure with its ws extended. The figure appeared in front of the tiger, and the resulting collision caused the void to twist and erupt. A terrifying power tore the void, and countless spatial cracks filled the area.

    Lu Yin gasped, stunned by the sight. "Aeternus?"

    Xu Lie''s expression fell. "Protect yourself. Take your puppet out!"

    Despite the fact that Xuan Qi had already defeated her, Xu Lie questioned the young man¡¯sbat abilities in a real fight. Against her, Xuan Qi had used his bone pike, which was a power vessel, as well as Spiral Domain. There was no way for Xu Lie to know if the youth could keep himself alive against Aeternus.

    A duel waspletely different from a life and death battle.

    The white tiger¡¯s ws shed out frenziedly as the beast leaped at the corpse king. The monster¡¯s eyes changed colors several times as it underwent a Corpse King Transformation. Finally, the fluctuations stopped when the irises were red. The corpse king''s already impressive physical might had increased to a level that was nowparable to Xu Lie¡¯s cultivation, and the white tiger was now unable to quickly kill the monster, despite possessing many times more voidforce energy than Xu Lie.

    Xu Lie frowned. The sight of the corpse king''s red eyes caused her heart to drop. Usually, when voidforce energy cultivators fought on a battlefield, they would be in the back while their puppets were at the front. The Aeternals¡¯ most effective strategy against the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivators was to send corpse kings that could use the Corpse King Transformation. When the corpse kings increased their physical strength ten or a hundred-fold, they became an insurmountable challenge for the voidforce puppets, even when the puppets possessed several times more voideforce energy than their summoners.

    After countless years of war, both the Sixverse Association and Aeternus were very familiar with each other''s tactics.

    As the red-eyed corpse kingunched an attack, Xu Lie understood that this attack was a nned ambush.

    "Let me," Lu Yin dered as his bone pike floated in front of him. Xu Lie did not try to stop him. While she did not trust Xuan Qi¡¯s ability to respond to an ambush, as long as he was attacking, things would be fine. Not even she could block that power vessel¡¯s attack, and the corpse king would not be able to either.

    The exact moment the bone pike shot forward, Xu Lie felt a spike of danger. She spun around and shouted, "Watch out!"

    Lu Yin had sensed the danger a moment earlier than Xu Lie, and his bone pike was not targeting the red-eyed corpse king, but rather someone hidden behind the two of them.

    At the same instant that Xu Lie turned around, Lu Yin did the same. His bone pike pierced the void, instantly shattering an unknown, mist-like formation. The moment the formation was destroyed, the bone pike vanished once again.

    Xu Lie had not expected Xuan Qi to react so quickly.

    The moment the bone pike pierced the void, it also pierced a skull. Blood sttered into outer space.

    At the same time, the white tiger roared as it mmed into the corpse king with a thunderous sound. The red-eyed corpse king was pushed back. The voidforce energy that shrouded the tiger¡¯s sharp ws tore the corpse king in half, but doing so consumed a great deal of the voidforce puppet¡¯s energy reserves.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, and the bone pike flew towards the red-eyed corpse king. Before the monster could even react, its skull was pierced, killing it instantly.

    This was the power of the bone pike that Wu Tian had personally left behind as a reward for whoever sessfully crossed the Void Pass.

    Since Wu Tian had left it behind, there was no chance that the bone pike was an ordinary item, as Lu Yin was seeing for himself in his first real battle with the power vessel.

    The bone pike had the special ability to ignore distance and defenses. With the addition of the voidforce energy that Lord Xu had infused into the pike, as well as Lu Yin''s ability to control a voidforce puppet with twenty times his own energy reserves, the bone pike could release an attackparable to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s. On top of that, the bone pike¡¯s attacks were guaranteed tond.

    Two corpse kings had been ughtered in an instant, and both deaths were the result of Lu Yin taking action.

    Xu Lie was shocked. She had already known that the bone pike was a powerful voidforce puppet, but seeing it in actualbat allowed her to realize that she had still been underestimating the power vessel. If she had not conceded in her match with Xuan Qi, she would have suffered the same fate as the two corpse kings.

    With the bone pike hovering at Xuan Qi¡¯s side, Xu Lie suppressed her shock to ask, "Your voidforce puppet...?"

    "Senior Xu Wuwei gave it to me." Lu Yin just tossed Xu Wuwei''s name out as an excuse.

    Xu Lie nodded. "Only a powerhouse at the level of Senior Xu Wuwei could create such a powerful voidforce puppet."

    She stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "I''m sorry. I put you in danger."

    Normally, Lu Yin would be suspicious of Xu Lie. The woman had led him away from the Void Yang and Void Yin ns without any real reason or purpose, and she had even led him into an ambush. After Lu Yin sensed the appearance of the first corpse king, he had made sure to watch Xu Lie''s reaction. When the woman sensed the corpse king, she had immediately moved to protect Lu Yin. Such a reflexive reaction could not be faked. She had genuinely thought that Xuan Qi was unable to sense the danger before them, so there had been absolutely no reason for her to fake such a reaction.

    A person''s subconscious could reveal their true thoughts.

    "It''s fine. I¡¯ll just consider it training," Lu Yin replied.

    Xu Lie clenched her fists. "I will definitely investigate this carefully, but I promise that I had nothing to do with it."

    "I know."

    Xu Lie frowned. "You know? Normally, you should be suspecting me right now, since I¡¯m the one who brought you out here."

    Lu Yinughed. "You didn''t force me toe out here with you, and I wouldn''t have followed you if I didn''t want to. Don''t worry, I know that you had nothing to do with this attack."

    Xu Lie could not really understand Xuan Qi¡¯s reasoning. Was he just pretending, or was he genuinely confident that she had had nothing to do with the ambush?

    "Then again..." Lu Yin''s expression grew serious.

    Xu Lie stared at him, and Lu Yin met her eyes. "We are in the heart of the Voidforce Universe, and yet Aeternus was able to attack us. Is Aeternus really that good at sneaking in, or is the Voidforce Universe terrible at protecting itself?"

    Xu Lie''s face soured. "This doesn¡¯t only happen in the Voidforce Universe, as simr scenes will ur no matter where you go in the Sixverse Association. Anyone who¡¯s considered important people or talented will undoubtedly have to deal with Aeternus¡¯s assassination attempts at some point or another."

    "Why?" Lu Yin was puzzled. If a spy had tried to assassinate him, he would be able to understand it, but two corpse kings had been sent instead. Those scarlet eyes were too conspicuous for such an attack to have any chance of sess.

    Xu Lie''s expression grew disturbed. "I''m not sure how to exin this to you, but you''ll understand in time. Simply put, this is just how things in the Sixverse Association are right now, and they won¡¯t be changing anytime soon."

    "Why doesn''t the Sixverse Association have a specific group that hunts down spies and corpse kings?" Lu Yin asked.

    "There is," Xu Lie replied, "The Bureau."

    "The Bureau?" Lu Yin arched a brow. That actually sounded rather impressive.

    "Unfortunately, they¡¯repletely useless." Xu Lie shook her head. "The Sixverse Association created the Bureau to find corpse kings and Aeternal spies, but due to variousplications, they haven¡¯t been very effective at all. Part of the problem is the internal conflicts between the Sixverse Association''s different members, but the Aeternals¡¯ tactics alsoplicate things. Basically, the more universes that get involved, the harder it is to find any spies.¡±

    "Xuan Qi, you need to be careful whenever you move around in the Voidforce Universe in the future. Since Aeternus has tried to kill you once, they''ll definitely do so again."

    Lu Yin felt rather irritated. "There¡¯s already the Endless Frontier and all the other barriers that the Sixverse Association has put up to stop Aeternus, but they sneak in anyways. That Bureau really is useless. Who created it?"

    "Forget about that. Let''s head back. Not many people knew that we were heading out, so we can definitely find out who¡¯s working with Aeternus." Xu Lie''s eyes grew cold and started zing with a powerful killing intent.

    Even ignoring how important Xuan Qi was for the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, if Aeternus sessfully killed him, Xu Lie herself would be doomed. After all, Xu Wuwei also stood behind Xuan Qi, as well as the Transcendent Universe. He was no ordinary man.

    Xu Lie''s hatred for the spy who had leaked their excursion was etched into her very bones. She wanted nothing more than to return to the Void Yin n and find out who the culprit was.

    After returning, Lu Yin was unable to leave again for a while, which left him with nothing to do other than to go into seclusion and train.

    Xu Lie arranged a quiet location where Lu Yin would not be disturbed. After settling himself in, Lu Yin took out the bone pike and started to examine it. This power vessel had allowed him to kill two corpse kings with practically no effort whatsoever. Killing a Semi-Progenitor with it would likely be just as easy, given the level that Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation with voidforce energy had reached.

    He found that voidforce energy was very useful, and he intended to continue cultivating it. The voidforce energy that Lord Xu had infused into the bone pike was substantial, and Lu Yin wanted to reach the point where he could fully utilize both the energy and the weapon.

    The bone pike was set aside, and Lu Yin started rolling his die. It had been quite some time since he hadst rolled it, and he wanted to hit an Enhance so that he could try upgrading the bone pike. If it could reach the same level as the slipper, he''d be able to kill a Progenitor as powerful as Xia Shenji in one strike.

 Chapter 2607: It Worked

    <h4>Chapter 2607: It Worked</h4>

    Lu Yin watched the die as it slowed to a stop. Possession. Lu Yin sighed. If he wasn¡¯t in the Origin Universe, this roll was useless.

    Suddenly, voidforce energy started leaking from the bone pike and was absorbed by the die. The next thing Lu Yin knew, he appeared in the strange dark space, surrounded by orbs of light.

    He was taken aback. It worked? Possession actually worked? He had tried it in the Sixverse Academy before. But this time, the die had absorbed voidforce energy from the bone pike. That actually made sense; he needed to use the energy of whatever universe he was currently in.

    In the Origin Universe, the die''s Possession used star energy from star essence. Now, since Lu Yin was in the Voidforce Universe, the ability naturally needed to be fueled by voidforce energy.

    How had he not thought of such a simple principle before?

    He had already obtained some flourishing crystals, which contained the three monarchs energy used in the Three Monarchs Universe. If he rolled Possession on his die while in the Three Monarchs Universe, it should work there as well.

    There was no time for him to think too deeply about the matter. Lu Yin chose a random sphere of light and merged with it. The scenery changed around him, and he soon found himself on a bustling street. He was on some continent somewhere in the Voidforce Universe. Someone behind Lu Yin nudged him. "Third Brother, let''s go."

    Lu Yin muttered in response as memories started to flood his mind. He quickly realized that he had Possessed a Void Ascendia who was currently on his way to an academy.

    Only a little voidforce energy had leaked out of the bone pike, so after only taking two steps, the Possession ended, and Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness passed back through the dark space to return to his own body.

    His eyes snapped open, his eyes overflowing with delight. It worked! Possession worked!

    The fact that the die''s Possession had failed in the Sixverse Academy had been incredibly frustrating to Lu Yin. There was no denying the number of times the die had helped or saved him over the years, and he had found himself at a loss when his innate gift had suddenly stopped working in the greater megaverse.

    Having found the means to once again use and take advantage of Possession, Lu Yin felt much more confident about his chances of seeding with several different matters, such as finding Aeternus''s hidden spies.

    Lu Yin grabbed the bone pike and pulled at the voidforce energy within it. As a surge of voidforce energy appeared around him, he raised his hand and continued to roll the die. This time, he nned to Possess someone who had the same cultivation in voidforce energy as him. Such a person would be the equivalent of a sixth-tribtion Envoy, and only someone with at least that much strength would be worth Possessing, provided that Lu Yin could even roll another Possession.

    After tapping the die, he watched as it slowly came to a stop, revealing three pips: Enhance.

    Lu Yin casually tossed the bone pike onto the upper light screen and then threw out tens of thousands of star essence. Upon seeing that the bone pike did not shift even the slightest bit, he felt a pang of disappointment. It could not be Enhanced. Wu Tian had already extracted the full potential of the base materials when he crafted the bone pike.

    Lu Yin next took out a white energy converter. If he could Enhance it into a ck energy converter, he would be able to mass-produce Progenitor-level experts.

    However, reality proved that his hopes were nothing more than dreams, as the white energy converter also refused to be upgraded.

    Shaking his head, Lu Yin pulled out a Lotus Artifact, only to find that they were also unable to be Enhanced.

    Having failed three items in a row, Lu Yin felt rather uneasy. He finally decided to pull out one of the charred Books of Destiny and set it on the upper screen. If nothing else, the book could hopefully be repaired.

    Watching the Book of Destiny creep downwards, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. It was indeed possible to repair the books.

    It appeared that Lu Yin¡¯s die was even more advanced than the Books of Destiny. However, he could estimate that fully repairing the Books of Destiny would cost him around six trillion star essence, which was certainly more than what he could afford at the moment. His total funds only numbered a bit more than five trillion star essence, and he could not afford to spend everything at once.

    With nothing else to Enhance, Lu Yin put the Book of Destiny away again.

    He did not feel too disappointed, as he had at least confirmed that the books could be fixed, which offered him a bit of hope.

    He rolled the die again, and this time, he rolled two pips: ckhole Disassembly.

    This ability was able to extract pure, raw materials from whatever Lu Yin threw in. While this ability might appear useless, there were times when it was incredibly useful, such as when it came to Progenitor Guai¡¯s weapons.

    The Progenitor had used materials so rare and valuable that even Progenitors regarded them as treasures. Even so, all of those materials had been used to producepletely useless weapons. It would be a waste not to put the weapons through Lu Yin¡¯s ckhole Disassembly.

    Lu Yin started to refine Progenitor Guai''s weapons. Many of the raw materials that had been used to create the weapons were needed by the Transcendent Universe.

    After some time, Lu Yin finishedpletely breaking down all of Progenitor Guai''s weapons. After resting for half a month, Lu Yin continued to roll his die.

    Once, twice, thrice, four times he rolled the die before resting again. The next time he rolled the die, he finally saw four pips: Timestop. This was the first time that it had taken him so many attempts to roll Timestop.

    After all, only Pilfer was rolled more frequently than Timestop.

    Nearly a year passed in the Timestop Space as Lu Yin recited the Origin Sutra and cultivated the Cosmic Art. Time passed quickly, and he soon found the scenery changing before his eyes as he returned to reality, at which time he resumed rolling his die.

    In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by. There was no news from Xu Heng and Xu Leng, who were still in seclusion, but their battle techniques Scorching Sun and Heart Frost were noticeably growing stronger.

    One dayter, Lu Yin finally managed to roll Possession again. The extensive amount of time that he had spent trying to roll Possession had dampened his enthusiasm.

    As he looked around at the glowing orbs that filled the dark space, Lu Yin chose a particrly bright one to merge with.

    When he opened his eyes, Lu Yin immediately felt that something was wrong. He looked down and was left speechless. He had once again Possessed a woman. It was no wonder why it felt so strange.

    His first thought was to end the Possession, but since he had finally rolled Possession after so much effort, he decided to first check the woman''s memories. After all, she was certainly not weak.

    As memories began to flood in, Lu Yin realized that he had Possessed someone named Yun Wu, and she was actually the aunt of the Cloudview n¡¯s young mistress, Yun Yun. It was quite a coincidence for him to have Possessed someone from the Cloudview n.

    As he continued to skim through the memories, Lu Yin''s expression grew dark; Yun Wu was a spy for Aeternus.

    More urately, the woman was not truly a spy, but was instead being influenced by some sort of outside power. Lu Yin found that the woman¡¯s mind was filled with thoughts of loyalty towards Aeternus and indifference towards humanity, her n, and even her family. All of the woman¡¯s memories were intact, and she was even filled with disgust for her own people.

    From Yun Wu¡¯s memories, Lu Yin found that, while Yun Wu had been expelled from her n because of issues regarding a marital alliance, she had continued to be treated well by the Cloudview n during her childhood. In particr, her parents had doted upon her. Even so, Yun Wu carried an intense hatred for everything rted to humans, including even her own humanity. She despised everything to the point where she dreamed of destroying the Cloudview n. However, there was some belief that made her continue pretending to be a normal person.

    What sort of power could be influencing the woman?

    Lu Yin continued to scan her memories, purposely not missing even a single detail.

    Before much time passed, the voidforce energy powering the Possession was depleted, and Lu Yin¡¯s Possession was terminated. He was only able to gather so much voidforce energy at once.

    If he was able to use up all the voidforce energy in the bone pike, he would have been able to remain in Yun Wu''s body for a very long time.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and let out a breath. He had seen bubbles in Yun Wu''s memories. They were from Bubble Fantasy, which was Cheng Kong''s battle technique. Had Cheng Kong altered the woman¡¯s mind?

    If that was true, then things were quiteplicated, as it meant that Yun Wu was not a spy, and yet she was helping Cheng Kong. Did such a person deserve death?

    Xu Lie had mentioned that the Bureau was essentially ineffective, and Lu Yin had realized that Cheng Kong had to be one of the primary reasons for that. What was the proper way to deal with someone who had been affected by Cheng Kong¡¯s power? There was no simple answer, and the most troublesome part was that the people who had been affected did not even think that they were spies. It was impossible to find such people through normal investigations and inquiries. They truly believed themselves to be normal, albeit with some thoughts of loyalty to Aeternus. Such people were even harder to find than true spies.

    Lu Yin frowned. After seeing Yun Wu''s memories, it would not be difficult for him to expose the woman, but the problem was how she would be dealt with after she was exposed. How should such a person pay for their actions?

    Ending his seclusion, Lu Yin looked upwards. Was the temperature dropping even further?

    He wondered how his two adopted siblings were doing in their own seclusion.

    Hismunication crystal vibrated. It was a call from Yun Yun.

    When the woman visited him, she had exchanged contact details with Xuan Qi.

    "Big Brother Xuan Qi, the first batch of the materials that you requested is ready. We canplete the trade whenever you wish," Yun Yun said with a smile.

    "That''s great. I''ll contact the Transcendent Universe right away. Thank you, Yun Yun," replied Lu Yin.

    Yun Yun''s face flushed slightly. "Big Brother Xuan Qi, there¡¯s no need for you to be so polite with me. I¡¯ll bring the resources over to the Void Yang n right away."

    "No, I''ll head over to meet you," Lu Yin replied.

    Yun Yun''s eyes lit up. "You want to visit my Cloudview n? That¡¯s great, Big Brother Xuan Qi!"

    Lu Yin smiled, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, he ended the call. He stared in the Cloudview n¡¯s direction. He really should go visit the n. He could not allow spies and other traitors to continue sabotaging humanity, no matter if they were doing so actively or passively.

    Lu Yin told the two ns hosting him about his departure, and then he quickly returned to the Aeternus Kingdom and made his way to Gods'' Origin. He asked the ambassador from the Transcendent Universe there to contact Ke Jian. After all, Lu Yin had negotiated a trade between the Transcendent Universe and the Cloudview n, so it only made sense for Ke Jian to be the one to handle the matter.

    Days slipped by before Ke Jian finally arrived. His eyes betrayed his great excitement. "Xuan Qi, are they really ready to finish the trade?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "The Cloudview n has been quite considerate, as well as remarkably swift about handling this. We should get going."

    Ke Jian gave a nod of approval and then said, "If not for you, we would have found it quite difficult to secure resources from the Voidforce Universe. While the members of the Sixverse Association might appear supportive of each other, you should know that interuniversal trade is very difficult to conduct. In the past, we were forced to spend years of effort and pay steep prices to acquire simr amounts of materials, which made the results barely worth the effort. However, you, Xuan Qi, have managed to close a huge deal in a matter of mere months! Madam He Ran has asked me to convey her gratitude to you."

    Lu Yin responded solemnly, "You are being too kind. Even though I, Xuan Qi, have joined the Voidforce Universe, the Transcendent Universe remains my home. Zi Jing will never leave the Transcendent Universe, so I hope for the best for both universes. Open trade and cooperation will benefit everyone."

    Ke Jian''s eyes sparkled. "Well said! I will convey your sentiments to Madam He Ran. I''m sure that she will be more than happy to hear your feelings. The Transcendent Universe will always remain your pir of support."

    Soon, Lu Yin and Ke Jian arrived in the Voidforce Universe, and they immediately headed towards the Cloudview n.

    The Cloudview n was a prestigious n that had previously raised a Void Suprema powerhouse. At the n¡¯s peak, they had wielded influence over a full third of the Voidforce Universe, which was something beyond any of the living Void Supremas. This was not because the contemporary powerhouses were incapable, but rather because none of them had a powerful family¡¯s influence behind them.

    When it came to personal influence, Xu Wuwei was not someone who could sway just the Voidforce Universe; he could influence the decisions of the Sixverse Association itself. However, he merely represented himself and had no n behind him.

    Despite years of decline, the Cloudview n had managed to retain a reasonable level of prestige, thanks to the lingering legacy of their ancestors, as well as Xu Xiangyin¡¯s presence.

    When it came to trading with the Voidforce Universe, it was only natural that the Transcendent Universe had a deep understanding of the Cloudview n.

    When Lu Yin and Ke Jian arrived at the Cloudview n, Yun Yun and several other members of the n stepped out to greet their guests.

    "Xuan Qi, wee to my Cloudview n." Yun Yun greeted the two men with a happyugh. It was clear that she was delighted to see them.

    Ke Jian was taken aback. Given his long life and many experiences, he was instantly able to sense that the Cloudview n¡¯s young mistress felt an unusual level of affection for Xuan Qi.

 Chapter 2608: Spatial Traces

    <h4>Chapter 2608: Spatial Traces</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled. "Apologies for this disruption, Young Mistress."

    "Big Brother Xuan Qi, please regard the Cloudview n as your own home. How can returning home be a disruption?" Yun Yun spoke kindly, her eyes bright with joy.

    Because of his rtionship with Xu Xiangyin, the Cloudview n would show every courtesy to Xuan Qi, though there was no need for them to go to Yun Yun¡¯s extent. Her behavior was mostly because of her initial impression of Xuan Qi, which was him using Spiral Domain. The sight of that intricate grid had left an immense impact on the young woman, and it had agitated her heart. After all, she was young and impressionable towards certain emotions, which had led to her current, rather overt, behavior.

    Ke Jian was not alone, as everyone from the Cloudview n felt that their young mistress was being a bit too enthusiastic. Even so, no one dared to voice such thoughts. Their patriarch was fighting on the Endless Frontier, which meant that their young mistress, Yun Yun, was the one in charge of the Cloudview n, though she was supported by Grand Elder Xu Xiangyin.

    As for Xu Xiangyin, the old man treated Xuan Qi as though the youth was his own grandson. When Yun Yun had told Lu Yin to ¡°regard the Cloudview n as his own home,¡± it had not been idle words¡ªit was heartfelt.

    Lu Yin introduced Ke Jian to the members of the Cloudview n, and Yun Yun smiled at the man. "Senior Ke Jian, the Cloudview n wees the Transcendent Universe¡¯s representative."

    Ke Jian chuckled and then proceeded to exchange the expected social niceties.

    The entire group entered the Cloudview n¡¯s territory.

    The trade proceeded smoothly. This was not the first time that the Transcendent Universe had conducted a trade with the Cloudview n, but all of their previous transactions had been terribly inefficient. This time, while the terms of the deal remained the same as before, everything was settled quite quickly, much to Ke Jian''s great satisfaction.

    After the transaction waspleted, Ke Jian immediately left to report to his own universe. A date was agreed upon for the next trade before he left.

    Lu Yin had led Ke Jian to the Cloudview n for the first transaction, but there was no need for him to apany the older man for future trades.

    After Ke Jian left, Yun Yun quickly led Xuan Qi on a tour of the Cloudview n¡¯s territory.

    The Cloudview n¡¯s territory was evenrger than thebined territories of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns. While those two ns were descendents of the powerful Venerable Xuyi, they were nothing more than heirs to his power, not his biological descendants. On the other hand, the Cloudview n was the descendant of a peak powerhouse. The resources that the Cloudview n had inherited were iparable to what the other two ns had received.

    "Big Brother Xuan Qi, I heard that you helped the Void Yang and Void Yin ns retrieve their Yin Yang Sword. Is that right?" Yun Yun asked as she led Lu Yin around, abruptly changing the topic of their conversation.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I see that news has already started to spread, though there¡¯s nothing to hide."

    Yun Yun looked at him with open admiration. "They are truly lucky to have received your help, Big Brother Xuan Qi!"

    Lu Yin remained humble. "It was the least that I could do. If there is anything that I can do to help your Cloudview n, I will do my best as well."

    Yun Yun smiled. "I know."

    "What¡¯s over there in that direction?" Lu Yin inquired as he looked at a distant mountain range.

    Yun Yun answered, "That''s the garden where we cultivate our medicinal herbs. Would you like to see it, Big Brother Xuan Qi?"

    "Medicinal herbs? Hmm. I wonder if the Voidforce Universe has any unique herbs. Yes, let''s go take a look."

    "Alright."

    Before long, Lu Yin looked in a different direction. "What''s over there?"

    "Our Cloudview n boasts 135 scenic locations, each of which offers a breathtakingly beautiful view, and they were all created by our ancestor himself. That ce over there is one of them."

    "How many of these locations have we visited so far?"

    "Seventeen."

    "Then let''s go. We¡¯ll visit that one as well."

    "Of course."

    "What¡¯s over there?"

    "That¡¯s..."

    Yun Wu''s memories meant that Lu Yin was quite knowledgeable about the Cloudview n, and he was deliberately leading Yun Yun closer and closer to Yun Wu¡¯s residence. However, as far as Yun Yun could tell, they arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s target through sheer coincidence.

    "Big Brother Xuan Qi, we shouldn¡¯t go over there. That''s where Aunt Yun Wu lives," Yun Yun said.

    Lu Yin asked curiously, "Your aunt?"

    Yun Yun nodded. "Aunt Yun Wu has lived a difficult life. When she was young, she had many suitors, but because of my father''s interference, she was forced to marry a man that she didn''t love. However, my aunt is also stubborn, and she would rather cripple her own cultivation than marry that man, which left my father with no choice but to abandon the marriage and expel Aunt Yun Wu from the main family¡¯s residence. It was then that she moved here..."

    Yun Yun respected her aunt a great deal, and she spoke at length about the woman¡¯s past. Lu Yin already knew about Yun Wu''s past from her memories, and he was able tobine that with Yun Yun''s story. Lu Yin tried to put together the image that Yun Wu presented of herself, as that would make it easier for him to decide how to proceed.

    After a long time, Yun Yun was startled by her own behavior. "I''m sorry, Big Brother Xuan Qi! I''ve said too much."

    Lu Yin was not bothered at all. "It''s nothing, Yun Yun. Did you say that your aunt stays here all the time and never leaves?"

    "That¡¯s right. It¡¯s why she didn¡¯t join us in greeting you when you arrived, Big Brother Xuan Qi," Yun Yun replied.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Well, even if she doesn''t get out, she certainly moves around a lot within your family¡¯s home. It looks like she''s not content with remaining here."

    Yun Yun was left puzzled. "Why would you say that, Big Brother Xuan Qi? My aunt has never returned to the family home after being expelled by my father. She even swore that she would never return."

    Lu Yin looked at Yun Yun. "Never return? Then are there other members of the Cloudview n who live in this ce?"

    "Of course not." Yun Yun''s expression quickly changed. After all, if someone was secretly living together with Yun Wu, it would be shameful to their n.

    Lu Yin frowned. "But I can see a trail leading from your aunt''s residence to the Cloudview n¡¯s main residence. The trail is very clear, which suggests that it¡¯s used quite frequently. How could it exist if no one has passed through here?"

    Yun Yun looked around. "A trail? Where?"

    Yun Wu''s home was in the middle of a field of flowers, and there were absolutely no signs of anyone passing through.

    Lu Yin exined, "Because of myprehension of Spiral Domain, I am able to observe spatial disturbances and traces left behind when people move, despite the fact that such things are invisible to ordinary eyes. Would you like to see?"

    Yun Yun nodded.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and brought out his voidforce energy. Lines spread out from his hand, forming a grid around a particr line that twisted about. As Lu Yin withdrew his hand, all of the lines but one faded away, until there was only a single line that connected two distant locations. "That line shows the spatial trail that was left by someone traveling through the void. I''m certain that someone frequently goes between your aunt''s residence and the Cloudview n¡¯s main residence, though I don¡¯t know which part of the residence that might be."

    Not too far away, Yun Wu saw the sh of the grid, and the sight caused her expression to immediately turn serious, and she immediately moved outside. She could see some distant, dim lines connecting her garden to the Cloudview n¡¯s main residence, and the sight caused her expression to change even more drastically. What was going on?

    Many other members of the Cloudview n had also noticed the brief appearance of the grid, and they flew through the sky towards where Yun Yun and Lu Yin were standing.

    "Young Mistress? What is going on?" an old man asked while looking at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Yun Yun''s expression had already turned grim. While outsiders might not know what specific location in the n¡¯s main residence Xuan Qi¡¯s line was pointing to, Yun Yun knew exactly what that ce was: the library. The library was also where n members sent and received messages, regardless of whether it was news from within the Voidforce Universe, the warfront, or even from the Endless Frontier. Any message that had to do with the Cloudview n was received in the n¡¯s library.

    Yun Yun stared at Yun Wu in confusion. Why would her aunt go to the library?

    Lu Yin curiously asked, "What is that ce?"

    The people of the Cloudview n looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

    Yun Yun looked at Lu Yin with a grave expression. "Big Brother Xuan Qi, can you truly see the traces left by people traveling through the void?"

    While Yun Yun had a good impression of Xuan Qi, this matter was too serious to not take any and all precautions. On top of that, she did not believe that it was possible for anyone to see the traces left behind by a person traveling through the void. That was simply too far-fetched. She had allowed Xuan Qi to perform a demonstration out of curiosity, but the result was beyond ludicrous. Yun Yun had even started to suspect Xuan Qi of having ulterior motives.

    It was only natural for Yun Yun to believe in her aunt over Xuan Qi, even if the young man was favored by Grand Elder Xu Xiangyin.

    Lu Yin replied, "It seems that that location holds something very important to your n."

    Yun Yun somberly answered, "Big Brother Xuan Qi, I won''t lie to you. That is where my Cloudview n receives messages from outside."

    "I see." Lu Yin understood, and he fell deep into thought. He turned to locked eyes with Yun Yun. "I''m not sure how to exin this precisely, but the void is not actually formless. To most, space is something intangible and nothing more than a concept. However, for those of us who can interact with space, and even moreso for those of us who can actually touch it, the void is as solid as the ground beneath your feet."

    Lu Yin stepped back. "In the same manner that we leave footprints when we walk across the ground, we also leave traces behind when we travel through the void."

    "Much like intercepting a call made with amunication crystal?" a n member asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, exactly like that."

    Communication crystals were used extensively throughout the Sixverse Association, but anyone who managed to cultivate their domain to the void god level would be capable of intercepting conversations held throughmunication crystals. Knowing this, it was no surprise to learn that people also left traces when they traveled through the void.

    Yun Yun nced towards Yun Wu''s house, her expression turning ugly.

    For a person who had sworn to never step into the n¡¯s main residence to be frequently sneaking around, and even specifically targeting the library, it was clear that there was a problem.

    "Why hasn''t Yun Wue out yet?" one elder asked.

    Yun Yun''s eyes grew hard, and she lifted a foot to make her way to Yun Wu''s home. The other people who had gathered followed close behind their young mistress.

    Soon, the group arrived just outside a simple courtyard.

    When they arrived, they found Yun Wu watering some flowers. When she noticed that Yun Yun and the others had arrived, the woman looked quite surprised. "Little Yun, why are you here?"

    Yun Yun took a deep breath before showing a smile. "Auntie, I''ve brought some guests to visit."

    Yun Wu''s eyes swept over the crowd beforending on Lu Yin''s face. The woman quickly grew cold. "The Cloudview n¡¯s guests have nothing to do with me."

    Yun Yun replied, "I''m already here. Won''t you invite me in?"

    Yun Wu did not even answer and simply continued watering her flowers.

    The other members of the Cloudview n remained silent. All of them were quite familiar with the rtionship between Yun Wu and the rest of the family.

    "Does that thread of energy truly mean nothing to you?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Yun Wu paused and turned to face Lu Yin. "Why should it?"

    Lu Yin responded with another question, "Senior, you appear to be quiteposed, which is admirable. However, why haven¡¯t you visited the Cloudview n in all these years, Senior?"

    Yun Wu frowned. "Are you interrogating me?"

    The woman then turned to Yun Yun. "Yun Yun, why did you bring an outsider here to question me?"

    Yun Yun grew stern. "Auntie, he¡¯s not an outsider, but a favored junior of Grand Elder Xu Xiangyin. On top of that, he is Xu Wuwei¡¯s <i>disciple</i>. As far as many people are concerned, after mastering Spiral Domain, Xuan Qi should be regarded as Xu Wuwei''s disciple, rather than someone who¡¯s received guidance from him."

    Yun Wu was stunned. "Xu Wuwei¡¯s disciple?"

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Yun Wu. "Senior, are you willing to answer my question?"

    Yun Wu averted her eyes. "No matter if you are Xu Wuwei or even Lord Xu''s disciple, I have not betrayed the Voidforce Universe, nor have I betrayed mankind. Why should I submit myself to being questioned by you?"

    Yun Yun interjected, "Then I¡¯ll ask the questions. Auntie, have you visited our n¡¯s main residence in recent years?"

    Yun Wu calmly replied, "No."

    Yun Yun turned to Lu Yin.

    A smile spread across his face. "Space doesn''t lie. That is what Xu Wuwei once said. Senior, you¡¯ve visited the Cloudview n¡¯s residence, and more than once at that. That line of energy indicates the exact path that you took through the void to get there."

 Chapter 2609: Bureau Director

    <h4>Chapter 2609: Bureau Director</h4>

    Lu Yin''s words only drew a cold sneer from Yun Wu. "How absurd. How could there be traces left behind in the void? Do you expect all of us to just take your word for it? Or do you think that everyone will believe you just because you mentioned Senior Xu Wuwei''s name?"

    The other members of the Cloudview n were not fully convinced either. Xu Wuwei''s name carried a great deal of weight, but that was not enough for them to blindly trust Xuan Qi.

    Even Yun Yun felt the same way.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and once again used Spiral Domain.

    This time, everyone''s eyes grewrge in surprise. Spiral Domain was Xu Wuwei''s signature technique, and while it was very mysterious, it was also known for being impossible to avoid. Countless people sought to learn this battle technique, but all of them had failed. Yun Yun was no exception. It was even because of Spiral Domain that Yun Wu had secretly developed a crush on Xuan Qi.

    The sight of Spiral Domain would shock anyone from the Voidforce Universe, and Yun Wu was no exception.

    "Dimensions are indeed simr tondmasses, and people leave traces behind when they travel through either one. Just now, when using Spiral Domain, I noticed something strange; why would you need to enter the void inside your own home? It¡¯s only a few steps, and yet you choose to travel to that location through the void. Can you exin that?" As Lu Yin spoke, he stared at a specific corner of the garden.

    Yun Wu''s expression changed dramatically, and she spun around. Lu Yin used his voidforce energy to peel back the void in that corner, revealing a scarlet eye.

    Everyone''s faces changed drastically.

    Yun Yun''s face fell, and she shouted, furious. "Auntie!"

    Yun Wu instantly appeared next to the eye and snatched it. She tried to escape, as she had never expected to be discovered.

    She was a cautious person. Every time she contacted Aeternus with the scarlet eye, she had torn through the void. She also always hid the eye in the void in that particr corner so that no one would realize how frequently she visited that ce in her garden. She had been reluctant to keep the eye in her cosmic ring, as she had been afraid of unexpected incidents.

    Her caution had not been misced. After all, since she did not leave her home, it made no difference if she kept the scarlet eye in her cosmic ring or in the void in the garden. It was all the same.

    Unfortunately for Yun Wu, Lu Yin had essed her memories, which was how he knew her actions like the back of his hand. After bluffing with Xu Wuwei''s name, Lu Yin had easily exposed the scarlet eye, exposing the woman.

    Why did Aeternus¡¯s spies insist on using the scarlet eyes as theirmunication methods? Lu Yin had never been able to understand that. After all, there was no way for a person to protest their innocence after they were discovered with one of the scarlet eyes in their possession. The only possible answer that Lu Yin coulde up with was to avoid the possibility of eavesdropping. Calls withmunication crystals could be intercepted, but those made with the scarlet eyes could not.

    Another possibility that he had considered was that the eyes represented the spies¡¯ identity. If Aeternus conquered the Voidforce Universe, it would be impossible to prove who supported Aeternus and who resisted them, aside from the scarlet eyes that Aeternus recognized.

    Yun Wu grabbed the scarlet eye and instantly fled at top speed. Out of everyone present, only a single elder reacted. The moment Yun Wu tried to escape, that elder made his move. A spear appeared out of nowhere, and it was covered with a vast amount of voidforce energy.

    Yun Wu turned pale as a butterfly danced through the void. It possessed equally impressive amounts of voidforce energy. While Yun Wu was personally weaker than the elder, her butterfly possessed as much energy as the elder¡¯s spear.

    With a bang, the voidforce puppets collided, and the surrounding mountains andnd were destroyed as the void warped from the impact. Shockwaves swept across the Cloudview n¡¯s territory.

    The elder took a step back and beckoned for his spear to return, before once again thrusting the weapon forward.

    Yun Wu had also been knocked back. She spat out a mouthful of blood as she threw a cold re at Lu Yin. Her butterfly spread its wings to block the spear, and at the same time, Yun Wu prepared to tear through the void and escape.

    "Aren''t you underestimating Spiral Domain?" Lu Yin''s voice reached the woman¡¯s ear.

    Yun Wu''s pupils contracted, and Lu Yin¡¯s bone pike appeared right in front of her eyes, pointed between her eyebrows. The killing intent radiating from the weapon left Yun Wu¡¯s scalp tingling with fear.

    Her autumn butterflynded and made no attempt tounch any further attacks. The spear appeared and stabbed Yun Wu''s shoulder, pinning her to the ground. The woman¡¯s blood flowed across thend.

    Yun Yun watched, feeling incredibly torn by the strange developments. The aunt that she had respected since childhood had just been unveiled as an Aeternus spy.

    As for the rest of the members of the Cloudview n, they stared at Xuan Qi in awe. This young man had actually forced Yun Wu to submit. Was that the true power of Spiral Domain?

    Lu Yin retrieved his bone pike.

    The Cloudview n elder stared at the young man for a moment before stepping forward. When he arrived at Yun Wu''s side, he said, "Little Wu, you''ve disappointed me greatly."

    Yun Wu looked up at the elder, her eyes filled with loathing. "If not for that child, you never would have been able to defeat me!"

    The elder shook his head. "Why betray humanity?"

    Yun Wu sneered at the man. "Humans shouldn''t even exist! The Aeternals are the only race that should exist in any universe! They are immortal, unfettered by emotions, and can do as they please. But humans? They age, they get sick, and they die. They lie, manipte, and possess those revolting emotions."

    "Silence!" Yun Yun shouted, "Elder, take her away. She''s gone mad."

    The elder sighed before grabbing Yun Wu and leaving.

    The other nsmen remained silent. Discovering a traitor within a family never generated good feelings.

    Lu Yin watched as Yun Wu was taken away. Her words had demonstrated just howpletely controlled by Cheng Kong she was, as well as how blindly faithful to Aeternus. Lu Yin wondered if there was any way to undo such control. Also, how would the family deal with Yun Wu? Even if she had been controlled, how would they make amends for her crimes?

    "Yun Yun-"

    Lu Yin wanted to say something, Yun Yun interrupted him. "Brother Xuan Qi, thank you."

    Lu Yin sighed. "What will happen with her?"

    Yun Yun looked grim, though she said nothing.

    Behind them, one member of the Cloudview n said, "All traitors who are discovered and captured are supposed to be handed over to the Bureau."

    "We captured her ourselves. This matter has nothing to do with the Bureau," someone else countered.

    Yun Yun frowned. "Go back."

    The other members of the n all left.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman next to him. "Will you send her to the Bureau?"

    Yun Yun met Lu Yin''s eyes. "No."

    Lu Yin said nothing. He had already expected this answer. In the Perennial World, Humility''s Gate enjoyed far greater influence and respect than the Bureau did in the Sixverse Association. Even with that being the case, when a spy had been discovered within the Liu family, that person had been executed on the spot rather than handed over to Humility''s Gate. Lu Yin did not expect things to be any different in the Voidforce Universe.

    This was not even just regarding the Cloudview n, as Lu Yin believed that any family in the Voidforce Universe would internally handle any uncovered spies. No one would be willing to turn exposed traitors over to the Bureau. ording to what Lu Yin had learned from Xu Lie, this refusal to cooperate was one of the reasons why the Bureau was so ineffective.

    "You''re not going to hand her over to us? I can''t allow that," a voice suddenly rang out.

    Yun Yun and Lu Yin''s expressions changed, and they looked up to see a man floating in the air. Neither of them had any idea how long the man had been there for.

    Not even Lu Yin had noticed the man at all.

    "Is that you, Senior Xu Wuji?" Lu Yin eximed in surprise.

    Sure enough, it was Xu Wuji. Lu Yin was surprised by the man¡¯s appearance.

    Yun Yun bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Senior Xu Wuji."

    Xu Wujinded nearby. He was still wearing the same sunsses and sipping on a drink. He sized Lu Yin up. "Impressive,d. It wasn¡¯t a waste of Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s time to teach you his Spiral Domain."

    Lu Yin curiously asked, "Senior, what brings you here?"

    Xu Wuji drained the rest of his drink in one gulp. "That¡¯s all because of you, kid. The Void Pass is gone now, so I¡¯ve been wandering around, looking for a ce to quietly rx. I just happened to see something happening over here, so I thought I''d watch. I wasn''t expecting..."

    The man chuckled. "Girl, I already heard everything. That woman is a spy, isn''t she?"

    Yun Yun looked pained as she bowed again. "Senior, you came here out of concern for my Cloudview n, didn''t you?"

    Xu Wuji replied, "Well, the Cloudview n did help me once in the past. In Xu Xiangyin¡¯s absence, I just wouldn¡¯t feel right not stopping by and checking on things after sensing a battle. I was just passing by."

    Yun Yun bowed yet again. "Might I ask that you not take Yun Wu away, Senior?"

    Xu Wuji removed his sunsses and leaned close to stare at Yun Yun.

    Yun Yun met the man¡¯s eyes, her own eyes determined.

    Xu Wuji stared into the young woman¡¯s eyes for a moment before finally sighing. "Alright, I''ll do you this favor, but from this point on, I no longer owe your Cloudview n anything."

    Yun Yun sighed. Yun Wu was not a worthwhile use of Xu Wuji¡¯s favor, but Yun Yun could not allow Yun Wu to be taken away. This was not because Yun Yun wanted to protect Yun Wu; the woman¡¯s death was actually inconsequential. Rather, if Yun Wu was executed after beingbeled a traitor, the Cloudview n would suffer tremendously, and they might even crumble into ruin.

    Xu Xiangyin would not be able to protect the Cloudview n for long in such a situation, and the n would struggle to recruit another powerful Void Morphora. The Cloudview n could not afford to bear such a cost at the moment.

    Yun Yun could only do her best to maintain the current state of affairs for the Cloudview n.

    "I won''t take her away, but I do need to consider how to deal with her," Xu Wuji continued, "Of course, I also won''t publicize this matter."

    "Thank you, Senior." Yun Yun felt truly grateful.

    Xu Wuji then turned his attention to Lu Yin. "By the way, how did you discover that traitor?"

    The Void Suprema had only arrived after the sh between the butterfly and the spear had taken ce, so he had only witnessed Lu Yin use Spiral Domain to suppress Yun Wu.

    Yun Yun quickly shared the entire series of events, and she even handed the scarlet eye over.

    Xu Wuji appeared surprised, and he scrutinized Lu Yin. "You can use Spiral Domain to detect traces left in the void?"

    Lu Yin humbly replied, "Just barely."

    Xu Wuji''s face twitched. "How long has it been? Not only have you learned Spiral Domain, but you can even use it to pick up on spatial traces. We never even considered that possibility. Kid, would you like to join the Bureau?"

    The sudden question startled Yun Yun, and she quickly gave Xuan Qi a warning look. The Bureau was not an organization anyone wanted to work for.

    Lu Yin was also taken aback. "Senior, are you part of the Bureau?"

    Xu Wuji replied, "I''m the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau Director."

    "This junior could never refuse Senior''s gracious invitation," Lu Yin answered politely.

    "Hahaha!" Xu Wujiughed. He had naturally picked up on the warning that Yun Yun had tried to deliver earlier. "You little brat, I just helped you, and you''re already trying to undermine me?"

    Yun Yun sighed. "Senior, you are fully aware of the situation regarding the Bureau. Big Brother Xuan Qi, he... he isn''t suitable."

    Xu Wuji huffed coldly. "I think that he suits it just fine. Using Spiral Domain to find the infiltrators... I never thought of it before, but even if I had, it wouldn''t have made any difference. There¡¯s no way we could ask Senior Xu Wuwei to find spies for us. However, with this brat around, we might be able to catch a few more spies."

    Yun Yun quickly grew anxious. "Shouldn''t this be discussed with Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    Xu Wuji red at the young woman. "This is just a small matter, so what''s the need to discuss anything? If Senior Xu Wuwei disagrees, we''ll talk then. Alright, that settles it."

    The man then pulled out a pair of sunsses and handed them over to Lu Yin. "Take these. They¡¯re the symbol of my Voidforce Universe''s Bureau. As long as you wear these, you represent me, Xu Wuji."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He stared at the sunsses in his hand. Was this really how things were?

    "Put them on," Xu Wuji ordered.

    Lu Yin felt incredibly awkward. He nced over at Yun Yun, but she avoided his gaze.

    Joining the Bureau had been a part of Lu Yin''s ns, but the sunsses were not. Wearing them seemed a bit... embarrassing.

    Reluctantly, with Xu Wuji''s repeated prodding, Lu Yin finally put the sunsses on.

    Xu Wuji immediately appeared quite satisfied. "Good! That''s the spirit I''m looking for. As long as you¡¯re wearing my Wuji sses, you can go anywhere in the Voidforce Universe and investigate anyone."

    He patted Lu Yin on the shoulder in an approving manner. "The Bureau should be passed along to ambitious young people like you. Come on, I¡¯ll introduce you to the others, who will be under yourmand from now on."

 Chapter 2610: Acting Bureau Director

    <h4>Chapter 2610: Acting Bureau Director</h4>

    Lu Yin removed the sunsses and stared at the older man in shock. "Under mymand? Isn''t that a bit too sudden? After all, I¡¯ve only just joined."

    Xu Wuji scoffed. "The rest of them are just trash that can barely capture any spies, even after all these years. With the help of your Spiral Domain, you¡¯ll be able to capture as many spies as we could hope for. Of course you''re going to be the one in charge."

    "Uh, Senior? Could you give me a moment? There¡¯s still something that I need to say to Yun Yun," Lu Yin requested.

    Xu Wuji nced at Lu Yin, looked at Yun Yun, and then gave Lu Yin a knowing smile. "Got it! No rush at all."

    With that, the man vanished, already stepping into outer space.

    After Xu Wuji left, Yun Yun spoke up in a bitter tone. "Big Brother Xuan Qi, you shouldn''t have epted Senior''s invitation. Capturing spies as a part of the Bureau isn''t easy, and it will also force you to offend a great many people. The Bureau has a bad reputation in the Sixverse Association."

    "I stayed behind because I wanted to ask you about that. Once I¡¯m part of the Bureau, the people there definitely won''t tell me the truth," Lu Yin said.

    Yun Yun sighed and then proceeded to share everything that she knew about the Bureau with Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin quickly learned about the difficulties that the Bureau faced. Things were even worse than what he had expected.

    The Bureau was fundamentally different from Humility''s Gate. While both organizations were devoted to capturing spies, Humility''s Gate had been established with the support of the Lu family. After the Lu family was exiled, the four ruling powers had taken over the Perennial World, but all of their Progenitors were stuck in the Dominion Realm to face Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses and maintain a level of stability for the rear battlefield. This had allowed Humility''s Gate, with Mu Xie running it, to essentially do as they pleased. Apart from the Liu family, the Nong family, and a small number of other powerful organizations, the majority of the Perennial World was helpless against Humility¡¯s Gate. Suspected spies and Redbacks were captured, and no one could resist.

    On the other hand, the Bureau had Progenitor-level powerhouses overseeing the organization¡¯s activities throughout the Sixverse Association. A single Progenitor powerhouse was far from enough to do everything that the Bureau needed in each universe. Xu Wuji led the Bureau in the Voidforce Universe, but even with his support, the bureau was not able to act as they wished in the Voidforce Universe. There were too many interests tangled together, and Aeternus had also made it a point to nurture many important figures, like Yun Wu. If not for Lu Yin coincidentally Possessing the woman and essing her memories, who would have ever imagined that such a person was a spy for Aeternus? Even after the woman was exposed, Xu Wuji had not been able to take Yun Wu away, and he had instead needed to repay the favor that he owed the Cloudview n.

    This perfectly represented the differences between the Bureau and Humility''s Gate. While Mu Xie also owed the Lu family a debt, with Mu Xie''s character, he would still capture anyone suspected of being a spy, regardless of the debts owed. On top of that, Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was incredibly powerful, to the point where even someone like Bai Wangyuan did not want to offend Mu Xie.

    In contrast, Xu Wuji¡¯s debt to the Cloudview n had impacted his actions.

    That was also just the first problem. Another was that many spies had not voluntarily defected to Aeternus, but were instead controlled by Cheng Kong''s Fantasy Bubbles. This made things extremely difficult; even if these people were captured, it was aplicated matter to deal with them. Most spies were not ordinary people, and they always had many connections with various people and organizations. It was often impossible to execute such people, but allowing them to live made it difficult to convince the public that the situation was being properly handled. This left the Bureau with its hands tied even when spies were captured. As long as the spy refused to admit that they had willingly joined Aeternus and instead imed to be controlled by Cheng Kong, the Bureau was renderedpletely helpless.

    This was the current situation in the Bureau. Firstly, finding undercover agents wasn''t easy, whether they could be captured was another problem, and dealing with them after they were arrested was yet another issue. With the difficulties piling up one after another, the Bureau tended toward inaction. The original intention of the Bureau¡¯s founding was to capture undercover agents and corpse kings. Hence, doing nothing wasn''t the solution, as they would then receive a slew ofints. For example, Xu Lie went to question the Bureau after they were ambushed while she was showing Lu Yin around. She demanded to know why they hadn¡¯t detected the traces of the two corpse kings before the ambush.

    As for the organizations that were connected to the spies who imed to be controlled by Cheng Kong, they would also be upset with the Bureau. After all, even if the suspect was truly under Cheng Kong¡¯s control, the matter would still be recorded, which would essentially ruin the person¡¯s life. This meant that, no matter what the Bureau did, they would be seen poorly and offend everyone.

    For all of these reasons, most people in the Sixverse Association thought that being a part of the Bureau was a thankless job.

    ¡°Big Brother Xuan Qi, reach out to Senior Xu Wuwei and ask him to help you get out of joining the Bureau,¡± Yun Yun suggested.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Leaving the Bureau now would unquestionably offend Senior Xu Wuji.¡±

    Yun Yun felt rather frustrated. ¡°If you stay in the Bureau for too long, your reputation will be ruined.¡±

    Lu Yin sank into contemtion. His reputation would be ruined? This was not wrong, and Lu Yin was quickly realizing that the Bureau¡¯s situation was far worse than what he had imagined.

    At this moment, Yun Yun¡¯smunication crystal trembled. She answered the iing call, only to quickly lower her hand. ¡°My aunt cannot exin why or how she became a spy. That leaves only one exnation.¡±

    ¡°That she¡¯s being controlled by Cheng Kong?¡± Lu Yin concluded.

    Yun Yun nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t say if she¡¯s being honest or not, as all spies that are captured say the same thing. If my aunt really was controlled by Cheng Kong, then it means that she was not acting of her own will. Even Senior Xu Wuji would have a difficult time handling this situation. For now, her crimes will be recorded, and she will be incarcerated. She will only ever be released if a means of undoing the control is discovered¡ªonly then will she be allowed to atone for her crimes.¡±

    Cheng Kong really did make things incredibly difficult for the Bureau. Lu Yin was just thankful that Cheng Kong''s influence had not crept into the Perennial World, as that would render Humility''s Gate nearly as useless as the Bureau. Even if Senior Brother Mu Xie feared no one, the various branches of Humility''s Gate were different, and the people who joined Humility''s Gate were all from different families.

    "Yun Yun, I understand what you''re saying, but for now, there¡¯s no way I can leave the Bureau," Lu Yin exined before bidding the woman farewell and leaving the Cloudview n.

    Yun Yun sighed, her emotions in turmoil. She could not understand if she was more upset about Xuan Qi joining the Bureau or Yun Wu being revealed as a spy.

    Too much had happened in a single day for the young woman to process.

    In outer space, just beyond the Cloudview n''s territory, Xu Wuji watched Xuan Qi approach with open interest. "Did that girl tell you everything? What do you think about joining us now?¡±

    Lu Yin felt rather curious about something. ¡°Senior, why did you ept leading the Bureau in this universe?"

    "Is that strange?" Xu Wuji arched a brow.

    Lu Yin replied, "Given the current state of the Bureau, and seeing as how you are not someone who enjoys seeking out trouble, why would you ept such a position?"

    Xu Wuji took off his sunsses and asked, "If I answer your question, will you feel at peace about joining the bureau?"

    Lu Yin grinned at the man. "Whether or not you answer, this junior will still join the Bureau."

    "Oh? Now that is an odd answer," Xu Wuji reacted with surprise.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Someone needs to do the job, and if I can help in digging up spies, why wouldn''t I?"

    "Spies that you painstakingly work to catch may or may not receive the punishment that you believe they deserve. Can you ept that?" Xu Wuji challenged.

    Lu Yin replied, "We''ll cross that bridge when we get there."

    Xu Wujiughed and put his sses back on. "To tell you the truth, it was only due to bad luck that I became the bureau head here. It''s not because I have some grand ambition or some inspiring story¡ªI just happened to lose a random draw."

    Lu Yin blinked. The answer was unexpected, but it also made quite a bit of sense.

    "What do you think? Disappointed?" Xu Wuji jested.

    Showing a bitter smile, Lu Yin replied, "Just a bit. It feels as though there''s no one we can rely on."

    Xu Wuji immediately reassured Xuan Qi. "You don¡¯t need to worry about that. Even if I''m not enthusiastic about my position, I will definitely do whatever needs to be done and carry the responsibilities I should. You don''t need to worry, so just boldly search for spies, regardless of their rank or background. If anyone tries to stop you, just use my name: Xu Wuji."

    Lu Yin pressed a bit, "What if I arrest someone with a very important background?"

    "Could they be more important than me?" Xu Wuji red at Lu Yin. "Be confident!"

    Lu Yinughed. "This junior understands. You can rest assured, Senior."

    Xu Wuji was satisfied with Lu Yin¡¯s response. "Kid, you should act boldly and domineeringly! As long as you can verify that someone is a spy and have proof, I can help you capture them, even if they¡¯re Lord Xu''s son..."

    The man¡¯s neck suddenly jerked back. He probably should not have said that much, so he quickly added, "Of course, Lord Xu doesn''t have a son.

    ¡°Come, I¡¯ll take you to our headquarters."

    With Xu Wuji leading the way, the two moved quickly, and they traveled through the void to soon arrive at a dark-red region.

    Even the outer space in this region was a deep shade of red, and all of the nearby stars ands were dark red. This was not scorching red, but more like a uniform color.

    "This is the headquarters of my branch of the Bureau. It¡¯s known as the Red Zone. The ce is nothing special, just an astral phenomena that leaves everything herepletely red. It was Ghost Three''s idea to use this ce. Apparently, it looks a bit intimidating," Xu Wuji exined as he led Lu Yin into the Red Zone.

    Lu Yin soonid eyes on the ¡°headquarters¡± of the Bureau on a certain. The headquarters looked more like a rundown city. Despite the dpidated state, the architectural style was quite ostentatious, and even the shortest building was a hundred meters tall. The tallest building was a bell tower that was so high that it pierced the atmosphere and stretched out into outer space.

    <i>ng!</i>

    The loud sound that rang out startled Lu Yin. It hade from the bell tower.

    The ringing was so loud that it created ripples in the void, like a rock striking ake surface, and they spread out in every direction.

    Lu Yin was astonished. This was his first time hearing such a loud bell.

    "What do you think? It¡¯s a pretty impressive bell, isn''t it? Whenever someone arrives, that bell will ring.¡±

    ¡°Don''t believe everything that you hear about my Bureau. We actually do catch a number of spies every year, but publicly arresting spies that were deliberately trained by Aeternus tends to trigger too many conflicts of interest, which is why it''s so hard for us to publicize anything. However, spies that are recruited by other spies always eventually reveal themselves," Xu Wuji said.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That bell certainly is loud."

    "This city wasn''t originally on this. It was once home to a race of giants, but they were unlucky enough to be wiped out by the Aeternus. So, I simply moved their city here. It looks pretty intimidating."

    Xu Wuji led Lu Yin into the city.

    Lu Yin paid particr attention to the city¡¯s gate, as it had the words "Bureau" written on it inrge characters.

    "The Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau has 3,600 registered members, and they¡¯re split into five different teams, each consisting of 100 people. The team captains are Boss Guan, Ghost Three, Ning Ran, Skinner, and Old Dian.¡±

    "The operation teams are led by Boss Guan and Skinner.¡±

    "The search teams are led by Lao Dian and Gui San.¡±

    "And the interrogation team is led by Ning Ran.¡±

    "The rest of the members belong to the Bureau itself, and they are under my oversight. They are tasked with receiving information, distributing resources, assigning tasks..."

    Lu Yin sat at the very top of the bell tower and silently listened to a middle-aged man deliver a report. This man oversaw all of the Bureau¡¯s operations, and he was known as the Bureau Manager. Xu Wuji had just informed the man that the Bureau was being temporarily ced under Xuan Qi¡¯s supervision.

    There were cracks in the wall, and through them, it was possible to look out into the city. The city had once gone through a genocide, and bloodstains could still be seen everywhere, including within the moat. While the structures appeared strong and imposing, they were barely remaining upright and would most likely shatter from a single touch.

    When the Bureau Manager finished his report, he just stared at Lu Yin, his face emotionless. "Mister Xuan Qi, do you have any further questions?"

    Lu Yin asked, "So, all of the bureau¡¯s operations are handled by just the five teams, right? I''d like to meet them."

    The Bureau Manager raised his hand and made a call with hismunication crystal.

 Chapter 2611: Feasible?

    <h4>Chapter 2611: Feasible?</h4>

    It was not long before the first person arrived. Lu Yin saw an older man whose disheveled appearance gave him an air of entricity. As the man approached, he barely nced at Lu Yin before turning to look at the Bureau Manager in a questioning manner.

    With a gesture from the Bureau Manager, the old man took a seat.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained closed, giving him the appearance that he was in deep contemtion.

    Another man arrived next. This man had a long azure de strapped to his back. The second man also nced at Lu Yin before looking at the Bureau Manager. The manager did not have any reactions, and the swordsman snorted coldly before taking his own seat.

    The third arrival was a gaunt man. This man¡¯s arrival roused Lu Yin from his thoughts and even prompted him to open his eyes. This was not because this man was powerful, but because he was weak. It was clear from a single nce that the man had only just be a Void Brillium, which meant that he was about as strong as a one-tribtion Envoy. Could someone with that level of strength really serve as a team captain?

    The man looked at Lu Yin with a ttering smile on his face, instantly reminding Lu Yin of Ku Wei.

    Next to arrive was a woman. She was strikingly beautiful, aside from eerie green patterns that were on her face. Perched on her shoulder was... a toad?

    Lu Yin stared at the toad, and it stared back at him, locking eyes with him.

    Thedy also turned to the Bureau Manager. "Has the Bureau Head been by?"

    The Bureau Manager politely answered, "Yes. While here, he named Xuan Qi as acting Bureau Head. Starting today, all of the Bureau¡¯s operations will be overseen by Mr. Xuan Qi."

    The four people all turned to stare at Lu Yin, surprise etched on each of their faces.

    "Him?" The man with the azure de arched a brow before turning and directing a menacing re at Lu Yin. Red tinted the depths of the swordsman¡¯s eyes. A hand reached for his sword, and for an instant, a terrifying aura erupted, slicing through the void as it headed for Lu Yin.

    No one else reacted, as they were all waiting to see how things yed out.

    Lu Yin chuckled. A test? He did not move a muscle and simply allowed the attack to sweep over him. He looked quite rxed throughout the entire process.

    The man lowered his hand back down. "Passable."

    Ning Ran frowned. "What special ability could he possess that qualifies him to be the acting Bureau Head?"

    Not everyone was able to determine the cultivation level that Lu Yin was revealing. As far as Lu Yin could tell, only the old man was able to discern Lu Yin¡¯s voidforce cultivation, and that was because the old man was a Void Morphora. All of the other team captains were Void Brillium, and none of them had a higher cultivation level than Lu Yin''s.

    The Bureau Manager did not respond to Ning Ran¡¯s question.

    Ning Ran stared at Lu Yin. "In pure strength, you can¡¯tpare to the Bureau Head. Since he has still appointed you as acting Bureau Head, what special ability do you have?"

    "What are you hoping for?"

    Ning Ran replied, "Something that can help catch spies."

    Lu Yinughed. "I can do that."

    Ning Ran stared at Lu Yin and stopped talking.

    "What is this toad of yours?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Ning Ran replied, "I oversee all interrogations. This is my life-bound voidforce puppet, a Poison Toad. There are few who can resist its poison."

    "Is that so?" Lu Yin was instantly reminded of someone: Mistchild. That woman possessed an innate gift that allowed her to grow stronger the more poison she consumed. Thest time Lu Yin had seen the woman had been a very long time ago.

    "Didn''t you say that there were five team captains? Where''s thest one?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Bureau Manager replied, "Boss Guan didn''te."

    "Did he go out to capture spies?" Lu Yin questioned.

    Bureau Manager replied bluntly, "He didn''te because he looks down on you, Mr. Xuan Qi."

    The other four did not react at all, clearly ustomed to such behavior.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "That¡¯s rather frank. What''s his cultivation?"

    "Peak Void Brillium."

    Lu Yin nodded. "So he¡¯s worth keeping around, and he has a backbone. Leave him be for now."

    He stood up and scanned the four people before him. "Right before arriving here, I discovered that the Cloudview n¡¯s Yun Wu is a spy. The Bureau Head has already ordered the information to be sealed, but I need you four to find out everyone who has had any sort of contact with Yun Wu and make a list of all their names."

    Lu Yin turned to the man with the long azure sword. "You''re Skinner, right? Go visit the Cloudview n and cross-check things with them. Yun Wu wasn''t acting alone."

    Skinner was frozen, stunned. "Yun Wu? The Cloudview n?"

    The other captains were simrly surprised by what Lu Yin had just revealed. He had only just arrived, but he already had an impressive aplishment under his belt.

    Lu Yin grew solemn as he looked at the few people before him. "While I¡¯ve only just arrived and am still unfamiliar with all of you, capturing spies is extremely important for all of humanity. I don''t want any of you to say one thing and do another, so would you all prefer that I demonstrate my authority?"

    Skinner stood up. "There''s no need for something like that. We all joined the Bureau to uncover spies. As long as there are any clues, we won''t let them get away."

    With that, the man walked out.

    Old Dian and Ghost Three also left, leaving Lu Yin with just the Bureau Manager and Ning Ran.

    "Where is Yun Wu?" Ning Ran asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The Bureau Head didn''t bring her back."

    Ning Ran''s expression fell, and she also turned to leave.

    The Bureau Manager then asked, "Mr. Xuan Qi, do you have any orders for me?"

    "Where is Boss Guan?"

    "Just inside the city walls, at the northwest corner."

    Lu Yin had intended to leave the man be, but after giving the matter a second thought, he decided to settle matters now. It would not be much trouble.

    The Bureau was widely hated. The people who joined it despite the organization¡¯s stigma had either been forced into it or were genuinely passionate about rooting out spies.

    While Xu Wuji did not seem to be very strict with his management of the Bureau, appointing someone as a team captain was not a small matter. Xu Wuji absolutely would have performed thorough background checks on all the captains, and since Boss Guan held such a role, it proved that the man was trustworthy. He might be a bit arrogant and overbearing, but as Xu Wuji had told Lu Yin, the young should be a bit domineering.

    When Lu Yin found Boss Guan, the man was drinking with his subordinates, and he ignored Lu Yin as though he was invisible.

    Lu Yin immediately used Spiral Domain, and the bone pike appeared in front of Boss Guan''s forehead. This scene had be familiar in recent days.

    Even so, the people who saw Spiral Domain appear in the Bureau¡¯s headquarters were terribly shocked by the sight, and there was a fundamental shift in how they perceived Xuan Qi.

    The next time the Bureau Manager met with Lu Yin, the man¡¯s voice no longer sounded calm, and it instead carried great respect.

    The same was also true of Boss Guan. His initial defiance transformed into obedience. "Master, let me take care of matters with the Cloudview n. Skinner''s cultivation is too low, so they won''t respect him."

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s not necessary. Just wait here. I¡¯ll be assigning you some more tasks shortly."

    Taming Boss Guan was far too easy for Lu Yin. He could summon a Semi-Progenitor with his Champions'' Stage, and he had even imprisoned a Progenitor in the bowels of Aeternus Nation.

    It took more than ten days from when Skinner left to investigate matters at the Cloudview n¡¯s territory for the list to be delivered to Lu Yin. Most of this time was because of how long it took to travel to and from the bureau¡¯s headquarters.

    "Yun Wu kept herself isted from the rest of the Cloudview n in order to avoid generating any suspicions that she was stealing the n''s intelligence. That same caution drove her to do everything that she could to reduce or eliminate others¡¯ suspicions of her, but that was also her weakness.¡±

    "That caution was what allowed me to find Aeternus¡¯s symbol, and it will also show us exactly who she has been dealing with.

    "While she was open about who she interacted with, there are absolutely some other spies among her contacts," Lu Yin casuallymented as he scanned the list.

    Boss Guan, Skinner, and the rest of the team captains were sitting across from Lu Yin, listening to him with the Bureau Manager.

    Lu Yin was not saying anything that most people could not think of, but discovering spies was incredibly frustrating, and it was impossible to catch all the traitors.

    Also, anyone who interacted with Yun Wu was far from ordinary.

    Lu Yin himself did not really know what he was saying. The only reason why he had asked for the list of names was because of one person.

    "Look into this person." Lu Yin circled one name on the list before tossing it over to the captains.

    They checked who he had marked. "Yi Jun?"

    "Master, is there a problem with Yi Jun?" Ghost Three asked.

    "Yes."

    Ghost Three nced at the others.

    Old Dian spoke up, "Yi Jun is no ordinary person. She stands above all others in the Voidforce Universe in terms of both looks and talent. She has many followers and admirers, including even the descendants of Void Supremas. She stepped onto the Endless Frontier in order to save her father, and in doing so, umted great honor and earned a reputation for herself. She is connected to many powerful people. It will not be easy to investigate her."

    Lu Yin nced up. "It''s exactly because of all that that I¡¯m certain that there¡¯s something off with her. If I were Aeternus, I would absolutely recruit such a person as a spy."

    "But she aplished great things on the Endless Frontier," Skinner interjected.

    Lu Yin asked, "And how did she do that?"

    Everyone was taken aback.

    Lu Yin answered his own question, "When she first arrived on the Endless Frontier, what was her cultivation level? She was nothing more than a mere Void Ascendia. How could any Void Ascendia achieve great things in a ce as brutal as the Endless Frontier? Even powerful Void Morphora struggle to stay alive in that ce. The fact that a Void Ascendia aplished anything of significance should be nothing but a joke."

    No one said a word of argument, as Yi Jun¡¯s record did sound a bit far-fetched.

    "Of course, I''m not saying it¡¯spletely impossible, but the chances are incredibly low. In my opinion, there¡¯s only a way to guarantee achievements in that ce," Lu Yin''s face grew solemn as he dered, "Aeternus."

    "Aeternus deliberately gave her those achievements?" Old Dian asked in astonishment.

    "That¡¯s the only exnation that I can think of," Lu Yin replied, "As part of the Bureau, our jobs are to consider the worst-case scenarios, but proving that someone is a spy requires evidence, not spection. Starting now, the Bureau only has one mission."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand fell upon the list of names "Investigate Yi Jun."

    Yi Jun was Yun Wu¡¯s contact who had taken the information that Yun Wu had gathered. Yi Jun was a spy, but Lu Yin needed her name to be on the list so that he had a reasonable excuse to investigate her. Without anything to trigger an investigation, looking into Yi Jun would be far too suspicious.

    Even if Lu Yin''s reason for investigating the woman sounded a bit far-fetched, that did not make his words any less true. The bureau was indeed tasked with expecting the worst. On top of that, his reasoning exined many things.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s orders, everyone in the Bureau started researching Yi Jun, regardless of how willing they were.

    Unfortunately, things did not proceed smoothly. The only information that the Bureau was able to gather regarding Yi Jun was public record. They had no means of obtaining direct ess to the woman.

    The Bureau could not afford to reveal their investigation and act openly against Yi Jun. Not only would doing so raise the woman¡¯s guard, but they would also find endless obstacles impeding their progress.

    "Yi Jun is not someone you can meet just because you want to. There are many people who wish to meet with her any given day, and unless we reveal ourselves as officials of the Bureau who are conducting an investigation, there''s no way for us to personally meet her," Skinner grumbled in frustration.

    Boss Guan added, "I might be able to meet her if I used a different identity, but that would take a bit of time. I can¡¯t even say how long it would take."

    "Even you, a peak Void Brillium, can''t meet her. This woman is a real celebrity," Lu Yin muttered.

    Boss Guan smiled bitterly. "There''s nothing that we can do about it. Unless a person is somehow exceptional and stands above all others, it will take an extremely long time to meet Yi Jun."

    "Exceptional?" Lu Yin grew puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

    "It means being the best," Old Dian replied. His messy hair gave him a bizarre appearance. "Someone who stands above all of their peers in some manner, such as the most powerful Void Brillium, or someone who has achieved something unprecedented. Things like that."

    "I''ve crossed the Void Pass. Would that count?" Lu Yin asked.

    The moment he spoke, a stunned silence fell upon the room.

    The Bureau Manager was bbergasted, and he asked, "You- you crossed the Void Pass?"

    Boss Guan was shocked. "<i>You''re</i> the one who crossed the Void Pass?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Yes, that was me. Does that make it possible for me to meet Yi Jun?"

    Once again, their perspective of their young boss transformed.

 Chapter 2612: Choking

    <h4>Chapter 2612: Choking</h4>

    Ning Ran was stunned. "Throughout countless years, no one has ever managed to cross the Void Pass. How did you manage to seed?¡±

    ¡°Bureau Director, you''re incredible!" Ghost Three praised.

    Old Dian stared at Lu Yin, his expression shifting. "Tough guy."

    Lu Yin spoke up, ¡°All right, since it¡¯s possible, then let''s go meet her. I¡¯m curious to see what kind of charm this Yi Jun has that entices so many people to line up to meet her.¡±

    ...

    "There are two kinds of people who try to see Yi Jun. The first are her admirers who want to marry her. The others are curious about the situation on the Endless Frontier. Rumors im that she has severalrades from her time on the battlefield who contact her from time to time. This is why many people hope to meet her, as they want to learn how their family or friends are doing on the Endless Frontier," an old man exined as he trailed behind Lu Yin.

    It was Old Dian. Lu Yin had brought the old man along because of his unique skill, known as Smell Detection. This ability allowed the old man to determine if two people had ever made contact with each other by smell.

    Lu Yin had also discovered that no one else in the Bureau knew that Old Dian had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. It was assumed that the old man qualified to be a team captain because of his Smell Detection.

    At the moment, Old Dian was well groomed, unlike his appearance in the Bureau¡¯s headquarters. At this moment, the old man looked more like a kind schoolteacher.

    The two men had arrived on Yi Jun Star. The had been named after Yi Jun as a reward from the Voidforce Universe for her meritorious services performed on the Endless Frontier.

    ¡°This Yi Jun sure is hospitable, agreeing to meet all these people. Does she charge them?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The question left Old Dian speechless. ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t charge people to meet with her, though not very many are able to actually see her. It¡¯s impossible for her to meet with everyone.¡±

    Yi Jun lived at the foot of a huge mountain. A waterfall tumbled down from the peak, and white mist filled the sky. It was incredibly beautiful to see, and the sound of a zither filled the air and cleansed the soul.

    Periodically, people would shout something towards the base of the mountain, hoping to catch a glimpse of Yi Jun, but all such efforts failed.

    "I possess an unrivaled appetite amongst my peers! I seek an audience with Yi Jun." A peculiar im incited a wave ofughter.

    "I excel in calligraphy and painting. I wish to paint a portrait for Yi Jun." This was also met with snickers andughter.

    "I..."

    Lu Yin and Old Dian watched from the distance as various individuals loudly proimed their ¡°exceptional¡± qualities. These people would most likely never be allowed to meet Yi Jun.

    "I am Bo Qi, and I have an appointment. I seek an audience with Yi Jun," one young man called out as soon as he arrived.

    The waterfall suddenly paused in its movements, and a stream of water broke free and extended toward the young man.

    "Young Master Bo Qi, pleasee in," a voice called out from the stream.

    Young Master Bo Qi stepped onto the stream of water and was carried to the peak of the mountain, which instantly sparked a wave of envy among the people left behind.

    "That¡¯s the young master of the Bo family. I¡¯ve heard that the Bo family''s patriarch is fighting on the Endless Frontier right now. Young Master Bo Qi probably wants to ask about his patriarch''s condition," someonemented.

    "Even if Yi Jun has some friends at the Endless Frontier, there¡¯s no way she could possibly check on everyone''s condition."

    "You''re wrong about that. News from the Endless Frontier ispiled and passed along to the Sixverse Association. The association then disseminates the news to the various parallel universes. Yi Jun is this popr because one of her friends has ess to that news, which includes reports regarding the deaths and achievements of powerhouses. Patriarch Bo is a peak Void Brillium, which means that he deserves to be mentioned in those battle reports. Young Master Bo Qi has requested an audience with Yi Jun in hopes that she knows what happened to Patriarch Bo."

    "That makes sense. There¡¯s no way that Yi Jun can search for someone on the Endless Frontier, but she can pay attention to the reports. There might be some mention of Patriarch Bo."

    Bo Qi soon returned, a grim expression on his face. When someone asked what had happened, the young man said nothing and simply left.

    There was no announcement from the mountain. The information that people like Young Master Bo Qi sought could not be carelessly tossed about.

    Lu Yin led Old Dian forward. "I am Xuan Qi. I crossed the Void Pass. May I meet with Yi Jun?"

    The onlookers who were present for the entertainment avable thought that they must have misheard.

    "What did he just say? He crossed the Void Pass?"

    "<i>He</i> crossed the Void Pass? Is he that man?"

    "Was it really him?"

    Murmurs and gasps echoed. It was clear just how shocking Lu Yin¡¯s deration was to everyone here.

    At the peak of the mountain, the zither music suddenly cut off. A pleasant voice rang out, but not the one that had spoken earlier. This voice was softer and gentler. "Please wait, Mr. Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin stared at the mountain peak. There were no experts on this, as the most powerful individual was only a peak Void Brillium, and that person was not even on the mountaintop. Lu Yin was able to do whatever he wanted, and he could even take this woman away. He already knew that she was a spy.

    Yi Jun had ess to information from the Endless Frontier, which was extremely important for Aeternus.

    So, Lu Yin silently waited.

    Soon, a person emerged from the waterfall. She possessed an ethereal aura and skin like white jade, though her cheeks were flushed. After appearing, she arrived in front of Lu Yin and gave him a graceful bow. "Mr. Xuan Qi, I am Yi Jun. It is an honor to meet you."

    The crowd stared on, many of them feeling conflicted. Despite however long they may have spent waiting, none of them had ever seen Yi Jun treat someone like this before.

    Lu Yinughed. "Miss Yi Jun, you are too kind. There''s no need to personally wee me."

    Yi Jun replied with a smile, "How could I afford to be rude to Mr. Xuan Qi? The Void Pass was created by Lord Xu himself, and it was a symbol of our Voidforce Universe. Mr. Xuan Qi risked his life to cross the Void Pass to join our Voidforce Universe. It''s only right that I personally wee you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Only a handful of people were aware of the real reason why he had crossed the Void Pass. There were many people in the Voidforce Universe¡ªno, in the Sixverse Association, who challenged the Void Pass for no real reason, and yet Yi Jun was aware that Xuan Qi had challenged the Void Pass to join the Voidforce Universe. This woman clearly had some means.

    "Mr. Xuan Qi, please." Yi Jun extended a hand, revealing a wless, jade-white arm that dazzled the crowd''s eyes.

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile and then followed Yi Jun to the mountain peak, along with Old Dian.

    After the three people left, the watching crowd finally regained their senses. They stared at the mountain with burning envy. They had just been shown the disparity between them. There were some who enjoyed the privilege of being personally weed by Yi Jun, while others did not even have the right to speak to the woman.

    Yi Jun escorted Lu Yin to a pavilion that stood above the waterfall. The building bridged the waterfall, and it waspletely surrounded by mist. Bits of verdant greenery hung from the structure. From this ce, it was possible to see the anxious and expectant expressions on the faces of those watching from outside. Lu Yin turned to Yi Jun. "Do you like it here?"

    Yi Jun replied, "I have no choice. Everyone out there wishes to meet me, but it''s impossible for me to meet them all. I also can''t leave my sister watching the Endless Frontier all the time, so I often stay here and y the zither for these people, in an attempt to soothe their emotions. While doing so, I watch for those who are most anxious, as I might be able to offer them a bit of help."

    Lu Yin praised, "Miss Yi Jun is truly kind."

    Yi Jun shook her head. "Mr. Xuan Qi, please don''t tease me. I am just an ordinary woman, but since I enjoy more privileges than others, it¡¯s only right that I use that status for the greater good."

    As the two people took their seats, Old Dian moved to stand behind Lu Yin. Yi Jun curiously asked, "And who might this elder be?"

    "A personal servant. Don''t mind him," Lu Yin replied.

    Yi Jun grew curious. "I haven''t heard about you having a personal attendant, Mr. Xuan Qi. Did you acquire him recently, or was he perhaps a gift from Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    Old Dian arched a brow. <i>A gift?</i> The question grated at his ears.

    Without the slightest shift in his expression, Lu Yin responded, "It appears that you know a great deal about me, Miss Yi Jun."

    Yi Jun smiled. "Quite a few people bring me interesting bits of news from the outside world. There has been much recently about you, Mr. Xuan Qi."

    "Oh? Is any of it bad news?" Lu Yin teased.

    Yi Junughed. "Oh, yes! Xu Yueined about you quite a bit. She is quite upset with you."

    Lu Yin looked surprised. "Xu Yue?"

    "It sounds like you have quite the impression of her." Yi Jun chuckled.

    Lu Yin quickly asked, "Has Xu Yue returned? What of Xu Ji?"

    "All of them have returned, and they just paid me a visit yesterday. If you had arrived just one day earlier, it might have been possible to have a reunion. Your absence was rather felt distinctly." Yi Jun rose and then personally served Lu Yin a cup of tea. Her slender fingers, untouched or dirtied by the world, seemed like luminescent pearls. The woman also had an enchanting fragrance that somehow lifted one''s spirits.

    Lu Yin could not help but lean a bit closer so that he could take a deep breath. "What is that scent?¡±

    Yi Jun quickly stepped back and gave Lu Yin an irritated look. "Sir, you''re going too far!"

    Realizing his unconscious actions, Lu Yin quickly apologized. "I''m truly sorry, Miss Yi Jun. I rarely interact withdies. I offer you my sincerest apologies. As punishment, I''ll finish the tea from this cup."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin raised his teacup and finished it immediately, eliciting augh from Yi Jun. "Such punishments are meant to be done with wine, sir. Are you trying to substitute wine with tea?¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I¡¯ve never touched wine, so I guess that I''ve embarrassed myself.¡±

    "Abstaining from wine is a good thing, and drinking tea allows you to better experience what life has to offer."

    "Miss, your sentiments are rather profound. It would seem that you¡¯ve experienced quite a bit."

    "On the Endless Frontier, there''s only the finest line between life and death. Indeed, I''ve been through a lot.¡±

    "It''s very admirable that you stepped onto the battlefield to save your father. I, Xuan Qi, will salute you with a cup."

    Yi Jun quickly spoke up, "I don¡¯t dare to ept. Braving the Void Pass is a far more impressive and dazzling aplishment. Compared to you, my minor achievements are small and insignificant."

    Lu Yin burst outughing.

    Behind him, Old Dian remained calm. The acting Bureau Director seemed to be enjoying himself, and the old man had to admit that Yi Jun was truly beautiful, enough to stir anyone¡¯s emotions. The acting Bureau Director was not smitten with the woman, was he?

    At this thought, Old Dian coughed.

    Yi Jun turned her attention back to Old Dian.

    Lu Yin nced at the old man. "Are you not feeling well?¡±

    "Not at all. I merely choked a bit," Old Dian replied.

    Lu Yin turned back to Yi Jun andughed. "That fragrance is indeed rather strong. I''m nearly choking."

    Yi Jun rolled her eyes at Lu Yin. "If you dislike it, I will go change my clothes."

    She then bowed to Lu Yin and left the room.

    Lu Yin watched the woman leave and then asked, "What do you think?"

    Old Dian replied, "The two were definitely in contact with each other, and more than once at that."

    Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. He was already aware of this, though he needed the confirmation and support of the Bureau before he could act against Yi Jun.

    The woman soon returned, this time wearing a long ck dress that entuated her slim figure. "I''ve kept you waiting, Mr. Xuan Qi. By the way, might I ask why you came to see me?"

    "I was hoping to hear about the Endless Frontier."

    Yi Jun grew puzzled. "If you wish to know about the Endless Frontier, you could simply ask Senior Xu Wuwei, or even the Void Yang and Void Yin ns, all of whom are both quite close to you. Why ask me?"

    The corners of Lu Yin''s mouth curved upwards. "I''m the kind of person who doesn¡¯t like to trouble those close to me."

    Yi Jun chuckled. "You certainly are quite interesting. Very well, let me keep things simple for you.

    "The Endless Frontier is thergest battlefield where the Sixverse Association holds back the forces of Aeternus. Also known as the Hundred Alliances Battlefield, it isposed of sixty-two parallel universes that the Sixverse Association has discovered...¡±

 Chapter 2613: Recruiting Help

    <h4>Chapter 2613: Recruiting Help</h4>

    Of course, Lu Yin was already aware of everything that Yi Jun was saying. He had heard a simr exnation from Shi Jiao when she had tried to persuade Xuan Qi to struggle for Sage Hua¡¯s seat so that he could help Xu Xiangyin when he was ordered to return to the Endless Frontier. More than twenty Progenitor-level powerhouses had perished on that battlefield, and that was not even mentioning the countless Semi-Progenitor-level figures who had died.

    The Endless Frontier was a true meat grinder, as no one could be certain they would leave the ce alive.

    "Rather calling the Endless Frontier the ce where the Sixverse Association holds Aeternus back, it would be more urate to call it the frontlines of the Sixverse Association''s invasion into Aeternus¡¯s territory," Yi Jun borated.

    "Invasion?" Lu Yin was surprised. He had never heard of such a thing before.

    Yi Jun exined, "Why does Aeternus insist on seizing control of the Endless Frontier? Because the moment the Sixverse Association gains full control, they will be able to pierce right into Aeternus¡¯s territory. Gaining control of that battlefield will allow humanity to attack when near and defend when far. Aeternus absolutely cannot ept such a disadvantageous situation, and thus, both sides continue to throw more and more of their strength into the Endless Frontier in a frantic effort to deplete the other¡¯s strength. Every day, every hour, and even every breath, people die on that battlefield. It remains thergest and most brutal battlefield from the moment humanity first gained consciousness."

    Lu Yin lightly tapped his fingers on the table. This was his first time hearing such a thing. It was no wonder why the battle in the Endless Frontier was so extensive. If he were in charge of Aeternus, he would not want to face off against the full might of the Sixverse Association on a single battlefield. Instead, he would focus on invading different parallel universes, or even gather the Seven Skygods together to obliterate one universe at a time.

    The reason why Aeternus did not do this was simply because they could not afford to. As soon as Aeternus could not field sufficient power at the Endless Frontier, the Sixverse Association would invade them.

    If True God Wei Yi ever got the chance, he would definitely destroy the various parallel universes. As for those who stood at the peak with the Great Sovereign, such as Lord Xu and the Arboreal Overlord, if the opportunity ever arose, they would definitely strike at the core of Aeternus¡¯s territory and obliterate their most crucial resources.

    Neither side could bear the potential losses, which was how the Endless Frontier had existed and endured until now.

    <i>Wait.</i> Lu Yin suddenly remembered something; how had Progenitor Ku managed to force his way into the Aeternals¡¯ territory all alone? Had he passed through the Endless Frontier? If so, were there any legends of his battles that Lu Yin could dig up?

    Was the Endless Frontier the only ce that was directly connected to Aeternus¡¯s territories? Theoretically, that should be the case. There was no way the Aeternals could freely invade the Origin Universe or the Sixverse Association; instead, the same restrictions that bound the humans who wanted to invade Aeternus¡¯s territory should apply to them as well.

    In that moment, numerous thoughts and possibilities ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Yi Jun continued to speak, and Lu Yin listened quietly. The woman truly did understand the Endless Frontier on a deep level. Meeting with her was absolutely not a waste of Lu Yin¡¯s time.

    Seven cups of tea were served and finished before Yi Jun finished her exnation.

    Lu Yinmented, "I never imagined that the Endless Frontier would be even more brutal than what I had heard."

    Yi Jun replied, "Without experiencing the Endless Frontier in person, it¡¯s impossible to understand just how cruel it truly is. Ordinary cultivators rarely meet Void Morphoras, let alone Void Supremas, but on the Endless Frontier, it''s quite normal for a person to encounter a Void Suprema on their first day before they vanish. There are some who fail to endure on that battlefield for even a single breath."

    Lu Yin lifted his teacup as hemented, "Miss Yi Jun, it''s truly incredible that you were able to aplish so much while on the Endless Frontier. It is no wonder why you receive such treatment."

    Yi Jun replied, "Xuan Qi, there¡¯s no need for you to admire me. Without the help of myrades, I wouldn''t have been able to achieve anything, much less bring my father back. If you don''t mind, you may call me Yi Jun."

    "Alright, then, I will ept that offer, Yi Jun," Lu Yin responded with a smile.

    Yi Jun blinked. "Then, may I call you Brother Xuan Qi?"

    "Of course!"

    ...

    Lu Yin spent a good half day engaged in conversation with Yi Jun. The woman was well informed of events in the Voidforce Universe. <i>How great it would be if she weren''t a spy</i>, Lu Yin sighed internally. Unfortunately, if Yi Jun was not a spy, she would never have been able to return from the Endless Frontier alive.

    Had she willingly betrayed humanity, or was she another person under Cheng Kong¡¯s control?

    Without delving into Yi Jun¡¯s memories, there was no way for Lu Yin to know.

    Lu Yin finally took his leave, leading Old Dian away.

    Yi Jun watched the two men leave. Once they left the area, her expression turned somber. Despite their lengthy conversation, she had not been able to confidently discern Xuan Qi¡¯s purpose for visiting her. Had he really just wanted to learn more about the Endless Frontier?

    "Go and find out who that old man who apanied Xuan Qi is," Yi Jun ordered. Despite her extensivework, it was impossible for her to have learned about Xuan Qi joining the Bureau. It had only happened very recently, and the bureau, along with the Cloudview n, would never publicize such an event.

    Behind Yi Jun, a shadow disappeared.

    "Bureau Director, right now, we can only confirm that the woman has previously met with Yun Wu. That¡¯s no proof that she¡¯s a spy," Old Dian said.

    Lu Yin replied, "No one else was aware of Yun Wu''s activities. She kept her scarlet eye hidden, which means that Yi Jun was not able to reach out to Yun Wu. Instead, Yun Wu could only contact Yi Jun, and that would have only been possible in person. We can use this to our advantage."

    "You mean... impersonate Yun Wu?" Old Dian asked, immediately shaking his head. "That would never work. They must have some unique means of identifying each other when they meet. If they are both spies, they definitely wouldn¡¯t rely on mere appearances to recognize each other."

    "I have my own methods," Lu Yin replied, "We''re short of hands at the Bureau. Come with me. Let¡¯s go recruit some help."

    Old Dian was left puzzled. "Recruit some help? Nobody wants to join the Bureau, and we also have very strict requirements for new recruits."

    Lu Yin ignored the old man and set off in a specific direction.

    While speaking with Yi Jun, Lu Yin had learned of Xu Ji and Xu Yue¡¯s whereabouts, and he intended to recruit them into the Bureau.

    When it came to dealing with people withplicated backgrounds and connections, these siblings were the most suitable candidates. Given their own backgrounds, who would Xu Yue and Xu Ji not be able to arrest? While their family was not particrly powerful and alsocked Void Supremas, Xu Ji had been given the honor of personally meeting with Lord Xu after obtaining the Wu Tian stone disk as his life-bound voidforce puppet. Such an honor was something that very few in the entire Voidforce Universe could ever enjoy.

    As for what had transpired during Xu Ji¡¯s meeting with Lord Xu, nobody knew. Some believed that he had be Lord Xu''s true disciple, while others assumed Xu Ji had be one of Lord Xu¡¯s named disciples. Regardless, no one in the Voidforce Universe would dare to offend someone with Xu Ji¡¯s status.

    If such people joined the Bureau, it would save Lu Yin a great deal of trouble. Even so, this was only the first step, as he was targeting more than just the Voidforce Universe.

    It was not difficult to find Xu Ji and Xu Yue, as the siblings were simply too famous.

    When Lu Yin found them, Xu Yue was sparring with someone, using her acquired innate gift of lighting in tandem with Stone Gate¡¯s battle techniques. Her abilities elicited gasps of awe from the watching crowd.

    This was exactly the reaction that the Voidforce Universe wanted, as it would help entice more people to attend the Sixverse Academy and merge voidforce energy with the powers of other civilizations, which would strengthen humanity as a whole.

    Xu Yue used the Stone Cudgel battle technique inbination with her innate gift of lightning, which allowed her to easily defeat an expert who possessed a higher voidforce cultivation level than the girl herself. She immediately felt her self-esteem soar as she smiled proudly.

    After the siblings returned from the Sixverse Academy, they had been given a particr task: to engage in spars across the Voidforce Universe and demonstrate the effects of integrating the powers of other universes. Xu Ji and Xu Yue were not the only ones given such orders, as every member universe of the Sixverse Association was doing the same.

    With this propaganda, many more people were growing eager to attend the Sixverse Academy, just like when Zuo Yu had witnessed Shi Hong¡¯s battle in the Cloudflow Universe.

    Xu Yue was feeling pleased. As she looked around, her eyesnded on a certain person. Upon seeing him, her eyebrows rose. "Xuan Qi?"

    From where he stood nearby, Xu Ji also looked over in surprise. <i>Xuan Qi?</i>

    Lu Yinughed. "Long time no see."

    Xu Yue gritted her teeth. "What are you doing here?"

    Shortly after that, Xu Ji and Xu Yue led Lu Yin and Old Dian to a primitive that was uninhabited by humans. All the living creatures there were gigantic.

    "You want us to join the Bureau?" Xu Ji was stunned.

    Xu Yueughed coldly. "Dream on! Only a fool would join a ce like that."

    Old Dian felt quite irritated by the youths¡¯ reaction, but he stayed out of the conversation.

    Lu Yin replied, "We''re short-staffed right now, so I came here to recruit you. Since you don¡¯t have anything to do, why not work with us and look around? We have Xu Wuji supporting us."

    Xu Yue scoffed, "My brother has Lord Xu supporting him."

    Old Dian''s face twitched. Was this really true? There had long since been rumors iming that Xu Ji was Lord Xu''s disciple; could they really be true?

    Lu Yin also felt rather curious. "Xu Ji, are you really Lord Xu¡¯s disciple?"

    "Not yet," Xu Ji replied.

    Xu Yue shook her fist at Lu Yin, "Don''t even think about it! We¡¯ll never join the Bureau. Go find someone else."

    Lu Yin smiled at Xu Yue, and then made a gesture that made her teeth itch. "You''re asking for a beating."

    Xu Yue became furious. "You''re the one who''s asking for a beating! Xuan Qi, do you dare to fight me?"

    It had been quite some time since she had wanted to punch Xuan Qi, but the opportunity had simply never presented itself. The closest moment had been interrupted by Ling Gong. After that, Xuan Qi had started dashing about at ridiculous speeds, which had left Xu Yue with no chance to retaliate. However, this time around, she was determined to try again.

    Xu Ji moved to stand in Xu Yue''s way as he looked at Lu Yin. "What level has your cultivation reached?"

    Lu Yin hid nothing. "Void Brillium."

    Xu Yue gasped. "You''re a Void Brillium? How is that even possible?"

    Xu Ji frowned. "Is that the reward that you received for crossing the Void Pass?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "No, my cultivation wasn''t a reward. If you want to know what that was, then join the Bureau. I can promise that you won''t be disappointed."

    "I only want to find out why you were able to cross the Void Pass when no one else ever could," Xu Ji stated.

    Lu Yin replied, "Lord Xu told me not to tell others."

    Old Dian''s face involuntarily twitched when he heard Lord Xu be mentioned yet again, and he involuntarily turned to look at Xuan Qi. This was yet another youth who imed to have some kind of rtionship with the Voidlord.

    "You spoke with Lord Xu?" Xu Yue eximed.

    "That¡¯s right. Then, how about that? If you want to know what Lord Xu said to me, join the Bureau."

    Xu Ji remained indifferent. "Not interested. I just want to know how you managed to cross the Void Pass."

    Lu Yin replied, "Lord Xu told me, ''I admire you¡ªyou have a strong backbone.''"

    "Braggart! Why in the world would Lord Xupliment <i>you</i>?" Xu Yue shouted.

    Xu Ji continued to stare at Lu Yin, confusion filling the young man¡¯s eyes.

    Old Dian was simultaneously staring at Lu Yin''s back. Was the youth being honest or not? Had he really been praised by Lord Xu?

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "These words were spoken by Lord Xu himself."

    "That''s impossible!" Xu Yue adamantly disagreed, grinding her teeth as she red daggers at Lu Yin. "You must have tricked Lord Xu!"

    "Silence!" Xu Ji sharply cut in.

    Startled by her brother¡¯s reaction, Xu Yue reluctantly became quiet.

    Xu Ji locked eyes with Lu Yin. "I believe you, and I can also join the Bureau."

    "Brother!" Xu Yue shouted.

    Xu Ji continued, "However, you need to first convince me, heart and soul."

    "What do you mean, convince your heart and soul?" Lu Yin inquired.

    Old Dian felt bad for Xu Ji, as he understood that the acting Bureau Director had already cornered the young man. No matter how excellent Xu Ji might be, he could never measure up to Boss Guan, who had already been thoroughly stomped by the acting Bureau Director.

    "That''s up to you," Xu Ji stated indifferently.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Well then, let''s get started."

 Chapter 2614: Sending A Message

    <h4>Chapter 2614: Sending A Message</h4>

    Xu Ji''s expression grew determined. He withdrew a blue energy converter from his cosmic ring and ced it in his body. A power level of nearly a million erupted, and blue energy radiated out in all directions. "As you wish."

    Lu Yin could not stop himself fromughing. As he raised his hand, his bone pike appeared out of nowhere, already pointing at Xu Ji''s forehead.

    This same scene had reyed far too often in the Voidforce Universe in recent days, but each time, Lu Yin felt a great deal of satisfaction. This was truly the most effective way to suppress an enemy without exposing his own strength.

    Xu Ji stared nkly at the bone pike floating right in front of his forehead. <i>What is that?</i>

    Xu Yue was badly startled. The voidforce energy radiating from the bone pike was so dense that she would struggle to even get close to it. Its power even surpassed the explosion of blue energy that had erupted from Xu Yi. How was it possible for Xuan Qi to do such a thing?

    "Are your heart and soul convinced now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Ji stared at Lu Yin. "Is this your reward?"

    Lu Yin nodded as he put the bone pike away. "That¡¯s right."

    "You ambushed us! My brother has a red energy converter! There¡¯s no way he could possibly lose to you!" Xu Yue shouted in protest.

    Xu Ji harshly reprimanded her, "Little Yue, be quiet!"

    Xu Yue started to panic. "Brother, we can''t join the Bureau! They have a terrible reputation!"

    Xu Ji frowned. "The Bureau is responsible for finding those who have betrayed humanity. Regardless of their reputation, they work for all of humanity."

    He looked back at Lu Yin. "What sort of position do you have in the Bureau?"

    Lu Yin nced at Old Dian, who immediately understood. "He is the acting Bureau Director of our universe¡¯s Bureau, appointed by Xu Wuji himself."

    "You''re the acting Bureau Director?" Xu Ji was caught off guard. Every time he met Xuan Qi, there was a new series of shocks that Xu Ji found himself struggling to believe.

    Xu Yue could hardly believe her ears. No matter how terrible the Bureau''s reputation might be, what could possibly qualify Xuan Qi to be the acting Bureau Director?

    "That¡¯s right, I¡¯m acting Bureau Director for the Bureau," Lu Yin affirmed, "As the newest additions to the bureau, your first task is to-" he paused dramatically before stating, "Capture Yi Jun."

    ...

    From the moment she had met Xuan Qi, Yi Jun had grown restless, and she no longer had any desire to visit anyone else. However, she did not understand the reason for her unease.

    Could something have gone wrong on the Endless Frontier?

    When she had been on the Endless Frontier, she had tried everything she could to save those people. With Aeternus¡¯s help, she had managed to ce them in various positions of authority, all so that she could exploit them. Those people could not have run into trouble, could they?

    With this fear clouding her mind, Yi Jun tried to make contact with the Endless Frontier.

    At that moment, someone arrived to announce that Yun Wu had arrived.

    Yi Jun''s eyes flickered. "Bring her to me."

    A stream of water broke off at the foot of the mountain and carried Yun Wu to the peak.

    The people watching were not surprised, as it was well known that Yi Jun had close friends who were allowed to see her any time they wished. Yun Wu was one of those people, though she did not visit often.

    When she saw Yun Wu, Yi Jun indifferently asked, "Why are you here?"

    Yun Wu sat across from Yi Jun. "There''s something I want to ask you..."

    As she spoke, she sipped her tea, sometimes drinking a lot, sometimes just a little. All the while, she also made a series of gestures. The entire enactment was a predetermined signal between the two women. Even if someone was standing right next to them, they would not be able to discern anything from these actions.

    Yi Jun stared into Yun Wu''s eyes. "It''s not time yet."

    "It¡¯s an urgent matter."

    "What''s wrong?" Yi Jun¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    "Xu Wuji wishes to go to the Endless Frontier," Yun Wu reported.

    Yi Jun''s expression changed. "Impossible! If he leaves this ce, what will happen to the Voidforce Universe?"

    "Xu Wuwei wille back."

    "Are you certain?"

    "Apparently, this is because Xu Wuwei''s position isn''t ideal, so he might as well withdraw and allow Xu Wuji to take his ce."

    "I will send this information on immediately," Yi Jun dered before promptly leaving the room.

    Yun Wu¡ªno, Lu Yin in disguise, watched as Yi Jun left. He observed everything through the spatial lines.

    Despite Possessing Yun Wu before, not even Yun Wu knew how Yi Jun made contact with Aeternus. The woman had never been able to see anything, but Lu Yin could. Every move that Yi Jun made, even those that were concealed in her shadows, could not escape Lu Yin''s notice.

    Yi Jun would have never dreamed that she had caught the attention of someone like Lu Yin. He was someone who could fight against Progenitors, and he had an innate gift of spatial control.

    How many individuals in the entire Voidforce Universe were capable of bing Void Supremas? Such people would not bother to meet Yi Jun, and for this reason, the woman had never even considered getting involved with such powerhouses. After all, such people did not need to expend any effort to learn about the situation on the Endless Frontier.

    Yi Jun¡¯s influence only extended to families that had Void Morphora as their greatest experts. While she also enjoyed some influence among the talented youths of the Voidforce Universe, she knew very little about Void Supremas.

    Her situation was no different from Lu Yin¡¯s own when he had first started cultivating. Even after bing an Envoy, he had possessed no understanding of just how formidable Progenitors truly were. That had continued even after his first encounter with a Semi-Progenitor, up until the first time he had faced Xia Shenji''s horrifying strength.

    Every move that Yi Jun made was crystal clear in Lu Yin''s eyes. Every word spoken, every action taken, and how she initiated contact; Lu Yin saw it all.

    Yi Jun quickly returned, and when she saw Yun Wu looking at her oddly, she asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

    At that moment, Yun Wu disappeared as Lu Yin adopted Xuan Qi''s appearance once again.

    As soon as she saw Yun Wu transform into Xuan Qi, Yi Jun''s pupils dted, and she shot to her feet and fled. A beam of light shot out of the shadows behind the woman, straight at Lu Yin. Everyone¡¯s attention snapped over to Yi Jun¡¯s actions, and more attacks wereunched at Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin just gave a small smile. "Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Miss Yi Jun?"

    As he spoke, the beam of light that had shot out from the woman¡¯s shadow froze. It was revealed to be a dagger. There was a card attached to the knife, one that belonged to the Lost n.

    "A Lost n card? Are you part of the Lost n?" Lu Yin''s expression grew sharp as voidforce energy erupted from him, pinning Yi Jun¡¯s shadow in ce. Lu Yin¡¯s voidforce energy had almost reached the peak of the Void Brillium realm, and he possessed about the same strength as a six-tribtion Envoy. The expert hidden in the shadow was only a mid-level Void Brillium, and they possessed the strength of a four-tribtion Envoy. There was a vast difference in strength between the two of them.

    All around Lu Yin, voidforce puppets appeared and shot towards him.

    He nced around. "If I were you, I wouldn''t do such meaningless things."

    Yi Jun shouted, "Stop!"

    All of the puppets froze in ce, as the controllers warily stared at Xuan Qi.

    Yi Jun looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "Brother Xuan Qi, why would you disguise yourself as Yun Wu when meeting me? You could have just visited me openly."

    Lu Yin grabbed the dagger and examined the card that was attached to it. "How did you get this Lost n card?"

    Yi Jun replied, "I don''t know. It belongs to someone whom I hired as protection. Her abilities are none of my business."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You¡¯re certainly quick to shift me."

    He turned to look at Yi Jun''s shadow and flicked a finger. Voidforce energy swept over, and a short, old woman was forced out of the shadow. The woman was startled, and she instantly understood that she waspletely out of her depths. She possessed an innate gift that allowed her to blend into shadows, but she had just been shaken out. Clearly, this young man¡¯s strength far exceeded what she couldprehend.

    "How did you obtain one of the Lost n¡¯s cards?" Lu Yin asked again. He was holding amon, four-star Ancient Card, which could not evenpare to his own Hidden Mountain. However, before the Sixverse Academy¡¯s establishment, it had been nearly impossible for outsiders to obtain the Lost n¡¯s cards. Furthermore, the Lost n was a close-knit group, and few of their people ever left the n.

    The old woman did not respond at all and simply continued to stare at Lu Yin with cold eyes that were devoid of any hint of fear.

    Lu Yin sighed. "That look is just begging for death. Very well."

    He threw the dagger back, and it stabbed the woman, carried her through the air, and pinned her to the mountainside behind the distant waterfall. Blood streamed down the waterfall, staining the water red.

    Yi Jun''s expression changed, as did those of the surrounding cultivators.

    The old woman had always remained hidden in Yi Jun''s shadow, even when she had contacted Aeternus to deliver reports. It was clear that the old woman had been aware of everything, so even if she had not been a spy herself, failing to report a spy was already an executable offense.

    The old woman had not expected Xuan Qi to be so ruthless, as he had killed her without a second thought.

    Yi Jun was startled by the sudden development. One moment she and Xuan Qi had been bantering, and the next, he had brutally and instantly snuffed out a life. "Xuan Qi, this is Yi Jun Star! You impersonated someone else to brazenly barge into my home, and then even killed my attendant. This... is not very proper, is it?"

    Lu Yin responded, "How long have you been a spy for?"

    Yi Jun maintained herposure. "I don''t understand what you mean, Brother Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin exined, "The fact that I was able to perfectly impersonate Yun Wu is proof that I already know a great deal about you. My first visit was nothing more than a test, and while you kept your secret well hidden, it was pointless. Yun Wu already confessed everything. After all, how else would I be able to exchange that secret signal with you? Whether you admit to it or not, your identity as a spy has already been confirmed."

    Yi Junughed gently and then sauntered over to Lu Yin, where shenguidly sat down in front of him. "Brother Xuan Qi, you must be joking. I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. All I know is that you tried to use brute force against me in my own home. Xuan Qi, you may have crossed Void Pass and won universal admiration, but that is no reason for everyone to need to obey you. I, Yi Jun, might be a weak woman, but I am not afraid of you. If necessary, I will announce what has happened here to the entire Voidforce Universe, and then they can be the judge."

    As the woman spoke, her face took on an increasingly pitiful expression, and she even appeared to be on the verge of crying. Her acting was absolutely perfect. However, her eyes sparkled with mockingughter the entire time.

    An usation from Yun Wu? It did not matter if it was true or not, as Yi Jun would never admit to anything. Given the connections that she had gathered and nurtured over the years, as well as her achievements on the Endless Frontier, as long as there was no definitive evidence, no one could force her to admit to being a spy.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I''ve already done my research on you, and I know that you''re tough. However, I came prepared. You want evidence? The message that you just sent out is evidence enough."

    Yi Jun retorted, "My attendant sent that message, and you already killed her. I never suspected her of being a spy. I feel ashamed that I allowed a spy to infiltrate my own home for so long. She must have done so much to harm mankind. I, Yi Jun, clearly bear some responsibility for this, and I will atone for this on the Endless Frontier. I shall strive to pay for my sins by umting more on that battlefield.

    ¡°Honestly, I must thank you, Brother Xuan Qi, for eliminating such a threat to humanity."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "But you were the one who sent that message."

    "Who will believe that?" Yi Jun countered, her eyes sparkling.

    Lu Yin pointed towards the waterfall. "Why don''t you ask them?"

    Taken aback, Yi Jun followed Lu Yin¡¯s finger and found herself looking down at the bottom of the waterfall. Staring back at her were numerous pairs of incredulous eyes. Not even the sight of the old woman''s blood tainting the waterfall had pulled the people¡¯s attention away from Yi Jun. <i>Wait, why aren¡¯t they looking at her? Something doesn¡¯t feel right.</i>

    Seeing the bewildered looks on the faces of the people down below, Yi Jun felt utterly confused. "What''s going on?"

    Lu Yin just gave a small smile without offering any response.

    High up in the sky, an image could be seen. It was a video of Yi Jun sending the message. "Your tone of voice, your demeanor, and even the words that you spoke were all broadcast live. I must admit, this universe has some pretty highly advanced technology.

    ¡°You do know what a live broadcast is, right?"

    Seeing the video y out, Yi Jun screamed, "Impossible!"

    She had lived atop the mountain for many years, and she always knew what was happening in each nook and cranny. How could anyone have broadcast a video of her actions without her knowledge? "What did you do?"

    Lu Yin lifted his cup and took a sip of tea. "This tea is quite fragrant, but your scent is even more enticing. Let''s talk somewhere else."

    As Lu Yin spoke, Old Dian and his team finished scaling the mountain and surrounded Yi Jun.

 Chapter 2615: Cheng Feng

    <h4>Chapter 2615: Cheng Feng</h4>

    Upon seeing the neers¡¯ clothes, Yi Jun''s face turned ashen. She turned and red at Lu Yin. "Are you a part of the Bureau?"

    Lu Yin lowered his teacup. "The Bureau¡¯s acting Bureau Director, Xuan Qi."

    Yi Jun suddenly felt all of her strength drain away. She lifted her head. Up in the sky, the video of her sending herst message was ying on repeat, again and again. It had perfectly captured what had happened. The words she had spoken, her tone of voice, the expressions on her face¡ªeverything had been perfectly recorded. How had Xuan Qi managed to pull this off? There had been a peak Void Brillium on Yi Jun Star right beside Yi Jun the entire time, constantly monitoring her situation. It should not have been possible for Xuan Qi to watch Yi Jun without being noticed.

    The woman racked her brain, but she could not understand how Xuan Qi could have done this.

    Yi Jun¡¯s peak Void Brillium protector had already been captured. The old woman had once received Yi Jun''s kindness while on the Endless Frontier, and she had voluntarily moved to Yi Jun Star to assist the young woman. Whether the old woman had been a spy or not would only be clear after an investigation.

    Lu Yin had not found any information suggesting thethat old woman had been a spy in Yun Wu¡¯s memories, but the moment that Yi Jun had been exposed as a spy, the woman¡¯s emotions had fluctuated greatly. From that reaction, Lu Yin believed that the old woman had most likely not been a spy for Aeternus.

    ...

    Many people were left shaken after the Bureau proved that Yi Jun was a spy and took her away. This was especially true of those who had sought to court her. They became focused on the Bureau, and they did their best to dig up the most recent information about the bureau. The Bureau received unusually close attention.

    At this time, people started to piece things together, and it was realized that Yun Wu might also have a connection with the recently captured spy. After all, immediately after Yun Wu arrived to visit Yi Jun, the second woman had been revealed as a spy, and Yun Wu had not made an appearance after that. Her absence quickly led to people drawing various conclusions.

    Lu Yin called Yun Yun to apologize, while also reassuring her that the Bureau would continue to keep the fact that Yun Wu was a spy a secret. Yun Yun understood that he had had no choice, as the situation had involved Yi Jun. However, the young mistress of the Cloudview n did ask if Yun Wu could im what had happened as a contribution to mankind.

    Lu Yin did not have an answer for that question.

    Countless obstacles appeared in the wake of arresting Yi Jun. All captured spies imed to be under Cheng Kong¡¯s control, which made it hard for the Bureau to make decisions regarding proper punishments.

    It was impossible to simply execute all of the spies, as many of them were truly under Cheng Kong¡¯s control. Such people had been forced into bing spies against their will. Such people¡¯s family and friends, and even the public, felt that it would not be right to execute all of the spies. No one could guarantee that anyone they knew would not one day also be controlled by Cheng Kong.

    Lu Yin quickly understood that Cheng Kong was an Aeternal powerhouses who was one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s primary concerns.

    Naturally, interrogating Yi Jun was handed over to Ning Ran. Ning Ran had not expected Xuan Qi to actually be able to arrest Yi Jun. Not only had the woman been arrested, but the evidence that had been produced was also irrefutable. It was impossible for anyone to argue the woman¡¯s innocence.

    As she looked at Ning Ran¡¯s Poison Toad, Yi Jun remained surprisingly calm. She had already been proven to be a traitor, and thus she had no intentions to further protest her innocence. However, she also refused to say anything. The only words out of her mouth were, ¡°I was controlled.¡±

    Of course, Ning Ran could not trust those words. Everything would be clear during the interrogation.

    In the Bureau¡¯s headquarters city, Xu Ji eximed in surprise, ¡°I didn''t think that you¡¯d be able to capture Yi Jun so quickly. She¡¯s connected to many important people.¡±

    ¡°Including you guys,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    Xu Ji said nothing.

    Xu Yue gave Lu Yin a strange look. ¡°I didn''t know that you had these kinds of skills. You must''ve been putting on an act in the past as well. How sneaky.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly answered, ¡°When ites to dealing with traitors, there are no methods that are off the table. Do you want spies to run rampant?¡±

    Xu Yue red back. ¡°Stop using me unfairly.¡±

    ¡°How do you n to deal with Yi Jun?¡± Xu Ji asked.

    Lu Yin felt a bit curious. ¡°You seem to care about her quite a bit. What is it? Do you like her?¡±

    Xu Ji replied, ¡°Arresting her is one thing, but punishing her is another. If you handle this matter as ipetently as the bureau has in the past, there¡¯s no point in us joining.¡±

    ¡°You never mentioned that when you joined,¡± Lu Yin retorted.

    Xu Ji stared back. ¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    Lu Yin had no words. Where was this fellow getting his confidence from? He had heard Xu Ji say these words so many times that they were starting to sound like a catchphrase, just like Ling Gong¡¯s. Both of them also felt iparably arrogant whenever they said such things.

    "I need to go into seclusion for a little while. I''ll leave the decisions regarding Yi Jun''s interrogation to you two. If you can''t handle it, then wait for me to emerge from seclusion."

    "You''re going into seclusion? For how long?" Xu Yue asked.

    "Not long."

    Lu Yin had no choice but to go into seclusion. How else was he supposed to find more spies? It would not be easy to interrogate Yi Jun, and even then, she would not give them any usable information. As for Lu Yin, he was not really a prophet.

    After finding a quiet ce, Lu Yin took out the skeleton of a hunched bird, pulled voidforce energy out of it, raised a hand, and then brought out his die. Tapping it caused the die to slowly rotate: Possession.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide from surprise. Possession on the first roll?

    His consciousness arrived in the strange dark space, and he looked around. This time, the best orb of light that he could find was not particrly bright, but he had no other choice.

    When his eyes opened, he was standing in the middle of outer space. There were only a few stars in sight. As the memories started to flood in, Lu Yin''s expression grew increasingly grim.

    He had not Possessed a spy, but that did not make this person any better than one. He was a selfish madman who had plotted the copse of ns and sects for his own benefit. Countless people had died to this man¡¯s schemes or at his hands. He had fought on the Endless Frontier in the past, and those memories were the most valuable pieces of information that Lu Yin could glean from the memories, but there was nothing more.

    The fighting and death that happened on the Endless Frontier was due to the fighting between humans and Aeternus. Unless forced to a dead end, humans usually would not turn on each other, but the man that Lu Yin had Possessed specifically went after other humans so that he could seize their resources and strengthen himself. While not a spy for Aeternus, the man was actually even more despicable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. Simply Possessing this man left Lu Yin feeling dirty and disgusted. There was no hesitation as Lu Yinmitted suicide with the man¡¯s body.

    When his consciousness returned to his own body, the ck and white mist revolved in his chest before growing slightly denser. He had forgotten about this. Committing suicide while Possessing someone increased his own death energy. It was also the only method that Lu Yin knew of to increase his death energy.

    The only other option was for him to seek out death energy that had been left behind by the God of Death.

    Eliminating that man had been a good thing. After all, he had possessed a level of strength approaching the six-tribtion Envoy level, which was powerful enough to cause significant harm. Given the opportunity, the man would have very likely eventually betrayed humanity.

    Lu Yin raised his hand again to resume rolling his die.

    ...

    In the blink of an eye, a month passed. During this time, Ning Ran worked her skills on Yi Jun. The Poison Toad produced truly terrifying effects. While there were no visible injuries on Yi Jun''s body, her will steadily weakened. The pain induced by the Poison Toad was simply too intense. Despite the Bureau¡¯s less than ster reputation, it was actually quite capable. No matter what, it was an organization that spanned the entire Sixverse Association, and thus they had ess to abilities from all six universes and were not limited to just the Voidforce Universe.

    Yi Jun remained rtively stubborn, but by the second month, she found herself unable to stop herself from revealing some details, the most important of which was a list of people that she had interacted with. The Bureau could have gathered this list elsewhere, but having Yi Jun give it up was a promising start.

    Yun Wu had always interacted with Yi Jun in person, and based on that, it was very likely that Yi Jun had met with other spies in person as well. Even so, they were unable to find the spy that she had reached out to from the peak of her mountain. If Lu Yin had not live-streamed the process of Yi Jun sending the message, it would have been nearly impossible to pin the me for the leaked information on Yi Jun.

    Lu Yin remained in seclusion, and there was no sign of him emerging anytime soon.

    Every person in the Bureau was working on investigating the people that Yi Jun had listed. None of the people that she had been in contact with were simple individuals. Given Xu Ji''s identity, there was no one whom she had been unable to meet with.

    While people might look down on the Bureau, they also could not ignore the bureau¡¯s presence.

    However, while the bureau was able to meet with the people who had been in contact with Yi Jun, it was of no use. Without being able to identify who was a spy, these efforts were futile.

    Xu Yueined that Xuan Qi had left all of the troublesome matters to them while going into seclusion.

    Xu Wuji visited the headquarters once, marveling at Lu Yin''s efficiency in arresting Yi Jun. The man was not particrly concerned with how the bureau was handling the captured woman, as there was no denying that she was a spy.

    Time passed as several months went by. The Bureau had notpletely failed to make progress. Even before Lu Yin joined, they had managed to capture a considerable number of spies.

    The persistent investigation finally bore a bit of fruit, and the bureau managed to capture two spies who had been nurtured by Yi Jun. However, a third person left them stumped. Not even Xu Ji could arrest this person.

    In the Bureau¡¯s headquarters, Old Dian and the other team captains met with the Bureau Manager, Xu Ji, and Xu Yue to discuss their next n of action.

    "Do we really need to capture him?" Old Dian rarely spoke, but this time, he appeared unusually serious.

    Boss Guan looked stern, and was silently brooding.

    Ghost Three cautiously suggested, "I believe that we should inform the Bureau Director."

    "He is in seclusion," Xu Yue replied.

    Ghost Three countered, "I mean the actual Bureau Director."

    The others exchanged nces. They all felt like they had no other choice.

    Xu Ji knitted his brow. Xuan Qi had asked him to join the Bureau because of his ability to deal with people with influential backgrounds, including people with connections to Void Supremas. Xu Ji was certainly capable, but this particr person was beyond even his abilities.

    "Why are you all gathered here?" Lu Yin suddenly showed up.

    When everyone saw that Xuan Qi had emerged from seclusion, a sigh of relief passed through Ghost Three and the other team captains. They no longer needed to make the decision, as there was someone else who could shoulder that responsibility now.

    "Bureau Director, it''s only been half a year since you went into seclusion, right?" Boss Guan asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "My periods of seclusion usually don¡¯tst very long, and they only take ce when I have some particr insight or epiphany."

    Ghost Three quickly started ttering his boss. "An epiphany? I guess that should be no surprise, since the Bureau Director crossed the Void Pass. For ordinary people, epiphanies are practically impossible to encounter."

    Xu Yue just rolled her eyes. "He¡¯s just bragging."

    Lu Yin asked, "I just heard you talking about needing to arrest someone?"

    The people nced at each other, and eventually, Xu Ji answered. "We were able to identify two spies from the people who were in contact with Yi Jun. The rest are still being investigated."

    Lu Yin''s expression sharpened, and he was surprised to hear that two spies had been found. Typically, spies very rarely contacted each other, and it was very hard to identify them. Discovering two spies from among Yi Jun¡¯s contacts only meant that the Voidforce Universe was absolutely riddled with Aeternus¡¯s spies.

    "There is one more person we suspect to be a spy, but arresting him will not be easy," Xu Ji continued.

    Lu Yin asked, "Who is it?"

    "Cheng Feng," Xu Ji muttered softly.

    The mere name left the others in the room a bit more somber.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Cheng Feng? That person was definitely a spy. After spending half a year rolling his die, Lu Yin had managed to Possess quite a few people, some of whom were spies. Interestingly enough, one of those people had been recruited by Cheng Feng. Cheng Feng had never revealed his identity, but the spy had managed to figure it out himself. That spy was rather clever, and he had never shared what he learned with anyone.

    Hearing Cheng Feng¡¯s name mentioned, Lu Yin understood why there was such a problem with arresting the man. Lu Yin already knew quite a bit about Cheng Feng, but he still needed to feign ignorance. How could someone like him, who had only recently arrived in the Voidforce Universe, be familiar with Cheng Feng?

    He was not a random person. Rather, his identity was beyond extraordinary.

    "Why is he difficult to arrest? Even you can''t get this done?" Lu Yin asked Xu Ji, acting very curious about this matter.

 Chapter 2616: Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 2616: Opportunity</h4>

    Xu Ji answered in a low voice, "Cheng Feng is quite special. People say that he''s astoundingly handsome, and you can even consider him the male version of Yi Jun. If that was all there is to it, he wouldn''t be a problem. The real problem is his other identity: he¡¯s a disciple of Sovereign Ninth Lotus."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciple?"

    Everyone else in the room became increasingly somber as Xu Ji continued to exin, "You should already know about the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus is one of the Three Sovereigns. She has disciples spread across the entire Sixverse Association. Anyone who catches her eye might end up as one of the Sovereign¡¯s disciples, regardless of their background or strength. Cheng Feng has been invited to visit Sovereign Ninth Lotus on three different asions, which is very rare, even for her disciples. Despite hailing from my Voidforce Universe, he is highly respected in the Cyclic Universe and has a truly exceptional status."

    Old Dian sighed. "Arresting him means that we will need to face Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s many disciples and possibly even the Sovereign herself."

    "Given the fact that Cheng Feng has been invited to visit Sovereign Ninth Lotus on three different asions, we can only imagine how highly she regards him," Ghost Three spoke carefully before turning to face Lu Yin, "Acting Bureau Director, I think that we need to report this to Bureau Director Wuji and ask him to make a decision."

    Old Dian interjected, "Even Bureau Director Wuji is unlikely to enter a dispute with Sovereign Ninth Lotus. We must first definitively prove that Cheng Feng is a spy, without giving them any room for arguments. If there is any leeway, Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s other disciples will be our greatest obstacle."

    Lu Yin stood there with his hands sped behind his back. While in seclusion, he had already started nning how they had to go about arresting Cheng Feng. Nothing that was being said was a surprise to Lu Yin.

    With the possibility of facing off against Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, and even the possibility of facing one of the Three Sovereigns, a single mistake could lead to disastrous consequences.

    No one was implying that Sovereign Ninth Lotus would protect a spy. If someone was proven to be a spy, then not even the Great Sovereign would protect them. However, until there was conclusive proof, they could noty a finger on Cheng Feng. Doing so would be disrespectful to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, and that would antagonize her many disciples.

    This was no different from Lu Yin''s Heavens Sect. Anyone who harmed someone from the Heavens Sect would face retaliation from Lu Yin, unless there was solid proof that the person was a spy.

    "How do you n to proceed?" Xu Ji asked as he stared at Xuan Qi¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin responded with a question, "Sovereign Ninth Lotus has invited him to visit three different times. Why?"

    "His singing," Xu Yue answered.

    Lu Yin looked surprised. "His singing?"

    Xu Yue nodded, and admiration filled her eyes. "Cheng Feng has the most enchanting voice in all of human history. When he sings, it can mend broken hearts."

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Ji before ncing at Old Dian and the other captains. All of them nodded in agreement. "There¡¯s no denying that his voice is beautiful. I¡¯ve heard it myself, once."

    "I¡¯ve also heard him sing once."

    Boss Guan grinned. "I heard him once too, though only from a distance. Still, his singing, it''s..."

    The man failed to find the words to describe it.

    "It can make enemies set aside their weapons," Skinner finished the hanging sentence.

    "You''ve all heard him before?" This did surprise Lu Yin.

    Old Dian sighed deeply, "Every year, Cheng Feng sings in a particr location. We don''t know whom he sings for, but during that event, throngs of people gather to listen. After all, even Sovereign Ninth Lotus was moved by his singing. Among the renowned cultivators in the False God dimension, cultivators from extraterrestrial dimensions, and big shots of the Sixverse Association, many have watched him perform."

    "Sovereign Ninth Lotus is not the only one to have taken an interest in Cheng Feng. The Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Monarch Xing has also invited Cheng Feng to sing for her. There are many people who hope to be able to enjoy Cheng Feng''s voice," Xu Yue finished.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. Things were even moreplicated than what he had thought. Yi Jun could not evene close toparing to Cheng Feng in status. If things were mishandled, then the entire Sixverse Association would go crazy, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples would relentlessly hunt Xuan Qi down.

    "Bureau Director, unless you can make it impossible for anyone to deny Cheng Feng¡¯s status as a spy, it will be incredibly difficult to arrest him," Old Dian reiterated.

    Xu Yue was in a dilemma. "The problem is that we aren''t even sure if he''s a spy in the first ce. How can we force him to admit it? And if it turns out that he isn''t one, we''ll be in big trouble."

    Lu Yin was lost in thought. During his six months in seclusion, he had learned that Cheng Feng was a spy in the fourth month, and he had immediately understood that the man would be difficult to arrest. The only way forward was to test his luck. For that reason, Lu Yin had spent hisst two months of seclusion trying Possess Cheng Feng. Unfortunately, those efforts had failed.

    It was impossible to deal with Cheng Feng in the same manner as Yi Jun. The entire Voidforce Universe had already learned that Xuan Qi was the acting Bureau Director of the Bureau. The trick that he had used to capture Yi Jun had also bemon knowledge. Cheng Feng was a very cautious person. If he could be easily exposed, then he would have never managed to hide such a secret from even Sovereign Nine Lotu.

    The only option that Lu Yin had was to exploit the spy who had been recruited by Cheng Feng and use that person to force Cheng Feng to expose some openings of his own.

    "How is news of Yi Jun''s arrest being received?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Hearing this question, Ghost Three immediately started ttering Xuan Qi. "It¡¯s being regarded as practically miraculous. People are in awe of your skill, Bureau Director. They im that you are the bane of spies and of Aeternus itself. Under your guidance, the spies lurking in our Voidforce Universe are now terrified to show their faces, and the Bureau¡¯s reputation will soon experience aplete transformation.¡±

    "Bureau Director, you might not be aware of this, but proving Yi Jun¡¯s status as a spy has shocked many people, and we now have all eyes on us. Your aplishments haven¡¯t only spread throughout the Voidforce Universe¡ªeven parallel universes have learned of them. Many have started to incorporate what you¡¯ve done into stories for propaga-"

    Lu Yin massaged his temples. "Just get to the point."

    "People see you as incredible and consider you an adept strategist," Ghost Three summarized, though this only served to cause Lu Yin''s heart to drop even further.

    "So, you¡¯re saying that what happened with Yun Wu¡¯s arrest is now public knowledge?"

    Ghost Three awkwardly looked away, and no one else responded either. They understood that Xuan Qi had a good rtionship with the Cloudview n, and Xu Wuji had made a promise to not publicly announce Yun Wu''s status as a known spy. Yi Jun¡¯s arrest after being visited by Yun Wu naturally led people to learning of Yun Wu''s arrest as well, and things were not looking good for the Cloudview n.

    However, Lu Yin was not particrly concerned with the Cloudview n¡¯s problems. Uncovering spies took priority over a single n''s losses. What Lu Yin cared about was that people had learned that Yi Jun had been arrested because of Yun Wu. This meant that it would no longer be possible for him to use the spy that Cheng Feng had recruited to entrap the man. Cheng Feng was no fool, and given the fact that he was also a spy, he was definitely paying careful attention to matters regarding the Bureau. Given the man¡¯s status, he would naturally be even better informed than most people, and he might even be aware of more than what Lu Yin had purposely revealed.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered someone, a person he had casually thrown onto Zenith Mountain. He had forgotten about her, but at this moment, she might finally prove useful.

    ...

    A few dayster, news spread from the Bureau that captured the attention of many people in the Voidforce Universe: Tu Shuangshuang had appeared.

    Tu Shuangshuang was an incredible genius who had been Sage Hua¡¯s disciple. She should have lived a brilliant life, during which she surpassed the vast majority of her peers.

    However, the woman had betrayed humanity and even be a disciple of Cheng Kong. She had attacked all of the top students of the Sixverse Academy, which had captured the entire Sixverse Association¡¯s attention. After that, her whereabouts had be aplete mystery.

    No one had expected Tu Shuangshuang to show up in the Voidforce Universe, let alone for her tracks to be discovered by the Bureau.

    The Bureau issued a public announcement: anyone who provided information rted to Tu Shuangshuang would be rewarded, and whoever captured or killed the woman would be given the opportunity to be Xu Wuji''s disciple.

    As a Void Suprema, Xu Wuji was one of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s peak powerhouses. Few were capable of reaching his level. Bing such an expert¡¯s disciple would be taking a step into the heavens, which would allow a person to instantly achieve the same status that Xu Ji and others enjoyed. This was an irresistible temptation to many, and in an instant, the entire Voidforce Universe sprang into action. Countless people appeared and started searching for Tu Shuangshuang, including even some older experts who had been in seclusion. Even members of the older generations wished to be Xu Wuji''s disciple. It was only normal for anyone who had not yet be a Void Suprema to wish for such a master.

    At this moment, all the information brokers in the Voidforce Universe became popr destinations, but not in the way of thriving business. They were surrounded and intercepted. No one believed that these people would sell news about Tu Shuangshuang; they were sure to take action themselves. Those without leads could only focus on these people, as they were the most likely to locate Tu Shuangshuang.

    Eventually, the news spread to the Cyclic Universe, where it instantly gained the attention of Sage Hua''s followers. Everyst one of them tried to travel to the Voidforce Universe to join the hunt for Tu Shuangshuang. There was no one who hated Tu Shuangshuang more than the followers of the departed Sage Hua.

    The once revered Hua Gate had be aughingstock, and it was all because of Tu Shuangshuang.

    A single announcement caused the Voidforce Universe to be the focus of arge portion of the Sixverse Association.

    ...

    Broken Cliff was a renowned location in the Voidforce Universe, and it was only because Cheng Feng had been born there. His otherworldly singing enchanted countless people, and had even caught Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s attention. The three invitations she had extended to Cheng Feng had made his birthce one of the most popr tourist destinations in the entire Voidforce Universe.

    Every year, countless people would wait around Broken Cliff, hoping to hear the man sing. Even a single line would be enough to satisfy them.

    Broken Cliff was not a, but rather andmass that drifted through outer space. Its appearance was the source of its name of Broken Cliff. Thendmass was not small, and it was home to hundreds of empires of varying sizes. However, the moment Cheng Feng''s fame spread across the Sixverse Association, all of those empires had disappeared, and Broken Cliff had be a quiet ce.

    A man stood at the bottom of a towering mountain of snow, facing into the wind. His arms rose as the icy wind buffeted his body, causing his white clothes to flutter. He looked like a celestial being who was gracing the mortal realm with his presence, as he had a stunning and nearly divine appearance. This man was Cheng Feng.

    Beneath the snowy mountain stood a vige. It was a very ordinary vige, and there were no powerful cultivators there. The only inhabitants here were ordinary people. It was Cheng Feng''s hometown and where he had been born. Despite the fact that none of the vigers were cultivators, Cheng Feng took care of them, and all of them were able to live to ripe old ages.

    As the cold wind slowly diminished, Cheng Feng dropped his arms and stared up into outer space. He was not standing on the highest point of Broken Cliff, though this was his favorite ce. When he had been young, he had met someone at this location, and that meeting had changed his life. That person had given Cheng Feng the chance to seize control of his own life.

    Cheng Feng soon descended from the top of the snowy mountain, and he arrived at a ce where a woman was waiting for him. Although her appearance was unremarkable, her bearing was exceptional, and she carried a delightful fragrance that would lift the spirits of those who smelled it.

    "Tu Shuangshuang has appeared," she said. She was Ling Mu, another one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. She had just arrived in the Voidforce Universe, and she had traveled straight to Broken Cliff to meet with Cheng Feng.

    The man asked, "Does Sovereign Ninth Lotus have any orders for me?"

    "No."

    Cheng Feng nodded. "Tu Shuangshuang is beneath Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s attention."

    "This is an opportunity for you," Ling Mu stated, much to Cheng Feng¡¯s puzzlement.

    The woman stared at him. "Do you truly wish to stay here for the rest of your life and sing? You may have a very high status here in the Voidforce Universe due to Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s influence, but this is as far as you''ll ever go here. However, if you can seize this opportunity and capture Tu Shuangshuang, then I can speak to Sovereign Ninth Lotus on your behalf and ask her to move you to the Cyclic Universe. With the Sovereign¡¯s assistance, you may even receive a chance topete for Sage Hua¡¯s seat."

 Chapter 2617: Trailing

    <h4>Chapter 2617: Trailing</h4>

    Cheng Feng appeared calm as he listened to Ling Mu''s words, but a flicker of greed shed through his eyes. Who would not want Sage Hua¡¯s seat? However, was Cheng Feng truly able to obtain such a reward? His cultivation talent was rather mediocre, which would normally mean that he could never be a peak powerhouse. However, the Cyclic Universe was an exception to that rule. In that universe, one could be bestowed the strength of a peak powerhouse.

    "Of course, catching such a spy benefits all of humanity. I¡¯ll use all of my connections to help search for Tu Shuangshuang. As for the position of Sage Hua¡¯s seat, I¡¯ll leave that matter to fate," Cheng Feng dered.

    Ling Muughed. "If Sage Stone''s seat could be bestowed to a stranger that no one knows, why can''t Sage Hua¡¯s seat be given to you? Seize this opportunity, and you could be the next Sage Hua."

    The woman then left, as she had only stopped by to deliver that message

    Of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, Ling Mu had the closest rtionship with Cheng Feng. If Cheng Feng could be the next Sage Hua, then she would also benefit from his rise, though she knew that she would never be able to take the position for herself.

    While the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages seemed open to everyone, only people from the Cyclic Universe understood that there were actually certain hidden criteria that the inheritor needed to possess.

    After Ling Mu left, Cheng Feng''s eyes zed with excitement. He had a real chance to obtain Sage Hua¡¯s seat! With just his own abilities, it was a miniscule possibility, but if he could get <i>that </i>person''s help, then Cheng Feng felt confident that he would seed, even if he needed topete against Void Morphoras.

    It was time to contact that person.

    After turning around, he entered the vige, where he received a warm wee. Everyone approached and greeted him.

    "Little Feng is back!"

    "Are you done practicing your song? You''re back rather early today."

    Cheng Feng nodded with a smile. "I did finish practicing for the day, Uncle. I''ll help you water the ntster, as you must be tired.

    "Auntie, your clothes are so tattered, you should really get new ones."

    "I know, Little Feng. You go on ahead."

    "Good child."

    Cheng Feng did not need to walk far, but he still took ten minutes to return. All the while, he was surrounded by the warmth and care of the vigers. Theforting sight of smoke twirling upwards from kitchen fires indicated that people were in the middle of cooking their next meal.

    Cheng Feng lived alone in a wooden cabin at the easternmost edge of the vige. He had no servants, and no one disturbed him in his home. He kindled a fire and cooked his meals as naturally as any ordinary human would.

    "The rumors aren¡¯t wrong. You really do live in harmony with nature," a cold voice spoke from a corner of the cabin.

    Cheng Feng¡¯s movements froze for a moment. "Please leave. No one is wee to visit this ce."

    "Not even me?" A woman stepped out of the shadows filling the corner. She was Tu Shuangshuang.

    Cheng Feng looked up, surprised. "Tu Shuangshuang?"

    Tu Shuangshuang raised her head high. "It¡¯s been a long time, Cheng Feng."

    Cheng Feng''s eyes became cial. "Traitor! How dare you show yourself here! I will capture you and avenge Sage Hua! All spies must be eliminated!"

    Tu Shuangshuang scoffed. "You''re on the same side as me, so why keep up the act?"

    "What nonsense are you spouting?" Cheng Feng retorted.

    Tu Shuangshuang stared at the man through cold eyes. "The entire Voidforce Universe is searching for me, but I can escape whenever I wish. However, if I leave, you''ll never be able to aplish certain things, so I want to make a deal with you."

    "I will not negotiate with spies!" Cheng Feng spat.

    Tu Shuangshuang sneered. "I already said to just drop the act. I already know who you are. Do you want Sage Hua¡¯s seat?¡±

    Cheng Feng''s pupils shrank. "What did you just say? What are you talking about? What do you mean, ¡®you know who I am?¡¯"

    "I''m not here to waste time. I¡¯ll teach you the Harmonious Heavens Technique, which will help you surpass yourpetition. In return, I need you to speak well of me to my master and ask him to spare me this time," Tu Shuangshuang offered.

    Cheng Feng frowned. "Nonsense! Senior Sage Hua fell in battle. How could I help you? More importantly, I would never help a traitor like you!"

    "I''m referring to Cheng Kong, so just drop the act. Don''t you want Sage Hua¡¯s seat?" Tu Shuangshuang asked impatiently.

    Cheng Feng''s eyes flickered as he stared at Tu Shuangshuang.

    The woman met his gaze as silence nketed the cabin.

    After a while, Cheng Feng sighed. "I can''t meet Cheng Kong."

    "Just deliver a message to Aeternus," Tu Shuangshuang replied, "Tell them that I helped you take Sage Hua¡¯s seat and that I helped Aeternus. My master will learn of it."

    Cheng Feng¡¯s eyes narrowed. "How can I trust you?"

    "I can stay here until you¡¯ve made some progress with the Harmonious Heavens Technique. No one will disturb you here anyways, as no one would dare to defy Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s orders," Tu Shuangshuang suggested.

    Cheng Feng had met Sovereign Ninth Lotus on three different asions, and each time, he had been allowed to make a request. His first request had been for Sovereign Ninth Lotus to protect the vigers and allow them to live long lives. His second request had been for no one to set foot on the snowy mountain, which would allow him to practice his singing there in peace. His third request had been that no one would enter the vige, as it was his whole world.

    These three requests had been granted, and Cheng Feng had also received Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s favor. He had be adored and respected by countless people.

    With Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s pronouncement, no one dared to step a single foot on the snowy mountain or inside the vige. Few people even visited Broken Cliff at all, for fear of offending Cheng Feng.

    Not many had the courage to enter that ce.

    "Alright," Cheng Feng agreed.

    Tu Shuangshuang sighed in relief. "I can teach you Harmonious Heavens Technique now."

    Cheng Feng replied, "There¡¯s no rush. I''ll cook some food first."

    Even as he spoke, he pulled out some firewood and tossed it into the oven.

    Tu Shuangshuang was taken aback. Cook? That was something that cultivators seldom even thought of.

    Suddenly, lotus flowers blossomed beneath Cheng Feng¡¯s feet as he whirled around. "You¡¯re a fool to think that you can capture me, Tu Shuangshuang! You can¡¯t escape!"

    His stern voice echoed across Broken Cliff and beyond into outer space.

    While Cheng Feng''s talent for cultivating was average at best, he had used countless resources over the years, as well as the benefits of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s favor, to be a Void Brillium.

    As for Tu Shuangshuang, she was a Proximiter, which meant that the two possessed very simr levels of strength.

    Cheng Feng used Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s techniques and sessfully caught Tu Shuangshuang off guard, instantly wounding her. Her body was flung back, and Cheng Feng hurried after her in pursuit.

    Tu Shuangshuang had not expected Cheng Feng to treat her in such a way, and she immediately fled.

    Many people who were near Broken Cliff looked over. "Tu Shuangshuang? Why is Tu Shuangshuang here?"

    "Not good! Tu Shuangshuang wants to capture Cheng Feng!"

    "Go!"

    ...

    Cheng Feng raised a hand, and a Lotus Artifact enveloped Tu Shuangshuang. Cheng Feng¡¯s eyes zed with excitement, as all he needed to do was capture this woman. He could still hear Ling Mu''s words echoing in his ears.

    So what if he mastered the Harmonious Heavens Technique? Xuan Qi''s cultivation talent was unprecedented, and even he had failed to obtain Sage Stone¡¯s seat.

    On the other hand, if Cheng Feng managed to capture Tu Shuangshuang, Sovereign Ninth Lotus would definitely help him in thepetition for Sage Hua''s seat. This was a much more reliable path than making a deal with Tu Shuangshuang.

    Everyone witnessed the moment that Cheng Feng captured Tu Shuangshuang with the Lotus Artifact. Even if she tried to expose him as a spy, he had no reason to be scared of Cheng Kong¡¯s involvement, as Cheng Kong could not afford to offend Cheng Feng¡¯s backers.

    To Cheng Feng, Tu Shuangshuang was nothing more than an opportunity.

    "Cheng Feng, you''ve lost your mind!" As the Lotus Artifact fell upon her, Tu Shuangshuang clearly saw the madness that filled Cheng Feng''s eyes.

    "Tu Shuangshuang, I will avenge Sage Hua!" Cheng Feng bellowed in rage.

    People started to appear in the sky above them.

    With so many eyes fixed on her, Tu Shuangshuang was left helpless. Of course, people were not actually looking at Tu Shuangshuang, but rather Lu Yin in disguise. He had been hoping to expose Cheng Feng, but unfortunately, Cheng Feng had proven to be not only cautious, but also very intelligent. After seeing the frenzied excitement in Cheng Feng''s gaze, Lu Yin had immediately considered the possibility that Cheng Feng was hoping to aplish something by capturing Tu Shuangshuang.

    Lu Yin could have never guessed that Ling Mu would visit Cheng Feng right before his own, or that she had shifted Cheng Feng''s thoughts and fanned his ambitions. Without that visit, Lu Yin¡¯s move might have resulted in a very different oue.

    As the Lotus Artifact descended, Lu Yin was left with no choice but to leave.

    Cheng Feng believed that Tu Shuangshuang was trapped, but as the Lotus Artifact closed upon her, the woman vanished.

    He took a few steps forward, staring into the Lotus Artifact. Where was Tu Shuangshuang?

    At that moment, a few other figures flew down. "Eh? Where''s Tu Shuangshuang?"

    "Where''s Tu Shuangshuang?"

    "Cheng Feng, are you alright? Where''s Tu Shuangshuang?"

    Everyone wanted to know where Tu Shuangshuang had gone, but nobody had been able to clearly see what had happened.

    Cheng Feng''s face turned pale. Tu Shuangshuang left?

    Far from Broken Cliff, Lu Yin suddenly appeared. He looked back, feeling a bit surprised by the turn of events. Still, failure was something that he had considered. Some of Aeternus¡¯s spies were overly cautious, which was certainly not surprising. However, Lu Yin had determined one new bit of information: Cheng Feng had no connection to Cheng Kong. If he had, Cheng Feng would have never spoken to Tu Shuangshuang in such a manner. It was clear that he waspletely certain that Tu Shuangshuang did not know that he was also a spy.

    Lu Yin knew that he would just need to find another way. Right as he was about to return to the Bureau, he caught a glimpse of something. His eyes flickered, and he immediately disappeared.

    In the next blink of an eye, a figure appeared, only to vanish once again.

    Someone was tailing him!

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and disbelief covered his face. He had left with his innate gift of spatial control, so who could possibly track him? This person was also clearly not a Progenitor-level powerhouse, as he would have sensed danger from them. However, who else but a Progenitor could follow Lu Yin through space?

    He chose to not return to the Bureau¡¯s headquarters, and instead, he maintained his disguise as Tu Shuangshuang while he continued to travel through outer space.

    The person following Lu Yin was just as astounded as he was. It was clear that they were not following Tu Shuangshuang, as they had escaped through skillful utilization of the power of space. When had such a genius appeared in the younger generation? Could this be due to an innate gift?

    The two figures continued to flicker through the void as they both raced along.

    Lu Yin realized that his pursuer had a control over space that was at least equal to his own, and his pursuer was equally stunned by Lu Yin''s mastery of space.

    ***

    Back at Broken Cliff, Cheng Feng and the others continued to search for Tu Shuangshuang.

    Jiang Xiaodao and Little Lian soon arrived as well. They had also left the Sixverse Academy, and Little Lian had wanted to hear Cheng Feng sing. Jiang Xiaodao had shamelessly decided to tag along, much to Little Lian¡¯s dismay.

    However, the moment they arrived, they learned that Tu Shuangshuang had tried to capture Cheng Feng.

    Little Lian immediately became concerned. "Brother Cheng Feng, are you alright?"

    Cheng Feng''s face still looked a bit pale, but he managed to force out a smile nheless. "I''m fine. Thank you for your concern, Little Lian."

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes.

    "Why did Tu Shuangshuange here? She''s terrible, plotting to capture Brother Cheng Feng!" Little Lian angrilyined.

    Ling Mu also soon arrived, and she was surprised to see Little Lian. "Junior sister, what brings you here?"

    "Senior Sister Ling Mu!" Little Lian''s eyes lit up as she immediately grabbed Ling Mu''s hand. "Senior Sister, you must capture Tu Shuangshuang! That wicked woman is trying to capture Brother Cheng Feng!"

    Ling Mu turned to face Cheng Feng, and her voice dropped low and became much more somber. "What happened?"

    Cheng Feng shared everything, except for the conditions that Tu Shuangshuang had offered him. Instead, he merely stated that Tu Shuangshuang had tried to capture him and take control of him with the use of Bubble Fantasy.

    As soon as she heard that, Ling Mu quickly asked, "Where is she now? Didn''t you capture her?"

    Cheng Feng sighed heavily. "I wasn¡¯t able to."

    "Didn''t you use Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s power vessel?" Ling Mu asked, feeling a bit panicked. This was just too much of a coincidence; one moment they had been talking about how Cheng Feng should capture Tu Shuangshuang, and the next moment she had appeared. It seemed like fate was toying with them.

    Cheng Feng gave a helpless shrug. "I activated it, but Tu Shuangshuang just disappeared. No one has any idea where she went."

    "Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s power vessel wasn¡¯t able to trap her? That''s impossible!" Ling Mu''s immediate reaction was pure disbelief.

    Little Lian also reacted strongly, "Master''s power vessel couldn¡¯t trap Tu Shuangshuang?"

    Jiang Xiaodao and the others were also stunned, as this was simply too difficult to believe. However, many people had witnessed the matter with their own eyes; Tu Shuangshuang had simply vanished.

 Chapter 2618: Annihilating Shaman God

    <h4>Chapter 2618: Annihting Shaman God</h4>

    Ling Mu sighed. It was not fair to me Cheng Feng for Tu Shuangshuang¡¯s escape. How could he hope to deal with someone who could not be trapped even with one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s power vessels? "Spread out and start searching now! Right, where is the Bureau? Why haven''t they sent anyone over yet?"

    Little Lian clenched a fist. "The Bureau is responsible for dealing with spies, but they did nothing to protect Brother Cheng Feng! I will need to have them reprimanded."

    Even if Little Lian had not said anything, Ling Mu had already been nning to do the same. Tu Shuangshuang had appeared at Broken Cliff, but there had been no sign of the Bureau. They werepletely useless. While the Bureau did not have a good reputation, they needed to at least do the bare minimum.

    After everything concluded, Ling Mu would make sure to report everything to Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Then, the Bureau would be punished properly.

    At the same time, on a covered with a corrosive green liquid, Lu Yin came to a stop. Behind him, a dark shadow appeared from a twist in the void before alsoing to a stop.

    "You¡¯ve been following me for a while now. What do you want?" asked Lu Yin.

    "Who are you?" a voice echoed from the shadow.

    Lu Yin was startled to hear a familiar voice; he was being chased by Shaman God!

    Lu Yin had never considered that Shaman God would be the one pursuing him. Well, to be more urate, he had been chased by Shaman God''s avatar in the Voidforce Universe. Investigating Cheng Feng had actually caused Lu Yin to uncover one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ avatars!

    Lu Yin turned around to stare at the dark shadow. Sure enough, he had not been chased by an actual person, but rather by a strange doll. It was one of Shaman God''s dolls.

    When Lu Yin encountered Shaman God¡¯s avatars in the Fifth Maind, the Skygod had never demonstrated such mastery of space. Had that been because there had never been the opportunity, or had Shaman God been unwilling to do so for some reason?

    Wait, maybe it had been revealed. When Shaman God had fought against Xia Ziheng, the puppet had used several moves that had seemedpletely iprehensible, but it had been readily apparent just how dangerous they had been. Those attacks might have involved mastery of space. After all, Shaman God had been able to hide a sourcebox array in the void, which was proof that the Skygod possessed at least some control over space.

    "Speak. Who are you?" the doll asked in its eerie voice. It strutted about as though everything was already within its control.

    Tu Shuangshuang, who was actually Lu Yin in disguise, suddenly released a surge of voidforce energy that swept toward Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    The doll let out a disturbingugh. "Gaga! You want to die!"

    As the voice fell, Lu Yin''s five senses became scrambled. His sight suddenly came from the back of his hand, and he found himself looking backwards. His sense of smell came from the side of his leg, and he was instantly overwhelmed by the stench of the corrosive green liquid. As Shaman God¡¯s doll slowly approached, a sense of inescapable foreboding overwhelmed his mind.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the void, and so he was able to watch as Shaman God¡¯s doll pushed the spatial lines aside. This old monster had perfect control of space. No wonder some of Shaman God¡¯s movements had seemed to defy conventional logic. Among the spatial lines, Lu Yin could see multiple rows of sourcebox arrays.

    Wherever this Skygod went, hidden sourcebox arrays were carried along with it.

    The doll gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Child, it seems that you''re looking at things that shouldn''t be seen."

    Lu Yin red at the doll and then raised a hand. His bone pike instantly appeared, and a flood of voidforce energy engulfed the area as the pike shot towards the doll.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll was badly startled by the sight of the bone pike connecting to the spatial lines. This attack could not be avoided, but how was that possible? Could a power vessel actually control space?

    The bone pike relentlessly pursued the doll, as Lu Yin held nothing back. When facing any of the Seven Skygods, holding back was asking to die.

    When Lu Yin hadst encountered one of Shaman God¡¯s dolls in the Perennial World, he had been forced to exhaust everyst trick he had, aside from Progenitor-level abilities, and yet he had still failed to stop Shaman God¡¯s doll. Just a Semi-Progenitor avatar had single-handedly seeded in almostpletely wiping out the Seven Courts¡¯ Yu family. This was true arrogance.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll frantically moved along, utilizing the spatial lines that Lu Yin could see, but the bone pike followed right behind it.

    If anyone else was present, they would only see both the bone pike and the doll frozen in ce, though both would be somewhat illusory at times. This was because they were simultaneously frozen in ce and moving. No one could approach either one.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Just as he had suspected, Shaman God was indeed able to control space. Just the strange doll that was the Skygod¡¯s avatar possessed such impressive mastery, and if Lu Yin¡¯s bone pike did not possess such a vast amount of voidforce energy, he would not have any confidence that he could deal with the doll. However, Lord Xu had personally infused the pike with voidforce energy, and Lu Yin¡¯s control over that energy allowed him to control up to twenty times more energy than what he possessed himself.

    What did twenty times more voidforce energy mean?

    It was no different from a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s all-out attack.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew hard as his voidforce energy surged. He took a step forward, only to cough up blood from his confused senses. Still, he continued to pursue Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    The doll sneered. "You''re courting death!"

    As it spoke, a sourcebox array emerged from the void, and an attack wasunched at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin evaded the sourcebox array¡¯s attack, and he pulled out the bird skeleton voidforce puppet. That puppet was also fiercelyunched at the doll. The full amount of voidforce energy in the skeleton was drawn out, also revealing a level of powerparable to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s.

    Shaman God''s doll remained unconcerned. When it came to mastery over space, no attack could touch it.

    While this was happening, Lu Yin was also forced to constantly dodge attacks from the sourcebox arrays. Eventually, he managed to move behind the doll, where he instantly seized the opportunity to pull out his slipper and smash it down on the doll.

    In the past, Lu Yin had simply pped his opponents with the slipper in exactly the same way an ordinary person would. However, at this moment, the slipper distorted the spatial lines as it moved closer to Shaman God''s doll. Lu Yin had be capable of manipting and severing space.

    Shaman God could have never guessed that its opponent was Lu Yin.

    Aeternus was all too familiar with Lu Yin. They knew about all his methods and were thus also prepared to counter them. However, Lu Yin was using voidforce energy at this moment, as well as a new power vessel, which was his bone pike. Shaman God never considered that their opponent could be Lu Yin, and in a moment of carelessness, the slippernded a direct hit on the odd doll''s head. At the exact same moment, the bone pike pierced the head.

    The doll that was Shaman God''s Semi-Progenitor avatar waspletely destroyed.

    The doll let out a final wail, "Who are you?"

    Since the doll''s back had been facing Lu Yin, Shaman God had never known that its doll had been struck by Lu Yin¡¯s slipper. The instant the doll shattered, the Skygod¡¯s true body stopped receiving information from the avatar, just like when ckless God had been destroyed by Mister Mu in Millions City.

    Lu Yin had just killed a Skygod¡¯s avatar.

    Panting, Lu Yin put his slipper back away, followed by the bird skeleton and the bone pike. As far as he was concerned, eliminating one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ Semi-Progenitor avatars had been even more exhausting than fighting against a Progenitor. Shaman God''s mastery over space made its doll¡¯s almost invincible. If not for the doll chasing after Lu Yin and allowing him to prepare for the fight, Lu Yin was not certain that he could have destroyed the doll.

    Only after this victory did Lu Yin understand just how frightening Mister Mu¡¯s strength was. Lu Yin¡¯s master had instantly extinguished ckless God''s avatar, and he had even made it look easy. The gap between Lu Yin and Mister Mu wasrger than expected.

    Had he known the true difference between himself and ckless God¡¯s avatar at the time, his understanding of Mister Mu''s strength would have been far more urate.

    The area where the battle had taken ce was vacant. Shaman God''s doll had been exterminated, and everything had disappeared, including the broken doll itself.

    Lu Yin left the, just in case someone happened to pass by and see him there.

    Cheng Feng had to be incredibly important if he had one of Shaman God¡¯s avatars protecting him.

    At that realization, Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. If Shaman God had been protecting Cheng Feng, then did that mean that Cheng Feng was aware of Shaman God''s existence? In that case, could Lu Yin impersonate Shaman God?

    Lu Yin immediately took on the appearance of Shaman God''s doll and returned to Broken Cliff.

    At this time, Ling Mu and several others were asking questions that were creating headaches for Boss Guan and the other Bureau members.

    As one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, Ling Mu felt no need to show the Bureau any respect at all. She treated all of the Bureau members very poorly, though she barely refrained from outright cursing at them. Boss Guan and the others did not dare to speak back at all. There were serious consequences for offending one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, as the Sovereign had many disciples throughout the Sixverse Association. Offending one was offending all, and there were even disciples of Sovereign Ninth Lotus in other branches of the Bureaus in other universes.

    Only after Xu Ji stepped in did Ling Mu finally stop her tirade. If not for Xu Ji¡¯s presence, no one knew how long the woman¡¯s rant might have gone on for.

    Frustrated, the members of the Bureau tried to contact Xuan Qi, but they could not reach him no matter what.

    "I knew that he was useless! He thinks he''s so clever, but now that something hase up and there areints about us, he''s nowhere to be found!" Xu Yueined.

    Ghost Three was instead feeling quite worried. "The acting Bureau Director isn¡¯t in trouble, is he? Who knows how many of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples might have arrived? If any Void Morphora-level powerhouses came along, the acting Bureau Director might not be able to escape."

    Old Dian remained calm. "You are underestimating Spiral Domain. With that technique, not even a Void Morphora can capture the acting Bureau Director."

    Boss Guan nodded. "He won''t be in any trouble."

    "He tried to be clever, but we¡¯re the ones who ended up being scolded for it!" Xu Yueined, still annoyed.

    Xu Ji said, "Spies won''t easily trust people, not even their fellow spies. They¡¯ll always be on guard. Either Cheng Feng is too cautious, or-" He nced around at everyone. "He''s simply not a spy."

    Xu Yue replied, "I don''t think he''s a spy. Why wouldn¡¯t he be afraid of Cheng Kong going after him for capturing Tu Shuangshuang and turning her in?"

    "That¡¯s not necessarily the case." Old Dian considered. "If there''s arger n in ce, then sacrificing Tu Shuangshuang could simply be a part of it. The acting Bureau Director''s actions already indicate the direction that he¡¯s taking, so let¡¯s just wait. He¡¯ll update us soon enough, after he judges the current situation."

    Soon enough, Xu Ji received a message from Xuan Qi. "Let¡¯s go back to Broken Cliff."

    "He''s still at Broken Cliff?" Ghost Three eximed.

    Old Dian mused, "It seems that things aren¡¯t over yet. Since Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciple is looking down on our Bureau so much, let''s go confront her."

    ...

    Broken Cliff had be empty. Cheng Feng was safe for the moment, and Tu Shuangshuang had escaped once again, which meant that there was no longer any reason for people to stay at Broken Cliff. The nearby areas were scoured for traces of Tu Shuangshuang, and the surrounding region was turned upside down in the process.

    "Brother Cheng Feng, you don¡¯t need to worry. Tu Shuangshuang will definitely be caught," Little Lian said with clenched fists.

    Cheng Feng smiled. "I know. Little Lian, it looks like you¡¯ve grown up after your time in the Sixverse Academy."

    "Really?" Little Lian felt quite pleased.

    Jiang Xiaodao grimaced. "Cheng Feng, you must be scared right now, aren''t you? Do you still have the courage to sing? Little Lian came here just to hear you sing."

    Ling Mu became irritated with Jiang Xiaodao. "Let''s rest for a bit first."

    Cheng Feng spoke up, "It''s fine. Little Lian took the effort toe here, so how could I disappoint her?"

    Turning back to Little Lian, he smiled again. "What would you like to hear, Little Lian?"

    "Is it really alright?" Little Lian blinked and then nced over at Ling Mu.

    Ling Mu sighed in resignation. "It¡¯s fine. What do you want to hear?"

    Little Lian was not ordinary even among Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. People like Ling Mu and Cheng Feng addressed the Sovereign as Sovereign Ninth Lotus, while only Little Lian referred to the Sovereign as Master. It was apletely different rtionship, and it was also why no one dared to ignore Little Lian''s requests.

    Little Lian''s eyes lit up. "I want to hear Star Hymn!"

    Cheng Fengughed. "Alright, I''ll sing Star Hymn.¡±

    "That''s great! Jiang Xiaodao, let''s go outside!"

    "Why wouldn¡¯t we listen to him from right here?"

    "When Brother Cheng Feng is singing, people aren¡¯t allowed to get close, so let¡¯s hurry up and go!"

 Chapter 2619: Numb

    <h4>Chapter 2619: Numb</h4>

    Ling Mu left Broken Cliff again, feeling that it was a pity to leave so quickly after herst visit.

    Cheng Feng regretted Ling Mu¡¯s first departure even more, of course, though he did not reveal that to Little Lian. He maintained his untainted appearance, just like the strands of smoke that rose from the vige below. It gave him an ethereal mien, as if he was detached from the world of cultivation and lived in harmony with the beauty of nature.

    It was not long before a melodious voice started to sing. It echoed out, immediately captivating Little Lian and everyone else who was fortunate enough to hear it.

    The voice even reached Lu Yin, prompting him to immediately turn back to look at Broken Cliff. The voice he heard possessed the remarkable ability to sway the emotions of those who heard it. A captivating essence seemed to unfurl like an intricately painted scroll. In the presence of this voice, even the stars seemed to intensify, and Lu Yin felt an indescribable surge of passion bubble up within him.

    This song could stir emotions.

    Lu Yin was immediately reminded of Luo Shen, and how her dance could also evoke people¡¯s emotions. If she performed with Cheng Feng, it would lead to an unimaginably beautiful performance. What a pity it was that Cheng Feng was a spy.

    As the song continued, Lu Yin entered the vige. The ordinary people living there could not see him at all.

    When he first visited the vige while disguised as Tu Shuangshuang, he had felt that there was something wrong with the ce, but had not been able to pinpoint what it was. He wanted more time to observe.

    "Auntie, help me hold thedder. There''s a hole somewhere in the roof, and it leaks every time it rains."

    "Alright, just wait a moment. I''m cleaning my hands."

    "Old man, go water the crops when you can. We still need to harvest them for next year."

    "<i>Cough, cough.</i> This cold won¡¯t leave this old man. I don''t have the strength."

    "Just get out. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going to die anyways."

    "It''d be better if I were dead."

    "Hush-"

    As Lu Yin listened to the vigers chatting with each other, he gradually came to realize what was amiss.

    The people of the vige were ordinary humans who had been given long lives and unchanging appearances. They were able to live out their days and years in a leisurely and uneventful manner. While this was something that many people might yearn for, as the idea of living forever was very appealing, was it truly what normal people desired?

    If one lived in a world full of new mysteries that could offer a fascinating life, then immortality would be delightful. This was reflected in the lives of cultivators who could casually spend centuries in seclusion while striving for the pinnacle of cultivation, constantly climbing from one peak to another while pursuing the necessary resources. But what about ordinary people? They fetched water, irrigated their fields, mended their clothes, repaired their houses, and carried out other simr mundane tasks. They repeated the exact same actions every single day. What joy could such tasks offer? They were confined to their small vige for eternity. Even if they had been granted immortality, their world remained the same small vige. What was the purpose of such a life?

    For these people, aging was just another part of life, but the people that Lu Yin was observing had nothing, and yet were forced to live on. This was not life, but torture.

    Their eyes were numb. Not even Cheng Feng''s bewitching songs could stir the slightest emotions from within these people. Even Lu Yin, a cultivator close to bing a Semi-Progenitor, was affected by the music, but these ordinary humans werepletely uninterested. They had be numb to the point of losing all zest for life.

    These people would rather die than continue to live such lives!

    Death, that was such a simple event for most normal humans, but it had be nothing more than a distant dream for these vigers.

    What people referred to as living in harmony with nature and caring for his hometown was actually nothing more than Cheng Feng''s fantasy. He was exploiting the vigers to carry out his own selfish desires. How were others unable to see this?

    Lu Yin turned to stare into outer space. Could an exalted figure like Sovereign Ninth Lotus not see the truth?

    The song ended, but the vigers carried on in the exact same manner as ever as they numbly engaged in their various tasks.

    Cheng Feng returned. "Uncle, let me hold thatdder for you."

    A middle-aged man offered his gratitude, though his eyes remained indifferent.

    "Auntie, why haven''t you reced your clothes yet? These ones are all torn," Cheng Feng observed.

    An old woman quickly wiped her hands dry. "I¡¯ll do that right away. I¡¯ll go right now."

    Cheng Fengughed, filled with satisfaction. He relished the scene ying out before him as he reminisced in his childhood. These vigers had treated him well, so he wanted to grant them lives as long as possible. After all, that was what people hoped for, was it not?

    Cheng Feng soon returned to his own cabin. The building had been damaged when he attacked Tu Shuangshuang, but with help from the vigers, it was slowly restored. Cheng Feng found joy in such simple tasks.

    After several days, the cabin was fully repaired. Cheng Feng moved back in, and he found that it was perfectly identical to its previous state.

    As darkness fell, a strange doll appeared, and it let out an eerie cackle.

    It was Shaman God''s signature, uncannyughter. When Cheng Feng heard it, he also saw the nearby floating doll, and he hastily rose to his feet to offer a bow. "Lord."

    In addition to Shaman God¡¯s doll, there was another figure that could be seen, though this one was lying on the ground. It was Tu Shuangshuang.

    Cheng Feng''s eyes lit up. "Lord, you''ve captured Tu Shuangshuang?"

    Shaman God¡¯s doll replied in a low voice, "The Bureau is on its way."

    "They areing for Tu Shuangshuang. How do you want to handle this, Lord?" asked Cheng Feng.

    "What do you suggest?" the doll replied.

    Cheng Feng''s eyes flickered, and he gritted his teeth before solemnly pleading, "I ask that you give me an opportunity to serve Aeternus further, Lord."

    "You''ve already done quite well," the doll said with augh, "What more do you wish to aplish?"

    Cheng Feng knelt, having already made an important decision. "This small one asks that I be allowed to deliver Tu Shuangshuang to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, and then to ask for her support to be the next Sage Hua."

    "You want to be Sage Hua?" Shaman God¡¯s doll asked calmly.

    Cheng Feng was unable to discern any emotions from the doll, though he knew that he should not have made such a request because of the task that Shaman God had already assigned him. Still, Cheng Feng could not let go of such a rare opportunity. He believed in his own worth, so even if Shaman God was irritated by the request, Cheng Feng was certain that he would not be harmed. "If I be Sage Hua, I will be able to serve Aeternus even better."

    "How would you serve us if you became Sage Hua?" Shaman God asked with a smirk.

    Cheng Feng was stunned. Even the thought of bing Sage Hua was beyond anything he couldprehend. He had no idea what he would be able to do. If he misspoke out of his ignorance, he would only lower his chances of sess.

    For a moment, Cheng Feng had no idea how to respond.

    "I¡¯ve given you a chance. If you choose not to reply, then don''t me me," Shaman God said with a chuckle.

    Cheng Feng clenched his teeth and prostrated on the floor. "I beg for your mercy. I may not understand the abilities of the powerful, but I can promise you that once I be Sage Hua, I will do anything for Aeternus, even if it costs me my life."

    He possessed an unquenchable thirst for power.

    "I ask that you consider the many deeds I''ve already aplished. Please allow me one more chance. With my current influence and abilities, I''ve already managed to kill Sage Stone. If I be Sage Hua, it¡¯s possible that I might even be able to help Aeternus in eliminating Sovereign Ninth Lotus."

    Shaman God remained silent, his thoughts churning like a raging sea beneath the calm facade that the disguised Lu Yin was keeping up.

    This conversation with Cheng Feng had actually revealed the truth behind Sage Stone''s death to Lu Yin. Shi Jiao had mentioned that Sage Stone had died in battle, but how had Cheng Feng been involved?

    "The merit that you¡¯ve earned with Sage Stone''s death is not enough for me to help you be Sage Hua," Shaman God answered indifferently.

    "But Senior, you mentioned that it was an incredible achievement! Had I not learned of Sage Stone''s plea for help from one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples, Cheng Kong would have never been able to kill Sage Stone before Sovereign Ninth Lotus arrived. You once said that eliminating an enemy powerhouse-¡±

    Cheng Feng suddenly cut off and stared at Shaman God. Finally, the man rose to his feet. "You are not Shaman God."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Cheng Feng had figured out what was happening. This man was truly cautious. If Lu Yin had not tried to impersonate Shaman God and tempt Cheng Feng with the possibility of bing the next Sage Hua, Cheng Feng would have never revealed so much.

    Outside Broken Cliff, Old Dian and the others from the Bureau soon approached Jiang Xiaodao, Little Lian, and Ling Mu.

    They had only just arrived, so Lu Yin had already started his conversation while disguised as Shaman God. The whole thing had been recorded with amunication crystal, but the video had only been shared with the Bureau officials. As soon as they saw Cheng Feng kneel to Shaman God, they knew that they were on the right track. When they arrived at the edge of Broken Cliff, they shared the video with Ling Mu and the others.

    Ling Mu and the others were dumbfounded as they watched the video show Cheng Feng kneeling to Shaman God, and they listened as Cheng Feng confessed to killing Sage Stone.

    Jiang Xiaodao waspletely stunned. "Shaman God is here? We need to call for help."

    "That is the acting Bureau Director disguised as Shaman God," Boss Guan exined.

    Old Dian and the others from the Bureau were also rather perplexed; how had the acting Bureau Director known that impersonating Shaman God would be enough to deceive Cheng Feng? Xuan Qi was bing more and more mysterious to them.

    There was a loud bang, and a lotus bloomed. Cheng Feng tried to make his escape, but his legs had already been pierced by the bone pike, and he copsed. Lu Yin restored his appearance as Xuan Qi. "Now that you''ve been caught, the other spies in this universe will start to behave themselves."

    Cheng Feng red at Lu Yin. "You are Xuan Qi! You impersonated Shaman God!"

    At this moment, the Bureau officials and Little Lian quickly moved onto Broken Cliff.

    At the same time, people emerged from the vige, all of them looking confused.

    Lu Yin looked down at Cheng Feng. "I have a question for you: do you think that these vigers want to live long lives?"

    Cheng Feng had not expected this particr question, as it seemedpletely random. After all, this had nothing to do with him being a spy. "Of course. Who doesn''t wish for longevity?"

    Lu Yin turned to the vigers. "Starting today, you are free. Whether you live or die, no one will bother you."

    The vigers stared at Lu Yin with nk faces.

    Cheng Feng had expected the vigers to scramble over to save him, but that did not ur. Instead, the vigers numbly stared on, revealing no reaction to the sight of Cheng Feng being captured by Lu Yin. Theirpleteck of emotion sent chills down Cheng Feng¡¯s spine.

    "What have you done to them?" Cheng Feng roared as he started to struggle.

    It was at this moment that Little Lian and the others arrived.

    "Bureau Director." Old Dian and his team quickly grabbed Cheng Feng.

    Lu Yin looked at Little Lian. "Little Lian, it''s been quite a while."

    Little Lian was surprised to see him. "Brother Xuan Qi?"

    "Xuan Qi? What are you doing here?" Jiang Xiaodao shouted.

    Ling Mu also appeared, and she stared at Lu Yin. "Are you also part of the Bureau?"

    "I am the acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau, Xuan Qi," Lu Yin introduced himself.

    Ling Mu ignored the introduction. "Give me Cheng Feng."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Cheng Feng is a spy, and it''s already been proven. Naturally, my Bureau will now interrogate him. Why should I give him to you?"

    "He is also one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. Regardless of his possible crimes, Sovereign Ninth Lotus will be the one to deal with him," Ling Mu replied. As she spoke, more people started to arrive. All of them were Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. Eventually, five people surrounded Lu Yin and the others from the Bureau. Battle techniques and lotus flowers started to appear in the void.

    Jiang Xiaodao was thrilled to see Xuan Qi¡¯s misfortune. Going against Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples? Was Xuan Qi not afraid of death? How many disciples did Sovereign Ninth Lotus have that were part of the Sixverse Association? Her disciples were not people who could be reasoned with.

    Old Dian and the others from the Bureau nced at each other. Things had just gotten very troublesome. With Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples forcing their way in, it would not be easy for them to arrest Cheng Feng. Of course, Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples also would not protect Cheng Feng, and his fate would be just as miserable with them as with the Bureau. However, the Bureau could not allow Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples to take the spy away before he was even interrogated.

 Chapter 2620: Take Him Away

    <h4>Chapter 2620: Take Him Away</h4>

    "Bureau Director, we¡¯ve already proven that Cheng Feng is a spy. There¡¯s no point in offending Sovereign Ninth Lotus because of him when he¡¯s lost almost all of his value," Old Dian whispered.

    Ghost Three jumped in as well. "That¡¯s right, Bureau Director. This fool won''t survive long regardless."

    "Even if we take him away, he¡¯ll insist that he''s under Cheng Kong¡¯s control, and it will be even more difficult for us to do anything to him," Old Dian continued.

    The Bureau¡¯s team captains had gained some understanding of Xuan Qi¡¯s temperament, and they knew that they could only try to persuade him, rather than try to force anything.

    The Bureau was an organization that spanned the entire Sixverse Association. Offending one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples would instigate many difficulties for the entire Bureau in the future.

    Lu Yin calmly looked around, and then he dered, "Outsiders have no authority to interfere with the Bureau¡¯s affairs. This is the authority granted to the Bureau by the Sixverse Association itself. If you intend to take this spy away, I won¡¯t have any choice but suspect that you are conspiring with Cheng Feng."

    "How dare you nder Sovereign Ninth Lotus!" one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples yelled angrily.

    Old Dian and the others from the Bureau felt their scalps go numb. They had not expected Xuan Qi to be so stubborn. He was refusing to give in to Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    Cheng Feng was simrly surprised, and he turned to stare at Xuan Qi. It was clear that this man had no idea just how terrifying Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples could be. Of course, Cheng Feng did not want to be taken by the disciples. There might still be a way for him to survive if he was taken by the Bureau, but if he ended up in the hands of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, he would have no chance of survival at all.

    "Brother Xuan Qi-"

    Little Lian stepped forward to say something, only to be stopped by Jiang Xiaodao. He even gave Lu Yin a thumbs up. "You''ve got guts! Grandpa Dao admires you."

    He then quickly pulled Little Lian back.

    Ling Mu then stepped forward. "Xuan Qi, we''ll give you onest chance: give us Cheng Feng, and we promise that he will receive the punishment he deserves. Why do you insist on offending Sovereign Ninth Lotus for him?"

    Lu Yin also stepped forward. "As I''ve just said, the Bureau has been granted its authority by the Sixverse Association itself. Anyone who dares to interfere in our activities and take our captives away, regardless of whom they might be or what status they have, will be regarded as-" he paused as his eyes swept the gathered crowd, "Spies."

    Ling Mu¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Do you really intend to make Sovereign Ninth Lotus your enemy?"

    "I, Xuan Qi, would never dare to make Sovereign Ninth Lotus my enemy. I am merely capturing a spy. However, anyone who dares to take my Bureau¡¯s captives will be also treated as a spy!" Lu Yin shouted. As he stated his position, the bone pike appeared and floated next to him. Voidforce energy surged from the pike and filled the area.

    Ling Mu was astonished. This young man had left the Sixverse Academy at about the same time as Little Lian, right? So how could he possess such a terrifying amount of voidforce energy? He was close to the Void Morphora level.

    Jiang Xiaodao gaped. When had this fellow be so formidable?

    Little Lian felt incredibly torn. She was fond of Xuan Qi despite only meeting him a few times, and she did not want to be his enemy in the future.

    "We''re leaving. Bring Cheng Feng.¡±

    ¡°Anyone who dares to try to interfere will be considered a spy and will also be arrested by the Bureau." Lu Yin coldly announced the Bureau¡¯s position before leading his people away.

    Old Dian and the others followed right behind Lu Yin. Regardless of their personal opinions, they could not defy Xuan Qi¡¯s orders at this moment. The Bureau did not view traitors with any more kindness than Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    Ling Mu stared at Xuan Qi. This person was genuinely willing to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    There was no one in the Sixverse Association who didn¡¯t know what being one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples meant. Sovereign Ninth Lotus was not the strongest of the three Sovereigns, but she did have the most disciples, and all of her followersbined were a formidable force within the Sixverse Association. They formed a united power that, if provoked, could shake the heavens.

    This was something that was universally epted within the Sixverse Association.

    Not even Lord Xu had the courage to openly offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus, so how did Xuan Qi have the guts to do so? Where did he find his courage? Was it simply because of Xu Wuji?

    "Get a hold of Senior Xu Wuji now," Ling Mu ordered in a voice that was loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

    Unperturbed, Lu Yin''s bone pike tore through the surrounding lotuses, startling Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s five disciples who had surrounded him and causing them to freeze in ce.

    Even if people looked down on the Bureau even though they had been authorized by the Sixverse Association to hunt down spies. Many people already were starting to feel that Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples were acting unreasonably by confronting the Bureau in the course of their duty. After all, the Bureau only had one enemy: Aeternus.

    With Lu Yin leading the way, everyone from the Bureau passed through the encirclement and left.

    "Senior Sister Ling Mu, are we really going to just let them leave like this?" someone spoke up.

    Ling Mu replied, "I already have other ns."

    What could not be done in the open could instead be carried out in the shadows.

    Xuan Qi would serve as an example. Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples had not taken action for far too long; it was time for them to start doing so.

    In outer space, Lu Yin led everyone back towards the Red Zone.

    Xu Yue stared at Lu Yin''s back. There was an unusual sparkle in her eyes. All of her former irritation with Xuan Qi vanished like smoke in the wind. This was a man. There was an appealing masculinity to him. "Ah, Brother, you¡¯re smiling."

    Xu Ji rarely smiled, but he was doing so as he also stared at Xuan Qi¡¯s back. His decision to join the Bureau might prove to be a good one after all.

    Old Dian and the other team captains all remained silent. They had not expected to actually be able to take Cheng Feng away. By this point in time, the Sixverse Association had to already be in an uproar.

    It was not an inurate guess. News of Cheng Feng''s arrest began to spread, starting with the Voidforce Universe, and quickly followed by the Cyclic Universe, the Arboreal Realm, the Three Monarchs Universe, and all the rest. Each universe started to abuzz. Cheng Feng might not be a big deal, but he was supported by Sovereign Ninth Lotus, who certainly was. Even if Cheng Feng was proven to be a spy, he should have been dealt with by Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Unexpectedly, he had been taken by Xuan Qi, and he had even been taken away right in front of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s own disciples. On top of that, Xuan Qi had dered that whoever tried to obstruct him would also be regarded as a spy. His actions were clearly pping Sovereign Ninth Lotus in the face.

    Xuan Qi''s name spread like wildfire, even faster than when he had crossed the Void Pass.

    As news of Cheng Feng¡¯s capture spread, so too did word that Xuan Qi had crossed the Void Pass, captured Wendy Yushan as part of the Sixverse Academy¡¯s trial for their students, and various other records as well. Many in the Sixverse Association only learned of the name ¡°Xuan Qi¡± at this moment.

    When Xu Wuji received word, his sunsses fell off. He drained his drink with one gulp, put away hismunication crystal, and promptly decided that he had nothing to do with the matter. In fact, he had nothing to do with anything that was going on. He did not want anyone to seek him out for anything.

    Xuan Qi certainly knew how to stir up trouble. Yun Wu had only been a minor issue. Yi Jun had been a bit troublesome, but since her identity as a spy was proven, there were no real issues. On the other hand, Cheng Feng was a major problem. He was one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. Why had Xuan Qi not just tossed the spy over to Sovereign Ninth Lotus? But no, he just <i>had</i> to arrest the spy and take him away.

    Xu Wuji sighed. He knew that he was already in the middle of this huge mess.

    He put his sunsses back on. <i>Still, the kid¡¯s pretty efficient.</i>

    Suddenly, Xu Wuji remembered something; had Xuan Qi remembered to wear his Wuji sses when arresting the spies?

    ***

    In the Cloudview n¡¯s territory, Yun Yun also received the news. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. Had Xuan Qi really taken Cheng Feng away right in front of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples? Had he really even threatened them and said that anyone who stopped him would be regarded as a spy? Had he gone mad?

    Many of the members of the Void Yang and the Void Yin ns were simrly stunned.

    Xu Lie''s mouth curved into a smile. How domineering!

    The more people understood Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples and their reputation, the more they knew just how fearless Xuan Qi was, though many felt that he simply did not know how terrifying Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples could be.

    Meanwhile, the astrological phenomena that enveloped the two ns¡¯ territories grew increasingly intense. The day of their scheduled battle with Xiu Ci was drawing close.

    Many people were paying attention to the two ns. The merging of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns would give rise to a new and mighty power in the Voidforce Universe.

    ...

    When Ghost Three and the other team captains saw the red region of space just up ahead of them, they all heaved sighs of relief. They had made it back.

    Cheng Feng also let out a breath. He would much rather be the Bureau¡¯s captive than end up in the hands of Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Thetter would doom him to a horrible fate.

    If Cheng Feng insisted that he had been controlled by Cheng Kong, then the Bureau wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him, but Sovereign Ninth Lotus would not care about that.

    Suddenly, everyone came to a stop.

    At the edge of the Red Zone, a person was sitting cross-legged in space. Despite the vast distance between them and the group, the person¡¯s eyes pierced the void to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. This person was a Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouse. Could they be one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples? No, it was too soon for that. This person had to be a Void Morphora from the Voidforce Universe.

    Without uttering a single word, the Void Morphora¡¯s energy swept through space to heavily suppress the arriving people.

    ¡°How dare you attack the Bureau!¡± Boss Guan and Skinner swiftlyunched counterattacks, and Xu Ji and Xu Yue also released their voidforce energy, but their ambusher effortlessly repelled everything.

    The gap between the people who had reacted and a Void Morphora was insurmountable. Even if they were capable of using voidforce puppets with multiple times their own voidforce energy, it was not nearly enough to close such a gap.

    Cheng Feng''s face grew pale. There was no doubt that this person was one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. It was impossible for Cheng Feng to escape.

    The oppressive voidforce energy from the Void Morphora left them unable to even breathe. As the person¡¯s palm rose and pressed back down, an elliptical voidforce puppet appeared. The voidforce energy filling the area grew even more robust, and the people from the Bureau were forced back.

    Lu Yin did not react at all, and he simply allowed the voidforce energy to press down on him and the others. This person would not harm any of them. Their only goal was to take Cheng Feng away.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples had hired a Void Morphora to capture Cheng Feng. They had done so not only to uphold Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s image, but also to protect someone.

    Cheng Feng had leaked Sage Stone¡¯s whereabouts to Aeternus, which had led to the Sage¡¯s death at the hands of Cheng Kong. However, the Sage¡¯s whereabouts would have never been directly revealed to someone like Cheng Feng. Someone else must have shared that information with Cheng Feng, and only because of that person was Cheng Feng able to cause Sage Stone¡¯s death. It was possible that that person was also a spy, but that was not necessarily the case. Regardless, that person was indirectly responsible for Sage Stone''s death, and the punishment that they would face would not be light.

    There was also no question that the person who had shared Sage Stone¡¯s location with Cheng Feng was another one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    The Void Morphora who had been waiting for Xuan Qi and the others was most likely acting on behalf of that unknown person. They intended to either take Cheng Feng away or simply silence him.

    Lu Yin''s assumption was not wrong. The surge of voidforce energy did not harm anyone, though from Cheng Feng''s perspective, he was facing a crisis that left his scalp numb. He was certain that the moment the voidforce energy fell, he would die. "Save me-"

    The moment that Cheng Feng¡¯s voice called out, a second surge of voidforce energy that was no weaker than the Void Morphora¡¯s erupted, and it pushed back the descending voidforce energy.

    The distant attacker was not surprised, and he simply raised another hand. Multiple elliptical voidforce puppets appeared, and the voidforce energy swelled even further.

    The attacker¡¯s voidforce energy had been repelled by Old Dian.

    Boss Guan and others from the Bureau were shocked. None of them had known that Old Dian possessed such strength. Was he really a secret Void Morphora?

    Lu Yin smiled. It was time for Old Dian to reveal his power. He could not stay hidden forever.

    Old Dian sighed. "I just wanted to live my life in peace. Bureau Director, you¡¯re condemning me to a life of suffering."

    He looked out at the distant voidforce puppets. "He isn¡¯t willing to reveal his identity, but he is clearly a Void Morphora, which means that he must be a well-known expert in the Voidforce Universe. It won''t be easy to deal with him."

    "There shouldn''t be many Void Morphoras in the Voidforce Universe who would be willing to help the Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples," Xu Jimented.

    Old Dian shook his head. "That¡¯s not right at all. There are many people who would happily help Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, and it¡¯s even possible that this person is actually a Void Suprema."

    "Don''t scare them," Lu Yin scolded.

    Their opponent in front of them grew serious, and heunched an entire volley of his round voidforce puppets. This attack was far more than a simple eruption of voidforce energy, as it was actually a battle technique. This caught Old Dian''s eye, though he said nothing. All he did was release his own voidforce energy and force the puppets to a sharp halt.

    The unknown Void Morphora stared at Old Dian in surprise, and the old man met his opponent¡¯s gaze. "There''s no need for you to bother exhausting yourself. Leave now. You won¡¯t be able to take Cheng Feng."

 Chapter 2621: Charge In

    <h4>Chapter 2621: Charge In</h4>

    At that moment, a formidable surge of voidforce energy erupted behind the Bureau group, and it filled the entire region. The pressure that they felt from this second powerhouse was no less intimidating than that of the Void Morphora blocking their way.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed.

    "Two Void Morphoras? How is this possible?" Boss Guan was horrified.

    Lu Yin frowned. Were both of these people disciples of Sovereign Ninth Lotus? That was truly impossible. Regardless of how many disciples Sovereign Ninth Lotus had, it was not possible for them to mobilize two Void Morphoras so quickly. How would Lord Xu react to such a show of force in his universe? Such brazenness was not something that the Voidforce Universe would allow.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples must have employed a different method to mobilize two Void Morphoras.

    Old Dian frowned. "We can¡¯t stop two of them."

    "Contact the Bureau Director," Ghost Three suggested in a trembling voice.

    The others all remained silent. If it were so easy for them to get in touch with Xu Wuji, then their opponents would not have sent just two Void Morphoras. Xu Wuji was absolutely aware of what had happened, but he had decided to stay out of things. It was clear that the Bureau Director was not willing to start a conflict with Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    This was not solely out of fear of Sovereign Ninth Lotus. The Endless Frontier was Xu Wuji¡¯s primary concern. In order to ensure one¡¯s survival on that battlefield, it was important to not antagonize too many human powerhouses. Otherwise, a person could easily find themselves isted and vulnerable, much like what had happened to Sage Stone.

    The Endless Frontier was a meat grinder, even for Progenitors.

    The two Void Morphoras were only interested in taking Cheng Feng away and ensuring that whoever had leaked Sage Stone¡¯s whereabouts to him was not exposed. They had no intention of dealing with the Bureau. It was within expectations for Xu Wuji to not show up.

    "Save me! You have to take me away! I don''t want to be taken to Sovereign Ninth Lotus!" Cheng Feng''s face grew pale, and he started begging Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Then tell me who told you where Sage Stone was."

    Old Dian and others from the Bureau felt their hearts skip a beat, and they instinctively took a step back. The moment they learned this name, the Bureau would be obligated to directly confront Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. The disciples would naturally do everything that they could to prevent the name from being revealed to the public, while the Bureau would be obligated to investigate whether that person was a spy. Neither side would be able to just let the matter go, and the Bureau¡¯s team captains had no intention of getting involved in such trouble.

    "Acting Bureau Director," Ghost Three pleaded, "Please let this matter go for now."

    Boss Guan''s face twitched uncontrobly. How had things end up in this situation? This was supposed to be a glorious aplishment on their part, but they were being obstructed by two Void Morphora. If anything went wrong, they could easily end up fighting against Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. If that happened, how would they survive in the Sixverse Association?

    Cheng Feng''s face contorted. He was facing the greatest dilemma of his life. Should he speak or stay silent?

    "Release him," the Void Morphora behind the groupmanded sternly as a terrifying amount of voidforce energy overwhelmed the Bureau officials. At the same time, a chain that contained an immense amount of voidforce energy appeared, and it extended across outer space. This person far surpassed ordinary Void Morphoras.

    Old Dian helplessly said, "Acting Bureau Director, please let him go."

    Lu Yin stared at Cheng Feng. "Speak."

    "Acting Bureau Director!" Boss Guan could no longer endure the pressure. He wanted to persuade Xuan Qi to abandon what he was trying to do.

    "Acting Bureau Director, Sovereign Ninth Lotus will look into this, so why do we need to get involved in the affairs of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples?" Ghost Three pleaded.

    Old Dian added, "Sovereign Ninth Lotus will not allow a spy to remain within her disciples. Acting Bureau Director, this is not something that we can get involved with, and the Bureau Director clearly doesn¡¯t want to get involved either."

    Xu Ji and Xu Yue both stared at Lu Yin. The pressure that he was facing was immense.

    Various scenarios shed through Cheng Feng''s mind. Should he speak or stay silent?

    Voidforce energy was pressing down on the group from two directions.

    Even Old Dian wanted to back down, and everyone else was simrly trying to get Lu Yin to step back.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin turned to Old Dian. "Even at the risk of death, keep Cheng Feng here. We are right in front of our own headquarters. If a captive is taken from us right here, how will we be able to continue to operate? The Bureau¡¯s mission is to capture spies. What does that have to do with Sovereign Ninth Lotus? If we hand our captive over to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, the Bureau might as well disband."

    Old Dian replied in a bitter voice, "But even the Bureau Director..."

    "I don¡¯t care what the Bureau Director is thinking. As long as I, Xuan Qi, am the acting Bureau Director, then I am the one who will decide the actions of this Bureau branch. Cheng Feng will only be taken away from my dead body. I alone will face whatever consequences maye from this. If anyone takes Cheng Feng from me by force, I promise that they will suffer the same fate as a spy" Lu Yin remained unswayed.

    He needed the Bureau so that he would be able to perform certain tasks. How would that be possible if the Bureau lost Cheng Feng? How would Lu Yin even be able to move about the Sixverse Association if he lost the Bureau¡¯s authority?

    He did not believe that the current standoff in front of the Bureau¡¯s headquarters wouldst for very long. There were countless eyes watching events unfold in real time. The two Void Morphoras trying to take Cheng Feng away did not dare to reveal their true identities. "Old Dian, use your life-bound voidforce puppet."

    A life-bound voidforce puppet carried a distinct significancepared to normal voidforce puppets. The two experts trying to take Cheng Feng away were trying to keep their identities hidden, and for that reason, they would not use their life-bound voidforce puppets. The moment Old Dian released his own, the boost of voidforce energy would give him the strength to get the Bureau¡¯s people into the Red Zone. Once they were within their headquarters, things would be different.

    Not even Xu Wuji would allow anyone to take a captive spy out of the Red Zone.

    Old Dian held his tongue, understanding that Xuan Qi was an impulsive youth. The acting Bureau Director was doing nothing less than challenging Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. This was clearly the best moment to release Cheng Feng, as doing so might even earn them some good will with Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples. What on earth was going through the acting Bureau Director¡¯s mind?

    The two Void Morphoras were staring at Lu Yin, their expressions changing. Was this child an idiot? Even Xu Wuji was deliberately not getting involved, and yet this youth dared to push forward. Where was his courageing from?

    The two Void Morphora had believed that they would seed without any issues, but they had not expected to encounter such a stubborn person. This made things very difficult for the Void Morphora as well.

    Old Dian did not want to reveal his life-bound voidforce puppet, and the two opposing Void Morphoras did not wish to expose their identities either. The two sides were at a standstill right in front of the Red Zone.

    Suddenly, an odd fluctuation rippled through outer space.

    Lu Yin looked over. What was he feeling?

    Old Dian turned to look,pletely shocked. "Someone is about to be a Void Suprema!"

    Void Suprema?

    Everyone turned to look in the same direction, including the two unknown Void Morphora. Was someone about to be a Void Suprema?

    The greatest hope of all Void Morphoras was to be a Void Suprema. Only Void Suprema were regarded as true powerhouses, and it was very unexpected for anyone to face this final breakthrough at this moment. Who could it be?

    ...

    Far away, in the Void Yang and Void Yin ns¡¯ territories, everyone from both ns looked up to stare at the same point in outer space. Xu Heng and Xu Leng were standing there, holding hands, and the Yin Yang Sword floated before them.

    "I didn''t expect for us to both be Void Supremas during our seclusion," Xu Heng eximed.

    Xu Leng held Xu Heng''s hand, and she answered in a gentle voice, "We have long since had the strength needed for this breakthrough, but we were missing the Yin Yang Sword. With the sword returned to us, our breakthrough was nothing more than the next step.¡±

    Xu Hengughed. "Brother Xuan Qi is truly our lucky star."

    Xu Leng nodded.

    At this moment, endless voidforce energy was surging all around them.

    Even when transitioning from Void Morphora to Void Suprema, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivators did not face a tribtion like the Fifth Maind¡¯s stellr tribtions. On top of that, the universe¡¯s voidforce energy would try to elevate the cultivator to the Void Suprema level, though the rate of sess was pitifully low. Bing a Void Suprema required a vast amount of voidforce energy to instantly enter a cultivator¡¯s body. Only if the person did not explode from the process would they seed. Naturally, those who failed exploded and died.

    While bing a Progenitor in the Fifth Maind required a cultivator to use various methods, opportunities, forms of energy, and more, the heights to which the Voidforce Universe¡¯s people could cultivate to depended solely on their innate talent.

    This was precisely why Xu Xiangyin had seen Xuan Qi as so important to the Voidforce Universe. Given the talent that Lu Yin had revealed when controlling a voidforce puppet with twenty times more energy than himself andter triggering a voidforce tide, he would absolutely be a Void Suprema, barring any majorplications. As for most people in the Voidforce universe, they could only rely on luck to sessfully breakthrough.

    While the universe itself did not try to stop cultivators from bing Void Supremas, the chances for a cultivator to reach that level were not much better than a Fifth Maind cultivator¡¯s chances of bing a Progenitor.

    This was simply the way of things. While some people would be blocked and hindered, they would still seed despite all obstacles. Others, no matter how they were helped and assisted, would still fail.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng had been able to attempt their final breakthrough to be Void Supremas long before, but without the Yin Yang Sword, they knew that they werecking the final and most crucialponent of Venerable Xuyi''s power. Without that final detail, it would have been impossible for either of them to be a Void Suprema. As soon as that finalponent appeared, breaking through became an inevitability.

    Endless voidforce energy surged into both Xu Heng and Xu Leng.

    With two people experiencing a breakthrough at the same time, the amount of voidforce energy that swept towards them was far greater than what would happen when a single person became a Void Suprema.

    Voidforce energy poured into the two people and then emerged from the Yin Yang Sword, creating a cycle. Without this cycle, the two would never be able to seed in their breakthrough. Other Void Morphoras simrly required the help of their voidforce puppets to be Void Supremas, as this was simply the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivation method.

    Just outside the Red Zone, everyone was staring off into the distance, looking increasingly shocked by what they sensed.

    "Who is breaking through? They¡¯re drawing such a massive amount of voidforce energy," Old Dian eximed in shock.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was indeed a ridiculous amount of energy, and he believed that it was no less than the amount that Lord Xu had ced in the bone pike. That amount had been determined by Lu Yin''s exceptional talent for voidforce energy, but whoever was breaking through was receiving the same amount of energy. The Voidforce Universe had no shortage of experts.

    Xu Wuwei was an expert so powerful that Lu Yin struggled to evenprehend the man¡¯s strength. After this personpleted their breakthrough, they would stand at a simr level.

    The two Void Morphora who were trying to take Cheng Feng away hadplicated expressions on their faces. They longed for the day when they would also be Void Supremas. While it appeared to be nothing more than a single step, that one step might as well span the width of the heavens.

    At the moment, seeing someone else face their final breakthrough left the two experts momentarily stunned.

    "Let''s go, quickly!" Lu Yin quietly ordered.

    Old Dian quickly carried Lu Yin and Cheng Feng along with him as he moved toward the Red Zone.

    The two Void Morphoras were only after Cheng Feng, and they would not harm anyone else.

    The Void Morphora blocking the path to the Red Zone recovered, and his movements grew much sharper than before. Behind Old Dian, voidforce energy moved to form arge hand that reached out to grab them.

    "Aren''t you going to use your life-bound voidforce puppet?" Lu Yin gave Old Dian a pointed look. He had developed an aura of unquestionable authority during his years as overlord of the Fifth Maind, and that bearing caused Old Dian to shiver. The old man could notprehend why he did not dare to meet this youth¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin had killed more than one Semi-Progenitor before, and not even Old Dian could endure Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent.

    With a pained expression, the old man quickly exined, "Acting Bureau Director, it''s not that I don''t want to use it, but I have my own problems."

    "I don''t give a shit about your problems! If Cheng Feng is captured, you''re dead," Lu Yin threatened.

    Old Dian could tell that Xuan Qi waspletely serious, so he gritted his teeth. If he was going to suffer the same fate regardless of whether he fought, he might as well fight. "Bureau Director, if anyonees after me because of this, you must help me stop them."

    "Fine," Lu Yin agreed. He was not afraid of things getting out of hand. Instead, he was afraid that things would not spiral out of control far enough.

    A strangeugh suddenly rang out, and it left Lu Yin''s scalp numb from a sense of fear. He stared nkly at the voidforce puppet that had mysteriously appeared right next to him. What in the world was this?

    The sudden appearance of this puppet would startle anyone. It had huge ck circles for eyes, and its mouth was a simple tear that had been haphazardly sewn back up with a bit of thread. The eyes were lifeless, and yet it felt as though they were staring into Lu Yin¡¯s soul. The puppet¡¯s entire body was covered in patches that formed pairs of patterns that looked like eyes. There were threads that connected the puppet to Old Dian''s hand. It swayed about as it released a strangeugh.

    Thisughter was even more disturbing than Shaman God''s. It was creeping and nauseating.

    Cheng Feng stood frozen, transfixed in horror. The puppet''s unblinking eyes pierced him as it let out another peal of strangeughter.

    This was Old Dian¡¯s life-bound voidforce puppet.

 Chapter 2622: Powerful Reinforcements

    <h4>Chapter 2622: Powerful Reinforcements</h4>

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. Could something like this doll also be a life-bound voidforce puppet?

    The moment the puppet appeared, Old Dian''s entire demeanor underwent aplete transformation. His expression grew sinister as a bloodthirsty smile unconsciously appeared on the old man¡¯s face.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± The Void Morphora cultivator blocking their path was startled.

    The Void Morphora behind them growled, ¡°You¡¯ve returned?¡±

    Old Dian licked his lips. ¡°Acting Bureau Director, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The disturbing puppet threw its head back and cackled as it charged through space. Ripples spread out, forming waves that were followed by a surge of voidforce energy. Anyone who touched this energy would grow dizzy and nauseous as they witnessed all kinds of strange scenes.

    Enduring the difort, Lu Yin looked forward.

    They were drawing closer to the Red Zone and would soon enter.

    A lotus bloomed, blocking the way forward. It was a Lotus Artifact.

    Theughter from Old Dian''s puppet grew louder, and the ripples that emanated from it eroded the lotus.

    However, the lotus just bloomed again, and this happened four times in a row.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. The number of times that a lotus could bloom represented its rank. For Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, a lotus that bloomed nine times represented Sovereign Ninth Lotus herself. Below that were the eight ranks of the Sovereign¡¯s Lotus Artifacts, and each rank possessed a different level of power. The Lotus Artifacts that had been given to the Sixverse Academy students for the trial in the Fifth Maind had been fourth-ranked lotuses, and those had been able to block an attack from a Progenitor. The lotus that was blocking the path to the Red Zone was simrly a fourth-rank Lotus Artifact. Old Dian was a Void Morphora, which meant that he would not be able to break through.

    By activating this Lotus Artifact, the Void Morphora blocking the way forward was showing that he no longer intended to hold back at all.

    Old Dian''s puppet was slowly eroding the Lotus Artifact, but this fourth-rank Lotus Artifact was able to stop a Progenitor¡¯s attack. Even with the multiplicative effect of the old man¡¯s life-bound voidforce puppet, he still fell far short of the Void Suprema level.

    ¡°Since you''ve revealed yourself, someone will soon arrive to collect your debt. Now, hand over Cheng Feng," the Void Morphora blocking the way to the Red Zone demanded as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Cheng Feng was ovee with a sense of dread after seeing the Lotus Artifact block their way. This person was clearly determined to silence him. Cheng Feng anxiously turned to face Lu Yin. "I can¡¯t go with them! Take me to the Bureau! Once I''m safe, I¡¯ll give you the name of the person who told me Sage Stone''s location."

    "Tell me now," Lu Yin retorted.

    Cheng Feng shook his head vigorously. The moment he gave up that name, he would lose all value to the Bureau, and they would most likely throw him over to Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. As long as Cheng Feng remained silent, it was clear that Xuan Qi was determined to take his captive back to the Bureau¡¯s headquarters. As long as Cheng Feng entered the Red Zone, he would not have to worry about being taken away. Unless the Bureau truly did not care about their reputation, they would never allow Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples to take a captive away from their headquarters.

    If Cheng Feng was being honest, he had no idea why this Xuan Qi had gotten involved in such a matter. It was impossible for Sovereign Ninth Lotus to let the person who had revealed Sage Stone''s location go unpunished. There was an easy solution to the current situation, and there was no reason for the Bureau to be involved at all. Despite that, Xuan Qi was refusing to step back, and that was very beneficial to Cheng Feng.

    Lu Yin nced over at Cheng Feng. "My patience is running out. If you¡¯re not going to tell us, it doesn''t seem like a bad idea to give you to Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples."

    Old Dian rolled his eyes. "Acting Bureau Director, just throw him over to them now."

    Even as the old man spoke, he flexed his arm in preparation to toss Cheng Feng away. At that moment, Cheng Feng''s face turned as white as a sheet. Old Dian instantly had a bad premonition.

    "Yao Lan! It was Yao Lan!" Cheng Feng screamed loud enough that his voice echoed in every direction.

    Old Dian''s mouth fell open. <i>Oh no, the kid couldn¡¯t hold out after being scared</i>.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. Cheng Feng had finally spoken.

    One of the Void Morphoras¡¯ eyes grew cold. "Nonsense!"

    "It¡¯s not nonsense! It was Yao Lan! It really was her! Xuan Qi, take me to the Bureau¡ªthere''s more that I need to tell you, so take me in!" Cheng Feng fought to get the words out as he stared at Lu Yin with pleading eyes. The man¡¯s only hope was to not be abandoned by Xuan Qi.

    Of course, Lu Yin had no intention of abandoning his prisoner. "Are you two still going to persist?"

    "Cheng Feng has been controlled by Cheng Kong, and he¡¯s simply grasping at straws to confuse everyone. Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, you don''t actually believe him, do you?" The Void Morphora who was behind the Bureau¡¯s officials spoke up. "Give us Cheng Feng. He will be dealt with appropriately, and someone will provide you with an exnation."

    "I won''t go! Xuan Qi, don''t abandon me!" Cheng Feng screamed.

    Lu Yin said, "Whether Cheng Feng is spouting nonsense or not, the Bureau will get to the truth. There¡¯s no need for you two to do anything more. Please leave."

    "Give us Cheng Feng!" The two Void Morphoras instantlyunched additional attacks.

    Old Dian sighed. Given the current situation, there was no way for him to extricate himself. His only option was to help Xuan Qi keep Cheng Feng, and then have the Bureau announce that Cheng Feng had been simply ndering Yao Lan. Only then would Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples retain their reputation. It was the only way to settle things properly.

    If Cheng Feng was released at this point in time, there was no question that Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples would hold a grudge against the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau branch.

    At some point in time, the overwhelming waves of voidforce energy from the distant Void Suprema breakthrough had started to dissipate.

    Just outside the Red Zone, a spooky puppet faced off against two different streams of voidforce energy. Old Dian was exerting his full strength at this time. Not only was he holding back the two unknown Void Morphoras, but he was also trying to find a way to break past the Lotus Artifact and enter the Red Zone.

    No one noticed that two people had arrived and were looking at the scene with open curiosity.

    The first to notice the neers was Old Dian, who spun around to stare into the distance. "Who''s there?"

    Everyone else turned to look as well.

    "Junior Brother, it''s been a while. When did you join the Bureau?"

    A familiar voice caused Lu Yin''s face to light up with joy. "Senior Brother Xu Heng?"

    "Don¡¯t forget about me." Xu Leng stepped forward with a smile on her face.

    Lu Yin was thrilled to see the two. "Your seclusion ended?"

    Xu Leng beamed, and Xu Heng nced around at the gathered people. "Junior Brother, it looks like you''ve run into a bit of trouble."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Yeah, these two are blocking my path and preventing me from going home."

    Xu Heng''s expression instantly turned cold, and he turned to look at the two Void Morphoras, who instantly felt a suffocating pressure fall upon them. The two were startled. "You are the one who broke through to be a Void Suprema?"

    "Since we''re old friends, I won''t make things difficult for you. Leave now. If you cause trouble for my junior brother again, you will no longer have a ce in this Voidforce Universe," Xu Heng coldly threatened the two.

    Everyone was startled, as they had not expected Xu Heng to have just be a Void Suprema.

    Xu Leng then spoke up, "If you want to join Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s faction, then that''s your business. But if you dare attack my junior brother again, no one will be able to save you. Sovereign Ninth Lotus is not the one who makes the rules for the Voidforce Universe."

    As the woman spoke, a terrifying aura swept out.

    "You''ve also be a Void Suprema?"

    Lu Yinughed, fascinated by this turn of events. Both Xu Heng and Xu Leng had broken through and be Void Supremas together. This exined why there had been such a massive surge of voidforce energy. Realizing what had happened, Lu Yin felt that he should have guessed at it before. After all, the breakthrough had urred in the direction of the Void Yang and Void Yin ns.

    The two Void Morphoras nced at each other and then helplessly bowed to Xu Heng and Xu Leng before retreating.

    All the experts had recognized each other. They had once been equals, but a gap had opened up between them. Even if one of the two Void Morphora sessfully became a Void Suprema, what of it? Xu Heng and Xu Leng had both reached that level, which meant there were two Void Supremas. On top of that, the two shared the same source of power, which meant that if they joined forces, the power that they could unleash would defy all logic.

    Everyone from the Bureau was stunned. They had not expected to be saved by two Void Supremas.

    Old Dian bowed to Xu Heng and Xu Leng. "Greetings, Seniors."

    Boss Guan, Skinner, and the others all offered a simultaneous bow as well. "Greetings, Seniors."

    Xu Heng answered with just a nod before looking back at Xuan Qi and smiling. "Junior Brother, how did you end up joining the Bureau? Where''s Xu Wuji?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It''s a long story. I''ll tell you all about it inside."

    "The Red Zone... I haven''t visited this ce in many years. Let''s go." Xu Leng appeared rather interested.

    Lu Yin led the way, and everyone entered the Red Zone.

    Xu Yue felt that she must be dreaming. How were two Void Supremas calling Xuan Qi ¡°junior brother?¡± This was just too bizarre. Who from the Voidforce Universe would dare to provoke Xuan Qi in the future?

    On top of that, Xuan Qi was not merely backed by these two Void Supremas, but also by Xu Wuji and even Senior Xu Wuwei!

    Thinking about all this, Xu Yue stared at Lu Yin in apletely different manner. Suddenly, the gap between them felt iprehensibly massive. When had this even started?

    After returning to headquarters, Cheng Feng was turned over to Ning Ran, and everyone else went their own ways. Only Lu Yin, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng remained at the top of the bell tower.

    "Congrattions, Senior Brother and Sister, on bing Void Supremas! Your junior brother offers his respects." Lu Yin bowed to the two with a smile.

    Xu Leng rolled her eyes. "Junior Brother, I have no idea how you are still in the mood to joke around with us. Do you understand that you''ve just offended Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples?"

    Xu Heng jumped in and added, "We didn''t expect to find you being besieged by two Void Morphoras as soon as we left seclusion. We were so startled to discover your situation that we haven¡¯t even visited our own ns yet. Instead, we hurried over here. What happened?"

    Lu Yin shared the details of all that had happened recently, which left the two Void Supremas a bit stunned.

    "Yun Wu, Yi Jun, and even Cheng Feng are all spies?" Xu Heng eximed in surprise.

    Xu Leng spoke up, "No wonder Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples want to take Cheng Feng away. Junior Brother, do you know who Yao Lan is?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. "She is Sovereign Ninth Lotus'' eldest disciple and is known as a half-Sage. She''s a prodigy who can contend with the Nine Sages, despite only being an Ascendant. She is acknowledged by the Cyclic Universe as the person most likely to inherit Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s seat."

    "Yao Lan wields tremendous influence. If not for the internal conflicts that gue the Cyclic Universe, she would have be one of the Nine Sages long ago. Even now, despite being an Ascendant, she is as strong as one of the Nine Sages and is Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s most precious disciple. She is even allowed tomand all of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s other disciples," Xu Heng stated gravely.

    Xu Leng continued, "That¡¯s not all. I¡¯ve encountered her on the Endless Frontier before, and I can tell you that her influence is not just limited to Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples. Many others have also received her favors and kindness. Those two who tried to stop you are not Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples. They probably acted on Yao Lan¡¯s behalf. If that woman is a spy, then things are very serious."

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s no guarantee that she¡¯s a spy, but she can''t avoid the burden of being indirectly responsible for Sage Stone¡¯s death. Everything depends on how Sovereign Ninth Lotus decides to punish her."

    After a pause, Lu Yin continued, "Let''s not talk about me. Are you two confident about your match with Senior Xiu Ci?"

    Xu Heng answered, "Senior Xiu Ci has been a Void Suprema for a very long time, and he even created his own path. His deeds are legendary, so how could we be confident at all? However, since we will be fighting him together, we should at least be able to put up a bit of a fight."

    Lu Yin eximed in surprise, "You¡¯re fighting him together?"

    "Of course," Xu Leng answered in a casual tone.

    Lu Yin was speechless. These two people were both Void Supremas, and yet they still intended to work together to face Xiu Ci.

    Xu Hengughed loudly. "Junior Brother, what¡¯s with that look on your face?"

    Xu Leng smiled but said nothing.

    Lu Yin replied, "Well... isn¡¯t the two of you working together a bit unfair?"

    "But if we fought him on our own, we would undoubtedly lose," Xu Heng stated.

    Lu Yin thought about it and realized that this was not at all inurate.

    At this moment, Xu Wuji returned. "The Bureau is honored to have the two of you visit right after your sessful breakthrough to the Void Suprema realm."

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng looked at the man, and when they spoke, neither of the two sounded very polite. "Senior Wuji, your timing is quite impressive. When your subordinates were surrounded, you were nowhere to be found, but now that everything has settled, you choose to show up."

    Xu Wuji gave a bitter smile. "I had no choice. The Bureau is involved in many different matters, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples wield massive influence. You two don''t understand my struggles."

    The man then looked over at Lu Yin. "Where''s Cheng Feng?"

    "Here in the Red Zone."

 Chapter 2623: Public Inquiry

    <h4>Chapter 2623: Public Inquiry</h4>

    Xu Wuji earnestly said, "You can rest assured that, since you¡¯ve fulfilled your duty by bringing him here, you can leave the rest to me. As long as he is here in the Red Zone, the only way they can take him away is over my dead body."

    Hearing that, Xu Heng and the others were finally able to rx a bit.

    Lu Yin understood Xu Wuji''s predicament. There were certain positions and statuses that made specific tasks more difficult to handle. Lu Yin could have chosen to let Cheng Feng go, but he had instead chosen to escte things for the sake of his own ns. This was something that most people did not understand, and it was possible that not even Xu Wuji understood that matter.

    "Bureau Director, what should we do with Cheng Feng?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Wuji replied, "Interrogate him. Force him to reveal other spies. Make sure to get everyst detail regarding Sage Stone''s death, as well as Yao Lan''s involvement."

    Lu Yin nodded. "And what if Yao Lan is also a spy?"

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng exchanged nces. Things were extremely serious. If Yao Lan was truly a spy, then the Bureau would be forced to take action, while Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s own reputation would be sullied.

    Even the Cloudview n had requested that the Bureau not publicize the fact that Yun Wu had been exposed as a spy to save the n''s reputation. There was no need to mention Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    Even if Sovereign Ninth Lotus did not care herself, her disciples would never ept such a thing, and on top of that, Yao Lan herself wielded significant influence.

    Xu Wuji''s expression turned serious. "Any person suspected of being a spy will be thoroughly investigated by the Bureau."

    He stared at Lu Yin. "The Bureau has the authority to interrogate anyone not fighting on the Endless Frontier or is not a peak powerhouse. If Cheng Feng''s interrogation suggests that Yao Lan may be a spy, then I give you permission to use the Bureau¡¯s authority to demand Yao Lan appear for an inquiry."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "Use the authority of the Sixverse Association''s Bureau to demand an inquiry?"

    Xu Wuji exined, "It would be a formal inquiry and not an interrogation. Inquiries are reserved for people who we cannot be certain are spies, and who also hold great influence or have made significant contributions to humanity. Formal inquiries are public to the entire Sixverse Association. They allow the Bureau to get the answers we need, while also allowing the entire Sixverse Association toe to their own decision on whether the person being questioned is a spy. This is also a means of showing kindness to whoever is being questioned."

    Xu Leng¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Senior Wuji, do you want Xuan Qi to publicly question Yao Lan?"

    Xu Wuji shook his head. "I''m simply sharing this option."

    "You are sending him to death," Xu Leng spat in a cold voice.

    Lu Yin felt confused, and asked, "What do you mean?"

    Xu Heng continued to stare at Xu Wuji coldly while answering Lu Yin. "A formal inquiry has the appearance of protecting the person being questioned and allowing everyone to witness whether they are cleared of all suspicions or are confirmed to be a spy. If it''s thetter, then everything is fine, but if it''s the former-" The man turned to look at Lu Yin. "The fact that a formal inquiry takes ce means that the Bureau wasn¡¯t able to find the definitive proof needed during the course of their own investigations, which is private information.¡±

    "A formal inquiry exposes the questioned person¡¯s privacy to the entire Sixverse Association. Do you think that no grudges will be held if the person is proven to not be a spy?¡±

    "A formal inquiry is not about respecting the suspect themselves, but also about respecting the suspect¡¯s influence and backers. Anyone subjected to a formal inquiry will undoubtedly be resentful about being forced to receive such humiliation, and they will also be disgusted by the formal inquiry. So, you can imagine the fate of whichever Bureau official publicly questions the suspect."

    Lu Yin understood. If he publicly questioned Yao Lan, it would be a deration that the Bureau had been unable to reach the truth of the matter with just their investigations. Yao Lan would not be able to hide any of her past actions during a formal inquiry, and there would also be no avoiding making various matters that she would much prefer to keep private public. How could Yao Lan ept having her private matters aired out in public? If Yao Lan was proven innocent, how would she retaliate against Lu Yin after he publicly questioned her?

    Xu Leng spoke slowly, "To my knowledge, there have been six formal inquiries throughout the history of the Bureau, and not a single person who was questioned was proven to be a spy. On the other hand, all six of the Bureau officials who performed the inquiry died."

    The woman turned to stare at Xu Wuji. "Everyst one of them died."

    Xu Wuji looked up. "Those deaths were idents."

    "Really?" Xu Leng did not sound convinced.

    Xu Wuji grew somber, "Countless Bureau officials have died over the years ever since the Bureau was first established. Working for the bureBureau au is almost as dangerous as fighting on the Endless Frontier, and those deaths were indeed idents. Six deaths is an insignificant number in the face of the countless officials who have died while performing their duty. Those six were willing to publicly question people with great influence, which demonstrated that they were brave enough to fight on the frontlines of the battlefield. People like that are prone to early deaths.¡±

    Xu Heng said, "Who can say? Junior Brother, you should learn more about the Bureau."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng soon left. They still needed to prepare for their battle with Xiu Ci, and they only had ten more days.

    After the two left, Xu Wuji finally asked Xuan Qi, "Why were you so adamant about bringing Cheng Feng here?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Spies are supposed to be taken back to the Bureau¡¯s headquarters."

    Xu Wuji chuckled. "Did you not consider the pros and cons of doing this?"

    "In this line of work, if we dwell too much on the pros and cons, we¡¯ll never be able to get anything done," Lu Yin stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

    Xu Wuji adjusted his sunsses. "You are quite suited for conducting a formal inquiry. I was not lying to you; those six people¡¯s deaths were indeed idents, just the same as deaths on the Endless Frontier. The people of my Bureau did not die in vain. If any sort of foul y had been involved, the six Bureau Directors would not have sat idle. Think about it¡ªthe Bureau stretches across the entire Sixverse Association and is backed by six peak powerhouses. Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus would not dare to openly oppose us."

    "I understand," Lu Yin replied, "I wasn¡¯t dwelling on that. Even if those deaths were not idents, I am still not afraid. I¡¯ve chosen this path, and I won¡¯t be afraid to continue down it."

    "Haha, you really are well suited for this job. It''s just a pity that you aren¡¯t a Void Suprema yourself yet, as making you the Bureau Director sounds like a good idea," Xu Wuji said with augh.

    "Bureau Director, will you watch the battle between Senior Brother Xu Heng, Senior Sister Xu Leng, and Senior Xiu Ci?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Xu Wuji nodded. "Of course."

    "Please take me with you," Lu Yin asked, "I want to cheer them on."

    Xu Wuji¡¯s brow furrowed. "Watch your words. Compared to your two senior siblings, there will be far more people cheering for Xiu Ci. Senior Xiu Ci is a respected figure who has fought on the Endless Frontier more than anyone else from the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is that so?"

    Xu Wuji solemnly stated, "The Endless Frontier is a ce that even Void Supremas are reluctant to visit. In that ce, death is just another part of everyday life. Every Void Suprema who enters the Endless Frontier dances along the edge of a knife. There, we face the strongest opponents within our realm, and even the Seven Skygods can appear. If I meet one of the Seven Skygods alone, I will die without question. Senior Xiu Ci has fought on the Endless Frontier many more times than me, and even more often than Senior Xu Wuwei. Senior Xiu Ci is not only famous for pioneering the path for not relying on voidforce puppets, but also for the number of times he has survived the Endless Frontier.¡±

    "You should already have some idea of how extensive Yao Lan¡¯s influence is. Most who enjoy such levels of influence are battle-hardened warriors who have survived the Endless Frontier, and Xiu Ci''s influence far surpasses Yao Lan¡¯s. Countless people have received his kindness and favor in the past, even Senior Xu Wuwei."

    Lu Yin nodded, as this man was truly worthy of respect.

    Over the course of human history, many spies and Redbacks had appeared, proving the darkness thaty within the human heart. However, history had also borne witness to kindling lights, such as Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and countless others from the Origin Universe. It was only natural that the Sixverse Association had its own fair share of inspiring figures. Regardless of how Lu Yin viewed the Sixverse Association, or the fact that the Great Sovereign had been involved with exiling the Lu family, there was one thing that Lu Yin could not deny: without the Sixverse Association and the Great Sovereign, Aeternus would have wiped out all of humanity long ago.

    Where there was evil, there was also good. This was what Mister Mu had reminded Lu Yin to keep in mind. There were many people whom he needed to protect, people who revered him, as well as people who wanted to protect him. They were all his responsibilities.

    "Bureau Director, do you think that Aeternus will try to rescue Cheng Feng?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Xu Wuji could not give an answer, as he had no idea how much power Aeternus wielded within the Voidforce Universe.

    ...

    The Bureau¡¯s underground spaces were not as gloomy as Lu Yin had expected. Rather, he found a beautiful ce filled with lush trees, vibrant flowers, and various adorable animals. It looked like a pastoral, ideal ce for humans to live.

    Upon seeing this ce, a person¡¯s first thought would not be to connect it with interrogations, and yet this was the Bureau¡¯s interrogation room in the Voidforce Universe. This was Ning Ran¡¯s domain.

    Yi Jun was present, as was Cheng Feng. There was a mountain separating the two, so they were unable to see or hear each other, though both could appreciate the stunning scenery that surrounded them.

    Lu Yin arrived.

    Ning Ran swiftly moved to greet the acting Bureau Director. She was in awe of Xuan Qi, not because he had used brute force to assert his authority over the team captains, but due to his exceptional ability in catching spies.

    In the past, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau branch had only been capable of catching small fry, but after Xuan Qi had taken the reins, they suddenly found themselves catching one big fish after another. This would have beenpletely unimaginable just a short while before. Two Void Morphoras had even blocked the way to the Red Zone in an attempt to snatch Cheng Feng away from the Bureau, but Bureau Director Xu Wuji had never shown up. Things had been too exciting in recent days.

    "Acting Bureau Director," Ning Ran greeted Lu Yin in a very respectful manner.

    He stepped forward and observed Cheng Feng, who was facing the opposite direction. The prisoner was staring at a waterfall. "How is he?"

    Ning Ran replied, "He¡¯s just like Yi Jun. He¡¯s mentioned a few names, and while some of them could be spies, we''ll need to verify everything. He¡¯s refused to say anything more than that he''s being controlled by Cheng Kong."

    This was the same excuse that any spy the Bureau captured gave, and it was the single most frustrating obstacle for the Bureau. It was nearly impossible to determine whether someone had been controlled by Cheng Kong, and they could not simply execute everyone. Given the number of eyes on the Bureau, such actions would incite public outrage.

    After all, people who were qualified to be recruited as spies for Aeternus were never ordinary individuals.

    Lu Yin quietly observed Cheng Feng, who had his back to them.

    In such a beautiful setting, anyone would feel rxed and rejuvenated, but Cheng Feng, Yi Jun, and all the other captive spies feltpletely different. Each of them had a Poison Toad on their shoulders, which left them enduring excruciating pain every moment of every day. Ironically, the beautiful setting was precisely what Ning Ran enjoyed using to her advantage the most.

    Experiencing intense pain in such a beautiful ce was enough to easily shatter a person¡¯s will.

    Lu Yin made his way over to Cheng Feng.

    The man¡¯s face was pale, and his veins were bulging due to the intense pain that he was suffering. His eyes were practically popping out of his head, and his normally handsome features appeared twisted and grotesque. His fingers were clenched so tightly that his nails were digging into his palms, and blood streamed down his clothes to fall upon the bright red petals that blossomed across the ground.

    "I''m Xuan Qi. You should have heard of me when Yi Jun was arrested. I haven¡¯t been part of the Bureau for very long, and I¡¯m actually not even from the Voidforce Universe. I don''t particrly care about you one way or the other, and I¡¯m happy to break the rules when it suits me. I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯ve been controlled by Cheng Kong, and even if you have been, I still don¡¯t care. I¡¯m still going to act as though you aren¡¯t under anyone¡¯s control," Lu Yin spoke slowly as he stared into Cheng Feng''s eyes.

    The man stared back at Lu Yin. The Poison Toad perched on Cheng Feng¡¯s shoulder started to croak, and each time it did, the pain intensified. Cheng Feng longed for death.

 Chapter 2624: Betrayal

    <h4>Chapter 2624: Betrayal</h4>

    "We aren¡¯t strangers anymore, since we¡¯ve faced a life-and-death situation together. You already know my personality. After I decided to bring you here, not a single one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples was able to take you away. In the same manner, when I choose to do something, no one can stop me. For instance, if I decide to execute you," Lu Yin exined.

    Cheng Feng¡¯s pupils instantly shrank. "I am being controlled by Cheng Kong."

    "That statement suggests that you have no value. I didn''t put so much effort into getting you here just because I wanted trouble from Yao Lan. I need something of value from you. Tell me, what can you offer me? If it''s good enough, I might even help you fulfill ast wish," Lu Yin slowly said.

    "I am being controlled by Cheng Kong," Cheng Feng repeated before saying nothing more.

    Interrogations were always drawn out ordeals. Yi Jun had revealed a list of people whom she had met with, but she was still being tortured.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Other people im to be under Cheng Kong¡¯s control because they hope to be able to survive. They have family or friends who hope to be able to prove that they were manipted, which might reduce their punishment. But what about you? Who is going to help you?"

    Cheng Feng¡¯s eye twitched.

    "Sovereign Ninth Lotus?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Cheng Feng¡¯s eyes started to dart about.

    "What''s the point of insisting that you are being controlled by Cheng Kong? Who is going to defend you? You publicly stated that Yao Lan was the one who leaked Sage Stone¡¯s location to you. Do you think that Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples will still help you?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Cheng Feng nched as the truth dawned on him. He regretted ever speaking. In that moment of danger, he had only been able to think about escaping from Yao Lan, which was why he had blurted out the woman''s name. However, he had forgotten that, as soon as Yao Lan''s name was leaked, no one would be willing to help him anymore, not even if he imed to be controlled by Cheng Kong. His greatest protection had always been Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, but he had betrayed them.

    "Given your situation, it doesn''t matter if you are being controlled by Cheng Kong or not. The only thing that you need to consider right now is how you can get <i>me</i> to help you. I may help you survive, and I might even give you the chance to atone for your crimes by doing great things to help humanity. I need to consider the bigger picture, not just what arresting one or two spies can aplish. Why else would I capture you? As long as you can help me achieve something impressive enough..." Lu Yin paused and leaned closer as a smile crept across his face. Hemented in a casual tone, "I can make your life quitefortable."

    Cheng Feng¡¯s face twitched worse than ever, but he remained silent. His mind was in chaos. The pain assaulting his bodybined with Lu Yin¡¯s words hadpletely disoriented the man. He no longer knew what to do.

    The desire to survive burned hot within him. The idea of falling into the hands of Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples and being silenced by Yao Lan was beyond terrifying. Yao Lan¡¯s name had been exposed, and that meant that none of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples would help Cheng Fent. Was there any hope of survival?

    "I can offer you a glimmer of hope." Lu Yin rose to his feet and looked around. "Only by continuing to live will there be a chance for Aeternus to save you."

    Ning Ran was listening in the distance, and she was badly startled by thisment. She had never heard anyone utter such sphemy so casually.

    Cheng Feng¡¯s eyes snapped open. Yes, it was true that his only hope of surviving was Aeternus, and more specifically, Shaman God. Cheng Feng was a spy who had been trained by Shaman God themself, and he would not be simply abandoned. Where was Shaman God?

    With this thought in mind, Cheng Feng rasped, "How did you know that you could deceive me by using Shaman God''s appearance? What happened to Shaman God?"

    Astonishment covered Ning Ran''s face. <i>Shaman God? One of the Seven Skygods?</i>

    This was a question that left not only Cheng Feng confused, but also Boss Guan and Old Dian.

    Lu Yin had not been able to fool Cheng Feng by impersonating Tu Shuangshuang, which meant that pretending to be another spy of Aeternus would not work with Cheng Feng. The man was too cautious. However, why had Lu Yin chosen to use Shaman God¡¯s appearance, out of all the avable options? How had he known that he would be able to deceive Cheng Feng by impersonating Shaman God? How had he known that Shaman God was the one who had recruited Cheng Feng?

    Lu Yin sneered. "Why should I tell you?"

    That was Lu Yin''s only answer. When he was a student in the Sixverse Academy, he had to offer exnations and justifications for many of his actions, but at this moment, there was no need for him to do so. Why should he exin himself? Who could force him to provide an exnation? The only one who could do that was Xu Wuji, and if that happened, then Lu Yin had already thought of an excuse. However, Xu Wuji had not asked, so Lu Yin intended to keep silent.

    It was not going to be easy to extract any information from Cheng Feng. In fact, Lu Yin had not bothered to try to get Yi Jun to speak because he did not know her psychological weaknesses. Yi Jun had earned merits on the Endless Frontier, which was enough to ensure her survival, as long as she maintained that she was under Cheng Kong''s control. Speaking to the woman would only be a waste of time.

    However, Cheng Feng was different. He could only rely on his identity as one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples as protection, but after betraying Yao Lan, that protection had disappeared. As long as they could break the man¡¯s will, he would spill everything.

    As the days passed, Cheng Feng never stopped being tortured. However, physical pain was not enough to break his mental defenses. If his will could be shattered that easily, Shaman God would have never bothered to recruit him.

    However, people with strong wills often had psychological weaknesses.

    Without telling anyone about it, Lu Yin led Cheng Feng out of the Red Zone. There was no danger at this moment. Yao Lan had already been betrayed, and while Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples absolutely hated Cheng Feng, they were no longer desperate to capture him.

    Lu Yin took Cheng Feng back to Broken Cliff.

    Broken Cliff lookedpletely different from before. The ce that Cheng Feng had once protected no longer existed. It had been altered by people who wanted to vent their grievances. The snowy mountain had beenpletely leveled, and the sky was filled with thick smoke. Fortunately, the vige had remained unharmed, but this was only because Lu Yin had given orders for the Bureau to protect the vige. Without that order, the vige would have also fallen victim to people seeking revenge and beenpletely destroyed.

    Too many people hated spies and wanted revenge against Aeternus.

    Cheng Feng had not expected to ever return to his vige again. He saw his third aunt, his old uncle, and many other familiar faces. However, none of these people seemed able to see him.

    Lu Yin moved Cheng Feng through the void. With Lu Yin¡¯s power, ordinary people werepletely blind to his presence.

    "Uncle!" Cheng Feng could not help but call out. There was no answer, as the old man could not hear him.

    Cheng Feng turned to Lu Yin. "Why have you brought me here?"

    "To let you see these people¡¯s true thoughts," Lu Yin replied.

    Cheng Feng felt confused¡ªtheir true thoughts?

    There was a thunderous crash as a wall in front of them copsed.

    Instinctively, Cheng Feng moved forward to prop the wall back up.

    From the side, a voice shouted, "Good riddance!"

    Cheng Feng halted, turning in shock to see several familiar people.

    "It¡¯s finally gone. Smash that other wall, too," someone suggested. Their words triggered a round of cheers.

    "Third Aunt, burn those old clothes."

    "They should have been burned long ago."

    "Little An is sick. The weather¡¯s been changing too quickly recently."

    "Excellent! Someone has finally fallen ill!"

    "Forget that, pack your things. We can leave now."

    "We can finally leave!"

    "How wonderful!"

    Cheng Feng stood frozen, transfixed by what he was seeing and hearing all around. He watched as the familiar scenery that he had long cherished morphed into something unknown. The wall that had copsed represented a ce where he had often squatted and sang softly as a child. His aunt''s clothes had beenpletely tattered, but they were a gift from him. Despite his repeated suggestions that she rece them, he had never actually wanted her to do so. She knew this, so no matter how ragged her clothes had be, she had continued to wear the same thing.

    The vige had remained exactly as Cheng Feng had remembered it during his childhood.

    However, as he watched, it all changed.

    The familiar vigers that he had grown up with transformed into strangers. Why were they rejoicing at bing sick? Why were they preparing to leave? Why were they knocking down their houses? Why were they burning clothes? Why?

    Lu Yin indifferently exined, "You believed that you were giving them eternal life by keeping them from aging and from falling ill and that you were preserving their favorite way of life. But all of that was only what <i>you</i> wanted. They lived to create <i>your </i>scene that only <i>you </i>found beautiful. How is that any different from very?¡±

    Cheng Feng shouted back, "No! I helped them live long lives because I wanted to repay them for raising me! I obtained eternal life for them and protected them from any form of disaster! Isn''t that good?¡±

    "But you took away their freedom," Lu Yin replied coldly. "You stripped away the essence of their lives."

    "Then what about you? Haven''t you already lived a long time, and don¡¯t you n to live for even longer?"

    "I''m a cultivator. I experience something new and different every single day. But what about these people? Every day has been a repetition of the exact same thing. How many times has that wall been repaired? How many years has that woman worn those same clothes? Can regr clothesst for that long? Don''t deny that you had something to do with it."

    Cheng Feng stared at the jubnt vigers,pletely at a loss. These people were so happy, despite the fact that he had been captured right in front of them. Why were they so happy? Were they not worried about him?

    What happened to all that he had believed for so long? Had he truly done something wrong?

    "No, I¡¯m in the right! I helped them! But they are showing no gratitude! They are the ones who are biting the hand that fed them."

    Cheng Feng red at the vigers, his eyes glowing with an increasingly savage light.

    Seeing the change in Cheng Feng¡¯s expression, Lu Yin understood why Shaman God had chosen this man. How did Cheng Feng¡¯s methods differ from those of Aeternus? Both enved humans, and both took away people¡¯s reasons to live.

    It would be all too easy to make Cheng Feng into a corpse king.

    <i>Kill, kill them all! ughter these ungrateful beasts!</i> Cheng Feng¡¯s eyes zed with rage as he silently cursed the celebrating vigers who were destroying everything he cherished. They had ruined the vige. They were the traitors!

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Cheng Feng''s shoulder, startling the man and causing him to regain his senses. He turned to look at Lu Yin, his anger unabated.

    "I ordered the Bureau to protect these people and move them to a city here on Broken Cliff where other people live. It will give them a fresh start in life."

    Cheng Feng''s expression grew savage. "They''re unworthy! I gave them a life without any hardship, but they betrayed me and don¡¯t care at all about me. They don¡¯t deserve your help. You may help them now, but they''ll eventually just betray you as well."

    "Then what do you want to happen to them?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Kill them! I must kill all of them!" Cheng Feng growled.

    "You will never get the chance," Lu Yin retorted.

    Cheng Feng¡¯s hands clenched into fists so tight that blood dripped and his wounds reopened. "Give me the chance to kill them. I <i>must</i> kill them and make them part of the vige again. I need to rebuild the vige."

    Lu Yin frowned. This man hadpletely abandoned his humanity already. Cheng Feng might not be a corpse king, but he was already more terrifying than any corpse king.

    "I can only offer you the chance to live and not die. As for whether you''ll ever get the chance to do what you want, that will have to be up to you."

    Cheng Feng had started trembling from his uncontroble rage. His eyes darted about, never holding still for a single moment. "Fine! Give me the chance to survive."

    He red at the departing vigers. Given the chance, he would annihte all of these people. To him, they were ungrateful beasts, and they did not deserve to live.

    "If you want to live, then tell me what I want to know. Pay for your life," Lu Yin said indifferently.

    Cheng Feng''s eyes narrowed, still incessantly darting about. Finally, he uttered two words: Knowledge Nexus.

 Chapter 2625 â€“ Knowledge Nexus

    Chapter 2625 ¨C Knowledge Nexus

    The Sixverse Association was not merely a name, but rather a colossal union. It did not consist of only six parallel universes, but also epassed all known, conquered, or allied universes as well. The entire collective was referred to as the Sixverse Association.

    One could see what the Sixverse Association truly was through the Endless Frontier.

    The Endless Frontier was a battlefield that consisted of numerous interconnected parallel universes. It was a massive battlefield that formed a massive barricade. After catching glimpses of the Endless Frontier from several Possessed people¡¯s memories, Lu Yin had developed a decent understanding of the ce.

    All battlefields hadmanders and leaders. The Sixverse Association itself acted as the suprememander of the Endless Frontier, and they issued orders to every human on the battlefield. However, it was far from easy for people to receive their orders. Aeternus had no desire to allow humans to freelymunicate with each other, and this had forced the Sixverse Association to develop a special means by which tomunicate on the battlefield.

    The Sixverse Association sent information to the Endless Frontier, and the Endless Frontier then returned information back to the Sixverse Association, and through them, to other parallel universes.

    Every parallel universe in the Sixverse Association had a a specific location where information was received and ryed. In the Voidforce Universe, that location was called Knowledge Nexus.

    No one knew where Knowledge Nexus was located, as that was one of the greatest secrets of the Voidforce Universe. Despite all the various people that Lu Yin had Possessed, he still didn¡¯t know where Knowledge Nexus was.

    He doubted even Xu Wuji knew.

    However, after speaking with Cheng Feng, Lu Yin learned where Knowledge Nexus was located. Lu Yin had just learned one of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s most closely guarded secrets.

    Shaman God had given Cheng Feng the task of infiltrating Knowledge Nexus and intercepting any information received from the Endless Frontier.

    Yi Jun had not obtained her information from Knowledge Nexus, but rather from several families who had been working on sending messages to and from the Endless Frontier for many years. Suchmunications were a trivial problem that could be easily dealt with, whereas Knowledge Nexus was the only source of truly important information.

    Anyone who gained ess to Knowledge Nexus could obtain intelligence regarding the entire Endless Frontier. That was what Shaman God wanted.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Rumors im that no one in Knowledge Nexus is able to betray humanity, so how did you learn of its location? How were you able to join?"

    Cheng Feng was still seething in his hatred for the vigers. As long as he had any chance to survive, he would put forth his full efforts. "Shaman God told me. I was told that, as long as I sang, I would eventually be able to join Knowledge Nexus. Other than that, I never needed to do anything else."

    "But you''ve recruited other spies," Lu Yin coldly stated.

    Cheng Feng was taken aback. "How did you know about that?"

    Lu Yin did not respond.

    Cheng Feng quietly replied, "I never exposed my identity when recruiting other spies. How could you possibly know about that?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Do you really think that you didn¡¯t make any mistakes?"

    Cheng Feng quickly understood. "You learned about me through one of those spies, didn''t you?"

    Lu Yin stared into the man¡¯s crazed eyes. "I don''t believe that you would mess around behind Shaman God''s back. Joining Knowledge Nexus was your top priority. You pursued fame and maintained your facade at all times, just for the opportunity to join Knowledge Nexus, but you still recruited spies. Why?"

    Cheng Feng''s eyes flickered, but he did not answer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I''ll ask once more: why?"

    Cheng Feng looked over at Lu Yin. "Someone asked me to."

    "Who?"

    "I don''t know, but they¡¯re definitely in the upper echelons of Aeternus."

    "Why did they ask you to recruit spies?"

    "I don''t know. All they told me was that they needed more spies and that it was inconvenient for them to expose themselves. So, I was asked to do it. I was assured that my identity would be kept secret."

    "What tasks did you assign the spies that you recruited?"

    "None," Cheng Feng hurriedly replied.

    Lu Yin looked away. He had peered into the memories of a spy who had figured out Cheng Feng¡¯s identity, which was why Lu Yin knew that Cheng Feng was not lying. The man had recruited a number of spies, but he had never asked any of them to do anything.

    This was quite strange. What was the point of recruiting spies, only to leave them without any tasks? Recruiting spies would only increase the chances of Cheng Feng being exposed. A high-ranking Aeternal would never sabotage Shaman God''s ns. In that case, had the Aeternal truly been unable to recruit spies themselves, or had there been some other reason?

    "What does this high-ranking member of Aeternus look like?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I truly have no idea," Cheng Feng replied, "At first, I refused to even admit that I was a spy, but they insisted that I was, and they even threatened to ce a scarlet eye in the vige. If that happened, I would have had no way to argue my innocence. Even if I wasn¡¯tbeled a spy, Shaman God''s n would still be guaranteed to fail.¡±

    "I couldn''t afford that risk, as that would cost me everything. Failure would mean bing worthless, which meant that I had to do as I was told."

    Lu Yin frowned, confused. Why had this happened? Cheng Feng had been given no specifications for who he was supposed to recruit, nor were the spies given any tasks. It seemed that a great deal of effort had been put into forcing Cheng Feng to recruit a few spies, but it had not mattered who the spies were or what tasks they had been given. The sole purpose of the entire endeavor seemed to be to expose Cheng Feng.

    Wait a minute¡­ Lu Yin suddenly remembered something. He carefully went through the memories of the spy that he had Possessed.

    While doing so, Lu Yin pinpointed the detail that had triggered his memory. There had been something rather suspicious about the spy who had identified Cheng Feng. How had he managed to identify Cheng Feng? While the spy seemed to have drawn a reasonable conclusion given certain deductions, the entire process had been unnaturally smooth. That should not have been the case.

    Cheng Feng had always been extremely cautious. Even when Lu Yin had disguised himself as Tu Shuangshuang, he had been forced to retreat. How could some lowly, recently recruited spy uncover Cheng Feng''s identity? It seemed as though someone had intentionally led that spy to the discovery.

    Yes, it all seemed quite intentional.

    Lu Yin formed a crazy hypothesis. Despite its absurdity, it started to take root in his mind: it was possible that humanity had a spy within Aeternus.

    If Cheng Feng had sessfully joined Knowledge Nexus, Aeternus would have gained full ess to enemy intelligence concerning the Endless Frontier. Why had Sage Stone died? Because his location had been exposed. If Aeternus was able to obtain key information regarding the Endless Frontier, humanity would suffer terrible losses. Given the catastrophic risks involved, someone had not been able to sit still any longer.

    Was it really possible?

    Lu Yin mulled over the idea. The possibility of humanity having spies within Aeternus wasughable. He had never heard of such a possibility, but that did not mean that it was impossible. Aeternus had more than just corpse kings, as there were also a number of humans who had been convinced to switch sides. Yi Ren was a prime example.

    Lu Yin buried his suspicions deep in his heart. He returned to the Red Zone with Cheng Feng. Next, he intended to carefully go through the memories that he had obtained from those who he had Possessed in order to uncover any other spies. Still, before that, there was a duel he needed to watch.

    ¡­

    The powers of the Scorching Sun and the Heart Frost met in outer space and then fused together to stop an overwhelming surge of voidforce energy.

    Two days had passed since the battle between Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Xiu Ci had started. Many spectators watched from the distance, all of them eager to see the final oue of the duel.

    The three had started their match before Lu Yin arrived, two days earlier. The first confrontation was two massive waves of voidforce energy crashing into each other.

    Xiu Ci possessed much more voidforce energy than both Xu Heng and Xu Lengbined. Even with the Yin Yang Sword, the two were barely able to endure for two days.

    Xiu Ci was an old man with a beard so long that it wrapped around his neck three times. It looked odd, but the beard was actually the old man¡¯s voidforce puppet.

    The phrase ¡°Who needs a voidforce puppet when I have my long beard?¡± was only spoken by Xiu Ci.

    "Bureau Director, who do you feel has the upper hand?" Lu Yin asked. Xu Wuji had led Lu Yin to the site of the battle. Lu Yin asked the question because he remained somewhat unfamiliar with the strength and fighting style of the Voidforce Universe''s Void Supremas.

    Xu Wuji adjusted his sses. "Senior Xiu Ci."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Are youpletely certain?"

    Xu Wuji exined, "So far, the two sides have beenpeting to see who has more voidforce energy. Do you know why Xiu Ci always lost to Venerable Xuyi? It was because he possessed less voidforce energy.

    "Xiu Ci is unique. He''s always been unwilling to cultivate voidforce puppets, and he instead prefers to use his own voidforce energy reserves to use battle techniques. Venerable Xuyi was an orthodox cultivator of the Voidforce Universe. One of them used voidforce puppets to unleash twenty times more voidforce energy than what his own body possessed, while the other used nothing more than his own strength and battle techniques. Which do you believe would be stronger?¡±

    "However, that previous gap has now disappeared. Since Xiu Cist lost to Venerable Xuyi, he has decided to nurture a voidforce puppet. While he still refuses to use any outside power or puppet, he nurtured his beard into his own voidforce puppet. Theoretically, he is able to control up to ten times more voidforce energy than what he possesses.¡±

    "In doing so, he has eliminated his only disadvantage inparison to Venerable Xuyi, while retaining his advantage in battle techniques. If Xu Heng and Xu Leng had managed to seize the upper hand at the start of their match and overwhelmed him with their voidforce energy, then the oue of their fight would have been unpredictable. However, given what we¡¯re seeing now, anyone with some knowledge of Xiu Ci¡¯s past with Venerable Xuyi can already predict the oue."

    Lu Yin nodded. "So, Senior Xiu Ci has been just testing his voidforce energy against them so far. Why would he do that?"

    "To save time. He''s telling Xu Heng and Xu Leng that they have no hope of winning," Xu Wuji stated.

    Lu Yin watched. He had believed that his two senior siblings would be able to gain the upper hand by working together, but there was still a gap between them and Xiu Ci.

    How could the Sixth Maind¡¯s Yi Ren contend with someone like Xia Shenji, who wasparable to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Even if two Yi Rens joined forces, the oue of that battle would not change. ording to Lu Yin¡¯s understanding, Xiu Ci was even more powerful than Xia Shenji, but voidforce energy was too tricky for him to bepletely certain.

    Xiu Ci and Xia Shenji seemed to possess nearly equal levels of power, but the moment that Xiu Ci used his beard, he would gain ten times more voidforce energy, which would allow him topletely suppress Xia Shenji. This was the strength of the Voidforce Universe.

    At this moment, Xu Wuji''s expression changed, and he spun around to discover Xu Wuwei standing there. "Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    Lu Yin quickly turned around and paid his respects. "Greetings, Senior."

    Xu Wuwei ignored the two and focused on the distant duel. "Two Void Supremas have risen at the same time. Not bad, not bad at all, hehe."

    "Senior, have you returned from the Endless Frontier?" Xu Wuji asked.

    "I nearly died there. Stay as far away from that ce as possible." Xu Wuwei then looked at Lu Yin and praised him. "I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve arrested a bunch of spies, including one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, right?"

    Lu Yin gave a very short ounting of recent events, and Xu Wuwei let out a long sigh. "For many years, the Bureau has struggled to make any progress at all, but you¡¯ve managed to aplish something huge so quickly after joining. It makes it hard for anyone to believe that you''re not a spy yourself."

    Thement startled Lu Yin. "Senior, that is not a funny joke!"

    Xu Wuji was also taken aback by thement. "Senior, what are you suggesting?"

    Xu Wuwei replied, "Aeternus has done things like this before. They intentionally allow one of their people to expose other spies and create a name for themselves. Have you forgotten how the war in the Origin Universe between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds began? Unfortunately, back then, wecked the power to intervene. If we had, things would not have reached their current state."

 Chapter 2626 â€“ Because Of The Spiral Domain

    Chapter 2626 ¨C Because Of The Spiral Domain

    Lu Yin bowed low and solemnly stated, "This junior is absolutely not a spy of Aeternus. If you do not believe me, Senior, please feel free to conduct an investigation. Lord Xu has also already met me."

    "Hehe, I¡¯m well aware that you aren¡¯t a spy. It was just a joke, so why are you being so serious?" The man chuckled. He then pulled out some food from his cosmic ring and grabbed Xu Wuji¡¯s drink before turning back to watch the battle.

    "Old Xiu Ci¡¯s voidforce energy has increased yet again. We should try to persuade him to stop going back to the Endless Frontier. It won''t be any good if he dies there. The Cyclic Universe has so many old monsters, so why not let them go fight? Those of us from the Voidforce Universe should hide in the back, as that¡¯s the best strategy. Staying alive is the most important thing," Xu Wuwei muttered while watching the fight unfold.

    Xu Wuji had no idea what to say to such ament. Even if it was true, there were certain things that were better left unspoken.

    Lu Yin felt his heart grow heavy as he looked at Xu Wuwei. No matter what he did, this old man''s impression of him didn¡¯t improve in the slightest.

    "How do you n on dealing with Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples?" Xu Wuwei asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "The Bureau doesn''t need to exin anything to them."

    "What if Sovereign Ninth Lotus tries to make trouble for you?" Xu Wuwei continued.

    Lu Yin did not answer. What could he do if Sovereign Ninth Lotus got directly involved?

    "I will deal with any pressure from Sovereign Ninth Lotus for you. All you need to do is remain in the Bureau and continue serving humanity. There are benefits to being cunning, as you''re at least quite capable when ites to weeding out spies," Xu Wuwei said.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Senior."

    "How did you know that you could trick Cheng Feng by impersonating Shaman God ?" Xu Wuwei suddenly asked.

    His firstment about people assuming that Xuan Qi was a spy had not been a joke at all. Lu Yin had captured a number of spies almost immediately after joining the Bureau, which was not something that most people could do. However, suspecting Xuan Qi of being a spy just because of his aplishments would only brew distrust, which was why Xu Wuwei had carefully chosen the right timing to raise the question. If Xuan Qi did not provide a reasonable answer, both Xu Wuwei and Xu Wuji would instantly be suspicious.

    The truth was that Xu Wuji had already considered this question, but he simply had not found the right opportunity to ask it.

    Lu Yin had already prepared an answer. "After I was chased away when posing as Tu Shuangshuang, I was followed by Shaman God."

    Xu Wuwei and Wuji were both startled. "Shaman God chased after you?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Its puppet wanted to catch me. It¡¯s possible that Cheng Feng wasn''t deceived by the appearance of Tu Shuangshuang out of his abundant caution, but it¡¯s also possible that he was warned by Shaman God. After that, it was easy for me to trick Cheng Feng by pretending to be Shaman God. Add in the fact that I really did capture Tu Shuangshuang and show her to Cheng Feng, he naturally didn¡¯t suspect a thing."

    "If Shaman God chased after you, how did you escape?" Xu Wuwei asked, staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Because of the Spiral Domain."

    Xu Wuji immediately understood. It was already widely known that Xu Wuwei had taught Xuan Qi Spiral Domain, and that technique was what had led to Yun Wu being captured. It was also because of that technique that Xu Wuji had asked Xuan Qi to join the Bureau. While Shaman God¡¯s avatars were indeed strong, only avatars could enter the Voidforce Universe, which meant that Xuan Qi had been chased by a Void Morphora at most. With Spiral Domain, it was indeed possible for Xuan Qi to escape from a Void Morphora.

    While this made sense to Xu Wuji, Xu Wuwei did not understand at all. He heard the name ¡°Spiral Domain,¡± and was rather stunned. "What Spiral Domain?"

    Xu Wuji became confused.

    Lu Yin replied, "The Spiral Domain that you taught me."

    "What does you escaping from Shaman God have to do with my Spiral Domain?" Xu Wuwei still could not make sense of what he was hearing, as it had never urred to the old man that the youth could actuallyprehend his battle technique.

    Spiral Domain was a technique that was based on spatial control. Even a Void Suprema expert who was proficient in battle techniques like Xiu Ci would never be able to learn Spiral Domain within such a short timeframe, if they could even learn it at all. How could Xuan Qi have possibly learned it already?

    Lu Yin said, "Because I have already achieved an initial mastery over Spiral Domain, I was able to escape through my control of space. While Shaman God was searching for me, I took the opportunity to return and deceive Cheng Feng, rooting him out. If I had been even a single stepte, Shaman God might have returned."

    "What did you say? You¡¯ve achieved an initial level of mastery over Spiral Domain?" Xu Wuwei eximed in astonishment.

    Xu Wuji was caught off guard. "You didn''t know? The entire reason why Xuan Qi joined the Bureau was because he¡¯s able to use Spiral Domain to see traces that have been left in the void, which allows him to more easily catch spies."

    Xu Wuweipletely ignored Xu Wuji. He was entirely focused on Lu Yin. "Have you really achieved initial mastery of Spiral Domain?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I believe so."

    What did ¡°I believe so¡± mean? Xu Wuwei had not taught Xuan Qi Spiral Domain out of kindness, but rather out of pure obligation. The old man had been absolutely certain that the youth could not learn the battle technique. Teaching Xuan Qi had been nothing more than a show that Xu Wuwei had put on so that Lord Xu and the rest of the Voidforce Universe would see that Xu Wuwei hadpleted his duty as the young man¡¯s cultivation guide.

    How had the young man achieved initial mastery? It was impossible.

    "Show me." Xu Wuwei refused to believe it.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and a swirl of voidforce energy appeared and formed a sphere. After a moment, threads of energy started to run down spatial lines. There was no denying that he was using Spiral Domain.

    Xu Wuji watched in admiration, despite not understanding the technique at all.

    Xu Wuwei was dumbfounded. He could not have been more shocked if he had been struck by lightning. How could this youth have achieved initial mastery of Spiral Domain? It should have been impossible!

    Even after the lines disappeared, Xu Wuwei still had not yet recovered.

    Xu Wuji eximed, "Congrattions on obtaining such a talented student!"

    "Get lost!" Xu Wuwei snapped angrily, startling Xu Wuji into a hasty retreat. Why is the old man so angry?

    Xu Wuwei turned back to see Lu Yin''s puzzled expression.

    The old man had no idea how to respond. He felt like Xuan Qi had dug up a treasure from his own house. However, what made it even worse was that the old man knew that he had been the one to tell the young man where to dig. "How did you manage toprehend this technique?"

    Lu Yin blinked. "I just practiced, and somehow, it all came together. I was quite diligent in my training."

    How could diligent practice exin this sess?

    Xu Wuwei''s face twitched. Suddenly, he found that his food had lost all taste. "Practice is not enough toprehend Spiral Domain. How did you really do it?"

    "Senior, what''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked, an innocent expression on his face.

    Taking a deep breath, Xu Wuwei stared at Xuan Qi. The old man¡¯s expression was very grave. "Xuan Qi, I''ll ask you onest time. How did you manage toprehend my technique?"

    Beneath Xu Wuwei¡¯s threatening stare, Lu Yin coughed softly. "It might have had something to do with the innate gift that I obtained from my arboreal transformation."

    Xu Wuwei was taken aback. "What innate gift did you acquire from the Arboreal Realm?"

    "Spatial control," Lu Yin replied. Xu Wuwei was so stunned that he nearly choked.

    "You picked up an innate gift of spatial control?" Xu Wuwei was utterly bbergasted.

    Lu Yin nodded affirmatively.

    Xu Wuwei was speechless. It was no wonder how this youth had sessfullyprehended Spiral Domain! This exined everything. Spiral Domain was fundamentally a battle technique that was entirely about manipting space. Since Xuan Qi had an innate gift of spatial control, Spiral Domain was practically tailor-made for him. The old man nearly pped himself upon learning this.

    "Senior, are you not happy?" Lu Yin asked cautiously.

    Xu Wuwei stared at young man. "Why didn''t you mention that you have an innate gift of space before?"

    "Well, you never asked, Senior," Lu Yin responded casually.

    Xu Wuwei''s face was a mask of frustration. "You got it in the Arboreal Sanctuary?"

    Lu Yin nodded again.

    Things finally made sense to Xu Wuwei. It was no wonder why Xu Xiangyin had been so eager for Xu Wuwei to ept Xuan Qi as a disciple, and it now made sense why the Arboreal Realm had pulled out all the stops to steal the young man away from the Voidforce Universe. Xu Wuwei could really only me himself, as he should have asked for more information about the young man. He had been too preupied with his contempt for the liar and had forgotten to ask about the details.

    The more Xu Wuwei thought about the situation, the more frustrated he felt. He felt a sudden urge to destroy the youth¡¯s innate gift of space. Let''s see how he uses my Spiral Domain then.

    Xu Wuwei understood that things were already over. Spiral Domain was no longer a technique that represented him alone, as another person had finally learned it. How infuriating.

    "Since when was there a tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary with the innate gift of spatial control?" Xu Wuwei wondered. His curiosity was growing, and he was eager to learn the truth.

    Lu Yin replied, "ording to Mu Sanye, the tree has appeared numerous times in the past, usually during major battles. It¡¯s apparently famous for whisking away peak powerhouses, but it flees from anyone who tries to catch it."

    "That tree?" Xu Wuwei eximed in shock. "You encountered that wretched tree?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It seems that way."

    Xu Wuwei examined Lu Yin from top to bottom, as if he was re-evaluating everything he knew about the young man.

    Lu Yin continued, "It was actually a close call. If I hadn¡¯t reacted quickly in the Arboreal Sanctuary, I would have been taken away by that tree. I only escaped by a hair''s breadth, just a hair''s breadth!"

    Xu Wuwei opened his mouth toment, but he instead left without saying a word. He did not even wait to see the conclusion of the battle. His irritation had driven him off.

    Xu Wuji returned. "What''s going on?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I don''t know."

    Xu Wuji felt that something odd had just happened, but he did not ask any questions. The fight that they were observing had just taken a sudden turn, and the amount of voidforce energy being used started to wane.

    "The two of you have indeed be Void Supremas, which is certainly a cause for celebration. However, you still can¡¯t quite measure up to this old man. It¡¯s possible that you will be able to catch up in another 10,000 years, but for now, you are still no match for me," Xiu Ci addressed Xu Leng and Xu Heng in a soft voice that betrayed his sadness. It was clear that facing Xu Heng and Xu Leng''s powers had reminded the old man of Venerable Xuyi.

    While Xiu Ci had fought against Venerable Xuyi many times due to their differing cultivation paths, they had been close friends. Xiu Ci had even taken a massive risk to retrieve Venerable Xuyi''s corpse from the Endless Frontier.

    "However, this old man is quite curious about something¡ªwhere did you find the Yin Yang Sword?" Xiu Ci asked.

    Xu Heng replied, "We will tell you that after our battle."

    "You want to keep going?" Xiu Ci shook his head. "My only disadvantage when I faced Venerable Xuyi was that I had less voidforce energy than him, but that is no longer true. This fight is already over. My Formless Barrier is now beyond even his reach, let alone yours."

    Xu Leng''s face grew solemn. "Senior Xiu Ci, do you believe that Venerable Xuyi was stubborn and unwilling to change?"

    Xiu Ci was caught off guard by the question.

    "Senior Xiu Ci, many who struggled to cultivate with voidforce puppets have found their own path because of you. Even our ancestor admired the miracle that you''ve created. If you were able to cultivate a voidforce puppet and train your beard because of our ancestor, then our ancestor was also changed because of you," Xu Leng continued.

    Xiu Ci'' eyes started to positively ze. "Venerable Xuyi changed because of me? He studied battle techniques?"

    "We two juniors would ask to experience the power of your Formless Barrier. This is also what Venerable Xuyi would have wanted to see. Even if you had not sent us a challenge, we intended to challenge you after we both became Void Supremas. It was our ancestor''smand before he went to the Endless Frontier," Xu Heng spoke up.

    Xiu Ciughed loudly. "Good, good, good! Venerable Xuyi didn''t disappoint me! I''ve learned from his strengths and cultivated a voidforce puppet, while he learned from me and created a battle technique! Very well, let me see what kind of battle technique he mastered that he wished to use to challenge me."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, a thick stone wall appeared in front of him. He then pressed a hand to the wall, aiming it towards Xu Heng and Xu Leng. Each time the old man¡¯s hand touched the wall, a powerful palm print was sent through the wall, sweeping through space and shattering stars.

    Lu Yin''s expression shifted. Each of the palm prints shooting through space was far from simple, and even seeing it made Lu Yin feel very ufortable.

    Xu Wuji eximed, "The Formless Barrier! It''s incredibly robust, and only Senior Xiu Ci canunch attacks through it with his unique battle technique. Each attack carries the entire weight of his Formless Barrier. It is said that, when Venerable Xuyi fought Senior Xiu Ci in the past, even the Yin Yang Sword was barely able to stop these attacks. Doing so nearly shattered the de."

 Chapter 2627 â€“ Request An Audience

    Chapter 2627 ¨C Request An Audience

    Confronted by the overwhelming power of Xiu Ci''s rain of palm strikes, Xu Heng and Xu Leng simultaneously used their own battle techniques. Their Scorching Sun and Heart Frost converged, and they channeled the fused power through the Yin Yang Sword. The sword catalyzed the transformation of Yin into Yang and Yang into Yin to deflect the palm strikes.

    Xiu Ci''s eyes went wide. "Good!"

    As he shouted, countless more attacks shot through his Formless Barrier, but Xu Heng and Xu Leng¡¯s merged power of Yin and Yang cooperated to deflect all of the iing attacks.

    Venerable Xuyi had never considered facing the immensely powerful Formless Barrier directly, and he had instead thought of ways to weaken or deflect those attacks.

    A strange scene unfolded in outer space. Countless attacks collided, alternating between zing heat and freezing cold. A storm of voidforce energy roiled and swept westwards, though some aftershocks also spread out in every other direction. The watching crowd started to pull back until all of them were out of sight of the battle.

    Lu Yin felt that he was witnessing the wisdom of the ancestors of the Voidforce Universe. Venerable Xuyi had not only been incredibly talented in cultivating the universe¡¯s traditional manner with voidforce puppets, but also incredibly gifted at developing battle techniques.

    The Fifth Maind had given birth to powerhouses like Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, the Rune Progenitor, and more, but equally extraordinary individuals had simrly risen in various parallel universes. If Venerable Xuyi were still alive, he might not be any weaker than Xu Wuwei.

    Just the shockwaves from the duel were able to force the audience to retreat. Aside from Xu Wuji, no one was able to clearly make out what was happening.

    Half a dayter, the battle ended.

    Lu Yin was not able to get a clear look at the final stages of the battle. He could not reveal any Progenitor-level strength next to Xu Wuji. "Senior, how did things end up?¡±

    Xu Wuji remained silent for a moment. "A tie.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A tie.¡±

    Xu Wuji proceeded to borate, clearly impressed. "Venerable Xuyi tried topensate for his shorings by developing battle techniques, while Senior Xiu Ci worked to remove his weakness when it came to the amount of voidforce energy that he could use. The results of their efforts led to a draw, which should not be a surprise. Maybe this is even the best oue, as it shows that there is no particrly superior path of cultivation in the Voidforce Universe.¡±

    Lu Yin looked ahead. It was true, there was no single path that was objectively better than all the others, and that did not change between the Voidforce Universe and the Origin Universe.

    In the Origin Universe, stellr energy filled the universe, but in addition to stellr energy and star energy, there were as many dazzling and impressive energies as the stars themselves. There were runes, death energy, the Cosmic Art, Lockbreaking, and so many more. There was no need for a person to focus solely on cultivating stellr energy.

    Xiu Ci''sughter echoed throughout outer space, which led many spectators to believe that he had won.

    "Heirs of that old ghost Xuyi, you have won! Hahaha!" Xiu Ci roared inughter.

    Xu Heng quickly replied, "It is clear that victory is yours, Senior. We are ashamed that we were forced to cooperate against you."

    "Hahaha, this is exhrating! Completely exciting!" Xiu Ci continued tough as he left, and hisughter echoed off in the distance.

    Before long, Lu Yin reunited with Xu Heng and Xu Leng.

    "Junior Brother, we will be returning home to treat our wounds, so if you need anything,e find us with our ns," Xu Heng said.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Absolutely."

    A duel that had remained unfinished for countless years had finally reached a conclusion. Even though the results had further justified what each party held to be true and was far from a death match, the duel still stirred up quite amotion in the Voidforce Universe.

    Some imed that Xiu Ci had won, while others insisted that Xu Heng and Xu Leng had won. However, most believed that the fight had ended in a draw.

    Regardless of who had won or lost, Xu Heng and Xu Leng had certainly made a name for themselves.

    The Voidforce Universe only had a few Void Supremas, and Xiu Ci was regarded as one of the universe¡¯s most powerful experts. He was considered second to only ultimate powerhouses like Xu Wuwei. The fact that Xu Heng and Xu Leng had managed to fight Xiu Ci to a standstill, despite only recently bing Void Supremas themselves, had made the Void Yang and Void Yin ns famous throughout the entire universe. This fight would shift the bnce of power in the Voidforce Universe.

    The most important detail was that the ns had retrieved their Yin Yang Sword. Barring any unforeseen developments, it was almost certain that their ns would continue to produce more Void Supremas for generations toe, and that was a truly terrifying thought.

    As the person who had helped the ns find the Yin Yang Sword, Xuan Qi was naturally mentioned whenever the matter was discussed. Many people believed that Xuan Qi was a rising star in the Voidforce Universe.

    Soon after the duel concluded, Lu Yin started to move, and he began arresting spies throughout the entire Voidforce Universe. No one dared to resist or obstruct either him or the Bureau. It was known that Xuan Qi was supported by both the Void Yin and Void Yang ns, as well as Xu Wuji and Xu Wuwei; in total, four Void Supremas stood behind Xuan Qi. No one in the Voidforce Universe would dare to provoke such a power.

    Lu Yin acted with extreme precision, and people took his actions to mean that he had obtained information from Yi Jun and Cheng Feng¡¯s confessions.

    It did not take long for the overall atmosphere in the Voidforce Universe to take on a nervous energy. No one dared to ignore the Bureau, and wherever their officials appeared, the situation would quickly turn chaotic.

    Over the course of just half a year, the Bureau arrested hundreds of spies, which sent shockwaves rippling through the Voidforce Universe. The Sixverse Association was stunned by these developments.

    People were not only shocked by Xuan Qi¡¯s ruthlessness, but also by the sheer number of spies that had been found hiding in the Voidforce Universe.

    This number was nothing more than the spies that had been found from the confessions of either Yi Jun or Cheng Feng. Who knew how many more spies remained hidden in the shadows?

    Lu Yin continued to raise his reputation as Xuan Qi within the Voidforce Universe. To the members of the Bureau, his word wasw. Even Xu Wuji did not contest Lu Yin¡¯s decisions.

    ¡­

    In the Voidforce Universe, spacecraft were constantlynding and taking off of a rather busy.

    Suddenly, rms started to re.

    "Young Master, we must leave now! People from the Bureau are on their way!" An old man''s nervousness was nearly palpable. A golden dagger floated over his shoulder. It was his voidforce puppet.

    In front of the old man, a young man''s expression fell. "So what if theye? I am not a spy, so what do I have to fear?"

    "Young Master, you may not be a spy, but your father is," the old man stated anxiously.

    The young man instantly whirled around to face the old man, fury filling his eyes. "Why didn''t you stop my father? He betrayed humanity by bing a spy. What on earth is he trying to do? Get us all killed?"

    "If he had not done so, our family would have been ruined long ago. How else do you think we obtained this? Your father paid for this ce by bing a spy. We need to leave now, Young Master." The old man again tried to take the young man away, but was resisted.

    "Where is my father?"

    "Master- Master¡­" the old man sputtered and failed to reply.

    The young man''s eyes flickered. He stared at the old man who was struggling to find words, and the young man¡¯s voice became strained. "He ran away, didn''t he?"

    The old man sighed.

    "He left me behind and escaped¡­ Ha, and here I thought that he actually cared about me," the young man said with a bitter smile.

    After a moment, he waved his hand. "You can go too. There¡¯s no need for you to concern yourself with me."

    Yet again, the old man pulled at the young man. "If I¡¯m leaving, Young Master, you''reing with me. Let''s go."

    The young man continued to resist. Suddenly, an entire row of ships exploded as a huge wave of voidforce energy fell down from above.

    The old man trembled."We¡¯re toote."

    Lu Yin appeared in outer space above the, followed by Boss Guan, Xu Yue, and a host of other Bureau officials.

    Beams of light shot at them from the.

    Boss Guan frowned. "How arrogant."

    With that, a surge of voidforce energy swept out, causing all of the ships to explode and the itself to tremble.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop the man. "The is not guilty."

    He then looked in a specific direction, took a step, and instantly appeared in front of the young man.

    The young man swayed and nearly fell to the ground. The pressure from the voidforce energy emanating from Lu Yin caused the young man¡¯s vision to blur.

    The old man quickly moved to protect the young man, fell to his knees, and started begging. "Bureau Director Xuan Qi, it''s not the young master¡¯s fault! The traitor is the old master, and his actions have nothing to do with the young master. Please spare him! I am also guilty! I am a traitor as well."

    Xu Yue showed no hint of surprise. They had arrested many spies in recent months, and some had even confessed the moment they were caught.

    Boss Guan snorted contemptuously. "None of you will escape. Bureau Director, I''ll go catch them."

    Lu Yin nodded, and Boss Guan left.

    The young man defiantly stared at Lu Yin. "I am no traitor!"

    "I know," Lu Yin responded indifferently as he turned his attention to the old man on his knees. "You are willing to sacrifice a great deal for the sake of your son."

    The old man¡¯s pupils shrank sharply, and he instantly grew pale.

    The young man¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin answered calmly, "The man on his knees here is your true father. The person who fled is nothing more than a puppet. As for you, you are nothing more than a pawn in their grand schemes, someone who was left out in the open and exposed. It was an interesting n, but unfortunately for them, ultimately useless."

    The young man turned to stare at the old man in disbelief. "Impossible! That¡¯s ridiculous."

    Lu Yin smiled in amusement. "Are you saying that you hope that the one who escaped is your real father?"

    This question sent the young man''s mind into chaos. He could not process what he had just learned.

    The old man closed his eyes as he felt all of his strength drain away. Had he truly failed to keep even this secret?

    Lu Yin turned to watch as things yed out. Spaceships exploded and mes raged, and casualties mounted, but he felt no sympathy for what he saw. These people were not innocent. Rather, all of them were pawns of spies.

    Behind him, the young man''s screams and the old man¡¯s shouts of desperation filled the air.

    The old man had hoped that his son would gain ess to the best resources, so he had agreed to let a spy act as the young man¡¯s father. The spy had achieved his goal, and so had the old man, though everything had only caused the young man to suffer. Still, the young man had reaped many benefits of his own over the years.

    Despite being arrested along with everyone else, if the young man truly had not betrayed humanity, then he would stand a chance at regaining his freedom. He could cultivate from the beginning once more, which was far better than being an independent cultivator as he had been.

    Where there were gains, there would also be losses.

    ¡­

    The ongoing stream of arrests caused Xuan Qi''s name to echo throughout the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin was well aware that it was only a matter of time before Aeternus attempted to eliminate him, and he was eagerly anticipating being targeted by whatever power Aeternus might have hidden in the Voidforce Universe.

    "Bureau Director, there is someone seeking an audience with you," the Bureau Manager respectfully reported.

    "Who is it?" Lu Yin asked while staring at a list in his hand. He had already captured all of the spies that he had learned about through his various Possessions. To continue arresting the Voidforce Universe¡¯s spies, he had to either roll more Possessions or analyze information that he had already acquired.

    "The Transcendent Universe¡¯s Ke Jian."

    Lu Yin set the list down. "Please show him in."

    Ke Jian soon entered the Red Zone and arrived at the base of the bell tower. Lu Yin did not go out to meet the man, instead standing atop the bell tower and looking down.

    This was the Red Zone, the Bureau¡¯s headquarters in the Voidforce Universe. While Ke Jian possessed a level of strength equal to a Semi-Progenitor, he still needed to request an audience to enter the Red Zone. He could not travel by simply tearing through the void, and this rule applied to all Void Morphora, let alone experts from foreign universes.

    While Ke Jian appeared calm as he looked up at Xuan Qi, turbulent emotions were actually churning within the depths of the man¡¯s eyes. He had realized that, every time he met Xuan Qi, he had topletely change his view of the young man. First, Ke Jian had stood far above the young man. Later, they had cooperated with a somewhat equal status. At this moment, Xuan Qi was the acting Bureau Director for the Voidforce Universe, not to mention his connections with Xu Wuwei, Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng. Even He Ran would have to change her attitude if she met the young man in person again.

    In such a short time, Xuan Qi had transformed the way that the Transcendent Universe saw him, and he had done so through his own abilities.

    Taking a deep breath, Ke Jian entered the bell tower and soon arrived in front of Lu Yin, escorted by the Bureau Manager.

    "Looking at how much time has passed, it really is already time for you to pay me a visit, Senior," Lu Yin said with a smile as he gestured for Ke Jian to take a seat.

    Ke Jian smiled politely. "I have disturbed you, Bureau Director."

    Lu Yinughed. "There¡¯s no need to be so polite, Senior. Please, sit."

 Chapter 2628 â€“ Cultivation Technology Civilization

    Chapter 2628 ¨C Cultivation Technology Civilization

    Ke Jian nodded as he took a seat. With a smile, he said, "The acting Bureau Director''s fame has been rising throughout the entire Sixverse Association in recent days. Madam He Ran sends her regards."

    "Share my thanks with Madam He Ran," Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    After a bit of small talk, Ke Jian finally got to the purpose of his visit. "Bureau Director, I was wondering, would you be willing to help us persuade the Voidforce Universe to sell resources to us?"

    "Isn''t that what we agreed upon before? Is there some doubt about things, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Of course not," Ke Jian quickly replied.

    It was not Ke Jian who was worried that things had changed with Xuan Qi¡¯s rise in status, but rather He Ran. Xuan Qi hadpletely transformed the Bureau''s status in the Voidforce Universe, and the shift had sent ripples of fear throughout the entire universe. There was nobody who dared to offend the Bureau any longer, and given these new circumstances, He Ran was worried that Xuan Qi would no longer take the Transcendent Universe¡¯s interests into ount.

    It was a given that He Ran understood that, at the current moment, Xuan Qi was no longer the same young man that she had dealt with in the past. She had once told Zi Jing that, even if Xuan Qi joined the Voidforce Universe or became a disciple of a peak powerhouse, He Ran would still be able to ensure his loyalty to her. However, the woman knew that her previous im no longer held true. There was not just one peak powerhouse standing behind Xuan Qi, but rather four.

    In addition to the negotiations for acquiring resources from the Voidforce Universe, Ke Jian also intended to test Xuan Qi¡¯s attitude while visiting. It was important to see if the young man¡¯s view of the Transcendent Universe had changed in recent days.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s response let the old man to sigh with relief. The youth had not changed his stance at all. It was true that Xuan Qi was behaving more arrogantly, but that was only natural, given his rise in status.

    Lu Yin and Ke Jian soon left the Bureau¡¯s headquarters. They made their way towards the Void Yang and Void Yin ns toplete the purchase of the dual-colored soil.

    Ke Jian had already noticed that Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation had risen dramatically. Despite the old man¡¯s shock, he did not mention the matter at all.

    Having a peak powerhouse as a mentor made all the difference.

    Despite Xu Wuwei merely acting as Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation guide, the young man could wield Spiral Domain. No matter how people looked at the situation, Xuan Qi was regarded as Xu Wuwei''s true disciple.

    Xu Wuwei was second only to Lord Xu in the Voidforce Universe.

    Ke Jian stared at Lu Yin with unconcealed envy.

    The Void Yang and Void Yin ns offered Lu Yin a grand wee, and Xu Heng and Xu Leng even made personal appearances, which gave Lu Yin a great deal of face.

    This also served to give Ke Jian a better understanding of Xuan Qi¡¯s rtionship with the two ns.

    The sale of the dual-colored soil finished without any issues.

    Ever since Xu Leng had be a Void Suprema, the entire Void Yin n had acquiesced and obeyed her every word. Previous disagreements hadpletely disappeared, which had greatly expedited the merging of the two ns. At the moment, the members of the ns no longer identified as being from one n or the other, but as members of a single n.

    Xu Lie had also left for the Sixverse Academy, which she had decided on her own. Xu Leng had done nothing to stop the woman, and she also did not me Xu Lie for wanting to take her ce as matriarch. On the contrary, Xu Leng greatly valued Xu Lie.

    The Sixverse Academy was not a school that just anyone could attend, and it was highly unusual for Xu Lie to be given entrance, despite already being close to the Void Morphora realm.

    With the sale of the dual-colored soilplete, Lu Yin and Ke Jian left the Void Yang and Void Yin ns. Ke Jian also started showing greater respect for Xuan Qi than ever before. It was clear that the young man¡¯s influence was beyond impressive.

    "Senior-"

    Lu Yin spoke up, only to have Ke Jian quickly interrupt, "Bureau Director, please don''t refer to me as senior anymore. Just call me Ke Jian."

    "How could I do that?" Lu Yin said humbly.

    Ke Jian answered with a bitter smile. "If you keep calling me Senior, how am I supposed to face Xu Heng and the others in the future?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright then. Ke Jian, when will the next transaction with the Origin Universe take ce?"

    Ke Jian answered, "If you are avable now, Bureau Director, we can take care of that right away."

    "What about Zi Jing? Is she avable?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes, I can go get her now."

    "Then go fetch her. I''ll return to the Origin Universe," Lu Yin replied.

    Just as Ke Jian was about to leave, Lu Yin suddenly asked, "How many people are aware that I¡¯m from the Origin Universe?"

    Ke Jian thought for a moment. "Not many: just Madam He Ran, He Shu, Senior Mo, and myself. There are just four of us."

    "Senior Mo? Is he the peak powerhouse who protects Madam He Ran?" Lu Yin rified.

    Ke Jian nodded.

    Lu Yin motioned for the older man to leave, and Ke Jian immediately returned to the Transcendent Universe while Lu Yin made his own way to Aeternus Nation before returning to the Fifth Maind.

    Once back in the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin met with Lu Buzheng and several other people. He found that nothing much had happened in the Fifth Maind during the recent months. Arch-Elder Zen was already in the Three Monarchs Universe, helping to hold back Forgotten Ruins God. Although dangerous, Monarch Luo would also be doing his best to prevent the Three Monarchs Universe from being destroyed, so Monarch Luo, Arch-Elder Zen, and Monarch Xing were working together to endure.

    However, Lu Yin had no idea what Xia Shenji was up to.

    "There''s something that you need to be aware of," said Wang Wen. He essed his gadget and brought up images of several people. "All of these people are from the Sixverse Association."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The Sixverse Association?"

    Wang Wen nodded. "They use forms of energy that don¡¯t match any of the Fifth Maind¡¯s cultivation methods. It''s not that these energies are powerful. Rather, they have never appeared in the Fifth Maind before, and they are not from any of the six member universes of the Sixverse Association either. Most likely, these people are all from parallel universes that are allied or subordinate to the Sixverse Association."

    "None of these people are particrly strong," Lu Yin noted.

    Wang Wen agreed. "That''s just the problem. It¡¯s not easy for people from the Sixverse Association to enter our Origin Universe. ording to you, the Three Monarchs Universe doesn''t even have the coordinates to reach this universe. Very few people are able toe here, and given these people¡¯s cultivation, there¡¯s no way they could have attracted the notice of those few individuals. The question is, why were these people specifically sent here?

    "We''ve been keeping an eye on them for a long time, but they haven¡¯t been doing anything. They behave just like normal cultivators. In my opinion, they are trying to adapt to life in the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin frowned. The Sixverse Association as a whole did not have a good opinion of the Origin Universe. There was certainly a reason why these people had been sent to their universe, but what could it be?

    "Have you captured and questioned any of them?"

    "We did, and they gave up everything they knew. Their only task is to adapt to life here in the Origin Universe, nothing more."

    "Could it really be that simple?"

    "It would seem that their first task is to adjust, and then they will be assigned missionster on."

    Lu Yin made a decision. "Then don¡¯t bother with them. I''ll do some investigating of my own within the Sixverse Association."

    ¡­

    The transaction between the Transcendent Universe and Gods'' Origin ended with both parties being satisfied. This time, the variety and quantity of materials that were traded far exceeded the first trade.

    However, just as things were about to finish, God of Mirrors expressed his desire to visit the Transcendent Universe.

    It was a reasonable request.

    "The Heavens Sect has already started looking into the missing materials. Although nothing has been discovered yet, problems could crop up anytime." God of Mirrors voiced his concerns.

    Lu Yin asked, "Did Lu Yin order the investigation?"

    God Taiyi replied, "I went to see Lu Yin some time ago, but he¡¯s been in seclusion. It''s not very likely that he ordered the investigation. I''m guessing that either Lu Buzheng or Wang Wen are behind it."

    Ke Jian''s expression turned cold. "Should we eliminate them?"

    God of Mirrors quickly shook his head. "Absolutely not. Those two stay within the Heavens Sect at all times, and the Heavens Sect is not an ordinary ce. Even a Semi-Progenitor could vanish without leaving a trace. Only Progenitors would stand a chance."

    Killing intent flickered in Ke Jian''s eyes. For the Transcendent Universe, gathering the necessary materials was their utmost priority at the moment, and Ke Jian was responsible for overseeing the process of acquiring all that was needed. His orders had been explicit: any problems that arose in gathering the necessary materials or transactions would ce him in deep trouble, and he refused to ept such a thing.

    "For the moment, everything is still fine. The Heavens Sect doesn¡¯t suspect anything, and the amount that we¡¯ve traded with you is negligiblepared to what the Fifth Maind holds. No matter how carefully they look into things, they won¡¯t be able to trace it back to Gods'' Origin. However, I''m also quite certain that the Transcendent Universe needs more than what we¡¯ve provided so far," God of Mirrors stated.

    Ke Jian instantly agreed. "Of course. If possible, I would like to acquire all of the Origin Universe''s resources."

    Such arrogance. God of Mirrors nced at Lu Yin before whispering, "Which is precisely why I hope to be able to visit the Transcendent Universe. I need to know that I have a way out."

    Lu Yin spoke up, "That''s a reasonable request. Ke Jian, can you share his request with Madam He Ran?"

    Ke Jian replied, "That¡¯s not necessary. We¡¯re finishing our second transaction, so I¡¯d naturally be happy to show them around. Will you be joining us, Bureau Director?"

    Zi Jing chimed in, "Let''s go together! It''s been so long since west met."

    "There''s so much happening with the Bureau¡­" Lu Yin hesitated.

    Zi Jing pursed her lips. "Then there''s no need."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Forget it. I could use a break. I''ll tag along."

    Zi Jingughed. "Good!"

    Ke Jian watched the exchange before leading Lu Yin, Zi Jing, God of Mirrors, and God Taiyi to the Transcendent Universe.

    Throughout all of the negotiations, while God Taiyi had never said very much, Ke Jian had never underestimated the young man. God Taiyi was known to have a good rtionship with Lu Yin, and his status in Gods¡¯ Origin was also equal to God of Mirrors¡¯.

    Lu Yin knew very little about the Transcendent Universe. Even though he had been taken there with Zi Jing, Lu Yin had spent most of his time participating in the war in the Cloudflow Universe. He had barely seen the Transcendent Universe itself, and hecked even a basic understanding of the universe.

    As Ke Jian yed tour guide, Lu Yin finally got a glimpse of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s people and culture, and he witnessed for himself the prosperity of a civilization built on cultivation technology.

    God of Mirrors and God Taiyi also expanded their understanding of the megaverse, and they were especially shocked when they visited a bestowal art carrier. The sight of such power left the men silent for a long time.

    Ke Jian was pleased with their reactions. He had the same view of the Origin Universe as most of the Sixverse Association, despite the trades with Gods¡¯ Origin and his superficial show of respect. The man could not care less about Gods'' Origin. Even if they did possess the power to create things from nothing, such power paled inparison to the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bestowal Art and energy converters.

    Ke Jian led a tour thatsted for several days. This was far from enough to obtain aprehensive understanding of the Transcendent Universe, but it did serve as an initial overview of the ce, and it demonstrated the strength of the universe.

    They were able to witness a bestowal art carrier fire beams of destructive power that were at least as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack. They saw firsthand how energy converters broke energy down to the most basic level that could be used and recycled. They saw the massive power source of the bestowal art carriers that resembled sourcebox arrays. It was a marvel of science and cultivation that impressed even Lu Yin when he saw it all for the first time.

    The Transcendent Universe disyed various wonders and the mighty power of their bestowal art carriers. God of Mirrors and others found themselves repeatedly gasping in awe at all that they saw.

    Lu Yin had previously only had the most basic knowledge of the Transcendent Universe, but this tour finally allowed him to learn a bit more about the universe.

    "Theoretically, our Bestowal Art can be powerful enough to annihte any being in existence. As long as enough power can be extracted from the sourceboxes, it would even be possible to destroy a portion of a universe," Ke Jian exined. He was not trying to impress God of Mirrors or God Taiyi with the Transcendent Universe¡¯s might, but rather show Xuan Qi that, no matter how high his status rose, he could never ignore the Transcendent Universe. The Transcendent Universe was an official member of the Sixverse Association, which meant that it was a monstrous power that was no weaker than the Voidforce Universe.

    After showcasing the strength of his universe, the next thing that Ke Jian nned to do was rx. A favorite pastime of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s denizens was to watch battles in beast arenas.

    "Our primary focus is on our cultivation technologies, and we don¡¯t pay much attention to cultivation. However, we do enjoy watching cultivators fight against astral beasts, and these shows are a favorite here in the Transcendent Universe. Bureau Director, after you. Please." Ke Jian had led Lu Yin to thergest beast arena.

 Chapter 2629 â€“ Repulsive Place

    <h4>Chapter?C.2629 ¨C Repulsive ce</h4>

    Lu Yin sat down and looked into the arena. Surprisingly, this was the same ce where he had once been thrown to fight to the death. At that time, he had been a fighter, but this time, he was a spectator in the stands of the beast arena.

    The stands were filled with spectators, and the entire ce was raucous, filled with cheers andmotion.

    The more civilized a person had to behave, the more primal and savage their methods of relieving stress would be. In the beast arena, people felt like mighty beings looking down on the ones fighting down below, and this helped them to relieve some of the pressure of their daily lives. This was the barbarity of a civilized culture.

    For a civilization that focused on cultivation, something like the beast arenas would be pointless, as some people engaged in such battles every single day. However, in the Transcendent Universe, the beast arenas were the only ces where such spectacles could be seen.

    ¡°How long has it been since I fought down there?¡± Lu Yin asked. There was a breathtakingly beautiful woman beside him. She was wearing a very revealing outfit and almost spilled the drink that she was pouring.

    God of Mirrors and God Taiyi were simrly startled. The Dao Monarch had once fought in this ce?

    Ke Jian replied, ¡°It¡¯s been a bit more than three years.¡±

    Lu Yin thought back. ¡°A bit more than three years? That doesn¡¯t sound very long, but it feels like a lifetime ago.¡±

    Ke Jianughed. ¡°It is rather unbelievable that you were able to achieve the position of Acting Bureau Director in just over three years.¡±

    Lu Yinughed as well. ¡°Even I find it hard to believe.¡±

    Down in the beast arena, a man and a beast were engaged in a brutal fight. Lu Yin could clearly see the fear and despair in the man¡¯s eyes. He had also experienced such emotions in the past. They had been the most intense when he had fought his way out of Driftcharge, which had been the lowest point in his life. The man in the arena would not be so fortunate.

    The roars of the beast and the man''s cries of agony were quickly drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

    Ke Jian studied Xuan Qi, unable to determine what the young man was thinking from the calm expression on his face.

    ¡°Why does that man have to fight?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Ke Jian replied, "There are many possibilities, such as punishment. There are some who even participate voluntarily. If you wish to know, I can make some inquiries."

    Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. "There¡¯s no need for that."

    He hesitated for a moment, and a smile slowly spread across his face. "Does Madam He Ran enjoy the beast arenas?"

    Caught off guard by Lu Yin''s question, Ke Jian found himself uncertain as to how to respond.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "If you don''t know, then forget I said anything."

    The fight resulted in an unexpected oue: the man survived. He was in a miserable condition and was missing two limbs, but even so, he lived. As he was carried out of the arena, hope blossomed in his eyes. This was not a punishment. This man had chosen this.

    This victory would allow him to obtain something that could change his life.

    Everyone had their own path in life. Lu Yin would not interfere with others¡¯ choices, even if he had the power to alter their fates with a single word.

    Looking upwards and staring off into the distance, he wondered if it was really possible that some higher power was orchestrating everything. Would such a being have mercy if they witnessed this scene?

    At that moment, cheers broke out again as another contender entered the arena. This person was up against a gigantic creature that looked a bit like a bat. However, it was so massive that it took up an entire third of the arena. The human participant had no ce to run or escape.

    Lu Yin stared in shock. "Xie Wu?"

    "You know him?" Zi Jing asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Ke Jian, isn''t that Xie Wu? One of He Ran''s people? How did he end up down in this beast arena?"

    Down on the floor, Xie Wu trembled in fear. Despair filled his eyes as he looked at the monster facing him. The beast struggled to break free from its chains.

    Ke Jian exined, "The Sixverse Academy¡¯s first ss of students have all already graduated, and each has since been assigned various tasks. Xie Wu and a few others were given the job of guarding some research data. It was a rather easy assignment that they were given as a favor. However, they were targeted and the data was destroyed, which has dyed the research progress by years. Madam He Ran threw him into the beast arenas as punishment. Should he survive three matches, all will be forgiven. Should he die, no one can be med."

    Lu Yin nced over at Zi Jing, who said, "The data that was destroyed was from research that was conducted decades ago. Losing it means that we need to rerun all of those experiments again."

    Lu Yin understood.

    "Bureau Director, do you know this Xie Wu?" Ke Jian asked.

    "We''ve met once before."

    "In that case, what are you trying to say, Bureau Director?" Ke Jian pressed.

    Lu Yin replied, "This is Madam He Ran''s decision, so what can I say?"

    "If you don¡¯t wish for Xie Wu to die here, just a single word from you would be enough. Madam He Ran will show you some consideration."

    Lu Yin chuckled, but he said nothing. Xie Wu was destined to die in the arena. The bat-like beast was not something that the young man could handle, even if he had mastered some battle techniques or obtained an innate gift. Even after graduating from the Sixverse Academy, Xie Wu still needed to use an energy converter as a member of the Transcendent Universe. Without an energy converter, his strength would plummet. It would take a miracle for him to survive in the arena.

    Not even He Shu had protected Xie Wu.

    The fight was far more exciting than the previous one. Xie Wu used the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate and voidforce energy to somehow break off one of the beast¡¯s tooths with a sneak attack. By then using that tooth as a weapon, Xie Wu was able to execute both the Stone Cudgel and Dragon sh battle techniques. Still, he would ultimately be mauled to death by the beast even if he struggled right to the veryst death throe.

    It was only a matter of time before he perished.

    It had be clear during the fight that some of the people in the audience did not want to see Xie Wu die just yet. Every time the bat-like creature was about to devour the young man, the referee would intervene and drag him away. The futile struggle to live left Xie Wu ovee with despair.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Why won''t they just let Xie Wu die?"

    Ke Jian exined, "This is because of the beast arenas¡¯ rules. If a fight triggers a strong enough response from the audience, the fight will continue until the cheers start to fade.¡±

    "Things are dragged out to stimte the audience and raise their emotions. It¡¯s all about producing the right atmosphere in the beast arena."

    Lu Yin looked around. The crowd was cheering with wild abandon, and the volume rose the more Xie Wu resisted.

    On the floor of the beast arena, Xie Wu coughed up blood after being brutally mmed to the ground. The enormous beast¡¯s shadow loomed over the man, its maw opened wide and ready to strike. Again, Xie Wu was dragged out of the way, and the beast bit the ground after missing its target. The creature became agitated out of frustration, which incited even more cheers from the crowd.

    The same scene yed out again and again; each time it happened, Xie Wu lost a bit more of his will to fight. He started yearning for death, as it would be better than having to endure such torment.

    There was a thunderous crash, and the ground shook. Xie Wu was dragged away yet again. However, once he lost the motivation to continue resisting, the crowd started to calm down. It was no fun watching a fight where one side was not even resisting.

    However, Xie Wu soon started trying to fight back with new motivation, and the crowd quickly became frenzied once more.

    Lu Yin looked around just outside the arena, and he noticed that there was someone threatening Xie Wu. If he ever stopped struggling, they would throw his sister into the arena. It was this threat that drove Xie Wu wild with fury, and he directed that rage towards the bat-like beast. The cheers grew louder and louder.

    Such cruelty!

    At this moment, amotion broke out behind Lu Yin. Turning his head, he saw that Zuo Yu had appeared.

    She had not expected to run into Xuan Qi in the beast arena, but despite her surprise, she remained entirely focused on Zi Jing.

    "Leave," Ke Jian sternly ordered.

    Desperate, Zuo Yu cried out, "Please, spare my grandfather! I take full responsibility! I''m willing to fight in the beast arena. Whatever happened has nothing to do with my grandfather!"

    Ke Jian''s eyes shed, but just as he was about to respond to the young woman¡¯s disruption, Lu Yin spoke up. "Let here over.¡±

    Ke Jian froze, but he did not argue. He gestured Zuo Yu forward.

    She scrambled over and dropped to her knees in front of Zi Jing. "Madam Zi Jing, I am entirely to me for the loss of that data. I am prepared to enter the beast arena. Please, don''t bring my grandfather into this. He cannot leave the Ruling Council. Please, I¡¯m begging you!"

    Zi Jing replied, "That is not a decision that I can make."

    Zuo Yu continued to beg. "I implore you¡ªthe data can be regathered with new tests. Just one word from you will mean that my grandfather will not need to leave the Ruling Council. I''m begging you!"

    Ke Jian spoke up in a cold voice, "You''ve already said all that needs to be said. Leave, and do not disturb our guests."

    "Zuo Yu, what''s going on? When did you leave the Sixverse Academy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zuo Yu''s body trembled. She refused to lift her head and did not move from her knees. "The people tasked with protecting the data included me, Xie Wu, and several others from the Sixverse Academy. We are all guilty and are willing to ept punishment, but please, do not drag my grandfather into things. He cannot leave the Ruling Council. If he does, our family will be doomed. I can die, but nothing can be allowed to happen to my grandfather. I beg you, Zi Jing, I beg you!"

    Zi Jing turned to Lu Yin. "Did you meet her in the Sixverse Academy as well?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "We got along pretty well."

    Zi Jing looked over at Ke Jian and suggested, "If I conduct the necessary experiments myself, they won''t take very long. Would that help her?"

    Ke Jian simply replied, "I can pass your question along to Madam He Ran."

    Zuo Yu was overjoyed. "Thank you, Madam Zi Jing! Thank you, Sir Xuan Qi! Thank you, Sir Ke Jian! Thank you! Thank you!"

    Lu Yin looked back down at the beast arena. "Release that one too."

    A simple wave of Ke Jian''s hand crushed the giant beast and reduced it to pieces. Its blood sttered all over the beast arena, drenching Xie Wu.

    The young man slumped to the ground and then looked up at Ke Jian. He also caught sight of Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin smiled at Xie Wu before walking away. The beast arena was truly a repulsive ce.

    "You haven''t thanked the Acting Bureau Director yet. If not for him, you would have died here today," Ke Jian scolded Xie Wu.

    Staring at Lu Yin''s retreating figure, Xie Wu slowly got to his knees and prostrated on the floor of the arena. "Thank you."

    The cheers died down as many people in the audience started muttering their dissatisfactions, and they tried to push to have Xie Wu continue the fight. However, when white energy erupted from Ke Jian and filled the arena, no one dared to utter another word.

    After stepping out of the beast arena, Lu Yin took a deep breath. The air outside felt so much fresher.

    "God of Mirrors, God Taiyi, I believe that your visit to the Transcendent Universe is over. Head on back now," Lu Yin stated.

    The two bade farewell and then turned to Ke Jian, who personally escorted them back to Gods'' Origin.

    Zuo Yu had chased after them when they left the beast arena, and she once again expressed her gratitude to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt a bit curious. Zi Jing had told him that the Transcendent Universe had performed a thorough andplete analysis of all matter and energy in their universe. One oue was that the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe who had tried to rescue Cloudflow could not even hide themselves from the Transcendent Universe. In that case, how had the data been destroyed?

    "Spies," Zuo Yu answered.

    Lu Yin understood. There were spies in every universe of the Sixverse Association, including even the self-proimedpletely analyzed Transcendent Universe.

    Given Aeternus''s capabilities, the Transcendent Universe would never be able topletely eliminate all spies in the universe. It would not matter how thoroughly they searched.

    Lu Yin felt that there were far fewer spies in the Perennial World than in any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, and he also believed that that was because Humility''s Gate was more efficient than the Bureau.

    "If spies are to me, then why hasn¡¯t the matter been turned over to the Bureau? Why were you forced to take responsibility?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zuo Yu answered solemnly, "The Ruling Council cannot me the Bureau, and thus, they can only punish us. Grandfather was willing to step down from the Ruling Council and open up a ce there in order to prevent me from being punished."

    "What about Xie Wu? Doesn¡¯t he follow He Shu? Why was he punished so severely?" Lu Yin asked further.

    Zuo Yu looked up at Lu Yin. "In addition to us, He Shu was also tasked with protecting that data."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and a chuckle escaped his lips. So, Xie Wu was forced to shoulder all of the me for He Shu. It was no wonder why he had been given such a terrible punishment. However, with the resentment that Lu Yin had seen on the man¡¯s face, it was clear that Xie Wu had not been willing to take on the role of scapegoat.

 Chapter 2630 â€“ Perfection And Concealment

    <h4>ChapterC.2630 ¨C Perfection And Concealment</h4>

    "Did you just say that the Ruling Council can''t me the Bureau?" Lu Yin recalled.

    Zuo Yu exined, "Our universe is unique because we believe that we have already analyzed the entire universe, which means that any intrusion of foreign powers will be detected. For this reason, for bothbat and our investigations, we rely entirely on our cultivation technologies. On top of that, the Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe is You Fang, the patriarch of the You family.[1] The You family has been delegated the responsibility of exposing spies to the bestowal art carriers and our universe¡¯s monitoring system. For this reason, the Bureau appears both omnipresent and non-existent. The monitoring system covers the entire Transcendent Universe, so it¡¯s as if the Bureau is everywhere.

    "The monitoring system allows them to find and capture many corpse kings that have tried to infiltrate our universe, carrying out the Bureau''s duties. However, it is much more difficult to find spies, as they are humans who belong to our universe. No matter how powerful the monitoring system may be, it cannot identify spies."

    "The You family oversees the Bureau here? It¡¯s no wonder why the Ruling Council doesn¡¯t dare to me them." Lu Yin instantly understood, as he already knew that the You family was a massive power in the Transcendent Universe. One of their ancestors had developed the Bestowal Art, and that powerful cultivation technology had propelled the Transcendent Universe to its current heights. Even after so much time had passed, the You family still retained the mostprehensive understanding of the Bestowal Art, and while the family only held one seat on the Ruling Council, they did not actually need it. The Ruling Council could not control the You family.

    Lu Yin had learned long ago that even though the Ruling Council appeared to be the Transcendent Universe¡¯s overseeing organization, it was actually nothing more than a tool used to determine the winner in thepetition between He Ran and Bai Qian. Even before He Ran and Bai Qian had appeared, the Ruling Council had always served the same purpose, and it only appeared to wield a great deal of authority.

    It was only natural that such a collection of people would not have the courage to offend the You family; not even ten times their courage would be enough to change that.

    Moreover, since the Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe was You Fang, the man was able to wield a ck energy converter, as all of the Bureau Directors were Progenitor-level experts, which was rare even in the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Bureau in the Transcendent Universe to have such a wildly different structure. He was now curious how the Bureaus in the Arboreal Realm and the Cyclic Universe operated.

    Compared to the Transcendent Universe, the Bureau in the Voidforce Universe functioned in aparatively normal fashion.

    Ke Jian did not take very long to return.

    Lu Yin requested a meeting with He Ran and asked the old man to lead the way.

    He arrived at the bottom of the same staircase that was covered with blooming flowers. The entire ce only served to highlight the most beautiful woman.

    From her elevated position, He Ran looked down at Lu Yin.

    He offered a respectful bow. "Madam He Ran."

    He Ranughed. "Xuan Qi, I''ve already told you before that there''s no need for such formalities. You''re close to the same age as my younger brother, He Shu, so you can simply call me Sister Ran."

    Zi Jing quickly interjected, "How could that be appropriate? It would be far too presumptuous."

    He Ran replied, "If I say it''s fine, then it is."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "In that case, I''ll call you Sister Ran from now on. Truthfully, I''ve always wanted to, but I was afraid that doing so might anger you."

    "Why would it? Having a younger brother like you would only bring me greater honor," He Ran responded with a smile.

    Lu Yin boldly lifted his eyes to look up at He Ran. When he had first met the woman, his audacity to directly look at her had infuriated and offended her, and she had ordered him to kneel. However, at this moment, He Ran returned Lu Yin¡¯s gaze with a soft smile, and her perfect beauty imprinted itself onto Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Despite the many beautiful women that Lu Yin had seen over the years, He Ran still managed to astound him.

    The first time he had looked at her, his attention had been drawn to her wless legs that were blindingly white. However, what had left the deepest impression were the woman¡¯s dazzling eyes. They were so breathtakingly beautiful that he hadpletely forgotten to pay any attention to her face. The only thing that had filled his mind had been the image of those eyes and the gentle chiding tone of her voice.

    At this moment, when Lu Yin was able to look at the woman again, he observed He Ran''s face that was hidden within clouds. Unbidden, a specific thought came to mind. Her face fulfills all human fantasies.

    He Ran was the perfect image of a woman. She embodied all attributes of femininity in an unrivaled manner. It was a perfection that should not even exist, and it was as if the word ¡°woman¡± had been created for her alone. If someone had actually created humanity, He Ran might be regarded as that creator''s most perfect masterpiece.

    Bai Qian was also a beautiful woman, but her beauty portrayed a bold and brave person, which waspletely different from He Ran.

    One had the beauty of a woman who could soften everything, while the other had a powerful beauty that could ovee everything.

    If the two were ced on a battlefield, He Ran would not survive for even a second, while Bai Qian might rise up to rule the battlefield.

    However, if the two were judged purely on their feminine charms, Bai Qian would never be able to measure up to He Ran.

    She was a woman, a perfect woman, and there was no need for any embellishments or additions to that. He Ran was just a woman, and nothing more.

    Humans wereplex creatures, and they possessed the ability to cultivate, develop technologies, and create cultivation technologies. They had created myths, established civilizations, and so much more. And yet, when everything was reduced to the bare basics, humans were still only human. Business, cultivation, war, and even lies¡ªit all came down to humanspeting against other humans. From thatpetition, the perfect image of a woman had manifested to the greatest degree possible in He Ran.

    Lu Yin''s reaction pleased He Ran greatly. Few people were able to meet her gaze, not only because of her status, but also because she hated being stared at. How could such lowly creatures be allowed to look at her? Feeling their eyes upon her made her feel like she was being desecrated.

    However, Xuan Qi was different. He possessed an unprecedented level of talent and was the disciple of a peak powerhouse. On top of that, he even oversaw the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau. Both his aplishments and potential were more than worthy of He Ran¡¯s attention, and that gave Xuan Qi the right to hold his head up high in her presence.

    Take a good look. After seeing He Ran, all other women would be diminished in Xuan Qi¡¯s eyes.

    A smile tugged at He Ran''s lips as she locked eyes with Lu Yin. Her eyes sparkled and shone, as she knew that the young man would quickly start to feel ashamed of himself.

    Lu Yin dropped his head.

    He Ran''s satisfaction increased. No one was able to meet her eyes without eventually lowering their heads. This was why she was destined to be the future ruler of the Transcendent Universe. How could Bai Qianpete with her?

    While it was true that Lu Yin had lowered his head, he had not done so because of feeling shame. Instead, he had been worried that he would not be able to resist the urge to capture the woman. Seeing her beauty had given him ideas: if the Heavens Sect had such a perfect woman as its mascot, how many people would wish to join?

    It would be a pleasure to gaze upon such a woman every day.

    "Sister Ran, I came to apologize." Lu Yin eventually broke the silence.

    He Ran appeared puzzled. "Apologize?"

    Lu Yin exined, "I interfered with your punishment for Xie Wu and Zuo Yu and saved them from being disciplined for having failed to protect the data."

    Ke Jian stepped forward, and respectfully reported, "Madam, I was the one who agreed to this request without your permission."

    Zi Jing also stepped in. "Madam, I am willing to repeat the experiments and recover the data."

    He Ran chuckled. "I thought that this was about something serious. For such a trivial matter, it¡¯s fine to allow Ke Jian to handle things. Xuan Qi, you are like a younger brother to me, just like He Shu. You can feel at ease in the Transcendent Universe and do whatever you wish to."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Thank you, Sister Ran."

    After a moment, he brought up a question. "Is the dual-colored soil that was obtained sufficient? If not, I can get more."

    Zi Jing answered, "It¡¯s not enough. Continue to purchase more. In fact, gather as much as you can."

    "Alright, I understand," Lu Yin readily agreed.

    He Ran gave a slight smile. She was quite happy with the attitude that she saw in Xuan Qi. He was clearly thrilled at how she was treating him, which was only proper. How many people desperately wished to call her ¡°Sister¡±? Such an intimate title would grant a person a trace of He Ran¡¯s perfection, and because of that, people would strive to earn her recognition and praise. Xuan Qi was clearly no exception to this.

    Lu Yin did not stay for very long. He Ran¡¯s sanctum was not a ce for idle chatter.

    Ke Jian led him away.

    Before this visit, Lu Yin had beenpletely clueless about where the ce with the stairway where He Ran resided actually was. He had always been teleported to and from the ce, and because of Uncle Mo¡¯s presence, Lu Yin had always refrained from examining the ce with his domain. However, the day woulde when he would find out.

    Sister Ran? Lu Yin looked back, amused. One day, he would have her call him Seventh Bro.

    Lu Yin had initially intended to immediately return to the Voidforce Universe, but he received an invitation from Zuo Yu''s family, asking him to visit.

    "Zuo Yu''s grandfather, Zuo Gong, is a very capable man. While their family isn''t particrly prominent, Zuo Gong was an ordinary person who eventually rose up to be a member of the Ruling Council. He is one of the rare few on the Ruling Council who began as amoner," Ke Jian shared with Lu Yin. He was clearly implying that the invitation was optional, as Zuo Gong was just an ordinary person.

    The Transcendent Universe maintained a clear division between nobility andmoners. Zuo Yu was only a noble because her grandfather, Zuo Gong, was a member of the Ruling Council. Without that, she could have never be a noble.

    "It would be impolite for me to reject this invitation. Ke Jian, could you please show me to their ce?" Lu Yin requested.

    Ke Jian nodded and led Lu Yin to the Zuo family¡¯s residence without another word.

    Lu Yin actually had no idea just how vast the Transcendent Universe was. All he knew was that teleportation seemed to be quite prevalent in the universe, as it was able to deliver people just about anywhere. The universe had truly beenpletely mastered.

    The Origin Universe did not have the capability to install so many teleportation devices. Only the Astral Combat Academy had a few.

    The Zuo family¡¯s residence was notrge, and only Zuo Yu and her grandfather, Zuo Gong, greeted Lu Yin upon his arrival.

    "Our family¡¯s residence is only a permanent home for the two of us. She lost both of her parents to the battlefield, and the rest of the family have gone their own ways. Please forgive us, Xuan Qi," Zuo Gong said courteously.

    Lu Yin responded, "There''s no need for such formalities. Zuo Gong. I am deeply grateful to receive your invitation."

    Zuo Gong remained solemn. "I should be the one thanking you, Xuan Qi. If not for you, I would have already been forced to leave the Ruling Council. It''s not that this old man clings to my council seat, but rather that I have made too many enemies. If I step down, Zuo Yu and the others would all be forced into dire straits. Thus, I thank you again, Xuan Qi."

    Zuo Yu bowed as well. "Thank you, Brother Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin helped Zuo Gong up. "Zuo Yu and I have known each other for some time, and we consider each other friends. There is no need for these formalities."

    Zuo Gong sighed. "This old man might find your kindness difficult to return, which shames me deeply."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It was nothing. Zuo Gong, if you continue to be this formal, I may need to leave, as I''m not ustomed to such things."

    "Haha, well said. Please, Young Master Xuan Qi." Zuo Gongughed.

    Zuo Yu smiled warmly as she looked at Lu Yin. Their first meeting felt like a dream after how much things had changed since then. Who would have thought that the youth who had once been taken in by Mu Duo as a follower would rise to such impressive heights? If she had known this¡­

    Her face flushed red, and she quickly followed her grandfather and Xuan Qi.

    Zuo Gong was a cheerful man, as well as honest and rather blunt. Given his candidness, it would not be at all surprising if he frequently offended people.

    Through the old man, Lu Yin obtained a much better understanding of the Transcendent Universe.

    Zuo Gong shared a great deal of his knowledge of the Transcendent Universe. Perhaps due to bing intoxicated while drinking with Lu Yin, the old man even revealed a few secrets. For example, while the Transcendent Universe officially possessed thirty white energy converters, there were actually seventy.

    Each white energy converter could grant a person the power of a Semi-Progenitor, which meant the Transcendent Universe could potentially field seventy Semi-Progenitors at a moment¡¯s notice.

    It was a number that shocked Lu Yin.

    1. This "You" (ÓÎ) is not the same as the Fifth Maind''s Y¨­u family (ÓÄ). ?

 Chapter 2631 â€“ I Can Teach You

    Chapter 2631 ¨C I Can Teach You

    How many Semi-Progenitors belonged to the Heavens Sect? Even if Lu Yin added in the Semi-Progenitors from the Perennial World, the Fifth Maind might not have that many experts. The Three Monarchs Universe might not have even twenty Semi-Progenitor level figures, despite also being an official member of the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin estimated that not even the Voidforce Universe or Arboreal Realm might have that many.

    Even if being able to use a white energy converter did not mean that the person could fight a Semi-Progenitor on equal footing, it was still a terrifying number of experts.

    ¡°This is also just the number white energy converters. Do you know how many ck energy converters our Transcendent Universe has?¡± Zuo Gong asked, swaying unsteadily on his feet.

    Zuo Yu quickly moved over to steady the man. ¡°Grandfather, you''re drunk! Go back and rest.¡±

    Zuo Gongughed. "Your grandfather isn''t drunk."

    Zuo Yu smiled at Lu Yin and apologized.

    Lu Yin looked at Zuo Gong with curiosity. "How many?"

    Everyone was well aware that the man was not truly drunk, but they all kept it to themselves.

    "Ten," Zuo Gong replied.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Ten ck energy converters meant ten Progenitor-level powerhouses. The Transcendent Universe imed to only have five such individuals, but in reality, they had been keeping half of them hidden.

    Ten Progenitor-level experts. This was even more than the number of Void Supremas that the Voidforce Universe possessed, even after both Xu Heng and Xu Leng reached that level at the same time. This was the power of the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin was shocked by how much power the Transcendent Universe had kept hidden, but the exnation that he received from Zuo Gong was simple.

    The Transcendent Universe excelled in discovering parallel universes, and whenever they found a suitable universe, they would analyze the energy and matter there and then produce energy converters from that universe. Over the course of countless years, the Transcendent Universe had consumed a number of ck energy converters, but they still possessed quite a few.

    Inparison, there was a much higher number of white energy converters, and the number of energy converters continued to rise drastically with each drop in grade.

    "The Three Monarchs Universe seems to be the universe pushing the hardest for the establishment of the Sixverse Academy, but my Transcendent Universe is actually no different. We have so many energy converters, but only a few can harness their power. Much of our strength is left unused, or treated as research materials for our cultivation technologies."

    "Grandfather, you really are drunk," Zuo Yumented with concern. She was worried that Zuo Gong would say something that should not be revealed.

    Lu Yin did not press the current topic. The information that he had received so far was plenty, and he also understood that this was Zuo Gong''s way of repaying him for saving Zuo Yu. It would be greedy to ask for anything more.

    The rest of Lu Yin¡¯s time with the two was spent in casual conversation, and Zuo Gong quickly sobered up a good deal.

    Lu Yin spent a day visiting Zuo Gong before leaving.

    The old man had also spoken at length about the affairs of the Bureau in the Transcendent Universe.

    You Fang was the Bureau Director here, but he had not obtained the position through his own efforts. Rather, it was because the Ruling Council had wanted to divide the You family¡¯s power. Or, more urately, the real ruler of the Transcendent Universe had been the one to make those arrangements. That ruler, who had also started thepetition between He Ran and Bai Qian, was the one who had established the Ruling Council and directed the matters concerning the entire Transcendent Universe.

    That ruler was the person who had pioneered the energy converter cultivation technology.

    The Transcendent Universe primarily relied on two different cultivation technologies: energy converters and the Bestowal Art. The Bestowal Art had been developed by the You family, while the energy converters hade from the universe¡¯s ruler.

    Lu Yin had never mentioned the ruler in any of his conversations, but that was because he had long since known of the ruler''s existence from Bai Qian.

    Looking up at the starry sky, Lu Yin wondered when that ruler would reveal themselves.

    As Lu Yin left Zuo Gong''s home, he saw a figure standing beside the wall. As Lu Yin moved out, that figure quickly knelt before him and kowtowed. "Thank you."

    It was Xie Wu.

    Lu Yin looked at Xie Wu.

    "It was nothing," he said nonchntly.

    Xie Wu kowtowed again. "Thank you."

    He prostrated himself again and again, smashing his head on the ground.

    The words of gratitude that the young man repeated took on an increasingly heavy tone.

    "If I were you, I would still return to He Shu''s side. At the least, that will provide you with some measure of protection," Lu Yin said. He took a moment to carefully observe Xie Wu before leaving.

    Xie Wu only rose to his feet after a long time. A profound hatred for He Shu could be seen etched deep in his eyes.

    Lu Yin tore through the void of the Transcendent Universe. Instead of returning to the Voidforce Universe, he headed for the Aeternus Nation, and from there, he returned to the Fifth Maind and to Earth.

    A salty tang was carried along on a sea breeze, refreshing and invigorating as it swept through the air. Seagulls soared beneath an azure sky, their calls echoing like melodies across the open expanse.

    Beneath arge umbrey a beautiful figure who was leisurely sipping on a cup of fruit juice. There was no one else around, as they were on a deserted ind.

    Lu Yin approached. "How long have you been here?"

    The woman lifted her head and removed her sunsses, revealing a stunning face. She was Bai Qian. "I just got here."

    "How long has it been since youst visited?" Lu Yin asked with a smile as heid down next to the woman. He picked up a cup of fruit juice and took a sip. It was merely decent.

    "Many years," Bai Qian replied.

    Lu Yin looked out at the sea and stretched. "You''re not the only one who misses your hometown, but still,ing back here must feel a bit nostalgic."

    Bai Qian set her own cup back down. "Are you here just to talk about this?"

    "What''s the current situation?"

    "It¡¯s not great. I''m practically out of the game."

    "He Ran must be thrilled.¡±

    ¡°When you''re out of the game, the only way to turn things around and win is to cheat."

    "That''s why I''ve been helping you cheat this whole time."

    "You''re just helping yourself."

    "Still, I''m not confident that I can deal with the mysterious ruler of the Transcendent Universe. When I was in the Voidforce Universe, I met Lord Xu, and I found out that he was once friends with Wu Tian. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe shouldn¡¯t be any weaker."

    Bai Qian turned to look at Lu Yin. "Are you scared?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I am the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. What do I need to fear? Still, I can¡¯t make any mistakes, as that would bring the retaliation of the entire Sixverse Association down upon us."

    Bai Qian casuallymented, "As long as I can take control of the Ruling Council, I can defeat He Ran."

    Lu Yinughed. "Are you really that naive? The ruler of that universe won''t possibly base a decision on just the Ruling Council."

    "In that case, there''s something important that you will need to do." Bai Qian gave Lu Yin a serious look. "I need you to desecrate He Ran."

    Lu Yin froze. "What did you just say?"

    Bai Qian continued, "I can handle everything else, and this is the only part that I''m struggling with. Only you can do it, so I need you to help me desecrate He Ran."

    With that, she looked out at the sea. "The ruler is a clean freak. For example, take this calm sea in front of us. If any anomaly appeared on the surface, it would be destroyed without any hesitation. He Ran is the sea in that person''s heart, while I am just a small river. I never really stood any chance of winning, which is why everyone threw their support behind He Ran.¡±

    "However, if He Ran is contaminated in any way, it would be like introducing an anomaly to this calm sea, and that is something that the ruler cannot tolerate."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Have you ever considered my feelings on this?"

    Bai Qian reacted with surprise, which was an unusual expression to see on her face. "Isn''t that what any man would hope for? He Ran is the perfect woman."

    Lu Yin looked away. He had to admit that the woman was indeed perfect, to the point where he wanted to snatch her away and use her as a mascot for the Heavens Sect. However, to desecrate her¡­ how was he supposed to do that?

    "Don''t tell me you don''t know how?" Bai Qian asked in an odd tone.

    "Of course I know."

    "Prove it."

    "There¡¯s no need."

    "Should I teach you?"

    Lu Yin was stunned speechless. "Are you sure?"

    Bai Qian locked eyes with Lu Yin, her expression calm. "As long as that¡¯s what you want."

    Lu Yin stared into Bai Qian''s eyes, which were tranquil as water. Suddenly, he raised a hand and pulled her face closer.

    At this moment, the two were so close that they could feel each other''s breath.

    Bai Qian''s eyes remainedpletely calm. Not a single ripple of emotion could be seen, and even her breathing remained steady.

    For a full three minutes, the two held their position, with neither moving at all.

    Eventually, Lu Yin let go. "I remember something that Bai Xue once mentioned about you. She told me that you possessed a beauty that makes rainbows grow pale, the strategic mind of a great general, the magnanimity of a queen, and the genius of a swordsman," he paused for a moment before continuing, "However, you abandoned her, and you also abandoned Earth.

    "Back then, I really didn¡¯t think much of herment, but I can now see that her description of you ispletely urate. All you see is your goal, and there is nothing else."

    Bai Qian put her sunsses back on. "Disappointed?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "No, that actually puts me at ease."

    "On the other hand, I do worry about you." Bai Qian rose to her feet, causing her long hair to fall loose and release a subtle fragrance. "Together, we can aplish everything that the Transcendent Universe desires, but just the two of us are not enough to change that person¡¯s mind. Desecrating He Ran is a necessary step, and it¡¯s something that only you can aplish. Work hard, and maybe fall in love, if you can spare the time."

    With that, the woman left, returning to the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin shook his head; he was actually being belittled by Bai Qian. The woman was as cold as ice and unwavering even in the face of death. Such people were truly terrifying.

    Fall in love? He touched his cosmic ring, wondering when he would be able to save Yan''er.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin did not remain on Earth for very long. He quickly returned to the Voidforce Universe, and to the Red Zone.

    Returning to the Red Zone meant that Lu Yin was resuming his hunt for spies. In addition to his regr work, Lu Yin asked Xu Yue to introduce him to You Lele.

    "Why do you want to meet Lele?" Xu Yue looked at Lu Yin, suddenlypletely on guard.

    Lu Yin took a seat. "I don¡¯t want to meet You Lele. I want to speak to her family."

    Xu Yue looked doubtful. "Lele is a very naive girl. Don¡¯t try to trick her."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Do you really think that I¡¯m the kind of person who would try to deceive her?"

    "What else?" Xu Yue continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    It had be widely known that Xuan Qi had used deception to trick and arrest both Yi Jun and Cheng Feng. As far as Xu Yue was concerned, the man was basically a scammer.

    Even though seeing Xuan Qi endure the pressure of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples had slightly improved Xu Yue¡¯s opinion of him, Lu Yin would never be able to get rid of hisbel as a con artist in Xu Yue¡¯s mind.

    "Alright, get a hold of her already," Lu Yin impatiently pushed.

    Xu Yue huffed coldly, but she did try to call Lele.

    Before long, she said, ¡°Lele must be caught up in some research project, so we¡¯ll have to wait. It might be quite a while.¡±

    ¡°What could she be researching?¡± Lu Yin thought that Xu Yue was lying to him.

    Xu Ji suddenly spoke up, ¡°Lele is a universally acknowledged genius, to the point where there¡¯s almost no one who would dare to im to surpass her mastery and knowledge of the Bestowal Art. The You family has never had a matriarch, but Lele made history by being the first woman to be in line to inherit the family. She¡¯s forced the You family to ept her as the family¡¯s heir.¡±

    ¡°She''s that amazing?¡± Lu Yin had only wanted to make contact with the You family. He had known that Xu Yue and You Lele were close from their meeting in the Cyclic School¡¯s pavilion before the academy¡¯s trial in the Origin Universe. He had simply thought that it would be convenient to contact the You family through You Lele and her friendship with Xu Yue. He had not expected to learn that You Lele herself was so impressive.

    Xu Ji replied, ¡°Lele is incredibly intelligent. Even He Shu has been forced to admit that much. If you want to deceive her, you should just give up.¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°I just want to have a conversation with the You family. They run the Bureau in the Transcendent Universe, and I¡¯m thinking about possibly coborating with them in the future.¡±

 Chapter 2632 â€“ The You Family

    Chapter 2632 ¨C The You Family

    "Cooperation?" Xu Ji and Xu Yue did not understand what Lu Yin was trying to get at.

    Lu Yin spoke gravely, "Spies are the greatest threat to humanity. We¡¯ve already managed to eliminate many of the spies here in the Voidforce Universe, but our progress has stalled for the moment. It might be a good idea to help root out the spies hiding in parallel universes, which would benefit all of mankind."

    Xu Ji''s eyes lit up. "Yue¡¯er, get a hold of Lele now."

    Xu Yue grunted in acknowledgment, though she cast a questioning nce towards Lu Yin. Was he really telling the truth?

    Whether Xuan Qi was being truthful or not, trying to root out spies in the Transcendent Universe would only benefit humanity as far as Xu Ji was concerned.

    Spies were truly the bane of humanity.

    However, contacting Lele was far from simple. Xu Yue tried again and again to connect to her friend, but the fact that they were in different parallel universes was a major hindrance. It was necessary to first send a messenger to the Transcendent Universe before she could try to contact Lele. On top of that, Lele was deeply engrossed in researching a cultivation technology or was caught up with some other matter. Regardless, it was not easy to get in touch with the girl.

    Lu Yin waited for several days, but there was still no reply from Lele. Instead, Xu Xiangyin arrived to pay a visit.

    After parting ways at the Void Pass, Xu Xiangyin had returned to the Sixverse Academy and had not seen Xuan Qi again. However, the old man had paid special attention to any news regarding the young man. When Xu Lie and the others from the Voidforce Universe had arrived at the Sixverse Academy and brought news with them, Xu Xiangyin had grown especially eager to see Xuan Qi again. However, he had been waiting for something else: the reward forpleting the trial that had taken ce in the Origin Universe.

    "Number 99?" Lu Yin blinked. "There¡¯s an order to the seats?"

    Xu Xiangyin had made the trip to the Bureau with the prize from the trial. Officially, Xuan Qi had been awarded with the 99th seat at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony.

    "Of course there¡¯s an order! How could people be allowed to sit just anywhere they wanted at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony? What if you inadvertently sat in front of a respected powerhouse? It could cause a grave misunderstanding," Xu Xiangyin replied.

    Lu Yin smiled awkwardly. "I see."

    He immediately thought of Sage Yuan.

    Sage Yuan had challenged Lu Yin to a death match at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony. Maybe a seat had already been reserved for Lu Yin. If that was true, then he would have two seats to himself: one for himself, and one for his alias, Xuan Qi. How would he handle that situation? Regardless of how the Great Sovereign himself reacted, Lu Yin would absolutely be a target of everyone else¡¯s resentment.

    "Considering your cultivation realm and the fame that you achieved from the trial, receiving a seat is already a blessing from the heavens. There is absolutely no reason for you to feel any dissatisfaction with the order," Xu Xiangyin said pointedly.

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior isn''t dissatisfied with the number that I received. I was just curious."

    Xu Xiangyin turned to stare at the ruins of the city beyond the bell tower. "I didn''t expect you to end up joining the Bureau after you left the Void Pass. When Yun Yun told me about it, I didn''t actually believe her. Thankfully, you''ve done well here."

    Lu Yinmented, "This junior has offended Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples."

    Xu Xiangyin waved a hand. "While people like me would never dare to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, for someone like you, they aren''t much. After all, you are backed by Xu Wuwei, as well as Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng."

    Xu Xiangyin hesitated as a strange expression appeared on his face. "You have four Void Supremas supporting you. Even if Sovereign Ninth Lotus personally came, she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to you.

    "However, Xuan Qi, you still need to be careful and remain respectful when you meet Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples in other universes. It would definitely be best if you could resolve your grudges with them now. After all, you will eventually step foot on the Endless Frontier, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples wield significant influence on that battlefield. If you can receive their help, your chances of surviving will rise dramatically."

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands. I didn''t intend to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples."

    Xu Xiangyin''s primary reason for visiting Xuan Qi had been to inform him about the seat for the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony that he had been awarded. This was the most important matter, though Lu Yin had actually forgotten about it. Wait, is there something else that I forgot about?

    A fleeting thought popped into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, only to slip away. It had to have been very important. What had he done recently?

    After thinking for a long while, Lu Yin finally remembered what he had forgotten: he had actually forgotten to ask Bai Qian for Starsibyl''s invitation.

    He sighed. Since he had missed his opportunity when seeing her on Earth, he could only wait for the next time he saw her.

    Three days after Xu Xiangyin left, Xu Yue sessfully managed to get in touch with You Lele.

    "Do you want to speak to Lele yourself or send a messenger?"

    "I''ll talk to her myself," Lu Yin said.

    "I thought as much." Xu Yue did a quick calction of the time. "Then it would be tomorrow. The closest person from the Transcendent Universe can be here tomorrow, and you can go with him to the Transcendent Universe, where you can use thismunication crystal to call Lele."

    Lu Yin took the offeredmunication crystal. "Thank you, Little Yue."

    Xu Yue''s cheeks flushed. "Who- who allowed you to call me Little Yue!"

    She immediately left.

    Xu Ji, who had been standing nearby, saw the exchange, and he turned to stare at Lu Yin. "You two aren¡¯t a good match."

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    The following day, someone arrived, and he quickly tore through the void to take Lu Yin to the Transcendent Universe.

    As soon as he arrived in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin called Lele with themunication crystal. It did not take long for an image of a disheveled Lele to appear. Her hair was a mess, as if it had not been washed in days, and her eyes were dull. She looked like she was just a step away from death.

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment by her appearance. "Hello, I am Xuan Qi."

    Lele fished out a pair of sses that had no lenses and pushed them up her nose. "Oh, it¡¯s you. Little Yue said that you were looking for me. What¡¯s this about?"

    "I would like to speak with your father," Lu Yin replied.

    Lele scratched her head, and kes of white dandruff rained down. Lu Yin arched a brow. This was his first time encountering such a person. "You want to talk to my father? You could have just contacted him directly. Why bother looking for me?"

    "I¡¯m not able to directly reach out to your father," Lu Yin answered.

    Lele scratched her head again, this time yawning as well. "Give me a moment. I''ll go wash my face and then get back to you."

    She instantly ended the call when she finished speaking.

    Lu Yin was still staring at themunication crystal in his hand. Was this woman really a universally acknowledged genius? It was not impossible, as the truly talented did tend to be a bit entric. Just because it was difficult to see things from a certain perspective did not mean that those perspectives were wrong.

    Themunication crystal soon lit up once again, and the image of You Lele reappeared. This time, she appeared far more energetic, and her eyes were a bit brighter. "Xuan Qi? Are you there?"

    "I''m here," Lu Yin answered as he stared at the image.

    You Lele earnestly asked, "What identity are you using when meeting with my father? Will you be just Xuan Qi, or the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Acting Bureau Director?"

    "What''s the difference?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Lele replied, "The difference determines whether I¡¯ll keep your secret for you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Bureau Director."

    You Lele nodded. "Alright, I¡¯ll keep your secret."

    She then proceeded to pull out anothermunication crystal.

    "Wait a moment. What if I had said that I wanted to meet your father as myself?" Lu Yin asked.

    "You have a good rtionship with He Ran, so if you wanted to meet my father with your own identity, I would have had to expose things. I doubt that there¡¯s any need to exin to you what the consequences of that would be."

    Lu Yin stared at You Lele. This woman was quite interesting!

    Another image appeared in front of Lele, this time showing a stern-faced, middle-aged man who had white hair. There was a weariness to his bearing that contrasted sharply with his appearance.

    "Father, this person wants to talk to you," You Lele pointed at the first image.

    The image of the middle-aged man looked over and his eyes locked onto Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi?"

    "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior You Fang," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    The man was none other than You Fang, patriarch of the You family and Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe. The You family that he oversaw was such a colossal entity that even He Ran needed to be wary of them. "Who am I meeting with? Xuan Qi, or the Acting Bureau Director?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. The father and daughter were quite alike, as they addressed the same question.

    "Father, I''ve already asked that," Lele said.

    You Fang just grunted while focusing on Lu Yin. "So which is it?"

    Lu Yin answered in a solemn tone, "Senior, you must have heard about what we have aplished in the Voidforce Universe. This junior was wondering, would it be possible to expand our efforts into the Transcendent Universe?"

    "To hunt spies?" You Fang inquired.

    Lu Yin responded, "I would like to try. Spies pose the greatest threat to mankind. Not long ago, I heard that some important data was destroyed in the Transcendent Universe. Such incidents are not umon, and while they may not result in significant damage, they might still cause dys. I would like to do my part to contribute in any way possible."

    "Are you finished catching the spies in the Voidforce Universe?" You Fang asked.

    "Not yet."

    "Then why do you want to hunt for spies in my Transcendent Universe? Are you looking down on our efforts?"

    "Pretty much," Lu Yin replied candidly.

    You Lele looked over at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s blunt."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "It''s nothing but the simple truth. If the You family was fullymitted to catching spies, you wouldn¡¯t be in your current situation. However, since you seem reluctant to do that, I am willing to take over things for you, provided that you permit it."

    You Fang said, "You seem to know quite a bit about the Transcendent Universe. Zuo Gong told you, didn''t he?"

    "Nothing can be kept hidden from you, Senior," Lu Yin responded.

    You Fang sneered. "If we allow you ess to the Bureau here in the Transcendent Universe, nothing will be able to be kept hidden from you either."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I don''t need to monitor the Transcendent Universe, and I don''t need to know anything about the Bureau there. All I need is the support of your You family."

    You Fang was taken aback. "What is it that you really want?"

    You Lele stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Don''t bother trying to offer any excuses. A reasonable justification might be able to lower our guard, but a reason that¡¯s too perfect is already a w in itself."

    Lu Yin nced at You Fang before turning back to Lele. "I intend to arrest spies."

    You Fang and Lele smirked in unison, evidently choosing not to believe him.

    "No matter if you believe me or not," Lu Yin continued, "My intentions remain the same¡ªI intend to hunt down spies. The Transcendent Universe has already analyzed my body, which means that, when I¡¯m here, I''m entirely within your control. What is there for you to worry about?"

    You Fang snorted coldly. "I worry about you conspiring with that woman, He Ran, to destroy my family.

    "I worry that you might be trying to exploit the Bureau against us.

    "I have countless worries, Xuan Qi. Considering your close rtionship with He Ran, do you really think that I should not be wary?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "The You family¡¯s intelligence is quite impressive, and you¡¯re always thinking three steps ahead. Even so, you fail to see things in the distance. If I were truly conspiring with He Ran against you, your family should be weing me into the Transcendent Universe''s Bureau. Only after I make a move can you counter it. If I do nothing, will you just remain on guard forever?"

    "That''s why I am willing to let you work with us. My You family will formally extend an invitation to the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi and ask him to helppensate for our shorings and to help us hunt down spies here in the Transcendent Universe. We¡¯ll find out what you''re up to," You Fang dered.

    An intrigued smile spread across You Lele''s face. "Focusing on just cultivation technology recently has been rather monotonous. I hope that you are scheming something, or else my father''s anticipation will be for nothing."

 Chapter 2633 â€“ The New Inn

    <h4>Chapter?C.2633 ¨C The New Inn</h4>

    "Do I only need an invitation from you? What about the Ruling Council?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Fang replied, "The Bureau does not need the Ruling Council''s approval. The Sixverse Association and the Bureau are technically one and the same. Even without an invitation from the Bureau here, you still have the right to enter the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau and help hunt down spies. There was no need for you to speak to us at all, and doing so was entirely superfluous."

    Lu Yin frowned. Was this true? In that case, he had been careless. It was no wonder why You Fang had agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s request. The man had put on a show of being provoked and forced into agreeing with things, but in reality, You Fang could not have refused from the beginning. He had only dragged things out in order to test Xuan Qi.

    The father and his daughter really worked well together.

    He felt a headachee on. It was not easy to deal with these two as opponents.

    "Oh right, have Lele join you. She''s too innocent and needs to get a taste of the darker aspects of human nature," You Fang suddenly added.

    You Lele was taken aback., "Father, what are you saying? Join who?"

    "Xuan Qi, of course. He is able to deceive even spies, which means that there''s nobody more conniving than him," You Fang stated matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin''s expression soured. "Senior, all that I do with the Bureau is done for humanity. Your words are uncalled for."

    "I won''t go! I want to keep researching the cultivation technology!" You Lele refused.

    You Fang tried to persuade the girl. "Xuan Qi is definitely scheming something, so if you can figure it out, it will be proof of your capabilities. You can postpone your cultivation technology research for a while. Treat this like a vacation."

    You Lele was instantly convinced.

    Lu Yin ended the call. The father and daughter from the You family werepletely looking down on him. Were they arrogant or proud of their abilities?

    Not even He Ran could antagonize the You family without facing consequences. The family had created the Bestowal Art, and their attitude towards Lu Yin was proof of just how robust their family''s foundation was.

    Superiority was ingrained into their very existence, and they looked down on everyone.

    Lu Yin started bing far more interested in the You family.

    ¡­

    It was impossible to remain in the Transcendent Universe for too long without triggering some unwanted surveince.

    Lu Yin quickly returned to the Voidforce Universe, and when he arrived in the Red Zone, he suddenly recalled something. "Where did Old Dian go?"

    Since returning, he had not seen Old Dian even once. Lu Yin immediately tried to contact the old man with amunication crystal, but he could not get through.

    Lu Yin asked the Bureau Manager and the other team captains to try to contact Old Dian, but no one could reach him, and none of them even knew where he had gone.

    The Bureau Manager suggested that Lu Yin check with Ghost Three. Of everyone in the Bureau, Ghost Three had a good rtionship with Old Dian.

    Ghost Three stood before Lu Yin, uncertain of how to share what he knew.

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. "Do you know where Old Dian went?"

    Ghost Three replied, "Old Dian- Old Dian told me that if he didn''t return within ten days, I should inform the Acting Bureau Director."

    "Just tell me," Lu Yin ordered. In order for the Bureau to sessfully bring Cheng Feng back to headquarters, Old Dian had been forced to reveal himself as a Void Morphora, which had been a shock to Boss Guan and the other team captains. The old man had also mentioned that revealing himself would cause people toe after him. At the time, Lu Yin had assured the man that he would be protected. He had no intention of going back on his word, and he was also very curious about who could capture Old Dian. The old man had been so scared that he had kept his true cultivation hidden, which suggested that something might have gone terribly wrong.

    As Ghost Three led Lu Yin to where Old Dian had gone, Lu Yin was hoping that nothing had happened to the old man. Normally, a Void Morphora would not face impossible difficulties, and in addition to his personal strength, Old Dian was one of the Bureau¡¯s officials. While the Bureau had a bad reputation, it was not an organization to be trifled with.

    However, when Lu Yin arrived at the ce that the old man had mentioned, his face fell. It was already clear that things were more troublesome than Lu Yin had anticipated. There was a lingering voidforce energy in the ce that left him with a sense of impending doom. It was¡­ the power of a Void Suprema.

    "What happened?" Lu Yin asked as he turned to look at Ghost Three.

    The man looked lost. "This subordinate does not know. Old Dian only told me that he woulde here because it¡¯s where his descendants are. I just saw his descendants, but Old Dian isn''t here."

    "Who is trying to capture him?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Ghost Three answered with a bitter expression, "Acting Bureau Director, I really don¡¯t know. Old Dian never told any of us, though he would oftenin about life and mention his own impending death. I asked him about it several times, but he never revealed anything more."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. "Does he have a grudge with any Void Supremas?"

    Ghost Three looked shocked. "A Void Suprema? Did a Void Suprema go after Old Dian?"

    "I am asking you."

    "This subordinate does not know. My Voidforce Universe only has a few peak experts, so if the person who captured Old Dian is really a Void Suprema, you might want to ask the Bureau Director about this. He might know, as he was the one who recruited Old Dian into the Bureau."

    Lu Yin immediately reached out to Xu Wuji.

    Some timeter, the man arrived in person, though he did not look at all happy. "Ghost Three, you can leave."

    Ghost Three knew that he was not supposed to hear the following conversation, and he also had no curiosity about it, so he quickly left. His top priority was his own safety.

    After Ghost Three left, Xu Wuji let out a sigh. "So he still ended up being captured."

    "What happened? Which Void Suprema came after Old Dian? Is it because of a personal grudge of some sort?" Lu Yin asked. He had be familiar with most of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s top experts, and he had even met Lord Xu. It did not seem likely that any of those Void Supremas would act against Old Dian.

    Xu Wuji replied, "He was not attacked by an enemy, but rather, there are certain rules that simply cannot be broken. However, that¡¯s exactly what he did. I also broke those rules, which makes things troublesome."

    "Bureau Director, when I ordered him to reveal his strength, I also promised that I would protect him. Please tell me exactly what happened," Lu Yin somberly asked.

    Xu Wuji took out a couple of drinks and handed one cup to Lu Yin, who epted it.

    "You should already have heard of the New Inn," Xu Wuji began.

    Lu Yin looked surprised. "The New Inn that¡¯s at the frontlines of the battlefield?"

    Xu Wuji nodded. "Old Dian escaped from the New Inn, and he¡¯s been captured by the New Inn¡¯s innkeeper: Chou Bao."

    Lu Yin instantly understood. So that was what had happened.

    The New Inn was located at the very front of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s battlefront with Aeternus. Just like its name implied, the ce was an inn, and it would offer anyone amodations, provided that they were not guilty of betraying humanity. As soon as anyone entered the inn, all past grudges would be forgotten. No one from the Voidforce Universe was allowed to seek revenge within the inn¡¯s walls, as doing so would mean facing the wrath of the Innkeeper, Chou Bao.

    Chou Bao was a Void Suprema, and while he was not an ancient and powerful expert on the same level as Xu Wuwei, he was still a Void Suprema, which meant that he was not someone who could be casually offended.

    Entering the inn meant receiving Chou Bao''s protection, but the price for that protection was never being allowed to leave the inn. They would need to live at the inn forever. If the inn was destroyed, then so too would everyone who belonged to it.

    The New Inn constantly remained at the forefront of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s battlefield against Aeternus, which meant that it was constantly under attack. The ce risked destruction at every moment, which was one of the many reasons why people avoided visiting the New Inn to get revenge on those who had joined it.

    The purpose of the New Inn was to provide a refuge where people could offer theirst bit of strength to protect humanity.

    If Old Dian had joined the New Inn, he should have never left ording to the ce¡¯s rules. Clearly, the man had escaped. It only made sense that the New Inn would refuse to let Old Dian off, and Chou Bao had personally moved out to capture Old Dian. The remnant power of a Void Suprema that Lu Yin had sensed belonged to Chou Bao.

    "Old Dian broke the rules by escaping from the New Inn, and I broke its rules by sheltering him despite knowing his crimes. He has been taken back by Chou Bao, which means that it is now impossible to get him back. Things will not end well for him," Xu Wuji said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin asked, "Why did Old Dian escape? Who forced him to join the New Inn in the first ce? Also, why did you protect him after he escaped, Bureau Director, knowing that you would be breaking the New Inn''s rules?"

    Xu Wuji took a sip of his drink. "I don''t know the answers to your first two questions, as I never asked. As for your third question¡­"

    The man set his drink down. "Old Dian has a keen nose, which is a valuable tool for the Bureau. When I saw him, I immediately asked him to join, and it was only after he did so that I learned that he had escaped from the New Inn. After personally recruiting him, if I were to send him back to the New Inn, or tell Chou Bao of his whereabouts, wouldn''t that cause me to lose face?

    "How would others see me, Xu Wuji? Wouldn¡¯t they think that I¡¯m intimidated by Chou Bao? What a joke."

    Lu Yin sipped his drink. "So, you didn¡¯t actually know Old Dian all that well, Bureau Director?"

    "If Chou Bao was willing to shelter the man, then there was no reason for my Bureau to not do the same. Upon joining the Bureau, a person¡¯s past no longer matters, provided that they can help find and capture spies," Xu Wuji stated.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "So what now? Chou Bao has already taken him back.¡±

    "What can we do? Don¡¯t tell me you want to take him away from the New Inn. Doing that will only lead to a confrontation with Chou Bao, who is a Void Suprema," Xu Wuji replied.

    Lu Yin replied, "Bureau Director, in recent months, the Bureau has captured many spies, which has caused our reputation to soar in the Sixverse Association. Aside from me, do you realize just how famous Old Dian has be? During my recent trip to the Transcendent Universe, even the people there mentioned that the reason why I have been able to arrest so many spies has been because of Old Dian''s nose, and that¡¯s absolutely true. There are many people throughout the Sixverse Association who are aware that Old Dian is a member of the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau. Now that he has been taken away by the New Inn¡­¡±

    Xu Wuji''s face fell as he understood how severe the humiliation facing the Bureau really was. Chou Bao had stolen Xu Wuji¡¯s subordinate. If Xu Wuji really did nothing about that, he would not be able to live with the shame.

    He was the one who had allowed Old Dian to remain in the Bureau, even after learning of the Void Morphora¡¯s past. That was because Xu Wuji had not wanted people to think that he was afraid of Chou Bao. Old Dian¡¯s capture was nothing less than a public p across Xu Wuji¡¯s face. People would not care about reasons behind it, or the rules that had been broken. All they would know was that one of the Bureau¡¯s team captains had been taken away by the New Inn. If Xu Wuji, the Bureau Director, did nothing about this, it would show that he was too scared to protect his subordinates, which would paint him as a spineless and unworthy leader.

    "Bureau Director, whatever happens, shouldn¡¯t we first visit the New Inn?" Lu Yin asked.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go." With that, the man led Lu Yin to the New Inn.

    Lu Yin was not going to be too insistent on bringing Old Dian back. The man had broken the New Inn¡¯s rules, and those rules existed for a reason. Old Dian had willingly joined the New Inn to avoid death, but he hadter regretted his choice. That was something that no one could help him with. However, since Lu Yin promised to protect Old Dian, he needed to at least make an attempt.

    Their trip would be difficult, as the Bureau could not take the moral high ground.

    Lu Yin had seen the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s rainbow wall, and he had also seen the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Wall of Purity. This time, he was finally seeing the Voidforce Universe¡¯s battlefield. Soon, heid eyes on a giant vortex. It was a massive storm of the voidforce energy that was omnipresent in the Voidforce Universe.

    He stared nkly at the maelstrom before him. The rainbow wall and the Wall of Purity had both been visually shocking, but the Voidforce Universe¡¯s battlefield was just as impressive, if not moreso. The incredible power of the voidforce energy vortex that surrounded the entire universe was truly awe-inspiring.

    "First time seeing this, huh?" Xu Wuji asked, "This is my Voidforce Universe¡¯s border, and whoever sees it for the first time struggles toprehend how Lord Xu achieved this."

    "So, how did he?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Wuji solemnly replied, "I don¡¯t know. Lord Xu''s power is not something that we canprehend."

 Chapter 2634 â€“ You Are Alright

    <h4>ChapterC.2634 ¨C You Are Alright</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly realized the Sixverse Association¡¯s greatest w was in how their people developed. No matter if it was the Voidforce Universe, the Arboreal Realm, or even the Three Monarchs Universe, everyone only cultivated the power that had been created by the ruler of their universe. No matter how powerful a person became, they would never be able to surpass the ruler of their universe, and it was precisely because the power that they cultivated was based on the ruler themselves.

    How would the Voidforce Universe change if Lord Xu died?

    While Xu Wuwei was an ancient and powerful individual who wielded incredible influence in the universe, he would never be able to surpass Lord Xu. That was because Xu Wuwei cultivated the same power that Lord Xu had developed.

    The Fifth Maind was different. While the Origin Progenitor''s stellr energy permeated the entire universe, that did not mean that everyone cultivated stellr energy. The God of Death, Destiny, Progenitor Chen, and the Rune Progenitor had not relied solely on cultivating the power created by the Origin Progenitor.

    It was possible that this was part of the reason why the Heavens Sect had shone so brilliantly.

    The Cyclic Universe was the pr opposite.

    Xu Wuji led the way, and the two men entered the vortex of voidforce energy without any trouble.

    Far away, fighting raged on the battlefield. The maelstrom amplified the power of the Voidforce Universe''s cultivators while weakening the enemy corpse kings. Despite the appearance of a massive vortex, only corpse kings were obstructed. For any who cultivated voidforce energy, this vortex was a cultivation sanctuary.

    With the support of the vortex, people of the Voidforce Universe were able to move quickly and delicately, in sharp contrast to the corpse kings.

    Pairs of scarlet eyes stared from the opposite side of the vortex. Enemy reinforcements were constantly entering the battlefield.

    Xu Wuji took immediate action and effortlessly eliminated countless corpse kings.

    Lu Yin also attacked. His bone pike pierced through arge number of corpse kings, and blood sttered into the vortex.

    "We can''t kill all of them. Let''s go." Xu Wuji moved onwards with Lu Yin, instantly covering an unknown distance. When they finally stopped moving, Lu Yin saw a giant stone building in front of them. It had two words carved on it: New Inn.

    "Xu Wuji brings Xuan Qi to visit the New Inn," Xu Wuji called out in a loud voice.

    There was a thunderous crash as a corpse king mysteriously appeared and immediately crashed into the side of the stone building. The monster was instantly reduced to a pool of blood.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The New Inn really was on the frontlines of the battlefield, and it was only a matter of time before the ce was destroyed.

    The building¡¯s gates swung open, and two towering figures who stood by the entrance gestured for the men to enter.

    Lu Yin examined the two people. They were a good three meters tall, but they were not Lesser Giants; they were just abnormally tall humans. They were also both peak Void Brilliums, which made them equal to peak Envoys. They were only a single step away from reaching the strength of a Semi-Progenitor.

    The people who entered the New Inn were mostly those who wanted to escape from enemies in the Voidforce Universe. Fleeing to the New Inn from the Voidforce Universe was no simple task, and thus, no one in here was weak.

    During their journey, Xu Wuji had mentioned that, while Chou Bao was the only Void Suprema in the New Inn, the ce was home to no less than five Void Morphoras, which was a shocking number. Before Old Dian had revealed himself, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau had not had even a single Void Morphora, which was considered perfectly normal. This demonstrated just how rare Void Morphoras were, and yet so many had gathered in the New Inn.

    Boom!

    A loud bang was heard as another corpse king smashed into the walls and died.

    The New Inn¡¯s stone walls had not originally been this color, but over the years, the stone had been stained a dark red that had gradually be nearly ck. The color came entirely from the blood of countless corpse kings.

    This was not Xu Wuji''s first time visiting the New Inn. "In addition to helping people escape from their enemies, this ce also offers all of the services of a normal inn. You can eat and rest here, though it¡¯s necessary to paypensation. It really is nothing less than an inn on the battlefield."

    Lu Yin responded, "Of course it¡¯s necessary to pay for such services. If just anyone could enter this ce, it would have been destroyed long ago."

    Xu Wuji led Lu Yin as they both entered the New Inn.

    From the outside, this ce had the appearance of a massive stone building, but inside, it looked no different from any other inn. There were rows of tables filling amon room, and waiters bustled about. The ce actually boasted a rather lively atmosphere.

    There were about a thousand tables, and most of them were full.

    Most of the busy servers who were distributing food and drinks were Void Brilliums. This was something that could not be seen anywhere else.

    Each of the people working in the inn had their own secrets. Since they had been epted by the New Inn, they needed to abide by its rules.

    It was a ce that offered people the chance to extend their lives, but ultimately, their deaths were inescapable.

    "May I offer you something to eat?" A waiter cleared a table for two men and offered them a warm smile.

    Xu Wuji and Lu Yin sat at the table across from each other. Lu Yin curiously looked around at his surroundings. The moment anyone stepped foot out of this inn, they would instantly arrive at a battleground where anyone¡¯s survival would be questionable. Despite that, the inn¡¯s atmosphere was far from depressing. On the contrary, the ce was rather lively. The servers and the innkeeper were all smiling, and their cheerfulness gave the ce an oddly cozy vibe.

    "We''ll have some of the house specials," Xu Wuji ordered.

    At this moment, a mature woman with bright and striking makeup on her face walked over. She immediately pped the waiter on the back of his head. "Are you blind? This is the Bureau Director and the Acting Bureau Director! Scram, I¡¯ll deal with this."

    The waiter just grinned. "Sure thing."

    He simply turned to another table. "Anything else you''d like to order? I''ll be back in just a moment."

    The woman set her hands on the table while smiling seductively at Xu Wuji and Lu Yin. "What brings the Bureau¡¯s esteemed gentlemen to our humble establishment? Is there something that we can assist you with?"

    Xu Wuji looked up at the woman. "Send Chou Bao over."

    "Hehe, our boss is quite busy, but whatever you need, Bureau Director, I''ll be sure to do my best to help you," the woman said with a chuckle. Despite how excessive her makeup was, the woman was far from unpleasant to look at.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Are you the innkeeper¡¯s wife?"

    The woman gasped and sped a hand to her mouth. "Acting Bureau Director, you can¡¯t say such things! If my boss hears¡­" She suddenly let out a giggle. "I''d be so embarrassed."

    "It''s just a matter of time," Lu Yin said with augh of his own.

    The woman let out another giggle. "The Acting Bureau Director certainly has a way with words. No wonder you¡¯re so popr these days. Still, the boss is quite busy today. Maybe you cane back another day?"

    Xu Wuji let out a coldugh before suddenly pping a hand onto the table. The ripples that spread from the impact shook the New Inn.

    Instantly, the woman''s expression turned icy. A wave of killing intent focused on Xu Wuji, but it did note from just the woman. At this moment, every single person who belonged to the New Inn had turned to face Xu Wuji, and each gaze was ice cold. Not one person revealed the slightest bit of fear for Xu Wuji''s power.

    The people who had escaped to the New Inn had already experienced a life of treading the edge of life and death. They lived at the forefront of a battlefield and did not fear death. If anyone sought their deaths, even Lord Xu himself, they would bare their teeth in response to the challenge.

    There were many clients in the inn who were visiting it for the first time, and naturally, this was their first time seeing such a reaction from the staff. It was a startling demonstration.

    Silence fell over the New Inn.

    "See, this is the real New Inn," Xu Wuji casuallymented.

    A sharp pointed weapon suddenly appeared in the woman''s hand as she red at Xu Wuji. "Bureau Director, if you''re here to rest, we wee you warmly, but if you''re here to cause trouble, you''ll have to step over all of our bodies first."

    Their first server, who had been so enthusiastic, suddenly seemed like apletely different person. There was a faint scent of blooding from him, and his eyes carried a heavy killing intent.

    There were at least a hundred pairs of eyes staring at the two men, and some of them even belonged to Void Morphoras. Even Lu Yin was feeling the pressure.

    "Xu Wuji, all of us have already resolved our grudges. Are you trying to restart trouble for us?" An older server who had been pouring tea for customers in a far corner asked. The old man was a Void Morphora, and his expression was grim and terrifying.

    Xu Wuji remainedpletely indifferent to the question and the reactions of the staff. "That¡¯s none of your business. Stay out of things."

    "Brother Wuji, all of us here in the New Inn are pitiful souls. There''s no need for this," another Void Morphora said. This man had a mild voice and spoke in an elegant manner. He was on the second floor of the inn and was the cashier.

    Xu Wuji looked up. "Putting on a show of having the moral high ground? That isn¡¯t what you said when you exterminated a n."

    The Void Suprema then nced around at the entiremon room. "There are no good people in the New Inn. Regardless of why you fled to this ce, since you¡¯ve already been rejected by the rest of the universe, you should just obediently stay here and die while fighting to protect humanity. Spare me the bullshit."

    "Ha, you sure know how to talk big," another person spoke. This man was also a Void Morphora. Lu Yin was bing numb to such things, as there were simply too many Void Morphoras in the New Inn, and each of them was more formidable than thest. Not one of them showed the slightest bit of fear of Xu Wuji.

    Thump.

    Thump.

    Thump.

    Thump.

    Footsteps echoed out, and all eyes turned to look at the staircase. There was a man descending from the upper floor levels. His skin had an eerie blue color to it, and his eyes were calm as still water. The most noticeable detail, however, was the wooden peg that had reced a missing leg. The prosthetic caused each step to be a deafening bang.

    The man was Chou Bao, the New Inn''s innkeeper.

    Everyone fell silent, and all eyes followed Chou Bao as he slowly walked over to Xu Wuji. It took a considerable amount of time for the man to cross such a short distance.

    Xu Wuji did nothing to urge the man forward, nor did he make anyment at all. He simply watched Chou Bao in silence.

    Chou Bao stopped when he was a few meters away from Xu Wuji. Only then did he finally speak. "Are you here to cause trouble?"

    Xu Wuji responded in a cold voice of his own. "Not interested."

    Chou Bao''s eyes shifted to the table. "You broke it. Pay up."

    He then started walking off, clearly uninterested in any further conversation.

    "Where is Old Dian?" Xu Wuji asked.

    Chou Bao stopped, coincidentally right next to Lu Yin. The man did not turn around to face Xu Wuji. "Anyone who breaks the rules of my New Inn will be punished by my New Inn. Are you trying to interfere?"

    Xu Wuji answered softly, "No matter what else, he is an official of my Bureau, and he has performed great services in rooting out spies."

    "In this ce, there are neither aplishments or crimes. All that remains here is the pursuit of survival," Chou Bao said coldly.

    Xu Wuji continued, "Show me some face. Let me take him with me."

    Chou Bao finally turned his head to look at Xu Wuji. "No."

    Xu Wuji¡¯s eyes narrowed. Chou Bao locked eyes with Xu Wuji, and the tension in the room started to rise.

    Killing intent grew thick in the air.

    There was a bang as a customer suddenly left, only to be quickly followed by arge group.

    They did not dare to stick around when a fight was about to break out between two Void Supremas. It would be pathetic for them to survive fighting against Aeternus, only to end up dying from the shockwaves of fighting allies.

    However, there were some guests who did not wish to leave, and there was no fear in any of the inn¡¯s staff. All of them gathered around Xu Wuji and Lu Yin. There was not the slightest trace of the respect typically shown to powerful Void Suprema. Killing intent filled every eye, and it was clear that they were eager to attack.

    As the woman had said, if the two guests wanted trouble, they would have to step over her corpse and also that of every other member of the New Inn. There was no one in the New Inn who feared death.

    Lu Yin coughed lightly and stood up. "Senior Chou Bao, may we meet Old Dian?"

    Every eye suddenly turned to stare at Lu Yin, and the pressure that he felt immediately intensified.

    Chou Bao''s gaze was seemingly calm, but as heavy as a mountain. This man, who had established the New Inn, had a wealth of experience beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Hisposed gaze exerted tremendous pressure.

    "Xuan Qi?" Chou Bao asked.

    Lu Yin bowed. "That is this junior¡¯s name."

    Chou Bao stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re alright."

    Just those three words instantly dissipated all of the mounting pressure, from both Chou Bao and the rest of the New Inn¡¯s staff. All of the killing intent left their eyes.

 Chapter 2635: Rules

    Chapter 2635: Rules

    The sudden change was disturbing to Lu Yin. Chou Bao had merely uttered three words, and yet so many powerful cultivators had instantly changed their attitudes. Just how formidable was the mans reputation?

    This junior does not understand, Lu Yin admitted his confusion.

    Chou Bao looked back at Xu Wuji. Recruiting Xuan Qi into the Bureau was the wisest decision of your life.

    Xu Wuji scoffed. You think that I need you to tell me that?

    Chou Bao turned back to Lu Yin. Im not the one at fault here. Don''t mention Old Dian again. He joined the New Inn, and the New Inn protected him from his enemies. For this reason, he is required to stay here, just the same as anyone else. However, he broke those rules, and the New Inn does not tolerate rule breakers.

    Every single person in this ce has their own story and a reason to leave, but all of them stay here. The rules are set for their sake. If those rules are allowed to be broken, the New Inn loses its reason to exist. Do you understand?

    Lu Yin nodded. I understand, and this junior thanks you for exining matters. However, Old Dian only exposed himself because I forced him to. To the New Inn, he is a detestable rule breaker, but to me, he is my subordinate. I wonder what I can do to relieve the New Inns anger andpensate for the rules that were broken.

    Chou Bao looked away. Rules are rules. No one can be allowed to break them. The people here may not care about their lives, but they do care about the rules. Those rules are why they live.

    Are we not even allowed to meet him? Xu Wuji roared.

    The atmosphere in the room grew tense once again as everyone stared at Xu Wuji. They all looked as though they were ready to attack the moment Chou Bao gave the word.

    The silence dragged out.

    Finally, Chou Bao replied, Due to my respect for Senior Xu Wuwei, Xuan Qi can see Old Dian.

    He then waved a hand, and a man approached Lu Yin. Follow me.

    Lu Yin nced over at Xu Wuji, who nodded.

    Lu Yin followed his escort out of thergemon room and up to the top of the New Inn. Soon, they stepped out of the stone building and onto the rooftop.

    The maelstrom of voidforce energy swirled around them like a massive hurricane.

    A short ways away, Old Dian was sitting cross-legged atop the roof.

    When Lu Yin arrived, the man opened his eyes and gasped in surprise upon seeing who had arrived. "Acting Bureau Director? Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "I didn''t know you escaped from the New Inn."

    Old Dian grimaced. "I did tell you that I had my own problems, which was why I did not want to reveal myself. I was afraid that I would be caught and dragged back to this ce."

    The man who had led Lu Yin to the roof scoffed with open disgust. "The New Inn saved your life, and then you broke the rules. You deserve to die."

    Lu Yin asked, "Is your punishment to stay up here?"

    Old Dian replied, "Until I die."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, as this punishment was extremely harsh.

    The New Inn was at the very front of the Voidforce Universes battlefield, and powerful corpse kings could appear at any moment. This meant that Old Dian was being punished with the constant threat of corpse kings until he was finally killed.

    "Acting Bureau Director, you promised to protect me!" Old Dian pleaded.

    Lu Yin was facing a dilemma. He did not want to abandon Old Dian, but how was he supposed to rescue the man? From the attitude that Chou Bao had shown, simply seeing Old Dian in person was pushing the Void Supremas tolerance.

    Lu Yins escort sneered. "Even now, you still remain unrepentant and are scared of dying."

    Old Dian roared in fury, "I don''t fear death! There are things left undone that I mustplete!"

    "Who here doesnt have unfinished business?" the man sternly rebuked Old Dian. Lu Yins escort was also a Void Morphora.

    Old Dian quivered as he responded, "I did not massacre my benefactor''s family. After fleeing to the New Inn, I spent decades searching until I finally found a trace of my benefactor''s surviving family. I have been waiting since then, waiting for the killer who wiped out the rest of my benefactor''s family to reveal themselves so that I can finally get revenge. I don''t care what others may think of me, nor do I care if I am killed, as long as I can avenge my benefactor."

    As the old man spoke, he stared at Lu Yin with desperation and hope filling his eyes. "Acting Bureau Director, please save me! I can die, but only after I avenge my benefactor''s family. I cannot die in this ce. Acting Bureau Director, you promised to protect me!"

    "Hold your tongue!" the Void Morphora cut in sharply.

    Lu Yin asked, "Could I have a word with Old Dian in private?"

    His escort felt conflicted by the request, but Lu Yin added on, "Senior Chou Bao agreed to allow me to meet Old Dian, but he never said that I needed to be supervised, Senior."

    The man stared at Lu Yin. "You will not be permitted to take him from the New Inn, so dont waste time on a futile attempt."

    "Don''t worry about that."

    The man then stepped away and left Lu Yin alone with Old Dian.

    The old man looked at Lu Yin with anticipation. "Acting Bureau Director, I know that it will be difficult to extract me from the New Inn, but please, try to get me out!"

    Lu Yin took a moment before answering. "I will try. If not for me, you would have never been exposed. I made you a promise, and so I will do my best to protect you. However, if that proves to be impossible, I will at least do my best to see your wishes fulfilled."

    Old Dian''s eyes immediately lit up. "My benefactor probably died at the hands of a Demi-Monarch from the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "A Demi-Monarch from the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    "Those experts are just as powerful as my Voidforce Universes Void Morphoras, which means that they are true experts. It''s shocking to me that my benefactor was unable to escape, considering that he was a Void Morphora himself. By the time I arrived, all evidence of the killer had already been erased. Right after I arrived, my benefactor''s close friends started to arrive as well. It was a trap that had been set for me. Before I fled, I managed to catch a trace of evidence of a certain battle technique that is unique to the Three Monarchs Universe. They should have used the Monarch Arrow, which is a powerful technique that molds monarch essence to form arrows, each of which can deliver devastating damage.

    "The power of the Monarch Arrows that were used during that attack had to have been terrifying if even my benefactor fell to them. The attacker must possess perfect mastery over their monarch essence.

    Still, I cannot be certain that my benefactor died from a Monarch Arrow."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "If you found traces of a Monarch Arrow, why couldnt anyone else?"

    Old Dian gritted his teeth. "That''s exactly the problemmy benefactor wasnt killed by a Monarch Arrow, but there were traces of the technique left behind where the massacre urred. I did point this out, but when others returned to investigate, those traces had already disappeared. Someone who wanted to see me dead must have returned and cleaned the ce. As long as I find who that was, I''ll also find the killer.

    "I am only an independent cultivator, and without my benefactor, I would have never received the opportunity to be a Void Morphora. My benefactor, his wife, and their entire family were extremely kind to me, and I cannot let my benefactor die in vain. Even if I need to risk my life, I <em>must</em> find their killer."

    Lu Yin spoke solemnly, "So you''re saying that, if we can find someone who has mastered the Monarch Arrow technique to a high enough level where it could kill your benefactor, that person will very likely be his killer?"

    Old Dian grimaced. "Maybe, but its quite likely that its only a diversion. While the killer absolutely did master the Monarch Arrow, they might not be someone from the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "It won''t be easy to find them." Lu Yin sighed. Even before the Sixverse Academy had been established, people from the Sixverse Association had already been learning from other universes. No one could know who might have learned what. Just as people from the Cyclic Universe had been allowed to challenge the Void Pass, people from the Voidforce Universe were also allowed to purchase energy converters.

    Monarch essence was far from a difficult power for a person to learn.

    "After spending decades searching, I finally found a surviving trace of my benefactor''s bloodline, and then I leaked word of their existence. Once the murderer hears of them, they might take action," Old Dian exined.

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly turned sharp. "Who told Senior Chou Bao where he could find you?"

    Old Dian froze, and his eyes narrowed "Are you suggesting?"

    "I''m not certain, but it looks like I need to return quickly." With that, Lu Yin turned to leave.

    "Acting Bureau Director, my life means nothing, but I beg you to avenge my benefactor!" Old Dian called out.

    Without even turning back, Lu Yin replied, "Who among the New Inns staff doesn''t have unfinished business? Even Senior Chou Bao is no exception to that. I will do my best to fulfill the promise I gave you. You do your best to stay alive."

    With that, Lu Yin left.

    Old Dian stared across the suddenly empty rooftop, his emotions in turmoil. Naturally, the man wanted to live, but it was far more important that his benefactors death be avenged.

    Lu Yin returned to the innsmon room, and Xu Wuji turned to look at him.

    "Old Dian is up on the roof. His punishment is to remain there until hes killed," Lu Yin whispered.

    Xu Wuji frowned and turned to look at Chou Bao. "Isn''t this too harsh? What was the point of bringing him back here? You should have just pped him dead when you found him."

    Chou Bao remained unruffled. "Death will not be so easily granted to rule breakers."

    "You''re not targeting me, are you?" Xu Wuji was dissatisfied.

    Chou Bao casually replied, "You arent worth it."

    Xu Wuji was instantly infuriated.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Senior, is there really no way for us to take him away?"

    Chou Bao looked over at Lu Yin. "Senior Xu Wuwei enlightened me in the past, and that is also why the New Inn was established. Its because of my respect for him that I allowed you to meet Old Dian, but that is as far as I will bend. Please leave."

    "A life for a life!" Lu Yin announced loudly.

    Everyone looked over at him in astonishment.

    The woman with the heavy makeup shouted, "Youre willing to exchange your life for Old Dian''s?"

    "Of course not!" Lu Yin then looked at Chou Bao. "Your New Inn was established so that people could live out the remainder of their lives while serving humanity. So, I will use the life of a Void Morphora level powerhouse from Aeternus to trade for Old Dian''s."

    Chou Bao looked at Lu Yin oddly. "For you to have the confidence to say such a thing, you live up to the reputation of having mastered Spiral Domain. You seem to be very confident about facing the Aeternals."

    Xu Wuji smugly replied, "Xuan Qi has practically purged the Voidforce Universe of all spies!"

    Chou Bao continued as though no one had said a word, "However, no matter how many spies you root out, the rules of my New Inn cannot be broken, not even at the price of a Void Morphora-level corpse king."

    "Two," Lu Yin said.

    "Young man, you''re overreaching. You''re only a Void Brillium," someone spoke up to warn Lu Yin.

    Seeing that Chou Bao remained unmoved, Lu Yin continued, "Three."

    Xu Wuji arched a brow. "Xuan Qi"

    Lu Yin acted like he heard nothing and pressed on. "Four."

    Chou Bao stared intently at Lu Yin for a long moment. "Do you want to purchase Old Dian''s life with the lives of four Void Morphora-level corpse kings?"

    Lu Yin held his head up high. "That''s right."

    Killing four Semi-Progenitor level corpse kings was absolutely within his capabilities. When he had broken out of the Perennial Worlds rear battlefield, he had ughtered a number of the Twelve Marquises. When he had been attacked in the Voidforce Universe, he had taken out one of Shaman God''s Semi-Progenitor avatars, which was arguably powerful enough to challenge a Progenitor.

    As long as he did not have to deal with interference from a Progenitor-level powerhouse, Lu Yin was able topletely dominate any battlefield. He would annihte every Semi-Progenitor level corpse king he saw and not allow a single one to escape.

    Chou Bao nodded. "Four Void Morphora-level corpse kings is enough for you to buy Old Dian''s life. ording to the New Inns rules, you have the right topensate for him one time."

    Lu Yin let a sigh of relief escape him.

    "However, he cannot leave," Chou Bao finished, his eyes growing cold.

    "Chou Bao, are you really saying that we can''t take Old Dian away even after paying with four Void Morphora-level corpse kings? You''re going too far!" Xu Wuji rebuked angrily.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2636: A Formal Invitation

    Chapter 2636: A Formal Invitation

    Chou Bao coldly stated, Old Dian knew that he was risking his life when he chose to break this ces rules. You can purchase his life with four Void Morphora-level corpse kings, but there are no exceptions to the New Inns rules.

    Look around at the people here. Do you think that they don''t want to leave? Many of them have enemies who are long since dead, which means that they could enjoy living out the rest of their lives in the Voidforce Universe, but because of the rules, they can''t leave this ce. Their only option is to stay here at the New Inn until they die. Their lives are also lives.

    Four Void Morphora-level corpse kings can alleviate the hatred that they hold towards Old Dian for breaking the rules, but the rules cannot be allowed to be broken.

    Lu Yin nced around. Every time Old Dian was mentioned, the staffs expressions showed disgust and irritation. Which of them did not want to leave? Who would willingly wait for death in the New Inn? Waiting for death was an even worse torture than facing death itself, but all of these people still obeyed the rules and remained at the New Inn. They hated Old Dian for breaking the rules.

    Four Void Morphora-level corpse kings was a steep price to pay, but the other people of the New Inn would only be able to suppress their dissatisfaction with Old Dian. That was as far as they were willing to go, and if the rules were broken again, the New Inn would fall apart.

    Even before making the trip to the New Inn, Lu Yin had understood that it would be difficult to take Old Dian away. After arriving, he had realized that, unless the New Inn was destroyed, it would be impossible to seed. Not even Xu Wuwei could take Old Dian away, as doing so would invalidate the purpose of the New Inn''s existence.

    Chou Bao continued to stare at Lu Yin. Now, are you still willing to pay for Old Dians life with the lives of four Void Morphora-level corpse kings?

    Xu Wuji gripped Lu Yin''s shoulder, Don''t be impulsive.

    Lu Yin smiled. Of course. Fighting Aeternus is everyone''s responsibility. Even if I had never met Old Dian, I, Xuan Qi, would still destroy four, forty, or even four hundred Void Morphora-level corpse kings, as long as it is possible for me to do so.

    Chou Bao''s eyes lit up as he looked at Lu Yin, admiration filling them. Give my regards to Senior Xu Wuwei.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Before long, Lu Yin and Xu Wuji left the New Inn.

    Xuan Qi, youre far too impulsive. Aeternus''s Void Morphora-level corpse kings are not easy to kill. As soon as we show up, they escape, but against opponents in the same realm of cultivation, corpse kings unquestionably hold the advantage, especially if theyve mastered the Corpse King Transformation. Those are practically impossible to kill. If we run into one of the Seven Skygods avatars, even we Void Supremas would struggle, Xu Wuji chastised.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. I didnt have a choice, Senior. I was forced to agree.

    Xu Wuji was taken aback. "I thought that you were being truly righteous and noble."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Thats partially true, as I absolutely do want to annihte Aeternus, and Ill do everything I can to see that happen. However, I also want to survive."

    Xu Wujiughed loudly and tossed Lu Yin a drink. "Now that''s more like it! I knew that something was off about you. How could anyone capable of outsmarting spies be so impulsive? Still, you now need to defeat four Void Morphora-level corpse kings, which won''t be easy."

    Lu Yin took a sip of his drink. "I can take things slow. Chou Bao never specified a deadline for me. Maybe I''ll get lucky and stumble upon a few severely wounded corpse kings that I''ll be able to eliminate one day."

    "Keep dreaming." Xu Wuji chuckled.

    While Old Dian was not able to return to the Bureau, Lu Yin had made an earnest effort.

    After leaving the New Inn, he hurried back to where Chou Bao had captured Old Dian. A family lived there, and they were descendants of the Bai n that was a part of the bloodline of Old Dian''s mentor. The old man had kept an eye on this family for decades, waiting for his mysterious enemy to reveal themselves. Lu Yin felt that this enemy had likely leaked the news that Old Dian was working for the Bureau to the New Inn in hopes of pulling Old Dian away so that he could attack the family.

    However, after considering the matter more carefully, Lu Yin felt that his initial suspicions were rather improbable. The family was nothing but ordinary humans, so even if the enemy discovered them, they would not go to extreme lengths to eliminate them. It was not easy to pass information to the New Inn, and Chou Bao was no fool. He would not allow himself to be manipted.

    Regardless, Lu Yin kept an eye on the family. Since he had failed to bring Old Dian back, he could only do his best to fulfill his promise to the man.

    However, this also meant that Lu Yin now had another problem. He had been hoping to have Old Dian apany him to the Transcendent Universe and assist him in rooting out spies there. Having a Semi-Progenitor present would offer Lu Yin a good excuse for various matters that would otherwise be impossible to exin. With Old Dian out of the picture, where would he find another Void Morphora?

    Semi-Progenitors level experts were regarded as elites in any universe. Progenitor-level figures were beyond rare, but while Semi-Progenitor level experts wereparatively moremon, their numbers were still extremely limited. It would not be easy to find one willing to follow him.

    Even in the Voidforce Universes Bureau led by Xu Wuji, there was only a single Semi-Progenitor level individual, and even then, Old Dian had kept his strength hidden from his own colleagues.

    Naturally, there was another Void Morphora hidden beneath the Bureaus headquarters that no one was aware of, not even Old Dian. That person was most likely the guardian of the Red Zone, and their existence was a fact that Xu Wuji kept to himself.

    In some ways, finding an avable Semi-Progenitor-level powerhouse was even harder than finding a Progenitor-level figure. Those with the strength of a Progenitor had already reached the peak, while those with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor were still striving for that pinnacle. Thus, their time was far more limited.

    Using only his identity of Xuan Qi to find a Semi-Progenitor-level expert who would be willing to follow him was extremely difficult, but fortunately, the You family had sent a timely letter to Xu Wuji. In that letter, the family invited Xuan Qi to assist the Transcendent Universes Bureau in hunting spies.

    Xu Wuji returned to the Bureau headquarters and summoned the team captains and personnel to the top of the bell tower. For the first time, he showed interest in how the interrogations were proceeding.

    Ning Ran reported, "We haven''t had any luck with Yun Wu, and Yi Jun has not revealed anything beyond a list of names of people that shes been in contact with. Thats all weve gotten from Cheng Feng as well. Weve managed to extract various confessions from the other spies who have been arrested, and from that information, weve managed to arrest a couple more spies, but were not having the same sess as before.

    "Also, everyst spy ims to be controlled by Cheng Kong."

    Xu Wuji scoffed, "How could Cheng Kong be so free as to control so many people? At best, only one or two of these spies are really being controlled by Cheng Kong. Both Yi Jun and Cheng Feng are absolutely hiding things, so continue interrogating them. We need to get them to talk."

    Lu Yin did not know what Yi Jun was hiding, but she most likely did not have anything terribly important to share. He felt that the most valuable information that the woman could provide was rted to spies who were active on the Endless Frontier.

    On the other hand, Cheng Feng was keeping Knowledge Nexuss location hidden. He had already revealed that secret to Lu Yin, who had asked Cheng Feng to keep that matter a secret from the other people in the Bureau. Knowledge Nexus was extremely important, and it could even be considered a critical asset of the universe, as it was the ce that enabled for information to be exchanged between the different universes of the Sixverse Association. If possible, Lu Yin wanted to look for this ce in the future.

    Of course, it would not be a big deal even if Cheng Feng did expose what he knew. Xuan Qi was the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universes Bureau, which gave him the authority to execute his own ns.

    "How are you finding the Bureau, Xu Ji?" Xu Wuji asked.

    Xu Ji respectfully answered, "The Acting Bureau Director is perceptive, and I have learned a lot under him."

    Xu Wuji nodded approvingly. Xu Ji was one of the Voidforce Universes most talented youths, and he had even met Lord Xu himself. No one would underestimate the young man.

    After looking around the room, Xu Wuji''s eyes fell onto Lu Yin. "Today, I came here to tell you that the Transcendent Universe''s Bureau has requested Xuan Qis presence to help them hunt down spies. Xuan Qi, what do you think?"

    Lu Yin calmly responded, "The Sixverse Association''s Bureau is a single organization. If the Transcendent Universe''s Bureau needs my help, I won''t hesitate to provide assistance."

    Xu Wuji said, "The Transcendent Universe''s Bureau is in a very different situation from us. There, the Bureau exists in name only, while the You familys position in the Bureau is nothing more than a title. I cant say what You Fang''s goal for inviting you is, but if you don''t want to go, I can turn down the invitation for you."

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Capturing spies is this junior''s lifelong mission. We have already managed to eliminate a good number of spies here in the Voidforce Universe, which means that our primary task is currently to focus on the interrogations. The people we currently suspect to be spies can be left alone to run about for a while longer, as it will lure back spies who have already fled. After some time passes, we can move out and capture them. For now, I''ll go to the Transcendent Universe and see if I can capture some spies there so that I can continue doing my part to serve mankind."

    After considering the situation for a moment, Xu Wuji agreed. "Alright, as long as you are willing, thats fine. Choose whoever you want to take with you."

    Lu Yin answered, "Boss Guan, Skinner, and Xu Ji."

    "What about me?" Xu Yue cried out in rm.

    "Quiet, Little Yue! The Bureau Director is here. Dont be a brat," Xu Ji scolded.

    Xu Yue stuck out her tongue before quickly ducking her head. Even so, her eyes flickered over to Lu Yin.

    As for Lu Yin, he thought back to Xu Yues rtionship with You Lele and quickly added, "You cane too."

    Xu Yue was immediately satisfied.

    "Bureau Director, we are currently missing a Void Morphora on our team, and the Transcendent Universe is not a safe ce. I would rather not risk my life there." Lu Yin turned back to Xu Wuji.

    Xu Wuji raised an eyebrow. "You want to a Void Morphora to apany you?"

    Lu Yin nodded, unperturbed by the possibility of Xu Wuji suspecting him for having ulterior motives over his excessive efforts in trying to bring Old Dian back. Who would not want a Void Morphora?

    Xu Wuji rubbed his forehead. "It wont be easy to find a Void Morphora willing to help you. Let me ask around and see if theres anyone willing to make this trip with you, but don''t get your hopes up. Every Void Morphora is trying to break through to the next level."

    "If its impossible to find anyone, then there''s nothing that we can do about it," Lu Yin said.

    Xu Wuji left, looking for a Void Morphora to join the Bureau and apany Xuan Qi, even only temporarily.

    However, just as the man had suspected, not a single Void Morphora was willing to join the Bureau. All of them were either focused on their own cultivation or needed elsewhere. Who in the world was free enough to apany Xuan Qi to the Transcendent Universe? Ultimately, Xu Wuji could only offer Lu Yin a bit of constion and some resources.

    Lu Yin bluntly asked for a white energy converter, only to have the request instantly shot down by Xu Wuji.

    A white energy converter was no different from finding a free Semi-Progenitor. Even if the Transcendent Universe was willing to sell such a thing to Xu Wuji due to his status as a peak powerhouse, the man would have to pay a steep price for such a treasure.

    "If you''re that worried, just don''t go," Xu Wuji said, rolling his eyes.

    Lu Yin sighed in resignation. "Then just forget it."

    "I do have one suggestion for yousince You Fang has invited you to the Transcendent Universe, ask him for a white energy converter. The You family should have some," Xu Wuji casually remarked. Of course, that was also not going to happen. Publicly, the Transcendent Universe admitted to only having thirty white energy converters in total. This was Xu Wujis hint for Xuan Qi to give up.

    Since he had failed to obtain any real help from Xu Wuji, Lu Yin could only take Boss Guan, Skinner, Xu Ji, and Xu Yue with him to the Transcendent Universe.

    While Lu Yin was making his various preparations, the You family had officially submitted a proposal to the Ruling Council to invite Xuan Qi to assist the Transcendent Universes Bureau to capture spies. The Ruling Council did not hesitate at all to report the matter to He Ran, and she instantly agreed to it.

    "Youre willing to allow Xuan Qi to get closer to the You family?" Uncle Mo''s voice rang out.

    He Ran''s expression turned heavy. "The You family only submitted their proposal as a formality. Even if the Ruling Council had refused, they still would have invited Xuan Qi.

    "Would the You family really openly defy the Ruling Council?"

    "I cant say, as no one knows how strong the You family truly is. For the moment, I just want to find out Xuan Qis attitude."

    "Ill bring him to you."

    "Thats not necessary. Well just wait and see. The You family may have always been indifferent to the Ruling Council, but they have always been polite to me. Despite us having several ns thats targeted them, they have never retaliated. This sudden invitation to Xuan Qi might really be because they want to capture spies.

    What about Bai Qian? Has she had any contact with the You family recently?"

    "No, I have been keeping a very close eye on her, and she has not had any contact with the You family. Also, they will never interfere in this sort ofpetition."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2637: A Confirmed Fact

    Chapter 2637: A Confirmed Fact

    At that moment, Ke Jian arrived. "Senior, the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau has officially epted the You familys invitation, and they have agreed to send over Xuan Qi, Boss Guan, Skinner, Xu Ji, and Xu Yue to our Transcendent Universe to help the You family hunt down spies."

    "Already?" Uncle Mo stepped out.

    Ke Jian quickly offered Uncle Mo a deep bow.

    He Ran gave a small smile. "It appears that my little brother Xuan Qi is quite eager to improve his rtionship with the You family."

    "Could that be because of Xu Yue?" Ke Jian asked.

    He Ran was caught off guard. "Xu Yue?"

    Ke Jian exined, "I can see why everyone else in his group was selected, as even Xu Ji was chosen so that he could gain experience, but Xu Yue is different. She is neither powerful nor particrly talented. She may be considered a genius, but she is not exceptional. Even so, she is joining Xuan Qi here in our Transcendent Universe. The only reason I can think of for that is her close rtionship with the You familys You Lele."

    "So this Xu Yue has a close rtionship with You Lele?" Uncle Mo was surprised.

    Ke Jian quickly outlined the two girls rtionship. He had been keeping an eye on the Sixverse Academy.

    Uncle Mo voiced a guess, "Could the You family have invited Xuan Qi because of Xu Yue and You Leles connection?"

    He Rans eyes sparkled. "Lets hope so. We dont need to do anything at all for now other than to watch and wait."

    "So, is this the Transcendent Universe? This my first time here," Skinnermented.

    At the moment, representatives of the Voidforce Universes Bureau had arrived in the region of the Transcendent Universe that belonged to the You family. As they looked around, it was possible to see countless tiny objects. They looked rather like miniature versions of bestowal art carriers, and they existed for as far as the eye could see. No one knew what they were.

    Lu Yin knew that there were already a number of eyes on them. He and the others were being watched by the You family, He Ran, as well as other organizations from the Transcendent Universe. It was even possible that the ruler himself was looking over.

    "Lele is on her way," Xu Yue stated after speaking with Lele. The young woman sounded quite excited to be reunited with her friend.

    Everyone silently waited.

    Suddenly, Boss Guan released his voidforce energy, which triggered an rm. All of the surrounding miniature bestowal art carriers started to stir, and it looked like they were targeting the people from the Voidforce Universe. Boss Guan instantly felt a prickle of danger, and he knew that these devices posed a threat to him.

    Everyone else warily looked around, but the disturbance from the machines was only momentary. You Lele''s arrival caused everything to return to normal.

    "Never use any power here that isnt from this universe, as thatll get you into trouble." You Lele arrived in her usual disheveled state. Her hair was wild, and it looked as though it had not been washed in days. Bits of white dandruff fell from her head with each step she took.

    Xu Yue grimaced. "Lele, you''re filthy."

    You Lele looked over. "Xu Yue, how dare you call me filthy! Get over here."

    "No! You''re disgusting, so stay away."

    "Get over here."

    "No! I won''t."

    Lu Yin was in no hurry, and he patiently watched the two girls bicker. It had clearly been the right decision to bring Xu Yue along, as the situation was not nearly as tense as it would have been without her.

    You Lele led the way, and the group quickly moved into the You familys territory, the Ziyou Realm.

    Before the Bestowal Art was created, this region had had a different name, but with the development of a groundbreaking cultivation technology, the You family had rapidly evolved into a colossal entity that could influence the entire Transcendent Universe. They had quickly expanded beyond their home and had eventually imed nearly one-fifth of the universe and renamed it the Ziyou Realm, all of which fell under their control.

    The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had not objected.

    Lu Yin and his party had been waiting at the border of the Ziyou Realm. With Lele escorting them, they officially entered the You familys territory.

    "Are all of those things bestowal art carriers?" Xu Yue asked in shock.

    You Lele gloated, "Those are prototype carriers. My You family pioneered the Bestowal Art, and we are constantly trying out new and innovative ideas. What youre seeing arent just prototypes, as they also serve as defensive measures against enemies. If I hadnt arrived in time, all of you wouldve been sted into oblivion."

    Lu Yin observed one of the tiny bestowal art carriers they passed by. At its core was a sourcebox.

    The basic principle of the Bestowal Art was to analyze a sourcebox and extract the matter and energy contained within it to release a burst of energy. Therger the sourcebox, the more power that could be extracted, and subsequently, the more powerful the Bestowal Art.

    Could there truly be so many sourceboxes for each one of the countless tiny bestowal art carriers to have one at their core?

    Did the Transcendent Universe also call them sourceboxes?

    Before long, Lu Yin caught sight of a muchrger sourcebox. As they ventured deeper into the Ziyou Realm, he started to catch sight of much, muchrger sourceboxes.

    <em>One, two, three </em>As they traveled along, he noticed three sourceboxes the size of Earth. After that, he saw an evenrger sourcebox. It wasrger than all the sourceboxes currently being used in Shenwu Continent''s Sealing Path sourcebox array.

    Just how much power would be unleashed if all of these sourceboxes were used by the Bestowal Art?

    A sourcebox was essentially the umted dust of the universe. By using that energy in an attack, one was effectively leveraging the power of the universe itself. How had the person from the You family who had created the Bestowal Arte up with such an ingenious idea?

    Humans truly were creatures of creativity.

    As they traveled along, Lele offered exnations of many of the experiments that the You family was carrying out. Of course, she only shared the publicly avable details.

    Lu Yin was convinced that the You family contained a hidden strength that could shake the megaverse.

    "Why are you staying so close to me?" Lu Yin found it rather odd that, ever since the group had entered the Ziyou Realm, You Lele had been staying very close to him, either deliberately or unconsciously. Even Xu Yue had noticed the change.

    You Lele matter-of-factly answered, "I''m watching you."

    Boss Guan and Skinner nced at each other and then immediately shifted positions so that they were between You Lele and Lu Yin.

    You Lele frowned. "Move. Dont get in my way."

    "So, you''re following your father''s instructions and following me. Youre going to watch as I hunt for spies?" Lu Yinughed.

    You Lele replied, "You definitely have ulterior motives. I rarely agree with my father, but every time I do, we''ve always been right. Not once have we been wrong when we both agreed on something."

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, keep watching and see what my purpose is."

    "Lele, you dont happen to like this guy, do you?" Xu Yue leaned close to Lele to quietly tease the girl.

    You Lele frowned again as she turned to stare at Xu Yue. After a moment, she simply replied, "Possibly."

    Everyone was stunned. Even Lu Yin was taken aback by the response.

    You Lele turned back to Lu Yin. "That is, if you''re smart enough and are willing to be a part of the You family."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I don''t want to, and I''m not smart."

    "I can see that," Lele replied.

    Lu Yin really wanted to hit the girl.

    Xu Yueughed loudly. "Lele, you''re as adorable as ever!"

    Suddenly, You Lele quickly pped a hand over Xu Yue''s mouth before instantly leaping away. "Xu Yue, is it tasty? It''s dandruff."

    Xu Yue shrieked so loud that Xu Ji and the rest felt that their eardrums were about to burst. "Lele, Im going to kill you!"

    "Haha,e on!"

    As Lele and Xu Yue yfully bickered with each other, the group quickly passed through the Ziyou Realm and arrived at the You family''s home, where they met You Fang.

    "The Voidforce Universes Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi greets the Transcendent Universes Bureau Director You Fang." Lu Yin formally greeted the man.

    Behind him, the rest of his people respectfully bowed in unison.

    You Fang nodded, his eyes never leaving Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, what is your impression of my Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yinughed. "This junior may have gone to the Sixverse Academy from the Transcendent Universe, but I''m ashamed to admit that I don''t know very much about the Transcendent Universe."

    "Hehe, I don''t believe that at all," You Fang stated.

    Afraid that the man would reveal that Lu Yin had been the one to approach the Transcendent Universe about cooperating, Lu Yin quickly asked, "May I meet with the members of the Transcendent Universe''s Bureau and browse their past cases?"

    You Fang generously provided Lu Yin with the Transcendent Universes Bureau''s entire database. Additionally, the man gave Lu Yin the authority to monitor the Transcendent Universe.

    In the Transcendent Universe, the Bureau never actively investigated anyone. Instead, they relied on the universes surveince system to search for spies, which limited the Bureaus overall effectiveness. They were only able to catch a few rather unimportant spies. This was because of both the Transcendent Universes civilization itself, as well as the You familys preferred way of handling things.

    Lu Yin had taken the initiative to approach the You family, hoping to use the Bureau to gain ess to the Transcendent Universe. He had told the You family when he first approached them that they did not need to give him ess to the system that monitored the Transcendent Universe, so he was surprised that You Fang had taken that extra step.

    "Senior, what is this?" Lu Yin asked, rather confused at what he was seeing. He was overlooking a vastndmass, and beneath himy a map of the entire Transcendent Universe. From where he stood, it was possible to observe the real location corresponding to any point on the map, provided that the surveince system covered that location.

    You Fang replied, "Since my You family invited you over, we will naturally provide you with our full support."

    "But this junior told you before that I dont need this authority," Lu Yin said. He was very worried of rousing the You familys suspicions.

    You Fang shrugged indifferently. "It doesn''t matter, as this isnt anything confidential. This surveince system will often save you a lot of time, though it can''t observe He Ran or members of the Ruling Council, let alone the ces where cultivation technologies are being secretly researched."

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he tried to parse through You Fang''s words to determine what the man was really saying, but the patriarch said nothing more. He casually pointed a finger, and the underlying map zoomed in and erged the area that had been pointed at. Lu Yin felt as though he had just been transported to that point in the universe, and he was able to directly see everything that was happening there in real time.

    He saw a spacecraft go speeding by, as well as the stars ands move. The simtion was quite realistic, and it even felt quite simr to what he felt when he used the Cosmic Art to observe the Fifth Maind.

    This was the control that the Transcendent Universe wielded. They imed to have fully analyzed all matter and energy within the Transcendent Universe. If any foreign energy appeared, it would instantly create amotion.

    As the immersive map zoomed back out, Lu Yin looked down at his feet, where he could see the entire Transcendent Universe. Was the Transcendent Universe manipting him, or was he manipting the Transcendent Universe? It was a truly bizarre feeling.

    The You family relied on this surveince system to lead the Transcendent Universes Bureau. They did not have a single person who performed Ning Ran''s role in the Voidforce Universe, not to mention someone like Old Dian.

    "Senior, do you truly intend to have You Lele follow me around?" Lu Yin asked.

    A smile spread across You Fang''s face as he stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "What? Are you afraid of being found out?"

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Senior, it seems like you have other goals for me aside from catching spies."

    You Fang looked rather intrigued. "You absolutely have additional goals yourself, and those must be rted to He Ran."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    "However, whether those ns will help He Ran is something that I do not know," You Fang finished. He looked up at the stars, and then back down at Lu Yin. "I submitted a proposal to the Ruling Council suggesting that we invite you here to help us uncover spies. They only sent a response after you arrived, which indicates that no one gave the Ruling Council any orders about you. Considering He Ran''s pursuit of perfection, if you being here was part of her n, she would have never risked the possibility of the council rejecting my proposal, which means that, when you first contacted my You family, He Ran knew nothing about it."

    Lu Yinughed. "Or maybe thats just what He Ran is hoping youll believe."

    You Fang sneered. "I know her quite well, and my assumption is correct. I, You Fang, confirm it to be a fact."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2638: Found It

    Chapter 2638: Found It

    Lu Yin was astonished by You Fang''s unshakeable confidence. "Is that why you are willing to grant me the power to monitor the entire Transcendent Universe, Senior?"

    You Fang replied, "Youre answering pretty quickly, but your conclusion is wrong. I always intended to give you ess to the surveince system."

    The mans expression suddenly turned solemn. "After all, only by giving you what you want will I be able to see your true intentions."

    The sight of the Transcendent Universes starry expanse was not much different from the Fifth Mainds. The sun of the You family''s home soon dipped down to reveal the night sky, which let Lu Yin see one of Leles miniature bestowal art carriers hovering nearby in outer space. It subtly illuminated the, shining down upon billions of people.

    As he looked up at the bestowal art carrier, he noticed that it was shaped like a rabbit. The strange shape gave Lu Yin a bit of insight into Lele''s rather twisted sense of humor. The billions of people living on the had no option but to live with that bizarre moon.

    Over the course of his day, Lu Yins interactions with both You Fang and Lele had given him the impression that both father and daughter were rather flippant about everything. They seemed to have no concerns and were extremely self-confident. In fact, their portrayed confidence was so extreme that Lu Yin would believe it if they thought that they were the true rulers of the Transcendent Universe.

    How many ck energy converters did the You family have secreted away? Lu Yin was quite curious about that. Furthermore, how much further had they developed the Bestowal Art beyond what they had released to the public?

    "I made it look really cute, didn''t I?" You Lele chirped, pointing up at the night sky as she suddenly appeared just outside the courtyard that Lu Yin had been given.

    Xu Yue also arrived. "Lele, you arepletely shameless! How is that pig cute?"

    "It''s clearly a rabbit! Stupid Yue Yue!" Lele responded furiously as she started chasing Xu Yue around.

    Lu Yin closed his window. You Lele was really stubborn. She was keeping an extremely close eye on him. The You family had to have a deeper purpose in targeting him so openly, but Lu Yin had never dealt with such a situation before.

    Truthfully, it was quite a pain to deal with people who were both intelligent and extremely confident, especially because the father and daughter duo had actually hit the nail on the head.

    Normally, Lu Yin and the rest of the bureau would have tob through the gathered data before they could determine where to start investigating.

    Lu Yin went to meet with You Fang again, and he asked that the Voidforce Universes bureau members be granted ess to the Transcendent Universes coordinate seal.

    The man did not refuse, and he even personally led Xuan Qi to the coordinate seal and allowed the young man to leave a mark on it.

    Each universe in the Sixverse Association had coordinate seals that foreigners were allowed to use to find and ess the universe. In the past, Xuan Qi had not had a high enough status to qualify to use it, but that had more than changed.

    Now, Lu Yin had gained open ess to both the Voidforce Universe and the Transcendent Universe. He was also able to get to the Three Monarchs Universe with the members of the Fenglei n. He was still missing ess to the Arboreal Realm, the Lost ns universe, and the Cyclic Universe.

    In the following days, You Lele sat outside of Lu Yin''s quarters every single day. She had no concern for appearances, and no one in her family reprimanded her for her behavior. She only watched Lu Yin, which was both exhausting and frustrating.

    Tearing through the void, Lu Yin returned to Aeternus Nation.

    The You family was absolutely convinced that Xuan Qi had an ulterior motive in approaching them, and since that was the case, there was no need for him to continue hiding things. He would allow them to figure things outthat is, if they were able to do so.

    After arriving in Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin met with Luo Lao''er and took him back to the Transcendent Universe.

    "Brother-inw, can you really enter the Transcendent Universe on your own now? Not even I can do that!" Luo Lao''er eximed in surprise.

    Lu Yin had brought Luo Lao''er to the Transcendent Universe so that he could get in touch with his mysterious information broker. As long as Lu Yin was in the Transcendent Universe, he would be able to use either his die''s Possession by consuming the Transcendent Universe''s resources, or he could use Luo Laoers methods. At the moment, Lu Yin had none of the Transcendent Universes resources, so he hoped to be able to buy some hints on where to start investigating.

    "He has it!" Luo Lao''er shouted as he stared at the information appearing on his dark green lens.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Was it actually possible to buy information on spies? "Is it reallypletely impossible to find out who this person is?"

    "At the least, <em>I</em> can''t find out," Luo Lao''er said helplessly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. It seemed that his first order of business was going to be to acquire some of the Transcendent Universes resources. Possessing people to obtain their memories remained his most reliable method of acquiring information. If Luo Laoers information broker was able to sell information regarding spies, then this person had most likely already uncovered Luo Lao''er''s true identity, and they might have even discovered clues regarding Lu Yin''s true identity.

    At this thought, Lu Yin quickly sent Luo Lao''er back to Aeternus Nation.

    At the same time, elsewhere, illuminated by a dim firelight, a man appeared rather confused. "Luo Qian? Why is he buying information about spies? Has he returned?

    "There''s no reason for him to buy information about spies. If hes doing that, then who is he buying the information for? The You family? Or could it be someone else?

    "Monarch Mu has vanished, as has the Fenglei n, but Luo Qian just returned out of the blue and tried to buy information on spies. Intriguing Is the You family supporting him?

    "In coborating with the Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs are essentially cooperating with He Ran. That means that the You family might be the group that is currently going against the Three Monarchs."

    Five days after arriving in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin decided to investigate the recent destruction of research data.

    The research results had been destroyed by spies, which had led to Xie Wu, Zuo Yu, and several others being punished. If not for Lu Yins intervention, Zuo Gong would have been forced to step down from the Ruling Council, and Xie Wu would have died.

    "I have some fated connection to this incident, and I am a man who believes in fate." Zuo Yu led Lu Yin and the rest of his team to where the records had been destroyed.

    Naturally, if they were going to investigate the incident, they had to ask the people who had been directly involved.

    "Where''s Xie Wu?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zuo Yu''s expression fell. "He''s returned to being He Shu''s dog."

    "He Shu took him back?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    "Xie Wu has been with He Shu for many years, and he knows He Shu too well. If Xie Wu dies, He Shu wouldnt care, but as long as Xie Wu is alive, He Shu will definitely keep him close." Zuo Yus voice dropped low. "He has betrayed your kindness."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "It doesnt bother me. We were never friends anyways."

    "There''s really no need to investigate what happened to the data. There arent any clues. The spy who destroyed the information has an innate gift rted to concealment. There are some people who suspect that they might have a connection to the Cloudflow Universe," Zuo Yu said, sharing everything she knew with Xuan Qi. It was true that the Cloudflow Universes unique energy did have some properties that helped people to remain hidden, but Zi Jing had already mentioned to Lu Yin that everyone from the Cloudflow Universe had been ced under the Transcendent Universes surveince, though this was a secret to most people.

    The Transcendent Universe had thoroughly analyzed the Cloudflow Universe, which meant that the indigenous people of the Cloudflow Universe were unable to hide any of their actions from the Transcendent Universe.

    Who had suggested that the destruction of the data might have been perpetrated by someone from the Cloudflow Universe? Did that person not have a thorough understanding of the Transcendent Universe? Or was it possible that they were actually trying to keep the true culprit hidden?

    "Who suggested that someone from the Cloudflow Universe could be responsible?" Lu Yin asked.

    Zuo Yu responded, "Quite a few people have been talking about it, and the rumors have already be quite widespread."

    Lu Yin turned to You Lele. "Help me look into who first started spreading these rumors about a connection to the Cloudflow Universe. Use your family''s influence, as there might be some problems if this person holds a high position."

    You Lele''s eyes lit up. "I didn''t think of that. You actually do have a bit of skill when ites to digging up spies."

    Lu Yin just shook his head. This was not a skill, but the simple result of the sheer quantity of information that he had ess to.

    If he had not learned that the Cloudflow Universe had already been fully analyzed by the Transcendent Universe, he would have never noticed a problem with the rumors that were being spread.

    This was precisely why information could be such a terrible weapon.

    Zuo Yu did not really understand what the problem was, but she chose not to ask any further questions. After all, it was only a rumor that was being spread, so how could the person who had made the suggestion be a problem?

    Zuo Yu also understood that she needed to watch her words whenever she spoke in front of Xuan Qi, as he was clearly someone who picked apart each and every word.

    Once the group arrived at where the data had been destroyed, Lu Yin put on a show of examining the region, and he even had Boss Guan and the others take a look around. They wandered about, confused and uncertain of what they were looking for or what they were supposed to find.

    You Lele blinked. "This ce has already beenbed over repeatedly. Do you really think that you''re smarter than all of us?"

    Xu Yue red at her. "Be quiet!"

    You Lele rolled her eyes and started muttering something about feeding Xu Yue dandruff.

    At that moment, lines swept past You Leles body, and a grid of lines filled the region.

    The girls pupils suddenly shrank as she stared at the lines that had suddenly appeared beside her. What was this feeling?

    You Lele was not alone, as a surreal sensation hit everyone within the area of the grid.

    Lu Yin used his voidforce energy to manifest the spatial lines that he could see with his innate gift, and for others, it was as if their eyes were being opened to a new world. For those who were unable to perceive voidforce energy, they only felt something strange that gave them a feeling of indescribable danger.

    People always feared the unknown, and even intelligent people like You Lele, who enjoyed exploring the unknown, felt intimidated by the lines that had appeared. No one dared to move.

    The lens that covered You Leles right eye started continuously shing red, warning her of danger.

    At the same moment, various monitoring systems were also triggered. The moment the Spiral Domain appeared, the entire region started to erupt.

    Whenever the Transcendent Universe detected an energy that was beyond their knowledge, it would immediately be reported to the Ruling Council, as well as to peak powerhouses who possessed ck energy converters.

    It took mere moments for a shadow to descend, apanied by the overwhelming pressure of a ck energy converter that caused the void to start to warp.

    Lu Yin understood that, while there were various drawbacks to energy converters, their greatest advantage was concealment. If a power converter was not equipped, no one would ever know if a powerful individual was right next to them.

    "Senior, this junior is Xuan Qi, and I have been ordered to search for spies," Lu Yin said with a bow.

    The man who arrived looked rather intimidating. He had an angr face, and all of the exposed portions of his arms were covered with scars. He examined the lines of the Spiral Domain and asked, "Is this Spiral Domain?"

    "Do you know it, Senior?" Lu Yin replied.

    The man nodded. "I''ve seen it a few times on the Endless Frontier. Are you the Xuan Qi who is the Voidforce Universes Acting Bureau Director who inherited the Spiral Domain from Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    "I am."

    The man looked impressed. I heard that you hadprehended Spiral Domain, and in less than a year at that. I didnt actually believe it before, but the proof is right in front of me. You are truly a prodigy.

    I am Wen Shi, the current guardian of the Transcendent Universe. If there is anything that you need, feel free to reach out to me. Spies are like rats, a terrible nuisance. If you can eradicate them, I''ll be forever grateful to you."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "I will not betray your expectations, Senior."

    Wen Shi nodded, briefly nced over at You Lele, and left.

    From the moment Lu Yin released his voidforce energy, he had started silently counting. It had taken only five breaths for Wen Shi to arrive. Just five breaths.

    In that case, how had a spy managed to destroy the research data? It would only be possible if Wen Shi had not been nearby at the time and had only rushed over after the data was already destroyed.

    It was possible that he had not been nearby. After all, not even a Progenitor could cross the entire Transcendent Universe in an instant.

    The grid disappeared.

    Everyone else within its range was finally able to breathe normally again.

    You Lele moved closer to Lu Yin, her eyes sparkling. "What is that power? I cant understand it at all!"

    Lu Yin casually brushed her aside. "Follow me."

    "Acting Bureau Director, where are we going?" Boss Guan asked.

    Lu Yin appeared determined. "I''ve found some tracks."

    Everyone was surprised. So soon?

    You Lele was incredibly skeptical. How could any developments havee so quickly?

    Regardless of whether they believed him, Lu Yin led everyone along a strange path that led in a specific direction. He was deliberately following the path instead of traveling in a straight line. Since he had imed that his Spiral Domain allowed him to see evidence of peoples movement through the void, it was important that he deliver a convincing performance.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2639: Profligate Descendent

    Chapter 2639: Profligate Descendent

    "Hey, what trail are we following?" Lele asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin solemnly responded, "This is the path that the spy took."

    You Lele did not answer. She refused to believe that Xuan Qi could track the spy with nothing more than Spiral Domain.

    On the other hand, Xu Ji felt excited. Could Spiral Domain really expose traces that had been left in the void? Supposedly, Xuan Qi had used the same technique to track down Yun Wu, and it had also trapped a powerful corpse king. Xu Ji had initially been skeptical, but if they really did find the spy, he would have to believe the rumors.

    Lu Yin himself was not certain how reliable the information about the spy might be. If they discovered that the information was not urate, Lu Yin would simply im that the spy had deliberately misled them with a false trail. No one would be able to refute such a im, not unless Xu Wuwei himself arrived.

    However, Lu Yin was not disappointed with the results, as the information that he had bought proved urate.

    Lu Yin and the rest of the group arrived in front of a very confused woman.

    Skinner immediately attacked the woman, and she tried to resist. She used her strange innate gift, which allowed her to split her body into countless pieces that she then spread across arge area. Not a single trace was left behind.

    She had thought that she had gotten away after destroying the research data, but as soon as she was captured, she immediately confessed to everything.

    After seeing the woman''s innate gift andparing it to what the surveince system had noticed in the area before the datas destruction, it instantly confirmed that the woman was the spy.

    It was only Lu Yin''s fifth day in the Transcendent Universe. In just five days, he had already found a spy. The speed at which he provided results astounded the Transcendent Universe.

    The Ruling Council turned their attention to Xuan Qi.

    He Ran sat straight up when she heard the news. "He caught the spy?"

    Ke Jian respectfully replied, "Yes, and he even has more than sufficient evidence."

    He Ran waspletely astonished. "How did he do it?"

    Ke Jian replied, "Apparently, he used a battle technique known as Spiral Domain. Senior Wen Shi might know more."

    Wen Shi soon arrived. While he demonstrated very respectful behavior towards He Ran, the man was not subservient, unlike Ke Jian.

    He Ran used a somewhat formal tone to speak with Wen Shi. "Mr. Wen, what is Spiral Domain?

    Wen Shi replied, "It''s an iprehensible battle technique that uses the power of space. It''s unique to the Voidforce Universe''s Xu Wuwei. When the technique was first used on the Endless Frontier, even the Seven Skygods were stunned by it, and theymented that it relied on spatial maniption. With this, Senior Xu Wuwei

    Wen Shi gave a rather lengthy exnation, but it boiled down to the fact that Spiral Domain was a truly formidable battle technique.

    He Rans brow furrowed. She had made sure to be well informed of everything pertaining to Xuan Qi, and she knew that he had apparentlyprehended an extraordinary battle technique. However, unlike Bai Qian, He Ran did not care about personal strength. She only pursued perfection. For this reason, she had somewhat overlooked his Spiral Domain, but unexpectedly, she was now learning that it was a battle technique that could astonish even someone like Wen Shi.

    "Uncle Mo should have seen it before as well," Wen Shi concluded, as he turned to look towards a corner of the room.

    Uncle Mo stepped out, his hands sped behind his back as he thought back. "I have seen it. Senior Xu Wuwei''s Spiral Domain is beyond understanding, especially for those of use from the Transcendent Universe who rely on energy converters. It''s said that Xuan Qi has discovered many spies by tracking their movements through the void.

    Wen Shi nodded. "It sounds unbelievable, but it isnt impossible."

    He Ran was shocked. "Is such a thing actually possible?"

    Uncle Mo smiled bitterly. "Our ck energy converters allow us to reach heights of power that most can only dream of, but this shortcut to power naturallyes with a pricewe merely use that pinnacle strength, and we are not masters of it."

    He Ran turned away, thinking back to everything she knew about Xuan Qi. The young man was growing increasingly valuable, and it turned out that she had still been underestimating him.

    It was time to have another talk with her younger brother.

    "Uncle Mo, please bring Xuan Qi to me," He Ran said.

    Wen Shi frowned. "Madam He Ran, Xuan Qi has uncovered many spies, providing a great service to the Transcendent Universe and humanity as a whole. I hope that you will treat him kindly."

    He Ran chuckled. "Mr. Wen, you may not be aware of this, but Xuan Qi is someone I regard as my younger brother."

    Wen Shi was caught off guard. "I see. I was too hasty with my words."

    "Thank you for showing such concern for my little brother, Mr. Wen," He Ran replied with augh.

    Uncle Mo nodded at his orders and left.

    Wen Shi also departed.

    After being captured, the spy was taken back to the You familys territory. While Lu Yin had been out searching for the spy, the You family had not moved any slower than Lu Yin. They had already identified the person who had suggested that the Cloudflow Universe could be responsible for the destruction of the research data.

    Identifying the person was one thing, but questioning them was something else entirely. The person who had first started the rumors was actually a member of the Ruling Council, and the suggestion of the Cloudflow Universes involvement hade up during a Council meeting.

    As soon as Lu Yin heard about this, he became increasingly certain that something was off about the man.

    Cloudflow himself had been captured by the Transcendent Universe, and the Cloudflow Universe had been fully analyzed. Despite these details, a member of the Ruling Council had still tried to pin me on the Cloudflow Universe, and he had even spread rumors about it. Clearly, there was a problem.

    A member of the Ruling Council had to know that Cloudflow was a captive. If Zuo Gong was aware of how many ck energy converters actually belonged to the Transcendent Universe, then Cloudflow''s captivity should not be a secret to the Ruling Council either. After all, even the natives of the Cloudflow Universe were aware of the matter, so how could the Ruling Council be ignorant?

    It was clear that the rumors had been deliberately spread to mislead people.

    "What should we do about this person?" Lu Yin asked. Despite how suspicious the mans behavior was, he was still a member of the group that appeared to rule over the entire Transcendent Universe. This was not someone whom Lu Yin could simply arrest.

    You Lele nonchntly replied, "Fathers already gone to deal with it. When you get back to our ce, that man will be waiting there for you."

    Lu Yin nodded. As he had expected, You Fang did not fear the Ruling Council at all. All the members of the Ruling Council possessed an important status, but it was nothing more than a facade. To the truly influential people of the Transcendent Universe, it had little weight.

    However, before the Bureau members could return to the Ziyou Realm, they were stopped by Uncle Mo. "Xuan Qi, Madam He Ran wishes to see you."

    You Lele arched a brow and stepped forward. "Xuan Qi is on his way to visit my You family."

    Uncle Moughed. "Its just a quick meeting. This won''t take long."

    Lu Yin replied, "I was intending to meet with Sister Ran after this investigation finished, but since youre already here, Uncle Mo, Ill go with you and say hello to Sister Ran now."

    You Lele gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Sister Ran?"

    "Yes, Sister Ran. What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Lele showed her teeth as she scratched her head. White dandruff flew off, which forced Lu Yin to quickly take a step back. Xu Yue, Xu Ji, and everyone else also quickly retreated.

    "Thats disgusting, Xuan Qi! You''re nauseating!" You Lele spat out before walking away in disgust.

    Lu Yin was speechless. Shouldn''t he be the one who was disgusted?

    Uncle Mo''s expression turned cold. Even though Xuan Qi was the one being insulted, the words were also directed at Madam He Ran. You Lele was stepping a bit over the line of propriety. If not for the fact that Lele was the little princess of the You family, Uncle Mo would have already pped her.

    "Uncle Mo, please don''t take offense to her words. Let''s go." Lu Yin politely tried to smooth things over.

    Uncle Mo nodded and then escorted Lu Yin away while the rest of the group continued on to the Ziyou Realm.

    Once he was standing at the bottom of the flower covered stairs, Lu Yin let out a loudugh. "Sister Ran, your little brother is here to say hello."

    He Ran giggled. "You definitely arrived in the Transcendent Universe several days ago, but you didnt even think ofing to see me?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and helplessly replied, "I''ve been very busy after arriving. The You family suddenly invited me here to the Transcendent Universe to help them hunt down spies. You should know that I''ve already managed to arrest many spies in the Voidforce Universe. I can''t lose face here in the Transcendent Universe, and I also cannot allow you to lose any face. Because of that, Ive spent every minute of my time here tracking down spies, and luckily, Ive found one."

    "I heard that you found this spy almost instantly with Spiral Domain by tracking her movements through the void. It doesnt sound like it was all that difficult," He Ran said curiously.

    Uncle Mo was staring at Lu Yin, still unable to believe that the young man had mastered Spiral Domain in just half a year.

    With a bitter tone, Lu Yinmented, "If only things were so simple. Sister Ran, do you have any idea how many people leave tracks through the void, or how to differentiate those tracks? Its ratherplicated, and I needed to carefully analyze the movement patterns left by everyone who visited the database before so that I could identify who had left which tracks."

    "So much trouble? Things have been difficult for my little brother," He Ranforted with a soft tone.

    Lu Yin smiled. "As long as I don''t disgrace either of us, this much trouble isnt any problem. There''s nothing more important to me than maintaining your reputation. Everyone knows that I call you Sister Ran."

    He Ran was caught off guard by this. "Everyone knows?"

    Uncle Mo spoke up to answer, "Xuan Qi mentioned your rtionship beforeing here, so word of it should have already spread by now."

    Lu Yin asked with obvious concern, "Sister Ran, will there be any problems because of this?"

    A smile crept across He Rans face as she replied, "Of course not. I''m thrilled that you regard me as your sister."

    "Of course!" Lu Yin puffed out his chest.

    Laughing, He Ranmented, "I never gave you a wee gift thest time we met. Consider this my attempt to make up for that to you."

    A white energy converter floated over in front of Lu Yin.

    Breathing heavily, Lu Yin stuttered, "Is this a white energy converter? The second most powerful energy converters possible? Sister, this is too much!"

    A chuckle escaped He Ran. "Not at all. You already have one, so if you dont need this one, just sell it and buy whatever you do need. Honestly, I wasnt sure what to give you."

    <em>He Ran, just give me yourself! I''ll take you back to the Heavens Sect to be our lucky mascot!</em> Lu Yin mentally replied while putting on a show of gratitude.

    "Little Brother, I asked Uncle Mo to bring you here because there''s something that you need to be aware of." He Ran nced at Uncle Mo.

    Lu Yin immediately grew serious. "What is it?"

    "Xuan Qi, do you know why the You family asked you toe here and assist them in hunting down spies?" Uncle Mo asked in a somber tone.

    "I cant say, but I thought that it was rather odd myself. From what I know, for many years, the You family has barely shown any concern about their responsibilities for the Bureau, but now they appear to be very concerned, and it seems to havee from nowhere."

    "Thats where youre mistaken. The You family cares a great deal about the Bureau. A very great deal. However, something happened in the past that caused the You family''s attitude towards the Bureau to sour, and it also led to the current situation," Uncle Mo exined.

    "The You family once had a wayward descendent known as You Xian"

    Lu Yin silently listened to Uncle Mo''s story. This was the first time Lu Yin had heard any of this information, as he had only previously known that the Ruling Council had used the Bureau to divide the You family''s power. From Uncle Mo, Lu Yin was learning about an alternate version of those events.

    You Xian had been a notorious spendthrift in the You family, and he had enjoyed a terrible reputation. He had been regarded as the Transcendent Universes model degenerate. The reason for this was that You Xian had squandered all of his family''s wealth as he attempted to consolidate the Bureau.

    You Xian had indeed been a spendthrift, but he had been a spendthrift with ideals and goals.

    His ultimate goal had been to consolidate all of the Sixverse Association''s Bureau branches, transforming it into a cohesive entity independent of the Sixverse Association that would have the authority to arrest spies and deal with them. To achieve this goal, You Xian had ceaselessly spent the You family''s almost inexhaustible wealth to create awork of contacts from all parts of the Sixverse Association.

    However, all of You Xians aplishments had be a joke, as he had been seen as a spendthrift who had not only failed to aplish his goal, but had also led the You family into generations of decline.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2640: Understand

    Chapter 2640: Understand

    If not for the You familys incredibly robust foundation, as well as their mastery of the Bestowal Art, then the family would have entirely disappeared after You Fang''s grandfather squandered most of their wealth.

    You Xian was You Fang''s grandfather, and while You Fang appears indifferent towards the Bureau, in truth, he has always wanted to see his grandfather''s wishes fulfilled. His goal is to make all those who ridiculed their family eat their words and restore the You family''s honor," Uncle Mo stared at Lu Yin while exining, "You Fang has been carefully watching everything that youve done in the Voidforce Universe. Hes targeting you, and he wants to use your influence to unite the Voidforce Universe and Transcendent Universe Bureau branches. Next, he will undoubtedly try to exploit your ability to uncover spies,bining that with the You family''s influence to fully integrate the two Bureau branches. After that, the You family will seize control of the behemoth."

    Lu Yin felt as though a light bulb had just lit up in his mind, and he stood there, stunned by what he had just been told. How had he not thought of this possibility before?

    All along, he had only been thinking about how he could exploit the Bureau to stir up troubled waters so that he could fish and acquire the resources that he needed. He had even considered the possibility of getting some revenge by making things difficult for the Sixverse Association. However,pared to You Fang''s grandfather''s goal, Lu Yin had set his sights far too low.

    If the various Bureau branches could be fully integrated, it would create a mammoth organization within the Sixverse Association with the authority to hunt down spies on behalf of the Sixverse Association itself. If such an integration seeded, the Bureau would be absolutely terrifying.

    On top of that, the Bureau already had several Progenitor-level powerhouses supporting it, which meant that unifying all the Bureau branches would instantly make it more powerful than even the current Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin felt his breath quickening; this goal was a real possibility.

    "You understand now, dont you? Madam He Ran did not want you to be cluelessly exploited by You Fang, which is why she told me to warn you," Uncle Mo stated.

    Lu Yin bowed low to Uncle Mo. "I understand how things stand now. Thank you for your warning, Uncle Mo. I understand, I truly understand."

    Uncle Mo felt quite satisfied. This youth had a good attitude. "Its good that you get it."

    "You Fang is too smart, and You Lele is also acknowledged as the smartest person in her generation. Little Brother, I''m worried that something bad might happen as a result of you spending time with the You family, He Ran said in a concerned tone.

    Lu Yin replied, Don''t worry, Sister Ran. Thanks to the warning that you and Uncle Mo have given me, I know what to do. I won''t let you down.

    He Ran pursed her lips. "Are you sure? I can always speak with You Fang to have you return to the Voidforce Universe. No matter what happens, You Fang won''t openly act against me.

    Madam, doing so will lower your position!" Uncle Mo immediately spoke up.

    Lu Yin quickly tried to reassure the woman. "Dont worry, Sister Ran. You Fang won''t find it easy to take advantage of me now, and on top of that, we are in the Transcendent Universe. I dont believe that the You family can do anything to me while you are keeping an eye out for me. It will be fine."

    Uncle Mo cautioned, "Never underestimate You Fang."

    Lu Yin nodded gravely. "I won''t."

    He Ran still looked quite concerned, but she still conceded. "Since youve made up your mind, Ill let this go. However, if you run into any trouble at all, immediately contact Uncle Mo or myself, and we will help you right away."

    Lu Yin agreed to the suggestion, and he was then escorted back by Uncle Mo.

    Once Xuan Qi left, He Ran''s face regained its normal expression: arrogant andpletely inscrutable.

    When Uncle Mo returned, he greeted the woman. "Madam."

    "Did Xuan Qi say anything else?" He Ran asked.

    Uncle Mo replied, "Not really. He repeatedly expressed his gratitude. It seems that he really was ignorant to the true reason for You Fang''s invitation."

    He Ran scoffed dismissively. "What a simpleton! If he didn''t possess at least some value, speaking to him would be aplete waste of my time. He didn''t even understand why he was brought here."

    "What shall we do now?" Uncle Mo asked.

    He Ran replied, "Well let things run their course. We should only need to keep an eye on Bai Qian for the moment, as Im concerned that the You family might try to ally themselves with her. That would put me at a disadvantage. While the You family has never interfered in these contests before, we need to be prepared for the worst."

    At this moment, Ke Jian arrived. "Madam, the You family has captured the Ruling Councils Tu Ying."

    He Ran was startled by the news. "Tu Ying? From the Ruling Council? What does the You family want with him?"

    "Apparently, he had some connection with a spy."

    Lu Yin arrived in the Ziyou Realm and found that You Lele waspletely urate: Tu Ying from the Ruling Council was already waiting for Lu Yin.

    "Huh? Is someone back after seeing his sister?" You Lele mocked the moment sheid eyes on Xuan Qi, but Lu Yin just ignored her.

    "Now that you have a sister with such a lofty status, you must think that youre also above everyone else. Do you think that youve ascended to the heavens?" You Lele continued to taunt him.

    Lu Yin disappointedly said, "My initial impression of you has been shattered."

    You Lele blinked. "What was your initial impression of me?"

    Lu Yin answered, "That you were a naive and kind-hearted woman who waspletely engrossed in her own noble cause."

    "Huh?" You Lele was left confused.

    Xu Yue shouted, "How did you ever get that impression of her? Lele is despicable, and not only is she scheming and conniving, shes alsopletely caught up in gossip!"

    You Lele''s face flushed with anger. "Stupid Yue Yue! What nonsense are you spouting now? You''re the one that''s always gossiping!"

    Xu Yue retorted, "The most important thing is that she''s cunning, and she even feeds people her dandruff."

    "Don''t be ridiculous. Ive never done that to anyone but you."

    "Stupid Lele! I''m going to kill you!"

    "Stop making trouble. Theres something serious that were working on now." You Lele rolled her eyes while letting Xu Yue pull her hair. Lele resumed mocking Lu Yin, "What did you think you''d get from trying to tter me? You came to our You family because of He Ran, didnt you? Something''s definitely fishy."

    Lu Yin replied in a casual tone, "Maybe. Take me to Tu Ying."

    "Hey! This is serious! I''m trying to figure out what youre scheming!"

    "There is no scheme."

    "I <em>know</em> that there is one."

    "Believe whatever you want."

    "It involves He Ran, doesn''t it?"

    "Thats right."

    "You admit it?"

    "I do."

    "What are you plotting?"

    "Figure it out for yourself."

    Lele remained glued to Lu Yin as they walked, interrogating him nonstop. No matter what she said or asked, Lu Yin simply agreed, which only further irritated the girl. She felt truly tempted to feed him some dandruff.

    "Xu Yue, this guy is infuriating! Do you think that he''s actually telling the truth?" You Lele vented while constantly scratching her head.

    Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "Your family asked him toe help you, so what kind of scheme could he havee up with?"

    You Lele gritted her teeth, desperately holding back from exposing the truth of the matter.

    Soon, Lu Yin found Tu Ying.

    More urately, Lu Yin heard the man.

    Even from a great distance, it was impossible to not hear Tu Ying''s thunderous roars, "How dare the You family capture me? I am Tu Ying, a member of the Ruling Council! What are you trying to do? Release me right now! You are far too arrogant"

    Following the endless shouts, Lu Yin quickly moved closer and arrived at an open expanse that had absolutely no lighting of any kind. He found a group of people from the You family standing guard around a transparent barrier. Within the enclosure, a middle-aged man paced back and forth, seething. He continued to shout, using so much force that he was panting after each line he spat out.

    Lu Yin observed the man from a distance.

    You Lele was confused by theck of action. "Aren''t you going to interrogate him?"

    "An interrogation wont give us any information. Rather, it will only make him shout louder than before. Where is your father?" Lu Yin inquired.

    You Lele rolled her eyes. "First tell me what you said to He Ran, and then Ill have my father interrogate this man."

    Lu Yin said nothing. You Fang would definitely arrive. While they had determined that Tu Ying was a spy through logical deductions, that did not mean that the man was actually a spy. Who could say if the man had just spoken poorly because he was an idiot?

    After his meeting with He Ran, Lu Yin immediately noticed that You Lele''s attitude towards him had changed. Before, Lele had watched him out of curiosity. Even though she had beenpletely convinced that he had some mysterious agenda, You Lele had not been hostile towards Xuan Qi. But after his meeting with He Ran, Lele seemed to regard him as an enemy, and there was open hostility every time she looked at him.

    "Do you You family people even understand what you are doing? The Ruling Council will not let you get away with this! We have been personally appointed by the Lord, and we have been given our own tasks toplete. Youve gone too far this time! Or does the You family actually believe that you can rece the Lord? Your Bestowal Art will never rece energy converters" Tu Ying continued his rant.

    You Fang finally arrived. He moved past Lu Yin and entered the open area.

    As soon as Tu Ying noticed You Fang''s arrival, he fell silent and gritted his teeth. He red at the patriarch and addressed him in a deep voice. "Patriarch You, I thought that you wouldnt being."

    "Why wouldnt I?" You Fang retorted.

    Tu Yings eyes narrowed. "Wouldn''t it be better for you to pretend to be ignorant of this matter?"

    You Fang answered in a casual tone, "You are suspected of being a spy."

    "What a joke! <em>I</em> am suspected of being a spy? The Lord controls the entire Transcendent Universe! If I were a spy, how could the Lord ever allow me to enter the Ruling Council?" Tu Ying challenged.

    You Fang sped his hands behind his back as he replied, "That is his concern. Ivee to my own conclusions."

    "What conclusions?" Tu Ying demanded.

    You Fang calmly exined, "During a meeting of the Ruling Council, you suggested that the natives of the Cloudflow Universe might be responsible for the destruction of the research data. However, as a member of the Ruling Council, you are clearly aware that Cloudflow is our captive and that the Transcendent Universe has long since thoroughly analyzed every aspect of the Cloudflow Universe. Those people might seem to be able to hide themselves in our universe, but in truth, they are nothing more than our test subjects. If not for that, they would all have been captured long ago.

    "Why did you suggest that those people could be responsible for sabotaging the research data when you know full well that that''s impossible? Don''t tell me that you weren''t thinking straight at the time. I fully know how you people rack your brains and put forth your best effort to show off when you think that <em>hes</em> watching. You would never say something so careless."

    Tu Ying retorted angrily, "Innate gifts are something that have always been shrouded in mystery! Can you confidently im that not a single person from the Cloudflow Universe could have developed an unusual innate gift? Its even possible that someone who awakened such an innate gift is a genius. Not even my Transcendent Universe can fully unravel the mysteries of the human body. Who knows? Maybe even another peak powerhouse like Cloudflow has arisen from the Cloudflow Universe. No one can say, so dont you nder me!"

    "Whether or not this is nder, we''ll know after finishing our investigation," You Fang replied.

    "And if you don''t find anything?" Tu Ying red at You Fang through bloodshot eyes that were filled with hatred.

    No matter how things turned out, the fact that he had been arrested by the You family would inevitably affect his position in the Lord''s mind, and the other members of the Ruling Council would also grow suspicious of him.

    The You family hadpletely ruined Tu Yins future by arresting him. If at all possible, he would hold nothing back to see them destroyed.

    You Fang was unaffected by Tu Ying''s hateful gaze, and he simply replied, "If I find nothing, then I find nothing. What else would happen?"

    Tu Ying was livid.

    In the distance, Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. It appeared that the Ruling Council was truly beneath the You family''s concern.

    The Lord Tu Ying had mentioned was most likely the true ruler of the Transcendent Universe. From this conversation, it seemed that You Fang simrly did not fear the ruler. Could it be that the You family, who had created the Bestowal Art, regarded themselves as equal to the ruler of the universe who had developed energy converters? If that was true, then You Fang likely saw the Ruling Council as nothing more than a group of servants, and his current attitude would be perfectly appropriate, given the current situation.

    However, what was the basis for that belief? What gave the You family the arrogance to regard themselves as equals to the ruler of their own universe?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2641: Futile

    Chapter 2641: Futile

    ording to Lu Yins current understanding of the Transcendent Universe, the You family would not be able to shake the ruler''s position even if their strength was multiplied a dozen times over. It was fundamentally impossible for them to ever be on equal footing for one simple reason: the You family still held a seat on the Ruling Council.

    If You Fang was truly equal to the ruler of his universe, then no one from the You family would be on the Ruling Council.

    In the Sixverse Academy, You Teng had shown that he was wary of He Ran. If the You family really had the same status as the Transcendent Universes ruler, then he would have never had such an attitude.

    The politicalndscape of the Transcendent Universe was like a sea with unseen depths. The intricacies of the power struggles taking ce seemed far moreplex than those of the Voidforce Universe.

    You Fang did not say much to Tu Ying. No matter how little the patriarch cared about the Ruling Council, no member of the Ruling Council could be forcibly questioned. To do so would be no different from pping He Ran and the universes ruler in their faces.

    Uncle Mo arrived and asked the You family to release Tu Yin, and You Fang took Lu Yin with him to meet with Uncle Mo.

    "So, Tu Ying is only suspected of being a spy?" Uncle Mo asked Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin replied, "Thats right. We dont have any real evidence."

    Uncle Mo then turned to You Fang, and he addressed the man in a respectful manner. "Patriarch You, Tu Ying is a member of the Ruling Council. Arresting him without evidence will lead to some undesirable effects. Madam He Ran hopes that you will let him go."

    You Fang stared back at Uncle Mo. "Are these undesirable effects more important than catching spies?"

    Uncle Mo hesitated. Regardless of how big the repercussions of Tu Yings arrest might be, they could never outweigh the potential harm that a spy could cause. However, if Uncle Mo said that out loud, he would be summarily dismissed by You Fang. Tu Ying had to be taken back.

    "Uncle Mo, how about this? We''ll turn the investigation into Tu Ying over to you. What do you say to that?" Lu Yin suggested.

    "To me?" Uncle Mo was caught off guard.

    You Fang''s eyes shed as he looked at Xuan Qi.

    As for You Lele, she inched her way closer from behind Lu Yin. It was clear that he was plotting something.

    Lu Yinughed. "I believe that Madam He Ran, the You family, and also the Ruling Council will never tolerate the existence of any spies. If Tu Ying is a spy, then Im confident that Madam He Ran will be the first to deal with him. So, it''s better to let him go. Even if we keep him locked up here, we won''t be able to get any information out of him."

    "<em>You''re</em> the one who wanted to catch him, but as soon as one of Madam He Ran''s people shows up, you''re telling us to just let him go? Xuan Qi, you-"

    Lu Yin cut You Lele off. "I told you that I needed you to use your You familys influence to investigate Tu Ying. Since we can''t get any answers out of him so far, its only a given that we have to let him go."

    You Fang nodded. "I''ll leave matters regarding the Bureau to you. If you want to release him, I wont object."

    Uncle Mo sighed in relief. When it came to dealing with the You family, even a peak powerhouse like Uncle Mo had no confidence that he could take Tu Ying away. Only members of the You family had any real idea of the extent of the familys full strength. You Fang was able to use a ck energy converter, and the You family had at least one ck energy converter that they were keeping hidden as well. Without You Fang showing Uncle Mo some respect, the man knew that he would never be able to aplish his task.

    "Don''t worry. If Tu Ying is truly a spy, Madam He Ran will not let him off," Uncle Mo reassured everyone. Before long, he left with Tu Ying.

    Even though Tu Ying resented the You family, he did not dare to act on his grievances. He knew that his only choice was to bury those feelings deep in his heart.

    After the two men left, You Lele started mocking Xuan Qi. "Just as I expected of a good little brother. You can''t even stand your ground!"

    "Lele, go check on how the fifth experiment is proceeding," You Fang said, bluntly dismissing You Lele.

    Lu Yin simrly sent Boss Guan and the rest of the Bureau members away, including Xu Ji and Xu Yue. Once everyone was gone, Lu Yin asked, "Senior, are you certain that we will be able to monitor Tu Ying?"

    You Fang confidently replied, "Unless <em>that </em>person stops me himself, I can monitor whoever I wish in the Transcendent Universe."

    "Good." Lu Yin nodded. "After all, Tu Ying is a member of the Ruling Council. Not only has he denied everything, but we also don''t have any evidence against him. Additionally, we cant force him to talk. This is really the only path that we can take, so hopefully, well be able to gain something from this."

    "Uncle Mo has taken him away, which means that the first person Tu Ying will see is going to be He Ran. I can listen in on that conversation. Do you have any problems with that?" You Fang asked.

    Lu Yinughed. "Senior, youre testing me."

    "This is about He Ran." You Fang met Lu Yin''s gaze.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "When ites to catching spies, nothing else matters, not even He Ran."

    You Fang chuckled. "Just what is your rtionship with that woman?"

    "She is Sister Ran," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    You Fang could not understand the young mans thoughts at all. Xuan Qi had casually exposed his rtionship with He Ran, but he was also letting You Fang monitor the woman unmolested. Did the man really want nothing more than to catch spies?

    After leaving the You family, the first person that Tu Ying met with was indeed He Ran, and You Fang and Lu Yin eavesdropped on their conversation.

    There was absolutely nothing strange about what was said between He Ran and Tu Ying, and the oue waspletely within Lu Yin''s expectations. Tu Ying was forced to step down from the Ruling Council.

    Lu Yinsment had beenpletely urate; if Tu Ying was a spy, then He Ran would be the first to deal with the man. She would never allow anyone to tarnish her image, and if it became known that she was supported by a spy, then she would be ridiculed. Since there was no proof that Tu Ying was a spy, He Ran could not take any overt measures against the man, which meant that she could only remove him from the Ruling Council and strip him of all authority. In this way, even if he was a spy, he would not have enough influence to aplish anything.

    Tu Ying could not ept his fate. He could not understand why the consequences of merely being suspected of being a spy were so drastic.

    All that could be said was that the man did not understand the thinking of those who were truly in power.

    Regardless of whether Tu Ying remained a member of the Ruling Council, the You family intended to continue closely monitoring him.

    For the moment, Lu Yin could take a break. After they captured the woman who had destroyed the research data, she had naturally imed to be under Cheng Kongs control. They were in the Transcendent Universe, so her judgment was up to the You family, and Lu Yin had no say whatsoever.

    What Lu Yin really needed to do now was roll his die.

    The quickest way for him to find spies was always to roll his die.

    He had only needed half a year to find and arrest hundreds of spies in the Voidforce Universe, and it had all been because he had continuously rolled his die. Even if Possession was a rare roll, and Possessing a spy was also a rather remote possibility, every time that he seeded in doing so, he was able to expose an entirework of spies.

    More often than not, spies functioned as part of arge, interconnected web, and many of them had various connections to each other. Possession was truly the most efficient course of action.

    Lu Yin had a reputation to uphold, and he knew that he could achieve his goals as long as people had faith in his ability to catch spies.

    The Transcendent Universe used a form of currency known as transcendent crystals, and Lu Yin easily acquired some of them.

    He then spent a good half day studying a transcendent crystal, but by the end, his optimism hadpletely disappeared.

    Transcendent crystals were actually nothing more than pieces of some metallic material that was used to craft energy converters and bestowal art carriers. In fact, the metallic substance was extensively used throughout the Transcendent Universe, and it was the most in demand resource. It was precisely because it was an essential resource that the universe valued and used it as their currency.

    The problem was that the material was of absolutely no use to Lu Yin.

    Possession had to be powered by the predominant energy of a universe, and Lu Yin could also only Possess individuals within the same universe who interacted with that energy. However, transcendent crystals were nothing more than a simple material. What sort of energy did they possess?

    The Transcendent Universe was not filled with a unique energy that existed everywhere. Instead, the people of the universe had developed cultivation technologies and made full use of the universe''s resources, which was fundamentally different from how cultivation civilizations worked.

    The Three Monarchs Universe used flourishing crystals that contained monarch essence, and as long as Lu Yin used monarch essence, he would theoretically be able to Possess people in the Three Monarchs Universe. However, there was noparable energy in the Transcendent Universe. Such a thing simply did not exist.

    Lu Yin had never even considered this issue before, and his own negligence had be an obstacle for him. Realizing what he had overlooked, he felt rather lost as to how to proceed.

    What should he do? If he could not use Possession, how could he quickly find and arrest spies? If he could not achieve the same sess that he had enjoyed in the Voidforce Universe, how would he be able to sway the You family? How could he build up an ideal image of Xuan Qi within the Sixverse Association?

    His head started to hurt.

    Other than his die''s Possession, what other methods were avable to him?

    Spies were notoriously hard to expose, and without Possession, Lu Yin would not have been able to discover Yun Wu, expose Yi Jun, or practically purge the Voidforce Universe of all spies.

    If he was forced to hunt for spies in the same manner as everyone else, Lu Yin did not believe that he could do any better than others. He knew that he was not smarter than other people.

    The Bureau had been established with the sole purpose of finding and eliminating spies, but their sess rate was beyond pathetic, even with multiple Progenitor-level powerhouses within the organization. If all things were made equal, Lu Yin did not believe that he held any particr advantage over anyone else in the Bureau.

    Lu Yin racked his brain, trying to think of various strategies that would allow him to uncover spies. For the moment, he only had one option: Luo Lao''er''s information broker.

    Since this person had been able to locate the spy who had destroyed the research data, they most likely had information on other spies as well.

    However, the fact that the information broker knew the identities of various spies but had chosen not to disclose anything showed that they were simr to the Perennial Worlds Realmless. Such people had no consideration for the overall good of mankind, and they only acted out of self-interest.

    Lu Yin did not trust such people.

    Also, Lu Yin had a very simple way to interact with those he did not trust: find them and deal with them.

    Xia Shenfei had obtained incredible amounts of information by infiltrating Realmless, and that had allowed him to uncover arge number of Redbacks all across the Perennial World, as well as people cooperating with those Redbacks. If Lu Yin could locate this information broker, it was possible that he would enjoy simr sess.

    Lu Yin felt no sympathy for such people, and despite the pressure on him, he could note up with even a single alternate n. It was worth a shot.

    Lu Yin returned to Aeternus Nation and then took Luo Lao''er back to the Transcendent Universe to make contact with the information broker.

    "Brother-inw, what kind of information do you want this time?" Luo Lao''er asked cheerfully. He felt like he was contributing whenever he helped Lu Yin, and it also gave him an opportunity to distinguish himself. If he could aplish something of note for Lu Yin, it would improve Luo Laoers situation, even if it was only in Aeternus Nation.

    He had not been able to get revenge for his mother yet. His enemy was literally beneath his feet, but he was powerless to act against her. It was a suffocating feeling.

    Lu Yin had already prepared his response. With a stern expression, he stated, "I want information on Zi Jing."

    Luo Lao''er thought he must have misheard. "Who? Sister Zi Jing?"

    "Get in touch with your informant," Lu Yin ordered, "Buy any and all information that they have on Zi Jing. Most importantly" Lu Yin paused as he fixed a level stare at Luo Lao''er. "Make sure that your contact learns that the information is going to be delivered to the Ziyou Realm."

    Luo Lao''er was stunned. "To the You family? Brother-inw, what are you doing?"

    "Just do as I say, unless theres a problem?" Lu Yin furrowed his brows.

    Luo Lao''er was quite flustered, but seeing how Lu Yin''s expression had fallen, the young man was instantly reminded of Monarch Mu''s tragic fate. "I can do that. Even if I dont know who Im buying information from, they definitely know who I am. As long as we make contact from within the Ziyou Realm, theyll be able to find my exact location. However, the Ziyou Realm is the You family''s territory, so well most likely be found."

    Lu Yin immediately took Luo Lao''er to the Ziyou Realm.

    No matter how advanced the Transcendent Universes surveince system was, it would be impossible to spy on Lu Yin. It was arge universe, and Lu Yin was nearly as strong as a Progenitor. The surveince systems in ce werepletely unable to track Lu Yin.

    On the first day, they were not able to make contact.

    "This is perfectly normal. I once needed to wait for a whole month before I was able to buy any information," Luo Lao''er stated.

    Lu Yin was not in any hurry, and he waited patiently.

    After six days passed, Luo Lao''er suddenly shouted, "I got it!"

    Lu Yin looked over and silently stared at the dark green lens that covered one of Luo Laoers eyes.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2642: Probe

    Chapter 2642: Probe

    Luo Lao''er proceeded to carry out the transaction.

    While this was happening, in a dim ce, weary eyes slowly rose up to look at a glowing screen. "What shitty timing, I''m exhausted."

    The person had been nning to rest for a few days, and for that reason, he was considering rejecting the deal. However, after getting a good look at the screen, the persons eyes lit up. "Luo Lao''er?"

    The person stepped forward, their breath quickening. "It really is Luo Lao''er. He''s finally shown himself. This time he wants information on Zi Jing? How odd He doesnt want more information about spies? Just what is he up to?"

    After a brief internal conflict, the person started to respond to Luo Lao''er.

    Anxiety was causing Luo Lao''ers stomach to churn. This transaction was important to Lu Yin, and it also involved the You family. He could not afford to mess things up.

    "Brother-inw, the price that he''s quoting for what you want is insane," Luo Lao''ermented.

    Lu Yin calmly responded, "That''s fine."

    "Brother-inw, there is information about Sister Zi Jing, but how is it soprehensive? Theres even some pieces about Zi Jing''s childhood. How did they get that?" Luo Lao''er eximed.

    Lu Yin frowned. He would not have been surprised if Luo Laoers contact had current information on Zi Jing, but it was astonishing that there was information about her childhood. That was not a simple matter, and it was proof that whoever Luo Laoer was interacting with wielded considerable influence in the Transcendent Universe.

    Elsewhere, a man was excitedly staring at a screen. "Almost there! Almost there! Don''t hang up! Don''t you dare end this call!"

    He was trying to determine Luo Lao''er''s location and gather information about him. This opportunity was too rare to let pass by.

    As for Lu Yin, he was still processing the information that he had just received regarding Zi Jing. He could not decide just what the information broker was doing. The person had to know that they were dealing with Luo Lao''er, who had been involved in Monarch Mu''s disappearance. When it was discovered that Luo Lao''er was in the You family''s territory, what would the information broker do with such details?

    Finding the information broker immediately through the transaction was impossible, which meant that Lu Yin could only try to shift trouble elsewhere. By letting out something important, like Luo Laoers location and all of its implications, Lu Yin was hoping to find the information brokers trail.

    Lu Yin terribly missed his die''s Possession ability. It allowed him to instantly scan through a persons memories with no effort. It eliminated so much trouble andplications.

    Possession was like being given the answer key to a test. Working backwards from the end point was far more efficient than having no idea where to even start.

    "The Ziyou Realm! Hes actually in the Ziyou Realm!" In the dimly lit ce, a man''s face flushed with excitement. "So, it''s the You family. Yes, the You family controls the Bureau, so its no surprise that they would buy information about spies. However, I also can''t rule out that it might be someone else from the Bureau, especially that Xuan Qi. After all, he was the one who captured thatst spy, though theres no confirmation that hes the one paying for information about spies.

    "Its also possible that the You family could be exploiting him. He was invited to the Transcendent Universe by the You family, so it would not be a surprise if he''s be their puppet.

    "However, Xuan Qi would never buy any information about Zi Jing. They were lovers when they arrived here Only the You family has a vested interest in such a thing, as Zi Jing is a key researcher in the most confidential cultivation technology thats being studied. So far, that whole matter has been kept secret from the You family."

    The man paced back and forth. His eyes had gained a feverish glint, and there was no trace of his previous exhaustion. <em>The You family, Monarch Mu, Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs</em> He looked back at the screen, focusing on the location that had been revealed in the Ziyou Realm. "I''ll risk everything!"

    As for Lu Yin, he had already sent Luo Lao''er back to Aeternus Nation. Everything that he could do had already been done, so all that remained was to wait. Lu Yin did not actually know what the information broker would do next. It was possible that nothing would happen and that the person would focus solely on trading information, but it was also possible that the person would do something.

    There was no way for Lu Yin to seize the initiative, so he could only throw out some bait.

    The fact that Luo Laoers contact sold information suggested ack of resources. Information as important as what this person sold could be sold to the Three Monarchs Universe for a very high price. Lu Yin hoped that he would not be disappointed.

    The information broker did not disappoint Lu Yin. The man was indeed in dire need of resources, and he was willing to trade with anyone, even spies, as long as he received the resources that he needed.

    At this moment, the man had just been given some truly priceless information. As long as he could sell it, he would receive all the resources he would ever need. It was too much temptation to resist.

    The towering rainbow wall was both the most beautiful and the most dangerous ce in the entire Three Monarchs Universe. Being inside or outside of the wall was the difference between life and death.

    At all times, countless nervous eyes peered out from inside the rainbow wall. From the first moment the enormousnd masses had appeared and clung tightly to the rainbow wall, even more nervous eyes had appeared.

    "I think that she''ll try to go after Xia Shenji," Arch-Elder Zenmented as he stared forwards. He was standing atop the rainbow wall, and just outside of ity a continent that seemed to stretch on forever. It was not a real continent, but rather the Forgotten Ruins.

    Arch-Elder Zen had already seen Forgotten Ruins God in action in the Fifth Maind, as well as during the Daosource Sect era, but he had never seen such a vast disy of the Forgotten Ruins.

    From the moment he had arrived at the Three Monarchs Universes rainbow wall, he had witnessed the boundless Forgotten Ruins, as well as how it had forced Monarch Luo, Monarch Xing, and Xia Shenji to quickly pull back. It was only then that Arch-Elder Zen had learned just how terrifying Forgotten Ruins God truly was.

    If he touched the Forgotten Ruins continent, he would instantly forget everything. While the effect would onlyst for a moment, a single moment was more than enough to determine the oue in a fight between true experts.

    Despite Forgotten Ruins Gods formidable strength, she did not fight directly against the four powerhouses. After all, each of them had the strength of a Progenitor, and dealing with such people was far from easy.

    At the moment, the four people were trying to determine which direction Forgotten Ruins God would strike from next.

    The rainbow wall was meant to protect the entire Three Monarchs Universe. If the four powerhouses acted together, Forgotten Ruins God could then strike elsewhere, and they would have no time to move and help the assaulted area.

    The Three Monarchs Formation worked together with the rainbow wall to let the Three Monarchs instantly attack from any location. While Arch-Elder Zen and Xia Shenji were able topensate for the weakened state of the Three Monarchs Universe due to Monarch Mu''s absence, it was impossible for either of the two to take her ce in the Three Monarchs Formation.

    On top of that, the rainbow wall was weakening. If they never found Monarch Mu, someone would need to take her ce, or else the rainbow wall would eventually vanish entirely.

    I think that she''ll aim for Xia Shenji''s region," Monarch Luo agreed in a low voice.

    Monarch Xing voiced her opinion, "I believe that she''ll target me.

    Arch-Elder Zen said, Forgotten Ruins God was once injured by my Origin Universes Senior Xia Shang, and her wounds have yet to heal even now. She bears an intense hatred for the Xia family.

    Which is exactly why she''ll leave Xia Shenji for the end," Monarch Xing stated.

    Arch-Elder Zen had not considered that particr angle, and thus he fell silent for a moment.

    Heh heh, are even people as old as you only able to rely on guesses? Well, go ahead. Ill send a single attack with my full strength. I wonder which of you is able to block it on your own, hehe. Forgotten Ruins God''sughter echoed through the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Xia Shenjis eyes narrowed. This was so troublesome. The n had been for him to be reced by Bai Sheng and Arch-Elder Zen so that he could return to the Perennial World. However, while Arch-Elder Zen arrived, Bai Sheng had merely sent greetings while also asking why he should risk his life recing Xia Shenji to protect the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Not even Bai Wangyuan could force Progenitor Bai Sheng to move against his will.

    Without Bai Sheng, Arch-Elder Zen and Xia Shenji were not enough topensate for the loss of the Three Monarchs Formation, and this was mostly because of the sheer size of the area that they had to protect. Monarch Luo did not want to let Xia Shenji leave, which had led to the current situation.

    In the Sixverse Association, only your Three Monarchs Universe is on the defensive. All the other five universes have managed to force us out. Why do you cling to the title of the Three Monarchs? What can you gain by fighting to the death to defend your little corner of the Sixverse Association? Even if you do force my Aeternus back, what will be left for your Three Monarchs Universe? Forgotten Ruins God mocked.

    Monarch Luo replied, his voice deep and somber, "Theres no need for your nonsense. We''ve confronted each other for many years and have a good understanding of each other as well. Your words mean nothing."

    "The Origin Universe is far more powerful than your Three Monarchs Universe. Now that theyve been dragged into the Sixverse Association''s battlefield, once the Sixverse Association epts the Origin Universe, do you really think that your Three Monarchs Universe will remain a part of the Sixverse Association?" Forgotten Ruins God asked, clearly delighted to sow discord.

    Monarch Luo''s eyes grew sharp. One of his greatest concerns had just been voice, but with Monarch Mu''s sudden disappearance, he was left with no choice but to keep Xia Shenji in the Three Monarchs Universe and pull the Origin Universe into the fray. Without that assistance, the Three Monarchs Universe would be in grave danger.

    "Have you ever considered that this situation might be exactly what the Origin Universe desires?" Forgotten Ruins God added.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Aeternus is well known for tempting the human heart and causing humans to lose their will to resist by offering tantalizing promises of immortality and immense power, but you are also human. If you truly cared about nothing, how could you have fallen? Forgotten Ruins God, what do you care about?"

    "Child, when did it be your ce to lecture me?" Forgotten Ruins God snorted with disdain.

    "I was merely curious," replied Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Leave your curiosity in your coffin! If you want to get anything out of me, bring Lu Yin here. I''ll answer any question he asks me, hehe." Forgotten Ruins God released her attack, and the universe beyond the rainbow wall was turned upside down. Surprisingly, she had gone after Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen might have been thest of the four powerhouses to reach the peak, but that by no means meant that he was the weakest. With the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, even Bai Wangyuan was wary of Arch-Elder Zen.

    After arriving in the Three Monarchs Universe, Arch-Elder Zen and Forgotten Ruins God had traded blows more than once. While the most recent exchange was significantly more powerful than normal, the exchange still ended quickly.

    "Old people like you are no fun. Id rather visit the Origin Universe and find Lu Yin. I wonder how he''s doing? I kind of miss him." Forgotten Ruins God let out a delicateugh as she turned to leave the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Arch-Elder Zen arched a brow. "If you dare to leave this universe, Aeternus will never enter this ce again."

    Monarch Luo shot a re at Arch-Elder Zen. The Monarch was desperate for Forgotten Ruins God to leave, but Arch-Elder Zen would not allow her to go make trouble for Lu Yin.

    "Try me." Forgotten Ruins God''s voice faded away.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression grew somber, and heunched a powerful attack beyond the rainbow wall.

    Countless spacecraft shot out from the wall, smashing into a simrly endless sea of corpse kings. The ocean of scarlet eyes struck fear into all who saw them.

    Beams of light shot out. Each spaceship was shrouded with monarch essence, and the universe was illuminated with vibrant colors.

    Suddenly, the battleships ceased fire. The various captains were all staring nkly at their screens, which were suddenly disying the words Monarch Mu is here. The statement sent tremors of shock through all who saw them.

    Every single screen on countless vessels was disying the same four words. Inside the rainbow wall, the phrase also appeared on every technological device.

    Monarch Luo quickly arrived inside a spaceship. "Head back."

    He then sent his contact information to the person who had sent the message.

    Well talk here, was the reply sent.

    Monarch Luo remained calm and asked everyone else aboard the ship to leave. "You should be able to hear me speak."

    "It''s an honor to speak with you, Monarch Luo," a mechanical voice replied. It was impossible to distinguish the persons gender.

    Monarch Luo stared at a screen. "You want to talk to me, but you do not want me to know who you are, and this is the only way for you to ensure that. Are you the one who captured Monarch Mu?"

    "Monarch Luo, you misunderstand me. I just happened to learn of Monarch Mu''s location, so I came here to tell you."

    "Whats your price?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2643: Battle In The Ziyou Realm

    Chapter 2643: Battle In The Ziyou Realm

    "Monarch Luo, please review everything that Im sending." The screen then started to disy evidence that confirmed Luo Lao''er''s location during his most recent interactions with the information broker, though the location itself was not revealed. After that, there was a transcript of everything that Luo Lao''er had said, word for word. Not only that, but all of the information that had been sold to Luo Laoer was also included.

    For half an hour, Monarch Luo did nothing but stare at the screen.

    "I''ve left a copy of this information in the Transcendent Universe, and I will give you the method to obtain it so that you can get someone to verify what Ive told you."

    "Tell me, where is Luo Qian?" Monarch Luo''s eyes were ice cold. Even if he did not care about familial ties, Luo Qian was still his son. When Luo Zang had tried to kill all of his siblings one after another, Monarch Luo had intervened, despite knowing that it was impossible to stop Luo Zang from continuing to plot in secret. That was why Luo Qian had been sent to the Transcendent Universe as a hostage. It had been Monarch Luos unique way of protecting him.

    However, Monarch Luo had never dreamed that Luo Qian would one day turn on Monarch Mu. There was no doubt that there was some brilliant mastermind behind everything. With how cautious a person Monarch Mu was, it should have been practically impossible for her to disappear without any trace.

    This was why Monarch Luo knew exactly what her disappearance meant.

    "Let''s discuss the price now, Monarch Luo." While the synthesized voice did not show any emotion, a hint of excitement could still be picked out. The information broker was taking a huge step towards his goal.

    Soon, the disy was switched off, and someone entered the room. "Monarch Luo, we were not able to find anything."

    "Useless," Monarch Luo snapped, terrifying the person into copsing onto his knees.

    "Keep searching. Use everyone in the Three Monarchs Universe with any bit of talent or ability. We must find this person," Monarch Luo ordered.

    "Yes."

    In the Transcendent Universe, at the bottom of a staircase that was covered with blooming flowers, Uncle Mo suddenly opened his eyes. "Madam, you have a visitor."

    At the top of the stairs, He Ran suddenly revealed herself. "A visitor?"

    At that moment, a voice echoed through the area. "Should I speak to you, or should I go speak to Bai Qian?"

    He Ran felt terribly confused; who was this?

    Uncle Mo looked up. "The Three Monarchs Universes Luo Shan."[1]

    He Ran was surprised. Luo Shan?

    In the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe was seen with contempt. Compared to the other member universes, the Three Monarchs Universe was incredibly weak. Even so, the Three Monarchs themselves were very strong powerhouses, and when working together, they could unleash a truly astounding level of strength. Rather than saying that the three Monarchs represented the Three Monarchs Universe, it was far more urate to say that the Three Monarchs Universe was holding the three back.

    Without the Three Monarchs Universe, they would be regarded as almost peerless experts in any universe.

    There was no denying that the three Monarchs were peak powerhouses.

    "Monarch Luo, please show yourself," He Ran replied, her voice pleasant and calm.

    The void cracked open, and Monarch Luo stepped out. He looked up at the stairs, but at that moment, Uncle Mo appeared in front of Monarch Luo.

    Monarch Luo indifferently asked, "Even I can''t look?"

    "No," Uncle Mo instantly rejected. Monarch Luo''s expression was too aggressive.

    The Monarchs eyes flickered, and he nheless took a step forward. As he did so, Uncle Mo felt the universe around him tremble. It was clear to him that he could not stop Monarch Luo.

    Surprisingly, Monarch Luo pulled his foot back. "Forget it. In the end, we''re still cooperating with each other. While we have never met directly, we are all somewhat familiar with each other. He Ran, what''s the situation with the You family?"

    He Ran felt puzzled. "Why are you asking about the You family?"

    Monarch Luo kept his tone casual. "I havee to suspect that Monarch Mu''s disappearance is rted to the You family."

    He Ran''s eyes grewrge from shock, and Uncle Mo stared at Monarch Luo in open astonishment.

    Is Monarch Mus disappearance really connected to the You family? How could that be possible? He Ran could not believe it.

    Monarch Luo replied, I certainly hope it isnt true, so please do me this favor, as I wish to verify things for myself.

    That day, the tranquil Transcendent Universe experienced a massive change. First, the surveince system failed in many regions of the universe, and as soon as that happened, chaos erupted in those areas. Wen Shi hurried around the universe, trying to resolve one problem after another. The calm Transcendent Universe was apparently being stirred up by something.

    Monarch Luo suddenly appeared outside the Ziyou Realm, and with one step, he entered and appeared at the precise location where Luo Lao''er had been when he purchased the information on Zi Jing. The Monarch looked at the ground. As expected, hes been here.

    He nced around, his eyes cold. Tri-colored monarch essence surged out from the Monarch, instantly enveloping the entire Ziyou Realm like a brilliantly colorful monster.

    At that moment, countless people in the Ziyou Realm looked up at the tri-colored monarch essence that filled outer space. The energy had transformed the entire region of the universe, shifting the stars ands. A terrifying, unfathomable pressure descended upon everyone.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This strength was equal to a Progenitors. Clearly, Monarch Luo had arrived.

    Lu Yin had hoped that he would be able to bait the information broker into exposing himself by leaking Luo Lao''er''s location. However, even so, Lu Yin had not expected such a strong reaction. That information broker had actually sold the information straight to the three Monarchs. There was no other reason for Monarch Luo to make a personal appearance.

    There was something incredibly suspicious about that information broker.

    Luo Shan, what are you trying to do? You Fangs furious voice rang out as ck energy swept through the sky and drove the monarch essence back.

    Monarch Luo''s cold eyes turned to You Fang. Where is Monarch Mu?

    You Fang was takenpletely off guard. Monarch Mu?

    Where is Luo Qian? Where is the Fenglei n? Monarch Luo continued.

    You Fang finally roared back in anger, You''re insane! What does the Fenglei n and Luo Qian have to do with my You family?

    "Luo Qian was found here in your Ziyou Realm. Give him to me," Monarch Luo shouted as he attacked without hesitation.

    The Ziyou Realm was instantly plunged into chaos as ck energy shed with monarch essence.

    Lu Yin had once believed that the Transcendent Universes ck energy converters could not possibly stand up to something like monarch essence. After all, energy was nothing more than energy. Even if ck energy converters were capable of unleashing a destructive power that could rival a peak powerhouses, they still could notpare to a true Progenitor-level expert.

    However, You Fang''s use of his ck energy converter overturned Lu Yins preconceptions.

    Even with ck energy converters, there were differences in power. You Fang''s ck energy converter was so potent that it allowed him to ward off even monarch essence.

    At this moment, He Ran was observing the Ziyou Realm. She had tacitly allowed Monarch Luo to intrude upon the Ziyou Realm by luring Wen Shi away. This was because she wanted to use Monarch Luo to expose the depths of the You family''s power. Monarch Luo was no weakling.

    Her previous suspicions proved to be not far from the truth.

    As the monarch essence grew stronger and stronger, streaks of light from bestowal art carriers shed across the Ziyou Realm, piercing through the monarch essence. There were several bestowal art carriers within the Ziyou Realm, and all of them released a level of power that was potent enough to intimidate even Monarch Luo.

    The strength being released here left Lu Yin''s scalp tingling. He had never thought that a Progenitor''s strength could be measured.

    One, two, threefinally, seven bestowal art carriers fired, and Monarch Luo was forced to retreat.

    Not even Monarch Luo himself had expected the Ziyou Realm to hide such immense power. This had exceeded his imagination.

    Still, was he not also being underestimated?

    The Three Monarchs Universe might be regarded as the least powerful member of the Sixverse Association, but that certainly did not mean that Monarch Luo was as well.

    As he looked up, a tri-colored glow started radiating from beneath his feet. As it expanded, it formed a circle that then shot upwards and downwards to form a brilliant column that lit up the Ziyou Realm.

    You Fang''s expression changed. He waved a hand, and beams of light shot at Monarch Luo once again.

    In the blink of an eye, Monarch Luo''s entire body unleashed a tri-colored glow that expanded without limits. At this moment, he had already transformed the entire Ziyou Realm into the same sort of ce as the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The ck energy was enveloped by the tri-colored monarch essence before being condensed and forced down.

    You Fang''s pupils shrank. This was simr to the domain-like ability that cultivators who had reached the apex possessed.

    Monarch Luo then attacked, pping a palm at You Fang.

    You Fang quickly fell back, but Monarch Luo stayed right on top of him, and he was even quickly closing in.

    While both men possessed the raw strength of a peak powerhouse, the Transcendent Universe''s ck energy converters were no match for a cultivator.

    The ck energy allowed the user to gain the strength of a peak powerhouse without needing to cultivate. It was a quick form of strength, but the downside was that this power skipped the cultivation process. When it came to actually using such strength, the temperament that one forged, or anything else that went along with cultivating, a powerhouse from the Transcendent Universe could never evene close toparing to a regr Progenitor.

    While You Fang wielded a destructive power that was equal to Monarch Luo''s, thetter''s use of something simr to a Progenitor''s world instantly suppressed You Fang.

    Just as Monarch Luo was about to strike You Fang, the man retreated next to a massive sourcebox. This sourcebox had appeared out of nowhere, as though it hade from a parallel universe. It wasrger than any sourcebox that Lu Yin had ever seen before. As the sourcebox appeared, a bestowal art carrier started using it.

    Monarch Luo''s expression changed drastically the moment he saw the carrier start to extract matter and energy from the sourcebox. He was ovee with a strong sense of danger.

    This was the true foundation of the You family.

    At the same time, someone else tore through the void to attack Monarch Luo. This person was another expert with a ck energy converter. There were two in the You family.

    Lu Yin stared at the neer. Was that You Teng?

    You Teng''s strength certainly qualified him to use a ck energy converter. This battle would be determined by whether the You family had any additional experts hidden in reserve. It was already obvious that they possessed more than one ck energy converter.

    Facing two peak powerhouses and the massive bestowal art carrier that was preparing to attack, Monarch Luo was in a very unfavorable position.

    "Luo Shan, leave! If not for the need for all of us to unite against Aeternus, you would already be dead!" You Fang shouted with barely suppressed anger.

    Monarch Luo answered in a low voice, "Give me Monarch Mu."

    "Have you lost your mind? What does Monarch Mu have to do with my You family? You Fang yelled in frustration.

    With a wave of his hand, Monarch Luo brought out a mountain.

    Seeing the mountain, Lu Yin''s pupils contracted. Was that another Zenith Mountain?

    It really was another Zenith Mountain.

    Already, Lu Yin had seen Tu Shuangshuang own a second Zenith Mountain, and at this moment, he was seeing a third one with Monarch Luo. All of them had once been the Origin Universes Sky Pirs. Just how many more were around?

    A figure emerged from within Zenith Mountain. It was impossible to make out the persons face, as a swirl of energy distorted their appearance.

    The moment the person appeared, Monarch Luo roared, "Attack!"

    The person concealed by the swirling current of energy raised a hand tounch a powerful attack at You Fang.

    The man waspletely dumbfounded. This new assant who had suddenly appeared was not only incredibly powerful. They were actually an even greater threat than Monarch Luo! Who was this mysterious powerhouse?

    <em>Xia Shenji?</em> Lu Yin had not expected Monarch Luo to bring Xia Shenji with him to the Transcendent Universe. Was the man not afraid of Forgotten Ruins God seizing the opportunity to attack the Three Monarchs Universe while they were both gone?

    By working together, Monarch Luo and Xia Shenji were able to restrain the You family, but defeating them remained impossible. Monarch Luo only wanted Xia Shenji to buy enough time for him to search through the Ziyou Realm.

    Xia Shenji managed to hold back You Fang, You Teng, and the bestowal art carrier on his own, which bought Monarch Luo the precious time that he needed.

    Monarch Luo''s tri-colored monarch essence searched through every corner of the Ziyou Realm, but he found no trace of Luo Lao''er or any sign of Monarch Mu.

    Finally, the man grabbed You Lele. "If you want your daughter back, bring me Luo Qian!"

    Then, both Monarch Luo and Xia Shenji returned to the Three Monarchs Universe, ending the incident that Wen Shi had been noticeably absent from.

    You Fang''s expression was extremely somber, and he immediately left to speak with He Ran.

    Still in the Ziyou Realm, Lu Yin had witnessed the entire intense battle, but he was now highly suspicious of the information broker. That person was absolutely a problem, and he might even possibly be a spy.

    While the information broker had sold information about the spy who had destroyed the research data, that woman might have been discarded as bait to distract them, and she might not actually be of real value to Aeternus. The real mastermind behind the scenes might be the information broker.

    Of course, that was not guaranteed. Regardless, the first thing he needed to do was find the person.

    1. This Luo Shan () is the father, while the other Luo Shan () is one of the sons. <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2644: Confirmed

    Chapter 2644: Confirmed

    News that Monarch Luo had invaded the Ziyou Realm and taken You Lele hostage sent waves of shock rippling throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    No one had anticipated such an incident.

    Of the Sixverse Associations member universes, the Three Monarchs Universe ranked at the bottom, while the Cyclic Universe was unquestionably acknowledged as the strongest. Aside from those two, the other four universes were considered to have nearly identical strength.

    Few in the Transcendent Universe could consider themselves superior to the You family. The familys foundation was unfathomable. Monarch Luos action of forcing his way through the You familys defenses and taking You Lele away had been nothing less than a p in the You familys face.

    Even more concerning was the reason that Monarch Luo had given for his actions: the You family was connected to Monarch Mu''s disappearance. This was not a trivial matter. Why had the You family been implicated in Monarch Mu''s disappearance? What could they be after? Was the You family really guilty? Many people throughout the Sixverse Association asked such questions, though they made sure to bury them deeply.

    You Fang met He Ran, but Lu Yin did not know what they discussed during that conversation. All that Lu Yin knew was that, after returning to the Ziyou Realm, You Fang was furious, and he had dragged You Teng to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Very quickly, more information started to spread; several of the Sixverse Associations peak experts also made their way to the Three Monarchs Universe in order to mediate the conflict.

    Wen Shi went to the Ziyou Realm, presumably to investigate the You family, and when he noticed Xuan Qi, the older man made a point to greet the youth.

    Xu Leng also visited the Ziyou Realm, and she went to speak with Lu Yin.

    "Senior Sister Leng? Why are you here?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Xu Leng said, "Obviously, Im here because of you."

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled, but Xu Leng exined, "With everything thats happening around the You family, arent you worried that youll end up in trouble if you remain here in the Ziyou Realm?"

    Lu Yin said, "Everything that happened is between the You family and the Three Monarchs Universe. None of it has anything to do with me. I was merely invited here to help catch spies."

    Xu Leng countered, "Any fight between peak powerhouses will affect a massive area. Considering Monarch Luo''s strength, the You family might not be able to keep you safe if theres another attack. You shouldnt underestimate any of the three Monarchs, especially Monarch Luo. He is a legend."

    Lu Yin felt touched by the womans concern. "Senior Sister Leng, Ill be fine."

    Xu Leng rolled her eyes. "Just wait until this matter blows over. The You family was just pped in the face by Monarch Luo, and you might also suffer because youre currently working with them. While the members of the You family are certainly smart, they dont have the best reputation."

    After several more days passed, the entire matter came to a temporary close.

    Monarch Luo had no evidence proving that the You family had any connection to Monarch Mu''s disappearance. All he could prove was that Luo Qian had appeared in the Ziyou Realm.

    However, the Ziyou Realm was vast, and it was not unusual for many different people to visit or pass through the area. Luo Laoers presence was not nearly enough to prove the You familys guilt.

    Monarch Luo remained convinced that the You family was involved, and not just because Luo Lao''er had visited the Ziyou Realm. There was also the Transcendent Universes internal conflicts. The Three Monarchs Universe was cooperating with He Ran, while the You family appeared to be positioned against He Ran. He Ran''s spections ran parallel to Monarch Luos.

    However, without evidence, the Sixverse Association would not allow any internal conflicts, so Monarch Luo was ordered to release You Lele. The Sixverse Association would not budge on this demand.

    You Lele was able to return to the You family, but Monarch Luo issued a public statement: as soon as there was proof that the You family was connected to Monarch Mus disappearance, he would make the You family pay the price, even if it meant abandoning the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The statement was not only made for the sake of the You family, but also for the rest of the Sixverse Universe. Monarch Luo was determined to find Monarch Mu, and if he learned that she was dead, he would avenge her.

    You Fang also returned to the Ziyou Realm, though his face turned dark as soon as he learned that Wen Shi was probing about in the You family''s territory.

    As soon as he learned of Xu Lengs presence, the You family patriarch hurried over to greet her.

    "Senior, how did it go? Is Lele back?" Lu Yin asked anxiously as soon as he saw You Fang.

    You Fang nodded with a brief nce at Lu Yin. He then turned to Xu Leng and addressed her politely, "You must be the newly risen Void Suprema, Xu Leng."

    Xu Leng respond with nothing more than a nomittal sound and a faint smile. "Ive long since heard of the You family''s reputation. I hope that my visit hasnt disturbed anything."

    You Fangughed. "Not at all. Were honored that you''ve chosen to grace our Ziyou Realm with your presence"

    After a round of small talk, Xu Leng left the Ziyou Realm. You Lele had returned, and Monarch Luo most likely would not cause any more trouble for the You family after the Sixverse Associations mediation. There was no longer any need for Xu Leng to protect Xuan Qi.

    As soon as Xu Leng left, You Fang turned to Lu Yin. "Where is Luo Qian?"

    Lu Yin blinked in confusion. "Luo Qian? What are you talking about, Senior?"

    You Fang continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Whos behind you? The one who attacked Monarch Mu?"

    Lu Yins expression became somber. "Senior, I understand that Monarch Luo forced his way into your Ziyou Realm and captured You Lele, causing your family to suffer heavy losses. However, ming me for everything is unfair. I, Xuan Qi, am a mere junior. How could I ever act against Monarch Mu?"

    You Fang stared straight into Lu Yins eyes. "I know what Im saying sounds unreasonable, but I don''t need any reason. If you were not here, none of this would have happened. You came here, and then all this happened Luo Qian and you were good friends in the Sixverse Academy. You must have harbored hidden intentions when you specifically approached my You family. It''s hard for me to <em>not</em> connect things to you."

    Lu Yins brow furrowed. Most people would never make any connections between him and Monarch Luos attack on the You family, as he had no connection to the Three Monarchs Universe. There was no logical way to link things to him, and yet You Fang seemed determined to do just that.

    Lu Yin felt a headacheing on. He was always happy to encounter opponents who believed themselves smarter than everyone else, as they frequently analyzed details that ordinary people never noticed. Lu Yin understood how to exploit those details and mislead those people. However, You Fang was different. He saw nothing but the beginning and the end,pletely cutting out the middle process of analysis. If he suspected someone, then he confirmed his suspicions as true in an instant. It was a simple and crude method, but it rendered Lu Yin without any recourse.

    "It appears that the You family is certain that this matter is rted to me. In that case, why didn''t you mention this in front of the others, Senior?" Lu Yin challenged.

    You Fang indifferently replied, "I want to see what else you can do. My You family has nothing to do with whatever happened to Monarch Mu, so we are not afraid of being misjudged. If you truly have the ability to incite the other universes toe after my You family, then there''s simply nothing I can say. If not, then the person behind you will eventually be revealed."

    With that, the man left.

    Lu Yin stared at You Fang''s retreating figure. This was quite a thorny situation. It was no wonder why the You family had such a bad reputation in the Sixverse Association; they came to conclusions not based on evidence, but rather on the results that they observed. Who could endure such unreasonable behavior? Even if their suspicions were urate, baseless usations would only make the family appearpletely unreasonable.

    The You family was clever and arrogant, and they often acted in ways that normal people could not ept. It was a family of entrics.

    Once You Fang was out of Lu Yin''s sight, he ran into You Lele, who had been on her way to find Xuan Qi.

    "Dad, out of the way. I need to go settle things with that Xuan Qi! He must be behind all this!" You Lele said through gritted teeth. Just like You Fang, she had bepletely convinced that Xuan Qi was to me for everything that had befallen their family, despite an utter andpleteck of any evidence. Both father and daughter were convinced the young man was up to nothing good.

    You Fang replied, "I''ve already confronted him."

    "How did it go?"

    "What do you mean, ''how did it go? He won''t admit to anything."

    "Does our You family need him to admit to anything for us to act on our suspicions?"

    "He is not from our Transcendent Universe. Even if we know that he is guilty, what of it?"

    "Obviously, we capture him and interrogate him."

    "Monarch Luo has no evidence linking Monarch Mu''s disappearance to our You family, which is why he was forced to retreat. We simrly have no evidence to prove that Xuan Qi has anything to do with what has happened."

    "Does he even dare to stand up to us?"

    You Fang frowned. "There are four peak powerhouses supporting him."

    That caused You Lele to fall silent, and she scratched her head out of habit. kes of dandruff fell and drifted about, causing You Fang to take a step back. "You need to wash your hair."

    "Its annoying. I don''t want to." You Lele felt frustrated as she was unable to do anything. The You family had never needed evidence before taking action. They always simply captured whoever they grew suspicious of, which was one of the reasons why they controlled the Transcendent Universes Bureau branch. It was unusual for them to be in such a difficult situation.

    "Are we really going to just allow Xuan Qi to continue plotting against us?" You Lele clenched her fists.

    You Fang smiled. "Leave him be for now. I want to see what other tricks he is capable of using."

    "What about He Ran? That woman made sure that Wen Shi was distracted and far away so that Monarch Luo could break into our Ziyou Realm." You Lele''s expression turned grim.

    You Fang''s expression fell. "We will not forget what happened."

    "Was Xuan Qi sent here by He Ran?" You Lele spected.

    This was something that both the father and daughter had suspected when Xuan Qi had first approached them. Now, You Lele had be even more convinced that that was the case after hearing Xuan Qi refer to He Ran as Sister Ran.

    You Fang shook his head. "That''s extremely unlikely. While he does seem to have a close rtionship to He Ran, she is no fool. She would never brazenly send one of her people to approach our You family. On top of that" He hesitated for a moment before saying, "He Ran does not have the means to deal with Monarch Mu. She has been cooperating with the Three Monarchs Universe, but any attempts against a monarch could inadvertently make her a target, which would cause her to lose her current foothold in the Sixverse Association. She would never take such a risk."

    "Then how did Xuan Qi deal with Monarch Mu?" You Lele asked, troubled by this question.

    You Fangs brow furrowed, as this was the exact reason why he had not mentioned Xuan Qi''s connection to the matter to anyone else. <em>Just who could be hiding behind the boy? The Voidforce Universe? No, and that shouldn''t be. Is he a spy? While its not impossible, its highly unlikely. Sacrificing all the spies in the Voidforce Universe for one person is too high a price for Aeternus to pay, and he is clearly not worth it.</em>

    Who could it be?

    "Where does Xuan Qie from?" You Fang asked.

    You Lele was briefly stunned. "I don''t know."

    This answer surprised You Fang. "You don''t know?"

    "I thought you knew, Dad," You Lele replied, feeling wronged.

    You Fang could not help butugh at the ludicrousness of their situation. Despite all that had happened, their You family still did not know where Xuan Qi hade from. He had clearly entered the Sixverse Academy through the Transcendent Universe, but even the You family, with their lofty position in the Transcendent Universe, did not know where the young man hade from.

    If others learned of this, they would be humiliated. What a joke it was that their family was known for their intelligence.

    You Fang felt that he was onto something. There was clearly something off with Xuan Qi''s background.

    "Uncle Teng must know," You Lele reminded.

    You Fang immediately contacted You Teng, but the answer that was sent back was startling: the Origin Universe?

    A time of peace came for the Ziyou Realm. During this time, Lu Yin quietly waited. After some time passed, he would bring Luo Lao''er back to the Transcendent Universe so that he could make contact with the information broker again. That person had already betrayed Luo Laoer once, but Lu Yin had failed to obtain any information about the information broker. The only option was to reach out to them.

    Without any warning, You Fang arrived and gave Lu Yin a task. "Investigate the person who gave Monarch Luo his information."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "The person who provided the information?"

    You Fang replied, "Thats right. Someone told Monarch Luo that Luo Qian appeared in the Ziyou Realm, which is why he is so certain that Monarch Mu''s disappearance is connected to my You family. I want you to find out who gave that information to him."

    Lu Yin replied with a chuckle, "Senior, youre already convinced that I''m connected to this matter, and yet you still trust me to search for this person?"

    You Fang responded, "You should already be desperately searching for this person. Its possible that you nned out everything with them and then led Monarch Luo here, or maybe you exploited someone. You could have known ahead of time that the information would be sent to Monarch Luo and therefore intentionally let slip that Luo Qian was in the Ziyou realm. If you did take advantage of the person, then you definitely dont want them to know that youre behind what happened, and they also wont want you to know who they are.

    "Now, I am giving you the opportunity to hunt the person down yourself. Go to the Three Monarchs Universe and find them. The Three Monarchs Universe will fully cooperate with you."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2645: Hollow

    Chapter 2645: Hollow

    As Lu Yin listened to You Fang, he subconsciously rubbed his cosmic ring. If the former is true, then what youre telling me to do would be no different from cutting off my own arm. If thetter is true, then this junior has no choice but to fullymit to this investigation. Even if this matter has nothing to do with me, your You family loses nothing by having me lead this investigation. Youve thought things through well, Senior."

    "Will you do it?" You Fang asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Im at an impasse in uncovering more spies. This person might be deliberately trying to stir up trouble between Monarch Luo and your You family, and they might very well be a spy. Its certainly worth looking into."

    You Fang nodded. "I hope to hear good news from you."

    He turned to leave, but before exiting, the patriarch added, "I heard that you offended the Heavens Sects Dao Monarch Lu Yin in the Origin Universe. Is that true?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, but his voice remained steady. "Yes."

    "Lu Yin Ive heard of him. Hes rather capable. If possible, I would like to meet him and resolve things between the two of you." With that, You Fang left.

    Lu Yin''s gaze flickered. What did You Fang mean by those words? What was the man hinting at?

    Even if everyone in the Sixverse Association knew that Xuan Qi was from the Origin Universe, no one would ever connect him with Lu Yin. However, the same could not be said of You Fang. He was already convinced that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was somehow connected to Xuan Qi, despite the fact that Xuan Qicked the necessary strength. It was impossible for Xuan Qi to do anything to Monarch Mu, but if there was a peak powerhouse from the Origin Universe supporting him, then the situation waspletely different.

    There was no question that You Fang had figured out Xia Shenji''s identity. With a bit of analysis, the man might have even guessed that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was connected to the Origin Universes Heavens Sect.

    You Fang''s guesses were leading him in the right direction. This was not because others could not think of the same possibilities, but rather because they would never even consider such a line of reasoning.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He could not deny his own fault in this matter. He had voluntarily approached the You family, which had immediately roused You Fangs suspicions. After that, Lu Yin had tried to probe the information broker by using some important information as bait, which had ultimately caused Monarch Luo to barge into the Ziyou Realm, which had roused You Fang''s suspicions again. Lu Yins actions had made You Fang suspect Xuan Qi every step of the way, which only made the mans conjectures increasingly urate.

    Even so, Lu Yin did not have any other choice. If he had not probed the information broker, it would have been very difficult for him to uncover any spies in the Transcendent Universe. He also had to approach the You family, as how else would he be able to start scheming against the Transcendent Universe? The You family and He Ran were on opposite sides in a political confrontation, which meant that Lu Yin needed to get close to the You family.

    It could only be said that the You family was too unconventional. You Fang and You Lele were both entrics.

    By following his string of assumptions, just how far away was You Fang from the truth? The man did not require any evidence to support his conjectures, as he treated his assumptions as no different from facts.

    Just to be careful, Lu Yin considered the possibility of abandoning his identity as Xuan Qi. If anyone in the Sixverse Association managed to connect Xuan Qi to Lu Yin, it would be very easy for them to verify it.

    However, how could Lu Yin simply abandon this important identity that had been so useful already? He felt incredibly conflicted.

    If all else failed, he would simply avoid the You family.

    Aftering to this conclusion, Lu Yin quickly left with Boss Guan and the others from the Voidforce Universes bureau. He had decided to meet with He Ran as his next destination was the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Since You Fang had tasked Xuan Qi to go to the Three Monarchs Universe and uncover the person who had given the information to Monarch Luo, Lu Yin had decided that it would be best to follow Patriarch You''s instructions. That way, he would avoid anything that might possibly negatively impact him or his identity.

    However, before making his way to the Three Monarchs Universe, he first needed to understand the three Monarchs, especially Monarch Luo.

    For that reason, Lu Yin decided to speak with He Ran.

    "You Fang told you to go to the Three Monarchs Universe? And you need to investigate the person who supplied Monarch Luo the information that led to his attack on the You family?" He Ran asked, surprised.

    Lu Yin nodded helplessly. "Sister Ran, this person was able to reach Monarch Luo while still remaining anonymous, which is proof of their ability. Your little brother isn''t confident that I can handle this on my own."

    "Should I speak to You Fang? This matter should be the Three Monarchs Universe''s responsibility. It has nothing to do with you," He Ran offered.

    Lu Yin replied, "This person is suspected of deliberately creating trouble between Monarch Luo and the You family. Given that, they might even be a spy. It''s my duty to deal with spies, so talking to You Fang won''t be of any help. Besides"

    Lu Yin trailed off, leaving words unsaid.

    Appearing concerned, He Ran asked, "Is there a problem?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "You Fang''s attitude towards me haspletely changed, and hes even been speaking ill of you, Sister Ran. I can''t stand it any longer, and I''m afraid that I''ll get into an argument with him before much longer. So, I''d much rather go to the Three Monarchs Universe before anything happens."

    He Ran became indignant. "You Fang has gone too far! Regardless of his feelings towards me, the You family invited you from the Voidforce Universe to help them capture spies. How can he treat you badly just because of our rtionship? Uncle Mo, do you mind taking a trip to the You family for me?"

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Theres no need for that, Sister Ran. I don''t want to get into an open conflict with the You family, so let''s not trouble Uncle Mo."

    Uncle Mo looked at He Ran, who nodded. "Alright, we will avoid getting involved with the You family in the future."

    He Ran had never intended for Xuan Qi to interact with the You family. She was far more concerned about what Bai Qian might be up to. Thus, for her, it would be better to simply avoid the You family for the moment.

    "Sister Ran, what kind of person is Monarch Luo?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    He Ran felt puzzled by the question. "Why are you asking about Monarch Luo?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I''ll be visiting the Three Monarchs Universe, and Monarch Luo and You Fang are both peak powerhouses. I might not be able to avoid the two of them."

    "You wonte into contact with Monarch Luo," Uncle Mo''s voice echoed from a hidden space.

    Lu Yin felt genuinely confused.

    Uncle Mo exined, "The Three Monarchs Universe is constantly being watched by Forgotten Ruins God. While it is the weakest official member of the Sixverse Association, the warfront in that universe is no better than any other universes, and it is actually even more intense than most. This is why the Cyclic Universe immediately stepped in when Monarch Mu went missing and forced people from the Origin Universe to help the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Monarch Luo''s recent intrusion into the Ziyou Realm was because of Monarch Mus disappearance. This means that the rainbow walls defenses have dropped significantly, which is uneptable to many parties. The Sixverse Association does not want any problems to arise in the Three Monarchs Universe. Even if Monarch Mu''s disappearance is truly connected to the You family, Monarch Luo should have first asked the Transcendent Universe to investigate the matter. His absence from the Three Monarchs Universe could cause the rainbow wall to quickly fall, which would lead to irreparable losses. Not to mention, he also brought a peak powerhouse from the Origin Universe with him.

    "After the Cyclic Universes formal deration, Monarch Luo won''t be able to leave the rainbow wall for the foreseeable future."

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. While the Three Monarchs Universe was the weakest member universe of the Sixverse Association, that did not mean that Monarch Luo himself was weak. On the contrary, both Xu Leng and You Fang were very wary of the man, and of particr note, Xu Leng had even referred to Monarch Luo as a legend. Such words were not lightly used.

    "Uncle Mo, is Monarch Luo very strong?" Lu Yin asked, even though this was almost the same as his first question.

    Uncle Mo nced at He Ran, and he only responded after receiving a slight nod from her. "The Sixverse Association may distinguish between strong and weak universes, but the three Monarchs themselves are far from weak. Monarch Luo, whose full name is Luou Shan, is one of the rare individuals who emerged from the Hollow alive."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. The Hollow was the absolute darkness that appeared when Progenitor-level figures shattered the void during a battle.

    No one understood precisely what the Hollow was. Lu Yin had already asked several different people, including a few peak powerhouses, what would happen if a person fell into that strange dark space. Every time, he had received the same answer: certain death.

    The Hollow was a ce with no light, no sound, no touchnothing at all. Everything that was known about it came from observations made outside the Hollow, because no one actually knew whaty within its depths, as no one had ever emerged alive.

    There were many strange things throughout the megaverse. The space that normal people could observe was nothing more than realitys surface level. The void that cultivators could tear open, the true universe that Envoys absorbed stellr energy from, and many other examples were all actually differentyers of reality. No one knew how manyyers actually existed.

    The Hollow was ayer that humans could enter but were unable toprehend.

    This was no different from how the first human cultivator to tear the void open could not have understood the implications of their actions. It was possible that future generations of humans could master the Hollow, but for the moment, no one could.

    Lu Yin had never heard of anyone returning from the Hollow alive.

    "Did Monarch Luo really emerge from the Hollow alive?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Uncle Mo solemnly stated, "There are sixty two universes in the entire Sixverse Association. When the association was first established, there were other universes that were more prosperous and powerful than the Three Monarchs Universe, but the Three Monarchs Universe was chosen to be an official member universe over all the others. This is because of Monarch Luo.

    "Truthfully, it is possible that, aside from the Great Sovereign himself, no one else truly knows the full extent of Monarch Luos power. While some people have the impression that Monarch Luo needs to work together with Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing to use the Three Monarchs Formation to counter Forgotten Ruins God, many others believe that Monarch Luo, who returned from the Hollow alive, can stand up to Forgotten Ruins God on his own. Of course, that is all pure spection. The only hint of evidence to support such beliefs is the Great Sovereign''s attitude towards Monarch Luo.

    "The Great Sovereign himself shows Monarch Luo a certain level of respect."

    After hearing Uncle Mo''s exnation, Lu Yin thought back to the battle that he had witnessed in the Ziyou Realm. Throughout the entire ordeal, Monarch Luo had only ever used his monarch essence and an ability that was very simr to a Progenitor''s world. Not once had the man used a single battle technique. On top of that, Monarch Luos aura had always given Lu Yin a vague sense of danger.

    Was the man hiding some deep secret? Did the You family know what it was? Could that be the reason why the You family had not tried to fight Monarch Luo to the death?

    "Little Brother, don''t overthink things. You and Monarch Luo will not cross paths for the time being, and Monarch Luo also has a cooperative rtionship with our Transcendent Universe. While you are there, he will certainly support you. You will fare much better while you are in the Three Monarchs Universe," He Ran said reassuringly.

    Lu Yin felt bitter. Fare much better? If Monarch Luo took one look at Xuan Qi, he would definitely recognize him as Lu Yin. The man was no weaker than Xu Wuwei.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was the only member of the Sixverse Association thaht tried every possible way to interact with the Origin Universe. Monarch Luo was definitely familiar with Lu Yin.

    The more Lu Yin learned about the Sixverse Association, the more he understood the powers of the various parallel universes. None of them were as simple as they first appeared to be; there was the Voidforce Universes Lord Xu and Xu Wuwei, the Transcendent Universes ruler with their ck energy converters, Bestowal Art, and ongoing research into cultivation technologies. This was not considering the Cyclic Universe either. Even the Three Monarchs Universe, which appeared to be the simplest and easiest to deal with, was no pushover.

    Just what was Luou Shan hiding? Despite his strength, he was still cooperating with others and using the Three Monarchs Formation to resist Forgotten Ruins God. He made sure that people had the impression that the Three Monarchs Universe would be defeated without outside help. Even Uncle Mo and the others who cooperated with Monarch Luo could not see through the multipleyers of the mans facade.

    This man was exactly the same kind of person as Luo Zang.

    After considering the situation, Lu Yin decided to try to get some more information from Monarch Mu. Only she and Monarch Xing might have a better understanding of Monarch Luo than He Ran.

    Lu Yin did not waste any time. After bidding farewell to He Ran, he traveled to the Three Monarchs Universe along with Boss Guan, Skinner, and Xu Ji. As for Xu Yue, she was left behind in the Transcendent Universe. At least officially, Xuan Qi had epted the You family''s invitation to help them capture spies in the Transcendent Universe.

    The Three Monarchs Universe gave off apletely different feeling from the Transcendent Universe. Lu Yin could clearly feel the difference since he had also cultivated monarch essence.

    While the Three Monarchs Universe was not veryrge, the entire universe had been transformed by monarch essence. It would be possible for Lu Yin to use his dies Possession ability in the Three Monarchs Universe, as long as he used monarch essence to power it. This meant that his next task was very simple: he needed to make money.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2646: The Imperial Treasury

    Chapter 2646: The Imperial Treasury

    Unexpectedly, Cang Bi was tasked with being Xuan Qis guide during his time in the Three Monarchs Universe. This was the same man who had previously led Lu Yin to an isted courtyard where he had been left waiting. That was after Lu Yin had put on a show of seeking out the Fenglei n in order to return to the Sixverse Academy.

    Cang Bi had clearly expected Xuan Qi and his team to arrive. "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, the Monarch sent me here to wee you. Please follow me to the Emperor Domain."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Its been a long time since west saw each other, Cang Bi."

    Cang Bi replied, "I know that I offended you before, and I ask that Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi not bear a grudge for those actions."

    "I''m not so petty. I remember that Senior Cang Bi is a member of the Mo Courtyard, so why were you sent here to wee us? What about the Three Monarchs Universes bureau branch?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The Bureau Director of our Three Monarchs Universe''s bureau is none other than the missing Monarch Mu," Cang Bi exined.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I understand now. Luo Lao''er is truly detestable. If I had known that he would do such a thing, I would have killed him!"

    Such words meant nothing, and Cang Bi would never believe them either. The Three Monarchs Universe had always been suspicious of Xuan Qi. Did he truly not know where Luo Lao''er was hiding? However, if he did know, then why had he sought out the Fenglei n? This was why the Three Monarchs Universe was only slightly suspicious of Xuan Qi. Still, Cang Bi intended to keep a very close eye on the young man.

    Monarch Luo''s orders were for Cang Bi to assist Xuan Qi with his investigation and to act as an intermediary. At the same time, the man was tasked with keeping an eye on Xuan Qi.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived in the Three Monarchs dimension, he naturally wanted to take a rest.

    Cang Bi led the group along, and they soon entered the Emperor Domain. They arrived at a courtyard that overlooked a cliff, which was intended to be Xuan Qis quarters for the duration of his stay. The scenery was rather spectacr, and there were many lovely vistas, and when one looked up, a vast gxy stretched across the sky.

    "Cang Bi, will you be staying here as well?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cang Bi replied, "Since youve only just arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe, you must still be unfamiliar with this ce. Monarch Luo has ordered me to stay at your side so that I can provide you with timely assistance, as you require."

    "Monarch Luo is thoughtful and has already considered everything. Please share my thanks," Lu Yin responded politely.

    Once the courtyards gates closed, Lu Yin told Boss Guan and the others to get some rest while he entered his personal quarters. He then summoned one of the Zenith Mountains and took Luo Lao''er out.

    As soon as You Fang had asked Lu Yin to investigate the information broker who had sold Luo Laoers location in the Transcendent Universe to Monarch Luo, Lu Yin had picked up Luo Laoer and kept him in one of the Zenith Mountains. He had remained there ever since, even during Lu Yins meeting with He Ran.

    How could Lu Yin possibly visit the Three Monarchs Universe without Luo Lao''er?

    "Have we arrived?" Luo Lao''er peered out through one of the windows, staring at the outside courtyard. A momentter, he stumbled back, startled by the sight of Cang Bi sitting near a mountain.

    "The You family sent me here to investigate the information broker, but that person is in the Transcendent Universe, which means that were already at a dead end. What are your thoughts?" Lu Yin asked.

    Luo Lao''er replied, "Brother-inw, if not even my cheap old man can turn up any clues about that person, then there''s no way I can help you do so."

    Lu Yin turned to look outside. "I''m really short of money."

    Luo Lao''er was takenpletely off guard, and he asked, "What?"

    Lu Yin repeated, "I''m really short of money."

    Luo Lao''er doubted his ears, but he was hearing the exact same words as before. "Brother-inw, are you short on money? What kind of money?"

    "Flourishing crystals."

    Luo Lao''er felt that this was rather odd, as why would Lu Yin need flourishing crystals? Was he trying towork in the Three Monarchs Universe? It seemed rather unnecessary, but Luo Laoer did not dare to ask any further questions. "Brother-inw, how much do you need? The Fenglei n has quite a bit saved up."

    "That wont be enough, not even close. I need a lot," Lu Yin rified as he turned to face Luo Lao''er. "Is there a way for me to get a massive amount? Basically, an insane amount of flourishing crystals?"

    Without thinking about his answer, Luo Lao''er suggested, "Rob the imperial treasury."

    "The three Monarchs treasury?"

    "Kind of. It''s shared by the three Monarchs, but its mostly my cheap old mans. It has a truly mind-boggling amount of flourishing crystals, and you''ll get what you need a lot faster than by robbing a bunch of Crystal Banks."

    The Crystal Bank was the Three Monarchs Universes equivalent of the Fifth Mainds Mavis Bank. The primary difference was that the Crystal Banks reserves were much smaller than the imperial treasury.

    This was the influence of the three Monarchs; they ruled as true dictators over their universe. No matter if it was cultivation resources, territory, or any other resources, everything was controlled by the three Monarchs.

    Robbing the imperial treasury was clearly an impossible task, but what about the Crystal Banks?

    "Brother-inw, how many flourishing crystals do you need? I just need to check that we''re on the same page," Luo Lao''er asked in a cautious manner.

    Lu Yinughed. "Actually, what I need shouldn''t be too much."

    Luo Lao''er let out a sigh of relief.

    "Just a few dozen billion."

    Luo Lao''er''s mouth fell open and his face turned pale. "A- a few dozen <em>billion</em>?"

    "Is that a lot?"

    Luo Lao''er swallowed. "Even if everyst bit of the Fenglei ns resources were added together, it would still only be about 200 million."

    This was not surprising to Lu Yin, as the Fenglei ns status was simr to the Fifth Mainds Daynight n. While the Fenglei n was a bit more powerful and had someone equal to a Semi-Progenitor within their ranks, the two ns wealth should be roughlyparable, as the Three Monarchs Universe was significantly smaller than the Fifth Maind.

    "Brother-inw, what do you need so many flourishing crystals for?" Luo Lao''er asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin replied, "I need them for something, so is there any way you can help me get some?"

    Luo Lao''er looked at Lu Yin with a miserable expression on his face. If Luo Laoer could gather that much wealth, he would not have been so poor in the past.

    He looked at Lu Yin. If Luo Laoer could not prove his value at this time, his chances of gaining a high status in the Heavens Sect would shrink significantly. "Let me think about this."

    Lu Yin was in no hurry. If Luo Lao''er was not able to help, then Lu Yin would simply ask Fenglei Guanqin. If there was no other option, then he would dip into the Fenglei n''s reserves. It would be enough for him to Possess a few people, and he could always pay the n back in the future.

    If not for Cang Bi''s careful observation, Lu Yin would have all kinds of ways to acquire some flourishing crystals.

    Monarch Luo was extremely cautious.

    After considering the matter for a while, a troubled expression appeared on Luo Lao''er''s face. "Brother-inw, the only option that I can think of is robbing the imperial treasury. While each branch of the Crystal Bank has a decent amount, none of them have anywhere near enough crystals to satisfy your appetite of several dozen billion. Even if all of the Crystal Bank branches throughout the Three Monarchs Universebined held this much, the branches are all scattered across the entire universe. Also, they dont really have that much to begin with."

    Lu Yin considered this information. "Robbing the imperial treasury isnt going to be easy. Right, why would Monarch Luo, who can transform the entire universe and create the monarch essence that fills the Three Monarchs Universe, need such arge reserve of flourishing crystals?"

    "It''s for the rainbow wall," Luo Lao''er revealed. As Monarch Luo''s son, Luo Laoer was privy to many secrets. "The rainbow wall is based off of the Three Monarchs Formation, and it needs a regr influx of monarch essence, and pretty frequently at that. In case my father is ever injured and can''t restore the monarch essence in time, the reserve of flourishing crystals in the imperial treasury is his insurance."

    Lu Yin understood. Even if Monarch Luo was a legendary figure who was unfathomably powerful, he was not confident when it came to dealing with Aeternus.

    Luo Lao''er continued, "Brother-inw, my cheap old man is even more cautious than Monarch Mu. I cant tell you if he''s constantly monitoring the imperial treasury, but I am sure that, if anyone enters the imperial treasury without his permission, hell instantly know about it."

    "And yet you want me to rob the imperial treasury?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Luo Lao''erughed awkwardly. "Brother-inw, I just said that hell immediately know if anyone enters <em>without</em> his permission. We can just find someone who has his permission and have them help us take out the flourishing crystals that you need."

    Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao''er. Sure enough, it had been a good idea to bring him along.

    "Like I just mentioned, the imperial treasury regrly sends outrge amounts of flourishing crystals to restore the rainbow walls monarch essence. Its usually a few dozen billion each time, and there isnt a fixed schedule. We can start by targeting the person whos in charge of the distribution, as shes both the owner of the Crystal Bank and the person in charge of collecting flourishing crystals: Shui Ningqiu" Luo Lao''er slowly shared everything he knew.

    It had to be said that Luo Lao''er had put a good deal of effort into plotting over the years. If not, he would have died at Luo Zang''s hands, just like the rest of his siblings.

    Because of his connections through the Fenglei n, Luo Laoer knew a great deal about the Three Monarchs Universe, including some of Shui Ningqiu''s most closely guarded secrets.

    "How did you learn that Shui Ningqiu is working with Fu Yuan and embezzling flourishing crystals? Was the Fenglei n able to dig up even this?" Lu Yin asked incredulously.

    Luo Lao''er licked his lips. "I bought that information."

    Lu Yin gave Luo Lao''er a long look. "Not only did you buy information about the Transcendent Universe, but you also did the same for the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    "Technically, my main focus was always the Three Monarchs Universe," Luo Lao''er replied as he nced at Lu Yin. "Brother-inw, do you have any idea just how many schemes Luo Zang has used to try to kill me over the years?"

    He raised his fingers. "Seven!"

    Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Luo Lao''er calmly continued, exining, "He came up with seven different schemes to kill me, which shows just how highly Luo Zang is regarded. For one, he intercepted all the resources that the Fenglei n tried to send me in the Transcendent Universe by using the Mu family. He then used those resources to fund other attempts to kill me. The Transcendent Universe never really cared if I survived or not. If I hadn''t bought information before he made his moves and learned about what he was doing, I would have died long ago.

    "My mother left me some funds before she died, but over the years, Ive gone through just about all of it, and it was only barely enough to keep me alive until now. If you hadn''t caught Monarch Mu, Luo Zang would still be after me."

    Despite Luo Lao''er''s calm tone, Lu Yin could hear the mans sorrow. He had been betrayed by his own father, targeted by his brother, and forced to use what his mother had left him just to survive. There was a deep sadness hidden beneath the young mans cheerful exterior.

    Lu Yin sympathized with Luo Laoer. After all, Lu Yin simrly had an unfulfilled mission of revenge, but whenpared to Luo Lao''er, Lu Yin was in a much better position. At the very least, Lu Yin had the ability to strike back, and while his chance for revenge was still far out of reach, there was at least hope. As for Luo Lao''er, if not for Lu Yin''s timely appearance, the Fenglei n and Luo Laoer might have already beenpletely wiped out.

    Luo Lao''er suddenly pped his forehead. "Why are we even talking about this? Brother-inw, Shui Ningqiu can definitely get the flourishing crystals if we ckmail her, and she can even get ahold of tens of billions in one go. I know that that might still not be enough to meet your needs, but it should at least serve as a start. However, there''s something important to take note of; we cant allow anything to happen to the woman, and we have to make sure to pin the me onto Fu Yuan."

    "Why is that?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    "Originally, there were two peoplepeting to be the owner of the Crystal Bank: Shui Ningqiu and Old Lady Mu.

    "No one else was able topete with those two, and eventually, Shui Ningqiu was chosen because my old dad needed to reduce Monarch Mu''s influence a bit. This was before the peak powerhouse from the Origin Universe arrived, so Monarch Mu''s influence wasn''t too significant. If anything happens to Shui Ningqiu, Old Lady Mu will take over."

    "I''ve already captured Monarch Mu, so is her sister really still going to be the one to take over the Crystal Banks operations?" Lu Yin did not understand this.

    Luo Lao''er shrugged. "The Mu family''s roots run deep in the Three Monarchs Universe. They have people absolutely everywhere. Also, Luo Zang is still around."

    Lu Yin had nearly forgotten about Luo Zang. While Monarch Mu had indeed been captured, Luo Zang was also Monarch Luo''s son, and he was even the only one of the mans children with the potential to inherit the Three Monarchs Universe. His talent was impressive, which meant that, as long as he survived, nothing would be allowed to happen to the Mu family.

    "So, nothing can happen to Shui Ningqiu. We cant let anyone from the Mu family get control over billions of flourishing crystals, right?" Luo Lao''er continued.

    A smile tugged at Lu Yin''s lips. "No, you''re actually wrong."

    Luo Lao''er blinked, looking at Lu Yin in a lost manner.

    Lu Yin nearlyughed. After all, Old Lady Mu was not just a member of the Mu family. She could also be considered one of Lu Yins people, as there was a Death Seal within her.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2647: Relationship

    Chapter 2647: Rtionship

    The Three Monarchs Universe was separated into three different regions: the Lower King Domain, the Upper King Domain, and the Emperor Domain. Only people from the Emperor Domain were allowed to freely travel between the Upper and Lower King Domains, whereas people from the two lower domains struggled to gain entry to the Emperor Domain. The only way for them to enter the Emperor Domain was to have the right connections.

    However, there were a few individuals who were allowed to travel freely between the three domains, among whom included the Crystal Banks employees.

    After humans moved beyond the more primitive stages of development, economics began to y an increasingly crucialponent in civilization. The Crystal Bank, much like the Mavis Bank, controlled the Three Monarchs Universes economy.

    In the Emperor Domain, the Crystal Bank''s headquarters was shaped like a massive ring that was farrger than any. It slowly spun in ce, like a clock hanging over the Emperor Domain.

    <em>Thump, thump, thump</em>. A man stood outside a door, clearly.

    "Enter," a female voice ordered. Her voice sounded steady,petent, as well as touched by the passage of time.

    The man entered and bowed. "Collector."

    A woman sat in front of him. She was not beautiful in a conventional sense, though her appearance was rather noticeable. Her eyes were incredibly sharp, and the moment they rose when she nced at the man, he felt as though she could seepletely through him, which caused his heart to tremble.

    "How is it?" she asked.

    The man answered respectfully, "It has not reached the standard limit yet."

    "Then go and check it again," the womanmanded before lowering her head once more. It was impossible to see what she was looking at.

    The man stepped out, thought for a moment, and then knocked on the door again.

    "Enter."

    The man approached the woman, "Collector, the standard limit has been reached. It is ready to be replenished."

    "Hmm," the woman responded, "Well done."

    "Thank you, Collector." The man wiped the sweat from his brow. His job was to determine when it was time to replenish the rainbow wall with monarch essence. People did not tend tost long in this position, though not because the job was difficult. Rather, people did not stay because the job was too simple. It was so simple that it only required a nce, but no one coulde to an agreement on how to interpret the information from that nce.

    Every time the man submitted a report, he felt like he was flipping a coin.

    Everyone who knew Shui Ningqiu understood that the woman had a certain limit in her mind, though no one knew exactly what it was.

    The man left, aplicated expression on his face. He had no idea how much longer he would be able to keep his job for. He might not be so lucky the next time he delivered his report. Luckily, he had reacted quickly this time, as it had allowed him to keep his job.

    "Im going to the Mo Courtyard," the woman stated indifferently. As soon as she spoke, two people stepped out from behind her. Each one was a Retainer, and they were the experts responsible for Shui Ningqius safety when she left for the imperial treasury, which was located in the Emperor Domain and under the Mo Courtyards protection.

    The two experts trailed behind Shui Ningqiu like two shadows as she headed towards the Mo Courtyard.

    One of the two bodyguards was actually Lu Yin in disguise. He was rather surprised at his luck, as he had not expected to leave for the imperial treasury almost as soon as he arrived. He had only intended to make some observations and take note of when Shui Ningqiu made her trips so that he could n ordingly.

    As for Cang Bi, there was no way he could actually monitor Lu Yin.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the Mo Courtyards status was second only to the three Monarchs themselves. The Mo Courtyard served as the sword and shield of the three Monarchs, and the fifteen Semi-Progenitor-level experts in the Mo Courtyard were tasked with protecting the Emperor Domain. Even other universes had no choice but to respect the Mo Courtyard.

    Even if other parallel universes had more than fifteen Semi-Progenitor-level experts, such powerhouses were usually not a part of a unified force. Only the Three Monarchs Universe could gather every Semi-Progenitor-level figure into a single unit, and theirbined force was something that could not be ignored.

    In the past, the Fifth Maind had only been home to seven Semi-Progenitors, which served to properly frame the strength of the Mo Courtyard.

    Since the imperial treasury was under the Mo Courtyards protection, only a peak powerhouse could force their way into the ce.

    There were also undoubtedly additional methods of protection and surveince within the imperial treasury as well.

    Shui Ningqiu was very familiar with the Mo Courtyard, to the point that making her way to the imperial treasury was like returning home.

    Lu Yin was quite curious, as he had previously heard that the leader of the Mo Courtyard was a peak Semi-Progenitor level expert who was on the cusp of reaching the Progenitor level. With that breakthrough, the Three Monarchs Universe would gain another peak powerhouse. The mans name was Chen Le.

    The entrance to the imperial treasury was directly below the Mo Courtyard.

    As the small group traveled, no one noticed that Lu Yin had swapped ces with the original bodyguard. Not even a peak powerhouse could be certain to notice anything was amiss, let alone the people of the Mo Courtyard.

    The entrance to the imperial treasury was rather ostentatious, as it was surrounded by three statues that portrayed the three Monarchs. Monarch Luos statue stood at the center, with Monarch Mus to the left and Monarch Xings to the right.

    There was a man standing before the entrance itself, and when he saw Shui Ningqiu approaching, a frown appeared on the mans face. "Replenishing the rainbow wall so soon?"

    "Theres nothing that I can do about it. The fighting has been too intensetely," Shui Ningqiu replied as she walked forward. Once she was within three meters of the man, a smile blossomed on her face, which was a sharp contrast to her previously cold demeanor.

    The eyes of the man at the treasurys entrance lit up. "This time, I want 50 million flourishing crystals."

    The man was Fu Yuan. ording to what Lu Yin had learned from Luo Lao''er, this man worked with Shui Ningqiu to embezzle flourishing crystals from the imperial treasury.

    Each time Shui Ningqiu essed the treasury, the two would embezzle a small amount of flourishing crystals. As time passed, Fu Yuan had managed to amass a sizable fortune. Once Chen Le seed in his breakthrough to the Monarch realm, Fu Yuan intended to rece the man as the leader of the Mo Courtyard. He was determined to obtain that position.

    "50 million? Thats going to be rather difficult," Shui Ningqiu quietly replied, "With Monarch Mu gone, the Three Monarchs Formation is no longer reliable, and the rainbow wall is slowly weakening. Taking that much might draw Monarch Luo''s attention."

    Fu Yuan frowned. "I don''t have enough flourishing crystals to be a peak Demi-Monarch."

    "Counting from when you became a Demi-Monarch to now, youve taken no less than a billion flourishing crystals, which is an absolutely astronomical amount. Things are far from ideal right now, so you should cut down on how much youre taking for a while. If Monarch Mu returns and the Three Monarchs Formation stabilizes, then I can get you 100 million." Shui Ningqiu was very hesitant to agree.

    Fu Yuan''s voice dropped low. "Chen Le is about to break through and be a Monarch. Thepetition for his position in the Mo Courtyard is fierce. You wont want anyone else to take his position, do you? You''ve taken just as many flourishing crystals as me, and out of 10 billion, no one will notice 50 million missing."

    Lu Yin was able to hear the entire conversation, as the two bodyguards werepletely trusted. No one would ever imagine that Lu Yin had reced one of the two.

    No matter what Fu Yuan said, Shui Ningqiu refused to give him as many flourishing crystals as he wanted. Eventually, Fu Yuan only received 10 million crystals.

    For Demi-Monarch, 10 million flourishing crystals was such a small amount that it was not even worth mentioning, no different from 10 million star essence to one of the Fifth Mainds Semi-Progenitors. However, Fu Yuan had been embezzling funds for a very long time, and the total amount that he had obtained in this manner was astronomical. There was only one reason why he would be gathering so much wealth; he intended to attempt to be a peak Demi-Monarch.

    Simrly, Shui Ningqiu had been saving up her flourishing crystals in order to break through to be a Demi-Monarch, as she was still only a peak Retainer.

    Both of them had their own goals.

    The information that Luo Laoer had obtained imed that the two had been in a rtionship during their youth, which was how they had managed to form their current partnership. It was also possible that Shui Ningqiu had already known that Fu Yuan was part of the Mo Courtyard and that she had proactively reached out to him.

    Regardless of how it had started, the thieves that the two were supposed to be protecting the imperial treasury from were none other than themselves.

    Fu Yuan quickly retrieved 10 billion flourishing crystals from the imperial treasury and then left the Mo Courtyard along with Shui Ningqiu. The two started moving towards the rainbow wall, as this was Fu Yuan''s task as a member of the Mo Courtyard.

    Lu Yin remained calm and silently watched everything unfold, never showing any abnormal behavior and simply mirroring the other bodyguards actions.

    He had glimpsed the unbelievable amount of flourishing crystals held within the imperial treasury, which he estimated to be at least one trillion. If anything ever happened to Monarch Luo, the wealth of the imperial treasury would be enough to maintain the rainbow wall for a good amount of time. This was a strategic resource of the Three Monarchs Universe.

    This cache of flourishing crystals would also be the ideal if he intended to cultivate monarch essence.

    The Mo Courtyard was a fair distance away from the rainbow wall. Just like usual, Fu Yuan and Shui Ningqiu made the journey with a spacecraft and took their time. They could have covered the distance much quicker if Fu Yuan rushed over with his own strength and carried Shui Ningqiu along, but doing so would make it difficult for them to discuss various matters.

    As they traveled, Fu Yuan took away his 10 million flourishing crystals, only after which did Shui Ningqiu breathe a sigh of relief. "Our top priority needs to be maintaining the status quo. We cant afford any idents at all."

    "I know," Fu Yuan replied, still rather upset.

    Shui Ningqiu also stayed rather quiet.

    Suddenly, someone reported, "Collector, a member of the Mu family has been spotted up ahead."

    Shui Ningqiu and Fu Yuan were both surprised. "Someone from the Mu family?"

    Soon, they met with Old Lady Mu.

    "So, it''s the Collector''s vessel. No wonder it looked so familiar." Old Lady Mu''s calm face betrayed a hint of coldness, which made Shui Ningqiu feel as though she was being looked down on. Still, she did not dare to offend Old Lady Mu. Shui Ningqiu was well aware that the only reason why she had beaten Old Lady Mu in the contest to be the head of the Crystal Bank was because Monarch Mu had wanted to limit the Mu familys influence.

    While Monarch Mu had gone missing, Luo Zang was still alive, and the Mu Family''s influence would not diminish in the slightest unless someone took Luo Zangs ce as the heir apparent to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Old Lady Mu then turned to look at Fu Yuan. "It has been a while."

    Fu Yuan replied politely, "It has indeed been some time, Senior."

    "Why are you here, Senior?" Shui Ningqiu asked with a voice that carefully portrayed a high degree of respect.

    Old Lady Mu casually replied, "Oh, nothing much. I heard from someone that there have been some discrepancies between how many flourishing crystals have been withdrawn and how much you have been supplying to the rainbow wall, so I came over to check on things."

    Both Fu Yuan and Shui Ningqiu''s faces grew pale.

    "Senior, who spread such nder? Baseless usations should not be spoken lightly!" Shui Ningqiu replied in a stern voice.

    Fu Yuan remained silent, but his face showed he was simrly unhappy.

    Old Lady Mu remained unruffled. "Regardless of whether the im is true, we''ll know as soon as we check. Collector, bring out the flourishing crystals that you''re taking to the rainbow wall. The flourishing crystals from the imperial treasury that are specifically intended for the rainbow wall contain monarch essence that is unique to Monarch Luo, which makes them different from what is circted in the economy, as they cannot be counterfeited."

    Shui Ningqiu felt her heart start to drop. She had just given Fu Yuan 10 million flourishing crystals, which meant that, if Old Lady Mu were to check the delivery, they might as well confess to stealing the flourishing crystals. That could not be allowed to happen!

    "Senior, delivering the flourishing crystals to the rainbow wall is not a minor task, and this is not something that others can check on however they please. After all, this task was assigned to us by Monarch Luo himself. If we allow you to check on us due to a mere rumor, it would allow others to take the same liberties. What if one of Aeternuss spies takes advantage of such an opportunity to steal the flourishing crystals? Who would be held responsible?" Shui Ningqiu retorted.

    Old Lady Mus brow furrowed. "Are you unwilling to cooperate with me?"

    "This is not about willingness, but rather that what you are asking is impossible." Shui Ningqiu stood her ground. Given the situation, she absolutely could not show the slightest opening.

    Old Lady Mu looked back over at Fu Yuan. "What is your position on this matter?"

    Fu Yuan replied, "Senior, if you wish to inspect the Collector''s delivery of flourishing crystals, I would need to ask how you intend to prove yourself to be Old Lady Mu. If you are an Aeternus spy disguised by using abilities we cannot see through, wouldn''t you simply steal the flourishing crystals the moment we expose them to you?"

    Old Lady Mu sneered. "If a spy could deceive you with a disguise, why would they need such a trivial amount of flourishing crystals?"

    "While it might be considered a trivial amount, they have a strategic significance," Shui Ningqiu insisted, "If this supply of flourishing crystals is not delivered in time, it could trouble the rainbow wall, which would be a very serious matter."

    Fu Yuan stepped forward. "Senior, if you insist on inspecting this batch, that can be arranged, but we need to first report this matter to Monarch Luo and ask him to decide."

    Old Lady Mu sneered again. "You two certainly y off each other well enough, just like what the whistleblower said would happen. The two of you must have been inseparable in your youths."

    Shui Ningqiu and Fu Yuan were struck with horror at thisment. This was a catastrophe, as they had clearly been discovered.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2648: Peak Of The Sixth Level

    Chapter 2648: Peak Of The Sixth Level

    Suddenly, Old Lady Mu attacked. Long needles pierced through the void and formed a divine hologram that pressed down upon Fu Yuan and Shui Ningqiu. Whether you give me permission or not, I will be checking the delivery of flourishing crystals today. If there is no issue, I will apologize and go to Monarch Luo to receive appropriate punishment.

    Fu Yuan pushed Shui Ningqiu aside. His palm trembled as he gathered his monarch essence into a tri-colored palm print that mmed into the divine diagram.

    There was an explosion that tore the spacecraft apart as Fu Yuan stumbled back. Simply put, he was no match for Old Lady Mu.

    Old Lady Mu was from the same generation as Monarch Mu. While Monarch Mu had been blessed with incredible talent and be a Monarch, Old Lady Mus talent was worse than her sister, but she had still managed to be a peak Demi-Monarch. The only person in the entire Mo Courtyard who had surpassed the woman was Chen Le. Fu Yuancked the necessary strength.

    Old Lady Mu, are you trying to steal the flourishing crystals? Shui Ningqiu shrieked.

    At this moment, Fu Yuan whirled around and grabbed Shui Ningqiu''s hand. Even as she stared at him in disbelief, he snatched her cosmic ring away from her. I''m sorry, but we can''t hide this anymore. We''ll meet again if fate allows.

    The man then turned back to throw another palm strike at Old Lady Mu while also tearing through the void and fleeing.

    Shui Ningqiu was leftpletely dumbfounded. She had not expected Fu Yuan to flee as she had already nned everything out: since Old Lady Mu had no authority to check the delivery to the rainbow wall, Fu Yuan would hold the woman back, which would give Shui Ningqiu the time she needed to put back the stolen flourishing crystals. After that, they would reluctantly allow Old Lady Mu to check the delivery, which would confirm that there were no issues. Monarch Luo would not condemn them just because they had previously been in a rtionship, as he would not care about such matters.

    Fu Yuan running away waspletely outside of Shui Ningqius expectations, especially so quickly and openly. His escape was essentially the same as admitting that the two of them had been stealing flourishing crystals from the delivery, which meant that Fu Yuan had betrayed Shui Ningqiu.

    Fu Yuan- Shui Ningqiu roared in fury.

    However, the void had already recovered, and Fu Yuan had vanished without a trace.

    Old Lady Mu''s divine diagram swept through space, but itpletely missed the fleeing man.

    Her eyes grew cold. He certainly ran off quickly.

    The old woman then turned to Shui Ningqiu. So, there really is something wrong. Just how many flourishing crystals have you two stolen over the years? Let''s see how you intend to exin yourself to Monarch Luo.

    Shui Ningqius face turned ashen. Fu Yuan had fled, which meant that there was no longer any need for an investigation. Everything was already over.

    A short timeter, Old Lady Mu was respectfully facing a disy. She was in the process of contacting none other than Monarch Luo himself.

    As soon as Monarch Luo connected to the call, he saw both Old Lady Mu and Shui Ningqiu. "Did Fu Yuan escape?"

    "Yes. Your subordinate was ipetent and failed to keep him here," Old Lady Mu apologized.

    Monarch Luo stared at Old Lady Mu. "How did you discover that they have been stealing flourishing crystals?"

    "I received a report, and we also coincidentally discovered the twos rtionship from their younger years. On top of that, Fu Yuan''s progress in recent years has been suspiciously fast. Despite only recently bing a Demi-Monarch, he has been quickly improving, and at the moment, he has almost caught up to me. Because of all of these clues, I felt the need to investigate them, but I didn''t expect Fu Yuan to escape so decisively," Old Lady Mu replied.

    Monarch Luo then turned to Shui Ningqiu, whose face had lost absolutely all color. He spoke in a soft tone, "Take care of this. You are the Head Collector starting today."

    Old Lady Mu was thrilled. "Thank you, my Lord."

    Just as Fu Yuan had said, Monarch Luo could not care less about such a trivial number of flourishing crystals. They came from his own power, which meant that he could create as many as he wanted. As long as Monarch Luo was not alerted that funds were being embezzled, there would not be any problems. However, the moment things were exposed, there was no longer any reason for Shui Ningqiu to be kept around.

    Monarch Luo saw every cultivator in the Three Monarchs Universe as his own servants. He did not care if Shui Ningqiu lived or died, nor the reason behind the actions that she had taken. He simply had no need to know.

    Old Lady Mu hid her excitement. The Head Collector was not just responsible for charging the rainbow wall with flourishing crystals; this person would also control the amazingly powerful Crystal Bank. Being given such a position would further increase the Mu familys influence in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Monarch Mu was indeed missing, but the Mu family would never copse while Luo Zang still lived. Giving Old Lady Mu this position was also Monarch Luos way of demonstrating his own position and making it clear that he supported the Mu family.

    As the image disappeared, Old Lady Mu sighed and gestured for someone to take Shui Ningqiu away. The old woman remained silently standing where she was.

    The next moment, the void split back open, and Fu Yuan stepped out.

    Old Lady Mu''s eyes flickered as she looked over. "You!"

    She was prepared to attack, but Fu Yuan''s face suddenly transformed, morphing into Xuan Qi.

    Old Lady Mu held back from attacking, and she stared at Lu Yin with a strange expression on her face.

    Ever since the woman had firstid eyes on this man, Monarch Mu had disappeared, as had the the Fenglei n. Now, the Three Monarchs Universe was not the same ce that it had once been.

    Old Lady Mu was not sure that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was rted to this man, but she was unable to think of any alternative exnation.

    For more than two years, her life had hung by a thread as she awaited this man''s return.

    Every time she met with Monarch Luo, she had been gripped by fear, terrified that the Monarch would see through her.

    Never before had she experienced such a crisis. After all, Old Lady Mu had never been sent to the front lines to fight against Aeternus.

    "Well done," Lu Yin praised the woman with a smile. He had captured Fu Yuan after the man entered the spacecraft. Even if Fu Yuan was aplete fool, he would have never fled the scene immediately. Where could he run to? Fleeing would mean never being able to return to the Three Monarchs Universe, and as someone who cultivated monarch essence but had yet to be a Monarch, staying in a universe without monarch essence meant that his energy reserves would eventually run out.

    "Why did you help me?" Old Lady Mu asked.

    Lu Yin took a seat. "I''m not helping you. I''m simply after some resources. If not for the imperial treasury, I would have taken what I needed from your Mu family."

    The Mu family possessed arge amount of resources, though it was unlikely for them to have even ten billion flourishing crystals.

    Everyone in the Three Monarchs Universe could be regarded as a servant of the three Monarchs. Even if the Mu family was an exception to that standard, they would never be allowed to gather such an exorbitant amount of resources.

    Old Lady Mu stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "Are you connected to Monarch Mu''s disappearance?"

    Lu Yin met Old Lady Mu''s eyes. "I have her."

    A chill ran down the old womans spine. Monarch Mu was a peak powerhouse, and yet she had been captured by this man. Just who was this man? What kind of strength was he hiding? She could not even imagine it.

    "What are you nning? Is the Fenglei n behind-?" Before Old Lady Mu could even finish her question, Lu Yin was already gone.

    She stared nkly at the suddenly empty space before her. A feeling ofplete powerlessness washed over her.

    What happened in the Three Monarchs Universe had no effect on Xuan Qi, who had been resting in his quarters, nor did it affect Cang Bi, who remained close to Xuan Qi at all times.

    Stepping into the courtyard, Lu Yin drew a deep breath. "Every universe has its own feeling. Which universe do you find the mostfortable in the Sixverse Association?"

    Cang Bi replied, "I belong to this universe, so its only natural that I find my own universe to be the mostfortable."

    With augh, Lu Yin replied, "On the other hand, I find the Voidforce Universe to be much morefortable."

    Cang Bi just smiled and made a point of not continuing the conversation. His job was to monitor Xuan Qi. Helping the young man in his investigation was nothing more than an excuse to justify the Demi-Monarchs presence.

    Lu Yin only took a brief walk before returning to his quarters. He stated that he intended to go into seclusion for a time, iming to have obtained a bit of insight.

    Obtaining insight was something that any cultivator would envy.

    Flourishing crystals contained monarch essence, but unlike star crystals, flourishing crystals were simply containers for the energy and not objects formed from pure monarch essence. Because of this, Lu Yin was slightly uneasy when rolling his die.

    Fortunately, he found that it was not a problem to draw monarch essence from the flourishing crystals because of his level of control over the energy.

    At the moment, he had a staggering 930 million flourishing crystals, all of which he had taken from Fu Yuan.

    Fu Yuan''s wealth had be Lu Yins. As for the 10 billion flourishing crystals intended for the rainbow wall, Lu Yin had not touched any of it.

    A loss of a few tens of millions of flourishing crystals would not be noticed, and Monarch Luo did not care about such an amount. However, if an obvious amount went missing, it would be a different story. There was no denying that the Three Monarchs Universe was under Monarch Luo''s control.

    Surrounded by hundreds of millions of flourishing crystals, Lu Yin looked up. His die appeared, and with a tap of a finger, it started to spin.

    Two pips, ckhole Disassembly. Useless. There was nothing that he needed to disassemble.

    Again. Four pips: Timestop. As time froze for him, the scenery around Lu Yin shifted.

    Within his Timestop Space, Lu Yin continued to focus on practicing the Cosmic Art and reciting the Origin Sutra like normal. He firmly believed that the Origin Progenitors Sutra would continue to bring him various benefits.

    After spending nearly a year within the Timestop Space, Lu Yin''s vision changed, and he reappeared in the real world, where only a single second had passed.

    Again. The flick of his finger caused the die to slowly spin beforeing to a halt. Once again, Lu Yin had rolled Timestop.

    Of the six sides of his die, the mostmon roll was Pilfer, and Lu Yin always received something for that roll, though what he received could be either good or bad. However, both the most useful and the most troublesome roll for Lu Yin was Timestop.

    While rolling Timestop granted him almost an entire year of extra time, there were asions when Lu Yin did not want to practice, but he was never able to bring himself to waste such an opportunity.

    With no other choice, Lu Yin once again chose to continue his training.

    Perhaps he was under some kind of curse, but the less Lu Yin wanted to train, the more he was forced to do so.

    His third roll was also Timestop. He had gotten the same result three times in a row now

    Each time, Lu Yin extended the duration of Timestop to nearly a year. It was important that he continue to constantly train. He could not afford to waste any opportunities.

    Rolling Timestop three times in a row meant that Lu Yin had spent almost three continuous years training. After ending his third session in his Timestop Space, Lu Yin felt as though his training session hadsted a lifetime.

    During the three years that he had focused on cultivating the Cosmic Art, he had sessfully simted 370,000 stars.

    Mastering the sixth level of Cosmic Art meant that one had mastered 380,000 stars, and Lu Yin was only one step away from reaching perfection in the sixth level.

    Despite initially not wanting to train, Lu Yin suddenly found himself hoping to roll Timestop for his fourth roll. He was eager to experience the changes in the Cosmic Art when he reached the seventh level.

    The seventh level of Cosmic Art was supposed to be the pinnacle of the cultivation art. At that level, a person was no longer supposed to focus on how many stars they could simte, but rather on simting an entire universe!

    Suppressing his excitement, Lu Yin simply rested for more than a dozen days. Only after that did he continue to roll his die, hoping to see either Timestop or Possession.

    A monthter, Lu Yin opened his eyes and stood up to look past the courtyard outside his personal quarters

    His seclusion was finally at an end.

    He had mastered the sixth level of the Cosmic Art, simting 380,000 stars. He was just a single step away from reaching the seventh level, but he had failed to take that final step.

    He had no idea how to proceed with the seventh level of the Cosmic Art.

    Despite spending nearly a year in his Timestop Space relentlessly practicing the Cosmic Art, Lu Yin had made no progress at all. He found himself unable to move beyond 380,000 stars. Forget reaching the seventh level of the Cosmic Arthe was not even able to increase the number of stars he simted beyond 380,000 no matter how hard he tried.

    Helpless, Lu Yin had been left with no option but to cultivate his other powers when he rolled Timestop, such as monarch essence. Due to this, he had be his monarch essence had reached the Retainer realm, and the continent of fatesand in his chest had considerably increased the amount of tri-colored soil, which had appeared along the banks of the river of voidforce energy. Green sprouts could be seen within this soil, which was the power of the Arboreal Realm.

    The various energies within Lu Yins chest were each growing and improving, and it gave the system in his chest a colorful, though chaotic, appearance.

    Aside from spending his time cultivating, Lu Yin had also managed to roll Possession a few times. As he had expected, it was possible to use the monarch essence stored within flourishing crystals to Possess cultivators in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    He had Possessed several individuals of varying strength. One person was even a Demi-Monarch from the Mo Courtyard.

    Lu Yins luck had not been bad at all. Of the people he had Possessed, there had been several spies. After all, people who were selected by Aeternus to be spies were typically good matches for Lu Yins Possession, as both he and Aeternus sought out powerful individuals with widespread influence. Possessing a spy was not purely reliant on luck.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    I owe all of you an apology. Yesterday, the scheduler released a chapter before the scheduled chapters for the day, and it was not brought to our attention for several hours. Unfortunately for all of you, this means that you were given ess to an advanced chapter, not the bonus chapter you were all hoping for.

    We''ll try to get arger buffer so that we can release some bonus chapters soon, but please know that we will always announce bonus chapters.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2649: Strange Happenings

    Chapter 2649: Strange Happenings

    Lu Yin pushed open the door to his quarters and entered the courtyard.

    Cang Bi looked over. "Are you finished with your seclusion, Acting Bureau Director?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Senior, I am off to arrest a spy. Would you like to join me, or will you wait here?"

    "Of course Ill apany you. Monarch Luo ordered me to remain by your side at all times, so that I can provide whatever assistance you need," Cang Bi replied.

    Lu Yin said, "But I will be heading to the Transcendent Universe."

    Cang Bi was startled. "To the Transcendent Universe? Right now?"

    Lu Yin answered with a smile. "Ive already been gone from there for more than a month. Given my long absence from the Transcendent Universe, its quite possible that some spies have started to reveal themselves again. Senior, let''s go."

    The Transcendent Universe had countless mining operations and other simr industries. There were refineries and other sites where raw materials were extracted and refined. After the initial processing, the refined materials would be distributed to various production processes.

    Lu Yin, Cang Bi, You Lele, Xu Yue, and several others appeared outside arge mining facility that focused on extracting metal ore.

    "Are you saying that theres a spy here?" You Lele was surprised.

    The others looked at Lu Yin, none of them having any idea how he had learned about this spy.

    Of course, Lu Yin had been able to find spies by Possessing people in the Three Monarchs Universe. His current target was someone who was involved in the trades urring between Monarch Mu and He Ran, and this person was actually responsible for overseeing the transportation of those resources. Despite the mans decent level of strength, he had hidden himself well. He also knew where another spy involved in the transportation of resources between the Three Monarchs Universe and the Transcendent Universe was located.

    Upon learning of these two spies, Lu Yin had grown even warier of Aeternus. Just how well did the Aeternals understand human civilizations?

    Very few individuals were aware of the ongoing trade between the Transcendent Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. Lu Yin was not even certain that the You family was aware of it, but Aeternus was unquestionably well informed about the details. It seemed possible that the Aeternals had a list, which they used to ensure that their spies were nted absolutely everywhere. If that was true, then the Aeternals might have even been aware of Zi Jings research direction for quite some time.

    If that were true, then why had that research not been targeted yet?

    Lu Yin dismissed his doubts and questions as he led his team into the mining facility, where he immediately arrested someone.

    The person initially denied the usations and put up some resistance, but after Lu Yin presented different pieces of evidence, the spy reverted to iming to be controlled by Cheng Kong.

    You Lele was utterly shocked, as she simply could not fathom how Xuan Qi had found this particr spy. There was no connection between this person and the arrested woman who had destroyed the research data. The two had never even crossed paths. Just what angle had Xuan Qi used to uncover this man?

    You Lele could not make any sense of the situation, and You Fang was simrly confused.

    The father and daughter considered themselves intelligent, but Lu Yin''s process of unearthing spies was beyond anything that they could understand.

    Xu Yue was rather impressed. She had initially despised Xuan Qi when they had met in the Sixverse Academy, and she hadter developed feelings of guilt after she stopped him from obtaining an innate gift from a lightning tree in the Arboreal Sanctuary. After that, she had started to hate Xuan Qi due to his actions during the trial in the Origin Universe, but more recently, her feelings had been swayed by the young mans determination, especially when he had stood up to Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples. As time passed, she had even started to develop a hint of admiration for Xuan Qi, as his ability to catch spies was truly remarkable.

    From the spy, Lu Yin uncovered the spy in the Three Monarchs Universe that he had already learned of through logical deduction.

    With two spies arrested back-to-back, Boss Guan and the others were going to be busy for the foreseeable future. They needed to investigate the spies various contacts and determine how many more spies were connected to the two. The bureau members were well experienced with this process.

    Lu Yin did not remain idle either. Capturing this spy in the Transcendent Universe was a way for him to avoid any suspicions when he arrested the spy in the Three Monarchs Universe. Without that, he would have struggled to justify arresting anyone in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    With an arrested spy from the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin could use that mans confession as an excuse to quickly arrest two more spies in the universe, one of whom had even infiltrated the Mo Courtyard.

    Cang Bi''s face went pale.

    The Three Monarchs Universes Mo Courtyard was famous throughout the Sixverse Universe, and everyone who had ess to the Mo Courtyard all had powerful backgrounds. While the spy who had been arrested had only been a servant in the Mo Courtyard, he was not just any servant; the man just so happened to be rted to Cang Bi.

    "Is this spy rted to you, Senior?" Lu Yin was genuinely startled, as he had beenpletely unaware of this detail. All he knew was that the spy was named Wu Tong and that the man had been recruited to Aeternus by someone whom Lu Yin had Possessed. Since he hadnt Possessed Wu Tong himself, Lu Yin had actually been rather confused as to why Aeternus would want a servant as a spy.

    While the Mo Courtyard was a prestigious organization, its members and their responsibilities were open for all to see. There were fifteen Demi-Monarch experts stationed at the entrance to the imperial treasury; that was all that the Mo Courtyard was, and nothing more. Taking the effort to ce a spy there made no sense, especially when that spy could be easily connected to other spies.

    Cang Bi was incredibly pale. "He is a descendant of one of my disciples. That disciple died on the Endless Frontier, but not before aplishing several deeds of note. Due to his service, his descendant was allowed to enter the Mo Courtyard and was even given some guidance in his cultivation. While he isnt very talented, he managed to be a Retainer. I never even considered the fact that he could be a spy."

    In front of the two men, Wu Tong was kneeling on the ground and trembling. His eyes were filled with despair.

    Cang Bished out with a kick, but Lu Yin quickly pulled Wu Tong out of the way, preventing Cang Bi from killing the man.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t kill him. If I did, I''d be suspected of being a spy myself," Cang Bi said.

    "As long as you are aware of your position, Senior." Lu Yin did not make an effort to be overly polite to the Demi-Monarch.

    Cang Bi red at Wu Tong. "Speak up! Why did you be a spy?"

    Wu Tong was absolutely terrified. Lu Yin released the man, and he simply fell to the ground. "Ancestor, I didn''t want to! I was forced into this!"

    "Who forced you?" Cang Bi roared.

    Wu Tong proceeded to slowly recount all that had happened that had led to him bing a spy.

    His story was nothing special. He had been led out of the Mo Courtyard and then threatened to do something, which had left him with no choice but to be a spy.

    There were a variety of methods that Aeternus used to recruit spies, but Lu Yin had known about this particr method from the beginning.

    If Lu Yin were to bepletely honest, he had also been nurtured by Aeternus. Many of Lu Yins actions lined up with what Aeternus wanted him to do. While Lu Yin was not a spy, he still ended up asionally doing the work of one. This was precisely the scheme that Shaman God had developed for Lu Yin.

    Through the merged Books of Destiny, Lu Yin had even seen himself ughtering his own family and friends in the future with scarlet eyes of his own.

    Not even Lu Yin could guarantee that he would not be a spy in the future, let alone anyone else.

    Cang Bi let out a long breath. "After bing a spy, what have you done to harm mankind?"

    Wu Tong quivered. "I I revealed the habits and regr schedule of several of the seniors in the Mo Courtyard."

    "What else?" Cang Bi pressed.

    Wu Tong shook his head. "There- there wasnt anything else."

    Cang Bi was caught off guard. "Nothing else? That''s all you''ve done since bing a spy?"

    Wu Tong was terribly confused. <em>Isn''t that enough?</em> "Thats right."

    Cang Bi refused to believe the man. "Youre telling us that Aeternus took the time and effort to force you to be a spy, only for you to do so little?"

    Wu Tong swallowed. "Yes but, its the truth."

    Cang Bi looked over at Xuan Qi, and Lu Yin asked, "Senior, what secrets could the Mo Courtyard hold that would be worth sneaking a spy in?"

    Cang Bi considered the matter, but nothing about this spy made any sense. Developing a spy was not an easy process, especially one in the Mo Courtyard. None of the fifteen Demi-Monarchs there were pushovers, and even the smallest mistake could quickly expose a spy. Why would Aeternus put in so much effort to nt a spy into such a ce?

    Lu Yin squatted down in front of Wu Tong. "The person who forced you to be a spy has already been arrested by me, which is how I found out about you."

    Wu Tong was not surprised, as the only person who had been aware that he was a spy was the person who had recruited him.

    "Go over your conversation with him entirely. Give us every word, every hesitation, every expression. Dont skip a single detail," Lu Yin sternlymanded.

    Wu Tong nced at Cang Bi and saw the mans piercing re. Wu Tong grew increasingly nervous, but he still nodded. "Alright, I''ll tell you, I''ll tell"

    It took half an hour before Wu Tong was done speaking.

    While he had not interacted with his handler very frequently, he was still ordered to recount every conversation that they had ever had, verbatim and without changing even a single facial expression. This naturally took a bit of time.

    Lu Yinmented, "It seems that he never had the chance to give you a mission."

    Cang Bi came to the same conclusion. "Still, what could be in the Mo Courtyard that would interest a spy?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "There should be something there thats of value to Aeternus. Fifteen Demi-Monarch-level experts, with Chen Le being on the verge of a breakthrough and bing a peak powerhouse."

    Suddenly, Wu Tong eximed, "Right! I remember now! I did encounter something rather strange."

    Cang Bi and Lu Yin turned back to stare at the man. "Start talking."

    Wu Tong said, "One day, I was supposed to meet with Man Ren, but the person I ended up meeting was not Man Ren, but rather a stranger who said something odd."

    Man Ren was the first spy that Lu Yin had arrested in the Three Monarchs Universe, as well as the person who had recruited Wu Tong.

    "What did he say?" Lu Yin was curious about this, but then he suddenly raised a hand to prevent Wu Tong from speaking. Lu Yin looked over at Cang Bi. "Senior, please leave us."

    Cang Bi did not want toply. "Why should I leave? Capturing spies is the duty of all humans, and Wu Tong is a spy from the Mo Courtyard. It''s only right and proper that I learn about what''s happening."

    Lu Yin frowned. "This matter is now the bureaus business. There''s also a possibility that you are a spy as well."

    "You suspect me?" Cang Bi''s eyes instantly red.

    Lu Yin replied, "Ill tell you again: Senior, please leave, or else I will be forced to report to Monarch Luo that you''re obstructing the bureau. You should know the consequences of that."

    Cang Bi red at Lu Yin, but the young man did not flinch or look away.

    With no other choice, Cang Bi finally withdrew.

    Once the Demi-Monarch was gone, Lu Yin turned back to Wu Tong. "Tell me."

    Wu Tong rolled his eyes. "If I tell you, will you release me?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Wu Tong hastily added, "The few things that I have done are barely even crimes, so as long as Ancestor Cang Bi and you don''t say anything, no one will make trouble for me. On top of that, I promise you that what Im about to tell you is valuable information."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Alright. As long as what you say really is important, I won''t publiclybel you as a traitor to humanity. However, you can''t remain in this universe. You will need to go to a parallel universe."

    Wu Tong was taken aback. "A parallel universe? I cant do that! Ill almost certainly die!"

    Lu Yin snapped back, Youre a traitor, and you should already know that nothing will end well for you.

    Wu Tong took a moment to think, and then gritted his teeth and answered, "Very well. Thank you, Senior."

    If others knew that Wu Tong was a traitor, he would be immediately killed. It would undoubtedly be better to take his chances in a parallel universe.

    He had managed to cultivate to the Retainer realm, which meant that, if he went to an average universe, he might even have a chance to dominate the entire ce.

    Not all universes had developed civilizations that focused on cultivation, and not even all cultivation civilizations were powerful.

    In the Fifth Mainds Outerverse, there had been a long period of time when there had been no Semi-Progenitors, and even Envoys, which were as strong as Retainers, had been rare powerhouses. In many parallel universes, such experts should be even rarer.

    Retainers were not weaklings.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2650: The Advantage Of Memories

    Chapter 2650: The Advantage Of Memories

    "Ill give you one more year. If you still cant find it, you can forget about breaking through to be a peak powerhouse. You also won''t be allowed to join us. We don''t ept trash," Wu Tong repeated. It was an odd statement.

    As soon as Wu Tong finished speaking, he anxiously waited for Xuan Qis reaction. "That should be useful to you."

    He was terrified that Xuan Qi might go back on his word, but Wu Tong had been left with no choice.

    Lu Yin sank into deep thought. <em>Join, trash, unable to be a peak powerhouse?</em>

    Who in the Three Monarchs Universe was eager to be a peak powerhouse? There was only one person: Chen Le. Could he be connected to the matter involving Wu Tong?

    Chen Le was the leader of the Mo Courtyard, so why would he need to join another organization? This made it clear that whatever was happening had nothing to do with the Three Monarchs Universe and likely had no connection to the spy for that matter. Most likely, he had received the message by mistake.

    Lu Yin felt that he had just stumbled upon something of monumental importance.

    When Cang Bi returned a short whileter, Wu Tong was nowhere to be seen.

    "Where is he?" Cang Bi asked.

    "Because of my respect for you, Senior, I sent him to a parallel universe. After all, he never did anything to harm humanity, and he was also forced to be a spy," Lu Yin replied.

    Cang Bi frowned. "He is still a spy, and there is no way you would ever let a spy go free because of me. Whatever he told you must have been incredibly valuable to you."

    Lu Yin just gave a faint smile. "Perhaps. Handling spies is the bureaus responsibility, so you dont need to worry about this, Senior. All you need to know is that he''s been sent to a parallel universe. As for whates next, he will need to walk his path on his own. He might die young, or he might live a free and easy life. Who can say?"

    Cang Bi stared at the young man intently for a long moment, extremely curious about what Wu Tong might have said. It had to be extremely important, if it had prompted Xuan Qi to spare a spy. Unfortunately, Cang Bi had not been able to hear anything.

    "Senior, since we have discovered one spy in the Mo Courtyard, I believe that Aeternus must be targeting the ce, which means that there might be more than just one spy. I would like to visit the Mo Courtyard for myself, so that I might witness the power of the Three Monarchs Universes sword and shield," Lu Yin stated.

    Cang Bi replied, "As you wish. Monarch Luo has already stated that you are to be given the freedom to go wherever you wish within our Three Monarchs Universe."

    The Mo Courtyard held no secrets, so Cang Bi did not mind Xuan Qi exploring it.

    Rather, Cang Bi was more preupied about what Wu Tong had said. Unfortunately, Xuan Qi had made it quite clear that he had no intention of sharing that information.

    Lu Yin had already visited the Mo Courtyard once before when he had been disguised as one of Shui Ningqiu''s bodyguards, so this was actually his second visit.

    The Mo Courtyard was practically crowded with Semi-Progenitors. There were multiple different environments within the Mo Courtyard, and nothing wascking in this ce. It was the ideal location for nearly any cultivator, and if not for the presence of the imperial treasury, the Mo Courtyard could almost have been thought of as a sanctuary for retirement.

    Cang Bi led the way, and Lu Yin began exploring the Mo Courtyard.

    His primary target was to find a man named Old Greenpeel. He was one of the Demi-Monarch experts of the Mo Courtyard, and Lu Yin had recently Possessed the man. It was also through Old Greenpeel that Lu Yin had learned most of what he knew about the people in the Mo Courtyard.

    Lu Yin wanted to meet the man in person so that he could learn more about Chen Le. It would not be possible to learn much about Chen Le from just what others said about him.

    "This is where Old Greenpeel cultivates. Do you see the green fruit peels on the ground? Those are from a fruit native to his hometown. He loves eating them, which is why everyone calls him Old Greenpeel," Cang Bi offered a short introduction and immediately moved to lead Xuan Qi to the next ce in the Mo Courtyard.

    However, Lu Yin remained where he was, and he crouched down to pick up one of the green peels on the ground.

    Cang Bi''s expression changed drastically, and he quickly pulled Lu Yin away. "Acting Bureau Director, you mustn''t!"

    "Who dares to touch my things?" The void exploded into countless dazzling lights in a disy that looked like exploding stars. The violence quickly swept towards Cang Bi and Lu Yin.

    The Demi-Monarch quickly took a step forward. "Old Greenpeel, please calm yourself. This is the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universes bureau. He is visiting the Mo Courtyard and meant no disrespect."

    Lu Yin peaked around Cang Bi.

    A furious old man emerged from the void and red straight at Lu Yin. The shattered light glowed with tri-colored monarch essence that distorted the edge of each shard of light. Overall, it looked like countless radiant universes. "Cang Bi, I will show you some face and let this matter slide this once. Take him away."

    Cang Bi let out a sigh of relief. Old Greenpeel was not an average member of the Mo Courtyard, and he was actually second only to Chen Le when it came tobat power. The old mans dreadful temper meant that he was a bit of a loner, but not even Chen Le was assured of victory against the old man.

    Old Greenpeels cultivation did not surpass Chen Les, but his fighting prowess was almost peerless. Over the years, he had fought on the Endless Frontier on multiple asions, and he had ughtered many enemies. He had even sessfully escaped from peak Aeternal powerhouses before.

    Cang Bi readily acknowledged that Old Greenpeel was much stronger than him, and thus he swiftly spun around to lead Xuan Qi away.

    However, Lu Yin instead crouched back down and picked up another green peel.

    Seeing his actions, all color drained from Cang Bi''s face. "Acting Bureau Director, you"

    Old Greenpeel''s eyes narrowed even as a killing intent illuminated them. "You must be tired of living!"

    As he growled, he prepared to strike the young man down.

    Lu Yin remained focused on the green peel that he held and slowly muttered, "Picked after rain fell on Mt. Dayu These olives[1] are a twice-a-year seasonal fruit. Typically, they have a dry and slightly bitter taste which is not very appetizing."

    Old Greenpeel froze mid-attack and stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Did you just say Mt. Dayu?"

    Cang Bi felt terribly confused. What was Mt. Dayu?

    Lu Yin looked up at Old Greenpeel and smiled at the old man. "I didn''t expect to meet a fellow countryman here. I am Xuan Qi. I once lived on Mt. Liangba."

    Old Greenpeel''s eyes that had just been filled with a murderous rage were now gleaming with the joy of seeing an old friend. "You''re from Mt. Liangba?"

    "I only lived there for a time, but I happen to be a fan of these olives. Senior, I think that we must have been fated to meet," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Old Greenpeelughed happily before stepping forward and shoving Cang Bi aside to approach Lu Yin. The old man was still six meters away from Lu Yin. Just one more step, and Lu Yin would be able to Possess Old Greenpeel.

    He had already Possessed the old man once, but the man''s most vivid memories came from his days of living in his hometown. He had grown tired of the constant fighting that wasmon for cultivators, and so he had retired to his hometown. Normally, he only ever left when it was necessary, but at the moment, it was very difficult for Old Greenpeel to even visit his hometown without first obtaining Monarch Luo''s consent.

    However, with Monarch Luo''s character, how could he ever allow any of the Demi-Monarchs to freely leave the Mo Courtyard?

    Old Greenpeel could only wax nostalgic for his hometown with his olives.

    Meeting someone from his hometown in the Mo Courtyard caused a wave of warmth to surge up within the old man. He took another step forward and offered Lu Yin an olive. "Try this."

    At that moment, there was only a meter between the two men.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s consciousness entered Old Greenpeel. The old mans mind went nk, and he lost awareness and control of his body. The olive fell from his hand. It was a truly odd sight, but it went unnoticed by Cang Bi, as Old Greenpeels body blocked the other Demi-Monarchs view of what had happened.

    Lu Yin immediately went through the old mans memories of Chen Le, and information streamed into Lu Yins mind. Just as the olive was about tond on the ground, Lu Yin moved Old Greenpeel''s body to catch the fruit and then passed it over to his own body.

    As soon as that was aplished, Lu Yins consciousness returned to his own body, and he epted the fruit.

    All together, no more than two seconds had passed.

    Old Greenpeel was unaware that two seconds had passed, and Cang Bi did not notice anything odd ur within such a brief moment. Only Lu Yin was aware of what had happened during those two seconds, and he had already seen what he needed to.

    "Sure enough, this is an olive from Mt. Dayu, but it was picked before the rain. There is a very specific process for picking these olives, and they need to be squeezed three times to remove the bitterness so that only the sweet aftertaste remains," Lu Yinmented. As he nibbled on the fruit, his eyes lit up.

    Old Greenpeelughed again. "Exactly! You clearly know your stuff! Right, what''s your name? Did I hear Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin took a step back and bowed. "This junior is known as Xuan Qi. Greetings, Senior."

    Old Greenpeel waved Lu Yins politeness away. "Don''t bother being so stiff and formal. Just call me Old Greenpeel like everyone else."

    "That would be too disrespectful, Senior," Lu Yin replied seriously.

    Old Greenpeel retorted, "My peers and people whom I approve of are allowed to call me by my nickname, but anyone else who tries to do so will be cut down! Xuan Qi,e, I have many more olives here. Let''s enjoy them together and see if you can determine which mountains they were picked from."

    "Alright, this junior is eager to try. Please lead the way, Senior."

    "You need to eat first, haha."

    With the die''s Possession, Lu Yin had a straightforward path to establishing rapport with anyone he had Possessed before, even if they were the most miserable person in existence. After essing a persons memories, Lu Yin would know what to say to them and how to create a sense of camaraderie with them, which was an advantage that no one else could replicate.

    Cang Bi was left behind,pletely bewildered. How did those two get so close in an instance?

    Even as he spoke with Old Greenpeel, Lu Yin was thinking about the memories that he had just seen.

    Chen Le was trouble. Big trouble.

    From Old Greenpeel''s memories, Lu Yin had learned that, while on the Endless Frontier, Chen Le had effortlessly ughtered a corpse king of equal strength with the use of the Monarch Arrow battle technique. This by itself was not concerning, as Lu Yin already knew that many people had learned the battle technique. At least ten of the fifteen Demi-Monarchs that were in the Mo Courtyard had mastered the technique as well. However, it was the fact that Chen Le had looked into the Bai n that confirmed Lu Yins suspicions.

    Old Greenpeel had unwittingly found Chen Le investigating the Voidforce Universe''s Bai n. But because that matter did not involve Old Greenpeel, and also because he did not get along with Chen Le, the old man had not paid any attention to the matter.

    However, this news was vital to Lu Yin.

    Chen Le was a Demi-Monarch who boasted unparalleled mastery of the Monarch Arrow battle technique, and he had also looked into the Bai n. Following the logic of those two details, the person who had exterminated the Bai n was practically confirmed to be Chen Le. This also lined up with what Lu Yin had heard from Wu Tong; the message signified that a certain individual had been trying to contact Chen Le, urging the Demi-Monarch to quickly find something. In the entire Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le was the only cultivator who was pushing for a breakthrough to be a peak powerhouse.

    It seemed possible that the Bai n was in possession of something that Chen Le wanted.

    While chatting with Old Greenpeel, Lu Yin''s thoughts were alreadypletely focused on Chen Le.

    Chen Le led the Mo Courtyard, and he was acknowledged as the most powerful Demi-Monarch in the Three Monarchs Universe. He was famous throughout the entire Sixverse Association, and many regarded him as someone with the potential to be a Monarch. Even the three Monarchs held the man in high regard. Monarch Mus word wasw to the members of the Mo Courtyard, with the sole exception of Chen Le. That man alone was allowed to choose whether he wanted toply with the Monarchsmands. That was how high Chen Le''s status reached.

    From Old Greenpeel''s memories, Chen Le''s strength had be clear to Lu Yin, and he no longer wondered how a Semi-Progenitor level expert could have easily taken out Old Dian''s benefactor.

    However, why had Chen Le attacked the Bai n? Old Greenpeel had no memories of anything rted to that. The matter had no rtion to the Three Monarchs Universe, and it instead had to be rted to Chen Le''s personal affairs.

    Lu Yin spent a long time visiting Old Greenpeel before leaving. As he moved on, he asked Cang Bi about the rest of the Demi-Monarchs that were part of the Mo Courtyard so that he could at least put on a pretense ofprehensive investigation. Even though Lu Yin was targeting Chen Le, investigating only the leader of the Mo Courtyard would be too conspicuous, so Lu Yin decided to investigate them all.

    Several dayster, Lu Yin examined every record on Chen Le. As a celebrity in the Three Monarchs Universe, there was a great deal of information on the man, and there were records of both significant and trivial events. However, oddly enough, there was not a single mention of his rtionship with the Bai n, nor almost any link to the Voidforce Universe.

    Things were getting increasingly strange. There was no way the Bai n had been exterminated on a mere whim. What had that strange person meant when saying to find something as soon as possible? It was possible that what Chen Le sought was in the hands of the Bai n.

    1. It appears that  is a Chinese olive (Wikipedia). <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2651: Ambush

    <h4>Chapter 2651: Ambush</h4>

    Since Lu Yin did not understand what had happened, he would just go take a look.

    He made his way back to the Mo Courtyard with the excuse of paying a formal visit to Chen Le. He wanted to meet themander of the Mo Courtyard who was expected to soon be a peak powerhouse.

    But when Lu Yin arrived at the Mo Courtyard, he was informed that Chen Le was not present.

    Lu Yin''s heart fell. "Where has Senior Chen Le gone?"

    He was speaking to one of Che Le¡¯s disciples. "Master did not mention where he was going. What do you need from my master, Acting Bureau Director? I can deliver your message for you."

    Lu Yin replied, "I quite admire Senior Chen Le, so I came over to meet him. However, since he isn¡¯t here, then there¡¯s no need to bother."

    He turned to leave, but after just a few steps, he looked back. "How long has Senior Chen Le been gone for?"

    The disciple replied, "You just missed him, Acting Bureau Director."

    Lu Yin''s eyes hardened, and he gave the disciple a faint smile before leaving the Mo Courtyard. "Thank you."

    Cang Bi felt rather puzzled. "Is there something that you need from Senior Chen Le, Acting Bureau Director?"

    As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed. "Are you suspicious of Senior?"

    "You¡¯re overthinking things. I merely admire themander of the Mo Courtyard and wanted to pay him a visit," Lu Yin reassured the man.

    Cang Bi sighed in relief. "That''s good, Senior Chen Le can¡¯t be a spy. He is our Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s next peak powerhouse, and he has done great things on the Endless Frontier. If any usations of him being a spy are brought up, many will definitely step forward to refute those ims."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Refute any suspicions? What do you mean?"

    Cang Bi exined, "Senior Chen Le¡¯s cultivation journey is simply dazzling. He was guided by Monarch Luo, Monarch Mu, and Monarch Xing, and he has even earned the admiration of peak powerhouses from other universes. Mr. Daheng from the Arboreal Realm even called Senior Chenn Le a marvel of humanity."

    Lu Yin eximed, "That''s amazing. For him to have trained under the three Monarchs themselves to reach his current level, Senior Chen Le must be incredibly powerful."

    "That goes without saying." While Cang Bi was indifferent about most of the members of the Mo Courtyard, he showed a bit of deference to Old Greenpeel, but felt genuine admiration for Chen Le. "Senior¡¯s greatest achievement was ying a corpse king at the same level of strength as him with a single arrow. His mastery of the Monarch Arrow is truly peerless, and it was this aplishment that caused him to be praised by Mr. Daheng. As soon as Senior Chen Le breaks through, as a peak powerhouse, he will be a weapon of mass destruction wherever he goes. He¡¯ll be someone capable of altering the course of any battle."

    The two spoke as they returned to the courtyard that had been given to Xuan Qi and his team from the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau.

    Lu Yin watched as Cang Bi returned to stand guard after they returned from the Mo Courtyard, and his face fell. He raced back to the Voidforce Universe. If his guess was correct, then the intended recipient of the strange message that Wu Tong had received was actually Chen Le. The Demi-Monarch might already be actively searching for the remnants of the Bai n. ording to Old Greenpeel''s memories, Chen Le had recently been investigating the Bai n.

    While timing alone was no proof that the Bai n had been exterminated by Chen Le, it did prove that Chen Le was searching for the n. With his mastery of the Monarch Arrow, Lu Yin was almost entirely certain of his suspicions.

    Lu Yin had already moved the surviving members of the Bai n to the Red Zone, but he had also made it a point to leave behind clues pointing towards the Red Zone. That meant that Chen Le would be able to find the survivors, as long as he was determined enough. This was no different from how Old Dian had used the remnants of the Bai n as bait to lure out the people who wanted to annihte them.

    When Lu Yin weighed Chen Le''s fear of the Red Zone against his desire to be a peak powerhouse, the man seemed rather likely to take the risk.

    ...

    In the Voidforce Universe, an arrow shot into the Red Zone, stabbing straight into the ground. Tri-colored monarch essence covered the arrow. The arrow did not pierce through the void, but instead instantly disappeared. It was as though the void was unable to react to the arrow¡¯s presence.

    The ground in the Red Zone broke open, and fissures spread in every direction from where the arrow had struck. Buildings shattered, and a cold aura swept through the air.

    A roar of anger rang out, and raging voidforce energy shot into the sky, followed by a long spear that was shrouded in an incredible amount of voidforce energy.

    A man rose up from underground, and blood leaked from his wounds. His eyes were bloodshot with rage as he red in the direction that the arrow hade from. He was the Void Morphora protector of the Red Zone. His only task was to defend the Red Zone from any and all enemies.

    The man was powerful enough that it was difficult for anyone to catch him off guard, unless they were at the level of a Void Suprema. Despite that, the guardian had not been able to react to the arrow, and it had pierced his shoulder. If not for the distance between himself and the attacker, his wounds from the arrow would have been far more severe.

    This was a Monarch Arrow from the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Who dares to invade the Bureau?" the man shouted furiously as he red outside the Red Zone.

    Inside the Red Zone, many staff members were both shocked and angry, and they also turned to stare outside the Red Zone. That single arrow had already caused numerous casualties.

    Ghost Three and Ning Ran were both in the Red Zone at the moment, and they felt incredible pressure as they looked out.

    The Bureau Manager immediately sent a message to Xu Wuji, as they were being attacked by a powerful enemy.

    Another arrow pierced the void, aimed straight at the Void Morphora.

    The man thrust both of his hands forward, and his spear released a surge of voidforce energy that was several times greater than the man¡¯s own reserves. A nearly imprable barrier formed around the entire Red Zone. This barrier was close to the Void Suprema level.

    The arrow shot towards the voidforce energy barrier, and after a brief pause, a second arrow flew over as well. Following that, a full volley rained down, and the barrier was eventually shattered. The arrows were all aimed straight at the Void Morphora.

    The man was mortified. He could control an amount of voidforce energy that was close to a Void Suprema¡¯s,which meant that no one within the same realm should be able to breach his barrier. However, this enemy had done so in just a few arrows. Who? Who was this? This person had to be right at the cusp of bing a peak powerhouse.

    Even a true powerhouse would not dare to be careless against this arrow technique.

    The Void Morphora thrust his spear forward, only for the weapon to be cleaved in two by an arrow. The residual momentum propelled the arrow forward towards the Void Morphora. He dodged and just barely avoided the attack.

    Had his spear not absorbed some of the power of the attack and slowed the arrow, the Red Zone¡¯s guard would have struggled to survive the attack.

    Every arrow that was sent towards the Void Morphora locked the void down, preventing the man from dodging. This was the end. If the Bureau Director did not arrive soon, the Red Zone¡¯s guardian knew that he would die.

    In the depths of the Red Zone, the captured spies were all thrilled. Could a powerhouse from Aeternus havee to rescue them?

    Cheng Feng looked up. <i>Is it Lord Shaman God?</i>

    Yi Jun stayed seated within the region with the beautiful scenery, a Poison Toad still perched on her shoulder.

    As the ground of the Red Zone broke apart, a ray of sunlight shone down, illuminating the woman¡¯s pale face.

    She observed the constant shaking of the Red Zone. The ce was clearly on the brink of copse. Finally, a smile bloomed across her face. This invader should be a powerful Aeternal.

    On the ground, the Void Morphora stared off into the distance in horror, ovee with despair.

    Five arrows fell from far away. Four were aimed at the Red Zone¡¯s guardian, while the fifth shot towards the bell tower.

    There was a thunderous boom, and the bell tower crumbled. The arrow continued on after destroying the tower, and fell into a crevice in the ground. At the bottom was Yi Jun, and she watched the approaching arrow with a vacant expression.

    As the arrows flew across the Red Zone, stars ands exploded from their passage.

    Yi Jun was reduced to dust, instantly andpletely vanishing.

    At the same time, many other people died as well. Some of those people were members of the Bureau¡¯s staff, while others were captured spies.

    The Void Morphora blocked one arrow, but the following three broke his body apart, and his blood stained the ground.

    A powerful Void Morphora had died so simply.

    Among the numerous buildings in the Red Zone lived a family. They were descendants of the Bai n.

    From the moment the first arrow had beenunched to the Void Morphora¡¯s death, only ten seconds had passed. That was all it took for a powerful Void Morphora to be killed. At the same time, the Red Zone had been destroyed.

    The remnants of the Bai n huddled together in fear.

    At this moment, someone emerged from the void and stared down at the members of the Bai n, and his eyes lit up. "It should be here! It <i>has</i> to be here!"

    As the men descended, his eyes remained locked on the people cowering in the corner of a building.

    He opened his mouth and spoke to them.

    One elder from the group was horrified. "It''s you! You¡¯re the one who exterminated my Bai n!"

    The attacker was about to say something, but instead, his expression changed drastically. He threw out a Lotus Artifact and stepped forward. The entire cowering crowd was swept up together and dragged towards a tear in the void.

    Xu Wuji then arrived in the Red Zone, and he immediately turned, locking his eyes on the ce where the attacker had just vanished from. There was no hesitation as the Void Suprema released an attack, but the Lotus Artifact stopped it. Just as Wu Xuji readied his next attack, the mysterious invader and every member of the Bai n vanished into the void.

    Xu Wuji roared in fury. He had been toote. It had taken him mere seconds to arrive, but that dy was too long for him to change anything about the situation.

    Thest few members of the Bai n were gone, and the Red Zone had been reduced to ruins. If Xu Wuji could not find the attacker, he would be ridiculed for countless years as the most pathetic Bureau Director.

    He absolutely had to find out who that attacker was.

    By the time Lu Yin arrived at the Red Zone, everything had already ended.

    He was greeted by the sight of the destruction from the attack and the scent of blood. His brow furrowed at the sight.

    Xu Wuji was confused by Xuan Qi¡¯s unexpected arrival. "Aren''t you supposed to be in the Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I see that you¡¯re a bit out of touch, Bureau Director. I¡¯ve been sent to the Three Monarchs Universe on a mission.¡±

    Xu Wuji was in no mood to discuss such things. "Why did youe back right now?"

    "I wanted to investigate some of Yi Jun¡¯s contacts. There might be another spy hidden among them. I was hoping to follow up on a clue that I had discovered in the Three Monarchs Universe," Lu Yin replied. This was the excuse that he hade up with.

    Xu Wuji looked away. Down below, the Bureau¡¯s staff were silently dealing with the corpses.

    All that remained of the Void Morphora guardian was a bit of blood-soaked cloth.

    "Bureau Director, what happened here?" Lu Yin asked softly.

    Xu Wuji quickly recounted the few details, surprising Lu Yin. "A Lotus Artifact?"

    "The attacker was not one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. None of them would dare to do this, especially not with Cheng Feng already in our custody." Xu Wuji hesitated, and his brow furrowed. "However, the Bai n was taken."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Could this person be the same one who exterminated the Bai n?"

    Xu Wuji''s eyes narrowed. He was not wearing his sunsses at this moment, and his cold rage was readily apparent. His normally icyposure had given way to a seething rage. This was the first time that Lu Yin had seen Xu Wuji exude any sort of bloodlust.

    "Should I find out who did this, not even the son of the Great Sovereign will be spared!"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Xu Wuji frequently used others'' sons in his metaphors. Last time, he had mentioned Lord Xu¡¯s son, and this time, he spoke about the Great Sovereign¡¯s son.

    Lu Yin soon headed back for the Three Monarchs Universe from the Voidforce Universe.

    Yi Jun had been killed. He had not expected her to end up as coteral damage. It could only be said that she was unlucky.

    As soon as he returned to the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin went back to pay Chen Le another visit. He needed to ascertain if that man had been the one to attack the Red Zone.

    "Acting Bureau Director, why have you returned so soon?" Chen Le''s disciple felt quite puzzled, and he gave Lu Yin a strange look.

    Lu Yin replied, "This time, I¡¯m not here for Senior Chen Le. I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a unique stone where Senior Chen Le cultivates. As someone with a fascination for peculiar stones, I was hoping to take a look at it."

    Chen Le''s disciple immediately understood, as there was indeed such a stone. It would produce a sound as crisp as the morning bells and evening drums, and many visitors came to admire it. It would not be a problem for the Acting Bureau Director to look at it as well. "I''m sorry, Acting Bureau Director, but my master has requested that he be left undisturbed."

    "Has Senior Chen Le already returned?" Lu Yin asked in surprise, though a cold glint flickered in the depths of his eyes.

 Chapter 2652: Liberation Palace

    <h4>Chapter 2652: Liberation Pce</h4>

    Chen Le''s disciple replied, "Master merely stepped out for a bit to collect a few items. It was inconvenient for me to mention this to you before, Acting Bureau Director, but now that he has returned, there should not be any problem. However, my Master has informed me that he is not to be disturbed. If you have any requests, Acting Bureau Director, I can pass them along. If you prefer to meet with my master in person, that should be possible in just a few days¡¯ time."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "It''s nothing so urgent, as I simply intended to pay him a courtesy visit. I¡¯ll return when Senior Chen Le is free."

    With that, Lu Yin left.

    After Lu Yin left, Chen Le''s disciple seemed to listen to something, and he respectfully answered, "That was Xuan Qi, the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau. He was invited to the Three Monarchs Universe to investigate the person who sold information to Monarch Luo. He stopped by to see you, Master."

    After a pause, the man said, "I understand."

    He then also turned and left.

    Lu Yin returned to his own courtyard. When Cang Bi saw the young man, he asked, "Acting Bureau Director, your abilities to catch spies is very impressive. When will you start searching for the person who sold information to Monarch Luo?"

    "I know how to handle that," Lu Yin replied as he closed the gates to the courtyard.

    Of course, Lu Yin did not remain in his quarters and instead vanished by using his spatial innate gift. He was targeting Chen Le¡¯s disciple.

    Wu Tong had not actually been mistakenly given the message he had heard; rather, he had simply overheard the message by ident. Most likely, another person had been present as well, but their cultivation had been no greater than Wu Tong''s and had therefore failed to discover the Retainer¡¯s presence. Clearly, that person could not have been Chen Le, and had instead most likely been Chen Le''s disciple.

    Lu Yin had noticed that Chen Le¡¯s disciple was just the tiniest bit weaker than Wu Tong. Since Wu Tong had believed that he wasmunicating with another spy, he would have been doing his best to remain hidden. It would not be surprising to learn that Chen Le¡¯s disciple had failed to detect the second Retainer.

    By following Chen Le''s disciple, Lu Yin soon arrived at the same ce where Wu Tong had received his messages from Aeternus. Just as Lu Yin had expected, the message that Wu Tong had overheard had been sent to Chen Le.

    After seeing Chen Le''s disciple leave a mark, Lu Yin remained where he was. If Chen Le had already obtained what he wanted, then he would definitely arrive in person to deliver the item to the messenger. All Lu Yin needed to do was wait.

    As darkness fell, the area quickly becamepletely devoid of people.

    Lu Yin remained hiding, and before much time passed, someone else arrived. This person was not particrly strong and was only as powerful as an Envoy.

    This man simrly hid himself after arriving, and he even hid in the exact location of the mark that Chen Le¡¯s disciple had left behind.

    Soon, the void warped, and another person arrived.

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened. Indeed, it was Chen Le.

    "If I had not pushed you, would you have still refused to act?" The first man to arrive addressed Chen Le. Despite only being as strong as an Envoy, he still had the courage to question someone at the cusp of bing a Monarch. Chen Le was a widely recognized expert who was second only to the Three Monarchs in the entire Three Monarchs Universe.

    Chen Le seemed to take no offense to the man¡¯s tant disrespect. "Bai Laogui¡¯s disciple has been trying to lure me out with various descendants of the Bai n. That disciple is not weak, and he has already surpassed Bai Laogui himself, and he¡¯s hidden close to the Red Zone. If I¡¯m not careful, I could easily expose myself. Not only would that get me nothing, I could even end up in deep trouble."

    "And yet you still eventually did it. You invaded the Red Zone alone and took away everyone from the Bai n. If you had done so earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have needed to give you such unpleasant news," the Envoy spoke.

    Chen Le''s voice suddenly turned cold. "An opportunity arose when Bai Laogui¡¯s disciple was taken away by the New Inn. Still, I only had ten seconds to act. If not for that Lotus Artifact, I would have been captured by Xu Wuji. That was too dangerous."

    "Give me the item."

    Chen Le reached for his cosmic ring, but just as he did, warning bells exploded in his mind as he was ovee by a sense of imminent danger. In fact, this sensation was just as intense as when he had been targeted by a peak Aeternal powerhouse while fighting on the Endless Frontier. He would never forget this feeling for as long as he lived. Something was wrong. Someone else was present.

    A bone pike shot out from the void, instantly piercing through Chen Le''s right hand. It moved like it was unstoppable, and the remnant force ripped Chen Le''s entire arm off. The hand with his cosmic ring was thrown into the distance, and blood spattered everywhere.

    The Envoy-level cultivator in front of Chen Le was dumbfounded, and he simply could not understand why blood had suddenly sshed onto his face.

    Chen Le spun around. He had not expected to be suddenly attacked so viciously. It had been impossible for him to defend himself against that move, but the assant was not even a peak powerhouse. If Chen Le had been attacked by such an expert, he would have lost more than just an arm.

    The man readied himself to unleash his monarch essence.

    By manipting the spatial lines in his vision, Lu Yin instantly appeared directly in front of Chen Le, where he used Inverse Step to warp time.

    The emerging monarch essence was abruptly extinguished, startling Chen Le. Before he could react to the changing situation, he was enveloped by an indescribable power. He felt as though an invisible hand had grabbed hold of him and was squeezing his strength away. A feeling of weakness overcame the Demi-Monarch, and he knew that he was in deep trouble. He could not see any way to escape from this ambush.

    There was a thud as Chen Le copsed to the ground.

    Behind him stood Lu Yin, a slipper in his hand.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, satisfied that everything had gone smoothly.

    He had not dared to let his guard down even the slightest against Chen Le. The man was a peak Demi-Monarch, which meant that he was as powerful as the most powerful Semi-Progenitor. While Lu Yin was unable to ess the power of a Progenitor in the Three Monarchs Universe, he had still been confident in his own strength.

    The bone pike had instantly removed Chen Le''s right arm, which had also separated the man from his weapons and power vessels. Thebination of Inverse Step¡¯s chaotic field of time and Truesight had weakened Chen Le''s power to the point where he had been inferior to even an average Semi-Progenitor. At best, Chen Le could have exerted as much strength as a peak Envoy, which meant that he had no way to resist or escape. The final blow had then been delivered by the slipper.

    This entire series of attacks had flowed together like a stream of water, and the result was knocking one of the most powerful experts unconscious.

    As for the Envoy-level messenger, he waspletely stupefied. He stared at Chen Le¡¯s unconscious form, and then at the slipper in Lu Yin''s hand. The man could not help but find the entire situation bizarre.

    Lu Yin casually smacked the messenger, knocking him out. Both of the men would be going with Lu Yin. It was clear that something strange was going on between them.

    With Chen Le and the messenger as his captives, Lu Yin returned to the courtyard that he had been given. He put the two men into a Zenith Mountain before checking his newest loot.

    He found many decent items inside Chen Le''s cosmic ring, as well as billions of flourishing crystals, which was a considerable sum. He also found a Lotus Artifact, which Lu Yin was thrilled to find. Lotus Artifacts were incredibly useful. Without it, Chen Le would have never been able to escape from the Red Zone.

    However, the most intriguing item that Lu Yin found was a stone: a Peaks and Rivers Rock.

    He had never imagined that he would find a Peaks and Rivers Rock in Chen Le''s cosmic ring.

    This was the third stone that Lu Yin had obtained. He had acquired the first one from the Han family, and the second had been found in the Voidchaos Region.

    Lu Yin nced at the unconscious Chen Le and then at the anxious Envoy-level messenger. "Is this what you were after?"

    The Envoy''s eyes fell on the Peaks and Rivers Rock, and he swallowed hard. "I know you. You¡¯re Xuan Qi."

    "I''m asking you the questions." Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed.

    The man replied, "Xuan Qi, that is not something that you should touch. You should give it to me so that I can take it-"

    Before the man could finish his sentence, Lu Yin smacked him across the face. Blood streamed down his cheek to stain the floor red. The man¡¯s eyes went wide in pure disbelief. From the moment he had first obtained his current status, he had always gotten whatever he wanted, and no one had everid a hand on him. Despite that, Xuan Qi had just struck him.

    Slowly, the man turned to re at Lu Yin, powerful hatred clouding his eyes.

    Lu Yin remained unconcerned. "It looks like you¡¯re choosing not to talk. In that case, just die."

    As Lu Yin was speaking, he raised a hand and prepared to strike the messenger down.

    The man¡¯s pupils shrank. "No! I''ll talk! I''ll tell you everything!"

    The man did not want to die. He had reached his current position through sheer luck, and he simply could not die this soon.

    "Start talking," Lu Yin ordered in an uncaring manner.

    The man¡¯s eyes darted back and forth between Lu Yin and Chen Le, who was still lying on the floor. After cursing Chen Le''s uselessness under his breath, the messenger replied, "I am from the Liberation Pce."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "The Liberation Pce?"

    "You don''t know about the Liberation Pce?" The man was taken aback.

    Lu Yin had truly never heard of the Liberation Pce. Despite all the people that he had Possessed, he had nevere across any mention of the Liberation Pce. It was possible that some of Lu Yin¡¯s targets had at least heard of the organization, but they knew too little for those memories to stand out. It was impossible for Lu Yin to go through every memory that a person had during his Possession, and thus, he was clueless about the Liberation Pce.

    The Envoy sighed. "Then it¡¯s no wonder you attacked me. Xuan Qi, the Liberation Pce is a group that you cannot afford to provoke. Don¡¯t make things any worse for yourself. Give me that stone. It''s worthless to you, but it¡¯s very important to the Liberation Pce. As long as you hand it to me, I can pretend as though today never even happened, and I might even rmend you to the Liberation Pce."

    "First, tell me about this Liberation Pce," Lu Yin said coldly.

    Blood was still trickling down the man¡¯s face. This messenger was starting to hate Xuan Qi more and more with every passing moment. Still, this young man¡¯s hands were holding onto the messenger¡¯s life, so he did not dare to reveal any of his rising hatred. Instead, he patiently exined, "The Liberation Pce was established by Mr. Daheng with the purpose of letting humans exist without self or others. A ce to live freely and unbound by anything. It is neither righteous nor evil, and it only strives towards eternity.

    "The Liberation Pce epts all who yearn for freedom, no matter if they are righteous or evil. As long as one desires to be unbound, they can join the Liberation Pce. Aside from Mr. Daheng himself, the Liberation Pce also has two other peak powerhouses as members, which is why it is so formidable. Xuan Qi, if you''re interested, I can rmend you to the Liberation Pce. Once you join, you will receive our protection, and then, no one will dare harm you at all."

    Lu Yin found this amusing. "I already attacked you, so what will the Liberation Pce do to me?"

    The man¡¯s eyes flickered. "As long as you join the Liberation Pce, nothing at all."

    "And if I don''t?" Lu Yin pressed.

    The man felt puzzled. "Why would you not? Countless people dream of joining the Liberation Pce but never receive the opportunity. Do you know who Mr. Daheng is? He is one of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s most powerful experts and is second only to the Arboreal Overlord. Mr. Daheng possesses a peerless strength that is acknowledged by all, and he even has a seat reserved for him at every single one of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies. He is allowed to freely speak with the Great Sovereign and is someone who stands at the very pinnacle of the Sixverse Association. With Mr. Daheng''s protection, you will never need to concern yourself with anything ever again and can instead live freely and unrestrained. Wouldn''t that be wonderful?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It certainly does sound appealing. In that case, what is the Liberation Pce''s stance concerning Aeternus?"

    The man solemnly replied, "Naturally, to kill all Aeternals without reservation. Aeternus is the enemy of all humanity."

    Lu Yin yed with the stone a bit. "What does the Liberation Pce want with this broken piece of stone?"

    Frowning, the messenger replied, "There¡¯s no need for you to ask so many questions. As long as you give me that stone, you will receive partial credit for its delivery. It might even be possible for you to immediately join the Liberation Pce."

    "The requirements to join this Liberation Pce don''t seem particrly impressive. After all, if you were able to join, then it should be easy for me to do so as well. Why would I need your rmendation?" Lu Yin scoffed.

    "He is <i>not</i> from the Liberation Pce." Chen Le had awakened, and he sat up.

    The messenger snapped back, "What nonsense are you spouting? Of course I am from the Liberation Pce!"

    Chen Le nced around. "An independent pocket space?"

    Finally, he stared at Lu Yin. "So, you are Xuan Qi. Everyone has misjudged you. The fact that you managed to capture even me means that you must be strong enough to stand up to even pinnacle experts. You''ve hidden your strength quite well."

    Lu Yin met Chen Le''s eyes. "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Chen Le."

 Chapter 2653: Can Give It A Try

    <h4>Chapter 2653: Can Give It A Try</h4>

    ¡°You came to visit me several times as a means of monitoring me, no? You knew that I was the one who destroyed the Bai n,¡± Chen Le assumed.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t know before you just admitted it, but I do now.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Chen Le asked.

    ¡°I made a promise to Old Dian that I would either protect him or avenge him. What do you think I will do?¡± retorted Lu Yin.

    ¡°Kill me, and the Liberation Pce will never let you go,¡± warned Chen Le.

    Pointing at the messenger, Lu Yinmented, ¡°He just said that he would help me join the Liberation Pce.¡±

    Chen Le shook his head while showing a bitter smile. ¡°He is merely a key.¡±

    The man looked confused. ¡°What key?¡±

    Lu Yin also felt rather confused. In fact, he found the way that Chen Le treated the messenger quite odd. Even if the man was the child of a peak powerhouse, it still would not be enough of a reason for Chen Le to tolerate such disrespect.

    Chen Lemented, ¡°Change is the only true constant. I never expected that bad luck would be my ultimate defeat.¡±

    He let out a sigh. ¡°This man is not truly part of the Liberation Pce, but rather a mere vessel. The moment Mr. Daheng epted me into the Liberation Pce, a door was nted inside of me. This door does not affect my cultivation, but it blocks me from breaking through when I reach a bottleneck. As long as that door is in ce, I will never be able to be a peak powerhouse, no matter what I do.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. How was such a thing even possible?

    ¡°In order to open this door, I needed toplete the task that I was assigned by Mr. Daheng,¡± Chen Le finished.

    ¡°The stone?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le nodded, and desire blossomed in his eyes as he stared at the stone. ¡°As long as I give that stone to Mr. Daheng, he will give me the key to my door. This man is that key.¡±

    All of the color drained from the messenger¡¯s face. "What is this ridiculous story that you¡¯re telling? How could I possibly be the key?"

    "You have cultivated the Liberation Technique," Chen Le stated matter-of-factly.

    The messenger¡¯s face paled even further, though confusion filled his eyes. Of course he had cultivated the Liberation Technique. The Liberation Pce selected the most suitable individuals from among countless people to cultivate the Liberation Technique. Only the most well-suited individuals were allowed to join the Liberation Pce. This was widely known, but what did this have to do with being a key?

    "The Liberation Technique is the key to unlocking doors like the one within me," Chen Le exined. "The only thing that they are missing is a certain power that Mr. Daheng must infuse into the Liberation Technique. That power will absorb the person entirely to create a key to unlock the door."

    The Demi-Monarch then turned to Lu Yin. "Tell me, why would a mere key be allowed to join the Liberation Pce? The number of people who are genuinely eligible to join is extremely few. Even I am uncertain of who those people are, but they need to at least be on the same level as me. Him? What qualifications does he hold?"

    The messenger vehemently denied the allegations. "Impossible! You''re speaking nonsense! I <i>am</i> a member of the Liberation Pce! Everyone respects me, and no one dares to offend me! The Liberation Pce has even given me missions."

    Chen Le shook his head. "You are nothing more than a key. Why would anyone bother arguing with a mere key? Missions? What kind of tasks could you possibly carry out with your strength? You are nothing more than a messenger, as your weakness allows you to conveniently go unnoticed."

    Lu Yin stared at the messenger. It was a good point; why would anyone bother arguing with a mere key? However, most people did not know that the man was nothing more than a key, which meant that what they respected was his status in the Liberation Pce.

    This man was rather pitiful, as he was destined to never be anything more than a key.

    "Impossible! Impossible!" the man continued to howl, unable to ept reality.

    Chen Le showed no hesitation as he made a move and instantly killed the messenger. "Too noisy."

    Lu Yin looked back at Chen Le. "Aren''t you concerned that you¡¯ve lost your key?"

    Chen Le nced back at the young man. "Will you give me that stone?"

    "Of course not."

    "Then there''s no reason to keep the key."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Why does the Liberation Pce want to collect these stones?"

    Chen Le''s eyes flickered. "Collect? Have you seen other stones like that one?"

    Lu Yin casually tossed the stone back to Chen Le. "The patterns on the stone are clearly iplete, which means that it must have been broken off from arger mural."

    Chen Le stared at the stone in his hand, lost in his own thoughts. He was just one step away, just one step...

    "If Mr. Daheng learns that you have this stone, you won¡¯t fare any better than that key. Even if you have a peak powerhouse supporting you, there is nothing that can stop the Liberation Pce from getting what they want. Their actions are unrestricted by things like morality, and they always get whatever they want." Chen Le threw the stone back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Then let''s make sure that they don''t find out."

    "They will," Chen Le replied.

    "Just like how you learned that this stone was in the hands of the Bai n and so annihted them?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Chen Le answered in a cold tone, "The world of cultivators is cruel. Morality and bottom lines are nothing more than the cries of the weak. I already understand all of this, so I never intended to live. As for the Bai n, do you think that that stone was their ancestral treasure or something? They also stole it from someone else.

    "Bai Laogui¡¯s disciple was one of your subordinates in the Red Zone. I framed him and forced him into a dead end so that he would have no choice but to seek refuge with the New Inn. Even so, I''m sure that his suffering is only partially due to me framing him. No one can reach this level without doing things that gnaw at their conscience. Bai Laogui was no different, and neither is his disciple. Even you are the same, Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You really have a way with words. You wiped out an entire n, and yet you me your actions entirely on the cultivation world."

    Chen Le closed his eyes and stopped responding. There was no use in saying anything further.

    "Do you... want to die?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Chen Le answered calmly, his eyes still closed. "What''s the point in asking such a question? Aren''t you here to avenge the Bai n?"

    Lu Yin had indeed nned to keep his promise to Old Dian and avenge the Bai n as much as possible. However, for the time being, Chen Le would be able to be of much greater use if he were kept alive. On top of that, buying Old Dian¡¯s life with the lives of four Semi-Progenitor level Aeternals was already enough of a sacrifice on Lu Yin¡¯s part. As for taking Chen Le''s life to get revenge, that could be a matter forter on.

    "Is the door that Mr. Daheng ced in your body really indestructible?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le¡¯s eyes opened. His only purpose in life was to climb higher and achieve greater strength. This was why he had risked invading the Red Zone. He had epted his death the moment the messenger had died. "There¡¯s no way to remove it."

    "Not even if a peak powerhouse tries to get rid of it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le stared at Lu Yin. "Just who are you? I''m certain that you are not a peak powerhouse, but you possess the strength of one, which is beyond unusual. On top of that, you¡¯ve hidden your true strength this entire time. The fact that you''re asking me such a question implies that you have the support of a peak powerhouse."

    Lu Yinmented, "Everyone knows that Xu Wuwei was my guide for cultivating voidforce energy, and I also have a good rtion with both the Void Yang and Void Yin ns. Why are you suggesting that it¡¯s not one of them?"

    "None of them are a possibility," Chen Le confidently stated, "The peak powerhouse supporting you has nothing to do with any of them, and they might even be someone no one knows about."

    The man stared at Lu Yin intently. "Aeternus?"

    "What if it is?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le¡¯s eyes never left Lu Yin. "I refuse to be a traitor."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Given everything you''ve already done, you''re not much better than a traitor as it is. If Monarch Luo learns that you¡¯ve joined the Liberation Pce and have been assisting Mr. Daheng this whole time, will he spare you?"

    Chen Le remainedposed. "Betraying Monarch Luo and betraying humanity are two entirely different matters."

    Lu Yin had no idea what was going through Chen Le¡¯s mind. It was possible that the Demi-Monarch was telling the truth, but it was also possible that he was simply certain that Xuan Qi was not himself a traitor and was therefore putting on an act. After all, any traitor, even those who were forced into it, would typically be killed and shown no mercy.

    However, the man¡¯s thoughts did not actually matter to Lu Yin, as Chen Le would be extremely useful regardless.

    "I hope that you''re telling the truth. The Bai n still needs to be avenged, but back to my question: if a peak powerhouse helps you, can that door inside you be opened?" Lu Yin asked.

    He was trying to gain some understanding of Mr. Daheng''s strength and the man¡¯s status in the Sixverse Association from Chen Le''s answer.

    Chen Le considered the matter, but he eventually shook his head. "Unless you are backed by someone as powerful as the masters of the member universes of the Sixverse Association, it¡¯s extremely unlikely."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. "Is Mr. Daheng really that powerful?"

    Chen Le sighed helplessly. "Without such strength, how else could he roam about freely?"

    No matter what, Lu Yin still wanted to at least try. He needed someone with the strength of a Progenitor to guide him around the Three Monarchs Universe and help increase his understanding of Monarch Luo. This was not something that Arch-Elder Zen could do, and Lu Yin had no other options avable. Chen Le was truly the best option.

    Lu Yin put the Zenith Mountain away again before tearing the void open to return to Aeternus Nation. After that, he continued on to the Fifth Maind so that he could speak with his senior brother, Mu Xie.

    When Chen Leid eyes on Mu Xie, his expression changed. This was someone who had truly reached the peak. The pressure that Chen Le felt from the Progenitor was no weaker than one of the three Monarchs¡¯.

    Mu Xie met Chen Le''s eyes and quickly noticed something about the man. Mu Xie focused deep within Chen Le''s body.

    After a moment, the Progenitor eximed, "Someone has sealed some sort of energy within his body that obstructs his cirction of monarch essence. Even if he tries to break through to the next realm, he won''t seed, even without the need for a stellr tribtion."

    Aside from the Origin Universe, cultivators in the various parallel universes did not face tribtions, not even when breaking through to the peak level. The chances of a sessful breakthrough in the Voidforce Universe depended on a person¡¯s natural talent. But for the Three Monarchs Universe, in addition to a person¡¯s natural talent, they also needed to fully circte their monarch essence.

    This was also something that Mr. Daheng was well aware of, as it was what let him block Chen Le from being able to ascend to the next realm.

    Chen Le did not dare to bring up this issue to Monarch Lu, as doing so would be admitting to his connection to the Liberation Pce. On top of that, there was no guarantee that Monarch Luo had the strength necessary to open Mr. Daheng''s door.

    In Chen Le''s opinion, Mr. Daheng was someone who surpassed even Monarch Luo.

    As for Mu Xie, while the man was clearly another peak powerhouse, Chen Le was not hopeful that the man could deal with Mr. Daheng¡¯s door. That man¡¯s strength was simply too exceptional.

    "Senior Brother, do you think that you could help him open that door?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Xie pondered over the matter. "Whoever put that restriction in his body is terrifyingly powerful and is absolutely no weaker than any of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. As for just how strong they truly are, it¡¯s hard to get a full picture from this much. However, if you want this door opened..."

    There was a pause, and Lu Yin''s heart dropped. Was even his Senior Brother helpless to anything to this door?

    On the other hand, Chen Le was not at all surprised, as it simply matched his expectations. This was precisely why, after Mr Dafeng had first ced the door within Chen Le, he had not sought help from Monarch Luo. From that point on, he had been a pawn of the Liberation Pce.

    "I can give it a try," Mu Xie suggested.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Are you that confident, Senior Brother?"

    Mu Xieughed. "I can''t say that I¡¯m confident at all, but I can at least try knocking my ?ar¨©ra against that door. Besides, I also want to test out this person''s strength."

    With that, the man pointed to the ce in Chen Le''s body where the door had been nted. A miniature version of Mu Xie¡¯s ?ar¨©ra appeared and entered Chen Le''s body, ruthlessly smashing against the door.

    It was a simple but brutal method, and Chen Le was horrified by it. "You can¡¯t!"

    Even as his voice rang out, his mind was violently struck. Two powerful forces collided with each other inside of him, and he felt like something was tearing. His face went pale. This was not good.

    Blood leaked from the Demi-Monarch¡¯s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose and seeped from every orifice of his body.

 Chapter 2654: Unending

    <h4>Chapter 2654: Unending</h4>

    A worried expression flickered across Lu Yin¡¯s face. Was the man dead?

    Chen Le thought the same thing. He had once tried to forcibly break the door that had been imnted within him by battering it with his own monarch essence. He had ended up severely injured to the point where he had needed to go into seclusion for a year. Mu Xie had struck the door with so much force that Chen Le thought his organs were being shredded.

    Mu Xie''s expression grew stern. "As expected, it''s strong."

    Suddenly, the ?ar¨©ra that had been sent inside Chen Le split apart; one became two, three, and finally, three became nine. Nine identical ?ar¨©ras formed a circle, and at the center of that circle of Mu Xie¡¯s power, a tolling bell rang. It was a sound that somehow blended both a sacred feeling and a disturbing unpredictability.

    Chen Le felt everything the most, as the sound of the bell seemed to ring right beside his ears.

    It was the sound produced by the shing energies of the nine ?ar¨©ras.

    When all nine ?ar¨©ras appeared, they took on the appearance of a glowing bracelet that once again smashed against the door inside of Chen Le.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    The man spat out blood. This impact felt like his entire body was being torn to pieces.

    Mu Xie stopped to examine Chen Le¡¯s body. The door within him had been shattered.

    However, the bracelet formed by the ?ar¨©ras had also shattered.

    "Just a mere trace of power that was left behind was able to destroy my ?ar¨©ra. That door seems to have been ced inside of him without much thought, and yet it was powerful enough to kill a Progenitor. Junior Brother, this person is not someone to be trifled with." Mu Xie was shocked by the results.

    Lu Yin was even more shocked. ¡°Senior Brother, your ?ar¨©ra was destroyed? What are you going to do?¡±

    Mu Xie said, ¡°It''s not a problem. I¡¯ll just make another one.¡±

    Was he really being serious?

    Mu Xie¡¯s ?ar¨©ra was his Progenitor''s world. Could a person really just reform a broken Progenitor''s world? If that was possible, then the Progenitor of Bloodlines could easily recover from his injuries, right?

    ¡°Senior Brother, your ?ar¨©ra is your Progenitor''s world. Can a shattered Progenitor''s world recover?¡± Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Mu Xie sped his hands behind his back as he looked at the unconscious form of Chen Le, who wasying on the ground. ¡°While my strength isparable to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, in terms of endurance, not even Lu Tianyi can surpass me. Everyone has their own strengths. Lu Tianyi is exceptionally powerful and can use his Investiture of the Gods to rule the universe. Progenitor Chen, Xia Shang, is a peerless warrior. The Rune Progenitor is iparably talented. Each person has their own strengths that allow them to rise above the rest. As for me.¡± The man met Lu Yin''s eyes. ¡°My strength is my endurance. Progenitor Ku, with his Extremes Must Be Reversed, has a body that can never be destroyed, while I have unending power.¡±

    As if he worried that Lu Yin would not believe him, Mu Xie raised a hand. Over his palm, another ?ar¨©ra appeared and quickly grewrger. Beneath the man¡¯s feet, a bit of writing appeared in a circle around him, exactly the same as when he had first unleashed his Progenitor''s world in Lu Yin¡¯s presence.

    Lu Yin was blown away. "In that case, Senior Brother, does it mean that your Progenitor''s world can never be destroyed?"

    Mu Xie nodded. "You can say that. Thus far, I haven¡¯t met anyone who can permanently destroy my Progenitor''s world."

    Lu Yin was shocked, but also felt that this exined many things. This was someone whom Mister Mu would acknowledge as his disciple.

    Of Mister Mu¡¯s three known disciples, Lu Yin''s qualifications did not require any exnation. Qing Ping was able to fight a Progenitor despite only being a Semi-Progenitor, which proved his exceptional talent. Meanwhile, even though Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie was able to stand his ground against the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he had always somehow seemed to be a bitcking. He did not possess the indomitable aura of someone who truly stood above his peers. It was true that being able to stand on the same level as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was awe-inspiring and worthy of being recorded in history, but Lu Yin had always felt that there was something missing.

    At this moment, he finally understood. Mu Xie was like a bottomless pit. He did not wield overwhelming power that could suppress all others, but instead an infinite power that could eventually grind anyone down. Given Mu Xie''s personality, he was likely not exaggerating anything he was saying.

    While Mu Xie was not capable of defeating people like Bai Wangyuan or Nutjob Lu in a short battle, if it became a battle of attrition, there was no one in existence who could oust the man. He had evenpared himself to Progenitor Ku, who had been confident enough to invade Aeternus¡¯s territory to attack True God Wei Yi. It was clear that Mu Xie was confident in his own strength.

    This was Senior Brother Mu Xie''s defining trait: unending power.

    If the Progenitor of Bloodlines possessed such a trait, he would have never fallen from the Progenitor realm.

    To some extent, Mu Xie¡¯s power would never grow weaker, and it would instead steadily grow as time passed.

    In terms of the growth of his power, Mu Xie was the most reliable of everyone Lu Yin had ever encountered. The man¡¯s strength did not experience dramatic, erratic surges, but instead followed a smooth and steady progression that avoided any negative bacshes. The day would eventuallye when Mu Xie would reach heights that most could only dream of.

    This was the kind of person that Mister Mu could acknowledge as his disciple.

    <i>Cough, cough!</i>

    Chen Le coughed up blood as he opened his bleary eyes. Both Lu Yin and Mu Xie turned to scrutinize the man. "Senior Brother, his injuries... they¡¯re not serious, right?"

    Mu Xie replied, "Nothing vital was damaged, so he¡¯ll be fine after resting for a few days. He¡¯s suffered nothing more than a flesh wound."

    Upon hearing this, Chen Le struggled to his feet, leaving a bloody handprint on the ground as he picked himself up. He then offered a deep bow to Mu Xie as he said, "Senior, I am sincerely grateful for your help."

    Chen Le was quite clear on just how horrifyingly powerful someone had to be for them to counter Mr. Daheng''s power. The fact that this mysterious powerhouse waspletely unscathed caused Chen Le¡¯s wariness of Mu Xie to rise to new heights. Was it possible that the man was equal to Mr. Daheng?

    A smile tugged at the corners of Lu Yin''s mouth. It could be readily seen that Chen Le held Mr. Daheng in extremely high regard, though he seemed uncertain of Monarch Luo or Senior Brother Mu Xie¡¯s rtive power. However, since Mu Xie had broken the door that Mr. Daheng had ced in his body, Chen Le felt that Mu Xie had to at least be close to Mr. Daheng¡¯s level of strength. At the very least, the Demi-Monarch regarded Mu Xie as unquestionably superior to Monarch Luo.

    Things were getting interesting.

    "Chen Le, I told you that I would help you break down the door inside of you. How do you feel now? Are you confident about your breakthrough?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le turned to look at Lu Yin. His eyes were filled with wariness as he answered, "It should be possible."

    Lu Yin stated, "I''m not helping you for free."

    In one smooth motion, he ced a Death Seal within Chen Le.

    The man instinctively tried to resist with his monarch essence, but the Death Seal instantly dissolved the power.

    Chen Le was horrified. Just what was this energy?

    "Don¡¯t assume that you¡¯ll be some high and mighty figure once you be a peak powerhouse," Lu Yin warned, "You will never be able to escape from my power. Sparing your lifees with a condition: you work for me now. Alternatively, you can naturally choose to die."

    Chen Le''s eyes shifted, but before he could even reply, Mu Xie also took action. He lightly tapped Chen Le''s body with a single finger. The first time the Progenitor had touched Chen Le, the door blocking his progress had been broken down, which had given the Demi-Monarch hope. However, Mu Xie¡¯s second tap plunged the man into an abyss.

    "I''ve also left a bit of my own energy inside of him. Regardless of whether he reaches the next realm of his cultivation, the energy that I¡¯ve left behind can cause him to explode and perish. The only way he can dispel it is if his cultivation eventually surpasses my own," Mu Xie casually stated.

    Chen Le''s countenance turned grim. He suddenly found himself in an even worse situation than when he had been under Mr. Daheng''s control. Mr. Daheng had only left behind a door that blocked Chen Le¡¯s next breakthrough, whereas he was currently being threatened with death.

    Chen Le had no desire to be controlled by others. He was on the verge of bing a peak powerhouse and had already caught a glimpse of the greatest heights of human potential, and he was determined to reach it. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to break free from the two people before him.

    He could either ascend to the peak and be a puppet on a string, or fall and perish without even leaving a corpse behind.

    These were Chen Le''s only two options.

    Mu Xie left, unconcerned with whatever Lu Yin nned to do next. His junior brother used many schemes and tricks, and Mu Xie was curious about what their master thought of such things. Both Qing Ping and Mu Xie were quite pure in their pursuits: one judged the guilty, while the other eliminated spies. Only their junior brother dabbled in everything, which set him apart from his two seniors.

    "What do you want me to do?" Chen Le asked.

    "It doesn¡¯t matter what I want, as you simply need to do it. That''s the price," Lu Yin dered.

    Chen Le''s voice dropped low, "Once I be a Monarch, I can help you greatly. I want to be treated fairly."

    "No," Lu Yin bluntly refused, "I''m giving you one final chance. You either ept your fate and be controlled by me, or you die. You don¡¯t have any other choices."

    Chen Le waspletely under Lu Yin¡¯s thumb, unless the man chose death.

    Chen Le already understood that the Bai n and Old Dian would never let things go. As for himself, he would do everything possible to break free from Xuan Qi¡¯s control. What was the point in speaking with pretenses and saying unnecessary words?

    In the end, Chen Le chose to live. Only by living could he hope to one day be free again. He refused to believe that he could not shake off the controls ced on him even after he became a peak powerhouse. When the time came, he might even be able to leverage Mr. Daheng''s strength to gain his freedom. After all, Chen Le was aware that Xuan Qi held the stone that Mr. Daheng wanted, and that was a valuable piece of information.

    There would always be a sliver of hope, and Chen Le intended to do whatever it took to seize it.

    ...

    One monthter, an overwhelming surge of monarch essence pressed down upon the Mo Courtyard and everything nearby.

    Old Greenpeel and the others looked up, shock filling their eyes. Was this...?

    From his position atop the rainbow wall, Monarch Luo turned to look at the event, an unusual glint in his eyes. "Is he breaking through? Good. We will finally have another one, hahaha."

    Arch-Elder Zen looked into the depths of the Three Monarchs Universe. Was someone breaking through to the Progenitor level?

    What did such a breakthrough in this universe look like? Arch-Elder Zen felt quite curious.

    While the Three Monarchs Universe was a rtively small universe, the person attempting a breakthrough cultivated monarch essence, which was the same power that Monarch Luo had used to reshape the universe. Did that mean that Monarch Luo had the ability to disrupt the breakthroughs of anyone in the entire universe?

    No one could give Arch-Elder Zen an answer to this question. All he could do was watch and see.

    Lu Yin stepped out of his courtyard and stared off into the distance with an awestruck expression. "Senior Cang Bi, what is going on?"

    Cang Bi was visibly excited. "Senior Chen Le is breaking through!"

    "Senior Chen Le? Is he about to be a peak powerhouse?" Lu Yin looked astonished.

    Cang Bi nodded. "Our Three Monarchs Universe will finally have another powerhouse."

    Lu Yin gazed into the distance. Chen Le had to seed at his breakthrough, or else all of Lu Yin¡¯s efforts would have been in vain.

    The breakthrough was met with great anticipation, not only by the Three Monarchs Universe, but also by the entire Sixverse Association. Everyone hoped to see Chen Le be a peak powerhouse. All eyes were fixed on the man, excited for the final oue.

    Peak powerhouses were the backbone for every universe¡¯sbat strength. Despite the varying levels of strength among such individuals, anyone who stepped onto that level possessed enough strength to gain the Great Sovereign¡¯s attention.

    Heavy pressure from the gathering monarch essence left everyone in the Mo Courtyard gasping for breath. Chen Le rose upwards in one smooth movement as a howl tore from his throat. His arrows pierced the nearby clouds, their deadly sharpness on full disy.

    The arrows shot upwards into the sky, unstoppable and deadly. They looked like they could pierce the universe itself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Chen Le possessed an impressive level ofbat strength and had only failed to react to Lu Yin¡¯s attack because of the surprise factor. Only at this moment did Lu Yin understand that Chen Le''s arrows were simr to the manifestation of a Progenitor''s world, only formed from monarch essence. It was no wonder how the man had been able to kill a corpse king in the same realm as him with a single arrow. These arrows were not merely a demonstration of Chen Le¡¯s strength, but could also be used as a battle technique.

    Arrows were deadly weapons, and with a sessful breakthrough, Chen Le would be able to y a significant role in the war against Aeternus.

    Chen Le was not the first Demi-Monarch from the Three Monarchs Universe to try to be a Monarch. There had been another attempt before, but it had failed. Chen Le was the second Demi-Monarch to face this challenge.

    While monarch essence had been created by Monarch Luo, the man was unable to control whether a person seeded or failed at their breakthrough. This final breakthrough to be a Monarch meant that Chen Le would acquire the power to alter the universe. This meant that the very nature of his power would change, even if he continued to cultivate monarch essence. This was what it meant to be a peak powerhouse.

 Chapter 2655: Unrestrained

    <h4>Chapter 2655: Unrestrained</h4>

    It took ten days, but Chen Le sessfully passed his breakthrough and became a Monarch. His sess raised amotion of congrattions from everyone in the Mo Courtyard, as the Three Monarchs Universe finally had a fourth Monarch now.

    "Congrattions on bing a Monarch, Senior." Cang Bi offered a deep bow.

    Lu Yin''s eyes sparkled. With the breakthrough finally over, it was time to do what needed to be done.

    Chen Le''s advancement to the Monarch realm was a significant event. The Sixverse Association itself, as well as many other organizations, all sent their congrattions, treating Chen Le with great courtesy. After all, people with his level ofbat prowess were incredibly rare in any universe, and other peak powerhouses understood that there was now another person to support them in the future when fighting on the Endless Frontier. This was the opportune moment to forge a rtionship.

    The first thing that Chen Le did after his breakthrough was to meet with Monarch Luo.

    Chen Le could be considered a disciple of all three Monarchs, since he had spent time studying under each of them. They were all familiar with each other, and there was no need for standard formalities.

    Monarch Luo also treated Chen Le far more seriously than before. A Monarch was someone worthy of even Monarch Luo¡¯s admiration. With Monarch Mu currently missing, Monarch Luo needed to rely on Chen Le¡¯s help to deploy the Three Monarchs Formation.

    "You want to be the Bureau Director of our universe¡¯s Bureau?" Monarch Luo was caught off guard by the request. It was not something that he had expected from Chen Le.

    Chen Le replied, "Spies are running rampant, and Monarch Mu''s disappearance could even be rted to that.

    ¡°My lord, there is a matter that has been troubling me for some time, and I feelpelled to share it with you now." The man paused for a moment, staring at Monarch Luo. "Luo Qian might have be a spy some time ago."

    Monarch Luo''s eyes grew cold, and he silently turned to stare at the distant rainbow wall.

    Chen Le continued to say, "I understand that you care about Luo Qian, as you would not have otherwise sent him to the Transcendent Universe to be a hostage. However, have you ever considered the fact that Luo Qian has a deep grudge against Luo Zang and the entire Mu family? Using him as bait to lure out Monarch Mu is something that even I can think of. Aeternus has been developing human spies for countless years, and surely they must have also thought of such a possibility. There has to be a peak powerhouse behind Monarch Mu''s disappearance, and Luo Qian does not have the personal connections to do that on his own.¡±

    "Furthermore, the possibility of the You family being behind her disappearance is nothing more than conjecture, and there is clearly something off about the person who provided you with that information. The entire situation could be a trap or ploy by Aeternus to generate internal conflict in our Sixverse Association.¡±

    "The only exnation that I cane up with for this matter is spies. Only traitors would do such a thing."

    Monarch Luo remained silent, never once speaking a single word.

    Chen Le continued in a solemn manner. "I implore you to give me the opportunity to hunt for spies and save Monarch Mu. To me, you, Monarch Mu, and Monarch Xing are all my masters. If at all possible, I hope to be able to rescue Monarch Mu, and even if she is already dead, I must bring her body back."

    Monarch Luo¡¯s silence continued for a long time, his face showing hisplicated emotions. "Our Bureau¡¯s director has always been Monarch Mu, but with her missing, the position cannot remain vacant. From this day on, you are the Bureau Director of the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Thank you, my lord." Chen Le bowed in gratitude.

    Monarch Luo turned to look at Chen Le. "I hope that you can follow through on what you¡¯ve said. Uncover spies and find Monarch Mu. Even if it''s just her remains, bring her back to me."

    Determination filled Chen Le''s eyes. "From today on, my primary goals are to root out spies in our universe and find Monarch Mu."

    Monarch Luo nodded. "No one knows whether the person who sold me that information is part of some scheme or not. Luo Qian certainly did appear in the Ziyou Realm, and the You family has a motive to go after Little Mu, so the suspicions leveled at them cannot be ignored."

    "That is precisely why I need to be the director of our Bureau. Xuan Qi was sent here by You Fang, and whatever he is up to, I need to keep an eye on him," Chen Le stated.

    Monarch Luo had been just about to mention the matter himself, but since Chen Le had already mentioned it, the older man simply said, "Xuan Qi is quite gifted at finding spies, and he also became well acquainted with Luo Qian while they were in the Sixverse Academy. I¡¯ve had Cang Bi keep an eye on him while he¡¯s in our universe, but I now pass that duty onto you."

    "Understood," Chen Le replied.

    After leaving the rainbow wall, Chen Le headed straight for the courtyard that had been given to Lu Yin and his team.

    For the time being, Chen Le was not needed at the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s warfront. Thebined efforts of Monarch Luo, Monarch Xing, Xia Shenji, and Arch-Elder Zen were enough to keep things stable there, and Monarch Luo much preferred having an extra Monarch free to maintain order in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    After arriving, Chen Le emerged from the void in front of Lu Yin''s quarters, and his overwhelming monarch essence suppressed every nearby creature.

    Cang Bi was the first to notice the new Monarch¡¯s presence, and he quickly bowed. "Greetings, Senior Chen Le."

    Every single cultivator from the Three Monarchs Universe inside or near the courtyard bowed in respect.

    Inside the courtyard, Boss Guan, Skinner, and Xu Ji also bowed in a show of respect to a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin stepped out and looked up at Chen Le. His eyes flickered, but he also offered a slow bow. "Greetings, Senior Chen Le."

    From where he stood in the air, Chen Le looked down at Xuan Qi. The Monarch wanted nothing more than to crush this young man with a single p. Xuan Qi and the mysterious peak powerhouse had nted two different energies in Chen Le¡¯s body as means to control him and leave him entirely at their mercy. Despite bing a Monarch, Chen Le had found that he was still unable to break free from those two energies. Despite his grand appearance, he was truly nothing more than a tool to be used by Xuan Qi. The humiliation was agony for Chen Le.

    If possible, he would have struck the young man down, but the energies still in his body made it difficult for him to take action. Additionally, even if he did attack, he might not be able to kill the young man. While Xuan Qi was not a peak powerhouse himself, he possessed the ability to fight against them. He was an absolutely terrifying man.

    "Are you Xuan Qi?" Chen Le asked.

    "I am."

    "I have been appointed as the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Bureau Director. I would like to ask you to temporarily join my Three Monarchs Bureau as Acting Bureau Director in order to help my universe hunt for spies. Are you willing?" Chen Le asked.

    Cang Bi was stunned to see how highly Chen Le regarded Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin hesitated. "Senior, I am already the Acting Bureau Director for the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau."

    Chen Le replied, "The Bureau is a single organization. Since you''re the Acting Bureau Director for the Voidforce Universe, then you are also qualified to be the Acting Bureau Director for my Three Monarchs Universe. You cannot refuse to do your part to rid humanity of traitors."

    Lu Yin stopped hesitating and slowly bowed. "I understand. Thank you for your kindness, Senior."

    Chen Le replied, "I know that you are quite skilled at finding spies, so I will give you the authority to go anywhere you wish in the Three Monarchs Universe, without any restrictions. This is the authority that I, Chen Le, grant you. You have but one task: find everyst spy. Leave none behind."

    Cang Bi was startled. Chen Le was giving Xuan Qi far too much respect. Granting the youth this much authority was essentially making Xuan Qi untouchable within the Three Monarchs Universe. Why would Chen Le do such a thing?

    How long had it been since Xuan Qi had arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe? After seemingly aplishing almost nothing, he was being given a lofty status. Could this be nothing more than the result of Xuan Qi¡¯s two visits to Chen Le?

    Lu Yin nodded with a smile. "I understand. Thank you, Senior."

    This was exactly what Lu Yin had wanted. The Three Monarchs Universe was simply his first step. Chen Le had been thest piece topleting it. From this moment forward, Lu Yin intended to start toying with the Sixverse Association.

    With Chen Le¡¯s endorsement, Lu Yin became free to go wherever he pleased.

    As for the first ce that Lu Yin wanted to visit, there was an almost unknown region of the Emperor Domain that held a stone tower. Within that tower were the true records of every major event that had ever happened in the Three Monarchs Universes.

    Every universe ced high importance on their history. The Fifth Maind had endured for countless years, and it had also lost its history on multiple asions. Even so, there was always someone who would tirelessly try to piece together the broken fragments of the past.

    Lu Yin simrly wanted to piece together theplete history of the Fifth Maind, and of the entire Origin Universe as well.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had built this stone tower specifically to house historical records. It held the true history of events that had yed out in the Three Monarchs Universe. Aside from a select few people, no one was allowed entry.

    In fact, the list of people allowed to ess the stone tower was only seven names long: the three Monarchs themselves, Chen Le, Luo Zang, the official historian, and the tower¡¯s guardian. Other than those people, no one else was allowed entry.

    Lu Yin had tried to visit the tower before, but he had been stopped by Cang Bi, who had proceeded to make it perfectly clear that Xuan Qi would never gain ess to the tower. However, with his new authority, Lu Yin fully intended to get inside the stone tower.

    The stone tower was not a grand structure, and it instead looked quite ordinary. However, its guardian was one of the Semi-Monarchs from the Mo Courtyard.

    The Mo Courtyard had fifteen Semi-Monarchs, each of whom held some position or other in addition to their membership in the Mo Courtyard.

    One example was the old woman that Lu Yin was looking at. She was the official guardian of the stone tower. Despite also being a member of the Mo Courtyard, the woman did not need to remain within the Mo Courtyard and live there. Naturally, the stone tower that she protected was not far from the Mo Courtyard, and it could even be considered a single step away.

    The Mo Courtyard was very close to every single location of importance in the Emperor Domain. This ensured that the Demi-Monarchs could quickly protect any location that was attacked.

    "Leave," the old womanmanded without even bothering to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood in front of her with his hands sped behind his back. He looked up at the stone tower. "You should get out of my way. I am the Acting Bureau Director, and naturally, I need to check the records here to learn about spies. The information within this tower is crucial for my investigations, so do not stop me."

    The old woman ignored his reasoning. "Leave."

    Lu Yin nced over at Cang Bi.

    The man was in a difficult position. Normally, he would have never allowed Xuan Qi to even get close to the stone tower, but Chen Le¡¯s orders had been very clear. Thus, Cang Bi did not know how to handle the situation.

    The three Monarchs were the people who determined who had ess to the stone tower. Before also bing a Monarch, Chen Le had no authority to add additional names to that list, but the man had be a Monarch as well, which made Cang Bi uncertain.

    Lu Yin furrowed his brow, pulled out amunication crystal, and prepared to call Chen Le. He then casually stated, "Monarch Luo tasked you with assisting me with my investigations. You are also responsible for ensuring that I am given full freedom in my activities. Even Chen Le told you to make sure that I am not to be blocked anywhere in the Three Monarchs Universe. If you can¡¯t even perform your duty at the very first ce I visit, what use are you to me?¡±

    Cang Bi''s heart dropped. He quickly stepped forward and spoke to the old woman. ¡°This man is Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi. Chen Le himself gave him unrestricted ess to every ce within the entire Three Monarchs Universe. Let him in, as he has permission.¡±

    The old woman nced at Cang Bi. ¡°I am responsible for guarding the stone tower, not you. Other than the people on the list that I¡¯ve been given, no one is allowed inside.¡±

    Cang Bi gritted his teeth and nced back, only to see Xuan Qi staring at him with open interest.

    The Demi-Monarch¡¯s face turned pale. How had he ended up in such a difficult situation? He did not want to offend Xuan Qi, but he was unable to persuade the old woman to let the young man in.

    Themunication crystal connected to another, and an image of Chen Le appeared.

    As soon as they saw Chen Le, Cang Bi and the old woman bowed in unison. "Greetings, Senior Chen Le."

    "What is it?" Chen Le calmly looked at Lu Yin.

    "I want to enter this stone tower to look into some things, but I¡¯m not being allowed ess."

    Chen Le replied, "I''ve already said that you are allowed to go anywhere you wish in the Three Monarchs Universe. Cang Bi, take care of this."

    Cang Bi was taken aback. "Yes, I understand. This will not happen again."

    Chen Le nodded, and then looked at the old woman. "Add his name to the list. I will speak to Monarch Luo."

    The old woman quickly bowed. "Understood."

    Lu Yin stowed hismunication crystal away and walked into the stone tower while ordering Cang Bi and the old woman to wait outside. No one was inside the stone tower with Lu Yin.

    At this moment, both Cang Bi and the old woman were extremely wary of Xuan Qi. This young man was allowed to act however he wished in the Three Monarchs Universe.

 Chapter 2656: Astral Pathfinders

    <h4>Chapter 2656: Astral Pathfinders</h4>

    The reason why Lu Yin needed to enter the stone tower was to look into Gu Yue''s past. There was no way that Lu Yin could ask the people of the Three Monarchs Universe about Gu Yue, as that would simply expose his true identity. The only option was to investigate on his own.

    Fortunately, the stone tower lived up to its reputation. It really did have records of the universe¡¯s entire history, and that included Gu Yue.

    After spending half a day in the tower, Lu Yin stood at the top and looked out. A cold light could be seen glinting in the depths of his eyes.

    Just as he had expected, the actual events of the past were not far from what he had guessed. Retainer Wu had also shared a bit of that history.

    Gu Yue had entered the Three Monarchs Universe through a passage that connected the universe to Shenwu Continent. He had then roamed about the universe for a hundred years, during which time he had made several friends. One of Gu Yue¡¯s close friends had been a man named Bo, who was known as Old Bo. He had been the person whom Gu Yue had trusted most. Unfortunately, Gu Yue¡¯s problems had also stemmed from Old Bo.

    Old Bo had deliberately approached Gu Yue because Gu Yue had not cultivated monarch essence. The man had not dared to demonstrate any form of power that was not native to the Three Monarchs universe, but his physical strength could not be hidden.

    How could a non-cultivator possess the physical might of a peak Envoy? It made it very clear that something was wrong with Gu Yue.

    Old Bo''s investigations had exposed Gu Yue as someone from a parallel universe. That was around the same time that Gu Yue had learned that Old Bo was actually a member of the Astral Pathfinders.

    The Astral Pathfinders were a group in the Three Monarchs Universe that had been tasked with searching out parallel universes and assessing the power of those universes. The members of the group delighted in capturing people and treating them as subhumans. Any time a habitable universe was discovered, it would be reported to the three Monarchs, who would reward the Astral Pathfinders richly. Unfortunately, the fate of those newly discovered universes invariably proved to be exceedingly grim.

    As soon as Gu Yue learned that Old Bo was a member of the Astral Pathfinders, the man had raced back to the Fifth Maind. He had been relentlessly pursued by a group of powerful Astral Pathfinders, among which included Old Bo. Gu Yue had narrowly escaped back to the Fifth Maind, though he had been gravely injured. To prevent an invasion from the Three Monarchs Universe, the man had used thest of his strength to set up a sourcebox array to seal the connection between the two universes, as well as the Tower of Resonating Light. Regrettably, Gu Yue¡¯s efforts had taken his life.

    The incident with Gu Yue had been recorded in the stone tower simply because it involved a parallel universe. Any matter connected to a parallel universe had to be recorded in the stone tower.

    If that were all there was to the matter, it would be fine. Every parallel universe had its own way of handling things, and the way that the Three Monarchs Universe had dealt with Gu Yue was quite normal.

    What concerned Lu Yin was the fact that Old Bo had enved Gu Yue''s descendants.

    Gu Yue had spent a hundred years in the Three Monarchs Universe, and during that time, he had not only made friends, but had also found love and had children. His hasty return to the Fifth Maind meant that he had not had any time to take his loved ones with him, and he had even died shortly after setting up the sourcebox array in the Fifth Maind. Gu Yue¡¯s descendants had been left to struggle on their own.

    In his anger at Gu Yue''s escape, Old Bo had sought vengeance by forcing all of Gu Yue''s descendants into an eternity of servitude as ves to the Astral Pathfinders. The very had endured for multiple generations so that Old Bo could sate his anger.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Before much more time passed, he left the stone tower.

    In the following days, Cang Bi led Lu Yin around the Emperor Domain, as Lu Yin visited almost every location that was off limits to ordinary people.

    On the fifth day, Boss Guan came looking for Lu Yin. "Acting Bureau Director, Cheng Feng has given us another name: Bo."

    Lu Yin asked in surprise, "Bo? Is that actually a name?"

    From behind Lu Yin, Cang Bi¡¯s ears pricked up. <i>Bo? That sounds familiar.</i>

    Boss Guan continued, "Yes, it is a name, and it¡¯s the name of a man from the Three Monarchs Universe. ording to Cheng Feng, they met before at the Broken Cliff, and Cheng Feng passed a message to Bo through a song. The man is a spy."

    "I remember now! Bo! The Astral Pathfinder?" Cang Bi eximed in surprise.

    Lu Yin and Boss Guan both turned to look at the man. "Do you know him?"

    Cang Bi nodded. "He¡¯s an Astral Pathfinder. I never expected him to be a spy."

    "Since you know him, we¡¯ll go together," Lu Yinmented before taking a step forward and moving towards the Astral Pathfinders¡¯ headquarters.

    The Astral Pathfinders were based in the Upper King Domain. They had many members, most of whom were highly skilled experts. Among them, Bo was regarded as an exceptional expert, as he was second only to the Semi-Monarch in charge of the group. After all, Old Bo was someone from Gu Yue¡¯s time, and he had been alive even before that.

    ...

    This was the day when the Astral Pathfinders held their decennial meeting. It was a massive gathering for all of their members to report their discoveries.

    "Over the past ten years, I¡¯ve ventured into seven parallel universes. None of them showed any signs of human life, and most didn¡¯t have any signs of intelligent life at all," one old man reported.

    "I found a universe that does contain intelligent life, and I nearly lost my life there. There was a monster devouring stars! It was terrifying," another explorer shared.

    "I¡¯ve managed to visit three parallel universes."

    "I¡¯ve explored two."

    Voices filled the meeting hall.

    "Where¡¯s Old Bo?"

    "Old Bo has never beente for any of our decennial meetings. I heard that there''s been some activity in that ce, so he might have gone there."

    "Are you talking about the spatial tunnel that Gu Yue fled into?"

    "Hush! We can¡¯t speak Gu Yue¡¯s name! Old Bo doesn¡¯t like it."

    At that moment, an old man arrived at the front of the meeting room, a smile on his face. He looked out at everyone who was gathered. This man was none other than Old Bo, the Astral Pathfinders¡¯ number two inmand. Old Bo only answered to the overseer of the Astral Pathfinders, who was a Semi-Monarch who stayed in the Mo Courtyard. This meant that Old Bo was effectively the one in charge of the group.

    Everyone quickly suppressed their auras, and the hall settled down.

    "You all seem to have been having quite the lively discussion. Has your hard work thesest ten years borne any fruit?" Old Bo asked.

    One by one, everyone reported their recent aplishments.

    Old Bo looked pleased as he listened to the reports and slowly savored his tea while asionally offering a bit or two of advice. The overall atmosphere of the meeting was quite harmonious.

    "Your dedication and efforts of this past decade aremendable. Exploring parallel universes is perilous, and we mourn the loss of twenty sixrades during this recent decade. We have paid a substantial sacrifice for our cause. Nevertheless, you all need to understand the unending nature of our quest to discover more parallel universes. Discovering one that satisfies Monarch Luo and the other Monarchs could be enough to propel our Three Monarchs Universe to greater heights. It would also elevate your own statuses quite significantly. I hope that all of you will take good care of yourselves," Old Bo conveyed.

    Everyone quickly agreed.

    "Aside from exploring parallel universes, it is also important to travel to our own universe extensively. You might just happen to meet people from other universes, just like Gu Yue."

    The people in the meeting hall were all astonished, as even mentioning the name ¡°Gu Yue¡± in front of Old Bo had been forbidden, so why was the man personally bringing that name up now? Especially when he seemed to be in such a good mood.

    At the same time, one of the many servants serving tea and water to the explorers paused briefly before continuing his duties.

    Old Bo gave a small smile as he looked out at the crowd. ¡°How would I have discovered Gu Yue, someone from a foreign universe, if not for my travels in our own Three Monarchs Universe?¡±

    As the old man spoke, he turned to the servant serving tea who had frozen for a moment. ¡°You,e over here.¡±

    The servant''s heart trembled as he cautiously approached Old Bo. The servant kept his head bowed and did not dare to meet the other man¡¯s gaze.

    Old Bo spoke calmly. ¡°All of you should recognize this man, as he is one of Gu Yue¡¯s descendants who¡¯s been condemned to very. This serves as a perfect example of what will happen to anyone from a parallel universe who dares to try to escape. This is the only fate awaiting them.¡±

    The old man then looked back at the servant. ¡°Tell me, do you hate Gu Yue?¡±

    The servant dropped to his knees. ¡°Lord, I hate him!¡±

    ¡°How much do you hate him?¡±

    ¡°I would devour his flesh and crush his bones!¡±

    Old Boughed heartily. ¡°Which generation of Gu Yue¡¯s are you from?¡±

    ¡°I am part of the thirty-first generation.¡±

    Old Bo sighed in amazement. ¡°The thirty-first generation... Has it really been so long already?¡±

    Everyone silently waited for Old Bo to continue. No one dared to interrupt him.

    ¡°Do you really hate Gu Yue?¡± Old Bo asked again.

    The servant''s eyes grew heated. ¡°I do! I hate him for abandoning us and escaping on his own! I hate him for offending you, Lord! I hate him for only caring about his home! I¡¯m not the only one, as my entire n hates him as well. We hate him to the bone!¡±

    Old Boughed again. ¡°Thirty-one generations of Gu Yue''s descendants... 245 people, and yet of them all, you are the most clever. Only you managed to find a way to hide your child.¡±

    The servant''s face instantly turned ashen as he stared at Old Bo in disbelief.

    The others in the hall turned to look at the servant in surprise. Had this man actually managed to hide his children?

    Old Bo beckoned with a hand, and a maid entered, carrying a baby.

    The moment the servant saw the infant, he recoiled in horror and his strength fled. His secret had been discovered.

    The man had gone to great lengths to have a child and hide him away, for the sole purpose of freeing his bloodline from an eternity of very. Of course, to keep up appearances, he needed to have a ¡°son¡± in very, but in secret, he had kept his true child hidden. Unfortunately, that secret had been exposed.

    The infant was brought over to Old Bo, who took the child and chuckled as he looked down at the sleeping newborn. "He¡¯s quite adorable. It¡¯s too bad that he''s another one of Gu Yue¡¯s descendants. What should I do with him?"

    The servant''s eyes darted about, but he did not dare to utter a word or even move a single muscle. His face was as white as chalk as he stared at the baby in Old Bo''s arms.

    No one else in the meeting hall was surprised. They had all seen their own fair share of subhumans and had long since lost any feelings ofpassion for them.

    "You hid him away, hoping that he would be able to live as an ordinary person free from very. It¡¯s possible that you¡¯ve even been harboring thoughts of revenge for the future," Old Bo mused. He looked rxed and sounded perfectly calm.

    The servant''s fingers twitched in terror as he stared at Old Bo. "I would never dare! I''ve never even thought about revenge! If I were to pursue revenge, I would take it out on Gu Yue. I would never dare to disturb you, Lord."

    Old Bo chuckled coldly. "I have observed every single generation of Gu Yue¡¯s descendants, including yours. Thirty one generations altogether. I once told Gu Yue that, if he dared to flee, I would make sure that his descendants would forever be ves. Since I said it, I need to see it done."

    There was no trace of color in the servant''s face as he copsed to the ground. There was no point in saying anything further at this point in time. All he could do was ept his fate.

    His life had been long enough, and death would be a merciful release. However, Old Bo would not let the servant off so easily. His desire was to torment Gu Yue¡¯s descendants, and if this servant died, it would free him from that torment.

    "I¡¯ll give you a chance to free your son from very," Old Bo suddenly announced.

    The servant stared up at Old Bo in shock, unable toprehend what he had just heard.

    Most of the others in the room were simrly taken aback, though there were a few who were not surprised. It seemed that they were privy to some secret.

    Old Bo continued, "You might soon encounter Gu Yue himself. Well, if he¡¯s still alive, that is."

    The servant rose to his feet, still staring at Old Bo with a stunned expression.

    With a sinister chuckle, Old Bo finished, "When you see him, don''t hesitate to give him all of your grievances from these many years. I''d love to see his reaction."

    With that, the old man callously tossed the baby into the air.

    The servant was horrified, and though he lunged forward, he had no special abilities or strength. He was a perfectly ordinary human.

    Everyone else remained where they were and merely watched as the baby fell in the distance.

    Suddenly, someone shot out of the void and caught the baby.

    Old Bo raised a brow, and displeasure quickly covered his face.

    Someone called out in a stern voice, "Who dares to behave so brazenly in the headquarters of the Astral Pathfinders?"

    Everyone turned to look outside where the person had caught the infant.

    "You people are animals, torturing an infant!" Lu Yin red at the crowd. He had caught the baby.

    The people in the room shouted back, "Impudent!"

    Old Bo¡¯s eyes narrowed as he silently stared at Lu Yin.

    Behind Lu Yin, Boss Guan, Skinner, Xu Ji, and Cang Bi all appeared and started to move forward.

    When the people in the meeting hall saw Cang Bi, they gasped and quickly bowed to the Demi-Monarch.

    Old Bo rose from his seat as well. "Greetings, Senior Cang Bi."

    Lu Yin entered the hall, still cradling the baby in his arms. With steady steps, he walked over to the servant. The man stared in a daze as his child was handed back to him. "This should be your child."

    The servant epted the baby, swallowing hard. Only then did any color return to his face. He was drenched to the point where he looked as though he had just been pulled from a river. "Thank- thank you..."

 Chapter 2657: About To Open

    <h4>Chapter 2657: About To Open</h4>

    Old Bo remained bowed. Without a word from Cang Bi, no one in the meeting hall dared to rise back up.

    Lu Yin remained in front of the servant, who was standing close to Old Bo, as he stretched out a hand and rested it on the old man¡¯s back.

    Old Bo reacted out of instinct, but Lu Yin countered with strength. Old Bo felt an intense pain on his back, as though his bones were being shattered. The man became enraged, and he tried to retaliate, but Lu Yin''s voidforce energy overwhelmed the old man and threw him aside.

    "Take him away," Lu Yin ordered.

    Old Bo crashed to the floor, enduring the pain that he was suffering to look up at Lu Yin. "Who are you? What do you want?"

    Boss Guan grabbed the man. "You¡¯re nothing but a spy! Come with me."

    Old Bo was confused. <i>A spy?</i>

    He looked over at Cang Bi. "Senior, just what is going on? There must be some misunderstanding. Senior, I''m not a spy!"

    Cang Bi frowned. He was merely apanying Xuan Qi and the Bureau, and he had absolutely no right to intervene in their activities.

    Lu Yin stood where Old Bo had just been, and he looked around at the bewildered crowd of Astral Pathfinders as he coldly said, "None of you will be leaving until we are able to determine the extent of Old Bo''s crimes. Boss Guan, keep an eye on them. There have to be other spies here as well."

    "Senior, all of us are Astral Pathfinders. How could there be any spies among us?" someone nervously questioned.

    Boss Guan pped that person and sent them flying. The unlucky man crashed to the floor where he spat blood. "The Bureau¡¯s activities are no ce for your sophistry."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned back to the servant. "This man can go. He''s just an ordinary human."

    He then stepped forward and left the meeting hall. He needed to find an opportunity to release Gu Yue''s descendants.

    ...

    Lu Yin had arrested Old Bo for personal reasons. It was nothing more than Lu Yin¡¯s own way of avenging Gu Yue. However, unexpectedly, many people stepped forward to plead for Old Bo''s innocence. Surprisingly, the old man¡¯s most ardent supporter was none other than the protector of the Astral Pathfinders, the Mo Courtyard¡¯s Ban Yuehong.

    While Ban Yuehong physically stayed within the Mo Courtyard, he was always paying attention to any problems that the Astral Pathfinders might encounter.

    He had received news of Old Bo¡¯s arrest right after it happened and had immediately hurried over, only to be stopped by Cang Bi.

    No matter what Ban Yuehong said, Cang Bi refused to allow the Demi-Monarch to meet Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin had absolutely no interest in seeing a mere Demi-Monarch.

    However, the Demi-Monarch had strong connections with many other members of the Mo Courtyard. So after Ban Yuehong failed to make any progress with Xuan Qi and the Bureau on his own, he asked for support from the other experts in the Mo Courtyard. Then, a group of them demanded a meeting with Xuan Qi, urging him to share evidence that Old Bo was a spy.

    However, this attempt was ruined by Old Greenpeel. The man was not the most sociable person in the Mo Courtyard, but with Chen Le¡¯s recent breakthrough, Old Greenpeel had be the most powerful Demi-Monarch in the Three Monarchs Universe. Thus, his promotion to the leader of the Mo Courtyard was nearly a foregone conclusion. Given the fact that Old Greenpeel was expected to soon be their leader, no one in the Mo Courtyard dared to offend the man, not even Ban Yuehong.

    Aside from their protector, Ban Yuehong, the Astral Pathfinders also sought the help of the Mu family, hoping that the powerful family would intercede on their behalf. Old Lady Mu informed Lu Yin of this development, though he did not take it to heart.

    That indifference changed when Chen Le personally approached Lu Yin about Old Bo¡¯s arrest.

    "Don''t tell me that even you want to talk to me about Old Bo''s arrest." Lu Yin was rather surprised. Old Bo was not even a Demi-Monarch, so why were so many people so concerned about him?

    Chen Le replied, "Do you have any evidence confirming him to be a spy?"

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. "What if I don¡¯t?"

    Chen Le said, "If there is no evidence, then you may need to release him, as Monarch Luo himself has requested this."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Why is Monarch Luo interested in Old Bo?"

    Chen Le shook his head. "I''m not entirely certain, as I didn''t ask too many questions so as to avoid rousing Monarch Luo¡¯s suspicions. After all, I''ve already been too amodating with you. You should ask Old Bo about this."

    Lu Yin soon met Old Bo in person.

    The old man had been beaten rather severely by Skinner, but Lu Yin did not feel the slightest hint of pity.

    When the old man saw Xuan Qi approaching, he red fiercely at the young man. "I am no traitor! You cannot falsely use me! Why are you targeting me?"

    Lu Yin walked over to Old Bo. "You are a spy."

    "I am <i>not</i>!" Old Bo angrily retorted.

    Lu Yin calmly observed his captive. "Then you should talk to Cheng Feng about that. He was the one who ratted you out."

    Old Bo''s eyes grewrge. "Cheng Feng? From the Voidforce Universe?"

    "Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve never met him," Lu Yin said coldly.

    Old Bo considered what he had just learned. "I¡¯ve only seen him once. I visited the Broken Cliff in the Voidforce Universe once before, as I was curious about his singing. After all, even Monarch Xing enjoys it."

    ¡°What a joke! You, a man known for your cruelty and ruthlessness, traveled all that way just to hear him sing? That''s just absurd. Cheng Feng stated that he sent you a message through the song that you heard, and that you then passed the information along. So, tell me, who did you deliver that message to?"

    Old Bo grew indignant. "I did <i>not</i>! I am no traitor! Where is Cheng Feng? I want to confront him myself. I am not a spy."

    "It has already been proven that Cheng Feng is a spy, and he has no reason to want to frame you. Strictly speaking, if you¡¯re not a spy, he would have never met with you. Why would he be trying to frame you?" Lu Yin countered.

    Old Bo was caught off guard by the question, as he could not understand why Cheng Feng would want to frame him. Had he ever even interacted with the man? No, they had never even spoken to each other.

    Suddenly, Old Bo turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Someone is having Cheng Feng frame me."

    "Who?" Lu Yin asked.

    Old Bo had no answer for that. Who could it be? He did not have even the faintest idea.

    Lu Yin remained silent as he watched Old Bo wrack his brain. The old man could not understand his situation at all.

    "There are a surprising number of people paying attention to your case." Lu Yin abruptly changed the subject.

    Old Bo''s eyes instantly lit up. "I am not a spy, and you¡¯d better release me, or else Monarch Luo won''t spare you."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "The Bureau serves the entire Sixverse Association. Monarch Luo may be the ruler of this Three Monarchs Universe, but not even he would dare to go against the will of the entire Sixverse Association. You must have already heard about how Cheng Feng¡¯s arrest went. Bot even Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples were able to take him away from the Bureau."

    Old Bo stared at Lu Yin in a daze as he recalled what he had heard about that matter. The entire Sixverse Association had gone into an uproar when Cheng Feng had been arrested, and it had all started with this Xuan Qi. This man had the audacity to antagonize even Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, so there was no need to even mention someone like Old Bo.

    "Xuan Qi, I swear that I am not a mole." Old Bo decided to try a softer approach. There was no point in threatening someone who did not fear even Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Now that''s more like it. Don''t worry, if you''re really not a spy, I''ll help you prove your innocence. My duty is to capture spies, not to offend people."

    Old Bo sighed in relief. "Yes, I understand that, and I am not a spy."

    "Still, with such a strong reaction to your arrest, I really don¡¯t have any choice but to suspect that Aeternus is behind you. The moment you were arrested, a crowd instantly stepped forward to try to save you. Something about this isn¡¯t right. After all, you aren''t even a Demi-Monarch, so why are so many people trying to protect you?" Lu Yin questioned.

    Old Bo was stunned. How were the attempts to rescue him somehow exacerbating the suspicions of him being a spy?

    "This- how does this suggest that someone is a spy?"

    Lu Yin nced over at Skinner, who nodded and exined, "From our own experiences, the more important a spy is, the more connected they are to important matters and people in the Sixverse Association. When something goes wrong with a critical spy, arger number of people will step forward to try to save them. For example, when Cheng Feng was arrested, the disciples of Sovereign Ninth Lotus even went so far as to send several Demi-Monarch level experts to try to rescue him. The reaction to your arrest is almost as intense as his was. There¡¯s no surprise that Ban Yuehong is trying to save you, but the fact that the Mu family and even Monarch Luo himself are getting involved makes things abnormal.

    "We don¡¯t suspect the Mu family or Monarch Luo, but simply put, someone like you shouldn¡¯t be connected to matters anywhere near important enough to garner such a level of interest. The reactions to your arrest are not normal, and the more abnormal things are, the more likely Aeternus is somehow involved."

    Old Bo quickly exined, "Monarch Luo spoke for me because I''m involved with the matter between Gu Yue and the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "What do you mean?"

    Old Bo hesitated.

    Lu Yin stated, "Staying silent will only raise suspicions that you¡¯re involved in some plot of Aeternus¡¯s that was put in y to entangle you in various matters that would ensure your protection in case anything happened to you. These plots make things much moreplicated for the Bureau¡¯s investigations, and there¡¯s no telling how long it might take us to get to the bottom of this. Things mightst for a very long time, or in the worst-case scenario, we might be forced to assume that you are guilty."

    When dealing with a spy, in both the Perennial World and the Sixverse Association, the rule when it came to spies was to assume that the person was guilty.

    Old Bo helplessly gritted his teeth. "There¡¯s a passageway here in my Three Monarchs Universe that connects to the Origin Universe. We didn''t know it even existed until a man named Gu Yue arrived. He..."

    Old Bo proceeded to share Gu Yue''s story, and the details perfectly aligned with what Lu Yin had already read in the historical records.

    "What does any of this have to do with Monarch Luo speaking up to defend you?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Old Bo looked up. "That passage is about to open."

    Lu Yin was startled, and his first thought was that something had happened to Shenwu Continent.

    However, once he heard the full exnation from Old Bo, Lu Yin understood that Shenwu Continent had nothing to do with the matter and that the passage was going to open from the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s side.

    "Gu Yue has been missing for so long. If Monarch Luo really wanted to get to that other universe, why didn¡¯t he force the passage open before? Why wait until now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Old Bo replied, "Monarch Luo did try. A thousand years ago, he took advantage of a time when Forgotten Ruins God left, and all three Monarchs used their full strength to try to open that passage, but they still failed. I don''t know why they are able to open it now.¡±

    "My instructions are to investigate what¡¯s happening in that parallel universe after the passage opens. I was assigned this duty because of my familiarity with Gu Yue. Through him, I was able to learn a bit about his universe."

    Things finally fell into ce, and Lu Yin now understood why Old Bo was of interest to Monarch Luo. Still, the old man was not terribly important to the Monarch. It was simply that Monarch Luo needed Old Bo to investigate the Fifth Maind because of what he had learned from Gu Yue. However, Old Bo did not have any detailed information, which meant that he would not be able to y a truly pivotal role. Everything hinged on whether the man was truly a spy.

    Desperate to survive, Old Bo begged Lu Yin to prove his innocence. The man was willing to share anything and everything he knew, even the location of two trans-universal passages that existed in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    This was something that Lu Yin had not found any mention of, even in the stone tower.

    After learning about the two locations, Lu Yin hurried over to investigate the passage to the Fifth Maind, eager to find out what the Three Monarchs were nning to do to open the passage.

    He returned dayster, having failed. He had not been able to even approach the location. The entire area was surrounded with potent monarch essence, suggesting that either Monarch Luo or Monarch Xing was there. Lu Yin was not confident that he could sneak in without being noticed, especially if Monarch Luo was the one standing guard. The man was a mystery to Lu Yin, and the legends surrounding him indicated that his abilities went far beyond what he had revealed to the public. Chen Le might not fully understand Monarch Luo''s capabilities, but Lu Yin did.

    That was also why Lu Yin feared the Monarch.

    Unable to personally visit the passage, Lu Yin¡¯s only option was to turn to Chen Le.

    Contacting the Demi-Monarch, Lu Yin asked if the man knew where the passage was located.

    "That¡¯s a passage to the Origin Universe, and it¡¯s where Xia Shenji came through. Before he showed up, we didn¡¯t know that the passage was connected to the Origin Universe," Chen Le replied.

    Lu Yin rather casually said, "Go over there and check things out. I need to know the details of what¡¯s happening there."

    Chen Le grew puzzled. "You need to know what¡¯s happening there?¡±

    The man fell silent for a moment as he stared at the image of Xuan Qi on hismunication crystal. "Are you from the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin had already known that, as soon as he gave Chen Le this task, his identity would eventually be revealed to the man. However, that did not matter. As long as Chen Le wished to live, he would not betray Lu Yin. "Go look around. I need to know the details, the more you can find out, the better."

    With that, Lu Yin ended the call.

 Chapter 2658: The Hidden Enemy

    Chapter 2658: The Hidden Enemy

    For a long time after the call ended, Chen Le just stared silently at themunication crystal in his hand.

    Everyone had been underestimating the Origin Universe this whole time. The Three Monarchs Universe had thought that they were colluding with Xia Shenji against the Origin Universe, but they had not known that the Origin Universe had already sent someone into the Sixverse Association long ago.

    <em>Xuan Qi just what is that mans status in the Origin Universe? Hes already been a part of the Sixverse Association for some time, and he even attended the Sixverse Academy before joining the Voidforce Universe, where he arrested many spies. Just what is that man nning? Hang on, wasn''t he here in the Three Monarchs Universe when Monarch Mu disappeared?</em>

    Chen Les knowledge of Xuan Qi caused the man to suddenly start suspecting the young mans connection to the missing Monarch Mu. That meant that Monarch Mu''s disappearance might be rted to the Origin Universe. In that case, was there really any connection to the You family at all? Chen Le had absolutely no idea.

    Lu Yin stood in his courtyard, calmly staring off into the distance.

    Given a choice, he would not have dropped such a big hint about his connection to the Origin Universe so early to Chen Le. However, something was happening to the passage that connected the two universes. There had to be some specific reason why Monarch Luo was confident that the passage was about to open, and that had pushed this matter to be Lu Yins top priority.

    The passage could not be allowed to open. If it did, the Fifth Maind would instantly be forced into a war on two fronts, as they would be forced to deal with both the Three Monarchs Universe and the Perennial World, which would quickly overwhelm the Fifth Maind. Furthermore, given Aeternuss presence in the Three Monarchs Universe, the Fifth Maind would face even more trouble if the Three Monarchs Universe became unable to hold the Aeternals off.

    Lu Yin did not want to see the Fifth Maind be crippled by the Three Monarchs Universe.

    For that reason, he found the risk of exposing his true identity to Chen Le to be worth the stakes involved. Unless the man wanted to die or was confident that he could remove both the Death Seal and Mu Xies energy from his body, Chen Le would not betray Lu Yin.

    After spending half a day considering the situation, Lu Yin decided that he would not let his future be decided by fate. He needed to be prepared for Chen Le''s possible betrayal.

    There was no question that the Sixverse Association had various individuals who were capable of removing the energies that had been left within Chen Le. The Great Sovereign was only one of those people.

    Everything depended on whether Chen Le would choose mutual destruction.

    There was no perfect n. Lu Yin had only started to leverage Chen Le, and yet he had already been forced to partially expose his real identity. In the megaverse, countless beingsplemented and restricted each other. Nothing could ever run smoothly forever. It was essentially a universalw.

    Having just be a peak powerhouse, Chen Le had obtained a status equal to the three Monarchs themselves. He had be a target of admiration for countless people in the Three Monarchs Universe, and even other peak powerhouses from other universes in the Sixverse Association had sent the man their congrattions for his breakthrough. He was unwilling to jeopardize everything that he worked so hard to obtain.

    At the very least, not for the time being.

    Chen Le was not loyal to the Three Monarchs Universe. If he were, he would have never joined the Liberation Pce. With Monarch Mu missing, the Three Monarchs Universe would be taking a ratherrge gamble in challenging the Origin Universe, but that did not really matter to Chen Le. The only thing that mattered to him was regaining his freedom.

    Both Lu Yin and Chen Le considered many things.

    The following day, Chen Le appeared at the location of the passageway, where he ran into Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor had not expected Chen Le toe, and he asked, "What brings you here?"

    Chen Le looked confused. "Senior, shouldnt you be at the rainbow wall fighting against Aeternus? Why are you here at this passage?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "Thats none of your business. Monarch Luo knows where I am. What brings you here?"

    Chen Le casually mentioned, "I was just passing by."

    Xia Shenji frowned as he stared intently at Chen Le, and the Monarch quickly left.

    Xia Shenji immediately informed Monarch Luo of what had happened, only to be told not to worry about it. Monarch Luo would ask Chen Le about what had happened.

    Chen Le soon received a call from Monarch Luo. "I heard a bit from Old Bo about how the passage will soon be opening, so I went over to confirm things for myself. This matter is of the utmost importance, and we cannot afford to allow foreigners like Xuan Qi to learn of it."

    Monarch Luoplimented the man. "Well done. Its always best to err on the side of caution. Does Xuan Qi know about this passageway?"

    Chen Le replied, "He knows that there is a transuniversal passage, but he does not know that it leads to the Origin Universe. Old Bo is extremely careful."

    "Make sure that he never finds out. You can also eliminate that Old Bo for me. I have no use for someone who surrenders everything he knows so readily," Monarch Luomanded.

    Chen Le quickly agreed.

    After ending his conversation with Monarch Luo, Chen Le went to Lu Yin''s courtyard and requested a meeting.

    "Xia Shenji?" Lu Yin arched a brow. Monarch Luo was confident that the passage would soon open, and Xia Shenji was actually waiting at the opening in the Three Monarchs Universe. There really was troubleing to the Fifth Maind.

    Chen Le continued, "Apart from Xia Shenji, there are also many cultivators from my universe gathered there. There was someone Im not familiar with, though he appeared to be engaging in a lively conversation with Xia Shenji. Despite his youthful appearance, he seemed to hold a status about equal to Xia Shenjis."

    "What does he look like?" Lu Yin asked in rm.

    Chen Les eyes locked with Lu Yins. "You are from the Origin Universe. So young, so aplished, and youre even backed by a peak powerhouse. If I''m not wrong, you might just be the Heavens Sects Dao Monarch, Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew hard, but he said nothing.

    Chen Le stared intently into Lu Yin''s eyes. "You might be, but you might not be as well. I don''t actually care. All I want is my freedom. The controls that you and that peak powerhouse nted in me must be removed. I refuse to be manipted for the rest of my life."

    "Are you trying to bargain with me?" Lu Yins voice turned cold.

    Chen Le replied, "Theres no need for any threats. I''ve already made my preparations. Should anything happen to me, your recent actions and all of my own suspicions will immediately be delivered to Monarch Luo, the Voidforce Universe, and the Transcendent Universe. This includes my guesses regarding Monarch Mu''s disappearance. Everyone will learn that Xuan Qi is nothing more than a fabricated identity."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Chen Le frowned. "You helped me break the door that was holding me back, and that allowed me to break through and be a Monarch. For that, I am genuinely grateful. We both know about each other''s circumstancesI pledged my loyalty to the Liberation Pce, and if Monarch Luo were to ever learn of that, things will not end well for me. No one epts betrayal. Thus, even if you remove your control over me, I wont betray you, and we can continue to work together.

    "I will help you investigate what is happening with the passage, and there will be plenty of opportunities for us to coborate in the future as well. However, you must first remove the controls that you have put in me, or else we will both go down together."

    Lu Yin scoffed. He did not believe that Chen Le was truly willing to follow through with mutual destruction, but he also did not want to force the man into desperation. Lu Yins identity as Xuan Qi was bing increasingly important, and it was connected to Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, You Fang, and other peak powerhouses of the Sixverse Association. If Lu Yin was exposed, how would those people view him? If he was going to be exposed, he would rather do it on his own terms.

    After all, the Sixverse Association had always been less than friendly towards the Origin Universe.

    Chen Le had decided to seize this opportunity to threaten Lu Yin, but it was a threat that was cushioned with both parties interests. The man was seeking cooperation rather than unteral control.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh before smiling at the man. "I was short-sighted in trying to control a peak powerhouse. I have failed to show Senior Chen Le proper respect, and for that, I apologize."

    Lu Yin''s attitude allowed Chen Le to rx slightly. He had been extremely worried that Lu Yin would choose mutual destruction over risking losing his identity as Xuan Qi, but that was an oue that would benefit no one. "When will you remove the controls?"

    Lu Yin replied, "When this matter is over."

    Chen Le wanted to retort, but he was cut off by Lu Yin, "What are you worried about, Senior? You''re able to force me to remove my control of you because you were able to guess my real identity. You already know that Monarch Mu''s disappearance is rted to me, while this passage has nothing to do with any of that."

    "No, you need to deal with this now," Chen Le stated bluntly.

    "Nobody knows whats going to happen with that passage, and I need a peak powerhouse to protect the Origin Universe from a possible invasion. Are you willing to go to the Origin Universe to have the energies inside of you removed?" Lu Yin asked.

    It was only natural that Chen Le was reluctant to agree to such a thing. He was no fool, and he understood that was a high chance of him being silenced if he went to the Origin Universe.

    "Once that passage opens, the Origin Universe will face an all-out invasion. At that point in time, my identity as Xuan Qi will no longer mean anything at all. If thats the case, I might as well go down with you, Senior. Regardless, even if I do need to remove the seal in you, it will have to be done after the passage is dealt with." Lu Yin was simrly stubborn.

    Of course, Chen Le wanted the energies within him to be removed as quickly as possible, but what Lu Yin had said was not wrong. Once the passage opened, he would need to return to the Origin Universe to protect it from invaders. At that point in time, his identity as Xuan Qi would be useless. Whether he tried to maintain it or not would be irrelevant. The Sixverse Association had never been friendly towards the Origin Universe, and on top of that, if Chen Les suspicions were correct, the young man was directly involved in Monarch Mu''s disappearance. Who knew if the Monarch was even still alive? This youth was definitely able to threaten the Sixverse Association.

    As soon as the passage opened, Lu Yin would be able to threaten the Sixverse Association, or at the very least, he would be able to threaten the Three Monarchs Universe. It would be better to wait until after the matter of the passage was settled.

    As long as the passage remained closed, the identity of Xuan Qi would remain useful. Lu Yin wanted to keep using his facade of Xuan Qi, so he would remove the energies in Chen Le.

    "Of course, removing those energies is one thing, but I will also need you to swear to not expose my real identity under any circumstances, Senior. Viting this vow," Lu Yin paused as his eyes grew ice cold, "Will result in you beingpletely annihted."

    Chen Le stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "Fine, we will each make a vow: I won''tpromise your Xuan Qi identity or share my spections about you, and you, Xuan Qi, will not reveal my rtionship with the Liberation Pce. From now on, we will be cooperating with each other."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Chen Le left after sharing what he had learned about the situation at the entrance to the passage.

    Lu Yin immediately understood why Monarch Luo was so certain that the passage would be opened. The person who had been chatting with Xia Shenji was none other than one of the Perennial Worlds four Array Grandmasters: the youngest Grandmaster, Mu Shang.

    Lu Yin had his own grudges and history with Mu Shang, but he had never considered the possibility that Mu Shang would actually travel to the Three Monarchs Universe to help them open the passage to the Fifth Maind.

    The Shenwu Continent was being protected by Senior Brother Mu Xie, and for that reason, the Perennial World had given up any hope of opening the passage from the Fifth Maind. They had instead redirected their attention to the other end.

    Could Mu Shang undo the Sealing Path sourcebox array from the Three Monarchs Universe? Lu Yin could not say for sure, but he did not dare to take the risk. While Mu Shang was no match for Grandmaster Gu Yan, the endless years of preparation that the Three Monarchs had set up to force their way through the passage had not been for naught. It was also possible that the Sixverse Association could have sent another Array Grandmaster to assist their efforts. The safest course of action was to prevent anyone from trying to unseal the passage.

    At the rainbow wall, Arch-Elder Zen was unaware that the Three Monarchs Universe intended to open the passage to his home.

    He had dedicated himself entirely to fighting against Aeternuss invasion. Even without the conflict between the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association, he would have still spent his days protecting humanity from the Aeternals.

    Suddenly, his wireless jincan trembled.

    Wireless jincans were able tomunicate across any distance, provided that there were two in the same universe. This meant that Lu Yin was able to directlymunicate with Arch-Elder Zen without having to worry about being monitored.

    Using the wireless jincans, Lu Yin informed Arch-Elder Zen of the current situation and told the Progenitor to leave the frontlines.

    Dayster, Aeternusunched another attack on the Three Monarchs Universe. The fighting was intense, but without giving any warning at all, Arch-Elder Zen suddenly left his post.

    The moment Monarch Luo received the news, he started using Arch-Elder Zen of being a traitor who cared nothing for the safety of humanity as a whole.

    After all, Arch-Elder Zen''s absence created arge hole in the Three Monarchs Universes defenses.

    Unsurprisingly, a Progenitor-level corpse king appeared, instantly targeting Arch-Elder Zen''s empty position at the rainbow wall. Seizing the opportunity, Forgotten Ruins God started attacking Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing, preventing them from moving.

    The rainbow wall teetered on the edge of being overtaken.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2659: The Red Star

    <h4>Chapter 2659: The Red Star</h4>

    The rapidly devolving situation forced Xia Shenji to leave the entrance to the passage and go face off against the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    However, due to Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s sudden absence, Aeternus intensified the assault on the Three Monarchs Universe, and they even sent a Progenitor.

    It was Yi Ren.

    Chen Le was forced to step onto the front lines.

    In a rare disy of strength, Forgotten Ruins God exerted her full strength, which Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing struggled together to hold back. Xia Shenji assisted the two Monarchs, and the three powerhouses were only barely able to hold the Skygod back. However, Chen Le was able to deal with both Yi Ren and the Progenitor-level corpse king on his own.

    At the critical moment, Sage Yuan revealed himself from behind the rainbow wall, and he stopped the attacks from striking the universe¡¯s first line of defense.

    Chen Le had not expected Sage Yuan to appear. He had not even known that Sage Yuan was in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The new Monarch was not alone, as Forgotten Ruins God and Yi Ren also had not expected to see Sage Yuan, who was one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages, appear. Why was he in the Three Monarchs Universe?

    Monarch Luo, Monarch Xing, and Xia Shenji showed no hint of surprise by the Sage¡¯s arrival, though they werepletely caught off guard by Arch-Elder Zen''s sudden departure.

    Lu Yin seized the opportunity and arrived next the entrance to the passage to Shenwu Continent. A short distance away, he caught sight of a familiar figure: Mu Shang.

    This was the time for Lu Yin to put his divine energy to the test. He changed his appearance and then mentally pictured the scene of the Three Monarchs Universe invading and subjugating the Fifth Maind. In this bleak vision, Lu Yin saw his loved ones, friends, and the rest of the inhabitants of the Fifth Maind be subhumans. They were killed and tortured, renderedpletely hopeless.

    Lu Yin could not allow this to actually happen.

    Slowly, a scarlet light blossomed in Lu Yin''s eyes. The glow came from the red dot at the center of the power system in his chest. The red glow spread, and Lu Yin started to radiate an aura of cruelty, ruthlessness, and brutality. He felt an inexplicable desire for endless violence that only welled up and continued to grow stronger. Within moments, the formidable crimson energy erupted, engulfing everything it encountered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s awareness grew hazy, and he lost track of his thoughts. All that consumed him was an overwhelming urge to eliminate a very specific face. He was ovee by an uncontroblepulsion to take that life

    Some distance away from Lu Yin, Mu Shang was staring at the entrance to the passage. The Sealing Path was a sourcebox array that had been designed by Grandmaster Gu Yan. While Mu Shang understood the principles behind it, that was not enough for him to be confident in undoing the sourcebox array. As long as he worked on his own, there was a very good chance that Mu Shang would fail. To undo the Sealing Path from the Three Monarchs Universe, someone at least as capable as Grandmaster Gu Yan would need to make the attempt, and they would also need to be supported by more than one Progenitor-level expert.

    <i>This passage must open! The Fifth Maind has to be connected to the Three Monarchs Universe. Lu Yin, this is what you deserve! Your Lu family should have disappeared long ago!</i>

    Mu Shang''s eyes zed with excitement. He was determined to remove the Sealing Path by any means necessary.

    Suddenly, a dark red light shot past the man, and his scalp went numb. He whirled around and saw a red dot off in the distance, though it was quickly getting closer. <i>What is that?</i>

    There was a deafening explosion that shattered space. Lu Yin, enveloped by a scarlet aura, waspletely unscathed, despite the oppressive monarch essence that surrounded him. With a single sweeping motion, he eliminated everyone in his path.

    He moved forward, his eyes locked onto Mu Shang as heunched another attack.

    Mu Shang was badly startled. "A corpse king?"

    He immediately set up a sourcebox array and brought out a power vessel, but both defenses were effortlessly torn apart by Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin had fought against Nutjob Lu in the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury, he had pulled out the death energy in the Specter Abyss so that he could use the God of Death''s attack to defeat Nutjob Lu. However, Nutjob Lu had revealed the ability to use the pupilless eyes stage of the Corpse King Transformation. At that point in time, Nutjob Lu¡¯s physical strength had far exceeded Xia Shenji''s, and it had caught Lu Yin off guard. However, despite such incredible power, Nutjob Lu had still been badly wounded when Lu Yin had augmented his attack with divine energy.

    Such a thing would not have been possible even with thebination of the God of Death''s scythe and left arm. Only divine energy could unleash such power.

    With the boost in strength that Lu Yin received from the divine energy, everything that Mu Shang threw out to defend himself might as well have been paper, as Lu Yin effortlessly ripped everything apart.

    Mu Shang was grabbed by his head, and the next instance, both figures vanished.

    With neither Xia Shenji nor Sage Yuan nearby, there was no one who could stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin appeared in a remote region of the Three Monarchs Universe, still holding onto Mu Shang.

    The Array Grandmaster crashed into the ground with enough force that every bone in his body was shattered. Blood spewed from his lips as he stared up at the imposing figure who had captured him.

    It was a monumental struggle for Lu Yin to retain his sanity. He stared down at Mu Shang''s face while attempting to rein in the rampaging divine energy. However, an insatiable bloodlust coursed through his veins with enough intensity that it shook Lu Yin to his core. All that he could think of was to kill, kill, kill...

    Mu Shang coughed up more blood as he tried to escape, but Lu Yin instantly blocked his path. While staring into Mu Shang''s eyes, Lu Yin muttered, "It¡¯s time to end this."

    The Array Grandmaster¡¯s pupils instantly shrank, as he recognized that voice. "Lu Yin? You are Lu Yin!"

    There was a thunderous crash as Mu Shang''s body was smashed to the ground once again. He was mercilessly pummeled by Lu Yin¡¯s fist.

    The same moment that Mu Shang breathed hisst, the uncontroble bloodlust that had overwhelmed Lu Yin''s mind miraculously disappeared, which allowed him to return to his normal state of mind.

    He copsed to the ground, panting heavily. That had been too dangerous. He had simply wanted to test out the divine energy inside him while also leaving evidence of Aeternus at the scene. He had not expected things to be so dangerous. If he had been the slightest bit careless for even a moment, his mind might have been devoured by the bloodlust.

    This was the power of True God Wei Yi.

    It was no wonder that Aeternus was mankind''s greatest enemy. It was possible that the minds of every Aeternal was filled with aggression and the desire to enve others. However, the moment Mu Shang died, all thoughts of violence had disappeared from Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    He stared at the ground. Had Mu Shang been the source of that obsession with killing? Had Mu Shang been the key to the raging bloodlust?

    Lu Yin looked into his chest. The red dot was still there, hanging like an eternal red star that shone down on the rest of the power system in his chest. The red dot illuminated the continent of fatesand.

    The mixed energies within Lu Yin¡¯s chest were too bizarre. He could not make sense of what was there, and even Mister Mu found it mysterious.

    Despite using the divine energy, the red dot did not seem depleted at all, and it instead seemed more like a seed that had been nted in his body.

    Lu Yin feared that the divine energy would one day take control of him. That would be a terrible disaster.

    He could still vividly remember the vision of the future that had appeared when the Books of Destiny had merged. Would he really one day ughter his loved ones and friends? Every time the thought returned, it left him nervous.

    Xuan Jiu had been absolutely right; Lu Yin was an ominous person. He wanted to change the future before. But now, he <i>had</i> to change it.

    ...

    While Lu Yin was eliminating Mu Shang, elsewhere, Monarch Luo and the rest of the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s forces held steady at the rainbow wall.

    With the support of Sage Yuan and Chen Le, the rainbow wall held strong. It would not fall even if another Progenitor-level Aeternal arrived.

    As the fighting on the front lines started to ease, what had happened at the entrance to the passage reached Monarch Luo¡¯s ears.

    Enraged, Monarch Luo charged over to the passage, with Xia Shenji and Sage Yuan right behind him.

    An area of outer space that had been tainted with remnants of divine energy were what met them.

    Sage Yuan''s expression turned grave. "This is not the work of a normal corpse king. This is traces of divine energy. Could one of the Seven Skygods'' avatars have taken action?"

    Monarch Luo had not expected to encounter traces of divine energy.

    Xia Shenji''s face fell. Failure. They had failed yet again. Where had they gone wrong? Why would the Aeternals attack Mu Shang? Traces of divine energy indicated that Aeternus had taken action, but why would they?

    If not for discovering divine energy, the first person that Xia Shenji would have suspected would have been Lu Yin. Only that young man had an interest in keeping the passage sealed. However, all the evidence pointed away from Lu Yin, as there was no way he could be a corpse king.

    What on earth had happened? Nobody could figure it out.

    "Sage Yuan," Monarch Luo spoke softly, "Arch-Elder Zen''s desertion of the battlefield ced us in a disadvantage during battle. This needs to be thoroughly investigated."

    Sage Yuan replied, "I know. This matter won¡¯t be dropped here."

    Xia Shenji stared at the entrance to the spatial passage. "This is just too much of a coincidence. Right when Sage Yuan arrived with an Array Grandmaster from the Cyclic Universe to remove the seal on the passage, Arch-Elder Zen left the frontlines, which forced us onto the battlefield, leaving this ce unprotected. If Arch-Elder Zen had remained at his post, Mu Shang wouldn¡¯t have been killed."

    Sage Yuan''s eyes were steely. "Are you implying that the Heavens Sect is connected to this?¡±

    Monarch Luo also turned to look at Xia Shenji.

    The man replied, "There''s no evidence supporting that, but no matter how I look at this, the Heavens Sect is unquestionably connected to what happened here."

    "But there are traces of divine energy," Monarch Luo objected.

    Xia Shenji had no answer for that, as it was undoubtedly the greatest point of contention. Could the Heavens Sect be coborating with Aeternus? Just the mere thought of such a thing was insane. No matter how much Xia Shenji might hate Lu Yin, the Progenitor would never make such an outrageous usation.

    The only reason why Aeternus¡¯s forces had been driven out of the Perennial World was because of Lu Yin. If not for him, the Perennial World might have even been taken over by the Aeternals. There was no reason for Aeternus to put in the effort of nurturing someone like Lu Yin, just for him to fight against them.

    Sage Yuan growled in frustration. "Regardless, I will find out why Arch-Elder Zen left so abruptly."

    The man then turned to look at Xia Shenji. "Aside from Mu Shang, who else knows about the Sealing Path?"

    Xia Shenji shook his head. "There are four Array Grandmasters in my Perennial World. Mu Shang is the youngest and most talented of them all, which is why he was asionally given the opportunity to learn from Grandmaster Gu Yan. Aside from him, it¡¯s possible that only Grandmaster Gu Yan''s disciple had any knowledge of this sourcebox array.

    "Unfortunately, Grandmaster Gu Yan has only ever had one disciple, who was named Gu Yue, and he died many years ago. When this passage was first sealed, Gu Yue was the one responsible."

    Monarch Luo''s eyes went wide in shock. Gu Yue and Gu Yan; these two men were the reason why the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s hopes of invading the Origin Universe had been dashed repeatedly. They would not be let off lightly.

    Sage Yuan stared at Xia Shenji. "There''s no need to rush things. Since Grandmaster Gu Yan''s disciple is already dead, we can just help him find another one. As long as they can learn the Sealing Path from him, they will eventually be of use to us. It does not matter to us if we need to wait hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years."

    Xia Shenji nodded. "I understand."

    Sage Yuan then went to the Origin Universe to learn why Arch-Elder Zen had suddenly left the battlefield.

    As soon as the Sage left, Monarch Luo and Xia Shenji exchanged nces. "Is it possible that Lu Yin could be colluding with Aeternus?"

    Xia Shenji frowned. "As much as I hate to admit it, the chances of that are almost zero."

    Monarch Luo''s eyes were icy cold. He had not thought that there could be a spy in his Three Monarchs Universe who was capable of utilizing divine energy. This was a terrible threat, and it absolutely had to be eliminated.

    In the Origin Universe, Sage Yuan arrived at the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Maind and approached Arch-Elder Zen.

    The Progenitor was taken aback by Sage Yuan''s arrival. "I merely came back to retrieve a power vessel. Why are you here, Sage Yuan? Is there something that you need to tell me?"

    Sage Yuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You came back here for a power vessel?"

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "I was thinking of throwing a Devourer into Aeternus''s territory before theyunched an all-out assault on the rainbow wall. I wanted to measure how effective a deterrence it might prove to be."

    Sage Yuan frowned. "What¡¯s a Devourer?"

    "It seems that your Cyclic Universe is uninformed of various details of my Origin Universe. The Devourer was a disaster that befell the Fourth Maind back during the Heavens Sect era. It is a metal that grows stronger andrger by devouring flesh and blood."

    As he spoke, Arch-Elder Zen brought out a bit of the metal that Lu Yin had Enhanced and left in the Heavens Sect. It was an excuse that the two hade up with to justify Arch-Elder Zen''s return.

    "Do not underestimate this metal, as it once brought catastrophe upon the Fourth Maind. As one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, even if you did not live during that era yourself, you should at least have some knowledge of it."

    Sage Yuan grew solemn. Of course he had heard of the Origin Universe¡¯s Fourth Maind during the Heavens Sect era. The Origin Universe might have few historical records about their own past, but plenty still remained in the Cyclic Universe, and among them were records of the Fourth Maind¡¯s history.

 Chapter 2660: Looking For You

    <h4>Chapter 2660: Looking For You</h4>

    Sage Yuan was well aware that the Fourth Maind had been dominated by astral beasts. The Heavens Sect had even dedicated an entire continent to these ves of humanity. The Fourth Maind had been ruled by one of the Three Realms Six Dao, who had been known as the Wilderness God. The Three Realms Six Dao had been experts at the same level as the Three Sovereigns, which meant that if Wilderness God were ced in the Cyclic Universe, he would undoubtedly be ranked among the top five most powerful individuals.

    Such an expert could not be underestimated, not even by one of the Nine Sages.

    "Is this the metal that brought disaster to the Fourth Maind?" Sage Yuan was astonished.

    Arch-Elder Zen held the piece of Devourer up. The metal writhed incessantly, creating spines that sought to pierce the man¡¯s skin and absorb his blood and flesh. However, how could even an Enhanced Devourer that was as powerful as a one-tribtion Envoy harm Arch-Elder Zen?

    Sage Yuan stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Even so, you shouldn''t have left the battlefield in the Three Monarchs Universe without permission. Do you realize the crisis that your departure created?"

    Arch-Elder Zen put the Devourer away. "ording to my understanding, someone in the Three Monarchs Universe just reached the level of a Progenitor, which means that, even without me, there¡¯s nock of powerhouses to protect that universe. Why should I guard their universe for them?"

    Sage Yuan¡¯s tone grew harsh. "This is the agreement I made with Lu Yin. If you''re not willing, then get him to take your ce. No matter what, the Heavens Sect must have a Progenitor fighting on the battlefield in the Three Monarchs Universe. If not, don''t me the Sixverse Association for retaliating."

    With that, the Sage left.

    He had primarily wanted to look into whether Arch-Elder Zen''s sudden absence was connected to what had happened at the passage, but from this conversation, Arch-Elder Zen had most likely left because he was unhappy with his situation. The Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Chen Le had broken through to the Progenitor level, but Arch-Elder Zen was still expected to stand at the front lines of their universe and protect them from Aeternus. As for the matter with the Devourer, Sage Yuan did not believe any of Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s excuse.

    Still, it was almost certain that the man had no connection to the attack on the entrance to the passage.

    No one believed that the Heavens Sect had any sort of connection to Aeternus. It was simply inconceivable. If the Heavens Sect was cooperating with Aeternus, then the Origin Universe would have fallen long ago, and Aeternus would have opened up the passage to the Three Monarchs Universe. These facts simply made that possibility zero.

    Even Xia Shenji, who hated Lu Yin more than almost anyone else, did not consider it possible.

    It could be assumed that Aeternus was too aware of what was happening in the Sixverse Association and that they had timed their attack ording to when Arch-Elder Zen left.

    After leaving the Origin Universe, Sage Yuan returned to the Three Monarchs Universe to share his conclusions with Monarch Luo.

    "Could it really just be a coincidence?" Monarch Luo remained skeptical, as the timing was simply too convenient. The ones who benefited the most from Mu Shang''s death were the Heavens Sect, and more specifically, Dao Monarch Lu Yin. However, the Heavens Sect was the organization that was the least likely to collude with Aeternus. So just what had happened?

    Regardless of what happened in the world outside the bureau¡¯s courtyard, no one disturbed Lu Yin.

    He returned to his quarters and looked outside at Cang Bi, who was faithfully maintaining his vigil. The man was a Demi-Monarch, but he still was not qualified to get involved in the current matter. When had the status of a Semi-Progenitor been reduced this far?

    Lu Yin needed toe up with a n to help raise every Semi-Progenitor in the Heavens Sect to be Progenitor realm. Only then would the Origin Universe be able to negotiate with the Sixverse Association on equal footing.

    If only Lu Yin could acquire the power of the Great Sovereign, who was able to bestow Progenitor-level power to whomever he wished. How wonderful would that be? Lu Yin would make all the Semi-Progenitors into Progenitors, and then he would fear no one.

    The Three Monarchs Universe finally saw peace once again. Monarch Luo and the others continued to look into the reason why Mu Shang had been targeted by a corpse king. Arch-Elder Zen also returned to the rainbow wall. Both Monarch Luo and Xia Shenji questioned the man further, but they were unable to learn anything from Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Yin also doubled down on his mission to undercover spies, and he put on a big show of investigating the information broker. Xuan Qi¡¯s behavior and actions aligned perfectly with what everyone expected from him.

    During this time, a woman that Chen Le had never met before arrived to see him. She was merely as strong as an Envoy, but seeing her put a solemn expression on the Monarch¡¯s face.

    "Mr. Daheng sends his greetings and congrattions to you, Senior Chen Le, for your breakthrough to the Monarch realm. You have established your ce as a legendary figure and are destined to be remembered throughout history," the young woman stated. Despite her unassuming appearance and rather average strength, this seemingly ordinary individual managed to erase any trace of emotion from Chen Le''s face.

    He had not expected Mr. Daheng to initiate contact with him.

    After the door within him was sessfully removed and his ascent to be a Monarch, Chen Le had believed that Mr. Daheng would lose all interest in him. After all, Chen Le had ovee Mr. Daheng¡¯s door without the man¡¯s assistance, which had freed Chen Le of Mr. Daheng¡¯s control. Logically speaking, Mr. Daheng should not have reached out again, and he might have even be an enemy.

    "Are you surprised, Senior Chen Le?" the woman asked, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the powerhouse.

    Chen Le somberly regarded the woman. "Did Mr. Daheng say anything else?"

    The woman maintained a respectful tone. "Mr. Daheng merely sent his congrattions to Senior Chen Le and instructed me to listen to whatever Senior Chen Le wishes to say."

    Chen Le frowned. What did he want to say? What could he even say? "We are now enemies."? He would never dare to say such a thing to Mr. Daheng. Even after bing a Monarch, Chen Le did not have the courage to oppose Mr. Daheng. However, if Mr. Daheng was not an enemy, then just what was he to Chen Le?

    A moment passed. The Monarch simply had no idea what to say.

    After bing a Monarch, he had not anticipated any further contact with the Liberation Pce. There was no doubt that Mr. Daheng was reaching out because of that stone. The man had an excessive interest in that stone. If Chen Le was holding it, he would have simply handed it over to the woman and been done with the matter.

    He was not afraid that the Liberation Pce would say anything to Monarch Luo, as doing so would only ce the Liberation Pce in a precarious position. Chen Le had assumed that, after being ensnared by Xuan Qi, the entire matter of the Liberation Pce would simply fade and be forgotten. It waspletely unexpected that the Liberation Pce would rekindle their connection with him.

    "What is it that Mr. Daheng wants from me?" Chen Le asked again.

    The woman merely repeated herself and said that she was to listen to whatever Chen Le had to say.

    In the end, Chen Le said nothing at all. Before leaving, the woman said, "Mr. Daheng said that, if you had nothing to say, you can look for him at this location."

    Apparently, the women¡¯s true purpose had been to deliver this location to Chen Le.

    The man stared at the information he had been given. Should he go or not?

    If he did not go, he might truly be an enemy of the Liberation Pce, which meant being an enemy of the terrifyingly powerful Mr. Daheng. If Chen Le did go, what could he possibly gain from the trip? He nced down at himself. Could he be freed from Xuan Qi''s control? Would he simply be controlled by Mr. Daheng once again? There were no answers to be had.

    Chen Le had escaped Mr. Daheng''s control by destroying the door without the man. If he met Mr. Daheng again... Chen Le hesitated. He struggled with the dilemma for half a month before finally paying Lu Yin a visit.

    Lu Yin had not expected Chen Le to take so long to visit him again. In fact, Lu Yin had expected Chen Le to return the moment the matter with the passage was resolved.

    "Just what happened? Why did some Aeternal kill Mu Shang?" Chen Le demanded. He was the only one with some knowledge of the situation, as no one else was aware that Lu Yin had been responsible for Mu Shang¡¯s death.

    Lu Yin confidently replied, "Why is Aeternus allowed to manipte spies against us humans, but I''m not allowed to manipte them?"

    Chen Le stared at Lu Yin. "<i>You</i> manipted <i>Aeternus</i>?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "What? Did you think that I was a spy? You''ve already guessed my real identity, right? Why are you still so suspicious?"

    Chen Le''s eyes flickered. "We already have an agreement, so remove your controls from me."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ve actually been waiting for you."

    As Lu Yin spoke, Mu Xie appeared and stood just a few meters away from Chen Le.

    Chen Le was instantly nervous, as he was almost entirely certain that both of these men were from the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. It was no wonder why that sect was capable of opposing the likes of Xia Shenji. The Heavens Sect had more than one Monarch-level expert, and even Sage Yuan was only able to question the sect, as he was incapable of forcing them to do anything.

    "Freeing you is possible, but I need you to do something," Lu Yin said.

    Chen Le''s eyes narrowed. "That¡¯s not what we agreed on. We said that, when the passage was dealt with, you would free me. Are you reneging on our agreement?"

    "What I need from you will only benefit you, and it won¡¯t harm you in any way at all. Why not first hear me out?" Lu Yin asked calmly.

    All that Chen Le cared about was his freedom, and he did not want to get entangled with any furtherplications. However, with a nce at Mu Xie, the Monarch understood that the chances of him obtaining his wish without at least hearing Xuan Qi out were slim.

    It was possible to threaten the young man into releasing him, but that would be nothing more than a threat. It would not be an act of true desperation.

    If the two men refused to give in to Chen Le¡¯s demands, then the situation would devolve into a lose-lose scenario. For the moment, Chen Le only needed to listen.

    "Fine, speak," Chen Le stated as his expression fell.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand, revealing the Peaks and Rivers Rock in his hand. This was what Mr. Daheng had wanted so desperately. Seeing itpletely stunned Chen Le.

    "I would like to ask you to personally deliver this stone to Monarch Luo, Senior," Lu Yin stated.

    Chen Le felt he must have heard wrong. "Give this to Monarch Luo? Are you asking me to deliver myself to my enemy?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Feel free to use whatever excuse you want, as long as you deliver this stone to Monarch Luo. He doesn¡¯t know the importance of this stone, and truthfully, neither do we. It seems that only Mr. Daheng is aware of that information. So with that in mind, giving it to Monarch Luo should not create any problems."

    "Why?" Chen Le asked, baffled.

    "Surely you don¡¯t believe that the Liberation Pce has actually given up on you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le¡¯s brow rose, and he warily nced at Lu Yin. Had this young man been monitoring him?

    Lu Yin blinked. "Judging by that reaction, you¡¯ve already been contacted by someone from the Liberation Pce, haven¡¯t you?"

    "How did you know?" Chen Le stared at Lu Yin, his caution mounting.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You''ve been a part of Mr. Daheng''s ns for years, and he even made it a point to block your potential breakthrough to the Monarch realm. Everything was done because he needed to recruit more people to search for these stones. Senior, you already dealt with the Bai n, which suggests that you should have already found this stone. How could Mr. Daheng let you go now?"

    Chen Le furrowed his brow. He was fully aware of Mr. Daheng''s interest in the stone, but Chen Le had be a peak powerhouse himself.

    Normally, if a peak powerhouse and a mere stone were evaluated, the former would undoubtedly be regarded as far more important. However, from Xuan Qi¡¯s words, it seemed possible that Mr. Daheng viewed the stone as even more valuable than a peak powerhouse.

    "If someone from the Liberation Pce has already contacted you, Senior, you won''t be able to get rid of them. Why not hand the stone over to Monarch Luo? Mr. Daheng seems to want to maintain a low profile, and he most likely will not disclose your previous cooperation with Liberation Pce. Also, since Monarch Luo is unaware of what happened, why not let Mr. Daheng deal with him? It would be even better if he mistakenlyes to the conclusion that you joined the Liberation Pce on Monarch Luo''s orders, though the chances of that happening are slim. Regardless, we¡¯ll divert Mr. Daheng''s attention over to Monarch Luo. That should help you break free, shouldn''t it?" proposed Lu Yin.

    Chen Le''s eyes lit up, as this certainly seemed to be a viable strategy. If the stone was Mr. Daheng''s greatest concern, then Chen Le could simply give it to Monarch Luo.

    Chen Le had once tested Monarch Luo, only to find that the man knew nothing about the stone¡¯s significance. In that case, there was no reason not to give the stone to Monarch Luo and have Mr. Daheng focus elsewhere. As long as Chen Le avoided further contact with the Liberation Pce, he would be safe.

    The only problem remaining was the danger of running into someone from the Liberation Pce while on the Endless Frontier.

 Chapter 2661: Gains And Losses

    Chapter 2661: Gains And Losses

    Lu Yin needed toe up with a way to both avoid offending the Liberation Pce, while also diverting Mr. Daheng''s attention.

    "Are you getting rid of this stone?" Chen Le asked as he stared at the stone in Lu Yins hand.

    Weighing the stone in his hand, Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know what theyre used for."

    "Then why not give it to Mr. Daheng himself?" Chen Le asked in confusion.

    A smirk touched Lu Yin''s lips. "If I have you give it straight to Mr. Daheng, which might not leave you facing any repercussions, what about me?"

    Chen Le''s expression instantly grew sharp.

    "If you''re fine with remaining under my control," Lu Yin continued, "I''ll be fine with you giving the stone to Mr. Daheng and eliminating any future trouble for yourself. If not, this serves as a way for me to keep you in check after we remove the energies from your body. Youve already dared to threaten me with mutual destruction, so I can''t just let you off without any worries.

    "At this point, if Monarch Luo learns that youve had previous dealings with the Liberation Pce, you can just say that you were threatened. However, after you give the stone to Monarch Luo, that excuse bes worthless."

    Chen Le red intensely at Lu Yin through cold eyes. "It wont just be worthlessdoing this might even create suspicions that Im trying to sow discord between Monarch Luo and the Liberation Pce."

    Lu Yinughed. "It''s not that serious, though it all depends on how you look at things."

    Chen Le stared at Lu Yin before ncing over at Mu Xie. "You''re ruthless."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he exined, "There is another option: you can go straight to Mr. Daheng or Monarch Luo and fully exin your current situation. Ask them to free you from our control. Pretend to agree with me now, but reveal the truth as soon as you''re with one of them. We have no idea which choice you will make, and you just might be able to turn the tables on me. Tell me, Senior Chen Le, what do you think of this?"

    Chen Le was no fool. Before seeking out Xuan Qi, he had already considered the possibility of doing exactly what Lu Yin was suggesting. If Chen Le approached Mr. Daheng, he would risk being controlled once again. If he asked for Monarch Luos help, he risked exposing his previous affiliation with the Liberation Pce. After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Le would prefer revealing everything to Monarch Luo and confessing his previous betrayal, as he had never once done anything to harm the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Monarch Mu was missing, and Chen Le had be a Monarch, which meant that Monarch Luo could not afford to do anything to Chen Le at this time.

    However, the chain preventing Chen Le from proceeding with this option was just one question: was Monarch Luo actually capable of freeing Chen Le from the energies inside him?

    Chen Le did not fully understand how powerful Monarch Luo was. In fact, Chen Le knew less about the matter than most peak experts in the Sixverse Association. He was not certain that Monarch Luo had the strength needed to free him. There was no question that Mr. Daheng possessed such strength, but there was a very high possibility that Chen Le would just end up under Mr. Dahengs control again.

    This was why Chen Le had struggled so much with his decision, and it was also why he felt that he had no other choice.

    Throughout a person''s life, there would be too many asions where they would be faced with situations without a singr right answer. If Chen Le was certain that Monarch Luo could free him, or that Mr. Daheng would not exert control over him again, things would have been simpler.

    Unfortunately, given the current situation, what real choice did Chen Le have?

    Furthermore, the fact that Chen Le was hearing Xuan Qi himself suggest the option raised even more doubts for the Monarch. Could the young man have some hidden agenda?

    Lu Yin''s words echoed in Chen Le''s mind. Such a meticulous person was very unlikely to leave a back door for Chen Le. Just what was the real reason for reminding him of alternative options?

    Countless thoughts filled the mans mind to the point where even a peak powerhouse like Chen Le found himself struggling to make sense of it all.

    Lu Yin studied Chen Le''s darting eyes, knowing that the man was trying toe to a decision.

    Regardless of what choice he made, it would be difficult for Lu Yin to maintain control over the man while he was in the Three Monarchs Universe. If Lu Yin actually did anything to try to harm Chen Le, Monarch Luo would certainly notice, and Xuan Qi would be exposed as a fraud. It was a path with no future.

    "Actually, there is another option," Lu Yin slowly stated.

    Chen Le turned to look at the young man. "What is that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Cooperate with the Heavens Sect."

    Chen Le''s eyes grew sharp in an instant. "The Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Yin raised his head. "Thats right, the Heavens Sect. A powerful organization with numerous peak powerhouses and a deep foundation. A group that even the Sixverse Association fears and which not even the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages wish to face in a direct confrontation. The force which is plotting against the Three Monarchs Universe and aiming to overtake it. This is another path that you can take."

    For the first time, Lu Yin was openly admitting to Chen Le that he was someone from the Origin Universes Heavens Sect. What had previously been a mere guess had been verified as fact.

    Staring at Lu Yin in a daze, Chen Le asked, "Who exactly are you?"

    With a small smile, Lu Yin replied, "The Heavens Sects Lu Yin."

    Chen Le''s expression changed drastically. "Lu Yin? The Dao Monarch? Are you really him?"

    "Chen Le, are you willing to work with my Heavens Sect?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le became more confused than ever, as the Heavens Sect had suddenly been thrown into the mix.

    Lu Yin continued, exining, Regardless of whether you choose to join the Liberation Pce or remain as part of the Three Monarchs Universe, things wont end well for you. Mr. Daheng will control you, while Monarch Luo only enves others. Right now, both of them need you, so they wont hold what youve done against you, but what will happen when they no longer need you?

    "Monarch Mu is my captive. Would you like to speak to her?"

    Chen Le was startled. "You really had something to do with Monarch Mu''s disappearance?"

    "Shes still alive and is even willing to help me work against the Three Monarchs Universe. With both her and you on our side, the Three Monarchs Universe is too weak to stop us. With my Heavens Sect behind you, you will no longer need to fear anyone, not even Mr. Daheng. Does he dare to step foot into my Origin Universe? The Sixverse Association has explicitly forbidden anyone from entering the Origin Universe without their express permission. What I, Lu Yin, am currently doing and what I can aplish in the future is iparable to what Mr. Daheng is capable of, not to mention Monarch Luo," Lu Yin dered.

    Chen Le found himself unable to refute anything he heard, though he still was not ready to agree.

    "Moreover, my Heavens Sect is hiding in the shadows. As long as you cooperate with us, we canpletely direct Mr. Daheng''s aggression onto Monarch Luo. Once we overtake the Three Monarchs Universe, you will be the master of this universe. I don''t need it, as I only need to get the Heavens Sect to be a member of the Sixverse Association," Lu Yin finished.

    While Lu Yins words had not been very aggressive, one detail had jumped out at Chen Le: he was intended to rece Monarch Luo. From Chen Les perspective, this was actually a reasonable goal. With Monarch Mu missing, the Three Monarchs Universe was already struggling to hold back Aeternus, let alone face the Heavens Sect.

    "Will Monarch Mu really help you?" Chen Le voiced his doubts.

    Lu Yinughed. "She has no choice. If she doesn''t help me, shell die."

    Chen Le''s eyes shimmered. That statement again. He too, was being threatened by the same words.

    "What are you nning to do with the Three Monarchs Universe? How will you rece Monarch Luo? The Cyclic Universe will never agree to such a thing," Chen Le asked.

    "That''s my business. Do you think that people like Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Xu Wuji are merely my acquaintances? When I faced off against Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng moved to protect me. Xu Wuji has promised to take that burden for me. Senior Xu Wuwei even taught me his Spiral Domain, and I have even met Lord Xu himself."

    Chen Le was startled. It was true that he was not merely speaking to the overlord of the Origin Universes Heavens Sect, but also to Xuan Qi. This young man had established too many connections, especially to various peak powerhouses.

    "I''ll give you some time to think about things," Lu Yin said as he tossed the stone over to Chen Le, "You can choose to give it to Monarch Luo and follow my suggestion, or you can be truthful about things. You can also choose to give it to Mr. Daheng in exchange for his trust. However, you should remember one thing: you don''t fully understand my senior brothers strength. Do you really believe that Mr. Daheng can free you? Have you forgotten the horror of the Heavens Sect era?"

    Chen Le was stunned. Everything that he had considered was built upon the assumption that Mr. Daheng could free him from these two mens control. What would Chen Les fate be if not even Mr. Daheng could free him? Mr. Daheng would never trust someone controlled by another, and that would not end well for Chen Le. The same was true of Monarch Luo. If that man found that it was impossible to free Chen Le, his first response would be to kill the new Monarch.

    Who could trust someone controlled by another?

    Chen Le quickly regained his senses, and realized that he had forgotten about this particr detail. He looked over at Mu Xie. This man was a peak powerhouse from the Origin Universe, and no one knew what he was capable of. Xia Shenji was certainly not weak, and he seemed to be about equal to Monarch Luo. It was important to note that, just because this unknown man had been able to destroy Mr. Daheng''s door, that did not mean that Mr. Daheng would be able to remove this unknown powerhouses trace of energy.

    Breaking free from someone''s control and defeating a person were two entirely different concepts.

    Chen Le needed to take a gamble. If he won, he could choose what was causing him to hesitate. However, if he lost, he would lose absolutely everything.

    Chen Le''s mind was in chaos, and he needed some quiet.

    Before leaving, Lu Yinmented, "I will be attending the Great Sovereign''s next tea ceremony."

    Chen Le was stupefied. "What?"

    Lu Yin repeated, "I will be attending the Great Sovereign''s next tea ceremony. The Great Sovereign can''t touch me."

    Chen Le''s pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks from the absurdity of what he was hearing. "The Great Sovereign can''t touch you?"

    "You can believe it or not," Lu Yin responded while clearly dismissing Chen Le.

    The Monarch disappeared. Thest thing that he had learned from Lu Yin was too much for the man to handle, and he no longer had any idea what to choose.

    The only thing he knew for certain was that whatever choice he made would determine his future.

    Not once did the man consider the promise that Lu Yin had made to Old Dian to avenge the Bai n. From Chen Les perspective, how could someone like Lu Yin care about the grudge of the Bai n? Compared to the value of a peak powerhouse, such grudges were nothing more than childish squabbles.

    After Chen Le was gone, Lu Yin let out a sigh. "That was exhausting."

    Mu Xie gave Lu Yin an admiring look. "Junior Brother, your persuasiveness is impressive."

    Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. "Senior Brother, don''t tease me. We both know Im not that convincing. It was the fact that you are aplete mystery to him that made him question whether anyone he reaches out to will be capable of removing the energy that you ced in him. On top of that, he was reminded of the obstacles that hell face even after all the controls ced on him are removed. If not for all that, he would have sold us out without a second thought."

    "And yet he didn''t immediately demand that I remove my energy from him," Mu Xie countered.

    Lu Yin nodded. It was not that he had refused to honor his promise, but rather that the current stakes were simply too high. He felt like he was dancing along the edge of a knife.

    This was his first time trying to threaten and coerce a Progenitor-level figure, not to mention one who might end up as his enemy. A single misstep could prompt Chen Le to choose mutual destruction.

    This conversation had been more exhausting than fighting a Progenitor.

    "What do you think he will choose?" Mu Xie asked, curious.

    "I really don''t know. I can''t predict a Progenitor''s thoughts. After all, such people hold the power to alter a universe. Also, I cant say how much importance Mr. Daheng is to Chen Le. If he regards Mr. Daheng as someone equal to the Great Sovereign, we should run now."

    Mu Xie nodded. "True. It''s not actually mutual destruction that you should fear, but reckless ignorance. Let''s return to Aeternus Nation. We can''t stay in this universe for now."

    "Ill get someone to wait for him here. If he decides to cooperate with us, hell take the risk and visit us in Aeternus Nation. If he refuses" Lu Yin''s eyes turned cial. "Then Xuan Qi will need to be abandoned."

    It was impossible to never encounter obstacles or setbacks.

    Almost right after Lu Yin used the Bai n to lure out Chen Le and start scheming against the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin had discovered that the passage connecting the Three Monarchs Universe to the Origin Universe was about to be opened. If not for Chen Le, Lu Yin would have never learned about the impending invasion.

    Chen Le had already served his purpose, but if the man chose the path of mutual destruction, Lu Yin would need to sacrifice his identity as Xuan Qi.

    All gains came with losses.

    However, if it came down to opening a passage between the Three Monarchs Universe and the Fifth Maind or losing his identity as Xuan Qi, Lu Yin would readily sacrifice his alias. If that passage ever opened, there was no telling what the consequences might be.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2662: Flow Rates Of Time

    Chapter 2662: Flow Rates Of Time

    Lu Yin remained unaware of the internal conflicts that were tormenting Chen Le.

    There was no going back for the man. Between Monarch Luo, Mr. Daheng, and Lu Yin, he had to choose one, and once that decision was made, he would never be able to strike a deal with either of the other two. This decision would quite literally risk his life.

    If Chen Le was someone who had only recentlye into contact with the Liberation Pce for the first time, then he would have unquestionably sided with Mr. Daheng. However, after the conversation with Lu Yin, the Monarch found himself struggling with various misgivings. The mans thoughts had been ensnared in a bewildering web of conflicting ideas.

    Half a monthter, Chen Le met Monarch Luo.

    Monarch Luo scrutinized the stone in his hand. "Is this the treasure that you mentioned? The ones whose usage is unclear to you?"

    Chen Le replied, "I managed to obtain it by ident, but there were many others at my level of strength who were also trying to get it. On the Endless Frontier, I noticed that many corpse kings were watching me, and it might have been because of this. I studied the stone for a long time, but have failed to discover anything at all. I can only ask you to try, Monarch Luo."

    Monarch Luo stared at the stone, doubt filling his eyes. "Send someone to check the location of the Mountain and Seas painting. If this stone truly is a treasure, then its secret should be there. However, this stone is but a small fragment, and theres no telling how big the full piece is. It won''t be easy to find the location from such a tiny portion of the painting."

    He then tossed the stone back to Chen Le. "You can go look for it when you have the opportunity."

    Chen Le had not expected Monarch Luo to return the stone to him. It was important that Monarch Luo keep the stone, as otherwise, Mr. Daheng''s attention would never leave Chen Le.

    He quickly handed the stone back to Monarch Luo. "Please take this, Your Majesty. The painting might not represent a location in our Three Monarchs Universe, and I don''t intend to abandon this universe while I live. It would be better if you search for it, Your Majesty."

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    Monarch Luo thought for a moment before agreeing and taking the stone back. "Alright."

    Chen Le soon left the rainbow wall. Arch-Elder Zen and Xia Shenji were both still stationed there to support Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing, so the new Monarch was unneeded.

    If it were possible, Monarch Luo would have preferred it if Chen Le was stationed at the rainbow wall in his stead. However, the rainbow wall could only be protected with the support of the Three Monarchs Formation, and Chen Le was not able to join in activating the Three Monarchs Formation yet.

    The man needed a bit of time to stabilize his new strength as a Monarch. After that, Monarch Luo could get Chen Le to help with activating the Three Monarchs Formation.

    For the moment, Chen Les top priority was to search for spies and investigate the You family.

    This was the task that Monarch Luo had entrusted to Chen Le, as Monarch Luo was unable to personally investigate the You family. The man was fully convinced that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was somehow connected to the You family.

    On the same day that Chen Le met with Monarch Luo, he also sent word to the woman from the Liberation Pce so that he could meet with her.

    "I''ve given the stone to Monarch Luo. Tell that to Mr. Daheng," the Monarch stated. He hade to a decision, so he no longer hesitated.

    Of the three groups vying for Chen Les loyalty, Mr. Daheng was the one most likely to free Chen Le of others control, but the man would also very likely reassert his own control mechanism as soon as he freed Chen Le. After bing a peak powerhouse, Chen Le had developed a bone-deep determination to fight against the heavens. He refused to ept being controlled by anyone else.

    As for Monarch Luo, he might not have the strength needed to remove the energies that remained inside Chen Le.

    Xuan Qi was the best choice. The Monarch did not believe what Xuan Qi had said, but instead trusted in his own value. Chen Le was a peak powerhouse, and Xuan Qi would benefit greatly from cooperating with such a person. Because of this, there was no option but for Xuan Qi to remove all the controls that he had ced on Chen Le, as this was the bare minimum that the Monarch would ept. As long as Xuan Qi did not want to end up in a lose-lose situation, he would have no choice but to keep his promise.

    The entire reason why Xuan Qi had given the Monarch such a long speech was because he feared such a lose-lose oue. This had helped reassure Chen Le.

    This also meant that the Monarchs only option was to work with Xuan Qi to regain his freedom. As for bing Mr. Dahengs enemy, that was something that Chen Le had already mentally prepared himself for. If forced into a corner, Chen Le felt that fleeing to the Origin Universe and living under a new alias was preferable to being controlled.

    The woman was stunned by the deration. "You gave it to Monarch Luo? You''re going against Mr. Daheng!"

    Chen Le stared at the woman, and the pressure of his aura forced her to her knees. She trembled as she suffered from the oppressive force of a Progenitor-level figure for the first time. The irresistible force left her feeling as though the entire universe was copsing around her. She found herself involuntarily on her knees as a sense of worship welled up in her heart.

    "You people are nothing but keys. Without Mr. Daheng behind you, you arent even qualified to speak to me. Scram, and go tell Mr. Daheng that I, Chen Le, became a Monarch under my own power, oveing his obstructions. I did it entirely through my own power. By suppressing my breakthrough, he blocked my progress, but I wont hold that against him. Let bygones be bygones. I owe him nothing and will not speak ill of him. However, if he tries to push me too far, he cant me me for revealing all his secrets.

    "I am a Monarch! Even if Mr. Daheng is still stronger than me, what can he do here in the Three Monarchs Universe? Be gone!" Chen Le shouted fiercely.

    The woman trembled, and then fled in terror. However, she did not make it very far before her body abruptly exploded. Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

    Chen Le was startled, and he stared at the red stain that had suddenly appeared. The stench of blood filled the area.

    As the man looked up ahead, he saw a face form from the blood. It was a face that was engraved into his memory: Mr. Daheng.

    Chen Le and Mr. Daheng silently stared at each other. Mr. Daheng did not appear angry, but rather, he looked at Chen Le with a faint smile. The sight of it made Chen Le''s heart squirm.

    Despite bing a peak powerhouse, he had no confidence in being able to stand up to Mr. Daheng. The chasm between them was evident with nothing more than a single nce.

    Without a word being spoken by either man, the blood dissipated.

    Only after the blood waspletely gone did Chen Le let out a sigh of relief. He had not even noticed that his back had be soaked with his own sweat.

    He decided not to go anywhere for the time being. In the future, he would also need to keep a low profile when he returned to the Endless Frontier as he could not risk running into anyone who was connected to the Liberation Pce. The pressure he felt from Mr. Daheng felt like being crushed by a mountain.

    Fortunately, Chen Le had chosen to give the stone to Monarch Luo. Mr. Daheng would unquestionably find a way to get the stone from Monarch Luo, so it was best to let those two fight over it, though Chen Le had no idea if Monarch Luo was capable of holding Mr. Daheng off.

    In the Arboreal Realm, there was ake of wine beside a forest of meat. It was a paradise at the most extreme level of luxury avable to mankind.

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    There was only one man partaking in this feast of wine and meat: Mr. Daheng.

    All around him, graceful female figures darted about as theyughed yfully.

    Mr. Dahengughed freely as he scooped up the fine wine from theke below, and then he poured it over his head. The man appeared to not have a care in the world.

    More beautiful woman joined, appearing from the distant fog.

    Suddenly, the only man waved a hand, and at that instance, theke of wine, the forest of meat, and all the beautiful women abruptly vanished. The man was now standing in the middle of a bamboo forest, with a melodious flute ying in the distance.

    Luxury and tranquility were two extreme ends on the spectrum of pleasure, but the jarring switch between the two had not affected Mr. Daheng''s mood even the slightest bit.

    He listened to the flute while staring at a distantke. "Broke through with his own strength? Absurd. He doesn''t even know what kind of power was used, so how could he possibly have broken through on his own?

    "Handed it to Luo Shan? In that case, did Luo Shan help him? Or could Luo Shan have been the one who ced Chen Le in my Liberation Pce from the very start? Though, why would Luo Shan do that? He shouldnt know anything about how to use that stone.

    "Strange, strange Does Luo Shan know, or not?

    "Luo Shan, oh Luo Shan, you''re just as mysterious as ever, hehe."

    In the Transcendent Universe, Zi Jing was taken from her usual research facility to somece new. However, this facility that was not much better than her previous space, as the equipment and everything else was quite simr.

    "Teacher, why are we here?" Zi Jing asked curiously. She had awakened in the new research facility after two days.

    The slightly mad old man chuckled triumphantly. "Zi Jing, havent you noticed anything different between this ce and the Transcendent Universe?"

    Zi Jing was taken aback. Were no longer in the Transcendent Universe?

    She eagerly nced around, studying her surroundings. When she looked up, she noticed that there were no stars to be seen. This research facility waspletely sealed off, but what was different about it? Suddenly, she realized something odd; were there too many clocks present?

    "Hahaha, you''ve noticed, haven''t you? This is a parallel universe where time flows at a different rate than in the Transcendent Universe!" The mad old manughed raucously.

    Zi Jing''s eyes grewrge. Time flows at a different rate?

    The mad old man nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "You should understand what that implies."

    Zi Jing was shocked. How much?

    Not too much. Just a hundred times faster.

    Zi Jing''s pupils instantly constricted. A hundred times? How did you find such a ce? Isnt this purely theoretical?

    "You have the order wrong. We actually found this universe first, and then developed the theory. However, even though it''s nothing but a theory in our Transcendent Universe, the Cyclic Universe has long spoken of parallel universes where time flows at differing rates. Its possible that simr theories exist in other universes as well, but its very rare for any of those theories to be proven. This is one of the greatest secrets of our Transcendent Universe. In this ce, a hundred years is the same as just a single year in the Transcendent Universe! What do you think of that? Hahaha!" The mad old man cackled maniacally.

    Zi Jing had never considered that the Transcendent Universe had discovered such a universe.

    From a point in time that predated memory, the concept of parallel universes had been shrouded in mystery and spections. There were countless hypotheses, such as the possibility of a person finding a copy of themselves in a parallel universe. There were also many debates regarding the limits of the size of a universe, which ranged from being nearly as vast as the entire megaverse, to as small as the size of a single room, or even a speck of dust. Other conjectures suggested that time could flow at different speeds in different universes. Perhaps a moment in one ce would be millennia elsewhere, though that was the most extreme suggestion.

    There were numerous spections about parallel universes, and while Zi Jing had initially believed the idea of differing flows of time in various parallel universes to be nothing more than a theory, she was now witnessing it for herself.

    "Teacher, how long can this universe endure for?" Zi Jing asked, her voice trembling with excitement. In the current theories regarding parallel universes, even if such a universe did exist, it would not be able tost for very long. The difference in the flow rates of time indicated that such universes had to follow an entirely different set ofws from other universes, and suchws could not be broken. If a creature from another universe entered one of those universes, disrupting thews in ce, the universe would be plunged into chaos, which would lead to its inevitable destruction.

    This was simr to their current research on sequence particles.

    The independentws of each universe could be likened to a fixed sequence. Entering another universe effectively disturbed that sequence. While most parallel universes would remain unaffected by such a disturbance, if thews of time and space that were formed by the universes sequence particles were disrupted, there would be severe problems.

    There were countless parallel universes that were essentially a collection of sequence particles that transcended human understanding. However, since it was impossible to alter the thoughts and actions of humans, such universes simply auto-corrected these external issues. For instance, thews could not force Zi Jing to willingly leave the universe, which meant that the only remaining solution was to have the universe itself disappear.

    The excited old man finally started to calm down. "Thats hard to determine. It might disappear soon, or it might never disappear. Isn''t that what we are currently trying to research?"

    Zi Jing nodded. "This is fantastic! With time flowing a hundred times slower here, who can rival our Transcendent Universe?"

    The old man chuckled. "Don''t get ahead of yourself, Zi Jing. Since we managed to find one, what makes you think the other universes can''t as well? There are many peak powerhouses in the Cyclic Universe alone. I suspect that the Great Sovereign must have also found a dimension with an exaggerated flow of time and has converted it into a ce for cultivation."

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    Zi Jings eyes flickered. "Thats certainly not impossible."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2663: An Unfathomable Person

    Chapter 2663: An Unfathomable Person

    Zi Jing suddenly remembered that, when she had first arrived in the Fifth Maind, she had researched the local theories and knowledge regarding parallel universes. At that time, she had found some regarding the idea of varying flow rates of time in other universes. Did that mean that someone from the Origin Universe had already visited simr universes?

    Lets focus on our research while were here. We dont need to worry about any disturbances. There are only a handful of people in the entire Transcendent Universe who know about this universe, while the people here The mad old man nced around the facility at the tens of thousands of people bustling about. Will never have a chance to return."

    Zi Jings brow furrowed subtly. She was not worried that she would not be allowed to return, as the study of sequence particles could not proceed without her. Even once theypleted their research, they would still need her to execute and maintain the technology. No one could trap her in this particr universe, though she would naturally have to wait until her research waspleted before she was allowed to leave. There was also no certainty regarding when that might happen.

    What about the Dao Monarch? Would he be able to find her? As for Bai Qian, this marked the end of their cooperation.

    That was a real problem.

    In Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin and Mu Xie waited for Chen Le, who was finally delivered to the small parallel universe by a Fenglei nsman.

    The two men had not been worried about the possibility that Chen Le might try to bring Monarch Luo or Mr. Daheng along. If the worst happened, the two would simply leave Aeternus Nation. The ce was nothing more than a stopover. It was not the Fifth Maind itself.

    Senior Chen Le, you havent disappointed me." Lu Yin smiled while heaving a sigh of relief internally. He was thrilled to be able to continue to use his alias of Xuan Qi.

    Chen Le replied, "Ive given the stone to Monarch Luo, and I also swear to cooperate with you. Pleaseplete your side of our agreement and release your controls on me. From now on, I will be free, and neither of us will owe the other anything. Even if we find ourselves unable to cooperate, we will still protect each other''s secrets."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course."

    He then nced over at Mu Xie.

    The two men quickly removed the Death Seal and the trace of energy from inside Chen Les body. Once the two energies were gone, Chen Le felt a great deal of tension leave him.

    He had taken a huge risk to travel to Aeternus Nation. No matter how confident Chen Le had been that Lu Yin would not resort to mutual destruction, the Monarch had still been quite nervous. After all, he only had one life, and he had been left with no choice.

    Finally free from any foreign control, the man felt liberated.

    Lu Yin''s eyes showed his conflicted feelings at this moment. Things were changing quickly. He had thought that he had a Progenitor under his control, but that joy had been short-lived. Could there truly be some invisible existence that forbade certain deeds? He looked up, staring at the dim sky of Aeternus Nation, but there was nothing to be seen at all.

    "I wish to see Monarch Mu," stated Chen Le.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Not just yet."

    "Didnt you say that Monarch Mu is working with you?" Chen Le asked as his brow furrowed tightly.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "What I told you was that she has no choice but to cooperate with me, as she will die otherwise. Still, she hasn''t given in just yet. Give her a bit of time, though I might need your help to persuade her."

    Chen Le felt confused. "Where is she? Are you confident that you can restrain her?"

    "Rx, you dont need to worry about that at all." How could Lu Yin possibly allow Chen Le to see Monarch Mu at this point in time? Even if the chances were remote, he still needed to remain on guard against the possibility that Chen Le was secretly working with Monarch Luo. If that were the case, it would not be impossible for the Monarch to deliberately risk his life for the chance to save Monarch Mu. Even if the chances were only one in a billion, Lu Yin would not take the risk.

    Chen Le did not push. After agreeing to cooperate with Lu Yin, the man shared everything that he knew about the three Monarchs. Naturally, the conversationsted for several days.

    Far away, Fenglei Guanqin stared at Chen Le, surprised to see even the leader of the Mo Courtyard joining Lu Yin. The patriarchs respect for Lu Yin deepened even further.

    However, Fenglei Guanqin had not been informed that Chen Le had already ascended to the Monarch realm. That knowledge would have shaken the man to his core.

    From Chen Le, Lu Yin learned quite a bit about the three Monarchs. There was even specific information about Monarch Luo''s coboration with He Ran, which included things like the destination for the materials exported from the Three Monarchs Universe. There was also the revtion that certain unsolved murders that had beenmitted in the Transcendent Universe had actually been carried out by members of the Mo Courtyard.

    Bai Qian had originally had quite a few supporters within the Ruling Council, but most of them had died, and that could be traced back to the Mo Courtyards efforts.

    After learning the location of the Transcendent Universe''s Energy Research Group, Lu Yin felt that he had learned of Zi Jings location.

    However, what was even more astonishing to Lu Yin was the fact that Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing were not actually spouses.

    "They arent married?" Lu Yin was taken aback. The whole Sixverse Association knew that Monarch Luo was married to both Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing, which many people envied the man for.

    It wasmon knowledge even in the Fifth Maind.

    Shockingly, the whole thing was nothing but a facade, which stunned Lu Yin.

    Chen Le said, "Hard to believe, isn''t it? Still, it''s true. Of course, Monarch Luo hopes to see the rumorse true one day, as hes always had feelings for Monarch Xing, but she has never reciprocated that affection. The only reason why she maintains the appearance of a rtionship is for the sake of the Three Monarchs Universe, and for her own universe, which is known as the Starlight Universe. That is Monarch Xing''s homnd."

    Not one of the three Monarchs were actually from the Three Monarchs Universe. The universe had once been afflicted with Time Poison, which had crippled the native cultivation system. The arrival of the three Monarchs had brought the monarch essence cultivation method to the universe, and when the three Monarchs joined forces, they were able to stand up to even Forgotten Ruins God. This had given the Three Monarchs Universe the chance to rise up and be an official member of the Sixverse Association.

    As for the Three Monarchs Universe, there was the marriage, but there was also a partnership.

    "The Starlight Universe ended up as one of the sixty two parallel universes that form the Endless Frontier. Despite bing a part of the battlefield, the people of that universe were moved to the Three Monarchs Universe, which is another reason why Monarch Xing continues to maintain the facade. The truth is that no universe can escape the war against Aeternus," Chen Le said.

    Lu Yin asked, "What kind of person is Monarch Xing?"

    Chen Le considered his answer. "Shes basically the opposite of Monarch Mu. Monarch Mu is rather rigid and domineering, someone who pursues authority and control. On the other hand, Monarch Xing is indifferent to politics orpetition, as she has never pushed for anything. As long as the people of the Starlight Universe remain safe, she is content. She is also incredibly talented. Monarch Mu needed to rely on Monarch Luo to be a Monarch, while Monarch Xing achieved it on her own."

    "What about her strength?" Lu Yin inquired.

    Chen Le again took a moment to respond, "Its reasonable. Shes about as strong as Monarch Mu, but that''s mostly due to Monarch Xings personality. During every fight against Aeternus, Monarch Luo always charges to the front, while Monarch Xing maintains the Three Monarchs Formation and Monarch Mu oversees the entire battlefield."

    Lu Yin nodded, having gained a basic understanding of Monarch Xing.

    "Don''t bother trying to target Monarch Xing. Unless you take everyone from the Starlight Universe to the Origin Universe, you won''t be able to sway her at all," Chen Le cautioned. Influencing Monarch Xing depended almost entirely on the people of her native universe.

    Lu Yin had no intention of doing anything to Monarch Xing. If she truly was as Chen Le had described, then she was someone with the same nature as the Progenitor of Bloodlines, and Lu Yin would feel guilty plotting against such an individual.

    Chen Le continued to share his knowledge of the Three Monarchs Universe with Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was mostly interested in learning more about Monarch Luo. Unfortunately, Chen Le''s understanding of the man was rather limited.

    "I heard that Monarch Luo managed to escape from the Hollow, creating a legend for himself. However, you dont seem to feel that he is particrly impressive. You clearly dont ce him on the same level as Mr. Daheng,"mented Lu Yin.

    Chen Le responded with a bitter smile. "That''s because its a hoax."

    Lu Yin was astonished.

    Chen Le continued, "Without such a legend, how could the Sixverse Association ever pay any attention to Monarch Luo? The truth is that Monarch Luo put on an act that made it look as though he escaped from the Hollow. He thenplemented that demonstration by gathering tea leaves for the Great Sovereign. I''m sure that everyone believes that the Great Sovereign respects Monarch Luo, right?"

    Lu Yin felt as though everything he had learned about the Sixverse Association was being overturned.

    Thats another misconception that Monarch Luo created. Between people believing that he managed to escape from the Hollow, as well as people thinking that the Great Sovereign respects Monarch Luo, the three Monarchs achieved exactly what they want. How else could the Three Monarchs Universe qualify to be a member of the Sixverse Association? Chen Le chuckled. Long ago, there was a parallel universe even more powerful than the Three Monarchs Universe, but it failed to be a member of the Sixverse Association precisely because of the misunderstanding that Monarch Luo created. That universe ended up being absorbed into the Endless Frontier, and everyst one of that universes experts died to the Aeternals. Without Monarch Luos act, the Three Monarchs Universe would have been doomed to take that universes ce."

    Chen Le looked at Lu Yin. "Monarch Luo is an incredible actor."

    Was that true?

    "Then why did the Great Sovereign cooperate with him?"

    "The Great Sovereign did not cooperate with Monarch Luo. Rather, the Great Sovereign simply did not care."

    After Chen Le left, Lu Yin went to speak with Monarch Mu.

    For anything regarding Monarch Luo, Monarch Mu was undoubtedly the best person to speak to.

    However, the womans answer differed from Chen Le''s. "An act? Once you enter the Hollow, it''s impossible to get back out. Do you really think that such a thing can be faked?

    "Monarch Luo seems to have the Great Sovereign''s respect because of an offering of tea leaves? Do you know how many people have given the Great Sovereign tea leaves? All of them are peak powerhouses, as well.

    "Whoever told you that Monarch Luo faked that must be out to get you."

    After hearing Monarch Mu''s sarcastic responses, Lu YYin found himself somewhat at a loss as to what to believe. Chen Le was unlikely to lie to Lu Yin, and it was certainly far more likely that Monarch Mu was trying to build Monarch Luo up to appear to be a much greater threat to Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin had personally witnessed Monarch Luo attack the Ziyou Realm. It was true that Lu Yin had felt danger from the Monarch, but it had not been overwhelming. At the very least, Monarch Luo had not given Lu Yin the same mysterious and unpredictable feeling that he had felt from Xu Wuwei.

    Who was telling the truth?

    He Ran and Uncle Mo would not lie to Xuan Qi, and Chen Le was not likely to lie to Lu Yin, either. However, what he heard from them werepletely contradictory statements.

    Lu Yin left Aeternus Nation. He needed to return to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    After Lu Yin left, Monarch Mu''s expression turned ugly. Someone from the Three Monarchs Universe had defected to Lu Yins side, and it had to be someone with a very high status. Who could it be?

    As soon as Lu Yin returned to the Three Monarchs Universe, the first thing that he did was to make a trip to inspect the passage to the Fifth Maind.

    Mu Shang had been at the passages entrance when he had been attacked by a corpse king, which was a matter that fell within the scope of the Bureau''s responsibilities. Xuan Qi had been silent regarding the attack for so long that tongues had started to wag. If he did not thoroughly investigate the matter, it might rouse suspicions.

    Fortunately, Chen Le had helped smooth things over by exining that Xuan Qi was in the middle of investigating a spy and that the attack at the passage was not an urgent matter. Furthermore, divine energy had been detected in the attack, and that was not something that Xuan Qi could handle on his own.

    Even so, Lu Yin still needed to maintain appearances.

    While he was on his way to the passage, Xu Ji told Lu Yin him that Yao Lan had been punished by being sent to the Endless Frontier.

    "This matter has stirred up the entire Cyclic Universe. Members of the Stone Gate believe that Yao Lan is responsible for the previous Sage Stones death, and thus are continuously demanding that the new Sage Stone obtain justice. As for Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples, all of them are defending Yao Lan and iming that she must have been framed by Cheng Feng. Both sides refuse to back down at all, and now that Sovereign Ninth Lotus has sent Yao Lan to the Endless Frontier, it''s as good as admitting guilt. This has made the Stone Gate even more furious," Xu Ji exined.

    "At the same time, many of Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples are furious with you. After all, Yao Lan didnt intentionally leak the location of the previous Sage Stone. Sovereign Ninth Lotus would never have given her disciple such a punishment if it had been done on purpose. For this reason, many of Sovereign Ninth Lotus'' disciples are determined to make you pay. They are iming that you deliberately escted the situation and are targeting Yao Lan."

    Lu Yin remained calm. After all, those usations were absolutely correct. He was trying to escte things. Without stirring up a bit of trouble now and then, how else could he ensure that Xuan Qi would be known throughout the Sixverse Association? How else could he find people to help make trouble for him when he eventually visited the Cyclic Universe?

    Sovereign Shao Yin had instigated the Lu familys banishment, while the Cyclic Universe had bullied the Origin Universe for some time without letting up at all. Lu Yin had a lot to do.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2664: Monarch Xing

    Chapter 2664: Monarch Xing

    "Let them be. It doesn''t matter how many disciples Sovereign Ninth Lotus has. As long as I, Xuan Qi, dont betray mankind, I have nothing to fear from them. On the contrary, they should be the ones worried about being arrested by me," Lu Yin said as he looked at Xu Ji and smiled. "Believe it or not, Cheng Feng is not the only traitor among Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples."

    Xu Ji stared at Xuan Qi in shock. This man clearly had no reservations when it came to speaking his mind, and he also seemed to bepletely fearless. Xu Ji could easily envision a swarm of people rushing over to beat Xuan Qi if any of Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples overheard these words.

    "What a pity that I didnt get to make a formal inquiry with Yao Lan," Lu Yin muttered.

    At this point in time, the passage was right in front of them.

    Xu Ji''s face twitched when he heard that Xuan Qi had actually been hoping to publicly question Yao Lan, a person universally recognized as a saint. When they had both been attending the Sixverse Academy, Xu Ji had no clue as to how ruthless Xuan Qi could be.

    The trip to the passage was just for show. There was no way for Lu Yin to find" anything at all.

    Well, he could certainly "discover" certain things, such as the location where Mu Shang had been killed. But if that ce was found, Monarch Luo might decide to make a personal trip, and Lu Yin was not sure that he could maintain his disguise in front of the Monarch. Additionally, Monarch Luo had most likely seen images of Lu Yins face before, so he would be found out. This was why he would not find anything on this trip.

    He intended to simply go through the motions, but he met an unexpected person: Monarch Xing.

    Lu Yin saw a woman with a clean appearance who had a mysterious effect of calming the soul. If he were to put this sensation into words, it would be akin to quenching an insatiable thirst.

    Even from a distance, Monarch Xing seemed to bepletely captivated by something. As Lu Yin observed the woman, he unexpectedly found himself ovee with a sensation that was reminiscent of quenching his thirst on a scorching summer day. He was swept by a profoundly refreshing feeling.

    "Cang Bi greets Monarch Xing." Cang Bi quickly moved forward to greet the Monarch.

    The entrance to the passage was surrounded by cultivators from the Three Monarchs Universe. Not one of the people dared to lift their heads in Monarch Xings presence, with the sole exception of Lu Yin. He alone continued to stare straight at Monarch Xing.

    The woman turned her head to face Lu Yin, and their eyes met. "So, you are Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin came back to himself and quickly bowed. "Xuan Qi greets Monarch Xing."

    He was nervous, as he had no idea if Monarch Xing was able to see through his Mask of Death. It seemed unlikely, as she seemed to be about as strong as Xu Wuji. It was clear to Lu Yin that this woman was nowhere close to Xu Wuwei''s level, and only people with simr levels of strength were able to through Lu Yins disguise.

    If Monarch Xing really could peer through the Mask of Death, it meant that she was deeply concealing her true might.

    The woman casually asked, "Are you here to investigate the trace of divine energy that was found?"

    Lu Yin respectfully answered, "Yes. The Bureau failed to stop this corpse king in time, and this junior takes full responsibility for failing in his duty."

    Monarch Xing looked away. "This isnt your fault. Even if Sister Mu was still here, nothing would have changed."

    The woman then fell silent. Lu Yin did not know whether he should start examining the area, or if he should wait until Monarch Xing left.

    He looked back at Monarch Xing. The womans face was not ssically beautiful, but looking at it gave him a feeling of peace.

    Every person in the megaverse was unique. In the same manner that no two leaves were identical, there were no two people who were exactly the same. Even the clones created from Progenitor Chen''s Nine Clones Secret Technique had each had their own thoughts.

    Monarch Xing was unlike any woman Lu Yin had met before. She gave him the impression of a peacefulke: serene, rxed, and undisturbed by any wind or waves.

    "Can you do me a favor?" Monarch Xing suddenly spoke up as she turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    He was taken aback from suddenly being addressed. "Please tell me, Senior."

    Monarch Xing softly said, "The day Cheng Feng is no longer of use to you, give him to me."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. This request was quite expected.

    Monarch Xing had not kept her request a secret from the surrounding crowd, and Lu Yin had no idea how people would interpret this request. It was possible that those who were more familiar with the woman might understand better, but to Lu Yin, the request seemedpletely at odds with the Monarchs demeanor.

    "Why do you want Cheng Feng, Senior?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Monarch Xing stared at the young man and offered no answer.

    Lu Yin met Monarch Xings eyes. Her expression remained as calm as a peacefulke, but there was no fear in Lu Yins eyes. "Its not that I wish to pry into your affairs, Senior, but Cheng Feng is not just a mere spyhe is connected to Shaman God, which makes him invaluable to our investigations. Even if we don''t have a use for him for the moment, he remains worth keeping around for future use. If there is no special reason for your request, Senior, then it appears unjustified."

    Cang Bi''s heart trembled. How could this man have the nerve to speak to Monarch Xing in such a manner! There was no one in the entire Three Monarchs Universe who had ever dared to speak to Monarch Xing in such a tone. Even Monarch Mu always remained courteous towards Monarch Xing, and Monarch Luo was no different.

    Many of the people in the area nced over at Lu Yin out of reflex.

    Silence filled the region, and Monarch Xing simply stared at Lu Yin, as he boldly stared back at her.

    "Do you need an exnation?" Monarch Xing asked, her voice as tranquil as ever.

    Lu Yin remained firm. "Yes, absolutely."

    "I enjoy his singing," Monarch Xing replied, much to Lu Yins surprise. Typically, a peak powerhouse such as Monarch Xing would not easily yield to being questioned, but this woman had. Whats more, she had even remained peaceful and apparently unoffended by the matter.

    Still, Lu Yin felt confused. "Just because of his singing?"

    Monarch Xing replied, "Have you heard him sing?"

    "I have."

    "Then why are you asking?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. There was no denying that Cheng Feng''s singing was divine. He had an otherworldly ability to stir peoples emotions. Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus had invited Cheng Feng to sing for her on some asions. Still, it seemed unreasonable to ask for Cheng Feng to be given to her just because Monarch Xing enjoyed his singing. No matter what, he was a spy.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more questions, but he discovered that Monarch Xing had already left without waiting for any response. It was as though she did not need his answer.

    This was a woman who Lu Yin could not afford to look down on. He thought back to Chen Le''s words; this woman was willing to publicly put on an act of being Monarch Luo''s wife for the sake of the people of her universe. For a peak powerhouse, this was truly a great sacrifice.

    Actually, could it be that, at the womans core, she was someone like Cheng Feng?

    Regardless of what others thought, Cheng Feng had made sure to protect his home. However, in reality, he had condemned his hometown to an eternity in a tiny prison.

    What about Monarch Xing?

    "Acting Bureau Director, shall we continue?" Cang Bi spoke up, jolting Lu Yin from his thoughts.

    Lu Yin asked, "What kind of person is Monarch Xing?"

    Cang Bi''s face turned pale. "Acting Bureau Director, we dont dare to discuss matters concerning the Majesties. Please, do not ask such questions again. You will not get answers from anyone."

    Feeling helpless, Lu Yin instead asked, "Was Monarch Xing angry with me?"

    Cang Bi''s face twitched. "I dont dare to discuss Her Majesty''s feelings."

    Lu Yin gave Cang Bi a t stare. "Monarch Luo sent you to help me, but youve proven to be rather useless."

    Cang Bi was speechless. How was this his fault?

    After spending some time putting on a show of investigating the area, Lu Yin left. Investigating divine energy was beyond his capabilities.

    At this time, Monarch Xing returned to the rainbow wall, where Monarch Luo had been waiting for her. He looked over when she arrived and softly asked, "How was it?"

    Monarch Xing answered indifferently, "I wasnt able to discern anything. The divine energy has already vanished, and theres no trace left."

    Monarch Luo nodded. "That''s normal."

    The woman stood looking out from the rainbow wall with her back to Monarch Luo. Numerous emotions flickered across his face as he stared at Monarch Xing.

    He had yearned for this woman for many years, but he had never managed to capture her heart. In the end, an act was nothing more than an act.

    "I heard that you asked the Bureau to give you Cheng Feng, right?" Monarch Luo asked.

    Monarch Xing did not turn around and instead simply replied, "Yes."

    "How did that go?"

    "Don''t you already know?"

    Monarch Luo gently offered, "I will go myself and ask on your behalf. Im sure they wont refuse."

    Monarch Xing barely reacted. "This is my business."

    "Cheng Feng is undoubtedly a spy."

    "I know."

    Monarch Luo continued staring at Monarch Xing''s back. He had no idea what to say. This woman had always been the same. While she was not prickly like a hedgehog, she had wrapped herself tightly inyers of emotional defenses. Even after so many years, the man had not been able to find even a single gap. "I am leaving."

    Monarch Xing said nothing as she continued to serenely stare off into the distance. A breeze blew by, lifting her hair in a gentle flutter.

    After several days passed, Ke Jian arrived to meet with Lu Yin. The older man reported that there had been an incident during thest transaction with Gods'' Origin.

    "Zi Jing couldnt go?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. Her absence was the incident that Ke Jian was referring to.

    From the beginning, the terms of the deal between the Transcendent Universe and Gods'' Origin had been very clear: Gods'' Origin would only trade with Zi Jing, not Ke Jian. The woman therefore needed to be physically present at every transaction. However, Zi Jing had not gone, and because of that, Ke Jian''s visit to Gods'' Origin had resulted in the transaction failing.

    Ke Jian was practically overwhelmed with rage. "If not for your sake, I would never be so courteous to those people from the Gods'' Origin!"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, it would be best if you dont underestimate Gods'' Origin. While they appear to not have any truly powerful experts, they have a very deep foundation. Their ability to create something out of nothing is something that was developed by a peak powerhouse. That ce should have traps left behind by that expert.

    "Some time ago, the Sixth Maind invaded the Fifth Maind. During this war, the remnant power of a peak powerhouse known as the Rune Progenitor covered a significant portion of the Fifth Maind, and it acted as a trap. Any attacks that exceeded a certain power level were rendered ineffective, and as a result of that, the Sixth Maind was ultimately defeated. One of the Sixth Mainds Progenitors was nearly killed during that war. If you have any doubts as to the truth of my story, I invite you to check the Fifth Mainds records sometime."

    Ke Jian instantly grew wary. "Did that really happen?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "The Rune Progenitor''s abilities defy all imagination. How did you feel the first time you encountered voidforce energy, Senior? The Rune Progenitors power is not that different from voidforce energy, as they are both elusive in nature.

    "Additionally, Gods Origin is in the Fifth Maind. If you take action against them, while its difficult to say whether they have anyone who can equal you, if the Heavens Sect gets involved, things will be difficult for you."

    Ke Jian agreed, "That''s why I didn''t do anything to them. Having Zi Jing facilitate these transactions was your request, Xuan Qi."

    As the old man spoke, he grew a bit embarrassed and hesitant.

    Lu Yin had been the one to add the requirement of Zi Jing being the Transcendent Universes representative for their transactions with Gods Origin. His intention had been to improve Zi Jing''s status in the Transcendent Universe, but they had tried to bypass Zi Jing and conclude a transaction without her, which was equivalent to trying to work around Xuan Qi. This was clearly disrespectful and thus should have remained a secret. However, Ke Jian was forced to openly address this with Xuan Qi himself, which was humiliating for the man, and his embarrassment caused his expression to turn ugly.

    Lu Yins voice dropped as he said, "Senior, please continue."

    Ke Jian looked increasingly upset with his situation. "Xuan Qi, it''s not that we don''t want to take Zi Jing with us for this trade, but simply that she cant make the trip for now."

    Lu Yin instantly became concerned. "What happened to Zi Jing?"

    Ke Jian reassuringly said, "Don''t worry, Zi Jing is fine. It''s just that the cultivation technology she is working on is too important, and no one participating in the project is allowed tomunicate with the outside world, let alone leave the facility. This is why she cant be present for this current trade deal. I hope that you can understand this."

    When the two had first met, Ke Jian had not needed to speak to Xuan Qi with anything close to the respect that was currently in the mans voice. Lu Yin had raised Xuan Qis status in the Sixverse Association, and he had even gained the support of multiple peak powerhouses. Xuan Qi was no longer someone whom Ke Jian could afford to offend. Even He Ran needed to be polite when speaking with Xuan Qi.

    "Hasn''t Zi Jing been studying that important cultivation technology this whole time? Why the sudden need for secrecy?" Lu Yin asked in confusion. Were they about to make a breakthrough in their sequence particle research?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2665: Dominance

    <h4>Chapter 2665: Dominance</h4>

    Ke Jian could not provide Xuan Qi with an exnation, and he instead simply answered, "Regardless, Zi Jing can''t meet anyone right now. Still, I can assure you that she is absolutely safe. Even if you don''t trust us, you should have confidence in yourself. Madam He Ran absolutely takes your influence into consideration, as you are like a younger brother to her."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "I understand."

    Ke Jian said, "Xuan Qi, rest assured, the next time you see Zi Jing, she will bepletely different, to the point that the transformation will shock you. That¡¯s truly all I can say, and honestly even I don''t know where she is. All I can share with you is what Madam He Ran told me."

    Lu Yin sighed in resignation. "So Zi Jing will not be able to meet with anyone for now, is that right?"

    Ke Jian nodded.

    "Do you want me to speak to Gods¡¯ Origin to try to get this trade to go through, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ke Jian replied, "It doesn''t have to be with Gods'' Origin. It¡¯s true that the Origin Universe is rich in resources, but the Heavens Sect is paying close attention to everything, and we want to keep a low profile. Thus, we are hoping that you can continue to leverage your connections with the Cloudview n, Void Yang n, and Void Yin n so that we can purchase more resources from the Voidforce Universe. Given your influence in the Voidforce Universe, this should be a simple matter."

    "Does the Voidforce Universe have all of the necessary resources?"

    "A good number of them, but we¡¯ll figure out a way to acquire the rest ourselves."

    Lu Yin was aware that the Three Monarchs Universe had been selling materials to the Transcendent Universe, and with him pushing things, the Voidforce Universe had started doing the same. The Transcendent Universe was most likely negotiating with many other parallel universes so that they could secure all the materials that they needed.

    "Alright, I understand. You can rx about this, Senior," Lu Yin agreed.

    Ke Jian heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

    After Ke Jian left, Lu Yin spent a long time thinking about their conversation. No matter what, he still felt the need to see Zi Jing, or at least confirm how she was doing.

    When he had firste to the Sixverse Association, he had been forced to refer to many people as "Senior," but things had changed. Now, Xuan Qi was recognized and respected by many powerful people in the association.

    The very next day, Lu Yin paid a visit to the Transcendent Universe. He found Ke Jian and asked the man to arrange a meeting with Madam He Ran.

    Ke Jian felt rather puzzled. "You want to see Madam He Ran?"

    Lu Yin just nodded.

    The old man wanted to push for further information, but he decided against it. Xuan Qi had been addressing He Ran as Sister Ran for some time, and it was not Ke Jian¡¯s ce to question their rtionship.

    Ke Jian let Lu Yin to He Ran, who appeared delighted to see him. "Have you run into any problems? Tell Sister Ran about everything, and I will make sure to help you."

    Lu Yin looked quite stressed, and confessed, "Sister Ran, your little brother''s heart aches for Zi Jing."

    After Hearing these words, Ke Jian¡¯s expression changed, and He Ran also hesitated. She had already received a report from Ke Jian the day before, learning that Xuan Qi had agreed to set up additional transactions with various groups in the Voidforce Universe without asking to see Zi Jing. He Ran had assumed that the matter was settled, but surprisingly, Xuan Qi had paid her a visit to make the request in person.

    "Ke Jian."

    "At your service, Madam."

    "Did you not disclose Zi Jing¡¯s current situation to Little Brother Xuan Qi?" He Ran asked calmly. There was no hint as to whether she was happy or upset.

    Ke Jian quickly answered, "I did indeed inform him."

    He nervously nced at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Sister Ran, Senior Ke Jian did tell me about Zi Jing¡¯s situation, but after thinking about it for a long time, I decided that I should meet her. No matter what, she is my woman, and seeing her would give me great peace."

    He Ran responded with a gentle smile, "Little Brother, Zi Jing is currently in a critical juncture of her cultivation technology research, and she really cannot leave. If it weren¡¯t for that, we wouldn¡¯t have abandoned the abundant resources of the Origin Universe and chosen to trade with the Voidforce Universe. You must understand that this entire matter is extremely inconvenient for us, and it has even put us in a position where we can be easily targeted by those who wish to harm us. Even so, Zi Jing cannot leave where she is right now. What she is doing is simply too important."

    Lu Yin lifted his head and stubbornly stared at He Ran. "Sister Ran, is Zi Jing alive or dead?"

    He Ran''s expression shifted the slightest bit.

    Ke Jian sternly shouted, "Xuan Qi, how dare you!"

    Even Uncle Mo stepped forward. He stared at Lu Yin, and an imposing aura descended.

    The atmosphere fell into a heavy silence.

    He Ran and Lu Yin stared at each other, each catching a glimpse of the coldness present in the other''s eyes.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had revealed such behavior to the woman, and He Ran did not recognize this side of him.

    She had seen this young man on many asions, but the memory that had stuck with her the most had always been of their first meeting; bold and brash eyes had stared at her. If not for Bai Qian''s intervention, he would have died then and there.

    After that moment, Xuan Qi had be respectful and obedient, and He Ran had grown ustomed to his behavior, forgetting his initial insolence.

    Despite gaining the backing of several peak powerhouses, Xuan Qi had continued to call her Sister Ran, and he had not once tried to go against her wishes. His evaluation from the Sixverse Academy had also been exceedingly high.

    However, this brief exchange flew in the face of almost all their previous interactions, which was jarring for He Ran. She was strongly reminded of their first meeting, and it seemed like she was suddenly seeing the real Xuan Qi once again.

    Ke Jian stared at Lu Yin, not recognizing the youth.

    Uncle Mo also stared at Lu Yin, ready to suppress him, though the man also felt hesitant to do so.

    Even a peak powerhouse was wary of Xuan Qi.

    He Ran held an extraordinary status in the Transcendent Universe, but was Xuan Qi any less impressive in the Voidforce Universe?

    After a prolonged silence, He Ran was actually the first to break, and she smiled at Lu Yin. "Little Brother, you''re overthinking things."

    Lu Yin¡¯s stare and demeanor did not change the slightest bit. "Let me see Zi Jing, Sister Ran. I am very worried about her."

    He Ran chuckled lightly, her perfect countenance dazzling Lu Yin, and he was reminded of Bai Qian''s words: desecrating He Ran would be enough.

    "Zi Jing is truly lucky to have as devoted a lover as you. Fine, I''ll let her out just this once," He Ran stated.

    Lu Yin expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Sister Ran."

    "Wait at Fenghua Hill. I will have Uncle Mo bring her to you there," He Ran stated before having Ke Jian escort Xuan Qi to Fenghua Hill.

    Once Lu Yin was gone, He Ran''s expression hardened, and rage filled her eyes. "In the entire Sixverse Association, who dares to speak to me like that? Who dares to question <i>me</i>? If not for me, he would have died in the belly of that beast long ago!"

    Uncle Mo''s expression also fell. "Madam, that child cannot be brought to heel."

    He Ran''s eyes were cial. If anyone but Xuan Qi had shown her such disrespect, they would already be dead. However, Xuan Qi was someone with a lofty status who enjoyed the support of multiple peak powerhouses. He was one of the most influential figures in the Voidforce Universe. Not even she could do anything to him.

    "Uncle Mo, let news leak that the one who sold that information to Monarch Luo was Xuan Qi," He Ran ordered.

    Uncle Mo''s eyes lit up. "You are wise, Madam. The boy is part of the Bureau, so we can simply allow the You family to deal with him."

    He Ran continued to say, "Treat this as a lesson for him. He thinks that he''s grown wings and can look down on everyone, so let¡¯s remind him of his roots. If I wanted to, I could have exposed the fact that he is from the Origin Universe, which will leave him with nothing at all."

    Uncle Mo hurriedly interjected, "Madam, we can''t do that! That would create trouble for Zi Jing as well."

    "I know." He Ran had simply been venting. While leaking such information would indeed harm Xuan Qi, it would be simrly harmful to He Ran herself. It would be better for them to continue using each other while keeping the other in check. "Just you wait! Once my cultivation technology is sessful, I will rewrite the history of the entire Sixverse Association. A mere Xuan Qi, hmph!"

    ...

    Ke Jian led Lu Yin to Fenghua Hill and then left without a word.

    The moment Lu Yin stood up to He Ran, it had be clear that their rtionship would never return to its former amicable state, even if things had always been somewhat strained.

    Fenghua Hill was a stunningly beautiful location. It appeared that He Ran had put a bit of thought into the ce where Xuan Qi would reunite with Zi Jing.

    Lu Yin stayed by ake, and after several days of waiting, Uncle Mo delivered Zi Jing.

    "The cultivation technology that she is researching is important to the entire Transcendent Universe. I hope that you won¡¯t take offense, Acting Bureau Director," said Uncle Mo.

    Lu Yin just nodded with a smile. "Thank you for your efforts, Uncle Mo."

    Uncle Mo merely grunted before standing aside and looking away from the couple.

    Lu Yin faced Zi Jing, and asked with open concern, "How are you?"

    Zi Jing gave him a gentle smile. "I''m fine. You don¡¯t need to worry."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. "That''s good to hear."

    "Uncle Mo told me that you defied Madam He Ran just to be able to see me. You''re being too impulsive," Zi Jing gently admonished.

    Lu Yin immediately turned to Uncle Mo. "I apologize, Uncle Mo. I will apologize to Sister Ran in personter."

    Uncle Mo just nodded with a smile, but he said nothing.

    After that, Lu Yin and Zi Jing started to express their yearning for each other. Lu Yin spoke at length about how he had captured various spies, though Zi Jing mostly remained silent. She said nothing about her research into sequence particles or about the parallel universe with the elerated flow of time.

    However, Lu Yin already knew about all of that.

    The two had their own coded conversation, which was a precaution against eavesdroppers.

    Through this secret conversation, Lu Yin learned that the sequence particle research had reached a crucial step, as well as the fact that the Transcendent Universe had been hiding a parallel universe where time passed at a different speed. Learning this shocked Lu Yin.

    His first thought was of Jiang Chen, who had once mentioned to Lu Yin that there were parallel universes where time flowed at different speeds. Apparently, there were even ces where one nce couldst a millennia. Jiang Chen had visited such universes before, which exined both his young age and immense power. The rabbit he was hunting had also been to such ces.

    Jiang Chen, that rabbit, and apparently Jiang Chen¡¯s father all possessed the ability to freely travel between parallel universes.

    Lu Yin had almost forgotten about that matter, but upon learning that the Transcendent Universe had ess to one such parallel universe, his memory had been jogged. Now, he finally understood the significance of what Jiang Chen had said.

    Lu Yin quickly decided to go to Earth and wait for Jiang Chen there. He needed to uncover Jiang Chen''s secret.

    The two chatted for quite a while before Zi Jing was taken away again by Uncle Mo. As for Lu Yin, he went to see He Ran.

    "I apologize, Sister Ran. I shouldn''t have doubted you," Lu Yin stated.

    He Ran sighed. "It was unavoidable. That¡¯s just how feelings are. Who can me you when Zi Jing is your most important person?"

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Sister Ran, you''re just as important to me. Honestly."

    "Hehe, alright, I believe you." He Ran looked pleased by thement. "Zi Jing is at a critical stage in her cultivation technology research, and she really can¡¯t be disturbed. You might not be able to see her for a while."

    Lu Yin replied, "I''m no longer worried. Please take good care of her, Sister Ran."

    He Ran smiled.

    At this moment, Ke Jian arrived. "Madam, He Shu and Shao Qingfeng wish to see you."

    He Ran was taken aback. "Why are they here?"

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Sister Ran, I should go."

    "You don¡¯t need to worry. You all know each other from the Sixverse Academy, and I understand that you are friends. Besides, Little Shu would also like to see you."

    Soon, Ke Jian led He Shu and Shao Qingfen

    g in.

    The two were surprised to see that Xuan Qi was already present.

    "Brother Xuan Qi, I didn''t expect to find you here," He Shu eximed in astonishment.

    Wearing the same golden robe as ever, Shao Qingfeng looked at Xuan Qi with a rather conflicted expression. Xuan Qi had been in the limelight for some time now. He had crossed the Void Pass, captured important spies, and even stood up to Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. Each sessive aplishment had caused his fame to increase throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s been a long time."

    "I was intending to look for you, but I never thought that I would run into you here. Brother Xuan Qi, I wonder, could I join the Bureau?" asked He Shu.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You want to join the Bureau?"

    He Ran was also surprised. "Little Shu, you want to join the Bureau?"

    He Shu replied, "Spies have caused too much harm to humanity. Seeing how skilled Brother Xuan Qi is at capturing them, I also wish to try."

    Lu Yinughed. "Very well, the Bureau happily wees you."

    After just a few casual words, Lu Yin excused himself.

 Chapter 2666: Intelligence On Xuan Qi

    <h4>Chapter 2666: Intelligence On Xuan Qi</h4>

    After Xuan Qi left, He Shu asked, "Sister, what was Xuan Qi here for?"

    He Ran did not answer, and she instead looked over at Shao Qingfeng. "Did Chu Jian send you?"

    Shao Qingfeng replied, "The Junior Sovereign does not want to see any harme to Bai Qian."

    He Shu''s expression changed, and she stared at Shao Qingfeng. "What are you saying? That''s not what you told me. Are you threatening my sister?"

    Uncle Mo''s expression did not change. Had such words been spoken by Xuan Qi, the old man would have instantly suppressed the youth. However, they came from Shao Qingfeng, who was speaking on behalf of the perfect Junior Sovereign. Even Uncle Mo would not dare to be so presumptuous.

    He Ran also revealed no anger at all. "He Shu, let Shao Qingfeng finish."

    Shao Qingfeng faced He Ran. "Junior Sovereign hopes to have a Bai Qian who is whole in both body and spirit. Sister Ran, he hopes that you will show him a bit of face and not harm her too badly."

    He Ranughed, and hearing it caused Shao Qingfeng''s heart to start racing. This woman''s beauty was equal to the Junior Sovereign''s strength. Both of them could be described as ¡°perfect.¡± It really was such a pity.

    While Shao Qingfeng was the disciple of Sovereign Shao Yin, he knew better than to harbor any such delusions.

    Even so, he found it impossible to not lose control of his thoughts every time heid eyes on this woman.

    "The Junior Sovereign is putting me in a difficult position. Without harming Bai Qian, how can I win?" He Ran asked.

    Shao Qingfeng forcibly averted his eyes. "Junior Sovereign can help you, Sister Ran, as long as you need it."

    He Ran set her chin in a hand, and she seemed to be lost in thought.

    No one interrupted her contemtions, and they all waited in silence.

    "I have a solution: as long as the Junior Sovereign can do this, I won''t need topete with Bai Qian, and I can also guarantee that she won''t be hurt," He Ran casually stated while looking at Shao Qingfeng.

    The young man looked up. "Please, continue."

    A charming curve graced the corners of He Ran''s mouth, captivating Shao Qingfeng to the point of being dazed. "Chu Jian should meet Bai Qian in person."

    Shao Qingfeng felt confused by thement, and he simply stared at He Ran.

    He Ran gave a smallugh. "Desecration."

    Shao Qingfeng''s eyes shifted, "What do you mean, Sister Ran?"

    He Ran made a shushing motion. It was a yful gesture that neither Uncle Mo nor He Shu had ever seen before, but it only added to the woman¡¯s appeal. "You should understand what I¡¯m saying. Go tell the Junior Sovereign that I''ve given him the method. Whether he can aplish it is up to him. If he can¡¯t, then he shouldn¡¯t ask such a thing of me. After all, the Junior Sovereign is just the Junior Sovereign, and he is not the same as the Great Sovereign.

    "He can¡¯t be too demanding. No one appreciates that."

    Shao Qingfeng''s eyes flickered. "I understand. I will give Junior Sovereign your message. Then, Sister Ran, I shall take my leave."

    He Ran nodded, and she watched as Shao Qingfeng departed.

    Once Shao Qingfeng left, He Shu''s face twisted in displeasure. "Sister, you can''t do that to Bai Qian. She-"

    Before he could finish his sentence, He Ran interrupted him, "You''re still hung up on Bai Qian? You and she will never be together. Not now, not ever."

    He Shu was unwilling to ept this. His affection for Bai Qian was known to everyone, and his feelings had even sparked several arguments with He Ran. The fact that He Ran was encouraging the Junior Sovereign to desecrate Bai Qian cut He Shu to the bone.

    In a stern tone, He Ran dered, "I don''t care what you think. Bai Qian cannot remain here in the Transcendent Universe. If she doesn''t end up belonging to the Junior Sovereign, then she must die. She can never be yours, He Shu. Listen to me carefully¡ª<i>never!</i>"

    Having said what she needed to, He Ran dismissed He Shu.

    Uncle Mo voiced his concerns, "Madam, is this appropriate? Once this is discovered, you''ll-"

    Again, He Ran interrupted him. "No one will find out. I know when and what to say. This is the fastest and most effective method to deal with this matter. The Junior Sovereign is too overbearing, and he evenpares himself to the Great Sovereign. He actually believes that everyone should listen to him."

    "Rumors im that, of the Three Sovereigns¡¯ seats, one is reserved for this Junior Sovereign. He is destined to rece one of those experts," Uncle Mo stated.

    He Ran''s eyes grew as sharp as swords. "That¡¯s exactly why so many fear him. However, that''s the Cyclic Universe''s business. Even if he is eligible to be a Sovereign, none of the current Sovereigns are people to be trifled with. Even the Sovereign least favored by the Great Sovereign is recognized as the foremost of the Three Sovereigns, and they are not an easy person to deal with. None of this matters to us. Even if Chu Jian bes one of the Sovereigns, it won''t affect my Transcendent Universe. Once our sequence particle research ispleted, who will care about the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages? Even the Great Sovereign-"

    He Ran abruptly stopped speaking, and Uncle Mo cautiously released his energy to ensure that no one was listening in.

    "I need to rest," He Ran wearily stated.

    Uncle Mo vanished.

    Along the staircase, ethereal lights danced among the fluttering petals. It was a beautiful sight that seemed toe from a different world.

    ***

    After leaving He Ran, Lu Yin did not return to either the Ziyou Realm or the Three Monarchs Universe. Instead he visited a secret ce and took Luo Lao''er along with him.

    While most of the Transcendent Universe was constantly under surveince, thanks to You Fang, Lu Yin had learned of a few areas that were outside of the universe¡¯s monitoring system.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s strength was enough to allow him to escape even if he was being watched, that would instantly alert the Transcendent Universe, and that was simply not worth it.

    "Contact your information broker. I want to buy more from them," Lu Yin stated.

    The information broker had sold out Luo Lao''er by selling information to Monarch Luo, which had caused Monarch Luo to attack the You family and invade their territory. However, the true trigger for that entire series of events had been Lu Yin testing the information broker.

    However, no matter what Lu Yin was testing, there was no denying that Luo Lao¡¯er had basically been betrayed by his information broker.

    Even so, the information broker answered Luo Lao¡¯er¡¯s call.

    The previous matter was not mentioned at all. Luo Lao''er needed information, and the broker needed to sell information. Whoever came out on top depended on who proved to be more skilled.

    "I want to buy everything there is on Monarch Luo," Lu Yin stated. He was still rather uncertain about Monarch Luo''s situation. Chen Le, Uncle Mo, and Monarch Mu had all given him different stories. Before moving against the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin had to gain a much better understanding of Monarch Luo.

    On the other end of the call, in a dimly lit ce, a pair of weary eyes stared at the disy.

    "Is Luo Lao''er still buying information from me? He must realize that I betrayed him. The information that he wants to buy must be really important," the man muttered to himself, "Huh? He wants information on Monarch Luo? Is he trying to turn the tables on the Monarch? It looks like whoever is behind Luo Lao''er is about to make their move."

    The man took a while to pinpoint Luo Lao''er''s location. "He''s no longer in the Ziyou Realm, and is instead in a rather deste area. Pointless, though it does appear that he''s be more cautious. Well then, we¡¯ll treat this as a normal trade. However, how am I supposed to have any information on Monarch Luo?"

    Luo Lao''er soon received a message. "Brother-inw, there¡¯s only information about the Transcendent Universe. There¡¯s nothing beyond this ce."

    Lu Yin was disappointed. While he did want to know the identity of the information broker, information about Monarch Luo was also very important. Unfortunately, that information was not avable. What a pity.

    "Buy Zi Jing''s location," Lu Yin continued.

    Luo Lao''er passed the request to the information broker.

    Upon seeing the request, the man frowned and felt increasingly frustrated. "Zi Jing''s location? I''m looking for that myself! Why is everyone forcing me to search for that? I want to know myself."

    Even as the man spoke to himself, he sent a response to Luo Lao''er, who was starting to feel rather helpless. "Brother-inw, he doesn¡¯t know that either."

    "How does he not know anything?" Lu Yin was getting frustrated.

    Luo Lao''er sent this question as well.

    On the other end, the man ground his teeth but was unable to retort. This was not his fault; Zi Jing''s location was a secret to the entire Transcendent Universe. How was he supposed to find her location? As for information about Monarch Luo, the man was not even a part of the Transcendent Universe.

    The information broker really wanted tosh out, but he held himself back.

    As for Lu Yin, he said, "Then have him find out the purpose of Shao Qingfeng''s meeting with He Ran today."

    Just as Luo Lao''er was about to send the message, he paused. "Brother-inw, won''t this question expose who you really are?"

    "It''s fine. Ke Jian also knows about the meeting, and they didn¡¯t try to hide anything, so many people might have seen them," Lu Yin replied. He had already considered everything.

    After a short pause, Luo Lao¡¯er received another response: "Unknown."

    In the gloomy region, a string of curses rang out. "Just who is Luo Lao''er working for? If they already know that Shao Qingfeng met He Ran, then they clearly are not just anyone. Could it be someone from the You family? They¡¯re the only ones in the Transcendent Universe with these abilities. Could it be someone else? I need to find out who¡¯s visited He Ran recently, but it¡¯s too difficult to find out anything about that ce. It¡¯s just impossible to investigate there."

    Luo Lao''er sent a few more sarcastic remarks back, enraging the information broker. "Is this bastard just trying to get revenge?"

    As for Lu Yin, he just frowned. "Ask him to investigate Xuan Qi."

    Luo Lao''er was caught off guard. "You want to investigate yourself?"

    "Let''s find out just how much he knows about me. The more detailed the information, the better. This will infuriate him," Lu Yin answered.

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "Got it."

    With that, he started to negotiate with the information broker.

    As soon as the man realized that Luo Lao¡¯er wanted information about Xuan Qi, he finally rxed a bit. This was something that he could actually do. He told Luo Lao''er to wait for a bit.

    Luo Lao''er reported to Lu Yin, "He says that he can only find information regarding Xuan Qi that happened here in the Transcendent Universe, but he promises detailed information."

    Lu Yin nodded and then proceeded to quietly wait.

    After half an hour, information regarding Xuan Qi was presented to Lu Yin.

    He quickly skimmed what he had received, and sure enough, everything was specified in great detail, starting from when he had first appeared and been thrown into the beast arena. There was detailed information about the time he spent in the Cloudflow Universe, as well as information about the Sixverse Academy.

    This information broker had truly gone to great lengths to demonstrate his abilities.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s expression grew sharp. He had just noticed a very specific detail: ¡°Xuan Qi met Zi Jing in the Sixverse Academy.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he recounted every detail of that particr meeting with Zi Jing. If he remembered correctly, she had just made some progress in her sequence particle research, and as a reward, He Ran had allowed Zi Jing to meet with Xuan Qi. Very few people knew that Zi Jing had visited the Sixverse Academy to meet him, and it was not something that could be learned through any kind of investigation.

    From that moment on, Zi Jing''s whereabouts had been shrouded in absolute secrecy, and she becamepletely untraceable to outsiders. The idea of anyone learning of the meeting between her and Xuan Qi at the Sixverse Academy was impossible.

    The only possible exnation was that the information broker was someone who had been in close contact with Zi Jing, close enough to speak to her. Could this person also be a member of the Energy Research Group?

    It certainly was not impossible.

    "What do you think this person''s role is within the Transcendent Universe? What do you find to be the most likely answer from what you know?" Lu Yin asked

    Luo Lao''er thought for a moment. "Given my understanding of the Transcendent Universe, anyone who can ess this much information either holds a very high position, like someone from the You family, or possesses the technical skills or has work rted to the surveince system that monitors the entire Transcendent Universe. However, thetter is not very likely. Those people are all very strictly monitored by others, and most likely wouldn¡¯t have any opportunity to sell any information.

    "The great You family can monitor the entire Transcendent Universe, so they have no need to resort to these methods of selling information. Given all of this, the most likely answer is that this person has the technical expertise to tap into the surveince system."

    Lu Yin looked up and stared into outer space. Technical expertise, was it?

    In the Transcendent Universe, the people with the greatest levels of expertise should be working together with Zi Jing. The Transcendent Universe''s current top priority was the sequence particle research, and there was no way that they would not dedicate all of their greatest minds to the project. This suggested that the information broker had most likely worked with Zi Jing in the past, but had not been sent to the parallel universe with the elerated time flow.

 Chapter 2667: Lu Yins Solution

    <h4>Chapter 2667: Lu Yin''s Solution</h4>

    It seemed that it was finally time for Lu Yin to visit the ce where Zi Jing had originally been studying sequence particles. He had learned of the location through Chen Le, and he also learned that, apparently, Cloudflow was still being held captive in that same facility.

    At this moment, Lu Yin received a message.

    Upon essing hismunication crystal, the disy showed Zuo Yu.

    ¡°Xie Wu sent me a few more names: Tu Ke and Bai Qian,¡± Zuo Yu ryed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Ever since he had saved Xie Wu and told him to return to He Shu, the young man had been randomly sending messages to Xuan Qi through Zuo Yu. Most of these messages meant nothing, as they concerned He Shu. However, Zuo Yu still made sure to pass along everything to Lu Yin whenever he visited the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin did not pay the messages much heed. Xie Wu had no way of knowing which information might be relevant or not, so he simply sent over anything he regarded as potentially important.

    Lu Yin had actually intended to ask Zuo Yu to have Xie Wu stop sending messages, as there was a risk that He Shu might find out.

    Xie Wu was not a significant pawn. Lu Yin had saved the young man out of nothing more than pity, and having even a minor pawn so close to He Shu was rather convenient. Thus, Lu Yin had quickly be ustomed to it.

    However, thistest message proved to be an unexpected boon for Lu Yin.

    He sent Luo Lao''er back before quickly contacting Bai Qian with a wireless jincan.

    The wireless jincans continued to demonstrate their usefulness in the Sixverse Association. While they were unable to pass messages between parallel universes, they allowed the holders to secretlymunicate while in the same dimension.

    This method ofmunication was also only avable to members of the Heavens Sect.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had used the wireless jincan to reach out to Bai Qian in the Transcendent Universe.

    Bai Qian stared at the wireless jincan as it cycled through the specific code. She was surprised to see something, as this was her first time using a wireless jincan after being shown how to use it by Lu Yin.

    "What¡¯s your rtionship with Tu Ke?" Lu Yin first sent a question.

    Bai Qian sent back, "He¡¯s one of the few members of the Ruling Council who supports me."

    "I received a message from a contact close to He Shu. There were only two names: Tu Ke and Bai Qian."

    Bai Qian was surprised. "You''ve been keeping tabs on He Shu?"

    "You can say that."

    "Just two names isn¡¯t enough for me to gather very much, but I¡¯m nning to meet with Tu Ke in three days¡¯ time to discuss winning over another member of the Ruling Council."

    "So either he knows about your meeting and wants to sabotage it, or there''s something wrong with Tu Ke. What can I do?"

    Bai Qian replied, "Do what you can to make sure the meeting doesn¡¯t happen."

    No matter which option was true, Bai Qian could not proceed with her nned meeting. After all, if He Shu was aware of it, then it meant that He Ran knew as well.

    Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away while thinking back to earlier in the day when He Shu had arrived with Shao Qingfeng to meet with He Ran. Could the message from Xie Wu have something to do with Shao Qingfeng¡¯s visit?

    That did not seem very likely, as how could Shao Qingfeng interfere in the internal affairs of the Transcendent Universe? He simply had no authority to do so.

    So Lu Yin needed to do what he could to sabotage the meeting? Well, his greatest advantage for the moment was the Bureau.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin, Xu Ji, Boss Guan, and others from the Bureau descended upon a in the Transcendent Universe known as Fortune Star.

    Lu Yin also had the authority to mobilize the members of the Transcendent Universe''s Bureau, but those people were all members of the You family.

    People from the Bureau surrounded the Tu Ke family, and their arrival shook Fortune Star.

    Tu Ke was a member of the Ruling Council, which was a very high position in the Transcendent Universe. Because of this, his Fortune Star was a famous location in the universe.

    Fortune Star would not simply sit there and allow people to surround the Tu Ke¡¯s home, regardless of how Tu Ke himself reacted.

    There was not a word ofmunication sent before the¡¯s defenses started attacking the intruders.

    Boss Guan¡¯s voidforce energy swept out in a flood that easily brushed the attacks aside and suppressed all of Fortune Star.

    How could a single¡¯s defenses hope to ovee Boss Guan? He was a peak Void Brillium, which was the equivalent to a peak Envoy.

    White energy shot upwards from Tu Ke¡¯s home, and Lu Yin arched a brow at the sight. Tu Ke was the only member of the Ruling Council to openly support Bai Qian, and he was fearless of even He Ran''s retaliation. This was because the man was capable of using a white energy converter, which made him the Transcendent Universe¡¯s version of a Semi-Progenitor.

    Semi-Progenitors were far from weak, and not even He Ran could easily go after such an expert.

    White energy shot straight at Boss Guan.

    Just beneath the clouds, but still in the sky, Boss Guan''s expression grew solemn. Against the equivalent of a Void Morphora, he quickly brought out a voidforce puppet, which allowed him to utilize several times his own energy reserves to block the attack. The puppet proved sturdy enough to temporarily block the attack.

    Boss Guan was only a step away from bing a Void Morphora himself. After harnessing several times more voidforce energy, he was just barely able to hold off Tu Ke. After all, an attack powered by a white energy converter was the same as a brute-force attack from a Semi-Progenitor.

    One man used voidforce energy, while the other used an energy converter. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, both of them were only equal to the weakest Semi-Progenitor. Any Semi-Progenitor from the Fifth Maind could easily defeat either man.

    However, once Boss Guan broke through and actually became a Void Morphora, things would change. At that point, the man would be capable of suppressing quite a few Semi-Progenitors with just the voidforce energy that he could wield.

    "Who are you people? How dare you attack me?" An angry middle-aged man shouted sternly as he red at the sky. He looked like an angry, rampaging beast, and he was none other than Tu Ke.

    Boss Guan stared down at the man. "The Bureau."

    Tu Ke was startled, and his hand instantly lowered and the white energy dissipated. "You¡¯re from the Bureau?"

    All around, countless eyes watched from a distance, fearful of getting caught up in themotion.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "I am the Bureau''s acting Bureau Director, Xuan Qi. Senior Tu Ke, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you."

    Tu Ke turned to look at Lu Yin. "So you''re Xuan Qi? What brings you here?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "What makes the Bureau take action, Senior? Why do you think we¡¯re here?"

    "You suspect <i>me</i> of being a spy?" Tu Ke was aghast.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It''s merely a suspicion, though it would be best if you didn¡¯t resist and allowed us to proceed with our investigation, Senior."

    "This is outrageous! I am a member of the Ruling Council! How dare you nder me!" Tu Ke shouted angrily.

    Boss Guan immediately rebuked the man. "The Bureau¡¯s duty is to investigate anyone who is suspected of being a traitor. Resist, and you will be judged to be a spy. Then, no mercy will be shown."

    Tu Keughed out of anger. "This is ridiculous! You are merely the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe''s Bureau. Here in my Transcendent Universe, our Bureau Director is Senior You Fang. If Senior You Fang sees fit to investigate me, then I won¡¯t say a word. But you, Xuan Qi? Get lost!

    "We all know what happened to Tu Ying. Unless you have some evidence, don¡¯t bother me. If you continue, you can¡¯t me me for being impolite."

    Tu Ying had been another member of the Ruling Council, and he had been suspected of being a spy. After being arrested, he had been taken to the Ziyou Realm to be questioned. Despite no proof of the man¡¯s guilt, he was still forced to step down from the Ruling Council. The Ruling Council would not tolerate any of their members being suspected of being a spy.

    If Tu Ke were investigated, there was a very high chance that He Ran would seize the opportunity to force him out of the Ruling Council.

    However, that was not what Lu Yin was hoping for. After all, he was not certain if Tu Ke was genuinely supporting Bai Qian or not. If Xie Wu''s good intentions instead caused Bai Qian''s sole supporter to be ousted from the Ruling Council, it would be a disastrous loss for her.

    "It appears that Senior Tu Ke does not intend to cooperate with us. Very well, in that case we shall simply wait. The Transcendent Universe and Three Monarchs Universe''s branches of the Bureau are already seeking the truth of this matter.

    ¡°Honestly, Senior, I do hope that you are proven to not be a spy. For this reason, I will merely ask that you wait here for the time being, Senior," Lu Yin said.

    These words allowed for Tu Ke''s expression to improve slightly. His greatest fear was that the Bureau would push forward and demand to search his home. That would greatlyplicate things for him.

    Instead, he was allowed to simply wait. As long as no evidence was brought against him, he would not be arrested and interrogated, and no one would be able to touch him.

    Being investigated by Xuan Qi had far different implications than being investigated by You Fang.

    He Ran had forced Tu Ying to step down mostly because the You family had arrested the man and led the investigation. She had no longer been certain where his loyaltiesy, and so he had been discarded.

    For the moment, Lu Yin had already achieved his goal. All he needed to do was wait. As long as just a single day passed, Bai Qian would not be able to make her meeting.

    As for what would happen after that, it all depended on who became more desperate.

    The following day was the day for Bai Qian''s scheduled meeting with Tu Ke.

    An unexpected, yet also not entirely unexpected, a visitor arrived at Fortune Star. It was He Shu.

    However, the sight of He Shu did not particrly surprise Lu Yin. "Why are you here?"

    He Shu replied, "I just came to take a look. Brother Xuan Qi, are you certain that Tu Ke is a spy?"

    Lu Yin lowered his voice, "Of course not. I¡¯m just trying to stir up some trouble for him."

    He Shu was taken aback. "Stir up trouble for him? Why?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice suddenly turned cold, "The man openly supports Bai Qian. Why shouldn¡¯t we give him some trouble?"

    He Shu stared nkly at Lu Yin. "Is this why you''ve surrounded his home?¡±

    Lu Yin led He Shu aside and whispered, "You should already know that I offended Sister Ran a few days ago. I lost my temper and did not speak to her properly. I¡¯ve probably made her angry, so I thought that I''d try to make things up to her. I just learned that Tu Ke supports Bai Qian, and isn¡¯t she Sister Ran''s greatest enemy? So, by making trouble for Tu Ke, Sister Ran will have an excuse to kick him out of the Ruling Council. This is really just my attempt to do something for Sister Ran."

    He Shu listened in stunned silence as he stared at Xuan Qi in a very conflicted manner.

    "Why are you giving me that look?" Lu Yin found the reaction strange.

    He Shu coughed lightly. "It''s nothing. So, how do you n to deal with Tu Ke?"

    A troubled look came across Xuan Qi¡¯s face. "The man has a white energy converter, so we can¡¯t just force our way in. On top of that, I am technically from the Voidforce Universe, which means that it would be best if Senior You Fang moved against Tu Ke, just like when Tu Ying was arrested. If I try to do this on my own, it will cause many people to be upset with me, right?"

    He Shu was speechless. "Then why did you bother surrounding his home?"

    "Well, I didn''t expect him to have a white energy converter... If I had known that, I would¡¯ve nned for it before doing anything. I intended to charge in and arrest him, even if there was some bacsh. For Sister Ran, I¡¯m willing to shoulder such things. Unfortunately, this has be rather difficult, and I¡¯m stuck in a position where I can¡¯t press forward, but I also can¡¯t retreat. What do you suggest?"

    He Shu''s face twitched, and his voice grew dark. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin stared at the young man. This reaction essentially confirmed that there was a problem with Tu Ke. If Tu Ke truly supported Bai Qian, then He Shu should be trying to find a way to help Xuan Qi. There was no reason for He Shu to look so troubled.

    The man¡¯s expression made it obvious that Lu Yin had done something counterproductive for He Shu and He Ran.

    This also meant that there would be trouble if Bai Qian had visited Tu Ke for the scheduled meeting.

    However, what could the problem possibly be?

    Lu Yin continued to focus on Tu Ke''s home.

    As He Shu stared at Xuan Qi, his expression grew increasingly conflicted. This young man had disrupted their n, but He Shu could not say a word about it. Even so, the n was not one that He Shu wanted to see carried out. Thus, his emotions were incredibly conflicted at this moment.

    News of the matter quickly reached He Ran.

    In a very rare showing of He Ran being stunned, her expression perfectly mirrored He Shu''s. Neither of the two knew how to react to the current situation.

    He Ran could not openly assist Tu Ke. Xuan Qi had gone after Tu Ke, which had actually thwarted He Shu''s ns, but Xuan Qi had taken action in an attempt to help He Ran. The woman was absolutely furious, but she had no idea where to direct her anger.

    As for Shao Qingfeng, he wished for nothing more than topletely destroy Xuan Qi. Once again, the damn bastard had ruined things at the very worst possible moment.

    "Xuan Qi, your actions here are pointless and will only serve to scare Bai Qian. There''s no need for you to concern yourself with Tu Ke anymore," He Shu told Xuan Qi. The man was following He Ran''s instructions and trying to persuade Xuan Qi to withdraw the Bureau¡¯s forces.

    However, how could Lu Yin possibly leave? "Absolutely not! The guy supports Bai Qian, so I need to make an example of him to show everyone else the consequences of going against Sister Ran. You don''t have to bother yourself with this any longer. Even if I can''t directly do anything to the man, I''ll at least make it impossible for him to leave his house without ruining his reputation."

    He Shu retorted, "But that¡¯s pointless!"

    Lu Yin dered, "Just consider this my way of letting off a bit of steam for Sister Ran."

    He Shu felt helpless, and thought to himself, <i>My sister would rather strike you dead with a p!</i> Of course, he did not dare to utter such words out loud.

    There was no way for He Ran or He Shu to force Xuan Qi to leave at this point in time, as doing so would undoubtedly make Bai Qian grow suspicious. They could only wait.

 Chapter 2668: Suspicion

    Chapter 2668: Suspicion

    He Shu had actually thought that his n was perfect. It was unexpected, but he could only me bad luck for this sudden turn of events. Still, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief over the fact that Bai Qian would not have to suffer as he had expected.

    From a distance, Xie Wu silently watched everything y out, excitement flickering in the depths of his eyes. He did not know if Xuan Qis actions had anything to do with the two names that he had provided, but Xie Wu did know He Shu well. The man had to be feeling frustrated and awkward at this moment, and the worse He Shu felt, the happier Xie Wu felt. It was a petty sort of revenge.

    Bai Qian eventually arrived, as she had agreed to visit Tu Ke on this particr day.

    Everyone bowed to Bai Qian, including He Shu.

    When he saw Bai Qian gently walk by, He Shu''s eyes grew feverish. His heart should have broken on this day, but because of Xuan Qi, that n had failed. He Shu could not say if this was good or bad; all he knew was that he felt relieved.

    Bai Qian''s arrival escted the situation, and many important people started paying attention to Fortune Star.

    While He Ran was irritated that Lu Yin had ruined her n, she also wanted to see how Bai Qian would react.

    Bai Qian had always been quite low-key in the Transcendent Universe, as her personality was almost theplete opposite of He Rans, who had been born in the Transcendent Universe and raised to rule the universe from childhood. Even people who could use ck energy converters like Uncle Mo had to be respectful towards the woman. After all, He Ran had helped raise Uncle Mo up, and she was even the reason why he had managed to obtain a ck energy converter.

    On the other hand, Bai Qian came from a foreign universe. This was unprecedented, but while it stunned many, her origins were also regarded as a source of innovation and change. Even the Junior Sovereign was attracted to the woman.

    He Ran was a perfect woman, and she seemed to be the epitome of femininity.

    As for Bai Qian, she was a different kind of woman. She had the mien of a warrior queen who lived for herself and sought to endlessly improve herself. Her presence emanated a heroic aura, as well as peerless wisdom. She was both talented and fearless, and her qualities had won the support of many people. However, Bai Qians supporters had slowly disappeared after all the years of pressure from He Ran, and Bai Qian only had a few people left now, and those few who remained were slowly disappearing.

    Bai Qian would not do anything to Tu Ke, but since Tu Ke was facing a Bureau investigation, which not even He Ran could interfere with, she wanted to see how Bai Qian would respond.

    "This is the third time weve met, but each time we meet, you arepletely different," Bai Qianmented indifferently to Lu Yin when she saw him.

    Tu Ke emerged from his home and moved behind Bai Qian. He whispered to her, "Madam, there is no need to waste time speaking with him. I am no spy, and I do not fear any investigation from the Bureau."

    Bai Qian calmly stared at Lu Yin, who slowly replied, "You always seem so emotionless. I really can''tprehend how someone like you canpete with Sister Ran. Why do you believe that you can stand equal to her?"

    "Xuan Qi, the internal affairs of my universe have nothing to do with you! You are being too presumptuous!" Tu Ke shouted.

    He Shus head rose, and he replied, "Tu Ke, Xuan Qi calls my sister Sister Ran, and she has also acknowledged him as her little brother. He is no outsider."

    Tu Ke turned to stared at He Shu. "Youre also behind whats happening here. You want me to fall just like Tu Ying! Well, I''m different from that loser! No one can force me out from the Ruling Council!"

    Lu Yin thought that this was too funny, as the mans confidence actually stemmed from He Ran. While the man appeared to support Bai Qian, he was secretly on He Rans side. Given the twos cooperation and secrets, even if everyone else was forced to step down from the Ruling Council, Tu Ke would remain.

    Bai Qian looked over at He Shu and said, "Exin to me whats happening here."

    He Shu shrugged helplessly. "We have nothing to do with any of this, as the Bureau is the one taking action."

    Lu Yin interjected at this point, "Tu Ke is suspected of being a spy due to information that the Bureau has obtained. Of course, he is not the only one whos been implicated, and there are many others as well, but he has the highest position. Naturally, we need to keep an eye on him before going after any of the others so that he doesnt have an opportunity to escape."

    "Are you saying that you are not certain that Tu Ke is a spy?" Bai Qian affirmed.

    Lu Yin replied, "If we were, you wouldnt even be able to see him."

    "How likely is it that he is a spy?" Bai Qian continued.

    Lu Yin considered the question for a moment. "10%."

    Bai Qian grew increasingly cold towards Lu Yin. "Do you realize how much negative influence your actions have on Tu Ke?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "In that case, do you realize what will happen to humanity if he <em>is </em>a spy?"

    The two stared at each other, neither willing to back down to the other.

    Tu Ke was furious, but Xuan Qi was not an easy person to deal with either.

    Bai Qian nced around. Everyone was gazing at her with open respect. Regardless of if she won or lost to He Ran in theirpetition, it would not make any difference to most of the people in the Transcendent Universe. In fact, most people would not even know who won, so to most people, looking at Bai Qian was no different from looking at He Ran.

    "Speaking of influence, don''t you think you should be considering someone elses?" Bai Qian said suddenly.

    Lu Yin was confused by the question. "Who are you talking about?"

    Bai Qian stared at Lu Yin. "You."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Me?"

    Bai Qian remained calm.

    "What are you talking about, my influence?" Lu Yin could not understand the direction the conversation had gone in.

    Bai Qian ridiculed him, "You don''t know?"

    Lu Yin nced over at He Shu.

    He Shu appeared rather unhappy, but he whispered to Xuan Qi, "There are rumors going around that the reason why Monarch Luo is so certain that Luo Qian was in the Ziyou Realm and that the You family is behind Monarch Mus disappearance is because he received the information from you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. What was going on? Was he being suspected as the one behind the information leak? Had someone been spying on him? No, that was impossible.

    "From your reaction, you really didnt know. You should worry about the You family first, as if you anger them, youll be forced to return to the Voidforce Universe. Things are spiraling out of your control here," Bai Qian coldly stated.

    He Shu and the others believed that the woman was mocking Lu Yin, but he knew that she was actually trying to help him think of a way out of his current situation. These rumors might prove to be a minor issue, but they could also be a major problem. Bai Qian was genuinely concerned about Lu Yin, as he was her greatest ally.

    Lu Yin was rather confused. How could these rumors have started? Did someone genuinely suspect that he was behind the information that had been leaked to Monarch Luo? He refused to believe that. There was no way that someone had been spying on him.

    Could the You family have started the rumors? They were the only ones who had been suspicious of him this whole time. Also, they were infamous for not using logic or evidence, but rather relied solely on their own suspicions and the final results to decide what was true.

    When He Shu saw Xuan Qi fall silent and be genuinely caught off guard by the rumors, He Shu felt proud. He Ran was the mastermind behind the rumors, and she had instigated them to undermine and ruin Xuan Qi. It appeared that she was already seeding.

    He Shu whispered, "Don''t worry too much about this. Theres just some rumors that there might be a spy who leaked the information, and your ability to capture spies is clear to all. Its only natural that the Aeternals dont want you to remain in the Transcendent Universe and hunt down their spies."

    Lu Yin looked over at He Shu. Could He Ran be behind the rumors?

    If no one had been spying on Lu Yin, and no one suspected that he was a spy either, then there was only one possibility behind these rumors: someone was trying to ruin Xuan Qis reputation. The people with the greatest motivation to do that were He Ran and the You family, but the You family most likely would not do anything like this. They had already decided that Xuan Qi was suspicious, so there was no reason for them to spread rumors. Rather, they would have simply dealt with Xuan Qi directly, long before these rumors had started to surface. After all, they had no exnation for Luo Laoers presence in the Ziyou Realm.

    That meant that He Ran was the only possible suspect behind the rumors.

    Could it really be her? It was certainly possible, but in that case, why?

    His mind rapidly processing new information, Lu Yin looked over at Bai Qian and said, "You did this, didnt you?"

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered, but she said nothing.

    He Shu was not surprised to hear such an usation, as the only person Xuan Qi could possibly suspect was Bai Qian. From He Shus perspective, in the entire Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian was the only one who did not want Xuan Qi to remain in the universe. He was the Acting Bureau Director and was taking over the You familys authority, which gave He Ran too much influence. The Bureau was simply too powerful.

    Furthermore, the rumors had only surfaced after the Bureau moved against Tu Ke and surrounded his home, which made the timing of the rumors very suspicious.

    "Tell me. You did this, didnt you?" Lu Yin red at Bai Qian with cold eyes, revealing a flicker of killing intent.

    Tu Ke quickly moved in front of Bai Qian. "Xuan Qi, what do you think you are doing? Dont overstep yourself! You are in the Transcendent Universe, not the Voidforce Universe!"

    He Shu was also worried that Xuan Qi would attack Bai Qian. If it were possible to simply kill the woman, Uncle Mo would have taken her out long ago, but no one could attack Bai Qian in the Transcendent Universe. If Xuan Qi tried to attack her, the ruler would assume that the man was acting on He Ran''s orders, and that would be extremely problematic.

    Bai Qian showed no hint of fear. "What if I did? Even if I told you that I didnt do it, would you believe me?"

    Lu Yin angrily shouted, "You must be behind this! You want to drive me away, so you used a trick like this! You cant beat Sister Ran directly, so youre resorting to these underhanded ploys!"

    Bai Qian finally became upset. "Thats none of your business."

    She then nced to the side andmented, "Herees some trouble for you now."

    Lu Yin looked over and saw You Lele approaching.

    He Shu and others all saw her as well.

    The current gathering was a rare sight for the residents of Fortune Star. There were arge number of extremely important people gathering, which was thrilling for the locals to witness.

    You Le looked upset, and her hair was in its typical messy state. She approached Xuan Qi, not even ncing at anyone else and softly stated, "Father is looking for you."

    Lu Yin frowned. "I''m keeping an eye on Tu Ke, who is suspected of being a spy."

    "Others can handle that. My father wants to see you." You Leles voice grew even colder, and she sounded as though she was suppressing her anger.

    He Shu stepped forward and said, "Lele, theres no way that Xuan Qi could be responsible for Monarch Luo attacking your You family. Besides, how could he have anything to do with Monarch Mus disappearance?"

    You Lele turned to re at He Shu. "You have no business butting into my You familys affairs!"

    Despite his irritation at being spoken to in such a tone, He Shu stopped talking. He Ran was not at odds with the You family. In fact, aside from You Teng alone, the You family did not bother to maintain the appearance of friendly rtions with He Ran. You Lele could switch between friendly and cold on a whim, just like the rest of her family.

    Aftershing out at He Shu, You Lele looked back at Lu Yin. "Are youing with me?"

    Lu Yin had no choice but to leave some orders for Boss Guan and the rest of the Bureau members, essentially telling them not to leave Fortune Star and to keep an eye on Tu Ke so that he had no opportunity to flee.

    These orders nearly caused Tu Ke to lose control, and they left He Shu feeling helpless.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin looked back at Bai Qian onest time and said, "I certainly hope you arent a spy, but if you are, Ill catch you myself!"

    Tu Ke let out a contemptuous snort. "You truly dont know how high the sky is! You have no right to point fingers in the Transcendent Universe, so get lost."

    You Lele turned to re at Tu Ke. "You better not be including me in that."

    Tu Ke''s expression instantly changed. "I''m talking to Xuan Qi. This has nothing to do with you."

    You Lele rolled her eyes. "My family invited him here, and Im taking him to <em>our</em> Ziyou Realm. What are you insinuating by telling him to get lost?"

    Tu Ke angrily averted his gaze angrily and stopped talking.

    Lu Yin soon left with You Lele.

    Bai Qian also prepared to leave. "If the Bureau wants to capture me, then let them arrest me. As soon as you are cleared and released, I will demand an exnation from Xuan Qi for you."

    Tu Ke''s expression greatly improved after hearing this. "Theres no need for you to worry, Ill be fine."

    Bai Qian then left, never even ncing at He Shu.

    He Shu and Tu Ke looked at each other, but neither said anything before they parted ways. In the distance, Shao Qingfeng was waiting.

    "We cant proceed with this n. The Junior Sovereign can only spare a single day, which means that, after today, it will take some time before this n can be used again," Shao Qingfeng helplesslymented.

    He Shu felt relieved, though he had no choice but to sound upset. "No one expected Xuan Qi to show up here and ruin things. We can just wait for the next opportunity. This was nothing more than a coincidence, and he wanted to redeem himself a bit in the eyes of my sister. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of obstructing us and helping Bai Qian."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2669: Purpose

    <h4>Chapter 2669: Purpose</h4>

    After Shao Qingfeng heard He Shu''s words, he dismissively swished his golden robe and coldly stated, "Tu Ke is right¡ªthis Xuan Qi is too arrogant. He thinks that he¡¯s ascended to the heavens just because he¡¯s captured a few spies. He went against Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s disciples in the Voidforce Universe, and now, he has offended your sister in the Transcendent Universe. Rumors are starting to spread rampantly, and the You family must already be suspicious of him. The man won''t be able to remain in the Transcendent Universe any longer. We should make sure that he also can''t stay in the Three Monarchs Universe, leaving him with nowhere to go."

    He Shu fell deep into thought.

    ...

    In the Ziyou Realm, Lu Yin met with You Fang.

    As usual, they were in the room where it was possible to monitor the entire Transcendent Universe. You Fang stood in the center, which gave him the appearance of having everything in the palm of his hand.

    You Fang did not look up at Lu Yin when he arrived and instead simply asked, "Have you heard the rumors?"

    "Isn¡¯t this what you always believed to be the case?" Lu Yin replied, "Why are you making a fuss about it now and calling me over?"

    You Fang chuckled. "I thought about it before, but no longer."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "What do you mean?"

    You Fang turned to face Lu Yin. "Initially, I believed that everything you did was masterminded by He Ran, starting with the moment you first approached my family. I had assumed that you were the one who instigated Luo Shang into attacking us, but these rumors have shown me another possibility. It¡¯s possible that He Ran is indeed the one who orchestrated everything, but you may not be the person executing her ns. You might have been used, or rather-" the man paused before exining, "You genuinely intend to pursue spies and have no other intentions towards my family."

    Lu Yin gave the man a small smile. "I told you that from the very beginning. I don¡¯t have any other intentions towards your family. You¡¯re the one who was overthinking things. However, why don¡¯t you think that this rumor was purposely spread by me, just to make you trust me?"

    "Hahaha, we certainly did overthink things! When the rumors first surfaced, I considered that possibility," You Fang roared withughter.

    You Lele''s voice suddenly echoed from behind, "I also considered it."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Don¡¯t you guys get tired?"

    You Lele scratched her head as she looked up at Lu Yin. "How can using your brain be tiring? It''s what we''re best at. The little games we y are beyond what people like you can evenprehend."

    Lu Yin smirked. Where on earth did these people get their sense of superiority from? Maybe he should introduce Wang Wen and Wei Rong to the You family¡¯s games one day.

    "So you suspected me before, but no longer. Why?" Lu Yin asked, quite curious about this.

    You Fang stared at him. "Haven''t you thought about who has been spreading these rumors?"

    "Bai Qian," Lu Yin replied without hesitation.

    "Idiot," You Lele instantly retorted.

    You Fang exined, "Bai Qian can¡¯t do it, as she simplycks the necessary influence. Tu Ke is the only one who openly supports her on the Ruling Council. I personally believe that there is something wrong with Tu Ke as well¡ªBai Qiancks the power and influence for him to support her. You should understand that these rumors have spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association and the Three Monarchs Universe in just two days. Can youprehend just how much power is needed to aplish such a thing?

    "If Bai Qian had so much power, then He Ran wouldn''t be able to sleep."

    "Then who was it?" Lu Yin felt a bit confused, but deep down, he was bing more and more certain that it had been He Ran.

    You Fang answered, "He Ran."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Impossible! I call her Sister Ran, and she¡¯s helped me so much. Why would she want to harm me?"

    "That''s a question that you¡¯ll need to ask yourself," You Fang replied, "To be honest, I didn''t expect He Ran to spread such rumors, which is why I suspected you. Your status and influence are a great help to He Ran. Because of you, she¡¯s managed to gain a foothold in the Voidforce Universe and has purchased massive amounts of resources to elerate her cultivation technology research. Despite that, she clearly nurtured this rumor. You must have crossed her bottom line.

    "Yesterday, when the rumor first appeared, I already had my suspicions, but then today, I learned that Zi Jing has gone missing. So, is this rumor rted to Zi Jing?"

    Lu Yin and You Fang stared at each other in silence.

    You Fang finally gave a small smile. "You don''t trust me? That''s reasonable. Compared to He Ran, I don¡¯t deserve your trust. So..." The man then casually opened a series of disys that showed various ces the rumor had spread to.

    "He Ran belittles my You family. She believes that we are able to watch far fewer people than is true. She assumed that the people who spread the rumors were outside the range of surveince, but we were actually able to monitor everything.

    "See for yourself. You might even know some of these people. If you still doubt me, then I can provide you with additional evidence."

    Lu Yin scanned the people shown on the various disys, but there was no one whom he recognized. However, his current focus was to advance things further. His expression fell. "Her people are involved."

    You Lele smirked. "He Ran is bing more and more foolish in her actions. To think that you would recognize some of these people."

    You Fang said, "Over these years, we have never stooped to her level. Now that Bai Qian is nearly out of the game, He Ran believes that she controls the entire Transcendent Universe. Such recklessness and arrogance isn''t too surprising."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew worse and worse. "Why did she do this?"

    Looking back at Xuan Qi, You Fang replied, "As I''ve said, you touched her bottom line."

    Lu Yinmented, "I just wanted to see Zi Jing. Even though I offended He Ran over that matter, I went to make trouble for Tu Ke, helping Sister Ran p Bai Qian in the face. Why did she do this?"

    With a sigh, You Fang recalled, "Sixteen years ago, a member of the Ruling Council went against He Ran, and his entire n vanished.

    "Thirteen years ago, He Ran ordered a to be destroyed, even though its inhabitants had not stepped into outer space yet. Those people only knew their own world and werepletely unaware of other life. Their was destroyed simply because they had unintentionally created a face that was simr to He Ran''s. Four billion people once lived on that, but not a single one of them survived. They all died without knowing that a mere face had caused their extinction.

    "Seven years ago..."

    You Fang shared many simr incidents. He remembered all of them quite clearly, and every story demonstrated He Ran¡¯s vindictiveness.

    "The woman is arrogant above all else, as she sees herself as someone above and beyond all others. She is unwilling to even breathe the same air asmoners. She sees herself as some sort of deity within the Transcendent Universe, relishing in the feeling ofplete control over everything. Anyone who opposes or stands up to her will meet a bad end, especially those she raised up herself."

    Staring at Lu Yin, You Fang continued to say, "As far as she is concerned, you are one such person. No matter how excessive your actions may have been or how much you may have helped her, as long as she feels that you are beyond her control, she will find ways to suppress you.¡±

    "She truly believes that she stands in the heavens and looks down on all others. Not even her face can be casually looked upon. That is how He Ran is. Do you truly understand her?"

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

    You Lele responded with a question of her own, "What exactly is your goal in approaching my You family?"

    Lu Yin looked over at her.

    You Lele raised her head high. "Don''t try to deny it. You deliberately approached my You family, and your motives for doing so should be connected to He Ran. Now, He Ran is trying to ruin you. Do you still intend to help her?"

    You Fang intervened, "Xuan Qi, you don''t need to worry about He Ran. You already have several peak powerhouses supporting you. In the Three Monarchs Universe, you have Chen Le. In the Transcendent Universe, my You family can protect you. Given your current status, you stand on equal footing as He Ran. She is not the true master of my Transcendent Universe, far from it. So, why must you help her?"

    "Zi Jing is in her hands," Lu Yin replied.

    You Fang replied, "The cultivation technology that Zi Jing is working on is extremely important to my entire universe. Zi Jing does not serve He Ran, but rather that person."

    "The ruler?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    You Fang waved a hand while looking over the disy of the entire Transcendent Universe. "Given He Ran''s ability, it''s hard for her to hide anything from me. The only person who can truly hide from me is that person. Zi Jing was taken by that person, not He Ran. This is something that you need to understand."

    "Then where is Zi Jing?" Lu Yin asked anxiously. He was truly curious about where the parallel universe with the different rate of time was located.

    You Fang shook his head. "I can''t find her. As I said, as long as that person wants to hide someone, no one will be able to find them. In other words, the fact that Zi Jing has been hidden proves that she has caught that person''s eye. He Ran can¡¯t do anything to Zi Jing. I promise you this on my You family¡¯s name."

    "But I met with Zi Jing just a short while ago," Lu Yin said.

    You Lele rolled her eyes. "I told you that He Ran must have been forced to pay a price, which is what angered her to the point of spreading malicious rumors about you."

    A smile slowly spread across You Fang''s face. "Zi Jing has been hidden by that person, which means that no one can touch or do anything to her, including He Ran. In such a situation, what do you think He Ran sacrificed to let you see Zi Jing? You forced her to pay a price so high that she now holds a grudge against you. You¡¯ve sparked her anger, and now, she won¡¯t leave you alone."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Was this true? It seemed possible. He had already noticed that both Uncle Mo and Ke Jian''s attitudes towards him had changed, and even He Shu looked at him differently. Perhaps He Ran was the reason for those changes.

    "We''ve told you everything we know, as well as who attacked you. You should show us some sincerity as well," You Lele pressed.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Yes, He Ran was the one who ordered me to get close to your You family."

    Neither of the two showed any surprise, and they simply continued to stare at Xuan Qi.

    "My goal," Lu Yin¡¯s eyes moved to You Fang. "is to unify the Bureau."

    Both You Fang and You Lele were startled by this admission. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin exined, "Your You family once had a man named You Xian, correct?"

    Both You Fang and You Lele¡¯s expressions fell. You Xian was You Fang¡¯s grandfather and You Lele¡¯s great-grandfather. On top of that, the man was a joke in the entire Sixverse Association. The man had caused the You family to fall for an entire generation, all because of his ambition to unite the Bureau into a colossal entity. He wanted to both enjoy the authority given to it by the Sixverse Association and also stand outside of the overall structure. However, the man had failed, and that failure had made him nothing more than a joke. His name had be taboo for the You family.

    Outsiders believed that the You family led the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau as part of a n to split the family¡¯s power and influence, but in truth, You Xian had taken control of the Bureau.

    Seeing the ugly expressions on the faces of the father and daughter, Lu Yin knew that Uncle Mo had been absolutely correct. You Xian¡¯s matter had truly been a severe blow to the You family.

    "I have a natural talent for uncovering spies, so He Ran hoped that I would be able to wrest control of the Bureau from you and then use my abilities to unite it. Given You Xian¡¯s history, she even felt that it was possible that your family would help me do so," Lu Yin stated.

    You Fang sneered. "Not a bad n at all. She sent you to us, understanding what my family values. If we didn''t suspect you, it certainly is possible for my family to have helped you. At least for now, my family doesn''t want to remain in control of the Bureau here. It would be best for you to take it over."

    You Lele gritted her teeth. "That woman¡¯s vicious!"

    Lu Yin moved to a seat and sat down. "I''m telling you this as a return for the favor you¡¯ve done me. After all, the rumors have already spread, which means that, in He Ran''s view, there''s no way you''d trust me, let alone help me. She''s probably already given up on unifying the Bureau. Her original n wasn''t perfect, or else you wouldn''t have seen through things so quickly."

 Chapter 2670: Coincidence

    <h4>Chapter 2670: Coincidence</h4>

    "What do you want to do now?" You Fang asked.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I just want to take Zi Jing away with me. I don''t want to deal with anything else in this universe, nor do I care about whatever cultivation technology they¡¯re researching. I don¡¯t even care about He Ran. I will just take Zi Jing with me back to the Voidforce Universe. There, I have Brother Xu Heng and Sister Xu Leng, as well as Xu Wuji and Senior Xu Wuwei. I simply want to help the Voidforce Universe eliminate spies. That¡¯s all I care about."

    "But you can''t take Zi Jing away," You Fang stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin frowned, and his eyes darted about. He appeared dazed.

    You Fang and You Lele nced at each other and then moved closer to Xuan Qi. "If you want to get Zi Jing away from this ce, we can help you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes locked onto You Fang. "I don''t trust He Ran, and I don¡¯t trust you either."

    You Fang said, "What I¡¯m suggesting won¡¯t cost you anything."

    "Just because you can''t see the cost doesn''t mean that there isn¡¯t one," Lu Yin calmly retorted.

    You Fang replied, "Without my help, you will never be able to take Zi Jing away."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You just told me that Zi Jing is actually working for the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. While I still worry about her, as long as her cultivation technology research is sessful, she will be the next You family. Why should I try to interfere with that? Even if her research isn¡¯t sessful, she will still go free one day.¡±

    You Lele rolled her eyes. This guy was starting to react faster. It seemed that he might actually be getting smarter.

    You Fang was briefly stunned. If Xuan Qi was willing to wait, then they could say nothing to convince him otherwise.

    "He Ran sabotaged you. Are you willing to just let that go?" You Fang felt frustrated.

    Lu Yin replied, "Didn''t you say that, by demanding to see Zi Jing, I forced He Ran to pay a steep price? We can just call it even here."

    You Lele sneered. They had already said everything that needed to be said, and yet this guy was using their own words against them. It was absurd.

    You Fang shot a re at You Lele before turning back to Xuan Qi. "If Zi Jing does be the next You family, then you will never be able to be with her."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, and You Fang exined, "I know you don''t believe me, but just think about things for a moment. Do you really think that my You family would be allowed to move to the Voidforce Universe?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This was certainly true.

    "Given that Zi Jing is researching something as important as a brand new cultivation technology, do you think that the ruler of this universe will ever let her go? Once she sessfullypletes her research, she will be granted a peerless status in the Transcendent Universe, but she will also be forbidden from ever leaving. This is simply the reality of the situation. You will never be able to take her away, not even if you be a peak powerhouse. The only way you will ever be able to take her away is as a corpse," You Fang stated.

    Lu Yin considered the man¡¯s words.

    "The choice is yours¡ªdo you want Zi Jing alive, or do you want to take a corpse back with you?" With that, You Fang left along with You Lele. They intended to give Xuan Qi some time to think about things.

    However, Lu Yin did not actually need any time to consider his situation. Of course he wanted to cooperate with the You family, but he could not do so in the current situation. He needed to first seize the initiative. The more that You Fang was forced to persuade Xuan Qi, the more important that person would be in You Fang''s mind. This would y an important role in their future coborations.

    Lu Yin put on a show of needing a great deal of time to think things over before he went to find You Fang. "I want to take Zi Jing away, but why should I trust you? You might just sell me out the moment I switch sides."

    You Fang smiled. "What sides are you switching? Do you have any enemies in my Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yin replied, "This is like a game to you, and your family is constantly ying games with others. A normal person like me can never hope to beat you, so I need to know that I¡¯m protected."

    You Fang nced over at You Lele.

    The girl asked, "What sort of guarantee do you want?"

    This ced Lu Yin in a difficult position. "I didn''t think about that."

    You Fang nodded. "Very well, I¡¯ll give you some reassurance¡ªyou should be worried about He Ran. If you agree to cooperate with me, regardless of whether it¡¯s because of my family¡¯s position or your own goals, He Ran will be an obstacle to us. It makes sense for you to be concerned about He Ran. So to reassure you, I will ensure that you won¡¯t have to worry about He Ran any longer. What do you think of Bai Qian?"

    Lu Yin stared at You Fang, somewhat stunned by the direction the conversation was going in. "What do you mean?"

    You Fang sped his hands behind his back and drew himself up in a very confident manner. "He Ran''s greatest opponent is Bai Qian. While it appears as though Bai Qian is already out of thepetition, If my You family and I throw our full support behind Bai Qian, that will instantly change things. With Bai Qian on your side as well, will that reassure you? Will you trust us then?"

    Both the You family and Lu Yin were trying to both gain the other¡¯s trust, while also trying to restrict the other party.

    It was impossible for He Ran to cooperate with anyone who genuinely supported Bai Qian, let alone the You family.

    As for You Fang, he also needed assurance that Xuan Qi was genuinely cooperating with his family, rather than just using them. This meant that Xuan Qi also needed to support Bai Qian, which would bind them together.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He immediately doubted Bai Qian¡¯s ability to orchestrate all of this. No matter how smart the woman might be, there was no way she could influence the You family. This basically meant that You Fang¡¯s proposal was simply a coincidence, but it was also a coincidence that perfectly matched Lu Yin¡¯s own desires of seeing the You family support Bai Qian.

    When Lu Yin spoke to Bai Qian on Earth, they had discussed the situation in the Transcendent Universe. There, Bai Qian had even mentioned that, if she could obtain the You family¡¯s support, she would have no reason to fear He Ran. At this moment, Lu Yin was seeing that exact situation start to manifest, and the strangest part was, He Ran was helping to make it happen. There was nothing that could truly stay unchanging in the universe, and this sudden turn of events made Lu Yin want toment at how reality actually functioned.

    "You want me to support Bai Qian?" Lu Yin hesitated.

    You Fang nodded. "You¡¯re worried about our trustworthiness, but we also struggle to trust you. If He Ran is being guided by a powerhouse and everything that has happened is part of a n to get you close to my You family, then we will be stuck between a rock and a hard ce. This leaves me with no choice but to support Bai Qian. There¡¯s no other option, as only Bai Qian can eliminate both of our doubts.

    "You will need to openly support Bai Qian, and my You family will do the same. We will also have to be thorough in this move. As soon as we announce our support of Bai Qian, at least a third of the Ruling Council will support our decision."

    Lu Yin remained silent, but You Lele let out a sarcasticugh. "You¡¯re a grown man, and He Ran has already attacked you, so what are you still afraid of? Don¡¯t you want to save your woman? Or do you think that He Ran can help you? She has been lying to you from the very beginning, and it will be absolutely impossible for you to ever be with Zi Jing after she finishes her research, unless you join the Transcendent Universe."

    You Fang interjected, "He Ran already attacked you once without warning, and she is tantly lying to you. With all of this, why do you still hesitate?"

    Lu Yin stared at the father and daughter. "You need me to openly support Bai Qian, right?"

    You Fang smiled. "Ah, so you''re worried about Bai Qian? You don¡¯t need to worry about that. My family and I have been carefully observing this woman for some time. She has no background and few connections. The people that she has won over to her side have all already been eliminated by He Ran. Tu Ke is probably a mole or something. The bottom line is that Bai Qian has no power in the Transcendent Universe, and she also is not a powerhouse herself. She is, however, an excellent puppet, which makes her a much better option than He Ran Ying."

    You Lele jumped in, "I have gotten to know Bai Qian a bit. The truth is, the woman is simply too arrogant, and no one wants to help her. We don¡¯t actually want to support her either, but it¡¯s better for us if she reces He Ran. At the very least, it¡¯s better to have someone like Bai Qian in power whom we don¡¯t have to worry about, rather than He Ran who will readily ambush us.¡±

    Lu Yin said, "I understand."

    "However, for the moment, Bai Qian has a problem that needs to be dealt with," You Fang stated. "Have you heard of the perfect Junior Sovereign?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Are you talking about the perfect person from the Cyclic Universe? When I was in the Sixverse Academy, I heard them mention the Junior Sovereign. There were a few people whopared me to him."

    You Fang''s expression grew solemn. "The Junior Sovereign has be enthralled with Bai Qian, which is really no different from saying that he is secretly helping He Ran. This is the true threat that we need to be on our guard against."

    Lu Yin suddenly had a sh of inspiration¡ªcould there be a connection between Bai Qian¡¯s scheduled meeting with Tu Ke and He Shu, Shao Qingfeng, and the Junior Sovereign?

    "While the Junior Sovereign is not part of the Transcendent Universe, he still has great influence here. He Ran''s younger brother, He Shu, has been the Junior Sovereign¡¯s follower for some time, as have Shao Qingfeng and arge number of descendents of powerful organizations from across the entire Sixverse Association. The Junior Sovereign is clearly infatuated with Bai Qian, and that is a problem,¡± You Fang exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised by this information. "Both He Ran and Bai Qian are highly valued by the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Does that not matter to the Junior Sovereign?"

    You Fang shook his head. "It¡¯s possible that the ruler intends to use Bai Qian to gain something from the Junior Sovereign. After all, he is the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple and will eventually be one of the Three Sovereigns of the Cyclic Universe. To get closer to such a person, sacrificing Bai Qian is an easy decision."

    "Does this mean that, by supporting Bai Qian, we¡¯ll be making an enemy of the Junior Sovereign? Is your You family looking to take a loss with this?" Lu Yin felt quite confused.

    You Fang replied, "It doesn¡¯t matter. The Junior Sovereign is cooperating with He Ran to sabotage Bai Qian. It is also impossible for him to get closer to my You family, as we seek to stabilize the Transcendent Universe. We are simply destined to not see eye to eye. Even so, what of it? Even if the Junior Sovereign does eventually be one of the Three Sovereigns, he still will not be able to do anything to my You family. Not even all Three Sovereigns and Nine Sagesbined can control the entire Sixverse Association."

    Lu Yin understood. The You family simply had too clear a view of the overall situation. All that could be said was that He Ran was unfortunate to have run into such an intelligent family of people.

    "It would be better for you if I stayed close to He Ran and maintained a good rtionship with her."

    You Fang and You Leleughed in unison before simultaneously smirking at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, you still aren¡¯t seeing things clearly, even after all of this? You want to y both sides and keep everyone happy, but that simply isn¡¯t realistic."

    Lu Yin said, "What I mean to say is that I have other ways to get you to trust me."

    "Oh? Do tell," You Fang said with interest. "First of all, let me remind you that you don¡¯t know nearly as much about the Transcendent Universe as I do. Also, don¡¯t bother with any of your little tricks, as they won¡¯t work."

    Lu Yin nced over at the surveince system¡¯s interface and then walked over to it. He stood in the center and started searching for something.

    Neither You Fang nor You Lele were in any sort of hurry, so they simply watched as Xuan Qi searched.

    After a short while, Lu Yin''s eyes lit up and he announced, "I found it!"

    As he spoke, he zoomed in on a specific location that he pointed to. "Are you familiar with this ce?"

    You Fang and You Lele both stared at the location indicated by Lu Yin. "It¡¯s an abandoned mine. There was an ident there, which is why it was discontinued. The entire region is filled with toxic byproducts from the chemical processing. It¡¯s a forbidden region."

    "Is that all?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Fang nced over at You Lele, who shook her head. "It''s nothing special. There are many simr ces that are dangerous to visit in the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin said, "Then, what if I told you that this is the research center for the Energy Research Group that Zi Jing is part of? Would that change your thoughts about this ce?"

    Both father and daughter were stunned. "There?"

    The Energy Research Group seemed rather ordinary, but it was actually a very mysterious group. In the past, things had been far more transparent, but after Zi Jing had joined, the entire research team had be shrouded in secrecy. After she had fled from the Transcendent Universe before the research had beenpleted, the Energy Research Group had been publicly disbanded. However, the truth was that it had only been an act to serve as a distraction while they had waited for Zi Jing¡¯s return.

    When Zi Jing had returned a few years ago, the Energy Research Group had seamlessly started to work together again, in an attempt topensate for their lost time when Zi Jing had been missing. More recently, they had attracted the attention of the ruler of the universe, who had taken the research group to a parallel universe where time flowed at an elerated rate.

    Ever since Zi Jing¡¯s return, You Fang had not been able to determine even the location of the research group, let alone any information about the cultivation technology they were researching.

    He had spent two years searching for the Energy Research Group, but they had been hidden just too well. This was not possible for He Ran to aplish, which meant that the ruler of the Transcendent Universe was the one concealing the research team. You Fang was shocked to learn something about the Energy Research Group through Xuan Qi.

 Chapter 2671: Driven Away

    <h4>Chapter 2671: Driven Away</h4>

    Naturally, Lu Yin had learned about the Energy Research Group¡¯s former location from Chen Le. Only He Ran, Uncle Mo, and a few others in the Transcendent Universe were aware of that location, and from the Three Monarchs Universe, only the three Monarchs themselves and Chen Le knew. The secret was as secure as possible.

    "Are you sure that they were there?" You Fang asked as he stared at Xuan Qi. The man was incredibly somber at this moment.

    You Lele leaned over to take a closer look. She had never considered this location before.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m absolutely certain. You can investigate however you like, but Zi Jing isn¡¯t there any longer, and I don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve taken her either. You¡¯re telling me that, by working with you, you can help me take Zi Jing away, so show me what you can do. I¡¯ve already given you the research group¡¯sst location, so what you can find there is up to you."

    You Fang quickly gave an order.

    You Lele left, though Lu Yin was not certain what the girl was going to do.

    He was in no hurry, and he simply waited.

    A few days passed quickly, and when You Lele returned, there were dark circles under her eyes. "Sure enough, there are traces of the hyper-analysis mode there. It should have been there some time ago, though it¡¯s gone now."

    Lu Yin was puzzled, hyper-analysis mode?

    The Transcendent Universe had developed cultivation technologies that they simply used. While energy converters and the Bestowal Art were the most well known, there was also the Battle Navigation System, research techniques, and many more. Apparently, there was also this hyper-analysis mode, but Lu Yin had never heard of it, and thus, he knew nothing about it.

    "You should have heard the ims that the Transcendent Universe haspletely analyzed all matter and energy in the universe, which is the reason why no one can hide in this universe," You Lele mentioned to Lu Yin.

    He nodded. "I''ve heard those rumors, but they should only be that, rumors. While I do believe that it¡¯s possible to analyze all the matter and energy here, there¡¯s no way that everything in the Transcendent Universe can be monitored at once."

    "That¡¯s right. The hyper-analysis mode is what we used to analyze this universe. While it can¡¯t be used on an entire universe, it does work on a specific region." You Lele stared at the location of the abandoned mine on the disy.

    Lu Yin also looked over. "So are you saying that this hyper-analysis mode was used in that area?"

    You Fang stepped forward and stared at the area as well. "The hyper-analysis mode is massive, and not even that person can use it casually. However, the hyper-analysis mode was used in that ce, which has convinced me that Zi Jing once worked there with the Energy Research Group."

    The man then turned to look at Lu Yin. "How did you learn of that location? It couldn¡¯t have been from Zi Jing."

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "I have my own means."

    You Fang stared at Xuan Qi for a long moment. "If you really did use your own means to find it, then you¡¯re lucky that you didn¡¯t try to go find Zi Jing there without permission. That would have unquestionably attracted the attention of that person. It is impossible for anyone to hide within the range of the hyper-analysis mode, as not even peak experts like the Nine Sages and Three Sovereigns are capable of doing that. I can¡¯t believe that you found this location with your own methods, since not even my You family could find it."

    As the You patriarch spoke, he and You Lele stared at Lu Yin with odd expressions.

    How could a foreigner like Xuan Qi use his own means to uncover the location of the Energy Research Group? How had he done it? You Fang could not ept this, not unless there was a peak powerhouse behind Xuan Qi who had shared the location with the young man. You Fang could not ept this development. He could cooperate with a Xuan Qi who You Fang understood, but You Fang could not work with a Xuan Qi who was aplete mystery.

    Lu Yin replied, "My means is a spy; Cheng Feng knew the location."

    "Cheng Feng?" You Fang and You Lele were taken aback.

    Lu Yin exined, "You should already understand just how important Cheng Feng was as a spy. For that, I was even willing to offend Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples. Yao Lan, the sovereign¡¯s first disciple, has even been punished and sent to the Endless Frontier because of that matter. Cheng Feng is simply too valuable a tool, and that¡¯s because he was connected to spies in the Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs, and even the Arboreal Realm. These connections mean that he is aware of many, many secrets, which is why I had to get him to the Red Zone to interrogate him. How else do you think I could have learned such sensitive information?"

    You Fang did not believe this story. "The Aeternals¡¯ spies don¡¯t usually interact widely with each other out of caution. I can¡¯t believe that Cheng Feng knew anything about the Energy Research Group¡¯s location."

    "Cheng Feng was recruited by Shaman God," Lu Yin stated.

    You Fang still remained unconvinced.

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "In that case, if I kill He Shu, will you be able to trust me?"

    You Fang''s expression changed, and a hint of disbelief appeared in his eyes.

    You Lele blinked and stared at Xuan Qi in a daze.

    Lu Yin smiled. "If even that¡¯s not enough to convince you to trust me, then there''s nothing more that I can do."

    You Fang nodded. "Alright, if you can kill He Shu, I will trust you."

    "After you announce your support for Bai Qian, I¡¯ll find an opportunity to make a move, so make sure to pay attention so that you see it for yourself."

    That said, Lu Yin left the Ziyou Realm.

    He had spent a long time with the You family, but the results were absolutely worth the time. Everything was heading in a direction that was beneficial to Lu Yin, though the You family believed that they and Xuan Qi were mutually restraining each other.

    The only hitch was that Lu Yin needed to kill He Shu, but He Shu could not die. So, Lu Yin intended to kill someone else.

    ...

    The You family moved quickly, and their actions were extremely public.

    After just a few days passed, while Lu Yin was still keeping an eye on Tu Ke in his home, news erupted that the You family had announced their support for Bai Qian. This announcement shook the entire Transcendent Universe, stunning countless people.

    Bai Qian and He Ran had beenpeting with each other for years, but the You family had never expressed their position on the matter even once. This was not the first time they had stayed neutral; countless years had passed where simrpetitions between other candidates took ce, but the You family had never once thrown their support behind a candidate. No one had anticipated that the family would suddenly start supporting Bai Qian.

    Even Bai Qian herself was confused. Why would the You family support her?

    When He Ran received the news, she became furious. She shot to her feet and descended the stairs. "Why is You Fang supporting Bai Qian?"

    There was no one more familiar with the You family¡¯s power than He Ran. In the entire Transcendent Universe, only the You family coulde close to standing on the same level as the ruler of the universe, and they had just announced their support for Bai Qian. This had instantly brought the woman from the brink of being eliminated to being a powerful contender once again. No, with this, Bai Qian had gained unprecedented backing in theirpetition.

    The day the announcement was made, at least one-fifth of the Transcendent Universe switched to Bai Qian¡¯s side.

    He Ran knew that this was a massive problem for her.

    Uncle Mo''s expression was grim. "I can¡¯t say. Our people are specting that this might have something to do with Xuan Qi. You Lele took Xuan Qi away from Fortune Star, and after he left the Ziyou Realm, this announcement was released. You should ask Xuan Qi."

    "Check with him now." He Ran was no longer calm andposed. Her indifferent and arrogant demeanor had always hinged on her assumed ability to control everything, but she was now realizing just how fragile her control really was.

    Ke Jian suddenly arrived, and he appeared panicked. "Madam, an entire third of the Ruling Council have switched sides and are now supporting Bai Qian!"

    He Ran was beyond furious, and she clenched her fists. This was a perfect demonstration of the You family¡¯s power. They were a force that could truly sway the Transcendent Universe, whereas He Ran was nothing more than a candidate in apetition. She simply could notpare to the You family, and the Ruling Council was not made of fools. They all amply understood the difference between He Ran and the You family.

    Elsewhere, at Tu Ke¡¯s home, Lu Yin received a call from Uncle Mo, who asked about what he had said to You Fang and Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin replied that he had been forced to defend himself and had spent his time trying to convince You Fang that he had not been the one to instigate Monarch Luo into attacking the You family, but did not share any further details.

    Uncle Mo repeated the question again and again, but Lu Yin always gave the same answer.

    He Ran remained silent, but her eyes grew increasingly cold.

    Uncle Mo ended the call and then turned to look at He Ran. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the man asked, "Could he be connected to what¡¯s happened? As far as the You family is concerned, Xuan Qi is one of your people, and if they believe that he is responsible for Monarch Luo¡¯s attack on the Ziyou Realm, that could only have happened under your order.¡±

    At this moment, He Shu arrived, and he anxiously asked, "Sister, why did the You family suddenly announce their support for Bai Qian? Is this connected to Xuan Qi?"

    Everyone was making their own guesses at this moment. It was impossible for Xuan Qi to have convinced the You family to support Bai Qian, but Xuan Qi was also publicly recognized as one of He Ran¡¯s people. What¡¯s more, there were rumors that Xuan Qi was responsible for an attack on the You family. As far as many people were concerned, this essentially meant that He Ran had attacked the You family, and it only made sense for the You family to retaliate. The best way for them to go after He Ran was to support Bai Qian.

    He Ran had not expected this at all. She had targeted the You family on more than one asion, but they had never cared before. She had spread the rumors as a way to keep Xuan Qi on a leash, and it waspletely unexpected for the You family to respond so strongly.

    "I miscalcted," He Ran admitted softly, "I didn''t expect You Fang to react so strongly."

    He Shu said, "Sister, that might not be what happened."

    Uncle Mo immediately agreed, "That¡¯s true. I''ll go speak to You Fang."

    He Ran¡¯s head rose, and she said, "I''ll go myself."

    A short timeter, He Ran arrived in the Ziyou Realm, asking to meet with You Fang. No one else knew what the two spoke about, and the only known result was that He Ran appeared far more upset when she left than.

    Uncle Mo also appeared to be quite upset.

    "Little Shu, ask Shao Qingfeng to restart our previous n. We can¡¯t allow Bai Qian to have any chance at all." He Ran sent a message to He Shu.

    The young man knew what needed to be done.

    He Ran looked back towards the Ziyou Realm. "Since the You family wants to support Bai Qian, I''ll have Bai Qian go out on her own. Let¡¯s see what they do."

    The woman then left.

    Outside Tu Ke¡¯s home on Fortune Star, Lu Yin received a call from You Fang. "He Ran came to see me. She thinks that we are supporting Bai Qian because we were attacked by Monarch Luo and that I am supporting Bai Qian because I am angry with He Ran."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Good. That saves me the trouble of needing to say anything."

    "It¡¯s clear that she¡¯s angry, but not to the point of losing control. Whatever happens next is up to you. I hope to see apletely irrational and insane He Ran," You Fang replied.

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "I''m looking for the right opportunity, and one should appear soon. However, I still need you to push things along."

    "Oh? What do you need?" You Fang felt quite curious.

    A few dayster, You Teng arrived at Fortune Star, and he announced the You family¡¯s intention to send Xuan Qi back to the Voidforce Universe and to remove him from his current position as Acting Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe.

    Boss Guan roared, "What does this mean? You first invited us here to help you hunt down spies, but now you¡¯re driving us away?"

    You Teng calmly replied, "Don''t say it so crudely. It¡¯s simply that we no longer need any help uncovering spies, so please return to the Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin and You Teng stared at each other. "Is this the You family¡¯s decision?"

    "It is the decision of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau," You Teng replied.

    Lu Yin pointed to the side. "And what of Tu Ke? He is suspected of being a spy."

    "We will look into this. On behalf of the Bureau Director, I must ask you to please leave."

    Tu Ke had been paying close attention to everything from within his home. Not only did this development not thrill him, but his expression also worsened. Regardless of why he had been targeted by Xuan Qi, at least the investigation had been headed by one of He Ran¡¯s people. With Xuan Qi being publicly driven away, Tu Ke had lost He Ran¡¯s protection.

    The You family was making too many waves, and when they moved, there was no way out for Tu Ke.

    The Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau had publicly asked Xuan Qi and his people to leave, which meant that Lu Yin had to do just that.

    When word of this incident reached He Ran''s ears, she showed no reaction. This was nothing more than the first step. After this, the You family would make many more moves.

    Given the You family¡¯s intelligence and information, they could offer Bai Qian unprecedented support. Even so, He Ran''s eyes remained steady. Would the You family¡¯s efforts aplish anything at all? After all, the final victor in thispetition was entirely up to the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and because of that, Bai Qian stood no chance.

    The fact that Xuan Qi had been driven out of the Transcendent Universe was part of the n that Lu Yin had agreed upon with You Fang. After all, Xuan Qi was the spark that had triggered everything leading up to the Transcendent Universe¡¯s current state, and he was also receiving the most attention.

 Chapter 2672: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 2672: Taking Action</h4>

    It would have been odd if Xuan Qi were not one of the You family¡¯s targets, as they were the ones who had invited him to cooperate with the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau. With the recent changes, there was no reason for the You family to keep Xuan Qi around.

    However, this reversal infuriated Xu Wuji, and he paid a visit to the Ziyou Realm and had a loud fight with You Fang, which left the You patriarch feeling quite helpless.

    "You want us toe when you call, and you want us to leave when you say so? What do you think my Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau is?

    "You Fang, let me remind you that the Bureau is free to operate in any part of the Sixverse Universe, and there is no need for your consent. My Xuan Qi cane and go whenever he wishes, and he can arrest whoever he wants. If you dare to try to stop me, I will tear your You family to the ground!¡±

    "I may not be able to do it on my own, and if even Xu Heng and Xu Leng¡¯s support is not enough, I will ask Senior Xu Wuwei to step forward! I simply can''t believe that you would push back like this and drive Xuan Qi away!¡±

    "Just you wait. This matter isn¡¯t over yet!"

    ...

    Xu Wuji stood outside the Ziyou Realm, blocking anyone from entering or leaving as he proceeded to curse You Fang day and night. When Xu Wuji decided to take action, he was so shameless in his behavior that many people were shocked. In no way did he act like a peak powerhouse, and it was clear that he was absolutely furious.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng were also ready to visit the You family, and they only held themselves back because Lu Yin stopped them. If three Void Supremas arrived, the You family would suffer heavy losses.

    Xu Wuji was just making amotion, and at worst, he would embarrass the You family. However, that would not actually cause any real harm.

    However, his actions were also noted, and while he was regarded as a good person, it was undoubtedly one of the oddest incidents in the entire year.

    A peak powerhouse was blocking ess to another peak expert¡¯s home, and he was even cursing him day and night. This was something that had never happened before.

    "This Xu Wuji is absolutely insane!" You Fang gritted his teeth in anger. If he hadn¡¯t previously discussed things with Xuan Qi, the You patriarch would have been truly tempted to kill Xu Wuji with the bestowal art carriers.

    You Lele scratched her head, causing kes of white dandruff to fall like scattered snowkes. "It looks like Xu Wuji was rather infamous before rising to power, but truthfully, this is better for us, as it makes everything look more real."

    You Fang red at his daughter, and she stopped talking. The man internally swore to himself that if Xuan Qi could not prove his trustworthiness, he would force him to pay the price.

    The You family had actually been essentially locked away within their own territory and scolded, which was enough to enrage even their departed ancestors.

    Even after returning to the Red Zone, Xu Wuji was still furious.

    Boss Guan and the other team captains looked at the Bureau Director as though gazing at an enraged deity.

    Lu Yin was not much different, as he felt like this was his first time seeing the Void Suprema.

    Xu Wuji put his sunsses on and said to Xuan Qi, "What, are you already calm about this? Don¡¯t you want to go curse them with me? There¡¯s still a lot more that can be said."

    "Bureau Director, where did you learn to do this?" Lu Yin leaned forward to ask.

    Xu Wuji raised his head high. "I taught myself."

    Lu Yin was speechless. Where had this unfounded pridee from? Had someoneplimented Xu Wuji for what he had done?

    Although Xu Wuji had a roguish streak, Lu Yin quite liked the man. After Xu Wuji refused to show himself when Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples had tried to take Cheng Feng away from the Bureau, Lu Yin had assumed that the man was only good at taking care of himself. This time, Lu Yin saw another side of the man. Xu Wuji had his own priorities, and he would protect his own as he felt proper.

    Lu Yin now becamepletely convinced of Xu Wuji¡¯s previous im that, if Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples had actually harmed anyone from the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau, he would not have let the matter slide.

    Overall, Xu Wuji was a pretty good person.

    Because of Xu Wuji¡¯s bizarre behavior, the events of the Transcendent Universe quickly spread, and many people across the Sixverse Association started to pay attention to the universe¡¯s internalpetition between Bai Qian and He Ran.

    Given the recent developments, He Ran needed topletely eliminate the threat that Bai Qian presented, and she also needed to humiliate the You family for their actions.

    After half a month, Lu Yin received some information that left him optimistic; He Shu was secretly on his way to meet with Tu Ke.

    ...

    On Fortune Star, after Xuan Qi left, the lockdown on Tu Ke and his family had been lifted.

    The You family had not conducted even the slightest investigation into Tu Ke. Tu Ke publicly supported Bai Qian, which meant that he was technically allied with the You family. Thus, there was no way they would punish him.

    As for the Bureau¡¯s suspicions that Tu Ke was a spy, Lu Yin had fabricated the entire matter. There was truly no reason for the You family or He Ran to make any trouble for the man, so the entire matter was quickly forgotten.

    "I understand that time is limited. I will set up another meeting with Bai Qian immediately," Tu Ke said as He Shu stared at him.

    Shao Qingfeng stood to the side, listening.

    Tu Ke grew solemn as he immediately reached out to Bai Qian.

    The man soon put thismunication crystal back down. "It worked. We have an appointment scheduled."

    He Shu nced over at Shao Qingfeng, who said, "That won¡¯t be a problem."

    He Shu felt his chest grow tight as he realized that Bai Qian would not be able to escape in the end. While it was difficult for him to ept this, he had no choice but to continue for the sake of his sister.

    In fact, the only people that He Shu med was the You family. If not for them suddenly deciding to support Bai Qian, there would have been no need for He Ran to make such a decisive action.

    "Let''s go." He Shu did not look well.

    Shao Qingfeng knew what was on the other man¡¯s mind, so he remained silent.

    Before leaving Fortune Star, Shao Qingfeng suddenly nced over at Tu Ke and said, "Are you a spy?"

    The usation startled Tu Ke, and he looked over at He Shu, and quickly said, "Young Master, I am definitely not a spy! I swear it to you. Young Master, you can investigate me if you doubt me."

    He Shu dismissively waved a hand. "Xuan Qi said all that just to cause trouble. There isn¡¯t actually a spy."

    Shao Qingfeng smiled. "Thank you very much."

    With that, the two men finally left.

    Tu Ke wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. His support for Bai Qian had been nothing more than a public show so that he could help He Ran deal with Bai Qian. With He Ran on the verge of victory, Tu Ke refused to let his efforts go to waste just because of Xuan Qi.

    Xuan Qi had really stirred up a lot of trouble. If not for him, thepetition between Bai Qian and He Ran would have already been decided. Just what had happened in the You family?

    After leaving Fortune Star, He Shu and Shao Qingfeng continued to travel together.

    "Are you ufortable with this ne? Let''s go do something fun to distract you. Don''t worry, the Junior Sovereign is aware of your feelings and understands your sacrifice. He will not mistreat you in the future." Shao Qingfeng tried tofort He Shu.

    He Shu bitterly replied, "If I could be like Lu Yin, I would not have to fear anyone or need to care about what anyone says."

    Shao Qingfeng frowned. "He will die sooner orter. Even if he weren¡¯t a descendent of the Lu family, he¡¯s defied Sage Yuan too many times, and things will not end well for him. In life, people need to abide by the rules, but Lu Yin is simply too unruly. It¡¯s only a matter of time before someone teaches him that he is only human."

    Shao Qingfeng was not merely speaking about Lu Yin, but also warning He Shu that the Cyclic Universe could not be defied or humiliated and that the same was true of the Junior Sovereign.

    They found Xie Wu waiting for them, and when Xie Wu saw He Shu and Shao Qingfeng, he quickly stepped forward.

    Shao Qingfengughed. "You have such an obedient dog."

    He Shu replied, "I wanted to abandon him, but after considering the matter, it¡¯s important to have useful people around. So, I decided to keep him."

    Shao Qingfeng nodded in understanding.

    Suddenly, the two men felt their hearts skip a beat, and they both turned to look in the same direction, where they saw a beam of white energy shooting towards them.

    "Who is it?" He Shu roared. His hand rose up, and a beam of white energy erupted from his palm. To his side, Shao Qingfeng also activated a white energy converter.

    Both of them were capable of using white energy converters, which meant that they could release the raw power of a Semi-Progenitor.

    This was the Transcendent Universe¡¯s greatest advantage over the other universes; even if a person had a mediocre cultivation level, it was still possible for them to wield great power.

    Three beams of white energy met in space.

    He Shu was the first to falter. His strength was not particrly high, and he only barely qualified to use a white energy converter.

    An ugly expression appeared on Shao Qingfeng¡¯s face. While he had not reached his limit, it was already clear that they were being attacked by a true master. Shao Qingfeng knew that he was outmatched.

    "Hurry and leave! This isn¡¯t someone that the two of us can deal with!" Shao Qingfeng shouted. As he spoke, he tore the void open and prepared to immediately return to the Cyclic Universe, and He Shu did the same as the men tried to escape.

    Given their statuses, it was only natural for them to have many means of staying alive no matter what they encountered.

    However, right when they thought they were about to escape, a card appeared between the two men, and they were pulled in by a vortex.

    He Shu was startled. "The Lost n?"

    The pull of the vortex was powerful, and even more importantly, the card had appeared suddenly and without any warning. Thus, it was toote for He Shu and Shao Qingfeng to escape.

    At this moment, Xie Wu grabbed He Shu, and a lotus bloomed around them as a fourth grade Lotus Artifact was used. The void was torn open, and the two men vanished while Shao Qingfeng was sucked into the card.

    Both You Fang and You Lele were watching everything from the Ziyou Realm. They both knew that Xuan Qi was making his move. He had used Xie Wu to determine He Shu¡¯s location at all times, and Lu Yin had also ordered Xie Wu to take He Shu away with a Lotus Artifact.

    He Shu¡¯s death would not benefit Lu Yin at all, but Shao Qingfeng was different. He was one of Sage Shao Yin¡¯s disciples, and Sage Shao Yin had been the one to suggest that the Lu family be forced to bear the sins of the ancient Heavens Sect. Sovereign Shao Yin was also the instigator behind the Lu family''s exile.

    As for winning the trust of the You family and killing He Shu, Lu Yin did not believe that the You family did not actually trust Xuan Qi. His target was not even He Ran, but rather Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Lu Yin was betting that the You family would still be willing to cooperate with Xuan Qi. After all, Lu Yin needed the You family in order to undermine the Transcendent Universe. He was unable to do anything in that universe on his own. He was not even able to use his die and six pips to search for spies. Without any information, how could he make any ns?

    The Transcendent Universe could not bepared to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Furthermore, You Fang was not afraid of Sovereign Shao Yin. Lu Yin was not entirely sure what You Fang actually wanted, but he suspected that it had something to do with the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Someone with such lofty goals would not abandon their cooperation just because of Sovereign Shao Yin.

    "What a pity, he let He Shu escape," You Lelemented.

    You Fang''s eyes flickered. "He Shu escaped. No matter what Xuan Qi tries to say, he won¡¯t be able to win my trust."

    "Without Xuan Qi, some things will be very difficult for us."

    "We¡¯ll see how things y out. If we can¡¯t cooperate, then we can just use him."

    Neither of the two ever considered the possibility that Xuan Qi would actually kill Shao Qingfeng. After all, there was the unfathomable Sovereign Shao Yin behind Shao Qingfeng. As far as You Fang and You Lele were concerned, that was too great a risk to win the trust of the You family. It was impossible that the youth would provide the You family with leverage to make him Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s enemy.

    The card that floated through space was Hidden Mountain. As long as You Fang was watching, Lu Yin could only use the abilities that Xuan Qi had learned from the Sixverse Association. However, whatever happened inside the card could not be seen from the outside. If that were possible, Lu Yin would instantly be recognized, and You Fang would take action against him.

    As soon as Shao Qingfeng was sucked into the card, mountains crashed down upon him. He waved a hand, and white energy erupted and shattered the mountains.

    While Hidden Mountain was a powerful seven-star Ancient Card, such cards were only able to endure attacks from Envoys, at best. Shao Qingfeng was using a white energy converter, which meant that he was unleashing attacks at the Semi-Progenitor level. This was more than what the Hidden Mountain card could handle.

    Before the card was destroyed, Lu Yin appeared. Inside Hidden Mountain, there was no longer any need for him to maintain any sort of act, and he simply raised a hand and smacked Shao Qingfeng down.

    Shao Qingfeng retaliated with the white energy converter, which was the most powerful attack that he was capable of using. However, the white energy was useless against Lu Yin, who shattered the attacks. Just the wind from his hand was enough to ovee the surge of white energy and m Shao Qingfeng to the ground.

    Shao Qingfeng spat out a mouthful of blood, and the skin across his body ruptured. He looked up in absolute shock. "How are you so strong?"

    Only a peak powerhouse could overpower a white energy converter with a single palm strike.

    Lu Yin took a step forward to arrive before Shao Qingfeng. He looked down at the young man almost kneeling on the ground, his golden robe shredded. "It¡¯s been a long time, Shao Qingfeng."

    The young man¡¯s eyes flickered as he looked up at Xuan Qi. Blood spewed from the man¡¯s mouth once more as he tried to rouse his strength, but his stellr energy vortex had been dispersed, and the white energy was clearly useless. "Is that really you? Xuan Qi- you- What is going on? Where did you get such strength? Have you been concealing your cultivation?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Look again, just who am I?"

    As he spoke, Lu Yin reverted to his true appearance.

 Chapter 2673: The Smile At That Time

    Chapter 2673: The Smile At That Time

    Shao Qingfeng watched as Xuan Qis face and appearance changed, and the young mans expression slowly morphed to reveal horror. He looked as though he was seeing something unbelievable. "Lu Lu Yin?

    "Are you really the Origin Universes Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That''s why I said that it''s been a long time."

    Shao Qingfengs horror mounted. "Are you also Xuan Qi? How did you keep that hidden from the Transcendent Universe? How did you trick the Voidforce Universe? This is impossible! Youve met so many peak powerhousestheres no way they couldnt have seen through you!"

    Lu Yin replied, "This is the difference between you and me. Now, you are able to clearly see the gap between us."

    "Wait, why did you attack me? Ive never done anything to offend you!" Shao Qingfeng said with blood leaking from his mouth.

    All of a sudden, he pulled out a power vessel and tried to break free from Lu Yins Hidden Mountain card, but there was nothing that Shao Qingfeng could do with Lu Yin present.

    The power vessel was shattered with just one of Lu Yins hands, while his other hand settled onto Shao Qingfeng''s head. "If you want to me someone, then me yourself for being arrogant. Who was it that said that the Cyclic Universe will conquer the Origin Universe and punish them for offending them? You want to target the people close to me, capture them, and sell them off as subhumans. Tell me, are you capable of doing that?"

    Lu Yin was throwing Shao Qingfengs own words right back at him. They were the words that Shao Qingfeng had spoken right before the Sixverse Academy students had traveled to the Origin Universe for their trial. At that time, Shao Qingfeng had been arrogant, and he had not wanted to treat the Origin Universe as a serious threat. Once, he had even wanted to trample over Lu Yin, but now, Shao Qingfeng had fallen to his current situation.

    Shao Qingfeng remembered speaking those words, and he also remembered asking Xuan Qi for his thoughts on the matter. At that time, Shao Qingfent had seen a happy smile on Xuan Qis face as he replied, Sure. He had seemed genuinely happy at that moment.

    "As for your master, Ill send him searching for you." With that, Lu Yins hand pressed down with an irresistible force. Shao Qingfeng was forced to his knees, and then further down until he was lying on the ground. Before he died, he could only remember Xuan Qis smile as he said, Sure. <em>Why couldnt I see through him at that time?</em>

    Lu Yin returned to the Ziyou Realm, and You Fang greeted him coldly.

    You Lele stared at Xuan Qi, curious to hear what he wanted to say for himself. He had failed to kill He Shu, which meant that there was no way for him to gain the trust of You Lele or her father.

    Lu Yin walked forward and casually tossed Shao Qingfeng''s corpse out. "I''m sorry, but He Shu escaped. I didn''t expect him to have a Lotus Artifact.

    However, Shao Qingfeng wasnt able to escape, so I killed him. Will this work for you?"

    You Fang and You Lele were startled, and they stared at Shao Qingfeng''s corpse in utter disbelief.

    "You killed Shao Qingfeng?" You Lele eximed.

    You Fang was simrly shocked, and he stared intently at Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "Don''t look at me like that. This wasn''t intentional. Who told him to recognize my Hidden Mountain card? I thought that Id be able to kill He Shu in one attack, so I used the seven-star Hidden Mountain card that I picked up in the Sixverse Academy, but unfortunately, He Shu fled, and I captured Shao Qingfeng instead. He recognized it immediately, so I had to put him down to avoid futureplications."

    You Fang nodded. "I see."

    You Lele also understood the situation. This made sense, as neither of them would ever think that Xuan Qi would be insane enough to purposely assassinate Shao Qingfeng.

    While the You family might not be concerned about Shao Qingfeng, why would Xuan Qi risk offending another powerhouse? He had just recently offended Sovereign Ninth Lotuss disciples, and now, he had killed Shao Qingfeng. How was this any different from deliberately making an enemy of the entire Cyclic Universe? Not even Xu Wuwei would be able to save Xuan Qi, given histest actions.

    "So, is this enough to buy your trust?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Fangughed. "This is even more credible than if you had killed He Shu! He Ran might be willing to abandon even He Shu, if it would help her win, but she would never dare to allow anything to happen to Shao Qingfeng."

    Lu Yin felt a headacheing on. "I also wouldnt dare to do anything to him if it hadnt beenpletely necessary, but since I didnt have a choice, I did what I had to."

    You Fang moved forward to personally inspect the corpse and confirmed it to be Shao Qingfeng''s before disposing of it. "From now on, we are partners. By the way, there is also one more person."

    The man pped his hands, and someone stepped out of the void. It was Bai Qian.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to see Bai Qian here. Both Xuan Qi and the You family were supporting Bai Qian, so there was no way that Bai Qian would not be personally included in their ns.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Qian as she slowly walked forward, and her eyes were also locked onto him. She stared at him with coldness and indifference.

    Everyone in the Transcendent Universe assumed that it was impossible for these two to have any prior dealings, especially after Xuan Qi had led the Bureau to surround Tu Kes home, which had essentially been a p in Bai Qians. In fact, even You Fang believed the two to be at odds with each other.

    When Bai Qian arrived, she presented an attitude towards Xuan Qi that was as cold as ice.

    She walked over to You Fang''s side. At this moment, there were four people standing in the ce that monitored the entire Transcendent Universe. They were surrounded by the recreation of the universe, and it gave the illusion that they were standing above the universe and looking down upon it.

    You Fang smiled casually. "Bai Qian, from now on, both my You family and Xuan Qi will fully support you against He Ran. Do you have any objections if we wipe away any past grudges?"

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered, and she turned her head to stare at Lu Yin. "No."

    You Fang looked over at Xuan Qi, and Lu Yin just smiled. "Truthfully, I was really only helping He Ran because I thought that she was the one holding Zi Jing."

    Bai Qian seemedpletely unmoved by the admission. "You think too highly of He Ran."

    Lu Yin retorted, "Thats because of your inaction."

    "You can''t understand," Bai Qian replied.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Why dont you tell me what I can''t understand?"

    "Alright, now," You Fang interrupted. He shot a nce at Xuan Qi, and then turned back to face Bai Qian. He continued in a more somber tone, "I don''t care how upset you may be about Xuan Qis past actions, but he is supporting you now. There are many things that you wont be able to do without his help. If you want to defeat He Ran, you will have to work with him, as you dont have many other choices."

    Rather than Bai Qian, You Fang held Xuan Qi in much higher regard. As far as You Fang was concerned, Bai Qian was nothing more than a puppet for him to use to defeat He Ran. She could just as well be Blue Qian or ck Qian for all that the You patriarch was concerned. If not for the fact that He Ran had entrenched herself so deeply in the Transcendent Universe, You Fang would not even need to move against her directly, as he normally only needed to pay attention to peak experts like Uncle Mo.

    Bai Qian was unfazed. "I don''t trust him."

    "I don''t need you to trust him," You Fang replied in a stern voice. "My You family trusts him, and that is more than enough."

    Bai Qian and You Fang stared at each other. The coldness in You Fang''s eyes matched that in Bai Qians eyes.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. He had to admit that Bai Qian was both smart and an excellent actress. No, she was not even really acting; she had been born with a face carved from ice, so there was rarely a need for her to act.

    Ultimately, Bai Qian gave in, and her voice lost its sharp edge. "I understand."

    You Fang stared at Bai Qian for a long moment. "We can help you defeat He Ran, which is the best that you can hope for. You dont need to worry about anything for now. Just do the same as you have been. Honestly, you should have already been defeated. Does anyone actually trust you to make any decisions?

    Also, theres something wrong with Tu Ke. Hes working for He Ran."

    Bai Qian looked surprised, but before she could say anything, Xuan Qi blurted out, "What? Tu Kes working for He Ran?"

    You Leleughed. "Do you think that we would joke about this? If we werent certain, we wouldnt have said anything at all. We can tell you withplete certainty that Tu Ke is one of He Ran''s people."

    Bai Qians expression turned ugly. "Whats your evidence?"

    You Fang retorted, "Thats unnecessary. My You family has said that hes one of He Rans people, which means that he is. You should just believe me."

    Lu Yin irritatedly spoke up, "I also want to see some evidence. Are you saying that I was duped like a fool? I thought that I was helping He Ran, but hes actually been working with her? They must all beughing at me!"

    You Lele rolled her eyes. "Let themugh and cry to death. The bottom line is that you ruined He Ran''s n. While we don''t know what that n was, Tu Ke invited Bai Qian to his home. Don''t you see a problem there?"

    Bai Qian said, "There <em>is</em> a problem. Hes never invited me to his home before. Weve always met in other ces for our discussions."

    You Fang said, "Xuan Qi, you identally ruined He Ran''s ns. With that, if you didnt decide to cooperate with us, things would not have gone well for you." The man paused for a moment. "Actually, things wouldnt have gone well for you here in the Transcendent Universe. Given your status in the Voidforce Universe, nothing would have changed for you there.

    Lu Yin responded with a bitter smile, "I still look like a fool."

    After that, You Fang filled both Bai Qian and Xuan Qi in on the current situation in the Transcendent Universe, and then they proceeded to discuss how to best deal with He Ran.

    ***

    Outside of the Ziyou Realm, news of Shao Qingfengs disappearance shocked the Sixverse Association.

    As soon as He Shu arrived in the Sixverse Academy after using the Lotus Artifact, he had immediately returned to the Transcendent Universe and sought help. However, by the time they returned to where the two men had been attacked, there was no sign of the attacker, nor of Shao Qingfeng.

    Countless people from all parts of the Sixverse Association started to focus on the Transcendent Universe.

    He Ran immediately asked everyone with any influence in the Transcendent Universe to help search for Shao Qingfeng.

    He was one of Sovereign Shao Yins disciples, which meant that nothing could be allowed to happen to Shao Qingfeng in the Transcendent Universe, as Sovereign Shao Yin would never let the matter go.

    He Shu''s face had turned pale. In front of him was He Ran, her fists clenched tightly. Nothing that she had tried recently had gone well for her, and just when she had started to try to rectify the declining situation, something had happened to Shao Qingfeng. Could this be connected to the You family as well?

    The You family had publicly announced their support for Bai Qian, so it was only natural for them to help her.

    However, aside from He Rans closest confidantes, no one was aware of their n. The only possible leak was if Tu Ke had betrayed them, but that was impossible.

    Besides, would the You family really be willing to kill Shao Qingfeng? It made no sense for them to take such a risk.

    Suddenly, Uncle Mo stepped out, and his head snapped up. The man lookedpletely stunned. "Madam, a powerhouse is here."

    Both He Ran and He Shu looked up as well. The sky above the staircase had cracked open, and an unbearable pressure abruptly fell upon them.

    For a moment, all three people felt like the world had started spinning. Uncle Mo hastened to use his ck energy converter to protect He Ran.

    He Shu was forced to the ground, unconscious.

    He Ran was pressed down to a squatting position, and she stayed there, her whole body trembling.

    The skin on Uncle Mo''s body started to crack open, and his eyes red as he stared at the arrogant figure above them in disbelief. He had never felt anything like the pressure that this person was exuding. Uncle Mo had used his ck energy converter topete with many very powerful people over the years, but this person made him feel as small as an ant.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had arrived.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin," a majestic voice spoke from outside the space with the flight of stairs.

    The pressure instantly disappeared, but He Ran and Uncle Mo also lost consciousness.

    Above them, Sovereign Shao Yin looked up and stepped forward. There was nothing in front of him. Only the Sovereign could see that there was something before him. "I require an exnation."

    The majestic voice spoke again. "As cultivators, we risk our lives to strive forward both individually and in the fight against Aeternus. Life, old age, illness, and deaththere is no exnation for these things, and I owe you no exnation, unless what happened was done by my Transcendent Universe."

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned. "How can I be certain that your Transcendent Universe didnt do anything?"

    "What reason would justify such actions?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin sank deep into thought.

    "If you hope to use this matter to make trouble here in my Transcendent Universe, I will ask the Great Sovereign to weigh in."

    Sovereign Shao Yin snorted contemptuously. "You cant scare me with my own master! If my disciple dies in your universe, you will be held responsible."

    "In that case, Sovereign Shao Yin, none of your people are wee in my Transcendent Universe from this moment forward, as my universe cannot guarantee their safety."

    Sovereign Shao Yin grew furious. "Are you really going to stand against me?"

    "You are the oneing against my Transcendent Universe."

    After a moment of silence, the Sovereign coldly replied, "No matter what, it remains a fact that my disciple disappeared here. If nothing is done about this, others will believe that my disciples can be walked over."

    "What do you want?"

    "I hope that you will support my suggestion."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2674: Proposal

    Chapter 2674: Proposal

    The majestic voice did not answer immediately. There was a lengthy pause before it responded, "You want the Origin Universe to be part of the Endless Frontier?"

    "Isnt that only right? Theyve defeated the Aeternals and driven them out of their universe, but now they want to remain safe and protected while forcing our Sixverse Association to bear the full brunt of Aeternus. Its absurd! If not for us, how could they have ever exiled the Lu family? Where would the four ruling powers havee from?" Sovereign Shao Yin spat out contemptuously.

    "Ive heard that the one unwilling to rejoin the war with Aeternus is a member of the Lu family."

    Sovereign Shao Yin retorted, "Thats nothing more than an excuse! How could the four ruling powers possibly be willing to ept being thrown back into the war if there is any other option? They are merely using that descendent of the Lu family as an excuse to refuse us. They dont know how to show gratitude at all! Sage Yuan told me everything, and the four ruling powers are maintaining a bnce with this descendent of the Lu family while leaving our Sixverse Association to deal with the Aeternals for them. Its absurd! When did it be their turn to make the decisions?

    "Its only right to make the Origin Universe part of the Endless Frontier, or even the primary battlefield against Aeternus."

    "Very well, I can agree to this."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was satisfied. "In that case, I will not hold your Transcendent Universe ountable for what has happened to my disciple. However, the culprit must be found.

    Its not easy for you to move out, so return. I will do nothing to your people."

    Some timeter, Uncle Mo awoke, and he looked up to see a man in a golden robe standing with his back to Uncle Mo and the other two. This man was none other than Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Uncle Mos expression changed dramatically, and he quickly bowed low. "This junior greets Senior Sovereign."

    "Wake the others," Sovereign Shao Yin calmlymanded.

    Uncle Mo hurriedly woke up both He Ran and He Shu.

    When He Ran opened her eyes and saw Sovereign Shao Yin before her, terror filled her eyes. This was someone who could kill her without fear of any repercussions.

    This was her first time facing the risk of death in the Transcendent Universe, and she was instantly cast down from her lofty status and into the shoes of a mere mortal. For the first time, the woman understood that, even in the Transcendent Universe, she could still die.

    Sovereign Shao Yin turned around to face He Ran. "What happened to Qingfeng?"

    He Ran''s face grew pale. "We are still investigating."

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned and looked at He Shu.

    The young man gave a respectful bow and proceeded to share all that had happened, "If Xie Wu hadn''t used his own Lotus Artifact to take both of us back to the Sixverse Academy, I would have been pulled into the Lost ns card that was used against us."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was stunned; was the Lost n involved in this matter? That was not necessarily the case. The truth was that, over the years, many people had acquired one of the Lost ns cards, as they were incredibly useful. Many people had collected the cards even before the founding of the Sixverse Academy, so the mere appearance of a card indicated nothing at all.

    White energy converters and the Lost ns cards were powers that were known to all, and just the fact that both methods had been used made it impossible to know who had attacked Shao Qingfeng.

    The attack had been performed cleanly and without any mistakes. Sovereign Shao Yin even personally investigated the location of the attack, but not a single clue had been left behind.

    The Sovereign was aware of the n that He Shu and the others had been concocting, and he also knew that they had most likely wanted to pin the me onto the You family. However, even if the You family had wanted to sabotage the n, they would have simply killed He Shu and Tu Ke. They would not have bothered with Shao Qingfeng at all. Monarch Luo had already attacked the Ziyou Realm, and the family would not be trying to provoke Sovereign Shao Yin as well.

    Sovereign Shao Yin soon left. What had happened to Shao Qingfeng had actually worked to the Sovereigns benefit. As for who had attacked Shao Qingfeng, Sovereign Shao Yin would continue to investigate the matter, but it was no longer important. He did not truly care about Shao Qingfengs fate at all.

    However, while Sovereign Shao Yin did not care, He Ran certainly did. She had almost been scared to death by Sovereign Shao Yins arrival. How could she allow such an offense to pass without retaliation?

    He Ran used her full influence to investigate the matter, and for some time, the Transcendent Universe was quite busy.

    You Fang, Xuan Qi, and Bai Qian had confirmed their alliance, and the first thing on theirbined agenda was that You Fang wanted to find out exactly what kind of cultivation technology Zi Jing was researching.

    This research had been kept strictly confidential, and You Fang had not been able to find anything, despite his best efforts.

    If he was not even aware of what was being researched, then how could he hope to deal with his opponents? This was the reasoning that You Fang used to convince Xuan Qi. However, this only confirmed to Lu Yin that You Fang was not really trying to deal with He Ran, but rather the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    Zi Jing was performing her research for the ruler of the universe. After all, how could He Ran be the one behind researching something like sequence particles?

    The mans priorities made his intentions all too clear to Lu Yin.

    Also, You Fang was not afraid of revealing such information to Xuan Qi, as the young man had killed Shao Qingfeng, which gave the You family incredible leverage to use against the young man.

    This was exactly what Lu Yin wanted You Fang to believe, as this would allow them to truly cooperate with each other. After all, Lu Yin was also targeting the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    "If you want to know exactly what cultivation technology the Energy Research Group is studying, your only option is to visit their old base and look around," Lu Yin told You Fang.

    The man frowned. "That ce is in a state of constant hyper-analysis, which means that not even peak powerhouses can sneak in. While I could just turn it off, that would be no different from telling He Ran that Im responsible.

    "I was hoping that Zi Jing would have told you something. She never said anything?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There were always people watching when we met, and the only time weve seen each other outside of the Transcendent Universes surveince was in the Sixverse Academy when Senior You Teng brought her to see me. You can ask Senior You Teng if he heard her mention anything about the cultivation technology."

    How could Lu Yin simply give You Fang the information about the sequence particle research when he needed the You family to carry out various tasks for him?

    You Fang felt helpless. He knew You Teng all too well, and the man would never eavesdrop on other people''s conversations. However, the fact that Xuan Qi had made this offer meant that the youth most likely knew nothing about Zi Jings research.

    "Well create an opportunity for you to do some great aplishment for He Ran so that you can ask to see Zi Jing again."

    Lu Yin said, "That wont work at all. Uncle Mo was keeping an eye on us thest time we met."

    You Fang pondered.

    Lu Yin then said, "I have a way for us to get into that ce."

    You Fang was taken aback. "What can you do?"

    "Theres a group of cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe who have been trying to save Cloudflow. Are you aware of that?" Lu Yin asked.

    "I do. Theyre always being observed by the hyper-analysis mode. Theres nothing that they can do to escape that surveince."

    Lu Yin exined, "We can use them and have them rush into that ce. After all, everyone in the Transcendent Universe already knows that theyve been trying to free Cloudflow for forever, so we can just let them attack the ce. With them there, no one will know if I also sneak in. If I can destroy the hyper-analysis mode as soon as I get there, then even if its discovered that someone else was also present, it will be assumed that its a Cloudflow Universe cultivator trying to remain hidden. No one will guess that Im responsible, and there wont be any evidence pointing to your You family."

    You Fang''s eyes lit up. "How do you want to go about using them? They arent idiots."

    Lu Yin looked up. "Send me to the Cloudflow Universe."

    When Lu Yin had first arrived in the Sixverse Association, his first, brief, stop had been the Transcendent Universe. There, he had almost immediately been sent to the Cloudflow Universe.

    After arriving in the Transcendent Universe, as soon as Zi Jing had agreed to continue her research, Lu Yin had been sent to the Cloudflow Universe. There, he had seen the bestowal art carriers and had been stunned by the power of the Transcendent Universe. However, he had also witnessed the cruelty of the universe.

    While defending a bestowal art carrier, Lu Yin had met a woman who was a native of the Cloudflow Universe. From her, he had learned what the Transcendent Universe had been doing to the Cloudflow Universe. His current trip to the universe was to find that same woman.

    The only way that Lu Yin could get the natives of the Cloudflow Universe to break into the research site was by convincing them to do so.

    Before making the trip, Lu Yin had asked You Fang to check which people from the Cloudflow Universe were fighting on the bestowal art carriers in the Cloudflow Universe. Fortunately, the woman had not died.

    The people of the Cloudflow Universe were always sent as the vanguard, and it was practically guaranteed for them to die in battle. It was surprising to learn that the woman was still alive, as several years had already passed. It could only be said that she was a talented individual.

    A ck beam tore through outer space, and the misty energy that filled the universe was churned into chaos. As Lu Yin looked out into the Cloudflow Universe, he saw a group of cultivators be sent to their deaths.

    With the help of the You family, Lu Yin arrived at a specific bestowal art carrier, and he made his way to the section where the Cloudflow Universe natives could be found.

    In this ce, despite the number of people, it was silent. Not a single person spoke, and the atmosphere was filled with utter despair.

    These people knew that they would soon die, only to be reced by more people from their universe. The same thing repeated day after day.

    Before long, the fighting died down, and the natives of the Cloudflow Universe who had gone out to fight returned, most of them injured.

    Lu Yin saw the woman he had been looking for. She was much stronger than when they had first met, though her eyes were now devoid of emotion. She sat alone in a corner, simply zoning out.

    "Why don''t you help them?" Lu Yin asked as he took a seat next to the woman.

    She was startled by his sudden presence and reflexively pulled back, warily regarding her unexpected visitor.

    The people nearby did not seem to even see the young man, as they all continued to sit in silence.

    The woman stared at Lu Yin. "Is it really you?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Its been quite some time."

    The woman could not believe who she was seeing. "Why are you here?"

    "I came to see you."

    "To see me?" The woman felt lost.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and briefly set it on the womans shoulder. She had reached a levelparable to an Enlighter, but she was stillpletely unable to resist this young man. The void opened, and she was dragged away by Lu Yin. They arrived in Aeternus Nation.

    Once she was released, the woman pulled back and moved away from Lu Yin while staring at him in terror. Chills covered her body, and spots of light appeared around her.

    "Have you already forgotten the first time you met me?" Lu Yin teased.

    The woman was startled, and the lights disappeared. It was true, attacking this man would be pointless, as she was no match for him at all.

    "Who are you? Why did youe find me?"

    "I want to work with you."

    "Work with me?" The woman was confused.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he calmly exined, "There is a forbidden area in the Transcendent Universe. Due to an ident that urred when they were mining resources there, the ce has bepletely inhospitable, and its no different from a death trap. However, theres a research facility hidden there, and I want to get into it and find something.

    "What does that have to do with me?" The woman was even more confused.

    Lu Yin answered with a smile, "I can''t go in there on my own. I happened to discover that there is a group of people from your Cloudflow Universe hiding in the Transcendent Universe, and they periodically attack this facility. Theyre trying to save Cloudflow."

    The woman''s pupils instantly shrank, and she stared at Lu Yin for a moment before taking a step forward. "Lord Cloudflow?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s what they called him, Lord Cloudflow. He should be an extremely powerful expert whos been imprisoned in that ce by the Transcendent Universe. Unfortunately, your people never seed in freeing him."

    The woman grew excited. "Where is Lord Cloudflow being held? Is this really true?"

    "If you don''t believe me, I can take you to meet with the other people from your Cloudflow Universe. While they fail every time they attack the research facility, more of your people continuously join their efforts. I believe that you must already know something about this, as everyone in their group is from your Cloudflow Universe," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    The woman said nothing. She did not know if she was being lied to or not, but it was true that, before she had been sent to the bestowal art carrier, the people of the Cloudflow Universe had been internally separated. One group had been sent to obey the orders of the Transcendent Universe, while the other group had been hidden away. The goal of the hidden group was to sneak into the Transcendent Universe and rescue Lord Cloudflow.

    There were powerful people from the Cloudflow Universe who were able to freely enter and leave the Transcendent Universe. This was one of their greatest secrets.

    This woman could have gone to the Transcendent Universe with the other group, but she had wanted to protect her family, so she had hidden her talent and innate gift so that she could stay with them.

    However, her entire family was already long dead. She had not been able to protect them.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2675: Impact

    <h4>Chapter 2675: Impact</h4>

    "It doesn''t matter whether you believe me or not. I¡¯ll take you to meet the other people from the Cloudflow Universe, and then I¡¯ll help you attack the research facility. I¡¯ll even tell you that I simply want to use you to distract the Transcendent Universe¡¯s attention so that I can achieve my own goals," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    The woman continued to stare at him. "You¡¯re looking for something in that same ce?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right, and while I can go in on my own, the Transcendent Universe will know that it¡¯s me. So, I need someone to serve as a distraction. As for you, if you really want to save Cloudflow, this will be your only chance. I¡¯m quite familiar with that research facility, and I can at least agree to help you. After you see Cloudflow, it¡¯ll be up to you whether you continue to cooperate with me or not.¡±

    The woman thought for a while and then said, "I want to see mypanions first."

    Companions? Lu Yin stared at the woman. That was an unusual term to use for people she had never seen before.

    He put his hand back on the woman¡¯s shoulder and took her back to the Transcendent Universe.

    As for the people from the Cloudflow Universe who were already in the Transcendent Universe, You Fang naturally knew where they were.

    While the people from the Cloudflow Universe believed that they were hidden from the Transcendent Universe, in reality, they were being used as test subjects. Zi Jing¡¯s teacher was using them as part of a research project. In order to advance the research, experts from the Cloudflow Universe had been specifically allowed to leave their marks on spatial coordinate seals for the Transcendent Universe, giving the natives the ability to move between the Cloudflow Universe and the Transcendent Universe. The Transcendent Universe deliberately ignored the Cloudflow Universe cultivators and let them continue to attack the hidden research facility to try to free Cloudflow.

    The Transcendent Universe was deliberately torturing the people of the Cloudflow Universe, and even more so, torturing Cloudflow himself. This was all done in the pursuit of even more perfect data for their research.

    As soon as the data was no longer needed, everyone from the Cloudflow Universe would be eliminated.

    However, it was not like the people of the Cloudflow Universe had any choice in the matter. The moment their universe was conquered, everyst person in the Cloudflow Universe had been deemed subhuman.

    This was the fate of the weak.

    Every time he saw people from the Cloudflow Universe, Lu Yin was reminded of the Origin Universe. He could not allow his home universe to be conquered, and he would never allow his family and friends to be subhumans. That was simply not an option.

    As they made their way to find the people from the Cloudflow Universe, Lu Yin repeated the first question that he had asked upon meeting the woman again. "Why don''t you help them?"

    With the experience that the woman had built up over her years of fighting on the bestowal art carrier, she was certainly capable of protecting some of the people who had been around her.

    The woman calmly replied, "All of us will just die sooner orter. Helping them would only prolong their suffering."

    The resigned answer reflected the woman''s helplessness.

    Lu Yin said nothing further as he led her to the others from her universe.

    The cultivators who believed themselves well hidden in the Transcendent Universe actually stood out like bright lights in the darkness. Every move they made was observed. It was truly pitiful.

    Before long, Lu Yin and the woman met up with all the others from her universe. The people were initially unwilling to cooperate with Lu Yin, but after he shared some of his knowledge of the Transcendent Universe, as well as Cloudflow¡¯s location, they started to believe him.

    However, while the people were willing to believe Lu Yin about the research facility, they did not trust him at all. It was true that he was not from the Transcendent Universe, but he also was not from the Cloudflow Universe. After so many years of desperate struggle, the Cloudflow Universe natives had lost their ability to trust any outsiders, and they instead felt that everyone simply wanted to use them.

    They intended to use Lu Yin to locate Cloudflow, and this was why Lu Yin was upfront with them about wanting to use them himself. For people like them, trust or sympathy meant nothing.

    Negotiations and nning took several days, but they eventually decided on the day to attack the research facility.

    During these negotiations, Lu Yin also learned the woman''s name: A-Mei. It was a perfectly ordinary name.

    The night before the attack, A-Mei found Lu Yin and then proceeded to disrobe. Her actions startled Lu Yin, and he quickly stopped her.

    The woman was clearly disappointed. "Am I not pleasing to you? In that case, I¡¯ll go find someone else for you."

    "Wait a minute! What are you trying to do?" Lu Yin asked. If he were honest, while A-Mei was not a particrly beautiful woman, she was far from ugly. She was rather attractive and had very delicate features. Additionally, her years of struggling on the battlefield had given her a certain resilience that set her apart from most other women.

    A-Mei calmly stated, "I have dedicated myself to your service. I hope that you will be able to provide us with some help when we need it."

    Lu Yin replied, "I already said that we are both using each other. Without you all, I won''t be able to get what I want. There¡¯s no need to bother with such things."

    A-Mei stared at Lu Yin. "You should be quite powerful, so by doing this, I hope to earn a bit of favor from you for my people. Even if we are able to save Lord Cloudflow, I still hope to see more of us survive. You don¡¯t need to worry, I am very clean."

    Lu Yin stopped the woman again. "Go back. I won''t ept this."

    A-Mei replied, "I will find someone else for you. Someone beautiful."

    "Leave!" Lu Yin shouted.

    The yell startled A-Mei, and she quickly adjusted herself as she said, "I apologize."

    Watching the woman leave, Lu Yin felt as though something was pressing on his chest. This woman was willing to sacrifice her innocence just for the hope of obtaining a bit of good will for her people.

    Lu Yin could see these people¡¯s sorrow, but he could not fathom just how deep it ran.

    The incident soured Lu Yin¡¯s mood, and he was no longer able to rx.

    ...

    Dark colored wisps filled a region of outer space, giving it the impression of a dark swamp. This was one of the restricted regions in the Transcendent Universe, as no one could enter it. Anyone who saw this region would instinctively retreat and avoid making contact with the ce.

    The toxic gas spread across a vast region of outer space that was nearly the size of an entire gxy. However, in the depths of the region, things werepletely different. At the core of the region, there were countless humanoid machines patrolling the area, each radiating a sense of great strength. This was the research facility, and invisible sensors filled the surrounding area, creating a surveincework that monitored the entire facility. However, these sensors were just for show and were intended as bait for the Cloudflow Universe natives whenever they attacked. The true surveince overseeing the region was the hyper-analysis mode. It waspletely undetectable, and only the very top echelon in the Transcendent Universe had any idea that it was present.

    The facility had seventeen floors, and at the moment, dozens of people wearing research uniforms were busy on the sixteenth floor. In one corner, Xiao Hai has a serious expression, though his eyes were a bit dull as he stared at a disy.

    He was the most serious person in the facility, and while his talent was far from outstanding, his dedication and seriousness were enough for him to be epted as a student of the Energy Research Group¡¯s leader. Xiao Hai could be regarded as Zi Jing''s senior.

    "Xiao Hai, how are you?" someone asked as they walked over while ncing at the disy.

    Xiaohai snorted and somberly answered, "They aren¡¯t here yet, but they should arrive soon."

    The other personughed. "How many levels do you think these Cloudflow Universe cultivators will be able to pass through?"

    Xiaohai lifted a hand and reached out for the disy. He started conducting an analysis.

    The other person shrugged andmented, "Just take a guess. There¡¯s no need to be so serious about this."

    He was overheard, and someone grew interested and also walked over. "I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯ll reach the eleventh floor. It¡¯s how far they gotst time. They lost all of their most powerful people while attacking the lowest floor, so this time, they won¡¯t have the strength to get past the eleventh floor.¡±

    "I¡¯m betting on the ninth floor. There are still a number of powerful cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe."

    "I say the tenth floor. I¡¯ll go right in the middle."

    "Haha, I¡¯m going with the fifteenth floor. These people just won''t die."

    "Xiao Hai, what about you?"

    Xiao Hai¡¯s hand drew back, and he somberly replied, "ording to the analysis of their currentbat strength, at best, they¡¯ll reach the eighth level."

    "What? Only the eighth floor? Are they justing here to die?"

    Xiao Hai muttered to himself, "This is strange... They have so few experts right now, so why are they preparing to attack? This is very strange."

    "Alright, Xiao Hai, there¡¯s no need to be so serious. If they want to die, just let them. How much data have we been able to put together?"

    Xiao Hai replied, "This is Teacher''s project. I can¡¯t share his secrets."

    "Fine, just mess around by yourself, but if you see something fun, call us."

    Xiao Hai nodded, though his eyes never left the disy. "Do they have people with innate gifts this time?"

    After thisment, a mysterious smile started to spread across his face. No one saw his smile, let alone theughter in his eyes. This was a side of Xiao Hai that no one knew about, not even his teacher. At this moment, Xiao Hai¡¯s eyes looked exactly like those of the information broker that Luo Lao¡¯er had dealt with.

    There was a loud bang, and the attackmenced.

    Out of everyone in the Transcendent Universe, only the people from the Cloudflow Universe were aware of the existence of this particr research facility. It was a secret from everyone else.

    These people were like rats in an experiment. The research facility would prepare everything before each attack, and they would set up obstacles, organize the resistance that the attackers faced, and more. These attacks only served to gather more data for them.

    This was something that none of the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe were aware of, and it was even less likely for A-Mei to know anything about this. Only Lu Yin was privy to this information.

    He felt disappointed when he saw the Cloudflow Universe¡¯s cultivators charging straight into the research facility. Had these people never even considered the possibility of leaking information about this research base? Even if they could not actually do it, as long as they even contemted the idea, the research on the attacks from the people from the Cloudflow Universe would be terminated. There was no way He Ran or others who knew about the research facility would ever risk letting its existence be exposed.

    If Lu Yin were from the Cloudflow Universe, he would definitely test it just to see how the Transcendent Universe would react, but unfortunately, these people have never even considered such a possibility. They were focused solely on rescuing Cloudflow and did not consider the danger they faced or anything else.

    As he nced around, Lu Yin raised a hand to touch the horns on his forehead. They were the mark of people from the Cloudflow Universe. The moment Lu Yin moved forward, he would be quickly noticed by the hyper-analysis mode as someone who was not from the Cloudflow Universe. This meant that he had very little time to work with.

    A-Mei was constantly staring at Lu Yin.

    He looked over at her and said, "Let''s go."

    He then lifted a foot and stepped forward. An energy that looked like flowing clouds appeared around his body. This was something that he had practiced specifically to confuse the hyper-analysis mode, but it would only work for a very short amount of time. He needed to locate and disable the hyper-analysis mode as quickly as possible, as otherwise he would be exposed.

    Sixteen levels beneath the surface, Xiao Hai observed the attack up above with both interest and disappointment. "There¡¯s nothing at all unexpected or surprising about this attack. Can¡¯t these pieces of trash at least find themselves a halfway decent expert? It¡¯d be best to give them a little surprise; I¡¯ll let them get to the seventeenth floor. Seeing the sadness and despair in Cloudflow¡¯s eyes is always interesting.¡±

    Suddenly, something unusual appeared on the disy, and Xaio Hai¡¯s expression changed. Was there an outsider present as well?

    A terrifying pressure fell upon the research facility, and it was split in half all the way down to the fifteenth level.

    Lu Yin had found the hyper-analysis mode, and it was all thanks to You Fang. The man had shared a description of the device with Lu Yin, as well as an approximate location. Without that, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to pinpoint the location so quickly.

    Xiao Hai''s scalp went numb. This was not good!

    He quickly called for help. Someone who was not from the Cloudflow Universe had arrived with this attack.

    All of the other nearby researchers were either dead or injured. Only a few were even conscious.

    Lu Yin''s domain erupted, stunning everyone in an instant, including Xiao Hai.

    The hyper-analysis mode disappeared, which allowed Lu Yin to breathe a sigh of relief.

    The people from the Cloudflow Universe were moving slowly after witnessing Lu Yin open the research facility all the way down to the fifteenth level. This was something that they had never done during any of their previous attacks. Just how strong was this person?

    "What are you all still standing around for? Move! Do you want me to hold your hand?" Lu Yin roared.

    The people from the Cloudflow Universe quickly reacted, and they raced towards the sixteenth level through the tear that Lu Yin had opened up in the ground. All their efforts over the years had not been in vain. They had already learned that the base had seventeen levels, and that Cloudflow was held captive on the lowest level.

 Chapter 2676: Taking Away

    <h4>Chapter 2676: Taking Away</h4>

    Lu Yin wandered around the sixteenth level and looked around. All of the researchers in this facility were among the best in the entire Transcendent Universe. If the information broker was among these people like Lu Yin suspected, then they had to be among the people that Lu Yin was looking at.

    "Aren''t you going to go down to the seventeenth level?" A-Mei asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I''m looking for something. You can head on down. I''ve already done everything that I will."

    A-Mei¡¯s eyes remained firm. They had nevere so close to rescuing Lord Cloudflow before, and they were so close that she was already able to feel the churning power of Lord Cloudflow down below. "Thank you."

    With that, she turned and followed the rest of the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe. She wanted to move on and reach the lowest level so that they could rescue Lord Cloudflow.

    Explosions rocked every part of the research facility, and the hyper-analysis mode had already been disabled. The events taking ce in the research base were not known to anyone outside.

    He Ran and everyone else believed that everything was still under control, and by the time they realized anything, the attackers would be long gone.

    There was most likely someone nearby who was capable of using a ck energy converter, but they were not actively monitoring the research facility. Even so, it would not take them long to notice that something was wrong, and then they would try to make contact with the facility. As soon as they failed to make contact, that expert would immediately show up.

    Lu Yin kept his domain spread out so that not a single detail escaped his notice, and also so that he could finish what he needed as quickly as possible.

    As Lu Yin searched, he released Luo Lao''er from a Zenith Mountain. "Call your information broker."

    Luo Lao''er did not dare to hesitate, and he immediately made the call.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s domain covering everything, he was aware of every detail in the research facility. The moment that Luo Lao¡¯er made the call and a disy flickered to life, Lu Yin saw it. It was less than a kilometer away.

    He instantly appeared in a dark room and saw Luo Lao''er¡¯s image on the disy. This was indeed the location from which the information broker hadmunicated with Luo Lao¡¯er.

    Lu Yin looked around the room and found a picture. Was that the information broker?

    He returned to his previous location, walked over to Xiao Hai, and looked down at the man.

    "Brother-inw, is that him?" Luo Lao''er was surprised.

    Lu Yin put Luo Lao''er back into the Zenith Mountain, opened Xiao Hai''s hand, wrote something on it, and then vanished.

    It was time to meet with Cloudflow.

    Down on the seventeenth level, the people from the Cloudflow Universe had already reached Cloudflow¡¯s prison and were attacking the metal door to the powerhouse¡¯s cell. However, none of their attacks had any effect.

    Behind the door, Cloudflow stared forward, his eyes bloodshot as he roared in a hoarse voice, "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

    His voice had no trouble reaching outside the room, as that was precisely what the researchers wanted. It was important that Lord Cloudflow be heard by his people, as it was difficult to have perfect data without despair.

    "Lord Cloudflow, we won¡¯t give up! We will definitely rescue you!"

    "Lord Cloudflow, we¡¯re here for you!"

    "Lord, you will be able to leave soon!"

    ...

    A-Mei gritted her teeth as she continued to attack the metal door. However, no matter what any of their people did, the metal door did not move the slightest.

    Within the cell, Cloudflow closed his eyes. He had already grown numb. He had watched one group after another of his people die, but it had all been for naught. Why was this happening? If he had not opened up that connection to the Transcendent Universe, he would have never ended up in his current predicament. He hated the Transcendent Universe, but he hated himself even more. He had assumed that he no longer needed to fear anything after reaching the peak, but the megaverse was vaster than anything he could have ever imagined, and the future could not be predicted. Cloudflow hated that no one would ever know of his fate.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he turned to look in a certain direction. As he stared, Lu Yin stepped out. The captive man stared at the neer in shock.

    "Who are you?" Cloudflow was stunned, as it was impossible to enter his cell by tearing through the void, so how had this person seeded?

    Lu Yin had obtained an innate gift of spatial control, and thus, it was no challenge for him to enter the cell.

    "Do you want to leave?" Lu Yin calmly asked.

    Cloudflow stared at Lu Yin. The energy that resembled flowing clouds was massive but there was a bestowal art carrier that hung downwards to form a cage that looked somewhat simr to a sourcebox array. Lu Yin had seen such things before, as the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bestowal Art also used something that resembled sourcebox arrays to harvest the matter and energy from sourceboxes. The power that was harvested was used to both charge energy converters and power bestowal art carriers.

    Not even Cloudflow could break free from this cage.

    Furthermore, there was something corroding Cloudflow''s limbs, while leaving his power that looked like flowing clouds unaffected. The man was bait that lured in others from his universe, but Cloudflow himself was regarded as practically useless.

    "Who are you?" The cage of clouds shifted and released a deep sound that resembled gentle waves striking a piece of metal. As the sound echoed out, Cloudflow was knocked back.

    Lu Yin slowly walked towards the captive powerhouse. "I¡¯ll ask you again¡ªdo you want to leave?"

    Outside the metal door, the people from the Cloudflow Universe shouted in despair as they continued to bombard the metal door.

    Cloudflow''s eyes were so bloodshot that he was practically shedding tears of blood. "What do you think?"

    "Would you still be willing to leave if I ced a control mechanism in your body?" Lu Yin asked again.

    "What do you want me to do? Do you want to control me?" Cloudflow snapped.

    Lu Yin frowned. "A very powerful person will arrive here soon. We don''t have much time. I¡¯ll ask again¡ªare you willing?"

    Cloudflow¡¯s entire body trembled badly. Despite being a peak powerhouse, he had been imprisoned and left helpless, and now, he was about to be controlled. In the entire megaverse, how many times had a peak powerhouse been controlled in such a manner? It waspletely unheard of.

    "No matter what, it won''t be worse than being locked up here. Listen to their desperate cries. There won¡¯t be any of them left at all soon," Lu Yinmented emotionlessly.

    Cloudflow¡¯s head snapped up, and he said, "Take them with me, and I will agree."

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face, and he raised a hand, sending a Death Seal towards Cloudflow. The man shouted, "Destroy the barrier first, or else your power won¡¯t be able to reach me."

    However, before the man had even finished speaking, the Death Seal had already passed through the cage and entered his body.

    Cloudflow could not believe his eyes. How was that possible? This cage formed from the Bestowal Art was able to trap even him, so how was it unable to stop this person¡¯s power? Or was it simply impossible for anything to exit the cage, as nothing was hindered from entering the cage?

    Naturally, things were not nearly that convenient. Lu Yin¡¯s control over space,bined with his increasing mastery of Xu Wuwei¡¯s battle technique, he was bing increasingly proficient in controlling space. To some degree, he was even able to ignore his opponents¡¯ defenses. This was some of what was possible with the power of space.

    The moment the Death Seal entered Cloudflow''s body, a pair of eyes snapped open in a distant location. "Not good, something¡¯s happening!"

    The next moment, ck energy pierced through space as a powerhouse made their way to the research facility.

    Lu Yin took out his slipper and smacked the base of the cage formed from the Bestowal Art, instantly shattering the construct. Cloudflow was bing more shocked as things proceeded. <i>A slipper?</i>

    Lu Yin pulled out a Zenith Mountain. "Get in."

    The man entered without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin then raised a hand andshed out with a palm strike that instantly shattered the metal door.

    Outside the cell, the people from the Cloudflow Universe all stared at Lu Yin in a daze. It had never urred to them that he would appear from inside.

    A-Mei''s eyes went wide with disbelief.

    Suddenly, the beam of ck energy attacked the facility. "You all came here to die!"

    The entire ce was shattered as a terrifying power descended. Everyone from the Cloudflow Universe instantly fell into despair.

    Lu Yin also privately felt that this was a big problem, as a powerhouse had arrived. He could not fight against a powerhouse, as he would have no way to exin himself to You Fang.

    There was no way that Yu Fang would ever believe that Xuan Qi was capable of fighting back against a peak powerhouse, and the man would instantly grow suspicious.

    The only option avable was to escape.

    He tore through the void, and as he did so, the people outside the cell who were still in front of Lu Yin were wiped out, reduced to nothing but ashes before they even had a chance to scream.

    ck energy shot through everything, ruthlessly harvesting lives as it continued to spread.

    No one could escape. Not one person could endure against a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin moved to step through the void and escape, when he felt an inexplicable skip of his heart. He looked back and saw A-Mei standing just outside the cell. She was not looking at the beam of ck energy that was sweeping towards her, but was rather staring at Lu Yin. On top of that, he did not see despair in her eyes, but a jumble of emotions that was predominated by relief.

    Lu Yin did not know why, but he shot through the void, grabbed the woman, and dragged her away from the ck beam. He then tore through the void once more, and left the universe.

    He could not say why he had rescued A-Mei. All he knew was that he had felt that the woman should live. People should live, right? The scene from the previous night had left an impression on his mind that still lingered.

    Lu Yin vanished, though all of the other people from the Cloudflow Universe who had also attacked the research facility were wiped out.

    A man arrived, and he stared through the doorway into the cell. He saw that the frame of the Bestowal Art cage had been shattered, and also that Cloudflow was gone.

    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly, and ck energy surged from him as he searched the area and let out a frustrated roar.

    ...

    In Aeternus Nation, A-Mei fell from high in the sky and struck the ground.

    Lu Yinnded beside her, and she looked over at him. "Where is Lord Cloudflow?"

    "Have you ever considered your own safety?"

    A-Mei answered in a bitter tone, "How can my safetypare to Lord Cloudflow¡¯s?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. If something befell the Fifth Maind and he was captured, there were many people who would do the same for him. Only if there was a chance of him surviving would there be a possibility of the Fifth Maind eventually being reborn.

    There were some powerhouses who were ruthless and did not care if everyone else sacrificed themselves, but Cloudflow was not that cruel.

    Lu Yin took out the Zenith Mountain that held Cloudflow. The man was a truly powerful expert, and Lu Yin did not want to risk anyone¡¯s life, so he had made sure to ce Cloudflow in a Zenith Mountain without anyone else on it.

    As soon as the Zenith Mountain was brought out, Cloudflow emerged.

    "Lord Cloudflow!" A-Mei was ecstatic to see the man.

    Cloudflow floated in the air. His limbs had all been corroded, which meant that this was the only way he could remain upright.

    He first looked at A-Mei, and then at Lu Yin. Cloudflow asked in a hoarse voice, "Where are the rest?"

    Lu Yin felt helpless. "A powerhouse arrived before I could escape. I couldn¡¯t save the rest."

    "You promised me!" Cloudflow roared.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I have my own reasons for saving you, but it looks like you want to use this as an excuse to cancel your deal with me. What? Do you want to try to remove the power that I ced within you?"

    Of course Cloudflow was unwilling to be controlled by another. He may have shown a specific demeanor while imprisoned, but after being released, he naturally revealed a different attitude. After all, Lu Yin was not some powerhouse, though his mysteriousness did leave Cloudflow wary. For the moment, he did not know what to do.

    Furthermore, Cloudflow was not in prime condition, and given his injuries, he could only exert about half of his full power.

    "Lord Cloudflow!" A-Mei shouted.

    Cloudflow looked over. "How is the Cloudflow Universe?"

    A-Mei drily answered, ¡°We¡¯ve been conquered by the Transcendent Universe, and they use our people as the vanguard against the Aeternals...¡±

    Cloudflow listened in silence, though he expected all that he heard. The current Cloudflow Universe had nothing more than a single percentage of its peak power in the past. His universe had truly fallen. If Cloudflow could go back there, he would be able to recover much more quickly. However, he looked over at Lu Yin. "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Get it straight. I didn¡¯t save you, I want to control you."

    A-Mei shot a fierce re at Lu Yin. "You want to control Lord Cloudflow?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You and I were only using each other. I helped you rescue him from his prison, so whatever I do now is none of your business."

    "You used us to stay hidden!" A-Mei was not stupid. Given the strength that Lu Yin had revealed, it was clear that he could have easily invaded the research facility, but despite that, he had cooperated with the people from the Cloudflow Universe. The only possible exnation was that he wanted to remain hidden in the crowd.

    Cloudflow waved a hand and pushed A-Mei aside. "Stay back. I refuse to believe that he can control me."

    The man stared straight at Lu Yin. "Child, you freed me from that prison, and I¡¯m grateful for that. For that reason, I¡¯ll give you a chance: try to control me. If you can¡¯t do it, then you and I don¡¯t owe each other anything."

    The man¡¯s expression then grew fierce, and he tried to eject the Death Seal from his body.

 Chapter 2677: Lu Yin VS. Cloudflow

    <h4>Chapter 2677: Lu Yin VS. Cloudflow</h4>

    In order to ensure that the data that they obtained was perfect, the Transcendent Universe had only trapped and ruined Cloudflow¡¯s body. However, they had never done anything to impact the man¡¯s cultivation. Essentially, if Cloudflow faced a peer, he would be helpless, but as long as his opponent was someone weaker, he would be able topletely suppress them with his overwhelming quantity of power. After all, Cloudflow was someone with the ability to transform a universe.

    Lu Yin just stood there and watched as the man tried to remove his Death Seal.

    While Lu Yin had never tried to use a Death Seal on a peak powerhouse, once it was nted into a person¡¯s body, it was extremely difficult to remove.

    The power created by the God of Death was simply too overbearing.

    While it might be impossible for Lu Yin to force a Death Seal into the body of a peak powerhouse who possessed their full strength, once it had been nted in their body, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to remove, regardless of their strength.

    Chen Le had not been able to remove the Death Seal, and Cloudflow simrly found himself helpless.

    This was the power of the God of Death, a battle technique that had been reserved for his sole heir. It was an ability created by one of the Three Realms Six Dao, the God of Death.

    An energy that looked like flowing clouds enveloped the man¡¯s body, and it continued to surge and radiate from him. It created an odd image that looked as though Cloudflow was standing in the sky. The energy spread further and further out until it filled the entire Aeternus Nation.

    The members of the Fenglei n were startled by the sudden appearance of the strange energy, but it was clear that they could not resist it.

    Fenglei Guanqin was shocked, as he understood that this meant that a peak powerhouse was present. How could so many experts appear in this ce? It felt as though one after another had visited Aeternus Nation.

    Deep underground, Monarch Mu looked upwards when she sensed an unfamiliar energy that belonged to another peak powerhouse. Did Lu Yin actually have another expert hidden away? How was that possible?

    Aboveground, no matter what Cloudflow tried, the Death Seal remainedpletely still. On top of that, as the man focused on the inside of his body in a daze, he wondered why his own energy felt so weak as soon as it came in contact with the strange ck energy. It felt like a hundred children were pushing against a giant. No matter how hard those children tried, they would never be able to move the giant.

    This power was domineering, utterly domineering.

    Cloudflow turned to stare at Lu Yin. "What kind of energy is this?"

    A smile touched Lu Yin''s lips. "One that¡¯s beyond yourprehension."

    Cloudflow could not believe what he was seeing. "This is impossible! How could I not be able to even shake a power that did not evene from another peak expert? Impossible!

    ¡°Could it be...?" The man suddenly remembered something. "Could this energy have actually reached <i>that</i> level?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "That level? What level?"

    Cloudflow looked back at Lu Yin. "While I am unable to expel this energy, it also can''t suppress me. I can temporarily seal it off to deal with you. Child, I will admit that you possess great potential. If you cultivate this power, your future is unimaginable, but you are still too weak. Even if you possess an incredible power vessel, it is useless. Just give up. We can still cooperate, as you did save me."

    Lu Yinughed. "I still want to control you, so why don¡¯t you try and see if you can deal with me."

    Cloudflow¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Your power may allow you to alter the rules of the universe, but it is just the power that does so, not you. Don''t be too arrogant."

    "What do you mean by ¡®alter the rules of the universe?¡¯" Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity was quickly mounting. Even at Cloudflow¡¯s peak, he had only been roughlyparable to the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but for some reason, he seemed to possess knowledge that the Progenitor did not. Was it knowledge from the Transcendent Universe?

    Cloudflow replied, "Each universe has its own rules in how it operates. ording to the Transcendent Universe, these rules are called sequence particles. While peak powerhouses are able to alter a universe and create their own energy, that power is still at a level below the sequence particles. Only those with the power to influence or even alter sequence particles can be considered the most powerful. I am unable to do that, and there is no one in the entire Transcendent Universe who can.

    "This energy that you have cultivated is undoubtedly capable of that, but while you control this energy, you are not its creator and are far from reaching that level yourself. Additionally, because you have cultivated this power, you will never be able to break through the limits of this energy¡¯s capabilities. You will be forever limited by this power and will never be able to surpass the level of this energy¡¯s creator."

    Lu Yin understood what the man was saying. This was the line that separated the truly powerful experts at the Progenitor level from the rest. The Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Progenitor of Combat could both be regarded as average Progenitors, and maybe even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were onlymon Progenitors. It was possible that they were also unable to influence sequence particles. However, the Three Realms Six Dao had been different; they had been exceptionally powerful.

    In that case, what about the Origin Progenitor? Where did the Great Sovereign stand? What about Mister Mu? What about powerhouses at that level?

    "How do you know about sequence particles?" Lu Yin was surprised by this detail.

    Cloudflow sneered. "The Transcendent Universe originally wanted me to cooperate with them, and they told me that they wanted to study sequence particles. They also wanted to use me, a true powerhouse, to gain a moreprehensive understanding of the universe. I refused, which is why they started their research project with me. They knew that experimenting would be useless, even if I had agreed to join them, though they might have simply not trusted me. After all, the research of sequence particles is their greatest secret and greatest ambition.

    ¡°They have already reached the level of average peak powerhouses with their energy converters and Bestowal Art, but they are now trying to research the ability to directly influence sequence particles. If they seed, they might be able to truly change the bnce of the Sixverse Association. That sort of power is absolutely terrifying," Cloudflow solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I am very grateful that you have shared this with me. You¡¯ve already witnessed the power of the Transcendent Universe, and I¡¯m sure that you don¡¯t want to deal with them again. In that case, ept my control. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll suffer a fate not much better than what you suffered at the hands of the Transcendent Universe."

    Cloudflow''s eyes instantly turned cold. "You still want to control me?"

    "That¡¯s never changed," Lu Yin replied with a smile.

    Cloudflow spread his power out once again.

    "You don¡¯t need to bother checking¡ªthere¡¯s no one here but me. If you can escape from me, that will simply prove your abilities. However, you don¡¯t have the strength to do that." Lu Yin had no desire to waste time talking with the man, so he immediately used his Investiture of the Gods. Golden light filled Aeternus Nation and illuminated the flowing clouds that permeated the space. Light shone down upon the Fenglei n, and it even shone through the death energy. It looked like a golden rainbow had fallen upon the ground.

    Monarch Mu once again looked up, shock covering her face as she stared at the golden light that filtered through the death energy that trapped her. This light felt so holy that even she felt the urge to worship it. What kind of power was this?

    Cloudflow felt a simr reaction. He stared at the Investiture of the Gods in utter shock. What kind of power was this? The light was both brilliant and sacred, which made it difficult to look directly at the scroll. This youth had clearly used ck energy earlier, but this golden light gave off a feeling that was in no way inferior to the ck energy.

    Just who was this young man?

    After Lu Yin brought out his Investiture of the Gods, Progenitor Nong¡¯s image stepped out. This was the first and currently only Progenitor that Lu Yin had conferred into his Investiture of the Gods.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s previous battles, the image of Progenitor Nong had never yed a great role, and there had even been times when the image had not been even as effective as E Chi. However, at this moment, Lu Yin did not have E Chi or the jiao avable. The only option was to use Progenitor Nong¡¯s image to deal with Cloudflow.

    Cloudflow stared at the summoned Progenitor Nong, and his eyes flickered. Was this a power that borrowed the strength of another? How could such a thing be possible?

    Ignoring Cloudflow¡¯s thoughts and reaction, Lu Yin took action.

    The summoned Progenitor Nong waved a hand, and green leaves flew towards Cloudflow.

    Cloudflow suppressed his shock. No matter who this child might be, he needed to win this battle. He refused to allow himself to be controlled by anyone. With this thought, the man¡¯s energy that resembled flowing clouds surged forth from his body and mmed into the leaves. The impact clearly shook the leaves, and it nearly shattered them. However, Lu Yin was lucky that the leaves managed to resist the impact, and they continued on towards Cloudflow.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked at Cloudflow strangely. This man was equal to a Progenitor, but he seemed incredibly weak. Progenitor Nong was not a particrly powerful expert, and he was absolutely greatly inferior to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Despite that, the surge of leaves that Lu Yin had used as a test to probe Cloudflow¡¯s strength had actually ovee the attack. Something did not seem quite right.

    One sh after another broke out, and the void warped and twisted. The cloud-like energy seemed to awaken, and it gradually gathered into thousands of cloud constructs that filled the sky in every direction. It looked like thousands of monsters were staring down, where each and every construct was more powerful than Cloudflow¡¯s initial attack.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. This was absolutely ridiculous. From what he could see, he was surrounded by thousands of these cloud constructs, and each and every one of them was strong enough to instantly kill a Semi-Progenitor. The change in Cloudflow¡¯s strength was incredible.

    A short distance away, A-Mei was stunned. This was the power of Lord Cloudflow. She had once heard some older people mention the Lord¡¯s Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao. That name had once represented Lord Cloudflow, and the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was exactly what A-Mei was currently witnessing.

    "Child, I don''t care what strength you may possess. You can''t endure my Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao. Just give up. I¡¯m willing to owe you a favor and help you, but I refuse to be controlled by you." Cloudflow and Lu Yin had moved far apart. Even if the older man¡¯s limbs had been destroyed, he was still fully capable of exerting the power of a peak powerhouse who was capable of altering the universe.

    Lu Yin looked around andmented, "Is this your Progenitor¡¯s world? It''s rather simr to Xia Shenji¡¯s, but," He paused as he looked back at Cloudflow. "Thiscks the edge that Xia Shenji''s sword possesses."

    Cloudflow''s eyes abruptly red. The thousands of cloud constructs that filled the area all instantly crashed towards Lu Yin from every direction. At this moment, even the void was shattered, sealing off that path of escape. The only way for Lu Yin to avoid this attack was to enter the Hollow.

    Lu Yin watched as the spatial lines were distorted, or even broken, by the cloud constructs. It was clear that it would be very difficult to avoid this attack even with his innate gift.

    This was the power of a peak powerhouse. Even if they were unable to control the power of space, they could still counter it to some extent.

    After all, Lu Yin was still just an Envoy. Things would be different once he became a Semi-Progenitor. At that point in time, as long as space did notpletely copse into the Hollow, he would still be able to escape. However, his current strength was insufficient to do that.

    Since he could not escape from this attack, the only other option was to face it head on.

    The image of Progenitor Nong vanished from in front of Lu Yin and returned to him. Lu Yin stood back to back with his summon, just as the cloud constructs descended.

    He took a deep breath and pulled out the slipper.

    Cloudflow saw the footwear and once again felt both stunned and confused. He would never be able to forget the image of this slipper shattering the base of the Bestowal Art cage that had trapped him. Not even his peak strength had been able to do anything against that cage. Just how powerful was this slipper?

    He quickly found out for himself.

    Each of the cloud constructs was instantly shattered by a single p from the slipper.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief before letting out a boisterousugh. As long as his slipper could shatter these constructs, it did not matter if there was one or a thousand descending upon him. Let theme!

    Cloudflow was stunned silly. Was this even possible? His Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was so powerful that even the Transcendent Universe had initially struggled against it. It had taken three of their experts with ck energy convertersunching a sneak attack to deal with this technique, but a mere child was now using a slipper to shatter Cloudflow¡¯s greatest strength. The man¡¯s Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao waspletely suppressed, so he used the cloud constructs to seal off the area.

    This meant nothing to Lu Yin with his innate gift of spatial control. Even if thousands of cloud constructs all fell upon him at once, he would be able to shatter them all with his power of space. While his innate gift could not help him escape from his current predicament, the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao could not hinder him, and he could break through. In fact, the tighter the cloud constructs piled together, the easier it was for Lu Yin to shatter them with his slipper.

    It could only be considered Cloudflow¡¯s bad luck. His greatest attack was too perfectly countered by the slipper.

    Xia Shenji, whose Shenwu World consisted of endless des and who also possessed the power of time, had posed a truly difficultbination for Lu Yin to defend against. He would have needed to use both the jiao and E Chi, but those two were not necessary against Cloudflow.

    Lu Yin had not yet fought against any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses, but he did know that Xia Shenji and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers were not considered weak, even among their peers in the Sixverse Association. In fact, they might even all be above average.

    Even so, it did not matter how strong Cloudflow was, as his power was useless in Aeternus Nation. After all, there was a sea of death energy underground.

 Chapter 2678: Conferring Another God

    <h4>Chapter 2678: Conferring Another God</h4>

    In the blink of an eye, everyst bit of the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was shattered by the slipper. The cloud constructs turned back into a formless energy that reflected the various colors of the Investiture of the Gods¡¯ golden light. All together, the various detailsbined to make Lu Yin look like some sort of divinity who had descended to earth.

    Everyone from the Fenglei n immediately dropped to their knees.

    A-Mei¡¯s mouth was open wide as she stared nkly. Just who was this man who was able to fight against Lord Cloudflow?

    Cloudflow''s pupils shrank to pinpricks as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. His Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao was the most powerful attack that he could use at the moment, and truthfully speaking, even if he were to face a thousand Semi-Progenitors at once, everyst one of them would be eliminated by the Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao. Despite that, this child had ovee the attack entirely on his own.

    Could that slipper belong to the Great Sovereign himself?

    "Who are you?" Cloudflow asked in shock. As the man stared at Lu Yin, his expression waspletely different from before.

    Lu Yin just smiled as the image of Progenitor Nong stepped out from behind him, a hoe in the Progenitor¡¯s hand. As the hoe fell, the Nong family¡¯s Plowing the Land battle technique was used.

    While the sight of a hoe being swung might look like a joke during such a battle, Cloudflow was instantly ovee by a sense of terrible danger. This hoe was an image of the Nong family¡¯s ancestor, Progenitor Nong, and Plowing the Land was a very odd battle technique, as Progenitor Nong was able to essentiallyyer the attacks of everyone who had ever used Plowing the Land on top of his own attack. Because of this, it was as though an endless number of people were attacking Cloudflow with hoes, and the attacks all merged into a single attack that fell upon the man.

    The attack struck down upon Cloudflow as his cloud constructs reappeared and rose up to meet the attack.

    There was an explosion, and the void shattered, revealing an endless darkness. It was the Hollow, and it spread further and further, devouring all that fell into it.

    Lu Yin seized the opening andshed out with a palm strike that was reinforced by his Wielder - Indestructible power. Cloudflow was taken by surprise while in the middle of retreating from the Hollow, and was smashed to the ground by Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    When Cloudflow struck the ground, he disappeared into the depths of the earth, and it was impossible to know just how deep the man had been pushed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his shock over this youth¡¯s abilities growing more and more. Not only did a mere child control an energy that could influence the very foundation of universes, but his own strength was also amazing. Cloudflow had been injured by a single palm strike, which was more than what most of the powerhouses from the Transcendent Universe who could use ck energy converters were capable of.

    The man looked up to see LuYin staring down at him from high above. "What do you think now?"

    Blood trickled from the corner of Cloudflow''s mouth. He gritted his teeth. "If my limbs hadn''t been destroyed, a single swipe of my de would be enough to kill you!"

    "You also follow the path of the saber?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.

    Cloudflow sighed in a helpless manner. "My saber skills are enough to kill even the most powerful person in the Transcendent Universe, which is why they crippled my body. My saber is my greatest weapon, and with it, you¡¯ll never be able to best me."

    Lu Yinughed. "People who have already been defeated can onlyin about being defeated by greater strength. If you can¡¯t ept your loss, keep going. Honestly, I don¡¯t have any reason to keep you alive. If you¡¯re of no use to me, I can just put you down right now."

    "No!" A-Mei screamed as she ran over and dropped to her knees. "Please, don''t hurt Lord Cloudflow! I beg you!"

    Cloudflow gritted his teeth. "Get up! The people of my Cloudflow Universe don''t need to beg for mercy!"

    A-Mei ignored the man and continued begging Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked at A-Mei, and then down at Cloudflow who was still deep underground. "Do you not want to save the Cloudflow Universe?"

    A-Mei''s pleading paused for a moment, and underground, shock filled Cloudflow''s eyes. He thought of his Cloudflow Universe and of all those who worshiped him and followed his path of cultivation. He thought of everyone who had sacrificed themselves before the door to his cell over the years, their screams still echoing in his mind. Despite not having seen their deaths, Cloudflow had profoundly felt their despair. How many of his people had died over the many years? All so that the Transcendent Universe could obtain the data they needed for their experiments. Cloudflow¡¯s people had never been treated as human beings at all.

    He would never be able to forget those deaths, and he would never be able to forgive the Transcendent Universe.

    While the w of the jungle¡± applied, such words would never be enough to erase the grudges that had umted.

    "Can you allow yourself to die?" Lu Yin said coldly, looking down at Cloudflow.

    Cloudflow narrowed his eyes. Die? How could he? He was not willing to give up and forego revenge. He was not willing to abandon the Cloudflow Universe. He was not willing to die.

    "Ask this woman just how many of the people from your Cloudflow Universe die every single day. Ask her how many of your people are so desperate that they can¡¯t even see tomorrow, yet they still wait for it, believing that you will return and that you will transform the Cloudflow Universe and save them from their suffering. And yet here you are, asking for death," Lu Yin said.

    Cloudflow shouted, "You want to use this to control me?"

    "Yes." Lu Yin did not deny it. "All I want is to control you. Why else would I have saved you? You ask for death, but can you really ept death? Do you deserve to die? Are you living for yourself? From the moment those people from the Cloudflow Universe sacrificed their lives to save you, your life has no longer been your own. Go back and check outside your cell and see just how much blood has been spilled there by your people. Ask this woman how many people die every day on the frontlines. What keeps their hopes alive? Even if they know that they might die at the next moment, all of them hope for a miracle to happen, that you will appear on the battlefield and rescue them."

    Every word from Lu Yin¡¯s mouth left Cloudflow''s heart trembling. The man did not know how to argue at all.

    "You want to give up now of all times? Pathetic," Lu Yin spat out indifferently.

    A-Mei remained kneeling in front of Lu Yin, but she did not say a word. His words reflected the hopes of everyone from the Cloudflow Universe. They did hope that Cloudflow would be able to return and save them. None were willing to see the man die in such a ce.

    Cloudflow remained silent, and Lu Yin also said nothing further.

    A-Mei stayed on her knees on the ground.

    A long timeter, still lying on his back, Cloudflow spoke up in a dry and emotionless voice. "What''s your name?"

    Lu Yin looked down at the man, seeing Cloudflow staring back up at him. "Lu Yin."

    "Lu Yin? How do you intend to control me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Be conferred as a god."

    Cloudflow had no idea what to think of that.

    Above Lu Yin''s head, the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods grew brighter and brighter, and the image of Progenitor Nong disappeared. There was no longer any need for the summoned figure to do anything. "This is my Lu family''s innate gift: Investiture of the Gods. It allows us to borrow the strength of others, but only from peak powerhouses, giving us the power of multiple experts. As long as you are willing, I can confer you into this scroll, making you a god, which will allow me to call upon your power through the Investiture of the Gods.¡±

    ¡°This must be done willingly. If you are unwilling...¡± Lu Yin hesitated for a moment before continuing. ¡°If you are unwilling, I can do nothing. It is impossible to hide your reluctance from the Investiture of the Gods, and that will prevent me from being able to confer you as a god. If that happens, I will have to kill you.

    "I will not allow a peak powerhouse to go free as my enemy, not to mention that you are aware of who saved you from the Transcendent Universe. Letting you go free is too dangerous for me. I can¡¯t say whether you might turn to the Transcendent Universe and seek refuge with them. To save your Cloudflow Universe, you might be willing to sacrifice your pride.

    "I refuse to allow my own universe to be the next Cloudflow Universe, and because of that, I also refuse to take any risks. The people of my universe should not have their lives be the stakes in a gamble. They are free to make their own choices."

    Some people were just too naive, and that naivety could have irreversible consequences. Lu Yin had things that he needed to do as well as people whom he had to protect. For this, no matter how ruthless he needed to be, there was nothing he would not do.

    How great would it have been if the Origin Universe had nevere into contact with the Sixverse Association? How wonderful would it have been if the Origin Universe had never made contact with the Aeternals?

    The megaverse was a cruel ce. Once a civilization was exposed, they had the choice of doing their best to survive, or of being conquered or destroyed.

    The Origin Universe did not need a good and kind person at the helm, but rather someone who could help them survive and remain free and independent.

    Cloudflow''s eyes positively zed. "I would never turn to the Transcendent Universe! That is absolutely impossible! I want nothing more than to destroy it!"

    "Instead of hating the entire Transcendent Universe, you should hate the people who reduced the people of your Cloudflow Universe to subhumans and used them in their experiments. Most of the people in the Transcendent Universe arepletely innocent. My Lu family was banished into Aeternus¡¯s territory by the Sixverse Association, and I don¡¯t know if any of them still live or not. It¡¯s also impossible for me to get revenge on the entire Sixverse Association,¡± Lu Yinmented. He had no desire to rescue a madman.

    Cloudflow stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Your family is gone too?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "You¡¯ll learn more about that soon enough. What do you say? Are you willing to be a god?"

    Cloudflow stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "Yes."

    A quiver ran through A-Mei''s body, and her eyes revealed conflicted emotions. She had no idea what the consequences of being conferred as one of Lu Yin¡¯s gods might be, but this person had repeatedly mentioned controlling Lord Cloudflow. Once he became a god, Lord Cloudflow would be controlled. A-Mei wanted to stop this, but how? Not even Lord Cloudflow could stand up to this man.

    A-Mei did not want Lord Cloudflow to die.

    He was the symbol of the Cloudflow Universe, and if he was gone, there would be no hope at all for their universe.

    Was it really alright to ept being controlled by another if it meant surviving?

    A-Mei had no answer, though she also did not need one. Cloudflow had already thought the matter through.

    His body slowly floated up to the surface of Aeternus Nation until the man was face to face with Lu Yin. There was no expression on the man¡¯s face, though there was an icy glint deep in his eyes. "I¡¯m willing to be controlled by you, but I still want the chance to get revenge. My Cloudflow Universe has long since fallen under the control of the Transcendent Universe, and suffered horrible abuse. Let me rescue some of my people.¡±

    Rather than a request, this sounded more like begging. Cloudflow was equal to a Progenitor, but he had been reduced to begging. If not for what was happening to the people of the Cloudflow Universe, Cloudflow would happily die before being controlled.

    Lu Yin was reminded of A-Mei''s despair that one night, and of the helplessness that he had seen in her. He saw that same helplessness in Cloudflow''s numbness as the man begged to save his people. This was the fate of the weak. Lu Yin realized that he could never be weak.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods grew brighter and brighter, and where there was light, there would also be darkness. The golden light caused Cloudflow to cast a deep shadow.

    "Cloudflow, are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin asked, his voice sounding different from normal. It was both more solemn, and more sacred, and his words sounded invible.

    Cloudflow took a deep breath and softly answered, "Yes."

    "Are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin asked again.

    "Yes," Cloudflow answered quickly this time. He had made his decision, and he would not regret it.

    With the man¡¯s answer, his shadow moved from behind him and made its way towards the Investiture of the Gods. Once it entered the scroll, Lu Yin would be able to summon an image of Cloudflow. No matter if it was against Cloudflow or anyone else, Lu Yin would be able to use this summon to fight.

    The first time Lu Yin had tried to confer a god had been with Senior Brother Mu Xie, but the attempt had failed. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was simply too powerful, and his strength was more than what Lu Yin could endure. The bacsh had given Lu Yin serious injuries.

    His second attempt had been with Progenitor Nong, and that sess had given Lu Yin the confidence to try again with Cloudflow. Cloudflow was not necessarily stronger than Progenitor Nong, but Lu Yin was far stronger than when he had made hisst attempt. As for Chen Le, Lu Yin did not want to reveal too much to the man. Additionally, Chen Le would never be genuinely willing to be conferred as a god.

    There was a bang that shook Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He could feel something else enter his mind as the shadow entered the scroll. He had sessfully conferred another god. His Investiture of the Gods had another powerhouse, and Lu Yin now had ess to Cloudflow¡¯s Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao.

    Cloudflow stared as his own shadow entered the scroll, shocked by this development. This Lu Yin was truly able to borrow his strength. Investiture of the Gods? This name was beyond overbearing. Was this supposed to be an inherited innate gift? That meant that others from the child¡¯s family should possess it as well. Even so, they had been banished! By whom? It was impossible for the Transcendent Universe to be responsible, as they had struggled to deal with just Cloudflow, let alone a family terrifying enough to possess this innate gift.

    Could it have been the Great Sovereign?

 Chapter 2679: The Hand Behind The Scenes

    Chapter 2679: The Hand Behind The Scenes

    The Investiture of the Gods was put away. Lu Yin opened his eyes and calmly looked over at Cloudflow. He had spoken at length to convince Cloudflow to be conferred as a god. If the man had not beenpletely willing, the process would have failed. The truth was that, if Lu Yin had genuinely wanted to control Cloudflow, he could have simply asked his senior brother to handle the matter. Then, there would have been no reason for him to spend so much time trying to convince the man.

    However, Lu Yins efforts had finally paid off, after more talking than he had wanted.

    The fact that Cloudflow was willing to be conferred into Lu Yins Investiture of the Gods indicated that he had no other motivations when dealing with Lu Yin, as the powerhouse believed that the Investiture of the Gods was a means of controlling those who were conferred.

    "I will do my best to try to help you save your world, and I will also help you get your revenge," Lu Yin promised.

    Cloudflow let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much."

    After that, Lu Yin shared more information about his own status in the Origin Universe, as well as details concerning the Heavens Sect. Cloudflow was stunned by all that he learned.

    Lu Yins startlingly high status went far beyond the mans expectations, as well as the fact that more than one Progenitor was supporting him. On top of that, this youth had infiltrated the Sixverse Association and be someone famous in that alliance of parallel universes as well. In fact, everything that Lu Yin had done simply left Cloudflow confused by the series of events, and A-Mei felt the exact same way. Were such actions even possible?

    Since Lu Yin had first encountered the Cloudflow Universe, he had felt that the people of that particr universe were too simple. The regr cultivators were so focused on the research facility where Cloudflow was being held captive that they had not even realized that they had been deceived and were being used by the Transcendent Universe, and Lu Yin had seen the same simplicity and stubbornness in Cloudflow himself. It was no wonder why the Cloudflow Universe had been tricked. Cloudflow himself was the same, as they were all too stubborn. It was no wonder how these people had been conquered by the Transcendent Universe.

    "When I first discovered the passage that connected my universe to the Transcendent Universe, I went through it without much thought. The Transcendent Universe was also friendly enough at first. Who could have expected that when I agreed to let one of their bestowal art carriers enter the Cloudflow Universe, it would lead to an irreversible change?" Cloudflow shared the story of his universes fall.

    The more Lu Yin heard, the more convinced he became that Cloudflow and his people were not particrly intelligent. At the same time, he was increasingly grateful towards Gu Yue for sealing the passage between the Fifth Maind and the Three Monarchs Universe. With only Semi-Progenitors, how could the Fifth Maind have stood a chance against the Three Monarchs Universe? Even just their Mo Courtyard would have been enough to sweep through the entire Fifth Maind.

    After all, the Perennial World did not care if the Fifth Maind waspletely destroyed.

    "You mentioned that youre skilled with the saber, right? Does that mean youll be far more powerful if your limbs are healed?" Lu Yin asked.

    Cloudflow replied, "Of course, though it is not actually that difficult for me to heal myself. After all, I am a true powerhouse, so all I need is a bit of time, and I will regain my previous strength. In my prime, I was even able to defeat those people who control ck energy converters."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Let''s go. Starting today, you will be the Heavens Sects third elder."

    The first two elders were the Progenitor of Bloodlines and Arch-Elder Zen, of course.

    Cloudflow was clueless to the fact that the Investiture of the Gods could not control him, and Lu Yin did not correct the mans misunderstanding. With this, the Heavens Sect had gained another Progenitor-level powerhouse, and while Cloudflow was not as powerful as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he would be the Heavens Sect hidden trump card. Lu Yin was certain that the mans presence would serve as a wonderful surprise for the four ruling powers.

    A-Mei was taken to Heavens Sect along with Cloudflow, whom she continued to follow.

    ***

    As for the Transcendent Universe, they werepletely shocked by the fact that Cloudflow had escaped, and even He Ran lost herposure.

    First, Shao Qingfeng had disappeared, and then Cloudflow had vanished. On top of that, the You family had pledged their support to Bai Qian. Everything seemed to be turning against He Ran all at once.

    In the ruins of the hidden research facility, Xiao Hai and others had already regained consciousness, only to bepletely terrified by the sight of destruction that surrounded them.

    When Xiao Hai woke up, he immediately started writing a report about how he had noticed an energy that did not belong to the Cloudflow Universe, or to the Transcendent Universe. However, before submitting the report, Xiao Hai happened to notice the writing on his palm, and what he read caused his expression to change drastically. Instantly, his report became a closely guarded secret, and he did not even consider revealing it to anyone.

    Several days passed as many people from the Transcendent Universe investigated the research facility, trying to determine what exactly had happened there. Unfortunately, that was impossible, which was startling in and of itself.

    The powerhouse with the ck energy converter who had responded to the trouble at the research facility had not seen Lu Yin, as Lu Yin had escaped with A-Mei as soon as the expert arrived. The man had also killed everyone from the Cloudflow Universe, which meant that not a single witness had been left alive. This detail infuriated He Ran, and she cursed the powerhouse for his stupidity. Well, she cursed him behind his back.

    She suspected that the You family was responsible, but she failed to unearth any evidence to support that assumption. You Fang had not left the Ziyou Realm during Cloudflows rescue, and You Teng had remained at the Sixverse Academy. Without any evidence, He Ran could not use the You family of anything.

    For some time, she had felt that there was a hidden hand secretly controlling everything, but she could not determine where that maniptor might be.

    Who was it? Who could it be?

    Lu Yin secretly visited the Ziyou Realm to meet with You Fang.

    "If I hadn''t reacted quickly enough, I would have been killed! Fortunately, I managed to leave before that person with the ck energy converter arrived," Lu Yin fearfully recounted.

    "Where is Cloudflow? How did he escape?" You Fang asked while looking at Lu Yin with great suspicion.

    Lu Yin replied, "How should I know? I was looking through the research information on the sixteenth floor. I have no idea what happened further below."

    You Fang frowned. "Is it possible that Cloudflow escaped on his own?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "You cant possibly think that I took Cloudflow, do you? Im not capable of that. Cloudflow is a peak powerhouse, no matter how much he might have been weakened. Before I reach that same level myself, I dont dare to get involved with such experts.

    You Fang looked back at Xuan Qi as the youth spoke. The way that the events had yed out felt like too much of a coincidence to the You patriarch.

    If Xuan Qi had actually managed to take Cloudflow away, he would naturally keep it a secret, but that was also impossible. No matter how well Xuan Qi might have hidden his strength, it was impossible for him to be a peak powerhouse.

    This meant that there was another exnation: another peak expert had taken action to rescue Cloudflow.

    "Anyway, Cloudflow''s disappearance doesnt have anything to do with me. I merely destroyed half of the base so that I could find the information I was looking for, but I left everything elsepletely untouched," Lu Yin stated.

    You Fang''s heart skipped a beat; he destroyed half of the base?

    You Fang was aware that the Bestowal Art had been used to imprison Cloudflow, as his family was the one who had arranged the cage imprisoning the man. In order to maintain the prison, the Bestowal Art required a constant source of energy. When Xuan Qi had destroyed the research facility, could he have damaged the power source and caused the Bestowal Art cage to fail?

    That was notpletely impossible.

    However, that was also not important. "What are Zi Jing and the Energy Research Group studying? Did you find out?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I couldnt find anything about that."

    You Fang felt quite disappointed.

    "However, while searching around there, I did see a few words that might be rted to their research," Lu Yin said after making a point to carefully consider the matter. "Sequence particles."

    The words startled You Fang. "Sequence particles? Are you sure that those are the words you saw?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Definitely."

    He intended to make use of You Fang''s power and influence, so it only made sense to share the Energy Research Groups field of study with the You family. After all, even if Lu Yin did not tell them, the You family would eventually find out, given You Fang''s abilities.

    "Are these sequence particles important? Your reaction was pretty strong."

    You Fang''s expression grew solemn, unprecedentedly so. "This is a research project that was proposed by that person a long time ago but never implemented. My You familys ancestor left instructions for my family that, whenever that research is initiated, we absolutely had to be part of it, and we could not hold back any of our abilities at all.

    "I don''t know what these sequence particles are, but I trust my ancestors words, and I and my You family have to carry out his will."

    <em>You dont know what sequence particles are?</em> Lu Yin did not believe a word of this. As the patriarch of the You family, how could You Fang blindly obey some instructions left behind by the founder of the family? However, as long as You Fang said nothing, Xuan Qi could not ask.

    "I never expected He Ran''s pet research project to actually be about sequence particles. No wonder it was hidden even from me." You Fang''s expression grew dark.

    "What should we do now?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Fang remainedpletely somber, "Xuan Qi, Zi Jing''s situation is moreplicated than I expected. She is studying sequence particles, which is not something that He Ran can be behind. That person must be supporting her as well."

    Lu Yinmented, "I know that. You already told me that, without that person, Zi Jing would have never been able to hide from you and your family."

    "I underestimated the seriousness of this matter." You Fang let out a long breath. "Head on back for now. I need to think about what to do next as this research is far too important."

    Lu Yin nodded and left the Ziyou Realm.

    He did not know what You Fang intended to do next. The truth was that neither You Fang nor He Ran had ever truly cooperated with Xuan Qi. Both of them had their own goals and motivations, just as Lu Yin did himself. It all came down to who was able to outmaneuver the others. At the moment, Bai Qian appeared to be the cleanest person involved. She was caught up in this vortex, but she was essentially all alone. No one could imagine that, not only did she have her own allies, but she was also being secretly supported by the Origin Universes Heavens Sect.

    The effect of Cloudflow''s disappearance grew increasingly serious, and word spread throughout the Transcendent Universe until everyone who had been aware of Cloudflows imprisonment learned that the man had escaped and was missing. This dealt a heavy blow to He Ran''s side.

    The biggest blow came from Zi Jings teacher, the leader of the Energy Research Group.

    While the old man appeared to be nothing more than a team leader for the research project, in truth, he was the one in charge of the entire research group. This research concerned the most advanced aspects of reality as humans understood it, and at least as far as Lu Yin was aware, they were essentially studying the underlying rules that governed the universes themselves. The project leader definitely was not nearly as simple as he appeared to be.

    At the base of the stairs, He Ran was not standing high above others, but rather with her head somewhat bowed as the old man ranted and raged for half an hour. Not even Uncle Mo dared to interrupt the man.

    "Elder, please calm down. I promise that I will find Cloudflow, and I promise that you will be able to obtain the best data possible," He Ran stated in a very polite manner.

    She did not dare to offend this old man. She knew how important it was to tread lightly around him.

    The old man red at He Ran. "You better do just that, or else dont me me for no longer being polite. I can decide your victory or defeat with just one sentence. Even if Lord Wei were here himself, I would say the same thing."

    He Ran''s face turned pale, and she bowed low. "I know. If you will calm down, Elder, I will make sure to handle this matter properly."

    "Humph!" The old man turned around and left.

    No one knew that the entric old researcher, who appeared somewhat insane and who usually spoke so politely to He Ran, actually had a status so lofty that he could directly reprimand He Ran. That was something that not even You Fang could do.

    Once the old man left, He Ran heaved a sigh of relief. "Have He Shu get in touch with Chu Jian immediately. Bai Qian will never be able to threaten me!"

    Uncle Mo quietly asked, "How do you intend to quell the elder''s anger?"

    This question gave He Ran a headache. If she wanted to quell the elder''s anger, it was necessary to both find Cloudflow andpensate for the losses that had urred. However, where was He Ran supposed to find Cloudflow? She did not even know who could possibly be responsible for his disappearance.

    She could only prevent that old man from also supporting Bai Qian at the moment. If that man interfered in He Ranspetition with Bai Qian, he would instantly decide the victor and the loser.

    That was how much influence the old man held.

    The crazy-looking old man was rather inconspicuous and did not appear to have much power, but he had lived longer than anyone else, and he had even been alive when energy converters were first developed. Even Yu Fang had to bow when he saw the old man.

    Everyone in the entire Transcendent Universe needed to respectfully call the crazy old man elder whenever they saw him. He was the most privileged person in the entire Transcendent Universe and was able to directly influence the rulers decisions.

    "Could the You family have done this?" Uncle Mo asked.

    This was what they had suspected from the very beginning, but there was no proof at all.

    Given that she was facing a genuine threat, He Ran decided that it was time to talk to You Fang in person to try to resolve their grudges.

    She could not understand why You Fang had suddenly started supporting Bai Qian. Was it because of what had happened with Monarch Luo? However, before that, He Ran had taken a few actions against the You family as well, and they had never cared.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2680: Preparations

    Chapter 2680: Preparations

    It was not long before Lu Yin left the Red Zone in the Voidforce Universe and publicly captured another spy. This once again reminded people of his existence. He could not constantly remain in seclusion, as the Bureaus responsibilities were extremely important.

    For some time, Lu Yin put on a show of being very busy searching for Aeternuss spies, but in truth, he was waiting for news from You Fang.

    It was not long before You Fang sent someone to contact Xuan Qi, and Lu Yin learned that He Ran had visited the Ziyou Realm and spoken to Patriarch You again. The results of the visit were no different from before, and no agreement was reached.

    He Ran had reached out to You Fang in a submissive manner, telling the man that she would not go after his You family again. She had also apologized for failing to stop Monarch Luo from attacking the Ziyou Realm. Despite He Rans words and actions, You Fang had still refused to relent, and he continued firmly supporting Bai Qian. The man was not truly supporting Bai Qian, and He Ran was also aware of this, which was the true reason for her visit, but she had failed to learn anything.

    Lu Yin returned to the Ziyou Realm to find out what You Fang nned to do next.

    "It''s ridiculous that He Ran wants me to give up so easily." When Lu Yin arrived, You Fang entertained him with the best wine and food avable, and the older man did not appear nearly as somber as during Lu Yins previous visit.

    Lu Yin took the opportunity to ask some questions, "What are you going to do, Senior? I mean, regarding the sequence particle research."

    You Fang replied, "You don''t need to worry about that. When ites to anything rted to sequence particle research, I need to be very cautious and consider things carefully."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then what about He Ran? Shes visited your Ziyou Realm twice now. Are you still supporting Bai Qian, Senior?"

    You Fang smiled. "If she agrees to cooperate with me, then the value in that naturally supercedes my support for Bai QIan. Unfortunately, that is also impossible. He Ran is extremely smart, and not only will she never cooperate with me, but after visiting me, shell also report everything that I said to that person. If she doesnt, shell end up in the exact same position as Bai Qian."

    Lu Yin immediately felt that something was off. "Senior, what do you mean by that? What do you say that He Ran will never cooperate with you?"

    You Fang gave Lu Yin a half-smile that was not really a smile. "Young man, your mind works very quickly, so theres no reason to act stupid. Can''t you clearly see the situation in my Transcendent Universe?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and said withplete seriousness, "This junior cant see these things clearly, so please enlighten me, Senior."

    You Fangughed. "If you cant see it, then just forget it. Basically, the most important thing for us right now is the sequence particle research. I need to find a way to get involved as soon as possible, and that will also let me help you take Zi Jing away in the future. Nothing else is important. Important people are upset with He Ran because of Cloudflows disappearance, so as long as Bai Qian stays calm and doesn''te out for a while, she stands a very good chance of winning."

    Lu Yin ignored what You Fang was saying and instead asked, "Senior, since you and I are partners, why hide things? Please tell me what is happening in the Transcendent Universe so that this junior can prepare and react ordingly."

    You Fang and Lu Yin stared at each other for a long moment. "You really can''t see whats happening?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I havent had enough contact with this universe, and I have too little information to see things clearly."

    You Fang nodded. "Very well, in that case, I''ll tell you."

    The older man took a moment to think about things. "When ites to the littlepetition going on, I dont care about He Ran, let alone Bai Qian. What I care about is that person, as well as the sequence particle research. Because of that research, something needs to be done. What can be done to remind that person of my You familys existence? This is why my ancestor ordered us to participate in the sequence particle research.

    "In the past, I knew that some top-secret research was taking ce, but I wasnt able to find out what it was about, which was why I had no choice but to get involved in the little spat between He Ran and Bai Qian. Only by changing the oue from the predetermined one was it possible to get one of that persons representatives to visit my home.

    Can you understand this?"

    Things made sense to Lu Yin. "This junior simply assumed that you hated He Ran for leading Senior Wen Shi away and leaving your Ziyou Realm isted and helpless against Monarch Luos attack on your Ziyou Realm."

    You Fang sneered. "What can Monarch Luo do to my Ziyou Realm by himself? He Ran was just ying some tricks. If that person had agreed to allow my You family to join the sequence particle research from the beginning, my You family would still be following him. We never cared about He Ran, Bai Qian, or their pettypetition, as that wont affect us in the least. However, that person has underestimated my You family and me.

    "He rose to power by relying on energy converters, while my You family relied on the Bestowal Art. The next generation to lead the Transcendent Universe will be whoever participates in the sess of the sequence particle research. If my You family is not a part of that, my family will fall into decline, which is not what we want to see. As for He Ran, she understands my You familys intentions, and thus kept this research project a secret from us from the very beginning. Its also why she will never be willing to cooperate with us. If not for that, she would have never needed topete with Bai Qian, as He Ran would have automatically received the position that they arepeting for."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Then what about Bai Qian? Shes already working with us."

    You Fang just shrugged. "Shes just one woman. As long as I can get that person to add my You family to the sequence particle research thats going on, it doesn''t matter which of those two women wins or loses.

    "Since He Ran already has a clear picture of whats happening, why is she still worried about Bai Qian? She should understand that since Bai Qian is cooperating with us, its impossible to win." Lu Yin could not understand this.

    You Fang said, "She is merely able to clearly see the situation, but that does not give herplete confidence, as she cant see through that person''s heart. Because of that, she doesnt dare to take any risks. While Bai Qian was destined to lose originally, she has now gained a chance of victory. Now that an opponent who was going to lose suddenly became a threat, everything has changed for He Ran. Tell me, if asked to wager 10,000 transcended crystals of her own against just one of Bai Qians, what do you think He Ran will choose?

    "Even though she is 90% certain that Bai Qian cannot win, my You family and I are not people that He Ran can get a clear read on. Even with only 10% of uncertainty, He Ran will not dare to take the bet."

    Lu Yin understood. The bottom line was that He Ran wantedplete assurance of her victory, and for that reason, she had approached the You family and tried to settle their differences. In the end, that 10% uncertainty was why He Ran was unwilling to simply eliminate Bai Qian, but it was also why she was unwilling to take any risks at all.

    This mentality had caused He Ran to ce herself and Bai Qian on the same level, and this was also the reason for theirpetition.

    This was the clever part of You Fang''s n. Even if He Ran was able to see through everything that was happening, she could only allow herself to be manipted by You Fangs machinations.

    You Fang gave Xuan Qi an odd look. "You seem quite concerned about Bai Qian. Why is that? Do you have a crush on her?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "How could that be? Im just curious, what is my part in your n, Senior?"

    You Fang''s expression immediately turned serious. "You are different from Bai Qian. While she is nothing more than a pawn, you can be an actual yer. Your outstanding talent means that you are certain to eventually be a true powerhouse, and you already run the Bureau in the Three Monarchs Universe and the Voidforce Universe, and you also have four peak powerhouses standing behind you. All of this makes you invaluable.

    "Xuan Qi, as someone who has been around for a while, I can tell you that its important for people to alway remain valuable, whether to others or simply to yourself. The moment a person loses value, their lives be worthless. Value is all that a person can live for, as its a symbol of everything that they are."

    Regardless of whether You Fangs summary of the situation in the Transcendent Universe was urate, his warning to Xuan Qi was entirely true. The man was revealing his heart in order to gain Xuan Qis trust, and this was his way of doing that.

    While such words would leave many people ufortable, it was also a very effective way of convincing someone.

    Lu Yin looked up at the other man and said, "Thank you, Senior, for cautioning me."

    Lu Yin soon left the Ziyou Realm, and once he was gone, he used his wireless jincan to reach out to Bai Qian and share the entire conversation with You Fang with her.

    Bai Qian did not reveal any surprise in her response. She was quite familiar with her status and position, and while it had been presented as a three-way partnership between herself, the You family, and Xuan Qi, Bai Qian had always known that she was nothing more than a puppet.

    "You Fang lied to you," Bai Qian sent back through the wireless jincan. "I believe that, not only does he want to get involved in the sequence particle research, but his ns most likely also target the ruler of the Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yins eyes narrowed. Lord Wei was the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, but the man was very mysterious. Lu Yin had specifically looked into Lord Wei, but he had found almost nothing at all. In fact, what limited information there was seemed to conflict on whether Lord Wei was a man or a woman. It was almost as though the ruler of the universe had appeared as both genders throughout the years. This was quite scary, as the more mysterious a person was, the more terrifying they became.

    "Why would the You family want to go after the ruler of the Transcendent Univese?" Lu Yin asked.

    Unfortunately, Bai Qian did not have an answer to this question.

    From what Lu Yin had seen, the You familys actions to deal with He Ran had already exceeded what was publicly known about them, but even so, Lu Yin had not seen anything overly impressive from the family. They were the progenitors of the Bestowal Art cultivation technology, while He Ran was nothing more than a puppet of Lord Wei. Even if He Ran represented the ruler of the universe, she was not the ruler herself. Dealing with He Ran was not an indication of the You familys ability to deal with Lord Wei.

    If the You family really was trying to target Lord Wei, then their abilities must be much different from what Lu Yin had seen so far.

    Did the You family really have that powerful a foundation? Or could they be backed by someone more powerful? The You family''s behavior simply did not make any sense, and they were actingpletely unlike when Lu Yin had first made contact with them. The change was too drastic in too short a time, which meant that something had to be wrong.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of a possibility; was it possible that he was not the only one trying to conquer the Transcendent Universe? Could someone else have the same intentions?

    Additionally, You Fang was aware that Xuan Qi was from the Origin Universe, and he had even mentioned that he would like to resolve the issues between Xuan Qi and Lu Yin. However, after that one time, the man had never mentioned the matter again, not even when they had been discussing their partnership. This made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Lu Yin had suspected that You Fang might have guessed a part of the truth, and he had even been so worried that he had considered abandoning his identity as Xuan Qi. However, as time passed, You Fang had never mentioned the matter again, which had given Lu Yin a bit of relief.

    However, should Lu Yin really be feeling relieved that the matter had been ignored? He found it incredibly difficult to discern the thoughts of someone like You Fang. Upon thinking of this, Lu Yin''s contemtion grew deeper.

    "For now, the You family is publicly supporting you. ording to You Fang''s words, youve already been eliminated from thepetition by Lord Wei, and theres no hope of you ever seizing victory." Lu Yin sent a more lengthy message to Bai Qian, finishing with, "Make preparations to deal with the You family."

    Lu Yin continued to focus on capturing spies in the Voidforce Universe after visiting You Fang, and he also visited the Three Monarchs Universe. He wanted to make sure that people saw what he was doing. At the least, he wanted to demonstrate that he had nothing to do with the current events in the Transcendent Universe.

    Chen Le sent arge amount of flourishing crystals, and Lu Yin once more went into seclusion. It was time to roll his die again. Possession was truly the best way to hunt for spies.

    His seclusionsted for three months, though eleven years passed for Lu Yin. He rolled Timestop eleven times during his three months in seclusion, and he had also managed to roll Possession four times. Unfortunately, he had not managed to Possess any spies, but from the memories of the people who he Possessed, Lu Yin had found one potential spy, though it was someone who could not be investigated.

    Lu Yin watched the person, and after confirming some things with Chen Le, Lu Yin identified the spy and arrested him, which reestablished Xuan Qis presence in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    However, Lu Yin did not dare to be too sessful in the Three Monarchs Universe out of fear of attracting Monarch Luos attention.

    While Xu Wuwei had not recognized Lu Yin, there was no way that Monarch Luo would not recognize Xuan Qis true identity of Lu Yin, and this was the greatest danger that he faced in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    During Lu Yins three months of seclusion, nothing major happened in the Transcendent Universe. Both He Ran and You family were nning and preparing.

    After leaving seclusion, Lu Yin also called the Transcendent Universes Xiao Hai.

    Ever since the secret research facility had been attacked, Xiao Hai had been on edge. In fact, even his demeanor at work had been affected, as he had be rather dull and was not nearly as dedicated to his work as in the past.

    He would nce down at his hand dozens of times each day. The words that had been left there kept him from sleeping at night, and he even wanted to flee from the Transcendent Universe.

    The man endured the mental torture for more than three months before finally, one day, a message appeared on hismunication crystal.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2681: Murderous Case

    Chapter 2681: Murderous Case

    Xiao Hai''s eyes grewrge as he looked at the disy, and he quickly answered the iing call, asking, "Who is this?"

    "Weve already done business before, but thats still the question you always ask." Xiao Hai heard a voicee through, but it was a synthetic voice that made it impossible to determine the gender of the speaker, as well as any other defining characteristic. It was the same voice that Xiao Hai always used when selling information to clients.

    Xiao Hai''s face turned pale. He had already determined the callers location, but he had no idea who was calling him. This person was aplete mystery.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not known the identity of the information broker, which had made it impossible for Lu Yin to find the person, or even contact them. That was why Lu Yin had had to use Luo Lao''er to contact the information broker. Xiao Hai had already figured out that he was being called by whoever had been using Luo Laoer, but that was all. The twos roles had reversed. Now, Lu Yin was cloaked in mystery, while Xiao Hai did not know who he wasmunicating with.

    It was impossible for Xiao Hai to hide from Lu Yin in the Transcendent Universe, and it was also impossible for the man to determine Lu Yins identity.

    "What do you want?" Xiao Hai asked, feeling both awkward and nervous. However, he felt no fear. He was speaking with someone who knew that he was an information broker, but Xiao Hais business had not been exposed yet. There was only one possible exnation: Xiao Hai was needed, and because of that, there was room to negotiate.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I need information on spies."

    A long timeter, the disys of the twomunication crystals went dark.

    Xiao Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead as his eyes darted about. Could he have been discovered by someone from the You family?

    The Bureau cared the most about information regarding spies, and the You family led the Transcendent Universes Bureau. Thus, if Xiao Hai had been found by a member of the You family, then whoever had attacked the hidden research facility and set Cloudflow free seemed to most likely be a member of the You family.

    If the You family was taking these kinds of actions, could they be targeting He Ran?

    Xuan Qi did not even ur as a possibility to Xiao Hai, as the You family had already driven Xuan Qi out of the Transcendent Universe. Thus, he was no longer affiliated with the Transcendent Universes Bureau. For this reason, the only possibility that urred to Xiao Hai was the You family.

    However, the moment that Lu Yin used the information he received from Xiao Hai to arrest spies, the information broker would naturally leap to the conclusion that Xuan Qi had been the one who had attacked the hidden research facility.

    Lu Yin had no intention of going out and arresting the spies right away. Even though he had received a great deal of information about spies from Xiao Hai, none of them were that important. Either Xiao Hai was keeping the most valuable information to himself, or he was unable to uncover such sensitive information.

    Lu Yin decided to wait until Xiao Hai was no longer of use, and then extract everything the man knew in person.

    There were hidden currents surging throughout the entire Transcendent Universe, and no one knew what would happen next.

    The fact that the You family had put its hand into thepetition between He Ran and Bai Qian had caused even the Ruling Council to be split in two, and everyone was waiting for the next big event.

    Even Lu Yin was no exception.

    However, what Lu Yin received was not news from the Transcendent Universe, but rather an invitation from the Arboreal Realms Bureau.

    The Director of the Arboreal Realms Bureau, Director Gan, had personally invited Xuan Qi to visit the Arboreal Realm and help them capture spies. This invitation badly confused Lu Yin, as he had never expected to receive an invitation from the Arboreal Realm at this juncture.

    After all, Lu Yin had asked the Transcendent Universes Bureau to invite him, and the Three Monarchs Universe had only invited him because Monarch Luo wanted to uncover Xiao Hais identity. But for the Arboreal Realm, Lu Yin had done nothing to trigger an invitation from them.

    The Bureau''s status in the Sixverse Association was rather awkward, and Lu Yin had never heard anything about the Arboreal Realms Bureau being an exception to that rule or that they were dedicated to capturing spies.

    Not only had Lu Yin received apletely unprompted invitation that had nothing to do with any of his efforts, the invitation had been sent by the Director of the Arboreal Realms Bureau himself.

    On top of that, the invitation had not even been delivered to Xuan Qi, but rather to Xu Wuji, who had brought it to Lu Yin.

    "Why did Bureau Director Gan invite me?" Lu Yin was caughtpletely off guard.

    Xu Wuji was also quite puzzled. "I don''t understand this Gan person at all. Hes broken through and became a powerful cultivator thest hundred years, and has not been to the Endless Frontier more than a couple times, which is quite strange."

    Lu Yin frowned. Was it possible that Bureau Director Gan was connected to the Liberation Pce?

    One of Xuan Qis very few connections to the Arboreal Realm was the innate gift of space that he had acquired through his arboreal transformation. Even Mu Ke had taken an interest in Xuan Qi after that, though once Lu Yin joined the Voidforce Universe under his alias, the Arboreal Realm''s interest had faded away. In fact, Mu Sanye had never even bothered seeking Lu Yin out again.

    The only other connection that Lu Yin had with the Arboreal Realm was the master of the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng. However, there was absolutely no way for Mr. Daheng to have made the connection between Chen Le and Xuan Qi, and the Peaks and Rivers rock had been given to Monarch Luo. Mr. Daheng was interested in that stone, not Chen Le himself, which made that connection impossible.

    Could this invitation truly be nothing more than a coincidence?

    Regardless of whether that was the case, Lu Yin had no intention of visiting the Arboreal Realm.

    He was afraid of meeting Mu Ke, as such a meeting would expose his Mask of Death again, and then Lu Yin would have to offer another exnation for his hidden identity. If he could not provide an adequate excuse, he could end up in serious trouble.

    Lu Yin asked Xu Wuji to help him decline the invitation from the Arboreal Realms Bureau with the excuse that his recent experience in the Transcendent Universe had disillusioned him about cooperating with other universes Bureau branches.

    Xu Wuji patted Xuan Qis shoulder. "The You family really went too far. They reached out and asked for your assistance, but then believed the rumors that you led Monarch Luo to their Ziyou Realm to attack them. How could that be possible? Everyone can clearly tell that He Ran was responsible for that. Damn, well remember this, and Ill help you get revenge if the chance ever appears!"

    "Thank you, Bureau Director," Lu Yin said gratefully.

    Xu Wuji nodded. "In that case, Ill turn down Bureau Director Gans invitation. In fact, it''s fine if you dont ever visit the Arboreal Realm. That universe is veryplicated, and it has also been around for a very long time. Things there are not any better than in the Transcendent Universe. It would be best for you to just stay here in the Voidforce Universe where you can be safe until you be a Void Suprema yourself.

    Actually, you shouldnt even return to the Three Monarchs Universe."

    <em>Thats impossible.</em> Lu Yin quickly replied, "Senior Chen Le has taken very good care of me, and he even trusts mepletely. I don''t want to let him down."

    Xu Wuji said, "Its your decision, but if you get bullied, just tell me, and Ill stand up for you. Also," Suddenly, Xu Wuji grew incredibly somber, and he stared intently at Lu Yin, confusing the young man.

    "Why havent you been wearing your Wuji sses?"

    Lu Yinughed dryly. "I forgot. I just forgot."

    His fingers rxed. He had nearly pulled out the slipper, thinking that his real identity had been discovered.

    ***

    Finally, the Transcendent Universe erupted.

    A few days after Lu Yin turned down the Arboreal Realm branch of the Bureaus invitation to visit and assist them, the You family suddenly started making their move, and it started with them swaying members of the Ruling Council.

    Originally, a third of the Ruling Council had supported Bai Qian, but with the You familys efforts, that group had risen to about half.

    He Ran instantly reacted, but no matter what she did, she could notpare to the influence of the You family. Fewer and fewer members of the Ruling Council were willing to support He Ran, and everyone was shocked by You family''s abilities.

    In fact, the familys uncharacteristic behavior confused countless people, as the You familys actions ranpletely contrary to what people expected. It was though the You family had bared their fangs.

    He Ran was stunned by the You family''s sudden attack, and she did not know how to respond, other than to enact <em>that</em> n.

    "Bai Qian still wont reveal herself?" He Ran looked incredibly upset, but even so, her features were still perfect and captivating to any who looked at her.

    He Shu replied, "Weve done everything we can think of, but Bai Qian still refuses toe out. Even the members of the Ruling Council who purposely defected to You familys side havent been able to get her to reveal herself, and the same goes for Tu Ke. She simply wont reveal herself, no matter what happens. The You family should be behind this, and theyve likely already made their preparations.

    He Ran clenched her fists. The suppression that she had suffered over the recent months made her want to scream out of frustration. She feltpletely powerless.

    She had not initially cared about the You familys actions, as they would only asionally test He Ran. However, the moment the family revealed their true strength, He Ran had been rendered helpless.

    She regretted her earlier actions. If she had known that this was how everything would turn out, she would have never acted against the You family at all.

    "Sister, even if Bai Qian is cooperating with the You family, it is impossible for her to win, as you have Lord Wei behind you. Given this situation, theres no need for us to take any risks," He Shu cautioned.

    He Ran angrily retorted, "What do you know? Is the You family an ordinary family? Its a monster that, together with Lord Wei, is responsible for the Transcendent Universes current state. No one knows for sure what sort of strength they may be hiding. If the You family is determined to support Bai Qian, then even Lord Wei himself may have to show them some face.

    "How many years has it been? Every generation that passes enters this samepetition, and Bai Qian and I are the ny third generation of thispetition. Lord Wei does not care about me or Bai Qian, but he does care about the You family. Even if he does not like the cooperation between Bai Qian and the You family, as long as the You family pays the price, it is not difficult for Lord Wei to sacrifice someone like me."

    He Shu gritted his teeth and firmed his determination. His eyes turned hard. "I will try again, and this time, I will definitely lure her out!"

    The only reason why He Shu had any status at all was due to He Ran; without her, he would have nothing. Given the choices, why would he care about Bai Qian?

    He Ran felt weak, and she put a hand to her forehead, feeling a headacheing on.

    He Shu said nothing and merely stood there.

    "Uncle Mo, how many members of the Ruling Council still support me?" He Ran asked in a calm voice.

    Uncle Mo stepped out. "Exactly twelve members."

    He Rans eyes opened back up. "Weve nearly reached the end of this battle, and no matter how I look at it, if those people had not turned against me, I definitely would have won."

    He Shu shrugged. The moment the You family had taken action, nearly half of the Ruling Council had turned on He Ran. How was it possible to ensure that the Ruling Council would support her?

    "Uncle Mo, let''s go." He Ran seemed to have silentlye to a decision.

    Uncle Mo''s eyes grew cold. "Yes."

    A few dayster, news spread in an explosive manner, and the entire Sixverse Association was stunned, including You Fang.

    Many members of the Transcendent Universes Ruling Council had been murdered. In fact, everyst member of the Ruling Council who had turned to the You family or otherwise supported Bai Qian had been killed. Only a single person who had fled to the You family for protection had survived.

    Ten members of the Ruling Council had died, and the ground was stained with their blood.

    It was an unprecedented ughter.

    On the surface, the Ruling Council ruled the Transcendent Universe as the masters of the ce. They decided all matters that concerned the entire universe, making them a lofty, untouchable group. Despite that, half of them had been killed.

    He Ran was also acknowledged as the one responsible for the ten deaths.

    Every single person who had died had followed the You family when they announced their support for Bai Qian, so who else but He Ran could be responsible for the murders?

    He Ran did not deny anything, though to be more urate, Uncle Mo was the guilty party. The purpose of these deaths was to demonstrate that whoever betrayed He Ran would die.

    She needed to haveplete control over the next thirteen members who joined the Ruling Council, as she needed the councils unanimous support to retain a chance of winning.

    The final decision of thepetition between He Ran and Bai Qian was up to the Ruling Council. No matter what the You family did, the Ruling Council alone made the decision, and not even the You family could change that.

    The thirteen people who remained on the council all supported He Ran, and among them was Tu Ke. He had stopped pretending to support Bai Qian, as He Ran wanted everyone to know that Tu Ke also belonged to her.

    He Ran had overturned the game board bypletely ignoring what the other people in the Transcendent Universe thought of her.

    As for You Fang, the man praised He Rans decision. "The womans pretty good. Shes ruthlessruthless and decisive. No wonder Lord Wei favors her. Not only does she have a truly perfect appearance, but she''s also quite capable."

    Yu Lele frowned, as she was feeling quite frustrated. "Youre actually admiring her? We dont have anyone on the Ruling Council now, so how are we supposed to get Bai Qian to win?"

    You Fangughed. "Whoever wins or loses isnt something that we need to concern ourselves with. These murders are enough to draw the ruler out. I want to see what he intends to do now."

    "What do you think Lord Wei will do to He Ran?" You Lele asked, her eyes sparkling.

    You Fang shook his head. "I cant say how he will deal with this matter, but I do know that he cares little for the members of the Ruling Council, and their lives or deaths dont matter to him. What matters is He Ran herself. Her beauty and act of rage will only make Lord Wei to appreciate her even more. However, as long as he appears, we are following the right path. Soon, Lord Wei wille to our Ziyou Realm. He Ran is the key to exposing Lord Wei to us."

    "What about Bai Qian?" You Lele asked again.

    You Fang was unconcerned. "Shes nothing but a tool. With or without her, nothing changes. She only serves to better highlight He Ran''s value."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2682: Just Say It

    Chapter 2682: Just Say It

    Lu Yin soon heard about the murders in the Transcendent Universe, and he was stunned. Truthfully, he had not thought that He Ran was that ruthless.

    It was said that an act of fury could cause a massacre to spread for miles, and when He Ranshed out in rage, she had wiped out half of the Ruling Council, instilling fear in the surviving members and stabilizing the situation. No matter how the You family responded, and no matter how clever they might be, He Ran was currently the focus of the Ruling Council. As long as she maintained enough of the Ruling Councils votes, she would be the ultimate winner.

    Lu Yin had originally thought that the woman merely had perfect features and was extremely arrogant. He was surprised that she would be decisive and ruthless enough to order a shocking series of murders.

    Xu Yue was simrly impressed. "He Ran is so cruel! Brother, do you think anything will happen to Lele?"

    Xu Ji did not reassure his sister. "The Ruling Council consists of many powerful people from the Transcendent Universe, and they represent all of the nobility in that universe. Despite that, He Ran had the courage to wipe out half of the council. Isnt she afraid that the nobles will rise up against her? Thats more than merely being ruthless."

    "Brother, nothing can happen to Lele." Xu Yue grew increasingly worried.

    Xu Ji shook his head. "I really cant say. You could ask the Acting Bureau Director."

    Xu Yue immediately nced over at Xuan Qi, but Lu Yin just shrugged. "Leles basically the You familys little princess. No matter how crazy He Ran might be, she will never target You Lele. Don''t worry, she was fine even when Monarch Luo captured her.

    "However, why do you care so much about her? Do you like eating dandruff?"

    Xu Yue suddenly felt sick. "Don''t mention that to me."

    Lu Yin looked outside. Had he been underestimating He Ran this entire time? After considering things for a bit, he headed out to learn more about He Ran.

    It did not take long for Lu Yin to gather a great deal of information about He Rans activities, most of which were publicly known. Some of the information came from Xiao Hai, while the rest came from the You family. From these two sources, Lu Yin learned a great deal more about He Ran.

    From this information, Lu Yin realized that he hadpletely underestimated the woman before. She had not relied solely on Lord Weis support to rise up, as her own abilities were quite formidable.

    After He Ran had been confirmed as Lord Weis chosen representative, the very first thing that she had done had been to help Uncle Mo get stronger.

    Lu Yin also learned that He Ran had not initially had topete with Bai Qian. Over the years, there had been many instances ofpetitions where the winner had been determined from the very beginning. It was actually quite rare for apetitor to join in halfway through the process.

    Even so, He Ran had first focused on strengthening Uncle Mo, and it was this decision that supported He Rans elevated status alongside Lord Weis support.

    The intimidation that others felt from the threat of a true powerhouse like Uncle Mo could not be ignored.

    This was also a key reason as to why He Ran had always enjoyed an advantage over Bai Qian in theirpetition.

    However, He Ran had also be ustomed to fighting against fakepetitors.

    With this, Lu Yin finally understood what had happened. This was how You Fang had controlled He Rans mentality. The You patriarch understood the woman all too well and thus was very clear on the fact that she would never allow anyone to threaten her position in any way.

    He Ran was thoughtful, decisive, and ruthless, but she also had a perfect face and an arrogant demeanor. Everything about her met Lord Weis standards.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. If he had not gotten involved with the You family, then even if Bai Qian had not been captured by Tu Shuangshuang, she still would have never been able to defeat He Ran. The woman was not a mere showpiece.

    Understanding He Ran better also made Lu Yin eager to see what she would do next.

    The two sides openly opposed each other, and that meant that He Ran would surely use everything she had against the You family. Is this what the ruler of the Transcendent Universe wanted to see?

    He Ran did not keep Lu Yin waiting for long, as she very quickly proposed an entire group of people to rece the dead members of the Ruling Council. It appeared that the people put forth by He Ran had been prepared far in advance, as they were perfectly qualified in every single way possible, which made it impossible for anyone to oppose their candidacy. At the same time that He Ran put forth her proposal, the Transcendent Universe was shocked by another series of murders. Each of the people targeted had been simrly qualified to join the Ruling Council.

    He Ran did an impressive job. Of the people she killed, only a few had been in contact with the You family, and some had not had any. Even so, all of them had been killed. It was clear that He Ran viewed anyone who was not actively supporting her as her enemy.

    The You family was not slow to respond, and various reasons emerged that prevented everyone who supported He Ran from joining the Ruling Council. The You family was too deeply rooted in the Transcendent Universe, and it was not difficult for them to find various excuses. This sort of influence was something that He Ran could neverpare with.

    After all, You Fang was able to monitor the entire universe.

    What followed was a two month longpetition for the avable seats on the Ruling Council. While not much blood was shed, the blood that was spilled disrupted the entire universe, and the nobles and families proposed to join the Ruling Council changed time and time again.

    Everyone was forced to choose a side.

    Fear of Uncle Mo caused those who hated He Ran to lose the courage to speak out against her, as they feared being exterminated.

    If things continued on in this manner, not only would the Ruling Council and those nominated to join it be affected, but every part of the Transcendent Universe would also be dragged into the skirmish.

    Additionally, no one else from the Sixverse Association could interfere with this battle. As long as no peak powerhouses started fighting among themselves, even the Cyclic Universe would struggle to justify any interference.

    Just as things reached the climax, Uncle Mo arrived outside the Red Zone and asked to see Xuan Qi.

    "Sister Ran is looking for me?" Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he could not think of any reason for He Ran to seek him out at such a time.

    Uncle Mo spoke politely, "Could you please apany me to see her, Acting Bureau Director?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course! Its my duty to attend Sister Ran when she calls for me."

    "Thank you very much," Uncle Mo replied.

    Lu Yin soon apanied Uncle Mo to the Transcendent Universe, where he met with He Ran.

    The few months that Lu Yin had not seen the woman had induced quite a change. He Ran looked exhausted, and her eyes that had once been as clear as the bright moon had dimmed a bit. However, this change did not detract from her perfection, but simply gave her the look of azy beauty.

    "Sister Ran," Lu Yin called out the moment he arrived.

    He Ran looked up at Xuan Qi, and forced out a smile. "Youvee."

    Lu Yin sounded quite concerned. "Sister Ran, you look so tired!"

    He Ran wiped a hand across her forehead as she tiredly replied, "I''m just a bit tired. Little Brother, what do you think of the You family?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. "I wish I could wipe them all out!"

    He Ran stared at Lu Yin. "Because they drove you away?"

    "Of course not! I don''t care what the You family does to me, but theyre going after <em>you</em>, Sister Ran. Who is this Bai Qian? Why should she be allowed topete with you, Sister Ran? The You family is openly supporting Bai Qian, but theyre going too far, and theyre forcing you to do too much. Sister Ran, I cant forgive them for pushing you so hard.

    "If you need, Sister Ran, Ill call Senior Brother Xu Heng and Senior Sister Xu Leng to visit the You family and demand an exnation. Even Senior Xu Wuji can go with them. With all of them going together, even the You family will have a difficult time."

    He Ran''s heart was moved by the offer, though she knew that it would be useless. Let alone those three Void Supremas, even if Lord Xu himself stepped forward, it would aplish nothing. This was an internal matter for the Transcendent Universe, and the people of the Voidforce Universe had no say in this matter at all. "Theres no need for that as favors are limited, so save the ones you have, Little Brother. This time, I call you here for your own help."

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "Sister Ran, just tell me if theres anything I can do for you. Your affairs are my affairs."

    He Ran smiled, and it entuated her beauty like nothing else. The more tired and exhausted she looked, the more fragile her smile appeared. For a moment, even Lu Yin felt an urge to protect this woman, and Bai Qian''s words suddenly echoed unbidden in his mind: <em>Desecrate her</em>.

    "Your Sister Ran wants you to confirm that this piece of evidence originated from the You family." As He Ran spoke, Uncle Mo stepped forward and handed a dark green lens to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took the item and asked, "What is this?"

    "That is Luo Qians," He Ran casually stated.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Luo Laoers?"[1]

    He Ran smiled. "I heard that you have a good rtionship with him."

    Lu Yin said, "We fought together in the Cloudflow Universe, and we were also part of the same ss in the Sixverse Academy. Hes a bit glib, but he always stays very well-informed of current events."

    He Ran replied, "Your sister hopes that you can find a way to prove that this thing was in the You familys possession. You will need to address every possible detail. Is this something that you can do?"

    Lu Yin looked at the lens. It was clear that He Ran wanted to make the You family a more likely suspect in Monarch Mus disappearance. As long as Luo Qians presence in the You family was confirmed, they could be used of being responsible. It was clear that He Ran was genuinely concerned about the You family, as her years of preparations meant nothing against what that family could do. Uncle Mo was a peak powerhouse, but even he was not enough to give the woman a sense of security. She needed to finish Bai Qian off andpletely eliminate any possibility of defeat. At the same time, He Ran also needed to deal with the You family.

    Xuan Qis reputation for being able to capture spies had be a weapon that He Ran wished to wield.

    While some people did not believe the tales of Xuan Qis aplishments, many others did. The fact that Lu Yin had captured so many spies had undoubtedly made him famous, regardless of what people actually believed.

    "By the way, Tu Ke is also a spy. He has already been arrested and is currently being interrogated," He Ran suddenly said.

    Lu Yins eyebrows rose high. "Tu Kes been arrested?"

    He Ran smiled. "Thats right. Didnt you say that he was a spy?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I only said that I suspected him of being a spy. There was no conclusive proof."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he suddenly remembered something, and his expression turned awkward. "Sister Ran, I heard that Tu Ke is also one of your people. Honestly, I was just making up an excuse to cause trouble for him before. I never thought he was one of yours-"

    He Ran stopped Xuan Qi from continuing. "Little Brother, you are the Acting Bureau Director for both the Voidforce Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. Once the You family is dealt with, you will once again be made the Acting Bureau Director for my Transcendent Universes Bureau. What are you saying? Whoever you say is a spy, is a spy. What you say cant be wrong. Am I right?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. It was clear that He Ran was trying to build up some momentum for herself, as she wanted to dig up the story of Monarch Mu''s disappearance and pin the me on the You family, even if it cost her Tu Ke.

    "Youre absolutely right, Sister Ran. I understand," Lu Yin replied.

    He Ran smiled. "Then, are you willing to help me? The You family has gone too far, and while Monarch Luo and I are both certain that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was caused by the You family, they are too cautious and have left no clues behind. This is the only thing that we can do now."

    Lu Yin lifted his head high. "There are times when its necessary to skip over the details when things need to be done, as long as you achieve your goal. Sister Ran, tell me when you need this done."

    He Ran was thrilled by this response and said, "Thank you for helping me."

    Lu Yin replied, "Theres no need for thanks between us, though this wont be easy to aplish. If I want to truly nail the You family down with this, I need to make sure that I dont leave any holes. I need to think this through carefully."

    "Of course. The You family is very smart, so make sure you consider everything. After youve thought things through, tell me, and I will schedule things ordingly," He Ran said.

    Lu Yin nodded and left.

    Once Xuan Qi left, Uncle Mo said, "Madam, do you really believe that this kid will help us?"

    He Ran said, "If he doesnt help us, what will he do? Help the You family?"

    Uncle Mo remained worried. "I don''t know why, but I have a feeling that things are not nearly this simple."

    He Ran''s eyes flickered. Not so simple? That did not matter at all, as it was impossible for Xuan Qi to ever cooperate with the You family. While You Fang understood He Ran, she also understood You Fang. Given the mans intelligence, he would never easily cooperate with others, especially someone like Xuan Qi, who was known to be close to He Ran. That made such an alliancepletely impossible, as You Fang would never trust Xuan Qi.

    It did not matter if things were simple orplicated; thepetition was between He Ran and the You family. No matter what, there was nothing that Xuan Qi could do to harm He Ran.

    After leaving He Ran, Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone and spoke to Luo Lao''er.

    1. This nickname means second, as Luo Qian is the second son of Monarch Luo. <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2683: Xuan Qiâ€™s Fame

    Chapter 2683: Xuan Qi¡¯s Fame

    Luo Lao''er immediately recognized the lens as the one that he had used and left in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    It immediately became clear where the lens hade from; Monarch Luo and He Ran were cooperating and trying to target the You family together.

    Monarch Luo was getting involved in the internal affairs of the Transcendent Universe. On one hand, he truly did suspect that Monarch Mu''s disappearance was connected to the You family, and on the other hand, the man likely enjoyed the idea of helping He Ran.

    As long as He Ran defeated Bai Qian, Monarch Luo would have an ally at the top of the Transcendent Universe.

    Realizing the mans motivations left Lu Yin looking down on Monarch Luo. The Three Monarchs Universe was truly too weak, to the point where Monarch Luo wanted to help He Ran. Judging by the mans actions, he had absolutely no intention of conquering the Transcendent Universe. Clearly, the mancked both the strength and the foundation to make such an attempt.

    On the other hand, despite not yet being a peak powerhouse himself, Lu Yin was already plotting to take over the Transcendent Universe.

    At this time, someone from the You family arrived and asked Xuan Qi to visit the Ziyou Realm.

    This request came on the same day when He Ran finished her own preparations to deal with the You family. Lu Yin suspected that both parties had people under surveince.

    You Fang wanted to speak with Xuan Qi for a very simple reason; the man wanted Xuan Qi to announce that He Ran was suspected of being a spy.

    Lu Yin was stunned by the request. "You want me to say that I suspect He Ran of being a spy?"

    You Fang nodded. "The woman is ruthless and has gainedplete control of the Ruling Council. The longer she is my enemy, the more likely she is to gain the support of Lord Wei. There is no way to sway her position with normal methods, which means that this is the only way. I want to deal with her head-on and settle things in one go."

    Lu Yin was quite surprised. Did You Fang know what He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to do? Or were the two sharing strategies?

    He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to frame the You family, while You Fang had asked Xuan Qi to use He Ran of being a spy. Both sides were targeting the others reputation.

    Could it be that He Ran''s attitude towards Xuan Qi and You Fang''s willingness to cooperate with him were both founded on his reputation for catching spies? It was certainly possible.

    "Xuan Qi, theres no longer any need to hide things. While I don''t need you to openly support Bai Qian, you have a responsibility to hunt down and capture spies. Theres no need for you to stay close to He Ran now. I want to give her an ultimatum," You Fang solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin remained hesitant. "Are you sure?"

    "Its the only way," You Fang replied, "Without this, it will be toote for us to do anything when the ruler of the universe lets the Ruling Council vote. The victor doesnt really matter, but we need to be able to influence the ruler so that we can join the sequence particle research. Only then can we help you get Zi Jing out.

    "Xuan Qi, once the sequence particle research is finished, the Transcendent Universe will have powerhouses equal to the Cyclic Universes Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. This will be an amazing aplishment, and throughout the entire Sixverse Association, only my You family is qualified to participate. You can also join by cooperating with us, which is something that others can only dream of. If you want to continue, then don''t hesitate. Neither He Ran nor Bai Qian actually matter, and their only value is when Lord Wei appears."

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Let me return and think about this."

    "What is there to hesitate about?" You Fang felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Fame is something that can only be used once, as its gone the moment you fail."

    You Fangughed. "If you can seed, then once is enough. How do you expect to ever reach the peak with this sort of attitude?"

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I understand that, you don''t need to worry. I will do this, but its important to consider all the details to avoid being exposed. What you are asking for is suspicions that He Ran is a spy. This is no joke."

    You Fang nodded. "Of course, but time is very tight. The ruler may order the Ruling Council to vote at any moment, and if our n is discovered, the vote could even happen today, to prevent us from influencing He Rans position. The moment she wins, no matter how certain you may be that shes a spy, we will not be able to do anything to her."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know."

    Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone.

    In a single day, Lu Yin had made four trips between universes, and he had received the same task from two different people. There was no way to predict how things would turn out.

    Between He Ran and You Fang, Lu Yin could only choose to help You Fang.

    You Fang''s intelligence allowed him to draw conclusions based on results, rather than logic or reasoning. By looking at the beginning and the end, You Fang was able to fill in the details, and Lu Yin had no idea how close the man was to guessing Xuan Qis true identity.

    After their first meeting, You Fang had never mentioned the Origin Universe or Xuan Qis supposed enmity with Lu Yin again. The longer that matter was ignored, the more nervous Lu Yin grew.

    On top of that, You Fang knew that Xuan Qi had killed Shao Qingfeng, which was more leverage that the man could use against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin simply could not choose to support He Ran; You Fang was his only viable option.

    Lu Yin had killed Shao Qingfeng to convince You Fang to cooperate with Xuan Qi, as that had been necessary. However, given the recent changes in You Fangs behavior, Lu Yin no longer wanted to cooperate with the You family.

    The changes that Lu Yin had observed in the You familys behavior indicated that either their foundation was deeper than anyone knew,parable to Lord Wei himself, or the family had a hidden backer.

    Regardless of which option was true, Lu Yin was not willing to join their efforts.

    If Lu Yin had discovered the changes earlier, he would have never given You Fang any leverage against Xuan Qi. In fact, if things were not handled properly, it would be too dangerous to continue maintaining the persona of Xuan Qi, as that identity would be targeted by Sovereign Shao Yin. If a Sovereign got close to Xuan Qi, they might be able to see through the Mask of Death and recognize Lu Yins face. While Lu Yin had no idea if Sovereign Shao Yin had ever seen any images of Lu Yin, he was not willing to take that risk.

    <em>Wait</em>. A sudden idea shed through Lu Yin''s mind; so what if You Fang had leverage against Xuan Qi? As long as there was no Xuan Qi, all such leverage would be useless.

    That would be true, but that meant that Xuan Qi could not exist.

    Lu Yin stared up at the starry sky in silence as he thought about things.

    A few dayster, he returned to speak with He Ran and discuss the details of framing the You family. He Ran was overjoyed to learn that Xuan Qi was more thorough than she had expected, and Lu Yins n demonstrated just how carefully he had considered the matter.

    Half a dayter, Lu Yin left, taking arge number of transcendent crystals and another white energy converter with him.

    It was his reward from He Ran.

    With the help he was giving her, how could she allow him to go unrewarded?

    This was also Lu Yins entire reason for returning to see He Ran.

    He received hundreds of millions of transcendent crystals, which was a great deal of wealth. He Ran had been quite generous, as she wanted to reveal her wealth to Xuan Qi.

    As soon as Lu Yin left He Ran, he returned to the You family so that he could discuss the various details about framing He Ran as a spy. In the middle of all this, Lu Yin also managed to get Bai Qian into the Ziyou Realm so that she could help him hide Luo Lao''er''s old lens.

    This was a backup n that he had made with Bai Qian.

    He Ran was able to clearly see the overall situation of the Transcendent Universe, and while her personality meant that she was unwilling to take any risks, she believed that she had a firm grasp of the situation. Bai Qians cooperation with the You family meant that the woman was asking to die, and Lu Yin was certain that He Ran already had ns in ce to eliminate Bai Qian.

    As soon as He Ran had asked Xuan Qi to frame the You family, Lu Yin had already started considering how he could protect Bai Qian.

    Only by framing the You family could Bai Qian win a chance for herself in the eyes of Lord Wei.

    The Ziyou Realm was massive, and there were even a few ces that had the hyper-analysis modes active, though that was umon. With Lu Yin''s help, Bai Qian was able to easily hide Luo Lao''er''s lens in the Ziyou Realm.

    As for how she would exin this matter to Lord Wei Zhu in the future, that was Bai Qian''s concern. Lu Yin had already done all that he could.

    Just like when he visited He Ran, the You family also rewarded Xuan Qi with hundreds of millions of transcendent crystals, which You Fang simrly did not care about. At the height of the You familys influence, their spendthrift You Xian had been regarded as the richest man in the entire Sixverse Society. Even though You Xians actions had led to a decline in the You familys wealth and influence, after so many years, the You family had already managed to reverse some of the damage, and even a few billion transcendent crystals could not be regarded as much to them.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had more than 300 million transcendent crystals, and he had gathered the funds incredibly quickly.

    Additionally, he also had 500 flourishing crystals and 550 million star essence from the Cyclic Universe.

    All together, he had over a billion in the Sixverse Associations currencies.

    Unfortunately, none of the resources could be directly converted into anything of actual value for Lu Yin.

    It was a day that would be recorded in the annals of history for the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin led many of the Voidforce Universes Bureau to the Transcendent Universe and then headed straight to the Ziyou Realm, where they were blocked by members of You family. You Teng asked Xuan Qi to leave the Transcendent Universe, as the Bureau there no longer needed him.

    However, Xuan Qis response shocked the entire universe. "He Ran is a spy of Aeternus. I, Xuan Qi, will carry out the responsibilities of the Bureau, and I ask the You family to assist me in arresting He Ran."

    The deration shocked You Teng just as much as the rest of the Ziyou Realm, and the matter instantly spread, stunning the entire Transcendent Universe.

    Countless people stared nkly at disys throughout the universe, watching as Xuan Qi shared various spections and suspicions that had led to the suspicions that He Ran was a spy of Aeternus, and everyone felt confused.

    He Ran herself was naturally watching these events as well, and she was so taken aback that she even forgot to sit down. Her eyes zed over, and she felt terribly confused. <em>Why? Why is Xuan Qi using me of being a spy? Why?</em>

    Uncle Mo was beyond furious. "Madam, I''m going to kill him!"

    You Fang arrived at the edge of the Ziyou Realm. The You patriarch appeared solemn as he addressed Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, are you certain that He Ran is a spy? This is no trivial matter, and you cannot make such ims on a frivolous basis."

    Lu Yin raised his head up high. "I am absolutely certain. I ask Bureau Director You Fang to help me capture this spy."

    "Very well, since you have confirmed this matter, my Transcendent Universes Bureau will naturally arrest He Ran. However, if it ister revealed that He Ran is not a spy, you will need to give both me and the Transcendent Universe an exnation." With that, the man charged forward with a surge of ck energy, making his way straight towards He Ran. On this day, the You family officially moved against He Ran.

    Lu Yin watched as You Fang eagerly raced towards He Ran, and Lu Yin also moved out. Suddenly, everyone in the area felt a terrible sense of danger that made their scalps go numb. You Fang spun around to look in a specific direction, as he had just sensed the arrival of a very powerful individual.

    A scream tore from Lu Yins throat, and the space around him shattered. You Fang whirled around, but by the time he managed to see where Xuan Qi had been standing, the youth had already disappeared. Not even You Fang had been quick enough to see how Xuan Qi had disappeared.

    Nearby, Boss Guan was horrified, and he hastily retreated as he stared in disbelief.

    "What just happened?" You Fang shouted. This waspletely unexpected. Someone had clearly just attacked, but because it had happened too quickly, You Fang had not been able to react at all. It was almost as though whatever had happened had simply ignored time.

    Boss Guan was still shocked. "The Acting Bureau Director disappeared!"

    You Fang''s eyes flickered. "It must be He Ran! She sent people here to attack and kill Xuan Qi in an attempt to eliminate any witnesses! Bureau members, move out! Capture He Ran!"

    With that order, the Transcendent Universepletely erupted, especially in and around the Ziyou Realm. The countless tiny bestowal art carriers gathered together and merged with each other to slowly form a massive bestowal art carrier that followed behind You Fang.

    There were bestowal art carriers in every corner of the Transcendent Universe, and at this moment, all of them started to move andbine any nearby carriers.

    The You family had secretly built up their strength and resources for countless years, and at this moment, they revealed everything.

    He Ran stood atop her stairs, staring at a disy. "Have Wen Shi stop them."

    Uncle Mo''s expression had grown dark. The You family was using the usation that He Ran was a spy as an excuse to openly attack them. This was brazen, and in many ways, even more shocking than He Rans act of ughtering half of the Ruling Council.

    Had the You family gone insane? Why would they do this? They had been so upright for countless years and had never acted in such an improper manner before.

    No one could understand what You Fang was trying to do.

    He Ran was still wondering why Xuan Qi had used her of being a spy when suddenly, news that someone had discovered Luo Ren''s lens in the Ziyou Realm broke out.

    This information roused He Ran. "Uncle Mo!"

    Uncle Mo barked an order, "Begin!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2684: Battle In The Transcendent Universe

    Chapter 2684: Battle In The Transcendent Universe

    Every preparation that He Ran had made for this day was activated, and the image of Luo Qian''s lens appeared on countless disys across the Transcendent Universe. He Ran used the You family of ignoring the greater good for all of humanity and of acting against Monarch Mu, whose absence had made it difficult for the Three Monarchs Universe to defend against Aeternuss attacks. If that universe fell, the You family would be one of the greatest criminals in human history.

    He Ran ordered the truth to be uncovered and for the You family to be taken into custody to await a decision by the Sixverse Association as a whole.

    The You family wanted to destroy He Ran by arresting her after using her of being a spy, while He Ran threw back usations that the You family had tried to destroy the Three Monarchs Universe. At this moment, the conflict between the two had fully erupted, and the entire Transcendent Universe was swept up by the battle.

    Wen Shi wanted to force the You family to stop, but he himself was blocked by You Teng. ck energy raged, and Wen Shi was bombarded incessantly.

    You Fang was blocked by Uncle Mo, and as the two fought, even though Uncle Mo was no match for You Fang, the man was at least able to endure.

    Publicly, the Transcendent Universe had admitted to possessing five ck energy converters, which were in the hands of You Fang, Uncle Mo, Qiu Zhan, Wen Shi and the guardian of the Energy Research Group. In the war against Aeternus, the Transcendent Universe had provided a tremendous number of bestowal art carriers and white energy converters. As for ck energy converters, only a single peak powerhouse from the Transcendent Universe had fought on the front lines against the Aeternals, Qiu Zhan.

    The other four publicly known ck energy converters were all kept in reserve to protect the universe itself.

    However, at this moment, the ck energy converters were being used as part of an internal conflict within the universe.

    Monarch Luo returned to the Transcendent Universe. Luo Laoers lens had been discovered in the Ziyou Realm, which could be regarded as evidence of the You familys guilt. With this, no one could fault the man for going after the You family.

    Space shattered and boiled. Beams from bestowal art carriers shed across the universe as You Fang and You Teng fought against Monarch Luo and Uncle Mo. It was a battle that was no less intense than the frontlines of humanitys war.

    This was a battle that could determine the future of the Transcendent Universe.

    The chaos that had erupted had nothing to do with Lu Yin. He did not want to let Xuan Qi die here, but it was also not possible to do anything for the time being. Thus, it was best if Xuan Qi simply disappeared.

    Lu Yin took this opportunity to go find Xiao Hai.

    He did not believe the information that Xiao Hai had given him about the various spies, so Lu Yin intended to remove any hidden threat that Xiao Hai might still pose.

    After the hidden research facility in the forbidden region was destroyed, Xiao Hai had been moved to another research facility. His new location was not too far from the Ziyou Realm, and his task was to restore all the data of the destroyed research base.

    Xiao Hai would asionally turn to stare at the distortions that appeared on a nearby screen. Seeing the battle being fought in outer space made him ache to participate in such things himself. No matter who won or lost this battle, it had nothing to do with him. His only goal was to find out who had identified him as the information broker, but Xiao Hai still had not learned anything at all.

    The ground shook, and dust fell.

    Xiao Hai looked at the dust that had fallen into his ss of water and then smashed it on the floor in annoyance.

    He had also wanted to follow the teacher to the secret research facility, but Xiao Hais teacher thought too little of him. Xiao Hais hard work and dedication were appreciated, but his teachers current project was not one that could be joined with just hard work. Xiao Hai could only be regarded as unlucky.

    "Why dont you look very happy?" a voice spoke up from behind Xiao Hai.

    He reflexively replied, "Dont be ridiculous."

    The man suddenly froze before slowly turning around to see Lu Yin standing there, smiling. "Youre Xiao Hai, right?"

    "Who are you?"

    At the moment, Lu Yin had concealed his appearance, making it impossible for someone at Xiao Hais level to make out any details at all.

    "You should be able to guess who I am," Lu Yin replied.

    Xiao Hai''s expression kept changing. "It''s you! Youre the one who freed Cloudflow!"

    "You sell extremely detailed information, but unfortunately, you arent selling anything that Im interested in," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Xiao Hai''s face turned more and more pale. "I- I don''t know what you want."

    Lu Yin lifted hismunication crystal and opened the disy to reveal everything that he had received from Xiao Hai thest time.

    Seeing the information, Xiao Hai knew for a fact that this was the person who had left the message written on his palm, as no one else knew that Xiao Hai had shared that particr information.

    "What do you want? I''ll give you everything I know!" Xiao Hai was starting to get scared.

    Lu Yin slowly walked closer, the pressure building with every step.

    Xiao Hai remembered how this person had easily destroyed the entire hidden research facility and then freed Cloudflow. This person was powerful, unbelievably so. How was Xiao Hai any different from an ant before this person?

    "I''m curious, why do you sell information?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Hai replied, "One can never have too many resources, and I need it for my own experiments."

    "That''s all?"

    "Yes."

    "Why havent you run away?"

    "How could I escape from someone like you?"

    Lu Yin said, "What I meant is, why didnt you run away after you saw the writing on your hand? Why did you stay in this universe?"

    Xiao Hai swallowed. "I- I can''t leave. This is my home."

    "Bullshit."

    "If I leave this ce, I wont have any value anywhere else. My cultivation is weak, and my talent is terrible. Ive been trying to save up so that I can buy a good energy converter before leaving," Xiao Hai said.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I could have spared your life, but you wont tell me the truth, so this is the end."

    Xiao Hai was startled, and he quickly backed up to move away from Lu Yin. "Wait, you want to kill me? I can still be of use! I can help you gather information and spy on others. I know a lot of different things. Just ask, and Ill tell you whatever you want to know, and Ill help you find out if I dont have the answer.

    "Why do you need resources? Why didnt you escape? Give me all of your secrets. If you dont honestly tell me these three things, I have no reason to keep you alive, and Ill just get my answers from your corpse." Even as Lu Yin spoke, he released a terrifying pressure.

    Throughout the entire exchange, the disy had been in Xiao Hais sight, and the ongoing battle being shown made the threat of death all the more real to Xiao Hai.

    He was nothing more than a researcher who studied cultivation technology. He had never once risked his life or gone through any sort of tempering. How could he hope to resist such pressure? "Alright, I''ll tell you! I''ll tell you everything!"

    Lu Yin stood there quietly as he waited for Xiao Hai''s answer.

    Xiao Hai swallowed again. "I- I didn''t try to run away because you didn''t tell anyone else who I am. That means that I can be useful to you, and it also meant that I wasnt in any danger for the moment. Besides that, I also wanted to find out who you are. Thats why I didnt escape.

    "As for the resources, I really do need them for my research. My teacher thinks that Zi Jing is the most talented person studying sequence particles, but the truth is that I also understand Zi Jing''s research, and I can also study sequence particles."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You can work on sequence particle research?"

    Xiao Hai nodded. "Just give me enough time, and Ill get the answer! I can also participate in the sequence particle research. Teacher and the others don''t know that Im capable of this, and they think that Im only capable of working hard, but hard work alone isnt enough to progress in that kind of research. Thats why they didnt take me with them when they left. They are all underestimating me!"

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin''s face. "So, are you that confident that youll be able to figure out sequence particles?"

    Xiao Hai stared at Lu Yin in terror as he nodded.

    Lu Yin and Xiao Hai stared at each in silence for a moment. As Lu Yin looked into Xiao Hai''s fear-filled eyes, he suddenly spun around and released a palm strike. As Lu Yin turned around, coldness filled Xiao Hais eyes, and they widened in disbelief. How could anyone discover that?

    <em>Boom!</em>

    It was not a loud sound, but the void shattered. Lu Yin attacked the person who had suddenly appeared behind him with the palm strike, and the figure was forced to the ground by Lu Yins hand, even as the palm strike shattered the void behind the person.

    <em>Puff!</em>

    A mouthful of blood was spat out by the attacker who had suddenly appeared.

    Lu Yin had clearly seen the person approaching. This person was an old man with a pale face. However, the moment Lu Yin pressed the old man to the floor, his eyes had instantly turned scarlet, gray, and then green as his body instantly became a hundred times stronger.

    Unfortunately, the old man was only as strong as a three-tribtion Envoy. Even if his physical body became a hundred times stronger, he was still onlyparable to a six-tribtion Envoy at best. Compared to Lu Yin, the old man was far too weak.

    Lu Yin''s hand felt like a mountain as it pressed the old man downwards. He struggled to rise, but waspletely unable to move.

    Xiao Hai stared in a daze. He had failed? Howe?

    "I noticed you a long time ago," Lu Yin said before turning to look at Xiao Hai. "This is the real reason why you didn''t escape, and hes also the reason why youve been gathering so many resources."

    Xiao Hai quivered as he stared at the old man crazily struggling to get up. "I- I-"

    Lu Yin pressed down harder, sending another tremor through the old man''s body. Another mouthful of blood was spat out, and then the struggling slowed. Eventually, the man stopped breathing entirely.

    Lu Yin had no desire to question the old man. After using the Corpse King Transformation, there was nothing more that needed to be asked. The mans thoughts had been changed, and he had be nothing more than a puppet of the Aeternals. He was no different from a corpse king.

    After slowly standing back up, Lu Yin returned to Xiao Hai. This time, the researcher was genuinely terrified. "Don''t kill me! I told you that Ill tell you everything! I didnt run away because of himhe wouldnt let me. He said that you would definitelye back to see me and that he would be sure to deal with you. He said that Cloudflows been almost dead for a long time, and that you arent really that powerful. Also, the resourcesI need the resources because he said that he would help me rece my body with a better, healthy one."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Change your body?"

    He was instantly reminded of the androids in the Fifth Maind''s Technocracy. Their minds were their actual self, while they regarded bodies in the same way that humans regarded clothes, something to be changed at whim.

    Xiao Hai stammered as he exined his answers to Lu Yins original questions, and then he shared why he had been working so hard to gather resources.

    Simr to how the creatures in the Technocracy behaved, Xiao Hai had been collecting resources in order to get a new body, one capable of using a ck energy converter.

    After all, the researchers personal strength had not even reached the Explorer level, and he was only about equal to a Melder. He was pitifully weak, and just like most people from the Transcendent Universe, he did not pursue cultivation. However, Xiao Hai was highly ambitious, and he wanted the strength of a powerhouse. He was too weak in the grand scheme of things, but it was impossible for him to gain true strength without focusing on cultivation, or at least obtaining a ck energy converter. As long as he could physically use a ck energy converter, he could instantly be a peak powerhouse.

    However, it was far from easy to be able to use a ck energy converter. Throughout the entire Transcendent Universe, only a handful of people were capable of using one. Even He Shu and others like him were only capable of using white energy converters. This was why Xiao Hai had made a deal with a spy and had asked the Aeternals to help him find a body that could use a ck energy converter. As for obtaining a ck energy converter, he was responsible for finding one himself.

    "If that doesn''t work, I can just use He Shu''s body," Xiao Hai said tremblingly.

    Lu Yinughed. "You actually wanted to steal He Shu''s body? Aren''t you afraid that youll be caught by Uncle Mo and He Ran?"

    Xiao Hai licked his lips as he nced at the disy. "Ive gathered everyst bit of information on He Shu. I- Ive been studying and imitating him, just to make sure I won''t be seen through."

    Lu Yin squatted down. "How do you intend to get a ck energy converter?"

    Xiao Hais face contorted, and he looked as though his greatest secret was being ripped from him. "Teacher- my teacher has one, and I can steal it. Teacher wont even care, as hes never even used it."

    "Your teacher has a ck energy converter?" Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He had obtained several white energy converters, but not a single ck energy converter.

    Xiao Hai shrugged. "Thats right. Its in hisboratory. He doesn''t care about it. Even if I stole it from him, he wouldn''t notice until someone reminded him about it."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2685: Appearance

    Chapter 2685: Appearance

    Lu Yins hand rose, and he set it on Xiao Hai''s shoulder. "Take me there."

    Xiao Hai quickly replied, "Teacher''sboratory was moved to some unknown location. I cant find it now."

    Lu Yins fingers squeezed slightly, and there was a snap as Xiao Hai''s shoulder shattered. Severe pain swept over him, and the man almost passed out. How could someone like him endure such severe pain?

    "Are you messing with me? Ill tell you once moretake me there." Lu Yin''s voice grew cold.

    Xiao Hai''s body twitched from the pain he was suffering, and beads of sweat covered him as he hurriedly nodded. "I understand. Ill take you there right now."

    The massive battle in the Transcendent Universe had not ended yet, and it had even spread to envelop an entire fifth of the universe. This battle between several peak powerhouses had already drawn the attention of the entire Sixverse Association, though given the situation, even the Cyclic Universe would struggle to get involved, and few even arrived to observe the battle.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the battle, as he was focused solely on acquiring the ck energy converter.

    Gaining a ck energy converter meant giving the Heavens Sect one more peak powerhouse, which was a very important task.

    Xiao Hai''s teacher was the old man who was even able to reprimand He Ran. He had such a high status in the Transcendent Universe that, ording to Xiao Hai, he was able to meet with Lord Wei any time he wished. This was something beyond even You Fang. In fact, no one from the Wei family was allowed to freely meet with Lord Wei.

    The only reason why the old man had managed to survive for so long without cultivating was because he continuously changed bodies, and this allowed him to achieve a different kind of immortality.

    Everyone was aware that the old man had a high status, but no one knew that he also had a ck energy converter.

    This particr ck energy converter could be considered a gift from the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. No one else knew about it, which was also why the old man did not care about it and had never had any intention of using it. If not for this, the universe would have another peak powerhouse.

    Outsiders truly underestimated the Transcendent Universe.

    It was very likely that the universe had a number of people who were capable of using ck energy converters, and as long as those bodies were given to the right people, the universe could gain a number of peak powerhouses very quickly and could make up for their rtivelycking numbers.

    The Transcendent Universe was able to quickly produce ten or more peak powerhouses in this manner, which was something that the Three Monarchs Universe could not hope to match. When this wasbined with the Bestowal Art, the Transcendent Universe was no weaker than any other member of the Sixverse Association.

    Of course, the old mansboratory was inessible to most people, but Xiao Hai was allowed in. If not for that, Lu Yin would have had to force his way in, and there was a possibility that doing so would alert Lord Wei. That was something that Lu Yin definitely wanted to avoid.

    The only thing that was clear was that there was an unusual rtionship between the old man and the ruler of the universe, and no one knew what the old man was researching.

    As Lu Yin looked at the ck energy converter in front of him, his eyes lit up. On the other hand, Xiao Hais expression grew ugly. He was literally staring at the dream that he had spent years working for, but now, he was about to lose it forever.

    Lu Yin stretched out a hand to grab the ck energy converter, when suddenly, he felt intense danger as his scalp went numb. Without any hesitation, he used the spatial lines in his vision to move away. The very next moment, a beam of annihtion swept through theb, erasing everything in its path in an instant, including Xiao Hai, who was not even able to react.

    Lu Yin appeared outside of theboratory, and he nced around. He was unable to see anything from his current position, but as he fled, he had clearly seen Xiao Hai be reduced to ashes.

    The beam that had appeared felt rather familiar to Lu Yin, and he quickly realized that it was a hyper-analysis mode. It was not that theboratory didnt have one, but rather that it had not been activated until the ck energy converter was touched. As soon as contact was made, the hyper-analysis mode would instantly annihte anyone nearby. This was different from the one that Lu Yin had encountered in the hidden research base, as that one had only been observing the area. The current one was connected to some weapon that was powerful enough to destroy even a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin found that there was a massive bestowal art carrier hidden underground that was always active.

    This should have been an arrangement set up to protect the old man; otherwise, it would have activated the moment Lu Yin or anyone else entered theboratory.

    Lu Yin looked back at the ck energy converter in his hand. When he squeezed slightly, it was reduced to powder. It was a fake.

    Was it all just a trap? Lu Yin frowned, though his mood quickly recovered. No, Xiao Hai was no fool. He had been willing to cooperate with an Aeternal spy and collect resources for years in pursuit of his goals, and there was no way he would be deceived by a fake ck energy converter. Xiao Hai must have already verified that a real one was present, no matter what sort of risks were involved in obtaining it. A stupid person would never be qualified to freely enter the old mans personalboratory.

    As Lu Yin thought of this, the God of mes figurine appeared on his shoulder, and his pupils transformed into runes. He was not in any hurry, so he simply waited. The only thing he feared in the Transcendent Universe was the mysterious Lord Wei. The ruler of the universe still had not shown himself in the ongoing battle, and Lu Yin felt bad for the You family after all of their hard work in trying to lure out Lord Wei.

    After all, they could onlyplete their ns after Lord Wei appeared.

    Lu Yin did not have to wait for very long. After all, the battle had been going on for a while already.

    If the battle was allowed to continue, more and more of the Transcendent Universe would be swept into the chaos.

    As time passed, many of the You familys bestowal art carriers had been destroyed. They served as the foundation of the You family that had been built up over many years, but they could also be regarded as the foundation of the Transcendent Universe itself. The destruction of so many bestowal art carriers was enough to draw out Lord Wei.

    The sky of the Transcendent Universe darkened when a certain figure appeared.

    Everyone looked up, feeling as though the universe in that area had suddenly changed. The heat rose sharply, and it became difficult to breathe. The pressure was so intense that You Fang and the other peak powerhouses all stopped fighting and turned to look in the same direction. There stood a man with long hair that hung to his waist. The man appeared young, and his face was handsome. He appeared rxed and at ease, and his eyes were as bright as the stars.

    If Cheng Feng was regarded as one of the most handsome men in the Sixverse Association, then this man could be acknowledged as being Cheng Fengs equal. Neither his demeanor nor his appearance wascking in any way whenpared to Cheng Feng. In fact, if the two werepared, this man was more arrogant and domineering. The moment he revealed himself, he drew everyones attention, as though he was the center of the universe and that such a thing was only natural.

    As this man looked around, even Luo Shan stopped moving.

    "Greetings, Lord Wei." Uncle Mo quickly offered a deep bow.

    The moment the silence was broken, You Teng and everyone else bowed as well.

    You Fang offered a slow bow, and then said, "Greetings, Lord Wei."

    You Fang was much younger than Lord Wei, who was from the same generation as the You familys founding ancestor.

    Luo Shan calmly gazed at Lord Wei. As the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, there was no need for Monarch Luo to bow to Lord Wei, but there was a need to show some measure of respect. "Senior, please excuse me."

    At this moment, the entire Transcendent Universe, as well as the other members of the Sixverse Association, were all focused on this location.

    Lord Wei was an incredibly mysterious figure who had not appeared in many years. He had never fought on the Endless Frontier, nor had he ever attended any of the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies. Even You Fang had only seen the man a few times before.

    Not to mention the people of the Transcendent Universe, countless people across the Sixverse Association grew excited to see Lord Wei at this moment.

    Lu Yin stared at a disy that showed Lord Wei. Was this man really the ruler of the Transcendent Universe?

    Lord Wei had the appearance of a young man, but few people knew just how old the man truly was. He was an ancient existence, and he had been born in a vague period of time that preceded recorded history.

    "Why have youe to my Transcendent Universe, Mr. Luo?" There was a slight smile on Lord Weis face as he spoke. It gave the impression that the massive battleid out before him was nothing of import.

    Luo Shan replied, "One of my disloyal sons belongings was found in the Ziyou Realm. Little Mus disappearance is clearly rted to the You family, and I demand that they give me an exnation."

    Lord Wei stared at You Fang. "Tell me about this."

    You Fang offered another bow. "My You family has never taken any action against Monarch Mu, and I have no idea what might have caused her disappearance. Just now, I moved out against He Ran, because the Voidforce Universe Bureaus Xuan Qi found evidence that she is a spy. However, he was attacked and killed as soon as we started to move out. He Ran needs to be investigated."

    He Ran was not present, as she was still at the bottom of the stairs in her area. However, she was bowing to Lord Wei from that distant location, and she said nothing.

    Everyone remained silent as they awaited Lord Weis response.

    "Xuan Qi is dead?" Lord Wei asked, still looking at You Fang.

    The man replied in a respectful tone, "I cant say for certain. Xuan Qi disappeared instantly. I cant say if his body waspletely destroyed or if he was taken."

    Lu Yin stared at the disy, and his eyes narrowed. What did this exchange mean? Was it possible that the ruler of the Transcendent Universe had been watching him? This possibility made Lu Yin nervous, as it was not impossible.

    Lord Wei calmly replied, "If He Ran was a spy, how could I have allowed her to reach her current position?"

    You Fang replied in a low voice, "Lord Wei, He Ran might not have been a spy when she was selected, but I cannot say that that remains true. Xuan Qi''s ability to uncover spies is renowned throughout the entire Sixverse Association. After seeing how many spies he has captured, the Bureau branches in our Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs Universe, and even Director Gans Arboreal Realm have invited the man to each of our universes to help search for spies.

    "Throughout the entire Sixverse Association, there is no one better at unearthing spies. He confirmed that He Ran is a spy, only to be killed the very next moment. He Ran is the most likely culprit, so I ask Lord Wei to turn her over to the Bureau for interrogation."

    Uncle Mo bowed and spoke up. "For the record, Lord Wei, there is no evidence supporting You Fangs allegations. The attack on Xuan Qi has nothing to do with us. Its possible that You Fang threatened Xuan Qi into framing Madam He Ran, and then eliminated Xuan Qi in order to build support for Bai Qian."

    You Fangs head snapped up, and he stared at Uncle Mo. "What does Bai Qian have to do with me? I only supported her to force He Ran to reveal her ws and allow Xuan Qi to determine if she is guilty or not. The moment Xuan Qi aplished that, He Ran killed him to silence him. Uncle Mo, theres no need to argue over things."

    Uncle Mo stared back at You Fang. "You do not get to decide guilt and innocence. If you have proof of Madam He Rans guilt, then please provide the evidence."

    "The evidence is that Xuan Qi was silenced by you."

    "Nonsense. His death was carried out by your family."

    "Ridiculous!"

    Lord Weis voice cut through everything. "I will handle the matter concerning He Ran. There is no need for the You family to concern themselves with this."

    You Fangs expression fell, but he simply said, "Understood."

    Lord Wei looked back at Luo Shan. "Are you certain that Monarch Mu''s disappearance is connected to the You family?"

    Luo Shan replied, "At the very least, one of Luo Qians possessions was found in the Ziyou Realm."

    "Bring that to me," Lord Wei ordered.

    Luo Qian''s lens had been discovered in the Ziyou Realm by He Ran. She had first asked Xuan Qi to ce it in the Ziyou Realm, and then had sent people to search for it. That n had not changed, though He Ran could not understand why Xuan Qi had falsely used her of being a spy Or why he had been killed. In fact, Uncle Mo had merely shared He Rans spections.

    She had immediately suspected the You family of forcing Xuan Qi to frame her and then killing him. Why else would Xuan Qi have still hidden Luo Qians lens in the Ziyou Realm as had been agreed upon?

    No matter how she looked at the situation, Xuan Qi was still helping her, and He Ran could only believe that the You family had forced Xuan Qi to frame her.

    Luo Qian''s lens was quickly handed over to Lord Wei. After epting it and looking at it, he asked, "Does this belong to your son?"

    Luo Shans expression contorted. "Thats right."

    Lord Wei continued to stare at the green lens.

    Everyone had heard how Lord Wei favored He Ran and had tried to suppress the You family. With this evidence in his hand, everyone started guessing about what Lord Wei would do.

    "This evidence is irrefutable. You Fang, what do you say for your family?" As Lord Wei spoke, his eyes grew cold, and he directed his stare at You Fang.

    You Fangs head rose, and he replied, "We are being framed."

    Luo Shan immediately shouted back, "Luo Laoer appeared in your Ziyou Realm some time ago, and now, there is even physical evidence that he visited you! How can you still im that this is an unjust usation? Tell me, who can frame your You family? Who can nt evidence in your home without being caught?"

    You Fang''s eyes flickered, as he had no answer for that. He did not know how Luo Qians lens could have appeared in the Ziyou Realm, and as Luo Shan had said, who was capable of framing the You family without being caught?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2686: A Game Within A Game

    Chapter 2686: A Game Within A Game

    You Fang immediately thought of Xuan Qi, but that boy should already be dead. The power of the attack that had appeared could not be faked, and Xuan Qicked the strength needed to stop such an attack. If Xuan Qi still lived, he would be You Fangs primary suspect, but with him dead, who else was there?

    The You patriarch had felt that there was something off about how things had unfolded throughout the day. While his n had seeded, others had also seeded in framing his You family for acting against Monarch Mu. Whose n was it? Who had carried it out? Was He Ran behind this?

    At this thought, You Fang instantly looked back at Uncle Mo.

    For some reason, recent events made You Fang feel as though there was a hidden hand controlling things.

    "You Fang, does your You family have anything to do with Monarch Mu''s disappearance?" Lord Wei asked, though in a much harsher and demanding tone than before.

    You Fang looked back at Lord Wei. "Lord, Luo Shan is cooperating with others to frame my You family. Do you intend to help them act against my You family?"

    "Arrogant!" Wen Shi angrily shouted.

    Uncle Mo also shouted a sharp reprimand. "You Fang, you are going too far!"

    Countless peoplemented on how inappropriate You Fangs behavior was.

    Lord Wei frowned. "It appears that your family is unhappy with me."

    You Fang replied, "I wouldnt dare to be so presumptuous, but Lord Wei, you are helping Monarch Luo oppress my You family, which does not make sense."

    "What would you consider reasonable?" Lord Wei calmly asked.

    You Fang''s eyes suddenly turned cold. "Don''t ask me."

    The moment those words were spoken, all of the remains of the scattered and destroyed bestowal art carriers moved together and connected. The void warped and twisted around Lord Wei to form a cage. The man did not react slowly, and there was a burst of ck energy when he raised his hand, but the attack was actually locked down by the twisted cage of the void.

    Lu Yin stared at the image on the disy in shock; why did this formation look so simr to the sourcebox array As If Closed?

    Lu Yin had been very impressed by that particr sourcebox array. He had first encountered it during the finals of ZENITH when Shang Qing had summoned a copy of Progenitor Hui with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and that summon had used As If Closed. The sourcebox array had rendered Lu Yin helpless, and if not for the God of Death Transformation, he would have undoubtedly lost that match.

    What Lu Yin was seeing around Lord Wei looked exactly like As If Closed.

    Even so, that was not the important part. More surprisingly, the You family had attacked Lord Wei, the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and it was also clear that this attack was premeditated.

    The cage that trapped Lord Wei was formed from the broken remains of the nearby bestowal art carriers. The carriers had been broken apart by Luo Shan, and they should have been leftover scraps of the battlefield. But at this moment, they actually worked together to trap Lord Wei. This should have been impossible, even if the You family had nned everything out. There was also clearly something off about Luo Shan.

    Uncle Mo, Wen Shi, and the others did not immediately react to Lord Wei being trapped.

    When they did finally start to move and tried to rescue Lord Wei, You Teng and Luo Shan both took action, and they each blocked one of the opposing powerhouses.

    Uncle Mo stared at Luo Shan in disbelief. "Monarch Luo, what are you doing?"

    The Monarch did not respond.

    Further back, both You Fang and You Teng attacked Lord Wei. "It''s time for this Transcendent Universe to change!"

    The abrupt change on the battlefield left the entire universe silent.

    He Ran stood at the foot of the stairs in her space, staring as the You family trapped Lord Wei. Instantly, she figured everything out.

    Suddenly, she understood why the You family had announced their support for Bai Qian over He Ran; they had wanted to force out Lord Wei so that they could attack him. It was no wonder why Luo Shan had been so cooperative and had immediately agreed to help her frame the You family. Clearly, he had merely been putting on a show while actually cooperating with the You family. The goal was to block the other powerhouses while the You family dealt with the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    Even the fact that Monarch Luo had kidnapped You Lele had been part of the act put on for He Ran and Lord Wei.

    However, why was Luo Shan cooperating with the You family at all?

    Lu Yin stared at You Fang on the disy he was watching. This entire situation was a massive game of chess. He Ran had been deceived from the very beginning. The You family had announced their support of Bai Qian, while manipting He Ran to think that she was working with Luo Shan to create the current situation. Out of everyone involved, He Ran and Bai Qian were nothing but pawns that the You family had used to deal with Lord Wei.

    The You family was certainly ruthless enough.

    Even so, could the ruler of an entire universe really be defeated so easily?

    ns had been put into action, and the final oue depended entirely on whether the You family could defeat Lord Wei.

    The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had developed energy converters and raised up the Transcendent Universe by himself. He had then continued to develop various cultivation technologies, which allowed the Transcendent Universe to rise up and be one of the six member universes of the Sixverse Association with a standing no worse that the Voidforce Universe or the Arboreal Realm. What sort of ability did such a man possess? At this moment, Lu Yin would finally be able to see for himself.

    While You Fang and You Teng worked together, Lord Wei was able to easily block both of them with his ck energy converter. "Your You family is really a group of ravenous wolves."

    You Fang shot back, "My You family pioneered the Bestowal Art! While you act like you respect us, the truth is that, as long as a truly gifted person appears in our family, you kill them. Do you really think that we never knew how our founding ancestor died? Seriously? You think that we dont know how you will soon target Lele?

    "Lord Wei, you were the one who forced us to be responsible for the Bureau, and you have continuously undermined my You family''s rights for the Bestowal Art. You were also the one to transfer away the most powerful bestowal art carrier as a means of weakening my family and reducing our influence. Youve continuously forced us into bing nothing more than your puppets!"

    Lord Wei remained indifferent in the face of the usations. "There can only be one ruler of the Transcendent Universe."

    "Well said!" With a deafening shout, the void tore open, and an old man stepped out. "Its time for that ruler to change, and its time for me toe home!"

    Uncle Mo eximed, "You Xian?"

    He Ran stared at her disy in a daze. You Xian? The You familys disgraced prodigal son? How was that possible? How was he not dead?

    No one had expected a known dead man like You Xian to suddenly appear.

    Everyone knew the story of how You Xian was a disgraced member of the You family who had squandered the familys wealth and caused the family to decline for two generations. In the end, the man had died of depression.

    You Xians appearance left everyone who saw him terribly confused.

    Even Lord Wei was shocked. "You Xian? You''re not dead?"

    You Xianughed. "If I wasnt dead, how would you ever lower your guard? If I hadnt led my family to ruin, we would have been destroyed long ago. Lord Wei. Today, I, You Xian, will change the world as you know it."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, ck energy surged from his body and formed a massive energy de that shed at Lord Wei.

    The You family possessed three ck energy converters, and the most powerful of the three had been in You Fangs possession, but at this moment, it was turned over to You Xian.

    The ck energy converter that You Fang had once used to fight against Luo Shan was passed over to You Shan, and the patriarch asked his ancestor to attack.

    Lord Wei shook his head. "I am the one who created the energy converters. It is impossible for you to defeat me with them. How long can your Bestowal Art keep me trapped for?"

    The de of ck light fell upon Lord Wei through the cage formed from the distorted void. The mans indifferent expression suddenly and drastically changed as the de fell, and cracks appeared across You Xians upper body. Lord Weis pupils shrank sharply, and he stared at You Xian. "You?"

    You Xianughed. "This body is nothing more than a spare. The person you were after all those years ago escaped, which created a loophole that we were able to exploit. If not for that, no matter how much my You family hated our situation, we would have never turned against you. At my familys peak, you could notpare to us. Do you believe that we dont know your true power level?"

    No one knew Lord Weis true strength aside from the You family. They had never underestimated Lord Wei over the countless years and had always regarded him as a very powerful individual. How else could he have created the energy converter cultivation technology?

    Only the You family could understand the difficulty in creating such a cultivation technology, and that was because they knew how difficult it had been to develop the Bestowal Art. Energy converters were even moreplicated, which meant that Lord Wei was an unfathomable individual.

    It was just a pity that such a powerful person had such lofty ambitions, as those ambitions had created even greater ws.

    Lord Wei roared, "You are seeking death!"

    As he shouted, the Transcendent Universe itself trembled, and an indescribable feeling fell upon everyone. Despite suddenly feeling extremely uneasy, no one was able to see a thing. It was a difficult sensation to exin.

    Lu Yin looked up in utter amazement; this was manifested thought!

    How could there be manifested thought in the Transcendent Universe? This was supposed to be Progenitor Huis power. It was something that he had left behind for the Technocracy, and it had been powerful enough to trap even Semi-Progenitors, while also granting the Technocracy the ability to observe everything within its domain. It was undoubtedly the power of Progenitor Hui, so why was Lu Yin seeing it in the Transcendent Universe?

    What was the connection between Lord Wei and Progenitor Hui?

    Lu Yin had never even considered the possibility of encountering manifested thought in the Transcendent Universe.

    When Lu Yin had learned the truth about the Technocracy, he had also learned that manifested thought was Progenitor Hui''s innate gift. Progenitor Hui had left his manifested thought behind for the Technocracy much like how the Rune Progenitor had left his runes behind. At humanitys most desperate moment, those powers had activated to help them survive. What Lu Yin was currently looking at looked like the exact same innate gift that Progenitor Hui had possessed.

    Was it possible for there to be duplicate innate gifts? Absolutely. The direct descendents of the Lu familys main line possessed the Champions Stage innate gift, but that was an inherited innate gift that had been passed down from amon ancestor. What could the connection between Progenitor Hui and Lord Wei be? How could they be rted or sharemon ancestry? However, how else could they possess the same innate gift?

    On top of that, the cage formed from the Bestowal Art appeared to be practically identical to the As If Closed sourcebox array. With so many coincidences, Lu Yin was bing increasingly convinced that Progenitor Hui had visited the Transcendent Universe in the past.

    Lu Yins hesitation onlysted for a single moment. Seeing that Lord Wei was physically trapped within the Bestowal Art cage for the moment, Lu Yin took advantage of the opportunity to fill the old mansboratory with countless runes in order to search the ce.

    There was an explosion, and the old mansb waspletely destroyed. The bestowal art carrier continued to devour a sourcebox and release attacks that would threaten even the most powerful experts.

    Lu Yin used the spatial lines to move about,and he instantly appeared right next to the bestowal art carrier. A single palm strike shattered the weapon.

    As long as a bestowal art carrier was not protected by a powerhouse, it was nothing more than another target.

    At this moment, Lord Wei suddenly turned to look in the direction of the old mansb, a fierce glint shing across his eyes. He had always kept an eye on thatboratory, as nothing could be allowed to happen to that old man. Theb had just been attacked, but fortunately, the old man was no longer there, which meant that the matter could be ignored for the time being.

    Manifested thought was like giving consciousness to the universe itself. The moment it appeared, an invisible force continued to wear away at You Xian, You Fang, You Teng, and even Luo Shan. At the same time, all of the You familys bestowal art carriers shattered.

    Luo Shan was shocked; was this Lord Weis power?

    This was something that made even Luo Shan wary. This was a power worthy of the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    The manifested thought made it difficult for people to move, and the Bestowal Art cage that had trapped Lord Wei cracked. The man would soon break free.

    "How long do you intend to wait?" You Xian bellowed.

    Lord Wei''s expression changed, and his heart dropped. There was someone else participating in this attack, and they had to be a truly powerful individual. Otherwise, You Xian would not have called out. Who could it be?

    Lord Wei did not notice that, behind him, the shadow of one of the broken shards of a bestowal art carrier suddenly moved. It transformed into a beam that struck the mans back before he could sense anything. Lord Weis pupils constricted as the shadow spread out across his body, looking like a spider. The shadow spread from his shoulders, down to his waist, and then on to his legs. Quickly, the ws of the shadow covered Lord Weis entire body.

    Lord Wei grew furious, and he shouted, "Sovereign Shao Yin!"

    Wen Shi and Uncle Mo both rushed forward to save Lord Wei, but they were already toote. They could not even get close to the man, let alone save him.

    You Xianshed out once more with ck energy.

    More and more cracks appeared across Lord Wei''s body.

    "The Cyclic Universe is actually interfering in the internal affairs of my Transcendent Universe? You are viting the treaty of the Sixverse Association! Sovereign Shao Yin, this will not end well for you!" Lord Wei roared.

    You Xian instantly shouted, "Lord Wei, have you gone insane? Who has seen Sovereign Shao Yin here?"

    At the bottom of a staircase, He Ran''s body grew weak. Sovereign Shao Yin? Why was he working with the You family? Why? Why were both Monarch Luo and Sovereign Shao Yin cooperating with the You family to attack Lord Wei? Everyone who had been coborating with He Ran was actually helping the You family eliminate Lord Wei. Had everything been staged from the very beginning?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2687: Mascot

    Chapter 2687: Mascot

    Lu Yin watched everything that happened. While he was also unable to see Sovereign Shao Yin himself, it was impossible for Lord Wei to make something up at such a time. Clearly, the power that had wrapped around the mans body had to belong to Sovereign Shao Yin.

    No matter how powerful Lord Wei might be, even if he was equal to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, it would be difficult for him to be stronger than Sovereign Shao Yin. The Transcendent Universe focused on cultivation technologies, and it was in the process of studying sequence particles. The people of the universe did not cultivate or develop their personal strength to alter the fundamental rules of a universe.

    If the Great Sovereign wasparable to the Origin Progenitor, then the Three Sovereigns were likelyparable to the Three Realms Six Dao. That was not a level of power that Lord Wei could stand up to, let alone when such a personunched a sneak attack.

    Lu Yin could not understand what Sovereign Shao Yin had just done with his attack, but it was clear that Lord Wei was already done for.

    Lord Weis defeat was not unwarranted. It was impossible to measure the amount of preparations that the You family had made for this day. They had been preparing since at least You Xian''s generation, and possibly even longer.

    The You family had cooperated with Luo Shan and Sovereign Shao Yin to deal with Lord Wei, while also using He Ran, Bai Qian, and Xuan Qi. How could a n that involved so many powerful and influential people be ruined by ordinary people? It had been an extremely thorough n, and after seeing it, Lu Yin would be far warier of the You family in the future.

    At that thought, LuYin was reminded of the ck energy converter that he was after. Sure enough, there was a real ck energy converter hidden in theboratory.

    Sensing the majestic energy it contained, Lu Yin grabbed the energy converter and left.

    Even though Lord Wei had lost, he would not die quickly. Lu Yin needed to take advantage of this bit of time to get as much done as possible.

    Far away, Lord Wei''s screams horrified all who heard them, and countless people across the Transcendent Universe were ovee with despair.

    When the ruler of their universe died, there was no predicting what fate would befall the Transcendent Universe.

    Uncle Mo was unable to save Lord Wei, so he turned around and left. There was no hesitation to be seen. He understood that he needed to rescue Lord Wei in order to stay alive. Otherwise, remaining would only lead to Uncle Mos death as well.

    Luo Shan watched Uncle Mo leave and made no move to stop the man. Luo Shan only needed to cooperate with the You family at the beginning of the battle in order to help them finalize the preparations to carry out their n. As for how they would deal with Lord Wei, that had nothing to do with the Monarch.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin, youve gotten involved in the internal affairs of my Transcendent Universe! How do you intend to justify your actions to the Great Sovereign?" Lord Wei roared.

    You Xian sneered. "You''re still spouting nonsense. Only my You family has been attacking you this entire time."

    Even as the man spoke, he continued to attack Lord Wei.

    Lord Wei''s body continued to break apart as the shadows that enveloped his body continued to tear him apart. He was no longer able to use his manifested thoughts. It was as though his thoughts had grown sluggish.

    Elsewhere, at the bottom of a staircase, He Ran helplessly stared at a disy that showed the events taking ce. The moment Lord Wei was defeated, she would be done for as well. How could this have happened? How could the You family have hidden their strength so well? It was absurd. He Ran had assumed that she had been fighting against the You family, and even surpassing them. However, who could have known that even she had been nothing more than their pawn this entire time?

    If she stayed where she was, she would only be waiting for death. It was clear that Lord Wei was about to die, but He Ran could not ept her own death as well.

    She shouted, "Ke Jian!"

    The man was standing close by, also lost in shock at what was transpiring. He heard He Ran''s cry and hurried over to her. "Madam?"

    "Get me away from here!" He Ran ordered, her face pale.

    Ke Jian looked back at the image on the disy. Leave? Could they really leave? If they did, they would never be able to return.

    "Ke Jian, take me away from here!" He Ran shouted, suddenly angry.

    While Ke Jian wanted to, reason told him not to.

    He was different from He Ran. She had to leave in order to survive, as she was an enemy of the You family and was one of Lord Weis people. On the other hand, Ke Jian did not have to follow Lord Wei. As long as the You family was willing to ept him, he could follow them instead.

    The moment Lord Wei died, Ke Jians only option would be to turn to the You family. The You family would not be concerned about Ke Jian at all, as they would rule over the entire universe.

    Ke Jian hesitated. He did not want to leave. He wanted to stay in the Transcendent Universe. If he left, he would have no way to recharge his white energy converter once it was drained, and that would cause him to lose his current status.

    He Ran''s expression changed. "Ke Jian, get me out of here! I still have one more white energy converter, and I can give you another."

    Ke Jian stared at He Ran. At this moment, he was not even considering whether he should leave, but rather how he could demonstrate his new loyalties. He could capture He Ran and give her to the You family as a demonstration. No, that would not work. What would be enough to cause the You family to ept a traitor like Ke Jian?

    He was facing a dilemma, and he did not know what to do.

    At this moment, a hand fell onto the old mans shoulder. "It looks like youre going to betray Sister Ran."

    Ke Jian''s expression changed drastically as he spun around, startled. "Xuan Qi?"

    He Ran also stared in shock. "Xuan Qi? You- you''re not dead?"

    Lu Yin gave her a small smile. "Sister Ran, do you want me to be dead?"

    He Ran stared at him, confused. What was going on? Just what had happened?

    Xuan Qi was not dead, which meant that he had deliberately faked his own death. Was he also cooperating with the You family? But if that were true, then why would he have nted Luo Qian''s lens in the Ziyou Realm to frame the You family?

    Thinking of that, He Ran still resented how Luo Shan had been secretly cooperating with the You family. The entire situation was a farce.

    Ke Jian stared at Lu Yin who was right beside him. "Were you sent here by the You family?"

    The old mans thoughts mirrored He Rans.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face as he replied, "Yourepletely wrong."

    With that, Lu Yins hand dropped. There was a snap, and Ke Jians body was pressed to the floor. There was a brief moment when Ke Jian reflexively fought back with his white energy, but he waspletely helpless against Lu Yin. The old man grew horrified, and he suppressed the pain he was suffering from the hand pressing down on him as he stared up at Lu Yin in disbelief. "What?"

    Lu Yin flicked his wrist, and Ke Jians body was thrown far away, where itnded with a bang.

    "If you hadnt betrayed He Ran, I could have still admired you a bit. Unfortunately, youre nothing but a traitor." As Lu Yin spoke, he directed his hand towards the distant form of Ke Jian and then bent all five fingers. The white energy was ripped away from Ke Jian''s chest and pulled straight into Lu Yins hand. "Thats one more."

    He Ran calmly watched everything. She found herself unable to figure out who this man represented, as his actions did not appear to benefit the You family.

    "Who are you?" He Ran asked. Ke Jian was not someone who could be easily defeated without years of cultivation. Was it possible that Xuan Qi had been hiding his strength the entire time?

    She suddenly thought of another possibility, though it seemed too fantastical to be real: could Xuan Qi and Zi Jing have been plotting against He Ran from beginning to end? Was that actually possible?

    Lu Yin nced over at the disy again. Lord Weis struggles were almost finished.

    Lu Yin walked over to He Ran and stared at the perfect face. His hand rose, and he briefly touched her face while admiringly saying, "What a beautiful person. My Heavens Sect needs a mascot like you.

    He Ran''s expression changed drastically yet again, and her mouth fell open. "Youre from the Heavens Sect? Arent you and Lu Yin enemies?"

    Lu Yin just smiled and ced He Ran in a Zenith Mountain before stepping out and disappearing.

    The very next moment, Uncle Mo arrived, but he only saw Ke Jian''s corpse. There was absolutely no trace of He Ran that he could find.

    Before going to find He Ran, Lu Yin had wanted to grab Bai Qian and take her away. Lord Wei had failed, which meant that neither He Ran nor Bai Qian had any use any longer. However, Lu Yin was unable to get in touch with Bai Qian, which made him very uneasy. She had most likely been taken away by the You family and was under their control, but Lu Yin could not search for her at the moment. He would have to wait for the battle to end and then approach the You familyter on as Xuan Qi.

    No matter how suspicious the You family might be of Xuan Qi, they would not be able to do anything about it because he had multiple peak powerhouses supporting him.

    If Lu Yin had not sent out some messages the moment he faked Xuan Qis death, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and even Xu Wuji might have appeared in the Transcendent Universe, which would have made things far more chaotic.

    In the middle of outer space, Lord Wei''s resistance grew weaker and weaker. The shadow that covered his body gripped him like the mouth of a beast, making it difficult for him to move.

    "Your You family has conspired with an outsider against the Transcendent Universe! You Xian, are your actions worthy of your You familys ancestor? Will the Transcendent Universe still be the same home to us?" Lord Wei roared.

    You Xian and others remained indifferent, and the shadow grew more aggressive.

    "I can die, and you may be able to seize control of the Transcendent Universe, but you will never gain the full Transcendent Universe!

    "I know what your family wants, but you can never get it. You will never find out where they are working on that cultivation technology! Its impossible!"

    You Fang''s eyes went wide, as he understood that Lord Wei was talking about the sequence particle research. It was a project that Lord Wei had personally hidden, so did these words mean that it was truly impossible for anyone to find them other than Lord Wei himself?

    "Where''s Uncle Mo? You Teng, go find Uncle Mo and He Ran! We need to capture them!" You Fang suddenly shouted.

    You Teng quickly shook off Wen Shi and disappeared to find Uncle Mo.

    Lord Wei continued to rage, "No one can ess that ce but me! You will never get there! When that cultivation technology is perfected, I will return, and your You family will die! Sovereign Shao Yin, I want you to die-"

    There was a violent explosion. Lord Wei had actually taken the initiative to self-destruct, exploding with an unprecedented strength that tore through outer space and the void, leaving a massive hole to the Hollow in the Transcendent Universe.

    Everyone pulled back.

    The moment that Luo Shan saw the Hollow, fear deep appeared in his eyes, and he fled faster than anyone else, even going so far as to tear through the void and leave the universe itself.

    The Hollow swallowed a massive region of space. The person who had been closest to the explosion had been Sovereign Shao Yin. While he had never allowed himself to be seen by anyone, everyone understood that the power that had incapacitated Lord Wei definitely belonged to Sovereign Shao Yin. Apart from the Three Sovereigns, who else could render Lord Wei so helpless? The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had been forced tomit suicide.

    Lord Wei''s suicide was something that Sovereign Shao Yin had not expected at all, and he was nearly pulled into the Hollow himself. While he did manage to escape, Sovereign Shao Yin was still severely injured. When he appeared in a distant location, his golden robe was in tatters, and he was coughing up blood as he watched space copse.

    He wiped the blood from his lips as he stared at the Hollow with cold eyes. "What a madman."

    Lord Wei had been the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, so who could have expected him to kill himself so decisively? Not even You Xian and the rest of the You family had considered the possibility of Lord Wei having a back-up n.

    "It can only be said that Lord Wei suffered losses when that person escaped from him all those years ago." You Xian sighed as he looked at Ziyou Realm.

    You Fang replied, "That person not only hurt Lord Wei, but they also caused our You family to suffer great losses."

    You Xian watched as the Hollow started to shrink, and he let out a long breath. "The Transcendent Universe now belongs to my You family."

    The You family then returned to the Ziyou Realm and recalled their people from every part of the Transcendent Universe. You Xian was handed back authority over the entire family, and he led the charge in purging Lord Weis die-hard supporters while also maintaining order for the universe.

    While the You family had just staged a coup, they had been preparing for too many years, and their preparations allowed them to very quickly stabilize things in the Transcendent Universe.

    You Xian and others all returned to the Ziyou Realm. They had taken control of the universe, but at this moment, they needed to consider how to deal with Sovereign Shao Yin and the others.

    Such people had not helped the You family without their own motivations.

    You Lele stood in the middle of numerous disys that gave her a view of all the different parts of the Transcendent Universe. The You family''s great victory had made her the true princess of the universe, and her previously slovenly appearance was nowhere to be seen. She looked as though she had been reborn and was quite beautiful to look at.

    This was the real You Lele, not the madwoman who knew nothing but researching cultivation technologies and ying with her dandruff.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2688: Traveling Skills

    Chapter 2688: Traveling Skills

    "You cant find them?" You Lele kept scanning the various disys as she spoke to You Teng. "They couldnt have simply left this universe, and Lord Weisst words also suggest that no one knows the location of the sequence particle research except for him. He Ran wont be an exception, but we need to find them, just to be sure."

    "What''s going on?" You Xian and You Fang asked as they returned to the Ziyou Realm.

    You Lele replied, "Uncle Teng can''t find He Ran or Uncle Mo."

    You Xian frowned. "Help him find them. Search the entire universe. We have to find those two."

    "Where is Sovereign Shao Yin?" You Fang asked.

    You Lele nced at one disy and had the image zoom in.

    The image showed Sovereign Shao Yin, and the man seemed to sense that the You family was observing him. He stared straight at You Lele, said something, and then tore through the void and left.

    "He can''t openly interfere in the affairs of our universe. Since Lord Wei exposed his involvement, he needs to return," You Fang said.

    You Lele said, "He said its time for the first meeting."

    She then turned to look at the two men. "Where is Bai Qian?"

    You Fang replied, "I have her. She is a gift for Chu Jian."

    "Hesing," You Lele reminded.

    She pulled up another disy, this one showing a location just outside of the Ziyou Realm. It showed a spacecraft that was sailing through space, slowly entering the Ziyou Realm.

    "Bring Bai Qian here," You Xian ordered.

    The woman was soon brought to them. They had captured the woman long ago, even before Xuan Qi had used He Ran of being a spy for Aeternus. The You family had predicted almost everything that had happened and had even been on guard against Xuan Qi. After all, he was someone from the Origin Universe.

    The vessel slowly made its way towards the Ziyou Realm. It was full of the You familys servants, but there was a single person who stood out from everyone else aboard the ship.

    He was a smiling young man. At first nce, there was nothing special about him. He was neither as handsome as Cheng Feng, nor as domineering as Lord Wei. However, anyone who saw him would soon find that they were unable to look away from him. There was a quiet arrogance ingrained into the young man.

    It felt as if, just by standing there, the young man represented the pinnacle.

    This young man was the Great Sovereigns first disciple from the Cyclic Universe. He was the one referred to as the Junior Sovereign.[1]

    The young man had already aplished countless legendary feats in the Cyclic Universe in regards to his cultivation. It had shattered countless peoples understanding of what was possible, and even the Great Sovereign himself had nothing but praise for the young man.

    He had been given the surname Chu.[2]

    "The You family should possess a massive number of their miniature bestowal art carriers, which represent the strength of the familys foundation. Unfortunately, all of them were destroyed during the battle. If those things could have been used on the Endless Frontier, it would have been possible to defeat the Aeternals," Chu Jian muttered. It seemed like he was merely talking to himself with no one able to overhear him, but there was an entire room of people listening.

    You Fang instantly reacted with contempt. "What a hypocrite! He never refused to work with us. If Lord Wei had sacrificed himself for humanity, he could have taken out an extremely powerful corpse king."

    You Xian replied, "I saw this for myself when I attended a Bureau meeting for the entire Sixverse Association. The Cyclic Universe is the most hypocritical of all, though they are also the most powerful member of the association."

    "Once the sequence particle research ispleted, it will be hard to say which of our two universes will be stronger or weaker. We have to find Zi Jing and the Energy Research Group," You Fang said.

    "Lets not waste time. Bring him here," You Xian ordered.

    You Lele tapped a finger, and the spacecraft suddenly elerated. No one inside understood what was happening, but the Junior Sovereign just shook his head. "I wanted to see a bit of the Ziyou Realm. What a pity."

    After saying that, his head rose and he took a step, vanishing from the spacecraft.

    In fact, as soon as Chu Jian disappeared, the You family was unable to find any trace of him.

    That is, until the young man reappeared just a short distance away from You Xian and others.

    The members of the You family nced at each other in shock. This Junior Sovereigns speed was faster than what they were able to react to. Only after he had arrived did their hyper-analysis mode pick up on the presence of a foreigner.

    Even so, no one activated a ck energy converter, as the Junior Sovereign did not possess overwhelming strength.

    "Senior You Xian, congrattions oning back from the dead." Chu Jian smiled at You Xian.

    The old man smiled back and said, "I would also like to congratte you, Young Master, for obtaining what you wanted."

    As the man spoke, he nced to the side where Bai Qian was quietly standing. She gave off the impression of a lotus that was untouched by any stain or dirt.

    As soon as Chu Jian looked over and saw the woman, heat flickered through his eyes.

    Bai Qian calmly walked over. No one could have imagined the You family''s intentions. While Bai Qian had guessed that the You family had been targeting Lord Wei, she had not expected them to move so quickly or aggressively. She and Lu Yin had thought that they were the ones with all of the information, but the You family had finished their preparations long ago and had merely been waiting for the various pieces to fall into ce.

    Bai Qian had not expected this, and it was also not something that she could have predicted.

    The You family had moved in the shadows, as had Chu Jian and Sovereign Shao Yin. Luo Shan had been brought in by the two from the Cyclic Universe, as how could just the You family coerce the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe?

    "We meet again," Chu Jian addressed Bai Qian.

    She looked at him and replied, "Lord Wei has fallen. I should no longer hold any value."

    Chu Jian immediately corrected Bai Qian. "You are mine."

    This caught her off guard. "What does that mean?"

    You Xian smiled as he exined, "Bai Qian, you should be thanking the Junior Sovereign. If not for him, you would truly no longer hold any value, but since you are of interest to him, your future has be limitless."

    Bai Qian looked back at Chu Jian in surprise.

    The young man smiled at her and said, "I will never forget the first time I met you. Bai Qian,e with me."

    This was something that Bai Qian had never even considered happening.

    She had been aware of He Shus feelings for her, but she had never thought that the Junior Sovereign, whom she had only met once, would also want her.

    At that moment, Bai Qian suddenly put the pieces together; could the invitation to Tu Kes home have been for the same purpose as how Bai Qian had asked Lu Yin to desecrate He Ran? Had He Ran wanted to have the Junior Sovereign ruin Bai Qian in the eyes of Lord Wei?

    "Junior Sovereign, we are happy to offer you what was promised. You helped us deal with Lord Wei, and my You family is happy to provide you with a ck energy converter and the method behind the Bestowal Art. Additionally, we promise to help you with a request that you make in the future. As for Bai Qian, consider her a gift to you from my You family," You Xian said.

    Chu Jian looked over at You Xian. "Senior, you have fulfilled the agreement between the two of us, but you have not met Senior Sovereign Shao Yins requirements."

    You Xian and You Fang nced at each other. "Junior Sovereign, you brought Sovereign Shao Yin in on this matter. We only ever came to an agreement with you. As for what you did or said to persuade Sovereign Shao Yin, that has nothing to do with my You family."

    You Leles eyes were glued to Chu Jian. It was clear that this young man was scheming. He had been the one to bring in both Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan to help deal with Lord Wei. His ambitions could not be small, given the prices he must have paid to bring in the two powerhouses.

    Chu Jianughed. "I don''t have the status to be able to ask Senior Sovereign Shao Yin or Monarch Luo Shan to take action. They only helped deal with Lord Wei because of your You family. Rather, to be more urate, because of the Transcendent Universe."

    "What are you saying, Chu Jian?" You Fang''s voice grew much colder.

    The young man replied, "The method to produce energy converters and the Bestowal Art."

    You Fang''s face fell. "You want to take over my Transcendent Universe?"

    Chu Jian just shrugged. "Its nothing more than a production method. How can that be considered some sort of conspiracy to conquer the Transcendent Universe? We have no desire to take over this ce.

    "Dont you think that youre asking for too much? Energy converters and the Bestowal Art are the foundation that allows my Transcendent Universe to survive. Giving those to you is no different from crippling all purpose from my universe," You Xian stated solemnly.

    Chu Jian smiled. "Let us not pretend what transpired earlier.. Do you two really think that we didnt hear what Lord Wei said before he died?

    "I have no interest in whatever your Transcendent Universe is researching, though Im also guessing that its not going to be easy for you to get that research. Im just asking for the methods to produce energy converters and bestowal art carriers. Nothing more.

    "These are not just my demands, but also Senior Sovereign Shao Yins as well.

    "Everyone understands the rules of the Sixverse Association, and Senior Shao Yin has broken some of those rules for this matter, which may even cause him to be punished by Master. Despite knowing that, he was still willing to help you. You shouldpensate him for his sacrifices. If not, who can say what he might do? I certainly dont know.

    This was an open threat. It was inconvenient for Sovereign Shao Yin himself toe forward, so it could onlye from the Junior Sovereign.

    The strength that Sovereign Shao Yin had revealed was even more effective now that the You family had seen the Sovereign kill Lord Wei.

    Bai Qian watched calmly as things yed out. The Junior Sovereigns scheme was no less ambitious than that of the You family. While he was not trying to take over the Transcendent Universe, he would be able to replicate the Transcendent Universe if he seeded.

    Everyone imed that the Junior Sovereign would one day rece one of the Three Sovereigns, but from the ambition that he was showing, it looked like he was not willing to rece one of the Three Sovereigns. Rather, he wanted to be the master of a universe like Lord Wei.

    It was even possible that this was the entire reason why Sovereign Shao Yin had been willing to assist the Junior Sovereign. After all, of the Three Sovereigns, Shao Yin was the one most likely to be reced.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus was far too influential, and Sovereign Shao Yin could notpare to her. As for the other Sovereign, he could not be reced either.

    You Xian sighed. "Junior Sovereign, can we discuss this matter further? I can tell you right now that while we can share the Bestowal Art with you, we dont even know how to make energy converters ourselves."

    Chu Jianughed. "I believe you, but if Senior Sovereign Shao Yin doesn''t believe you, then there''s nothing that I can do about it."

    You Xian felt cornered as he looked at Chu Jian. "We worked together to deal with Lord Wei and have formed a partnership. When you have any orders for us in the future, Junior Sovereign, my You family will not refuse your request. You should understand just how valuable this promise is."

    Chu Jian sped his hands behind his back. "You have my thanks for this promise on behalf of your You family, but this promise will not be enough to impress Senior Sovereign Shao Yin."

    "You throw Sovereign Shao Yins name around as every other word out of your mouth. Do you really think that you can use him to threaten my You family?" You Fang challenged.

    Chu Jians brows rose. "What are you saying? Have you thought of something, Senior?"

    He continued on in an admiring tone. "Your You family was able to plot against Lord Wei, which means that you can scheme against us as well. Please, Senior, show me your hand. Lets see what else you still have."

    You Fang stared at Chu Jian. There are times when revealing things doesnt benefit anyone involved. Weve already delivered what we agreed upon to you, and my You family has also promised to assist you with one request. Isnt that enough?"

    Chu Jian just smiled. "You most likely wont be able to dismiss Sovereign Shao Yin withoutpensating him."

    You Fang felt cornered, and he turned to look at You Xian.

    The older man let out a long breath and then took something out from his cosmic ring.

    The item was about the size of a persons palm, and it seemed to be shaped like a weapon. When Chu Jian saw it, his expression instantly changed, and he stared intently at Yu Xian for a long moment. "How do you have that?"

    You Xian asked, "Is this enough?"

    Chu Jian took a deep breath and started tough. "Your You family, hahahaha! You certainly are the You family! Not only did you plot against Lord Wei, but you also plotted against us right after that! It appears that youve already found a way out for yourselves. Very well, this is enough. This will be enough to give an exnation to Sovereign Shao Yin."

    You Xian put the item back away. "If we arent forced to, we won''t use it. After all, we only have one chance."

    Chu Jians eyes glittered as he looked at You Xian. "I am looking forward to seeing you fulfill the promise you gave me. Youve just given me a great deal of confidence. Truthfully, the value of your promise is not in that item, but in the intelligence of your family."

    "Thank you, Junior Sovereign, for thinking so highly of us," You Fang said.

    1. The Chinese for his title is perfect + young + sovereign. There are multiple mentions of him being "perfect," and that is very deliberate.

    2. This Chu () is the same as the Heavens Sect''s Chu Yuan (). <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2689: The Price

    <h4>Chapter 2689: The Price</h4>

    Chu Jian looked at Bai Qian, who was standing a short distance away. "Just follow through with the terms that we originally agreed upon. As for Bai Qian, I¡¯ll take her with me, so thank you very much."

    He immediately started walking towards Bai Qian.

    You Xian and the others calmly watched on. Neither He Ran nor Bai Qian held any value to the You family, which meant that their only possible value was as gifts for Chu Jian.

    A small frown appeared on Bai Qian¡¯s face as she watched Chu Jian approach her step by step. This situation waspletely unexpected. Where was Lu Yin? He was also supposed to be one of the You family''s pieces in this game, but he was a piece far different from what the You family saw.

    Suddenly, Chu Jian stopped, and he just stared at Bai Qian. The heat that filled his eyes disappeared and waspletely reced with utter disbelief.

    You Xian, You Fang, and You Lele were further away, but they also stared in Bai Qian''s direction in utter shock, their faces quickly growing pale.

    Bai Qian turned her head to look behind. She had no idea when a figure had appeared there, but someone was standing just behind her. It was a man, but a very strange man. Even so, Bai Qian recognized him with just a nce. He was Lord Wei.

    Bai Qian was not alone, as You Xian and everyone else also recognized Lord Wei the moment their eyes fell on him. The man¡¯s bearing and the look in his eyes were identical to Lord Wei''s, not to mention the indescribable aura that only Lord Wei possessed.

    How could this be? Lord Wei was dead, no?

    Silence filled the area as everyone stared at the man behind Bai Qian.

    The members of the You family felt their hearts drop and keep sinking. They had been wrong. Lord Wei had not died, as he was standing right in front of them. They had been outyed, and Lord Wei had not been killed, but merely pretending.

    "You Xian, you are very smart," the man said in a calm tone. There was no hint of anger or any other emotion. "Everyone from your You family is very smart, and you actually managed to kill one of my bodies. Fortunately, I hid this from everyone over all these years. If I had not kept a body hidden, it really would have been the end for me."

    "Impossible..." You Xian was truly shocked. "This body possesses incrediblebat strength as well. How could you have two extremely powerful bodies at the same time? On top of that, the body that was killed possessed manifested thought, which is your innate gift. There are innate gifts that can¡¯t be moved when you change bodies, and...¡±

    The man gave a small smile. "That''s simply what you know of me, and that¡¯s also what your ancestor knew of me."

    You Xian''s pupils shrank sharply, and he understood. They had been the ones being yed this entire time.

    Lord Wei had deceived everyone from the very beginning, including the ancestor of the You family. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had hidden a body. The You family had studied Lord Wei for years to determine his strength and abilities, but they had only studied the body that he wanted everyone to know about.

    "Innate gift? Why are you so certain that I was using an innate gift? Did I ever tell you that that was my innate gift?" the man continued.

    You Xian''s fingers trembled. Both Lord Wei¡¯s body and innate gift had been fake, mere illusions projected by Lord Wei. It had been a trap that Lord Wei had set to protect himself from everyone, and it was designed to bring him back from the dead.

    The You family''s n had seeded, and if not for the ns that Lord Wei had put into y countless years ago, the You family would have not only seized control of the Transcendent Universe, but they would have also sessfully driven Sovereign Shao Yin and the others away, fully recing Lord Wei as the ruler of the universe. Unfortunately, they had fallen one move short.

    It was not that Lord Wei was smarter than the You family, but that he had set up the game board in his favor before anyone else had even started ying the game. Even the You family¡¯s founding ancestor had not considered that Lord Wei would have such a trick hidden away.

    Chu Jian slowly bowed to the ruler of the universe. "Congrattions, Senior, for wiping away all of the chaos. This junior truly admires you."

    Lord Wei nced over at Chu Jian, and as he did so, the man¡¯s eyes grew cold. "When did you gain the right to interfere in the affairs of my Transcendent Universe?"

    Chu Jian was unfazed, and he even smiled at Lord Wei. "If we had won, it wouldn¡¯t have been considered interference. But since we lost, this junior will return to my master to be punished. Senior, please don''t be angry with me. The punishment that my master will give to this junior will certainly satisfy you."

    Lord Wei¡¯s eyes narrowed. "If not for the Great Sovereign, you would already be dead."

    "This junior understands. I also understand that it would be inappropriate for this junior to listen to what is about to be said. Please excuse this junior.¡± Chu Jian offered another bow, and as he straightened, he looked back at Bai Qian. However, after thinking for a moment, he left without saying anything further.

    Lord Wei did not stop the Junior Sovereign. Not even he could touch the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciples. The more that one understood the Great Sovereign, the less they would dare to move against him. This was also the reason why Chu Jian felt free to behave so wantonly.

    Throughout the entire Sixverse Association, no matter how deeply anyone hated Chu Jian, they could not touch him because he was the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple. Chu Jian was the Junior Sovereign, which meant that even Sovereign Shao Yin needed to be polite to the young man.

    After Chu Jian left, Lord Wei looked back at the three members of the You family. With a casual wave of a hand, a corpse dropped out of the void. It was You Teng.

    Even after seeing You Teng suddenly meet a tragic ending, You Xian, You Fang, and You Lele all remained silent.

    "I was able to see your You family¡¯s rebelliousness starting from You Ji. That is why I have always worked to weaken your You family''s influence. Unfortunately, in the end, you still took action, so you really can''t me me," Lord Weimented in an indifferent tone.

    You Xian replied in a bitter tone, "You have continuously weakened my You family. All those years ago, Ancestor You Ji saw through your intentions to destroy my You family. There is destined to only be one of us, between you and my You family."

    Lord Wei sighed. "Looking back, I now see that You Ji died voluntarily. Throughout the generations of your You family, as long as any truly gifted children appeared, I always found ways to eliminate them, but all of them were sacrifices that your family willingly gave up, just for this day. You Xian acted as the disgraced son, and You Lele acted crazy, but everything was nothing more than an act that your family put on. Your n even seeded, and I lost a body and was forced to reveal my trump card.

    "Everyone was nothing more than a pawn for your You family. What a pity. If only you had sincerely helped me. With the help of the You family, the sequence particle research would have proceeded twice as quickly with half the effort."

    You Fang sneered. "Are you trying to im that you would have allowed my You family to participate in the sequence particle research? Bullshit!"

    Lord Wei looked up. "You Ji was the one who doomed your You family, as it was through him that I saw the You family¡¯s rebellion. He¡¯s the reason why I was forced to move against your You family."

    "You just want to be the absolute ruler of our universe, like the Three Monarchs! You want to suppress my You family, which is why you turn things around and use our ancestor of being hypocritical!" You Lele shouted.

    Lord Wei ignored her and focused on You Xian. "Right, that item you just pulled out to threaten Chu Jian is Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s emblem."

    Thisment stunned Bai Qian. Sovereign Dou Sheng? That fully exined why Chu Jian had backed down after seeing the item that You Xian had pulled out, and also why the Junior Sovereign had said that Sovereign Shao Yin would step back.

    The Cyclic Universe had Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Of the three Sovereigns, only Sovereign Dou Sheng was acknowledged by the Great Sovereign himself. Sovereign Dou Sheng possessed unequaledbat strength, and all who knew him only had a single impression: invincible.

    Just like his name, no matter who he faced in battle, Sovereign Dou Sheng would always emerge victorious.

    Chu Jian was the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, and it was quite possible that he would one day rece one of the Three Sovereigns, but there was not even the slightest chance that he would rece Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Even Lord Wei feared Sovereign Dou Sheng. That man was a powerhouse with peerlessbat strength.

    How could You Xian have something rted to Sovereign Dou Sheng?

    You Xian took the item back out and opened his hand to reveal it to Lord Wei. There was reverence in You Xian¡¯s eyes as he said, "Yes, this is Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s emblem, and it can be used to make one request of him. Lord Wei, do you think that your body can endure even one attack from Sovereign Dou Sheng? You should know that no rules can bind Sovereign Dou Sheng, and he is also the only person who dares to refuse the Great Sovereign."

    Lord Wei stared at the item in You Xian''s hand and nodded. "While I am not afraid of being defeated by Sovereign Dou Sheng, I also don¡¯t want to end up in a deathmatch with him. His promise is enough to have me let your You family off."

    You Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

    "However." Lord Wei¡¯s eyes rose to stare at You Xian. "This favor from Sovereign Dou Sheng must be used to help the Transcendent Universe, and you, You Xian, must die."

    "No!" You Fang shouted.

    You Xian spoke up in a very loud voice, "Very well!"

    You Fang turned to look at You Xian. "Old man!"

    "Grandpa!" Even You Lele could not stay silent.

    You Xian raised a hand to stop them both as he sighed. "We have betrayed Lord Wei, and thus, our You family needs to pay a price. I was the one to instigate this betrayal, and thus I should be the one to pay the price with my life."

    You Fang clenched his fists. "We can ask Sovereign Dou Sheng to take action."

    You Xian gave a bitter smile. He had merely been trying to intimidate Lord Wei a moment ago. If You Xian truly wanted to ask Sovereign Dou Sheng to take action, no matter if the Sovereign was able to defeat Lord Wei or not, it would not be worth the price. Ultimately, Sovereign Dou Sheng would not be able to defeat Lord Wei because the Great Sovereign himself would stop Sovereign Dou Sheng from doing so.

    On top of that, the moment the You family used the Sovereign¡¯s emblem to make a request of him, who would fear the You family in the future? Sovereign Shao Yin would not be willing to ept being slighted like before.

    A single request from Sovereign Dou Sheng was not enough to erase the consequences of the You family¡¯s betrayal of Lord Wei, and both You Xian and Lord Wei understood this.

    Truthfully, You Fang and You Lele knew this as well, but they were simply unwilling to ept it.

    The You family had spent too many years nning and preparing. From the time their ancestor You Ji had developed the Bestowal Art, he had dedicated his life to studying and researching Lord Wei. The family had constantly sacrificed members to Lord Wei while quietly nning to overthrow the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. All of those ns and preparations had led to the current moment. They had been defeated, but not because of Lord Wei¡¯s capabilities, but rather because of the advantage of time.

    If You Ji had developed the Bestowal Art just a bit earlier, even if he had merely been in the same generation as Lord Wei, he would have known that Lord Wei had a hidden body, and the You family¡¯s ns would not have ended in this oue.

    Lord Wei left, and he took Bai Qian with him.

    When the man left, You Xian died. He gave Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s emblem to You Xian and then killed himself.

    As for Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s emblem, it was the You family''s greatest means of protection, and they could not use it lightly.

    You Xian''s death only served to pay part of the price that the You family owed. Additionally, the You family lost all authority in the Transcendent Universe, as well as their control over the bestowal art carriers. They could no longer touch the weapons that they had developed.

    Instead, the family would not be allowed to do anything at all.

    When Lord Wei next appeared, he was at the bottom of the staircase where He Ran normally stayed. Bai Qian was still with Lord Wei. The two saw Ke Jian¡¯s corpse, but there was no trace of He Ran.

    Lord Wei checked the entire Transcendent Universe, and he even used his manifested thought to search, but He Ran could not be found anywhere.

    Where had she gone?

    Lord Wei frowned and returned to the Ziyou Realm, hoping to get an answer from You Fang.

    However, You Fang had no answer for the man. While the You family had wanted to capture He Ran to lure Lord Wei out, they had never actually cared about He Ran herself.

    When You Fang learned that He Ran was missing, the first thought that came to his mind was Xuan Qi.

    The You family still did not understand why or how Luo Qian¡¯s lens had appeared in their Ziyou Realm.

    Luo Shan had been helping Chu Jian, not the You family, which meant that Luo Shan had not personally made any dealings with the You family and owed them no exnation.

    It had been precisely because of this that no one had noticed that the You family was cooperating with Luo Shan, and not even Lord Wei had grown suspicious.

    However, after You Fang considered the matter, the only person capable of sneaking Luo Qian¡¯s lens into the Ziyou Realm was Xuan Qi. This even fell in line with You Fang''s original suspicions that Xuan Qi was somehow connected to Monarch Mu''s disappearance, and this must have been why Xuan Qi had helped He Ran frame the You family. If it were just for He Ran alone, why would Xuan Qi have helped her against the You family?

    While You Fang believed Xuan Qi to be the culprit, he said nothing of his suspicions to Lord Wei.

    You Fang hated Lord Wei, so why would he help the man? Additionally, voicing such suspicions would aplish nothing, as no one knew if Xuan Qi was dead or alive. In fact, at this moment, no one was thinking of him at all.

    If Xuan Qi really was the one behind this matter... You Fang¡¯s eyes flickered. If his suspicions were correct, then Xuan Qi held an absolutely incredible status in the Origin Universe.

    ...

 Chapter 2690: Lu Yin And He Ran

    <h4>Chapter 2690: Lu Yin And He Ran</h4>

    In Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain and released He Ran.

    She looked around but was unable to recognize where she was at all.

    "Who are you?" He Ran turned back to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin regained his original appearance. "The Heavens Sect¡¯s Lu Yin."

    He Ran''s expressionpletely changed. From the moment she had been captured, she had started making guesses as to Xuan Qi¡¯s true identity, but she had never even considered that he might be Lu Yin. "Are you the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch? <i>That</i> Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Good to see you again, Sister Ran."

    He Ran smiled, but it was a self-deprecating, bitter smile. She realized that she had been outyed from the very beginning. Zi Jing had been deliberately captured from the Origin Universe, and it had all been so that Lu Yin could be captured with her and taken into the Sixverese Association. All along, the Sixverse Association had been yed by Lu Yin.

    Luckily for the Origin Universe, the Sixverse Association had always looked down on the Origin Universe and believed that the Heavens Sect was nothing more than a frog in the well. Another stroke of luck for Lu Yin was that He Ran had never cared about the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch. Because of all this, Lu Yin himself had stood before her on multiple asions and yed her like a fiddle.

    How many people throughout the Sixverse Association had been deceived? How many of them were peak powerhouses?

    He Ran remembered all that she had said to Xuan Qi and all that she had done to him. Her condescension looked so ridiculous in hindsight. She had thought that Xuan Qi was an idiot that she was manipting, but in reality, she was the fool being manipted.

    As more and more of their past interactions yed out in her mind, the deeper the red flush on He Ran¡¯s face. The more she thought about all that had happened, the deeper the hate in her eyes as she red at Lu Yin.

    The woman was a perfect specimen; her face and body were impable, and her personality, temperament, and intelligence could not be faulted either. However, this perfection waspletely shattered by the man before her. He must have beenughing at her from beginning to end. Everyone with him must have beenughing at her.

    Lu Yin observed He Ran''s changing expressions andplimented her, "It¡¯s definitely the right decision to make you my Heavens Sect¡¯s mascot. You¡¯re so beautiful that keeping you will be worth it."

    He Ran red at Lu Yin angrily. "You¡¯re mocking me!"

    Lu Yin retorted, "I''m trying to find an excuse to keep you."

    He Ran stared at Lu Yin. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

    She had nothing left. She was in a ce where Uncle Mo could never find her, and her greatest protection had always been Lord Wei, but that man had fallen. The You family''s n had been wless, and because of that, He Ran had lost everything.

    She felt taken by despair. She had no idea how to go on.

    "Why did you capture me?" He Ran asked, dejection filling her tone.

    Lu Yin replied, "I already told you, I¡¯m going to make you my sect¡¯s mascot. You really are beautiful, and it would be a shame for you to die."

    He Ran felt incredibly bitter; was he really just going to use her as a mascot?

    "Of course, if you can be of use in other ways, go ahead and tell me. It¡¯s always better to increase your value to others than to be useless. For example, sharing Zi Jing''s location," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yin truly did not know how He Ran could be of any use to him. The woman had been nothing more than a caged sparrow raised by Lord Wei. She was beautiful beyond any other, but she truly had no use beyond that. It was true that she was somewhat clever and scheming, and she could also be ruthless, decisive, and insightful. However, she was no longer in the Transcendent Universe, and all of her abilities were useless in the Origin Universe.

    He Ran bitterly replied, "I don''t know where Zi Jing is. All I know is that it¡¯s a parallel universe where time flows at a different speed. No one knows how to get there aside from the senior researcher and Lord Wei."

    "Then you really are worthless," Lu Yin said casually.

    He Ran felt quite depressed, but with Lord Wei dead, who would help her?

    She had never been much of a cultivator herself, and her only real value was her knowledge of the Transcendent Universe and her connections there, as well as whatever resources she might have. There was nothing more.

    The truth was that arge part of the reason why Lu Yin had captured He Ran was because of the woman¡¯s belief in her own superiority. He felt a need to shatter that arrogance.

    Bai Qian''s words still had an impact on Lu Yin. Seeing a woman who had believed herself to be a goddess above the nine heavens being brought low by him gave him great pleasure.

    There were more ways of desecrating perfection than mere physical violence.

    At this moment, He Ran needed to work hard to improve her own value. This was also a form of desecration, as Lu Yin had knocked a goddess down into the mortal world.

    He Ran could not know Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, and her own mind was focused on what she should do. She did not want to die, but she also did not want to live a life of humiliation. On top of that...

    She looked back at Lu Yin. This person must have had <i>that</i> in mind when he captured her, and she remained utterly confident in that regard. After all, who did not enjoy looking at her?

    This man must also have such desires, but he was still the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, which essentially made him the ruler of the Origin Universe, making him nearly Lord Wei¡¯s equal. Such a man was undoubtedly worthy of He Ran, but she could not allow herself to be easily taken advantage of.

    The more she thought about this, the more she felt it was the right path to take, and He Ran even felt like she had seen through Lu Yin''s thoughts. The next moment, she knew what to do.

    A person who was in control of everything looked down on the weak. What was needed was someone who could actually help them.

    Thinking of this, He Ran took a deep breath and pushed aside herplicated thoughts. Her entire demeanor transformed, and she looked at Lu Yin with cold eyes. "What do you want?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. Just a moment ago, this woman had been nervous, angry, and even scared. What had caused such a sudden change in her? Her demeanor had reverted back to how she had acted when sitting atop her stairs, and even the coldness had returned to her eyes.

    This sudden change confused Lu Yin. Was He Ran really that mentally tough? That was actually a reasonable assumption, as how could someone without a strong mind be able to raise up a powerhouse like Uncle Mo? How else could He Ran have ever stood against the You family?

    However, the stronger He Ran¡¯s mind, the stronger Lu Yin¡¯s urge to conquer her. "Once you¡¯re in the Heavens Sect and acting as the mascot, you''d better show some additional value, or else you won¡¯t keep that position for very long."

    He Ran inwardly sneered. It was all too clear to her that Lu Yin wanted to scare her into throwing herself at him with his words, and it was possible that everything that he said was nothing more than a test. However, it was too childish and amateurishly done.

    He Ran¡¯s cold demeanor and arrogance that had just returned reminded Lu Yin of when he had first met her sitting atop the stairs.

    Lu Yin found this change fascinating, and he stared at He Ran. This temperament perfectly matched his Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin then took He Ran to the Heavens Sect and arrived next to the cauldron. "Just stay here as a mascot. When you have nothing to do, just smile."

    He was just about to leave when he remembered something. ¡°Right, I forgot to mention that Bai Qian is also one of my people.¡±

    With that, he left.

    His final words threw He Ran¡¯s mind into chaos, and her arrogance instantly vanished. She stared at the stairs leading up through the Heavens Sect in a daze.

    Bai Qian was also one of Lu Yin¡¯s people?

    Had he started scheming against the Transcendent Universe so long ago?

    Could he have nned to have Bai Qian be selected by Lord Wei topete with He Ran?

    No, that was impossible, absolutely impossible. No one could discern Lord Wei¡¯s thoughts.

    But then, why was Bai Qian one of Lu Yin¡¯s people? Was it just a coincidence? That was even more of an impossibility. He Ran refused to believe in such a miraculous coincidence.

    Lu Yin''s final words caused He Ran''s expression to change greatly, which gave him a great deal of satisfaction. No matter how the woman acted, she was still human. She was not a true goddess or some emotionless deity. From this point forwards, she would be nothing more than a mascot, though Lu Yin would have to be cautious whenever people from the Cyclic Universe visited, and he would have to prevent them from recognizing He Ran.

    He Ran¡¯s arrival in the Heavens Sect instantly created a great deal of excitement.

    After all, she possessed a level of beauty that could move even Lu Yin, let alone others.

    The moment she arrived next to the cauldron, countless people started to stare at her. People who had never visited the Heavens Sect used various excuses toe and see her.

    He Ran remained calm and rxed, and shepletely ignored everyone¡¯s words as she remained standing beside the cauldron. Her appearance contrasted sharply with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue at the top of the stairs.

    Lu Yin looked down from the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. He Ran had already attracted the attention of countless people, just as he had anticipated.

    "Um, chess piece- no, sir- no, Lord Dao Monarch." Wang Wen walked over to Lu Yin with a greedy look on his face. "So, um, I¡¯m not young anymore, so, um, I think that woman is pretty good... Give her to me, and I¡¯ll make sure to treat her well."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Where¡¯s Qiqi?"

    Wang Wen blinked. "What Qiqi?"

    "I''ll go talk to the Sea King."

    Wang Wen was so terrified by the threat that he instantly fled.

    Chu Yuan arrived next. While Lu Yin had been spending his time in the Sixverse Association, Chu Yuan¡¯s cultivation had improved very quickly. He had risen from a three-tribtion Envoy to a five-tribtion Envoy, and he truly deserved to have been the First Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era. He was incredibly powerful for his level, as well as among his peers. No matter if one considered his battle techniques, secret techniques, or innate gift, every aspect of the man¡¯s strength was nearly impossible to match. On top of that, his mentality had improved, which had only strengthened him even further.

    "That woman suits me very well" was the first thing that Chu Yuan said when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "And?"

    Chu Yuan continued somberly, "And I think that we would produce excellent offspring."

    "Stay away from her," Lu Yin warned.

    Chu Yuan was beyond arrogant, and he had not taken even Lu Yin seriously for a long time. However, He Ran was even more arrogant. Just what sort of child would be raised by these two people? Lu Yin could not even imagine such a thing.

    After Chu Yuan, Long Yun visited Lu Yin. This man from the Sword Sect was usuallyid back and rather cynical, but he had fallen in love with He Ran at first sight.

    His visit also resulted in him being sent away by Lu Yin.

    After that, Little Mountain God flew over, followed by Kuang Qang and Da Qiu. Even Ku Wei sent messages to Lu Yin despite being far away in the Astral Beast Domain

    When Xi Qi arrived so that the horrible fish could offer a marriage proposal, Lu Yin finally exploded.

    Even the rude fish wanted He Ran! The fish had to be sick in the head.

    For the first time, Lu Yin lost his temper at the fish, and after telling the fish off, Lu Yin arranged to have someone send Xi Qi to the Astral Beast Domain, while Ku Wei was ordered to teach the fish a lesson. The fish needed to fully understand the severity of its mistake.

    "Lord Fish requires a beautiful two-legged beast! If you dare to talk back to Lord Fish like that familiar two-legged beast, you will regret it!"

    Tears filled Xi Qi''s eyes. She did not want to go to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin was stunned by everyone¡¯s reactions. He Ran was simply too beautiful; had it been a mistake to make her the sect¡¯s mascot?

    "Young Master." Master Shan arrived and offered a deep, respectful bow.

    Lu Yin looked over at the man. "How have you been?"

    In order to deal with Nutjob Lu, Master Shan and others had triggered their stellr tribtions in front of the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury in order to block Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers. They had done this even though, after many years of being imprisoned, it had be impossible for Master Shan or the others to ever pass their stellr tribtions and be Progenitors. They had triggered their tribtions expecting to die, just to be able to protect Lu Yin.

    Master Shan smiled. "My condition is nothing serious, Young Master. You don¡¯t need to worry yourself."

    Lu Yin raised a hand and showed a ck energy converter to the old man. "ce this by your heart and use the ck energy that it contains. This will give you the power to face off against even Progenitors. Given your defenses, Master Shan, I believe that you will be able to protect the Heavens Sect."

    Master Shan grewrge as he stared at the ck energy converter in shock. "Such a thing exists?"

    For the people of the Origin Universe, the Transcendent Universe¡¯s energy converters were an unimaginable source of strength. These energy converters offered a shortcut to reaching the Progenitor level, which was something that no one had ever imagined to be possible.

    Lu Yin had simrly been unable to believe that energy converters were real when he had firste into contact with the Transcendent Universe, but he had since be ustomed to the idea.

    Master Shan was the most suitable person to use the ck energy converter that Lu Yin had acquired. To begin with, the man¡¯s loyalty was without question. He had been willing to sacrifice his life for Lu Yin by facing a stellr tribtion unprepared. On top of that, he was perfectly suited as a guardian. At his peak, he had been known as the Semi-Progenitor with the strongest defenses.

    As for Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors of the Heavens Sect, they were making their own preparations to be Progenitors, and giving them a ck energy converter would be a bad idea, as easily acquired power could lead them astray on their path of cultivation.

 Chapter 2691: Reason For Replacement

    Chapter 2691: Reason For Recement

    Both the four ruling powers and the Sixverse Association had be increasingly wary of the Heavens Sect. Lu Buzheng and the sects other Semi-Progenitors had been essentially ced on a watch-list for a long time, but Master Shan was considered a cripple; who would go after a cripple? They would never dream that Master Shan would actually be able to bring the power of a Progenitor to bear. It would serve as an incredible shock.

    Master Shan did not refuse or hesitate. He still regarded himself as one of the Lu familys retainers and thus would ept whatever the young master offered him.

    The moment the man felt the ck energy within the energy converter, his eyes turned red.

    Which cultivator did not wish to be a Progenitor? It was the ultimate goal for all cultivators, but it had be an impossibility for Master Shan the moment he had been imprisoned. Then, it had be even further removed when he had protected his young master by stopping Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors by triggering his stellr tribtion. The old man was shocked to discover that he had just obtained the strength that he had only dreamed of previously.

    "Thank you, Young Master, for your gift," Master Shan said as he offered a deep bow.

    Lu Yin lifted the old man back up. "The Heavens Sect will need to trouble Master Shan to protect it."

    Master Shan solemnly dered, "Young Master, you have no need to worry about that. Even if your subordinate should die, no harm will befall the Heavens Sect."

    "Theres no need to go that far. Your own life remains the most important thing," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    With that, the Heavens Sect gained another peak powerhouse.

    Master Shan was also different from the people of the Transcendent Universe. He had cultivated and progressively improved his strength, and he had only been a single step away from the Progenitor level. While he had failed at thatst step, his mental tempering was no worse than a Progenitors. In addition to the mental toughness that he had gained, given the mans technical skills, the ck energy converter would allow him to reach abat level at least equal to the Progenitor of Combat or the Progenitor of Secret Arts.

    In the Transcendent Universe, the person who was most terrified by He Rans disappearance was He Shu.

    When He Ran had been in power, He Shu had been able to do whatever he wished in the Transcendent Universe, and he had been able to disregard everyone. Even Bai Qian had not dared to do anything to He Shu. However, with He Ran missing, He Shu needed to flee. If he did not, everyone whom he had offended would go after him, especially the You family. He would undoubtedly die.

    He Shu did not know that Lord Wei was not actually dead, nor that the You family had lost all of their authority. If he did, he would not be nearly so frightened.

    "Did you find it?" He Shu asked anxiously as he stared at Xie Wus distant form.

    Xie Wu replied, "I brought all of them."

    "You brought all the resources from all three ces?" He Shu snatched the cosmic rings out of Xie Wu''s hand, seeing more than ten of them. These cosmic rings held all the resources that he had umted over the years.

    He Ran had been given an extremely high position by Lord Wei, but she had still made it a point to raise up Uncle Mo and fight against fakepetitors to solidify her position. In this regard, He Shu was very simr to He Ran. He excelled at preparing for dark days in the future, and he had been setting aside an emergency fund for many years. In addition to the resources that he had hidden away, he had even managed to obtain a white energy converter for himself.

    This white energy converter had belonged to Mu Duos family. The family had been deceived by a man named Bai, and they had lost their white energy converter. Bai had been acting on He Shus orders.

    He Shu had leaned on He Ran''s influence to aplish a great many things, some of which had been noticed, but others had remained secret.

    As he looked at his resources in the various cosmic rings, He Shus breathing started to quicken. With this wealth, even if his sister was no longer around, he would still be able to enjoy afortable life. The first thing that he needed to do was get in touch with the Junior Sovereign. It was a pity that Shao Qingfeng had disappeared, as that meant that it would be far more difficult for He Shu to reach out to the Junior Sovereign. In the past, he had been able to simply contact Shao Qingfeng, which had been quite easy.

    He Shu tore the void open and was about to leave. As for Xie Wu, He Shu was already making his escape, and it would not matter if his dog went with him or not.

    Suddenly, He Shu felt a bit of vertigo, and his vision started to blur. A terrible pain erupted in his heart, and it swept through his nerves. It felt like he had been bit by an insect.

    No, this was poison.

    He Shu whirled around, and he tried to use his energy converter, but Xie Wu moved even faster. In truth, he had been waiting for this exact moment.

    A sharp de pierced He Shu''s body, and his blood floated into outer space from the wound that had opened.

    From a distance, the two men appeared to be embracing each other.

    He Shu''s face grew pale as he stared at Xie Wu in disbelief. "Why?"

    Xie Wu sneered. "Ill always be your dog unless I kill you."

    He Shu''s strength drained away. He was much stronger than Xie Wu, but there was poison in his body, and it rendered He Shupletely unable to resist. "I- I never thought- I treated you like my brother!"

    Xie Wu let out a bitterugh as he pulled his de back, only to immediatelysh out again, leaving a diagonal cut across He Shu''s neck. "Who sent me to the beast arena?"

    The de fell again, and blood spurted out to float around He Shus body. "Who threatened my sister?"

    The smell of blood assaulted Xie Wus senses, raising his bloodlust. The de shed out once again. "Who ordered to have that beast torture me?

    "Who wasughing while I fought in the beast arena, hoping for my death?

    "Who"

    Again and again, the de flickered out as Xie Wu vented all of the resentment that had umted over the years. While he had always been treated as a dog, he had once been able to endure such treatment, but after he was sent to the beast arena, he had ceased to be a dog. He had transformed into a wolf, and the wolf hungered to devour its captor.

    He Shu was diced to pieces by a thousand cuts, and his body was reduced to countless bits of flesh that scattered across outer space.

    Xie Wu was panting for breath. He Shu''s flesh and blood stained every part of his face, body, and de. It made him look extremely cruel.

    Blood and cosmic rings floated nearby, and finally, Xie Wu released his de. He gathered up the cosmic rings and left.

    Xie Wu no longer existed in the Transcendent Universe.

    Far away, Lord Weinded on a massive bestowal art carrier along with Bai Qian. "There are only three bestowal art carriers of this size. One we keep in the Cloudflow Universe, one has been sent to the Endless Frontier, and thest remains here.

    Do you know why the You family did not mobilize this carrier during their rebellion to try to use it to attack me as well?" Lord Wei asked calmly.

    Bai Qian answered in a respectful tone, "I do not."

    "Because they can''t be moved." Lord Wei stared off into the distance. "We are the only ones in the Sixverse Association that can drive away the Aeternals invasion. It is because of this bestowal art carrier right here that our previous victories were won. A powerful sourcebox that we carefully protected up till now had once destroyed an extremely powerful corpse king with this carriers attacks. Look up ahead."

    Bai Qian looked around and quickly realized that she actually recognized the ce. It was the Transcendent Universes warfront with Aeternus. This was the universes equivalent to the Three Monarchs Universes rainbow wall.

    However, there was not a single corpse king as far as the eye could see.

    All that stretched out before Bai Qian was empty space, despite the fact that it should be Aeternuss territory. However, there were no Aeternals there, because they were afraid of what the Transcendent Universe was capable of unleashing.

    Cultivation technology meant thatbat did not rely on people and cultivators, but rather resources and weapons. This was the Transcendent Universes greatest advantage in the war against Aeternus.

    "Cultivation technologies will alway form the foundation of my Transcendent Universes civilization. Even though I may possess a very strong cultivation, and even if cultivators of equal strength have much greaterbat strengthpared to people who use energy converters, I will never alter the foundation of this Transcendent Universe," Lord Wei calmly stated.

    Bai Qian remained quiet and did not say anything as she waited for the man to continue.

    "He Ran has gone missing, and the You family is not responsible for her disappearance. I dont have any idea who might have done it, but while I was fighting against the You family, the senior researchersb was also destroyed, and a ck energy converter was stolen," Lord Wei continued.

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered. <em>That was Lu Yin. No doubt about it</em>.

    "The You family''s rebellion was an attempt to seize control of the Transcendent Universe, but fortunately, they relied on the strength of Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan rather than the strength of our universe. If they had done things differently, I would have been in grave trouble. Still, our universe has suffered a loss, as the You familys foundation has been shattered. We cannot allow outsiders to see that we have been weakened. If He Ran were still around, she would be ced in charge of the Transcendent Universe, but she is missing.

    Give me a way to allow you to rece He Ran," Lord Wei stated while facing away from Bai Qian.

    He wanted Bai Qian to rece He Ran, but not because of Bai Qians importance. Lord Wei had once valued Bai Qian quite highly, but because she had cooperated with the You family, his attitude towards her had changed. Unfortunately, with He Ran missing, someone needed to rece her. Lord Wei did not have anyone else prepared, which meant that Bai Qian was the only option.

    Additionally, the excuse for this change was quite simple; publicly, He Ran was not missing, but also suspected of being a spy for Aeternus. Xuan Qi had already announced his suspicions, so it would be best to allow outsiders to believe that.

    This also served to improve Lord Weis standing, as anyone who was suspected of being a spy was regarded as the enemy of all of humanity.

    Bai Qian bowed to Lord Wei. "I ced Luo Qians lens in the Ziyou Realm."

    Lord Wei turned around to look at Bai Qian in surprise. "That was you?"

    "Yes."

    "How did you get that? How did you get it into the Ziyou Realm? Why did you do that?" Lord Wei asked three questions at once. The only reason why his opinion of Bai Qian had changed was because she had cooperated with the You family. If not for that, he would have no objection to having her rece He Ran.

    Bai Qian exined, "Xuan Qi and I have never fully trusted the You family. He Ran always held the advantage in ourpetition, so if I want to make aeback, I needed to rely on external forces, such as the You family. Xuan Qi was my choice, so"

    Bai Qian had spent a long time developing her exnation for Lord Wei and had decided to me everything on Xuan Qi, as she was still cooperating with Lu Yin.

    Lord Wei listened quietly, and after a while, he said, "The You family asked Xuan Qi to frame He Ran and took advantage of an opportunity to cooperate with the young man. With him guiding the situation along, you were able to make your move when He Ran asked him to frame the You family.

    Bai Qian exined, "The entire purpose of this was to show you, my lord, that I was not partnering with the You family, but that we were mutually using each other. He Ran visited the You family on several asions, and while she never worked with them, she still had to show them proper respect."

    Lord Wei smiled. "Yes, she was intimidated by them. The You family is a monster, and as soon as they threw their full support behind you, He Ran lost confidence that she could defeat you, even if she already understood where I stood on the matter.

    "It''s just a pity that Xuan Qi is dead. If not, I really would have wanted to meet such a genius for myself. He Rans only mistake was trying to suppress Xuan Qi. She falsely used him of passing information to Luo Shan, which forced the You family to drive Xuan Qi out of the Transcendent Universe, which offended Xuan Qi greatly. He Ran desired to be superior to all others and needed everyone to bow to her. She did not understand that human beings are the mostplicated creatures in the universe.

    "No matter if one considers his talent for cultivation or his nning, Xuan Qi was one of the best. There are not many people who can deceive the You family, and even I was deceived by him."

    Bai Qianmented, "Xuan Qi may not actually be dead. He already saw that the You family was not as simple as they appeared to be, and because of that, he should have left a way out for himself. However, the You family was also powerful enough to be able to force Xuan Qi to frame He Ran, and they even captured me. Both of us were helpless against them."

    Lord Wei nodded. "Since he was cooperating with you for so long and also helped you frame the You family, there is a possibility that he left a way out for himself. I hope he is not truly dead."

    Not once did Lord Wei even consider the possibility that Xuan Qi could have captured He Ran and destroyed the old mansboratory. As far as anyone knew, Xuan Qi did not possess that level of strength. Whoever had killed Ke Jian had done so easily, and the bestowal art carrier that had been protecting the senior researchersb had also been destroyed. Such things could only be done by a peak powerhouse, and Xuan Qi did not possess that level of strength. Lord Wei was not like the members of the You family who woulde to decisions based on oues rather than evidence.

    You Fang had managed to use Xuan Qis abnormal behavior to deduce a great many things about his origins, and he also did not require any evidence. This was beyond what most people could process.

    At this moment, Lord Wei was actually the most suspicious of Chu Jian, the Cyclic Universes perfect Junior Sovereign who had been eyeing the Transcendent Universe. Lord Wei did not believe that secretly taking action was out of the question for Chu Jian.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2692: The Final Victor

    Chapter 2692: The Final Victor

    Looking behind him, Lord Weis eyes flickered, and his Thought Manifestation reappeared.

    The entire Transcendent Universe once again experienced the terror of being under someones absolute control.

    You Fang looked up. Lord Wei''s power was truly unfathomable. The You family had failed in their attempted rebellion, and they would never get another chance to try again in the future.

    In a corner of the universe, Uncle Mo stepped out and stared up at the starry sky with fear etched on his face.

    Suddenly, the Thought Manifestation created a curved cyclone that flew right in front of Uncle Mo. After a moment, it took on the form of Lord Wei.

    When Uncle Mo saw Lord Wei, he offered a respectful bow. "Greetings, my lord."

    "He Ran is missing. Have you found any clues?" Lord Wei asked.

    Uncle Mo''s expression turned ugly. "No. Ke Jian was struck dead by a single palm attack. It was so powerful that it is beyond even this lowly ones abilities. It must have been a truly powerful expert who took her."

    Lord Wei calmly ordered, "Give me your energy converter."

    Uncle Mo''s expression changed once more, and he stared at Lord Wei. "My lord, I hope to search for He Ran with my current level of strength. I will definitely find her, I"

    "Give me your energy converter." Lord Wei frowned. Lord Wei himself could not find who had caused He Rans disappearance, not to mention someone weaker and with less resources than him.

    Uncle Mos ck energy converter had been given to him by He Ran, but He Ran had received the energy converter from Lord Wei. With He Ran missing and no way to track her down, Lord Wei could not waste a ck energy converter on such a person.

    Uncle Mo gritted his teeth. He could guess what Lord Weis thoughts were. Asking Uncle Mo to return his ck energy converter was no different from giving up on He Ran. No, Uncle Mo could not allow his master to just disappear like this. He needed to find and bring her back. However, how could he do that without a ck energy converter?

    Uncle Mo ced his hand over his heart, and ck energy appeared and shrouded his body. He instantly tore the void open and tried to escape. Only by keeping his current power could he hope to find He Ran. Without a ck energy converter, Uncle Mo would no longer be a peak powerhouse, and how could he hope to find his mistress without such strength?

    Lord Wei let out a snort of contempt. "You don''t even know how to choose life over death."

    As he spoke, his Thought Manifestation struck Uncle Mo''s mind, and the man felt as though his head had shattered, causing him to freeze on his way towards the spatial tear. He spat out a mouthful of blood before copsing.

    Lord Wei looked down from high above. "Because of your wholehearted dedication to He Ran, I will spare your life."

    While speaking, the man waved a hand, and the ck energy converter detached from Uncle Mo''s chest and flew into Lord Wei''s hand.

    Uncle Mo grew desperate. "My lord, please, let me look for my master! I will definitely find her!"

    Lord Wei merely tossed a white energy converter down to Uncle Mo. "Then go find her."

    The mans body transformed back into Thought Manifestation, and he disappeared.

    Uncle Mo struggled to grab the white energy converter. While it was far from enough strength to search for He Ran, the man understood that he had been left alive because Lord Wei hoped that he could at least dig up some clues regarding He Rans disappearance. Anything that he found would need to be reported to Lord Wei.

    Uncle Mo would not give up. He had to find his mistress.

    Lord Wei took the ck energy converter from Uncle Mo so that he could give it to Bai Qian. "From this day onwards, you will rule over the Transcendent Universe instead of He Ran. This energy converter is to help you do that. Also, I have eliminated the threat of the You family for you."

    Bai Qian showed her gratitude. "Many thanks, my lord."

    Lord Wei looked at Bai Qian. "I first started to value you not because you have the perfection of He Ran, but rather because you possess potential for cultivating. Do not disappoint me."

    Bai Qian''s eyes shed. "I understand."

    It was not long before Lord Wei officially announced to the Transcendent Universe that Bai Qian had be their leader and that she was taking charge of the universe.

    People from all parts of the universe traveled to pay homage.

    You Fang stared at a disy and bitterlymented, "I never expected that she would be the final victor."

    A person he had always regarded as nothing more than a pawn had been elevated above all others, while the You family had been cast down into the abyss. As for He Ran, no one knew if she was alive or already dead. The bnce of power in the entire Transcendent Universe had changed very abruptly.

    Bai Qian arrived at the ce where He Ran had once stayed, and she looked at the tall flight of stairs for a moment before slowly ascending them and taking a seat. This view from the top was not too impressive.

    She heard countless people praising and worshiping her, but the sounds did not excite Bai Qian. She had once been the greatest person on all of Earth; she had been the first to visit Neptune, and people from all parts of the globe had sought her out. After leaving Earth, with Starsibyls assistance, Bai Qian had improved her cultivation and entered the Astral Combat Academys Astral-1. Not even the elites from the Cosmic Sea had beenparable to her.

    While everyone had focused on the fact that Lu Yin had been establishing himself as a legend, Bai Qian had notgged too far behind.

    However, as time passed, she had no idea how Lu Yin had be so powerful that she could not even dream of catching up to him. Even so, whenpared with the rest of her peers, Bai Qian clearly stood at the top, and she remained superior to all the other Earthlings. She had invariably always stood at the top and had simply not had the opportunities necessary to catch up to Lu Yin.

    If Lu Yin''s progress shone like a legend, then Bai Qian had risen to strength under Lu Yins shadow.

    Even at the current moment, when she was standing at the peak of the Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian did not grow arrogant. This was because there was still someone else still standing above her, and that person was her target.

    However, she needed to maintain appearances in order to avoid rousing any suspicions, and within a moment, Bai Qian''s temperament changed. She turned aloof and arrogant, taking on an aura of sacredness which gave her the appearance of being a goddess.

    She perfectly mirrored He Rans demeanor. That,bined with Bai Qians own beauty and cold personality, made her mien perfect.

    "Greetings, madam." When Zuo Gong arrived, he offered Bai Qian a respectful bow.

    Bai Qian indifferently asked, "Zuo Gong, are you willing to serve me?"

    Zuo Gong grew excited by the question. "I am willing to serve, Madam."

    A smile spread across Bai Qians face, and she opened a hand to reveal a ck energy converter that slowly floated over to Zuo Gong.

    Zuo Gong was someone who had risen to his current position on the Ruling Council without the support of a powerful family. Just like Tu Ke, Zuo Gong was able to use a white energy converter, but he was being given the chance to ept a ck energy converter by Bai Qian. She believed that Zuo Gong was someone whom she could trust, in part because it was due to Zuo Gong that Lu Yin had gotten in touch with Bai Qian in time to warn her. That was how she had managed to avoid the Junior Sovereigns plot.

    Zuo Gong stared at the ck energy converter floating just in front of him, and his breathing quickened.

    "Are you sure?" Bai Qian asked lightly.

    Zuo Gong took a deep breath. His aged face suddenly looked much younger, and he visibly straightened up. "To be honest with you, I believe that I am already able to use this ck energy converter."

    He then immediately reached out and grabbed the energy converter and ced it in his chest. A violent and uncontroble power immediately started to rage through his body.

    The old man trembled, and he nearly copsed. His right foot took a step forward, and he slowly dropped down into a squat as beads of sweat dripped from his brow as he struggled to endure the surge of power. This was an opportunity, and only by seizing it could his family rise above their current predicament.

    Failure would mean being forced to step down from the Ruling Council and having his family erased.

    After all, they were not an established noble family.

    There was a deep roar, and ck energy erupted from his body and surrounded him.

    Zuo Gong let out a long breath, and the void distorted. He could feel the majestic power within his body. Was this ck energy? Was this the power of a peak powerhouse?

    The old man excitedly offered Bai Qian another bow. "Your servant is willing to die for you."

    Bai Qian nodded.

    Zuo Gong deliberately disappeared into the void, just as Uncle Mo had previously done for He Ran.

    At this moment, Bai Qian had gained leverage. A peak powerhouse was undoubtedly leverage, but a single powerhouse was nowhere near the limit of leverage that Bai Qian could mobilize. She was secretly supported by Lu Yin, and that was her true leverage.

    <em>He should be returning soon.</em>

    Half a monthter, Lu Yin returned to the Voidforce Universe. The moment he arrived, he was startled to learn about everything that had happened in the Transcendent Universe.

    He had not received any news from any part of the Sixverse Association during his time back in the Origin Universe, and thus he believed that the You family had been victorious in the Transcendent Universe. The truth was shocking to him.

    The You family had actually been defeated. Lord Wei had returned from the dead, and he had even appointed Bai Qian as the leader of the Transcendent Universe!

    It sounded like a dream to Lu Yin. He had actually returned, intending to learn of Bai Qians location, but shockingly, her situation had beenpletely reversed, and she had reced He Ran as the leader of the Transcendent Universe. Capturing He Ran had clearly been the right decision.

    On top of that, the You family had ultimately lost, despite their best predictions and preparations. Lord Wei had actually hidden his strength even more deeply than the You family. Lu Yin was just d that he had not gotten overly involved in the entire affair, as that would havended him in grave trouble.

    The You family had actually gotten Sovereign Shao Yin to help them, only to be countered and defeated by Lord Wei. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe should be just as powerful as the Three Sovereigns.

    This was a demonstration of the power that one of the Sixverse Associations member universes ruler held. Even if it was the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, a ce that did not focus or excel at cultivation, the man was still both mysterious and unpredictable.

    After Lu Yin returned to the Voidforce Universe, he quickly went to meet with Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and several others so that they would not worry about him. After that, he returned to the Transcendent Universe. It was time for him to learn about that ces current situation.

    He returned to the same area with the staircase covered with blooming flowers, but this time, the one sitting at the top of the stairs was not He Ran, but rather Bai Qian.

    One person looked down, while the other looked up.

    The unpredictabilities of life were truly wonderful. Lu Yin had not expected Bai Qian to actually win. He had been quite worried about her earlier, as he had tried to contact Bai Qian before capturing He Ran but had failed to get through.

    "Xuan Qi, thank you for your help. The You family has been defeated, and from now on, you are the Bureau Director of the Transcendent Universes Bureau branch." Bai Qian gave a small smile as she looked at Lu Yin with sparkling eyes.

    Lu Yins eyebrows climbed high. Did this mean that she had made their partnership clear to everyone? In that case, the You family already knew that he had worked against them. Could they have told Sovereign Shao Yin that Xuan Qi had killed Shao Qingfeng?

    In fact, the You family had even taken He Rans attempted framing into ount, though they had no idea who had actually nted Luo Qians lens in the Ziyou Realm.

    At this moment, there was no question that they knew.

    After thinking about the situation for a moment, Lu Yin looked back up at Bai Qian. "Where''s He Ran?"

    "I don''t know. Shes gone missing."

    Lu Yin found that to be a pity. "Thats too bad. She was pretty good to me."

    Bai Qian responded with a small smile. "Pretty good to you? It seems that you think very highly of her."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Absolutely. Anyways, what should I call you? Madam Bai Qian?"

    Bai Qian said, "Whatever you wish. You can call me Big Sister Bai."

    Lu Yin smiled and then looked to the side. "I didn''t expect to see you here, Mr. Zuo."

    Zuo Gong stepped out and smiled as he addressed Xuan Qi. "Madam thought it fit to give me the opportunity to protect her."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Zuo Gong, I didn''t expect you to be capable of using a ck energy converter. You truly are a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger in this universe.

    "Merely using a ck energy converter is far inferior to what the Bureau Director will eventually achieve when you be a peak powerhouse."

    Zuo Gong felt very grateful towards Xuan Qi, as the old man had vaguely guessed that part of the reason for his sudden rise to power was rted to the youth. After all, Xuan Qi and Bai Qian had a truly mysterious rtionship.

    Lu Yin soon left, as there was nothing more that needed to be said.

    He made his way to the Ziyou Realm, as he wanted to confirm the You family''s knowledge. You Fang might have already guessed some things, but it appeared that Lord Wei still knew nothing. This meant that the You family had not said anything, and thus, Lu Yin needed to visit them. The most important matter was Shao Qingfengs death. It was clear the You family had not informed Sovereign Shao Yin that Xuan Qi was the murderer, as Lu Yin had not received any threats from the Sovereign.

    When he met with the members of the You family, things were quite different, and even the people involved had changed.

    What surprised Lu Yin the most was You Lele. Completely gone was her previouszy and messy appearance. The clean and tidy appearance and clear eyes made her look like apletely different person.

    "If I didn''t know any better, Id assume that you were impersonating You Lele," Lu Yin teased.

    You Lele calmly stared at Xuan Qi. "Weve been waiting for you for a long time."

    Lu Yin replied, "You knew that I was alive?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2693: Head Bureau Director

    <h4>Chapter 2693: Head Bureau Director</h4>

    You Fang replied to Lu Yin, "The hyper-analysis mode is active here, and the ruler of this universe cannot monitor what happens here. You can speak freely."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Your family still has ess to hyper-analysis mode? Lord Wei didn¡¯t confiscate that from you?"

    "Most of the Ziyou Realm no longer has ess to that cultivation technology, and my You family has also lost control of all the bestowal art carriers. On top of that, I was kicked out of my former researchb and am no longer allowed to study any form of cultivation technology. Right now, our You family is on a path of decline," You Lele said.

    Lu Yin looked at You Fang. "And yet I can see that you¡¯re in a good mood. I''m curious, how did you manage to keep Lord Wei from executing you?"

    You Fang stared at Xuan Qi. "Bai Qian didn''t tell you?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    You Fang calmly exined, "You and Bai Qian have been cooperating for a long time, haven¡¯t you? Bai Qian was the one who nted Luo Qian¡¯s lens in my Ziyou Realm, and as for you, you are one of Lu Yin''s people."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Don''t be ridiculous. The Origin Universe¡¯s Lu Yin and I arepletely at odds with each other."

    You Fang sneered. "Possibly. How is He Ran?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Isn''t she missing?"

    You Fang looked at Lu Yin with eyes filled with mocking. "Others won¡¯t suspect you at all, but I¡¯m certain that it was you. Xuan Qi, you¡¯ve hidden yourself incredibly well. You started by approaching my You family and asking us to invite you to the Transcendent Universe. You¡¯ve been scheming against me, my family, He Ran, and everyone else here. I don¡¯t care how unreasonable it may seem, but I¡¯m certain that you¡¯re plotting against the entire Transcendent Universe."

    Lu Yin said nothing as he stared at You Fang, wondering whether or not to silence the older man.

    The most infuriating thing about this man was that his suspicions did not followmon sense, as they were based solely on the final oue instead of evidence. Who could possibly endure such unreasonableness?

    "Don¡¯t bother trying to deny things. In fact, I believe that you¡¯re helping Lu Yin work against more than just my Transcendent Universe, but possibly other universes as well. I¡¯ve heard about how well you¡¯ve been doing for yourself in the Three Monarchs Universe, where you have Chen Le''s full support. Are you also nning something there? What I find hrious is that Sage Yuan insists that the people of the Origin Universe are trapped there and that they know nothing about the other parallel universes. He obviously has no idea that his Cyclic Universe is already being targeted," You Fang continued to say.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew colder as he stared at You Fang as the man continued speaking. Without any evidence to support his theories, the man was blindly specting based purely off of the current situation, and yet his guesses were rather urate.

    "Wasn¡¯t I suspicious of you the day we first met? Do you know why I made sure to capture Bai Qian when you imed that He Ran was a spy? It was simply for protection from you," You Fang stated, his expression solemn. "To be honest, if all my suspicions regarding you are true, then there is no one in the entire Transcendent Universe who can stop you from what you are doing. Well, Lord Wei and Sovereign Shao Yin most likely can, but I can¡¯t go and tell them everything. My only option was to keep Bai Qian hidden from you, but that leverage is no longer avable. As for the person who captured He Ran, I¡¯m certain that it was you.¡±

    Lu Yin stood up and started slowly making his way towards the location where the You family had been monitoring the entire Transcendent Universe. He said nothing, as he understood that You Fang truly had not told Sovereign Shao Yin that Xuan Qi was Shao Qingfeng¡¯s murderer.

    You Fang continued to talk. His spections approached the truth, but there were certain details that werepletely wrong. For example, he believed that Xu Heng and Xu Leng knew the truth and were helping Xuan Qi in the Voidforce Universe because of some agreement. The man also believed that there were people in each member universe of the Sixverse Association helping Lu Yin, and he had even went so far as to guess that Sage Yuan was helping Lu Yin and that he had deliberately made the Heavens Sect appear weak.

    You Fang had a lot of spections, and he carefully observed Xuan Qi the entire time he spoke.

    However, the You patriarch was disappointed, as Lu Yin revealed nothing on his face. He remainedpletely calm and indifferent to everything he heard.

    Once You Fang finally finished speaking, Lu Yin merely said, "You have no evidence."

    In the past, the You family had not needed any evidence to make their usations, but they were no longer even capable of leaving the Transcendent Universe. They had beenpletely isted by Lord Wei, so who could they share their spections with?

    Even so, Lu Yin considered whether it might be best to silence You Fang.

    "Xuan Qi, we entered a cooperative rtionship before, and that hasn¡¯t changed," You Fang suddenly stated.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "What does the You family have at this point in time that qualifies you to cooperate with me? What do you even want to cooperate on? Do you still want to scheme against Lord Wei?"

    You Fang waspletely serious as he replied, "In the past, my You family was capable of doing quite a number of things, but there were also things that we could not do because it would be too conspicuous. Right now, however, my You family can do some of those conspicuous things, as no one cares about us. Even so, we still have some leverage.¡±

    "Such as?" Lu Yin was curious.

    "Such as Shao Qingfeng¡¯s death.¡±

    "Such as the fact that, if you are from the Origin Universe, there are things you don¡¯t know about the Sixverse Assocation.¡±

    "Such as... this." You Fang took out Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s emblem.

    Lu Yin looked at the item and felt puzzled.

    "Have you ever heard of Sovereign Dou Sheng?" You Fang asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "The person who¡¯s recognized as the most powerful of the Three Sovereigns?"

    How could Lu Yin not have heard of Sovereign Dou Sheng? The Cyclic Universe had their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and Sovereign Dou Sheng was acknowledged as their leader. While no one knew the Sovereign¡¯s name, he did have a second, unofficial title: Little Great Sovereign.

    Great Sovereign was a title reserved for a single individual, but there was also the Little Great Sovereign, who was Sovereign Dou Sheng. He was hailed as invincible and utterly undefeatable in battle.

    "This emblem signifies a promise from Sovereign Dou Sheng. No matter what the request, provided that it does not harm humanity as a whole, Sovereign Dou Sheng will fulfill one request made with this emblem. A request to Sovereign Dou Sheng is more valuable than any other promise, as it is considered as valuable as ten promises from ten other peak powerhouses," You Fang solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin was stunned. iming that a single promise from Sovereign Dou Sheng was worth the promises of ten other peak powerhouses sounded like a bit of an exaggeration, but if the legends surrounding the Sovereign were true, then Sovereign Dou Sheng was absolutely on the same level as the Three Realms Six Daos. A promise from such a person was truly invaluable.

    "Is this what you used to force Lord Wei to leave your family alone?" Lu Yin asked.

    You Fang said, "Not only Lord Wei, but also Chu Jian and Sovereign Shao Yin."

    "Chu Jian?" Lu Yin arched a brow. Why did this name sound so simr to Chu Yuan?

    Yu Lele immediately looked disgusted. "That¡¯s the name of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Junior Sovereign, the youth who people im has an absolutely perfect cultivation talent. Even the greatest powerhouses are shocked by his talent, but he is also a despicable bastard. I can¡¯t understand why the Great Sovereign epted such a person as his disciple."

    Lu Yin was unconcerned about the fact that Chu Jian was the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, and he was instead preupied with the name itself. Why was he called Chu Jian? What did it mean? The Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciple was Chu Yuan, while the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple was named Chu Jian. Just what was the rtionship between the Great Sovereign and the Origin Progenitor? Why did both of their disciples have the surname Chu? What did "Chu" signify? The start of a new world?

    Chu was an extraordinary surname, but the great Sovereign¡¯s identity was even more extraordinary.

    "Xuan Qi, while my You family has been defeated and we have lost all of our previous information sources, my understanding of this universe is iparable to Bai Qian''s, and I also have this promise from Sovereign Dou Sheng. This is not something that just anyone can obtain. Additionally, this promise cannot be transferred to anyone else. It was given to my You family alone. These are the reasons why I am qualified to cooperate with you," You Fang concluded.

    Lu Yin stared at You Fang. "There¡¯s nothing to cooperate on. Whatever your You family wants to do has nothing to do with me. I¡¯m just here to deal with the Bureau¡¯s affairs. I need your You family¡¯s cooperation to capture spies in this universe, and there¡¯s no need to discuss anything further."

    Lu Yin soon left the Ziyou Realm to return to the Voidforce Universe.

    While he had not openly said anything at all, You Fang was fully aware that his proposal had not been refused.

    Lu Yin had not expected the You family to still possess such value.

    Back in the Ziyou Realm, You Lele was worried. "Father, we promised Lord Wei that we would use Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s promise for the Transcendent Universe as a whole, and Bai Qian also heard you make that promise."

    You Fang looked over at You Lele. "I know."

    He did not wait for any further reply from You Lele and instead just turned and left. There were times when it was best to shoulder certain responsibilities alone. As long as Xuan Qi could help the You family recover from their recent disaster, everything else would fall into ce, and their previous promises would no longer matter. After all, the You family could not remain in the Transcendent Universe and just wither away.

    Additionally, You Fang was not trying to cooperate with Xuan Qi, but rather with the Origin Universe.

    After Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone, he met with Xu Heng and Xu Leng. The two had a very bad impression of the You family, as they believed that Xuan Qi had been forced to falsely use He Ran by the You family.

    "I''ve said before that the You family has a terrible reputation and that you needed to be careful. You¡¯re lucky that you¡¯re smart enough and were able to see through their schemes, or else things would have been much worse for you," Xu Lengmented.

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "It''s my fault that the two of you have been so worried. I never expected the You family to have such ambitions. They actually rebelled against Lord Wei himself and even pulled in Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan. That¡¯s practically the same as half of the Sixverse Assocation getting involved. I was never anything more than one of the You family¡¯s pawns.¡±

    Xu Leng snorted contemptuously. "Those guys can only make small schemes, but they¡¯re unable to actually change anything. Do you really think that it¡¯s this easy to deal with the ruler of the Transcendent Universe?"

    Xu Heng sighed. "I still don''t even understand how Lord Wei won. The truth is that the You family''s n should have been enough for them to win. With the help of Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan, as well as the You family''s own background, they had five peak powerhouses taking action, and Lord Wei evenmitted suicide and blew himself up in front of everyone. All that can be said is that there are some things that are destined."

    As the man spoke, he looked at Lu Yin. "Junior Brother, please stay away from the Transcendent Universe¡¯s affairs in the future. Lord Wei is not an ordinary person."

    "He¡¯s got that right." Xu Wuji arrived and also spoke to Xuan Qi. "If you hadn''t warned us in advance, the three of us would gone to the Transcendent Universe, and that would have only benefited the Aeternals."

    Xu Leng rolled her eyes. While she and Xu Heng would have certainly gone to the Transcendent Universe and avenged Xuan Qi, there was no saying what Xu Wuji might have done. It was impossible to know Xu Wuji¡¯s thoughts.

    After all, Xu Wuji had simply left after cussing out the You family.

    "You should stay in the Voidforce Universe where it¡¯s safe and spend some time focusing on your cultivation. You should also try to find a way to fulfill your promise to the New Inn," Xu Wuji continued.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "That¡¯s going to be really difficult to pull off, since I¡¯m the new Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau branch."

    Xu Wuji was taken aback. "You¡¯re the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau Director?"

    Lu Yin suddenly said, "Director, do you think that it¡¯s possible for me to be the head Director of the entire Bureau across the whole Sixverse Association?"

    Xu Wuji sneered. "Don''t say something so dumb. You sound like that You Xian guy who wanted to unite the entire Bureau to create a monstrous power outside of the Sixverse Association¡¯s jurisdiction. It was a ridiculous idea, though we now know that he was only doing all that as an act for Lord Wei¡¯s sake, as well as the fact that You Xian wasted almost all of his family¡¯s wealth. Even his suicide was faked."

    "But I¡¯m being serious. If the dayes, will you support me, Bureau Director?" Lu Yin asked in a serious manner.

    Xu Wuji thought for a bit. "If the dayes."

    He looked over at Xuan Qi and smiled at the youth. "You should give your seat up to someone else. It doesn¡¯t matter who."

    Lu Yinughed, and Xu Wuji also gave a happy smile.

    The following day, another invitation from the Bureau Director of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s branch was delivered to Xuan Qi. Once again, Xuan Qi was asked to visit the Arboreal Realm and help their Bureau hunt down spies.

    Lu Yin refused this time as well, and he was also bing increasingly wary of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau.

    They had known the moment he had returned to the Red Zone in the Voidforce Universe, which made it clear that they were keeping tabs on him.

    If they truly wanted help uncovering spies, there would not be any problems, but if these invitations were connected to the Liberation Pce at all, Lu Yin would need to be very careful.

    By all logic, there was no reason for the Liberation Pce to approach Xuan Qi. The Peaks and Rivers Rock had been given to Luo Shan, and that had also been done by Chen Le. At no point had Xuan Qi or Lu Yin had any visible connection to Chen Le or the Liberation Pce, but the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau was acting suspiciously, and Lu Yin was on edge.

    Was it possible that Mr. Daheng had a divination-like ability simr to Destiny¡¯s?

 Chapter 2694: Found

    <h4>Chapter 2694: Found</h4>

    As he thought about Destiny, Lu Yin returned to Aeternus Nation, and then to the Fifth Maind. He had already agreed to meet Bai Qian on Earth.

    They met on the same beach where they had previously met, and when he arrived, the sun was setting. The waves crashed on the shore, and many people were ying nearby.

    Lu Yin lounged on a chair, casually sipping a drink.

    He spent the day rxing, as well as the next and the next. Bai Qian did not arrive until the fifth day.

    "You¡¯re able to get away now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Qian replied, "Lord Wei doesn¡¯t have time to waste keeping an eye on me. One of his bodies was destroyed, so he¡¯s eager to rece it."

    Lu Yin took a sip of his drink. "Once you reach a certain level, your body will also be one of his. It¡¯s clear that he¡¯s taken bodies of both men and women."

    Bai Qian nodded andid down to lounge on her own chair. "A woman''s body changes quickly, and it will change every 10,000 years. A man''s body is different, as it can remain the same for a long time. The You family was able to take advantage of Lord Wei because of his habit. Lord Wei had selected a body long ago, but that man escaped, which caused him to suffer certain losses. That left a loophole that was exploitable, as if he had managed to get that man¡¯s body, not even Sovereign Shao Yin would have been able to do anything to Lord Wei."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Can you actually escape? If you just stay here, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ve escaped?"

    Bai Qian shook her head. "All of us have controls ced into our bodies by Lord Wei. As long as he confirms that we¡¯ve escaped, we¡¯ll die without question."

    "That makes sense."

    Bai Qian stared at Lu Yin. "You must have ced your own means of control into many people."

    Lu Yin did not deny the usation. "It lets me feel relieved."

    "It¡¯s such a crude method," Bai Qian said bluntly.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Oh? Do you have a better way to control your enemies?"

    "Simple, just give them a more powerful enemy to focus on."

    "That¡¯s a pain."

    "Maybe."

    Lu Yin looked away. The two of them had different opinions, which meant that there was no point in continuing this particr conversation.

    "For now, at least, Lord Wei doesn''t trust me. I can''t find out where Zi Jing is, and I don''t dare to push things. I¡¯ll learn everything I can about the Transcendent Universe as quickly as possible, but we can¡¯t rush it," Bai Qianmented.

    Lu Yin replied, "I didn''t ask you to meet me here because of Zi Jing. You left Earth after receiving an invitation from Starsibyl."

    "That¡¯s right."

    "Where is that invitation?" Lu Yin leaned closer as he asked.

    Bai Qian did not understand Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity about her invitation. Given his status in the Origin Universe, Starsibyl should be far beneath his notice. "You want it?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Bai Qian touched her cosmic ring.

    Lu Yin grew nervous. If even Bai Qian''s invitation had disappeared, then it would be extremely difficult to track down Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu. Destiny had always been a thorn lodged in Lu Yin¡¯s throat. This was not only because he feared Destiny, but also because he was worried about the future. If Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu divined Lu Yin¡¯s future and then spread what they saw, Lu Yin would lose the support of the Origin Universe, which would cause him to lose everything. If that happened, Lu Yin would also be the Sixverse Association¡¯s primary target.

    When Lu Yin saw Bai Qian pull out an invitation from her cosmic ring, he let out a sigh as he took it from her. This was good. Very good.

    Bai Qian grew increasingly puzzled. "There are many people in this universe who¡¯ve received Starsibyl¡¯s invitations. Why are you so concerned about this?"

    Lu Yin said, "I have my own reasons. You can head on back now."

    Bai Qian did not press for further answers, and it was also undeniable that she could not remain absent from the Transcendent Universe for very long.

    After Bai Qian left, Lu Yin hurried to the Neoverse to see Xiao Shi, who had been studying Destiny¡¯s cultivation art with Skymender. Lu Yin did not have time to say much, so he simply collected the two and returned to the Heavens Sect to meet Destina, whom Lu Yin had asked to meet them.

    When contacting Destina, Lu Yin had also reached out to Xuan Jiu, but he was unable to reach the man. It was clear that the old man was deliberately avoiding Lu Yin. <i>Forget it, it doesn¡¯t matter if I can¡¯t find Xuan Jiu. Who knows? Maybe he¡¯s with Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu.</i>

    "Xiao Shi, how¡¯s your training been going?" Lu Yin asked once they arrived at a mountain at the back of the Heavens Sect.

    Xiao Shi tilted his mushroom head and looked over at Skymender with a nk expression.

    The astral beast bitterlyined, "Dao Monarch, do you truly believe that this mushroom head could be Destiny?"

    "How presumptuous!¡± Destina had just arrived, and she instantly attacked Skymender with a thread of power. Lu Yin casually intercepted the thread, and with a flick of his fingers, the void twisted, and the thread disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already broken.

    Destina was startled, as this should have been impossible. While she had known that Lu Yin possessed the strength to fight against Progenitors, he had only done so by relying on external sources of strength. If Lu Yin were to face off against Destina, her methods would not let him use such means, and she did not believe she would lose to Lu Yin.

    However, he had just snipped one of her Threads of Destiny in an instant, and he had done so with a power that she was unable to even perceive.

    Destina was Destiny¡¯s disciple, and she had also been one of the gatemasters of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, which signified that she had a strong chance of one day sessfully bing a Progenitor herself. She was one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors alive, and average Semi-Progenitors could not even dream of facing her. Bluntly put, Destina could deal with even ten Ke Jians without breaking a sweat. The woman could most likely escape unharmed from the average Progenitor.

    Given Destiny¡¯s methods, even someone like Chen Le would not have been Destina¡¯s match as a peak Demi-Monarch. It was for this reason that gatemasters like Destina, Lu Bu Zheng, Cai''er, and Hen Xin had always been extremely arrogant.

    However, Lu Yin had just used a single hand to deal with one of Destina¡¯s attacks, and the ease of his actions left her so befuddled that she forgot to continue attacking Skymender.

    Lu Yin gave Destina a frosty look. "Do you know where you are?"

    Destina frowned, as she did indeed fear Lu Yin. Still, she remembered why she hadshed out, and she shot a re at Skymender. "He insulted Master!"

    Skymender quickly apologized, "I was not insulting Destiny, but it¡¯s simply that this child has learned Destiny¡¯s methods too easily, to the point where it defies all understanding. On top of that, he can read a Book of Destiny, so..."

    Destina suddenly turned to stare at Xiao Shi. "You can read a Book of Destiny?"

    This was the first time that Destina had heard of Xiao Shi''s existence. Skymender had been one step ahead of her, but it was only one step.

    Xiao Shi feared for his life, so he moved to hide behind Lu Yin.

    Destina grew puzzled. "You only just started cultivating Inverse Enigma? How old are you? How can you read a Book of Destiny?"

    As the woman spoke, she turned to look at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, what is this?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand to calm Destina down. As far as the woman knew, the only person in existence who could read a Book of Destiny without cultivating Heaven¡¯s Enigma or Inverse Enigma was Destiny herself. This matched Skymender¡¯s initial understanding as well, but meeting Xiao Shi had destroyed both people¡¯s understanding, and Destina could not ept what she was hearing.

    Lu Yin briefly recounted Xiao Shi¡¯s situation, which left Destina stunned. Was this child truly able to simply read a Book of Destiny?

    "I don''t believe it. Show me!" Destina demanded.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Show her? How was that even possible? The three Books of Destiny had all been burned, but Lu Yin could not afford to let Destina know that.

    He quickly nced over at Skymender, ??who was smart enough to quickly pick up on the situation. "Dao Monarch, why were you so eager to gather us here? Have you found Starsibyl?"

    Mention of Starsibyl sessfully diverted Destina''s attention, and she turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    As the two people stared at him, Lu Yin pulled out Starsibyl¡¯s invitation.

    Destina¡¯s eyes flickered. "I finally can see that bitch¡¯s power!"

    As she spoke, Destina took the invitation and used the power of Destiny to search for Starsibyl. She did not dare to tally even a moment.

    At the same time, Skymender took action.

    Lu Yin had brought Xiao Shi along for the sake of convenience. One more person connected to the power of Destiny would offer them a bit more reliability. After all, Destiny¡¯s power of divination was truly miraculous. However, after seeing the current situation, Lu Yin realized that there was no need for Xiao Shi at all.

    Lu Yin had never understood how Destiny¡¯s power worked, or where these powers originated from, but after his most recent visit to the universes of the Sixverse Association, he felt that he had started to understand some of the more esoteric abilities he had encountered.

    Divination was a matter of peering into the past and the present, which Lu Yin believed entered the realm of sequence particles, which formed the fundamental rules of a universe.

    Human beings would only be born when a universe operated under normal rules, not when humans were forced to adapt to the universe.

    There were countless rules to these normal operations, and divination allowed a person to observe these rules and peer into the past with the present in great detail.

    However, this was only enough to view the past and present; how was it possible to determine the future?

    If divination was a power that truly allowed a person to see the future, then it meant that the future was predetermined. Could reality really match what Seruzen had mentioned? That regardless of what happened, the cause and effect of karma had already been determined?

    What kind of power was capable of arranging the entire future of a universe, influenced by karma and time?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts wandered, Destina¡¯s eyes snapped open, and a thread appeared that stretched out endlessly. "I found her!"

    At that same time, on a very ordinary in a sr system that had not even developed the most primitive ancient civilization, a pair of eyes suddenly opened that were filled with panic and wariness. "Not good!"

    The very next moment, indescribable pressure descended upon the.

    Lu Yin had instantly used Progenitor Chen''s power to observe the entire Fifth Maind. The moment that Destina found Starsibyl, so had Lu Yin. When he found her, he also found Mr. Zhu.

    Mr. Zhu tried to tear the void open to escape, but the pressure that fell upon the was too much for him to resist. It was the strength of a Progenitor.

    "Mr. Zhu, where are you trying to go?" Lu Yin appeared directly in front of Mr. Zhu. A short distance away, he saw Starsibyl.

    The next moment, both Destina and Skymender arrived.

    The that Mr. Zhu and Starsibyl had been staying on was actually very close to the Heavens Sect, and it was actually in a neighboring sr system. This meant that Mr. Zhu and Starsibyl had been hiding directly under their noses. Learning this made Destina feel ashamed and angry that she had never found them.

    "You bitch, where can you run now?" Destina shouted in fury as she cussed in a manner that shed horribly with her appearance. This was the first time that she had lost her cool and felt such panic.

    Starsibyl was unbothered by Destina¡¯s eruption, and she instead focused on Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, you still managed to find us."

    Mr. Zhu sighed. "What''sing is inevitable."

    Mr. Zhu and Starsibyl were then taken by Lu Yin to the mountain at the rear of the Heavens Sect.

    After finally finding the two, Lu Yin was finally able to feel a bit more at ease.

    "You dare to try to trick me?" Destina was still furious with both Starsibyl and Mr. Zhu.

    When Destina had first appeared and found Starsibyl, she had been told that Mr. Zhu was already dead. Destina had not thought much of the matter at the time, and she had never even considered that it could be a lie.

    She could ept being threatened or insulted, but she could not ept being deceived, no matter the situation. She was Destina, Destiny¡¯s heir and disciple. She was supposed to be able to peer through the river of time to see the past, present, and future, and yet she had still been deceived.

    "Destina, leave," Lu Yin ordered.

    Destina frowned. "You¡¯re telling me to go?"

    Lu Yin looked at her and waved a hand. "All of you need to leave now."

    "This is rted to Destiny! Why should I leave? I want to know why she was hiding from me, as well as the truth behind the beads. This is something that involves my master." Destina was unwilling to leave.

    At this moment, Master Shan arrived, and he slowly walked towards Destina. "The young master has given you an order, so please leave."

    Destina''s expression grew cold. "Master Shan, if something is connected to Destiny, it doesn''t make sense for me to not be involved."

    "The young master has said that there is no need for you to be present." As Master Shan spoke, an illusory mountain appeared in front of him. It was his inner world. While he had failed in his Progenitor stellr tribtion, which had caused him to suffer irreparable consequences, he had continued to cultivate his inner world.

    Destina did not care about Master Shan at all. She was a Semi-Progenitor, and she feared no one in the same realm.

 Chapter 2695: Escaping Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 2695: Escaping Destiny</h4>

    However, Master Shan was not the same as he had been in the past. ck energy spread out in lines that seemed to solidify the illusory mountain, and that mountain shot forward and mmed into Destina.

    Lu Yin was curious to see what level of power Master Shan would be able to exert with the energy converter.

    Destina retaliated, and a thread of Destiny¡¯s power shot forward to pierce the mountain, only to be rebuffed, much to her shock.

    How was that possible? She could feel the strength of a Progenitor from that mountain. ¡°Are you a Progenitor?"

    Master Shan took a step forward, and Destina was pushed back.

    Lu Yin called out as Destina was forced away, "Don''t go spreading wild stories, or else you¡¯ll never learn anything about Destiny."

    Destina felt terribly conflicted and increasingly confused by Lu Yin. He had shown that he was capable of snapping one of her threads without relying on any external powers to reach the Progenitor-level, and he was also hiding a new Progenitor powerhouse.

    Where had Master Shan gained that strength?

    Regardless of whether Destina was willing to admit it, the Heavens Sect was growing stronger and stronger as time passed.

    Unless Destina wanted to endanger the entire Origin Universe, there was no way she could leak anything about Lu Yin.

    On the other hand, Skymender was much easier to deal with. Just a nce from Lu Yin sent the astral beast away, and he dragged Xiao Shi along with him.

    "Senior Skymender, that little sister has such a rotten personality," Xiao Shi quietly mentioned to Skymender.

    Skymender quickly shushed the young man.

    Even so, Destina overheard thement, and she red at Xiao Shi. "Where is the Book of Destiny?"

    Just as Xiao Shi was about to answer, Skymender covered the man¡¯s mouth and replied, "The Dao Monarch has it."

    Destina¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    At this moment, Zhao Ran arrived, and she happily distributed a few cups of herbal tea that she had prepared, not knowing which of the people present were guests who should receive refreshments.

    Xiao Shi stared at Zhao Ran in surprise, and his eyes grew wide. He then followed after the girl.

    Destina frowned. "Who is that mushroom head?"

    Skymender gave a bitter smile. "I really don''t know myself, but his affinity for Inverse Enigma is unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen."

    Destina looked away and back at the mountain that they had just left. At this moment, she wanted to know what was happening with the Starsibyl Sect.

    Back on the mountain, Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "This is the end of things, so there¡¯s no need to try to beat around the bush. Tell me, what happened to the Starsibyl Sect, why did Mr. Zhu pretend to be dead, and who attacked all of the Astral Combat Academy branches¡¯ Stargazing Decks? Just what is going on, and what do you know about Destiny? There must be answers to all these things."

    Mr. Zhu sighed. "The moment you found me, I was destined to give you these answers. The truth is, I am a pearl."[1]

    Lu Yin was not at all surprised. In fact, he had already had his own suspicions. "Destiny had thirteen pearls. Are you one of them?"

    Mr. Zhu nodded. "And Starsibyl is my host."

    Lu Yin looked over at Starsibyl, who remained calm. "The Starsibyl Sect was founded by Mr. Zhu in order to select a Starsibyl to serve as his host. We have long since known of Destiny¡¯s existence and that she is not a mere legend."

    "Destiny will return," Mr. Zhu suddenly said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Will Destiny reallye back?"

    Mr. Zhu took a deep breath. "Destiny is not dead yet, or else I would not exist. My existence is founded on Destiny¡¯s power, and if she dies, I cannot exist."

    Lu Yin retorted, "The Rune Progenitor¡¯s power still lingers in the Fifth Maind. Is that a guarantee that he¡¯s still alive?"

    Mr. Zhu shook his head. "That¡¯s different. The Rune Progenitors altered the universe, while Destiny-¡±

    The man stared intently at Lu Yin. "Converted the universe."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What do you mean?"

    Mr. Zhu gave a bitter smile. "If I knew what that meant, I would have never been found by you. I would have be a Progenitor myself long ago. I have no desire to be Destiny¡¯s pearl and be under her control. I also wish to be a Progenitor and to be free. I want to find those three items.¡±

    A sh of inspiration flickered through Lu Yin''s mind. "Are those the same three items that Undying Yushan was looking for?"

    Mr. Zhu said, "To be precise, it is the Impious Sutra searching for them, or the three items that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming is searching for: the sword, the beads, and the branch."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he thought back to Undying Yushan¡¯s final words before death. He had imed that the Impious Sutra had influenced him to find three items, and it seemed highly likely that those three things were on Earth. "So that''s why you stayed near this sr system.

    ¡°Why are you looking for those three items?

    "What are they for?"

    Lu Yin had slowlye to learn just how extraordinary Earth was. Every time Jiang Chen appeared on Earth, he did so by freely traveling through parallel universes. This was beyond unusual.

    Mr. Zhu looked frustrated. "I don''t know what those three things are used for. The Impious Sutra is searching ording to the will of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, while I am searching ording to the will of Destiny. Neither of us have been searching for ourselves, yet we are forced to continue. Those three things must be special.

    "I am certain that, as long as I find them, I will be able to undergo a transformation, and I will no longer be a pearl controlled by Destiny. I just need to find them.

    "Undying Yushan gave me a clue, so why can I still not find anything?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Are they on a parallel universe¡¯s Earth?"

    "That¡¯s the only possible exnation," Starsibyl spoke up. "If they aren¡¯t in a parallel universe, then Undying Yushan would have found those three things long ago."

    Mr. Zhu said, "Those three items are unique, which means that they cannot exist in multiple parallel universes. There can only be one version of each of them."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. If those items were in a parallel universe version of Earth, then they were most likely in the parallel universe that Jiang Chen was from.

    It was not impossible to find them, but it would be almost entirely up to luck. After all, there was no telling when Jiang Chen might return again.

    The Starsibyl Sect had likely been hiding the greatest secret of the modern era.

    Before Lu Yin had obtained the God of Death Transformation, both the God of Death and Destiny had been nothing more than legends in his mind. They had been regarded as myths that some people were aware of, but whom no one ever mentioned. However, even back then, the Starsibyl Sect had always known the truth about Destiny, and they had even known that Destiny would one day return.

    Mr. Zhu had not done anything wrong; it was even perfectly normal for him to think of his own well-being.

    However, after being found and captured, it would be impossible for Mr. Zhu to ever regain his freedom. A pearl would always be a pearl.

    If an ordinary person realized that Destiny was real and their life was nothing more than a prearranged story, would they resist? Maybe, but maybe not. However, what if the ending of the story did not align with that person¡¯s desires, would they resist then? The answer would then be a definitive yes.

    For Mr. Zhu, Destiny would eventually return, and his fate was to be a pearl that Destiny would wear as part of a bracelet on her wrist. He refused to ept his fate, and that was why he wanted to resist.

    Mr. Zhu had spied and stolen Destiny¡¯s cultivation arts, and then he had tried to use the three items he was searching for to connect himself to Destiny¡¯s power and break through to be a Progenitor so that he could break free from Destiny¡¯s control and seize the reins of his own fate.

    Unfortunately, all his efforts hade to nothing in the end.

    Staring down at the ten pearls in his hand, Lu Yin did not know what to do. Just holding them filled him with fear. After all, one of these pearls was Mr. Zhu, who was a sapient individual. Could each of the other nine pearls be the same sort of existence? Did wearing these pearls as a bracelet on his wrist mean that he had ten individuals observing him at all times? Just the thought induced feelings of panic.

    Even more important was the fact that when Destiny returned, the first thing that she would do was find Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also had no idea what to do with these pearls if he did not wear them.

    "Tell me what to do with these pearls," Lu Yin calmly asked as he stared at the pearls in his hand.

    Starsibyl was also very calm. "I don''t know. If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have remained as his host."

    Lu Yin looked up at the woman. "You don¡¯t want to be a host?"

    Starsibyl answered in a bitter tone, "For Mr. Zhu, Destiny is the enemy who he¡¯s been fighting against for his entire existence, but he is the same for me. Every action I¡¯ve ever taken has been determined by Mr. Zhu."

    "Does that include your divinations that concern me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Starsibyl stared at Lu Yin. "Mr. Zhu divined a future catastrophe for all of mankind, and he tasked me with searching for someone who can help humanity survive that catastrophe. I had no idea how to find such a person or identify them from the vast sea of people. Instead, Mr. Zhu told me to perform divinations, and whomever I was unable to see anything about, they would possess the potential to save mankind from the future disaster.

    "In the end, I found you. What I told you before was no lie. It was because of the fact I couldn¡¯t see you in any of my divinations that I started paying attention to you, and that only increased after your fight with Nightking Zhenwu.¡±

    Lu Yin interrupted Starsibyl, "You''ve already told me all of this. Tell me something that I don''t already know."

    Starsibyl looked up at the sky. "The current Fifth Maind has too little knowledge about the Heavens Sect era. People know nothing at all about Destiny, and many don¡¯t even believe that Destiny was ever even a real person. As far as I¡¯m concerned, such people aren¡¯t qualified to try to help me break free of Mr. Zhu."

    Starsibyl paused for a few moments before looking back down at Lu Yin. "I needed to find someone who could help free me from Mr. Zhu, even if they were weak when I found them or needed to endure terrible suffering.

    "I don''t care about the catastrophe that humanity may eventually face, nor about Mr. Zhu¡¯s desires. All I want is to be able to hold my own fate. Everything I¡¯ve told you is the truth, and I¡¯ve already said everything that needs to be said. All that¡¯s different from what I told you before is that my true motivation was not to save humanity, but rather to save myself. I needed you to help free me from Mr. Zhu."

    Lu Yin frowned. "That¡¯s all?"

    "Yes," Starsibyl answered bluntly while staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared into the woman¡¯s eyes, but he was unable to read anything. It seemed that she had truly told him everything, but it was impossible for Lu Yin to ever believe her again.

    He had no idea what else Starsibyl might be hiding. Given the gap between the two of them, what would be the point in her trying to hide anything at all? The bottom line was that he would never trust Starsibyl again, so he went to find Destina. "She¡¯s all yours."

    Starsibyl''s expression changed slightly. "I can''t go with her."

    Destina red at the younger woman with cold eyes. "When did it be your choice?"

    Starsibyl stared only at Lu Yin. "I got free of Mr. Zhu. I won¡¯t be controlled by Destina."

    Lu Yin ignored Starsibyl and continued to focus on Destina. "I don''t care how much you may hate her, she¡¯s still useful to me. I don''t want to see her warped beyond recognition the next time I see her."

    Destina¡¯s eyebrows rose, but she did not argue.

    After awakening in the current era, the woman had slowly be more and more restrainedpared to her willfulness and arrogance during the Heavens Sect era. Back then, she had acted like the daughter of the heavens themselves, and she had even dared to chase after Lu Buzheng, trying to kill the man. However, in the current era, she did not dare to disobey Lu Yin¡¯s orders and was even only able to ept Lu Yin¡¯s rebukes with suppressed frustration. However, that anger would soon be vented onto Starsibyl.

    "Who is that mushroom head?" Destina asked.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Where did Xiao Shi go?"

    Skymender answered, "He chased after Zhao Ran."

    <i>Zhao Ran?</i> Lu Yin was surprised. Why would Xiao Shi chase after Zhao Ran? This question prompted Lu Yin to release his domain, and he immediately found both Zhao Ran and Xiao Shi.

    When Lu Yin found the two, Xiao Shi was talking to Zhao Ran, appearing rather happy and excited, though Zhao Ran simply appeared confused. She even spilled tea while pouring it in a cup as she nkly stared at Xiao Shi.

    Lu Yin stepped out and next appeared in the same ce as the two people.

    Skymender and Destina followed right behind him.

    1. Zhu = pearl/bead. ?

 Chapter 2696: Gifts And Positioning

    <h4>Chapter 2696: Gifts And Positioning</h4>

    "You really don''t remember me? It''s me! It''s me!" Xiao Shi circled Zhao Ran while somehow looking both happy and disappointed as he practically danced around her.

    Zhao Ran licked her lips and said, "I forgot. I''m sorry, but I''m rotten goods."

    Xiao Shi patted his mushroom head. "What about this? Do you think it''s cute?"

    Zhao Ran''s eyes lit up. "It''s very cute."

    "Really?" Xiao Shi was thrilled by her response.

    Zhao Ran finally noticed that Lu Yin and the others had arrived, and she cheerfully said, "Your Highness, you¡¯re back. Ah, the herbal tea spilled! I''m sorry, Your Highness, I''ll make more."

    Lu Yin said, "Zhao Ran, do you know him?"

    Zhao Ran looked over at Xiao Shi and then back at Lu Yin while shaking her head. "I don''t know him, but he¡¯s so cute!"

    Lu Yin nced at Xiao Shi, who appeared rather depressed. "Brother Lu, she should know me. She¡¯s the first person other than Xiao Chi to think that my mushroom head is cute, and she even gave me a gift."

    Zhao Ran apologized again, "I''m sorry, your mushroom head is really cute, but I¡¯ve forgotten all about you. I''m sorry, but I''m rotten goods. I''m so sorry."

    Xiao Shi quickly replied, "I''m sorry, you¡¯re not rotten goods. You¡¯re my friend, and I''m sorry for you."

    "I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m rotten goods."

    "I''m sorry, but you¡¯re my friend. Look at this mushroom head!"

    "Ah, it¡¯s so cute! By the way, who are you? Since we¡¯re meeting for the first time, let me make you a cup of tea."

    Lu Yin was left speechless as he watched the entire conversation start again.

    Xiao Shi blinked, as he also felt rather confused.

    Skymender looked from Lu Yin to Zhao Ran. The astral beast had always felt that this maid was quite odd.

    "Just forget it, Xiao Shi. She doesn''t remember you," Lu Yin spoke up. He then asked Zhao Ran to check what was hanging around her neck, as it contained her memories.

    Zhao Ran quickly remembered some things, and then she started to apologize to Xiao Shi yet again. "I''m sorry, but I''m rotten goods. I can¡¯t remember anything, but your mushroom head is so cute."

    Xiao Shi found himself unable to answer, due to his disappointment. "You really don''t remember me?"

    "I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry!"

    "Forget it. No matter what, you¡¯re still my friend, and I¡¯ll continue to protect your gift." With that, Xiao Shi pulled a pearl out of his cosmic ring.

    The sight of the pearlpletely stunned Lu Yin, as well as Destina, Skymender, and Starsibyl.

    A pearl? Identical to the others? What the hell? There was another one?

    They had never dreamed that another pearl would appear so suddenly and unexpectedly.

    Xiao Shi held the pearl in front of Zhao Ran''s eyes. "Do you remember? You gave me this as a present."

    Zhao Ran just blinked, still as confused as ever.

    Lu Yin stretched out his hand, took the pearl, and then pulled out the other ten. They were exactly the same. They were part of the set of Destiny¡¯s thirteen pearls.

    Lu Yin stared at Xiao Shi in shock. "Zhao Ran gave you this pearl?"

    Xiao Shi nodded nkly. "That¡¯s right."

    "When?" Lu Yin asked anxiously.

    Xiao Shi thought for a moment. "It was years ago. I was actually very young, as it¡¯s one of my first memories."

    "How long was it between when you received the pearl and when you found that big book?" Skymender asked.

    Xiao Shi did some calctions before answering. "It was many years."

    Lu Yin looked from the pearls in his hand to Zhao Ran, as though in a trance.

    Zhao Ran still looked as confused as ever, remembering nothing at all. "Your Highness, would you like some tea?"

    "I understand now. The reason why this man is able to read a Book of Destiny is because of this pearl. Despite never cultivating any of Destiny¡¯s power, the pearl is already a connection to Destiny that must have extended to him over time, giving him the natural ability to read the book." Skymender felt as though his questions had been resolved.

    Lu Yin hade to the same conclusion and breathed a sigh of relief; Xiao Shi was not Destiny.

    However, why had Zhao Ran given the pearl to Xiao Shi? Where had Zhao Ran gotten the pearl?

    Destina stepped forward and stared at Zhao Ran, as though trying to see through the girl.

    Zhao Ran and Destina stared at each other, and Zhao Ran asked in confusion, "Would you like some tea?"

    "Why do you have this pearl?" Destina demanded.

    Zhao Ran nced at the pearls in Lu Yin''s hand and answered, "I don''t have any pearls."

    "You gave one to this boy," Destina replied.

    Zhao Ran blinked. "Really? I don''t know him. I''m sorry, but I¡¯m rotten goods."

    Destina¡¯s eyebrows climbed high, but Skymender just shrugged. "She forgets everything periodically and is unable to remember things that even happened just moments before."

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "Zhao Ran, go prepare some tea."

    Zhao Ran agreed and quickly fled the scene. She did not like Destina, as the woman¡¯s eyes made Zhao Ran feel ufortable. She just wanted to make some herbal tea, as she quite enjoyed doing that.

    Destina turned to Lu Yin. "Are you sure that she really forgets things? She isn¡¯t just pretending?"

    Lu Yin said, "I first met her shortly after I first started cultivating. She was already like this for decades even then."

    Destina turned back to stare in the direction that Zhao Ran had gone in.

    "You once mentioned that Destiny gave a pearl to a child. What happened to that child?" Lu Yin asked.

    Destina replied, "I also told you that I never even saw that child."

    "Was it a boy or a girl?"

    "I don''t know. Do you think it could be her? Impossible. How could she have lived from Master''s era until now?" Destina said.

    Lu Yin also turned to look in the direction that Zhao Ran had gone in. Was it really impossible? He would never forget that Zhao Ran had known Progenitor Ku, and Progenitor Ku had even mentioned that he was not the person whom Zhao Ran was waiting for. Zhao Ran had lived for a long, long time. Just how long had she been alive for before meeting Progenitor Ku?

    Lu Yin thought back to everything that he knew about Zhao Ran.

    She was always able to find Xuan Jiu, which left the old man cursing the girl. She was naive and only enjoyed preparing herbal teas, as though all that happened throughout the universe had nothing to do with her. Just who was she?

    Could she be Destiny?

    "Um, Brother Lu, I- my pearl?" Xiao Shi hesitantly asked.

    Lu Yin somberly replied, "Just treat it as a gift to me."

    Xiao Shi was stunned. "Huh?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Isn¡¯t that fine?"

    Xiao Shi did not want to give the pearl away. "That¡¯s a present that she gave me. It¡¯s the only one."

    "When I asked to borrow money from you, I didn''t take it," Lu Yin said.

    Xiao Shi pursed his lips. "You said it was too little."

    "Still, I didn¡¯t borrow it," Lu Yin repeated.

    Xiao Shi looked at the pearls in a reluctant manner, clearly upset. Still, he gritted his teeth and finally said, "Then- then, I''ll give it to you."

    "Thank you," Lu Yin said with a smile, despite feeling like he had just taken candy from a child. "Don''t worry, I¡¯ll have some people help you promote mushroom heads to fulfill your mission. Do you want to find a mascot for your campaign? He Ran would be perfect for that, so go talk to her. She¡¯s by the cauldron."

    Xiao Shi always became excited when it came to spreading the glory of mushroom heads, and he happily asked, "Really?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "He Ran is the idol of countless people throughout the Heavens Sect. As long as she is willing to help promote your mushroom heads, that hair style will be popr throughout the entire universe."

    "I¡¯ll go find her right now!" Xiao Shi raced away to find He Ran.

    Lu Yin was looking forward to their meeting.

    He then put the pearls away, as he had eleven in his possession. He decided to keep them in a Zenith Mountain, and he would look for a better ce to store them in the future.

    Destina left the Heavens Sect along with Starsibyl. Lu Yin did not care how Starsibyl was treated, as he had already warned Destina not to be too harsh.

    After all, Lu Yin had a feeling that Starsibyl was still keeping some things hidden.

    As for Skymender, Lu Yin had the man remain in the Heavens Sect in order to continue teaching Xiao Shi. While the young man had lost his pearl, he had already made significant progress in cultivating the power of Destiny, and it would be a pity to have him stop doing so.

    As for Zhao Ran, Lu Yin still did not know what to do with the girl, so he felt it would be best if he left her as his personal maid. He would continue trying to find an opportunity to help her, and maybe the day would eventuallye when she regains her memories.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin released his domain, and he found Xiao Shi looking for He Ran. After that, Lu Yin saw a rare break in He Ran¡¯s poise, and many people who were trying to win the woman¡¯s favor started shouting at Xiao Shi. The man was so frightened by their reactions that he tripped over his own feet as he fled.

    Still, he did not give up. He continued to stare determinedly at He Ran. While it might be difficult to spread mushroom heads, he had to see it done.

    He Ran''s expression looked as though she had just swallowed a dead fly.

    As for the events in the Sixverse Association, Lu Yin could rx for a while. In the aftermath of such significant events in the Transcendent Universe, he could not do anything there for some time. If he tried visiting that universe, he might even draw the attention of someone powerful, such as Lord Wei. Lu Yin did not want to have his alias of Xuan Qi be exposed.

    After considering things for a while, he finally thought of a possibility. Destiny had given a pearl to Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor, Lu Tianyi. If that pearl was still with the Lu family, could it be used to divine the location of the Lu family?

    While one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones was supposed to be able to help Lu Yin locate his family, the clone was of Xia Shenji, and Lu Yin was notfortable trusting the man at all. It would be better to use some other method to locate the Lu family.

    With this thought, Lu Yin quickly contacted Destina to ask about the possibility.

    He received confirmation. "As long as that pearl is still with the Lu family, it can be done. However, the more pearls you have, the greater the chances of locating the Lu family through divination. That also depends entirely on whether or not they are still there."

    Lu Yin breathing started to quicken. After so many years, he had finally glimpsed a possibility of finding his family aside from Xia Shenji''s clone.

    His greatest desire was to bring his family back.

    Lu Yin already had eleven pearls, and he knew that Astral-3¡¯s Stargazing Deck had been taken to the Sixth Maind. In that case, it looked like he would need to visit the Sixth Maind.

    Only by having all twelve pearls would he have the greatest chance of finding the thirteenth pearl, which was likely with the rest of the Lu family.

    He intended to do just that. He already knew quite a bit about the Sixth Maind, as he had Possessed quite a few Sixth Maind cultivators with his die before. He had even seen the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect.

    It was notplicated for him to get to the Sixth Maind, but that did not mean that it would be easy. The Sixth Maind was not a parallel universe, as it was located in the Origin Universe, just like the Fifth Maind. If not for that, Lu Yin could have simply found any random cultivator from the Sixth Maind and used them as a guide to travel between parallel universes.

    The Cosmic Art that Progenitor Chen had left behind epassed the entire Human Domain, and by using it, Lu Yin quickly appeared at the border between the Human Domain and the Technocracy in the Fifth Maind. He wanted to enter the Sixth Maind through the Starfall Sea. There were very few corpse kings in the Starfall Sea at this time, as Aeternus had been driven out of the Fifth Maind. While they were able to travel down the Mara River, theycked the peak powerhouses to make such an invasion sessful. Even if Aeternus invaded the Starfall Sea from the Sixth Maind, it would be meaningless.

    As for Lu Yin, he could get to the Sixth Maind by traveling up the Mara River.

    Just as he was about to leave the Fifth Maind, his eyes were drawn to the Technocracy.

    The Technocracy no longer had its Thought Manifestation protecting it, so even though it continued to grow and develop, it was at a greatly reduced rate from the past.

    Before, the Technocracy had been split into two opposing factions: one backed by the Sixth Maind, and the other supported by the Perennial World. Both sides had constantly worked to gather resources from their backers in order to create a massive army of mechanical ants to deal with the Aeternals. However, the Sixth Maind had been taken over by Aeternus, and the Perennial World had learned the truth of the Technocracy. Because of this, few resources entered the Technocracy now, and the ce had started to decline.

 Chapter 2697: The Woman In White

    <h4>Chapter 2697: The Woman In White</h4>

    Looking at the Technocracy, Lu Yin was reminded of Progenitor Hui, Thought Manifestation, and Lord Wei.

    Just what was the connection between the two men?

    He had once believed that Thought Manifestation was Progenitor Hui¡¯s innate gift, but since Lord Wei possessed the same ability, and even retained it even after losing one of his bodies, it seemed quite likely that Thought Manifestation was not an innate gift, but rather some kind of power that Progenitor Hui had acquired. Could it have been from Lord Wei?

    It was just an idle thought, and Lu Yin took another step to appear at the edge of the Starfall Sea. He did not disturb any of the people stationed there and simply entered the Starfall Sea and made his way to the Mara River.

    Upon arriving, he looked up at the waterfall of the Mara River. It was a spectacr sight, as the waterfall seemed to split the Fifth Maind in two as it fell from the sky.

    This was not an unknown location to Lu Yin. When he had traveled through time and space in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall, he had seen the Rune Progenitor ascend this waterfall with his civilization to invade the Sixth Maind, which had been a disaster for that Maind.

    At this moment, Lu Yin intended to do the same thing.

    The void warped, and Lu Yin traveled by manipting the lines of space in his field of vision. He instantly disappeared. To his eyes, both space itself and the Mara River were clearly defined by spatial lines, and a single leap was all it took for him to leave the Starfall Sea and ascend nearly half of the height of the waterfall before continuing upwards.

    As he rose, he noticed a corpse king with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The monster had been stationed at the Mara River to keep an eye on the Starfall Sea.

    Lu Yin left the corpse king alone, as eliminating it would only alert the Aeternals.

    The Mara River¡¯s waterfall filled the sky and covered everything in sight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s next leap took him to the top of the waterfall, and he saw an endless river stretching off into the distance. He had arrived at the Sixth Maind, a ce that the Fifth Maind had once hated.

    This was the point from where the Sixth Maind hadunched their invasion of the Fifth Maind, and also where they had fled from when they had escaped to the Fifth Maind.

    This was the ce where the Rune Progenitor had fought to his death, as well as where Progenitor Chen had stained everything red with blood.

    Lu Yin quickly disappeared. He had no idea where the stolen Stargazing Deck might be, but the most important thing was to first find some other humans.

    When the people of the Sixth Maind had fled, the cultivators and the core of the Sixth Maind had been taken away, but too many people had been left behind. It had been impossible to evacuate everyone, and it was also impossible for them to all have been transformed into corpse kings. That meant that there was definitely an Aeternus Kingdom somewhere in the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin''s assumption proved urate, as after spending some time searching, he found the first Aeternus Kingdom. It was in the ck Blood Region, close to the Mara River. It was also evident that, in a ce as vast as the Sixth Maind, there had to be more than one Aeternus Kingdom.

    The entire purpose of the Aeternus Kingdoms was to allow corpse kings and humans to coexist. The Aeternals were seeking ways of coexistence, but to Lu Yin, such a thing was beyond ridiculous.

    Creatures with emotions would never be able to coexist with creatures without emotions unless one sidepletely dominated the other.

    That was also exactly what the Aeternals wanted: absolute dominance.

    After spending some time searching, Lu Yin still had no clue as to the location of the Stargazing Deck, but he did find a battle. <i>Are there still people fighting against Aeternus here?</i>

    While hidden in the void, Lu Yin saw a corpse king fighting against humans on a distant bit ofnd. Many humans were engaged in battles to the death, sometimes emerging victorious, and other times falling.

    The Sixth Maind had already beenpletely conquered by Aeternus, and they had too many powerhouses present. The most powerful humans still in the Sixth Maind were only able to face off against Envoy-level corpse kings, and that was most likely only because of recent breakthroughs. If these fresh Envoys had fought against a Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king, they would have beenpletely destroyed.

    Even so, the fighting continued for a long time.

    Lu Yin continued to explore, and he found that there was not just one active battlefield, as humans continued to resist the Aeternals in many different locations, and they had even gathered together to build centers of resistance.

    As Lu Yin looked around, he was reminded of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s experiments with the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe. Simrly, the Aeternals were giving the survivors of the Sixth Maind hope. Perhaps this was part of an experiment, but perhaps not. Lu Yin could not say.

    It was clear that the Aeternals could easily wipe out all traces of resistance still present in the Sixth Maind, but they allowed the fighting to continue for some reason. Was it possible that, countless years into the future, the people born in the areas of resistance would believe that they were holding back Aeternus and bepletely ignorant that the Aeternals could erase everything with a single thought?

    Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts drifted to the Fifth Maind and the Sixverse Association. Was there a chance that they were actually in the same situation?

    Were they nothing more than people sitting at the bottom of a well, staring up at the small bit of sky that they could see, believing themselves to be doing well and maintaining hope, while in reality, that hope was being deliberately given to them by the Aeternals?

    Lu Yin dismissed the idea the moment it entered his mind. It was simply too pessimistic and terrifying. If it were actually true, then what was the point of human existence? Being toys for Aeternus? Lu Yin would much rather prefer to believe that humans were actually holding the Aeternals at bay and that the drawn out war was real, rather than consider the possibility that humanity was nothing more than an experiment in the eyes of the Aeternals.

    However, the battles that Lu Yin observed were not ones that he could get involved with.

    Just as he was about to leave a battlefield, the void suddenly twisted and tore open a corner of the battlefield. A woman stepped out, carrying a sword that was about three feet long. White light that looked like scales shed out, instantly splitting the battlefield in two. Wherever the woman passed, all of the corpse kings died.

    Lu Yin watched the battlefield. The power of the woman''s sword was at the Envoy level, which should not be enough to attract Lu Yin¡¯s attention, but for some reason, wherever the woman passed, the battlefield shifted, and it even felt as though the universe around her changed. It was as though every eye needed to be focused on the woman.

    She wore white clothes and wielded a three-foot long sword as she tore her way across the grim battlefield.

    Her face was not as beautiful as He Ran, Bai Qian, or even Ming Yan, but there was a unique charm to it. Something about the woman made it feel as though she would be the center of the universe wherever she appeared.

    It was a feeling that Lu Yin had never experienced before.

    He had seen many attractive women: some beautiful, sexy, alluring, intelligent, heroic, and more, but he had never seen a woman who drew more attention than this woman. She had something about her that not even Bai Qian and others at her level did.

    It was clear that the woman¡¯s cultivation was not particrly high, and she also was not exceptionally beautiful, but she was still able to draw all attention to herself, which was quite strange.

    White sword qi quickly took over the entire battlefield. The most powerful corpse king present was knocked back, easily torn apart by the woman''s sword. No matter how much blood covered the battlefield, none of it could touch the woman at all. She was like a beam of white light that would never fade.

    "It''s the Battle Goddess! The Battle Goddess is here!" The cultivators started to frantically shout across the battlefield.

    "It''s the Battle Goddess! I''ve heard of her legends."

    "We¡¯ve all heard that wherever the Battle Goddess goes, corpse kings retreat."

    "Battle Goddess!"

    "Battle Goddess!"

    ...

    Countless humans across the battlefield raised their voices in excited shouts that spread like a wave that drowned out all the sounds of death and agony that had previously filled the battlefield.

    Lu Yin watched in silence.

    Singlehandly, the woman had shifted the bnce of the battle. There was a truly powerful corpse king off in the distance, but it refused to take action.

    Gradually, the corpse kings retreated. Just as the humans had imed, wherever the woman went, the corpse kings retreated.

    Lu Yin was intrigued, and he decided not to immediately leave. He continued to watch the woman, as she was quite odd.

    Once the battle was over, the woman sheathed her sword. She just stood in the middle of the battlefield, inhaling the scent of blood, silent and expressionless.

    The distant cultivators did not approach the woman and instead watched her from a distance while excitedly discussing things among themselves.

    A day passed. Two days. Three days.

    Finally, on the fourth day, the humans pressed past the woman and continued to ughter more corpse kings. An Aeternus Kingdom stood in the distance, and it was clear that the people here wanted to capture it and rescue the humans who were imprisoned there.

    The corpse kings fought back, and a new battle erupted.

    The first human to attack and kill a corpse king was the same woman.

    She started slower than everyone else, and yet she was the first to arrive at the front lines and kill a corpse king.

    Behind her lead, the rest of the humans¡¯ spirits rose, and they fought in a frenzy as they pressed closer to the Aeternus Kingdom.

    The Aeternus Kingdom did not only have corpse kings, as humans also lived there. They had already surrendered to the Aeternals, who had brainwashed them and now these humans were sent to fight on behalf of the Aeternals.

    These were the attackers¡¯ most difficult opponents, though not because of the defenders¡¯ strength. Rather, it was because the attackers could not bear to kill other humans.

    "Wake up! Those monsters are the enemy! We¡¯re all the same race!" someone roared, only to be met with a sharp attack.

    "Why is this happening?"

    "Stop talking! They won''t listen. This is exactly why we came here to destroy this Aeternus Kingdom."

    More and more deaths urred across the battlefield.

    The woman acted without hesitation, though she only killed corpse kings. She avoided attacking any of the humans who were citizens of the Aeternus Kingdom.

    The corpse kings were not weak, but no matter if they were as strong as the woman or even stronger than her, all of them appeared weak before her attacks. In fact, the disparity felt odd to Lu Yin, as it seemed as though the corpse kings were unable to mount any sort of resistance against the woman.

    Lu Yin had fought in countless battles, but even with his current strength, a battle against Aeternus was dangerous. There were always more powerful opponents waiting to take the field.

    However, the woman appeared too rxed, and her expression remained indifferent, as though she was bored or numb.

    The longer Lu Yin watched, the stranger he felt things were.

    Finally, he realized that the odd aspect about the woman¡¯sbat was that she almost never shed directly with any of the corpse kings. Every sh and move of her sword targeted a fatal point of the corpse kings. It was as if the woman had perfectly grasped her enemy, and with the way that she moved when facing the corpse kings, it almost appeared as if they had been sent to die to her de.

    While it sounded simple, it was far from easy to perfectly read each and every opponent on a chaotic battlefield and perfectly target their most vulnerable weaknesses.

    Lu Yin had received an inheritance from the Sword Monument which allowed him to see through endless weapon techniques. Even so, he found it difficult to instantly pinpoint vulnerabilities in opponents of equal strength. At best, he could see through his opponents¡¯ weapon skill, but it was impossible for him to target weaknesses like how this woman was seemingly casually doing.

    In fact, she might as well just be strolling across the battlefield.

    Not a spot of blood stained her sword. It was simply too abnormal.

    Herbat abilities did not seem to belong to someone at her cultivation level.

    The human attackers continued to press closer to the Aeternus Kingdom. As the woman led the way, the kingdom looked to be on the verge of falling.

    Just as Lu Yin started to anticipate the city¡¯s fall, the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king finally moved forward to protect the Aeternus Kingdom.

    The difference between an Envoy and a Semi-Progenitor was a qualitative one. The moment the Semi-Progenitor level corpse king made its move, the woman stopped. She shed her sword again, but this time, she stopped all who were still charging towards the Aeternus Kingdom. For the first time, the woman spoke. "Retreat!"

    Not one person dared to hesitate in the slightest, and they instantly started to fall back after hearing the woman¡¯smand.

    Within the Aeternus Kingdom, the powerful corpse king moved forward, its scarlet eyes locked onto the woman as the monster walked out of the city. Traces of gold fell to the ground with every step that the corpse king took. It possessed an innate gift.

    Everyone stared at the corpse king in fear. They had been fighting to ovee this particr Aeternus Kingdom for a long time, and because of that, they understood a bit about the local situation. However, they had never expected the city to contain such a powerful corpse king. If this corpse king had appeared when they had first attacked, not even the full forces of the attackers would have been enough to take down such an opponent.

    Why had such a powerful corpse king never taken action despite being here?

    "All of you must die," the corpse king stated in a hoarse and broken voice. The moment it finished speaking, its right hand rose up and waved. Gold shattered the sky in a beautiful disy. Unfortunately, that beauty was also deadly.

 Chapter 2698: Jiang Qingyue

    <h4>Chapter 2698: Jiang Qingyue</h4>

    Lu Yin looked up at the golden color that filled the entire sky. This was either a poison or a strange energy, but at the end of the day, the humans on the battlefield could not do anything to survive.

    The woman¡¯s eyes flickered with a sharp glint, and she suddenly shot towards the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king, moving much faster than ever before. Lightning seemed to flicker over her body as she raised her sword up and thrust it forward. Given her cultivation, it was impossible for her to be the corpse king¡¯s opponent. The monster could kill her with nothing more than a flick of its finger.

    Still, the woman was obviously not stupid enough to seek her own death.

    Many of the humans were watching the woman, as there were numerous legends about her. People believed that, as long as the Valkyrie fought with them, humanity would not lose the battle no matter how powerful the corpse kings they faced might be. Many people imed that she was the will of the Sixth Maind taken physical form and that she was proof that the Sixth Maind itself was fighting against Aeternus.

    They may have been abandoned by the Daosource Sect, but they had not been abandoned by the Sixth Maind.

    In the blink of an eye, the woman arrived, and the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kingshed out with a palm strike. This attack was powerful enough to shatter the void and instantly kill the woman.

    The edge of her sword and the corpse king¡¯s palm moved closer and closer to each other, but at the exact moment they were about to touch, ayer of purplish-ck substance spread out and enveloped the edge of the sword. The de sliced through the corpse king''s arm without meeting any resistance, and the corpse king''s arm was severed from its body. The monster roared, and it reached for the woman with its other hand. She simrly raised a hand, though it was suddenly covered with the same purplish-ck substance, and she shed with the corpse king again.

    There was a bang, and the woman was knocked back. Her sword tumbled away, where it stabbed into the ground off in the distance.

    Up in the sky, Lu Yin was shocked by what he saw: Wielder - Indestructible. This was the highest level of battleforce, but how had the woman learned it? There was no denying what Lu Yin had just seen.

    He was absolutely not mistaken, as aside from Wielder realm battleforce, how else could the woman stand up to a Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king?

    However, where had she learned Wielder-level battleforce?

    The woman¡¯s purplish-ck substance allowed her to injure the corpse king, but the gap between the two was still too big.

    Just as the corpse king was about to continue fighting against the woman, it sensed something and stopped. It then immediately retreated back to the Aeternus Kingdom.

    The woman rose to her feet, the purplish-ck substance gone from her body, and she walked over to the sword and grabbed it.

    The humans still on the battlefield started cheering, believing that the woman had defeated the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king.

    The woman stared at her sword as if in a trance. "Still not enough."

    Lu Yin was still staring at the woman, and he was about to move towards her, but he suddenly froze while still in the void.

    All of the humans retreated from the battlefield and returned to where they had gathered before, and the woman joined them.

    No one talked to her, but it was clear that everyone respected her. They opened a path for her, prepared food for her, and did anything else that she needed.

    The woman calmly moved through the camp, still staring at her sword while thinking about something.

    The Aeternus Kingdom also returned to a peaceful state.

    Above it all, the void was very peaceful, as was Lu Yin. He remainedpletely still, and his expression was solemn.

    After a while, his eyes flickered, and he lifted a foot. With a step, he moved along the spatial lines and instantly appeared far away.

    "Huh? You can actually travel with the power of space? You¡¯re quite impressive, child," a surprised voicemented.

    Lu Yin turned around. Earlier, he had noticed an aura approaching him that belonged to a Progenitor. Aside from peak powerhouses, no one could get close to Lu Yin without him noticing, though he felt that this person had gotten so close to him because he had been careless and too focused on the woman down below. He had failed to notice the approaching expert, but only because he had not been paying attention.

    When Lu Yin looked over, he saw a figure that was shrouded in light. It was impossible to see the person¡¯s face or even their clothes. The only visible thing was the light that concealed the figure, even though it was not blinding. The light did not even radiate from the figure, and it merely blocked others¡¯ sight.

    Lu Yin knew that no one in the Aeternus Kingdom or the human¡¯s camp were able to see the figure of light. It was clearly light, but it could not be seen by anyone.

    "Who might you be, Senior?" Lu Yin asked. He had not expected to suddenly encounter a Progenitor. This was a very tricky situation, as the only tools that he had avable at the Progenitor level in the Sixth Maind was his Investiture of the Gods and the slipper. Even then, it would be very difficult for him to harm a Progenitor. However, given that he still had Lotus Artifacts, he would be safe from even Progenitor-level attacks and could escape without any issue.

    It all depended on just how powerful this Progenitor was.

    "I¡¯m the one who gets to ask the questions. Who are you? I''ve never seen you in the Sixth Maind before," the person shrouded in light replied.

    Lu Yin answered, "Ie from another parallel universe."

    "That makes sense."

    "Senior, are you part of Aeternus?"

    The person hidden in the lightughed. "If that was the case, do you think that those people down below would still be alive?"

    "Yes. Aeternus doesn¡¯t want to massacre humanity, but to conquer us. If that weren¡¯t the case, there would not be any Aeternus Kingdoms anywhere."

    "You seem to be quite well informed about the Aeternals. Fortunately, I can also feel your hatred for them," the Progenitormented.

    Lu Yin said, "If there¡¯s nothing you need, Senior, I¡¯ll take my leave now."

    "Wait a moment," the figure ordered. Lu Yin was instantly on high alert and prepared to react at any moment. A Lotus Artifact was already in his hand.

    "It looked like you¡¯re quite curious about that battle goddess. Why don''t you go talk to her?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Do you know her?"

    "Why do you think that corpse king retreated?" the figure countered.

    Lu Yin understood. "You are protecting her."

    "Hehe, that¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is she your disciple?"

    "Actually, she¡¯s my little mistress," the hidden figure replied.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Little mistress? How was that possible?

    "But Senior, you are a Progenitor."

    The figure shrouded with light said, "This has nothing to do with our cultivation. The little mistress is my little mistress. If you would like, you can speak with her."

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Why should I talk to her?"

    "Isn''t it only normal for a young man and a young woman to approach each other and talk if they are interested in each other?"

    "I¡¯m not interested in her."

    "Child, you should be more optimistic and try to make friends."

    "That¡¯s not necessary."

    "You¡¯re a bit odd."

    Lu Yin stared at the light. "Who are you?"

    "You can find out if you go down and speak to my little mistress. How about it? I hold no evil intentions towards you, or else I would have attacked earlier. Given your cultivation, you can''t stop me, and you also can''t run away, can you?" the figure in the light challenged.

    Lu Yin was convinced by these words. As far as this Progenitor could tell, Lu Yini was not even a Semi-Progenitor, which normally meant that it was impossible for Lu Yin to escape or pose any threat. This was why the Progenitor was so rxed around Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin could not escape right now because of this man¡¯s wariness. If he followed what the man said and spoke to the woman, not only could he learn more about her, but also create an opportunity to leave.

    After these thoughts ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, he said, "Alright, I''ll go talk to her, but you can''t follow."

    "That''s not possible. My little mistress might not be able to overpower you. What if you hold bad intentions towards her? Don''t worry, I won''t be too close," the figure hidden in the light replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he recalled the purplish-ck substance he had seen. He was aware that only a few individuals knew how to use Wielder-realm battleforce, one of whom was Hen Xin, and another who was Nutjob Lu. As for thest one, that was the ancient Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi. However, that former Dao Monarch was currently Ancient God, the leader of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods.

    Just which of the three users of Wielder-realm battleforce was the woman rted to? If she was connected to Dao Monarch Gu, then Lu Yin needed to be cautious of her and where she came from, as it meant that she was most likely part of Aeternus as well. However, Lu Yin had watched her ughter corpse kings and fight against Aeternus.

    Also, that Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king had genuinely tried to kill the woman with its attack.

    Lu Yin was extremely curious about the woman, so he sneaked into the humans¡¯ camp.

    They had regrouped in the ruins of what had once been a city and were currently using some very basic supplies to make crude repairs.

    The woman stayed in one corner of the camp, though many people had gathered a short distance away, as though they were worshiping her.

    Lu Yin walked straight into the woman¡¯s quarters without anyone noticing him.

    Once he was inside, the woman looked up, and the two stared at each other.

    The Progenitor who was shrouded in light had gone ahead of Lu Yin, which was the only reason why she was so calm at the sudden appearance of a stranger.

    "Name?" the woman asked bluntly in a cold tone.

    Lu Yin did not move closer, and he sat down in a different corner of the room. "It''s not very convenient to share that."

    The woman did not press the matter, and she instead looked back at her sword, seemingly entering a trance.

    "What about you? Is it inconvenient for you to share your name with me?" Lu Yin asked.

    The woman indifferently replied, "Jiang Qingyue."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s a good name."

    Jiang Qingyue said nothing more and simply stared at her sword.

    "I saw you fighting. Out of curiosity, I¡¯d like to ask about the purplish-ck substance that covered your sword when you attacked that Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king. Of course, you don''t have to tell me if you feel that you shouldn¡¯t," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Qingyue looked up at Lu Yin. "That only appeared for a single moment, so how were you able to see it so clearly? Just what is your cultivation level?"

    "Six-tribtion Envoy."

    Jiang Qingyue stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "No wonder Dragonturtle wanted you toe talk to me. You certainly are qualified, but I won''t consider anything for now."

    Lu Yin wondered, <i>Won¡¯t consider what? Wait, dragon turtle?</i>

    "Did you just call that Progenitor ¡®dragon turtle?¡¯ What do you mean by that?"

    The figure hidden within the light stepped out and stood behind Jiang Qingyue. "Little Yue, don''t expose me to outsiders. You need to keep some things hidden."

    Lu Yin turned to look at the hidden Progenitor. "What does she mean by ¡®dragonturtle?¡¯"

    "Don''t worry about that. So, what do you think? My little mistress is beautiful, isn¡¯t she? Think about pursuing her. The old master is worried about her personal life, but no one is worthy of her. I think that you are quite good, young man. Do you want to meet the old master? He is very powerful and can raise you up to new heights with just a few words," the hidden figure said.

    Jiang Qingyue remained indifferent. "It''s not the same cultivation art, so Father can''t give him any guidance. He doesn''t need Father''s guidance."

    "Little Yue, don''t be so cold! You¡¯re just too arrogant and refuse to let anyone look down on you," the unseen Progenitor said in a helpless manner.

    Jiang Qingyue stopped talking and went back to focusing on her sword.

    Lu Yin connected the dots and understood why he had been asked to visit Jiang Qingyue and talk to her: this was a blind date! This had not been in any of his calctions when nning to search the Sixth Maind for the missing Stargazing Deck.

    This Progenitor had been put in a difficult position by Jiang Qingyue''s father, and his tone betrayed his helplessness.

    "Dragonturtle has made things difficult for you. I''m sorry," Jiang Qingyue suddenly said.

    Lu Yin coughed. "It¡¯s nothing."

    Jiang Qingyue looked over at Lu Yin. "You aren¡¯t from this Maind."

    "Neither are you."

    "This Maind was once home to a sect known as the Daosource Sect. When the Aeternals invaded, that sect abandoned this ce and left countless people behind to fend for themselves," Jiang Qingyue exined.

    Lu Yin felt a bit curious. "Are you from a parallel universe? If so, then why stay here?"

    Jiang Qingyue looked outside the room. "To help them and gain some experience."

    "What experience does your father want you to gain?" Lu Yin was very curious about Jiang Qingyue''s father. The man could not be Ancient God, as when the Skygod had been a Dao Monarch, his surname had not been Jiang. <i>Wait, Jiang? Jiang Qingyue, Jiang Chen?</i>

    For some reason, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Jiang Chen.

    There were many people with the surname of Jiang, but suddenly, with the matching traits ofing from a parallel universe and having a powerful father, Lu Yin could not help but draw a connection between the two people.

 Chapter 2699: Adaptable Life

    <h4>Chapter 2699: Adaptable Life</h4>

    Jiang Qingyue said, "My experience here has nothing to do with my father."

    After a moment of silence, the woman continued to say, "As long as nothing happens, you can leave. Dragonturtle won¡¯t stop you."

    Lu Yin hummed while thinking, but ultimately decided to ask another question. "I have a friend with the same surname as you: Jiang."

    Jiang Qingyue remained calm and did not respond at all.

    "His name is Jiang Chen. Do you know him?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s eyes snapped open, and she turned to look at Lu Yin in shock. At the same time, Dragonturtle suddenly appeared in the dark. "Young Master Chen? You know Young Master Chen?"

    Lu Yin smiled and let out a rxed breath. "We do know each other."

    Jiang Qingyue stared at Lu Yin. "Are you Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "How did you recognize me? Am I Jiang Chen¡¯s only friend?"

    Upon confirming Lu Yin¡¯s identity, Jiang Qingyue''s expression softened a great deal. "We¡¯re in the Sixth Maind, which is adjacent to the Fifth Maind. He only has one friend in the Fifth Maind, who is you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then allow me to formally introduce myself¡ªI am Lu Yin."

    "So it''s a friend of the family, hahahaha! It¡¯s good I didn¡¯t do anything to you, as it would have been difficult to exin myself to Young Master Chen," Dragonturtle said with augh.

    Jiang Qingyue stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re much more powerful than what he told me. You¡¯re actually able to enter the Sixth Maind from the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You¡¯re not bad yourself. From what he said, as long as you find a parallel universe with an elerated flow of time, it¡¯s possible to catch up no matter howrge the gap may be."

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "It''s not that simple. People''s potential is limited, so what does it matter even if they can live forever?"

    "However, you clearly have impressive potential," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Qingyue raised her sword. "If I was really any good, then that Semi-Progenitor corpse king would already be dead."

    "Little Yue and Lu Yin can be considered family, so there¡¯s no need to talk about this. We should spend some time getting familiar with each other, and maybe getting a bit closer," Dragonturtle encouraged.

    Jiang Qingyue nced over. "I have my own ns."

    Dragonturtle sneered, and the light that hid his body disappeared. At first, he looked like a human, but his figure continuously shifted and changed until his true form was revealed.

    Lu Yin stared in astonishment. "He really is a dragonturtle!"

    He was staring at a creature that had the head of a dragon and the body of a turtle. It was only as big as his palm, and it quietlynded on Jiang Qingyue''s shoulder, where it grinned at Lu Yin.

    Jiang Qingyue said, "He¡¯s called Dragonturtle, and he once fought at my father¡¯s side. In our universe, there are very few beings still alive from my father''s generation. Dragonturtles have long lives, and this one is also very powerful. He was guided by my father and trained in a parallel universe. When they returned, he was already a Progenitor."

    Dragonturtle lifted his head. "All of the others were nothing but trash, especially that stupid rabbit, which actually ran away. Young Master Chen has vowed to catch it and bring back, but I don''t believe that he¡¯ll seed."

    Lu Yin stared at Dragonturtle. This creature had be a Progenitor during a trip to a parallel universe, and after hearing this, Lu Yin could not help but be. He had finally found a parallel universe with an elerated flow of time. If he could enter it, would he be able to freely travel between the universes? Could he be a Progenitor in this manner?

    This was different from his die¡¯s four pips, as Timestop had an associated cost.

    "Little Lu Yin, what are you thinking about?" Dragonturtle asked.

    Lu Yin did not evade the question, and he honestly answered, "I¡¯m thinking about parallel universes with elerated time flows."

    Dragonturtle sneered. "You¡¯re overthinking things. Time may flow differently in those ces, but if you go to one of those universes, it will be 10,000 years before you return. Even then, you can¡¯t forget that you are in that universe."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin thought of a possibility.

    Dragonturtle replied, "No matter how different the flow of time may be, your life will pass ording to the timeflow of whatever universe you are in. For example, normal humans only have a lifespan of about 100 years. If you take such a person to a universe with a faster flow of time, then they won¡¯t be able to return as their lifespan is limited to 100 years, and that time will quickly pass. For that person, they will experience 100 years in that parallel universe, no matter how much time passes elsewhere. If not, wouldn¡¯t people basically be immortal in a universe with an elerated flow of time?¡±

    Lu Yin now realized that, no matter how fast time may pass in a given universe, it meant nothing if a person could not continue improving their cultivation.

    "Hmph, too many people followed the old master to train in that parallel universe, but how many of them were able to return? All of them died in there, and no one else remains alive from that generation." Dragonturtle sighed. "Also, on top of this, there¡¯s another important point.¡±

    Lu Yin listened carefully.

    Dragonturtle slowly said, "But I¡¯m not going to tell you."

    Lu Yin blinked, confused.

    Jiang Qingyue was also stunned by thisment, and she slowly turned her head to stare at Dragonturtle.

    The little creature turned to look at the woman while pointing at Lu Yin with his tail. "You two go ahead and chat. I''ll talk about this after you two have developed some feelings for each other. Otherwise, you can just forget about it. Little Lu Yin, I''ll just say that there are big problems with parallel universes with altered flows of time. My old master discovered this, but only at the cost of countless lives. Unless you be his son-inw, don¡¯t even think about learning that information."

    After speaking, Dragonturtle jumped up and vanished.

    Jiang Qingyue reflexively grabbed for the creature, but she missed.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. Dragonturtle would not lie about this. Was there a big problem with parallel universes where time passed at a different speed? What could be the problem?

    "I''m sorry, he wasn''t like this in the past. He became like this after what happened with that damn rabbit," Jiang Qingyue said.

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I''ve seen that rabbit twice, but it ran away both times."

    "If it wants to run away, it''s almost impossible to stop it," Jiang Qingyue said in agreement.

    The two fell silent once again.

    Lu Yin had many questions that he wanted to ask, but all of them seemed inappropriate, given that he and Jiang Qingyue had only just met. Even if Jiang Chen were present, there were some questions that would not be easy for Lu Yin to bring up, even if they might be easy to ask a stranger.

    "Dominance Qi." Jiang Qingyue slowly enunciated two words, leaving Lu Yin quite confused.

    "What¡¯s that?"

    Jiang Qingyue raised a hand, which the purplish-ck substance appeared and wrapped around. "This."

    "You call that Dominance Qi?"

    Jiang Qingyue nodded. "In our universe, Earth has gone through various catastrophes, and Dominance Qi is the power that emerged in response to those disasters. It¡¯s the equivalent to your universe¡¯s battle force."

    "That power can¡¯t be easy to obtain," Lu Yinmented.

    "It isn¡¯t too difficult."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Dao Monarch Gu had only developed Wielder-realm battleforce after countless tests and experiments, which had driven Nutjob Lu insane and killed countless people. How could such a power not be too difficult to obtain?

    "You just need to be lucky," Jiang Qingyue concluded.

    Lu Yin almost choked. "Isn''t that rather difficult?"

    Luck was the most difficult thing to obtain. Hen Xin had once mentioned that luck was incredibly important if someone wanted to develop Wielder - Indestructible, as it could only be acquired through luck. Even Lu Yin would have failed if he had not tried repeatedly until finally seeding.

    Just remembering the pain that he had to endure to develop Wielder-realm battleforce gave Lu Yin the chills.

    Jiang Qingyue calmly stated, "In our universe, there is someone with the power of luck. It¡¯s what you would call an innate gift. My father was able to seed because of the luck that he obtained from that person."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Someone can have an innate gift of luck?"

    "Why not?" Jiang Qingyue challenged.

    Lu Yin was stunned. True, why not? His die was an innate gift that was more miraculous than any other he had ever heard of, while Seruzen had acquired an innate gift of karma from his arboreal transformation. It should not be shocking that someone had an innate gift of luck.

    An innate gift of luck? Then it was no wonder why they were able to allow people to cultivate Wielder-realm battleforce. With sufficient luck, it would be simple to seed.

    Lu Yin felt a surge of pity for Dao Monarch Gu. That man had conducted endless experiments, whereas it might have been a better use of his time to simply seek out someone with an innate gift of luck.

    "Without the power of luck, it¡¯s highly unlikely that anyone can acquire this kind of power, ording to my father," Jiang Qingyue said.

    That matched Dao Monarch Gu¡¯s own thoughts.

    Lu Yin felt grateful for this information. "Thank you for telling me."

    Jiang Qingyue said, "It¡¯s nothing."

    She then remembered something else. "Thank you for the gift."

    Lu Yin felt quite confused. "Gift?"

    "The praying mantis," Jiang Qingyue replied.

    Lu Yin was still confused for a moment, but then he remembered that, when the Astral Beast Domain had invaded the Outerverse, a praying mantis astral beast had been sent to assassinate him. At that time, Jiang Chen had been around, and he had taken the enormous mantis away while saying that it was a gift for his father. He had even referred to the creature as a gardener. "Are you talking about the giant mantis?"

    "It works very hard and is perfectly suited for being a gardener."

    Lu Yin was speechless. Had the mantis really be a gardener?

    The two continued to chat casually for some time. Lu Yin was curious about Jiang Qingyue''s universe, and the woman was simrly curious about the Fifth Maind. They continued talking, and Lu Yin did not even notice that he spent several days in the camp, visiting Jiang Qingyue.

    A big reason for this was that he had no idea where to look for the Stargazing Deck.

    Jiang Qingyue seemed cold and distant, but she was actually quite talkative, and she enjoyed talking with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not ask about Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue''s father, as he did not like to pry into other people¡¯s family matters.

    Even so, it seemed quite evident that the man was a true powerhouse. Even a Progenitor-level creature referred to the man as master, and Dragonturtle was not like Lu Yin¡¯s jiao that had been left wounded and stupid. Dragonturtle had even set Lu Yin up on a blind date.

    Upon remembering the blind date, Lu Yin suddenly grew ufortable and wanted to leave.

    "What are you doing here in the Sixth Maind?" Jiang Qingyue asked after the two returned from the battlefield.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m looking for the Stargazing Deck."

    "The Stargazing Deck?" Jiang Qingyue asked in confusion.

    "By the way, have you spent a lot of time here in the Sixth Maind? All of the people call you Valkyrie."

    Jiang Qingyue lifted her sword to look at the patterns on the snow-white de. "I''ve visited this ce many times."

    "In that case, have you seen this before?" As he spoke, Lu Yin created an image of the Stargazing Deck.

    Jiang Qingyue looked at it. "I have seen that before. It was in an Aeternus Kingdom."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Which one? I came here to find that."

    "I''ll take you," Jiang Qingyue offered.

    "What about this ce?"

    "You should already understand the situation in the Sixth Maind. Does me being here really make any difference?" Jiang Qingyue asked.

    The fighting that was still ying out in the pockets of human resistance were clearly purposely allowed to continue because the Aeternals wanted something from them. Lu Yin might not know what they wanted, but as soon as Aeternus decided to get serious, all human resistance in the Sixth Maind would be instantly eliminated.

    This might be some sort of game for the Aeternals. They had already won, so perhaps they were just waiting before finishing their game.

    Bing Valkyrie was nothing more than an ident. Jiang Qingyue had never thought that she could actually change things for the Sixth Maind. She was only there to gain some experience, and while she was at it, she did her best to help the surviving humans.

    A short timeter, Jiang Qingyue led Lu Yin to the north, away from the battlefield.

    ording to her, the Aeternus Kingdom that Lu Yin wanted was in the Grand Martial Realm.

    The Sixth Maind was not asrge as the Fifth Maind, and that was because the Fifth Maind had absorbed the remnants of four fallen Mainds. For example, the Astral Beast Domain was from the Fourth Maind, and on top of that, there was also the Technocracy, the Starfall Sea, the Innerverse, and the Outerverse. There were remnants of four different Mainds that had fused into the region that had once been the Fifth Maind.

 Chapter 2700: Hope

    <h4>Chapter 2700: Hope</h4>

    "There¡¯s an Aeternus Kingdom over there. I trained here for half a year, until the humans fighting here gave up and moved to another battlefield. The Aeternals didn¡¯t try to stop them," Jiang Qingyue mentioned while pointing towards one ce.

    She soon pointed to another area. "There used to be an Aeternus Kingdom over there, and there were too many people from the Sixth Maind. The humans in that Aeternus Kingdom were all transferred elsewhere, though I don''t know where they went. That happened in the first few years when they were establishing the Aeternus Kingdoms.

    "The kingdom that you¡¯re looking for was attacked and even broken into before. If it hadn¡¯t, I would have never seen the Stargazing Deck that you¡¯re looking for."

    Lu Yin then asked, "Given that you understand the real situation here, would you keep fighting if you weren¡¯t here to gain experience?"

    Jiang Qingyue considered the question, but she finally replied, "Yes."

    "Why?" Lu Yin felt quite curious.

    Jiang Qingyue looked forward. "Father told me that the only thing humans can never afford to lose is not our lives, but our hope. My universe has also suffered a disaster in the past, and my father was even on the verge of death, but he never gave up hope. Through him, we understand very well just how much hope and faith can appear if just a single person rises back up. Even if hope is nothing more than a small spark, it can still ignite a raging fire.

    "Regardless of whether the fighting here is just a game, the people who are fighting are serious, and they are sacrificing their lives. That¡¯s not a game."

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Qingyue. Her words were notplex, but they gave him an urge to invade the Sixth Maind. He had the ability but had never considered it before. He had merely wanted to defend and protect his own home.

    Countless people throughout the Fifth Maind worshiped him and ced their faith in him. This was because he had defeated Aeternus and also eliminated the Time Poison guing them. Over the years, Lu Yin had created one legend after another. For the people still living in the Sixth Maind, they had ced their faith in Jiang Qingyue. The two were essentially the same in the eyes of the people from the two Mainds.

    "Your father must be a great man." Lu Yin sighed.

    Dragonturtle suddenly appeared. "Young man, do your best and fight for the right to call him father-inw!"

    Thefortable atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

    Jiang Qingyue red at Dragonturtle, and the little creature was so frightened by her obvious anger that he quickly pulled himself inside his shell, leaving nothing outside.

    "We''re almost there." After a while, Jiang Qingyue identified their goal.

    Lu Yin looked forward. "Where is it?"

    "Not yet."

    Lu Yin frowned as he stared in the direction. He could sense death energy in that direction, and it was a massive amount. Could the God of Death have also left reservoirs of death energy in the Sixth Maind like Gaia''s Swamp in the Fifth Maind?

    It was not impossible.

    The God of Death had not belonged to the Fifth Maind, but rather to the First Maind. In fact, all of the Three Realms had once belonged to the First Maind, which meant that it would not be surprising to learn that the God of Death had left behind death energy in each of the Mainds.

    Naturally, that included the Sixth Maind.

    With this well of death energy, Lu Yin felt much more at ease. Now, even without Lu Jian''s Champions¡¯ Stage and the jiao, he had another viable weapon to use against a Progenitor-level opponent. In addition to his Investiture of the Gods and the slipper, if he used both the God of Death''s left arm and scythe to channel the massive amount of death energy here, then he could release an attack as powerful as the one that he had once used to severely injure Xia Shenji.

    "Why are you looking that way? There is another Aeternus Kingdom over that, but that one is extremely dangerous, and it¡¯s filled with a terrible ck energy. There¡¯s no battlefield there, as no one dares to approach that energy," Jiang Qingyue said.

    Dragonturtle¡¯s head popped out. "There¡¯s also a Progenitor-level expert there. Don¡¯t even get close to it."

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Qingyue. "How many Progenitor-level corpse kings are in the Sixth Maind?"

    Dragonturtle replied, "I¡¯ve noticed two, but there are many Aeternus Kingdoms sprinkled around, and Aeternus¡¯s strength is not that limited. The old master repeatedly warned Little Yue to not go too far, and to just focus on training."

    "Do you know how powerful Aeternus is?" Lu Yin asked. This was something that he had always been curious about. When it came to the number of peak powerhouses, it seemed that the Sixverse Association should far exceed the Aeternals, so why could Aeternus suppress the Sixverse Association?

    Even if Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods were each extremely powerful, the rulers of the six member universes of the Sixverse Association were not weaklings. Even the ruler of the Transcendent Universe that everyone believed to be terrible at cultivating was as strong as a Progenitor, and he also had Thought Manifestation and multiple bodies. Even the Three Sovereigns were intimidated by Lord Wei¡¯s strength.

    As for Luo Shan, the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin was not so certain, as he had heard conflicting reports about the man¡¯s strength.

    The rulers of the six member universes of the Sixverse Assocations, the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Xu Wuwei, the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng¡ªif all of these people worked together, their strength was enough to crush Aeternus, given what Lu Yin had seen so far.

    This was not even considering other powerhouses like Dragonturtle and Jiang Qingyue''s father.

    However, Jiang Qingyue just shook her head. "Father¡¯s never told me."

    The two looked at Dragonturtle, who pulled his neck back. "Someone else once asked the old master this question."

    Lu Yin eagerly leaned forward. "How did he answer?"

    "Do you have the guts to charge into the Hollow?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What does Aeternus have to do with the Hollow?"

    "It¡¯s just a metaphor. If you were an ordinary person, would you dare to jump into a pit whose depth you didn¡¯t know?" Dragonturtle responded with a rejoinder.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. "Stop dancing around the answer and just give us a straight response."

    Dragonturtle smiled. "Little Yue, don''t worry. The old master¡¯s response makes sense. An ordinary person would never dare to jump into a pit that had an unknown depth. For us humans, the Aeternals are that pit, because no matter how many times you cut them down, Aeternus always has the power to match whatever is thrown at them. It¡¯s impossible toprehend just how powerful they are, and that¡¯s the most terrifying thing about them.

    "Human beings are highly intelligent, and as the number of peak powerhouses at the Progenitor level continues to rise, the temptation tounch an attack on Aeternus also grows stronger. However, no matter how many parallel universes humans spread to, and no matter how deeply they press, the Aeternals will always have the power to counterattack against humanity. The temptation to try to wipe out Aeternus has caused humanity to suffer terrible setbacks, and the old master even lost a close friend as a result. As time passed, he¡¯s stopped pushing.

    "Right now, it appears that Aeternus only has two peak powerhouses here in the Sixth Maind, which means that three human Progenitors should be able to retake this ce. However, as soon as anyone tries that, I can promise you that they will encounter one Progenitor-level corpse king after another."

    Lu Yin spoke up, "But our Fifth Maind won and drove the Aeternals out."

    Dragonturtle replied, "Winning or losing all depends on the overall situation of the war. Looking across all the battlefields where the Aeternals are fighting, your Fifth Maind is a tiny corner. When humans fight wars, the generals understand that not every city can be held, and the Aeternals understand this truth even more. They are not stupid even if they have no emotions. I¡¯ve lived for too long, and I¡¯ve seen too many old monsters appear within Aeternus. Never underestimate them. If things were as simple as they appeared to be, the old master would have retaken the Sixth Maind long ago.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. He was fully aware that he did not have nearly the same knowledge about the situation in the Sixth Maind as an ancient powerhouse.

    The Sixverse Association was also not run by fools. The You family and Lord Wei had both schemed against each other in plots that had left countless people confused. The only thing that could be said about Aeternus was that they possessed a level of strength that prevented humans from even being able toe up with any schemes.

    Progenitor Hui''s n that had spanned countless years had been nothing more than diverting the threat of Aeternus over to the Sixth Maind, should the daye when the Fifth Maind was threatened by the Aeternal¡¯s upation. At no point had the scheme actually tried to harm the strength of Aeternus at all.

    The truth could be incredibly cruel at times. Lu Yin thought back to what he had seen on the battlefield a few days before; could he and the rest of humanity be no different from the human resistance fighting in the Sixth Maind? Could they merely be living on the hope that the Aeternals purposely offered them?

    "Young man, don''t be discouraged. Your father-inw, who is my old master, also said that humans are bizarre creatures. While they may appear to be weak, they are actually extremely powerful inside. No matter how dark things may be, there is always someone who will take the lead. There will always be someone in front of you, as well as behind you. Just continue to push hard. If you are afraid of anything, then just lower your head and don''t look at it," Dragonturtle said.

    Jiang Qingyue scolded the Progenitor, "Don''t be ridiculous!"

    "What the old master said is right," Dragonturtle casually replied.

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes grewrge. She had not meant to say that there was something wrong with her father¡¯s words. Rather, Dragonturtle¡¯sments about her father bing Lu Yin¡¯s father-inw were getting more and more obnoxious.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Dragonturtle''s words were not malicious, yet he still made people choke.

    Some timeter, they arrived at an Aeternus Kingdom and saw a fierce battlefield up ahead.

    "This is it. Let¡¯s just head straight in," Jiang Qingyue said.

    Dragonturtle had already confirmed that there were no Progenitor-level corpse kings around.

    As long as there were no peak powerhouses, they could freely roam wherever they wished without fear.

    The Aeternus Kingdom matched Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. This was not his first time visiting such a ce. As the name suggested, Aeternus Kingdoms appeared to give people eternal life, prosperity, and contentment, but all of that was nothing more than an illusion.

    The Aeternals deliberately created an illusion of harmony, while in truth, any human living in an Aeternus Kingdom was always in danger of losing their lives.

    "Hey, these people''s smiles are too fake. They aren¡¯t even good at pretending to be happy," Dragonturtle said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin looked at the people on the street. If hepared this ce to the first Aeternus Nation that he had visited, his present location appeared to be even more harmonious. The people moving around on the street were smiling and greeting each other in a manner that looked even happier than if they were greeting family members. Some of the humans moving about even greeted the roaming corpse kings, and the slitted scarlet eyes did not seem to evoke any fear in the humans.

    However, everything was nothing more than an act.

    This was an Aeternus Kingdom that had been created by Aeternals for humans to coexist with corpse kings.

    The first such ce that Lu Yin had seen was Aeternus Nation, but that ce had been in its early stages of development, as it had been difficult for the Aeternals to establish a true Aeternus Kingdom in the Fifth Maind. It would have been more urate to call that Aeternus Nation the home of the Seven Skygods¡¯ avatars in the Fifth Maind, and the humans who had lived there had lived in fear, as they knew that they were always at risk of being killed.

    The next such ce that Lu Yin had seen was the Aeternus Kingdom that had been established atop the ruins of the Sea King¡¯s Dome. In that ce, in order to create harmony, the Aeternals had split the Aeternus Kingdom into two adjoining cities, east and west, separating humans from the corpse kings.

    In the Aeternus Kingdom that Lu Yin was presently moving through, the humans were already living among the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin had now seen all three stages of an Aeternus Kingdom.

    The people before him had already lived through the first and second stages. They had gone through the overwhelming fear and despair, as well as the temporary peace, and were now in a state of numbness. At this moment, all of the humans were wearing masks for their own sakes. They were masks of hypocrisy.

    This was the most agonizing thing to see.

    Losing freedom was sad, but these people had even lost the ability to express themselves.

    This ce was utterly revolting to the extreme.

    Lu Yin soon saw the Stargazing Deck. It stood tall in the Aeternus Kingdom, looking like amon observation tower.

    "I need to collect something from beneath the Stargazing Deck. Do you want to leave first, or is there something that you want to do?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Qingyue replied, "I¡¯m going to destroy this city."

    Dragonturtle instantly became afraid. "It would be best not to go too far. Master specifically asked you to stay calm and not go too far."

    Jiang Qingyue retorted, "It''s just one kingdom. I¡¯m not trying to take out several."

    Dragonturtle looked over at Lu Yin for help, and he said, "If I have the opportunity in the future, I will lead the Fifth Maind to invade this ce. That will be the time to destroy every Aeternus Kingdom here."

    "Yes, Young Master Chen said that this young man holds a very high position in the Fifth Maind and has many experts under hismand. Just go with him when the timees. There¡¯s no need to push things right now," Dragonturtle quickly cautioned.

    Jiang Qingyue stared at Lu Yin. "Will you conquer the Sixth Maind?"

 Chapter 2701: Monster

    <h4>Chapter 2701: Monster</h4>

    Before this, Lu Yin had never considered eventually conquering the Sixth Maind, but what he heard from Jiang Qingyue and Dragonturtle, and especially what they had passed on from Jiang Qingyue''s father, had reminded Lu Yin of something. "Yes. I¡¯m not afraid to look ahead, and there¡¯s no need for me to lower my head. It¡¯s good to stand at the front. Maybe I can be the spark that ignites a wildfire.¡±

    Dragonturtle thoroughly approved. "Young man, that¡¯s admirable! The old master will definitely like you very much. Just think about it! Someday, the two of you will charge forward, followed by Little Yue, Young Master Chen, and your sons and daughters. With such passion, I will even lend you my turtle shell when that dayes!¡±

    Jiang Qingyue blushed brightly. "Shut up! You¡¯re getting just as aggravating as that damn rabbit!"

    Lu Yin smiled and turned back to look at the Stargazing Deck once more. While it had been left in a park, the park was empty, and no one was nearby.

    The people who lived in this city wore fake smiles and would rather hide in their homes all day than go out. How could anyone visit the park?

    Lu Yin walked closer. Jiang Qingyue was curious, so she joined him.

    Just as Dragonturtle was about to follow, Jiang Qingyue red at the creature and ordered, "Stay away from me!"

    Dragonturtle just smiled. The more he saw Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue be together, the more he felt that they were a perfect match.

    The two young people walked over to the Stargazing Deck.

    Jiang Qingyue felt curious. "What''s so special about this tower that you came all this way for it?"

    Lu Yin smiled as he squatted down and grabbed the Stargazing Deck. He suddenly lifted the building, as the truly valuable part was the pearl beneath the tower.

    A single pearl had given Xiao Shi the ability to read a Book of Destiny and an exceptional affinity towards cultivating Destiny¡¯s power. Destiny¡¯s power had stained that pearl, and if Lu Yin could find this twelfth pearl, he might be able to locate his family.

    After lifting the Stargazing Deck, Lu Yin looked around, only for his pupils to instantly shrink. Where was it? How could the pearl be gone? Could it have been lost when the Stargazing Deck had been transported to the Sixth Maind?

    Suddenly, a pulling force appeared, and Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue disappeared without even being able to react.

    Dragonturtle saw them vanish, which startled him as he called out, "Little Yue!"

    The creature knocked the Stargazing Deck aside, only to see a card floating in the air that almost instantly disappeared.

    "One of the Lost n¡¯s cards?"

    At the same time, inside the card, Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue simultaneously eximed, "One of the Lost n¡¯s cards!"

    The two looked at each other before immediately taking action. They were determined to break free from the card.

    However, they were surrounded by continuously emergingyers of light that did not dim. Theyers could be seen in every direction, and they acted like a prison.

    Lu Yin quickly pulled out his slipper andshed out, despite already knowing that it would be useless. This card had sucked him into a pocket space without giving him any opportunity to react or escape, which indicated that it was an Immemorial Card, which had the power of a Progenitor. Who would hide such a card beneath the Stargazing Deck? The only possible answer was that this was a trap that had been set specifically for him.

    Jiang Qingyue had led Lu Yin to the Stargazing Deck, but she could not have been the one to set him up. This trap had to have been put in ce long ago. Aeternus had to have known that Lu Yin would eventually go looking for the pearl. Though, the trap might not have been set specifically for Lu Yin, but rather for whoever tried to retrieve the pearl. It might have even been a trap set for Destiny herself.

    However, it was still a trap, which meant that Lu Yin needed to break free as soon as possible.

    However, there was no end to the lights that acted like a prison. Each p of the slipper caused the strands of light to instantly snap, but Lu Yin was unable to keep up with the speed at which the lights formed.

    Fortunately, this did notst for long, and the lights soon disappeared. Lu Yinshed out with his slipper, and the card shattered. He emerged, along with Jiang Qingyue, only to be confronted by a pair of slitted scarlet eyes and a fist.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The sound was not terribly loud, and Lu Yin managed to raise his arms to block the punch, though he was still blown away by the impact. Given the strength of the punch, Lu Yin should have been sent flying, but as he flew backwards, before he had covered half of the distance he should have, the void started flickering and warping as it copsed.

    Lu Yin stabilized himself before ncing around. The space around him was unstable, and when he looked into the distance, he could see a massive sourcebox.

    He and Jiang Qingyue were trapped in a sourcebox array, and from what Lu Yin could see, this particr sourcebox array seemed to be designed for only one thing.

    He easily tore through the void, only to find that the void was in a state of chaos that made it impossible to locate any parallel universe at all.

    Just as he had thought, it was impossible to escape from this trap by fleeing to a parallel universe.

    This was the real trap.

    Lu Yin had been knocked backwards by a Progenitor-level corpse king that was quietly standing in front of him, staring at Lu Yin with scarlet eyes as it slowly lowered its arms. "Whoeveres here, dies."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath before saying, "Qingyue,e over here."

    Jiang Qingyue tightly clenched the hilt of her sword while staring at the corpse king in fear. She was suffering from the monster¡¯s terrible pressure.

    She had faced Progenitor-level creatures before, but never had one that wanted to kill her appeared. Given her cultivation level, how could she hope to confront a Progenitor-level corpse king? A single finger was enough to crush her to death.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists while feeling a twinge of pain in his arm. He had blocked the creature¡¯s punch, but doing so had cracked his bones. This corpse king¡¯s physical strength was absolutely terrifying. Just where had ite from?

    Within the same realm of power, Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings had much greater physical strength than humans. However, this did not apply to Lu Yin. His physical strength was enough to let him crush a corpse king that had undergone a red-eyes Corpse King Transformation, even if it was in the same realm as him. However, the corpse king before Lu Yin was a freak even for a corpse king when it came to physical strength.

    One punch. Just one punch had already injured Lu Yin.

    It was not possible for him to face this monster head-on.

    Progenitors and those at their level employed uniquebat methods that only peak powerhouses could do, and they were all extremely difficult to deal with. However, an individual¡¯s base power remained the most difficult thing to counter. As Dao Monarch Gu had once said, the physical body was what humans should truly focus on cultivating, rather than relying on external powers.

    Corpse kings were physically powerful, and their fighting was simple and basic. However, once physical power reached a certain level, there was no way to counter it.

    "Keep your distance and find a way to escape," Lu Yin told Jiang Qingyue. The scarlet eyes that were staring at Lu Yin started to move towards him. While the corpse king did not appear to be moving quickly, it was more than sufficient within the confines of this space.

    Lu Yin pushed Jiang Qingyue away and then took a look at the chaotic spatial lines. He did not dare to carelessly try to move with them, as if he was unlucky, he would suddenly appear right in front of the corpse king¡¯s fist.

    The wind from the fist brushed across Lu Yin¡¯s cheek, drawing blood. Even the wind was too much for him to handle, and he retreated continuously.

    The corpse king spun around and kicked Lu Yin. The monster¡¯s movements were basic and simple. However, a purplish-ck substance covered Lu Yin''s entire body as he kicked back, sessfullynding a strike on the corpse king.

    There was another explosion, but the purplish-ck substance that shrouded Lu Yin''s form actually cracked on his feet. As for the corpse king, there was absolutely no hesitation as a second kickshed out.

    Lu Yin took out his slipper and pped at the approaching foot. However, at thest moment, the corpse king pulled its foot back and struck out with a palm, attacking from a distance. The wind from the palm strike shattered the void, and Lu Yin''s expression changed. Again, the slipper struck out.

    The slipper overcame the palm strike, but the force almost knocked the slipper out of Lu Yin¡¯s grip. Once more, the corpse kingunched a palm strike, and Lu Yin could only fall back. He could not face this corpse king directly, or else he would die.

    With the slipper in hand, the corpse king would not engage Lu Yin in closebat, which made Lu Yin even more certain that the trap had beenid specifically for him. This corpse king was clearly afraid of the slipper, which proved that it was well prepared to face Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, the corpse king''s eyes changed color and turned gray. This was not good, as it indicated another tenfold increase in the monster¡¯s physical strength.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to bring out his Investiture of the Gods. Images of both Nong Yi and Cloudflow appeared at the same time as the corpse king struck out with a palm. The wind from this attack was several times stronger than before, and the pressurepletely shattered the void, causing the Hollow to appear.

    Jiang Qingyue was startled. Even though this attack had not been aimed at her, it still put more pressure on her than what she could bear, and it felt like her heart was about to burst.

    Lu Yin was not in much better condition. The summon of Nong Yi raised his hoe, and it fell back down as he used the Nong family¡¯s Plowing the Land battle technique. The images of countless other people ovepped with each other to create an endless momentum for the hoe. As for Cloudflow, the summon used his power to form a saber that shed down.

    The wind from the palm strike roared closer, knocking back both Progenitor Nong and Cloudflow. Both of Lu Yin¡¯s summons werepletely suppressed by nothing more than the wind produced by a single palm strike.

    The corpse king stepped forward, its hand raised high. The hand fell, straight for Progenitor Nong.

    Leaves appeared above Progenitor Nong¡¯s head, and when the corpse king¡¯s hand dropped, the leaves scattered. Progenitor Nong''s figure grew a bit blurry.

    From the side, cloud-structure appeared and struck with physical force as the corpse king was bombarded. This was Cloudflow¡¯s equivalent to a Progenitor¡¯s world: Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao.

    Every blow contained the power of a Progenitor, and it was able to instantly kill a Semi-Progenitor.

    Even so, none of the attacks had any effect on the corpse king. The monster was like an unshakeable mountain, and just a wave of the monster¡¯s hand was enough to shatter all of the cloud constructs.

    Cloudflow was no weakling, and he had killed multiple peak powerhouses from the Transcendent Universe who relied on ck energy converters, but the man appeared incredibly weak against the corpse king.

    The trap that Aeternus had set for Lu Yin was too powerful for him to deal with. Against this corpse king, Lu Yin was certain the monster was no weaker than Xia Shenji, though its physical strength clearly far exceeded Xia Shenji¡¯s.

    Lu Yin clutched his slipper and moved along the spatial lines. He instantly appeared directly behind the corpse king and attacked.

    At the same time, still in the Aeternus Kingdom, Dragonturtle was furious, and he charged through the city.

    One after another, the corpse kings in the city charged forward to attack the invader, only to be instantly eliminated by Dragonturtle.

    He had not anticipated that a moment¡¯s carelessness would cause Jiang Qingyue to disappear. If anything happened to her, how would he be able to exin the matter to his master? Given that they were in an Aeternus Kingdom, the Aeternals had to be behind this attack.

    The thought of the Aeternals being behind whatever had happened caused Dragonturtle''s heart to drop even further.

    "What are you doing? That is the Lord of Lightning''s daughter! If you dare to harm her, the Lord of Lightning will not let you go!" Dragonturtle roared. As he shouted, a dazzling light swept out and started melting the entire Aeternus Kingdom.

    Off in the distance, a figure rushed over. It was Yi Ren. He was back in the Sixth Maind.

    When Yi Ren saw Dragonturtle crazily destroying the Aeternus Kingdom, he immediately attacked. "Dragonturtle, do you intend to fight the Aeternals to the death?"

    Dragonturtle red at Yi Ren. "You have captured the Lord of Lightning''s daughter! Give her back!"

    Yi Ren was startled. The Lord of Lightning¡¯s daughter?

    When he had been one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors, Yi Ren had known nothing about the Sixverse Association, and almost nothing about Aeternus. Only after joining the Aeternals had he seen more of the megaverse and learned just how vast reality truly was and how many powerhouses there were.

    Out of all the peak powerhouses, the Lord of Lightning unquestionably stood near the top. He was someone whom not even the Seven Skygods wanted to face in a true battle to the death due to his terrifying might.

    "Who captured the Lord of Lightning''s daughter?" While the Aeternals and the Lord of Lightning were enemies, Yi Ren did not want to draw the Lord of Lightning into the Sixth Maind. That was also why the Lord of Lightning had beenfortable sending his daughter to gain experience in the Sixth Maind with only Dragonturtle here to protect her. The Aeternals knew that she was there, but they would not do anything to her, as long as she did not go too far.

    However, something had happened to the Lord of Lightning''s daughter, and as soon as that man entered the Sixth Maind, Yi Ren would have no chance of survival.

    Dragonturtle pointed at the overturned Stargazing Deck. "What happened to her?"

    Yi Ren saw the Stargazing Deck, and his eyes lit up. "Is Lu Yin also here?"

    Dragonturtle''s expression changed. "Is this a trap set up for that Lu Yin kid?"

    Yi Ren¡¯s expression turned ugly. "Why is the Lord of Lightning''s daughter with Lu Yin?"

    He received no answer, as Dragonturtle just roared while demanding that Yi Ren release Jiang Qingyue. Of course, Yi Ren did not want to see the woman die, but that was no longer something that he could control, as she was trapped with that monster.

    ...

    Within the twisted confines of the sourcebox array, Lu Yin was sent tumbling through the air, the slipper nearly flying out of his grip. He had justunched a sneak attack with the slipper, but the corpse king had managed to evade it, and then had knocked Lu Yin back with the wind from a palm strike.

 Chapter 2702: The Powerful Turtle Shell

    <h4>Chapter 2702: The Powerful Turtle Shell</h4>

    The corpse king instantly reappeared in front of Lu Yin. He activated the Cosmic Art in response, and at the same time, seemed to physically manifest the continent of fatesand in his chest into the area around him. This briefly stabilized the void around him, which gave him an opportunity to escape. He could suddenly sense the presence of parallel universes, which meant that he could leave.

    This was only possible because of the power within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. That system was a mystery even to Mister Mu, and it could not be constrained by the sourcebox array.

    However, if Lu Yin escaped, what would happen to Jiang Qingyue? She would certainly be killed.

    Lu Yin could not possibly abandon her to escape.

    The power in his chest only bought him a moment to escape, and given Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation, that moment quickly passed and disappeared.

    The corpse king''s hand appeared near Lu Yin, and the stabilized region of space began to shatter.

    No matter how strange Lu Yin¡¯s unique power might be, it was not enough topensate for the gap between him and the corpse king.

    Lu Yin saw the hand approaching, and he fled with Inverse Step, taking advantage of the chaotic zone of time that he created. He managed to create a bit of distance between the corpse king, but not even Inverse Step was enough to keep Lu Yin safe for long.

    Some distance away, Jiang Qingyue was stunned. She had never expected Lu Yin to be capable ofsting for so long against such a terrifyingly powerful corpse king. It was unbelievable that a mere Envoy, or even a Semi-Progenitor, couldst for even a few breaths of time when facing an expert with the power of a Progenitor. Lu Yin was only an Envoy, a six-tribtion Envoy.

    Given the limited space within the sourcebox array, Lu Yin could not flee very far with Inverse Step. Suddenly, the corpse king stopped chasing the young man, and it instead mmed its right fist into the void. At that moment, ripples spread through the void, and a powerful force created a visible shockwave that spread out. Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he raced over to protect Jiang Qingyue.

    "Don''t worry about me!" Jiang Qingyue managed to shout out. Her sword was still in her hand, and it rose up while pointing down. Like a willow tree swaying in the violent breeze, the woman moved with the terrifying shockwave, and Lu Yin was stunned to see that she was able to survive an attack from the corpse king. Was she really able to keep herself alive?

    He had no more time to think about Jiang Qingyue. It was a relief to discover that she was able to protect herself, though Lu Yin still tossed a Lotus Artifact over to her. "Take that!"

    Jiang Qingyue grabbed the power vessel, even as the corpse king punched the void again. One punch after anothershed out, each one stronger than thest.

    Lu Yin''s Investiture of the Gods glowed with a golden light, and Cloudflow and Progenitor Nong both reappeared. The corpse king could not be allowed to continue to attacking however it wished; Jiang Qingyue would not be able to endure its attacks for long. No matter what she had or what she was capable of, there had to be a limit.

    Progenitor Nong and Cloudflow were only average for their level and were far from reaching the level of a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. On the other hand, the corpse king absolutely had the strength topete with such a master as its physical strength was exceptional. There was an explosion, and the Investiture of the Gods just barely let Lu Yin put a bit of distance between himself and the corpse king, which allowed him to survive. It was clear that not even his Investiture of the Gods would be able to endure for very long.

    While Lu Yin had many treasures in his possession, aside from the slipper, he had nothing else that could pose even the slightest threat to the corpse king. Lu Yin also had many abilities that he had not used yet, such as his family¡¯s visualization method, unsealing his three meridian points to give himself elerated healing, Truesight, and more. However, none of these powers could harm the corpse king. They were all useless in this battle. Lu Yin was trapped with no escape this time as Aeternus hadid this trap specifically for him.

    However, there might still be a way out for Lu Yin. After all, the Sixth Maind had a reservoir of death energy.

    A flood of cloud-constructs appeared in the area, and they all rained down on the corpse king while Progenitor Nong¡¯s leaves filled the void.

    Lu Yin seized the opportunity to approach Jiang Qingyue, and the moment he was next to her, he pulled out the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe. "Follow right after me!"

    As he spoke, death energy started to surge. As that happened, in a distant Aeternus Kingdom, countless people watched as death energy rose up from underground, tearing the earth apart and forming a ck rainbow that stretched across the sky.

    A Progenitor-level corpse king opened its eyes and stepped out.

    Dragonturtle and Yi Ren also saw the death energy move.

    "Sure enough, it''s Lu Yin!" Yi Ren¡¯s eyes zed. He absolutely hated Lu Yin. If not for that child, he would not have been punished by the Aeternals. Yi Ren needed to obey Cheng Kong''s orders, but he really wanted to kill Lu Yin.

    The death energy crossed over the Grand Martial Realm. As the corpse king overcame thebined assault of Cloudflow and Progenitor Nong, the death energy was pulled into the scythe. Lu Yin faced the corpse king, and the scythe shed sideways. Not even Nutjob Lu had been able to face this attack. If he hadn¡¯t used the Corpse King Transformation at thest moment, the man most likely would not have survived.

    This attack had also badly wounded Xia Shenji and threatened Bai Wangyuan into signing a treaty.

    Lu Yin was certain that this attack would be enough to leave even this corpse king severely injured.

    The scythe swept out, and a massive ck silhouette mysteriously appeared behind Lu Yin, staring forward. This was the God of Death.

    The corpse king roared in fury, and its eyes changed color once again, this time turning green. Its physical strength was increased tenfold further, and the void erupted around the monster, unable to withstand its immense strength.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as the ck attack shed forward and struck the corpse king. The monster was sted out of the sourcebox array, instantly destroying it.

    "Let''s go!" Lu Yin shouted as he tore the void open. He wanted to take Jiang Qingyue and escape.

    However, Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword stabbed Lu Yin. The tip pierced his body, though because of the vast difference in strength between them, the woman was unable to actually harm Lu Yin.

    Even so, the unexpected attack confused Lu Yin; did Jiang Qingyue want to kill him?

    He turned to look at the woman in shock, only to see lifeless eyes staring back at him. At the same time, he noticed bubbles appearing and disappearing at random times. This was Bubble Fantasy... Cheng Kong?

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword thrust forward once again. Lu Yin grabbed the de andshed out at Jiang Qingyue with a palm, intending to knock her out and take her away. The woman was under Cheng Kong¡¯s control.

    However, a Lotus Artifact protected her, and Lu Yin instead struck the Lotus Artifact. It was a fourth-grade Lotus Artifact, and itpletely blocked Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    A fourth-grade Lotus Artifact was powerful enough to even block a Progenitor¡¯s attack. Lu Yin only wanted to knock Jiang Qingyue out, which made it impossible for him to use an attack as strong as a Progenitor¡¯s. Not only was his attack blocked, but the Lotus Artifact was also unharmed by the attack.

    This Lotus Artifact was not one of the ones that Lu Yin had taken from the Sixverse Academy students, which meant that it would not immediately transport Jiang Qingyue to the Sixverse Academy.

    Lu Yin immediately regretted giving the woman one of those Lotus Artifacts. He should have instead given one that would take her away when she was attacked. Instead, he was in a position where he needed to first destroy this Lotus Artifact, and then take Jiang Qingyue away.

    There was no other choice. Lu Yin took out his slipper again and activated his visualization method.

    "Lu Yin, what are you doing?" Dragonturtle arrived just in time to see Lu Yin pping at Jiang Qingyue with a slipper, and the creature shouted at him.

    Before Lu Yin had a chance to exin, the ck sh behind him disappeared, revealing the corpse king, though with a massive wound across its neck. The monster had been nearly decapitated, as the death energy in the Sixth Maind was at least equal to what had been left behind in Specter Abyss. However, while the corpse king appeared to be badly wounded, its terrifying power remained unaffected. Unless the monster was cut into pieces, it would not be any less of a threat.

    On top of that, Lu Yin could sense that this corpse king was not the only threat. Another one was quickly approaching from the same direction as the death energy, and Dragonturtle was not alone. When he arrived, he was apanied by Yi Ren.

    Lu Yin saw Yi Ren, who also saw Lu Yin. Excitement filled the Progenitor¡¯s eyes. "Kid, you are dead!"

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword thrust forward again, straight towards Lu Yin¡¯s neck.

    Dragonturtle saw this and stared in confusion.

    The corpse king rushed forward andshed out with a palm.

    Dragonturtle reflexively erged his body and used his shell to block the attack.

    The palm strike mmed into the turtle shell, but it only managed to knock Dragonturtle back a few steps, doing absolutely no damage.

    Even so, Dragonturtle was horrified. "Where did this monstere from? How can it actually fight me off!?"

    The corpse king was equally astonished. Even out of all of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses, there were few who could block an attack from this corpse king without any injuries. This turtle shell was too hard.

    Lu Yin evaded Jiang Qingyue''s sword. "She¡¯s being controlled by Cheng Kong! I need to break the Lotus Artifact and get her away!"

    Dragonturtle grew furious. "Cheng Kong? That despicable, shameless bastard?"

    He looked around and saw the bubbles, instantly realizing that they were Cheng Kong¡¯s Bubble Fantasy. That bastard really was present.

    "Little Yue, wake up!"

    "You little shit, go to hell!" Yi Ren suddenly attacked, and his disc roared over.

    From the other direction, another Progenitor-level corpse king attacked. Its arms opened, and what looked like stone bricks appeared in the void. More and more appeared, without end, and they formed a dome that covered the void all around them.

    Despite not understanding the corpse king''s attack, Lu Yin could still sense the danger that it posed, and heshed out once again with his slipper, smashing it into the Lotus Artifact. The power vessel shattered with a bang, and the shards scattered in front of Jiang Qingyue''s eyes. They acted like mirrors and reflected her face.

    Dragonturtle''s body grew evenrger, and his shell protected both Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue. "Little Yue, wake up!"

    As he spoke, a light enveloped Jiang Qingyue.

    This was Dragonturtle¡¯s Holy Light. His true species was a Holy Light Dragonturtle. The light touched him, and Lu Yin felt warmed as an inexplicable power flowed through his body, restoring his energy and healing all of his injuries.

    Dragonturtle¡¯s power caught Lu Yin off guard. If this guy was on a battlefield, it would be hard for any of his allies to be killed.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword rose up again, and Lu Yin had no choice but to knock her unconscious.

    A gust of wind blew by, and Lu Yin''s hair stood on end as he was ovee by a chill. There was no reasoning behind it, but he felt that he was suddenly being watched. A bubble appeared behind his head, and Dragonturtle roared, "You hateful bastard!"

    Just as the creature was about to attack, Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword stabbed, but not towards Lu Yin. The de targeted a different direction, aimed at an empty space. However, it somehow managed to stab the bubble.

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes grew bright once more. "I feel Cheng Kong''s aura."

    Lu Yin was stunned. She was awake? How was she sensing Cheng Kong? Not even Lu Yin could sense anything.

    Dragonturtle was thrilled. "Little Yue, have you mastered your power?"

    Jiang Qingyue replied, "We need to get out of here now!"

    Attacks continued to rain down. Yi Ren and the two Progenitor-level corpse kings bombarded Dragonturtle¡¯s shell, trying to target Lu Yin. However, Dragonturtle''s shell was simply too hard.

    "Dragonturtle, take the Lord of Lightning''s daughter and leave! Leave Lu Yin here, and we won¡¯t stop you!" Yi Ren said.

    Lu Yin heard his shout as well. The Lord of Lightning¡¯s daughter?

    Dragonturtle was tempted. Something could happen to him. In fact, something could happen to anyone, except for Jiang Qingyue.

    The woman¡¯s eyes rose, and she said, "We go together."

    Dragonturtle had no choice but to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin tried to tear the void open, but at some point in time, the sourcebox array had reactivated, and he was unable to locate any parallel universes.

    "Little Yue, why aren¡¯t you calling Master?" Dragonturtle asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Neither of us can sense any parallel universes!"

    Dragonturtle instantly realized he was in a tight spot. He and Jiang Qingyue both followed the Lord of Lightning, which meant that they could travel between parallel universes without having to leave a mark on a spatial coordinate seal, but even so, they still needed to first locate the parallel universe they wanted to go to. Without that, it would be all too easy to encounter trouble when trying to move in between universes. They could only take such a risk as ast resort.

    "This trap was set for me. If you have to, just leave," Lu Yin said. He had already used the power in his chest to stabilize the void once, and it should be possible to do so again. As long as he was gone, Aeternus would not attack Dragonturtle or Jiang Qingyue.

    Suddenly, Jiang Qingyue shouted, "Cheng Kong!"

    Her sword stabbed forward, clearly targeting directly behind Lu Yin. Seeing this, he spun around and struck out with a palm strike. Light zed from Dragonturtle, and Lu Yin was able to make out a vague shadow, though it instantly disappeared. Bubbles then appeared, one after another: Bubble Fantasy.

    All three individuals attacked, popping the bubbles.

 Chapter 2703: Seeing The Big Tree Again

    <h4>Chapter 2703: Seeing The Big Tree Again</h4>

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and he found himself in the air once again. He was being targeted by Cheng Kong. The Aeternal did not care about Jiang Qingyue at all, possibly because they did not want to offend the Lord of Lightning. Dragonturtle was also not attacked, though more because doing so was useless. Dragonturtle''s holy light was too effective, and he was clearly skilled at protecting himself.

    Not only was Cheng Kong targeting Lu Yin, but it was likely that the Aeternals did not want to let Lu Yin do anything. Cheng Kong had likely observed the entire battle between Lu Yin and the Progenitor-level corpse king, which meant that Cheng Kong knew that Lu Yin was capable of escaping, given the opportunity.

    "You will die," ovepping voices echoed in Lu Yin''s ears. It was Cheng Kong¡¯s voice.

    "Despicable bastard!" Dragonturtle roared.

    Jiang Qingyue closed her eyes. She could sense Cheng Kong¡¯s presence.

    Lu Yin kept his power in his chest. If he brought it out, Cheng Kong would instantly attack, preventing Lu Yin from tearing through the void and escaping. The corpse king¡¯s attacks were incredibly powerful, but Cheng Kong¡¯s attacks were fast and almost unavoidable, which made them even more difficult to deal with. When fighting against the corpse king, there had been a few windows of opportunity for Lu Yin to escape, but against Cheng Kong, there were no chances at all.

    Lu Yin looked around, observing the chaotic lines of space. "Senior Dragonturtle, how long can you endure for?"

    Dragonturtle was struggling. "Not too long. That one corpse king is simply too strong."

    Lu Yin frowned. He needed to find a solution as quickly as possible.

    "Don''t listen to him¡ªhe can definitely hold out for a long time still," Jiang Qingyue suddenly said, "He¡¯s also able to use absolutely domineering fusion to cover his shell. Even Father said that that state¡¯s difficult to break through."

    "Little Yue, just because it''s difficult doesn''t mean it''s impossible! What are we going to do if one of the Seven Skygods shows up? Cheng Kong is already here, and you know how terrifying that one is." Dragonturtle felt helpless.

    Lu Yin suddenly dodged to the side. Cheng Kong was keeping an eye on Lu Yin and would brook no escape attempts. Lu Yin needed to find some way to deal with Cheng Kong so that he could have even a moment to work with. Just that, and he could escape, which would resolve the entire situation.

    "Cheng Kong, do you remember Tu Shuangshuang?" Lu Yin called out.

    There was no answer. Cheng Kong did not speak.

    "I have her.

    "I was the one to ruin your ns, and I also exposed Yun Wu as a spy. I¡¯ve even found a way to expose your Bubble Fantasy."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin took Tu Shuangshuang out from the Zenith Mountain in his cosmic ring, and he tossed her to the side. He instantly used the power within his chest, but faced a dangerous attack so quickly that he was forced to first evade it.

    Tu Shuangshuang looked around in confusion. "Where am I?"

    She looked over at Lu Yin and saw bubbles around him. The sight filled her with joy, and she called out, "Master? Is that you? Master? Master?"

    There was a sudden bang, and her head exploded from an invisible force. She was instantly smashed to death.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Tu Shuangshuang had been attacked by Cheng Kong. When even one of Cheng Kong¡¯s own disciples got in the way, they would be killed without any hesitation. This demonstrated just how the Aeternals handled things.

    Jiang Qingyue thrust her sword forward, but she struck nothing at all.

    "Forget it, Little Yue. You may be able to sense Cheng Kong''s aura, but the gap between the two of you is too big. How could you possibly hurt them? For Cheng Kong, you are moving so slowly that you will never be able to touch them," Dragonturtle said.

    Outside of the shell, Yi Ren was still talking, begging Dragonturtle to take Jiang Qingyue away and leave Lu Yin behind. This matter had nothing to do with the two of them.

    However, Dragonturtle''s shell remained in the way, blocking everything that approached for days.

    Jiang Qingyue was right; the shell was incredibly tough. Dragonturtle blocked all the attacks from outside, and he did not even need to use the purplish-ck substance. If not for the threat of Cheng Kong, Lu Yin would have escaped long ago.

    "I strongly suggest that you leave¡ªthe Lord of Lightning already knows that we are in danger. When he arrives, no one will be able to save you," Dragonturtle threatened.

    The threat scared Yi Ren, but it also made him work even faster. He absolutely had to kill Lu Yin.

    Cheng Kong was also obsessed with killing Lu Yin.

    The trap had beenid perfectly. If not for Jiang Qingyue and Dragonturtle, Lu Yin would have already died. This trap had been prepared years ago, and since Lu Yin had been caught, they refused to let him go.

    Lu Yin continued to observe the spatial lines around him. The moment they appeared even a bit stable, he would tear the void open and leave. He could not stick around and die. After all, he did not believe that Dragonturtle was capable of resisting one or two of the Seven Skygods, if those powerhouses appeared.

    <i>Hey, what¡¯s that?</i>

    Lu Yin stared in a particr direction. He was still observing the spatial lines, and he peered past the turtle shell into the distance. The spatial lines in that area were beyond the influence of the sourcebox array, which should have meant that they were stable.

    However, as he stared, he watched the lines bend and straighten, again and again, as though someone was walking across them.

    Lu Yin instantly grew wary. He was not looking at a ce that most people could walk through, and the first thing that came to mind was Shaman God. If that Skygod appeared, they would be in grave danger.

    Realizing the potential threat approaching them, Lu Yin shot over to the edge of the turtle shell and stared into the distance. There, above the spatial lines, in a ce that no one else could see, was arge tree. It was the big tree that had escaped.

    That big tree was actually in the Sixth Maind? Was it just passing by?

    Lu Yin felt danger. Cheng Kong was attacking again. Lu Yin evaded once more and then asked Dragonturtle to charge towards the big tree.

    Dragonturtle could only say, "I can''t escape! All I can do is block them. If I could escape, I would have done so immediately."

    Lu Yin took out a Lotus Artifact. "Use this."

    Dragonturtle was caught off guard.

    Quickly, a fourth-grade Lotus Artifact appeared around the turtle shell, protecting Dragonturtle. The creature then charged out in the direction Lu Yin had indicated.

    Still inside the shell, Lu Yin gave another Lotus Artifact to Jiang Qingyue. With the fourth-grade Lotus Artifact, it did not matter if Cheng Kongnded an attack. Lu Yin held onto the shell as Dragonturtle moved ording to Lu Yin¡¯s directions.

    Cheng Kong did not understand what Lu Yin was trying to do, but they did not hesitate to attack. Something must have triggered Lu Yin¡¯s sudden change in behavior.

    A fourth-grade Lotus Artifact was only able to endure a single attack from Cheng Kong. Lu Yin had originally had a total of twelve Lotus Artifacts, but one had already been used up by Jiang Qingyue, which left Lu Yin with eleven. He had then given another to Jiang Qingyue, and six to Dragonturtle, while leaving four Lotus Artifacts for his own use. He could only endure six attacks from Cheng Kong, while Dragonturtle would be able to endure six attacks from outside.

    As for the Lotus Artifacts that Lu Yin had that could transport them to the Sixverse Academy, those were impossible to use. None of them could find any parallel universes within the sourcebox array, which meant that they werepletely dead and useless right now.

    Dragonturtle¡¯s body was massive, and every time he moved, he covered a vast distance, which was enough.

    In outer space, one fourth-grade Lotus Artifact after another bloomed, while inside the turtle shell, the same thing was happening on Lu Yin''s body.

    After Dragonturtle moved three times, Lu Yin shouted, "Get out here!"

    As he shouted, Cheng Kong''s fourth attacknded, and Lu Yin rushed out of the turtle shell and grabbed something invisible from the void. It was a branch.

    The big tree strolling through the void reacted like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. It was badly startled, and it fled in a panic.

    Lu Yin grabbed hold of Jiang Qingyue, and Dragonturtle shrank down andnded on her shoulder, just before they were all instantly dragged away by the big tree.

    When the big tree was grabbed by Lu Yin, it was briefly exposed, and Yi Ren and the Aeternals all saw it.

    "Is that <i>that</i> big tree?" Yi Ren eximed.

    The big tree swung its branches and fled. Its branches whipped around wildly as it tried to throw Lu Yin and the others off.

    Yi Ren angrily shouted, "Chase it!"

    However, right as they started to move, the big tree vanished.

    Lu Yin might not dare to carelessly wander about on the spatial lines, but the big tree was different. It constantly roamed about in the void, and it was also very good at escaping. It had remained safe and free for many years, which meant that they should also be safe while being carried by it. On top of that, Lu Yin was quite curious about where the people who had been taken by the big tree went.

    The sourcebox array waspletely unable to restrain the big tree, and the attacks from Yi Ren, the corpse kings, and Cheng Kong were all knocked away by the branches.

    The big tree was known to be fearless on even the most dangerous battlefields. It had even appeared during battles involving the Seven Skygods to take several people away, let alone the opponents who had been attacking Lu Yin and the others.

    In the blink of an eye, the big tree disappeared.

    Yi Ren stared. "Why did <i>that</i> tree appear?"

    A short distance away, the two corpse kings stood in ce, simrly unable to catch up to the tree. They could not even able to see where the big tree had gone to, and even if they could, there was nothing that they could do.

    "It''s fine if they were taken by that big tree," Cheng Kong said, still sounding as though there were several voices ovepping.

    Yi Ren heard the voice but was unable to locate Cheng Kong. The Progenitor¡¯s eyes flickered.

    Despite spending so much time inside the turtle shell with Lu Yin, had Cheng Kong still been unable to kill Lu Yin? Yi Ren did not believe that at all.

    ...

    At this same time, within the void, Lu Yin was clinging to the big tree¡¯s branches. He had no idea if Cheng Kong and the Aeternals were giving chase, as Lu Yin had no chance to look back. He was too busy trying to avoid being thrown aside by the big tree.

    The tree was desperate to get rid of its passengers.

    "This is the big tree that Master is looking for!" Dragonturtle was surprised.

    These words caught Lu Yin off guard. "The Lord of Lightning is looking for this tree?"

    "I need to catch it for Master!" Dragonturtle said excitedly.

    The big tree heard this, and it grew even more frantic. As it iled its branches, mes blossomed on the branches like flowers. It was both beautiful and dangerous.

    Lu Yin stared at the slowly blooming mes. What was this?

    "Let go!" Dragonturtle grabbed Lu Yin and suddenly pulled away from the tree. The three retreated from the tree just as the branch that Lu Yin had been holding onto burst into mes. If he had been just a moment slower, those mes would have touched him.

    The big tree was zing as it quickly disappeared, awkwardly running away.

    Lu Yin and the other two fell andnded on a meteorite.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance, but the big tree had already vanished.

    "It¡¯s good that you reacted quickly, as you would have been doomed otherwise. You can¡¯t touch those mes. Master warned me about them." Dragonturtle looked afraid. "It''s just a pity that I couldn''t catch it."

    "You scared it." Jiang Qingyue had clearly seen the tree¡¯s reaction.

    Dragonturtle shrugged. "I had no idea it was so timid. That thing has appeared on countless battlefields without fearing anyone, and yet it behaves so timidly. It¡¯s such a strange tree."

    Lu Yin looked down at his hand. Those mes should be the same ones that had burned the Books of Destiny. Those three books had been burned because he had wanted to seek information about the Immemorial Citadel.

    He had previously assumed that those mes hade from the Immemorial Citadel itself, but he now realized that they had actuallye from the big tree. In that case, the big tree had to be rted to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin remembered how Undying God had mentioned that Ce Wangtian had tricked Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and gone to the Immemorial Citadel himself instead.

    The big tree had taken Ce Wangtian away while Progenitor Y¨­u Ming and others had fought in the War Of Turtledove River on the Third Maind.

    By putting the various pieces together, it was not difficult toe to the conclusion that the big tree was able to take people to the Immemorial Citadel.

    With that, it became clear to Lu Yin why the Lord of Lightning was searching for the big tree; he wanted to also go to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Just what was the Immemorial Citadel? Mister Mu, the Lord of Lightning, and the powerhouses from the ancient Heavens Sect era had all wanted to go to that ce.

    What about the Great Sovereign? Did he also want to go to the Immemorial Citadel? He should be able to get to that ce.

    What about the Aeternals? What did they think about the Immemorial Citadel?

    The more Lu Yin learned about the megaverse, the more questions that appeared. It seemed that there were people trying to conceal the truth.

    "This is not the Sixth Maind," Dragonturtle stated, "However, it''s also not a dangerous ce."

    Jiang Qingyue looked over at Lu Yin and said, "I¡¯m sorry."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Sorry for what?"

    "I led you straight into a trap."

    Lu Yinughed. "Nothing about that was your fault. Aeternus set that trap for me, and I would have gone with or without you, eventually. The truth is, the two of you helped me survive this encounter."

 Chapter 2704: The Breath Of The Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2704: The Breath Of The Universe</h4>

    "That''s right." Dragonturtle stood on Jiang Qingyue''s shoulder as he stared at Lu Yin. "Young man, you are incredibly unlucky. Not everyone is qualified to have the Aeternals scheme against them like this. If not for us, you would have definitely died just now."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Yes. I will need to be very careful in the future."

    "The Aeternals have never been fools, especially the despicable and shameless bastards like Cheng Kong, who are much, much worse than the others. However, there¡¯s something quite strange¡ªwhen you were all inside my shell, why didn''t Cheng Kong attack at full power? That bastard is second only to the Seven Skygods, and if you had been attacked by their full strength, not even I could have protected you," Dragonturtlemented.

    Lu Yin also found this strange, and the only exnation that he coulde up with was the 100,000 year promise that he had received from ckless God. It had been both a promise and a deadline.

    However, if Cheng Kong had not wanted to kill Lu Yin, then why had he been trapped and prevented from escaping?

    "Are you heading back?" Lu Yin asked.

    Dragonturtle replied, "We never expected to get into so much danger on this excursion. We need to return, and I need to report this incident to the Lord of Lightning."

    Jiang Qingyue told Lu Yin, "We¡¯ll meet again when we have a chance."

    Lu Yin nodded. "We¡¯ll definitely meet again. Please take care of Jiang Chen for me."

    Right before they left, Jiang Qingyue remembered something, and she turned back to Lu Yin. "It seems like you¡¯ve never felt aura energy."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What aura energy?"

    Dragonturtle spoke up in a warning manner. "Little Yue..."

    Jiang Qingyue nced at Dragonturtle. "Father never said that I couldn¡¯t tell others."

    Dragonturtle shrugged. "It''s not that you can''t tell others, but that doing so will lead him astray from his path. We have taken shortcuts with our cultivation, but those shortcuts won¡¯t benefit others, and they need to avoid them."

    His exnation confused Jiang Qingyue, so Dragonturtle exined, "Aura energy is theprehension of everything that exists in our universe, including form and consciousness. In other words, it is a shortcut developed by Master to allow mortals to conquer the heavens. Master was not even the first to find this path, as he learned it from his master before reaching the peak himself.

    "Once a person understands their full potential, theirbat strength will increase greatly, and for that reason, Master has shared this information with a few people when traveling among various parallel universes. However, none of those people have ever seeded. Master doesn¡¯t know the reason why, but he has guessed that it has to do with people¡¯s differing levels when they learn it. Because he learned to practice aura energy before he was even able to travel the universe. It was his first stage of cultivation. If aura energy is learned after the initial level, then it seems that it will be forever impossible to harmonize with aura energy.

    "On top of that, practicing aura energy has caused many people to stall with their original cultivation method, and some have even even been led astray by aura energy, which has caused their cultivation to suffer bacsh. If you carelessly tell him, not only will you not be around to guide him, but you may even harm him."

    Jiang Qingyue was stunned. "Father never told me any of that."

    Dragonturtle gave a bitter smile. "Master never thought the day woulde when you would take the initiative to share such things with another. He has apparently given up on finding a man for you."

    Dragonturtle¡¯sst words caused Jiang Qingyue to look quite irritated.

    Lu Yin understood. "Was that how you were able to find Cheng Kong?"

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin was surprised. This aura energy sounded a bit like spiritual force or a domain, but also different. He believed that he had achieved a very high mastery of both spiritual force and domain, but he had not been able to catch a shred of Cheng Kong. Cheng Kong also had not been hiding in the void or ayer of space, as Lu Yin definitely would have been able to find the Aeternal there. Instead, Lu Yin had not been blind to Cheng Kong¡¯s presence, while Jiang Qingyue could sense Cheng Kong¡¯s breathing; was it entirely due to this aura energy?

    "You see, if this young man is interested in aura energy, he will be led astray by it, if he is not careful." Dragonturtle shook his head and sighed. It seemed that he had already seen the same situation many times before.

    Lu Yin smiled. "It doesn''t matter. I''m not afraid of losing my path."

    The power in his chest was already incrediblyplex and chaotic, to the point where even Mister Mu had been surprised by it. What difference would one more type of energy or power make?

    Dragonturtle retorted, "You don''t understand the consequences of being led astray."

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Qingyue. "How do you practice this aura energy?"

    Jiang Qingyue grew serious. "You should listen to Dragonturtle. If this is what my father said, there must be a reason behind it."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I''m just asking. I¡¯m not necessarily going to practice it."

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "I¡¯m going to return and talk to my father about this before I tell you anything more."

    "Alright."

    Dragonturtle tore the void open. Right before Jiang Qingyue stepped through, she turned to look back at Lu Yin. "What we call aura energy is the ability to perceive the life and breath of a universe. If these words can inspire you to start cultivating aura energy, then you¡¯ll have seeded. If not, you should give up on the idea of practicing aura energy."

    "Young man, we actually spend much less time cultivating than the people of your Fifth Maind. Our strength is a shortcut. You would be better off continuing down your own path."

    With that, both Dragonturtle and Jiang Qingyue disappeared.

    Lu Yin stared at the vacant meteorite and let out a breath as he sank deep into thought.

    The life and breath of the universe? How could he possibly cultivate aura energy with nothing more than those few words?

    Still, it did not matter. As Dragonturtle had said, every universe had its own cultivation method, which meant that there was no need for Lu Yin to learn this aura energy.

    Lu Yin looked around, but no matter how far he looked, there was no sign of the Stargazing Deck.

    Lu Yin had assumed that the only difficult part of this trip would be finding the Stargazing Deck, but that if he was able to find it, there would be no trouble returning with it. He had not expected to walk into a trap.

    The Aeternals had used the Stargazing Deck as a trap for him, which suggested that they knew about the importance of the Stargazing Decks. Finding it again would be as difficult as ascending into the heavens.

    In the past, the Celestial Frost Sect had attacked all of the Stargazing Decks simultaneously, trying to destroy them to eliminate Lu Yin¡¯s ability to harm Bai Xian''er. The multiple attacks had been a major incident, so there was nothing strange about Aeternus knowing about it. Lu Yin could only say that he had been careless. He had genuinely believed that all the Aeternals had been driven out of the Fifth Maind and were ignorant of the situation there. The truth was that they were merely very well hidden. There were too many spies and Redbacks hidden among humanity, and who could say that there were none within the Heavens Sect?

    Not knowing what else to do, Lu Yin tore through the void and returned to Aeternus Nation before arriving back in the Fifth Maind and the Heavens Sect.

    Once he arrived, he called for Destina, Skymender, and Xiao Shi. He had failed to recover the twelfth pearl, but he wanted to see if it might still be possible to use the eleven pearls that they did have to find both of the missing pearls.

    "Dao Monarch!" Lu Buzheng arrived first, which Lu Yin did not understand.

    "Why are you here, Third Uncle?"

    Lu Buzheng looked solemn. "You have been getting more and more involved with Destiny recently, which is not safe. The people of my era all feared that woman."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know, but there¡¯s no choice. I want to use her power to find our family."

    Lu Buzheng was taken aback. "Find our family with Destiny¡¯s power?"

    Lu Yin ryed all that he knew regarding Destiny¡¯s pearls, which got Lu Buzheng quite excited. "No wonder! If this is what you¡¯re attempting to do, then it is certainly worth the risk of getting closer to Destiny."

    Lu Yin was well aware of Lu Buzheng¡¯s fear of Destiny, and Lu Yin was also quite afraid of the ancient Progenitor. Even so, Lu Buzheng seemed a little too afraid of Destiny. He was someone from the ancient Heavens Sect era who had witnessed Destiny for himself, and he should understand better than anyone that Destiny was nothing more than another cultivator. "While Destiny truly does possess a frightening power, so did the God of Death and Wu Tian, who were also part of the Three Realms. Third Uncle, why are you so scared of Destiny specifically?"

    Lu Buzheng sighed. "Destiny is different from both the God of Death and Wu Tian. In our era, the God of Death suppressed the astral beastspletely. He focused almost entirely on the Fourth Maind and had nothing to do with the rest of us. As for Wu Tian, he spread his battle techniques and uncovered geniuses, which made him very popr among humans. The one who differed was Destiny."

    The man hesitated before very somberly exining, "Destiny peers down the long river of time, which is something so mysterious that most people find it difficult to even fathom it. Additionally, the rumors and legends about Destiny never painted her in a very good light. No one wants someone else to see through them or know their future, and that includes the ancestors of our Lu family.

    "Do you know why one of my summons for my Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique is Destiny? It¡¯s because Destiny wanted to see the future of our Lu family, and our ancestor wanted the means to counter her. For that reason, he did his best to help me obtain Destiny as one of my summons in hopes that I would one day be a Progenitor and be able to fight against Destiny with her own Ancestral Qi summon."

    "Third Uncle, are you saying that your fear of Destiny stems from an ancestor of our Lu family?" Lu Yin felt he understood.

    Lu Buzheng nodded. "I am only a Semi-Progenitor, and I am unable to see through Destiny. All I can do is follow the guidance of our ancestor. My only advice is to not casually antagonize Destiny."

    Lu Yin understood this, as Destiny had killed countless people by redirecting the karmic bacsh from her divinations. As soon as Lu Yin learned that Destina had used that method to protect herself during her divinations, he understood Destiny a bit better. If at all possible, he would prefer to keep his distance from such a callous person. "By the way, Third Uncle, have you heard of aura energy before?"

    Lu Buzheng looked confused. "Aura energy? What¡¯s that?"

    Lu Yin was unsurprised by this reaction. "Forget it if you don''t know."

    "Tell me a bit more. Maybe I heard our ancestor mention something back then." Lu Buzheng was interested.

    Lu Yin replied, "Some people say that universes are alive and can breathe, which they refer to as aura energy."

    Lu Buzheng eximed, "Ancestor also said something like that!"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "An ancestor from our Lu family?"

    Lu Buzheng nodded. He rubbed his chin while thinking back to what he had heard before. "I remember hearing our ancestor mention something, and it stunned me at the time. A universe is the space where we live, and it epasses everything within it. No matter how you look at things, it¡¯s impossible for a universe to be alive. Who mentioned this to you?¡±

    "No one you would know."

    Lu Buzheng grunted in response.

    "By the way, did that ancestor ever mention anything else?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "No, Ancestor only said a few words when he was upset. He might have drank too much, and I really didn¡¯t understand much of what he said. If Dao Chosen Tianyi were there, he might have understood a bit more, as the ancestor shared many things with him, though that also proved to be a bit counterproductive at times."

    Lu Yin felt a sh of envy. He wished that there was someone like that ancestor who would give him some advice. Mister Mu was unquestionably Lu Yin¡¯s master, but the man never shared much information with Lu Yin. He would need to ask about this topic the next time he saw Mister Mu.

    As Lu Yin considered the matter, he realized that this was not the first time he had heard this topic before. Someone else had made a simrment before, but who? He could not remember.[1]

    When Jiang Qingyue had introduced aura energy, Lu Yin felt as though he had heard something about the breath of the universe before.

    It was not long before Destina and the others arrived.

    Lu Yin led them to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect before asking them to try to find the two missing pearls.

    Starsibyl was also present, and she appeared quite calm.

    Lu Yin has no intention of paying any attention to her for the moment.

    Destina and Skymender did not waste any time, and they immediately started the divination with the eleven pearls in Lu Yin¡¯s possession.

    Lu Yin did not cultivate Destiny¡¯s power, which meant that he was unable to sense anything about what was happening. At this moment, he felt that it was possible that Destiny¡¯s power was not as miraculous as people believe, but instead simr to runes or voidforce energy as only those who had cultivated the energy could detect or observe it. To those unexperienced with the power, it would appear truly magical.

    However, such energies were not easy to gain ess to, and few people had cultivated Destiny¡¯s power even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Lu Yin had never considered cultivating Destiny¡¯s power, as he was already entangled enough with her. If he also cultivated her power, he feared that Destiny would directly target him.

    For those reasons, he just calmly watched on.

    1. Here''s that old reference: Chapter 1757. ?

 Chapter 2705: Visitor

    <h4>Chapter 2705: Visitor</h4>

    The eleven pearls suddenly shifted into a straight line that pointed in a single direction: towards the Sixth Maind.

    After a moment, the pearls fell to the ground and scattered all over.

    "How is it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Skymender wiped sweat from his forehead and looked over at Destina. The woman waved her hand, and the pearls flew into her grip. "There is a pearl in that direction."

    "The Sixth Maind, I know." Lu Yin stared at Destina. "I''m asking about thest pearl¡¯s location."

    Destina shook her head. "We can¡¯t find it. Using Destiny¡¯s power, it¡¯s only possible to find the closest pearl. You must either find that one or destroy it. Otherwise, that¡¯s all we¡¯ll ever be able to find through divination."

    Lu Yin had a sudden headache as he looked towards the Sixth Maind. He also wanted to find that pearl, but it was impossible for the time being. Unless he led several Progenitors to invade and take over the entire Sixth Maind, he would only ever be able to know that pearl¡¯s general direction.

    "Help me find the exact location of that pearl," Lu Yin ordered.

    Destina replied, "We can only give you the direction. If you want to find its location, you¡¯ll need to take one of the two of us there with you."

    Lu Yin put the pearls away. This situation was not improving, but there was nothing that he could do about it. Aeternus had gotten directly involved, and they were the greatest enemy of all humanity.

    Lu Yin asked them to remain in the Heavens Sect for some time, as he could not say when he might try to head into the Sixth Maind with them. However, he had to first return to the Voidforce Universe. He could not continue to ignore his responsibilities there.

    Before leaving, he stopped by Shenwu Continent to confirm that the passage was still sealed and that everything was in order. There, he also spoke with his senior brother Mu Xie about aura energy.

    The man had never heard of the power before, so he suggested that Lu Yin speak with Mister Mu about it.

    Once again, Lu Yin was helpless. If he could find his master, he would have done so long ago.

    For the time being, one of Lu Yin¡¯s greatest concerns was the Heavens Sect¡¯s various Semi-Progenitors. He had no idea which one would attempt to be a Progenitor first, but he was hoping that it would be Lu Buzheng or Cai''er.

    ...

    Lu Yin had not spent much time away from the Voidforce Universe. It was perfectly normal for cultivators to be in seclusion for thousands of years at a time.

    Still, for Lu Yin, it felt like he had been gone for a long time, as he only ever remained in seclusion for a few days at a time.

    Once he was back in the Red Zone, Lu Yin checked in on the status of Cheng Feng''s interrogation.

    He had already asked Ning Ran to stop torturing Cheng Feng for some time, as Cheng Feng had given Lu Yin the location of the Knowledge Nexus. For this reason, while Cheng Feng had been questioned, he had not suffered any torture.

    Even so, that did not mean that Cheng Feng''s life was easy. His greatest torture was the knowledge that the people from his hometown had left and that the vige no longer existed.

    Aside from Cheng Feng, Ning Ran¡¯s interrogations had resulted in the Bureau arresting several more spies while Lu Yin was in the Transcendent Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. Unfortunately, all of the spies were insignificant.

    Half a month after Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone, a man arrived who surprised Lu Yin.

    "Buread Director Gan of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau asks to visit the Red Zone."

    The announcement echoed throughout the entire region.

    Boss Guan, Skinner, and the other team captains were all startled, as this person was a very powerful expert.

    Lu Yin looked up, an unhappy expression on his face, as this was not good for him.

    Bureau Director Gan had already sent several invitations to Xuan Qi, asking the young man to assist the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau, but every request had been rejected. It was surprising for the Bureau Director to make a personal visit to the Red Zone.

    The more determined Bureau Director Gan was, the less Lu Yin wanted to go to the Arboreal Realm.

    Before Xuan Qi had joined the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau, none of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes¡¯ Bureaus had been in a good position. Lu Yin had never heard anything about Bureau Director Gan¡¯s efforts in the Arboreal Realm, but the man was pushing way too hard to have Xuan Qi visit the Arboreak Realm; there had to be something more to the matter.

    No matter what, it was impossible for Lu Yin to simply go.

    However, he also could not ignore Bureau Director Gan, so Lu Yin stepped out to personally greet the Bureau Director.

    "Junior Xuan Qi didn''t expect Senior¡¯s sudden visit, and I¡¯ve failed to wee you properly. I hope that you will forgive me." Lu Yin spoke politely as soon as he arrived at the border of the Red Zone. There, he saw a refined-looking man with a smile on his face; nothing about his bearing could be regarded as imposing. There was nothing that gave away that this man was a peak powerhouse, but Lu Yin knew that he was addressing Bureau Director Gan.

    The old man looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, you¡¯re being too polite. I was the one who arrived unannounced, and I have disturbed you."

    Lu Yin smiled back. "Senior, it is an honor for the Red Zone to host your visit. Please,e in, Senior."

    Gan smiled and nodded as he entered the Red Zone with Xuan Qi.

    Within the Red Zone, every Bureau member bowed respectfully to Bureau Director Gan. It was a familiar sight to the man, as peak powerhouses received such respect wherever they went, and none of these people meant anything to him. The only person in the Red Zone who Bureau Director Gan had any interest in was Xuan Qi.

    The two made small talk as Lu Yin led Bureau Director Gan through the Red Zone.

    The Red Zone was a ruined city leftover from a race of giants, and the entire ce had been decimated by Chen Le¡¯s attack. However, for a cultivator like Bureau Director Gan, it was possible that such a ce was morefortable than a ce with beautiful scenery.

    "The Bureau has existed for many years, and it is not much younger than the Sixverse Association itself. However, even after all these years, it has never been very effective. Brother Xuan Qi, you know the reason for this." The man suddenly looked over at Lu Yin and said, "Don''t be bothered by me calling you brother. I¡¯ve heard that Xu Heng and several others address you as such."

    Lu Yin smiled. "This junior is honored to be regarded so highly by Bureau Director Gan."

    "Haha, I''ve already called you brother, so why do you still refer to yourself as junior?" Ganughed.

    Lu Yin turned to face Gan directly and said in a serious tone, "Brother."

    "Haha, that¡¯s much better. Speaking of this matter, there are quite a few people in the Sixverse Association who refer to you as brother, and Xu Heng and I are not the only peak powerhouses to do so. How does Chen Le refer to you?" Gan suddenly asked.

    This question caused Lu Yin¡¯s mind to race, though he maintained a calm facade. "Senior Chen Le is a serious person. After asking me to take the position of Acting Bureau Director for the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Bureau branch, he has always referred to me as Xuan Qi."

    Gan nodded and essentially dropped the topic as the two men continued to move through the Red Zone. "If the dayes when humanity cannot stop Aeternus, this city will be the same future that mankind will face. Brother, do you think that future is possible?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. "Yes."

    "And that¡¯s why I came to see you. I would like you toe to the Arboreal Realm to help me. Spies are too much of a threat to humanity, and I¡¯ve honestly been quite surprised by your repeated rejections. Why? Are you disgusted by my Arboreal Realm after Mu San invited you to my universe?" Gan asked.

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Of course not. Senior Mu San was very enthusiastic, and he even invited Senior Mu Ke, which was incredibly ttering. It¡¯s just..."

    He cut off in an embarrassed manner, and Gan spoke up, clearly serious. "If you have any issues, just share them with me. If they can be resolved, I will make sure to do so."

    Lu Yin looked over at Gan. "Brother, I must be blunt with you."

    Gan nodded. "Speak freely."

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t want to get involved in any internal power struggles."

    Gan''s eyes flickered as Lu Yin continued to speak. "Initially, I refused your invitation because I am the Acting Bureau Director in three different universes and am simply too busy. However, you should know about the recent events in the Transcendent Universe. The You family invited me to help them, and yet they used and took advantage of me to use Big Sister Ran of being a spy to force Lord Wei to reveal himself so that they could fight for control of the Transcendent Universe. During this time, I was also framed by them, and I was even painted as a target for the Three Monarchs Universe. Monarch Luo still has not found out who gave him the information about Luo Qian, and he is still investigating that matter.

    "If Senior Chen Le hadn''t broken through to the Monarch realm and demonstrated his trust in me, I might still be having a difficult time with the Three Monarchs Universe. All of these issues were instigated by the You family, and yet they started off by inviting me to help their universe¡¯s Bureau in the same manner as you, Brother.

    "What has already happened is over and done with, but I don¡¯t want to experience such things for a second time. It''s extremely unpleasant to be used as another¡¯s tool."

    His face calm, Gan stepped forward to walk past Lu Yin. With his back to the young man, the Bureau Director spoke. "You believe that I also intend to use you."

    "I can see your sincerity, Brother, but I am still concerned," Lu Yin answered helplessly.

    Gan sighed. "The You family hasmitted a grave crime. They have left you, someone who is so talented at uncovering spies, wary of your own colleagues. This has only served to increase the spies¡¯ arrogance."

    Lu Yin remained silent and simply observed Gan.

    The man turned around to look at Xuan Qi with a smile. "Brother, I understand your concerns. Very well, I won''t press this matter. You can decide for yourself whether you ept my invitation or not, but just know that you will always have an open invitation to take up the role of Acting Bureau Director for my Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau branch. If there is anything that I can do to help you, just reach out to me directly. With time, you wille to see clearly the difference between my Arboreal Realm and the Transcendent Universe."

    After that, Gan left without making any further attempts to persuade Xuan Qi to ept his invitation.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. While Bureau Director Gan appeared to be sincere and might even genuinely hope to use Xuan Qi to hunt down spies in his universe, Lu Yin was extremely wary of Mr. Daheng. Gan had mentioned Chen Le, which had only served to raise Lu Yin¡¯s guard. Logically speaking, no matter how cautious or thorough Mr. Daheng might be, it should have been impossible for him to make any connection between Chen Le¡¯s matter and Xuan Qi, but Lu Yin would never lower his guard against such a powerhouse.

    Additionally, if Lu Yin did visit the Arboreal Realm as Xuan Qi, he would most likely meet Mu Ke, which would create additional problems. How was Lu Yin supposed to exin his Mask of Death to the man?

    He absolutely could not visit the Arboreal Realm.

    After Gan left, Xu Wuji arrived, only to be surprised to learn that Xuan Qi had rejected the Arboreal Realm¡¯s invitation in person as well.

    Lu Yin gave the same reason, and Xu Wuji sympathized with him. He patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "You were truly unlucky to have gone through such a thing. If Gan invites you again, I¡¯ll help you reject him. On top of that, I¡¯ll help protect you from the Cyclic Universe and the Lost n if they try to invite you to their universes."

    Lu Yin was quite grateful.

    After Lu Yin spent some time in the Red Zone, Zuo Gong arrived and delivered a message that Bai Qian was asking Xuan Qi to help gather resources from the Voidforce Universe.

    In the past, He Ran had been the one trying to purchase resources, and she had asked Xuan Qi to use his connections with the Cloudview, the Xu Yang, and the Xu Yin ns to do so. At this time, Bai Qian was trying to do the same thing, and it was clear that these resources were needed for Zi Jing''s research.

    Lu Yin agreed immediately.

    Zi Jing''s research was very important, and Lu Yin was hoping that she would seed. While it would benefit Lord Wei, Lu Yin would receive the same benefits.

    Lord Wei had survived the You family¡¯s machinations, but he had been greatly weakened in the process. Thus, Lu Yin was now considering targeting the Transcendent Universe.

    Unfortunately, he could not get a firm grasp of Lord Wei¡¯s strength. The man had already intimidated Sovereign Shao Yin, which suggested that Lord Wei was as strong as the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns. That was a level of power that Lu Yin could not fully understand.

    At the moment, Lord Wei and Monarch Luo were the two people that Lu Yin wanted to understand the most. There was almost no information avable on Lord Wei, while there was too much information on Monarch Luo. However, that information contained many contradictions.

    One day, Chen Le sent someone to deliver a message to Xuan Qi, asking for his presence in the Three Monarchs Universe; there were spies that needed to be captured and interrogated.

    Lu Yin understood that Chen Le wanted to speak with him about something, so he quickly made his way to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Lord Wei already suspects me." Chen Le got straight to the point as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. He was not ready to deal with Lord Wei yet, let alone be exposed to the Sixverse Association. "What happened?"

    Chen Le exined the matter, and Lu Yin realized that everything stemmed from when he had attacked the hidden research facility that had once been the site of the Energy Research Group¡¯s efforts.

    Very few people had been informed of where Zi Jing and the rest of the research team had been based, and the people from the Cloudflow Universe had been under constant surveince. The Transcendent Universe most likely knew everyone that those people had been in touch with, as well as how strong they were.

    The people of the Cloudflow Universe werepletely incapable of breaking through the entire research facility and freeing Cloudflow, and their weakness meant that the only other possible culprits were someone from the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Mo Courtyard, someone from the You family, or Aeternus.

 Chapter 2706: Preparing To Take Action

    <h4>Chapter 2706: Preparing To Take Action</h4>

    Lord Wei had already confirmed that the You family had not freed Cloudflow, and while he had not initially suspected anyone from the Three Monarchs Universe due to their cooperation with He Ran, in the end, Monarch Luo had actually been working with the You family. This naturally caused Lord Wei to suspect Monarch Luo, and he even met with Monarch Luo in person.

    Monarch Luo had denied doing anything to the Energy Research Group or any research facility. The only people from the Three Monarchs Universe who had known about the location of that hidden research facility were Monarch Luo and the leader of the Mo Courtyard: Chen Le.

    As a Monarch, Chen Le was a peak powerhouse who was capable of breaking into the hidden research facility. Additionally, when Lord Wei had been fighting against the You family, someone had broken into the senior researcher¡¯s personalb and stolen a ck energy converter. That was another attack that could have only been made by a peak powerhouse.

    "Monarch Luo assured Lord Wei that I had nothing to do with either attack, but it¡¯s clear that Lord Wei is still suspicious of me," Chen Le said.

    Lu Yin started thinking. Lord Wei did not truly care about the research facility that had been attacked; he might not even care that Cloudflow had escaped and that a ck energy converter had been stolen. Rather, Lord Wei was most likely concerned about how everything had happened, including how Xiao Hai had disappeared. Lord Wei was no fool, and he was likely able to infer a great deal about what had happened.

    The members of the You family were all highly intelligent, but Lord Wei was just as smart.

    With such a person suspicious of him, it made sense for Chen Le to be worried.

    "If you aren¡¯t guilty, then just let him investigate," Lu Yin suggested.

    Chen Le frowned. "I''m afraid that he¡¯ll learn about the Liberation Pce."

    That caused Lu Yin''s heart to sink. While it was true that Chen Le had not attacked the Transcendent Universe, his connection to the Liberation Pce was not something that could stay hidden after any sort of real investigation. As soon as Lord Wei decided to investigate Chen Le, he would undoubtedly find the connection to the Liberation Pce, as well as the attack on the Bai n.

    Monarch Luo had not bothered to look into anything, but Lord Wei was different, as he was already suspicious of Chen Le.

    As soon as Chen Le¡¯s connection to the Liberation Pce was discovered, Xuan Qi would have no ce to stay in the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. No n was perfect, no matter how much effort was put into it. ws would always appear.

    He had always known that his activities in the Sixverse Association would eventually be discovered and that Xuan Qi would be connected to Lu Yin, but he had wanted some more time.

    At the very least, it should be after he had dealt with the Three Monarchs Universe or the Transcendent Universe.

    Chen Le did not disturb Lu Yin. The Monarch also had a headache, as he was unexpectedly and suddenly being targeted by Lord Wei.

    Only the bad timing of Chen Le¡¯s breakthrough could be med. If he were still a Demi-Monarch, Lord Wei would not have any suspicions, as a Demi-Monarch was incapable of what had happened in the Transcendent Universe.

    The Monarch nced at Lu Yin with a sudden coldness in his eyes. This boy''s wanton behavior had driven Chen Le to despair.

    Lu Yin noticed the nce and frowned. "You''re ming me."

    Chen Le stated in a cold voice, "You and I should have taken everything into ount when we first decided to work together. If I had known that this would happen, I would have never given you that location."

    Lu Yin stared at Chen Le. "Because of you, I¡¯m also being targeted by the Liberation Pce. If not for our cooperation, I wouldn''t have asked my senior brother to help you break through. There¡¯s a price to pay for any cooperation."

    "You¡¯re being targeted by the Liberation Pce?" Chen Le was taken aback.

    Lu Yin exined, "I''m not entirely sure. I¡¯ve received multiple invitations from the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau branch, and Bureau Director Gan even made a personal visit to see me in the Red Zone. I can¡¯t say for sure whether Mr. Daheng is connected to any of it."

    Chen Le was rather irritated. He was being targeted by both Lord Wei and the Liberation Pce, and if either he or Lu Yin made the slightest mistake, Chen Le would be exposed. If that happened, where would he be able to go?

    Even if he was not hunted down due to his status as a peak powerhouse, at the very least, his reputation would bepletely destroyed.

    The megaverse was massive, but even the most powerful people could only see the Sixverse Association and its associated parallel universe. If Chen Le was driven from there, what else was there?

    "In that case, what should we do now?" Chen Le felt rather confused. He was not afraid, but just very nervous.

    Lu Yin spent some time thinking about the situation. "Right now, Lord Wei is merely watching you as he hasn¡¯t been able to confirm if anything is really connected to you. On top of that, you truly don¡¯t have anything to do with what he¡¯s looking into, so I¡¯m going to go create some trouble for Lord Wei."

    "What are you going to do?" Chen Le asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry about it, you won''t be exposed. Your status and position here are going to be very useful as I work against the Three Monarchs Universe. Have you forgotten that I¡¯m targeting the Three Monarchs Universe? Neither Monarch Luo nor Wei Lord are able to stop me."

    Chen Le exhaled. "There¡¯s nothing I can do."

    Lu Yin nodded. "True, you can¡¯t do anything. Since Lord Wei is watching you, I¡¯m quite sure that he has some way to track your whereabouts. It might be something that not even Monarch Luo can detect or see through, so don''t do anything at all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring out Cloudflow. It¡¯s time for him to get some revenge.¡±

    Chen Le stared at Lu Yin. He had not known about the connection between Lu Yin and Cloudflow, but it was clear that Cloudflow had also fallen under Lu Yin¡¯s control.

    Regardless of anything else, Cloudflow was still a peak powerhouse. Even if he had been defeated and was one of the weakest people at his level, that did not change that Cloudflow was a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s power base was constantly rising, and it seemed quite likely that the Heavens Sect had already surpassed the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Thinking about this, Chen Le felt a bit better.

    "I want to remind you about something. Will you listen?" Chen Le¡¯s eyes locked onto Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back at the man.

    "You can target the Three Monarchs Universe, but you must never even think about trying to go after the Sixverse Association," Chen Le stated.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Don''t worry, I''m not that stupid. All I want is to rece the Three Monarchs Universe as a member of the Sixverse Association."

    Chen Le nodded. "Good."

    The Monarch was ignorant of Lu Yin¡¯s conflict with the Sixverse Association, and he also knew nothing about the fact that the Lu family had been exiled by the Cyclic Universe. The man had only just be a peak powerhouse, and he had spent all of his time in the Three Monarchs Universe. He knew nothing about such matters.

    If Chen Le had known of such things in the past, he would have never cooperated with Lu Yin, even if it had cost him his life.

    For people like Chen Le who had been born within the Sixverse Association, the organization was a true monster. It was impossible for them to imagine even a peak powerhouse bing the enemy of the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin left and returned to Aeternus Nation before making his way to the Heavens Sect. He sought out Master Shan and took back the ck energy converter from the man before going to find Cloudflow. "It''s time to move. I¡¯m giving you a chance to get revenge on the Transcendent Universe."

    Cloudflow¡¯s head rose. His crippled limbs were gradually recovering, and the moment he heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, excitement filled the older man¡¯s eyes, concealing an unforgettable hatred. "Thank you, Dao Monarch."

    ...

    The Cloudflow Universe was exactly the same as when Lu Yin hadst visited it. It was a parallel universe that had been conquered by the Transcendent Universe, and it was also one of the frontlines in the war against Aeternus. It was the permanent site for one of the threergest bestowal art carriers in existence.

    The constant fighting, blood, and death that filled the universe had long left the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe numb.

    As a beam of white light shot out and pierced a Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king, the battlefield slowly ground to a halt.

    Battles were constantly being fought in the Cloudflow Universe, but none of them were particrlyrge, and it was unusual for any true experts to participate.

    Qiu Zhan stood at the center of the bestowal art carrier. His expression was stern as he stared out at the stars with heavy eyes.

    Behind him was a blonde woman whose hair covered her eyes. She watched as the fighting died down and voiced her irritation. "Why did you activate the carrier? Lord Wei has asked that more of the Cloudflow Universe cultivators be used up."

    Qiu Zhan coldly replied, "I know what I¡¯m doing."

    The woman stared at him and clearly wanted to say something, but she refrained from doing so.

    She had been sent by Lord Wei to keep an eye on this particr battlefield. Cloudflow had disappeared, and he would most likely return to the Cloudflow Universe at some point in time. The Transcendent Universe had been searching for Cloudflow, but it was extremely difficult to track peak powerhouses. The best method at their disposal was to send out more of Cloudflow¡¯s people to die while constantly capturing more and more of them. The idea was to force Cloudflow to take action.

    To the Transcendent Universe, cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe were not worth much, and their greatest value was in drawing out Cloudflow.

    Qiu Zhan was fully aware of Lord Wei¡¯s intentions, but Qiu Zhan was themander of this particr battlefield, and his goal was to defeat the enemy, not to send his own people to their deaths. Even if they were from the Cloudflow Universe, as long as they fought under hismand, they were considered his people who fought to defeat the Aeternals. Qiu Zhan would not waste those lives.

    The woman turned around and walked away.

    Themander frowned; was she going to make another report to Lord Wei? Qiu Zhan was not certain how much longer he would remain in charge of the battlefield.

    Lu Yin and Cloudflow appeared in a distant location, and Cloudflow immediately grew excited when he looked around at the familiar Cloudflow Universe. This was his universe, and returning home had been a luxury even in his dreams.

    "Right now, we¡¯re only here to make some trouble for the leader of the Transcendent Universe, so I want you to take away some of the captives from your universe. We aren¡¯t anywhere close to strong enough to help you get your universe back, but you should understand how powerful the Transcendent Universe is. If you don¡¯t want to be recaptured, then given our current strength, it would be best if you just listen to me," Lu Yin warned.

    Cloudflow took a deep breath and then suppressed his excitement. "Don''t worry, I understand."

    The two men soon caught sight of the bestowal art carrier.

    As they approached, Lu Yin stared at the distant monstrosity. Thest time he had seen it, he had only taken A-mei away, but this time, he intended to take all of the people from the Cloudflow Universe away in order to trouble Lord Wei a bit.

    Taking these people would undoubtedly anger Lord Wei, but so what? Cloudflow''s disappearance had already infuriated the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and capturing these people would not make that any worse.

    Lu Yin and Cloudflow quickly snuck onto the bestowal art carrier. Lu Yin had previously infiltrated the carrier with the help of You family, and while they had since revoked his authorization, no one knew that he was fully capable of sneaking onto it without any assistance.

    Lu Yin did not want to attract Qiu Zhan''s attention, as the situation would quickly turn tricky if a peak powerhouse got involved.

    Lu Yin had explored this particr bestowal art carrier several times already, so it was easy for him to find the people from the Cloudflow Universe, as that was the ce where he had taken A-mei from.

    However, when the two men arrived, they discovered that not a single person from the Cloudflow Universe was present. They had been moved elsewhere.

    "We should move further in. They¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll try to save my people," Cloudflow said with a gloomy expression.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to lead Cloudflow around the carrier. However, once they started moving in a particr direction, Lu Yin froze. "We can''t go that way. There¡¯s a hyper-analysis mode up ahead."

    "That¡¯s where they should be," Cloudflow replied. He had also detected the hyper-analysis mode.

    The most important and sensitive locations of the bestowal art carrier were constantly under hyper-analysis mode, and it made sense that the Transcendent Universe would not want anyone to know where the people from the Cloudflow Universe were being kept.

    It was no challenge to break the hyper-analysis mode, but that would instantly attract Qiu Zhan¡¯s attention.

    "We can just wait for the fighting to restart to take them," Cloudflow said.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The size of the battle determines how many of your people they send out. There¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll get all of them."

    After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin decided not to rush things. When the fighting started up again, he would find a way to take advantage of the corpse kings¡¯ assault to destroy the hyper-analysis mode. If that did not work, then he could only use the brute-force method, though he would still need to determine the location of their targets first.

    At this moment, a group of people emerged from the area that was under the hyper-analysis mode¡¯s surveince. They were being led by a woman with long blonde hair that hung over her eyes. Her face and demeanor were both simrly cold, and a group of more than a dozen women from the Cloudflow Universe followed behind her. Everyst one of the women was strikingly beautiful.

    Lu Yin watched them, and a vague suspicion appeared in his mind.

    As for Cloudflow, killing intent zed in his eyes.

    "Don''t get worked up. We¡¯re just going to follow them and take a look at things. We can get a location from these people. Even if that doesn¡¯t work, we can just take them all," Lu Yin said.

    Cloudflow nodded, and the two men followed the women.

 Chapter 2707: The Merchant Exchange

    <h4>Chapter 2707: The Merchant Exchange</h4>

    The Transcendent Universe woman and her group proceeded to spend nearly half an hour walking across the massive bestowal art carrier. The woman was not in any hurry, and she just strolled along, taking various twists and turns as she went along, as though avoiding something. Finally, they arrived at what should be the control center of the carrier.

    Lu Yin frowned. He had expected the women from the Cloudflow Universe to be delivered to some high-ranking person from the Transcendent Universe. For so many beautiful women to be brought together, the intention had seemed clear.

    However, Lu Yin was currently reevaluating his assumption. This did not look like a ce for such activities, and it was even possible to see distant parts of the bestowal art carrier moving as the massive construct continued to operate.

    There was something odd about the entire situation, especially considering how the woman seemed to be avoiding something on her way to this location, which only increased the oddity of the situation.

    Lu Yin and Cloudflow were not in a hurry, so they simply waited and watched.

    The following day, the fighting broke out again, but Lu Yin and Cloudflow did not leave. They remained where they were and watched the women.

    The blonde woman also did not leave. She appeared to bemunicating with someone through the lens that covered one of her eyes.

    They continued to wait for another two days.

    During these two days, one of the women from the Cloudflow Universe tried to escape, only to be easily subdued by the blond woman. However, the would-be escapee was not struck hard. "If you dare to try to escape again, I will ughter a hundred people from Cloudflow Universe as your punishment."

    When the blonde hair moved aside to reveal the woman¡¯s face, there was a fierce expression as she red at the women from the Cloudflow Universe with eyes that overflowed with killing intent. Her re caused the women¡¯s hearts to tremble, and none of them dared to try to escape again.

    Another two days passed, and finally, a smile appeared on the blonde woman¡¯s face. "He¡¯s finally here."

    Lu Yin and Cloudflow nced at each other and calmed themselves down.

    Soon, they saw two figures enter the area.

    The blonde woman had led the women to a dimly lit location that was surrounded by the carrier¡¯s moving parts that made rumbling noises. It was a ce that was rarely visited by people, and it was also difficult to find.

    The blonde woman¡¯s smile grew when she saw who was approaching, and her fierce re softened in an odd manner. "Mr. Zhu, I¡¯ve waited a long time for you."

    One of the two people who had arrived was a middle-aged man in an outfit in the style of the Transcendent Universe: a blue and whitebat uniform. However, the uniform looked out of ce on the man, as his shrewd eyes gave off the impression of a businessman, rather than a soldier. Behind the man was an arrogant young man. The moment the young man arrived, he stared at the women from the Cloudflow Universe with heated eyes.

    "I''m truly sorry, but I was dyed," Mr. Zhu apologized.

    The woman looked at the young man. "And who is this?"

    The young man finally looked at the blonde woman and answered, "Zhu Ye."

    The woman was taken aback. "The young master of the Zhu Mercantile Company?"

    Zhu Ye was the heir to arge familypany.

    Mr. Zhu affirmed the youth¡¯s identity. "He is the young master of my Zhu Mercantile Company."

    The blonde woman¡¯s smile gained even greater enthusiasm. "So it¡¯s Young Master Zhu. I didn''t expect you toe in person for a small demi-human trade."

    Mr. Zhu smiled. "Naturally so. I simply happened to bump into the young master on my way here. He was curious about this transaction, and so he decided to apany me. You don¡¯t have to take his presence to heart."

    The woman continued to smile. "How could I do that? It''s my honor to have the young master be here in person to check the quality of the merchandise. Shall we begin?"

    Mr. Zhu nodded and moved next to the women from the Cloudflow Universe.

    Zhu Ye was already there, as he had approached one of the women, reaching out to raise her chin.

    She angrily pulled her head away.

    Zhu Ye sneered, and he pped the woman to the floor. Blood trickled from her mouth.

    The other women from the Cloudflow Universe started angrily cursing.

    Mr. Zhu smiled casually and ignored thements. After all, he did not even see these women as human beings.

    The blonde woman walked over to Mr. Zhu''s side. "Why is Young Master Zhu really here? Is this really nothing more than a matter of convenience?"

    Mr. Zhu quietly replied, "He did indeed want to tag along, but he is currently making a trip that will make my Zhu family extremely wealthy."

    The woman looked rather puzzled.

    Mr. Zhu could not hold back a smile as he proudly stated, "Our young master was epted into the Merchant Exchange."

    The woman''s expression changed drastically, showing her shock. "Has Young Master Zhu passed the Merchant Exchange¡¯s entrance examination? Is this really true?"

    A short distance up ahead, Zhu Ye overheard the conversation, and his smile grew more and more pronounced and arrogant. He grabbed the woman from the Cloudflow Universe again, and this time, he pulled her closer. "The quality of this batch isn¡¯t bad, especially the horns on this one¡¯s forehead. These are quite interesting."

    Mr. Zhuughed. "The young master likes them, so we¡¯ll take them all. We won¡¯t even sell them¡ªwe¡¯ll just gift them to the young master in congrattions."

    The woman¡¯s smile instantly grewrger, and she said, "If Young Master Zhu likes them, I¡¯m happy to give them to him as gifts.¡±

    Mr. Zhu was surprised. "It¡¯s unlike you to be so generous."

    The blonde woman walked closer to Zhu Ye and almost leaned against him. "Not everyone has the opportunity to get closer to the Merchant Exchange. Don¡¯t you think so, Young Master Zhu?"

    This reason was no surprise to Mr. Zhu. Their young master had been epted into the Merchant Exchange, which was something that many people throughout the Sixverse Association could only dream about. This opportunity could elevate the Zhu Mercantile Company to new heights, and when word of the matter spread, even rivalpanies would be frightened. Mr. Zhu grew even prouder of the matter as he thought of this.

    Zhu Yeughed and wrapped an arm around the woman''s waist. "I don¡¯t only want these women. You¡¯re pretty good yourself."

    He then bent his head down and kissed the woman.

    She acted shy, her earlier coldness and fiercenesspletely gone by now.

    Lu Yin could not tolerate the scene any longer, so he walked out. "You two, there are other people around. Please restrain yourselves."

    The three people were badly startled by his sudden presence, and they all stared at Lu Yin.

    Mr. Zhu turned to look at the blonde woman. "Who is this?"

    The woman was equally confused, and she shot a fierce re at Lu Yin. "Who are you? I left orders that no one was to approach this ce! You¡¯re asking to die."

    Zhu Ye was surprised, but unfazed by the arrival of an unknown person. He continued to observe the women from the Cloudflow Universe, acting as though Lu Yin was nothing more than an ant. However, someone else suddenly appeared in front of the young man: Cloudflow.

    Zhu Ye¡¯s eyebrows rose. There was no pressure or presence from Cloudflow to indicate a peak powerhouse, which meant that no one but Lu Yin had any idea of the man¡¯s true power. "Now another one is here? You are really not handling your business very well at all."

    Mr. Zhu stared at the blonde woman. "Who are they?"

    The woman was still ring at Lu Yin, and the killing intent in her eyes was mounting. She had just been fawning over Young Master Zhu, only to have these two menpletely ruin the mood.

    Lu Yin nced at the woman, and then at Mr. Zhu. "I really didn''t expect to find this sort of business taking ce at the front of the battlefield. You carefully chose this ce and pointedly avoided certain areas on your way here, which says that Qiu Zhan knows nothing about this."

    The woman''s eyes grew cold, and her hand rose in Lu Yin¡¯s direction before quickly releasing a beam of light.

    Neither Lu Yin nor Cloudflow had released the slightest hint of their power, so the woman had no idea that she was attacking an extremely powerful person. This was also why she had taken the initiative to attack. If she had known Lu Yin¡¯s strength, she would not have dared to attack, even if she had been beaten to death.

    She used a red energy converter, which was an impressive level of power that allowed her to use attacks equivalent to a peak Envoy¡¯s. Given that only white and ck energy converters were more powerful than the woman¡¯susing, she expected to see Lu Yin die from a single attack.

    However, the red beam suddenly froze, as what looked like clouds appeared around it. At the same time, the suffocating pressure of a peak powerhouse crashed down onto everyone present.

    It felt like they were being crushed by the sky.

    The blonde woman, Mr. Zhu, and Zhu Ye all felt as though the sky was pressing down on them and recing the ground below. It was such a shocking development that they nearly copsed.

    Zhu Ye stared up at Cloudflow who seemed to rise high into the sky before his eyes, and the young man turned pale with horror. "An expert?"

    The woman could not believe her eyes. How could a peak powerhouse have appeared out of nowhere in this ce?

    <i>Wait...</i> The woman stared at Cloudflow. "You¡¯re Cloudflow!"

    "Lord Cloudflow!" a woman from Cloudflow Universe shouted excitedly.

    "Lord Cloudflow!"

    ...

    Cloudflow took a deep breath as he looked at the women. "I¡¯m sorry that I''m sote."

    Lu Yin had not expected Cloudflow to actually apologize to the women. He was a powerhouse equal to a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin had never seen a peak powerhouse apologize to people who wereparatively as weak as ants. This single action of Cloudflow''s hadpletely changed Lu Yin''s impression of the man. It instantly reminded Lu Yin of the Progenitor of Bloodlines and the Rune Progenitor. Both of those men had prioritized protecting mankind and had been willing to sacrifice themselves in the fight against Aeternus.

    As far as such men were concerned, they felt guilty towards anyone whom they had not been able to save.

    This guilt was triggered by their sense of responsibility and righteousness.

    Lu Yin finally understood why everyone from the Cloudflow Universe had been so desperate to save Cloudflow. His status in his people¡¯s hearts was no different from the Progenitor of Bloodlines in the hearts of the people of the Sixth Maind. Cloudflow was his people¡¯s hope of living.

    Mr. Zhu trembled as he dropped to his knees. It was the only posture that he could maintain while under the pressure of a peak powerhouse. The Zhu Mercantile Company was massive, but they were nowhere nearrge enough for Mr. Zhu to have any experience interacting with such an expert.

    As for the blonde woman, she had copsed to the floor. She had never dreamed that Cloudflow himself would appear before her. She had been sent to the Cloudflow Universe to pressure Qiu Zhan into throwing more of the demi-humans away to die in the fight against Aeternus in order to force Cloudflow to reveal himself. Cloudflow had indeed appeared, but he had done so in the ce and time where the woman was most vulnerable.

    It was over. This was the end.

    Lu Yin observed Zhu Ye. While both Mr. Zhu and the blonde woman had given in to despair, despite Zhu Ye¡¯s obvious panic, he appeared to possess some level of confidence. Even so, it was only enough to keep him from copsing to his knees.

    Cloudflow also looked at Zhu Ye. "On your knees."

    Zhu Ye quivered, and he was ovee with enough fear that he nearly copsed, but he still stubbornly held out. "You- you can''t do anything to me."

    Cloudflow''s eyes grew cold. "Why not?"

    Zhu Ye''s teeth chattered so badly that he struggled to speak. "I- I am part of the Merchant Exchange."

    Cloudflow nced over at Lu Yin, whose eyes narrowed. He hade across the name of Merchant Exchange when Possessing a few different people from the Sixverse Association, but there had only been some fleeting mentions, so he did not know anything about it. "This Merchant Exchange is something that makes you fearless before a peak powerhouse. Why?"

    Zhu Ye answered shakingly, "No one in the Sixverse Association dares to act against the Merchant Exchange. They never interfere in the affairs of the Sixverse Association, but you absolutely should not kill me."

    "Did the Merchant Exchange ask you to buy these demi-humans?" Cloudflow asked in a low voice.

    Zhu Ye gulped. "No one from the Merchant Exchange wille after you. I can act as though I never even saw you. Whatever you do will have nothing to do with me."

    "Let''s eliminate the threat entirely," Lu Yin said.

    Zhu Ye was startled. "You can''t kill me! I¡¯m a member of the Merchant Exchange!"

    Cloudflow was not at all intimidated by the name. Even if this young man belonged to the Great Sovereign himself, his actions had already dug his grave for him.

    Mr. Zhu and the woman were still kneeling on the floor, neither one daring to make any sound at all. It was the appropriate attitude to show to a peak powerhouse.

    Cloudflow waved a hand to eliminate Zhu Ye.

    However, the action caused no damage to the young man. Instead, a burst of light that had the appearance of a tall shield surrounded his body,pletely enveloping him. Cloudflow¡¯s attack passed through the shield without interacting with the man or anything inside of it.

    Cloudflow was caught off guard, and he attacked again, but the exact same thing repeated. He waspletely unable to harm Zhu Ye at all.

    Zhu Ye was terrified, as he had expected to die to Cloudflow¡¯s attacks. It was only after the young man saw the two attacks pass by him that he remembered what the leader had said to him when he had been epted into the Merchant Exchange. "The Merchant Exchange does not make enemies, but we are not afraid of them, because it¡¯s very difficult to kill our members."

    It was difficult for even a peak powerhouse to kill someone from the Merchant Exchange. While Zhu Ye had heard this before, he had assumed that it was simply because of the threat that the Merchant Exchange posed. Only after Cloudflow attacked did Zhu Ye understand that he had been given something that allowed him topletely ignore a peak powerhouse. This had to be an invaluable power vessel.

    This realization made Zhu Ye incredibly excited.

    At this moment, Cloudflow released his third attack. This time, he released an attack that was intended to deal with one of his peers, but even then, he was unable to touch Zhu Ye.

 Chapter 2708: Weird Eye

    Chapter 2708: Weird Eye

    Cloudflow was shocked by what he was seeing, as were Mr. Zhu and the blonde woman. It was only at this time that they understood why people tried so hard to join the Merchant Exchange. After joining, their status wouldpletely transform, and clearly, they were even able to ignore peak powerhouses.

    "Impossible." Cloudflow was stunned. How could a mere ant possibly ignore his attacks?

    Zhu Yeughed wildly. "So what if you are a powerhouse? Cloudflow, right? I will remember you! If you dare to attack the Merchant Exchange, the Merchant Exchange will never let you go! Just wait for me."

    The young man turned to leave. He still had not adjusted to the realization that he had a power vessel that allowed him to ignore the attacks of even a peak powerhouse, but the realization was slowly settling in and changing his entire demeanor.

    It was as if an ordinary person had suddenly be the emperor. It was difficult to instantly adapt to such a change, and Zhu Ye simply wanted to leave and get away.

    "Young Master, take me with you! Young Master!" Mr. Zhu begged.

    The blonde woman also started begging. "Master Zhu, please take me with you! Please!"

    Zhu Ye had no desire to rescue either of the two people, though he did direct a cold re at the woman. "This is all your fault, you trash."

    He then made to tear through the void and leave.

    However, a hand passed through his shield to grab hold of Zhu Ye''s shoulder.

    The young mans body wentpletely stiff, and the cold arrogance that had covered his face faded away. He slowly turned his head to see a face smiling at him sarcastically, and shock filled his eyes.

    <em>Is this </em>that<em> person?</em>

    Lu Yin had his hand on Zhu Ye''s shoulder and was watching in amusement as the mans expression shifted from happiness and arrogance to fear and despair. "Did I say that you could leave?"

    Zhu Ye grew sluggish. This man was touching him, and Zhu Ye actually had to touch himself in disbelief.

    He looked at the shield, but it was still there. Despite that, this persons hand had simply passed through the shield to grab Zhu Yes shoulder. How was this possible?

    "You- you..." Zhu Ye spurted out weakly.

    Lu Yinughed and looked at the shield in surprise. "What an impressive treasure. This isnt restricted by space, but is an improved version of a pocket space. Aside from that big tree, I''ve never seen anything else that can move through space in this manner."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he looked around. After a moment, his eyes fell upon Zhu Ye''s eyebrows. "There it is."

    He then reached out and pointed a finger at Zhu Ye''s eyebrows. There was a crack, but no blood leaked out. Instead, only a single eye fell from the young mans brow. He stared at Lu Yin in terror, like an abandoned pet.

    Zhu Ye retreated a few steps as the shield slowly disappeared from around his body. He copsed to the floor, looking as though he had been cast from heaven to hell.

    Lu Yin grabbed the eye. "What is this?"

    It was indeed an eye, but one that had be an independent, separate lifeform. Tentacles hung down from it.

    When Lu Yin grabbed it, the eye tried to escape by wriggling its tentacles, but given Lu Yin''s vision, it was impossible for the eye to escape.

    It was able to move through space, just like the big tree, but so was Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin reached out and plucked the eye from Zhu Yes forehead, Cloudflow and the others were unable to see anything at all, as the eye was in a differentyer of space.

    Suchyers of space might be beyond the perception abilities of even Progenitors.

    Everyone only saw that the shield that had been protecting Zhu Ye disappear.

    This was not the time to study the eye. Lu Yin kept a tight hold on it as he looked back at Zhu Ye. Just as Lu Yin was about to say something, his head suddenly turned. There was a powerful individual approaching the bestowal art carrier: a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Fighting had resumed in the Cloudflow Universe, and a Progenitor-level corpse king had appeared to attack the carrier. One of its attacks happened to be aimed at precisely where Lu Yin and the others were standing.

    The attack tore through the carrier, and a terrifying power passed by in front of Lu Yin. Not only did this attack tear open the bestowal art carrier, but it also released a hint of Cloudflows power outside of the small area.

    Just as Qiu Zhan was about to make his way into the space outside of the carrier, he was alerted to the presence of a powerhouse within the bestowal art carrier. He nced at the reading and saw that this hidden powerhouse had a power level of 5.6 million.

    Had a powerful corpse king forced their way into the carrier itself?

    Qiu Zhan did not hesitate to use his ck energy converter as he raced over.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Weve been noticed. Lets go."

    Cloudflow casually eliminated Zhu Ye and the other two, while Lu Yin ced the women from the Cloudflow Universe into a Zenith Mountain. "Qiu Zhans on his way."

    As soon as he finished speaking, a st of ck energy arrived.

    Cloudflow lifted his head. "Qiu Zhan, its been a long time."

    The moment that Qiu Zhan heard Cloudflow''s voice, the mans pupils shrank sharply. "It''s you!"

    There was another deafening explosion as more of the carrier was destroyed. Qiu Zhan shouted, "Use the Bestowal Art! Deal with the corpse king with an energy converter!"

    Then, themander raced straight for Cloudflow. "Have you surrendered yourself to Aeternus?

    Cloudflow said nothing to defend himself. Coincidentally, he had been discovered during an Aeternus attack that was being led by an extremely powerful corpse king. Such a thing had not happened in many years, and no one would believe him even if he denied that he had been rescued by the Aeternals.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin rushed into the area that was protected by the hyper-analysis mode, which instantly sounded an rm across the entire bestowal art carrier.

    Qiu Zhan looked around; was there another attacker as well?

    "Qiu Zhan, it''s time to collect on an old debt!" Cloudflow shouted. At the same time, cloud constructs shot away from him, tearing through the carrier in every direction. More and more of the bestowal art carrier was broken as many tforms started to go dark. As that happened, more and more of the energy converters that were attacking from the carrier went quiet.

    Qiu Zhan was beyond furious. "Cloudflow, you actually turned to the Aeternals?!"

    From where Lu Yin was, he quickly sent a message to Cloudflow, asking the man to notpletely destroy the bestowal art carrier. Aeternus was attacking, and if the carrier was destroyed, it was very likely that the Aeternals would seizeplete control of the Cloudflow Universe.

    Cloudflow came to his senses with a start. He had forgotten about the bigger picture.

    However, Cloudflow''s merciless attack on the carrier had already convinced Qiu Zhan that the man had joined Aeternus. If not for that, even if the Transcendent Universe was an enemy of the Cloudflow Universe, Cloudflow should not try to destroy a bestowal art carrier, as that would only help the Aeternals.

    Cloudflow was beyond enraged, and he had attacked without any real thought. After being reminded by Lu Yin, Cloudflow continued to rampage, but while his attacks looked terrible, they did not cause much real damage. His only purpose was to keep Qiu Zhan distracted.

    This allowed Lu Yin to find the rest of the people from the Cloudflow Universe.

    As Lu Yin moved along, he was attacked by various white energy converters as people tried to kill Lu Yin, but all such attacks were brushed aside. Lu Yin made a point to not kill any of the attackers. After all, regardless of the enmity between the Cloudflow Universe and the Transcendent Universe, there was no need to help Aeternus take over the Cloudflow Universe.

    The Aeternals were enemies of both the Cloudflow Universe and the Transcendent Universe, but only by pitting two enemies against each was it possible to gain some breathing room. Otherwise, things would only get worse and worse for the Cloudflow Universe.

    Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain, and A-mei emerged from it. "Everyone, quickly follow me! Lord Cloudflow hase to save you!"

    A-mei was highly respected by her people and also quite famous. As soon as people heard her, they did not hesitate at all and followed her into the Zenith Mountain.

    No one even considered the possibility of a trap, as nothing could be worse than remaining as the Transcendent Universes captives.

    The carrier shook again, and Lu Yin looked out through a crack. The Progenitor-level corpse king had been trapped by a shrinking attack from an energy converter. This was the same ck beam that Lu Yin had witnessed when the corpse king that had identified itself as Nie had attacked.

    Lu Yin knew that they could not stall any longer, as it was important to give Qiu Zhan the freedom to deal with the Progenitor-level corpse king. If not, the bestowal art carrier would bepletely destroyed.

    Lu Yin turned to Qiu Zhan and attacked the man with the ck energy converter.

    Themander was startled, and he quickly retreated. "Who is it?"

    Lu Yin met back up with Cloudflow, though Lu Yin kept his face hidden. "We can''t dally any more, or else Lord Wei will arrive and prevent us from leaving."

    The two tore through the void and fled.

    Qiu Zhan wanted to stop them, but the powerful corpse king was still just outside the bestowal art carrier. The man could not deal with three opponents at the same time, so he could only watch as two enemies left the battlefield.

    However, this also meant that Qiu Zhan was free, and he directed his full strength to fighting back the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    The stalemate did notst long, as Lord Weis arrival ended the battle.

    The moment Lord Wei arrived, he instantly stopped the corpse king with his Thought Manifestation, and then the bestowal art carrier fired a beam of ck light that sted the corpse king into the distance. Lord Wei wanted to continue attacking, but the red color of divine energy appeared on the surface of the corpse kings body, and the sight of divine energy froze Lord Wei in ce.

    He could take out Progenitor-level corpse kings, but any corpse king that could use divine energy would be a terrible opponent.

    This was also why Lord Wei and the other rulers of the member universes of the Sixverse Association did not fight on the frontlines. Whenever they took action, Aeternus would respond ordingly.

    If the Sixverse Associationunched an all out assault, they would be able to take out many of the Aeternals forces through surprise, but Aeternus remained a mysterious abyss, and no one wanted to be cannon fodder.

    Lord Wei watched helplessly as the corpse king retreated. As for the forces of Aeternus that stayed behind, Thought Manifestation immediately and easily eliminated all of them.

    Qiu Zhan approached Lord Wei and offered a respectful bow. "My lord."

    Lord Wei kept his back to Qiu Zhan as he looked out from the bestowal art carrier. The carrier was in bad shape, and Lord Weis eyes swept through the construct before focusing on where Lu Yin and Cloudflow had first appeared. "Were others found during this battle?

    Qiu Zhan respectfully replied, "Yes."

    Lord Wei observed the area and thenmented, "One of the two was Cloudflow, while the other used a ck energy converter. Were you able to see who they were?"

    Qiu Zhan shook his head. "Your servant is ipetent and was unable to see clearly."

    Lord Wei walked through the wreckage, surrounded by countless people from the Transcendent Universe. Everywhere the man went, people bowed and remained frozen in ce, not daring to move again.

    "Why did theye here?" Lord Wei asked.

    Qiu Zhan replied, "Your servant is not sure, but they were searching the ce. They were only caught because a powerful attack from that corpse king happened to hit where they were standing, and Cloudflows power leaked out. Cloudflow did use a great deal of his strength in this area, but against who and why, it remains unknown.

    "All that can be said is that Cloudflow seems to have joined Aeternus, as there is no way that this was a mere coincidence. The corpse king did not just happen to attack at this time, and Cloudflow held nothing back as he attacked the carrier. There was no fear that he would destroy this carrier and let the Cloudflow Universe fall to Aeternus. This universe has already betrayed humanity to the Aeternals.

    "Don''t jump to conclusions. We need to investigate first," Lord Wei replied.

    Qiu Zhan offered another bow and then stepped back.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin and Cloudflow returned to the Aeternus Nation, where Lu Yin released everyone who had been saved from the Cloudflow Universe. These people would continue to live in Aeternus Nation, just like the Fenglei n. For the time being, neither group could be taken to the Fifth Maind.

    As soon as the people from the Cloudflow Universe emerged from the Zenith Mountain, the first thing they saw was Cloudflow himself.

    Everyone was overjoyed, and they bowed low to the man. "Greetings, Lord Cloudflow."

    "Greetings, Lord Cloudflow."

    "Greetings, Lord Cloudflow."

    Cloudflow smiled and then let out a heartfeltugh. He had been imprisoned and tortured for many years, and his people had simrly been tortured. However, he had finally managed to save some of them. They were all people who had been enved in the Cloudflow Universe and been forced to fight to the death.

    Lu Yin did not disturb Cloudflows reunion with his people, instead going underground on his own to meet with Monarch Mu.

    The woman saw Lu Yin arrive. "What happened up there? Someone very powerful fought here some time ago."

    "It''s nothing. I just brought Cloudflow to this ce," Lu Yin replied.

    Monarch Mu did not react. "Who?"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "Cloudflow. You should have heard of that name before."

    Monarch Mu could not believe what she was hearing. "The same Cloudflow that the Transcendent Universe imprisoned? Cloudflow from the Cloudflow Universe?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Is there another Cloudflow out there?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2709: Walking Wallet

    Chapter 2709: Walking Wallet

    Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin in a daze, feeling that she must have heard wrong. She stared at Lu Yin and sneered. "You think Id ever believe that? Cloudflow is the Transcendent Universes captive, and they are constantly experimenting on him. How could you have brought him here? Youre trying to tell me you were able to take Cloudflow away from the Transcendent Universe? Impossible."

    Lu Yin praised the woman, "It seems that you three Monarchs have a great rtionship with the Transcendent Universe. With your connections, you should be fully aware of just how they treat Cloudflow."

    Monarch Mu denied nothing.

    Lu Yin moved closer to the woman, his hands sped behind his back as stared at the Monarchs tired expression. "Youre right, normally, Cloudflow would not be able to be rescued, but at the same time, you should not be my captive, either, and yet here you are. Do you want me to call Cloudflow over to meet you? Would you like to get acquainted?

    As he spoke, Lu Yin waved a hand and dispersed the death energy that filled the area overhead. Monarch Mu looked up, and was stunned by what she saw. "It really is Cloudflow? How did you do it?"

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. "The greater your surprise, the moreplete your knowledge of the Transcendent Universe. Is this because youve been working together with He Ran?"

    "Don''t you already know the answer to that?" Monarch Mu''s voice sounded dejected. As time passed, she was finding Lu Yin to be increasingly unfathomable. If he really had rescued Cloudflow, then it meant that not even the Transcendent Universe was able to do anything about this youth.

    Lu Yin shook his head as he smiled at the woman. "In that case, why did I hear that you have an agreement with Sovereign Shao Yin to deal with He Ran and Lord Wei?"

    This question instantly caused Monarch Mu''s expression to change drastically, and as she stared at Lu Yin, her pupils fluctuated. "You- what did you just say?"

    Lu Yin moved even closer. "Aren''t you going to help the You family?"

    Monarch Mu looked as though she had just been struck by lightning as she stared at Lu Yin. "Why- how do you know about that? How could you possibly know? Who told you? The only people who know about that are Luo Shan and me! How could you possibly know? How on earth did you find out?"

    Monarch Mu spat out questions in a manner that made her sound insane. Lu Yin had just spoken one of the Three Monarchs Universes greatest secrets. They made a show of working with He Ran, but in secret, they had agreed to help the You family and Sovereign Shao Yin eliminate Lord Wei. If this matter ever leaked, the three Monarchs would suffer a terrible blow, as it would be difficult for them to find anyone in the Sixverse Association who would trust them.

    This was not only because they were trying to eliminate Lord Wei, but more importantly because they had secretly betrayed him to the You family. No one would be willing to tolerate such a thing.

    If the Three Monarchs Universe was willing to help the You family defeat Lord Wei and take over the Transcendent Universe, they were just as likely to secretly cooperate with other powers to overthrow the rulers of other universes.

    The fact that the Three Monarchs Universe had been cooperating with He Ran meant that their behavior was nothing less than a betrayal, and who would be willing to work with traitors?

    Monarch Mu just stared at Lu Yin. How could he know about this? This should be a secret to absolutely everyone.

    Lu Yin slowly smiled at the woman. "Do you think I was just joking when I said I was going after your Three Monarchs Universe? I have everything under my control. As soon as Lord Wei learns of this matter, who in the entire Sixverse Association will ever be willing to ally themselves with your Three Monarchs Universe? How will you be able to maintain your ce in the Sixverse Association? Youll be treated as outcasts."

    "What do you want?" Monarch Mu''s face had already gone pale.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. His eyes were filled with pity and ridicule. "I''m quite surprised at you. Youre already my prisoner, so why are you so worked up? This is Luo Shans concern now. Even if this matter gets exposed, hes the one who will be in trouble. None of this has anything to do with you anymore. Monarch Mu. Are you the kind of person who would sacrifice yourself for Luo Shan?"

    Monarch Mu''s eyes flickered as she stared at Lu Yin.

    He suddenlyughed. "Think about things; if I already know about this, then I can destroy Luo Shan whenever I wish. You need to consider whether you want to go down with him or not. Ill give you some time to think, but youre running out of time. You also should stop hoping for something to happen. If I already know this much, do you really think that Luo Shan and the others will be able to seed?"

    Monarch Mu had no idea that Luo Shan and the others had already attacked Lord Wei, only to have failed.

    To Monarch Mus understanding of matters, if Sovereign Shao Yin, Luo Shan, and the You family worked together, there was absolutely no way for Lord Wei to survive. They had everything in the Transcendent Universe under their control, yet were not implicated in anything. If Lu Yin already knew the truth of the matter, their ns would not proceed as they expected.

    "As long as Luo Shan does nothing, you have no evidence at all!" Monarch Mu shouted.

    Lu Yin smiled. "But Luo Shan doesnt know that hes been exposed."

    Monarch Mu''s pupils shrank sharply. Lu Yin was right, Luo Shan did not know that he had been caught already. Lu Yin could simply share everything as soon as Luo Shan took action, and as long as Lord Weis guard was up, the n would fail.

    "Maybe I should even help Lord Wei? If I approach him as the representative of the Origin Universe, it shouldnt be difficult to get Lord Wei to help me deal with an enemy who already tried to destroy him. Monarch Mu, once Luo Shan is dealt with, youll be next," Lu Yin He said before abruptly leaving.

    Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin''s back, her mind inplete chaos. She had no idea what to do. Everything Lu Yin had just said was absolutely true. He was aware of their greatest secrets, and if he used that against them, Luo Shan would unquestionably fail. What should Monarch Mu do? What was the right choice?

    Lu Yin was unconcerned with Monarch Mus thoughts. All he wanted was to shatter the womans hope.

    Monarch Mu was a very selfish individual, and the more selfish the person, the more they thought about themselves. If Luo Shan was already guaranteed to lose, Monarch Mu would find a way to save herself, and the cost that she would be willing to pay would be extremely high.

    Lu Yin was in no rush, and he intended to leave the woman to her thoughts. After all, she had no way to escape from him.

    It was important to continue forward one step at a time.

    ***

    In the Cloudflow Universe, Qiu Zhan had alreadypleted his investigation and returned to deliver his report to Lord Wei.

    The ruler of the Transcendent Universe listened quietly, but his eyes were cold. "A demi-human transaction? How audacious!"

    Qiu Zhan was simrly furious. "That woman is too twisted! I never thought such a thing would happen under me. Please punish me for this oversight."

    Lord Wei coldly replied, "Everyone is already dead; what would be the use of punishing you? Who was she trading with?"

    "The Zhu Mercantile Company," Qiu Zhan replied.

    Lord Wei grunted; the Zhu Mercantile Company no longer needed to exist.

    The Cloudflow Universe was Lord Weis private property, and every nt and creature in it belonged to him, including the demi-humans. The fact that the blonde woman had dared to sell the demi-humans had vited Lord Weis bottom line, and the fact that the Zhu Mercantile Company had dared purchase from her was equally unforgivable.

    Suddenly, Lord Wei''s expression changed, and he turned to look in a particr direction. Far away from the bestowal art carrier, a distant figure was approaching, and they slowly bowed to Lord Wei.

    The ruler stepped out and approached the man.

    "The Merchant Exchanges Yin Hua greets Lord Wei." The person who had arrived was an old man who appeared quite calm.

    Lord Wei was surprised. "Someone from the Merchant Exchange? Why have youe to see me?"

    Yin Hua bowed again. "A member of our Merchant Exchange died here, and I came to investigate the matter."

    Lord Wei grew puzzled. "Why would anyone from your Merchant Exchange have died here? Who was it?"

    "His name was Zhu Ye," Yin Hua replied.

    Lord Wei''s eyes grew sharp, and from behind him, Qiu Zhan stepped forward and eximed, "Zhu Ye? The young master of the Zhu Mercantile Company? Hes a member of your Merchant Exchange?"

    Yin Hua looked over at Qiu Zhan and nodded. "As of a few days ago. The young man only just joined my Merchant Exchange, and Im his supervisor. It would seem that you know what killed Zhu Ye, Senior."

    Qiu Zhan nced at Lord Wei, as did Yin Hua.

    Lord Wei nodded, and Qiu Zhan shared what he knew. Yin Hua remainedposed throughout the entire report, and only spoke after Qiu Zhan had finished speaking, "Cloudflow? He doesn''t isnt capable of killing Zhu Ye. The youth received the protection of my Merchant Exchange. No ordinary powerhouse could have touched him."

    Lord Wei''s heart skipped a beat. "Zhu Ye was already given a power vessel?"

    Yin Hua answered in a respectful tone, "Yes, he already received one."

    Lord Wei''s expression grew a great deal more solemn. He understood just how powerful the Merchant Exchange''s power vessels were. While they possessed no offensive abilities whatsoever, they shifted a person out of phase with themonyer of space so that they could not be touched by most people, not even peak powerhouses.

    If ten random peak powerhouses were selected from the Sixverse Association, no more than three would be capable of touching someone like Zhu Ye who was protected by the Merchant Exchange.

    Things had just be far more serious. If just Cloudflow and someone with a ck energy converter had attacked, Lord Wei would not be particrly concerned, but the fact that someone had appeared who was capable of killing Zhu Ye made thingspletely different. This was a qualitative change of the situation.

    "Commander Qiu Zhan, may I be allowed to go and take a look?" Yin Hua asked.

    Xuan Zhan again looked over at Lord Wei, who had no objection.

    "Please, follow me."

    Yin Hua was grateful and followed themander to the bestowal art carrier.

    Yin Hua soon left. If not even Lord Wei was able to find anything, Yin Hua certainly was incapable of discovering anything.

    Once Yin Hua was gone, Qiu Zhan returned to Lord Wei. "I never expected Zhu Ye to have actually joined the Merchant Exchange. There are rumors that Merchant Exchange is led by someone from the Lost n."

    Lord Wei calmly stated, "Seal all information about the Merchant Exchange. Also," He paused for a moment. "Don''t touch the Zhu Mercantile Company. Give Merchant Exchange a bit of face."

    Xuan Zhan nodded to show his understanding.

    Lord Wei stared at the bestowal art carrier. Had it really been Aeternus? If not, then why had such a powerful individual appeared in this ce?

    What had happened in the Cloudflow Universe did not spread. After Lu Yin returned to the Voidforce Universe, the first thing he did was look into the Merchant Exchange.

    The Bureau had ess to a great deal of information, including some about the Merchant Exchange.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin stood at the top of the bell tower, staring off into the distance while lost in thought. What had happened in the Cloudflow Universe might bring some real trouble for Lord Wei.

    The Merchant Exchange was a massive tradingpany that spread across the entire Sixverse Association, including the sixty-two subsidiary parallel universes. However, thepany did not sell or produce anything at all. They engaged in only a single activity: exchange.

    The sole function of the Merchant Exchange was to exchange resources that were used as currency in the various parallel universes, such as star energy crystals, star essence, the Transcendent Universes transcendent crystals, and the Three Monarchs Universes flourishing crystals. Truthfully, there were many otherpanies that engaged in the same activity, but the Merchant Exchange was thergest and was the only one that dealt with every known parallel universe.

    The Merchant Exchange''s trades were guaranteed and were never suspect. They had their own conversion rates, and they even provided delivery service, which was very convenient.

    Of course, the Merchant Exchange''s services were not free. They charged a handling fee of one thousandth of each transaction. While that did not sound like very much, the Merchant Exchange did not conduct small transactions, and each trade would be at least in the tens of millions, or even billions. Their fee quickly added up to a substantial amount.

    The Merchant Exchange was also famous for their efficiency and impartialness within the Sixverse Association. One of the primary ways that they ensured such efficiency was by having every member of the Merchant Exchange carry vast amounts of resources with them, which allowed people to use the Merchant Exchanges services with any of their members, no matter where or when they were encountered. The Merchant Exchange wouldplete business with everyone as quickly as possible.

    It was because of this that every member of the Merchant Exchange in the megaverse was regarded as a walking wallet.

    Each of them were also protected by power vessels that looked like eyes, which was also the symbol of the Merchant Exchange. Even if someone wants to rob the Merchant Exchange, they would find that it was impossible, whereas those who were capable of it would not bother to attack members of the Merchant Exchange.

    As soon as Lu Yin learned about this, his immediate thought was of Zhu Ye''s cosmic ring. How could he have forgotten such a thing? He should go back and search for it.

    The Merchant Exchange did not have many members wandering the Sixverse Association, yet each and every one of them carried massive amounts of resources, which was why Lu Yin found his oversight to be such a pity.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2710: The Shangsan Festival

    Chapter 2710: The Shangsan Festival

    It was no wonder that Zhu Ye had acted so arrogant after joining the Merchant Exchange. It had been a massive leap upwards for the Zhu Mercantile Company, as no one would dare touch thepany. On top of that, the Merchant Exchange would also cover up any of Zhu Yis indiscretions

    As for whoever led the Merchant Exchange, there was no information to be found whatsoever. There were rumors that the person was someone from the Lost n, or else the Cyclic Universe. There were even some rumors that said that the Merchant Exchange was led by someone with no connection to any power in the Sixverse Association, but rather a powerful independent cultivator. There are too many various rumors, and they only served to increase the mystery surrounding the Merchant Exchange.

    The power vessel that Zhu Ye had been given by the Merchant Exchange that looked like an eye had been destroyed by Lu Yin. He had found that no matter what he did, it was impossible for him to contain the power vessel. Even when he had put it in his cosmic ring, it would slip out if he was not careful.

    He did not want any trouble with the Merchant Exchange, so his only choice had been to destroy the power vessel.

    As for the Merchant Exchange itself, he was very interested in thepany. After all, each of their members was a walking wallet, and Lu Yin was always short of funds.

    After Lu Yin left the bell tower, he was approached by Ning Ran. "Acting Bureau Director, I heard you were looking for me."

    "Has Cheng Feng said anything?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ning Ran shook her head. "No. We havent continued his interrogation at all recently."

    "Don''t worry about pressing him with interrogations. The worst torture he can suffer is just time. He wont be able to endure."

    Ning Ran frowned. While this made sense to her, she had not even started any physical torture on Cheng Feng, and she felt that it was important to at least go through the standard procedures at least once. However, since she had been given orders by the acting Bureau Director, she did not dare act counter to those orders without proper authorization.

    "Tell me, how big is the omniverse?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The question was unexpected for Ning Ran, and she thought about it for a bit. "Its infinitelyrge."

    "Aside from the Sixverse Association, are there other such organizations?" Lu Yin continued his questions. While he seemed to be addressing Ning Ran, he also appeared to be speaking to himself.

    Ning Ran still answered, "There must be. There are constantly more parallel universes being discovered, so maybe therell be a day when we find another groupparable to the Sixverse Association."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was true, they might one day discover another monstrous organization on the same scale as the Sixverse Association. There was no way to know for sure. At the very least, Jiang Qingyue and Jiang Chen''s father, who was known as the Lord of Lightning, was a terrifying powerhouse. Progenitor level creatures such as Dragonturtle referred to the man as master, so who could say how many other powerhouses might still be out there?

    "Alright, you can head on back." Lu Yin smiled as he spoke. "I was just musing on things."

    Ning Ran nodded and stepped back.

    In the following time, Lu Yin rarely became quiet, and he would not approach Chen Le. At this time, the closer he got, the easier it would be to be targeted by Lord Wei. Now that Lord Wei suspected Cloudflow was the secret agent, he had achieved his goal. What he wants is to buy time.

    The day woulde when Lu Yin would learn the truth, and he hoped that it woulde after the Origin Universe was able to be a member of the Sixverse Association.

    On that same day, Xu Wuji visited the Red Zone and went to find Xuan Qi. "The Lost ns Shangsan Festival will be held soon. Are you interested in attending?"

    Lu Yin had spent some time in the Red Zone and had rarely had any contact with the outside world. He had been focused on the Cosmic Art and trying to break through to the next and final level. Because of this, he had not heard of the Shangsan Festival before. "Whats the Shangsan Festival?"

    "You don''t know?" Xu Wuji was surprised. "Everyones talking about it right now. Well, you did just recently join the Sixverse Association, so it makes sense for you not to know.

    "The Shangsan Festival is a very important asion for the Lost n. Legends im that whenever a Shangsan Festival is held, their gates are opened wide. Its one of the rare asions when you can change your card, provided you are willing to do so."

    This stunned Lu Yin. "The Lost n only allows a person to get a new card if their previous card was destroyed. Youre saying its also possible to rece them?"

    Xu Wuji raised two fingers. "There are only two chances to change a card; one is to have a breakthrough in your cultivation. Think about it, a card is not a person and it cannot be cultivated. Each one has its own limits. For example, the a Primordial Card can only hold a Void Morphora, so if someone has a breakthrough and bes a Void Suprema, their card will be worthless in any of their battles. In that sort of a situation, you can apply to the Lost n to rece your card.

    "The second chance is the Shangsan Festival. ording to the Lost n itself, its a celebration of a day their ancestors gave out gifts. Every single one of the Lost ns cards will have something strange happen to it, and as long as you have the ability and the opportunity, you will receive favor from a card and can trade for it.

    This was all a surprise to Lu Yin. It was true that celebrations were important for morale and peoples spirits, and this was true of both ordinary humans and cultivators. As long as people had emotions, there would undoubtedly be celebrations.

    "If I remember correctly, you have a seven-star card known as the Hidden Mountain. I heard someone mention that you picked it up during apetition with Jiang Xiaodao while you were in the Sixverse Academy. Unfortunately, its only an Ancient card, so what do you think? You want to rece it with a Primordial card?" Xu Wuji asked with open interest.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It matches my current cultivation. With my strength, a seven-star Ancient card like Hidden Mountain is already the best I can do. There is no reason to change it."

    Xu Wuji said, "While that would normally be the case, you need to think about this carefully. You are not a member of the Lost n yourself, which means that you have very few chances to ever trade your card. Even if you be a Void Suprema, it will be difficult for you to get the Lost n to agree to trade your Ancient card. Recing a card as your cultivation improves s something that is typically reserved for members of the Lost n, so if you miss the Shangsan Festival, youll need to either convince them to let you trade your card, which is extremely difficult to aplish, or youll need to wait for the next Shangsan Festival to be held."

    "How long would I have to wait for the next Shangsan Festival?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Wuji replied, "That all depends on when the Lost n holds it again. I dont understand their scheduling, but at least a thousand years pass between each one."

    A thousand years was not a long time for a cultivator, but how long has it been since Lu Yin had first started cultivating? Given his speed, if things continued in the same manner, a thousand years might be enough time for him to be a Progenitor.

    Xu Wuji saw Xuan Qi considering the matter carefully, and added, "I do mean at least a thousand years. Sometimes, if things dont go as expected, it might be 10,000 years before the next Shangsan Festival is held. Theres no saying for sure.

    "If you feel that theres any chance that the Hidden Mountain card wont be enough for you, I suggest that you trade it for a different card. Given the strength of your current opponents, even now a seven-star Ancient card like Hidden Mountain can''t be of much help to you. Just the fact that its a seven-star card is worthless, and who knows, maybe you can rece it with a seven-star Primordial card, or even a seven-star Immemorial card.

    "The reason why so many people try to trade their cards during a Shangsan Festival is because theres no telling what kind of card you might receive. Supposedly, one time someone traded a Seasonal card for an Immemorial card, which was a big deal everywhere in the Sixverse Association. From that point forward, the entire Sixverse Association has paid attention to every single Shangsan Festival that is held. There should be a lot of people attending, both older people who are waiting for the Shangsan Festival, as well as younger people like you. There will even be people younger than you. Basically, its a massive gathering."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Bureau Director, it seems that you are quite eager for me to rece my card."

    Xu Wuji rolled his eyes. "What does it matter what I want? Its your business. However, if yo udo go, do me a favor and deliver something to a member of the Lost n for me."

    "What is it?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Xu Wuji pushed his sunsses up. "Are you going or not?"

    "If you want my help, Ill go." Lu Yin said.

    Xu Wuji had nothing to say. "I was just offering you a bit of advise and suggesting that you rece your card to help yourself out. Why are you trying to turn this into doing a favor for me?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s a good idea."

    He was actually a bit worried that some powerhouse from the Lost n would see through his Mask of Death if he went to the Shangsan Festival, but given how long Lu Yin had spent in the Voidforce Universe and the fact that Xu Wuwei was his cultivation guide, even if someone from the Lost n saw through the Mask of Death, they would probably not care, as they would already know that Xu Wuwei had seen through everything. If Xu Wuwei was unbothered by Xuan Qis disguise, no one from the Lost n would be concerned at all.

    There were too many people wandering about while hiding their identities.

    Xu Wuji sneered before reaching out and patting Xuan Qi on the shoulder. "Young man, you''re pretty shrewd."

    "Haha, Senior, just tell me what you need me to take and who you need me to deliver it to."

    "So, you want to go?"

    "Ill go. After all, my Hidden Mountain card really isnt good enough, and I should improve my abilities as best I can."

    "That''s right." Xu Wuji pulled a box out from his cosmic ring and solemnly handed it to Xuan Qi. "Don''t open it. This also needs to be given directly to Xiao Fang."

    Lu Yin took the box in a daze. This was not because the box was heavy, but because of the name that Xu Wuji had given. "Xiao- Xiao Fang?"

    Xu Wuji nodded. "Xiao Fang. Just ask for her when you get to the Lost n. Make sure you give it to her directly, and don''t let anyone give it to her for you. If you arent able to see Xiao Fang, just bring the box back to me intact. Dont let anyone touch it, or even see it. Understand? Make sure you remember.

    Lu Yin groaned, suddenly a bit uncertain. "Bureau Director, the Lost n isnt easy to mess with. You arent trying to make trouble for me, right?"

    Xu Wuji instantly shouted, "What kind of bullshit is that? How would I try to make trouble for you?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "Then let me see what''s in the box."

    Xu Wuji snatched the box back and red at Xuan Qi. "No! You can''t see!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was bing more and more hesitant about agreeing to run this errand. Could the box hold some lost treasure that belonged to the Lost n? Surely nothing would happen to him if he delivered the box.

    Xu Wuji''s eyes shed. "Forget it, I don''t need your help. Ill take it myself. I don''t know what youre so worried about. Why would I need you to take something if it were actually important? Id just take it myself!"

    Despite his arguments, it was clear that Xu Wuji had no intention of going and was reluctant to not send the box with Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, give me the box. Ill give it to Xiao Fang for you."

    Xu Wuji looked at Xuan Qi suspiciously. "You can''t open it."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I wont open it."

    "Swear."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched, but helpless, he swore as ordered. "Senior, you need to also swear that this wont harm me at all."

    Xu Wuji happily swore an oath as well. "Feel better now?"

    Lu Yin put the box away. "Senior, who is Xiao Fang?"

    Xu Wuji replied, "You''ll know when you get there."

    Suddenly, the man looked a bit nervous, but after taking a moment to think about things, he looked to be more at ease, and he said nothing more about the matter. "When youre visiting the Lost n, make sure you dont miss the Shangsan Festival. Use whatever you can to draw a card, and make sure you remember, you dont find a card, but it finds you. If you search for one, you wont find anything. Thats not how it works at all.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Attract them?"

    Xu Wuji somberly replied, "ording to the Lost n, every card is a reflection of a persons heart, and because the cards are traps that are used to kill, they are able to witness the human heart. Because of that, each person will attract a different card, and it depends on the person, not their strength. If it were determined by power, that person with the Seasonal card would never have obtained an Immemorial card.

    You need to The man trailed off, seemingly uncertain on what to say.

    After thinking for a moment, Xu Wuji looked back at Lu Yin. "Show your unrestrained self!"

    Lu Yin blinked. "Yes?"

    Xu Wuji nodded. "If you want to attract a suitable card, you need to allow the cards to see the real you, so just let yourself go. Only then will you be able to attract the card that suits you best. This is something that most people cant do, and they end up walking away with nothing at all. At every Shangsan Festival, most people are unable to trade their cards. In fact, only about one in every hundred people are able to trade their cards. Im hoping youre one of those one-in-a-hundred."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2711: Qualitative Change

    <h4>Chapter 2711: Qualitative Change</h4>

    "It¡¯s important to let yourself go? Senior, you know a lot!" Lu Yin praised. As he spoke, he was reminded of Xiao Fang, who was a member of the Lost n. Could Xu Wuji have learned so much about the Lost n from Xiao Fang?

    Xu Wuji became very upset. "Don''t interrupt! Just listen:

    "I¡¯ll just give you a few examples so that you understand. There was once a person who sang on the first day of the Shangsan Festival. His singing was bad, really, just horrible, yet he seeded in changing his card.

    "There was another person who read an article he had spent a long time writing, and he was also able to sessfully change his card.

    "There was even a person who tried to find love during the Shangsan Festival, and even that actually worked. Do you know what he did to try to find love?" Seeing Xuan Qi¡¯s confusion, Xu Wuji¡¯s face twitched, but he still continued, "He showed off his muscles..."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "What?"

    "That guy flexed in an attempt to attract girls. Some of the dumbest people are able to attract a card. As he was flexing, a card flew over and he seeded."

    Lu Yin was speechless. That had really happened? Cards could actually be drawn to such things?

    "Someone made animal sounds during a Shangsan Festival.

    "Someone else spent their time cultivating.

    "During one Shangsan Festival, someone told stories of everything that he had done to scheme against others over the years, and while he managed to change his card, he ended up being hunted. Everyone he had plotted against cooperated to hunt him down.

    "The bottom line is that you need to let yourself go and express your true self. The more you do that, the better. Ignore any nonsense the Lost n tries to tell you. As far as I¡¯m concerned, they¡¯re just stingy with their cards, and don¡¯t want to see any outsiders get them. Just think about it for yourself!"

    With that, the man left.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at Xu Wuji''s back and called out, "Senior, do you have a card?"

    Xu Wuji stumbled, nearly tripping, and then quickly vanished without saying a single word.

    Lu Yin then understood; Xu Wuji had to be one of the people he had just mentioned.

    <i>Interesting...</i>

    "Head to the Sixverse Academy. People are supposed to gather there," Xu Wuji¡¯s called back.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. The Sixverse Association spread across multiple parallel universes. He had never been to the Lost n¡¯s universe, but it was time to make a visit.

    He left as soon as he settled a few things.

    Xuan Qi was not able to go straight to the Sixverse Academy, so Lu Yin asked someone to contact Xu Xiangyin, who then took him to the small universe. Lu Yin was not the only one from the Bureau, as Xu Ji and Xu Yue also joined him, simrly intending to go to the Shangsan Festival.

    Xu Xiangyin was thrilled to see Xuan Qi again, as the old man genuinely regarded Xuan Qi as a grandson.

    Lu Yin had also not forgotten the Void Morphora. "Senior, when will you go to the Endless Frontier?"

    Xu Xiangyin smiled. "Soon."

    Lu Yin said, "Let me know before you leave so that I can see you off."

    Xu Xiangyin nodded. "If that¡¯s what you want, we¡¯ll talk then."

    As the two chatted, Xu Xiangyin led Xuan Qi and the others to the Sixverse Academy.

    It had already been nearly three years since Lu Yin had left the academy, and he had not returned once in that time. He had no idea how Wendy Yushan and the others had been doing, but he was certain there were many new people in the academy.

    Lu Yin was aware that the Sixverse Academy had enjoyed a massive influx of new students, but even so, the numbers he saw were surprising.

    There were hundreds of thousands of students currently attending the Sixverse Academy, at the very least, and they came from both the member universes of the Sixverse Association, as well as other parallel universes.

    Xu Xiangyin showed Xuan Qi around.

    As they were heading to the Lost n¡¯s territory, it only made sense that people would gather in the Lost n School of the academy.

    Xu Xiangyin delivered Xuan Qi to the entrance of the school, and then left.

    Lu Yin entered the Lost n School on his own. When he had first transferred to the school, there had been no one at all at the entrance, but this time, there were many people in the process of transferring between schools, and everywhere, people were discussing the Shangsan Festival.

    "Xuan Qi?" someone called out.

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled at Jiang Xiaodao.

    The young man red at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re also here? Why? Are you going to the Lost n for the Shangsan Festival?"

    "You too?"

    "You already have the seven-star Hidden Mountain card, and yet you want to change it? Be careful you don¡¯t end up with a one-star Seasonal card." Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth and swore, as he was still very jealous of Lu Yin¡¯s card.

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "What''s mine is mine, and no one can take it away."

    Jiang Xiaodao clenched a fist. "We¡¯llpete again, and this time, you won¡¯t be able to beat me! Changing cards during the Shangsan Festival isn¡¯t the same as seeking a card, as it depends on your own charm. Clearly, I¡¯m much more handsome than you."

    Behind Jiang Xiaodao, an entire group of people started praising and ttering the young man in an exaggerated fashion. All of them were from the Cyclic Universe.

    Lu Yin was reminded of Ling Que, and his cheerleaders, who were actually hired professionals.

    "Hey, Jiang Xiaodao, didn''t you see us?" Xu Yue shouted, unhappy at being ignored.

    Jiang Xiaodao smiled at her. "I saw you, I saw you. I already said hello."

    Xu Yue rolled her eyes. "That''s basically all you said."

    The two of them had a good rtionship. Xu Yue had even grabbed an extra star energy ball for Jiang Xiaodao, only to have it snatched away by Xuan Qi.

    Xu Ji was surprised. "Jiang Xiaodao, you are not gathering in the Cyclic Universe? Whye here to the Sixverse Academy?"

    Jiang Xiaodaoughed. "I came to see all our juniors, of course."

    "I think you must have run into someone you¡¯re afraid of." Xu Yue mercilessly exposed the truth.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s face twitched. "Little Yue, you¡¯ve learned much from Xuan Qi. Also, I¡¯ve heard some rumours going on between the two of you?"

    Xu Yue instantly became extremely angry. "Jiang Xiaodao, you¡¯re asking to die!"

    She then took off after Jiang Xiaodao, trying to beat him.

    "Brother Xuan Qi, you¡¯re here too." Luo Zang arrived and greeted Xuan Qi warmly when he saw him.

    Lu Yin answered politely, "You¡¯re also heading to the Shangsan Festival?"

    Luo Zang said, "Of course. This is one of the few opportunities for outsiders like us to be allowed to change our cards. However, Brother Xuan Qi, you already have a seven-star Ancient card, the Hidden Mountain; are you really willing to give that up?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I don¡¯t really have a choice. As my strength improves, the card really can¡¯t help any more. I only hope I can get at least a seven-star Primordial card, or else I won¡¯t trade."

    Luo Zang smiled. "Yes, that would be a pity."

    Right after that, Shi Hong and Mu Duo arrived. Shi Hong had been part of an earlier ss, while Mu Duo had entered the academy with Lu Yin. Both of them saw Xuan Qi and bowed to him.

    Currently, Xuan Qi¡¯s status in the Transcendent Universe was far above what Shi Hong or Mu Duo couldpare with. Xuan Qi was the Bureau Director for the Transcendent Universe¡¯s branch of the Bureau, which qualified him to meet with Bai Qian any time he wished. His status was even higher than any member of the Ruling Council.

    "Where''s He Shu?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shi Hong and Mu Duo did not answer, but Luo Zang''s eyes shed. "He Shu? He''s dead."

    Lu Yin was genuinely surprised. "He Shu¡¯s dead?"

    Lu Yin had not known about this, though it was mostly because he had never paid any attention to He Shu.

    Luo Zang sighed. "We¡¯ve just learned that He Shu was killed by Xie Wu. That man¡¯s nothing but a feral beast! He actually turned on his master!"

    Lu Yin had not expected Xie Wu to actually kill He Shu. It seemed that Xie Wu must have been preparing for a long time. "What happened to Xie Wu?"

    Shi Hong spoke up, "He¡¯s missing. Many people are looking for him, but no one¡¯s found anything yet."

    Lu Yin nodded and dropped the matter. Very few people knew about his rtionship with Xie Wu, but both Bai Qian and Zuo Gong were aware of it, and it would be easy for either of them to keep someone hidden.

    Xie Wu might no longer have an impressive future, but living an ordinary life was not a bad thing.

    Luo Zang''s voice grew cold, "I¡¯d better not be the one to find that animal! If I do, he won¡¯t be able to live or die!"

    "Hey, isn¡¯t that someone from the Origin Universe?" Xu Yue asked in surprise.

    Everyone turned to look, and they saw Wendy Yushan slowly walking along, looking as impressive as ever. Luo Zang and Jiang Xiaodao both had their eyes light up when they saw the woman.

    While many people were upset that people from the Origin Universe were allowed into the Sixverse Academy, the three women¡¯s beauty¡ªWendy Yushan, Ling Gong, and Zhuo Daynight¡ªhad already drawn many suitors to each of them. In particr, Wendy Yushan had be many people¡¯s idol, given her unique personality.

    She managed to attract even people like Jiang Xiaodao and Luo Zang.

    Wendy Yushan was quite simr to Bai Qian in certain ways. Both women were beautiful and gave off the impression of a warrior, and they even both used the sword.

    Lu Yin watched as Wendy Yushan walked by without greeting anyone at all. He secretly admired her, and felt that sending the three women to the Sixverse Academy had indeed been the right decision. Wendy Yushan had already be a peak Enlighter. If she had made so much progress, then what of Ling Gong and Zhuo Daynight?

    Could they have already be Envoys?

    If so, how had they had their breakthroughs? Had they needed to return to the Origin Universe?

    As soon as Lu Yin thought of Ling Gong, he saw the woman.

    The moment Xu Yue noticed Ling Gong, she attacked. "I''ve waited a long time for this!"

    Ling Gong looked over, and her spear swept out. With a shout, Xu Yue''s voidforce energy was forced back.

    Xu Yue was stunned; how was this possible?

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge. Sure enough, Ling Gong was an Envoy. She had once been one of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Ten Arbiters, and if not for the Time Poison that had infected the Origin Universe for a time, all of them would have be Envoys long ago.

    When Ling Gong had been an Enlighter, she had been a Realmbreaker capable of facing Envoys. After bing an Envoy herself, she was able to truly demonstrate just how impressive the former Ten Arbiters were.

    Xu Yue had also improved since she hadst faced Ling Gong, but her progress could notpare with the White Knight.

    Ling Gong had experienced a qualitative change.

    Thest time the two woman had fought, even if Ling Gong had won, it had been a strenuous victory. At this moment, Xu Yue was easily overpowered. The strength that Xu Yue was so proud of was unable to overwhelm Ling Gong, and even Xu Yue¡¯s cultivation caught up to Ling Gong¡¯s and voidforce puppets allowed Xu Yue to wield even greater amounts of voidforce energy, it would still not be enough to overpower Ling Gong.

    This was proven when Xu Yue¡¯s blue phoenix appeared. When the voidforce puppet came out, Ling Gong¡¯s Skycastle appeared as well, and it instantly overpowered the phoenix, which let out a wail.

    Xu Yue was forced back further and further, her face growing pale. How was this possible?

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as Ling Gong deserved to be one of the Ten Arbiters.

    Lu Yin had struggled for years to catch up to the Ten Arbiters, let alone surpass them. He still clearly remembered how difficult it had been for him to fight Lan Si or Nightking Zhenwu.

    "Little Yue, step back." Xu Ji took a step forward and attacked.

    No matter how unwilling Xu Yue was to ept the current oue, she had no choice but to retreat. She was clearly no match for Ling Gong.

    The White Knight looked at Xu Ji, and her eyes zed with the desire to fight. This was the opponent she had wanted.

    <i>Boom</i>

    The Wu Tian Stone Disk shot out and shed with the Skycastle, while Ling Gong¡¯s spear thrust out. The weapon shot forward like a dragon, and Xu Ji responded by mobilizing enough voidforce energy that the sky churned and clouds were blown back.

    Ultimately, the voidforce energy gained an edge.

    Xu Ji''s cultivation surpassed Ling Gong¡¯s, and his voidforce energy put enough pressure on Ling Gong that she struggled to breathe. It was no different from when she had faced off against Xu Yue when Ling Gong had still been an Enlighter.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to stop the fight, another surge of voidforce energy swept over from the distance, and it instantly separated Ling Gong and Xu Ji.

    The pressure felt from this new energy suppressed everyone. This person was a peak Void Morphora.

    Everyone looked over to see Xu Lie slowly walk over, a cold expression on his face.

    "You are not a student of the Sixverse Academy." Xu Lie stated with a cold voice.

    The area had already filled with the Lost n School¡¯s students, who had been excited to see the battle. They were not often able to see matches of such a high level.

    Xu Ji said, "This junior is Xu Ji, and alumnus of the Sixverse Academy."

    Xu Lie looked at the young man. "I know who you are; Xu Ji, from the Bureau. However, you¡¯ve already left the Sixverse Academy, and should not get involved in fights here."

    Ling Gong spoke up, "I attacked first."

    Xu Lie looked over at Ling Gong. "Are you a student in the Lost n School?"

    "No."

    "Then what are you doing here? Shouldn¡¯t you be heading back?" Xu Lie asked with a frown.

    Ling Gong nced at Xu Ji and Xu Yue before finally ncing at Lu Yin right before she turned and left.

    She hade mostly to check if Lu Yin had arrived, but the unexpected battle had prevented the two of them from even speaking to each other.

 Chapter 2712: The Lost Clanâ€™s Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2712: The Lost n¡¯s Universe</h4>

    "Hey, don''t leave! Let¡¯s go again!" Xu Yue remained unconvinced of her loss. Three years had passed, and yet she had once again been defeated. Had she wasted these years? This thought caused her to nce over at Xuan Qi with a rather sour expression on her face. Spending three years following him must have slowed their cultivation.

    Xu Lie coldly stated, "Don¡¯t bother shouting; you are no match for her. The further you progress, the greater the gap will be."

    Xu Jie looked over at Xu Lie. "How will the gap grow?"

    Xu Lie''s expression grew increasingly solemn. "Our Voidforce universe is a member of the Sixverse Association, and our cultivation method is truly unique. Many people im that our voidforce puppets can allow us to defeat opponents with multiple times more energy reserves than us, and it¡¯s true that we can do exactly that at lower levels, but..."

    The woman hesitated as she looked at Xu Jie and Xu Yue. "If we lose that particr advantage, what advantage can we still have against our opponents?"

    Xu Yue replied, "Our voidforce energy has many different characteristics and can grant us great power. We also have battle techniques, just like other universes."

    "But do you take that seriously?" Xu Lie shouted back.

    Xu Yue was startled, and she considered all her years of training, starting from her childhood. Sure enough, none of her training had ever focused on battle techniques. Not once.

    Throughout all of Xu Yue¡¯s experience, everyone in the Voidforce Universe had alwayspeted for how much voidforce energy they possessed or could control. The only way that their talent was evaluated was in how much voidforce energy they could manipte, as that would determine the strength of their voidforce puppets. Could they control ten times their own energy reserves? More? The greater their level of control, the greater their talent. As time had passed, they had be ustomed to focusing solely on controlling more and more voidforce energy so that they could use overwhelming force to overpower their opponents.

    Xu Jie became rather subdued as she clenched her fists.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Had Xu Lie really seen so clearly after such a short amount of time in the Sixverse Academy? Not even Xu Xiangyin was that objective in his views.

    Xu Lie''s voice fell low, "Because of voidforce energy, people of our Voidforce Universe are able to wield power multiple times greater than our own, and this grants us an incredible advantage against any and all opponents at earlier stages, but when our opponents canpensate for our advantage, we instantly to a disadvantage, especially against the Origin Universe.¡±

    She suddenly nced to the side, where Wen Sansi was approaching, looking as refined and delicate as ever. He saw Xu Lie staring at him and offered a slow bow.

    Lu Yin had already noticed Wen Sansi approaching, but they could not greet each other in the Sixverse Academy.

    "The Origin Universe is nothing like what people say about it, and you need to be extremely careful whenever you face anyone from that ce. You saw that that woman just did; she overcame her disadvantage of being suppressed by a greater quantity of voidforce energy with an innate gift. Xu Yue, you are already considered one of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s most talented youths, and Xu Jie is even more of a genius, with talent so exceptional that he has even met with Lord Xu himself. Despite that, that woman is able to fight against both of you. Have you never considered why that is possible?" Xu Lie seemed to have been deeply impressed by Ling Gong. Her expression grew a bit conflicted. "When Ling Gong had her breakthrough to be an Envoy, I went to the Origin Universe to witness it for myself."

    Lu Yin instantly understood. It was no wonder that Xu Lie had been so intimidated by the Origin Universe. Ling Gong had been one of the Ten Arbiters, standing head and shoulders above her peers. She had been one of the greatest of her entire generation, and her breakthrough should have been a terrifying affair!

    Clearly, Ling Gong¡¯s first stellr tribtion had been impressive enough to intimidate even Xu Lie.

    Lu Yin thought back to his own breakthrough. His first stellr tribtion had been so powerful that it had resonated through space and been projected to the Perennial World, which had triggered the four ruling powers into sending an army to deal with Lu Yin in the Fifth Maind.

    While Ling Gong could notpare to Lu Yin, her first stellr tribtion had been impressive enough to shock Xu Lie and even the entire Sixverse Academy.

    Xu Lie looked around at the gathered students. "Maybe early on the people of the Origin Universe are at a disadvantagepared to us, but as they grown, they be much, much stronger, especially after their breakthrough to be Envoys. If you give that woman some time, she may no longer lose to even you, Xu Jie."

    Xu Jie suddenly turned to look at Xu Lie. "What happened during her breakthrough?"

    Everyone else was also curious.

    The Sixverse Association as a whole showed an attitude of disgust, irritation, and even outright hostility towards the Origin Universe. Each of the member universes had been around since the Heavens Sect era, and the attitudes from that time had been passed down to the present day. This had led to not only hostility, but also outright contempt, and so many people looked down on the people of the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin could still clearly remember what all of the other participants had said when the Sixverse Academy had sent a group to the Origin Universe to participate in a trial.

    Lu Yin was also curious about what had happened during Ling Gong¡¯s first stellr tribtion that had left even a genius like Xu Lie so wary andpletely change her opinion of the Origin Universe.

    However, Xu Lie ultimately said nothing at all, and simply reiterated that as they grew and progressed, people like Ling Gong would grow exponentially stronger. She even mentioned that the Origin Universe¡¯s standard cultivation method might be the one that was best suited for survival in the megaverse.

    The Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival was clearly supposed to be a joyous asion, yet the people who had gathered in the Sixverse Academy to attend the event felt as though the mood had been doused with a bucket of cold water. All of them felt chilled to the bone, especially Xu Yue, whose face had grown pale.

    Jiang Xiaodao gritted his teeth. "Are they really all freaks like that?"

    He spun around to look at Wen Sansi. "Hey, let''s spar! Didn¡¯t you also have a breakthrough?"

    Lu Yin looked over and asked Xu Lie. "Did you see his breakthrough?"

    Xu Lie shook her head. "I only followed to see Ling Gong¡¯s breakthrough. Still, this person?" She looked over at Wen Sansi. "He¡¯s not simple, either."

    Wen Sansi shrugged. "Think thrice before you act; we fight, you¡¯ll get hurt."

    Jiang Xiaodao became furious. "You sound insane! Let¡¯s go!"

    Wen Sansi smiled, turned around, and walked away, waving once his back was to everyone. "We¡¯ll have the opportunity in the future."

    "Don''t run away!" Jiang Xiaodao was incredibly irritated.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. Had each of the Ten Arbiters had a breakthrough? If they continued to rise up, who would be able to stop them?

    Lu Yin had struggled greatly against the Ten Arbiters, and it was finally time for the people of the Sixverse Association to do the same.

    Additionally, the Origin Universe did not only have the Ten Arbiters, but also talented people from the Neoverse, such as Qiu Shi, God Taiyi, Yuhua Mavis, as well as the three Dao Chosen from the Heavens Sect era. Each of them would eventually enter the Sixverse Association step onto the greater stage of the megaverse. When that happened, things would be quite exciting.

    Lu Yin realized that he was looking at things as though he was from a different generation from his peers.

    Mu Mu soon arrived, and she calmly waited at the side.

    Seruzen arrived with Mu Mu. As one of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s greatest geniuses, Mu Mu drew attention wherever she went, and yet she did not draw as much attention as Seruzen.

    His raised arm was too conspicuous.

    Many people in the Sixverse Academy have never seen Seruzen before, so his appearance triggered quite a few conversations.

    After waiting for a few days, Zhi Bing arrived to lead everyone to the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    "Why are you here?" Jiang Xiaodao shouted when he saw Wen Sansi appear out of nowhere.

    Wen Sansi smiled and said, "I''m also going."

    Jiang Xiaodao was left speechless. "Then you were just hiding from me?"

    Wen Sansi bluntly replied, "I was afraid I wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid hurting you."

    The answer infuriated Jiang Xiaodao, but everyone elseughed.

    Zhi Bing called out, "Alright, it¡¯s time to go? Is this everyone? Is there anyone who wants to back out?"

    No one spoke up.

    Zhi Bing looked around again. "Then let''s go."

    He led everyone through a tear in the void and into the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    This was the only universe of the Sixverse Association that Lu Yin had never been to before, and he was quite curious about it.

    The fact that the Lost n was a true member of the Sixverse Association indicated a minimum level of strength that the Lost n had to possess.

    The Lost n was very mysterious, and the cards that they used were also incredibly unique. Many people in other parts of the Sixverse Association hoped to obtain one of the Lost n¡¯s cards, but there was never any guarantee that they would be able to find one. Even if they did, they might not be able to use it.

    The most mysterious legend regarding the Lost n was that they possessed cards that surpassed the strength of peak powerhouses.

    Progenitors were peak powerhouses, and all who seeded in reaching a simr level had reached the pinnacle of human cultivation. Even the Great Sovereign himself was a peak powerhouse. While his strength might surpass anyone else within the same realm, he remained in the same cultivation realm as the others.

    However, both internally and to outsiders, the Lost n imed to be in possession of cards that surpassed that realm of strength.

    The Lost n ranked their cards from lowest to highest as Seasonal, Ancient, Primordial, and Immemorial cards. Immemorial cards were equal to a Progenitor¡¯s strength, but above them were supposedly the Primeval cards. However, no one had ever seen a Primeval card, though the Lost n insisted they existed.

    All members of the Lost n believed that Primeval cards existed, but whenever they were asked what realm of cultivation those cards corresponded to, no one could give an answer.

    Soon, Zhi Bing led everyone to the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    As people looked around, the starry expanse looked no different from any other universe. It was dark, and seemingly infinite.

    Zhi Bing took a deep breath and smiled. "This is my Lost n¡¯s universe. Pay attention while you are here; I will only say this once, but don¡¯t wander about or randomly touch anything while in this universe. You can encounter a trap at any moment. Don¡¯t me me for your deaths."

    Jiang Xiaodao was taken aback. "We can encounter traps anywhere? Aren¡¯t traps only in your cards?"

    Zhi Bing frowned. "Ignorant and ipetent."

    Jiang Xiaodao ground his teeth.

    "For my Lost n, our cards are our lives. Would you randomly experiment on yourself? You can¡¯t set up traps in your imagination; they require research, consideration, and experimentation. My Lost n will not do this in our cards, and will only work on them when we are confident. Throughout our universe,s,ndmasses, meteorites, stars, and even astral beasts that roam the universe might have traps set on them. This is why our universe is the one that Aeternus fears the most.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as he felt that he had heard simr ims before, and with just as much pride backing them.

    Xu Yue looked around. "You set up traps and don¡¯t dismantle them when you¡¯re done?"

    Zhi Bing looked at Xu Yue and smiled. "Why dismantle them? Traps are how my Lost npetes. Anyone who falls victim to a trap can only be considered unlucky. If you are capable enough, you should be able to spot a trap before you fall victim to it."

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Doesn''t that mean that there are countless traps throughout your universe?"

    Zhi Bing nodded and proudly stated, "Countless, literally countless. For as many years as our Lost n has been in existence, we haveid traps about in this universe. You may even find traps that were set by people in ancient eras long gone."

    The moment people heard this, they all quickly drew closer to the middle of the group, scared of what could be nearby.

    The Lost n¡¯s traps were famous throughout the megaverse, but that did not mean that anyone wanted to try them.

    Zhi Bing continued to speak about the glory of the Lost n as he led everything through outer space.

    As they traveled, everyone remained silent and nervously nced around in every direction.

    They eventually reached a city drifting through space, though they never encountered a single trap.

    Jiang Xiaodao pouted. "He¡¯s just trying to scare us."

    Zhi Bing looked back to stare at Jiang Xiaodao, and then thrust a palm out. The attack shot across space, and far away, the void copsed as though crushed by something. Countless spikes shot out of the void, each one glowing with a cold light. The sight of them left the group stunned for some time.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, as that trap was by no means weak. It could have killed a six-tribtion Envoy.

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s mouth fell open. "There really was a trap..."

    Zhi Bing let out a contemptuous snort before pointing forwards. "We¡¯ll rest in that city for a few days while we wait for more people to join us."

    "Is that... a grave?" Mu Mu was surprised.

    Zhi Bingmented, "So, not all of you arepletely ignorant."

    "What graveyard? Isn''t that a city?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Mu Mu exined, ¡°Cards withid traps that are unable to bear the powers contained within, or a powerhouse forcefully escaping from a card, but still eventually perishing from the trap. This is the grave of such an incident.¡±

 Chapter 2713: Comparing Strength

    <h4>Chapter 2713: Comparing Strength</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at the distant city. "You¡¯re saying that a peak powerhouse was killed in that city."

    "One of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages was killed there," Zhi Bing said, his hands sped behind his back.

    Everyone was startled, as none of them had known this detail, not even Mu Mu. She had simply guessed a bit of the story behind the city because of its odd shape. She had not thought that she would actually be correct, much less that one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages would have been killed in the city.

    Jiang Xiaodao spoke up, "Is that Necropolis?"

    Zhi Bingughed. "So you¡¯re not aplete idiot."

    Xu Yue grew curious. "Hey, Jiang Xiaodao, what are you talking about?"

    An ugly expression appeared on Jiang Xiaodao''s face. "A long time ago, when the Cyclic Universe first made contact with the Lost n, they went to war. The Cyclic Universe sent five of the Nine Sages, and one of them died here. That was the feat that allowed the Lost n to be epted as a member of the Sixverse Association.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the distant city. The Sixverse Association had not been put together withoutplications, as the different universes had also gone to war with each other.

    Wen San realized something. "Wait, were the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages around even before the Sixverse Association was established?"

    "The Three Sovereigns and Nine-" Jiang Xiaodao started to answer, but then he suddenly realized that Wen Sansi had asked the question, so the young man stopped himself and instead finished with, "Are none of your business!"

    Wen Sansi ignored thement.

    Necropolis was a bustling city. From what Zhi Bing had said, the city had been an important site for the Lost n for multiple eras.

    Of course, Jiang Xiaodao just rolled his eyes as Zhi Bing spoke.

    While Necropolis was a city, it far exceeded the size of a normal city. It spread across outer space, and while it was not asrge as an entire, it was stillrge enough to amodate billions of people.

    From Xu Jie and Mu Mu, as well as the memories of some people he had Possessed, Lu Yin was aware that the Lost n had a small poption, and most of them wandered about their universe. They were an insr group that would not allow outsiders ess to their central territories.

    Not only that, but the Lost n also forbade its people from intermarrying with outsiders in order to maintain the purity of the Lost n¡¯s bloodlines.

    Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaodaoughed again.

    When they arrived at Necropolis, they heard many of the people there talking about the Shangsan Festival, and some of the people were even older experts who would soon head to the Lost n¡¯s central territories to participate in the Shangsan Festival. There was no age limit for the event, and both young and old were wee to participate.

    Of course, there were also some people who were nervous. After all, trading a card was not a respectful action to the Lost n. When Jiang Xiaodao had oncemented that his card was not very good, Zhi Xiao had gotten quite upset. Requesting to trade cards was something that many people felt would offend senior members of the Lost n.

    Everyone had their own thoughts.

    Lu Yin and the rest of the group who had traveled from the Sixverse Academy attracted a great deal of attention when they arrived in Necropolis. Xu Jie, Mu Mu, and Luo Zang were all regarded as the top geniuses of their own universes, and they were each famous in their own right.

    Xuan Qi was no different. He had be famous for capturing spies in multiple universes, which had made him extremely renowned throughout the Sixverse Association.

    "Didn''t you say that not many people outside of the Lost n have cards? Why are there so many here?" Wen Sansi wondered.

    Xu Yue answered, "These people are the culmination of many years. The Lost n is a full fledged member of the Sixverse Association, and they can¡¯t bepletely cut off from the rest of the megaverse. Theymunicate with other universes, especially the Endless Frontier. They don¡¯t keep to themselves, have friends in other universes, conduct trade, and fight on many different battlefields. After countless years, many cards have been picked up by outsiders, though it¡¯s unusual to see so many of them gathered in one ce.¡±

    Wen Sansi smiled at Xu Yue. "Thank you."

    "Little Yue, don''t talk to him!" Jiang Xiaodao moved to stop Xu Yue.

    Wen Sansi ignored thement as he continued to look around.

    Everyone had intended to go their own way after entering the city, but they were drawn by amotion at the entrance, and thus they all ended up gathering together again.

    Right at the entrance to Necropolis, a sign had been ced high up. It simply disyed: "Everyone who looks at me is a fool."

    Sitting under the sign sat a muscr man. He leaned forward off his chair and wolfed down the food off a table in front of him in an unsightly manner.

    The air was filled with people cursing the man, but no one stepped forward.

    The muscr man nced around as he ate, and the contempt in his eyes was quite obvious, which only made people angrier.

    "The bastard¡¯s been there for days, and all he does is hold his sign up and insult people. He needs a beating!"

    "Has anyone challenged him?"

    "He won¡¯t fight¡ªhe¡¯ll only arm wrestle. Anyone who challenges and loses is treated as a coward, but if anyone beats him, he¡¯s promised to give them anything they want."

    "Get real. What? He¡¯s going to give me what I want if I say that I want to be a peak powerhouse?"

    "Brother, you¡¯ve got quite a way with words. Why don''t you go over and give it a shot?"

    "Just give me a moment. Let me ask you first, has anyone challenged you yet?"

    "They have."

    "And?"

    "Their arms were shattered."

    "What? All of them?"

    "Everyst one of them had their arm broken."

    The man immediately stepped back and hid his face.

    The muscr man spat in contempt, and then pushed his sign even higher as he shouted, "You¡¯re nothing but a bunch of trash! If you don''t dare to challenge me, then just stay away. Don''t bother me while I''m eating."

    Just past the crowd, Lu Yin and others were watching.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s face twitched. "That foodie came too? He even got here before me."

    "You know him?" Xu Yue was curious.

    Jiang Xiaodao rolled his eyes. "Snack Sage."

    "That¡¯s Snack Sage? Him?" Xu Yue was surprised.

    Mu Mu was simrly caught off guard. "That¡¯s Snack Sage?"

    Lu Yin looked at the muscr man. Snack Sage? The name reminded Lu Yin of the Perennial World¡¯s God of Food.

    Of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, one of the Sages was known as Food Sage. Food Sage had a son, who was known as Snack Sage. It was a surprise to see the young man in Necropolis.

    The muscr man rapidly devoured all of the food on the table. He then grabbed the table itself, opening his mouth while looking at the group of people with Lu Yin. "Jiang Xiaodao, you bastard, do you think that hiding prevents me from seeing you?"

    As Snack Sage shouted, heunched the table at the crowd.

    Jiang Xiaodao lost his temper. "Snack Sage, you¡¯re just a coward!"

    He pped the table with a hand, shattering it.

    The muscr manughed raucously. "I thought that some time in the Sixverse Academy would help you progress, but you¡¯re still such a little girl, bah!"

    Jiang Xiaodao''s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He wanted to go beat the bastard, but he managed to hold himself back. He knew that Snack Sage was beyond his abilities, and not by a little. Jiang Xiaodao was a second stage Demi-Immortal, while Snack Sage was a fourth stage Demi-Immortal.

    Snack Sage was also decades older than Jiang Xiaodao, though they saw themselves as from the same generation.

    Jiang Xiaodao gasped, "Just wait, Snack Sage. I¡¯ll beat you to death sooner orter!"

    The muscr man spat out, "Sissy."

    He then looked at Lu Yin, Xu Jie, and the others near Jiang Xiaodao. "Sissies mingle in groups with other sissies. Men should live on their own! An entire group of sissies, bah."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. This guy was really trying to insult everyone.

    Xu Jie frowned, and Wen Sansi¡¯s almost perpetual smile disappeared, though Luo Zang habitual smile remained.

    Xu Yue stepped forward, only to be pulled back by Xu Jie. "I''ll do it."

    He then walked over to the muscr man. Snack Sage¡¯s eyes lit up. "You¡¯ve got a pretty face... I recognize you, you''re that genius from the Voidforce Universe. You¡¯re out of your league. Go home and hold your child, haha."

    Xu Jie calmly asked, "Arm wrestling?"

    The muscr man sat back down. He looked into Xu Ji¡¯s calm face and ced his arm on the table before shouting, "Let¡¯s go!"

    Xu Jie did not hesitate, and he reached out and locked hands with Snack Sage.

    "You¡¯re going to regret this, pretty boy." The muscr man grinned.

    Xu Ji''s eyes were cold and hard. "I hope that your strength warrants your arrogance."

    "Ha, I suddenly like you! Come on!" With a loud shout, the man started to push, using enough strength that the void trembled and visible ripples started to spread out, pushing everyone nearby back.

    Lu Yin and others in his group all stepped forward to watch the match.

    They were not sure just how strong Snack Sage was, but Xu Jie had decent strength. He had not used his full power against Ling Gong and was much better than her in terms of both cultivation level and physical strength. On top of that, his voidforce puppet was the Wu Tian Stone Disc, which was capable of increasing to an astronomical size. Without sufficient physical strength, how could Xu Jie ever use his weapon in a battle?

    Xu Yue was very confident in Xu Jie.

    However, the results shocked everyone.

    Three breaths, just three breaths, and Xu Jie had already lost. There had not been any chance at all.

    Seeing his arm pinned down, Xu Jie''s eyes flickered. How could he have been defeated so quickly?

    Jiang Xiaodao shrugged. He was the only one not surprised by the results. In apetition of strength, none of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages could overpower Food Sage, and likewise, no one in Snack Sage¡¯s generation was capable of overpowering him. There were even rumors that, when Snack Sage had first met the Junior Sovereign, the Junior Sovereign himself had said that he could not defeat Snack Sage in apetition of pure strength.

    When Xu Jie let go, his arm felt weak.

    However, Snack Sage praised Xu Ji¡¯s efforts. "That was impressive, Pretty Boy! You held out for three breaths, and your arm didn¡¯t even shatter. That¡¯s rare. You are much better than that wuss Jiang Xiaodao. Not bad at all."

    Xu Jie stood up and took a long look at Snack Sage. "Thanks for going easy, Snack Sage."

    Snack Sageughed. "Xu Jie, right? I like you!"

    He then looked at the rest of the group with Jiang Xiaodao. "Are there any other men with the courage to stand up?"

    Jiang Xiaodao turned to Wen Sansi. "Why don''t you try?"

    Wen Sansi calmly replied, "I am a schr."

    The muscr man sneered. "Coward!"

    Wen Sansi looked over at Snack Sage. "Brain triumphs over brawn."

    Snack Sage red back. "Then try to beat me with your brain, and I''ll use my brawn. Feel free to do whatever you want."

    Wen Sansi immediately stepped forward and sat down across from Snack Sage. "Whatever I want?"

    He was met with a sneer. "Go for it. Do whatever you want."

    Wen Sansi reached out and locked hands with the muscr man. He then frowned and nced back at Lu Yin. The feeling that Wen Sansi got from this Snack Sage was not unfamiliar, but it was a sense of being absolutely helpless before an overwhelming power. It was something that he had only ever experienced before with Lu Yin.

    After all, Lu Yin was another freak when it came to physical strength.

    "Begin!" the muscr man shouted.

    Wen Sansi''s eyes went wide, and one ancient, golden character after another emerged from his arms and wrapped around Snack Sage¡¯s wrist while everyone watched in surprise. Wen Sansi was using his Literary Prison.

    Right from the get-go, Wen Sansi was using Literary Prison to trap Snack Sage¡¯s wrist. This locked the muscr arm in ce, and in order to move, Snack Sage would need to shatter the Literary Prison.

    This meant that the man not only needed to ovee Wen Sansi¡¯s physical strength, but it was also necessary to first break free from the Literary Prison while using nothing but brute strength.

    Literary Prison was a powerful technique that had allowed Wen Sansi to be one of the Ten Arbiters. Before the Astral Towerpetition, Wen Sansi had never even revealed any other techniques or abilities. Literary Prison alone had been enough to solidify his status as one of the Ten Arbiters, and the power of the technique could only be imagined.

    After bing an Envoy, Wen Sansi¡¯s Literary Prison had only be stronger. On top of that, he did not use the traditional Literary Prison from the Fifth Maind¡¯s Wen family, but rather the greater, sevenyered Literary Prison from the Perennial World¡¯s Virtue Archives that had been developed by Progenitor Wen.

    The Literary Prison shackled the man¡¯s wrist like a golden cuff. Snack Sage frowned at it. "This is hideous."

    As he spoke, he started to push. For a moment, Wen Sansi''s pupils shrank, as Snack Sage¡¯s wrist moved down until it pressed against the Literary Prison. Wen Sansi waspletely helpless to hold the man back. Their strength was inpletely different leagues, and Wen Sansi knew that he was no match for Snack Sage.

    However, Snack Saint''s movement was suddenly stopped. The Literary Prison held him in ce and would not let him move any further.

    Jiang Xiaodao got excited. "Haha, Snack Sage, you can''t win, can you? This guy can''t beat you, but you can''t beat him either, haha!"

 Chapter 2714: Lu Yin VS. Snack Sage

    <h4>Chapter 2714: Lu Yin VS. Snack Sage</h4>

    Snack Sage looked at Wen Sansi and licked his lips. "Boy, you have some skill. What is this?"

    Wen Sansi replied, "Literary Prison."

    Snack Sage smiled. "Literary Prison? You imprisoned my wrist? You¡¯ve got guts."

    As he spoke, his strength suddenly spiked, and the Literary Prison shattered.

    Jiang Xiaodao''s smile did not even have a chance to disappear. How had it broken so quickly?

    Wen Sansi had already expected the Literary Prison to break, and as soon as it did, oneyer after another appeared. Instantly, sevenyers of Literary Prison had wrapped around Snack Sage¡¯s wrist like seven golden bracelets.

    The man was truly surprised at this moment. While he had broken through a singleyer of the Literary Prison, it had taken a tremendous effort, and now he had to deal with sevenyers?

    "Where are you from, pretty boy?" Snack Sage asked as he took a second look at Wen Sansi, much like he had with Xu Jie.

    The difference between the two was such that Xu Jie had managed to endure for three breaths with his own strength. While that was far beyond Wen Sansi¡¯s abilities, he had other means to impress Snack Sage.

    Wen Sansi looked up. "The Origin Universe."

    Snack Sage was surprised. "You¡¯re from the Origin Universe? Interesting, haha, that¡¯s very interesting."

    As heughed, the firstyer of the Literary Prison was broken, followed by the secondyer, the third, and then the fourth.

    The Literary Prison was unable to stop the man. Eachyer only gave Wen Sansi the means to endure for another breath at best, and all sevenyers of the Literary Prison onlysted for a mere seven breaths.

    Lu Yin could not help but take two steps forward as he stared at Snack Sage. This man¡¯s strength was really impressive.

    The moment thestyer of the Literary Prison shattered, everyone expected to see Wen Sansi be instantly defeated. Not even a sevenyered Literary Prison had been able to hold back Snack Sage, so how would Wen Sansi endure without it?

    However, they were all surprised yet again, as the expected scene did not y out. Wen Sansi actually did endure. Not only that, but with a low growl, Snack Sage''s expression changed drastically, as though witnessing something incredible.

    Wen Sansi pushed Snack Sage¡¯s hand back, nearly forcing it to touch the table. In an instant, the situation had beenpletely reversed.

    Everyone watching held their breath as they stared at Snack Sage''s wrist. If it moved just a tiny bit further, the man would lose. It was such a small distance.

    Jiang Xiaodao stepped forward and squatted down to get a better look at the table before excitedly saying, "Hey, push a bit harder! If you can beat this foodie, you¡¯ll be famous in the Cyclic Universe."

    Mu Mu, Luo Zang, and Xu Jie all grew solemn. They had not expected to see such a situation.

    The more someone understood Snack Sage, the more aware of his freakish strength they became. How could such power be countered in an instant? Wen Sansi did not give off the impression of being physically powerful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as well. He had not expected this from Wen Sansi either. How was he doing it?

    From what Lu Yin knew of Wen Sansi, even after the man had be an Envoy, he should not possess such strength.

    Snack Sage was equal to a four-tribtion Envoy, while Wen Sansi was only a one-tribtion Envoy. They were both extremely talented, but Lu Yin did not believe that Wen Sansi could surpass Snack Sage, just as Lu Yin believed that it would be impossible for Snack Sage to do the same if Wen Sansi¡¯s cultivation was greater. Whichever of the two had the greater cultivation level would hold the advantage. Snack Sage was on the same level as the Ten Arbiters, just like Xu Jie.

    In that case, what was the exnation for what had just happened?

    Snack Sage''s expression grew far more serious than ever before. His wrist was nearly touching the table, and he stared at Wen Sansi intently. "Why didn''t you win?"

    Jiang Xiaodao looked at him in a confused manner. "Snack Sage, are you an idiot? Do you want him to win?"

    Snack Sage ignored Jiang Xiaodao as he continued to stare at Wen Sansi.

    The man just smiled. "Using battle techniques would be cheating. If I had just won, that would not have been by using my brain, but rather by being sneaky."

    The people watching all felt quite confused, but Snack Sage smiled happily. Gone was all contempt when he looked at Wen Sansi. It had been reced with a bit of acknowledgement. "What''s your name?"

    "Wen Sansi."

    "I may agree with you, Wen Sansi, but you only get one chance. You didn¡¯t win just now, which means that it¡¯s impossible for you to win anymore. I¡¯ve already prepared myself. You made it so that I was unable to find my own strength for a moment by misleading my mind," Snack Sage said excitedly. "I¡¯ve never encountered such an opponent before. This is very, very interesting and is worthy of the Origin Universe."

    Luo Zang and others were taken aback; How had Wen Sansi misled Snack Sage about his own power? Had he lost his own strength? What did that mean, and how was it possible?

    Lu Yin stared at Wen Sansi for a long moment. So, the man had used his innate gift: Barrier.

    In the past, Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift had been nothing more than a very, very durable barrier. When Lu Yin had first seen it in action during the Astral Towerpetition, many people had been rendered helpless against the barrier, and they had found it impossible to ovee. However, Wen Sansi had developed his innate gift to the point where it was no longer restricted to shielding the physical, and was able to even block people¡¯s perception, such as their perception of their own strength.

    Anyone who encountered such an ability for the first time would be confused and unable to react quickly.

    Snack Sage had briefly lost awareness of his own strength, which had caused him to be instantly pushed back by Wen Sansi.

    This was the ability of Wen Sansi, Arbiter Wen Sansi.

    While Lu Yin had already surpassed the Ten Arbiters and defeated each of them in turn, none of them were by any means weak. It was simply that Lu Yin was too much of a freak. In terms of both talent and opportunities, Lu Yin far surpassed the Ten Arbiters. However, if they had been given the same opportunities as Lu Yin, they might not be far behind him.

    When Lu Yin had first met Mister Mu on the tall mountain above the golden ocean, the man had praised Unseen Light.

    None of the Ten Arbiters were easy to deal with.

    Wen Sansi suddenly rose to his feet. "Alright, this is done."

    Snack Sage frowned. "Where are you going? I haven¡¯t beaten you yet."

    Wen Sansi smiled. "In terms of strength, I am nowhere near your opponent. I¡¯ve only recently developed this ability and am not yet very proficient with it. It would be bad to expose it too soon."

    Snack Sage snorted disdainfully. "I was just admiring you, and now you¡¯re running and hiding. All you humans are like this! You like to hide your heads and show your tails. How boring."

    Jiang Xiaodao started to get a bit anxious. "Hey, you should keep going! If you can beat this idiot, you¡¯ll be famous throughout the Sixverse Association! It¡¯s no lie, you will definitely be very famous."

    Wen Sansi looked over. "But I''m from the Origin Universe."

    Jiang Xiaodao instantly deted. It was true that Wen Sansi was from the Origin Universe, and this was not something that could be ignored. It most would likely not be a good thing for someone from the Origin Universe to be too famous in the Sixverse Association.

    Luo Zang stepped forward while looking at Wen Sansi. "If you would like, I can ask my father to ept you as his disciple, allowing you to leave the Origin Universe."

    Wen Sansi nced at Luo Zang. "The Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Monarch Luo?"

    Mu Mu spoke up as well. "You could also join our Arboreal Realm. Many outsiders end up joining the Sixverse Association. Xuan Qi is someone from a foreign universe who joined the Sixverse Association, and he¡¯s be a part of the Voidforce Universe. He was once pursued by my Arboreal Realm as well."

    "The Voidforce Universe would also wee you," Xu Jiemented before looking over at Xuan Qi, indicating for Xuan Qi to say something. Wen Sansi was unquestionably a genius. He had almost defeated Snack Sage in apetition of strength, which removed any doubt as to how impressive Wen Sansi was.

    There was a bang as Snack Sage punched his table and red at Wen Sansi. "Get over here! I¡¯ll have my father ept you as his disciple! He¡¯ll surely appreciate you."

    Jiang Xiaodao had a strange expression on his face. Things were not going the way he had expected. This was supposed to be apetition of strength, but this pretty boy seemed to be quite popr, even with Snack Sage. <i>Should I recruit some geniuses for Dad?</i>

    "This is really tempting. It''s hard to refuse an invitation from the Sixverse Association!" Wen Sansimented, "I need to consider this carefully."

    Mu Mu replied, "If you encounter any trouble, just join one of us."

    Luo Zang said with a smile, "If you are worried about your family in the Origin Universe, we can help you take care of them."

    Wen Sansi was caught off guard. "You can take care of them? My Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch, Lu Yin, is not at all simple, and I¡¯ve heard that even the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sage Yuan Shen can¡¯t do anything about him."

    Luo Zang remained confident. "You don''t have to worry about that."

    "Really?" Wen Sansi looked over at Lu Yin. "Brother Xuan Qi, you are also an outsider, and yet you joined the Voidforce Universe. How are you doing now?"

    Lu Yin took a moment before answering, "Very well."

    Wen Sansi nodded. "Alright, I''ll consider your invitations, and I¡¯ll definitely join one of the six universes. After all, a good bird chooses the right tree to roost in."

    "Smart!" Lu Yinplimented.

    Luo Zang wanted to say something else to Wen Sansi, but suddenly, everyone looked behind them in surprise.

    Luo Zang turned around to see Lu Yin sitting across from Snack Sage, his arm already up. "It''s my turn."

    Snack Sage stared at Lu Yin in surprise. He had not expected anyone else from this group to challenge him. "This is a good day, challengers areing one after another. Jiang Xiaodao, a sissy like you doesn''t deserve to be around these people."

    Jiang Xiaodao bared his teeth. "You¡¯re the sissy! Your whole family are sissies!"

    Snack Sage ignored the man and turned back to re at Lu Yin. "Just as I told Wen Sansi, you can use battle techniques or any other ability you have. Use whatever you want to try to win."

    Lu Yin smiled. "No need. My strength is pretty good, so let¡¯s have apetition of pure strength."

    Everyone stared at Xuan Qi as though they were looking at him for the first time. He wanted topete with Snack Sage in terms of physical strength? How was that any different from seeking death?

    "Xuan Qi, he is incredibly strong." Xu Jie could not stop himself from offering a warning. He did not want anything to happen to Xuan Qi.

    While Xu Yue did not like Xuan Qi, even she felt a bit worried about him after spending so long in the Red Zone and following him around.

    Jiang Xiaodao was more surprised than anyone. "Hey, don''t go asking for trouble by trying topete with this guy in terms of strength. Xu Jie already did pretty good¡ªmost people¡¯s arms will simply be shattered!"

    Snack Sage looked at Lu Yin with an arrogant expression. "You will regret this!"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Regretting this would be embarrassing. If you can''t win, you should at least be a sore loser."

    "Hahahaha, you at least have the guts! Fine, I''ll help you and won''t let you look too pathetic when you lose." Snack Sage grinned and showed his teeth as he licked his lips. "I¡¯ll break your wrist!"

    He then reached out and locked hands with Lu Yin.

    At that moment, Snack Sage''s expression changed, and he looked up at Lu Yin with shock and confusion.

    Snack Sage had arm wrestled many different people over the years, most of whom had been older experts. He had a great deal of experience and was able to gain some measure of his opponents¡¯ strength as soon as they sped hands.

    For example, he had been able to evaluate both Xu Jie and Wen Sansi and had known their strength. As for Xuan Qi?

    Snack Sage stared at his opponent, and Lu Yin smiled back. "Let''s get started."

    The moment he spoke, Jiang Xiaodao, who had been standing closest to the table, was hit by an invisible force and pushed back more than ten paces. It was not only him, as Xu Jie and everyone else nearby was unable to react as they were pushed back by an irresistible force.

    The entire city trembled as the ground cracked.

    Lu Yin and Snack Sage were at the center of a visible shockwave that swept out in an explosion. The ground shattered, and dust filled the air, instantly covering the two men.

    No one could believe that this was just arm wrestling, as it seemed more like a big battle given themotion that they were causing.

 Chapter 2715: Two Monsters

    <h4>Chapter 2715: Two Monsters</h4>

    People were not even able to see through the dust.

    Xu Jie and others were badly startled; was Xuan Qi really this strong?

    Jiang Xiaodao¡¯s mouth hung open, and dust flew in without him even noticing. He had seen this same scene before, but only when Snack Sage had used his full power. The man was as strong as a dragon, and when he released his full strength, he could transform the world. This was what happened when Food Sage¡¯s lineagepeted in strength, though there were very few people who could make them try their best.

    What had happened to Xuan Qi?

    Wen Sansi''s eyes shone brightly. He was not at all surprised to see this from Lu Yin. The Dao Monarch had many different impressive abilities, but his physical strength had always stood out. Anytime Lu Yin had faced an opponent, his physical attacks, starting with Vacuum Palm andter progressing to Hollow Palm, had been enough to defeat all of his peers without issue.

    Throughout the entire Fifth Maind, there was no one who couldpare to Lu Yin, and Snack Sage was no match either.

    The city shook, and the fissures in the ground spread as everyone nearby quickly fled the area. Even the gates to the city were shaking.

    The dust billowed about and formed a tornado that rose up high into the sky, connecting to the sky and the earth.

    Within the vortex, Lu Yin and Xiaoshi Sheng held in the same position as ever, staring at each other with excitement.

    "What''s your name?" For the third time in one day, Snack Sage asked for someone''s name. It was also quite clear that he was far more excited than either of the two previous asions.

    Lu Yin alsoughed. This man was impressively strong, to the point where it seemed a bit impossible. "Xuan Qi."

    The Lu family had been famous for their physical strength, to the point where even a corpse king would be no match after undergoing a Corpse King Transformation. Lu Yin had never encountered anyone who could match his physical strength. Snack Sage was quite powerful.

    Snack Sage was also thinking the same thing. "You¡¯re impressive!"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Same to you!"

    "How much more do you have?" Snack Sage''s eyes grewrge.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Are you not trying your best yet?"

    "Of course not! Now, don''t let me down. How much more do you have left?" Snack Sage yelled.

    Nearby, Jiang Xiaodao and others just stared at the two monsters. The strength they were releasing was visible to the naked eye, and the pressure made it impossible for them to even breathe. The force pressed down harder and harder on the surrounding area until even the space waspressed.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous."

    Snack Sageughed wildly. "This is the first time anyone¡¯s said something like that to me during a contest of strength. Let¡¯s go, Xuan Qi!"

    As the man spoke, the muscles in his arm bulged, squirming beneath his skin as though they were alive. His skin started to change color, and what looked like scales started to appear.

    Lu Yin''s wrist was instantly forced back. The sudden change in force had almost caused him to lose. However, a momentter, a light started to emanate from his entire body.

    Snack Sage was taken aback, as this sort of light would only appear when someone¡¯s body had reached its limits for the person¡¯s current cultivation realm. "Awesome! Amazing! Haha, keep going!"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew stern, and he started bringing out the full power of the Lu family. The two hands returned to the starting position; neither man could overpower the other.

    Jiang Xiaodao was stunned. Snack Sage¡¯s true identity was starting to be exposed, and yet he still was not able to overpower Xuan Qi. What was the deal with this guy?

    Mu Mu, Xu Jie, Luo Zang, and others grew solemn as they stared at Xuan Qi in utter disbelief.

    The pressure that filled the area grew stronger and stronger, and a wind swept out in all directions.

    More and more scales started appearing on Snack Sage''s arm, and soon, the armpletely changed. It no longer belonged to a human.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed; this man was not even human. It was no wonder why he was so strong.

    There were no humans with greater physical strength than the Lu family.

    More and more power welled up from deep within Lu Yin''s body. The greater the pressure he was up against, the more his strength would rise.

    Aside from some moments shortly after he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had never experienced the sensation of releasing his full strength.

    He was confident that he could overpower Snack Sage. Even if Snack Sage used more strength, it would not matter. Lu Yin also still had Extremes Must Be Reversed to keep things in his favor. He had the strength to crush everything. However, Lu Yin looked over at Snack Sage. "This is everything that I¡¯ve got."

    Snack Sage smiled, though he also appeared quite solemn. "Same here."

    "You can''t beat me," Lu Yin stated.

    Snack Sage''s smile grew. "But you can''t beat me either."

    At this moment, a person arrived. It was an old man, and he waved a hand, bringing out a floating card. "I am the lord of Necropolis. If you insist on continuing to destroy my city, then you can¡¯t me me for acting against you¡ªI will expel you from the Shangsan Festival."

    Lu Yin and Snack Sage both froze at the same instance.

    Snack Sage wiggled his wrist around as he stared at Xuan Qi in disbelief.

    Lu Yin bowed to the old man. "I am deeply sorry, Senior. I am willing topensate Necropolis for any losses suffered."

    The old man grunted. "Forget it. I can¡¯t me those who don''t know any better."

    He then shot a nce at Snack Sage and left.

    "Xuan Qi, let¡¯s go again!" Snack Sage was still as eager topete as ever. He had finally met someone with a simr level of strength as himself, and he was excited to continue thepetition.

    Lu Yin replied, "We¡¯re in Necropolis. If we continue to destroy this city, we will be held ountable. We need to stop here."

    "No, let¡¯s keep going! We haven¡¯t determined a winner yet." Snack Sage was unwilling to stop.

    Jiang Xiaodao had gotten excited. "Xuan Qi, how are you actually a match for Snack Sage? What a freak! Snack Sage, do you still have the guts to act so arrogantly?"

    Snack Sage instantly grew disdainful. "Sissy, get lost!"

    Lu Yin was also eager topete with the man. It had been many years since anyone had been able topete with him in physical strength. However, he soon regrettedpeting with Snack Sage.

    After the tie, Snack Sage followed Lu Yin around and constantly pestered him wherever he went.

    For a time, Xu Jie and Xu Yue also followed Xuan Qi, but they quickly became fed up by Snack Sage, who was incredibly irritating. Every few steps he took, he would make somement or another about strength or arm wrestling. The consistency was so aggravating that the siblings soon left.

    Needless to say, Jiang Xiaodao was the first to escape from Snack Sage¡¯s presence.

    As for Wen Sansi, he had be extremely popr all of a sudden. Mu Mu invited him to go shopping with her, as did Luo Zang. Wen Sansi did not turn down any invitation, and he constantly maintained his typical elegant, refined appearance.

    "Xuan Qi, let''s go again! This time, we can be more careful and make sure to not destroy anything. Let''s go again, just once!" Snack Sage never stopped talking as he walked along with Lu Yin. Anytime other people looked at the man, he would stare at them and call them cowards. Lu Yin¡¯s headache was growing, and he lost all desire to tour Necropolis, despite initially wanting to see what was so special about the city that it had be the tomb of one of the Nine Sages.

    "Why do you need topete in strength?" Lu Yin felt cornered.

    Snack Sage mmed a hand against his chest with a banging sound. "I want to beat Dad! Dad said that the more often Ipete against people, the more my own strength will rise. Eventually, I¡¯ll rise above even him and be the strongest person in the Sixverse Association. Well, not person, Taotie.¡±

    Lu Yin briefly froze in surprise. "Taotie?"

    Snack Sage lifted his hand, instantly transforming his hand into ws. "The Food Sage¡¯s family are all Taoties. Didn¡¯t you know?"

    Lu Yin truly had not known. He had heard of Taoties before, but that had been from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Nan Yanfei. That guy was from the Blood Homage Realm, where people would absorb bloodlines of various creatures, incorporating those powers into their own. From the Taotie''s bloodline, the more that Nan Yanfei ate, the stronger he became. "Are you a pure-blooded Taotie?"

    Snack Sage looked confused. "Are there any mixed-blood Taoties?"

    Lu Yin looked away. This man was a treasure! If Nan Yanfei learned that there was a pure-blooded Taotie, he would burst into tears and insist on going to see for himself.

    If Snack Sage ever visited the Sixth Maind, he would be eaten alive.

    Snack Sage continued to annoy Lu Yin, begging for anotherpetition of strength.

    How could Lu Yin agree? It was also a vicious trap, as Lu Yin could not even allow himself to win. If he won, Snack Sage would be even more insistent.

    After half a day, Lu Yin ran into another acquaintance: Little Lian. The little girl was happily shopping around, followed by several other people, who were likely other disciples of Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    When Little Lian saw Xuan Qi, she waved at him. Even though the man was despised by most of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples because of the incident with Cheng Feng, Little Lian had never done anything or changed how she treated Xuan Qi. After all, Cheng Feng¡¯s identity as a spy had been proven.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to approach the girl, Little Lian saw Snack Sage, and she instantly turned around to leave.

    The people who were following her also noticed Snack Sage, and disgust instantly covered their features.

    "Bah, what a bunch of cowards!" Snack Sage spat with contempt.

    Lu Yin was speechless. <i>People really hate you!</i>

    With Snack Sage shadowing him, Lu Yin was unable to do anything in Necropolis. He wanted to lose the big man, but the city was only so big.

    After several days, he was more exhausted than after a battle.

    Finally, after a few more days, Zhi Bing reappeared and led the gathered people to another ce. This time, it was no longer just Lu Yin and the others who were escorted, as there were more than thirty people in total, nearly half of whom were powerful experts from older generations. Additionally, Snack Sage and Little Lian tagged along.

    Everyone kept as much distance from Snack Sage as possible. He was arrogant and condescending, to the point where, even when the older people looked at him, he would re back at them and call them cowards, ruffling more than a few feathers. However, if any of them arm wrestled the Taotie, they would have their arms broken. Luckily, everyone was stopped by Zhi Bing. If too many of the older experts lost their temper with Snack Sage, the situation would get even moreplicated.

    The group¡¯s next stop was not anything like Necropolis, as it was just an ordinary.

    Zhi Bing also made sure that Snack Sage did nothing on the, as it would be too easy for such amon to bepletely destroyed.

    After spending a few days on the, Zhi Bing led the group along, and they continued on their way.

    Half a month passed in this same manner. The group would stop at various locations to collect a few more people and then continue on their way. Eventually, there were nearly a hundred people in the group, most of whom were older cultivators.

    Even so, the most despised person in the entire group remained Snack Sage.

    ording to Jiang Xiaodao, Snack Sage incited hatred wherever he went.

    During this time, Zhi Bing allowed everyone in the group to see the many traps that were scattered across the universe, mostly because he was forced to remove the traps himself. The traps did not care if someone was from the Lost n or an invader. They werepletely indiscriminate.

    "This next ce is ourst gathering point. After that, we will enter the Lost n¡¯s core region. We will spend five days here. Do not attack anyone or damage anything at all. Anyone who does not listen will be expelled from the Shangsan Festival." Zhi Bing gave a stern warning to the entire group.

    They were currently in front of a massive river that flowed through space, beautiful and glowing with its own light.

    There werendmasses drifting above the river, each one home to a city.

    When Zhi Bing came to a stop, everyone scattered.

    No one wanted to stay with Xuan Qi, as Snack Sage had driven them all away.

    Lu Yin found a randomndmass and went to visit it. The buildings in the city were all wooden, and there were many restaurants that climbed high into the sky in order to provide beautiful, panoramic views, despite such height meaning nothing to cultivators.

    "Bring out the food! Bring out the food! Hurry up!" Snack Sage shouted as soon as he entered the restaurant, causing everyone inside to jump and then re at him.

    "What are you looking at, you cowards? Fight me like the others!" Snack Sageshed out viciously as he nted his sign so that everyone could see it above his head. It was clear that he was trying to provoke the guests of the restaurant.

    After all, if someone lost their temper, they would agree topete with him.

    Snack Sage simply puffed a breath and sted the first man out of the restaurant. "Forget it, they¡¯re just ordinary humans."

    The man had been the equivalent of a Melder, but to Snack Sage, he was indeed no better than an ordinary human.

    At that moment, no one in the restaurant dared to make any trouble for Snack Sage, and he was left alone to put up his sign.

    Lu Yin found a seat with a view of the beautiful river in the distance. He then ate a meal while listening to Snack Sage eating voraciously. It soon turned into nothing more than background sound, and Lu Yin was able to rx.

 Chapter 2716: Shan Barrens

    <h4>Chapter 2716: Shan Barrens</h4>

    An hourter, Snack Sage was still eating.

    Two hours passed, then three. Even after half a day had gone by, he was still eating.

    The people in the restaurant did not leave, and they instead all looked at him as though he were a monster.

    Snack Sage ate very quickly, and he maintained that speed for a very long time. People did not know if he had a stomach or a cosmic ring that he was shoving all of the food into.

    The restaurant owner was about to cry. All of his ingredients had been used up, and he was terrified that Snack Sage would run away without paying his bill.

    At this time, a woman entered the restaurant, and she instantly drew everyone''s attention away from Snack Sage.

    This woman had a face like a charming fox, eyes like autumn water. Her golden robes gave her an air of elegance.

    Such abination of looks in a single person made the woman the focus of everyone''s attention the moment she appeared.

    Lu Yin also had his attention attracted to this woman. She was someone who belonged to Sovereign Shao Yin, as her golden robes were identical to the ones that Shao Qingfeng had once worn.

    Snack Sage looked up. "That meddlesome fox? Why are you here? What rotten bad luck."

    The woman looked over, noticed Snack Sage, and gave him a small smile. "What a coincidence, Snack Sage."

    Snack Sage instantly grew contemptuous. "Coward."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This man would even insult women. No, he was a Taotie, not a man or a human. It made sense for him to not differentiate between men and women.

    The woman waspletely unfazed. She walked over to Lu Yin. "I am Shao Gu. You are Xuan Qi, no?"

    Lu Yin nodded and asked, "Your name sounds very simr to Shao Qingfeng¡¯s."

    "He is my junior brother." Shao Gu said as she sat down naturally.

    Snack Sage pushed his scraps of food over in front of the woman. It was clear that he did not want her to stay.

    However, Shao Gu was used to such treatment from Snack Sage and ignored his actions. "Snack Sheng never shares a table with anyone. I wonder, how did you pull this off, Xuan Qi?"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I don''t want to, myself."

    Snack Sage frowned and turned to stare at Shao Gu. "If you know my preferences and still insist on sitting here, are you trying to provoke me?"

    Shao Gu smiled. "My presence here has nothing to do with you. I wanted to meet Xuan Qi, who is famous in the Sixverse Association."

    Snack Sage snorted contemptuously and resumed eating.

    Lu Yin looked at Shao Gu. He had seen too many beautiful women before. While this woman was very attractive, it was not to the extent that Lu Yin was attracted to her. At the very least, Madam Nn was far more attractive than Shao Gu.

    The woman continued to stare at Xuan Qi. "Xuan Qi, you should understand the Transcendent Universe quite well."

    Lu Yin replied, "A bit, but not too much."

    "I was wondering if you had any clues regarding the disappearance of my junior brother, Shao Qingfeng," Shao Gu said.

    Lu Yin shook his head and helplessly answered, "When that happened, I had already been driven away by the You family and was no longer in the Transcendent Universe."

    "Who do you think attacked him?" Shao Gu asked, staring intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin considered the question for a bit. "I originally assumed that he had been attacked by the You family, but you should already know that the You family was coborating with Sovereign Shao Yin to go after Lord Wei. Thus, it couldn¡¯t have been the You family who attacked Shao Qingfeng. He Ran is also very unlikely. From what little I know, if it wasn¡¯t He Ran, then the only other possibility that I cane up with is a spy."

    Lu Yin had originally said that he wanted to kill He Shu, as he needed to earn the You family¡¯s trust, and they had agreed to have him attack He Shu. You Fang had never thought that Xuan Qi would kill Shao Qingfeng instead. If that possibility hade up, You Fang would have never agreed to the attack, as he had to avoid any possibleplications while working with Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Lu Yin had only returned to the You family after Shao Qingfeng died, so the You family had not been able to even try to stop him.

    With the rtionship between the You family and Sovereign Shao Yin now exposed, it was clear that, in the Transcendent Universe, neither the You family nor He Ran would have taken action against Shao Qingfeng. This left the only other reasonable exnation of a spy.

    As for Lu Yin, no one would guess that Xuan Qi was behind the matter, as what motivation did he have to go after Shao Qingfeng? There was nothing, unless his true identity as Lu Yin was exposed. That would instantly provide ample motive.

    Shao Gu solemnly stated, "Those were my thoughts as well, which is why I came to see you, Xuan Qi. You are very good at catching spies, and I would like to ask you to help us investigate this matter. My master will remember your help."

    Snack Sage snorted in contempt and shot a very disdainful nce at Shao Gu.

    Lu Yin just nodded. "Don''t worry, if I find anything, I will let you know."

    Shao Gu nodded and stood to leave. However, she suddenly hesitated and turned back to face Xuan Qi. "What do you think about my master?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Shao Gu''s eyes flickered, and then she turned around and left without waiting for an answer.

    On the other hand, there was an ugly expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face, as he knew that he had been tricked.

    For a long time, he had made a point of publicly addressing any powerhouses as ¡°Senior,¡± but he had just reflexively referred to Sovereign Shao Yin directly and without any term of respect. The sudden change in behavior had revealed his true attitude towards Sovereign Shao Yin.

    This had to have been Shao Gu¡¯s true reason for wanting to meet Xuan Qi; she wanted to confirm his feelings towards Sovereign Shao Yin, not through words, but by a subconscious reaction.

    The truth was that Lu Yin wanted Sovereign Shao Yin to die as soon as possible, and naturally, he felt absolutely no respect for the man.

    That attitude had been seen through by Shao Gu.

    While she had not been able to see Lu Yin''s hostility towards Sovereign Shao Yin, she had been able to see his disrespect.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "That woman¡¯s a snake."

    Snack Sage lowered a haunch of meat, banging it on the table. "You just figured that out?"

    "You already knew?" Lu Yin asked.

    Snack Sage replied, "Everyone who follows Sovereign Shao Yin is sneaky, though that woman¡¯s the worst. It¡¯s said that she¡¯s the disciple most simr to Sovereign Shao Yin. No one wants to interact with her, as it¡¯s too easy to be taken advantage of."

    "She must be very popr with Sovereign Shao Yin," Lu Yin guessed.

    Snack Sage nodded. He said nothing more and focused entirely on eating.

    Outside the restaurant, Shao Gu was walking away. She had indeed seen Xuan Qi''s attitude, as well as the fact that he did not respect her master at all. Why not? Was it because Sovereign Shao Yin had cooperated with the You family, and the You family had driven Xuan Qi out of the Transcendent Universe after forcing him to frame He Ran? Could there be some other reason?

    This matter needed to be carefully investigated. The farther removed some people were to Shao Qingfeng''s death, the more suspicious they were. Xuan Qi could not escape either.

    A few days quickly passed. Snack Sage continued to pester Lu Yin as before, though Lu Yin just ignored him.

    He would not need to deal with Snack Sage for much longer. As soon as they got to the Lost n¡¯s territory and the Shangsan Festival finished, Lu Yin would be able to get rid of Snack Sage.

    There was no way the guy would chase Xuan Qi to the Voidforce Universe, right?

    That thought gave Lu Yin another headache, as he realized that if Snack Sage continued to stalk him, it would be impossible to go anywhere at all.

    Zhi Bing returned and gathered everyone in outer space.

    This time, they were joined by another group of people, which put their number at almost 200.

    The Sixverse Association consisted of sixty two parallel universes, which were home to countless cultivators. Despite that, only around 1,000 outsiders were estimated to be qualified to attend the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival, which was pitifully low.

    This demonstrated just how exclusive the Lost n was.

    Both the Voidforce Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe were home to cultivation civilizations, just like the Lost n. However, both of them had much, much higher numbers of foreigners who cultivated their power.

    However, the establishment of the Sixverse Academy meant that the number of people who qualified to attend the Shangsan Festival would gradually rise in the future as more people obtained cards from the Sixverse Academy.

    This time, the new group of people included someone that even Lu Yin needed to pay attention to. He had a very high cultivation, even more impressive than Snack Sage¡¯s. On top of that, Jiang Xiaodao smiled when speaking to the man.

    Aside from Little Lian, Lu Yin had never seen Jiang Xiaodao be so polite when speaking to anyone.

    Finally, Little Lian was also close to the man.

    "He¡¯s here too?" Snack Sage was surprised.

    Lu Yin was curious. "You know him?"

    Snack Sage replied, "That¡¯s Gong Yu, Arrow Sage¡¯s disciple. He¡¯s a real man."

    Lu Yin was surprised. For this Gong Yu to receive such praise from Snack Sage, he had to be very powerful.

    Xu Jie had been acknowledged by Snack Sage, but Gong Yu had been called a real man. There was no doubt that he was much stronger than Xu Jie.

    Arrow Sage? That was another one of the Nine Sages.

    ...

    The Lost n¡¯s universe was not small. It was not only home to the Lost n, but also to other civilizations. There were cultivation civilizations, technological civilizations, and more.

    Zhi Bing had pointed out some of those civilizations to the group as they traveled, but all of the civilizations had been limited to their own world. Due to the Lost n¡¯s experiments and the resulting traps that filled the universe, it was too easy for people to encounter trouble when they tried to move through outer space.

    The only part of the universe that could truly be considered the Lost n¡¯s territory was the area called Shan Barrens. This was the Lost n¡¯s core area, and it was very difficult for outsiders to gain ess to it.

    From a distance, Shan Barrens did not look too strange. It was not as gorgeous as the rainbow wall, nor as impressive as the Heavens Sect. It only had a full moon that illuminated a massive area that was no smaller than the Heavens Sect.

    Zhi Bing had everyone stop just outside of Shan Barrens, and he looked at everyone in a more solemn manner than ever before. "Ahead is my Lost n¡¯s Shan Barrens. Except for the Shangsan Festival, it is normally impossible for almost any outsider to enter this ce. You will be going to the floating ind, which is located just outside where the Shangsan Festival is held. Once we arrive, I will ask that none of you act freely during your time here. This area of Shan Barrens is an ordinary area, and it cannot handle any of your powers. Once again, please do not use any power carelessly."

    Only after that did Zhi Bing lead everyone into Shan Barrens.

    There was no impressive defensive system in ce, just cards that floated around Shan Barrens.

    However, these cards were the greatest form of defense.

    No one had any idea what sort of traps and dangers might be within these cards, but it was clear that none of them would be easy to deal with, given the fact that they were used to protect Shan Barrens.

    "I¡¯ve heard that most of these cards are just Ancient cards, but there are Primordial cards hidden randomly among them, and even Immemorial cards. All together, these cards are more than enough to keep Shan Barrens Shou perfectly safe," Jiang Xiaodao whispered.

    To the side, Gong Yu solemnly stated, "The Lost n is a powerful civilization. Master once said that their power is no weaker than any other member of the Sixverse Association. It¡¯s even said that they have cards that are more powerful than their Immemorial cards."

    Jiang Xiaodao shook his head. "I don''t believe that."

    "I don''t either," Xu Yue agreed.

    There were many people in this group of foreigners who were talking about the Lost n, and they were also mentioning Primeval cards. Some people believed they existed, while others did not. Most people believed that Primeval cards were a legend that the Lost n had created to elevate their own worth.

    Before long, Zhi Bing had led everyone to a floating ind. As the name suggested, it was an ind floating in the sky.

    ording to Zhi Bing, many cards had appeared in front of the ind during the Shangsan Festivals. During that time, outsiders were allowed onto the ind to try to attract new cards.

    After dropping everyone off at the floating ind, Zhi Bing left.

    The people separated. There were many wooden houses on the ind, prepared for people who attended the Shangsan Festival.

    People who were not members of the Lost n were restricted to the floating ind during the Shangsan Festival, and it could only hold so many people. There were more outsiders attending than ever before, and the floating ind did not have enough amodations for everyone attending the Shangsan Festival. Thus, the members of the Lost n upied other floating inds that were nearby.

    However, Zhi Bing never prohibited people from visiting the other inds, and so one man soon went to another ind to visit a friend. The outsiders who possessed the Lost n¡¯s cards had to have contacts within the Lost n.

    As expected, Snack Sage continued to hound Lu Yin, who waspletely fed up. Because of that, Lu Yin made a promise. If Snack Sage could defeat everyone on Hanging Ind, he wouldpete with him again.

    This was too enticing for Snack Sage, as challenging others was his favorite pastime. "Don''t you dare go back on your word, haha!"

    With that, Snack Sage pulled out his sign and rushed over to where other people were staying. He then sat down, aggressively blocking the exit of an older cultivator¡¯s amodations.

 Chapter 2717: Eighty-one Slashes

    <h4>Chapter 2717: Eighty-one shes</h4>

    The older cultivator who was inside the wooden house had intended to go visit some friends, so when he opened the door and saw Snack Sage¡¯s sign, he immediately became angry. He saw Snack Sage, and knew who it was. The man did not want to offend Snack Sage, so he just turned around and left.

    "Coward! On to the next one," Snack Sage said disdainfully.

    The older man grew furious. His cultivation was greater than Snack Sage¡¯s, and he had not refused the challenge out of fear or losing, but because he did not want to offend the youth due to his high status. For the older man, losing would be embarrassing, but winning would cause problems. However, even just trying to ignore the challenge was seeing him insulted.

    "Stop that!" the older man yelled angrily.

    Snack Sage sneered. "What? You want to argue?"

    "Originally, I didn''t want to get involved with you for Senior Food Sage¡¯s sake, however, given your arrogance, I will teach you a lesson for insulting Sage Hua¡¯s people!" the older cultivator shouted fiercely.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin heard the conversation, and was surprised by the older man¡¯s words; he was one of Sage Hua¡¯s followers?

    "Sage Hua¡¯s people? Alright, let''s have fun!" Snack Saint responded with excitement.

    Soon, the older man¡¯s arm was shattered, and his blood dripped onto the ground as he stared at Snack Saint in shock.

    The man heard for a long time that Snack Saint possessed an incredible level of physical strength, just the same as Food Sage, but the man had never taken those rumors seriously. After all, the older man possessed much greater cultivation than Snack Sage, so he had never considered that he would be unable to put up any sort of resistance at all.

    "Bastard. On to the next one." Snack Saint immediately started antagonizing another person, by blocking the entrance to another wooden house. He then even erected his sign taller than ever so that it could be seen by everywhere on Hanging Ind, instantly insulting everyone on it.

    Lu Yin was able to stay out of everything, but for the next few days, Hanging Ind became quite busy. Jiang Xiaodao, Luo Zang, Mu Mu, Xu Jie, and many others all took action, though not against Snack Sage. Instead, theypeted against older cultivators, and not just with arm wrestling, but included everything. Gong Yupeted against others in archery, Xu Jiepeted with his mastery of control of voidforce energy, and so on.

    Lu Yin had no idea how things had developed into such a situation.

    These older cultivators were not ordinary people. Ordinary cultivators were unable to establish enough of a rtionship with the Lost n to be able to obtain a card. Things were no longer simply Snack Sage antagonizing people, but had developed into apetition between different generations of cultivators.

    Lu Yin did not get involved. He remembered what he had heard from Xu Wuji, and simply spoke to someone from the Lost n and asked to see Xiao Fang.

    The person from the Lost n appeared terribly confused; Xiao Fang?

    Lu Yin repeatedly mentioned the name Xiao Fang, who was definitely some powerhouse from the Lost n, yet the person from the Lost n member had no idea who the person was even after thinking about it for a long time. In the end, Lu Yin had no choice but to call on Zhi Bing.

    "Xiao Fang? Did Xu Wuji ask you to speak with them?" Zhi Bing gave Xuan Qi an odd look.

    Lu Yin shrugged. He was already aware that there was something a bit off with the name Xiao Fang. Xu Wuji¡¯s entire attitude had been strange when he had asked for a package to be delivered, but that had nothing to do with Xuan Qi. "That¡¯s right, the Bureau Director asked me to deliver something to Xiao Fang."

    "What is it?" Zhi Bing asked.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The Bureau Director specified that the package needs to be delivered directly to Xiao Fang."

    Zhi Bing shook his head. "Very well, if you want to see her, I will take you. However, her name is not Xiao Fang. The only person in the entire Sixverse Association who calls her that is Xu Wuji. Her name is Fang Yi, and she is an elder of my Lost n."[1]

    A short timeter, Lu Yin met with the Xiao Fang Xu Wuji had mentioned.

    Lu Yin saw a very young woman, but she only looked young. After all, she was from the same generation as Xu Wuji.

    Zhi Bing left, but before leaving, he reminded Xuan Qi not to call the woman Xiao Fang.

    "This junior is Xuan Qi. Greetings, Senior Fang Yi," Lu Yin spoke with a respectful tone.

    Fang Yi hummed as she observed Lu Yin. "Did Xu Wuji ask you to see me?"

    "Yes."

    "Tell me exactly what he told you; don¡¯t leave out a single word or change anything at all," Fang Yi ordered, her expression cold.

    Lu Yin blinked. "The Bureau Director told me to deliver this box to Fang Yi. ¡®Make sure you give it to her directly, and don''t let anyone give it to her for you. If you aren¡¯t able to see Xiao Fang, just bring the box back to me intact. Don¡¯t let anyone touch it, or even see it.¡¯"

    Fang Yi then stared at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s what he said?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "His exact words."

    Fang Yi''s expression improved. "Give me the box."

    Lu Yin quickly handed the box over, but Fang Yi paused after taking it. "Have you seen inside it?"

    "Absolutely not," Lu Yin assured.

    Fang Yi nced at Xuan Qi, but said nothing further.

    "I¡¯ve delivered the box, so I will take my leave now." Lu Yin made to leave, but Fang Yi asked him to wait. She then casually opened the box right in front of him, but after a single look at its contents, her expression changed drastically, and it twisted into a very ugly expression.

    Lu Yin saw the woman¡¯s expression change, but he had no idea what Xu Wuji had ced in the box. Whatever it was, it had caused the woman to have a very strong reaction.

    Fang Yi¡¯s breathing grew heavy, and her expression constantly fluctuated, showing anger, embarrassment, and frustration. Many different emotions were clearly expressed.

    Lu Yin wanted to leave, but did not dare speak up at all.

    Some timeter, Fang Yi recovered and put the box away. She then took a deep breath and looked at Lu Yin. "Wait a moment. I also have something to send to Xu Wuji, so please help me deliver it."

    She then turned and left.

    Lu Yin was very curious as to what was in the box that caused Fang Yi, a powerhouse equal to a Semi-Progenitor, to be unable to control her emotions.

    A full hour passed before Fang Yi returned, and she handed Lu Yin the same box. She then stared at him. "Give this to Xu Wuji, and don''t open it. You cannot give it to anyone else. You must hand it to Xu Wuji yourself."

    Lu Yin nodded. "This junior understands. You don¡¯t need to worry, Senior."

    Fang Yi repeated her warning, "It needs to be given directly to Xu Wuji by your own hands, and you absolutely cannot allow anyone to open it, or else you will be responsible for the consequences."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "This junior understands."

    Fang Yi grunted, and then a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "After you give that box to Xu Wuji, you should get away from him so that you don¡¯t suffer from the opening of the box. Of course, while I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t say anything to Xu Wuji, alright?"

    The moment Lu Yin heard the warning, he nced at the box that suddenly felt hot in his hands. Nothing could be allowed to happen to it.

    He quickly put the box away and left.

    When Lu Yin saw Zhi Bing again, he asked what sort of rtionship existed between Xu Wuji and Fang Yi.

    Zhi Bing¡¯s expression turned strange, and he did not answer. Instead, he told Xuan Qi not to ask any more questions, and he led the young man straight back to Hanging Ind and then left.

    Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring. He really wanted to open the box, but reason told him not to.

    He regretted epting Xu Wuji¡¯s request. Lu Yin felt that he should have checked what was in the box that Xu Wuji had sent to Fang Yi, at least to check that it had been nothing dangerous.

    Just as he was about to return to his quarters, Lu Yin saw Snack Sage sitting by the door, so Lu Yin simply turned around and left. He did not want to get involved with the guy.

    Unable to return to his own wooden house, Lu Yin found a secluded ce to sit down. No one else was nearby, and unless someone searched every bit of Hanging Ind, Lu Yin would not be found.

    He decided to stay in this ce until the Shangsan Festival started

    On this day, the moon overhead was extraordinarily round.

    The moonlight fascinated Lu Yin, and he unknowingly became immersed in it. He did not realize it, but the moonlight covered him like a saber, a de that sliced down across him with silver light. The moonlight was like water, while the de was like light. Lu Yin remained frozen in ce as he stared at the moonlight and forgot everything.

    Inexplicably, a saber appeared in front of him, shing at him.

    Lu Yin was startled; where had this dee from? He tried to dodge, only to discover that he waspletely unable to move at all.

    Seeing the saber move closer and closer, he wanted to use the power within his chest, Inverse Step, or see the spatial lines and use them to escape, but he found that nothing at all was possible. All he could do was watch as the saber fell towards his head, the attack trying to slice him in half.

    Lu Yin had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He felt even more helpless than when he had been tossed onto Driftcharge. At least he had been able to move at that time, whereas he waspletely frozen beneath this saber. Both the slipper and the bone spur were in his cosmic ring, yet he was unable to even take them out.

    He was unwilling to simply give up. He could not ept beingpletely helpless. He wanted to fight back! <i>Move! Move! Move!!!</i>

    Yet he waspletely unable to move. The saber fell, and the top of his head grew cold. Lu Yin could only watch on in horror.

    <i>Am I about to die?</i>

    However, at the veryst moment, the de vanished. He stared upwards in a daze and tried to move his fingers. He found that he could once again move, and sensation had returned. He was actually not dead?

    Suddenly, the saber reappeared, this time shing at him from the side.

    Lu Yin was startled; again?

    Once again, he waspletely unable to move at all, and could only watch helplessly as the saber shed at him. Again and again, the saber shed at him from every direction. Eighty-one times the saber appeared, and from the first to thest, Lu Yin was unable to dodge a single attack. After a bit, he gave up even trying, and instead simply watched as the de passed by. It looked as though the de had cut through his body, yet it also seemed that it had not.

    Was this what it was like to die from a thousand shes?

    Where did this sabere from? Who was attacking?

    Lu Yin waspletely unable to ess or use his domain, spiritual force, runes, or any other power. Beneath the saber, Lu Yin was rendered as powerless as a baby.

    He watched as the eighty-first sh appeared, and the saber rose up from below. It was the same as the first attack, and yet there was something different about it that Lu Yin could not exin.

    As the saber fell, the void copsed. Lu Yin took a few steps back, once again able to move. He subconsciously dodged, and then nced around, but there was nothing at all. Was he still in the same ce as before? He had clearly been shed by a saber eighty-one times, yet nothing at all had changed around him. The dew was the same, the moonlight, and even the grass. Nothing at all had been touched.

    Had it all just been an illusion?

    Lu Yin''s pupils flickered and sweat dripped from his forehead. It had not been an illusion. After all, he was a powerful cultivator who could fight against Progenitor level powerhouses; how could he not distinguish between an illusion and reality? Still, what had just happened?

    He had been shed eighty-one times, but by who? Lu Yin¡¯s attacker absolutely had to be unimaginably powerful, as Lu Yin had not been able to notice a thing. If that person had genuinely wanted to kill him, Lu Yin would have been shed to pieces by the numerous shes.

    A chill swept over him, and he felt as though he had just died.

    At this moment, the void condensed where he had previously been sitting, and as he watched, a tiny saber appeared. It was about as big as his palm, which was quite small, and it floated in mid-air.

    Lu Yin stared at it in a daze. This was the exact same saber that had just shed him eighty-one times. There was not a single difference.

    He looked around again, and then offered a deep bow. "This junior is Xuan Qi. If I have disturbed you, I ask that Senior won¡¯t take any offense."

    No one answered.

    Lu Yin called out again, and then tried to release his domain. It spread out until it nearly reached the people who were present for the Shangsan Festival, yet Lu Yin was unable to find a single person. There was no trace of whoever had attacked him.

    It must have been a peak powerhouse, and one of the most powerful alive.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, and then slowly approached the palm-sized saber. However, there was no reaction from the de.

    He reached out and grabbed the saber.

    The moment Lu Yini made contact with the saber, he felt a blood connection. The scene of when he had been shed eighty-one times flickered through Lu Yin''s mind once again, and he stared at the saber in his hand in shock. This was a saber, yet it was also not a saber. This little de held the power of the eighty-one shes, or rather, it could be said that the eighty-one shes that Lu Yin had endured had formed the saber.

    1. This "xiao" is the endearing form that means little, but since Lu Yin misinterprets the woman''s name, it didn''t work to refer to her as "Little Fang." ?

 Chapter 2718: Seeing The Shangsan Festival

    <h4>Chapter 2718: Seeing The Shangsan Festival</h4>

    Just what was this power? The saber was somehow connected to Lu Yin¡¯s own blood. Did that mean that he really had been sliced eighty-one times? However, there was not a single wound on his body.

    Lu Yin could not understand what had happened. He stared at the small saber in his hand and felt a chille over his heart.

    It was possible that he was not supposed to be where he was, and the fact that his attacker had been able to leave him so incredibly helpless meant that they had definitely seen through him. The Lost n was no longer a safe ce for him.

    However, it was also impossible to leave at this point in time.

    Lu Yin felt very uneasy as he held the saber. He sat back down and looked up at the moonlight. He took a deep breath.

    <i>Forget it, I¡¯ll just wait. If such a powerful person wants to attack me, I¡¯ll never be able to escape, anyways.</i>

    With a wry smile, he looked back down at the saber in his hand. He did not ce it in his cosmic ring, but instead hung it around his neck. There might be a day when he would be able to use the saber to attack others eighty-one times.

    Time passed, but Lu Yin remained where he was, avoiding Snack Sage and seeing if there was any chance of meeting the mysterious powerhouse who had attacked him.

    The person had never revealed themselves in any way, yet had shed Lu Yin eighty-one times. Lu Yin had taken the saber, but had absolutely no idea what it was supposed to be used for.

    Finally, the Shangsan Festival began.

    The Shangsan Festival is the Lost n¡¯s biggest festival, and everyone from the Lost n celebrated.

    Even on the floating ind, Lu Yin was able to feel the festive atmosphere.

    There were various inds floating around the area, housing everyone who was participating in the Shangsan Festival¡¯s card exchange. Given the number of inds, it was possible to imagine just how many people from the Lost n were present.

    Thergest floating ind was at the center of everything, and it was where the cards would be exchanged.

    On the day of the card exchange, all the Lost n¡¯s cards would be drawn to this location, and so long as a person was able to do so, they would be allowed to change their card.

    The members of the Lost n had their own process to prepare for the Shangsan Festival, and when they finished all of their preparations and it was finally time to exchange cards, there was truly only half a day remaining of the Shangsan Festival.

    Everyone stared at the central ind and waited.

    At this same time, more and more people started appearing outside floating ind, and each of them gave off an incredible amount of pressure. Everyst one of these people was a peak powerhouse.

    Everyone in the Lost n looked at these figures with expressions of deep respect.

    The Shangsan Festival was the Lost n¡¯s most important festival, and on this day, powerhouses from all parts of the Sixverse Association woulde to watch. They not only attended to celebrate the Shangsan Festival and give the Lost n a show of respect, but also to see who was capable of changing their card. The biggest reason for this was that one person had once traded a Seasonal card for an Immemorial card. That event had shocked the entire Sixverse Association, as it was practically an announcement that the person would one day be a peak powerhouse. That was something that drew attention from the entire Sixverse Association.

    "Sage Jiang, it¡¯s been a long time," someone politely greeted the Sage.

    Sage Jiang smiled and replied, "Bureau Director Gan, it¡¯s been thousands of years since we fought together on the Endless Frontier. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d see you here."

    Director Gan smiled. "True, though I still can''t forget Sage Jiang''s impressive disy on the Endless Frontier."

    "It was nothing impressive, and I¡¯m simply lucky that I survived," Sage Jiang said with a bitter smile. He then looked to the other side, where Chen Le offered a bow from a distance.

    "Greetings, Senior Sage Jiang."

    Sage Jiangplimented the Monarch, "Congrattions. The Three Monarchs Universe has gained another powerhouse."

    A short distance away, Xu Heng also spoke up, "Brother Chen, I wonder how my brother Xuan Qi has been doing while in your care?"

    Chen Le looked over at Xu Heng and answered with a smile, "Thanks to Xuan Qi, our Three Monarchs Universe has discovered a number of spies. Truthfully, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that his cultivation is inadequate, I would already have given him the position of Bureau Director, haha."

    Xu Heng smiled, as he was always happy to hear someone praise Xuan Qi.

    A middle-aged man emerged from the void and looked around at those already gathered/ "Brother Chen, Brother Heng, this is the first time either of you have attended our Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival. Please forgive me for not offering you a proper reception."

    Xu Heng and Chen Le quickly offered some polite assurances.

    The man who had just arrived was one of the Lost n¡¯s most powerful individuals, and his name was Shan Zheng. For the members of the Lost n, anyone who reached the peak would have their surname changed to Shan, which was rted to their core region: Shan Barrens.

    As several people chatted with each other, a group of people from the Lost n were celebrating the Shangsan Festival on the center floating ind.

    Director Gan moved over closer to Xu Heng, and spoke very animatedly to the Void Suprema. It was very clear what the Bureau Director¡¯s intention was: have Xu Heng persuade Xuan Qi to visit the Arboreal Realm and help root out spies.

    Of course, Xu Heng would never agree to this. He knew that his junior brother had his own reasons for not going, and would therefore not press the matter at all.

    When Chen Le heard that Director Gan wanted to invite Lu Yin to the Arboreal Realm, he quickly pointed out that the Three Monarchs Universe still wanted to capture more spies.

    "How many spies can your Three Monarchs Universe even have? Our Arboreal Realm has a long history, and secrets have been hidden too deeply. Xuan Qi should go to our Arboreal Realm, as it would be incredibly beneficial," Bureau Direct Gan told Chen Le.

    Chen Le solemnly replied, "Our Three Monarch Universe has the worst foundation of any member of the Sixverse Association. If Aeternus wants to destroy the current bnce of the Sixverse Association, the best ce to start would be with our universe. For this reason, Xuan Qi is very important to us."

    Director Gan wanted to refute, but was interrupted by Xu Heng, "Speaking of which, is no one attending from the Transcendent Universe?"

    Shan Zheng overheard the question and shook his head. "I have not received any news that anyone from that universe will attend."

    "In the past, the You family always attended, but given the recent events that have taken ce in their universe, it makes sense that they are not here. Lord Wei will not allow the You family to go out again!" Pce Master Gan stated.

    No one responded, as the events that had taken ce in the Transcendent Universe were considered taboo, as it involved both the Cyclic Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe interfering in the internal affairs of another universe, and that was a very ufortable topic. No one wanted outsiders getting involved in internal matters.

    In fact, many people were curious to see how Lord Wei would fight back. Forget about the Cyclic Universe, as it was not very likely that Lord Wei would take action against that ce, but the Three Monarchs Universe would not be able to escape responsibility for their actions.

    Monarch Luo had schemed against Lord Wei, and it was impossible for the man to not retaliate. The only question was how he would go about it.

    Sage Jiang stayed silent and pretended not to hear the conversation.

    Sovereign Shao Yin then arrived with a smile on his face. His golden robes made him look extremely noble.

    Chen Le, Director Gan, and Xu Heng all quickly stepped forward to greet the Sovereign. All of them could be considered juniors, as Sovereign Shao Yin had been a peak powerhouse for much, much longer than any of them.

    Also, Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s presence made it impossible for anyone to mention the Cyclic Universe again.

    Bureau Director Gan continued to press Xu Heng to help him persuade Xuan Qi.

    "If you really want Xuan Qi to go to your Arobreal Realm, you might as well wait until Senior Xu Wuwei arrives, Director Gan. After all, Senior Xu Wuwei is Xuan Qi''s mentor," Shan Zhengmented.

    Bureau Director Gan''s eyes instantly lit up. "Senior Xu Wuwei ising?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin was also caught off guard. "Xu Wuwei ising?"

    Shan Zheng smiled. "Yes, I have received word that he will be here quite soon."

    Sovereign Shao Yin gave a small smile. "The two of us haven''t seen each other for quite some time. I¡¯m looking forward to speaking with him again."

    The Lost n¡¯s distinctive music drifted up from the floating ind. Everyone watched as they waited for the moment when the cards would arrive and it would be time to try to trade cards.

    It was not long before Xu Wuwei arrived, and everyone made a point to greet the man. Not even Sovereign Shao Yin revealed any hint of arrogance before Xu Wuwei.

    In the Voidforce Universe, Xu Wuwei¡¯s status was essentially the same as the Three Sovereigns in the Cyclic Universe, and both Xu Wuwei and Sovereign Shao Yin had risen to power at about the same time, so they could be regarded as peers.

    "I heard that you recently returned to the Endless Frontier, and yet you are back so soon? Aren¡¯t you afraid that others will start gossiping about you?" Sovereign Shao Yin joked with a smile.

    Xu Wuwei sighed. "I didn¡¯t have any choice. I am old, and can only rest on myurels. Still, my former aplishments are enough for me to be allowed to find a ce where I can enjoy some delicious food while I find and train a couple of apprentices who can handle my standards. That¡¯s the way to enjoy life."

    Bureau Director Gan immediatelyplimented the older man, "Senior''s disciple Xuan Qi is already quite impressive. Only Senior could train such an outstanding disciple."

    Xu Wuwei¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Don''t be ridiculous; he isn¡¯t my disciple. Right now, I have no disciples. I¡¯m nothing more than that child¡¯s guide."

    Chen Le smiled. "Who isn¡¯t aware that Xuan Qi learned Senior¡¯s Spiral Domain? That technique has allowed him to quickly and easily capture spies, and he has done great things for humanity. Even if you are not on the battlefield, Senior, you have still performed a great service to humanity that is no less important than fighting on the battlefield.¡±

    "Well said! Senior¡¯s contribution is obvious for all to see," Sage Jiang alsoplimented the old man.

    Xu Wuwei had a sudden headache. "All of you are so eager to praise Xuan Qi, but do any of you really know him?"

    The man was reminded of the events of the Transcendent Universe, and how Bai Qian had managed to rece He Ran. While it appeared that Xuan Qi had not been at all involved in the matter, and had at most framed He Ran, that false usation had not had any impact on the final oue. The You family had attacked Lord Wei, yet Lord Wei had ultimately been victorious. Logically speaking, Bai Qian should not have been able to rece He Ran, yet that was exactly what had happened.

    Xu Wuwei knew only a few of the details, and was not interested in learning more, mostly because Xuan Qi had not used the Voidforce Universe, and also because Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Xu Wuji had stayed out of the entire matter. If not for that, Xu Wuwei would have gone after Xuan Qi long ago.

    The brat had only used the influence of the Bureau to frame He Ran and force Lord Wei to reveal himself. While Xuan Qi had been personally involved in the matter, he had never gotten the Voidforce Universe involved.

    Regardless, Xuan Qi was inseparable from the changes that had taken ce in the Transcendent Universe. In the end, Bai Qian had been victorious, and He Ran had simply disappeared. There was no denying that, and Xu Wuwei was one of the few people who was aware that Xuan Qi had supported Bai Qian from the very beginning. However, what was the connection between Xuan Qi and He Ran''s disappearance? The brat might not be able to erase his connection.

    Just thinking of these matters gave Xu Wuwei a headache.

    Bureau Director Gan replied, "This junior doesn''t understand. I would like to ask Senior to exin this to me."

    Xu Wuwei grew puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

    Chen Le suddenly eximed, "It''s starting!"

    ...

    On the central floating ind, the members of the Lost n pulled back one after another until the ind was empty, save for the creatures who had always lived on the ind.

    Silence reigned everywhere.

    Suddenly, an ancient voice broke the silence, echoing through the entire area, "Let the Shangsan Festival begin! Enter the ind."

    The moment the voice spoke, people started rushing to the central ind from all of the surrounding inds, afraid that others would arrive first and they would lose their chance.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and dismissed all thoughts of the saber from his mind. He then took a step forward and started moving towards the central ind.

    As he moved forward, Snack Sage noticed him. "Xuan Qi, we¡¯llpete again tomorrow! I¡¯ve already defeated everyone else, so let¡¯s go again!"

    Lu Yin did not even look over at the man, and instead stepped onto the central ind and looked upwards. The forest was quiet for a great distance, and Lu Yin simply inhaled and enjoyed the fresh scent of nature.

    One after another, people arrived on the ind.

    The floating ind was veryrge, and there were hundreds of thousands of people participating in the Shangsan Festival when the outsiders and members of the Lost n werebined. Even so, humans only upied a tiny portion of the ind, and they were vastly outnumbered by the other races.

    Cards could be attracted to anywhere on this ind, as long as they were attracted to something or someone.

    As for what might draw a card, that varied from person to person.

    As Xu Wuji had mentioned, some people could attract cards by letting themselves go.

    Within the forest, Lu Yin saw a man in front of him who was shouting loudly and animatedly, and he did not stop even after noticing Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and instead merely blushed. As Lu Yin listened, he realized that the man was shouting his entire history, which he clearly regarded as a legendary story.

    Then, far away, someone started singing.

    Lu Yin had heard from Xu Wuji that singing was considered rathermon, and it did not matter at all if the singer sounded good or not. Instead, it seemed that the worse the voice, the more likely the person was to attract a card.

 Chapter 2719: Lu Yinâ€™s Goals

    <h4>Chapter 2719: Lu Yin¡¯s Goals</h4>

    Lu Yin took one step, but he instantly covered thousands of miles. The floating ind was truly too small for someone like him.

    He soon noticed Seruzen, who was sitting cross-legged while muttering something under his breath. Lu Yin continued on past the man, who did not even open his eyes. It was clear that his raised, withered arm was bing more and more desated as time passed.

    Lu Yin felt that if he could use Extremes Must Be Reversed on Seruzen¡¯s arm, it might be possible to fully restore it back to normal.

    However, the truth was that there was no need for Lu Yin to do that. Given Seruzen¡¯s cultivation level, it would not be difficult for him to restore his arm. It could only be said that each person had their own obsessions.

    Even an ordinary human could raise their arm up high and forcefully leave it to wither, but it took a great deal of perseverance. As for a cultivator, Seruzen was able to restore his arm, yet he chose to leave it withered, which also required a great perseverance.

    In terms of perseverance, Lu Yin felt that he might not be able topare to Seruzen.

    As he turned to look back, he felt that Seruzen¡¯s expression was bing more and more divine.

    Right after that, Lu Yin saw Luo Zang. The man¡¯s expression radiated confidence, and his hands were sped behind his back, as if he owned the entire universe.

    Next, he came across Jiang Xiaodao, who was shouting something so loud that his voice had grown hoarse. Then, Lu Yin saw Wen Sansi, who was in the middle of expounding on what made the Fifth Maind famous throughout the megaverse. There was no denying that the Fifth Maind¡¯s history and heritage might seed at attracting a card.

    Little Lian begged the void in a distressed manner, looking as though she was praying. It was quite adorable to see.

    Gong Yu was rather simple, as he bent his bow and shot arrow after arrow into the sky with his full power.

    Each one could be considered quite normal.

    After all, Lu Yin had also seen someone strip down and run around nude while waving their arms about. There was someone else crying in confusion. Another was kowtowing as though worshiping something. When Lu Yin moved closer to one person, he even encountered a foul stench¡ªit was a stinkbug...

    As Lu Yin moved around, he saw people letting themselves go in all sorts of different ways. Some of which were so strange that he felt the people had to be insane.

    Suddenly, he nkly stared up at the sky as he watched someone walk past. There was no expression on the man¡¯s face, and his eyes were blindfolded. Was that Mu Ke?

    Lu Yin had not expected to encounter Mu Ke on the central ind. Did that man also possess one of the Lost n¡¯s cards? Did he also want to change his card?

    For the duration of the Shangsan Festival, no one was prohibited from trading their card for another. Everyone was wee, regardless of their cultivation level. However, Lu Yin had never expected to see a peak powerhouse participating, much less one who was said to beparable to Xu Wuwei.

    Beyond the ind, Xu Wuwei and others were also staring into the sky above the ind.

    "When did Mu Ke arrive?" Xu Wuwei asked.

    Shan Zheng replied, "About the same time as the rest of the outsiders."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was surprised. "I thought that he had given up the power of his card. I never thought that he might want to change it. What? Does he want to find an Immemorial card? Would your Lost n even be willing to part with one?"

    Shao Zheng solemnly replied, "Anyone who receives a card from my Lost n is wee to participate in our Shangsan Festival. Unless they have betrayed humanity ormitted some simrly unforgivable deed, all are wee."

    Sovereign Shao Yin smiled. "I''m also quite interested in the power of your Lost n¡¯s cards. Would you give me a chance?"

    Xu Wuwei casually said, "You are already one of the Three Sovereigns. Whypete with these people?"

    "Isn''t Mu Ke also out there? He is not necessarily any weaker than you or I," Sovereign Shao Yin retorted.

    Shan Zheng answered, "Senior Mu Ke received his card when he was young. If Sovereign Shao Yin wishes to cultivate the power of my Lost n, then please ask the Grand Elder."

    Sovereign Shao Yin did not reply. His eyes shifted from Mu Ke over to Lu Yin, who was very close to the Arborean. The Sovereign¡¯s brow furrowed; was this person disguising his appearance and concealing his cultivation?

    The man started staring at Lu Yin. While Sovereign Shao Yin knew that he was looking at Xuan Qi because of the images he had seen, he had never heard anyone mention that the young man had hidden his true appearance.

    Thinking of this, Sovereign Shao Yin calmly asked, "Brother Wuwei, your quasi-disciple is not weak at all!"

    Xu Wuwei looked over and said, "He¡¯s decent, but again, he is <i>not</i> my disciple."

    Sovereign Shao Yin dropped the matter. Since he was able to see through the disguise, it was impossible for Xu Wuwei to not be able to do the same. The fact that Xu Wuwei had allowed Xuan Qi to behave as he had, and even taught him the Spiral Domain, meant that it was clear that there was no issue with Xuan Qi¡¯s true appearance.

    Too many people throughout the megaverse were highly skilled at putting on a show. Sovereign Shao Yin himself had often disguised himself in his youth. How could he have managed to be a Sovereign with inadequate skills and limited determination?

    Xuan Qi¡¯s ability to capture spies proved that he had a sharp and calcting mind.

    On the central floating ind, Lu Yin watched as Mu Ke moved away. The man never looked at Lu Yin from beginning to end, but Lu Yin found it impossible to calm himself.

    Could it have been Mu Ke? Could the Arborean have been the one who had attacked Lu Yin with the saber? It seemed quite possible that the man used a saber, but why would he have attacked Xuan Qi?

    It seemed obvious that Mu Ke had seen through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise, but why would he not say anything and simply sh a saber at Xuan Qi eighty one times before giving the weapon to Lu Yin?

    Had the attacker been kind or antagonistic towards Lu Yin?

    After Mu Ke disappeared, Lu Yin dismissed the matter from his mind. No matter what, his attacker had never revealed themselves, and Lu Yin was incapable of determining their identity. He could only continue forwards one step at a time.

    He looked beyond the floating ind, wondering if any of the Lost n¡¯s powerhouses had noticed him. If any of them wereparable to Senior Xu Wuwei, they would most likely be able to see through his Mask of Death.

    Lu Yin was ignorant to the fact that Sovereign Shao Yin had already seen through the disguise, but had not pursued the matter because of Xu Wuwei''s attitude. An even greater coincidence was the fact that the Sovereign had never seen an image of Lu Yin, as he would have immediately recognized the youth otherwise.

    All that could be said was that, while Lu Yin had directly offended the entire Sixverse Association and made a fool of Sage Yuan, he had never directly interacted with Sovereign Shao Yin.

    People who were capable of recognizing Lu Yin could not also be capable of seeing through his disguise. In other words, Lu Yin needed to keep those capable of seeing through the Mask of Death as people who had never met Lu Yin before.

    However, as he continued to rise higher and higher, the day would eventuallye when Xuan Qi was recognized as Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was ready to start. He wanted to try to attract a card. After all, it was the entire reason why he was attending the Shangsan Festival.

    He did not expect to be able to draw out an Immemorial card, but he hoped to at least attract a Primordial card.

    First, he tried using his physical strength. While Lu Yin had many skills, his physical prowess was definitely one of his greatest advantages.

    Snack Sage was far away from Lu Yin, and he was already exerting his full strength to attack the void while eating vast amounts of food. No one dared to get close to him, as his raw strength created visible ripples that quickly spread out.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists while releasing his strength. He did not release any attack, but the void near him started to tremble, and ripples soon appeared that spread away from him.

    Soon, his hands rxed again. What he was doing now was useless. Was his strength not enough? As for his domain, spiritual force, or other powers, as long as it did not draw the attention of any nearby powerhouses, he could use them to try to attract cards. At least one of his abilities had to be able to draw a card to him.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was overthinking things. Cards were not Mister Mu, and they would not be attracted by something like talent.

    Some people were able to draw cards by flexing their muscles, while others could do the same through terrible singing. However, what they all had inmon was that these actions revealed their true selves to the cards.

    After several hours of various attempts, Lu Yin had still failed to attract a single card.

    By this time, someone else had already attracted a card.

    It was a child who looked no more than seven or eight years old. He stared at a card that approached him from the void with big, innocent eyes, clearly feeling a bit lost.

    Lu Yin had previously noticed that most of the people who wanted to trade their cards were adults who had decided to attend. It was umon to see children.

    Lu Yin also had no idea how the child had attracted a card. Had the child even done anything at all?

    Past all the inds, Shan Zheng smiled. As expected, it had been the right choice to send Xiao Liuzi to the Shangsan Festival. This child was a descendant of Shao Zheng¡¯s family, and he also possessed a unique innate gift. Shan Zheng had felt that it was quite likely for a card to be drawn to the child¡¯s innate gift, and he had just been proven right.

    Right after that, someone else drew out a card, though after seeing the new card, the person appeared a bit desperate.

    There was no guarantee that trading cards would help a person grow stronger, as it was also possible for them to be weaker. There was no guarantee that a new card would be better than a person¡¯s original card.

    Of course, it was also possible to refuse to change cards.

    The person who had attracted a card quickly refused to trade their card, though this also disqualified them from trying again.

    Each person was only allowed a single chance to attract a card.

    Half of the day of the Shangsan Festival was used for the Lost n¡¯s celebrations, while the remaining half was reserved for trading cards. This meant that people did not have much time to work with.

    Lu Yin tried all sorts of different methods to attract a card, but everything was useless. All he had left by now were abilities that he did not dare to use, such as the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra or the power in his chest, as they would definitely attract the attention of any nearby peak powerhouses who would then focus entirely on Lu Yin.

    While the Lost n was rather closed off, they were still a member of the Sixverse Association.

    He looked up at the sky. <i>Forget it, I won¡¯t bother to try to use my abilities any longer. Wen Sansi, Luo Zang, and a bunch of others are all talking, so why don¡¯t I try that as well? I¡¯ll talk about myself. But where do I start?</i>

    Lu Yin sat down and looked up at the sky. He was silent for a long time before he started talking. He controlled his voice that it only expanded to within ten meters of his body, and no sound spread further than that. Whether any card heard him, and whether it would be attracted to Lu Yin waspletely outside of his control.

    He pulled out his seven-star Hidden Mountain card. "I, Lu Yin, am the young master of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lu family. My family was framed and exiled, and I lost all my memories and cultivation, bing an ordinary human. I started from nothing and recultivated. I entered the Astral Combat Academy, and I was the champion of ZENITH. I fought against the Ten Arbiters, and defeated everyst one of them. I united the Outerverse and fought a war against the Astral Beast Domain. I fought against the Sixth Maind and plotted and schemed against the four ruling powers. I¡¯ve now be the sect master of the Heavens Sect, which I swear will once more act as a beacon for humanity.

    "I¡¯ve mastered the Cosmic Palm and relied on the power of the invincible Progenitor Chen¡¯s Star Stomp. I can use the God of Death¡¯s God of Death Transformation. I have received legacies from more than one of the Three Realms Six Dao of the ancient Heavens Sect era, such as the God of Death¡¯s death energy..."

    Lu Yin kept talking with all of his words being confined to a space of ten meters around him. However, there was no reaction.

    He shared all of his achievements, but it was of no use.

    Far away, a card appeared before Luo Zang, thrilling him. He did not actually care about attracting a card, as he instead wanted to earn the Lost n¡¯s notice, which was his greater goal for the Shangsan Festival.

    He had attended in hopes of establishing contact with the Lost n during the Shangsan Festival.

    However, when he saw the card that he had attracted, his mood instantly fell.

    A one star Seasonal card. Literally the worst type of card that the Lost n possessed. Without question, it was the worst.

    He stared at the card, speechless. While it looked excited to get into his hands, he had to resist the urge to smash the card apart. In the end, he left the ind.

    Elsewhere, someone was ecstatic that they had attracted a satisfactory card. This was a scene that would be noted by the Lost n.

    An hour passed, and Lu Yin was still talking, but there was no response at all. No card was attracted to him.

    He felt helpless. "Is it because you don''t understand what I¡¯m saying? If that¡¯s the case, then I just need to help you understand."

    He then proceeded to recount all the legends he knew about Progenitor Chen, the God of Death, and the other powerhouses from the Origin Universe. Another half an hour passed, but there was still no response.

    "Hahahaha, I got it! I got the card! My ideal is right! My ideals were heard!" someone in the distance shouted excitedly.

    Lu Yin looked over. Ideal? Life goals? Would that work?

    "It seems like you all want to hear people talk about their dreams, so I¡¯ll tell you about mine."

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "My goal is to lead the Heavens Sect to stand tall in the megaverse and make it so powerful that no one will dare to cross it.¡±

    "My dream is to lead mankind to defeat Aeternus and eliminate all threats.¡±

    "My dream is to save Ming Yan and live a happy life.¡±

    "My dream is to avenge my Lu family and kill Sovereign Shao Yin."

    The moment Lu Yin finished speaking, he saw mysterious lines appear as space warped and a card started to appear and disappear in front of him, changing every moment.

 Chapter 2720: Evernight

    Chapter 2720: Evernight

    Lu Yin was stunned. What did this mean? No matter what he had said before, there had been no response from any of the cards, and he had not even been able to sense any cards at all. Why had there been such a powerful reaction when he said that he wanted to kill Sovereign Shao Yin? Did the cards also hate the Sovereign? No.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The cards did not hate Sovereign Shao Yin; rather, they had seen Lu Yins true self.

    He had just spoken his true feelings and goals.

    The people who had attracted a card so far had all revealed their true selves to the cards, and Lu Yin genuinely wanted to get revenge and kill the one behind his familys banishment, Sovereign Shao Yin. This was his true self, but it was not enough.

    Lu Yin stood up. He felt like something was wrong. He almost always had a mask on and had be ustomed to hiding his true feelings. This made it very difficult for him to expose his true self all of a sudden.

    But what the cards wanted was precisely the truest expression of Lu Yins self.

    Far away, a card that glowed with a dazzling light appeared in front of Seruzen, bright enough to illuminate the entire ind.

    Everyone looked over in shock. What kind of card had he attracted for it to create such a bigmotion?

    Outside the Hanging Ind, Shan Zheng eximed, "The seven-star Primordial card: Light."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was also surprised. "A seven-star Primordial card is pretty impressive. While it is only a Primordial card, it is still a seven-star card. If used well, it can even rival Immemorial cards."

    Bureau Director Gan was also impressed. "Seruzen? Haha, I knew that he wouldn''t disappoint us."

    Shan Zheng was caught off guard. "Is that Seruzen? The young man whose name appeared in the Arboric Scripture?"

    Director Gan said, "Not bad."

    Shan Zheng felt rather envious. "He actually attracted a seven-star Primordial card, Light. That card is enough for him to use until he bes a peak powerhouse. On top of that, its power of light is incredible, second only to the Immemorial card Aurora."

    While speaking, Shan Zheng was struggling with something. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

    "Shan Zheng, what do you intend to do?" Xu Wuwei noticed something was off and spoke up. Everyone else also turned to look at Shan Zheng.

    He gritted his teeth. "I want to try as well."

    Xu Wuwei gave the man an odd look. "You want to change your card?"

    Shan Zheng nodded and raised his foot again to step out.

    A sharp shout was heard. "Step back!"

    The voice startled Shan Zheng so badly that he immediately retreated, though he was also unwilling to give up. "Grand Elder, I- I also want to try."

    He had been reprimanded by the Lost ns Grand Elder.

    Xu Wuweiughed. "Stop causing trouble. You already have one of the best cards avable. If you can improve it, you will be your Grand Elder."

    Shan Zheng replied in a bitter tone, "I just want to improve."

    "How do you intend to trade your card? Are you going to speak empty words?" Sovereign Shao Yin asked, "ording to my understanding, your Lost ns cards are able to see through peoples hearts, and expressing your true self is the only way to attract them. To truly draw a card to yourself, you need to understand your true self and reveal it. Only when the demonstration coincides with what is in a persons heart can they attract a card.

    Shan Zheng stared at the Sovereign Shao Yin intently for a long moment. "I didn''t expect you to understand my Lost n so well, Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Sovereign Shao Yin shook his head. "I don''t. I really have no idea how your cards can see through peoples hearts or how to achieve the level of resonance that a card will recognize. Some people like to speak empty words, which can never attract a card, but some people can speak truly."

    Shan Zheng replied, "The heart and the demonstration of self must be the same. That is what attracts a card to a person."

    "Then," Sovereign Shao Yin looked over at Shan Zheng, "How do you intend to reveal your true self?"

    Shan Zheng immediately looked conflicted. "I don''t know."

    On the floating ind, Lu Yin was unaffected by the card that Seruzen had attracted. The radiant light was blocked by the thick trees, leaving Lu Yin in the shadows. "One day, I will eliminate all of the Lu familys enemies, no matter if they are Sovereign Shao Yin or the Great Sovereign himself. I will make the Heavens Sect the greatest wonder in the entire megaverse. I want to stand at the peak of everything and look down on everyone"

    As he spoke, a card quietly appeared and slowly descended before Lu Yin''s eyes. He stared at it.

    It was a three-star Immemorial card. An Immemorial card possessed power equal to a Progenitor. This was not a bad card at all, though it was not a seven-star card.

    There was only a little bit ofmotion when Lu Yin attracted a card, so almost no one paid any attention to him. Only Xu Heng remained focused on Lu Yin.

    Xu Heng was happy to see that Xuan Qi had attracted a card. While the Void Suprema did not know what the card was, if Xuan Qi traded his card away, then it meant that the card he had attracted was at least a Primordial, or even an Immemorial card. After all, his seven-star Hidden Mountain card was already the best possible Ancient card.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to speak, his eyes suddenly grewrge as he witnessed something incredible.

    The card that had just appeared in front of him was pushed away by another card.

    Yes, it was pushed away.

    He stared nkly. Was this even possible?

    Lu Yin was stunned for a moment, and he stared nkly at the second card that had suddenly appeared. As soon as the card appeared, it had shoved the first card aside. Additionally, a dark and silent aura appeared, overpowering and eliminating the light from Seruzens Light card. In the blink of an eye, dark clouds enveloped the entire ind.

    Everyones attention was drawn over, and they stared at Lu Yin.

    Shan Zheng was so startled that his voice cracked as he eximed in horror, "Evernight?"

    At this moment, countless people from the Lost n who saw Lu Yin''s card were stunned. They were seeing something unbelievable.

    Next to Shan Zheng, Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes grew sharp. "Seven-star Immemorial card: Evernight."

    The others were shocked. Was this actually a seven-star Immemorial card?

    To their knowledge, the only seven-star immemorial card that belonged to someone was in the hands of the Lost ns Grand Elder. That card was named Heavenly King. The card granted Shan Gu, the Lost ns Grand Elder, the power to roam the Endless Frontier, and its power had been seen by countless people. Heavenly King meant that Shan Gus strength wasparable to the rulers of the Arboreal Realm, the Transcendent Universe, and the other rulers of the Sixverse Associations member universes.

    On the surface, it seemed as if the Lost n had only been allowed to join the Sixverse Association because they had fiercely resisted the Cyclic Universe and even managed to kill one of the Cyclic Universes most powerful experts. Only a few people knew the truth, which was that Grand Elder Shan Gu had personally gone to the Cyclic Universe to meet with the Great Sovereign.

    After he returned to the Lost n, their universe had been acknowledged by the Great Sovereign and admitted as a member of the Sixverse Association.

    Without Grand Elder Shan Gu, the Lost n would no longer exist, and Shan Gus strength came from his card, Heavenly King.

    It was the only seven-star Immemorial card possessed by anyone in the megaverse.

    No one had expected another seven-star Immemorial card to appear during the Shangsan Festival. This event was so important that it deserved to be recorded in the Lost ns history.

    Even Sovereign Shao Yin was shocked.

    Thebination of a peak powerhouse and a seven-star Immemorial card was shocking. As soon as Xuan Qi became a peak powerhouse, his strength would undoubtedly surpass the vast majority of his peers.

    Shan Zheng had wanted to attempt to change his own card in hopes of attracting a seven-star Immemorial card, as his current card was only a six-star card.

    While six-star and seven-star cards seemed to only be separated by a single step, the reality was that the two werepletely iparable. Six-star cards had no names, while every seven-star card had a unique name.

    Silence filled the floating inds as everyone just stared at the card floating in front of Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin himself was also staring at the card. As soon as it appeared, the nearby area had grown darker, and Lu Yin felt as though he had been thrown into a freezer. He was a cultivator and was even powerful enough to fight against experts with the strength of Progenitors, and yet he still felt chilled.

    This card made him feel danger.

    This card was terrifying.

    No matter if it was a Seasonal card, an Ancient card, or an Immemorial card, every seven-star card had its own unique power.

    The danger that Lu Yin felt came from the card itself, which was called Evernight.

    "How did he get that card?" Shan Zheng was both stunned and ovee with envy. He wanted that card.

    No one could give an answer, as Lu Yin had not done anything of note.

    Lu Yin himself did not know how he had attracted such a terrifying card. This card had pushed away another Immemorial card, as though it was overly eager to belong to Lu Yin.

    What had he done? He had only said a few words, which sounded so boastful that no one would ever believe them.

    Who would truly believe that they could surpass the entire Sixverse Association? Who truly believed that they could bring back the glory of the ancient Heavens Sect?

    No matter how anyone looked at Lu Yins words, they all sounded ridiculous. If it were possible to attract cards just by exaggerated boasting, all of the Lost ns cards would have been taken already.

    Clearly, things were not so simple.

    The appearance of the seven-star Immemorial card Evernight drew out even the Lost ns Grand Elder.

    When an odd pressure appeared, Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes grew sharp, and he looked to the side. Xu Wuwei looked in the same direction at about the same time, while Chen Le and the others reacted a step slower. Still, they all looked over within the space of a few breaths to see an old man in a in white robe. Both his beard and eyebrows were white, and he looked like a distinguished expert.

    Shan Zheng quickly stepped forward and bowed. "Grand Elder."

    The old man was Shan Gu, the Lost ns Grand Elder. This person was equal to Lord Wei, the ruler of the Arboreal Realm, and the rulers of the other universes.

    Shan Gu turned his head. He looked past Shan Zheng and Sovereign Shao Yin to focus on Xu Wuwei. "This child Xuan Qi is your prospective disciple. Can you allow him to join my Lost n?"

    Xu Wuwei revealed apletely different attitude towards Shan Gu. This senior was able to sit and speak casually with Lord Xu, so Xu Wuwei answered Shan Gu in a very respectful manner. "You will have to ask Lord Xu. The only reason why Xuan Qi was able to join our Voidforce Universe is because he crossed the Void Pass and met with Lord Xu. He was only able to join our universe with Lord Xus permission."

    Shan Gu stroked his long white beard. "It appears that it''s time to visit an old friend. We can''t remain on the sidelines forever."

    Xu Wuwei looked back at the floating ind. Personally, he did not care at all whether Xuan Qi stayed in the Voidforce Universe. After all, he had forbidden the young man from joining the Voidforce Universe, and the only reason why Xu Wuweis orders had been overridden was because the youth had crossed the Void Pass.

    Shan Gu wanted to take the brat away, which was exactly what Xu Wuwei also wanted. The incident concerning the Transcendent Universe still felt like a thorn in his heart.

    On the central ind, Lu Yin stretched out his hand, and the Evernight card slowly floated closer to him. He knew that this was an amazing card. After all, he had revealed his true self to the cards, which was why he had attracted this particr card. However, he had not finished speaking. After letting himself go, he had spilled out everything that had been on his mind, especially what had umted after his visit to the Sixth Maind, which had given him a depressing, practically impossible thought.

    "Is the megaverse that we see even real? Is it possible that there is a pair of eyes watching us from some unimaginable height, and a hand that controls the universes that we know of? Honestly, I want to reach those heights myself. If the universes that we know are false, then I want to restore things to reality, just like how the false sky that the Sixth Maind once ced over the Fifth Maind was destroyed.

    These were Lu Yins true feelings. He had started to consider this possibility long ago. "Long ago, for the people of Earth, Frostwave Weave was untouchable. The Great Yu Empire could have made the people of Earth think that it was a god by doing whatever they wanted. It was necessary to first expand beyond Earth to see the truth, but who can say that what we are seeing now is the truth?

    "For the ordinary people living on Earth, nuclear weapons are able to destroy mountains, or even an entire, but this is the limit of their imagination. For cultivators, Progenitors are able to alter the rules of a universe, which is the limit of our imagination.

    "However, is that really the limit?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2721: Primeval Cards

    Chapter 2721: Primeval Cards

    Lu Yin watched as the Evernight card slowly fell into his hand. "If my suspicions are true, then I hope to one day lead humanity to break past this false sky to see the true sky and the true universe.

    "I hope that, one day, I can allow everyone to make their own rules and restore true freedom!"

    There was a snap, and the sky opened. A dark line appeared, and it stretched out of sight of everyone who looked up.

    This was the Hollow, and it had appeared without any reason at all. It broke the sky open and split the ground below, making it look like the universe had been split asunder.

    Shan Gu, Sovereign Shao Yin, Xu Wuwei, and the other peak powerhouses all stared upwards in shock, none of them understanding what was happening. No enemy had attackedin fact, there had been no attack at all. Despite that, space had just broken open.

    More urately, it was not a spatial tear. Rather, reality itself had been torn apart as far as anyone could see. This was not space or the void that had been split, but reality itself. The fabric of the universes that everyone understood to be all that existed had been cracked open.

    On the floating ind, Lu Yin was badly startled. He felt as though thunder had just exploded in his mind, and it caused his hands to tremble so badly that he nearly dropped the card in his hand.

    He looked up; were the Aeternals attacking?

    Everyone was blown away, and they all stared nkly at the sky.

    The ck crack looked like a massive mouth that spread across the entire universe, wanting to swallow everything.

    At this moment, a sh of white light emerged from the dark crack. Was it a corner of the card?

    Anywhere else, where people were not actively trying to attract cards, this detail might have been overlooked, but during the Shangsan Festival, everyone recognized the appearance of a cards corner.

    In the Hollow that split the universe, the corner of a card had appeared. The moment it appeared, the Evernight that Lu Yin was holding trembled, and then as he let out a gasp, it slipped away.

    Lu Yin looked down to see that his new card had just escaped.

    High up above, in the Hollow, the cards started to appear one after another. It looked like they were about to pop out into the visible universe.

    Cards that had been hidden across the floating ind started to appear and disappear, almost as though they were worshiping the card that had appeared in the Hollow.

    Everyone who saw this felt confused. Why had a card appeared in the Hollow? It seemed as though it was trying to break away from something and was struggling to descend, but it also gave off the impression that it was epting the worship of all the present cards.

    No one could understand what was happening.

    Only Shan Gu stared at the corner of the card that had appeared, and his eyes grew incredibly sharp, while he also became extremely excited. His entire body was trembling. <em>Its true! The legends are true! Those cards truly do exist!</em>

    There was not a single one of these cards in the Lost ns possession, but Shan Gu had watched the Evernight appearance, and Shan Gu had also seen how the card that Xuan Qi should have been holding had disappeared without a trace.

    <em>Its that kid! Hes the one who attracted that card.</em>

    Just when everyone thought that the card that had appeared in the Hollow would descend, it suddenly pulled back and disappeared. The Hollow that had opened up also started to slowly disappear. In the space of a single breath, it had already disappeared entirely, as though it had never even been there.

    The universe returned to normal.

    People nced at each other in confusion, and then all of the peak powerhouses present turned to Shan Gu. Unless they were mistaken by what they had just seen, a card had appeared in the Hollow, and cards belonged to the Lost n. However, what in the world was that card?

    The card clearly existed In the Hollow, which was beyond the understanding of even Sovereign Shao Yin and Xu Wuwei. Were there truly cards hidden in the Hollow?

    Everyone wanted an exnation from the Lost n.

    Even more importantly, who had drawn out that card?

    Shan Gu abruptly took action, and he sealed off the central floating ind. "Everyone, the Shangsan Festival is now over. Please return to your respective universes, and please forgive my Lost n for anyck of hospitality that we may have shown you."

    As soon as the man finished speaking, people started flying out from the central floating ind. All of them were foreigners who had participated in the Shangsan Festival.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes turned steely. "Senior Shan Gu, no Shangsan Festival has ever ended early. Is this rted to the card that just appeared? May I ask about that ca-"

    Shan Gu replied before the Sovereign had even finished speaking. "Sovereign Shao Yin, this concerns my Lost ns internal affairs and is none of your concern. Please return!"

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression changed, as Shan Gu''s attitude was clearly no longer friendly.

    Xu Wuwei gave a slight smile. "It seems that your Lost n really does have cards beyond the Immemorial level, and there are also cards hidden in the Hollow. This is quite intriguing, haha."

    He then left without voicing a single question.

    Chen Le nced at the central ind before also taking his leave.

    Right after that, Sage Jiang and Bureau Director Gan left, and Mu Ke also emerged from the floating ind. Sovereign Shao Yin was unwilling to leave without learning anything, but Shan Zheng approached and gestured for the Sovereign to move away from the area. Sovereign Shao Yin had no choice but to leave with a sullen expression on his face.

    In the end, only Xu Heng remained behind, and there was a frown on his face. "Where is my junior brother, Xuan Qi?"

    All outsiders who had participated in the Shangsan Festival had been cast out of the central ind, except for Lu Yin. Xu Wuwei had noticed this, but he had not cared. Chen Le had also noticed, but he was simrly unconcerned. Xu Heng alone had stayed back to ask about Xuan Qi.

    Shan Zheng replied, "Grand Elder has taken care of things for him. Brother Heng, please head on back. You dont need to worry, as nothing will happen to Xuan Qi."

    Xu Heng took a deep breath. This was his first time attending a Shangsan Festival, and yet such a strange matter had urred. He did not know who had drawn that card from the Hollow, and he also had no idea what would happen to Xuan Qi.

    "My junior brother attracted a seven-star Immemorial card, which might create problems with your Lost n, but please dont make things difficult for him. After all, he has met with Lord Xu himself and received his approval." Xu Heng gave a subtle warning before leaving. He wanted to catch up to Xu Wuwei and ask the older man to reach out to Lord Xu.

    The importance that seven-star Immemorial cards held for the Lost n was self-evident. Xuan Qi alone had been kept behind, so he had to be in trouble.

    No one other than Shan Gu had noticed that the Evernight card had disappeared, and this was also why Shan Gu had immediately sealed off the floating ind. He did not want anyone to know that the card from the Hollow had frightened the Evernight card away and made it disappear from Xuan Qis hand.

    At this moment, the only people remaining on the floating ind were members of the Lost n and Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced around in a daze; where had his Immemorial card gone? It had vanished, disappearedpletely, and the card from the Hollow had not fully appeared. What did that mean? Had Lu Yin failed to exchange his card?

    He wanted to leave, but an unseen power stopped him.

    "Xuan Qi, right?" Shan Gu stepped out and smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over, startled by the old mans sudden appearance. There was no hesitation as Lu Yin offered a quick bow. "This junior is indeed Xuan Qi. I wonder who you might be, Senior?"

    He felt incredibly nervous. A single nce was enough to tell Lu Yin that this man was a powerhouse from the Lost n, and it was very possible that he was capable of seeing through Lu Yins Mask of Death, which was a big problem.

    Shan Gu observed Lu Yin. "Do you know what the card that just appeared before you is?"

    "This junior does not know."

    "That one is the seven-star Immemorial card, Evernight," Shan Gu stated.

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Seven-star?"

    Shan Gu stroked his beard. "My Lost n only possesses three seven-star Immemorial cards, and Evernight is one of them. It represents the power of darkness and destion. As long as the owner can drag an enemy into that card, even extremely strong powerhouses might suffer and die, irrespective of the card owner''s personal strength."

    Lu Yin bitterly replied, "But that card is gone."

    Shan Gu nodded as he gave Lu Yin a measured stare. "True, it''s gone. A seven-star Immemorial card disappeared because it was frightened away."

    Lu Yins eyes narrowed and stared at Shan Gu. "It was frightened away?"

    Shan Gu and Lu Yin stared at each other. "What did you just think about?"

    Lu Yin probed the old man, "Ive heard legends of Primeval cards that surpass Immemorial cards, no?"

    Shan Gu grew solemn. "The corner of the card that appeared from within the Hollow is part of a Primeval card."

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. "To my knowledge, the peak of human power is the level of peak powerhouses. Each parallel universe has their own name or term for that level, but the person who unquestionably stands above all others is the Cyclic Universes Great Sovereign. Despite that, even the Great Sovereign himself is recognized as a peak powerhouse. Is it possible that that card surpasses the level of the Great Sovereign?

    "This junior doesnt understand, so if Ive said anything offensive, I ask that you dont hold it against me, Senior."

    Shan Gu smiled. "Human beings are simply too insignificant. What does it mean to look at the stars of this universe? The most powerful cultivators are able to alter a universe, but they can only alter it. Can a peak powerhouse bring someone back to life? Can they transform a creature into a different species? Can a nt be transformed into a human? Can a person be transformed into a nt? Can a peak powerhouse do any of that?"

    "Of course not, its impossible," Lu Yin answered confidently. Everyone said that the most powerful peak powerhouses were able to alter the rules of a universe and that they possessed unfathomable power. However, what was regarded unfathomable power was really just the power that resulted from when peak powerhouses altered a universe. When they took that action, their power was also changed, and it could be granted to others, providing a new cultivation method. However, a cultivation method could not fundamentally change a human into something else.

    Biological creatures were able to alter and change on their own, but they could not be forced to change by a peak powerhouse.

    How could a Progenitor bring a person back to life? How many peak powerhouses were capable of treating Ming Yan''s injuries?

    Shan Gumented, "Not even the strongest peak powerhouses are omnipotent, but living creatures exist and continue to evolve, leading to incredible diversity and infinite possibilities. Why is this? Have you ever thought about it?"

    Lu Yin bowed again. "This junior is not in any position to consider such things."

    Shan Gu replied, "Given your talent, you will eventually be a peak powerhouse yourself. In the Voidforce Universe, youll be regarded as a Void Suprema. On that day, try to think about how humans, creatures, nts, and everything in existence exists and operates. These are questions that all of the most powerful cultivators consider.

    Lu Yins eyes narrowed, as the old man was referring to sequence particles. The Transcendent Universe had been studying sequence particles, but so far, their research had only sessfully proven the existence of sequence particles, as well as the possibility of modifying them. However, there had been no progress in determining the reason for their existence. This old man was presenting questions to Lu Yin that surpassed even the Transcendent Universes research goals, and in some sense, they even surpassed the limits of human imagination.

    Lu Yin bowed low to the old man. "Thank you, Senior, for your advice. If this junior is truly able to be a peak powerhouse one day, I can assure you that I will consider the matters you have mentioned.

    "I wonder, when can this junior leave?"

    Shan Guughed. "Dont you want that Evernight card?"

    Of course Lu Yin had not considered that possibility, as he simply wanted to leave as quickly as possible and get far, far away. This old man had to have seen through his Mask of Death, and yet he was still extremely willing to share information. Lu Yin could not understand this old man at all. "The fact that the card disappeared means that this junior failed to attract it. After touching the card and losing it, how could I have any thoughts of obtaining it?"

    Shan Gu replied, "You attracted it. Are you truly willing to ept it being frightened away by that Primeval card? That card is Evernight, a seven-star Immemorial card."

    Lu Yin responded in a bitter tone, "If that is my fate, then I can only ept it."

    Shan Gu shook his head. "Do you truly want to leave?"

    Lu Yin hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

    "Join my Lost n!" Shan Gu suddenly stated, startling Lu Yin. He stared at Shan Gu with a nk expression.

    "Join the Lost n?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2722: Shan Gu And Xu Jia

    Chapter 2722: Shan Gu And Xu Jia

    Shan Gu solemnly stated, "I, Shan Gu, Grand Elder of the Lost n, formally invite you, Xuan Qi, to join my Lost n and be an official member."

    Lu Yin had Possessed many people from the Sixverse Association, and he had also done a tremendous amount of research. While he did not feel that he knew much about the Lost n, he did know some of them.

    It was widely acknowledged that the Lost n isted themselves from the other universes, but just how xenophobic were they?

    The Lost n were obviously willing to give their cards to outsiders, but it was practically unheard of for an outsider to be epted as a member of the Lost n.

    It was essentially impossible for any outsider to join the Lost n. At least, that was true ording to all the information that Lu Yin had seen so far. It was possible that the records he had ess to were iplete and that they had left out certain confidential matters, but this also demonstrated just how rare it was for an outsider to be weed as a member of the Lost n.

    Also, Lu Yin had heard the name of Shan Gu before. The man was just as famous as Lord Wei, Lord Xu, the Arboreal Ruler, and the other rulers of the various parallel universes. This man was the leader of the entire Lost n, a powerhouse who had lived for countless years.

    It waspletely outside of Lu Yins expectations for the old man that he had been speaking with to actually be Shan Gu. It was no different from saying that he had met the Voidforce Universes Voidlord during his time there.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin''s stunned expression, Shan Gu smiled. "What? Do you not understand?"

    Lu Yinughed dryly. "So Senior is Grand Elder Shan Gu. Of course Im surprised by that. This junior is nothing more than a mere junior. I never expected to one day meet the Lost ns Grand Elder."

    "Haha, if you can attract a Primeval card, then of course I would want to meet you. How about it, Xuan Qi? Join my Lost n. This would be much better for you than if you stayed in the Voidforce Universe. My Lost n will treat you as a distinguished guest. Just tell me whatever you want." Shan Gu''s voice grew very soft.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "How can this junior be allowed to join the Lost n?"

    Shan Gu pointed upwards. "The fact that you drew out a Primeval card is more than enough."

    Lu Yin replied with a bitter smile, "That Primeval card appeared suddenly, but it never came out fully. How can you be so certain that this junior is responsible for that, Senior?"

    Shan Gu stated, "If it wasnt you, then why did Evernight flee?"

    Lu Yin had nothing to say to that.

    "Senior, since this junior has already joined the Voidforce Universe with Lord Xus personal consent, I cannot leave it casually. If I did, how would that be any less than a betrayal? Senior, please forgive me," Lu Yin replied.

    Shan Gu said, "If Xu Jia agrees, would you be willing to join my Lost n?"

    Lu Yin became confused. "Xu Jia?"[1]

    "Xu Jia. Lord Xu of the Voidforce Universe. The man you know as the Voidlord. What? He didnt even tell you his name? Oh, right, his name is considered taboo for his people, so very few people even know it," Shan Gu exined.

    Suddenly, the mans hand rose and patted Lu Yin''s shoulder. Lu Yin reflexively wanted to move away, but he forced himself to not react. This man was someone on par with Lord Xu, the Voidlord. This was someone even more terrifying than the Three Sovereigns. How could Lu Yin ever escape from this man? He waspletely at Shan Gus mercy.

    Once Shan Gus hand rested on Lu Yin''s shoulder, the old man immediately tore through the void.

    After a moment, Lu Yin was able to once again clearly see his surroundings. Was he in the Voidforce Universe? This was a ce that he had never visited before.

    He was shocked by just how intense the ambient voideforce energy in here was. The energy even took on various forms and shapes, simr to the Rune Progenitors ability to create things from nothing.

    "Xu Jia, an old friend is here! Come out and greet him!" Shan Gu shouted.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. Senior, are we here to meet Lord Xu?

    Shan Gu replied, "Don''t you need Xu Jias permission to join my Lost n? In that case, well just ask him in person."

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped further than ever. He had just mentioned Lord Xu as an excuse. He had not expected Shan Gu to actually meet with Lord Xu. This could be a potential disaster for Lu Yin.

    Lord Xu knew that Xuan Qi was from the Origin Universe and that he had even been in contact with Wu Tians Sword Monument. However, the man had not asked Lu Yin any further questions at the Void Pass. Lu Yin had no idea what would happen when he met Lord Xu in the presence of Shan Gu. For a moment, Lu Yins mind was in chaos.

    "Shan Gu? Why are you here, old man?" a familiar voice called out. It belonged to the exact same person that Lu Yin had met after crossing the Void Pass.

    This man was the Voidlord.

    Lord Xu stepped out, surprised by the appearance of Shan Gu and Lu Yin. "Why did you bring this child here? Did he get into trouble?"

    Shan Gu stroked his beard with a hand. "You and I are old friends, so I wont beat around the bush. Why dont you give this child to my Lost n?"

    Xu Zhu stared at Shan Gu. "Why?"

    Shan Gu replied in a thoughtful tone, "Hes just a child, and Ive evene to you in person to ask this, and yet you still want to know why? It appears that this child is truly quite important to you."

    Xu Jia gave a small smile. "Hes not that important, but he is the descendant of an old friend of mine, so I need to take care of him."

    Shan Gu grew curious. "Which old friend?"

    "First, tell me why you want him. Is it because hes offended your Lost n, or is it for some other reason?" Lord Xu was quite curious.

    Shan Gu stared at the other old man before slowly saying, "This child participated in my Lost ns Shangsan Festival, and he attracted a Primeval card."

    The Voidlords expression changed drastically. He was clearly stunned. "A Primeval card? Your Lost n really has Primeval cards?"

    Shan Gu''s expression grew ugly. "Have you always believed that my Lost n was just bragging?"

    "Thats impossible! Immemorial cards correspond to our realm, and while you possess terrifying strength, old man, and youre certainly no weaker than me. Even the Great Sovereign is in our same realm, despite surpassing us both. We can clearly see a gap between ourselves and him, but if there are truly Primeval cards, then that makes me very curious. Just what realm is above our own? Who left this Primeval card? Please exin things to me." Lord Xu sounded quite anxious.

    Shan Gu smiled. "I wont lie to you. Sovereign Shao Yin and Xu Wuwei both witnessed this scene, so I believe that word will soon spread throughout the Sixverse Association. However, I can''t answer your question. All I can do is rely on him.

    Lord Xu looked over at Lu Yin, as Shan Gu was pointing at him.

    "Boy, can you answer my questions?" Lord Xu asked bluntly.

    Lu Yin appeared quite confused. "This junior doesnt even understand."

    Lord Xu looked back at Shan Gu, who had grown very serious. "This child has attracted a Primeval card. If we want answers to these questions, then that card must be drawn out fully. This might even be an opportunity for humanity to defeat the Aeternals!"

    "After so many years, has no one from your Lost n ever managed to attract a Primeval card?"

    "If we had, do you think that we would be in our current situation? Do you think that we would have to show that brat, Sovereign Shao Yin, face when he visits my Lost n?

    "We would already have ruined the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony."

    Lord Xu thought for a moment before saying, "But this child is not a member of your Lost n, so how could he have attracted that card?"

    Shan Gu shook his head. "I dont have an answer for that, either."

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Hes been adamant that he did not attract the Primeval card, but I am certain that it was him."

    Lord Xu took a step forward and stared at Lu Yin. "Boy, tell me, what happened?"

    Being the main focus of the rulers of the Lost n and the Voidforce Universe put a great deal of pressure onto Lu Yin. He had expected that a day like this would eventuallye, but he had not expected it to arrive so soon. On top of that, this situation was not at all what he had expected. He had simply been participating in the Shangsan Festival and not really doing much at all. How had just a few words managed to attract a Primeval card?

    Faced with the pressure of the two powerhouses, Lu Yin could only share what he had said. Of course, he kept the matter of wanting to kill Sovereign Shao Yin and others from the Cyclic Universe, or anything else that might expose his true identity to himself. Instead, he focused on his final words and what he had felt at that time. He had not really been thinking deeply at that moment, but had rather been simply reflecting on his thoughts that hade about after his trip to the Sixth Maind. He had simply given voice to those musings.

    Upon hearing Lu Yins ount, Lord Xus expression grew odd. Could this child attract a Primeval card just by speaking a few words? No, that was impossible. He looked up at Shan Gu.

    Shan Gu''s expression was also strange, and he was staring intently at Lu Yin, as though seeing an incredible person.

    The old mans reaction caused Lord Xu to believe that Shan Gu knew something.

    "That''s all there was. I don''t know how this junior attracted the Primeval card," Lu Yin said with a bitter smile.

    Shan Gu looked away and sank into deep thought for some time. "It appears that the Primeval card likes you a great deal, though that has nothing to do with what you said. You must have attracted it just by being there."

    <em>Really?</em> Lu Yin immediately questioned this possibility.

    Xu Zhu casually pushed Lu Yin a thousand meters away, and then turned his back to Lu Yin so that he could talk with Shan Gu. Lu Yin could not hear a single word.

    Lu Yin had no idea what the two men discussed, but it seemed to be an argument.

    Some timeter, Lord Xu made another gesture, and Lu Yin was pulled back over, manipted like a puppet on strings.

    It was a very unpleasant experience, as there was nothing that Lu Yin could do at all. No matter if it was the Voidlord or the Grand Elder, if either man wanted to kill Lu Yin, they could do so without issue. No matter what Lu Yin tried, he would not be able to escape from these two men.

    Both men stared at Lu Yin.

    "Boy, you must have attracted that Primeval card. Theres no denying that," Xu Jia stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "But this junior has no idea what attracted the card to me. Given another chance, I cant promise that I could replicate that feat."

    Shan Gu spoke up. "You actually can''t attract that card."

    After a pause, he added, "At least for now. The best that you can do is attract a small portion of that card. Once you be a peak powerhouse yourself, you will be able to attract theplete card.

    "What do you say, are you willing to join my Lost n? Xu Jia has already agreed."

    Lord Xu gave Shan Gu a t stare. "Don''t call me by some random nameI am the Voidlord."

    Shan Gu shook his head. "Its pathetic how some people wont ept their own names."

    Lord Xus eyes narrowed. "Xuan Qi, you can choose not to join them."

    Shan Gu smiled. "Actually, being called the Voidlord isnt too bad."

    Only then did Lord Xus expression improve.

    Lu Yin watched these two old mens conversation. They had clearlye to an agreement, but how should he choose? His biggest concern at this moment was exposing himself, though Shan Gus next words changed that priority entirely. "Sovereign Shao Yin and Xu Wuwei both witnessed it."

    This indicated that, when Lu Yin had tried to change his card, both Sovereign Shao Yin and Xu Wuwei had been present. And also, they had watched as the Evernight card appeared before him. Had they both been paying attention to him instead of the card?

    There had been a bit of time between when Evernight appeared and when the Primeval card revealed itself. During that brief window of time, everyone had been focused on Evernight, as it would have been the center of attention.

    In that case, Sovereign Shao Yin had to have seen through Lu Yins Mask of Death.

    Had Sovereign Shao Yin recognized Lu Yins face? Lu Yin had always believed that if his disguise was seen through, his alias as Xuan Qi would be useless. If Sovereign Shao Yin had not recognized Lu Yin, then what was the point of the disguise?

    Lu Yins fist clenched. Had he known this was going to happen, he never would have visited the Lost n.

    He felt as though he had beenpletely exposed.

    Shan Gu and Xu Zhu both continued to stare at Lu Yin. "Its your choice, Xuan Qi, and its up to you alone."

    Lu Yin continued to hesitate. On one hand, he continued to wonder whether Sovereign Shao Yin had been able to see through his disguise, while on the other, he was thinking about what to do regarding his current situation.

    If Sovereign Shao Yin had seen through the Mask of Death, then joining the Lost n might be the best way to avoid the Sovereign. The greater Lu Yins value was to the Lost n, the less likely that Sovereign Shao Yin would be able to touch him.

    "Do you hesitate because you are from the Origin Universe?" Shan Gu suddenly asked.

    1. Xu Jia can also mean fake/false/unreal. <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2723: Retreat

    Chapter 2723: Retreat

    Lu Yins head snapped up to look at Shan Gu, and then he subconsciously looked over at Lord Xu, suddenly rather nervous.

    Lord Xu proceeded to exin, "The Sixverse Association''s attitude towards the Origin Universees from the Cyclic Universe, and their attitude has influenced most of the people in the Sixverse Association, but only most of them. The Lost n cannot be influenced by them because the Lost n has never had any contact with the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Theres never been any contact?"

    Shan Gu stroked his beard. "It seems that you really are hesitating because you are from the Origin Universe, but theres no need for that. My Lost n has never made contact with your Origin Universes Heavens Sect. Sovereign Shao Yin has mentioned that the Heavens Sect was arrogant, domineering, and well, we never had anything to do with it. By the time we came into contact with the Cyclic Universe and the Arboreal Realm, your Origin Universes Heavens Sect had already fallen, so your identity really doesnt matter to me or my Lost n."

    Lord Xu interjected, "The one who truly cares is the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

    Lord Xu and Lu Yin stared at each other. "I don''t know the reason why, but the Great Sovereign has strong feelings about your universes Origin Progenitor, and his attitude has affected the entire Cyclic Universe. After the Origin Universe fell, the Great Sovereigns followers did their best to discredit the Origin Universe. Of those who did so, Sovereign Shao Yin was the most influential. There are some who believe that the more hatred they demonstrate towards the Origin Universe, the more they will be appreciated by the Great Sovereign.

    "At least, this was how things were at first, but as time passed, regardless of the truth, this attitude became deeply ingrained into the Sixverse Association, and now, most of the people dislike or are even outright hostile towards the Origin Universe. Time is a terrible weapon, and it can transform the thoughts of an entire group of people.

    "Truthfully, I despise people like Sovereign Shao Yin. They cant defeat Aeternus, so they me the Heavens Sect for not taking action at the beginning. It''s like ming others for not helping when they can''t win a fight. It''s childish."

    Lu Yin understood. "No wonder you didnt care that this junior is from the Origin Universe when we met in the Void Pass, Senior."

    Lord Xu replied, "Wu Tian and I are good friends, so how could I be hostile to your Origin Universe? However, I am quite curious, just what is your identity in your universe? Your age, cultivation, and abilities present a very uniquebination. I wanted to ask about this before, but then I forgot."

    Shan Gu also looked at Lu Yin with a curious expression.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. There was no way to hide the truth from these two people. "Junior Lu Yin greets his seniors."

    Shan Gu showed no reaction, but Lord Xu was shocked. "You are Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universes Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior is honored to be known by you, Senior."

    Shan Gu felt rather confused. "The Origin Universe still has a Heavens Sect?"

    Lord Xu snapped back, "You never bother to pay any attention to matters in other universes, and ignore any news regarding the Origin Universe, so of course you don''t know that this child before you is quite amazing. Even I have heard of him..."

    Lord Xu had a bit of information regarding Lu Yin. Given the mans status, only truly amazing events were able to garner his attention, but what he knew of Lu Yin was enough to surprise Shan Gu as well.

    After learning a bit from Lord Xu, Shan Gu looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "Youve gone through so much despite being so young? Xuan Qino, Lu Yin, your life has been even more exciting than my own."

    Lu Yins voice grew bitter. "If I had a choice, I wouldn''t have wanted to live through those things either, but its simply my luck. Ive simply been lucky enough to survive for as long as I have."

    He could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Judging from these two old mens attitudes, it seemed that they held no hostility towards him.

    One of them had never had any contact with the Heavens Sect, while the other was good friends with Wu Tian. Not the entire Sixverse Association was hostile to the Origin Universe.

    If Lu Yin had been discovered by Sovereign Shao Yin, or even people like Monarch Luo or Lord Wei, he might have been instantly attacked.

    At this point, the only one whose feelings towards the Origin Universe remained a mystery was the ruler of the Arboreal Realm.

    Lord Xu stared at Lu Yin. "Why have you, the Heavens Sects Dao Monarch, hidden your identity and joined my Voidforce Universe? If you are seeking to avenge your Lu family, you should be going after Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Lu Yin had already thought about how to answer this question. He had known that his identity would eventually be exposed and that he would have to face this exact issue. The master of the Heavens Sect was one identity, while being a descendent and heir of the Lu family was an entirely different identity.

    Shan Gu did not understand Lu Yins enmity with Sovereign Shao Yin, as Lord Xu had not mentioned anything about Lu Yin being from the Lu family, and Shan Gu knew almost nothing about the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Of the different members of the Sixverse Association, the only ones that this junior could reasonably join are the Arboreal Realm or the Voidforce Universe. I am an enemy of the Cyclic Universe, while the Lost n is closed to outsiders. As for the Three Monarchs Universe, they are preparing to invade my Origin Universe. The Transcendent Universe doesnt focus on cultivation, which led this junior to choose to join the Voidforce Universe.

    "In that case, why not join the Arboreal Realm? You crossed the Void Pass in order to join my Voidforce Universe. You pushed hard to join us!" Lord Xu said. While he was not bothered by Lu Yins identity, he also did not want Lu Yin to take advantage of the Voidforce Universe.

    Lu Yin was forced to admit that Xu Wuwei had seen through his disguise.

    "If I had gone to the Arboreal Realm and met with Senior Mu Ke, this junior knew that it might not be possible to give an eptable exnation to him. This junior had already exined the situation to Senior Xu Wuwei, so I was more willing to join the Voidforce Universe."

    Lord Xu understood. "No wonder you didn''t ask me to be your master, nor did you demand that Xu Wuwei ept you as his disciple. You were afraid that I would get to the truth of the matter, and Xu Wuwei was already suspicious of you.

    "So, when ites to you pursuing revenge, how do you perceive my Voidforce Universe in your heart?"

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. "I wont be an enemy, as long as there are no attempts to use me."

    Lord Xu gave a half-hearted smile, clearly not believing Lu Yin, though the old man also did not pursue the matter.

    "Senior, why does the Great Sovereign have a problem with the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked Lord Xu. This was not only to change the topic, but also because he genuinely wanted to know what had transpired between the two men. Were they mortal enemies, or did they merely disagree on ideologies? If the two had been mortal enemies, then Lu Yins attitude towards the Cyclic Universe would have to be adjusted.

    In the past, he had hated the Cyclic Universe for helping the four ruling powers exile the Lu family, but the true culprit seemed to be Sovereign Shao Yin. Lu Yin wanted to confirm if the Sovereign was the true instigator of that matter.

    Lord Xu shook his head. "I cant tell you that, but Mu Shen should know. He is the oldest person in the Sixverse Association, aside from the Great Sovereign himself. He also fought in many wars in the Origin Universe during the Heavens Sect era, so he must know."

    Mu Shen was the ruler of the Arboreal Realm.

    Lu Yin asked, "What is Senior Mu Shens attitude towards my Origin Universe?"

    Xu Zhu and Shan Gu looked at each other.

    "They used to be friends, but now, I cant say," Lord Xu replied.

    Lu Yin bowed. "Thank you, Senior, for telling me."

    Shan Gu said, "Now that the matter of your true identity has been dealt with, should we?"

    He had just been about to ask Lu Yin to join the Lost n, but then he suddenly remembered that the young man was the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universes Heavens Sect. If Lu Yins cultivation was ignored and only his status was considered, then he was someone on the same level as the rulers of the other universes.

    Shan Gu felt that it would be improper to allow the Dao Monarch to join his Lost n.

    Lord Xu gave Shan Gu a funny look.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I have responsibilities towards the Heavens Sect."

    Shan Gu sighed. "I don''t even know what to say."

    Lord Xu said, "Celebrate. This child wants to get revenge for the Lu family. If he had joined your Lost n and then confronted the Great Sovereign some day, what would you do?"

    Shan Gu calmly replied, "If we fight each other, then we fight each other. What other choice is there?"

    "You certainly have enough confidence!" Lord Xu praised.

    Lu Yin spoke up in a serious tone. "Senior Lord Xu, you don''t need to worry. If the dayes when this junior truly does confront the Cyclic Universe, there is no way that I will involve the Voidforce Universe."

    Lord Xu justughed. "Do you really believe that I''m afraid of the Cyclic Universe?"

    "Aren''t you?" Shan Gu shot back.

    Lord Xu pointed at Lu Yin. "As long as we are in the Voidforce Universe, I can guarantee that this kid will be fine."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Thats amazing, Senior."

    Shan Gu shook his head. "Youre coaxing him With this childs strength, he can at most offend Sovereign Shao Yin. How could you care about Sovereign Shao Yin? If the dayes when this kid annoys the Great Sovereign and flees to your Voidforce Universe, it will depend entirely on you."

    "We can just try." Lord Xu remained unconcerned.

    Lu Yin felt that he had finally obtained a path of escape.

    His greatest gain this day was discovering the attitudes of the Lost n and the Voidforce Universe in regards to the Origin Universe. It was not the entire Sixverse Association that was Lu Yins enemy, but rather just some of the people.

    Shan Gu opened his hand to show a character formed from a strange metal. This character was the word Shan.

    "Keep this with you."

    Lu Yin took the emblem, though he felt rather puzzled.

    Shan Gu exined, "While it is impossible for you to be a member of my Lost n and you must remain an outsider, this emblem will be proof of your identity. If one day something happens, I and my Lost n will do our best to protect you."

    The old man understood perfectly what it meant to be an enemy of the Cyclic Universe, and he worried for Lu Yin, while also admiring the youth.

    For a peak powerhouse to admire someone as young as Lu Yin was something that had almost never happened throughout all of history.

    Lu Yin bowed low. "Thank you, Senior. If the dayes when this junior bes a peak powerhouse, I will definitely return to the Lost n to retrieve the Primeval card."

    Shan Gu nodded. "It''s good to have that sort of heart. That Primeval card will not only help my Lost n, but also all of humanity throughout the entire megaverse. Once an individual appears who surpasses the realm of peak powerhouses, the Aeternals will no longer matter.

    Lu Yin''s eyes instantly grew wide. It was true. If someone truly did manage to reach such a level, how would they be any different from a god? What would the Aeternals be able to do?

    "And this as well." Shan Gu hesitated briefly before taking out a card.

    "Evernight?" Lu Yin blurted out.

    Lord Xu was stunned. "A seven-star Immemorial card?"

    Two men stared at Shan Gu, wondering what he was doing, but the Great Elder of the Lost n just shrugged. "We cant allow anyone to learn that the Primeval card appeared because of you, so Evernight is still yours."

    Cards were traded during the Shangsan Festival, and Shan Gu naturally had ess to the Lost ns ownerless cards.

    It made sense that he could also give ownerless cards to others, but the Lost n had a rule that a person needed to obtain their card for themselves. If their card did not suit them, then they could trade it away during the Shangsan Festival or when they reached a new realm of cultivation. Not everyone was able to trade for a better card. For example, Shan Zheng wanted to obtain a seven-star Immemorial card, but he was unable to get one.

    Lu Yin had already obtained Evernight, but it had been scared away by the Primeval card. Then, the Primeval card had not fully appeared, which meant that the Lost n had a choice about whether they should give Evernight or Lu Yin.

    Shan Gu had chosen to give the Immemorial card away to prevent others from learning that Lu Yin had attracted the Primeval card.

    Lu Yin excitedly took the card. No matter the reason why he was receiving Evernight, the card was undeniably invaluable.

    A seven-star Immemorial card was essentially as powerful as Shan Gu, who was as strong as Lord Xu.

    This meant that, no matter who the card belonged to, if they could drag a peak powerhouse into the cards space, there was a very low chance of them ever returning alive.

    The Lost n had truly magical means. The Evernight card felt no different from Lu Yins Hidden Mountain card, and yet it was able to suppress cultivators as powerful as Progenitors.

    Shan Gu was willing to tell Lord Xu that Lu Yin had attracted the Primeval card, but that was because the two old men shared a very unusual rtionship.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2724: Xuan Qiâ€™s Influence

    Chapter 2724: Xuan Qi¡¯s Influence

    When Lu Yin received the Evernight card, he also returned the Hidden Mountain card to Shan Gu.

    "Whether it is Evernight or Hidden Mountain, these cards are the life of the Lost n. Xuan Qi, I hope that you will respect this card and give it the attention it deserves," Shan Gu said somberly.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "Senior, you have no need to worry. This junior will be sure to take care of it."

    Lord Xu felt quite envious. "You are incredibly lucky. A seven-star Immemorial card should be no weaker than old man Shan Gu''s Heavenly King card. When you use it, not many in the entire Sixverse Association will be able to stand up to you."

    Lu Yin asked, "I wonder, can this junior even use it?"

    The Hidden Mountain card was only an Ancient card, which corresponded to the Envoy level, which was why Lu Yin had been able to use it the moment he had obtained it. However, it would be impossible to use Evernight with the same sort of ease.

    Shan Gu exined, "If you want to use Evernight, then it would be best if you first improved your cultivation to a higher realm. Even if you don''t be a peak powerhouse, you will need to at least reach the realm directly below that. If not, even if your enemy is dragged into Evernight, without you controlling the card, they will be able to easily escape. Cards are regarded as the life of my Lost nsmen, but they are still only tools. People remain the most important, and no matter how strong a card may be, it must be controlled by a person, and this even applies to Evernight.

    "See for yourself. The first person to enter a card will be the master of the card, so it wont do anything to you, but that does not mean that it will be easy for you to use it."

    Lu Yin nodded as he solemnly put Evernight away. He had obtained yet another trump card, but he really needed some time before he became familiar with the card.

    "Alright, this matter is finished, so you can go," Lord Xu urged. He then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Kid, I would like to see how you manage to avenge your Lu family. Although my Voidforce universe does not hate the Origin Universe, we will not help you act against another member of the Sixverse Association. There cannot be internal strife within humanity.

    This was the same thing that many other people had already said to Lu Yin. If mankind fought against themselves, only Aeternus would benefit.

    "This junior understands," Lu Yin replied.

    "Wait a minute, I just remembered something." Lord Xu thought of something and looked over at Shan Gu. "Do you remember what Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to propose?"

    Shan Gu frowned. "He wants to make the Origin Universe part of the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin was startled. "What?"

    Lord Xu looked back at the young man. "You heard correctly. Sovereign Shao Yin intends to propose to add the Origin Universe to the Endless Frontier. If this happens, you will be doomed. You need to find a way out of this for yourself!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes radiated a chilling killing intent. Sovereign Shao Yin was incredibly vicious. Lu Yin was fully aware of just how terrifying the Endless Frontier was. A special method had been used to connect sixty two parallel universes and the Aeternals territory. It was the battlefield where Aeternus focused most of their power.

    The Sixverse Association fought against Aeternus on the Endless Frontier. Everyst universe that made up the Endless Frontier was a battlefield, and it was difficult to survive in any of them. Once a universe was added to the Endless Frontiers, the Aeternals will invariably flood in withrge numbers, while the Sixverse Association would do the same. When that happened, the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World would both be battlefields. How would the people living there survive? The fighting would fill the entire universe, leaving it entirely unfit for life.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin is so insidious!" Lu Yin clenched his fists as his eyes zed with killing intent. Rarely had he ever wanted to kill someone so badly.

    Lord Xumented, "If you ignore the grudges between him and your Origin Universe, then there is nothing wrong with his proposal. The Endless Frontier has to be continuously expanded, or else it bes difficult to continue the war with Aeternus. This protects the six member universes of the Sixverse Association. Its certainly selfish, but thats the way of the memgaverse: survival of the fittest. Right now, the sixty two parallel universes are enough to stop the Aeternals, but if any of our six universes encounters any trouble, the next most powerful universe in the Endless Frontier will rece them.

    "You are from the Origin Universe, so you naturally see this proposal as evil, but the truth is that most people from the Sixverse Association will agree to it."

    Lu Yin understood, "Senior, how will Sovereign Shao Yin go about seeing his proposal enacted?"

    Shan Gu spoke up, "He needs more than half of the rulers of the Sixverse Associations member universes to agree."

    "How many people have already agreed?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Xu nced at Shan Gu, who shook his head. "My Lost n has already basically opposed Sovereign Shao Yin''s proposal."

    "I also haven''t agreed," Lord Xu stated.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. "Is that enough?"

    Xu Zhu shook his head. "Don''t get ahead of yourself. It will be difficult to change this. To begin with, the Great Sovereign will agree to this proposal, though his consent is not actually needed. The Three Sovereigns are qualified to make decisions on the Great Sovereigns behalf regarding many matters. The fact that Sovereign Shao Yin is the one presenting this proposal means that the Cyclic Universe supports it.

    "The Transcendent Universes Lord Wei and the Three Monarchs Universes Monarch Luo have already agreed. All that remains is Mu Shens decision.

    "I don''t know if he will agree, though you are even less likely to know, not unless you find some way to meet with him. Dont count on us for any help, as we cant find him ourselves. All you can do is wait to see the results."

    Lu Yin frowned. "The Three Monarchs Universes Luo Shan agreed?"

    "What''s strange about that? The Three Monarchs Universe is too weak, so theyll agree to anything that the Cyclic universe says," Lord Xu stated matter-of-factly.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. There was no way that Luo Shan would actually be willing to ept this, or else why would he have put so much effort into opening the spatial passage connecting the two universes? How would that be any different from sending the Three Monarchs Universe onto the Endless Frontier? Monarch Luo had wanted to annex the Origin Universe with the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that there was no reason for him to agree to Sovereign Shao Yins proposal.

    It seemed that something had happened.

    "When did Luo Shan agree?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Xu replied, "It was not too long ago, though everyone only gave informal, verbal answers. Sovereign Shao Yin has simply been canvassing for votes. Once hes confident that he has support from more than half of the universes, he will formally appeal to the Great Sovereign for instructions. Only after that will anything happen."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. As long as there had not been an official decision, he still had a chance.

    "Now, you can only find out Mu Shens position on this, though it will be very difficult for you to find him. That means that all you can do is wait," Lord Xu exined.

    Lu Yin looked over at Shan Gu. "The Great Sovereign has always strictly prohibited anyone from entering the Origin Universe on their own, so why would he agree to Sovereign Shao Yins proposal?"

    "I cant tell you that, and all I can tell you is that you need to prepare. You cant stop Sovereign Shao Yin from presenting his proposal for now.

    Alright! Time to go!" Lord Xu said.

    Lu Yin hoped that Shan Gu and Lord Xu could help him, but this was not their battle. For other parallel universes, the Cyclic Universe was far more important than the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin left and was delivered to the Red Zone by Lord Xu himself.

    What had happened during the Lost ns Shangsan Festival created shockwaves throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    Originally, the fact that Xuan Qi had obtained the seven-star Immemorial card Evernight should have been the most sensational part of the event, but it had beenpletely overshadowed by the appearance of the Primeval card.

    The Lost n had always imed that Primeval cards existed, but not even their Great Elder Shan Gu had such a card. Shan Gus power was on par with the other rulers of the universes, so if Primeval cards existed, then it indicated that there was a realm beyond that of peak powerhouses. This was something beyond even the Great Sovereign himself, so no one had ever believed it.

    However, a Primeval card had been publicly exposed, and its existence shook the megaverse. Sovereign Shao Yin had seen it with his own eyes, and his ount was beyond shocking.

    Everyone had started guessing about what sort of realm could exist above peak powerhouses. Could there really be a god? A god tocultivators?

    Soon, many peak powerhouses visited the Lost n, hoping to learn more about Primeval cards, or at least discover who had managed to attract the Primeval card, but they all failed. The Lost n was a closedmunity, and they were now more isted than ever before, closing their doorspletely. Not a single word was shared with any outsiders.

    The longer the Lost ns silence stretched out, the more convinced people became that a Primeval card had appeared. Many people even said that the Lost n might surpass the Cyclic Universe and that Shan Gu would rece the Great Sovereign to lead the Sixverse Association.

    The Lost n was incredibly busy during this time, and so was the Voidforce Universes Red Zone.

    Xu Wuji stared nkly at the Evernight card in Lu Yins hands. The mans mouth practically watered as he asked, "Is that really a seven-star Immemorial card?"

    Lu Yin proudly stated, "Yes, this is Evernight."

    He was eager to make public that he had obtained Evernight, as it might be regarded as proof that he had nothing to do with the appearance of the Primeval card. After all, if he had triggered the appearance of the Primeval card, he could not have obtained Evernight.

    As for the timing between when Evernight and the Primeval card had appeared, that would trigger some peoples suspicions, but Lu Yin already had Evernight in his hand at that moment. Even if anyone had any doubts, no one would ever consider that Xuan Qi was in possession of the Primeval card, as it was impossible. No one possessed two cards.

    Many different people spected that it must have been someone from the Lost n who had drawn out the Primeval card.

    "Can I touch it?" Xu Wuji felt an incredible amount of envy.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips as he pulled a box out from his cosmic ring. "Xiao- Senior Fang Yi asked me to deliver this to you."

    Xu Wuji epted the box and stored it in his cosmic ring without even ncing at it. "Let me touch the Evernight card. Don''t worry, I won''t try to steal it."

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "It feels exactly the same as every other card. Whats the point in touching it?"

    Xu Wuji said longingly, "Its a seven-star Immemorial card! Unless that Primeval card shows up again, this is the most powerful card in existence! If you can use it properly, even I will die if I get pulled in. Xuan Qi, you are too lucky! How did you manage to convince the Lost n to let you keep it and leave?"

    This was the question that Lu Yin feared the most. "Everyone was forced out, and I alone was kept behind. Fortunately, the Lost n kept their word and did not force me to give Evernight back to them. Not only that, but theyve even recognized me, Xuan Qi, as a quasi-member of the Lost n."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin pulled out the metal emblem.

    Xu Wuji''s eyes grewrge. "Shans Emblem?"

    "You know what this is, Bureau Director?"

    "You''re so lucky! Thats a one-word order! A real one-word order! This isnt as simple as them epting you as a quasi-member of the Lost n. To a certain extent, youre more of a Lost nsman than a real nsman. If anything happens to you, the Lost n will help you."

    "Oh The Great Elder didn''t tell me."

    Xu Wujis jealousy was almost enough to drive him insane.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng arrived, worried about what might have happened to Xuan Qi. Xu Heng had personally seen Xuan Qi be sealed within the floating ind and unable to leave, and so he had been quite worried for his junior brother.

    A short timeter, Bureau Director Gan arrived, and he was Lu Yin''s biggest headache.

    Fortunately, the Bureau Director did not press his request for Xuan Qi to visit the Arboreal Realm, as he instead simply wanted to ask about the Evernight card.

    There were many other people who wanted to learn more about the Primeval card from Xuan Qi, but Lu Yin knew to tell them nothing.

    Xuan Qi''s status was climbing higher and higher within the Sixverse Association. Not to mention how he was already supported by several peak powerhouses, acquiring Evernight by itself was enough to elevate his status to that of any peak powerhouse. Everyone understood that the moment that Xuan Qi became a peak powerhouse, Evernight would grant him a huge boost in strength that would allow him to stand far above his peers. Few within the same realm as him would be able topare to him.

    Even if Xuan Qi did not be as powerful as Shan Gu, he would not be much weaker. Another incredibly important detail was his exceptional talent for cultivating voidforce energy. No one could say how powerful Xuan Qi would be when he became a peak powerhouseonly that he was guaranteed to reach that level. For the time being, his influence matched that of a true peak powerhouse.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2725: Lu Yin Attacks

    <h4>Chapter 2725: Lu Yin Attacks</h4>

    Every group sent their own representatives to the Red Zone to offer their congrattions, even the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    Yuan Qiunan delivered Sage Yuan¡¯s congrattions.

    Jiang Xiaodao delivered Sage Jiang¡¯s congrattions.

    When Snack Saint arrived, Lu Yin immediately fled and avoided seeing Snack Sage at all.

    Gong Yu delivered Sage Gong¡¯s congrattions.

    Shao Gu delivered Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s congrattions.

    The Arboreal Realm, the Transcendent Universe, and every other universe all sent people to offer congrattions. Xuan Qi¡¯s aplishment was both rare and extremely important.

    It was at this time that Xuan Qi''s name became incredibly famous. Anyone who mentioned him felt almost as though they were speaking about a peak powerhouse.

    Chen Le also arrived, delivering the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s congrattions.

    "From now on, I will also call you brother. Don¡¯t be bothered by it, Brother Xuan Qi," Chen Le said with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled as he weed Chen Le into the Red Zone.

    Xu Wuji had already left, so Lu Yin was personally weing all of his well-wishers.

    "It''s an honor, Senior Chen Le. Please,e in."

    At the top of the bell tower, Lu Yin stepped away from all of the others to speak to Chen Le alone.

    "Have you spoken to Bureau Director Gan?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le replied, "I went to the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival, nning to sound him out a bit, but I didn¡¯t dare to make things too obvious. It seems that he truly invited you to help his Bureau branch capture spies."

    "I certainly hope that that¡¯s true. I don''t want Mr. Dahenging after me."

    Chen Le enviouslymented, "It wouldn¡¯t matter even if he doese after you. With Evernight in your possession, as well as your status as a quasi-member of the Lost n, not even Mr. Daheng would dare to do anything to you."

    "However, that willpletely change if my real identity is exposed," Lu Yin countered.

    Chen Le nodded. "Something strange has happened as well. Do you remember the passage that connects the Three Monarchs Universe to your Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "What about it? Does Luo Shan want to try to use it again?"

    Chen Le nodded. "That¡¯s right, but he doesn¡¯t want to open it, but rather to seal it closed."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back, not at all surprised by this news.

    "You aren¡¯t surprised?" Chen Le felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin did not answer and instead asked, "How does Luo Shan intend to seal it?"

    Chen Le exined, "From what I¡¯ve heard, an Array Master has been invited from the Cyclic Universe to set up a sourcebox array in the Three Monarchs Universe. This way, even if the passage is opened from the side of the Origin Universe, the passage will remain sealed."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Lord Xu had been absolutely correct. Luo Shan had indeed promised Sovereign Shao Yin that he would support the proposal to add the Origin Universe to the Endless Frontier. Why else would he be trying to seal the passage?

    Sealing the passage would ensure that the Three Monarchs Universe was not directly connected to the Endless Frontier.

    However, why had Luo Shan agreed to support the proposal at all?

    The Origin Universe was of immeasurable value to Monarch Luo, and he had been targeting the Origin Universe for many, many years. It was even possible that he secretly already regarded the Origin Universe as his property. There was no reason that Lu Yin could think of for Monarch Luo to agree to support Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s proposal.

    What had Sovereign Shao Yin paid to gain Luo Shan¡¯s support?

    "Has Sovereign Shao Yin recently visited your universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chen Le shook his head. "Not that I¡¯ve seen."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Have you managed to locate Monarch Xing¡¯s n?"

    Chen Le¡¯s face twisted. "That¡¯s a closely guarded secret, so I can¡¯t ask Monarch Luo about it directly."

    "Go back now!" Lu Yin ordered.

    Chen Le felt confused. "Has something happened?"

    Lu Yin looked over at the man. "I¡¯ll exin things to you when it¡¯s time, but Luo Shan is very wiley, and if you are told now, it will be too easy for you to reveal ws to him."

    Chen Le retorted, "No, I have very few interactions with Monarch Luo."

    "Go back," Lu Yinmanded coldly.

    Chen Le frowned as he stared at Lu Yin''s back, but he still left.

    The two were working together on the basis of mutual usage, so Lu Yin did not consider Chen Le''s personal feelings at all.

    Something needed to be done, as Lu Yin absolutely could not allow the Origin Universe to be merged into the Endless Frontier.

    Xuan Qi soon made a public announcement that he was going into seclusion to study the Evernight card. Everyone understood that anyone would want to study such a treasure as quickly as possible after obtaining it.

    ...

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, there were shouts and curses endlessly erupting from the Mu family¡¯s estate in the Upper King Domain. People were asionally being tossed through the air, coughing up blood when they struck the ground.

    "Get out of here! Get out!"

    People were so terrified that they fled, their faces pale.

    Within a courtyard, Luo Zang''s eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing was ragged. His recent trip to the Lost n¡¯s universe had been utterly humiliating!

    It was actually a one-star Seasonal card! He had only attracted a one-star Seasonal card! It was literally one of the worst cards in the Lost n¡¯s possession. In contrast, Xuan Qi had managed to obtain a seven-star Immemorial card, which was literally one of the best cards that the Lost n possessed.

    <i>That bastard! Bastard!</i>

    Many people throughout the megaverse had beenparing Luo Zang to Xuan Qi, as one had attracted the best card possible, and the other had attracted the worst card possible. Theparison made Luo Zang want to vomit blood.

    It felt like everyone wasughing at him, and even his father had told him to get out of sight and to not embarrass himself in public.

    "Xuan Qi, Xuan Qi¡ª!" Luo Zang roared.

    Some distance away, Old Lady Mu frowned. The silver needle in her hand pierced the embroidery,pleting the image that she had been working on.

    "How many now?"

    A servant replied, "Five."

    The old woman nced in Luo Zang¡¯s direction. While venting his anger, he had already killed five people. It was a bit excessive this time, but he was genuinely enraged.

    It also made perfect sense; Xuan Qi had proven himself the best, while Luo Zang had performed the worst. Of course Luo Zang would hate Xuan Qi more than anyone.

    "Leave him to it," Old Lady Mu said as she continued with her embroidery.

    An unknown amount of time passed, but suddenly, everyone nearby copsed. The old woman¡¯s head rose, and she turned to look to the side, where Lu Yin stepped out.

    "So it¡¯s you?" The olddy appeared rather depressed.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman and then slowly stated, "I need all of the information that you have on Monarch Mu, down to the smallest detail."

    A short whileter, Lu Yin appeared in Luo Zang''s courtyard.

    The man¡¯s bloodshot eyes stared at Lu Yin, unable to believe that someone had suddenly appeared in his personal quarters. "Xuan Qi? Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin did not waste any time talking. He took a single step forward and then vanished. At the same time, Luo Zang also disappeared.

    In the distance, Old Lady Mu continued with her embroidery. Things were about to change in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    ...

    Deep below Aeternus Nation, a body fell. It was Luo Zang.

    Monarch Mu stared at the young man in surprise. "Zang''er?"

    Luo Zang felt dizzy, but he whirled around when he heard Monarch Mu''s voice. "Mother?"

    "Zang''er, you-"

    When Monarch Mu tried to speak, she was interrupted by Lu Yin appearing behind Luo Zang. "It¡¯s about time for the two of you to be reunited."

    Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin, and her eyes flickered.

    Luo Zang spun around to stare at Lu Yin in a daze. "Xuan Qi, did you capture my mother?"

    "Sorry to have kept you apart for so long," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    "Who are you? You-"

    "Zang''er!" Monarch Mu shouted, causing Luo Zang to turn back around to look at the woman. She appeared quite distraught. "Don''t speak."

    Luo Zang opened his mouth anyways, "Mother, this-"

    "Listen to your mother, she¡¯s right," Lu Yin said as he looked at Monarch Mu. "Have you figured it out?"

    Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin. "What do you want me to do?"

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and Luo Zang was tossed aside. He mmed into the ground in a ce that was filled with death energy.

    Monarch Mu''s expression instantly changed. "Stop!"

    "It looks like you care about your son, though your son doesn''t care about the lives of others. I also don''t care about his life," Lu Yin slowly said.

    Monarch Mu red at Lu Yin. "If anything happens to Zang''er, I will never do anything to help you!"

    Lu Yinughed. "Then why don¡¯t we see if your love for your family or your selfishness wins out in the end? I¡¯m betting that you will agree to help me."

    Luo Zangy on the ground where he hadnded, unconscious as death energy slowly seeped into his body through his nose.

    Monarch Mu''s face grew pale. "Xuan Qi, if you want me to help you, just release him and don''t do anything to him! I will help you with anything you want."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "What kind of person is Luo Shan? How powerful is he? Tell me all about him."

    "Bring Zang''er over here first," Monarch Mu begged.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman coldly. "You¡¯re in no position to try to negotiate with me."

    Monarch Mu gritted her teeth. "Luo Shan is aplete fraud. Everything about him is fake. His strength is fake. Having the respect of the Great Sovereign is fake. Everything is fake. This is what he¡¯s done to preserve the Three Monarchs Universe. Even escaping from the Hollow was nothing more than a show.¡±

    "So, what I was told before is true?" Lu Yin asked. Monarch Mu was perfectly matching Chen Le¡¯s words from before.

    When Lu Yin had shared Chen Le¡¯s words with Monarch Mu, the woman had mocked Lu Yin and asked how Luo Shan could be a fraud, but at this moment, she was saying the same thing.

    Monarch Mu had been left with no choice. She took a deep breath and then nodded.

    Lu Yin waved his hand again, pulling Luo Zang back over and then pping him awake.

    Luo Zang coughed. The death energy that had entered his bodypletely suppressed his monarch essence, rendering him unable to mobilize any power.

    He opened his eyes and looked around in a bit of a daze.

    "Luo Zang, snap out of it. Your mother¡¯s right here," Lu Yin said.

    Luo Zang¡¯s eyes red, and he stared at Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, what do you want?"

    "Xuan Qi, let him go! Please!" Monarch Mu begged.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face, and he started praising the woman, "Despite being a peak powerhouse, you are actually begging me. Luo Zang, you should thank your mother, as she¡¯s doing her best to save you. If not for her, you wouldn¡¯t be here right now."

    Luo Zang''s eyes flushed red. "Xuan Qi, who are you?"

    Monarch Mu shouted, "Zang''er, don''t be rude!"

    Luo Zang gasped. He had never thought that the day woulde when his life would lie in the hands of this particr person.

    How could it be Xuan Qi? Just who was he? Luo Zang could still remember the first time they had met in the Sixverse Academy. At the time, Xuan Qi had simply been someone who tagged along with Luo Lao''er. Everyone hadmented on how talented Xuan Qi was, and the more thosements were made, the more jealous Luo Zang had be. He had even started thinking about the day when he would make Xuan Qi disappear...

    Luo Zang had never dreamed that he would fall into Xuan Qi¡¯s hands. Not only that, but his mother, a powerful Monarch, was Xuan Qi¡¯s captive and was even begging him to stop. Just what was his real identity?

    There was a bang, and blood sttered across the ground.

    Monarch Mu could not even react to what she had just seen, and Luo Zang was even more confused. Blood sshed across his face. He slowly looked down, only to see that his right arm had been crushed.

    A terrible pain shed through his nerves, and he looked up at Lu Yin, confused. "Why?"

    Monarch Mu shouted, "Xuan Qi, what are you doing?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Monarch Mu, didn''t you just ask me to do this?"

    Monarch Mu roared, "I just told you everything I needed to! Why did you hurt Zang''er?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I really admire you three Monarchs. No, I admire you and Luo Shan a great deal. When did you first create this lie? Was it back when you joined the Sixverse Universe? Or was it after you became a peak powerhouse? Just when was it?"

    "What in the world are you talking about?" Monarch Mu red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I might as well tell you that the person who told me that Monarch Luo is a fraud and not particrly strong was Chen Le. When I asked you about it, you should have already guessed that someone from the Three Monarchs Universe had betrayed you. However, the whole story is a lie. You and Luo Shan made an agreement, and in order to convince everyone that it¡¯s true and to ensure that you deceived everyone, you even sacrificed this poor Luo Zang.

    "How could I ever believe that you are telling me the truth without threatening Luo Zang? You are even telling me the exact same thing as Chen Le, which should be even more convincing. However, what Chen Le knows is a lie that you concocted. As for me, I wanted to see if you would really be willing to sacrifice your own son."

    Lu Yin bent down to look Monarch Mu in the eyes. "I have to say, you are really willing to do just that."

 Chapter 2726: Indifference

    <h4>Chapter 2726: Indifference</h4>

    Luo Zang stared nkly at Monarch Mu, unable to ept Lu Yin¡¯s words.

    Monarch Mu''s face grew pale. "I told you the truth. I didn''t lie to you."

    Lu Yin stood back up. "Right now, you are aware that your son is staring at death, and also that I already know about Luo Shan''s n to cooperate with Sovereign Shao Yin. I really should believe you, as no matter how I look at things, there¡¯s no reason for you to lie to me about Luo Shan. However, I¡¯ve learned all about you, including your childhood, and so I know that you don¡¯t actually care about Luo Zang at all. In fact, you don¡¯t care about anyone.¡±

    "That¡¯s nonsense!" Monarch Mu roared.

    Lu Yin proceeded to share many details of Monarch Mu¡¯s life, particrly events from her childhood.

    The woman¡¯s face grew increasingly pale as she listened. The stories that Lu Yin was sharing demonstrated the kind of person she truly was: uncaring of familial bonds, conniving, andpletely ruthless.

    "When I consider your current situation, there are only two possibilities that would exin why you are still keeping Luo Shan¡¯s secrets," Lu Yin paused for a moment as he stared at Monarch Mu, "One, you are being controlled by him in some manner, which is to say that you basically are him. In that situation, asking you to betray him is no different from asking him to betray himself, which would naturally be impossible."

    Monarch Mu looked furious, and her eyes zed fiercely.

    "Two, you are certain that he can save you," Lu Yin stated slowly.

    After Lu Yin finished speaking, Monarch Mu''s expression remained as angry and fierce as ever, but her expression only made Lu Yin increasingly certain that the second option he had mentioned was a valid possibility.

    "You do your best to not reveal any ws in your act, but it is difficult for anyone to perfectly control themselves. Even extremely peak powerhouses are unable topletely control their emotions. You are putting on an act. The second option is true!" Lu Yin leaned in closer as he spoke.

    Monarch Mu smiled, revealing contempt and ridicule. "You are just like Luo Shan."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled, and Monarch Muughed. "Both of you are just as suspicious as the other. I have already told you the truth, yet you simply follow your own suspicions. In that case, why even bother asking me at all? The more suspicious you are, the more you prove your own cowardice!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and Luo Zang¡¯s other arm was crushed, causing him to scream.

    Monarch Mu''s face fell. "Xuan Qi, I have already told you everything that you¡¯ve asked. If you don''t believe me, then just kill him. He has done nothing to offend you. If you want to kill him, then finish him quickly. Why torture him?"

    Lu Yin casually waved a hand, and a tremor ran through Luo Zang''s body. He slowly crumpled to the ground, disbelief filling his eyes. There was no breath in him any longer, as he had truly been killed.

    Luo Zang had never believed that he would die. After all, Monarch Mu was also present, so there was no reasonable risk of dying. He had been so close to Monarch Mu, so how had he still died? He had even been put down quickly, as thest words he had heard before death had been Monarch Mu saying, ¡°Finish him quickly.¡±

    Monarch Mu had also not expected Lu Yin to react so decisively. She stared at Luo Zang''s body in a daze, unable to react for some time.

    Lu Yin indifferentlymented, "You¡¯re next. The garbage you spout aplishes nothing more than stalling for a bit of time. I¡¯ll ask you again. What kind of person is Luo Shan?"

    Monarch Mu turned to stare at Lu Yin. There should be overflowing killing intent in her eyes. Her son had just been killed in front of her, so she should hate Lu Yin. However, at this moment, what was hidden deep in her eyes was not killing intent or hatred, but rather anxiety and rage, as well as a touch of fear of her own death.

    "Are you still deceiving yourself? I already know exactly the kind of person you are. While Luo Zang was your son, you never once truly cared for him at all. He never cared about the lives of others, and he even killed five people just to vent his anger. In the same manner, you don''t care about his life. Whether he is dead or alive is nothing more than a method for evaluating me to you. Now, I¡¯m using this to prove your values," Lu Yin casually exined.

    Monarch Mu stared intently at Lu Yin. "Mu Qi betrayed me."

    Mu Qi was Old Lady Mu¡¯s name.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It wasn¡¯t really a betrayal. She¡¯s known about my existence for quite some time, and she even knew from the beginning that you were taken by me. However, she¡¯s never told Luo Shan anything. At the time, I wondered why. Even if she was afraid that Luo Shan would dig into her own, personal affairs, it was a matter of your life and death, as well as the prosperity of the entire Mu family, as they rely on you. Even back then, she had to have known that the existence of Luo Zang would not guarantee your Mu family¡¯s prosperity, which should have meant that she wanted you to live more than anyone else.

    "Now I understand that she actually prefers your death. If you die, the Mu family may continue to prosper because of Luo Zang, or it might not. Even if it bes weak, she would still rather see you dead, and that¡¯s because the two of you are exactly the same kind of people.

    "When I first met Old Lady Mu, she was also venting her anger by killing servants, and then using that human blood to dye her embroidery red. After Luo Zang was captured, he simrly vented his anger." At this point, Lu Yin frowned. "None of you have any regard for human lives. Old Lady Mu understands in her heart that she is exactly the same as the maid she killed herself. The moment she is no longer useful to you, you will kill her in a fit of rage on some whim. That feeling of living at the edge of death is unbearable, and the longer she stays there, the more she delights in killing, feeling as though the dead can take her ce.

    "Monarch Mu, how many lives have you discarded when venting your own anger?"

    Monarch Mu''s pupils flickered as she stared at Lu Yin, but she did not answer.

    Lu Yin waspletely correct. Mu Qi and Luo Zang had both learned their behavior from Monarch Mu. Too many innocent lives had been reaped by her own hand, to the point where they were truly countless. All three of the people held no regard for the lives of other humans, and even Luo Zang meant nothing to Monarch Mu. He was nothing more than a puppet for the rest of the world to see and a means of gaining the trust of others.

    If Lu Yin had not gone to speak with Old Lady Mu and uncover Monarch Mu¡¯s personality, he would have never considered that such a lovely face was concealing such a vicious heart.

    It would have been impossible for him to doubt Monarch Mu when she was watching Luo Zang facing death.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had done some research.

    The reason why Old Lady Mu had not gone to Luo Shan after Monarch Mu disappeared was the first incident that had nted a trace of doubt in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. After that, seeing the way that Luo Zang and Old Lady Mu bothpletely disregarded the lives of others had made him feel that something was definitely wrong. In the end, their behavior and attitudes had been picked up from Monarch Mu.

    She was the one who truly held no regard for human life.

    Monarch Mu closed her eyes. "You win. I will tell you everything about Luo Shan and the Three Monarchs Universe, and I can even help you deal with Luo Shan and the others. I will surrender myself to you. My only hope is that you can give me my freedom. After all, I am extremely powerful and will be very useful to you.¡±

    Before Lu Yin had spoken with Old Lady Mu, he had thought about forcing Monarch Mu to surrender herself to him. He had approached Monarch Mu many times for that exact reason. It would be ideal to have another peak powerhouse under hismand. However, after learning the truth of the woman¡¯s personality, there was no way he could expect her to stay around, and he would doubt every word she ever said.

    "Alright!" Lu Yin agreed.

    Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin. "How can I trust you?"

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin''s head, causing golden light to spill out and fill the area. It shone through the death energy to illuminate the entire Aeternus Nation.

    Everyone looked downwards towards the source of the golden light and then bowed their heads in worship.

    Lu Yin stood beneath the golden scroll, the light shining on him and making him look like some sort of deity.

    Monarch Mu recognized this light, as she had seen the golden light shine down before. At that time, she had also sensed peak powerhouses battling each other in Aeternus Nation. "Is this your innate gift?"

    Lu Yin replied, "The Investiture of the Gods can confer the title of god to peak powerhouses. The one being conferred must fully agree, or else the process will fail. Monarch Mu, prove that I can believe you by making this process seed. If it fails, I will kill you.

    ¡°Once a person has been conferred, I can summon that person¡¯s power from this scroll and have them fight for me. One, ten, or even a hundred summons are possible. As long as someone is sessfully conferred, I can summon their power. The only exception is if a person dies, in which case I will lose that particr summon. I will not risk losing the ability to summon a peak powerhouse to fight on my behalf."

    Monarch Mu was startled so badly by this revtion that her entire body quivered. Could this golden scroll really summon the power of a peak powerhouse? Not just one, but ten, or even a hundred? How was this possible? How could such a freakish innate gift exist? Just what kind of power could do this?

    She stared at the two images that were already on the golden scroll. Was this young man truly able to summon two peak powerhouses to fight on his behalf?

    In order to convince Monarch Mu, Lu Yin summoned both Progenitor Nong and Cloudflow from his Investiture of the Gods.

    The appearance of two peak powerhouses convinced Monarch Mu. This was not something that anyone could fake.

    "If you die, I will lose the ability to summon you, so of course I won¡¯t want to kill you. This is the only way I can make you trust me. Now, if you want me to trust you, you need to ept being conferred as a god. If not, I will end you right now. There will no longer be a Monarch Mu, and not even the Great Sovereign himself will be able to save you!" Lu Yin''s voice rose and grew increasingly divine as he continued to speak.

    Monarch Mu''s eyes flickered as she nkly stared. She had never anticipated such a turn of events. All of her ns and schemes were now ruined. This Investiture of the Gods required voluntary participation that came from the heart. How could one scheme against such a thing?

    "You have but one chance, Monarch Mu. Will you ept being conferred as a god?" Lu Yin asked.

    Monarch Mu took a deep breath, and her head slowly dropped as she struggled internally.

    Lu Yin knew that the woman was already trying to concoct some new n, but there was no hiding from the Investiture of the Gods. If she wanted to act against him, she would not ept being conferred into the Investiture of the Gods, as it would fail and she would be killed without hesitation.

    Monarch Mu¡¯s head suddenly rose back up so that she could look at Lu Yin. "What of me? What will be of me after I am conferred as a god?"

    Lu Yin looked down at her from high above. "You¡¯ll be free."

    "You won''t control me?" Monarch Mu asked while staring into Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Lu Yin said, "No, though you can only choose to believe that.

    "Monarch Mu, do you ept being conferred as a god?"

    Monarch Mu''s breathing grew ragged, and her face flushed red. Not once did she even nce at Luo Zang¡¯s body, and instead she simply stared at the ground.

    "Monarch Mu, do you ept being conferred as a god?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Monarch Mu looked back up at him. "Give me a moment! I need some time! Give me a day to adjust my mental state for this situation!"

    The tension left Lu Yin''s eyes. This woman was truly nning to betray Luo Shan. Before he had revealed his Investiture of the Gods, she had wanted to plot against him. This was proof that she had genuinely believed that Luo Shan possessed the means to save her. However, when faced with the Investiture of the Gods and only a single option that would allow her to live, as well as Luo Zang''s corpse lying nearby, still warm, she gave in.

    Those who did not care for the lives of others cared about their own the most. This was true for Old Lady Mu and Luo Zang, and Monarch Mu was no different.

    She did not dare to take any risks when it came to her own life, and she needed time to adjust her mentality to genuinely betray Luo Shan.

    ***

    At this same time, in the Perennial World, there was a small branch of the Wang family. Wei Rong had recently be a son-inw to this particr branch of the Wang family.

    "This son-inw asks to meet with Father-inw!" At the base of a mountain range, Wei Rong offered a respectful bow.

    "What''s wrong?" A voice fell from the mountain. It belonged to the branch patriarch, Wang Gui.

    Wei Rong answered respectfully, "This son-inw has something to report and would like to exin the matter to Father-inw."

    "Come up."

    Wei Rong quickly ascended the mountain range and arrived behind Wang Gui. The patriarch was standing at the top of the mountain range, staring in the direction of the Wang family¡¯s main branch.

    Wei Rong bowed. "Father-inw."

    Wang Gui answered indifferently, "What do you need?"

    He did not approve of Wei Rong at all, but his daughter cared for the young man, which left Wang Gui with no choice but to ept the young man. What was there to say about the family¡¯s son-inw? He was certainly smart, but he was unable to aplish anything and waspletely useless.

 Chapter 2727: Forced Open

    Chapter 2727: Forced Open

    Wei Rong took a deep breath before offering a deep bow. "Gu Wei is not this son-inw''s real name. This son-inw''s true name is Wei Rong."

    Wang Gui was caught off guard, and he turned around to look at Wei Rong. "What are you saying? Why have you hidden your real name? Do you have enemies?"

    It did not really matter to the man. After all, aside from the other members of the four ruling powers, all others were nothing but ants. Even if Wang Gui was merely the patriarch of a branch family, he was still a member of the Wang family.

    Wei Rong spoke solemnly, as though firming his resolve to follow through on a difficult decision. "It was to conceal that I had joined the Wang family."

    Wang Gui continued to stare at Wei Rong sternly, and Wei Rong revealed his identity, shocking Wang Gui.

    The man stared at Wei Rong in utter disbelief. "You are one of Lu Yin''s people? Then with what intentions did you join my Wang family? Does Manman know? Come here!"

    A group of cultivators arrived almost instantly, keeping wary eyes trained on Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong shrugged. "Father-inw, this son-inw has confessed to you to show that I no longer want anything to do with Lu Yin. Not only that, but this son-inw is also willing to share everything I know about Lu Yin and help you, my father-inw, get closer to the familys main branch, and even gain the ability to speak for the Wang family.

    Wang Gui grew furious. "Ridiculous! You are a traitor who joined my family under false pretenses. How could you possibly help me gain the right to speak for the Wang family, or even get closer to the main line? As long as the main line is not destroyed, I will remain as I am."

    "Father-inw!" Wei Rong shouted as he stared at Wang Gui. "I can help you reach the heights that you desire. I know too much about Lu Yin. Take this son-inw to see the n patriarch, and I promise that you will be happy with the results.

    Wang Gui''s eyes flickered. He wanted to immediately eliminate Wei Rong and sweep the entire matter under the rug. It would prevent the main branch of the Wang family from learning that Wang Gui had weed one of Lu Yin''s people into the family. However, he continued to stare at Wei Rong for a moment. "What do you intend to do?

    As Wei Rong spoke, Wang Gui''s expression gradually changed, and he even grew excited. Anticipation mounted deep in his eyes. "Really?"

    Wei Rong nodded. "It''s absolutely true."

    Soon, Wang Gui took Wei Rong to speak with Wang Zheng.

    ***

    Deep below Aeternus Nation, a golden light enveloped Monarch Mu, and her eyes opened. "I do."

    As soon as she spoke, the shadow that she cast from the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods moved away from her and slowly approached the scroll.

    The Monarch watched, curious. She had never dreamed that such an innate gift could exist. Given this young mans innate gift, it was difficult for her to fathom just what heights he would eventually reach.

    This was also a big reason as to why she had agreed to be conferred as one of his gods; she desired to follow the strong.

    The shadow merged into the golden scroll, and Lu Yins eyes narrowed as he waited to see the oue.

    Once the shadowpletely merged with the Investiture of the Gods and a third image appeared, the process would be sessfullypleted.

    Monarch Mu was the third peak powerhouse to be one of Lu Yins summons for his Investiture of the Gods.

    After capturing the woman, Lu Yin had done his best to sway her with both intimidation and various other tricks, and finally, he had seeded.

    He let out a long breath.

    Monarch Mu was also feeling quite relieved. She had spent an entire day adjusting her mentality and had decided to genuinely betray Monarch Luo. It was the only way she could seed in the process.

    The human heart was always unpredictable, and it was impossible for a person to even control their own.

    Even Monarch Mu, a peak powerhouse equal to a Progenitor, had to spend a day adjusting her mind as she analyzed the pros and cons.

    As the golden light disappeared, Lu Yin put away the Investiture of the Gods. "It worked. Congrattions, Monarch Mu. From now on, you are part of the Heavens Sect."

    Monarch Mu''s face revealed joy. "Thank you very much."

    "Now, tell me what kind of person Luo Shan is," Lu Yin ordered.

    Monarch Mu thought for a bit and grew somber. "Luo Shan hides himself very deeply"

    ***

    On Shenwu Continent, the Sealing Path sourcebox array slowly spun, keeping the passage to the Three Monarchs Universe sealed, just like always.

    The people who lived on Shenwu Continent had already be ustomed to the sourcebox arrays presence.

    However, one day, space twisted and warped as an earth-shattering power descended. As people watched in disbelief, the massive sourceboxes that made up the Sealing Path were pushed away, scattering in all directions as the sourcebox array was destroyed by a massive de formed from death energy.

    "Wang Fan!" A deafening shout echoed from Mu Xie. He was not on Shenwu Continent at the moment and thus had been unable to instantly stop the attack.

    Specter Progenitorughed. "So, Mu Xie, are you really not on Shenwu Continent right now? This passage should be opened today!"

    Mu Xie roared, "Do you four ruling powers want to start a war?"

    "Then let''s fight. Let''s see how long your false Heavens Sect can endure!" Specter Progenitor justughed. He was nothing more than Wang Fan''s clone, but no one had expected him to suddenly attack Shenwu Continent at this time.

    Mu Xie had been responsible for Shenwu Continent for some time, but he had not been staying on the continent at all times, especially when Lu Yin was present in the Fifth Maind.

    This was also the day that Lu Yin had returned.

    However, this was also the day that Specter Progenitor had attacked. It was clear that things had been carefully nned and orchestrated.

    "Mu Xie, it''s time for you to step back." Bai Wangyuan emerged from the void and stared in Mu Xies direction.

    Lu Yin appeared behind Mu Xie, an ugly expression on his face. "Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, why are you attacking us now?"

    Specter Progenitor shook his head. "Lu Xiaoxuan, no n is ever perfect. I will make you watch as this passage is opened today."

    His palm fell.

    Lu Yin quickly moved to block the attack. "Stop!"

    Mu Xies arra shot forward as well.

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression grew solemn. "I have never truly faced you, but today, I will allow you to see the true power of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas!"

    Both of the mans hands moved forward to strike the void. "Void Rip."

    Two points in the void were connected by a single line, and the void was torn open. Void Rip was one of the Celestial Frost Sects battle techniques, and Lu Yin had even learned it himself and faced it many times before. However, when Bai Wangyuan used the technique, Void Rip revealed a power beyond anything Lu Yin had ever seen. It was startlingly powerful.

    A ck line sliced through the void, shooting towards Lu Yin and Mu Xie. Its passage left everything behind it shrouded in darkness.

    Mu Xie''s expression changed, and he moved to defend the spatial passage. His arra crashed into the dark line of the Void Rip, only to be sliced in two.

    Bai Wangyuan had always been powerful, and he was clearly stronger than Xia Shenji, but even so, the power that he had revealed in the past had been within certain limits, which was why Mu Xie had been so confident that he could block the Void Rip.

    However, Bai Wangyuan had just revealed a level of power that he had never exposed before. His Void Rip was so powerful that Lu Yins scalp went numb. The ck line almost seemed to be paving a road of the Hollow through space, and if Lu Yin could not stop it, it would continue unhindered until it swallowed the entire Heavens Sect.

    In the past, Bai Wangyuan had been afraid of a massive war, and he had also been worried about Lu Yin harming Bai Xian''er through unknown means. After deciding to take action, the man was finally revealing his true power.

    Mu Xie also stopped hiding his strength. If one arra was not enough, then he would use two. If two were still not enough, then he would use twenty. Bai Wangyuan had hidden his true strength, but Mu Xie had never fully exposed his own power either.

    The jiao roared as Lu Yin pulled out his Champions Stage. E Chi appeared as the Investiture of the Gods unfurled, radiating a golden light across the Fifth Maind. "Bai Wangyuan, do you really want to start a war?"

    "Ridiculous!" Specter Progenitor shouted, and on Shenwu Continent, the Tower of Resonating Light shattered. Grandmaster Gu Yan, who was supposed to be stationed in the tower for the sourcebox array, had already left.

    No one had anticipated this moment.

    Specter Progenitor quickly pushed aside the Sealing Path, and his hand fell upon the spatial passage.

    The path connecting the Fifth Maind to the Three Monarchs Universe was opened.

    As the seal shattered, powerful suction pulled in from every direction.

    A distant sea was sucked up.

    Fortunately, the people who were near the Tower of Resonating Light all possessed some level of strength, so the suction was not able to move them.

    At the bottom of the tower, outer space could be seen. It was not the Fifth Maind, but the Three Monarchs Universe.

    There was an ugly expression on Lu Yin''s face at this moment. "It''s over."

    Bai Wangyuan and Specter Progenitor looked thrilled. The passage had been opened, connecting the Three Monarchs Universe to the Fifth Maind. Their agreement with Monarch Luo was thus official. They would join forces to eliminate the Heavens Sect and then divide the Fifth Maind between them. That brat of the Lu family would unquestionably die.

    More and more Progenitors began to arrive, including Wang Fan''s true body, Xia Qin, Nong Yi, Progenitor Smoke, and more.

    Everyone gathered before the spatial passage. War was about to erupt.

    On the other side of the passage, in the Three Monarchs Universe, water had appeared in outer space. The cultivators standing guard at the spatial passage dispersed the seawater that had flowed through, and they stared through the passage, dumbfounded and confused as they saw the Progenitors from another universe. Surges of unimaginable power rippled through the passage, leaving the Three Monarchs Universes guards all a bit sluggish.

    Cang Bi was among the guards at this moment. Their universe had long dreamed of opening this passage, but every attempt that they had ever made had failed. At this moment, the passage had suddenly opened, and the shocking turn of events caused the Demi-Monarch to turn pale.

    After all, at this time, they did not want the passage open.

    How could it have been opened at this time? Monarch Luo had given repeated warnings to protect the passage, so what had happened?

    Silence filled the area as both sides of the passage stared at each other.

    Specter Progenitor peered through the passage. "What are the three Monarchs waiting for? Where is Sage Yuan?"

    The four ruling powers had alreadye to an agreement with Sage Yuan and the Three Monarchs Universe, and they had opened the spatial passage. Not only were the Three Monarchs supposed to attack the Heavens Sect, but Sage Yuan was also supposed to take action. This was to punish Lu Yin, as the four ruling powers were desperate to deal with the young man.

    The jiaos massive eyes stared, but it remained silent.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Monarch Luo quickly appeared, and he stared nkly at the open passage, stunned by the sight.

    Xia Shenji also appeared, though he was excited. "Monarch Luo, the passage is open! it''s time to attack the Origin Universe!"

    Arch-Elder Zen raced over from where he had been protecting the rainbow wall.

    This meant that only Monarch Xing was at the rainbow wall right now, protecting the Three Monarchs Universe. Fortunately, the Aeternals were not attacking at this moment, and there were no Progenitor-level corpse kings present either. However, the rainbow wall could not be left unprotected for too long. The Aeternals were all too aware of what was happening in the human universes, and as soon as they learned that the peak powerhouses had left, they would undoubtedlyunch an attack.

    Monarch Luo was still staring at the open passage, and he saw Bai Wangyuan, Specter Progenitor, Wang Fan, and the other Progenitors in the parallel universe. He also saw Mu Xie, Lu Yin, and the enormous jiao. Under normal circumstances, he should take action. Chen Le could protect the rainbow wall for Monarch Luo, and the four ruling powers had agreed to send Bai Sheng to also protect the rainbow wall, while the Cyclic Universes Sage Yuan was supposed to appear and join the attack on the Heavens Sect.

    This was the n that had been agreed upon.

    However, this n had suddenly changed some time ago. Sovereign Shao Yin had forced Monarch Luo to agree to merge the Origin Universe into the Endless Frontier. Of course, the Monarch had wanted to refuse, but Sovereign Shao Yin''s threats and coercion had left Luo Shan with no choice but to agree.

    The Origin Universe would be a part of the Endless Frontier, so how could they allow the passage connecting it to the Three Monarchs Universe to remain open? That passage absolutely had to be permanently closed, as the moment it opened, the Three Monarchs Universe would also essentially be part of the Endless Frontier.

    However, no one had mentioned this change in ns to the Perennial Worlds four ruling powers, because their Perennial World was also part of the Origin Universe. Therefore, they would also be annexed to the Endless Frontier.

    The moment that Luo Shan had agreed to support Sovereign Shao Yins proposal, he had betrayed the four ruling powers.

    Never in Luo Shans life could he have anticipated that the four ruling powers would suddenly open the spatial passage, and this sudden development confused the Monarch. How had this happened?

    He had failed to open the passage despite his many, many efforts over the years, and yet it had just been opened without any warning at all.

    Things would have been so much easier if the passage had simply been opened a bit earlier.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2728: On The Verge Of Breaking Out

    <h4>Chapter 2728: On The Verge Of Breaking Out</h4>

    At this moment, Luo Shan did not know what to do.

    "Monarch Luo, why aren¡¯t you doing anything? Where is Sage Yuan?" Xia Shenji lost his patience. He was already imagining the sight of Lu Yin being surrounded and killed by everyone involved. The Progenitor had waited too long for this day to arrive.

    In outer space, in the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin stared at Monarch Luo. Would the man attack, or would he refrain fromunching a war on the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin was prepared.

    If war broke out, he would do whatever it took. Given Lu Yin¡¯s current power, as well as the support of Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, the three peak powerhouses that could be summoned from the Investiture of the Gods, the jiao, E Chi, Master Shan, and Cloudflow, then even if the four ruling powers joined forces with the Three Monarchs Universe, the final victor would be difficult to predict.

    If more of the Sixverse Association tried to intervene, the Lost n would not just watch from the side. They still expected Lu Yin¡¯s help in attracting the Primeval card after all.

    The Voidforce Universe would not help either side, while the Transcendent Universe was in no position to help anyone.

    The Sixverse Association¡¯s greatest enemy had always been Aeternus, and if too much of the Sixverse Association¡¯s power was diverted from the frontlines, they would not be able to defend it properly.

    Even so, that was assuming that Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and others did not take action. As long as they cherished their friendship with Lu Yin, even if they were unwilling to help the Origin Universe, he was certain that they would have no problem dying Sage Yuan.

    No matter how Lu Yin looked at the situation, he was confident about opening the spatial passage.

    The bottom line was that no matter what price needed to be paid after the passage was opened, it would not be as painful as having the Origin Universe be annexed to the Endless Frontier.

    Any universe that joined the Endless Frontier would be inundated in an endless war. No one could estimate just how many people would die at that time.

    If the Sixverse Association really wanted to make a move against the Origin Universe, then it was time for Lu Yin to reveal his cards. At this moment, everything depended on Monarch Luo¡¯s choice.

    If he decided to attack, the Origin Universe would not end up as a part of the Endless Frontier. If the man refused to start a war, then there would be no avoiding the Origin Universe¡¯s fate, and Lu Yin would also have to resolve things with the four ruling powers. The four ruling powers were also part of the Origin Universe, and if things were forced to a head, then Lu Yin would join with the four ruling powers to fight against the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Regardless, Lu Yin¡¯s passiveness had ended, and he had decided to take action. Going forward, Sovereign Shao Yin would not have an easy time if he wanted to scheme against the Origin Universe.

    The Three Monarchs Universe could join forces with the four ruling powers to divide the Fifth Maind between them, but Lu Yin was also capable of setting aside his personal hatred and joining with the four ruling powers to divide up the Three Monarchs Universe.

    ...

    Things had changed so quickly that Monarch Luo was unable to react for a while.

    Xia Shenji''s urging made the Monarch increasingly anxious.

    At this moment, the rainbow wall faced a new threat, as Forgotten Ruins God had returned.

    "We fight the Aeternals first!" Monarch Luo shouted, as he turned and headed towards the rainbow wall.

    Xia Shenji gritted his teeth. He desperately wanted to attack.

    In the Fifth Maind, Progenitor Smoke and Progenitor Nong stood in the middle of the crowd. Mu Xie had already returned to Shenwu Continent, and he red at Specter Progenitor and Xia Shenji.

    "Bai Wangyuan, do you really want to fight to the death?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Bai Wangyuan saw that Monarch Luo had not taken action, and Sage Yuan also had not appeared. If the four ruling powers were willing to fight Lu Yin to the death on their own, then they would not have waited so long to attack.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, the passage has been opened. Do you still want to seal it?"

    Lu Yin red at Bai Wangyuan and then turned his eyes to Wang Fan, Xia Qin, before finally ring at Xia Shenji who was still on the other end of the spatial passage. Hatred and killing intent zed in the Progenitor¡¯s eyes. "We¡¯ll leave everything to fate!"

    The passage has been opened, and there was no avoiding interaction with the Three Monarchs Universe. There could be war, or there could be peace, but the chances of peace between the two parallel universes were simply too low.

    Regardless of Luo Shan¡¯s thoughts on the matter, Sovereign Shao Yin would never be willing to make things easy for the Origin Universe.

    Bai Wangyuan and others from the four ruling powers had no intention of leaving, and they remained on Shenwu Continent. They could not allow Lu Yin to reseal the spatial passage. As far as they were concerned, the Fifth Maind was done for.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Luo Shan dealt with the Aeternals¡¯ attack, while also trying to get in touch with Sovereign Shao Yin. The Monarch asked someone to send a message to Sovereign Shao Yin and inform the man that the Three Monarchs Universe could no longer agree to let the Origin Universe be merged into the Endless Frontier.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was far away in the Cyclic Universe when he received Luo Shan''s message, and he immediately made his way to the Three Monarchs Universe, a gloomy expression on his face.

    Someone like Luo Shan actually dared to stand against Sovereign Shao Yin? The Sovereign had been the one to help the Three Monarchs Universe join the Sixverse Association. Without him, Luo Shan would have died on the Endless Frontier long ago.

    Beyond the rainbow wall, Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s eyes flickered as she peered into the Three Monarchs Universe. "Is that the passage that connects to the Origin Universe? This is quite interesting... So, no matter if we capture this universe or that one, we can get both at the same time. Luo Shan, can you really stop us?"

    Luo Shan calmly replied, "Throughout all these years, have you ever set foot in my Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Forgotten Ruins God responded with a slight smile. "How arrogant. Just because we haven''t set foot in there yet doesn''t mean that we are unable to do so. Do you want me to actually try?"

    As the woman spoke, multiple wolf heads appeared. It was her Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves. An unmatched power swept forward, and the impact caused the entire rainbow wall to sway.

    Luo Shan''s eyes instantly red, and he was put on edge.

    Xia Shenji frowned. These monsters from the ancient era were each quite terrifying. No one knew just how powerful the founding ancestor of the Wang family had be after living for so long.

    The image of the Seven Skygods¡¯ attack on the Perennial World was still vividly etched into his mind. Despite all of the Perennial World acting together, they had still failed to prevent Undying God from entering the Perennial World. Each of the ancient monsters had their own unique abilities.

    "Wang Miaomiao!" a sharp shout echoed from the distance.

    Luo Shan was thrilled to see that Sovereign Shao Yin had arrived.

    Xia Shenji, Monarch Xing, and Chen Le each looked over as well.

    The Sovereign¡¯s golden robes exuded an incredible aura of nobility. His arrival instantly countered the pressure of the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves, and every cultivator both inside and outside the rainbow wall breathed a sigh of relief.

    Forgotten Ruins God was surprised. "You actually came to the front lines? You aren¡¯t hiding at home for once?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin stepped upon the rainbow wall and stared outwards. "Master should have destroyed traitors like you long ago. Look at how brazen you are now!"

    "Haha, you speak as though the Great Sovereign can actually do that! Besides, who are you to say what the Great Sovereign should do?" Forgotten Ruins God mocked.

    Sovereign Shao Yin answered with a contemptuous snort as he waved a hand. Cold air broke away from the rainbow wall and shot outwards across space.

    Forgotten Ruins God was taken aback. "You¡¯re actually taking action? In that case, let''s see just how long you can protect them for."

    With that, she withdrew.

    Once Forgotten Ruins God left, Sovereign Shao Yin nced over at Luo Shan in a threatening manner. "Why is that passage open?"

    There was also an ugly expression on Luo Shan''s face. "The four ruling powers opened it."

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Are they aware of my proposal?"

    Luo Shan shook his head. "If they had learned about it, they would not have merely opened the passage. They have been constantly trying toe up with a way to open that passage and cooperate with us to deal with the descendant of the Lu family. Their actions have nothing to do with your proposal, but..."

    The Monarch stared at Sovereign Shao Yin. "Now that the passage is open, I cannot agree to your proposal, as it will cause my Three Monarchs Universe to also be a part of the Endless Frontier."

    Sovereign Shao Yin could not argue with that. When he had first learned that the passage had been opened, he had immediately understood why Luo Shan had announced that he could no longer support the Sovereign¡¯s proposal. After all, Sovereign Shao Yin would have made the same decision in Monarch Luo¡¯s ce.

    However, the Sovereign was still unwilling to allow the Origin Universe to escape the disaster he had prepared for them.

    It appeared that the Aeternals no longer had any intentions of targeting the Origin Universe and making trouble for the people there, which meant that the Sixverse Association was essentially fighting to protect the Origin Universe. They were the ones responsible for the rise of Aeternus, as their Heavens Sect had been too arrogant. Why should the Sixverse Association be forced to take responsibility?

    "We¡¯ll still push the Origin Universe onto the Endless Frontier, even if the passage has been opened," Sovereign Shao Yin said as he looked over. "Just continue with what you agreed to before. The Lu family needs to pay for the Heavens Sect¡¯s responsibility. No one can be exempted, not even the Lu family."

    Luo Shan''s eyes grew frantic. "I understand, but the rainbow wall..."

    "I will protect it for you." Sovereign Shao Yin sped his hands behind his back as he stared out from the rainbow wall. "Master is already very dissatisfied with the situation in that universe, and while I cannot attack the Origin Universe for you, I can protect the rainbow wall. What happens at the rainbow wall or within the Origin Universe has nothing to do with me. Do you understand?"

    Luo Shan took a deep breath. "When I enter the Origin Universe, I will not forget this kindness, Sovereign."

    A smile spread across Sovereign Shao Yin''s face. He did not actually care about the Origin Universe, but rather about the Great Sovereign''s thoughts.

    Sovereign Shao Yin understood just how much the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe. If not for the bigger picture, why else would the Great Sovereign forbid people from entering that universe? With an open passage connecting the Origin Universe to the Three Monarchs Universe, it was perfectly logical for Luo Shan to attack the other universe. This was the way of the megaverse. <i>Master, you will surely be happy, right?</i>

    ...

    What wasing was inevitable.

    The day after the spatial passage was opened, Luo Shan entered the Fifth Maind, and he took his ce alongside Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers to confront Lu Yin and those with him.

    They stood in outer space, with Shenwu Continent between them. To the south stood Luo Shan, Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, Specter Progenitor, Bai Sheng, and Progenitor Long. There were six peak powerhouses.

    To the north stood Mu Xie, Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin, and Grandmaster Gu Yan, who stood atop the jiao.

    While Grandmaster Gu Yan was not a Progenitor, as an Array Grandmaster, the Sealing Path sourcebox array that had been pushed aside gave him the ability to just barely stand at the same level of power as the others present.

    Even so, Lu Yin¡¯s side was facing six peak powerhouses, including someone as powerful as Bai Wangyuan. Lu Yin¡¯s forces appeared far too weak.

    Xia Shenji was getting excited. He had waited too long for this day. He had been the one to chase after the bastard of the Lu family after he was exposed in the Perennial World, but the brat had only grown more and more powerful, and he had even be the master of revived Heavens Sect. The higher the brat rose, the more Xia Shenji felt as though he was the one being hunted andughed at, but that was finally going to end.

    Bai Xian''er had broken through to be a Semi-Progenitor, and Lu Yin had not been able to stop her.

    The four ruling powers had joined forces with Luo Shan, and they also had the support of the Cyclic Universe. There was no longer any need to maintain any sort of ¡°bnce.¡±

    Even when Progenitor Nong moved over and joined Lu Yin''s side, Progenitor Smoke remained in the middle. It was impossible for anyone to sway the four ruling powers¡¯ determination.

    "Nong Yi, you are seeking death!" Xia Shenji stated frigidly.

    Nong Yi shrugged. He did not want to get involved in this matter, but if he did not help Lu Yin, once the four ruling powers achieved victory, Progenitor Nong would suffer the same fate as Liu Yue. The four ruling powers would no longer let any external powers that might be capable of standing against them exist, not even a Progenitor.

    Progenitor Smoke left without ever saying a word. As she had previously stated, the only time she would get involved was when it concerned Aeternus. She would do her best to prevent war, but if that was impossible, then she would simply wash her hands of the matter.

    She was not the same as Nong Yi and was not nearly so easy to deal with. Even if Bai Wangyuan and other Progenitors from the four ruling powers wanted to eliminate the woman, they would have to take many precautions. The master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was not on the same level as Nong Yi.

    Bai Sheng spoke up. "Grandmaster Gu Yan, why do you insist on wading into these muddy waters?"

    The Array Grandmaster sighed. "I have lived a life of luxury and decadence, and I have already had my fill of such enjoyments. My most beloved disciple died at the bottom of this Tower of Resonating Light, and my most cherished friend is at my side. If I don''t help him, then who should I help?"

    Lu Yin had lost his memories, but he had learned from Grandmaster Gu Yan that the Array Grandmaster had been very good friends with Lu Xiaoxuan, and the two had often gone to Food Paradise to enjoy delicious food.

 Chapter 2729: Crisis

    Chapter 2729: Crisis

    Progenitor Long softly asked, "Mu Xie, do you really want to sacrifice yourself for your junior brother?"

    Mu Xie calmly replied, "Do you not fear our master''s revenge?"

    Bai Wangyuan and the others all frowned as a flicker of fear shed through their eyes. This was indeed something that they had all considered before. What kind of master could guide disciples like Mu Xie, Lu Yin, and Qing Ping? They had searched all their historical records, but had not been able to find a single powerhouse who fit the description.

    This had led them to believe that the master of the three monsters was either just an average Progenitor who had an incredible gift for uncovering geniuses or was someone so tremendously powerful that he exceeded their imagination.

    However, even if the second option was true, the four ruling powers did not have the option to give it too much weight. Lu Yin had to die. If they allowed him to be a Semi-Progenitor, let alone a full Progenitor, it would be toote to move against him. If they did not remove the problem at the root, they would inevitably suffer Lu Yins revenge.

    At this moment, no one mentioned the truce that was still supposed to be in effect, as it had lost all relevance; war was about to break out.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored Bai Wangyuan and the others and instead focused solely on Luo Shan. "You are Monarch Luo from the Three Monarchs Universe, right? Why are you attacking my Fifth Maind?"

    Luo Shan had a stern expression on his face. "Theres no need to waste time talking. Today, this universe will fall under the Luo name!"

    "Wait just a minute. What if we agree to serve under you?" Lu Yin shouted.

    His words shocked everyone, including Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers nced at each other. What had Lu Xiaoxuan just said?

    Even Luo Shan was stunned. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I said that Im willing to lead my people into your service, Monarch Luo."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, stop with this farce! The Heavens Sect will be destroyed today, and theres nothing that you can do to change that!" Xia Shenji shouted angrily as he prepared to attack.

    Lu Yin snapped, "I want to take refuge under Monarch Luo, which is none of your business! Stay out of this."

    Xia Shenji released his attack, only to see Luo Shan suddenly appear in front of him and stop the attack. "I want to hear what he said."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Luo Shan. "Monarch Luo, Lu Xiaoxuan is cunning and deceptive, and he excels at using sophistry. You cannot trust his words."

    "Thats right. This man once pretended to be both Long Qi and Yu Hao in order to disrupt matters for our four ruling powers. No matter what he says, nothing can be trusted," Progenitor Long agreed.

    Monarch Luo observed Lu Yin. "What are your intentions?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I simply want to save my own life, nothing more. I can go with Monarch Luo to your Three Monarchs Universe and can even agree to go alone. You can control me or imprison me. I simply ask that Monarch Luo let my Heavens Sect go and allow my friends and family to live. They can be of great help to you, Monarch Luo, so why kill them all?

    "I, Lu Yin, am an enemy of the four ruling powers, but I have no enmity with you, Monarch Luo. I can give the entire Fifth Maind to you. What do you think?"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, shut up!" Grandmaster Gu Yan shouted angrily as he red at Lu Yin. "My disciple Gu Yue was killed by the Three Monarchs Universe, and yet you actually want to submit yourself to them? How absurd!"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, if I dont do this, how can I hope to save the countless lives of the people of the Heavens Sect? Gu Yue is already dead, but these people are still alive."

    "You!" Grandmaster Gu Yan was beyond furious, and he pointed a finger at Lu Yin as the old mans entire body trembled.

    Mu Xie also spoke up. "Junior Brother, only the strongest can survive in this megaverse. If you submit yourself to the Three Monarchs Universe today, your destiny will fall under their control."

    Lu Yin gave another shrug. "Senior Brother, I believe that Monarch Luo will treat my people well. After all, he is the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe and has always fought against Aeternus on behalf of humanity. If we join his forces, then he will gain two Progenitors, as well as me, who is also able to fight against Progenitors. This will cause the Three Monarchs Universes strength to spike, which is undoubtedly what Monarch Luo wishes to see."

    Lu Yin''s words struck a cord within Luo Shan. The Three Monarchs Universe was the weakest of the members of the Sixverse Association. Despite being the ruler of an entire universe, he did not stand on the same level as Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and the others. Even Sovereign Shao Yin was able to disregard the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe. Luo Shan knew that his universe could be reced at any time, which had always been a weight on his chest.

    If he could obtain Lu Yin and the other powerhouses of the Fifth Maind and ce them under his rule, then it was possible that the Three Monarchs Universe would no longer be regarded as the weakest universe in the Sixverse Association. Not only would he gain peak powerhouses, but how many individuals were there in the Heavens Sect who were also about to reach that same level? How many resources did it possess? How many geniuses? Just raising up the young talents would be enough to transform the Three Monarchs Universes strength.

    No, there would no longer be any need for the Three Monarchs Universe; Luo Shan would be the ruler of the Origin Universe.

    After all, this was the Origin Universe, the parallel universe that had given birth to humanitys greatest civilization ever.

    Luo Shan was not even a native of the Three Monarchs Universe, and yet he was the ruler of the universe. Since he had already conquered one universe, he could certainly do it again, and this was even a much better option.

    The more the Monarch considered the possibility, the more he desired it.

    He could practically see himself standing side by side with Lord Xu and other rulers, simrly able to disregard Sovereign Shao Yin.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, if you insist on submitting to the Three Monarchs Universe, then I, Gu Yan, have nothing more to say to you other than goodbye!" Grandmaster Gu Yan left in a huff.

    Mu Xie shook his head. "Junior Brother, this is not a decision that you should be making."

    With that, he also left.

    Nong Yi shook his head, and though he said nothing, he also left.

    Not only did Luo Shan not regret that three powerful individuals had left, but he was also increasingly convinced of Lu Yin''s sincerity. There was no need to go so far with any sort of deception, as how could Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen possibly hope to resist the Three Monarchs Universe without help?

    This was also precisely what Lu Yin wanted Luo Shan to consider.

    If Lu Yin was willing to expose his identity as Xuan Qi, as well as reveal Master Shan, Cloudflow, and even Chen Le, while also asking the Lost n for help and mobilizing everyst bit of power avable, it would not only be possible to overturn the Three Monarchs Universe, but they could even disrupt the entire Sixverse Association. However, that would also eliminate Lu Yins Xuan Qi alias, which would be a true pity.

    Lu Yins goal was to divide Luo Shan and the four ruling powers. As long as that seeded, the four ruling powers would find it incredibly difficult to make the decision to wage war against Luo Shan. On top of that, it was a certainty that Luo Shan would meet with Lu Yin alone, and then it would be possible for him to find some way to either imprison or control the Monarch.

    No matter what Luo Shan decided to do, it was vital that Lu Yin be capable of dealing with it.

    Lu Yin wanted to create an opportunity where he could fight Luo Shan alone, such as Aeternus Kingdom. Of course, Lu Yin wanted to face Luo Shan alone, not fight the Monarch without support.

    Mu Xie and Grandmaster Gu Yan had left as part of a show that Lu Yin was putting on to try to sway Luo Shan.

    Lu Yin did not expect to fully convince Luo Shan to believe his submission, but Luo Shan was a peak powerhouse who had the ambition to rule everything. As long as a chance presented itself, the man would make an attempt.

    If he was offered a chance to obtain the entire Fifth Maind, why would he agree to split it with others?

    Lu Yin had managed to understand Luo Shans mindset.

    Luo Shan fully realized that Lu Yin was trying to divide his enemies, but what of it? The spatial passage had been opened, and the only reason why Luo Shan had agreed to cooperate with the four ruling powers was because he had needed them to open the passage. That goal had already been achieved, which meant the four ruling powers had lost all value to Monarch Luo.

    As for whether or not this decision would make enemies of the four ruling powers, Luo Shan did not care at all. He was supported by the Sixverse Association. Could the four ruling powers ever summon the courage to dere war against the entire Sixverse Association?

    An eerie silence filled the area as Bai Wangyuan and the others stared at Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, revealing eyes that zed with ambition.

    Lu Yins eyes narrowed. Exposing himself as Xuan Qi and revealing all of his cards was hisst resort. He did not want to start a war, which was why he had created the current situation. He wanted to create a setting where he could face off against only Monarch Luo.

    The jiao roared as it warily stared at Luo Shan. This human was very dangerous.

    "By the way, the Great Sovereign seems to like this creature very much, so you can give it to the Great Sovereign as a gift." Lu Yin acted as though he had suddenly remembered something, and he pointed down to the jiao that he stood upon.

    Luo Shan''s eyes lit up. "The Great Sovereign likes that beast?"

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, that beast belongs to my Shenwus Sky!" Xia Shenji roared.

    Luo Shan frowned and nced over at Xia Shenji. "If the Great Sovereign likes it, then it belongs to the Great Sovereign."

    Xia Shenji shot a cold re at Luo Shan, who returned the re with cold eyes of his own. The Monarchs attitude towards Xia Shenji hadpletely changed.

    Bai Wangyuan''s heart sank. Lu Xiaoxuan had offered Luo Shan too great a temptation. He had offered to lead the entire Fifth Maind to submit to the Three Monarchs Universe, which had given Luo Shan ample cause to kick the four ruling powers aside. On top of that, Lu Yin was offering two subordinate Progenitors as well. This was too much for anyone to resist.

    Bai Wangyuan did not care about who controlled the Fifth Maind. The Perennial World had never cared about the Fifth Maind. All that mattered was that Lu Xiaoxuan had to die.

    The youth was simply too talented and too good at scheming and nning. If he survived, he would eventually create more chaos, and Bai Wangyuan would not be able to sleep or eat well as long as Lu Xiaoxuan drew breath.

    Luo Shan made his decision, and he turned back to Lu Yin. "Are you truly willing-?"

    At that moment, a figure approached from the distance, interrupting Luo Shan''s words. It was Sage Yuan.

    Lu Yins expression changedpletely when he saw who had arrived.

    "Monarch Luo, Lu Xiaoxuan''s words cannot be trusted!" Sage Yuan shouted.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, and his eyes grew frigid.

    On the other hand, Bai Wangyuan and the others were thrilled to see Sage Yuan, as they knew that he was determined to eliminate the entire Lu family.

    Luo Shan frowned. "Sage Yuan, what do you mean?"

    Sage Yuan crossed the final distance and then looked at Luo Shan with a solemn expression. "I bring a message from Sovereign Shao Yin. Are you willing to hear them?"

    Luo Shan''s eyes shed. "Of course I am willing, please tell me."

    Even if Sovereign Shao Yins status was ignored, the fact was that Luo Shan was only able to be present at the spatial passage because Sovereign Shao Yin was protecting the rainbow wall. The man held too much leverage over Luo Shan for him to ignore the Sovereigns words.

    Sage Yuan nodded, nced at Lu Yin, and sneered at him. "Sovereign Shao Yin says that regardless of who controls the Origin Universe, whether it is Monarch Luo or the four ruling powers, he merely hopes to see the Lu family meet the fate that they deserve. Monarch Luo, this is what Sovereign Shao Yin has told you before."

    Luo Shan remembered that, before he had approached the Origin Universe, Sovereign Shao Yin had indeed said something about how the Lu family deserved the fate that they had in store and that no exceptions could be made for anyone from that family.

    "What does Sovereign Shao Yin want to be done with the members of the Lu family?" Luo Shan asked.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Sage Yuan, who gave a careless smile. "Have them fight against Aeternus, never allowed to return from the frontlines alive."

    The moment he finished speaking, Bai Wangyuan and the others allughed.

    Xia Shenjiughed louder than anyone, hisughter sounding incredibly cruel.

    Luo Shan''s eyes flickered. Was this really what the Sovereign desired?

    Lu Yin remained calm as he stared at Sage Yuan.

    The man looked over and saw Lu Yin staring. "I told you before, Lu brat, that you shouldnt be too arrogant! Before us, you are less than an ant! The fate of the Lu family from before will also be your fate. There is no escape for you!

    "No matter if it is you, Lu Buzheng who managed to survive from the Heavens Sect era, or any other surviving members of the Lu family, all of you will be driven into the Aeternals territory, never allowed to return alive. This is Sovereign Shao Yins decree, and it cannot be vited."

    Beside Lu Yin, Arch-Elder Zen let out a breath. The matter regarding the Lu family was still not concluded, though it was no longer a matter of someone wanting to get revenge, but rather of forcing responsibility onto the family. It waspletely ridiculous, but the reality was that since Sovereign Shao Yin could not handle the Aeternals, he was seeking a scapegoat.

    The jiao grew restless. It sensed that something was happening, if not what, and its eyes grew more and more violent as it started to brandish its ws while staring forward.

    Lu Yin calmly observed Sage Yuan. "Are those Sovereign Shao Yins words?"

    "Those are his orders!" Sage Yuan spat back.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2730: The Gates Of Death

    Chapter 2730: The Gates Of Death

    Lu Yin stared at Sage Yuans cold expression as he finished speaking, and then raised a hand to rub his head. "Sometimes I really cant understand where losers like you get their sense of superiority. Who do you think you can order around?"

    Sage Yuan''s expression fell.

    Luo Shan turned to stare at Lu Yin, who hadpletely changed.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others were also staring at Lu Yin, but not out of surprise. This was how Lu Xiaoxuan had always behaved when facing them. He had always been indifferent to their power and status, or even condescending. They knew that this was the real Lu Xiaoxuan, and he waspletely different from the person who had just said that he wanted to submit to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    They had already known that Lu Xiaoxuan was putting on an act, but the question remained, what was his game?

    Lu Yin smiled. "Sage Yuan, you are such an obedient old dog. You go ahead and bark whenever that old beast Sovereign Shao Yin tells you to. Why don''t you call him out so that we can see if he can bark at me himself?"

    As Lu Yin spoke, his expression grew cold. "I promise that Ill knock out that bastards teeth."

    Sage Yuan sneered. "You little shit, its only now that you can act so stubborn. I promise that Ill kill all of your family and friends and have you watch as they die. Only after that will I toss you to Aeternus and announce that youve betrayed humanity. Your Lu family will be reviled for thousands of years after it bes known that you and the Lu family betrayed mankind and are the greatest traitors of all."

    "Old dog, I promise that Ill kill you myself." Lu Yin carefully enunciated each word, his voice soft and calm. However, the calmer Lu Yin became, the more uneasy Sage Yuan felt. He nced over at Bai Wangyuan and others. "What are you waiting for? Why don''t you kill him already? Throw him to the Aeternals!"

    Luo Shan stepped forward. "Child of the Lu family, you don''t have the ability to fight against all of us. Revealing your anger and tossing out insults does nothing but expose your own weakness. I will offer you the chance tomit suicide as an apology to Sovereign Shao Yin, and your family and friends will be left behind unharmed. I promise you that I will not move against the Heavens Sect and will allow them to submit to me."

    Sage Yuan shouted angrily, "Luo Shan, you-!"

    Luo Shan looked over at Sage Yuan. "I may need to exin myself to Sovereign Shao Yin, but theres no need to do the same to you."

    Sage Yuan gave Luo Shan a cold re, but Luo Shan did not care about the Sage. No matter what, Luo Shan was the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe. Even if he could be threatened by Sovereign Shao Yin, Sage Yuan did not hold the same status or strength.

    The Monarch was still excited about Lu Yin''s previous proposal. If the man could subdue the Origin Universe, then the Three Monarchs Universes strength and status would spike. If Monarch Luo could seize this opportunity, he did not care at all if it meant offending the four ruling powers or Sage Yuan.

    Sovereign Shao Yin required the Lu family to be dealt with, but he did not care about the rest of the Origin Universe at all. This had already be very clear to Luo Shan.

    Lu Yin stood atop the jiao, and he rubbed his head again.

    Luo Shan said, "Child of the Lu family, this is your only chance. With the number of experts arrayed against you, you cannot stop this. Instead of beingpletely wiped out, it is better to sacrifice one to save the lives of everyone else. This is even what you just suggested a moment ago."

    Sage Yuan winked at Bai Wangyuan and the others, hoping that they would attack. Sage Yuan was determined to exterminate Lu Yin as well as everyone connected to him.

    However, he could not attack himself, as he would not have any justification to offer to the Great Sovereign for such actions.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others nced at each other. It was all too clear what they were supposed to do: eliminate Lu Xiaoxuan''s family and friends. Of course, the young man would see the moment that they took action, which could easily force him to agree to Luo Shans proposal. Not only would that render their actions meaningless, but they would also end up at odds with Luo Shan and on bad terms with the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Bai Wangyuan looked at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, kill yourself. It is the only thing that you can do for your people."

    Lu Yin remained the greatest threat to the four ruling powers. If he died, the rest of the Heavens Sect was little better than trash.

    Sage Yuan became upset. He wanted the four ruling powers to attack, not reinforce Luo Shans threats.

    Xia Shenji spoke in a cold voice. "I told you before that you would not meet a good end if you insisted on being an enemy of the four ruling powers. You could have rebuilt the Lu family, but instead, this is your fate. You should kill yourself."

    Bai Sheng felt quite sad. Lu Yin was a remarkable individual who had lived a life of legends. He was someone who countless people in the Perennial World admired, and after driving the Aeternals out of the Perennial World, that admiration had grown into worship. However, that miraculous life wasing to an end.

    Lu Yin could still escape on his own, but if he did so, the Fifth Maind and the Heavens Sect would bepletely destroyed. It was quite sad.

    Progenitor Long also felt a flicker of pity, but this was the only oue for being so arrogant.

    Specter Progenitor frowned. It did not matter if Lu Yin died, but how was the Progenitor supposed to receive the God of Deaths inheritance like this? Everything this youth possessed was enough to drive countless people mad with jealousy.

    "Child of the Lu family, why not justmit suicide? Do you really want your people to die with you?" Luo Shan said solemnly.

    Xia Shenji urged, "Lu Xiaoxuan,mit suicide."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan,mit suicide."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan,mit suicide."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan,mit suicide."

    These words rang again and again, and it was as if the gates of death were opening, these words trying to push him through.

    He lifted his head and looked at the people before him. Luo Shan appeared both solemn and a bit upset, Bai Wangyuan lookedpletely indifferent, Xia Shenji was clearly excited, Bai Sheng was mournful, Progenitor Long was regretful, and Sage Yuan waspletely arrogant. All of these things entered Lu Yins sight, and his mind raced. "Just you bunch of losers want to convince me to kill myself?"

    Luo Shan''s eyes instantly red. "You cant even recognize what is good or bad. If you don''t want to die, I will put you down myself."

    Lu Yin exhaled. In the end, it really was going to devolve into an all-out battle.

    However, just as Lu Yin was about to summon Cloudflow and Master Shan, a voice entered his ears. "Don''t forget, you only have this chance for these 100,000 years."

    As the voice disappeared, a shout rose up from the other side of the spatial passage, echoing from the Three Monarchs Universe. "All forces to the rainbow wall! ckless God and Undying God have both appeared!"

    Luo Shan and everyone else looked back in shock. ckless God? Undying God? Both of them were Skygods, and with Forgotten Ruins Gods already present, nearly half of the Seven Skygods were in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Luo Shan raced for the passage without any hesitation.

    Sovereign Shao Yins voice rang out, "The four ruling powers will send Progenitors to support the defenses."

    Bai Wangyuan and others hesitated, but after Luo Shan entered the Three Monarchs Universe, he turned to look back, his eyes hard. "All of you wille help, or do you intend to defy the Sixverse Association?"

    Bai Wangyuan gritted his teeth and looked over at Lu Yin. The Progenitor was not willing to cooperate.

    Lu Yin sneered. "What? You expect me to go?"

    There was no need to say anything, as everyone understood that it was impossible for Lu Yin to support the Three Monarchs Universe. They were his enemies and had just been trying to force him to kill himself.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had just heard ckless Gods voice speak in his ear, which meant that this attack was actually the Aeternals helping Lu Yin share the pressure that he was facing. Lu Yin had no idea why ckless God was doing this. If it had been Shaman God instead, it might have been an indication that the Skygod had not abandoned his scheme yet, but ckless God had no reason to help Lu Yin.

    Could this really just be because of the promise that ckless God had offered to Lu Yin?

    That seemed just too unreasonable. Lu Yin had done too much harm to Aeternus, so why would ckless God help Lu Yin and divert a fight to the death against the four ruling powers and the Three Monarchs Universe? Such a battle would have weakened humanity as a whole. This was simply too strange.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought again that there might be human spies hidden within Aeternus. After all, one such person seemed to have been the reason why Cheng Feng had been captured. Could ckless God be that spy?

    That also did not seem to be quite right. If ckless God was a spy, then Mister Mu would not have killed the Skygods avatar without any hesitation.

    Still, no matter what Lu Yin considered, it was impossible for him to go to the Three Monarchs Universe and help defend their universe. At this moment, his greatest concern was Sovereign Shao Yin. This was not because Lu Yin feared being attacked by the Sovereign, but because Sovereign Shao Yin had also been present at the Lost ns Shangsan Festival. When Lu Yin had attracted Evernight, every eye had been trained on him, and Sovereign Shao Yin had to have seen through the Mask of Death.

    The only reason that Lu Yin could think of why the Sovereign had not attacked him was that he did not know what Lu Yin looked like. If he was ever seen by Sovereign Shao Yin, Lu Yin would be exposed, and the opportunity created by the Aeternals attack would be lost.

    Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and the other Progenitors all went to the Three Monarchs Universe. They needed to help out, as failing to do so would offend Sovereign Shao Yin. Luo Shan could remain to take over the Heavens Sect, but the four ruling powers would suffer if they did not aid in the defense.

    After the four ruling powers, the person who was the most unwilling to leave was Sage Yuan.

    He red at Lu Yin. "You little beast, you won''t live much longer! With so many peak powerhouses entering the battle, this matter will soone to an end."

    Lu Yins eyes narrowed. "Youre lucky that this war was put off, or else I would have already killed you, old dog."

    Sage Yuan''s eyes red, zing with killing intent, but he could not waste any more time before returning to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Lu Yin stared at the spatial passage. It was impossible to reseal it. Regardless of whether the four ruling powers would stop his efforts to do so, Lu Yin had deliberately allowed the passage to be opened. If he had not done so, the Origin Universe would have been annexed into the Endless Frontier.

    Wei Rong had provided tremendous help in this matter, and Lu Yin just hoped that Wei Rong would not disappoint him.

    In the Voidforce Universes Red Zone, a pair of eyes opened deep underground. They belonged to a bald man who was a powerful Void Morphora.

    The Red Zone had always had a Void Morphora protecting it from deep underground. The bald man was the recement that Xu Wuji had found after the previous guardian had been killed by Chen Les arrow. These guardians were not concerned about anything that happened within the Red Zone, as their sole task was to thwart enemies from outside.

    No one in the Red Zone even knew of the bald mans existence. Even Lu Yin had only discovered the presence of the guardians on his own, as the matter had never once been mentioned by Xu Wuji.

    The bald man looked up and saw that Xu Wuji had left.

    The Void Morphora rose to his feet and took a step, instantly appearing on the surface. He immediately started making his way in a particr direction, aiming for the location where Xuan Qi was supposed to be in seclusion.

    After obtaining Evernight, Xuan Qi had announced to the world that he was going into seclusion, which was both expected and reasonable. This had also led to fewer guests visiting the Red Zone, as before the announcement, the Red Zone had been constantly inundated with guests who sought to meet with Xuan Qi.

    The bald man avoided all eyes as he approached the location of Xuan Qis seclusion. Boss Guan, Skinner, and the other team captains were present, but none of them could detect the bald mans presence.

    However, just as the Void Morphora was about to enter Xuan Qis location, a person appeared directly behind the man, making him freeze in ce.

    "Why?" a voice asked. None other than Xu Wuji himself had appeared. At this moment, he looked very disappointed, which contrasted sharply with his typical expression.

    The bald man clenched a fist. "I was tasked by others to deal with Xuan Qi without being noticed. In return, our agreement was Evernight"

    Xu Wuji sneered. "The agreement?"

    The bald man solemnly replied, "If not for our agreement, I would not be the one approaching him. While Xuan Qi may not be able to defeat me, he wont have any difficulty escaping from me."

    Xu Wuji considered this and realized the Void Morphora was quite right. "Who?"

    The bald man remained silent.

    "If you won''t tell me, then just forget it. I don''t really want to know, but you have betrayed my trust, so get lost." After speaking, Xu Wuji set a hand on the bald mans back and threw him out of the Red Zone. The Void Morphora was sent flying, coughing up blood. As he flew, his voidforce energy was also depleted, and he was reduced to the Void Brillium level.

    "This is your punishment."

    While Xu Wuji was usually very polite, if a bit cynical, all who knew him understood that the man was anything but vague and indirect in his actions. Anyone who could survive a stint on the Endless Frontier was difficult to deal with, much less to mention a peak powerhouse.

    Xu Wuji sighed. "Now I need to find another guardian. What a pain"

    With that, he left the Red Zone.

    <blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2731: Dragon Emperor

    Chapter 2731: Dragon Emperor

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the rainbow wall was starting to crumble. Inside the wall, countless cultivators nkly stared ahead, never imagining that such a massive battle would one day break out in their Three Monarchs Universe.

    Outside the rainbow wall, no less than ten peak powerhouses were engaged inbat, including three of the Seven Skygods. Sovereign Shao Yin, Luo Shan, Bai Wangyuan, and the other human powerhouses were all frantically attacking, while Monarch Xing, Chen Le, and Progenitor Long defended the rainbow wall.

    Anyone who knew the history of the Three Monarchs Universe would understand that this battle was greater than any other that had ever been fought in the universe.

    "ckless God, Undying God, how dare you show yourselves! Why have youe here?" Sovereign Shao Yin shouted as he moved to suppress the entire area.

    Undying God''s eyes were bleary, as though he wasnt fully awake. "Revenge"

    "If you want revenge, then you should target the Origin Universe!" Luo Shan shouted.

    Forgotten Ruins God answered with a delicate smile, "What difference is there between this universe and the Origin Universe?"

    ckless God''s voice was deep and possessed great dignity. "Conquer the Three Monarchs Universe and the Origin Universe today!"

    "Youre delusional!" Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and Specter Progenitor all attacked.

    The Three Monarchs Universes monarch essence churned as the universe itself shifted and the energy shattered.

    From the rainbow wall, Chen Le solemn watched on, still not reconciled to all that had just happened.

    The spatial passage had been opened, and the Heavens Sect had confronted both the four ruling powers and Luo Shan, which had terrified Chen Le. The moment that Lu Yin was exposed and a decisive battle broke out, Chen Le would have no way to escape.

    The conflict had already started, and the new Monarch had no idea how things would turn out. All he knew was that he was concerned about Lu Yin''s side.

    Lu Yins life did not matter to Chen Le, but the young man could not be exposed.

    Even as Chen Le thought about the current situation, he fired off one arrow after another.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was not only being attacked by three of the Seven Skygods, but also by two Progenitor-level corpse kings. One had a massive body that wasrge enough to toy with stars and tear a gxy apart with a single swipe of its hand. The other was invincible after undergoing a Corpse King Transformation, and it tangled with both Specter Progenitor and Xia Shenji. No matter how hard the two Progenitors fought, they werepletely unable to injure the corpse king.

    The Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves swept across the battlefield!

    The wolf heads devoured all they encountered, so powerful that even Sovereign Shao Yin was afraid of them.

    Atop the rainbow wall, Monarch Xing''s eyes remained calm. She was another person who had fought on the Endless Frontier, and this was not her first time participating in such a battle.

    Elsewhere, the portion of the rainbow wall where Progenitor Long stood guard had no Progenitor-level corpse king. The man was already doing all that he was willing to do, as he would not risk his life to protect the Three Monarchs Universe.

    He stared off into the distance. Each one of the Seven Skygods were ancient monsters who were far too difficult to deal with. Even when the Python Ancestor had woken up and taken action, it had not been able to kill Undying God.

    Progenitor Long simply hoped that the battle would end quickly. Lu Xiaoxuan needed to be dealt with promptly, or else the four ruling powers would never be able to rx.

    Just as the Progenitor was thinking about his situation, the bnce of the battlefield suddenly changed. The enormous corpse king was pushed away by Sovereign Shao Yins Power of Extreme Yin, and the monster was shoved straight to the part of the rainbow wall that Progenitor Long was guarding. The Progenitors expression changed drastically, and the gigantic corpse king turned to lock scarlet eyes with the man.

    What terrible luck to be the one receiving the corpse king!

    Progenitor Long could not even determine whether Sovereign Shao Yin had it on purpose.

    Further down, across the rainbow wall, countless cultivators fled in terror.

    The huge Progenitor-level corpse king continued to fall back further and further, pushed by the Power of Extreme Yin that corroded the monsters chest. Sovereign Shao Yins Power of Extreme Yin was a dark and ethereal attack, but it possessed an overwhelming corrosiveness. Even the Progenitor-level corpse king was unable to endure the power of the attack, and if not for the creatures enormous body, this single attack would have melted it into a puddle of blood.

    Even so, the monsters heart had beenpletely destroyed.

    The sight horrified Progenitor Long. He understood perfectly well just how powerful a Progenitor-level corpse king was. Despite that, Sovereign Shao Yin was able to so easily destroy such a body. Just how powerful was the Sovereigns Power of Extreme Yin?

    As this thought flickered through Progenitor Longs mind, the huge corpse king turned to look at the rainbow wall with its scarlet eyes, and then it raised a hand to attack.

    An eye appeared in the middle of Progenitor Long''s forehead, though it waspletely different from his other two eyes. The eye nced to the side, and the massive hand descending was reduced to nothing. "Get lost!"

    This third eye possessed a power that was somewhat simr to the Power of Extreme Yin. One corroded whatever it struck, while the other annihted all it encountered. Progenitor Long wanted to drive the giant corpse king away with his power, but the monster had decided to target the rainbow wall, and it continued to attack even after its hand was destroyed.

    The Progenitor had no choice but to put his strange eye away. He could not use this power for an extended amount of time, and after failing to drive the corpse king away with a single attack, Progenitor Long had no choice but to make more direct moves.

    Upon seeing that the corpse kings other hand was about to strike the rainbow wall, what appeared to be dragon scales started to appear across Progenitor Longs body. His pupils transformed, and dragon horns appeared on his head. The scales quickly covered his entire body, and a spear appeared in his hand that he thrust forward.

    The spears tip pierced the corpse kings palm, and the power of a Progenitor exploded upwards, crashing into the corpse king''s face after piercing its hand.

    The giant corpse king raised its other arm to block Progenitor Longs attack as its hand mped down upon the spear that had stabbed into its palm. ck lines spread along the monsters blood vessels, instantly covering the entire gigantic body. The corpse kings aura changed, bing darker and more sinister.

    Progenitor Long wanted to pull back his spear, but it was stuck in the corpse kings palm and could not be withdrawn. How was this possible?

    The corpse king suddenly clenched a fist and moved to crush Progenitor Long.

    Five images of Progenitor Long suddenly surrounded him. This was the White Dragon Surveying the Sky.

    The corpse kings other arm fell, and it used both limbs to try to squeeze Progenitor Long to death.

    The images created by the White Dragon Surveying the Sky cracked, and Progenitor Long grew solemn. The strange eye appeared on his head again, and he stared at the corpse king''s face through a gap between its fingers.

    The corpse king howled miserably. One of its eyes was destroyed, and its body rocked backwards.

    Progenitor Long seized the opening to shoot forward, instantly appearing right in front of the corpse king. The power of a Progenitor surged and formed a massive spear that shot straight at the corpse kings forehead to release a massive attack.

    Suddenly, the ck lines that covered the corpse king''s body converged as its forehead, right when the tip of the spear struck it. There was an explosion, and space warped before beingpletely torn apart.

    A massive hole opened to reveal the Hollow. It looked like a ribbon of darkness had unfurled across the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Beneath the rainbow wall, the cultivators from the universe trembled in fear as they watched their universe be split asunder.

    Chen Le looked over from another section of the rainbow wall, shocked. Were the Origin Universes Progenitors all this powerful? Chen Le wondered if he could face the giant corpse king, but he knew that it was impossible for him to do so head-on. His Monarch Arrows were powerful and deadly, but they did not allow him to engage in meleebat.

    Bai Wangyuan and others were in no position to offer Progenitor Long any assistance. While they were stronger than Progenitor Long, that did not mean that the man was weak by any means. He had survived since the Daosource Sect era, and he had even fought against masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas before.

    Within the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin moved to the Shenwu Continent so that he could peer through the spatial passage. He could sense the scale of the massive battle on the other side, and it was clear that multiple peak powerhouses were fighting against each other.

    Arch-Elder Zen was getting worried. "If the Three Monarchs Universe falls, we will face trouble here as well."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The Aeternals can''t defeat that universe. They put forth a great deal of effort to save Undying God, and right now, Sovereign Shao Yin is fighting along with Bai Wangyuan and the rest. Unless more of the Seven Skygods appear, the Aeternals wont be able to conquer the Three Monarchs Universe. Besides, Luo Shan himself is no pushover.

    "After this battle is over, we will still need to face them," the older man stated.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. While Aeternus would not be able to conquer the Three Monarchs Universe, as long as the situation did not change unexpectedly or force Lu Yin to expose himself, Aeternus would not give up that easily. To do otherwise would be to render their attack pointless.

    Even so, Lu Yin still could not help but wonder. Why had the Aeternals helped him?

    "That person is also still watching us," Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    Lu Yin nced to the side. "You dont need to worry about him."

    Wang Fan had remained behind to prevent Lu Yin from resealing the spatial passage, which gave Lu Yin an excuse to leave it open.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the rainbow wall cracked in more than one location. How could it endure a battle that involved so many peak powerhouses?

    Progenitor Long held his spear aloft in a hand and the massive corpse king in the other. A scarlet eye red at Progenitor Long as the corpse king roared furiously before attacking with both arms.

    This corpse king could not be regarded as a true peak powerhouse, as it was merely a monster that possessed the physical might of a Progenitor.

    Progenitor Long avoided the attack as his strange eye shifted to look at the corpse kings other scarlet eye.

    The corpse king had been on guard and was thus able to evade this attack. The monster twisted and spun around to release another attack.

    Progenitor Long did not dare to enter the void to avoid the punch, as this attack was powerful enough to pierce the void as well. If he was in the void when it was shattered, then it would be extremely dangerous. Still, that did not mean that it was difficult to dodge the punch.

    Progenitor Long continued to avoid each of the corpse king''s attacks.

    For half an hour, the corpse king remainedpletely focused on the Progenitor, clearly having no intention of diverting its attention anywhere else.

    Progenitor Long had no desire to face the monster seriously. It was a very difficult to kill a corpse king that had the physical might of a Progenitor, and Progenitor Long would need to pay a price to do so. However, he was not willing to pay that price for the sake of the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Suddenly, the corpse king stopped attacking the Progenitor, and it instead kicked at the rainbow wall. The kick instantly shattered the rainbow wall, ughtering many of the cultivators who had been inside the wall, as well as many of the attacking corpse kings. The giant corpse king had ignored its own in order to attack the rainbow wall.

    "Progenitor Long, what are you doing?" Luo Shan shouted.

    An arrow pierced through the void as it shot towards the corpse king, stabbing into its shoulder, but this did nothing other than make the corpse king pause briefly before it continued its assault on the rainbow wall.

    Chen Le fired another arrow.

    Progenitor Long looked around, only to see that the rest of the rainbow wall was still secure. If anything happened in the ce where he stood guard, it would cause a death grudge to form between Luo Shan and the Progenitor.

    Progenitor Long felt cornered, as he had no choice but to treat this battle seriously.

    Realizing his situation, the man closed his eyes and opened his strange third eye. His body suddenly split open, and a roar echoed through the Three Monarchs Universe as he released his Progenitors world: Dragon Emperor.

    Countless people stared in a daze as they witnessed something unforgettable.

    A truly massive creature suddenly appeared, seemingly filling up the entire universe as it released a roar that shook space itself. This was Progenitor Longs Progenitors world: Dragon Emperor. It was simr to Elder Ni Huangs inner world, but both the size and power were iparable. While Progenitor Longs Dragon Emperor was far fromparable to the Python Ancestor''s size, it was still around half its size. The Dragon Emperor only had one eye, which was Progenitor Longs strange third eye.

    Once the Dragon Emperor appeared, the creatures tail twitched, and the enormous corpse king was forced back dozens of steps, retreating again and again. Each step it took smashed the void.

    The corpse king grabbed the Dragon Emperors tail, but the jiaos strength surpassed the corpse kings expectations, and even its Progenitor-level strength was insufficient to hold on.

    The Dragon Emperor rammed its head against the corpse king, knocking the giant back. The strange eye looked over, devouring the void before it, and the corpse kings arms started to disappear.

    Chen Les mouth fell open as he stared, stunned. This terrifying level of strength was far beyond what most peak powerhouses were capable of unleashing. Was this the level of the Origin Universes experts?

    Monarch Xing was simrly shocked, as Progenitor Longsbat power was truly terrifying.

    Luo Shan also looked over, suddenly concerned. This was the level of the Origin Universe. No one could guess what sort of powerhouses could emerge from that ancient universe.

    Among the four ruling powers, everyone regarded the White Dragon ns Progenitor Long as the weakest Progenitor, but the power that the man had just revealed was something that no one would dare to look down upon.

    Bai Wangyuan and others from the Perennial World were not surprised. If Progenitor Long did not possess at least this level of strength, how could they regard him as a peer?

    Did people really believe that simply being a Progenitor was sufficient? Progenitor Long had lived longer than any other Progenitor in the four ruling powers, and he was even older than the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. If he did not possess a level of strength beyond that of most Progenitors, how could he have been allowed to join the four ruling powers?

    There were both advantages and disadvantages to how the White Dragon n relied on the Python Ancestor, but as long as Progenitor Long did not die, it was likely that he would eventually be the next Python Ancestor.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2732: Death

    Chapter 2732: Death

    The moment that Progenitor Long released his Progenitors world, the giant corpse king was forced back step by step. The Progenitor wanted to push the corpse king to another part of the battlefield, as he was unwilling to risk his life for the sake of the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Suddenly, the Dragon Emperor froze, and his strange eye was filled with pain. The enormous corpse king took the opportunity to strike the Dragon Emperors head with both arms, knocking it downwards.

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed. "Oh, no. Its in him!"

    As the man spoke, his Shenwu World spread out, enveloping the massive corpse king and causing countless des to fall upon its body. The giant corpse king roared as it punched the Dragon Emperor again, and tore the Progenitors world apart. At the same time, the Shenwu Worlds attacknded on its back and blood sttered across space.

    The Dragon Emperor''s form shrank rapidly, returning to Progenitor Longs form. The man spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was pale, but he knew that he was still surrounded by Progenitor-level enemies.

    In front of his eyes, multi-colored bubbles appeared, glowing in a beautiful pattern.

    Luo Shan''s pupils shrank. "Bubble Fantasy! Its Cheng Kong!"

    Sovereign Shao Yin was also startled. "Be careful!"

    Cheng Kong was not some invincible monster like the Seven Skygods, but they were still incredibly difficult to deal with, and their attacks were nearly impossible to defend against.

    Cheng Kong was too cunning and sneaky. No one who had died at their hands had ever seen Cheng Kongs appearance, as they had all been killed by sneak attacks.

    The four ruling powers had never had any contact with Cheng Kong at all.

    Progenitor Long stared at the bubbles, confused by their appearance. Even though warning bells were going off in his mind, the bubble had ced him in a strange trance that made it difficult for him to respond at all. There was a bang. Progenitor Long''s body was viciously pped away by the enormous corpse king, and the mans body twisted.

    At this moment, he was finally able to regain a bit of consciousness, and he heard Luo Shan''s voice, warning the Progenitor to beware of Cheng Kong. <em>Who the hell is Cheng Kong?</em>

    The Progenitor flew through space, bubbles still surrounding his body as he struggled to resist the numbness that was oveing his senses.

    Bai Wangyuan raised a hand, and two points in space were connected by a single line: Void Rip.

    The ck line shed open both space and the void, instantly revealing the Hollow in a ribbon of death. The attack shot towards Progenitor Long at incredible speed.

    Luo Shan was startled; what sort of power was this?

    Sovereign Shao Yin was simrly rmed by Bai Wangyuans attack.

    The Void Rip shot across the battlefield, and Bai Wangyuan shouted, "Dodge!"

    Progenitor Long saw the Hollow approaching, as well as the two points that were at each end of the line as the attack approached. This was something that he and Bai Wangyuan had done in the past when cooperating during battles; Bai Wangyuan would use his Void Rip to protect Progenitor Long.

    However, just as Progenitor Long was about to grab hold of one of the two points at the ends of the Void Rip, his movements stopped. Bubbles filled his vision, and although he wanted to reach out and seize the point, his body refused to move, no matter how hard he struggled. His Progenitors power, his Progenitors world, his battle techniqueshe was unable to mobilize anything.

    "Its not just the mind that can be hypnotized, but also the body. Does your body listen to you any longer?"

    Progenitor Long was shocked. Was even this possible?

    Cheng Kongs words were thest thing that Progenitor Long ever heard.

    As the Void Rip swept out, Progenitor Long''s body was swallowed by the Hollow that had been opened. There was not even a scream as the mans body disappeared.

    Outer space fell silent as everyone stared at where a Progenitor had just vanished.

    Everyone, the Progenitors from the ruling powers, Sovereign Shao Yin, Luo Shan, the other Monarchs, and even the Aeternals were all staring.

    A peak powerhouse had fallen so quickly and silently.

    No one had anticipated that the first expert to fall during this battle would be Progenitor Long. They were fighting in the Three Monarchs Universe, not the Perennial World.

    Progenitor Long had not died in the Perennial World or to defend that ce, but rather in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Bai Wangyuan''s face fell. No matter how he looked at the situation, his Void Rip seemed to have killed Progenitor Long. Why had the man not moved?

    Xia Shenji looked over at Bai Wangyuan.

    Specter Progenitor and Sage Yuan also looked at the man, but Luo Shan spoke first. "Cheng Kong controlled him. He was killed by Cheng Kong."

    Forgotten Ruins Godughed. "You are so interesting! Where did you see Cheng Kong? It''s obvious that you just wanted to kill him. Human beings are trulyplex creatures."

    Undying Godszy voice spoke up, "It still isnt over yet? I want to go back to sleep"

    ckless Gods calm voice said, "Come, let''s talk things through. You are clearly ruthless enough, given that you will even kill your own people."

    Bai Wangyuan ignored all of the Aeternals and instead turned to Luo Shan. "Who is this Cheng Kong?"

    Luo Shan took a deep breath. "A despicable bastard. More than just a few peak powerhouses have fallen at that ones hands, and our entire Sixverse Association is after them."

    Sovereign Shao Yin stared at ckless God and the rest of the Aeternals powerhouses. "The death of one peak powerhouse does not simply end this battle. Drive them back!"

    Luo Shan attacked.

    Far away, Chen Le was still staring at the ce where Progenitor Long had died. A truly powerful individual had died so easily. Even a peak powerhouse was still mortal, and their lives could be ended so easily.

    The Monarch nced back at Luo Shan and the others who were still fighting, and Chen Les expression changed.

    What he had done could never be revealed, and he needed to make sure that he avoided any danger. On top of that, Xuan Qi could not be exposed as a fraud.

    Monarch Xing approached the site of Progenitor Longs death, as the massive corpse king still needed to be dealt with.

    Luo Shan asked Chen Le to go as well. It was clear that Cheng Kong was present, so everyone needed to be extremely careful.

    In the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin stood on the Shenwu Continent, waiting for the results of the battle.

    Suddenly, he stared at the spatial passage itself, as something was moving through the void. Was that an eye?

    Lu Yin stared at the eye that had appeared out of nowhere. It looked incredibly familiar, and he felt like he must have seen it somewhere before.

    The eye had belonged to Progenitor Long, and it was his strange third eye. Right before he had died, he had sent the strange eye away without anyone noticing anything.

    The eye was a treasure that the Progenitor had wanted to leave for his White Dragon n. Once Progenitor Long died, he knew that his White Dragon n would lose its status as one of the four ruling powers. On top of that, due to the White Dragon ns unique situation, it would be very difficult for another Progenitor to appear in the n. Progenitor Long knew that he had to leave the strange eye behind, as only with that could any of his descendants have any hope of reaching the Progenitor realm.

    While the eye had been left behind by the Progenitor, it possessed no intelligence and simply moved towards the Fifth Maind, drawn by a familiar power.

    If no one interfered, the eye would eventually return to the White Dragon n, but Lu Yin had noticed it.

    He grabbed the strange eye and studied it. The longer he looked at it, the more familiar it felt. Where had he seen it before?

    Additionally, Lu Yin felt danger from the eye. The only thing that could threaten him anymore was something with the strength of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin raised his head and looked back at the spatial passage. He had just remembered where he had seen the eye before; it belonged to Progenitor Long, and Lu Yin had seen it at Dragon Mountain when the Progenitor had tried to intimidate the students from Virtue Archives into staying silent about the truth of the blood pool. At that time, Lu Yin had seen the exact same eye.

    He looked back at the eye again. Why was Progenitor Long''s eye moving through the spatial passage? The Progenitor had gone to fight in the Three Monarchs Universe; could something have happened to him?

    No, Progenitor Long was one of the four ruling powers. He did not belong to the Three Monarchs Universe, and he would not be willing to risk himself to fight for that ce.

    A short distance away, Wang Fan was staring at the Three Monarchs Universe. It appeared that he had seen something truly shocking, as he was no longer paying any attention to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin put the eye away and continued to wait quietly. The battle in the other universe could notst for too long.

    He knew this because he was the only person aware that Aeternus hadunched the massive assault just to help him.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the Aeternals seemed satisfied with Progenitor Longs death. When they saw that Sovereign Shao Yin, Bai Wangyuan, and the other Progenitors showed no intention of leaving, the Aeternals could only pull back.

    "Let''s see reinforcements arrive the next time. Well be watching your universe." ckless God''s deep voice rang in everyone''s ears.

    Luo Shan frowned. The passage connecting his universe to the Origin Universe had been opened, which meant that, for Aeternus, taking control of the Three Monarchs Universe was the same as taking control of the Origin Universe. Naturally, taking the universes would force them to pay a steep price, but regardless, the current situation was not favorable to Luo Shan.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was nowhere near as valuable as the Origin Universe. Luo Shan could not help but feel that the only reason why such arge assault had beenunched on his universe was because of the Origin Universe.

    Luo Shan had been hoping to reseal the passage after he seized control of the Heavens Sect,pletely abandoning the Three Monarchs Universe. He had wanted to stay in the Origin Universe. In this scenario, even if Aeternus wanted to attack the Origin Universe, they would first need to fight the four ruling powers, not Luo Shan.

    Remembering his thoughts, Luo Shan looked back towards the passage. It was time for that child of the Lu family to die.

    Everyone watched as the Aeternals retreated. Lu Yin had also noticed that the battle was over. He had not entered the Three Monarchs Universe out of fear of being seen by Sovereign Shao Yin, so Lu Yin did not know the details of the recent battle. Nheless, it was easy enough to determine if the fighting was over.

    All the peak powerhouses had stopped fighting.

    If the Aeternals were willing to retreat without any results, then it meant that the ultimatum he faced before the battle was still present, and their actions were meaningless. The fighting had stopped, which meant that something was going to change and they did not want to deal with it. This also meant that they had very great knowledge of what was happening among the humans.

    However, specting over just what had changed made Lu Yin shudder. How many of the Sixverse Associations secrets were the Aeternals privy to?

    He immediately started hoping that his fears were unfounded, even if such a situation would work to his benefit.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the Aeternals pulled back like a receding tide. At the same time, a solitary person approached the rainbow wall, drawing everyone''s attention. It was the Junior Sovereign, Chu Jian.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was surprised to see the young man. "Why are you here?"

    Luo Shan, Monarch Xing, and others grew solemn as they looked at Chu Jian. While the man himself was not a peak powerhouse, his influence matched that of any such expert. Oftentimes, Chu Jian did not represent himself, but rather the Great Sovereign.

    Chu Jian looked around the battlefield. "The Aeternals retreated? Perfect timing. Everyone, the Great Sovereign has sent orders."

    Everyone stared at Chu Jian with solemn expressions.

    Bai Wangyuan and others were the same, and they also were focused on Chu Jian.

    The young man nced around at everyone present, taking special note of Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. "Seniors from the Origin Universe, are you willing to hear the Great Sovereigns orders?"

    Xia Shenji did not hesitate at all. "Of course I will obey Senior Great Sovereigns orders."

    Bai Wangyuan nodded. "Please share them with me."

    Chu Jian then looked back at Luo Shan. "What of you, Senior Monarch Luo? The Great Sovereigns orders are not good news for you, Senior."

    Luo Shan arched a brow. "Why is that?"

    Chu Jian smiled. "No one from the Sixverse Association is allowed to enter the Origin Universe without authorization. Those are Masters orders, but you have vited them, Senior."

    Luo Shan grunted. "The spatial passage that connects my Three Monarchs Universe to the Origin Universe has been opened. Since that passage has been opened, my actions cannot be regarded as viting the Great Sovereigns edict."

    "Master has considered that, but the Aeternalsunched a massive attack on the Three Monarchs Universe, which is why Master is unwilling to overlook this. What if the Three Monarchs Universe had failed to stop the attack in time?"

    As Chu Jian spoke, he looked over at Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors. "As for your ns, Master is well aware of them, and he has sent this junior to deliver his order.

    Chu Jian grew solemn. "Master orders the Origin Universe to send half of its Progenitors to help the Sixverse Association, whether in defense of their own universes or on the frontlines of the Endless Frontier. You cannot refuse, or else Master will personally take action, punishing you as a deserter.

    "Master says that Luo Shan and Lu Yin have incited a war between two parallel universes. He orders that they both be punished by serving on the Endless Frontier. Any who refuse will be condemned for betraying humanity.

    "Master deres that Sovereign Shao Yin has done excellent work in protecting the Three Monarchs Universe, and has been excused from serving on the Endless Frontier for a thousand years.

    "Master says that Sage Yuan has entered the Origin Universe without authorization and instigated a feud between two parallel universes. As punishment, Master orders him to go to the Endless Frontier. The Lamentation of the Sages will befall, should you refuse."

    One order after another was delivered. Chu Jian spoke on behalf of the Great Sovereign, and while he was giving orders to peak powerhouses, no one felt that it was inappropriate. After all, the orders that they were receiving were truly issued by the Great Sovereign.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2733: Punishment

    Chapter 2733: Punishment

    This showed the power of the Great Sovereign. Luo Shan ruled one of the member universes of the Sixverse Association, but he still had to ept the Great Sovereigns orders.

    After Chu Jian read the Great Sovereigns orders, he looked around and smiled at everyone present. "Everyone, are you willing to obey these orders? If you don''t want to, you can exin things to this junior, and this junior will pass your message along, Seniors. Ill even put in a good word for you."

    As he spoke, his eyesnded on Luo Shan. Of all the orders that had been given, the one for Luo Shan was the harshest. Given the mans status as the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, his status should technically be equal to the Great Sovereigns. Despite that, Luo Shan was being punished by the Great Sovereign and ordered to enter the Endless Frontier.

    The Endless Frontier was a meat grinder of death. That was just as true for peak powerhouses as it was for ordinary cultivators. No fewer than twenty peak powerhouses had died on that battlefield.

    Luo Shan met Chu Jians eyes and respectfully replied, "I will obey the Great Sovereigns orders."

    Chu Jian smiled with satisfaction. "Take care of yourself, Senior."

    Luo Shan continued, "I hope that additional attention will be given to the Three Monarchs Universe during my time on the Endless Frontier. Will it be protected?"

    Chu Jian nced over at Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors. "That depends on the Origin Universe. Once Monarch Luo leaves, only Senior Monarch Xing and Senior Chen Le will remain in the Three Monarchs Universe. With the passage between the two universes open, this ce is an ideal universe for Aeternus to attack. How do you people from the Origin Universe intend to help the Three Monarchs Universe?

    Bai Wangyuan calmly replied, "My Celestial Frost Sects Bai Sheng is willing to protect the rainbow wall."

    Xia Shenji also spoke up, "Xia Qin will also help defend the rainbow wall."

    Specter Progenitor said, "I wille myself."

    "Nong Yi will be thest one. Four Progenitors will be enough." Bai Wangyuan made the decision for Nong Yi, voicing the will of the four ruling powers.

    There was no longer any need for them to consider the bnce of power. Lu Yin himself was also being sent to the Endless Frontier, which meant that the Heavens Sect would only have Arch-Elder Zen to protect it. As for Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke, the four ruling powers had no confidence that they could force the two to do anything.

    Of the Perennial Worlds ten Progenitors, seven belonged to the four ruling powers: Bai Wangyuan, Bai Sheng, Xia Shenji, Xia Qin, Wang Fan, Specter Progenitor, and a Progenitor from the Wang family who protected a in the Outer Realm. Additionally, there was Nong Yi and Mu Xie. As for the Fifth Maind, it only had Arch-Elder Zen, the jiao, and Progenitor Smoke.

    In other words, the Origin Universe had a total of thirteen Progenitors, and the Great Sovereigns orders required half of those Progenitors to leave the Origin Universe and help the Sixverse Association. The four ruling powers were sending three of their own, while also forcing Nong Yi to go on behalf of the Perennial World. However, there were still two more who needed to go.

    Xia Shenji spoke up next. "We can only speak for ourselves. As for the Progenitors that the Heavens Sect will send, the Junior Sovereign will need to speak with Lu Yin directly. He may not care about Senior Great Sovereigns orders."

    Chu Jian smiled. "I believe that Brother Lu is a sensible person."

    Not once did the young man even nce at Sage Yuan,pletely ignoring the Sage, despite the fact that Sage Yuan had been ordered to perform the Lamentation of the Sages. His fate was enough to leave anyone speechless, but there was no need to even consider whether Sage Yuan would obey his orders. He had no choice but to go to the Endless Frontier.

    Finally, Chu Jian looked over at the Sovereign Shao Yin. "Congrattions, Senior. Master appreciates you a great deal. Without you, this Three Monarchs Universe would have been in great danger."

    Sovereign Shao Yin and Chu Jian looked at each other. "I only did what I should, but please offer my thanks to your master for his praise."

    "Well, everyone, I''m going to the Origin Universe to deliver Master''s orders to Brother Lu. I hope that all of you will take care of yourselves on the battlefield, especially you, Senior Monarch Luo," Chu Jian said with a smile before making his way towards the spatial passage.

    As they watched the young man leave, a numb pressure squeezed their hearts. Progenitors and those on that level had reached the pinnacle of human cultivation, but they were still forced to ept orders. They still had a long road before them.

    Sage Yuans expression was hideous. He actually needed to go to the Endless Frontier, that grindstone of death. It was terrifying even for a peak powerhouse like him.

    He would never forget the sight of the fighting and death that urred on the Endless Frontier. Sage Yuan had done everything he could think of to perform meritorious deeds throughout the years, solely to reduce the amount of time that he had to serve on the Endless Frontier. Unexpectedly, he had just been sent directly to that battlefield.

    The Sage nced over at Sovereign Shao Yin. Sage Yuan had done many tasks for the Sovereign, and yet Sovereign Shao Yin was praised by the Great Sovereign and given a reprieve from the Endless Frontier while Sage Yuan had been ordered onto that battlefield.

    Sovereign Shao Yin noticed Sage Yuans stare and calmly said, "I will help you aplish tasks that will help you leave as soon as possible."

    Sage Yuan''s expression finally improved slightly. "Thank you, Sovereign."

    In another universe, Lu Yin saw Chu Jian approaching.

    As soon as the Junior Sovereign crossed the spatial passage and entered the Origin Universe, he saw Lu Yin on the Shenwu Continent. Given that the jiao that Lu Yin stood upon was so massive, it was difficult to not notice Lu Yin and the beast.

    "You must be Lu Yin, the current Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect. This is our first time meeting, despite having heard of you for so long." Chu Jian smiled at Lu Yin and spoke in a very friendly manner.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, as this was an unforeseen variable. Aeternus was too familiar with humanity and knew too much, which always made Lu Yin nervous. Still, he maintained a polite facade, and he said, "I am Lu Yin. And you are?"

    Chu Jian smiled. "I am Chu Jian, of the Sixverse Associations Cyclic Universe. The Great Sovereign is my master."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You are a disciple of the Great Sovereign?"

    "Everyone is a disciple of the Great Sovereign, but I am a direct disciple. My name is Chu Jian."

    Lu Yin stared at Chu Jian. This was the perfect Junior Sovereign. He had arrived when the Aeternals had stopped their assault on the Three Monarchs Universe, which made it obvious that the Great Sovereign was getting involved in the current dispute.

    Were the Aeternals even aware of the Great Sovereigns affairs and actions?

    "Is there something that I can help you with?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chu Jian smiled. "There was a disagreement between this universe and the Three Monarchs Universe, and it nearly led to a fight involving several peak powerhouses. That would create an opening or a weakness that the Aeternals could take advantage of. I am here to deliver Master''s orders. I wonder if Dao Monarch Lu is willing to listen to them?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "The Great Sovereign''s orders?"

    "Thats right." Chu Jian and Lu Yin stared at each other as they spoke.

    Lu Yins eyes did not move as he replied, "The Great Sovereign and I have no rtion or connection to each other."

    A smile yed at Chu Jians lips. "The Great Sovereign is the master of the Sixverse Association and can also be considered themon master of all of humanity."

    Lu Yins eyes instantly narrowed. Themon master of all of humanity? This was the first time that he had heard of such a title. "So, the Great Sovereign considers himself the master of my Heavens Sect?"

    Chu Jians eyes left Lu Yin as he looked around. "It should be said that he is the master of the Origin Universe, as you are all still humans!"

    Lu Yin stood on the jiaos head, quiet as he stared at Chu Jian.

    Arch-Elder Zen also observed the young man. "Themon master of all of humanity? Thats certainly a bold enough im, though the Great Sovereigns strength ispletely unfathomable. No one can say just how strong the Great Sovereign is."

    Only Aeternuss True God Wei Yi could be regarded as the Great Sovereigns peer. The only reason why True God Wei Yi had not attacked the Perennial World to rescue Undying God was likely because he had been restrained by the Great Sovereign.

    The Endless Frontier was the frontlines of the war against Aeternus. The reason why the Aeternals focused on that battlefield so much was possibly because they feared the Great Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign was not someone on the same level as Sage Yuan.

    Even at the very worst, the lowest that Lu Yin could estimate the Great Sovereigns strength was at the level of one of the Three Realms Six Dao, but he was possibly as strong as even the Origin Progenitor himself.

    As for Chu Jian, he had the Chu surname, which had been given to him by the Great Sovereign.

    Chu Yuan was from the Heavens Sect era, and he was the only one of the Origin Universes Dao Chosen to have met with the Origin Progenitor. Chu Yuan had also received his surname from the Origin Progenitor, and it was even the same Chu surname. It was quite likely that the Great Sovereign and the Origin Progenitor possessed the same level of power.

    When it came to such a powerhouse, no matter how much Lu Yin did not like the situation, it would be nearly impossible for him to do anything about it. His only source of confidence was Mister Mu. Lu Yins master had assured him that the Great Sovereign would not attack him. However, even if Lu Yin was safe from the Great Sovereign himself, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages under the Great Sovereignsmand were not powers that the current Heavens Sect could contend with.

    The Great Sovereign represented the entire Sixverse Association. Being that mans enemy also meant being an enemy of the Sixverse Association as a whole. This was nowhere close to the same level as Lu Yin''s confrontation with Luo Shan.

    Silence filled the area.

    As for Chu Jian, he was smiling carelessly. No one could ignore the Great Sovereign. No one dared to disobey the Great Sovereign. Regardless of how unruly this Lu Yin was, what of it?

    Lu Yin remained silent for some time before finally asking, "What are the Great Sovereigns orders?"

    Chu Jians smile grew wider and wider. "Master says that Luo Shan and Lu Yin have incited a war between two parallel universes. He orders that they both be punished by serving on the Endless Frontier. Any who refuse" After a pause, Chu Jian looked up. "Will be condemned for betraying humanity.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes grewrge. He had spent some time helping protect the Three Monarchs Universe, and he had naturally learned of the horror that was the Endless Frontier.

    Was the Great Sovereign actually punishing the Dao Monarch by sending him to the Endless Frontier?

    "Dao Monarch!" Arch-Elder Zen could not stay silent.

    Lu Yin stared intently at Chu Jian. He was being punished and even being threatened with the charge of betraying humanity. The Great Sovereign truly did regard himself as themon master of all humanity.

    Chu Jian just smiled as he looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, are you willing to obey Master''s order?"

    "What will happen if I refuse?" Lu Yin asked.

    Chu Jian considered the question. "I will help Dao Monarch Lu speak with Master, but if Master is not satisfied, he will act ording to his orders. My Cyclic Universes Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as the rulers of each member universe of the Sixverse Association will drop by this universe whenever they have the opportunity. Well just have to see how things y out after that and if Dao Monarch Lu can handle all of them.

    "Based on my many years of experience," Chu Jian continued with a smile, "It is highly unlikely that anyone will help Dao Monarch Lu go against Master."

    Lu Yin solemnly said, "So, refusing these orders is no different from confronting the entire Sixverse Association?"

    Chu Jian replied, "Possibly. Still, if Dao Monarch Lu believes that the current Heavens Sect is the same as the previous Heavens Sect, where they used to rule, then feel free to try. Maybe you will evene out on top and everyone will bow to your wishes, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yinughed. "Youre overthinking things. The former Heavens Sect is gone forever. The current one shares nothing more than the name.

    "In that case, since the Great Sovereign has spoken, I, Lu Yin, should obey."

    Chu Jian was not at all surprised by the situation. How could anyone disobey the Great Sovereigns orders? It was simply impossible.

    The Junior Sovereign was ignorant of just how glorious the Heavens Sect had been in the past, which was the reason why the Sixverse Association as a whole hated the Heavens Sect. Chu Jian only knew that the Great Sovereign was currently the lord of all humanity and that he himself was the perfect Junior Sovereign. Lu Yin was nothing more than the master of the Origin Universes pathetic Heavens Sect. How could such a person deal with Chu Jian orpare to him in any way?

    While Chu Jian appeared to be friendly and kind to Lu Yin, it was really nothing more than condescension, which the Junior Sovereign felt for everyone. How could he feel anything but condescension for mere ants?

    Chu Jian represented the Great Sovereign himself, so even when he was interacting with Sovereign Shao Yin, he had only used the term senior as a measure of courtesy without any true feelings behind it.

    Lu Yin waspletely beneath Chu Jians notice. No matter how incredible Lu Yins talent or experiences were, what did it matter? Chu Jian believed that his future was inestimable to Lu Yins own. It still remained to be seen whether Lu Yin could even survive his time on the Endless Frontier.

    "This must be the legendary jiao!" Chu Jian looked around, his eyes lighting up.

    Lu Yin looked down and nced over the massive form.

    The jiao bared its teeth at Chu Jian and roared.

    "It''s truly impressive. Very majestic," Chu Jian said admiringly as he observed the beast.

    The jiao understood that it was being looked down upon, and it reflexively reared its head and bared its teeth and ws in an attempt to be intimidating. However, it became upset that Chu Jian showed no fear at all; instead, the youth merely looked more excited.

    This expression infuriated the jiao, and as its anger rose, it tried to be more intimidating. Each action only increased Chu Jians appreciation, which created an endless cycle.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2734: Return

    Chapter 2734: Return

    Lu Yin stomped a foot down. "Shut up!"

    The jiao looked as though it had been wronged.

    "Brother Lu, your mount is quite impressive." Chu Jian was still admiring the jiao.

    Lu Yin casually responded, "Well, I don''t think it''s that great. Its too stupid."

    Chu Jian continued to observe the jiao, evaluating it. "Brother Lu, Master''s tea ceremony is quickly approaching. You should attend."

    "If I don''t die on the Endless Frontier, I will do so."

    Chu Jianmented, "I dont believe that Brother Lu will die so easily. Given your ability to face off against even peak powerhouses, you should be able to survive your encounters on the Endless Frontier. I look forward to seeing you at the tea ceremony. Also, you should take the jiao with you and give it to Master. Master will quite like it.

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had heard this, as Sage Yuan had also told Lu Yin that he should offer the jiao as a gift to the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Very well, Ill see you at the tea ceremony."

    Chu Jian nodded. "I''ll see you there. I hope that you can join the Endless Frontier within three days and that you wont make things difficult for me.

    "Also, Master sent another order: half of the Origin Universes peak powerhouses are required to help protect the Sixverse Association. The four ruling powers are already sending four of their people. What about you, Brother Lu?"

    Lu Yin replied with a question of his own, "While I am on the Endless Frontier, if the Origin Universe is required to send powerhouses to reinforce the Sixverse Association, will anyone target my Heavens Sect?"

    Chu Jian smiled. "You neednt worry about that. Brother Lu. Master has personally dered that no one can enter the Origin Universe without permission. Your Heavens Sect will not face any threats from the Sixverse Association, though that does not mean that it will be protected from others in your own Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    "The jiao will count as one powerhouse!" Chu Jian dered. "However, it needs to attend Master''s tea ceremony, so it can only help defend the Sixverse Association after that. That leaves one more peak powerhouse who needs to be sent. Ill leave that choice up to you, Brother Lu."

    With that, Chu Jian left.

    Lu Yin stared at the suddenly empty space. The Fifth Mainds crisis had finally been resolved.

    With the passage open, it was impossible for Sovereign Shao Yin to force the Origin Universe to join the Endless Frontier. Because of the dispute that had resulted from opening the passage, both Luo Shan and Lu Yin were being punished and sent to the Endless Frontier, which showed the Great Sovereigns position on the matter.

    Was there anyone in the Sixverse Association who would still target the Heavens Sect?

    Unfortunately, just because there was no threat from other universes, that did not mean that Lu Yin could lower his guard towards the four ruling powers.

    Half of their Progenitors were being sent to reinforce the Sixverse Association, which left them with no more than three or four Progenitors. Even if Lu Yin asked Arch-Elder Zen to assist the Sixverse Association, Senior Brother Mu Xie, the jiao, Master Shan, and Cloudflow would still stay behind to protect the Heavens Sect. As for Progenitor Smoke, there was no telling how the woman would act. Bnce could indeed be maintained.

    Furthermore, the four ruling powers would not dare to start a war without prior authorization after this lesson from what had happened with Lu Yin and Luo Shan.

    In the end, the situation had not devolved into all-out war, though hostilities would eventually reignite.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was the instigator of the entire crisis, and thinking of the man caused killing intent to fill Lu Yins eyes. The Sovereign was even more despicable than that old dog Sage Yuan.

    It should not be a big problem for Lu Yin to protect himself during his time on the Endless Frontier, as the Aeternals had no intention of killing him. However, things became a bit tricky when Lu Yin considered his alias of Xuan Qi. That identity could only stay in seclusion for so long.

    As Lu Yin considered matters, Bai Wangyuan and several others crossed through the spatial passage and returned to the Fifth Maind.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin, who met their gazes. All of them remained silent.

    At this time, Mu Xie, Nong Yi, and Progenitor Smoke all arrived as well.

    Xia Shenji shot Nong Yi a cold look. "You will be heading out to help protect the Sixverse Association."

    Nong Yi was terribly confused. "What is a Sixverse Association, and why am I protecting it?"

    Specter Progenitor shared a few details, which caused Nong Yi to instantly blow up. He refused to go.

    However, he was threatened by Bai Wangyuan and the four ruling powers other Progenitors. Progenitor Nong wanted to ask Lu Yin for help, but Lu Yin could not offer any assistance. Half of the four ruling powers Progenitors were also going, and Lu Yin needed to send some powerhouses himself. If Nong Yi did not go, Mu Xie would be forced to do so.

    It was impossible to force the four ruling powers to send any additional Progenitors, just as it was impossible for them to force Lu Yin to send more people.

    "Where''s Long Er?" Progenitor Smoke suddenly asked, causing Bai Wangyuan and others expressions to contort.

    "He died."

    Progenitor Smoke was startled, as were Mu Xie and Nong Yi. "Progenitor Long died?"

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. Just as he had thought, the strange eye that he had grabbed had belonged to Progenitor Long. A Progenitor had indeed fallen.

    This was the reality of war. How could even a Progenitor ensure their survival?

    "How did he die?" Progenitor Smoke asked, sadness filling her eyes. Even if she had been upset with Progenitor Longs decision to join the four ruling powers and target the Lu family, he had still always been very respectful to her, and she struggled to ept news of his sudden death.

    Bai Wangyuan shared the story, and everyone listened quietly, feeling the cruel reality of war.

    Progenitor Smoke gritted her teeth. "Cheng Kong!"

    Mu Xie mourned the loss. "Even Progenitors can die. No one is truly invincible, not even the Origin Progenitor. Junior Brother, you must be careful while on the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I know, Senior Brother."

    "Two more Progenitors still need to be sent to reinforce the Sixverse Association. These two will have nothing to do with our four ruling powers. You decide who you will send," Xia Shenji stated coldly.

    "I''ll go." Progenitor Smoke immediately replied.

    Everyone turned in surprise, as no one had considered trying to force her to go.

    "Xi Wei." Bai Wangyuan could not stay silent. He and the rest of the four ruling powers were eager to see Lu Yin lose some Progenitors, whether it was Mu Xie, Arch-Elder Zen, or even the jiao.

    Progenitor Smoke sighed. "I''m fed up with all of your scheming. Aeternus is our enemy, and yet you nearly incited a war involving no less than ten Progenitors. Long Er even died as a result. I intend to help protect the Sixverse Association, as that is at least better than staying here and watching you hand the Origin Universe over to the Aeternals."

    She then left without speaking another word to anyone else.

    Ever since Progenitor Smoke had returned, while she had asionally helped Lu Yin, most of the time, she had maintained a perfect neutrality. No matter if the four ruling powers plotted against Lu Yin, or if he schemed against the four ruling powers, she had not interfered.

    She had been just as removed from the final battle that had nearly erupted.

    As she had mentioned, she waspletely fed up with the current situation, and she wanted to devote her efforts to fighting the Aeternals.

    Progenitor Longs death also could not be ignored. Progenitor Smoke wanted to avenge Progenitor Long. Regardless of the mans behavior, he had always treated Progenitor Smoke as a senior, and she needed to get revenge for his death.

    "Hmph, let her go. That leaves one more Progenitor. Lu Xiaoxuan, you need to send one," Xia Shenji said in a cold voice.

    Lu Yin nced over. "Get lost."

    Xia Shenji''s eyes turned even colder. "What did you say? You don''t n to send anyone?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "When did you be the Great Sovereign''sckey? These are the Great Sovereign''s orders. Whether or not I obey them is none of your business."

    "You!" Xia Shenji became furious.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, if you draw the Great Sovereigns ire, things will not end well for you. You are a member of the Lu family, and the Great Sovereign was the one who ordered your family to be exiled in the first ce. In the eyes of the Great Sovereign, you should also be exiled."

    Lu Yin nced over. "I told you to get lost."

    "Are you really not going to send anyone?" Wang Fan was unable to hold back, and he also spoke up.

    Lu Yin sneered. Without even looking at the Progenitor, he asked Mu Xie to take charge of the Shenwu Continent while he returned to the Heavens Sect.

    After seeing Lu Yins behavior, Xia Shenji struggled to not simply attack the brat.

    Wang Fan was caught off guard. "Mu Xie is still protecting the Shenwu Continent. What about what just happened?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s eye twitched. "It was all an act, part of the show that Lu Yin was submitting to Luo Shan. The falling out between Lu Yin and Mu Xie and Nong Yi was all a lie. He really did have the entire thing nned out."

    "That guy is too dangerous," Xia Shenji said through gritted teeth.

    "What if the Heavens Sect sends no one?" Wang Fan asked.

    Bai Wangyuan felt a headacheing on. They were unable to force Lu Yin to send a Progenitor, and if he really did refuse to send reinforcements, then it would cause trouble for the entire Origin Universe. Would the four ruling powers need to send one more Progenitor?

    "If the brat is willing to go to the Endless Frontier and ept the Great Sovereigns punishment, then he should also be willing to obey the rest of the Great Sovereigns orders," Wang Fanmented.

    Bai Wangyuan felt increasingly stressed about the matter. Wang Fan was correct, but if Lu Yin did the unbelievable and drew the Great Sovereigns wrath, they did not want to risk being punished alongside Lu Yin.

    The truth was that Lu Yin did not need to send anyone at all. Chu Jian had mentioned that the jiao counted as one Progenitor and that it would only be required to take action after the Great Sovereigns tea ceremony. As for the second Progenitor, Progenitor Smoke had already volunteered, which settled the matter for Lu Yins side. All he needed to concern himself with was getting to the Endless Frontier within three days time.

    Lu Yin also had absolutely no intention of revealing any of this to the four ruling powers, as he preferred to keep them guessing. If they got scared, it would be even better if they ended up sending one more Progenitor.

    There was nothing wrong with protecting the Sixverse Association, and if the four ruling powers had one less Progenitor, then the Heavens Sect would be in even less danger.

    Lu Yin had nned to ask Arch-Elder Zen to go and assist the Sixverse Association, but Progenitor Smoke had volunteered, which preserved another Progenitor for the Heavens Sect. With this, Lu Yin no longer feared the four ruling powers trying to take action against the Heavens Sect, as even without Lu Yin, there were enough powerhouses to protect the Heavens Sect from the four ruling powers.

    With those matters settled, what should he do with the strange eye?

    Keeping the eye to study on his own was pointless. Progenitor Long had tossed the eye away just before his death, which suggested that the only ce where he could learn more about the eye was the White Dragon n.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to stare off into the distance. It was time to return to the White Dragon n.

    After Long Xi used the blood essence to improve her cultivation, Lu Yin had imprisoned her for many years within Zenith Mountain, and he wanted to repay her for that.

    Three days was enough time to make the visit.

    It had been several years since the Aeternals hadpletely abandoned the Perennial World, and during that time, the Perennial World had developed extremely quickly.

    Lu Yin unleashed his domain, finding that there were more cultivators than he remembered, as well as more smiling faces.

    Unfortunately, this was just on the surface. Without the threat of Aeternus, humanity would have more internal conflicts, and the number of fights and wars would not be much less than in the past.

    It had always been difficult for people to enter the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind. It had started bing a real problem when the Time Poison had appeared and had only gotten worse since then. This would continue until one side finally conquered the other.

    Lu Yin made no attempt to hide his arrival in the Perennial World.

    He soon appeared in the mountain valley beneath the Wang familys floating continent, as it was the only entry to the Perennial World from the Fifth Maind.

    He rode upon the jiao, and it brandished its teeth and ws as it released a roar that echoed far into the distance.

    All of the Perennial Worlds cultivators stared nkly for a moment before many grew extremely excited. "It''s Lu Yin! The one who helped us defeat Aeternus! Lu Yin!"

    "Dao Monarch Lu! Dao Monarch Lu!"

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch Lu."

    "Blessings upon you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    "Dao Monarch Lu is invincible!"

    Lu Yin had not expected to still be so popr in the Perennial World, but much of what he had done could not be concealed by the four ruling powers, even if they were his enemies.

    There was no way for them to refute the fact that Lu Yin was the vanguard that had led the charge that had resulted in the Aeternals defeat, nor that he had paid a steep price in doing so. People were not stupid, and they knew better than to believe everything the four ruling powers said.

    Even so, most of the people that Lu Yin could see were cultivators who were part of the four ruling powers, so even if they looked at him with excitement and admiration, they were still his enemies.

    He stood on top of the jiao and looked around. "I''m back."

    Fanatical cheers rang out, but after a sharp shout sounded, everyone instantly fell silent.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, this is the Perennial World. What are you doing here?" Wang Zheng said. He was the Wang familys patriarch, and Lu Yin had appeared directly underneath the Wang familys continent. The four ruling powers had almost had a final showdown with Lu Yin just a few days ago, so how could the Wang family tolerate the mans presence? It was only natural that Wang Zheng sounded aggressive.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Wang family floating continent, and he released a massive burst of power.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2735: Insolence

    Chapter 2735: Insolence

    Wang Zheng''s expression changed drastically as a surge of spiritual force suddenly erupted that was as overwhelming and unstoppable as a tsunami. It rose up from below, shaking the Wang familys entire floating continent.

    At the same time, the ball of light that floated above the maind released a hazy light that stopped Lu Yin''s spiritual force. But it went farther than that, as his spiritual force was actually suppressed and overpowered.

    The jiao beneath Lu Yins feet let out a roar as it raised its ws threateningly, ready to attack.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, what do you think you are doing?" Wang Fan arrived, a calm expression on his face.

    Lu Yin calmed the jiao before meeting Wang Fans eyes. "Nothing much. I havent been here for quite a while, so I came to look around."

    "Whatever you do, don''t bother my Wang family," Wang Fanmanded.

    Lu Yin replied, "Then keep an eye on your underlings. If they act up against me, you cant me me for getting rid of all of them."

    Wang Zheng clenched his fists, but he did not argue. After all, Lu Yin indeed had the qualifications to make such a threat.

    Wang Fan indifferently replied, "I hope that you can remain this arrogant while at the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin smiled and then nced around at the various Perennial World cultivators in the surrounding area. "I, Lu Yin, will definitely recreate the former glory of the Lu family and uncover all the mysteries in this universe. Just wait and see, as it wont be long, haha!"

    He then directed the jiao towards Dragon Mountain.

    The jiao let out another roar as it bared its teeth and brandished its ws again. It gave Wang Fan an intimidating re and then raced away as quickly as possible.

    The four ruling powers had openly joined forces with Luo Shan to overthrow the Heavens Sect. With all semnce of a truce gone, there was no longer any reason for politeness to exist between them.

    In particr, ever since the Heavens Sect had gained the leverage to directly face the four ruling powers, Lu Yin had cast off all restraints.

    The eyes of every cultivator in the mountain valley lit up, particrly the eyes of the cultivators who were not part of the four ruling powers. Such people worshiped Lu Yin from the bottom of their hearts.

    It was clear to all that the Lu family had been destroyed, and it was just as clear that Lu Yin had not be a Progenitor yet. Despite all this, he could still confront Progenitors and speak to the entire Higher Realm, iming that he would restore the glory of the Lu family. This was Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect.

    Already, seeds had been nted in the hearts of everyone who heard Lu Yins words. They knew that the day woulde when the man would fight to take back the Perennial World.

    Wang Su, Wang Yi, and Wang Xiaofan were all on the Wang familys continent at this moment, and they stared at Lu Yin''s departing figure. The gap between them was only growing wider and wider.

    The jiao flew through the sky. The beast did nothing to hide its presence or passage, and the pressure of a Progenitor-level beast covered nearly half of the Higher Realm before Lu Yin finally arrived at Dragon Mountain.

    Just as he did so, Bai Wangyuan also arrived.

    Dragon Mountain was silent, and the members of the White Dragon n nervously watched from a distance, wary of whatever was about to happen. They had felt Lu Yining and had also been informed of Progenitor Longs death. Was Lu Yin on his way to get revenge on Dragon Mountain?

    Almost as soon as the jiao appeared, it stopped moving, though a powerful wind swept over Dragon Mountain, knocking many of the cultivators there over.

    Bai Wangyuan calmly looked at the top of the jiaos head. "Lu Xiaoxuan, why have youe to Dragon Mountain?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Bai Wangyuan? Why are you at Dragon Mountain?"

    Bai Wangyuan solemnly replied, "Monarch Luo has already gone to the Endless Frontier. Why have you not done so as well? Do you really intend to disobey the Great Sovereign''s order?"

    "That''s my business and has nothing to do with you. Get out of my way," Lu Yin answered rudely.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "You are not allowed to visit Dragon Mountain."

    Lu Yinughed. "Since when did Dragon Mountain be yours, Bai Wangyuan?"

    "Progenitor Long is dead, so your grudges with the White Dragon n should have also ended," Bai Wangyuan stated.

    Lu Yins voice grew cold. "Do you really think that I would attack the current Dragon Mountain? These people are nothing more than a bunch of chickens and dogs. What can two Semi-Progenitors do when leading a bunch of trash?"

    On Dragon Mountain, Grand Elder Ni Huang, Long Laogui, and the rest of the White Dragon n heard Lu Yins words, but regardless of how much his words enraged them, none of them could say a word against him. They could see that even Bai Wangyuan was wary of Lu Yin, so what could the White Dragon n hope to do? How could they even argue against him?

    Long Ke sped his hands behind his back as he stared off into the distance. This was a demonstration of true arrogance.

    Long Kui smiled bitterly as beside him, Gui covered his head with his wings. The jiaos pressure was so overpowering to Gui that the beast did not even dare to show his head.

    Long Xi was calmly sitting at a stone table, though Xiao Qing bit her lips, her face pale.

    Not one person made a sound, as all of them were listening to the conversation between Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan.

    The Progenitor stared at Lu Yin. "Since your grudge no longer exists, then for what reason have youe to Dragon Mountain?"

    Lu Yin snapped back, "Again, how is that any of your business? Either get out of my way, or the two of us will fight on top of Dragon Mountain. If that happens, then even besides what will happen to Dragon Mountain, if anything happens that prevents me from going to the Endless Frontier, you will have to answer to the Great Sovereign. Tell me, Bai Wangyuan, will you go to the Endless Frontier in my ce?"

    Bai Wangyuan narrowed his eyes. "That will not happen."

    "Then try to stop me!" Lu Yin took out the God of Deaths scythe and pointed it at Bai Wangyuan as the Investiture of the Gods appeared overhead, its golden light illuminating the entire Higher Realm.

    Xia Shenji, Wang Fan, and the other Progenitors all saw the golden light. Its appearance surprised them, as none of them could understand what Lu Yin was trying to do.

    The jiao roared while shing its teeth and ws.

    Bai Wangyuan and Lu Yin stared at each other. Neither attacked, but neither showed any sign of moving away either.

    Finally, Grand Elder Ni Huang stepped out. He faced Bai Wangyuan and offered a respectful bow. "Thank you so much, Progenitor Bai, for your assistance. However, since Lu Xiaoxuan has decided to visit my Dragon Mountain, please allow him to do so. My White Dragon n does not fear death."

    Bai Wangyuan turned to Ni Huang. "Are you certain?"

    Ni Huang nodded. "Yes."

    Bai Wangyuan sighed. "I was friends with Progenitor Long for many, many years, and I can''t bear to see Dragon Mountain decline. If you need any help at all, just ask. The four ruling powers will always remain the four ruling powers. It will not be any fewer."

    The Progenitor then looked over at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I hope that you will keep your word. While no one on Dragon Mountain can stop you, there are still the four ruling powers."

    Lu Yin did not even nce at the man. Instead, he simply took a step forward, passing by Bai Wangyuan on his way to Dragon Mountain. All he left behind were two words. Bullshit.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes grew cold. This child had already be even more arrogant than his father, Lu Qi, though Lu Yin was also able to endure things better. If not for that, he would have never reached his current heights.

    The Progenitor nced back at Dragon Mountain, shook his head, and left.

    Lu Yin stood above Dragon Mountain Mountain. Once Bai Wangyuan was gone, Lu Yin casually asked, "Do you really believe that hes helping you?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang bitterly answered, "Will anything change depending on whether we believe him or not? My Dragon Mountains fate has already been decided."

    Lu Yin looked at the old man. "Are you confident in breaking through and bing a Progenitor?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang lifted his head to return Lu Yins gaze. "If I say yes, will Dao Master Lu deal with me in order to eliminate a hidden danger?"

    Lu Yinughed. "I don''t care!"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang was taken aback, as he had not expected Lu Yin to actually answer the question.

    "Progenitor Long is dead, and there is no one from the White Dragon n who can take your ce. As far as Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and Wang Fan are concerned, your White Dragon n is no longer part of the four ruling powers. What does it matter if you be a Progenitor? All that will change is that they will obtain an additional helper. You will never be considered one of them," Lu Yin stated.

    Ni Huang''s eyes flickered, and he nced in three different directions of the Higher Realm, though he said nothing.

    "Progenitor Long was the one who decided to exile my Lu family. With him dead, I no longer have any score to settle with the White Dragon n. However, if the battles on the rear battlefield restart, your White Dragon n will undoubtedly suffer more than anyone else. Grand Elder Ni Huang, you should consider the implications for your n." After saying those few words, Lu Yin disappeared.

    The Grand Elder breathed a sigh of relief, though Lu Yin''s words also caused the old man to feel anxious.

    With the loss of Progenitor Long, the White Dragon n could no longer be considered one of the four ruling powers. Even if Bai Wangyuan and the others continued to say that they would not abandon the White Dragon n, it was nothing less than lip service.

    As time continued, the White Dragon n would quickly find itself suppressed by the other three ruling powers, and they would soon find themselves in an even more pitiful situation than the Nong family or the Liu n.

    Even worse, there was nothing that they could do about it.

    It would be wonderful if Ni Huang could be a Progenitor, as that would allow him to at least ensure that the White Dragon n could endure. However, if he failed to break through, the current strength of the White Dragon n meant that they would eventually be wiped away.

    Only Progenitor Long had been capable of triggering the White Dragon Rolls Over, but unfortunately, he had met his end in a parallel universe. After all, Progenitor Long would have never died in the Perennial World.

    Ni Huang simply had to break through and be a Progenitor. Only then would he be capable of triggering the White Dragon Rolls Over, which would also stabilize the White Dragon ns position. If not, the White Dragon n would no longer be able to remain in the Higher Realm.

    There were two teacups sitting on the stone table where Long Xi was quietly sitting.

    When Lu Yin arrived, he very naturally took the seat across from her.

    When Xiao Qing saw Lu Yin, her face became even paler, and she trembled as she poured his tea.

    "I thought you already dealt with her," Lu Yinmented.

    The maids hands shook even worse, and she dropped to her knees. "Please, Master Lu, spare my life! Please, please"

    Long Xi picked up his cup and took a sip of the tea. "Move back."

    Xiao Qing did not dare to return to her feet. She remained on her knees as she begged for mercy.

    Lu Yin waved a hand.

    The maid swallowed, rose to her feet, and nervously stepped backwards until she was so far away that she was almost out of sight.

    "I keep her around to remind me not to trust anyone easily. If I find another maid, I will end up caring for her over time. Who knows if that person will also be a problem," Long Xi exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. "That makes sense, but as time passes, you will lock your heart away."

    Long Xi stared down into her tea cup. "Whats the point of leaving it open?"

    Lu Yin regretted his words. He should not have said such a thing to Long Xi, and he had no idea how to respond.

    "What is the White Dragon n nning to do now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi shook her head. "I don''t know. Since our Progenitor is dead, we should leave."

    "Head down to the Middle Realm?"

    "Down to the Lower Realm."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Was this your idea, or someone else''s?"

    Long Xi looked up at Lu Yin. "The four ruling powers have always had a distinction between the strong and the weak. Our White Dragon n has always been the weakest, but the presence of our ancestor prevented us from falling too far behind the others. With him dead, the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, and the Wang family will divide all the resources that once belonged to my White Dragon n. In name, the four ruling powers will remain the same as ever, but without a single Progenitor, we will be regarded as nothing but a joke.

    "It would be better for us to go down to the Lower Realm and wait beside the Python Ancestor. With our White Dragon ns connection to the Python Ancestor, no one would dare to touch us in his presence."

    "In that case, is this your idea, or someone else''s?" Lu Yin asked.

    Long Xi''s voice dropped. "Mine."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. "The others don''t agree?"

    Long Xi shook her head. "Father was the first to object."

    Lu Yin disdainfullymented, "Long Ke ces too much importance on status. Does he actually believe that he is still the patriarch of the White Dragon n thats a part of the four ruling powers? Right now, his status isnt even equal to Bai Teng''s old status. At least Bai Teng had Bai Xian''er."

    Suddenly, Lu Yin felt that he had said something very wrong. Wait, how were his words anything less thanparing Long Xi to Bai Xian''er?

    Sure enough, Long Xi''s face had fallen.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up again, "I didn''t mean it like that. You are younger than Bai Xian''er."

    <em>Wait, that''s not right, either. The White Dragon n members all live a very long time, so Long Xi might actually be even older than Bai Xian''er.</em>

    Long Xi replied, "I understand, but my father is still the patriarch, and Grand Elder Ni Huang also has no intention of going anywhere. Theres nothing that I can do."

    Lu Yin said, "Does Grand Elder Ni Huang have a chance to break through and be a Progenitor?"

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin, but said nothing. She just stared at him.

    Lu Yinughed. "What? Do you think that Ill kill him to get rid of a potential problem?"

    "Probably not," Long Xi assented.

    Lu Yin helplessly protested, "Absolutely not!"

    "No one believes that," Long Xi retorted.

    Lu Yin blew out a breath and took out the strange eye. "Tell me a bit about this."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2736: Returning To Its Rightful Owner

    Chapter 2736: Returning To Its Rightful Owner

    Long Xi saw the strange eye and shot to her feet in shock. "This- Is this our ancestor''s strange eye? You?"

    "Don''t misunderstand. I had nothing to do with Progenitor Long''s death. I just happened to find this eye after he died. You seem quite worked up. Is this useful to you?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Long Xi breathing quickened. "This is our ancestor''s Progenitors world."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "His Progenitors world?"

    He had never considered this possibility. Logically, when a person died, their Progenitors world should disappear with them. However, Lu Yin was immediately reminded of the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Hui. Were those two dead? If so, then why were the powers that they had created still present? And if they were not dead, then where were they?

    It seemed like a paradox, and the only reasonable answer was that neither the Rune Progenitor nor Progenitor Hui were truly dead.

    Lu Yin certainly hoped that that was the case.

    "This really is Ancestors Progenitors world. My father once mistakenly said that this will open the path to the Progenitor realm for our White Dragon n, and with it, we are guaranteed to eventually reach that level," Long Xi said.

    Lu Yin stretched out his hand. "It''s yours."

    Long Xi stared at Lu Yin nkly.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Im giving it to you, so why are you hesitating?"

    The eye had clearly belonged to Progenitor Long, and while Long Xi wanted to say something, Lu Yins actions made her feel protected and cared for.

    The strange eye was invaluable, so why was he just giving it to her?

    She slowly stretched out a hand, but she only touched the strange eye. "Are you really giving it to me?"

    "What else? I put so much effort to visit you here in the Higher Realm. What? Did you think that I came here just to insult Bai Wangyuan?" Lu Yin said.

    Long Xi smiled. She had notughed in a very long time, but at this moment, there was a happy smile on her face. It was as though the years of misery had been stripped away.

    The sight of Long Xis smile made Lu Yin feel good. The strange eye was useless to him, and he felt a sense of threat just by holding it. While he had confirmed that the eye had no intelligence, it still made him very ufortable to hold it. It was alsopletely useless to him, so there was no reason to not give it to Long Xi.

    "I don''t know how to use it," Long Xi said suddenly.

    This surprised Lu Yin. "Why not? Dont you want to use it for your own cultivation and be a Progenitor?"

    Long Xi said, "Its not that I don''t have such ambitions, but that this just doesnt suit me. Also, it belonged to Progenitor Long, so if I use it"

    She hesitated and left the thought unsaid. Lu Yin did not press the matter. "Its your choice. Its useless to me, and Progenitor Long left it for the White Dragon n."

    Long Xi somber told Lu Yin, "No matter who is able to use it, my White Dragon n will definitely remember this favor. If the Lu family returns from their exile, my White Dragon n will offer an exnation to you for what happened."

    Lu Yin left, not taking Long Xi''s words to heart.

    As for answering for the Lu familys exile, the only one who could bear that burden was Progenitor Long. With the man dead, how could Lu Yin get revenge on the White Dragon n any longer?

    Both Grand Elder Ni Huang and Long Laogui werepletely unqualified to have had anything to do with the Lu familys exile, and Lu Yin was not someone who would target innocent bystanders.

    However, that did not mean that he had a desire to help the White Dragon n. Rather, he wanted to help Long Xi.

    The White Dragon ns life or death was none of Lu Yins business.

    After Lu Yin left, Long Ke arrived to speak with Long Xi. "What did Lu Yine here for?"

    Long Xi casually replied, "He told me a joke."

    Long Ke frowned. "Don''t be ridiculous."

    Long Xi turned to look at Long Ke. "He asked our White Dragon n to go to the Fifth Maind."

    Long Ke shook his head. "How delusional. Grand Elder Ni Huangs breakthrough is sure to seed, and my White Dragon n is still part of the four ruling powers. How could we submit to him? How absurd."

    The patriarch promptly left.

    Soon after, Grand Elder Ni Huang also stopped by, simrly curious as to the purpose for Lu Yins visit.

    Again, Long Xi revealed nothing.

    She would give the strange eye to Grand Elder Ni Huang, but not yet.

    Lu Yin would gain nothing if Long Xi gave the eye to Ni Huang at this point in time. She needed to wait until the White Dragon n faced a crisis, until the n clearly saw how the other three ruling powers perceived the White Dragon n. Only when they were forced to the edge of a cliff by the other three would Long Xi give Grand Elder Ni Huang the strange eye. That was the only way for the White Dragon n to remember Lu Yins kindness.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, I will make sure to help you as much as possible," Long Xi murmured to herself.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, people started to arrive at a location near the rainbow wall. Each person who arrived looked burdened, and no one spoke.

    If one carefully observed the gathering crowd, they would see that all of the gathered people were clearly nervous.

    A few people who arrived and joined the group looked upset, as though they were angry or unwilling to ept what was happening.

    However, there were also people who rxed when they arrived. They looked back, as though they had been chased by something. Even so, anxiety quickly entered all of the peoples eyes.

    This was the gathering ce for those who were headed to the Endless Frontier.

    A rather old man stood in a corner, smiling at all the people as they arrived.

    "More and more are arriving. Haha, I love this sight. Every time I see it, it makes me feel better. I wonder how many of these people will die and how many will manage to return alive," the man said.

    A few more people stepped out from behind the man. "Don''t enjoy others misfortune. We got here in the exact same manner as these people, and if not for our luck, we would have died on the Endless Frontier. Its simply our turn to escort these people there."

    "Be careful. Being an escort to the battlefield isnt safe. Its still possible to appear in the middle of a fight between powerhouses, and then you wont even know how you died then," a rather attractive womanmented. It was true that the woman was good looking, but her skin was also quite dark, and covered everywhere with scars. All of them came from wounds suffered on the Endless Frontier.

    Each of the people who had stepped forward were the representatives of different parallel universes that made up the Endless Frontier. Their task was to escort people to the frontlines.

    The Sixverse Association had formed the massive Endless Frontier by connecting sixty-two parallel universes to create a massive battlefield, on which the majority of Aeternuss forces fought.

    It was possible to enter the Endless Frontier from any of the six member universes.

    People who hadmitted crimes, antagonized people they should not have provoked, wanted to escape from pursuers, or were in their twilight years and approaching deathall sorts would make their way to the Endless Frontier.

    The Endless Frontier was also a ce where all cultivators were required to eventually go. There was a constant influx of cultivators making their way to the battlefield, and this ensured that there were sufficient numbers for the war against Aeternus.

    This battlefield was the biggest meat grinder in existence.

    From another part of the rainbow wall, Chen Le quietly observed the gathering. <em>He isnt here yet. He wonte, but no one dares to disobey the Great Sovereign. Even Monarch Luo has already gone. This is already the third day, and if he doesnt arrive soon, hell offend the Great Sovereign, and then hell be done for</em>.

    Chen Le was getting increasingly anxious. He not only hoped that Lu Yin would arrive and make his way to the Endless Frontier without stirring up trouble, but also that if Lu Yin failed to arrive, he would be destroyed by the Great Sovereign. If that happened, no one would ever know that Chen Le had entered a cooperative rtionship with the youth.

    Chen Le had been awakened by the battle outside the rainbow wall. He had realized that even peak powerhouses could easily fall, and he did not want to die.

    Suddenly, amotion broke out down below. Chen Le looked over and frowned. Lu Yin still had not arrived. Meanwhile, Cang Bi had created a stir.

    Cang Bi was a Semi-Monarch and a member of the Mo Courtyard. However, it was also time for him to serve a term on the Endless Frontier.

    Most of the people who had gathered beneath the rainbow wall were ordinary cultivators, with a few Attendants among them. Cang Bi was the only Semi-Monarch present, and this naturally caused all the others to admire the man.

    Even the cultivators who were acting as escorts to the Endless Frontier quickly stepped forward and offered Cang Bi a bow.

    These escorts had no privileges or special rights. They were nothing more than guides. If Cang Bi became upset with them, he would suffer no consequences for eliminating an offensive escort. In the worst case scenario, a few more escorts would be sent.

    There were too many people who wanted to serve as escorts, as it was a much better assignment than fighting on the Endless Frontier.

    Cang Bi looked rather depressed, even when surrounded by cultivators bowing to him and admiring his strength. His mood was not improving at all.

    It was time for him to serve on the Endless Frontier again, even though it felt like he had only recently been there.

    He would never forget hisst term on the Endless Frontier. He simply hoped that he would again be able to return alive.

    The weak cultivators envied the Semi-Monarch, but he envied them as well.

    When a powerhouse stepped onto the battlefield, they would face enemies at the same level, and weaker cultivators would simrly face those at the same realm of strength as them. This meant that weaker cultivators had a higher chance of survival. Of course, this was nothing more than Cang Bis own thoughts.

    "Which parallel universe are you all representing?" Cang Bi asked. Since there was no avoiding the fact that he had to serve on the Endless Frontier, it was best to choose a safer universe.

    Each time escorts arrived to lead people to the Endless Frontier, they would be from different parallel universes, and there was no way to control which universes would be represented. It was entirely up to luck.

    "This humble one represents the Majestic Universe," someone answered.

    "This humble one represents the Flow Universe."

    "This humble one represents the Sky Spider Universe."

    "This humble one represents the Lilliput Universe."

    "This humble one represents the Big Stone Universe."

    There were five escorts present, representing five of the parallel universes that made up the Endless Frontier.

    Cang Bi nced at the escorts. He had heard of the Majestic Universe. Typically, that universe did not have any fights between powerhouses.

    He had also heard of the Big Stone Universe and the Sky Spider Universe before. Rumors imed that there were powerful sky spiders in that universe, and the Aeternals fought against the spiders more than humanity in that universe.

    Unfortunately, the sky spiders also fought against humans, and they were very difficult opponents.

    Lilliput Universe? There did not seem to be any powerful enemies in that ce, which made it an appealing destination for Cang Bi.

    As for the Big Stone Universe, the Semi-Monarch would not go there even if he was beaten to death. He had heard that a peak powerhouse had once died in the Big Stone Universe, and it was important to never visit such a universe.

    The Semi-Monarch was ready to make his decision.

    At this moment, someone approached from the distance, though they arrived almost instantly.

    This person was none other than Lu Yin.

    It was the third day since he had spoken to Chu Jian, which meant that it was time to go to the Endless Frontier.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived, he looked straight at Cang Bi. "Are you taking me to the Endless Frontier?"

    He did not know what procedures were followed to get to the Endless Frontier and had only been told to meet at this location in the Three Monarchs Universe. And here, Cang Bi was the most powerful person present at the meeting point.

    Cang Bi frowned. This person did not seem to have any monarch essence at all. "Who are you? You are not from our Three Monarchs Universe, are you?"

    Lu Yin was familiar with Cang Bi, as the man was an old acquaintance. Cang Bi was also the only Semi-Monarch present, which meant that he should be the one leading them to the Endless Frontier.

    "No," Lu Yin confirmed.

    Cang Bi was surprised. "Then where are you from?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "I asked you, are you taking me to the Endless Frontier?"

    "How dare you be so rude to Master Cang Bi!" Someone jumped forward in an effort to suck up to the Semi-Monarch. Many others did the same, and they all scolded Lu Yin. They were headed to the Endless Frontier, and they all wanted to try to gain the goodwill of a powerhouse in order to be a bit safer on the battlefield. As a Semi-Monarch, Cang Bi was the person that everyone wanted to rely on.

    Cang Bi gave Lu Yin a cold re. "How uncouth.

    "Send him to Big Stone Universe. He can learn how to behave properly there."

    One of the representatives behind Cang Be respectfully agreed, "Yes, Lord Cang Bi."

    Cang Bi held his head high. This was well within his authority. He was a Semi-Monarch powerhouse in the Three Monarchs Universe. Aside from the Three Monarchs themselves or Lord Chen Le, who could ignore his words?

    <em>This brat dares offend me, and while I cant do anything to him because hes being sent to the Endless Frontier, I can at least ensure that he will never return.</em>

    Lu Yin was convinced. Big Stone Universe? Apparently Cang Bi really was the one who would lead the way.

    The Endless Frontier consisted of sixty-two parallel universes, and Cang Bi had just said that Lu Yin would be sent to Big Stone Universe. That universe should be a rather dangerous portion of the battlefield. Did this mean that it was possible to choose which parallel universe you were sent to?

    Thinking of this, Lu Yin approached Cang Bi, but as soon as he started moving, two people blocked his path, yelling, "Boy, get back! Lord Cang Bi doesn''t want to see you."

    Another person spoke up as well. "If you don''t want to die right away, step back and dont bother Lord Cang Bi."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2737: The Unlucky Cang Bi

    <h4>Chapter 2737: The Unlucky Cang Bi</h4>

    Lu Yin ignored the two people and took another step forward, instantly appearing right before Cang Bi.

    The two people were confused; where had the brat gone?

    No one in the crowd reacted at all, and even Cang Bi stared nkly at Lu Yin, who had suddenly appeared in front of him. The Semi-Monarch reflexively took a step back, and then cautiously said, "You..."

    Cang Bi was no fool. He had managed to cultivate to the Semi-Monarch level and had naturally faced death many times. However, once he had be a Semi-Monarch, he had started to rx a bit, but the moment that Lu Yin moved with a speed that he couldn¡¯t even perceive, Cang Bi felt his tension.

    This person was clearly not simple.

    "Who are you?" Cang Bi asked.

    Everyone in the crowd looked over at the Semi-Monarch, and as they did so, their expressions changed drastically. When had that person moved in front of Lord Cang Bi? This was clearly not good, as it indicated that this stranger was a true powerhouse.

    The two people who had yelled at Lu Yin felt their legs suddenly grow weak as they stared at him in terror.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at Cang Bi. "It seems I need to ask the same question three times. For thest time, are you taking me to the Endless Frontier?"

    Cang Bi suddenly realized something and eximed, "Are you the Origin Universe¡¯s Lu Yin?"

    The others were startled by this question, and they stared at Lu Yin in shock. Someone from the Origin Universe?

    Most people had not heard of Lu Yin''s name, but a few had. Those who had heard of his name knew that Lu Yin was being punished by the Great Sovereign himself and that he was being sent to the Endless Frontier.

    Was this Lu Yin?

    Regardless of the young man¡¯s cultivation, he was being punished by the Great Sovereign himself. Just how many people in the entire Sixverse Association qualified to be known and directly punished by the Great Sovereign? It was a status that exceeded what most people could even imagine.

    Cang Bi was one of the people who was aware that Lu Yin was being punished along with Monarch Luo. Their crime was instigating a war between two parallel universes.

    Lu Yin was someone who could stand up to Monarch Luo.

    Lu Yin¡¯s cold eyes bored into Cang Bi. A hand rose up, and dropped onto the Semi-Monarch¡¯s shoulder. Cang Bi wanted to avoid it, but despite Lu Yin¡¯s deliberately slow movements, Cang Bi found it impossible to move away as he watched the hand fall. Suddenly, he was assaulted by a heart-wrenching pain as a cracking sound rang out from his shoulder.

    Cang Bi¡¯s face turned pale, and he struggled to pull away, but it felt as though his shoulder had been frozen within the void, and the pain simply intensified.

    The Semi-Monarch had no thoughts of attack or retaliation. Lu Yin was out of Cang Bi¡¯s league, which meant that his only option was to beg for mercy. "Lu- Dao Monarch Lu, I was blind and did not recognize Dao Monarch Lu. Please forgive this small Cang Bi! Please, Dao Monarch Lu, I was merely surprised.¡±

    The nearby people all slowly retreated, fear covering their faces.

    Cang Bi, a powerful Semi-Monarch,pletelycked the strength to resist.

    Lu Yin squeezed Cang Bi''s shoulder. "It looks like you want me to ask you a fourth time."

    Cang Bi reacted instantly, quickly replying, "No! This lowly one will not be leading you, but these people will. They are our escorts to the Endless Frontier."

    As the man spoke, he looked at the five escorts, beads of sweat streaming from his forehead. "Quickly, give Dao Monarch Luo an exnation."

    The escorts were stunned, but at Cang Bi¡¯s prompting, they quickly repeated their previous introductions.

    Lu Yin finally released Cang Bi¡¯s shoulder.

    The man instinctively wanted to flee, but he was also required to report to the Endless Frontier. How could he escape? Where could he go to?

    From atop the rainbow wall, Chen Le watched on in silence. <i>He really did show up in the end. I hope he dies on the Endless Frontier!</i>

    After hearing the escorts¡¯ introductions, Lu Yin looked over at Cang Bi. "Break it down for me."

    Cang Bi did not dare hesitate, and he quickly offered Lu Yin his understanding of the five universes.

    It was only then that Lu Yin learned that the sixty-two parallel universes of the Endless Frontier were not all equally dangerous. ording to Cang Bi, if the universe had never been heard of, then it should be avoided, as it was impossible to determine if the ce was dangerous or not. The Big Stone Universe in particr had to be absolutely avoided, as even peak powerhouses had died in that universe, and it was impossible to determine just how dangerous it was. In the end, Cang Bi felt that only the options of the Majestic Universe and the Lilliput Universe were good.

    "These two universes are perfectly average, and I¡¯ve never heard of any major battles being fought in either of them. Peak powerhouses hardly ever visit them, and if you remain in either one of them for the duration of your service on the Endless Frontier, then given Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s cultivation, you will not encounter much danger. It might even be possible to trigger a green light for the universe, which means that the universe has been purged of all Aeternal forces," Cang Bi exined in a respectful tone before wiping the sweat from his forehead. Lu Yin was so unreasonable that Cang Bi had nearly been crippled right before heading to the Endless Frontier!

    "The only real disadvantage to these kinds of universes is that it is very difficult to aplish any deeds of note, as theyck powerful enemies."

    Lu Yin asked, "How long is my term on the Endless Frontier?"

    "Ten years," Cang Bi replied.

    Lu Yin frowned. Ten years was too long. It was not an amount of time that mattered to his identity as Lu Yin, but Xuan Qi could not remain in seclusion for so long.

    It was indeed perfectly normal for cultivators to remain in seclusion for much longer lengths of time, but Lu Yin was worried that something might happen.

    Most people could not expose or capture spies, and if some information popped up regarding an important spy, it was very possible that Xu Wuji would disturb Xuan Qi¡¯s secluded training.

    Cang Bi seemed to interpret Lu Yin¡¯s reaction as confusion and said, "Truthfully, choosing an escort is just a way to get to the Endless Frontier. No matter which parallel universe you arrive in, if you don''t want to stay there, then you can continue on to another universe through the portals. There are no orders that you must remain in a specific universe, and if you want to achieve something of note, then you can use the portals to travel between universes."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That sounds good."

    Cang Bi sneered internally. <i>Sounds good? Wrong! So very, very wrong.</i>

    While not lying, Cang Bi was deliberately deceiving Lu Yin. While it was technically possible to travel between the sixty-two universes, no one would ever consider actually trying to do so. It was true that the parallel universes were all connected through spatial passages, but because the Endless Frontier was the main battlefield for the war between humanity and Aeternus, both sides were constantly trying to fight for control of those portals, and they would seize control of them wherever possible.

    Essentially, the portals connecting the parallel universes were the most dangerous locations on the Endless Frontier. Anytime someone crossed through a portal, they would most likely encounter powerful enemies as soon as they reached the other side.

    Cang Bi was hoping that Lu Yin would run into an incredibly powerful corpse king as he tried to cross between universes, as it would be best if Lu Yin was killed.

    Chen Le overheard Cang Bi, and the Monarch¡¯s expression changed. Cang Bi was quite cunning, casually mentioning the possibility of moving about the universes that made up the Endless Frontier. It was very likely that attempting to do so would cause Lu Yin to meet a powerful enemy and an early demise.

    Chen Le also hoped that Lu Yin would run into an extremely powerful corpse king.

    Everyone who had served on the Endless Frontier knew better than to try to move between parallel universes, but while it was something that was avoided, there were no rules against it, and nothing was openly mentioned about it. Thus, it made sense that Lu Yin was ignorant to the fact that he was receiving bad advice.

    However, the fact that Lu Yin was ignorant did not matter to him, as he would just find a knowledgeable guide.

    He looked at Cang Bi. "You¡¯re pretty strong. Go to the Big Stone Universe and serve mankind well."

    Cang Bi''s face changed drastically, and he started begging. "Dao Monarch Lu, how can this lowly one go to the Big Stone Universe? That universe is a battlefield for peak powerhouses! Dao Monarch Lu, this- this-"

    Lu Yin raised his hand again and set it on Cang Bi''s shoulder.

    The Semi-Monarch trembled as he stared at Lu Yin in fear.

    All of the escorts¡¯ expressions grew strange. Cang Bi had first relied on his superior strength to order someone else to the Big Stone Universe, only to be ordered to go there himself. The man really had no luck at all.

    "You don''t want to go to the Big Stone Universe?" Lu Yin asked with a smile.

    Cang Bi just stared at Lu Yin nkly for a moment before shaking his head firmly.

    Lu Yin hummed. "Thene with me."

    Cang Bi was stunned.

    Up above, Chen Le was left confused.

    No one had expected such a thing from Lu Yin.

    The people in the nearby crowd stared, speechless, but also ovee with envy. Were two powerful experts really going to cooperate on the Endless Frontier?

    Cang Bi was slow to respond. "Dao Monarch Lu, you- you want this lowly one to go with you?"

    "That¡¯s right. This isn¡¯t your first time serving on the Endless Frontier, so be my guide. I¡¯m really not familiar with that ce at all."

    Cang Bi quickly refused, "Dao Monarch Lu, our Monarch Luo and you do not have a very amiable rtionship, and thus I don¡¯t dare follow you."

    Lu Yin patted Cang Bi¡¯s shoulder. "I have an excellent rtionship with Luo Shan¡ªdon¡¯t be deceived by appearances. Alright, it¡¯s decided! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect you while we¡¯re on the Endless Frontier."

    Cang Bi was truly ready to weep. He did not want to be protected. He just wanted to stay as far away from Lu Yin as possible. "Dao Monarch Lu, I-"

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly red, and an indescribable power fell upon the area, focused entirely on Cang Bi.

    This was the strength that allowed Lu Yin to face Progenitors. Years ago, he had already been able to fight against Semi-Progenitors, and he had since moved on to fighting against Progenitors, and even insulting the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. How could Cang Bi endure such power?

    As the pressure fell, Cang Bi''s heart trembled, and he was ovee with a sense of despair.

    "It¡¯s decided."

    Cang Bi heard those words again, and this time, he knew that there was no way for him to refuse.

    Everyone else lowered their heads. None dared to look at Lu Yin.

    Even Chen Le was put on edge, high up on the rainbow wall as he was. He had felt his heart start to race. Clearly, Lu Yin must have already killed a peak powerhouse!

    The pressurested less than a moment before it disappeared, but Lu Yin made it a point to nce up and look at Chen Le.

    The Monarch silently looked back at Lu Yin.

    Neither spoke a word.

    Soon the escorts to the Endless Frontier spoke up, "Everyone, it is time. Three people have not arrived within the allotted time, so they will be investigated by specialized personnel. If they deliberately avoideding here, they will be killed without mercy. Now is the time for you to choose which parallel universe you will go to.¡±

    "There are thirty-nine people present, and there are five universes represented. At least seven people must go to each parallel universe, so please make your choice now."

    Everyone warily nced at each other, looking all around. No one wanted to go to the Big Stone Universe, but seven people would have to go there. This was going to be a fight.

    At this moment, the cruelty of the Endless Frontier could already be seen.

    Lu Yin set his hand on Cang Bi''s shoulder. "Make your choice. Where do we go?"

    Everyone watched the two men, knowing that none couldpete with the two.

    Cang Bi thought for a moment. "Let''s go to Lilliput Universe."

    The Semi-Monarch had heard of both the Majestic Universe and the Lilliput Universe, but had never visited either one. Still, judging by just the names, it sounded like the Lilliput Universe might be the safer choice.

    One of the escorts stepped forward. "Dao Monarch Lu, Lord Cang Bi, please follow me to the Lilliput Universe."

    Cang Bi''s expression finally perked up, as he was at least not being sent to the Big Stone Universe. That universe was a battlefield for peak powerhouses, and the higher one¡¯s cultivation, the more dangerous such a battlefield became.

    "Let''s go," Cang Bi said.

    The escort replied, "We still need five more people."

    "Take us first," Cang Bi rudely demanded, wanting to leave early. He felt that everyone here wasughing at him.

    The escort was put in a difficult position, as he really did not want to make the trip twice. While the Lilliput Universe was not particrly dangerous, every time a person entered a universe, they would end up in a random location within a certain range of the coordinate seal, and there was no way to be certain that it would be a safe location, though of course he was required to take the risk once.

    Lu Yin nced around. "You, you, you, you, and you¡ªyou¡¯reing with us to the Lilliput Universe."

    The people that he had called out were all people who had never insulted Lu Yin, or who had even shown pity on him when he first arrived. Given Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, he had naturally been able to see everyone¡¯s reactions the entire time.

    The people were thrilled at their luck. "Thank you very much, Dao Monarch Lu."

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    The escort also heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    The void was torn apart, and Lu Yin and six others vanished.

    The moment they left, the remaining people started to fight amongst themselves for the other universes, though they could not help but feel relieved that Lu Yin and Cang Bi were already gone.

    ...

 Chapter 2738: Lilliput Universe

    Chapter 2738: Lilliput Universe

    A figure stalked through the undergrowth, trampling over the trees and nts. They were clearly just a bit more than a meter tall, and yet they looked like a giant due to the size of the trees and nts.

    This was a strange ce where the trees were the height of grass, which made ordinary people appear like giants.

    The figure stopped from time to time, as though searching for something. After some time, the figure turned and headed in a particr direction.

    Right in front of the figure was a tiny form that was hiding in a round bush. The tiny individual saw the figure heading in a different direction and let out a sigh of relief.

    Suddenly, a slitted, scarlet eye appeared in front of the tiny individual, and it stared straight at him.

    The tiny individual was badly startled, and he fell back, emerging from the bush.

    He looked no different from any other human, but he was only the size of a normal persons palm.

    And the figure that had been stomping through the trees was naturally a corpse king.

    The corpse king stared down at the palm-sized person and reached out to grab him.

    The hand-sized man shrieked, pulled out a small bow, and fired an arrow.

    Despite the mans diminutive size, his arrow was far from weak. The attack easily pierced through the corpse kings hand, drawing blood.

    However, the single arrow seemed to consume all of the small persons strength, and he was no longer able to flee.

    The corpse king reached out, grabbed the small man, and squeezed.

    There was a soft pop, and blood dripped to the ground.

    The corpse king opened its hand, looking at the shattered body.

    The monster wiped its hand on the ground and then continued on its way.

    This was the Lilliput Universe, a part of the Endless Frontiers.

    The void split open, and several people fell out. They were Lu Yin and hispanions.

    Lu Yin looked around in surprise. What was this?

    They had appeared in a city that had clearly been abandoned for a very long time.

    It was far from umon to encounter abandoned cities in the Endless Frontier. Even so, this particr citys buildings were quite odd. Most of them were only waist-high, and even the tallest were only ten meters tall. The doors, windows, and even thendscaping were also shrunken down to a much smaller size.

    Their escort saw their location and heaved a sigh of relief. "How lucky! We didnt end up in the middle of a battlefield.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, Lord Cang Bi, this is the Lilliput Universe. The natives of this universe are only asrge as your palm, which is why the buildings here look like this. This lowly one haspleted the mission, and I will return now.

    "If you need anything, sirs, just speak with the locals. It is very easy to distinguish friend from foe on the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin asked, "How are military achievements recorded?"

    The man replied, "That is also the responsibility of each individual parallel universe. They are required to verify each aplishment, based on their own intelligence gathering abilities."

    Cang Bi added, "There are simply too many people joining the Endless Frontier every single day, which makes it impossible for all of them to receive an ID card, as well as unnecessary. This ce is a battleground, and for most people, just surviving is aplishment enough, and they dont even consider trying to achieve anything on the battlefield.

    "Military achievements are simply unattainable for most people, and those who pursue such things are not the averagebatant, which makes them easy to distinguish."

    Lu Yin understood. Rather than saying that the Endless Frontier was a battlefield, it was more urate to call it a meat grinder.

    It was not actually a battlefield, but a ughterhouse.

    With that, the escort left.

    The others all looked at Lu Yin, clearly wanting him to take the lead.

    Of course, Lu Yin could not take these people with him. It was already very lucky for them that he had brought them to the Lilliput Universe.

    He first released his domain, as Lu Yin searched for the natives.

    After finding one, he grabbed Cang Bi and they both instantly disappeared.

    Far away, several people were fighting against a corpse king on a meteorite in space. One of the people was an ordinary human, and they had already fallen to the ground, seriously injured.

    The corpse king waved an arm, deflecting arrows before attacking and shattering one of its opponents bodies into pieces. In an instant, there were only two small figures still moving around. They stood next to the fallen man, staring at the corpse king. Fear and determination warred in the eyes of a small person, but he still raised his bow, holding an arrow in a firm grasp, despite his trembling arms.

    The corpse king slowly walked forward, a hand stretched out.

    Two arrows flew through the air, only to be easily deflected by the corpse king.

    At this moment, a gust of wind blew through the void. It was ck and easily visible.

    A powerful wind sweeping through outer space was certainly not a normal phenomena.

    As the ck wind swept by, the corpse kings upper body vanished, instantly andpletely destroyed. All that remained was the lower half of the creatures body.

    The man lying on the ground breathed a sigh of relief.

    As for the two hand-sized people, they copsed onto the ground next to the man.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin and Cang Bi arrived, and they were instantly noticed by the three people on the meteorite.

    The man who had fallen to the ground became ecstatic as soon as he saw that the two men did not have scarlet eyes. "Are you here to help?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Though it doesnt look like were needed anymore. What was that ck wind? Is iting back?"

    He looked at the two palm-sized people.

    The man struggled to get to his feet, but he did not manage to do anything more than cough up blood. He was barely able to make any sound at all. "Have them exin."

    One of the tiny people rose into the sky while looking at Lu Yin and Cang Bi. "Thank you foring to help. We are natives of this Lilliput Universe. My name is Tuo Mu."

    The other one said, "My name is Tuo Qu."

    "That ck wind is the unique gravity wind of our Lilliput Universe. If a person isnt strong enough, their body will disintegrate when it is struck by the ck wind," Tuo Mu exined.

    Tou Qu added, "That''s why our bodies are so small. We are perfectly normal-sized people here."

    "Its great that you came. How many people came with you this time?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Six."

    Tuo Qu wailed, "Six? So few?"

    Cang Bi asked, "Whats the current situation in this universe?"

    Tuo Mu answered in a bitter tone, "We can''t defeat the Aeternals. In the past, the corpse kings didnt have any advantage in our universe, but theyve captured two of our elders and transformed them into corpse kings. After that, we started being beaten back and forced to retreat. Greentea is the intelligence center of this universe, and if that is captured, well lose all contact with the Sixverse Association. If that happens, our universe will be gged red."

    Tuo Qu said, "Forget about that! If the Sixverse Association has sent people to reinforce us, then well at least be able to fight back. If that doesnt happen, our people may go extinct."

    Cang Bi''s expression turned ugly. Why had they encountered such a serious situation the moment they arrived on the Endless Frontier?

    The man on the ground forced himself to speak up, "Nothing can happen to Greentea, nor to the spatial portal. If either of those things are damaged, the Sixverse Association will lose this universe entirely.

    "Did- did any Ascendantse with you? Only- only an Ascendant would be strong enough to deal with the forces Aeternus that has sent here."

    Lu Yin asked, "Are you from the Cyclic Universe?"

    Cang Bi replied, "In order to make things easier for everyone, the entire Endless Frontier uses the Cyclic Universes terms for cultivators. Ascendant is what the Cyclic Universe calls our Three Monarchs Universes Semi-Monarchs."

    The man on the ground continued to look up at Lu Yin and Cang Bi.

    Lu Yin said, "Don''t worry, theres an Ascendant with us."

    Cang Bi thought to himself, <em>Not only is there an Ascendant, the person in front of you dares to openly insult Sage Yuan! Hes probablyparable to a peak powerhouse</em>.

    "Thats- that''s good. Hurry, and go- go help Greentea." The man on the ground released a sigh of relief. He rxed andid back down on the ground. His bleeding showed no sign of stopping at all.

    Lu Yin took out an Enhanced pill and offered it to the man.

    The man shook his head. "Its no use. My- my life is already gone. Theres no way to save me, but thank you."

    The meteorite continued to fly through space. Tuo Mu and Tuo Qu stood next to the man, sadly watching as he died.

    While sad, this was all toomon an urrence. After all, this entire universe was part of a battlefield.

    "Let''s go. Show us the way to Greentea. This man is an Ascendant, and he can help," Lu Yin said as he pointed at Cang Bi.

    Tuo Mu and Tuo Qu looked at Cang Bi in shock. "Really? Youre an Ascendant?"

    Cang Bi nced at Lu Yin, but he still nodded. "Yes."

    "Then let''s go, hurry!" The small two men anxiously indicated the direction and then led Lu Yin and Cang Bi along.

    The Lilliput Universe was not small, so despite being a Semi-Monarch, Cang Bi took some time to reach their destination. They also ran into many active battlefields along their way.

    But Tuo Mu and Tuo Qu never stopped, as Greentea was much more important.

    Lu Yin observed the two tiny men. He had seen such people before, as they were the same as the little fairies who had yed beneath He Rans stairs. When Lu Yin had first seen such tiny people, he had been quite surprised. He had never thought that they would be natives of the Lilliput Universe.

    This universe would have most likely remained a peaceful ce if it had not been found by the Aeternals and the Sixverse Association. However, after those two massive powers discovered a universe, the ce would have no choice but to be annexed into the Endless Frontier.

    Unless one of the two sides fighting the war waspletely defeated, these parallel universes would always be a battlefield.

    Lu Yin understood that it had been the right decision to thwart Sovereign Shao Yin''s n for the Origin Universe, regardless of the cost.

    Lu Yin might not be able to help others, but the Origin Universe could not be part of the Endless Frontier.

    "Did the Aeternals or the Sixverse Association find this universe first?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Tuo Mu and Tuo Qu were caught off guard, and they had no idea what the answer to his question was.

    Cang Bi whispered, "This universe was first found by the Aeternals, and the Sixverse Association followed them here. Without the Sixverse Association, this universe would have been conquered by Aeternus long ago."

    Lu Yin understood. No wonder the little men were so happy to see reinforcements. If the Sixverse Association had conquered the universe first, much like what had happened to the Cloudflow Universe and then added it to the Endless Frontier, the natives would hate the Sixverse Association nearly as much as the Aeternals.

    Of the sixty-two parallel universes, Lu Yin had no idea how many were in a simr situation.

    ***

    Far away, a ck wind swept through outer space. It looked like a dark cloud settling over a city as it moved, and it was terrifying to look at.

    Just beneath the ck wind was a series ofs that continued into the distance.

    Battles were being fought on each of thoses at this moment.

    Corpse king, Lilliputians, and normal humans were all fighting.

    On a at the center, arrows fired out from both sides of the battlefield, and each impact warped the void and caused spatial tears to spread out.

    Fighting filled the entire region.

    Corpse kings were falling one after another as they fought against the normal humans and the tiny Lilliputians.

    An inverted towery in the distance. It was upside down, as though the earth was actually the sky.

    Beneath the tower were countless tiny people, all charging forward while gritting their teeth. They looked like they were racing to their deaths.

    "Hurry! Protect Greentea! The people there won''t be able to hold out any longer!"

    "The fifth has been destroyed. The expert from the Voidforce Universe is dead."

    "Have any reinforcements arrived?"

    "Cultivators have arrived, but the closest are at the second spatial portal, and there are no Ascendants among them. They need at least two days to get here."

    There was a bang as a wall shattered.

    The arrow pierced the tower, shot through the ground, and then continued on through the ck wind overhead. Once the arrow entered the ck wind, it broke apart, and the shattered fragments fell down in a rain of death.

    Countless Lilliputians were caught up in the attack, crushed to a pulp.

    The ground was stained red.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2739: Taking Action

    <h4>Chapter 2739: Taking Action</h4>

    Inside the tower, a stunningly beautiful woman rushed over and stared off into the distance. "Great Elder!"

    Far away, people with the strength of Semi-Progenitors were fighting relentlessly. One side was from Aeternus, while the other was a native of the Lilliput Universe. He was their great elder.

    "Retreat! Greentea can''tst any longer! Leave through the second portal!" the great elder shouted, his back to the woman.

    The woman''s eyes filled with tears. "Great Elder, this is our home!"

    "If we don¡¯t leave now, it will be toote. The second elder has already been transformed into a corpse king and can use Aeternus¡¯s battle techniques. I can''t do anything to stop him anymore. At best, I can only stall him for half an hour. Flee now! Join the humans and make your way to the Sixverse Association."

    In front of the great elder, a pair of scarlet eyes stared at him. They belonged to someone who had once been the second elder, but they had since be one of the Aeternals¡¯ Semi-Progenitor level experts. "You can''t escape."

    "Ling Shi, do you really want to eliminate the Lilliputians?" the great elder roared.

    Ling Shi spread his arms wide, and from behind him, all the Lilliputians who had been transformed into corpse kings released their hands. A thick rain of arrows was loosed, shattering the void as they swept through the sky. Corpse kings, humans, and Lilliputians all swept away by the rain of arrows.

    "The Aeternals are the only race that can live forever. What''s wrong with joining them? Ling Neng, you are simply too stubborn."

    As soon as the corpse king finished speaking, the ck wind overhead was pulled downwards by an arrow, like an inverted cyclone.

    In front of Ling Shi, Ling Neng gritted his teeth and also pulled on the gravity wind.

    Around the two small figures, cultivators from different universes of the Sixverse Association retreated one after another. Not only did they have to protect themselves from the Aeternals, but they also needed to be on guard against the ck gravity wind. The twin dangers had caused the entire battlefield to be littered with corpses.

    The gravity wind that covered Greentea seemed to flip the upside down as two inverted tornadoes drew everyone''s attention. Both humans and Aeternals fell back, none daring to get close to the center of the battlefield.

    Ling Neng¡¯s arm shook. He had already suffered a grievous injury, which made it difficult for him to fight against Ling Shi, let alone use such a draining and difficult technique.

    "Qiqi, leave now! Listen to me¡ªI cannot block this next arrow. It will definitely kill me, but that does not mean that Ling Shi can use this attack easily. I will endure as long as possible, so hurry up and escape now," Ling Neng softly urged the woman in the tower.

    Light was constantly flickering about her hands as she tried to offer some of her energy to Ling Neng, but she was much weaker than the great elder, and it was impossible for her efforts to have any effect at all.

    When she heard his orders, the woman could only wipe her tears away as resolve firmed upon her face. "I understand, Great Elder. Be careful!"

    She then immediately turned around and headed back inside the tower. All of the Lilliputians near the battlefield received their own orders, and they flooded towards the tower. All of them escaped into the tower, and their reinforcements from the Sixverse Association did the same.

    There were only a few hundred reinforcements from the Sixverse Association active on the battlefield. There had been more, but all the others had died long ago.

    On the Endless Frontier, the Sixverse Association was one of the two dominant forces, but because they had to split their forces between the sixty-two parallel universes, the Sixverse Association only took directmand in the universes that were hostile to them. In all the others, the natives acted as themanders, directing the cultivators from the Sixverse Association. This was why the reinforcements all listened to the small people.

    Even so, the Sixverse Association sent countless cultivators to reinforce the various parallel universes across the Endless Frontier. It was simply that too many had died during this particr battle.

    People did not want to die, but during this battle, their only options were to either surrender to Aeternus, or fight to the death against the corpse kings. There was no escape.

    Anyone who fled from the Endless Frontier would suffer a truly miserable fate as soon as their actions were discovered, and the Sixverse Association would always discover any such deserters.

    All of the Lilliputians and their reinforcements from the Sixverse Association retreated into the tower.

    Ling Shi looked upwards. "It seems that you can''t endure any longer. Are you going to send the queen away for them? Then..."

    Overhead, a figure slowly descended from the gravity wind, and its appearance caused the scarlet-eyed elder''s scalp to go numb and his face to turn pale. He understood very well what it meant for this corpse king to emerge from the gravity wind¡ªthis corpse king possessed an unimaginably powerful body.

    Throughout the entire history of the Lilliput Universe, never once had anyone been capable of surviving within the gravity wind.

    Inside the tower, the woman was also staring nkly at the corpse king which had appeared high in the sky. <i>How is this happening? Are we Lilliputians really going to be destroyed today?</i>

    She was aware that a simrly powerful corpse king had been destroyed in their universe before, but at a very steep price, one of which had been the great elder¡¯s current injuries. After that, Ling Shi had appeared on the battlefield, and with his knowledge of his former race, he had led the Aeternals all the way to Greentea. Now, in addition to Ling Shi, another incredibly powerful corpse king had appeared.

    Even if the Sixverse Association sent two Ascendants as reinforcements, they would not be able to stop the powerhouses sent to destroy the Lilliput Universe!

    There was no longer any escape.

    In one corner of the battlefield, two people escaped into the shadows at the same time, ncing at each other in surprise.

    "You also want to escape?" one of the two asked softly, not daring to draw anyone else¡¯s attention.

    The other person replied, "Of course I want to escape! What? Should I wait here to die?"

    "What about those reinforcements who just arrived??"

    "If I¡¯m going to die anyways, what is there to fear?"

    "Then let''s go. These people are all going to die."

    No one cared about the two cultivators at this moment. Everyone was nervously looking at the slowly descending corpse king, the shadow of deathpletely shrouding them.

    Then, the spiritual energy and spiritual energy arrows were released at the same time.

    The two arrows pulling at the gravity wind shot towards each other, tearing away the ck gravity wind overhead as they crashed into each other.

    The sky trembled, and Greentea itself cracked as massive tears appeared in the void, spreading into the distance.

    The power of the sh between two Semi-Progenitor-level experts terrified countless people.

    As long as a peak powerhouse was not present, cultivators at the Semi-Progenitor level were practically invincible.

    How many peak powerhouses were there in the entire Sixverse Association? Those with the strength of Semi-Progenitors were generally regarded as powerful enough to change the flow of a battle even on the Endless Frontier.

    Two arrows mmed into each other in the sky. With the added power of the gravity wind, the impact created a visible shockwave that rippled out in every direction. The ground shattered as the shockwave passed by, and it kicked up a wind that swept across the entire battlefield, tearing many corpse kings in the sky into shreds as blood rained down.

    An entireyer of the surface of the was stripped away, and a number of nearbys werepletely shattered.

    The spatial fractures spread out like a spider web.

    Finally, one of the two arrows shattered, and the other shot towards Ling Neng.

    The old man saw the arrow approaching, but he knew that it was impossible to avoid it. This was truly his limit.

    In the tower, the woman screamed, "Great Elder¨C!"

    The old man¡¯s heart droppedpletely. This was really the end. He had never thought that he would end up dying to an arrow from another member of his race.

    The arrow roared through the air, only to shatter the moment it was about to pierce Ling Neng¡¯s head.

    The great elder felt confused; why had the arrow shattered?

    Across from Ling Neng, Ling Shi was simrly confused. His arrow should have killed Ling Shi, so why had it shattered?

    At this same time, the corpse king who had startled the entire battlefield by emerging from the gravity wind fell to the ground. Two little people and tworger humans appeared from behind where that corpse king had been standing in the sky. It was Lu Yin and the others.

    Everyone had been distracted by the sh between Ling Neng and Ling Shi, so they had not noticed the arrival of the four people. Upon seeing the neers, everyone on the battlefield was stunned.

    Within the Lilliput Universe, the gravity wind was an unstoppable astral phenomena. In fact, this ck wind was the reason why the natives of this universe had such small sizes. Over countless years, they had shrunk down from a normal height to only being the size of a person¡¯s palm, just so that they could avoid the gravity wind. However, ordinary sized people could easily be destroyed by the gravity wind when they arrived in the Lilliput Universe.

    The sight of a corpse king that was able to move about within the gravity wind had startled the people on the battlefield as much as the arrival of someone with the strength of a Progenitor.

    However, how had such a powerhouse been killed so silently?

    Lu Yin lifted a foot and stepped past the fallen corpse king. He had to admit that this particr corpse king had possessed an impressive level of physical strength, and he had needed to exert a good deal of effort to deal with it. Even so, it waspletely iparable to the corpse king that had ambushed him in the Sixth Maind.

    Cang Bi looked across the battlefield, particrly noting Ling Neng¡¯s condition, which scared the Semi-Monarch a bit. This was the Endless Frontier, and despite the small old man clearly being an expert equal to Cang Bi, he had been pushed to his limits and would have died if Lu Yin had arrived even a single momentter.

    Cang Bi was thrilled that Lu Yin had apanied him to the Lilliput Universe, as if Cang Bi hade alone, he would have been absolutely no match for the corpse king and the transformed expert from the Lilliput Universe. This would have most likely been the end of Cang Bi.

    "Alright, let''s clean this up!" Lu Yin suddenly shouted as he stared at Ling Shi.

    Ling Shi raised a hand and shot out another arrow. His strength was equal to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s, which meant that he could instantly destroy someone as strong as an Envoy. Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation was clearly inferior to Ling Shi¡¯s, and therefore, he should not be the elder¡¯s match. However, Ling Shi fled the moment he released his arrow.

    He was fully aware of just how powerful the corpse king who had just died must have been. This stranger had managed to defeat that corpse king, which meant that Ling Shi could do nothing against this person.

    Lu Yin reached out and casually grabbed the arrow. He crushed it and then released a palm strike. His Hollow Palm had always been an invisible attack, but after gaining the ability to perceive spatial lines, using them meant that almost no one could evade Lu Yin¡¯s attacks anymore.

    The Hollow Palm mmed into Ling Shi¡¯s back. Nothing had stopped or hindered the attack, and Ling Shi spat out a mouthful of blood. Cracks appeared across his entire body.

    The tiny old man was horrified. He had somehow managed to endure the attack, but at a cost of terrible injuries, and a second attack appeared right after the first, smashing Ling Shi into the ground.

    Lu Yin had only released two Hollow Palms, but this transformed elder from the Lilliput Universe was not particrly powerful for his level, and he was iparable to someone like Xia Ji, let alone the Semi-Progenitors from the Heavens Sect era, such as Lu Buzheng. On the other hand, Lu Yin could fight against Progenitors.

    Two palm strikes were all it took to destroy Ling Shi.

    Ling Neng and others on the battlefield were badly startled, and they stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Had a peak powerhouse arrived?

    The moment that Ling Shi died, the rest of the corpse kings quickly fled from the battlefield.

    "Cang Bi, deal with them," Lu Yin calmly ordered.

    Cang Bi respectfully acknowledged themand, and the power of a Semi-Monarch swept across the battlefield, eliminating all of the corpse kings. Cang Bi¡¯s power meant that dealing with the corpse kings was a simple matter.

    Lu Yin moved towards Ling Neng.

    Tuo Mu and Tuo Qu hurried over to help Ling Neng. "Great Elder, are you alright?"

    Ling Neng waved their question away, but he used their help to stand and face Lu Yin so that he could bow to the neer. "I am Ling Neng, the Lilliputians¡¯ Great Elder. I¡¯m very happy to see you, Senior."

    Lu Yin saw how serious the little man¡¯s injuries were, and he pulled out a pill to give to the man. "I am not your senior."

    Ling Neng gratefully took the pill and swallowed it without asking what it was.

    The pill was huge for his tiny body, and after taking it, his face took on a rosy hue. He let out a murky breath and thanked Lu Yin again. "If you hadn''t arrived in time, my Lilliputians would have been in grave danger. I didn¡¯t expect any reinforcements from the Sixverse Association, but I¡¯m grateful to receive such a powerful ally.¡±

    A group of people emerged from the distant tower, and they stared across the battlefield.

    Ling Neng turned to them and said, "Why don''t you clean up this battlefield?"

    Everyone rushed out to eliminate any enemy stragglers, only to discover that there was no need. Cang Bi had already used his monarch essence to kill everyst surviving corpse king, and the Semi-Monarch¡¯s strength stunned the people, even Ling Neng. When had the Lilliput Universe ever hosted such powerful cultivators, let alone two of them?

    A small woman stepped out from the crowd and bowed to Lu Yin. "Princess Ling Qi of the Lilliputians thanks you for saving her life."

    "Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives."

    All of the Lilliputians bowed, as did the cultivators from the Sixverse Association. "Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives."

    Lu Yin waved their thanks away. "There¡¯s no need for thanks. This is a battlefield."

 Chapter 2740: Purging A Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2740: Purging A Universe</h4>

    Repairs quickly started on Greentea. The natives and their reinforcements from the Sixverse Association moved out in all directions, working together with people who hade from far away, and they started retaking the Lilliput Universe.

    During that time, Lu Yin learned of the disaster that the universe had faced.

    The Aeternals were truly unlucky. They had taken the time to transform Ling Shi and other natives into corpse kings, which should have allowed them to conquer the entire Lilliput Universe. However, they had failed at thest step because of Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    Half an hour after the fighting ended, the information center on Greentea received a message from the Sixverse association.

    Princess Ling Qi and Great Elder Ling Shi, stared at the message in shock.

    "Is that Lord Lu really so important?" Ling Qi was shocked.

    The message that they had received was a detailed introduction to Lu Yin''s background.

    It was not a mistake that they had received the information sote. It was impossible for the Sixverse Association to inform each parallel universe in the Endless Frontier of the details regarding each person who was sent to fight there. Reinforcements were reinforcements and nothing more. If not for the fact that the Lilliput Universe had been facing a crisis and had requested support repeatedly, the Sixverse Association most likely would not have shared any of Lu Yin''s information with the universe.

    From the information provided, it was impossible to determine the Sixverse Association¡¯s feelings towards Lu Yin, as none of that was passed along to the Endless Frontier.

    "Qiqi, don''t share any of Lord Lu''s information. Don¡¯t give this to anyone," Ling Shi said somberly.

    Ling Qi nodded as she destroyed the information.

    Two dayster, more reinforcements arrived through the second portal. Hundreds of cultivators led by someone as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor arrived though the Endless Frontier. As this ce only used the Cyclic Universe¡¯s terminology, the man was regarded as an Ascendant.

    This Ascendant arrived, only to discover that the war in the Lilliput Universe had already ended. After speaking with Ling Neng and other natives, the Ascendant learned that an expert had already provided assistance. The Ascendant wanted to meet Lu Yin and Cang Bi, but Ling Neng quickly shared Lu Yin''s identity.

    The Ascendant immediately left, as though avoiding a snake or a scorpion.

    Lu Yin was ignorant as to just how infamous he was throughout the Sixverse Association. The fact that he had publicly insulted Sage Yuan had long since be public knowledge, as well as the fact that he was being personally punished by the Great Sovereign himself.

    "Lord Lu!" Ling Qi approached Lu Yin and offered a polite bow.

    Lu Yin calmly asked, "Did that Ascendant already leave?"

    Ling Qi confirmed as she stared at the tall man in front of her with open curiosity. This man''s name alone was enough to scare an Ascendant out of the Lilliput Universe. From the information that Ling Qi had seen, Lu Yin was even capable of facing off against the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, Monarch Luo, and drawing the attention of the Great Sovereign himself. How was he so powerful?

    Lu Yin turned to look at the little princess.

    Ling Qi was staring directly at Lu Yin, so when he turned and caught sight of her, her face flushed bright red, and she immediately ducked her head.

    Lu Yin smiled and sat down before stretching out a hand towards Ling Qi.

    She stared at the hand before her and then looked up at Lu Yin. Her reaction was incredibly cute.

    "You cane up," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Ling Qi looked back down at Lu Yin''s palm. "Is that really alright?"

    Lu Yin nodded, so Ling Qi pursed her lips. She rose up into the air, very carefully wiped her shoes clean, and then cautiously stepped onto Lu Yin''s hand. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with joy.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand so that his eyes were level with Ling Qi¡¯s. "I¡¯ve seen some of your people before."

    "Within the Sixverse Association?" Ling Qi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "There are quite a few of our people in their universes. Where did you see them, Lord Lu?"

    "The Transcendent Universe."

    Ling Qi thought for a moment. "Then that should be Little Wu and the others with her. They love to dance, and theirughter is beautiful to hear."

    Lu Yin thought back to the times when he had visited the ce where He Ran sat atop the staircase. During each visit, he had seen the tiny people happily dancing about and had heard theirughter.

    "Are they able to return here whenever they want?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Qi nodded with a smile. "Of course."

    Ling Qi''s smile allowed Lu Yin to rx a bit.

    He chatted with Ling Qi for a long time, and the diminutive princess gradually rxed and started jumping about on Lu Yin''s hand. She liked him a lot, as he had saved her entire people. On top of that, Lu Yin did not have the aloof attitude that most powerhouses put on.

    All of the powerhouses from the Sixverse Association that Ling Qi had encountered before had been very stern. There had never been one like Lu Yin before.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin frequently visited Ling Qi. Sometimes, Ling Neng would also share information with Lu Yin, which was how he learned that it was possible to travel to the Gemini Universe from the Lilliput Universe. Once all of Aeternus¡¯s forces in a given universe had been eliminated, and once that was verified, a light representing the universe would turn green. A green light indicated the status of a parallel universe on the Endless Frontier at a specific moment. Even if the green light onlysted for a second, it would still count as an achievement.

    If a person could cause three neighboring parallel universes on the battlefield to turn green, it was considered a big enough achievement to excuse them from the Endless Frontier, regardless of the remaining duration of their service.

    This was something that Lu Yin had learned from Cang Bi.

    Lu Yin carefully considered the possibility of clearing three adjoining universes. If all three were the same as the Lilliput Universe, then it would not be too difficult.

    However, Ling Neng cautioned Lu Yin not to be rash. How could a standard set by the Sixverse Association be anything simple?

    ording to the rules of the Endless Frontier, at least one out of every three connected parallel universes had to be much more difficult to deal with. The Lilliput Universe was connected to the Gemini Universe, and the next one from there was the Big Stone Universe.

    As soon as Cang Bi heard that the Gemini Universe was connected to the Big Stone Universe, he immediately tried to persuade Lu Yin to not do anything impulsive. It would not be bad to remain in the Lilliput Universe and simply return after ten years passed.

    Lu Yin knew that this was indeed the safest option. Unless a Progenitor-level expert visited the Lilliput Universe, Lu Yin would not face any threat over the next ten years.

    When the entire Endless Frontier was taken into ount, and while there were quite a number of peak powerhouses present, if they were scattered evenly throughout sixty-two parallel universes, it was impossible for each universe to have such an expert. In fact, several peak powerhouses would often congregate in a single universe.

    At the moment, there was no need for Lu Yin to participate in the Lilliput Universe¡¯s battles. Cang Bi sighed, as he had never imagined being able to rx in such a fashion while on the Endless Frontier.

    "Lord Lu, let me take you somewhere," Ling Qi happily suggested after approaching Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled and then followed Ling Qi. They soon arrived at a beautiful field of flowers that seemed to have no end.

    There were flowers of every variety blossoming in the field, filling it with countless colors, as well as spots of light that danced about like fairies.

    None of the flowers wererge, even to Ling Qi, which meant that, for Lu Yin, they were as small as sesame seeds. Still, an endless field filled with such flowers was truly beautiful.

    "Did your people nt these?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Qi nodded and leaped into the sky above the field of flowers. She spun in the air, and the spots of light gathered onto her body to create what looked like cute little wings. "We Lilliputians nt a flower here when we reach adulthood, offering a prayer for a good life."

    Lu Yin knelt down as he looked at the flowers before him. Were these prayers for a good life?

    He caught sight of something tied along a path that ran through the field. He released his domain and saw that it was a strip of cloth with some words written upon it.

    His domain spread further and further, and he found countless strips of cloth, each one simrly bearing some words.

    Lu Yin did not know the Lilliputians¡¯nguage, so he asked Ling Qi about what he had found.

    She replied, "They are prayers that peace will return to our home and that there will be no more Aeternals."

    "Is that what you meant?" Lu Yin was surprised. "Are these the prayers for a good life that you mentioned?"

    Ling Qi smiled and nodded. "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s our greatest wish. Ever since long ago, the Aeternals have fought against us, and there has been no peace in our universe from that moment on. There has always been fighting, which is why every Lilliputian¡¯s greatest wish is for peace.¡±

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. The field of flowers truly seemed endless. Throughout the many years, countless Lilliputians had been born, and all of them had dreamed of peace. It was the simplest wish imaginable, and yet also the most difficult to achieve.

    "How many Lilliputians are left now?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ling Qi sadly replied, "Not many. If you hadn''t arrived when you did, Lord Lu, only those of us living in the Sixverse Association might still be alive, with all of us here in the Lilliput Universe wiped out.

    "In the past, many other parallel universes have been conquered by the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin asked, "If the Aeternals conquered this universe, wouldn¡¯t they establish an Aeternus Kingdom?"

    Ling Qi became confused. "What¡¯s an Aeternus Kingdom?"

    This question startled Lu Yin. Did this mean that the Aeternals did not have any Aeternus Kingdoms in the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes?

    The fragrance of the flowers was quite refreshing. People always wished for things to be better, but for many, their wishes would never be anything more than that. However, those wishes were not difficult for Lu Yin to fulfill.

    At least, the Lilliputians¡¯ wish was nothing difficult for him as long as a Progenitor-level corpse king did not appear.

    Lu Yin rxed on Greentea for several days. He felt quite at ease among the Lilliputians, possibly because of their small size and cute appearances.

    However, he should settle things for them, since it would not be difficult for him to do so.

    As for continuing on to the Gemini Universe, he would see about that when the time came.

    "Lord Lu, there are some beautiful flowers over there. Let me show you." Ling Qi turned around, but Lu Yin was gone.

    "Lord Lu?"

    ...

    Fragments of meteorites struck a. They were from a corpse king.

    Down on the, arrows shot upwards, causing the meteorites to explode, which tore the ground apart.

    There was fighting in just about every part of the Lilliput Universe. The Lilliputians were supported by cultivators from the Sixverse Association, and they both fought to the death against the Aeternals in an endless war.

    Lu Yin appeared, and with a wave of his hand, the corpse king disappeared.

    Lu Yin left again.

    The Lilliputians stood on the and stared nkly up at the sky. Where was the corpse king?

    The same situation repeated throughout the Lilliput Universe, as Aeternus¡¯s forces were continuously wiped out.

    Lu Yin also ordered Cang Bi to eliminate the Aeternals wherever he went. There was no worry that the man would try to run away, as they were on the Endless Frontier. There was no safer ce for Cang Bi than behind Lu Yin. On top of that, if the man tried to escape from Lu Yin while on the Endless Frontier, the Semi-Monarch was afraid that, after returning, Lu Yin would go to the Three Monarchs Universe and make trouble for Cang Bi.

    Would someone who could yell insults at Monarch Luo care about Cang Bi?

    Cang Bi felt both lucky and frustrated that he was forced to follow Lu Yin. The man suspected that Lu Yin might not stay in the Lilliput Universe for very long, but Cang Bi did not want to enter another parallel universe.

    On the other hand, if Cang Bi had not followed Lu Yin and had been alone when he had arrived in the Lilliput Universe, there was no telling what fate might have awaited him.

    It took just ten days for Lu Yin to erase all traces of Aeternus from the Lilliput Universe, stunning the Lilliputians.

    On Greentea, inside the tower, Ling Qi solemnly passed the information to the Sixverse Universe, reporting that the Lilliput Universe had been purged and that it could be checked for a green light.

    ...

    In another parallel universe, there was a mysterious ce that was filled with disys as far as the eye could see. This was the location where information was gathered from the entire Endless Frontier.

    Everyst bit of information from the sixty-two parallel universes entered this ce to be analyzed, summarized, and then passed on to the Sixverse Association. Most information did not need to be sent on, as the information was able to handle most matters directly.

    After all, this was not merely the data center for the battlefield, but also themand center where the overall situation of the Endless Frontier was observed and managed.

    The strangest thing about this ce was that there was not a single man present. Every single person in the ce was a woman, and they all wore the same ck windbreakers. There were solemn expressions on every face, and determined eyes stared at the various disys without revealing the slightest flicker of emotion.

 Chapter 2741: Intelligence Summary

    <h4>Chapter 2741: Intelligence Summary</h4>

    "The Bamboo Universe has submitted a request for help: Number 1-7-1-2-2. Do you want to send reinforcements?"

    "Send them now. Give the order for reinforcements: Number 1-7-2-3-1."

    "The Pingzhen Universe has settled matters at Shaoxing, so they can send reinforcements to a neighboring universe."

    "Send the destination coordinates for the reinforcements to the Pingzhen Universe."

    "Report: Number 3-0-5-1-1-1."

    "No need to send reinforcements. It would be a waste. Have them take care of things themselves."

    "Report from the Sky Spider Universe: a Sky Spider nest has been discovered. It is suspected to contain arge number of Ascendant-level Sky Spiders. Do you want to order a retreat?"

    "Immediately retreat to the Sky Spider Universe¡¯s portal. Lure the Aeternals towards the nest. Let them fight among themselves."

    ...

    Clear voices rang out continuously, passing along information gathered from the various parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, as well as from the Sixverse Association. Everything was handled in an orderly fashion by the women in the ck windbreakers.

    No matter how fierce the battles became, there was never any sign of emotion on any of their faces.

    Suddenly, a green light turned on, lighting up the entire ce.

    Everyone looked up in surprise. This green light indicated that a parallel universe had been purged of all Aeternals, which was far from easy. Cultivators would typically face opponents at simr power levels, so while a peak powerhouse could easily purge an entire universe, the Aeternals would do their best to prevent such an opportunity from appearing.

    All of the women looked back at a slim woman who was wearing a simr ck windbreaker as everyone else. She also had a broad-brimmed ck hat that hung down and covered her cheeks, which made it impossible to see her face clearly.

    When the green light turned on, the light fell on the broad ck hat as well.

    Snow-white arms stretched out from beneath the ck windbreaker and pushed the hat aside so that the woman could look at the green light. "Which one?"

    Her voice was cold, and it also contained a sense of calmness that made it impossible for people to get worked up.

    A woman bent to check. "The Lilliput Universe."

    The woman at the back rose to her feet, exposing a beautiful face. However, the face was cold, and that coldness reached all the way to the bone. This was not due to the woman¡¯s eyes or demeanor, as it was simply her appearance. That alone was enough to give people chills.

    The woman was stunningly beautiful, but her beauty was cold beyondparison.

    "Did the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch Lu go to the Lilliput Universe?" the woman asked.

    "Yes. He arrived sixteen days ago, and his information was shared with the Lilliput Universe."

    The woman stared at a disy. "Sixteen days? Disappointing. I expected it to take him no more than three days to clear the Lilliput Universe.

    "Send a report back to the Sixverse Association. We¡¯ll see how those people react."

    "Yes, Ma¡¯am."

    ...

    Information was always sent from themand center to all the members of the Sixverse Association at the same time. The six different universes received the information and would then transmit it to specific people in that universe as soon as possible.

    Naturally, any who qualified to receive reports from the Endless Frontier were powerful individuals.

    In the Voidforce Universe, Xu Wuji was lounging and enjoying a drink when he received the report. "A universe got the green light? If he¡¯s able to confront that Luo Shan guy, it''s no surprise that he could purge a universe."

    Far away, Xu Wuwei received the same information, and he simrly did not care about it.

    Peak powerhouses such as these two men would not be influenced by the Cyclic Universe¡¯s attitude towards the Origin Universe. They did not feel any sort of disgust, but they also felt no sense of closeness. To them, the Origin Universe was nothing more than another parallel universe.

    Lord Xu smiled after receiving the report. He had been paying attention to the recent developments in the Origin Universe.

    The man had honestly never expected Lu Yin to be able to overturn Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s proposal and save the Origin Universe from being added to the Endless Frontier. While Lu Yin¡¯s actions had resulted in him being sent to the Endless Frontier, Luo Shan had been given the same punishment, which had essentially eliminated the Origin Universe¡¯s encroaching crisis. While Sovereign Shao Yin had beenmended for his actions, it was also undeniably impossible for him to interfere in the Origin Universe¡¯s affairs anytime soon.

    Lu Yin deserved his position as Dao Monarch. While his cultivation was a bitcking, he was clearly no fool. If he truly intended to go against the Great Sovereign, then even if Shan Gu helped, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to protect his Heavens Sect.

    The Great Sovereign had many ways to deal with someone like Lu Yin.

    "Dao Monarch... That is not a title used lightly," Lord Xu muttered to himself.

    Shan Gu, Grand Elder of the Lost n, summoned Shan Zheng. "Is Shan Pu on the Endless Frontier?"

    Shan Zheng took a moment to consider the question. "At this point in time, he should be the one there."

    "Tell him to find a man named Lu Yin and protect him in secret. No matter what happens to Shan Pu or anyone else, nothing can happen to Lu Yin," Shan Gu sternlymanded.

    Shan Zheng felt confused. "Lu Yin? I think that I¡¯ve heard that name before... Right, that is the name of the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch. Sovereign Shao Yin proposed adding the Origin Universe to the Endless Frontier, which is why I noticed the name. Isn¡¯t Lu Yin the ruler of the Origin Universe and the Dao Monarch or their Heavens Sect? Grand Elder, why must we protect him?"

    Shan Zheng did not know that Lu Yin had been the one to draw out the Primeval card during the Shangsan Festival, just like Sovereign Shao Yin and the other peak powerhouses who had attended the celebration. Only Shan Gu and Lord Xu were aware of the details of that matter.

    Shan Gu had wanted to tell Shan Zheng of the matter, but after hearing the man¡¯s words, the Grand Elder instead calmly said, "Sovereign Shao Yin is overreaching, trying to expand his influence. We need to protect the people that he is targeting."

    This did nothing to alleviate Shan Zheng¡¯s confusion. Was this a valid exnation? No matter how he considered the matter, the exnation seemed a bit far-fetched.

    Shan Gu stared at Shan Zheng. "I have reasons for doing this. Send the orders to Shan Pu. As I just said, no matter what happens to anyone else, nothing can happen to Lu Yin. In the name of my Lost n, I swear that this child will leave the Endless Frontier alive. If you have any doubts, I will go myself to ensure that this happens."

    Shan Zheng was startled, as he had never seen the Grand Elder so serious before. This made it clear just how important this matter was. "I understand. This junior will inform Shan Pu immediately."

    The man was not stupid. If he learned that Lu Yin was also Xuan Qi, then there was no doubt that Shan Zheng would be able to put the pieces together. However, he was missing key information, and ording to his knowledge, there was no connection between Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe, and the Lost n. In fact, forget the Lost n¡ªno one from the entire Sixverse Association was allowed to have any dealings with the Origin Universe.

    Shan Zheng simply could not understand why Lu Yin was so important to the Grand Elder. Swearing on the name of the Lost n was regarded as a binding oath.

    However, the Grand Elder had not exined himself to Shan Zheng, so the man would not question his orders. All he needed to do was find a way to deliver the message to Shan Pu.

    Shan Gu watched as Shan Zheng left, and then let out a breath.

    The Endless Frontier was an extremely dangerous ce. If Shan Gu did not want to be targeted himself, then he could not directly interfere with the Great Sovereign''s decision.

    The Grand Elder had been watching the situation in the Origin Universe, and he felt that Lu Yin had handled the matter very well. It was best not to confront the Great Sovereign, and epting the punishment was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, the Great Sovereign was from the same generation as the Origin Progenitor.

    However, Sovereign Shao Yin really needed to be pped back down to earth from his high and mighty seat.

    Despite how much importance Lu Yin attached to the Primeval card, he had still been underestimating the matter. Even if hisbat strength was equal to that of an average Progenitor, that did not mean that hisprehension and knowledge had reached the same level.

    Primeval cards and sequence particles were matters at a level that Lu Yin still could not touch.

    ***

    In the Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian stared at the report before looking up.

    Below the stairs, the Lilliputians danced about happily, singing and celebrating.

    Lu Yin was finally acting in the Sixverse Association with his true identity. Things in the Sixverse Association were about to get quite exciting. When it was revealed that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin, the megaverse would experience a revolution.

    Bai Qian was eager to see that day.

    However, there were many preparations to finish before that time. Bai Qian looked up and stared out into outer space.

    ***

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le received the same report.

    Before his breakthrough to the Monarch realm, Chen Le had only received the asional report from the Endless Frontier, and only about matters that were directly rted to him. He had never received general information regarding the Endless Frontier.

    However, after bing a Monarch, the man received copies of every report that was sent from that battlefield, no matter how minor.

    When he saw that Lu Yin had purged the Lilliput Universe, Chen Le¡¯s eyes turned cold. He desperately hoped that the Aeternals would kill the bastard, as that would keep Chen Le¡¯s secrets concealed forever.

    ***

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Shao Yin received the same report, but he was unbothered by it. He had also visited the Lilliput Universe in the past, and while he could have cleared the universe while passing through, he had avoided doing so out of fear of drawing the Seven Skygods¡¯ attention. It was no surprise that Lu Yin could purge the universe and trigger a green light.

    It was only possible to leave the Endless Frontier early after officially purging three adjoining parallel universes, and that was extremely difficult to aplish. These were the rules of the Endless Frontier, but if Lu Yin had no intention of leaving the Endless Frontier early, then this one green light would be the end of the matter, as he would spend the next ten years rxing in the Lilliput Universe.

    However, if Lu Yin intended to leave...

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes turned cold. "Shao Gu."

    The woman appeared and offered a respectful bow. "Master?"

    "Order all of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s reinforcements to pull out of the universes that are connected to the Lilliput Universe. None of them are allowed to remain there."

    Shao Gu understood what she needed to do.

    ...

    The Lilliput Universe became one massive party.

    The Aeternals had beenpletely driven out of the universe, and while there was no question that they would eventually return, the universe would experience peace for at least a short period of time, and it waspletely owed to Lu Yin.

    Ling Neng, Princess Ling Qi, as well as countless more Lilliputians bowed to Lu Yin to express their heartfelt thanks.

    The next day, Lu Yin left. He decided that it would be best to leave the Endless Frontier early, as he wanted to clear out three neighboring parallel universes. After all, if he really did stay for ten years, Xuan Qi''s identity would most likely be exposed.

    There was a bitter expression on Cang Bi¡¯s face. He did not want to leave, and he would be very happy to stay put in the Lilliput Universe for ten years. In fact, there was no safer option on the Endless Frontier.

    Unfortunately, he was dragged away by Lu Yin.

    As Lu Yin stared at the portal to the next universe, he realized that he was looking at the exact same thing as the spatial passage that connected the Origin Universe to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The two sides of the portal were connected, and yet were clearly different universes. The megaverse was truly bizarre.

    Parallel universes existed and could be traveled to, but there was no way to determine just how many of them there were.

    Ling Qi was very unwilling to see Lu Yin leave. Even though they had only known each other for a brief amount of time, he had saved their entire race.

    Once Lu Yin left, the Lilliputians¡¯ great elder, Ling Neng, ordered a statue of Lu Yin to be erected tomemorate his achievements.

    During the countless years that the Lilliput Universe had been a part of the Endless Frontier, it had been saved by various cultivators on multiple asions. However, Lu Yin was the first to save them during a true crisis, and he even went on to clear their entire universe.

    Other peak powerhouses were capable of doing such a thing, but none had ever done it for the Lilliput Universe, even if they had been capable of doing so.

    Lu Yin passed through the portal and entered the Gemini Universe.

    Before leaving the Lilliput Universe, he had first gathered some information about the Gemini Universe, as the Lilliputians were quite familiar with their neighbors. Their universes were connected, and they had supported each other on many different asions.

    The defining characteristic of the Gemini Universe was that everyone born there was a twin.

    This was a phenomena that many people had studied, but no one had been able to understand why. Everyone born in the universe was born twins without exception, which was also the reason for the universe¡¯s name.

    Furthermore, a more important detail about the universe¡¯s twins had made it famous throughout the entire Sixverse Association, which was the fact that any twin from the Gemini Universe was capable of swapping ces with each other, as though teleporting.

    When the Gemini Universe had first been discovered, the Sixverse Association had been stunned by this ability, and many people had been sent to study it. In the end, there had been no results, and the research had eventually been abandoned.

    Because of these two defining characteristics of the Gemini Universe, there was arge number of cultivators born there who were capable of fighting against Aeternus. The overall poption of the universe was shocking.

    Naturally, that also meant that there was a correspondingly high number of corpse kings sent to the universe by Aeternus.

 Chapter 2742: The Big Stone Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2742: The Big Stone Universe</h4>

    The Gemini Universe was a massive battlefield. There were corpse kings scattered across the entire universe, battling against countless cultivators. While some of these cultivators were from the Sixverse Association, most of them were natives of the Gemini Universe.

    Lu Yin saw the natives of the universe fighting and how all of the twins were able to swap positions with their siblings in the midst of battle. It was amazing.

    This ability was essentially a part of the Gemini Universe¡¯s unique characteristics. Just as all children were born as twins, their ability to swap ces was another innatew of the universe.

    The megaverse was a miraculous ce, and universes with all kinds of differentws had been born.

    Lu Yin took action, and Cang Bi did the same, fighting under Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    There were no peak powerhouses present in the universe, which meant that Lu Yin could run wild.

    He had assumed that it would be just as easy to eliminate the Aeternals in the Gemini Universe as it had been in the Lilliput Universe, but he had underestimated the situation in the Gemini Universe. While it was true that there were no Progenitor-level corpse kings in the universe, there were simply too many corpse kings. Their sheer numbers made it a challenge to eliminate them all.

    After clearing one battlefield, the first message that he received was a report that all of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s reinforcements had pulled out of the Gemini Universe and moved on to other parallel universes.

    The Gemini Universe had hosted no fewer than 100,000 cultivators from the Sixverse Association, but more than half of them were taken away when the Cyclic Universe pulled out.

    Lu Yin did not even need to guess about the cause, as he knew that Sovereign Shao Yin was responsible for this matter. Still, it was not important, as it simply meant that he needed to take a bit more time.

    While the Gemini Universe was adjacent to the Lilliput Universe, the massive difference in the reinforcements sent to the two universes by the Sixverse Association amply demonstrated the differences between the two ces.

    Aeternus simply had too many corpse kings in the Gemini Universe, while the Lilliput Universe had the gravity wind, which was not something that everyone could deal with. These differences naturally led to different numbers of cultivators and corpse kings fighting in these two neighboring parallel universes.

    Cang Bi told Lu Yin that many cultivators were sent to reinforce every parallel universe on the Endless Frontier, but the more important part was that the reinforcements never stopped being sent.

    The constant fighting was a nightmare for the sixty-two parallel universes that made up the Endless Frontier. It was also a nightmare for the Sixverse Association, as even a Semi-Monarch like Cang Bi was terrified to serve on the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin started fighting, working to purge the Gemini Universe.

    There were countless corpse kings, but Lu Yin was able to destroy a massive swarm with each attack.

    His years of training allowed him to quickly adapt to this odd form ofbat which was essentially ughter without encountering any real resistance.

    If the corpse kings were not eradicated, then humans would be. There was no choice in how to proceed.

    Lu Yin was no god, and he was unable to transform a corpse king back into a human being.

    Possibly because they were worried that Lu Yin would not be able to fully purge the Gemini Universe, or perhaps because of his evident eagerness to clear the universe, a pair of Semi-Progenitor level twins who were elders of the universe¡¯s natives led Lu Yin to see a certain ce. It looked quite simr to an Aeternus Kingdom, but this was a ce where the Aeternals conducted research on the indigenous poption of the Gemini Universe. There was only one way to describe their research: cruel.

    ording to the old twins, from the moment that the Gemini Universe had been added to the Endless Frontier to now, there was no way to estimate just how many of the universe¡¯s people had been killed by the Aeternals. The universe was also a production sitewhere Aeternus transformed people into corpse kings.

    ¡°Production site¡± was a very nasty but apt name.

    Lu Yin saw countless twin cultivators beneath the city, all being transformed into corpse kings. There were simply too many to count.

    He left the people to the indigenous poption to deal with, and moved to continue personally eliminating the endless horde of corpse kings.

    Ten days. Fifteen days. Twenty days... Two months passed until the Endless Frontier¡¯smander center finally saw the Gemini Universe trigger a green light.

    The woman with the broad hand and ck windbreaker perked up at the sight of the green light. "The most troublesome aspect of the Gemini Universe is not the presence of powerful corpse kings, but rather the sheer number of them. There are truly countless of them crawling about, and it¡¯s nearly impossible to find them all. This Dao Monarch Lu managed to purge all of the corpse kings from the universe in just two months, which is something that even many peak powerhouses most likely would not be able to do. This person needs to be on the Endless Frontier.

    "Which parallel universes are connected to the Gemini Universe?"

    A woman replied, "The Big Stone Universe and the Umbral Universe."

    "Both of those universes are very difficult to deal with. He won¡¯t be able to clear either one, but he will still be an invaluable helper in either one of them. All that remains to be seen is which one he will choose to go to." As the woman spoke, she leaned forward, eager to see how things would y out.

    The Origin Universe had been home to the magnificent Heavens Sect, which even the Aeternals had avoided. During the Heavens Sect era, humanity had reached its peak, and no matter if one considered parallel universes or Aeternus, no power had ever managed to rise up to match the glory of the past Heavens Sect. The woman wanted to see that sort of glorious power once more. It was such a pity that the Origin Universe had fallen from such incredible prosperity and splendor to its current state.

    In the Gemini Universe, Lu Yin stood calmly in ce. Behind him stood the twin elders, and Cang Bi was nearby, though there was a very twisted expression on the Semi-Monarch¡¯s face.

    "Ordinary humans are able to live normally in the Big Stone Universe, but all cultivators need to carry stones on their backs in order to resist the universe¡¯s strange universe¡¯sw. This energy is not something that the Aeternals released, as it insteades from the universe itself. Only peak powerhouses can endure the energy with their own strength, though that also depends on the strength of the energy.

    "There is a rumor that even a peak powerhouse was once badly wounded by thews of that universe, and their wounds eventually caused them to fall to a sneak attack from the Aeternals.

    "If you intend to fight in the Big Stone Universe, it would be best to immediately contact the natives and find a stone that suits you. Without that, the universe¡¯sw will eventually affect you, and if you are forced to face that and Aeternus at the same time, it will be too dangerous."

    Lu Yin looked back at the old twins. Even after two months in the Gemini Universe, he still felt surprised by its unique characteristics. These two old men were perfectly identical, and they even had the exact same level of cultivation. On top of that, they could freely swap positions with each other. Was this ability something innate to the Gemini Universe, or had thews of the universe been altered by some powerhouse?

    Lu Yin knew about the existence of sequence particles, and he also understood what it meant to alter a universe.

    Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World that he could spread across a portion of a universe did not alter the universe. Rather, his Progenitor¡¯s world was ayer that ovepped the existing universe. Simrly, the Rune Progenitor¡¯s runes did not alter thews of the universe, but rather simply added the presence of runes.

    Truly altering a universe meant altering the fundamentalws that governed the characteristics of that universe.

    The Gemini Universe¡¯sws did not appear to be something that had originally been present in this universe.

    Thews of a universe, also known as sequence particles, might act like some kind of program for some individuals, and they could rewrite the program ording to their wishes. That was truly altering a universe.

    "Have any peak powerhouses ever been killed in the Big Stone Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes, that universe is regarded as one of the most dangerous universes on the entire Endless Frontier. There is no doubt that it is a battlefield for peak powerhouses."

    Lu Yin frowned, as thisplicated things for him. The fact that this next universe was a battlefield for peak powerhouses meant that Aeternus was willing to send Progenitor-level corpse kings into the universe. If Lu Yin went after that corpse king, they would rece it, possibly with one of the Seven Skygods.

    Just the thought of the Seven Skygods filled Lu Yin with fear. He still clearly remembered witnessing Corpse God¡¯s power in the Starfall Sea.

    It was absolutely impossible for Lu Yin to deal with any of the Skygods, and it would be difficult for him to even fight back against them.

    "L- Lord Lu, we are not heading into the Big Stone Universe, are we?" Cang Bi was terrified. He forced himself to ask the question, his face pale as his eyes revealed his anxiousness.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "I still need to clear out one more universe."

    Cang Bi lost control of himself. "Lord Lu, this isn¡¯t about some green light! There is a peak powerhouse in that universe, which is undoubtedly a powerful corpse king! This is an opponent at the same level as the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Lord Lu!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and nced sideways at the man.

    Cang Bi¡¯s mouth snapped shut, but his expression grew poorer. He looked at the twin elders, as though begging them for help.

    One of the two old men coughed. "Actually, our Gemini Universe is also connected to another parallel universe."

    Cang Bi''s eyes grewrge and practically glowed. "Really? Which universe is that?"

    The other elder gave Cang Bi a sympathetic look. "The Umbral Universe."

    Cang Bi¡¯s mouth fell open. He really wanted to p these two old men.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "The Umbral Universe? That¡¯s quite the odd name."

    Cang Bi wailed, "Lord Lu, we can''t go to that universe!"

    One of the twin elders respectfully exined, "Like the Big Stone Universe, the Umbral Universe is one of the more difficult universes on the Endless Frontier. It¡¯s be a nightmare for countless people. While I can¡¯t say for certain that there are any peak powerhouses in the Umbral Universe, unlike the Big Stone Universe, I would say that it¡¯s at least eighty percent likely."

    "100 percent!" Cang Bi screamed.

    Lu Yin looked over. "You know about this ce?"

    Cang Bi grimaced. "I¡¯ve heard Senior Chen Le mention that the people of the Umbral Universe live only in the shadows, and they specialize in assassination and other obtuse methods. It¡¯s difficult to encounter any normal people there, but there are many killers. Often, when the Sixverse Association wants to get rid of a troublesome person, instead of executing them, they¡¯ll send them to the Umbral Universe. Because of that, Aeternus has sent many powerful corpse kings there as well.¡±

    "Senior Chen Le said that he nearly died there, but was lucky enough to escape. Normal cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to survive for more than an hour in that ce.¡±

    "More importantly, there are definitely monsters simr to Cheng Kong in that universe. I heard all of this from Senior Chen Le."

    One of the twin elders said, "That¡¯s true, and the Sixverse Association is not the only one to do so, as the parallel universes across the Endless Frontier will also send killers or people with odd innate gifts to the Umbral Universe. That ce is a death trap, despite there never being any news of major battles being fought there. Honestly...¡±

    When the man hesitated for a moment, his twin took his ce. "I would never want to go there."

    "Even the most powerful peak powerhouses avoid that ce!" Cang Bi said.

    Lu Yin contemted his options, as this was not an easy decision: the Big Stone Universe, or the Umbral Universe? It appeared that both would be difficult to deal with and very dangerous.

    "If I were forced to choose one, I would rmend the Big Stone Universe," an elder said.

    Cang Bi red at the man. <i>If you¡¯re going to rmend one, then why don¡¯t you rmend the Lilliput Universe!</i>

    Lu Yin felt that the Umbral Universe was too odd, and if there really were freaks like Cheng Kong in that universe, it would be dangerous even for him.

    On the other hand, while the Big Stone Universe was definitely a battlefield with peak powerhouses, it would not be the first time that Lu Yin had faced such opponents. Even if things became dangerous, he could simply retreat if his opponent proved too difficult.

    "Do you know which peak powerhouse from the Sixverse Association is supporting the Big Stone Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    "One of the Transcendent Universe¡¯srgest bestowal art carriers is deployed there."

    This caught Lu Yin off guard. The Transcendent Universe only had three of theirrgest ss bestowal art carriers. One was in the Cloudflow Universe, and another was deployed at the Transcendent Universe¡¯s own frontlines, suppressing the Aeternals and preventing them from invading the Transcendent Universe. As for the third one, was it actually in the Big Stone Universe?

    "The situation in the Big Stone Universe is quite unique. The bestowal art carrier can release truly powerful attacks without having to suffer from that universe¡¯sws. It¡¯s the only way to safely defend the Big Stone Universe," one of the twin elders exined.

    The other continued, "However, it is far from easy to get a green light from the Big Stone Universe. While the bestowal art carrier¡¯s attacks are powerful and deadly, it is not too difficult for the Aeternals to simply avoid the attacks.¡±

    "Because we are an adjacent universe, we have been to the Big Stone Universe and have some knowledge of the ce."

    Lu Yin made his decision. "Then it¡¯s time to head for the Big Stone Universe."

    Cang Bi''s face turned pale. "Lord Lu, what about me?"

    Lu Yin nced over at the man. "I don''t need you any longer, so just stay put here."

    Cang Bi let out a long breath, terribly relieved, and he quickly thanked Lu Yin. "Thank you, Lord Lu! Thank you!"

 Chapter 2743: Proximity

    <h4>Chapter 2743: Proximity</h4>

    Lu Yin did not want Cang Bi to die. While the man was from the Three Monarchs Universe, which was an enemy of the Origin Universe, Cang Be had not participated in that matter. Additionally, as someone with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, he could be extremely useful in the Gemini Universe.

    If Lu Yin faced off against a peak powerhouse while in the Big Stone Universe, he could not guarantee Cang Bi¡¯s safety.

    Lu Yin soon arrived at the portal that connected the Gemini Universe to the Big Stone Universe. He had spent two months fighting in the Gemini Universe to trigger the universe¡¯s green light, but he had no idea how long it would take before the corpse kings returned.

    A crowd of cultivators from both the Gemini Universe and the Sixverse Association started at Lu Yin, watching as he passed through the portal and entered the Big Stone Universe.

    A single step forward took Lu Yin from one universe into the other.

    The moment he arrived in the Big Stone Universe, he felt ufortable. It was as if he had stepped into a quagmire.

    However, it was not the time to think about such things, as a massive, slitted, scarlet eye was directly in front of him.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank sharply, and he used Inverse Step to escape.

    Right where Lu Yin had been standing, a hand fell. It tore through the void as a Progenitor-level corpse king attacked. The pressure from the single attack nearly sent Lu Yin flying.

    He had not even had a chance to evade by escaping along the spatial lines, and he had been lucky to even use the Inverse Step. The reversed time from the technique had allowed Lu Yin to escape the sudden attack.

    The corpse king¡¯s eyes moved, fixed upon Lu Yin. The monster acted as though it had not expected Lu Yin to avoid the attack.

    Lu Yin frowned as he stared back at the corpse king. Cang Bi had warned him that it wasmon to be ambushed when passing through a portal on the Endless Frontier. Both the Aeternals and the Sixverse Association frequently left traps at portals in an attempt to deal with enemies who traveled between universes.

    Each parallel universe on the Endless Frontier had two key locations: the local data center where information was gathered and sent on to the Endless Frontier¡¯smand center, and the portals that connected the various parallel universes together.

    Both the Sixverse Association and Aeternus did their best to seize control of both locations in every universe.

    Lu Yin exhaled. His opponent was clearly a Progenitor-level corpse king, but why did it only have one eye? It also looked injured.

    "Die." Therge corpse king stretched out a hand to grab hold of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had not expected to encounter a Progenitor-level enemy the moment he passed through the portal. The Big Stone Universe might be even more dangerous than his initial estimations.

    Lu Yin did not fight against the giant corpse king directly, as he instead continuously avoided its attacks.

    The corpse king was fast and nimble, but Lu Yin was even faster, especially because he was able to perceive spatial lines. No matter how quickly the corpse king moved, it was unable tond a single hit.

    Lu Yin cautiously threw out a palm strike, leaving an imprint on the corpse king¡¯s body and knocking it back a step.

    It seemed that it was not particrly powerful!

    Lu Yin took out his slipper. This enormous corpse king did not genuinely possess the strength of a peak powerhouse; rather, it simply possessed a physical strength at that level. A normal Progenitor might struggle to defeat this corpse king, but that was not true for Lu Yin.

    Realizing the truth of the situation, Lu Yin moved forward, instantly appearing right behind the corpse king, the slipper already raised and ready to strike.

    At that moment, ck lines appeared across the giant corpse king''s body, quickly covering its entire form.

    The slipper mmed down, smashing half of the huge corpse king''s head to pieces. This attack was so powerful that it had even threatened Undying God.

    Logically, such an attack should have been more than enough to instantly kill Lu Yin¡¯s opponent.

    However, after the giant corpse king fell apart, the ck lines that covered its body reconnected and restored the shattered head.

    "An undying attribute?" Lu Yin was surprised, and he attacked a few more times.

    Unless someone had the ability to avoid the slipper entirely, there was no way for even a peak powerhouse to endure the power of such an attack.

    Just as Lu Yin was preparing to continue his assault, the giant corpse king roared, stepped away, and fled.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. It wanted to escape? It was not easy to encounter an opponent who could not even defend themselves. It would be pathetic if he failed to kill such an enemy while wielding the slipper.

    In the end, the corpse king was not a peak powerhouse, but it did possess the physical strength of one. Killing such an enemy would be a massive aplishment for Lu Yin, and it might even be enough to excuse him from the rest of his service on the Endless Frontier.

    Just as he was about to give chase, an indescribable chill fell upon Lu Yin. He suddenly remembered the unique characteristics that he had heard about the Big Stone Universe, and he quickly fell back.

    In the ce where he had just been standing, the void turned chaotic and then abruptly exploded. The damage spread out in every direction, looking as though something had just burned a portion of the universe.

    Lu Yin was startled. Was this the deadlyw of the Big Stone Universe?

    What had just happened?

    He looked around, transforming his pupils into runes as the God of mes figurine appeared on his shoulder. Runes spread out, and he instantly saw that they were in absolute chaos.

    The number of runes that appeared could give an indication of the strength of a person or even an attack, but the current scene before Lu Yin was nothing more than pure chaos.

    What in the world had happened?

    He had never before seen such chaotic runes before, and it appeared as though various different powers had be entangled together without any sort of order.

    No fighting had taken ce in that location, and no power had been used. Lu Yin even reduced his own strength to the point where only a single rune remained. If anyone else were standing in his location, they would only see a calm region of the universe, not sensing any power that could shatter space. However, the runes in Lu Yin¡¯s vision revealed apletely different story.

    From what he could observe, let alone an ordinary human, even an Envoy would be torn to pieces by the forces at y. However, oddly enough, the power that he was observing was not dangerous, and an ordinary person would not be harmed at all.

    Lu Yin spread the runes out to observe arger region of the universe, trying to get an image of the overall universe.

    However, the scene before him appeared as though the entire universe was inplete chaos, with countless different powers and energy tangling together. Despite all that, it was invisible to ordinary people.

    Suddenly, the universe¡¯sw struck again, and Lu Yin quickly evaded it. It appeared as though the ce where he had just been standing had been smashed by stones with such force that even the void cracked. He had been able to predict the arrival of thew by observing the runes, and they had revealed that the universe¡¯sw that had nearly struck him was as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    It was no wonder why the twin elders from the Gemini Universe had strongly rmended that Lu Yin find one of the universe¡¯s unique stones to carry around to protect him from the universe¡¯sw. Still, what kind of stone could protect him from thews of a universe, such as what he had just witnessed?

    Was this thews of the Big Stone Universe?

    A distant object approached Lu Yin. It appeared to be a spacecraft, and Lu Yin remained where he was. He spread his runes out to envelop the approaching object and discovered a group of people within who were nervously observing him.

    It really was a spacecraft, though its style waspletely different from what was used in the Fifth Maind. This design was much rougher and wilder in appearance. It was covered with spikes, and there were even blood stains on the hull.

    Inside the vessel, all the cultivators were staring at a disy that showed Lu Yin standing in the middle of outer space.

    "Aside from this one person, there is no sign of any life near the portal," a mechanical voice stated.

    A middle-aged man clenched a fist. "As we thought, something happened here. This person may be the corpse king, so be on guard."

    The spaceship slowly approached Lu Yin.

    He stared at it and said, "I am a cultivator sent by the Sixverse Association to support the Big Stone Universe."

    The people in the spacecraft did not rx at all. The middle-aged man replied, "Please prove your identity."

    Not many people sent to the Endless Frontier were able to travel between the various parallel universes like Lu Yin. Most reinforcements sent to the battlefield would remain in a single universe for the duration of their time on the front lines.

    When traveling between parallel universes, the only way to prove one¡¯s identity to their allies was to share a secret code, which could be used by the information centers to check with the battlefield¡¯smand center. Whenever cultivators traveled between universes, they were supposed to check in with themand center.

    When Lu Yin had gone from the Lilliput Universe to the Gemini Universe, he had not bothered to do this, as Cang Bi had handled such matters. But now that Cang Bi had been left behind, Lu Yin needed to deliver a password to prove his identity to the Big Stone Universe.

    The password that Lu Yin gave was Great Yu.

    It did not take long for the middle-aged man to get in contact with the Big Stone Universe¡¯s information center and confirm Lu Yin''s identity with the Endless Frontier¡¯smand center. Additionally, the ship¡¯smander was informed that Lu Yin had already cleared both the Lilliput and Gemini Universes.

    The man¡¯s eyes lit up, and he quickly stepped out from his vessel.

    "This humble one is the Big Stone Empire¡¯s Pei Ji. I greet Lord Lu Yin."

    All of the cultivators aboard the ship who had the strength of an Explorer or above exited the craft and bowed to Lu Yin. Those who were too weak to survive in outer space remained inside the vessel, but they still bowed to Lu Yin.

    All the people here looked quite happy, as the arrival of such an expert was good news for the Big Stone Universe.

    After all, Lu Yin had not arrived directly in the Big Stone Universe; rather he had first cleared both the Lilliput and Gemini Universes, making his purpose in the Big Stone Universe obvious to everyone: he wanted to clear the Big Stone Universe as well.

    Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin could do so, at the very least, his presence would greatly strengthen the universe¡¯s forces and reduce their pressure.

    Lu Yin grunted in response and instead observed the rock on top of Pei Ji''s back. "Can the murderous intention in the universe be offset by rocks?"

    Seeing that Lu Yin carried no stone, Pei Ji quickly replied, "Lord Lu, please don''t use any power, as you may attract thew of the universe. Let¡¯s get you aboard the ship."

    Lu Yin soon shared what he had encountered after passing through the portal, and Pei Ji¡¯s scalp went numb. If what Lu Yin had said was true, then the portal had been taken over by a very powerful corpse king, and Pei Ji and his crew would have died upon arriving at the portal.

    The man quickly thanked Lu Yin once again before passing along the information.

    At the Endless Frontier¡¯smand center, the woman in charge pulled down her wide-brimmed hat down while staring at a disy. "Everyone stationed at the Big Stone Universe¡¯s first portal is confirmed dead, but it is impossible to prove the veracity of Lu Yin¡¯s report. We will temporarily regard it as true. Send a report that Big Stone Universe is confirmed to have two enemy powerhouses and that the universe needs to be very careful. Also, find peak powerhouses in nearby parallel universes who can be sent to reinforce the Big Stone Universe."

    "Understood."

    The woman in charge was a bit dazed, as Lu Yin was even more powerful than she had expected. There was no reason for him to lie, which meant that he had really driven away a powerful corpse king. That meant that Lu Yin truly did possess the strength to fight against peak powerhouses, despite merely being a seventh-level Demi-Immortal. He was not even a peak Demi-Immortal, let alone an Ascendant or a peak powerhouse like the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Just how did the man possess such strength despite his inadequate cultivation?

    It was no wonder why he had been able to confront Luo Shan and draw the Great Sovereign¡¯s attention.

    "Inform the Big Stone Universe that I want to talk to Lu Yin," the woman said.

    Many of the female personnel in themand center were caught off guard. <i>Ma¡¯am, are you actually giving so much attention to this Lu Yin?</i> There was no shortage of peak powerhouses active on the Endless Frontier, but it was very unusual for theirmander to take the initiative to speak to anyone at all.

    What the woman was requesting was not a verbal conversation, but rather a way to exchange messages directly with Lu Yin without passing information through a third party.

    Lu Yin could choose to bypass the Big Stone Universe''s people andmunicate directly with the woman, or he could allow the Big Stone Universe''s people to act as intermediaries on his behalf.

    As for themander, she had the same option.

    In the Big Stone Universe, Lu Yin received the message. "Directmunication?"

    Pei Ji respectfully answered, "That¡¯s right. I can ask for someone to guide you to my Big Stone Universe¡¯s information center. If you prefer, there is no need to make the trip yourself, and you can use this humble one to send messages on your behalf."

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. The information center was vitally important to each parallel universe, as it was themunication hub between the Endless Frontier¡¯smand center, as well as the parallel universes that formed the battlefield.

    Lu Yin remembered that themand center also had a name: Proximity.

 Chapter 2744: Sage Bodhi

    <h4>Chapter 2744: Sage Bodhi</h4>

    Proximity was where the overall situation of the entire Endless Frontier was summarized and then disseminated to the rest of the Sixverse Association.

    It was no exaggeration to say that the ce where all the information was gathered,piled, and sent to the sixty-two parallel universe for the Sixverse Association was the center of the entire Endless Frontier.

    The reason why Yi Jun so many people had constantly been requesting to meet her was because, in addition to her personal aplishments on the Endless Frontier, she also had connections to people in Proximity. This gave her a bit of ess to the data center of the Endless Frontier.

    When people referred to data centers, they did not always mean Proximity, as they might also be referring to the information centers for a given parallel universe.

    After all, Cheng Feng¡¯s mission had been to infiltrate the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Knowledge Nexus, which was that universe¡¯s data center. Gaining ess to that ce would have given Cheng Feng ess to information from all the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes.

    Information was power, and without information, not even the Great Sovereign would be able to maintain control of the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin had thought about gaining ess to the information himself, as he already knew where Knowledge Nexus was located. However, he had just recently spoken to the person from Proximity for the first time, and whoever had asked to speak to Lu Yin directly had to be one of the senior officials.

    He had already asked both Cang Bi and Ling Qi, but no one knew where Proximity was located. It was likely that only peak powerhouses were given that knowledge.

    Lu Yin did not travel alone. He was in a very strange universe, and thews of the universe could easily kill him.

    Since he was in no rush, he simply stayed in the spacecraft.

    As they traveled, he saw several battles being fought.

    The fighting in the Big Stone Universe was not nearly as fierce as that in the Gemini Universe. There were not as many cultivators or corpse kings present, though there was a battlefield for peak powerhouses in the Big Stone Universe.

    After traveling for a few days, Lu Yin finally asked how far they needed to go and was told that they would need to travel for at least another half month to reach the information center.

    That was too long. Lu Yin should have asked how long the journey would take much earlier.

    Lu Yin did not want to wait any longer, so he continued ahead on his own. He had his runes, which allowed him to sense the universe¡¯sws before he was attacked.

    By the time Lu Yin arrived at a very ordinary looking region of the universe, he had been attacked no fewer than five times by thews of the Big Stone Universe, though none of the attacks had done anything. He had finally arrived at the information center, which was a great distance away from the Big Stone Empire. While the ce seemedpletely mundane, it was protected by Semi-Progenitor-level experts.

    Lu Yin was escorted inside, and for the second time since arriving at the Endless Frontier, he entered an information center. The first had been the inverted tower in the Lilliput Universe.

    As for the Big Stone Universe¡¯s information center, the ce was nothing special. It simply had a bit more protection and was slightly more concealed than other bases.

    "Sir, over here please."

    Lu Yin looked at a disy in front of him. He was able to enter text and questions, and his messages would be almost instantly delivered to Proximity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s messages would not be directly transmitted, but rather first sent to someone in the same universe, who would then pass it on. The intermediary would not know the contents of any message, if that was what Lu Yin wanted.

    Before Lu Yin could think of what to send, a line of text appeared on the disy.

    "Congrattions, Dao Monarch Lu, for triggering both the Lilliput and Gemini Universes¡¯ green lights."

    Lu Yin entered some text in response. "Why did you want to talk to me?"

    "I assumed that Dao Monarch Lu would have some questions."

    "Because I don''t know anything about the Endless Frontier?"

    "Correct."

    In Proximity, a woman calmly sat before a disy, messaging Lu Yin.

    She was very curious about him. Commanding Proximity essentially meant that she was responsible for all of the Sixverse Association¡¯s forces on the Endless Frontier, as well as all information sent to and from the Endless Frontier. Naturally, she had also had ess to Lu Yin¡¯s information.

    The Lu family had been exiled, and Lu Yin had lost both his memories and his cultivation. Despite that, he had once again risen to the peak in a shockingly short amount of time. No, he had not merely reached the peak¡ªhe had united the entire Fifth Maind, faced off against the four ruling powers of the Perennial World, and be the master of the reestablished Heavens Sect. Hemanded many experts, including Ascendant-level experts who had served since the greatest heights of the Heavens Sect era. Those people might be Progenitors at any moment.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s mediocre cultivation level, he was already capable of fighting against peak powerhouses, such as Specter Progenitor and Progenitor Xia Shenji.

    After the woman learned about Lu Yin¡¯s impressive history, she hade to admire him even more. How had he aplished so much? How were such things even possible? Even if the Lu family had not been banished and Lu Xiaoxuan were still alive, it would be impossible to aplish such feats. The things that Lu Yin had done defied anyone¡¯s imagination.

    All that could be said was that Lu Yin had done things that would have been impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to aplish.

    Themander had asked to directlymunicate with Lu Yin because she was simply too curious about him.

    "Can I ask you anything?" Lu Yin''s message arrived.

    The woman''s eyes lit up. "Yes, though I will decide whether to answer you or not."

    Lu Yinughed. "If I purge the Big Stone Universe, can I leave the Endless Frontier?"

    "Yes."

    "Will the Great Sovereign allow it?"

    "These are the rules."

    "What if the Great Sovereign wants to break the rules?"

    The woman looked up as she sent a message. "Not even Master can break the rules, unless it is possible to single-handedly wipe out Aeternus."

    Lu Yin paused for a moment. "A Progenitor-level corpse king is now in the Big Stone Universe. If I kill it, how big of an aplishment is that?"

    "Huge."

    "Alright, but how huge?"

    "Do you want to ask about rewards, or what can happen if you clear the Big Stone Universe?"

    "Tell me about the rewards."

    "It can¡¯tpare to clearing three universes, but you certainly will not be disappointed. You can choose a material and a spiritual reward."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "What is a spiritual reward?"

    The woman exined, "If you kill a peak level corpse king, I will provide you with a list, and you can select any person on that list. Then, they will never be allowed to attack you or use their influence against you or those close to you. Anyone who vites such an order will be directly punished by Master.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Are you saying that if I kill a Progenitor-level corpse king, Sage Yuan won¡¯t be allowed to take action against me or my people?"

    "You can interpret it that way. If you request for Sage Yuan to be the one selected, I will agree to it."

    "Are there any other requirements?"

    "I''ll provide you with a list, and you can select a single name. Additionally, you are allowed a material reward, either by specifying what you would like, or we will choose for you."

    "I am from the Origin Universe and was sent here as punishment by Great Sovereign himself. Can I still be rewarded for my time here?"

    "Those serving on the Endless Frontier fight for mankind. No matter the reason why they were sent there, achievements should be rewarded."

    Lu Yinughed. "So, if I kill ten Progenitor-level corpse kings, will I be able to select ten peak powerhouses and prevent them from ever taking action against me? Or could I just choose the Great Sovereign as one of the names?"

    In Proximity, a smile appeared on the woman¡¯s face. Even when she was smiling, her appearance was as cold as ever. "The expert killed must be equal to the ones you ask to not be allowed to attack you. If you want to request that Master never attack you, you will need to kill one of the Seven Skygods."

    Lu Yin frowned. "The Great Sovereign only corresponds to the Seven Skygods?"

    "It¡¯s a reward, as otherwise, you would need to kill True God Yi Wei. Are you concerned that Master may attack you?"

    Lu Yin dropped the topic and moved on. "Where is Proximity?"

    "Noment."

    "Who are you?"

    The woman quietly stared at the screen for a moment before sending back just two words. ¡°Sage Bodhi.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at his own screen in surprise. <i>Sage Bodhi? It''s actually her?</i>

    The Cyclic Universe had Three Sovereigns and Nine sages, but even if one ignored the Three Sovereigns, practically nothing was known about Sage Bodhi. It was surprising to learn that she was in Proximity.

    Lu Yin knew very little about Sage Bodhi despite his various interactions with the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses. In fact, he only knew for certain that Sage Bodhi was a woman.

    After Lu Yin learned the identity of whom he was speaking with, he became very curious about Sage Bodhi.

    "Do you need help to deal with the powerful corpse king that has appeared in the Big Stone Universe?" Sage Bodhi sent.

    Lu Yin asked, "What can you tell me about the other Progenitor-level corpse king in this universe?"

    "The other powerhouse is not a corpse king, but rather an extremely powerful creature known as a camphor bug. It was specifically designed to deal with the bestowal art carrier..."

    The woman then proceeded to share all of their information on the camphor bug with Lu Yin.

    After hearing everything, Lu Yin had only one feeling: perfect counter.

    "Do you wish to have reinforcements sent over?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes sparkled. "There¡¯s no need."

    "Can you deal with it?"

    "If I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll ask for help. Alright, that¡¯s all for now." With that, Lu Yin ended the conversation.

    As long as Sage Bodhi had not lied, Lu Yin felt confident that he could deal with both the camphor bug and the Progenitor-level corpse king that were in the Big Stone Universe.

    By eliminating these two enemies, Lu Yin could prevent two of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses from ever attacking him or any of his people. This meant that he would be removing two potential threats, while also being rewarded with a great deal of wealth.

    With the slipper in his hand, Lu Yin was quite fearless. This reward would be delivered right to his door.

    If the powerhouse in the Big Stone Universe was someone like Shaman God who could wield the power of space, then Lu Yin would not bother trying to fight such a person, as it would be impossible tond a single hit with the slipper.

    In Proximity, the disy disappeared in front of Sage Bodhi, and she resumed staring at the distant disys while listening to the reports passed about the Endless Frontier.

    Why was Lu Yin so confident?

    If he sessfully cleared even the Big Stone Universe, then it would cause some people in the Sixverse Association to grow nervous.

    In the Big Stone Universe, once Lu Yin finished his conversation with Sage Bodhi, he departed from the data center and headed straight for the Big Stone Empire.

    All of the Sixverse Association¡¯s cultivators who were sent to the Big Stone Universe would first stop in the Big Stone Empire. That was the only ce where they could search for a suitable stone to carry that would protect them from the universe¡¯sws and allow them to fight freely in the universe.

    The Aeternals did not have to bother with such a hassle, as most of them relied on pure physical might to fight. Physical strength rarely triggered thews of the universe, but that was not something that human cultivators could rely on.

    If humans were truly restricted to nothing more than their raw physical might, the Big Stone Universe would have fallen to the Aeternals long ago.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the Big Stone Empire, the emperor personally greeted him, leading a group of senior officials who represented the Big Stone Empire. All of the people carried stones on their backs, which looked very strange.

    Lu Yin received a warm wee, which surprised him. "You don''t need to fight on the battlefield?"

    The emperor smiled. "Outsiders have a bit of a misunderstanding about our Great Stone Universe, as they all believe that this universe is a battlefield for peak powerhouses and is incredibly dangerous. However, the truth is that the only powerhouse from Aeternus that we need to deal with is the camphor bug, which is countered by the bestowal art carrier. These two cancel each other out, which means that the rest of the universe is not bothered by them. As a result, the fighting here is not even as intense as the Gemini Universe that you just came from."

    "But now another peak powerhouse has arrived from the enemy," Lu Yinmented.

    The emperor sighed. "Which means that your arrival has saved my Great Stone Empire."

    Lu Yin was speechless. The Gemini Universe¡¯s twin elder¡¯s exnation of the Big Stone Universe had raised his caution, and that had only been exacerbated by his run-in with a Progenitor-level corpse king as soon as he entered the Big Stone Universe. After all of that, how could anyone not be intimidated by the universe?

    However, after Lu Yin learned a bit more about the universe, he rxed. If the camphor bug and the bestowal art carrier really did bnce each other out, then the universe was truly not as dangerous as the Gemini Universe.

    Still, it was nearly impossible to purge the Big Stone Universe, as doing so meant that he had to deal with the camphor bug as well.

    From all the information that Lu Yin had received from Sage Bodhi, the camphor bug boasted incredible defenses. It could use its wings to protect its entire body from the bestowal art carrier¡¯s attack, which meant that the creature could endure a peak powerhouse¡¯s full powered attacks.

    In fact, no one even knew the limits of the camphor bug¡¯s defenses.

    It was impossible for an average peak powerhouse to break through the camphor bug¡¯s defenses. If one of the Three Sovereigns tried to deal with the bug, a more powerful corpse king would be sent out, which was what had led to the current stalemate in the Big Stone Universe.

    This bnce was good for the Big Stone Empire. As long as the Aeternals kept the camphor bug focused on the bestowal art carrier, the universe would not face any real danger, and they would not even need to fight against the Aeternals.

 Chapter 2745: Camphor Bug

    <h4>Chapter 2745: Camphor Bug</h4>

    There were many cultivators in the Big Stone Universe from the Sixverse Association, but they only offered support when the situation on the battlefield became critical.

    In general, the universe was nowhere close to as dangerous as people believed it to be, as long as there was no attempt to purge all of Aeternus¡¯s forces from the universe.

    However, the arrival of the Progenitor-level corpse king had caused the Big Stone Empire to panic. They felt truly lucky that Lu Yin had also arrived at the same time.

    This was why the emperor was so enthusiastic to wee Lu Yin.

    He was afraid that, if Lu Yin moved on to another parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, there would be no one left to confront the Progenitor-level corpse king, which would doom the Big Stone Empire. Their entire civilization would be destroyed.

    While carrying stones on their backs made the citizens of the Big Stone Empire appear honest and simply, they were actually quite cunning.

    The emperor yed the part of a warm and weing host to Lu Yin, who did not hold back from enjoying what he was offered. There were times when it was good to rx and enjoy. After all, a string that was stretched too taut would snap.

    Lu Yin had spent several years hidden within the Sixverse Association, and he was mentally exhausted.

    The peaceful songs and dances of the Big Stone Empire were a sharp contrast to what Lu Yin had experienced in both the Lilliput Universe and the Gemini Universe.

    The rxing atmosphere was also a sharp contrast to the distant battlefield in the universe where the fighting urred.

    The Endless Frontier was a meat grinder, and most people who arrived on the battlefield feared being forced to fight until they were finally killed. However, there were also people who would always find ways to enjoy themselves no matter where they were.

    The emperor had been carefully observing Lu Yin, and when the man saw no sign of disgust from Lu Yin, the emperor sighed. "Mister Lu, you are truly rare among the various heroes I¡¯ve encountered. I thought that you would not be satisfied with what we can offer you."

    "Why would I not be satisfied? Their dance is quite beautiful," Lu Yin casually replied.

    The emperor smiled, and down below, a group of cultivators from the Great Stone Empire as well as some cultivators from the Sixverse Associationughed. "Not everyone can ept what we offer. I would like to offer a toast to Mister Lu."

    "To Mister Lu!"

    Lu Yin downed his drink and then observed the emperor. "Your injury is rather serious."

    The man answered in a bitter tone, "It will take at least a few more years for me to recover."

    Lu Yin looked back at the others who were present. Some of them were also injured, but some had no wounds at all. The emperor had been seriously injured, and from what Lu Yin could observe, the man could not rejoin the battlefield, so he spent his time rxing. The man did not fear death.

    The following day, the emperor led Lu Yin to the ce where he could select his own stone.

    "Mister Lu, sometimes it''s not that people from my Big Stone Universe are unwilling to fight on the battlefield, but rather that they are unable to do so. We only have so many stones, and while some of them are used bybatants, others are needed to protect the data center, and others are needed to protect the Big Stone Empire itself. Thus, our empire has very little choice in the matter," the emperor shared as he stared at a pit of stones before them.

    Lu Yin stared at the massive pit. It contained tens of thousands of stones, and what he could see was less than a tenth of the entire pit.

    Before visiting this ce, Lu Yin had assumed that the people of the Big Stone Empire treated their stones with respect, so he was surprised to see that they just casually tossed them into a pit.

    "Where did all of these stonese from?" Lu Yin asked. He had studied a bit of the power that was contained within the stones, and it seemed that a person¡¯s cultivation determined the stone that best suited them.

    For example, the emperor himself carried a stone that possessed the power of a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that it should be able to protect the man from a corresponding reaction from thews of the universe.

    The emperor proceeded to slowly reveal the history of the Big Stone Empire.

    It was not aplicated story; an unprecedentedly powerful expert had visited the Big Stone Universe, and while no one understood what he did, after he died, the universe¡¯sws had changed. Fortunately, before dying, the powerhouse had found a meteorite and imprinted his own power into it before shattering it.

    Anyone who carried a fragment of that meteorite would be protected from thews of the universe. Without those stones, the universe would have no cultivators at all.

    Lu Yin listened in solemn silence. This powerhouse had altered the underlyingws of the Big Stone Universe, and for him to have done so, he had to at least be as powerful as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, if not at the level of Lord Xu.

    "That powerhouse was the first emperor of our Big Stone Empire, while I am already the 1,269th generation," the emperor said while shaking his head. "I pity my ancestor, as after his first generation, not a single peak powerhouse has appeared in our Big Stone Empire.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. The ancient powerhouse was able to be a Progenitor even with thews of the Big Stone Universe. Just how powerful must they have been?

    If Lu Yin had been born in the Big Stone Empire, he would have never been able to cultivate to his current level.

    "Mister Lu, you can choose from any of these stones. It is best if you choose a stone that is close to your own level of cultivation, as otherwise it will be too difficult for you to fight a corpse king while also remaining on guard against the universe¡¯sws," the emperor cautioned.

    Lu Yin looked behind the man, and the emperor¡¯s eyebrows rose. "My own stone is one that I inherited, as it is the same stone used by all the previous emperors. You should not try this one, Mister Lu."

    Lu Yin replied, "You don¡¯t have to worry. That one¡¯s useless to me even if you gave it to me, as it¡¯s not strong enough."

    The emperor¡¯s eyes flickered at Lu Yin¡¯sment. This exined how the young man had been able to drive away that extremely powerful corpse king. While Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation was not particrly high, he possessed thebat strength to face off against peak powerhouses. Only a stone with that level of energy could meet Lu Yin¡¯s needs.

    However, that depended entirely on whether Lu Yin could find such a stone.

    In fact, the emperor felt rather torn and confused at the moment. Lu Yin was present to help protect the Big Stone Empire, and naturally, the emperor should be helping however possible and find the most suitable stone for Lu Yin. However, the only suitable stone was reserved for when someone from the Big Stone Universe broke through and became a Stone Emperor. It had never been offered to an outsider, and to do so would go against the ancestor¡¯s teachings. Even so, the emperor wondered if he should give Lu Yin that stone.

    Lu Yin looked down at the pit of stones, finding the situation rather odd. "I''m here to help your Big Stone Empire fight against Aeternus, so why do I need to find my own stone? Shouldn¡¯t you be helping me, Senior?"

    The emperor shrugged helplessly. "You mustn¡¯t me me, Mister Lu. I¡¯m merely following the teachings of my ancestor."

    Lu Yin looked at the man with a half-smile that was not really a smile. "When your ancestorid down his rules for your people, were you already fighting against Aeternus?"

    The emperor hesitated. "Well, not yet."

    "Your ancestor could not predict the future of the Big Stone Empire, and I believe that, if he had known how things would turn out, he would have never made that rule. However, this is honestly just a waste of time," Lu Yinmented. He did not wait for an answer from the emperor and casually caused an inconspicuous stone to fly up from the pit.

    This stone was a bit smaller than most of the others, but because of its runes, Lu Yin was certain that this was the best stone for him. After all, it possessed the densest and most chaotic energies.

    The emperor had been internally debating whether he should help Lu Yin find that particr stone, so he actually felt relieved when he saw that he did not need to struggle with that dilemna any longer. Still, he felt a bit apologetic to Lu Yin.

    When the emperor saw the stone that Lu Yin had selected, he was stunned for a moment, and then his expression changed drastically. "Mister Lu, what are you doing?"

    The stone was calmly floating in front of Lu Yin. Because he had used a bit of energy, thews of the universe had silently appeared and was about to descend upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately ced the stone atop his head, and the power within the stone shed, causing the universe¡¯sws to disappear.

    The emperor stared in a daze, as Lu Yin had selected the exact stone that the emperor had been debating giving to the young man. How had he found the stone on his own, and so quickly at that?

    After the Big Stone Universe had been integrated into the Endless Frontier, the emperor had encountered many powerhouses from the Sixverse Association, but none of them had ever given off the same feeling as Lu Yin. This youth did not radiate an aura of power and invibility, but rather one of mysteriousness.

    It was clear that Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation was not too high, but he had expressed the utmost confidence in dealing with one of the Aeternals¡¯ most powerful corpse kings. On top of that, he had found the best stone from the pit almost instantly. Not even the emperor himself could have found the stone as quickly as Lu Yin.

    As these thoughts shed through the emperor¡¯s mind, he offered Lu Yin a solemn bow. "My Big Stone Empire will need to trouble you, Mister Lu."

    Lu Yin nced at the man. "Show me the way to the bestowal art carrier."

    Lu Yin was asking to be directed to the battlefield for peak powerhouses in the Big Stone Universe. It was the most terrifying and dangerous location in the entire universe. Not only was it where the camphor bug and the bestowal art carrier faced off against each other, but it was also where most of the Semi-Progenitor level experts fought in the Big Stone Universe.

    The emperor personally led Lu Yin along, and after half an hour, they arrived at the battlefield.

    The Big Stone Universe was massive, and it wasparable in size to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, Innerverse, and Starfall Seabined, though it was not asrge as the entire Fifth Maind.

    Far away, Lu Yin caught the sight of a familiar object: the bestowal art carrier.

    When Lu Yin had first seen one of the massive carriers, he had been shocked. These devices allowed the Transcendent Universe to fight against cultivators as strong as Progenitors. This was something that Lu Yin could never have dreamed of before leaving the Fifth Maind.

    A machine created by humans was actually able to match the destructive power that only a person who had reached the peak was capable of unleashing. All that could be said was that while human cultivation held limitless potential, so too did human creativity.

    Battles were being fought in every direction around the bestowal art carrier, several of which Lu Yin noticed had Semi-Progenitor-level experts.

    However, none of the experts currently fighting on the battlefield couldpare to the emperor of the Big Stone Empire. The man had reached the peak of his cultivation realm, and he was at the same level as Elder Gong, who was just a step away from triggering his breakthrough to be a Progenitor. Unfortunately, as long as the emperor remained in the Big Stone Universe, he would never be able to break through.

    As for the emperor¡¯sbat power, Lu Yin had never seen the man fight, so he had no way of measuring it.

    "The bestowal art carrier¡¯s opponent is the camphor bug. It wraps its wings around the machine to stop it fromunching any attacks, and no matter how powerful the attacks from the bestowal art carrier might be, they are unable to break through those wings. However, the camphor bug is also tied up by the bestowal art carrier, unable to leave.

    "If the two arepared, then the camphor bug cannotpare to the destructive power of the carrier and is almost unable to even attack. The best that it can do is try to crush something with its body. From the perspective of Aeternus, that camphor bug is actually tying the carrier down here," the emperor exined the state of the battlefield to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin observed the distant form of the camphor bug. It was even bigger than the bestowal art carrier. At first nce, it looked like a massive cockroach with enormous transparent wings that could spread out. They were just long enough to wrap around the bestowal art carrier.

    "The bestowal art carriers need aparable sourcebox in order to release attacks at the level of a peak powerhouse. Who provides the necessary sourceboxes?" Lu Yin suddenly thought of something and asked.

    The term sourcebox seemed to be universal, just like how the Sixverse Association also used and calledmunication crystals that.

    The emperor replied, "While my Big Stone Empire is not overlyrge, we boast a long history that goes back to even before the Sixverse Association was established. We still have some sourceboxes."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as the man spoke. The emperor understood what Lu Yin wanted, and he said with a smile, "If you need them, I can offer you some. Besides, because of how the camphor bug has kept the carrier from being used for so long, we have some sourceboxes saved up."

    "Then that¡¯s settled. Thank you, Senior," Lu Yin responded politely. The more sourceboxes he could obtain, the better. Even without bestowal art carriers, the Fifth Maind had designs for many sourcebox arrays, but they needed sourceboxes to properly implement them.

    A sourcebox array was not necessarily any weaker than the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bestowal Art. Progenitor Hui had developed Ceaseless Impetus, which had kept Aeternus restricted to the rear battlefield behind the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree, and Gu Yue had used a sourcebox array to seal the spatial passage connecting the Fifth Maind to the Three Monarchs Universe. Sourcebox arrays could be incredibly powerful, and the more that Lu Yin had ess to, the better.

    With this, Lu Yin had already obtained some benefits from being in the Big Stone Universe.

    He grew solemn, and as the emperor of the Big Stone Empire watched in a daze, the young man pulled out a slipper. "It''s time to purge this universe."

    Purging the Big Stone Universe would be impossible for others, as even someone as powerful as Xu Wuwei might not be able to break through the camphor bug¡¯s defenses, but Lu Yin was different. He had the slipper, and if given enough time, he could use it to kill even Undying God, let alone some bug.

    No one paid any attention to Lu Yin''s arrival. The fighting on this battlefield had never stopped for far too long. As long as the camphor bug did not move, the stalemate would continue in this universe.

    The people on this battlefield still had not been informed that a Progenitor-level corpse king had already arrived in the universe.

    However, what was truly odd was the fact that the giant corpse king had not revealed itself.

 Chapter 2746: Swept Across

    <h4>Chapter 2746: Swept Across</h4>

    Lu Yin ignored the emperor¡¯s stare. Slipper in hand, he moved along the spatial lines to appear in the middle of the battlefield. Right in front of him were the transparent wings of the camphor bug, and inside those wings was the bestowal art carrier. Lu Yin could even see people from the Transcendent Universe on the trapped carrier.

    This carrier was almost perfectly identical to the one that Lu Yin had previously seen in the Cloudflow Universe.

    As Lu Yin looked upwards, he could see the camphor bug¡¯s massive eyes. Compared to the bug, Lu Yin was smaller than an ant, and itpletely ignored him.

    A corpse king appeared behind Lu Yin, only to be instantly smashed apart with a p of the slipper. The slipper rose up again and then mmed down.

    Far away, the emperor of the Great Stone Empire watched the battlefield. He did not care about the camphor bug¡¯s presence at all; rather, he was worried about the Progenitor-level corpse king that had recently arrived in the universe. The emperor felt that Lu Yin¡¯s greatest role was not to deal with the bug, as the emperor felt that it was impossible for anyone to break through the creature¡¯s defenses. No, Lu Yin would be best used to counter the powerful corpse king that had gone missing.

    Since Lu Yin had already driven the monster off once, he could do so again.

    Suddenly, a disturbing, mind-numbing scream that had never been heard before rang out. It acted like a boulder cast into ake, disrupting the entire battlefield.

    Countless people covered their ears and turned to look in the same direction in shock, as the scream hade from the direction of the camphor bug.

    The emperor was also turned to look, and his mouth fell open as he stared in disbelief.

    The camphor bug¡¯s transparent wings that had left even peak powerhousespletely helpless suddenly had cracks running through them. Standing beneath the cracks was Lu Yin, the slipper raised high in his hand. "Again."

    The slipper snapped down again, and another scream erupted from the camphor bug. It retracted its transparent wings in an instant, and for the first time in many years, the bestowal art carrier was finally released.

    All across the battlefield, both human cultivators, Aeternal corpse kings, and the creatures controlled by the Aeternals all stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Had he really just broken through the camphor bug¡¯s defenses?

    Lu Yin had not expected such a strong reaction after breaking the bug¡¯s wings, and he sneered at the bug. "Are you afraid of a bit of pain? Then you''re done for!"

    The moment that Lu Yin spoke, he charged at the bug again, the slipper raised.

    The camphor bug¡¯s pitch-ck eyes turned to stare at Lu Yin. The creature¡¯s massive, sharp ws swept out, but Lu Yin moved along the spatial lines. He remained beyond the camphor bug¡¯s reach, instantly appearing like a ghost.

    The camphor bug¡¯s ws continued tosh out, but it was unable to even touch Lu Yin. The bug moved back, clearly frightened.

    This human was strong enough to ovee the bug¡¯s defenses, while the camphor bug was unable to even touch the human. This tiny opponent perfectly countered the camphor bug.

    Lu Yin countered too many people, but he had never countered anyone as perfectly as this camphor bug. Despite possessing the strength of a Progenitor, this was the easiest opponent that Lu Yin had ever faced at this level. This camphor bug was nothing more than a slow moving target.

    Lu Yin appeared on the bug¡¯s back. From a human perspective, Lu Yin had stepped onto an endless continent. It was a solid ck surface with no end in sight.

    Lu Yin punched the camphor bug¡¯s back, but he failed to leave any sign of an impact. The blow had probably felt like nothing more than a tickle to the camphor bug.

    The bug leaped about, shaking its body all over as it tried to throw Lu Yin off.

    The entire battlefield descended into chaos. All the human cultivators retreated, and the bestowal art carrier also entered a fully defensive state while pulling back. Many corpse kings were crushed by camphor bug¡¯s rampage.

    Lu Yin snorted. He was unable to damage the beast at all, which meant that his only option was to rely on the slipper.

    The slipper mmed down on the camphor bug¡¯s back, and the impact caused a crack to appear and spread out. The camphor bug released an even shriller cry as it raced through outer space.

    The emperor had not yet reacted to what he was seeing, but he finally moved, and he quickly chased after the fleeing camphor bug. The man wanted to personally witness the death of the bug.

    The creature shed through the Big Stone Universe, constantly thrashing and rolling about as it struggled to dislodge Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin himself possessed the strength to fight against Progenitors, so how could it be easy to throw him aside? Even if the bug seeded, Lu Yin could return in an instant, as the camphor bug was unable to use the power of space.

    The slipper mmed down again and again, and the cracks on the bug¡¯s carapace grewrger andrger, until a green liquid began to ooze out. It was most likely the beast¡¯s blood.

    Lu Yin suppressed his nausea at the horrid smell and continued to attack. He wanted to p the bug to death.

    The camphor bug¡¯s screams rang out as it continued to thrash about in the Big Stone Universe.

    Lu Yin had never attacked so viciously before. Well, he had actually attacked Undying God more viciously, but that man¡¯s innate gift meant that nine out of ten of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks had missed. On the other hand, the camphor bug was forced to endure the full power of everyst one of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks as more and more cracks appeared on its body. The ck carapace, which had originally been immacte, now had countless spider webs crisscrossing it, and green liquid was being sshed everywhere.

    It would not be much longer for the beast to die.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he retreated with Inverse Step.

    A fist descended, striking the back of the camphor bug and sending the beast flying away. The Progenitor-level corpse king had returned.

    Lu Yin stared at the monster. This corpse king only had one eye, but it was staring at Lu Yin. ck lines still covered the monster¡¯s body, and most of the crushed head that Lu Yin had destroyed had recovered. How much time had passed since Lu Yin had fought the corpse king? It was recovering very quickly.

    "You don¡¯t know how to choose life over death!" Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. He held the slipper and moved with Inverse Step, making his way closer and closer to the corpse king. This corpse king merely possessed the physical might of a Progenitor and was not a true peak powerhouse itself. It did not have a Progenitor¡¯s world, and even without the slipper, Lu Yin could defeat this corpse king.

    However, since he was already using the slipper, this battle would be easy.

    The emperor of the Big Stone Empire arrived, and from a distance, he saw the Progenitor-level corpse king and grew very fearful.

    Just as he had feared, the powerful corpse king had shown itself, and the emperor was unable to deal with such a powerful opponent. Everything now depended solely on Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had already surpassed the emperor¡¯s expectations, and he had managed to break through the camphor bug¡¯s defenses.

    <i>Hey, where is that camphor bug?</i>

    Lu Yin had been forced away from the camphor bug, and he needed to first deal with the corpse king before him.

    "Die!" the Progenitor-level corpse king roared in a hoarse voice as it punched at Lu Yin. The ck lines continued to cover the corpse king¡¯s body, and its physical strength rose even further. Lu Yin was able to sense that the corpse king¡¯s power was rising, but such things were useless.

    There was a snap, as the slippershed out and mmed against the corpse king''s fist.

    Blood sttered across outer space, the corpse king''s fist shattered. The monster retreated a few steps. It was clear that the corpse king had used its full strength in that punch, but it was still unable to deal with Lu Yin¡¯s slipper.

    The watching emperor waspletely stunned. What on earth was that slipper?

    Lu Yin held his slipper and moved about with Inverse Step. It did not matter if Lu Yin confronted the corpse king directly or evaded its attacks, as the monster waspletely helpless against Lu Yin.

    With a frustrated roar, the Progenitor-level corpse king was beaten to death by a slipper, its massive body destroyed.

    Lu Yin turned to look for the camphor bug, but he had no idea where the creature had fled to.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king had been sent to die, just to save the camphor bug and give it an opportunity to escape.

    It was true that the corpse king¡¯s value could notpare to that of the camphor bug.

    This was how Aeternus handled their affairs, and they would readily trade the life of a single corpse king, regardless of its strength, for the life of that camphor bug.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and put his slipper away. He stared off into the distance and saw the emperor.

    The man approached Lu Yin, unable to suppress the excitement that filled his eyes. "Lord Lu, you really defeated that corpse king!"

    Lu Yin did not try to hide what he had done. "It merely had the physical strength of a peak powerhouse, but nothing more. Anyone at that cultivation realm could have dealt with the monster."

    "But not one who is not a peak powerhouse themselves," the emperor said with a bitter smile. Despite the fact that the corpse king had not been a true peak powerhouse, the emperor would not have been able to do a thing to the corpse king.

    The emperor was strong enough to at least survive if he encountered a peak powerhouse, but that did not mean that he could deal with an opponent like the corpse king. The emperor could notunch any attacks that could harm such an opponent.

    There were times when physical strength could reach a level that cultivation could not deal with.

    A good example of that was the corpse king that Lu Yin had encountered in the Sixth Maind. Not even Lu Yin was capable of dealing with such overwhelming physical might, as the corpse king had even been able to resist Lu Yin¡¯s slipper. In a one-on-one fight, Lu Yin had been no match for that corpse king, and it had also genuinely had the strength of a Progenitor. Even so, corpse kings relied on physical power and thus had no Progenitor¡¯s worlds.

    How many such monsters did Aeternus have in reserve?

    In order to save the camphor bug, Aeternus had readily and willingly sacrificed a corpse king with the physical strength of a Progenitor, despite the fact thatmon sense dictated that they could not have many such powerhouses.

    Lu Yin felt a terrible weight settle upon him.

    After eliminating the Progenitor-level corpse king and driving the camphor bug away, the rest were easy to deal with.

    Lu Yin apanied the emperor back to the battlefield where powerhouses fought against each other in the Big Stone Universe, and they found the bestowal art carrier releasing multiple beams of light, eradicating countless corpse kings. Each attack was able to clear an entire section of the battlefield.

    The sight was a bit stressful to Lu Yin. "Don¡¯t use that thing so carelessly! Save some of the sourceboxes for me."

    The emperor smiled. "You needn¡¯t worry. I can promise that you will be satisfied, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    It did not take long for that battlefield to bepletely purged, and the emperor felt remarkably rxed.

    That battlefield had not experienced any real changes for many years, and while there was a great deal more that needed to be done before the Big Stone Universe was fully purged, that day would arrive soon enough, as long as no more Progenitor-level opponents arrived.

    Lu Yin returned to the universe¡¯s data center and spoke to Sage Bodhi again.

    The woman used the Big Stone Empire¡¯s emperor to verify Lu Yin''s aplishments. "By the standards of your universe, that corpse king was not a real Progenitor-level corpse king, but merely had physical strength at that level. Because of that, there is no issue with treating this as you eliminating peak powerhouse."

    Lu Yin was eager for the rewards that he had been promised. "So, what is my reward?"

    In Wuju, Sage Bodhi calmly stared at her disy. "Is there someone that you would like to select to never be able to take action against you?"

    "I was referring to the material rewards for this. As for the peak powerhouse I can restrict from attacking me, please send me a list of options for me to choose from," Lu Yin replied.

    Sage Bodhi was surprised that someone like Lu Yin actually cared about material rewards. Was he not immediately requesting that Sage Yuan be forbidden from attacking him or his people?

    "Killing a Progenitor-level opponent rewards with material treasures of aparable level. Dao Monarch Lu, you can choose a Progenitor-level weapon or power vessel, though I will caution you. Should you choose to forbid a peak powerhouse from taking any actions against you, your material rewards will be reduced to a lower level.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. "How much is an Ascendant worth?"

    Sage Bodhi blinked as she stared at her disy. She leaned closer, thinking that she must have misread the message. "What do you mean?"

    Lu Yin replied, "You said that the material reward will be reduced, right? That means that it would be the same value as the reward for killing what your Cyclic Universe calls an Ascendant. Just pay me whatever money I would get for killing an Ascendant."

    Sage Bodhi stared at her disy again. Money? Sure enough, she had not misread the messages. On the meatgrinder that was the Endless Frontier, after the glorious achievement of killing a Progenitor-level corpse king, right after the word ¡°Ascendant,¡± Sage Bodhi had really seen the word ¡°money,¡± as well as a request for a sum.

    Sage Bodhi was more than a little confused. Lu Yin was the master of the Heavens Sect, right? Was he short on money? Was he really that desperate for funds?

    She felt that she must not have understood what Lu Yin had meant, so she asked again, "What money?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You don''t reward people marily? Star essence, or any other resource used by members of the Sixverse Association as currency would be eptable, aside from transcendent crystals."

 Chapter 2747: Ones Choices

    <h4>Chapter 2747: One''s Choices</h4>

    Lu Yin had no need for Semi-Progenitor level power vessels, or even Progenitor-level power vessels. After all, he had his slipper, which made anything else worthless to him.

    Lu Yin already knew that Aeternus would not touch him, and he was already as protected as he could be with the power vessels that he owned. It was better to just ask to be rewarded with money, and star essence would be ideal. With that, he would be able to use Possession freely whenever he visited the Cyclic Universe. Maybe he would even be able to learn the secrets of that universe.

    With enough money, Lu Yin could even Possess Sovereign Shao Yin himself and force the man tomit suicide, which would be perfect.

    Resources from the other members of the Sixverse Association could be used to replenish or strengthen the energies in the power system within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. The budding trees along the river that divided the continent of fatesand would grow stronger and taller if they received the corresponding energy.

    Mister Mu had not forbidden Lu Yin from continuing down his path, and if there was no one who could guide him, then he would simply need to forge his own path.

    In fact, the best option would be stellr essence, but that resource was too delicate. In fact, after Lu Yin had learned a bit more about the Cyclic Universe, he started questioning whether they possessed anything simr to the Mother Tree that could produce stellr essence in that universe.

    With this, Sage Bodhi would understand that, when Lu Yin had mentioned money, he was truly referring to the mostmon resource in existence: money. Nothing more than material wealth.

    The woman¡¯s expression changed, and many of the other women in Wuju were simrly surprised. This was the first time they had ever seen such a reaction from Sage Bodhi. She had witnessed the Endless Frontier encounter crises and watched multiple peak powerhouses fall, but she had never reacted in such a manner.

    Just who was this Lu Yin that he could produce such a strong reaction from Sage Bodhi?

    "I understand. In that case..." Sage Bodhi thought for a bit. How should she know how much an Ascendant was worth? "500 million. I can give you 500 million star essence."

    Lu Yin was stunned. <i>So much?</i>

    He had thought that a reward of 200 million would be pretty decent. After all, the Sixverse Association had many cultivators at the Semi-Progenitor level.

    Sage Bodhi oversaw the entire Endless Frontier, which meant that she was aware of an even greater number of Semi-Progenitor-level cultivators.

    Thus, Lu Yin genuinely had not expected such a generous reward.

    If he were still in the Fifth Maind, back when he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin would not think that 500 million star essence was a high price for the life of a Semi-Progenitor. After all, even the Daynight n had possessed that much wealth, while at that time, there had only been seven Semi-Progenitors in the entire Fifth Maind.

    However, that had been the Fifth Maind, not the Sixverse Association, much less the Endless Frontier.

    While it could not be said that there were Semi-Progenitor level experts everywhere in the Endless Frontier, at the very least, there were experts at that level of strength in every single parallel universe. Even the Lilliput Universe, which Cang Bi had regarded as a safe universe, had Semi-Progenitor-level cultivators, and more than one such expert at that.

    The idea that he could be rewarded with 500 million star essence made Lu Yin very excited. If he could obtain simr funds for every Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king he killed...

    Ten would not be difficult, and even 100 was not impossible for Lu Yin, provided he remained on the Endless Frontier long enough.

    That thought suddenly reminded him that he owed the New Inn the lives of four Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    "I¡¯ll take it: 500 million star essence," Lu Yin replied, feeling a bit impatient.

    Sage Bodhi waspletely unconcerned. She had never bothered herself with resources. Even when she had first started cultivating, her master had been one of the Nine Sages, and thus she had never experienced ack of resources. She had no idea how much 500 million star essence actually was. In addition to that, as themander of the Endless Frontier, the expenditures that she overheard were always in the hundreds of millions.

    "Now, choose the peak powerhouse you wish to be forbidden from attacking you or those you choose."

    Sage Bodhi said nothing more about the money that Lu Yin had been rewarded, and instead sent a list of five names: Sage Yuan, Sage Stone, Cong Si, Xu Leng, Shan Yan.

    The first name on the list was Sage Yuan.

    It was impossible for Sage Bodhi to not know about Sage Yuan¡¯s grudges with Lu Yin, and yet she had still put his name on the list for Lu Yin. What was she trying to do?

    If there was a desire to prevent Sage Yuan from attacking Lu Yin, then why put his name on the list? Why not simply order the Sage directly?

    Next was Sage Stone. The previous Sage Stone had died and had already been reced. Lu Yin had no idea who the new Sage Stone Was, and even Shi Jiao had mentioned that she did not know who the new Sage was.

    Lu Yin really wanted to ask about the identity of the new Sage Stone, but that question would reveal that he possessed extensive knowledge of the Sixverse Association, which meant that he absolutely could not ask that question.

    Cong Si? Lu Yin had never heard the name before, and he did not even know which universe the powerhouse was from.

    Lu Yin just nced at Xu Ling¡¯s name, as he was extremely familiar with the woman.

    Shan Yan... The surname indicated that they were a powerhouse from the Lost n, as all peak powerhouses from the Lost n would adopt the Shan surname upon reaching that level. It was also highly unlikely that any of the Lost n¡¯s powerhouses would be Lu Yin¡¯s enemies.

    "Can you give me some information about these people?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sage Bodhi adjusted her hat. Lu Yin had not immediately chosen Sage Yuan. Did he not care about the Sage? Still...

    "Noment. Make your choice on your own."

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Whoever I choose cannot attack me or target me in any way, but what about me? Can I attack them?"

    "Yes, but the moment you do, the restrictions will be negated, and the person will be able to retaliate and take whatever action they wish," Sage Bodhi replied.

    Lu Yin no longer hesitated. "I choose Sage Yuan."

    If he would also be forbidden from attacking the person whom he selected, then there was no way that Lu Yin would ever choose Sage Yuan. Lu Yin was determined to kill Sage Yuan himself.

    However, since there was nothing stopping Lu Yin from attacking Sage Yuan, there was no reason not to select the man.

    In the end, Lu Yin chose Sage Yuan out of fear that the man would attack the Origin Universe in some convoluted manner while Lu Yin was absent.

    From what Lu Yin had learned from Sage Bodhi, the requests were acknowledged and enforced by the Great Sovereign himself. So unless Sage Yuan was willing to endure the Lament of the Sages, he would never dare to move against Lu Yin or anyone from the Origin Universe.

    Sage Bodhi was not surprised, as she was aware of Sage Yuan¡¯s grudge against Lu Yin. There was no one else that Lu Yin would choose from the list.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s few questions also made it obvious that he had no intention of ever allowing Sage Yuan to go either.

    "Make sure you specify who you want to be protected," Sage Bodhi replied.

    Lu Yin instantly sent a single response back: Origin Universe.

    Sage Bodhi was speechless. This was a rather excessive request, and it even included the four ruling powers.

    "I will inform Sage Yuan. From the moment he receives the notification, he will not be allowed to do anything at all to the Origin Universe, including ordering actions to be taken indirectly, inciting hatred against them, etc. If anything is discovered, Master will personally take action. You can rest assured that this will be enforced, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I would love to see Sage Yuan''s expression when he hears the news."

    Sage Bodhi looked up. Actually, she also wanted to see that reaction, so she decided to personally deliver the news.

    "With the Progenitor-level corpse king dealt with, do you intend to purge the Big Stone Universe, Dao Monarch Lu?" Sage Bodhi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course. I want to leave the Endless Frontier quickly. Sage Bodhi, I¡¯m not sure when I will speak with you next."

    "It might be during Master¡¯s tea ceremony, as you will certainly be invited," Sage Bodhi replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Would Sage Bodhi also be attending the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony? Lu Yin was already looking forward to that event, as he was personally going to kill that old dog Sage Yuan during the event.

    ...

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin stood in outer space, staring off into the distance.

    Most of the Big Stone Universe had already been purged, and it was just a matter of days before it became official.

    Once the Progenitor-level opponents were gone, Lu Yin had an even easier time purging the Big Stone Universe than he had in the Gemini Universe. Due to the unique characteristics of the Gemini Iniverse, there had been a shocking number of corpse kings there, which hadplicated things. Meanwhile, the greatest obstacle in the Big Stone Universe had been the Aeternals¡¯ Progenitor-level forces.

    Lu Yin refused to rest, as he wanted to fully purge the Big Stone Universe as quickly as possible, and have it officially recognized.

    Aeternus had sent two Progenitor-level monsters to the Big Stone Universe, which meant that they would not abandon the universe. There was a good chance that another powerful corpse king would soon arrive.

    <i>Wait... </i>Lu Yin suddenly felt that something was wrong, and he turned to look in the direction of the Big Stone Empire.

    No matter how he looked at the current situation, things were not quite right.

    If Lu Yin had realized that the Aeternals would not be willing to abandon the Big Stone Universe, then how could the emperor of the Big Stone Empire have not realized the same thing? If the man had realized that Aeternus would return in force, then why was he encouraging Lu Yin to purge Aeternus from the universe? The next powerhouse sent by the Aeternals might not be the camphor bug, and it might not even be something that the bestowal art carrier could keep upied. This meant that the peace that the universe had enjoyed during the recent stalemate wouldpletely disappear.

    That consequently meant that the war in the Big Stone Universe would be far more brutal than ever before.

    If all of that was urate, then why was the emperor so happy?

    Was it really just because the Aeternals were being defeated?

    The Aeternals were highly intelligent, and they also did not care about winning or losing a single location, which was no different from humanity.

    If Lu Yin were the emperor of the Big Stone Empire, he would have preferred the camphor bug and the bestowal art carrier to tie each other down. That would greatly restrict the area in the universe that was impacted by the ongoing war, while also creating a stable situation. Of course, the Progenitor-level corpse king had been outside of any such bnce, which meant that its presence had disrupted the situation.

    If Lu Yin ruled the Big Stone Universe, he would have made sure that the Progenitor-level corpse king was eliminated, and not the camphor bug.

    What was going on with the emperor¡¯s current behavior?

    After a while, Lu Yin stopped thinking about the matter. Regardless of the theories he came up with, as long as just a few more days passed, the Big Stone Universe would be officially purged, and then it would be time for Lu Yin to leave the Endless Frontier.

    During his time as Xuan Qi, Lu Yin had constantly heard about how cruel the Endless Frontier was, and it was absolutely true. However, it was also evident to Lu Yin that the Sixverse Association was not putting forth its best efforts.

    Sage Yuan and Sovereign Shao Yin were allowed to freely roam about as though they had no responsibilities. After drafting Progenitors from the four ruling powers, the Sixverse Association would undoubtedly pull more peak powerhouses away from the frontlines. It was clear that the Endless Frontier could be fully resolved by the Sixverse Association, which meant that Lu Yin did not need to be concerned about the situation of the war and could instead worry about his own problems.

    While the behavior of the emperor was suspicious, Lu Yin did not believe that the man was a spy for Aeternus or some sort of traitor. As long as the man was not cooperating with Aeternus to undermine humanity, Lu Yin would not care about whatever the man was scheming.

    In a distant universe on the Endless Frontier, Sage Bodhi found Sage Yuan.

    The man had been sent to the Endless Frontier now, and things had not been easy for him.

    Lu Yin had been allowed to choose which parallel universe he was sent to, but Sage Yuan was not given that privilege. This was not because the Great Sovereign had deliberately made things difficult for Sage Yuan, but rather because of a standard rule of the Endless Frontier: any peak powerhouse who was punished by the Great Sovereign would be sent to the ce on the Endless Frontier where the fighting was fiercest, and this particrly applied to the Nine Sages.

    At the moment, Sage Yuan was in a very pathetic-looking condition. Blood stained his abdomen, and he had clearly been badly injured. He appeared frustrated and seemed as though he was restraining himself, much like a suppressed volcano about to erupt.

    It was only because Sage Bodhi was delivering a message that Sage Yuan had been temporarily allowed to step away from the battlefield.

    The man¡¯s cold eyes drifted back towards the battlefield. Even someone as powerful as Sage Yuan had fear in his eyes. He needed to find a way to get away from the battlefield, or else he would certainly die.

    <i>These damned monsters.</i>

    "What''s the matter?" Sage Yuan asked when he looked back at the disy.

    "Lu Yin is in the Big Stone Universe."

    Sage Yuan''s eyes shed with a dangerous glint. <i>Lu Yin, that little shit, that vile little beast! If not for him, why would I be forced onto the Endless Frontier?</i>

    Given Sage Yuan¡¯s rtionship with Sovereign Shao Yin, he had earned enough merit to avoid the Endless Frontier for a very long time, but because of Lu Yin, Sage Yuan had been forced back early.

    The Origin Universe had been a weak and quiet ce for so long, so why could it not be left to Luo Shan or the four ruling powers? Why did a little beast have the guts to disrespect him, Sage Yuan?

    That animal had to be taught a lesson. Not just Lu Yin himself, but everyone close to him! His friends, family, and everyone with any connection to him had to pay the price. Sage Yuan would make a river of blood that flowed through the Origin Universe.

    Not only that, but Lu Yin also needed to be forced to watch everyone else die! He needed to watch as thest remnants of his Lu family were ughtered and the Lu family defamed as the greatest sinners in human history. That was the fate awaiting Lu Yin for offending Sage Yuan!

    The Sage had already nned out what he would do. Given his own status, as well as his rtionship with Sovereign Shao Yin, Sage Yuan would join forces with the Three Monarchs Universe and throw their full support behind the four ruling powers to eliminate the Heavens Sect. As long as the war was between people of the Origin Universe, joining one side or another could not be considered interference.

    As for the Endless Frontier, while it was a cruel ce to be, Sage Yuan was confident in surviving, as long as he did not end up in a fight against some absolute monster.

 Chapter 2748: Sage Yuanâ€™s Anger

    <h4>Chapter 2748: Sage Yuan¡¯s Anger</h4>

    "He has performed exceptionally and has even killed a Progenitor-level corpse king," Sage Bodhi sent.

    Sage Yuan''s pupils shrank sharply in disbelief, and he quickly replied, "What are you saying? He killed a corpse king equal to a peak powerhouse?"

    A smile spread across Sage Bodhi''s face. Sage Yuan was answering so quickly! There must be a miserable expression on his face at this moment. This situation was indeed quite interesting. "In ordance to the Endless Frontier¡¯s rules, he selected you, Sage Yuan. From this moment forward, you are not allowed to attack him or anyone within the Origin Universe. Doing so will vite the rules put in ce by Master, and you will need to bear the consequences for doing so."

    Sage Yuan just stared at the disy in front of him.

    Suddenly, a shout split the air, radiating out with such force that everyone in the universe¡¯s data center where Sage Yuan was standing copsed to the floor, bleeding from every orifice as they stared up at him in terror.

    Some had even lost consciousness.

    Sage Yuan continued to roar, and he even wanted to do more than that. How could that little beast do this? How was it possible? That vile, wretched little animal!

    Sage Yuan had never experienced such anger before.

    Every day he spent on the Endless Frontier, he resented Lu Yin. That resentment had continued to grow and umte, transforming the Sage as a person. But after all that, he was now being told that he could never touch Lu Yin or anyone else in the Origin Universe. How could he endure such a thing?

    Sage Yuan was very familiar with this particr rule, and thus he knew that not only was he forbidden from attacking Lu Yin or the Origin Universe, but he could not even do so indirectly through others. This meant that the only way that Sage Yuan could ever act against Lu Yin in any manner whatsoever would be if Lu Yin first attacked the Sage.

    In other words, when it came to Lu Yin, Sage Yuan had beenpletely incapacitated.

    Even if Lu Yin insulted Sage Yuan to his face, the Sage could at best retaliate in kind, but he could not take any physical actions. Doing so would result in him being punished with the Lamentation of the Sages.

    <i>That beast, that beast!</i> Sage Yuan clenched his fists, and a vibrant red spread across his abdomen. His wounds had reopened, but the man did not even notice. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

    The man¡¯s entire body was quivering, shaking with pure rage.

    Sage Bodhi quietly stared at her own disy, silently counting the time. Even after a long time, Sage Yuan had not responded. It seemed that Sage Yuan hated Lu Yin more than Sage Bodhi had expected. In that case...

    "Sage Yuan, I will remind you that this is a rule put in ce by Master. No one can vite these rules, regardless if they are the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages or the rulers of the universes of the Sixverse Association. Anyone who break these rules will be killed."

    Sage Yuan¡¯s bloodshot eyes stared at the message from Sage Bodhi. The man¡¯s chest was heaving.

    After some time, he finally managed to calm down. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, he felt much calmer.

    "I understand," Sage Yuan sent back.

    "Also, he is about to officially purge the Big Stone Universe. That,bined with the Gemini and Lilliput Universes, means that he will have purged three neighboring parallel universes and will be allowed to leave the Endless Frontier the moment it is verified."

    Sage Yuan''s eyes red as he read the message. Already? The beast was about to leave the battlefield.

    All of his previously suppressed rage surged once more. While Sage Yuan had been desperately struggling just to survive, that little beast was about to leave, and he had even ensured that Sage Yuan could never harm a single hair on Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Blood sprayed as Sage Yuan coughed up blood. His anger had climbed so high that he had actually coughed up blood. Streaks of blood dribbled down from the corners of his mouth, and his fingers were almost crushed from clenching so tightly.

    After a long time, the man finally managed to calm back down again. "Is there anything else?"

    Sage Bodhi stared at the disy, seeing that Sage Yuan seemed to have regained control of himself. Her curiosity towards Lu Yin was growingrger andrger. It was amazing to see Sage Yuan, one of the exalted Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, be angered so deeply.

    "No, I was just informing you."

    Sage Yuan stared at the disy for a moment. "Share this news with Sovereign Shao Yin for me. He should also be informed."

    Sage Bodhi frowned. Tell Sovereign Shao Yin? All information regarding the Endless Frontier was supposed to be sent to the entire Sixverse Association. If a message was sent to only Sovereign Shao Yin, then was that a means of pushing the Sovereign to deal with Lu Yin?

    This was most likely why Sage Yuan was not trying to send a message to Sovereign Shao Yin through Wuju. If the Sovereign moved against the Origin Universe after receiving the message, Sage Yuan would be suspected of provoking his action, which would be a vition of the restrictions that he was under. Instead, the man had asked Sage Bodhi to deliver the message. Whether or not the woman did so, it would have no connection to Sage Yuan.

    Sage Yuan stared at his disy, waiting.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin can receive the information as a part of the full report from the Endless Frontier. I will not make a special effort to inform him of this matter," Sage Bodhi replied.

    Sage Yuan sighed and then ended the conversation.

    <i>The grudge between the two of us is almost over. Unless that little beast decides to attack me, I won¡¯t be able to do anything to harm him.</i>

    Sage Yuan slowly walked out of the data center, momentarily feeling a bit at a loss.

    One of the majestic Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages was helpless to do anything to a mere child. Sage Yuan¡¯s previous arrogance had be nothing more than a joke.

    <i>If I had known that this day woulde, I would have done whatever it took to deal with him back then</i>.

    After Sage Yuan left the data center, the people who had copsed gradually recovered, though each one seemed seriously injured.

    Once the conversation ended, the disy also disappeared from in front of Sage Bodhi.

    She looked around at the other women in themand center. "Has the Endless Frontier report already been sent to the Sixverse Association?"

    "It was sent as soon as it was prepared, Ma¡¯am."

    "What about the current situation in the Big Stone Universe?"

    "That was included in the report."

    Sage Bodhi nodded. The information had already been sent. She wondered when Sovereign Shao Yin would notice the information, as well as what his reaction would be at that time.

    She would not personally send a message to the Sovereign, but he would still receive the information nheless. Everything depended on how much Sovereign Shao Yin cared about the reports from the Endless Frontier.

    Sage Yuan''s reaction made Sage Bodhi certain that Sovereign Shao Yin would take action as soon as he learned of Lu Yin''s situation. However, if by that time, Lu Yin had already left the Endless Frontier, then those actions would be meaningless.

    Their master had repeatedly emphasized that they were not allowed to enter the Origin Universe without authorization, so as soon as Lu Yin returned, Sovereign Shao Yin would not be able to do anything.

    Everything depended on which of the two was luckier: Sovereign Shao Yin or Lu Yin.

    It had been a very long time since anyone had stood up to any of the Three Sovereigns. Lu Yin deserved his position as the master of the Heavens Sect, even if the current Heavens Sect was a mere shadow of the glory that had once been associated with that name.

    ...

    Sage Bodhi assumed that the situation with Lu Yin and Sovereign Shao Yin would depend on luck, but that was not the case at all.

    She had badly underestimated Sovereign Shao Yin''s determination to deal with Lu Yin, or rather, she had underestimated Sovereign Shao Yin''s determination to eliminate what he saw as a problem for the Great Sovereign.

    The Sovereign was absolutely certain that the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, but regardless of why that was so, no one was allowed to move against the Origin Universe itself. However, Lu Yin was currently serving on the Endless Frontier and had also been disrespectful towards Sovereign Shao Yin himself. The man would hold back nothing when dealing with Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was aware of Lu Yin¡¯s situation the moment the report was delivered to the Cyclic Universe.

    "He actually killed a Progenitor-level corpse king? It¡¯s no wonder why he had the boldness to stand up to Sage Yuan and Luo Shan. So there is strength behind your confidence." Sovereign Shao Yin was currently sitting at the top of a mountain, his golden robes glowing brilliantly, illuminating the entire region.

    At the base of the mountain, countless disciples were kneeling down, awaiting the Sovereign¡¯s instructions.

    At the front of them all was Shao Gu.

    "It''s not that easy to escape from the Endless Frontier." Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes grew cold, and his body slowly disappeared.

    ...

    A few dayster, in a certain location in the Big Stone Universe, the emperor of the Big Stone Empire appeared and looked up at a point in the sky where Lu Yin had been staying.

    "Lord Lu, it is all over. There are no longer any Aeternals in the Big Stone Universe. You can report to Wuju that the universe has been fully purged," the emperor said with a smile.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at the man. This was a heartfelt smile, and it was also true that all of Aeternus¡¯s forces in the universe had been eliminated. Just what was going through this man¡¯s mind?

    "As soon as the purge is official, I¡¯ll leave." Lu Yin stated.

    The emperor stepped forward, moving closer to Lu Yin. The man pulled out a cosmic ring that he handed to Lu Yin. "This is a gift for you, Lord Lu. Please ept it."

    "What is this?"

    "Six Boundless Advanced sourceboxes."

    Lu Yin arched a brow and smiled. "Thank you very much."

    The emperor let out an emotional sigh. "I should be the one thanking you, Lord Lu. Without your help, my Big Stone Empire would still be in grave danger. Between that camphor bug and a Progenitor-level corpse king, my empire would have been quickly destroyed."

    As Lu Yin heard the man¡¯sment, it triggered a thought. "Why did that Progenitor-level corpse king evene here? It doesn¡¯t make any sense, considering that the camphor bug was already here."

    The emperor looked puzzled. "I don''t know. Maybe the Aeternals simply wanted to conquer the Big Stone Universe as quickly as possible."

    Lu Yin and the emperor stared at each other, and Lu Yin finally nodded. "Maybe."

    Everyone had their own secrets, and as long as the emperor was not deliberately harming humanity as a whole, his secrets were his own business.

    "Senior, please return. I¡¯ll wait here until the purge is official, and then I¡¯ll leave," Lu Yin said.

    "Very well. Congrattions again, Lord Lu, for being able to leave the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin smiled as he watched the emperor leave.

    He nced around. If he was being honest, he was quite at home on the Endless Frontier. If he eliminated a few more of the most powerful corpse kings, not many peak powerhouses in the Sixverse Association would be able to move against him. <i>Also, I wonder if I can add any of those old farts from the four ruling powers to that list?</i>

    <i>Hmm?</i>

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that the emperor had not asked Lu Yin to return the stone that he had picked up. The stone that Lu Yin was using was even more valuable than the stone the emperor used, as the one that Lu Yin had could protect even a Progenitor. Why did the emperor not want it?

    Lu Yin looked towards the Big Stone Universe, his eyes zing over as he considered the matter. There really was something off.

    Could it be...?

    Two hourster, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled. The emperor was trying to contact Lu Yin.

    He answered the call.

    "Lord Lu, something has happened at the data center!" the emperor reported in an anxious voice.

    Lu Yin left, traveling through spatial lines as he raced towards the Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center. It did not take him long to arrive.

    However, the data center had be a tomb. The corpses of cultivators from the Big Stone Universe were strewn everywhere, their blood forming streams.

    The various disys were covered with text, all messages from Wuju.

    Wuju was attempting to confirm the information that had been received from the Big Stone Universe. The universe was supposed to be officially recognized as having been purged of all Aeternus forces, but no one from the Big Stone Universe had responded to Wuju¡¯s messages.

    Lu Yin saw the emperor.

    The man was standing in front of a disy, his back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at the man, but he was already dead.

    Lu Yin slowly walked up to the dead emperor. There was no wound to be seen on the man¡¯s body. He was still on his feet, facing a disy, but with his eyes closed.

    How much time had passed between when the man had contacted Lu Yin and when he had died?

    Lu Yin had always been on guard in the universe, keeping runes spread out so that he would be warned if a peak powerhouse took action, but he had never noticed anything wrong.

    Words kept appearing on the various disys, changing and flickering, and then gaining colors. The words leaped out of the disy and became bubbles. It was Bubble Fantasy.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed. "Cheng Kong!"

    He immediately tried to escape. He had not expected to encounter Cheng Kong in the Big Stone Universe, but that person was someone who was second only to Seven Skygods, and Lu Yin did not want to try to fight Cheng Kong.

    However, when Lu Yin tried to leave, he found that his body could not move. What was going on?

    He had absolutely no control of his body, and he was unable to even move his eyes. He continued to stare in the same direction.

    "I¡¯ll tell your body what to do," an illusory voice spoke. It was Cheng Kong¡¯s.

    Lu Yin wanted to respond, but he was unable to do so. He wanted to mobilize the power within his body, even the power thaty within his chest, but at this moment, aside from his mind, he was unable to control anything at all. What was going on? Could Cheng Kong control a person¡¯s body?

    Lu Yin felt that this felt rather familiar.

    Right, during the Shangsan Festival, he had been attacked with a saber, and he had been unable to control his body while the saber shed him eighty-one times.

 Chapter 2749: Finishing the Job

    <h4>Chapter 2749: Finishing the Job</h4>

    There was no way that Cheng Kong was the person who had attacked Lu Yin at the Shangsan Festival. No matter how powerful Cheng Kong might be, it would have been impossible for an Aeternal powerhouses to remain hidden from the Lost n in that ce and attack Lu Yin. Additionally, if Cheng Kong had been the attacker, Lu Yin would have died to those eighty one shes.

    However, this time, Lu Yin was undoubtedly being attacked by Cheng Kong.

    The emperor of the Big Stone Empire suddenly opened his eyes, and his head turned to stare at Lu Yin through lifeless eyes. The body slowly walked over to Lu Yin, and a hand rose up. As the hand rose, a long de appeared in its grip.

    Lu Yin''s face grew pale, and beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. The emperor was clearly dead, so Cheng Kong had to be controlling the corpse.

    "I let you go once. This time, I¡¯m going to finish the job," the strange voice stated.

    It was the second sentence that Cheng Kong spoke, and thest words that Lu Yin might ever hear.

    The emperor''s de fell, and for a moment, Lu Yin felt that not only was his body being controlled, but even his instinctive defensive reactions were disabled. This de was able to kill him, and Cheng Kong had absolute control of Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    Lu Yin could only think, and his thoughts were screaming in warning.

    The body housed a person¡¯s thoughts, but Lu Yin¡¯s body could not move. All he could do was watch as the de fell.

    Suddenly, the small saber that Lu Yin had hung around his neck floated up, and de qi gushed out from it like water. Inch by inch, the de in the emperor¡¯s hand was eroded, followed by his body, but the de qi continued to spread out. It coalesced and shot out in one direction. It was a single powerful de sh.

    In the small data center, eighty one shes ripped through the area. Each one was powerful enough to tear the void open, but the surroundings did not suffer the slightest bit of damage.

    Lu Yin clearly saw the eighty one shes, and he also knew that he could not avoid them no matter what he tried. It was no different from when he had endured them in the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    However, this time, Cheng Kong was the one who was struck by the eighty one shes.

    As the final de fell, invisible ripples spread out, and Lu Yin abruptly regained control of his body. He looked up and saw that space had shattered. The endless darkness of the Hollow filled the area overhead, covering the entire sky of the Big Stone Universe.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb, and he instantly fled. He did not dare run through the spatial lines, out of fear of being swallowed by the Hollow.

    Only after he was a good distance away from the data center did he turn and look back, only to see that the Hollow had erased the entire area. There was nothing to be seen at all, other than the emptiness of outer space.

    Lu Yin feared that, without the saber acting to protect him, he would have died just then!

    He had never imagined that Cheng Kong would suddenly appear in the Big Stone Universe and try to kill him.

    The Aeternal had not appeared by chance. Lu Yin had even been told that he had been allowed to live once, but that he would be killed here.

    Had Cheng Kong been referring to the attack in the Sixth Maind?

    Lu Yin felt that the attack in the Sixth Maind had been rather odd, as with Cheng Kong¡¯s strength, Lu Yin should have been leftpletely helpless. Despite that, he had somehow escaped. It had seemed obvious to Lu Yin that he had been allowed to escape, but this time, Cheng Kong had seemed determined to kill Lu Yin.

    Had Cheng Kong been forced to allow Lu Yin to escape because of some particr reason or an order from someone?

    Had Lu Yin survived because of ckless God?

    ckless God was the first person that Lu Yin thought of, as well as the promise to not harm Lu Yin for 100,000 years. Because of that promise, ckless God had not hesitated to cooperate with two other Skygods to attack the Three Monarchs Universe.

    What had happened? Was Cheng Kong still around? Lu Yin did not dare to linger, and he ran straight back to the Gemini Universe.

    Lu Yin was certain that Cheng Kong was unable to use the power of space, so he fled along the spatial lines. As long as Cheng Kong did not have control of Lu Yin, it should be impossible for the Aeternal to find Lu Yin.

    He wanted to get in contact with Sage Bodhi and report what had happened in the Big Stone Universe.

    Lu Yin touched his chest, discovering that the saber had vanished.

    He suspected that Mu Ke had left the saber for Lu Yin, but there had never been any contact between the two, so why would the Arborean leave the small saber for Lu Yin?

    "If not for that de, I would have died."

    If Mu Ke had really given the saber to Lu Yin, then his strength might not be what rumors imed, and the man¡¯s power might bepletely unfathomable.

    In both the Sixverse Association and Aeternus, there were too many mysteries that Lu Yin still needed to unravel. However, at this point in time, the most important thing was to report the death of the Big Stone Empire¡¯s emperor. Lu Yin could not risk letting Sovereign Shao Yin frame him for the man¡¯s death.

    After Lu Yin arrived in the Gemini Universe, he immediately sought out the twin elders and asked them to show him to their universe¡¯s data center. He needed to speak with Sage Bodhi.

    Lu Yin immediately reported what had happened, and in Proximity, the Sage let out a long breath.

    Proximity had been trying to get in contact with the Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center, but they had not been able to do so. They had known that something had happened and had sent investigators, but those people were not nearly as fast as Lu Yin.

    "How did you survive Cheng Kong¡¯s attack?" Sage Bodhi asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I have my own means."

    This answer was not good enough for the Sage. The Sixverse Association hated Cheng Kong even more than the Seven Skygods themselves.

    While the Seven Skygods were unbelievably powerful, that was just for directbat. In contrast, Cheng Kong was cunning and sneaky, and they could even control people. The losses the Sixverse Association had suffered at Cheng Kong¡¯s hands exceeded even the Seven Skygods¡¯. The number of peak powerhouses killed by Cheng Kong also exceeded the two or three thatmon rumors imed.

    Sage Bodhi and the other peak powerhouses with ess to more reliable information had not shared that information with anyone.

    Cheng Kong was acknowledged by the Sixverse Association as the Aeternals¡¯ most reliable executioner. Even if the Three Sovereigns were targeted by Cheng Kong, the Aeternal would wait for the perfect opportunity, and not one of the three would be able to survive.

    Given the situation, it seemed obvious that Cheng Kong had found or created an opportunity to kill Lu Yin in the Big Stone Universe, which was outside of everyone¡¯s expectations. Even so, Lu Yin had managed to survive.

    Sage Bodhi did not doubt that Lu Yin was telling the truth. The young man¡¯s history meant that it was basically impossible for him to collude with Aeternus, and there was also no reason for him to put on such a show with Cheng Kong.

    "I understand. The Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center will be rebuilt as quickly as possible. However, regarding officially purging the Big Stone Universe, that is impossible to do for the time being, as there is no way to verify that Cheng Kong has left that universe," Sage Bodhi sent back.

    There was nothing that Lu Yin could do about that, as it truly was impossible for anyone to determine whether Cheng Kong was dead or alive.

    Lu Yin still felt like he was in grave danger, and he had even mobilized the power in his chest, just to prevent his body from being controlled by Cheng Kong.

    Powers like runes were unable to sense Cheng Kong, and even Lu Yin¡¯s perception of space was useless. However, by using the power within his chest, Lu Yin was essentially creating an independent universe around himself. With that, as long as Cheng Kong drew close to Lu Yin, it should be possible to detect the Aeternal¡¯s presence.

    After sending the report to Sage Bodhi, Lu Yin left the data center. The Gemini Universe was also not safe for him.

    He found a random ce to rest. No one knew his location, and regardless of how powerful Cheng Kong might be, nothing could be done to Lu Yin unless he was located.

    However, if Cheng Kong was capable of tracking Lu Yin down, then a trap would not have been set for Lu Yin in the Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center.

    Moreover, after being attacked by the eighty one shes, there was no chance that Cheng Kong had escaped unscathed. Even the Seven Skygods would be wary of such a powerful attack.

    After a while, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled, and a stranger¡¯s voice addressed him. "Lord Lu, I am calling you at Sage Bodhi¡¯smand."

    Lu Yin quietly asked, "What¡¯s happened?"

    "The location of the Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center has vanished, and no trace of Cheng Kong has been found. It is impossible to verify the im that the universe has been purged of all Aeternus influence."

    "I know that, but if it is verified that Cheng Kong is dead, I should receive the credit for that," Lu Yin rified.

    "Of course. If there are no traces of Cheng Kong after this, and no one else is able to offer better proof for Cheng Kong¡¯s demise than you, Lord Lu will be awarded with the credit for Cheng Kong¡¯s death." The woman who was speaking with Lu Yin had a unique innate gift that allowed her to sense the power used in the past in ces she visited.

    When she had arrived at the previous location of the Big Stone Universe¡¯s data center, the woman had been able to sense that it had been swallowed by the Hollow from just a bit of the residual power. She had also sensed an unfathomable de qi, as well as Cheng Kong''s Bubble Fantasy.

    ording to the woman¡¯s understanding, no one, no matter how powerful the peak powerhouse might be, could survive the de qi that she had sensed. Cheng Kong should not be an exception either.

    However, since there was no way to confirm Cheng Kong¡¯s death, she could not give Lu Yin the credit for killing Cheng Kong, though if proof was found, the credit would go to Lu Yin.

    If Cheng Kong had really died at Lu Yin¡¯s hand, then his contribution to the Sixverse Association would be unimaginable.

    "There is one more thing I should tell you, Lord Lu," the woman continued, though she then hesitated for a moment. "There is no reason to mourn the emperor¡¯s death."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Why?"

    "Our investigation revealed that the emperor of the Great Stone Empire was in contact with other universes and that he had even secretly left the Endless Frontier to search for other parallel universes. He wanted to seize the opportunity provided by an official purge for his universe to lead some of his people to escape from the Big Stone Universe and flee from the Endless Frontier. Such deserters deserve death."

    Lu Yin remained silent. So that was what had been happening. It was no wonder why the emperor¡¯s behavior had seemed so strange to Lu Yin.

    While the man could have allowed the camphor bug and the bestowal art carrier to continue restraining each other, it was natural for the emperor to hope for his universe to be officially purged, as that would mean there was no war in his universe. In such a situation, he could lead his people away, and even if he was discovered by the Sixverse Association, as long as they left the Big Stone Universe while the universe was officially purged of all Aeternus influence, they could not be regarded as deserters.

    Should the emperor have been condemned to death for such a thing? Lu Yin did not believe so.

    No one wanted to live on the Endless Frontier, let alone in a universe like the Big Stone Universe where no one could ever reach the level of a peak powerhouse.

    It was valid for the emperor of the Big Stone Empire to want to leave the universe and live somewhere else where his descendants could enjoy a stable life, but for the Sixverse Association, such goals were crimes and deserved death.

    The Sixverse Association wanted everyone who lived on the Endless Frontier to stay on the front lines of the war and die to protect the Sixverse Association.

    Given this new information, it seemed possible that the Big Stone Universe had encountered the Sixverse Association before Aeternus and that they had been forcibly annexed to the Endless Frontier.

    The emperor¡¯s attitude towards the Sixverse Association had also been fake.

    Lu Yin felt that it was a pity that the man had died, as he would not have exposed the man¡¯s actions or goals. Everyone had the right to live.

    It was impossible for the Big Stone Universe to be officially recognized as having purged all Aeternal influence for the time being, so Lu Yin decided to continue on to the next parallel universe.

    He already understood that essentially one out of every three connected parallel universes would be much more challenging than the other two. This was how the Lilliput, Gemini, and Big Stone Universes were connected, and of the three, only the Big Stone Universe had a battlefield with peak powerhouses. This made it far more difficult to officially purge three adjoining universes, but it also seemed quite likely that the next universe that Lu Yin could visit would not be as difficult as even the Gemini Universe.

    He decided that it would be best to continue on to another universe.

    However, before that, Lu Yin would need to speak with Sage Bodhi again and learn the rules for purging three adjoining parallel universes. The situation in the Big Stone Universe was something that no one had expected.

    Lu Yin shared his concerns, and the woman that he was speaking to through hismunication crystal took a moment to think before informing Lu Yin that what he wanted to do was eptable.

    There was a ny nine percent certainty that Cheng Kong was no longer in the Big Stone Universe, but because it was impossible to prove, the universe could not be officially verified as purged. Allowing Lu Yin to continue on to the next parallel universe to attempt to purge it could be considered a special permission; otherwise, his only option would be to enter the other universe that the Gemini Universe was connected to and officially purge that one. However, the Umbral Universe was an even greater challenge than the Big Stone Universe.

    Lu Yin had asked for permission to return to the Big Stone Universe and then continue on to the next adjoining universe from there.

    However, the woman quickly called Lu Yin again. "Dao Monarch Lu, Sovereign Shao Yin has sent you a message through Proximity. Are you willing to hear it?"

    Lu Yin hesitated, and his expression fell. If Sovereign Shao Yin was sending him a message, it would not be good for Lu Yin. The Sovereign would not reach out to Lu Yin with good news.

    Even so, it was important to hear it. "Tell me."

    The woman spoke slowly, her voice dropping slightly. "Wendy Yushan has identally entered the Endless Frontier. It''s unclear which parallel universe she is in, but it must be one of the following three..."

    There was a brief pause, and Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. While he appeared calm, internally, he was anything but.

    His greatest fear had just been realized. He had initially been unwilling to allow Wendy Yushan and Zhuo Daynight to enter the Sixverse Association, fearing that someone would use them to threaten him. However, both women had been determined, and Lu Yin could not force them to remain in the Origin Universe. He had wanted to ask them to return after spending some time in the Sixverse Association, but as time passed, he had forgotten to speak to them about it.

    He had also not expected someone with a status like Sovereign Shao Yin to actually do such a despicable thing.

 Chapter 2750: The Umbral Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2750: The Umbral Universe</h4>

    Sovereign Shao Yin had actually thrown Wendy onto the Endless Frontier. This was forcing Lu Yin to stay there himself. If not, how could Wendy hope to survive the Endless Frontier?

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, he had nearly died at the hands of Cheng Kong.

    "The Umbral Universe, tinum Universe, or Gourd Universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. He immediately hung up and returned to the Gemini Universe¡¯s data center. He wanted to speak directly with Sage Bodhi.

    In Proximity, there was no expression on Sage Bodhi''s cold face. Since Sovereign Shao Yin had sent Lu Yin the message through Proximity, the woman was naturally aware of its contents.

    It could only be said that Lu Yin had been extremely unlucky. Sage Bodhi knew that, as soon as word that Lu Yin was allowed to leave the Endless Frontier reached Sovereign Shao Yin, the Sovereign would definitely move against Lu Yin. What should have mattered was whether the Sovereign received word before or after Lu Yin left the Endless Frontier.

    However, things had taken an unpredictable turn, as right before Lu Yin left, Cheng Kong had attacked. If not for that, Lu Yin would have most likely left the Endless Frontier before receiving the message.

    All that could be said was that life was unpredictable.

    While Sovereign Shao Yin''s methods were despicable, the truth was that such things were all toomon. After all, if Lu Yin was willing to abandon Wendy Yushan, then he could freely leave the Endless Frontier. It all depended on just how important the woman was to Lu Yin.

    Soon, Lu Yin was again speaking with Sage Bodhi.

    "Please give me some information about these three parallel universes," was Lu Yin¡¯s first message to Sage Bodhi. Anything more was meaningless. There was no point in asking about why Wendy Yushan had been allowed to enter the Endless Frontier, or why Sovereign Shao Yin was allowed to plot against Lu Yin, ignoring the situation on the front lines. Such questions would lead to nothing, as all that could be said was that, as a Sovereign, Sovereign Shao Yin had the qualifications to act against Lu Yin almost however he pleased. In the eyes of the Sixverse Association, Lu Yin was not qualified to even speak directly to a Sovereign, though that was only true for the time being.

    Both Sage Yuan and Sovereign Shao Yin regarded Lu Yin as an enemy, so it made sense for them to work against him in whatever manner was most effective. By the same token, if at all possible, Lu Yin would not allow the two men to get away with what they had done.

    This was another reason why Lu Yin had infiltrated the Sixverse Association before. He had used the alias of Xuan Qi to learn about the Sixverse Association, and without that, Lu Yin would have beenpletely passive and helpless against Sovereign Shao Yin, and he would not have even been able to obtain the qualifications to fight back in the future.

    Sage Bodhi asked someone to share the requested information with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly stared at the disy. The most important thing at this moment was to locate Wendy Yushan. As for what Lu Yin felt towards Sovereign Shao Yin, he could only suppress those emotions for the time being.

    Lu Yin expected each of the three parallel universes to be dangerous battlefields, only to learn that Sovereign Shao Yin had been far more malicious than expected. The Sovereign was too familiar with the Endless Frontier, and he had carefully selected the three worst parallel universes to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had already learned about the Umbral Universe, as it neighbored the Gemini Universe on the Endless Frontier. While it was a very dangerous universe, Wendy Yushan had most likely not been sent there, as it was too close to him. Still, Lu Yin needed to check the ce, which was why it was such a clever choice for Sovereign Shao Yin.

    There was not a lot of information regarding the Umbral Universe. The universe had no contact method with the rest of the megaverse, and even for the reinforcements sent to the Endless Frontier, they were only told one thing about the Umbral Universe: there was no distinction between allies and enemies.

    The warning that there was no distinction was made in reference to the natives of the Umbral Universe, who were known as Umbrians. Not only did Umbrians regard the Aeternals as their enemies, but they would also asionally kill the Sixverse Association¡¯s cultivators. While they imed that those deaths were idents, the truth of the matter was more of a matter of opinion. If Sage Bodhi could prove that the deaths were indeed idents, then the reinforcements would not be given that warning.

    In short, it was a chaotic and barbaric universe, full of death and ambushes. Because of the universe¡¯s unique characteristics, the Sixverse Association sent many violent people into that universe. They were all people whose life and death the Sixverse Association did not care about. If they could aplish something of note on the battlefield, they could return, but if they were killed by Aeternus or the Umbrians, the Sixverse Association would not care at all.

    Most of the reinforcements who were sent to the Umbral Universe were members of the Lost n.

    The cards that the Lost n employed meant that they excelled at setting traps and ambushes, which made them a force to be reckoned with in the Umbral Universe.

    As for how much power the Aeternals had sent into the Umbral Universe, the Sixverse Association had no idea. In fact, they could not even say if any peak powerhouses were present.

    Cang Bi was absolutely certain that there were some peak powerhouses present in the Umbral Universe, as that was what he had been told by Chen Le. However, even if that was true, there was no evidence that the Sixverse Association had been able to detect.

    This was extremely unusual, and it amply demonstrated just how dangerous the Umbral Universe was.

    Anyone with a brain would understand that Sovereign Shao Yin would not have sent Wendy Yushan to the Umbral Universe, but because the universe was so close to Lu Yin¡¯s current location, he still needed to check it.

    From Sovereign Shao Yin perspective, investigating the Umbral Universe would be quite dangerous for Lu Yin.

    However, the man simply did not have a clear enough understanding of the Fifth Maind; Lu Yin had a wireless jincan, which meant that, as long as he entered the Umbral Universe, he would be able to contact Wendy Yushan, if she was there. As long as Wendy Yushan had any freedom at all, she would be able tomunicate with Lu Yin without being detected.

    With this, no matter how challenging a universe the Umbral Universe might be, Lu Yin had no intention of investigating the ce, as he merely intended to use his wireless jincan.

    There was no hesitation at all in his decision to save Wendy Yushan. She was his family, and he had be her only family after Undying Yushan died.

    The Umbral Universe was actually quite straightforward; no matter how dangerous the ce might be, Lu Yin would not die simply for entering the universe, and once there, he would only need to wait one or two days to see if Wendy Yushan responded to him.

    The challenge would be the other two parallel universes.

    The tinum Universe was a very ordinary universe, much like the Lilliput Universe. There were absolutely no peak powerhouses, and there were even very few experts who wereparable to Semi-Progenitors. The problem was the fact that the tinum Universe was simply too far away.

    If the Endless Frontier was viewed as a straight line, then the tinum Universe would be at the opposite end of the line from Lu Yin¡¯s current location. If the Endless Frontier was viewed as a circle, then the tinum Universe was directly opposite Lu Yin¡¯s current location. Regardless of what mental map was used, Lu Yin would need to cross through more than ten portals, traveling through possibly dozens of parallel universes to reach his destination.

    It was impossible to know what might happen in any of those parallel universes.

    Sage Bodhi specifically emphasized that even she could not guarantee that she could safely cross these parallel universes.

    It was not at all unusual that Lu Yin had been attacked by a Progenitor-level corpse king the moment he had entered the Big Stone Universe. There were some universes where the portals were controlled by Aeternus.

    There was a shortcut to the tinum Universe, which was to leave the Endless Frontier and use an escort to directly enter the tinum Universe, but no one knew where such an escort might appear next.

    Since the tinum Universe was one of the possibilities mentioned by Sovereign Shao Yin, the man must have already put a back-up n into y. The path to the tinum Universe had likely already been blocked off. The only thing Lu Yin could do was to attempt to enter with his identity as Xuan Qi, but that would be a feeble attempt at best. The Sovereign could very well have blocked all paths leading to the Universe.

    The final possibility was the Gourd Universe.

    It was amon name, and it even sounded a bit cute, but it was the most dangerous of the three parallel universes.

    The Endless Frontier consisted of sixty-two parallel universes, and the Gourd Universe was dangerous enough to rank in the top ten, closing in on the top five.

    As for the Gourd Universe, Sage Bodhi had but one thing to say: it was a battlefield for no less than six peak powerhouses.

    Six peak powerhouses. What kind of battlefield could that be? Given their strength, their fights could easily epass the entire universe, and one might be caught up in an apex fights no matter where one went in the universe.

    Although there had been more than six peak powerhouses present when Lu Yin had faced off against the four ruling powers, they had never actually started fighting. When Xia Shenji had visited the Fifth Maind on his own, his Shenwu World had epassed nearly the entire Fifth Maind, plunging it into the depths of despair. Even when the Progenitor of Secret Arts or the Progenitor of Combat released attacks, their destructive power had been terrifying.

    Any fight involving peak powerhouses could affect an entire universe, let alone a battle involving six peak powerhouses.

    The most likely ce that Wendy Yushan had been sent to was the tinum Universe, ording to Sage Bodhi. Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to ensure that Lu Yin died on the Endless Frontier, so there was no way that he would risk Wendy Yushan dying. The tinum Universe was the safest of the three parallel universes.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, if this person is not particrly important to you, it would be best to not go to the tinum or Gourd Universes. Of course, as themander of the Endless Frontier, I must admit that I personally hope that you visit those ces, as your presence will at least help alleviate some of the pressure of the battlefield." Sage Bodhi sent a rather contradictory message back.

    Lu Yin looked at the disy. "Has Sage Yuan made contact with Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    "No, but all reports sent out from the Endless Frontier can be immediately seen by Sovereign Shao Yin, if he wishes to see them. Sage Yuan will not make contact with the Sovereign, as he cannot afford the consequences of doing so."

    Lu Yin exhaled. "I''m going to the Umbral Universe."

    Sage Bodhi was not surprised. If this Wendy Yushan was very important to Lu Yin, then there was no doubt that he would go to the Umbral Universe, though whether he would visit the other two universes remained to be seen.

    After learning of Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s actions, Sage Bodhi had submitted a report to the Great Sovereign, as well as a formalint. The Endless Frontier was regarded as sacred. It was humanity¡¯s front lines in the war against Aeternus, and it was not a ce to be used in schemes and personal agendas. Even if Sovereign Shao Yin had not broken any specific rules, his behavior could not be tolerated.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the Gemini Universe¡¯s data center, just as Cang Bi arrived. Running into Lu Yin stunned the Semi-Monarch.

    "Do you want to go to the Umbral Universe with me?" Lu Yin asked

    Cang Bi nched in horror. "Dao Monarch Lu, don''t be ridiculous! Someone like me would die without question in the Umbral Universe."

    Lu Yin looked at the man calmly. "How long did Chen Le survive there?"

    Cang Bi shook his head. "Senior did not share that with me, though he did mention that if he ever returned, he might not be able to leave the universe alive, even after bing a Monarch."

    The more the man spoke, the more his voice trembled. He had always felt that Lu Yin''s eyes carried evil intentions.

    Lu Yin never considered taking Cang Bi to the Umbral Universe. He stepped past the Semi-Monarch and disappeared.

    Once Lu Yin was gone, Cang Bi let out a sigh of relief, his back already soaked with a cold sweat.

    He decided to return to the Lilliput Universe. The Gemini Universe was still too dangerous, as he might run into Lu Yin at any moment.

    ...

    The Umbral Universe, as its name suggests, waspletely dark.

    Before entering the universe, Lu Yin had assumed that the Umbral Universe was a dark ce. The darkness had even been mentioned in the information supplied by Sage Bodhi, but nothing had said that there was absolutely no light in the Umbral Universe.

    It was not a ce with both light and darkness; rather, it gave off the impression of an ever-encroaching darkness. This darkness suppressed all light.

    Lu Yin passed through a portal to enter the Umbral Universe. Upon arriving, the first thing that he did was dodge and escape from his point of entry.

    He had no idea if there might be an ambushid at the portal exit, much like what had happened in the Big Stone Universe.

    Stellr energy appeared at Lu Yin¡¯s fingertips, producing a hint of light, but that light was quickly quenched by the endless darkness.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. This darkness seemed to consciously devour any light. In fact, not only had the light been consumed, but so had the stellr energy that Lu Yin had used. This universe devoured all that entered it.

    Lu Yin made several more attempts, but regardless of whether he used energy or tools to produce light, all light was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

    This same thing happened to anything that entered this universe; it was like a dark monster that constantly devoured everything in it.

    The terrifying darkness made it clear why it was called the Umbral Universe.

    There was no light, so Lu Yin could not see. He could only sense his surroundings through his domain. However, he gradually realized that the darkness was devouring even his domain. This Umbral Universe waspletely bizarre.

 Chapter 2751: Strange Battlefield

    <h4>Chapter 2751: Strange Battlefield</h4>

    Lu Yin''s domain had already be extremely powerful. As for the spatial lines that he could see, they meant nothing in the Umbral Universe, as no one else could use the power of space. Besides, Lu Yin was always able to perceive the spatial lines.

    At best, he could use those lines to move around in the universe.

    The first sentence in the Umbral Universe dossier that Sage Bodhi had given Lu Yin was quite sinct: stay hidden.

    In the Umbral Universe, regardless of a person¡¯s level of cultivation, it was imperative that they not reveal themselves. After all, no one else would expose their existence.

    As soon as a person was exposed, they would be targeted by everyone.

    The Umbral Universe did not have a data center. While the Umbrians regarded the Aeternals as their enemies, they also hated the Sixverse Association and refused to cooperate with them.

    This universe did not have an environment that was suitable for normal humans to survive in. Even without reinforcements from the Sixverse Association, Aeternus would struggle to take control of the Umbral Universe.

    Even peak powerhouses would find it hard adapting when they first entered the universe.

    Lu Yin stood upon andmass that should be considered a. After spending some time trying, he finally figured out that, by utilizing the power in his chest, he could get a clear view of his surroundings. However, its range was fairly limited, and the darkness would also shortly start devouring his power, though he would at least be able to look around for a decent period of time. Thus, he was now trying to understand his surrounding area.

    He pulled out his wireless jincan and sent a message to Wendy Yushan.

    While highly unlikely, he desperately hoped that Wendy Yushan was actually in the Umbral Universe.

    After an hour, Lu Yin lowered his hand. There had been no response from the wireless jincan. Was Wendy really in one of the other universes?

    There was no need to get worked up so quickly, and Lu Yin intended to wait around for at least half a month. If by that time he still did not receive any response, he would need to find a way to get to the Gourd and tinum Universes.

    If Lu Yin could not find a way across the Endless Frontier, he would have to think of something else. After all, Sovereign Shao Yin would not casually disregard Wendy Yushan¡¯s life as long as she was useful to him.

    Lu Yin could not simply follow the path that Sovereign Shao Yin hadid out for him, and it would be best if he found a solution outside of the Endless Frontier. However, that would not be easy at all.

    For the time being, the only solution that Lu Yin could think of was to personally search for Wendy Yushan.

    After a few days, Lu Yin tried to make contact again, but there was still no response.

    After a few more days passed, a man arrived in the Big Stone Universe, and he immediately sought out the emperor of the Big Stone Empire. The man was searching for Lu Yin, but he was told that they did not know where Lu Yin had gone.

    The man''s face turned livid, and he angrily cursed the Big Stone Empire. Not one person dared to speak up, as the man was a peak powerhouse.

    The man¡¯s name was Shan Pu, and he was one of the Lost n¡¯s peak powerhouses. He had been enjoying himself in a rtively safe parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, waiting out hisst years of service before he could leave. Unfortunately, he had received a message from the Lost n, ordering Shan Pu to find someone named Lu Yin, protect him, and do whatever was necessary to ensure that Lu Yin survived his time on the Endless Frontier.

    This orderpletely ruined Shan Pu''s previously happy mood.

    He had nned on staying in the safe parallel universe, rxing and enjoying himself for the rest of his time on the Endless Frontier. He did not want to leave, even if threatened with death. For this reason, he was upset with the orders that he had received from the Lost n, and he wanted to refuse. However, his refusal had received a threat of expulsion from the Lost n.

    The Lost n¡¯s stance could not have been made more clear; if Shan Pu did not protect Lu Yin, he would be exiled from the Lost n. They would refuse to have any further connection with him.

    The Lost n¡¯s reaction confused Shan Pu, as it was clear that they were even more determined than he was.

    Left without any choice, Shan Pu left thefortable universe that he had settled down in and made his way towards the Big Stone Universe to find Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, the two parallel universes were only separated by only six others, and as Shan Pu traveled, he luckily did not encounter any Aeternal powerhouses. He had arrived in the Big Stone Universe without incident, only to be told that they did not know Lu Yin¡¯s location.

    Lu Yin had clearly been reported to be in the Big Stone Universe, so how could no one know where he was?

    Shan Pu initially thought that the locals simply did not know who Lu Yin was, but he soon learned that they were incredibly impressed by him, as he had nearly managed to officially purge the Big Stone Universe of all Aeternal forces.

    There was nothing that Shan Pu could do, so he sought out the universe¡¯s data center, only to discover that the universe no longer had one.

    His only option was to go to the closest data center in the Gemini Universe to ask about Lu Yin there.

    As soon as the man made contact and mentioned Lu Yin''s name, someone in the Gemini Universe¡¯s data center informed Shan Pu that Lu Yin had left for the Umbral Universe.

    Shan Pu grew furious when he received the news.

    What was this Lu Yin trying to do in the Umbral Universe? Was he trying to kill himself?

    Shan Pu asked Sage Bodhi about the matter, but the woman refused to divulge any information. Rather, she expressed her own curiosity as to what Shan Pu intended with Lu Yin.

    Naturally, Shan Pu refused to say anything, and he instead hurried to the Umbral Universe.

    While the Sixverse Association as a whole was not very clear about the situation in the Umbral Universe, the Lost n was fully cognizant of the details. There were peak powerhouses from Aeternus present in the Umbral Universe, and they were extremely powerful.

    Shan Pu felt that Lu Yin was an incredible amount of trouble.

    In the Umbral Universe, Lu Yin continued to spread out his domain. He would sometimes withdraw it, and other times release it.

    He had already been in the universe for more than ten days, but he had not seen a single other person yet.

    Lu Yin had not stayed on thendmass that he had first arrived at, as he also wanted to explore the universe a bit. Given his strength, as long as he was careful, he should not face any real danger.

    Finally, after another five days, Lu Yin found a battlefield.

    If not for the strange characteristics of the Umbral Universe, Lu Yin would have discovered the battlefield the very day he entered the universe.

    While he regarded it as a battlefield, it waspletely different from any ordinary battlefield.

    From outside, the battlefield resembled a hive. There were cultivators from the Sixverse Association, Umbrians, and even corpse kings that were all hiding from each other, probing each other, andunching sneak attacks. It waspletely different from how most battles were fought on the Endless Frontier.

    When Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept through the area, only one cultivator from the Sixverse Association noticed, as they also cultivated a domain.

    Almost no one in the Sixverse Association cultivated domains, and the fact that this man did suggested that he was from the Cyclic Universe.

    "Shit! What kind of bastard searches a battlefield so brazenly? Aren¡¯t they afraid of being killed? There are some corpse kings that can detect this kind of power. I¡¯m not going to react. This person should be a rookie who just arrived. It''s better for them to die early." In a hidden corner of the battlefield, a fierce expression appeared on one man¡¯s face. He was holding a long knife in front of his chest as he stared straight ahead, and there were stone walls surrounding him on three sides so that he could only be approached from the front.

    He was at the end of a tunnel so small that it could only allow a single person to pass through it at a time, and beyond that, there was a cliff.

    The man had found a perfect location, and he had even managed to kill five corpse kings and an Umbrian by ambushing them from this hidden ce.

    It had not been even close to easy for the man to take down five corpse kings. Any corpse king sent to the Umbral Universe was not average, as they had all been specially selected.

    There were corpse kings with innate gifts, and others with odd battle techniques. In the end, all of the corpse kings in the Umbral Universe were difficult opponents.

    The man tightly clenched the hilt of his long knife. He had spent more than a year in the Umbral Universe, but he still had almost nine more years of service.

    If any sort of bigmotion broke out, the man had no idea if he would survive, but the chances were slim.

    He wanted to escape from the Umbral Universe, but he was unable to find a spatial portal. Even if he was capable of locating one, the question of whether he could pass through it was still unknown.

    Even if he was only a kilometer away from the spatial portal, that kilometer would be as good as a shield blocking his path.

    <i>Don''te, don''te, don''te... </i>

    The man kept mumbling to himself, hoping that no corpse king or Umbrian would show up and that he could just remain here for the duration of his service. He would be happy with that oue.

    Suddenly, the man felt a fluctuation of energy in front of him, and the man''s eyes went wide. Someone was there, but who was it?

    Even when cultivators werepletely blind, they had many other ways of perceiving nearby movement. This man was as strong as an Explorer and had even cultivated a domain, which made him confident that he had a thirty percent chance of surviving in the Umbral Universe.

    Two domains shed, and the man''s eyes flickered. <i>It¡¯s that bastard!</i>

    His knife rose up and shed out. In the Umbral Universe, everyone else was an enemy to the man.

    However, his de froze, and he could not move it any further forward.

    "You¡¯d even kill one of your own? How cruel," Lu Yin said as he gave the man a cool stare.

    The man struggled with his full might, but he was unable to move the knife any further forward. He knew that he was in trouble, as this man was clearly a powerful expert. The man wanted to escape, but there was a wall behind him, blocking his path.

    "Say whatever you want. I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone," the man replied in a hoarse voice.

    Lu Yin ignored the man and instead stared at the wall behind him. There was no light, and yet somehow, the darkness on the wall was more intense than its surroundings, and it seemed like it could be moved.

    "Is this the power of the Umbrians?" Lu Yin suddenly pressed his hand against the wall, as though trying to touch the darkness. His hand plunged into a bone-piercing cold. Darkness clearly possessed no temperature, and yet this darkness was bitingly cold.

    The cultivator spun around, and said in shock, "An Umbrian!"

    The stone wall shattered, and a figure rushed away, shooting into the distance.

    Umbrians mostly looked like normal humans, except that they only had a single eye that had no pupil. It was incapable of seeing the light that existed in normal universes, but it was extremely useful in the Umbral Universe.

    Lu Yin disappeared. The Umbrian had been ready to kill the cultivator, and the man was clearly from the Sixverse Association. Regardless of whether the man was good or evil, the Umbrian was prepared to attack the man, which clearly made the Umbrian an enemy. Lu Yin needed to gain some understanding of the situation in the Umbral Universe. Did the Umbrians perceive both Aeternus and the Sixverse Association as enemies, or had that particr Umbrian defected to the Aeternals?

    Lu Yin knew too little about the Umbral Universe, so when he had found an Umbrian about to attack a normal cultivator, he had instinctively intervened.

    The Umbrian used a very odd method to escape, as it seemed like he was swimming through the darkness. He moved quickly, but not by relying on his own power. Instead, it seemed like the darkness itself was propelling the man forward.

    The Umbrians were truly people of the darkness, but it did not matter. The Umbrian¡¯s speed was useless against Lu Yin, and he only needed to take a single step to appear in the Umbrian¡¯s path.

    Even from a great distance, the Umbrian looked straight at Lu Yin. It was clear that he knew that someone was blocking his path.

    Suddenly, a stone shot towards the Umbrian. The man quickly dodged, but the stone instantly stopped, only to explode. The countless fragments pelted the area with shrapnel, and the Umbrian was pierced by debris. He was badly injured, and he spat out blood as he copsed.

    As he fell, another stone appeared from the same direction as the first, and it also exploded. If these fragments hit the Umbrian, he would certainly die.

    Lu Yin appeared next to the Umbrian and grabbed him with one hand. The shards of rock froze in ce around Lu Yin and then shot back in the direction that they hade from.

    Some of the fragments struck true, ripping through a corpse king¡¯s head and instantly killing it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out, and he suddenly saw that fights had erupted in every direction.

    Themotion he had instigated had acted like a trigger, igniting the battlefield. Many attacks targeted the ce where Lu Yin had suddenly appeared, and they included both battle techniques and innate gifts. Lu Yin even caught sight of a card, indicating that someone from the Lost n was present.

    Lu Yin took another step, and he appeared in a distant location, carrying the Umbrian that he had just captured.

    The man fell to the ground, coughing up blood while clutching at his wounds that were still bleeding.

    "Why were you about to kill that man?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Umbrian gasped. He raised his head to stare at Lu Yin, pinpointing Lu Yin¡¯s location despite theck of light. While the Umbrian eye had no pupils, Lu Yin still felt like he was being stared at.

    "Everyone is an enemy."

    Lu Yin frowned. Everyone was an enemy? Fair enough. Lu Yin had just seen how the Umbrian had been attacked and nearly killed by both Aeternals and cultivators. This proved that the man was not a spy for Aeternus, but a Lost nsman and the rest of the Sixverse Universe had not hesitated for even a moment to attack the Umbrian.

    There were no lines separating allies from enemies, as everyone saw everyone else as their personal enemies.

    <i>Cough!</i>

    The Umbrian had been seriously injured, though Lu Yin noticed something very strange. The man¡¯s wounds were being devoured by the darkness.

 Chapter 2752: A Familiar Battle Technique

    <h4>Chapter 2752: A Familiar Battle Technique</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at the Umbrian¡¯s wound caused by the shards of rock. While such a wound should have still been bleeding, it was instead healing, and doing so very quickly at that.

    "Given half a day, you''ll fully recover." Lu Yin was surprised.

    The Umbriany on the ground. His pain was so intense that he did not speak. It was true that his wounds were healing, but that did not alleviate any of the pain.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept out again, and he eliminated all of the nearby corpse kings in an instant.

    Just as Lu Yin had been told in the dossier from Sage Bodhi, all of the corpse kings in the Umbral Universe possessed strange abilities. After Lu Yin eliminated them, the Sixverse Association cultivators and the Umbrians in the area were now safe.

    "I''ve dealt with the corpse kings, so it¡¯s safe now," Lu Yin said before stepping away and leaving the area.

    Everyone in the area heard his statement, but no one responded or even believed his words.

    Battles in the Umbral Universe were all about deception and sneak attacks. People would use whatever means were avable. In order to survive, people would stay hidden and never deliberately expose themselves.

    Only the injured Umbrian believed Lu Yin¡¯s words. While the man had no idea what Lu Yin had done, the Umbrian could feel something terrible from Lu Yin. It was clear that the foreigner possessed a frightening level of power that should have nevere to such a minor battlefield.

    Fighting in the Umbral Universe could bepared to a blind man crossing a river. To begin with, it was necessary to avoid being swept away by the water itself, but at the same time, the man also needed to be on guard against enemies hidden in the river.

    Lu Yin had no desire to get caught up in the Umbral Universe¡¯s fights. All he wanted to do was continue on to the next parallel universe.

    He had already spent more than a month in the Umbral Universe, but he had not received any response from Wendy Yushan. The woman was either unable to act on her own, dead, or in a different universe. Regardless, there was no reason for Lu Yin to remain in the Umbral Universe.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt quite powerless. He had the strength to fight against Progenitors and possessed various power vessels as well as many different abilities. As far as the vast majority of people were concerned, Lu Yin stood at the peak of the megaverse, but there were still so many situations where he remainedpletely helpless.

    He had the Heavens Sect, but all he could do for the moment was act in self-defense.

    Lu Yin''s gaze steeled. He should find a way to let his third uncle, Cai Er, and the other peak Semi-Progenitors break through and be Progenitors. In addition to that, Lu Yin needed to restore the Heavens Sect to its previous glory. The only way to do that was with sequence particles.

    Sequence particles indicated the ultimate level of power, and controlling sequence particles was a realm that all peak powerhouses dreamed of. Researching sequence particles was inseparable from researching the peak of human cultivation, and that research might be able to serve as a shortcut for Lu Yin¡¯s third uncle and the others, allowing them to quickly break through to be Progenitors.

    To do that, Lu Yin first needed to find Zi Jing. She simply had to be found.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. Only by reaching the previous heights of the Heavens Sect would he no longer need to fear anyone.

    Was it necessary to focus all of their energy on fighting against Aeternus? At the very least, it was not required for the time being. The Sixverse Association could hold back the Aeternals, and Aeternus would not be able to do too much damage back. During the ancient Heavens Sect era, the Aeternals had only been able to bow their heads before the Heavens Sect.

    The Sixverse Association hated the Heavens Sect, but that was merely because the ancient Heavens Sect had not destroyed the Aeternals when they first appeared. If the former power of the Heavens Sect could be restored, then the fall of Aeternus would be inevitable.

    The former glory of the Heavens Sect?

    During that era, there had been the Three Realms Six Dao. How was Lu Yin supposed to restore that level of power in the current era?

    While the Three Realms Six Dao might no longer exist, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas did. Progenitor Chen was certainly not dead, and Progenitor Smoke still lived in the Fifth Maind. Where was Progenitor Ku? Was he dead? Were both the Rune Progenitor and Progenitor Hui dead? Even if they were, Lu Buzheng and the other Gatemasters might reach simr levels of power after bing Progenitors, not to mention if the Lu family returned.

    Even without considering Lu Tianyi, one of the Lu family¡¯s ancestors was one of the ancient Six Dao.

    As Lu Yin contemted such things, time continued to pass, and he moved closer and closer to the portal.

    It was always dangerous near the portals that connected the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes, and the situation could instantly change in those ces. Even Lu Yin would need to be very careful.

    What was that? There was someone up ahead.

    Lu Yin released his domain. While the darkness of the Umbral Universe constantly devoured domains, releasing it allowed Lu Yin to briefly get a clear view of his surroundings. Shockingly, when he saw the person up ahead, they were using Inverse Step.

    Really, Inverse Step?

    Lu Yin''s eyes grewrge, and he focused his domain in that direction, fully exposing the moving Umbrian.

    Sure enough, the man was using Inverse Step.

    Far away from Lu Yin, an Umbrian was clearly walking backwards, yet moving forward.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Someone in this Umbral Universe was actually using Inverse Step, and an Umbrian at that?

    The man had clearly detected Lu Yin¡¯s domain, and the man¡¯s body seemed to be a ma, constantly pulling in the surrounding darkness into a deeper and thicker cloak around the man, which caused Lu Yin¡¯s domain to be devoured at an elerated rate. Clearly, the man wanted to hide himself.

    However, there was no escape for the Umbrian after he was discovered by Lu Yin.

    The Umbrian started to be increasingly panicked, and his feet moved faster and faster. His steps started to get sloppy, and his right foot tripped over his left leg, breaking his bones as the man fell forward.

    At that time, a card appeared behind the Umbrian. It struck his head and sucked the Umbrian in.

    Lu Yin also appeared next to the card, and he entered it along with the Umbrian.

    Inside the card, Lu Yin discovered a vast white world, as well as the Umbrian, trembling and clearly in pain. "Kill me! Just kill me-"

    Lu Yin quickly took action, and he blocked the blinding light from overhead. The Umbrian let out a breath of relief. His entire body had already been soaked with sweat.

    "You aren¡¯t an Umbrian," a voice stated.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m a cultivator from the Sixverse Association."

    "You shouldn''t have helped him. He killed my brother," the voice continued, "Did you just arrive in the Umbral Universe?"

    Lu Yinmented, "I¡¯ve heard elsewhere that the Umbrians aren¡¯t very friendly to the Sixverse Association, but things seems to be much worse than that."

    "There¡¯s no grudge¡ªthey just kill us!" Anger filled the voice of the Lost nsman. "We never attacked him, but he used the power of this universe¡¯s darkness to devour my brother and steal his card. This man deserves to die."

    The Umbrian was still trembling. Their people were unable to endure light and needed to remain in the darkness.

    Lu Yin looked down at the man. "Why did you kill someone from the Lost n?"

    The Umbrian refused to answer.

    "Every year, at least a third of the Sixverse Association¡¯s casualties in the Umbral Universee from the Umbrians. They freely attack both the Aeternus and our Sixverse Association," the Lost n man exined.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Does the Sixverse Association know about this?"

    "Of course they know!"

    "Why don¡¯t they do anything about it?"

    "What are they supposed to do? Wipe out the Umbrians? These people are human like us, which means that the Sixverse Association will do its best to cooperate with the Umbrians. However, they¡¯re despicable and shameless. They offer their help to the Sixverse Association, but still seek out opportunities to attack us. The reason why nothing can be done about it is because it really is too difficult to discern friend from foe in this Umbral Universe. However, the Umbrians can definitely tell the difference between cultivators and corpse kings, yet they deliberately attack us."

    "I didn¡¯t intentionally target you! I didn''t!" the Umbrian finally spoke, panic filling his voice. "Our ancestral teachings tell us to never hesitate. If I hadn¡¯t attacked, I would have been attacked instead."

    "You¡¯re despicable!"

    "We have no choice if we want to live."

    Lu Yin gave the Umbrian a cold stare. "Since you want to live, you kill everyone else?"

    The Umbrian stared at Lu Yin with his pupilless eye. "This ce is our home, but they treat it as their battlefield."

    Lu Yin frowned. Was the Umbral Universe the same as the Cloudflow Universe?

    "That''s not true!" the Lost n man shouted. "The Sixverse Association followed the Aeternals to this Umbral Universe! This ce was already a battlefield for you Umbrians and Aeternus. We came to help you!¡±

    "If you want to make up bullshit, then just die!"

    As the man spoke, dazzling light formed a sharp de that shed at the Umbrian.

    Lu Yin caught the de and stopped it. "I still have questions for him."

    The Lost nsman turned his anger towards Lu Yin. "Which universe are you from? Our Lost n avenges our own, and if you want to interfere, you are also an enemy!"

    Lu Yin knocked the Umbrian out and pulled out his own card.

    The Lost nsman stepped out from where he had been hidden in the void, staring nkly at the card in Lu Yin¡¯s hands. Outsiders could not tell a card''s grade without seeing the marks on the card, but that was not true for members of the Lost n. This man was able to feel his own card¡¯s power being suppressed. Lu Yin was holding a very, very powerful card that surpassed what the man could evenprehend.

    "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Leave this Umbrian to me for now. Don''t worry. I¡®ll return him to you when I¡¯m done with him."

    The Lost nsman bowed. "Yes."

    Lu Yin took the Umbrian out of the card and woke him up. The first thing Lu Yin asked was about Inverse Step.

    The Umbrian was instantly on edge. "Where is that Lost nsman?"

    "I sent him away," Lu Yin replied.

    The Umbrian''s eye twitched, and the surrounding darkness grew deeper and thicker. He searched his surroundings but could not find any trace of the Lost nsman, which was very surprising. "How did you manage to send him away?"

    "That¡¯s none of your business. Answer my questions, or else you¡¯ll wish he was the one who captured you." Lu Yin''s voice turned cold.

    The Umbrian sneered. "Every Umbrian learns that movement technique. Some can learn it, and some can''t. It''s impossible for you to learn it, so stop dreaming."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "What do you call that technique?"

    "Infinite Steps," the Umbrian answered immediately. This was no secret, as many people from the Sixverse Association already knew the movement technique. The name was widely known. The Umbrian assumed that Lu Yin wanted to learn the technique.

    Infinite Steps? Not Inverse Step? Qian Zou had learned Inverse Step from a jade slip that had originated from Progenitor Chen. In a pocket dimension, Lu Yin had found footprints at the bottom of a river that showed the proper way to use Inverse Step, but there had been no name for the technique.

    The Umbral Universe had been around for countless years before Progenitor Chen, which suggested that the movement technique¡¯s true name was Infinite Steps, not Inverse Step.

    In that case, how had the movement technique gotten to the Umbral Universe?

    "Can I go?" the Umbrian asked, hoping to leave.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "Leave."

    The Umbrian had not expected Lu Yin to be so reasonable. He had saved the Umbrian just to ask a question that anyone could have answered.

    The Umbrian drew the darkness in around him again, checked to make sure that no one else was nearby, and then left.

    However, just a short whileter, he was sucked into a card, leaving nothing behind but the Umbrian¡¯s scream of terror.

    Lu Yin could not leave the Umbral Universe quite yet. He needed to at least meet with the Umbrians¡¯ leader and find out where they had acquired Inverse Step.

    This universe had a connection to the Origin Universe.

    Finding the Umbrians¡¯ leader would not be difficult, as Lu Yin just needed to find an Umbrian to guide him.

    Umbrians were not corpse kings, and they feared death. If Lu Yin threatened one a bit, then they would act as Lu Yin¡¯s guide through the Umbral Universe. Having such a guide would undoubtedly be the most convenient way to navigate the universe.

    In fact, if the Umbrians did not refuse to differentiate between allies and enemies and instead cooperated with the Sixverse Association¡¯s cultivators to fight against Aeternus, the Umbral Universe¡¯s situation would be much better.

    The leader of the Umbrians was named An Jiu, and he lived on andmass that was in a darker region of the Umbral Universe. Both the coldness and darkness grew stronger the closer one moved to thisndmass.

    This continent was known as the Umbral Expanse, and it was the Umbrians¡¯ homnd.

 Chapter 2753: Umbral Expanse

    <h4>Chapter 2753: Umbral Expanse</h4>

    As Lu Yin moved through the Umbral Universe, he learned a great deal from his Umbrian guide, including a mention of a collection of battle techniques known as the Tome of Darkness.

    Lu Yin also learned of a legend that the Umbral Universe had once given birth to a peak powerhouse and that that person had altered the Umbral Universe into its current state.

    The universe had not originally been filled with darkness, but that peak powerhouse had altered thews of the universe.

    All Umbrians were descendants of that peak powerhouse, and they devoted their lives to searching for the Tome of Darkness. If they could find it, their strength would transform, and if another peak powerhouse rose up from the Umbrians, they could easily eliminate all outsiders and enemies.

    They regarded not only Aeternus as their enemy, but also the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin asked his guide why the Umbrians hated the Sixverse Association, but the Umbrian gave the same answer as thest one; the Umbrians did not hate the Sixverse Association. Rather, they merely followed their ancestral teachings of attacking everyone before they were attacked in turn.

    The only difference was that the first Umbrian Lu Yin had spoken with had said that everyone was the Umbrians¡¯ enemies.

    The Umbrians¡¯ eye had no pupil, and Lu Yin could not read them like he could with normal people, but he still felt like he was being lied to. Much like the man from the Lost n had said, Umbrians were sneaky and despicable.

    If the Sixverse Association had led the Aeternals into the Umbral Universe and brought the war to the Umbrians, then their hostility towards the Sixverse Association would be understandable. However, the Sixverse Association had clearly been reinforcing the Umbrians in their fight against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin might be able to get an answer from An Jiu, provided that the Umbrians¡¯ leader spoke to Lu Yin as a peer.

    Very few people from the Sixverse Association were ever able to meet with An Jiu. The Umbrians¡¯ attitude towards the Sixverse Association meant that cultivators feared the man. If the Umbrian attacked, even people at the Semi-Progenitor level would be wary.

    Sage Bodhi''s information mentioned that the only recorded meetings were with peak powerhouses, but they had only met the Umbrians¡¯ leaders in the distant past.

    The Sixverse Association had actually given up on the Umbral Universe, which was why the only reinforcements sent to the universe were those guilty of heinous crimes. Only people from the Lost n would voluntarily enter the Umbral Universe, as they regarded the universe as some sort of trial grounds.

    Once Lu Yin arrived in the Umbral Expanse, he spread out his domain. The darkness was denser here on this continent, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s domain was devoured quicker than anywhere else in the universe. It shrank so quickly that even when he constantly released his domain, he could barely maintain it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain revealed the presence of many Umbrian experts, including one with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The man had noticed Lu Yin the moment he set foot in the Umbral Expanse, but he had not taken any action, possibly because the man believed that everything was under control.

    Only several dayster did Lu Yin manage to meet An Jiu.

    An Jiu appeared to be trying to unt his power to Lu Yin. The moment Lu Yin arrived, the darkness in the area took on the shape of an astral beast that filled the region, trying to swallow Lu Yin as well.

    The Umbrian that Lu Yin had coerced into being his guide fled and then turned back to re at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin allowed the darkness tond on him. "An Jiu, leader of the Umbrians, is this how your people treat their guests?"

    The devouring darkness had already swallowed half of Lu Yin''s body. The bone-deep cold felt much like if someone had ced a knife to his neck. For the Umbrians, once they managed to surround a person with their darkness, they would hold that person¡¯s life in their hands.

    An Jiu sped his hands behind his back, arrogantly radiating the power of an expert equal to a Semi-Progenitor. "Who are you? Why did you ask to see me?"

    "I represent the Sixverse Association," Lu Yin answered bluntly.

    An Jiu snorted. "You aren¡¯t qualified."

    "What would qualify me?" Lu Yin said in a teasing tone as a smile touched his lips.

    This response intimidated An Jiu, though he remained calm. This person either had someone protecting him or was simply fearless. Regardless of which was true, it was not something that An Jiu wanted to deal with.

    Realizing this, the Umbrian¡¯s tone softened a bit. "Tell me where youe from and why you wished to meet with me."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he released the power from his chest, forming stars around him. At that moment, everything in the nearby area became clearly visible. Lu Yin saw An Jiu, as well as the guide that he had cowed into leading him, and further away, Lu Yin saw an ancient Semi-Progenitor-level Umbrian who was surrounded by others. All of them were looking at Lu Yin with either mocking expressions or cold stares while gesturing with weapons.

    The Umbrians really did see him as their enemy.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he took a step forward as he raised a hand to grab An Jiu.

    An Jiu had never expected Lu Yin to actually take the initiative. They were in the Umbral Expanse, which was home to billions of Umbrians, including many powerful experts. Lu Yin was clearly not even as strong as An Jiu, so why would he dare to attack?

    It was such an abnormal response that An Jiu instinctively retreated, and he also asked the old man at his cultivation level to jump in.

    An Jiu retreated by using Inverse Step.

    Simultaneously, Lu Yin also used Inverse Step. The two men changed ces, shuttling back and forth in a manner that caused the void to warp and crack, leaving cracks. However, even the darkness of the shattered void could notpare to the darkness of the Umbral Expanse. Instead, the torn void seemed to bring a bit of light and color to the ce.

    An Jiu was startled. He was unable to see it, but he could clearly sense Lu Yin''s hand constantly moving closer and closer to him. Was this young man not only also able to use Inverse Step with a level of mastery that created a chaotic region of space, but he was also faster than him? How was that even possible?

    The old man with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor moved forward, also using Inverse Step. He tried to stop Lu Yin, but Lu Yin had mastered Inverse Step to the point where he could even reverse time, which was far beyond the two men¡¯s level of mastery.

    As Lu Yin took another step, he moved past An Jiu and appeared behind the man.

    An Jiu¡¯s head turned around slowly to face Lu Yin with a pupilless eye. The man could not keep his shock hidden.

    Lu Yin reached out to grab the man¡¯s neck, and the darkness rose up around An Jiu to form a barrier that isted him from Lu Yin. The barrier had the strength to block a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s attack.

    At this same time, the old man raised a hand and mmed down with an attack powerful enough to shatter the void. The attack was aimed straight at Lu Yin.

    With one hand, Lu Yin pierced An Jiu''s barrier, as the other hand rose up to block the falling palm strike.

    <i>Boom</i>

    The noise of the impact was so loud that ripples spread through the void, shattering it as they passed.

    All the surrounding Umbrians were sted away by the shockwave, sent tumbling through the air.

    The old Umbrian''s arm was shattered, and he suffered additional injuries as he stumbled back.

    As for An Jiu, his neck was sped by Lu Yin''s hand, and the man was picked up. "A mere Ascendant dares to act up in front of me?"

    Everything happened in less than three seconds, but in that short amount of time, one of the strongest Umbrian elders had been injured, and their leader had been captured and leftpletely unable to resist.

    Lu Yin had been able to act arrogantly around Semi-Progenitors for a long time. Even Destina, who had been one of the gatemasters of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates and recognized as one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors during that era, could not force Lu Yin to be serious. Needless to say, despite the strangeness of the Umbrians¡¯ power, the only advantage that it offered was that Lu Yin¡¯s vision was impaired and that his strength was being devoured by the darkness. However, given Lu Yin¡¯s strength, how much of his power could be devoured?

    For the Umbrians, it was as though a peak powerhouse had arrived and suppressed them.

    Only the strength that the Umbrians had been pursuing for countless years would give them the power to surpass Lu Yin¡¯s strength. Without that, they would be nothing more than ants to Lu Yin. After all, even Semi-Progenitors were just slightlyrger ants.

    All of the Umbrians were startled, and one after another, they fell to the ground. They were panicking and terrified, but no matter how badly they wanted to escape, they did not dare to try.

    The old man spat out a mouthful of blood. "Se- Senior, my Umbrians have been rude, and we have raised our hands against you. Please spare us, Senior."

    While the Umbrian possessed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, he was too scared of dying.

    Lu Yin was learning more and more about the Umbrians. The people were slick-tongued, scared of death, despicable, and cunning. They perfectly mirrored their universe and represented the various aspects of the darkness.

    There is no need for Lu Yin to be polite when dealing with these people, and it would be better to give a show of force.

    An Jiu¡¯s neck was held so tightly that the man was unable to make a single sound. He desperately pped Lu Yin''s arm with both hands, begging for release.

    Lu Yin casually threw the man to the ground. "Any more questions?"

    An Jiu waved his hands as he coughed. "No, I won''t question you, Senior. Just tell us whatever you wish to say."

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "You are so afraid of death, so why are you so hostile towards the Sixverse Association? Aren''t you afraid that they¡¯ll send some random peak powerhouse here to destroy you?"

    An Jiu coughed so hard that, while he wanted to speak, hecked the ability to do so.

    Instead, the old man spoke up, "The Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses can¡¯t even find us. This Umbral Expanse is constantly shrouded in darkness, which looks no different from our bodies to most people¡¯s perception. We¡¯re able to sense when powerful people approach before they arrive. Who would have thought..."

    The old man did not need to say anything further, as Lu Yin already understood.

    Who would have thought that a monster like Lu Yin would show up and crush two Ascendants with nothing more than the cultivation of a six-tribtion Envoy? Even in the Sixverse Association, such a thing would be considered impossible.

    An Jiu finally managed to recover. "The Sixverse Association sent someone to meet with us some time ago, and his cultivation was about the same as yours, Senior. We refused to meet with him because he was referred to as the Junior Sovereign. We could not be certain of his strength, so we refused to meet with him."

    "Then why did you agree to meet with me? The fact that I took the initiative to ask to meet with you should have been a red g," Lu Yin asked. It appeared that the Sixverse Association had simply failed to find a way to deal with the Umbrians, though not forck of trying. The people were simply too cautious, and they had even refused to meet with Chu Jian.

    An Jiu shrugged. "I was careless."

    Lu Yin looked down at the man. "Infinite Steps. How did that technique get to this universe?"

    An Jiu was caught off guard. "That¡¯s what you want to ask us? Aren''t you here on behalf of the Sixverse Association?"

    "I ask, you answer. Give me any bullshit, and I¡¯ll end your life." Lu Yin''s voice grew much colder, and An Jiu quickly nodded.

    "Infinite Steps is a technique from the Tome of Darkness, which was left behind by a peak powerhouse of our Umbral Universe, who is our ancestor. The Tome of Darkness is a record of various battle techniques. Unfortunately, it disappeared along with our ancestor, and we have since been searching for them both," An Jiu exined.

    Lu Yin frowned. Tome of Darkness?

    To Lu Yin¡¯s understanding, no one in the Origin Universe had developed a power simr to the darkness that permeated the Umbral Universe. The most simr power that he was aware of had been developed by the God of Death, but death energy waspletely different from the darkness that surrounded Lu Yin.

    This darkness was a power that overpowered light by devouring it, but itcked the overbearing nature of death energy.

    "Aside from Inverse Step, show me the other techniques that you are familiar with," Lu Yin ordered.

    An Jiu did not dare to even hesitate, and he quickly demonstrated his various battle techniques.

    At this same time, Shan Pu was wandering about the Umbral Universe, but he was unable to find any trace of Lu Yin.

    He had no other option and could only turn to the Umbral Expanse.

    Ever since the Sixverse Association had sent out a peak powerhouse to speak with the Umbrians long ago, no peak powerhouse had ever seeded in meeting with their leader again, and Shan Pu was no exception to that.

    The Lost n sent many of their people to the Umbral Universe to face the trials there, so it was natural for the Lost n to want to maintain contact with the Umbrians, but all of their attempts had failed.

    The people of the Umbral Expanse were too cautious, and as soon as Shan Pu or any other peak powerhouse arrived, all of the Umbrians would immediately flee. While Shan Pu could roam the Umbral Expanse without fear, he was unable to locate their leader.

    Shan Pu was starting to worry that Lu Yin might have gone to the Umbral Expanse.

    The Umbrians were not easy to deal with, but Shan Pu had no choice but to reach out to them. Besides, the fact that Lu Yin had killed that powerful corpse king in the Big Stone Universe proved that he was quite powerful himself.

    If things were not handled properly, the Umbrians would all suffer. They would likely underestimate Lu Yin, and if that happened, they would find themselves in deep trouble.

    Thinking of this, Shan Pu turned towards the Umbral Expanse.

 Chapter 2754: An Old Monster

    <h4>Chapter 2754: An Old Monster</h4>

    At the very center of the Umbral Expanse, Lu Yin used his domain to watch as An Jiu and the others demonstrated their various battle techniques while he tried to find any possible clue that might reveal a connection to the Origin Universe.

    It was impossible to determine any specific connection between the two universes with just Inverse Step, as Progenitor Chen had clearly not been the first person to master the movement technique. He had merely been one of the people to learn it.

    Each universe had its own unique characteristics. The Umbral Universe was certainly not a weak universe, and its people had developed many battle techniques, all of which were reliant on the ever present darkness.

    The universe¡¯s darkness was a unique form of power, much like stellr energy, and Lu Yin could even start cultivating the power if he chose to.

    While contemting the matter, Lu Yin failed to notice that, as An Jiu demonstrated his battle techniques, the Umbral Expanse was growing darker and darker.

    At the beginning, it had been impossible to see anything clearly on the continent, as it was even darker than outer space in the Umbral Universe, but that darkness was growing even more intense.

    An Jiu deliberately slowed his breathing so that he did not reveal any sign of abnormality. He was indeed demonstrating a battle technique, but this particr battle technique only had a single purpose: to awaken their ancestor.

    The Umbral Universe had once had a truly impressive peak powerhouse, who was the ancestor that had survived for an unknown number of years. Inverse Step had not actuallye from the Tome of Darkness, but rather from the Umbrians¡¯ ancestor.

    Only their ancestor could deal with Lu Yin.

    Their ancestor had left behind teaching instructing the Umbrians to kill any foreigner who threatened the Umbral Universe without mercy, regardless of their identity.

    This was why the Umbrians freely attacked both the Aeternals and any cultivator from the Sixverse Association. They were following their ancestor¡¯s teachings.

    Lu Yin did not notice anything. He knew nothing about the Umbrians, and even the Lost n, which was the most familiar with the Umbral Universe, were unable to understand all of the Umbrians'' battle techniques. Not until Lu Yin felt danger from some unseen source did he raise his guard.

    His eyes suddenly turned downwards, as that was the direction of the source of the danger.

    Why was his domain suddenly being devoured so much more quickly than before?

    While the darkness had been constantly devouring Lu Yin¡¯s domain, he had barely been able to maintain it forcefully. However, without him noticing, the darkness had started to intensify, and it was currently devouring his domain faster than what he could handle. On top of that, he had lost all perception of anything underground.

    There was no hesitation as Lu Yin fled from where he was standing, and as he moved, he attacked An Jiu. It seemed clear that the man was the source of whatever was happening.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was toote.

    An Jiu suddenly dropped to his knees, muttering to himself. All of the nearby Umbrians mirrored the man¡¯s behavior.

    Darkness bound Lu Yin¡¯s feet in ce, and he was unable to move.

    "What did you do?" Lu Yin asked as he red at An Jiu.

    The Umbrian simply continued to mumble something to himself, sounding as though he was praying or cursing, though Lu Yin was unable to understand anything that the man said.

    On top of that, the sense of danger that Lu Yin felt was constantly growing stronger and stronger.

    He wanted nothing other than to escape from this ce and get as far away as possible.

    Lu Yin was capable of fighting against Progenitors, which meant that the darkness should not be able to restrain him. Despite that, he was trapped by the darkness that had twined around his legs. Furthermore, the darkness was continuing to spread, as though it wanted to devour him whole.

    He abandoned his hesitation and attacked the darkness, only for his attack to pass right through it.

    Starting from his legs, the biting cold and numbness spread upwards to epass his entire body.

    The danger that Lu Yin was feeling indicated that this was a true peak powerhouse, which meant that the Umbrians really did have a peak powerhouse. This person was also clearly not average, but exceptional for their level.

    The power of this darkness was enough to trap Lu Yin¡¯s legs. Had he been cursed recently? First, he had been shed eighty-one times while visiting the Lost n, with absolutely no way to fight back or escape. Fortunately, none of the eighty-one attacks had harmed him, and he had even received a small saber from the ordeal. After that, he had been ambushed by Cheng Kong and had nearly died. If not for the small saber, Lu Yin would have lost his life at that time.

    This time, he was being attacked by an irresistible peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin understood why people imed that the Endless Frontier was a meat grinder and that not even peak powerhouses wanted to be sent here.

    Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation might only be that of a six-tribtion Envoy, but even so, he had thebat strength to fight against Progenitors. On the Endless Frontier, he should actually be safer than a true Progenitor, especially with his various means of protection. Even so, Lu Yin had nearly died on several asions. The Endless Frontier really was a killing ground.

    Lu Yin took out the slipper and attacked, but even that did nothing.

    The slipper was extremely powerful, but Lu Yin was facing an opponent who could not be struck, which made him feel just as helpless as when he had tried to attack Undying God.

    Lu Yinshed out several times, but nothing worked. The slipper simply could not strike the darkness. The darkness was like fog or wind even though it was restraining Lu Yin and holding him in ce as he grew cold and numb. If this continued, the darkness really would devour himpletely.

    Some distance away, An Jiu looked up. While his eye had no pupil, he appeared to be staring at Lu Yin with growing excitement. Their ancestor had taken action, which meant that no one could escape.

    Lu Yin grew solemn, and he shifted along the spatial lines. At that moment, he vanished from within the darkness.

    An Jiu was startled. How was he gone?

    The darkness instantly erupted, as though Lu Yin''s escape had angered it. It then took on the shape of monsters that shot off into every direction.

    Lu Yin fled without stopping. He did not know if this darkness was at the level of using sequence particles, but it had clearly not incorporated the power of space yet. If it had, he would have never been able to escape.

    Space and time were the most mysterious powers, and as long as Lu Yin could create an opening, he could escape from just about anything.

    His domain touched the darkness, and it reacted as though it had found its quarry, as it instantly shot straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned as he raced away. He could not allow himself to be surrounded by that darkness again. Where had this power evene from? Lu Yin could not find any Progenitor-level experts.

    At this moment, he turned around and noticed a peak powerhouse approaching.

    Shan Pu was moving straight at Lu Yin. While the man had never cultivated a domain, he was still a peak powerhouse equal to a Progenitor, and his perception could notpare to that of ordinary cultivators. He could clearly sense both Lu Yin and the deep darkness pursuing him.

    "Are you Lu Yin?" Shan Pu called out.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Did everyone on the Endless Frontier know about him?

    "Who are you?"

    Shan Pu anxious said, "Hurry up and get away! There¡¯s an old monster in this ce."

    Lu Yin already knew that, and he never stopped fleeing towards Shan Pu.

    The two men moved quickly, but the darkness spread even faster. Not only was it chasing the two men, but it also radiated from the center of the Umbral Expanse in every direction. It acted like a prison, trapping everyone who was in the Umbral Expanse.

    Shan Pu''s expression twisted horribly. "Why did you have to provoke this old monster?"

    There was a very solemn expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face, as the sense of danger that he felt was only growing stronger. It felt as though something terrible was about to wake up.

    Very rarely did he feel such intense danger, and thest time he had faced it was when he had been attacked by Cheng Kong. This meant that there was a peak powerhouse in the Umbral Universe who wasparable to Cheng Kong. This was someone who could truly threaten Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    "I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! I didn''t know that there was such a monster here. Who are you?" Lu Yin asked.

    As the two men raced towards outer space in their bid to escape, they were constantly being forced to drive the darkness back. "The Lost n¡¯s Shan Pu."

    Lu Yin had not expected that answer. "How do you know about me?"

    "My Lost n sent me to find you." Shan Pu did not conceal the matter and answered bluntly. He looked around in every direction. They were in big trouble. The darkness was thick, and it had spread overhead. This old monster was going to be even more difficult to deal with than Shan Pu had expected. He should have known better than to visit this cursed ce.

    This Lu Yin was not worth Shan Pu sacrificing his own life.

    Lu Yin kept attacking the darkness, and he was able to see that it had spread overhead. He stretched out a hand to grab Shan Pu, but the man instinctively avoided it, asking warily, "What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin said, "I¡¯ll get us away from here."

    Shan Pu was dubious, but he could only trust Lu Yin. Since the Lost n had asked Shan Pu to protect this young man, there had to be a reason for that, and Lu Yin should have a good rtionship with the Lost n.

    Shan Pu did not want to be surrounded by this darkness and trapped in the Umbral Expanse until his death.

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Shan Pu''s shoulder and then traveled along the spatial lines. Two bodies instantly disappeared before reappearing outside the spreading darkness.

    Shan Pu let out a sigh of relief. They had really broken free, which was surprising. "How did you do that?"

    The man had not been able to realize what Lu Yin had done. They had seemed to travel through the void, but it had been somehow different.

    "We need to move quickly. That old monster hasn''tpletely woken up just yet. If he does, we really won''t be able to escape."

    As Lu Yin followed Shan Pu, he looked back at the Umbral Expanse that had been swallowed by an even greater darkness. "What in the world is going on back there? Who is that old monster?"

    Shan Pu was genuinely afraid. "The Great Elder once mentioned that there is an ancient powerhouse in the Umbral Universe who has isted himself and is sleeping. I can¡¯t say what his purpose might be, but my Lost n has been watching for many years. I didn¡¯t expect him to wake up while you were here. Just what did you do?"

    "Nothing much. I just threatened to wipe out the Umbrians," Lu Yin answered casually.

    Shan Pu was shocked. "That¡¯s all?"

    "Does it need to be more than that?" Lu Yin grew puzzled.

    Shan Pu was speechless. The Lost n had considered trying that method, but Great Elder Shan Gu did not want to be an enemy of the sleeping powerhouse. No one wanted to face the wrath of someone forced out from hiding, so they had refrained from threatening the Umbrians.

    The Lost n had spent many, many years trying tomunicate with the Umbrians and had gathered additional information about the sleeping powerhouse as a result, but they had never seeded at all.

    This kid had been incredibly rude. "Why did you threaten to destroy the Umbrians?"

    Lu Yin said, "I didn¡¯t really threaten the entire race. I just attacked their leader. This powerhouse is being summoned by that leader."

    "I understand now. The leader of the Umbrians has always known how to wake the old monster, but no one has been able to threaten him for many years, which is why he never attempted to do so before. No wonder this power appeared, though that old monster is still not really awake. If we had known that this would work, we would have done this long ago,¡± Shan Pu regretted.

    Just as the two were about to escape, they suddenly froze. While they were unable to see it, they could clearly sense that the darkness had somehow managed to get in front of them, and it had formed a barrier that trapped them.

    Beyond that barrier, the darkness had formed an even stronger barrier.

    There were multipleyers of barriers, and neither man could determine just how many there were.

    They had sessfully escaped from the Umbral Expanse, but they were unable to flee from the Umbral Universe in time. For peak powerhouses, it was possible to alter space in a ce the size of the Umbral Expanse or the entire Umbral Realm with just a thought.

    Shan Pu smiled bitterly. "There¡¯s no way out unless we leave the Endless Frontier entirely."

    "That¡¯s not against the rules, if we encounter a life-or-death crisis. After all, we aren¡¯t up against Aeternus right now," Lu Yin said softly as he turned back to look at the Umbral Expanse.

    Shan Pu sighed. "That¡¯s not an easy rule to exploit. Even the two of us will need to exin our actions to the rulers of the six member universes of the Sixverse Association and will likely even need to face the Great Sovereign. We¡¯re in the Umbral Universe, which means that we can''t even ask for help."

    Give an exnation to the Great Sovereign? Lu Yin did not want to meet the Great Sovereign at this point in time. When meeting the Great Sovereign, Lu Yin would also most likely see Sovereign Shao Yin, and Lu Yin could not afford to be recognized just yet. "Then we can only fight."

    Shan Pu took out his card as he considered the matter. His headache was growing. "I¡¯m fine with fighting, but who do we fight against? If my Lost n wants to set a trap, we need to at least have a person to deal with."

    Lu Yin frowned. Their opponent? He was also unable to determine the person¡¯s location.

    As they spoke, the deep darkness drew closer and closer.

    Lu Yin''s eyes firmed with determination. "If they want us to go back to the Umbral Expanse, then they must be there as well."

    Shan Pu nodded. "I¡¯ve heard that you are very bold, despite your youth. I just hope that your strength isn¡¯t too bad. As long as I can find where that old monster is, I can put up a fight."

    With that said, the two headed back towards the Umbral Expanse.

 Chapter 2755: Awakening

    <h4>Chapter 2755: Awakening</h4>

    There was no way for Lu Yin and Shan Pu to ask for help while in the Umbral Universe, and there was also no data center. On top of that, they could not simply leave the Endless Frontier, which meant that their only option was to stay and fight. Of course, Lu Yin would escape if fighting was useless. As long as he was not attacked by someone like Cheng Kong or the eighty-one saber shes, both of which had left him helpless andpletely immobile, he was confident in escaping. A fatal attack would have to surpass the limit of what Lu Yin could survive with Extremes Must Be Reversed, and that was a steep threshold.

    As for the need of exining his actions to the Great Sovereign, that was something to consider if the time ever came. Why worry about such things when his life was on the line?

    The Umbral Expansey in the furthest depths of the Umbral Universe, and the thick darkness thaty there meant that Lu Yin''s domain could not spread out very far, and it would also be devoured very quickly.

    In this ce, he was quite like a blind man.

    "We need a way to find the old monster!" Shan Pu shouted.

    Lu Yin stared straight ahead into the darkness. In the past, he had felt like there was only one shade that darkness could take, but after arriving in the Umbral Universe, he had encountered multiple variations. The darkness right in front of him was undoubtedly the most dangerous that he had ever encountered.

    Since he was facing darkness, he needed to bring out some light.

    Thinking of this, his Investiture of the Gods appeared above his head, and the golden light formed a sharp de of light that pierced the deep darkness and shone through the Umbral Expanse.

    The darkness in this ce was able to devour light, but the Investiture of the Gods was the Lu family¡¯s greatest innate gift, and it was not easy to suppress. The golden light was even able to pierce through death energy, and when Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods¡¯ golden scroll had first appeared in the Perennial World, it had illuminated the entire ce. The light had permeated not only the Higher Realm, but also the Middle and Lower Realms. When Lu Yin brought it out in the Umbral Universe, it simrly illuminated the entire Umbral Expanse and shone upon An Jiu and the other Umbrians.

    All the people screamed and fled from the light. They could not bear its touch.

    Shan Pu was startled. What sort of power was this? The golden light was bright, though not blinding, and it possessed an iparable sense of sacredness and supremacy. The Lost n¡¯s istionist nature was in part due to the fact that they looked down on the other parallel universes of the Sixverse Association, but the golden light that had just appeared made Shan Pu very aware of Lu Yin''s power.

    Regardless of the young man¡¯s level of cultivation, the golden light from the scroll indicated that it was a very powerful inheritance.

    The golden light illuminated the entire Umbral Expanse, and Progenitor Nong stepped out. The summoned Progenitor faced the Umbral Expanse, and thend shattered. All of the Umbrians living on the Umbral Expanse fled, wailing.

    An Jiu trembled. "Ancestor, please wake up! Ancestor¨C!"

    Underneath the Umbral Expanse, a pair of eyes snapped open. They were ancient and cloudy, but they instantly gained rity. The eyes turned to stare upwards at the golden light that pierced the ground and illuminated an old face. "The power of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lu family."

    The moment the old man spoke, the ground before him vanished, and darkness formed an arch that covered the sky. The man who was lying in the ground sat up and released a sigh.

    An Jiu and the other Umbrians dropped to their knees, tears filling their eyes. "Greetings, Ancestor."

    "Greetings, Ancestor."

    "Greetings, Ancestor."

    ...

    Countless Umbrians shouted in excitement, like devoted worshipers.

    Lu Yin and Shan Pu nced at each other. They had found their target.

    Shan Pu¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Great Elder had visited the Umbral Universe in the past, and that visit had made him certain that a very, very ancient powerhouse of incredible strength dwelled in the universe. Shan Gu had tried to awaken the sleeping powerhouse several times, but all of those efforts had failed. In order to avoid generating any enmity, the Lost n had not tried to force the ancient powerhouse awake.

    But now, that person had just awakened.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and stared into the darkness. The golden light waspeting with that darkness, but the golden light hade from the Investiture of the Gods and was not Lu Yin¡¯s personal power. Even Lu Yin had not expected the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods to be able to force back the darkness.

    Beneath the Umbral Expanse, the ancient individual looked upwards, and for a brief moment, Lu Yin saw the old man¡¯s eyes. He had pupils? He was not an Umbrian?

    "Child of the Lu family, you have awakened me." When the man spoke, his voice was dry and grating. It sounded as though he had not spoken for a very, very long time.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Sure enough, there was a connection between the Umbral Universe and the Origin Universe. There was a reason why he had discovered Inverse Step in this universe. "You recognize me as a member of the Lu family?"

    The old man raised a hand to block a bit of the golden light. "The Lu family''s Investiture of the Gods... This light is as oppressive as ever!"

    "Who might you be, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shan Pu clenched his card tightly. The very moment this ancient man woke up, Shan Pu had felt an incredible sense of danger that made him feel like he was being observed andpletely seen through. The strangest thing was that the feeling of being observed did not only originate from below, but also from above and every other direction. It was as though Shan Pu was being stared at from every part of the Umbral Universe.

    It felt as though the universe had woken up with the old man.

    Shan Pu had only ever experienced this feeling from the Great Elder. This monster was someone who was at the same power level as the Great Elder. What could Shan Pu do? This was a very, very dangerous situation.

    The old man sighed and rose to his feet. "That doesn''t matter. In this entire megaverse, very few are able to leave their names behind in eternity. All others are mere passersby.

    "Child, tell me, how is the Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Senior, how was the Heavens Sect doing when you came to this universe?"

    The old man chuckled. "Young people now are so rude. Clearly, by asking you that question, I was indicating that I have an old connection to your Lu family."

    "Senior, are you really rted to my Lu family?" Lu Yin''s heart moved. Was this man someone from the Heavens Sect era?

    "That¡¯s right. I had the most interactions with Lu Buzheng, as we were both gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. I saw him frequently." The old man gave a small smile.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Senior, you were a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates?"

    "You seem to understand what that means."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. While the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates had not been Progenitors, each of the twelve had received their position because they were a Semi-Progenitor who was believed to be guaranteed to be a Progenitor. Even peak powerhouses had been polite to the gatemasters.

    The potential of Lu Yin¡¯s third uncle, Lu Buzheng, had even been admired by the Lu family¡¯s ancestor, who had tried to obtain the power of Destiny for Lu Buzheng to use as his first summon for the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

    Destina had been Destiny¡¯s disciple, Hen Xin had been Dao Monarch Gu¡¯s disciple, and the other gatemasters had possessed simr backgrounds. It could be said that the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates had all been destined to be the most powerful individuals of the next era, provided that they did not encounter any idents.

    Lu Buzheng and the others gatemasters that Lu Yin was familiar with had all been frozen in a sourcebox during the Heavens Sect era, and they had remained in that frozen state until the Fifth Maind reached a critical point in the war against Aeternus. For that reason, the surviving gatemasters were all still Semi-Progenitors, and regardless of how impressive their cultivation might be, they were not all powerful.

    However, Lu Yin could only imagine. If his third uncle, Lu Buzheng, had survived to the present era from the Heavens Sect era, just how strong would the man have be?

    With his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, he would be able to summon Destiny herself. Who could hope to win against such power?

    If Destina had lived for so many years, would another Destiny have appeared?

    Could Hen Xin have followed the same path as Dao Monarch Gu?

    It was impossible to know for sure, but there was one thing that was undeniable: any one of the ancient gatemasters would be a very, very powerful individual after so many years.

    Lu Yin was facing someone who had once been a gatemaster of the Twelve Heavenly Gates at the same time as Lu Buzheng, and that was terrifying. This was a true ancient Progenitor who had survived since the Heavens Sect era, which meant that he was much, much older than Progenitor Chen and those of his generation.

    ?As Shan Pu had said, this was an old monster.

    "Might I be so bold as to ask your name, Senior?" Lu Yin stared at the old man, who smiled once again.

    "Since when did the members of the Lu family be so humble?"

    The moment the man finished speaking, Shan Pu¡¯s card appeared behind him. However, the old man disappeared, and at the same time, Shan Pu vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose, as the attack had already failed.

    "Just call me Old Mo. If you can return alive, tell Lu Buzheng for me that his old friend will go find him."

    As the man spoke, it felt as though the Umbral Universe was turned upside down, and the people who were fighting all across the universe suddenly discovered that they lost control. The darkness turned into a raging tsunami that threatened to drown the entire universe, and the darkness grew stronger than ever.

    The biting cold that assaulted everyone left them all terrified.

    Shan Pu stepped out, an ugly expression on his face, and a trace of blood could be seen where it had leaked from his mouth. "Does this old monster have some sort of grudge against you?"

    Lu Yin looked around, and Progenitor Nong suddenly attacked, casting out green leaves as he floated forward. Old Mo raised a hand and casually tore the leaves apart. "Today, I want to see if the Lu family''s Investiture of the Gods can be devoured.¡±

    Shan Pu¡¯s head snapped over, and a card suddenly appeared beside Old Mo. It was Shan Pu¡¯s card.

    He expected Old Mo to be pulled into the card, but darkness blocked the card and gradually enveloped Shan Pu.

    "This old monster is as powerful as the Great Elder! Run!" Shan Pu urged softly.

    Lu Yin prepared to escape. This old monster was clearly someone who had touched the governingws of a universe. By the Transcendent Universe¡¯s standards, this was a powerhouse who could interact with sequence particles. Such experts were even more powerful than the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and Lu Yin believed that they even approached the power of the Three Realm Six Dao. This was not someone whom Lu Yin and Sahn Pu could handle.

    Shan Pu did not even want to recover his card.

    Suddenly, the two of them looked behind Old Mo, and their pupils dted. An Jiu, who should have been kneeling on the Umbral Expanse while devotedly offering his prayers to his ancestor, had suddenly appeared at some point in time, and he was attacking Old Mo. The attacker¡¯s palm strike split into three, and then the three palms merged back into one.

    No one had expected the man to suddenly attack Old Mo. An Jiu was the leader of the Umbrians, and he had even been the one to awaken Old Mo.

    As the attack struck Old Mo, An Jiu''s eyes changed.

    The ancient powerhouse spun around to look at An Jiu. "Is he being controlled? Or is it another rat?"

    Lu Yin instantly grew wary. Controlled? His first thought was of Cheng Kong, but then he heard Shan Pu mention an odd name, "The Chiliagonist."[1]

    Lu Yin felt confused, but Shan Pu offered no further exnation and instead simply pointed downwards.

    The Umbrians were all rushing upwards into outer space, and they were all attacking Old Mo. None of the Umbrians were very strong, but the Chiliagonist had greatly enhanced theirbat power, and thousands were attacking Old Mo.

    The man frowned. "You don¡¯t understand that you¡¯re walking to your deaths."

    As he spoke, the endless darkness that surrounded him shot out at a point in the distance. Old Mo stared in that direction, and the darkness formed a sharp de that sliced the Umbral Universe in half. It looked as though even a massive universe was nothing more than a toy for the man to y with.

    Far away, a sh of red appeared. It swept out and sliced through the darkness, falling upon the Umbral Expanse.

    This touch of red was the second color that had been able to endure the darkness. The first had been the Investiture of the Gods¡¯ golden light.

    This red color was quite familiar to Lu Yin. It was divine energy.

    As expected, the Aeternals had taken action.

    Old Mo looked upwards and frowned. Both fear and wariness could be seen in his eyes. He remembered what he had seen before entering this universe. The arrival of this particr power had caused the Maind to break, and countless people had died tragic deaths. He had seen the Three Realms Six Dao all bleeding. This power had engraved a deep fear in Old Mo¡¯s memory.

    However, the divine energy that was being used was not being wielded by that terrifying individual, but rather by a tiny mouse borrowing another¡¯s power.

    Old Mo¡¯s eyes started to ze. A mouse borrowing another¡¯s power had frightened him, leaving him nervous and scared. Such a thing was unforgivable, and it was no different from how Lu Buzheng had once used the power of Destiny to scare Old Mo after the man had sessfully cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. <i>Unforgivable,pletely unforgivable!</i>

    The darkness twisted and spread towards the divine energy.

    The divine energy radiated a red light that shone down on the Umbral Expanse like a sun. As soon as it appeared, An Jiu and the other Umbrians who had attacked Old Mo lifted their hands, and divine energy touched their fingers. All of them absorbed the energy, and while they had no pupils, their single eyes zed red.

    This is a very difficult name to trante, as it literally means "a thousand angles/versions of the character/protagonist/yer/participant." While we orginally gave him the name "the Thespian," that was not very urate. "Chiliagonist" is 2 greek roots mashed together: chilia = Greek for thousand and agonist = Greek for role, which gives us "man of a thousand roles/parts." ?

 Chapter 2756: The Chiliagonist

    <h4>Chapter 2756: The Chiliagonist</h4>

    Old Mo pressed a hand down, causing darkness to envelop An Jiu and the other Umbrians, but the divine energy forced them all away from the darkness.

    An Jiu and all the other Umbrians continued to charge at Old Mo, each using the samebat technique. Some of the palm strikes split into two images that merged back into a single attack, while others split into three images that merged into a single attack. An Jiu managed to release a palm strike that split into six different images before merging back into one.

    With the boost from the divine energy, the Umbrians¡¯ attacks shattered the void and revealed the Hollow.

    The old Umbrian with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor managed to divide his palm strike into seven images that merged together, but when the old man used the divine energy, his body started to break down. Ignoring his own condition, the man continued to attack Old Mo.

    Thousands of Umbrians used divine energy to strengthen their abilities as they attacked Old Mo, creating an impressive sight.

    Old Mo''s face fell, and darkness rose up from below to once again surround all the Umbrians, and this time, they did not emerge from the darkness again. They no longer existed in the universe, nor anywhere else.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. That was the power of divine energy. He had seen it before, and there was no denying that divine energy was an absolutely terrifying power.

    While none of the Umbrians had been particrly strong, the divine energy had boosted An Jiu and the other Semi-Progenitor-level Umbrian to the point where theirbat strength could challenge a Progenitor. Even so, they had disappeared so quickly.

    "Let''s go!" Shan Pu shouted.

    A voice reached the two men. "Join forces with us. None of us can fight this old monster on our own."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "One of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings?"

    Shan Pu sneered. "Join forces with you? What a joke! Let''s go."

    "You are not able to leave. It seems that you don''t have any understanding at all regarding the strength of someone at this level."

    As one, Shan Pu and Lu Yin tore the void open to leave the Umbral Universe. They both managed to find a destination among the infinite parallel universes, but as soon as they did so, the darkness invaded the rift, warping the tear and leaving the void unstable.

    From far away, Old Mo''s cold eyes nced over at the two men. "Now that you¡¯re here, don''t even think about leaving. Today, this Umbral Universe will be cleansed."

    Both the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods and the red light of divine energy flickered as the endless darkness pressed in upon them. Old Mo¡¯s cold eyes stared at Lu Yin and Shan Pu, and the old man¡¯s hand rose to grab them.

    Without his card, a member of the Lost n like Shan Pu had lost most of hisbat strength. Meanwhile, Lu Yin took out his slipper and attacked. He wanted tounch a sneak attack while Old Mo was not paying attention.

    However, Old Mo had lived for countless years, and hisbat experience could not be estimated. He had managed to survive through the desperate years after the fall of the Heavens Sect, and he would be wary of even a speck of dust approaching, let alone a slipper.

    Lu Yin''s slipper was unable to even touch Old Mo.

    From down below, An Jiu charged upwards, and he rushed straight into the sun-like divine energy.

    The movement caught Old Mo¡¯s attention, and he looked over. He saw an absurd amount of divine energy enter An Jiu''s body. The Umbrian suddenly regained consciousness, and he let out a miserable scream. "Ancestor! Ancestor, save me! Ancestor¨C!"

    Old Mo frowned. He raised a hand and contracted his fingers. The darkness twisted around the divine energy as it slowly condensed, squeezing the divine energy¡¯s red light while also trying to drag An Jiu away.

    An Jiu suddenly looked back upwards and roared at the sky. The skin across his body melted, as did his entire face. Entering this pool of divine energy was no different for the Umbrian than if a normal human had fallen intova. The divine energy did not burn the Umbrian, but rather transformed him into a monster with red eyes. He turned to look at Old Mo and thenshed out at the ancient powerhouse. The bonds of darkness were broken, and An Jiu raced towards Old Mo with an upraised arm, even as it broke apart. One palm became two. Three palms continued to increase until there were eleven, and then those eleven palm strikes merged back into one.

    "Let''s join forces."

    Again, Lu Yin and Shan Pu heard the voice. They nced at each other and stopped hesitating. There was no doubt that Old Mo would kill them, which meant that their only choice to survive was to cooperate with the Aeternals.

    Just as An Jiu''s eleven palms fused into one, Lu Yin''s slipper, Progenitor Nong¡¯s Plowing the Land, and Shan Pu¡¯s battle technique from the Lost n all shot forward.

    Three different parties were simultaneously attacking Old Mo, but the old man just sneered. "You''re nothing more than rats which can be easily dealt with. Why did you even bother cultivating to this level?"

    The man then raised his head, saying, "Absolute... Darkness."

    The words were just spoken when An Jiu''s eleven palms fully fused, only for the attack to miss. Lu Yin and Shan Pu were unable to see even the slightest bit of light for the moment, as both the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods and the red light of the divine energy had disappeared.

    No, if Old Mo was capable of instantly devouring those lights, he would not have waited for so long. He had not devoured the light, but rather deprived both himself and the others of the ability to perceive any form of light.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. Old Mo was an ancient monster who had touched upon the concept of sequence particles, which essentially meant that he was able to observe the underlyingws that governed the universe. Life, aging, sickness and death, light and darkness, the cycle of karma, the vicissitudes of life, joy and sorrow, and even the act of leaving footprints when walking across the ground¡ªall of these phenomena were only possible because of a universe¡¯s governingws.

    At this moment, Old Mo had most likely deprived Lu Yin and the others of their vision, leaving nothing but the appearance of darkness. This deprivation of a certain sense was somewhat simr to Wen Sansi¡¯s innate gift. However, Wen Sansi had developed his innate gift to achieve such a thing, while Old Mo had relied on his exceptional cultivation.

    Some people were born with the ability to control space, while others needed to cultivate to the very peak before they could hope to touch upon such a power. Even so, there was a unity to all things.

    "You cannot fathom the power that I have mastered! Even during the Heavens Sect era, which was beyond glorious, only a handful of the Three Realms Six Dao were able to control this power.

    "I have slept since the Heavens Sect era, remainingpletely immersed in darkness, but finally, I have mastered this power. Even if I had not been woken up by the power of the Lu family, I would have still awakened very soon. As a reward, I will allow you to experience the true peak of human cultivation.

    "People talk about how humans can conquer a universe, but how could that be possible? Humanity is nothing more than a speck of dust in the scope of an entire universe. You and all the others are naught but dust. Only I can touch thews that govern this universe, which means that, for you, I am the god of this Umbral Universe!"

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Lu Yin and others were unable to see anything, but they could still hear.

    An Jiu was crushed by Old Mo. The ancient powerhouse had no need for the Umbrians, and they were not even his own descendants. They had merely cultivated with the power that he had left behind, and they had degenerated into a useless race that did not even have working eyes.

    Severe pain assaulted their nerves, and Shan Pu groaned as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

    "I¡¯m sure that it''s very painful. While I have never met you before, I have known for many years that some old guy from the Sixverse Association¡¯s Lost n has been trying to speak with me, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to him." As Old Mu continued speaking, he raised his hand, revealing the card that he held. "How can a power that relies on external powerspare with our Origin Universe?"

    Old Mo then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, does Lu Buzheng still live?"

    The surface of Lu Yin''s body started to wither, as he had used Extremes Must Be Reverse. He might be able to survive Old Mo¡¯s assault, as long as the man¡¯s attacks did not exceed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    "Yes."

    "What is his current level of cultivation?"

    "Semi-Progenitor."

    Old Mo¡¯s eyebrows climbed high, and he gave Lu Yin a very odd look. "Semi-Progenitor? Is this some kind of joke?"

    Lu Yin asked, "Senior, are you aware of when Third Uncle and the others disappeared?"

    Old Mo replied, "Of course I know when that group of people disappeared. It wasn¡¯t just Lu Buzheng, but several of the Dao Chosen as well."

    "Third Uncle and the others were all frozen within a sourcebox and were only released a few decades ago. Their cultivation is unchanged from during the Heavens Sect era. If you would like, Senior, I can take you there."

    Old Mo started tough. "Interesting! Very interesting! Haha, of course I want to see him! I <i>must</i> see him! Are you telling me this because you hope to survive?"

    Lu Yin admitted it directly. "Of course I hope to live, and also for Senior Shan Pu beside me to live as well. I ask that you not make things difficult for us, Senior."

    Old Mo shrugged. "There¡¯s a rat here, and I want to see if it will die, or if it will manage to escape from me."

    Far away, a pair of slitted scarlet eyes stared in the direction of the Umbral Expanse. Suddenly, darkness fell all around the eyes, making it impossible for the individual to escape. This corpse king was the Chiliagonist that Shan Pu had mentioned earlier. This was the Progenitor-level corpse king that Aeternus had sent to the Umbral Universe.

    In the same way that the Lost n knew of Old Mo¡¯s existence, Aeternus had also been aware of the ancient powerhouse.

    Seeing there was no escape, the Chiliagonist started moving towards the Umbral Expanse, and he soon looked at Old Mo, Lu Yin, and Shan Pu.

    Old Mo looked at the corpse king with a teasing expression. "You aren¡¯t going to try to run away?"

    The Chiliagonist was a corpse king who looked like an ordinary human with a pale face. He stared at Old Mo with slitted scarlet eyes. "You call me a rat? You are no different."

    Old Mo¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    "I am well aware of your story. After betraying Wu Tian, you managed to survive, and then you remained hidden here so that you could find what Wu Tian left behind."

    Old Mo red. "Presumptuous!"

    The darkness filled the sky and fell, pressing down upon the Chiliagonist. The corpse king responded with a vicious smile. "Undying God asked me to say hello to you and offer you a chance to join our Aeternus. Your past is unique among humans, and you can be given forgiveness.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched. Something that Wu Tian had left behind? Had Old Mo betrayed Wu Tian?

    Old Mo snorted contemptuously. "I will neither return to the Origin Universe, nor turn to monsters like you."

    Despite sleeping for countless years, Old Mo was still aware of the general situation. He was aware of the existence of the Sixverse Association, the Lost n, and the Seven Skygods.

    The Chiliagonist let out a raucousugh. "You¡¯ve remained hidden here for so many years, yet you call us monsters! Look at the sort of monsters that you yourself have cultivated! Those freaks don''t even have eyes."

    "I can''t tolerate your nonsense, rat." Old Mo pointed a finger, and darkness pierced the heart of the Chiliagonist. Old Mo¡¯s control of the darkness was too powerful, and every attack he released could instantly kill an ordinary Progenitor.

    The Chiliagonist nced at Lu Yin and Shan Pu. They were both bound by darkness and werepletely unable to provide any help. The corpse king could only rely on himself to stop this old monster until a senior arrived.

    The corpse king could not break free from the darkness, as it possessed a level of powerparable to that of his seniors. His only option was to attack Old Mo himself.

    Again, darkness pierced the Chiliagonist. The corpse king did not fear pain, just the same as any other corpse king.

    Pain, fear, despair¡ªa corpse king did not feel any of the negative emotions that humans experienced, but they could grant them to humans.

    The slitted scarlet eyes stared at Old Mo as he recited, "The Protagonist."

    The moment the words fell, an intangible power spread out. It passed through the darkness, as though the two were in separate dimensions. The darkness and the intangible power passed by each other without any interference.

    Old Mo frowned. "An intangible power? Is this your Progenitor¡¯s world?

    "If you are able to transform an innate gift into a Progenitor¡¯s world, then you must have a high status within Aeternus."

    The Chiliagonist did not answer as the intangible power spread further and further, gradually approaching Old Mo. Finally, the intangible power gathered together, and an unseen form charged at Old Mo.

    Darkness gathered in front of the old man, but it was unable to stop the intangible power.

    While the intangible power could notpare to the power of Old Mo¡¯s darkness in quality, quantity, or strength, it was apletely different sort of power. No matter how strong the darkness might be, it simply could not affect the intangible power.

 Chapter 2757: Heavens Sight

    <h4>Chapter 2757: Heaven''s Sight</h4>

    As the Chiliagonist¡¯s power swept out, Old Mo''s body swayed, and everything he saw suddenly flickered. Some distance away, multiple images of Lu Yin and the others appeared, as well as multiple red suns formed from divine energy. All of it was an illusion.

    "This is the power of consciousness." Old Mo stared at the Chiliagonist. "It¡¯s no wonder why you are able to control the dregs¡ªyou reced their consciousness with your own."

    The Chiliagonist suddenly looked over at Lu Yin and Shan Pu. He wanted to control both of them. They were unable to see anything as they were trapped in the darkness, but the corpse king could see the two humans. As long as he could control them and master their powers, would they still need to see? It did not matter at all.

    Shan Pu''s body swayed. The Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness invaded, trying to rece Shan Pu¡¯s own thoughts. However, after a mere moment, the invading consciousness suddenly disappeared and was cut off.

    The Chiliagonist stared at Shan Pu. How could it be? How had his consciousness been cut off? Did this person also cultivate consciousness?

    Throughout the countless parallel universes that made up the megaverse, the Chiliagonist hade into contact with too many people and too many odd races, but very few individuals were able to cultivate consciousness. When had the Lost n gained the ability to cultivate consciousness?

    Suddenly, the corpse king looked back at Lu Yin. If Shan Pu had surprised the corpse king, then Lu Yinpletely shocked the monster, because it was very clear that the consciousness sent into Lu Yin had beenpletely suppressed.

    How?

    The Chiliagonist was dumbfounded. This person was clearly nothing more than a six-tribtion Envoy, but he was able to use various means to fight across realms against Progenitors. This was practically unseen throughout all of history, but now Lu Yin was revealing that he had even trained in the power of consciousness? The corpse king¡¯s power came from his innate gift, but his power had only been honed to a ridiculous level after countless years of training. While he had sent a mere trace to infiltrate Lu Yin¡¯s mind, even that much was not something that ordinary Progenitors could defend against, let alone a mere six-tribtion Envoy.

    How could a child¡¯s consciousness be so strong?

    No, this was not a matter of strength, but of toughness. This boy¡¯s consciousness was robust, to the point where the Chiliagonist questioned all that he knew.

    At this moment, Lu Yin also felt very strange. He had felt the touch of a familiar power. It was the same power that would take him to the mysterious dark space whenever he rolled Possession with his die. This was the power that allowed him to merge with the orbs of light in that space. Was this the power of Possession?

    He reflexively tried to Possess it.

    Whenever Lu Yin Possessed a person, he had to suppress their consciousness, and he had automatically done that when the trace of consciousness had tried to invade his mind. This was why the Chiliagonist had felt his power being suppressed.

    Lu Yin had never cultivated consciousness. It was apletely different power from a domain, battle force, or spiritual force. Even during his time exploring different universes, he had never heard any mention of this power before. Lu Yin did not know that he was suppressing a power; to him, it was just a very familiar sensation, and he had reflexively reacted as he would during Possession.

    The Chiliagonist stared intently at Lu Yin and Shan Pu for a moment. What was going on with these two? This was far from the corpse king¡¯s first time seizing control of a Progenitor-level cultivator; he had controlled humans, astral beasts, and powerhouses from Aeternus with his consciousness before. However, he had failed with both of these men, especially Lu Yin, who had nearly seized the corpse king¡¯s consciousness for his own. If the Chiliagonist had not retracted his power quickly enough, he would have lost the bit of consciousness that he had used to invade Lu Yin''s thoughts.

    Even if it had only been a tiny strand, it was the result of years of training.

    The Chiliagonist felt a flicker of fear. It was no wonder why that senior respected this Lu Yin.

    Old Mo felt a bit dizzy. "The power of consciousness is truly strange, but it is not enough to harm me. You can die now, you rat."

    The corpse king¡¯s scarlet eyes turned to stare at the divine energy high above. The divine energy¡¯s red light formed an arch that directly connected to the Chiliagonist. Ayer of red appeared around the intangible power of consciousness, outlining it.

    At this moment, the power of consciousness transformed qualitatively. Old Mo''s expression changed drastically as he watched. Whenever a form of energy integrated with divine energy, it would no longer be an ordinary power.

    "Aeternus knows that you are searching for Wu Tian''s legacy in this universe, and what you are searching for should be Heaven¡¯s Sight. Back then, Wu Tian disappeared for some time, but when he reappeared, his Heaven¡¯s Sight had grown dim. He should have stripped away his Heaven¡¯s Sight and left it somewhere. It was in this universe, wasn¡¯t it?" When the Chiliagonist spoke, his voice was hoarse and low, and it held a suggestion of temptation.

    Old Mo sneered. "There was only ever one Heaven''s Sight, and it died with Wu Tian. Where did you get this idea from?"

    "Then what have you been searching for in this universe for so many years?" The corpse king controlled the transformed consciousness, and it surged towards Old Mo.

    The ancient Progenitor no longer dared attack, as he had no idea how powerful the consciousness had be.

    Off to the side, Lu Yin quietly listened. Only then did he realize that the intangible power that had just appeared was consciousness. <i>Consciousness? I have Possessed so many people with my die that it can almost be considered a form of cultivation. How could I possibly be controlled by another¡¯s consciousness?</i>

    The Chiliagonist was clearly able to control others with his consciousness, which meant that it was a power that could be cultivated. In that case, since Lu Yin was able to suppress that particr power, could he cultivate it as well?

    Lu Yin tucked this thought deep in his heart as he pulled out the bone spur from his cosmic ring.

    The two men had not been shy about their conversation at all, so Lu Yin had heard everything.

    If what the Chiliagonist had said was true, then Old Mo had betrayed Wu Tian and hidden himself in the Umbral Universe to search for Wu Tian¡¯s Heaven''s Sight. It might be possible for Lu Yin to find Heaven''s Sight with the bone spur.

    After all, that was what Lord Xu had told Lu Yin when he had obtained the bone spur; the Voidlord had said that the bone spur might help him find Wu Tian¡¯s Heaven''s Sight.

    The moment the bone spur appeared, even before Lu Yin could react, it shot off through the universe, disappearing as it dragged Lu Yin along.

    Shan Pu had no idea that Lu Yin had left. The man was still struggling against the darkness and had slowly fallen back, even though he knew that, no matter where he went at this moment, it would be useless.

    As for Old Mo, he was on guard against the consciousness, while everyone else was focused on Old Mo. No one paid any attention to Lu Yin''s disappearance.

    As long as Lu Yin remained in the Umbral Universe, he would not be able to escape. Old Mo was absolutely certain of that.

    Given the ancient Progenitor¡¯s strength, if he wanted to deal with someone, how could they possibly escape by tearing the void? The entire universe was under Old Mo¡¯s control.

    Lu Yin was dragged around the universe by the bone spur, and taken towards the far side of the Umbral Expanse. Lu Yin was unable to see anything at all, and had no idea where he was. He simply allowed the bone spur to drag him along. Finally, he seemed to run into something. It was most likely the ground of the Umbral Expanse, but the bone spur did not stop. It simply dragged Lu Yin through the earth, shattering the ground.

    After some time, the bone spur came to a sudden stop, and the abrupt change in inertia caused Lu Yin to m forward.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength meant that something like the earth would not be able to stop his body. Normally, he should have gone flying through the ground. However, instead of that, he mmed into something that struck his waist.

    He instinctively grabbed it, catching a hard, oval-shaped object. What was this?

    Suddenly, the hard object floated upwards, slowly approaching him.

    Lu Yin was still holding the thing in his hand, so he could feel it moving closer. He could force it away, but it was clearly being drawn to something on or in his body. It slowly moved closer and closer, initially towards his face, and then his forehead. Finally, it touched his head, right at the center of Lu Yin¡¯s forehead.

    Could this be the legendary Heaven''s Sight?

    Far away, Old Mo attacked the transformed consciousness with his own darkness. After being transformed by divine energy, the consciousness was now tangible. At this moment, a battle was being fought above the Umbral Expanse between the darkness and the consciousness. The conflict caused the entire Umbral Expanse to copse, and the Umbrians who still lived were fleeing for their lives, wailing and despairing that the end wasing.

    Suddenly, a beam of light appeared in the east, crossing through the entire Umbral Universe. The darkness did not dim the light in the slightest, and it was not able to even start devouring the light.

    Old Mo looked over in shock. <i>What is that?</i>

    The Chiliagonist also turned to look eastward.

    Lu Yin emerged from underground. There were two curved lines on his forehead that twisted and crossed each other. Just a nce was enough to recognize that the curved lines were eyes. This was the Heaven''s Sight that Wu Tian had left behind.

    Lu Yin had never expected to find Heaven''s Sight in the Umbral Universe.

    The moment that Heaven''s Sight merged into Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, he knew that Heaven''s Sight was not only an object, but also a battle technique. Heaven''s Sight was not an actual eye, but the source of all battle techniques.

    However, for the Heaven''s Sight battle technique, the item itself was indispensable.

    Heaven''s Sight could see through any disguises.

    Law, the order of how things work. Thew dictated how things work. Even if a technique did not have actual moves to it, thew will be able to see through it.

    The orb that had merged into Lu Yin¡¯s forehead was both an actual eye and the source of all battle techniques, Heaven¡¯s Sight. Any moves, battle technique, or weapon technique that was seen would be drawn into Heaven¡¯s Sight, analyzed, and then have its weaknesses exposed. This was the power of Wu Tian, as well as the inheritance that he had left behind.

    The reason why Lu Yin had managed to obtain Heaven¡¯s Sight was because he had visited the Sword Monument that the Liu family had guarded in the Perennial World, which was actually Wu Tian¡¯s Sword Monument. From that, Lu Yin had received the inheritance of using a scythe to ovee countless different weapons, which was actually the Weapon Breaking Technique. With this battle technique, Lu Yin had been able to break through the final barrier in the Void Pass and obtain the bone spur. That bone spur had finally led him to Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    At this moment, Lu Yin understood just how incredible the opportunity that he had received from that visit to the Sword Monument was.

    The beam of light from Heaven¡¯s Sight spanned the entire universe and locked onto Old Mo.

    Lu Yin saw everything, even though his own eyes were still blind. He was not able to break Old Mo¡¯s power just by obtaining Heaven¡¯s Sight, but Heaven¡¯s Sight could not be blocked by Old Mo. This was Wu Tian¡¯s legacy.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Mo and saw the expression of stunned disbelief on the old man¡¯s face, as well as growing resentment in his eyes. The man had already guessed that Lu Yin had obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    "You- you got Heaven¡¯s Sight?" Old Mo stared at Lu Yin, his eyes growing bloodshot.

    The Chiliagonist also stared at Lu Yin with scarlet eyes. Heaven¡¯s Sight was a legacy that Wu Tian had left behind, and it was something that even Aeternus coveted. The corpse king had remained in the Umbral Universe just topete with Old Mo for Heaven¡¯s Sight, but against all expectations, this brat had obtained the inheritance.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Mo with his Heaven¡¯s Sight, and at this moment, what Lu Yin saw waspletely different from before.

    He could see Old Mo''s terrifying darkness energy. The man was simply a monster. If Lu Yin¡¯s own power was represented by light from antern, then Old Mo¡¯s power would be as greater than a prairie fire or a volcano. There was simply noparing the two. Before Old Mo, all others present in the Umbral Universe were far too weak.

    At the same time, Lu Yin also saw a strange power. Could that be sequence particles?

    It was the power that allowed one to transcend the realm of an ordinary Progenitor and touch upon the governingws of a universe, granting supreme power. These governingws were what the Transcendent Universe called sequence particles, and it was the focus of their most important research.

    At this moment, Lu Yin could see that Old Mo could control those sequence particles.

    Lu Yin could not understand how to describe what he was seeing. Old Mo was clearly a human, and yet he was also the darkness. He was the darkness, and the darkness was him. The old man¡¯s body had merged with the darkness, which had also merged with him. There was a feeling of order to the union, and in that order, there were darkness particles. These particles then formed an order of how things were supposed to function, blending in with the universe as a collectivew that was not to be breached.

    As for Old Mo, who was connected to the governingws, he was able to wield them.

    "You actually obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight?" Old Mo looked like a madman. Unfathomable power erupted from his entire body, and the darkness energy was unleashed without any control, causing chaos and destruction to reign throughout the entire Umbral Universe.

 Chapter 2758: The Power Of Laws

    <h4>Chapter 2758: The Power Of Laws</h4>

    Lu Yin was horrified. With Heaven¡¯s Sight, he was able to see how Old Mo had suddenly started mobilizing the sequence particles. Darkness fell, devouring everything. This was a level of power that should not exist.

    Even the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness that had merged with divine energy was suppressed. Old Mo had gonepletely insane. He had slept in the Umbral Universe for countless years, ever since the Heavens Sect era, just to find Heaven¡¯s Sight. Regardless of the price that he had been willing to pay, he had never been able to find Wu Tian¡¯s legacy, and when it was finally found, it was picked up by some little rat. Even more infuriating was that the little rat wanted to escape, but Old Mo would not allow that to happen.

    After all, this little rat was part of the Lu family.

    "You are seeking death!" Old Mo roared in fury. The darkness grew even deeper as it suppressed everything in the entire universe, aside from the light that came from Heaven¡¯s Sight. The darkness could do nothing to suppress that beam of light.

    The longer that the light endured and remained untouched for, the more frustrated and enraged Old Mo became.

    He was well aware of just how powerful Wu Tian''s Heaven''s Sight was. Heaven¡¯s Sight was what had allowed Wu Tian to rise to the same level as the God of Death and Destiny, bing one of the Three Realms.

    The God of Death had created death energy, while Destiny had developed the ability to see the future. Wu Tian had only ever cultivated the Origin Progenitor¡¯s stellr energy, which had been verymon, and yet such amon cultivator had managed to develop Heaven¡¯s Sight. The ability to see through any battle technique or weapon technique had set Wu Tian on the same level as the God of Death or Destiny. Wu Tian had then used that ability to develop weapons techniques for humanity and shared them widely. He had been both a pioneer and a mentor for all of humanity, and he had done so with his Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    No, Old Mo had to obtain Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Old Mo ignored the Chiliagonist and blended in with the darkness. He instantly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, but the old man did not dare use too much of his power against Lu Yin. The child could not be killed, as that would just cause Heaven¡¯s Sight to disappear again. Old Mo knew that he was not capable of finding Heaven¡¯s Sight himself, due to Wu Tian¡¯s punishment. It was possible that this child was the only one capable of grabbing Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    The more that Old Mo considered this possibility, the more he felt that he was on the right track. Perhaps this brat had not appeared topete with Old Mo for Heaven¡¯s Sight, but to obtain Wu Tian¡¯s legacy for Old Mo.

    Lu Yin watched as Old Mo appeared. It was impossible for Lu Yin to stand up to such an incredible level of power. The only thing that Lu Yin could try was to use Evernight.

    It was impossible for him to pull Old Mo into the card, so Lu Yin entered the card himself, and Old Mo followed without any hesitation.

    Did the Lost n still have any cards that could trap him? Unless that one old man from the Lost n showed up himself, no one was capable of trapping Old Mo.

    Evernight was a seven-star Immemorial card, which could theoretically allow Lu Yin to kill Progenitors. But unless Lu Yin possessed that same level of cultivation, it would be very difficult for him to use the full killing power of the card.

    More importantly, Evernight used the same power as Old Mo, which was absolute darkness that could leave anyonepletely blind.

    How could that power possibly defeat Old Mo?

    When Old Mo entered Evernight, he instantly startedughing. "You¡¯re actually trying to use the same power that I cultivate to attack me? Child of the Lu family, you are even dumber than Lu Buzheng."

    Lu Yin had not been left with any choice, and he had simply wanted to buy himself a bit of time.

    However, once Old Mo entered Evernight, Lu Yin realized that the sequence particles that had connected Old Mo to the Umbral Universe no longer existed.

    What was going on? Could the Immemorial card iste thews of a universe?

    Sure enough, a seven-star Immemorial card was truly powerful. If evaluated ording to the standard of human cultivators, Evernight most likely corresponded to the peak of human cultivation. Even if it was not on the same level as the Origin Progenitor or the Great Sovereign, it should at least be on the same level as the Three Realms Six Dao. It was not impossible for such a card to iste sequence particles.

    Once inside Evernight, Old Mo also quickly realized what was wrong. He was incredibly proud that his own strength, as he had cultivated to the point where he was infinitely close to Wu Tian¡¯s power, and yet he had now lost ess to that power. "What kind of card is this?"

    Lu Yin held the slipper in his hand as he took a step forward, swinging the slipper at the ancient powerhouse¡¯s head.

    Regardless of whether Evernight could be used to attack Old Mo, as long as the man remained inside the card, his greatest source of strength would be unavable to him.

    While Old Mo was still extremely powerful and far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s own level, the man had been weakened to the point where Lu Yin no longer felt pure despair when facing Old Mo.

    After realizing that he could not use his greatest power, Old Mo''s wariness instantly rose. In the pure darkness of the card, Lu Yin was still able to see with Heaven¡¯s Sight, but Old Mo could also see with his own power.

    While Evernight eliminated all light, darkness was essentially an extension of Old Mo¡¯s own body, which meant that he could sense any movement in the dark.

    "Do you really think that you can defeat me in this manner? Little rat from the Lu family, you overestimate yourself!" Not only did Old Mo avoid the slipper, but he also managed to instantly appear behind Lu Yin. A finger pointed forward in what appeared to be a piercing attack, but instead, a cone of darkness was emptied and pulled back, yanking Lu Yin backwards.

    This finger technique that couldpress the darkness was extremely powerful, as well as Old Mo¡¯s ability to freely move about in the darkness.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step and used the resulting field of chaotic time and space to escape, startling Old Mo. "Infinite Steps? It¡¯s no wonder you obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight. What you got is Wu Xing''s strength."

    The man¡¯s body swayed, and he also used Inverse Step to move through space, though he was unable to influence time. The old man¡¯s mastery of Inverse Step was clearly inferior to Lu Yin¡¯s.

    "You actually managed to reverse both time and space?" Old Mo eximed.

    Lu Yin looked back. "Old Mo, did you betray Wu Tian?"

    "Do you actually believe that Aeternal¡¯s words? You have already joined forces with a corpse king! If Wu Tian learns of this, he will undoubtedly erase your entire family!" Old Mo mocked as his hand rose up. Darkness condensed, and pressure fell upon the entire ce.

    This felt quite familiar to Lu Yin, as it was what had happened when he and Shan Pu had been deprived of the ability to see.

    However, at this moment, it should be impossible for Old Mo to blind Lu Yin, as the old man¡¯s power could not suppress Heaven¡¯s Sight. No, this time, the old man was most likely attacking Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Mo with Heaven¡¯s Sight. The ancient powerhouse¡¯s influence extended outwards without end, but with Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was able to clearly perceive every one of Old Mo¡¯s actions. Lu Yin felt an incredible sense of rity, and he continuously broke down and analyzed every action that Old Mo made. The man was using a battle technique, and by observing a battle technique with Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was able to break down and thoroughly analyze what he was seeing. This was the true power of Heaven''s Sight.

    There was no denying that Old Mo was incredibly powerful, but as long as he was inside Evernight, he was unable to influence sequence particles. He was still an incredibly powerful Progenitor, and he far exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s own level of strength, as well as that of Shan Pu or most other peak powerhouses. But despite the old man¡¯s power, his battle technique was stillid bare beneath Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step, as he could clearly see that the darkness was approaching him from every direction. Even so, he managed to evade, and he did so in a seemingly impossible manner.

    He moved through the attack because Old Mo¡¯s technique had beenpletely broken down for Lu Yin.

    Old Mo was stunned. How had this child avoided that attack? The man¡¯s eyes zed, as he recognized the power of Heaven¡¯s Sight. It allowed a person to find impossible options and then use them by seeing every w in a technique. While Old Mo was facing a mere six-tribtion Envoy, the child was able to see through the attacks of a peak powerhouse like Old Mo.

    Who would not covet such a miraculous ability?

    It was this ability that had caused Old Mo to betray Wu Tian in the first ce. He had dreamed of possessing this ability for countless years.

    Given Old Mo¡¯s current strength, after obtaining Heaven¡¯s Sight, he would have risen up to be the second Wu Tian. Even if Wu Tian still lived, he may not be able to defeat Old Mo.

    "Give me Heaven¡¯s Sight!" Old Mo shouted. "Passing Oblivion."

    Darkness descended as Lu Yin stared at Old Mo. This was the old man¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    A Progenitor¡¯s world fell, and there was no ce in Evernight where Lu Yin could avoid it. In response, Lu Yin shouted, "Old monster, if you try to kill me, I will destroy Heaven¡¯s Sight first!"

    Old Mo sneered. "Can someone like you even destroy Heaven¡¯s Sight?"

    Lu Yin took out the bone spur. "This was what led me to Heaven¡¯s Sight. I received it in the Voidforce Universe. Could you be unaware that Lord Xu and Wu Tian are good friends?"

    Old Mo stared at the bone spur, enveloped by darkness. There was no denying that the bone spur contained Wu Tian''s power, and Old Mo had also seen the bone spur drag Lu Yin away, and he recognized the power vessel.

    For a moment, the old man became uncertain.

    Lu Yin pointed the bone spur at the center of his forehead. "At worst, I will die alone with Heaven¡¯s Sight. If I die, you will never be able to get Heaven¡¯s Sight."

    Old Mo stared at Lu Yin. "Do you want to die?"

    "Of course not."

    "Give me Heaven''s Sight, and I will let you live."

    Lu Yinughed. "Old monster, you may be smart, but I¡¯m no fool! Do you really think that I¡¯ll believe that?"

    "You don¡¯t have any choice," Old Mo retorted in a cold voice.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Of course I have a choice. Let me go."

    "What a joke." Old Mo stepped forward, and Lu Yin instantly grew alert. From behind, the darkness erupted to attack him, but Lu Yin spun around andshed out with a palm strike. A purplish-ck substance covered his hand as the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared. His attack shattered the void.

    Lu Yin had been prepared for this attack for some time. There was no reason for Old Mo to verbally threaten Lu Yin, and the fact that the man had done so indicated that he was about to attack.

    Seeing Lu Yin block the darkness exceeded Old Mo¡¯s expectations. He had not used that powerful of an attack, as he did not want to damage Heaven¡¯s Sight, but that did not mean that the old man had been gentle with his attack either. He had used just enough power to incapacitate Lu Yin, only for the child to block the attack. On top of that... "Is that the same power as Hen Xin? Why do you possess that?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand and waved his Wielder - Indestructible about. "I learned it."

    Old Mo was genuinely impressed. "The Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch developed a unique cultivation method that raised a human body¡¯s strength to rival a Progenitor¡¯s power. However, only he and Hen Xin ever managed to sessfully cultivate that method out of everyone who attempted to do so. So you actually seeded as well? I understand now. Not only are you a genius from the Lu family, you are clearly no worse than Lu Tianyi.

    "It would be a pity for such a talented child to die. Just give me Heaven''s Sight, and I swear to not to touch you. On top of that, I can even offer a promise to owe you a favor, provided that you give me Heaven''s Sight."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

    "Absolutely." Old Mo''s eyes filled with excitement. He had already sacrificed a great deal in order to obtain Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Let me think about this."

    Old Mo frowned. "What is there to think about? The higher one¡¯s cultivation, the less likely they are to make pledges, especially someone at my level. Oaths involve karma and levels of power beyond your understanding. No one will make a promise or swear an oath unless they have no other choice."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "At your level, things like karma can be broken."

    Old Mo''s eyes widened sharply. "Break karma? That means touching the governingws of a universe."

    "Haven¡¯t you already reached that level with darkness?" Lu Yin shot back.

    Old Mo stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "You seem to know quite a bit, child. Lu Tianyi could notpare to you when he was your age.

    "However, your knowledge is still limited. Even if the governingws of a universe can be broken, doing so requires a significant price to be paid, and even someone with my power will receive the hostility of the universe that it happens in. There are universes that cannot be entered freely, and you also cannot interfere with the governingws of a universe just because you want to.

    "You know too little."

    At this moment, the Chiliagonist entered Evernight. The absolute darkness of the card did not phase the corpse king, and his consciousness shot straight at Old Mo.

    The corpse king was afraid that Old Mo would steal Heaven¡¯s Sight from Lu Yin, and the Chiliagonist had only stayed in the Umbral Universe for so many years because of Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    He could not abandon this battle. No matter what, he had to stall Old Mo.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Chiliagonist to enter Evernight. Did the corpse king also intend to try to steal Heaven''s Sight? If not, he should have left Lu Yin to fight against Old Mo on his own.

    There was no time to dwell on such matters. The corpse king had entered Evernight, and Lu Yin would not hold back against it.

 Chapter 2759: The Darkest Sky

    <h4>Chapter 2759: The Darkest Sky</h4>

    "You are seeking death!" Old Mo immediately attacked the Chiliagonist.

    The ancient Progenitor feared the fusion of divine energy and consciousness, especially while he was inside the Lost n¡¯s card. While it might be impossible for Old Mo to use sequence particles here, what of it? He was one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters, and he had since be one of the most powerful Progenitors in existence after surviving for so long.

    While Old Mo feared the fused divine energy and consciousness, that did not mean that it was difficult for him to avoid it.

    Old Mo used Inverse Step, and the Chiliagonist was unable to even touch the old man. Suddenly, the sound of a sword wooshed out, and a wisp of darkness carried by sword qi appeared. The Chiliagonist tilted his head, but a massive wound still appeared between his neck and his shoulder. The wound had clearlye from a sword.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "A sword controlling technique?"

    Old Mo sneered. "So you are notpletely ignorant."

    The old man ced his index and middle fingers together, pointed them forwards, and caused sword qi to sweep towards the corpse king.

    The Chiliagonist was a Progenitor-level corpse king, and his physical strength was shocking. Even if he was not at the same level as a Progenitor-level corpse king that had undergone a Corpse King Transformation, he was still far more physically powerful than a human Progenitor. Despite the corpse king¡¯s advantage, the sword qi still forced him back, as it could easily wound him. Old Mo was extremely adept at wielding sword qi and executing techniques with his fingers, which indicated that he was a true swordmaster.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second time seeing someone use fingers to execute sword techniques. The first had been Liu Song, who had been one of Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatars. Old Mo¡¯s sword skills were very powerful, and even with his fingers, his attacks were as powerful as if they had beenunched through an actual sword. Old Mo¡¯s attacks contained unimaginable destructive power.

    The old man used Inverse Step as he wielded sword qi with his fingers, releasing one attack after another. The Chiliagonist sessfully dodged most of the attacks, but he was still struck by dozens of shes, which left wounds all over his body. He looked truly miserable.

    The corpse king¡¯s consciousness waspletely unable to affect Old Mo.

    With just his personal strength, Old Mo was able to easily suppress both the Chiliagonist and Lu Yin. Additionally, they were within Evernight, where Old Mo could not use sequence particles. The man was simply too powerful.

    If Lu Yin had be a Progenitor himself, then thebination of Inverse Step and Heaven¡¯s Sight would prevent Old Mo¡¯s sword skills from posing almost any threat to Lu Yin at all. However, there were times when sheer power could be unreasonably effective; even being able to see through the technique was pointless, as the target could not physically evade the attack.

    Lu Yin could use Inverse Step to dodge some of the attacks that he saw, but he knew that it would be impossible for him to avoid all of them. At this rate, he would quickly end up in the same state as the wounded corpse king.

    Lu Yin took advantage of Old Mo''s focus on the Chiliagonist to pull out the God of Death¡¯s scythe and left arm. Then, he immediately attacked Old Mo.

    The ancient Progenitor instantly turned to stare at Lu Yin, his expression changing drastically. "The God of Death¡¯s death energy? How many different powers have you cultivated?"

    Lu Yin did not answer, and the ck death energy sliced across the space within the Evernight card. Across from Lu Yin, consciousness erupted, blocking Old Mo''s retreat.

    Without hesitation, the old man brought up his other hand. "Infinite Swords."

    Countless rays of sword qi shot out, smashing against the sh of death energy from the God of Death¡¯s scythe. The sharp sword qi shattered, but it also managed to dissipate the approaching death energy. Old Mo refused to let himself be pincered on two sides, so he retaliated instead.

    Old Mo was more willing to face death energy than divine energy. The God of Death had been Wu Tian¡¯s peer, whereas True God Wei Yi was regarded as equal to the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin red, as he could feel the scythe sh being eroded away. Old Mo was releasing countless attacks of sword qi from his fingers, and no matter how powerful his attack with the God of Death¡¯s scythe might be, there was no way it could overpower Old Mo.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to immediately leave Evernight. He was no match for Old Mo even inside the card¡¯s space, but if he could take advantage of this opportunity, he might be able to escape from the Umbral Universe.

    The moment Lu Yin tried to leave Evernight, he was enveloped by darkness. He raised a hand to release his own sword techniques.

    Heaven''s Sight was too domineering a battle technique, as it was able to see through all other battle techniques and weapon techniques. Lu Yin could instantly learn them, and he could even find their ws.

    Lu Yin''s own mastery of the sword was quite high. Learning the Thirteen Swords had raised his sword mastery to the level where he could easily use sword techniques with his finger, but his finger was not enough to tear through the darkness. There was too great a gap between Lu Yin and Old Mo¡¯s strengths. Even with the Investiture of the Gods, it was impossible for Lu Yin topensate for the difference; even when Progenitor Nong and Cloudflow both attacked, it was impossible for Lu Yin to break through the darkness in one go.

    As long as the dark power could not be broken through in one move, there would be no way to escape from Old Mo, as there was no end to the darkness in the Umbral Universe.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought that, if he had obtained the seven-star Immemorial card Aurora instead of Evernight, he would have actually held an advantage against Old Mo.

    The old man had used his sword qi to overwhelm the sh of death energy, and he stared at Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, leave Heaven¡¯s Sight behind, and I won''t make things difficult for you."

    Lu Yin saw the consciousness approaching from behind Old Mo. "You¡¯re going to have to find a way to make me believe that."

    Old Mo snorted contemptuously before using Inverse Step to move closer to Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked back and saw that the consciousness was unable to get close to Old Mo, which meant that his only option was to leave the card.

    Darkness had wrapped around his feet, and there was no way to break free, which meant that Lu Yin could only take Old Mo with him. Lu Yin badly wanted to keep the ancient Progenitor trapped within Evernight, and it could probably do so for a short while with its characteristics.

    The moment that Lu Yin and Old Mo left the card, Lu Yin quickly released the Chiliagonist. There was no way Lu Yin could confront Old Mo without any help.

    The Chiliagonist had already been badly wounded, but as soon as he emerged from Evernight, he immediately started absorbing divine energy.

    The divine energy looked like a sun as it hung over the Umbral Expanse.

    When the dark red light drew near the corpse king, it not only entered his own body, which healed him, but it also merged with his consciousness.

    Old Mo frowned and quickly decided that he had to deal with the corpse king first.

    As soon as they were all outside the card, the darkness sequence particles reappeared. Lu Yin could clearly observe them through Heaven¡¯s Sight, and he watched as Old Mo once again took on the appearance of a massive, unrivaled beast. It was incredibly hard to deal with sequence particles, which meant that Lu Yin¡¯s only option was to avoid them.

    Darkness fell upon him once again.

    Lu Yin felt utterly helpless. There was no way for him to win. Even after all this time, Old Mo had not suffered any injuries at all.

    He really was an old monster.

    If the Heavens Sect had not been broken and had survived to the current era, Lu Yin could not even imagine how powerful the the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters would have grown to be, let alone the top Progenitors of the Heavens Sect era, such as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas or the Three Realms Six Dao. Just how powerful would those people have be?

    With that intuitiveparison, Lu Yin felt like he had managed to understand the level of the Seven Skygods.

    The Python Ancestor was a creature that had survived from the Heavens Sect era and still lived, but despite the creature¡¯s incredible power, it had not been able to kill Undying God. It could only immobilize the Skygod.

    That was the power of the Seven Skygods.

    Each of the Seven Skygods was an ancient monster, and the Old Mo that Lu Yin was currently facing was another old monster.

    The sun-like divine energy moved, but this time, it was not drawn out in small bits. Rather, the entire orb of divine energy was being pulled by the Chiliagonist, and it crashed towards Old Mo. The corpse king was getting desperate.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, and he found Shan Pu¡¯s card that had been swallowed in the darkness. He moved along the spatial lines to appear next to the card, and he grabbed it before finding Shan Pu.

    Ever since Old Mo had taken away the two men¡¯s sight, Shan Pu had been renderedpletely useless. Without his card, hisbat power had been cut in half, and without his sight, he did not dare to move about. There was nothing that he could do, so it was better for him to stay where he was and observe the bit of the universe that he could.

    When Lu Yin suddenly appeared, Shan Pu reflexively attacked.

    "It''s me!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Shan Pu stopped in time and warned, "Don''t move."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "What difference does it make?"

    He quickly gave Shan Pu back his card, and the man was surprised to receive it. "You were able to find it?"

    He had thought that his card was gone for good, and he had been feeling quite upset about that.

    "We need to hurry up and move!" Lu Yin tore through the void, once again trying to escape. Unfortunately, the darkness was pervasive, and the entire Umbral Universe was under Old Mo¡¯s control. There was no way to escape from the man.

    Old Mo evaded the divine energy. "What a waste of effort. I¡¯ll let you experience true darkness!

    "Darkest Sky."

    As Old Mo shouted, the already endless darkness of the Umbral Universe shook. The sky overhead then fell down and was reced by a dark sky that supnted all of existence and suppressed the entire universe.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "You old monster! If you do that again, I¡¯ll destroy Heaven¡¯s Sight!"

    Old Mo sneered. Inside the card, he had not been able to use Darkest Sky and had only been able to threaten Lu Yin. However, he had used the technique now, which meant that it was already toote.

    <i>In this realm of utter darkness, I alone am the ruler!</i>

    At that instance, everyone in the Umbral Universe copsed as their bodies were invaded by the darkness. Both their minds and bodies began to sink into darkness. People, animals, and even the stars were falling into the darkness at that moment. It was as though time itself had stopped.

    Lu Yin, Shan Pu, and even the Chiliagonist were not excluded from this phenomena, and they all copsed, unable to resist.

    Only the divine energy remained high above all.

    No matter how powerful the darkness became, it was unable to devour the divine energy.

    The divine energy remained like a sun floating in the darkness, drifting aimlessly as the Chiliagonist fell.

    Old Mo nced at Lu Yin¡¯s fallen form, and then nced at the divine energy. "Do you not have anywhere to go? Then just stay here. The Sixverse Association will assume that the Aeternals did this."

    He nced around again. "There is no longer any need to remain in this Umbral Universe."

    The old man then started moving towards Lu Yin. He had not killed Shan Pu or the Chiliagonist. One of the two represented the Lost n, while the other represented Aeternus, which meant that they could both be useful to Old Mo in a critical situation. As for Lu Yin, there was no need to even mention him, though Old Mo first needed to get Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Once he obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight and became the next Wu Tian, he would not need to fear anything.

    At that thought, Old Mo grew increasingly excited as he moved closer and closer to Lu Yin.

    Abruptly, the divine energy that had been aimlessly floating in the Umbral Universe suddenly shot towards Lu Yin.

    As soon as the Chiliagonist fell, the divine energy that had been in his body had been reabsorbed by the red glowing orb that resembled a sun, and his consciousness had also dissipated without anyone to control it. Old Mo had thought that the divine energy was wandering about aimlessly, as it was essentially lost without a person to absorb and control it.

    No one here could have imagined that Lu Yin actually had divine energy in his own body. While it was a tiny amount, it acted like a beacon. For the sun of divine energy, that tiny bit of divine energy in Lu Yin¡¯s chest was a homing beacon, and it shot towards Lu Yin, not stopping or slowing for anything.

    Old Mo noticed the divine energy approaching, and he quickly stepped aside. He immediately checked on the Chiliagonist, but the corpse king was clearly still unconscious, so how could he be controlling the divine energy? No, the corpse king was not the one responsible for what was happening.

    The divine energy did not attack Old Mo, but was simply moving in the same direction, rushing towards Lu Yin.

    When Old Mo realized that, he was startled, and he quickly tried to stop what was happening.

    Even so, he still feared the divine energy. A fear of True God Yi Wei had been carved into Old Mo¡¯s heart, and he did not dare to touch the divine energy.

    With that, the divine energy struck Lu Yin without issue.

    Old Mo stared nkly at the brat. Why had the divine energy rushed at him? It had not attacked him. Rather, had it really... merged with the youth?

    Was the child not a descendent of the Lu family? He already possessed the power of the Lu family, the God of Death¡¯s power, and also Dao Monarch Gu¡¯s power. What was his connection to divine energy?

    The old man stared at Lu Yin, slowly walking closer one step at a time. What had happened to the boy?

    The entire universe was silent, as all living creatures had fallen unconscious.

    The only movement was Old Mo slowly approaching Lu Yin.

    The only sound that entered the old man¡¯s ears was the beating of his own heart. He was afraid. Yes, he was afraid, as he was scared that Lu Yin would be killed by the divine energy and that Heaven¡¯s Eye would be destroyed. He was afraid that his greatest dream of countless years would be forever lost. He was so, so close to sess, and he could not let it slip away.

    The more Old Mo thought about the situation, the more worried he grew. The greater his fear, the slower he moved, hesitant to move closer, as he was terrified that he would see something that he did not want to see.

    The sound of his own heartbeat grew louder and louder in his ears. <i>Wait.</i> Old Mo¡¯s eyes shed. He was not hearing his own heartbeat... Was it Lu Yin¡¯s?

 Chapter 2760: Strange Change

    <h4>Chapter 2760: Strange Change</h4>

    At this moment, the fallen form of Lu Yin rose up, and his eyes snapped open as he straightened his back. His heartbeat echoed like an evening drum and morning bell, growing stronger and louder. His eyes locked onto Old Mo, but they were unfocused, as though he was still unconscious.

    Old Mo stared at Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, you-"

    Suddenly, divine energy exploded from Lu Yin''s body, sweeping out in every direction, and Old Mo warily moved back.

    Lu Yin let out a deep roar, seemingly in anguish but also relishing in delight. His unfocused eyes transformed, taking on scarlet irises and slitted pupils. As more divine energy poured out, his whole body took on a red color, and a ck line fell from his left eye. It transformed into threads that surged into the sky like a sea before weaving together into a cloak that stretched into infinity, as though to split the universe in two.

    The clothes on his upper body blew apart, and fierce red lines covered his arms as ck and red clouds appeared from his chest, making it look as though Lu Yin was floating amidst a sea of red.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt as if he had just emerged from a sea of blood. He stood at the center of a surging red light that sent ripples outwards as it formed a blood-redke in the middle of the Umbral Universe.

    Old Mo stared at the youth, dazed and confused. Just what was going on? The man before him waspletely different from before. Not only had the very nature of his power changed, but LuYin¡¯s appearance had also changed drastically. He had be apletely different person.

    Lu Yin could not tell if he was awake or dreaming. He only knew of the killing intent that filled his mind, drowning out any other thought. <i>Kill, kill, kill!</i> He wanted to kill the person who stood before him. He possessed infinite power that needed to be released, and Lu Yin wanted to go crazy, release the pressure, and kill.

    He took a single step forward, but it was as though he was stomping down on the universe itself. His right hand waved, and the red cloak of divine energy flew across space as Lu Yin pped Old Mo.

    At the center of Lu Yin¡¯s hand was condensed divine energy. The power was so potent that not even Old Mo could see it clearly.

    The old man could not tell if the attack aimed at him was strong or weak, but he was certain that he did not want to receive an attack made with divine energy.

    Old Mo quickly dodged, but Lu Yin was close behind, his hand raised high. No matter where Old Mo fled to, Lu Yin always appeared right behind him. The old man¡¯s body melded into the darkness, constantly flickering and disappearing, but Lu Yin stepped along the spatial lines, also flickering and disappearing. There were times when the two people could both be seen, and other times when they both vanished from the Umbral Universe. Even so, there were no witnesses aside from the two men.

    Lu Yinshed out with a palm strike, but he was still far away from Old Mo. The ancient Progenitor let a sigh of relief slip out as he took a step forward to dodge the attack.

    Unfortunately for Old Mo, Lu Yin seemed capable of predicting the man¡¯s actions, and the palm strike was aimed right at where Old Mo was trying to move to. Divine energy shot through the universe, connecting distant points like a bridge, as it connected Lu Yin¡¯s palm to Old Mo.

    The arch of divine energy was reflected in the old man¡¯s eyes as it struck him, and it sent him flying away. He flew through the universe, smashing through countless stars ands as he tore through the Umbral Universe. A massive spatial crack tore the universe asunder.

    As soon as Lu Yin released a single attack, the divine energy quickly faded from his body. The red stripes disappeared from his arms, and the red cloak vanished from behind him. His hair slowly drifted down and returned to normal. As this happened, his body seemed to lose all of its strength, and he staggered before copsing.

    Far away, Old Mo stepped back out into outer space, letting out a roar as blood streamed from the wounds crisscrossing his body. He was lucky that none of the injuries were serious, but there was no denying that he had been injured.

    For all his strength and incredible cultivation, Old Mo had been injured, and he was livid.

    What had happened to that boy? What weird change hade over him?

    When the old man saw that Lu Yin had copsed, he also noticed that the divine energy seemed to have disappeared.

    Old Mo took a step forward, moving closer to Lu Yin. The old man wanted to check on Lu Yin, hoping that he was not dead, or that Heaven¡¯s Sight was lost. This thought caused the man to suddenly hurry over.

    Before arriving, the man froze, and he slowly turned to look in another direction. At some point in time, a figure had arrived in the Umbral Universe. They were standing there in an incrediblyzy manner, though their appearance caused Old Mo''s expression to change drastically.

    "I came to check, but it really is you, old friend. It''s been so long since Ist saw you. You¡¯ve made a lot of progress." Azy voice reached Old Mo''s ears, and his face grew more somber than ever.

    "What? Don''t you remember me?"

    The figure moved closer. It was Undying God, one of the Seven Skygods.

    Old Mo clenched his fists, a ferocious expression on his face. "Wu! Xing!"

    Undying God''s eyelids drooped. He always looked drowsy. "That¡¯s a familiar name, but my name is no longer Wu Xing, but rather Undying God."

    "Why are you here?" Old Mo asked in a low voice.

    Undying God sighed. "I didn¡¯t want to, but someone told me that you had woken up, so I had toe over. After all, you are the only one who knows how to find Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    "By the way, I saw several old friends some time ago, including your best friend, Eastern Mountains Tea King. Do you want me to tell you where he is?"

    Old Mo abruptly attacked, and darkness swept forward in an attempt to devour Undying God. "Wu Xing, stop ying around and just die!"

    Undying God rubbed his head. "Here we go again, one fight after another. What a pain."

    The darkness swallowed Undying God, but Old Mo did not attack again. Instead, he suddenly appeared next to Lu Yin and threw him away.

    "What are you trying to do?" Undying God¡¯s voice again reached Old Mo. The man whirled around as a barrier of darkness appeared in front of him. Undying God''s eyes lookedzy, but deep within them, there was a bone-chilling iciness. He raised a hand and pointed forward. "Have you forgotten this move? I taught you how to use a sword.¡±

    The sword qi swept forward, slicing through the barrier of darkness and grazing Old Mo''s shoulder. Blood appeared.

    Darkness surged from Old Mo''s body. "Passing Oblivion!"

    Undying God''s mouth curled upwards. "Sure, I like to fall asleep. I can nap for a long time."

    Elsewhere, Shan Pu suddenly woke up. He could not say what had woken him, but he felt a biting cold. He was able to see again, though with the darkness that filled the Umbral Universe, there was not much of a difference between being blind and not.

    Just as the man woke up, Lu Yin''s body mmed into him, and Shan Pu reflexively caught the body. Far away, he saw darkness fall all around him, startling the man. What was this level of power?

    He did not dare to hesitate, and he carried Lu Yin away, fleeing towards the spatial portal. The previous two attempts at tearing through the universe had left Shan Pu afraid to try again.

    Far away, Old Mo was aware of everything that was happening in the Umbral Universe, so he naturally grew anxious when he noticed that Shan Pu made no attempt to tear through space and was instead making his way towards the portal.

    The old man had purposely thrown Lu Yin towards Shan Pu. As soon as Undying God had appeared, Old Mo knew that he could no longer concern himself with Heaven¡¯s Sight. Rather, he was afraid that Lu Yin would be killed by Undying God and that Heaven¡¯s Sight would disappear, so his only option was to save the boy.

    As long as Lu Yin escaped, Old Mo would be able to find himter on.

    Who would have thought that Shan Pu would no longer dare to tear through the void to leave? He would need a bit of time to flee through the spatial portal.

    "You''re distracted." Undying God suddenly appeared right beside Old Mo, a finger raised and pointed at the man¡¯s head, but Old Mo raised his own finger in response.

    shes of sword qi shed as the two men fought against each other with sword techniques that sliced through the void.

    Shan Pu turned back to see space itself being cut into pieces. The power wielded by those two left his scalp numb, and he was afraid of dying here.

    The only thing on Shan Pu¡¯s mind was to escape and get as far away as possible.

    Old Mo feared that Undying God might be targeting Lu Yin, so he felt relieved when he saw that Undying God did not pay any attention to the young man.

    "Wu Xing, do you really think that I can''t kill you? I am the only ruler of this Umbral Universe!"

    ...

    Shan Pu stumbled as he carried Lu Yin to the spatial portal, fleeing for the next parallel universe as well. There was no hesitation, none whatsoever.

    Tearing through space was not something that could be reliably done in front of a true powerhouse.

    Finally, Shan Pu saw a bit of normal light.

    Seeing the universe before him, energy shot through the man¡¯s entire body. It was clear that this universe was just as dark as the Umbral Universe, but it was a normal universe. Shan Pu could see stars,s, and battlefields. It looked so inviting.

    The Umbral Universe was too terrifying. Running into those old monsters was the worst sort of luck.

    When he was able to return to the Lost n, he would make it a point toin to the Great Elder. After all, searching for Lu Yin had almost cost Shan Pu his life. If not for Lu Yin, Shan Pu would have never entered the Umbral Universe.

    After leaving the Umbral Universe, Shan Pu continued through the universe, into the next parallel universe, and then crossed that one as well.

    Once they arrived in the third parallel universe, Shan Pu wanted to tear through the void to leave, but he was stopped by Lu Yin.

    "You don¡¯t need to bother. They won¡¯t chase us."

    Lu Yin''s voice was weak, and he could not remember what had happened. All he knew was that murderous thoughts had filled his mind, and at this moment, everyst part of his body felt exhausted. He had to struggle to bring out any of his strength at all.

    Shan Pu released Lu Yin and observed him. "Are you alright?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Thank you, Senior, for saving me. I¡¯ll be alright."

    Shan Pu heaved a sigh of relief. "You''re wee. It was my Lost n that asked me to keep an eye on you, but you actually provoked an old monster. You have really terrible luck, and I almost died with you."

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I had no idea that things were going to turn out like that. The information that I received did not mention the fact that there was such a powerful old monster in the Umbral Universe at all."

    Shan Pu gritted his teeth. "You can''t trust the information that they give you. It''s impossible for the Sixverse Association to have thorough knowledge of every universe, especially the strange ones like the Umbral Universe.

    "Also, I want to thank you for recovering my card. I would never be able to offer a proper exnation to the Lost n if I had lost it."

    As the man spoke, his face reddened in embarrassment. He knew that the truth was that he had offered absolutely no help during the fight in the Umbral Universe, and even the number of times he had been attacked could notpare to that of the Aeternals¡¯ Chiliagonist.[1]

    Lu Yin felt a bit confused. "Senior, how did we leave the Umbral Universe? Where is that old monster?"

    Shan Pu shook his head. "I don''t know myself. There was a massive battle far away, and some mysterious power pushed you over to me. It was just a coincidence that I was able to escape with you. If we had stayed there any longer, we would have both died."

    Lu Yin looked back. His recent memory was all a blur, somewhere between waking and sleeping, and he had no idea what had happened.

    Could an opponent that even Old Mo feared have appeared?

    "Let''s go. We need to find a data center and submit a report about what happened in the Umbral Universe. No one can be sent there for the time being," Shan Pu said.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the cultivators from the Sixverse Association who had been fighting in the Umbral Universe.

    Seeing Lu Yin¡¯s expression, Shan Pu said, "That¡¯s just life. They may live, or they may die. There is nothing that we can do. If you want to reach the peak, this is something that you will need to endure. Many people from my own Lost n were left in that universe, but I can''t save them. That¡¯s why I need to get to the data center. I need to ask the Great Elder to go to the Umbral Universe and hope that he can get there in time.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    They were in a universe as unremarkable as the Lilliput Universe. It was called the Flow Universe, and the strongest people here were only at the Semi-Progenitor level.

    It was easy for Lu Yin and Shan Pu to learn the data center¡¯s location.

    Soon, in Proximity, a somber expression appeared on Sage Bodhi¡¯s face. A massive battle had unexpectedly erupted in the Umbral Universe, though Sage Bodhi knew that not even the Sixverse Association had decent knowledge of that universe.

    "Please ask my Great Elder to go to the Umbral Universe. Many of my Lost nmen are still there," Shan Pu asked Sage Bodhi.

    Sage Bodhi did not dy, and she immediately passed the request along to the Lost n. It would be ideal if Great Elder Shan Gu visited the Umbral Universe and learned about what had happened there.

    "I would like to trouble the two of you to tell me everything that happened there. I would like to hear everyst tiny detail." Sage Bodhi sent over.

    Lu Yin was still very weak, so he left Shan Pu to recount what had happened. However, Lu Yin first asked the man to help keep the fact that Lu Yin had obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight a secret.

    Shan Pu was more than happy to agree.

    For those readingter today, here''s a note being added to tomorrow''s chapter as well: We recently were given a better option than "the Thespian" for this guy, and wanted to let you know. "Chiliagonist" is 2 greek roots mashed up: chilia = greek for thousand and agonist = greek for role. We felt this was much more urate, given the original meaning in Chinese for this corpse king. ?

 Chapter 2761: Leaving

    Chapter 2761: Leaving

    The Sixverse Association was merely an alliance of six parallel universes, and they were far from a family. There was no need for them to share secrets with each other.

    The Lost n also looked down on the other members of the Sixverse Association.

    The only piece of information that they shared with Proximity was Old Mo''s identity. As for the reason why the ancient Progenitor had slept in the Umbral Universe for so long, nothing was said. Though, Shan Pu did mention that Old Mo had awakened because An Jiu had feared being killed.

    While some of the details felt a bit off to Sage Bodhi, she did not press with any questions. Neither Shan Pu nor Lu Yin were people who could be interrogated by her, or even by the Sixverse Association.

    After ending theirmunications with Sage Bodhi, Lu Yin and Shan Pu spent some time resting and recovering in the Flow Universe.

    Compared to the Umbral Universe, the Flow Universe was far too safe and rxing.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin recovered enough to be able to move his arms.

    He still needed to continue searching for Wendy Yushan. Lu Yin had confirmed that she had not been sent to the Umbral Universe, but he still needed to check the more dangerous Gourd Universe as well as the distant tinum Universe. Sovereign Shao Yin was truly vicious.

    "When will you leave the Endless Frontier? I heard that youve already purged two universes," Shan Pu asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Thats going to be difficult. The Big Stone Universe should have been officially purged, but because theres no sign of what happened to Cheng Kong, nothing can be officially announced. The other neighboring universe is the Umbral Universe, which we both just saw. I dont think its going to be easy for me to leave."

    Shan Pu grew sympathetic. "You really are incredibly unlucky to have run into that kind of old monster."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. It had not been due to poor luck. An Jiu had only managed to awaken Old Mos power. What had awakened the old monster had actually been the golden light of Lu Yins Investiture of the Gods.

    On the other hand, if Old Mo had not woken up and Lu Yin had not survived the battle in the Umbral Universe, then he would have never obtained Heavens Sight.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to touch his forehead. Opportunities and risk really did go hand in hand.

    Heaven''s Sight was normally not visible, as the curved lines only appeared when it was actively used.

    Old Mo had been so determined to obtain Heavens Sight that, as long as he had not died in the Umbral Universe, there was no question that he would eventually track Lu Yin down. That man was going to be a massive problem.

    While chatting with Lu Yin, Shan Pu dropped multiple hints that he wanted to know why the Lost n was so concerned about Lu Yin, but how could Lu Yin reveal the truth?

    After spending more than ten days resting in the Flow Universe, Lu Yin and Shan Pu were able to receive the results of the investigation into the Umbral Universe.

    "Congrattions, Dao Monarch Lu. The Umbral Universe was destroyed due to the battle, so all the Aeternals evacuated from the universe. For that reason, the universe was confirmed to be purged, and your report with Senior Shan Gus observations meant that most of the energy detected during our investigation of the universe came from Dao Monarch Lu. Thus, credit for purging the universe had been awarded to you as your aplishment. With this, you are free to leave the Endless Frontier whenever you wish."

    Sage Bodhis news for the two men turned out to be quite interesting.

    Shan Pu instantly grew excited after hearing the information. As long as Lu Yin left the battlefield, Shan Pu would not have to babysit the young man. Given Shan Pus strength and knowledge, he could remain safe almost anywhere on the Endless Frontier.

    This was also because of the Lost ns fighting methods.

    The battle in the Umbral Universe had not been conducive towards the abilities of a Lost nsmember at all. Shan Pu had never been given any opportunities to demonstrate the power of his card, and his personal strength was quite limited without his card.

    Lu Yin was happy to learn that he could leave the Endless Frontier, but how could he do that while Wendy Yushan was still on the Endless Frontier?

    "Dao Monarch Lu, why do you look so unhappy? You can leave!" Shan Pu said.

    Lu Yin frowned. "I can''t leave yet."

    Shan Pu was confused. "Why not?"

    He felt a horrible premonition.

    Sure enough, after hearing about what had happened with Wendy Yushan, Shan Pu cursed. "That shameless, despicable bastard Sovereign Shao Yin actually did that? Thats disgusting! That beast never changes! if I had known that this would happen, I really would have asked the Great Elder to destroy him."

    Lu Yin grew very curious. "Destroy him? Is there a grudge between Sovereign Shao Yin and your Lost n?"

    Shan Pu sneered. "Its more than just a grudgemy Lost n almost eliminated him.

    "When the Cyclic Universe first made contact with my Lost n, nothing went wrong. Our Great Elder merely needed to go to the Cyclic Universe to initiatemunications between our two universes. However, Sovereign Shao Yin instigated a conflict, which ultimately led to a war between our two universes. That war caused my Lost n to lose two powerhouses with the Shan surname, and the Cyclic Universe lost one of their Nine Sages, who died in our universe.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin is universally known to be a despicable and shameless animal. He covets the power of my Lost ns cards, which is why he provoked the Cyclic Universe into attacking my Lost n. The Great Elder mentioned that the Sovereign might have also had other intentions, but the bottom line is that my entire Lost n hates the bastard more than anyone else. If at all possible, none of us would want anything to do with him.

    Lu Yin remembered that, during the Shangsan Festival, when he had first attracted a card to himself, it had been when he had mentioned that he wanted to kill Sovereign Shao Yin. At the time, he had thought that the card had been attracted because he had exposed his true feelings, but was it possible that the card had appeared because of his specific vendetta against Sovereign Shao Yin?

    The entire Lost n hated Sovereign Shao Yin, so it would not be a surprise if their cards did as well.

    Shan Pu cursed a great deal, but no matter how much he swore, there was no changing the fact that Sovereign Shao Yin had sessfully forced Lu Yin to stay on the Endless Frontier.

    The battle in the Umbral Universe had shown Lu Yin just how insidious Sovereign Shao Yins action was.

    After all, the Umbral Universe had been incredibly dangerous due to Old Mo unexpectedly showing up. There was no guarantee that other, simrly powerful old monsters might not be hidden in other parallel universes. Even if that was not the case, the Chiliagonist[1] had also been hiding in the Umbral Universe.

    Across the various parallel universes that Lu Yin had visited during his time on the Endless Frontier, he had already encountered more than three Progenitor-level monsters, and he was only visiting universes that were regarded as rtively safe.

    From what he had learned, there were more than six peak powerhouses fighting in the Gourd Universe, which meant that the universe was a meat grinder even for people at the Progenitor level.

    Lu Yin could easily die if he was not careful.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had been very clever. He knew that he could not do anything to Lu Yin himself, so the Sovereign had arranged things so that Lu Yin would be killed by the Endless Frontier. The Sovereigns hands would remain clean, and Lu Yin would die while serving humanity.

    Shan Pu gasped as he gave Lu Yin an anxious look. "Are you really heading out to find Wendy Yushan?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Shes family."

    Shan Pu opened his mouth to try to convince Lu Yin not to go, but he could not find any words to say. The term "family" carried iparable weight for everyone. It was like a mountain that not only weighed down a person, but also protected them.

    No one could freely abandon their loved ones.

    This was just as true for the Lost n, and in fact, Lost nsmen valued family more than most.

    Shan Pu patted Lu Yins shoulder. "If you are able to leave the Endless Frontier alive, then I will definitely help you insult Sovereign Shao Yin to death."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. He had expected Shan Pu to say something impassioned, but did the man want to curse Sovereign Shao Yin to death? There were countless people in Lu Yins Heavens Sect, and everyst one of them could curse Sovereign Shao Yin for days on end.

    At this moment, Sage Bodhi sent another message. "I forgot to mention that the little girl, Wendy Yushan, has returned to your universe."

    Lu Yin and Shan Pu both stared nkly at the message on the disy.

    "She went back?" Lu Yin grew excited, and his eyes red.

    Shan Pu stopped breathing. <em>She went back?</em>

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhis eyes flickered as she replied, "Yes, she has already returned. One of your Origin Universes Progenitors delivered the news to the Three Monarchs Universe, where it was passed along to us. It seems that the little girl understood the implications of being sent to the Endless Frontier.

    After sending the reply, Sage Bodhi murmured to herself, "But how did she escape from the Endless Frontier? Sovereign Shao Yin is no fool, and it should have been impossible for the woman to simply tear through the void and return to her own universe. He would not have left such a careless loophole open, so how could she have escaped? Was she rescued by someone? What could have happened?

    "Send word to investigate this Wendy Yushan. I believe that things are not straightforward with her," Sage Bodhi ordered the personnel of Proximity.

    Proximity was both themand center and intelligence center of the Endless Frontier, and it was seamlessly integrated with all of the data centers across the Endless Frontier. It was unquestionably thergest intelligence organization in the entire Sixverse Association, and it was not at all difficult for them to investigate a single person.

    In the Flow Universe, Lu Yin was also thinking about what could have happened.

    Sovereign Shao Yin would not have been dumb enough to simply toss Wendy Yushan into the Endless Frontier. He not only needed to ensure that Wendy Yushan would not die, but also that she could not leave the battlefield.

    The fact that she had escaped meant that she had either been rescued by someone, or she had saved herself.

    However, what could Wendy Yushan do on her own? The only possibility that Lu Yin could think of was the power of time.

    Wendy Yushan had an innate gift to reverse time. Her innate gift was her greatest secret, and she had only ever revealed it to Lu Yin.

    With the power of time, it was not impossible for Wendy Yushan to have escaped. After all, there was no way that Sovereign Shao Yin would be personally keeping an eye on her while she was on the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin felt relieved. Fortunately, Wendy Yushan had lived up to his expectations and had escaped, which meant that there was no reason for Lu Yin to remain on the Endless Frontier, risking his life.

    Shan Puughed. "Your family member actually escaped on her own? Sovereign Shao Yin fell into some shit this time, hahahaha! You don''t need to stay on the Endless Frontier now."

    Lu Yin nodded and visibly rxed. He looked over at Shan Pu and said with a smile, "Thank you, Senior, for saving me. I, Lu Yin, will definitely repay you."

    Shan Pu waved the thanks off with a hand. "I didn''t save you. In the Umbral Universe, I was basically just a bystander. You are the one whos truly impressively powerful. When I was your age, I was not qualified to even get close to such a battle."

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "If not for you, Senior, I would have never been able to escape. I will remember your great kindness."

    "Fine, but you should leave quickly in order to prevent Sovereign Shao Yin from moving against you again. As long as you leave the Endless Frontier, he wont have an easy time targeting you," Shan Pu urged.

    Lu Yin nodded. He understood that he could not afford to waste any more time. "Ill be leaving now, Senior. Before long, I will definitely visit the Lost n and seek you out."

    Shan Pu nodded as he watched Lu Yin tear the void open and leave the universe. Once Lu Yin left, the older man felt tremendously relieved. "Hes finally gone. Now I can find a ce to rest on the Endless Frontier, and I can even offer a satisfactory exnation to the Lost n.

    "Still, the Great Elder went to the Umbral Universe so quickly. He truly cares about this child. There must be something more to this."

    Shan Pu then reported Lu Yin''s departure to Proximity.

    Upon receiving the news, Sage Bodhi immediately sent a message to Sage Yuan. The Sage did not have much of a reaction. He had not known that Sovereign Shao Yin had thrown Wendy Yushan onto the Endless Frontier.

    Sage Yuan could no longer get involved with anything that targeted Lu Yin, and the Sage was also still confined to the Endless Frontier, which was why no one had bothered to inform him of what had happened.

    However, Sage Bodhi shared another bit of news that caused Sage Yuan to be so excited that heughed out loud.

    "Ill be waiting! Waiting to hear of that little beast''s fate! Things won''t be easy for him. He doesn''t understand what that level of power means, and neither do you, Sage Bodhi! Neither of you have ever fought against that kind of powerhouse yourselves.

    "That is the same level as the Seven Skygods, and everyone at that level is practically invincible, second only to those on the same level as the Great Sovereign. The little beast will definitely be torn into pieces, hahahaha!"

    Sage Bodhi ended the conversation. Lu Yin did not understand that level of power? The battle that had just been fought in the Umbral Universe had been at that exact level of power.<ol><li>

    We recently were given a better option than "the Thespian" for this guy, and wanted to let you know. "Chiliagonist" is 2 greek roots mashed up: chilia = greek for thousand and agonist = greek for role. We felt this was much more urate, given the original meaning in Chinese for this corpse king. </li></ol><blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2762: Ancestors And Descendants

    Chapter 2762: Ancestors And Descendants

    In the Cyclic Universe, a vast sky was filled with beautiful red clouds. Beneath that sky, a figure was respectfully bowing.

    From high above the sky, a voice of unmatched majesty echoed out. "You wish to worship me as your master?"

    "The Great Sovereigns name represents the peak of the entire megaverse. Bing the disciple of such a person will be the greatest blessing of Xian''ers life."

    "Given the power you cultivate, even if I be your master, I wont actually be able to teach you anything. You will need to find your own path."

    "That is a matter of fate, and Xian''er''s path still needs guidance from the Great Sovereign."

    "Was it fate that guided you to do this?"

    "Even if Desiny was present today, theyll have to bow to the Great Sovereign. Xian''er can only follow the Great Sovereigns will."

    There was a pause.

    "Chu Jian."

    The Junior Sovereign stepped out and offered a deep bow. "Master."

    "Go and make arrangements for me to ept Bai Xian''er as my disciple during the tea ceremony. From that day forward, she will be your senior disciple sister."

    Chu Jian was stunned, and took a moment to react to what he was being told. "Senior disciple sister?"

    He turned to look at Bai Xian''er. There was no denying that Chu Jian had been the Great Sovereigns first disciple, and while his cultivation was not as high as this womans, he was the perfect Junior Sovereign, and he should not be judged by his current cultivation. He would one day be one of the Three Sovereigns! On top of all that, this woman was from the Origin Universe, so why was his master epting such a person as a disciple and cing her above him?

    He struggled to ept what he was being told.

    Bai Xian''er looked over at Chu Jian and smiled at him.

    Chu Jian briefly lost himself in the sight. He did not understand why, but this woman radiated a certain charm that he found impossible to resist. Was it her beauty? No, he had seen too many beautiful women over the years, but this womans unique charm was nearly impossible to resist. In the past, Chu Jian had only had room for Bai Qian in his heart, but at this moment, the eyes that were looking at him eclipsed everything.

    Chu Jian entirely forgot where he was or who he was looking at.

    No, this was not right! Chu Jians pupils suddenly constricted as he stared at Bai Xian''er. This was not how things were supposed to be. He was the perfect Junior Sovereign! He was wless, and he would not be enamored with any woman!

    Bai Xian''er was surprised by the reaction, and she carefully observed Chu Jian.

    "Your disciple understands, Master. I would like to enter seclusion."

    "Do you intend to break through to be an Ascendant?"

    Chu Jian solemnly replied, "Yes, Master."

    "Very well. It is time to reveal your strength to the Sixverse Association. Starting from when you be an Ascendant, your master has but one requirement for you."

    Chu Jian stared upwards.

    "Be undefeated."

    Bai Xian''ers eyebrows rose, and she looked back at Chu Jian.

    A smile touched the mans lips. "Your disciple understands. From the moment I be an Ascendant, regardless of who I face, I will never be defeated."

    "Before you go into seclusion, I have one more task for you: go to the Origin Universe and meet that child of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin had already returned to the Heavens Sect.

    As soon as he arrived, he went to find Wendy Yushan. He was relieved to see that she was fine.

    Simrly, Wendy Yushan was relieved to see that Lu Yin was safe. "I''m sorry. I made things difficult for you."

    Lu Yin visibly rxed. "It''s good to be back, but you did nothing wrong. Honestly, if anything, I made things difficult for you.

    "Which parallel universe did you end up in?"

    Wendy Yushan frowned. "The tinum Universe."

    Just as he had thought. A cold glint flickered in Lu Yin''s eyes. Not only had Sovereign Shao Yin basically pushed Lu Yin into the Umbral Universe, but he had also wanted Lu Yin to travel to the furthest tinum Universe, crossing through the entire Endless Frontier.

    "I dont even know how I ended up in the tinum Universe. When I woke up, I saw a woman staring at me. She was at least as powerful as an Envoy, if not a Semi-Progenitor. If not for my innate gift, I would have never been able to escape."

    Lu Yin nodded. "She didn''t realize what your innate gift is, right?"

    Wendy Yushan remained silent, telling Lu Yin that her secret had been exposed. "Its already great that you were able to return safely. Just stay here for now. No one can touch you as long as you remain here."

    Wendy Yushan clenched her fists. She had desperately wanted to remain in the Sixverse Association and raise her cultivation. She did not want to be trapped in the Heavens Sect like a bird in a cage.

    Lu Yin fully understood Wendy Yushans feelings. She, Zhuo Daynight, and Ling Gong were all self-reliant and self-made women. They deserved admiration, even if Lu Yin could not help but worry about them.

    "Don''t worry. I won''t let you stay here for too long. I will find a way to solve the problem."

    Wendy Yushan stared at Lu Yin. "Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    "I am going to force him to repay his debt to my Lu family, as well as his debt to you."

    "Do not underestimate him. That fact that hes managed to be one of the Three Sovereigns means that hes nearly invincible," Wendy Yushan cautioned.

    Lu Yin nodded and turned to leave. He needed to speak with Lu Buzheng, as the most important thing to do at this moment was to learn just who Old Mo was, and the best person to speak to was most likely Lu Buzheng.

    "Old Mo? Whos Old Mo?" Lu Buzheng asked in confusion.

    Lu Yin had no idea what Old Mo''s true name was, so he instead shared what he had learned about the ancient Progenitor.

    After hearing a few words, Lu Buzhengs eyes grewrge, and he blurted, "Sinister Mo!?"

    "Sinister Mo?" Lu Yin was taken aback. Was that really a name?

    Lu Buzheng''s expression grew ugly. "Hes actually alive? Thats bad, and from what youre telling me, really bad. I never thought that the sneaky bastard would still be alive. I had just assumed that he was dead. Theres no question that the man caused all kinds of trouble for thousands of years, and even more than that. This is a very big problem.

    Lu Yin solemnly said, "Tell me everything you know about him."

    Lu Buzheng proceeded to share everything he knew about Old Mo, and as Lu Yin listened, he understood just how much trouble wasing.

    Old Mo, whose name had once been Mo Shang, had been born into a business family, and from childhood, he had possessed a cunning mind and had developed a reputation as a business prodigy. It was by chance that he had started cultivating, but his shrewd mind and exceptional talent caused his strength to soar, and he made continuous breakthroughs. After bing an Envoy, he had met Wu Xing, and although no one knew what Mo Shang had done to win Wu Xings approval, he had been taken to see the Sword Monument on several asions. As a result, many people had started to see Mo Shang as one of Wu Tians people.

    Mo Shang was thrilled about the misunderstanding, and he continued to stay close to Wu Xing. Even if it was not possible to repeatedly visit the Sword Monument, Mo Shang preferred to spend time with Wu Xing, which strengthened others belief that Mo Shang was one of Wu Tians people.

    With Wu Xings help, Mo Shangs cultivation improved even faster. He was clearly naturally gifted, and he eventually received the position of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters.

    Lu Buzheng''s face twisted as he spoke. "Back then, Senior Wu Xing waspletely different from the current Undying God. In the past, Senior Wu Xing''s talent was so incredible that he was even acknowledged by Wu Tian, and Mo Yinxian was in turn acknowledged by Wu Xing. Senior recognized Mo Yinxians impressive talent, and Mo Yinxian can also be very charming to people. So with Senior Wu Xings help, he eventually became one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters.

    "Only the rest of us gatemasters understood just how insidious the man was. He would happily betray his friends for greater glory, and he was always scheming andying ns. He would frame his brothers and y with peoples emotions, doing whatever he had to to advance. He even made friends with cruel and notorious people like the Eastern Mountains Tea King. He schemed on all six Mainds, deceiving people wherever he went. So many people started calling him Mo Yinxian that they forgot his true name.

    "Despite all of this, I have to admit that the man was truly powerful. While there was no distinction between the twelve gatemasters in terms of who was powerful or weak, Mo Shang was always cunning, and he cultivates a very dark energy. Even I would have struggled to beat him."

    Lu Buzheng''s expression grew worse as he spoke. "There would have been no problems if he had died, and yet not only has he survived, but hes also managed to be a Progenitor, which is a big problem. With his scheming and selfish personality, he most likely does not care about things like Aeternus or humanity. The man ispletely devoid of all morals."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, feeling a growing weight as he learned more.

    Mo Shang had betrayed Wu Tian and then remained hidden in the Umbral Universe for countless years in order to search for Heavens Sight. Not only was the man unscrupulous, but he was also determined and motivated. This was the most difficult kind of person to deal with.

    "Ask your senior brother toe back to the Heavens Sect, but even with him there, if we add in Cloudflow and probably even Arch-Elder Zen, they wont be able to defeat Mo Yinxian. But even with his level of power, he might not face us directly, but will rather scheme against us. Ive seen him do that many times before.

    Right, do you know why he hates me?"

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Buzheng, and the mans voice dropped low. "Because I used our family''s power to spread stories of the mans insidious deeds so that people would not be deceived by him anymore. Later on, after I managed to cultivate the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, I used Destinys power to scare him on several different asions. Thats why he hates me so much. Its just a pity that those at Wu Tians level never paid attention to us, or else Wu Tian would have never been betrayed.

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Old Mo had been so excited when he had mentioned Lu Buzheng. The old man had been thrilled to learn that Lu Buzheng had survived, and he wanted to personally settle the old score.

    The two things that Old Mo wanted most were to obtain Heavens Sight and to get revenge on Lu Buzheng. It would be strange if he was not drawn to the Heavens Sect.

    The worst possibility would be if Old Mo decided to join Aeternus, as he would be just as strong as the Seven Skygods.

    "Third Uncle, are there any other very powerful enemies from your era who are still alive today?" Lu Yin asked in a helpless manner.

    Lu Buzheng rolled his eyes. "Don''t ask me about that. Our ancestors offended many people, such as Destiny and Wilderness God, not to mention far more people below the Three Realms Six Dao. Of those kinds of people, Ancestor once pped one of the masters of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, so you tell me."

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. Would the descendants need to pay the debts of their ancestors?

    He did not wait another moment, and he immediately went to find his senior brother. There was no way Lu Yin could rx until his senior brother arrived to take the lead on such matters.

    After Mu Xie heard about Old Mo, there was no interest in the man himself or his history, but Mu Xie was very interested in Old Mo''s strength.

    "I have been stuck at my current level for some time now, and this mans strength might provide me with the inspiration that I need," Mu Xie said.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2763: Ninth Seat

    <h4>Chapter 2763: Ninth Seat</h4>

    With Mu Xie protecting the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was able to feel much more at ease.

    While Mu Xie was not at the same level of power as Old Mo, Lu Yin also knew that he had never seen his senior brother¡¯s full power before. The only thing that he knew for sure was that Mu Xie was powerful enough to make Bai Wangyuan and the four ruling powers¡¯ other Progenitors very wary.

    When Lu Yin had witnessed the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era, he had personally seen the moment when Progenitor Ku had smashed Undying God¡¯s body. The Skygod¡¯s innate gift had been useless before Progenitor Ku, who could be said to perfectly counter Undying God.

    If there had been a massive difference in strength between Progenitor Ku and Undying God, then the Skygod would not have seen the need to use his innate gift. Simrly, given the difference in strength between Old Mo and Xia Shenji, Old Mo would not need to use anything more than his ability to influence sequence particles to deal with Xia Shenji.

    However, when Undying God had been injured by Progenitor Ku, the Skygod had not treated Progenitor Ku as though he was a weakling.

    Lu Yin hade up with his own theory; the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was the general term used for all the strongest powerhouses who had risen to power after the Heavens Sect era had ended. During the Daosource Sect era, even someone as powerful as the Three Realms Six Dao would have most likely been referred to as a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. If they failed to inherit one of those legacies, they might have failed to receive any title at all.

    The truth was that receiving this title in the years after the Heavens Sect era merely indicated that a Progenitor had inherited a Mountain and Sea. It gave absolutely no indication of that person¡¯s strength.

    If this theory was urate, then Lu Yin felt that Progenitor Ku had most likely reached the same level as the Seven Skygods. During the Heavens Sect era, he would have been very close to the same level as Three Realms Six Dao, or even equal to them.

    It was possible that both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were at a higher level than what their titles indicated, but Lu Yin was unable to know for sure. That was something that only peak powerhouses from the same era couldment on.

    In that case, what of Bai Wangyuan?

    Lu Yin slowly descended the stairs that led up through the Heavens Sect, his mind still racing.

    Bai Wangyuan was another master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Daosource Sect era. He had oncepeted against Progenitor Ku and Progenitor Chen, but just how strong was Bai Wangyuan? Was he only as strong as he had revealed so far, or had he kept some of his strength hidden all this time?

    Wang Fan had managed to hide that Specter Progenitor was his clone, and Bai Wangyuan may have simrly kept arge aspect of his own power hidden.

    Such old powerhouses would never reveal everything unless it became absolutely necessary.

    The longer people lived, the more insidious they would be. The Aeternals had never attacked the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield with full force, and Lu Yin felt that the hidden strength of the Mountains and Seas might be another reason besides the threat of the Sixverse Association.

    It was just a pity that Progenitor Smoke was ignorant of Progenitor Chen''s full strength. Lu Yin had asked her about it long ago, but the woman had not been able to provide an answer.

    It was much like when Lu Yin had faced Old Mo. It was very clear that Old Mo was much stronger than Lu Yin, but just how much stronger, Lu Yin could not say.

    It was the same for Progenitor Smoke when looking at Progenitor Chen.

    Lu Yin looked up at the stars. <i>Progenitor Ku had the courage to charge into Aeternus¡¯s territory on his own, and he definitely knew that he would not be facing ordinary Progenitors. Despite that, he still wanted to kill True God Wei Yi. One of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas shouldn¡¯t possess that level of power. Only someone equal to the Three Realms Six Dao could even consider such a thing</i>.

    While thinking, Lu Yin had unwittingly reached the bottom of the stairs and hade face to face with He Ran and the cauldron.

    The woman was ring at Lu Yin with a cold expression. He Ran had not been enjoying herself at all in recent days. Too many people approached her, and far too many confessed their love for her without even being able to look at her.

    She missed the days when she had sat high among the clouds and looked down upon everything. Those who had approached her had not even had the right to look at her.

    In the Heavens Sect, people viewed her as if she were amodity. She had heard that many people had traveled from the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse to see her. They were all just trash. Why had this happened to her?

    It was all because of this person, Lu Yin. He Ran knew what he was nning: he wanted to wear down her mental resistance and force her to surrender to him.

    That was impossible, absolutely impossible.

    He Ran was quite familiar with the thoughts of powerful men. The higher their status and the greater their influence, the more they desired to conquer others. However, those they conquered were only a means of satisfying their vanity. What they truly required was a goddess who could help them and look down upon them, not another groveling servant.

    The more that Lu Yin tried to break He Ran¡¯s resistance, the more determined she was to see him fail. After all, only by making him fail could she ever have a chance to regain a glorious status. If Lu Yin seeded, He Ran would remain like this for the rest of her life.

    Her arrogance was from nothing more than her own determination, though her stubbornness was vital.

    Lu Yin nced over at He Ran, and she looked back at him. The two locked eyes.

    Some distance away, many people quietly moved away from the area. It was clear to them that the beautiful, silent woman was the Dao Monarch¡¯s woman.

    "Look at the love in their eyes! I¡¯m telling you, I know the Dao Monarch very well, and I can still remember his glorious battles against the Ten Arbiters during the Astral Towerpetition. I can see through his thoughts at a nce and know what the Dao Monarch is thinking," the Ghost Monkey stated proudly while hiding in the shadows.

    Someone grew excited. "Lord Monkey, what''s happening right now?"

    "Yes, Lord Monkey, hurry up and tell us so that we can warn those guys not to mess around."

    "Lord Monkey, please tell me..."

    ...

    The Ghost Monkey proudly replied, "Because of your sincerity, I will tell you that the Dao Monarch has fallen in love with that woman."

    Everyone was stunned. While there had been various spections, the Ghost Monkey¡¯s words seemed to be proof.

    They want to spread this news. This woman was not someone ordinary, but rather the Dao Monarch¡¯s woman!

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Why was He Ran still acting so arrogantly? Where was her arroganceing from? She was nothing more than a mascot.

    "How have you been doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    He Ran looked away. "The view here is quite lovely."

    "Sure, if you like it." Lu Yin moved over to the cauldron.

    He Ran felt a bit nervous, and she moved a few steps to the side.

    When Lu Yin reached the cauldron, he put his hand on it, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He had just felt somethinging from this direction.

    He blinked as he looked into the cauldron. A green leaf had just poked out, and it suddenly smacked Lu Yin¡¯s face. It was Sapling.

    When Lu Yin realized that it was Sapling, heughed. "What are you doing here?"

    Sapling was thrilled to see Lu Yin, and it leaped up and down before jumping onto Lu Yin and tightly wrapping its branches around him.

    Lu Yinughed. There was a green glow around Sapling, and its branches were very smooth. Its leaves felt pleasant as they continuously rubbed at Lu Yin''s chin, even if they tickled a bit.

    To the side, He Ran just stared. She had never expected to see such an aspect of Lu Yin.

    Powerhouses were supposed to be stoic and aloof, no? Lord Wei was a perfect example: mysterious, condescending, and unwilling to speak with mere ants.

    In the Origin Universe, Lu Yin¡¯s status wasparable to Lord Wei¡¯s in the Transcendent Universe; he was extremely powerful and had thebat strength of a peak powerhouse. In that case, why was he acting like this? He was behaving like a child.

    Lu Yin only exposed his true self around Sapling. There was no need to think about other things, and just being with Sapling seemed to cause all of Lu Yin¡¯s concerns to evaporate away.

    It was a pure mien that was simr to that of a child who still possessed a pure heart.

    After a while, Sapling reluctantly returned to the cauldron. It often visited this ce.

    Lu Yin allowed Sapling to stay in the cauldron, and he turned back to He Ran. "How long has Sapling beening here?"

    He Ran thought for a bit. "I don''t actually know. It was there thest time I arrived, and it suddenly popped out of the cauldron, startling me."

    <i>Really?</i> Lu Yin looked back at the cauldron, as he also had not noticed Sapling¡¯s presence.

    This was something special about Sapling. Even when people were searching for it, it might be impossible to find Sapling, as the tree¡¯s natural energy merged with that of the universe. In fact, the easiest way to find Sapling was to use nothing more than visual sight.

    "Do you really think that this is a good ce?" Lu Yin looked at He Ran, a bit curious. She was barely showing any resistance.

    He Ran arrogantly replied, "It doesn''t matter."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You seem to enjoy being a mascot."

    He Ran¡¯s eyebrows climbed high. <i>Enjoy it? Who would enjoy this?</i>

    She wanted to snap back, and the smile on Lu Yin¡¯s face enraged He Ran. <i>No, he¡¯s angry with me, he must be. Don¡¯t get angry with him. He wants to break my pride and wear me down! Hmph, ridiculous!</i>

    <i>How could I not know what he¡¯s thinking? Who wouldn¡¯t be tempted by my appearance? The greater the power, the greater the desire to conquer, but also the greater the need for arrogance. The more arrogantly I behave, the more he will be drawn to me</i>.

    He Ran took a deep breath, and her expression quickly grewposed. "Was there something you wished to say?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. Did this woman really not care about her current situation? He refused to believe that. "I¡¯m thinking about pairing you with someone. What do you think about Ghost Monkey?"

    He Ran was briefly stunned. Marriage? Ghost Monkey? Even if she was beaten to death, she would never be able to connect those two. What the hell was a ghost monkey?

    The Ghost Monkey overheard Lu Yin in the distance, and he leaped out. "Seventh Bro, is that what you¡¯ve been thinking? You¡¯re amazing!"

    "Get lost!" He Ran roared as she shot a fierce re at the Ghost Monkey, startling the beast.

    He Ran then red at Lu Yin. She came close to gnashing her silver teeth, but she kept reminding herself not to get angry. <i>This whole thing is a trick, just a dirty, shameless trick he¡¯s ying</i>.

    Seeing the woman¡¯s reaction reassured Lu Yin. If she really was not bothered by her situation, then what had he captured her for? A mascot needed to be expressive, not cold and indifferent like an arrogant queen.

    He Ran stormed off in a rage. She was truly worried about losing her temper with Lu Yin, even if she had already snapped in front of him.

    The Ghost Monkey ignored He Ran as he excitedly rushed over to Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro, are you telling the truth?"

    Lu Yin looked at the Ghost Monkey. "But that means you can¡¯t have the Celestial Ice Phoenixes."

    The Ghost Monkey was shocked, and he turned around and fled without any hesitation.

    <i>What a joke! No matter how beautiful the woman is, she can¡¯tpare to an entire tribe! Progenitor Wushang gave me that harem, and no one can steal them from me! I knew Seventh Bro was keeping tabs on my harem. I have to keep them away from him!</i>

    A short timeter, Lu Yin went into seclusion to roll his die.

    He needed time to master both Evernight and Heaven¡¯s Sight, though there was no reason to roll Possession in the Origin Universe. Lu Yin knew that there were Redbacks hidden in this universe, but there were also countless people whom he might not be able to Possess. The Origin Universe was not the same as the Sixverse Association.

    In the Sixverse Association, spies needed to have a high status and sufficient cultivation, and those standards eliminated most people from qualifying.

    However, in the Fifth Maind, spies did not need to have impressive cultivation, and in fact, the more powerful the person was, the easier it was for them to be revealed as a spy. Instead, the weaker cultivators were more likely to remain hidden as spies. This was what made it unrealistic for Lu Yin to try to uncover spies in the Origin Universe through Possession.

    Given Lu Yin''s current status in the Fifth Maind, no one there would dare to scheme against him.

    What he wanted the most was to roll four pips.

    Just half a month after Lu Yin went into seclusion, a man arrived at the Heavens Sect, and Arch-Elder Zen solemnly stepped out to greet the man.

    Chu Jian had arrived.

    This was the final task that his master had assigned him before he pushed to break through and be an Ascendant, which was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s equivalent to a Semi-Progenitor. This was also Chu Jian¡¯s second time visiting the Heavens Sect.

    "Where is Dao Monarch Lu?" Chu Jian asked in a casual tone. The way he said "Dao Monarch" made the title sound like a joke.

    Arch-Elder Zen led Chu Jian into the Heavens Sect. "The Dao Monarch has gone into seclusion. What can I do for you, Junior Sovereign?"

    Chu Jian¡¯s expression grew solemn. "Master is inviting Dao Monarch Lu to attend the next tea Ceremony and take the ninth seat."

    Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. It was expected for Lu Yin to receive an invitation to the tea ceremony, but the ninth seat waspletely unexpected.

    Everyone believed that, because the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, even if Lu Yin was invited, he would be given a seat at the back of the tea ceremony, or possibly not even receive an actual seat. Surprisingly, Lu Yin would sit at the very front.

    Lu Yin had told Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Heavens Sect that there were ny nine seats for the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony, as well as space for 9 million other people to listen in.

    Because of Xuan Qi¡¯s achievements, he had been invited to sit in the ny ninth seat, and it had been assumed that Lu Yin would not be treated much better. Being offered the ninth seat was shocking.

    The top nine seats at the tea ceremonies were right in front of the Great Sovereign. There was no particr ranking to the first nine seats, which meant that if Lu Yin attended the tea ceremony as Lu Yin instead of Xuan Qi, he would sit very, very close to the Great Sovereign.

    The seat assigned to Lu Yin was surprising to even Chu Jian. In the past, the seat had always been reserved for Sovereign Shao Yin.

    In other words, Lu Yin was being given Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s seat.

    Arch-Elder Zen was unaware that the ninth seat traditionally belonged to Sovereign Shao Yin, as even Lu Yin did not know this. This was something that only people within the Sixverse Association could know.

    As for Chu Jian, he was well aware of his master¡¯s intention: raise Lu Yin up until he was trapped by a status beyond his means.

    Sure enough, Chu Jian¡¯s master still hated the Origin Universe. That had never changed. However, his master¡¯s status also meant that there was no need to directly attack the Origin Universe. It would be better to allow Sovereign Shao Yin to retaliate and take back his seat.

    Chu Jian could already imagine Lu Yin¡¯s fate during the tea ceremony.

 Chapter 2764: People With The Same Surname

    <h4>Chapter 2764: People With The Same Surname</h4>

    The Great Sovereign''s only pastime was holding tea ceremonies, which were held for people to both enjoy tea and receive guidance and enlightenment. It was an opportunity for both discussion and improvement, and no force was allowed at the tea ceremony.

    "I understand. I will inform the Dao Monarch," Arch-Elder Zen replied as he suppressed his surprise.

    Chu Jian hummed. "I also wanted to see one other person while I¡¯m here: Chu Yuan."

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. "Chu Yuan?"

    Chu Jian stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "Is that possible?"

    Arch-Elder Zen had no reason to refuse, and the Junior Sovereign¡¯s given name was Jian, and he wanted to meet Chu Yuan. The old man was quite curious about the connection between the two.

    He immediately had someone ask Chu Yuan to visit the Heavens Sect.

    Chu Yuan was part of the Origin Universe, but he was not a member of the Heavens Sect. Thus, there was no need for him to stay there. Lu Yin had once restricted where the Dao Chosen could go, but that was no longer the case.

    Chu Yuan rushed back to the Heavens Sect, and just a few dayster, met with Chu Jian.[1]

    The two stood across from each other atop a mountain peak within the Heavens Sect.

    "Are you Chu Yuan, the top Dao Chosen of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect?" It was clear that Chu Jian was far more concerned with Chu Yuan than Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin was nothing more than a descendant of the Lu family. While his talent and unique opportunities had allowed him to reach his current position, Chu Jian was certain that it was impossible for Lu Yin to ultimately reach a higher level than Chu Yuan.

    Chu Yuan was the only Dao Chosen to be acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor.

    The Origin Progenitor and the Great Sovereign were two individuals who had reached the highest levels of power known to humanity, whereas Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor had merely been one of the Three Realms Six Dao. On the other hand, Chu Yuan had practically been the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciple, while Chu Jian was the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple. It was clear that Chu Jian shouldpete with Chu Yuan, not Lu Yin.

    Not once had Chu Jian ever seen Lu Yin as a rival. No matter what, the man¡¯s good days were already over.

    Chu Yuan was different, as his journey had only just begun.

    Chu Yuan was already aware of Chu Jian¡¯s status and name, as that had been included in the message from Arch-Elder Zen. "Are you Chu Jian, the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple and the one known as the perfect Junior Sovereign?"

    Chu Jian¡¯s eyes lit up as he stared at Chu Yuan. "You and I share the same surname. Do you know the rtionship between your Origin Progenitor and my master?"

    Chu Yuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I don''t. You can tell me."

    Chu Jian stared at Chu Yuan.

    A gust of wind blew by. Neither man spoke.

    At this moment, the two men¡¯s demeanors almost perfectly matched. In fact, their names, demeanors, and even appearances were practically identical.

    Arch-Elder Zen watched from a distance. Could the two be brothers? No, that was impossible. Chu Yuan came from far too ancient an era, while Chu Jian was too young.

    "The older generation¡¯spetition ended with the death of your Origin Progenitor, but thepetition between the two of us has only just begun." A smile spread across Chu Jian¡¯s face as he stared at Chu Yuan. "I am known as the perfect Junior Sovereign. No matter what I do, I will seed very quickly. The speed at which my cultivation has improved is the greatest in the entire Sixverse Association, and my talent is also peerless. What about you?"

    Chu Yuan stared back at Chu Jian and said, "During my era, there was no Sixverse Association. I was the greatest of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Chosen and was the Dao Chosen of the First Maind. I was the only Dao Chosen acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor, and I stood above all of the other Dao Chosen. In that era, I was absolutely invincible."

    Chu Jian smiled. "Being acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor assures me of your capability. I will soon be an Ascendant, which you call Semi-Progenitor. I hope that you will be able to quickly catch up to me, as I wish to fight you when you possess the same level of cultivation as me. Then, we can determine a winner. That can also be regarded as a conclusion to thepetition between my master and the Origin Progenitor."

    Chu Yuan shook his head. "Given my current cultivation, I will need a long time to be a Semi-Progenitor, and I am in no rush to break through."

    "Then we¡¯llpete when you be a Progenitor." Chu Jian remained utterly confident even when he made such a im. "With our talent, it would be even better if we faced each other and fought when we are Progenitors."

    Chu Yuan nodded. "Very well, we will meet when we are both Progenitors. Then, you and I will then have a match."

    "Hahahaha, I''ll wait for you. I hope that your previous loss to Lu Yin will not upset your confidence," Chu Jian said with a smile.

    Chu Yuan''s eyes flickered. "For the moment, your opponent should be him. Do you not want to face him?"

    Chu Jian shrugged. "Victory or loss does not matter right now. Our ultimate level cannotpare to his future. Chu Yuan, I hope that you will look further down the road¡ªyou were acknowledged by the Origin Progenitor, while I am the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple. Lu Yin is nothing more than a descendant of the Lu family. At best, he will reach the same level as the Three Realms, while I expect to see you be a threat to me. You should not be defeated by him.

    "You might be amazed by his current strength, but very soon, I will show everyone just how high my limit is. All people have a limit, and even if Lu Yin bes a Progenitor right now, his limits will not allow him to survive what he will soon face. After you and I break through to the highest level, our limits will not be something that Lu Yin is capable of reaching.

    "Do not disappoint me."

    After that, Chu Jia left. His primary goal when visiting the Origin Universe had been to challenge Chu Yuan and end the previouspetition between the Great Sovereign and the Origin Progenitor. Lu Yin had simply made a bigmotion for the moment, and while he might be impressive, he would eventually fall back into mediocrity. On the other hand, Chu Yuan and Chu Jian represented the ultimate peak of humanity.

    There were times when it was important to maintain a low profile. While Chu Jian was known as the perfect Junior Sovereign, just how many people in the entire Sixverse Association knew where that title hade from or how Chu Jian had received it? The few who did know, such as Sovereign Shao Yin, did not even want to mention it.

    <i>Lu Yin, do you have this same qualification? You¡¯re simply making waves.</i>

    Chu Yuan was overwhelmed by Chu Jian¡¯s confidence, though if he was honest, Chu Yuan had possessed the same mentality when he was first released from the sourcebox. He had assumed that it would not matter if he lived in the Heavens Sect era or any other era; he would always be without peer.

    However, facing Lu Yin had transformed Chu Yuan¡¯s perspective.

    While he remained confident that he would absolutely be a Progenitor one day and reach an extremely high level, Chu Yuan would never again underestimate Lu Yin, especially not his strange power which hadpletely shocked Chu Yuan.

    <i>If you continue thinking this way, you will end up in trouble, Chu Jian! You don¡¯t want my loss to Lu Yin to impact my confidence? I hope that yours won¡¯t be shattered one day</i>.

    Chu Yuan also wanted topete with Chu Jian and see what was supporting the man¡¯s absolute confidence.

    After ten more days, Lu Yin emerged from seclusion.

    During this time, he had rolled Timestop a total of five times, which meant that he had been training in seclusion for five years. While this was not a very long time, it was enough to give Lu Yin some level of understanding of both Evernight and Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    He would only be able to effectively wield Evernight after bing a Semi-Progenitor. Before that, the card would be as limited as when Lu Yin had faced Old Mo.

    However, Heaven''s Sight waspletely different.

    Lu Yin could not wait to see Zhao Ran, as he wanted to see if he could see anything different about her.

    The girl¡¯s identity had always been a mystery, but Lu Yin suspected that she was Destiny herself. He had cared for the girl for a long time, but she could never remember anything, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do to improve her memory.

    With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was eager to look at Zhao Ran.

    Unfortunately, he could still see nothing at all.

    Zhao Ran looked at the curved lines that had formed eyes on Lu Yin''s brow, and she grew very curious. "Your Highness, what is that?"

    "It¡¯s nothing." Lu Yin was quite disappointed.

    "Would you like some tea?" Zhao Ran asked expectantly.

    Lu Yin nodded and then looked around the Heavens Sect. He saw Skymender and Xiao Shi. If it was impossible to see anything from Zhao Ran, then maybe Lu Yin could finally at least see through Destiny¡¯s power.

    After receiving Lu Yin¡¯s orders, Skymender started to use Destiny¡¯s divination methods.

    Lu Yin activated Heaven¡¯s Sight, and his eyes lit up. He really could see it. He saw as Skymender used Destiny¡¯s methods, and a thread formed that entered the sky. There, the thread connected with specific particles, which had to be sequence particles. So this was the secret to Destiny¡¯s power¡ªit allowed a person to connect to sequence particles, which was something that was beyond even most Progenitors.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to touch Heaven¡¯s Sight. This was the power of one of the Three Realms.

    It was clear that Lu Yin did not have the same level of power as someone like Old Mo, but Lu Yin could nheless see sequence particles and thews of the universe with Heaven¡¯s Sight. Destiny¡¯s divination methods allowed a person to touch sequence particles, which meant that the God of Death had to be the same. He must have developed some way to touch or even affect sequence particles.

    That was the power of the Three Realms.

    It was no wonder why no one had ever been able to see through Destiny¡¯s power. No one in the universe was capable of using sequence particles, which was why no one had been able to see through Destiny¡¯s methods.

    However, even when looking at the entire Sixverse Association, just how many people were capable of touching upon sequence particles?

    Old Mo had been one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters during the greatest heights of the Heavens Sect. He had been among the most talented individuals of his era, but even he had only managed to touch upon sequence particles after cultivating for countless years. How many people in the Sixverse Association could be older than Old Mo? It was clear that not even Lord Wei was that old.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. After finally clearly seeing how Destiny¡¯s power worked, it ceased to be a mystery to him.

    As for Destina, her power was much simpler, though Lu Yin understood why she cultivated the Thread of Destiny. Destiny¡¯s power originally formed threads and used them to touch sequence particles and pry into thews of the universe to peer into the past and present. This was the power of Destiny.

    Lu Yin then thought about Wielder - Indestructible. It was a cultivation method that had been developed by Dao Monarch Gu, which meant that the ultimate goal of the cultivation method should simrly be to reach the level of wielding sequence particles. In that case, there was an even more terrifying level to battleforce. Lu Yin suspected that that level might allow a person to physically resist sequence particles and possess the strength to fight against thews of a universe with their bodies. That would be the true peak of battleforce.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin was finally able to clearly see the true nature of the universe¡¯s various cultivation methods, as well as the path that he should take in the future.

    However, what was the level of people like the Origin Progenitor, the Great Sovereign, Mister Mu, and others at their level? This became a burning question for Lu Yin.

    "Brother Lu?" Xiao Shi stared at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Skymender also felt uneasy, and he kept ncing back at Lu Yin''s forehead. Skymender kept feeling like there was something staring at him, but since the symbols of the eyes no longer appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, there was nothing to see. Instead, his entire presence had changed, gaining even greater depth and bing more mysterious.

    After canceling Heaven''s Sight, Lu Yin smiled. "Zhao Ran will be here soon. Would you like some tea?"

    Xiao Shi nodded vigorously. He liked spending time with Zhao Ran, even if she did not remember Xiao Shi or that she had once given him a gift.

    Skymender left, as he did not want to remain close to Lu Yin. The astral beast was the individual who was privy to Lu Yin''s greatest secret: Lu Yin would one day be humanity¡¯s greatest traitor.

    "Skymender," Lu Yin suddenly called out, startling the astral beast.

    Skymender turned around and offered a respectful bow. "Dao Monarch."

    "Go keep an eye on Xia Shenji''s clone," Lu Yin ordered.

    Lu Yin wanted to locate the Lu family, and his only avable options were to track down Destiny¡¯s pearl that was with the Lu family, or use Xia Shenji¡¯s clone. However, it was impossible to use the pearl to find the Lu family because Aeternus had hidden one somewhere in the Sixth Maind. That meant that Xia Shenji¡¯s clone was the only remaining possibility.

    The clone was the only hope of the Lu family¡¯s return.

    Skymender let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, Dao Monarch."

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen arrived, and he shared the Great Sovereign¡¯s invitation to the tea ceremony with Lu Yin.

    "The ninth seat?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. "You must be surprised. I was also surprised when I heard it. The Great Sovereign will not make things easy for you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "He won''t make things easy for me, but I still want to take the easier path."

    "Also..." Arch-Elder Zen then told Lu Yin about the conversation between Chu Jian and Chu Yuan. Chu Jian had not hidden his words, and he had spoken loudly, uncaring of whether the conversation got back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Interesting... I understand. It seems that the Junior Sovereign is very confident."

    "He is about to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm. What about you?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Lu Yin looked over at Zhao Ran, who was approaching while carrying tea. He slowly said, "Well, I first need to reach the peak of the Envoy realm."

    It was time for him to break through as well.

    1. Just a reminder, but Chu Jian (First + Meet) and Chu Yuan (First + Origin). ?

 Chapter 2765: Unlimited Absorption

    <h4>Chapter 2765: Unlimited Absorption</h4>

    Lu Yin had obtained enough stellr liquid from Sapling to reach the peak of the Envoy realm. At this time, he only needed to go back into seclusion to break through.

    His actions left Arch-Elder Zen speechless. The older man always felt like Lu Yin treated seclusion as ytime; each time, Lu Yin would only train for a handful of days, or at most, a few years at a time. That was not enough time to even take a nap!

    ...

    One day, a powerful stellr tribtion appeared outside of the Heavens Sect, covering a vast region of the Outerverse.

    The jiao looked over and then pulled back its head, quite nervous.

    Lu Yin stood just outside the Heavens Sect, frowning as he watched his stellr tribtion spread out.

    Of the various stellr tribtions that Envoys needed to face, the most challenging was always the first, followed by the sixth tribtion. While Lu Yin¡¯s seventh stellr tribtion would bring him close to the peak of the Envoy realm, it was not particrly difficult.

    Just like how Lu Yin had previously passed his second and third stellr tribtions, he quickly crossed his seventh tribtion without encountering any difficulties whatsoever. As he had enough of Sapling¡¯s stellr liquid to reach the next threshold, Lu Yin took advantage of the current situation to immediately trigger his eighth stellr tribtion as well. As long as he survived this one, he would finally reach the true peak of the Envoy realm.

    The eighth stellr tribtion did not lead to any qualitative changes in a cultivator, and it meant nothing more than reaching a power level of 1.2 million. Because of its ordinary quality, the tribtion was not any more difficult than the sixth stellr tribtion. This was more a level that cultivators used to prepare for their breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor level, but why had Lu Yin¡¯s eighth stellr tribtion triggered such a ridiculous reaction?

    Given the impressive disy so far, this tribtion looked like it would be truly dangerous.

    Upon realizing his situation, Lu Yin quickly moved away from the Heavens Sect. The further away he got, the better. The Heavens Sect was home to more than one Progenitor who could get caught up in the stellr tribtion, and even Lu Yin could not guess how much more powerful that would make the tribtion.

    Themotion near the Heavens Sect instantly drew the attention of the entire Origin Universe, and even some attention from the Sixverse Association.

    Right now, everyone was paying attention to the Heavens Sect.

    The four ruling powers had spared no effort to ce their own people within the Heavens Sect, so how could such a massive event not draw their attention?

    Lu Yin was facing his eighth stellr tribtion. After bing a peak Envoy, the next step would be for him to be a Semi-Progenitor, which was a massive qualitative improvement. After the Semi-Progenitor realm was the Progenitor realm, which was the peak of human cultivation. Just the thought of Lu Yin reaching that level of power was enough to cause the four ruling powers to tremble. Who would be able to stop Lu Yin at that point in time?

    Lu Yin moved towards the Astral Beast Domain, and he only stopped when he arrived at the border between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.

    The arrival of the massive stellr tribtion atop Lu Yin left the entire Astral Beast Domain nervous, and Leng Qing, who was overseeing the astral beasts, quickly made his way over.

    More and more people started watching from a great distance, growing pale when they saw the size of the stellr tribtion.

    In the face of a stellr tribtion like this one, how could a human be any more significant than an ant?

    Lu Yin looked up and took a deep breath. "Let¡¯s go!"

    The stellr tribtion condensed into a swirling vortex that raged as it descended upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin initially assumed that he was being attacked by a terrifying amount of power, only to discover that it was nothing more than stellr energy.

    Far away, Arch-Elder Zen and the others watching grew solemn. "As expected, the Dao Monarch''s breakthroughs are always the most extreme. This is the most difficult known stellr tribtion that one can face during their eighth tribtion."

    Lu Buzheng frowned. "Is this really unlimited absorption? Everyone who has faced this tribtion throughout all of history has died to it."

    "What¡¯s unlimited absorption?" Wendy Yushan nervously asked. It seemed readily apparent to her that this particr stellr tribtion was not particrly powerful.

    Lu Buzheng''s expression grew ugly. "There are some people who are a challenge for even the true universe. If it is impossible for a stellr tribtion to bring out an appropriate challenge within the challenger¡¯s level, then other methods will be employed. This unlimited absorption is one of those methods. It forces a person to absorb unlimited amounts of stellr energy until they reach their limit, after which they are killed by the energy itself."

    Master Shan quietlymented, "In the past, a brilliant genius from our Lu family died when facing his eighth stellr tribtion. This is the rarest tribtion that one can face for their eighth stellr tribtion, and this is also the only time when unlimited absorption can appear."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "The most difficult tribtion for most Envoys is their sixth stellr tribtion, and his was so extreme that it almost epassed the entire Perennial World. I had assumed that his eighth tribtion would not be too difficult. I never expected that he would face something like this. I hope that he can survive."

    Countless eyes stared at Lu Yin. Some people understood what they were seeing, and others did not. Even so, regardless of whether they understood, before long, the expressions of every person watching started to change.

    Lu Yin continued to absorb the stellr energy. Even if he did not want to, the stellr energy continued to surge into his body like a storm.

    The thing that Lu Yin was least afraid of was stellr energy. His own reserves were sorge that he had stunned even Chu Yuan. Despite that, Lu Yin was still shocked by the terrifying amount of stellr energy flooding into his body.

    No matter the person, everyone had a limit, and even Lu Yin had a limit to the amount of stellr energy that he could absorb. If he was forced to take on an infinite amount of stellr energy, then so be it. At worst, he would simply face his Semi-Progenitor tribtion as well. After all, this was a truly abundant amount of stellr energy.

    However, the energy that surged into Lu Yin only had one purpose, and it was not to strengthen him. Its sole desire was to surge into him and cause him to burst. It was a truly vicious tribtion.

    Lu Yin had already opened his three meridian points, and he had created four stellr energy vortices. They continuously absorbed more energy, but they were already full. The amount of stellr energy that Lu Yin had already absorbed left Lu Buzheng and all the others watching shocked, and Arch-Elder Zen was rendered speechless. All the spectators started to question their own lives, but the tribtion still showed no signs of dispersing.

    <i>If this continues, I will really be swept away like this</i>.

    Lu Yin looked upwards at the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex. The true universe was incredibly hostile towards him. He had been forced to repeatedly ovee seemingly impossible tribtions, but the true universe was still making things difficult for him. He had barely survived each of the previous seemingly impossible tribtions, and he had refused to die without putting up a fight.

    <i>If the heavens don¡¯t want me to use this energy, all the more I will make it happen! If I don¡¯t fear the Great Sovereign, why would I be afraid of you?</i>

    It might be difficult to overpower a strong individual, but it was easy to corrupt them. Cultivators coveted the true universe¡¯s stellr energy, but they could also be killed by that same stellr energy.

    This was amon saying in the Heavens Sect era. It meant that, the more powerful the cultivator, the greater danger of the stellr tribtion that they would face. For the eighth stellr tribtion, the most dangerous tribtions were either the humanoid tribtion, Heaven¡¯s Suppression, or unlimited absorption.

    The true universe was a stingy guardian of stellr energy, and if a person stole stellr energy away, they would inevitably face retaliation. If that person managed to survive the true universe¡¯s retaliation, it would continue to seek out other means to destroy the cultivator.

    An endless sea of stellr energy flooded into Lu Yin''s body, creating a maelstrom that already shocked Lu Buzheng and everyone else.

    It was possible that Lu Yin had already absorbed more stellr energy than what even a Progenitor could endure. He had far exceeded the limits of an Envoy.

    "Endure just a little longer! Just a little longer..." countless people prayed. Even a stellr tribtion had limits, and they could not indiscriminately kill all who could potentially ovee a tribtion. If that were the case, then no one would ever surpass their stellr tribtion, and the Origin Universe would have no Progenitors.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin. As long as he could endure for just a bit longer, they believed that he would pass the tribtion. They wanted to see him endure just a bit more.

    Lu Yin looked up at the ck hole at the center of the tribtion above his head, and his expression grew worse and worse. If he measured himself by other people''s standards, he should be near the end of this tribtion. However, just how many stellr energy vortices did he possess, and how much more stellr energy could he absorbpared to an average cultivator? While other people might not know, how could the true universe not understand Lu Yin¡¯s limits?

    Because of that, Lu Yin knew that he was not even close to finishing. In fact, he could not even begin to guess how long he still had to endure for.

    <i>In that case, let¡¯s do it!</i>

    Lu Yin took a deep breath, and stars started revolving around his body. He was not using the Cosmic Art or borrowing Progenitor Chen''s power, as Lu Yin did not dare to risk using any outside power. At this moment, he had simply released the power from within his chest.

    This was an independent universe. Even when Lu Yin had been ambushed in the Sixth Maind and a sourcebox array had isted him from that particr parallel universe, he had still been able to ess the power thaty within his chest.

    The energies cultivated by the different members of the Sixverse Association were rather strange, and they were all quite different from stellr energy. And yet, Lu Yin was still able to integrate them into the power system that he had developed within his chest. At this moment, he wanted to see if he could direct the flood of stellr energy into that same system of power.

    The next moment, everyone stared on, dumbfounded, as the surge of stellr energy started not decreasing, but rather increasing. It grew to the point where Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors all felt certain that they would be crushed by such a flood. However, even at this moment, Lu Yin appeared calm, and even eager.

    The true universe was ayer of the Origin Universe, and the conglomeration of different powers and energies in Lu Yin¡¯s chest could also be regarded as its own universe. The stellr energy that entered Lu Yin¡¯s body from the tribtion refused to be controlled by him, which meant that it did not actually belong to him. However, Lu Yin was currently merely treating his body as a bridge that connected the flood of stellr energy to the power in his chest.

    He refused to believe that this tribtion could overwhelm an entire universe.

    For the next period of time, everyone gained a new understanding of how to pass the eighth stellr tribtion, as well as what Lu Yin was capable of.

    Even if a person faced unlimited absorption for their eighth stellr tribtion, how could the flow of energy continue for so long? Just how much stellr energy had entered Lu Yin¡¯s body?

    Was it possible for a single person to absorb that much stellr energy? This actually seemed to be more than what even Progenitors could endure.

    Arch-Elder Zen asked himself if he could perform the same feat as Lu Yin, but he knew that it was impossible. His Progenitor¡¯s world could hold a tremendous amount of stellr energy, but even Arch-Elder Zen had his limits.

    How long had Lu Yin been absorbing stellr energy for? He had already taken in enough to kill two Progenitors.

    How was Lu Yin doing it? This was going far beyond merely absorbing stellr energy.

    On the other side, Leng Qing watched from the Astral Beast Domain as Lu Yin continued to survive his tribtion. Shock filled the Semi-Progenitor¡¯s eyes. In the past, he had been willing to listen to Lu Yin for the sake of the reestablished Heavens Sect, as well as because Lu Yin wielded the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Also, Lu Yin had led the fight against Aeternus and acted as the vanguard for humanity.

    However, it was at this moment that Lu Yin¡¯s personal abilities shocked Leng Qing.

    <i>Is it really possible to absorb an unlimited amount of stellr energy? How can anyone remain unharmed after receiving such an incredible amount?</i>

    In Leng Qing¡¯s eyes, other images seemed to ovep with Lu Yin¡¯s. They were images of Progenitors whom Leng Qing looked up to and who had triggered his own desire to be a Progenitor.

    However, how could he ever seed?

    The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were supposed to be guaranteed to be Progenitors. Each of them were among the strongest within their realm, and they had all opened all three of their meridian points. They were truly the best of the Semi-Progenitors. However, being the best Semi-Progenitor was not a requirement to be a Progenitor. The most important thing was to be able to question one¡¯s own heart, and despite his level, when Leng Qing questioned his heart, he knew that he would not be able to sessfully break through to the Progenitor realm. He would undoubtedly die during his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, which was why he had been waiting and tempering himself.

    Far away, Lu Yin was feeling unjust. The stellr tribtions had rewarded him with a burst of stellr energy which would strengthen his physical body and improve his cultivation. It was unquestionably a benefit. However, all of his stellr tribtions had nearly killed him.

    After his first stellr tribtion, Lu Yin had found a way to forcefully seize stellr energy, and he had done so four times to form four stellr energy vortices. Once again, he was unwilling to let all this stellr energy slip out of his grasp.

    After thinking of this, he tried to use the power within his chest to suppress the stellr energy that was surging into his body.

    The flood of stellr energy had been directed into the energy system within Lu Yin¡¯s chest, but it subsequently left as soon as it entered. This stellr energy did not truly belong to Lu Yin.

    However, the power system within his chest could use any energy that Lu Yin encountered. Since it was able to truly endure what seemed to be an unlimited amount of stellr energy, why could that energy not be used?

    He decided to try just that.

    The ck and white mist started to swirl, allowing stellr energy to enter, but then they rotated in a manner that prevented the energy from leaving. As Lu Yin did this, his personal energy reserves started to pull in the tribtion¡¯s stellr energy, as though actively stealing the energy.

    Even so, this energy could not be absorbed.

    There had been countless geniuses throughout history, and those who were forced to endure unlimited absorption were the best of the best. Lu Yin was far from the first to consider absorbing the energy of the stellr tribtion and using it for his own cultivation, but every attempt thus far had failed.

    <i>It¡¯s impossible to use my own stellr energy to absorb the tribtion¡¯s energy. If that¡¯s the case, then...</i>

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed as he started to suppress the stellr energy into submission.

 Chapter 2766: A Progenitorâ€™s Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 2766: A Progenitor¡¯s Tribtion</h4>

    As the endless stream of stellr energy continued to pour into Lu Yin¡¯s body, the power in his chest revolved, and the trapped stellr energy fell onto the continent of fatesand. On the continent was the Withered Bark with the gray power of time flitting about it, the river of voidforce energy, green nts along the river that were formed from the Arboreal Realm¡¯s energy, and tri-colored soil formed from monarch energy everywhere else.

    The falling stellr energy was like a spring rain nourishing the earth.

    Lu Yin was not able to personally absorb the stellr energy, but the Withered Bark, continent of fatesand, river of voidforce energy, green nts, and tri-colored soil all absorbed the stellr energy and were nourished by it.

    Lu Yin had just been testing things out, and he had not expected to actually seed.

    An endless outpouring of stellr energy rained down on every part of the continent, visibly rejuvenating everything. Even the river of voidforce energy expanded slightly. Despite everything being its own unique power and energy, they formed a cohesive system within Lu Yin¡¯s chest that was able to suppress any kind of power.

    As Lu Yin watched, a thought urred to him; if the stellr energy was able to turn into voidforce energy, then could stellr energy be converted into the other powers that existed in his chest? If not, then why had some of the stellr energy be voidforce energy?

    As he considered this possibility, Lu Yin saw that the rain of stellr energy had expanded the river of voidforce energy until it spanned the entire continent.

    On the other side of the continent, the stellr energy formed ake, though it quickly grew into a sea, at least inparison to the continent of fatesand. The sea was formed from the stellr energy that had been trapped by the ck and white mist that surrounded the continent of fatesand, but not been absorbed by the other powers.

    Lu Yin had not managed to absorb any of the stellr energy from the stellr tribtion, but it had be vital nutrients for the power in his chest.

    Lu Yinughed and looked upwards at his tribtion. "You want to feed me until I burst? Can you even do that? Now that you¡¯re here, you won¡¯t even be able to leave! I choose whether I let you go or take you for myself!"

    Everyone¡¯s mouths hung open as they stared at Lu Yin, who was shouting at the sky andughing wildly. An indescribable excitement stirred within their hearts, and many people started trembling from excitement.

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!" someone shouted.

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    ...

    Countless voices rang out as one. It was as though they were trying to overpower the maelstrom of stellr energy that was pouring out of the stellr tribtion, merging into a single voice that rang throughout the universe.

    The four ruling powers were stunned. Lu Yin was still alive even after absorbing such a ridiculous amount of stellr energy. No one could even imagine what the boy had done to survive or how he had cultivated.

    "Hahahaha..." Lu Buzheng¡¯sughter rang out as he stared at Lu Yin with eyes that were filled with awe. This descendent of his Lu family who had been born countless years after his time was far superior to Lu Tianyi. It was even possible that Lu Yin would eventually rise up to the same level as the Three Realms Six Dao.

    Master Shan grew increasingly excited. This was their young master! He was the Lu family¡¯s greatest pride, as well as the young master of the entire Fifth Maind. Even if he had lost all of his memories and his cultivation, he was still able to rise up and challenge the universe with a smile on his face.

    Cloudflow remained hidden in the Heavens Sect, but he stared eastwards in utter shock.

    While the power of the stellr energy was not particrly impressive, the sheer quantity was like a vast ocean, and it was more than enough to drown even Cloudflow.

    Lu Yin was too mysterious and unpredictable, and no one could imagine his future, which Cloudflow saw as a good thing. It gave him hope of one day taking back the Cloudflow Universe.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was thrilled as he stared off into outer space. The truth was that he could not see what was happening, but he could hear it. He heard the voices of countless people expressing their best wishes to Lu Yin. He represented the future of the entire Fifth Maind.

    Zhi Yi''s expression wasplicated. She had once been able topete evenly with Lu Yin, but what could she do now but watch him from a distance?

    Lan Xian sighed. Anyone who did not know better would assume that this was a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Hen Xin returned, and shock covered his face as he stared at Lu Yin. He was at the cusp of triggering his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and he realized that he could not afford to wait any longer. Any more dys might mean that not even bing a Progenitor would be enough for him to change his situation.

    The modern Heavens Sect was bing increasingly unfathomable.

    ...

    It was a day that was destined to go down in history. Everyst one of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtions had been worthy of being recorded in history, as it would be difficult for any of them to ever be surpassed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s excitement rose higher, improving his battleforce. He was taunting the stellr tribtion, hoping to draw out more stellr energy so that he could water the dry continent in his chest. He needed more stellr energy to improve his strength.

    Unfortunately, the tribtion eventually needed to end.

    As the vortex weakened, Lu Yin felt disappointed. "Just this?"

    Everyone who heard his words was rendered utterly speechless.

    Lu Buzheng gave a bitter smile. Those geniuses from the Heavens Sect era who had died to unlimited absorption would climb from their graves only to die again of anger if they heard Lu Yin''s words.

    This tribtion was regarded as a death sentence for anyone facing their eighth stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin watched as the vortex slowly shrank and disappeared. He let out a long breath.

    The continent of fatesand in his chest had beenpletely transformed. It possessed greater vitality, and the green buds of the growing nts looked like they were about to explode. The Withered Bark had grown brighter, and the river of voidforce energy had grown several times wider, draining into a newly formed sea of stellr energy.

    While the sea was rather small, the stellr energy that it contained was incredible. In fact, there was enough for Lu Yin to reach the Semi-Progenitor level.

    He tried to absorb a bit of the sea¡¯s energy, and his eyes lit up. It was actually possible.

    <i>This is great! Now that the tribtion is over, I can use the stellr energy that I took.</i>

    While there was enough stellr energy to push Lu Yin to the Semi-Progenitor level, he needed to first take some time to stabilize his cultivation.

    Additionally, the fact that there was enough stellr energy for Lu Yin to be a Semi-Progenitor meant that it was enough energy for others to be Progenitors.

    The sea held as much stellr energy as a Progenitor, and not even a mediocre Progenitor at that. Lu Yin believed that the sea was roughly equal to Xia Shenji¡¯s stellr energy reserves.

    He had stolen as much stellr energy as what Xia Shenji possessed, and that was not even mentioning all the stellr energy that had nourished Lu Yin¡¯s internal continent and its powers.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others gathered close, and they quickly asked Lu Yin how he had managed to absorb so much stellr energy. They all understood that the stellr energy from this sort of tribtion could not be used for cultivation or be truly absorbed by a cultivator. It could not be used to increase a person¡¯s strength, so naturally, they were all very curious about what had happened to the stellr energy that Lu Yin had absorbed

    Just as Lu Yin was about to respond, he felt something in his heart lurch, and he turned to look further east.

    Arch-Elder Zen and all of the other experts turned and looked as well.

    To the east, they saw another stellr tribtion¡¯s dark vortex.

    "Who is challenging their tribtion?" People were surprised, but the moment the question was raised, the vortex expanded wildly, and lightning erupted. A powerful pressure descended from the vortex, and even Lu Yin felt intimidated by the pressure.

    "That¡¯s a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion!" Arch-Elder Zen eximed.

    Everyone was startled. Was there someone trying to break through and be a Progenitor?

    Regardless of who it was, everyone needed to stay far away.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the distant tribtion. <i>Is that Leng Qing? Is he about to attempt a breakthrough?</i>

    At the edge of the Astral Beast Domain, Leng Qing stared upwards. He was ready to survive his tribtion.

    Leng Qing had not held any confidence in being able to pass his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, but after seeing Lu Yin smile at the sky and challenge his tribtion, Leng Qing had broken through his previous line of thinking. Specifically, the words, ¡°I choose whether I let you go or take you for myself!¡± had awakened something inside Leng Qing. At that moment, he had understood that it was time for him to make his breakthrough.

    Leng Qing looked westwards towards Lu Yin. Across the distance, the Semi-Progenitor bowed. "Thank you, Dao Monarch, for your advice. Leng Qing will ovee this tribtion."

    "Quickly, get back!" Lu Buzheng pulled Lu Yin away.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Leng Qing, and smiled at the man. "I wish you sess."

    No one had anticipated that, as soon as Lu Yin passed his eighth source tribtion, Leng Qing would trigger his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    There was noparison between someone¡¯s eighth stellr tribtion and a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    There was no denying that Lu Yin''s eighth tribtion had been shocking, and it could even be said that it had overturned what everyone knew about such tribtions. However, that did not mean that it couldpare to a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    A Progenitor¡¯s tribtion was the final hurdle that humans needed to ovee. By passing it, one became free and unrestrained across the vast megaverse.

    Progenitors stood at the peak of humanity, and whoever became a Progenitor would rule their era.

    To be a Progenitor was not only to reach a realm of cultivation, but also to ept a responsibility. Progenitors were responsible for creating their own era and altering the universe while preserving the human heritage.

    Over the course of countless years, innumerable people had tried to be Progenitors, and it was impossible to estimate just how many people had opened their three meridian points. And yet, how many of them had sessfully be a Progenitor?

    Even during the glorious Heavens Sect era¡¯s most prosperous time, it had still been possible to easily count everyst Progenitor.

    Most people never expected toy eyes on a Progenitor throughout their entire lives.

    Leng Qing stood silently beneath his tribtion, waiting for it to start.

    Lu Buzheng felt worried. "Why is he in such a hurry? There¡¯s no reason to rush, and the chances of sess are simply too low."

    Cai Er moved closer, staring at Leng Qing. "He realized something. He will be the first of us to be a Progenitor."

    Destina was also present, and while she and Cai Er were rivals, and Cai Er dreamed of surpassing Destina¡¯s looks, at this moment, no one cared about their rivalries. All of them were focused on Leng Qing.

    Even Hen Xin approached from the direction of the Heavens Sect,pletely focused on Leng Qing and his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Would he seed?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He had not expected Leng Qing to suddenly gain the confidence to survive his tribtion. Was it because of Lu Yin? Was the man really certain? It was impossible to know.

    As everyone waited for the tribtion to begin, none of them noticed that their surroundings had grown incredibly quiet. It was even possible to hear the breathing of everyone nearby.

    <i>Something¡¯s not right.</i>

    Lu Yin suddenly red upwards. A tremendous surge of stellr energy had just appeared at the edge of the swirling vortex, creating a dome that shot towards Leng Qing. The area around the man instantly became a perfect vacuum. Within this zone, stellr energy simply did not exist.

    "Heaven¡¯s Suppression." Lu Buzheng looked solemn.

    Lu Yin was startled, as this was the same tribtion that he had faced during his sixth stellr tribtion. After he passed, Lu Buzheng and the others had told Lu Yin that that phenomena was known as the field of destruction. Specifically, this tribtion removed all the stellr energy from the person facing the tribtion. Without stellr energy, what would happen? How could a person hope to ovee their tribtion?

    This was a tribtion intended to kill whoever was attempting a breakthrough. It was something that ordinary cultivators would never encounter, as only truly exceptional people could trigger this particr tribtion.

    Leng Qing had been one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters during the Heavens Sect era. He was one of the greatest geniuses of his generation, and he was practically invincible within his realm. He was the Semi-Progenitor equivalent of Old Mo.

    It was only expected for Leng Qing to trigger this particr tribtion, and also for him to ovee it.

    In fact, this was not only true of Leng Qing, but also of Lu Buzheng, Destina, and all the other gatemasters. All of them were expected to be able to ovee the field of destruction.

    The field of destruction was regarded as one of the worst tribtions possible for others, but Leng Qing and the others had already made their preparations. They were all ready to face the field of destruction during their tribtions.

    Without the stellr energy or an inner world, most Semi-Progenitors would lose almost all of theirbat strength and be destroyed by the field of destruction, but such things meant nothing to Leng Qing. He himself was a sword, and his innate gift was known as de Mist. When Leng Qing merged with his sword to be one, he could shatter all swords and suppress the sky itself.

    At the same time that all stellr energy was removed from him, all sound was also eliminated, which usually confused the person. This made it even more likely for a weak cultivator to die, but for Leng Qing, the deafening silence meant absolutely nothing.

    When a single sh of the sword sliced the field of destruction in two, not a single sigh of relief emerged from Lu Buzheng or any of the others. They knew that the true challenges of the tribtion were about to begin.

    While Leng Qing''s tribtion was not asparatively freakish as Lu Yin''s, it would undoubtedly be very impressive.

    It was considered nearly impossible for ordinary Semi-Progenitors to break through and be a Progenitor, let alone an exceptional expert like Leng Qing.

    "There are three phases to a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion: the attack, questioning the heart, and then altering the universe. Leng Qing is about to face the attack, which is the first phase of a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. This was how all Progenitors rose to power. What would happen when he faced his own Progenitor¡¯s tribtion? He did not dare to even imagine what would happen.

 Chapter 2767: Burning Ambition

    <h4>Chapter 2767: Burning Ambition</h4>

    Leng Qing held his sword in his hand as stellr energy returned to him. He stared up at the darkness within the vortex and took a deep breath. An unrestrained excitement and eagerness filled his eyes. He could feel it¡ªthe scream of a de. This was the ultimate attack, and it was about to fall.

    His de suddenly shot upwards, releasing a sh. There was a bang as the void exploded.

    Another sword appeared just beneath the vortex of the tribtion. It extended out from the void and shed down at Leng Qing, only for him to slice through the attack.

    <i>That easy?</i> Leng Qing stared into the darkness of the stellr tribtion, and his pupils suddenly shrank. An endless storm of des fell upon him, the silver rain of des forming a massive sword in space.

    Lu Buzheng and several others shouted out, "Gxy Sword Emperor?"

    Cai Er¡¯s face grew pale.

    Hen Xin clenched a fist. Sure enough, Leng Qing was facing a truly terrifying opponent.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Third Uncle, what is that?"

    Lu Buzheng''s voice dropped low, and Lu Yin could hear fear, nervousness, and sympathy in the man¡¯s voice. "That is Gxy Sword Emperor¡¯s attack. That endless rain of swords that forms a riverrge enough to transform a portion of the universe belongs to Gxy Sword Emperor, who was one of the most powerful people during our era. He was the most powerful cultivator from the Second Maind and was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. So was this the power of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Heavens Sect era?

    Cai Er spoke up as well. "Gxy Sword Emperor was a ruthless person, and he dominated all with his sword. After bing a Progenitor, he confronted the Mavis family on his own to avenge some humiliation that he once suffered. He forced the proud Mavis family to apologize to him and show him respect."

    "Didn¡¯t the Mavis family have a Dao Monarch?" Lu Yin asked. During the Heavens Sect era, the Mavis family had ruled the Second Maind, and they had been led by one of the Three Realms Six Dao. How could they have been intimidated by one of Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?

    Lu Buzheng quietly replied, "Gxy Sword Emperor earned their respect, and the incident that he was avenging was indeed the Mavis family¡¯s fault. When you are wrong, you should admit it. Those were the words of Gxy Sword Emperor. He was arrogant yet reasonable, even if his own reasoning did not always make sense to others. Even if it was impossible for him to face one of the Three Realms Six Dao, he was willing to fight to the death in order to seek justice for himself.

    "Many people respected Gxy Sword Emperor, but at the same time, many feared him."

    "Leng Qing is a fanatical admirer of Gxy Sword Emperor," Cai Er added.

    Lu Yin looked back at the tribtion. This would be a difficult opponent.

    This master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had lived during the Heavens Sect era and had been bold enough to draw a sword against a Dao Monarch. This was the person blocking Leng Qing¡¯s way forward. Even if the man was not being forced to face Gxy Sword Emperor¡¯s full power at his peak, Leng Qing was facing the greatest power that Gxy Sword Emperor had reached as a Semi-Progenitor. Could the man survive such a confrontation?

    As the silver river of swords fell down, Leng Qing¡¯s excitement seemed to be growing, and his eyes turned bloodshot. He was the most excited he had ever been, and he wanted to roar loudly.

    After Leng Qing was released from the sourcebox, the most frustrating thing for him was that he would never be able to see Gxy Sword Emperor again and challenge him. However, the man had now appeared in front of Leng Qing, and he could face Gxy Sword Emperor¡¯s power.

    "Come on!" Leng Qing roared. Then, in a rarepse of self control, he started tough maniacally as his sword rose up and shed upwards. As he attacked, the man transformed into a sword and shot upwards, looking as though he intended to directly attack the river of swords.

    Everyone watching realized at this moment what it meant to be one of the most powerful Semi-Progenitors in existence. Leng Qing''s strength made people like Lan Xian to tremble. She knew that she would not be able to endure even a single one of the man¡¯s attacks.

    Blood dripped from Leng Qing¡¯s eyes as he fought at his best, ignoring the risk of death. He rushed upwards, feeling that Gxy Sword Emperor was inside the stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole. Leng Qing wanted to challenge Gxy Sword Emperor himself.

    Since Leng Qing¡¯s tribtion seemed to believe that the Semi-Progenitor Gxy Sword Emperor could prevent Leng Qing from bing a Progenitor, the man wanted to test that.

    Leng Qing''s body was constantly being attacked, and so much blood was spilling out that people could not bear to continue watching.

    Leng Qing directly confronted the attack.

    "Why doesn¡¯t he use his inner world?" Some people felt puzzled, but others felt despair.

    "Because the stellr tribtion has only just begun."

    A gleaming light from the sharp sword lit up everyone''s faces as Leng Qing finally broke past the silver sword river, surrounded by a sea of blood. Not a single part of his body remained whole, and he was trembling. His breathing had grown weak.

    Lu Yin held his breath, though he watched calmly.

    His own stellr tribtion had been freakish, but that did not mean that Leng Qing¡¯s was unimpressive.

    Gxy Sword Emperor had been one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Heavens Sect era, and he had been bold enough to draw his sword against a Dao Monarch. This kind of courage reminded Lu Yin of Progenitor Chen. At this moment, Leng Qing was facing his era¡¯s invincible Progenitor Chen, and seeing this made Lu Yin wonder what sort of opponent he would face during his own tribtion.

    No one spoke as everyone stared into the distance.

    The swords from the broken river swirled around Leng Qing, creating a sea of silver swords. This was the Gxy Sword Emperor¡¯s ultimate attack, and it was the equivalent of his own inner world.

    Leng Qing clenched the hilt of his sword tightly as his blood dripped down the de.

    "Gxy Sword Emperor, finally, we can duel!" Leng Qing muttered to himself. Eager to see the fight to its conclusion, a long sword appeared above his head as Four Arts: Celestial de appeared.

    As if sensing something, the sea of swords rose upwards to contend with Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Countless swords fell upon the Celestial de, and the sh of des caused an endless amount of sword qi to scatter out, forcing everyone to retreat further away.

    The ck hole at the center of the tribtion had be a world of des as countless swords and broken des shed, creating a world of death. Just entering this ce would shred almost any Semi-Progenitor to pieces.

    No one knew how Leng Qing was faring, as it was impossible to see or sense anything within the tribtion.

    Lu Yin''s mind churned. Leng Qing had always behaved very well. While he was a rather dour man with no real sense of presence, he had managed to rise up to be one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters. Despite his station, he had neverined about being sent to oversee the Astral Beast Domain. Even though he was such a powerful expert, Leng Qing would be content serving wherever he was sent.

    It would be such a pity for this man to die while trying to be a Progenitor. It would be a loss for humanity itself.

    Why did the Origin Universe force cultivators to face stellr tribtions?

    If the Origin Universe functioned in the same manner as the Cyclic Universe, then just how many Progenitors would there be by now? It would have been impossible for Aeternus to destroy the Origin Universe.

    As Lu Yin considered this matter, the swords filling the region beneath the stellr tribtion slowly disappeared.

    Leng Qing stood tall in the middle of the universe. His blood had congealed, but he had not been swept away by the sea of swords. His own Celestial de had prevailed.

    Lu Buzheng and others heaved sighs of relief.

    Cai Er¡¯s pale face slowly regained a bit of color.

    Leng Qing had just faced off against Gxy Sword Emperor, someone who had stood at the peak of his own generation, and Leng Qing had been victorious in a contest of swords. This was impressive enough of an aplishment for Leng Qing to be famous. Additionally, he had just fulfilled his own dream.

    In that case, would the tribtion attack again during this phase?

    Leng Qing looked up at his tribtion and saw that the sword qi had disappeared. He had managed to defeat the Semi-Progenitor-level Gxy Sword Emperor. Unfortunately, the man must have died, or else Leng Qing would have tried to fight the man himself after bing a Progenitor.

    There was no reaction from the tribtion, which surprised everyone.

    Destina spoke slowly. "Questioning the heart, retrospecting on your inner self. If you can¡¯t question yourself, then you¡¯ve already failed."

    "What¡¯s the question?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Lu Buzheng replied, "It¡¯s different for everyone. This is a tribtion of the heart. Progenitors can have ws, but at this moment, he cannot have any. This means that he needs to either conceal or remove his ws. Only by doing that will he be able to be a Progenitor."

    "Basically, he needs to lie and deceive the tribtion," Cai Er rified.

    Lu Yin looked back at Leng Qing. Lie to the tribtion? Leng Qing seemed incapable of lying.

    This was the same thought that gued Lu Buzheng and the others. Was Leng Qing able to tell a lie? Their immediate answer was no.

    Questioning the heart was the phase of a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion that Leng Qing had regarded as the most difficult to ovee. The only reason why he had not attempted his breakthrough long ago was because he had known that he would not be able to ovee this aspect of the tribtion.

    Lu Buzheng, Destina, Cai Er, and Hen Xin had all been gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, meaning that they had been the most powerful Semi-Progenitors of their era. Logically speaking, they should have all be Progenitors long ago, but they had all postponed their Progenitor¡¯s tribtions because theycked the confidence to seed.

    The more powerful a person was, the better they would understand themselves. These Semi-Progenitors understood the challenges that they would face, as well as where they would most likely fail.

    Questioning the heart had been Leng Qing¡¯s greatest obstacle, but that was in the past.

    Lu Yin''s words had repeatedly echoed in the man¡¯s ears. A young man who was only an Envoy possessed such impressive courage. He had dared tough and challenge the universe itself, daring his stellr tribtion to give him even more stellr energy before going on to suppress the stellr energy. Why could Leng Qing not question his own heart? What was so difficult to let go of?

    Leng Qing slowly raised a hand and turned to face the darkness of his tribtion. His arm trembled, and his sword silently shattered.

    Lu Buzheng and the others were all startled. "His sword shattered?"

    Destina''s eyes zed. "That is Leng Qing''s question! He cultivates the sword, and he grew grown to strength with the sword. He can even transform himself into a sword. Throughout all of his cultivation, he has been inseparable from the sword. It is even said that, when he was born, countless des appeared and bowed down to him. The sword has apanied him throughout his entire life.

    "All of his sess has been built upon the sword, but his failure is also due to the sword. He has broken his sword to demonstrate his will. He questioned his own heart and has passed his tribtion."

    Everyone remained silent, not even breathing as they looked at Leng Qing. As they looked at the rxed expression on his face, it was as though they were looking at a different person.

    The sword had paved the way for Leng Qing¡¯s sess, but it had also trapped him. He had shattered his own sword, which was no different from breaking away from his own stubbornness. At that moment, he might as well have been reborn.

    With a long roar, Leng Qing let go of all restraints. He had fought against Gxy Sword Emperor himself and then broken his own sword to demonstrate his determination. He was done, and he had no regrets at all, not even if he failed his tribtion at this very moment and was reduced to ashes.

    The man¡¯sughter created amotion in outer space, and countless people inexplicably felt happy, as if they had let go of their own burdens.

    Even Lu Yin was affected by theughter, and he unconsciously touched his cosmic ring. <i>Yan''er, one day, the two of us will be together. My Lu family will be able to return, and all grudges, love, hatred, life, and even death will be settled. That day... will definitelye!</i>

    A light appeared in space, and swords filled the region, startling everyone. Was this Four Arts: Celestial de?

    The Celestial de had returned, but Leng Qing was not using the battle technique. It had instead appeared on its own, and as it did so, a long sword fell into Leng Qing''s hands. It looked exactly like the sword that he had shattered. As the weapon fell into his hands, Leng Qing¡¯s three meridian points opened, and creatures resembling his de Mist poured out and joined the Four Arts: Celestial de. Slowly, the Celestial de transformed. While it remained the same visually, it now had a slight pressure to it that everyone could feel. This was the dominance of a Progenitor. Leng Qing¡¯s inner world had transformed into a Progenitor¡¯s world. He had seeded and be a Progenitor.

    Sword in hand, standing in the middle of the Four Arts: Celestial de, Leng Qing was the first of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s survivors to sessfully be a Progenitor.

    The man had not been an ordinary Semi-Progenitor, but rather one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters. Upon bing a Progenitor, Leng Qing had be someone who even Cloudflow feared. What sort of power did that Four Arts: Celestial de contain? Cloudflow did not want to find out.

    Lu Yin''s eyes opened wide as heughed. "Congrattions, Gatemaster Leng Qing, for sessfully bing a Progenitor! My Heavens Sect has gained one more elder!"

    "Congrattions, Lord Leng Qing."

    "Congrattions, Lord Leng Qing."

    ...

    Everyone who had seen Leng Qing¡¯s tribtion grew envious, though they were also thrilled. It was an incredible privilege to personally witness the birth of a new Progenitor.

    Throughout the history of mankind, just how many people had been able to see a Progenitor¡¯s sessful breakthrough for themselves?

    With Leng Qing''s sess, a vague and strange feeling drifted across the Fifth Maind.

    The tribtion vanished, as did the Four Arts: Celestial de.

    Leng Qing put his sword away, and his entire demeanor waspletely different from the past. Before, it had been readily evident that the man was a master of the sword, but at this moment, he revealed nothing. If he did not wield a sword, then no one would be able to determine what his weapon of choice was.

 Chapter 2768: Someone Is Coming

    <h4>Chapter 2768: Someone Is Coming</h4>

    Leng Qing¡¯s sharp edges were nowpletely restrained. Not even another Progenitor could see through the man anymore.

    Leng Qing moved forward, approaching Lu Yin and the others, before bowing to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Dao Monarch, for your kindness."

    Lu Buzheng and the others all quickly left the area. They were no longer Leng Qing¡¯s peers, as he had pulled away from them all. That would only change once they also became Progenitors. If they failed, they would never be regarded as Leng Qing¡¯s equal again.

    Logically speaking, Lu Yin did not deserve such gratitude from Leng Qing, but his words had allowed Leng Qing to sessfully pass his tribtion. Whether Lu Yin had deliberately assisted or not, his actions had still helped Leng Qing be a Progenitor, and Leng Qing would respect that.

    Upon bing a Progenitor, some people would be as arrogant as the sky and contemptuous of all who were beneath them, but others would remain grounded. Clearly, Leng Qing was one of thetter.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, your self-enlightenment has nothing to do with me. Congrattions, Senior, on sessfully bing a Progenitor."

    Leng Qing''s face remained calm. For some reason, he found that it was easier to get along with people than before. "Regardless, it was because of you that I was able to answer the question of the heart. Thank you, Dao Monarch. What do you intend for me next, Dao Monarch? Should I remain in the Heavens Sect or return to the Astral Beast Domain?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry about that. Let''s go to the Heavens Sect first to talk..."

    There were many onlookers present, and the expressions of many of them started to change. They were people from the four ruling powers and the Sixverse Association.

    The fact that Leng Qing had sessfully be a Progenitor had massive implications. This was not merely due to his increasedbat strength; rather, the presence of another Progenitor was an additionalyer of protection for the Heavens Sect. This was not a simple matter, and it felt more like an omen.

    If Leng Qing could seed in his breakthrough, then the rest of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters might simrly seed. While everyone knew that Lu Buzheng and the others had a high chance of sess, the actual appearance of another Progenitor indicated that it was necessary to reevaluate the Heavens Sect and its potential.

    All of this was true without even considering Leng Qing¡¯s actual power.

    He had been one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters, which was a title only given to the most powerful Semi-Progenitors. His breakthrough meant that he was now a powerful Progenitor who far surpassed most others. It was impossible to even estimate how strong the man had be, and that was what terrified people the most.

    News of Leng Qing¡¯s breakthrough quickly spread throughout the Sixverse Association and the four ruling powers, creating an uproar everywhere.

    However, themotion caused by the emergence of another Progenitor had nothing to do with Lu Yin. With the Great Sovereign¡¯smand in effect, no one from the Sixverse Association dared to cause any trouble for the Heavens Sect.

    As for the four ruling powers, they were incapable of making trouble.

    Lu Yin had be quite rxed at this moment. The more Progenitors that his Heavens Sect gained, the stronger his voice would eventually be in the Sixverse Association, and also the more trouble he could make for the four ruling powers.

    The day woulde when he overthrew the four ruling powers and returned the entire Perennial World to the Lu family¡¯s care.

    On a mountain in the back of the Heavens Sect, Zhao Ran was smiling as she prepared some tea. She had never made so many cups of tea at the same time while following Lu Yin, and it was incredibly satisfying for her to make seven cups of tea at the same time.

    Lu Yin, the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, Cloudflow, Leng Qing, Master Shan, and Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother Mu Xie¡ªseven experts with Progenitor-level strength had gathered on the mountain. This was the first time so many powerhouses had gathered together since the Heavens Sect¡¯s reestablishment.

    If other Progenitor-levelbatants were included, such as the jiao and E Chi, then Lu Yin could field eight Progenitor-level experts, including himself. Unfortunately, the Progenitor of Bloodlines could not be considered when it came tobat power, as he was already in the twilight of his life.

    However, Master Shan¡¯sbat strength was equal to what the Progenitor of Bloodlines had possessed at his peak, which Master Shan achieved with the ck energy converter.

    The Heavens Sect had alreadye a very long way and had weathered numerous tribtions.

    The meeting on the mountainsted for a whole day, and no one outside of the meeting had any idea of what was said there.

    While Lu Buzheng and others would have been wee to join, none of them did so. They felt that it would be wrong for them to intrude on a meeting of Progenitor-level powerhouses.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines was in a wonderful mood. Seeing the Heavens Sect rise in power and gain another Progenitor showed that, not only was the sect bing more powerful, but also humanity as a whole.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin was sitting alone on that same mountain at the back of the Heavens Sect. He had finally be a peak Envoy, and the sea of stellr energy in his chest was enough for him to break through to the Semi-Progenitor realm. It seemed that he would soon be able to attempt another breakthrough.

    Bing a Semi-Progenitor would mean that Lu Yin was only a single step away from bing a Progenitor, which was the peak of human cultivation.

    However, that final step was extremely difficult to take.

    As for Leng Qing, he stayed in the Heavens Sect while others were sent to the Astral Beast Domain. There were still many other Semi-Progenitors.

    Even though only Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing had be Progenitors in the time since the Heavens Sect had been established, almost ten people had be Semi-Progenitors in that same amount of time. It was an impressive number even if none of the Semi-Progenitors were exceptionally powerful as none of them had opened their three meridian points. While none of them could ever be Progenitors, it was still good to have more Semi-Progenitors.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. It seemed that it was about time for him to go to the Perennial World and grab some Origin Matter.

    Origin Matter could only be found in the Perennial World, specifically in the Dominion Realm, but each of the four ruling powers had their own stash of Origin Matter, and the quantity in the Dominion Realm was merely used for trials andpetitions.

    When Lu Yin had gone to the Dominion Realm with the Junior Progenitors, not a single one of the Junior Progenitors had acquired Origin Matter. Did that mean that they had failed to open their third meridian point? Of course not.

    The expeditions into the Dominion Realm to search for Origin Matter were essentially nothing more than a show to demonstrate the power of the Junior Progenitors and allow them to recruit worthy followers. There was no real need for the Junior Progenitors to acquire their own Origin Matter, as they would be provided what they needed by their own organization.

    That was the kind of foundation that the Heavens Sect needed to acquire.

    In fact, not only did the Heavens Sect require Origin Matter, but they also needed tribtion crystals.

    It was time for Wendy Yushan to absorb the tribtion crystal and open her meridian points, and Lu Yin wanted to provide this opportunity to many others, such as Zhuo Daynight, Wen Sansi, Ling Gong, and Ku Wei. As long as they possessed the required ability, Lu Yin wanted to give all of them the opportunity to open their three meridian points.

    In contrast, Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and the other Dao Chosen had opened their three meridian points long ago.

    Lu Yin had asked around, and he had learned that, during the Heavens Sect era, there had apparently been no shortage of tribtion crystals or Origin Matter. Back then, cultivation had been everywhere, and it had truly been the most glorious period for humanity.

    "Dao Monarch, a woman has arrived, asking to see you. She ims to represent the Merchant Exchange," the Second Nightking respectfully reported.

    He had long since epted being Lu Yin¡¯s servant, just like the rest of the Nightking n.

    The Daynight n had been abolished, and the Third Nightking had also epted this as a fact.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "The Merchant Exchange? Bring her over."

    The Second Nightking quickly returned, leading a woman.

    The woman smiled at Lu Yin, and her eyes were gentle while her entire demeanor was elegant. She gave the impression of a nobledy, not someone who traveled around and lived off of trading goods.

    "Bi Lan greets Dao Monarch Lu." The woman came behind Lu Yin and saluted slowly.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at the woman. He smiled at her and motioned for her to take a seat.

    Bi Lan did not refuse and slowly sat down while looking back at Lu Yin. She seemed open and trustworthy, giving the impression of someone whom Lu Yin could pour his heart out to.

    Lu Yin sat down across from the woman. "I''ve heard of the Merchant Exchange, but I have never had any dealings with them. Can you give me a bit of an introduction, Ms. Bi Lan?"

    Bi Lan smiled. "Of course. The Merchant Exchange¡¯s people travel throughout all the major parallel universes, and we offer a reasonable exchange rate for all major currencies. This allows trade to be conducted between universes, and for providing this service, we collect a meagermission. We are really nothing more than a currency exchange, but one that converts the currencies of various universes. As for ourmission, we take a mere one percent."

    "You only exchange currencies?" Lu Yin thought back to Zhu Ye, whom he had encountered in the Cloudflow Universe. That guy had been in the middle of buying subhumans. Was that not a part of the Merchant Exchange¡¯s business?

    That was indeed possible. After all, Zhu Ye had also been part of the Zhu Mercantile Company.

    Bi Lan replied, "That¡¯s correct. We are a currency exchange, nothing more. Dao Monarch, I came to see you at this time because the Three Monarchs Universe has opened a spatial passage with your Origin Universe, which means that your universe is fully connected to the Sixverse Association. In order to facilitate trade, my Merchant Exchange wants to establish an official exchange rate, which will be calcted based off of the ratio of resources between the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association. With that, the Origin Universe will be able to conduct business with any universe that is part of the Sixverse Association, and they can also purchase your universe¡¯s resources."

    Lu Yin was not interested in any of this, as he intended to leave all financial matters to Qiong Xi¡¯er. What Lu Yin was personally concerned about was the actual Merchant Exchange.

    Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the table as he looked at Bi Lan.

    The woman¡¯s cultivation level was not particrly high, as she had only just be the equivalent of an Envoy. However, it seemed that the Merchant Exchange was not concerned about a people¡¯s personal strength. After all, they provided their representatives with power vessels that could shift them out of phase with the regr universe.

    Cloudflow had wanted to kill Zhu Ye, but he had not been able to do so because the man had been protected by the Merchant Exchange¡¯s power vessel.

    Bi Lan did not grow angry, despite being brazenly stared at by Lu Yin. Instead, she stared straight back at him.

    This man was a true legend.

    He was the heir of the exiled Lu family and had lost all of his memories and cultivation. He had somehow managed to return to the Origin Universe and then climbed to the peak of the universe after just a few short decades. He had even confronted the Sixverse Association, where his name had reached the ears of the Great Sovereign. Lu Yin had challenged the Three Monarchs Universe and insulted the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. As a representative of the Merchant Exchange, Bi Lan had met far too many exceptional people, each of whom was an important figure in their own universe.

    Even so, Bi Lan had never met anyone like Lu Yin before.

    This man was not intimidated by even the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. He had only just left the Endless Frontier and returned to the Heavens Sect, and yet he had already had an impressive breakthrough. As far as Bi Lan could see, Lu Yin seemed to be some sort of destined child.

    Before such a person, she could not afford to be disrespectful at all.

    Even if the Merchant Exchange¡¯s people were able to run rampant across the Sixverse Association, Bi Lan was currently in the Origin Universe. This had once been the home of the glorious Heavens Sect, which everyone in the Sixverse Association remembered. Regardless of whether one felt disgust or hatred for the Origin Universe, there was no denying that the Origin Universe was different from the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, including even the Cyclic Universe.

    The two people stared at each other, each lost in their own thoughts.

    Zhao Ran arrived, delivering some tea that she had made for Bi Lan.

    The woman stared nkly at the strange herbal tea and then looked up at Zhao Ran. There was an expectant expression on Zhao Ran''s face, and Bi Lan could not help but nce over at Lu Yin.

    Was he trying to poison her to death? How was this tea? It was clearly poison, and there were even living creatures in it. She could see them swimming around!

    Lu Yin regained his senses when he saw Bi Lan giving the hot tea an odd look. He let out an awkward cough. "Zhao Ran prepared this specially for you. Do you want to try it?"

    Bi Lan looked back at Lu Yin. "My Merchant Exchange is a neutral party that does not get involved in any conflicts."

    Lu Yinughed."Don''t misunderstand me. This really is tea, and it¡¯s quite tasty as well."

    With that, he took a sip of his own tea.

    Bi Lan watched as Lu Yin happily drank his cup of tea. She gulped and then nced back at Zhao Ran again.

    Zhao Ran was still staring at Bi Lan, clearly eager to see the woman try her tea.

    Bi Lan considered herself a brave, knowledgeable, and forthright individual. She had a good reputation within the Merchant Exchange, but even so, there were times when she could not help but hesitate. She gave a bitter smile, picked up the tea, and downed the entire cup in one gulp.

    Zhao Ran frowned. She had worked hard to prepare that tea, but this guest was not even tasting it.

    As Bi Lan set her cup down, her eyes lit up. After a moment¡¯s thought, she said, "It¡¯s not bad."

    Zhao Ran smiled, and so did Lu Yin. "I¡¯m d that you enjoyed it."

    Bi Lan turned to Zhao Ran. "Can I have another cup? This time I will savor it."

    Hearing a request for another cup of tea was so exciting for Zhao Ran that she clenched her fists. "Just wait!"

    With that, she dashed off at top speed. Anyone who did not know better would assume that she was running off to join a fight.

 Chapter 2769: Bi Rong

    <h4>Chapter 2769: Bi Rong</h4>

    Bi Lan chuckled. "Your people are quite interesting, Dao Monarch Lu."

    The incident with the tea greatly rxed the atmosphere. Lu Yin stopped hesitating, and he simply asked, "Since you are asking to do business with me, then it¡¯s important to understand who I will be working with. Ms. Bi Lan, who does the Merchant Exchange represent?"

    Bi Lan had expected this question from Lu Yin. Countless people in the Sixverse Association wanted to know the answer to this question as well, but very few people could receive the knowledge.

    "How much do you know about the Sixverse Association, Dao Monarch Lu?" Bi Lan replied with a question of her own.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Very little. If that passage hadn''t opened, I wouldn''t have any ess to the Sixverse Association at all."

    Bi Lan nodded. "In addition to the six member universes, the Sixverse Association also consists of the sixty two parallel universes that form the Endless Frontier. All together, they form the Sixverse Association.¡±

    "The Sixverse Association also represents the known portion of the megaverse, but the Sixverse Association is far from the entirety of reality. No one knows how many parallel universes might exist, as more are always being found. There might even be parallel universes as small as one¡¯s hand, yet still be a universe.¡±

    "In addition to the Sixverse Association, there are other parallel universes that have not joined the Sixverse Association, or are unwilling to join the Sixverse Association, despite also fighting against Aeternus. The master of my Merchant Exchange represents one of those universes, and his name is Bi Rong."

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers twitched. While he still appeared calm on the surface, internally, he was a mess.

    Bi Rong? Lu Yin had heard that name before, from Corpse God.

    When Lu Yin had been chased across the Starfall Sea by Corpse God, he had used the corpse that he had acquired in Burial Garden to block one of Corpse God''s attacks. When Corpse God had seen that corpse, he had said two words. ¡°Bi Rong.¡±

    It was at that moment that Lu Yin learned that the name of the corpse was Bi Rong.

    Did that corpse belong to the master of the Merchant Exchange?

    Bi Rong and Bi Lan were rather simr names. Could they be from the same family or the same universe?

    Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring as he quietly listened to Bi Lan''s exnation.

    The woman did not notice anything unusual about Lu Yin¡¯s behavior as she continued exining. "This is no secret, and yet it also is. Many people will never know about this, unlike Dao Monarch Lu. You are the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, and youmand several peak powerhouses. Anyone who is qualified to speak to the Sixverse Association as a whole is qualified to know this.¡±

    "This is also why I previously mentioned that the Merchant Exchange will not participate in any conflicts that may take ce between the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe. We exist outside the Sixverse Association and are not a part of it. We do not obey the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders, as we are under themand of Lord Bi Rong."

    Lu Yin stared at Bi Lan. "Is Bi Rong able to ignore the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders?"

    Bi Lan replied, "The Merchant Exchange does not need to obey the orders of the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Miss Bi Lan, you should already be aware of what happened in my universe a short while ago. The Three Monarchs Universe wanted to act tyrannically and take over my Heavens Sect, which nearly started a war. The Great Sovereign ordered me to serve on the Endless Frontier topensate for my crime. As far as I¡¯m concerned, a powerhouse who can disobey the Great Sovereign deserves respect. Can you tell me more about Senior Bi Rong?"

    Bi Lan smiled happily. "Respecting Lord Bi Rong means respecting all of us, as well as respecting the Merchant Exchange. If you wish to know more, Dao Monarch Lu, then I¡¯d be more than happy to tell you."

    "Thank you."

    Bi Lan grew solemn, yet also excited and filled with longing as she proceeded to share what she knew about Bi Rong.

    Lu Yin listened while rubbing his cosmic ring. This felt very strange to him.

    Truthfully, Bi Lan did not know very much. Bi Rong was too far above her, so everything that Bi Lan knew had been heard from others. Still, she knew enough to give Lu Yin a general understanding of Bi Rong.

    In her recounting, he was a strong man who had entered the Endless Frontier and fought his way out after being attacked by the Seven Skygods and without receiving any assistance. This was the man¡¯s greatest achievement, and it was also what qualified him to ignore the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders.

    Only by aplishing such a feat could one ignore the Great Sovereign, and this was why Bi Rong¡¯s Merchant Exchange could conduct business in the Sixverse Association while not being a part of the alliance.

    Bi Lan spoke for a long time, though that one story was all that Lu Yin really took note of.

    He was well aware of the Endless Frontier¡¯s horror, and what¡¯s more, he also understood just how terrifyingly powerful the Seven Skygods were.

    Just how powerful did one need to be to escape from the Endless Frontier and survive being attacked by the Seven Skygods?

    At the very least, Lu Yin could not imagine Old Mo doing such a thing, and Old Mo was already powerful enough to put the entire Heavens Sect on edge. Lu Yin had told Leng Qing to remain in the Heavens Sect because he was afraid that Old Mo would visit the Origin Universe to kill Lu Yin.

    Old Mo should not be at the same level as the Seven Skygods. The strength of the Seven Skygods was readily evident.

    Bi Rong had been an incredible powerhouse who was capable of challenging the Seven Skygods, which undoubtedly ced him at the same level as Great Elder Shan Gu and Lord Xu. It was no wonder why Bi Rong had not obeyed the orders of the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin believed that all the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, with the exception of Luo Shan, were at least somewhat respected by the Great Sovereign. Shan Gu, Lord Xu, and Lord Wei all possessed unfathomable strength, and Bi Rong should have been at about that same level.

    It seemed that he truly was a peak powerhouse who was not part of the Sixverse Association. That made two such people that Lu Yin knew of. Bi Rong had been one, and the other was Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue''s father, the Lord of Lightning. Even Dragonturtle, who was a peak powerhouse himself, referred to the Lord of Lighting as his master. Neither man was someone whom the Aeternals were willing to overly offend.

    "Where is Senior Bi Rong now?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Bi Lan.

    It was at this time that Zhao Ran returned, carrying some fresh tea.

    Bi Lan stared nkly. She had assumed that she would receive the same tea as before, so why had it changed? This tea also looked bizarre, and it appeared to have currents of air drifting about it. How had this tea been made?

    She had the courage to drink the previous tea, but could she summon that courage again?

    Bi Lan regretted asking for a second cup of tea. She should have kept her mouth shut.

    Zhao Ran stared at the woman with high expectations. <i>This woman is so cute! She actually asked for more tea</i>. Zhao Ran had not received such a request in many years. "Sister, how does it taste?"

    Bi Lan was left speechless; was this girl trying to provoke her?

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Zhao Ran, please return for now."

    Zhao Ran blinked. "But I want to know what this sister thinks of the tea¡¯s taste."

    Lu Yin looked over at Bi Lan.

    She took a deep breath, forced a smile, lifted her cup, and took a sip.

    Zhao Ran¡¯s eyes opened very wide.

    Lu Yin was also quite curious, as Zhao Ran never made the same tea twice. Even after all this time, Lu Yin still struggled to appreciate her brewing at times.

    "It¡¯s good tea," Bi Lanplimented as she looked at Zhao Ran with bright eyes.

    Zhao Ran was delighted. "Thank you!"

    With that, she happily left.

    Bi Lan let out a breath as she watched Zhao Ran leave. She looked back down at the cup of tea and felt a new flicker of fear; the steam from the tea had actually formed a spider.

    "Miss Bi Lan."

    Bi Lan was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s words, and she pushed her cup of tea away, blushing as she looked up at Lu Yin. "Please speak, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin stared at Bi Lan. "Where is Senior Bi Rong now? I would like to pay him a visit."

    Bi Lan smiled. "My lord has gone into seclusion, so I will have to leave you disappointed, Dao Monarch Lu."

    "Seclusion?" Lu Yin stared at Bi Lan, trying to see if she was lying to him. The woman¡¯s bodynguage was clear to him.

    Bi Lan waspletely rxed as she looked back at Lu Yin without flinching. "Yes, Lord Bi Rong has been in seclusion for a very long time, but it is normal for such powerhouses to remain in seclusion for tens of thousands or even millions of years at a time before they emerge."

    That was all the woman said, but her excitement was very obvious.

    Lu Yin felt that Bi Lan was not lying to him. Did she not know that Bi Rong was already dead? The Aeternals definitely knew.

    If Bi Lan did not know about Bi Rong¡¯s death, then it meant that most of the Merchant Exchange¡¯s people did not know either. In that case, who was the one currently in charge of the Merchant Exchange?

    Lu Yin went ahead and asked, and Bi Lan replied, "Lord Bi Teng, who is Lord Bi Rong¡¯s servant. There is no problem with Lord Bi Teng running the Merchant Exchange, as even though he is Lord Bi Rong¡¯s servant, Lord Bi Teng is also a peak powerhouse."

    Lu Yin nodded. He had no more questions.

    The servant ran the Merchant Exchange, but the true master was already dead. In that case, who did the Merchant Exchange truly belong to?

    Lu Yin looked down at his cosmic ring. The Merchant Exchange controlled a terrifying amount of wealth. Their 1%mission was also terrifying to consider, as it represented 1% of all of the resources traded between parallel universes going back countless years. It was an unimaginable level of wealth.

    While many people did not use the Merchant Exchange, those who did would always trade an exorbitant amount of resources. Lu Yin had not forgotten that the Merchant Exchange¡¯s representatives were known as walking wallets.

    He was very eager to discover just how much wealth the Merchant Exchange possessed.

    "We¡¯ve spoken for quite some time now, Dao Monarch Lu. Can we discuss the exchange rate?" Bi Lan said. She was quite happy with Lu Yin''s behavior. If a person respected Bi Rong, they would also respect the Merchant Exchange.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯ll have someone negotiate the exact terms with you, as this is not my area of expertise at all."

    Bi Lan nodded. "Of course."

    Lu Yin stared at Bi Lan. "I do have one small favor that I wonder if Miss Bi Lan could help me with."

    Bi Lan became confused. "Help you? Dao Monarch Lu, my Merchant Exchange will not participate in any conflict with the Sixverse Association, nor will we provide any form of assistance. We will not offer any information, so I really can''t help you with anything."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯m not asking about anything like that. I am simply hoping that someone from the Origin Universe could be allowed to join the Merchant Exchange."

    Bi Lan was taken aback. "You want your people to join the Merchant Exchange?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Bi Lan considered the request. "That¡¯s not impossible. My Merchant Exchange has recruited some people from the Sixverse Association. After all, it is much better to conduct business with certain parallel universes when they are dealing with their own. However, everyone needs to be assessed before they are allowed to join."

    Lu Yin stood up and let out a long breath. "There¡¯s no secret that such assessments only apply to certain people. You should understand that some people can fail those assessments and still be allowed to join."

    Bi Lan did not put on any show of offense. She simply rose to her feet and said, "Very well, Dao Monarch Lu. I can allow your people to join the Merchant Exchange. However, our people are required to follow our rules. Once someone joins the Merchant Exchange, they are no longer allowed to get involved in any conflict, regardless of whether the Origin Universe is involved in said conflict. This applies equally to people from the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe."

    "That won¡¯t be a problem," Lu Yin agreed without hesitation.

    Bi Lan continued, "One more thing. The Merchant Exchange¡¯s rules dictate that men oversee men and women oversee women. This means that I can only let women join the Merchant Exchange."

    "Why is that?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Bi Lan exined, "Emotions are a basic characteristic of human nature and can be either a strength or a weakness. No one can guarantee that no feelings will develop between men and women, and that can affect business. This rule was established to avoid suchplications."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "It¡¯s a good rule. What is the quota?"

    Bi Lan was startled. "Quota?"

    "Of course. How many of my people can you allow to join the Merchant Exchange?" Lu Yin asked casually.

    Bi Lan responded with a bitter smile. "It appears that Dao Monarch Lu does not intend to rmend just one person, but my own ability is rather limited. At most, I can only bring one person into the Merchant Exchange. This is another one of our rules."

    Lu Yin looked away. "Second Nightking!"

    "Dao Monarch." The Second Nightking stepped out and bowed.

    "Bring Madam Nn here."

    The Second Nightking acknowledged his orders and left.

 Chapter 2770: True Danger

    <h4>Chapter 2770: True Danger</h4>

    "Can you really only ept one person?" Lu Yin asked while staring at Bi Lan.

    The woman shrugged. "If they don¡¯t take our assessment, then one is already quite good, and I am only allowed that much because of my surname."

    Lu Yin understood. With the same surname as Bi Rong¡¯s, Bi Lan¡¯s status in the Merchant Exchange should not be simple.

    "Please just wait for a bit. The person I¡¯ve called might take a bit to arrive."

    ...

    Far away in the Outerverse, Madam Nn stretched as she looked out of a massive spacecraft as Millions City shrank and fell away as the vessel departed.

    The woman was wearing a light robe made of silk gauze that showcased her figure. She was charming and beautiful, but unfortunately, there was no one present to appreciate such beauty.

    She picked up a book,id down, and proceeded to quietly read.

    It was a book that she had acquired from Millions City, and it was the city¡¯s current best seller¡ªactually, it was the top seller in the entire Fifth Maind. The title was "The Legendary Dao Monarch." It was aption of Lu Yin¡¯s history and various achievements. Nearly everyone in the entire Fifth Maind owned a copy.

    While reading, Madam Nn grew drowsy. As she was starting to nod off, an old woman spoke from outside the door of the room. "Madam, the transaction has started."

    Madam Nn hummed. "Let them proceed."

    "Understood." The old woman retreated.

    Currently, there were many things that Madam Nn no longer needed to worry about. No one in the Fifth Maind dared to make trouble for the Nn family. Everyone knew about how the Nn family had repeatedly helped Lu Yin shortly after he first started cultivating. With Lu Yin¡¯s support, Madam Nn was allowed free entry to the Heavens Sect. When it came to conducting business with the Nn family, everyone was willing to suffer a financial loss in order to win their favor. This happened no matter whom the Nn family conducted business with.

    Additionally, there was no one who required Madam Nn¡¯s personal appearance during negotiations.

    Investing in Lu Yin had been the best decision that the Nn family had ever made, and that one decision had ensured their prosperity for thousands of years toe.

    The old woman suddenly returned to Madam Nn¡¯s quarters. "Madam, the Second Nightking wishes to speak with you."

    Madam Nn was startled. "The Second Nightking?"

    She quickly changed her clothes and stepped out of her room. It was impossible for the Second Nightking to be visiting of his own ord, and there was only one person in the entire universe who used the Second Nightking as an errand boy.

    "Greetings, Madam." Even the Second Nightking was extremely polite to Madam Nn. He understood that this woman was one of the few people whom Lu Yin genuinely cared about. Despite their few interactions, Madam Nn was very important to Lu Yin.

    The woman gave the Second Nightking a slight smile. "Senior, what brings you here?"

    "I¡¯m here at the Dao Monarch¡¯s orders. He requests your presence in the Heavens Sect, Madam."

    ...

    Bi Lan stayed on the mountain on her own. Lu Yin had left, as he could not constantly entertain Bi Lan.

    Instead, the person that Bi Lan met the most was Zhao Ran.

    Wanting to learn more about Lu Yin, Bi Lan tried to get information from Zhao Ran. Lu Yin was the ruler of the Origin Universe, and the foundation of business was not the goods or services being exchanged, but rather the interactions between people.

    In order to get information from Zhao Ran, Bi Lan kept praising Zhao Ran''s teas, and she had drunk five cups in a row. Given Zhao Ran''s unique ability, every one of the teas was terrifying to look upon, yet surprisingly delicious. Bi Lan had no idea what to say about such a thing.

    Finally, after finishing her sixth cup of tea and hearing Zhao Ran affectionately refer to her as ¡°sister,¡± Bi Lan felt that it was time to proceed. "Sister Zhao Ran, how old is Dao Monarch Lu this year?"

    Zhao Ran became confused. "Who is Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Bi Lan was startled by the question, and she stared at Zhao Ran. Was this child ying a joke?

    "The man who was just here."

    "Oh, you mean His Highness? I don''t know."

    "Does Dao Monarch Lu often entertain his guests here?"

    "I don''t know. I''m sorry, but I¡¯m rotten goods."

    "I wasn¡¯t insulting you."

    "No- Ah, Sister, did you just get here? Would you like some tea?"

    Bi Lan thought that the girl was ying dumb. She rolled her eyes as she replied, "I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t need another cup of tea. You can return now."

    Zhao Ran felt quite disappointed. "Sister, if you want any tea, just call for me, as I won¡¯t be far away and will be able to hear you call. Oh, if you¡¯ve never had my tea, I can prepare delicious tea! His Highness and others frequently enjoy it."

    Bi Lan blinked and stared as Zhao Ran walked away. Bi Lan had already drunk eight cups of tea, so why was she being told that she had never tried it before?

    Feeling a growing resentment towards Zhao Ran''s attitude, Bi Lan waited for Madam Nn.

    The moment that Bi Lanid eyes on Madam Nn, she knew that the woman would be perfect for the Merchant Exchange.

    Madam Nn had striking features that needed no makeup, but she moved with the charm of maturity, which was important for a woman in business. The woman¡¯s face was a bit pale, but delicate. Her skin was a lovely white, concealing a well-formed body. Just Madam Nn¡¯s smile alone was enough to cause people''s hearts to flutter.

    The woman was enchanting, but she put no effort into being more stunning than other women. Even with Madam Nn¡¯s overwhelming beauty, she also clearly possessed a sense of maturity, which could not be ignored.

    An experienced person would always be more sessful in business.

    "Liu Fuxue greets Miss Bi Lan." Madam Nn smiled and offered a bow that was neither humble nor arrogant. When standing with Bi Lan, it would appear to others that Madam Nn was the leader, not Bi Lan.

    Bi Lan finally reacted. She had met countless people before, and even if Madam Nn had a dazzling appearance, there were still certain questions that needed to be asked. Not just anyone could join the Merchant Association, and even if Bi Lan had agreed to let Lu Yin¡¯s rmended person skip the professional assessment, there was still a need to go through the most basic procedures.

    Bi Lan proceeded to ask Madam Nn a few questions, all of which concerned trade. Madam Nn had overseen her family¡¯s business affairs throughout the Outerverse for many years, and she was directly responsible for their current status. How could she be stumped by such simple questions?

    Given that even Zhu Ye had been able to pass the test, Lu Yin waspletely confident that Madam Nn would be able to do so as well.

    "If you are conducting a transaction with a Progenitor, and they insist that you reduce themission, what would you do?" Bi Lan asked. This was her final question. It was not even a part of the formal questions, but rather a personal one that Bi Lan wanted to ask. She wanted to use Madam Nn¡¯s response to evaluate the people of the Origin Universe.

    Bi Lan had already posed this same question to many other people, many of whom were new recruits of the Merchant Exchange. However, almost everyone had given the same answer.

    Most people regarded peak powerhouses as standing at the pinnacle of humanity, and thus they needed to be afforded respect in any situation, as that would engender a better impression of the Merchant Exchange.

    This answer was not wrong, but it was also not ideal.

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes rose to meet Bi Lan¡¯s. "I wouldn¡¯t back down."

    "Why?" Bi Lan remained calm. Others had also given such an answer, usually because they were hoping to stand out from the rest of the crowd.

    Madam Nn gave a charming smile. "Because doing so would undercut the Merchant Exchange."

    Bi Lan¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Aren''t you afraid of creating enemies for the Merchant Exchange? Any Progenitor who bes hostile to the Merchant Exchange can make problems, especially for you personally."

    Madam Nn just smiled. "If the Merchant Exchange is afraid of such problems, then why would you ever conduct trade with Progenitors? Human greed has no limits and is not something that disappears as one¡¯s cultivation rises. If you intend to trade with Progenitors, then you also need to expect suchplications. If you step back once, you will be forced to do so again and again.¡±

    "As for me myself, in the worst case scenario, I¡¯ll just leave the Merchant Exchange. That¡¯s not an issue."

    Bi Lan''s eyes grew cold. "Not an issue? Do you know what the Merchant Exchange is? Do you have any idea how many people dream of joining us?"

    Madam Nn ran a hand through her hair. "I don''t know anything about the Merchant Exchange, but I also don¡¯t need to. I¡¯m quite happy with my current situation, and I don¡¯t need to deal with intrigue or grudges in order to earn petty profits when dealing with anyone. If the other person wants to conduct business, then it¡¯s only natural that they pay the appropriatepensation, even if they don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Bi Lan stared at Madam Nn for a moment, and the coldness faded from Bi Lan¡¯s eyes as a smile spread across her face. "You may end up disappointed. Congrattions, from now on, you are a member of the Merchant Exchange. I¡¯ll be your supervisor."

    As Bi Lan finished speaking, she pulled out an odd eye and handed it to Madam Nn.

    Madam Nn was indeed a bit disappointed, but she was not overly bothered. Only those who could both enjoy physicalforts and also endure pain were qualified to be businesspeople.

    However, this strange eye was too bizarre.

    "This is an emblem of my Merchant Exchange, and you will even be able to use it to one day travel between parallel universes. As long as you have that, very, very few people will be able to harm you, including people as strong as Progenitors," Bi Lan exined.

    Madam Nn put the eye away.

    "I''ll give you a day to prepare yourself. Return here to me tomorrow. Upon joining the Merchant Exchange, you will no longer have any personal status¡ªyou will represent the Merchant Exchange, and the Merchant Exchange will protect you. You are not allowed to participate in any conflicts that do not involve the Merchant Exchange, not unless you receive explicit permission," Bi Lan warned. She then entered the void and left.

    She did not leave the Origin Universe, but rather simply moved outside of the Heavens Sect while she waited a day to take Madam Nn away.

    Madam Nn remained sitting where she was, holding her chin in a hand while staring off into the distance. She looked like a beautiful statue.

    Lu Yin arrived and took a seat across from the woman.

    "Truthfully, I don''t want to leave. I''m quite happy with my current life," Madam Nn slowly said. She did not look at Lu Yin and instead continued to gaze into the distance.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Just do this for me as a favor. I need someone in the Merchant Exchange."

    "For what purpose?"

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "I haven''t figured that out just yet. I simply thought of this suddenly, but I¡¯ll think about it and I¡¯ll get in touch with you when I figure it out."

    Madam Nn sighed and dropped her hand. She turned to look at Lu Yin, giving him a charming smile that distracted most people. "Business people chase after profits. I''ll help you, but what can you offer me?"

    "That depends on what you want."

    Madam Nn chuckled, and her eyes twinkled. Lu Yin could see his reflection in those eyes. "What if I said that it¡¯s you that I want?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but he quickly responded with a bitter smile. "Do you really need to y this game every time we see each other? Be careful, or else you might burn yourself."

    Madam Nnughed, the sound so enchanting that the flowers on the nearby branches seemed to tremble. "I really want to see what the dignified Dao Monarch Lu looks like when he loses control."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Join the Merchant Exchange without worrying about anything. They¡¯ll show you another world, and only there will you be able to see more of reality."

    Madam Nn rolled her eyes. "There is always danger when discovering the truth of things."

    "If you are in danger, I will save you."

    "With everything you have?"

    "You can say that."

    Madam Nn rose to her feet and gave Lu Yin a coy wink. "Suddenly, I feel much more confident. Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu. Investing in you has truly given me the most profitable returns.

    "I would like to return to my ship to settle a few family matters."

    "The Second Nightking will see you off," Lu Yin ordered.

    The Second Nightking appeared and led Madam Nn away in a very respectful manner.

    Lu Yin exhaled. Every time he spoke with that temptress, he was left exhausted. She had apparently convinced herself.

    She really was too charming and clever.

    After sessfully getting Madam Nn into the Merchant Exchange, Lu Yin¡¯s next task was to see that the exchange rates were negotiated between Bi Lan and Qiong Xier. Lu Yin would not personally participate, as he had no idea what that would even entail.

    For the moment, the Origin Universe¡¯s star essence held little value to the members of the Sixverse Association.

    While the Cyclic Universe also used star crystals and star essence, theirs was subtly different from the Origin Universe¡¯s. It was unlikely that people would request the Merchant Exchange to exchange for the Origin universe¡¯s resources, but this negotiation was a necessary beginning to things.

    Four months had passed since Xuan Qi had gone into seclusion. Lu Yin had assumed that he would have taken years to return from the Endless Frontier, but fortunately, he had seeded much faster than expected, which meant that he still had some free time.

    Lu Yin took a step, making his way towards the Perennial World. There was someone whom he needed to see.

    ...

 Chapter 2771: Seeing Through The Celestial Frost Sect

    <h4>Chapter 2771: Seeing Through The Celestial Frost Sect</h4>

    Not much time passed since Lu Yin hadst visited the Perennial World. During that one, he had gone to see the White Dragon n, but this time, he was visiting the Celestial Frost Sect.

    After obtaining Heaven¡¯s Sight, one of the first things that Lu Yin had wanted to do was to get a clear look at Bai Xian''er.

    This woman was the only person who could be regarded as near Lu Yin¡¯s level, and she was even able to ignore the power in his chest.

    The power in Lu Yin¡¯s chest had basically created its own separate universe with the way that the various different aspects fit together. Even Divine Martial Armor and the Garan family¡¯s unique power were not able to suppress Lu Yin¡¯s unique power, and yet he was unable to suppress Bai Xian''er. This matter had be a thorn in Lu Yin''s heart, and he wanted a clearer understanding of her.

    It was chaos outside the Celestial Frost Sect. There were all kinds of strange beasts running about, kicking up dust and leaping high into the sky.

    The disciples of the Celestial Frost Sect were frantically surrounding the beasts and shouting.

    As the strongest sect in the Perennial World, it should have been impossible for this scene to take ce outside the Celestial Frost Sect, and it would be terribly humiliating if others witnessed it.

    However, this happened to be the day when the Celestial Frost Sect epted disciples.

    When the people who had done their best to obtain the opportunity to join the Celestial Frost Sect saw how the typically refined, calm, and arrogant disciples of the sect were chasing after animals, they could not help but question what they were seeing. Was this really the Celestial Frost Sect?

    Just outside the Celestial Frost Sect''s gate, Dong Shan''s face grew livid. He saw smoke rising into the distant sky while the howls and cries of the various beasts and the screams of people filled the air. Finally, the man could not hold back any longer. "Enough!"

    The sharp shout startled both the disciples and the rampaging beasts. The cowed creatures and people all looked towards Dong Shan, fear filling their eyes.

    A surge of oppressive stellr energy erupted from Dong Shan''s body. He had passed his first stellr tribtion and sessfully be an Envoy.

    As one of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s strongest disciples of his generation, Dong Shan had apanied Bai Shaohong to the Dominion Realm. At that time, his cultivation had been roughly equal to that of the Ten Arbiters, so it was not unexpected for him to be an Envoy.

    Dong Shan was only a one-tribtion Envoy, but because of his status as an elite disciple, he had as much influence as some of the sect¡¯s elders.

    Everyone knew that Dong Shan would rise up to be a high-ranking member of the Celestial Frost Sect. After all, of his generation, Bai Shaohong, Dong He, and several others had already died.

    After a moment of silence, the strange beasts soon started running away once again.

    Dong Shan nced over, and all the people who wanted to join the Celestial Frost Sect grew afraid and quickly bowed their heads.

    "There¡¯s no need to bother capturing them! Kill them!" Dong Shan shouted.

    A wailing rose up in the distance. "Senior Brother, please show mercy! They lost control, but they haven¡¯t hurt anyone! Please show mercy, Senior Brother!"

    Dong Shan stared at the distant person with cold eyes. "Hua Beibei, I already gave you a chance, but you didn¡¯t understand how to use it. Kill these beasts now. Any that escape again in the future will be killed without mercy!"

    As soon as Dong Shan finished speaking, the Celestial Frost Sect disciples rushed away from the gate, their des raised to ughter the beasts.

    The hopeful applicants immediately had a much better impression of the sect. This was how the Celestial Frost Sect should be¡ªruthless and decisive in killing. The farce that they had just witnessed was too embarrassing to even mention.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was indeed worthy of all their efforts to achieve this opportunity.

    Hua Beibei wailed as he watched the des fall. He was crestfallen, as he had raised all of these beasts.

    Suddenly, the ground shook, and everyone''s heart skipped a beat as they froze in ce.

    All humans, beasts, and even Dong Shan and the rest of the Celestial Frost Sect disciples who were at the nearby gate froze in ce.

    It seemed that everyone was being restrained by some form of invisible power.

    The ground trembled again,ing from some distant force.

    Everyone turned in a daze, and they saw a lone figure walking towards them. Every step that it took caused the ground to shake, and everyone reflexively stopped. No one dared to move about recklessly, fearing that they might provoke the person.

    Hua Beibei stared at the approaching person, and his mouth fell open. "Is that him?"

    Dong Shan''s pupils narrowed to pinpricks. "Lu Yin..."

    The Celestial Frost Sect sounded an rm, and a vast number of disciples gathered at the sect¡¯s gate, warily and nervously gazing into the distance.

    Bai Teng, Bai Laogui, Bai Su, Elder Xi Zi, and several others all walked out from inside the sect¡¯s gate upon seeing that Lu Yin had arrived. What did he want?

    Bai Qi¡¯s eyes grewrge. "Notify Ancestor now."

    The entire Celestial Frost Sect started to move. One by one, their powerful cultivators appeared outside the sect¡¯s gate. The people who hoped to join the sect were stunned by the response. They had never seen so many important people gathered together before.

    Bai Weiwei also appeared, and she stared off into the distance, seeming conflicted. <i>Yu Hao?</i>

    Lu Yin continued to walk forward, and he eventually stopped in front of Hua Beibei, looking at him. "Did you tell Bai Teng long ago that I used the Void Rip battle technique on the rear battlefield?"

    Hua Beibei was stunned, though also rather confused. "What kind of battle technique is Void Rip?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man for a moment before finally looking away. "Alright, head on out."

    With a wave of his hand, Lu Yin tossed Hua Beibei and all of the strange beasts away.

    If Hua Beibei had not ratted Lu Yin out, then it meant that Bai Teng had falsely used Lu Yin on Dragon Mountain.

    Back then, Lu Yin had guessed that Bai Teng had been trying to make trouble for some unknown reason. After all, the man had not been entirely rational after Bai Shaohong¡¯s death. Now, Lu Yin had finally confirmed that his suspicions had been correct.

    As for Hua Beibei, if Lu Yin had no animosity towards the man, he would not have been allowed to stay in the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Looking back at the Celestial Frost Sect again, Lu Yin stared at Bai Teng and the others who had gathered outside the gate. He also saw the people hoping to join the sect. Most of the potential disciples were quite young, and some were even children. All of them gazed at him curiously.

    Lu Yin took another step forward, arriving just a few meters away from the Celestial Frost Sect''s gate, where he looked upwards. "Where''s Bai Wangyuan?"

    Bai Qi stepped forward to face Lu Yin. "Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin looked down at her. "I was bored, so I came for a stroll."

    Bai Qi frowned. "Lu Xiaoxuan, even though half of our four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors are absent helping defend the Sixverse Association, that does not mean that you can fight us. There are still at least three Progenitors, which is not something that you can endure."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back before answering in a cold and arrogant manner, "They¡¯re nothing more than three old men. How long have they lived, and how long have I lived?

    "Those men did their best to destroy my Lu family, only to end up being threatened by me, Lu Xiaoxuan. They have lived like dogs for years."

    "Lu Xiaoxuan!" Bai Qi shouted angrily as she red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked past her and all of the hopeful applicants who were gathered around the sect¡¯s gates. He nced at the children¡¯s elders, who had such high hopes for the youths and children. These people were not part of the Celestial Frost Sect, but they were doing their best to get their children into the sect.

    "Why do you want to join the Celestial Frost Sect?" Lu Yin asked.

    The expressions of Bai Qi and others from the sect all changed. "Lu Xiaoxuan, just what are you trying to do? Do you want to start a war?"

    Lu Yin was not at all intimidated. "As time passes, this ce is destined to eventually be destroyed by me."

    Bai Qi roared, "Lu Xiaoxuan!"

    Lu Yin sneered when he saw confused expressions appear on the faces of the young children and nk stares on their elders. None of them knew how to react to Lu Yin¡¯s behavior.

    ording to their knowledge, the Celestial Frost Sect should be one of the powerful four ruling powers. However, even though they were standing right before the sect¡¯s gate, someone was mocking the sect, and yet the Celestial Frost Sect was helpless. As for Lu Yin, he had led the charge to drive the Aeternals out of the Perennial World, was heir to the Lu family, and was the master of the Heavens Sect. Every one of his various identities was famous.

    It was not an easy task to bring a child to the gates of the Celestial Frost Sect, but the more knowledgeable someone was, the more confused they would feel at this moment. If the Celestial Frost Sect did not respond to Lu Yin¡¯s provocation, then how would any of them be convinced of the sect¡¯s power?

    Bai Qi was trembling from rage, and she desperately wanted to attack, but she was well aware that she was far from being Lu Yin''s opponent. Let alone her¡ªwhat would it matter even if Bai Sheng arrived?

    Out of everyone in the entire Perennial World, the only people who could pose a threat to Lu Yin were Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, their two most powerful Progenitors.

    Bai Wangyuan was upied and unavable, which meant that there was no one who could do anything to Lu Yin. Unless an actual war broke out, Bai Wangyuan would not be allowed to leave the frontlines.

    Lu Yin had merely verbally insulted the Celestial Frost Sect, and he had not attacked them at all. This was not the right time for a final showdown.

    They wanted to deal with Lu Yin and had almost started a war before in an attempt to destroy the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin looked at the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s main gate one more time, as well as Bai Teng, Bai Laogui, Elder Xi Zi, Bai Weiwei, and Shi Xin. Some of them hated him, some were afraid of him, and others simply did not know how to face him.

    "Where is Bai Xian''er?" Lu Yin finally asked, looking back at Bai Qi.

    Bai Qi clenched her fists. "Lu Xiaoxuan, should you have any grudges, you can go speak to our ancestor. It was our ancestor and the Sixverse Association who exiled your Lu family."

    Lu Yinughed. "Are you trying to say that it''s not proper for me to treat you like this?"

    Bai Qi was just about to say yes when she suddenly remembered that the person before her was Lu Xiaoxuan. Just how old was he? He was about the same age as Xian''er, which was much younger than Bai Qi. Lu Xiaoxuan was a junior, so how could Bai Qi ask him to speak with a Progenitor? It was beyond absurd! How was what he was doing improper?

    Actually, it would not be proper for Lu Xiaoxuan to speak to a Progenitor.

    Bai Qi was briefly left speechless.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Where is Bai Xian''er?"

    "Are you here for Xian''er?" Bai Qi finally reacted.

    Lu Yin replied, "She and I have unfinished business, so send her out."

    Bai Qi shook her head. "Xian''er is not in the sect."

    "Where is she?" Lu Yin frowned. Heaven¡¯s Sight appeared on his forehead as he scanned the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Using Heaven¡¯s Sight didn¡¯t result in any visual indications, and no one here could notice anything. In fact, none of the people in the Celestial Frost Sect had ever even heard of Heaven¡¯s Sight, except for Bai Wangyuan.

    However, Bai Wangyuan was definitely not present in the Celestial Frost Sect. He should be in the Dominion Realm.

    "I don''t know where Xian''er is," Bai Qi answered as she stared at Lu Yin ncing around their sect as though in a trance. She could not say why, but she felt a bit ufortable, as though her entire body was being seen through.

    With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin examined the entirety of the Celestial Frost Sect, and while he did not see Bai Xian''er anywhere, he was able to see through the clouds above the sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect was famous for having a trial known as the Sky Beyond the Sky. Lu Yin had once challenged the trial, and he sessfullypleted it, which had let him meet Bai Sheng above the clouds.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not understood the clouds that made up the trial, but Heaven¡¯s Sight hadid everything bare. The clouds were not actually clouds, but were rather Bai Wangyuan''s power. In other words, they were a form of energy.

    Rather than saying that the Sky Beyond the Sky was a trial, it would be better to say that it was Bai Wangyuan''s trial.

    It made sense why, during thest step of the Sky Beyond the Sky, Lu Yin had experienced so many people trying to stomp him dead. He had be a grasshopper in the middle of a busy street, and people had been constantly trying to trample him to death. He had struggled to avoid their feet, and in the end, he had dodged all the stomps.

    Bai Wangyuan had created the Sky Beyond the Sky so that the final step would ce the seed of an instinct in any who seeded. It was an innate fear of being trampled upon by Bai Wangyuan, and it was a form of oppression that would be engraved into their very bones. No matter who challenged the trial, as long as they reached the final stage, a sense of fear would be imprinted into them, and that fear would render them unable to stand up against Bai Wangyuan in the future.

    This was the truth about the Sky Beyond the Sky, as well as a fundamental truth about the cultivation world: the toppletely suppressed all those below.

 Chapter 2772: A Show of Force

    <h4>Chapter 2772: A Show of Force</h4>

    Lu Yin had relied on the Origin Sutra to remember himself during thest step of the Sky Beyond the Sky Trial. He was a grasshopper, but rather Lu Yin. He had then jumped on top of the heads of the people in the street and stomped on them to take thest step and ascend beyond the sky.

    If not for the Origin Sutra, Lu Yin would also have been imprinted with the memory of being trampled to death by Bai Wangyuan, which would have rendered him unable to stand up to Bai Wangyuanter on.

    Bai Wangyuan was too sinister, using such a method to control everyone.

    How many of the people who surpassed the Sky Beyond the Sky could ovee it like Lu Yin? For example, how had Bai Sheng seeded? What did Bai Wangyuan mean to that man?

    The more freely essible the trial was, the more people Bai Wangyuan could suppress. While there would be no impact on the people in the short term, everyone who was capable of passing the Sky Beyond the Sky was exceptionally talented. Typically, such people only showed up once during the passing of countless years.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, Xian''er is not in the sect, and you are not wee here. You may leave," Bai Qi said while staring at Lu Yin warily, afraid that he might attack.

    Lu Yin looked back down at Bai Qi. "Have you ever challenged the Sky Beyond the Sky trial?"

    Bai Qi was stunned. She could not understand why Lu Yin would ask that question. "Of course I have."

    Lu Yin asked nothing more. Judging by Bai Qi''s reaction, she likely did not know the truth of the trial.

    Bai Wangyuan was truly vicious, not even sparing his own daughter.

    It now made sense why Lu Xiaoxuan and the other Seven Heroes had never challenged Bai Wangyuan¡¯s trial. Lu Yin wondered if his family had stopped him from challenging it.

    However, there were some other members of the Lu family who had challenged the trial, and some had even passed the Sky Beyond the Sky.

    Did the Lu family know the truth about the trial?

    Lu Yin looked away. There was no point in considering such things at this moment. Bai Xian''er was indeed absent, which meant that he had made the trip for nothing.

    However, Lu Yin had already made the trip, and he could not just waste his time.

    His body disappeared and quickly reappeared high up in the sky. He raised a hand and formed a palm aimed at thend. A powerful aura swept through the world, causing ripples in the void and making everyone''s scalp numb.

    Bai Qi eximed, "Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you doing?"

    Everyone looked up as Lu Yin prepared to release a palm strike. The attack crushed the void, revealing the endless darkness of the Hollow as it fell right in front of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s main gate. The spatial fractures shot out in every direction like raging monsters, stirring up powerful shockwaves. The ground was ripped up, and destruction spread everywhere. Lu Yin¡¯s palm had nearly broken through the Higher Realm.

    The Celestial Frost Sect shook as all of its disciples grew pale while nkly staring on.

    Who could take such a powerful attack?

    The children and the other youths who had been hoping to join the Celestial Frost Sect were initially frightened by the attack, but then their eyes started to light up. This attack had left an indelible imprint on their young hearts. This single palm strike had reced their entire understanding of the world and opened up a new worldview for them.

    How could a person do such a thing? A palm strike that could break through the entire Higher Realm had to be invincible.

    They wanted to know, in the current universe, who had the courage to behave so arrogantly right in front of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gate? This was open provocation, or even an open challenge.

    Lu Yinughed loudly as he left. "The Celestial Frost Sect is useless! Why note to my Heavens Sect?"

    As his voice slowly faded away, the countless eyes staring at him remained zed over.

    Bai Qi''s face was nowpletely white. It was clear that Lu Xiaoxuan no longer cared about the Celestial Frost Sect at all, which meant that he no longer feared the four ruling powers.

    If he was willing to treat the Celestial Frost Sect so antagonistically, then it was possible that he might openly and directly attack the sect at any moment. If that happened, who could stop him? <i>Ancestor, since you were the one who acted against the Lu family, why haven¡¯t youpletely eradicated them yet? If you weren¡¯t able to upend the problem at its root, then why did we even provoke the Lu family in the first ce?</i>

    The young people who had gathered in front of the sect¡¯s gate were all excited and admiring Lu Yin. The Heavens Sect? Could they really join the Heavens Sect?

    Lu Yin had nted a seed in their little hearts, but nothing more.

    Even if they wanted to go to the Heavens Sect, and even if Lu Yin wanted them to join, the Celestial Frost Sect would not allow such a thing to happen. It would be too humiliating and damaging to their reputation.

    Even so, Lu Yin had done enough. He had given a powerful demonstration, and even if all of these young people did join the Celestial Frost Sect, they would reflexively fear him if they faced Lu Yin in the future. That was the effect that he wanted.

    In the past, he had possessed no real strength, but at present, he felt like there would be no problem if he gave a little demonstration of his abilities. After all, the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu''s Sky, and the Wang family would never let him go.

    In that case, he would just do whatever he wanted.

    Lu Yin visited Shenwu''s Sky and threw a palm strike outside of the sect that prated through the Higher Realm. After that, he continued on to pay a visit to the Wang family.

    The Wang family¡¯s continent was floating high in the sky, protected by its Mountain and Sea. He did not attack the continent itself, but rather punched through the Higher Realm beneath the continent, leaving a palm print there as well.

    Aside from Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin demonstrated his strength at each of the four ruling powers. Even so, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji never revealed themselves.

    Word of Lu Yin¡¯s actions quickly spread throughout the entire Perennial World, and many people started specting that the day when Lu Yin forced his way back into the Perennial World was fast approaching.

    Dragon Mountain was not happy, but rather depressed. Lu Yin had visited the other three ruling powers, but he had ignored Dragon Mountain. This was not because they had a good rtionship with Lu Yin, but rather because they were not worth his time.

    The four ruling powers had been reduced to the three ruling powers.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s heart, the White Dragon n was no longer regarded as an enemy.

    Great Elder Ni Huang looked depressed. <i>Progenitor... Only a Progenitor can restore Dragon Mountain to its former glory, but how can I be a Progenitor?</i>

    Long Ke arrived. "Great Elder, another one of our territories has been seized by Shenwu''s Sky."

    Ni Huang''s expression grew even worse. Ever since Progenitor Long died, the White Dragon n¡¯s situation had grown worse by the day. Bai Wangyuan had politely said that the four ruling powers would always remain the four ruling powers, but the Celestial Frost Sect did not care about the White Dragon n at all. And Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family were actively suppressing the n, dividing up their resources.

    It was no longer a question of whether the White Dragon n could retain its former glory, but rather whether they could continue existing at all.

    <i>If I don¡¯t break through and be a Progenitor, our n¡¯s resources will not be enough to raise up another elite like Long Tian, which means that the gap between us and the other three will only growrger.</i>

    "How is Long Tian?"

    Long Ke frowned. "He¡¯s be very anxious, but the more anxious he bes, the harder it is for him to break through."

    Great Elder Ni Huang had a headache. He thought for a moment before suddenly remembering Long Xi''s suggestion that the White Dragon n migrate to the Lower Realm to be closer to the Python Ancestor.

    If the day came when the White Dragon n could no longer endure, that would be their only path forward.

    After all, they were no longer qualified for even Lu Yin to take them seriously.

    Across the Higher Realm, on the Wang family¡¯s continent, Wang Gui looked nervous. Behind him stood a woman: his daughter, Wang Man.

    "Is that all?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Wang Gui answered respectfully, "Yes. Everything that Wei Rong did while part of my branch family has been reported."

    Wang Man quickly spoke up as well, "The manner in which Wei Rong met and became familiar with this junior was also reported."

    Wang Zheng looked up at the two people. "Have Wei Ronge in."

    Wei Rong soon entered, walked over to Wang Gui''s side, and bowed to Wang Zheng. "Wei Rong, son-inw of the branch family, greets the patriarch."

    Wang Gui and Wang Man were growing more and more nervous, as they had no idea what fate would await them. While it appeared as if Wei Rong had performed a great service for the family, his motives for joining the Wang family had not been pure, and they did not know how the main family would react.

    There was no expression on Wang Zheng¡¯s face as he stared at Wei Rong. "Why did you betray Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Wei Rong had informed the Wang family that Mu Xie had left the Shenwu Continent, which had given them an opportunity to open the spatial passage. This was a betrayal of the Heavens Sect.

    The four ruling powers were well aware of just how anxious Lu Yin was about the Shenwu Continent. It was impossible for them to ever imagine that Lu Yin had deliberately allowed them to open the spatial passage. No matter how they thought about the matter, opening the spatial passage had nearly brought disaster upon Lu Yin. If not for the fact that Aeternus had attacked the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Xiaoxuan would have been ruined.

    Wei Rong had betrayed the Heavens Sect, and no one doubted this for even a moment.

    That was, not unless one knew that Sovereign Shao Yin had proposed to merge the Origin Universe into the Endless Frontier. Otherwise, it was impossible for anyone to suspect Wei Rong.

    Wei Rong knew this as well, which was why he offered a respectful bow. "I did not betray them, but instead got revenge."

    Wang Zheng''s eyes shed.

    Wei Rong continued, "Patriarch, you should have already looked into this junior¡¯s identity. In the Fifth Maind, if it were not for Lu Yin, this junior would have been the one to unify the Outerverse, and I would possess apletely different status from what I currently hold. This junior¡¯s family, the power that I once controlled, and countless years of hard work were all destroyed and forcibly taken from me by Lu Yin. This junior has suppressed his hatred for a long time, and this opportunity is exactly what this junior has long dreamed of."

    Wang Zheng calmly stared at Wei Rong. "Why did Lu Xiaoxuan note to my Wang family to deal with your betrayal?"

    Wei Rong confidently replied, "Because he has not been able to determine the exact reason why the spatial passage was opened. It might be nothing more than a coincidence that the four ruling powers attacked the Shenwu Continent when they did. It also might not be a coincidence, but the four ruling powers were already focused on the Shenwu Continent and were also carefully observing the Heavens Sect.

    ¡°There are multiple possibilities, and precisely because there are so many possibilities, no matter how cruel and ruthless Lu Yin may be, he cannot investigate all of them. He also cannot attack me unless he knows for sure that I am the culprit. After all..." Wei Rong stared intently at Wang Zheng. "I am considered an important pawn that he snuck into the Wang family."

    Wang Gui''s heart skipped a beat, and his face grew pale. If Wei Rong had not deliberately revealed himself, Wang Gui would have never known that one of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s people had infiltrated his family. If Wei Rong had ever acted against the Wang family on Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s behalf, the branch family would have been utterly destroyed.

    "What do you want?" Wang Zheng asked.

    Wei Rong''s instantly became far more solemn. "The Outerverse."

    Wang Zheng was not surprised. People would only do what Wei Rong had when they sought something. It was impossible for someone to take such a big risk just for the sake of revenge.

    "Very well, what you have done will be regarded as atonement for infiltrating my Wang family. If you can perform another such service and help our four ruling powers eliminate Lu Xiaoxuan, then the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse will be yours. I promise you this on behalf of my Wang family."

    Wei Rong was openly thrilled, and he bowed deeply once more. "Thank you very much, Patriarch. I will do my best to deliver a fatal blow to Lu Yin."

    Wang Zheng was satisfied. As long as Wei Rong was not exposed as a traitor, he would be invaluable.

    As soon as Wei Rong¡¯s name was reported to Wang Zheng, the Wang family had started an investigation. They had learned just how important Wei Rong was to Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as how much he had done to help unify the Fifth Maind. The investigation had also looked into the previous conflict between Wei Rong and Lu Xiaoxuan.

    It had been discovered that Wei Rong had nearly defeated Lu Xiaoxuan. Despite the fact that Lu Xiaoxuan had eventually gained the upper hand, Wei Rong had still managed to take advantage of another attack to stabilize his own situation for a period of time. His abilities could not be questioned.

    Wang Zheng was eagerly anticipating how Wei Rong would eventually destroy Lu Xiaoxuan.

    An open war could erupt any day between the four ruling powers and Lu Xiaoxuan, and Wei Rong would y a very important role in the future.

    Once they were away from Wang Zheng, Wang Gui and Wang Man heaved simultaneous sighs of relief.

    Wang Man turned to shoot Wei Rong a fierce re. "Thanks to you, my family was almost destroyed!"

    Wei Rong smiled casually. "It all worked out, didn¡¯t it?"

    "You better not take advantage of my family, or else I¡¯ll make sure that you die a miserable death!" Wang Man threatened. She had not fallen for Wei Rong as soon as they met, but he had been too good at making her happy in all aspects, and she had grown to love him.

    The Wang family had many branch families, and their particr family did not need any sort of political marriage, so Wang Man had been allowed to marry whoever she wished. How could she have known that she would be approached by such a person?

 Chapter 2773: Progenitor Wushang And Ghost Monkey

    <h4>Chapter 2773: Progenitor Wushang And Ghost Monkey</h4>

    Wang Gui quickly scolded Wang Man before turning to Wei Rong. The old man wanted to say something, but Wei Rong simply smiled at him and said, "Father-inw, you don''t need to worry. I know what to do."

    Wang Gui stared at the young man for a moment before nodding and dragging Wang Man away.

    Wei Rong stretched out. This was so exciting! Fighting against the four ruling powers was like dancing on the tip of the knife, but he loved it. <i>This is so much better than hiding in the Heavens Sect all the time like that Wang Wen guy, haha</i>.

    ...

    Lu Yin left the Perennial World, disappointed that he had not been able to see Bai Xian''er.

    He did not even know where Bai Xian''er had gone to, but she had not been in the Perennial World for her Semi-Progenitor breakthrough either.

    However, where else could Bai Xian¡¯er break through? She cultivated stellr energy, which could only be found in the Origin Universe.

    Could she have gone to the Cyclic Universe? They also had stellr energy, but it was the inverse of the Origin Universe¡¯s stellr energy.

    While thinking, Lu Yin took a step forward, arriving at the Astral River. Just as he was about to continue on, he remembered something and instead turned towards Erudite Flowzone. He had just remembered that Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body had been buried at the bottom of the Astral River, and while it was of little use to humans, it could greatly benefit the Astral Beast Domain.

    Raising the overall strength of the Astral Beast Domain would also improve the Fifth Maind¡¯s strength for when they eventually needed to fight against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin double checked the location that the Ghost Monkey had given him, and then unleashed his domain to scan the bottom of the Astral River.

    A whileter, he found Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse slightly off of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s specified location.

    There were powerful creatures swimming in the Astral River near Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse, and the corpse¡¯s presence had formed a unique environment that could trap or even kill powerful cultivators. Even if an Envoy approached the area, they might not be able to live to touch Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse.

    However, such things could no longer pose the slightest threat to Lu Yin.

    He easily dredged up the massive corpse of Progenitor Wushang from the bottom of the Astral River.

    It was hard to even discern what the beast¡¯s original form had been, as the corpse was now half a skeleton with unspoiled flesh clinging to the bones. It was massive and undoubtedly one of thergest astral beasts to have ever lived.

    Lu Yin looked closer and even pressed his hand against Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, which caused a feeling of shock to strike him.

    Early on in Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, he had obtained a bit of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, which had helped him tremendously in battle. Even Envoys had been stunned when theyid eyes on Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide.

    However, that stunning effect no longer impacted Lu Yin at all.

    It seemed that the effect hade from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s innate gift.

    Progenitor Wushang had lived during the Daosource Sect era, which was the same time period as the Human Domain¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. When the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind had gone to war, Progenitor Wushang had died, taking one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors with him.

    When Lu Yin had first learned of Progenitor Wushang, Progenitors had been far beyond Lu Yin¡¯sprehension, and for many years, Lu Yin had perceived Progenitor Wushang as an incredibly powerful individual.

    However, it seemed that, in reality, Progenitor Wushang had been a perfectly average Progenitor. While just being a Progenitor meant that the astral beast had been incredibly powerful, if Lu Yin were to fight against the astral beast, it would be hard to say who would be the final victor. There was a very good chance that Lu Yin could win, as it was likely that Progenitor Wushang had been about as powerful as Cloudflow or the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

    In the past, Progenitor Wushang had simply been too far beyond Lu Yin¡¯s level. After all, the Fifth Maind had not even had any Progenitors after the Sixth Maind reced their sky.

    Lu Yin carried the enormous corpse of Progenitor Wushang back to the Heavens Sect.

    The jiao bared its teeth and ws the moment itid eyes on the corpse, but a sharp look from Lu Yin made the jiao behave.

    Everyone in the Heavens Sect saw the corpse of Progenitor Wushang, and the sight stunned them all.

    Not everyone was able to look directly at Progenitor Wushang¡¯s hide, but Lu Yin did not give any warnings. Looking would serve as a lesson.

    The ones who were the most strongly affected were Skymender and the Ghost Monkey. They were the only ones to feel the full pressure exuded by Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse.

    One entered the shadows and moved closer, while the other tore through the void, instantly arriving beside the corpse.

    Lu Yin stood before the partial skeleton, his hands sped behind his back. "Ghost Monkey, you told me that this would be beneficial to the Astral Beast Domain, so I¡¯ve brought it back. Don''t let me down."

    Skymender bowed to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Dao Monarch, for bringing back Progenitor Wushang¡¯s body. The Astral Beast Domain will never forget the Dao Monarch¡¯s incredible kindness."

    The Ghost Monkey rushed forward and excitedly shouted, "Seventh Bro, you really brought back Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse!"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "It took a good bit of effort, so if this doesn''t work, watch out. I might just give the Celestial Ice Phoenixes to someone else for their harem."

    The Ghost Monkey jumped in fright. "This will be useful! Definitely! Skymender, don¡¯t you think so too?"

    Skymender stared at the massive corpse in amazement. Even if only half the body was left, it was still Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse. The pale bones still radiated a powerful pressure. "Both the bones and the hide will be extremely useful to my Astral Beast Domain. There¡¯s still blood oozing out!¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised to realize that, despite half of the body being gone and the corpse mostly being bones, there was still some blood left, even if it was the tiniest trace.

    "Truly, Progenitors are amazing. The body is immortal, and after countless years, even though some of the body has been reduced to dust, his blood still remains within the bones," Skymender sighed in amazement.

    Lu Yin remembered that the Sea King had once smashed open the Upper Three Gates with Progenitor Chen''s blood stained clothes. Those clothes had been just as old as Progenitor Wushang and equally powerful.

    In some ways, Progenitors could be regarded as a different type of living being.

    The Ghost Monkey smiled. "Seventh Bro, look, it might help!"

    As he spoke, the Ghost Monkey put his paws on the corpse.

    Suddenly, a tremendous heartbeat echoed in the ears of everyone present in the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and his eyes were glued to the Ghost Monkey.

    Skymender reacted in the exact same way as countless people turned to look towards them.

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s eyes lost focus, and his ws seemed to merge with the corpse as the traces of blood moved out of the bones and into the Ghost Monkey¡¯s own body.

    A shockwave swept out as the Ghost Monkey released a cry of pain. The shockwave was so powerful that it even made Skymender instinctively retreat.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Master Shan, and Cloudflow all moved out to surround the giant corpse. Lu Yin continued to stare at the Ghost Monkey.

    There was a fierce expression on the beast¡¯s face as he let out a roar. He wanted to pull away from Progenitor Wushang''s corpse, but he was unable to break free.

    "Seventh Bro, help me!" the Ghost Monkey begged in a hoarse voice. His heartbeat was growing louder and louder, and it had even drawn the jiao¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yinshed out with a palm strike that cracked Progenitor Wushang¡¯s bones. The Ghost Monkey instantly reacted and pulled away. He tumbled over several times before mming into a wall, where he panted for breath, looking as though he had barely survived.

    Everyone stared at the beast, uncertain of what had just happened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were still intently focused, but he said nothing.

    After a while, the Ghost Monkey managed to calm himself down. He shakily rose up and let out a breath. "That scared me half to death!"

    He red at Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse in open fury and then jumped up, cursing. "You old bastard, didn''t you tell me yes? Didn¡¯t you agree to separate? Even after that, you want to rece me? Bah!

    "My fate belongs to me alone! I belong to myself! An old bastard like you wants to scheme against me? You must be dreaming!

    "I¡¯ll neverpromise, and I will die alone, you old, shameless bastard..."

    ...

    The Ghost Monkey continued to curse, clearly furious.

    Finally, Lu Yin shouted, "Enough! What happened?"

    The Ghost Monkey suddenly turned to re at Lu Yin. "How brazen!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows shot up, and Skymender took a step back. Strange expressions appeared on the faces of Arch-Elder Zen and Cloudflow, while Master Shan instantly appeared in front of the Ghost Monkey. "How presumptuous!"

    As the old man spoke, heshed out with a hand.

    The Ghost Monkey was terrified. "Seventh Bro, help me¨C!"

    "Master Shan, just a moment." Lu Yin stopped the attack fromnding.

    There was a hideous expression on Master Shan''s face as he red at the Ghost Monkey. "How dare you speak so rudely to the young master? Do that again, and I¡¯ll have you torn to pieces and strung up outside the sect¡¯s gate next time!"

    The Ghost Monkey wailed, "That wasn¡¯t me!"

    Lu Yin felt that something seemed off. "Exin to me, what just happened?"

    The Ghost Monkey crawled over to Lu Yin''s feet and clung to his legs. "Seventh Bro, thank you, thank you! Without you, this little monkey would have been done for! Seventh Bro, you have to stand up for me!¡±

    Lu Yin kicked the monkey away. "Start making sense."

    The Ghost Monkey shamelessly crawled back over to Lu Yin. "It was that old bastard, Progenitor Wushang! I finally understand why he created me. He wanted to reincarnate through me."

    Arch-Elder Zen and others were taken aback. Reincarnate? That did not sound good at all.

    Each living creature had their own lives, and one¡¯s life was what defined them. If a person reincarnated, they would no longer be the same person that they had been before, and the cost toe back could not be low.

    Even for Progenitors, the idea of reincarnation was something that they would be hesitant to even touch.

    From the Ghost Monkey¡¯s exnation, Lu Yin realized that this was the entire reason why the Ghost Monkey had been created in the first ce.

    The Ghost Monkey had been born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood. The Progenitor had used his own blood and shadow to create the Ghost Monkey, but no one knew why Progenitor Wushang had done so, not even the Ghost Monkey. It was only at this moment that the Ghost Monkey learned the truth.

    As soon as the monkey made contact with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse, the Progenitor¡¯s remnant consciousness had entered the Ghost Monkey¡¯s body through its blood. The fact that the Ghost Monkey had been born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood meant that there was no conflict, and the remnant consciousness would be able to smoothly rece the Ghost Monkey¡¯s. This would cause the Ghost Monkey to essentially be a reborn Progenitor Wushang.

    Despite not being the true Progenitor Wushang, the Ghost Monkey would essentially be the reincarnation of Progenitor Wushang.

    "Do you need to be so cruel to me? Seventh Bro, the one who spoke to you so arrogantly just now wasn¡¯t me, but rather Progenitor Wushang¡¯s remnant consciousness! That was what wanted to make trouble for you! Seventh Bro, you have to believe me!" the Ghost Monkey wailed.

    Everyone remained silent, understanding that the Ghost Monkey was telling the truth. He was nothing more than a back-up n left behind by Progenitor Wushang.

    The monkey had been born from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood, which had allowed the Ghost Monkey to locate Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse. Such a corpse was an incredible temptation for the Astral Beast Domain, and it was a guarantee that the corpse would eventually be found and that the Ghost Monkey woulde into contact with it. At that time, Progenitor Wushang would be reborn.

    However, the Progenitor had not anticipated Lu Yin¡¯s presence, which had saved the Ghost Monkey.

    Even at his peak, Progenitor Wushang might not have been able to defeat Lu Yin, let alone a mere corpse.

    If not for Lu Yin, the Ghost Monkey would no longer be himself.

    Lu Yin stared at the monkey, who had just broken through to the level of a Semi-Progenitor, which was a bit freakish.

    During thepetition for the Astral Tower, the Ghost Monkey had swallowed a bit of a Progenitor¡¯s blood, which had caused his strength to spike by an incredible amount. After absorbing Progenitor Wushang¡¯s blood, the Ghost Monkey had not simply received an increase in strength; rather, it had been transformed.

    Even so, he still looked weak and pathetic.

    "Are you the Ghost Monkey or Progenitor Wushang right now?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    The Ghost Monkey shouted, "Of course I¡¯m me! There¡¯s no way that I¡¯m Progenitor Wushang!"

    "How can you prove it?" Master Shan frowned.

    The Ghost Monkey wailed, "If I were Progenitor Wushang, I would have never told you what just happened."

    After just a moment¡¯s thought, everyone realized that this was true. If Progenitor Wushang had sessfully taken over the Ghost Monkey, he would have never risked creating doubts by sharing what had happened. There were other excuses that he could have given.

    "Seventh Bro, I know a secret! A big secret!" The Ghost Monkey suddenly remembered something, and he was eager to show off to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2774: Lockbreaking And Reorganization

    <h4>Chapter 2774: Lockbreaking And Reorganization</h4>

    The Ghost Monkey''s words caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows to rise, as this was something that he was interested in hearing. "A secret that you picked up from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s memories?"

    The Ghost Monkey nodded with a smile. "My consciousness was almost taken over by that old bastard, but I managed to pick up a few of his memories, and very important ones at that. This is rted to Progenitor Hui, but I can only tell you, Seventh Bro."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed.

    Master Shan warned, "Young Master."

    Lu Yin waved his hand. "I wouldn¡¯t be worried even if Progenitor Wushang himself were here."

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s tone grew bitter. "Seventh Bro, why are you still doubting me?"

    Lu Yin led the Ghost Monkey away from everyone else. They arrived at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin kicked the Ghost Monkey away. "Start talking."

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s eyes darted about before he moved closer to Lu Yin and whispered, "Actually, Progenitor Wushang didn¡¯t be a Progenitor on his own! He was helped by Progenitor Hui."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What? Progenitor Hui helped Progenitor Wushang be a Progenitor?"

    The Ghost Monkey nodded solemnly. "Progenitor Wushang had the qualifications to be a Progenitor, but many creatures in the universe can reach that level, but how many of them are actually able to be Progenitors? It¡¯s only because Progenitor Wushang kept drinking tea made from Progenitor Hui¡¯s Roots of Intelligence and had some help with his cultivation that Progenitor Wushang was able to be a Progenitor. Aside from the two of them, you and I are the only ones who know about this secret."

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Why did Progenitor Hui help Progenitor Wushang?"

    The Ghost Monkey replied, "That¡¯s the big secret, the ultimate secret! Seventh Bro, before I tell you, you have to promise me something!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t steal a single one of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes from you. I already told you that," Lu Yin calmly stated, causing the Ghost Monkey to smile.

    "Seventh Bro still understands me."

    "Enough of the bullshit."

    "Right. Seventh Bro, do you still remember those humanoid sourceboxes? What did Skymender tell you about them?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Is this secret rted to the humanoid sourceboxes?"

    When Lu Yin had discovered the humanoid sourceboxes hidden in the Astral Beast Domain, Skymender had said that the humanoid sourceboxes were all cultivators who had once used the Stone Origin battle technique to transform themselves into humanoid sourceboxes as ast ditch effort to survive the destruction of the Fourth Maind. It was the only way they could guarantee their survival. Later on, the sourceboxes had been collected so that they could be opened by Lockbreakers, as it would be possible to control the people who were released with the Stone Reversal Formation. Gaining control of all these powerful cultivators would have greatly increased the strength of the Astral Beast Domain.

    Lu Yin had not initially believed Skymender¡¯s story, but he hadter spoken with Xiao Shi who had used a Book of Destiny to check his statements. This had confirmed everything that Lu Yin had been told about the Stone Origin Technique and the Stone Reversal Formation, eliminating any doubts.

    The Ghost Monkey somberly stated, "The humanoid sourcebox are connected to the Fourth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, Wilderness God.

    "This was once the Fourth Maind¡¯s greatest secret, and I have no idea how Progenitor Hui found out about it, but Wilderness God never actually died! He simply divided his body into countless pieces and had the astral beasts keep them safe. All of those astral beasts took on a human form, and when the Fourth Maind was destroyed, they used the Stone Origin technique to transform into the humanoid sourceboxes. The idea is that they would one day be opened, and in doing so, Wilderness God¡¯s pieces could be gathered back together and restored."

    Lu Yin was horrified. "Are you saying that Wilderness God can return?"

    The Ghost Monkey nodded.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Wilderness God had been one of the Three Realms during the ancient Heavens Sect era, which made him equal to Dao Monarch Gu and the Lu family¡¯s ancestor. Such a powerhouse was beyond terrifying, and they far exceeded even Old Mo. If Wilderness God reappeared, the entire Origin Universe and even the Sixverse Association would be overturned.

    The Great Sovereign was very powerful, but he still had his own opponent. The Great Sovereign was the only one who could restrain Aeternus¡¯s True God Wei Yi.

    What would happen if another enemy equal to True God Wei Yi appeared?

    Lu Yin had no doubt that Wilderness God would attack the humans. As far as the astral beasts were concerned, there was no difference between the Aeternals and humans.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the astral beasts had been enved by humans and gathered on the Fourth Maind. Their hatred for humans had been engraved into their bones.

    Lu Yin''s tone of voice changedpletely. "I checked with a Book of Destiny, and it verified everything that Skymender told me. The sourceboxes formed from the Stone Origin technique need to be unlocked with the Stone Reversal Technique, and through that, those who are released can be controlled. That¡¯s the reason why Skymender gathered all of the humanoid sourceboxes.¡±

    The Ghost Monkey replied, "That¡¯s what was so genius about what Wilderness God did! He didn¡¯t bother trying to create anything himself. Instead, he forced his Wilderness Sutra into the Stone Origin technique. The Stone Origin is real, and so is the Stone Reversal Formation. It¡¯s even true that those who are released can be controlled. The only thing that¡¯s not true is that the people who became the humanoid sourceboxes are not truly human. Rather, they¡¯re astral beasts that took on the form of humans. Some of them have portions of Wilderness God¡¯s body, and when they are unlocked, Wilderness God can return, which will be a huge problem.

    "The entire reason why Progenitor Hui helped Progenitor Wushang be a Progenitor was to prevent Wilderness God from ever returning. It was impossible to destroy the Astral Beast Domain or even prevent the Astral Beast Domain from collecting humanoid sourceboxes, but that was something that Progenitor Wushang could do.

    "When Progenitor Wushang was still alive, he did everything he could to prevent the Stone Reversal Formation from ever being used, and he even left a backup n behind. Progenitor Hui also sealed many of the humanoid sourceboxes away, which is why the Astral Beast Domain has never been able to use the Stone Reversal Formation to unlock the humanoid sourceboxes. They simply don¡¯t have enough to be able to use the formation.¡±

    So this was the reason why Progenitor Hui had created the various seals that he had left behind. Each of them were sealing away humanoid sourceboxes in order to prevent Wilderness God¡¯s return.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Skymender had said that he had encountered two different opportunities to unlock the humanoid sourceboxes with the Stone Reversal Formation, but both chances had been thwarted by various reasons.

    In that case, did Skymender and the others know about Wilderness God?

    Had he deceived Lu Yin about the Stone Reversal Formation, or had Skymender also been deceived?

    Lu Yin wore a dark expression. He had seen the statue of Wilderness God in the pocket dimension where the gathered humanoid sourceboxes were stored. Skymender visited that ce frequently, and there was no doubt that he also knew about this particr secret.

    Ultimately, Lu Yin had been deceived. If he had not brought out Progenitor Wushang''s corpse on a whim, or if the Ghost Monkey had not happened to glean a bit of information from Progenitor Wushang¡¯s memories, then Lu Yin would have eventually been caught unaware, not by the Aeternals, but rather by Wilderness God.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance.

    The universe had never been simple, and intelligent beings only furtherplicated things.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the Aeternals had been ignored, which had led to the Sixverse Association¡¯s revulsion for the Origin Universe. Ultimately, that had led to the Lu family being exiled.

    During the Heavens Sect era, all of the astral beasts in the Origin Universe had been enved, and the Fourth Maind had been a paradise for humans. That had engendered hatred for humans in the astral beasts.

    Wilderness God had taken an extremely risky path to be reborn, but he had still chosen to go through with it. This clearly demonstrated his determination, and if he ever returned, he would never allow himself to be controlled by others.

    "Seventh Bro, those guys in the Astral Beast Domain are too vicious! They want to resurrect Wilderness God without letting you know about it! I can''t ept that! Not at all!" the Ghost Monkey clenched his fists as he ranted.

    Lu Yin looked at the Ghost Monkey. "Why was Progenitor Wushang willing to help Progenitor Hui?"

    The Ghost Monkey replied, "There are good humans and bad humans, and they have their own fights between sects, families, and more. Astral beasts are no different.¡±

    "I can¡¯t tell you the specific reason, as I wasn¡¯t able to see all of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s memories, and I really only gleaned a small portion of his deepest memories, but I¡¯d guess that that old bastard Progenitor Wushang also didn¡¯t want to see Wilderness God return. After all, he didn¡¯t want to be controlled by Wilderness God."

    Lu Yin looked away. Did Progenitor Wushang really not want Wilderness God to return? He must have seen his statue.

    <i>Forget it. That¡¯s between Progenitor Wushang and Progenitor Hui</i>. All that Lu Yin knew for sure was that he absolutely could not allow Progenitor Hui¡¯s seals to be opened.

    Lu Yin looked over at where Skymender was guiding Xiao Shi in Destiny¡¯s cultivation method. The astral beast was too good at hiding things.

    "Monkey, are you alright?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Ghost Monkey immediately reassured Lu Yin, "Seventh Bro, there¡¯s no problem at all. Don¡¯t worry."

    A small smile touched Lu Yin¡¯s lips as he looked at the Ghost Monkey. "Actually, if you be Progenitor Wushang, you¡¯d end up being even more helpful to me."

    The Ghost Monkey¡¯s mouth fell open, and he quickly started crying. "Seventh Bro, how could you hope for me to be Progenitor Wushang? Your little monkey would be gone forever!"

    Lu Yin looked away again. "Alright, I¡¯m going to give you a mission: from now on, you¡¯re the one responsible for collecting all of the humanoid sourceboxes. You need to gather all of them in the Fifth Maind, including the ones in the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain. I want all of the humanoid sourceboxes to belong to me. As an excuse, go ahead and tell people that I want to unlock them with the Stone Reversal Formation."

    The Ghost Monkey blinked. "You want to unseal them?"

    Lu Yin was staring at Skymender. "We need to keep an eye on anyone who¡¯s still trying to gather humanoid sourceboxes. Whoever¡¯s doing that is going to be a problem."

    The Ghost Monkey puffed his chest out. "I understand! Don''t worry, Seventh Bro. I will not disappoint you! I want to see which dog dares to try to steal a humanoid sourcebox from me¡ªno, from Seventh Bro! Even Wilderness God himself will need to get down on his knees after he¡¯s reborn and serve as your mount, Seventh Brother! Then, the jiao will be able to take a break for a bit, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin was leftpletely speechless. This guy dared to go so far with ttering Lu Yin that he actually dared to im that Wilderness God would be his mount? Not even the Origin Progenitor ever did that.

    He was suddenly reminded of the fact that he had once had a vision of the ancient era, and how he had seen a person who looked 90% identical to himself cheering and leaping onto a huge object. That massive thing should have been the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, which had beenrge enough to hold up the entire universe. It was iparablyrger than the jiao.

    Lu Yin had no idea how powerful the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant might be, or if it had simply been enormous. But if its strength was proportional to its size, then using it as a mount would terrify countless people to death. With one, he would have no problem overthrowing the four ruling powers.

    While Lu Yin could leave seclusion as Xuan Qi right now, he had been reminded of something by Wang Wen: to travel through the Three Monarchs Universe as Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had long since wanted the Fifth Maind to rece the Three Monarchs Universe as a member of the Sixverse Universe, and that was also the reason why he had captured Monarch Mu and confronted Monarch Luo. He had been carefully taking multiple steps, but he had still ignored one thing: Lu Yin¡¯s original identity had never done anything in the Three Monarchs Universe. Regardless of everything that he had done there as Xuan Qi, Lu Yin could not take action too quickly.

    For that reason, Lu Yin decided to take a trip to the Three Monarchs Universe at this time.

    It was very easy to reach the Three Monarchs Universe from the Fifth Maind, as he only needed to pass through Shenwu Continent¡¯s spatial passage.

    With the passage open, in addition to the confrontation that had urred between the Three Monarchs Universe and the Fifth Maind, something else had happened as well. The Time Poison in the Three Monarchs Universe had been eliminated. This was something that not even Lu Yin had noticed.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had been afflicted with Time Poison for so long that their original cultivation method had been lost, and everyone there now cultivated monarch energy. However, once the passage was opened and connected to the Fifth Maind, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had purified the Three Monarchs Universe of their Time Poison.

    However, the absence of the Time Poison did not matter, as no one in the entire universe cultivated with the universe¡¯s original energy anymore, and monarch energy was not weak either.

    Just outside the passage were three Semi-Monarchs surrounding the exit. Luo Shan had ordered them to stand guard by the spatial passage and to not allow anyone from the Origin Universe to enter the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The Heavens Sect had simrly stationed powerful cultivators in Shenwu Continent, barring anyone from the Three Monarchs Universe from entering the Fifth Maind.

    The two sides had reached an unspoken understanding that there would be no interaction between their people. Even though the four ruling powers had sent Bai Sheng and others to help defend the Sixverse Association, they had relied on people from the Three Monarchs Universe to tear through the void to reach the Three Monarchs Universe instead of going through the spatial passage.

 Chapter 2775: Taking A Walk

    <h4>Chapter 2775: Taking A Walk</h4>

    On one particr day, Lu Yin traveled through the spatial passage and entered the Three Monarchs Universe. The moment he appeared, all of the cultivators standing guard at the passage¡¯s exit raised their guards.

    "Who are you? The Three Monarchs Universe does not wee visitors from the Origin Universe!" someone shouted.

    Lu Yin had a calm appearance, and he did not react at all. He slowly looked to the south, ignoring everyone around him. Right now, he was looking at the rainbow wall, where he could sense the auras of Chen Le, Monarch Xing, Bai Sheng, and Xia Qin. The four ruling powers imed that they were protecting the Sixverse Association, but in truth, most of their people had been sent to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Whoever you are, return at once!" another person shouted. All three Semi-Monarchs were staring intently at Lu Yin closely. Years of battle had given them the experience to sense exceptional threats. Without that, Lu Yin would have already been attacked.

    Lu Yin was surrounded, and the three Semi-Monarchs slowly moved closer, ready to attack at the slightest hint of provocation.

    Suddenly, without any warning, Lu Yin vanished, startling the people who had surrounded him.

    They immediately sent messages to Chen Le and Monarch Xing, reporting that a powerful individual had arrived from the Origin Universe. Lu Yin¡¯s picture was included in the report.

    Chen Le''s expression changed at the sight. <i>Lu Yin? Why is he here?</i>

    Monarch Xing was standing atop the rainbow wall, staring at the battlefield where the Aeternals were fighting. It felt like the Three Monarchs Universe was getting more and more fragile.

    In the past, the Three Monarchs had been capable of blocking Aeternus by cooperating. But now, even though the number of peak powerhouses protecting their universe had increased, their universe¡¯s situation was bing increasingly vulnerable.

    <i>Lu Yin? What is he doing here?</i>

    "Chen Le, go check on things."

    Even without an order from Monarch Xing, Chen Le had been about to go and check on Lu Yin. The Monarch did not know why Lu Yin would suddenly enter the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Could he be here to take advantage of Monarch Luo''s absence and attack the Three Monarchs Universe? That would be a dumb thing to do. Monarch Luo had been sent to the Endless Frontier by the Great Sovereign. If Lu Yin attacked the Three Monarchs Universe at this time, how would it be any different from pping the Great Sovereign in the face?

    An ugly expression appeared on Chen Le¡¯s face as he hurried to the north.

    Lu Yin traveled along the spatial lines and quickly arrived in the Lower King Domain, and he continued moving straight into the Upper King Domain. He did not hide his passage, and a terrifying pressure swept through the Three Monarchs Universe, leaving ripples in space.

    Old Lady Mu looked up in shock when she saw Lu Yin. The strength that she sensed made her want to fall to her knees.

    Since he hadn¡¯t encountered anyone from the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin felt as though he was moving through a deserted region of the universe.

    He took another step forward, arriving in the Emperor Domain. One after another, the Semi-Monarchs stepped out from the Mo Courtyard, all warily eying Lu Yin. They were led by none other than Old Greenpeel.

    When Chen Le sessfully became a Monarch, Old Greenpeel had be the leader of the Mo Courtyard.

    However, at this moment, the old man¡¯s palms were sweaty. He felt far too much pressure from Lu Yin. Just a nce was enough for the old man to know that it was impossible for any of his people to stop this young man. And yet, that was exactly what they needed to do.

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the people from the Mo Courtyard. Were Semi-Monarchs any better than ants to him?

    He nces around. The Emperor Domain was truly a massive ce.

    Lu Yin arrogantly unted his strength. As he traveled through space, he shattered the void, which created a terrifying spatial storm that swept across the entire Emperor Domain, Upper King Domain, and the Lower King Domain.

    Everyone trembled. Even if they could not see what was happening, they could still sense an invisible power that seemed to belong to a god.

    "Luo Shan still hasn¡¯t returned yet?" Lu Yin asked as he nced at the people from the Mo Courtyard who stood before him. He said nothing more, and the Semi-Monarchs made no attempt to initiate a conversation.

    Old Greenpeel softly replied, "No."

    "He¡¯s too slow," Lu Yinmented in a contemptuous tone, though no one dared to object. They all listened to him in silence.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and looked around again. "Is this the Three Monarchs Universe? This ce can¡¯t evenpare to our Origin Universe¡¯s Outerverse. This ce is tiny¡ªit¡¯s no wonder why Luo Shan wants to take over my Origin Universe. It¡¯s too bad he doesn¡¯t have the strength to do so.

    "Aside from you, are there no decent powerhouses in this universe? You have no hope at all of ever reaching the peak. You all aren¡¯t even qualified to speak with me."

    Old Greenpeel and the other Semi-Monarchs clenched their fists. "May I ask why Dao Monarch Lu hase here?"

    Lu Yin arrogantly replied, "Do I need a reason to be here?"

    All of the people from the Mo Courtyard felt stifled by Lu Yin¡¯s every word. If not for their fear of Lu Yin''s strength, they would have attacked him long ago.

    Lu Yin was in the Three Monarchs Universe to put on a show and to demonstrate how he could suppress the entire universe. He could do so in Luo Shan¡¯s absence, but when the Monarch returned, Lu Yin would do the same thing again.

    Finally, Chen Le arrived. "Dao Monarch Lu, why have youe to our Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Chen Le''s arrival let everyone from the Mo Courtyard breathe a sigh of relief. A Monarch had finally appeared, which meant that they no longer needed to deal with this matter.

    Lu Yin turned around to look at Chen Le. "Who are you? I¡¯ve heard that the Three Monarchs consist of one man and two women."

    Chen Le exuded a fierce aura that swept out and dispelled Lu Yin''s show of power, which allowed everyone to breathe sighs of relief. "Our Three Monarchs Universe has nothing to do with your universe. Leave now, as you are not wee here."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Luo Shan didn''t even bother to say hello to me when he visited my universe."

    "That''s a matter between you and Monarch Luo. Leave now, or else you can¡¯t me me for being rude." Chen Le took out his bow and aimed a nocked arrow at Lu Yin. It was clear that the Monarch was ready to attack at any moment.

    Chen Le was not at all weak. Despite having only recently be a peak powerhouse, his powerful attacks were exceptionally destructive. He had ughtered many Aeternals on the Endless Frontier.

    Everyone from the Mo Courtyard stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes, hoping that Chen Le would attack and kill this person.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s impressive power, he himself was not a peak powerhouse, which meant that, logically, he should not be a match for Monarch Chen Le. The reason why Lu Yin had been able to stand up to Monarch Luo was only because of the extremely powerful Heavens Sect, not his own power.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do you have the guts to attack me?"

    Chen Le was taken aback. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin arrogantly lifted his head. "Do you want to start a war between the Origin Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe? Do you also want to be sent to the Endless Frontier?"

    Chen Le frowned. "You are the one who invaded our Three Monarchs Universe and challenged us."

    "I merely came here to look around. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s trying to start something."

    Chen Le¡¯s eyes flickered. He was confused by Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, moving closer to Chen Le. There was now only a mere hundred meters between the two men. "Careful, don¡¯t let go of that arrow. Otherwise, you might not be able to survive the Great Sovereign¡¯s punishment."

    Chen Le''s pupils shrank. "Are you threatening me?"

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt like aplete stranger to Chen Le. Was this really the person he was working with? Then why did he seem like aplete stranger? Did Lu Yin really want Chen Le to attack?

    "So what if I am? The moment you let go of that arrow, I¡¯ll cripple your arm." Lu Yin''s voice was cold, incredibly arrogant, and utterly domineering.

    Chen Le gritted his teeth. He was actually being threatened in front of so many people, which left him with no room to take a step back. <i>Why is he doing this? I¡¯m already working with him</i>.

    The entire region of space remained silent as everyone watched the tense situation unfold.

    Lu Yin was insane to think that he couldpletely ignore even a peak powerhouse. Where was his confidenceing from? He was directly exposed to Chen Le''s arrows right now.

    The hearts of Old Greenpeel and the others all started to beat faster. Chen Le was right in front of them, and he was a peak powerhouse while Lu Yin clearly was not. Even so, facing him felt like standing before a giant, and even Chen Le¡¯s presence could not reassure them.

    Lu Yin did not attack, but he had been beyond arrogant in unting his power, which had left the Three Monarchs Universe holding its breath.

    Chen Le said nothing as he stared at Lu Yin. There was confusion and a cold glint that flickered in the depths of the Monarch¡¯s eyes, as well as a hidden killing intent.

    At this moment, another person emerged from the void a short distance from Lu Yin. He turned around when he saw that Monarch Xing had appeared.

    Everyone from the Mo Courtyard was thrilled to see her. "Greetings, Monarch Xing."

    "Greetings, Monarch Xing..."

    Chen Le breathed a sigh of relief. "Senior Monarch Xing."

    The woman calmly stepped out of the void and faced Lu Yin. "What are you doing here?"

    Once again, Lu Yinid eyes on Monarch Xing. The first time he had seen her was with his identity as Xuan Qi, but this time, Lu Yin was seeing her as himself.

    Even so, Monarch Xing still emanated the same impression as before; a clean appearance that had the mysterious effect of calming the soul!

    This woman gave him the feeling that his thirst was being quenched. Looking at her was peaceful, so peaceful that it was as if it was impossible for one¡¯s mood to swing.

    "I came to look around," Lu Yin said in a polite manner.

    Monarch Xing nced at Chen Le. "Return to protect the rainbow wall."

    Chen Le nodded, took another pointed stare at Lu Yin, and then left.

    Monarch Xing nced around at the Semi-Monarchs from the Mo Courtyard. "Return."

    Everyone felt incredibly relieved, as none of them wanted to stay around Lu Yin, who was too strange. He clearly was not a peak powerhouse, but he behaved even more arrogantly than a Monarch. Where was his confidenceing from? The more that a person acted like this, the harder it was to offend them.

    Everyone left, and Lu Yin was soon apanied by only Monarch Xing.

    The woman remained as calm as ever. Lu Yin''s arrogant and domineering attitude was useless in front of her, as if he were punching cotton.

    "Why are you here?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Like I said, I came to look around."

    "Then I''ll give you a tour," Monarch Xing calmly replied.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Alright."

    He had said that he was here to look around, and it appeared that he was going to do just that.

    Monarch Xing demonstrated no hostility, and Lu Yin could not be the aggressor in the Three Monarchs Universe. As long as he was not confronted, how could he continue to act hostile?

    Even when Lu Yin tried to provoke Monarch Xing, such as by speaking ill of Monarch Luo, or by making wild ims about how he wanted to kill Monarch Luo, Monarch Xing was never bothered or upset. This left Lu Yin uncertain of how to proceed.

    The woman was exactly how Chen Le had described: she only cared about her own Starlight Universe.

    However, Lu Yin could not bring that universe up, as doing so would expose his alternate identity.

    Monarch Xing led Lu Yin around, and he visited many locations across the Three Monarchs Universe, including some that were not open to the public.

    "I¡¯ve heard that you are Luo Shan¡¯s wife and that he has two wives. For someone as powerful as a Progenitor, why are you willing to share Luo Shan with another?" Lu Yin asked.

    Monarch Xing calmly replied, "I''m used to it."

    "You don''t have any children?"

    "It¡¯s unnecessary."

    "What if he dies? He would not leave any descendants behind."

    "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

    "You aren¡¯t at all worried? Luo Shan is fighting on the Endless Frontier, which is far too dangerous. I nearly died there."

    "It''s up to fate."

    ...

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Did this womanpletelyck all emotion?

    "What¡¯s that over there?" Lu Yin asked as he pointed to Qianmian.

    "A stone tower."

    "Is it a library?"

    "You could call it that."

    "Let¡¯s go take a look."

    This stone tower was an important location in the Emperor Domain, and it was specifically guarded by an old woman who was a Semi-Monarch. The list of people who were allowed entry was personally determined by the Three Monarchs.

    It had been quite difficult for Lu Yin to enter the stone tower as Xuan Qi, as Chen Le had to vouch for him. However, he needed to visit the stone tower again to get revenge for Gu Yue. It did not matter that Lu Yin already knew about Gu Yue¡¯s history, as ¡°Lu Yin¡± shouldn¡¯t know that information, and he could not risk exposing his identity as Xuan Qi. That was why he needed an excuse to ¡°discover¡± the information.

    The old woman standing guard at the stone tower dropped to her knees as soon as she saw Monarch Xing approaching with Lu Yin. "Greetings, Monarch Xing."

    Lu Yin walked straight into the tower without even ncing at the old woman, who did not dare to move to stop him.

    Monarch Xing followed Lu Yin inside. There was truly nothing in the Three Monarchs Universe that could stop Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2776: Forgotten Ruins God And Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 2776: Forgotten Ruins God And Lu Yin</h4>

    Before long, Lu Yin sessfully found the information about Gu Yue, and he walked back out of the stone tower with a gloomy expression. He swept through the Emperor Domain with his domain and quickly found Old Bo.

    In the past, Xuan Qi had arrested Old Bo on suspicions of the man being a spy, but he had never had the time to fully deal with the matter. Now was the time to settle things.

    Ever since Xuan Qi had left the Three Monarchs Universe, Old Bo had rxed. He understood that, as long as Xuan Qi did not have any proof that he was a spy, it was just a matter of time before he was released. To begin with, he was the person in the Three Monarchs Universe who was the most familiar with Gu Yue, which made Old Bo useful to Monarch Luo. Secondly, Old Bo had someone supporting him.

    As long as there was no proof that Old Bo was a spy, he knew that he would be fine.

    This was why Old Bo had been enjoying himself, right until he was yanked away by Lu Yin¡¯s domain and smashed to the ground.

    Monarch Xing did not stop Lu Yin. As long as he did not go too far, she would not stop him from doing as he wished to avoid causing a fight, which would displease the Great Sovereign.

    Luo Shan had already been sent to the Endless Frontier, and neither Monarch Xing nor Chen Le could afford to be sent over as well, as that would doom the Three Monarchs Universe.

    This was also why Monarch Xing showed no emotion when interacting with Lu Yin. He had managed to leave the Endless Frontier incredibly quickly, which made everyone afraid of him.

    Old Bo crawled up from underground even though all of his bones had been broken by that attack. He struggled to lift his head and looked around in a daze. Just who had attacked him?

    He was not far from the Mo Courtyard, which meant that Old Greenpeel and the other Semi-Monarchs immediately noticed themotion and hurried over. The moment they arrived, they noticed Lu Yin and felt that it was an unlucky day for them.

    When Old Bo saw Monarch Xing, he endured his pain to kneel on the ground. "Greetings, Monarch Xing."

    Monarch Xing showed no reaction at all.

    Lu Yin walked over to Old Bo, who nervously looked up at the man who had suddenly appeared. "Who might you be, sir?"

    Lu Yin looked down at Old Bo. "You know who Gu Yue is, right?"

    Old Bo was terribly confused. By all reason, he should not be facing any difficulties regarding Gu Yue while in the Three Monarchs Universe. And yet, he had just been dragged out and smashed into the ground. Clearly, something had gone terribly wrong.

    "No, he¡¯s no stranger to me," Old Bo answered out of reflex.

    Lu Yin stared down at the man. "I am from the same universe as Gu Yue."

    Old Bo¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he looked over at Monarch Xing. "Madam, this- this-"

    He could not understand why this man had not been captured if he was from Gu Yue''s universe. People from that universe should be regarded as subhumans in the Three Monarchs Universe, just like Gu Yue¡¯s descendants who had been enved by Old Bo.

    Behind Old Greenpeel, a man¡¯s face grew pale. His name was Ban Bianhong, and he was the guardian of the Astral Pathfinders, as well as Old Bo¡¯s backer.

    Ban Bianhong had also been involved in Gu Yue¡¯s affairs. The Semi-Monarch was the one who had let Old Bo take action so that he could be recognized by Monarch Luo. Ban Bianhong had also supported all of the Astral Pathfinders¡¯ actions for many years.

    At this moment, the Semi-Monarch felt disaster looming.

    "Gu Yue is my respected senior, and yet you attacked him and even enved his descendants. What do you think I should do to you?" Lu Yin spoke slowly, but when Old Bo heard Lu Yin¡¯s words, the old man stopped breathing.

    So this was why he had just been attacked.

    But why was this happening? Gu Yue¡¯s universe should have been easily enved by their Three Monarchs Universe and its people reduced to subhumans. So just why had he been attacked?

    Old Bo suddenly looked over at Ban Bianhong. "Senior, please help me! Senior, about Gu Yue-"

    "Shut up!" Ban Bianhong was startled by Old Bo¡¯s reaction, and he quickly stopped the man from continuing to speak.

    Lu Yin looked over at Ban Bianhong. Lu Yin had known from the beginning that a Semi-Monarch had been supporting the Astral Pathfinders, but because the Three Monarchs Universe had been trying to open the spatial passage to the Origin Universe, Lu Yin had not been able to deal with that matter before. On top of that, it was not something that Xuan Qi could handle. It appeared that it was now time to settle both of these matters at once.

    Ban Bianhong and Lu Yin stared at each other, and the Semi-Monarch felt as though a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood had suddenly appeared before him. His expression changed drastically, and he did not even realize that he had rushed over to Monarch Xing. This was the Semi-Monarch¡¯s instinctive reaction after many years of battle; he knew that only Monarch Xing could protect him, as this stranger was about to attack him.

    Unfortunately he was already toote.

    The void trembled as Ban Bianhong took a step forward, but the chaotic space caused him to arrive right in front of Lu Yin. The man¡¯s body copsed due to being injured by the chaotic space. He fell to his knees and spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to move.

    Monarch Xing looked over. "This is going too far."

    Lu Yin ced a hand on Ban Bianhong''s shoulder. "Gu Yue must be avenged.¡±

    "The Astral Pathfinders are a group in the Three Monarchs Universe that specializes in discovering parallel universes and enving the inhabitants. I would like to think that you, Senior Monarch Xing, are not that kind of person. Why do you tolerate the existence of such a revolting organization?"

    Monarch Xing''s eyes flickered. Of course she hated the Astral Pathfinders, but for her Starlight Universe, she had willingly put on a public act of being Luo Shan''s wife and had remained in the Three Monarchs Universe for countless years. Everything that she had done was for the sake of the Starlight Universe, as she wanted to protect her home. For someone like Monarch Xing, it was only natural that she would utterly despise the Astral Pathfinders.

    However, Luo Shan allowed their existence, which meant that Monarch Xing had no choice but tolerate them as well.

    "Senior Monarch Xing, regardless of whether you allow it or not, I will be taking these two away, as well as Senior Gu Yue''s descendants. If you refuse, then you are wee to use the power of the Three Monarchs Universe to try to stop me. But if you agree, then I, Lu Yin, will owe you a favor."

    Everyone from the Mo Courtyard was silently watching Ban Bianhong''s tragic fate unfold. If Monarch Xing agreed to Lu Yin¡¯s request, she would lose the support of the Semi-Monarchs. However, did she need that support? Her only desire was to protect her original universe, and she regarded the Three Monarchs Universe as Luo Shan and Monarch Mu¡¯s responsibility.

    She looked at Lu Yin, whose back was to her. He was utterly confident despite not being a peak powerhouse. He was aplete mystery.

    Also, a favor from Lu Yin would be of immeasurable value.

    Monarch Xing said nothing, which Lu Yin understood as tacit eptance. He started making his way towards the spatial passage, dragging Old Bo, Ban Bianhong, and all of Gu Yue''s descendants along with him.

    This was a traumatizing day for the Mo Courtyard. Even though Ban Bianhong was a nasty and disliked person, he had still been a member of the Mo Courtyard, as well as someone from the Three Monarchs Universe. Despite that status, the man had still been dragged away by Lu Yin without any fuss.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was supposed to have invaded that universe, so how had things ended up so differently?

    Lu Yin alone had suppressed the Three Monarchs Universe as a whole. Were they really still part of the Sixverse Association?

    What was the point of even having the Mo Courtyard?

    Among Gu Yue¡¯s descendants, there was the servant who had been serving the Astral Pathfinders when Lu Yin had first visited them and who had been caught hiding his child. At that time, Lu Yin had been acting as Xuan Qi, and while he had been able to arrest Old Bo, he had not been able to help the servant at all. However, Lu Yin was finally able to do just that.

    "Do you hate Gu Yue?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    In total, there were dozens of people being led away by Lu Yin, all of whom were descendants of Gu Yue, and all of whom had been ves.

    "I don''t hate him," replied the man Lu Yin had seen before. Lu Yin nced over. How could he not hate Gu Yue? How could any of these people not hate Gu Yue?

    It was true that Gu Yue was their ancestor, but being his descendants had caused all of them to be ves for generations. How could they not hate him?

    Even so, Lu Yin intended to leave all of these people, including Old Bo and Ban Bianhong, for Grandmaster Gu Yan to deal with.

    Upon arriving at the spatial passage, the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s guards saw Lu Yin, and they held their breath. They did not dare to act rashly and simply allowed Lu Yin to leave.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave the universe, he stopped. He sent the entire group through the passage and to Shenwu Continent, left his orders behind, and then started moving towards the rainbow wall. There was an old acquaintance who hade to say hi.

    ...

    Beyond the rainbow wall, a Progenitor-level corpse king punched forward, smashing Chen Le''s arrows apart.

    Bai Sheng wielded his Superior Heavenly Cudgel, violently bringing it down. The corpse king looked up and roared before throwing out another punch, this time forcing Bai Sheng to retreat, and the Progenitor nearly lost his Superior Heavenly Cudgel as a result. Bai Sheng looked into his opponent¡¯s red eyes and felt that he was facing an unshakable monster.

    "This corpse king is extremely powerful," Bai Sheng solemnly said. Any Progenitor-level corpse king that was able to undergo a Corpse King Transformation was a terrible opponent, and even Chen Le¡¯s arrows and Bai Sheng¡¯s Superior Heavenly Cudgel were unable to leave the slightest injuries.

    From the distance, a lovely voice called out, "Little girl, you are no match for me. Go home."

    It was Forgotten Ruins God, and she was facing both Xia Qin and Specter Progenitor. The two Progenitors were being forced back by her Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves.

    "Dead End!" Specter Progenitor¡¯s arms rose as he formed a guillotine with his death energy. The guillotine filled the sky as the de of death energy shed across it.

    Forgotten Ruins God just sneered, and a wolf head opened its mouth, devouring the Dead End in one bite.

    Specter Progenitor was horrified by the sight, and he retreated backwards again and again. Everyst one of the Seven Skygods were incredibly powerful.

    "Wang Fan, your clone is no match for me," Forgotten Ruins God said with a smile. She then looked past Specter Progenitor and Xia Qin to Lu Yin, who had just arrived at the rainbow wall. Upon seeing him, Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s eyes lit up. "Haha, Look who''s here! Little Lu Yin, how have you beentely?"

    Lu Yin stood atop the rainbow wall and looked out at the distant form of Forgotten Ruins God, a solemn expression on his face.

    This was the old acquaintance who had arrived to say hello.

    Long ago, he had realized that the Seven Skygods were each powerful and terrible opponents. But then, he had nearly killed Undying God with the slipper, which had given him a great deal of relief. It was proof that the Seven Skygods were not invincible.

    It had not been until his battle with Old Mo on the Endless Frontier that Lu Yin had truly understood just how terrifying a peak powerhouse who could control sequence particles could be. It was only then that he understood why the Sixverse Association and the four ruling powers were so terrified of the Seven Skygods.

    As for Undying God, when Lu Yin had attacked him with the slipper, the Skygod had been trapped by the Python Ancestor, and his ability to influence sequence particles had to have been restrained by something. If not for that, even ten slippers would have been useless against Undying God, as Lu Yin would not have even been able to attack.

    That was the power of the Seven Skygods.

    How many people in the megaverse truly understood the horror of the Seven Skygods?

    "Hey, what¡¯s with that expression?" Forgotten Ruins God smiled at Lu Yin. Her face was stunningly beautiful, and the sight of the strange flower mark on her face caused Specter Progenitor¡¯s breath to quicken. The Skygod possessed an irresistible charm, and her sparkling eyes were enchanting. "Little Lu Yin, are you afraid of me?"

    The war in outer space came to a standstill. As Forgotten Ruins God spoke, a strange, cold, unpredictable, and terrifying aura spread out.

    No one knew where the aura hade from or when it had appeared. It was simply there the moment the Skygod finished speaking, and the aura startled everyone, from the regr cultivators to the peak powerhouses like Specter Progenitor, Chen Le, Bai Sheng. All of them turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God in unision.

    Despite the smile on her face and her casual tone, at this moment, Forgotten Ruins God gave everyone an unfamiliar feeling.

    An unfamiliar feeling? How absurd!

    Bai Sheng became more solemn than ever before. He had faced Forgotten Ruins God in the Dominion Realm before. In fact, of the Seven Skygods Gods, aside from the most mysterious Whiteless God, everyst one of them had visited the Dominion Realm in the past. Bai Sheng should be quite familiar with Forgotten Ruins God, so why did he feel like he was seeing her for the first time at this moment? Bai Sheng had never sensed anything like this aura before.

    Xia Qin and Specter Progenitor felt the exact same way, suddenly feeling as though they were seeing Forgotten Ruins God for the first time.

    Lu Yin and Forgotten Ruins God stared at each other. Her gaze created a pressure so extraordinary that most people could not even imagine it. This was more than just the gaze of Forgotten Ruins God.

 Chapter 2777: The Power Of Confinement

    <h4>Chapter 2777: The Power Of Confinement</h4>

    Nothing could hide from Heaven¡¯s Sight, and they even let Lu Yin see through sequence particles. He looked at the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves and saw that each of the nine wolf heads contained sequence particles. With those, the wolf heads were like puppets on strings, controlled by an invisible hand hidden in the void. However, Lu Yin had no way of understanding whatws the sequence particles represented or how they could alter a universe.

    If Lu Yin had not seen Old Mo use the power of darkness, he would have never been able to tell whatw the man had touched upon based solely off of what Heaven¡¯s Sight revealed.

    What had Forgotten Ruins God mastered?

    Lu Yin felt odd, as he realized that he had never seen her use the power of sequence particles before!

    "Seeing you now, you look just like when Ist saw you on the rear battlefield," Lu Yin said, deliberately keeping his voice calm and revealing no emotions whatsoever.

    The corners of Forgotten Ruins God''s mouth curved upwards into a charming arc. "Are youplimenting me for being as beautiful as ever? Very well, I ept!"

    Abruptly, the disturbing sensation vanished, and everyone discovered that they had been sweating without even realizing it. One by one, they turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God, though their expressions werepletely different from before. This was one of the Seven Skygods.

    When Monarch Xing arrived, she immediately noticed Forgotten Ruins God and became extremely wary.

    "Little Lu Yin, you¡¯ve finally stepped onto this stage." Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s eyes sparkled in an enchanting manner that made people unwilling to look directly at her.

    Lu Yin nodded. "This is your stage."

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled. "That¡¯s right, this is our stage. Only by stepping onto this stage can you obtain the opportunity to dance with us. I wonder, just how long you can follow my steps for?"

    "We can find out, as long as you¡¯re not afraid of me stepping on your feet," Lu Yin replied confidently.

    The woman gave him a tender smile. "I¡¯m just a feeble woman, and it will hurt if someone steps on my toes, which I don¡¯t want. In that case," She paused as her eyes instantly turned frigid. "Get off the stage!"

    The void shattered, and a pair of slitted, scarlet eyes suddenly appeared right before Lu Yin. At the same time, a sky-shattering punch shot towards Lu Yin. It shattered the void and tore through all of the defensive measures present. Once pure strength reached a certain level, it was possible to instantly eliminate anything.

    Chen Le was badly startled, as this was the corpse king that he had just been fighting. The red eyes Corpse King Transformation had raised the monster¡¯s already fearsome physical strength to the level where it could fight against both Chen Le¡¯s arrows and Bai Sheng''s stick. The corpse king was a true monster.

    The fist wind parted the void like a curtain as the corpse king stepped forward. The soles of its feet shattered space with a sound that caused the universe to shake and countless people to start bleeding.

    This punch would be difficult for most Progenitors to endure.

    "Watch out!" Monarch Xing screamed.

    Lu Yin''s pupils dted, and a purplish-ck substance spread across his two arms. At the same time, his arms dried up and became desated as he used Extremes Must Be Reversed. His head rose, and he took a step forward, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appearing behind him as he roared to the sky and threw his own punch.

    The two fists collided, and a deafening sound many times louder than anything before exploded out in space. Part of the rainbow wall was instantly destroyed as a terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions. Ripples could be seen as they traveled through space, tearing open the void and revealing the endless ck Hollow.

    This was the result of a purely physical impact.

    Lu Yin and the corpse king were very close to each other, and their fists were actually touching. He stared into the corpse king¡¯s eyes, who was staring right back at Lu Yin.

    Even though this corpse king was not as physically powerful as the monstrous one that had ambushed Lu Yin in the Sixth Maind, it was still freakishly powerful. Bit by bit, the horrifying force behind the fist increased, and Lu Yin¡¯s arm, which had died up due to Extremes Must Be Reversed, was visibly recovering. Behind him, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant was bing increasingly blurry, and Lu Yin was almost forced back.

    He had be a peak Envoy, which had improved his physical strength slightly, while also improving his cultivation. However, he still was not strong enough to overpower the corpse king.

    The pupils in the center of the corpse king''s red eyes shrank to pinpricks as the power in its fist rose. The corpse king¡¯s eyes were changing, moving towards the Specter Eye Transformation, which consequently caused the monster¡¯s strength to spike.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and veins popped out across his body. When it came to physical might, he had never been outmatched by anyone in the Lu family. He was a descendent of the Lu family and their heir. He was Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as Lu Yin.

    He would not lose¡ªno, he could not lose, especially not in the Three Monarchs Universe. He could not afford to lose while the four ruling powers and the Three Monarchs Universe were watching.

    The Withered Bark that had settled within Lu Yin¡¯s chest shook slightly, and a gray energy flowed about as Extremes Must Be Reversed reacted with the power of time. It spread across the fatesand continent, and then through his chest and across his body. At this moment, Lu Yin had a strange feeling; had time stopped? No, he could still feel the unstoppable power of the corpse king pressing against him, which meant that time had not stopped at all. In that case, what had happened?

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist seemed to be trapped in something before it met the corpse king¡¯s fist, and while it felt as though time had frozen, Lu Yin could feel that he was still exerting his full strength. The power that he was releasing seemed to mesh with the power of frozen time again and again. It continued to repeat, and Lu Yin finally realized that this sensation was very simr to the secret technique that Chu Yuan had once used: the Realm of Time.

    The Realm of Time was able to freeze time around a single element. It allowed Chu Yuan to repeatedly attack with his sword, stacking the attacks before releasing all of them in a single blow that possessed much greater power than what he was capable of releasing on his own. Theoretically, there was no limit to how many attacks the Realm of Time could stack: one, two, three, a hundred, a thousand, or even tens of thousands¡ªits only limiting factor was how long the Realm of Time could be maintained for.

    Lu Yin had almost been defeated by that secret technique, and ording to Chu Yuan, it had been created by the Origin Progenitor.

    At this moment, all of Lu Yin¡¯s power was concentrated on his fist, but it was not released. This was extremely simr to the Realm of Time, and it was the Withered Bark¡¯s power of time that allowed Lu Yin to aplish this feat.

    A single punch possessed limited power, but if Lu Yin could stack up tens, hundreds, or even thousands of punches into a single attack, just how powerful would it be?

    The corpse king was still attacking, its fist relentlessly pressing down against Lu Yin, but for Lu Yin, it seemed as though the moment had been stretched out. He froze thirty of his own punches and then released them all at once.

    The moment the Withered Bark¡¯s power of time was released, the corpse king''s eyes finished the Specter Eye Transformation, which caused its strength to increase tenfold again. Its punch became even more powerful, reaching a level where the corpse king could instantly defeat a peak powerhouse like Chen Le.

    At that same time, Lu Yin released an attack of thirtybined punches.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    There was no sound, only the arrival of the Hollow that devoured the void.

    Bai Sheng, Chen Le, and the others watching were all horrified, and they fled from the scene.

    For the first time, Monarch Xing''s expression changed as she also fled from the Hollow.

    It was even difficult for Progenitors and other peak powerhouses to create such a terrifyingrge pocket of the Hollow.

    This punch had been stronger than any other that Lu Yin had ever unleashed. He had used the power of Extremes Must Be Reversed tounch a counterattack that was reinforced by Wielder realm battleforce and the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. On top of all that, the attack had been stacked up thirty times. Never before had Lu Yin unleashed such a powerful attack on his own. While it was much weaker than when he attacked with the slipper, this attack was far more shocking than the slipper.

    After all, Lu Yin had released such an incredibly powerful punch with only the strength of a peak Envoy.

    Before, Chen Le and many others had not believed that Lu Yin was personally capable of fighting against Progenitors. Instead, they had assumed that he used external objects and powers to reach that level. This was true even of Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. They believed that the Investiture of the Gods, the Champions¡¯ Stage, the slipper, and everything else was what gave Lu Yin the confidence to fight against Progenitors.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s punch had justpletely overturned their previous understanding.

    The corpse king and Lu Yin both flew back, neither causing any damage to the other.

    The physical strength of a corpse king that had undergone a Specter Eye Transformation was terrifying. If Lu Yin had not managed to use the Withered Bark to locally freeze time andyer thirty punches, he would have never been able to match up against it. At that point, he would have been forced to use the slipper.

    The Hollow devoured a section of the rainbow wall before slowly shrinking and fading away.

    Lu Yin gasped for breath as he stared into the distance.

    When he explored the Sixth Maind, he had been ambushed by a freakishly powerful corpse king. That monster had been wary of Lu Yin¡¯s slipper, which had prevented him from being able tond even a single attack. At this moment, he had finally obtained the strength that he needed to stand up to such a monster. While he was still undoubtedly much weaker than the corpse king, if Lu Yin became a Semi-Progenitor, then he would be able to use this newly discovered technique with Heaven¡¯s Sight and the power in his chest. He was confident that thisbination could actually contest that freakish corpse king.

    The battlefield was silent.

    Monarch Xing and the others were all staring at Lu Yin in shock. Had this boy really just evenly exchanged blows against a Progenitor-level corpse king while only having the cultivation of a peak Envoy? Even more shockingly, that corpse king had used the Specter Eye Transformation. The Monarchs and Progenitors all asked themselves if they could match Lu Yin¡¯s feat, but they all knew that they would have been at the corpse king¡¯s mercy. That was the corpse king that Lu Yin had just pushed back.

    Forgotten Ruins God was just as surprised as anyone else, and her eyes glowed as she stared at Lu Yin. A smile returned to her lips. "Little Lu, it appears that you don''t want to step down from this stage."

    Lu Yin felt inspired by the method that he had just discovered which allowed him to merge multiple attacks together. With this, he would no longer only be able to release attacks as powerful as a Progenitor through using objects like the slipper. "I look forward to dancing with you."

    "Haha, alright, that¡¯s enough fun for one day. We¡¯ll find a chance to have more fun again some day." With that, the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves disappeared, and Forgotten Ruins God left the battlefield.

    All of the Aeternals receded like a tide.

    It seemed that the attack had beenunched just to say hello to Lu Yin.

    Only Lu Yin was aware of just how much danger he had just faced. That corpse king had truly been capable of killing him.

    He was certain that Aeternus had alreadye up with a way to deal with him. After all, the slipper and everything else that Lu Yin had revealed so far could be countered by Forgotten Ruins God. That singr punch was what had managed to resolve the crisis.

    He had been careless, and only now did he realize that he should not have visited the rainbow wall, even if it was just a matter of time before such a confrontation eventually urred.

    Luckily, Lu Yin had managed toprehend a new way to utilize the power of time with his attacks, which granted him a new powerful attack. With the ability tobine thirty punches into a single attack, who could block Lu Yin¡¯s fists? Not even a Specter Eye Transformation corpse king had been able to stop the attack, which meant it would be even more difficult for a human to be able to block the attack.

    For the moment, the fighting stopped. Countless cultivators stared at Lu Yin from both inside and outside of the rainbow wall, stunned.

    Monarch Xing had been able to sense Lu Yin''s strength, and she understood why he was able to confront Luo Shan.

    Specter Progenitor said nothing, but there was fear in his eyes as he looked at Lu Yin. Lu Xiaoxuan was growing ever more powerful. They had already tried everything possible to restrain him, including working with the Sixverse Association. However, nothing had worked. How on earth would they deal with him?

    Lu Yin suddenly nced at Specter Progenitor and frowned. "The God of Death¡¯s death energy is being held by a mere shadow of Wang Fan. Do you really believe that you are qualified to use it?"

    Specter Progenitor replied in a low voice, "That is not up to you. I have been cultivating death energy for far longer than you."

    Lu Yin retorted, "The day wille when I extract all of your death energy."

    Specter Progenitor¡¯s eyes glinted as he clenched his halberd. He really wanted to cooperate with Bai Sheng and the others to get rid of Lu Yin, but even if Specter Progenitor was willing to do so, Bai Sheng and Xia Qin would never agree to such actions. Besides, Lu Xiaoxuan would not be easy to kill, and he still had his Investiture of the Gods as well. The youth had never used that or his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you are getting more and more overbearing," Bai Sheng said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Did you y a role in my Lu family¡¯s exile?"

 Chapter 2778: Wendy Becomes A Disciple

    <h4>Chapter 2778: Wendy Bes A Disciple</h4>

    Lu Yin had always assumed that Bai Wangyuan and the other leaders of the four ruling powers were the only ones involved in exiling the Lu family, but Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and several others were also Progenitors. Unless Lu Yin confirmed that they had nothing to do with his family¡¯s exile, he would not leave them out of his revenge.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s eyebrows rose high. "Are you finalizing your revenge list?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "You can say that."

    Bai Sheng stared at Lu Yin for a long moment and then put away his Shengtian Stick. "I had nothing to do with any of that."

    Lu Yin then looked at Xia Qin, who simply stated, "My only enemy is Aeternus. I have nothing to do with Shenwu''s Sky, let alone your Lu family."

    Lu Yin nodded. Finally, he turned to look at Monarch Xing. "When Luo Shan returns, give him my regards. We¡¯ll settle our ounts then."

    Lu Yin then simply left.

    Monarch Xing and the others did not say much after Lu Yin left. As Bai Sheng had said, Lu Yin was getting more and more arrogant, and that punch had been quite intimidating. No one could say what abilities Lu Yin had managed to keep hidden, even after so long, but there was no denying that they could not do anything to him.

    Starting from that moment, it became inevitable that Lu Yin¡¯s legend would spread across the Three Monarchs Universe, which was exactly what he wanted.

    At this moment, the person whose mind was racing the most was Chen Le. He wanted to find an opportunity to speak with Lu Yin alone. Just what was the Dao Monarch thinking?

    Lu Yin soon arrived at Shenwu Continent, where he saw Grandmaster Gu Yan and Gu Yue¡¯s descendants. As for Old Bo and Ban Bianhong, they were already corpses.

    They all saw Lu Yin return, and Grandmaster Gu Yan offered a deep bow. "Thank you very much."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand moved out to raise the old man back up. "Senior Gu Yue helped me in the past as well, and he set up a sourcebox array to protect the Fifth Maind, sacrificing himself and his family."

    Grandmaster Gu Yan sighed. "He was lonely and helpless in this ce, but he was also willing to die for it. Gu Yue was such a kind child. Now that he has been avenged, I have the peace of mind to study sourcebox arrays again. I hope that I will one day be able to help you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, there¡¯s no need for you to feel any sort of pressure. I¡¯ve merely acted as I should. Don''t forget that we are friends."

    The grandmaster happily replied, "It¡¯s true, we¡¯ve been friends for many years. I used to enjoy a great many delicacies with Lu Xiaoxuan in Food Paradise, haha."

    Lu Yin was happy to see Grandmaster Gu Yan finallyy down the burden he had been carrying in his heart for so long.

    "Also, Mu Shang has been missing for quite some time now, and I have no idea where he went, so be careful. I believe that the four ruling powers may have sent him to the Sixverse Association, which would not be good for you," Grandmaster Gu Yan warned after suddenly remembering something.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Mu Shang? He had been dead for quite some time, but Lu Yin could not be connected to that matter.

    "I understand. I¡¯ll look into that."

    Lu Yin soon left Shenwu Continent and returned to the Heavens Sect. It was time for Xuan Qi to emerge from seclusion and make some moves as well.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived at the Heavens Sect, Arch-Elder Zen sought him out, a solemn expression on his face. "Someone wants to ept Wendy Yushan as their disciple."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "ept Wendy Yushan as a disciple? Who?"

    "Someone who ims to be Sage Bodhi, one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages," Arch-Elder Zen replied.

    The Heavens Sect was automatically wary of anyone from the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Did Sage Bodhi want to ept Wendy Yushan as her disciple? After considering the matter for a moment, Lu Yin realized that Sage Bodhi must have discovered Wendy Yushan''s innate gift.

    Wendy Yushan had been thrown onto the Endless Frontier by Sovereign Shao Yin, and yet she had managed to escape using nothing but her own abilities, which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sovereign Shao Yin was not stupid, so how could he have allowed Wendy Yushan to leave? However, she had done just that, and there was no way that Sage Bodhi would not look into the matter. Wendy Yushan had already told Lu Yin that her innate gift had been exposed, so it was not surprising that Sage Bodhi had learned of it.

    "What has Wendy said?"

    "She is currently talking to Sage Bodhi¡¯s disciple."

    Lu Yin looked over towards Wendy Yushan''s residence in the Heavens Sect, which was an independent mountain peak. At the moment, a woman wearing a ck windbreaker was speaking to Wendy. The woman appeared rather cold, but her eyes were soft and admiring when she looked at Wendy Yushan.

    The woman was as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin vanished, and he quickly reappeared just outside Wendy Yushan''s courtyard. She immediately noticed his presence, and the woman sitting across her turned around to look at Lu Yin. She quickly rose and offered him a bow. "Proximity¡¯s Ah Qiao greets Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin stepped into the courtyard, observing the woman. "Are you one of Sage Bodhi¡¯s people?"

    Ah Qiao had a cold appearance, but she behaved very respectfully. "Sage Bodhi is my master."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Have a seat."

    He walked over to the stone table and sat down, and only then did Ah Qiao also sit. While remaining respectful, she was not formal. As one of Sage Bodhi¡¯s disciples, she was a part of Proximity and had be ustomed to the unending battle of the Endless Frontier. She would be neither servile nor arrogant, even when facing peak powerhouses as powerful as Progenitors.

    The reason why she was respectful towards Lu Yin was not because of his status or personal power, but rather because of what he had aplished during his time on the Endless Frontier.

    Only Proximity and the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder truly understood how desperate the battle in the Umbral Universe had been. Lu Yin was not even an Ascendant, but the forces involved in that battle amply demonstrated his strength. Even Sage Bodhi herself had nothing but respect for Lu Yin.

    Not everyone in the Sixverse Association hated the Origin Universe. As for Sage Bodhi, the only thing she hated was the Aeternals.

    "So Sage Bodhi wants to ept Wendy as her disciple?" Lu Yin asked.

    Ah Qiao nodded. "Wendy possesses an extraordinary innate gift, which my master appreciates greatly. For that reason, she has sent me here on her behalf to discuss epting Wendy as a disciple. My master cannot leave Proximity."

    Lu Yin looked over at Wendy Yushan. "What do you think?"

    Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin stared at each other. "I want to go to Proximity."

    "That''s a part of the Sixverse Association."

    Wendy Yushan looked away and softly answered, "I¡¯ve already attended the Sixverse Academy, so I am no stranger to the Sixverse Association."

    "You know what I mean."

    "I understand what you are trying to say, but cultivators risk their lives fighting the universe in order to improve. You can protect me for a time, but not forever. You should know how I am. Even when I was thrown onto the Endless Frontier, I managed to leave on my own. After escaping from that ce, I can go wherever I want to, and I want to go to Proximity."

    Wendy Yushan''s attitude was firm, and Lu Yin could not argue with her.

    He nodded. "If you¡¯ve already decided, then go be Sage Bodhi¡¯s disciple."

    He then pulled out the needle-like weapon and the pill skin before handing them both to Wendy Yushan. "You can go, but since the Endless Frontier is so dangerous, take these with you."

    The gifts caught Ah Qiaopletely off guard. Why was Lu Yin giving Wendy a giant needle and some sort of skin? Was that leather? What could that be used for?

    Wendy Yushan did not refuse, as she understood what both of these items were. The needle-like weapon was capable of piercing a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world, and it could even threaten a Progenitor. Meanwhile, the pill skin was durable enough to block attacks from a seven-tribtion Envoy. Both were powerful tools.

    There was no need for gratitude or feelings of debt between Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan, and Ah Qiao could not stay long, as she needed to get back to Proximity. Thus, she soon left with Wendy Yushan.

    "Everyone has their own path, and she is no different. There¡¯s no need to overthink this matter," Arch-Elder Zen said while feeling a bit emotional.

    Their universe hadpletely changed. Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s generation had thought that the Fifth Maind was the center of the universe, with the only outside areas being the Technocracy, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Astral Wilderness, all of which were difficult to explore. Then, the Sixth Maind had invaded them and the Fifth Maind had been connected to the Perennial World, expanding people¡¯s understanding of the universe as a whole. Shockingly, they had also ended up connecting to the Sixverse Association, which had greatly expanded the Fifth Maind¡¯s horizons.

    They felt that they had finally learned the true vastness of the megaverse.

    If Arch-Elder Zen had not broken through and had remained a Semi-Progenitor, he would have no value or importance on the megaverse¡¯s stage. He would only be qualified to deal with other powerful cultivators who were equal to Semi-Progenitors.

    Arch-Elder Zen could not help but remember Lingzhi Mavis and Xia Ji. They had both died without even seeing whaty beyond their own universe, which could only be regarded as a pity.

    The old man then suddenly remembered something, and he looked back at Lu Yin. "Are you worried or merely reluctant?"

    Lu Yin waspletely caught off guard. "About what?"

    Arch-Elder Zen let out a long breath. "You are no longer young, and it¡¯s time for you to leave your own descendants behind."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "Senior, you¡¯re even a Progenitor. You should make your own descendants."

    Arch-Elder Zen coughed and acted deaf.

    Lu Yin felt quite entertained as he watched Arch-Elder Zen leave.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin announced that he would return to seclusion in order to prepare for his breakthrough to be a Semi-Progenitor.

    ...

    In the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Red Zone, Skinner, Ghost Three, Ning Ran, and Boss Guan had gathered at the top of the bell tower to discuss various spies that needed to be arrested.

    Suddenly they saw someone else, whose presence startled them. Naturally, they had noticed Xuan Qi.

    "Acting Bureau Director, have you ended your seclusion?" Skinner asked happily.

    The team captains quickly moved forward to greet Lu Yin, and the Bureau manager also arrived. "Greetings, Acting Bureau Director."

    "Greetings, Acting Bureau Director."

    Lu Yin grunted. "I¡¯ve only been in seclusion for a few months, which is not very long at all, but the Lost n¡¯s cards are allplex and profound. My cultivation is not good enough yet, so unfortunately, I¡¯ve already done all that I can for now."

    Ghost Three quickly offered a bit of ttery. "The Acting Bureau Director is incredibly talented, unequaled in both the past and the present. While you may have only been in seclusion for a few months, I believe that the Acting Bureau Director¡¯s talent must have allowed you to fully master your card."

    The other three team captains looked at the shameless brownnoser. How could he spew such garbage with a straight face?

    Evernight was one of the Lost n¡¯s most powerful cards, and the only other known equal was with the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder. Fully mastering Evernight meant gaining the strength of a peak powerhouse, and it was impossible for the Acting Bureau Director to possess that level of power with his current cultivation. Ghost Three was not being subtle at all.

    Lu Yin found the matter quite funny, but he said nothing further for the moment. Instead, he simply listened to the team captains¡¯ discussion about spies before they all left.

    While Lu Yin had gained some measure of control over Evernight, he was a great ways away from fully mastering it. Old Mo¡¯s power of darkness had given him a bit of inspiration, and without that, Lu Yin would have struggled to achieve even his current level of mastery.

    It took only a few days for word that Xuan Qi had emerged from seclusion to spread, and countless people sent their representatives to the Red Zone, hoping to establish a good rtionship with him. After all, once Xuan Qi became a peak powerhouse, he was guaranteed to be one of the most powerful people in existence.

    Skinner also shared a funny bit of gossip that had recently emerged; Xu Wuji had dirt on his face. While he would never mention exactly what had happened, the team captains had somehow witnessed the event, and the atmosphere was rather awkward.

    Lu Yin instantly thought of the box that he had delivered for Fang Yi. Whatever had happened must have been because of that box.

    "By the way, I happened to see someone approaching your seclusion area, Acting Bureau Director." Skinner suddenly mentioned.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank slightly. "Did you drive them away?"

    Skinner shook his head. "Not us, but the Bureau Director drove them away."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. "The Bureau Director himself saw that my seclusion was not disturbed?"

    Skinner nodded and then moved closer to whisper, "Do you know who was driven away, Acting Bureau Director? It was the Void Morphora that the Bureau Director personally recruited to serve as the Red Zone¡¯s guardian. Someone bribed him to attack you, Acting Bureau Director. Luckily, the Bureau Director himself drove the man away, or else you would have been in grave danger."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered; the situation had just taken a turn for the worse.

    It was hard to say whether a Semi-Progenitor-level cultivator would notice that Xuan Qi had been present or not, but there was no way that Xu Wuji would miss that particr detail.

 Chapter 2779: A Tacit Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 2779: A Tacit Understanding</h4>

    Given the abilities that Xuan Qi had demonstrated so far, how could he hide his absence from someone as powerful as Xu Wuji?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew ugly. "When did this happen?"

    "It was a while ago..."

    Lu Yin spat on the ground. He had been careless. He had not thought that someone would try to approach Xuan Qi during his seclusion, let alone Xu Wuji. There was no way the Void Suprema had not noticed Xuan Qi¡¯s absence.

    Truthfully, it did not really matter if Lu Yin had been careless or not. Xuan Qi was nothing more than Xuan Qi, a cultivator who was not even a Void Morphora. Xuan Qi was not Lu Yin, and there was no way that Xuan Qi could hide anything from a peak powerhouse. Any powerful cultivator could have approached Xuan Qi¡¯s ce of seclusion if they had wanted to. It was just a matter of whether they wanted to.

    "Acting Bureau Director, do you want to head out for a bit? Arrest a few spies? We¡¯ve only managed to uncover a few minor ones," Skinner asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "Not right now. I need to speak with the Bureau Director about something. You all head out on your own."

    Soon, Skinner, Boss Guan, and the other team captains left the Red Zone to arrest some spies. At the same time, Lu Yin reached out to Xu Wuji.

    The Void Suprema was not far from the Red Zone. He was casually drifting through outer space with his sunsses on. It was impossible to know if the man was sleeping or merely resting.

    Lu Yin arrived a short distance away. "Bureau Director."

    Xu Wuji pushed his sunsses up. "Xuan Qi, are you out of seclusion already? How¡¯d it go? Evernight can¡¯t be easy to control."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Not at all."

    "Haha, how long were you in seclusion for? Forget Evernight¡ªno Immemorial card can be mastered in such a short amount of time," Xu Wuji said with a smile.

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Wuji and asked, "Bureau Director, I heard that someone tried to attack me. Is that right?"

    Xu Wuji took a sip of his drink. "I didn¡¯t know what he wanted, so I drove him away."

    "Thank you, Bureau Director."

    "You''re wee. You¡¯re one of my people, so if I don¡¯t take care of you, who will? If you want to go back into seclusion, you can continue doing so. There¡¯s nothing that the Bureau is actively dealing with right now, at least, not in my Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin could not tell if Xu Wuji knew that he had not actually been in seclusion, but the man <i>should </i>know.

    However, it was not easy for Lu Yin to bring up such a matter.

    "Speaking of that, you already managed to arrest quite a few spies hidden in the Voidforce Universe, and you¡¯ve scared even more of them away. Xuan Qi, you really are the best in the entire Sixverse Association when ites to rooting out spies. Keep up the good work," Xu Wuji said before putting his sunsses back on.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. Keep up the good work? Was it because Xuan Qi had captured so many spies that Xu Wuji did not care?

    "Bureau Director, you once told me you became the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau Director because you lost a bet. If you could go back, would you still choose to join the Bureau?"

    Xu Wuji did not respond, but after Lu Yin waited for a while, the man finally said, "If I had known that someone like you would show up, I absolutely would have still joined the Bureau."

    Lu Yin smiled, understanding the man¡¯s meaning.

    "Right, we should head back to the New Inn. You need to give them an answer. It¡¯s not enough to speak words without showing some action as well. Do you want me to help you deal with a Void Morphora-level corpse king?" Xu Wuji mentioned.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s not necessary. I have Evernight, and I only need to deal with opponents as powerful as Void Morphoras."

    "Then go take care of that."

    Lu Yin left. It was indeed time for Xuan Qi to return to the New Inn. He had promised to trade four Void Morphora-level corpse kings for Old Dian''s life. A good bit of time had passed since then, but given everything that had happened, Lu Yin had never had the opportunity to return to the New Inn.

    It was important to demonstrate his determination to them.

    The New Inn was right at the Voidforce Universe¡¯s frontlines. When Lu Yin had first visited this ce, Xu Wuji had led the way, but this time, Lu Yin was making the trip alone.

    Less than half a monthter, he was close to the frontlines. Lu Yin stepped forward and saw the voidforce energy before him form a massive vortex of energy at the border of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s frontlines. This was where the New Inn was located.

    When Xu Wuji had first led Lu Yin here, they had quickly found the New Inn, but on his own, Lu Yin discovered that it was not as easy.

    Lu Yin had been on far too many battlefields throughout his lifetime, and the battlefield at the border of the Voidforce Universe was nothing impressive to him. As long as no one at the Progenitor level was participating, Lu Yin was invincible.

    As soon as he arrived on the battlefield, he went to where he sensed fighting.

    Lu Yin swept across the battlefield, wielding his voidforce energy and causing his bone spur to dart about. With it, he was untouchable.

    As he moved along, he approached many different people to ask them for directions to the New Inn, which allowed him to gradually approach it.

    Before long, Lu Yin found a Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king on the battlefield.

    The raging voidforce energy on the battlefield inhibited the corpse kings while greatly aiding the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivators.

    A peak Void Brillium was facing off against the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king, relying on his voidforce puppet to endure. Even so, the corpse king was at a clear advantage.

    The cultivator''s puppet was a pink ball that kept bouncing around and striking the corpse king. Voidforce energy was continuously being pulled over from all over the battlefield, which meant that the cultivator¡¯s reserves were not lowering in the slightest. This was only possible on this particr battlefield; anywhere else, the man would not be able to stand up to the corpse king. After all, even voidforce puppets had limited energy reserves.

    Lu Yin appeared next to the man in an instant, startling him badly. "Brother, how did you move so fast? Don''t scare me! I almost attacked you with my ball!"

    Lu Yin raised his hand, causing his bone spur to flick out before disappearing and almost instantly reappearing. At the same moment, the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king¡¯s head fell off.

    The man was stunned, and his pink ball stopped moving as he nkly stared at Lu Yin.

    He had put his entire strength into fighting off the corpse king, and it was quite an impressive achievement that he had managed to stand up to a corpse king stronger than himself. On the other hand, this neer had almost instantly killed that same corpse king! How long had it taken, seconds? What the hell?

    Lu Yin stepped forward and grabbed the corpse king''s head before vanishing once again.

    In total, he had taken just three seconds.

    If not for the corpse king¡¯s headless body, the cultivator would have thought that he was dreaming.

    When had such a monster arrived on this battlefield?

    Lu Yin felt that there was no real reason to hide his capabilities in the Voidforce Universe. Lord Xu was already aware of Lu Yin¡¯s identity, so there was little point in trying to remain hidden.

    A dayter, Lu Yin finally saw the New Inn.

    He barely attracted any attention when he pushed the door open. The dining room was quite full, mostly popted with cultivators who fought on the battlefield.

    Only the establishment¡¯s servers recognized Xuan Qi.

    "If it isn¡¯t Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi! What a rare guest!" The same woman with heavy makeup moved forward to happily wee Lu Yin into the inn.

    He smiled at her. "Big Sister, have you still not married Boss Chou Bao yet?"

    "Hey! How can you mention something so embarrassing like that? Please stop teasing me, Acting Bureau Director, haha."

    "It¡¯ll happen sooner orter."

    "Hey, old man! Bring some tea over here for the Acting Bureau Director.

    ¡°By the way, I hope that Bureau Director Wuji hasn¡¯te with you. He¡¯s not very wee here." The woman casually sat down across from Lu Yin, her voice lowering as she sat down. It was a lovely sight, and Lu Yin could not help but appreciate the eye candy.

    No, he could not look at her like that. The people of the New Inn were not what they appeared to be, and to use Xu Wuji''s words, none of them were good people.

    "The Bureau Director is currently upied, so I came alone," Lu Yin answered with a smile.

    "I¡¯m d to hear that he didn¡¯te! Next time, I¡¯ll dump the tea on him!" An old man arrived behind Lu Yin, delivering some tea. He shot a smile to the woman, revealingrge yellow teeth.

    Lu Yin knew that this man had a grudge against Xu Wuji. Even though he was only a Void Morphora, he still dared to insult Xu Wuji. All that could be said was that the server did not value his own life.

    All of the people who worked in the New Inn were indifferent to the matters of life and death. While they might have entered the New Inn to survive, they would never be allowed to leave the battlefield alive. It was destined to be their grave.

    After taking a sip of his tea, Lu Yin nced around, finding that many people were also observing him. Not all of the inn¡¯s guests were qualified for that woman to greet them.

    "Where''s Boss Chou Bao? I¡¯ve brought a gift," Lu Yin said.

    The woman''s eyes lit up, gleaming as though she was about to shed tears. "Is that the gift that you promised to deliver, Acting Bureau Director?"

    "Just one, not all of them. I¡¯ll continue to send more when I have the opportunity in the future," Lu Yin exined.

    The woman smiled. "That¡¯s impressive, Acting Bureau Director. I heard that you¡¯ve received one of the Lost n¡¯s most powerful cards. Is that true? Could you indulge this little girl and show her?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course."

    "Really?" The woman had only asked on a whim, and she had not expected Xuan Qi to actually agree.

    "First help me out by calling Boss Chou Bao out."

    The woman smiled and left. Soon, Chou Bao entered the dining room.

    Everyone in New Inn looked at the man with respect, and some did not even dare to look directly at him.

    Lu Yin looked at the man and rose to greet him. "Senior, I¡¯ve only brought you one this time. I¡¯ll take care of the remaining three as soon as possible."

    As Lu Yin spoke, he pulled out the head of the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse king from his cosmic ring.

    The people nearby were all taken aback by the sight. While Semi-Progenitors were nothing in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, most people regarded them as powerful existences that were far out of their reach. Many people dreamed of reaching that level for their entire lives, and they did not even consider the possibility of ever reaching the true peak.

    They all stared at Lu Yin. Could such a young man really kill such a powerful corpse king?

    "That¡¯s Xuan Qi! I remembered now!"

    "Xuan Qi? The Bureau¡¯s Acting Director? The Xuan Qi who¡¯s also the Bureau Director in the Three Monarchs Universe and the Transcendent Universe?"

    "That¡¯s right, it¡¯s him."

    "I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s incredibly talented, evenparable to the Junior Sovereign, and that he managed to get one of the Lost n¡¯s most powerful cards. It¡¯s no wonder that he¡¯s able to kill such a powerful corpse king."

    ...

    Chou Bao nced at the head and then looked back at Xuan Qi. "Not bad, but you still have three more to go.

    "Take a break for now!"

    Lu Yin asked, "Where is Old Dian?"

    Chou Bao pointed to a corner.

    Lu Yin had not scanned New Inn with his domain out of respect for Chou Bao, but when he looked over where the man was pointing, he saw Old Dian cooking and staring intently at Lu Yin.

    When the old man saw Xuan Qi look over, he grew excited.

    "Can I talk to him?"

    "You¡¯re in an inn. Of course you can."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Thank you very much."

    Chou Bao was right. They were in an inn, so Lu Yin ordered some food. It would be rude to visit an inn without doing at least that much.

    His food was then delivered by Old Dian.

    "Bureau Director, how are things going?" The old man was anxious, but also excited to see Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "The Bai n was killed by Chen Le."

    Old Dian was confused for a moment before he remembered that name. "Are you talking about the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s leader of the Mo Courtyard? That Chen Le?"

    "He¡¯s broken through and is now a peak powerhouse. I can¡¯t deal with him for now," Lu Yin replied.

    Old Dian fell into despair. "So, the powerful expert ended up bing a peak powerhouse..."

    The man did not me Xuan Qi. After all, what could be done against a Monarch?

    Even if Lu Yin were not using Xuan Qi''s identity and was acting as himself, it would not be easy for him to deal with someone as powerful as a Progenitor. There were many details that needed to be considered, not to mention the fact that Chen Le was cooperating with Lu Yin for the time being. It was impossible for Lu Yin to attack just to get revenge for Old Dian.

    Xuan Qi had promised to protect Old Dian, but keeping the old man alive by purchasing his life with the lives of four Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings was already more than enough. It was impossible for Old Dian to avenge the Bai n, and that n had no connection with Lu Yin at all.

    Chen Le was right when he had said that the Peaks and Rivers Rock was not something that the Bai n had inherited from their ancestors, but rather something that they had stolen from others. This was the cruel reality of cultivators.

    The essence of cultivation was fighting, stealing, and risking one¡¯s life whilepeting for resources, obtaining treasures, and raising one¡¯s realm. This was what it meant to cultivate.

    Old Dian bitterly stated, "You were able to learn that Chen Le was the culprit, and I want to thank you for that, Acting Bureau Director."

    Lu Yin said nothing and instead took a sip of his tea while quietly enjoying his food. Being able to enjoy a meal was a rare experience on a battlefield.

 Chapter 2780: The Mirari Realm

    <h4>Chapter 2780: The Mirari Realm</h4>

    Lu Yin could feel Old Dian''s anger and helplessness, but what could the man even do? Old Dian could not force Xuan Qi to attack a peak powerhouse. As far as the old man knew, Xuan Qi stood no chance against such a cultivator.

    "If I had known this, I would have never gone to that ce, Master. Why risk nine deaths, only to have the Bai family wiped out? Oh, Master." Old Dian sounded bitter, and his breathing had grown ragged. He seemed about to snap.

    Lu Yin reached out and pressed Old Dian''s arm onto the table while also suppressing the man¡¯s aura. The old man''s body trembled, and he looked up at Lu Yin in shock. "Acting Bureau Director?"

    Lu Yin gave the man an intense stare. "Gone where? What narrow escape are you talking about?"

    Old Dian had not recovered from the fact that Xuan Qi hadpletely suppressed his aura. The old man was a Void Morphora, and he was regarded as powerful for his realm as well. Not many people in the entire Voidforce Universe could defeat him, and he had never thought that Xuan Qi would be one of them.

    Despite the fact that Xuan Qi was the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Acting Bureau Director, his cultivation was not particrly high. Even if he used Senior Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain and could control a voidforce puppet powerful enough to threaten a Void Morphora, those were nothing more than tools that Xuan Qi employed. But just now, he had directly suppressed Old Dian¡¯s aura with his own power. How was that possible?

    Old Dian felt that he was seeing Xuan Qi for the first time, and he continued to stare at the young man as though trying to see through him.

    Lu Yin stared back. "Where?"

    Old Dian finally reacted. He nced at his arm that was being held down but quickly suppressed his doubts and said, "The Mirari Realm."

    Lu Yin had never heard of this. "The Mirari Realm?"

    The old man swallowed. "It¡¯s a ce that might not even be mentioned in the legends. No one knows where it is or how to get there. Reaching that ce depends entirely on chance.

    "When I was young, I saw with my own eyes as the Mirari Realm opened in the sky above the Bai n. My master went to visit that ce, and when he returned, he told me that it''s called the Mirari Realm. Before that visit, my master had never heard of the name before.

    "I don''t know what my master acquired in that ce, but after he returned, I frantically searched through ancient records to find any mention of the Mirari Realm, only to find nothing. There was not a single clue. Master even asked the most powerful people that he knew, but none of them knew anything either.

    "All that I know is that, after that moment, Master went insane. He devoted himself to finding the Mirari Realm, and ignored everything else..."

    Lu Yin listened quietly. The Mirari Realm? He had Possessed a good number of people from the Sixverse Association, but he had nevere across any memories rted to this term.

    Old Dian had also been quite impressed by the Mirari Realm. Everything in his life had changed after his master had returned from the Mirari Realm.

    "Your master was killed by Chen Le. Could that be connected to this Mirari Realm as well?" Lu Yin asked.

    Old Dian quietly replied, "Other than that, I can''t think of any other reason for Chen Le to kill Master. We never even met Chen Le beforel this. He¡¯s from the Three Monarchs universe, while we are from the Voidforce Universe. Neither of us have ever encountered him on the Endless Frontier.

    "Master even told me that if he ever died mysteriously, it might be rted to the Mirari Realm."

    Lu Yin drummed his fingers on the table. Chen Le might not know anything about the Mirari Realm, as he had been sent to search for the Peaks and Rivers Rock by Mr. Daheng. Chen Le had never been told the meaning behind his task, so he had been ignorant. However, Mr. Daheng definitely knew.

    "What else did your master tell you about this Mirari Realm?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Old Dian shook before answering in a bitter tone, "Master was going crazy back then, and he simply kept repeating the same words over and over."

    The man looked upwards, conflicting emotions at war in his eyes. "Ascend to the Origin realm. Ovee Dukkha.[1] Gain immortality. Master repeated those nine words for years, and his madness ended up infecting me.

    "I can¡¯t tell you what those nine words mean, but every time Master spoke them, he would be incredibly excited. Everything else lost all meaning to him, and the Bai n¡¯s lives changed because of those words."

    Lu Yin frowned. <i>Ascend to the Origin realm? Ovee Dukkha? Gain immortality?</i>

    Had a mere eight words driven a Semi-Progenitor-level cultivator insane? No matter how Lu Yin considered the words, he felt that it would have been more appropriate for them toe from the mouth of a soothsayer like Xuan Jiu.

    New Inn¡¯s door was thrown open, and a group of cultivators filed in from the battlefield. Some were covered with blood, but others were having a good time, and the inn quickly grew quite lively.

    The old Void Morphora hurried about, pouring tea and water for the guests, ignoring his own status as a cultivator.

    As for Old Dian, his eyes never left Xuan Qi. "Acting Bureau Director, if at all possible, please help me avenge the Bai n. I¡¯m begging you!"

    Lu Yin stared back at Old Dian. "You don¡¯t even need to ask. If at all possible, I will fulfill my previous promise to you."

    "Thank you! Thank you!" Old Dian exhaled. "Also, you don''t need to worry about me. My life has already lost all value. There¡¯s no need for you to take the risks to kill Void Morphora-level corpse kings."

    "Do you think that I''m taking a risk?" Lu Yin asked.

    The question startled Old Dian, and he looked down at his arm again. He had no idea when Xuan Qi had removed his hand, but the crumpled clothing served as a reminder that Old Dian¡¯s aura had just been easily suppressed. With that sort of strength, the young man might not struggle to deal with Void Morphora-level corpse kings.

    Old Dian was certain that Xuan Qi had his own secrets, but it was not possible to ask about such things.

    The door to the inn suddenly opened again, and this time Lu Yin abruptly turned around to look at the woman who passed through it. She immediately looked at Lu Yin and was stunned when their eyes met.

    Lu Yin stared at her, dazed. <i>Progenitor Smoke? Why is she here? She went to help protect the Sixverse Association, so was she sent to the Voidforce Universe?</i>

    Progenitor Smoke was at least as surprised as Lu Yin at this moment, and likely even more. She had never expected to see him in the New Inn on the Voidforce Universe¡¯s battlefield, but she was able to see through his disguise.

    She was so shocked that she froze in ce, which was unimaginable for a Progenitor, let alone one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    It was only when someone said something to her that Progenitor Smoke passed through the doorway. She slowly walked towards Lu Yin, but his eyes flickered, and he gave the slightest shake of his head.

    Progenitor Smoke noticed the motion and continued past him. She approached a neighboring table and took a seat at it.

    Old Dian was still expressing his gratitude, but Lu Yin had not registered anything that the old man had said. He tapped the table. "You can go back to your cooking now. Don¡¯t you see that there are new guests? As for your life, don¡¯t throw it away."

    Old Dian rose to his feet and offered a deep bow. "Thank you, Acting Bureau Director."

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyebrows climbed up her forehead. Bureau Director? That was not an average title. <i>He¡¯s clearly been here before, but for how long? He must have spent a good bit of time in the Sixverse Association. It¡¯s no wonder why he¡¯s been in seclusion for so long and why I haven¡¯t heard anything about him</i>.

    The old man moved over to pour tea for the woman. She calmly sat at her table, watching the steam rise from the cup. While it was not very good tea, there was something unique to enjoying tea in the middle of a battlefield.

    "First time?" Lu Yin looked over and smiled at Progenitor Smoke.

    The old man serving the tea nced at Lu Yin and then at Progenitor Smoke. "This is the Acting Bureau Director of my Voidforce Universe."

    He was offering an introduction to Progenitor Smoke. She had not revealed any hint of her strength, and as long as she restrained herself, not even Chou Bao would be able to perceive her cultivation. To anyone in the inn who looked at her, Progenitor Smoke looked like a weak woman, and people instinctively grew protective of such people.

    Progenitor Smoke nced over in an indifferent manner and watched as the old server walked away. "That¡¯s none of your concern."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don''t be so cold. It¡¯s rare to meet people on the battlefield, and it¡¯s simply a matter of fate."

    "Such fate is pointless." Progenitor Smoke sipped her tea.

    What did Lu Yin want to say?

    Chou Bao walked over. He looked at Lu Yin and said, "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, this girl doesn''t seem to wee your attention."

    "That doesn¡¯t seem to involve you, Boss," Lu Yin replied.

    Chou Bao continued to stare at Lu Yin. "No one has an easy time on the battlefield. If you are going to help her kill the enemy, then stay. If not, please give her some peace and quiet."

    Lu Yin was cornered. "Alright, then I¡¯ll head out. Boss Chou, I¡¯ll be back soon."

    With that, Lu Yin headed towards the door.

    "Thank you," Progenitor Smoke addressed Chou Bao, looking at the man who was as strong as a Progenitor.

    Chou Bao just nodded. "It¡¯s the rules of my New Inn."

    He then also walked away from her table.

    Progenitor Smoke watched the man¡¯s back, intrigued.

    As she mulled things over, the woman looked over at the door as Lu Yin stepped through it and left the New Inn. Before he left, he turned back and nced at Progenitor Smoke onest time.

    She had left the Origin Universe in part because of Progenitor Long''s death. She wanted to avenge the man, but Cheng Kong was far from an easy opponent to deal with. Supposedly, Cheng Kong had been attacked in the Big Stone Universe, but no one knew if the Aeternal powerhouse was truly dead. In fact, even if Progenitor Smoke found Cheng Kong, was she even capable of getting revenge?

    After facing Old Mo, Lu Yin had gained a new understanding of the power of the strongest cultivators.

    The door closed, and Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone.

    ...

    Half a year passed since the time that Xuan Qi emerged from seclusion. This time was very peaceful, and nothing major happened aside from a few people paying visits to Xuan Qi in the Red Zone.

    During this time, Lu Yin had done nothing more than capture a few spies, visit Xu Heng and Xu Leng, and chat with Xu Wuji on a few asions. It was a rather rxing time for him.

    That peace was disrupted when Lu Yin finally received news that informed him that an opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.

    Luo Shan had gotten involved in the battle between Corpse God and Sovereign Dou Sheng on the Endless Frontier and had been badly injured. At the moment, no one knew if Luo Shan was alive or dead, as he had gone missing.

    Lu Yin had received the news from Wendy Yushan.

    Over thest six months, he had repeatedly tried to get in contact with Wendy Yushan, but he had no way to directly contact Proximity. Only peak powerhouses were given that privilege.

    Fortunately, Wendy Yushan understood just how important the information about Luo Shan was, and she found a way to send a message to the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin had made arrangements for people from the Fifth Maind to travel back and forth between the Origin Universe and the Voidforce Universe every two days so that he would be constantly informed of all matters regarding the Heavens Sect. This was also the only reason why he was able to receive the information about Luo Shan in time.

    At the same time, the news regarding Luo Shan''s situation was being dispersed to the Sixverse Association¡¯s most powerful individuals.

    Lu Yin went to find Xu Wuji and asked to meet with Lord Xu.

    Xu Wuji was caught off guard. "You want to meet with the Voidlord? Why?"

    Lu Yin replied, "When I crossed the Void Pass, I needed to exin a certain matter to Lord Xu."

    Xu Wuji did not ask any further questions. "I may not be able to take you to see Lord Xu, but I will try."

    Just a few dayster, Xu Wuji led Lu Yin to Lord Xu.

    ...

    Another half a month went by, and in the Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian submitted a proposal to the Great Sovereign on behalf of Lord Wei to remove the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s status as a member of the Sixverse Association. The reasoning behind this proposal was that no one knew if Luo Shan was dead or alive, and Monarch Mu was still missing. It was not reasonable for the Three Monarchs Universe to maintain their status by relying on the Origin Universe. It would be better to rece the universe with one of the sixty-two parallel universes that formed the Endless Frontier.

    The Great Sovereign did not reject the proposal, but he also did not not immediately approve it.

    However, no one knew that the Great Sovereign¡¯s decision did not matter. What was important was that Bai Qian had submitted the proposal on behalf of Lord Wei while the ruler of the Transcendent Universe was in seclusion. This indicated that Bai Qian had the authority to represent the Transcendent Universe, which was Lu Yin¡¯s goal.

    There was no better timing than this.

    After thinking everything through, Lu Yin went to the Three Monarchs Universe to speak with Chen Le. It was time for the colossal giant that was the Sixverse Association to move.

    ...

    1. Dukkha. ?</a> </a>

 Chapter 2781: Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 2781: Opportunity</h4>

    In the Transcendent Universe, the Lilliputians were happily dancing beneath the stairs, and Bai Qian felt quite rxed as she watched them.

    Zuo Lao spoke up, "Madam, your proposal concerning the Three Monarchs Universe was not approved by Lord Wei. Will this anger Lord Wei?"

    Bai Qian calmly replied, "Luo Shan worked with the You family and attempted to overthrow Lord Wei. Right now, Luo Shan has gone missing. Taking this opportunity to eliminate the Three Monarchs Universe will only help Lord Wei."

    Zuo Lao still felt nervous that they had not first discussed such a major action with Lord Wei. How could they excuse their actions when Lord Wei left seclusion?

    However, Zuo Lao was unable to change Bai Qian''s decision.

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered. She knew that this action was incredibly risky. While it was true that Lord Wei wanted to deal with Luo Shan, Lord Wei had his own ns for doing so, and what Bai Qian had done would ruin those ns. However, the arrow had already been nocked, and she had had no choice but to take action, as this was the only way the Origin Universe could possibly be allowed to join the Sixverse Association. Once that happened, Bai Qian would have further opportunities to work with Lu Yin and escape from her current predicament.

    That was her only goal.

    No one could say when Lord Wei would leave seclusion. It was possible that when he did so, Lu Yin would not only have dealt with the Three Monarchs Universe, but also be ready to free Bai Qian from her deal with Lord Wei.

    ...

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le waited to speak with Lu Yin.

    Ever since Lu Yin had arrogantly strutted about the Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le had wanted to talk to him and ask him what he was thinking. The opportunity to do so had finally arrived.

    "Just what do you want to do?" Chen Le asked in a strained voice as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed at the question. "It seems that you like asking these kinds of questions."

    Chen Le grew angry. "You humiliated me in front of the entire Three Monarchs Universe! If Lord Xing hadn''t appeared, how could I have saved my face?"

    "Then don¡¯t." Lu Yin looked at Chen Le. "You know that Luo Shan is missing."

    Chen Le''s eyes flickered. "I just received word."

    Lu Yin stared into Chen Le¡¯s eyes. "It''s time to get rid of the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Chen Le''s face twitched. "What do you want to do?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Are you willing to do this?"

    Chen Le''s eyes flickered, but he said nothing as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not rush the man and quietly waited.

    After a while, Chen Le finally spoke. "Given the Cyclic Universe¡¯s attitude towards the Origin Universe, they will never agree."

    Lu Yinughed. "So, are you saying that you don''t dare?"

    A sharp glint shed across Chen Le¡¯s eyes. "You lied to me."

    "How did I lie to you?"

    "Why didn¡¯t you tell me about the grudge between the Lu family and the Cyclic Universe?"

    This was a question that had been burning inside of Chen Le for a long time. He had not initially known about that matter, but after the spatial passage between the two universes had opened, and after the Three Monarchs Universe challenged the Heavens Sect, news of Lu Yin had entered the Sixverse Association. Chen Le was a Monarch, which was equal to a Progenitor, and he had ess to information about the Heavens Sect, as well as about Lu Yin and the truth behind the Lu family''s exile.

    This information was avable upon request, but Chen Le had never thought to investigate Lu Yin. However, learning about these matters had made the Monarch regretful about agreeing to cooperate with Lu Yin.

    If Chen Le had known from the beginning that Lu Yin was an enemy of the Cyclic Universe, as well as Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s enemy, the Monarch would have never agreed to work with Lu Yin, not even under the threat of death.

    It would have been better to remain under Mr. Daheng¡¯s control than risk being associated with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin watched as Chen Le''s expression changed from calm to angry, and he could not hold back fromughing. "Chen Le, Chen Le, it''s such a shame that a peak powerhouse like you is so timid."

    Chen Le clenched his fists as Lu Yin continued to mock him. "When you led the Mo Courtyard, you were under Mr. Daheng¡¯s control and were forced to work for him. After bing a Monarch, you agreed to work with me because you feared Mr. Daheng and were worried that he would continue to control you. In fact, you were also worried that Luo Shan would learn of your betrayal. You fear this and that, so how did you ever manage to be a peak powerhouse?"

    Chen Le angrily shot back, "Don¡¯t you also fear the Great Sovereign? Didn¡¯t you ept your punishment and go to the Endless Frontier?"

    "Am I a peak powerhouse?" Lu Yin instantly retorted.

    Chen Le was startled, but Lu Yin continued, "How old am I, and what is my actual cultivation? You are very familiar with my history and what I¡¯ve gone through. What about the Great Sovereign? He¡¯s someone from the same generation as my Origin Universe¡¯s Origin Progenitor and is even more powerful than the Three Realms Six Dao. Even if the ancestor of my Lu family faced the Great Sovereign, he would have to refer to the Great Sovereign as senior. The amount of time that I, Lu Yin, have cultivated can¡¯t even be regarded as a fraction of the Great Sovereign¡¯s life. If I were from the same generation, the Great Sovereign would not be a problem right now.

    "After I be a Progenitor, what will the Great Sovereign be able to do to me?

    "I fear for my Heavens Sect, my family, friends, and all of the people I care about¡ªthe people I protect. What about you? You care only about yourself, and fear only what might happen to you.

    "Have you ever had a statue erected in your honor? Have you ever been truly respected, cared about, and even worshiped?

    "Have you ever been regarded as a pir of strength in people''s hearts?"

    Chen Le clenched his fists as he seemed to remember something, and his breathing quickened. "Stop talking."

    Lu Yin roared, "Have you ever truly cared about anyone?"

    "Stop talking!" Chen Le shouted, ring at Lu Yin like a crazed animal.

    Lu Yin red right back at the man.

    Chen Le closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He took some time to calm himself and recover. "I don''t want to be a tool that you use to achieve your Lu family¡¯s revenge on the Cyclic Universe."

    Lu Yin solemnly dered, "Right now, it¡¯s time for the Origin Universe to join the Sixverse Association."

    Chen Le struggled. He feared that Lu Yin would try to take revenge against the Cyclic Universe, but he also feared both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan. The Monarch had too many worries, to the point where he was confused about what to do.

    "I might as well tell you that even if the Origin Universe is not able to join the Sixverse Association, the Three Monarchs Universe is already doomed to be eliminated," Lu Yin stated.

    Chen Le was startled. "Is the Three Monarchs Universe going to be eliminated from the Sixverse Association?"

    "Luo Shan has gone missing. Do you know where Monarch Mu is? As for Monarch Xing, I already know where her people from the Starlight Universe are located. Do you think that she can escape? The Three Monarchs Universe is no longer worthy of that name. If this universe can only survive by being supported by the four ruling powers, do you really think the Great Sovereign will allow it to stay in the Sixverse Association?

    "Will Lord Wei agree? Don''t forget that Luo Shan worked with Sovereign Shao Yin and the You family to attack the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Lord Wei already wants to destroy Luo Shan and eliminate the Three Monarchs Universe, and he merely did not have the opportunity thus far. That chance has just arrived, and I¡¯ve received word that the Transcendent Universe has submitted a proposal to the Great Sovereign for the Three Monarchs Universe to be removed from the Sixverse Association and annexed to the Endless Frontier, while one of the parallel universes from that battlefield will be selected to rece your universe.

    "Even if the Origin Universe doesn¡¯t rece the Three Monarchs Universe, another universe will be chosen to do so. There¡¯s no avoiding the fact that this universe will be a part of the Endless Frontier.

    "Cultivation is cruel, and no one will care about any of their emotional ties to the Three Monarchs Universe. The strong will rise up, while the weak will be eliminated. That is thew of survival."

    Chen Le did not want to believe it, but he knew that Lu Yin was right. Lord Wei would undoubtedly go after the Three Monarchs Universe, and with Monarch Mu as Lu Yin¡¯s captive and Monarch Luo missing, if Monarch Xing also left, then their universe would be utterly destroyed.

    Could they rely on the four ruling powers to stay as a member of the Sixverse Association? How would that ever be allowed?

    The Three Monarchs Universe had already been destabilized.

    "You still don''t believe me? Do you think that the Progenitors from the four ruling powers can help you protect the Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin sneered at Chen Le. "In that case, what do you think will happen when the Heavens Sect goes to war with the four ruling powers?"

    A quiver ran through Chen Le''s body, and he looked up at Lu Yin in shock.

    The young man¡¯s eyes were icy cold with depths that the Monarch could not see through. "You already know about the hatred between me and the four ruling powers. War could erupt at any moment. Leng Qing has broken through to be a Progenitor, and Monarch Mu has submitted to me. I already have the means to force Monarch Xing to submit as well, and I have even more Progenitors. Do you think that I need to be afraid? The Great Sovereign has ordered that no one from the Sixverse Association is allowed to enter the Origin Universe without permission, which means that no one can interfere with the internal affairs of my Origin Universe.

    "As soon as war breaks out, or even the hint of war, people like Bai Sheng will return."

    Chen Le retorted, "The Great Sovereign ordered Bai Sheng and the others to help protect the Sixverse Association. How can they go back?"

    "Those conditions don¡¯t state that they have to remain in the Three Monarchs Universe. Rather, they are required to help protect the Sixverse Association," Lu Yin replied.

    Fear entered Chen Le¡¯s eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. This person was too vicious. He was actually taking advantage of the four ruling power¡¯s orders to force Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors to abandon the Three Monarchs Universe. As soon as this happened, their universe would lose almost all of their peak powerhouses. How could such a universe be allowed to remain as a member of the Sixverse Association?

    Even if the Great Sovereign wanted the Three Monarchs Universe to remain, what powerhouses would protect the universe?

    Chen Le did not even know if the four ruling powers still had the strength to fight against the Heavens Sect. He did not know anything about Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan''s strength, and he could not even guess. Chen Le could only go by the numbers, and it was impossible for the four ruling powers¡¯ remaining Progenitors to stop the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin had too many Progenitors on his side.

    It was easy to see the final results.

    Of course, Lu Yin was trying to intimidate Chen Le. There was no denying that Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji were terrible opponents, not to mention the unfathomable Bai Xian''er who had some sort of mysterious rtionship with the Cyclic Universe. She would be even more difficult to deal with. It was not yet time for Lu Yin to start a war. Before that happened, he first needed the Origin Universe to join the Sixverse Association, or at least determine the true limits of Bai Wangyuan''s strength.

    Even so, none of that stopped Lu Yin from scaring Chen Le. The Monarch was too fearful, and Lu Yin knew that every one of his words would strike like a hammer.

    "The Great Sovereign has forbidden anyone from entering the Origin Universe without permission, so how can I join the Heavens Sect?" Chen Le spoke slowly as he asked this question.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Outsiders are forbidden from entering my universe, but the Heavens Sect belongs to the Origin Universe. How can the Great Sovereign forbid our people from returning home?"

    Chen Le still felt terribly worried.

    "If you are truly that scared, then just go to the Voidforce Universe. If I invite you there as Xuan Qi, no one will be able to say a thing," Lu Yin added.

    Chen Le exhaled. "What about the spatial passage?"

    "I have found three Array Grandmaster who can reseal it. As long as Luo Shan or the others aren¡¯t here to stop me, nothing can prevent me from sealing the spatial passage. When that happens, this universe will be added to the Endless Frontier. Senior Chen Le, the Heavens Sect wees you."

    Chen Le¡¯s head rose, and he looked at Lu Yin in confusion. "The Heavens Sect?"

    In the end, the man was still forced to join.

    At this time, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Chen Le had been the biggest obstacle to Lu Yin¡¯s ns. While the two of them were working together, Chen Le truthfully wanted to see Lu Yin dead. Before Lu Yin went to the Endless Frontier, he and Chen Le had looked at each other, and Lu Yin had seen the hatred deep in the Monarch¡¯s eyes.

    Chen Le had not truly surrendered to Lu Yin, but rather been forced into a corner. For such a person, it would be best to anoint him as a champion.

    With Chen Le taken care of, Monarch Xing would be easy to deal with.

    Lu Yin had repeatedly asked about the matter, but Chen Le had always insisted that Monarch Xing¡¯s greatest concern was the people from the Starlight Universe.

    The Starlight Universe was a part of the Endless Frontier, but Monarch Xing had moved the inhabitants of that universe to the Three Monarchs Universe for safety.

    It was impossible for Chen Le to step forward to assist the woman, as he would never be willing to risk exposing himself.

    Lu Yin did not meet with Monarch Xing as Xuan Qi, but instead reverted to his own appearance. He suppressed his aura and hid his cultivation before making his way to the rainbow wall to secretly meet with Monarch Xing.

 Chapter 2782: Emptying Out

    <h4>Chapter 2782: Emptying Out</h4>

    Monarch Xing stood atop the rainbow wall, staring off into the distance as though in a trance.

    She had received word that Luo Shan was missing, which made her uneasy.

    While she did not care for Luo Shan, she also did not hate him. After so many years together, Monarch Xing knew that she could not protect her people in the Starlight Universe without Luo Shan. At best, she would only be able to stay in a dangerous ce like the Endless Frontier.

    Although they were publicly married, Monarch Xing spoke fewer than three sentences a year to Luo Shan, and they frequently did not even see each other for years on end. Their rtionship hadsted for a very long time, and she wanted it to continue.

    However, Luo Shan had gone missing, and no one knew if he was dead or alive. This was terrible news for the Three Monarchs Universe. If Luo Shan died, what would be of the universe? What about the people whom Monarch Xing sought to protect?

    Always calm and collected, at this moment, Monarch Xing was feeling a storm of emotions.

    "I left orders that no one was to approach me," Monarch Xing calmly stated as a Monarch¡¯s power swept back. She had sensed someone approaching her, and normally, she would only have gently tossed them back, but given her current mood, she hadshed out with a great deal more force than normal.

    However, the person behind her did not move at all.

    Monarch Xing turned around to see Lu Yin. "It¡¯s you?"

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "We meet again, Senior Monarch Xing."

    Monarch Xing¡¯s voice grew cold. "Hiding your head while showing your tail is not a w that you should have, Dao Monarch Lu."

    "I didn¡¯t want anyone else to know that I came to speak with you this time, as it wouldn¡¯t be good for you," Lu Yin replied.

    Monarch Xing grew puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

    Lu Yin activated his gadget and brought up a disy that showed an image of people.

    They were ordinary humans with nothing at all special about them, but seeing them caused Monarch Xing''s expression to instantly change. Her calm and peaceful demeanor disappeared as though it had never existed.

    "How do you know about them?" Monarch Xing''s breathing had grown ragged, and she stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes that zed with killing intent.

    Lu Yin closed the image and put his gadget away again. "Luo Shan is missing, and I will soon dere war on the four ruling powers, which will force Bai Sheng and others to return to protect their universe. At that time, the Three Monarchs Universe will only have you and Chen Le left to protect it. Senior, what do you think will happen?¡±

    Monarch Xing stared at Lu Yin for a while before calmly turning back around. "So, you want me to join your Heavens Sect?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s easy to talk to smart people."

    "Very well, but I have a condition," Monarch Xing replied.

    Lu Yin arched a brow, as he had not expected Monarch Xing to agree so easily. He swallowed what he had been ready to say.

    "And that is?"

    "The inhabitants of this Three Monarchs Universe are innocent. Your Heavens Sect should be able to evacuate them."

    Lu Yin agreed, as that was already a part of his n.

    He was the sole person responsible for the fact that the Three Monarchs Universe would be annexed to the Endless Frontier. For that reason, the natives could not remain in the universe, as when the Aeternals swarmed into the universe, all of the humans would die. Lu Yin still had a conscience, and he was not the same as Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Given the Heavens Sect numerous Semi-Progenitors, not to mention the Progenitors, it would be possible to quickly evacuate the entire Three Monarchs Universe.

    "You won''t miss this ce?"

    Monarch Xing turned her back to Lu Yin to stare off into the distance. "This ce has been at war for far too long, and the only thing I see in this ce any longer is death and blood. Slitted scarlet eyes frequently appear, and it¡¯s nearly impossible to eliminate them all.

    "Even peak powerhouses are human, and there are times when we simply want to escape. Just think of this as me trying to escape from my responsibilities. After joining your Heavens Sect, I will not do anything to help you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s your choice. In that case, what about Luo Shan?"

    Monarch Xing¡¯s voice grew bitter. "He has helped me for a long time, and without him, I could not have protected my home. If the dayes when he needs my help, I will not just sit by the side, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin did not argue, as this was Monarch Xing¡¯s choice.

    Even so, it was inevitable that Lu Yin and Luo Shan would be enemies where only one of them could live. Monarch Xing could not change that.

    Many people felt that Luo Shan was likely already dead. After all, very few people could survive after getting involved in a fight between Corpse God and Sovereign Dou Sheng, but Lu Yin knew that the Monarch would not die so easily. He had learned all about Luo Shan from Monarch Mu, which was why Lu Yin knew that Monarch Luo was actually incredibly powerful.

    While the Three Monarchs Universe was regarded as the weakest universe of the Sixverse Association, that did not mean that Luo Shan was the weakest of the six rulers.

    This was also why Lu Yin was eager to deal with the Three Monarchs Universe at this time. He wanted to settle everything before Luo Shan coulde back. Lu Yin would also do his best to keep Luo Shan on the Endless Frontier.

    "What will you do about Chen Le?" Monarch Xing asked.

    Lu Yin said, "While you should leave the rainbow wall, he needs to stay. I need you to help me keep Bai Sheng and the others isted so that they don¡¯t learn about what¡¯s happening while I evacuate everyone from the Three Monarchs Universe to the Fifth Maind. Of course, we¡¯ll need to first deal with the Mo Courtyard, so I¡¯ll have to ask you to have them cooperate with me.¡±

    Monarch Xing continued to stare at Lu Yin. "And what if Bai Sheng and others notice what¡¯s happening before you finish?"

    A dangerous glint appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. "Then I willunch a war against the four ruling powers and force them to temporarily return to the Perennial World and abandon any thoughts of getting involved in what happens here."

    Monarch Xing turned away. "We¡¯ll do as you say."

    Neither Chen Le nor Monarch Xing knew much about the four ruling powers, as not even Luo Shan were that familiar with them. If they had a bit more information, they would have struggled to believe that Lu Yin couldunch a war against the four ruling powers.

    Soon, Monarch Xing left the rainbow wall while Chen Le quietly cooperated; they both pretended to know nothing as the man took over the duty of guarding the rainbow wall.

    Monarch Xing helped Lu Yin gather the Mo Courtyard¡¯s Semi-Monarchs and then forced them to cooperate with the Fifth Maind in evacuating the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s inhabitants.

    None of the Semi-Monarchs dared to refuse, so Lu Yin quickly organized Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Lu Buzheng, Destina, and the other Semi-Progenitors to start migrating all of the people of the Three Monarchs Universe over.

    On Shenwu Continent, Grandmaster Gu Yan, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong had all gathered. They intended to work together to set up a Sealing Path sourcebox array to reseal the spatial passage connecting the two universes.

    More than twenty Semi-Progenitors worked together with the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Semi-Monarchs and the Fifth Maind¡¯s Progenitors to evacuate the universe, taking more than three months to do sopletely. After those three months passed, the Emperor Domain, Upper King Domain, and Lower King Domain were now allpletely empty.

    Lu Yin strolled through the Emperor Domain and arrived at the Mo Courtyard. He entered the imperial treasury and looked around at the massive amount of flourishing crystals and various other resources. Everything in here now belonged to him.

    While Luo Shan had taken the most valuable resources with him, what had been left behind in the imperial treasury was still enough to dazzle Lu Yin.

    He had originally estimated the treasury to hold at least a trillion flourishing crystals, but as he looked around, he realized that there was more than 8 trillion here. It was a terrifying amount of wealth.

    He immediately gathered up all of the flourishing crystals and took them to the Heavens Sect before contacting the Merchant Exchange.

    As soon as the Three Monarchs Universe was removed from the Sixverse Association, the value of flourishing crystals would plummet, and even this monstrous amount of wealth would be worthless. Lu Yin needed to exchange the flourishing crystals before that happened.

    At this same time, Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters began setting up the sourcebox array.

    ...

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was staring at a mysterious object that was swimming about in his teacup. Finally, he looked up at Zhao Ran. "You¡¯ve made progress."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled by the pliment.¡± "Thank you, Your Highness!

    "Your Highness, will the sister who visited youst timee back?"

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Which sister?"

    Zhao Ran thought for a while and gestured about. When Lu Yin did not understand what she meant, Zhao Ran continued her gestures.

    "Do you mean Bi Lan?" Lu Yin finally saw it. "Why are you asking about her?"

    Zhao Ran happily answered, "She drank several cups of my tea, but I¡¯m rotten goods, and I forgot about it for a bit. I told her that she never tried my tea, so I wanted to apologize to her."

    Lu Yin smiled. "She¡¯ll be arriving soon."

    "Really? Then I''ll prepare a cup for her!"

    "Mhmm."

    Bi Lan soon arrived. Technically, Madam Nn was supposed to be the Merchant Exchange¡¯s representative for the Origin Universe, but since she had only recently joined, she was still training, and Bi Lan remained in charge of the Origin Universe.

    "I didn''t expect to be called back so soon for business, Dao Monarch Lu." Bi Lan casually sat down across from Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled back. "Well, I do have a bit of business. Have you brought enough funds?"

    "My Merchant Exchange always travels with enough funds no matter what universe we visit. How much would you like to exchange, Dao Monarch Lu, and for which currency?" Bi Lan answered confidently.

    Lu Yin pointed behind her.

    Bi Lan turned to look but saw nothing. Then, the void warped, and she grew bug-eyed as she saw the valley suddenly fill with an endless amount of flourishing crystals.

    Bi Lan had conducted many transactions on behalf of the Merchant Exchange, and every transaction had been for substantial amounts, but this was her first time seeing such a tremendous amount of flourishing crystals.

    In the past, herrgest transaction had been 3 trillion, which was already an unusuallyrge transaction as it had been conducted by peak powerhouses. However, the amount that Bi Lan was looking at now dwarfed all of her previous trades.

    It was not the value that was shocking, but rather the sheer quantity.

    "How much is this?" Bi Lan was shocked.

    Lu Yin took a sip of his tea. "8 trillion."

    Bi Lan was stunned. "Dao Monarch Lu, did you destroy the rainbow wall?"

    Lu Yinughed. "If the rainbow wall had been destroyed, I would have a lot more than 8 trillion, even if it would be difficult to transform the rainbow wall¡¯s monarch essence back into flourishing crystals."

    Bi Lan naturally knew this, but she was so taken aback by the amount before her that she could not help but ask that question.

    She turned to stare at Lu Yin. Normally, it would be unthinkable for the Merchant Exchange to question where a client obtained their resources, but Bi Lan was far too curious.

    This would not be the case if she were looking at 8 trillion star essence, but Lu Yin wanted to trade flourishing crystals, which were the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s currency. How could she not be curious about this?

    She was absolutely certain that not even the Three Sovereigns themselves could take out this many flourishing crystals at once.

    Where had Lu Yin obtained this wealth?

    Suddenly, Bi Lan thought of a possibility: the Three Monarchs Universe had an imperial treasury that was used to replenish the rainbow wall. Could Lu Yin have gotten the flourishing crystals from there?

    Zhao Ran arrived, and she was excited to see Bi Lan. "Sister, you¡¯re really here? That''s great! I have your tea ready!"

    ¡°Oh?¡± Bi Lan epted the tea with raised eyebrows. She was being served something even stranger than before.

    She looked back at Zhao Ran, who quickly apologized, "I''m sorry, Sister, but I¡¯m rotten goods, and Ipletely forgot that you had already tried my tea and that you had even drank several cups."

    Bi Lan quickly replied, "It''s fine. There¡¯s no need to apologize."

    Lu Yin looked at Bi Lan with a half-smile that was not really a smile. It was clear that the woman had wanted to learn about Lu Yin through Zhao Ran, but she had clearly chosen the wrong person.

    After Zhao Ran returned, Bi Lan calmed herself and refocused on Lu Yin. "Which universe¡¯s currency would you like to trade for, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    "The Origin Universe¡¯s."

    Bi Lan was stunned. "Please don¡¯t joke around, Dao Monarch Lu. My Merchant Exchange has only recently established contact with the Origin Universe, so how could we help you with such arge exchange of resources?"

    Lu Yin was not surprised, and he would have actually grown incredibly wary of the Merchant Exchange if Bi Lan had epted the trade, as it would reveal that the Merchant Exchange was a truly terrifying entity.

    "Then what about the Cyclic Universe?" Lu Yin suggested.

    Bi Lan looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, as this is your first transaction with us, please allow me to remind you of something. While the Cyclic Universe also uses star essence and star crystals, they will likely not be easy for your people to use."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for the word of caution, but the monarch essence in these flourishing crystals is even more difficult for us to use, so it doesn''t matter. I will trade for something elseter, or wait until your Merchant Exchange has enough of my Origin Universe¡¯s resources to trade for that."

 Chapter 2783: Discovered

    <h4>Chapter 2783: Discovered</h4>

    Bi Lan blinked and suggested, "If that¡¯s your n, then why not keep the flourishing crystals and trade them for your universe¡¯s resources at ater date? That would save you from needing to pay a great deal inmissions, and it would also get you a better exchange rate."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll proceed as I¡¯ve said."

    "Alright, since you¡¯ve already decided, Dao Monarch Lu, then 8 trillion flourishing crystals can be traded for 16 billion of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star essence," Bi Lan stated.

    Lu Yin was briefly stunned, but he thought that he must have heard wrong. "How much did you just say?"

    "16 billion star essence," Bi Lan said with a smile.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "Is this a joke?"

    Bi Lan shrugged. "Originally, the exchange rate within the Sixverse Association for trading currency between the Three Monarchs Universe to the Cyclic Universe was 100 to 1. After all, only people from the Three Monarchs Universe use flourishing crystals, whereas far more people cultivate with the Cyclic Universe¡¯s energy. Normally, people won¡¯t even conduct such an exchange, as they would suffer too great a loss.

    "Now, Luo Shan has gone missing, which naturally means that the exchange rate will be impacted, and it has dropped to 500 to 1. And that is only because your universe¡¯s four ruling powers moved to help protect the Three Monarchs Universe in Monarch Luo¡¯s absence.

    "If Luo Shan''s death is confirmed, then flourishing crystals will bepletely worthless. Forget 16 billion¡ªyou won¡¯t even be able to get 6 billion star essence.

    "Also, Dao Monarch Lu will need to pay amission of 160 million star essence, and my Merchant Exchange thanks you for your patronage."

    Seeing Bi Lan''s smiling expression, Lu Yin dismissed his guest.

    This was worse than a joke! Could 8 trillion flourishing crystals only be traded for 16 billion star essence? Only an idiot would ept such a trade. It would not be difficult for Lu Yin to acquire 16 billion star essence on his own, and it would be better to just use the flourishing crystals for himself.

    Also, there was still the tri-colored soil on the fatesand continent in his chest. While he could not say what use it possessed, Lu Yin was not overly concerned. It seemed that the soil would soon receive a substantial boost.

    <i>There has to be something wrong with someone¡¯s brain if they ept such a trade when they can use the resources themselves</i>.

    Lu Yin felt that he had suffered quite a loss, as not only had the currency exchange failed to go through, but he had also revealed to the Merchant Exchange that he was in possession of a great deal of flourishing crystals. They had to have guessed something from that.

    Even so, that did not matter, as he was already preparing for the final step. The Three Monarchs Universe was already done for.

    ...

    People were prevented from moving around in the Three Monarchs Universe by Monarch Xing. This kept Bai Sheng and the others from noticing the evacuation, as long as they did not intentionally travel around in the Three Monarchs Universe. The Progenitors had never shown any interest in the universe, so this was not a problem.

    However, the spatial passage was different, as that matter did not merely concern the Three Monarchs Universe, but also the Progenitors¡¯ own fate.

    If the passage was sealed, then the Progenitors would have no path back to the Perennial World without the Sixverse Association¡¯s assistance.

    Once Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters started to reseal the passage with the sourcebox array, Specter Progenitor was the first to sense that something was wrong.

    The Progenitors would never let others handle their safety, and even when they knew that the Three Monarchs Universe would never allow the spatial passage to be resealed, the Progenitors continued to monitor it. They had even discussed the matter and took turns to keep an eye on the passage. No one in the entire Three Monarchs Universe was aware of this agreement, but at this moment, Specter Progenitor was responsible for monitoring the spatial passage.

    He looked back at the Three Monarchs Universe and at the direction of the path back home as a surge of nervousness caused his heart to speed up.

    The stronger one''s cultivation was, the greater their intuition. At this moment, Specter Progenitor felt prodded by his intuition, and as he stared at the spatial passage, he grew increasingly uneasy.

    He hesitated briefly but felt that it would be better to go and check.

    With just that thought, he turned and left the rainbow wall.

    Monarch Xing''s expression changed, and she immediately moved to stop the Progenitor, but someone else reacted even faster: Chen Le.

    The Monarch had acted reflexively, as he could not wait for Monarch Xing, as there was a chance that she would fail to stop Specter Progenitor.

    "Specter Progenitor, what are you doing? Why are you leaving your post at the rainbow wall?" Chen Le appeared a short distance away from Specter Progenitor and challenged.

    Specter Progenitor frowned. "You are Chen Le, correct? If you aren¡¯t protecting the rainbow wall, then what are you doing here?"

    "Senior Specter Progenitor, I saw you leaving the rainbow wall, so I came over to ask where you are going. Forgotten Ruins God could attack at any time, and we cannot afford to be careless. Based on the direction you are headed in, are you trying to return to the Origin Universe? That is not possible, as Monarch Luo has ordered that peak powerhouses protecting the rainbow wall are not allowed to leave without permission, and he also asked me to keep an eye on that," Chen Le answered bluntly.

    Specter Progenitor was not happy about being challenged. He was actually Wang Fan, and while he was cooperating with Luo Shan, that was not the same as letting Luo Shan order Specter Progenitor around. If not for their fear of the Great Sovereign, none of the Progenitors would be willing to help protect the Three Monarchs Universe in the first ce.

    "Are you restricting my freedom to move?" Specter Progenitor''s voice grew even colder.

    Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and the others all saw what was happening, though they felt rather confused. Chen Le should have had nothing to do with any of them. Even if another fight against the Aeternals broke out, Chen Le should remain far behind the others, firing his arrows.

    Monarch Xing let out a breath as she watched Chen Le block Specter Progenitor¡¯s path. Was this real?

    When she had previously asked Lu Yin about how he intended to deal with Chen Le, Lu Yin''s response had been rather vague. Monarch Xing had guessed that it was possible that Chen Le had already defected to Lu Yin long ago, and she was seeing confirmation of that.

    How long had their two universes been connected by the spatial passage for? It was shocking that the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect had already managed to convince both Chen Le and Monarch Xing to betray the Three Monarchs Universe. <i>If Monarch Mu had not disappeared, then-</i>

    Suddenly, Monarch Xing''s expression changed drastically. Chen Le, Monarch Mu, Monarch Luo, and Monarch Xing were the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s most powerful individuals, and yet something had happened to all three of them. Each of them had either gone missing or defected to the Origin Universe. Could Lu Yin be behind all of it?

    The suspicion seemedpletely absurd, as Lu Yin had had nothing to do with the Three Monarchs Universe before the two parallel universes were connected by the spatial passage. Logically, he could not have had anything to do with Monarch Mu''s disappearance, but for some reason, as soon as Monarch Xing considered the possibility, it was as though countless voices were screaming to her that it was true. <i>That¡¯s it! Lu Yin attacked Monarch Mu! He must have been preparing to target the Three Monarchs Universe from the very beginning. It was never us scheming against him, but rather him plotting against us!</i>

    The entire matter had been nothing more than an illusion, but the Three Monarchs Universe, the Sixverse Association, and even the Great Sovereign had not been able to see through the deception that Lu Yin had weaved.

    He had made Monarch Mu disappear, plotted against Chen Le, and also schemed against Monarch Xing. Specifically, he had used her people from the Starlight Universe to threaten her while Luo Shan was missing on the Endless Frontier. Lu Yin¡¯s ns had been cunning and wless at each step of the way. Was it really possible?

    Monarch Xing watched as Chen Le confronted Specter Progenitor. The insane impossibility would not leave her mind. Could it be? Was it real?

    If not, how else could Lu Yin have turned both Chen Le and Monarch Xing to his side so quickly? Why else would he have gone after the people from the Starlight Universe? How could he have known Monarch Xing¡¯s weakness? There simply was not enough time for him to have done so much if he had only recently learned such information.

    It was as though Lu Yin had nned out every step and was ying a game of chess ording to the ns that he hadid out while everyone else was nothing more than pawns in the game.

    The thought of such a possibility caused Monarch Xing''s face to turn pale. If her suspicions were correct, then Lu Yin was beyond terrifying. Just how long had he been plotting against the Three Monarchs Universe?

    In the middle of outer space, Chen Le''s expression fell slightly. "Don''t act like that, Specter Progenitor. I have no intention of trying to restrict your freedom, but the rainbow wall is too important to my Three Monarchs Universe, and I must be careful. If you leave, and Forgotten Ruins Gods attacks again, then Aeternus could easily break past the rainbow wall and doom our Three Monarchs Universe.

    "Lord Monarch Luo is fighting on the Endless Frontier, so no matter what it takes, we must keep the rainbow wall defended while he is gone."

    Specter Progenitor coldly replied, "I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯m merely checking on the spatial passage."

    He then moved to continue on his way, only for Chen Le to once again block the Progentor¡¯s path. "What is there to check on? Don''t worry, the Origin Universe can''t move the passage, and if you¡¯re concerned, I will keep an eye on it for you. Compared to me, your abilities are much better suited to defending the rainbow wall."

    Specter Progenitor was not stupid, and he had been stopped by Chen Le three times now. It was clear that something was wrong. "Get out of my way."

    Chen Le frowned. "Just what are you trying to do? I don¡¯t think you are trying to check on the spatial passage, but rather trying to escape to the Origin Universe."

    "I¡¯ll say it again¡ªget out of my way." Specter Progenitor released death energy from every pore of his body when his expression suddenly changed drastically. "No! The passage is about to close!"

    He immediately attacked Chen Le, and the Progenitor¡¯s halberd swept out.

    Chen Le''s heart dropped. In the end, they had still discovered the truth. He dropped the act and raised his hands to release an arrow. The arrow shot towards Specter Progenitor, only to be deflected by the halberd.

    "Did you join the Heavens Sect?" Specter Progenitor stared at Chen Le in disbelief.

    Xia Qin and Bai Sheng both appeared, and moved towards the spatial passage.

    Monarch Xing felt helpless, but there was only one thing that she could do now. Raising a hand, an endless surge of monarch essence swept along the rainbow wall, gathering all of the cultivators stationed here and sweeping them towards the spatial passage. It was time to leave. The Three Monarchs Universe was already dead.

    Bai Sheng and the others instantly noticed the change along the rainbow wall. "Monarch Xing, what are you doing?"

    Beyond the rainbow wall, Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings suddenly appeared. They had also noticed that things were changing and had appeared to attack the Three Monarchs Universe.

    Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors were stunned. Just what was going on? Two of the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Monarchs had actually abandoned the rainbow wall. Had they both defected to the Heavens Sect?

    Because Monarch Xing needed to take away the rainbow wall¡¯s defenders, she used up a good portion of the rainbow wall¡¯s monarch essence to move them and protect them. This essentially meant that the rainbow wall had been destroyed.

    Specter Progenitor, Bai Sheng, and Xia Qin all attacked Chen Le.

    Chen Le''s scalp went numb. He was fully aware of how terrifyingly powerful the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors were. He did not dare to stand and fight against them, and he intended to flee to the Origin Universe.

    As for the Great Sovereign''s order that no one from the Sixverse Association was allowed to enter the Origin Universe without authorization, Chen Le could only choose to believe what Lu Yin had said: the Monarch no longer belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe, but rather to the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect.

    If Chen Le wanted to leave, there was only one path avable, but that did not mean that it would be easy for him to escape. How could it be easy to break away from Specter Progenitor and the other two Progenitors?

    Fortunately, Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing stepped out from the spatial passage at this moment, and their appearance intimidated Specter Progenitor and the others.

    The three Progenitors were staring at Chen Le and Monarch Xing, who were blocking their path, as well as past them at the approaching forms of Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing.

    Far to the south, one of the Aeternals¡¯ powerful corpse kings approached. Aeternus had broken past the rainbow wall and entered the Three Monarchs Universe.

    "You three, it¡¯s time to return home," Arch-Elder Zen said as he stepped aside.

    Specter Progenitor quietly asked, "Do you really want Aeternus to seize control of the Three Monarchs Universe so that they are removed from the Sixverse Association?"

    Arch-Elder Zen calmly replied, "If you¡¯ve already figured that out, why bother asking?"

    Bai Sheng looked at Chen Le in surprise. "And you agreed to this? Are you not afraid that Luo Shan will return and kill you?"

    Xia Qin nced at Monarch Xing. "You are Luo Shan''s wife. Why are you doing this?"

    Chen Le responded in a cold voice, "None of this has anything to do with you. As of this moment, the Three Monarchs Universe is a dead universe, and there is no one left here. Either go back, or stay here and fight the Aeternals. It''s your choice."

 Chapter 2784: Meeting The Great Sovereign

    <h4>Chapter 2784: Meeting The Great Sovereign</h4>

    Specter Progenitor and the other two Progenitors nced at each other. Of course, it was impossible that they would stay in the Three Monarchs Universe when there were no people left in the entire universe. What would the Progenitors even do? Try to die?

    Furthermore, they were not at fault this time. They had not failed to protect a member universe of the Sixverse Association. Rather, the Three Monarchs Universe had been ruined, and they were unable to directly travel to any other parallel universe.

    "Let''s return," Specter Progenitor stated simply as he suppressed his energy, signaling that he would not attack. That done, he simply started moving towards the spatial passage.

    Chen Le felt frustrated that their n to leave the three Progenitors behind in the Three Monarchs Universe had failed. The crux was that they had discovered the resealing of the spatial passage, which meant that there was no choice but to allow the Progenitors to return home.

    Bai Sheng felt that the entire matter seemed ridiculous. Clearly, just a year ago, Luo Shan had eagerly agreed to cooperate with the four ruling powers to threaten the Heavens Sect. At that time, Lu Xiaoxuan had been so intimidated that he had asked to submit to the Three Monarchs Universe. The situation had taken a very drastic turn since then.

    How much time had passed? How had Lu Xiaoxuan pulled this off?

    Specter Progenitor and Xia Qin were equally incredulous, but there was no one who could exin what had happened to them.

    Soon, the Three Monarchs Universe was aplete dead zone, and the spatial passage was resealed.

    ...

    In the Cyclic Universe, there was a region known as the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

    The Nine Heavens represented the Nine Sages, and above them was the Great Sovereign and the Three Sovereigns. Under themand of the Great Sovereign, no one in the Cyclic Universe would dare to disobey them.

    Beneath the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths stood the Heavenly Gate. Anyone who sought to see the Great Sovereign had to first pass through the Heavenly Gate, and then request audiences from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, though there were a few exceptions to this rule.

    One of those exceptions was the Voidlord.

    At the moment, Lord Xu was respectfully standing atop white clouds and staring at a distant location. Although there was nothing to be seen in that ce, the man remained extremely respectful, as though he was facing the vast heavens and the endless earth.

    "Are you proposing that the Origin Universe be made a member of the Sixverse Association?" an ethereal voice asked from a distance. Not even Lord Xu could tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman, or even which direction it came from. It felt as though the world itself was speaking.

    The Voidlord nodded. "Senior has removed the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s status as a member of the Sixverse Association, so I am suggesting that they be reced by the Origin Universe due to their number of peak powerhouses. This is the only way to pull those people into the war against Aeternus without annexing the Origin Universe to the Endless Frontier.¡±

    "As Senior knows full well, it is not easy to remove any of the parallel universes in the Endless Frontier and make them a member of the Sixverse Association, as the Aeternals will never willingly let any of those universes go. Attempting to do so will start a battle of peak powerhouses, which our overall Sixverse Association will be very resistant to.¡±

    "It is impossible to not have six members in the Sixverse Association, and I believe that the Origin Universe is the most suitable candidate."

    Clouds drift across the sky, carrying a strange fragrance with them.

    A rainbow appeared in the sky, and a woman passed by. She was extremely beautiful, and she bowed to the Voidloard when she saw him.

    Lord Xu continued to await the Great Sovereign¡¯s answer.

    "Xu Jia."

    Lord Xu bowed. "I am here."

    "Did youe up with this idea on your own, or have you already discussed this matter with others?"

    Lord Xu did not dare to hide anything. "I have already discussed this matter with Shan Gu."

    "And Shan Gu agrees?"

    Lord Xu replied, "As long as this does not start a war, he agrees. He stated that the Lost n cannot afford the potential losses."

    "Do not underestimate the Lost n. They are different from the rest of us."

    The Voidlord grew puzzled. Different? What did that mean? The Great Sovereign had mentioned this on more than one asion before, but he had never exined any further.

    Before the Great Sovereign, even Lord Xu was a junior.

    No one knew just how long the Great Sovereign had lived for. While the members of the Sixverse Association were said to be equal, aside from the ruler of the Arboreal Realm who was barely qualified to speak to the Great Sovereign, all of the other rulers of the various universes knew that they were the Great Sovereign¡¯s juniors, including Shan Gu. Of course, in public, they were all equal, and the rulers of the universes were the Great Sovereign¡¯s peers, but no one knew the limits of the Great Sovereign¡¯s strength.

    Luo Shan had been punished and sent to the Endless Frontier. If Lord Xu were given the same punishment, he could not say that he would refuse. That was because he had never even considered being punished by the Great Sovereign. Theoretically, the Great Sovereign should show the Voidlord a measure of respect, but if not, what then?

    It was true that the Voidforce Universe was much stronger than the Three Monarchs Universe, but even so, there was no difference between them in the eyes of the Great Sovereign.

    The Voidlord did not even understand howrge the gap between himself and the Great Sovereign was, but he believed that, if the Great Sovereign wanted to destroy him, there would not even be a struggle.

    "The Three Monarchs Universe has been abandoned, which leaves the Sixverse Association with only five members, which vites the meaning of the name. It¡¯s true that another universe needs to be added to our number, but as you know, I dislike the Origin Universe."

    Lord Xu answered respectfully, "Then use the Origin Universe in the fight against Aeternus. It is their blessing to be of service to the Great Sovereign."

    "You certainly know how to tter a person."

    Lord Xu shrugged. The only person in existence whom he would ever bother to tter was the Great Sovereign. Who else deserved such treatment from the Voidlord? He would strike them down with a single p.

    "As usual, we will put it to a vote. The five member universes will each make their choice."

    Lord Xu felt that this should fulfill his promise to Lu Yin. Normally, the man would never agree to provide such assistance to Lu Yin, as everyone knew about the Great Sovereign¡¯s distaste for the Origin Universe, so why would Lord Xu make trouble for himself with the Great Sovereign?

    However, the brat had acquired Heaven¡¯s Sight. Lord Xu had not initially noticed that fact, and given his friendship with Wu Tian, the Voidlord had been tricked into agreeing to help Lu Yin before he realized that Heaven¡¯s Sight had already been found. Clearly, that brat would only make more trouble for Lord Xu in the future.

    Before long, the Great Sovereign spoke again. "The Voidforce Universe, the Lost n, and the Transcendent Universe have all agreed. There is no need to ask the Arboreal Realm, so we will simply allow the Origin Universe to be a member of the Sixverse Association."

    Lord Xu was overjoyed. "Understood."

    He had not expected the Transcendent Universe to agree to his proposal, but he assumed that the woman, Bai Qian, must have agreed on behalf of Lord Wei while the man was in seclusion.

    "Let that descendant of the Lu familye see me."

    Xu Zhu was stunned. "Are you talking about the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect?"

    "Dao Monarch? He is nowhere near qualified for that title. Those two words will bring him disaster, but that does not matter. Whether the members of the Lu family are dead or alive is inconsequential.

    "Since that the Origin Universe has be a member of the Sixverse Association, it needs to have a ruler. If the descendant of the Lu family wishes to be that ruler, then have hime see me. If he doesn''t dare, then who can represent the Origin Universe and meet me here above the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to receive my consent? Who will be the ruler of the Origin Universe?"

    Lord Xu bowed. "I understand. I will take my leave."

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s words were intended for the Origin Universe, but they were given to the Voidlord. However, he would pass the message along to Lu Yin alone. Lord Xu had absolutely no connection to the Perennial World of the four ruling powers.

    Information was a terrible weapon. If the four ruling powers knew of the Great Sovereign¡¯smand, they would do their absolute best to reach the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, but they knew nothing.

    The Origin Universe was divided into the Fifth Maind and the Perennial World. If one refused to surrender to the other, then whoever managed to receive the Great Sovereign¡¯s recognition as the ruler of the universe would be acknowledged as the Sixverse Association¡¯s official liaison with the Origin Universe. Then, they would even be able to receive the Sixverse Association¡¯s assistance in dealing with the other party.

    This was precisely the Great Sovereign¡¯s intention.

    As soon as Lord Xu left, the news also spread throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

    "That child of the Lu family is truly impressive. He managed topletely destroy the Three Monarchs Universe and even convinced Chen Le and Monarch Xing to betray their universe for him."

    "Master, how do you wish to deal with this?"

    "It¡¯s done, so just let it go. The Origin Universe is already a member of the Sixverse Association. That boy, Xu Jia, chose this exact moment to offer his proposal, though it¡¯s a bit odd for him to have done so...¡±

    "Disciple, go look into this."

    "Don¡¯t bother. This will just be a bit of fun. I''m quite curious about this child of the Lu family. The Lu family has been exiled, so what attitude will he show when he sees me? Haha!"

    ...

    It was not long before Lu Yin received the message from Lord Xu, but the news felt like a burden to Lu Yin.

    Meeting with the Great Sovereign would not be child''s y.

    The Great Sovereign was from the same generation as the Origin Progenitor. This was a truly ancient monster who had lived for countless years. Lu Yin had already been outmatched against Old Mo, but that ancient Progenitor was no different from a child before the Great Sovereign.

    The most important thing was that the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe. This attitude was the reason why Sovereign Shao Yin had suggested that the Lu family be forced to take responsibility for the Heavens Sect and be exiled. The true source of everything that had happened to Lu Yin¡¯s family was the Great Sovereign.

    It was still too early for him to meet the Great Sovereign, and yet it was a necessary step for the Origin Universe to be a member of the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin had expected this, but he realized that he still needed to make more preparations after receiving the news.

    The one thing that Lu Yin was certain of was that it was impossible for the Great Sovereign to directly move against Lu Yin himself. After being promised that by Mister Mu, Lu Yin actually felt no fear towards the Great Sovereign.

    He had only obeyed the Great Sovereign''s punishment to go to the Endless Frontier out of fear of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as the Great Sovereign¡¯s influence in the Sixverse Association, and not to mention Luo Shan. A single word from the Great Sovereign could put an end to the Heavens Sect, and with only a little support, Luo Shan could have cooperated with the four ruling powers to wage a war that the Heavens Sect could not risk.

    However, the Origin Universe had already been acknowledged as a member of the Sixverse Association, which eliminated all of those worries for Lu Yin. If he only needed to face the Great Sovereign, what of it? Mister Mu would hold up the sky if it ever fell upon Lu Yin.

    The Origin Universe was officially a member of the Sixverse Association, which gave Lu Yin a tremendous amount of assurance. Even if he offended the Great Sovereign, he would not be attacked by the Sixverse Association.

    Finally, if things did not work out, there was still Aeternus. While Lu Yin did not understand why the Aeternals valued him so highly, he had been the key detail to Shaman God¡¯s clever n, ckless God had given Lu Yin 100,000 years to make a decision, and Forgotten Ruins God had always treated Lu Yin oddly. He knew that he was not truly all that important, and he could easily run into disaster, especially in the Cyclic Universe.

    After mulling things over a bit, Lu Yin felt much more rxed about his situation, though clearly, Sovereign Shao Yin was still a big problem. The man had seen Xuan Qi before, so if he saw Lu Yin, it would instantly expose the truth. Thus, Lu Yin needed to find a way to handle thatplication.

    While Lu Yin rxed, others did not.

    As the Heavens Sect had gained a greater understanding of the Sixverse Association, people hade to clearly understand the Great Sovereign¡¯s attitude regarding the Origin Universe. No one could guess what would happen if Lu Yin faced the Great Sovereign on his own.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, and Master Shan all met with Lu Yin on their own, hoping to convince him not to go. At worst, he could abandon the opportunity to be the ruler of the Origin Universe and allow someone else to take that role.

    However, Lu Yin had no choice but to go.

    Senior Brother Mu Xie also came to visit Lu Yin, and he looked at him sternly. "You are not one to take these kinds of risks. Is there a reason behind your confidence?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Master promised me that the Great Sovereign will not act against me."

    Mu Xie sighed. "So it is because of Master. At times, I have no idea what sort of existence our master truly is. When I first met him, Master asked me to demonstrate all of my power and to find a way to impress him if I wanted to be epted as his disciple. To be honest with you, I did not really care about the opportunity at that time, and I wanted to show off a bit. Given my age when I met Master, the talent I had and the opportunities that I had encountered let me far surpass all of my peers, but I kept my strengthpletely hidden from everyone.

    "It was such a rare opportunity to be able to show off, so I gave it my all. Even so, Master''s expression never changed no matter what I showed him, which left me a bit frustrated. Luckily, he still ended up epting me as a disciple.

    "At that time, I believed Master to only be a Semi-Progenitor at best, but the more my strength improved, the more I realized that something was wrong. Next, I believed Master to be a Progenitor, and only now do I realize that even that is not enough to exin his strength."

 Chapter 2785: Nine Heavens And Ten Earths

    <h4>Chapter 2785: Nine Heavens And Ten Earths</h4>

    Mu Xie''s words resonated with Lu Yin, as he had experienced the exact same thing. When Lu Yin had entered the pocket dimension with the mountain and sea, he had struggled to climb the mountain, where he had met Mister Mu. Lu Yin had gone on to demonstrate all of his abilities that he had been so proud of, thinking that he would amaze Mister Mu. And yet, the man had not cared at all.

    When Lu Yin thought back to that time, it was true that everything he had encountered before meeting with Mister Mu would not have mattered to someone at that man¡¯s level.

    What Mister Mu had truly been impressed by was the power system taking shape within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. It unified many different powers and energies in a path that no one had ever tread on before. It was the only thing about Lu Yin that had ever surprised Mister Mu.

    As his disciples, all of them wanted to understand their master¡¯s strength, and they all sought the opportunity to surprise the man. That was simply because the gap between the disciples and their master was too big.

    "Since you¡¯ve received Master''s promise, then I can be at ease about you meeting the Great Sovereign. The Heavens Sect has nothing to fear," Mu Xie stated.

    Lu Yin frowned. "We still need to be on guard against Old Mo. That old freak has touched upon thews of the universe and can control sequence particles, which means that his strength is nearly at the same level as the Seven Skygods¡¯."

    Mu Xie grew solemn as he considered the matter. At the moment, there was no powerhouse in the Heavens Sect who could deal with that powerful old monster. Fortunately, there were so many Progenitors that Old Mo might not be able to act as he wished.

    "By the way, who is our senior brother in the Sixverse Association?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Xie looked away. "You will find out when it''s time for you to know."

    After Mu Xie left, Chen Le arrived.

    After the Monarch had learned that Origin Universe had be a member of the Sixverse Association, he felt incredibly relieved that he would not be punished by the Great Sovereign. However, after learning that Lu Yin would be meeting with the Great Sovereign, Chen Le¡¯s worries had returned in full force.

    If anything happened to Lu Yin, Chen Le had no idea what would be of him. He had already boarded the ship that was the Heavens Sect, so he naturally hoped to sail as far as possible. If Lu Yin was killed by the Great Sovereign, that ship would be destroyed.

    "Are you confident about your meeting with the Great Sovereign?" Chen Le asked.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "You came at just the right time. I need you to do something."

    Chen Le was puzzled, but after hearing what Lu Yin had to say, the man was instead shocked. "Right now? This won''t anger the Great Sovereign, will it?"

    "This is an internal matter of my Origin Universe, so what does it have to do with the Great Sovereign? If I don''t do this, I won''t be able to be the ruler of the Origin Universe. Instead, the Great Sovereign will take the opportunity to give others permission to beat me to death, and you won''t be able to escape either. You¡¯ve already betrayed Luo Shan, so even if someone else epts you, they will never trust you. More likely than not, you¡¯ll be sent to the Endless Frontier to keep Luo Shanpany." Lu Yin¡¯s answer was like a cold ssh of water.

    Chen Le''s heart sank. Would he really be sent to Luo Shan? If that happened, Luo Shan would inevitably find a way to eliminate Chen Le.

    Even though Chen Le believed that Luo Shan was not a particrly powerful individual and that the man had used deception and the Great Sovereign¡¯s favor from receiving a gift of tea leaves to arrive at his current position, there was no doubt in Chen Le¡¯s mind that Luo Shan was more powerful than him.

    "Don''t worry, you won¡¯t be acting alone. This time, everyone will be moving," Lu Yin said as he stared off into the distance. It was time for the Heavens Sect to take action.

    After sending Chen Le away, Lu Yin made his way alone to the cauldron at the bottom of the staircase that led through the Heavens Sect. He Ran was still there, as without Lu Yin''s permission, she really could do nothing but stay where she was and serve as the sect¡¯s mascot.

    When the woman saw Lu Yining, she automatically put on a disy of unparalleled arrogance.

    Lu Yin ignored her and instead walked over to the cauldron, which he touched with a hand. He then turned back and looked up at the statue of the Origin Progenitor which stood at the top of the stairs. <i>One day</i>, he vowed to himself, <i>I will reach that same level, and I will eliminate the threat of Aeternus once and for all!</i>

    ...

    In a dark ce on the Endless Frontier, water dripped to the ground. After an endless amount of time, the stone had formed a bowl under the constant erosion of the water.

    Luo Shan leaned against a cliffside as he looked out. The feeling of being watched had finally disappeared.

    <i>I never expected that someone like me, who¡¯s fought countless times on the Endless Frontier, would be careless enough to identally get caught up in a battle between Sovereign Dou Sheng and Corpse God! But they aren¡¯t much better off...</i>

    <i>After this, there¡¯s no way that my true strength won¡¯t be exposed, but in that case, so be it. The Great Sovereign already knows, so all this means is that the rest of the Sixverse Association will know about it as well.</i>

    <i>Do they really think that I, the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, achieved my position because of a woman?</i>

    Luo Shan''s expression fell as he thought of Lu Yin. That brat would pay for what he had done.

    For the moment, Luo Shan¡¯s top priority was to get away from the Endless Frontier. His status and reputation meant that he would inevitably be targeted by Aeternus, regardless of which parallel universe he entered. This was different from Lu Yin, whose power level was only equal to one of the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s Attendants, yet who somehow possessed thebat strength of a peak powerhouse. Despite the fact that Lu Yin possessed a high level of strength, he was not at a level that worried the Aeternals. They would not care even if he went ahead and purged three of the battlefield¡¯s parallel universes.

    Luo Shan was aware that Lu Yin had already left the Endless Frontier, as well as the fact that a Progenitor-level corpse king had fallen to the brat.

    At this moment, the Monarch suddenly remembered something, and he pulled out hismunication crystal from his cosmic ring.

    The news that Luo Shan had gotten caught up in the battle between Sovereign Dou Sheng and Corpse God must have already spread, but Luo Shan had not made contact with anyone. This was not because he was trying to remain hidden, but rather because, ever since that battle, he had felt as though someone was watching him, and he believed that it was Corpse God. If that old freak had decided to not fight Sovereign Dou Sheng to the death and instead pursue him, then his situation would be truly worrying. Luo Shan had not touched hismunication crystal out of fear of being found by Corpse God.

    None of the Seven Skygods were easy opponents, and Luo Shan had no desire to fight a deathmatch with those old monsters, only to have someone else to reap the benefits.

    Only recently had the feeling of being watched gone away, which meant that Corpse God should have moved on. It was finally safe for Luo Shan to stop hiding.

    "Monarc Luo Shan, Proximity has received word that the Three Monarchs universe has officially been removed from the Sixverse Association and added to the Endless Frontier. Senior is permitted to return to the Three Monarchs Universe whenever you wish."

    Luo Shan shot to his feet, his expression drastically changing. "What are you saying? That the Three Monarchs Universe is no longer a part of the Sixverse Association and that it¡¯s been added to the Endless Frontier? That¡¯s impossible!"

    "Senior, if you don''t believe me, you cane straight to the closest data center and speak directly with Proximity."

    Luo Shan moved without any hesitation, his face a terrible sight to behold.

    Proximity would not lie to him, but how could this have happened? The Three Monarchs Universe still had Monarch Xing and Chen Le, and Luo Shan would be able to return in less than ten years. They also were being assisted by the four ruling powers, so there was no reason for the Three Monarchs Universe to have been kicked out of Sixverse Association regardless of how dire the situation was. What could have changed?

    Could things have somehow been changed by Luo Shan disappearing after the battle that he had gotten caught up in? No, that was also impossible. Even if others did not understand Luo Shan¡¯s true strength, the Great Sovereign did. The Monarch would not die easily even after participating in such a battle. In the entire Endless Frontiers and the Sixverse Association, there were very few who could measure up to Luo Shan, and there was no other universe that could rece the Three Monarchs Universe.

    In that case, why had the Great Sovereign removed the Three Monarchs Universe?

    Luo Shan had many questions, but he remained cautious as he approached the closest data center. It was possible that the whole thing was a conspiracy of Aeternus. Could they have seized control of a data center and then used that to disperse false information? It was not impossible. After all, Sage Stone had been killed by Cheng Kong because the Sage¡¯s whereabouts had been leaked.

    Luo Shan was more cautious than anyone, and he carefully sneaked closer to the data center.

    After finally confirming that there was nothing amiss, he entered and had no issues initiating a conversation with Proximity.

    Some timeter, Luo Shan¡¯s expression worsened even further, as he had finally caught up on all of the recent events.

    The Transcendent Universe had suggested removing the Three Monarchs Universe from the Sixverse Association, and while Bai Qian had submitted the proposal, Luo Shan would never believe that the woman possessed the courage to do so on her own. Lord Wei must be the one behind the proposal, and he was definitely taking revenge for how Luo Shan had cooperated with Sovereign Shao Yin and the You family to overthrow the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    Luo Shan had known that Lord Wei would eventually take revenge, but he had not expected the man to move so quickly or so viciously.

    Luo Shan¡¯s disappearance had been used as an excuse to remove the Three Monarchs Universe from the Sixverse Association. While the Great Sovereign was aware of Luo Shan¡¯s true strength, for some unknown reason, he had done nothing to prevent the Three Monarchs Universe from losing its status and being condemned. Luo Shan could not understand this particr detail at all.

    As for the fact that the Origin Universe had reced the Three Monarchs Universe in the Sixverse Association, that defied anything Luo Shan could have imagined.

    Why had all of this happened?

    It was clear that the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, and it was also readily apparent that Sovereign Shao Yin had been trying to destroy the Origin Universe. The Sovereign was only working towards his own ends, and in doing so, had catered to the Great Sovereign''s wishes, but that did not change the oue.

    Luo Shan felt as though he had been helping someone in a fight, only for them to suddenly make peace with their opponent and turn on him instead.

    More and more reports were sent to Luo Shan.

    While he had only been missing for a short amount of time, many things had happened during that time.

    A roar echoed in every direction, powerful enough that the stars shattered.

    Luo Shan clenched his fists as he stared at the disy in front of him with bloodshot eyes. Had Monarch Xing and Chen Le really betrayed him and joined the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect? Lu Yin! Again, it was that same Lu Yin! He was the one behind everything that had happened!

    Why had all of this happened?

    It was the same question that the Monarch had asked many times before, but no one could give him an answer.

    How had Lu Yin managed to subvert both Monarch Xing and Chen Le and convince them to betray Luo Shan? The Monarch could not even begin to guess.

    Luo Shan was not alone, as Sage Bodhi had also felt that the news seemed impossible when she first received the reports. How had Lu Yin convinced Monarch Xing and Chen Le to betray their own universe? How had he managed to elevate the Origin Universe to the point where it was qualified to join the Sixverse Association? It couldn¡¯t have been one of his people who had suggested to the Great Sovereign that the Three Monarchs Universe be eliminated or that it be reced by the Origin Universe. But then, why would anyone from the Sixverse Association be willing to help Lu Yin?

    In the end, the Three Monarchs Universe had lost its status due to Luo Shan going missing and the Transcendent Universe proposing that the Three Monarchs Universe lose its status. It seemed clear that the Transcendent Universe had moved to get revenge on Luo Shan and that Lu Yin had nothing at all to do with the matter.

    As for the proposal that the Origin Universe be added to the Sixverse Association, that had been suggested due to the impressive number of peak powerhouses in the Origin Universe.

    How could the Great Sovereign turn a blind eye to anyone trying to help the Origin Universe? The Great Sovereign hated that ce.

    The turn of events was quite mysterious, and the mysteries seemed to envelop Lu Yin as well.

    At this moment, even the Sixverse Association felt that it was impossible to understand Lu Yin.

    In the end, there was no changing what had already happened, which meant that Luo Shan could only ept the current situation.

    He did not immediately return to his Three Monarchs Universe, as it was possible that monsters like Forgotten Ruins God were waiting there. Returning so soon would be the same as walking into a trap.

    The Three Monarchs Universe would soon be added to the Endless Frontier, which meant that Luo Shan did not need to return right away.

    <i>Lu Yin, Lu Yin!</i> Luo Shan¡¯s eyes zed red. He would make that brat pay for what he had done.

    In fact, not only would Lu Yin be forced to pay, but so too would Lord Wei and Sovereign Shao Yin. If not for Sovereign Shao Yin, Luo Shan would have never gotten involved in the conspiracy against Lord Wei. None of Luo Shan¡¯s targets could escape, and he would not let them have an easy time of things.

    Luo Shan had lost the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that he no longer had anything to lose, which removed all of his restraints. No matter if his opponent was Lord Wei, Sovereign Shao Yin, or even the Great Sovereign, Luo Shan would not let anyone who had wronged him live in peace.

    ...

    The Cyclic Universe was the leader of the Sixverse Association. In that universe, only those who were able to pass through the Heavenly Gate and enter the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were allowed to meet the Great Sovereign.

    The cultivator who had led Lu Yin to the Cyclic Universe was only as powerful as an Envoy, and after arriving at the Heavenly Gate, the woman stepped back and turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Heavenly Gate that towered high into space before him. Was this the path to meeting with the Great Sovereign?

    Past the Heavenly Gatey the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and before the Heavenly Gate, there were countless cultivators kneeling and praying, hoping for the opportunity to pass through the Heavenly Gate and see the Great Sovereign. Doing so would allow them to ascend to the heavens in a single step, instantly arriving at the top of the entire Sixverse Association.

    In the Sixverse Association, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were given their seats and power. This meant that as long as a person could enter the Heavenly Gate and gain the Great Sovereign¡¯s favor, they could instantly rise to the same level as those mighty powerhouses. Even if one did not covet the positions of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, there were many other positions in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths that could be granted.

 Chapter 2786: Inside And Outside The Heavenly Gate

    <h4>Chapter 2786: Inside And Outside The Heavenly Gate</h4>

    It was not that easy to enter the Heavenly Gate. Unless a person was summoned by the Great Sovereign or had a status that qualified them to freely enter the Heavenly Gate, anyone who wished to enter the gate would be challenged by a guard. Only by pushing past the guard would they be allowed to pass through the Heavenly Gate and enter the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

    Each person would face a different guard, depending on their personal cultivation level. The only thing that remained consistent was that the guards could not be moved.

    Lu Yin had learned all this before arriving at the Heavenly Gate, but he was still a bit surprised when he saw it for himself. The Heavenly Gate essentially separated two different worlds, and by passing through the Heavenly Gate, a person could instantly ascend into the heavens, which would allow them to look down upon all those who remained outside the Heavenly Gate like ants.

    There were always people attempting to pass through the Heavenly Gate.

    Even as Lu Yin looked, there was someone standing beneath the Heavenly Gate, trying to push aside a figure in golden armor. The guard was like a divine general that protected the Heavenly Gate, as immovable as a mountain. No matter how hard the cultivator pushed, the guard did not budge at all, not even shaking from the cultivator¡¯s attempts. Instead, the cultivator¡¯s efforts were actually injuring himself.

    Over the eons, many people had killed themselves with their own power.

    Standing behind the cultivator was a long line of people waiting for their turn to try to force their way through the Heavenly Gate. None of these cultivators could be considered average, as they needed to rise above countless others just to be able to approach the Heavenly Gate. Even so, all of them were destined to suffer the same fate.

    Many people watched with smiles from inside the Heavenly Gate. Some of them were disciples of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, while others had special statuses of some sort or another. As far as they were concerned, it was a joke to watch the people who were trying to force their way through the Heavenly Gate.

    "Look at that man. I once saw him while traveling through the universe. There are rumors that a phenomena appeared when he was born. mes fell from the sky, and his eyes zed like torches of divine fire. I think that he might have a chance," someone inside the Heavenly Gtaemented.

    Another person who was nearby instantly retorted, "There are too many people at that level, and many of them even have innate gifts. Despite that, how many are able to pass through the Heavenly Gate?"

    "Thest person to force their way through was Ling Mu, who¡¯s now a sixth-stage Demi-Immortal and one of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples."

    "The one before that became Food Sage¡¯s disciple. Supposedly, his strength is only beneath that of Snack Sage, and they often arm wrestle."

    "I heard about that. Only a few people are able topete with Snack Sage, but Snack Sage has stopped challenging people recently. He ims to have found a new target: Xuan Qi."

    "I heard that Xuan Qi challenged him during the Lost n Shangsan Festival, and now Snack Sage is waiting for him."

    "I wonder if Xuan Qi can push a guard out of the way."

    "Maybe. It¡¯s said that his talent isparable to the Junior Sovereign¡¯s and that he¡¯s truly incredible."

    "Shut up!" A sharp shout rang out as a girl approached them. She was trailed by several maids, all of whom appeared to be submissive and pale.

    The people who had been chatting instantly stopped conversing and instead sneered at the girl. "Why are you here, Junior Sister Rou? I heard that Master Ninth Lotus is giving a lecture on cultivation. Are you not attending?"

    The girl¡¯s face was stunning, but her expression was as cold as ice. Her eyes were ring so hard that anyone would be nervous. "How dare you actuallypare that Xuan Qi to Brother Chu Jian! You go too far! You must be blind. How can he be worthy of beingpared to Brother Chu Jian?"

    Everyone around quickly responded by cating the girl and offering a bit of ttery. They were all fully aware of just how much Junior Sister Rou admired the Junior Sovereign. On top of that, the girl was one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples and had a high status, so no one wanted to risk offending her.

    A woman moved closer and said, "Junior Sister Rou, I heard that Sovereign Ninth Lotus came today not only to teach, but also to see a person."

    Junior Sister Rou grew curious. "I hadn¡¯t heard. Who is it? Who was able to rouse my master''s interest?"

    The woman¡¯s voice dropped to a whisper, "The Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, Lu Yin."

    Junior Sister Rou''s red, and she suddenly grew angry. "Lu Yin? Is that the same person that Brother Chu Jian doesn¡¯t like? Where is he? I want to teach him a lesson."

    The others nced at each other. "None of us know, but I heard that someone went to bring him here, so Lu Yin should be arriving soon."

    "Hmph! If Brother Chu Jian doesn¡¯t like him, then he doesn¡¯t deserve to live! I¡¯ll speak to Master and have him punished," Junior Sister Rou said angrily, her face turning red.

    "Yes, that¡¯s true. He doesn¡¯t deserve to live. Junior Sister Rou, you should speak to Senior Sovereign Ninth Lotus so that something can be done as soon as possible. It would be best not to annoy the Junior Sovereign."

    "That¡¯s right. Junior Sister Rou, he¡¯ll be getting here soon, and I even heard that he ising to see the Great Sovereign. He might be allowed to pass right through the Heavenly Gate."

    Junior Sister Rou snorted contemptuously. "Pass through the Heavenly Gate? That is indeed possible. I¡¯ll go find Master right away."

    With that, the girl left.

    Once she was gone, the other people allughed. The girl was too simple. No matter what might be said about him, there was no denying that the Origin Universe¡¯s Lu Yin was a ruthless person. Supposedly, he had even insulted Sovereign Shao Yin, so how was Junior Sister Rou supposed to deal with Lu Yin? What a joke.

    "Lu Yin? Where is Lu Yin? Is he here?" Snack Sage approached from another side, ring at everyone as he asked about Lu Yin. He had also heard that Lu Yin would be arriving soon.

    Word of Lu Yin¡¯s visit with the Great Sovereign had spread throughout the entire Cyclic Universe, and many people arrived at the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to watch the fun.

    "I heard that he¡¯sing, but I don''t know where he is," someone replied.

    Snack Sage arrogantly dered, "I don''t know how strong he might be, but if he can¡¯t push a guard aside, then he doesn¡¯t deserve to pass through the Heavenly Gate."

    "He ising to speak with the Great Sovereign, which means that he might be allowed to pass right through the Heavenly Gate, just like us."

    Snack Sage pulled out a long pole and tied a bit of cloth onto it. He then started to write on the cloth. ¡°If you don¡¯t use your own strength to enter the Heavenly Gate, you¡¯re a coward.¡±

    As soon as he was done, Snack Sage stood just inside the Heavenly Gate, where he faced outwards while holding his new sign.

    Outside the Heavenly Gate, many of the cultivators nkly stared on. What was this? It was already nearly impossible to push a guard aside and pass through the Heavenly Gate, so why was there another person blocking the gate?

    Lu Yin also saw Snack Sage, and he was rendered speechless. The Taotie was determined to challenge someone no matter where he went.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to move forward. There were still many people in front of him, which made it difficult to skip the line. His eyes flickered, as he was also wondering what was happening with Great Elder Shan Gu.

    Lu Yin¡¯s biggest fear during this visit to the Great Sovereign was of running into Sovereign Shao Yin. If that happened, it would be impossible to keep his identity of Xuan Qi hidden.

    There was no one else Lu Yin was afraid of running into, as even if he ran into Xu Wuwei, Lord Xu would keep the Void Suprema in check.

    Lu Yin intended to wait, as the longer he waited, the less likely it would be for him to run into Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Yuan Qiunan was also present. She was one of Sage Yuan¡¯s disciples, and thus she wanted to see for herself whether or not Lu Yin would sessfully receive the Great Sovereign¡¯s acknowledgement and be the Origin Universe¡¯s formal ruler.

    Gong Yu was also present. Lu Yin was a name that was apanied by many legends, and he was definitely worth meeting.

    Jiang Xiaodao had also arrived and was very excited. He tagged along with Little Lian, showering her with attention.

    An entire group of outstanding individuals had gathered just inside the Heavenly Gate.

    Outside the Heavenly Gate, many of the cultivators felt that something must be wrong. Why were there so many important people standing just inside the gate?

    It was usually difficult toy eyes on just one of these people, and yet they were all gathered here today. What was happening?

    When Food Sage himself appeared, everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate fell silent.

    Had one of the Nine Sages really arrived?

    "Greetings Senior Food Sage."

    "Greetings Senior Food Sage."

    ...

    Countless people bowed to the Sage, but Food Sage was staring straight at Snack Sage, who rolled his eyes before ignoring the older man.

    "You still haven¡¯t put that sign away?" Food Sage demanded, causing Snack Sage to reluctantly stow it away.

    "How do you have the nerve to scold your son? Didn¡¯t you do the same thing before?" Arrow Sage asked as he arrived.

    While many of the Sixverse Association¡¯s most powerful figures were frequently fighting against Aeternus on the Endless Frontier, there were always at least a few of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages in the Cyclic Universe. Their numbers had also grown after the four ruling powers sent reinforcements to assist in the war efforts. Not to mention, both Sage Yuan and Luo Shan had been sent to the Endless Frontier as punishment, which had freed up several people, who had now decided to make a trip to the Heavenly Gate to watch how things would unfold.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had been kicked out of the Sixverse Association and reced by the Origin Universe. This was a massive change for the entire alliance, and if things did not go well, then they would be forced to deal with Lu Yin in the future. From everything that they had heard about Lu Yin, he would not be an easy opponent.

    "Dad, you used to do this too?" Snack Saint stared intently at his father.

    Food Sage shot a re at Arrow Sage. "Don''t listen to his nonsense. He¡¯s a brainless fool."

    Arrow Sageughed. "Who blocked Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s door and shouted taunts topete in strength? In the end, his hands were corroded. Look, he still has the scars."

    Everyone automatically turned to look, but Food Sage crossed his arms across his chest, which just barely hid his hands from sight. ¡°Bullshit.¡±

    Snack Saint stared straight at his father¡¯s hands.

    Food Sage became upset, and he smacked his son on the head. "What are you looking at? Why are you acting like you¡¯ve never seen me before?"

    Snack Sage felt wronged, but he was forced to look elsewhere.

    Jiang Xiaodaoughed. "You deserve that! You deserve a beating, hahahaha!"

    Food Sage¡¯s eyes locked onto the young man, which caused Jiang Xiaodao to instantly shut his mouth and quickly take two steps back so that he was hidden behind Little Lian.

    The girl smiled and said, "Senior Food Sage, don''t get angry. Brother Snack Sage didn''t mean anything. He¡¯s just acting boldly."

    The girl¡¯s words instantly improved Food Sage¡¯s mood. "You know the right things to say, girl."

    Snack Sage became upset, and he red at Little Lian, but that only angered his father. Food Sage pulled his son over and then tossed him next to Little Lian. "Try to get closer to her. Maybe she¡¯ll be your woman someday."

    Everyone was startled by thement, as it was known that Little Lian was Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s favorite disciple, which was why no one dared to say anything against the girl.

    Little Lian¡¯s face flushed, but it was impossible to tell if it was out of anger or embarrassment.

    "Idiot," Arrow Sagemented.

    It was at that moment that Lord Xu arrived. "Things are getting quite lively."

    Arrow Sage and Food Sage were both taken aback. "Senior Voidlord? Why are you here?"

    To the two Sages, Lord Xu was indeed their senior.

    He smiled at them and said, "I was the one who suggested that the Origin Universe join the Sixverse Association, so of course I need to be here to see how things y out. Why are all of you here?"

    Arrow Sage''s eyes shed. "I want to meet this legendary Dao Monarch Lu as soon as possible. It¡¯s possible that we may need to deal with this descendant of the Lu family not too far in the future."

    Food Sage just grinned. "I want to know if he¡¯s a real man!"

    "He¡¯d better not be a coward!" Snack Saint chimed in.

    Lord Xu was caught off guard. "All of you are curious about him?"

    Arrow Sage looked at Lord Xu. "Senior, you suggested that the Origin Universe join the Sixverse Association. Do you not know anything about Dao Monarch Lu?"

    The Voidlord smiled. "I can''t say that I know much of anything. I submitted my proposal about the Origin Universe because I want to use their power against the Aeternals. Don''t forget, the Origin Universe has no fewer than ten peak powerhouses."

    The people listening were all stunned.

    "At least ten?" Jiang Xiaodao was shocked.

    Yuan Qiunan frowned. <i>Are there really that many? Then most of them should be part of the four ruling powers!</i>

    "With so many peak powerhouses, wouldn¡¯t it be a pity to not employ them in the war against Aeternus?" Lord Xu asked.

    Suddenly, lotuses started blooming on the ground. Everyone grew solemn, as they knew that Sovereign Ninth Lotus had arrived.

    Lord Xu looked to the side, where a woman was approaching. A veil covered her face, making it difficult to make out her features. She gave the impression of a graceful and refined woman, which made it difficult for people to look at her directly. As she walked, the ripples spread through the sky, mimicking a blooming flower. Green lotuses grew out of the void, seemingly having always been there, yet also not present at all. It was an odd contradiction that felt off to people.

    "Greetings, Senior Sovereign Lotus."

    "Greetings, Senior Sovereign Lotus."

    ...

    An entire group of disciples trailed behind Sovereign Ninth Lotus, including Junior Sister Rou.

    "So Lord Xu is here as well." When Sovereign Lotus spoke, her voice was as clear as spring water running down a cold mountain; it was bone-chillingly cold, but also extremely pure.

    Lord Xu greeted the woman. "We meet again."

 Chapter 2787: A Green Lotus

    <h4>Chapter 2787: A Green Lotus</h4>

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus calmly asked, "I heard that the Voidlord proposed that the Origin Universe join the Sixverse Association so that their strength can be used against Aeternus. Is that right?"

    "That¡¯s right," Lord Xu replied.

    The woman turned to look beyond the Heavenly Gate, her expression indifferent as the cultivators there all kneeled down. "I agreed to Shao Yin''s proposal that the Origin Universe be added to the Endless Frontiers, which would have had the same result. Why did you not agree to that proposal, Lord Xu?¡±

    Everyone turned to look at the man.

    Arrow Sage[1] was also curious, and he had even wanted to ask the question himself.

    Lord Xu casually exined, "It would be counterproductive."

    It clearly was not a satisfactory answer, but Sovereign Ninth Lotus did not ask anymore questions, opting to continue observing from outside the Heavenly Gate.

    Everyone else nearby did the same.

    All the cultivators outside the Heavenly Gate were on their knees, with a single exception that stood out from the crowd. A nce was enough to instantly identify Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not expected to be exposed in such a manner. Should he kneel? No, that was impossible. He would not do that even for the Great Sovereign, let alone Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate focused on Lu Yin.

    He let out a breath, and as everyone stared, approached the Heavenly Gate.

    "Here hees." Lord Xu¡¯s eyebrows rose.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus''s eyes flickered. "Is that the descendant of the Lu family?"

    Arrow Sage, Food Sage, and all the others continued to stare at Lu Yin beyond the Heavenly Gate. Had he already arrived? None of them had sensed a powerful person¡¯s presence. Clearly, he was quite skilled at retracting his aura.

    Lu Yin slowly walked towards the Heavenly Gate.

    Inside the gate, Junior Sister Rou stood behind her master, a look of disgust on her face as she loudly shouted, "Why don''t you kneel down in worship? How dare you disrespect Sovereign Ninth Lotus!"

    Food Sage frowned. This girl was rather mouthy.

    Irritation shed across Lord Xu''s face. How was it this girl¡¯s ce to speak?

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus coldly stated, "p yourself for speaking those antagonistic words."

    Junior Sister Rou had not expected her Master to say such a thing. She had merely scolded some trash from the Origin Universe. That ce was hated by the Cyclic Universe, so why had her master defended him?

    "Senior Sovereign Ninth Lotus told you to p yourself, so do it." A beautiful woman approached from nearby. She was carrying a long white sword, while a dragon turtle rested on her shoulder. It was Jiang Qingyue.

    At the same time, another beautiful woman approached from the opposite direction. She was as beautiful as a painting, and something about her appearance seemed ethereal, like a fairy. She was Bai Xian''er.

    Jiang Qingyue and Bai Xian''er simultaneously approached from two different directions,plementing each other. Compared to them, Junior Sister Rou looked like a weed.

    Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus was taken aback by the two women¡¯s appearance.

    Jiang Qingyue did not have Bai Xian''er¡¯s same beauty, but there was an indescribable natural attraction to her. The moment she appeared, she seemed to be the center of the universe, and everyone felt drawn to her.

    Bai Xian''er had a divine appearance, looking like she was untouched by mortal dust, and just looking at her made people feel ashamed.

    Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s grace and beauty could not overshadow that of the two young women.

    At this moment, just inside the Heavenly Gate stood three women with three different demeanors. Somehow, each one was arrogant and superior to all others. Not one could suppress the others, and this had nothing to do with the strength of their cultivation.

    Jiang Qingyue was surprised by Bai Xian''er''s ethereal beauty, while Bai Xian''er was taken aback by Jiang Qingyue''s natural allure. It seemed as though this was not the circumstances that they should have met in.

    Forced to a deadend and unable to do anything else, Junior Sister Rou pped herself. She did not dare to disobey Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    The sound of the p woke everyone up.

    However, it also caused everyone to refocus on Lu Yin as he walked towards the Heavenly Gate.

    Outside, all of the people on their knees looked up to watch Lu Yin as he slowly walked forward. Ultimately, all they could see was his back.

    The people on their knees were nothing. Even the elders and masters who had escorted a few geniuses to the Heavenly Gate were only as strong as Semi-Progenitors, at best. None of them could make Lu Yin feel even the slightest bit of pressure.

    The only pressure he felt came from within the Heavenly Gate. The gazes of the Progenitor-level powerhouses there fell upon him like mountains.

    Food Sage''s eyes red as an invisible power caused the void to tremble as the pressure fell upon Lu Yin, locking down the voidpletely.

    Arrow Sage''s gaze felt like an arrow aimed at Lu Yin¡¯s back. He felt a chill in his heart, head, and each of his limbs. He felt like he was being targeted, and as long as Arrow Sage wanted to, Lu Yin¡¯s body would be riddled with holes.

    However, the greatest pressure came from Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Despite the woman¡¯s title, she did not give off the impression of a lotus at all. Instead, she seemed more like the ruler of all flowers. Just a nce from her was enough to cause lotuses to bloom wherever her eyes passed.

    Lu Yin even saw a green lotus swaying in the wind, growingrger andrger high above the sky. Before that green lotus, Lu Yin was like an ant that was forced to look upwards.

    It was as if he had entered a world of nothing beyond the flower and the leaves of that green lotus. That one flower made up the entire world and had even reced the Heavenly Gate and the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Lu Yin was unable to see anything other than the green lotus.

    Lu Yin slowed down to stare at Sovereign Ninth Lotus. His eyes gradually lost focus and moved upwards, as though to worship what he saw in the sky above.

    Junior Sister Rou grew excited, licking her lips as she watched. This was the end. No one could act arrogantly before her master. How dare this trash not fall to his knees before her master? He was nothing more than a mere Demi-Immortal!

    Food Sage and Arrow Sage both grew solemn as they looked at Sovereign Ninth Lotus. There was a clear hierarchy between the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and the Three Sovereigns were unquestionably superior.

    All of them were peak powerhouses; which of them was not proud and arrogant, and who had not ughtered countless people to rise to power? How could any such person be willing to ept such a hierarchy? They did not ept it because of the Great Sovereign, but rather because each of the Three Sovereigns had be a peak powerhouse on their own and not been granted that strength.

    While Sovereign Ninth Lotus appeared weak, she had disciples across the entire Sixverse Association, and no one could look down on her. She was in no way inferior to even the rulers of the different parallel universes, such as Lord Xu. The woman was high above everyone, like the sky, and could overshadow anything.

    The green lotus alone was able to rece the entire world!

    The green lotus had be the sky itself!

    Lu Yin stopped moving. He no longer faced Sovereign Ninth Lotus, but was instead looking upwards, staring at the empty sky as though looking at something there. Anyone familiar with Sovereign Ninth Lotus would also be familiar with what Lu Yin was experiencing. They would know that his entire reality had been reced by a green lotus.

    Lord Xu''s eyes flickered. He had felt a bad premonition the moment the Sovereign had appeared. The Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, and it would not be easy for it to join the Sixverse Association, much less for a descendant of the Lu family to be the ruler of the Origin Universe. The Sovereign¡¯s presence was a sign, and the moment that Lu Yin knelt down, he would no longer retain the dignity necessary to be the ruler of the Origin Universe.

    The Origin Universe¡¯s four ruling powers were nothing more than the most powerful families from the Fifth Maind, and none of them had the qualifications to make the Great Sovereign notice them, but the Lu family was different. That was the family of a Dao Monarch, and the Great Sovereign¡¯s distaste for the Origin Universe was essentially his hatred of the Lu family and Lu Yin.

    While the Great Sovereign was not taking direct action, Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s behavior made his stance quite clear. She was trying to force Lu Yin to kneel to her, when not even Luo Shan, who had been acknowledged as the ruler of the weakest member universe in the Sixverse Association, had not been forced to kneel the first time he had met Sovereign Ninth Lotus. It was a matter of the respect that the ruler of a universe had tomand.

    Lu Yin was only a Demi-Immortal, and not even an Ascendant. Before a powerhouse like Sovereign Ninth Lotus, it was only natural that a Demi-Immortal kneel. However, the moment that happened, Lu Yin would lose all qualifications to stand before the Sovereign in the future. Lu Yin was being suppressed before countless cultivators from the Cyclic Universe, and no matter how impressive he was and how superior to countless others, kneeling now would make him forever beneath the Sovereign, no matter how much time passed.

    This was a matter of status, and if Lu Yin wanted to possess a status that surpassed his current cultivation, he needed to be able to endure the consequences.

    Would he kneel?

    Lu Yin slowly bent down as he leaned forward.

    Everyone watched carefully.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. She could not understand what was wrong with Lu Yin, as she did not understand Sovereign Ninth Lotus, and neither did Dragonturtle.

    Bai Xian''er calmly watched the scene. It was impossible to discern the woman¡¯s thoughts from her expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s legs bent, and he bowed at the waist as his hands rose up.

    Just as everyone thought that he was about to kneel down, and Lord Xu was unable to resist intervening, Lu Yin let out a violent sneeze. "Achoo!"

    Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate stared on in stunned silence. Had Lu Yin really just sneezed? In this ce? This was the sacred Heavenly Gate, entrance to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. This was a ce overseen by the Great Sovereign! How could anyone sneeze?

    It waspletely unimaginable.

    The people kneeling outside the Heavenly Gate were badly startled. Nothing like this had ever happened during the countless years of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s existence. Not even Sovereign Dou Sheng Tianzun, who was regarded as the mostwless and fearless person, someone who was bold enough to even disobey the Great Sovereign, had done such a thing.

    Lu Yin was a cultivator, so how could he possibly be unable to control his body? Clearly, that sneeze had been very deliberate.

    Snack Sage, Jiang Xiaodao, Gong Yu, Yuan Qiunan, and all the other young people were dazed.

    Food Sage, Arrow Sage, and the other peak powerhouses were simrly stunned.

    Lord Xu blinked and then started tough.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s face was covered with a veil, which prevented anyone from seeing the expression on her face.

    However, behind the Sovereign, Junior Sister Rou¡¯s face was livid. She was stunned and in utter disbelief. Where did this person¡¯s couragee from? The girl knew that there had just been a contest between her master and Lu Yin, and his behavior had been no different from a p the Sovereign in the face.

    A smile tugged at the corners of Jiang Qingyue''s lips.

    "Young Mistress, this kid is very impressive." Dragonturtle grinned.

    On the other side, Bai Xian''er smiled, which entuated her otherworldly beauty. Unfortunately, no one saw it, as they were all staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rubbed his nose. "Sorry, I''m new here and not used to this ce yet. I need a moment."

    Another sneeze then exploded, and he let out a contented breath. "Now I feel better!"

    Silence reigned both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate as everyone stared at the young man.

    Lu Yin blinked and then looked around. Finally, his eyesnded on the man at the front of the line who was next to challenge a guard and try to pass through the Heavenly Gate. "Brother, are you heading in?"

    The man took a moment to react. "What?"

    "I asked if you¡¯re heading in," Lu Yin repeated.

    The man looked at the Heavenly Gate and then at Lu Yin. "After you, after you."

    The man immediately stepped aside. Even an idiot would understand that this young man was a monster, and it was also quite clear that all of the important people had gathered just inside the Heavenly Gate for this man.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you."

    He then continued walking towards the Heavenly Gate, moving closer and closer to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, Food Sage, and the others. There was only about a hundred meters between them.

    Lu Yin did not know if he would be allowed to go through the Heavenly Gate. He might have been allowed before, but after what had happened with Sovereign Ninth Lotus, Lu Yin felt that it would not be that easy.

    Everyone knew about the Great Sovereign''s dislike towards the Origin Universe. The Lu family had been exiled because Sovereign Shao Yin had suggested that the family be forced to shoulder the sins of the Heavens Sect, but the Great Sovereign was the one who had ultimately approved the proposal.

    How could the Lu family have ever been exiled if the Great Sovereign did not also hate the Lu family? The Lu family was a powerful deterrent to Aeternus, and yet the Great Sovereign had chosen to abandon the Lu family to put an end to the grudge against the Heavens Sect. This also suggested that a reason existed behind the Great Sovereign¡¯s actions.

    It was very likely that Sovereign Ninth Lotus had acted at the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders. If that was the case, then after breaking past Sovereign Ninth Lotus, what would be the next challenge for Lu Yin to face?

    He was one step away. As long as he took thisst step, he would be through the Heavenly Gate.

    Everyone watched. Would the Great Sovereign let him through?

    Lord Xu could not understand the Great Sovereign''s thoughts and thus could only watch.

    Lu Yin met some resistance, and a figure appeared before him. "The Heavenly Gate is an important ce, and no unauthorized entry is allowed."

    Everyone both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate did not know whether they should rx or take pleasure in Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune, but as expected, he had been blocked.

    Even so, everyone was startled, because the person who had appeared to block Lu Yin¡¯s entry was one of the Nine Sages. Specifically, it was the guardian of the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage.

    1. Sage Gong has been updated to Arrow Sage. ?

 Chapter 2788: Hard To Move

    <h4>Chapter 2788: Hard To Move</h4>

    Each of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had their own responsibilities. Sovereign Dou Sheng focused on fighting on the Endless Frontier. Sovereign Ninth Lotus freely traveled between the Sixverse Association and the Endless Frontier, seemingly without any responsibilities. Sovereign Shao Yin was the Great Sovereign¡¯s problem-solver.

    The same was true of the Nine Sages. Sage Bodhi oversaw Proximity and was themander of the Endless Frontier. As for Evergreen Sage, he was responsible for the Heavenly Gate.

    Those who wished to pass through the Heavenly Gate were not allowed to enter without forcing their way past a guardian. The guardians varied ording to the cultivation of each challenger, and it was extremely unusual for Evergreen Sage to personally take action.

    Being blocked by Evergreen Sage was no different from informing a challenger that the Heavenly Gate was sealed to them. No one had ever forced their way through the gate when they were blocked by Evergreen Sage.

    That included no less than five peak powerhouses.

    Evergreen Sage was not even a human being, but rather an Evergreen Tree. He had been enlightened by the Great Sovereign, and his roots had spread everywhere. No one had any idea what the Sage¡¯sbat strength was, as he left the Heavenly Gate. However, no one had ever managed to make Evergreen Sage budge.

    Not even once.

    Food Sage''s eyes zed, as Evergreen Sage was the opponent whom Food Sage wanted to challenge the most.

    Was it impossible for Food Sage to push Evergreen Sage aside? He might trulyck the necessary strength, but unfortunately, it was impossible for Food Sage to find out. He was allowed free entry to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and Evergreen Sage had always refused Food Sage¡¯s challenges.

    Arrow Sage¡¯s eyebrows rose high. If Evergreen Sage was personally taking action, then did that mean that none of the Heavenly Gate¡¯s guards were strong enough to challenge Lu Yin, or did it mean that the young man was being barred from passing through the Heavenly Gate?

    Lord Xu¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Great Sovereign truly did not like the Lu family. The young man was being challenged again and again. He had first been tested by Sovereign Ninth Lotus, but he had been able to retain control of himself, just like Chu Jian. This was the reason why Junior Sister Rou admired the Junior Sovereign so much. However, with Evergreen Sage blocking the Heavenly Gate, Lu Yin seemed to be finished.

    Not even the most powerful peak powerhouses could push Evergreen Sage aside. This was not because of the Sage¡¯s strength, but rather because he was a tree. The Sage had taken root in the Cyclic Universe itself and was connected to the earth. How much strength would it take to push such a being aside?

    Only a peak powerhouse with Lord Xu¡¯s level of strength could aplish such a thing.

    Throughout the entire Sixverse Association, only a few people could hope to push Evergreen Sage aside, and Lu Yin certainly was not included in that number. The youth was still nothing more than a Demi-Immortal, and even if he became an Ascendant or a peak powerhouse, he still might not be able to push Evergreen Sage aside.

    Lu Yin and Evergreen Sage were only half a meter apart. A single step was all that Lu Yin needed to pass through the Heavenly Gate. However, it was a step that was impossible to take, as far as everyone watching was concerned.

    A person with the strength of a Progenitor was standing before Lu Yin.

    "The Great Sovereign has asked to see me," Lu Yin stated.

    Evergreen Sage said nothing and simply stood there, blocking Lu Yin''s path.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. This man had not revealed a trace of his strength, so Lu Yin could not determine how strong his opponent was.

    Was it really necessary to push this man aside to enter the Heavenly Gate?

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight to observe Evergreen Sage.

    At that moment, Lu Yin saw a tree standing in front of him. The tree looked quitemon, but its roots spread throughout the entire earth. <i>What the hell? A tree?</i>

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Are you really a tree?"

    Evergreen Sage''s eyes flickered, and he finally looked at Lu Yin, but he still remained silent.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked downwards. The roots were endless, and they spread throughout the earth, both inside and outside the Heavenly Gate. Just how deeply did they extend? Did Lu Yin really need to push a tree aside to get through?

    "Do I need to push you away to get through?" Lu Yin asked.

    Evergreen Sage still said nothing, calmly staring straight ahead as he blocked the Heavenly Gate.

    Lu Yin slowly raised a hand and set it on Evergreen Sage''s shoulder. ording to Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin¡¯s hand was on the trunk of a tree.

    Evergreen Sage did not move and allowed Lu Yin to do as he wished.

    The Lu family''s strength had been famous throughout the Heavens Sect. Just like the Mavis family, the Lu family had dominated with pure physical might.

    Out of everyone present, Bai Xian''er had the best understanding of the Lu family, but given the fact that someone as powerful as a Progenitor was blocking Lu Yin¡¯s path, Bai Xian¡¯er believed that the Great Sovereign had already taken the Lu family¡¯s incredible strength into consideration. This person would not be easy to move.

    "One hand? He wants to push Evergreen Sage aside with just one hand? What an idiot!" Snack Sage mocked Lu Yin.

    Food Sage pped his son on the head. "At that level, what difference does one or two hands make?"

    Snack Sage felt wronged, and he muttered, "Then why do you have me arm wrestle people?"

    "I¡¯m saying that there¡¯s no way he can push his way through," Food Sage retorted.

    Snack Sage felt quite confused, and he believed that he must have missed something.

    Outside the Heavenly Gate, all the kneeling cultivators trembled as ripples appeared in the void. They started from where Lu Yin''s hand rested on Evergreen Sage¡¯s shoulder and spread out from there. There was a barrier within the Heavenly Gate that prevented any of the ripples from passing inside the gate, but from the reactions of the people outside, a significant amount of strength was being used.

    Food Sage''s pupils dted slightly. "You can actually see the power being used. This kid is very strong."

    Snack Sage licked his lips. "I really want to challenge him."

    While the two were impressed, the strength that Lu Yin was using was not enough for either of them to feel too impressed. Many cultivators were able to manifest their power visibly, and even Snack Sage was capable of doing that.

    Evergreen Sage did not move at all.

    Lu Yin looked back down. Evergreen Sage''s roots in the ground had trembled for the briefest moment when Lu Yin had released his full strength. In that case, it was time to increase his strength.

    The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind Lu Yin, causing his strength to spike sharply, and after that, a purplish-ck substance appeared, spreading across his hand and arm. The appearance of Wielder-level battle force caused Lu Yin¡¯s strength to rise even further, and Evergreen Sage¡¯s roots in the ground started to break one after another. The void trembled so violently that everyone could see it.

    Food Sage''s expression changed. "What amazing strength."

    Snack Sage saw the same thing, and the cultivators outside the Heavenly Gate felt so much pressure that they were forced to retreat, even the Ascendants among them. This was beyond Snack Sage¡¯s abilities.

    As Xuan Qi, Lu Yin had only ever used his own physical strength when challenging Snack Sage; he had never used battle force or a visualization method. At this moment, Lu Yin was exerting his full strength with all his enhancements.

    This was the same level of strength that he had used to challenge the Progenitor-level corpse king atop the rainbow wall. While Lu Yin had eventually fallen to a disadvantage, his opponent had been a Progenitor-level corpse king that had undergone a Corpse King Transformation. Humans could not normallypare to the physical might of such a monster.

    Evergreen Sage''s eyes focused on Lu Yin''s face. He had not expected a junior who was not even an Ascendant to be capable of pulling out his roots. Evergreen Sage had taken root in the ground, reinforcing his strength with the Cyclic Universe¡¯s maind itself. As long as that maind did not move, Evergreen Sage would not move. However, that was merely speaking theoretically. If his roots were all pulled out, he would be separated from the maind.

    Even after all these years, who had ever managed to pull out his roots?

    No less than five peak powerhouses had tried, but all had failed. Food Sage was famous throughout the Sixverse Association for his strength, and he had always wanted to challenge Evergreen Sage, but Evergreen Sage knew with utter confidence that Food Sage could not move him. This was not a matter of mere strength.

    <i>This junior in front of me has done an amazing job, but unfortunately, with just this much power, he will never be able to push me away.</i>

    Inside the Heavenly Gate, Food Sage squatted down and solemnly ced his hands on the ground.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. Her cultivation was not particrly high, but even with her strength, she could tell that Evergreen Sage had not been particrly affected. Was Lu Yin''s strength ineffective?

    Lu Yin''s arms started to wither as he used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    When force was used, there would be a reaction, and Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed to absorb the reaction from Evergreen Sage into his withered arms. This helped further strengthen Lu Yin¡¯s push.

    There was a soft sound as the void exploded and Evergreen Sage''s shoulder shook. His expression finally changed. <i>Does he still have more strength? No, he¡¯s countered my own power. What is going on?</i>

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus took a step forward, staring at Lu Yin''s withered arm. <i>What is that?</i>

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had used Extremes Must Be Reversed in the presence of any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s powerhouses. This was a magical ability that Progenitor Ku had developed.

    However, this was not the first time that the Sixverse Association had seen this ability.

    Lord Xu eximed, "It''s <i>that</i> battle technique!"

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus revealed a rare level of seriousness. "The Origin Universe will always give rise to unbelievable people. I had thought that this battle technique had disappeared with <i>him</i>, but it has actually reappeared."

    "It appears that Sovereign Ninth Lotus has sent someone to search for him," Lord Xu said with a smile.

    The woman replied, "Have you never searched for him, Lord Xu? How many people can remain unimpressed by such an amazing battle technique?"

    The Voidlord smiled but nothing as he gazed at Lu Yin with open admiration.

    Neither Food Sage nor Arrow Sage understood anything that was said, as they did not have the necessary knowledge. As for Lu Yin, he did not hear the conversation.

    He had used Extremes Must Be Reversed in an attempt to counter Evergreen Sage and push him out of the way in one go, but unfortunately, while the tree¡¯s roots continued to break, the Sage remained immovable, and most of his roots remained firm.

    Even so, it was highly unusual for anyone to even be able to shake him. That was something that not even the peak powerhouses who had challenged him had managed to aplish.

    However, that was the extent of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities.

    With even Extremes Must Be Reversed proving insufficient, Lord Xu and the others assumed that Lu Yin was finished. How could he possess any power or ability that surpassed Extremes Must Be Reversed?

    "It''s over." Food Sage stood up. "His power is falling, and he doesn¡¯t have anything else that he can pull out to maintain this level of strength."

    Arrow Sagemented, "What he¡¯s done is already extremely rare throughout all of history. Even I might not be able to shake Evergreen Sage.¡±

    "I definitely can''t," Food Sage bluntly replied.

    Arrow Sage did not argue.

    Junior Sister Rou heaved a sigh of relief. <i>He did well, but in the end, he¡¯s just an arrogant piece of trash from the Origin Universe. How could he ever be better than Brother Chu Jian</i>?

    Little Lian felt disappointed. "What a pity."

    Jiang Xiaodao also let out a sigh of relief. "What a freak! He managed to move Evergreen Sage despite only being a Demi-Immortal! Luckily, he wasn¡¯t able to push through. I don¡¯t know if even the Junior Sovereign could push through."

    "He can''t," Snack Sage instantly replied.

    Junior Sister Rou stared at Snack Sage, but while she wanted to argue, after thinking for a moment, she decided not to say anything. It really should be impossible for Chu Jian to push past Evergreen Sage.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand slowly fell. He had apparently given up.

    Everyone felt relieved that it was finally over.

    Bai Xian''er looked over at Jiang Qingyue and gave the woman a small smile. "I¡¯ve never met you before, sister. Might I ask which senior you study under?"

    Jiang Qingyue and Bai Xian''er looked at each other. "I am not from the Sixverse Association."

    Bai Xian''er was taken aback. "So you¡¯re from an outside universe."

    Dragonturtle whispered in Jiang Qingyue''s ear, "Young Mistress, just ignore her. It¡¯s easy to see that she¡¯s not easy to mess with. Master has said that the more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is."

    Bai Xian''er ignored thement despite clearly hearing it.

    Jiang Qingyue looked back out at Lu Yin. "If he can grasp aura energy, he might be able to seed."

    Dragonturtle shrugged. "That shortcut is unique to our universe. Young Mistress, please don¡¯t share it with others."

    Lord Xu sighed. Lu Yin would not be able to pass through the Heavenly Gate, which meant that he would not be able to see the Great Sovereign. Thus, he was destined to not be the ruler of the Origin Universe, and there was nothing that could be done about it. As long as the Great Sovereign did not want to let Lu Yin in, it would be difficult for the young man to do so.

    While Lu Yin''s performance had been truly amazing, it would not be enough unless he could force his way through.

    Just as Lord Xu was about to say something, someone else appeared outside of the Heavenly Gate, apanied by a violent energy that swept through. Just that wave was enough to cause the cultivators kneeling outside the gate to cough up blood and copse in shock.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus and the others all turned to look. Was it him?

    Lord Xu frowned as he turned to look. This person was so violent that the Voidlord could only assume that this was the new Sage Stone, the man known as a madman.

 Chapter 2789: Coercion And The Power Of Confinement

    <h4>Chapter 2789: Coercion And The Power Of Confinement</h4>

    After Sage Stone died, the Cyclic Universe had started searching for a qualified recement, but the Great Sovereign had suddenly selected someone. Very few were aware of who the Great Sovereign had chosen, and not even Lord Xu was among them.

    However, while nothing was publicly known about the new Sage Stone, the Voidlord had heard that the newest Sage was a violent madman.

    <i>Now that I see him, I see that it¡¯s true.</i>

    Food Sage and Arrow Sage also turned to look at the distant location, and a flicker of fear shed across their eyes. This person was not an easy opponent.

    Lu Yin slowly turned around to look as well, and he met a familiar pair of eyes: Nutjob Lu.

    Sure enough, the new Sage Stone was none other than Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the sight, as Nutjob Lu had fled to the Cyclic Universe, and it would be stranger if he did not return at some point in time. The only thing that had caught Lu Yin off guard was the sight of Nutjob Lu showing up at this particr moment.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s violent aura left countless people unable to even breathe.

    The man looked at Lu Yin, and an insane grin stretched across his face as he slowly and deliberately walked forward. "Get out of here! I¡¯m going to pass through the Heavenly Gate."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold, as the man was purposely trying to back Lu Yin into a corner.

    Since Lu Yin had failed to push Evergreen Sage aside, it was expected for him to step back. At worst, he would be unable to meet the Great Sovereign and would lose the opportunity to be acknowledged as the ruler of the Origin Universe. However, with Nutjob Lu¡¯s appearance at the moment of Lu Yin¡¯s failure, rumors would spread and change the reason why Lu Yin stepped away from the Heavenly Gate.

    Stepping back and being forced away by Nutjob Lu were twopletely different concepts.

    "How cruel. There must be some sort of grudge between them." Food Sage was surprised to see Nutjob Lu slowly approach Lu Yin. If Lu Yin did not retreat, the madman would walk through him, but if Lu Yin stepped back, it would look like he was afraid of Nutjob Lu. The timing was perfect.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was unable to push Evergreen Sage aside.

    Arrow Sage frowned. "That''s rather low."

    Lord Xu stared at Nutjob Lu. While this man was one of the Nine Sages, Lord Xu actually felt a bit of fear when he looked at this new Sage Stone, which did not match the others of the Nine Sages. "Sovereign Lotus, do you know where this Sage Stone is from? Is he possibly from the Origin Universe?"

    From the way that Nutjob Lu was trying to corner Lu Yin, as well as the hatred in his eyes when he looked at the youth, everything seemed to indicate that the man was from the Origin Universe.

    Sovereign Lotus slowly answered, "His surname is Lu."

    Everyone was shocked, and found this answer hard to believe. Another person from the Lu family?

    Lord Xu suddenly thought of something. "I remember hearing that there was a traitor in the Lu family. Is that him?"

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus said nothing, which was enough of an answer.

    Everyone''s expressions changed upon learning that this man was another member of the Lu family. No one from the Lu family was simple, and at this moment, the family¡¯s heir was facing a traitor.

    Nutjob Lu continued to walk towards Lu Yin. "Either go in or get out of the way. Don''t block the path."

    Lu Yin watched as Nutjob Lu drew closer. "It looks like you¡¯ve done well for yourself here in the Cyclic Universe."

    Nutjob Lu gave a fierce smile. "If you betray the Origin Universe, you can make out just as well as me."

    Lu Yin''s expression remained cold. "Was it the four ruling powers that approached you to betray the Lu family, or was it Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    "What difference does it make? Couldn¡¯t it have been Sage Yuan?"

    "He isn¡¯t qualified."

    Inside the Heavenly Gate, Yuan Qiunan''s expression grew ugly when he heard his master being openly insulted.

    As for Nutjob Lu, he cackled. "He really isn¡¯t, is he? After leaving the Lu family and being prompted by the Great Sovereign, I was able to take a step forward. Brat, do you want to work with your senior brother to attack me again? Try it, and this time, I¡¯ll be able to kill you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Had Nutjob Lu improved again? The madman was another person who had lived since the Heavens Sect era, and he was also a member of the Lu family. Logically speaking, he should at least beparable to Old Mo, but Nutjob Lu had been incarcerated by the Lu family for many years, which had resulted in his strength stagnating. Had he really been able to take another step of progress after being promoted to a Sage by the Great Sovereign?

    If that was true, then things had just be even more difficult.

    Lu Yin understood just how incredibly powerful Old Mo was. If Nutjob Lu had also managed to touch upon the power of sequence particles, he could only be stronger than Old Mo. There was no way that the madman would be weaker.

    Lu Yin could not even imagine how freakishly strong a Progenitor from the Lu family who had touched upon thews of a universe would be.

    However, it was incredibly difficult to master sequence particles. Leng Qing had also been one of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters, all of whom had been among the most powerful Semi-Progenitors. The man had broken through and be a Progenitor, but he was still nowhere close toprehending sequence particles. As for Nutjob Lu, it was hard for Lu Yin to know if the man had done so or not, given how long he had lived for.

    Nutjob Lu drew closer and closer. It was possible for him to cover the entire distance with only a single step, so why was he moving so slowly when approaching Lu Yin?

    The only answer was that the man wanted to slowly torture Lu Yin. The madman was determined to force everyone from the Lu family to pay the debt that they owed him.

    "The Sixverse Association exiled the Lu family so that they could atone for the Heavens Sect''s arrogance. Do you agree with that?¡±

    "Hmph! The Lu family should be destroyed! They got off cheap by being exiled."

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu. "What is your status here?"

    "Sage Stone," Nutjob Lu replied.

    "And what¡¯s your status within Aeternus?" Lu Yin challenged.

    Nutjob Luughed. "Little brat, are you trying to create a rift between me and the Cyclic Universe? How childish."

    Lu Yin looked away. Nutjob Lu was already only a few meters away, and he only needed to take a few steps more.

    If the madman wanted to pass through the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage would get out of his way, but Lu Yin also needed to get out of the man¡¯s path. Nutjob Lu was moving straight at Lu Yin, and he had no intention of letting the brat off easy.

    Lord Xu wanted to go to the Heavenly Gate to stop Nutjob Lu, but Sovereign Lotus said, "Lord Xu, allow our Cyclic Universe to deal with this ourselves."

    The Voidlord frowned.

    "Hey, what is Lu Yin doing?" Snack Sage shouted.

    Everyone looked to see Lu Yin raise his hand up to Evergreen Sage¡¯s shoulder once again.

    Nutjob Lu looked up as well.

    Evergreen Sage was simrly surprised, and he looked at Lu Yin. Did the youth intend to try again?

    Lu Yin looked at Evergreen Sage. "Senior, forgive my rudeness."

    As he spoke, the gray color of the Withered Bark from his heart flowed out from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, shrouding him and confining his power for a brief moment.

    The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant roared, and the purplish-ck substance spread across his body as Lu Yin stared at the Sage before him. In a single instance, all of the power that had been trapped by time was released, erupting with dozens of times more force than what Lu Yin had used before. All of hisbined strength had been trapped andyered together before being released as a single attack.

    There was a bang, and the ground trembled. Countless roots snapped, startling Evergreen Sage. Lu Yin pushed the Sage aside.

    Everyone was stupefied, unable to believe their eyes.

    Sovereign Lotus''s expression changed drastically, as she had just witnessed the impossible.

    Lord Xu was simrly shocked. How had the kid done it? He should not possess the strength to force Evergreen Sage to move.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s expression fell, but he was not overly surprised. The members of the Lu family were known for doing the impossible.

    As countless people watched in disbelief, Lu Yin stepped forward and passed through the Heavenly Gate.

    At this moment, the sight of the young man shattered many people¡¯s perspective of reality.

    Evergreen Sage, one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sage, the guardian of the Heavenly Gate, had just been pushed aside by Lu Yin. The meaning of this incident was difficult for people to fully grasp, as it meant that Evergreen Sage¡¯s strongest aspect had been overpowered by Lu Yin. Lu Yin, a young man whose cultivation was still only equal to a Demi-Immortal, had been able to overpower and defeat Evergreen Sage.

    It was this power that had caused even Sovereign Lotus¡¯s expression to change drastically.

    This did not mean by any stretch that Lu Yin was a threat to Sovereign Ninth Lotus, but given his freakish level of power as a mere Demi-Immortal, how much more powerful would Lu Yin be when he broke through and became an Ascendant, let alone a peak powerhouse?

    Snack Sage, Gong Yu, Jiang Xiaodao, and the other juniors were allpletely stunned, and they stared at Lu Yin as though they were looking at a god.

    Food Sage¡¯s eyes were glowing with a brilliant light. Just how strong did someone need to be to aplish what Lu Yin had just pulled off? They needed topete!

    "Dad, I suddenly want to find a master to follow," Snack Sage murmured.

    Jiang Xiaodao licked his lips as he stared at Lu Yin with tant admiration. This was a truly incredible person.

    Little Lian cheered.

    Gong Yu went bug eyed, and his gaze was filled with respect.

    Even Junior Sister Rou, who hated Lu Yin, was blushing at this moment. This person had actually surpassed her brother Chu Jian. There was no denying that Chu Jian waspletely incapable of pushing Evergreen Sage aside. This Lu Yin was powerful, so, so powerful.

    Jiang Qingyue just smiled as Dragonturtle praised, "He truly is worthy of you, young mistress."

    Bai Xian''er was lost in her own thoughts. <i>How did you do that just now?</i>

    No one couldprehend the power that Lu Yin had just demonstrated. How could anyoneprehend the method of trapping one¡¯s own attacks by freezing time, and then releasing all of the power as a single, unified attack? Only if they had seen Chu Yuan¡¯s Realm of Time might they understand what Lu Yin had just done.

    Nutjob Lu stopped walking, his fists clenched tight. When Lu Yin had taken action, even Nutjob Lu had felt uneasy for a moment. The brat seemed to have mastered some incredible power.

    <i>This kid is even more terrifying than Lu Tianyi.</i>

    Lu Yin passed through the Heavenly Gate to face Sovereign Lotus and others who had gathered inside.

    At this moment, a staircase appeared in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, rising high into the sky.

    It looked almost identical to the staircase in the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin wondered what the difference between the two staircases was.

    Sovereign Lotus spoke up, "If you wish to see the Great Sovereign, then climb the Stairway to Heaven."

    Lu Yinughed. <i>Is there ever an end to all this?</i>

    He took a step forward and started to climb the stairs. Shockingly, he encountered no resistance whatsoever.

    Lu Yin was already at the Great Sovereign¡¯s doorstep, and no one dared to waste any more time. They all grew solemn as they waited for the Great Sovereign to appear.

    Even Nutjob Lu suppressed his violent aura and passed through the Heavenly Gate. He looked up at where Lu Yin was ascending the stairs.

    This staircase connected the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. At no point in climbing the stairs did Lu Yin encounter any obstacles, and he rose up smoothly. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he found a tform that was surrounded by clouds and mist. There were birds and animals roaming about, and the ce seemed like a sacred ground.

    Lord Xu took a step forward and arrived close to Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Lotus, Food Sage, Arrow Sage, and Nutjob Lu all soon appeared as well.

    However, Snack Sage and his peers did not appear, as none of them were qualified to ascend to this ce.

    Bai Xian''er arrived, as did Jiang Qingyue.

    This revealed a difference in status, as some people were qualified to climb the stairs, while others were not.

    Only by standing at the top of the Stairway to Heaven could one be qualified to meet with the Great Sovereign.

    "You climbed the stairs very quickly. Have you practiced?" Food Sage gave Lu Yin a look of surprise.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Is it supposed to be difficult?"

    Food Sage replied, "Of course. I struggled a great deal to climb that staircase."

    Arrow Sage chimed in, "Me as well."

    "You didn''t face any resistance?" Food Sage was once again surprised.

    Lu Yin smiled. "My Heavens Sect has a simr staircase, so maybe I''m simply ustomed to it."

    What a simple answer! Lu Yin left everyone speechless.

    Even so, he had apparently not encountered any resistance while climbing the stairs, so what was the Great Sovereign¡¯s intention?

    Lu Yin noticed Bai Xian''er, but he simply ignored her. He instead looked at Jiang Qingyue and smiled at her to say hello.

    Jiang Qingyue nodded in response and offered a small smile.

    Dragonturtle wagged his tail. "This is the second time that we''ve met. My old master appreciates you a great deal."

    The Lord of Lightning? Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."

    He understood that Dragonturtle and Jiang Qingyue must have said good things about him to the Lord of Lightning.

    Lord Xu also looked over at Jiang Qingyue. "How is the Lord of Lightning doing?"

    Jiang Qingyue bowed to the old man. "Thank you for your concern, Senior. My father is doing well, and he asked me to say hello to Senior on his behalf."

    Lord Xuughed. "I will go see him when I have a chance.

    "By the way, do you know Lu Yin?"

    Everyone had grown curious upon hearing that the Lord of Lightning knew of Lu Yin. The man was a powerful expert who was not a part of the Sixverse Association and was regarded as an equal to Lord Xu and the other rulers of the various universes. He was even able to speak to the Great Sovereign. Not even the Sixverse Association would willingly offend such a person.

    Jiang Qingyue was the Lord of Lightning¡¯s daughter, so everyone who knew her treated her politely.

    "We met by coincidence," Jiang Qingyue replied.

    Dragonturtle spoke up, "Master greatly admires this boy, and he intends to betroth him to my young mistress, so please take good care of him."

 Chapter 2790: Lu Yinâ€™s Attitude

    <h4>Chapter 2790: Lu Yin¡¯s Attitude</h4>

    After hearing Dragonturtle''s deration, Sovereign Lotus immediately looked at Jiang Qingyue, who instantly shouted, "Shut up!"

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, congrattions."

    Lu Yin understood that Dragonturtle was trying to improve his reputation, but Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s congrattions caused Lu Yin¡¯s expression to grow cooler. "Have you been in the Cyclic Universe?"

    "Yes." Bai Xian''er smiled.

    "So is this also where you had your Semi-Progenitor breakthrough?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes sparkled, but her smile remained the same, or possibly even grewrger. "Yes."

    Lu Yin stared at her for a long moment.

    Thisplicated things greatly.

    Clearly, Bai Xian¡¯er cultivation method was exceptional, for how else could she possibly absorb the Cyclic Universe¡¯s stellr energy? How had she managed to survive a Semi-Progenitor tribtion in the Cyclic Universe? This should have been impossible.

    Of course, it was also possible that the Great Sovereign had granted Bai Xian¡¯er power and that she had abandoned the Origin Universe¡¯s energy. This was the option that Lu Yin hoped to be true, as it would simplify things greatly, but deep inside, he already knew that it was the first possibility.

    Bai Xian''er was the only one who could be regarded as Lu Yin¡¯s equal, as she was able to ignore the power in his chest. No one else had ever been able to do that.

    "Hey, hey, hey, boy, look over here! Over here! This is where your wife is!" Dragonturtle shouted.

    Lu Yin was speechless, and Jiang Qingyue red at Dragonturtle. "If you keep talking nonsense, I won''t take you with me when I go out."

    Dragonturtle just sneered at her.

    An incredible wave of power arrived.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, as the Great Sovereign had arrived.

    Everyone turned to face the same direction, solemn expressions on all their faces.

    Even Lord Xu was no different.

    The Great Sovereign was the strongest human currently alive, and no one could understand the limits of the Great Sovereign¡¯s cultivation. There were no peers for the master of the Sixverse Association, which was why some even referred to the person as the co-master of humanity.

    Lu Yin slowly clenched his fists. Was he finally going to see the Great Sovereign?

    This was the person who had sent Luo Shan to the Endless Frontier by merely ordering the Monarch to be punished, and he could also decide the fate of the Heavens Sect with no more than a word. This was someone from the same generation as the Origin Progenitor, and Lu Yin was finally going to meet this powerhouse.

    He had long wanted to meet the Great Sovereign.

    "Greetings, Great Sovereign." Everyone bowed low.

    Lord Xu solemnly said, "Greetings, Senior Great Sovereign."

    "Are you Lu Yin? One of Lu Yuan¡¯s descendants?" A voice was heard from every direction. It was impossible to determine where it came from, or if it even belonged to a man or a woman.

    This was the Great Sovereign¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin slowly bowed. "This junior is Lu Yin. Greetings, Senior Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yuan was the founder of the Lu family, and also one of the Three Realms Six Dao¡ªthe Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind.

    "You look like him."

    Lu Yin remained bowing as he silently listened.

    "While you may look a great deal like Lu Yuan, I hope that you do not have the same personality. He was quite rude to me."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. Was this a reminder, or a threat?

    "I agreed to exile the Lu family, and I was the one who blocked Lu Yuan''s perception of the outside world. Do you hate me?"

    Everyone subconsciously nced at Lu Yin.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. Every sentence that the Great Sovereign spoke was antagonizing Lu Yin. What was the purpose of this?

    Lord Xu remained calm. He had already done what he could, and he also knew that it was impossible for him or anyone else to change the Great Sovereign''s attitude.

    Lu Yin said nothing.

    "Child of the Lu family, I asked, do you hate me?"

    Lu Yin continued bowing, but he still said nothing.

    Food Sage¡¯s eyebrows rose high. This boy had incredible courage to refuse to answer the Great Sovereign''s question.

    Sovereign Lotus spoke up to rebuke Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, answer!"

    Lu Yin still said nothing.

    Nutjob Lu''s eyes red, and his violent energy swept towards Lu Yin.

    Lord Xu nced sideways at the madman, and voidforce energy shielded Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    Nutjob Lu and the Voidlord looked at each other, violence and threats filling both men¡¯s eyes.

    Lord Xu frowned. This man was truly insane.

    He looked back at Lu Yin. The youth was being incredibly disrespectful to the Great Sovereign by refusing to speak.

    "Senior Great Sovereign, my father asked me to send you his greetings." Jiang Qingyue suddenly spoke up as she bowed to the Great Sovereign.

    "As expected, all members of the Lu family have the same attitude. Child of the Lu family, you disgust me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he slowly straightened back up. He stopped bowing, though he still refused to answer. He simply listened.

    In terms of seniority, the Great Sovereign ranked above even the founding ancestor of Lu Yin¡¯s family. In terms of either strength or cultivation, he had no confidence whatsoever. If not for his trust in Mister Mu¡¯s assurances, Lu Yin would not have the qualifications to maintain his dignity before the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin¡¯s behavior was only possible because he trusted Mister Mu, but that did not mean that Lu Yin would be rude or say offensive things to the Great Sovereign. The day that Lu Yin was capable of standing straight before the Great Sovereign due to his own strength, he would show apletely different attitude, and that day would surelye.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus bowed. "Master, please allow me to teach this arrogant child of the Lu family a lesson."

    "Sovereign Lotus, if Senior Great Sovereign wishes him to be taught a lesson, why would you need to do a thing? Senior Great Sovereign¡¯s word is perfectly reliable, as a single word can alter the rules of the universe. This child of the Lu family is nothing but an ant, and he cannot enter Senior''s sight. Taking action is nothing more than bullying the weak, and if word leaks, this will not help your reputation," Lord Xu said.

    Bai Xian''er lifted her head. "Master, perhaps he was intimidated by your power."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Had Bai Xian''er just called the Great Sovereign master? Had she been epted as the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple?

    "Child of the Lu family, do you wish to be the ruler of the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin finally spoke. "Yes."

    Nutjob Lu stepped forward. "How can a mere Demi-Immortal deserve the position of ruler of a universe? This junior has a more suitable candidate."

    Lu Yin looked at Nutjob Lu, his eyes frigid.

    "Who is that?"

    Nutjob Lu replied, "Bai Wangyuan, of the Origin Universe¡¯s Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Not only is he the master of the Origin Universe¡¯s Celestial Frost Sect, but he is also one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. It is perfectly reasonable for such a person to be the ruler of the Origin Universe.¡±

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you have any objection to allowing Bai Wangyuan to be the ruler of the universe? He is your senior, and even your father, Lu Qi, needed to treat Bai Wangyuan as a senior when he saw him."

    Lu Yin calmly retorted, "Is there something wrong with your head? That man is an enemy of my Lu family. How could I not have any objections?"

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "And yet he is far more qualified to be the ruler of the Origin Universe than you. Senior isn¡¯t disgusted by the sight of him. If you object, then fight him and see who is the more suitable candidate.¡±

    "The ruler of a universe should be the strongest, just like Senior Great Sovereign or the Voidlord."

    No one could argue with the madman¡¯s words. If the ruler of a universe was not the most powerful individual in that universe, then how could the people of that universe be willing to follow them?

    "I have never seen such a shameless person before," a cold voice spoke up.

    Everyone slowly turned to look at the speaker and saw Jiang Qingyue.

    Nutjob Lu''s eyes zed red. "What did you just say?"

    Dragonturtle stood up. "It was us! What about it?"

    Jiang Qingyue met Nutjob Lu''s eyes, and frowned. This man¡¯s aura gave her a very ufortable feeling. From what she could sense, this man was synonymous with destruction and destruction. "I said that you are shameless."

    Nutjob Lu stepped forward, and a terrifying power swept toward Jiang Qingyue.

    Lord Xu shouted, "Stop!"

    Even as he spoke, he blocked Nutjob Lu''s power.

    Dragonturtle stretched his neck. "You dare to attack the Lord of Lightning''s daughter? You must be eager to die."

    Jiang Qingyue held Dragonturtle back while staring back at Nutjob Lu without flinching. "This Bai Wangyuan that you mentioned is from the Origin Universe, and his status is above even that of Lu Yin''s father, and yet you want to have Lu Yin and this Bai Wangyuan fight? How is this not utterly shameless?¡±

    Nutjob Lu snorted contemptuously. "Then he should abandon his ambitions of bing the ruler of the Origin Universe. Why should a mere brat be the ruler?"

    Lu Yin asked, "Where is Bai Wangyuan?"

    Nutjob Lu was startled by the question. He had actually been waiting for Bai Wangyuan to arrive, but where was the man?

    "Sage Stone, where is Bai Wangyuan?" the Great Sovereign asked.

    Lord Xu smiled. "One must be acknowledged by Senior Great Sovereign to be the ruler of the Origin Universe, and yet Bai Wangyuan has not deigned to even appear. Either he does not wish to be the ruler of the Origin Universe, or he does not care about Senior Great Sovereign."

    Nutjob Lu shot back, "How could Bai Wangyuan be disrespectful to the Great Sovereign?"

    "Then why is he not here?" Lu Yin shouted.

    ...

    At the same time, the mes of war had spread to cover the entirety of the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm.

    Beneath the Wang family¡¯s floating continent, arrows shot high into the sky, aimed at thendmass that looked like a hand.

    Wang Zheng''s scalp went numb. "A Progenitor... A Progenitor is attacking! An enemy Progenitor is attacking¨C!"

    Chen Le was shrouded within a ck robe. He raised a hand to loose another arrow. This was Lu Yin¡¯s task for the Monarch: to attack the Wang family.

    Orbs of light revolved above the Wang family¡¯s homnd. These orbs had the strength of a Progenitor, and while Chen Le¡¯s arrows were capable of piercing the floating continent, the orbs of light swept the arrows away.

    Chen Le''s expression changed, and fear entered his eyes as he looked up at the orbs of light. What sort of power was this?

    A figure arrived. "How dare you attack my Wang family! You are seeking death!"

    An old man had appeared, and while he looked much older than Wang Fan, he was a younger Progenitor from the Wang family who had always stayed in the Dominion Realm. His name was Wang Jian.

    After Lu Yin had evacuated the Three Monarchs Universe, Specter Progenitor, Bai Sheng, and Xia Qin had all returned to the Perennial World. However, just one dayter, they had returned to the Sixverse Association. The Great Sovereign had ordered the Origin Universe to send half of their Progenitors to reinforce the Sixverse Association, and this order could not be ignored. For that reason, the Progenitors had to leave again.

    At the moment, the only Progenitors that were present in the Wang family were Wang Fan and Wang Jian.

    Chen Le attacked again, and Wang Jian left the Dominion Realm. Chen Le looked up, only to see the old man disappear. However, while the Monarch could not see anything, he felt a surge of danger, so he quickly dodged aside.

    The ce he had just been standing was torn apart by the Four Arts: Celestial de.

    The Wang family was known for their Four Arts, and the Celestial de was famous for being an incredibly powerful attack.

    "Who are you? How dare you attack my Wang family!" Wang Jian roared as heshed out with a palm strike. This time, he used Sit and Forget.

    Chen Le stared upwards, and his mind went nk. <i>Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing?</i>

    At thest moment, a massive mountain appeared in front of the Monarch, blocking Wang Jian''s palm strike. Only then did Chen Le react, and he retreated backwards as he looked upwards in fear.

    Was this the power of the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors? Why did Chen Le feel such an odd and terrifying sensation from him?

    Master Shan stepped out from behind Chen Le. The man was also wearing a ck robe that hid him. "Be careful. The Wang family''s Progenitors are very difficult opponents, and Wang Fan has not even shown up yet."

    Chen Le took a deep breath. "I understand."

    In another part of the Higher Realm, Shenwu''s Sky was also attacked. Cloudflow took action in that ce, but he did not use his own power or his Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao, out of fear of being recognized and exposed. Fortunately, he had already learned some of the Heavens Sect¡¯s sword skills during his time there, and at this moment, he used the cktop Sword Intent, which was the sword technique that Zhang Dingtian had inherited from the cktop Dojo.

    Cloudflow was a master swordsman, so he had easily picked up the sword technique.

    The master who had created the cktop Sword Intent had never dreamed that a Progenitor-level powerhouse would one day learn his technique. After all, the creator of the battle technique had been far from that cultivation level himself.

    When wielded by Cloudflow, the cktop Sword Intent erupted with a different level of power, and the unpredictable battle technique forced Xia Shenji to use his Shenwu World.

    Even so, the gap between Cloudflow and Xia Shenji was too great, and the cktop Sword Intent could note even close to measuring up to the Shenwu World. The winner would be determined in just a few moves.

    "Where has a Progenitor like youe from that you dare to attack my Shenwu''s Sky?" Xia Shenji shouted as his sword fell, horrifying Cloudflow. <i>Aren¡¯t the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors a bit too strong? I can¡¯t do anything!</i>

 Chapter 2791: The Ruler Of The Origin Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2791: The Ruler Of The Origin Universe</h4>

    At that moment, a sharp de shot past Cloudflow''s side, rising up to block Xia Shenji''s attack.

    Countless bits of sword light rained down upon the earth, tearing Shenwu¡¯s Sky to pieces.

    Everyone in the sect fled in all directions, unable to endure the mere shockwaves of a battle between Progenitors.

    Leng Qing stepped forward and looked up at Xia Shenji with zing eyes. The new Progenitor was eager to face a skilled swordsman.

    Xia Shenji''s expression grew solemn as he looked down at Cloudflow and Leng Qing. While neither of the men were individually Xia Shenji¡¯s match, when together, they were capable of holding him back. Also, they were wearing matching ck robes.

    "You must also be from the Heavens Sect!" Xia Shenji yelled.

    A smile spread across Leng Qing''s face. "I''ve heard about you for a long time now, so why don¡¯t we see just how big of a gap exists between you and Xia Chan."

    Xia Shenji shouted back, "You must be from the Heavens Sect era! You are Leng Qing!"

    Leng Qing did not waste any more time talking, and heshed out with his sword. Cloudflow attacked at the same time, only to have his attack be blocked by Leng Qing. The newest Progenitor wanted to test Xia Shenji alone.

    At the Celestial Frost Sect, Mu Xie had his hands sped behind his back. He was also wrapped up in a ck robe, and before him stood Bai Wangyuan.

    "Mu Xie, why bother hiding yourself? I know that it''s you." Bai Wangyuan looked quite gloomy at this moment. He was supposed to be in the Cyclic Universe at this moment, but Mu Xie had suddenly attacked. No, it was more urate to say that the Heavens Sect had made their move.

    The entire Higher Realm was filled with chaos. Not only had Progenitor-level experts attacked, but the Heavens Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had also moved out. The four ruling powers were being assaulted on all sides.

    The sudden attack confused the four ruling powers, though they also finally understood just how powerful the Heavens Sect had be.

    In the past, Lu Yin had to scheme and plot to destabilize the four ruling powers, and he had even gotten Progenitor Liu and Progenitor Nong involved, not to mention Progenitor Smoke. However, at this moment, the Heavens Sect actually dared to seize the initiative andunch an attack. What¡¯s more, they had even managed to seize the upper hand. How much time had passed?

    Where had Lu Yin gathered all of these Progenitors and peak powerhouses? ording to the four ruling powers¡¯ information, the Heavens Sect should not have this many Progenitors.

    Mu Xie calmly replied, "The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas is an ancient title, but the truth is that there is a sharp difference in power between you all. Senior Lu Tianyi was the most powerful, and he dared to even fight against True God Yi Wei. Bai Wangyuan, I have long since wanted to see your power. What is your limit?¡±

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Lu Xiaoxuan is your junior brother, but you dedicated your entire life to rooting out Redbacks. Why get involved in a civil war? This will only benefit Aeternus."

    Mu Xie replied, "Whoever destroys the bnce of this universe is the enemy, and not even my junior brother will be allowed to destroy that bnce. However, this is no longer a matter of bnce. Rather, my junior brother must be the ruler of the Origin Universe. Only by joining the Sixverse Association can the Origin Universe be preserved, and yet that is beyond you and everyone else in the four ruling powers. Only my junior brother can do what is needed.

    "Today, you will not be going anywhere."

    Bai Wangyuan''s pupils dted as his eyes red. "I knew that this was the reason! Very well, then I willpletely eliminate the hidden danger that you pose!"

    The Higher Realm trembled as more than ten Progenitor-level experts fought. Thispletely eclipsed any battle that had been fought in the history of the Perennial World. Even if another battle hade close, they had only been fought in the Dominion Realm or the rear battlefield.

    At Dragon Mountain, Grand Elder Ni Huang was standing high in the sky. The Heavens Sect had attacked three of the four ruling powers, but they had ignored the White Dragon n. This was not mercy, but rather proof that the White Dragon n no longer deserved the attention of a Progenitor.

    The old man did not know whether he should be happy or sad.

    The White Dragon n needed to first climb back to its former peak.

    ...

    In the Cyclic Universe, Nutjob Lu bowed low. "Senior, please allow me to return to the Origin Universe."

    "What a joke! Do you want all of us to just wait here for you?" Jiang Qingyue asked contemptuously. Her voice was cold, and she spoke stiffly, as she was not used to challenging or antagonizing people. And yet, she had repeatedly done so to this madman.

    On the other hand, Dragonturtle did not care in the slightest. "With so many people knowing that the kid was going to be here today, there¡¯s no reason for Bai Wangyuan to be ignorant, and he still didn¡¯t show up. This is pretty interesting, as he refuses to show proper respect to the Great Sovereign.¡±

    Nutjob Lu looked up ahead of him. "Senior, if you allow me to return to the Origin Universe, I will surely return with Bai Wangyuan."

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus then stepped forward. "Bai Wangyuan''s failure to appear is absolutely not because he is being disrespectful to you, Master. Something must have happened in the Origin Universe to keep him there."

    She nced over at Lu Yin. "In fact, as long as you give the word, Master, Bai Wangyuan will be the ruler of the Origin Universe. Hisck of appearance here will not prevent him from showing the proper respect to you, Master."

    "Exactly. Bai Wangyuan is qualified to be the ruler of the Origin Universe. As soon as he has finished whatever he is dealing with in the Origin Universe, he will certainlye to pay his respects to Senior Great Sovereign. If he refuses toe, Senior can simply end him," Nutjob Lu said.

    Lu Yin spoke up in a disdainful tone. "My Fifth Maind will not recognize Bai Wangyuan as our ruler."

    The Sovereign did not care about Lu Yin¡¯s protest. "If Master deres it to be so, then the Fifth Maind will have to obey Master''s orders, just as Luo Shan did. Master decides whether someone goes or stays."

    "I am not Luo Shan," Lu Yin snapped back, stunning Sovereign Ninth Lotus and everyone else who was present.

    Food Sage stared at Lu Yin with admiration. This was quite the boast.

    Arrow Sage''s eyes flickered. The young man was no longer simply refusing to answer.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s head rose.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s face became ice cold. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin stared back at the woman. "Did you not understand what I said?

    "I said, I am not Luo Shan."

    "You are seeking death!" Behind the Sovereign, a green lotus swayed.

    Nutjob Lu gave a vicious smile. "If you disrespect the Great Sovereign, then you can just die!"

    Lu Yin ignored both people¡¯s threats. "When the Origin Universe was not a member of the Sixverse Association, I had no choice but to obey the Great Sovereign¡¯s order and go to the Endless Frontier. Now that my Origin Universe is recognized as a member of the Sixverse Association, can you still act against my Origin Universe?"

    He stared into the distance, at a ce in the sky that waspletely empty. "Great Sovereign, can you take action against the Origin Universe?"

    The words echoed further and further and did not stop.

    "Enough," the Great Sovereign stated. The voice was apanied by a surge of indescribable power that caused everyone''s hearts to tremble, even Lu Yin¡¯s. It was impossible to discern where the power hade from.

    Everyone bowed low, aside from Lu Yin, who remained standing as he stared off into the distance.

    His greatest fear was that the Sixverse Association would attack the Heavens Sect, but since the Origin Universe had be a member of the Sixverse Association, it was no longer realistic for the alliance to target the Heavens Sect, at least at this moment. If such a thing happened, how would the Voidforce Universe react, or the Arboreal Realm and Transcendent Universe?

    The truth was that the others did not share Lu Yin¡¯s fears, as they were all wondering whether or not the Great Sovereign would attack Lu Yin.

    If the Great Sovereign made any move at all, a single finger would be enough topletely destroy Lu Yin. No, a mere thought would suffice.

    Even if it was impossible to move against the Origin Universe in the current situation, that did not mean that the Great Sovereign could not target Lu Yin himself, and that was not even considering the fact that Lu Yin had publicly disrespected the Great Sovereign.

    First, he had refused to answer the Great Sovereign¡¯s question, and at this moment, Lu Yin was actually questioning the Great Sovereign.

    If the Great Sovereign wanted to deal with Lu Yin, not even Lord Xu would be able to do a thing.

    The Voidlord had not expected Lu Yin to be so impulsive. It had been fine when the youth had refused to answer. No matter what, the Great Sovereign was the one responsible for the Lu family¡¯s exile, and it was only expected for Lu Yin to hold some resentment in his heart. However, what was Lu Yin doing at this moment? As long as Bai Wangyuan did not appear, it was impossible for the Great Sovereign to allow the Progenitor to be the Origin Universe¡¯s ruler. There was no need for Lu Yin to fight for the position. In the end, he was still too young and brash.

    Everyone else was wondering whether the Great Sovereign would attack Lu Yin, but this was the one thing that Lu Yin did not fear at all.

    Lu Yin wanted all of the Great Sovereign''s irritation and animosity to be targeted at himself, as Mister Mu had promised that Lu Yin would be safe. Because of that, Lu Yin did not believe that the Great Sovereign would ever attack him.

    "Child of the Lu family, I find you just as revolting as Lu Yuan, and I find myself bing increasingly disgusted with you."

    Lu Yin remained calm, and he did not disy any subservience or arrogance.

    Food Sage was amazed, and he stared at Lu Yin with growing admiration.

    "Bai Wangyuan is noting. If you want to be the ruler of the Origin Universe so badly, I''ll allow it," the Great Sovereign said in a casual tone.

    Lu Yin let a deep breath out. "Thank you, Senior Great Sovereign."

    "Don''t get too happy just yet. The ruler of the Origin Universe must be able to bear the corresponding responsibilities. You just said that the Origin Universe¡¯s Fifth Maind would not recognize Bai Wangyuan as its ruler, so will Bai Wangyuan and the others from the Perennial World acknowledge you?" the Great Sovereign asked.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "As long as the Senior Great Sovereign acknowledges it."

    Everyone turned to give Lu Yin odd looks. The thing was being said, yet in reverse.

    Lord Xuughed at Lu Yin¡¯s shamelessness.

    "Have Bai Wangyuane see me and personally admit that he acknowledges you, Lu Yin, as the ruler of the Origin Universe. Do this, and you will be the true ruler of the Origin Universe. If not, I will personally take that title away from you." The Great Sovereign¡¯s voice remainedpletely indifferent the entire time.

    Lu Yin grew solemn, understanding that this was the Great Sovereign¡¯s method to deal with Lu Yin. There was no need to offer any assistance to Bai Wangyuan, nor was there any need to specifically target Lu Yin. If Lu Yin could not subdue the four ruling powers, then he would prove himself unworthy of being the ruler of the Origin Universe.

    Given the current situation, if Bai Wangyuan became the ruler of the Origin Universe, either the Great Sovereign or Sovereign Shao Yin would help the four ruling powers eliminate the Heavens Sect. However, if Lu Yin became the ruler of the Origin Universe, those people would not offer him any assistance, not even the Great Sovereign.

    This was indicative of Lu Yin''s position in the Cyclic Universe. Here, he was isted and helpless.

    This was also why Lu Yin had been so determined to be the ruler of the Origin Universe. If Bai Wangyuan received that title, it would be impossible for Lu Yin or the Heavens Sect to ever gain the upper hand again.

    With the support of the Great Sovereign, Sovereign Shao Yin would be allowed to tantly attack the Heavens Sect.

    Instead, while the Great Sovereign refused to help Lu Yin and had only unofficially approved of Lu Yin bing the ruler of the Origin Universe, Lu Yin was still happy. He merely wanted the four ruling powers to not receive any outside help.

    It was time to put an end to the rift between the Heavens Sect and the four ruling powers.

    ...

    In the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm, all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors and powerhouses retreated once Lu Yin returned. The war that had broken out so suddenly ended just as quickly.

    This battle had stalled Bai Wangyuan, forcing him to lose the opportunity to be the ruler of the Origin Universe.

    He hid his irritation as he watched Mu Xie leave.

    The Progenitor had always kept his strength hidden, and Bai Wangyuan could not help but ask himself if he could overwhelm Mu Xie even after releasing his full power and the strength of his own Mountain and Sea. Mu Xie¡¯s power was endless, and even if Bai Wangyuan could eke out a victory, it would be impossible for him to ever kill Mu Xie, or even wound him seriously. Mu Xie had truly hidden himself well.

    It was no wonder why the man had dared to stop Bai Wangyuan without any support.

    "Brother Bai, do you know why all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors just retreated, or where they all even came from?" Xia Shenji asked Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression fell a bit. "Nutjob Lu informed me that the little bastard was meeting with the Great Sovereign today, hoping to be dered the ruler of the Origin Universe."

    "What? Is that why the Heavens Sect attacked us?"

    "Yes, in order to prevent us frompletely destroying them."

    "You should have told us before this!" Wang Fan stated, clearly quite angry.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes shed. "Told you before?"

    That could have ruined his own chances of bing the ruler of the Origin Universe!

    Everyone had their own selfish motives.

    Nutjob Lu had said to not share the information with Wang Fan or Xia Shenji, as the man wanted to avoid any idents happening. He had wanted to ensure that Bai Wangyuan became the ruler of the Origin Universe, as if Wang Fan or Xia Shenjipeted for the position, they would most likely cause even more trouble than Lu Yin.

    Nutjob Lu and Bai Wangyuan had formted a n, but Lu Yin had set up a counter far earlier in advance.

    When Lu Yin had left to meet the Great Sovereign, the four ruling powers had suffered an unprecedented attack, which had prevented Bai Wangyuan from leaving. After all, if he had left, the Celestial Frost Sect would have been wiped out. In that scenario, how would Bai Wangyuan still be qualified to be the ruler of the Origin Universe?

 Chapter 2792: The True Body And The Clone

    <h4>Chapter 2792: The True Body And The Clone</h4>

    In addition to no longer possessing the qualifications to be the Origin Universe¡¯s ruler, if Bai Wangyuan had left, there would have only been three Progenitors in the Higher Realm, which would have been far from enough to hold back the Heavens Sect¡¯s numerous Progenitors. In the end, the damage might not have been just the Celestial Frost Sect, but also Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family. The four ruling powers had already lost the White Dragon n as a true member, and they could not afford to lose anyone else.

    If that happened, how would the four ruling powers be any different from the Three Monarchs Universe?

    "That little bastard dared to attack us, the four ruling powers, just for the chance to be the ruler of the Origin Universe? We can¡¯t let him get away with this." Xia Shenji was beyond furious.

    Wang Fan stood atop the Wang family¡¯s floating maind and stared in the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s direction. He knew that Bai Wangyuan had always feared him, but while Wang Fan had ignored the other Progenitor in the past, this time, that fear had grievously harmed the four ruling powers.

    <i>If only he had said something earlier!</i> Wang Fan clenched a fist. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan was capable of blocking Bai Wangyuan, how could he have also stopped Wang Fan? The Progenitor had not done anything during the Heavens Sect¡¯s attack.

    The Heavens Sect was not capable of stopping both Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan.

    It was infuriating!

    "The Heavens Sect has pulled back, so it appears that Lu Xiaoxuan was sessful," Wang Fan quietly mentioned.

    Bai Wangyuan replied, "News of the results of the meeting in the Sixverse Universe will soon reach us. No matter what may have happened, even if he was acknowledged as the ruler of the Origin Universe, that has nothing to do with our four ruling powers. The little bastard can¡¯t do anything to us!"

    ***

    At this same time, in a ce within the Celestial Frost Sect, the sounds of singing drifted out from a rather luxurious old mansion as people danced inside. The festivities made for a sharp contrast with the restoration of the construction right after the battle that had just been fought.

    Thend outside the mansion had been broken and destroyed, and there were many people busy conducting repairs outside. But inside the mansion, people were singing and dancing.

    This house was the home of a cultivator from the Cyclic Universe. This person was actually the one that helped the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s members travel from and to the Cyclic Universe. This was the person that Nutjob Lu had used to deliver messages to Bai Wangyuan.

    Despite only having the strength of an Envoy, the man¡¯s status in the Celestial Frost Sect was extremely high.

    The joyful singing and dancing were apanied byughter that echoed out of the mansion, rousing the envy and jealousy of many of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s disciples.

    The scene inside the mansion waspletely different from what was ying out in the rest of the sect.

    A beautiful singer was dancing seductively, her movements both coy and enticing. A short distance away, the cultivator from the Cyclic Universe was smiling, though his expression was clearly forced, and there were even beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

    In his arms was a woman in a verypromising position.

    "Who are you? Do you realize who I am?" the Demi-Immortal quietly asked through his forced smile.

    The woman smiled flirtatiously as she shifted her position, causing a burst of scent to waft out. "Are you from the Cyclic Universe?"

    The man¡¯s eye twitched. "You dare to attack me even knowing that?"

    "I came here to look for you. Don''t do anything stupid, like shouting for help. Even if you are able to eliminate me, you won¡¯t be able to do anything against a poison this powerful."

    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly.

    "Smile. Keepughing, and don''t let anyone see anything," the woman whispered into the Demi-Immortal¡¯s ear.

    The man gritted his teeth and forced a hideous smile out. "What do you want? Let me go, and I¡¯ll take you to the Cyclic Universe with me. I am Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s follower, and if youe with me, you¡¯ll reach the heavens in a single step."

    "Just enjoy yourself. You don¡¯t need to do anything, as I¡¯ll stay right here with you," the woman replied in a seductive tone.

    The cultivator was terribly confused. He could not understand what the woman wanted. All he knew was that he was under her control.

    The same scene yed out at Shenwu''s Sky, the Wang family¡¯s floating continent, and the White Dragon n¡¯s Dragon Mountain.

    There was someone from the Sixverse Association staying with each of the four ruling powers,munication lines to the Sixverse Association.

    These people were how Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and the other Progenitors had traveled around when defending the Sixverse Association, and they were also Bai Wangyuan¡¯s means ofmunicating with Nutjob Lu and receiving information from the Sixverse Association.

    However, all of the people had fallen under the control of others.

    ***

    In the Heavens Sect, Wang Wen toyed with a chessboard. "Come on, let''s y a game. It''s been so long since west enjoyed a match."

    He was very excited, and he had not yed a game of chess with Lu Yin in a very long time. Wang Wen quite enjoyed crushing Lu Yin in the game.

    Lu Yinughed. "How is that any fun? I''m not your opponent."

    "Ha, of course it''s fun! The majestic Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect¡ªno, the ruler of the Origin Universe, is crushed by me in a match! Who else can enjoy such an experience, haha." Wang Wen was excited.

    Lu Yin shook his head and stretched out his hand.

    "Bai Wangyuan is going to be absolutely furious this time. He wanted to use this opportunity to cut off your legs, but you cut off his instead. What a joke." Wang Wen remained extremely excited as he stared at the chessboard, considering how he should crush Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinmented, "I didn''t expect this to go so smoothly."

    "The four ruling powers are constantly scheming against each other. I told you from the very beginning that there wouldn¡¯t be any problems. There was no way that Bai Wangyuan would ever tell Wang Fan or Xia Shenji that he was trying to be the ruler of our universe. Otherwise, Wang Fan would have jumped up a long time ago.

    "Even so, I underestimated how much the Great Sovereign hates your Lu family. If you weren''t so powerful, even if Bai Wangyuan failed to be the ruler of our universe, you wouldn¡¯t have seeded either." Wang Wen then grabbed ahold of a piece from the chessboard and gave Lu Yin a mysterious smile. "Your Royal Chesspiece, you¡¯ve made a very difficult enemy this time."

    Lu Yin and Wang Wen stared at each other. "The more difficult the opponent, the happier you are."

    Wang Wen smiled broadly. "You still understand me."

    Lu Yinughed. "You first told me that you would help me unify the Outerverse, and after you seeded, we moved on to the Innerverse, and then the entire Fifth Maind. Next, we are going after the Perennial World. After all your ns seed, won¡¯t you feel bored?"

    Wang Wen''s piecended on the board with a sharp snap. "I¡¯m certainly not bored right now. We¡¯re going against a monster like the Sixverse Association, not to mention how there¡¯s still Aeternus. The game that we¡¯re ying just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Your Royal Chesspiece, you need to work hard to get me more pieces for this game. Otherwise, we might end up in an unwinnable situation."

    "Don''t worry, you¡¯re about to get a bunch of chess pieces," Lu Yin replied.

    The Second Nightking arrived to deliver a report. "Dao Monarch, we sessfully took control of them."

    Wang Wen pped his hands. "Perfect timing! Your Dao Monarch was just crushed by me as well."

    The Second Nightking''s expression remained unchanged. Wang Wen was unique in the Heavens Sect, as he had never once changed the way he treated Lu Yin throughout their entire time of knowing each other.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet with a sigh. "I can''t take this anymore. Every time we y a game, youpletely crush me. I¡¯m better off checking on Sapling."

    With that, Lu Yin left.

    Once he was alone, Wang Wen stared at the chessboard and muttered to himself, "That Royal Chesspiece seems to have gotten much better at controlling the board."

    Lu Yin arrived at the bottom of the Heavens Sect¡¯s staircase and ced a hand on the cauldron. Little Sapling poked out. It really liked the cauldron, and this was the best ce to look when searching for it.

    A short distance away, He Ran stood arrogantly, though she shot the asional nce at Lu Yin before immediately looking away.

    Lu Yin ignored the woman as he yed with Sapling for a bit before leaving again.

    ***

    A few dayster, in the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm¡¯s Shenwu¡¯s Sky, Xia Shenji¡¯s eyes abruptly snapped open, and he took a step forward. There was a terrifying smile on his face as he left the sect.

    <i>I finally found him! He was hiding in the Lower Realm. I¡¯ll need to thank those traitors in Root, as without them, I would have never found him.</i>

    Bai Wangyuan¡¯s goal was to be the ruler of the Origin Universe, and he felt that the greatest threat to that goal was Wang Fan. Xia Shenji was well aware of this fact, and while he felt that he was just as powerful as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, he also knew that he was weaker than both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, as long as he was missing that clone.

    This was also why Xia Shenji had been so reluctant to kill that clone even after so many years.

    With everyone learning of that clone¡¯s existence, as long as Xia Shenji could find it, he would fuse with it and regain his full strength.

    <i>Soon, soon...</i>

    In the Lower Realm¡¯s fifth region, a conversation could be heard from inside a simple thatched hut. "I received word that someone from the Heavens Sect will soone to pick us up. Do you want to leave together, Ancestor?"

    "No, I¡¯m safest here."

    "Alright. In that case, I will leave two disciples here to serve you, Ancestor, which will make it easy to stay in touch."

    "Mmm."

    When the conversation ended, a man walked out of the hut. When the light fell through the branches and leaves onto the man¡¯s face, it was clear that he was Xia Luo.

    After Xia Shenji was exiled, Lu Yin had devised a scheme to deal with Xia Qin, which was to have Xia Luo and Xia Xing jointly rule over Shenwu¡¯s Sky, sharing authority between the branch and main lines of the Xia family. This had allowed Xia Qin to vent some of her anger, and for a time, Xia Luo had indeed acted as the co-leader of Shenwu¡¯s Sky, under Xia Qin¡¯s oversight. At that time, not even Xia Xing had dared to do anything to Xia Luo.

    However, when Xia Shenji returned, the Heavens Sect had given Xia Luo a bit of advance notice, and he had led the members of the branch families away from Shenwu''s Sky to meet up with Xia Shenji¡¯s clone. Everything had been handled by the Heavens Sect.

    Xia Luo walked away from the thatched hut and continued on his way.

    Once he was out of sight, Xia Shenji suddenly appeared.

    Inside the hut, Xia Shenji''s clone''s expression changed drastically. <i>Not good!</i>

    Xia Shenji red, and the hut shattered to reveal his clone. Two perfectly identical people stared at each other.

    Xia Shenji sneered. "I found you."

    When Xia Luo heard themotion, he turned around. When he saw Xia Shenji, the young man¡¯s face turned pale. "Ancestor?"

    Xia Shenji nced over. "As soon as I merge with this clone, I will capture you and the rest of the traitors from the branch families. Anyone who dares to betray Shenwu''s Sky is seeking death!"

    The clone did not even consider trying to escape. With how close Xia Shenji was, how could he ever escape?

    Xia Shenji took one step forward, arriving directly in front of his clone. The Progenitor easily grabbed his clone with one hand.

    The clone was terrified. "If you try to do anything to me, I¡¯ll kill myself!"

    "Are you even capable of doing that?" Xia Shenji shouted back. He then watched his clone raise a hand to strike his own head, but just as the hand was about to strike, it moved back. This was the Xia family''s secret technique: Reversal.

    Xia Shenji grabbed his clone''s neck and lifted the man up. "I really need to thank those losers in Root. If not for them, I would have never found you."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s clone stared at the Progenitor and then suddenly pulled a card from his cosmic ring. An irresistible pull sucked both Xia Shenji and the clone into the card.

    The two people appeared in ce of perfect darkness. They were inside Evernight.

    This was one of the Lost n¡¯s seven-star Immemorial cards, which were considered to be on the same level as Great Elder Shan Gu and the Voidlord. Given Xia Shenji''s strength, nothing other than an Immemorial card could ever pull him in.

    The moment he entered Evernight, Xia Shenji knew that something was very wrong and that he had just fallen into a trap.

    He frantically attacked and even released his Shenwu World. A world of swords appeared and tried to break out of Evernight. However, this card represented the Lost n¡¯s greatest strength. <i>Why did this appear in the Lower Realm?</i>

    An absolute darkness devoured all light and pressed in upon the Shenwu World, continuously suppressing it.

    Without any human controlling it, Evernight simply had the power of darkness, much like Old Mo, but far, far weaker.

    However, darkness was nothing more than Evernight¡¯s innate power, and if an expert such as Shan Gu was controlling the card, then the power of the darkness would rise to an unimaginable level.

    The frantic attacks from the Shenwu World destabilized Evernight, and if there wasn¡¯t someone controlling the card, Xia Shenji would easily escape, let alone a more powerful Progenitor.

    At this moment, a small path suddenly appeared. Xia Shenji saw it and shouted, "You? Zen!"

 Chapter 2793: Besieging Xia Shenji

    <h4>Chapter 2793: Besieging Xia Shenji</h4>

    Xia Shenji avoided the small path, but it instantly appeared beneath his feet and dragged him away.

    The Progenitor wanted to escape from Evernight, but he also wanted to capture his clone. During his moment of internal conflict, Lu Yin appeared, walking through the Shenwu World. He moved as though he could see through every sword attack. There were curved lines on his forehead that formed an eye-like symbol, and as soon as the young man saw Xia Shenji, he raised his palm rose and shot out an attack at the Progenitor.

    Xia Shenji looked up and roared, "You little bastard! I¡¯m going to kill you!"

    The Shenwu World spread out, and swords shed at Lu Yin, only for his entire body to suddenly disappear. The palm strike had been a feint, and the real attack was Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s.

    Xia Shenji saw that, far out in the distance, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Ancestral Qi had already transformed into Lu Tianyi, and a Hidden Needle had shot out to pierce through Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji had roamed the Perennial World and fought against the Aeternals for countless years. How could he fall for a trap so easily? When he whirled around, he used a secret technique to freeze the Hidden Needle in the void.

    "Do you really believe that you can deal with me by summoning Lu Tianyi? How much of his strength can you even call upon?"

    Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes suddenly red, and blood vessels erupted in each eye. The Hidden Needle that had been locked down by Xia Shenji¡¯s secret technique trembled, and then, shockingly, broke free and instantly stabbed into Xia Shenji.

    Lu Yin appeared above Xia Shenji''s head, pping down with his slipper.

    Xia Shenji''s eyes grew unfocused, and he did not even try to dodge. Secretly, Lu Yin thought that this was not a good thing, but just as he was about to retreat, his body froze, as did the Hidden Needle. One attack was frozen above Xia Shenji''s head, while the other froze at the side of his body. This was the man¡¯s unique battle technique, Graduation, which used time to lock down the void.

    This was the battle technique that Xia Shenji was proudest of, and also what he believed gave him the ability to fight against even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Sight, it was clear that Xia Shenji had not fully mastered the power of sequence particles yet, and he was clearly much weaker than Old Mo. However, the power of time was extremely difficult to deal with.

    "Dao Monarch!" Arch-Elder Zen shouted.

    Lu Yin spun around as the Shenwu World fell upon him. To his Heaven¡¯s Sight, it appeared that the Shenwu World had reced the darkness of Evernight. It was impossible for Lu Yin to block such an attack with his own strength.

    At thest possible moment, the Investiture of the Gods appeared, and multiple figures emerged from the glowing golden scroll. Cloudflow''s Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao erupted, as well as Monarch Mu''s divine hologram and Progenitor Nong''s Plowing the Land, Three Progenitor-level powerhouses attacked as one, shattering the Shenwu World.

    Xia Shenji was shocked to see that Lu Yin had already conferred three Progenitors as gods. <i>Wait, who is that?</i>

    "Monarch Mu?"

    Lu Yin swung his slipper down, instantly smashing through Xia Shenji¡¯s Graduation. Not a word was spoken as the young man shot straight at Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor sneered. "You¡¯ve already revealed everything that you possess. Do you really think that you can kill me? I will definitely expose the identity that you¡¯ve used to hide in the Sixverse Association!"

    The man did not recognize Evernight, as that would have instantly identified Lu Yin¡¯s other identity.

    Lu Yin steeled his gaze. "Even if you find out, can you still leave?"

    Xia Shenji''s Divine Martial Armor erupted, and inch by inch, the unique energy spread throughout all parts of the Shenwu World. "Let me show you a power that isparable to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas!"

    He unleashed an unprecedented level of strength with his Progenitor¡¯s world, and at that moment, the Shenwu World filled Evernight and pushed back the absolute darkness.

    The Shenwu World filled the entire space with des. At this moment, every de burned with Divine Martial Energy, causing the void to warp.

    "Dao Monarch, you¡¯ve now seen my power. Tell me, are you afraid?" While Lu Yin felt that Xia Shenji''s power was indeed terrifying, the man was still a bit weaker than Old Mo. The power of sequence particles was on another level.

    Even so, Xia Shenji was too strong for Lu Yin to resist at this moment, which meant that he could only go all out.

    Xia Shenji had always imed that he was just as powerful as the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he had indeed exposed a level of strength that surpassed anything he had revealed before. Every sh of the Progenitor¡¯s des was powerful enough to defeat Cloudflow or Chen Le, which meant that each attack could instantly kill an ordinary Progenitor. As Lu Yin looked around, he could not even count how many des the Progenitor had manifested.

    This level of power would be difficult for most peak powerhouses to deal with, and only those who had surpassed a certain limit would be able to do so.

    Lu Yin clenched his slipper, and blood leaked from Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes. It was time to finish this fight. <i>Senior Tianyi, this junior will see if he can reproduce your power!</i>

    Xia Shenji''s eyes red, and he red at Lu Yin. The man refused to believe that the slipper could block all of his attacks. His arms waved, and countless des shed down.

    Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale. He spun around, disbelief filling his eyes. "Do you want to die? He¡¯s trying to kill us!"

    Xia Shenji''s clone lowered his hand, gasping. He had just injured himself.

    However, upon seeing Xia Shenji¡¯s rage, the clone smiled as his hand fell. "He wants to kill you, not me."

    "If I die, then so will you!" Xia Shenji was furious and regretted not killing his clone before all this. Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets. The burning Shenwu World started to disappear as Xia Shenji¡¯s strength started to fade.

    Unable to maintain his current state, the Progenitor raised his head as his Shenwu World desperatelyshed out in every direction. He wanted to escape, but it was already impossible for him to capture his clone.

    Xia Shenji wanted to escape, but he was forced to stay behind.

    The Shenwu World shed at Evernight, and Graduation locked everything down as Xia Shenji stared at Lu Yin. "You little bastard! You¡¯re dead! Do you think that the Sixverse Association will ever let you go?"

    Lu Yin had a mocking smile on his face. "Look behind you."

    Xia Shenji¡¯s head snapped around, just in time to see a needle. It was the Hidden Needle that he had frozen with Graduation. At some point in time, the needle had broken through Graduation, and the Hidden Needle now shot towards Xia Shenji, just as the man used Graduation to create a barrier in front of his body.

    The battle technique shattered with the sound of breaking ss.

    The Hidden Needle stabbed into the man with a power that was beyond Xia Shenji¡¯s understanding. He was instantly skewered, and blood welled up in his throat.

    He spat it out, unable to believe his current situation.

    At the same time, Arch-Elder Zen also spat out a mouthful of blood as he grew pale. He was indeed incapable of utilizing Senior Tianyi¡¯s full power, and attempting to do so had nearly killed Arch-Elder Zen.

    This opening gave Lu Yin the opening tond his palm strike, though he first trapped thirty such attacks with the power of time, before unleashing the unified palm strike onto Xia Shenji¡¯s back. The Progenitor¡¯s bones snapped, and the Shenwu World disappeared.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, please show mercy!" Xia Shenji''s clone shouted in a weak voice.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, and the clone shot over.

    "He¡¯s all yours."

    <i>Puff.</i>

    Xia Shenji vomited more blood out, and his vision blurred as he looked upwards, just in time to see another attack from Lu Yin hit him. At this moment, Xia Shenji waspletely incapable of blocking any attacks, and his vision faded to darkness.

    The clone could not wait, and he rushed down.

    Arch-Elder Zen moved to Lu Yin''s side. The old man¡¯s face was pale, and he looked even worse than if he had been seriously injured. He appeared to be at death¡¯s door.

    Lu Yin looked at the man with great concern. "Senior, are you going to be alright?"

    Arch-Elder Zen answered with a bitter smile. "Senior Tianyi''s power is truly too much. Even if I have the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, it¡¯s impossible for me to bring out his full power. Attempting to do so harms me, and I can¡¯t endure for much any longer."

    Lu Yin had heard Lu Buzheng mention that he only asionally seeded in summoning Destiny with his own Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and that low sess rate was due to the gap between the man¡¯s strength and Destiny¡¯s. Trying to forcefully summon Destiny with his Ancestral Qi would only harm the Semi-Progenitor.

    "Is Ancestor Tianyi that much stronger than you?" Lu Yin felt quite curious about this, and he hoped to obtain some idea of Lu Tianyi''s level of strength from Arch-Elder Zen.

    The old man muttered, "I don''t even know howrge that gap is, which is the scariest thing.

    "If I knew his power, I would not worry about it. But it¡¯s precisely because I don''t know that, if I overdraw the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, I¡¯ll most likely kill myself."

    Lu Yin waspletely certain that Ancestor Tianyi had mastered sequence particles. If not, there was no way that Arch-Elder Zen would be so much weaker than Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor.

    If Arch-Elder Zen had summoned someone with Xia Shenji¡¯s level of strength, there would be no difficulties at all, and this demonstrated the difference in strength.

    "If the clone merges with the main body, aren¡¯t you worried that the clone will be absorbed instead? What if the clone has his own ambitions and bes another Xia Shenji?" Arch-Elder Zen was worried. He coughed, and more blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "There¡¯s no need for you to overuse Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s power. This man is already badly injured, and we can deal with him."

    "I actually want to try it myself. I¡¯ve never been able to experience Senior Tianyi¡¯s power for myself, and I felt the urge to push myself and find out. I never thought that I would suffer so badly for it." The Progenitor felt a bit helpless.

    Lu Yin knew how to dismiss the old man¡¯s worries. "I will confer him as a god. A person has to bepletely willing to ept that process for it to work. And if he fails, he¡¯ll just be made into a champion."

    Arch-Elder Zen gave Lu Yin a strange look. This was indeed the behavior of the Lu family: domineering and impossible to control. The living could be conferred as gods, while the dead could be annointed as champions. Was there anyone whom the people could not use?

    Finally, Arch-Elder Zen understood the four ruling powers¡¯ feelings towards this family. No one would want to live beneath such people.

    "In addition to that, I¡¯ll ask my senior brother to ce a ?ar¨©ra in him, just to ensure that he never changes his mind," Lu Yin continued. He looked downwards with a strange expression. The Nine Clones Secret Technique was a truly miraculous ability.

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. This would be safe.

    Starting from this day, the original Xia Shenji would cease to exist.

    What would the clone be in the future?

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen stared downwards for a long time before the merging finally finished.

    <i>Ahem.</i>

    A loud cough echoed out. Xia Shenji ced a hand over the wound from where he had been stabbed by the Hidden Needle. He struggled to his feet whileining, "Dao Monarch Lu, you are too vicious."

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen moved closer, certain that it was not the clone who was standing before them.

    There had been toorge a gap in strength between Xia Shenji¡¯s true body and his clone. Even if the true body had been seriously injured to the point of standing at death¡¯s door, it was not impossible for the Progenitor to force his clone into submission.

    Lu Yin had simply given the clone an opportunity.

    Of course, it had been an incredibly risky opportunity, but it had also been the clone¡¯s requirement, and Lu Yin had agreed to the condition.

    The greatest risk was if the clone was forcibly absorbed into the main body. If that happened, then even if Lu Yin killed Xia Shenji, he would obtain no information about the Lu family''s location. Only the clone could detect where they were.

    If possible, Lu Yin wanted to take full control of the clone.

    However, if the original Xia Shenji endured, then he would have no choice but to eliminate the man, and when the main body died, the clone would perish as well. The main body¡¯s life was linked to the life of his clones, but the death of clones could not cause the main body to die.

    While Lu Yin hadplete control over whether Xia Shenji''s clone lived or died, that did not mean that he could discern whether the clone was speaking the truth or lying.

    Xia Shenji''s broken body slumped back onto the ground. He looked at his arms and his chest several times before trying to move his arms. A numbness affected his entire body.

    The worst injuries that the Progenitor had suffered were from the Hidden Needle and the palm strike to his back.

    While the clone was only a Semi-Progenitor, his understanding of strength and power came from the original Xia Shenji. Shockingly, Lu Yin had used a single palm strike to deal a great deal of damage to the Progenitor. This had far exceeded the clone¡¯s expectations, as he had thought that the main body would have to be besieged on all sides to fall.

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zennded on the ground and carefully observed Xia Shenji.

 Chapter 2794: A Secret

    <h4>Chapter 2794: A Secret</h4>

    Xia Shenji revealed a bitter smile. "Dao Monarch Lu, I seeded, but this body has been beaten into such a pitiful state by you that I won¡¯t be able to recover for quite some time. During this time, I won¡¯t be able to help you."

    Lu Yin bent over and moved closer to Xia Shenji.

    Arch-Elder Zen warned, "Be careful."

    Despite the Progenitor¡¯s pale face, there was a narrow path that spread out from his feet. If Xia Shenji tried to attack Lu Yin, the path would allow Lu Yin to instantly evade. This was Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, and it existed only to support Lu Yin. This was the Progenitor¡¯s world that he had used to help Lu Yin deal with Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin and Xia Shenji stared at each other for a moment before Lu Yin stood back up. "I believe you."

    Arch-Elder Zen was not the only one surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s pronouncement, as Xia Shenji was simrly shocked. "Dao Monarch Lu, you believe that I seeded?"

    A smile pulled at the corners of Lu Yin''s mouth. "The real Xia Shenji would never have looked away from me."

    Xia Shenji let out a long breath as he nodded. His wounds were still dripping blood. The Hidden Needle had wounded him so badly that it was impossible to forcefully suppress the injury.

    "Can you help me? I''m afraid that I''ll die at this rate." Xia Shenji feltpletely helpless.

    Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen, but the old man shook his head. "No one can heal the injuries made by Senior Tianyi. Xia Shenji, since you have sessfully fused with the main body, you should have gained his memories and realized that it is impossible to deal with Senior Tianyi¡¯s power."

    Xia Shenji''s face twisted into an ugly expression as he looked at Arch-Elder Zen in disbelief. "Are you able to truly release Lu Tianyi''s power?"

    "Yes. During the Daosource Sect era, all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were inherited, which brought about a glorious age of prosperity. Of those powerhouses, the most dazzling one was Progenitor Chen, and the quietest one was Progenitor Ku. However, the most iprehensible one was Lu Tianyi because the injuries that he caused could not be healed.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen continued to say, "Even so, you won''t die. After all, you only suffered a single attack, and Xia Shenji is not so fragile."

    Xia Shenji smiled bitterly, but he did not argue. "I really don¡¯t have any luck."

    Lu Yin was curious. "Why is it impossible to heal the wounds caused by Ancestor Tianyi?"

    Xia Shenji lifted a pale face to look at Lu Yin. "Injuries caused by Lu Tianyi''s attacks can¡¯t be healed by any form of power or ability, and they can only heal naturally. If such wounds are impossible to naturally recover from, then death is the only possible oue. This is why Lu Tianyi¡¯s power was regarded as invincible."

    "That is but one reason for it," Arch-Elder Zen exined with a nostalgic expression on his face, "It¡¯s true that Senior Tianyi¡¯s power cannot be dealt with, but he was also called invincible due to his own power. The famous saying about the Lu family members, ¡®One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all,¡¯ was embodied to the extreme in Senior Tianyi. He summoned Progenitors from his Champions¡¯ Stage, and conferred all of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as gods. It could be said that Senior Tianyi alone was able to bring out the power of nearly ten Progenitors, most of whom were the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    "You can only imagine how powerful Senior Tianyi was at his peak."

    Xia Shenji coughed. "Alone, with his back to the Mother Tree, he faced True God Yi Wei. That is the power of Lu Tianyi, who could face off against Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods on his own. During his time, discounting the Lu family¡¯s legendary ancestor, Lu Tianyi would be invincible, though only in theory. There were still people like Ku Jie and Xia Shang, who were capable of breaking through any time and rising up to a higher level of power themselves, reaching upon the level of transforming the universe. Also," At this moment, the man paused as he stared at Lu Yin, "And there was Wang Fan."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows shot upwards. "Wang Fan?"

    Xia Shenji exined in a low voice, "While Hui Wen was known as the smartest of the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas, and even the smartest person in the entire universe during his era, Wang Fan could be considered the most cunning. He hid himself deeper than any other, and while there is no evidence, years of Shenwu''s Sky secret investigations discovered that, when Wang Si instigated the four ruling powers into targeting the Lu family, Wang Fan was likely the one behind her actions."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "What are you saying?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "After merging with the main body, I gained his memories and learned a few secrets, one of which concerns the Wang family. The main body was most concerned about one particr detail.

    "When Wang Si was ced in cryostasis by her mother, Wang Yi, her memories were confused when she was released. The hatred for the Lu family that Wang Yi instilled in her daughter had been dulled and blurred by the cryostasis process, but shortly after she was released, Wang Si¡¯s memory recovered and became extremely clear. It was to the point where she perfectly remembered every word, every expression, and even every breath Wang Yi ever took.

    "The person who is most likely responsible for that sudden change is Wang Fan. He most likely restored Wang Si''s memories and reignited her hatred for the Lu family. With her unique status of being half a member of the Xia family, and through various other means, she finally sessfully provoked the four ruling powers into banishing the Lu family.

    "However, Wang Fan¡¯s shadow seems to lurk behind all of it."

    Lu Yin frowned, still a bit puzzled. "The Lu family was exiled because Sovereign Shao Yin suggested to the Great Sovereign that the Lu family be held responsible for the Origin Universe¡¯s sins during the Heavens Sect era. Ultimately, the Great Sovereign personally took action to cut off Ancestor Lu''s perception, and then the four ruling powers used Prison Lock to banish the Lu family. Sovereign Shao Yin should be the one responsible for what happened."

    Xia Shenji shook his head. "Wang Fan also had a part to y. Otherwise even if the Sixverse Association decided to exile the Lu family, how could such a powerful family have been exiled so easily? To put things bluntly, just Lu Tianyi alone would have been enough to force the Sixverse Association to remain silent. Even though we had just fought a war against the Sixth Maind, and even if Xia Shang, Ku Jie, and other peak powerhouses had died or gone missing, just Lu Tianyi alone was too much for the Sixverse Association to handle. With the constant threat of Aeternus, the Sixverse Association would never dare to risk openly attacking the Lu family.

    "The four ruling powers would have been dragged into the conflict as well, which means that, if the Lu family had gone to war with the Sixverse Association, it would have been a disaster great enough to destroy humanity as a whole.

    "The primary reason why the Sixverse Association was able to exile the Lu family was because of the four ruling powers¡¯ cooperation, and the most likely reason why the four ruling powers revolted against the Lu family is because of Wang Fan¡¯s scheming. He is the one behind everything that happened."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Could Wang Fan have a connection to Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "Even if you are right, and that is true, Sovereign Shao Yin does not lead the Sixverse Association. How could he have possibly made a decision for the entire alliance? Wang Si was nothing more than an ant, and she served as nothing more than a spark. There had to be someone else behind things, manipting events.¡±

    Lu Yin grew contemtive. Wang Fan and Sovereign Shao Yin... the two men had worked together, one influencing the four ruling powers to make a decision, while the other had spoken to the Great Sovereign. Both had sessfully convinced others to exile the Lu family, but why had they both targeted the Lu family? Why did Wang Fan go after the Lu family?

    Without any warning, a shiver ran down Lu Yin''s back, and he felt as though he had just touched upon something terrible.

    How had the Aeternals managed to destroy an organization as powerful as the Heavens Sect and one Maind after another, starting when the Heavens Sect had been at its peak?

    How had they targeted both the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association?

    Lu Yin was eager to understand that particr piece of history, as only by understanding history was it possible to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Only by knowing history was it possible to alter the future.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Big Face Tree.

    "Is all of this true?" Arch-Elder Zen asked. He had never thought that the Lu family''s exile would be soplicated.

    Xia Shenji struggled to his feet. "It might not be true. The matter regarding Wang Si appeared trivial, but even my main body was unable to look into it, as everything was covered up by the Wang family. This is why my main body never doubted that it was true, but there¡¯s no denying that there is absolutely no evidence."

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. Evidence? That was not necessary.

    Regardless, Lu Yin had already dealt with Xia Shenji, which meant that his next target would be either Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan was truly a difficult opponent. Ignoring the possibility that he might have some connection to Sovereign Shao Yin, it was already known that Wang Fan had managed to keep the fact that Specter Progenitor was his clone a secret for many years. If Lu Yin had not exposed the matter, then there was no telling how long it would have remained hidden for. Specter Progenitor was not a weak Progenitor, and he had clearly been kept hidden as a secret trump card.

    If Wang Fan had managed to hide one such powerful ability, then he was capable of hiding a second and a third.

    It was no wonder why Xia Shenji and the others viewed Wang Fan as the most cunning.

    Inparison, Xia Shenji was too straightforward, as well as too unlucky. His clone had been imprisoned, only to be released by Liu Shaoge.

    This was life.

    "Let¡¯s set all of this aside for the moment. Since you¡¯ve sessfully reced the main body, then as promised, you can be conferred as a god," Lu Yin stated.

    Xia Shenji felt a wave of weakness. "Now?"

    Lu Yin gave the Progenitor a small smile that was anything but an actual smile. "If you don''t want to be conferred as a god, then you can be a champion. It''s your choice."

    Arch-Elder Zen once again felt that the Lu family was incredibly oppressive.

    Xia Shenji was thinking the same, especially after gaining the main body¡¯s memories and frustrations with the Lu family''s attitude. The living could be conferred as gods, while the dead could be anointed as champions. Such power was too absurd.

    However, before Lu Yin, Xia Shenji was in no position to refuse.

    "Give me a day to adjust myself," Xia Shenji replied.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Take two. I want you to sessfully be conferred, as if you fail, I¡¯ll be ced in a difficult position."

    He was referring to locating the Lu family. Only Xia Shenji¡¯s clone was capable of sensing where the Lu family had been exiled, but if Xia Shenji failed to be conferred as a god, Lu Yin would be in a bit of a conundrum.

    Xia Shenji ced a hand on his chest. "Don''t worry, I really am the clone, but even so, it¡¯s difficult to ept being conferred as a god."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "It''s not like Xia Shenji was never conferred before."

    Xia Shenji could only answer with a bitter smile. Lu Tianyi had conferred the original Xia Shenji, and his clone was about to be conferred by Lu Xiaoxuan. No matter what, it was impossible for him to escape the fate of being conferred as one of the Lu family¡¯s gods.

    Why had the four ruling powers opted to exile the Lu family? Even disregarding Wang Fan¡¯s machinations behind the scenes, everyone had felt the same about one thing: the Lu family¡¯s power was too overwhelming. If they were not exiled, no one would ever have any opportunity to rise up and surpass them, as the members of the Lu family would continue to confer more and more Progenitors as gods. Who could stand against such a force? Who could fight against the Lu family?

    It was possible that even the Sixverse Association had been threatened by the Lu family, and had thus decided to exile the Lu family.

    "Senior, you should also rest and recover," Lu Yin said to Arch-Elder Zen.

    The old man dismissed Lu Yin¡¯s worries with a wave of his hand. "I¡¯m just suffering from a bacsh. It won¡¯t be easy for me to recover, but I¡¯m not in any need of rest to recover."

    He nced at Xia Shenji. "If I go all out, I can summon Senior Tianyi¡¯s power once again, which will be enough to help you eliminate some people, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin felt incredibly grateful to the man. "Thank you."

    While cultivators lived cruel and ruthless lives, it was always possible to meet people who would gather together and help each other. Lu Yin had many friends and people whom he considered family, such as Wendy Yushan, Ku Wei, Zhuo Daynight, Wen Sansi, Ghost Monkey, and more. He felt the same way about the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, and others.

    Lu Yin was no longer alone. He had walked past that road, though he could not say whether he would ultimately end up alone. He still clearly remembered the vision that he had seen in the merged Books of Destiny. Would he really attack his loved ones? If that day came, what should he do?

    The following day, Xia Shenji took a deep breath. "Dao Monarch Lu, I''m ready."

    The golden Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin''s head, and golden light shone down on the Lower Realm. A shadow appeared behind Xia Shenji.

    When Lu Yin spoke, there was a grandness and a sacredness to his voice, "Xia Shenji, do you ept being conferred as a god?"

    Xia Shenji looked up at the Investiture of the Gods, dismissing any distracting thoughts. He had prepared for this moment for a day, adjusting his mentality in the same manner that Monarch Mu had once done.

    No one truly wanted to be conferred as a god. Even if doing so did not impact the person¡¯s strength, they were directly empowering the owner of the Investiture of the Gods, granting them the power of an additional Progenitor. It was a terrifying thought to consider.

    However, Xia Shenji had no choice.

    "I do." Xia Shenji''s voice remained steady.

    The moment he spoke, his shadow moved from behind him and approached the golden scroll.

 Chapter 2795: The Person Most Likely To Become A Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 2795: The Person Most Likely To Be A Progenitor</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. So far, he had conferred three gods: Progenitor Nong, Cloudflow, and Monarch Mu. However, none of them couldpare to Xia Shenji. The man was among the most powerful Progenitors he had met thus far. Even when Lu Yin had used both the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe to draw out all of the death energy from Gaia''s Swamp into a single attack, Xia Shenji would not have been seriously injured if not for his clone¡¯s actions. Then, Lu Yin would have been in deep trouble.

    Xia Shenji could be regarded as someone just as powerful as the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which was a level above the peak powerhouses that Lu Yin had conferred thus far.

    A rather extremeparison would be that, even if all three of Lu Yin¡¯s previously conferred gods worked together, they might not be able to defeat Xia Shenji.

    The attempt to confer Xia Shenji as a god carried a good bit of risk for Lu Yin, and if he exceeded his own limits, then he might suffer bacsh from the attempt, just like when he had tried to confer his senior brother, Mu Xie.

    <i>But I am much stronger than I was back then, so I should be able to pull this off.</i>

    Conferring a god had nothing to do with the condition of the person being conferred. Even with how poor Xia Shenji¡¯s condition was at the moment, or even if he was on the verge of death, it would not affect the chances of sess. The only thing that mattered was what the person being conferred felt, and the strength of the person with the Investiture of the Gods.

    Lu Yin watched intensely as the shadow slowly entered the Investiture of the Gods and as a new image appeared on the scroll. Only then did he feel the relief of sess.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled when he saw that Lu Yin had seeded. With the additional support of Xia Shenji, Lu Yin would not bepletely helpless even if he confronted enemies like Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan. Xia Shenji was a truly powerful Progenitor.

    Xia Shenji was also feeling quite relieved. With him being conferred as a god, Lu Yin would keep the Progenitor alive in order to retain ess to Xia Shenji¡¯s strength.

    After finally recing the main body, the former clone simply wanted to be the true Xia Shenji.

    Having met with sess, Lu Yin, Arch-Elder Zen, and Xia Shenji left Evernight. After emerging, the thatched hut was still a pile of ruins. However, despite the condition of the hut, no one could have guessed that an earth-shattering battle between Progenitors had taken ce at this location.

    If this battle had been fought in the open instead of within Evernight, the Middle Realm and even the Higher Realm would have been affected.

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin called out, and Mu Xie revealed himself.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s eyebrows rose. What was this? He had not even known that Lu Yin had asked Mu Xie to appear.

    Lu Yin had done this as an additionalyer of protection against the clone. With the Nine Clones Secret Technique, clones were invariably affected by the main body, and Lu Yin had not been confident that the clone would rece the original Xia Shenji either. For that reason, Lu Yin had asked Mu Xie to wait nearby. As soon as Lu Yin discovered that the clone had failed, Mu Xie would have instantly taken action, cooperating with Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen to destroy Xia Shenji as quickly and efficiently as possible.

    "Sess?" Mu Xie looked at Xia Shenji as he asked Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It certainly seems that way, but we should still be careful."

    He looked at Xia Shenji. "You shouldn¡¯t mind having some insurance ced in your body, would you?"

    Xia Shenji¡¯s mouth fell open. "You still don''t trust me? I was just conferred as one of your gods! How could the original Xia Shenji have done that? He definitely would not have agreed to be conferred as your god."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Xia Shenji was already conferred as a god by Ancestor Lu Tianyi, and yet he still became an enemy of my Lu family. Progenitors can change their minds, just as you took a day to adjust your mentality."

    Lu Yin did not wait for Xia Shenji to respond and immediately turned to Mu Xie. ¡°Senior Brother, I¡¯ll have to trouble you for your help.¡±

    Mu Xie moved, and one of his ?ar¨©ras shot towards Xia Shenji.

    The Progenitor had no idea when Arch-Elder Zen had moved to his other side, but at this moment, Xia Shenji was surrounded on all three sides.

    Xia Shenji was rendered utterly helpless. Of the three people surrounding him, Lu Yin did not even need to be mentioned, and Mu Xie was also incredibly strong, to the point where even Bai Wangyuan feared the man. Mu Xie was an unfathomable mystery.

    As for Arch-Elder Zen, the moment he brought out Lu Tianyi''s true power, the reality was that very, very few people in the entire Sixverse Association could contend with the man.

    Surrounded by these three, even Wang Fan and Bai Wangyuan would feel terrified, let a wounded Xia Shenji.

    He had no choice but to ept his new fate.

    Xia Luo watched quietly from some distance away as his family¡¯s ancestor, Xia Shenji, who had once been so high and mighty that it was impossible to even see him, fell under Lu Yin¡¯s control. This was a scene that the entire Perennial World would find impossible to believe.

    This was only possible because of Lu Yin.

    Long ago, Lu Yin had helped Xia Luo fuse with Xia Jiuyou, though that had also been with Xia Ji''s consent. At that time, it would have been utterly impossible for him to seed if if Xia Ji had stepped in. However, Lu Yin no longer needed anyone''s consent, as he was now able to control the entire situation.

    Shenwu¡¯s Sky had been dealt with, so who would be next? The Celestial Frost Sect? Or maybe the Wang family?

    In the end, the Perennial World would belong to the Lu family.

    The ?ar¨©ra entered Xia Shenji¡¯s body to act as a method of control, and due to the man¡¯s terrible injuries, Lu Yin was even able to nt a death seal. The sight left Arch-Elder Zen feeling pity for Xia Shenji. The mighty Progenitor had been forced to be conferred as a god, have a ?ar¨©ra nted inside of him, and ept a death seal. Forget the clone¡ªeven the original Xia Shenji might have fallen to despair when facing such a moment.

    Xia Shenji was feeling truly desperate at this moment, but luckily, he had no desire to be Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, which meant that these various means of control were unnecessary.

    "What¡¯s the location?" Lu Yin stared intently at Xia Shenji, his eyes somehow calm, yet also filled with nervousness.

    Xia Shenji gasped. "I can sense it, but it¡¯s impossible to bring it back. In the vastness of the megaverse, it¡¯s difficult to bring them back, even with your current strength. The Aeternals will not just watch on as the Lu family returns."

    Lu Yin remained silent. After a while, he finally said, "Head back, Progenitor Xia."

    Xia Shenji let out a breath and then staggered into the void, making his way back to Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    He could only wait for his injuries to heal on their own.

    Once the man left, Lu Yin looked over at Xia Luo.

    The young man approached and offered a bow. "Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Luo. So many things had changed, and so had people. When Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had left Earth together with Xia Luo, Silver, and Lulu Mavis. In the years since, each of them had found their own opportunities.

    "Are you nning to return to Shenwu''s Sky, or go somewhere else?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Luo shook his head. "I want to enter the Sixverse Association and see arger world."

    Lu Yin had already known that, as more and more interactions urred between the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe, more people would be drawn out of the Origin Universe. Initially, the Great Sovereign had forbidden people from entering the Origin Universe without authorization, which had also made it difficult for people to leave that universe. But now that the Origin Universe had be an official member of the Sixverse Association, people from all sorts of different parallel universes would start to appear. The Great Sovereign had already lifted the ban, and with time, the Origin Universe would merge with the Sixverse Association.

    The Merchant Exchange¡¯s arrival was a sign of the zeitgeist.

    Xia Luo and many others want to leave the Origin Universe and enter the Sixverse Association, and there would undoubtedly be people to help them do that.

    "I wish you luck." Lu Yin smiled.

    Xia Luo smiled back. "Dao Monarch, the people of the Origin Universe will not disappoint you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile only grew. There was no denying that the various universes of the Sixverse Association would merge and intermingle with the Origin Universe, and it was undoubtedly time for the other universes to once again be forced to acknowledge the Origin Universe.

    Leng Qing had managed to be a Progenitor, but who would be next? It could be anyone.

    The truth was that the one who needed to be a Progenitor the most was none other than Lu Yin himself. Other than by bing a Progenitor, how else could he gain the strength needed to bring the Lu family back from across endless parallel universes? How much longer would he need to wait? How far away was that day?

    Despite having dealt with Xia Shenji, Lu Yin was not in a good mood.

    He returned to the Heavens Sect and moved over to the Astral River, feeling rather depressed. He sat on the shore while staring off at the stars, letting his mind wander.

    A long timeter, Kui Luo arrived, cursing, "I still didn''t catch it! Why is it so difficult to catch a damn fish?"

    After dusting off his clothes, Kui Luo moved over to sit down beside Lu Yin. "Bad mood?"

    Lu Yin muttered, "When will I manage to be a Progenitor?"

    Kui Luo sneered. "This old man¡¯s asked myself that same question many times. Lu Buzheng, Hen Xin, and all the others¡ªdo you think that any of them haven¡¯t asked themselves that question? I might ask myself that question 1,800 times in a single day. The more you want to break through, the harder it bes. That umunicative Leng Qing, ended up being the first. What a waste."

    As Kui Luo spoke, he pulled out a bottle of wine and took a sip.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "How can we bring the Lu family back before I be a Progenitor? That¡¯s too far away to wait for."

    Kui Luo could not hear what he said. "What about the Lu family? What did you bring back?"

    Lu Yin shared what had recently happened with Xia Shenji, leaving Kui Luopletely stunned. "You actually screwed Xia Shenji?"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "I just had his clone rece the main body."

    The old man started ranting, "Why didn''t you take me with you? That¡¯s terrible, just terrible! This old man¡¯s wanted to see the four ruling powers be destroyed for so long! You ungrateful brat, who was the one who saved you back then!? Who was the one who told you about the Lu family? Who helped you all those times? In the end, you couldn¡¯t even be bothered to call me when something fun happened."

    Lu Yin took a sip of the wine. "You wouldn¡¯t have survived a Progenitor¡¯s battle."

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth in frustration. "Fine, so now you¡¯re looking down on this old man? Alright, I¡¯ll be a Progenitor soon enough, just you wait! Just don¡¯t bother asking for this old man¡¯s help again!"

    As the man spoke, Lu Yin''s heart was moved, and he turned to look at Kui Luo. "You¡¯ve been a Semi-Progenitor for a very long time, and you have even cultivated the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. You¡¯re a powerful cultivator who¡¯s managed to open three meridian points, so it¡¯s perfectly reasonable for you to be a Progenitor. Why haven¡¯t you tried yet?¡±

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Do you think it''s that easy to break through and be a Progenitor? That boorish Leng Qing was one of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters of the Heavens Sect era. Do you know how long it took him to be a Semi-Progenitor? Or how long it takes most of the Sixverse Association members to be peak powerhouses? How many people in the entire alliance have reached that level?¡±

    "It''s far from easy, and you only get one chance. No one will make the attempt without beingpletely confident. That Lingzhi Mavis from the Fifth Maind was too eager, and it killed her.

    "Arch-Elder Zen was forced to challenge his breakthrough, but luckily for him, he was able to see his own heart clearly and seeded in his breakthrough."

    Kui Luo leaned closer. "Tell me, do you have any idea who the person most likely to be a Progenitor next is?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Who?"

    "Shao Chen."

    "The headmaster?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Kui Luo nodded and sighed with admiration. "He has seen through the world and has obtained profound enlightenment. He crossed from the realm of existence to the realm of non-existence, and then used non-existence to break through existence while abandoning his cultivation with stellr energy to create a unique path of cultivation using memories as the basis of his cultivation with the mortal world. The truth is, while it¡¯s only been a short time since his breakthrough, there are very, very few who are his equal in the Semi-Progenitor realm. It¡¯s possible that only your third uncle and the ancient gatemasters could even try.

    "During the Heavens Sect era, Shao Chen would have undoubtedly been one of the twelve gatemasters, and he most likely would have been the most powerful of them all.

    "Such a person must be either insane or a genius. It¡¯s possible that he¡¯ll break through and be a Progenitor at any moment. The only question is whether he is willing to try or not."

    Lu Yin had not expected Kui Luo to speak so highly of the headmaster, especially since the man had apparently not opened his three meridian points. "Do you believe that the headmaster has surpassed you?"

    Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Why do you have to be so blunt? That guy saw countless things from the Stargazing Deck, only for what he saw to drive him mad. I don¡¯t have that kind of determination. If you need another Progenitor, go talk to him. Maybe you¡¯ll convince him to attempt his breakthrough. It all depends on how highly he regards you.

    "Given his new cultivation method, he might not face the normal challenges that most run into when trying to break through."

    Lu Yin was convinced. The more Progenitors the Heavens Sect had, the better. If Shao Chen could really be a Progenitor at any time like Kui Luo had said, then the man would be an incredible powerhouse, which would greatly enhance the Heavens Sect¡¯s strength.

 Chapter 2796: The Seal And Numbers

    <h4>Chapter 2796: The Seal And Numbers</h4>

    Kui Luo sat back down. "By the way, you just said that you had to be a Progenitor in order to bring back the Lu family. Is that what Xia Shenji''s clone told you? Why did you say that?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Xia Shenji''s clone is able to sense the direction of the Lu family, but he can¡¯t bring them back. Before I be a Progenitor, how can I possibly charge into the unknown and bring my family back?"

    Kui Luo casuallymented, "Then just let theme back on their own."

    Lu Yin locked eyes with Kui Luo, his expression bing less than friendly. "Are you telling me that all of my hard work over all these years was for nothing? That the Lu family can return on their own whenever they want?"

    Kui Luo coughed. "Don''t get upset and start thinking down those lines. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯ve underestimated the ancestor of the Lu family?"

    "Ancestor Tianyi?"

    "The oldest ancestor."

    "So, are you telling me that my ancestor is able to return on his own, as long as he wants to?"

    "That''s not it. He¡¯s been asleep this whole time, but you can wake him up."

    Lu Yin blinked and stared at Kui Luo. "If you keep spouting bullshit, I¡¯ll toss you into the Astral River as bait."

    Kui Luo pursed his lips. "Kid, you need to be patient. There was no point in telling you before, as it would have been useless. The more anxious you be, the harder it will be for you to seed, but it¡¯s finally time."

    Lu Yin stood up and grabbed Kui Luo, who started shrieking, "Stop! Stop! Stop! Isn¡¯t there a seal on your back?"

    Lu Yin froze and red down at Kui Luo. "Are you saying that my family gave me this seal?"

    "There was no other way! You can¡¯t wake up your ancestor unless you reach a certain level." Lu Yin''s eyes had such an intense look that the young man seemed ready to kill someone, so Kui Luo had no choice but to reveal the truth.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "The details."

    Kui Luo exhaled and coughed. "Rx, I came over to tell you about this. After all, you¡¯re a peak Envoy now, and it won¡¯t be long before you be a Semi-Progenitor. With yourbat strength, that will be enough."

    "Hurry up!" Lu Yin shouted, feeling depressed.

    Kui Luo did not dare to waste any time, and he quickly shared all the details of what he knew.

    A long timeter, Lu Yin drove away Kui Luo and sat on the shore by himself, finally feeling extremely calm.

    He had already known that his family was difficult to deal with. They could confer the living as gods, and anoint the dead as champions. On top of that, their ancestor was a Dao Monarch. How could it be easy to destroy such a family?

    The Great Sovereign had personally isted Ancestor Lu Yuan so that the Dao Monarch would not know that his family was being pushed out of the Origin Universe by the Python Ancestor. During this state of emergency, no one in the family had been able to wake their ancestor, not even Ancestor Tianyi. There had been no choice but to send Lu Xiaoxuan away. Both his memories and cultivation had been sealed, and he had been cast into the Fifth Maind. The family had bet that Lu Xiaoxuan could rise to the peak again, and even climb higher than ever before even without the support of the Lu family¡¯s resources.

    The Lu family had a tradition that, whenever a member of the family¡¯s direct line who had awakened the Investiture of the Gods broke through to be a Semi-Progenitor, they could awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan and receive a gift from their founding ancestor. This had continued from one generation to the next, and this was also the only means that the family had to ovee the Great Sovereign''s efforts and awaken their ancestor.

    Lu Xiaoxuan was the only member of his generation who had awakened the Investiture of the Gods, but not be a Semi-Progenitor yet. For that reason, while the Lu family was cast out of the Origin Universe, the family had done their best to send Lu Xiaoxuan to the Fifth Maind so that he could cultivate there. Upon bing a Semi-Progenitor, his blood would awaken their ancestor. Furthermore, because the family knew that they were being banished to a distant location, they feared that not even Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm would be enough to rouse their ancestor¡¯s notice. Thus, they had ced a seal on the young man. Only if he managed to break through everyyer of the seal, and especially the fourth and finalyer, could they be certain that he would seed.

    Everything had been done because Lu Xiaoxuan bing a Semi-Progenitor was the Lu family¡¯s only hope.

    If Lu Xiaoxuan could not break through the finalyer of the seal, then the Lu family would prefer that he not even attempt to break through, as he wouldck the strength needed, even if he did be a Semi-Progenitor.

    However, Lu Yin was capable of fighting against Progenitors as a mere peak Envoy, which more than qualified him to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan after bing a Semi-Progenitor. Regardless of how far the Lu family had been banished, Lu Yin would be able to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan. All that remained was for Lu Yin to break through one more time and be a Semi-Progenitor.

    As long as Ancestor Lu Yuan awakened, he would be able to bring the Lu family back, and there would be no need for Lu Yin to search for his family.

    In the simplest of terms, by breaking past the finalyer of the seal on his back and sessfully bing a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin¡¯s blood would awaken the distant Ancestor Lu Yuan, which would allow the Lu family to return.

    As an additional precaution, the Lu family had also left a back-up n, which was the series of numbers that Elder Luo[1] had asked Lu Yin to memorize before the old man¡¯s death.

    On Driftcharge, Elder Luo had asked Lu Yin to memorize two things: the full text of the Stonewall Scripture, and a string of numbers.

    The Stonewall Scriptures had been the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, only scrambled, while the numbers were the code for essing the sealed area where Ancestor Lu Yuan was in seclusion. Once the fourthyer of the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back was broken, his blood still might not resonate with the secluded Lu Yuan, but the numbers could be used, as they were a special code that Ancestor Lu Yuan understood, which increased the chances of awakening the man.

    This was the true reason why the two old men who had been Kui Luo had stayed behind.

    Lu Yin burst outughing. So this was what had happened? It was no wonder why the seal had not only impeded his breakthroughs, but also saved him in times of grave danger.

    Additionally, Kui Luo had cleared another mystery for Lu Yin, which was the question of why Elder Luo had not recognized the seal on Lu Yin¡¯s back on Driftcharge.

    It was not just Elder Luo¡ªas Kui Luo also had not recognized the seal. Both men had merely been aware of the seal¡¯s existence, but the universe was too vast, and there were too many powerful cultivators capable of leaving behind a simr seal. On Driftcharge, Elder Luo had been badly injured, to the point where he could not escape from the and had been killed by a battleship whose attacks could have been above a power level of even 10,000. How could the old man have seen through a seal left by the Lu family?

    It could only be said that fate had determined that the Lu family¡¯s back-up n had allowed Lu Yin to survive Driftcharge, as well as the fact that he had sessfully be a peak Envoy. The Origin Sutra had allowed Lu Yin to survive the challenges that he had faced in the Fifth Maind, and while the effect was diminished outside the Fifth Maind, it would always be extremely useful in the Fifth Maind.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had memorized the string of numbers.

    Destiny was like a revolving cycle that always returned to the origin.

    Kui Luo had never shared any of this information with Lu Yin out of fear that the knowledge would ce additional pressure on the young man and that he would force himself to quickly be a Semi-Progenitor. Barely breaking the finalyer of the seal andpletely shattering it would produce drastically different results, and Kui Luo had not wanted to take any risks. There would only be one chance, and if that failed to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan, then there was no telling how long it would take to awaken the man and see the Lu family return.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had slept for countless years since the days of the Heavens Sect, and the universe hadpletely changed since then. While the Lu family¡¯s founding ancestor could afford to wait, the rest of the family could not.

    On top of that, they needed to get revenge for what had been done to them. The four ruling powers were a minor issue. The person who only Ancestor Lu Yuan could take revenge on was the Great Sovereign.

    Of course, Kui Luo had not known about these details, as before the Sixverse Association hade into contact with the Fifth Maind, Kui Luo had not even known about the Great Sovereign or the connection between that great being and the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    This had caused the old man to always question things. The Lu family was unquestionably powerful to the extreme, and Ancestor Lu Tianyi had been the most powerful of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, capable of standing up to even True God Yi Wei. Even if Lu Tianyi had not been able to save Lu Xiaoxuan, he should have at least been able to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan, but the Lu family had still been suppressed and exiled. This simply had not made any sense to Kui Luo, but learning of the Great Sovereign had cleared all of his doubts.

    Lu Yin released a drawn out roar. The knot in his heart had been unraveled. Semi-Progenitor. As long as he reached that level, he could awaken his ancestor. When Ancestor Lu Yuan woke up, the Lu family would return. At that time, what would he, Lu Yin, fear?

    He would have the Lu family, Mister Mu, all of his senior disciple brothers, and even the seniors from the Heavens Sect. What in the entire megaverse would remain an insurmountable challenge?

    <i>Destiny? To hell with Destiny!</i> Lu Yin refused to believe that with both Mister Mu and Ancestor Lu Yuan behind him, he was doomed to kill his loved ones as the divination had predicted.

    He also did not believe that Ancestor Lu Yuan could not save Yan¡¯er when he returned. In fact, Ancestor Lu Yuan would not even be needed, as Ancestor Tianyi would be enough!

    Yan''er would recover, and all of Lu Yin¡¯s problems would be resolved. He would settle matters one by one, with the Sixverse Association, Sovereign Shao Yin, and even Aeternus.

    <i>Semi-Progenitor! I just need to break through one more time and be a Semi-Progenitor!</i>

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. How should he go about facing his next stellr tribtion?

    He was well aware that the tribtion that he would face for his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough would be something rarely, if ever, seen throughout all of human history. Even with all his power, Lu Yin was not fully confident in his chances of sess.

    There were times when being too powerful could actually be a problem.

    With the unification of the various energies and powers in his chest, Lu Yin was walking down a path that had never been seen before, and he could not even guess what sort of stellr tribtion he would trigger.

    Mister Mu had once said that the Great Sovereign''s tea might be helpful to Lu Yin. With that thought, Lu Yin stretched his arms and flexed a bit of his strength. <i>The Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony? I''m really looking forward to it!</i>

    ...

    The Astral Combat Academy was essentially where Lu Yin had first started his path of cultivation. It had been the start of his legendary rise to power, as it was in the Astral Combat Academy that Lu Yin had first risen to the top, and most of his experiences had been in Astral-10.

    Astral-10¡¯s headmaster had been insane for many years, including when Lu Yin had been a student at the academy. However, when the man had reset his cultivation during a stellr tribtion, rejecting cultivating with star energy and instead using memories and the mortal world as a basis for his cultivation, he had reached the level of a Semi-Progenitor and regained his sanity. Since that day, countless people sought to speak with the headmaster and receive his advice, including even the asional Semi-Progenitor.

    The headmaster did not refuse such people. His cultivation path was that of mortality and worldly affairs, and he saw both the good and evil in the world, as well as right and wrong. He had gone from being a normal person, to a madman, and then from madness to enlightenment. He enjoyed viewing all people¡¯s lives and learned from everyone¡¯s experiences, as those things were what the man used for his cultivation.

    The headmaster greatly enjoyed Astral-10¡¯s Rain Observatory. Watching the endless rainfall calmed the man.

    "Headmaster, Lu Yin is here," the Rainmaster whispered. A massive tree stood before him, and on it was a viewing tform that let one have a panoramic view of countless massive trees in all directions.

    High up on that tree, the headmaster opened his eyes. "Let hime."

    A short whileter, Lu Yin arrived at the Rain Observatory. Looking at the distant tree, he bowed. "Student Lu Yin greets the headmaster."

    The headmaster walked into the rain and slowly descended upon the Rain Observatory to face Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, you need not be so polite."

    Lu Yin said, "This is merely how things should be as a student of the Astral Combat Academy."

    The headmaster smiled. At this moment, the man seemed like aplete stranger to Lu Yin, as he was not ustomed to this man. Lu Yin was familiar with the insane headmaster, and this sane one was a stranger.

    Lu Yin had first encountered the mad headmaster during his breakthrough to be a Melder, and at that time, he had almost been killed by the headmaster. He still clearly remembered the pressure that he had felt on that day, the scene as clear as if it had taken ce but a day ago.

    Despite his insanity, the headmaster had helped Lu Yin on several asions, including breaking ayer of the seal on his back, modifying the Cosmic Art so that Lu Yin could continue cultivating the technique, and even forcing Xia Meng back and protecting the Stargazing Deck. Despite his years of insanity, the headmaster had carried out his duties as headmaster, and he deserved Lu Yin''s respect.

    "Each person¡¯s experiences create something like a unique universe, and, Lu Yin, your life is very exciting," the headmaster stated calmly.

    Lu Yin replied, "The greatest lives are never lonely."

    The headmaster smiled and then raised a hand, catching a bit of rainwater on his palm. "You once trained here on the Rain Observatory. Now that you have returned, how do you feel?"

    Lu Yin looked around. "As though I was only here yesterday."

    1. Just a reminder, but "Kui Luo" was originally 2 Semi-Progenitors named Kui and Luo. The current Kui Luo adopted his best friend''s name and became the full "Kui Luo." ?

 Chapter 2797: The Dawn Of The Future

    <h4>Chapter 2797: The Dawn Of The Future</h4>

    The headmaster slowly turned his hand over to let the water from the rain fall out. "Time is extremely elusive, and I don¡¯t even know if it is real or not. I feel the same as you. My constant visits to the Stargazing Deck led me to madness, but yesterday''s madness led to the good results of the present. Only by seeing through the universe itself can you have peace of heart. This ce suits you very well."

    In terms ofbat strength, the headmaster was no match for Lu Yin. Despite his unique breakthroughs and alternate cultivation method that made him an extremely powerful Semi-Progenitor, the man still could notpare to Lu Yin''s Investiture of the Gods. This was not even taking the fact that Lu Yin possessed the strength to fight Progenitors without outside tools or assistance into ount. However, in terms of mental state, Lu Yin could notpare to the headmaster.

    This was not just Lu Yin, as even very few Progenitors were the headmaster¡¯s peers in enlightenment.

    Throughout human history, how many individuals had been ready to attempt a breakthrough to the Progenitor realm right after bing a Semi-Progenitor? Who could im that they could abandon their entire cultivation method, only to use that as a vehicle to make a breakthrough? There had only ever been one person, the headmaster.

    Everyone in the Origin Universe cultivated with the most basic energy: star energy. Even the headmaster had been the same, but he had stepped off of that path to ze a new trail that had never been trodden before, and no one could see where that path led. In this way, the man was the same as Lu Yin.

    There was no one to serve as a guide on this path, which meant that it had to be explored alone.

    Lu Yin looked at the headmaster in a somber manner. "Headmaster, this student needs your help."

    The man calmly looked at Lu Yin. "Tell me."

    "If the Heavens Sect faces danger, this student hopes that the headmaster will attempt to be a Progenitor and protect the Heavens Sect and the entire Fifth Maind," Lu Yin stated,pletely serious.

    The headmasterughed., "Are you so confident that I can even be a Progenitor? I¡¯ll be honest with you, I have not opened my three meridian points."

    This was a surprise to Lu Yin. Kui Luo waspletely certain that the headmaster could be a Progenitor, and he had also said that the normal restrictions that blocked cultivators from bing Progenitors might not stand in the headmaster¡¯s way. Lu Yin believed that he had been referring to opening the three meridian points, but how was the headmaster supposed to be a Progenitor without taking that particr step? No one had ever managed to be a Progenitor without opening their three meridian points since the ancient era.

    "Can you break through, Headmaster?" Lu Yin asked bluntly.

    The man gave a small smile. "What do you think?"

    "You can."

    "Why do you say that?"

    "Intuition."

    "Lu Yin, have you graduated?"

    This sudden question caught Lu Yin off guard, but he still immediately answered, "No."

    The headmaster sped his hands behind his back. "Since you haven''t graduated, as headmaster, I still have the responsibility to teach you."

    Lu Yin solemnly gave the man a slow bow. "Please guide me, Headmaster."

    The older man stared off into the distance. "Why do the three meridian points need to be opened for a person to be a Progenitor?

    "Doing so allows a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world to transform by granting them the vitality needed to create a Progenitor¡¯s world that can alter the universe.

    "In that case, if it is possible to transform an inner world independently, would it still be necessary to open the three meridian points?"

    Lu Yin stared at the headmaster in shock. "Is it necessary to open the three meridian points?"

    Of course it was necessary! How was this even a question?

    Throughout known history, everyone who had sessfully be a Progenitor had opened their three meridian points. This was a requirement that had never changed. Only with Origin Matter could an inner world be transformed into a Progenitor¡¯s world, granting it life and giving birth to various existences that lived in that Progenitor¡¯s world like true living creatures.

    This transformation was what made it possible for a Progenitor¡¯s world to alter the universe itself, but the headmaster seemed to regard it as unimportant.

    The man lifted his head and stared out at the endless rain. "The process doesn¡¯t matter, as long as the results are achieved.

    "I use human experience to refine my heart, which serves as my inner world. This means that those experiences can be a Progenitor¡¯s world. I am worldly, and the worldly life is me. As long as the worldly affairs remain intact I remain unchanged.

    "Tell me, are worldly affairs greater than Origin Matter? Are they greater than that vitality?"

    Lu Yin''s mind was in turmoil. <i>I am worldly, and the worldly life is me? Is this the path that the headmaster will take to be a Progenitor?</i>

    The man had experienced madness and achieved enlightenment, finding his own unique path to be a Progenitor in the process. He was not following the footsteps of his predecessors, but rather making his own path. This was the true path to be a Progenitor.

    Dao Monarch Gu had developed the method of cultivating battleforce, which would grant a human body the physical strength of a Progenitor. The God of Death had created death energy, and Destiny had learned how to see the past and future. Which of those ancient powerhouses had not created their own path?

    The headmaster was doing the same for himself.

    Lu Yin bowed low to the headmaster. "This student understands. Thank you, Headmaster, for your guidance."

    The older man replied, "As I just said, Lu Yin, your universe is truly wonderful. I hope that you can also walk a path never before seen in all of history."

    The man finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "I will pave the way for you.¡±

    Lu Yin was truly grateful to the man.

    Astral-10 had served the role of guiding Lu Yin and teaching him a great number of things when he had first started cultivating. Even after so long, when he was about to break through to the Semi-Progenitor level, the academy still provided him with guidance. This was the Astral Combat Academy, his alma mater, and also his home.

    He suspected that, whenever the headmaster did be a Progenitor, he would gain a level of strength beyond imagination.

    After leaving Astral-10, Lu Yin thought about Big Sis and wondered how she had been doing. When would she regain the strength of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?

    He quickly made a call, but ended up connecting to Highsage Leon instead of Big Sis.

    "Qingqing is in seclusion." Highsage Leon''s thunderous voice rang in Lu Yin''s ears.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Seclusion?"

    Highsage Leon grinned. "She just went in. I wanted to call you, kid, since she left you a message."

    There was a pause. "When I emerge from seclusion, I will help you sweep the four ruling powers away."

    Lu Yinughed. "That sounds like what Big Sis would say!"

    "Bullshit! How would I lie to you? You don''t need to worry about those shitty four ruling powers. Just leave them to her. She can''t wait to stand up to defend you." Highsage Leon was truly happy.

    Lu Yin was smiling. "It¡¯d be better if she waits for me to get back. I¡¯ve set up my own ns for the four ruling powers. Captain, don''t let her be impulsive and ruin my ns."

    "Got it! I''ll hold her back for you," Highsage Leon said with augh.

    Lu Yin ended the call, a smile on his face. Were they both going to break through at nearly the same time?

    There was no need to even mention Third Uncle and the other gatemasters from the Heavens Sect era. Each of them could break through at any moment. Instead, Lu Yin was excited about the others, such as the headmaster, Kui Luo, Big Sis, and even the Ghost Monkey. Everyst one of them could break through at any time, and if all of them seeded in bing Progenitors, just how many powerhouses would the Heavens Sect gain? Lu Yin did not dare to even think about it.

    At the moment, the Sixverse Association was not at all concerned about the Heavens Sect, but that was because too many of the Heavens Sect¡¯s experts were only Semi-Progenitors, and it was incredibly difficult for anyone to reach the Progenitor realm. However, the Sixverse Association had no idea how many Semi-Progenitors were merely waiting for the right opportunity.

    Lu Yin was actually quite happy that so many of the Semi-Progenitors had not yet broken through to be Progenitors, as it prevented the Sixverse Association from seeing the Fifth Maind as a threat.

    When the day came and multiple people became Progenitors one after the other, the Heavens Sect would dazzle the Sixverse Association. On that day, no outsider would dare to offend the Heavens Sect.

    In the Origin Universe, after its peak, the Heavens Sect had declined before ultimately falling apart entirely. Lu Yin wanted to restore that former glory and carry the Origin Universe back to the peak. Once again, it would be led by the Heavens Sect.

    In the past, the Heavens Sect had had the Three Realms Six Dao, as well as the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and the Twelve Heavenly Gates. It might be impossible for the modern Heavens Sect to match that same power.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He just needed to be patient and wait. He needed to wait for others to break through to the Progenitor realm. Wait for himself to break through and be a Semi-Progenitor, as well as a Progenitor. He also needed to wait for the Lu family to return.

    The Origin Universe would soon bepletely transformed.

    The quieter things were, the more glorious the transformation. That day was inevitable

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, and the Ghost Monkey quickly sought him out to make a report.

    "Seventh Bro, I found some humanoid sourceboxes. Just like you thought, people have been secretly collecting them."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He had almost forgotten about the task that he had given the monkey. The Ghost Monkey could be considered half of the reincarnated Progenitor Wushang, and there was a good chance that he would eventually bing a Progenitor.

    The Ghost Monkey continued to speak about what he had aplished, but when he saw Lu Yin¡¯s stern stare, the Ghost Monkey instantly retreated a few steps in panic. "Se- Seventh Bro, why are you looking at me like that?"

    Lu Yin asked, "Monkey, can you be a Progenitor?"

    The Ghost Monkey blinked, and then lifted his head high. "I don¡¯t have any Origin Matter."

    "Get lost."

    Lu Yin was speechless. After all of the Ghost Monkey¡¯s boasting, he had just been blowing hot air, as he had never acquired any Origin Matter. Actually, how could the Ghost Monkey have ever obtained some for himself?

    In fact, it was time for Lu Yin to make a visit to the Dominion Realm to pick some up. None of the four ruling powers werecking Origin Matter.

    Also, if it proved impossible to find any, Lu Yin could just take some from Xia Shenji.

    The Fifth Maind had many geniuses that could not be allowed to fail because they did not have the resources to unlock their full potential.

    The Ghost Monkey licked his lips and smiled. "Seventh Bro, the humanoid sourceboxes have been secretly collected by the Celestial Demons. I could smell them."

    Lu Yin replied, "Summon Yao Di for me."

    "Sure thing."

    A heaviness entered Lu Yin''s eyes. Had the Celestial Demons been collecting the humanoid sourceboxes? They must be hoping to resurrect Wilderness God by unsealing the humanoid sourceboxes.

    In fact, that was not only true of Yao Di, but also of Skymender.

    The lie that they had fed Lu Yin was impossible to see through, and they had given off an impression of abandoning their efforts to collect the humanoid sourceboxes. If not for a random coincidence that had allowed the Ghost Monkey to obtain some of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s memories, Lu Yin would havepletely disregarded the two astral beasts¡¯ activities. However, if they continued collecting humanoid sourceboxes, then there was a very real chance that they would eventually be able to bring back Wilderness God.

    Wilderness God had been one of the Three Realms Six Dao during the Heavens Sect era. He had been one of Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s peers, which indicated that he had an earth-shattering level of power that had been enough to cow an entire Maind. Just the mere thought of such power was enough to understand how terrifying Wilderness God had been.

    Once Wilderness God appeared, who could stop him? The only hope was the Lu family¡¯s return. If that happened, even the Great Sovereign would have a headache.

    The two culprits, Yao Di and Skymender, had hidden their efforts extremely well.

    When Lu Yin and Bai Wangyuan had agreed upon a truce, the Fifth Maind had sent people to defend the fourth array base of Ceaseless Impetus. Despite all that had happened after that, once the Time Poison was eliminated from the Fifth Maind, Yao Di and many others had returned to protect the fourth array base.

    However, that was no longer necessary. The Heavens Sect and the four ruling powers were openly at odds with each other, and Lu Yin had even visited the Perennial World to give a demonstration of his own strength. All of the Heavens Sect¡¯s people had been recalled from the rear battlefield.

    This was why Yao Di was already in the Heavens Sect, as he was not allowed to leave without Lu Yin''s permission.

    It was not long before Yao Di asked for an audience with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin received the astral beast not at his mountain behind the Heavens Sect, but rather in the main hall.

    This was where the Heavens Sect received outsiders. Yao Di arrived at the entrance and stared at the Second Nightking and Attendant Wu standing at attention outside and gave a small frown. The overall atmosphere felt a bit off.

    "Please, Gatemaster Yao Di." The Ghost Monkey gave an odd smile.

    Yao Di had been made the gatemaster of the Heavens Sect''s Beast Heavenly Gate. Despite conquering the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin had not ughtered the astral beasts. Even during the greatest heights of the Heavens Sect''s glory, there had been astral beasts on the Fourth Maind, where Wilderness God had been the Dao Monarch. In the modern era, the Heavens Sect was attempting to both subdue and win over the astral beasts, and the Beast Heavenly Gate was what Lu Yin had offered to the Astral Beast Domain.

    Yao Di walked into the main hall, where he saw Lu Yin and Leng Qing chatting.

    The former Demon Emperor had assumed that he would only be meeting with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at the approaching Yao Di and smiled at him. "We were just talking about the Celestial Beast Empire, so Gatemaster Yao Di might as welle over and join us."

 Chapter 2798: Browbeaten

    <h4>Chapter 2798: Browbeaten</h4>

    Yao Di¡¯s expression turned grim, though he still managed to force out a smile despite the heavy pressure emanating from both Lu Yin and Leng Qing. "The Celestial Beast Empire no longer exists, only disciples of the same Heavens Sect. Dao Monarch, you shouldn¡¯t joke like that."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s no joke. The Heavens Sect is indeed a human sect, but that doesn¡¯t prohibit you from privately developing personal power as well."

    At Lu Yin¡¯s gesture, Yao Di took a seat across from Leng Qing.

    The astral beast did not want to sit there, as Leng Qing had a sharp edge to his aura, and it was far sharper from when he had been a Semi-Progenitor. The Progenitor typically restrained his aura after his breakthrough, but Yao Di currently felt like Leng Qing might attack at any moment.

    "The astral beasts are unruly and difficult to train. They have even mimicked humans to create various cities, colleges, and other such signs of civilization. While I was in the Astral Beast Domain, I needed to destroy a great many things and ughtered a number of the beasts. I hope that they will be more obedient." Leng Qing¡¯s voice was cold and burning with bloodlust.

    Yao Di¡¯s eyes glinted, but he forced himself to lower his head to prevent Leng Qing from noticing.

    Leng Qing was notparable to his previous strength, as he had be a powerful Progenitor.

    Lu Yin nced at Yao Di and smiled. "Don¡¯t say such things. Humans and astral beasts are both intelligent creatures of this universe, and they also deserve to pursue intelligent civilization."

    Leng Qing bluntly replied, "Humans will always remain masters of every universe. Even though our intelligence or strength might not be any better, humans are creative and innovative, and we will also use deception to improve our civilization. These are things that are beyond the abilities of astral beasts. The Origin Progenitor once said that we should never give the astral beasts an opportunity to surpass mankind, as that would only cause them to be more ruthless and cold-blooded than when they enved humanity."

    Yao Di listened in silence.

    Leng Qing stared at Yao Di. "Dao Monarch, I am willing to follow in the footsteps of the God of Death and cast enough fear upon the astral beasts that it bes a part of their very bloodlines."

    Yao Di¡¯s head snapped up, and he saw the zing killing intent in Leng Qing''s eyes as the Progenitor stared at him. Yao Di felt forced to say what he had wanted to bring up, due to the cold chill on his back. He was certain that if he showed any sign of impropriety, he would be instantly cut down by Leng Qing.

    If that happened, the Heavens Sect would never say anything to the Progenitor in defense of Yao Di.

    Leng Qing¡¯s tant disy of power and aggression left Yao Di feeling as though there was a knife to his throat, and a tremor ran through his body. This was not due to fear, but an innate reaction from confronting death. Astral beasts naturally had stronger instincts than humans.

    After the two stared at each other for at least half a minute, Yao Di finally lowered his head, no longer able to meet Leng Qing¡¯s gaze.

    Lu Yin was satisfied with this. "There¡¯s no need to go to such extreme measures. In our current era, the astral beasts are different from those in the Heavens Sect era. Isn¡¯t that right, Gatemaster Yao Di?"

    Yao Di let out a breath and stood to offer a respectful bow. "Dao Monarch, as the years have passed, astral beasts have learned about the ideas of civilization from humans, as well as many other principles. In the future, we will continue to learn more from humanity, so I merely ask the Dao Monarch to have the Heavens Sect oversee our development."

    With those words, the sharp edge that Leng Qing had been giving off instantly dulled and faded.

    Yao Di clearly understood that he had been summoned to be browbeaten, but why? There was no longer even a single Semi-Progenitor in the Astral Beast Domain, so why was Lu Yin targeting them? <i>Could it be...?</i>

    Yao Di¡¯s face grew pale. Could the humanoid sourceboxes have been discovered? No, that was impossible. Only Skymender and Yao Di himself knew of that matter, and it was impossible for anyone else to have learned anything about it. Not even Yao Xuan knew anything about that matter, let alone Lu Yin. The Astral Beast Domain had carefully kept that matter hidden for countless years, and Skymender had only ever informed the current emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire. It was all to ensure that no more than two people knew of the secret at any given moment. At the moment, those two were Yao Di and Skymender.

    It was impossible for Lu Yin to know anything about that particr matter.

    Then why was Yao Di being treated this way? This was not merely being browbeaten, but rather openly threatened.

    Yao Di had no doubt that if he disobeyed in the slightest, he would be cut down by Leng Qing.

    Lu Yin looked at Yao Di. "When will you attempt to break through and be a Progenor?"

    Yao Di replied in a bitter tone, "I cannot even see a time when I will be able to attempt that."

    Lu Yin stared at Yao Di and activated Heaven¡¯s Sight. At that moment, Lu Yin saw an enormous Celestial Demon, which was Yao Di''s true form.

    The Celestial Demon appeared to be formed from condensed spiritual force. They were indeed astral beasts, but no matter how Lu Yin looked at Yao Di, all he saw was condensed spiritual force. It was no wonder why no other astral beast species couldpare to the Celestial Demons.

    "With the Celestial Demon''s affinity for spirit force, you will be very powerful after you be a Progenitor," Lu Yin stated. He did not give Yao Di any opening to speak and instead looked at Leng Qing. "Was there a Progenitor among the Celestial Demon¡¯s lineage?"

    Yao Di could not help but look over at Leng Qing as well, as he also wanted to hear this answer.

    The Celestial Demons could be traced back to the Fourth Maind, but as the various Mainds were destroyed, fragments of the Fourth Maind had merged with the Fifth Maind to form the Astral Beast Domain. This also meant that the astral beasts had lost portions of their history, and if not for Skymender, Yao Di would have never even heard of Wilderness God.

    However, he did know that there had been a Celestial Demon Progenitor, and Leng Qing could answer questions about that era.

    Leng Qing¡¯s and Yao Di¡¯s eyes met. "Yes."

    Lu Yin was not surprised, as he had heard from Kui Luo long ago that the Lu family possessed ancient records that mentioned that the Celestial Demons were the most powerful race of astral beasts on the Fourth Maind, which had meant they had had a Progenitor. Lu Yin had wanted to confirm that information, but he had simply never remembered to ask.

    Yao Di''s eyes zed. "Did you meet that Progenitor?"

    While the Celestial Demons had passed down knowledge that there had once been a Progenitor of their race, Yao Di had no idea how to reach that realm himself. The history that he did know did not mention the Celestial Demon Progenitor, so it was hard for him to truly believe such a thing.

    Leng Qing replied, "I¡¯ve visited the Fourth Maind before. The Celestial Demon Progenitor was the powerhouse who resolved the crisis brought about by the devouring metal."

    Yao Di¡¯s breathing grew ragged. So it was true! Celestial Demons were indeed capable of bing Progenitors! Leng Qing had just confirmed what he had once regarded as legend.

    Astral beasts were different from humans. Humans needed to open their three meridian points in order to be able to be Progenitors, but due to astral beasts¡¯ special characteristics, some of their races did not need to open the three meridian points to reach that level, and the Celestial Demons were one of those species. They were essentially an amalgamation of spiritual force, so Origin Matter would not benefit them as much.

    Every generation of the Celestial Demons had dreamed of bing a Progenitor, but they had never known how to go about pursuing that level. For that reason, they had sought to open their three meridian points, as they felt it was better to follow the known path to the peak rather than wander about aimlessly in their cultivation.

    Generations of Celestial Demons had passed away, and the Progenitor level had practically be a myth to them. But now, Yao Di could finally see a glimmer of hope for reaching that level himself.

    As long as there was assurance that they could be Progenitors, the Celestial Demons would have a path to walk with in their cultivation.

    "However, the Celestial Demon Progenitor did not have a good ending," Leng Qing stated indifferently, "He was beheaded by the God of Death."

    Yao Di was startled by this information, and he nkly stared at Leng Qing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "He was beheaded by the God of Death?"

    Leng Qing¡¯s eyes focused on Yao Di. "Anyone who hoped to go against the Heavens Sect or disobeyed the Origin Progenitor needed to be put down. The Celestial Demon Progenitor openly ndered the Origin Progenitor, believing himself invincible with his spiritual force. He even tried to convince Wilderness God to join him and break the Fourth Maind away from the Heavens Sect. He was ultimately executed by the God of Death, but there¡¯s no reason to pity his death.¡±

    "At the time, the matter was a huge scandal, and it even led to the God of Death cleansing the entire Fourth Maind, which resulted in a battle between the God of Death and Wilderness God. I can¡¯t say what happened during that battle, but I do know that it was during that time that the Celestial Demon Progenitor disappeared forever.¡±

    Yao Di remained silent.

    Lu Yin could not help but be impressed. The God of Death had truly been a legendary powerhouse.

    Lu Yin had seen the God of Death on several asions when he was absorbing death energy. He had witnessed the scene of the God of Death facing countless powerful astral beasts, and filling the universe with their blood. The God of Death had been the Heavens Sect¡¯s executioner, and he had suppressed the astral beasts entirely. However, to humanity, the man had been a protector.

    The man had been powerful enough to ughter all the astral beasts, imnting a fear of the God of Death into the beasts¡¯ very bloodline that it was passed down to future generations. That was the God of Death.

    Lu Yin still clearly remembered the suppression that he had produced when he attacked the Astral Beast Domain. The death energy¡¯s suppression had triggered a fear imprinted into the very blood and bones of the astral beasts.

    Looking at Yao Di, Lu Yin knew that his goal for the meeting had already been achieved. Leng Qing''s threats and the fear of death were enough to force Yao Di to behave for some time.

    If not for the fact that Lu Yin wanted the Astral Beast Domain to remain stable, he would have simply executed Yao Di. However, Lu Yin had other ns in mind, and the possible return of Wilderness God was a variable that mighte into y one day.

    Just a short timeter, Yao Di was dismissed.

    Leng Qing stood and walked to the main hall¡¯s entrance to stare off into the distance. "If that beast has other intentions, allow me to kill it."

    Lu Yin replied, "I have uses that require it to stay around."

    Leng Qing turned to give Lu Yin a somber stare. "While we don¡¯t know why the Origin Progenitor kept the astral beasts around, there were always rumors during our era that Wilderness God was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s mount. It was believed that the Origin Progenitor took pity on Wilderness God because of his talent and could not bear to kill him. In the end, Wilderness God was raised up to be one of the Three Realms Six Dao and made the guardian of the Fourth Maind to protect the astral beasts. Ultimately, the God of Death was forced to take action and rein the beasts in.

    "Dao Monarch, that cannot be allowed to happen again."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You don¡¯t need to worry about that."

    ...

    In a certain parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, lines could be seen everywhere. Even thes were linear, and they rolled around like cylinders. From a distance, they looked like long lines. Even the stars in this universe were drawn out into lines.

    One of the linears was home to hundreds of nations, bothrge and small, that constantly waged war with each other. This was not touched by the Aeternals, and the natives did not even know what Aeternus was. Even their most powerful cultivators were weaker than Explorers.

    One day, darkness enveloped the, shrouding every continent and the hundreds of nations.

    Within that darkness, a pair of eyes opened, exploding with anger and killing intent. "Wu Xing, you can''t kill me! Once I get Heaven¡¯s Sight, I will surpass you and let you have a taste of being devoured by darkness.

    "As for that brat from the Lu family, just wait! I will find you soon. You are unable to truly use the power of Heaven¡¯s Sight! Neither you nor Lu Buzheng will be able to escape!"

    ...

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, the rainbow wall had already disappeared entirely, leaving behind nothing more than a bit of monarch essence that lingered in the universe. The only things that could be found were countless broken spaceships that drifted through outer space.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had be nothing more than a stomping ground for Aeternus. Aeternus Kingdoms had been established, one of which was very close to the spatial passage to the Fifth Maind. In fact, the two were right next to each other.

    While it was said that there were Aeternus Kingdoms in the universe, there were no humans in any of them, as Lu Yin had ensured that all humans had been evacuated from the Three Monarchs Universe.

    These Aeternus Kingdoms were essentially empty cities, but they had been reserved for the people of the Fifth Maind.

    The Three Monarchs Universe was just too close to the Fifth Maind, and only a single seal separated them.

    Sooner orter, that seal would be opened.

    Far away, Luo Shan stood quietly in space, staring at the seal with cold eyes.

    He would not allow the Origin Universe to have an easy time. Even if the Aeternals did not break the seal open, Luo Shan would do his best to unravel it. He would not let anyone from the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect, and especially not Lu Yin or Chen Le escape. All of them had plotted against the Three Monarchs Universe, destroying the universe and betraying Luo Shan. All of them, even Monarch Xing, deserved to die.

    ...

 Chapter 2799: That Beast Leg

    <h4>Chapter 2799: That Beast Leg</h4>

    Lu Yin returned to the Voidgod Universe, returning to his alias of Xuan Qi.

    Xuan Qi had not gone into seclusion, and Lu Yin had only left the universe after meeting with Lord Xu.

    When Lu Yin saw Xu Wuji again, the man gave Xuan Qi a very strange look.

    No one who reached the level of a Progenitor was a fool.

    Xu Wuji was clearly no fool, and he could even be regarded as rather clever. Lu Yin felt like the man had most likely already guessed something.

    Xuan Qi had disappeared as soon as he met Lord Xu. Soon after, Lord Xu had uncharacteristically proposed to the Great Sovereign that the Origin Universe be made a member of the Sixverse Association. The entire matter was strange, and even if his suspicions were absurd, Xu Wuji still believed them.

    However, if those suspicions were correct, then Xuan Qi was a truly ruthless person.

    "Bureau Director, if you look at me like that, you¡¯ll make me panic," Lu Yin teased.

    Xu Wuji took off his sunsses and stared at Lu Yin in a serious manner. "I wonder, just how much courage do you have?"

    "Oh? What makes you ask that?" Lu Yin asked with interest.

    Xu Wuji sneered, but he dropped the matter and changed the subject. "Sovereign Shao Yin has asked to see you."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    He had recently plotted against the Three Monarchs Universe and manipted the situation to let the Origin Universe join the Sixverse Association. For his meeting with the Great Sovereign, Lu Yin had to avoid being seen by Sovereign Shao Yin, and he had therefore asked Great Elder Shan Gu to drag the Sovereign to the Endless Frontier. He had apparently already returned.

    "Why does he want to see me?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

    Xu Wuji shrugged and put his sunsses back on. "I don''t know, but his disciple, Shao Gu, has been waiting here for you. I mentioned that you had had an epiphany regarding Evernight and had gone into seclusion as a result. Even then, she stayed behind in the Red Zone. Judging by her behavior, she¡¯s waiting for you to return.¡±

    As the Void Suprema spoke, his voice took on a rather gloating tone. "Did you somehow offend Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. Clearly, Xu Wuji must have guessed something, as there was no other reason for him to speak in such a tone. If the Bureau Director still believed that Xuan Qi was who he appeared to be, then the Progenitor would have been worried and searching for a way to protect his underling, not mocking Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune.

    Xu Wuji was now speaking to ¡°Xuan Qi¡± as if he were a peer.

    "Bureau Director, I need to ask you for a favor." Lu Yin looked at Xu Wuji. "Can you help me contact Senior Xu Wuwei?"

    Xu Wuji raised his eyebrows. "Is this too much for you to bear?"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "It''s not yet time to resist."

    Xu Wuji agreed to the request. "To be honest with you, I really don''t like Sovereign Shao Yin. That man¡¯s just too sneaky, and he¡¯s started many conflicts. If you handle this well¡ªnot onlying out in good shape, but also managing to make him look bad, then many people will be grateful to you."

    After saying that, Xu Wuji left.

    Lu Yin moved to the top of the bell tower and looked in a particr direction¡ªhe was staring at Shao Gu. The woman had a foxy face and calm, cool eyes, making her lovely to look at. She was wearing a golden robe and exuding a noble air. Naturally, such a person drew a great deal of attention, but despite the heated gazes directed her way, no one dared to approach the woman.

    She stood alone in the Red Zone, waiting for Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry to meet with her, and he just observed the woman.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was generally despised by most people. He had antagonized the entire Lost n, and Lu Yin believed that the recent events had caused Luo Shan to also start hating the Sovereign. If Sovereign Shao Yin ever fell out of favor with the Great Sovereign, then many people would be eager to add insult to injury. No, it was more urate to say that they would beat a fallen horse.

    <i>I wonder what Sovereign Shao Yin wants with me?</i> Lu Yin wondered.

    Down below in the Red Zone, Shao Gu stopped moving and turned to look up at the bell tower. She was unable to see Lu Yin, but she could feel that a pair of eyes had suddenly started looking down at her. It felt simr to when she faced her master. Was this Xu Wuji? After all, he was a peak powerhouse.

    Shao Gu frowned slightly, as she was not ustomed to others looking down on her.

    At this thought, she changed direction and headed towards the bell tower.

    However, she was unable to climb the tower, as it was reserved exclusively for the leaders of the Bureau. No matter what, Shao Gu was an outsider, and the Bureau members all blocked her path.

    Lu Yin waited quietly for Xu Wuwei to arrive.

    After a few days passed, Xu Wuji informed Xuan Qi that Xu Wuwei would arrive soon. Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. It was time to find out what Sovereign Shao Yin wanted from Xuan Qi.

    "Go invite Miss Shao Gu to the top of the bell tower." Lu Yin''s voice reached Boss Guan''s ears, and the man walked over to Shao Gu.

    Shao Gu¡¯s eyes moved over to the bell tower. "Who¡¯s inviting me? Is it Senior Xu Wuji?"

    "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi," Boss Guan replied.

    Shao Gu''s eyes shed. Xuan Qi? At the top of the bell tower? Had he just arrived, or had he been up there for some time?

    The thought lingered in her mind as Shao Gu stepped forward and entered the bell tower, arriving before Lu Yin.

    He smiled at her. "Miss Shao Gu, it¡¯s been some time."

    When the woman smiled, she exuded a different kind of charm. "Did the Acting Bureau Direction juste out of seclusion?"

    "Yes. Evernight isplex and profound, but I stumbled into a glimpse of enlightenment, which caused me to leave you waiting for a long time." Lu Yin then motioned for the woman to take a seat.

    Shao Gu sat down and smiled. "Congrattions, Acting Bureau Director. In mastering Evernight, you may one day be a powerhouse equal to Senior Shan Gu. At that point, in the entire Voidforce Universe, perhaps only the Voidlord himself will stand above you, or maybe you¡¯ll surpass him as well."

    Lu Yin answered with a smile of his own, "Miss Shao Gu, please don''t speak such nonsense. The Voidforce Universe was created by Lord Xu, and no one who cultivates voidforce energy will ever be able to surpass Lord Xu. I¡¯m no exception to those limitations.

    "I heard that you came here to see me, correct? What can I do for you, Miss Shao Gu?"

    "I don''t dare to be so presumptuous, but my master has asked to meet with Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, and he would like to meet you in the Extreme Yin Realm. I was sent here to offer my services to the Acting Bureau Director."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Extreme Yin Realm was Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s realm. While the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths was the Great Sovereign¡¯s realm, the Extreme Yin Realm was Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s, and it was naturally filled with his people. If Lu Yin visited that ce, and if Sovereign Shao Yin had any sort of malicious intentions, then Lu Yin would most likely find it impossible to escape.

    Lu Yin had a high opinion of his own strength, especially after obtaining Heaven¡¯s Sight, which could see the ws in any technique. With it, Lu Yin had been able to dance about in Xia Shenji¡¯s Shenwu World. However, even Heaven¡¯s Sight would be useless against someone as powerful as Sovereign Shao Yin, who could control sequence particles. It was too vast a difference in strength, as Lu Yin had learned in his fight against Old Mo.

    Despite cooperating with the Chiliagonist, it had been impossible for either of them to injure Old Mo in the slightest.

    Seeing Xuan Qi¡¯s silence, Shao Gu leaned forward, staring at him. "Do you have any concerns, Acting Bureau Director? If so, you can just tell me."

    Lu Yin looked back at Shao Gu, his eyes calm. "Why does Sovereign Shao Yin want me to go to the Extreme Yin Realm?"

    Shao Gu smiled. "My master wishes to ask the Acting Bureau Director for some help. As for the specifics, I don''t know. Could it be that you fear that my master might act against you?"

    "Not at all," Lu Yin replied.

    Shao Gu continued, "My master is one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns. If he wanted to harm you, Acting Bureau Director, he would not need to ask you to go to the Extreme Yin Realm. Moving against you would be nothing less than openly offending Lord Xu, as the Acting Bureau Director has met with Lord Xu in person. No matter what, my master will show you the proper courtesy, and I was even sent to help, should you need anything.

    "That is, unless Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi is unwilling to show my master even this much courtesy."

    With this, Lu Yin could no longer argue. Shao Gu had pushed him to the edge of the cliff with her words. Fortunately, Lu Yin was not stupid.

    "If he doesn¡¯t want to show him face, then there¡¯s no need to. Why does he need to show respect to Sovereign Shao Yin?" Xu Wuwei arrived, stepping out of the void to appear beside Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was secretly thrilled to see the old man, and he quickly rose to his feet to bow. "Greetings, Senior Xu Wuwei."

    Shao Gu''s expression changed, and she also stood to bow. "Greetings, Senior Xu Wuwei."

    There was a frigid expression on Xu Wuwei¡¯s face, though the roasted haunch of some unknown animal was his hands, and the man¡¯s mouth was covered with grease. He looked quite sloppy. "Child, why does Sovereign Shao Yin want to see Xuan Qi?"

    Shao Gu had not expected Xu Wuwei to appear. "Senior, this junior does not know."

    Xu Wuwei sat down and took a bite out of the leg in his hand. "I am Xuan Qi¡¯s cultivation guide, which means that I have the final say on where he does or does not go. Go back and tell Sovereign Shao Yin toe here himself if he wants something. Going to a run down ce like the Extreme Yin Realm will only leave a stain on people''s hearts. Leave."

    Shao Gu felt both cornered and a bit wronged. "Senior, if I do notplete a task given to me by my master, I will be punished."

    Xu Wuwei¡¯s eyebrows rose. "True enough. Hmmm... It wouldn¡¯t be right for a girl as delicate as you to be punished."

    The man turned to Lu Yin. "Xuan Qi, could you allow that?"

    Shao Gu looked at Lu Yin with a pitiful expression, and Lu Yin was left speechless. He could not understand what Xu Wuwei was trying to do. Did the old man still despise Xuan Qi?

    Lu Yin was left briefly stunned, as was Shao Gu. As for Xu Wuwei, he justughed. "Alright, enough. If Shao Yin punishes you, I will reward you, which should bnce things out. Leave."

    Lu Yin stared at Shao Gu in a daze as she chewed the meat that had suddenly appeared in her mouth from the half-eaten haunch. Was this really eptable?

    Shao Gu¡¯s face was expressionless for a moment, but then her eyes drifted downwards, and she saw the beast leg that she was biting.

    She screamed.

    Her screams echoed throughout the Red Zone, causing many people to look up.

    Boss Guan, Skinner, and the other team captains all looked at the top of the bell tower before ncing at each other. No one said a word. So the Acting Bureau Director was actually such a beast!

    Xu Wuji blinked as he looked at the bell tower with admiration. Senior Xu Wuwei deserved his reputation. He certainly knew how to handle things.

    At the top of the bell tower, Shao Gu quickly spat the meat out and scrubbed her mouth, looking horribly offended.

    She had actually eaten from the same leg that Xu Wuwei had already taken several bites out of. <i>That¡¯s disgusting! Disgusting! It¡¯s so gross! That old bastard!</i>

    Lu Yin felt bad for the women as he looked at the grease still on her face. No one could ept being treated in such a manner.

    Shao Gu could no longer maintain her act, and her head snapped up in an arrogant manner. At that moment, a terrifying pressure fell from a voidforce puppet. It was as if the world was copsing, and Shao Gu saw that she was being pushed down. Her thoughts, emotions, and everything else was instantly suppressed by the overwhelming pressure. She was crushed to the ground.

    "Little girl, are you looking down on me?" Xu Wuwei''s voice entered the woman¡¯s ears, recing the world in her eyes as they echoed again and again.

    "Are you looking down on me?

    "On me?

    ...

    The words rang out again and again, causing Shao Gu''s eyes to go dull. She unconsciously fell to her knees, trembling all over like a frightened animal.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers moved, revealing a hint of his own strength. While the effect on him was not as strong as what Shao Gu was experiencing, he had endured this same pressure in the past.

    Old Mo''s Darkest Sky had left Lu Yin and the others therepletely unable to resist. At this moment, Xu Wuwei was forcing a simr feeling of despair upon Shao Gu. It was as though the sky was copsing and the world was ending.

    A line of saliva dribbled from the corner of Shao Gu''s mouth as she fell to the floor. She trembled and copsed, looking as though she had lost her mind.

    Xu Wuwei''s face gradually rxed. "Alright, get up."

    Shao Gu''s pupils fluctuated as rity slowly returned to her mind. She quickly regained the ability to think, and then remembered her actual surroundings. The object thaty closest to her was the haunch of that meat she had tossed aside. However, at this moment, the disgusting beast leg seemedpletely different, and if given another chance, Shao Gu would never throw it away.

    Shao Gu struggled to lift her head. All of the blood had drained from her face, and fear was clearly visible as she looked at Xu Wuwei. "Se- Senior, this junior was disrespectful. Please forgive me, Senior."

 Chapter 2800: Lu Yinâ€™s Wish

    <h4>Chapter 2800: Lu Yin¡¯s Wish</h4>

    Xu Wuwei still had a bit of grease around his own mouth, but at this moment, it did nothing to detract from the man¡¯s majestic demeanor. "Forget it. Go back and tell Shao Yin that, if he wants to see Xuan Qi, toe himself. Xuan Qi will not go to the Extreme Yin Realm. That is my decision."

    Shao Gu did not dare to waste any more words. She summoned all her strength in order to rise to her feet, still panting as she bowed low to Xu Wuwei. "This- this junior understands. I will take my leave now."

    Lu Yin had not said a single word once Xu Wuwei arrived. And now, he watched as Shao Gu feebly left. It was the scene of a weak person who had lost all of their dignity before a true powerhouse, who also had to thank that powerful being for showing mercy.

    "What a waste." Xu Wuwei shook his head and reduced the haunch of meat to nothing.

    Lu Yin was grateful. "Thank you, Senior, for rescuing me."

    Xu Wuwei gave Lu Yin a strange look. "Hearing you call me senior makes me feel like my life was just shortened."

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Wuwei and saw the surprise and various questions in the old man¡¯s eyes. However, there was nothing that even resembled irritation. "Senior, do you know?"

    Xu Wuwei sighed. "I can¡¯t help but admire you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile turned bitter. "Senior Lord Xu told you?"

    "Lord Xu told only me," Xu Wuwei replied.

    Lu Yin sat back down. With his true identity exposed to Xu Wuwei, there was no need to continue with the act. Lu Yin¡¯s status meant that he could be regarded as Lord Xu¡¯s peer, much less Xu Wuwei. Of course, if cultivation alone was considered, Lu Yin stillgged far behind the old man.

    However, status was something in and of itself, and Lu Yin represented the Origin Universe.

    Xu Wuwei stared at Lu Yin. "If I had not heard it directly from Lord Xu himself, I would have never believed it. So of what you¡¯ve told me, what¡¯s true, and what¡¯s a lie?"

    Lu Yin did not answer immediately, and he instead took a moment to think before replying. "The fate of countless people in the Origin Universe rests in my hands. When I first came into contact with the Sixverse Association, Sage Yuan arrived, insulted me and my universe, and even connected my Heavens Sect to the Endless Frontier. That allowed the Aeternals to enter the Origin Universe to destroy my Heavens Sect.

    "The four ruling powers want to destroy me, and Sovereign Shao Yin took every step possible to suppress us. The Three Monarchs Universe wanted to conquer the Origin Universe and make Luo Shan the ruler of our universe. At that time, the Heavens Sect had very few Progenitors. There were not enough for us to fend off the four ruling powers, let alone the Sixverse Association.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Wuwei. "At that time, Sage Yuan was capable of undoing the entire Heavens Sect. The four ruling powers would have obeyed any order that he gave, and the Heavens Sect and I were teetering on the edge of a cliff. Survival was the only thing that I could think about, as if we fell, it meant death."

    Xu Wuwei stared intently at Lu Yin. "So, you decided to enter the Sixverse Association on your own to learn more about it?"

    Lu Yin stood and moved to look outside the bell tower. "There was no other way."

    Xu Wuwei was impressed. "When I first saw you, I didn''t like you, and I even felt disgusted by you. I don''t like people who are entangled in struggles for power and authority or people who plot and scheme against others. I hate when people try to take advantage of me or use my Voidforce Universe as a stepping stone to rise up.

    "Fortunately, you never tried to use the Voidforce Universe. Even if Lord Xu did help you, you spoke to him directly and admitted your true identity to him.

    "Truthfully, there are not many people like you in this megaverse."

    Lu Yin grumbled a bit. "Who wouldn¡¯t want to have someone powerful backing them up? Even I would love to have someone as powerful as the Great Sovereign behind me. With that sort of backing, if you don¡¯t like someone, then you can just beat them up without worrying about the consequences. Even if a beating is impossible, threats can still work.

    "I would also love to have no worries or fears and strut about as an arrogant child of the heavens.

    "I want topete with my own peers, not be forced to bow to this senior today and that one tomorrow.

    "I also want to stand with my back straight, such that even if a powerhouse tries to force me to bend, there will be someone who will allow me to stand tall.

    "I want to tell everyone where I go that my name is Lu Yin, or that they can call me Lu Xiaoxuan. I don¡¯t want any other name. Long Qi, Yu Hao, and Xuan Qi are all made up.

    "I want to be rid of my mountainous burdens and not be responsible for others and forced to carry their favors, hopes, and debts."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. "But I can''t do those things. I am bound by too many responsibilities. I have too many tasks that I must aplish, too many favors to repay, and too many debts that must be avenged.¡±

    Lu Yin then looked back at Xu Wuwei. "I have many heavy responsibilities that I am forced to bear. Because of this, I was willing to set aside my personal hatred for a time and join forces with the four ruling powers to drive Aeternus¡¯s forces from the Origin Universe. I have willingly sacrificed much for mankind, and I have done things that I did not wish to do. I am not forced to do them, as I force myself. I don¡¯t me others, and I also don¡¯t expect them to understand me, though I do know that there are always a few who will understand and help me. There are many such people in the Origin Universe, but there are also many in the Sixverse Association. In the future, there will be even more. Senior, my gratitude towards you is true, and I, Lu Yin, am willing to apologize to you for deceiving you."

    With that, Lu Yin offered a deep bow, but Xu Wuwei stretched out his hand and stopped Lu Yin from bowing. He raised the young man back up and smiled at him. "I don''t me you¡ªI simply admire you. You are still so young, but you have taken on every burden, most of which should not be your responsibility."

    Lu Yin''s expression fell slightly. "With more experience and exposure to the truth of things, one naturally takes on additional responsibilities."

    Xu Wuwei shook his head and sighed. "The Origin Universe has given rise to the greatest glory that humanity has ever seen. At its height, any peak powerhouse from that universe could have run rampant across the Sixverse Association. None of them could have ever imagined that the Origin Universe would one day be entrusted to a child like you.

    "You must be cautious about Sovereign Shao Yin. He is too cunning, and while his title of Sovereign might be revoked at any moment, he has been in such precarious situations several times before. To recover from one of those instances, he sacrificed your Lu family to stabilize his position."

    Lu Yin grew confused. "Are you referring to when the Lu family was banished?"

    Xu Wuwei nodded. "Sovereign Shao Yin has failed terribly on the Endless Frontier on several asions, but he has always been saved by the Great Sovereign. Thest time was the same, but Sovereign Shao Yin saw through the Great Sovereign''s heart and suggested that the Lu family be exiled and forced to take responsibility for the failings of the Heavens Sect. Not many people know about this, but those of us who do all look down upon him for it.

    "Among others, Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and Mu Shen all feel the same way. Sovereign Shao Yin is only a Sovereign today because he sacrificed your Lu family."

    Lu Yin had not known about any of this. There were too many hidden details regarding the Lu family''s exile, including both Wang Fan and Sovereign Shao Yin. Lu Yin really wanted to get to the bottom of things.

    Xu Wuwei walked to the edge of the bell tower. "Sovereign Shao Yin is most likely seeking you out because he wants to take advantage of Xuan Qi¡¯s reputation for capturing spies."

    Lu Yin did not believe that his identity had been discovered yet, which meant that Xuan Qi¡¯s greatest value to Sovereign Shao Yin was his ability to uncover spies. As for Evernight, no matter how desperately Sovereign Shao Yin wanted the card, he would not dare to touch it, as doing so would invoke the wrath of the entire Lost n. It was more trouble than what it was worth.

    Lu Yin expected Sovereign Shao Yin to take several days to arrive at the Red Zone, possibly even longer. Because of this, he anticipated being able to use the opportunity to ask Xu Wuwei some cultivation questions, particrly about sequence particles.

    However, before Lu Yin could even open his mouth, Sovereign Shao Yin appeared. He had arrived unexpectedly quickly.

    Seeing the Sovereign be in such a rush made Lu Yin even more curious about why Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to meet with Xuan Qi. What did the man want?

    Sovereign Shao Yin appeared atop the bell tower in the Red Realm, still wearing his golden robes, but keeping his aura restrained. He smiled as he greeted Xu Wuwei. The two men seemed to get along quite well.

    Xu Wuji stood to the side, his hands sped, and Lu Yin stood next to the Void Suprema. The difference in status between the four present men was more than obvious.

    "Before this, I had assumed that you didn''t particrly care about Xuan Qi. You were not concerned enough to deny the Lost n when they tried to poach him," Sovereign Shao Yin said as he nced over at Lu Yin.

    Xu Wuwei pulled out another haunch of meat from the void and bit into it. It appeared to be delicious. "Until he is able to protect himself, it would be better for the child to not roam about. It''s not safe."

    "What? Is my Extreme Yin Realm unsafe?" Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s brows rose.

    Xu Wuwei chuckled as he stared at Sovereign Shao Yin through narrowed eyes, though he said nothing.

    Sovereign Shao Yin stared at the Void Suprema for a bit beforeughing. "Old man, you are still so protective of your people. Don''t worry, I won''t harm him. Rather, I will offer him my help, should he need anything."

    Xu Wuwei lowered the roasted meat and wiped the corner of his mouth. It was rare for him to stop eating. "Sovereign Shao Yin, you actually requested a junior to see you. Honestly, I am panicked by such unusual behavior."

    Sovereign Shao Yin grew solemn. "This is a matter of the highest importance. If not for this, I would not be in a rush to meet with him. This concerns traitors."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. Was the Sovereign really seeking out Xuan Qi in order to hunt down spies? However, the question still remained whether the Sovereign wanted real spies captured, or ones who had been framed.

    Lu Yin merely asked the question in his own mind, but Xu Wuwei was blunt about his concerns. "Is this really about a spy, or are you just looking to frame someone as a spy?"

    There was nothing subtle or polite about the question, and Xu Wuji wanted to cheer when he heard them. Luckily, he had asked Senior Xu Wuwei for his help, as Xu Wuji knew that he was not capable of going against Sovereign Shao Yin.

    The Sovereign¡¯s expression changed, though only for a moment before he quickly recovered. "Of course the spy is real. I¡¯m not even the one making the usation. It¡¯s simply that this spy has an exceptional status, and the usercks strong evidence. This is why I want to ask Xuan Qi to help with the investigation. As long as evidence can be found, I will personally report Xuan Qi¡¯s aplishment to the Great Sovereign."

    The man then turned to look at Lu Yin. "What do you say, Xuan Qi? Capturing spies is your responsibility and mission, as you have sworn to perform this duty."

    Lu Yin looked back at Sovereign Shao Yin. "If the person truly is a spy, then I am obligated to capture them no matter what."

    "Wonderful. As long as you help me confirm that the suspect is a spy and find corroborating evidence, I, Sovereign Shao Yin, will definitely give credit for this capture to Xuan Qi before the Great Sovereign. All you need to do is tell me your request. Even if the Great Sovereign refuses to grant it, I will do my best to fulfill it," Sovereign Shao Yin promised.

    Xu Wuwei frowned. "You say a lot, but who is the suspected spy?"

    Xu Wuji was also curious to hear the answer, as he could not imagine who could force out such a strong reaction from Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Sovereign Shao Yin stared at Xu Wuwei. "This matter is incredibly sensitive, and to prevent any news from leaking, it¡¯s best that I don¡¯t say, Brother Wuwei."

    Xu Wuwei let out an oddugh as he pulled out another haunch of meat. He said nothing as he continued eating.

    Sovereign Shao Yin continued, saying, "I will definitely give you a proper exnation afterwards, Brother Wuwei. However, before things are settled, this matter must be kept perfectly secret, so I must ask for Brother Wuwei''s forgiveness."

    Xu Wuwei continued to enjoy his meat, ignoring the Sovereign. The man kicked his legs up and crossed his ankles, looking incredibly rxed.

    A dangerous light flickered across Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes. There were many people in the Sixverse Association who did not care for him, and he knew that Xu Wuwei was one of them. While the two men maintained a polite facade, if they were both on the Endless Frontier, neither would make any effort to save the other if they were in danger.

    However, Sovereign Shao Yin actually needed a favor from Xu Wuwei at this moment, which was nearly unbearable. He hated the disgusting old thing.

    If not for Xuan Qi, the Sovereign would have already left.

    Suppressing his anger, Sovereign Shao Yin softly said, "Brother Wuwei, you know very well that capturing certain spies cannot be made public. In this particr case, this spy¡¯s status is special enough to draw even the Great Sovereign¡¯s eye. I ask that you please understand."

    The Sovereign then suddenly turned to Xu Wuji. "As the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau Director, Xu Wuji, you should understand the rules for capturing spies."

 Chapter 2801: The Spy Is Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 2801: The Spy Is Lu Yin</h4>

    Xu Wuji had not expected to be suddenly called out by Sovereign Shao Yin, and he was slightly taken aback for a moment. While Xu Wuji was also a peak powerhouse, he was much weaker than Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Senior, would you prefer to speak with me alone?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin looked at Xuan Qi and nodded. "This is a matter of great importance."

    Sovereign Shao Yin had repeated the matter¡¯s importance three times now, making it clear just how paramount this issue was.

    Lu Yin looked over at Xu Wuwei.

    The man had finished eating, and he said, "If you wish to speak to him alone, then you may, but it must be done within my sight. The most I can promise is to not listen."

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes shed as he thought for a moment. "Agreed."

    Xu Wuwei patted his clothes with his greasy hands as he stood up. He stared at Lu Yin. "Young man, much of your ability to capture spieses from the Spiral Domain, which is obvious to someone like me, who is the creator of the technique. I don¡¯t know why they are employing your help rather than mine. Regardless, be careful."

    He then walked out of the bell tower.

    Sovereign Shao Yin turned his gaze towards Xu Wuji, who also quickly left.

    Once the two men were gone, Sovereign Shao Yin visibly rxed, though a certain sternness entered his expression. He emanated an attitude of authority and superiority as he looked at Xuan Qi. "What I wish to share with you is top secret information that cannot be leaked to anyone, as doing so could ruin everything.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. "Then this junior won''t hear it."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was stunned. He had not expected to hear such a response. Xuan Qi was a junior, and even if he did enjoy Xu Wuwei¡¯s support, how could a mere brat have the courage to speak to a Sovereign in such a manner?

    How many years had it been since he hadst been spoken to in such a tone? Sovereign Shao Yin could not even remember how many years had passed since someone hadst spoken to him in such a manner.

    What was going on? Did the youth have some sort of grudge against Sovereign Shao Yin?

    The man stared at Xuan Qi for a long moment, forgetting to even speak.

    Lu Yin stared back at Sovereign Shao Yin without any hint of fear. He knew that Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to use Xuan Qi¡¯s reputation, which removed any fear of the Sovereign attacking him. Additionally, Lu Yin had asked Xu Wuwei to be present for this meeting, and he had confided in the older man. Xu Wuwei would not allow anything to happen to Lu Yin, so why did he need to blindly submit to Sovereign Shao Yin?

    "Senior, please allow this junior to take his leave." Lu Yin immediately moved to leave.

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned, and he reflexively released a shocking amount of pressure. "Xuan Qi, do you have the courage to be rude to me?"

    Lu Yin turned back to face Sovereign Shao Yin directly. There was so much pressure that it was a bit difficult for Lu Yin to breathe. He had only felt this level of pressure from confronting Old Mo before. The two old monsters possessed simr levels of strength, which meant that Sovereign Shao Yin had indeed touched upon the ability to control sequence particles.

    The pressure grew stronger and stronger, and Lu Yin''s face turned pale. This whole thing was nothing more than an act. Sovereign Shao Yin would never dare do anything to Xuan Qi with Xu Wuwei so close, and the Sovereign also believed that the young man¡¯s cultivation was rtively weak. Even if the Sovereign only let a wisp of his aura loose, it was still more than what Xuan Qi should be able to endure.

    As time passed, Lu Yin''s face became increasingly pale, and beads of sweat began to stream from his forehead as his fingers clenched into fists. "Senior Xu Wuwei is still here."

    Sovereign Shao Yin snorted contemptuously. "Do you really think that Xu Wuwei can help you? If you treat me rudely, so what if Lord Xu is here?"

    Lu Yin remained stubborn, and he did not so much as flinch. "Senior, you said that if anything is leaked, everything will be ruined. I can''t guarantee that I will be able to keep this secret, so it would be best if you found another way to handle this matter."

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes red in anger. "If I say that you are the one for the job, then you will do it! Even if Xu Wuwei refuses, you will do it, as it is your responsibility."

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he resisted the pressure. He stopped talking, but his eyes never gave up.

    After a while, Sovereign Shao Yin caused the pressure to abruptly vanish.

    Lu Yin swayed on his feet and nearly fell.

    Sovereign Shao Yin looked at Xuan Qi with admiration. "Quite impressive. You were able to endure my pressure for a long time. That means that you are even more suitable for this task than I had previously assumed."

    Lu Yin frowned as he struggled to catch his breath. His clothes were soaked with sweat.

    "Don''t look at me like that. This task will grant you more benefits than you can even imagine. You¡¯ll be able to obtain whatever you want in the Sixverse Association," Sovereign Shao Yin said with a small smile as he sped his hands behind his back. His golden robe fluttered in the breeze, giving the man a noble appearance. "The Bureau Director, or rather, the director of the entire Sixverse Association¡¯s bureau, much like the Nine Sages, is exempt from service on the Endless Frontier. With that status, you can say whatever you want and do whatever you want. "

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened in shock. "Bureau Director of the entire Sixverse Association?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s lips curved upwards. "You Xian once wanted to obtain that position, but unfortunately for him, he overestimated himself. Even if he was motivated by the desire to overthrow Lord Wei, that does not mean that You Xian did not genuinely seek to separate the bureau from the Sixverse Association¡¯s authority while retaining the privileges of being a part of the Association.¡±

    "You Xian failed, but you can seed.

    "Additionally, I can make a special request to the Great Sovereign for you to never serve time on the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "It''s impossible. Everyone is required to serve time on the Endless Frontier. Not even the Great Sovereign is exempt from that."

    "There are loopholes in everything. When I say that you will be exempt from serving on the Endless Frontier, I mean that you will never be forced to fight on the dangerous battlefields, while other people will help you rack up aplishments on the battlefield. You¡¯ll be able to rx and enjoy your time on the Endless Frontier until you¡¯ve umted enough credit to leave. This is the way people avoid serving on the Endless Frontier, and it¡¯s rtivelymon. If not for this, why do you think anyone would be willing to stay in the Sixverse Association?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin moved closer to Xuan Qi. "Xuan Qi, are you willing to help me now?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he took a moment to mull over the matter. "You want me to capture a real spy?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "You don¡¯t want me to frame someone?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes flickered. "It appears that Xu Wuwei shared quite a bit with you.

    ¡°In life, if you want to live freely and enjoy things, you need to be selfish. If not, there will always be someone willing to take what should be yours. So, why not seize it for yourself and reap the benefits? Some people are just too stupid and won¡¯t cross what they refer to as their ¡®bottom line,¡¯ but one must always strive to break past their limits.¡±

    Lu Yin found it quite surprising that a peak powerhouse like Sovereign Shao Yin, who was one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns, would actually say such a thing so openly and bluntly.

    The Sovereign sped his hands behind his back. His demeanor turned cold and arrogant as he looked out from the bell tower. "People like Xu Wuwei have strict ideals, which will cause them to die, sooner orter. However, I am different. I am able to live a long life, rxed andfortable. Why worry about others who have nothing to do with me?¡±

    The man turned back to look at Xuan Qi. "As long as you can reap some benefits, why worry about the fate of others with no connection to you?"

    Lu Yin stared back at Sovereign Shao Yin with a nk expression. "Senior has not given me a clear answer."

    Sovereign Shao Yin continued to stare at Xuan Qi. "One more thing. I will teach you the power of Extreme Yin."

    Lu Yin was confused. "The power of Extreme Yin?"

    The Sovereign exined, "When yin is cultivated to the extreme, you can touch upon power beyond imagination. There are few in the entire Sixverse Association who can control such power, and if you can master it, your status will be no lower than Xu Wuwei¡¯s. You will be at the same level as us Three Sovereigns.

    "Who else in the Sixverse Association would dare to im that they can give you a cultivation method that can let you touch upon that level of power? I do, and if you cultivate the power of Extreme Yin, then you can undoubtedly reach that same level.

    "This is my path, and at the end of this path lies a power that you cannot even imagine. All you need to do is follow my path and not think about anything else. Should you have sufficient talent, you will be able to match my own achievements. Also, Xuan Qi, your talent is simr to Chu Jian¡¯s, which means that you can certainly aplish this.¡±

    Lu Yin swallowed. "Is this path easier than cultivating voidforce energy?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin sneered. "Voidforce energy is nothing more than the energy of this universe, which was created by Lord Xu. This path is frozen, and you will never be able to break through to a higher level if you cultivate this power. At best, you will be able to match up to Xu Wuwei. Don¡¯t you want to surpass Lord Xu?

    "In the Sixverse Association, the Lost n has their cards, the Arboreal Realm has their arboreal energy, the Voidforce Universe has voidforce energy, and so on. All of those powers are capable of altering a universe, but no matter how high you cultivate those energies, there is a limit that cannot be passed. Only my Cyclic Universe is different. Stellr energy is nothing more than a foundation¡ªan extremely powerful, but all-epassing, foundation. Only stellr energy can make youpatible with endless power, self-created methods, and the ultimate end goal.

    "Is Xu Wuwei¡¯s level your end goal, or will you surpass Lord Xu himself?"

    There was no denying that Sovereign Shao Yin made a very tempting offer, and hisst words had even been quite urate. Stellr energy was exactly what the Sovereign imed, and cultivating it could allow a person to reach the same heights as Wu Tian, whereas the God of Death and Destiny had reached that same height by creating their own power. Stellr energy was truly powerful, but more importantly, it epted all other powers.

    This was also the reason behind the Origin Universe¡¯s matchless splendor at its peak. In the current era, the Cyclic Universe had taken the ce of the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin''s breathing quickened, and excitement filled his eyes. "Senior, please tell me clearly. Who is the spy?"

    A smile crept across Sovereign Shao Yin''s face. No one could resist such a temptation. While this youth had seemed determined to join the Voidforce Universe, he had also been restless in fulfilling his duties. He had gone to the Three Monarchs Universe, and then to the Transcendent Universe. Just as You Fang had said, Xuan Qi¡¯s ambitions were excessive, and because of that, Sovereign Shao Yin had never considered the possibility of his offer being refused.

    Even so, it had taken a bit of effort to convince Xuan Qi, mostly because of Xu Wuwei¡¯s unexpected presence.

    "Currently, the Three Monarchs Universe has been reced within the Sixverse Association by the Origin Universe. Have you heard of this?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I have."

    "The Sixverse Association is of the greatest importance. If there is a problem with one of the member universes, then the entire Sixverse Association will be affected. I have received a report that Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, is a spy."

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared at Sovereign Shao Yin in a daze.

    The Sovereign observed Xuan Qi. "You don¡¯t believe it?"

    Lu Yin coughed. "That should be impossible. I¡¯ve heard that Lu Yin has met with the Great Sovereign in person. If he is a spy, how could he have hidden it from the Great Sovereign?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin replied, "There is a unique technique in the Origin Universe that is known as the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Lu Yin must have used that technique during his cultivation. The Great Sovereign must have met with a normal clone, but a person from the Origin Universe has reported that others of Lu Yin¡¯s clones cultivate with divine energy. On top of that, Aeternus has taken action on several different asions when he was in danger, which allowed him to escape and survive. It¡¯s too much to be a coincidence.¡±

    "Xuan Qi, I am asking you to go to the Origin Universe and assist the four ruling powers there to gather the necessary evidence, and prove that Lu Yin is a spy."

    Lu Yin was bbergasted. Was this for real?

    "The four ruling powers will assist you, and they have even managed to gather a bit of evidence already. They need you to confirm their findings, and once you can do that, the evidence will be directly delivered to the Great Sovereign. This will be an incredible achievement for you," Sovereign Shao Yin finished in a low voice before walking back and sitting down.

    Lu Yin finally put the pieces together. Sovereign Shao Yin was despicable andpletely shameless, and he hade up with this particr scheme. He was working with the four ruling powers to nder Lu Yin as a spy andpletely ruin his reputation. This had nothing to do with whether the Origin Universe joined the Sixverse Association. In fact, that was what had created this exact opportunity, as with the Origin Universe joining the Sixverse Association, Sovereign Shao Yin now had an excuse to conduct this investigation.

    With someone as renowned for capturing spies as Xuan Qi providing testimony against Lu Yin, as well as the cooperation and support of the four ruling powers and Sovereign Shao Yin, it was not impossible for them to frame Lu Yin.

 Chapter 2802: Reasonable

    <h4>Chapter 2802: Reasonable</h4>

    Lu Yin felt that since the Great Sovereign already hated him to begin with, it was possible that Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s n might just be allowed. If that were the case, Lu Yin would not be able to defend himself no matter how innocent he may be.

    This n was cruel, insidious, and could truly doom Lu Yin, though he could not help but wonder what Sovereign Shao Yin might think if he knew that he was asking Lu Yin to frame himself by cooperating with the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin struggled to not p the man in the face and openly admit that he was Lu Yin.

    He also felt that using his alias as Xuan Qi to build up a reputation within the Sixverse Association for hunting down spies had been an excellent decision. You Fang had used Xuan Qi to frame He Ran, and Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to use Xuan Qi to frame Lu Yin. This was quite the interesting development, and he needed to consider what he should do about it.

    "What are you afraid of?" Sovereign Shao Yin demanded when he saw Xuan Qi thinking the matter over.

    Lu Yin answered in an uneasy tone, "Lu Yin is the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch, and the ruler of the Origin Universe. He has multiple peak powerhouses under hismand. If I nder- no, testify against him, I will end up in grave trouble if the evidence is not enough."

    Sovereign Shao Yin immediately replied, "The evidence is unquestionably enough. All you need to do is verify the evidence ande up with the means that Lu Yin used to collude with Aeternus, as well as what they are trying to aplish. That is your task."

    Lu Yin understood that he was being asked to help cover up the lies that were being fabricated. Still, where were they getting their evidence from? Lu Yin had not cooperated with Aeternus and was not a spy, so what sort of evidence could they have against him?

    Sovereign Shao Yin was not stupid, and he needed to deliver evidence to the Great Sovereign. If it was possible to readily see that the evidence had been manufactured, the Sovereign would not merely humiliate himself, but the Cyclic Universe as a whole.

    Given the man¡¯s confidence, just what sort of evidence had they found?

    Lu Yin went ahead and asked, "What is the evidence?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned. "You¡¯ll find out when you visit the four ruling powers. They will cooperate with you fully, so there¡¯s no need to ask questions right now. No one can learn of this matter, not even Xu Wuwei or Lord Xu."

    Lu Yin''s eyelids twitched. Lord Xu? He looked at the Sovereign Shao Yin, who was staring into the distance.

    Lu Yin was unable to fully understand this situation, but felt that things must be moreplicated than they initially appeared. If the Sovereign was so certain that the evidence that had been gathered was sufficient to incriminate Lu Yin, then why not submit it himself? Xuan Qi was far from the only person in the Sixverse Association who hunted down spies, and any of the other Bureau Directors could also verify the evidence, such as the Bureau Director of the Cyclic Universe.

    Why did Xuan Qi need to be the one to use Lu Yin? Was it just because of his fame? That might not be all there was to it.

    Lu Yin could not unravel just what Sovereign Shao Yin wanted, and the young man¡¯s instincts told him there was undoubtedly a problem with this situation.

    This was much like matters regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile, which had been hidden inyers of fog. Even after so long, despite there seeming to be a clear exnation for what had happened, there were still questions that could not be answered.

    Despite being hated by Xu Wuwei and a number of other peak powerhouses, Sovereign Shao Yin had managed to stay in the Great Sovereign¡¯s good graces in order to survive. The man¡¯s cunning was clearly not simple, which meant that his schemes were more than they appeared.

    "When will this junior go to the Origin Universe?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sovereign Shao Yin replied, "The sooner, the better. The Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony is fast approaching, and I want to be ready to present the evidence before then. Lu Yin has been granted the ninth seat at the tea ceremony, which is ridiculous. He is nothing more than a member of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin considered the dates and realized that the tea ceremony was indeed very close, which meant that he needed to finish his own preparations.

    He looked out from the bell tower towards Xu Wuwei.

    The man understood what Lu Yin needed, and took a step forward to return to the bell tower.

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned. "Brother Wuwei, we have not yet finished talking."

    Xu Wuwei showed clear irritation. "You still haven¡¯t finished talking? I want to take Xuan Qi to train with the Spiral Domain."

    Just as Sovereign Shao Yin was about to answer, Lu Yin spoke up, "Senior Sovereign Shao Yin wants to teach this junior the power of Extreme Yin."

    Xu Wuwei was taken aback. "Sovereign Shao Yin, you want to teach Xuan Qi your Extreme Yin power?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin had not expected Xuan Qi to openly admit such a thing. Was there something wrong with the kid''s brain? Others would always keep their information regarding their own techniques and abilities a secret to be used as a trump card, yet Xuan Qi was readily sharing that information.

    "I can teach him," Sovereign Shao Yin replied in a low voice.

    Xu Wuwei was very impressed. "It''s highly unusual for you to be willing to teach any outsiders the power of Extreme Yin."

    He then turned to Lu Yin. "You are very lucky, as the power of Extreme Yin is incredibly powerful. If you can cultivate this method, it will provide you with benefits for the rest of your life. In particr, if you can incorporate this method with Evernight, the card will be even more powerful. Yes, you should indeed go with Sovereign Shao Yin to train, even if it will slow down your voidforce energy cultivation."

    "Not yet-"

    Before Sovereign Shao Yin could finish speaking, Lu Yin quickly interjected, "Hearing this, I will make sure to follow Senior Sovereign Shao Yin and learn the power of Extreme Yin."

    Xu Wuwei turned back to Sovereign Shao Yin. "Old friend, I see that you have changed and be more reasonable. Not bad, not bad at all, haha.

    "After all, Xuan Qi is the Acting Bureau Director for my Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bureau, which means that if you are asking him to help you capture a spy elsewhere, you need to first offer him some benefits. The power of Extreme Yin will be very goodpensation."

    Sovereign Shao Yin frowned. "Cultivating the power of Extreme Yin is not so simple. Let¡¯s firstplete the task that needs to be done."

    Xu Wuwei''s expression fell. "How is that eptable? Learning a new power will grant him anotheryer of protection. For Sovereign Shao Yin to personally be trying to capture a spy, this person must be at least a peak powerhouse, so how can Xuan Qi''s strength be enough to protect him? I had initially wanted to help him reach the Void Morphora realm before allowing him to help you with your task."

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose sharply. How could he wait that long? There was no telling how long Xuan Qi would need to be a Void Morphora, but there was no doubt that it would be after the tea ceremony was concluded.

    He looked back at Xuan Qi. "I can take him back to my Extreme Yin Realm to train there for two months, but no more than two months. If he seeds in starting to cultivate the power in that time, he can resume after the task ispleted, but if not, he will need to wait until after this task ispleted, or even until he bes a Void Morphora."

    Xu Wuwei nced at Lu Yin. "Two months is not nearly enough time."

    Lu Yin replied, "This junior is willing to try."

    Two months was truly a short amount of time to try to cultivate a new power or energy, but Lu Yin did not have any choice. The tea ceremony was fast approaching, and there was no avoiding the fact that Xuan Qi would be exposed as Lu Yin at that time. Two months to cultivate the power of Extreme Yin would have to be good enough.

    Seeing Xu Wuwei¡¯s reaction, it was clear that the power of Extreme Yin was impressive.

    Lu Yin would not reject any form of power. ording to Mister Mu, the union of various powers and energies in Lu Yin¡¯s chest was a path that no one had ever walked before. No matter how Lu Yin viewed it, he was creating a universe. Since that was the case, it would not hurt to grant it more power.

    Additionally, cultivating the power of Extreme Yin could grant Lu Yin a better understanding of Sovereign Shao Yin. The day woulde when the two would face each other.

    There was one other point as well. Lu Yin looked at Sovereign Shao Yin. If the man knew that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin, and that Lu Yin learned to cultivate the power of Extreme Yin, would the knowledge see the Sovereign killed by his own fury?

    Even if only thest benefit were true, it was enough for Lu Yin to cultivate the power of Extreme Yin.

    ...

    A zing sun sat high in the sky. Down below, countless people gathered, their heads bowed in worship. "Greetings, Sovereign."

    "Greetings, Sovereign."

    "Greetings, Sovereign."

    ...

    Their words filled the air, creating a wave that swept out in all directions.

    A golden robe reced the light of the sun, and the only color that was visible became gold.

    Sovereign Shao Yin descended to stand at the top of a mountain. He looked around at the countless people kneeling in worship. At this moment, the one who was standing behind Sovereign Shao Yin was none other than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin also looked down at the people kneeling. All of the people were young, and their cultivation varied widely. However, even the weakest were as strong as a Hunter, and he could tell that there were some who were just as talented as the Ten Arbiters. There were people who were cunning and insidious, fools and wise men. This was the Extreme Yin Realm, which was Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s realm.

    Each of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages could have countless disciples. The most famous for their numerous disciples was Sovereign Ninth Lotus, who had disciples all across the Sixverse Association.

    Despite not having aparable number of disciples, Sovereign Shao Yin still had a multitude of followers.

    At the forefront of the kneeling crowd, Lu Yin picked out Shao Gu. Her face was pale, and it looked as though she had been struck by something. Her face seemed drained of all blood, and she appeared terrified as she kneeled in worship.

    "Rise," Sovereign Shao Yin calmly ordered. His voice echoed to fill the air.

    Everyone moved in unison and immediately rose to their feet. Even so, their heads remained bowed, as they did not dare look at Sovereign Shao Yin.

    "Look up."

    Only after Sovereign Shao Yin spoke did the people down below dare to lift their heads. Instantly, they not only saw Sovereign Shao Yin, but also Xuan Qi, who stood behind the Sovereign.

    Lu Yin kept his expression calm, showing neither humbleness nor arrogance. He calmly peered down at the massive crowd, a faint smile on his lips.

    Shao Gu was not surprised by the sight of Xuan Qi, as she had been sent to the Red Zone to retrieve him. Unfortunately, she had been punished by Xu Wuwei.

    "Xuan Qi, what do you understand about this realm?" Sovereign Shao Yin faced his countless disciples as he spoke calmly, his back to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don¡¯t understand it."

    "Shao Gu, tell him."

    Below, Shao Gu stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. "Yes, Master."

    She looked at Lu Yin. "Yin and yang both hang in this ce, which is half Yin, and half Yang. The sun shines down on the earth, and the earth blocks the light, creating a ce of yin underground. Down below, countless talented people who have been chosen by us aboveground, try to cultivate that yin energy. They do this down below because humans naturally turn to yang instead of yin. They cultivate underground and absorb the yin energy produced there by the presence of yang here. That energy they develop in their bodies is what we need. They eventually climb up, as the power of yin is drawn to yang. Those who rise up are called yin fodder.

    "The moment they emerge from the yin underground and enter the yang continent, they are attacked by us, and these yin fodder is devoured. The yin energy is extracted from their bodies, and without it, they are reduced to nothing but ash. Those of us aboveground wait for them to emerge so that we can cultivate. This is our path.

    "Everyone here has gone through the experience of rising up from underground and fight against our fate to be fodder, which is the path of cultivating Extreme Yin."

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at the zing sun. Only now did he see that the sun was brightly shining on the ground below, but leaving dark shadows everywhere. Was that a representation of yin and yang?

    The groundy beneath the sky, and underground were endless talented young people who had been chosen by Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s followers. How many were down there? They were truly countless. In order to rise back up to the light, all of those people absorbed yin energy in order to escape the earth. Upon rising up, they became yin fodder for the people on the surface, and were destroyed. This was the cycle of yin and yang, and only by robbing the yin energy of others could people cultivate the power of Extreme Yin and achieve a breakthrough.

    It was a cruelpetition. The loser died, while the winner lived. There was no room forpromise or mercy. This was the path of cultivation that Sovereign Shao Yin''s disciples followed.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s cold voice sounded, "People must live for themselves and cultivate for themselves, or else they are nothing more than food prepared for others to devour. Those who are underground and wish to rise up need to work hard to absorb the yin energy. The more they absorb, the more likely they are to rise up. However, the more they absorb, the more desirable they be for others.

    "The yin energy that they all absorb forms adder for the sessful ones to climb up."

    Lu Yin wondered about something. "Do many of the people underground climb up at once?"

    A smile crept across Sovereign Shao Yin''s mouth. "Very few."

 Chapter 2803: Leaving Without A Word

    <h4>Chapter 2803: Leaving Without A Word</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at Sovereign Shao Yin for a long moment. If only a few people rose up to the surface at once, and if they needed to fight off all the attackers on the surface, then there had to be some limits in ce. Otherwise, no one would be able to survive this process. Even so, those who survived had to be absolute geniuses. This also exined the bloodthirstiness that Lu Yin saw in the people down below, regardless of their age.

    "Does this junior also need to go through this process?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sovereign Shao Yin revealed a small smile. "Of course not."

    The countless disciples down below all coldly red at Lu Yin. All of them had gone through the same gauntlet to reach their current position. They had survived the cruelpetition and fighting underground. Upon reaching the surface, they had managed to fight back and avoid bing yin fodder, escaping nearly certain death. Only by surviving all of that could they finally stand on the surface. Even so, living on the surface meant that they needed to use their yin energy to resist the sun¡¯s yang energy. The moment their yin energy was consumed, they would be roasted by the sun.

    All of them were in the same situation, so why was the neer an exception to the rules?

    Even the greatest geniuses, such as Shao Gu and Shao Qingfeng, had survived the same process. No one was ever exempted

    At that moment, Lu Yin saw the coldness and the killing intent that filled countless eyes that were focused on him.

    "You don''t need to go through the same process, but the rules cannot be broken. You will need to find your own way to rise up with the yin and yang energies, as only those energies can be used to cultivate the path of Extreme Yin. If you fail to do this, Yin and Yang can only be transformed intodders through the power of Extreme Yin. Otherwise, even an Ascendant will be incinerated by the sun. Xuan Qi, the progress that you can make in two months¡¯ time will depend solely on you."

    With that, Sovereign Shao Yin left.

    Once the Sovereign left, the people down below all rxed, and they separated, scattering in all directions. Everyone had their own ce that they wished to return to.

    Those locations were where the disciples believed that someone would rise up from underground.

    Lu Yin walked over to where Sovereign Shao Yin had just been standing and looked down. He saw Shao Gu looking up at him.

    The woman did not say anything, and she simply stared at Xuan Qi for a moment before turning around to leave.

    The zing sun baked the earth, and Lu Yin looked out. In every direction he turned, someone would send the asional re at him. Whenever Lu Yin looked at the people here, they would avert their eyes and go back to focusing on their own cultivation.

    After a few days passed, Lu Yin heard a scream ring out, capturing his attention. He stepped forward and arrived at where a person had just screamed.

    A screaming man howled and kept rolling over the ground as a green smoke rose from his body. The man¡¯s body melted and was reduced to ash as Lu Yin watched.

    A few people watched from further away, but they were indifferent, and no one intervened.

    This was the man''s fate. The yin energy within his body had been exhausted, which meant that he could no longer withstand the scorching sun. This was his only possible fate.

    "Do you sympathize with him?" Shao Gu spoke up from behind Lu Yin.

    He turned around and looked at the woman. "A bit."

    Shao Gu sneered. Her gaze flitted in a bewitching manner.. "Sympathy is the most useless emotion here. Master does not allow for sympathy, and death is the norm.

    "Everyone needs to take responsibility for themselves. This mancked ability, and he failed to rob others, while also not having much talent for the path of Extreme Yin. Death was inevitable, and there is no escape."

    "Have you never considered that you might one day suffer the same fate?" Lu Yin asked in a t tone. He had not yet tried to cultivate Extreme Yin power, which meant that he could ignore the scorching sun for now. Only those who had started cultivating Extreme Yin power would find themselves unable to resist the sun after their yin energy was exhausted.

    Shao Gu moved closer and arrived at Lu Yin¡¯s side. Her body gave off a delicate fragrance. Whether it was intentional or not, the back of her hand still brushed against Lu Yin''s hand, giving him a chill. "I will wait until those who are much weaker than me all die in turn. Their energy will eventually be mine, but who can say when that will happen?¡±

    Lu Yin nced around, noticing that, while Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s countless disciples had varying amounts of yin energy, Shao Gu unquestionably had the most. She was clearly one of the strongest disciples, and if she died from losing all her yin energy, it would mean that Sovereign Shao Yin no longer had any disciples.

    "More people will soon rise up from underground. If you want to rise up through yin and yang to cultivate Extreme Yin power, then you need to do so by stealing yin energy from the people who reach the surface. If not, you will never be able to cultivate Extreme Yin power." Shao Gu nced at Xuan Qi and gave him a little smile. "Others have already worked their hardest, sometimes even risking their lives to steal yin energy. They have been waiting for the rare opportunity that appears to people climbing up from underground, and should they fail to seize this opportunity, they will suffer the same fate as this man. Tell me, can you steal this opportunity from them? I look forward to finding out."

    With that, the woman left.

    Lu Yin averted his eyes. Steal the opportunity? He was certainly not a kind person, but Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s disciples were forced to walk an extreme path. They had notmitted any crimes, so why were they forced down such a dark path? The only reason was that this was the path that Sovereign Shao Yin had forced upon them. And now, Shao Gu wanted to force Xuan Qi down that path as well. How absurd. Had Lu Yin begged to visit the Extreme Yin Realm?

    Lu Yin left the universe without saying a word.

    Shao Gu suddenly spun around, only to see Xuan Qi had torn the void open and was leaving. She was dumbfounded.

    Sovereign Shao Yin appeared abruptly, an ugly expression on his face.

    "Master." Shao Gu was startled and hurriedly offered a bow.

    The Sovereign¡¯s expression was cold. How could this man possibly be so bold?

    Sovereign Shao Yin had seen what had just happened, and after meeting the slightest bit of intimidation, the boy had instantly left. This should not have happened, as people normally needed to show the Sovereign some level of respect. What a bastard!

    Shao Gu was terrified, and she hated Xuan Qi more than ever. <i>How could he leave so casually? I didn¡¯t even say anything. What if Master mes me for this again?</i>

    Suddenly, she remembered what Xuan Qi had just asked her; had she ever feared encountering such a day? The truth was that, if her master med her and became angry, he could easily strip her power away, leaving her to disappear into ashes.

    This thought terrified Shao Gu more than ever, and she fell to her knees. "Master, your disciple didn''t say anything to Xuan Qi! This was his doing alone."

    "Enough, I know." Sovereign Shao Yin snorted contemptuously. This was not the first time that he had faced such a situation, so he suppressed his anger and left.

    Lu Yin returned to the Voidforce Universe and made his way back to the Red Zone.

    Xu Wuji was stunned to see the young man. "Why are you back?"

    Lu Yin casually replied, "I was just taking a look."

    Before Xu Wuji could even react, Sovereign Shao Yin appeared. "Xuan Qi, let''s return to the Extreme Yin Realm¡¯s Yinyang."[1]

    Lu Yin smiled. It felt good to have someone backing him. Did Sovereign Shao Yin want to force Xuan Qi to go? That was a joke, as it was impossible to do so.

    Lu Yin could barely wait for his Lu family to return, which would also bring Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi back, as well as many others. At that time, even if Lu Yin bulldozed his way through the Sixverse Association, would even the Great Sovereign attack him? Would Sovereign Shao Yin still scheme against him? It was absurd to even think about it.

    Upon returning to the Extreme Yin Realm, Sovereign Shao Yin sent Xuan Qi straight to the area dedicated for his disciples to cultivate. The rules of the ce were not even mentioned.

    Shao Gu struggled to reign in her anger. Xuan Qi was such a bastard!

    The Yiyang was the area both above and below the surface, epassing the region where the two energies intertwined.

    The zing sun¡¯s yang energy intersected with the dark yin energy, but the two never intermixed. If one stood in the yin energy and looked towards the scorching sun, they would not be able to sense the heat.

    The two times that Xuan Qi had rejected Sovereign Shao Yin caused the Sovereign to not want to interact with Xuan Qi at all. All that was desired was for Xuan Qi to serve his role as quickly as possible, as that was the only value he held. Afterwards, the Sovereign would force the young man to understand the consequences of his actions.

    Even so, Sovereign Shao Yin spent half a month exining how to cultivate Extreme Yin power to Xuan Qi. Even Shao Gu and the other disciples had never enjoyed this level of guidance, as Sovereign Shao Yin always left them to cultivate on their own. Any randomly offered advice was always regarded as a great gift. Why was the Sovereign treating Xuan Qi so well? The teachings being offered were even extremely thorough.

    Lu Yin received the best treatment possible, despite Xuan Qi not being one of Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s disciples.

    After half a month, Sovereign Shao Yin left, leaving Xuan Qi to cultivate Extreme Yin power on his own.

    There were rules to everything in the universe. Where there was yang, there would always be yin. Yin and yang each birthed the other, and while they were intangible concepts, they even applied to the human heart.

    Sovereign Shao Yin raised his disciples as though he were raising gu. This not only made them as selfish as the Sovereign himself, but it also exposed them to the darkness in people''s hearts.

    During this time, Lu Yin hade to understand that Sovereign Shao Yin did not truly cultivate an extreme version of yin energy, but rather Rot.

    While others might not understand this, Lu Yin had worked things out after seeing Sovereign Shao Yin interact with sequence particles that were rted to decay and corrosion.

    As soon as anyone started interacting with sequence of particles, their strength would rise to an unimaginable level.

    Old Mo wielded sequence particles that were rted to a universe¡¯sws of darkness. While it might seem that darkness was more powerful than rot, when it came to sequence particles, everything depended on the user¡¯s control and application.

    Even so, both men had touched upon sequence particles that leaned towards the dark, just like Evernight.

    Lu Yin could not help but wonder if, by fully mastering Evernight, he would also be able to touch upon the sequence particles of darkness, just like Old Mo. After all, when the old monster had been pulled into Evernight, he had lost his ability to wield sequence particles.

    For a time, Lu Yin quietly trained.

    His talent meant that he could easily acquire Extreme Yin power, and if he wanted to improve that particr cultivation method, he would have to absorb the power into his chest. Other cultivators would not dare to directly absorb the energy, as their bodies could not handle it, or they might even be incapable of doing so. However, Lu Yin was different. The system in his chest could subdue not just Extreme Yin, but even divine energy.

    Lu Yin tried absorbing Extreme Yin power onto the fatesandndmass, only to discover that Extreme Yin power did not take on a physical form. Instead, it formed what looked like the vast universe above thendmass. It was like the darkness created by the absence of light.

    There were numerousws to a universe, such as light, darkness, vitality, life, rot, time, space, and more. There were simply too many to count.

    Once he had absorbed a bit of the yin energy, Lu Yin felt like he could now absorb a vast amount of energy to fill the sky above thendmass in his chest.

    However, he could not do this for the time being, as Sovereign Shao Yin would obviously notice what had happened. Thus, Lu Yin could only build some foundations.

    <i>Wait, that¡¯s not necessarily true</i>. Lu Yin thought for a bit and felt like there was something else that he needed to do.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had asked Xuan Qi to help the four ruling powers frame Lu Yin as a spy. It was impossible for Lu Yin to do this. Bai Wangyuan and the others were probably paranoid of people being in disguise after Lu Yin¡¯s previous infiltrations. If Lu Yin went, he would instantly be exposed. For this reason, he had already decided on who he would send in his ce to pose as Xuan Qi.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had seen Lu Yin¡¯s true appearance, but that did not mean that the Sixverse Association was aware of it. Lu Yin could send someone else to impersonate Xuan Qi, and as the four ruling powers were unaware of Xuan Qi''s true appearance, unless Sovereign Shao Yin himself made an appearance, then no one would realize that someone was impersonating Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt like it was not a bad thing that Sovereign Shao Yin had seen through his disguise during the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival.

    The four ruling powers must have received an image of Xuan Qi, but Sovereign Shao Yin had also most likely told them that Xuan Qi was disguising himself. If Lu Yin sent a recement, then the four ruling powers would naturally assume that the person typically disguised themselves to look like the image of Xuan Qi that Sovereign Shao Yin had shared with them.

    Sovereign Shao Yin knew that Xu Wuwei was supporting Xuan Qi, so there was no way for him to make a connection between Xuan Qi and Lu Yin. The four ruling powers would only be able to verify whether the fake Xuan Qi disguised himself.

    This was the same idea as how, when visiting a different city, no one would assume that whoever they were meeting was the same person that they had met in the previous city. This was not stupidity, but rather simple ignorance.

    It was impossible for the four ruling powers to form a connection between Lu Yin and Xuan Qi, who had created a name for himself in the Sixverse Association.

    1. Yes, this really is the name of the ce.?

 Chapter 2804: True Appearance

    <h4>Chapter 2804: True Appearance</h4>

    The only detail that might rouse a bit of the four ruling powers¡¯ suspicion was the name ¡°Xuan Qi,¡± which was something that Lu Yin had overlooked. If he ever encountered another situation in the future where he needed to disguise himself, he would take care to not choose a simr name.

    More than a month passed, and only a few days remained before the two-month deadline that Sovereign Shao Yin had given Xuan Qi.

    The Sovereign looked at the Yinyang and frowned. Had Xuan Qi absorbed too much of the power of Extreme Yin?

    At this thought, the Sovereign stepped out and saw Xuan Qi sitting within the Extreme Yin energy. The young man¡¯s face was pale, and blood could be seen at the corners of his mouth.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was startled, and he quickly checked the young man¡¯s condition.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes. "There¡¯s no need. This junior has simply absorbed too much of the power of Extreme Yin, and I suffered some bacsh from not being able to endure the energy."

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes shed. "Let me check."

    Lu Yin quickly pulled back. "Please don''t force me, Senior Sovereign. Everyone has their own secrets, and I don''t wish for others to know mine."

    This did not strike the Sovereign as odd, as it would be more strange if someone like Xuan Qi did not have any secrets. There was no denying the difficulty involved in cultivating to a level approaching that of a peak powerhouse, and yet Xuan Qi was already fast approaching that level despite the extremely short amount of time that he had cultivated for. How could such a person not have any secrets?

    Even so, Sovereign Shao Yin had no intention of digging into Xuan Qi¡¯s secrets.

    "You¡¯re suffering from the power of Extreme Yin¡¯s bacsh. You won¡¯t be able to use much of your strength for some time, but this won¡¯t prevent you from going to the four ruling powers to assist in their investigation." Sovereign Shao Yin did not care about what happened to Xuan Qi, as long as hepleted his task.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course. You don¡¯t need to worry, Senior Sovereign. The scheduled date is almost here, and I will go help the four ruling powers¡¯ investigation. It will not be difficult."

    The two tacitly understood that what was being referred to as an investigation was nothing more than a sham. Sovereign Shao Yin was simply trying to make use of Xuan Qi¡¯s reputation, while Lu Yin was going through the motions. Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s schemes were no concern of Xuan Qi¡¯s, and even if he was injured, it would not change anything.

    "Then rest for two days. You will only have half a month to work with the four ruling powers after you arrive there. The tea ceremony is just over a month away, and I hope that you won''t disappoint me," Sovereign Shao Yin said as he nced at Lu Yin before leaving again.

    Lu Yin let out a breath, as he had done it.

    The bacsh waspletely fake, though it was true that he had absorbed a tremendous amount of Extreme Yin power. The dark sky over thendmass in his chest had expanded, though he did not know what it was capable of, as he had not tried it out yet.

    He nced around. This Yinyang was a wonderful ce, and if he had the opportunity in the future, he would return and absorb all of the Extreme Yin power here.

    While Lu Yin was focused on his own cultivation, the Sovereign¡¯s disciples had continued to fight and struggle, stealing and absorbing Extreme Yin energy, but no one had approached Lu Yin.

    While the Yinyang seemed a bit small, it was actually a massive region, and there was no need for people to be too close to each other.

    The next day, Shao Gu arrived.

    She looked rather upset, and it appeared that her master had told her to get close to Xuan Qi, which exined her dark expression. <i>There must be something wrong with his head, to just up and leave without a word.</i>

    Shao Gu did not dare to approach Xuan Qi, as she was worried about identally ruining her master''s ns.

    She suddenly remembered her first encounter with Xuan Qi and how he had not shown her master proper respect.

    This was on her mind as she approached Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and asked. "What are you doing here?"

    Shao Gu felt that Xuan Qi¡¯s tone had grown increasingly harsh. She could remember hearing someone say that Xuan Qi was a kind and humble person, but she could not see even a hint of that. In fact, Shao Gu only saw a coward who fled at the first sign of trouble. It made no sense for him to have reached his current level.

    "Master asked me toe see you. Should you need any help, just let me know." Shao Gu took a deep breath before answering with a charming smile.

    Lu Yin somberly replied, "There is something that I would like to ask for your help with, as it¡¯s something that only you can do."

    Shao Gu''s eyes lit up, and she moved closer, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Just tell me. I¡¯ll make sure to aplish whatever you require."

    Lu Yin grew extremely serious. "I''m hungry, so please help me find a leg of meat, just like what Senior Xu Wuwei enjoys."

    Shao Gu was bbergasted.

    "Right, it needs to taste exactly like what you remember," Lu Yin finished.

    A hideous expression appeared on Shao Gu¡¯s face, and she turned around to leave.

    That haunch of meat would haunt her for the rest of her life. <i>That bastard!</i>

    ...

    Two dayster, Xu Wuwei arrived in the Extreme Yin Realm to check on Lu Yin''s state. "It''s rather serious. You won¡¯t be able to use any of your strength for the time being."

    The man then turned to re at Sovereign Shao Yin. "What kind of teacher are you? What happened to Xuan Qi?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin coolly replied, "This happened because he rushed in his cultivation. I have nothing to do with this."

    Xu Wuwei¡¯s eyebrows shot upwards. "Are you saying that this is Xuan Qi''s fault? Look at all of your disciples! How many of them have suffered this kind of bacsh? Xuan Qi is the only one, so why are you trying to dodge responsibility? You must have not told him some of the instructions.

    ¡°Xuan Qi, we¡¯re leaving. Don¡¯te back here ever again, and don¡¯t cultivate the power of Extreme Yin either. If he doesn¡¯t care enough to help you properly, there¡¯s no reason to do as he asks.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded obediently as he moved to stand behind Xu Wuwei, and Sovereign Shao Yin became furious. "Xu Wuwei, don''t joke around."

    Xu Wuwei grew even more upset. "How is this a joke? Why have none of your own disciples suffered any bacsh, just Xuan Qi? Look for yourself! Don¡¯t you see? He nearly died. Xuan Qi has arrested many spies and aplished great things for humanity. Both the Arboreal Realm and the Cyclic Universe have tried to steal him from us, while he was ced in charge of both the Transcendent Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s bureaus. You already know just how important he is, and yet you almost killed him due to your own selfishness! Just who is joking around?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin was truly angry now. While he was cunning and sneaky, he was not nearly as eloquent as Xu Wuwei. After hearing the Void Suprema¡¯s words, Sovereign Shao Yin had started feeling like he was at fault.

    Even worse was the fact that Xuan Qi never once said a thing, even if it was obvious that he had been over eager.

    Sovereign Shao Yin red at Xu Wuwei, who still remained stubborn.

    The two stared at each other for a long time before Sovereign Shao Yin finally surrendered. "A Divine Yin Awl, to show my sincerity."

    Lu Yin felt confused. A Divine Yin Awl? It sounded impressive.

    Xu Wuwei smiled. "That will work. You ept responsibility for your faults. Don¡¯t even dream of passing the me onto others. Xuan Qi ispletely innocent."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched, and he even blushed.

    Sovereign Shao Yin did not want to even look at Xu Wuwei, so with a wave of his hand, a cone-shaped weapon appeared from the void. The power of Extreme Yin twined about it as it slowly spun in ce.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This was a real treasure. He could tell at a nce.

    Xu Wuwei chuckled as he pushed the Divine Yin Awl towards Lu Yin. "Take it. You¡¯ve received this from Sovereign Shao Yin, and it is a true treasure. This has been refined with pure Extreme Yin power, and it is powerful enough to injure even peak powerhouses. Use it well, as this is not just a life-saving item. More importantly, you can use it to cultivate Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s Extreme Yin. Right, Sovereign?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin replied, "As long as you have the requisite talent, this Divine Yin Awl possesses enough energy for you to cultivate to my level."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. What did this mean? It meant that this treasure could be Enhanced. He had finally found another treasure that was worth upgrading.

    Xu Wuweiughed. "In the end, you¡¯re quite generous, haha."

    Sovereign Shao Yin had no more patience at this point. "Shao Gu, take Xuan Qi where he needs to be. Brother Wuwei, please leave as well. I''m going into seclusion."

    Xu Wuwei nodded. "Of course. Xuan Qi, just follow Shao Gu. Oh, Shao Gu, did the leg that I roasted taste good?"

    Shao Gu waspletely grossed out, but she did not dare to show anything. Instead, she simply bowed to Xu Wuwei. "Greetings, Senior."

    Xu Wuweiughed and patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "Go on. By the way, you can reveal your true appearance. There¡¯s no need to hide with Sovereign Shao Yin behind you."

    <i>True appearance?</i> Shao Gu was startled. Was Xuan Qi in disguise?

    Sovereign Shao Yin remained calm, as he had already seen through the disguise.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I understand, Senior."

    He looked over at Shao Gu, who nced at Sovereign Shao Yin. She bowed again to Xu Wuwei, and then tore through the void and led Xuan Qi away. They were heading towards the Perennial World.

    ...

    Lu Yin had not expected to be taken back to the Perennial World by Shao Gu. Clearly, there had to be a coordinate seal in the Perennial World, though Lu Yin could not guess how many people had left their mark on the seal. The only people he was aware of having done so were Sage Yuan and Shao Gu, but he did not know who else might have ess to the seal. At the very least, neither Lu Yin nor Luo Shan had been granted ess to the coordinate seal.

    "You¡¯re using a disguise?" Shao Gu gave Xuan Qi an odd look.

    Lu Yin coughed, his lips still pale with telltale marks of the serious injuries that he had recently suffered. "What? Are you curious?"

    Shao Gu''s eyes lit up. "Very curious."

    "I need some time to recover. The Extreme Yin energy is raging through my body, which is quite unpleasant," Lu Yin said as he found a ce to sit down and rest.

    Shao Gu did not try to rush him. "You just need to meet with the four ruling powers within two days. You can rest until then."

    Lu Yin settled down in some mountains before looking around. He was in the Higher Realm.

    Before he went to the Extreme Yin Realm, he had made a special trip to Aeternus Nation, taken Luo Lao''er away, and then left him in the Higher Realm.

    Lu Yin had given the matter a great deal of thought, and he hade to the conclusion that the best person to portray Xuan Qi without a disguise was Luo Lao''er.

    For starters, Luo Lao''er was very knowledgeable about the Sixverse Association, and he would not be exposed to the four ruling powers by that. Secondly, Luo Lao''er was thorough and cautious. During his time in the Transcendent Universe as a hostage, Luo Lao¡¯er had done his best to join the Sixverse Academy. At the same time, he had even made some friends. Those people¡¯s cultivation had been constantly improving, and even so, Luo Lao¡¯er had always been able to keep his own secrets without anyone knowing a thing. This was because he had always been on guard against Luo Zang.

    Lu Yin felt mostfortable sending someone who was cautious, thorough, and self-reliant.

    The only thing that could go wrong was the fact that Luo Lao¡¯er was at risk of being recognized by people from the Sixverse Association. Fortunately, the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders meant that very few people could visit the Perennial World. Even those who could would most likely not recognize Luo Lao''er. He was just a random junior from the Three Monarchs Universe, so how would anyone not from that universe ever recognize him?

    It was possible that Xia Shenji might recognize Luo Lao¡¯er, given the time that the Progenitor had spent in the Three Monarchs Universe. The Progenitor might have coincidentally seen Luo Lao¡¯er at some point, or he might have even sought out information about the young man because of Monarch Mu''s disappearance. However, the current Xia Shenji was not the same Xia Shenji as before.

    Luo Lao''er had also personally confirmed that he had never met any of Sovereign Shao Yin''s disciples, which made things even better.

    Lu Yin rested, and Shao Gu waited nearby. Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation meant that he could easily leave without the woman noticing a thing, and he could even return with Luo Lao''er.

    "Are you sure that you¡¯ve never met Shao Gu before? That she won¡¯t recognize you?" Lu Yin demanded again.

    Luo Lao''er promised, "You don¡¯t need to worry, Brother-inw. Even if we did meet, there¡¯s no way she would ever remember someone as minor as me."

    Lu Yin grew serious for a moment. "I can¡¯t promise you that this n will be safe, and if you are caught, you might die. Keep your guard up."

    Luo Lao''er pped his chest. "Don''t worry, Brother-inw. I¡¯ll find a way toplete this mission. Even if I die, I won¡¯t betray my brother-inw."

    Lu Yin stared at the man and said, "Just stay alive."

    Luo Lao''er nodded vigorously. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this for too long.

    Monarch Mu was trapped deep underground in the Aeternus Nation where Luo Lao¡¯er was staying. That woman had killed his mother, and yet he was unable to get revenge. The Feng Lei n had been nearly destroyed by Monarch Mu¡¯s family, and everything had urred because Luo Lao¡¯er hadcked the necessary strength.

 Chapter 2805: Various Factions Gathered

    <h4>Chapter 2805: Various Factions Gathered</h4>

    During his time in Aeternus Nation, Luo Lao''er had longed to be Lu Yin''s brother-inw, and he had continued to call him brother-inw. He had asked Lu Yin to help him find a peak powerhouse to be his master, but that had never happened.

    The task that Lu Yin had assigned to Luo Lao¡¯er allowed him to finally see a path forward. As long as he seeded, he would no longer be a random minion of the Heavens Sect, but rather someone who could be useful to Lu Yin.

    Even if the mission only had a narrow chance of sess, Luo Lao¡¯er was willing to fight to receive this opportunity.

    He had been bullied in the Three Monarchs Universe, and then looked down upon in the Transcendent Universe. He was fed up with that, and he wanted to stop being a waste.

    Lu Yin stepped out, and Shao Gu looked over. "You look better."

    Lu Yin nodded, looking rather disturbed. "I didn''t expect a moment of greed to trigger a bacsh from Extreme Yin power. It''s really not an easy energy to cultivate, and I won¡¯t be able to do anything for some time."

    Ridicule shed across Shao Gu¡¯s eyes, though she smiled as she replied, "Of course. Master is one of the three Sovereigns, so how could it be easy to cultivate his power of Extreme Yin?"

    Lu Yin rubbed his face. "Senior Xu Wuwei asked me to reveal my true face, so I''ve been a bit rude."

    As he spoke, his face twisted and quickly transformed into Luo Lao''er''s appearance.

    As soon as the transformation wasplete, Lu Yin stared into Shao Gu''s eyes, trying to discern whether or not she recognized the face.

    Shao Gu''s expression never once changed. "So this is what you really look like, Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin smiled. "No matter how talented I may be, I still worry about being targeted, so it¡¯s important to remain cautious."

    Shao Gu hummed and gave a sweet smile. "Let''s go."

    The two took off. As they traveled, Lu Yin and Luo Lao''er rarely exchanged words. From this point forward, Luo Lao''er would be Xuan Qi. If he was ever recognized or exposed, he would die. Even so, he had chosen to walk this path. If he was not recognized and everything proceeded ording to n, then Lu Yin would be able to attend the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony without issue, and he would even be able to counter his enemies¡¯ scheme, as he would already know the evidence that Sovereign Shao Yin had prepared to frame Lu Yin. This was killing two birds with one stone.

    Sess or failure would be determined the moment Luo Lao¡¯er made contact with the four ruling powers.

    Lu Yin did not actually leave, but rather watched Luo Lao''er with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Heaven''s Sight had myriad uses. ording to the Voidlord, Heaven''s Sight could even peer through parallel universes, though Lu Yin had not reached that level of mastery yet. Even so, it was not difficult to see through the Higher Realm without being discovered.

    Half a day passed before Shao Gu and Luo Lao''er finally met Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan.

    Xia Shenji was not present. He had been injured very badly, and only two months had passed. He avoided showing himself to ensure that Bai Wangyuan and the others did not notice anything.

    "This is Xuan Qi. He will help you with your investigation into Lu Yin," Shao Gu introduced.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan stared at Luo Lao''er. They had been a bit traumatized by Lu Yin, and they had developed a habit of staring at everyone they saw, checking for disguises to ensure that they were not dealing with a hidden Lu Yin again.

    After staring for a while, the two men grew much more rxed. This man was not disguised and was showing his true face.

    Luo Lao''er remained calm. He had already survived several life and death crises, and his father was Luo Shan, which meant that this was not the young man¡¯s first time meeting a peak powerhouse. His experiences allowed him to remain very calm.

    This was another one of the reasons why Lu Yin had chosen Luo Lao¡¯er; the man had the necessary knowledge and experience.

    "Didn''t you say that they¡¯re called the four ruling powers? Why aren¡¯t there four of them?" Luo Lao''er asked.

    Shao Gu did not answer, and instead, Bai Wangyuan spoke up. "That doesn¡¯t matter. You are Xuan Qi, right? Your only task here is to cooperate with someone in order to confirm that the descendant of the Lu family is indeed a spy so that the gathered evidence will be enough."

    Luo Lao''er nodded. "The Sovereign exined things to me. Don¡¯t worry, I know what to do."

    "Very well." Bai Wangyuan looked to the side. "Come out!"

    A person stepped out In the distance, and then slowly approached the group.

    Far away, Lu Yin saw the person who was approaching, and his eyes grew cold as a vicious smile appeared on his face. "So, it''s you."

    Lu Yin soon left. He had already seen all he needed to. Whatever happened to Luo Lao¡¯er next would depend on him alone. As long as hepleted this mission, Lu Yin would make sure to find the man a good master.

    For the time being, Lu Yin would enter into seclusion.

    There was still one month left before the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony. Lu Yin did not intend to cultivate or train during this time, but rather adjust his mental state to the peak. He intended to use his die¡¯s Timestop to prepare himself for the tea ceremony.

    ...

    There was a parallel universe on the Endless Frontier that was known as the Gourd Universe. While the name was cute, it was one of the most dangerous universes in the entire Endless Frontier.

    It was called the Gourd Universe because anyone who entered the universe would be surrounded by a gourd-shaped barrier. Supposedly, the universe had been altered with this rule by an extremely powerful cultivator known as Hu Guiren. Rumors imed that Hu Guiren had been one of the most powerful cultivators in existence, and no one knew why such a powerful individual had died. All that was truly known was that the man had altered the entire Gourd Universe, and even the Three Sovereigns would find themselves within a gourd if they visited the universe. Even individuals as powerful as Lord Xu would experience the same thing, and the barriers that appeared were all known as gourds.

    Every cultivator who entered the Gourd Universe would find themselves wearing a gourd. Fighting in this universe was also very simple: one merely had to infuse power into the gourd that appeared. Physical strength, spiritual force, a Progenitor¡¯s world¡ªany sort of power could be infused into the gourd, and the more power that was used, the stronger the gourd would be. Battles consisted of smashing one¡¯s gourd into an enemy¡¯s gourd, and whoever¡¯s gourd broke would die.

    More than four peak powerhouses had died in this particr universe, amply demonstrating just how dangerous it was.

    The Aeternals frequently sent one of the Seven Skygods to the Gourd Universe, while the Sixverse Association often responded by sending people whose strength equaled that of the Three Sovereigns.

    Whenever such powerful individuals appeared in the Gourd Universe, countless gourds would shatter, causing countless deaths.

    Battles consisted of direct shes of force between peak powerhouses.

    At the moment, two gourds collided in the Gourd Universe, with one belonging to an Aeternal. It was actually a female corpse king with a lovely, if vicious, appearance. An energy that looked like blood was constantly merging with her gourd, reinforcing it and making it stronger. Ayer of blood-red color covered her gourd.

    Across from her was a transparent gourd. Within it was an old man with a mustache who was constantly waving a wooden sword to strike the inside of his gourd. Peach trees appeared and bloomed around the gourd, and they produced massive peaches that asionally fell to the ground where they slowly melted.

    Every time a peach melted, the gourd rippled. It looked fragile, but it was never crushed or destroyed by the blood-red gourd that smashed against it.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Each sh tore the void apart, scattering spatial tears everywhere. Other gourds fled into the distance, as all the upants were terrified of getting caught up in the sh between two peak powerhouses. Those fleeing gourds contained cultivators from the Sixverse Association, as well as corpse kings, and even the universe¡¯s native astral beasts.

    Another gourd approached from a different direction and suddenly mmed into the blood-red gourd.

    This new gourd was actually Xiu Ci. He was a master from the Voidforce Universe and was quite powerful. After Xu Heng and Xu Leng had broken through to the Void Suprema realm together, even when they worked together, they had only been able to reach a draw with Xiu Ci.

    The arrival of the new gourd caused the blood-red gourd to retreat.

    "Bearded freak, why are you here?" The old man in the transparent gourd asked in surprise.

    Xiu Ci replied, "Little Mustache, the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony will be held very soon. Why aren¡¯t you attending?"

    "You aren¡¯t trapped, so why don''t you go?"

    "I came to help you out."

    "Ha, help? Once I can afflict her with Rootless Water, my gourd will crush her in one attack!"

    "Stop bragging. You two have been fighting each other for thousands of years, but you have never been able to determine a victor. You must have developed feelings after fighting for so long."

    "Bearded freak, don''t spout bullshit! Watch out, or else I¡¯ll smash you."

    "Fine. The tea ceremony is about to start, so let''s go."

    "What about this universe?"

    "You must have forgotten that Aeternus also rests during this time. The two sides have a tacit agreement, and there will also be some people from the Cyclic Universe keeping an eye on things here, so you don¡¯t need to worry about it. There will be time to return after the tea ceremony."

    "True. If Aeternus dares to provoke a battle at such a time, the Great Sovereign will personally face off against True God in an earth-shattering battle."

    ...

    In another universe of the Endless Frontier, space was filled with cubes, and the cubes were filled with stars ands. This phenomenon stretched as far as the eye could see. Each cube was at least as big as a, and people filled many of the cubes.

    Some of the adjacent blocks could be entered, while others could not. It depended on the arrangement of the cubes.

    Outside of this space, two massive powers were ying chess with each other. They constantly rearranged the blocks, as though ying a game of chess.

    If one side gained the advantage, they could send their powerfulbatants to massacre their opponent¡¯s weaker forces within a cube, gaining the advantage. Whoever gained an advantageous position would then be able to easily seize victory.

    "I¡¯m not that good at ying chess, and if I y with you, I¡¯ll suffer a loss."

    "Fair enough, but how could I forget about Shaman God¡¯s ability to plot and scheme?"

    "Scheming is easy, while strategizing is difficult. Sovereign Ninth Lotus, aren''t you in a hurry?"

    "A hurry?"

    "Your Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony is about to begin."

    "It¡¯s fine. This war is more important. There are people who are forced to remain in the Endless Frontier during every tea ceremony and are unable to attend. I¡¯ll stay here to y with you."

    "Haha, forget it. I¡¯m no longer interested in this game. You can y by yourself." With that, Shaman God left the universe.

    On the opposite side, Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s eye twitched. Why had Shaman God left? The Sovereign could use the given opportunity to increase her advantage and purge the Aeternals from the universe, but what would be the point in doing so for such a small portion of the battlefield? There were only two corpse kings with the physical strength of a peak powerhouse in this particr universe, and they were no real threat. The Sovereign would much rather attend the tea ceremony and listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings, which might provide her with the necessary insight to take another step of improvement.

    With but a little thought, Sovereign Ninth Lotus also left the universe.

    No one waspletely selfless, and it all depended on what their particr selfishness affected.

    For a powerful cultivator like Sovereign Ninth Lotus, a single step of improvement in her cultivation was what she lived for.

    ...

    Simr scenes yed out across the entire Endless Frontier, with some people leaving and others arriving.

    Not all peak powerhouses attended the tea ceremony. There were times when there were more, and times when there were less. At the least attended tea ceremony, not even a fifth of the ny nine seats had been filled, and even the most attended ceremony had only seen two thirds of the seats be upied.

    Each tea ceremony gave the attendants an opportunity to receive advice from the Great Sovereign. Whether a person was able to attend, as well as whether or not they could glean anything from the tea ceremony depended only on themselves.

    It also seemed that the Aeternals followed the same sort of routine, as the Endless Frontier would be significantly quieter during each tea ceremony.

    The Sixverse Association settled their own affairs, while the Aeternals did the same for Aeternus.

    ...

    In the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, people were constantly arriving just outside the Heavenly Gate and passing through the gate.

    Bells constantly tolled throughout the Cyclic Universe.

    Countless people arrived in the Cyclic Universe to pay their respects at this time. Flowers rose up from the earth and stretched into the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, forming an impressive sight.

    Fate aura could be seen flowing, and transparent chains hung in the air as rings formed from particles flew through the air. Only cultivators who had touched upon the fundamental rules of the universe knew that these things were the universalws that the Great Sovereign had mastered, and they were being made visible for all to see. This was the Dao of the Great Sovereign.

    For those who were ignorant, they believed that the disy was merely simr to a flower arrangement and a simple decoration.

    Children yed outside the Heavenly Gate, and one of them had an innate gift rted to vision.

    People needed to work hard to even qualify to serve outside the Heavenly Gate, and they watched with envy as people passed through the Heavenly Gate.

 Chapter 2806: The Tea Ceremony Approaches

    <h4>Chapter 2806: The Tea Ceremony Approaches</h4>

    "Senior Li actually came! He rarely leaves the Endless Frontier, traveling about it and creating astral charts in order to provide even a slight advantage for humanity in the war. It¡¯s said that everyone who traveled with Senior Li across the Endless Frontier have died, and that only Senior Li was lucky enough to survive, though he lost all of his limbs and even the ability to speak. All that he remains capable of moving on his body are his eyes."

    "Even though Senior Li¡¯s cultivation was not that high, being only a third-stage Demi-Immortal, he even lost his cultivation before being given a gift by the Great Sovereign and invited to the tea ceremony. The Great Sovereign is truly kind."

    "Over there is the heir of the Qianzi family. The entire family was once framed as spies, yet they managed to sneak onto the Endless Frontier, where they fought until thest survivor was an infant heir. Fortunately, Senior Sovereign Ninth Lotus helped them, and the nder was cleared away. The heir was returned, and became one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples, and was even invited to the tea ceremony."

    "Typically, there are two types of people who are allowed to attend the tea ceremonies; those with sufficient strength or reputation, and those with outstanding achievements. The entire Qianzi family fought until there was but one survivor. Even though they did not seed in causing much damage to the Aeternals, they never backed down or allowed the Aeternals¡¯ nder to endure. This qualified their heir to attend the tea ceremony.¡±

    "Look! Senior Xu Heng and Senior Xu Leng! Both of them have be peak powerhouses, ording to the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivation method. They also showed up."

    "I''m so jealous! Both of them managed to break through, and they are even a couple! Their story will definitely spread through the Sixverse Association."

    "Hey, Senior Xiu Ci also came."

    Outside of the Heavenly Gate, Xiu Ci and the man with the small mustache had arrived. The mustachioed man¡¯s name was Mu Tao, and he was from the Arboreal Realm. Due to the conflicting facial hair, Mu Tao was naturally Xiu Ci¡¯s rival.

    "Senior Xiu Ci." Xu Heng and Xu Leng quickly bowed when they saw that Xiu Ci had arrived.

    The older man smiled at the pair. "You also came. You are truly lucky to be able to attend a tea ceremony so soon after your breakthrough. Listen carefully, as not everyone can ept Senior Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings."

    "We are aware." The two were very polite.

    They had a good rtionship with Xiu Ci. Even though their master, Xu Yi, hadpeted with Xiu Ci, the two had been both rivals and fast friends. Xu Yi¡¯s body had even been returned by Xiu Ci.

    Mu Tao praised the couple, "Are you Xu Heng and Xu Leng? Not bad, not bad at all. I''m quite envious, as both of you have managed to break through."

    The two nced at each other in confusion. Not all peak powerhouses knew each other.

    Xiu Ci introduced his friend, "This big mustache is Mu Tao, and hees from the Arboreal Realm. He has been fighting in the Gourd Universe for many years, so it¡¯s understandable that you don''t recognize him."

    The two of them quickly bowed a greeting to the man, as they were unquestionably the juniors.

    Mu Tao smiled. "I heard you two were able to defeat Xiu Ci, the bearded freak. That¡¯s good, wonderful, even, haha!"

    Xu Heng quickly replied, "We managed a draw, and it was even the two of us against even one of him, which is quite shameful."

    Mu Tao¡¯s smile never left. "What is there to be ashamed of? You are so much younger than the old guy. When you reach his age, instead of two against one, just one of you might be able to force the old man to call for help, haha."

    Xiu Ci gave a small smile. "Sounds good. I''ll call you."

    "As long as it makes you look bad, I don''t mind giving you some help."

    Several people entered the Heavenly Gate together as they chatted andughed.

    A short timeter, Shan Gu, the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder, arrived with a woman called Shan Yan. She was another of the lost n¡¯s peak powerhouses, and had mastered a three star Immemorial card. She was even more powerful than Shan Pu.

    Shan Pu did not attend the tea ceremony.

    Mu Ke also arrived, still wearing his blindfold, and at the same time, Sovereign Shao Yin arrived.

    Upon seeing Mu Ke, Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. "I had thought that you had given up on the Lost n¡¯s power, yet you attended thest Shangsan Festival. How did it go? Were you able to exchange your card?"

    Mu Ke walked past the Sovereign without saying a word, passing straight through the Heavenly Gate.

    Many people stared at Mu Ke from a distance, only to quickly duck their heads. They did not dare stare or even watch as Sovereign Shao Yin was tantly ignored.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression fell, and he stared at Mu Ke¡¯s back with a cold re. The man was far too arrogant.

    "Why don''t you go in?" Sovereign Ninth Lotus asked when she arrived.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression recovered as he turned to look at his fellow Sovereign. "Didn¡¯t you go to the Inorganic Universe? How were you able to return?"

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus replied, "Shaman God fled, which allowed me toe back."

    Sovereign Shao Yin was surprised. "It appears that more old friends that usual will be attending this tea ceremony, though I don''t know if he wille back."

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus replied, "Probably not. The disagreements between him and Master have never been reconciled."

    Sovereign Shao Yin shook his head. "We might all be Sovereigns, but the gap between me and him is so vast. He can ignore Master, while I need to obey-"

    At this point, the Sovereign abruptly cut off, not daring to say anything further.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus stared at the man. "Do you also want to ignore Master like him?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin immediately denied the allegation, "Of course not."

    Another person arrived, and when they saw Sovereign Shao Yin and Sovereign Ninth Lotus, they immediately bowed low.

    The person was a young man who looked exceptionally young, yet he was also qualified to attend the tea ceremony.

    The young man had the fortune of having ancestors who had aplished something of great service, and that contribution to humanity had granted the n to attend every tea ceremony. Logically, by frequently attending the tea ceremonies, even a fool could be a genius. As generations passed in this same manner, the n should rise up to be a monster, and yet it had never changed. None of their descendants had ever shown any exceptional degree of talent.

    Sovereign Shao Yin nced at the young man. "Go in."

    The young man pursed his lips. "Yes."

    "Master gives this good-for-nothing family a seat at every tea ceremony. What a waste," Sovereign Shao Yin muttered softly.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus started moving towards the Heavenly Gate. "Master has reasons for every decision."

    The bells rang again, and both Lord Xu and Lord Wei arrived.

    Mu Shen also arrived. He was an ordinary-looking old man who wore green clothes that seemedpletely untouched by any dust.

    The Voidlord and Lord Wei both treated Mu Shen very respectfully. He was an ancient figure, and had even fought in several battles in the Origin Universe, witnessing the fall of the First Maind and the creation of the Sixverse Association. He was an old man who had witnessed human history. .

    The staircase rose up, connecting the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. There were flowers blooming in the sky, one flower for each seat. There were ny-nine seats, and the flowers were scattered across the Nine Heavens.

    Of them there were nine seats that sat above the others.

    There was no order to these nine seats, but many people acknowledged the seat that was furthest to the left as being the first seat. Throughout history, the first and second seats had always remained vacant, while the third seat had always belonged to Mu Shen, followed by Lord Xu, Shan Gu, and Lord Wei. The following seat was left vacant, and the next two belonged to Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Sovereign Shao Yin. These were the first nine seats.

    However, Mu Shen and several others had already taken their seats, yet while Sovereign Shao Yin had also arrived, he could only take a lower seat, as his customary seat at the front had been given to Lu Yin.

    Many people were aware that the ninth seat had been assigned to Lu Yin, and they gave the Sovereign odd looks.

    There was a calm expression on Sovereign Shao Yin''s face that revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling.

    Bai Xian''er arrived and calmly sat down in a seat rather close to the front.

    Chu Jian arrived, but his aura felt different from the past. Sovereign Shao Yin immediately turned to look at the young man. "Have you had a breakthrough and be an Ascendant?"

    Chu Jian nodded before looking at the ninth seat. "Dao Monarch Lu hasn''t shown up yet?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin calmly replied, "He is the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch. It¡¯s expected for him to arrivete."

    Chu Jian justughed,pletely unconcerned.

    Bing an Ascendant had caused Chu Jian¡¯s strength to soar. While he was still far from beingparable to Sovereign Shao Yin, the young man understood the strength of those at that level. His master had told Chu Jian that he needed to remain undefeated after bing an Ascendant. With his new strength, how could Lu Yin possibly be able to measure up to Chu Jian?

    There were more people arriving and taking one of the ny-nine seats, but it was impossible for all of them to be filled. As for the 9.99 million people who were allowed to observe the tea ceremony and listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings, not one opening remained. They stared at the ripples in the void and the people in the ny-nine seats with eyes full of envy.

    The most desirable positions were the first nine seats, which were the closest to the Great Sovereign.

    Sage Yuan arrived. He was supposed to be serving on the Endless Frontier, but the Aeternals had suddenly retreated just before the start of the tea ceremony, so the Sage had returned and he took a seat, though not one that was at all close to the first nine seats.

    When Sage Yuan saw the vacant ninth seat, as well as Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s face, Sage Yuan sneered. That brat from the Lu family would not have an easy time of things. From what Sage Yuan knew of Sovereign Shao Yin, this tea ceremony would be used to create trouble for Lu Yin.

    The only question was whether or not the Lu brat would bring the jiao. <i>If Master is pleased with that mount, the bastard just might have a chance to survive</i>. <i>I can¡¯t wait to see how things y out! It¡¯s impossible for you toe away from this without being targeted, after being granted the ninth seat. This will be the greatest moment of your life, but this will also be the moment that sees you dragged to hell, you Lu bastard!</i>

    Behind the Sage sat the young man who Sovereign Shao Yin had seen arrive.

    The young man looked quite nervous, seeing how he was frequently ncing around and biting his lips. The auras of everyone attending the tea ceremony made the young man quiver. Was he really qualified to sit with them?

    In particr, the man sitting directly in front of the young man had an aura that was so oppressive the young man could not even breathe.

    Next to the young man sat a middle-aged man, though half of his face was missing. He looked particrly terrifying.

    Noticing the young man¡¯s gaze, the man gave a gentle smile, though his ruined face caused it to look quite vicious, which startled the young man.

    "Don''t be afraid. This is just a wound," the middle-aged man said in a hoarse voice.

    The young man grunted and gulped. "Greetings, Senior."

    The middle-aged man continued to smile as he said, "Just calm yourself. This is a rare opportunity. I only received this opportunity myself afterpleting great achievements on the Endless Frontier."

    The young man nodded.

    Sage Yuan turned around and ordered, "Silence!"

    The middle-aged man''s face turned pale and he bowed low. "Forgive me, Sage Yuan."

    The young man followed suit, also bowing deeply.

    Sage Yuan felt disgusted. There were peak powerhouses in front of him, and trash right behind him. The idea of meritorious service or outstanding achievements was pure nonsense. Sitting with such pathetic wastes would tarnish the Sage¡¯s identity.

    All of this was because of that Lu bastard. Sage Yuan had never sat so far from the front before. <i>Damn you, you Lu bastard!</i>

    Further ahead, someone turned around to smile at Sage Yuan. "You seem rather unhappy, but remember that this is Senior Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony."

    Fear appeared in Sage Yuan¡¯s eyes as he looked at the man, and he forced his expression to rx as he put on a smile. "I understand, Mr. Daheng."

    Mr. Daheng has an elegant demeanor, and gave off the impression of a teacher. He seemed a bit separated from themon world.

    To the side, Bureau Director Gan spoke up with a smile, "How is it that Mr. Daheng has the time to attend this tea ceremony? In the past, you were unable to attend most of the tea ceremonies."

    Mr. Daheng answered with his own smile, "When I encounter a bottleneck in my cultivation, naturally I attend the tea ceremonies in order to hear Senior Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings. In the past, even if I did not attend the tea ceremony, I would always at least listen to those teachings."

    Someone sitting on the other side interjected, "The same is true for us. Without Senior Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings, there is no way we would be able to possess our current strength."

    Various peak powerhouses chatted with each other, creating a lively atmosphere for the tea ceremony.

 Chapter 2807: Arrival

    <h4>Chapter 2807: Arrival</h4>

    For each of the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremonies, when the bells stopped ringing, it indicated that the time to take a seat had ended.

    In the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, all of the Sixverse Association¡¯s most famous individuals were either attending the tea ceremony or present to listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings.

    For example, there were Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s disciples¡ªLittle Lian, Junior Sister Rou, Ling Mu, and more¡ªas well as people such as Sage Jiang¡¯s son Jiang Xiaodao, and Food Sage¡¯s son Snack Sage. From the Transcendent Universe, there was Bai Qian, the powerhouse who protected theboratory, and the You family. Of the Arboreal Realm, there was Seruzen, and from the Voidforce Universe, Xu Jie and Wu Man were present. Even people from the Lost n were listening in. There were even people listening in from the Endless Frontier, which was exactly what Sage Bodhi was doing.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony was the most important event in the entire Sixverse Association. Both within the Sixverse Association itself and across the Endless Frontier, everyone would focus on the tea ceremonies whenever they took ce. While only a limited number of people were allowed to listen to the teachings offered during the tea ceremonies, that group was capable of affecting the entire Sixverse Association.

    At this moment, even the war on the Endless Frontier had died down.

    Everyone listened as the bells slowly slowed their tolling and nearly stopped.

    Once the bells fell silent, any who had failed to appear would not be allowed to attend the tea ceremony.

    Sovereign Shao Yin nced back at the ninth seat yet again. Why had the descendant of the Lu family still not arrived yet?

    Bai Xian''er turned to look up ahead and to the right at where Xia Shenji had arrived. He had already been qualified to attend the tea ceremony, but he had arrived silently.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were not in attendance, nor had they been invited. Of the four ruling powers, Xia Shenji alone had been invited when he hadst seen the Great Sovereign.

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng instinctively looked back. The ny ninth seat was also empty. It should have been upied by Xuan Qi, but he also had not yet arrived.

    Just as they were thinking about it, a huge shadow appeared outside the Heavenly Gate, and a shocking roar echoed. Many faces of Sixverse Association cultivators who had gathered outside the Heavenly Gate turned pale, and they all stared at the jiao in a daze. Just what was this beast? It was too terrifying.

    The jiao loved the reactions of the people below it, and it could not resist letting out another roar.

    "Shut up and get moving!" Lu Yin stomped downwards, cutting off the jiao¡¯s roar.

    The jiao was incredibly irritated, but it did not dare to get angry at Lu Yin. All it could do was rush towards the staircase. It could not demonstrate its strength down below, but that did not matter, as it could do the same thing up above. All that mattered to the jiao was for everyone to fear it.

    The massive jiao shot up the staircase, quickly arriving at the location of the tea ceremony.

    Everyone stared in surprise. Just who was arriving at the veryst moment before the bells stopped? People always arrived early for these events, regardless of who they were. Even the rulers of universes, such as Lord Xu, would arrive early. Almost no one would arrive at thest moment.

    Sage Yuan watched, his eyes cold and his smile cruel. <i>Lu bastard, you really dide!</i>

    Lu Yin arrived during thest tolling of the bells. He looked across the space at his seat, a smile on his face. He was wearing a set of pure white clothes that gave him a refined appearance while standing atop the jiao, which bared its teeth and ws intimidatingly.

    Lu Yin almost never wore white, as the color was too eye-catching. However, this was not a day for him to keep a low profile.

    He was officially presenting himself to the entire Sixverse Association and was being watched by powerhouses equal to Progenitors.

    Under his feet, the jiao prepared to roar, wanting to show off its power again. This was the perfect time. There were so many humans. However, once it took a closer look, it blinked and stared at the humans. It saw a Progenitor. The aura of that human was unquestionably a Progenitor.

    The jiao looked again, and found another Progenitor, and then another. There were not just a few, but rather many human powerhouses. Furthermore, many of them possessed auras that indicated that they were very powerful for their level.

    The jiao had a keen nose, and it was also very sensitive to threats. At this moment, it felt weak and helpless. It had wanted to roar and sh its fangs, but it instead grew docile and ducked its head. The corners of its mouth curved upward in a humanlike fashion, as though trying to smile and appear friendly.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes at the jiao¡¯s useless behavior. He then hopped off his mount and nced over his shoulder.

    The jiao instantly understood what was required and shrunk its body beforending on Lu Yin''s shoulders and tightly holding on. This was a safe ce to be.

    "I¡¯m sorry I''mte! I see so many familiar faces!" Lu Yin said as he slowly walked towards the ninth seat.

    Everyone was watching him¡ªsome out of curiosity, and others with disgust.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s head slowly turned to follow Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, you finally came?"

    At this moment, the Sovereign¡¯s eyes finally saw Lu Yin¡¯s face.

    Time seemed to stand still as Sovereign Shao Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpricks as he stared at Lu Yin''s face. <i>This- this- this-?</i>

    Lu Yin smiled at the Sovereign. It was a bright, happy smile that radiated joy, smiling brightly and happily at him.

    Everyone watched the exchange between Sovereign Shao Yin and Lu Yin, finding the situation very odd. They did not understand why Lu Yin looked so happy, nor why Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression was so shocked.

    Only a few people were privy to the truth, such as Xu Wuwei, Lord Xu, Shan Gu, and a few more, and the expressions on their faces were as though they were watching a show.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s mind started to race. The moment he recognized Lu Yin as Xuan Qi, he immediately tried to send a message to Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers, letting them know that they had all fallen into the little bastard¡¯s trap and been tricked.

    However, the bells stopped ringing just at the right time, and a supreme power descended. The Great Sovereign had arrived.

    Lu Yin had waited to arrive until the veryst minute, just because of this.

    He took a step forward, arriving at the ninth seat that was in front of the Sovereign Shao Yin, and then slowly sat down.

    Seeing the nk expression on Sovereign Shao Yin''s face, Sovereign Ninth Lotus frowned. "What''s wrong?"

    There were no words to describe Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s emotions at this moment. It was as though he had ced an enemy beneath the guillotine, and the de was primed to fall. However, at the veryst second, the condemned had been reced by the executioner, and now he was instead about to be executed by the guillotine.

    Saying that it felt like waiting to die might have been an exaggeration, but Sovereign Shao Yin knew that he would be in massive trouble as soon as his ns unfolded.

    The more the man thought about it, the paler his face became.

    Sage Yuan frowned. He was quite familiar with Sovereign Shao Yin, so what was wrong? What was with that look on his face?

    Sage Yuan had not been involved in anything, so he had no idea what ns had been being prepared, let alone that Sovereign Shao Yin had been terribly deceived by Lu Yin. The greatest mistake was that the Sovereign had underestimated Lu Yin and had never bothered to so much as look at an image of him.

    The Sovereign had believed that Sage Yuan could deal with thest member of the Lu family, and so he had allowed Sage Yuan to take action and had stopped caring about the matter. Later, Sovereign Shao Yin had assumed that threatening Wendy Yushan would lead to Lu Yin¡¯s death on the Endless Frontier. He had finally believed that it would be enough to use the four ruling powers to utterly destroy Lu Yin. At this moment, the Sovereign truly regretted his oversights.

    If he had known how things would turn out, he would have personally dealt with things, but it turned out that the child of the Lu family was actually Xuan Qi. Just how long had he been hiding within the Sixverse Association?

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s aura descended, enveloping the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths and suppressing the entire Cyclic Universe.

    Both the earth and sky became transparent, and the universe seemed to grow still. Everything slowed down as petals drifted before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. Through them, he finallyid eyes on the Great Sovereign.

    Unexpectedly, the Great Sovereign was actually a woman.

    She was wearing a light golden robe and sitting cross-legged. Her image appeared high above everyone and covered the sky.

    A thin veil covered her face, making it impossible to get a clear look at her features. All that could be determined was that there was a powerful sense of holiness to the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look up at the Great Sovereign, only to be stunned by the sight. A voice echoed in his ears and in his heart, telling him that he could not look, that he did not dare look, that he was not qualified to look. <i>Why should you look? Lower your head! Lower your head, lower your head, lower your head...</i>

    Countless voices rang out, as though the world itself was speaking, as though the universe was trying to suppress Lu Yin and take away his breath.

    The eyes before him were so beautiful, yet so majestic and devoid of emotion. There was a series of nearly tangible sequence particles tangled together in what almost looked like water flowing behind the Great Sovereign. The sky filled with auspicious clouds that gave off colorful rainbows of light. It was a truly beautiful sight.

    There was a bang, and Lu Yin felt as though his head had exploded. Blood dripped from his ears.

    He had not even realized that, aside from the people upying the first nine seats, no one was looking up at the Great Sovereign. Even among the people in the first nine seats, Sovereign Ninth Lotus had her head lowered. Only Mu Shen, Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and Lord Wei had raised their heads to look at the Great Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign looked down, and her gazended on Lu Yin. At that instant, an explosion erupted in Lu Yin''s mind yet again. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was unable to look any longer. If he looked at the Great Sovereign again, he would die.

    The deadly aura of the powerhouse continued to spread out, trying to drown Lu Yin.

    The jiao trembled.

    Mu Shen nced over at Lu Yin. Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and Lord Wei were all watching him as well.

    Tears of blood fell from Lu Yin''s eyes as he stubbornly insisted on continuing to stare at the Great Sovereign. It was clear that he did not need to look, but rather that he was insisting on doing so. He wanted to see the person who had exiled his Lu family and gaze upon the true master of the Sixverse Association. Just what did the person who imed to be the master of all humanity look like?

    Lu Yin activated Heaven¡¯s Sight, which relieved a bit of the pressure.

    Lu Yin was not able to hear anything that the Great Sovereign said. A roaring sound filled his brain like a tidal wave sweeping over him. His eyesight grew blurry, and soon, he was only looking at the Great Sovereign with Heaven¡¯s Sight. His forehead was in agony, as not even Heaven''s Sight was enough to allow Lu Yin to stare at the Great Sovereign.

    Suddenly, his vision grew clear, and the roaring disappeared from his mind. All the pressure had vanished in an instant.

    Lu Yin''s body swayed, and he nearly copsed. More blood leaked from his mouth.

    "Young people should limit themselves to what is within their capabilities," Mu Shen stated in a very calm tone.

    Lord Xu smiled. "Young people should also be ambitious."

    Shan Gu praised, "That was certainly ambitious."

    "It was rather foolish," Lord Weimented, though there was no anger or any other emotion in his voice.

    Finally, the Great Sovereign spoke. Her voice still came from everywhere at once, and it was impossible to determine a gender from the voice alone. It sounded as though the universe itself was speaking. "Wu Tian, the God of Death, and Destiny¡ªchild of the Lu family, you have obtained inheritances from all three."

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus was startled by this revtion, and she nced sideways at Lu Yin aside. She knew that those were the names of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Three Realms during the Origin Universe¡¯s peak. They had been second only to the Origin Progenitor himself. Had Lu Yin actually received all three powerhouses¡¯ inheritances?

    Sovereign Shao Yin clenched a fist. This brat from the Lu family had actually managed to acquire inheritances from Wu Tian, the God of Death, and Destiny? If the Sovereign had known this, he would have never underestimated the brat. How infuriating!

    As for Chu Jian, his expression remained indifferent. So what if Lu Yin had received those inheritances? Chu Jian would remain undefeated. There was no way for him to lose.

    Bai Xian''er remained calm, as she had known about this for a long time. In fact, she knew that Lu Yin had not received inheritances from only those three, but from others as well. She stared at Lu Yin''s back. How high would he rise up in the future?

    The Great Sovereign''s words startled everyone who knew of the Three Realms Six Dao.

    Sage Yuan''s scalp went numb. Once this child from the Lu family matured, who would be able to stop him? <i>He had to die!</i>

    Behind the Sage, the young man nkly stared. He knew nothing about Wu Tian or the Three Realms. All he knew was that if someone sat in the front row and was addressed by the Great Sovereign herself, the man had to be someone of the utmost importance. Despite being so young, the man was so powerful. <i>If I could acknowledge him as a teacher, how great would that be?</i>

    Lu Yin gasped and cleaned the blood from his mouth before smiling and sitting straight. While it had onlysted for a single moment, it had been a tremendously significant moment. He had seen sequence particles in the eyes of the Great Sovereign and witnessed the majestic abyss and the monstrous power in those eyes. Even if it had been more than what he could withstand, Lu Yin had been able to see the incredible power of the Great Sovereign. One day, he would reach that same height. It would undoubtedly happen.

 Chapter 2808: The Mark Of Time

    <h4>Chapter 2808: The Mark Of Time</h4>

    The Great Sovereign was so high up that she could look down upon everything. Ants were incapable of seeing the people looking down on them, and in an ant¡¯s mind, humans may not even exist. However, Lu Yin was no ant. He could see the Great Sovereign, which meant that they were both people.

    This was simply Lu Yin''s stubbornness, much like his state of mind when he had first met the Great Sovereign. At that time, the Great Sovereign had asked Lu Yin if he hated her, and Lu Yin had refused to answer.

    He was not qualified to shout at the Great Sovereign, so he had done his best to maintain a bit of his own dignity. That bit of dignity was like a prairie fire, and it would one day set everything in the universe aze.

    "Great Sovereign, the Tea Ceremony can begin now," Mu Shen stated calmly.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes shifted away from Lu Yin. Her emotionless eyes did not see just the people who were attending the Tea Ceremony, nor even the 9.99 million people listening. Instead, she was looking at the Cyclic Universe, the entire Sixverse Association, and even at the Endless Frontier. She saw the countless people fighting against the Aeternals, or more likely, saw the human heroes and geniuses who were born over the course of time.

    One by one, names were spoken by the Great Sovereign. These were the names of people who had made great contributions to mankind and who had dedicated their very lives to humanity.

    This was the purpose of the Tea Ceremony. The people invited were not expected to merely taste tea, but also to taste life itself. They were given a taste of time, and a taste of mankind¡¯s long history.

    At every Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign would share the names of the people worthy of being mentioned and remembered by human kind.

    This was the way of human beings. The Aeternals imed that emotions were humanity¡¯s greatest weakness, but for humans, it was just the opposite. Without emotions, how could one even be human?

    The bonds and feelings that formed between people were the foundation that gave meaning to the human race¡¯s continued existence. Emotions were the source of humanity¡¯s power.

    Listening quietly as the Great Sovereign savored human history, Lu Yin felt as though he was trapped in the river of time. He watched as talented heroes rose up, one after another, to fight for mankind. Always, they fought for humanity. The thought made his blood boil, and all he wanted to do was raise his head to the sky and roar.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as everyone else was experiencing the same emotions.

    Even people like Lord Xu and Great Elder Shan Gu were affected by the visions of the heroes who had fought to the death. Something stirred within them, something about the fighting and the battles that had taken ce. At this moment, everyone, even the Great Sovereign, was fighting with those heroes. They cheered, and there was no hierarchy or seniority. Strength and weakness did not matter at this moment.

    At every Tea Ceremony, some of the attendees would be missing limbs or could no longer speak, but these cripples had all served mankind. These were the ones who deserved the greatest respect.

    Sequence particles shot towards the Endless Frontier, carrying with them the series of voices and names that were being spoken here. Like a miracle, hearing the names caused a resonance to ring out within the heart of humanity.

    Lu Yin''s eyes opened, as he fully understood what was happening. They were not only being affected by the deeds of the people whose names were being spoken, but also by the fact that the Great Sovereign was touching upon sequence particles. Most likely, she was using somew to cause these tragic epics to appear, as well as cause everyone¡¯s heart to pound.

    Lu Yin understood that this was the true purpose of the Tea Ceremony.

    While humans felt emotions, they were also forgetful. At every Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign would use this method to remind everyone of humanity¡¯s history so that it would never be forgotten. Only in this way could the Sixverse Association be united, and only in this way could mankind continue to fight against the Aeternals as one.

    The Aeternals had no need for such unity, as they were all loyal to True God Wei Yi, fighting at hismand. However, humans were different.

    They also had negative emotions. Positive emotions served as the motivation for human cultivation, but negative emotions could also cause people to be spies and traitors.

    This was the Great Sovereign¡¯s way of uniting mankind as much as possible.

    At this moment, Lu Yin suddenly felt admiration for the woman. Regardless of how she had treated the Lu family or whatever grudges existed between her and Lu Yin, what she was doing at this moment served all of humanity.

    It was no wonder way Lord Xu and the other rulers of the various universes were willing to cooperate with the Great Sovereign.

    For several continuous days, the Great Sovereign spoke without ever stopping. The names that flowed from her mouth seemed to be imprinted onto the hearts of all who heard them.

    It took a full five days for her voice to finally stop.

    Mu Shen stood up and slowly bowed. "Thank you, Great Sovereign."

    Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, Lord Wei, and all of the others stood and slowly bowed as well. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    They were not bowing because of the difference in strength or cultivation, but because of the Great Sovereign''s respect for human history and for those who had sacrificed their lives for mankind. They were showing respect for her actions.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony erected a monument in the hearts of people, and each name that had been spoken was engraved on that monument to be put on disy so that humanity would never forget the deeds of its heroes.

    "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    ...

    Lu Yin bowed low. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    Across the Sixverse Association and the Endless Frontier, countless people bowed low. "We thank the Great Sovereign."

    There was no way to know if it had merely been an illusion, but everyone saw a vision of the people whose names had been spoken by the Great Sovereign. They rose up from the river of time when they were acknowledged and returned the greetings.

    At this moment, the heart of the entire human race had been truly united into one, and they were all eager to rush to the enemies¡¯ir and kill the Aeternals,pletely eliminating their ancient enemy.

    Once everyone was seated again, the Great Sovereign spoke up. "Tea will have to wait a while. If you have any questions, ask them."

    Immediately, someone stood and bowed. "Excuse me, Great Sovereign. This junior is often troubled by distractions while cultivating. My energy does not circte smoothly within my body, and my cultivation is no longer advancing, but receding. Is there any solution?"

    The Great Sovereign replied, "Experience various aspects of human life by living as a mortal."

    "Thank you, Great Sovereign."

    "Excuse me, Great Sovereign. This junior has cultivated the Great Apocalypse battle technique to great perfection, and is no longer able to make any progress. How can this be resolved?"

    "Kill a powerful enemy on the Endless Frontier, and in return, I will grant you a technique."

    "Thank you, Great Sovereign."

    "Great Sovereign..."

    All who spoke up were Progenitor-level powerhouses. Lu Yin looked around, only to find that he did not recognize most of the people.

    There were quite a number of peak powerhouses in the Sixverse Association. Even if each member universe only had five such experts, that still meant there were thirty Progenitor-level cultivators. Adding in the experts from the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier and other such universes, there were even more.

    Among the people who asked questions, Lu Yin saw several Progenitor-level powerhouses who were dressed rather strangely.

    One person wore what looked rather like a gourd, and Lu Yin had no idea where he came from.

    Another person had only a single eye that took up almost their entire face, which was quite bizarre.

    These were either people from the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, or people from outside of the Sixverse Association.

    He did not see Jiang Qingyue. Did he not attend the Tea Ceremony?

    Sovereign Shao Yin was growing restless, and he was asionally ncing at Xia Shenji, wanting to say something. However, Xia Shenji never once looked at the Sovereign, which was so infuriating that Sovereign Shao Yin felt the urge to p the Progenitor.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, do you not have anything you wish to ask Master?" Sovereign Lotus suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Were you speaking to me, Sovereign Ninth Lotus?"

    The woman calmly replied, "Yes."

    "No."

    The Sovereign stared at the young man for a moment before looking away without saying anything further.

    People were quite rxed and casual during the Tea Ceremony. When a question was asked, the Great Sovereign was not obligated to answer it, but this was a rare opportunity to receive guidance for improvement, which was precisely why countless people wanted to attend the Tea Ceremony.

    Lu Yin turned back to look at Sovereign Shao Yin, who was sitting behind him. "It¡¯s been some time, Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Sovereign Shao Yin stared at Lu Yin for a moment before quietly stating, "You are Xuan Qi."

    Sovereign Lotus overheard, and was taken aback by thement. "Who is Xuan Qi?"

    A smile stretched across Lu Yin''s face. "The power of Extreme Yin is quite impressive."

    Sovereign Shao Yin clenched his fists. "You dare y tricks on me?"

    At this moment, the Great Sovereign called out, "Xia Shenji."

    Everyone instantly fell silent. No one dared to make any noise when the Great Sovereign spoke.

    Xia Shenji quickly rose to his feet. "Senior Great Sovereign, this junior is here."

    The Great Sovereign''s eyesnded on Xia Shenji. "Why are Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan standing outside the Heavenly Gate and requesting an audience?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s heart dropped. He stared at Xia Shenji and kept winking at the man, but Xia Shenji acted as though he did not see anything at all, and answered respectfully, "There is something that we have that we wish to report to Senior Great Sovereign. It..." He nced at Lu Yin. "It concerns Dao Monarch Lu."

    The Great Sovereign was intrigued. "In that case, allow them toe in."

    At the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage stepped aside.

    Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Luo Lao''er passed through, followed by another person. It was Jiu Yao.

    Luo Lao''er''s heart trembled. This was the real test. Was he going to face the Great Sovereign? He had never dared to even imagine that such a day woulde for him.

    Just the thought caused his legs to shake.

    Looking up at the stairs that rose into the clouds high up in the sky, he was no longer able to walk.

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Xuan Qi, don''t be nervous. As long as you present this evidence, Lu Xiaoxuan will not be able to be saved. He is a spy, and by testifying against him, you will be doing humanity a great service, for which the Great Sovereign will reward you."

    Luo Lao''er swallowed.

    Jiu Yao was more excited than anyone else. Sovereign Shao Yin had promised the man that so long as the descendant of the Lu family was verified to be a spy, Jiu Yao would be a Sage. Bing a Sage meant reaching the same level as a Progenitor, simply the Cyclic Universe¡¯s equivalent of a Progenitor. Jiu Yao would instantly reach the pinnacle, and would even acquire a status that far surpassed that of the Progenitor of Combat, or anyone at all from the Sixth Maind.

    This was why Jiu Yao had agreed to betray Lu Yin. Truthfully, it was not even betrayal. The Sixth Maind and the Fifth Maind had long been enemies.

    The Progenitor of Combat had personally gone to the Fifth Maind to participate in the invasion in order to eliminate the Fifth Maind¡¯s geniuses and ensure that they would never threaten the Sixth Maind. However, with the Progenitor of Combat¡¯s death, Jiu Yao had inherited his father¡¯s will, and was determined to first eliminate Lu Yin.

    At this thought, Jiu Yao took a deep breath and followed Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan up the stairs that rose into the sky. At the top, he would find the opportunity to be a Sage.

    All of the people attending the Tea Ceremony waited quietly.

    It was not long before Bai Wangyuan and three other people arrived.

    Before the Great Sovereign could say a word, Sovereign Shao Yin shouted, "Master''s Tea Ceremony is of the utmost importance! If you do not have important business here and have the gall to disturb Master, I will make you pay the price!"

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan nced at each other. Clearly, something was wrong. The Sovereign¡¯s behavior made that very clear.

    He seemed to be trying to distance himself from the two Progenitors and treat them as strangers.

    Shan Gu grew irritated. "Sovereign Shao Yin, the Great Sovereign personally allowed them entrance. Whether they cause trouble or not is none of your concern, so why are you jumping in?"

    Xu Wuweizily agreed, "Exactly. Sovereign Shao Yin, if not even the Great Sovereign said anything, why don''t you shut up?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin gritted his teeth, staring at Bai Wangyuan.

    More and more, the Progenitor was certain that something had gone very wrong.

    "Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, why did you approach the Heavenly Gate?" the Great Sovereign asked. Her question was apanied by a tremendous surge of pressure.

    Bai Wangyuan''s mind spun. He quickly decided it would be best to simply retreat, and opened his mouth to speak.

    However, Xia Shenji answered first, "Senior Great Sovereign, they wish to use Lu Yin of being a spy."

    The moment the words were heard, the Tea Ceremony erupted.

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in surprise and with a great deal of suspicion.

    Sovereign Shao Yin red at Xia Shenji. <i>That idiot!</i>

    Lu Yin looked confused. "using me? Of being a spy? Xia Shenji, is this a joke?

    "I was the one to drive the Aeternals from the Origin Universe. I risked my life to fight against Aeternus. How could I be a spy?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "I do not know what Brother Bai and Brother Wang have to say, but they have brought witnesses."

 Chapter 2809: Him Again

    <h4>Chapter 2809: Him Again</h4>

    Shock and uncertainty blossomed in Bai Wangyuan''s eyes. Xia Shenji was clearly also involved in this matter, so why was he acting as though he was targeting him?

    Things were taking a very bad turn.

    "Senior Great Sovereign, we are not."

    "Jiu Yao, what are you doing with them?" Lu Yin suddenly shouted.

    Jiu Yao was not stupid, and he had also realized that something was very wrong. However, he did not dare to speak a single word. There were Progenitors all around. He had never seen so many powerful cultivators in his entire life.

    Beyond the Tea Ceremony, 9.99 million people were also observing this scene. While 9.99 million people had been granted this privilege, many more people had apanied many of these chosen individuals to observe the Tea Ceremony, and because of this, people kept sharing all that happened there. At this time, countless people were paying attention to the recent developments at the Tea Ceremony.

    Many people immediately recognized Luo Lao''er.

    "Why is Luo Lao''er there?"

    "Didn''t he disappear along with Monarch Mu?"

    "Is he actually qualified to attend the Tea Ceremony?"

    ...

    Bai Wangyuan bowed low. "Senior Great Sovereign, I don''t know anything about what Xia Shenji just mentioned. We simply wished to attend the Tea Ceremony."

    Wang Fan also spoke up. "Exactly. We simply hoped to attend the Tea Ceremony."

    "Do you take us for fools?" Lord Xu demanded in an icy voice.

    Mu Shen shook his head. "They are treating the Great Sovereign as a fool."

    "This is interesting," Lord Wei said with augh.

    An ugly expression appeared on Bai Wangyuan¡¯s face.

    Sovereign Shao Yin quickly turned to face the Great Sovereign. "Master, actually-"

    "Sovereign Shao Yin, the Great Sovereign asked them a question, not you." Mu Shen''s voice was calm, despite abruptly cutting Sovereign Shao Yin off as soon as the Sovereign tried to speak. The difference in strength made it hard for Sovereign Shao Yin to croak.

    "Speak!" the Great Sovereign shouted fiercely. Her voice stirred the sky and shook the sequence particles themselves, producing a roar that echoed in everyone¡¯s minds.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were startled, as the shout had nearly caused them to faint.

    The peerless pressure that radiated from the Great Sovereign rose higher and higher. The stars in the sky above were eclipsed and reced, and even phenomena simr to stellr tribtions started to appear.

    There were no further thoughts of obfuscating the truth again, as there was no doubt that they would be struck down by the Great Sovereign for doing so.

    Bai Wangyuan stopped hesitating or even giving much thought to what was happening. He was cornered that he had no way out. If he could not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Lu Xiaoxuan was a spy, this day would likely not end well.

    "Senior Great Sovereign, Lu Xiaoxuan is a spy that the Aeternals ced in our universe. The Heavens Sect¡¯s Jiu Yao and the Sixverse Association¡¯s Xuan Qi have provided evidence." Wang Fan reacted even faster than Bai Wangyuan and stepped forward to answer the Great Sovereign.

    Despite hearing the same statement from Xia Shenji, Wang Fan¡¯s usation still shocked everyone who heard him.

    Lu Yin was the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch and the master of the Heavens Sect. While the Heavens Sect was not the same as the ancient organization, the name still represented the greatest heights that humanity had ever reached. At its pinnacle, not even the Aeternals had dared to attack the Heavens Sect.

    At this moment, the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch was being used of being a spy. This spat in the face of all that anyone with knowledge of the ancient era understood.

    Everyone looked back at Lu Yin.

    The young man¡¯s face was a nk te that revealed nothing at all.

    Lord Wei grew intrigued. "You use Lu Xiaoxuan of being a spy and bring up this usation during this Tea Ceremony. You must have evidence."

    With how things had developed, Bai Wangyuan and the others needed to make a desperate move.

    "Exactly. This man is Jiu Yao, and he is currently the gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates: the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate. He can prove Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s strange behavior, as well as the fact that he has tacitly cooperated with Aeternus. Whenever Lu Xiaoxuan has faced true danger, the Aeternals have helped him.

    "There is a person in Aeternus by the name of Ye Bo. Jiu Yao can also prove that, whenever Ye Bo takes action, Lu Xiaoxuan is in seclusion. Ye Bo only takes action for a very short period of time, simr to Cheng Kong. Correspondingly, Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s periods of seclusion are exceptionally brief.

    "It is normal for cultivators to spend thousands of years in seclusion, but Lu Xiaoxuan spends no more than a few years in seclusion each time. More often, he spends just a few months in seclusion, and asionally, only a month or two. He has maintained this pattern for decades, which is impossible for most people.

    ¡°In order to provide further proof, Sovereign Shao Yin has specially asked Xuan Qi to cooperate with our investigation, which has resulted in him confirming all that we have been told by Jiu Yao.

    "Not only that, but Whiteless God, one of the Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods, is hiding within the Heavens Sect and cooperating with Lu Xiaoxuan. If everyone from the Heavens Sect is arrested and investigated one by one, Whiteless God will be found..."

    Bai Wangyuan had clearly prepared his case. Everything that he said seemed logical, but while it was true that he was using existing facts to prove that Lu Yin was a spy, those facts had nothing to do with Lu Yin. That was the purpose of Jiu Yao and Xuan Qi. In order to better present his case, Bai Wangyuan had even brought up the possibility of finding Whiteless God.

    The mention of Whiteless God had a great impact on everyone.

    Whiteless God was the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods, as well as a grave threat. This was because Whiteless God was the one in possession of the list known as Aeterna, which listed all of Aeternus¡¯s spies and Redbacks. This was not limited to just the Origin Universe, as it also included the Sixverse Association.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was also dragged into the matter by Bai Wangyuan. The Progenitor felt that the Sovereign¡¯s behavior was off, but at this juncture, it was impossible for Bai Wangyuan to leave Sovereign Shao Yin out of things. If there was a problem like Bai Wangyuan suspected, then Sovereign Shao Yin needed to be ced at the forefront as a shield to protect and save the rest of them.

    Their only options were to prove that Lu Yin was a spy and have everyone make out well, or all of them would fall together.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s face betrayed his bad mood. Everyone had some level of selfishness, and he was no exception, much less when it involved Bai Wangyuan.

    The Sovereign had always prided himself on acting on his own self-interests and having no bottom line, but he had never anticipated being deceived by Lu Yin and being defeated by his own arrogance. Simrly, the Sovereign had not expected Bai Wangyuan to dig a hole for Sovereign Shao Yin toy in.

    Many people turned to look at him.

    "So, you have been cooperating with Sovereign Shao Yin and Xuan Qi, correct? That child is quite trustworthy," Lord Xu said with a smile.

    Great Elder Shan Gu nodded. "I have also heard of Xuan Qi. If he has identified a spy, then it is reliable."

    The man then turned to address Lu Yin, "Dao Monarch Lu, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

    Lord Wei also spoke up, "Xuan Qi has captured spies in my universe as well, and even identified He Ran as a spy. After that, she disappeared entirely. She may have fled in fear of being punished. Xuan Qi''s words are indeed credible."

    Lu Yin nced at Lord Wei. It was a surprise for the man to speak up in Xuan Qi¡¯s defense. How could the man truly believe He Ran to be a spy?

    During the few times that Lord Wei had spoken during the Tea Ceremony, he had generally been in agreement with Lord Xu and the others. If Lu Yin had not personally felt Lord Wei¡¯s aura, he would have suspected that it was Bai Qian pretending to be Lord Wei.

    Did Lord Wei truly believe the allegations presented by Bai Wangyuan and the others, or was the ruler of the Transcendent Universe simply following along with what Lord Xu and the rulers were saying?

    All of the people speaking were important individuals, and most of them were peak powerhouses. Many of the others agreed with the allegations, and they stared at Lu Yin with curiosity and wariness.

    Bai Wangyuan let out a sigh of relief. Sovereign Shao Yin had made the right move. Xuan Qi was truly famous in the Sixverse Association.

    The Progenitor turned to look at Sovereign Shao Yin, only to find that the Sovereign''s expression had be even uglier. What was going on? Even after they had made so much progress and were so close to sess, why was the Sovereign reacting in such a manner?

    <i>Wait</i>. Bai Wangyuan suddenly reacted and he turned to look at Luo Lao''er again. <i>Xuan Qi won¡¯t betray us, will he?</i>

    Bai Wangyuan was growing increasingly nervous due to Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s attitude. They were so close to sess, which meant that the Sovereign¡¯s behavior suggested that the weapon prepared to destroy Lu Yin once and for all was about to backfire on them.

    The Progenitor stared at Luo Lao''er. "Xuan Qi, tell us your conclusions."

    Wang Fan had simr suspicions as Bai Wangyuan, and he was also staring at Luo Lao''er.

    "May I ask, where is my brother, Xuan Qi?" Xu Heng spoke up, and his voice rang like thunder in Bai Wangyuan''s ears, nearly stunning the Progenitor.

    Wang Fan looked at Xu Heng and then at Luo Lao''er. <i>Brother? That man must be very familiar with Xuan Qi, so why is he saying that Xuan Qi isn¡¯t here?</i>

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Luo Lao''er in a daze. He finally understood. It was no wonder why Sovereign Shao Yin had tried to stop them. It was no wonder why he looked so upset. This person was a fake. This was not the real Xuan Qi.

    As soon as Bai Wangyuan and the others arrived, Sovereign Shao Yin had tried to stop them, indicating that the Sovereign knew that the Xuan Qi with them was a fraud. In that case, was the real Xuan Qi already present at the Tea Ceremony? That was the only reason why the Sovereign would not have been able to give them an advanced warning.

    Without that warning, it was toote for them to retreat or change tactics.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan both looked at Lu Yin. He was the one behind this.

    Sovereign Shao Yin closed his eyes. He had tried to speak on several asions, but each time, he had been shut down. This Tea Ceremony did not only have Lu Xiaoxuan present, who had deceived the Sovereign and who was actually Xuan Qi, but also Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and several others who were helping Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The Sovereign had no choice but to watch as Bai Wangyuan and the others stepped into Lu Xiaoxuan''s trap.

    "Where is my brother, Xuan Qi?" Xu Leng asked as well, clearly confused.

    Xu Wuwei also reacted with surprise. "Exactly. Where has Xuan Qi gone? You said that Xuan Qi has verified the evidence proving that Dao Monarch Lu is a spy, so bring out Xuan Qi."

    "Have Xuan Qie out," Xiu Ci agreed.

    Lu Yin turned to grin at Sovereign Shao Yin.

    The Sovereign¡¯s cial eyes turned to stare back at Lu Yin. "Lu Xiaoxuan is Xuan Qi."

    There was a moment of silence. Then,ughter erupted.

    Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and several others were unable to contain their mirth.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan''s faces grew ashen. They instantly understood what had happened. The little bastard had altered his appearance again and created the persona of Xuan Qi. However, before visiting the four ruling powers, he had found someone else to impersonate Xuan Qi. The Progenitors had no idea how Lu Xiaoxuan had managed to deceive Sovereign Shao Yin, but the Sovereign had just been forced to expose that the Xuan Qi cooperating with the four ruling powers was an imposter.

    That despicable, shameless little bastard!

    The two Progenitors were livid.

    This was the third time, the <i>third</i> time, that they had been deceived by Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Xu Wuweiughed so hard that he could not breathe. "Shao Yin, do you understand what you just said? You just said that Lu Xiaoxuan is Xuan Qi! Are you saying that you want Xuan Qi to prove himself to be a spy? Hahahaha!"

    More people startedughing.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus frowned and gave Sovereign Shao Yin a look of irritation. "Don''t be ridiculous."

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s entire body was trembling. He was utterly humiliated, and he wanted nothing more than to p Lu Yin and Xu Wuwei dead. Clearly, the old bastard had to have known that Lu Xiaoxuan was Xuan Qi, just like Lord Xu. How many of the people at the Tea Ceremony had known the truth? Those bastards!

    Shan Gu smiled as he looked at Sovereign Shao Yin. The Lost n had been waiting for a day like this for a very long time.

    If not for Sovereign Shao Yin instigating trouble, the Lost n would have never gone to war with the Cyclic Universe. That war had caused the Lost n to lose two of their powerhouses. It was a grudge that they had never forgotten.

    Things would not end well for Sovereign Shao Yin.

    "Shao Yin," a majestic voice reveberated.

    Sovereign Shao Yin went stiff, and then slowly turned around to face the Great Sovereign. He kneeled down and spoke, "Master."

    "Repeat what you said."

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s face was pale, and his pupils kept fluctuating. "Master, your disciple is ignorant and was deceived by others. I implore Master to adjudicate on this matter."

    Lu Yin sneered before turning to face everyone. "Everyone, allow me to formally introduce myself to you. I am Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect. The four ruling powers know me as Lu Xiaoxuan, while the Sixverse Association knows me as Xuan Qi."

    Nearly everyone was stunned. Was Lu Yin really Xuan Qi?

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng remained calm, as they had known about this beforehand. Lu Yin had made it a point to share the truth with them before the Tea Ceremony.

    There were a few people present who knew the truth, but most were shocked by this reveal.

 Chapter 2810: Chu Jianâ€™s Challenge

    <h4>Chapter 2810: Chu Jian¡¯s Challenge</h4>

    Aside from a few people, everyone attending the Tea Ceremony was in a daze.

    Xu Jie, Xu Yue, Jiang Xiaodao, Little Lian, and all of the rest who were observing found themselves unable to react.

    Xuan Qi was Lu Yin? The legendary Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe? It was unbelievable.

    No one had ever considered this possibility, and it shattered all that they knew.

    Bai Wangyuan clenched his fists as he stared at Lu Yin. This was the end. Their n had been doomed from the very beginning, as they had been deceived before they even started.

    Jiu Yao was beyond terrified. He had tried to frame Lu Yin as a spy at the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremony. Jiu Yao was no Progenitor, so he could easily imagine the fate that awaited him.

    Lu Yin looked at his group of users. "Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, your four ruling powers and Sovereign Shao Yin are trying to nder me, which is ridiculous. If I, Lu Yin, were a spy, I would have never cooperated with your four ruling powers. If I were a spy, the Sixverse Association would already have suffered countless losses. Can you exin that away?

    "As for you, Jiu Yao." Lu Yin did not hate Bai Wangyuan and the others for wanting to frame him, nor did he hate Sovereign Shao Yin for his scheming. They were already Lu Yin¡¯s enemies, which made such actions normal and expected.

    No, what Lu Yin detested most was a traitor like Jiu Yao.

    "Because the Progenitor of Combat died protecting humanity, I offered you the opportunity to join the Heavens Sect and even be the gatemaster of the Bloodlines Heavenly Gate. However, you have betrayed me for the four ruling powers and Sovereign Shao Yin. How can you be worthy of being a member of the Heavens Sect?

    "Do the four ruling powers really think that they can deal with me by convincing a loser to turn traitor?"

    Jiu Yao¡¯s strength fled. He no longer had the courage to even try to defend himself, and his terror rose to even greater heights than ever before.

    Suddenly, he made contact with a gaze so powerful that it illuminated the universe. Right after that, his body slowly started to disintegrate, starting with his feet, and moving upwards towards his head. A terrible pain assaulted him at the same time, but no matter how badly he wanted to scream in agony, he was incapable of producing a single sound.

    Everyone stared at Jiu Yao, watching as his body slowly disappeared from the bottom to the top, speechless. This cruel death was the Great Sovereign¡¯s punishment.

    There was no need for any details to be addressed, as the Great Sovereign was able to sort everything out.

    Jiu Yao was the most miserable person involved, and he was dealt with first.

    The entire processsted long enough for a stick of incense to burn, and everyone just stayed still as they witnessed Jiu Yao¡¯s death as he suffered in agony, but never uttering a single sound. They watched as he slowly disappeared from the world.

    From this day forward, Jiu Yao ceased to exist.

    Lu Yin wanted to stop things, shocked by how the Great Sovereign was handling this matter. He watched as sequence particles passed by, causing Jiu Yao to disappear. Slowly, he was transformed into blue smoke that left along with the sequence particles. For some time, Lu Yin just stared as he tried to understand what was happening to Jiu Yao. However, even at the end, Lu Yin had failed to see anything clearly.

    He was unable to understand what the Great Sovereign had done.

    Not even Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed Lu Yin to discern what had happened. This was not because Heaven¡¯s Sight was insufficient, but rather because, at the core, Lu Yin was still only a peak Envoy.

    Everyone attending the Tea Ceremony remained silent.

    Only after everything finished did Mu Shen speak. "Great Sovereign, Sovereign Shao Yin and the four ruling powers attempted to frame Lu Yin as a spy. How should this matter be dealt with?"

    Everyone turned to look at the Great Sovereign.

    She was high above all others, dominating the sky. Despite her femininity, her majestic presence was awe-inspiring and suffocating. Everyone had no choice but to look up at her.

    Sovereign Shao Yin did not dare speak a word in his own defense. There was no point in saying anything at this point in time.

    "Shao Yin, you will serve on the Endless Frontier for 10,000 years. You will not return until your time has expired."

    The Great Sovereign was able to punish anyone, and no one would argue.

    With a term of 10,000 years on the Endless Frontier, even if Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to live in an ordinary universe on the battlefield, the Aeternals would never allow it. On top of that, the Sixverse Association¡¯s rules stipted that Sovereign Shao Yin had to enter one of the top five most dangerous universes, or at the very least, one of the top ten.

    Sage Yuan was trembling. He felt incredibly lucky that Lu Yin had chosen him as the person who could not target Lu Yin or the Origin Universe. If not for that, there was no chance that Sage Yuan would have avoided being caught up in this matter.

    There was no way that he could survive on the Endless Frontier for 10,000 years. At this thought, the Sage actually felt that he needed to thank Lu Xiaoxuan.

    "Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji will serve on the Endless Frontier for 10,000 years."

    The three Progenitors received the same punishment from the Great Sovereign as Sovereign Shao Yin.

    The Origin Universe was a member of the Sixverse Association. ording to what Chu Jian had once said, the Great Sovereign was regarded as the co-master of all humanity, and she could punish whoever she chose.

    Bai Xian''er appeared calm, looking as though Bai Wangyuan''s punishment had nothing to do with her.

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed, and he looked to Lu Yin for help.

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up. "Great Sovereign, Xia Shenji was not involved in the four ruling powers'' attempt to frame me."

    Sovereign Shao Yin spun around to re at Xia Shenji in absolute fury. It turned out that the Progenitor was one of Lu Xiaoxuan''s people.

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan were both startled. Why would Xia Shenji help Lu Xiaoxuan?

    Lu Yin calmy received their stares, not even considering offering any sort of exnation.

    Xia Shenji anxiously turned to look at the Great Sovereign, waiting for her to change his punishment.

    However, that did not happen.

    Chu Jian rose to his feet and turned to face Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, earlier, Sovereign Shao Yin tried to stop Bai Wangyuan and the others from using you of being a spy, which can be regarded as an attempt to redeem himself. However, the matter was forced to proceed twice due to Xia Shenji. If Xia Shenji was not part of this matter with Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan, then that means that he is one of your people. That changes this from merely being a matter of Sovereign Shao Yin and the four ruling powers working together in an attempt to frame you, but also you purposelyying a trap for them to step in, no?

    "In that case, Xia Shenji should receive the same punishment as the others.¡±

    "Finally, there is also that person. If my guess is correct, then he is someone you sent to pose as Xuan Qi in order to deceive the four ruling powers. He will also be punished," Chu Jian finished as he pointed at Luo Lao''er.

    Luo Lao''er nearly peed himself. Would he also be punished? The thought of Jiu Yao''s tragic death just now caused a chill to sweep over him.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Junior Sovereign, are you saying that I should let this matter go? Just because Sovereign Shao Yin tried to stop his n because he discovered that I am actually Xuan Qi and realized that his attempt to frame me was doomed?"

    Chu Jian¡¯s expression turned cold. "Should this really be addressed during the Tea Ceremony? This is Master''s Tea Ceremony, the Sixverse Association¡¯s most important event. It is a ce where countless people eagerly work to attend in order to pursue further progress with their cultivation, while also cherishing the memory of mankind¡¯s heroes. This is not a battlefield for your schemes."

    "It seems quite clear that I did not choose this battlefield," Lu Yin retorted.

    Chu Jian merely shrugged. "While it is true that Senior Shao Yin is at fault, he also turned back before the end. You can ask Master to punish him after the Tea Ceremony, but not now."

    Lu Yinughed. "What a hypocritical bastard!¡±

    "If I were not Xuan Qi, would you still say those words at this Tea Ceremony? If I had been sessfully framed as a spy at this Tea Ceremony, it would have been the most significant and talked about event in the ceremony, making it go down in history as a memorable one where the Heavens Sect¡¯s glorious Dao Monarch was revealed as a spy. Is that what you wanted to see? Is that what your Cyclic Universe wanted?"

    "Impudence!" Chu Jian shouted loudly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. "What qualifications do you possess to rise up and use me? The four ruling powers weren¡¯t sessful when they brought a piece of trash to use me, so did Sovereign Shao Yin send you, another piece of trash, to try to confuse people on what is right and wrong? Just who do you think you are?"

    Chu Jian raised his head up high. "You im that I am unqualified? You are nothing but a clown. Do you really believe yourself to be the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect? Do you really believe that you can call that ce the Heavens Sect just by gathering a few random people? Today, I will force you to face reality."

    He then turned to the Great Sovereign and gave a deep bow. "Master, please allow me to challenge the heir of the Lu family."

    People nced at each other. While fighting was not permitted at the tea ceremonies, after seeing the attempt to frame Lu Yin as a spy of Aeternus, as well as the Junior Sovereign¡¯s antagonism, no one believed that this was not a matter of the Cyclic Universe targeting the Origin Universe.

    However, what of it? With the Great Sovereign¡¯s suppression, such matters were irrelevant.

    "Permitted."

    The Great Sovereign demonstrated her attitude with a single word.

    Lord Xu and the other rulers of the universes did not say anything. The battle was intended to be between Chu Jian and Lu Yin, who were roughly of the same age. So even though Chu Jian had already broken through and be an Ascendant and Lu Yin had not reached that same level, people still regarded it as a fair match.

    Bai Xian''er looked up, her eyes lighting up as she stared at Lu Yin.

    <i>Let me see where you are now.</i>

    Chu Jian was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s perfect Junior Sovereign. All who knew of him knew that he quickly mastered whatever he learned and achieved perfection in all things.

    His reputation was even greater than many peak powerhouses.

    Even if the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were mentioned, the Junior Sovereign would never be overlooked.

    Even so, no one seemed to know anything at all regarding Chu Jian¡¯sbat strength.

    Lu Yin had once looked into it, only to learn that the Junior Sovereign had reportedly never fought within the Sixverse Association. Despite that, it was impossible for Chu Jian¡¯s incredible reputation to be groundless. There had to be a reason, even if no one knew what it was.

    "I know that you have already defeated Chu Yuan. He was the only Dao Chosen that your Origin Progenitor ever met. However, I am the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple. You and I are not on the same level, Lu Xiaoxuan, and today, I will show you the distance between the heavens and the abyss." As he spoke, Chu Jian lifted his arms and caused a bow and arrow to take shape in a very natural manner. Everyone watching had a strange feeling, as though something had been taken from their hearts.

    An arrow was loosed, piercing the sky as it shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not expected the first attack to be an arrow fired from a bow.

    "The Seven Divine Arrows?" someone eximed.

    Lu Yin paid attention. The Seven Divine Arrows? This seemed to be the battle technique of Arrow Sage, one of the Nine Sages. It was said that not even the Seven Skygods could avoid this attack and that the arrows could only be forcefully blocked or intercepted. These arrows were not ordinary weapons, as they used humans¡¯ seven emotions to form the arrows. They were peerlessly sharp andpletely unstoppable. When the arrows pierced a person¡¯s heart, they would instantly create emotional ws.

    Arrow Sage had used his Seven Divine Arrows to dominate the Endless Frontier, as it was a battle technique that was acknowledged as far superior to Chen Le''s Monarch Arrow.

    The arrow was clearly just an arrow, and it did not even move very fast. However, because the arrow had been formed from the seven emotions, as long as a person possessed emotions, it was impossible to evade this arrow. This was Chu Jian¡¯s opening attack.

    From his seat, Arrow Sage''s eyes lit up. He could not deny that the Junior Sovereign was indeed perfect. Chu Jian¡¯s Seven Divine Arrows was far more powerful than what Gong Yu was capable of unleashing. This was not merely due to a gap in cultivation, but more so because of a gap inprehension.

    This arrow would be difficult for an opponent with the same cultivation as Chu Jian to avoid, and Arrow Sage waspletely confident in Chu Jian¡¯s Seven Divine Arrows.

    After all, there was indeed a gap in cultivation levels, but Chu Jian was the one who held the advantage. Lu Yin was the one in the weaker position.

    Everyone watched as the arrow shot towards Lu Yin. The greater one¡¯s understanding of the Seven Divine Arrows, the more they understood just how terrifying Chu Jian¡¯s attack was.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face as his hand rose and a finger pointed out.

    Arrow Sage¡¯s eyes narrowed. He hade to admire the heir of the Lu family, especially after seeing the young man¡¯s boldness in forcing his way through the Heavenly Gate. Unfortunately, the youth was simply too arrogant.

    As Chu Jian had mentioned, the current Heavens Sect was not the same as the ancient Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin was not a true Dao Monarch. He wanted to counter the Seven Divine Arrows with a single finger? How ridiculous.

    The tip of the finger struck the tip of the arrow, but the sight that everyone had anticipated of Lu Yin''s finger being destroyed did not y out. Instead, the arrow disappeared.

    The attendees of the tea ceremony were silent. Everyone stared nkly, but it was clear that there was not even a mark on Lu Yin''s finger. What had happened to the Seven Divine Arrows technique?

 Chapter 2811: What Is Perfection?

    <h4>Chapter 2811: What Is Perfection?</h4>

    Arrow Sage shot to his feet. He stared at Lu Yin''s finger. Where was the Seven Divine Arrows technique?

    As for Chu Jian, his expression tightened slightly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger lowered. "Next."

    Chu Jian allowed the bow and arrow to disappear from his hands, as the Seven Divine Arrows technique had been ineffective. "It¡¯s no wonder how you were able to be the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch. You can actually ovee the seven emotions. I am very curious how you aplished that, but people like you are very scary, as you¡¯re no different from corpse kings."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "If you can¡¯t understand, then telling you is pointless. You¡¯ll only have a few chances, so make your moves while I still have a bit of patience."

    "How arrogant!" Chu Jian took a step forward, and his body disappeared. He instantly reappeared, but he was already behind Lu Yin and striking out with a palm: Eight Hands of the Stone Gate.

    Lu Yin frowned. Despite watching, he had not been able to see how Chu Jian had approached him. It had not been by traveling through space, but rather through some other means. What was it?

    Chu Jian was able to move without leaving behind any trace of his passage, but his attack was easily shattered by Lu Yin. The Eight Hands of the Stone Gate was a battle technique that belonged to Sage Stone. It was a very powerful attack, but it was useless against Lu Yin, especially since he had also learned the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate

    Chu Jian only used three hands of the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate. For the fourth hand, Chu Jian changed to the Harmonious Heavens Technique in an attempt to dissolve Lu Yin''s stellr energy.

    However, Lu Yin also used the Harmonious Heavens Technique.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The impact between the two palms created a deafening explosion, and as both men used the Harmonious Heavens Technique, Chu Jian¡¯s expression finally changed. How was it possible that his own stellr energy was unable to suppress Lu Yin''s?

    Lu Yin grabbed Chu Jian''s hand and suddenly squeezed and twisted his wrist, forcing Chu Jian''s hand to bend as a palmshed out at Chu Jian''s forehead. At this moment, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared with a roar. Lu Yin did not hold back with this palm strike, as he wanted to see what Chu Jian was still hiding.

    When Chu Jian saw the approaching attack, he lifted his head. A lotus bloomed around him in fiveyers, bright and illuminating the entire area.

    This was not one of Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s Lotus Artifacts, but rather the Nine Levels of Lotus battle technique. Clearly, Chu Jian had also trained in Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s battle techniques.

    Lu Yin struck the Fifth Level Lotus with his hand, instantly causing cracks to appear in the lotus.

    Chu Jian¡¯s expression changed yet again. The Fifth Level Lotus that had bloomed around him was capable of blocking a Progenitor¡¯s attack, and yet Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike had broken it?

    Lu Yin had not expected Chu Jian to also know Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s battle techniques.

    Chu Jian had revealed the battle techniques of four of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. It was no wonder why he was referred to as the perfect Junior Sovereign. He had reached the limit with every battle technique that he learned, only limited by his current cultivation. And he had even surpassed those limits.

    Both the Seven Divine Arrows and the Fifth Level Lotus were as powerful as if a Progenitor had used the techniques. Chu Jian was only as powerful as a Semi-Progenitor, but he could already exert the power of a Progenitor. He was indeed qualified to be called the Junior Sovereign.

    When the Fifth Level Lotus bloomed to block Lu Yin''s palm strike, Chu Jian noticed that Lu Yin¡¯s second hand was also attacking. For the second attack, an extremely cold energy gathered in Chu Jian¡¯s hand into what looked like a spike that viciously retaliated against the second attack.

    "A Divine Yin Awl?" someone eximed. This time, Chu Jian was using one of Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s battle techniques.

    Just how many different powers had Chu Jian cultivated?

    He was clearly the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, which meant that he cultivated battle techniques received from the Great Sovereign herself, but so far, Chu Jian had only revealed battle techniques of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. Even so, he had perfectly demonstrated each and every technique, revealing greater mastery than the personal disciples of the Sovereigns and Sages.

    Among the audience that was observing the Tea Ceremony, Gong Yu, Shao Gu, and the other disciples watched in shock and awe. This was the Junior Sovereign, the perfect Junior Sovereign. He was acknowledged by the entire Sixverse Association as the greatest of their generation, and he was the only person who had qualified to be epted by the Great Sovereign as her direct disciple.

    He was perfect, regardless of what he cultivated. He was always perfect.

    The Divine Yin Awl brushed past Lu Yin''s cheek, and the power of Extreme Yin invaded Lu Yin''s body like a vicious evil spirit.

    Sage Jiang frowned. "When the power of Extreme Yin prates the body, the cold pierces the bones. It freezes the energy within the body and can even freeze one¡¯s consciousness. Lu Xiaoxuan was careless."

    No one had expected Lu Yin to be defeated so quickly, but he had actually been assaulted by the power of Extreme Yin, which meant that his defeat was imminent.

    Clearly, Lu Yin stillcked a decent understanding of the Sixverse Association.

    Only Sovereign Shao Yin''s face revealed an ugly expression, and it was worse than ever before. Had Lu Yin been careless? No, he had allowed this attack tond because he also cultivated the power of Extreme Yin.

    When the Sovereign realized that Lu Xiaoxuan was Xuan Qi, it became obvious that Lu Yin had hidden how well he had cultivated the power of Extreme Yin. Only Lu Yin had any idea how much progress he had made, and the Sovereign immediately understood why Lu Yin had not allowed him to examine his body after Xuan Qi had apparently suffered bacsh while cultivating. Sovereign Shao Yin should have been more vignt from the beginning.

    He could only me himself for being too careless.

    The power of Extreme Yin entered Lu Yin''s body. Not only did Chu Jian rx as he watched his attacknd, but he also took the initiative to release his Divine Yin Awl, allowing it to transform back into the Extreme Yin power that invaded Lu Yin''s body. Another lotus blossomed around the Junior Sovereign, and he attacked with the Seven Divine Arrows again. This time, seven arrows shot out at once, looking like a seven-colored rainbow. The dazzling attack shot towards Lu Yin.

    Once again, Lu Yin simply raised a hand and pointed a single finger forward to touch the approaching arrows. All of them disappeared at the same moment. It was exactly what had happened with Chu Jian¡¯s first attack.

    Chu Jian remained arrogant and indifferent to the sight. "Let''s see just how long you canst."

    As he spoke, he continued to shoot more arrows, and an endless rain of Seven Divine Arrows flew towards Lu Yin. The intent was to burn through Lu Yin''s energy. The power of Extreme Yin had already infiltrated his body, which meant that he would not be able to endure for long.

    The Divine Yin Awl disappeared entirely, and Chu Jian watched as all of the power of Extreme Yin seeped into his opponent¡¯s body.

    The Junior Sovereign¡¯s eyes red, and the power of the Seven Divine Arrows instantly spiked. Stellr energy raged, roaring in a manner that resonated with the surrounding area. Even Sage Jiang and other peak powerhouses felt pressure from Chu Jian¡¯s stellr energy.

    While the young man was still only an Ascendant, he had the raw power to face a peak powerhouse head on.

    Xu Wuwei was genuinely impressed. "I have never believed in true perfection, but I do now. This Junior Sovereign is much more powerful than I was at his age. His future cannot be estimated at all."

    The Seven Divine Arrows formed afterimages, which made it impossible to count how many arrows had been fired. Lu Yin''s finger also formed afterimages as he blocked each and every arrow. Not one managed to slip past his defenses.

    As time passed, Chu Jian felt that something was very wrong; Lu Yin''s strength was not waning in the slightest.

    Suddenly, a Divine Yin Awl appeared at Lu Yin''s side. "Allow me to return the favor."

    As soon as the words were spoken, the Divine Yin Awl sted towards Chu Jian, shattering all the Seven Divine Arrows as the cone shot through the air. This attack possessed far more Extreme Yin power than the cone that Chu Jian had just used.

    Chu Jian¡¯s expression changed drastically. How was this even possible?

    "Have you also cultivated the power of Extreme Yin?"

    Many people gave Sovereign Shao Yin odd looks. Why had he allowed Lu Xiaoxuan to cultivate the power of Extreme Yin?

    Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan both watched from a distance. They had been condemned to the Endless Frontier, but had not left yet, as they were watching Lu Yin fight against Chu Jian.

    When they saw Lu Yin use the power of Extreme Yin, the two Progenitors¡¯ expressions grew uncertain, and they nced over, looking at Sovereign Shao Yin with increasing confusion.

    Sovereign Shao Yin clenched a fist. Just as he had suspected, the brat had made absurd progress when cultivating the power of Extreme Yin. Just how much energy had he absorbed?

    The Divine Yin Awl struck the Fifth Level Lotus, smashing it to bits.

    Lu Yin reached out to grab thest of the Seven Divine Arrows that had been shot at him, and then he threw it back at Chu Jian.

    Arrow Sage was startled. "Impossible!"

    The Seven Divine Arrows used the seven emotions to form arrows. These arrows would always strike their target, and not even Arrow Sage had ever heard of anyone being capable of throwing the arrows back at the one who had fired them. This waspletely unprecedented.

    Lord Xu watched in admiration as Heaven¡¯s Sight was utilized.

    After Chu Jian had used the Seven Divine Arrows so many times to attack Lu Yin, it would be stranger if Lu Yin had not unraveled the battle technique.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight was able to see through any weapon or battle technique. While the Seven Divine Arrows used the seven emotions to create arrows, they were still weapons, and werepletely susceptible to Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Additionally, no one from the Sixverse Association knew that Lu Yin had mastered the Sword Sect¡¯s Thirteen Swords, which meant that he was no stranger to using emotions as a weapon.

    The Divine Yin Awl smashed the Fifth Level Lotus, and the redirected arrow shot through the cracks. This arrow not only carried the power of Chu Jian¡¯s initial attack, but also Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and he had not held back.

    Chu Jian released his hand, loosing another arrow of his own. The two arrows collided and instantly shattered. However, the impact also shattered the void, and the shockwave struck Chu Jian and knocked him back. He was forced to retreat ten steps, and blood could be seen leaking from his mouth.

    Everyone stared in astonishment.

    Chu Jian had demonstrated a mastery of multiple different powers and battle techniques, but Lu Yin had bided his time, only to return Chu Jian¡¯s own attack, which had resulted in Chu Jian being injured. Just who was the perfect one?

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I¡¯m done ying with you. You need to be careful now, or else,¡± Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned cold, "You¡¯ll die."

    Lu Yin vanished. Space became lines around him, and he used them to instantly appear directly in front of Chu Jian. With an overpowering force, a hand pped down. The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant roared, and a purplish-ck substance covered the descending hand. With Wielder - Indestructible, even a Progenitor would have to avoid this attack.

    However, Chu Jian¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously as he looked up at Lu Yin¡¯s hand. The Junior Sovereign did not even twitch to avoid the attack.

    The handnded, not blocked or avoided in any way. It was an attack that would have executed an average Progenitor, not to mention a defenseless Chu Jian.

    However, despite theck of preparation, Lu Yin could sense that something was wrong. He stared into Chu Jian''s eyes and saw the ridicule as the Junior Sovereign sneered. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I will show you what it means to be undefeated!"

    A palm also struck Lu Yin. He looked down and saw Chu Jian¡¯s hand on his chest as the Junior Sovereign roared, "Annihtion!"

    There was a bang, and the void exploded. Chu Jian flew back,nding before the nine seats, just beneath the Great Sovereign.

    He stood back up in an instant, but stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You?"

    Lu Yin stared back, also astonished.

    Chu Jian could not believe that Lu Yin was unharmed despite being struck by his Annihtion Palm. All that could be seen was the mark of a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s white clothes. However, he had been struck by a Annihtion Palm, which Chu Jian had been taught by the Great Sovereign herself. He had ughtered forty eight Ascendant-level corpse kings on the Endless Frontier with this technique, so why had it beenpletely useless against Lu Yin?

    Given Chu Jian¡¯s strength, a full-force palm strike was capable of severely injuring even an exceptional peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin was shocked to see that Chu Jian waspletely unscathed by his own attack. The Junior Sovereign¡¯s hair had not even been ruffled. How was that possible?

    The two stared at each other, each startled by the other¡¯s abilities.

    It was impossible for Chu Jian to ignore Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike, and he had not even bothered to try to block it. He also had not used the power of time or space, so what had he done?

    "I remember! That¡¯s the Annihtion Palm! Chu Jian is the Silencer!" someone eximed. It was Senior Li, and he stared at Chu Jian with excitement.

    Others were initially confused, but then someone elsemented, "The Silencer? Are you talking about the Silencer who brazenly ughtered Ascendant-level corpse kings on the Endless Frontier?"

    "That¡¯s right, I remember now. The Silencer uses the Annihtion Palm. When the Annihtion Palm appears, corpse kings retreat. So, the Junior Sovereign is the Silencer!"

    "He¡¯s actually the Silencer."

    "He eliminated a total of forty-eight Ascendant-level corpse kings, which was an aplishment praised by everyone across the Endless Frontier. So it was you, Junior Sovereign." Senior Li became emotional, and his eyes flushed red.

    Lord Xu and the others at their level showed no surprise. If they had not known this much, how could they have recognized Chu Jian as the perfect Junior Sovereign?

    This was the level of strength the Junior Sovereign needed to possess. While only a Demi-Immortal himself, Chu Jian had ughtered forty eight Ascendant-level corpse kings across the Endless Frontier, and he had even escaped from Progenitor-level corpse kings on several asions. This was why he was referred to as "perfect."

    How many people throughout all of human history were capable of replicating such a feat?

    It was likely something that would have been beyond the abilities of even the rulers of the universes when they had been young.

 Chapter 2812: An Undefeatable Innate Gift

    <h4>Chapter 2812: An Undefeatable Innate Gift</h4>

    The idea of crossing realms to kill arge number of higher level corpse kings was simple, but to do so, one needed to be on the Endless Frontier. In that ce, it was possible to run into a Progenitor-level corpse king at any moment.

    Not even Sage Yuan or the other peak powerhouses wanted to step foot onto the Endless Frontier, as it was easy for anyone to die in that ce. Even so, Chu Jian had fought on the Endless Frontier.

    Sage Yuan let out a sigh. It was true, the Junior Sovereign was the Silencer. Sage Yuan had fought with the young man on the Endless Frontier, and he was thus aware that the Junior Sovereign¡¯s true strength was terrifying. What was more, the Junior Sovereign could not die. He had endured powerful attacks from the most powerful corpse kings, and yet Chu Jian had remained unharmed by full-powered attacks. Not even Sage Yuan understood how that was powerful, but he did know that this was the capabilities of the perfect Junior Sovereign.

    Chu Jian wiped the smear of blood from the corner of his mouth as he stared at Lu Yin. "If we¡¯reparing our records on the Endless Frontier, Dao Monarch Lu, my own aren¡¯t even worth mentioningpared to yours. You managed to kill peak powerhouses while only a Demi-Immortal. Isn¡¯t that right, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yin stared at Chu Jian for a moment. "Killing peak powerhouses isn¡¯t too difficult, but it seems that killing you won¡¯t be easy."

    "Hahahaha!" Chu Jianughed. "Peak powerhouses aren¡¯t too difficult to kill? Before this, I would have felt that you were incredibly arrogant, but I no longer think that. You are able to withstand my full-strength Annihtion Palm without being harmed at all. Lu Xiaoxuan, you are fortunate enough to qualify to fight with me. You will be my first victory after bing an Ascendant. I promised Master I would never lose to anyone after bing an Ascendant, so let¡¯s see if you can break my oath.

    "Secret Technique: Phoenix Tail Sweep." For the first time, a gray-brown energy emerged from Chu Jian¡¯s body, rather than stellr energy. The energy twined and churned about in the air, roiling like a turbulent gas. Chu Jian stared at Lu Yin. "Annihtion¡ªPhoenix Tail Sweep. "

    There was a roar as the gray-brown energy shot up into the sky where it took on the form of a gray-brown phoenix. The bird screeched at the sky.

    The sky turned dark, and the void trembled and broke apart to reveal the terrifying Hollow.

    Lu Yin grew serious as he looked up at the sky. This attack was more than a little powerful.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, let''s see how long you can endure! Annihtion Phoenix, fall!"

    The gray-brown phoenix shot down towards Lu Yin, its eyes zing with gray-brown energy. The wings drew two ck lines in the sky where the void was sliced open, revealing the Hollow to Lu Yin¡¯s sight.

    This was the most powerful attack that Chu Jian hadunched so far. Lu Yin was facing an attack that could destroy the universe. It appeared evident that an average Progenitor would struggle to survive this attack.

    Xu Leng shot to her feet and fearfully called out, "Junior Brother!"

    Xia Shenji frowned. Why was the current generation of youths so terrifying? While this attack was not as powerful as Xia Shenji¡¯s full strength Shenwu World, it was actually quite close.

    Both Annihtion and this secret technique were from the Great Sovereign. For the first time, Chu Jian was revealing what he had learned from his master.

    Lu Yin looked up to watch the Annihtion Phoenix fall, but then he turned back to look at Chu Jian. "You misunderstand the difference in our strength."

    The Annihtion Phoenix dropped down, but everyone stared in disbelief as Lu Yin stopped it with a single hand.

    It looked as though Lu Yin was lifting a true phoenix.

    Both the power of Annihtion and the Phoenix Tail Sweep secret technique could do nothing to Lu Yin.

    The purplish-ck substance that covered his raised arm was imprable.

    The people watching were startled. While they were not personally facing the power of Annihtion, how could any battle technique granted to Chu Jian by the Great Sovereign be blocked so casually?

    Mu Shen just smiled. "Gu Yizhi¡¯s inheritance provides a path for a human body to gain enough strength to match a peak powerhouse. This boy is truly talented."

    Lord Xu sighed. "The Origin Universe was a glorious ce that gave birth to the Three Realms Six Dao. Each of them was incredibly powerful, and they all achieved such strength by forging their own path. Any one of their inheritances is enough to overshadow an entire era. Inparison, now..."

    The man did not continue, but most people understood what had been left unsaid.

    Why did the Great Sovereign despise the Origin Universe? In addition to her grudges with the Origin Progenitor, there was also the fact that the people of the Origin Universe were too exceptional. The Three Realms Six Dao had unquestionably been the Great Sovereign¡¯s juniors, but they had created unique powers that were mysterious and nearly unfathomable. Not to mention, those people had been unruly and difficult to control. This was a significant reason as to why the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Progenitor and the Origin Universe.

    However, how many people in the current era could understand such a thing?

    During the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin was demonstrating the incredible strength of the Origin Universe.

    Chu Jian stared nkly. He had not felt anything just a moment ago, but he still stared at the purplish-ck substance covering Lu Yin''s arm. What was it? How had it managed to block the power of Annihtion?

    Behind Lu Yin, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant roared, and a terrifying power shattered the Annihtion Phoenix, which caused the gray-brown power of Annihtion to fall onto Chu Jian''s body like raindrops.

    "The only thing that I¡¯m curious about is where you get the confidence to call yourself undefeated. Show me where that confidencees from." Lu Yin lowered his hand to point at the distant form of Chu Jian. There was a bang, and a Hollow Palm shot forward.

    Once again, a Fifth Level Lotus blossomed in front of Chu Jian. This time, the lotus flower failed to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and it instantly shattered apart. The attack continued on, smashing into Chu Jian, but it only managed to knock him back a short ways.

    Lu Yin was not in any hurry. He stared at Chu Jian with Heaven¡¯s Sight, confident that he could find the problem.

    A step delivered Lu Yin right in front of Chu Jian once again, and a crushing palm fell downwards. It carried an unstoppable power, and it could not be blocked.

    Chu Jian fell back. He could not think of any way to harm Lu Yin. While the Junior Sovereign remained confident that he would not be defeated, Lu Yin was the one who was constantly attacking, and Chu Jian was losing face for the Great Sovereign during her Tea Ceremony.

    Being undefeated did not mean being victorious.

    Chu Jian had absolutely no hope of being able to win.

    However, Chu Jian learned that, no matter what he wanted, it was impossible to escape from Lu Yin''s attacks.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    One palm strike.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Two palm strikes.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Three palm strikes.

    Another palm strike fell upon Chu Jian. Regardless of how he retreated or dodged, he was unable to evade any of Lu Yin''s attacks. The Dao Monarch was overwhelming Chu Jian every step of the way, and every attack wasnding true.

    However, no matter how many times Chu Jian was struck, being able to harm him seemed to be something else entirely.

    Chu Jian gritted his teeth, his expression growing worse as time passed. He never stopped watching Lu Yin, and palm strikes continued to rain down upon the Junior Sovereign. He could see them, but no matter how badly he wanted to dodge, it was impossible.

    Chu Jian could not keep up with Lu Yin''s speed. Lu Yin moved around like a ghost.

    <i>Bastard, bastard, bastard! The bastard keeps crushing me, but why? Why can he do this? I just became an Ascendant, while he¡¯s still a Demi-Immortal, so why is it like this?</i>

    <i>Right, Xuan Qi managed to learn Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain, which means that he is quite skilled with the power of space, the bastard!</i>

    Chu Jian¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot as he stared at Lu Yin. The Junior Sovereign nced around, and the void twisted and formed a crescent moon shape that spread out and enveloped Chu Jian. The horizontal crescent moon then twisted and formed a full circle.

    Chu Jian took a step forward and entered the circle. It was his inner world: Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation.

    The Junior Sovereign did not believe that, while he remained within his inner world, Lu Yin could stillnd attacks with the power of space. Unfortunately, the inner world was unable to increase Chu Jian¡¯sbat power by much, which was infuriating.

    There was a bang, and Chu Jian''s body went flying again. Lu Yin might not be able to target Chu Jian by using the power of space, but that did not stop Lu Yin from simply targeting the entire inner world and overwhelming it. Chu Jian''s inner world was not bad, and it could even be regarded as incredibly impressive. He might even be able to use it to master the power of space, but at the moment, even if Lu Yin was unable to utilize the power of space against Chu Jian, the Junior Sovereign was still forced to retreat.

    Additionally, if Lu Yin used Inverse Step, he could influence both time and space.

    Again and again, Chu Jian was beaten back. All of his defensive techniques and movement techniques meant nothing before Lu Yin. Only the Junior Sovereign¡¯s confidence in remaining undefeatable remained.

    Lu Yin stood still for a moment, giving Chu Jian an odd look. He had finally seen it. "With an innate gift like that, no wonder you believe yourself undefeatable."

    Chu Jian gritted his teeth and red at Lu Yin in fury. A crazed light filled the Junior Sovereign¡¯s eyes. He had just experienced a terrible nightmare; he had been beaten, looked down upon, and brazenly insulted in front of the entire Sixverse Association, including many peak powerhouses and even Bai Xian''er.

    Chu Jian was the perfect Junior Sovereign! He was <i>perfect!</i> He should not be suffering like this. How was this happening? Lu Yin should not be anywhere close to being on the same level as Chu Jian, so what was going on?

    Bloodlust appeared deep in Chu Jian¡¯s eyes, and it quickly grew. He looked like he was about to go crazy.

    "Nine of Ten Chambers Empty," the Great Sovereign stated. Her voice seemed to wake everyone, including Chu Jian, who had been about to lose his mind.

    Everyone was dazed by the sight of Lu Yin thrashing Chu Jian. What people had expected to be a stalemate turned out to be a one-sided beat-down, and they were unable to react to the unexpected development.

    Chu Jian¡¯s abilities and performance were truly amazing. He had mastered the battle techniques of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as received battle techniques from the Great Sovereign herself. It was clear that, even as an Ascendant, Chu Jian could threaten peak powerhouses.

    Even so, the Junior Sovereign was being beaten by Lu Yin to the point where Chu Jian could not even fight back. His unshakeable confidence in being undefeatable remained, but it was clear that he was simply not qualified to fight against Lu Yin.

    The gap between the two was too vast.

    Throughout the entire match, Chu Jian had only managed tond a single attack, but despite the Junior Sovereign¡¯s absolute confidence, that attack had not had effected Lu Yin at all.

    Chu Jian could see that he had no hope of victory.

    Was this why Lu Yin had managed to be the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect? The gap between him and Chu Jian was so shocking.

    "His innate gift allowed him ess to ten chambers, nine of which are empty. Any attack can be transferred to an empty chamber so that Chu Jian does not have to endure it. This is the meaning of ¡®Nine of Ten Chambers Empty.¡¯"

    Everyone stared at Chu Jian. Was this his innate gift?

    Not to mention everyone else, not even Sovereign Shao Yin or Sovereign Ninth Lotus had known about Chu Jian¡¯s innate gift.

    Aside from the Great Sovereign, no one had been aware of the young man¡¯s innate gift.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus eximed, "No wonder he is confident in being invincible and was willing to brazenly wander about the Endless Frontier."

    Outside of where others from the Sixverse Association were watching, Jiang Xiaodao eximed, "He actually has an innate gift like that? If I had that, I¡¯d be able to control the Endless Frontier!"

    Xu Jie was shocked. "His innate gift is certainly powerful, but even so, it can¡¯tpensate for the difference between him and Xuan Qi¡ªno, Dao Monarch Lu."

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi was staring at a disy from her chair. "So that¡¯s his innate gift. No wonder it¡¯s never been revealed before, even after I did my best to uncover it. However, Master is exposing it now... Does she want him to use the power of Annihtion? If so, that¡¯s quite interesting.¡±

    Above the Nine Heavens and the Ten Earths, the attendees of the Tea Ceremony watched as Chu Jian was beaten almost to the point of his mind breaking. He had done everything in his power, but he had still lost the qualifications to remain ¡°perfect¡± before the entire Sixverse Association. The perfect Junior Sovereign¡ªit had been an incredibly arrogant title, and yet he was being mercilessly crushed without any ability to fight back.

    "Chu Jian, do you still not understand?" the Great Sovereign spoke again, her words shaking Chu Jian''s mind.

    The crazed light faded from Chu Jian¡¯s eyes, and he stared nkly at the Great Sovereign. "Master?"

    "Why are you obsessed with being invincible?"

    Chu Jian was stunned by the question. "You told this disciple to remain undefeated."

    "What is it that you fear?"

    Chu Jian was confused by the question, and his eyes lost focus. What did he fear? Was he afraid? No. He had an innate gift that made him immortal and unable to be defeated by anyone, so what was there to be afraid of?

    "What is it that you fear?" the Great Sovereign¡¯s voice boomed.

 Chapter 2813: One VS. Two

    <h4>Chapter 2813: One VS. Two</h4>

    Chu Jian started trembling. The Great Sovereign''s words caused the young man¡¯s heart to almost burst, and he spat out blood. He tried to straighten up, but copsed back down into the puddle of blood and all he could see was red

    Through the blood, Chu Jian saw scenes of battle on the Endless Frontier, and the corpse kings he had ughtered, as well as the countless people who had cheered for him. He saw the scene of a powerful corpse king, attacking Chu Jian, yet unable to harm him at all.

    He heard all the people shouting, "The Silencer! The Silencer!"

    Once he had returned to the Sixverse Association, countless people had recognized Chu Jian¡¯s perfection. He had behaved as though he was above all others, as a disciple of the Great Sovereign. No one could enter his sight, which was as it should be.

    What of the Three Sovereigns? If he wanted to learn their powers or techniques, he would do so.

    The Nine Sages were destined to be trampled beneath his feet.

    The Sixverse Association? It was nothing more than a joke, The Great Sovereign was the co-master of all humanity, which meant that the Sixverse Association was nothing more than just a name.

    The Origin Universe? That universe was already gone. What was called the Heavens Sect and the person known as the Dao Monarch Master were nothing more than jokes.

    In the future, Chu Jian would undoubtedly rise up to be second only to the Great Sovereign in the Sixverse Association. In the same manner that he had ughtered the Ascendant-level corpse kings, he would face people powerhouses, remaining immortal and undefeatable. He could never be defeated.

    What was there to fear?

    Chu Jianid in the puddle of blood staring nkly. He saw eyes that were full of fear and desperation, belonging to people who wanted to run away. Behind them were slitted scarlet eyes in hot pursuit. Was he also afraid? Of course he was. So much that he had to wear a mask and was too scared to even look back.

    He was afraid of death. He possessed a powerful innate gift that prevented him from dying, so why was he so afraid? <i>Look back. Look back. Look back.</i>

    The man finally turned around to face countless powerful attacks. He withstood them all, and then fled while countless eyes watched in disbelief.

    Everybody praised, amazed at what the man had aplished.

    However, only the man himself knew what he had faced at that moment. From that moment on, no matter what enemy he faced, the man would always use his innate gift. He would loudly proim to everyone, including his master, that he was undefeatable and would never be defeated.

    His innate gift was the foundation of his invincibility, which meant that he needed to utilize his innate gift. Nothing else could be trusted, as only his innate gift would never betray him.

    The blood rippled as Lu Yin walked up to Chu Jian and looked down at him. "Your reliance on your innate gift has led to your sess, but also to your failures. Nine of Ten Chambers Empty allows you to divert an enemy¡¯s attack, but you have also diverted yourself, as youck the courage to not use your innate gift at all.¡±

    "Chu Jian!" the Great Sovereign¡¯s voice boomed again..

    Chu Jian looked up at Lu Yin, rity finally reappearing in his eyes as the few words kept echoing in his mind, ¡°Youck the courage to not use your innate gift. You fear death.¡°

    ¡°Youck the courage to not use your innate gift. You fear death.¡°

    ¡°Youck the courage to not use your innate gift. You fear death.¡°

    ...

    "I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t fear death, and I¡¯m not afraid. I''m not afraid." Chu Jian abruptly rose to his feet, ring at Lu Yin with mad eyes. "You''re speaking nonsense."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Senior Great Sovereign, this is interesting, right?

    "This disciple of yours has finally gained the courage to step forward, but that¡¯s not enough. He simply is not enough to be my opponent, and I¡¯m afraid of identally killing him and causing Senior to lose a beloved disciple. In that case."

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to Sage Yuan, who was sitting for the tea ceremony. He pointed towards Sage Yuan and beckoned him over with a finger. "Get out here! I told you I would kill you at this tea ceremony."

    Everyone stared at Lu Yin in shock. He wanted to fight Chu Jian and Sage Yuan at the same time?

    Sage Yuan was badly startled. He had never expected Lu Yin would actually challenge him during the tea ceremony. Just how confident was the brat?

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "This little bit can¡¯t even be considered a warm-up, and was merely helping Senior Great Sovereign teach her disciple, nothing more."

    Chu Jian clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes again, allowing his sight to clear. The arrogance and superiority he had held so dear hadpletely disappeared. He understood what his master had been saying when she had told him to remain undefeated. He had never been required to remain undefeated. That had only been said in order to force Chu Jian to realize that he had trapped himself with his need to be undefeated.

    What was funny was that Chu Jian was convinced that his master truly did hold very high expectations for him.

    After everything had passed, Chu Jian looked at Lu Yin and softly said, "I really should thank you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s still too early. I just want to clearly show you the gap between us and that it is insurmountable."

    Chu Jian had nothing to say in his own defense. He had already tried his best, yet everything had failed to harm Lu Yin even the slightest bit. Chu Jian had attempted many battle techniques that belonged to the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, but Xuan Qi had learned several of those battle techniques as well. The only difference was that Lu Yin had also used that purplish-ck substance to strengthen the techniques when he had used them, yet Lu Yin had undeniably controlled the pace of the match,pletely overpowering Chu Jian every step of the way.

    The Junior Sovereign could not even determine just how strong Lu Yin truly was.

    It was enough to induce despair!

    But so what? The more desperate one became, the greater the benefits that would be reaped from a breakthrough. Chu Jian had only just broken through to be an Ascendant, and was yet to fully master his new strength. He would use Lu Yin to do so.

    However, there was no denying that Chu Jian was incapable of doing so on his own. At the very least, he needed someone to buy him some time.

    Thinking of this, Chu Jian looked at Sage Yuan. "Even after being provoked in such a manner, you still don¡¯t have the courage to take action? Are you still one of the Nine Sages?"

    Sage Yuan''s face twisted into a hideous expression. It was no shame to have Lu Yin challenge the Sage, but the brat was provoking a two on one fight. Victory would bring no honor, while losing would be beyond humiliating.

    In fact, after seeing Lu Yin¡¯s fight with Chu Jian, Sage Yuan was rather intimidated.

    At this moment, he regretted provoking Lu Yin. The Sage realized he should never have helped Nutjob Lu.

    That madman had not even attended the tea ceremony himself, though that was as it should be. Sage Yuan should also have remained on the Endless Frontier.

    Everyone was staring at Sage Yuan.

    Sage Yuan had no choice but to step away from his seat. He red at Lu Yin with eyes overflowing with bloodlust. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have challenged me, which means that with this battle, the restrictions ced on me due to your achievements on the Endless Frontier will no longer hold."

    Lu Yin raised his head high. "They aren¡¯t needed."

    While Lu Yin had never fought with Sage Yuan, he had a very thorough understanding of the Sage. In order to defeat an enemy, it was necessary to understand them.

    Sage Yuan was an exceptional swordsman, but he was most famous for his strongest attack, which was known as the Three Strikes, which was a spiritual force attack.

    Very, very few people in the Sixverse Association cultivated battle force, domains, or spiritual force, yet spiritual force was Sage Yuan¡¯s greatest trump card. Of the Nine Sages, Sage Yuan was certainly not the strongest, but he was also not the weakest. He was firmly in the middle of the group, which was enough for him to be arrogant wherever he went.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had sent Shao Qingfeng to learn from Sage Yuan, and He Ran had simrly tried to have He Shu learn from the Sage, both hoping that Sage Yuan would share knowledge of cultivating spiritual force.

    It was not that the people of the Sixverse Association did not want to cultivate spiritual force, or domains, but that theycked the cultivation methods to do so.

    Even in the Origin Universe, it was not easy to learn to cultivate alternate sources of power, much less in the Sixverse Association. Alternate cultivation methods were always a greater challenge.

    A magnificent surge of stellr energy swept out as Sage Yuan took action. He had been forced to join hands with Chu Jian against Lu Yin. Given the situation, it simply meant that Sage Yuan could not afford to lose, no matter what it took. The Sage intended to seize this opportunity to kill Lu Yin.

    Regardless of how badly he regretted not dealing with Lu Yin before, the Sage knew to abandon any and all distracting thoughts at this moment. It was not yet toote.

    A sword shed at Lu Yin, apanied by the incredible wave of stellr energy that attempted to suppress Lu Yin and leave him unable to even breathe.

    Lu Yin calmly stood where he was and watched as Sage Yuan drew his sword. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

    The moment Sage Yuan drew his sword, Chu Jian did not hold back at all. His own hands rose, and he released the Seven Divine Arrows again. The arrows followed close behind the sword sh, the power of Annihtion twining around the arrows.

    This was the power that Chu Jian had always imagined himself using. He had be toofortable in relying on his innate gift, and had trapped himself with it. He had been unwilling to step away from his innate gift, but he had finally woken up. He was the perfect Junior Sovereign, and there was nothing he did not dare do. There was nothing that was beyond his abilities.

    As the sh struck, Lu Yin raised his hand. Stellr energy formed a sword, and with a bang, the two swords met each other. Sage Yuan''s sword was swept back, the sharp edge slicing through the void, opening the Hollow within spatial tears that spread.

    The Seven Divine Arrows arrived before Lu Yin, entangled with the power of Annihtion. The sword flickered up, striking the arrows to redirect them towards Sage Yuan.

    It seemed as though the power of Annihtion did not even exist for Lu Yin. He had seen through every part of the Seven Divine Arrows.

    Uncertainty appeared on Arrow Sage¡¯s face. This young man was not merely capable of grabbing hold of the Seven Divine Arrows and deflecting them, he could even use a sword to guide and use the battle technique for his own purposes. It was clear that Lu Yin hadpletely analyzed the Seven Divine Arrows.

    Sage Yuan''s sword pierced through the void to sh at Lu Yin''s back.

    Lu Yin turned around, still controlling an arrow with his sword, and flung the arrow at Sage Yuan. The arrow smashed into Sage Yuan''s sword, and with a bang, the Seven Divine Arrows exploded.

    An unexpected surge of anger rose in the hearts of the two men.

    The arrow had been formed from the emotion of anger, which was able to affect even Lu Yin¡¯s mind for a moment.

    While Lu Yin had seen through the Seven Divine Arrows, that did not mean that the technique could not influence Lu Yin. This was Arrow Sage¡¯s battle technique, and it had allowed the Sage to survive his tenure on the Endless Frontier.

    Sage Yuan took a step back, a burst of purple energy inexplicably appearing behind him. This was the Three Strikes: Purple Auspice.

    Lu Yin faced the approaching purple qi. This was an attack of pure spiritual force. Sage Yuan had reached the Progenitor level with his spiritual force, and the pressure of this attack surpassed all that had appeared before. Even if facing a Progenitor, Sage Yuan¡¯s spiritual force would overwhelm them, and without at least some degree of spiritual force cultivation, even a Progenitor would copse before this attack.

    Chu Jian took this opportunity to use the secret technique Phoenix Tail Sweep, and the Annihtion Phoenix shrieked at the sky before dropping upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at Sage Yuan, his eyes unclouded. "You dare to attack me with a brute-force spiritual force attack? Go to the Origin Universe to ask if anyone there dares try such a thing."

    As Lu Yin spoke, the purplish-ck substance spread down the de of his sword. Without even a nce backwards, he shed behind him with the sword. Not only did this slice through the Annihtion Phoenix, the edge of the sword sent out a terrifyingly sharp attack that could be easily seen. With this attack, Lu Yin incorporated the Thirteenth Sword, using emotion as a sword to attack. This was the same concept as the Seven Divine Arrows.

    There was no denying that the Cyclic Universe had some powerful cultivators, some of whom were no weaker than their peers in the Origin Universe.

    Every arrow produced with the Seven Divine Arrows was equal to an attack with the Thirteenth Sword, only using emotions to form arrows instead of a sword. If Lu Yin had not mastered the Thirteen Swords and also obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight, he would have struggled against Arrow Sage¡¯s battle technique.

    Again, a Fifth Level Lotus bloomed in front of Chu Jian. While the lotus managed to stop a bit of the force of the sword sh, the blossom was still split apart, unable to stop the Thirteenth Sword.

    The sharp sh passed by Chu Jian.

    The Junior Sovereign spat out blood. This time, he did not hide from the attack with his innate gift, but instead endured it.

    The purple qi that was formed from spiritual force condensed into a copy of Sage Yuan in front of Lu Yin. This was the second phase of the Three Strikes: Spiritual Clone.

    Every attack from this spiritual force clone of Sage Yuan was a spiritual force attack. This clone did not attack the physical form, and yet it was able to duplicate Sage Yuan¡¯s battle techniques. Whenpared with Eastern Purple Qi, the Spiritual Clone was several times more powerful.

    However, Sage Yuan was shocked to see that Lu Yin remained unphased.

    Lu Yin''s spiritual force had been trained and cultivated with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. Even if the Sutra lost a good bit of its effectiveness outside of the Origin Universe, it was still able to temper Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force.

    His spiritual force was as stable as a rock.

 Chapter 2814: Trump Card

    <h4>Chapter 2814: Trump Card</h4>

    The Spiritual Clone did its best to use spiritual force to suppress Lu Yin. The young manshed out with a palm strike. It was a Hollow Palm, strengthened greatly by the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and Wielder - Indestructible. Sage Yuan was startled, and he immediately tried to evade, but failed. He was knocked back by the Hollow Palm, half of the Sage¡¯s body shattered. Blood fell to the ground.

    Only a few moves had been traded, yet Lu Yin had single-handedly managed to badly injure Sage Yuan, while also wounding Chu Jian. The fight waspletely one sided.

    Everyone attending the tea ceremony stared in shock. This Demi-Immortal was aplishing the unbelievable.

    The young man who had been scolded by Sage Yuan watched Lu Yin with bright eyes, his blood boiling.

    If he could reach that same level, aplish those same feats, how wonderful things would be!

    Chu Jian gasped for breath, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.

    On the other side, Sage Yuan spat out blood. Numbness covered half of his body. He had been hit by just a single palm strike, yet the attack had been too powerful for him to endure, and he had also not been capable of dodging it.

    Between his two opponents, Lu Yin looked first at Sage Yuan, and then at Chu Jian. "You two should get more serious about this."

    Sage Yuan''s eyes red as he red at Lu Yin with overwhelming hatred. The Sage growled, "Prostrate Before the Sage!"

    At that moment, the spiritual force that filled the area spiked. The Sage¡¯s eyes turnedpletely white, even the scarlet blood vessels. The third of the Three Strikes, Prostrate Before the Sage, was the most powerful of the three attacks, and was also the most powerful spiritual force attack that Sage Yuan was capable of. He had once used this attack to defeat Sage Jiang, another of the Nine Sages. Sovereign Shao Yin had praised Sage Yuan for the technique, iming it was an attack that demonstrated the pinnacle of spiritual force in the Sixverse Association. This was an attack that even peak powerhouses were wary of.

    Lu Yin watched in surprise as the surrounding spiritual force presented a mounting pressure, creating an illusion of countless people bowed in worship. This spiritual force attack induced illusions in a simr manner to certain sourcebox arrays.

    Many in the audience were stunned, and those who understood what they were seeing instinctively avoided looking at the illusion.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s eyes shed. This attack should prove effective, as even the Sovereign had been briefly affected by the illusion.

    Xu Wuwei frowned. He had once witnessed this attack used on the Endless Frontier. It would impact even the Void Suprema, so long as he was within range. While the effects wouldst less than a moment, and it would be impossible for Sage Yuan to aplish anything to Xu Wuwei even with such an advantage, that was Xu Wuwei. Lu Yin was a different matter, and he was not even close to bing a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin could not deny that the attack left him a bit dizzy, though that was all that happend.

    Years had passed, but Lu Yin had never rxed from reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. He could not even begin to guess at how tenacious his spiritual force had be.

    While Sage Yuan''s spiritual force had reached the Progenitor level and Lu Yin was not able to match the Sage when it came to brute strength or quantity of spiritual force, when it came to toughness, Lu Yin was confident that his own spiritual force exceeded anything that anyone could even imagine.

    Prostrate Before the Sage should have caused Lu Yin to fall into an illusion, so Sage Yuan shouted, "Junior Sovereign, attack!"

    The Sage¡¯s own sword flickered forward, while on the other side, Chu Jian attacked as well. This time, he did not use the Seven Divine Arrows, but attacked with a Annihtion Palm.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Sage Yuan, you old dog, this is rather disappointing."

    Sage Yuan was startled. Lu Yin was not lost in the illusion?

    Lu Yin looked up. "Killing you won¡¯t even feel like an aplishment."

    A hand rose, and lines appeared that shot through the void, outlining spatial lines in a spherical grid. It was Spiral Domain.

    "Spiral Domain?" someone shouted. Many people looked over at Xu Wuwei.

    Just how many of the Sixverse Association¡¯s tricks and secrets had Lu Xiaoxuan uncovered during his time as Xuan Qi?

    Seeing the Spiral Domain, Sage Yuan quickly tried to pull his attack back, and he leveled his sword in front of his body. Chu Jian reacted in a nearly identical manner.

    The spatial lines sh.

    Sage Yuan¡¯s mouth dropped open as he spat out a mouthful of blood. The shattered portion of his body took on even worse injuries, and looked like nothing more than mangled flesh. Blood stained the Sage¡¯s entire body red.

    As for Chu Jian, he was unharmed. At thest moment, he had used his innate gift, but that had been because there had been no other choice. Without that, he very well could have died to Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    When necessary, he would use his innate gift. Dying would aplish nothing at all

    The lines slowly disappeared.

    Lu Yin did not even look back at Chu Jian, focusing entirely on Sage Yuan as he slowly walked over to the Sage. "I told you I would kill you at this tea ceremony."

    Sage Yuan coughed up more blood as he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. This man had actually managed to ignore Prostrate Before the Sage,pletely invalidating Sage Yuan¡¯s Three Strikes. Just how powerful was Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force for him to be able to shrug off the attack Sage Yuan was most proud of?

    Lu Yin stopped a short distance away from Sage Yuan and looked down at the man. "A battle was permitted at the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremonies, so is life and death.¡±

    Everyone attending the tea ceremony stared at the miserable form of Sage Yuan. One of the glorious Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had been reduced to such a pathetic state.

    Sage Jiang stared at Lu Yin in shock. Because of Sage Jiang¡¯s own battle with Sage Yuan, the man had a deeper understanding of the horror of the Three Strikes. Even just the Purple Auspice had been almost enough to cause Sage Jiang to lose consciousness, and he had done his best to escape from the Spiritual Clone. As for Prostrate Before the Sage, it had been inescapable, and had utterly defeated Sage Jiang.

    Unexpectedly, the attack that had rendered Sage Jiang helpless had provenpletely useless against Lu Xiaoxuan.

    What had this boy gone through?

    No one would beg for Sage Yuan¡¯s life. Everyone was aware of the enmity between him and Lu Yin. In fact, the only person in the Sixverse Association Lu Yin might hate more would be Sovereign Shao Yin.

    If possible, Lu Yin would love to kill Sovereign Shao Yin, but Lu Yin knew he was not the Sovereign¡¯s match at all.

    There was a qualitative difference between the Three Sovereigns and the Nine Sages.

    Lu Yin¡¯s feet rose, as he resumed walking towards Sage Yuan. He had only spoken to ensure that there was no chance of the Great Sovereign or anyone else would try to interfere. Lu Yin had said all along that he would kill the old dog at the tea ceremony, and Lu Yin would keep to his word.

    Sage Yuan stared at the approaching form of Lu Yin with fear and resentment. "You really think you can kill me? Don''t push me! If you do, at worst, we¡¯ll both die."

    Lu Yin sneered. "What? Your Progenitor¡¯s world? Bring it out and let¡¯s see it. If it was actually useful, you would have already used it long ago."

    "You Lu bastard, do you really want us both to die?" Sage Yuan roared.

    "Sage Yuan!" Sovereign Shao Yin called out with a sharp shout. "If you cannot win here, what will await you?"

    Sage Yuan''s expression fell, and he turned to look at the Great Sovereign. She was so high up, and the Sage could not even clearly see the woman¡¯s face. All that he felt was a sense of holiness and invibility. This did not merely extend to the woman herself, but also to her dignity.

    The Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages represented the Great Sovereign. If Sage Yuan was defeated by this child of the Lu family, it would be no different from pping the Great Sovereign in the face. Sage Yuan could only have one fate: the Lamentation of the Sages.

    Sage Hua had only recently been condemned to that fate, and Sage Yuan would never forget that scene. He also did not want to die.

    Lu Yin stopped walking, and looked over at the Sovereign Shao Yin before ncing back at Chu Jian. "Everyone wants to keep their best trump cards hidden, but can whatever you have still hidden even change anything?"

    At this moment, the spiritual force that filled the area shrank in upon Sage Yuan. Once that happened, a different world appeared, which was Sage Yuan¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world. Within that world, corpses hung from dead trees. Crows cawed, and ck clouds filled the sky. The dead trees were surrounded by swamps, and there seemed no end to the number of corpses.

    Lu Yin paused for a moment as he stared in shock.

    Everyone silently took in the scene that had appeared.

    This event included the 9.99 million people who were allowed to listen to the Great Sovereign¡¯s teachings. Everyone was stunned for a moment.

    This was Sage Yuan¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world?

    Sage Yuan had never revealed his Progenitor¡¯s world, not even to his enemies. He had always relied on his Three Strikes, even using it to defeat Sage Jiang, which had secured Sage Yuan a secure position within the Nine Sages.

    Many people had spected about Sage Yuan¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, but no one had ever seen it.

    At this moment, Sage Yuan''s Progenitor¡¯s world was on disy before everyone.

    It was a scene that no one had expected. A Progenitor¡¯s world reflected the person¡¯s heart and strength, while Sage Yuan''s Progenitor¡¯s world was a dirty, miserable, desperate ce that was filled with darkness, wailing crows, and death. It was something that no one could ept, even if they ignored the countless corpses hanging from the dead trees.

    Sage Yuan¡¯s entire body trembled as he struggled to his feet. The threat of the Lamentations of the Sages forced him to hold nothing back. Compared to certain death, what was so bad about revealing his Progenitor¡¯s world?

    After this, no human would want to see the Sage, but he still needed to win and kill the descendant of the Lu family. It had been this bastard who had forced Sage Yuan to reveal his secret to everyone.

    Bloodshot eyes rose to shoot a re of hatred at Lu Yin. The Sage coldly stated, "You Lu bastard, you forced me to do this! You can forget about living past today!"

    With that, the corpses dposed, as did the dead trees, the swamps, the crows, and even the ck clouds. Everything transformed into spiritual force that poured into Sage Yuan''s body.

    The Progenitor¡¯s world had not been a true ce, but the gathered spiritual force of all the people Sage Yuan had massacred.

    In an instant, the man had devoured all of the endless spiritual force that had umted in his Progenitor¡¯s world over the course of countless years. His body started to growrger, and became covered with strange ck spots that eventually formed a disgusting carapace that made Sage Yuan look like a monster. His body continued to growrger andrger, and his skin turned ck, and then green. His face twisted, and his features were entirely distorted until he lost all semnce to a human.

    People were startled by the transformation, and they stared at Sage Yuan as though seeing a monster.

    Sage Yuan¡¯s mouth opened, and he roared in a deep, hoarse voice that soundedpletely different from his original voice, "Die, Lu bastard!"

    The Sage¡¯s hands rose. The left palm was pointed at Lu Yin, and the Sage struck the back of his upraised left hand with his right palm. A mysterious power erupted, and shot at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew focused, and he stopped breathing as he instinctively took a step backwards. His spiritual force was strong, and as tough as a rock, yet it was shaken at this moment.

    Sage Yuan had grown to be five meters tall. When he saw Lu Yin take a step back, the Sage let out a raucousugh. "You can''t handle it! This is my hidden spiritual force! I have gathered and hidden spiritual force for countless years. How can youpare to this? How can you ovee this? It¡¯s impossible for anyone to endure this, so go to hell!"

    The monster pped the back of his hand again, and terrifying spiritual force erupted again to suppress and overwhelm Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could easily sense that Sage Yuan''s spiritual force had be unbelievably powerful with this transformation, and it was indeed beyond Lu Yin¡¯s ability to endure. Normally.

    He could still recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    "When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancientnds is the way of the sage..."

    If Sage Yuan''s spiritual force was like a tsunami, then the ripples of resistance that appeared by Lu Yin''s recitation of the Origin Sutra was the foundation of the ocean.

    Sage Yuan struck out with a palm strike, and a terrifying spiritual force erupted. In front of Lu Yin, ripples passed through the void, created by the Origin Sutra. These ripples seemed incredibly weak and insignificant, yet they blocked the flood of spiritual forcepletely.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s pupils shrank. "Impossible..."

    Even he had been amazed by Sage Yuan''s Three Strikes, but the Sage¡¯s transformation had struck fear into the Sovereign. If not for his increased strength, this attack could have possibly defeated him in the past.

    Each of the Nine Sages kept a trump card hidden, and there was no denying that Sage Yuan had kept an incredible power concealed.

    With this transformation triggered by the remnants of spiritual force, Sage Yuan had gained enough strength to rank among the three most powerful Sages, and possibly even hold the title of strongest. This attack had also transformed the Sage into a monster.

    If not even Sovereign Shao Yin could take this attack, how could anyone else?

    How was Lu Xiaoxuan blocking it? What was he chanting?

 Chapter 2815: Killing Sage Yuan

    <h4>Chapter 2815: Killing Sage Yuan</h4>

    Mu Shen sighed. "I¡¯ve finally heard the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra once again. It truly is profound andplex. Only the Three Realms Six Dao were ever able to receive the Origin Progenitor¡¯s true inheritance. Sage Yuan is done for."

    Lord Xu remained cautious. "I once heard Wu Tian say that the Origin Sutra represents the true pinnacle of human cultivation and that it epasses the Dao. Everyone who receives it has a different interpretation. This child of the Lu family is using it topensate for his insufficient spiritual force, making it unshakeable. I don¡¯t think that anyone can harm him with spiritual force at this moment. I didn¡¯t believe what Wu Tian told me back then, but I do now.¡±

    Only a handful of people present recognized the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra and understood what it was. Not even Great Elder Shan Gu knew anything about it. However, all those who knew what Lu Yin was reciting werepletely confident that Sage Yuan was doomed.

    With the Origin Sutra, no one was capable of shaking Lu Yin¡¯s spiritual force.

    Sage Yuan''s body began shrinking, and his spiritual force rapidly diminished as he consumed it. The Sage simply could not believe his eyes as he stared at Lu Yin standing tall and firm. "Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible..."

    He has transformed into a monster, revealing his deepest secrets to the entire Sixverse Association. But even when he brought forth everything he had, leaving nothing at all in reserve, he still was incapable of dealing with a mere brat from the Lu family. Why? Why had it turned out like this?

    Behind Lu Yin, Chu Jian believed that he could win, or at the very least, severely injure Lu Yin. However, when he noticed the rxed expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face, Chu Jian knew that things were not good. Sage Yuan was already at his limit.

    Chu Jian had no choice but to attack in an attempt to disrupt Lu Yin¡¯s recitation.

    The Seven Divine Arrows shot out, and an Annhiliation Phoenix appeared at the same time.

    Two attacks charged at Lu Yin to stop him from reciting the Origin Sutra. Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. He could sense Chu Jian''s approaching attacks.

    It was time for the Lu family''s power to reappear in the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin did not need his Investiture of the Gods to defeat his two opponents, but he had already somewhat underestimated Sage Yuan¡¯s strength. In that case, there was no reason not to take advantage of the situation and reveal the power of the Lu family.

    A golden light shone down on the Nine Heavens and Ten Earth. The light illuminated the entire Cyclic Universe, lighting up everyone''s faces.

    This light could not be blocked or hidden, and it shone on everyone''s faces, even the Great Sovereign¡¯s.

    Beyond the boundaries of the tea ceremony, the entire Sixverse Association, and even the Endless Frontier, saw the golden light.

    This was the moment that the Lu family''s Investiture of the Gods reappeared.

    Progenitor Nong stepped out of the scroll. The summoned god¡¯s hand rose, and green leaves flew towards the Seven Divine Arrows and the Annhiliation Phoenix, halting both attacks.

    However, Progenitor Nong alone was not enough to stop Chu Jian. Chu Jian was a Realmbreaker Ascendant, and he was capable of defeating Progenitors.

    Leng Qing stepped out as well.

    While Lu Yin had been in seclusion in the Heavens Sect, he had conferred Leng Qing as a god. Leng Qing had once been the master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. After bing a Progenitor, he had immediately be a powerful figure for his level. Still, he had not enough time to consolidate his foundation at this new realm of power, and he was far fromparable to Old Mo. At best, Leng Qing wasparable to Xia Shenji.

    Lu Yin had sessfully conferred even Xia Shenji, which proved that Leng Qing was not beyond Lu Yin¡¯s means.

    The summoned Leng Qing attacked with a de, slicing through the Annhiliation Phoenix in an instant. The attack continued onwards, targeting Chu Jian.

    Progenitor Nong¡¯s hands rose, and his hoe dropped back down: Plowing the Land.

    Chu Jian was badly startled. <i>What the hell is this? Why have two powerhouses suddenly jumped in?</i>

    The people attending the tea ceremony watched the battle intently. What kind of power was this?

    Everywhere in the Sixverse Association, people erupted into chaos, stunned and confused by what they were seeing.

    "What the hell? Why are peak powerhouses helping Lu Yin?"

    "Cheater! He¡¯s cheating!"

    "How could the Great Sovereign allow the Origin Universe to cheat?"

    "Is there going to be a war?"

    ...

    This was the first time that the Investiture of the Gods was being used in front of most of the people from the Sixverse Association who were watching the ceremony, and they were all shocked and startled.

    It did not even ur to people that someone could summon a peak powerhouse. How was that even possible?

    How was Lu Yin not cheating?

    Forget the onlookers¡ªnot even Chu Jian could ept what he was seeing.

    In front of him, Leng Qing''s de was sharp enough to take the Junior Sovereign¡¯s breath away. He used a Fifth Level Lotus to block the attack, though it failed to block itpletely. A portion of the attack still made it through.

    Progenitor Nong threatened Chu Jian repeatedly with Plowing the Land.

    <i>Master, why aren¡¯t you stopping this? He¡¯s cheating!</i>

    Sovereign Shao Yin gritted his teeth. "Descendant of the Lu family, you¡¯re cheating!"

    Both men felt that Lu Yin was cheating by calling on helpers.

    Mu Shen shook his head. "The Lu family has a saying: ¡®one person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all.¡¯ Their Investiture of the Gods can confer living cultivators as summons, while their Champions¡¯ Stage allows them to anoint the dead as champions. This child is not cheating."

    Lord Xu eximed, "This is the power of the Lu family. They spare no one, neither living nor dead."

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus sighed. "How can a lineage innate gift like this exist?"

    This was not her first time seeing this ability either.

    If a person died, no strength would be lost, as the members of the Lu family could anoint the dead to their Champions'' Stage, transferring the summon from their Investiture of the Gods to their Champions'' Stage. Seeing this ability opened the eyes of the entire Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin stood beneath the golden light, looking like a deity that stood above everything.

    Slowly, Sage Yuan''s body shrank until he returned to his normal height.

    Lu Yin stopped speaking. There was no need to continue reciting the Origin Sutra. He turned around to look at Chu Jian, who was unable to keep up with both Progenitor Nong and Leng Qing.

    Despite both Chu Jian and Sage Yuan joining forces to fight against Lu Yin, Chu Jian had contributed nothing at all. If anything, he had received a few more injuries and was bleeding a bit more.

    Sage Yuan dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as beads of sweat ran down his forehead and mixed with his blood, leaving his vision blurry.

    Lu Yin walked over.

    Sage Yuan slowly lifted his head to look at Lu Yin''s face. The Sage saw eyes that were unbelievably cold, yet also calm. There was no bloodlust or killing intent. However, the calmer Lu Yin appeared, the more nervous Sage Yuan felt.

    "I am one of the Nine Sages."

    "So what?"

    "I don''t want to die¡ªI can''t die. If I die, you willpletely offend the Cyclic Universe."

    Lu Yin smiled and bent down to look straight into Sage Yuan''s eyes. "Are you begging me?"

    There was no resentment, hatred, or bloodlust left in Sage Yuan''s eyes, only fear, confusion, and regret. He regretted provoking this heir of the Lu family. He regretted ever going to the Origin Universe or agreeing to help Sovereign Shao Yin. There were too many things that Sage Yuan regretted, but what he regretted most of all was not killing Lu Yin the first moment heid eyes on the brat.

    If the Sage had joined forces with Nutjob Lu and the four ruling powers, it might have been possible to kill Lu Yin. Why had they not done that at the beginning?

    At that time, Sage Yuan had been representing both the Cyclic Universe and the Sixverse Association, and he had looked down upon the entire Origin Universe.

    At that time, everyone from the four ruling powers had been exceptionally polite to that Sage. At that time, he had been looked up to by all as one of the renowned Nine Sages.

    At that time, Sage Yuan had not cared about the survivor of the Lu family at all, and he had merely looked at the youth like a clown. Such a person could be toyed with, which was the Sage¡¯s reasoning when he had torn open the void near the Heavens Sect and allowed Aeternus to invade the Origin Universe and the Heavens Sect.

    Sage Yuan had enjoyed seeing the anger and helplessness in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The Sage loved seeing hatred in the eyes of those incapable of doing anything at all to him.

    It had been a fascinating feeling, because the child was the heir of the Lu family, that powerful and ancient family. Sage Yuan had never even considered eliminating Lu Yin at that moment.

    He had enjoyed the pleasure of being superior.

    However, that exact behavior and attitude had led to Sage Yuan¡¯s current situation.

    He regretted his actions immensely.

    There were many peak powerhouses at the tea ceremony, but at this moment, not one of them spoke. Everyone was watching, wondering if Lu Yin would truly kill Sage Yuan.

    Such a thing would normally be impossible, as Lu Yin would need to consider the fact that killing Sage Yuan meant that he would face the wrath of an offended Cyclic Universe, and more importantly, the Great Sovereign.

    Of course, this had also urred to Sage Yuan, but he did not dare to chance any possibility of dying.

    The longer that Lu Yin''s calm eyes gazed down at him, the more uneasy Sage Yuan became. He felt the pressure of death¡¯s approach.

    The longer Lu Yin remained silent, the more the pressure drove the Sage mad.

    "I will go to the Endless Frontier! I¡¯ll go fight Aeternus to the end of my days! I¡¯ll go and nevere back! You¡¯ll never see me again! I-"

    Before Sage Yuan could even finish speaking, the shadow of Leng Qing from the Investiture of the Gods fell upon him.

    A hand rose, and a de fell.

    A head went flying, its expression twisted by anxiety, worry, and the burning desire to survive. The face seemed frozen in the air, in in sight of countless people.

    It was Sage Yuan¡¯s head.

    Blood sshed onto the ground. No one had expected Lu Yin to actually kill the man at the tea ceremony, right before the Great Sovereign.

    Lord Xu blew out a long breath. "This is going to be troublesome."

    Great Elder Shan Gu frowned. While Sage Yuan¡¯s death was not necessarily a problem, it could not be done here, and certainly not right in front of the Great Sovereign. Lu Yin was truly fearless.

    While no one had expected Lu Yin to deliver the final blow, he had done precisely as he had said he would: he had killed Sage Yuan at the tea ceremony. No one could have changed that oue. Lu Yin had said what would happen, and he had ensured that it hade to pass.

    This was not an impulsive act, nor an intention of provocation. Lu Yin had just carried out a promise that he had made to himself, nothing more. As for the consequences, did that actually matter?

    The tea ceremony exploded.

    "Child of the Lu family, you have gone too far!" Sovereign Shao Yin shouted sternly.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s expression turned icy. This Dao Monarch did not take the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages seriously at all.

    There were simrly ugly expressions on the faces of Arrow Sage and Sage Jiang. Regardless of what Sage Yuan had done or whether he deserved his fate, as long as he had not betrayed humanity as a whole, he should not have died at this ce. Lu Yin was far too arrogant.

    Away from the tea ceremony, the countless people from across the Sixverse Association who were watching fell silent as they nkly stared at their disys. Lu Yin had just killed one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages before everyone. This was a major event, the likes of which had not urred in many years. This was an event that would go down in history. Lu Yin was truly domineering.

    Yuan Qiunan''s eyes flushed red as she red at a disy, ovee with hatred. She wanted to get revenge; her master''s death could not be in vain.

    On the Endless Frontier, Sage Bodhi observed Lu Yin''s calm expression and remembered what he had said when he had selected Sage Yuan as the peak powerhouse who would not be allowed to target Lu Yin or his loved ones. Sage Yuan had not been chosen out of fear, but rather because Lu Yin had not had the time to waste on Sage Yuan, nothing more. It was only at this moment that Sage Bodhi understood Lu Yin¡¯s reasoning. The Dao Monarch had wanted to leave Sage Yuan alive so that he could be executed at the tea ceremony. The sheer ruthlessness was something the Sixverse Association had not seen in many years.

    Sage Yuan¡¯s headless body slowly fell forwards, staining the ground red as blood spurted out ceaselessly. This was the blood of a peak powerhouse, which meant that it would not dry up easily.

    Lu Yin looked away. With Sage Yuan dead, one grudge had ended, but there was still one other. <i>Don''t worry, I¡¯ll deal with you one by one.</i>

    Lu Yin turned around to face Chu Jian.

    Chu Jian was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions. The Junior Sovereign had never expected Sage Yuan to actually die. "You asked him to join me to fight against you. Were you already nning to kill him?"

    Lu Yin did not deny it. "He bought you some time, didn''t he?"

    Chu Jian stared at Lu Yin. "You are cruel enough."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "I said from the beginning that I would kill this dog of a Sage Yuan, and I did."

    Lu Yin then gave Chu Jian an odd look. "It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t benefit from his death. He at least bought you some time."

    Lu Yin nced around. "And that¡¯s not all."

    All the remnant spiritual force in the area should have dissipated with Sage Yuan¡¯s death, but instead, everything slowly moved towards Chu Jian and merged into his body. The spiritual force moved as though it possessed a consciousness.

    Chu Jian was confused, even as the spiritual force entered his body, filling him and restoring him. In no time at all, his spiritual force had surged to an impossible level. What was going on?

 Chapter 2816: Triumphant Brawl

    <h4>Chapter 2816: Triumphant Brawl</h4>

    Mr. Daheng spoke up. "Grafting. When Sage Yuan asked me to take him into the Arboreal Sanctuary for his arboreal transformation, he never told anyone what innate gift he acquired. I see now that he acquired Grafting. No wonder. "

    Mu Tao was surprised. "Grafting? Is that the useless one that only shows any use after the person¡¯s death? Supposedly, after a person who possesses Grafting dies, their power will enter another person that the dead knew, usually to pursue revenge.¡±

    Everyone now realized why the spiritual force had entered Chu Jian''s body. Sage Yuan had used his innate gift right before his death to help the Junior Sovereign avenge the Sage.

    Chu Jian was the only one present who could fight Lu Yin, which was why he was the only option that Sage Yuan could have chosen.

    The Junior Sovereign felt an endless well of energy within his body. It was enough power to instantly give him the raw power of a peak powerhouse. Chu Jian had already possessed thebat strength to fight against peak powerhouses, but at this moment, he had the raw power to match that level as well. However, there was no telling how long this strength wouldst for.

    Lu Yin praised, "Not a bad innate gift. That,bined with what you had already prepared, means that you should let me see what the perfect Junior Sovereign is capable of."

    No one could understand what Lu Yin was saying, as no one could see anything that Chu Jian had prepared. Still, Lu Yin had made several mentions of Sage Yuan buying a bit of time for Chu Jian. Just what had Chu Jian been preparing?

    When Chu Jian¡¯s hand rose, Purple Auspice appeared, and it shot at Lu Yin.

    From behind Lu Yin, Leng Qing leaped forward and chopped at the attack, heading it off. At the same time, Progenitor Nong also attacked, and his hoe fell, crushing the void with a terrifying power.

    A Fifth Level Lotus bloomed in front of Chu Jian as he waved a hand to p at Leng Qing. The falling de glittered in the light. Chu Jian had a Fifth Level Lotus protecting him, but it was not enough, and cuts appeared all over his body.

    He did not use his innate gift to avoid the attacks, and instead allowed more and more wounds to appear on his body.

    No one noticed that the blood leaking out of the Junior Sovereign¡¯s body was translucent, or that it seemed to have a golden color to it. The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods shone down, making it difficult to see the golden color of Chu Jian''s blood.

    However, as time passed, that golden color was eventually noticed.

    "Is that the golden blood of Sovereign Dou Sheng?" someone eximed.

    Xiu Ci and many others were startled.

    Xu Heng could not hold back from calling out, "Junior Brother, be careful! Chu Jian has the same blood as Sovereign Dou Sheng!"

    "Wrong." Mu Ke lifted his head as he spoke. "He has cultivated Triumphant Brawl."

    Xu Wuwei''s expression grew solemn. "Of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Sovereign Dou Sheng is unquestionably the strongest, which is why he is called the Little Great Sovereign. With Triumphant Brawl, meeting a more powerful opponent will only strengthen a person. The more you fight, the stronger you be. It is also known as the ultimate fighting skill. It¡¯s quite surprising that Chu Jian has managed to cultivate Triumphant Brawl."

    Lord Xu watched as Chu Jian continued to endure the attacks of Leng Qing and Progenitor Nong, his body releasing more and more blood. The more the Junior Sovereign bled, the greater hisbat power became. It was no wonder why he refused to use his innate gift.

    However, cultivating Triumphant Brawl was not a simple matter. Despite the countless years that had gone by, no one but Sovereign Dou Sheng himself had ever sessfully learned the battle technique. In the past, Chu Jian had constantly relied on his innate gift to avoid receiving any attack, so how had he managed to cultivate Triumphant Brawl?

    Sovereign Shao Yin felt incredibly jealous. He had not known that Chu Jian cultivated Triumphant Brawl. The Sovereign had dreamed of acquiring that particr battle technique. Thinking of how he had been ignored by Sovereign Dou Sheng only served to increase Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s jealousy.

    Why had Chu Jian been allowed to learn the technique?

    <i>I was clearly the one who helped him maintain his image of being perfect. I was the one who kept warning him about the dangerous situations and to stay safe. I was the one who kept him away from the Endless Frontier, and yet it turns out that he actually cultivates Triumphant Brawl?</i>

    Lu Yin had frequently heard of Sovereign Dou Sheng. He was a legendary figure who, despite being at odds with the Great Sovereign, had still managed to be a dominant individual in the Sixverse Association. Whenever the Sovereign fought, his opponents were always one of the Seven Skygods.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was someone whom the Great Sovereign hated, and yet could do nothing about.

    Lu Yin had not expected to face Triumphant Brawl in this ce.

    There was a roar as Chu Jian¡¯s golden blood moved, wrapping itself around his body. It looked like moltenva as it formed a golden armor around Chu Jian, raising his strength substantially.

    Everyone was stunned by the sight.

    Most of the people present had seen Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s battles before, and while Chu Jian could notpare to the Sovereign, Triumphant Brawl still caused the Junior Sovereign¡¯s strength to rise precipitously.

    Beyond the tea ceremony, countless people¡¯s breathing quickened as they cheered and shouted for Chu Jian. They fanatically supported the perfect Junior Sovereign. Chu Jian had previously been utterly crushed by Lu Yin, which had stolen the breath of the audience, but the situation had just turned around. The Junior Sovereign¡¯s strength had soared, and he was clearly no longer an opponent whom someone from the Origin Universe could stand up to.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was able to observe Triumphant Brawl for the first time with Heaven¡¯s Sight. This was a very interesting battle technique.

    The power that Lu Yin sensed from Chu Jian hadpletely transformedpared to the beginning of the battle. It was as though Lu Yin was facing an entirely different person.

    As for Chu Jian, he bent his head. The golden blood that flowed out from his body dripped into his palm and then formed a long golden staff. Ripples spread out from the weapon, creating powerful winds that buffeted the area.

    Slowly, the Junior Sovereign¡¯s head rose, and he looked at Lu Yin. "Thank you. If not for you, I would have forgotten about this skill.

    "I''ve been cultivating this battle technique since childhood, but the older I be, the stranger this technique bes. Before, I didn''t know why, but I understand now. It was because I was afraid¡ªafraid of losing my perfection and afraid of danger. I want to remain undefeated, but the more true that became, the less worthy I was of this battle technique.

    "If enough time goes by, can anyone truly remain invincible? The more one is defeated, the braver they be, and through battle, they be invincible. This will be our decisive battle.

    "Lu Xiaoxuan, you have made me my current self."

    Lu Yin smiled happily, but he also clearly dismissed Chu Jian¡¯s confidence. "Are you sure that this is really an aplishment?"

    The moment Lu Yin spoke, the summoned Leng Qing raised his de and attacked. Chu Jian¡¯s head snapped up, and heshed out with his golden staff.

    <i>ng!</i>

    A loud noise rang out as a terrifying shockwave spread out from the point of impact, sweeping out in every direction. If not for the tea ceremony, the entire nearby space would have been shattered.

    This was the first time that Chu Jian was directly facing an attack, and he epted Leng Qing''s de. Behind the Junior Sovereign, Progenitor Nong''s hoe fell, and Chu Jian turned around and released a palm strike. An Annhiliation Phoenix appeared in an instant, but this time, the Annhiliation Phoenix was shrouded with a golden light.

    Gold shed against gold; one was from the Investiture of the Gods, while the other came from Triumphant Brawl.

    With Triumphant Brawl, Chu Jian had actually gained the power to directly sh against Leng Qing.

    The Junior Sovereign¡¯s strength kept rising higher and higher. The golden blood was like a power source that was constantly raising him higher and higher. The longer the fight continued on for, the stronger Chu Jian became.

    Lu Yin watched calmly, his eyes lighting up.

    This was a very good battle technique. Just as its name suggested, Triumphant Brawl made the user stronger the more they fought. Chu Jian was extraordinarily talented, and it was not unreasonable to refer to him as perfect. He had sessfully cultivated Triumphant Brawl as a child. It was possible that both Lu Yin and Chu Jian were the same type of people: geniuses that only appeared once across countless eras.

    Despite only recently bing a Progenitor, Leng Qing was iparable to the average Progenitor. Given enough time, there was no doubt that Leng Qing would rise up to be one of the strongest Progenitors who had not touched upon sequence particles. There was also a very good chance that he would eventually reach the level of influencing thews of the universe.

    However, Leng Qing¡¯s breakthrough was simply far too recent.

    Chu Jian used his staff to fight back against both Leng Qing and Progenitor Nong. While the Junior Progenitor was still being suppressed, the disadvantage was not nearly as pronounced as before. Furthermore, with Chu Jian¡¯s strength continuously rising as the battle continued, he even found an opening to attack Lu Yin.

    Spiritual Clone. Prostrate Before the Sage. Seven Divine Arrows. One attack after another wasunched at Lu Yin.

    However, all attacks copsed before reaching Lu Yin.

    The figurine of me God had appeared on Lu Yin''s shoulder as he watched Chu Jian fight while shrouded with the golden light. Runes filled the area, and Chu Jian¡¯s power was weakened.

    No matter how powerful an attack or person became, as long as there was a corresponding number of runes, Truesight could be used to reduce its power.

    Chu Jian was no exception.

    There was a bang. Leng Qing¡¯s de had struck the golden staff, knocking Chu Jian back. The young man was badly startled. What had just happened? He should have clearly been able to block the attack.

    Green leaves shot towards Chu Jian, and he quickly evaded, only to look up and see another attack slicing down. The Junior Sovereign¡¯s arm was sliced open, causing him to nearly drop his golden staff.

    He instantly turned to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still standing in ce, not moving. He lookedpletely rxed and at ease, but Chu Jian could feel some sort of elusive power influencing him. What had the man just done?

    Very few people could clearly see what had happened.

    Lord Xu eximed, "Just how many different powers has this Lu boy cultivated?"

    Lord Wei¡¯s eyes narrowed. Runes? Were they being reduced?

    Mu Shen spoke up in admiration, "This power is quite odd, and it even has a sense of irreversibility. While it has not quite touched <i>that</i> level, it still possesses a simr power. The Origin Universe truly has some talented individuals!"

    Using Triumphant Brawl meant that Chu Jian grew stronger and stronger the longer he fought. Who could defeat such an opponent? Lu Yin dealt with this obstacle by reducing the number of runes and weakening Chu Jian back down.

    No matter how talented Chu Jian might be, Triumphant Brawl could never be truly omnipotent. After all, there was a limited amount of blood.

    The golden armor shattered into pieces that fell off. Chu Jian spat out a mouthful of blood, and his face turned pale. <i>No, I can¡¯t keep this up any longer!</i>

    Lu Xiaoxuan had not even attacked yet. He had only relied on a cheat-like power to overpower Chu Jian. How could anything be so ridiculously unreasonable?

    As Chu Jian stared at Lu Yin, madness returned to his eyes. He wanted to fight to the death. Even if he died, at the very least, he would force Lu Xiaoxuan to take action himself.

    Chu Jian had never imagined that the day woulde when he would risk his life for nothing more than an attempt to force a hated opponent to take action.

    Many people shook their heads. It was clear that Chu Jian had already done his best.

    At this tea ceremony, Sage Yuan had been killed, and the Junior Sovereign was being thoroughly suppressed. The heir of the Lu family had not made an appearance to attend the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony, but rather to p the Great Sovereign¡¯s face.

    Leng Qing¡¯s de rose up high and chopped down.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s eyes red, and Leng Qing''s de froze.

    With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin could see that sequence particles had abruptly appeared and werepletely surrounding Chu Jian. They came from the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Great Sovereign.

    Lord Xu and the others at their level also instinctively turned to look at the Great Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign spoke, and her voice fell upon the Nine Heavens. However, her words were elusive and impossible to hear clearly. It was like hearing a voice from countless years before. This was the sound of the Dao.

    This was the true start of the tea ceremony. The Great Sovereign had started teaching. This was the most important portion of each tea ceremony.

    Since ancient times, countless people had listened to these teachings and used them to achieve breakthroughs. This was why the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremonies were regarded as the most important events in the Sixverse Association.

    How many people had sessfully be peak powerhouses after attending a tea ceremony? How many had managed to ovee bottlenecks in their cultivation because of what they gained during the tea ceremonies?

    At this moment, before Chu Jian and Lu Yin¡¯s fight reached a conclusion, the Great Sovereign had started teaching.

    Her words not only reached everyone seated at the tea ceremony, but also all the people who had been allowed to observe the tea ceremony.

    Once the lecture started, Chu Jian¡¯s mind grew clear, and he reflexively released his inner world. In his Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation, he was able to see some details and aspects that had previously been extremely difficult to perceive.

    Lu Yin did nothing to stop Chu Jian. The gap between the two of them was too vast, and Lu Yin was curious to see if the Great Sovereign could help Chu Jian close that gap. If that happened, a potential power-up from Chu Jian could help Lu Yin in some way.

    Lu Yin had decided to attend the tea ceremony because Mister Mu had mentioned that the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremonies might be of help to Lu Yin. He would not let go of any such opportunity, not even during a battle. Besides that, Lu Yin did not even care about his match with Chu Jian. The Junior Sovereign had been utterly crushed by Lu Yin from start to finish.

 Chapter 2817: Waste Of My Time

    <h4>Chapter 2817: Waste Of My Time</h4>

    Within his Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation, the golden armor of Triumphant Brawl disappeared from Chu Jian''s body. While his face was a bit pale, Chu Jian looked as though he had just woken up and was excited and eager to see something.

    His Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation was primed to eventually be the same Great Cycle of Reincarnation as his master¡¯s. At this moment, the Great Sovereign was helping Chu Jian finallyprehend the Great Cycle of Reincarnation, the Cyclic Universe as a whole, and what Chu Jian¡¯s master referred to as the power ofws.

    Chu Jian was able to see thews of the universe with his master¡¯s help, and with the matching Cycles of Reincarnation, Chu Jian could even tap into the power that he was seeing.

    This was the ultimate power. Who could stand up to it? Not to mention Lu Xiaoxuan, Chu Jian was confident that he could even face the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages at this moment. His master was helping him, and the Great Sovereign would not allow anyone from the Origin Universe to act willfully during her tea ceremony.

    Lu Yin could see the same thing, and from his perspective, he saw Chu Jian raising a hand to touch the sequence particles that came from the Great Sovereign. Lu Yin arched a brow. If his Investiture of the Gods was seen as a cheat by the Sixverse Association, then what Lu Yin was seeing was actual cheating; the Great Sovereign was personally helping Chu Jian, which was unquestionably cheating.

    If not for Heaven''s Sight, Lu Yin would not be able to see any of what was happening.

    This thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s expression to darken. He had expected the Great Sovereign''s teachings to offer Chu Jian enlightenment, which would transform his strength in some manner. If that happened, Lu Yin would do nothing to stop the process, as it would still be Chu Jian¡¯s strength. However, this manner of borrowing strength was cheating.

    Truthfully, what angered Lu Yin the most was that his time had been wasted and his expectations had been for nothing.

    He had hoped to see Chu Jian achieve an epiphany. Even if it would not be enough to help Chu Jian in the current fight, Lu Yin felt that it would be fine to see what Chu Jian could gain. However, reality was too disappointing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fists clenched, but just as he was about to take action, a wisp of de qi shed through the air above the tea ceremony, striking at where the arrogant Great Sovereign¡¯s sequence particles were falling towards Chu Jian¡¯s inner world.

    No one understood just how high the Great Sovereign¡¯s mastery of sequence particles had reached. This de sh could not slice through the sequence particles, but it instead slipped between where the Great Sovereign¡¯s sequence particles and Chu Jian¡¯s Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation were connected. Like so, it prevented the Junior Sovereign from being able to borrow the Great Sovereign¡¯s sequence particles.

    The sight of the sudden attack startled everyone.

    People nced around and quickly saw Mu Ke slowly sheathing his saber. "I happened to have an epiphany after hearing the lecture."

    These ten simple words made everyone envious. How could anyone achieve an epiphany so quickly?

    People who were unable to see sequence particles did not give the matter much thought. After all, Mu Ke¡¯s sh had targeted the space above Chu Jian¡¯s inner world, and it had not been aimed at the Junior Sovereign or his inner world. Only those who had reached the level of touching upon thews of the universe were able to understand that Mu Ke had sliced through the connection between the Great Sovereign¡¯s sequence particles and the Miniature Cycle of Reincarnation. That attack had been shockingly powerful.

    Not just anyone could influence the Great Sovereign sequence particles, and the strength that Mu Ke had just revealed altered what everyone knew of his strength.

    Even Mu Shen was taken aback. Mu Ke¡¯s strength far exceeded Mu Shen¡¯s expectations.

    Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and the others at their level took a long look at Mu Ke. The man¡¯s strength was beyond exceptional.

    Xu Wuwei was particrly startled. He had believed himself and Mu Ke to be at about the same level, and he had even thought that Mu Ke was the slightly inferior one. However, Xu Wuwei could not deny that the attack that he had just seen was beyond his own abilities. Mu Ke¡¯s mastery of thews of the universe was far superior to his.

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ke in a daze. Had the man just helped Lu Yin?

    He was again reminded of the miniature saber that he had received during the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival, and a smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s face. Sure enough, Mu Ke was Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother!

    Mister Mu had told Lu Yin that the Great Sovereign would not attack Lu Yin directly, so the moment that the Great Sovereign had tried to cheat to help Chu Jian, she had been stopped by Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother. <i>Master¡®s disciples are all very reliable.</i>

    Chu Jian stared at Mu Ke in a daze, and then he looked back at the Great Sovereign.

    How was Chu Jian supposed to deal with Lu Yin without the Great Sovereign sequence particles?

    Even as the Junior Sovereign was asking himself this question, the Investiture of the Gods disappeared from above Lu Yin''s head, which caused the dazzling golden light to also vanish.

    Chu Jian looked over at Lu Yin, only to see Lu Yin move forward and instantly appear directly in front of the Junior Sovereign. "What a waste of my time."

    A finger rose and pointed at Chu Jian.

    Chu Jian reflexively activated his innate gift to avoid this attack. If he did not use Nine of Ten Chambers Empty, there was no doubt that Chu Jian would lose.

    However, before people knew about the Junior Sovereign¡¯s innate gift, their ignorance ensured that he could never be defeated, but that was no longer the case.

    Lu Yin instantly released ten attacks, and while nine of them missed, one struck Chu Jian, and he was sted back, right in front of the Great Sovereign, already unconscious.

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had genuinely attacked Chu Jian. What about the battle techniques of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages that Chu Jian had used? Or the spiritual force that the Junior Sovereign had been granted through Sage Yuan''s Grafting innate gift? Not even Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s famous Triumphant Brawl could endure this one finger attack.

    The moment that Lu Yin genuinely attacked, Chu Jian was instantly defeated.

    The gap between them was a vast chasm. Throughout the entire exchange, the only damage that Lu Yin had ever suffered was a single handprint on his clothes.

    The Great Sovereign''s lecture never stopped. She had not stopped when Mu Ke had drawn his de, nor did she stop for Chu Jian¡¯s defeat. Lu Yin stood where he was and silently listened.

    An invisible force drove Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, Xia Shenji, and Luo Lao''er away from the tea ceremony and cast them onto the Endless Frontier.

    Only Sovereign Shao Yin was not immediately ejected and was allowed to remain at the tea ceremony.

    Xia Shenji wanted to say something, but nothing was heard when he tried to speak. During the Great Sovereign¡¯s lecture, her will could prevent anyone from making a sound.

    There were no exceptions.

    Everyone at the tea ceremony focused their minds and slowly immersed themselves in the Great Sovereign¡¯s lecture.

    Beyond the tea ceremony, 9.99 million people fell silent. The entire Sixverse Association, and even the entire Endless Frontier, seemed to fall silent at this moment as everyone listened to the Great Sovereign¡¯s lecture.

    "Freedom lies in the universe, devoid of self and thought. Humans and stars alike are testament to that.

    "... Lay in slumber while in wait for countless beings to awaken...

    "Beneath the vast dome of stars, earthly woes cease to exist. "

    ...

    Multiple voices echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s ears as he just stood there. It felt like his whole body was transported into space by the voices he heard. He saw the boundless starry sky of the universe, the flow of time, the birth and death of living creatures, and the lives of countless ordinary humans. It was an unusual scene.

    Ordinary people could only see ordinary views, and extraordinary views could only be seen by extraordinary people.

    By sharing her vision, the Great Sovereign allowed Lu Yin and everyone else to witness the ancient birth of a universe that had taken ce eons ago.

    There was no way to determine just how much time the vision spanned. It might have happened in an instant, or it might have taken ce over the course of hundreds of millions of years. Regardless, Lu Yin saw the birth of one star after another. Forces gathered, and the sea of stars appeared in outer space, along with thews of the universe. This was the birth of a universe from nothing.

    At that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s mind spun, and it was as though a bolt of lightning passed through his brain. He saw the birth of the universe and instantly understood. This was how things were. This was the same as the unique system of power that Lu Yin was cultivating.

    He understood what he needed to do.

    In his heart, the Withered Bark that sat on the continent of fatesand formed a gray stream that rose up into the sky contained within the ck and white mist. The flowing river of voidforce energy also shifted and started to stream towards the sky. The green buds formed from the energy of the Arboreal Realm, the tri-colored soil of monarch essence, and the sea of stellr energy all rose up above thendmass.

    An attractive force gathered pulled all of the different energies away from thendmass, and various colored streams rose into outer space above thendmass of fatesand.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had finally found the right direction for his path. Stars appeared outside his body and began to revolve around him. There were 380,000 stars. Eventually, they all entered his body at the same time, merging into the outer space thaty within the ck and white mist. There was a roar that ran through his body. He had finally broken through and entered the seventh level of the Cosmic Art. He had finally achieved a breakthrough in the technique.

    The seventh level of the Cosmic Art, Universe Simtion. At the moment of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough, he didn¡¯t just simte the universe¡ªhe created an independent universe of his own.

    Saying that the seventh level of the Cosmic Art was the final level was actually wrong, as it was actually the beginning of the true Cosmic Art.

    Progenitor Chen had created his own universe when he reached the seventh level of the Cosmic Art, which had allowed him to ce genuine stars in the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the seventh level of the Cosmic Art also required him to simte the universe, but he had moved that universe into himself, creating an independent universe.

    Everyone would achieve a different breakthrough upon reaching the seventh level of the Cosmic Art. While it might appear that there was but one path in the universe, there were countless people, and human creativity was endless.

    The seventh level of the Cosmic Art was the true beginning of the Cosmic Art.

    Lu Yin finally understood, and that was what had spurned on his breakthrough. He had experienced a transformation, and he was also finally able to clearly see the path that he needed to take.

    He would transform each of the various powers that he had cultivated into its own star in his independent universe, where they would shine for countless years. He intended toplete his own universe.

    However, this would be an exceedingly long process.

    Divine energy had formed a star from the very beginning. This was True God Wei Yi¡¯s method. At this moment, the other powers in Lu Yin''s heart were rising up into space and being transformed into stars as well. This was Lu Yin¡¯s method.

    The Great Sovereign''s lecture continued, but Lu Yin opened his eyes and raised his head.

    At that moment, he looked at the Great Sovereign and saw surprise in the woman¡¯s eyes.

    As it turned out, even the Great Sovereign could be surprised.

    Lu Yin slowly walked over to the ninth seat. At this moment, everyone was immersed in the Great Sovereign''s lecture. Aside from Lu Yin, only one person had retained their faculties: Bai Xian''er.

    As Lu Yin slowly sat back down, he appeared calm. He listened to the Great Sovereign¡¯s lecture as her voice entered his ears. This was something that he might only be able to experience once in his entire life.

    Lu Yin had only been allowed to attend this tea ceremony because he was representing the Origin Universe in the Sixverse Association. It was very likely that he had been invited by the Great Sovereign so that Sage Yuan and Chu Jian could humiliate Lu Yin, but unfortunately, both of them had been far too weak to aplish anything.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan is truly amazing," Bai Xian''ermented.

    Lu Yin was surprised to hear her. "You can speak?"

    Bai Xian''er''s smile was as alluring as ever. She looked elegant, possessing a noble and sacred beauty, yet there was also something about her that made her feel as approachable as the girl next door. "The Great Sovereign is my master, so of course I can speak."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "When did you be a disciple of the Great Sovereign?"

    "Only recently." Bai Xian''er smiled.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman, and she openly returned his gaze.

    While Lu Yin had not recovered Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s memories, Lu Yin himself had already interacted with Bai Xian''er a few times. However, each time, Bai Xian¡¯er felt ephemeral.

    No matter if it was in regards to scheming or cultivation, Bai Xian''er had never fallen behind Lu Yin in any way. In fact, he always felt as though he was being outmaneuvered by this woman.

    Even if Lu Yin had felt that he could eventually overpower Bai Xian''er after their first meeting, something about the woman had always felt unreal.

    Could he really overpower Bai Xian''er? Lu Yin did not actually know just what Bai Xian''er cultivated, nor what her connection to Destiny was. After he had acquired Heaven¡¯s Sight, the first thing he had wanted to look at was Bai Xian''er.

    Remembering this, Heaven¡¯s Sight activated on Lu Yin''s forehead, and he focused on Bai Xian''er.

    She gave him a small smile. "Have you obtained Heaven¡¯s Sight, Brother Xiaoxuan? You now cultivate the power of the God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian¡ªall of the Three Realms. Of the Six Dao, you have the First Maind¡¯s stellr energy and the Third Maind¡¯s Wielder - Indestructible. Also, you are a member of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Lu family, which means that you possess the powers of three of the Six Dao.

    "The Three Realms Six Dao once represented the infinite possibilities of the Origin Universe, and you alone possess six of those nine powers, Brother Xiaoxuan. In the current universe, there is no one capable of suppressing you unless they are a peak powerhouse. You greatly surpass Junior Brother Chu Jian."

    Lu Yin gave the woman an odd look. "What about you?"

 Chapter 2818: The Highest Stage

    <h4>Chapter 2818: The Highest Stage</h4>

    At this moment, Lu Yin could not see anything at all. Bai Xian''er was not using any power at all. However, the less that Lu Yin could see, the more determined he was to gain a clear understanding of the women.

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "Of course I am no match for you, Brother Xiaoxuan."

    Lu Yin frowned. "You¡¯re one of the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciples. Have you never even considered trying to save a bit of face for her? Sage Yuan was one of hers and was just killed by me, and I also just defeated Chu Jian, who wasn¡¯t able to hurt me in the slightest. If you can¡¯t help save the situation somewhat, the Great Sovereign might not be too happy about things.¡±

    Bai Xian''er looked up at the Great Sovereign. "Master¡¯s magnanimity is as vast as the universe. She won¡¯t care about this. Besides..." She looked at Lu Yin with bright eyes, her smile steady and admiration readily apparent in her eyes. "I truly am not Brother Xiaoxuan''s opponent, so forcing myself to do something will only serve to embarrass Master even further."

    Lu Yin looked away and rubbed his wrist. "Where did you have your Semi-Progenitor breakthrough?"

    Bai Xian''er''s smile grew sweeter than ever. "The Cyclic Universe."

    "The stellr energy here seems to be the inverse of our own universe. How is a breakthrough possible here?"

    "If there was no connection, how could the energies be inverted?"

    This answer startled Lu Yin, and he turned back to stare at Bai Xian''er, finding that she was also staring at him. Everyone else was immersed in the Great Sovereign¡¯s lecture, which meant that only the two of them were aware of what was happening at this moment.

    Time passed, yet time seemed to be nothing more than an illusion. Only these two people had any idea what they saw during that time.

    Suddenly, a ray of dark red light shed, and the very next moment, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths cracked. The Stairway to Heaven was split into two, and Evergreen Sage was ripped from the maind.

    The lecture instantly stopped, the Great Sovereign staring off into the distance. For the first time, anger appeared in her sacred eyes. "Aeternus, how dare you-"

    Red light reced everything, illuminating the entire Cyclic Universe.

    Everyone''s face was illuminated by that red light.

    Lu Yin looked up and stared at the red sun that had appeared in shock. Was that divine energy?

    The Aeternals had attacked the tea ceremony.

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and all the other powerhouses stood up and looked beyond the area of the tea ceremony.

    At this moment, all the peak powerhouses attending the tea ceremony, as well as any watching them throughout the Sixverse Association, and even across the Endless Frontier, took action at this moment.

    This attack hade suddenly and without any warning.

    No one had expected Aeternus to suddenly attack during the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony.

    Nearly half of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses were attending the tea ceremony, and among them were the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. Such a powerful lineup had never been openly attacked by the Aeternals before. At this moment, True God Wei Yi arrived.

    "Tai Hong, it¡¯s been a very long time since you and Ist fought for real. Let¡¯s reach a decision at this tea ceremony!" A cold voice spoke from a great distance. After the words were spoken, dark-red divine energy filled the sky, and a man stepped out of the sun.

    The sun of divine energy was dazzling to look at. Lu Yin looked up, but the man¡¯s arrival caused the divine energy to grow brighter and brighter, until it was difficult for Lu Yin to make out any of the man¡¯s features.

    "Don''t look! Do you want to go blind?" Lord Wei shouted a warning to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin ducked his head. He had not even realized that two lines of bloody tears were flowing from the corners of his eyes. He had never noticed, and if not for Lord Wei¡¯s warning, Lu Yin would have lost his eyes.

    The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths trembled as one figure after another appeared outside the Heavenly Gate, apanied by an endless and terrifying pressure.

    "I''m so tired. I want to sleep."

    "It''s time to rearrange the megaverse. There is too much trash."

    "Kakaka, it''s finally time! We should have crashed this tea party a long time ago. It''s disgusting."

    "Whiteless God still hasn''te? I¡¯m going to talk to her after this battle."

    "Haha, who is that I see? Isn''t that little Lu Yin? Have you already stepped onto the highest stage? Do you want me to show you mercy?"

    "Kill."

    Six voices came from six of the Seven Skygods.

    Countless people felt their scalps go numb. True God Wei Yi had led the Seven Skygods to the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony. This was going to be an unprecedented battle.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Divine energy surged, and a violent power swept out. The incredible pressure pushed against Lu Yin, forcing him back and suffocating him. True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign were fighting. With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was able to see countless sequence particles filling the area. They permeated both the ground and the sky. These sequence particles belonged to both the Great Sovereign and the True God.

    Lu Yin had never seen such an incredible disy of sequence particles before.

    Old Mo was the first master of sequence particles that Lu Yin had faced, but if Old Mo werepared to the current battlefield, his sequence particles would be like the light of fireflies beside the moon. There was simply noparison, and yet the sequence particles that Lu Yin saw countered each otherpletely, preventing either side from influencing any of the surroundings.

    Mu Shen stepped forward. "Gu Yizhi, my Arboreal Realm helped the Third Maind on several asions, and yet all we received in return was betrayal. I¡¯ve sworn to kill you."

    A purplish-ck substance covered Ancient God¡¯s body. "Then go ahead and try it."

    Lord Xu let out a breath. "I will handle Forgotten Ruins God."

    "Kakaka, do you think that you have a choice?" Shaman God¡¯s doll appeared, only to shift into the void.

    Lord Xu turned around. "You¡¯ve finally appeared!."

    A card floated into the sky as Great Elder Shan Gu focused on ckless God.

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled sweetly. "With so many old guys here, who should I kill first?"

    "I am your opponent." Lord Wei stepped forward.

    The Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves appeared above Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s head, and sequence particles spread out. "All by yourself?"

    Lotuses bloomed in the void, moving closer to the world heads. "I¡¯ll join. The Seven Skygods are extremely difficult opponents."

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus joined the battle.

    A Spiral Domain, the Yin Yang Sword, and a white beard shot through the sky to attack Corpse God. Most of the Seven Skygods already had opponents, while Corpse God alone was facing no one.

    However, at that time, more figures stepped out of the void, and everyone''s scalps went numb when they saw who had arrived. There were no less than twenty Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank sharply. Where had Aeternus obtained so many Progenitor-level corpse kings?

    A wolf head shot through the sky, snapping at Lu Yin.

    He quickly dodged with Inverse Step, realizing that Forgotten Ruins God was targeting him.

    The wolf looked incredibly vicious, yet intelligence filled its eyes. It seemed to have Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s smile on its face as it chased after Lu Yin.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared over Lu Yin''s head, and the summoned Leng Qing stepped out to sh a de at the wolf head.

    Just as the de was about to make contact, Leng Qing disappeared, as did the Investiture of the Gods. The wolf head¡¯s open mouth descended upon Lu Yin.

    He stared up at the approaching wolf head in a daze. How was this possible? What had happened to his Investiture of the Gods? At some point in time, the wolf head¡¯s sequence particles had touched Lu Yin, and at that moment, he had forgotten everything. He had forgotten about his Investiture of the Gods, forgotten about his battle techniques and abilities, and even forgotten to defend himself. He could only stand in ce and do nothing as the wolf head devoured him.

    This not only happened to Lu Yin, but also to Lord Wei and Sovereign Ninth Lotus. Everyone targeted by a wolf head suffered the same fate.

    The Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves was not just Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s innate gift; it had also incorporated the woman¡¯s sequence particles to produce a terrifying ability that could instantly shift the tides of battle.

    Simultaneously, at least five peak powerhouses were targeted by a wolf head and forced to the brink of death.

    This was the power of the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin watched as the wolf head fell upon him. It was not that he was incapable of fighting back, but that he had simply forgotten to do so.

    At this moment, someone moved in front of Lu Yin. The person was wearing a blindfold and held a saber in both hands as they released a shing attack.

    This single sh cut through the sequence particles from the wolf head, while also slicing through the void and cutting the sequence particles that connected the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves.

    Still staring at the sky, Lu Yin clearly saw as the sequence particles were cut off.

    It was Mu Ke.

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin grew excited. Once again, he had been saved by his senior disciple brother.

    Mu Ke looked extremely upset. "The Seven Skygods possess strange abilities, and none of them have used their full strength yet. Be careful."

    Lu Yin nodded. Despite knowing just how dangerous Forgotten Ruins God was, he had still almost been killed by her. This showed the true strength of the Seven Skygods.

    Forgotten Ruins God shook her head. "A troublesome guy just showed up. This is a bit of a problem. Little Lu Yin, just how many times can you escape during this war? Haha. But then again, what of it? You¡¯ve lost your stage!"

    Lu Yin gazed at Forgotten Ruins God with fear. This was an old monster.

    Old Mo had led one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates during the Heavens Sect era, but at that time, Forgotten Ruins God had already been a Progenitor and the founder of the Wang family. She was a truly powerful Progenitor, who might have even ranked above the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Heavens Sect. She had probably been infinitely close to reaching the same level as the Three Realms Six Dao.

    Even to Old Mo, Forgotten Ruins God was an old monster.

    Some distance away, the Yin Yang Sword flipped through the sky to stab into the ground. Both Xu Heng and Xu Leng coughed up blood after being pped down by Corpse God.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Senior Brother!"

    Mu Ke looked over at Corpse God, and his de shed out, aiming at Corpse God¡¯s face with an attack that pierced the void.

    Corpse God simply raised a hand to block the attack before swatting down once again.

    Lu Yin was horrified. Mu Ke¡¯s de was even able to slice through sequence particles, which was proof of its power. And yet, Corpse God had blocked such an attack with his body.

    Corpse God¡¯s hand rose up and dropped back down. Mu Ke looked up and slowly raised his saber. The de disappeared.

    "Formless de Intent."

    A soft voice reached Lu Yin''s ears. He could see that there was no de in Mu Ke¡¯s hand, but Corpse God suddenly pulled his arm back, and the void waspletely shredded apart, revealing the Hollow. Nothing could even be seen with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Lu Yin felt that, if Corpse God had not retracted his arm, Mu Ke would have severed it.

    "You are not part of the n," Corpse God said as he stared at Mu Ke.

    Mu Ke raised his hand. There was clearly no de in his hand, but at this moment, everyst de at the tea ceremony screamed as one, even those that wielded by peak powerhouses.

    Any peak powerhouse who had reached that level with a de would possess incredible control over their weapon. But at this moment, no one was able to fully control their de, and it was because all the weapons had been influenced by Mu Ke. He was the sharpest de at the tea ceremony.

    "There should have been some sort of sacrifice to produce such a powerful de." Corpse God grabbed a corpse king who had been fighting with Bureau Director Gan and threw the monster at Mu Ke.

    The man¡¯s arm fell, and the Progenitor-level corpse king was split in two, not having the slightest opportunity to fight back at all.

    However, the de had already fallen, and Corpse God swung his fist at Mu Ke. Another de appeared in front of the man, crossing his body.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A deafening noise rang out. Mu Ke had been punched by Corpse God, and he was forced to retreat a great distance.

    Once again, the Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin¡¯s head, and Progenitor Nong, Leng Qing, and Xia Shenji all stepped forward to attack Corpse God.

    At the same time, Lu Yin threw the jiao through the sky. "Bite him!"

    The jiao struggled, but it did not dare to obey Lu Yi this time. This opponent was too terrifying.

    Progenitor Nong''s hoe and Leng Qing''s de struck out at the same time, and Xia Shenji instantly used his Shenwu World. Lu Yin went all out and had all his summons attack Corpse God''s arm at full power.

    However, not even three Progenitors together could harm Corpse God in the slightest.

    This time, Lu Yin was able to clearly see how Corpse God¡¯s massive body was shrouded with sequence particles. What kind of sequence particles were they?

    For the first time, Lu Yin saw sequence particles hidden within an actual body.

    Progenitor Nong copsed, quickly followed by Leng Qing as well. Finally, Xia Shenji fell.

    The jiao never even dared to get close to Corpse God.

    Mu Ke was still retreating. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. The Withered Bark in his body that was still transforming into a star shook violently, and the power of time moved to envelop Lu Yin¡¯s fist just as a purplish-ck substance covered it. Lu Yin punched at Corpse God, confining the attack with the power of time before releasing fifty punches.

    Mu Ke cried out, "NO!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist grazed Mu Ke¡¯s cheek as it traveled towards Corpse God.

 Chapter 2819: True God Guard

    <h4>Chapter 2819: True God Guard</h4>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Lu Yin felt as though he had just struck an immovable object, and it felt as though his arm was about to shatter. He was forced back, just like Mu Ke.

    There was no time to consider what had happened, so Lu Yin immediately pulled out the slipper and swung it.

    With a snap, the slipper attacked. Lu Yin could see that it caused the sequence particles to ripple, which made Corpse God wary. He pulled his arm back.

    Both Lu Yin and Mu Ke had been forced back, and they both spat out blood.

    This was terrifying, but it was the power of Corpse God¡¯s punch.

    While Mu Ke''s saber was truly powerful, he was not able to endure Corpse God¡¯s punch if his de missed.

    Corpse God stared at Lu Yin. "Hand me your cosmic ring."

    As he spoke, the Skygod¡¯s hand fell again, covered with a rising number of sequence particles. This attack was even more overwhelming than thest punch.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. What a monstrous opponent.

    "Pull back." Mu Ke pulled Lu Yin backwards, then spun around and stabbed at Corpse God.

    Xu Wuwei, Mr. Daheng, Bureau Director Gan, and the other peak powerhouses all attacked Corpse God at the same time, enduring the iing attacks of the Progenitor-level corpse kings. Corpse God was the greatest threat, and if he was allowed to roam free, he would kill everyone, one by one.

    Lu Yin gasped.

    How much time had passed since True God Wei Yi first appeared? Already, Lu Yin had almost died twice. Forgotten Ruins God had been absolutely right; this was indeed the highest stage. Lu Yin¡¯s various abilities and tools, such as the Investiture of the Gods and the slipper, barely allowed him to stand on the same level as a peak powerhouse. However, he was still a very, very long way away from being able to truly participate at this level. He had a very long way to go still.

    "Something¡¯s not right." Despite Mu ke¡¯s blindfold, he seemed fully capable of seeing.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "You are my senior disciple brother, aren¡¯t you?"

    Mu Ke frowned. "The True God Guard is here, but their captains are not."

    Lu Yin was very confused.

    Battles had erupted in every direction. The fights that involved Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and other peak powerhouses all involved sequence particles. And right in front of Lu Yin, arge number of peak powerhouses were attacking Corpse God, only for all of them to still be overpowered by the lone Aeternal.

    "Senior Brother, Senior Xu Wuwei and the others aren¡¯t able to hold on any longer," Lu Yin said.

    Xu Wuwei had also reached the level of controlling sequence particles, but his mastery was far inferior to Corpse God¡¯s. His Spiral Domain waspletely unable to hurt Corpse God at all.

    He finally understood why Xu Wuwei had been so reluctant to go to the Endless Frontier. It was possible that even Xu Wuwei might not be able to survive a confrontation against one of the Seven Skygods. If not for the tea ceremony suddenly being attacked, the Void Suprema might have fled long ago.

    Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber. "Observe the battlefield and think about how to alter the bnce. There is a meaning for everyone¡¯s existence, and there is a purpose for every battle.

    "This massive battle wasunched too abruptly, and if the captains of the True God Guard are not here, then something must be wrong."

    Lu Yin suppressed his first impulses. "What is the True God Guard?"

    Mu Ke slowly lifted his saber, looking as though he was contemting where to strike. "Ten corpse kings form a team, while a hundred corpse kings form a full battalion. This is the True God Guard. There¡¯s a captain for every ten corpse kings. They are able to fight at my level with the help of divine energy, making them second only to the Seven Skygods. However, while the True God Guard is here, none of its captains are. That is a problem, and this may not be the only ce that has been attacked at this moment."

    As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Ke disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already behind Corpse God, unleashing a direct attack.

    Corpse God bent his left arm and mmed it down with an incredible amount of force. His flesh was sliced away, revealing his bones, but Mu Ke¡¯s de also shattered during the attack.

    Lu Yin stood where he was, dazed. Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s words kept echoing in his mind. ¡°What of it? You¡¯ve lost your stage!¡±

    <i>You¡¯ve lost your stage!</i>

    <i>You¡¯ve lost your stage!</i>

    Lu Yin felt increasingly uneasy. Suddenly, he noticed that someone was staring at him. He instinctively turned to look and found that it was Sovereign Shao Yin.

    The man was fighting against a Progenitor-level corpse king, and yet his eyes were fixed on Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Lu Yin did not see determination in the Sovereign¡¯s eyes, nor focus on the battle at hand, but rather ridicule and pride. What was Sovereign Shao Yin so proud of at this time?

    Sovereign Shao Yin had not expected Lu Yin to have the ability to pay attention to him during the battle, so he sneered as he continued to fight against the corpse king.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Sovereign Shao Yin, even as Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s words echoed in his mind. Additionally, some of the information regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile that Xia Shenji¡¯s clone had revealed to him when he reced the main body urred to Lu Yin.

    Wang Fan had used Wang Si to instigate the four ruling powers into banishing the Lu family, while at the same time, Sovereign Shao Yin had made a terrible mistake. Topensate for that error, the Sovereign had suggested to the Great Sovereign that the Lu family be forced to take responsibility for the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s crimes.

    Both of the two had taken action at almost precisely the same time.

    After that, the four ruling powers had cooperated with the Great Sovereign to exile the Lu family by force.

    Even if Wang Fan insisted that he had no connection to Sovereign Shao Yin, Lu Yin would never believe it in a million years.

    In a sense, the two men were solely responsible for the Lu family¡¯s exile. Without either one of the two, the scheme would have never worked.

    Without the four ruling powers, in order for the Great Sovereign to banish the Lu family, she would have had to wage a war against the entire Origin Universe. The Lu family could have then awakened Ancestor Lu Yuan, which would have been enough to stop the Sixverse Association¡¯s efforts.

    Without the Great Sovereign, the ruling powers would have never been able to block off Ancestor Lu Yuan. Without that ancient powerhouse¡¯s perception being blocked, not even the Python Ancestor moving would have been guaranteed to banish the Lu family.

    Both parts werepletely indispensable, and it was only the perfectbination of the two that had led to the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    In that case, just what was the motivation behind the Lu family¡¯s exile?

    The jealousy of the four ruling powers? Sovereign Shao Yin hoping topensate for his mistakes? That was too simple to be believed.

    As soon as Lu Yin heard the story from Xia Shenji, he had postted a wild suspicion that either Sovereign Shao Yin or Wang Fan might be a spy, possibly even both. After all, the Lu family¡¯s exile benefited Aeternus more than anyone else. Only after that could the benefits reaped by Sovereign Shao Yin and the four ruling powers be considered.

    After forming his suspicion, Lu Yin had ordered people to investigate the Cyclic Universe so that he could learn as much about Sovereign Shao Yin as possible.

    After bing a peak powerhouse, Sovereign Shao Yin had asionally made mistakes, some of which had infuriated the Great Sovereign. However, the Sovereign had also managed to make amends for each mistake, all of which was predicated on the idea of harming others, such as the Lu family or the Lost n. This was a major reason why Sovereign Shao Yin was almost universally despised by the entire Sixverse Association.

    However, if the man was actually a spy, then everything fit together surprisingly well.

    It would only make sense for a spy to help Aeternus at critical moments and cause humanity to suffer losses. It was also very reasonable for a spy to instigate a war between the Cyclic Universe and the Lost n, as well as to exile the Lu family. No matter how Lu Yin considered the matter, Sovereign Shao Yin being a spy only made sense.

    <i>If Sovereign Shao Yin was a spy, did he actually know that Xuan Qi was Lu Yin?</i>

    Lu Yin stared intently at the Sovereign. All of the nearby battles seemed to be cut off from Lu Yin. He could not even hear anything as he focused solely on Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Could the man have known that Xuan Qi was Lu Yin? If the Sovereign was a spy, there was no way he would not have known. However, if that were true, then why had the entire scheme been carried out at the tea ceremony? That had resulted in Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji being condemned to the Endless Frontier. For what purpose did that serve?

    Lu Yin''s expression suddenly changed as he once again remembered Forgotten Ruins God''s words, and he thought of the Origin Universe. If Sovereign Shao Yin was indeed a spy, then framing Lu Yin as a spy would only serve to pull Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan away from the Origin Universe. Humanity had lost two of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Regardless of how things yed out, the two would not be in the Origin Universe.

    In that case, then the Origin Universe had to be facing a simrly brutal assault at this moment.

    That had to be Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s purpose. Aeternus was not actually targeting the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony, but rather the Origin Universe. That was why Forgotten Ruins God had said that Lu Yin had lost his stage.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. He wanted to immediately leave and return to the Origin Universe.

    While everything was pure spection, if it proved true, then how could the Origin Universe endure an assault from the Aeternals?

    Before leaving for the tea ceremony, Lu Yin had left a few back-ups behind in the Heavens Sect as a precaution, but there was no way that those precautions were enough to stop Aeternus.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. He had wanted to wait until he became a Semi-Progenitor and brought his Lu family back before forcing an investigation into Sovereign Shao Yin. This man was one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns, which ced him just below the Great Sovereign herself. Unfortunately, waiting meant that Lu Yin was already toote.

    Sovereign Shao Yin turned his head to nce at Lu Yin again, and killing intent zed in the Sovereign¡¯s eyes. Could the brat have guessed the truth?

    ...

    In the Origin Universe, a person stepped out in the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm, just in front of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s main gate. His slitted scarlet eyes looked at the gate for a moment before he struck out with a palm.

    Aeternus was not able to invade the Origin Universe en masse, as they needed to first pass through the rear battlefield. However, their Progenitor-level experts were able to enter freely, as long as there was a coordinate seal.

    In the past, the presence of Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors meant that the Aeternals had to avoid invading in this manner, but that was no longer an issue.

    As the Progenitor-level corpse king¡¯s palm fell, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s gate shattered, and countless screams rang out within the sect.

    Bai Qi raised her head and screamed, "Corpse king! A Progenitor-level corpse king-"

    The corpse king looked down from high above, its arm raised high as it tore the void open. When another palm strike fell, the entire Celestial Frost Sect shook.

    The clouds in the sky above the sect suddenly gathered and blocked the attack. A gentle white light tried to push the monster away.

    More Progenitor-level corpse kings attacked Shenwu¡¯s Sky, the Wang family, and Dragon Mountain.

    Wang Jian stepped out of the Dominion Realm. He was another one of the Wang family¡¯s Progenitors, and after Wang Fan¡¯s shadow clone, Specter Progenitor, had been ordered to help protect the Sixverse Association, Wang Jian had been left behind. At this moment, he was the only remaining Progenitor in the Perennial World. The only other beings with that level of strength were the Divine Eagle and the Python Ancestor.

    Dragon Mountain cracked. The Progenitor-level corpse king seemed to have entered a killing spree. It waved a hand, massacring all that it saw.

    Long Ke roared as slitted scarlet eyes appeared in front of him. A momentter, his body was nothing but ash. Even at the moment of his death, the man had never considered that he would die to a corpse king on Dragon Mountain itself.

    Long Tian''s eyes zed red as he charged at the Progenitor-level corpse king, only to be held back by Long Laogui. "Don''t be reckless. That¡¯s a Progenitor-level corpse king."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang released his inner world, and a green dragon appeared, mming into the corpse king. However, the jiao¡¯s tail was ripped off by the corpse king, and it let out a miserable howl. Ni Huang regretted keeping his n in the Higher Realm. They should have descended to the Lower Realm where they would have been under the Python Ancestor¡¯s protection. Who would dare to attack the White Dragon n in such a situation? The man deeply regretted his decision!

    Dragon Mountain looked like hell.

    Right before everything was destroyed, Long Xi threw out Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye. "Grand Elder!"

    Ni Huang stared nkly at the strange eye. <i>What is this?</i>

    The corpse king tore at Ni Huang with its ws, and the man stopped hesitating. He opened his mouth to swallow the eye, and at the same time, he roared at the sky.

    The entire Higher Realm of the Perennial World was being attacked by Progenitor-level corpse kings, but the Origin Universe¡¯s true battlefield was in the Fifth Maind, at the Heavens Sect.

    At the exact same moment that True God Wei Yi attacked the Great Sovereign''s tea ceremony, humanoid figures tore through the void to arrive just outside the Heavens Sect, brimming with a bloodthirst aura.

    Mu Xie and the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors stepped out from the sect, looking ahead in shock at the sight of ten Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Arch-Elder Zen was stunned. "Where did so many of theme from?"

    Cloudflow''s face turned pale. He had fought against Aeternus before, and he struggled against even one Progenitor-level corpse king. Seeing ten such monsters was terrifying.

    Leng Qing clenched the hilt of his saber, Master Shan took a deep breath, Chen Le gritted his teeth, and Monarch Xing grew incredibly solemn.

 Chapter 2820: Requesting Reinforcements

    <h4>Chapter 2820: Requesting Reinforcements</h4>

    Seven Progenitors faced off against ten Progenitor-level corpse kings. This was clearly a numerical disadvantage, but people like Mu Xie and Leng Qing were capable of handling more than one opponent.

    "Everyone, this is the moment of truth for our Heavens Sect. This is our battle to protect the Heavens Sect with our lives!" Arch-Elder Zen shouted.

    "Stay in the Heavens Sect!

    "No one beneath the Progenitor realm is allowed toe out!"

    After that promation, the Heavens Sect¡¯s seven Progenitors charged at the ten Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Unimaginable destructive power rumbled out in every direction.

    Fortunately, the Heavens Sect blocked the power in one direction; otherwise, the destruction would have swept across the entire gxy.

    Within the Heavens Sect, the Progenitor of Bloodlines looked up. No one had expected ten of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings to suddenly appear and attack them. Such an event had not even been considered.

    Without their Dao Monarch, this battle would absolutely determine the Heavens Sect¡¯s survival.

    Lu Buzheng, Skymender, Cai Er, and the other Semi-Progenitors all watched. They were forbidden from participating in this battle of Progenitors, but they knew that they were powerful Realmbreakers who could threaten the average Progenitor.

    Hen Xin, Destina, Yao Di, and several others all looked towards the Heavens Sect. They simply did not know if they should approach this battle or not.

    In a very short amount of time, the Outerverse had beenpletely overturned.

    Leng Qing¡¯s de shed, wounding a corpse king. This monster possessed the physical strength of a Progenitor, but it did not truly possess the strength of a Progenitor. Such a creature was not a difficult opponent for Leng Qing. His de attacked one of the corpse kings while he faced another with his body, not suffering a disadvantage against either opponent.

    Arch-Elder Zen used his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon Xue Wuqing and Progenitor Hui, both of whom easily fended off a corpse king on their own.

    Mu Xie also overpowered two of the Progenitor-level corpse kings on his own. Many people were relieved at the sight. While the ten Progenitor-level corpse kings were undoubtedly very powerful, fortunately, they were not true Progenitors, and theycked that level of strength. With time, the humans would eradicate all of the corpse kings.

    Suddenly, shadows enveloped the area, and a massive thing squeezed out from the void and mmed against the Heavens Sect.

    Leng Qing was startled, and countless des rose up from below. This was the Celestial de World, and the endless des stabbed into the massive form.

    The Celestial de World was an extremely sharp attack, and anyone who entered Leng Qing¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world had to ovee the threat of the des lest they be skewered by endless des.

    This huge object had a shiny ck surface. It stepped on the Celestial de and crashed against the Heavens Sect.

    If Lu Yin were present, he would have instantly recognized it as the camphor bug. This was the same beast that had escaped from the Big Stone Universe on the Endless Frontier.

    The camphor bug possessed an incredibly tough body, but Lu Yin had perfectly countered the creature by smashing its back with his slipper. If not for that, anyone else would struggle to ovee the creature¡¯s absurd defenses.

    When the camphor bug appeared and mmed into the Heavens Sect, not even Leng Qing could stop it.

    However, at thest moment, Ancestor Tortoise retracted its head and limbs into its shell and mmed into the side of the camphor bug.

    The two were about the same size, and Ancestor Tortoise forcefully bashed the bug away.

    Countless people were stunned. No one had thought that Ancestor Tortoise could stand up to a beast with the strength of a Progenitor. This massive bug was even capable of shrugging off Leng Qing¡¯s Celestial de World, so why had Ancestor Tortoise taken action against it?

    On the back of Ancestor Tortoise, the entire Mavis family waspletely shocked.

    Heluo Mavis was clinging to the trunk of the Divine Tree. "Is Ancestor Tortoise really that powerful?"

    There was no one in the Mavis family who could answer her. Ancestor Tortoise had been lured from the Lu family by the Mavis family. They had believed that the tortoise was as strong as a Semi-Progenitor, despite its absurd size. After all, Ancestor Tortoise had always acted scared of the jiao and been unwilling to even face the beast. Who could have anticipated that Ancestor Tortoise would reveal such an incredible amount of strength at this critical moment?

    Lu Buzheng heaved a sigh of relief. He had heard from Lu Yin that Ancestor Tortoise was an odd creature. While it was usually bullied by the jiao, the jiao never tried to do anything more than intimidate the tortoise. This did not match the jiao¡¯s aggressive personality, and it indicated that it could not actually do anything to Ancestor Tortoise.

    Ancestor Tortoise was far from weak. Actually, the only reason why Ancestor Tortoise was regarded as rtively weak was because the tortoise had been so scared of Corpse God that it had fled the battlefield.

    However, who did not fear Corpse God? He was one of the Seven Skygods. Only recently had Lu Yin truly begun to understand the horror of the Seven Skygods.

    Animals possessed a far more honed intuition than humans. It was perfectly normal for Ancestor Tortoise to be afraid of Corpse God.

    The camphor bug was knocked aside. On its back, a man in pitch-ck armor could be seen. The armorpletely covered the man¡¯s face, hands, and legs. He sat up and rubbed his head. "Who just hit me?"

    Ancestor Tortoise''s head had been pulled into its shell, and it warily stared at the stranger on the camphor bug''s back. The tortoise sensed danger.

    The stranger in the pitch ck armor turned his head and looked at Ancestor Tortoise. He was briefly stunned, but then he quickly grew ecstatic. "Great, another pet! Child, did you hit me? That¡¯s perfect! It was a love tap! It had to be a love tap. Just wait a bit, and big brother will show you some love soon!¡±

    The moment the man finished speaking, the camphor bug turned around and mmed into Ancestor Tortoise.

    The tortoise¡¯s head pulled tighter into its shell as tighter as the camphor bug smashed against it.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The deafening noise hurt countless people¡¯s ears.

    Everyone watched on in horror as the two monstrous creatures filled the area. They smashed against each other with unstoppable force and horrifying crashes.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, Leng Qing sighed. Two Progenitor-level corpse kings attacked him at once, one from the front, and the other from the back. The Progenitor¡¯s eyes shed, and his saber rose up to sh out. There was a hissing sound, and an arm was severed from the corpse king in front of Leng Qing.

    The Progenitor-level corpse kings were unable to block Leng Qing''s de, even after using a Gray Eyes Corpse King Transformation that reinforced their strength ten times over.

    Just as Leng Qing was about tosh out a second time, he swayed on his feet and almost dropped his weapon.

    He was ovee with a strange feeling, and countless voices echoed in his mind. He felt as though he was about to lose consciousness.

    The Progenitor¡¯s eyes suddenly red. He was the gatemaster of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. He was the first of his peers to be a Progenitor after the reestablishment of the Heavens Sect. How could he fall to a sneak attack? "Get out here!"

    A man stepped out of the void in the distance and eximed, "Very few are able to resist my consciousness. You are very impressive."

    Leng Qing stared at the man even while dodging the corpse kings¡¯ relentless attacks. "Who are you?"

    "Allow me to introduce myself. I am a captain of the True God Guard, the Chiliagonist."

    The True God Guard? Leng Qing had never heard of them, though it was clear that this person was a very difficult opponent. Was he a corpse king?

    Far away, Mu Xie had also encountered an oddity. His power had been torn apart by some unknown force. However, his power had not been actually torn apart, but rather strangely transformed into a t surface, much like a sheet of paper. It was this paper-like form that had been torn apart.

    The person who had attacked was a woman with long orange-red hair. She was wearing a form-fitting white outfit and white-orange boots. She slowly approached Mu Xie.

    The man stared at the new arrival. "Another corpse king?"

    The woman looked up, revealing solid orange eyes to Mu Xie. However, these eyes were clearly not the slitted scarlet eyes of a corpse king. "Captain of the True God Guard, Ju Ji. Please guide me."

    Mu Xie was confused. "The True God Guard?"

    Ju Ji raised a slender finger and pointed it at Mu Xie. "nar Conversion."

    As she spoke, a strange power swept over Mu Xie. His eyes shed. This woman was not a simple opponent.

    Along with the man d in ck armor who rode atop the camphor bug, three captains of the True God Guard had arrived.

    In an instant, the bnce of the battle shifted. These captains were strong enough to hold back Leng Qing, Mu Xie, and the other powerful individuals from the Heavens Sect on their own. Thus, the Progenitor-level corpse kings who had been fighting the Progenitors could now aim at the Heavens Sect.

    The pressure brought on by the approach of four Progenitor-level corpse kings terrified many of the people in the Heavens Sect.

    Beside the cauldron, He Ran was terrified. How could this happen? She had thought that she was in a safe ce and that the only thing she needed to deal with was Xuan Qi. Why had the Heavens Sect suddenly be a battlefield? <i>One, two, three, four, five... How many peak powerhouses are attacking?</i>

    He Ran had visited the battlefield at the border of the Transcendent Universe before, but at most, only two of the enemy¡¯s peak powerhouses had ever appeared. This, on the other hand...

    The woman was utterly stunned. She had never witnessed such a chaotic battle before.

    There had to be more than twenty peak powerhouses engaged in a massive brawl. This was more intense than even the worst battlefield on the Endless Frontier.

    Had the Origin Universe be a part of the Endless Frontier? Was He Ran suddenly on the frontlines of the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus?

    Lu Buzheng let out a long breath. It was their turn to take action. They were Realmbreakers who could challenge Progenitors. This was something that each of the Twelve Heavenly Gatemasters was capable of doing.

    However, there were too many opponents, and Hen Xin, Destina, and others were not present.

    "We''ll handle two of them, which leaves the other two to you. Do your best to keep them upied." Shan Pu stepped out with Fang Yi beside him. However, she should really be referred to as Shan Fangyi at this point, as she had be a peak powerhouse herself.

    Before Lu Yin went to the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony, he had made a point to contact the Lost n and ask them to send two Progenitor-level experts to help protect the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had known from the beginning that the tea ceremony would not be a simple matter. The four ruling powers and Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to eliminate Lu Yin, and while he could deal with the threats that he could see, it was difficult to deal with threats that could not be predicted.

    Lu Yin was smart, but he knew that others were not stupid. The best he could do was leave as many backup ns as possible.

    The Lost n had honored Lu Yin¡¯s request without hesitation, which had exceeded Lu Yin''s expectations. He had truly only wanted one of the Lost n¡¯s peak powerhouse to help protect the Heavens Sect, and he had intended to ask Xu Wuji to also help. But surprisingly, the Lost n had sent two experts.

    The addition of two Progenitor-level experts and Cloudflow, all of whom had been hiding in the Heavens Sect, should have been enough to deal with most unseen threats. Even if Bai Sheng and the four ruling powers¡¯ other Progenitors had returned to wage war on the Heavens Sect, they would not have been able to do anything.

    Not even Lu Yin had predicted that Aeternus would suddenly attack the Heavens Sect with captains of the True God Guard, as well as ten Progenitor-level corpse kings. This was not something that he could have predicted, as he had not even known about the existence of the True God Guard.

    Who could have predicted that True God Wei Yi would suddenly attack the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony while the True God Guard attacked the Heavens Sect?

    All that could be said was that the Aeternals had nned too thoroughly and possessed too deep a foundation.

    The two peak powerhouses from the Lost n took action, while Cai Er and Lu Buzheng targeted the other two Progenitor-level corpse kings. The Semi-Progenitors asked themselves if they could handle such opponents.

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, Wang Wen stared out at the battle in outer space, sighing. The oue of this battle would determine the fate of humanity. If nothing else, he should find a way to stay alive.

    Thinking of this, he took out his transparent coffin andid down while many people gave him extremely odd looks.

    <i>Your Royal Chesspiece, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you, but that I really can¡¯t! Everyone, I wish you luck!</i>

    ...

    In the Cyclic Universe, at the tea ceremony, a wolf head appeared over Lu Yin once again. Forgotten Ruins God had no intention of letting him go.

    However, against an opponent like Forgotten Ruins God, Lu Yin could only flee.

    The gap between those who controlled sequence particles and those who could not was terrifyingly vast. It was no different from a chasm.

    Against nearly any other opponent, Lu Yin was strong enough to face them, even Progenitors as powerful as Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan. However, against Forgotten Ruins God and her mastery of sequence particles, Lu Yin could not even attack. Every time he tried, he would forget what he was doing. If it was impossible to defend oneself in a battle, how could a person hope to fight at all?

    Lu Yin dodged with Inverse Step while pulling out a wireless jincan.

    It was trembling crazily.

    The unease in Lu Yin''s heart grew even more intense, so he checked the message.

    <i>The Heavens Sect has been attacked by more than ten Progenitor-level corpse kings.</i> A single sentence saw Lu Yin¡¯s heart drop out.

    About a dozen Progenitor-level corpse kings... This would be fine if they were all Progenitor-level corpse kings that possessed an average level of strength, but this message meant that the Heavens Sect was requesting for reinforcements. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, Arch-Elder Zen, and the other Progenitors protecting the Heavens Sect, they were still asking for help. Lu Yin could only imagine the pressure that the Heavens Sect was facing.

    Lu Yin looked back at Sovereign Shao Yin one again, seeing that the man could only barely keep his arrogance hidden.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to guess¡ªhe was already 90% certain that the Sovereign was a spy.

 Chapter 2821: Lu Yin And Sovereign Shao Yin

    <h4>Chapter 2821: Lu Yin And Sovereign Shao Yin</h4>

    Lu Yin really wanted to expose Sovereign Shao Yin right now, but if the man was exposed, he would turn around and help the Aeternals, which would make the current battle far more difficult.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was one of the Three Sovereigns, and there was no chance that the man was a weakling. He could fight against the Seven Skygods themselves. Regardless of whether he would win or lose, there was no question that the man had some control over sequence particles.

    Any peak powerhouse who had touched upon thews of the universe could change the bnce of the battle.

    If Sovereign Shao Yin went to the Heavens Sect, there was no one there who could stop the Sovereign.

    The Heavens Sect stillcked a sequence powerhouse.

    "Be careful." Manifested thought suddenly appeared behind Lu Yin, isting him from the sudden appearance of Shaman God¡¯s doll.

    The doll chuckled. "Kakaka, why are you helping him? Lord Wei, do you really think that this child was forced to go against you by the You family?"

    Lu Yin frowned and pped at the doll with his slipper.

    Shaman God¡¯s doll kept its odd smile. "He Ran has gone missing. You should also carefully investigate Bai Qian''s identity, Lord Wei. Kakaka!"

    "Ridiculous." The manifested thought formed what looked to be a funnel, separating Lu Yin from the doll.

    Lu Yin was surprised by Lord Wei''s behavior. Regardless of whether Lu Yin had any connection to the You family''s rebellion, Lord Wei had offered Lu Yin support and help several times during the tea ceremony, and he had once again just saved Lu Yin. There was no denying that this was somewhat odd behavior.

    "You helped me deal with Luo Shan, so I¡¯ll return the favor here." Lu Yin heard Lord Wei¡¯s voice.

    This exined the current situation.

    Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan had cooperated with the You family in an attempt to overthrow Lord Wei. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had been looking for an opportunity to deal with Luo Shan, but the Monarch was also one of the rulers of a member universe of the Sixverse Association. Such a person was not easy to deal with, and Lu Yin¡¯s actions had just happened to align with Lord Wei¡¯s own goals.

    "Thank you, and be careful. Shaman God controls the power of space," Lu Yin warned.

    After a pause, he nced over at Sovereign Shao Yin and whispered, "Also, Sovereign Shao Yin might be a spy."

    The manifested thought clearly froze for a moment.

    Some distance away, Lord Wei and Sovereign Ninth Lotus were still both fighting against Forgotten Ruins God. Lord Wei had practically transformed into pure manifested thought that was constantly isting Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s sequence particles. However, Lu Yin''s words caused the man to stare at Sovereign Shao Yin in shock.

    Lu Yin had to warn the man, as if Sovereign Shao Yinunched a sneak attack without any warning, he could cause too much damage if no one was on guard against him.

    Lu Yin did not want to push Sovereign Shao Yin to help the Aeternals during the battle, but if the Sovereign was already nning to sneak attack one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s powerhouses, it would devastate the human forces.

    Before Lu Yin was able to unravel Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s goals, he could take a few precautions.

    Lu Yin¡¯s choices had to follow whichever risky path led to the smallest threat.

    As soon as Lu Yin delivered his warning, he moved to tear through the void and leave. He needed to return and help the Heavens Sect.

    However, as soon as he tried to do so, his expression changed. It was impossible to leave.

    "Kaka, boy, the moment this battle started, there was no way in or out of this ce. How could it be so easy to escape from this battlefield?" Shaman Godughed.

    An ugly expression contorted Lu Yin¡¯s face as the realization that he could not leave set in. This was no different from when he had fallen into the trap in the Sixth Maind and been forced to fight against a monstrous corpse king. However, just because Jiang Qingyue had not been able to leave at that time did not mean that Lu Yin had truly been trapped.

    His power appeared from within his chest, spreading out to form his own universe. Again, Lu Yin tore the void open, but his movements suddenly stopped. The instant that he had opened a path to Aeternus Nation, it had closed again.

    <i>What just happened? Let me try again.</i>

    Again the void was torn apart, but again, the same scenario repeated.

    <i>I really can¡¯t leave. Though, it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t leave, but...</i>

    Lu Yin looked at Forgotten Ruins God. She was the one stopping him.

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled at Lu Yin. "Little Lu Yin, it''s not that easy to leave this stage."

    Lu Yin had developed in a manner that allowed him to almost perfectly counter many people, but there were still people who could simrly counter him, and Forgotten Ruins God was one of those individuals.

    Lu Yin possessed many abilities and tools. No matter how desperate the situation, he was confident of at least surviving, given all that he was capable of. Even when he had fallen into the Aeternals¡¯ trap and been captured by a sourcebox array that was designed to keep him from escaping, had he actually been unable to leave? If not for feeling responsible for Jiang Qingyue, the power system within Lu Yin¡¯s chest would have allowed him to leave whenever he wished.

    However, even if he possessed even greater power, what did it matter if he simply forgot about it?

    Forgotten Ruins God was Lu Yin¡¯s perfect counter, as she could make him forget about all of his various abilities, even the ones that could allow him to survive his current challenge.

    Lu Yin did not know how Forgotten Ruins God was doing it, as he could not see any sequence particles touching him with Heaven¡¯s Sight, but even so, he had forgotten. Right at the moment that he had torn the void apart and prepared to leave, he had forgotten how to move or search for a parallel universe. He had forgotten everything.

    Even if it had onlysted for a moment, it had still prevented Lu Yin from leaving.

    A seductive smile crept across Forgotten Ruins God''s face. "Thews of a universe are not as simple as what you can see!"

    This simple sentence offered Lu Yin a new understanding of sequence particles and thews of the universe. Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed him to see sequence particles, but did that mean that he was able to see all thews of a universe?

    Sequence particles were nothing more than an external expression of thews of a universe, but that did not mean that thosews could not take on other forms.

    If Heaven''s Sight were truly omnipotent, Wu Tian would have never disappeared.

    On top of that, Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation was toocking for him to manifest the true power of Heaven''s Sight.

    The fact that it was practically impossible for Lu Yin to leave sent a chill to his bones. At the moment, he was being forced to face attacks from six of the Seven Skygods who all wanted him dead. At the same time, the Heavens Sect was facing a desperate situation. All of Aeternus seemed to have been fully roused and appeared determined to eliminate humanity once and for all.

    At some point in time, a dark power moved closer to Lu Yin. It was Sovereign Shao Yin. He had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s warning to Lord Wei, though the Sovereign was shocked that the youth had seen through him.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had no idea what had gone wrong, but it did not actually matter. Since he had been exposed, he shouldpletely break free from the Sixverse Association. The Great Sovereign was being held back by True God Wei Yi, and she was unable to do anything to Shao Yin. Thus, he decided topletely drop the act and publicly expose himself in order to destroy the tea ceremony.

    He had aplished enough over the many years.

    "Rotting the Heavenly Dao."

    Lu Yin whirled around and struck at the dark-green Extreme Yin power that had been creeping towards him from the side. He was instantly attacked again, though by a Divine Yin Awl. This was a full-powered Progenitor-level weapon that was shooting at Lu Yin, and once again, he retaliated with the slipper.

    There was a snap, and the Divine Yin Awl shattered.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was shocked. He had not expected the slipper in Lu Yin''s hand to be so powerful.

    Even so, it was nothing more than a tool.

    The decaying power of Extreme Yin circled around Lu Yin, and Lu Yin could see the arc of sequence particles approaching, rotting the void as they drew closer. Just as he had assumed, Sovereign Shao Yin was also a sequence powerhouse.

    Mu Ke, Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, Lord Wei, and the others at their level all already had their own opponents. There was no one to help Lu Yin, which left him to face Sovereign Shao Yin on his own.

    The Rot Particles were something that Lu Yin had never faced before.

    Sovereign Shao Yin dodged the slipper, and the power of Extreme Yin formed currents that shot forward in waves.

    Lu Yin toyed with the spatial lines he could see, only to discover that even those had been rotted. He used Inverse Step, creating an area of chaotic time and space. He wanted to dodge the Extreme Yin power, but he soon found that it had filled the entire area around him.

    A purplish-ck substance spread across Lu Yin¡¯s body, and heshed out with a palm strike. It was an impressively powerful attack, but while it sessfully pushed back the Extreme Yin power slightly, the attack was also touched by the sequence particles, and Lu Yin¡¯s arm started to rot from the mere touch.

    "There¡¯s no reversing the effect of Rotting the Heavenly Dao. Die, brat." Sovereign Shao Yin showed a vicious grin. "Did you really think that I didn¡¯t know that you were Xuan Qi?"

    Above Lu Yin''s head, the golden light of his Investiture of the Gods erupted. Xia Shenji, Leng Qing, and Progenitor Nong all attacked, quickly eliminating the power of Extreme Yin. However, just as Sovereign Shao Yin had said, Rotting the Heavenly Dao was irreversible, and the void continued to rot. The power of Extreme Yin rotted everything it came into contact with, even the Investiture of the Gods¡¯ summons.

    Normally speaking, Lu Yin could use Extremes Must Be Reversed or the Ce Secret Art to undo the damage, but neither of those techniques were able to reverse the effects caused by sequence particles. Sovereign Shao Yin was wielding thews of the universe, specifically thew of Rot, and anything that touched the universe had to conform to thews of the universe.

    Lu Yin wanted to use Evernight and pull Sovereign Shao Yin into the card where he would be isted from sequence particles, but there was no way for him to move close to the Sovereign, and the man would also resist such an attempt. Sovereign Shao Yin was too familiar with the power of the Lost n, unlike Xia Shenji.

    Red flowers fell from the sky like rain. It was a beautiful sight.

    The red flowers were delicate and beautiful, and it made the area look like someone was celebrating the presence of the battlefield.

    One red flower touched Sovereign Shao Yin, and the man frowned. The ce where the flower had touched him had gone numb. There was something wrong with these red flowers.

    He spun his fingers, and the Rotting the Heavenly Dao swept over the red flowers.

    The blossoms were constantly rotted and quickly melted, but they still manifested out of thin air. There was no end to them at all.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance and saw Bai Xian''er''s calm face. When she noticed Lu Yin looking over, she smiled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, let''s work together to deal with him."

    "He can use sequence particles," Lu Yin cautioned.

    Bai Xian''er¡¯s smile did not even twitch. "I know!"

    As she spoke, more red flowers filled the sky, endlessly drifting down like a true rainfall.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s cold eyes focused on Bai Xian''er. He did not know what sort of power these red flowers contained, but this woman was clearly no idiot. She had been epted as the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, and she had even been made Chu Jian¡¯s senior sister. There was no need for the Sovereign to feel fear, though he was wary of what might happen. Just to be safe, this woman needed to be dealt with.

    Raising a hand, Shao Yin¡¯s Extreme Yin power swept towards Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin watched, wanting to see how Bai Xian''er would deal with Sovereign Shao Yin''s sequence particles.

    Bai Xian''er did not block the attack at all, but she somehow avoided it without any warning. Not even Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed Lu Yin to see how she had evaded the attack.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, I can continuously weaken his strength, slowing his reaction time and adaptability, but that is all that I can do to help. I will leave thews of the universe for you to deal with." Bai Xian''er smiled earnestly at Lu Yin, as though Sovereign Shao Yin did not even deserve her attention.

    Lu Yin stared at Sovereign Shao Yin. Heaven¡¯s Sight indeed revealed that the man¡¯s movements were different from before. He moved as though something was hindering him.

    One of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s glorious Three Sovereigns, a powerhouse who could wield sequence particles, was actually being influenced by Bai Xian''er. Just what were those red flowers?

    What had Bai Xian''er experienced? Lu Yin had lived through things that were undoubtedly beyond Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s imagination, and yet he still could not see through the woman.

    Sovereign Shao Yin also had not expected to be affected by a mere Ascendant. After all, what sort of gap existed between him and an Ascendant?

    "Do two juniors really think that they can alter the way of the universe? I¡¯ll send you to hell together." The area beneath Sovereign Shao Yin''s feet took on a dark color, and everything in the surrounding area started to change. In less than a moment, Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er felt as though they had left the tea ceremony and been dropped into a strange city.

    The city was filled with buildings, and darkness dominated the ce. Clouds filled the sky overhead, increasing the darkness.

    Suddenly, the dark clouds dropped, enveloping both Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er and exerting a terrible pressure on them.

    They fled.

    The dark clouds transformed into the power of Extreme Yin. It surged out and twined around the two.

    They had fallen into Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, Extreme Yin City.

    The entire city, including the buildings and the creatures living there, was formed from Extreme Yin. A strange, rotting power permeated the Progenitor¡¯s World.

 Chapter 2822: Cyclic Tribulation

    <h4>Chapter 2822: Cyclic Tribtion</h4>

    Lu Yin looked around in shock. He was clearly able to see with Heaven¡¯s Sight that the city wasposed solely of Extreme Yin power.

    Overhead, the dark clouds dispersed to reveal a full moon, which radiated a beam of light that fell upon the entire city.

    Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er wanted to escape, but they were trapped in a quagmire of Extreme Yin power. It was difficult for them to even move.

    If they were surrounded by nothing more than Extreme Yin power, Lu Yin could simply absorb it and create another star in the sky of his personal universe. However, the Extreme Yin City consisted of not only Extreme Yin, but also Rotting the Heavenly Dao and the rted Rot Particles. Neither Lu Yin nor Bai Xian¡¯er dared to make even the slightest bit of contact with the sequence particles.

    At the same time, both Lord Wei¡¯s manifested thought and Mu Ke¡¯s de attacked, trying to destroy the Extreme Yin City.

    Sovereign Shao Yin sneered. "There are no living creatures in my Extreme Yin City. All that live there are formed from the power of Extreme Yin and Rotting the Heavenly Dao. I¡¯ve reinforced the city with sequence particles for so many years, so how could you break it so easily?"

    Mu Ke¡¯s de could only slice two-thirds of the way through the barrier, and it failed to break through Extreme Yin City. Lord Wei¡¯s manifested thought fared no better.

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and the others had no time to concern themselves with the Extreme Yin City.

    While resisting Sovereign Shao Yin, Lu Yin was constantly thinking about the Heavens Sect, and he felt incredibly torn.

    Aeternus hadunched a massive attack, and Sovereign Shao Yin had openly exposed himself as a spy. All of this could only mean one thing: the Aeternals were utterly confident in their victory. In that case, it should be impossible for one person to change things, unless the Origin Progenitor himself returned to overwhelm True God Wei Yi. Even if humanity could receive the help of someone as powerful as the Seven Skygods, it might not prove to be enough.

    The Sixverse Association, the Endless Frontier, the Heavens Sect, and the tea ceremony¡ªwar had erupted everywhere!

    No one knew just how long the Aeternals had been preparing for this exact moment, but Lu Yin was certain that they would not give humanity any chance to rise back up. They must have prepared for every variable they were aware of, such as the Lord of Lightning and other powerful outsiders, not to mention Sovereign Dou Sheng and other such powerhouses.

    The Sixverse Association would not be able to save itself from this attack, and Lu Yin himself was facing a truly desperate situation. He looked at Sovereign Shao Yin on the other side of the Extreme Yin City, and he saw the excitement in the man¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin turned to look at Bai Xian''er, only to see that the woman was not the slightest bit flustered and was only a tiny bit pale. Regardless of what she was personally capable of, there was an impassable chasm between her strength and Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s. There was no reason for Bai Xian¡¯er to be so rxed.

    When she noticed Lu Yin¡¯s gaze, Bai Xian''er met his eyes, and the two stared at each other.

    "Do you have any way?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xian''er shook her head. "No."

    "I do."

    Bai Xian''er looked surprised, but then she simply smiled. "I knew that Brother Xiaoxuan would not disappoint me."

    Lu Yin looked away and stared off into the distance. "Sovereign Shao Yin did not immediately attack us with his Progenitor¡¯s world, even though he could have. Besides that, just a full-powered burst of his Rotting the Heavenly Dao should have been enough to end us."

    "Is that what you saw with Heaven¡¯s Sight?"

    "I¡¯m saying that we could die at any moment."

    "You just said that you have a way."

    "The price is rather high."

    Bai Xian''er''s smile never left her eyes. It looked as though Lu Yin iming to have a way was all the assurance that she needed to know that she would not die. "What price do I need to pay?"

    Lu Yin turned back to look at the woman. "The Book of Destiny."

    Bai Xian''er was taken aback. "The book¡¯s been burned. Why do you still want it?"

    "That¡¯s my business."

    Bai Xian''er stared at Lu Yin for a moment and then took a step forward. She removed the half-burned Book of Destiny from her cosmic ring and tossed it over to Lu Yin. "If Brother Xiaoxuan wants it, I''ll give it to you."

    Lu Yin took the Book of Destiny, excitement briefly lighting up his eyes.

    <i>Got it!</i> He had already tested it out before, and he therefore knew that the Books of Destiny could be restored with his die¡¯s Enhance. While the cost was exorbitant, he knew that it was at least possible to repair the books.

    Once they were fully recovered, he would have all three Books of Destiny. Then, he would be able to see the truth concerning Zhao Ran. Additionally, while Lu Yin did not personally cultivate Destiny¡¯s power, the continent in his chest was formed from Destiny¡¯s fatesand.

    <i>Right, fatesand</i>.

    Lu Yin quickly looked back at Bai Xian''er. "Also, I want your fatesand."

    Bai Xian''er was startled by this demand, but before she could react, the Extreme Yin City underwent a drastic change.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was finally making his move. When he saw that Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er were simply chatting with each other in his Progenitor¡¯s world, and even exchanging gifts, the Sovereign felt as though they were ignoring him and his Progenitor¡¯s world. "Rot them all and imprison them!"

    The moment the man spoke, the sequence particles rted to Rotting the Heavenly Dao all surged towards Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er.

    Instantly, the two were facing their greatest danger yet. The moment they were enveloped by the sequence particles, they would bepletely rotted.

    Sequence particles were the fundamental power of changing the universe, and Lu Yin had very few options to even try to deal with this power. Additionally, at this moment, escape was impossible.

    He took a deep breath. "You still owe me that fatesand, so don''t forget it."

    He then looked upwards. "It''s time to be a Semi-Progenitor."

    No one knew when it happened, but there was an indistinct pressure in the sky. It came from a stellr tribtion.

    Before the tea ceremony, Lu Yin had not been entirely certain if it was possible for him to undergo a breakthrough in the Cyclic Universe. While Bai Xian''er had imed to have done it while speaking to Lu Yin, he still had not been entirely certain.

    However, after the Extreme Yin City appeared and Lu Yin realized how difficult it would be for him to escape, he had tested to see if he could trigger his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough. As it turned out, he had discovered that it was indeed possible.

    He could not say why that was the case, as he was clearly in the Cyclic Universe, and even though the people of the Cyclic Universe also cultivated with stellr energy, they did not seem to experience stellr tribtions. Why could he have a breakthrough in this ce?

    The only possibility was what Bai Xian''er had mentioned. ¡®If there was no connection, how could the energies be inverted?¡¯

    Were the Cyclic Universe and the Origin Universe truly connected? They were clearly two different parallel universes.

    However, this was not the time to be thinking about such things. Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion had already been triggered.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s head suddenly snapped up, his expression changing. What was going on?

    Everyone present at the tea ceremony instinctively froze and looked up at the sky, feeling a strange pressure descending. The people of the Cyclic Universe did not suffer stellr tribtions. The Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were granted their cultivation by the Great Sovereign, and they had no idea what they were looking at. On the other hand, Bai Xian''er''s eyes lit up. Was Lu Yin finally going to have a breakthrough?

    "Little Lu Yin, are you going to break through to be a Semi-Progenitor?" Forgotten Ruins God was surprised.

    Mu Shen looked up. "The Origin Universe¡¯s breakthroughs: stellr tribtions. I haven''t seen one of these in a very long time."

    Lord Xu frowned. "This stellr tribtion is not quite right."

    He had been friends with Wu Tian, witnessed the Heavens Sect era for himself, and naturally seen many people¡¯s stellr tribtions. However, there was something wrong with Lu Yin''s Semi-Progenitor tribtion.

    Lord Wei was caught off guard. "The Cyclic Universe doesn¡¯t give stellr tribtions, so why can the child trigger one here?"

    The sight of the stellr tribtion up above left everyone confused. However, regardless of their thoughts, there was no denying that the tribtion had appeared.

    The stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole appeared, along with a roar and a tremendous amount of pressure. While the sound was faint, it caused the hearts of all who heard it to tremble.

    "No! No one can approach a stellr tribtion! Retreat!" Lord Xu suddenly remembered something and fled back from the tribtion.

    The Seven Skygods, Mu Shen, and all the other powerhouses did the same.

    The Extreme Yin City disappeared, as Sovereign Shao Yin had also pulled back. He did not understand what a stellr tribtion involved, but he was able to feel the threat of death.

    When he had been standing beneath the stellr tribtion, a chill had swept over his entire body, and he had felt that he could die at any moment. It was a terrifying sensation that had made him want to immediately flee.

    Bai Xian''er also fled.

    At this moment, no one dared to approach Lu Yin.

    The battle continued between the Seven Skygods, Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and all the rest, just further away.

    When Chu Jian awoke, he was being dragged away by someone. He had been too close to the stellr tribtion, and given that he was one of the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciples, no one wanted him to die.

    Because of the Great Sovereign¡¯s tea ceremony, a great number of people across the Sixverse Association were watching the decisive battle brought about by the Aeternals¡¯ attack, and so they also witnessed Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. Stellr tribtions were unique to the Origin Universe, but at this moment, the Sixverse Association was bearing witness to one.

    Lu Yin was still wearing the same white clothes as he stared upwards. Something felt off. There was something wrong about this stellr tribtion.

    He had survived a number of tribtions in the Origin Universe, and each one had been exceptionally massive. However, while Lu Yin¡¯s current tribtion was veryrge, it was not the same size as his sixth stellr tribtion, nor even asrge as his first. What was going on?

    Arrow Sage dodged Corpse God¡¯s arm as it swung by. The Sage looked at Lu Yin and eximed, "I never thought that I would be able to personally witness a Cyclic Tribtion in my lifetime."

    "What is a Cyclic Tribtion?" Sage Jiang asked in confusion.

    Arrow Sage solemnly replied, "Ancient records state that, while the Cyclic Universe does not have tribtions as a whole, there is one that can be triggered¡ªthe Cyclic Tribtion. All of us have received our cultivation from the Great Sovereign, but some people, even if they have been granted power, or possibly because they are strong enough, will trigger retaliation from the Cyclic Universe itself. That retaliation is known as the Cyclic Tribtion.

    "My ancestor witnessed a Cyclic Tribtion, and the one who overcame it was Sovereign Dou Sheng."

    Sage Jiang was taken aback. "Sovereign Dou Sheng survived a Cyclic Tribtion?"

    "How would he have been a Sovereign otherwise??" Arrow Sage retorted.

    "What nonsense are you two talking about? Be careful, or else you¡¯ll be pped to death." In the distance, Mu Tao''s mustache was trembling. His eyes never left Corpse God, and he regretted leaving the Endless Frontier. While there were certainly massive battles currently being fought across the Endless Frontier, preventing the powerhouses there from reinforcing the Cyclic Universe, Mu Tao would rather fight on the Endless Frontier than face the Seven Skygods.

    Arrow Sage was not the only one who knew about the Cyclic Tribtion, as both Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Sovereign Shao Yin remembered it as well.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eye twitched. He remembered the Cyclic Tribtion, which was exactly what he was seeing. Somehow, Lu Yin had triggered a Cyclic Tribtion.

    If Lu Yin seeded and received power from the Great Sovereign, he would be a second Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    No, another person like Sovereign Dou Sheng could never be allowed to appear in the Sixverse Association.

    Aeternus had paid a steep price to trap Sovereign Dou Sheng on the Endless Frontier. If another such powerhouse appeared, it would require the Seven Skygods themselves to deal with them.

    "Child of the Lu family, that is a Cyclic Tribtion, which is unique to the Cyclic Universe. You must take care!" Lord Xu called out.

    Due to how long ago thest Cyclic Tribtion had urred, it had taken some time for people to remember that possibility.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What in the world is a Cyclic Tribtion?"

    "Past powerhouses of the Cyclic Universe will appear. You will be confronted with the most powerful attacks of those cultivators when they had the same cultivation as you do now. That is the Cyclic Tribtion, and the Cyclic Universe itself has sent it to you. There is no stopping it. The only option is to fight each cultivator who appears to the death," Bai Xian''er spoke up in answer.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Did you also face the Cyclic Tribtion?"

    Bai Xian''er smiled, but she did not say anything more. Instead, she pointed upward.

    She was not alone, as everyone else instinctively looked up. They saw a round cylinder of light whose end slowly connected to the other to form a ring. Within that ring, various scenes shed by. It truly did look like the cycle of reincarnation.

    Lu Yin saw it as well and stared intently. He had seen such scenes before. It was when he had stepped onto the Stargazing Deck with the Book of Destiny. At that moment, he had witnessed the river of time that connected the past and the present.

    He had clearly triggered his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, and yet he was somehow facing a Cyclic Tribtion.

    Countless eyes stared at the Cyclic Tribtion. No one knew who might appear.

    The Cyclic Universe had existed for countless years, and it had even existed concurrently with the ancient Heavens Sect. No one could say how many powerhouses had been born throughout the existence of the universe, as some had not even been recorded down in history.

 Chapter 2823: The Uncrowned Leader

    <h4>Chapter 2823: The Uncrowned Leader</h4>

    At the beginning of the tea ceremony, the Great Sovereign had shared the history of humanity. Among the various people who were mentioned, there were a number whom not even the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had heard of before. They were people who had lived during the same eras as the Origin Universe¡¯s ancient Heavens Sect and Daosource Sect¡¯s eras. Maybe it was because too much time had passed, or perhaps because those ancient eras had been too glorious, but the history of those eras was fuzzy.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many powerful Progenitors might have lived before the Daosource Sect''s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, or how many may have been simr to Progenitor Chen and the others. While the man had been one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, his true strength had been exceptional throughout all of history.

    The Cyclic Tribtion had already be everyone¡¯s focus. While the battle was still being fought, the fighting was not nearly as fierce as before.

    The pressure of the tribtion created a storm that swept towards Lu Yin. He floated in the sky, his white clothes bright as he looked up at the Cyclic Tribtion. <i>Come!</i>

    Only his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough could wake Ancestor Lu Yuan, which would bring the Lu family back. That was the only option that Lu Yin could think of that might change the oue of the current situation.

    No matter how difficult this Cyclic Tribtion might be, he would ovee it.

    After all, what Semi-Progenitor could stop him?

    Light suddenly appeared, and a figure emerged from the Cyclic Tribtion. This person was wielding a spear, and the tip of the spear broke into small fragments that shot at Lu Yin.

    "Thest Sage Stone used a spear instead of a mace. His meridians were like stone, and he reforged the Stone Cudgel technique to suit a spear and used that to rise to power," Sage Jiangmented.

    Lu Yin watched as the shattered spear tip suddenly reformed just as the shards drew close, causing the same stone spear to reappear. While it was nothing more than the tip of the spear, it was rock solid.

    Clenching a fist, Lu Yin looked up. A purplish-ck substance covered his arms as he released a punch.

    <i>No matter how your spear may have changed, or what sort of rock it is, I want to see how you can stop my punch</i>.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The punch connected, and the spear shattered. This time, it truly shattered. The figure of Sage Stone was also broken by the punch, unable to put up any resistance.

    Sage Jiang was stunned. The former Sage Stone had been acknowledged as an exceptional genius among the various Sage Stones. He had followed his own path, abandoning the Stone Cudgel. He had been a brilliant figure of his era, and he would not have died unless he encountered the Seven Skygods. Even so, had he really been shattered in a single punch?

    Was this child of the Lu family really that terrifying within his own cultivation realm?

    Lu Yin¡¯s battle against Chu Jian had already stunned people, but seeing such a well-known powerhouse be defeated by Lu Yin in one blow was even more shocking, simply because of the ease by which it had been done.

    Instantly, another light appeared, and another figure emerged from the tribtion. There was a roar as a massive figure charged at Lu Yin.

    "That¡¯s a member of the Food Sage¡¯s family, a Taotie."[1]

    "Food Sage isn¡¯t here, but his ancestor came."

    Elsewhere in the Cyclic Universe, Snack Saint''s eyes went wide. Which one of his ancestors had made an appearance?

    However, before he could see anything clearly, the Taotie was already shattered by Lu Yin with another punch.

    This punch felt like a p across Snack Saint¡¯s face, making him feel horribly offended.

    <i>Xuan Qi, you bastard! Do you have to be so shameless? At least slow down a bit!</i>

    More and more lights appeared as additional powerhouses appeared and attacked Lu Yin, one after another.

    Everyst one of them was a renowned figure.

    Sovereign Lotus frowned. There had been more than one Cyclic Tribtion throughout the years. Sovereign Dou Sheng had ovee one, but there had been others as well. However, those tribtions had not solely consisted of figures at the level of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as other powerhouses had also appeared to challenge the person undergoing the tribtion. However, the descendant of the Lu family had only faced former Sovereigns and Sages.

    This Cyclic Tribtion was clearly at a higher level of difficulty than any before.

    <i>These first opponents are only appearing to drain his strength. The true challenge appearster on. Will </i>she <i>appear as well?</i>

    As that thought urred to the Sovereign, a lotus bloomed and dropped down towards Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Lotus was speechless, as her own technique had actually appeared.

    Forgotten Ruins God gave a tender smile. "Isn''t that Little Lotus¡¯s power? Will this one also be crushed by a punch?"

    Everyone was watching. Sovereign Ninth Lotus had appeared in the Cyclic Tribtion, but would she also be destroyed with only a single punch?

    Lu Yinshed out, and the lotus instantly shattered.

    Many people nced at Sovereign Lotus. Defeating one of the Three Sovereigns with a single punch was incredibly disrespectful. Regardless of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s immense power and incredible defenses, she still had not been able to block even one punch.

    This was a demonstration of Lu Yin''s invincibility within his own cultivation level. Even if he did not use anything else, there was no one who couldpare to his physical strength, not even the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    Corpse God looked at Lu Yin, focusing on the young man¡¯s cosmic ring on his finger. Bi Rong was inside that cosmic ring, and Corpse God wanted to take it away.

    Ancient God spoke up to praise Lu Yin. "Since ancient times, too few have been able to master Wielder - Invincible. The Lu family has gained a true genius. With his power, the Cyclic Tribtion cannot stop him."

    Mu Shen shook his head. "Gu Yizhi, you are too confident. Even if the Origin Universe was once powerful and invincible and you were one of the Six Dao, that does not mean that there has never been anyone in the Cyclic Universe who could match your powerhouses. The Great Sovereign canpete with the Origin Progenitor, and the Three Sovereigns are at a levelparable to your Three Realms Six Dao."

    Ancient God''s expression never changed. "Comparable? Aside from Dou Sheng, who else canpare to us? How long can Dou Sheng live for? His Triumphant Brawl is constantly draining his life away.

    "Do you really believe that it is possible to grow stronger every time a more powerful opponent appears? It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t kill him, but that we simply don¡¯t want to be dragged down with him.

    "Just watch and see. You¡¯ll find out if this Cyclic Universe has anyone who can endure a punch from this child of the Lu family. The path to Wielder - Indestructible is the path that humans should follow."

    Lu Yinshed out with another punch, and another figure instantly shattered.

    He had already defeated thirteen opponents, and the most recent one had been Arrow Sage.

    Arrow Sage did not look very happy at this moment. The figure had represented him as an Ascendant, and yet he had not been able to block even one of Lu Yin''s punches. This was really no different from telling everyone that the moment that Lu Yin became a Progenitor, he would be able to defeat Arrow Sage with one punch.

    <i>Wait, no. We might already not be able to withstand one of his punches</i>.

    Arrow Sage truly did not have the confidence to survive one of Lu Yin''s terrifying punches.

    Lu Yin stared at the Cyclic Tribtion. It had not been weakened at all, and he had no idea how long it wouldst for. He could not say how many Progenitor-level individuals had lived throughout the history of the Cyclic Universe, but what he feared the most was the Great Sovereign herself appearing.

    How powerful had the Great Sovereign been as a Semi-Progenitor? Lu Yin did not want to find out. He simply wanted to be a Semi-Progenitor as quickly as possible, call the Lu family back, and then break free from this trap that the Aeternals had sprung.

    Upon thinking about this, Lu Yin took a step forward and started moving towards the Cyclic Tribtion.

    "Why are you forcing this tribtion upon me?" Lu Yin''s eyes burned fiercely. He was from the Origin Universe, not the Cyclic Universe. He wanted to break the Cyclic Tribtion itself.

    At this moment, everyone stopped fighting and turned to watch as Lu Yin charged upwards to attack the tribtion itself.

    Had anyone ever tried to destroy a Cyclic Tribtion before? The answer should be no, but if anyone had made the attempt, they had died.

    Lu Yin''s action caused even Forgotten Ruins God and the other Aeternals to stop and watch.

    Facing the Cyclic Tribtion, Lu Yin released another punch. He intended to destroy the tribtion itself with this punch.

    Suddenly, a ck lotus bloomed, shielding the tribtion.

    Lu Yin punched the ck lotus, and it did not break.

    Sovereign Lotus shouted, "Master?"

    While the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages all referred to the Great Sovereign as their master, that was only a formality, and they had each been guided by their own masters.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s master had been the previous Sovereign Lotus, who had been known as Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus.

    If the three most powerful individuals throughout the history of the Cyclic Universe were gathered together, Sovereign Dou Sheng would undoubtedly be included, but another one would be Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus.

    A green lotus that turned dark and had the power to destroy.

    No one could deny the horrifying power of Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus. She had not been killed in battle, but had rather consumed herself and transformed into a ck lotus. This was one of the most regrettable things in the history of the Cyclic Universe. If Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus had not consumed herself, she would not have died. If she had instead taken a step further, she would have likely obtained strengthparable to Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s.

    If that had happened, then the Cyclic Universe would have gained a second peak powerhouse like Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Countless people throughout the Sixverse Association grew excited at the sight of the ck lotus. Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus had been one of the most widely known powerhouses, and even youths knew of her story.

    Lu Yin''s Cyclic Tribtion had brought out even Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus.

    The ck lotus blocked Lu Yin''s punch.

    "With Master taking action, it will not be easy for the descendant of the Lu family to survive," Sovereign Lotus muttered to herself.

    Lord Xu was surprised. "Even the World-Destroying Technique has appeared? The child of the Lu family is in for a bit of trouble, but it¡¯s not enough to stop him."

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression showed frustration and uncertainty. He had known Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus, and he had feared the woman. The woman was wearing a ck dress that looked like a blooming flower, and while she seemed flirty and was lovely to look upon, she had been so dangerous that Sovereign Shao Yin would never forget her.

    This was a level of strength that would not be easy for the descendant of the Lu family to deal with.

    Everyone believed this to be true.

    That is, until cracks started to appear across the ck lotus. Before long, the lotus shattered.

    Everyone was stunned.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus was utterly shocked. "Impossible..."

    One punch. Once again, just one punch. While the ck lotus had not immediately shattered, it had merely managed to endure for a short while before shattering from a single punch.

    As an Ascendant, the most powerful Sovereign Lotus in history was incapable of stopping Lu Yin''s punch.

    While the appearance of Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus had shocked people, the results of Lu Yin¡¯s punch were far more shocking.

    Sage Jiang took a deep breath. "Even Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus is unable to stop a single punch. Who else from the Cyclic Universe can appear?"

    There was no one else who anyone could think of. Would Sovereign Dou Sheng really appear? Or even, the Great Sovereign herself?

    Just as Lu Yin was about to release another punch, a figure appeared from the Cyclic Tribtion. This figure was sitting cross-legged, blocking Lu Yin''s path.

    Inexplicably, the punch that he had been about to unleash stopped.

    Lu Yin looked at the figure sitting before him, cross-legged. For some reason, Lu Yin no longer wanted to fight.

    His punch stalled.

    "Sage Yajna?"[2] Lord Wei was surprised.

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and the others all stared. "He appeared?

    Sage Jiang, Arrow Sage, and the other Sages were caught off guard.

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi was leading the forces of the Sixverse Association to respond to the Aeternals¡¯ sudden attack. Nearly all of the Seven Skygods had gone to the tea ceremony, so Sage Bodhi wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to press humanity¡¯s current advantage on the Endless Frontier. Regardless of what happened at the tea ceremony, Sage Bodhi¡¯s responsibility was the Endless Frontier alone.

    The battles raging across the Endless Frontier were not much better than the one at the tea ceremony. Food Sage, the new Sage Stone, and the other peak powerhouses from the Sixverse Association were all fighting on the Endless Frontier, and Aeternus had received reinforcements from outside experts. The entire megaverse was in chaos.

    However, despite the brutal battles raging on the Endless Frontier, Sage Bodhi could not ignore the fact that Sage Yajna had just appeared from the Cyclic Tribtion.

    Sage Yajna was another one of the Nine Sages, and his status could notpare to that of Sovereign Lotus. However, he drew arge amount of attention due to his status as a mysterious character.

    If Sage Bodhi was regarded as mysterious, that was due to her absence from the Sixverse Association, and it also only applied to the current period of time. Throughout all of history, such time meant nothing. After all, Sage Bodhi was not too old, and she was close to the same generation as Sage Jiang and the others.

    However, Sage Yajna waspletely different. No one knew just how old the man was, and also, no one had any idea what his strength was.

    Sage Yajna was the only one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages who had never fought in even a single battle.

    Not only had no one ever seen Sage Yajna fight, but he had also never once served on the Endless Frontier.

    Even so, no one dared to underestimate the man. To begin with, he had lived for too long, and he was even older than Sovereign Dou Sheng. If he had never fought, it should have been impossible for him to be one of the Nine Sages.

    There were rumors that imed that Sage Yajna lived only to stabilize the Cyclic Universe and to assist the Great Sovereign.

    There were even rumors that, while others could only drink the Great Sovereign''s tea during the tea ceremony, Sage Yajna was allowed to enjoy it freely.

    Sage Yajna was the uncrowned leader of the Nine Sages.

    1. As a reminder, a Taotie. ?

    2. This is a Buddhist term. ?</a> </a>

 Chapter 2824: Pushed Back

    <h4>Chapter 2824: Pushed Back</h4>

    ckless God stared at the Cyclic Tribtion. Sage Yajna? This would not be an easy person to deal with.

    The Skygod had once attacked Sage Yajna, determined to kill the man, but he had ultimately let him go. This was not because of the Sage¡¯s strength, but rather because Sage Yajna''s indomitable spirit had influenced ckless God.

    Once a person''s determination reached a certain level, it becamepletely possible to overturn any situation.

    Even if Sage Yajna was just sitting still, ckless God would still hesitate or even retreat.

    At this moment, the child of the Lu family should be feeling the same sensation that ckless God had once felt.

    Beneath the Cyclic Tribtion, Lu Yin hesitated. He did not know why, but he could not attack this man. For some reason, Lu Yin did not want to destroy the perfect harmony before him.

    This man was sitting in the sky, cross-legged. However, there was something about him that gave off the feeling that the harmonious scene could not be destroyed or defiled.

    This man seemed to be sacrificing himself, which roused Lu Yin''s feelings ofpassion. This was a man who should not be struck.

    Lu Yin made no move, but Sage Yajna also did nothing. Meanwhile, in the background, the Cyclic Tribtion kept flickering.

    Bai Xian''er muttered to herself, "Sage Yajna can''t stop Brother Xiaoxuan, so the Cyclic Tribtion is searching for someone else.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, I have to admit that your power is rather mysterious!"

    At this moment, the sky above the Cyclic Universe transformed, and an unfathomable wave of stellr energy swept in from afar. It seemed to push the entire Cyclic Universe aside.

    Everyone stared at the endless stellr energy that was rushing towards them.

    "What?" Everyone was startled.

    The entire Cyclic Universe was affected by this transformation, and many people coughed up blood as their internal energy cycled in reverse.

    Lu Yin nkly stared at the approaching energy. <i>Is that stellr energy? Stellr energy from the Origin Universe?</i>

    Even the battle between True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign suddenly stopped at this moment, as they both turned to stare into the distance.

    An ugly expression appeared on the Great Sovereign¡¯s face. "You actually brought the Origin Universe itself here? This is absurd! Are you really that eager to see this through?"

    Meanwhile, True God Wei Yi was impressed. "Even I am amazed by the talent of this child of the Lu family. He far surpasses even his ancestor, Lu Yuan. Even if Lu Yuan could survive this tribtion, he would have never been able to produce such momentum. It appears that I¡¯ll have to invite him to die today."

    The arrival of this endless wave of stellr energy pushed across the Cyclic Universe. As it did so, it not only pushed back the universe¡¯s own stellr energy, but also the Cyclic Tribtion. Instead, a new ck hole appeared in the sky. This was a true stellr tribtion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open. Was this for real? He had just ovee a good portion of the tribtion that had appeared, but at this moment, had the Origin Universe really sent its own stellr tribtion into the Cyclic Universe? Just how badly did the Origin Universe want to block Lu Yin?

    Ancient God looked up at the newly arrived stellr tribtion. His expression became far more serious than ever before. "We are clearly in the Cyclic Universe, yet through the string of sequence particles, the Origin Universe¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion was drawn to this ce. This child''s talent is truly terrifying.¡±

    Mu Shen frowned. "The Cyclic Tribtion only appeared because this child¡¯s power triggered this universe¡¯s retaliation, but defeating that tribtion will not offer him any benefits once he bes a Semi-Progenitor. However, the Origin Universe¡¯s Semi-Progenitor stellr tribtion is different. If he survives, he will be a Semi-Progenitor, and his inner world will appear. This is the true tribtion that cultivators from the Origin Universe need to surpass.

    "With the arrival of this stellr tribtion, I can¡¯t tell if the Origin Universe wants him to seed or be destroyed."

    Ancient God looked up. "It would be best if it destroys him. If he survives, that child will have to be eliminated."

    The stellr tribtion¡¯s ck clouds spread further and further out above the tea ceremony.

    Everyone continued to fall back.

    Lu Yin was certain that his tribtion¡¯s scope had already grown beyond the bounds of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, as well as beyond the region that had been sealed by the Aeternals¡¯ sourcebox array. However, what of it? Even if that barrier were not in ce, who could leave? This battle was the decisive one, which meant that anyone who left would be regarded as a traitor.

    Not even Lu Yin could leave. While the Cyclic Tribtion had most likely removed Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s influence on him, which meant that he could return to the Origin Universe, how was he supposed to face his stellr tribtion? Leaving the boundaries of the tribtion would be no different from abandoning his breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm.

    There was no point in Lu Yin returning to the Origin Universe. What was most important was to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan, and for that, it was imperative that Lu Yin surpass his Semi-Progenitor tribtion.

    He no longer concerned himself with the ongoing battle. Everyone had fallen back, even the Seven Skygods. No one wanted to be pulled into a stellr tribtion.

    Regardless of the tribtion¡¯s strength or the cultivation of the one undergoing it, if any of the Seven Skygods got involved in a stellr tribtion, the tribtion would instantly be strengthened until it posed a grave threat to the Seven Skygods.

    For the moment, Lu Yin forgot about everything else and focused solely on the ck hole of the stellr tribtion overhead. <i>Come on, let me see what kind of tribtion this is! What has crossed through parallel universes to try to stop me?</i>

    The greatest difference between Envoys and Semi-Progenitors was the transformation of a stellr energy vortex into an inner world.

    Every inner world was unique, as each inner world¡¯s manifestation was determined by an individual¡¯s personality, their abilities and techniques, and even the direction of their cultivation.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin had asked Lu Buzheng and the other experts about his uing breakthrough, and he hade to a simple conclusion: he needed to use his stellr energy vortex as the foundation and his cultivation and techniques as the materials with which to form the inner world that he desired.

    Leng Qing''s inner world was the Celestial de World. This was because his cultivation focused on the saber.

    Kui Luo''s inner world was the Dragon Gate, which seemed to be more in line with his character.

    Cloudflow¡¯s inner world was his Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao, which demonstrated the power that he had cultivated.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s inner world had been quite unique, as it had been the Hall of Honor. It had been a replica of the physical ce, which represented the man¡¯s deepest desire for the Hall of Honor to protect mankind.

    Everyone was able to choose the inner world that they wanted to form, and Lu Yin had already considered his own options. The first inner world that he wished to form would be founded on his physical strength.

    Lu Yin possessed four stellr energy vortices. Normally, people possessed a single stellr energy vortex that they would transform into their inner world. But after considering his unique situation, Lu Yin was unwilling to abandon three of his stellr energy vortices, and it was also impossible to converge the four into one. In that case, he intended to transform all of his vortices.

    "Here we go with the first one..." Lu Yin looked up as he murmured to himself. Behind him, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared and roared at the tribtion¡¯s ck hole. Terrifying power rippled through the void in a manner that was visible to the naked eye.

    Beyond the tribtion, Forgotten Ruins God was taken aback. "A foundation of physical strength? That¡¯s a poor choice."

    Shaman God was simrly surprised. Lu Yin was no fool, and he had even cultivated some of the Three Realms Six Dao¡¯s powers. Besides, Lu Yin had also cultivated a strange power that could ignore a spatially sealed area. How could he choose to form an inner world with the foundation of physical strength?

    On the other hand, Ancient God¡¯s eyes narrowed. <i>Physical strength as the foundation? Good choice. Wielder - Indestructible is indeed the cultivation path that all humans should take, but unfortunately, people are too short-sighted. If this boy can use his physical strength and battle force to forge an unprecedented path, then we will be walking on the same path.</i>

    <i>Still, this path is rather narrow. Wielder - Indestructible is indeed the ideal cultivation path for humans, but there is also more than one path</i>. This was something that Ancient God had not known in the past, but rathere to learn.

    Throughout the Sixverse Association, countless people were fighting the Aeternals while watching Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion on various disys, shocked by the sight of the ever-expanding ck hole of the Semi-Progenitor tribtion. This was the first that most had seen such a sight.

    Why did the Origin Universe send tribtions for their cultivators¡¯ breakthroughs? How was a breakthrough not a good thing, as it increased the strength of the universe? Perhaps these tribtions were the true cause of the Origin Universe¡¯s downfall.

    The tribtion¡¯s ck hole was deep and terrifying. Lu Yin had dared to attack the Cyclic Tribtion, but he had no confidence when facing a true stellr tribtion.

    After all, the Cyclic Universe and the Origin Universe were not on the same level.

    The ripples slowly moved through the void, approaching the ck hole. Finally, they touched.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. <i>Can you feel it? With my strength as the key, let me see what I have to face to transform my inner world.</i>

    Throughout the ages, when people thought of physical strength, what was the first thing that they would think of? If that question was asked in the contemporary Fifth Maind, people would undoubtedly reply with Lu Yin. However, if the people of the Origin Universe¡¯s ancient Heavens Sect era were asked, then they would not mention the Lu family, but rather the Mavis family.

    The Lu family had be synonymous with power, but the Mavis family wielded brute strength.

    If the two families werepared, the Lu family could not evene close to measuring up to the Mavis family in physical strength, as that was precisely the Mavis family¡¯s inheritance.

    Lu Yin stared at the ck hole of his stellr tribtion as a person appeared. This was a humanoid tribtion.

    Everyone who understood what a stellr tribtion was knew that humanoid tribtions were the most difficult of all, because the tribtion would summon the image of a person who should be able to defeat the one who had triggered the tribtion.

    Lu Yin instantly recognized this person as someone from the Mavis family. Their style of clothing was very distinctive.

    Was someone from the Mavis family supposed to stop him? Lu Yin''s eyes zed. He had already defeated Yuhua Mavis, the most talented member of the Mavis family in the modern era, as well as Heluo Mavis, who had been a Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era. He wanted to see what someone from the Mavis family could do to stop him during his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough.

    In truth, there was no one more suited to be a tribtion rted to physical strength than someone from the Mavis n.

    As the family that had ruled the Second Maind and had held the same status as the Lu family, the Mavis family had always been inscrutable to Lu Yin. At this moment, he might finally be able to see what the Mavis family had been capable of at their peak.

    The humanoid tribtion waved a hand, and the Divine Tree visualization method appeared behind the figure. The tree connected the sky to the ground, and it was covered with glowing fruits.

    At this same time, boiling battle force burned the void. It was aurelian force.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Heluo Mavis had also cultivated battle force, which made it seem that the Mavis family had appreciated Gu Yizhi''s research.

    Outside the stellr tribtion, neither Ancient God nor Mu Shen were making any moves against each other. They were both just staring at Lu Yin and his stellr tribtion. It was not going to take much time, and even if Lu Yin did manage to be a Semi-Progenitor, he would not be able to affect the bnce of the battlefield.

    "I might know who that is," Ancient Godmented as he stared at the humanoid tribtion, "I really miss that little girl."

    ...

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The void shattered, causing spatial cracks to spread out in every direction. The humanoid tribtion and Lu Yin had punched each other, and they both flew back from the point of impact. Lu Yin took a step forward and released another punch. This person from the Mavis family was very strong, but Lu Yin was not like the rest of the Lu family. Even if he reced Lu Tianyi as Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era, Lu Yin was still confident that he would not have any peers, regardless of the era.

    The humanoid tribtion countered Lu Yin¡¯s punch with another one of her own while raising her arms.

    There was a bang, and the humanoid tribtion trembled, as did the aurelian force.

    Lu Yin stood high in the sky and stared off into the distance. The Divine Tree had not disappeared yet.

    There was a series of booms that echoed out, and the humanoid tribtion reappeared beneath the Divine Tree.

    This time, the humanoid tribtion instantly raised a hand, and the glowing fruits fell from the tree, one after another. She caught all of them before devouring them. One. Two. Three... Ten... Fifteen...

    Lu Yin was startled. Could someone actually eat that many fruits?

    Both Yuhua Mavis and Heluo Mavis had used the Divine Tree visualization method and eaten its fruit to use Infinite Power. They might eat two, and at the most, three, but this person was eating them nonstop!

    As more of the fruits were eaten, the physical strength of the humanoid tribtion spiked noticeably. Even when the figure just stood there, Lu Yin could feel the pressure of her overwhelming physical strength.

    Beyond the stellr tribtion, Forgotten Ruins God shouted, "I remember now! She¡¯s that idiot!"

    Ancient God gazed at the humanoid tribtion with nostalgia as she kept devouring the fruits. <i>Ah Chi, it really is you.</i>

 Chapter 2825: Infinity

    <h4>Chapter 2825: Infinity</h4>

    During the Heavens Sect era, the Mavis family had once given birth to a freak. Her eyes had been dull, and she had not possessed any spark of life. She had been dull and lifeless all the time, and she had only resembled a human being when fighting.

    That woman from the Mavis family had been known as Ah Chi.

    No one remembered her true name, only the moniker of Ah Chi. She cultivated exceptionally quickly, but what was most amazing about her was the fact that Ah Chi had been capable of eating and digesting multiple fruits from the Divine Tree, which had granted her true Infinite Power. Ah Chi became synonymous with Infinite Power.

    Despite her mental condition, everyone was certain that the woman would eventually be a Progenitor, and once that happened, the Mavis family would gain a terrifying powerhouse whom even the Three Realms would have admired.

    Ah Chi had seemed to be specifically born for the Mavis family.

    Unfortunately, Ah Chi had died, to the eternal regret of the Mavis family, and her death had also be a thorn in the heart of the Third Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, Gu Yizhi.

    The idiot¡¯s favorite thing to do had been to cultivate battle force with Gu Yizhi.

    "Even I have to admit that, within the same realm, there is no one capable of surpassing an idiot who¡¯s capable of devouring multiple fruits. Child of the Lu family, if you can surpass her, you will be the strongest throughout all of human history," Ancient God murmured.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes focused sharply as he stared at the humanoid tribtion before him. She was still eating more fruits.

    The pressure from the humanoid tribtion¡¯s rising strength grew stronger and stronger. If Lu Yin did not use any of his other abilities and relied purely on the strength of his body, Lu Yin was honestly rather uncertain if he could win.

    This Mavis was a monster! Heluo Mavis was far inferior to this humanoid tribtion, and yet she had been a Dao Chosen.

    In the end, all of the Divine Tree¡¯s fruits were eaten, and the humanoid tribtion casually dispersed the Divine Tree with a thought. She did not even use aurelian force as her fist slowly rose and punched at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt the suffocating pressure of pure physical might.

    Even his breath was suppressed. <i>How many years has it been?</i> Ever since he had surpassed Yuhua Mavis in strength, and he had not fallen to a disadvantage in strength.

    However, just this one punch was enough for Lu Yin to know that he could notpare to the humanoid tribtion in terms of brute strength.

    Raising their physical strength by eating the fruits of the Divine Tree. This was the Mavis family¡¯s Infinite Power. If this woman was capable of swallowing more fruits, then there was no reason for her to hold back just to be polite.

    The humanoid tribtion shot towards Lu Yin with a bang, releasing a punch. Her fist crushed space and unleashed a never-before-seen pressure. The void was torn asunder, and the ensuing destruction spread far beyond the range of the stellr tribtion. The shockwaves rippled through the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, cracking them and shattering the Heavenly Gate.

    Xu Heng, Xiu Ci, Sage Jiang, and the others at their level were able to feel the pressure of this blow, and they struggled to breathe. Such power was beyond anything they had imagined possible.

    This was not the strength that a mere Ascendant should possess. This was not something that even Food Sage couldpare to.

    Lu Yin watched the punch move closer and closer to him. The woman¡¯s fist was so small, and yet it carried such an absurd amount of power.

    Only with sufficient speed could anyone evade this attack, but this was supposed to be apetition of strength, so why should Lu Yin avoid the punch? How would he form an inner world founded upon physical strength if he ran away from apetition of physical might?

    The stellr tribtion had appeared, and Lu Yin needed to defeat it.

    His face grew solemn, and the purplish-ck substance spread across his body as he used his Wielder-realm battle force. The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant roared, and Extremes Must Be Reversed caused Lu Yin¡¯s arms to wither up. He released a punch, and as he did so, the Withered Bark within him shifted. Fifty punches were confined within time.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The terrible collision nearly shattered everyone''s eardrums, and many people grew dizzy and nearly copsed.

    The shockwave from the sh radiated out with so much power that it pushed the void back. The rippling void was like a wave that rose into a tsunami that spread out in all directions.

    This punch was Lu Yin''s most powerful, and he shattered the humanoid tribtion with pure force.

    The humanoid tribtion¡¯s Infinite Power had been strong enough to kill even an above average Progenitor, but Lu Yin¡¯s punch could threaten anyone beneath the level of a sequence powerhouse.

    The humanoid tribtion was shattered without any resistance. Lu Yin¡¯s fist passed through the humanoid tribtion, and only then did he slowly rx his clenched fists.

    Ah Chi had been defeated.

    Outside the range of the stellr tribtion, Ancient God was not surprised by the oue. The descendant of the Lu family had multiple methods he could use, so even if his physical strength was not equal to Ah Chi¡¯s, the young man had other ways to secure a victory, such as his Investiture of the Gods.

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch had not been pure physical strength.

    However, Ah Chi¡¯s strength had been acquired from the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree, which was no different from Lu Yin using various means to reinforce his attack.

    The Semi-Progenitor tribtion had only just begun, so why had Lu Yin faced Ah Chi as his first opponent? There should be no one throughout all of history who could surpass Ah Chi when it came to physical might. Ancient God felt rather puzzled.

    A connection formed between Lu Yin and the ck hole of the stellr tribtion, and it had been formed from strength. This connection was the direction that Lu Yin wanted the transformation of his inner world to take.

    Once the humanoid stellr tribtion was shattered, an invisible power caused the stellr energy cyclone within Lu Yin''s body to start to change.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Had he seeded? Normally, there would not be just one challenge for a stellr tribtion. He carefully thought it through. Could the stellr tribtion have detected all four of his stellr energy vortices? If that was the case, then why had his first challenge been the most powerful challenge possible?

    It was not impossible, and it would exin why Lu Yin¡¯s first challenge had been a humanoid tribtion. Such a thing waspletely absurd.

    If an average Semi-Progenitor had faced the humanoid tribtion instead of Lu Yin, forget Infinite Power¡ªthey would have been sted apart long before even seeing Infinite Power. That punch had been beyond the means of most Progenitors.

    After all, the humanoid tribtion had actually blocked one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches, and only his second punch had shattered it. Inparison, for the Cyclic Tribtion, not even the ck lotus had managed to truly block one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches.

    There was no doubt that Lu Yin had already faced the most powerful challenge for any strength-rted aspects of his stellr tribtion.

    Within Lu Yin''s body, a stellr energy vortex began to change. It emerged from his body and transformed into light that surrounded him before slowly spreading out. It was beautiful to see.

    Lu Yin raised a hand to touch the light, and power poured into his body, thrilling him. He was looking at pure strength. The light that surrounded him represented physical power.

    He continued to draw the light into his body, and it caused his strength to continuously rise.

    His physical strength rose higher and higher as his inner world expanded with increasing amounts of light.

    Lu Yin''s breathing quickened. How much light was there? If everything that he saw entered his body, just how much would his strength increase by? He could not even imagine it, because his inner world would expand as his cultivation rose, which would only further increase its power.

    This inner world had been formed upon a foundation of strength, and it would allow Lu Yin to raise his strength without limit.

    The seemingly simple lines continue to spread out, almost forming nes instead of lines. They held the possibility of infinite strength, so that would be the name of Lu Yin¡¯s first inner world: Infinity.

    Outside the stellr tribtion, the people from the Sixverse Association did not understand what they were seeing and assumed that this was normal. However, Forgotten Ruins God, Shaman God, and the rest of the Skygods sensed that something was off.

    The Aeternals knew Lu Yin too well. Everyst one of his stellr tribtions had been earth-shattering, so how could his Semi-Progenitor tribtion end with nothing more than a single humanoid tribtion?

    However, they could see that Lu Yin''s inner world had fully formed, which meant that things were over. How was that possible?

    If Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion ended with just this, it would not exin why a stellr tribtion of the Origin Universe would cross parallel universes to appear in the Cyclic Universe.

    "No, something¡¯s wrong," Shaman Godmented.

    Forgotten Ruins God was staring at Lu Yin. "Little Lu Yin is not surprised..."

    She then looked up at the ck hole of the stellr tribtion, and her eyes shed. "The stellr tribtion isn¡¯t showing any sign of dissipating."

    Everyone from the Sixverse Association assumed that Lu Yin had already broken through and be a Semi-Progenitor, and they were expecting the stellr tribtion to disappear.

    Sage Jiang and the others were already preparing to continue their battle against Corpse God.

    However, not only did the ck hole and the stellr tribtion not dissipate, but they actually expanded yet again.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. This was better. This was the sort of tribtion that Lu Yin knew he should face. Even if his first challenge had been a bit impressive, which of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtions had not exceeded imagination? His first stellr tribtion to be an Envoy had been against Progenitor Chen, and he had fought against the Mother Tree itself during his sixth tribtion. For his eighth, he had ovee the impossible unlimited absorption. Which of these tribtions had not shattered what people believed to be impossible?

    There was no way that his Semi-Progenitor tribtion would be any different.

    It was actually wonderful that the Origin Universe¡¯s stellr tribtion had pursued Lu Yin into the Cyclic Universe, as he wanted to show the Cyclic Universe and the entire Sixverse Association how difficult cultivation was for the people of the Origin Universe and what a challenge it was for them to be Progenitors.

    Regardless of what sort of talent or innate gifts others might possess, it meant nothing. No other universe would ever be capable of recreating the Heavens Sect¡¯s glory.

    Only by oveing stellr tribtions and narrowly escaping death was it possible to achieve the greatest glory.

    Lu Yin opened his lower meridian point that contained his second stellr energy vortex. He had already decided that this inner world would have space as its foundation.

    Space and time were both elusive forces, to the point where some people even imed that space and time did not exist. Regardless of whether they truly existed, Lu Yin would use the power of space to influence his stellr tribtion and discover what kind of inner world woulde of it.

    Spiral Domain.

    Multiple lines appeared, as Lu Yin was clearly using Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain.

    Outside of the stellr tribtion, Xu Wuwei stared on in surprise. He had never undergone a stellr tribtion himself, so what would happen when his Spiral Domain made contact with the stellr tribtion? He was eager to find out.

    Everyone was focused on Lu Yin. While he was only undergoing a Semi-Progenitor tribtion, he had managed to bring the entire battle at the tea ceremony to a standstill.

    Even True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign had stalled their battle and were waiting for Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion to end before resuming their match.

    The lines of the Spiral Domain touched the ck hole, and the second stellr energy vortex emerged from Lu Yin¡¯s lower meridian point and appeared in the open.

    ckless God¡¯s head rose. "A second stellr energy vortex."

    Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s eyes red, and she licked her bright red lips. "He actually has a second stellr energy vortex? No wonder, Little Lu Yin. You really are full of surprises."

    Undying God¡¯s bleary eyes opened. "Interesting."

    Once the spatial lines made contact with the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin fell into a trance in which he saw familiar pictures shing by. He saw all that had just happened: the Extreme Yin City, the fall of Evergreen Sage¡¯s body, and Sage Yuan¡¯s despair. He even saw Chu Jian¡¯s arrogant behavior. All of these things had already happened, so why was Lu Yin seeing them again?

    A gust of wind blew through the ck hole. It felt cool and refreshing, but it was apanied by a long river that was invisible to most eyes.

    Only a handful of people could see this river, and everyone else saw nothing at all.

    Ancient God''s expression changed, and he blurted out, "The river of time!"

    Corpse God stared at the stellr tribtion.

    Undying God was instantly wide awake.

    Lord Xu and Great Elder Shan Gu were both startled. This was the river of time. Clearly, Lu Yin was facing his stellr tribtion, so why had the river of time appeared to challenge him?

    Only sequence powerhouses were capable of observing the river of time. For others, it was nothing more than a myth.

    Even those who possessed an innate gift of time or who cultivated battle techniques to the point of influencing time would very rarely see the river of time before they reached that level.

    Undying God''s eyes suddenly snapped wide open. He had developed Inverse Step, which was capable of reversing time and space. He was exceptionally familiar with the power of time, and a smile appeared on his face when he saw the river of time appear. "I have touched the river of time with the power of space and lived, but if I had attempted to do that with your level of cultivation, I would have perished.¡±

    The river of time represented the past and the passing of time. It was both the past and the present, and it existed on a level that could not beprehended.

 Chapter 2826: Lightstream

    <h4>Chapter 2826: Lightstream</h4>

    When Lu Yin saw the river of time appear, his scalp instantly went numb. No matter how confident he might be, he had never considered the possibility that he would draw out the river of time. How was this a challenge from the stellr tribtion? This was simply murder.

    The river of time flowed towards Lu Yin. He had already experienced traveling through time and space, but he had no idea what might happen if he touched the river of time. Would he travel to the past? Or possibly to the future? Neither one was an option that he wanted to face.

    However, the river of time was relentlessly approaching, and there was nothing that Lu Yin could do to stop it. How could his skills that touched upon time and space affect the entity that was river and time?

    At that moment, a connection formed in his mind. He had used the power of space to trigger this stellr tribtion, but somethingpletely unpredictable had appeared.

    Xia Shenji had some control over the power of time and had kept it a secret, not wanting Bai Wangyuan or any of the other Progenitors to know about it. It was easy to see how important the power of time was to the man, and Xia Shenji was considered to be one of the most powerful peak powerhouses who had not yet touched thews of the universe.

    <i>This is simply not a power that I can deal with right now. I was too impulsive.</i>

    <i>I simply wanted to use the power of space to trigger a tribtion and transform my inner world. I didn¡¯t expect to trigger a tribtion that would be so difficult for me to pass</i>.

    <i>Really, I never thought that the power of space would draw out the river of time. Why did that happen? Why did space bring out time?</i>

    Lu Yin had no time to think about anything, and he simply raised his hand and brought out his die. At this moment, it was the only thing that he could try.

    His finger tapped on the die to roll it. One pip. Something useless fell out. Again. Five pips. Again.

    Beyond the stellr tribtion, Ancient God and others stared at Lu Yin. Was that his innate gift?

    Almost no one knew about his die.

    Aeternus¡¯s information concerning Lu Yin said that he could manipte people from a short distance, improve the performance of certain objects, and dpose items that should not be broken down.

    The Aeternals and many others had a few guesses rting to Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift that was his die, but it was impossible for anyone to guess everything about it.

    No one could have imagined that an innate gift with six different abilities like the die could be possessed by a single person.

    Lu Yin noted that, while the river of time was not moving very fast, it was inexorably getting closer. He did not want to abandon his breakthrough, as doing so would make his next attempt far more difficult. Not to mention, it would be extremely difficult for him to change the bnce of the battle or find a way to defeat the Aeternals if he did so.

    He eventually rolled Timestop, and the scenery around Lu Yin changed as he reappeared within his Timestop Space.

    He had entered the space with the intention of buying a bit of time for himself to think about his situation.

    No stellr tribtion was impossible to ovee. The fact that Lu Yin had managed to draw out the river of time indicated that he also had the means to ovee this particr tribtion. He just needed to consider the matter carefully.

    Suddenly, the number on the timer in his Timestop Space changed drastically. It had originally shown three days¡¯ worth of time, but now, there was only one minute left.

    He was startled, and he quickly used stellr energy to increase the time. That allowed the timer to increase again, but it was also constantly dropping. This resulted in the timer jumping up and down drastically.

    Lu Yin was ovee with joy, as he instantly understood.

    The river of time represented time, and its very essence was time. Lu Yin had hidden himself in his Timestop Space, which also had the power of time. At this moment, two identical powers were shing.

    It was the sh between the two powers of time that caused the timer to constantly fluctuate. When the numbers dropped, it indicated that the river of time was influencing things from outside.

    This was a battle exclusively between the river of time and his die¡¯s Timestop. It was essentially a duel.

    Lu Yin''s breathing quickened when he realized how things were ying out. He really should have thought of this before.

    Lu Yin stared at the timer, constantly feeding Timestop with stellr energy to grind away at the power of time. That was what he was trying to do: grind away at the river of time. The moment the timer stopped fluctuating would be the moment the river of time had flowed past him.

    He had no idea what other people were seeing, as only a second would pass as the river of time flowed past Lu Yin, but the river of time was not something that people understood.

    This was no time for Lu Yin to worry about hiding his innate gift. He simply needed to ovee his stellr tribtion. That was all that mattered.

    After a bit of time passed, the timer abruptly spiked, and Lu Yin reflexively stopped feeding Timestop with stellr energy. The timer had stopped changing, which indicated that the river of time had flowed past him.

    Lu Yin swallowed. This tribtion was finally over.

    Lu Yin had used enough energy to raise the timer to almost a year, which was what he normally did when he used Timestop. However, at this moment, there were only forty one days on the timer.

    He did not rush out and instead waited patiently, recovering in peace.

    His Semi-Progenitor tribtion was not simple at all. He still had two more stellr tribtions to go through, and he had not forgotten about the Cyclic Tribtion either, which had merely been pushed aside. However, Sage Yajna was still there, and other powerhouses would be summoned by the Cyclic Tribtion.

    Even if the Cyclic Tribtion frustrated Lu Yin due to it beingpletely unnecessary, he did not have any choice in the matter. Whose choice had it been to break through in the Cyclic Universe?

    All too soon, the timer ran out, and the scenery once again changed before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he returned to the location of his stellr tribtion.

    For everyone else, only one second had passed.

    Outside the range of the stellr tribtion, the people capable of seeing the river of time had witnessed a strange scene. They had clearly observed the river of time slowly flowing through the sky, but it had instantly vanished. It had only taken a second for it to disappear, even though the river of time was something that did not exist within the confines of time. This was something that those who could see it understood, but the sudden disappearance of the river still made them ufortable.

    ckless God stared intently at Lu Yin. "The power of time. That child has truly mastered the power of time. What just happened during that second must have been due to his innate gift."

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled tenderly. "Little Lu Yin, the power of time is not an easy thing to control. Do you want to tell Big Sister about it? Can Big Sister help you?"

    Lu Yin ignored everyone outside his stellr tribtion. The disappearance of the river of time was as good as announcing that he had ovee this tribtion, and his inner world would soon form.

    While Forgotten Ruins God was teasing Lu Yin, everyone watching was very curious about what sort of inner world would appear after Lu Yin survived the river of time tribtion.

    Even True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign were curious.

    No one had expected someone who was not even a Semi-Progenitor to survive crossing the river of time. However, as he had seeded in an impossible trial, his reward would simrly defy imagination.

    Everyone watched intently.

    The stellr energy vortex from Lu Yin¡¯s lower meridian point slowly transformed, constantly shifting and changing. Finally, it took on the form of a strand of light.

    Everyone was shocked. Light?

    Lu Yin stared at the strand of light. It was just light, and nothing more, and yet it did not disappear.

    It was gray, white, and lookedpletely ordinary, and yet it was his second inner world.

    He activated Heaven¡¯s Sight to observe the inner world, and at that moment, Lu Yin still saw the strand of light, but it had taken on a new form of spatial lines.

    He stretched out his hand to touch the light, and an expression of delight appeared on his face. He did not truly understand how to exin this inner world, but while it appeared to be a strand of light, it was actually the power of space, and its primary function was to chase time.

    What did it mean to chase time? It was something that he had never considered before.

    Someone had once said that time was light¡ªalways moving and illusory.

    If a person moved fast enough and exceeded the speed of light, it was possible to reverse time and return to the past.

    Lu Yin had traveled through time before, but he had not understood anything while it had been happening. At this moment, he seemed to gain a bit ofprehension.

    Space was the carrier of time. Time traveled through space, no matter if it seemed real or illusory. It was possible to affect that flow with either the power of time or the power of space.

    Mastering one of those powers allowed a person to touch upon the other.

    Lu Yin''s inner world had transformed into both space and time in a tangible manner. He could use this inner world to chase time, which meant that he had acquired the ability to affect time.

    His breathing sped up. Affecting time was apletely different concept from distorting time.

    Inverse Step was said to reverse both time and space, but Lu Yin¡¯s mastery only allowed him to distort time and space within a certain area. He could not directly control those two powers. However, this inner world shaped like a strand of light was different, as it allowed him to truly reverse time.

    Lu Yin knew that as soon as he touched it.

    However, this did not tell him how far he could reverse time, which meant that he needed to try it outter. As for what would happen after he reversed time, that was also something that he could only find out by trying.

    The light swirled around Lu Yin before disappearing into his body.

    His head rose up. <i>Since this light can affect time, I¡¯ll call it Lightstream.</i>

    This second inner world, Lightstream, had beenpletely formed.

    Beyond the stellr tribtion, everyone remained silent. Those unable to understand what had happened looked confused. They had only seen Lu Yin standing beneath the stellr tribtion, his expression going from calm to frightened, only to transform into ecstasy a secondter. Right after that, a sliver of light appeared before their eyes. As for what had happened during that second, no one could say.

    The few people who did understand what sort of tribtion Lu Yin had just survived were extremely curious about the strand of light. Clearly, it was not nearly as simple as it appeared to be.

    Shaman God gave a strange smile. "Kakaka, child of the Lu family, are you interested in sharing your second inner world?"

    Lu Yin looked over. "Nope.

    "But," Lu Yin looked at Forgotten Ruins God. "If you¡¯re the one asking, I will answer."

    Forgotten Ruins God was momentarily taken aback, but then she let out a delightedugh. "Little Lu Yin, your big sister''s love has not been in vain. I used to answer whatever you asked. Will you do the same for me now, too?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "As long as it¡¯s you asking."

    Forgotten Ruins God rolled her eyes and pointed above Lu Yin''s head. "Are you trying to dig a grave for your sister? Or are you digging a grave for yourself? Your stellr tribtion still hasn¡¯t disappeared."

    Everyone looked back upwards, speechless. Sure enough, the ck hole still showed no signs of dissipating.

    Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion was not finished yet. If someone challenging a stellr tribtion spoke to outsiders during their tribtion, it was very possible that the outsider would be dragged into the tribtion as well. No one could be sure what would happen to the stellr tribtion after that.

    However, why had Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion not disappeared yet?

    Lu Yin looked back upwards. "You¡¯re right, it hasn¡¯t disappeared. It really did see through me. In that case, it¡¯s time to continue."

    Mu Shen''s face grew solemn. "Do you have a third stellr energy vortex? Gu Yizhi, has such a thing ever appeared in your universe before?"

    Ancient God''s eyes revealed nothing. "The more talented the genius, the less the universe can tolerate their existence. Regardless of how many stellr energy vortices or inner worlds he possesses, after this tribtion, I will kill him myself."

    Mu Shen shook his head. "You won¡¯t be able to."

    Ancient God looked over. "Then try to stop me."

    The Skygod then shouted, "Seven Skygods, after this stellr tribtion, use all your strength to kill the child of the Lu family! This child cannot be allowed to live."

    Shaman God¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Forgotten Ruins God arched a brow, and her smile fell.

    Corpse God clenched a fist, still staring at the cosmic ring on Lu Yin¡¯s finger.

    ckless God frowned.

    Undying God once again took on azy appearance.

    Mu Shen also shouted, "The Sixverse Association will do its best to protect the descendant of the Lu family! Regardless of any past grudges or enmities, the fact that this child threatens Aeternus shows what a boon he will be to our Sixverse Association. I, Mu Shen, ask all humans to consider the overall situation and ensure that this child survives."

    Lord Xuughed. "Of course I want him to live! I promised that guy, Wu Tian, that I would preserve his inheritance. Besides, this kid has also cultivated my own power."

    Great Elder Shan Gu let out a breath and solemnly stated, "I and my Lost n will do our best to protect him. Losing him cannot be tolerated."

    Lord Wei was also staring at Lu Yin. "This child holds immense research value and should be kept safe."

 Chapter 2827: A Speck Of Dust

    <h4>Chapter 2827: A Speck Of Dust</h4>

    Mu Ke clenched his saber, and Xu Wuwei''s expression turned grim. Mr. Daheng, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, Xiu Ci, Mu Tao, Sage Jiang, Arrow Sage, and all the other peak powerhouses firmed their determination as they prepared for the deadly battle to continue. Even Sovereign Ninth Lotus did the same.

    Previously, the humans had been defending themselves against the Aeternals¡¯ invasion, which had been an instinctive response. However, the battle had now shifted to revolve around Lu Yin. The humans did not want to lose such a talented individual with limitless potential.

    As for Chu Jian, everyone had forgotten about him long ago. He stood in the distance, watching Lu Yin face his stellr tribtion. Lu Yin¡¯s position should have belonged to Chu Jian, so why was that not the case?

    Chu Jian¡¯s conversation with Chu Yuan kept echoing in his mind. Chu Yuan had been absolutely right; Lu Yin was a true monster.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes flickered as she stared at Lu Yin. <i>Brother Xiaoxuan, you are bing more and more unpredictable.</i>

    ...

    Beneath the ck hole of the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin unsealed the stellr energy vortex in his middle meridian point. While everyone had already been mentally prepared for this due to the fact that the tribtion had not yet disappeared, seeing a third stellr energy vortex still left many people breathless.

    Three stellr energy vortices. Lu Yin really did have three stellr energy vortices, which meant that he would form three inner worlds. That was a terrifying thought.

    After all, these three were still only inner worlds. Once Lu Yin became a Progenitor, his inner worlds would be Progenitor¡¯s worlds. At that time, who would be able to face him?

    The Lu family had already been famous for the cheat-like powers of their Champions¡¯ Stage and Investiture of the Gods, but Lu Yin would actually be able to form three separate Progenitor¡¯s worlds. This was beyond simply cheating. If he rose up to and became a sequence powerhouse, he would be able to face all Seven Skygods on his own.

    Lu Yin''s strength exceeded anyone¡¯s understanding.

    Even Ancient God was amazed. For him to order the Seven Skygods to use all their power to kill Lu Yin, it was easy to see just how shocked the Aeternals were by what Lu Yin had revealed.

    Even if the Sixverse Association did not understand the Origin Universe¡¯s path of cultivation, people were still shocked by what they had seen.

    Throughout all of known history, no one else had ever done what Lu Yin was doing.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. For his third inner world, he nned to use Flipping the Sky as the foundation.

    This was something that Kui Luo had suggested.

    Before Lu Yin had left for the tea ceremony, Kui Luo had specifically sought Lu Yin out to remind him of Flipping the Sky.

    When Lu Xiaoxuan had first created Flipping the Sky, it had drawn out every Progenitor in the Perennial World, including the Lu family¡¯s founding ancestor.

    When Lu Yin had first heard about that matter, he had not been particrly shocked, but as time passed, he had gained a much better understanding of just how shocking it was to draw out the Lu family¡¯s oldest ancestor.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan was one of the Three Realms Six Dao, and he had always been sleeping.

    It was unimaginable for the creation of a battle technique to bring out Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin could not understand how, before Lu Xiaoxuan had even be an Envoy, he had created a battle technique that had awakened Ancestor Lu Yuan. Even if Lu Yin had managed to learn Flipping the Sky and understand the technique¡¯s power, given that it was a battle technique that was based on manifesting an imagined concept of a cultivator, such a technique should not have been created by Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Despite Kui Luo''s repeated assurances, Lu Yin still felt that it was impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to create Flipping the Sky.

    Even so, Lu Yin was not worried about that detail. Flipping the Sky was a powerful battle technique, an incredibly powerful one. He had sensed that more than ever when he had fought against Undying God''s avatar. There were times when Flipping the Sky couldpletely invert a crisis, much like the Origin Sutra.

    Given how powerful Flipping the Sky was, Lu Yin had decided to use it as the foundation of his third inner world.

    This decision had been made not only because of Flipping the Sky¡¯s power, but also because Lu Yin wanted to do something to acknowledge his past as Lu Xiaoxuan.

    The fourthyer of the seal that had been ced on him had nothing to do with his missing memories, as it was actually a test. Even if the Lu family was banished, as long as Lu Yin managed to break the fourthyer of the seal, he would be able to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan. This also meant that Lu Yin¡¯s initial goal of restoring Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s memories by breaking the seal that had been ced on him had already failed.

    He was Lu Yin. Lu Xiaoxuan no longer existed.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had lived Lu Xiaoxuan''s life, but the moment the Lu family was exiled, Lu Xiaoxuan had died, and Lu Yin had been born.

    For this reason, Lu Yin wanted to acknowledge Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose as he stared up at his stellr tribtion.

    Flipping the Sky formed andmass in the sky, flipping the sky and the ground. The sky acted as a hand, and the hand then flipped over, causing the earth and sky to trade ces with the earth rising up above the sky. This was Flipping the Sky.

    When Lu Yin used Flipping the Sky, while others were unable to see anything, the technique allowed Lu Yin to peer across the parallel universes and into the Origin Universe to see the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    What was happening?

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened, as he was rather shocked.

    Why did Flipping the Sky allow him to see the Origin Universe?

    This third stellr tribtion had the most normal appearance so far. No shocking scene appeared from the stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole; instead, a single speck of dust slowly fell towards Lu Yin, apanied by a white light.

    Lu Yin stared at a speck of dust. What was this?

    Far away, True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign both eximed, "Primaldust?"

    Ancient God took a step forward. For the first time, his expression drastically changed. He was staring intently at the speck of dust. Had <i>that</i> thing actually appeared?

    Aside from Ancient God, none of the other Skygods recognized what had appeared. There were only three people on the entire battlefield who understood what had appeared.

    This seemingly insignificant speck of dust shocked all three of those people.

    Lu Yin also did not know what it was, but since he had already triggered the tribtion, there was no way that things would be as simple as they appeared, so he used Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    The moment he did, it was difficult to describe what Lu Yin felt. Heaven¡¯s Sight revealed sequence particles.

    <i>What the fuck!</i> Lu Yin almost coughed up a mouthful of blood. <i>Sequence particles! This tribtion is actually a tribtion of sequence particles! Damn it! Flipping the Sky triggered a tribtion of sequence particles? How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?</i>

    Old Mo, Sovereign Shao Yin, and Corpse God were all peak powerhouses who controlled sequence particles, and everyst one of them was capable of easily defeating Lu Yin. If he could receive a bit of help and avoid the sequence particles, then he would have some level of confidence, but who was supposed to help him during a stellr tribtion?

    <i>What the hell? How can this speck of dust actually influence sequence particles?</i>

    Lu Yin felt chills run all over his body as he watched the dust fall towards him. Its movements were very gentle, but the pressure that he felt was indescribable.

    He had no idea what the consequences of him touching this dust might be, and neither did he want to find out.

    This was also not the time to worry about such things, as he just needed to do whatever it took to block the dust.

    He struck at the speck of dust with a palm strike to test things out.

    Lu Yin used all of his strength, but it did not move in the slightest.

    His face twitched. Next, the Investiture of the Gods appeared above his head. This was the Lu family¡¯s inherited innate gift, so the tribtion would not treat it as outside help. During Lu Yin¡¯s sixth stellr tribtion, an image of his father had appeared and used the Investiture of the Gods to summon Progenitor Wen, which had nearly defeated Lu Yin.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods illuminated everyone''s face, and figures emerged from the scroll and made their way towards the speck of dust.

    While the speck was so small that even the light of the Investiture of the Gods seemed to be able to drown it out, to Lu Yin, the speck of dust felt like a terrifying enemy.

    Progenitor Nong raised his hoe, and countless superimposed images appeared, mimicking his actions. A full-powered Plowing the Land struck the dust, but it failed to cause the speck of dust to so much as quiver.

    The dust was clearly drifting on a breeze, but nothing could shake it.

    Leng Qing raised his saber and shed at the dust.

    The de fell, but once again, the dust could not be moved.

    When Arch-Elder Zen stepped forward, a small path spread towards the speck of dust and attempted to move the dust away, but the path was shattered the moment it touched it, and even the summoned Arch-Elder Zen shattered.

    This was the first time that the speck of dust had revealed any sort of attack power, and what it revealed left Lu Yin''s scalp numb.

    The conferred Xia Shenji used his Shenwu World, strengthened with his Divine Martial Armor. The void roiled, and the phenomena rose upwards as the summoned Progenitor attacked at full power.

    None of the des that fell onto the speck of dust had any effect whatsoever. Each de either skimmed past the dust or were crushed when they ran into the speck of dust.

    It was clear that these attacks were from powerful Progenitors, but all of them were as powerless as a child¡¯s attack.

    It was as though the summoned Progenitors were not facing mere dust, but rather an invincible giant.

    Ancient God let out a breath. "There''s no need for me to do anything. That is Primaldust."

    Mu Shen frowned. "Primaldust? I feel I¡¯ve heard that name before..."

    The man¡¯s head suddenly snapped up, horror etched across his face. "Primaldust? The Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon?"

    A solemn light filled Ancient God''s eyes. "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon was indeed dust. A single speck of dust capable of destroying an entire universe. Even if this speck of dust is merely something manifested by his stellr tribtion and is iparable to the Origin Progenitor¡¯s true weapon, this is still not something that the child of the Lu family can stand up to.

    "Primaldust possesses a power of suppression and growth. He is not able to withstand the power of suppression, let alone when it grows or gains life.

    "This stellr tribtion is over!"

    Lu Yin watched helplessly as the dust continued to fall toward him. Progenitor Nong, Leng Qing, and Xia Shenji all charged forward. Regardless of whether they could stop the dust, as long as they could shift it even slightly, Lu Yin would have a glimmer of hope.

    However, all three figures instantly shattered without even influencing the speed at which the speck of dust moved.

    Lu Yin quickly backed away, only to find that the speck of dust was still above his head. Even with his attempts to evade it, the distance never grew, only shrinking.

    Heshed out with a palm strike. He used time to constrain the attacks and released fifty at once.

    Even still, the speck of dust was not shaken at all.

    Lu Yin grew so anxious he nearly pulled out his slipper and pped at the dust, but he managed to hold himself back.

    <i>Calm down! You need to stay calm. There has to be a way to survive, as every tribtion has one. This isn¡¯t an execution, but rather a trial.</i>

    He took a deep breath and then forced himself to close his eyes and calm down. Regardless of how close the dust speck might be, he needed to remain calm.

    This dust speck was just too strange. Did he need to use one of his recently formed inner worlds? He felt that, regardless of how much brute force he used, it would remain useless. This speck of dust was not something that could be countered by raw strength.

    Just what had he triggered with Flipping the Sky?

    If strength would not work, should he bring out Bi Rong¡¯s corpse? Would a corpse be regarded as a foreign object? Lu Yin had only survived his fist stellr tribtion by blocking the final bolt of lightning with Bi Rong¡¯s corpse, but that final attack could not be regarded as a trial, but rather judgment. If not for Bi Rong¡¯s corpse, Lu Yin would have never survived that bolt of lightning. However, that judgment had not been concerned about foreign objects or outside assistance, which was why Lu Yin had been able to use the corpse.

    However, this speck of dust was a genuine stellr tribtion.

    <i>Flipping the Sky, Flipping the Sky... manifesting an imagined concept-</i>

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped back up, as he suddenly understood. Just like Flipping the Sky, this speck of dust was connected to a concept, which was why it could not be dealt with by physical force.

    Flipping the Sky had also awakened Ancestor Lu Yuan because it was a conceptual battle technique, which was something that Even Ancestor Lu Yuan had taken note of. It made sense for this speck of dust to possess simr depths.

    Since the manifestation of a concept had triggered this tribtion, than that should also be the solution to this tribtion.

    And since Flipping the Sky had triggered the tribtion, Lu Yin would simply use Flipping the Sky to resist this tribtion.

    His hand rose, and the ground appeared in the sky, overturning the sky with the flip of a hand. The profound concept contained within the battle technique allowed Lu Yin to see the Origin Universe once again, and he saw the Mother Tree and the Fifth Maind. There were countless people in his vision, and they felt quite familiar, though he could not recognize them.

    The speck of dust trembled briefly, but then continued to slowly fall towards Lu Yin.

    However, the efficacy of Flipping the Sky finally gave Lu Yin a spark of hope. If once was not enough, then he would do so again. Besides, the vision of the Fifth Maind had grown a bit clearer, so did that mean that his mastery of Flipping the Sky had improved? Had the attack been improved?

    Imagined concept. Just what exactly was a concept?

    This was something that Lu Yin might not understand, but it was not necessary at the moment. All he needed was to understand Flipping the Sky.

    Flipping the Sky.

    Flipping the Sky.

    Flipping the Sky.

    ...

    Each time Lu Yin used the technique and made a flip, he was able to see the Fifth Maind slightly more clearly, and he could also see those familiar strangers more clearly.

 Chapter 2828: Thereâ€™s More?

    <h4>Chapter 2828: There¡¯s More?</h4>

    The speck of dust continued to shake, and Lu Yin''s eyes grew heated. He had to shatter this dust speck.

    By now, the dust speck was only one meter away from him.

    When the pressure arrived, Lu Yin felt like he was just an ordinary human who was seeing the mountains fall. He did not even notice that he was vomiting blood as he focused on continuing. <i>Flipping the Sky, Flipping the Sky, Flipping the Sky... </i>

    Lu Yin attacked faster and faster, and the dust trembled more and more violently.

    The pressure on Lu Yin never let up. He did not know how long he could endure under the pressure, but he was at his limit.

    At that moment, a strand of light appeared beside Lu Yin. It was his second inner world, Lightstream.

    The strand of light swirled about, and Lu Yin could feel that time had been reversed within his surroundings. He saw the speck of dust suddenly move several meters above him. He wanted to take a step, but was unable to do so. He wanted to move, but that was also impossible. There was another him, which was the scene of what had just urred, with the strand of light appearing. He was peering into the past.

    However, what was the use of looking into the past without the ability to alter it?

    Lu Yin returned to himself, and he watched as the strand of light shot up towards the dust. The speck of dust miraculously moved up slightly. While it was only a very short distance, the dust returned to where it had been one second before, which made Lu Yin excited. The strand of light was capable of reversing time, albeit very briefly.

    One second. One second. One second. Lightstream continued to swirl around the dust as Lu Yin continued to use Flipping the Sky.

    Outside the stellr tribtion, countless people stared in a daze. Most people were still unable to understand what was happening, but the few who could were startled.

    "He- he actually just reversed time." Mu Tao was shocked. Time was beyond most people¡¯s senses, and even if there were a few individuals capable of touching the power of time, they could not reverse it.

    For example, Xia Shenji was able to use his Graduation to trap his opponents with the power of time, but reversing time was impossible for the Progenitor.

    Another example was Inverse Step, which could distort time within an area, but not truly reverse it. In fact, the exact effects were uncontroble.

    The only person capable of doing something simr to Lu Yin with his Lightstream was Wendy Yushan. She was able to reverse time within a small area with Rewind, her innate gift. The moment her innate gift was revealed, Sage Bodhi had immediately tried to recruit Wendy as a disciple. Many years had passed since Wendy Yushan had awakened her innate gift, but she had always struggled to increase the amount of time that she could reverse with Rewind by even the slightest bit.

    This was the power of time.

    While facing his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin was using Lightstream to continuously reverse time. This was not merely touching the power of time, but rather actually controlling it.

    While he could only revert time for a single second at the moment, that was not an indication of what he could do in the future. As his cultivation, strength, andprehension of his inner world all improved, his control over the power of time would grow stronger and stronger as well. He had the means to cultivate the power of time.

    Even if he had only just started, this power had already saved his life.

    If not for Lightstream, Lu Yin would have been forced to either retreat from his stellr tribtion, failing this attempt, or be crushed. There was no third option.

    Lightstream never stopped moving.

    Ancient God was also shocked by Lu Yin''s progress. Despite only facing a Semi-Progenitor tribtion, what Lu Yin had encountered was far more shocking than a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Ancient God had seen too many people face a Progenitor¡¯s stellr tribtion, including the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Heavens Sect era, as well as people from Progenitor Chen¡¯s generation. Those stellr tribtions had been truly shocking, but not even those couldpare to what this child was facing.

    On top of that, this was only a Semi-Progenitor tribtion.

    Lu Yin''s face grew pale. He had no idea how many times he had reversed time so far. The speck of dust was still falling towards his head, so he just kept reversing time again and again...

    Aftershing out with Flipping the Sky countless times, Lu Yin was able to see the Fifth Maind far more clearly than before. But in return, cracks were constantly spreading across his body, and the pressure that assaulted him also caused him to cough up blood.

    There was absolutely no change to the dust¡¯s sequence particles, as nothing Lu Yin did was able to influence them in the slightest.

    True God Wei Yi was impressed. "For him to be able to persist for so long beneath Primaldust, the child deserves his title of Dao Monarch."

    The Great Sovereign stared at Lu Yin. She realized that she had still been underestimating this child of the Lu family. Each of his inner worlds was extremely powerful, and they presented infinite possibilities for his future. If he had been born during the Heavens Sect era and received <i>his</i> protection to rise up to be a Progenitor, there was no doubt that the child of the Lu family would have be one of the most powerful humans to ever live.

    But the current era was different.

    Even if the Great Sovereign did nothing, the Aeternals would never allow the child to live.

    With the attention of both True God Wei Yi and the Seven Skygods on him, it was impossible for the child of the Lu family to leave this battlefield alive.

    ...

    Every inch of Lu Yin''s body had be riddled with cracks. Despite the fact that he was constantly reversing time, it was difficult for his body to endure. He was feeling dizzy, and numbness gued his limbs. He did not know how many more times he could use Flipping the Sky, let alone how many more were needed to disperse the speck of dust.

    He had to endure. He had managed to persist for so long, and he had acquired both the power of time and truly infinite physical strength. On top of that, there was the power system in his chest that had even amazed Mister Mu. Lu Yin could not die here. He had to live. He had toplete his breakthrough. He had to protect the Heavens Sect. He had to bring back the Lu family.

    A soft roar erupted as Lu Yin opened his mouth. More blood was vomited. His eyes werepletely bloodshot as he continued. <i>Flipping the Sky, Flipping the Sky, Flipping the Sky-</i>

    In the Origin Universe, the fight in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Heavens Sect had grown increasingly intense. As countless ordinary humans were caught up in the battle, they screamed.

    Numerouss were shattered, and battleships continued to explode as invisible attacks tore through the universe, instantly crossing unfathomable distances,pletely unstoppable.

    Many people had fallen to their knees in front of statues of Lu Yin, praying for the Dao Monarch¡¯s return.

    More and more people knelt down and started to pray. Countless voices gathered in unison as people prayed and called out Lu Yin''s name.

    As he used Flipping the Sky, Lu Yin saw this. He could see the fighting at the Heavens Sect and the countless people struggling at death¡¯s door. His eyes zed a more intense red. No matter what it took, he had to ovee this stellr tribtion. He had to do it both for himself, and for his home, so that those people praying to him would have a chance of survival.

    <i>They were innocent, and only wanted to live out their lives normally.</i>

    The Fifth Maind trembled the slightest bit, and the stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole shook. The prayers of the people in the Fifth Maind, Flipping the Sky¡¯s concept, and Lu Yin''s hope all merged into an indescribable blow. Flipping the Sky shook the maind as the sky itself was turned over.

    The speck of dust trembled violently, and then disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream remained suspended in the air for a moment. Meanwhile, Lu Yin was drenched in blood as he looked up at where the speck of dust had disappeared.

    Silence filled the region. It was so quiet that Lu Yin could clearly hear his own heart beating loudly.

    He took a deep breath. No stellr tribtion could ever be impossible to ovee. No matter how terrifying it might appear, there would always be a glimmer of hope. For thisst tribtion, he had had to use his second inner world, Lightstream, to even find that glimmer of hope.

    Even though he had survived, when Lu Yin thought about the tribtion, he still felt afraid.

    What would he have done if he had failed to find the path to sess and had not repeatedly used Flipping the Sky? What if he had not had Lightstream¡¯s ability to reverse time? Lu Yin did not even want to think about it.

    He had simply wanted to use Flipping the Sky as the foundation of his third inner world as an acknowledgement of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s life, but doing so had nearly gotten him killed. There was absolutely no way that Lu Xiaoxuan had created Flipping the Sky. It was absolutely impossible.

    As the speck of dust vanished, the stellr energy vortex from Lu Yin¡¯s middle meridian point started to transform into an inner world.

    After surviving a crisis, all that remained was to reap the rewards.

    Given how close he hade to death, Lu Yin was very curious to see what form his third inner world would take.

    Everyone else was curious, including even True God Wei Yi and the Great Sovereign.

    What sort of inner world would appear for someone who could survive beneath Primaldust?

    As Lightstream returned to his body, a speck of dust appeared in front of Lu Yin.

    He blinked. <i>This again?</i>

    Beyond his stellr tribtion, everyone from the Sixverse Association and Aeternus were still staring at Lu Yin. Most people were still unable to understand just what was happening. They had only seen Lu Yin coughing up more and more blood as cracks spread across his entire body. Most people had no idea what Lu Yin had endured.

    In fact, only three people knew.

    "Seven Skygods, prepare to attack and kill Lu Xiaoxuan." Ancient God¡¯s voice rang out, shaking the entire area of the Tea Ceremony, as well as the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

    He had seen Lu Yin''s third inner world actually form into Primaldust, which waspletely unbelievable. That had been the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon. How could it have be the descendant of the Lu family¡¯s inner world?

    As one of the Three Realms Six Dao, Ancient God was well aware of Primaldust¡¯s power and how it was peerless. Why had this kid obtained Primaldust as his inner world?

    Mu Shen frowned. "All members of the Sixverse Association, we must protect the child of the Lu family!"

    He did not know any of Primaldust¡¯s details. While he had contacted the Origin Universe long ago, that did not mean that he had been able to speak to the Origin Progenitor. At best, Mu Shen had interacted with Gu Yizhi.

    While Mu Shen did not know about Primaldust, he did know Gu Yizhi, and he also knew that the Aeternals could not wait to kill Lu Yin. The threat that the youth posed to Aeternus had just spiked, and that meant that the support that Lu Yin could offer the Sixverse Association had also skyrocketed.

    Further away, the Great Sovereign frowned, conflicting emotions filling her eyes. <i>Primaldust? This child actually obtained Primaldust as his inner world? Isn''t that person dead? How can his Primaldust be this child''s inner world?</i>

    Even True God Wei Yi was taken aback. "Things are bing more and more interesting."

    Lu Yin did not know anything about Primaldust. All he knew was that he had almost been killed by the speck of dust and that this thing possessed extremely terrifying power.

    His hand slowly rose up and gently touched the dust speck. Lu Yin was certain that if anyone else made contact with the speck of dust, things would turn out very differently.

    The fact that this speck of dust had appeared during his stellr tribtion meant that someone has used it in the past. It might be a manifestation of someone''s power, but then why had it be his own inner world? He had clearly triggered the stellr tribtion with Flipping the Sky, so his inner world should also be rted to Flipping the Sky.

    The first inner world had physical strength as its foundation, which had resulted in an inner world of infinite power.

    The second inner world had space as its foundation, and space served as the carrier of time. The two forces had manifested together in a strand of light that had be Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream.

    As for his third inner world, Lu Yin could not understand it at all. <i>If the earth appears in the sky, it can be flipped over. Could it be...?</i>

    Lu Yin retracted his hand, allowing the dust to enter his body. Since this was his third inner world, he would just call it Dust World.

    The inner world had formed, and everyone surrounding the stellr tribtion grew solemn. They were all preparing to restart the battle. As soon as the stellr tribtion dissipated, an even more vicious fight than the first would break out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion hadpletely altered the pattern of the showdown.

    Everyone was ready to start fighting again, but the stellr tribtion still did not disappear.

    Lu Yin nced around and noticed the killing intent of Ancient God and the other Skygods. He saw how wary Mu Chen, Lord Xu, and the other rulers of the universes of the Sixverse Association had be, as well as the fear of Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and so many more.

    He gave a small smile and asked, "What are you all so worked up about? The stellr tribtion hasn¡¯t finished yet.¡±

    When it came to being anxious, Lu Yin was more on edge than anyone else. He had no idea how the battle being fought at the Heavens Sect would turn out.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was the one person who could not get worked up at this moment. He needed to first survive his stellr tribtion, and the more anxious he became, the more likely he would be to make mistakes.

    Everyone who heard Lu Yin was startled by his words.

    "There''s more?" Xu Wuwei shouted.

    Everyone was staring at Lu Yin. What more could there be?

    Xu Wuwei had spoken the thoughts of everyone.

    Mu Ke¡¯s grip on the hilt of his saber rxed a bit as he stared at Lu Yin in surprise. "Master, this junior brother that you took in seems to be a true monster."

    No one had expected Lu Yin to need to face yet another tribtion. They looked upwards, and sure enough, the tribtion showed no signs of disappearing.

 Chapter 2829: The Wordless Heavenly Book

    Chapter 2829: The Wordless Heavenly Book

    Lu Yin averted his eyes and looked back up. Next was the stellr energy vortex in his upper meridian point.

    While he had four stellr energy vortices, there was also the power system that had formed an independent universe inside Lu Yin¡¯s chest. He did not know if that power would also trigger a Semi-Progenitor tribtion. Theoretically it should be impossible, as it was a different cultivation method. The God of Death¡¯s death energy was a different cultivation method, and it did not trigger any stellr tribtions.

    However, the universe that Lu Yin was cultivating had amazed even Mister Mu. If that power triggered a Semi-Progenitor tribtion, Lu Yin had no idea what sort of freakish tribtion would appear.

    As he considered that, his stellr energy vortex appeared.

    The people watching were all shocked. Really?

    Forgotten Ruins Goddessughed louder and louder. "This is so interesting! Little Lu Yin, you are fascinating! Since the ancient era to now, there¡¯s been no one as interesting as you. Just how in the world do you even cultivate? Four stellr energy vortices? Hehe."

    Undying God was openly surprised. "He formed four stellr energy vortices, but didn''t die during his breakthrough to be an Envoy? That¡¯s simply a miracle."

    Shaman God smiled strangely. "I regret it, kaka. I really regret it. If I had known that this boy was such a freak, what kind of monster would he have be after being transformed into a corpse king? We would have gained another Skygod."

    Great Elder Shan Gu watched in amazement. It was no wonder how this child had drawn out the Primeval card. This child''s cultivation amazed even the Seven Skygods. Only by not being restricted to a single universe had it been possible to ovee the normal limitations. This child had to be kept alive.

    Lu Yin could no longer hear people¡¯sments, as he was dealing with an internal struggle.

    He had already considered all four stellr energy vortices, and he had decided that for his fourth one, he would trigger the tribtion with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    Many people use their best battle techniques or abilities as the trigger to form their inner world. Some people even used innate gifts, but Lu Yin did not want to do any of that. His battle techniques, abilities, and most of the powers that he had cultivated were concentrated in his internal universe, and he did not want to use any of those to form his inner worlds.

    That was why he had decided on physical strength for his first inner world, and the second had been the power of space. These were not powers that he had obtained from others, but rather abilities that belonged to him alone that were native to the universe itself.

    Flipping the Sky had been given to Lu Yin by Lu Xiaoxuan. In the past, he had believed that Lu Xiaoxuan had indeed created it himself and had therefore regarded it as his own as well, which was why he had used it. After the most recent tribtion that he had narrowly survived, while Lu Yin no longer believed that it was a technique that could have been created by Lu Xiaoxuan. But as he was also the only one in the universe who could use Flipping the Sky, it might very well have been created by Lu Xiaoxuan.

    ording to Lu Yin¡¯s ns, his final inner world would be triggered with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, bing the only inner world that could be regarded as a kind of inheritance. It was no simple inheritance, as it came from the Origin Progenitor himself. Thus, there was no loss to use something that had not originated with Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin had be rather panicked. Each of his stellr tribtions had be increasingly freakish. The river of time, a speck of dust¡ªtruly bizarre stellr tribtions had appeared. If Lu Yin triggered thisst one with the Origin Sutra, he could not afford to face the Origin Progenitor as a Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin truly believed himself to be without peer within the same realm of cultivation, confident that he exceeded even the Three Realms Six Dao as Semi-Progneitors. However, that absolute self-confidence did not extend to the Origin Progenitor.

    That man was humanity¡¯s ancestor, and there was no telling what sort of existence the man had been.

    The appearance of the river of time and the dust caused Lu Yin to hesitate. Should he trigger the tribtion with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra?

    It was clear to everyone watching that Lu Yin was hesitating, but no one understood just why he was hesitating. They assumed that he simply did not know what he wanted to use to trigger his next tribtion.

    This also made sense to people, as Lu Yin had already formed three inner worlds. How many different paths could a person cultivate? How many powers could one person possess?

    Each of Lu Yin''s three inner worlds had been more terrifying than thest. They exceeded anyone¡¯s imagination. How could he have anything more with which to trigger his stellr tribtion?

    However, Lu Yin had more than one option he could use.

    He had also considered using the Investiture of the Gods or his Champions¡¯ Stage to trigger a tribtion, but Lu Buzheng had eliminated that possibility for Lu Yin.

    ording to Lu Buzheng, the Investiture of the Gods and the Champions¡¯ Stage were both abilities that were incapable of affecting a stellr tribtion. Even if a person tried to use them, a tribtion would not be triggered. It was impossible to form an inner world from either of those two abilities.

    Even so, Lu Yin still had Truesight and the power of runes, Wielder - Indestructible, and his domain; there were simply too many options. However, what he wanted most of all was to use the Origin Sutra. The problem was, he was terrified of the corresponding stellr tribtion.

    After taking a moment to think, Lu Yin took a deep breath and sped his hands behind his back as he gazed up at his stellr tribtion. It was right for him to be afraid, as he could not die yet. He needed to save the Heavens Sect and bring back the Lu family. However, if he turned away from the path that he had already decided upon, it would be no different from destroying his own determination. Then, how would he be able to pave his own path in the future?

    He needed to bring back the Lu family. If he chose a secure method to survive his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, would it be enough to break the fourthyer of the seal on his back? He had no idea how powerful the seal that the Lu family had ced on him had be, but if he considered things from the perspective of Ancestor Lu Tianyi, there was no chance that the seal was weak. Even the slightest risk of failure would invalidate all of Lu Yin¡¯s previous efforts.

    If this failed, how would he ever bring back the Lu family? How could he hope to change the Heavens Sect¡¯s current desperate situation and save them?

    There was only a small chance of surviving any stellr tribtion, but since Lu Yin had already survived three tribtions, he could definitely survive the entire thing. He would find a way to ovee this fourth tribtion.

    With this thought, Lu Yin opened his mouth and began to recite the Origin Sutra.

    "When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancientnds is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards¡­ Leap into the cosmos and crouch¡­ Harmonious with themon people¡­ Devour the hundreds of rivers¡­ Leap into the boundless skies and crouch¡­"

    Lu Yin¡¯s recitation was done in a very soft voice. The volume was such that no one outside the range of his stellr tribtion could hear a thing.

    Yet each word rang out like a mallet that struck the universe itself, forming ripples that struck the stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole.

    Far away, the Great Sovereign and True God Wei Yi grew solemn. This child actually dared to trigger his stellr tribtion with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra? There were only two possible oues: life or death.

    If the river of time and Primaldust had given Lu Yin time to react or even fight back, the Origin Sutra would not.

    No one else knew about this, not even the Three Realms Six Dao. Only those who had reached the same level could truly understand the meaning of the Origin Sutra.

    This would not trigger a tribtion, but rather a judgment.

    Why had only the Three Realms Six Dao been qualified to receive the Origin Progenitor¡¯s teachings in order to develop unique powers? It was because they had each been the master of a Maind.

    While it was possible for others to practice the Origin Sutra, they could only do so with the version passed down by the Three Realms Six Dao, which was not the true Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    This was also true of the Lu family¡¯s descendant, but more importantly, he was using the Origin Sutra to trigger his stellr tribtion. This would trigger a judgment that would be passed in an instant, deciding if he lived or died.

    Forget about Lu Yin¡ªsuch a judgment would instantly determine the life or death of even the Three Realms Six Dao.

    This was a true judgment, not a tribtion.

    It was a judgment from the universe itself.

    Multiple sounds emerged from the tribtion¡¯s ck hole, and Lu Yin immediately saw a strange scene. He saw images of a universe flicker by, and there seemed to be some kind of connection between parallel universes. He saw the Origin Universe, the Mother Tree, the Fifth Maind, and Leng Qing surpassing his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Why did he see Leng Qing¡¯s tribtion?

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s mind was jostled, and he nked out. He could remember nothing at that moment, as he seemed to have lost his soul. His eyes lost all focus.

    He was no longer himself and was nothing more than a shell.

    This situationsted for only a single moment, and after that, Lu Yin woke back up.

    He stared up at the tribtion in confusion. What had just happened?

    Far away, the Great Sovereign and True God Wei Yi were both startled. "He''s not dead?"

    A smile appeared on True God¡¯s face. "It appears that the child is quite popr in the Origin Universe, which allowed him to live. For him, this might have been the easiest part of his entire Semi-Progenitor tribtion."

    The Great Sovereign stared intently at Lu Yin upon seeing that he had not died. She understood precisely what that meant: this child was treading the same path as <em>him</em>. Such people were the most revolting to her.

    Even now, the stellr tribtion had not appeared.

    Lu Yin had no idea what had just happened, and neither did anyone else watching.

    Not even Ancient God understood what had just passed.

    One by one, everyone turned to stare up at the tribtion.

    Within Lu Yin''s body, the stellr energy vortex in his upper meridian point started to transform.

    He was startled to see that the transformation had started without any tribtion. Why was this happening?

    The stranger the situation, the more ufortable Lu Yin felt, but at this moment, there was nothing that he could do but watch as his stellr energy vortex transformed. At the same time, his Origin Matter suddenly fell from his upper meridian point and into his middle meridian point, entering his Dust World.

    Lu Yin was essentially a passenger at this moment, unable to understand or influence what was happening inside his own body.

    Finally, an inner world appeared within his upper meridian point.

    Lu Yin found this inner world to be very weird. Other people¡¯s inner worlds typically epassed arge area, like Lan Xian and Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s, or items, like Xia Ji¡¯s. There were also very strange ones, like Kui Luo¡¯s, which would force his opponents to leap over the jiao¡¯s gate.

    Just what were Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds?

    His Infinity could be regarded as normal, and Lightstream was also reasonable, but the Dust World was undoubtedly strange. How could a speck of dust be considered a weapon? As for Lu Yin¡¯s fourth inner world, it was just a sheet of paper.

    He stared at the inner world that had been formed from the stellr energy vortex within his body. It was simply a piece of paper. No, was it a scroll? That also did not seem quite right; was it a piece of cloth?

    He could not determine how to best describe his fourth inner world. It looked like the unfurled Investiture of the Gods, but there was nothing on it.

    Staring at the nk scroll, Lu Yin had no idea what it was for.

    As his confusion mounted, words started to appear. He quickly read what appeared, seeing a list of names: Leng Qing, Kui Luo, Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, Arch-Elder Zen, the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Master Shan, Elder Gong. More and more names appeared, all of them familiar. Countless names appeared on the scroll. While Lu Yin initially recognized the names, as more appeared, he was no longer able to recognize them all.

    The names kept appearing on the scroll, and new names would appear and push the old names away, recing them.

    Lu Yin stared on nkly. He had no clue what these names represented, but as the number of names that appeared continued to increase, the scroll seemed to be a sacred object that possessed an invisible weight. This was not a physical weight, but rather a spiritual one. This inexplicable weight hung upon Lu Yin''s heart.

    The entire thing was a mystery. Lu Yin did not know the meaning of the names that had appeared, but he certainly had not expected such a bizarre oue after triggering his tribtion with the Origin Sutra.

    Regardless, he would call this inner world the Wordless Heavenly Book.

    "Is it over? What just happened?" Sage Jiangmented in surprise.

    Lu Yin looked over.

    "Junior Brother, are you alright? Watch out! The Seven Skygods will try everything they can to kill you, so just run away as soon as this is over!" Xu Leng shouted. She wanted Lu Yin to leave the battlefield. Even if doing so was considered desertion, this was a battlefield for peak powerhouses, while Lu Yin was nothing more than a Semi-Progenitor, even after his tribtion. No one would say anything about a Semi-Progenitor leaving such a battlefield, and that was not even considering the fact that the Seven Skygods wanted Lu Yin dead.

    Great Elder Shan Gu spoke up as well. "Leave."

    Forgotten Ruins God showed a tender smile. "Little Lu Yin, can you tell Big Sister what your fourth inner world is?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. He looked at the Wordless Heavenly Book sitting before him, and then back at Forgotten Ruins God. "Can''t you see it?"

    Forgotten Ruins God blinked, taken aback by the response. "Should I see something?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2830: Surpassing The Tribulation In Glory

    Chapter 2830: Surpassing The Tribtion In Glory

    ckless God''s eyes flickered about before he stared at Lu Yin again. "Nothing."

    Lu Yin''s expression never changed. He stared at the Wordless Heavenly Book before him. Was there nothing there? It was clearly right there, but it seemed that only Lu Yin could see it.

    Not even the Seven Skygods could see the unfurled scroll, let alone anyone else.

    "The stellr tribtion still isn''t dissipating. Child of the Lu family, do you have a fifth stellr energy vortex?" Unexpectedly, the normally silent Corpse God spoke up. His voice was not loud, yet it echoed in everyone''s ears.

    Sovereign Shao Yin gritted his teeth. This child had to die. Four inner worlds was too freakish.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s all."

    While he did not have a fifth stellr energy vortex, the independent universe in his chest was far stranger than even a fifth vortex.

    He looked back up at the stellr tribtion that still persisted. Not only was the stellr tribtion still present, but the Cyclic Tribtion also remained, having merely been shoved aside. Sage Yajna was still sitting in the same ce as ever, only ignored because everyone was focused on the stellr tribtion instead.

    The Cyclic Tribtion still needed to be dealt with as well.

    There was a rumble, and then the tribtion roared. With that, it started to expand.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted. Really? Was it expanding yet again?

    He already knew that his tribtion was not over. While the Semi-Progenitor tribtion should have ended as soon as all four of Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds had formed, Lu Yin was different. He had known that things would not be so easy, but he also had not expected the stellr tribtion to expand once again. Just what more was awaiting him?

    He felt as though he was once again entering outer space on his own power for the first time.

    Others felt the same. They were forced to retreat by the expanding stellr tribtion, but no word ofint was voiced. Everyone wanted to see just what sort of tribtion would appear.

    What Lu Yin feared most was the power within his chest triggering a tribtion.

    The rumbling grew louder and louder.

    Lu Yin looked up into the vortex and saw lightning flicker in the bottomless depths.

    <em>Crack!</em>

    A spatial crack appeared at Lu Yin¡¯s side. His head spun to look at it. When had that happened?

    <em>Crack!</em>

    <em>Crack!</em>

    Sounds rang out, one after another, as the void around Lu Yin continued to shatter. It happened above his head, under his feet, and all around him. The fractures moved closer, while also spreading out to epass the entire range of the stellr tribtion.

    Ancient God shouted, "Universe tempering the body. Run!"

    His words were needless, as everyone could feel the unimaginable destructive power that was quickly spreading. Even with therge distance between them and the stellr tribtion, they all felt as though there was a knife to their backs.

    At this moment, cultivation meant nothing, as even the Seven Skygods retreated.

    They did not want to get caught up in the shattered space. There was no telling how terrifying things would be in that region.

    From a distance, Lu Yin looked like a grasshopper that was trapped within a ss bottle. He kept leaping about, but there was no escape. Inside that ss bottle, space continued to shatter, revealing spatial cracks. If Lu Yin touched any of those cracks, he would die without any hope of survival.

    Lu Yin silently cursed. He used Inverse Step to keep dodging about.

    It turned out that his tribtion was the breaking of the universe. The tears in space were not merely spatial cracks, but rather the universe itself breaking open. Each tear revealed the Hollow.

    Runes spread out, as Lu Yin wanted to detect where the universe was about to break, but the moment the runes spread out, they disappeared, pulled into the exposed Hollow.

    In this ce, any power that Lu Yin possessed seemed frivolous. The only thing that he could do was try to escape.

    However, even if he wanted to escape, where could he go? He was trapped within a small region of space, and the universe was constantly shattering and being destroyed in the entire area.

    Lightning arrived, mming into Lu Yin. He was directly struck, and he coughed up blood. Was that lightning?

    He looked upwards and saw lightning flickering up above, and it was entangled with sequence particles. No wonder the lightning had been so powerful. He waspletely incapable of resisting.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s four inner worlds were forming, Lu Yin himself had been undergoing a transformation. He had fully entered the Semi-Progenitor realm, which was not a small increase. Despite that improvement, he was still helpless against sequence particles.

    Fortunately, he had not been shattered into pieces by that initial strike.

    There was a snap, which came from his arm breaking. The universe had broken right next to Lu Yin.

    A strand of light emerged from Lu Yin¡¯s body, and Lightstream flickered about, reversing time for one second. With that second, Lu Yin was able to shift and react to the spatial fissure that appeared in the same ce as before. He had managed to avoid it, but if he had not been able to reverse time, he would have lost his arm.

    At that moment, another bolt of lightning descended.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he took out the Wordless Heavenly Book and used it to block the lightning. The lightningnded, but the sequence particles were blocked.

    This was something that the Wordless Heavenly Book could do, and it was the greatest reward that Lu Yin had gained from his Semi-Progenitor tribtion: he finally had the means to defend against sequence particles.

    He let out a sigh of relief that his feelings had proven correct. The Wordless Heavenly Book was indeed able to resist sequence particles.

    Lightning rained down, and space continued to shatter. Lu Yin fled, never stopping. In this ce, only the powers of time and space could be used, as everything else would be devoured by the Hollow. Lu Yin had no opponent to face, which meant that he could only try to survive.

    Beyond the area of the tribtion, people¡¯s faces grew pale as they stared in shock.

    Lu Yin was facing a truly desperate situation at this moment. Even if a peak powerhouse were in his ce, they would have almost no chance of surviving this tribtion.

    Xu Heng had to ask himself how many seconds he would be able to survive, but Lu Yin had already surpassed the man¡¯s best estimate for himself.

    Lu Yin''s body was constantly being shattered due to brushing against the Hollow, but each time, Lightstream would reverse time, allowing him to survive. A lot could be done in just one second.

    All across his body, Lu Yin felt that his strength had improved. Was it the effect of the lightning that was striking him?

    He looked up to see another bolt of lightninge crashing down.

    A stellr tribtion was a terrible disaster, but it also offered tremendous rewards.

    Failure meant death, or at least a setback in one¡¯s cultivation. However, survival meant a transformation in one¡¯s power.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was risking his life in this tribtion. The shattering of the universe could easily kill him, as could the powerful lightning flickering about. However, this tribtion could also allow his physical strength to rise to a new level.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, put away the Wordless Heavenly Book, and continued on without it.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The lightning struck again, and Lu Yin opened his mouth to spit out blood. His body had nearly been blown to pieces, and his reactions grew a bit sluggish. His whole body felt numb, but he could not take a break. The universe was still shattering, and Lightstream only gave him a single second to respond by reversing time. However, if the Hollow devoured his entire body, even Lightstream would be useless.

    He gritted his teeth and continued to escape.

    The entire section of the universe had been turned into chaos. Lu Yin could no longer even use the power of space, and all he could do was try to escape disaster.

    Escape, escape, escape.

    When more lightning fell, Lu Yin coughed up more blood. His white clothes had already been shredded, and his entire body was at its limit.

    Outside the shattered space, people watched in silence as Lu Yin endured the tribtion.

    The people of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes felt thrilled that they had not been born in the Origin Universe. Just who could survive such catastrophes? It was clear that not even peak powerhouses could survive Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion. There seemed to be absolutely no hope of survival.

    The more clearly that one could sense the terror of the stellr tribtion, the greater their admiration for Lu Yin.

    At this moment, even Chu Jian was left convinced. It was clear that Lu Yin was out of the Junior Sovereign¡¯s league. Just where did Lu Yin¡¯s limits lie? There were certain people for whom it was impossible to determine their true limits, regardless of who their master might be.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    <em>Boom!</em>

    More and more lightning bolts fell. Each one was vicious and powerful, and Lu Yin struggled to endure them all. He could tell that he would not be able to endure any longer. Trying to withstand any more lightning bolts with his body would just be asking to die. He had no idea how much his body had been strengthened by, but it was clear that trying to continue would kill him without any doubt.

    Within the depths of the tribtion¡¯s vortex, a huge bolt of lightning was gathering. Once it finally fell, it illuminated everyone''s faces.

    Lu Yin looked up. <em>Damn it!</em>

    He instinctively wanted to pull out the Wordless Heavenly Book, but at this moment, a scorching heat erupted on his back, and a terrible pain swept through his nerves. The fourthyer of the seal had finally appeared.

    Stellr tribtions were fickle. They looked like a disaster, but they always held a chance of survival, no matter how small it might be. Surviving those disasters would allow the victors to experience a fundamental transformation in their strength. One way to look at stellr tribtions was as a brush against death in order to undergo a transformation.

    The writhing lightning bolts overhead concealed certain death. Lu Yin was absolutely confident that if he did not block the sequence particles of this attack with his Wordless Heavenly Book, it would be more than what he could endure, and it would kill him in an instant.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book could not block an infinite amount of sequence particles, and there was undoubtedly a limit. Lu Yin simply did not know if it would be able to endure or not.

    Just as the lightning fell, the fourthyer of the seal erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s back. In the same manner as when he had broken through to be an Explorer, the seal could either hinder his breakthrough, or act as a shield to protect him from certain death.

    This fourthyer of the seal was also clearly different from the first threeyers. When it rose from Lu Yin''s back, it formed a transparent hand that immediately pressed against Lu Yin. Its purpose was to suppress him and prevent him from passing his stellr tribtion. This was the final test that the Lu family had left for him. Once this fourthyer was broken, regardless of how far away the Lu family might be from Lu Yin, his breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm would awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan. The seal was an obstacle, but it also carried the hopes of the Lu family.

    The fourthyer of the seal had felt the approaching Semi-Progenitor tribtion, and it intended to suppress Lu Yin at the same moment that the attack struck. This seal was a part of Lu Yin, and it had grown with him as he cultivated to the Semi-Progenitor level. It was no longer regarded as an external object, which was naturally something that the Lu family would have taken into consideration, as they would not want Lu Yin to suffer from a stellr tribtion that was aggravated by foreign influence. If that were to happen, there would be no way for Lu Yin to ever be a Semi-Progenitor just because of the seal¡¯s existence.

    If Lu Yin were facing a normal Semi-Progenitor tribtion and was regarded as rtively average for his realm, the seal would have blocked his breakthrough, as an exceptional Semi-Progenitor breakthrough was needed. However, Lu Yin was not facing an ordinary Semi-Progenitor tribtion, but rather one that had shocked even Ancient God and other individuals who had survived since the Heavens Sect era. No one had ever seen such a freakish tribtion.

    Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had shattered all the expectations of Ancient God and every other peak powerhouse. The Seven Skygods had been amazed, so when the seal appeared, while it initially intended to suppress Lu Yin, it quickly realized that the falling lightning was a much greater threat. The seal¡¯s purpose was to test, not kill, and because of that, the fourthyer of the seal that had taken on the form of a transparent hand changed directions and shot upwards to meet the lightning.

    Lu Yin stared nkly as the transparent hand smashed against the lightning. There was a bang, and the entire tribtion¡ªno, the entire region, all of outer space, and even the entire Cyclic Universe, was shaken by this impact.

    Everyone watching was dazzled by the sight of the massive lightning bolt being blocked by a transparent hand. The lightning could not force its way through and instead shattered into countless smaller lightning bolts that fell like raindrops.

    Lu Yin put away his Wordless Heavenly Book and stepped out to meet the lightning rain with just his own body.

    At this moment, the many peak powerhouses present, as well as countless people across the Sixverse Association, witnessed a scene that they would never be able to forget.

    Lu Yin¡¯s clothes were illuminated as he surpassed his stellr tribtion, shining fiercely. His body was tempered by the universe with bolts of lighting, and step by step, he ascended to an unfathomable height.

    Every step he took caused his body to be baptized by lightning as the universe continued to temper his body. However, with the possibility of reversing time when needed with Lightstream, Lu Yin was able to remain calm, which gave him a mystical appearance.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2831: War God

    Chapter 2831: War God

    Countless people stared with their mouths open and their scalps numb.

    Who was capable of taking a stroll through a shattering universe?

    Who could endure lightning this powerful without being harmed?

    Who else could survive such a tribtion in astounding glory, leaving the entire Sixverse Association marveling at the sight?

    At this moment, Lu Yin had fully imprinted himself in the hearts of countless people.

    He walked through the lightning while enduring the universe shattering around him as his body was tempered. To countless people watching, Lu Yin looked like a god at this moment, and he was slowly walking towards divinity.

    The Seven Skygods, Lord Wei, Lord Xu, and others remained silent as they watched Lu Yin walk an unbelievable path, clearly oveing his stellr tribtion.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was blown away. He could feel how powerful the lightning was, and it matched his own strength. How could the boy survive something at that level? Just what level had he climbed up to?

    No one could exin to the Sovereign that there were some people who just naturally broke the rules.

    Ever since Lu Yin first started cultivating, he had defiedmon sense, doing so in ways that caused others to doubt everything they knew about cultivation. Sometimes, people would even wonder if there was something wrong with how the different levels of cultivation had been divided.

    Why had a Melder been able to cross realms to challenge Explorers?

    Why had an Explorer been able to fight against Hunters?

    Why had a Hunter been able to cross realms to face Envoys?

    How could an Envoy not only fight against Semi-Progenitors, but also instantly ughter them and face off against Progenitors?

    Why? All that Lu Yin had aplished flew in the face of what was epted asmon knowledge, and most of his achievements could go down in history. And yet, Lu Yin had always pushed further. It looked as though he was determined to challenge everything that was epted asmon knowledge regarding cultivation, no matter if it was themon knowledge of ordinary humans, or even peak powerhouses.

    Lu Yin walked through the rain of lightning. The transparent hand protecting him was the manifestation of the seal that the Lu family had ced on him. He should break that seal, but at this moment, the seal was protecting him and allowing him to ovee the tribtion.

    It was protection. The Lu family was protecting him.

    He dreamed of weing the Lu family back. It was his family, and his rtives, elders, and everyone else would want to protect him. With his family, Lu Yin had the confidence to lose his sense of caution. It was time for the Lu family to return.

    It was at this time that the Cyclic Tribtion that had been pushed aside suddenly started to move again. A figure stepped out from behind Sage Yajna. The figure was covered with gold, and they carried a long cudgel. Even with the light from the shattering of the universe and the endless lightning, there was no concealing this golden color.

    The moment this figure appeared, a touch of the metallic scent of blood and a vast killing intent filled the area. Even in the middle of his stellr tribtion, Lu Yin could sense it while walking through the lightning.

    He nced over at Cyclic Tribtion.

    Everyone surrounding the stellr tribtion looked over at the Cyclic Tribtion, and many were shocked by what they saw. "Sovereign Dou Sheng?"

    The figure that had stepped out from behind Sage Yajna was the person who was second only to the Great Sovereign in the Cyclic Universe, the one who was also called the Little Great Sovereign: Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Truthfully, many people had already guessed that the Sovereign would make an appearance, as who else but the most powerful of the Three Sovereigns could hope to stop Lu Yin from oveing the Cyclic Tribtion?

    Of the most powerful individuals to ever hold a position in the Three Sovereigns or Nine Sages, Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus had already made an appearance, which meant that the only ones who could surpass her were Sovereign Dou Sheng and the mysterious Sage Yajna.

    However, the unexpected aspect was that the Cyclic Tribtion had reactivated at this moment.

    Lu Yin stopped walking and only asionally shifted his body about to dodge the universe¡¯s shattering around him. Lightstream swirled around him, reversing time as needed.

    He looked at the distant Cyclic Tribtion and at the two figures staring back at him.

    Both the Origin Universe¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtions and the Cyclic Universe¡¯s tribtion had appeared at the same time. This was something that had not happened since ancient times.

    Sage Yajna stepped away from the Cyclic Tribtion, but Lu Yin did nothing to the figure of the man. Something about Sage Yajna gave Lu Yin the feeling that he was one who had sacrificed everything, abandoning himself, and the great enlightenment achieved in doing so affected Lu Yin. While this was not rted to sequence particles, it was rather simr to Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s Sit and Forget. Both left Lu Yinpletely helpless and unwilling to do anything at all.

    Sage Yajna did not attack Lu Yin. He moved closer to Lu Yin and then sat back down, cross-legged. His body then started to break apart into small dots that spread out a short way. These dots stabilized the local space, and it also blocked the lightning.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng took a step forward, arriving before Lu Yin. The golden light shone brighter and brighter as the Sovereign raised up his cudgel before bringing it back down.

    Lu Yin looked up at the attack. Sovereign Dou Sheng had attacked with his full power as the universe shattered around the two men and lightning zapped down from the sky with thunderous roars.

    The onlookers stopped breathing as they nervously watched.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng possessed peerlessbat strength, but how much of a threat could the Sovereign¡¯s strongest attack pose to Lu Yin when the Sovereign only had the strength of an Ascendant?

    As the golden cudgel dropped towards Lu Yin, he boldly continued forward. He sensed Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s will. While the man might not have been as powerful as Lu Yin at the same cultivation level, the Sovereign gave Lu Yin the impression of someone who fought against death itself. Such an intense determination was unfathomable to ordinary people. Yes, everyone was afraid to die, even Lu Yin. After all, who wanted to die?

    Sage Yajna had achieved enlightenment and did not fear life or death, while Sovereign Dou Sheng was not concerned about life or death. The Sovereign¡¯s attack showed Lu Yin what was most important to the Sovereign: battle.

    Even if it led to death, fight!

    Not one of the figures which had appeared from the Cyclic Tribtion had been able to endure even a single one of Lu Yin''s punches, not even Sovereign World-Destroying Lotus, and Sovereign Dou Sheng was no different.

    "I respect your will," Lu Yin said as he clenched a fist and threw a punch. Around his body, his first inner world, Infinity, manifested, revealing beams of light that sank into Lu Yin¡¯s body as a purplish-ck substance spread across his form.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    A blinding light shed, and the void shattered. The golden figure of Sovereign Dou Sheng shattered as well, destroyed by a single punch from Lu Yin. There had not been any real resistance from the figure.

    People who had at least some knowledge of the Origin Universe had been amazed by Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion, but everyone from the Sixverse Association was shocked to see Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s image be shattered in a single punch.

    Most people could not understand a single detail of Lu Yin''s stellr tribtion. It had been unquestionably shocking, but for most people, this was far more impressive. Seeing the image of Sovereign Dou Sheng be unable to withstand even a single punch from Lu Yin was awesome.

    Lu Yin had instantly defeated the most powerful Sovereign, the person who was second only to the Great Sovereign herself. Since ancient times, who else could aplish such a feat? Perhaps only the Great Sovereign.

    Every time the Sixverse Association encountered a crisis, Sovereign Dou Sheng was always the one to turn the tide. He was not someone who stirred up passion in others, but rather was someone who lived only to fight. Battle was the only thing that mattered to him, and he would race to battlefields that others fled from.

    To countless people, Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s name was synonymous with invincibility. Even if they were the rulers of the various universes, such as Lord Xu and the others, it was difficult for them topare to Sovereign Dou Sheng in the heart of the Sixverse Association¡¯s popce.

    It was not that Lord Xu and the other rulers were incapable of defeating Sovereign Dou Sheng, but rather the man¡¯s indomitable spirit was a unique characteristic that could not be duplicated.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was the war god of the Sixverse Association.

    The Sixverse Association had just watched their war god be shattered by just one of Lu Yin''s punches.

    Yet again, Lu Yin won with only one punch. Nothing had changed. It did not matter which of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages he had faced¡ªall of them had been defeated by just one punch.

    This punch was Lu Yin showing Sovereign Dou Sheng a measure of respect.

    The Sovereign was the first person Lu Yin had attacked with his full power after obtaining Infinity. He had even done so even though he was only facing a version of Sovereign Dou Sheng that had been manifested by the Cyclic Tribtion.

    The surrounding dots slowly dispersed, and Sage Yajna disappeared entirely. He seemed to have only appeared to usher in Sovereign Dou Sheng, but even the Sovereign had not been able to stop Lu Yin.

    Once Sage Yajna vanished, the Cyclic Tribtion also disappeared. There was no one else who could be summoned who could stop Lu Yin.

    Countless people throughout the Sixverse Association fell silent. Lu Yin''s punch had shattered Sovereign Dou Sheng, and also the beliefs of many people.

    "Sovereign Dou Sheng is invincible. How could that happen?" Some people felt lost.

    Others grew excited. "A new war god has appeared! Who can block his punch?"

    "His name is Lu Yin, and he is the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect."

    "His name is Lu Yin."

    ¡­

    The massive bolt of lightning continued to dissipate, but the transparent hand also started to crack apart.

    Lu Yin spread out his arms. There was no longer any need for him to fight back. His body had been strengthened again and again, and he could finally endure the lightning that contained sequence particles. While it was only a very small number of sequence particles, this still indicated that Lu Yin had finally reached that level of power.

    No matter how terrifying the stellr tribtion might have been, he had survived it. He was Lu Xiaoxuan, and more importantly, he was Lu Yin. He had created countless miracles and be a pir of support for the entire Fifth Maind.

    There was a bang as the transparent hand finally shattered. All the remaining lightning bolts crashed down at once.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath as he stared up at the shower of lightning. "Come!"

    <em>Boom!</em>

    Light flickered on the faces of the watching people, and illuminating the shock and disbelief in their eyes.

    An enormous tree appeared. It grew extremely fast, and it soon covered the entire area that had been filled with the stellr tribtion. After that, it continued to grow until it overshadowed the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and eventually, the entire Cyclic Universe.

    Mu Shen''s face was solemn. "A phenomenon."

    Most of the people from the Sixverse Association did not know what a phenomenon was, but those who had been in contact with the Origin Universe understood that the appearance of any visual phenomena represented that something had reached an extreme state and was approaching transcendence.

    While most of the people in the Sixverse Association did not know what they were seeing, it was obvious that this strange tree was clearly not normal.

    Not every cultivator from the Origin Universe could face such a stellr tribtion, or else the Origin Universe would not have fallen to its current state.

    In the Sixverse Academy, Xu Lie, Mu Sanye, and all the other universes¡¯ representatives were stunned. This tea ceremony had had so many twists and turns that only now did they finally react. The appearance of the phenomena brought them back to reality. They had seen phenomena before when Wen Sansi and Ling Gong had had their breakthroughs. At the time, the sight had shocked them.

    However, if their phenomena werepared to Lu Yin¡¯s, it was less thanparing fireflies to a full moon. There was simply noparison at all.

    The vision of Lu Yin''s tree had already spread beyond the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths to cover the entire Cyclic Universe.

    This same phenomenon had already appeared three times before. The first time had been during Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the Explorer realm. The second time had been during his breakthrough into the Enlighter realm. The third had been during his Envoy breakthrough.

    Every time this particr phenomenon appeared, it would berger than before, and for Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, the scope of the phenomenon was unprecedented.

    The Great Sovereign looked at the enormous tree that had appeared overhead, and her eyes focused on the various objects hanging from the branches. Shock and disbelief filled her eyes. Why did this boy have such a phenomenon?

    True God was also looking at those hanging objects, as among them was something that he was very concerned about, as he had been searching for it.

    He stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. It was impossible to turn this child to them, but he could still help the True God find that object.

    <em>In that case¡­</em> With that thought, True God nced over at Ancient God.

    Ancient God''s expression changed, and he gave a very slight bow, as though having received orders of some kind.

    ¡­

    When the phenomenon appeared, Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. His stellr tribtion was over.

    The fourthyer of his seal had been broken, and he was now a Semi-Progenitor.

    He could feel a connection to his blood a great distance away. Lu Yin turned to look towards it, as ity in the same direction that Xia Shenji had indicated. Lu Yin had felt the connection as soon as hepleted his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough.

    <em>Sure enough, they¡¯re there, aren¡¯t they?</em>

    Lu Yin did not know where in the megaverse the Lu family had been sent to, nor which parallel universe they might be, but there was a connection in his blood, and it spanned the infinite parallel universes. He closed his eyes and silently called out, "Ancestor!"

    Beneath a dark starry sky, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, and a man muttered to himself, "Is there another talented descendant of my Lu family? I wonder how theypare to that Lu Tianyi brat. Huh? How presumptuous!"

    ¡­<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2832: The Road Of The Mortal World

    Chapter 2832: The Road Of The Mortal World

    High above, the ck hole of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion disappeared. Lu Yin looked up to stare at the sky. Was it really gone? Then he was a Semi-Progenitor now.

    He had cultivated for many, many years, spending most of it struggling through life and death. Lu Yin could not even say how much he had gone through, but he had finally made this breakthrough.

    There was only one more step remaining: to be a Progenitor.

    Once he became a Progenitor, Lu Yin believed that very few, even amongst the most powerful in that realm, would be able to fight him.

    Bai Xian''er was staring at Lu Yin, and her eyes suddenly became extremely cold. They were exactly the same as what Lu Yin often saw in his dreams¡ªthe same cold eyes and pointing finger.

    "Be careful!" someone shouted.

    Lu Yin disappeared, and dark green swept through where he had been standing. It was the power of Extreme Yin. Sovereign Shao Yin had attacked him.

    "So what if you¡¯ve broken through? I''ll still kill you!" Sovereign Shao Yin looked ferocious as he red at Lu Yin with overflowing killing intent.

    Lu Yin stared at Sovereign Shao Yin, raised a hand, and then released a punch. This punch continued to merge with the light of Infinity.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s expression instantly changed. While Lu Yin was not able to control sequence particles, his physical strength was absolutely terrifying. This was the same punch that had shattered the summoned Sovereign Dou Sheng in a single blow. Sovereign Shao Yin did not want to test it out for himself, and he immediately retreated.

    The voidpletely shattered where the Sovereign had just been standing, exposing the Hollow.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was startled. Despite not being able to control thews of the universe, Lu Yin was still able to influence them with his sheer strength. The brat had taken a different path, one that allowed him to ignore thosews.

    Even so, that did not mean that the boy could defeat Sovereign Shao Yin. If Lu Yin wanted to truly ignore thews of the universe, he was still far from that level.

    "Extreme Yin City." Sovereign Shao Yin released his full strength. Lu Yin had to die here.

    Lu Yin took out the Wordless Heavenly Book, which allowed him to block a portion of the sequence particles. The number of rot sequence particles that Sovereign Shao Yin could wield could notpare to the number of sequence particles in the final st of lightning. The final attack of Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion had nearly killed him, but Sovereign Shao Yin was a different matter.

    Lu Yin believed that his Wordless Heavenly Book could give him the ability to fight against the Sovereign.

    Up until this moment, Lu Yin had no choice but to dodge any attacks that involved sequence particles.

    On the Endless Frontier, Sage Bodhi looked away from the disy and suppressed the shock that Lu Yin¡¯s newfound abilities had stirred up in her heart. As long as he survived this battle, he would undoubtedly change the bnce between humanity and the Aeternals in the future.

    However, she needed to ignore him for the moment and address the current battle.

    Aeternus had prepared extremely well for this assault. The Seven Skygods attacked the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, while most of the True God Guard were focusing on the Endless Frontier. Additionally, there were also a few other powerhouses attacking the Endless Frontier, which meant that, even if all of the Sixverse Association¡¯s experts arrived, it would still be difficult to change the course of this battle.

    However, difficult did not mean impossible.

    "Everyone, cheer up. This moment will determine whether we live or die."

    "Yes."

    "Yes."

    Wendy Yushan looked solemn. She felt relieved when she saw that Lu Yin had sessfully ovee his stellr tribtion, but in the blink of an eye, she had to return to her own battle. She had no idea how things would turn out.

    ***

    In the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect stubbornly fought back.

    Hen Xin and Destina had returned, as had Yao Di and the other scattered Semi-Progenitors.

    Regardless of their personal feelings about the Heavens Sect, they could not allow Aeternus to win, as that would bring about their deaths as well.

    However, it was not easy for Semi-Progenitors to fight against Progenitors.

    Qing Ping conducted his trials.

    Hen Xin panted heavily as a purplish-ck substance spread out. He shed with a corpse king.

    There were more than twenty Progenitor-level experts fighting in this brawl, but the delicate bnce immediately tilted to one side when Leng Qing vomited blood and went flying backwards.

    He had been severely injured by the same corpse king that had nearly killed Lu Yin when he had fallen into the trap in the Sixth Maind.

    "The captain of the True God Guard, Zhong Pan," the Chiliagonist said with a smile. This corpse king was ruthless, and if his opponentcked sufficient strength, they would die.

    Zhong Pan was strong enough to overwhelm even Lu Yin. No matter how hard Lu Yin resisted, he had not been able to stand up to this corpse king, and Leng Qing was simrly overwhelmed.

    Desperate, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi took on the form of Lu Tianyi, who then attacked Zhong Pan.

    The appearance of Lu Tianyi¡¯s clone instantly left Arch-Elder Zen exhausted and injured, but if Zhong Pan was not stopped, the Heavens Sect would be defeated here and now.

    The Chiliagonist shook his head. "Even if you stop Zhong Pan, who will stop me?"

    Leng Qing fell to the bottom of the staircase,nding a short distance away from He Ran.

    The woman¡¯s face was pale as she stared at the Chiliagonist, who was slowly approaching her from above.

    Leng Qing struggled to get back up, as he had been almost crippled by Zhong Pan¡¯s attack. The corpse king was too powerful, and Leng Qing had no strength left to face the Chiliagonist.

    Yi Ren also arrived, and heughed raucously. "Progenitor of Bloodlines, so you are actually here too."

    Inside the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, the Progenitor of Bloodlines looked at the approaching Yi Ren. <em>Who is that? The traitor?</em>

    "Who seeks death?" A purple energy swept over from the distance, shaking Yi Ren¡¯s disk away.

    Yi Ren looked over. Who was this?

    Big Sis emerged from the void and looked up. "Your life is mine!"

    As soon as she spoke, her abyssal power formed into a massive hammer that mmed into Yi Ren.

    Yi Ren¡¯s eyes narrowed. There was something strange about this woman, which made him very wary.

    Big Sis had intended to stay in seclusion until she regained her strength as a Progenitor, but she had been disturbed by the battle and forced out. It would have been better if she had been given just a bit more time, as if she could regain the strength of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, she alone would have been enough to alter the course of the current battle.

    Elsewhere, the Chiliagonistnded at the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven. He remained very quiet, and was barely making anymotion at all. Aside from Leng Qing and a few others, no one else was aware that one of the True God Guard¡¯s captains had already entered the Heavens Sect.

    The Chiliagonist smiled when he saw He Ran. "Well, well, well, who might you be? Aren¡¯t you He Ran from the Transcendent Universe? How interesting to see you here. Didn¡¯t you go missing?"

    He Ran was terrified. This person made her very ufortable, and she kept retreating.

    The Chiliagonist slowly walked towards her. "Let me guess; were you kidnapped?"

    Leng Qing shed at the Chiliagonist with his saber, and the man suddenly turned to stare at the Progenitor. Leng Qing froze in ce, and his de fell into the ground as Leng Qing himself nearly copsed.

    He had been bombarded by consciousness.

    The Chiliagonist smiled. "Don''t worry. Because I once joined forces with your Dao Monarch Lu to fight amon enemy, I can give you a morefortable death."

    Cherry blossoms flew about as a three-stringed instrument rang out with music. Lan Xian was attacking.

    From the other side, Herb Immortal, Zhan Lin, and Kui Luo all appeared, surrounding the Chiliagonist.

    The man justughed. "Now, this is quite interesting. It seems that you don''t understand just what a captain of the True God Guard is."

    In an instant, his consciousness seized control of everyone present.

    Lan Xian attacked Herb Immortal, while Zhan Lin attacked Kui Luo.

    However, due to cultivating the Origin Sutra, Kui Luo was able to break free from the Aeternal¡¯s control. He stared at the Chiliagonist. "Leap through the Dragon Gate for this old man!"

    The Chiliagonist looked at the huge waterfall that was Kui Luo¡¯s inner world, but he waspletely unconcerned. He merely showed a bit of surprise that Kui Luo had shaken free from the control of his consciousness. "You deserve to be studied."

    The Chiliagonist then waved his hand. This time, he did not attack with consciousness, but rather with the might of a Progenitor.

    Kui Luo spat out a mouthful of blood. He was unable to resist this level of power.

    A captain of the True God Guard was not an average Progenitor.

    Kui Luo had thought that he was capable of just barely holding out against the weakest of Progenitors, but he felt as helpless as a child against the Chiliagonist.

    The Semi-Progenitory on the ground with a bitter smile on his face. "It looks like it¡¯s finally time to make my breakthrough. I don''t know what will happen. Kid, we need to bring the Lu family back."

    "You want to force me to retreat by triggering your Progenitor¡¯s tribtion? That might work, so give it a try. It¡¯s always an interesting experience to witness a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion." The Chiliagonist did not even try to stop Kui Luo, and instead looked at the man with open interest.

    The Heavens Sect was destined to be destroyed on this day. There was no one who could stop it. No one in the Heavens Sect, the entire Fifth Maind, or even in the Origin Universe had the power to do so. This universe would fall to Aeternus.

    Kui Luo sighed, but just as he was about to attempt his breakthrough, a gust of wind blew by. It caused him to see many things. Surprised, Kui Luo looked towards the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. What was it?

    On the mountain that rose high into the sky, Headmaster Shao Chen took a sip of his tea while smiling at Zhao Ran. "It tastes good."

    Zhao Ran was delighted. "Thank you!"

    She then looked up into outer space. Such a massive battle had caused even someone with no memories like Zhao Ran to be afraid.

    Shao Chen smiled at the girl. "Find a safe ce."

    Zhao Ran blinked, looked away, and then looked back at Shao Chen. "Where is His Highness?"

    "He¡¯ll be back soon."

    Zhao Ran shook her head and whispered to herself, "It''s better if you don''te back. This ce is very dangerous right now."

    She then slowly walked away.

    Shao Chen stared at Zhao Ran''s retreating back. Regardless of the presence or absence of memories, people would still have emotions, just like Zhao Ran.

    Shao Chen had promised Lu Yin to protect the Heavens Sect at a critical moment. This was clearly that time.

    <em>I have cultivated my heart in the mortal world. I can¡¯t say what will happen when I be a Progenitor. I can¡¯t even say that that stage of my life can be called the Progenitor realm.</em>

    Shao Chen had never opened his three meridian points, which meant that, logically, it was impossible for him to be a Progenitor. However, he did not walk on the traditional path. While opening the three meridian points and obtaining Origin Matter was vital for others, such things were unnecessary for Shao Chen.

    <em>I used the experience of the mortal world to refine my heart, which serves as my inner world</em>. Shao Chen could see his Progenitor¡¯s world more clearly than anyone else.

    The Chiliagonist looked behind him, feeling as though he had been seen throughpletely. Such a sensation was incredibly unpleasant.

    He moved his feet and started moving. Since the sensation was unpleasant, then it should disappear.

    The Chiliagonist arrived on the mountain in one step, and he saw the headmaster casually sipping tea.

    Shao Chen¡¯s eyes fell on the Chiliagonist. "You¡¯ve lived a truly sad life."

    The Chiliagonist felt confused as to why he felt utterly exposed before a mere Semi-Progenitor. In Shao Chen¡¯s eyes, the Chiliagonist saw himself, and yet it also was not him.

    The Chiliagonist intended to seize control of the headmaster, and projected his consciousness.

    Shao Chen put his teacup down. The moment the teacup touched its te, a sharp sound rang out. It caused the Chiliagonist to suddenly return to his senses, once again ovee with the same unpleasant sensation as before. Regardless of this human¡¯s strength, the Chiliagonist felt an incredible sense of danger from him. It felt like stepping into another¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Shao Chen stood up and let out a breath. "I am mortal, and the mortal life is me. Let me see the memories of the mortal world."

    With that, invisible ripples spread out from the man in every direction.

    The first to be touched was the Chiliagonist. The images of his memories formed a rainbow that rose into the sky. He was surprised by the sight. Just what was this?

    As the ripples swept out, there was no harmful power, but everyone who was touched by the ripples had a rainbow formed from their memories appear behind them. Like the rain in reverse, one rainbow after another rose to connect to the sky, drawing the attention of everyone in and around the battle raging at the Heavens Sect.

    Outside the sect was Ancestor Tortoise, the Mavis family, the camphor bug that was fighting against Ancestor Tortoise, and the man in ck armor that was on its back. Even further away was Arch-Elder Zen, Big Sis, Mu Xie, Ju Ji, and Zhong Pan, as well as the various corpse kings.

    All living creatures possessed memories, and these memories were the footprints left behind by those living creatures as they walked through the mortal world.

    The mortal world was an abstract concept, much like karma, but it was forced to manifest itself by the headmaster. This was a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion for Shao Chen alone.

    This was a stellr tribtion, and yet not. A stellr tribtion was but one form of a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and Shao Chen¡¯s tribtion had nothing to do with stellr energy. Rather, it was a journey of the mortal world experiences.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2833: Come Back Soon

    Chapter 2833: Come Back Soon

    Big Sis looked up and saw her own memories, which caused her eyebrows to rise. "This path has never been walked before. Even during the Heavens Sect era, it would be difficult to see such a scene. Very few people were capable of truly breaking free from cultivating with stellr energy."

    She looked at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. "Little Seven has found an incredible person."

    Lu Buzheng, Destina, and the others all looked at the mountain as well. They understood just how rare it was for someone to be a Progenitor by walking down a pathpletely independent of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s. In the Heavens Sect era, the most well-known ones had been the God of Death and Destiny. Gu Yizhi and most of the other Three Realms Six Dao had only managed to break free from cultivating with stellr energy after they had already reached the peak.

    Wu Tian was regarded as an outlier among the Three Realms Six Dao. He had only ever cultivated with stellr energy, but he had also managed to reach the pinnacle.

    Shao Chen was taking an unprecedented path, and it was impossible for anyone to imagine what his future would hold.

    Kui Luo was arrogant, and he served only the Lu family, showing contempt for the four ruling powers and even their Progenitors like Bai Wangyuan. However, even he had been convinced of Shao Chen¡¯s ability, admitting that the headmaster had surpassed him despite the short amount of time since Shao Chen had be a Semi-Progenitor. It was easy to imagine just how shocking Shao Chen¡¯s path truly was.

    Throughout both the Heavens Sect era, when human cultivation reached its greatest heights, and the Daosource Sect era, when masters had appeared for all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, very few people like Shao Chen had ever appeared.

    The rainbows of memory formed the mortal world, and the mortal world refined Shao Chen¡¯s heart. This was his tribtion.

    The headmaster took a single step to cross over the Chiliagonist¡¯s memories. The man paused for a moment before moving on to Leng Qing''s memory. Shao Chen was walking through their memories, which caused him to feel as though he was a part of their lives. This was a tribtion that only Shao Chen could experience.

    No one stopped the man, as no one knew what might potentially happen if they tried to stop the headmaster from challenging his tribtion. After all, this was a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and if the reaction was the same as a stellr tribtion¡¯s, then no one would be able to survive interfering with the tribtion.

    The headmaster was walking through the path of the mortal world. Every time he took a step through the red dust, his demeanor took on more and more of the mortal world¡¯s characteristics.

    Finally, he came to a stop at the bottom of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Stairway to Heaven. There, all the rainbows of memories moved towards Shao Chen. From a distance, it looked as though the mortal world was bowing to the man.

    The ripples spread out further and further, until it epassed the entire Frostwave Weave. The mortal world spread out, and rainbows of memories rose up and bowed down. It was a shocking sight.

    Kui Luo gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet. He cleaned the blood from his mouth. <em>He finally broke through.</em>

    With one more Progenitor, the Heavens Sect could hold out for a bit longer.

    Shan Pu and Shan Fangyi nced at each other in shock. Was this a cultivator from the Origin Universe? This sort of breakthrough was unheard of. There were so many possibilities. It was no wonder why this universe had once been the true peak of human power. Compared to the rigidity of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, the Origin Universe was far stronger.

    The ripples continued out from Frostwave Weave and enveloped the entire Outerverse, and then they crossed the Astral River and entered the Innerverse.

    This was a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion that would shock the entire Fifth Maind.

    Shao Chen¡¯s breakthrough required him to walk through the endless mortal world. His tribtion was so pervasive that, for a moment, the entire battle stopped.

    ¡­

    At the Cyclic Universe, in the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had no intention of fighting against Sovereign Shao Yin. He simply wanted to return to the Heavens Sect.

    He had assumed that, with Lightstream¡¯s ability to reverse time and the Wordless Heavenly Book¡¯s ability to block sequence particle-level attacks, no one would be able to stop him from leaving.

    However, Lu Yin had forgotten about one person: True God.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion had shocked the Sixverse Association, the Seven Skygods, and even the True God himself.

    Too many bizarre things had taken ce during Lu Yin''s Semi-Progenitor tribtion. There had been things that werepletely out of reach for Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitor-level experts might not qualify to encounter such things. Furthermore, Lu Yin had brought out something that even True God or the Great Sovereign were interested in.

    Once Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion finished, the True God had immediately enveloped the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths with his divine energy so that no one could leave.

    Oddly enough, the Seven Skygods, who had previously been determined to kill Lu Yin, did not try to attack him after his stellr tribtion even once.

    Lu Yin had no idea if the Seven Skygods still wanted to kill him, nor did he know that he had stunned True God with his tribtion. Instead, Lu Yin only knew that he was unable to leave the battlefield.

    Divine energy permeated the void, and Heaven''s Sight revealed an endless amount of sequence particles. While Lu Yin could create an isted region of the universe within which he could tear the void apart, it was very difficult for him to find the opportunity to do so.

    As long as True God did not want Lu Yin to leave, it would be impossible for him to do so.

    The Great Sovereign had no intention of helping Lu Yin to leave. After all, Lu Yin possessed impressivebat strength.

    "You want to escape? Let''s see just where you can run to!" Sovereign Shao Yin ced all five of his fingers together as he faced Lu Yin from the distance. Within the Extreme Yin City, rot sequence particles spread out and attempted to rot Lu Yin.

    The sequence particles assaulting Lu Yin at this moment were as threatening as the lightning that had tempered his body during the tribtion¡ªboth were deadly threats. Even if his body had been strengthened to the point where he had a slight resistance to sequence particles, it was still impossible for him to endure Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Oveing his Semi-Progenitor tribtion had greatly increased Lu Yin''sbat power. Put crudely, he would no longer struggle in a one-on-one fight against Bai Wangyuan. Even if Lu Yin faced off against Old Mo, he was certain that he could at least escape, even if his chances of victory were practically zero.

    Controlling thews of the universe with sequence particles was a qualitative change in power. Lu Yin could escape from such strength without much difficulty, but how was he supposed to defeat a Sequence Progenitor?

    The only possibility was Evernight.

    Evernight had managed to iste Old Mo from his sequence particles, which meant that it should also be able to iste Sovereign Shao Yin from his sequence particles. As long as Lu Yin could draw the Sovereign into Evernight, where he was deprived of his sequence particles, Lu Yin was utterly confident that he could kill Sovereign Shao Yin.

    It was true that Lu Yin was unable to defeat Sovereign Shao Yin at the current moment, but it was simrly improbable that Sovereign Shao Yin could defeat Lu Yin. Lightstream¡¯s ability to reverse time, as well as the Wordless Heavenly Book''s ability to block sequence particles gave Lu Yin all the leverage that he needed to fight against someone of Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s strength.

    Before bing a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin had been unable to move around in the Extreme Yin City, and he had had to team up with Bai Xian''er to escape from that desperate situation. At present, Lu Yin was certain that he could protect himself even in the Extreme Yin City. If Sovereign Shao Yin was slightly careless, Lu Yin might even be able to transform his once-certain defeat into victory. His breakthrough into the Semi-Progenitor realm had granted him the slightest chance of victory.

    However, this only applied to someone like Sovereign Shao Yin. As for someone like Corpse God, Lu Yin had no desire to even touch them. Sovereign Shao Yin could notpare to the Seven Skygods at all.

    In the same manner as how Lu Yin could just barely survive against Sovereign Shao Yin, the Sovereign would just barely be able to survive against the Seven Skygods. He might barely survive, but he would never win.

    The gap was absolutely massive.

    Lu Yin took out his wireless jincan while evading the onught of sequence particles. As long as the battle at the Heavens Sect slowed in the slightest, he would be able to receive some news.

    <em>Ancestor, pleasee back as soon as possible!</em>

    ¡­

    In the Heavens Sect, the memory rainbows spread across the entire Outerverse. Every living creature¡ªhuman, astral beast, and even the androids of the Technocracy¡ªgave off a memory rainbow. It was a beautiful and unbelievable sight.

    It was something that had never appeared in the Outerverse before.

    The endless mortal world was paying homage to Shao Chen, and the headmaster underwent aplete transformation. His new aura announced to everyone that his breakthrough had seeded.

    However, no one knew just what sort of breakthrough Shao Chen had undergone. Was he a Progenitor now? Something else? No one could say.

    The Chiliagonist immediately attacked. Regardless of whether the headmaster was a Progenitor, he needed to die. He was walking down an unprecedented path, and even though it might be a dead end, it could also lead to a path of unprecedented power.

    Regardless, humanity could not be allowed to have such a person.

    What Aeternus feared the most was not the rise of a powerhouse, but rather the birth of a creator.

    The headmaster nced back. He was assaulted by consciousness, but he remained firm. "Your path has truly been difficult. You wish to impose suffering on others, but you have never truly experienced their suffering. I will allow you to experience it now."

    With that, Shao Chen threw out a palm strike.

    The Chiliagonist instinctively tried to dodge, but the headmaster was not attacking the Chiliagonist, but rather his mortal world, which was represented by the rainbow of memories formed from the Chiliagonist¡¯s past.

    The headmaster did not wield the power of time, and he was simrly unable to reverse time. However, he could force the Chiliagonist to experience others¡¯ lives in the same way that Shao Chen had been refined by the mortal world.

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s pupils shrank, and his eyes lost focus. At this moment, his entire demeanor changed. He was experiencing other people¡¯s lives and their suffering and pain.

    This was a pain that far exceeded the agony of physical pain.

    The Chiliagonist had joined Aeternus because his life had been too painful to the point where he had been unable to bear it. He had therefore severed his humanity, thinking that, as long as he was not a human being, he would have no emotions.

    However, indifference, selfishness, and numbness were also emotions. And inevitably, people with those outlooks could change as well.

    The Chiliagonist clutched his head while wailing. He looked up at the headmaster with bloodshot eyes. "What have you done? Get rid of it! I don''t want this pain! I don''t want to suffer!"

    The headmaster shook his head. "Completely pathetic."

    "You are seeking death!" The Chiliagonist raised his hands tosh out at the headmaster.

    From the other direction, a shadow appeared as the camphor bug fell towards Shao Chen.

    Ancestor Tortoise appeared from the side, mming into the camphor bug.

    On the bug¡¯s back, the ck-armored man jumped down, his mace heavily falling upon Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s shell. Compared to Ancestor Tortoise, the man was so small that he might as well be a mote of dust drifting about a tree.

    However, the ck mace started to growrger andrger. In an instant, it surpassed the size of both the camphor bug and Ancestor Tortoise, nearly reaching the size of the Heavens Sect itself as it mmed down upon Ancestor Tortoise.

    The members of the Mavis family watched in horror as the mace fell. This weapon had grown even bigger than Ancestor Tortoise.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    There was a deafening noise as Ancestor Tortoise was smashed back. It instantly retracted its head.

    The ck-armored man with the massive mace snorted contemptuously. "Just wait for your love tap! I have to deal with that old thing that created a new path of cultivation first. Such people cannot be allowed to live."

    The mace shrank back down, and the man turned to attack the headmaster with the mace.

    Halfway through the man¡¯s swing, Big Sis suddenly appeared with her Thundering Hammer battle technique, which she smashed against the mace.

    There was another bang, and both people retreated in unison.

    "I am a captain of the True God Guard, Chong Gui. The fact that you can match my blow means that you deserve to be acknowledged. Tell me your name!" the ck-armored man yelled.

    Big Sis sneered. "Your mother."

    "True. If you can beat me, you can be my mother!" Chong Gui answered with augh,pletely ignoring the fact that he had just been insulted. His mace rose up to attack again.

    Big Sis retaliated with Thundering Hammer.

    The two mighty attacks collided.

    Chong Gui grew excited. "You are not even a Progenitor, and yet you can match my blows! This is fascinating! Come on,e on,e on! This is a collision of love!"

    Big Sis was disgusted, but she was also wary of her opponent. He was extremely difficult to deal with, as every one of his attacks contained a strange force.

    She had been in seclusion, preparing to break through to be a Progenitor, but she had been abruptly disturbed by this battle. At this moment, she realized that it would have been much better if she had finished her breakthrough. She suspected that none of these captains of the True God Guard were simple opponents. On top of that¡­

    She nced at a distant point in space. A powerful enemy was hiding there.

    As Big Sis looked over, Old Mo revealed himself. "Lu Buzheng, you little Lu brat! You need to pay back all that you owe me!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2834: Crises On All Sides

    Chapter 2834: Crises On All Sides

    In the opposite direction of Old Mo, someone was also hiding: Luo Shan.

    As he looked at the incredible fight around the Heavens Sect, Luo Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had not expected the Heavens Sect to have kept so much power hidden in reserve. <em>That person must be Cloudflow. I see, so someone from the Heavens Sect attacked the Transcendent Universe.</em>

    Luo Shan did not know how Lu Yin had done it, but clearly, both he and the entire Sixverse Association had been underestimating the Heavens Sect and Lu Yin.

    The boy had already joined the Sixverse Association, which meant that it was also possible that Little Mu¡¯s disappearance had been caused by the Heavens Sect.

    This thought made the Monarch want to kill all the traitors first.

    On the other side of the Heavens Sect, Chen Le shot out an arrow. A corpse king looked up with slitted scarlet eyes and roared, only to have the arrow¡¯s impact cut the roar short.

    Chen Le''s expression remained unchanged as he continued to loose arrows.

    He could kill the corpse king just by using his Progenitor¡¯s world, but what would happen after that? Chen Le would just have to fight other corpse kings.

    He looked around at the Aeternals¡¯ various corpse kings that remained some distance away, as well as the terrifying captains of the True God Guard. Chen Le did not want to move along.

    Chen Le had heard about the True God Guard from Monarch Luo, and that included their captains.

    While the captains of the True God Guard were not as powerful as the Seven Skygods, they were still beyond Chen Le¡¯s level.

    Everyst one of the captains was a terrifying expert who could be considered among the most powerful in their realm. Chen Le did not want to die.

    The corpse king charged at him again, only to be repelled by another arrow.

    Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Le saw that Monarch Xing was also fighting against a corpse king in the distance.

    He truly could not say whether the Heavens Sect would survive this day, which was why Chen Le felt that it was best to consider his options. He refused to die for Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, he felt a terrible sense of danger, and Chen Le quickly moved away from where he had been standing.

    Nothing?

    However, the sense of impending danger grew increasingly intense, and it caused his hair to stand on end. Who was it? Who was targeting him?

    Chen Le''s expression changed drastically, and he looked up ahead. At some point in time, someone had appeared, and they were staring at Chen Le with eyes that zed with a cold killing intent.

    Chen Le''s pupils instantly shrank. "Monarch Luo?"

    A smile spread across Luo Shan''s mouth. "It¡¯s been a long time, Chen Le."

    Chen Le''s face grew pale as he stared at Luo Shan. "You, aren''t you on the Endless Frontier?"

    "Just one question: why did you betray me?" Luo Shan¡¯s voice was cial.

    Chen Le gulped. He did not know the limits of Luo Shan''s strength. At first, Chen Le had believed that Luo Shan was merely pretending to be strong and that had gained the Great Sovereign¡¯s favor by offering her tea. Chen Le had always believed that Luo Shan was not particrly powerful and that he could notpare to Mr. Daheng, let alone the Great Sovereign. That was why Chen Le had never considered asking for Luo Shan¡¯s help after the Semi-Monarch had fallen under Mr. Daheng¡¯s control.

    Even so, there was no denying that Luo Shan was more powerful than Chen Le.

    The creator of monarch essence was no weakling. Even if Luo Shan was not quite as powerful as Mr. Daheng, it would not be a struggle for the Monarch to kill Chen Le.

    Cold sweat fell from Chen Le¡¯s forehead. "I had no choice, Lu Yin forced me. If I didn¡¯t join the Heavens Sect, he would have killed me."

    Luo Shan''s eyes were cold. "We guided you and taught you. You have always cultivated with monarch essence, and yet you ultimately betrayed me. Just die."

    Luo Shan¡¯s hand rose to grab at Chen Le.

    The Monarch was terrified. "Monarch Luo, if you attack me right now, you will be betraying the entire Sixverse Association and helping Aeternus!"

    Luo Shanpletely ignored Chen Le. An arrow was loosed, but Luo Shan simply raised a hand and crushed it.

    A corpse king fell from up above and punched at Chen Le.

    In a life or death crisis, Chen Le spread out his arms and caused a huge arrow to appear. This was the Highwind Arrow, his Progenitor¡¯s world.

    The arrow shot out, simultaneously aimed at both Luo Shan and the corpse king.

    Luo Shan grabbed the arrow with his hand, shattering it inch by inch. The same thing happened to Chen Le''s body.

    He spat out a mouthful of blood as he stared at Luo Shan in disbelief. "You?"

    "Trash, you think you know everything about me?"

    The corpse king''s fist did not strike Chen Le. Instead, Luo Shan casually smashed the corpse king aside, reducing it to pieces. He was exposing his full strength at this moment, and Chen Le was startled. This was impossible. This person was able to simultaneously kill both the corpse king and Chen Le in an instant. Luo Shan¡¯s strength was clearly not what Chen Le had thought it to be.

    Luo Shan raised his hand to grab hold of Chen Le once again. "I will show you just how a traitor should die."

    "Stop!" Monarch Xing said as she arrived, breathing heavily.

    Luo Shan looked at her, clearly torn. "You also betrayed me."

    Monarch Xing frowned. "The people of the Starlight Universe were brought to this universe by the Heavens Sect. There was nothing that I could do."

    Luo Shan''s eyes softened a great deal.

    "Luo Shan, let him go," Monarch Xing said softly.

    Luo Shan''s eyes grew cold again. "You want me to let this traitor go?"

    "If you kill him, you will be branded a traitor of the Sixverse Association. He is fighting against Aeternus, defending the Heavens Sect, which has be a member of the Sixverse Association. Is killing him worth betraying the Sixverse Association?" Monarch Xing asked, her face turning red.

    Luo Shan stared at Monarch Xing, gazing into her eyes, and he smiled. "How many years have we known each other?"

    Monarch Xing was startled by the question. "I can¡¯t remember."

    "You''ve never looked at me like this before."

    "Let him go."

    "I hate this traitor, I hate the Heavens Sect, I hate Lu Yin, and I hate the Great Sovereign even more. But," Luo Shan paused as he stared at Monarch Xing. "I can¡¯t hate anything about you."

    Monarch Xing''s heart trembled. Humans were not grass or trees, so how could they be heartless? Luo Shan had once risked his life to enter the Endless Frontier and rescue the people of the Starlight Universe for Monarch Xing. Despite the fact that she had cooperated with him to protect the Three Monarchs Universe, no matter how many years had passed, Luo Shan had never once forced anything upon Monarch Xing.

    Monarch Xing''s eyes also softened. "Brother Luo, don''t be a traitor."

    Luo Shan''s eye twitched, and his hand slowly rxed.

    Chen Le scrambled back, staring at Luo Shan in horror. He had almost died.

    Chen Le had not expected Luo Shan to actually be this powerful. If the Monarch had known, he would have confessed. Maybe Luo Shan could have broken Mr. Daheng¡¯s control over Chen Le, which would have changed everything.

    Luo Shan turned around and left.

    "Brother Luo, if you still want to stay in the Sixverse Association, then help protect the Heavens Sect! This isn¡¯t helping Lu Yin, but rather helping yourself!" Monarch Xing shouted.

    Luo Shan did not look back, instead quietly asking, "If I can find a universe where I can live, will youe with me?"

    Monarch Xing stared at Luo Shan''s leaving figure, not uttering a word.

    Luo Shan gave a bitter smile as he took a step forward. "What the Heavens Sect and Lu Yin owe me must be repaid. I won''t do anything to him, but I can still open the passage that is connected to the Three Monarchs Universe. If Lu Yin wants to join the Sixverse Association so much, then he can take my ce on the Endless Frontier.¡±

    Monarch Xing was startled. "Brother Luo!"

    Luo Shan was already gone. He had gone to Shenwu Continent.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, Lu Buzheng stared at the Progenitor-level corpse king in front of him. A feeling of nervousness mounted within the Semi-Progenitor. He felt as though he was being targeted by something or someone.

    He dodged the corpse king¡¯s attack and then used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, attempting to summon Destiny.

    He had already failed in his attempt several times, but this time, he managed to seed. He quickly divined the source of his unease.

    "No! It''s actually him?" Lu Buzheng''s expression changed drastically. That sneaky bastard Mo Shang was actually present. He had note sooner orter, but rather at the worst possible moment.

    Who in the Heavens Sect was capable of stopping Mo Shang?

    Old Mo was a monster who was able to manipte thews of the universe. Even without the Aeternals¡¯ attack, the Heavens Sect would need to bring its full strength to bear to resist such a person. Even then, it was hard to say who would win. At the moment, there was no way to stop Mo Shang.

    Lu Buzheng remained calm. He did not dare to search for signs of Old Mo. The old monster had not attacked yet, and as long as he did not do so, there would be hope.

    Lu Buzheng would never dare to ask Old Mo to help the Heavens Sect fight against Aeternus. Given the man¡¯s personality, it would be good as long as he did not help the Aeternals.

    The sense of crisis suddenly spiked, and Lu Buzheng felt like a beam was focused on his back.

    His expression changed, and he shouted, "I''m going to attempt my breakthrough!"

    His shout drew the attention of Destina, Hen Xin, and Leng Qing.

    They all assumed that Lu Buzhen was warning them, so they quickly retreated.

    Old Mo, who had been ready to attack, froze in confusion. "His Progenitor¡¯s tribtion?"

    He did not dare to get closer. Lu Buzheng¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion would certainly not be small, and if Old Mo were implicated, it would be difficult for him to stay alive.

    However, even in the worst case scenario where Lu Buzhen seeded, what of it? At best, he would be able to match Leng Qing¡¯s strength, which meant that Old Mo had nothing to worry about at all.

    It would actually be better if Lu Buzheng became a Progenitor. Old Mo sneered. "I¡¯ll let you taste the joy of bing a Progenitor before I shove you into the abyss! Lu Buzheng, you asked for this. Without the Lu family, what are you? How could you be worthy of summoning Destiny? Bah!¡±

    Lu Buzheng could feel that the crisis had passed for the moment. He breathed out a sigh of relief at sessfully scaring Old Mo. No, Lu Buzheng was not truly triggering his tribtion. Still, if the tribtion did not appear, Old Mo would immediately see that there was a problem.

    Thinking about this, Lu Buzheng spat out some blood while saying, "I need to wait and recover a bit first.¡±

    In front of him, the corpse king attacked.

    Lu Buzheng and the corpse king were once again locked in fiercebat.

    Old Mo frowned as he waited. Rather than killing Lu Buzheng at this moment, it would be more satisfying to kill him after he sessfully became a Progenitor. Destroying the man¡¯s hard work would be better.

    Lu Buzheng needed to feel true despair.

    Luo Shan soon arrived at Shenwu Continent and attacked the Tower of Resonating Light.

    No one dared to try to stop him. Mu Xie, who had been protecting the continent, was also fighting at the Heavens Sect. There was no one protecting the seal, so it was immediately broken by Luo Shan.

    The Sealing Path sourcebox array also shattered as a result.

    With the seal broken, the Three Monarchs Universe was once again connected to the Origin Universe, and countless corpse kings poured through into Shenwu Continent.

    Luo Shan sneered. <em>No one is getting away with this.</em>

    Mu Xie noticed what happened at Shenwu Continent, but he was unable to leave the battle. His opponent was Ju Ji, and she was very difficult to deal with. She could somehow transform all attacks into two-dimensional ones, and Mu Xie was unable to determine whether this was rted to an innate gift, or to sequence particles. Logically speaking, this ability should not be connected to sequence particles, but if it was really an innate gift, then it was one that was extremely difficult to deal with.

    Mu Xie was capable of holding back people like Bai Wangyuan with his endless endurance, but the Aeternals were able to send a Progenitor-level powerhouse who was capable of keeping Mu Xie upied.

    "I suggest that you don¡¯t get distracted. A moment of carelessness can lead to your death, when facing us captains of the True God Guard," Ju Ji said coldly.

    ¡­

    In the Cyclic Universe, above the Tea Ceremony¡¯s area, Lu Yin was still struggling against Sovereign Shao Yin. Each of the Seven Skygods had their own opponents, and the entire Endless Frontier was full of fighting. No one would dare to say that one side held a definite advantage.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Buzheng continued to fight against the same corpse king. Half an hour passed, and Old Mo could not wait any longer. If Lu Buzheng failed during his stellr tribtion and died, then Old Mo would lose any and all chance to get revenge. He could not wait any longer.

    Lu Buzhen felt the same sort of crisis once again, and he pushed back the corpse king. "I''m going to challenge my tribtion!"

    Again, Old Mo stopped, both surprised and uncertain.

    However, even after he waited for some time, there was no stellr tribtion above Lu Buzheng.

    Old Mo¡¯s brow furrowed, and he once again prepared to attack, but each time he did so, Lu Buzheng would shout about his tribtion.

    Old Mo grew angry. He could see that the bastard was putting on a show. Did Lu Buzheng somehow know that he was waiting to attack him? It was not out of the question. The child from the Lu family could have reported Old Mo¡¯s existence, and Lu Buzheng was able to summon Destiny, which gave him ess to divination. It was certainly possible that Lu Buzheng knew that Old Mo was nearby.

    At this thought, Old Mo''s eyes zed with rage. <em>Damn him! He used to threaten me with Destiny, and now he threatens me with his tribtion! Does he really think that he can scare me? He¡¯s seeking death!</em>

    Old Mo decided to attack no matter what this time.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2835: Return

    Chapter 2835: Return

    The sense of crisis continued to increase, and Lu Buzheng knew that he might not be able to scare Old Mo again. The man certainly was not stupid.

    There was no way, other than to bepletely shameless.

    <em>The danger ising from that direction.</em>

    Lu Buzheng suddenly stared in Old Mo¡¯s direction. At the same time, Big Sis and the headmaster also looked over.

    Old Mo revealed himself. He stared at Lu Buzheng with a vicious smile. "Lu Buzheng, did you expect me to still be alive?"

    Lu Buzheng''s eye twitched. Sure enough, it was him. The old freak really had lived through all these years. Lu Buzheng swallowed and raised his hands in false cheer. "Brother Mo Shang, you really are alive. How wonderful! You¡¯ve managed to live from the Heavens Sect era til now. You are undoubtedly as strong as the Seven Skygods, so I¡¯ll entrust that captain of the True God Guard to you. That one, over there. The guy in ck armor on the big bug."

    Chong Gui looked over and pointed at himself. "Me?"

    He then looked at Old Mo. "As strong as the Seven Skygods? That¡¯s a problem. We can¡¯t handle that."

    Old Mo sneered. "Still so shameless? Does that even help?"

    Lu Buzheng shrugged. He had no idea if it would help or not. He was betting that the Aeternals would take the initiative to attack Old Mo, as well as betting on the hope that Old Mo would not dare to openly help Aeternus. At the very least, the battle would turn into a three-way fight, which would prevent Lu Buzheng from having to face Old Mo on his own.

    However, both Lu Buzheng and Old Mo had missed one important detail: the Aeternals were highly intelligent. They had sessfully destroyed one Maind after another during the height of the Heavens Sect era, and they had not done so with overwhelming strength. Rather, they hadcked that strength during the ancient era and had thus relied on cunning and caution.

    The captains of the True God Guard would not believe anything that Lu Buzheng said. They could also see that there was a problem. Still, no matter what, it was true that Old Mo was their enemy.

    The Chiliagonist had already told all of his allies who Old Mo was.

    Regardless of whether Old Mo attacked the Heavens Sect, his mere presence was an obstacle to Aeternus. None of the captains of the True God Guard were capable of dealing with a Sequence Progenitor.

    In that case, they simply needed to choose the safest option.

    The Chiliagonist endured the pain that the headmaster¡¯s mortal world was causing him. Divine power surged from his body and shot up into the sky.

    At the same time, Chong Gui, Ju Ji, and Zhong Pan all released divine energy as well. Even some of the corpse kings that had been fighting with the captains of the True God Guard released divine energy, though not all of them.

    Lines of red divine energy shot upwards in all directions, releasing a dark-red light that illuminated the entire Outerverse, bringing about an intense sense of unease and oddness.

    The red light shone on everyone''s face, highlighting their shock and fear.

    Even Luo Shan, who was far away on Shenwu Continent, was illuminated by the red light.

    At this moment, the brightest thing in the entire Fifth Maind was the dark-red light, and it instantly filled the entire Fifth Maind, including the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain.

    Everyone nkly stared upwards. Regardless of whether they understood what divine energy was, the power fomented an instinctive fear in everyone.

    Old Mo clenched a fist. Once again, he was facing this power, and this time, there was far more of it than when it had appeared in the Umbral Universe. Back then, it had only been the Chiliagonist¡¯s divine energy, but right now, the divine energy wasing from four of the captains of the True God Guard, as well as five Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    The light of the divine energy seemed to illuminate a path to death.

    Once all the divine energy hadpletely gathered, it condensed into what looked like a sun. While it merely illuminated the humans, this sun granted the four captains of the True God Guard a power so intense that it was practically a transformation.

    Arcs of power streamed into the bodies of the four captains, causing each of them to undergo changes as their auras surged wildly.

    Mu Xie and others grew solemn.

    Big Sis¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°This is a big problem.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen coughed up blood. Shao Chen looked up at the divine energy helplessly. Chen Le, Monarch Xing, Master Shan, and all the Progenitor-level powerhouses could sense a heavy pressure from the divine energy.

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, He Ran fell into despair. Why was this happening? There were clearly a great number of extremely powerful corpse kings, but why could their strength increase even further?

    The dark-red light gave the woman a feeling of nervousness and fear.

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, Wang Wen was huddled in his transparent coffin, his head buried and hidden. As long as he did not look, he would not feel afraid.

    It was truly terrifying when the Aeternals revealed their full power.

    Old Mo decided that it was best to simply retreat. With such an intimidating amount of divine energy, he did not want to fight, and he especially did not want to expose his true power. It would be terrible if one of the Seven Skygods appeared.

    But before the old man left, Lu Buzheng needed to be dealt with.

    Old Mo casually waved a hand, and darkness surged out from him. It looked like a shadow shot towards the tform where Lu Buzheng stood.

    The Semi-Progenitor shouted, "Mo Shang, if you dare to attack, I will trigger my tribtion!"

    Old Mo just sneered. "Just try to trigger a tribtion when you¡¯re shrouded in divine energy."

    Lu Buzheng was stunned. It was true that divine energy had filled the outer space over his head. If he triggered his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, it could very well drag the divine energy into the tribtion as well, which would transform the tribtion into an execution. Divine energy was True God¡¯s power. Did Lu Buzheng want to face a tribtion that had reacted to that power? Just the thought was enough to make the man give up.

    At this moment, the threat of a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion could no longer save anyone.

    Old Mo understood the current situation, so he attacked Lu Buzheng.

    The Semi-Progenitor stared at the approaching darkness. Even if he wanted to escape, it was impossible.

    No one could help him.

    On Shenwu Continent, Luo Shan let out a breath. The Heavens Sect was done for.

    <em>Crack.</em>

    <em>Crack!</em>

    Far away, a spatial crack appeared. At first, no one noticed it, as they were all focused on the divine energy. However, just as Old Mo¡¯s darkness was about to strike Lu Buzheng, which was the same moment that the four captains of the True God Guardpleted their transformation with divine energy, the void shattered entirely, and a golden mountain suddenly appeared. It broke through space, radiating a brilliant golden light that arrogantly resisted the light of the divine energy. A golden light shone upon everyone¡¯s faces as they all turned to look at it.

    Everyone looked in that direction.

    Old Mo stopped and stared. This golden light felt so familiar, yet so revolting.

    <em>Is that¡­?</em>

    Lu Buzheng¡¯s mouth fell open. "The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods."

    The golden light shone down upon the Fifth Maind, pushing back the dark-red light until only a thinyer remained. It was as if a goldenyer had coated everything.

    A pair of eyes opened up in the sky above the Fifth Maind. The sky itself was reced, and those eyes became all that anyone could see.

    These eyes were ancient, but also extremely domineering. They were beyond arrogant, as though there was no one else in existence who deserved to look at those eyes.

    "Is it that guy''s divine energy? I¡¯ll deal with it." The sharp shout caused the golden light to form a sharp de that shed out, directly slicing through the sun of divine energy that hung high above the Fifth Maind. The voice was arrogant and domineering, and that was all.

    Old Mo¡¯s mouth fell open, and he silently slipped away. He had been reminded of someone. Was that person still alive?

    As soon as Lu Buzheng heard the voice, his eyes turned bloodshot. "Old- Old Ancestor!"

    Leng Qing, Destina, and everyone else felt their scalps go numb when they heard Lu Buzheng¡¯s shout. There was only one person throughout all of human history who could produce such a reaction from Lu Buzheng, and that was the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, the founding ancestor of the Lu family: Lu Yuan.

    Mu Xie, Arch-Elder Zen, and many others werepletely stunned by the sight of the golden light shrouding everything. This level of powerpletely exceeded their imaginations. Instantly, the entire Fifth Maind had been transformed. So what if there was divine energy present? Even if True God himself appeared, it seemed that he would be influenced by this power and forced back.

    This was a level of power that no one present could understand.

    The golden mountain broke through the void and arrived directly in front of the Heavens Sect.

    Figures stood at the top of the golden mountain. Each of them exuded a powerful aura and surging bloodlust that instantly overwhelmed the auras of Aeternus¡¯s True God Guard.

    Chong Gui stared at the golden mountain. Beneath his ck armor, his expression grew more serious than ever before. "Hey, hey, hey, what''s going on? This is a joke, right? I¡¯m hallucinating, right?"

    As he spoke, he nced at the other captains of the True God Guard. Only then did he realize that the Chiliagonist had disappeared at some point in time, and Ju Ji and Zhong Pan, who had been fighting with Mu Xie, were also gone. Chong Gui was the only captain still outside the Heavens Sect, apanied by less than ten Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    All hesitation disappeared as he rushed towards the camphor bug. "Hurry, run!"

    "Hmmm? You want to escape before me?" The same majestic voice echoed throughout the Fifth Maind, shaking the entire universe. The voice even reached the Perennial World, as it filled the Origin Universe.

    Atop the golden mountain, a figure stepped forward. "Ancestor, leave these to your descendants. Please, go help Xiaoxuan."

    "I will make sure that whoever dares to bully my descendants will die a good death." The tremendous voice instantly shattered all the Progenitor-level corpse kings, aside from Chong Gui. Even the camphor bug with the imprable defenses was destroyed. Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Heavens Sect felt their scalps go numb, even as they were enveloped by an unprecedented sense of protection. This was an unfathomable powerhouse.

    Chong Gui coughed up blood as he turned to stare at the figure stepping away from the golden mountain.

    "Senior Tianyi?" Arch-Elder Zen grew incredibly excited.

    ¡­

    In the Cyclic Universe, Lu Yin was engaged in a desperate fight with Sovereign Shao Yin when he suddenly discovered that the battle had changed. All of the Skygods retreated as one.

    "Little Lu Yin, let''s y againter," Forgotten Ruins God said with a tender smile.

    ckless God shot a cold re at Lu Yin, but he said nothing.

    Shaman God wanted to attack Lu Yin onest time, but they could not take the risk. If the Skygod dyed even slightly, things would not end well. A very troublesome person had returned.

    Even True God left, dragging Sovereign Shao Yin away as well.

    The Great Sovereign could not keep True God from leaving, but she did manage to deprive Sovereign Shao Yin of his power. However, the Sovereign did not care at all, and he simply mentioned something to Lu Yin before disappearing.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that his family had returned. There was no other event that could have altered the bnce of the battle.

    Mister Mu, the Lord of Lightning, or some other powerful person from another universe could have arrived, but Lu Yin did not believe that the Aeternals had not taken such variables into ount beforeunching their attack. Every factor had to have been ounted for, aside from the possible return of the Lu family.

    His family was back, right?

    "This battle is over. Congrattions on preserving the Heavens Sect from Aeternus, child of the Lu family. You have a ce among us."

    A voice entered Lu Yin''s ears, and he stared into the distance. It had been the voice of True God.

    The Heavens Sect had truly been saved.

    The sudden end of the fight caught the Sixverse Association off guard. No one knew that the Lu family had already returned.

    The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had been broken, and the Heavenly Gate had shattered. Evergreen Sage was the first peak powerhouse to die during the battle, but aside from him, no other peak powerhouse had died. The main reason for this was because Lu Yin had taken a long time to ovee his stellr tribtion, and after he seeded, the Lu family had soon returned.

    "Descendant of the Lu family!" A shout came from the Great Sovereign.

    Everyone looked at Lu Yin. With the battle over, the first person that the Great Sovereign addressed was Lu Yin.

    While he had certainly performed well during the battle, he had not had any impact on any of the Seven Skygods. In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s only true aplishment had been to expose Sovereign Shao Yin as a spy. How had he known that the Sovereign was a spy?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2836: Descendant Of The Lu Family

    Chapter 2836: Descendant Of The Lu Family

    Lu Yin turned around to face the Great Sovereign. "Senior, are you looking for me?"

    The Great Sovereign no longer appeared as calm as before, and she spoke in a low voice. "How did you know that Shao Yin was a spy?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as various guesses flickered through his mind.

    "Was it because the Aeternals attacked the Heavens Sect?"

    "Senior Great Sovereign, do you believe that this junior''s guess was in error?"

    "The results show that you were correct. You took on the identity of Xuan Qi. Did Sovereign Shao Yin know about this?"

    Lu Yin frowned. This line of questioning was not something that he had foreseen. "That¡¯s correct. He admitted it to me himself. He knew that this junior was Xuan Qi, and the attempt to nder me at the Tea Ceremony was done in order to lure Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors away from the Perennial World. Not only did Aeternus attack the Origin Universe, but also the Tea Ceremony."

    "You suspected long ago that Shao Yin might be a spy, so why did you not report your suspicions to me?" Great Sovereign demanded. As she shouted, a terrifying pressure fell upon Lu Yin, leaving him dizzy.

    Great Elder Shan Gu quickly spoke up. "Great Sovereign-"

    "Shan Gu, this is a matter between the Lu family and me. This has nothing to do with you." The Great Sovereign cut the man off, causing Great Elder Shan Gu to frown.

    Mu Shen added in, "Great Sovereign, you are well aware of just how cunning the Aeternals are. Lu Yin alone cannot see through their schemes. If such a thing were possible, humanity would not be in its current situation."

    Lord Wei''s eyes flickered. This was not a matter of right or wrong. Rather, it was about the fact that the Great Sovereign had been humiliated. Sovereign Shao Yin had been one of her people, but he had just been revealed as the greatest traitor in the history of the Sixverse Association. This incident had had a massive impact on the Great Sovereign. There was no way to conceal such an important matter, and she had lost face.

    What she was concerned about was that Lu Yin had never shared his suspicions with her. If he had, regardless of whether the Tea Ceremony had been attacked, no matter what actions Aeternus might have taken, the Great Sovereign would not have been passive regarding Sovereign Shao Yin.

    What she cared about was the loss of face and respect. She regarded herself as the master of all of humanity, but she had also groomed the greatest traitor in the entire Sixverse Association. This waspletely uneptable.

    However, when considering the matter, Sovereign Shao Yin had repeatedly made several grave mistakes on the Endless Frontier, which had all been deliberate. In addition to those mistakes, he had also instigated internal conflicts within the Sixverse Association, and even proposed that the Great Sovereign banish the Lu family. All of these things had been terribly damaging to humanity as a whole, and mankind had suffered grave losses. Worse, all of this had been done with the tacit approval of the Great Sovereign.

    How would this matter ultimately be recorded in the annals of human history?

    The Great Sovereign had had the opportunity to avoid such a mishap, but only if Lu Yin had warned her in advance. Lu Yin had not done so, and that was the cause of her anger.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had never been a fool. He had always acted deliberately and with a clear purpose.

    This was in line with Aeternus¡¯s methods. When the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds had been shattered one after another, and when the Three Realms Six Dao had fallen, that had all been done through the cunning schemes of the Aeternals. Specifically, they had provoked various betrayals. The Aeternals were in no way inferior to humans, and, in fact, their unwavering loyalty to True God meant that Aeternus as a whole was more united than humanity.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "This junior had nothing more than guesses. If I had told the Great Sovereign without presenting any evidence, would the Great Sovereign have believed me?"

    "Whether or not I would have believed you is my business. You concealed this matter from me. This is your first crime. Shao Yin used you to create an opening by diverting everyone''s attention, which allowed the Aeternals tounch a massive attack. This is your second crime. If not for you, the Origin Universe would not have been targeted by Aeternus. Because of you alone, the Origin Universe faced imminent destruction. This is your third crime. Child of the Lu family, you can now plead guilty."

    Lu Yin snorted in annoyance. "Great Sovereign, is this some sort of joke?"

    Everyone''s expressions changed.

    Lord Xu wanted to p a hand over Lu Yin''s mouth.

    Mu Ke immediately stepped forward. "Junior Brother."

    Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and several others grew worried.

    "Are you using me just based on a whim? Just because you, the Great Sovereign, is unable to defeat Aeternus and suffered losses, you me me? Should I, Lu Yin, have died in the Origin Universe? Should I have allowed the Aeternals to continue the war on the rear battlefield? Do I need to answer to you for all of my actions?

    "You want to condemn me? Do you really think that you are the Origin Progenitor? Do you really believe that your Cyclic Universe can rece the Heavens Sect?

    "Do you think that I''m afraid of you?"

    The sound of a pin dropping would have echoed throughout the entire Tea Ceremony at this moment.

    Everyone stared nkly at Lu Yin as he shouted and insulted the Great Sovereign. Clearly, he had lost his mind.

    Lu Yin had indeed lost his mind at this moment. This crazy woman was actually trying to condemn him of ridiculous crimes. She was unable to defeat Aeternus, so she wanted to force the me onto him!

    At this time, Lu Yin was not considering the difference in strength between him and the Great Sovereign, nor was he considering anything else. Even without Mister Mu''s promise that the Great Sovereign would not harm Lu Yin, or the return of the Lu family, Lu Yin would react in the exact same manner. If not, how could he maintain his dignity as the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect? Otherwise the people of the Origin Universe would lose all face.

    Lu Yin was the spiritual support for countless people. Why would he ept being condemned by this crazy woman?

    Mu Ke moved in front of Lu Yin, and he faced the Great Sovereign. "Senior Great Sovereign, for the sake of our master, I ask that you refrain from arguing with my junior brother."

    Great Elder Shan Gu shook his head, and stepped forward to stand in front of Lu Yin as well. The man felt that he had no choice. Not only did he admire Lu Yin as a person, but there was also the fact that the young man was able to draw out the Primeval card. That was a qualitatively different level of power. This boy could not die.

    Lord Xu''s expression changed, and he also stepped forward. Regardless of how angry the Great Sovereign might be, it was impossible for her to take action against the rulers of the other member universes of the Sixverse Association. It would be best if they could beg for mercy. If there was no way to help, then there was nothing that Lord Xu could do. <em>Wu Tian, I did my best.</em>

    When Mu Shen stepped forward, he did so for the sake of Mu Ke and the Origin Universe¡¯s Third Maind. Furthermore, since Ancient God wanted Lu Yin dead so badly, it was important to keep him alive, as it would be to humanity¡¯s benefit.

    Unexpectedly, Lord Wei also stepped forward and stood in front of Lu Yin. This was something that no one had anticipated.

    "Great Sovereign, please appease your anger."

    "Great Sovereign, please appease your anger."

    "Great Sovereign, please appease your anger."

    One after another, numerous peak powerhouses stepped forward. Among them were Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, Xiu Ci, and many more. One by one, these people walked over to stand in front of Lu Yin and bow to the Great Sovereign.

    Some of these people stood for Lu Yin himself, while others stepped forward in support of their own masters or the ruler of their universe. Everyone had their own motivations, but even so, ultimately, almost every peak powerhouse present stood to ask for mercy for Lu Yin.

    Arrow Sage, Sage Jiang, and the other Sages nced at each other. Did this child really have such deep connections in the Sixverse Association?

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus frowned. <em>Are you trying to force Master?</em>

    "Child of the Lu family, do you plead guilty?" the Great Sovereign demanded again.

    Everyone''s hearts sank. The Great Sovereign had not changed her attitude after hearing their pleas. She was determined to pin the me on Lu Yin.

    Why? The Great Sovereign''s attitude seemed very odd. It was as if she was looking for an excuse to condemn Lu Yin while ignoring the facts.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists as he stared at the Great Sovereign. "When have Imitted a crime, and who are you to convict me?"

    "You are so impudent! Kneel!" the Great Sovereign shouted angrily.

    The void above everyone''s heads exploded as a power that was too strong for anyone to resist appeared. It pressed down as though it was aw of the universe. This was the pressure that the Great Sovereign was forcing upon Lu Yin and everyone around him.

    Her own strength allowed her to suppress everyone.

    The Great Sovereign, the Origin Progenitor, and True God were all peers, and the nature of their power was fundamentally different from all others.

    Even Mu Shen, the most senior of everyone present, was feeling the pressure.

    This was the power of the master of humanity. If not for the Great Sovereign, True God could easily eliminate all of humanity.

    The sky in front of Lu Yin was filled with sequence particles. At this moment, the Great Sovereign seemed to be the incarnation of thews of the universe.

    The entire universe was pressing down upon him.

    "Kneel!"

    The sequence particles descended upon Lu Yin, increasing the pressure on him.

    He did not take out his Wordless Heavenly Book. That inner world could not evenpletely block Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s sequence particles. Trying to use it to block the Great Sovereign would be nothing more than a joke.

    As the sequence particles fell towards Lu Yin, he felt as though the sky was pressing down on him. No matter how strong he might be, he could not resist this.

    "Kneel!"

    The word echoed again and again as the sequence particles slowly fell. Lu Yin suffered from the invisible pressure.

    No one could help him withstand this pressure. He could only rely on himself.

    He remained unyielding. He refused to kneel or beg for mercy. Why? Why should he be condemned?

    "What qualifies you to condemn me? I am a member of the Lu family and the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect! The Heavens Sect has returned! You can¡¯t handle Aeternus yourself, and you resent the ancient Heavens Sect! You resent the Lu family! You can¡¯t stop Aeternus, and you can¡¯t stand the fact that Sovereign Shao Yin betrayed you for True God, so you¡¯re taking your anger out on me! Great Sovereign. Just who do you think you are?

    "You crazy bitch!"

    Lu Yin screamed hisst words. They sounded as though they had been torn from his throat.

    Shan Gu, Lord Xu, and the others all stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    There was a solemn expression on Mu Ke''s face, and he instantly crushed a jade slip in his hand. At this moment, words were useless.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus and many others werepletely stunned. Never before had they heard anyone insult the Great Sovereign.

    The same was true for Mu Shen and the others, and the entire situation felt bizarre to them.

    How many years had it been? Even during the Heavens Sect era, when the Origin Universe had been at its peak, the Great Sovereign had enjoyed an exceptional status, and she had been qualified to freely meet with the Origin Progenitor, speaking to him as a peer. Despite that, she had just been scolded by a mere child.

    Bai Xian''er remained calm where she stood. A gust of wind blew past, ruffling her hair.

    Lu Yin stared at the Great Sovereign with bloodshot eyes. Finally, he had spoken the words that he had kept bottled up for so long.

    When he had first heard the true reason behind the Lu family¡¯s exile, he had wanted to run over and scold the Great Sovereign. At this moment, he had finally done so.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had never been anything more than ackey. The Great Sovereign was the true power behind the Lu family¡¯s exile, as she had been the one to block Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s senses.

    Sequence particles shone both in the sky above and in the ground below. "Child of the Lu family, kneel!"

    With this sharp shout, the radiant sequence particles crashed down.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He had no way to defend against this, so he decided to just ept it. Regardless of whether the Lu family returned, he had awakened Ancestor Lu Yuan. Lu Yin had aplished his mission.

    No one could help Lu Yin. Helping him meant confronting the Great Sovereign, and no one was confident enough to do that.

    The sky and the ground both trembled. The entire Cyclic Universe was bearing down upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin could not breathe, and his mind started to fade. He could not stay on his feet, but he could not allow himself to fall either. He could not humiliate himself. He represented the Origin Universe and the Heavens Sect. He was Lu Yin! He had climbed up from being an ordinary cultivator to his current status step by step. He had sacrificed so much, so how could he kneel at this moment?

    No one could force him to kneel.

    Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His vision turned red, but he fearlessly stared at the Great Sovereign. He would die on his feet. "Crazy bitch."

    The sequence particles dropped,nding on Lu Yin. The sky copsed, and the earth shattered.

    Suddenly, a hand appeared, protecting Lu Yin''s head and stopping the sequence particles. After that, a figure stepped out and roared in fury, "You crazy bitch! What do you think you¡¯re doing to this descendant of my Lu family?¡±

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and everyone else stared at the man who had suddenly appeared. He looked 70% simr to Lu Yin, but his whole body radiated a golden light. Unlike Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s golden robes, this golden light was irresistible, seemingly capable of prating the entire universe.

    However, the biggest difference between this man and Lu Yin was in the eyes.

    Lu Yin''s eyes revealed wisdom, calmness, and it hid fathomless depths.

    The eyes of this person who had just appeared revealed one thing and one thing alone: dominance. These eyes were arrogant beyond all reason.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2837: Domineering

    Chapter 2837: Domineering

    When the man revealed himself, the sequence particles that filled the sky were instantly thrown into disarray. This person brought his own terrifying sequence particles, and he was even able to briefly push the Great Sovereign''s sequence particles back.

    Everyone stared nkly. Just who was this?

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing quickened as he looked at the face that was so simr to his own. He could not even begin to describe his emotions at this moment. All the exhaustion that had built up since the start of Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation journey came to a head at this moment. He had stepped out of Earth, and since then, he had climbed up, step by step, to his current height. He had experienced many things: both life and death crises, as well as schemes and plots. If not for his incredible luck, he would have died countless times over.

    The moment that the man appeared, Lu Yin¡¯s entire body rxed. He swayed on his feet, nearly copsing to the ground.

    The stranger looked at Lu Yin, a big smile on his face. The domineering glint in his eyes transformed into admiration, self-me, pity, and many moreplex emotions as he looked at Lu Yin. "Hold on a bit. Members of my Lu family cannot fall in front of outsiders.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and met the stranger¡¯s eyes with determination of his own. "I know, Ancestor."

    He had thought of addressing someone else as "Ancestor" for far too long. He had referred to many people as "Senior," but he had dreamed of truly being able to call someone ¡°Ancestor.¡± It was a term that meant that he could rely on that person, trust them, rx, and let go of everything.

    The man who had appeared was none other than Lu Yuan, one of the Three Realms Six Dao of the Heavens Sect era. This was the founding ancestor of the Lu family.

    The Great Sovereign''s eyesnded on Lu Yuan, but she revealed no sign of surprise. Lu Yuan had actually arrived right after True God left, but he had not immediately revealed himself. Lu Yuan had watched his descendant. The Great Sovereign had known what the man had been thinking.

    She had targeted Lu Yin and condemned him in an attempt to force him to surrender, which would humiliate Lu Yuan.

    However, the descendant of the Lu family was determined, and Lu Yuan was proud of Lu Yin. Realizing this left the Great Sovereign ufortable.

    "Lu Yuan."

    Lu Yuan turned back around to re at the Great Sovereign. "What¡¯s with the shrieking? Can¡¯t you see me reminiscing about old times and reconnecting with my family?"

    "Tai Chu is already dead, and yet you still dare to act so arrogantly?" the Great Sovereign shouted angrily.

    Lu Yuan sneered. "Do you want to die? Just who do you think you are? You¡¯re just a crazy bitch."

    "You are too brazen!"

    "What? If you want to hit or insult me, I¡¯ll go along with whatever you want. If Master hadn''t stopped us, do you think you could have ever scolded me?¡±

    "If not for Tai Chu''s protection, you would have never had the chance to rise up! The others are much better than you."

    "You know what? Shit, if not for Master stopping us, we would have followed through with our ns to beat the piss out of you. Wu Tian even prepared a stick for it, and that crazy broad Destiny managed to figure out where you were going to be. Da Huang came here to find you. There was a rare moment of unity between us disciples, as we all just want to beat you for a bit of fun. If not for Master, we would have beaten you stupid," Lu Yuan stated in a mocking tone.

    The Great Sovereign flushed with rage. "Ridiculous!"

    "Honestly, we almost got into a fight when we were preparing, as we couldn¡¯t decide who would get to hit you first.

    "Actually, the God of Death won. In order to p you, that guy developed a battle technique called the Mask of Death. He developed it just to be able to p you without you noticing him. Well, at least he was sure that it would work. I don¡¯t even know how long he prepared for it, but his eyes were red with excitement.¡±

    The Great Sovereign was stunned. She could not say if Lu Yuan was telling the truth or not. When she thought back to the past, all of Tai Chu¡¯s disciples had been polite and well-behaved, aside from Lu Yuan. Destiny had been extremely cunning, but ideal in all other aspects. Wu Tian had been very disciplined. While the God of Death had been rather gloomy, he had been a polite child, nothing like what Lu Yuan was insinuating.

    Mu Shen and others listened to the ancient gossip in silence.

    By the time that Mu Shen hade into contact with the Heavens Sect, Gu Yizhi and the others had already be the Three Realms Six Dao, and Mu Shen had not been informed of their pasts.

    Lu Yin felt proud when he saw Lu Yuan brazenly insulting and taunting the Great Sovereign. After being suppressed by the Great Sovereign for so long, Lu Yin felt like this was finally a win for him. He finally had someone backing him.

    "You are speaking nonsense. Everyone in the Lu family is just as rude and rude as you. If you dare to do this again, I will make you pay the price."

    "Fuck off. He''s still a child."

    "You!" The Great Sovereign was furious.

    Lu Yuan justughed. "Did you get confused, you crazy bitch? Look at yourself for a bit. How are you worthy of condemning my descendants?"

    The man then grabbed Lu Yin. "Let''s go."

    With that, they left. No one at the Tea Ceremony could even react.

    The Great Sovereign was furious. "Lu brat, I won''t let this go!"

    ¡­

    Lu Yuan led Lu Yin back to the Origin Universe.

    This caught Lu Yin off guard, as to his understanding, Lu Yuan should not be able to find the Origin Universe, just like everyone else.

    "I just hope that the crazy bitch won''t chase after me. If a fight actually breaks out, both the Origin Universe and the Cyclic Universe are going to suffer." Lu Yuan snorted contemptuously.

    Lu Yin studied Lu Yuan with open curiosity. This man had been a Dao Monarch during the Heavens Sect era, and he was also the founding ancestor of the Lu family. However, he did not seem very dignified, though he had certainly been extremely domineering when speaking with the Great Sovereign.

    "Ancestor?"

    Lu Yuan grunted, and then he noticed Lu Yin¡¯s stare. "Don''t look at me like that! I¡¯m not afraid to fight her, but that woman¡¯s insane. If she really gets pissed off, there¡¯s nothing that she won¡¯t do. She¡¯d even fight me to the death, even if it would benefit True God¡­ The thing is, she¡¯ll do anything. There¡¯s no reasoning with a madwoman, right?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. "What Ancestor says makes sense, but what about the matter of our family¡¯s exile?"

    "I will settle that score with her!" Lu Yuan dered in a fierce tone, "I¡¯ll make her pay back ten times the suffering that she inflicted on my family! Don¡¯t you worry¡ªeveryst ounce of it. I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time to beat her up. Does that woman really think that, just because she¡¯s from the same generation as Master, she has the same strength as him? Absurd! Her vision is too narrow, and this ancestor will teach her how to behave.¡±

    Lu Yin grew excited. "She definitely needs to be taught how to behave."

    Lu Yuan nodded, and then took a moment to think about things, which caused him to grow rather sad. "However, our family has only just returned, and there are many things that need to be dealt with. This ce is in chaos, and we need to find a way to put out this grease fire, which won¡¯t be easy."

    The man then looked over at Lu Yin, admiration filling his eyes. "Xiaoxuan, you did as wonderfully as we expected."

    Lu Yin took a step back so that he could offer a deep bow to Lu Yuan. "Xiaoxuan greets his ancestor."

    Lu Yuanughed and raised Lu Yin back up. He patted the young man¡¯s shoulder and then proudly dered, "You¡¯re strong, as my descendants should be.

    "When you first created Flipping the Sky, this ancestor knew that you had potential, even more than that kid, Lu Tianyi. Very good, haha."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Had Lu Xiaoxuan truly created Flipping the Sky? How was that possible?

    However, this was not the time for such questions.

    "Ancestor, how is the Heavens Sect doing?"

    Lu Yuan gave Lu Yin a funny look. "The Heavens Sect. Did youe up with that name?"

    Lu Yin exined how Lu Buzheng and the others had been released, which had eventually led to the reappearance of the Heavens Sect, which left Lu Yuan stunned.

    "So that Lu Buzheng and the others were frozen? No wonder no one could find them.

    "Let''s go. We¡¯ll talk more about this after we get back. The Heavens Sect, huh? I¡¯ve really missed it.

    "I have to admit, you people certainly have enough courage. Not even when all the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were around and Lu Tianyi was at his peak did they dare to refer to the Daosource Sect as the Heavens Sect. Ignorance is no excuse."

    Lu Yin sneered. He had been lost in time and space for twenty years, and only after returning had he learned that the Heavens Sect had been reestablished.

    After finally meeting Lu Yuan, Lu Yin had so many questions that he wanted to ask. There were many regarding both the Heavens Sect era and the Daosource Sect era, but first, it was necessary to deal with the battlefield.

    ¡­

    The golden mountain was resplendent.

    When Lu Yuan and Lu Yin returned to Heavens Sect, voices called out from the distant golden mountain, forming ripples that spread throughout space. "Greetings, Ancestor. Greetings, Young Master."

    "Greetings, Ancestor. Greetings, Young Master."

    "Greetings, Ancestor. Greetings, Young Master."

    ¡­

    Lu Yuan looked at Lu Yin and smiled.

    Lu Yin stared at the golden mountain, sensing the powerful auras in that ce. A strange, yet somehow familiar feeling arose in him. They called him ¡°young master¡± with just as much sincerity as Master Shan and the others. These people were utterly devoted to him.

    He was the young master of the Lu family. No matter how long they may have been separated for, he would always be the heir of the Lu family.

    On the golden mountain, many people from the Lu family bowed to Lu Yin, including some who appeared quite old. This was their demonstration of respect for Lu Yin, for the Lu family¡¯s young master who had struggled all alone in the Origin Universe, for his efforts to return the Lu family to their home. He deserved the entire family¡¯s respect.

    The Lu family was truly powerful. There were no fewer than six Semi-Progenitors on the golden mountain, and everyone on the mountain was far more powerful than their peers. Even so, all of these outstanding geniuses had respectful expressions on their faces, and both the men and the women bowed to Lu Yin.

    As for Progenitors, in addition to Lu Yuan, there were the auras of two more Progenitors.

    One felt somehow obscured and hidden, while the other felt violent.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then suddenly released his own powerful aura. This was the aura of a Semi-Progenitor who was capable of fighting against a sequence powerhouse like Sovereign Shao Yin. His inner world, Infinity, shone, making Lu Yin look like he was standing at the center of the universe.

    Everyone from the Heavens Sect bowed low. "We wee the Dao Monarch¡¯s return."

    "We wee the Dao Monarch¡¯s return."

    "We wee the Dao Monarch¡¯s return."

    ¡­

    Arch-Elder Zen and others could feel Lu Yin''s aura, and they knew that their Dao Monarch had broken through to be a Semi-Progenitor. He was now more powerful than ever.

    Lu Yin''s aura startled the people on the golden mountain.

    They had bowed to Lu Yin because he was the one who had led them back home, and also because he had struggled on his own for years in order to do so. He had survived the forces of the Perennial World. On top of that, they viewed Lu Yin as Lu Xiaoxuan, and they greatly respected Lu Xiaoxuan due to his identity as the young master of the Lu family.

    However, when Lu Yin fully released his aura, the strength that he exposed wasparable to a Progenitor¡¯s, which startled his entire family.

    Even Lu Yuan was caught off guard. He had seen Lu Yin resisting the Great Sovereign¡¯s sequence particles, but at this moment, when the ancient Progenitor directly felt Lu Yin¡¯s power, he could not help but be stunned. How could a Semi-Progenitor be so powerful? This was even more impressive than Lu Yuan¡¯s generation, and they had had the Origin Progenitor as their master.

    Just what had this child cultivated?

    This was the question currently in the minds of everyone in the Lu family.

    Lu Yin was simply far too strong for his cultivation, and he even managed to suppress the violent aura of the Lu family Progenitor.

    The golden light of the Lu family posed no threat to Lu Yin. He was also a master of that golden light.

    At this moment, high in the sky, more than a dozen Progenitors from the Heavens Sect, the Lu family, and more gathered together. All of them bowed to Lu Yin from a distance. Even with Lu Yuan at his side, at this moment, Lu Yin was the center of all focus.

    What Lu Yin had done for the Fifth Maind could not be overshadowed by Lu Yuan, even if Lu Yuan was the Dao Monarch.

    Lu Yuan also did not want to rece Lu Yin and take back the position of Dao Monarch. Since everyone referred to the child as Dao Monarch, it was fine to let him keep that position.

    <em>This child is the greatest pride of my Lu family. Throughout all the long ages and endless years, who else canpare to him?</em>

    Two figures suddenly appeared, and one of them charged at Lu Yin, wrapping him in a fierce embrace.

    Lu Yin instinctively wanted to break away, but the person who was holding him gave Lu Yin an extremely familiar and warm feeling with his sudden hug. The sensation was so unexpected that Lu Yin actually forgot to break free.

    "Son!"

    Lu Yin was startled, and he stared nkly at the man.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2838: The Heavens Sect And The Lu Family

    Chapter 2838: The Heavens Sect And The Lu Family

    "I''m so sorry, Son. I waste." This man was Lu Qi, Lu Yin''s father.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists, not knowing what to say. He simply allowed Lu Qi to hold him.

    Lu Qi eventually let go and then grabbed Lu Yin''s shoulder, staring at him with excitement. After a moment, Lu Qi punched Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder rather hard. "I knew that you could do it, son! You just needed to survive, and then leave the rest to your father."

    Lu Yin let out a breath and looked at Lu Qi in a conflicted manner. "I¡¯ve lost all of my memories."

    Lu Qi''s face turned pale, and he looked at Lu Yuan for help, but the ancestor just shook his head.

    Thest of the Lu family¡¯s Progenitors approached from the distance. "There are various powers in existence that people can cultivate, including karma and divination. I did not seal your memories, but rather erased them entirely.

    "If you possessed any of your old memories, an interested person could have potentially found you through those memories.

    "If you were unable to bring the Lu family back, I hoped that the seal would be able to protect you for your entire life. Ancestor would wake up sooner orter, and it was just a matter of time before he brought us back."

    Lu Yin looked at the man, knowing who this was without having to guess. After all, Lu Yin had seen this man while traveling through time and space. "Ancestor Tianyi?"

    Lu Tianyi smiled and gave Lu Yin a look of admiration. "You have done better than I ever imagined, Xiaoxuan. The Lu family is proud of you. Even during the Heavens Sect era, our Lu family would have readily admitted that you were our pride and joy."

    The Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind even during the Heavens Sect era, and they had given birth to many incredible geniuses. With their Investiture of the Gods and Champions¡¯ Stage, any who sessfully awakened both innate gifts would invariably rise above their peers. Even so, Lu Tianyi acknowledged Lu Yin as a genius who had surpassed all others the Lu family had ever seen.

    That included Lu Tianyi himself.

    Lu Yuan patted Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Even this ancestor could notpare to you, Xiaoxuan. From now on, the Lu family will be left to you."

    Lu Yin did not know what to say. This was his family, they were connected by blood, and they were a source offort and support.

    He took a deep breath. "I understand."

    Lu Qiughed. "Son, let''s go see your Heavens Sect. I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve be the Dao Monarch, but your father is also no slouch, haha."

    Lu Yinughed. While his original rtionship with his father would never return, due to the erased memories, Lu Qi still found a way to get along with Lu Yin. What¡¯s more, he did so in a way where Lu Yin would not feel any pressure.

    Lu Yin did not reject Lu Qi. Even if he had lost all of his previous memories, he still innately trusted this person.

    Besides, Lu Qi was not aplete stranger to Lu Yin. During his sixth stellr tribtions, Lu Qi had appeared, and he had even summoned Progenitor Wen with the Investiture of the Gods. Also, Lu Yin had seen Lu Qi hugging his mother when he had stepped onto the Stargazing Deck one time.

    "Dad," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Qi happily responded.

    "Did Mother pass away?" Lu Yin asked softly.

    Lu Qi''s face fell. "Yes, she died a long time ago."

    There was no secret regarding the death of Lu Yin¡¯s mother. She had simply died from an illness. Lu Yin had already heard this through Kui Luo, but he had simply wanted to verify it with Lu Qi.

    Having received that confirmation, Lu Yin felt rather torn.

    After a moment of silence, he asked another question. "When did you be a Progenitor?"

    Lu Qi sighed. "While our family was in exile. If we wanted to return, aside from waking Ancestor, it was also ideal to have a few more Progenitors added to our numbers. Unfortunately-"

    He fell silent for a moment. "Two of our Progenitor elders died. After all, we were in Aeternus¡¯s territory."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. When he had first learned that the Lu family had been exiled, he had assumed that the family had all been killed, as had the four ruling powers. Xia Shenji alone had always known that the Lu family was still alive.

    "Alright, we¡¯ll talk about these thingster. You need some time to learn about the family¡¯s affairs. First, let us learn about your Heavens Sect," Lu Qi said with a smile.

    At this time, Master Shan, Kui Luo, Wan Zhi Yi, and the other former Lu family vassals stepped out. "We greet the main family."

    The fat old women, the little girl, the crazy old man, and many more appeared. All of the members of the Lu family loudly greeted the returning Lu family.

    While the Lu family had always been arrogant, they had never been tyrannical. They stuck to their own principles, so while there were rebels, like the four ruling powers, there were also people who had been fiercely loyal to the family.

    The All-Dao family and the Qiming family had remained utterly loyal to the Lu family.

    Kui Luo, the cynical old man, also showed a different attitude upon the Lu family return.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan gazed at all the surviving vassals of the Lu family withplicated eyes. Finally, he let out a deep sigh.

    Lu Tianyi spoke up, "Our family did not protect you, and you were forced to endure too much. For this, the Lu family apologizes to you."

    Wan Zhi Yi showed excitement. "This is the fault of the four ruling powers and the Sixverse Association. The main family has no fault in this matter. Senior Tianyi, we hope to see you lead the main family to retake the Perennial World, kill all our enemies, and restore the honor and glory of our Lu family."

    "Please, Master, lead the family to exact vengeance, and restore the honor and glory of our Lu family."

    "Please, Master, lead the family to exact vengeance, and restore the honor and glory of our Lu family."

    "Please, Master, lead the family to exact vengeance, and restore the honor and glory of our Lu family."

    ¡­

    These people had never made this request of Lu Yin. They knew about Lu Yin¡¯s struggles to reach his current position, and for that reason, they had kept their hatred buried deep, as they had not wanted to trouble Lu Yin and ce additional pressure on him.

    However, things had changed. The return of the Lu family meant that the four ruling powers would disappear, and their enemies would soon be forced to repay their debts.

    Lu Tianyi nodded solemnly. "Our Lu family can take the bigger picture into ount, but we can also take responsibility for the bigger picture on our own. There are grudges that can never be forgotten."

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, and many others watched. This appeared to be a private family matter of the Lu family, but the Lu family represented the entire Origin Universe, right?

    In the past, the Lu family had represented the Origin Universe, and in the present, Lu Yin shouldered that role.

    Chen Le stared at Lu Tianyi, and then at Lu Yuan, feeling an overwhelming fear. This was a terror that welled up from the bottom of his heart. He had never felt such terrifying auras before. He had been in close contact with Sovereign Shao Yin before, but he had never felt anything remotely simr from the Sovereign. These auras caused the Monarch to feel true despair.

    These two were absolute monsters.

    This was the Lu family that had been exiled from the Origin Universe by the Cyclic Universe. This was Lu Yin''s support.

    In the past, Chen Le had hated Lu Yin for his deceptions, but at this moment, Chen Le was d for what had happened. After all, who could say what might have happened if Chen Le had be the enemy of such a monstrous family?

    What about Luo Shan? Did he dare to show himself?

    The Lu family had eliminated the Aeternals the moment they had returned. Just how powerful were these people?

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, He Ran looked up. Had the Origin Universe grown weaker? If so, then how were there so many peak powerhouses? Even if the Cyclic Universe had their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, they still could notpare to the Origin Universe¡¯s number of peak powerhouses.

    She finally realized that this universe seemed to be returning to its former, ancient peak.

    There was no need for the Lu family and the Heavens Sect to form a harmonious rtionship. Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, and the other Progenitors were already familiar with the Lu family, while Leng Qing, Hen Xin, and others knew Lu Tianyi.

    This was a scene that Lu Yin had been looking forward to.

    Lu Buzheng and the others had vanished during the Heavens Sect era, and at the time, Lu Tianyi had only been a Dao Chosen, a junior. At this moment, they could not even understand Lu Tianyi''s power.

    This reunion caused the Dao Chosen and the other gatemasters to feel rather embarrassed.

    Specifically, it was Hen Xin and the others who were embarrassed. Lu Tianyi had lived for countless years, and given his true age, he could be regarded as their ancestor.

    They nced at each other and fell silent.

    Destina deliberately kept her distance.

    During the Heavens Sect era, she had frequently created trouble for the Lu family, including both Lu Buzheng and Lu Tianyi.

    If a gatemaster like Hen Xin was ufortable interacting with Lu Tianyi, then Dao Chosen like Chu Yuan and Heluo Mavis were in an even worse position. They were stunned to the point where they did not even know how to talk to their former peer.

    When Lu Tianyi saw them, he simply ignored them.

    They had all been Dao Chosen, but time had pulled them far apart. The gap was so great that they could not even see across it.

    Chu Yuan wanted to voice his determination to catch up to Lu Tianyi, but when he remembered the sight of Lu Tianyi eliminating all of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings as though he were chopping melons and vegetables, he lost confidence. He had already been defeated by Lu Yin, and he had lost his arrogance from the Heavens Sect era.

    If Chu Yuan had met Lu Tianyi immediately aftering out of the sourcebox, he definitely would have made a fuss upon seeing Lu Tianyi.

    Interactions between the Heavens Sect and the Lu family went smoothly. After all, Lu Yin led both of them.

    Lu Yin led Lu Qi and the others to see the current Heavens Sect, and he made it a point to introduce them to Cloudflow, Chen Le, Monarch Xing, and the other peak powerhouses. After a few days, Lu Yin sought out Lu Yuan to speak with him alone, and he asked his ancestor to save Ming Yan.

    This was a matter that had been weighing on Lu Yin¡¯s mind for too long.

    Ming Yan had not offered Lu Yin much help, nor had he spent much time with her. Despite that, she was one of the few people capable of making him feel warmth, as though he did not need to hide anything about himself from her.

    With Ming Yan, Lu Yin could share his thoughts freely, befortable, share his youthful ambitions, andpletely rx.

    That was enough.

    Lu Yuan observed the frozen Ming Yan who was sealed by the ice, his expression solemn.

    Lu Yin grew worried. "Ancestor, she is the most important person to me. She¡¯s my wife."

    Lu Yuan looked at Lu Yin. "Xiaoxuan¡ªno, I¡¯ll call you Little Seven. I¡¯ve heard many people call you that.¡±

    "Little Seven, do you understand my level?"

    Lu Yin first nodded, but then he shook his head. "I know that, upon bing a Progenitor, one¡¯s goal is to master sequence particles and thews of the universe, but I don¡¯t know about your realm, Ancestor, or that of the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yuan sped his hands behind his back. "Sequence particles are thews that govern the universe¡¯s operation. Just like how, when something strikes the surface of water, there will naturally be a ssh. This is something that everyone understands, and it ismon sense.

    "There are cultivators who use brute force to stabilize the surface of water so that, even when it is struck, there will be no ssh. These people may believe that they have defiedmon sense, but isn''t this just another kind ofmon sense? Using strength to ovee another power is simply the definition of cultivation.

    "What can truly break the rules of the universe is mastering thews of the universe." As the man spoke, he manifested stellr energy that transformed into water, and Lu Yuan pped it with a hand. The water did not ssh, and it also was not destroyed. Instead, it transformed and took on another form, bing another substance entirely.

    Lu Yuan asked, "Would you have thought of this form before I pped the water?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    ¡°This sort of unexpected thing is truly breaking the rules.¡±

    Lu Yuan looked back at Ming Yan again. "There are too manyws that govern the universe. Without thesews, humans would have never appeared. How manyws can a single person master? Too few, far too few. If a person¡¯s strength reaches a certain level, they can use thews of the universe to alter the universe itself, but they will never be capable of altering all thews of the universe at the same time.

    "Additionally, there are certainws that are nearly impossible to master, and Life is one of them.

    "This child has had her body¡¯s vitality cut off. While freezing her has managed to also freeze her vitality, this is not enough to restore the universalw that has been severed. If you wish to save her, you must rewrite thews of the universe for her body."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2839: This Is The Lu family

    <h4>Chapter 2839: This Is The Lu family</h4>

    Lu Yin grew so worried that he stopped breathing. "Ancestor, can you save her?"

    Lu Yuan stared at Lu Yin. "Yes."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and even started to sweat. His ancestor had offered such a lengthy exnation, and as it continued, Lu Yin had felt that the matter was more mystical than his previous understanding. He had even started to believe that it was impossible to ever save Ming Yan.

    "However, I can''t do it right now. Saving her means touching thew of Vitality, which is entirely unknown to me. I can do this, but the cost is too high. The Lu family has only just returned, and there are both internal and external matters that need to be resolved. Will that crazy woman, the Great Sovereign, attack? I can¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°Little Seven, just wait for now. I will save her when the Lu family has beenpletely stabilized," Lu Yuan said.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "As long as you can save her, Ancestor."

    Lu Yuan nodded and then gave Lu Yin an odd look. The man¡¯s expression grew stranger as time passed.

    Lu Yin knew that Lu Yuan had seen his unique power.

    "Your cultivation is rather odd."

    "I have four inner worlds."

    Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows. "And in your chest?"

    "A self-made universe. This is the cultivation path that I have inadvertently taken," Lu Yin said as he put Ming Yan away.

    Lu Yuan nodded. "And on your forehead?"

    "That''s Heaven¡¯s Sight," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Yuan''s eye twitched. "I seem to sense a familiar power."

    Lu Yin could not help but feel proud of himself. Before the founding ancestor of his family, he felt that he could show off a bit. "Are you referring to the God of Death¡¯s power, or Destiny¡¯s? Or maybe Gu Yizhi¡¯s?"

    Lu Yuan was surprised. "You¡¯ve even cultivated the power of that traitor, Gu Yizhi?"

    "Gu Yizhi may be a traitor, but his power is still very useful."

    "His power is also extremely difficult to cultivate. It''s a miracle that you actually seeded." Lu Yuan sighed emotionally, knowing what Lu Yin had gone through.

    Lu Yin asked, "Ancestor, how did Gu Yizhi betray humanity?"

    This question instantly soured Lu Yuan¡¯s mood, and he waved it off. "Alright, there are certain things that you don¡¯t need to know about right away. I don¡¯t have the energy to talk about this right now either. Let me take you to see someone."

    Lu Yuan then took Lu Yin through the golden mountain. This was the Lu Sanctum, thend of Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s memories.

    Lu Yin felt that the ce seemed familiar, but he could not recall anything about it.

    Lu Yuan soon led Lu Yin to the back of the mountain of the Lu Sanctum, and they arrived at a chain. His eyes following the chain, Lu Yin gazed off into the distance.

    There, he saw a man bound in chains, hanging in space.

    Lu Yin frowned. He assumed that this must be someone whom the Lu family wanted to punish, as why else would they be bound?

    However, when Lu Yin got a clear look at the man¡¯s face, he was startled. "Progenitor Ku?"

    Lu Yuan was caught off guard. "You know him?"

    Lu Yin turned to give Lu Yuan a look of shock. "Ancestor, why is Progenitor Ku-?"

    Lu Yuan raised a hand to interrupt Lu Yin¡¯s question. "He¡¯s merely been tied up. ording to Lu Tianyi, when our family was exiled, they identally encountered Ku Jie in outer space, so he did this to drag the man back.

    "However, this man''s mind has withered,[1] just like his name. He is nothing but a shell.

    "Truthfully, this man¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed makes him immortal. When Lu Tianyi told me about this ability, I was surprised. There were many outstanding people during the Heavens Sect''s era, but even then, this person would have been regarded as incredibly powerful.

    "It¡¯s such a pity that he¡¯s nothing more than an empty vessel now."

    Lu Yin had not expected the Lu family to drag back Progenitor Ku. "So, Progenitor Ku is basically a living corpse?"

    Lu Yuan nodded as he sped his hands behind his back. "I brought you to see him in order to tell you that the Aeternals hold the upper hand. Even if it seems that our Lu family is capable of instantly overwhelming them, given what happened when we returned, we cannot truly do that. The Aeternals are unfathomable. Among the Seven Skygods is even that traitor Gu Yizhi. If we want to deal with Aeternus, we need even greater strength.

    "I have been considering ways to save this person, as he would be a powerful aid. For the time being, our family needs to defend against the Aeternals and also save Ku Jie. There are many matters that must be set aside. For example, we can¡¯t allow the traitors to escape, but I will not attack them at this time.¡±

    Lu Yin understood what his ancestor was saying. "Leave those traitors to me. Can Progenitor Ku be saved?"

    Lu Yuan shook his head. "I don''t know, but I will try."

    Lu Yuan did not question if Lu Yin possessed the strength to deal with Bai Wangyuan and the other traitors. Even if the current Heavens Sect was greatly inferior to the Origin Universe¡¯s peak power, and even though it did not have the power topare to the Lu family alone, it had to be acknowledged that Lu Yin had reached his current strength from nothing at all. The Heavens Sect followed Lu Yin, not the Lu family.

    The difficulties that Lu Yin had ovee demonstrated just how extraordinary he was. In the past, he had been unable to handle the traitors, but he had since gained the strength to face them head-on. There would not be any problem when dealing with them. What Lu Yuan did worry about was the Great Sovereign. Humans could not resort to infighting. They needed to stick to certain principles, not merely follow the one with the stronger fist.

    Lu Yin had not only relied on his own strength to establish the Heavens Sect, but also on his various abilities. Clearly, the young man must have the means to deal with the traitors, so Lu Yuan was not concerned about that matter.

    The return of the Lu family was like a key to a hidden treasure chest for Lu Yin. There were simply too many things that he wanted to know about his family.

    It would be difficult to deal with Bai Wangyuan and the other traitors at the moment, but the Perennial World was a different matter. It was time for the Lu Sanctum to return.

    One day, Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin arrived in the Perennial World.

    When Aeternus had attacked the Origin Universe, they had mostly focused on the Heavens Sect, but they had also attacked the four ruling powers. However, the attack on the Perennial World had been brief. The Divine Eagle had taken action and flown about, tearing through all the Progenitor-level corpse kings attacking the four ruling powers.

    In the four ruling powers, only the Progenitors like Bai Wangyuan understood just how terrifying the Divine Eagle and the Python Ancestor were. No one else had any way of knowing, and additionally, the two beasts possessed a level of power that most people could not even imagine.

    When the Divine Eagle had taken action, countless people had bowed in worship throughout the Perennial World. However, the Divine Eagle returned to its perch soon after, refusing to return unless absolutely necessary.

    While the threat against the four ruling powers had been eliminated, none of them had ever considered helping the Heavens Sect fend off Aeternus¡¯s attack. Instead, they expected the Heavens Sect to suffer. The Lu family¡¯s unexpected return had not only saved the Heavens Sect and raised it up to new heights, but their return had also heralded the end of the four ruling powers.

    When word of the Lu family¡¯s return spread, many people fled from the four ruling powers. Those who disappeared or fled were the people who had persecuted the Lu family. All who remained in the Higher Realm were still members of the four ruling powers, and other than minor characters, there were also people like Bai Qi, who had never harmed the Lu family.

    During the Tea Ceremony, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan had been condemned to serve on the Endless Frontier due to their attempt to frame Lu Yin as a spy. Xia Shenji had also been condemned to the Endless Frontier, which was why none of them had participated in defending against Aeternus. All three men had remained on the Endless Frontier. No one knew what ns they might have, but regardless, those ns had be useless. The return of the Lu family could bulldoze through any of the men¡¯s ns.

    As for Bai Sheng, Specter Progenitor, and Xia Qin, those other three Progenitors from the four ruling powers were also helping to defend the Sixverse Association.

    The other Progenitors from the Perennial World were Progenitor Nong, Progenitor Smoke, and Nutjob Lu.

    Progenitor Nong and Progenitor Smoke could be ignored. Neither one had any conflict with the Lu family. However, Nutjob Lu was different. The Lu family absolutely had to deal with him. However, Nutjob Lu had be the Cyclic Universe¡¯s new Sage Stone, whichplicated the matter. Lu Yuan had already insulted the Great Sovereign, but an all-out war was not really possible.

    Wang Jian was supposed to still be in the Higher Realm, but he had fled as well, retreating faster than anyone else.

    When Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin delivered the Lu Sanctum to the Perennial World, the only Progenitor-level creatures still present were the Divine Eagle and the Ancestor Python. Additionally, Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye had granted the White Dragon n¡¯s Ni Huang the strength to fight against Progenitors.

    When the Lu Sanctum appeared, golden light instantly enveloped the entire Perennial World.

    Countless people in the Middle and Lower Realms looked upwards. The Lu family had returned.

    "This ce has changed a great deal." Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin were standing high in the sky, looking at the Wang family''s floating maind in the distance. Further away, they could also see the Celestial Frost Sect.

    "Once, this Higher Realm held only my Lu family and the families acknowledged by us. The four ruling powers? What a ridiculous term, though it perfectly shows their petty ambitions. If they were capable of destroying Aeternus, then forget the Higher Realm¡ªI would even help them snatch the Great Sovereign¡¯s Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

    Lu Tianyi''s words were beyond arrogant and looked down on everything. He even dared to speak disparagingly of the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Tianyi was different from Ancestor Lu Yuan. The founding ancestor was absolutely domineering, whereas Lu Tianyi was both domineering and wise.

    However, this was nothing to be proud of. After all, the Lu family had still been exiled. The smarter Lu Tianyi was, the more the insidiousness of the Aeternals could be seen. The Lu family had nearly been destroyed by Aeternus.

    Lu Tianyi looked at Lu Yin. "Do you remember anything about the Lu Sanctum?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. He then proceeded to share how Lu Xun had used the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury to set a trap for Lu Yin, which had given Nutjob Lu an opportunity to try to kill Lu Yin.

    Lu Tianyi nodded, conflicting emotions filling his eyes. "While it is indeed shameful that Lu Xun betrayed the family, she was also forced to endure a great deal. It was fate that she eventually died along with the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury.¡±

    "Xiaoxuan, thank you for surviving through everything."

    Everyst member of the Lu family, including Lu Yuan, Lu Tianyi, and Lu Qi, loved and appreciated Lu Yin. Many people were amazed by all that Lu Yin achieved, yet very few saw that all of his aplishments represented narrowly surviving multiple disasters.

    "Nutjob Lu will be dealt with by Ancestor himself. Tell me, what do you think about the Lu Sanctum sitting above all else in the Perennial World?" Lu Tianyi asked.

    Lu Yin had not expected Lu Tianyi to ask this question.

    The four ruling powers had taken the ce of the Lu Sanctum, but in the past, the Lu Sanctum had stood above all else, suppressing the organizations that had be the four ruling powers, along with the Nong family, the Liu family, and more. They had all been confined to the Middle Realm, beneath the Lu family. That was the motivation for those people to rebel against the Lu family in the first ce.

    Why had the Lu family sat above all others? Why had they looked down on all others and acted so domineeringly?

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look at Lu Tianyi. "There are people who say that, the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. My Lu family possesses greater strength than any others in this ce, and we also shoulder greater responsibility. In this ce, my Lu family is the guardian. If the dayes when the sky ever falls, my Lu family will fall before then.

    "If we have greater power, why should we not rise above all others? The dignity of our status sets us apart. Even if the sky falls, we will remain standing tall. If everyone dies, we will die first. This is the responsibility of my Lu family.

    "My Lu family stands tall, and we will never bend at our waists."

    Lu Tianyiughed. "Exactly, this is the responsibility of our Lu family. How many of those people who have looked up at our Lu family for so many years sincerely admire us? How many people wished for our Lu family to perish and make way for them? However, do any of them know what they need to take responsibility for if we give way?

    "Without the Lu family, Bai Wangyuan and those other losers were forced to listen to whatever the Sixverse Association said. They groveled before the Great Sovereign. When have we, the Lu family, ever done this?

    "The higher you stand, the straighter your spine! Xiaoxuan, this is our Lu family."

    Lu Yinughed. "Only my Lu family can take this responsibility."

    "Hahahaha..."

    1. Just a reminder that "ku" means withered/dried. ?

 Chapter 2840: The Law Of Undoing

    <h4>Chapter 2840: The Law Of Undoing</h4>

    Countless people heard the two¡¯sughter, including people from four ruling powers and some independent cultivators. They had been waiting for the Perennial World to change once more.

    The Lu family was finally back.

    "Xiaoxuan, use Heaven¡¯s Sight," Lu Tianyi said as he looked towards the Wang family.

    Lu Yin knew what was about to happen, and he immediately activated the ability.

    Lu Tianyi raised his finger and slowly pointed it at the Wang family¡¯s floating continent.

    The Wang family¡¯s floating continent was shaped like a hand, and there was a ball of light floating above it. This orb represented the Wang family¡¯s continent, and it was also Wang Fan''s Mountain and Sea.

    "Wang Fan''s Mountain and Sea are known as the Shadow of Life. Its inheritance allows a person to form a shadow that can recultivate from the beginning, bing a second life. While this sounds simr to the Xia family¡¯s Nine Clones Secret Technique, they arepletely different. One forms a clone from the shadows, while the other forms clones from consciousness. It is said that Xia Chan created the secret technique after being inspired by this Mountain and Sea.

    "Given Wang Fan''s personality, he must have hidden his shadow clone in this ce. Can you find out who that is?"

    Lu Yin answered softly, "Specter Progenitor."

    Lu Tianyi was not surprised. "Specter Progenitor? So he used his shadow clone to cultivate the God of Death¡¯s power. That sounds just like him. It''s a pity that they all fled to the Sixverse Association. If not for that, none of them would have been able to escape. As it is, let¡¯s first destroy his base of power and suppress the Mountain and Sea, as well as the Wang family.

    "Heaven¡¯s Sight should allow you to see the sequence particles that are invisible to most people. The sequence particles that I have mastered are called Undoing. Everything in this universe and all others, even the stars, can be undone, and everything is born after being undone. Undoing and reforming are among the most basic principles of reality. With Undoing, it is possible to revert everything back to the origin."

    As he spoke, his finger moved.

    Lu Yin''s eyes focused. He could see a line of energy shooting towards the ball of light that hung over the Wang family¡¯s continent. The energy only contained one sequence particle, and it was invisibly connected to the void.

    Lu Tianyi had forcibly extracted a sequence particle from the universe, and doing so gave his attack a terrifying power that left Lu Yin''s scalp numb.

    The line of energy swept through the sky, not damaging anything. However, its power was not hindered in the slightest by the light of the floating orb, and the line pierced the ball of light without issue.

    On this day, all who had not abandoned the Wang family¡¯s floating continent bore witness to a scene that they had never imagined possible. The ball of light that represented Ancestor Wang Fan shattered.

    It happened in a moment, just a single moment.

    Lu Yin saw the ball of light erupt with its full power in an attempt to block the attack. This was Wang Fan''s power, and it was enough to block an ordinary Progenitor¡¯s attack. When Chen Le had attacked the Wang family¡¯s continent, he had been blocked by this orb of light.

    However, this move seemed ridiculous in front of Lu Tianyi. It failed to even slow his attack, and it was instantly shattered.

    The shattered ball of light transformed into stars and sprinkled down on the heads of the countless people living on the Wang family¡¯s continent. It looked like a rain of light and was very beautiful, but it only struck a deep chill into the hearts of the members of the Wang family.

    Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin then appeared above the floating continent, and they looked down at everyone in the Wang family.

    It was a pity that Wang Fan, Wang Jian, and Specter Progenitor were not present, not to mention that Wang Si was already dead. The only important individuals still in the Wang family were Patriarch Wang Zheng and Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun.

    As for Wang Su, Wang Yi, and Wang Xiaofan, all of them had left, most likely taken away by Wang Jian. They were the most gifted youths in the Wang family, so even if Wang Fan died, those young elites represented a chance for the family to return to the peak once more.

    Wang Dashuai had been a part of the Heavens Sect for a long time, as there was no ce for him in the Wang family.

    Seeing Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin high above, Wang Zheng closed his eyes. "Our ancestor has not returned, so as the patriarch, I will shoulder all of the me."

    "I as well," Wang Xun said. He had been the general of the third array base on the rear battlefield, but he had possessed the same attitude towards the Lu family as most of the four ruling powers¡¯ people.

    Lu Yin vividly remembered the general, as he was the one who had protected Xiao Can during his time of service on the rear battlefield. Xiao Can had paid a Root of Intelligence to be protected from death.

    However, after Xiao Can left the rear battlefield, he had been immediately captured and forced to work in the Wang family¡¯s mines. That had also been done by Wang Xun.

    A Root of Intelligence had been tempting enough for a Semi-Progenitor to personally strike a deal with Xiao Can. Still, while Wang Xun was a selfish person, he had also been dedicated to his job of defending the rear battlefield.

    There were too many people like that. All people had selfish aspects, as well as selfless aspects. Everything depended on their bottom lines.

    "Take responsibility? Are you even qualified to do so?" Lu Tianyi rebuffed indifferently. Without Wang Fan or Wang Jian, what did it matter if the Wang family was destroyed?

    Realm Array Master Wang Nian lifted his head. "Senior, while our ancestor has not returned, we and the other members of the Wang family have made no attempt to escape. We represent the Wang family."

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Nian. "As a Realm Array Master, you would receive quite decent treatment even if you had fled to the Sixverse Association. Why didn¡¯t you leave?"

    Wang Nian looked at Lu Yin. "We are people of the Fifth Maind, and when we die, we will remain as ghosts of the Fifth Maind. We are willing to die here. We will not escape."

    Wang Zheng looked up at the sky. "The Wang family has betrayed the Lu family, but we are willing to atone for our sins. Even so, only one person is responsible for what took ce, and the others have done nothing wrong. I ask that the Lu family give us a chance to survive. I, Wang Zheng, would be most grateful."

    As he spoke, Patriarch Wang knelt down.

    Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun, Wang Yan, Wang Nian, and all the others kneeled as well.

    They all wanted to live, but how? Escape to the Sixverse Association? Ancestor Wang Jian could have taken them with him, but they had refused to leave. How could they continue to cultivate in a different universe? Would they live while constantly being hunted by the Lu family? Live while being looked down upon by the entire Sixverse Association?

    It was better to stay behind and beg for their lives, even if there was a great risk of death.

    It was also fine, since Wang Su and others had been taken away, as it meant that the Wang family would not bepletely eliminated.

    "Xiaoxuan, how do you want to deal with it?" Lu Tianyi turned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "If Wang Fan were still here, he would be punished as the guilty party, either by conferring him as a god, or by anointing a new champion. I¡¯d be more inclined to anoint a champion."

    Lu Tianyi nodded. "Me too. Unfortunately, he ran away."

    Lu Yin asked, "Ancestor, how would you deal with this?"

    Lu Tianyi considered the matter for a while. "Are you aware of the 100,000 currents?"

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned before he quickly remembered that his die had once allowed him to Possess a man known as Ind Master Rong. That man had been the protector of one of the 100,000 currents that connected the Middle Ocean to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots.

    Because all of those water currents were connected to the Mother Tree¡¯s roots, the Lu family had either negotiated or coerced 100,000 cultivators into bing the protectors of those currents. This was done to prevent the Aeternals from polluting the Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin had forgotten all about that matter until Lu Tianyi mentioned it now.

    "Ancestor, do you intend to have the Wang family protect those currents?"

    "While my Lu family was not banished for very many years, we still were missing and unable to provide resources to those people. They might all hate us now. Additionally, the number of currents must have risen during the years that we¡¯ve been gone for, and the people of the four ruling powers should fit right in."

    Lu Yin considered the option. The 100,000 currents was indeed a good choice. This would punish the Wang family, but it also would not waste resources. After all, the Aeternals were not currently attacking the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, which meant that there was no battlefield to send these people to. The only true option was having them protect the 100,000 currents.

    These people had not run away, which proved that they had some measure of courage.

    "Ancestor, what''s the situation with the Wang family¡¯s continent?" Lu Yin had wanted to know the answer to this question for a long time.

    The hand was so strange, and Lu Yin only had a vague guess that it might be rted to Burial Garden.

    Lu Tianyi grew somber. "Ask Ancestor Yuan about that. While I have my own suspicions, Ancestor Yuan has never verified anything. Only he can give you an answer."

    "I might have guessed something as well," Lu Yin said softly, "Still, I don''t understand why the Wang family was able to control this continent."

    Lu Tianyi replied in a low voice, "My Lu family can act superior to others, but we cannot deny others their own opportunities. That would be beyond despicable. The Wang family was able to control this ce due to their own abilities, and how they use it has nothing to do with us."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "But they used the Yellow Springs to render my Lu family unable to resist."

    Lu Tianyi agreed, "No one expected that. Sometimes it''s not your enemies who hurt you the most, but rather your own friends."

    Lu Yinpletely agreed. "As for us being hated by others, I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anything that could rouse more hatred than our innate gifts."

    Lu Tianyi smiled. "Those are our own abilities."

    Wang Fan was the person responsible for the Lu family¡¯s exile, but he was missing. Neither Lu Yin nor Lu Tianyi were people who would condemn the innocent, so Lu Tianyi¡¯s suggestion was followed. The members of the Wang family were sentenced to protect the water currents that streamed out of the Middle Ocean.

    The Wang family had many experts who were capable of guarding the currents, as the guardians had to be at Enlighters at the very least. Many of those experts were conscripted, with none of them daring to put up any resistance, and then thrown to the Middle Ocean.

    The Lu Sanctum then slowly moved over to the sky above the Wang family¡¯s continent.

    On the Lu Sanctum, many members of the family worked together to release a formidable power that suppressed the entire Higher Realm, which firmly pressed down upon the Wang family¡¯s continent.

    The four ruling powers had all agreed that none of them could exceed a certain height. The orb of light above the Wang family¡¯s continent had been at the exact same height as the clouds above the Celestial Frost Sect, Shenwu Sky¡¯s chained jiao, and Dragon Mountain¡¯s peak. However, at the moment, the Lu Sanctum rose above that limit, and it pressed down upon the Wang family¡¯s continent.

    The Perennial World trembled, and the ground of the Higher Realm shattered as the stars of the Outer Realm swayed.

    Countless people''s eyes were drawn to this scene. They had watched the four ruling powers rece the Lu family and upy the Higher Realm years ago, but now, just a few yearster, the four ruling powers were being forced back into their original locations.

    In the Middle Realm, the ce directly beneath the Wang family¡¯s continent in the Higher Realm was where the Wang family had once been located. Even now, many members of the Wang family lived there. They looked up and saw dust falling from the Higher Realm. From a distance, it looked as though rain was falling through the sky, connecting the Higher Realm to the Middle Realm. However, this rain was gray andposed of dust.

    The gray dust fell upon the Wang family, and the hearts of all the family members dropped in unison with their continent. Finally, the Higher Realm cracked, and the hand-shaped continent of the Wang family appeared before the eyes of countless people in the Middle Realm. They watched the continent slowly fall through the sky, struggling to breath. It felt as though something had grabbed their hearts.

    The Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind for countless years. How could they be reced by the four ruling powers?

    At the same time, the seals that the four ruling powers had ced in the minds of everyone in the Perennial World regarding the Lu family¡¯s exile were shattered. Every person bowed low, no matter if they were in the Middle Realm, the Lower Realm, the Outer Realm, or even the rear battlefield.

    The Lu family had returned.

    It was not that Lu Taiyi did not want to destroy the Wang family¡¯s continent and utterly destroy the family. Rather, the hand that formed the continent was simply too important. It contained the Yellow Springs water, so he had merely pressed the continent back down into the Middle Realm to be dealt withter.

    Next was Shenwu''s Sky. The highest point in Shenwu''s Sky had been the chained jiao that Lu Yin had taken away. Unfortunately, the beast had fled during the battle at the Tea Ceremony. As for Shenwu''s Sky, it had not changed at all. Ever since they had lost the jiao, their status had plummeted.

    When it came to Shenwu''s Sky, the Lu family had no intention of punishing anyone. After all, Xia Shenji''s main body had already been reced by a clone, and Shenwu''s Sky was essentially under Lu Yin''s control. As for Xia Xing and the other direct descendants, Xia Shenji''s clone was willing to allow Lu Yin to deal with them to his satisfaction. There was only one person who could not be allowed to go free: Xia Ziheng.

 Chapter 2841: Location

    <h4>Chapter 2841: Location</h4>

    When Xia Ziheng was ambushed and attacked, he had not hesitated to agree to join Aeternus. Lu Yin had never forgotten about this.

    He had promised to not deal with Xia Ziheng, and Xia Ziheng had then revealed the secret connection between Specter Patriarch and Wang Fan. This secret had allowed Lu Yin to plot against Wang Fan and expose Specter Patriarch as Wang Fan''s shadow clone, which had made a great deal of trouble for the man. It had been a great help to Lu Yin, but that did not mean that he could allow Xia Ziheng to truly go free.

    He had murdered many members of the Lu family, and the murder that had left the biggest impression on Lu Yin was that of an old servant.

    That old servant had been captured by the Xia family, tortured, and eventually killed. The culprit behind all of it was Xia Ziheng.

    There was also Xia Zhitong, who had tried to ruin the reputation of the Yu family and intimidate other families that still had good rtionships with the Lu family. Xia Ziheng had been the one behind that woman¡¯s actions as well.

    It was time for all those ounts to be settled.

    Two Semi-Progenitors, Xia De and Xia Su, stood respectfully on the gray ground. Behind them were many members of the Xia family, though Xia Shenfei, Xia Taili, and Xia Shenguang were nowhere to be seen.

    Like Wang Su and the other elites of the Wang family, the most talented disciples of the four ruling powers had been taken away so that they could live free from the Lu family.

    Compared to the Wang family¡¯s continent, Shenwu''s Sky was in much worse condition. There had been no power capable of blocking or stopping a Progenitor-level corpse king. If the Divine Eagle had not taken action, Shenwu''s Sky would have been utterly destroyed.

    The Lu Sanctum moved from the Wang family¡¯s territory and stopped above Shenwu''s Sky. A golden light fell upon all of Shenwu''s Sky, illuminating the anxious and fearful eyes of the sect¡¯s disciples.

    They did not dare to lift their heads, and the pressure given off by the Lu Sanctum sent chills down all their spines.

    As soon as Lu Tianyi had learned about Xia Shenji, he had stopped caring about Xia De or any of the others from Shenwu¡¯s Sky. He did not even intend to say anything to them.

    Lu Yin nced around. "Where is Xia Ziheng?"

    Xia De answered in a low voice, "He ran away."

    "Why haven¡¯t you run?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia De shrugged. "Unless we escape to the Sixverse Association, where can we go? I have been called Hero Xia my whole life. Even if I am not a true hero, I cannot act that shamefully."

    Lu Tianyi looked at Xia De. "I may have a good impression of you, but unfortunately, the Xia family took the wrong path."

    Xia De bowed low to Lu Tianyi. "That is not something that this junior could influence. Please grant me a good death. This junior does not wish to be anointed as a champion after death."

    Xia Su also offered a deep bow. "Senior, please spare mercy after my death."

    Xia Su was the person responsible for standing guard over Xia Shenji¡¯s clone in the prison beneath Shenwu¡¯s Sky. If not for Liu Shaoge escaping with that clone, Xia Su would have never been punished. Later, when he was searching for the Liu family¡¯s Sword Monument, Lu Yin had taken the Sword Monument away, right in front of Xia Su. After that, the Semi-Progenitor had not had a very good time in Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    "Why didn¡¯t you run away?" Lu Yin asked curiously. A Semi-Progenitor deserved a bit more attention from him.

    Xia Su opened his mouth, but no words came out.

    Xia De bluntly stated, "This junior did not allow him to escape."

    "Even after epting the resources of my Xia family for so many years, not only did I fail to properly protect the underground prison, but I also made several mistakes after that. How could I simply walk away?"

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Xing. "Tell me everything that Xia Ziheng has done to my Lu family over the years."

    Xia Xing''s heart trembled, but he did not dare to refuse. He spoke slowly as he answered.

    The more he listened to Xia Xing¡¯s confession, the worse Lu Tianyi''s expression became. Eventually, killing intent zed in his eyes. "We must find this person."

    Lu Yin disyedplete confidence. "Don''t worry, he can''t escape. Not to mention him, no one from the four ruling powers will be able to escape."

    Xia De frowned. How did Lu Xiaoxuan have the confidence to make such a im? If they wanted to escape, they would not remain in the Origin Universe, but rather flee to the Sixverse Association.

    <i>Wait...</i> The Semi-Progenitor¡¯s eyes snapped back to Lu Yin. "You."

    Lu Yin responded with a half-smile that was not truly a smile. "Did Hero Xia remember something?"

    Xia De did not dare speak, as if his guess was wrong, then he would expose those people¡¯s location. However, if he was correct, then there was indeed no chance that those people would be able to escape.

    However, given Xia De¡¯s understanding of Lu Yin, his guess was more likely than not correct.

    Lu Yin had taken the lead every step of the way, frequently outmaneuvering the four ruling powers. It was very likely that they had fallen into a trap once again.

    Elsewhere in the Higher Realm, Wang Jian, whom Lu Yin and the others believed to have already escaped, was standing. With him were Wang Su, Wang Yi, and the others who had been taken away by the Progenitor. Even Wei Rong was there. He had been taken because of his knowledge and understanding of Lu Yin, though that was his only value.

    For this reason, Wang Gui and Wang Man had been taken away as well.

    Within the crowd, there was one person who did not want to leave, but had still been forcibly dragged away by Wang Jian. That was Wang Miaomiao.

    This woman had scolded her ancestors because they had banished the Lu family. She had always been an outlier within the Wang family. She was the only member of the family who had cared about the Lu family and who wanted them to return.

    "Stop!" a voice shouted.

    Every member of the Wang family turned around to see that Wang Miaomiao had stopped moving. There was a frigid expression on her face.

    "Ancestor, I want to go back."

    Wang Jian frowned. "Do you want to go back, or do you want to find Lu Qi?"

    Wang Su and others calmly looked on. Everyone knew that Wang Miaomiao liked Lu Qi, though they also knew that it was because she had been harassed by Lu Qi.

    Within the Wang family, Wang Miaomiao enjoyed a status that surpassed even that of the direct descendants. She was an unmatched genius, and she was also Wang Jian''s descendant.

    Wang Miaomiao showed Wang Jian her back as she quietly stated, "I won''t run. How can you? Why must you take me away?"

    Wang Jian grew angry. "Do you think that Lu Qi cares about you at all? Don''t humiliate the Wang family!"

    Wang Miaomiao sneered. "Do you think that you won¡¯t beughed at after you run away like a stray dog, abandoning its home to take refuge under someone else''s roof? My Wang family has lived in the Fifth Maind for countless years, and yet now we run away. We are humiliating our ancestors."

    "Presumptuous!" Wang Jian shouted fiercely. With that, pressure fell, smashing Wang Miaomiao''s body to the ground. Her face grew pale, but she refused to look back. She was as determined as ever, and she clearly wanted to get back on her feet and leave.

    The pressure rose higher, but Wang Miaomiao still did not care. Even if her fingers were broken and her clothes became stained with blood, she would still leave.

    Wang Jian''s eyes grew cold.

    Wang Xiaofan stepped forward and bowed to Wang Jian. "Ancestor, let her go."

    Wang Jian turned to re at Wang Xiaofan. "What did you just say?"

    Wang Xiaofan took a deep breath and then said, "Please, Ancestor, let her go."

    Wang Su and the others looked at Wang Xiaofan. They all knew that the man had cared for Wang Miaomiao since childhood. Even so, it was surprising to see the man have the courage to contradict their ancestor because of her.

    Wang Jian waved Wang Xiaofan away. "You are not allowed to interfere."

    He turned back to Wang Miaomiao. "If you want to leave, then ask Lu Qi toe get you. I¡¯d like to see if he dares to show himself before me."

    Several people felt bad, as even if Lu Qi had the courage to do so, he first had to know where the Wang family even was.

    Within the crowd, Wei Rong shook his head. This man was too stubborn. It would have been better if he had shown a bit more tolerance.

    Before long, another group of people arrived, led by Xia Yan. Among the neers were Xia Ziheng, as well as the most talented disciples of Shenwu¡¯s Sky. They were rendezvousing with the Wang family.

    When Wang Jian saw the people from Shenwu''s Sky arrive, his expression softened slightly, but just as he was about to speak, the distant Shenwu''s Sky dropped down. A second hole had appeared in the Higher Realm, just like the one that had appeared for the Wang family. Through the hole, it was possible to see the clouds of the Middle Realm.

    Everyone from Shenwu''s Sky turned pale.

    And on the Wang family¡¯s side, grim expressions appeared. They had already watched the Wang family¡¯s continent drop down. Their fall was inevitable, and there was no way that Shenwu''s Sky would be spared.

    "Greetings, Progenitor Jian." The people from Shenwu''s Sky turned back and bowed to Wang Jian. There was no longer anything for them in the Higher Realm.

    Wang Jian waved a hand. "There is no need for such courtesy. Where are the people from the Celestial Frost Sect?"

    "Reporting to Ancestor: they are still en route and will arrive soon," Xia Ziheng stepped forward to answer.

    Wang Jian looked back at Wang Miaomiao once more.

    The woman¡¯s miserable condition drew some attention from the people from Shenwu''s Sky, but they did not dare to ask any questions.

    It had already been decided that they would go to the Sixverse Association. If the four ruling powers each went alone, they would have far less power than if they joined together, which was why Wang Jian had waited for the others. There was no other reason for him to wait for outsiders.

    It did not take long for people from the Celestial Frost Sect to arrive. They were led by Bai Laogui, as well as Bai Su, Elder Xi Zi, Bai Weiwei, Dong Shan, and several other elders.

    After everyone from the Celestial Frost Sect had bowed to Wang Jian, the Progenitor said, "The White Dragon n refuses toe, so there''s no need to force them. Let them be destroyed by the Lu family. We''ll go to the Sixverse Association."

    "Yes, Progenitor Jian," everyone responded respectfully.

    Three people stepped out from the crowd. They were the people who had been ced within the four ruling powers by the Sixverse Association. These were the people who allowed the four ruling powers tomunicate with the Sixverse Association and travel back and forth.

    The Sixverse Association had refused to allow anyone from the four ruling powers to leave a mark on their coordinate seals, which had frustrated the four ruling powers. Even so, there was nothing that they could do about it.

    "Alright, everyone, let''s go," Wang Jian stated.

    The three people nced at each other, but they did nothing.

    Wang Jian frowned. "You can take us to the Sixverse Association now."

    Still, the three did nothing.

    Wang Jian realized that something was very wrong, and he grew very nervous. Seeing the helpless expressions on the three people¡¯s faces, the Progenitor¡¯s own expression changed drastically. "Not good!"

    Others suddenly thought of something, and they turned to stare at the three people.

    The void tore open behind the three people, and more appeared. They were Leng Qing, Master Shan, and Chen Le.

    Three Progenitors had appeared, and their auras instantly filled the area, suppressing everyone and leaving the people from the four ruling powers unable to breathe.

    Wang Jian did not hesitate to tear the void open to escape, but Leng Qing reacted too quickly, and his sword fell upon the Progenitor¡¯s head.

    Aside from Wang Jian, there was no one else present who was capable of fighting against a Progenitor.

    When Leng Qing attacked Wang Jian, the people from the four ruling powers could only watch on.

    Master Shan was extremely excited. He had been waiting for this day for years. Finally, it had arrived. After this day, the four ruling powers, the Lu family¡¯s greatest enemies, would no longer exist in the Origin Universe.

    "The Lu family! If I fight to the death, you won''t have an easy time of things! Release me!" Wang Jian roared. He could not understand how they had been found by these people from the Heavens Sect.

    Leng Qing''s saber swept out. "Go ahead and try."

    Wang Jian did his best. If he did not resist immediately, he would lose any chance to escape once he was surrounded by three Progenitors.

    Everyone from the four ruling powers ran away, their faces pale and terrified.

    Xia Ziheng looked worse than anyone else. Given how cruel he had been towards the Lu family in the past, he was beyond terrified at this moment.

    In the distance, Wang Miaomiao was still lying on the ground, even after the pressure from Wang Jian had disappeared. She still wanted to leave, but she could not get up due to her injuries.

    Fortunately, a hand appeared before her, reaching down to help her up. Wang Miaomiao reflexively grabbed it, but when she looked up, her face went nk.

    "I¡¯mte, Miss Wang." It was a familiar voice, one that Wang Miaomiao had dreamed of hearing again. This was the voice of someone whom she had longed to see in her dreams.

    Her eyes grew red. "Lu Qi?"

    The man standing before her was none other than Lu Qi. How could he not have appeared when the Lu family was exacting its revenge?

    Naturally, the location of Wang Jian and everyone else had been leaked by Wei Rong.

    Wang Miaomiao viciously shoved Lu Qi away. "Stay away from me!"

    Lu Qi rolled his eyes and simply picked Wang Miaomiao up. "You wereing after me, and I know where your heart lies."

    Wang Miaomiao blushed brightly with embarrassment, and she struggled to get away. "Lu Qi, let me go, you bastard!"

    Lu Qipletely ignored her protestations.

    Some distance away, Wang Jian noticed Lu Qi¡¯s actions, even while fighting against Leng Qing. The Progenitor roared, "Lu Qi, release Miaomiao!"

    Lu Qi turned to look at Wang Jian, and his expression fell. "Progenitor Jian, when my Lu family was exiled, were you a part of it?"

 Chapter 2842: Choose One

    <h4>Chapter 2842: Choose One</h4>

    When the Lu family had been exiled, some people had taken action, while others had refrained. It had been difficult for Lu Qi to see everyone that had been involved at the time.

    Before Wang Jian could reply, Leng Qing¡¯s saber shed at an unpredictable angle, and it slipped through Wang Jian''s defenses, wounding the Progenitor.

    Wang Jian did not dare to get distracted in his fight.

    "Lu Qi, you bastard! Let me go!" Wang Miaomiao continued to struggle.

    Lu Qi finally lowered his head to look at Wang Miaomiao, his expression cold and serious. "When my Lu family was exiled, did Wang Jian have any part in it?"

    Wang Miaomiao stopped struggling and bit her lip. As Lu Qi continued to stare at her, she finally shook her head. "My ancestor was always in the Outer Realm, and he never left his. He had nothing to do with the Lu family¡¯s exile. I promise this on my life."

    Lu Qi still stared at Wang Miaomiao, who was not afraid to meet his gaze.

    After watching for a while, Lu Qi suddenly smiled. "I believe you."

    With that, he released the woman, and she fell to the ground,nding on her butt with a yelp. She red up at Lu Qi.

    The man just set a hand on Wang Miaomiao''s head. "You told me to let you go."

    Wang Miaomiao tried to p Lu Qi¡¯s hand away, but he was already gone.

    Wang Jian pointed a finger, and ck ropes shot out of the void to bind Leng Qing. In response, the man simply raised his saber and chopped down. While secret techniques could be deciding factors in battles between juniors, they would not have too much of an influence in a Progenitor-level battle.

    After all, Progenitors could create secret techniques.

    Wang Jian used the secret technique to open up some distance between himself and Leng Qing. He was panting. It was clear that Leng Qing had only recently broken through, but he was already very difficult to deal with. The sharpness of his saber reminded Wang Jian of Xia Shenji. Even in such a short amount of time, Wang Jian had already been injured. He was no match for Leng Qing.

    While the man¡¯s saber seemed ordinary, it was difficult for Wang Jian to defend against it.

    "Senior Leng Qing, leave him to me." Lu Qi approached the battlefield while staring at Wang Jian.

    Wang Jian instinctively nced at Wang Miaomiao, and upon seeing that she was still fine, he secretly released a sigh of relief. Even though he had just angrily scolded Wang Miaomiao and dealt with her harshly, he still highly favored her. The only thing that continued to infuriate the Progenitor about Wang Miaomiao was her affection for that bastard, Lu Qi.

    Leng Qing loved fighting, as it allowed him to sharpen his de. However, this was a matter of the Lu family''s revenge, which meant that the situation should rightfully be dealt with by the Lu family.

    "Thank you," Lu Qi said as he looked at Wang Jian, "Progenitor Wang Jian, we meet again."

    Wang Jian red at Lu Qi angrily. "The heavens must be blind to allow a bastard like you from the Lu family to be a Progenitor."

    Lu Qiughed wildly. "Is that how it is? In that case, the more you look at me, the more irritated you¡¯ll be, and the more I¡¯ll taunt you. I¡¯ll make you question everything about your entire life."

    Wang Jian grew furious. Even though he had not participated in the Lu family¡¯s exile, he had absolutely approved of the matter, and that was solely because of Lu Qi.

    Wang Jian had been born in a branch family, which made him fully understand just how helpless and humiliated the branch families could be when suppressed by the family¡¯s direct line. The fact that Wang Jian had be a Progenitor had elevated his own branch family¡¯s status to be equal to that of the Wang family¡¯s direct line. What¡¯s more, Wang Miaomiao offered the branch family hope of maintaining that status.

    However, all of that had been ruined when Wang Miaomiao met Lu Qi. The bastard had had the audacity to tease Miaomiao, and she had fallen in love with him. Truthfully, the matter should have been nothing at all. Even if Lu Qi was a scoundrel, he was still a member of the Lu family, and even their direct heir. At worst, Wang Jian would simply have Miaomiao marry Lu Qi.

    Unfortunately, the bastard had no such intentions. Wang Jian had personally visited the Lu family to propose the marriage, only to be rejected, which had humiliated him before countless people.

    This was why he had left for the Outer Realm and stayed there, protecting one of thes. He had no face to meet with others, and even after the Lu family¡¯s exile, Wang Jian had refused to return.

    <i>It''s all Lu Qi¡¯s fault, this bastard!</i>

    The bastard had stolen his own wife, and then gone on to harass Miaomiao. The bastard was beyond shameless.

    The more he thought about it, the angrier Wang Jian became, and he quickly unleashed an attack, determined to kill Lu Qi with one blow.

    Lu Qi shrugged. "Being called the four ruling powers has driven you mad. You actually dare to attack someone from the Lu family in the same realm? You¡¯re just asking for a beating."

    Elsewhere, Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin moved on from Shenwu''s Sky, making their way to the Celestial Frost Sect.

    While only a few people from Shenwu''s Sky had been punished, the ce had still been cast back down to the Middle Realm.

    Only the Lu Sanctum could remain in the Higher Realm. No others would be permitted.

    Just like at Shenwu''s Sky and the Wang family, all of the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s most important people had already been taken away.

    However, Bai Qi had not left, which was not something that Lu Yin had expected. After all, the woman was Bai Wangyuan''s daughter.

    The Lu Sanctum arrived at the Celestial Frost Sect.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had once enjoyed a majestic, untouchable status, but it looked tiny when the golden light of the Lu Sanctum shone down upon it.

    Upon arriving at the Celestial Frost Sect, Lu Tianyi frowned. "Bai Wangyuan used the Sky Beyond the Sky to ce an invisible mark on those who passed, rendering them all incapable of standing up to him. Given the character needed to create such a thing, we should have seen through his malicious intentions.

    "The Lu family oversees the Fifth Maind, but it does not rule it. The Lu family had no control over what Celestial Frost Sect or the others did, and we never wanted such control.

    "However, from this moment forward, things have changed. The Lu family, Heavens Sect, and Xiaoxuan will have the final say.

    "We are too exhausted. Lu Feng is dead, and your father, Lu Qi, has an out-of-control personality that leaves him unsuitable to lead the Lu family. You are the only option."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had already mentioned this matter, and Lu Tianyi reiterated it now. Lu Yin could not help but feel that they were on guard against something.

    Bai Qi and Bai Teng led a group of people out from the Celestial Frost Sect.

    In terms of numbers, the Celestial Frost Sect had more people than any other among the four ruling powers, and the sect was constantly recruiting more disciples.

    The most unfortunate people were the newly epted disciples who had just joined the Celestial Frost Sect. These were the same people who had been trying to join the Celestial Frost Sect when Lu Yin had left a palmprint just beyond the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s main gate. They faced the same difficulties associated with joining the sect as the previous applicants, but they had never been able to enjoy the lofty status like those earlier disciples. The four ruling powers had been struck back down to their former status by the Lu family too quickly.

    Bai Teng followed behind Bai Qi, a bitter expression on his face. He had wanted to escape, but he had been forced to stay behind. This was the sect master¡¯s responsibility, but unfortunately, Bai Teng had never truly been the sect master. He had been nothing more than a figurehead, and yet Bai Su had already slipped away.

    Before the people who had emerged from the Celestial Frost Sect were even able to bow to Lu Tianyi, the Higher Realm trembled. This was from the shockwaves of a distant battle between Progenitors.

    Bai Qi''s expression changed drastically. Who was being attacked?

    Lu Tianyi raised a hand and pointed a finger. "Bai Wangyuan''s dirty tricks should be dealt with."

    The line of energy shot out again, and in the same way that the orb of light above Wang family¡¯s floating continent shattered apart, the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky was also split asunder. Soon, all the white clouds dissipated, and the tranquil atmosphere that had perpetually enveloped the Celestial Frost Sect was gone.

    However, Bai Qi had no intention of paying attention to that at the moment. She was focused on Lu Yin. "Why are Progenitors fighting?"

    A smile touched Lu Yin''s lips. "You don¡¯t know?"

    Bai Qi''s face turned pale. <i>They didn¡¯t escape? How?</i>

    The Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family had cooperated and nned the escape to the Sixverse Association, but they had been discovered by the Heavens Sect. If they had known that they would be caught, they would have made their escape without ever leaving the sect.

    Bai Qi did not know that even that option had been taken from them. Their guides from the Sixverse Association had fallen under Lu Yin¡¯s control, or rather, under Wang Wen¡¯s control.

    In order for anyone from the four ruling powers to escape, they would need to tear open the void and flee to an unknown parallel universe. Anyone who met up with the Wang family would be invariably betrayed by Wei Rong. The four ruling powers had already locked down every single path of escape. Only Bai Wangyuan and the others who had already left the Origin Universe had seeded.

    Bai Qi closed her eyes. In the end, no one could escape.

    "Bai Teng greets Progenitor Tianyi." Bai Teng bowed.

    Behind him, the disciples from the Celestial Frost Sect who were present also bowed.

    Lu Tianyi did not even look at them, as his eyes were focused on Bai Qi. "I held you when you were born. I never thought that I would one day personally destroy the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Bai Qi''s eyes dimmed. "Progenitor Tianyi, please allow the disciples behind me to go free. They are innocent."

    Lu Tianyi''s eyes were like shards of ice. "Whether they are innocent or guilty of persecuting the remnants of my Lu family will be investigated."

    The Celestial Frost Sect had always been in the Higher Realm, even before Bai Xian''er had brought an end to the Lu family with the rain of red flowers. The Lu family had been exiled on the day of Lu Xiaoxuan and Bai Xian''er¡¯s wedding, so the Celestial Frost Sect was naturally different from the other three.

    However, Bai Wangyuan and Bai Xian''er were absent, and the Celestial Frost Sect was but a shell of its former self.

    The Lu Sanctum pushed the Celestial Frost Sect down to the Middle Realm. This was the third time that this scene yed out. The fall of the Celestial Frost Sect represented the end of the four ruling powers¡¯ era.

    Bai Qi and the others were cast to the Middle Ocean, just like the people from the Wang family.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others would eventually return to the Origin Universe, and even if they did not, the Lu family would eventually collect the debt that was owed to them.

    They were the true culprits.

    Far away, Wang Jian nkly stared at the air before him. His sword was broken, and his Progenitor¡¯s world had also been pierced.

    Across from him, Lu Qi shook his arm. "Progenitor Jian, did you properly cultivate your Progenitor¡¯s world? What the hell? Why is it so weak?"

    Wang Jian felt bitter. He had cultivated for so many years, but Lu Qi, who had only been born after Wang Jian had already be a Progenitor, had defeated him so easily. This was the power of the Lu family. This was the invincible Lu family.

    "In that case, let''s end this." Lu Qi raised a hand and aimed a Hidden Needle at Wang Jian.

    Wang Miaomiao shouted, "Lu Qi, stop!"

    Lu Qi looked over. "What? This old man beat you so badly. Are you sure that you want to beg for mercy?"

    Wang Miaomiao red at him. "That¡¯s my business! Ancestor had nothing to do with the Lu family¡¯s exile, so you cannot kill him."

    Wang Jian felt torn as he waved a hand. "There¡¯s no need to say anything, Miaomiao. Live well.

    "Lu Qi, I can die, but I hope that you won''t anoint me as a champion."

    Lu Qi lowered his hand. The Hidden Needle disappeared. "Are you kidding me? How could I not anoint a Progenitor champion? Do you think I¡¯m nuts?"

    Wang Jian roared, "People hate your Lu family precisely because of your Investiture of the Gods and Champions¡¯ Stage! If you don''t repent, the matter with the four ruling powers will eventually repeat, and others will rise up to supnt you!"

    Lu Qi''s eyes red sharply, and the golden scroll of the Investiture of the Gods appeared above his head. The golden light swept across the Higher Realm, drawing everyone''s attention.

    "This is how my Lu family does things. Someone like you who has already been defeated has no position toment on our champions or gods! Wang Jian, I will give you a choice: the Investiture of the Gods, or the Champions¡¯ Stage. Choose!"

    Wang Jianqi trembled.

    "Ancestor, Progenitor Wang Fan was also conferred as a god, and he agreed in order to help in the fight against the Aeternals!" Wang Miaomiao shouted. Wang Jian had always treated her well, and if not for him, Wang Fan would have killed the woman 10,000 times over already.

    Wang Jian clenched a fist.

    Lu Qi rolled his eyes. "Don''t bother trying tofort yourself. I just want to confer a god. I''ll use it to fight Wang Fan one day. How about it? If you have the balls, go ahead and choose death. I don¡¯t have a problem killing you."

    Wang Jian shouted, "Lu Qi, you mad rogue!"

    Lu Qi remained contemptuous. "I don''t like your attitude. You are clearly afraid of death and are merely making excuses to make yourself look better. Hurry up. My time is limited.¡±

    "I want to go catch up with my precious son and get to know him again."

 Chapter 2843: Authority

    <h4>Chapter 2843: Authority</h4>

    No matter how suppressed Wang Jian might feel, ultimately, his only choice was to be conferred as a god. If he refused, he would be a champion. It made no difference to Lu Qi.

    By staying alive, Wang Jian would at least be able to save his own branch of the Wang family.

    After Wang Jian was conferred as a god, Lu Qiughed. "Finally, hahahaha! I¡¯ve never been able to confer another god after Progenitor Wen died. Old Wang Jian, you¡¯re the first, haha."

    Wang Jian felt even worse. <i>What a bastard!</i>

    Wang Miaomiao red at Lu Qi, but there was nothing that she could do to him. This was just his personality.

    Lu Yin then arrived. "Father."

    Lu Qi''s expression instantly changed. In front of Lu Yin, the man¡¯s personalitypletely turned around, and he took on a steady and dignified bearing. Of course, he also tried to be gentle towards his son. "Xiaoxuan, you are here. Where is Ancestor Tianyi?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Ancestor said that he needs to talk to the Divine Eagle. He needs to ask it why it did nothing to help the Lu family."

    Lu Qi reflexively looked up at the Dominion Realm. "Only Ancestor Tianyi and Ancestor Lu Yuan dare to do such a thing. The Divine Eagle is not easy to deal with."

    The man then pointed to the Investiture of the Gods above his head. "Xiaoxuan, Dad heard that you¡¯ve awakened your Investiture of the Gods. Now that you¡¯re a Semi-Progenitor, you should be able to confer a god as well. Your dad will find one for you.¡±

    A person could not be conferred as a god into more than one Investiture of the Gods. Once conferred, unless the member of the Lu family died, the person would not be able to be conferred again. If this were not the case, the Lu family would truly be invincible.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I managed to confer a god a bit before I became a Semi-Progenitor."

    Lu Qi''s eyes lit up. "Really? That''s fantastic! Your dad managed to confer a god while I was a Semi-Progenitor. You¡¯re definitely better than your dad."

    Lu Yin did not bring out his Investiture of the Gods, as he did not want to scare Lu Qi. After all, Lu Yin had already conferred six gods.

    Wang Jian watched the conversation between Lu Qi and Lu Yin, feeling horribly wronged. Lu Qi acted like an arrogant madman before others, but he became as docile as amb in front of his son. It was utterly infuriating.

    The rest of the people from the four ruling powers quietly watched from a distance, waiting to learn how Lu Yin intended to deal with them.

    Out of everyone, Xia Ziheng was the most frightened. Still, when he thought back to Lu Yin¡¯s promise, the man rxed slightly.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the people. He was familiar with almost all of them, aside from Wang Jian. However, Lu Yin had no interest in Wang Jian. Since Lu Qi had conferred the man rather than anointed him, it meant that Wang Jian had not been involved with the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    "Xiaoxuan, how do you suggest that we deal with these people?" Lu Qi asked.

    In the past, aside from the patriarch, Lu Feng, and Ancestor Tianyi, Lu Qi had not been concerned about the opinions of others in the slightest, not even Lu Xiaoxuan.

    However, Lu Yin had shouldered so many burdens for the sake of the Lu family that the entire Lu family felt a debt towards him, especially Lu Qi. When it came to Lu Yin, even though Lu Qi was the father, he wanted to do his best to foster a better rtionship with him.

    Lu Yin was not ustomed to being treated in this manner, but there was nothing to be done about it. Neither of them were very good at verbally expressing themselves, so it was fine to leave things how they were.

    "Throw them into the Middle Ocean to guard the 100,000 currents." Lu Yin stated.

    Lu Qi''s eyes lit up and he gave Lu Yin a thumbs up. "What a great idea!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. <i>Isn''t this the mostmon punishment method that the Lu family uses? How is this worth praising?</i>

    Within the crowd, Xia Ziheng heaved a sigh of relief. It would be better to die protecting the 100,000 currents. The four ruling powers were beingpletely suppressed by the Lu family because Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors were absent. When the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors returned with the support of the Sixverse Association, the Lu family would suffer terribly. Xia Ziheng felt that it was fine to wait a bit.

    Just as the man was thinking about this, Xia Ziheng suddenly noticed Lu Yin staring at him.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were smiling. "Xia Ziheng, stay here. Ancestor Tianyi wants to speak with you."

    Xia Ziheng''s pupils constricted, and his strength fled his body. He was ovee with an indescribable fear. He knew that this was not a good thing. This meant that the Lu family intended to settle his ounts.

    Most of the people from the four ruling powers had not done much to persecute the Lu family, and if they had, they had merely followed orders. However, those who had previously held grudges against the Lu family were different, and Xia Ziheng had been one of those people.

    Lu Qi turned to look at Xia Ziheng. "Old man, you¡¯re here too? If Xiaoxuan hadn¡¯t pointed you out, I would have forgotten all about you."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "You know him, Father?"

    Lu Qi sneered. "I''m quite familiar with him. That old man ndered my Lu family many times in the past, though always in secret. I caught him once and taught him a lesson, and he behaved himself from then on. Xiaoxuan, why are you singling him out? Did he do something particrly outrageous?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "Father, I can still remember the old servant from my childhood. He was the one who was always there tofort me whenever I fell."

    Lu Qi''s expression instantly changed. "What happened to him? Right, I didn¡¯t see him with the others when we returned. Could he have...?"

    Lu Yin shared the old servant¡¯s story.

    Lu Qi''s expression clouded over as he listened, and his eyes zed with killing intent as he red at Xia Ziheng.

    Xia Ziheng was ovee with a terrible chill. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you promised that you would never attack me in any way! We made a deal! Are you reneging on your word?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I won''t attack you, but even if I said nothing about what you did, my family would still learn of it during their investigations. Xia Ziheng, I have tolerated you for long enough."

    Xia Ziheng jumped up, wanting to escape, but he was casually overpowered by Lu Qi, who simply pped the man into the ground, crushing all of Xia Ziheng¡¯s bones.

    Lu Qi was actually quite gentle, as otherwise, Xia Ziheng would have died immediately.

    "Killing you now would be showing you mercy. Old man, you need to slowly pay off the debt that you owe my Lu family."

    Lu Yin left, making his way towards Dragon Mountain.

    Lu Tianyi had lost all interest in the four ruling powers¡¯ White Dragon n after learning of Progenitor Long¡¯s death. There had only been one Progenitor in the entire White Dragon n, and Progenitor Long had been responsible for coercing the Python Ancestor to send the Lu Sanctum out of the Higher Realm, not the White Dragon n as a whole.

    Since there was nothing to do with the Lu family, Lu Tianyi had no interest in visiting Dragon Mountain.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin was different. Dragon Mountain was where Long Xi lived, and Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye that Lu Yin had given to Long Xi was there was well.

    ...

    As the four ruling powers dropped down to the Middle Realm, one by one, the atmosphere on Dragon Mountain grew heavy.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang and the White Dragon n quietly stood there, waiting for the arrival of the Lu family.

    No one from the White Dragon n spoke.

    Long Tian and Long Xi both stood behind Long Laogui. At the front, Grand Elder Ni Huang¡¯s formidable aura pressed down, leaving Long Laogui very ufortable.

    It was the aura of Progenitor Long. His special eye had granted Grand Elder Ni Huang thebat strength to fight against a Progenitor-level corpse king. If not for that, the White Dragon n would have suffered heavy casualties when Aeternus attacked.

    The Lu Sanctum arrived, covering the sky and blocking the sun.

    A delegation from the Lu family looked down at Dragon Mountain, their eyes fierce as the golden mountain smashed the highest peak of Dragon Mountain. The impact caused everyone on Dragon Mountain to tremble even deep down in their hearts.

    Even if Grand Elder Ni Huang was capable of fighting against a Progenitor, what would happen if he went against the Lu Sanctum? The Lu family¡¯s powerhouses were nothing like other Progenitors.

    The White Dragon n all bowed their heads as the golden light shrouded them all.

    Only Long Tian, Long Xi, and a few others dared to look up.

    On the Lu Sanctum, an old woman looked down at Long Tian, and her eyes widened. "Presumptuous!"

    "Presumptuous!"

    "Presumptuous!"

    Long Tian swayed on his feet, and he almost coughed up blood. While the Lu family only had three Progenitors, they had many Semi-Progenitors. Even if those Semi-Progenitors had not awakened the Investiture of the Gods or the Champions¡¯ Stage, they were still iparable to ordinary Semi-Progenitors, especially after countless years of umtion. Inparison, Long Tian was nothing.

    Long Laogui pulled Long Tian over as he looked up at the Lu Sanctum and at the old woman. The old man¡¯s face was pale as he slowly bowed. "Greetings, Senior."

    The old woman looked down at Long Laogui. "Shameful traitors! If not for the young master¡¯s kindness, we would simply execute all of you!"

    Everyone in the White Dragon n was terrified. Even with Grand Elder Ni Huang before them, no one doubted the old woman''s words.

    This was the power of the Lu Sanctum. Even without any Progenitors present, they still had the confidence to make such a deration.

    No one from the White Dragon n, not even Grand Elder Ni Huang, spoke back. Everyone was silenced by the Lu Sanctum.

    Lu Yin soon arrived by tearing through the void. He appeared only a hundred meters away from Grand Elder Ni Huang.

    With the backdrop of the golden light, Lu Yin¡¯s shadow seemed to sever Dragon Mountain in two.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang instantly wanted to restrain his aura, but with a single step forward, Lu Yin shattered itpletely.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang was horrified. He was still unable to fully control the increased strength from the strange eye, but even if he had, it would have been useless against Lu Yin.

    The boy had the power topletely overwhelm the old man.

    "It''s quite neat," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Grand Elder Ni Huang took a deep breath, and then slowly bowed, "The White Dragon n seeks the Lu family¡¯s guidance."

    "We seek the Lu family¡¯s guidance."

    "We seek the Lu family¡¯s guidance."

    ...

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back and nced at the faces of the various members of the White Dragon n. He noticed Long Tian''s reluctance, Xiao Qing¡¯s panic, Long Zhang¡¯s fear, and many other people¡¯s roiling emotions. Everyone was awaiting the verdict that would determine their fate.

    The rest of the four ruling powers had been banished from the Higher Realm, and Dragon Mountain would suffer the same fate.

    Lu Yin''s eyes fell on Grand Elder Ni Huang. "Is that strange eye fine for you to use?"

    Grand Elder Ni Huang stepped forward and offered another deep bow to Lu Yin. "If not for the young master, the White Dragon n might have been destroyed. The young master¡¯s kindness knows no bounds. Please ept Ni Huang¡¯s deepest gratitude."

    With that, Grand Elder Ni Huang bowed yet again.

    He was not alone, as everyone from the entire White Dragon n bowed low.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "I don''t care if your White Dragon n is wiped out."

    Grand Elder Ni Huang was startled by these words, and he maintained his bowed posture, not moving at all.

    Long Tian stood back up, wanting to say something, but a beam of golden light shot out from the Lu Sanctum, instantly pressing him to the ground.

    No one else dared to move without permission. Everyone continued to bow to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued in an indifferent tone. "I may have saved you, but I feel deeply apologetic to all of those who sacrificed their lives for my Lu family. How many people died to protect me? You should understand full well just how much my Lu family hates you.

    "Don''t try to make what I did sound noble. I never meant to save any of you. Rather, I was just saving Long Xi."

    Long Xi''s body trembled, though she said nothing. She was also bowing to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at her. "Out of the entire White Dragon n, she alone pitied my Lu family. She alone had been kind and affectionate towards me. She alone helped me without any hesitation, even after learning of my true identity. I gave the strange eye to her, no one else.

    "White Dragon n, let me be perfectly clear. To me, the White Dragon n and Long Xi are two different concepts."

    The members of the White Dragon n maintained their bows. No one dared to move.

    Another beam of light fell, but this one gently raised Long Xi back up.

    Once again, Long Xi felt the light of the Lu family. It was such a familiar and nostalgic feeling. She lifted her head to look at Lu Yin. "If those are the young master¡¯s words, may I intercede with you on behalf of the White Dragon n?"

    Lu Yin looked at Long Xi. "Fine."

    "Young Master, please allow my White Dragon n to go to the Lower Realm. From this day forward, our White Dragon n will obey only the Lu family, and none will dare to disobey the Lu family''s orders. Even if we are ordered to our deaths, we, the White Dragon n, will pay for our past sins."

    The expressions of Grand Elder Ni Huang and the others did not change at all. Long Xi had already mentioned that she wanted the White Dragon n to descend to the Lower Realm, but that had been right after Progenitor Long¡¯s death. At that same time, the Celestial Frost Sect and the other two ruling powers had offered beautiful titudes and assurances, promising to never abandon the White Dragon n. The White Dragon n had wanted to stay in the four ruling powers, and so they had remained in the Higher Realm.

    However, as time passed, the true intentions of the other three had been revealed, and the White Dragon n had seen through their falsehoods.

 Chapter 2844: Outsiders

    <h4>Chapter 2844: Outsiders</h4>

    In the past, when the Progenitor-level corpse king had attacked them, the White Dragon n had nearly been destroyed, and Long Ke had died during the battle. At that moment, Ni Huang had clearly seen the future of the White Dragon n. He understood that they really did need to descend to the Lower Realm, as not even the Middle Realm was right for them.

    Lu Yin agreed to the request. The 100,000 currents were actually safer than the Lower Realm. At least in the 100,000 currents, there was no need to worry about being killed by the endless creatures that inhabited the Lower Realm.

    However, the White Dragon n still needed to be carefully investigated to determine if any of their people had persecuted the members of the Lu family. Those who had would suffer the same fate as the other three ruling powers.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Dragon Mountain was pressed down by the Lu Sanctum, and the mountain slowly sank from the Higher Realm.

    Once Dragon Mountain hadpletely disappeared from the Higher Realm, the Perennial World officially entered the era of the Lu family once more.

    The golden light shone across the Perennial World, illuminating the Mother Tree.

    The Lu Sanctum had arrived. Many people had been waiting for this day for too long.

    In Middle Realm, an old man lowered his hoe andughed.

    Some children altered their appearance and leaped up to join the Lu family.

    Some people appeared in a dark corner and then bowed to the sky while shouting wildly.

    People who had hidden themselves in the Middle Realm but been loyal to the Lu family revealed themselves.

    Although Lu Yin had revealed his true identity, the Perennial World had never left the control of the four ruling powers, and many people had not dared to expose themselves. At this moment, all of those people stepped out into the light.

    Adventure King, Zhuo Si, and even Yan Yu and the others from the Misty Rain Pavilion started making their way towards the Lu Sanctum.

    They were going to pay their respects at their master¡¯s house.

    The Perennial World was about to suffer a storm. Not only had people from the four ruling powers persecuted the Lu family, but many people loyal to the four ruling powers had also taken simr actions. Those people had often been even more excessive in their actions, but Adventure King and many others had made a record of those people and their actions. No one would be able to escape.

    Lu Yin personally went to visit Seed Garden, and then Virtue Archives before he made his way to the Lu Sanctum.

    At the moment, he was not very sure about what was happening in the Sixverse Association, and his alias as Xuan Qi had be useless. If he visited the Sixverse Association again in the future, he could only do so as Lu Yin.

    The Heavens Sect and the Lu family had taken control of the Fifth Maind. Even though there was no conflict between the two due to Lu Yin, they still needed to get along.

    For the moment, Lu Yin went to speak with Ancestor Lu Yuan. There were too many questions that needed to be asked.

    ...

    Two monthster, Lu Yin was sitting on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, holding a fishing rod while staring at a calmke. No one knew what he was thinking of at this moment.

    Mu Xie walked over. "Junior Brother, I heard you were looking for me?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Senior Brother, I¡¯m surprised that you kept this hidden from me."

    Mu Xie grew puzzled. "Hidden from you?"

    Lu Yin set his rod down and turned to look at Mu Xie. "You inherited the Mountain and Sea that¡¯s in Virtue Archives."

    Mu Xie justughed. "That¡¯s not a big deal."

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "Not a big deal? That was Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s Mountain and Sea. If he hadn¡¯t told me himself, I would have never known that you had inherited it, Senior Brother."

    Mu Xie smiled. "You understand Master''s extreme standards for his disciples better than anyone. Whether it''s me, you, Qing Ping, or Brother Mu Ke, all of us possess a level of talent that¡¯spletely different from all others. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas are very powerful in our Fifth Maind, but it is a power that can be regarded as an inheritance from our predecessors. Such a thing might not be too important to people like us.¡±

    "Once my Origin Tracer and your Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation reach a certain level, it is possible to transcend."

    Lu Yin grew confused. "Transcend?"

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin. "Did Ancestor Lu Yuan not tell you? He should know about Master¡¯s origins. Truthfully, I myself don''t understand what it means to transcend, but Master once mentioned it. I thought that you would have learned about that from Ancestor Lu Yuan and gotten some answers.¡±

    Lu Yin looked away. "Masteres from outside the universes we know."

    Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin''s back. "Did Ancestor Lu Yuan tell you that?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Ancestor didn''t go into too much detail, though he might not know himself. Mister Mu once drank tea with the Origin Progenitor and offered guidance to the Three Realms Six Dao. The Origin Progenitor told them that Mister Mu is an outsider in a different manner from what we understand."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin grew mncholic. "Ancestor also mentioned that while we humans are able to receive help from powerful outsiders, the Aeternals are capable of the same."

    Mu Xie''s face grew solemn at this news. These words opened up a concept of arger megaverse to all who heard them.

    Everyone knew that the Aeternals were a unique race, but even then, they were just one race. Joining Aeternus meant either bing a corpse king, or being a human traitor.

    No one had considered the idea of Aeternus having their own allies.

    Who could ally with the Aeternals? Weaker people could only be corpse kings, while stronger individuals, such as Gu Yizhi, became the Seven Skygods. They were able to speak with the Aeternals on an equal footing and were at least on the level of the Three Realms Six Dao, possibly even on the same level as the Great Sovereign herself.

    No matter how many allies the Aeternals might have, even one was enough to create terrible problems for humanity.

    Lu Yin thought of Old Mo. That old man had attacked at the same time as when Aeternus had attacked the Heavens Sect, and so had Luo Shan. If such people joined Aeternus, they would certainly not be weaklings. They were more powerful than the captains of the True God Guard, though this was something only known to Lu Yin.

    This was also why he had been spending some time fishing. He wanted to contemte.

    In the end, they still did not know their true enemy.

    As long as such powerhouses did not participate in a battle, who could know where they were or what sort of power they might possess?

    Bi Rong and the Lord of Lightning were both simr powerhouses, and neither of them had revealed themselves. Even if Lu Yin had defeated the four ruling powers earlier, as long as he did not make contact with the Sixverse Association, he would have never known about those experts.

    Mister Mu was an outsider and helped humanity, but Aeternals seemed to also have outsiders helping them.

    This meant that they might be from a parallel universe beyond the known megaverse.

    "Where is Ancestor Lu Yuan?" Mu Xie asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "He went to visit the Lost n."

    Mu Xie knew little about the Lost n, so he did not pursue the matter. On the other hand, Lu Yin knew that the Lost n possessed powers that werepletely alien to the Origin Universe. That Primeval card that he had seen exceeded the bounds of the Progenitor realm.

    That thought reminded him of what Mu Xie had just said about transcending. Those had been Mister Mu¡¯s words, so did that Primeval card correspond to transcending?

    Over thest two months, Lu Yin often sought out Lu Yuan to speak with the man. Lu Yuan had been told everything concerning Lu Yin, and he had shared a great deal of knowledge with Lu Yin. Thement about Mister Mu had been but one such matter.

    Lu Yin had also asked about the Immemorial Citadel.

    As for that ce, Ancestor Lu Yuan had only shared two words: sequence strings.

    Lu Yin had wanted to ask more questions about the Immemorial Citadel, but Patriarch Lu Yuan had stopped talking about the matter. He had simply said that only after Lu Yin understood what sequence strings were would he be qualified to learn about the Immemorial Citadel.

    It would not be good for Lu Yin to learn about certain matters too early.

    Lu Yin had also taken Ancestor Lu Yuan to see Zhao Ran, asking the ancient powerhouse to check if the girl was Destiny, but Ancestor Lu Yuan had not been able to give an answer.

    Lu Yin had also asked about Wu Tian and the God of Death.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had knowledge of many details from the Heavens Sect era, but little about the Nine Mountains and Seas of the Daosource Sect era, or what had happened just before the Lu family¡¯s exile. Lu Yin could only learn about those matters from Lu Tianyi or Lu Qi, who had been active during those periods.

    One of the issues that Lu Yin was most concerned about was the seal that had been ced on his back.

    That seal had served as both an obstacle and a shield that the Lu family had left for Lu Yin. If he had not sessfully broken the seal, it would have been very difficult for him to bring back the Lu family. But on the other hand, the seal would also prevent him from dying easily. This was something that the Lu family had arranged, so why had Bai Xian''er been able to sense it?

    Lu Yin knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bai Xian''er had been aware of the seal. When the Lu family had been exiled, Bai Xian''er had been nothing more than a junior. No matter how powerful she might have been for her cultivation level, she could not have been involved with the Lu family''s exile. However, not only had she been involved, but she also had some sort of connection to the seal, which left Lu Yin terribly confused.

    Lu Tianyi could not give an answer, as he also did not know about this.

    The man was only certain of one thing, which was that Bai Xian''er had absolutely nothing to do with the seal.

    This confused Lu Yin even more. He was absolutely certain that breaking ayer of the seal had drawn Bai Xian''er''s vicious attention to him in the Fifth Maind. Bai Xian''er had to have some sort of connection to the seal.

    Aside from the seal, Lu Yin also learned a great deal about the Daosource Sect era from Ancestor Lu Tianyi, including details about the Fifth Maind¡¯s war with the Sixth Maind. Lu Yin had specifically asked about Progenitor Chen and whether he was alive or dead, but not even Ancestor Lu Tianyi could say if Progenitor Chen was still alive.

    While Lu Tianyi had been acknowledged as the most powerful of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, that was only because of his Investiture of the Gods. Without that, Lu Tianyi was not confident that he could defeat either Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku. In other words, there were individuals who were capable of achieving things in a short amount of time that others could not aplish even with an infinite amount of time.

    Clearly, both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were such people. Their talent was too excessive, and it was difficult to determine just how powerful they had been at their peak. Lu Yin was a more extreme version of this, as nearly all that he had aplished was unprecedented in recorded history.

    Of course, this did not mean that Progenitor Chen and those like him had surpassed Lu Tianyi. Rather, they had never truly tested each other¡¯s strength. Inrge part, this was due to the fact that Lu Tianyi had been the others¡¯ senior and could not take action against Progenitor Chen and the others as their senior.

    As for the Rune Progenitor, he had been a person who was both wise and foolish. He was someone who might be recognizable one day, and thenpletely transform the following day.

    The person Lu Tianyi was most concerned about was Progenitor Hui. Lu Tianyi imed that Progenitor Hui could not be dead. Even if everyone watched the man die, Lu Tianyi still would not believe it. Even so, Lu Tianyi could not say where Progenitor Hui had gone or what he was doing.

    Bai Wangyuan had been one of the easiest to see through during the Daosource Sect era, much like Progenitor Smoke. Even though Bai Wangyuan had done well to keep his strength hidden, he had been easy to see through.

    The most cunning of all had been Wang Fan, which perfectly coincided with what Lu Yin had heard from Xia Shenji.

    Wang Fan waspletely insidious. No one could guess what he might do. ording to Lu Tianyi, Wang Fan was the type of person who would harm others even when it brought him no benefits. The man would take action against people, just to eliminate those he could not see through, and he would even eliminate his own allies to do so.

    Wang Fan bound himself to a rule, but it was a rule that he had put in ce himself. He would strictly follow this rule, even if it vited nature.

    He was a man who appeared calm, but was actually an extremist.

    Also, Lu Yin had asked both Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi one question, which was if they had known that Nutjob Lu was a Redback.

    Lu Yuan had remained silent, and so had Lu Tianyi. Neither man had given Lu Yin an answer, but that was in a sense an admission.

    If the Lu family had ever done anything to harm mankind, it had been to keep Nutjob Lu alive. Lu Yuan himself had admitted this.

    It was right after saying that, Lu Yuan had left and gone to visit the Lost n. However, Lu Yin knew that visiting the Lost n was merely an excuse. Lu Yuan¡¯s true destination was the Cyclic Universe. He intended to ask the Great Sovereign to give someone to him. No matter what the situation might be, Nutjob Lu was still a member of the Lu family, and the traitor needed to be turned over to the family.

    Lu Yin spent three days fishing on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. He never caught any fish, but after that time, Lu Yuan arrived.

    The man was furious. "That crazy woman ispletely unreasonable!"

    Lu Yin set his rod down and asked Zhao Ran to make a cup of tea for Lu Yuan. "Ancestor, the Great Sovereign refuses to let him go?"

    Lu Yuan ground his teeth. "The woman told me that Nutjob Lu is the person that she has acknowledged as the current Sage Stone. Damn it! She just wants to infuriate me with Nutjob Lu."

    Lu Yin asked, "What is Nutjob Lu¡¯s story?"

 Chapter 2845: Reason

    <h4>Chapter 2845: Reason</h4>

    Lu Yin had not asked this question before, but at this juncture, he had to know. If the Great Sovereign refused to release the man to the Lu family, and if she also refused to believe that Nutjob Lu was a Redback, then there would be serious problems. They had to find a way, or else once Nutjob Lu took action, the Lu family would suffer the most.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s expression was terrible. Thest time Lu Yin had mentioned Nutjob Lu, his ancestor had left in a hurry. The old man had not expected the child to be so ignorant and to press the issue.

    "Ancestor, I know that you don''t want to speak about this, but as the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, I have the right to know so that I can handle this in a timely manner," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    Lu Yuan''s expression grew strange. "Handle this?"

    Lu Yin stared at his ancestor. "Kill him."

    Lu Yuan¡¯s finger twitched, and he slowly sat down.

    At this moment, Zhao Ran arrived to deliver Lu Yuan a cup of tea. It looked truly bizarre, as it had bubbles and what looked like insects swimming around.

    Lu Yuan stared at the tea and then looked at Zhao Ran. Did this girl want to poison him?

    Zhao Ran stared at Lu Yuan with great anticipation, blinking herrge eyes.

    Lu Yin coughed. "Ancestor, it''s delicious. Zhao Ran''s tea is a specialty of our Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yuan arched a brow, but then he casually took a sip. Given his strength, what sort of poison could kill him?

    The tea was initially sweet, and the forms that looked like insects exploded once they entered the mouth, which gave it a very refreshing sensation. As for the aftertaste, it held an indescribable fragrance. "Good tea."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled. "Thank you, Grandpa!"

    "Hahahaha." Lu Yuanughed. Being called ¡°grandpa¡± by Zhao Ran''s young voice was like a tonic to the old man. His eyes automatically flickered over to Lu Yin. "This child is good. Little Seven, you should learn from your father."

    Lu Yin had realized that Lu Yuan, Lu Tianyi, and even his father, Lu Qi, were all of one mind when it came to certain aspects of Lu Yin¡¯s life. "Ancestor, I already have Yan''er."

    Lu Yuan sighed. "Which is precisely why I want you to learn from your father."

    The man then took another sip of his tea.

    Zhao Ran left in a wonderful mood. She was always quite satisfied, as long as there was someone to enjoy her tea each day.

    Lowering his tea cup, Lu Yuan asked Lu Yin to sit down.

    Lu Yin sat down across from Lu Yuan and waited quietly.

    Lu Yuan remained silent for some time. When he spoke, it was in a soft voice. "I once had a son. Nutjob Lu is my grandson, my biological grandson."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was not a huge surprise, as he had already known that Nutjob Lu was a truly ancient individual. The entire Lu family had known this for a long time, though they had not realized just how ancient the man was.

    Even during the Heavens Sect era, Nutjob Lu had been much, much older than Lu Tianyi.

    "All of the direct descendants of my Lu family are able to awaken the innate gift of the Champions¡¯ Stage, though they might not be able to awaken the Investiture of the Gods. You know this, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "However, this is not something that I was aware of at first." Complicated emotions drifted through Lu Yuan''s eyes, though there was not much pain to be seen. After all, countless years had already passed. "I believed that my son was capable of awakening the Investiture of the Gods, but that he had failed because he did not work hard enough and did not push himself. At that time, I was already one of the Three Realms Six Dao, a leader who stood at the peak of the Heavens Sect. I needed to look strong before others, and I wanted topete with my peers.

    "Since I did not lose to anyone, my son shouldn''t either.

    "Many people imed that the Investiture of the Gods was not the familial innate gift of our Lu family, but I refused to believe it. Without the Investiture of the Gods, how could our Lu family control the Fifth Maind with the Champions¡¯ Stage alone? I believed that it was not enough and that the Investiture of the Gods also had to be a familial innate gift.

    "For that reason, I forced my son. I made him cultivate and practice. I made him work hard, hoping to trigger his innate gift. My innate gift could be passed down to my descendants, and I needed to be sure of it."

    At this point, the old man grew a bit excited, but he also seemedpletely numb.

    "He ran away, escaping from the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°When he finally returned, he brought a woman and Nutjob Lu with him. I didn¡¯t care about my son¡¯s wife or son, as I only wanted him to awaken the Investiture of the Gods.

    "I pushed too hard, and ultimately, my son died. After that, his wifemitted suicide. Only Nutjob Lu remained, though he personally witnessed both of his parents¡¯ deaths. That matter dealt a blow to the child thatpletely changed him, though it also allowed him to awaken the Investiture of the Gods."

    Lu Yuan gave a bitter smile. "I seeded. I had proven that the Investiture of the Gods could be passed down within my family. I shattered all doubts that people had held towards me back then, pping Destiny and Mavis in their faces. As for the price I paid, I, Lu Yuan, lost my only son. As for Nutjob Lu, he lost his parents.¡±

    The old man looked at Lu Yin. "There are some truly pitiful people. You can¡¯t know what you have until you lose it. I wanted to reverse time and undo my son''s death, but in that era, thews of the universe were solidified, and sequence particles were suppressed by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swords. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s will allowed no one to independently reverse time.

    "For my son, I still tried to do just that, only to nearly induce a disaster. In the end, I could do nothing but watch as my son died."

    Lu Yuan took another sip of tea. "Little Seven, our family will never use force to try to awaken the Investiture of the Gods in new generations, as such attempts are useless. Force aplishes nothing. If one is capable of awakening the innate gift, then they will do so. If they are unable to do so, nothing can change that.

    "As for Nutjob Lu, I can understand his hatred for our family, which is why I did not restrict him too much at that time. In the end, Gu Yizhi took advantage of him.

    "That bastard actually experimented on Nutjob Lu, tested his Wielder - Indestructible power on him, and pushed my grandson to be truly insane. That bastard. Gu Yizhi, if I ever have the chance, I will definitely destroy him."

    Lu Yuan was truly angry. Lu Yin understood this. It made sense why the Fifth Maind and the Third Maind had not had a good rtionship. Lu Buzheng mentioned to Lu Yin that the Fifth Maind had always been hostile to the Third Maind, and Lu Yin had just learned why.

    "In that case, when did Nutjob Lu be a Redback?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan and Lu Yin stared at each other. "We actually never knew that he was a Redback. You told us, and we believe you. Even so, we don''t understand how it happened, which is precisely why I rushed over to speak with the Great Sovereign to bring Nutjob Lu back. How could he have possibly be a Redback while imprisoned in the Lu Sanctum? It should have been impossible."

    A surge of warmth blossomed in Lu Yin''s heart. Just because he had said it, Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi had believed the usation without any hesitation. Even if what Lu Yin had said seemed impossible, they still believed him.

    This was his family, and they were his seniors.

    Lu Yin looked at the empty cup in front of Lu Yuan. "Do you want me to ask Zhao Ran for another cup?"

    Lu Yuan waved a hand. "No, tea doesn¡¯t really suit me."

    "The Great Sovereign refuses to give our people back?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan gritted his teeth. "Things would be fine if it was just that crazy woman. At worst, we¡¯d fight. What worries me are the Aeternals. I can allow those traitors from the four ruling powers to stay on the Endless Frontier, but I can never allow Nutjob Lu to remain safe and sound. After all, he is a member of my Lu family, and yet...¡±

    The man sounded helpless. He looked at Lu Yin. "Someone from the Immemorial Citadel is being sent over to resolve this conflict."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Someone ising from the Immemorial Citadel? Who?"

    Lu Yin did not know how many people were in the Immemorial Citadel. All he knew was that various people had gone to that city throughout the ages, and also, that was where Mister Mu was at the moment.

    Lu Yuan replied, "It''s an old acquaintance. If I insist on fighting that crazy woman, no one can stop me. However, I owe this person a favor, so I can only wait for now."

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more questions about the Immemorial Citadel, but Ancestor Lu Yuan refused to say anything more, and that would not change.

    The two remained silent for a moment, and then Lu Yuan suddenly said, "Do not underestimate Nutjob Lu. He is extremely powerful."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyebrows rose. "I¡¯ve already seen that for myself. Nutjob Lu cooperated with the four ruling powers to set a trap in an attempt to kill me, but I took advantage of the situation and nearly killed him with that trap."

    Lu Yuan shook his head and gave Lu Yin a very grave stare. "What you saw is Nutjob Lu¡¯s strength in the Fifth Maind. That is not his true strength."

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused, as he did not believe that Nutjob Lu had hidden his strength. When Lu Yin had attacked Nutjob Lu in the Lu Sanctum¡¯s treasury, the man had even used the Corpse King Transformation. If anyone had seen him do so, the four ruling powers, and even the Sixverse Association, would have immediately acted to eliminate the man. It was impossible for him to take such a risk just to keep his true strength hidden.

    Lu Yuan seemed to struggle with how to exin the matter. "The title of Dao Monarch is not a mere title, but rather something that represents that one has received the will of a Maind.

    "Little Seven, do you know about this?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. If this were nothing more than a spiritual matter, then Lu Yin could indeed understand that the title of Dao Monarch represented the will of the entire Fifth Maind, but Ancestor Lu Yuan seemed to be hinting at something more.

    Additionally, during Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion, he had used Flipping the Sky, which had allowed him to ovee a particr trial. While using the technique, Lu Yin had seen all living creatures on the Fifth Maind. During the tribtion triggered by the Origin Sutra, Lu Yin had received the Wordless Heavenly Book, which held the names of countless people from the Fifth Maind. It was an extraordinary item, and Lu Yin felt that there was something special about it.

    Lu Yuan stared at Lu Yin intently. "To be the Dao Monarch is to wield the will of the Fifth Maind. A true Dao Monarch, no matter how far away they might be, is capable of seeing the creatures of their Maind, feeling their prayers, their joy, their anger, and sorrow. This is not something that is granted by those people themselves, but rather by the Fifth Maind.¡±

    "The Dao Monarch wields the will of the Fifth Maind. Once the Dao Monarch shuns someone, that person will never be able to make any further progress in the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yin did not understand, and his face betrayed his confusion.

    Lu Yuan thought for a bit. "Let me put it this way. Ordinary humans need to breathe oxygen in order to live. They take in oxygen from their environment, but if someone can freely control the oxygen in their environment, could a normal human survive in that area, or would they die?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Lu Yuan continued, "The will that the Dao Monarch wields is the Fifth Maind¡¯s equivalent to oxygen. Once the Dao Monarch shuns a person, they will struggle to even exist in the Fifth Maind. It is no different from an ordinary human struggling to breathe without oxygen, though it is alsopletely different, just as cultivators arepletely different from ordinary humans.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood. "You¡¯re saying that Nutjob Lu has been shunned by the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yuan nodded, and his voice dropped low. "His mind is too dangerous. My guilt prevented me from outright killing him, but I could not allow him to harm the Fifth Maind, so I shunned him. As long as he is in the Fifth Maind, he will struggle greatly. Like an ordinary human who struggles to breathe, it would be good for a shunned person to ess even half of their true strength in a battle, but..."

    At this point, Lu Yuan''s expression turned even more solemn. "As soon as they leave the Fifth Maind, their strength willpletely transform. Each parallel universe has its ownws and will. A person who wields the will of that universe is the ruler of the universe, just like the Great Sovereign you have seen. She has mastered the will of the Cyclic Universe, and that allows her to bestow the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    "The Origin Progenitor mastered the will of the entire Origin Universe, and because of that, no one in our era was able to reverse the flow of time. The Origin Progenitor¡¯s six swords suppressed all such attempts.

    "As long as Nutjob Lu does not be the master of a universe, he will be the same as a normal person. However, if he can wield the will of a universe, his strength will rise precipitously."

 Chapter 2846: Easy To Support

    Chapter 2846: Easy To Support

    Lu Yuan sped his hands behind his back. "There is no perfectly fair system in any of the myriad universes. While some may seem to endanger everyone in it, there are some people who can obtain special opportunities and climb higher step by step as a result. As for others, they may live tragic lives."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "What level of power do those who have mastered the will of a universe possess?"

    Lu Yuan looked at the young man. "Equal to the Three Realms Six Dao or higher.

    "However, you are somehow different. When you were Lu Xiaoxuan, you created Flipping the Sky on your own, and that battle technique utilizes the will of the Fifth Maind. While you created it without deliberately intending to incorporate that aspect, creating it still woke me up, which is why you left an impression on me."

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why he had felt the entire Fifth Maind tremble every time he used Flipping the Sky. "Even back then, was I able to wield some of the Fifth Maind¡¯s will?"

    Lu Yuanughed. "That¡¯s exactly the part that I¡¯ve never been able to understand. Let alone back then, even now, you shouldn¡¯t be able to receive the will of the Fifth Maind. Even if everyone refers to you as Dao Monarch, those words are a beacon, and they mean that you have received the will of the Fifth Maind. Have you done so?"

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Maybe I have, slightly."

    Lu Yuan had not expected Lu Yin to have even slightly touched upon such a thing. It should be impossible for anyone to interact with the will of a universe before reaching the Progenitor level. How could a mere Semi-Progenitor do so?

    The will of a universe was fundamentally different from thews of a universe and sequence particles. Thews of the universe were rules that could be manipted, while the will of a universe could be regarded as the universe¡¯s blessing. The two werepletely different concepts."Heaven¡¯s Sight cannot see a universe¡¯s will. That will is simr to the essence of prayer, as it forms an invisible connection," Lu Yuan exined.

    Lu Yin opened his hand, bringing out his Wordless Heavenly Book. "Ancestor, this lists countless names, and all of them seem to belong to people from the Fifth Maind."

    Lu Yuan stared nkly at the Wordless Heavenly Book. What was this feeling?

    The man stared at the Wordless Heavenly Book for a long time. Lu Yin waited to the side, not disturbing the older man. His ancestor was indeed able to see Lu Yin¡¯s inner world. He had no idea how many people at the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony had been capable of seeing this inner world. However, Forgotten Ruins God and Corpse God at the least had not been able to see anything.

    After some time, Lu Yuan revealed a bitter smile. "No wonder. No wonder I wasn¡¯t able to sense the will of the Fifth Maind when I returned. That will has already been transferred to another."

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Yuan in confusion.

    Lu Yuan turned to give Lu Yin a look of admiration, yet deep in the old man¡¯s eyes, concern could also be seen. There was also something else, but what? Love? Pity? "I was in seclusion for so long that it was not impossible for the will of the Fifth Maind to transfer to another person. Originally, I had expected it to be that kid, Lu Tianyi. Throughout the entire Fifth Maind, only he could possibly qualify to receive the will of the Fifth Maind, which was why I was able to sleep in peace.

    "I never expected the Great Sovereign to seal my perception and allow my Lu family to be exiled. Because of that, Lu Tianyi was unable to receive the will of the Fifth Maind. Instead, you seeded me.

    "Dao Monarch is nothing more than a title, and anyone can receive it, but things have changed drastically if the Fifth Maind recognizes that title as well. Little Seven, you have lived through much, far more than we have even imagined. You have also helped countless people, or else the Fifth Maind would have never acknowledged you.¡±

    Images of the various wars that Lu Yin had participated in shed through his mind. He had almost forgotten about everything he had gone through, but there did seem to be an increasing number of statues of him in the Fifth Maind.

    "Ancestor, are you saying that I have obtained the will of the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yuan nodded. "Yes, and that''s why I can no longer sense the will of the Fifth Maind. I had assumed that it was just because I was gone for too long. I did not expect this to be the reason."

    Lu Yin had already told his ancestors that he possessed four inner worlds, but Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi had not examined them. Every cultivator kept their powers secret, and Lu Yin did the same. Even the other members of the Lu family would not press into these matters, no matter how surprised they might have been to learn that Lu Yin possessed four inner worlds.

    If Lu Yuan had borne witness to Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion, he would have realized that Lu Yin had received the will of the Fifth Maind and was a true Dao Monarch.

    "Every name on this book represents someone who acknowledges you. This is the only way to be recognized by the Fifth Maind. After all, all of these people are from the Fifth Maind. This also means that, if you write someone¡¯s name in here, they will be shunned by the will that you now wield," Lu Yuan exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed with excitement. The Wordless Heavenly Book could already help him by blocking sequence particles, which should be rted to the power of the Fifth Maind. However, this information reflected a new ability. He already wanted to shun Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, Bai Xian''er, and all who had betrayed his family. Lu Yin¡¯s will was also the will of the Fifth Maind, and he could wield that will against others.

    "Once people are shunned, they will be the same as Nutjob Lu. As long as they are in the Fifth Maind, their strength will be severely limited," Lu Yuan reminded.

    A sudden thought urred to Lu Yin, and he blurted out, "Are you saying that the Seven Skygods are unable to wield their true power in the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yuanughed. "Exactly! If not for that, how else do you think I could have slept so peacefully?

    "Tianyi''s strength,bined with the Fifth Maind¡¯s various Progenitors, meant that they were capable of stopping all the Seven Skygods, as they are unable to fully exert their strength in our universe. Even if their True God showed up, Tianyi can barely hold out long enough for me to wake up."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. This exined things, and he now understood why things had not made sense before.

    He had wondered why the Seven Skygods had been so powerful in the Sixverse Association¡¯s universe¡¯s while seeming rtivelycking in the Fifth Maind. Undying God had been almost beaten to death by Lu Yin. Initially, Lu Yin had assumed that it was because the Python Ancestor had suppressed Undying God¡¯s ability to use sequence particles. While that was undoubtedly one factor, more importantly, the Seven Skygods had been shunned by the will of the Fifth Maind. They were like ordinary humans who were struggling to breathe.

    Lu Yuan continued to exin, "This is also why that crazy woman, the Great Sovereign, is able to hold back True God. Otherwise, how could something who is oveing Dukkha hope to do that?"

    Lu Yn was still immersed in the joy of what he had learned about his Wordless Heavenly Book and was not paying any attention to what Lu Yuan was saying.

    Lu Yuan looked over at Lu Yin and saw the excitement in the young man¡¯s eyes and shook his head. "Put away that Wordless Heavenly Book. From now on, never use it unless you are facing death, or unless you receive my permission."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Why is that?"

    Lu Yuan''s expression fell. "Listen, If you don''t want to die."

    Lu Yin quickly put away the Wordless Heavenly Book and focused attentively to what Lu Yuan was about to say.

    The older man¡¯s expression was quite somber. "A Dao Monarch is just amp, a guiding light. This is a saying that has been passed down in my Fifth Maind since ancient times. Have you ever heard this?"

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "Bai Wangyuan once spoke to me when I said that I wanted to be the Dao Monarch. He told me a story¡­"

    Lu Yuan silently listened. "That story is very urate. He clearly does not know precisely what the title of Dao Monarch means to the Fifth Maind, but Progenitors are more sensitive to certain things. Thus, Bai Wangyuan had a deep sense of unease when he heard that you wanted to im that title."

    "Ancestor, what''s wrong with the title of Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Yuan grew serious. "The title of Dao Monarch is nothing more than a guidingmp. If I told you the reason for that, the karma involved with being a guiding light would be too dangerous for you. In short, do not use the Wordless Heavenly Book unless it is absolutely necessary. Don¡¯t reveal to anyone that you have been recognized by the will of the Fifth Maind. If you have any problems, push all of them to me. Do you understand?¡±

    In the past, Lu Yin had not believed in karma, but after seeing Destina transfer karma to avoid dying from a divination¡¯s bacsh, as well as learning that Seruzen was capable of seeing karma, Lu Yin hade to believe in it.

    There were countless powers throughout the megaverse, and they could be astoundingly mysterious. It was impossible for Lu Yin to understand all of them, and it was possible that there was a power that could allow a person to perceive a universe¡¯s will.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan''s warning made Lu Yin feel nervous. The universe that he could perceive was only at a certain level, and he understood that reaching the level of the Three Realms Six Dao would cause his perception to transform. In the past, he had not known anything about the existence of something like the will of the universe.

    "By the way, Ancestor, after my Semi-Progenitor breakthrough where I obtained the Wordless Heavenly Book, I used it to block Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s attacks that used sequence particles, and many people from the Sixverse Association saw it. Even if they could not see the Wordless Heavenly Book, they know that I have the power to endure attacks that include sequence particles," Lu Yin said after remembering this matter.

    Lu Yuan replied, "No matter the universe, only those who have been acknowledged by the will of their universe will be capable of seeing it. I am able to see it, and I immediately recognized the will of my Fifth Maind, but other people will not be able to do the same. The Wordless Heavenly Book is able to block thews of a universe, but most people will only think that your inner world is absurdly strong. They won¡¯t be able to connect it to the will of the Fifth Maind.

    "After thinking about it, there is nothing that you can do about what has already happened. The most important thing is that you cannot use the Wordless Heavenly Book inbat again, to minimize the chances of anyone recognizing it."

    Lu Yin acknowledged his understanding.

    After warning Lu Yin, Lu Yuan visibly rxed. "Despite the danger of receiving the will of the Fifth Maind so early, this is also an aplishment that has never happened throughout all of history. As a Semi-Progenitor, you have received the will of a universe, and you are able to shun people from this universe. It¡¯s quite possible that the only person who could surpass your achievement is the Origin Progenitor himself."

    Lu Yin felt proud of himself. "When were the Three Realms Six Dao acknowledged by the will of a universe?"

    Lu Yuan took a moment to answer. "Each of us was different, and we all had our own way of doing things. For example, when the Origin Progenitor gave me the Fifth Maind and appointed me as its Dao Monarch, I worked to improve the Fifth Maind. I spread my cultivation method and slowly managed to receive the Fifth Maind¡¯s acknowledgement.

    "Both the Mavis woman and Wu Tian were simr to me, especially Wu Tian. He spread weapons techniques everywhere, which caused him to be admired by too many people."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Which universe recognized Wu Tian?"

    In the Heavens Sect era, every Maind could have been regarded as a separate universe, with each Maind serving as its own foundation. However, the God of Death, Wu Tian, and Destiny had not ruled over any Mainds.

    Lu Yuan did not answer the question. "It''s not that I don''t want to tell you, but rather that telling you could influence you into taking a shortcut. Everyone''s path is different. Your current level of strength allows you to understand some paths, but if you do not understand on your own and instead are guided by me, then you could be negatively impacted. It¡¯s best to just allow things to develop naturally.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded and did not try to press the matter. He was still only a Semi-Progenitor and was far from bing a Progenitor. After he became a Progenitor, his strength would most likely allow him to pry into the mysteries of the entire megaverse, including things like sequence particles, sequence strings, the will of the various universes, and more.

    Cultivation was not a single path, and Lu Yin was already walking down his own unique path untrodden by anyone else.

    "By the way, let''s speak of something else. How did you get ckie''s power?" Lu Yuan suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "ckie?"

    "You would know him as the God of Death." Lu Yuan shared an unbelievable piece of gossip.

    The God of Death¡¯s name was ckie?

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was that really a person¡¯s name?

    Lu Yuanughed. "I knew you¡¯d make that face! Hahahaha! That¡¯s the name that the Origin Progenitor gave him, so just get used to it. Do you know what Wu Tian¡¯s original name was?

    "Big Thug! Hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin was slow to respond. <em>Big Thug?</em>

    "He changed his name to Wu Tianter on, using his influence topletely erase the name of Big Thug. ckie did the same thing, though he didn¡¯t change his name and instead simply allowed others to refer to him as the God of Death. Who would dare to mention the name of ckie in front of him? If anyone breathed a word of that name, they would definitely be hunted down."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2847: Shunned

    <h4>Chapter 2847: Shunned</h4>

    "Ancestor, what was Destiny¡¯s name?"

    "Can you guess?"

    "How could I guess that?"

    "The Fourth Maind''s Wilderness God was called Yellowy."

    ...

    "Ancestor, I''m still curious about Destiny."

    "Guess it on your own, and go in weird directions. You need to understand that there really wasn¡¯t much to human civilization back then. It was easier to get by with a simple name."

    It suddenly registered with Lu Yin that the Wilderness God¡¯s name was previously Da Huang, and he suddenly eximed, "The Origin Progenitor was so simple! So, what did he call Destiny?"

    "I¡¯m not going to tell you. That woman¡¯s got her own secrets, and she¡¯ll definitely show up again some day. So, I¡¯ll just let her tell you herself, hahahaha. It¡¯s going to be hrious! I can¡¯t wait for you to learn her name, hahahaha!"

    ...

    "Ancestor, did you also change your name?

    "Hey, Ancestor, where did you go? Let''s keep talking..."

    ...

    Ancestor Lu Yuan ignored Lu Yin and left. Once the man was gone, Lu Yin took out his Wordless Heavenly Book and took a deep breath. "As the Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind, I hereby write down these people to be shunned. From this day forward, these people will be shunned and not be epted by the Fifth Maind. This is witnessed by hundreds of millions of inhabitants of the Fifth Maind. By my name, Lu Yin."

    After speaking, Lu Yin raised his hand, pressed it to the Wordless Heavenly Book, and wrote the first name: Bai Wangyuan.

    Once the name was fully written, far away, in a corner of the Endless Frontier, Bai Wangyuan felt his heart palpitate as chills covered his whole body. He felt as though he had just lost something, though he could not understand what he had lost.

    What had just happened?

    He was confused by the sensation and thought that there might be a nearby enemy, but there was no one.

    Bai Wangyuan sat down cross-legged and carefully examined himself. He could find no problem or hidden injury. What was going on?

    The vague feeling of loss grew stronger and stronger, until his entire being seemed somehow broken.

    Could something have happened to the Perennial World?

    Bai Wangyuan''s expression turned grim. They had been deceived by Lu Yin and condemned to serve on the Endless Frontier by the Great Sovereign. As soon as they arrived on the Endless Frontier, the Tea Ceremony had been attacked. The Aeternals¡¯ Seven Skygods had invaded the Cyclic Universe, and the condemned Progenitors had almost instantly learned of the assault.

    However, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji had all made the same decision, which was to not return and reinforce the Tea Ceremony. Since they had been sent to the Endless Frontier by the Great Sovereign, they would fight there.

    The Endless Frontier had also been attacked, and arge number of Progenitor-level corpse kings had invaded the various parallel universes.

    Proximity had continuously sent out new information, and while the fighting on the Endless Frontier had been brutal, it was much better than a direct confrontation with the Seven Skygods at the Tea Ceremony.

    Even while fighting on the Endless Frontier, Bai Wangyuan had paid attention to all of Proximity¡¯s updates. If he had received word that the Great Sovereign and the others were truly unable to hold out, Bai Wangyuan would need to prepare himself in advance.

    However, the battle had eventually ended, and the Aeternals had retreated without causing almost any damage at the Tea Ceremony. This was because the Lu family had returned.

    When Proximity received word of the Lu family¡¯s return, the news had struck Bai Wangyuan like a hammer. He had beenpletely stunned. The Lu family had actually returned. Lu Xiaoxuan had be a Semi-Progenitor and brought his family back, driving back Aeternus¡¯s invasion.

    Bai Wangyuan had always known that the return of the Lu family was inevitable, as it simply depended on when Progenitor Lu Yuan woke up. That man¡¯s strength, as well as Lu Tianyi and the terrifying strength of the rest of the Lu family, was enough to frighten the entire Sixverse Association, let alone the four ruling powers. On top of that, Lu Xiaoxuan had infiltrated the Sixverse Association for a long time and received the support of various peak powerhouses. The Heavens Sect had also obtained a great number of peak powerhouses, and all together, Lu Xiaoxuan represented a massive force.

    Bai Wangyuan had instantly understood that the four ruling powers were done for, and the only option avable to them was to continue living in the Sixverse Association.

    The Sixverse Association was the best source of protection for the Progenitors, and if even that failed, then well, Bai Wangyuan had already started considering other alternatives.

    First, he needed to meet up with Wang Fan. The four ruling powers needed to unite.

    As for Xia Shenji, the thought of that man caused Bai Wangyuan¡¯s eyes to turn cold. The real Xia Shenji had to have already disappeared. The current Xia Shenji had helped Lu Xiaoxuan, which suggested that a clone might have taken over. There was no need to consider the Xia family anymore. Only the Bai and Wang families needed to work together.

    It would be difficult to return to the Perennial World any time soon. After all, Bai Wangyuan was unable to locate the Perennial World from among the myriad parallel universes. Still, given what the Progenitor knew of the Lu family, the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family had mostly likely survived. Bai Wangyuan could only wait for an opportunity to gather the descendants of his family some day in the future.

    Besides, the entire Celestial Frost Sect knew that the Lu family¡¯s return meant that they needed to escape.

    Bai Wangyuan stayed at a data center for days, paying close attention to any news that Proximity released.

    How the rtionship between the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe developed would determine the fates of Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan.

    Elsewhere on the Endless Frontier, Wang Fan experienced the same sensation as Bai Wangyuan. The Progenitor instantly felt like he had just lost something, but he could not determine what he had lost.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Bai Xian''er¡¯s eyes snapped open, and she stared out at the stars. "Was I just shunned? Brother Xiaoxuan, you are truly ruthless."

    ...

    At the top of the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin looked at the three names that he had just written down in his Wordless Heavenly Book: Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Bai Xian''er.

    They were the first names that he had written down after learning that the Dao Monarch wielded the will of the Fifth Maind. More names would definitely be added in the future, no matter how badly he hoped that there would be no more.

    After dismissing the Wordless Heavenly Book, Lu Yin stepped forward, tearing through the void and making his way to the Transcendent Universe.

    If Lu Yin had not received the help of Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and several others, Lu Yin would not have been able to sessfully force Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan into trying to frame him during the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony. Things had only seeded because of the help that Lu Yin had received, and he needed to repay the favors that he had received.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had already visited the Lost n, but that still left Lord Xu and Lord Wei.

    The Voidlord did not need much to be said. The man had already helped Lu Yin on a few other asions, and he and Lu Yin were quite familiar with each other by now. There was no need for Lu Yin to go out of his way to express his thanks and try to improve their rtionship.

    As for Lord Wei, Lu Yin found things to be very strange. There had never been anything between Lu Yin and Lord Wei, and that was because Lu Yin had been actively plotting against Lord Wei.

    Lu Yin was the one who had captured He Ran, and he had also set various matters into motion with Zi Jing from the very beginning. Lu Yin wanted to seize the sequence particle research and use it to study cultivation methods, but the amount of help that Lu Yin had received from Lord Wei did not feel quite right.

    He needed to talk to the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    It had been a long time since Lu Yin hadst visited this universe.

    After ncing around, Lu Yin first went to pay the You family a visit.

    Also, he realized that, technically speaking, he was still the Transcendent Universe¡¯s Bureau Director.

    Standing outside of the Ziyou Realm, Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and his aura soared in an instant as his perception swept across the entire Ziyou Realm.

    At that same instance, an rm went off in the Ziyou Realm.

    You Fang suddenly appeared, and he looked in Lu Yin''s direction. With a wave of the man¡¯s hand, a disy appeared, and Lu Yin turned to look at You Fang.

    Seeing this caused You Fang''s scalp to tingle. <i>It¡¯s him?</i>

    The events that had urred during the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremony had already spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association, and naturally, You Fang was aware that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin.

    In the past, the You patriarch had known that Xuan Qi was helping the Origin Universe to do certain things and that he had been plotting against the Transcendent Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. At that time, You Fang had praised Lu Yin¡¯s courage along with the Origin Universe¡¯s. However, recent events showed that You Fang had still been underestimating Lu Yin, as he had actually been Xuan Qi from the beginning.

    The leader of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect had been willing to sneak into the Sixverse Association on his own. He also knew that, if he was ever exposed, everything would instantly disappear. He had already climbed to the peak of the Origin Universe, but he had fearlessly stepped out and climbed towards another peak even though Lu Yin could have fallen and died at any moment during that ascent.

    The truth both terrified and amazed You Fang.

    If Xuan Qi had merely been helping the Origin Universe aplish various tasks, it would not have mattered if he was cooperating with the You family. However, the fact that Xuan Qi was actually Lu Yin spelled big trouble for them.

    ording to Lu Yin''s behavior, his plot definitely epassed more than what You Fang could imagine.

    Even after cooperating with Sovereign Shao Yin, the You family still needed to use Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s token to survive their failed attempt to overthrow Lord Wei. Upon realizing that they were facing the most ruthless individual they had ever cooperated with, You Fang wondered if his family could take the risk. Was it possible for them to work as equals?

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was incredibly powerful, but no matter how strong he might be, he could notpare to the Great Sovereign. And yet, not even the Great Sovereign had any means of dealing with Lu Yin. The Lu family had returned, and You Fang heard that their ancestor had publicly called the Great Sovereign a crazy bitch. What could the You family do with such a freakishly powerful family?

    You Fang''s mind kept spinning.

    He hoped to be able to cooperate with a peak powerhouse, or even with a smart person, but he absolutely did not want to cooperate with someone who was both strong and smart. Lu Yin was exactly that kind of person.

    Xuan Qi¡¯s identity had been created to plot against everyone in the Sixverse Association, while Lu Yin''s true identity was enough to suppress everyone. How could the You family cooperate with such a person?

    You Fang regretted ever mentioning future cooperation during hisst conversation with Xuan Qi.

    Still, regardless of the thoughts swirling through You Fang¡¯s mind, Lu Yin was waiting just outside the Ziyou Realm. He was being bold and open about his visit, not hiding it from anyone, including Lord Wei. This had forced the You family into apletely passive position.

    Lu Yin stayed outside the Ziyou Realm, waiting with a small smile on his face. He knew exactly what You Fang was thinking.

    In the past, You Fang had used Shao Qingfeng¡¯s death and Xuan Qi¡¯s background of the Origin Universe to ckmail Xuan Qi into cooperating with the You family. However, he had never known that Lu Yin had not cared about that ckmail in the slightest.

    At the moment, Lu Yin wanted to meet with Lord Wei himself. The more open and bold Lu Yin¡¯s actions were, the less Lord Wei would fear them. Lu Yin was deliberately showing Lord Wei that he was first visiting the You family, and then going to visit him. The youth wanted to understand Lord Wei and see how he would react to Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    You Fang soon arrived at the border of the Ziyou Realm and personally greeted Lu Yin.

    Behind the man was You Lele.

    "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    The two bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lord Lu was how they addressed Lu Yin.

    The Origin Universe had already be a member of the Sixverse Association, and Lu Yin was acknowledged as the ruler of the Origin Universe. Regardless of his personal cultivation level, outsiders should refer to him as "Lord."

    Lu Yin smiled as he looked at You Fang and You Le. "It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you two."

    You Fang respectfully answered, "Lord Lu is visiting from afar, and we wee you."

    You Lele nced at Lu Yin, curious. She quite admired him.

    Herzy and disheveled appearance of the past waspletely gone now. It had always been nothing but an act. From the moment the You family had attempted to overthrow Lord Wei, You Lele had returned to her true appearance. She appeared quite refined and was clearly highly intelligent. This was the ideal representation of the You family¡¯s princess.

    The more tolerant a person was, the broader their scope of vision would be. You Lele had been willing to act crazy and stupid in order to deceive people.

    However, she genuinely admired Lu Yin. He had infiltrated the Sixverse Association on his own. And at the beginning, the Origin Universe had been far from the heights it had since be.

    When Xuan Qi first appeared, the Origin Universe had been reviled and even hated by most of the Sixverse Association. If Lu Yin was ever exposed, he would have undoubtedly been killed.

    Despite the risk, he had still snuck into the Sixverse Association and made a big name for himself. Even more impressive was the number of people who had been deceived by Xuan Qi. Lu Yin had manipted megaverse-level events to his own advantage, and in the end, when he had been exposed, he had used his Semi-Progenitor tribtion during the Tea Ceremony to determine the fate of the entire Sixverse Association.

    This person was a true legend.

    Lu Yin had long since be a legend in the Origin Universe, but he was now a legend in the Sixverse Association as well.

    Lu Yin followed Patriarch You and his daughter into the Ziyou Realm.

    After entering, word of Lu Yin¡¯s visit spread through the Transcendent Universe. Given his status, Lu Yin¡¯s visits would always be regarded as a major event.

    In fact, news of Lu Yin¡¯s visit was not confined to the Transcendent Universe, and it quickly spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    Bai Qian immediately received the information and was able to guess some things.

    She was also quite confused. Lord Wei had helped Lu Yin several times during the Tea Ceremony, which seemed very contradictory.

 Chapter 2848: Cooperation?

    <h4>Chapter 2848: Cooperation?</h4>

    Patriarch You and his daughter led Lu Yin to a location in the Ziyou Realm that Lu Yin had never seen before. It appeared to be a mechanical research facility.

    "Lord Lu, our You family began with the Bestowal Art, which our ancestor created in this very location. After many years of research, he seeded in developing the Bestowal Art.¡±

    "Of the various guests to visit our home, only the most distinguished are ever brought to this ce." You Fang offered an introduction of the ce to Lu Yin, looking very sincere as he spoke.

    Lu Yin looked around. The ce looked perfectly ordinary, though there were traces of extreme age. The You family¡¯s ancestor¡¯s abilities were truly impressive. After all, the Bestowal Art hadid the foundation for the Transcendent Universe¡¯s current status.

    You Lele stared at Lu Yin''s back and then nced over at You Fang.

    You Fang was doing his best to act as though this visit was Lu Yin¡¯s first time visiting the You family. As for cooperation, he had no thought of such a thing at all.

    Lu Yin looked around. The ce was not big, and he quickly saw everything. "Patriarch You."

    You Fang immediately replied, "Yes?"

    Lu Yin gave the man a strange look. "Thest time we spoke, you mentioned future cooperation between us. What sort of cooperation were you thinking of?"

    You Fang''s heart skipped a beat, but he forced out a smile. "Lord Lu, you must be joking. How could my You family cooperate with you? Out of everyone in the Transcendent Universe, only Lord Wei could possibly cooperate with you."

    Lu Yin stared at You Fang. "What are you worried about?"

    You Fang''s expression did not change, though he bowed low. "My You family was ignorant and offended Lord Lu in the past. Please forgive us, Lord Lu. From now on, the You family will be sure to never disturb Lord Lu in the slightest again. Please forgive us for all that urred in the past and forget it.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. "How could I forget all that? I remember speaking to you after your attempt to rebel against Lord Wei failed and your You family¡¯s status plummeted. You mentioned to me then that there were certain things that your family was incapable of doing in the past, but are now within your means. I don¡¯t quite understand your meaning, so I wanted to address that matter in greater detail.¡±

    As he spoke, Lu Yin casually sat down in a worn-out chair.

    You Fang felt trapped, and he looked over at You Lele.

    The girl spoke up in a respectful tone, "Lord Lu, please let my You family go."

    You Fang quietly echoed his daughter. "Lord Lu, I beg you to let my You family go."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "The You family is one of the greatest families of the Transcendent Universe, and I represent the Origin Universe. How could I let you go? Besides, the You family has never offended me."

    He arched a brow as he looked at You Fang. "Besides, your You family still has Soveriegn Dou Sheng¡¯s token, which should be enough to protect you."

    You Fang stopped talking.

    You Lele pursed her lips. "Lord Lu, you¡¯ve made this visit to our home in a very open and public manner, and yet you want to speak of cooperation? Don''t you find this a bit ridiculous?"

    You Fang snapped, "Lele, don''t be absurd!"

    You Lele stubbornly stared at Lu Yin. "My You family rebelled against Lord Wei, but we were defeated. Everyone knows what the You family wants, and it is impossible to hide that from anyone. Lord Wei also knows this. But despite this, Lord Lu still wishes to speak of cooperation? It¡¯s possible that our conversation right now is being monitored by the ruler of our universe. Lord Lu, are you not possibly worried about inciting an internal conflict within the Sixverse Association?"

    "Lele, enough!" You Fang pulled You Lele back and quickly bowed to Lu Yin. "My daughter has been rude. Please forgive her, Lord Lu. Please forgive her."

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. "The more open and forthright you behave, the less likely Lord Wei will suspect anything.

    "Lord Wei cannot spy on me, rest assured of that."

    You Fang''s face turned pale. "My daughter¡¯s words have offended Lord Lu, but she has truly spoken the thoughts of my You family. Since our rebellion failed, my You family no longer pursues such thoughts. If Lord Lu wishes to cooperate, you will need to seek out others. Forgive my You family for being unable to provide you with the help that you desire."

    The two had been so frightened by Lu Yin that it greatly simplified their conversation going forward. In fact, they were practically done. "Alright, since you don''t want to cooperate with me, then just forget it."

    You Fang and You Lele both let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

    It was not that they did not want to work with Lu Yin, but rather that they did not dare to do such a thing.

    "However," Lu Yin paused as he looked up at the two. "I want to know about Lord Wei."

    You Fang was taken aback. "What do you wish to know about Lord Wei?"

    Lu Yin leaned forward as he stared at You Fang. "Are you unable to fulfill even this request?"

    You Fang grew increasingly puzzled, "What do you wish to know about Lord Wei, Lord Lu?"

    "Everything."

    Despite his confusion, You Fang still replied, "Concerning Lord Wei, I can only tell Lord Lu what my You family knows. If this is not what you are seeking, then I ask Lord Lu not to embarrass us. You should clearly understand the rtionship between my You family and Lord Wei. There are certain details that my You family could not possibly know.¡±

    Lu Yin gestured for the man to proceed.

    You Fang thought for a moment before starting to talk.

    The You family had a deep understanding of Lord Wei, and Lu Yin wanted to learn everything that they knew of the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, as well as all of their spections.

    Lu Yin listened quietly, carefully paying attention to everything said about Lord Wei.

    In the past, he had regarded Lord Wei as an imaginary enemy, though one who would be in by Sovereign Shao Yin. Lu Yin had believed Lord Wei to be equal to the Three Sovereigns. A powerhouse, but not one of the most powerful cultivators in the Sixverse Association.

    However, Lord Wei had helped Lu Yin on several different asions at the Tea Ceremony, and he had even saved him, subverting all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations.

    It was best to carefully investigate whether the man was an enemy or a friend.

    It was possible that Lord Wei had hidden his true intentions deeply and was scheming some greater plot.

    Some people would willingly abandon their principle, as long as it allowed them to achieve their goals.

    A long timeter, Lu Yin finally left the Ziyou Realm.

    He had learned a great deal about Lord Wei, though it was all through You Fang¡¯s rather subjective perspective. Even so, it had be clear that Lord Wei was, well, not a good person.

    Lord Wei was very simr to an average cultivator, and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals.

    The man was incredibly cunning, ambitious, and ruthless.

    It was hard for Lu Yin to align that image with the person who had helped him during the Tea Ceremony.

    In the Ziyou Realm, You Fang and You Lele both heaved sighs of relief once Lu Yin was gone.

    "Father, Xuan Qi¡ªno, Lu Yin, is so unscrupulous. He openly and publicly came to visit us and seek our cooperation, not worrying about Lord Wei at all," You Lele said fearfully.

    You Fang bitterly answered, "That¡¯s precisely why I don''t want to cooperate with him. If two sides of an alliance do not possess equal strength, then even the benefits that might be gained are disregarded, we simply won¡¯t be able to wield any control over what he does while we work with him.

    "His vision, strength, and goals are all on a different level from ours.

    "When he was acting as Xuan Qi, he toyed with the entire Sixverse Association, plotting against both our universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. At this moment, I wonder if he might be plotting against the entire Sixverse Association."

    You Lele did not need to be convinced. "Cooperating with such a person risks beingpletely wiped out with the slightest bit of carelessness."

    She then suddenly changed the subject. "However, if things seed, our You family wouldn¡¯t be limited to a single universe."

    This sentence caused You Fang to hesitate, but he quickly suppressed the impulse and sternly replied, "People need to be self-aware. There are matters that are far beyond our control. Even if we do seed while working with him, it will simply mean that our You family will answer to a different master in the future. I want us to rule a universe, not be a ve of the Heavens Sect.¡±

    You Lele stuck out her tongue. "I understand."

    Elsewhere in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin had no idea how to find Lord Wei, so he could only go see Bai Qian for the time being.

    He met her at the same staircase that he had visited many times before, but this time, Lu Yin''s arrival had apletely different result.

    In the past, he had always stood at the foot of the stairs, but this time, Bai Qian was standing there along with him as she waited for Lord Wei''s reply.

    Zuo Gong respectfully stood to the side. At this moment, he was fully aware of just how powerful the youth that he had once called Xuan Qi truly was. It was no wonder why he had been able to support Bai Qian and had been so capable.

    Already, the young man was capable of dominating the entire Sixverse Association.

    "Lord Lu, I heard that you went to visit the You family. Is that right?" Bai Qian asked, giving Lu Yin a curious look.

    He sped his hands behind his back. "I¡¯ve interacted with them on several asions, so it is only expected for me to seek them out while visiting the Transcendent Universe."

    "You just visited them? Lord Lu, you must understand that the You family has a special status in the Transcendent Universe."

    "Are you referring to how they rebelled against Lord Wei?"

    Bai Qian did not answer, which could be considered an answer in and of itself.

    Lu Yin burst outughing. "I remember that I was also involved in that matter. I was the one who used He Ran of being a spy, which gave the You family the opportunity to target He Ran and force Lord Wei out. Miss Bai, are you saying that you me me for what happened?"

    Bai Qian put on a small smile. "I wouldn¡¯t dare. It¡¯s simply odd that Lord Lu¡¯s identity of Xuan Qi was ¡®forced¡¯ to im that He Ran was a spy by the You family. Now that we know that Xuan Qi was you, Lord Lu, how could the You family have forced you to do anything given your strength?"

    Zuo Gong looked up. He understood that the two people before him had an extraordinary rtionship. At this moment, Bai Qian was really asking the question on Lord Wei¡¯s behalf. If the ruler of the Transcendent Universe personally asked this question, Lord Lu might not be willing to give a satisfactory answer.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "I could not riskpromising Xuan Qi''s identity. The You family didn¡¯t know that Xuan Qi was actually me, but they did know that I killed Shao Qingfeng. As soon as they reported that matter to Sovereign Shao Yin, my identity as Xuan Qi would have been in trouble."

    Sovereign Shao Yin had publicly betrayed the Sixverse Association and was regarded as the worst traitor in the history of humanity. Everyone in the Extreme Yin Realm had been captured and imprisoned, so even if Shao Qingfeng were still alive, things would not have gone well for him. This was why Lu Yin was not worried about revealing certain details.

    Bai Qian was surprised. "Lord Lu, you killed Shao Qingfeng?"

    Lu Yin smile., "Miss Bai, do you want to avenge Shao Qingfeng? I heard that he cared for you."

    Bai Qian averted her gaze. "Lord Lu is overthinking things."

    The two stopped talking and quietly waited.

    Some timeter, Bai Qian''s expression changed, and she looked over at Lu Yin again. "I''m sorry, Lord Lu, but Lord Wei has gone into seclusion. It¡¯s not convenient for him to see visitors."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Did he just go into seclusion?"

    "I don''t know about that," Bai Qian replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "In that case, I''ll take my leave."

    "Goodby, Lord Lu." Bai Qian bowed, as did Zuo Gong.

    Both of them had a much lower status than Lu Yin. In fact, there were only a handful of people in the entire Sixverse Association who were qualified to speak to Lu Yin as an equal.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin was not even a Progenitor, he had fought against Sovereign Shao Yin during the Tea Ceremony, and he had held out for an extended period of time. This was proof that his strength surpassed his cultivation.

    On top of that, there was a true expert behind Lu Yin, and that person even dared to scold the Great Sovereign. That matter had already be widely known, and with another famous powerhouse Lu Tianyi, Lu Yin could be said to be representing arge force within the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin left Bai Qian¡¯s ce and then stared off into the distance. What were Lord Wei¡¯s intentions?

    If he had been in seclusion for any bit of time, Bai Qian would not have been forced to wait for an answer. Thus, Lu Yin had been made to wait as a demonstration that Lord Wei was able to meet with him, but he had instead chosen to ignore Lu Yin and go into seclusion.

    What was the man thinking? Was he a friend or a foe?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he suddenly remembered something; it had been quite a long time since he hadst used his die¡¯s Possession.

    At his current level of strength, it was quite possible that he could Possess a Progenitor-level powerhouse with his die.

    Aside from sequence powerhouses, Lu Yin should be capable of Possessing just about any of the peak powerhouses in the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association. If he could Possess those people, he would obtain overwhelming power over those peak powerhouse. The thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s breathing to quicken.

    The question was, if Lu Yin fought against a Progenitor-level opponent that he had Possessed, how could they fight back if he moved close enough to seize control of their body duringbat?

    Possession meant that any who faced Lu Yin after being Possessed were essentially doomed to defeat.

 Chapter 2849: Lu Yin And Mu Ke

    Chapter 2849: Lu Yin And Mu Ke

    The more that Lu Yin thought about the possibility of Possessing peak powerhouses, the more excited he became. While the idea had urred to him before, he had forgotten about it. This was his first time thinking about it since bing a Semi-Progenitor.

    Yes, it would be best to roll his die and Possess a peak powerhouse.

    There were only so many peak powerhouses in the entire Sixverse Association. Aside from the sequence powerhouses, Lu Yin felt confident that he could Possess anyone else.

    Excitement filled Lu Yin''s eyes. If he could aplish this, he would be able to indirectly control the decisions of more than half of the Sixverse Association.

    This meant that, once again, Lu Yin¡¯s problem was money. He simply did not have enough star essence, though that was not all that hecked. He also needed voidforce energy, the power of the Arboreal Realm, and more. Out of all the different parallel universes, the most troublesome was the Transcendent Universe. That universe did not cultivate any specific power, which meant that there was no way to Possess anyone.

    Still, that was not terribly important. For now, Lu Yin could ignore the Transcendent Universe. After all, the Cyclic Universe was the most important.

    Of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Lu Yin believed that he could Possess the vast majority of them.

    However, hecked money. It always came down to ack of funds.

    Lu Yin did not even dare to consider how much it would cost to Possess a peak powerhouse. Even if it was not as ridiculous as the price to Enhance the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, there was no doubt that it would be an exorbitant amount.After thinking for a while, he eventually decided to visit the Arboreal Realm to first meet with his senior brother, Mu Ke.

    During the Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had realized that Mu Ke was one of his senior disciple brothers, but they had barely spoken. There was finally time to do so, and it would be good for them to meet each other.

    Lu Yin entered the Arboreal Realm for the second time, and just like the first time, he was taken to the universe by Mu Sanye.

    The trees filled the entirety of the Arboreal Realm, and Lu Yin looked at the endless growth once again.

    While visiting the Arboreal Realm, the person Lu Yin wanted to see the most was to see Mu Ke, the least was Mr. Daheng.

    Mr. Daheng was unquestionably a sequence powerhouse, and he seemed to be at the same level as Xu Wuwei. He had first learned about Mr. Daheng and the Liberation Pce from Chen Le.

    Even though Mr. Daheng¡¯s attention had been shifted over to Luoshan, the fact that Chen Le had publicly joined the Heavens Sect meant that Lu Yin could not be certain of anything regarding Mr. Daheng.

    "Senior Mu San, I''m sorry to need to trouble you," Lu Yin apologized.

    Mu San''s expression changed, as he was scared by Lu Yin¡¯s apology. "Lord Lu, it¡¯s a pleasure. Please, follow me."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Once Lu Yin¡¯s true identity was exposed, Xuan Qi¡¯swork and rtionships had naturally changed. Now, Mu San, the bureau members, and Xu Xiangyin all treated Lu Yin differently from before.

    There was no way around this. Once a person reached a certain level of status, their influence would be infinitely amplified by that status. As the ruler of the Origin Universe, especially with the backing of the Lu family, Lu Yin enjoyed the support of no less than ten peak powerhouses. Such support was terrifying even to peak powerhouses in the Sixverse Association.

    And that wasn¡¯t even mentioning Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor-level contacts; there were many people whocked even that much strength.

    Mu San led the way, and the two men made their way towards Mu Ke.

    When Lu Yin hadst visited the Arboreal Sanctuary, the entire group had been delivered there by Mu Ke, saving them a great deal of time. Looking back, Lu Yin realized that the de sh that had moved them might have been a greeting to him.

    After some time, Lu Yin started to sense an indistinct pressure from far away. It felt very familiar, as it was the same pressure that he had felt protecting him at the Tea Ceremony. This was his senior brother, Mu Ke.

    "Lord Lu, Senior Mu Ke is just up ahead. I will take my leave now." Mu Sanye spoke very respectfully.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

    Mu Sanye offered a few polite words before quickly leaving.

    Once Mu San was gone, Lu Yin continued on towards where he sensed Senior Brother Mu Ke. It did not take long for Lu Yin to arrive. "Senior Brother."

    Mu Ke looked up. "Have things in your universe stabilized?"

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Mu Ke was sitting on the trunk of a tree, his eyes covered by a strip of ck cloth. He sat as though staring off into the distance. "Some years ago, Master visited me and said that he had epted a disciple. I asked him if he was satisfied with his new disciple, but Master said that he did not know himself.¡±

    Lu Yin felt confused, but Mu Ke continued speaking. "Master''s standards for epting a disciple is that they must demonstrate some sort of power that can impress him, or even better, surprise him. I seeded in this, but I only managed to earn half of his satisfaction. Mu Xie also seeded, but he only received four points out of ten. Qing Ping also seeded, and he received six out of ten points. However, for you, Master simply did not know.¡±

    "At that time, I asked about you, but Master exined that your path was constantly changing. He could not determine how it would develop, and he even said that he could not influence your path or see through it. He simply had no way of determining how far your path can take you, whichpletely surprised him.¡±

    "Now, I see that Master was right. Junior Brother, no one can see through you."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Senior Brother, you must think that I am very insidious."

    Mu Ke gave Lu Yin a grave look. Despite not being able to see the man¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin could feel his gaze. "Only by taking a different path can the shackles of the current situation be shattered. The prosperity of the Origin Universe came about precisely because of your Origin Progenitor and the Three Realms Six Dao. Each of them zed a unique path for themselves. The Aeternals are indeed truly powerful, but they only follow the path of True God. If a path is used well, it can be extremely powerful, but if it is used poorly, it will break.¡±

    "That is also true of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. The Great Sovereign believes that her path is correct, but she has never seeded in surpassing the Aeternals. In my opinion, that is evidence that the Main Universe will never reach the same heights as the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin was curious about something. "What level has Master reached?"

    Mu Ke remained silent for a moment. "I don''t know. He may be equal to the Great Sovereign or possibly even stronger. I¡¯ve never seen Master truly take action. It¡¯s possible that the only ce where Master will ever truly reveal his power is at the Immemorial Citadel."

    "Brother, just what is the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin asked. When he had asked Ancestor Lu Yuan about it, the man had answered with only a few words: sequence string. Lu Yin still had not been able to make any sense of the term, but he remained very curious. Maybe he could learn more from his senior brother.

    Mu Ke turned so that he faced Lu Yin. "If I told you that you would die if I stabbed you, would you act obediently and ept being stabbed by me?"

    Lu Yin was speechless. "Of course not."

    "What if I told you that, as long as you did not die, you would break through?"

    "What can guarantee my survival?"

    "What can guarantee that your current understanding of the world won¡¯t be shattered by learning about certain matters?" Mu Ke retorted.

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. He understood that, just like Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi, there were certain things that Mu Ke would not share with him. Learning of certain matters would disrupt Lu Yin¡¯s current mindset, and who could say if that would be good or bad?

    Lu Yin was walking a path that had never been paved before, and not even Mister Mu could see through Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation path. All that could be said was that Lu Yin was already walking down his own path.

    If Lu Yin cultivated a standard method, then he would be able to receive guidance from his seniors, but he was not following a standard path. Rather, if he learned about that path, it could alter the direction of his cultivation.

    "I understand. I won''t ask any more about that," Lu Yin said with a sigh. While he still knew nothing about the Immemorial Citadel, he was at least certain that it had some connection to the universe he knew, the standard cultivation methods, and even to sequence particles and thews of the universe.

    "By the way, Senior Brother, have you ever visited the Origin Universe?"

    "No."

    "Then have you met Senior Brother Mu Xie and Senior Brother Qing Ping?"

    "Master mentioned them."

    "When I was visiting the Lost n, you were the one who attacked me with the eighty-one shes, right?"

    Mu Ke¡¯s hand settled on the hilt of his saber. "I wanted to see what was so special about you that made it impossible for even Master to see through you."

    Lu Yin felt he had no choice but to reply, "I must have disappointed you, Senior Brother. I was not able to take your eighty-one shes."

    Mu Ke turned back to Lu Yin. Even with his eyes covered, it was clear that the man was looking at Lu Yin oddly. "It would have been strange if you had been able to take them."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Then why did you attack me eighty-one times, Senior Brother?"

    "Being able to endure that series of attacks proved that you were already very strong, or at the very least, that you had a strong will. Not everyone can keep their presence of mind after being attacked eighty-one times by me," Mu Ke answered casually.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. "What if I hadn¡¯t been able to endure your attacks and had copsed?"

    "Then it would have meant that Master had either lied to me or misjudged you."

    Lu Yin looked at Mu Ke for a long moment. It seemed that Senior Brothers Mu Xie and Qing Ping were much better seniors than Senior Brother Mu Ke.

    Senior Brother Qing Ping had his own sense of justice and morality. Anyone who vited those rules would be judged by him, including Qing Ping himself. That was his code of beliefs.

    As for Senior Brother Mu Xie, the man had dedicated himself to catching Redbacks, and he refused to be swayed by the will of the four ruling powers. Even if the Lu family had tried to intervene, the man would have persisted.

    All of them had their own determination.

    Being epted as one of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples required more than mere talent.

    Inparison, Senior Brother Mu Ke was more pure and straightforward in a sense. Put more bluntly, he was single-minded. Simply because of Mister Mu''s evaluation of Lu Yin, Mu Ke had gone and attacked Lu Yin eighty-one times. While such a focused person would excel in their area of focus, they would also be difficult to get along with.

    "You epted my eighty-one attacks, and those eighty-one attacks were a greeting gift for you," Mu Ke stated.

    Lu Yin bitterly replied, "Senior brother''s greeting gift is truly unique."

    Mu Ke appeared puzzled. "Truly?"

    Lu Yin understood that Mu Ke was genuinely confused. In this man¡¯s mind, Lu Yin had to have been capable of withstanding the eighty-one shes. After all, he had received such a unique evaluation from their master. As long as Mu Ke did not question Mister Mu, he would simrly never question whether or not Lu Yin could endure the eighty-one attacks. In that case, since Lu Yin was able to endure the shes, then the final miniature saber was a greeting gift. This made perfect sense to Mu Ke.

    It had never even urred to the man what the consequences would be if Lu Yin had failed to endure the attacks.

    In short, regardless of what may have happened, there was no reason for Lu Yin to not rx around Senior Brother Mu Ke.

    Mu Ke stared at Lu Yin. "The saber formed from those eighty-one shes was used. Who was it?"

    "Cheng Kong," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Ke''s voice dropped a bit as hemented, "They¡¯re still not dead."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "After they were attacked by the eighty-one shes on the Endless Frontier, they disappeared. When Aeternus attacked the Tea Ceremony, the Heavens Sect, and even the Sixverse Association¡¯s Endless Frontier, no one saw anything of Cheng Kong."

    Mu Ke replied, "I¡¯ve fought them before, and those eighty-one shes are not enough to kill them."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. This was a problem. Because Cheng Kong had not shown up during the big attack, Lu Yin had assumed that they were dead.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to determine Cheng Kong¡¯s true strength. After all, Lu Yin had not been able to determine the strength of the person who had attacked him with eighty-one shes either, but the times had since changed. Lu Yin knew that Senior Brother Mu Ke was powerful enough to face off against the Seven Skygods. Regardless of whether he would win or lose, the fact remained that Mu Ke could fight against the Seven Skygods, which meant that he was a sequence powerhouse. Even so, his eighty-one shes were not enough to kill Cheng Kong, which meant that Cheng Kong had to be at the same level of strength.

    More and more, Lu Yin was slowlying to understand the true strength of Aeternus: True God, the Seven Skygods, Cheng Kong, the captains of the True God Guard, as well asa the other more ordinary peak powerhouses like Yi Ren and the True God Guard.

    This was the power that Aeternus had revealed, and it was an amazing amount of strength. If they still had more hidden reserves, it would be truly difficult for the Sixverse Association to deal with.

    "Given your current strength, if you encounter Cheng Kong again, you will at least be able to stay alive, but if you want to escape, you will have to pay a steep price," Mu Kemented.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "What are you saying, Senior Brother?"

    "I''ll give you another eighty-one shes," Mu Ke gravely stated.

    Lu Yin grew serious as well. "Can we skip the part where you attack me eighty-one times and just give me the miniature saber?"

    "It can¡¯t be skipped."

    "About that¡­"

    "You don''t want it? Then just forget it."

    "No, I want it. Alright, I¡¯ll have to trouble you, Senior Brother."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2850: Attitude

    Chapter 2850: Attitude

    After the Lu family returned, both Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi had told Lu Yin that they would give him something that could save his life. He had been waiting, but he had not received anything yet. Mu Ke was unquestionably powerful, and his eighty-one shes were a deadlybination attack that could threaten even someone with Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s strength. It was an attack as strong as Old Mo¡¯s most powerful blow, which was far better than nothing.

    "I''m going to start," Mu Ke stated.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched, and he felt the strange sensation of waiting for death.

    "By the way, you can block the shes." With that, Mu Ke vanished. All that remained was the sh of his saber, which shot towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he immediately used his inner world, Infinity. Lines of light merged into his body, one after another. At the same time, a purplish-ck substance spread across his skin, and in his heart, the Withered Bark shifted as Lu Yin confined his attacks.

    The first sh was about to fall.

    When Lu Yin had previously faced these eighty-one shes during the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival, he had beenpletely powerless to resist. He had been unable to move his body at all and could only watch on until the eighty first attack finished.

    This time, Lu Yin wanted to try to resist.

    The light of the saber was getting closer.Lu Yin confined hundreds of his attacks, while also boosting his strength with Infinity. Everything was released in an instant, and at that moment, Lu Yin tried to evade the attack.

    He managed to move.

    There was a bang, and the tree trunk was destroyed. Lu Yin''s body had merely swayed to the side, allowing him to narrowly avoid the first sh.

    After that, more and more shes appeared.

    Lu Yin gasped. While he was capable of using the same method to evade the second, third, and even the eighty first attack, was there any point in doing so?

    These eighty-one shes were not Mu Ke¡¯s killing move, but merely a technique that stored the eighty-one shes. Lu Yin had done his best to avoid the first attack, but even if he dodged them all, what was the point? If Mu Ke truly wanted to fight, his de would also contain sequence particles, which would force Lu Yin to take out the Wordless Heavenly Book, rely on Lightstream, and use everything else he was capable of. Even all of thatbined would only allow Lu Yin to stay alive for a time, but it would be impossible for him to defeat Mu Ke, and nearly as difficult to just escape.

    This was Mu Ke¡¯s power.

    At the Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had used everything he had to survive against Sovereign Shao Yin, but the Sovereign was not nearly as powerful as Mu Ke.

    At the moment, Lu Yincked the confidence to defeat such a powerful individual.

    However, Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor. It was not easy for a Semi-Progenitor to cross realms to fight against Progenitors. This was simrly true of Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping. As for sequence powerhouses, they were not at all on the same level as other peak powerhouses.

    Once Lu Yin ascended to the Progenitor realm, with his various conferred gods, four Progenitor¡¯s worlds, and the universe within him, he could only imagine how powerful he would be.

    The attacks rained down one after another. Lu Yin was shed horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and from every other angle possible. He was attacked a total of eighty-one times, and every sh fell on his body.

    Once the eighty first sh finished, a miniature saber appeared before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed. He was covered with sweat and breathing heavily as he stretched out his hand to grab the small saber and hung it around his neck. He had faced death eighty times for this thing.

    Mu Ke stepped out, and while Lu Yin still could not see the man¡¯s eyes, Mu Ke¡¯s surprise was evident.

    "You could have avoided all eighty-one shes," Mu Ke said with clear admiration.

    Lu Yin felt frustrated, and wiped the sweat from his brow. "There was no point in doing so."

    Mu Ke held his saber. "You¡¯re a Semi-Progenitor, only a Semi-Progenitor. Master''s evaluation of you was not the slightest bit exaggerated. Junior Brother, you may be the only one who has any hope of surpassing Master."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Senior Brother, are you already certain that you won¡¯t ever be able to surpass Master? You don''t even know Master¡¯s strength. It¡¯s possible that he might not be much stronger than you."

    Mu Ke sat back down and ced his saber across his legs. "Master''s cultivation is as vast as the abyss. We are not on the same level at all. You will understand that once you be a Progenitor.

    "When you gaze long at the stars, the stars also gaze into you. The stars can see through you, but you cannot see through the stars."

    Mu Ke then fell silent for a moment. "Junior Brother, your strength as a Semi-Progenitor is unequaled in both the past and present, but you cannot grow careless. There are unfathomable depths to this megaverse."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand, Senior Brother. You don''t need to worry."

    After staying in the Arboreal Realm for a few days, Lu Yin left. He went to the Voidforce Universe to meet with Xu Wuwei, Xu Leng, Xu Heng, and a few others. After that, he went to the Red Zone to speak with Xu Wuji and apologize to the Bureau Director. Finally, Lu Yin went to speak with the Lost n and personally thank them for their help.

    The Lost n had done too much to help Lu Yin. When he had first gone to the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Great Elder Shan Gu had lured Sovereign Shao Yin away. Later, during the Tea Ceremony, the Lost n had helped Lu Yin on several asions. On top of that, they had even sent two of their peak powerhouses to help protect the Heavens Sect. If not for the Aeternals¡¯ unexpectedly vicious attack, those two experts would have been enough to ensure the Heavens Sect¡¯s safety.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had already visited the Lost n, which had made Lu Yin feel like there was no reason for him to personally make a visit, but after thinking about things, he had decided that it would be better if he went.

    When Lu Yin arrived in the Lost n¡¯s universe, Shan Pu personally stepped out to greet him.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, wee back to the Lost n," Shan Pu said with augh.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Forgive me, Senior Shan Pu, but your face is glowing. Is there a celebration happening?"

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you are teasing me. You appear to be in a good mood. Have you dealt with your problems?"

    "There are too many problems, so I can only deal with them one by one."

    "Haha, true. Please, the Great Elder is waiting for you."

    "After you."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin had never asked how many peak powerhouses the Lost n had. He knew of five, including the newly promoted Shan Fangyi.

    He had not expected the woman to break through.

    Great Elder Shan Gu weed Lu Yin. Regardless of the reason for his visit, the Lost n and the Lu family enjoyed a veryfortable rtionship for the moment.

    Lu Yin faced Great Elder Shan Gu and offered a deep bow. "This junior would like to thank Great Elder Shan Gu for all of his help that he has given. I would like to thank the Lost n for the numerous instances of their assistance. Junior Lu Yin cannot thank you enough."

    Great Elder Shan Gu smiled and helped Lu Yin stand back up. "There¡¯s no need for this. We already agreed that the Lost n would help you. In the future, once you have the ability, you will simrly help my Lost n."

    Lu Yin nodded. "The Primeval card. Once this junior bes a Progenitor, I will definitely help the Lost n and try to guide them back home."

    Great Elder Shan Gu smiled. "You don''t need to worry about that. We have already been waiting for so many years.

    "Just a bit ago, your Lu family''s ancestor, Lu Yuan, came to visit my Lost n, and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation. I feel a bit guilty that my Lost n was unable to offer any help when your Lu family was exiled."

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "That matter was a conspiracy devised by Sovereign Shao Yin, and the Great Sovereign acted willfully. None of what happened at that time had anything to do with the Lost n or any other universe in the Sixverse Association."

    Great Elder Shan Gu sighed. "The Sixverse Association owes Dao Monarch Lu an exnation for Sovereign Shao Yin being a spy. If not for you, no one would have been able to expose him. Looking back, it¡¯s clear that Sovereign Shao Yin antagonized the internal rtionships of the Sixverse Association on several asions. The war between my Lost n and the Cyclic Universe, as well as the friction between the Voidforce Universe and the Cyclic Universe, were both instigated by him. It is truly despicable."

    Lu Yin chatted with Great Elder Shan Gu for quite a long time. Lu Yin knew how to defer as a junior, and yet also how to speak as the Dao Monarch, who was Shan Gu¡¯s peer. Lu Yin had be quite adept at switching between his different identities.

    "What are your Lu family''s intentions regarding Nutjob Lu?" Great Elder Shan Gu suddenly asked.

    A dangerous glint shed across Lu Yin''s eyes. "We will find a way to deal with that traitor of our Lu family. It is impossible for that crazy woman, the Great Sovereign, to keep Nutjob Lu safe for her own selfish interests."

    Great Elder Shan Gu grew solemn. "Never underestimate the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course not. After all, she is from the same generation as the Origin Progenitor. Even Ancestor Lu Yuan is her junior."

    Great Elder Shan Gu averted his gaze and sighed. "If possible, I hope for you to find a way to live in peace with the Great Sovereign. While she has her selfish side, she also has a selfless side.

    "You also attended the Tea Ceremony. The Great Sovereign holds great respect for the human heroes who died to protect humanity. Those who are allowed to attend her Tea Ceremonies are not just peak powerhouses, but also those who have performed acts of great merit."

    Lu Yin considered the matter. During the Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign''s behavior had not been merely for show. She genuinely cared for those who had sacrificed their lives, and she was also truly fighting for mankind to stand united against the Aeternals. She did indeed possess traits that deserved to be respected by everyone.

    If not, it was impossible for the Sixverse Association to have ever united.

    Additionally, once the Lu family was exiled, the Great Sovereign had forbidden all Sixverse Association members from entering the Origin universe. Despite her hatred for the Origin Universe, she had not acted against it. In fact, if not for Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s provocation, many things would not have happened.

    Lu Yin had a headache. Just what was going on in that crazy woman¡¯s mind?

    Great Elder Shan Gu saw Lu Yin''s struggle andughed. "Dao Monarch Lu, there¡¯s no need for you to worry about such things. Just leave matters regarding the Great Sovereign to Ancestor Lu Yuan."

    Lu Yin smiled, as this was good advice. How his family would deal with the Great Sovereign was not something that Lu Yin could consider. Only Ancestor Lu Yuan was qualified to deal with that.

    While Lu Yin was the ruler of the Origin Universe, the person whom the Great Sovereign acknowledged from the Origin Universe was absolutely not Lu Yin, but rather Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    It was imperative that they find a way to convince the Great Sovereign to hand Nutjob Lu over to Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    After leaving the Lost n, Lu Yin returned straight to the Heavens Sect, where he found Wei Rong waiting in the main hall.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch." When he saw Lu Yin, Wei Rong bowed low.

    As a part of Lu Yin''s think tank, Wei Rong demonstrated a much more respectful attitude than Wang Wen.

    Lu Yin nodded and gestured for the man to have a seat. "Thank you for your hard work with the four ruling powers. I haven''t had the time to go over things with you in detail."

    Wei Rong smiled. "It wasn¡¯t much work, and there¡¯s simply noparison between the four ruling powers and my Heavens Sect. What I¡¯ve done cannotpare with what you¡¯ve aplished, Dao Monarch. Your subordinate has merely slightly elerated the rate of their downfall."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "You mentioned that you wanted to give me a surprise. What sort of surprise?"

    Wei Rong¡¯s smile turned bitter. "I wanted to surprise the Dao Monarch with the Wang family¡¯s Yellow Springs, but before my ns could be implemented, Dao Monarch returned the Lu family, and everything in the Wang family¡¯s possession was taken by my Heavens Sect. There was no longer any need for my schemes."

    "How did you learn about the Wang family''s Yellow Spring?" Lu Yin wondered. He had only learned about that matter after taking a huge risk and sneaking into the Celestial Frost Sect.

    Once Wei Rong exined and Lu Yin learned what had happened, he gave Wei Rong a strange look.

    It had been a honey trap!

    A woman from a branch of the Wang family named Wang Man had taken a liking to Wei Rong soon after he arrived in the Perennial World. Once Wei Rong learned of the woman¡¯s identity, the two had hit it off. Once, after getting drunk, the woman had identally revealed a few of the Wang family¡¯s secrets, including their Yellow Springs.

    "Wang Man didn''t know that it was called the Yellow Springs, and she simply mentioned that the Wang family¡¯s floating continent produces a liquid that is regarded as the Wang family¡¯s greatest secret. I only learned the name of ¡®Yellow Springs¡¯ after I joined the Wang family branch," Wei Rong exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. "So, you wanted to give me their Yellow Springs as a surprise?"

    Wei Rong smiled. "With Dao Monarch''s ability, how could he not know about the Yellow Springs? I want to gather all that the Wang family has produced and deliver it to Dao Monarch as a surprise."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2851: Laying Down A Heavy Burden

    Chapter 2851: Laying Down A Heavy Burden

    If anyone else had made such a im to Lu Yin, he would not believe them. As one of the four ruling powers, the Wang family had more than one Progenitor, so how could anyone hope to take away their Yellow Springs?

    However, Lu Yin trusted Wei Rong, and he believed that the youth could do as he imed. There were times when a sharp mind was even more reliable than absolute power.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Regardless, you gave me a nice surprise by sharing the location of Wang Jian and those with him. If not for you, they would have all escaped. I¡¯ll credit their capture to you."

    Wei Rong quickly stood up and bowed. "That was all a result of Wang Wen¡¯s doing. If he hadn''t taken control of the guides from the Sixverse Association, even if I had exposed their location, they would have still been able to leave. I don¡¯t dare to take credit for that."

    "You¡¯re still responsible. Both of you worked to make that capture possible," Lu Yin said appreciatively.

    Recruiting Wang Wen and Wei Rong was the best decision that Lu Yin had ever made all those years ago. Of the two, one was a brilliant strategist who could see the overall picture and long-term goals, while the other was scheming and skilled at manipting the situation to deliver fatal blows to an enemy without them ever seeing anythinging. Having the two support him provided Lu Yin with a tremendous amount of peace of mind.

    "How are those pawns?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Wei Rong straightened back up. "We released them."

    Lu Yin nodded, his eyes flickering. "Then we need to just wait for the final results."For a time, the Sixverse Association experienced a period of peace. The Endless Frontier returned to its typical condition, as the Aeternals neither increased nor decreased the intensity of their offensive on that battlefield.

    Information regarding the captains of the True God Guard slowly trickled into the Origin Universe.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan continued to try to revive Progenitor Ku while Lu Tianyi stood guard over the Perennial World, safeguarding against a sudden attack on the rear battlefield from Aeternus.

    The Lu family had returned to the Perennial World, and the Heavens Sect was protecting the Fifth Maind. Everything appeared quite harmonious.

    However, Lu Yin knew that this stability would notst.

    For countless years, the person who had fought against Aeternus the most was none other than Ancestor Lu Tianyi, and he had warned Lu Yin that the Aeternals had always maintained a certain bnce. It might be a bnce of strength, or some other bnce that they observed, but the sudden return of the Lu family had clearly upset that bnce. The Aeternals would absolutely take action.

    There was no question that they would seek to regain the bnce that they sought. If they could not handle the Lu family, then they would simply start elsewhere.

    Lu Tianyi asked Lu Yin to be very careful, and he also asked him to warn the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin sent a warning to Lord Xu and the other rulers of the universes, and all of them acknowledged Ancestor Lu Tianyi¡¯s warning. After all, all of them had been fighting against Aeternus for a very long time.

    Everyone was waiting to see what Aeternus would do.

    After Lu Yin warned Lord Xu and the others, he had a strange suspicion that Aeternus might already be making their move, but so was the Sixverse Association.

    As the ruler of the Origin Universe, Lu Yin would definitely be informed if the Sixverse Association was targeted, but he had not heard anything. This made him increasingly uneasy. No matter if the Aeternals or the Sixverse Association did something, the actions would definitely impact the Origin Universe.

    For this reason, Lu Yin went to speak with Lord Xu, Great Elder Shan Gu, and others. He asked pointed questions and received clear answers. The Sixverse Association would certainly make a move soon, but only sequence powerhouses would be included. Anyone who had not yet reached that level would be excluded.

    Lu Yin then understood that both Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi must have already known about this, but that they had not mentioned anything to him.

    While Lu Yin was indeed the ruler of the Origin Universe, as far as the rulers of the other universes in the Sixverse Association were concerned, the one who was truly in control of the Origin Universe was Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    This was rather expected, as Lu Yin truly was unable to participate in battles at that level.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others had not told Lu Yin because they did not want him rashly getting involved. It would be too dangerous for him.

    Atst, Lu Yin experienced what it felt like to be protected.

    If the sky fell, Ancestor Lu Yuan and others would hold it up. If attacks happened elsewhere, no matter how serious things might be, it was possible that Lu Yin would not even hear about such matters, as there was no point in him knowing about them.

    After Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, he considered the situation and then went to the Lu Sanctum to speak with Lu Tianyi. Lu Yin needed to be sure that, whatever the Sixverse Association did, it would not affect his own ns.

    "Aeternus attacked the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, as well as our own Heavens Sect. Naturally, we should return the favor," Lu Tianyi replied.

    Lu Yin was startled. "You¡¯re invading the Aeternals?"

    Lu Tianyi''s expression grew stern. "Even after all these years, I still haven¡¯t been able to determine the true depths of the Aeternals¡¯ strength. If we rashly charge into their territory, we might be doomed. However, even without invading Aeternus, we can still beat them by removing their external ws.¡±

    The man stared at Lu Yin. "Given that you are the ruler of the Origin Universe, I should have told you about this earlier, but Ancestor said that you are both the ruler of the Origin Universe and a child of our Lu family. You are still young, and there¡¯s no need for you to bear these burdens. Go and do whatever you want to do. ording to Ancestor, even if you don¡¯t like the Great Sovereign and call her a crazy bitch, he will still support and protect you.

    "Xiaoxuan, go enjoy your life. Before we die, the Lu family doesn''t need you to protect us. Do whatever you wish. If the universe copses, we will hold it up. After all these years, you must be tired."

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Tianyi, stunned. He had already known that his family cared for him and that they wanted to repay him for what he had done to bring them back. However, for years, he had climbed up, step by step, to eventually reach his current position. He had been under so much pressure that it was difficult for him toy it aside.

    He had often dreamed that someone else woulde and take his burdens from him, allowing him to return to the rxed and carefree Lu Xiaoxuan who had loved delicious food. But now that that day had finally arrived, he could not adjust to it.

    How many people had plotted against him? How many people had bullied him?

    He had ovee everything with his own abilities.

    Soon after he had started cultivating, he had been in awe of the power of theDaynight n. With Lu Yin¡¯s current status and strength, the threats he faced were from powerhouses such as old Mo, Sovereign Shao Yin, and the Seven Skygods. However, he had also obtained the support of other powerhouses, and he no longer needed to face the threats arrayed against him on his own.

    For a moment, Lu Yin was more than a little confused, as he did not know what to do.

    Do whatever he wished to do?

    Lu Yin sat on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, staring off into the distance. What did he want to do? Quietly cultivate until he became a Progenitor? Travel around the Sixverse Association and visit the people who had offended him so that he could settle past grudges? It was a rather tempting thought, but who was even left? Lu Yin had personally killed Sage Yuan and exposed Sovereign Shao Yin as a spy, which had forced the man to flee.

    Also, there were still Destiny¡¯s pearls.

    It was then that Lu Yin remembered that he had forgotten to ask about the whereabouts of the pearl that Destiny had given to the Lu family.

    Regardless, he knew that there was still a pearl in the Sixth Maind, which should be collected. Lu Yin might not be able to do that on his own, but the Heavens Sect had a number of Progenitors and peak powerhouses. Still, if he took a few of them, there was a risk that they would be ambushed by the Aeternals and trigger a massive battle. It would be best to go with just Ancestor Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin reached out to Lu Tianyi, only to learn that Lu Tianyi and Ancestor Lu Yuan were attempting to revive Progenitor Ku and had just started.

    All Lu Yin could do was wait.

    A monthter, a young man arrived at the Heavens Sect from another universe. He appeared nervous as he knelt down and tried to acknowledge Lu Yin as his master.

    It was a perfectlymon sight, as countless people arrived at the Heavens Sect on a daily basis, just to ask to be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple. They would boast about how talented they were, how they were an old friend of Lu Yin, or other such tricks. Most of the people were unable to even enter the Heavens Sect.

    There was an impressive number of highly talented cultivators gathered outside of the Heavens Sect. Most of them would find some way to join the sect, intending to rise through the ranks one step at a time to eventually be Lu Yin''s direct disciple. Lu Yin did not even know that these people existed. They wanted to ascend into the heavens in a single step, but that was impossible.

    The Heavens Sect had nevercked for news, especially for a person like Wu Da. He loved to ask around the Heavens Sect, interview people, and pick up valuable information through their ounts.

    Wu Da¡¯s cultivation had not improved much since he had graduated from the Astral Combat Academy, but the mediapany that he had founded had grown into a massive entity. Because he had been a student at the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as Lu Yin, rtively few people in the Fifth Maind would refuse to be interviewed by Wu Da.

    He had even interviewed Chen Le.

    "Excuse me, but why do you believe that you can be epted as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple?" Wu Da asked.

    In front of him stood a very excited youth, and he answered while waving his arms. "Because I have an innate gift, and it is exceptionally powerful."

    "Oh? What is your innate gift?"

    "I can make people obey me."

    Wu Da''s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked for a closeup shot of the youth. Cameras focused on him as Wu Da asked, "You have an innate gift that can make people obey you? That¡¯s unheard of! Is it really that impressive? Can you show us?"

    The youth raised his head high. "Simple!"

    He took out a bit of star essence from his cosmic ring and tossed it to a bystander. "Here, now hold me up high."

    The bystander was confused.

    Wu Da was also confused.

    Everyone who was watching was stunned.

    The youth red at the bystander. "Hold me up high!"

    The bystander looked at the star essence, and greed lit up his eyes. He then obediently picked up the youth and lifted him up high.

    The childughed arrogantly. "See? He obeyed me! What do you think of my innate gift? Will Dao Monarch Lu ept me as his disciple?"

    Wu Da felt humiliated. He had interviewed so many people before, but this child hadpletely shamed him.

    Many people held back theirughter. This person was nothing but a child, though a rich one.

    Wu Da soon moved on to interviewing other people.

    "Excuse me, why do you think you will be epted as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple?"

    "I graduated from the Astral Combat Academy."

    Wu Da''s eyes lit up. "Tell me more."

    "I ranked in the top ten of the Astral Combat Tournament, and I am already a member of the Universe Youth Council, as well as a candidate for the strongest of my generation."

    "Not bad," Wu Da praised. "You have a good chance."

    "Thank you."

    "Excuse me, why do you think you will be epted as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple?"

    "Because I''m cute."

    Wu Da was speechless.

    "Excuse me, why do you think you will be epted as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple?"

    "My name is Tuo Lin, and I am from the Cyclic Universe."

    Wu Da was briefly taken aback, but then his expression grew much more intense. "The Cyclic Universe?"

    Many people looked over.

    The Origin Universe had officially joined the Sixverse Association. There were some businessmen from the Sixverse Association who were doing their best to expand into the Origin Universe, and the universe was already activelymunicating with the rest of the member universes. There were already a number of people who were able to travel between various universes.

    This particr person was quite young, but even so, people were surprised to see that someone from the Cyclic Universe wanted to be a disciple of the master of the Heavens Sect.

    Wu Da sensed that this was quite the scoop, and he had all of the cameras focus on the young man. "Tuo Lin, right? Wait, you don''t seem to have any cultivation."

    Everyone else was also able to clearly sense that this young man seemed to have no cultivation at all.

    The young man blushed brightly. With so many people focused on him, he lowered his head and quietly replied, "That¡¯s right, I have no cultivation."

    Everyone lost interest in the young man. Why should a young man with absolutely no cultivation be Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple? Not to mention Dao Monarch Lu¡ªthere was no sect in the entire Fifth Maind who would ept such a person.

    On the other hand, Wu Da felt differently. This young man did not cultivate, so how had he arrived in the Origin Universe and just outside the Heavens Sect at that? There was something odd about the matter, even if the young man was inside a spacecraft.

    "Could you tell me why you think you should be epted as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple?" Wu Da asked again.

    Tuo Lin picked his head back and stared at the enormous Heavens Sect with fierce determination. "I have to be Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple."

    "I¡¯m sorry, but why?" Wu Da pressed.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2852: Chasing Time

    Chapter 2852: Chasing Time

    Tuo Lin took a while to think before he answered, "Determination."

    Wu Daughed. "Do you know how many people want to persuade Dao Monarch Lu with their determination? However, none have ever seeded. There are some people who have been kneeling outside of the Heavens Sect for several years, but Dao Monarch Lu might not even know that they exist. What you are saying is all toomon."

    Tuo Lin remained silent. He did not know how he could be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, so he had simply followed his passions and made his way to the Heavens Sect.

    Wu Da shook his head. "I hope that you seed."

    Tuo Lin quietly answered, "Thank you."

    Wu Da had beenpletely sincere. Lu Yin had no idea that there were people kneeling outside of the Heavens Sect, hoping to be his disciples. The only sort of disciple Lu Yin had ever epted was Ku Wei, who had been epted as Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking apprentice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength certainly qualified him to ept a disciple, but he had never considered doing so. After all, he was still quite young, and he also had numerous problems that he was trying to deal with.

    Even if he epted a disciple, Lu Yin intended to do the same as Mister Mu and ept a disciple who amazed or surprised him. Was there anyone who could do that in the known universes?

    Tuo Lin had left the Cyclic Universe for the Origin Universe, but by the same token, there were people from the Origin Universe who had made their way to the Cyclic Universe.Xuan Jiu was one of those people.

    In order to avoid Lu Yin, he had done everything he could to leave the Origin Universe.

    Finally, after being tricked and deceived and spending all of his savings, he had finally found someone willing and able to take him to the Cyclic Universe. Then, he had left.

    Staring out at an endless grasnd, Xuan Jiu shouted excitedly, "I finally left! I finally got rid of that rotten luck!"

    Nearby, people gave the man strange looks, and some of them even recognized Xuan Jiu. After all, he had the funds to travel to the Cyclic Universe from the Origin Universe, which meant that his status was not simple.

    Upon seeing Xuan Jiu¡¯s excitement, someone joked, "You old bastard, you want to get rid of your bad luck? All your divinations are the opposite of what¡¯s going to happen.¡±

    "This old man couldn¡¯t survive in the Origin Universe. Watch out, everyone, this old man might tell fortunes, but don¡¯t let him fool you here in the Cyclic Universe with his false divinations.¡±

    "Hahahaha!"

    Xuan Jiu became furious. "What did you say, you rotten goods? Grandpa Jiu¡¯s divinations never fail! They simply haven¡¯te to pass just yet."

    "Bah!" someone spat in disgust.

    Xuan Jiu gritted his teeth. He pulled a wooden pole out from his cosmic ring and looked at the writing on the g attached to the pole. ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandpa.¡±

    He felt that there was something wrong with this. Starsibyl was incredibly famous in the Fifth Maind, but not necessarily so in the Cyclic Universe.

    After thinking about it, he let out a cough. He moved away from the people around him and traveled to a nearby city. After entering, he did his best to ask around, and he quickly learned that there were many famous women in the Cyclic Universe. Apparently, the most famous was a woman named Yao Lan. It was said that she was one of the Nine Sages and was also Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s eldest disciple. She had be extremely famous for being able to fight against peak powerhouses as an Ascendant.

    Xuan Jiu initially wanted to change his sign from ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandpa" to "Yao Lan''s Ninth Grandpa," but after considering the matter repeatedly, he abandoned that idea. Supposedly, Sovereign Lotus had disciples all across the Sixverse Association, and Yao Lan appeared to be someone who should not be trifled with. Xuan Jiu knew that he was prone to getting into trouble, so he continued to ask around.

    Finally, after a long time, he heard a bit of news. There was a new person in charge of the Transcendent Universe, and her name was Bai Qian. She stayed in the Transcendent Universe, but her fame had spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association, and many people knew of her.

    She was perfect.

    She was famous, yet absent. Also, she seemed rather familiar to Xuan Jiu, and he felt that he had heard her name before. Was there a connection to Starsibyl?

    He quickly stopped thinking about it. It did not matter.

    Xuan Jiu settled on a decision, and he promptly reced ¡°Starsibyl¡¯s Ninth Grandpa¡± with ¡°Bai Qian¡¯s Ninth Grandpa.¡±

    Settling the sign high above his shoulders, Xuan Jiu started to wander about the Cyclic Universe.

    ¡­

    Time flowed by, and more than a month soon passed. On this day, the stellr tribtion of a Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough appeared in the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin and several others stepped out one after another to stare into the distance. "Big Sis, you¡¯re finally having your breakthrough."

    Aeternus¡¯s attack on the Heavens Sect had disrupted Big Sis¡¯ ns to breakthrough, and then the Lu family¡¯s return had upset her intentions of sweeping the Perennial World. Her breakthrough would be the icing on the cake for Lu Yin, as this would greatly strengthen the Heavens Sect.

    Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been an incredibly powerful Progenitor of the Second Maind during the Heavens Sect era. Even the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind, Gu Yizhi, had been impressed by the help that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been able to provide. It was easy to imagine just how powerful the woman had been in her prime.

    As long as Big Sis was able to fully recover the strength of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, the Heavens Sect would take another leap forward, moving closer to the glorious heights that it had known in the past.

    More and more people appeared, and they all stared off into the distance.

    The Progenitor¡¯s tribtion continued to expand, growingrger andrger.

    Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors had also arrived, along with Leng Qing, Cloudflow, and the other peak powerhouses.

    "Is Progenitor Y¨­u Ming stepping back into the Progenitor realm, or is she regaining her former strength?" Lu Buzheng was unable to understand what was happening.

    Lu Yin had the same question, as he also could not make sense of the situation.

    ording to logic, Big Sis should be regaining her strength as a Progenitor, but she was facing a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and judging by the scope of it, she was not facing a normal Progenitor¡¯s tribtion either.

    Beneath the tribtion¡¯s vortex, Big Sis¡¯ expression had turned solemn, and her eye was twitching. This breakthrough was giving her an increasingly ufortable feeling.

    What had happened between the Heavens Sect era and the present to havended her in her current state? She had never been able to find an answer to this question. If she had lost her cultivation in battle, then she should have been gravely injured, but there was nothing. Additionally, the Y¨­u Secret Art had been a shortcut for her to regain her former strength.

    The only problem was the Impious Sutra. It somehow controlled those who cultivated the battle technique and forced them to search for something. Could what the Impious Sutra had been searching for have anything to do with what had happened to Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?

    These thoughts all ran through Big Sis¡¯ mind as the tribtion was about to begin. She felt as though things were out of her control, as though something terrible was about to ur.

    Everyone waited for the Progenitor¡¯s tribtion to start.

    Finally, they saw a river flow down from the stellr tribtion.

    While others were confused and did not understand what this river was, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. "The river of time?"

    He had never dreamed that the first thing to appear during Big Sis¡¯ stellr tribtion would be the river of time. Did Big Sis control the power of time? Was her inner world rted to it?

    Lu Yin''s exmation startled everyone watching, and they stared on nkly. Was that really the long river of time?

    It had been said throughout the ages that time was invisible and intangible. It could be described as a gust of wind or as a river, but at this moment, they were all able to see that the river of time was a genuine river.

    Bis Sis¡¯ mind went nk for a moment. Then, countless memories shed before her. Her pupils instantly shrank, and she shouted, "I remember now! It''s over!"

    Lu Yin''s expression turned ugly.

    In the Perennial World, Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he gazed at the Fifth Maind. "No! Tianyi, stay here!"

    The old man then stepped out, instantly arriving in the Fifth Maind.

    "The river of time¡­"

    Lu Yin saw that Lu Yuan had arrived, as well as the ugly expression on the man¡¯s face. "Ancestor."

    Lu Yuan was staring into the distance. "She didn''t lose her cultivation, it was taken from her by the river of time."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin asked nervously.

    Lu Yuan answered in a low voice, "I already mentioned to you that, during the Heavens Sect era, the Origin Progenitor did not allow anyone to reverse the flow of time, and he used his swords to suppress the entire universe. Time could flow, but not in reverse. Doing so would cause a price to be paid.

    "If she had simply lost her cultivation and been forced to recultivate, it would not have influenced the river of time. She must have vited the rules of our era without the strength necessary to protect herself."

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Yuan, dazed by this information. "Are you saying that Big Sis reversed time?"

    Lu Yuan nodded. "I don''t know why she did it, but without the strength to equal the Three Realms and Six Dao, reversing time back then was courting death. It¡¯s a miracle that she was able to survive to this era, though her cultivation was torn away by the river of time. If she wants to return to her former peak, the only way is for her to enter the river of time. Whether or not she can even survive is one thing, but it will be impossible for her to remain in this era.

    "She will be cut off from this time."

    Lu Yin looked back at Big Sis. Did she want to break away from the current era? Did he want her to disappear? No, she was Big Sis, his family. She had rescued him, and she was one of the people dearest to him.

    "Ancestor, is there any way to help her? Even if doesn¡¯t restore her cultivation," Lu Yin asked worriedly.

    Lu Yuan sighed. "Every universe has its ownws, but time is one of the most basic rules. If anyone could reverse time, the universe would have copsed long ago.

    "The Origin Progenitor made sure that this would not happen. No matter what urred, time would not be allowed to go in reverse. He feared that the requisite price would be too steep for anyone to bear. No one was exempt from this rule.

    "Now that the river of time has appeared, even if she abandons her breakthrough, she will be swept into the river of time. Maybe an instant will pass, or maybe billions of years. She might bepletely erased by the river of time, or she could appear far in the future. It¡¯s impossible for anyone to know.

    "That is the price that she must pay."

    Lu Yin clenched his fists.

    Within the range of the stellr tribtion, the river of time continued to flow forward. Big Sis could do nothing to stop this river. The moment she was about to be swept into the river of time, she turned to look at Lu Yin and forced out a smile. "I''m sorry, Little Seven. I thought that I could help you, but luckily, your Lu family is back. Goodbye."

    The sight of Big Sis being swept away by the river of time caused Lu Yin''s pupils to constrict. "I can''t let this go!"

    He took a step forward. His hand rose, and Lightstream flew out, aimed straight at the river of time.

    Lu Yuan was startled. "Little Seven, stop!"

    Lu Yin shouted, "Ancestor, help me!"

    Lu Yuan''s hand that was about to grab Lu Yin and pull him back suddenly froze. This was the first time that Lu Yin had asked his family for help. For the sake of the Lu family, Lu Yin had endured too much. Lu Xiaoxuan had died to give way to Lu Yin. A carefree person had disappeared, and in his stead, the ruthless Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect had risen up. Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s entire being had been altered to save the Lu family.

    The debt that the Lu family owed Lu Yin made it difficult for Lu Yuan to continue.

    Lu Yin used Lightstream to chase after the river of time. This was his second inner world, and it used the power of space to chase after time.

    Big Sis had been swept away by the river of time, and the river had instantly disappeared. No one could see it other than Lu Yin. At the exact moment that the river of time was about topletely disappear, Lu Yuan reached it with his Lightstream.

    Lu Yuan''s eyes zed. Master, you stopped me once, but don¡¯t do so again! Don¡¯t stop me!

    The man¡¯s hand rose, and he mmed his Champions¡¯ Stage Down upon thest ssh of the vanishing river of time, holding it in ce before it could vanish into the void.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had already entered the river of time. Lightstream flickered, as time flowed about him. Countless scenes swirled around him, though he could not make out any of them clearly. "Big Sis!"

    Big Sis whirled around, shocked. "Little Seven, go back!"

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Big Sis, grab hold of me!"

    Big Sis¡¯ eyes turned bloodshot, but she could not hesitate at this moment. A massive shadow rose up behind her. It was her own image, magnified countless times over. It wore pure ck, and the scent of an orchid lingered about the image, giving it the impression of a poisonous flower. The aura of a powerful Progenitor swept through, creating ripples in the river of time. This was the true Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2853: Kicked Down

    <h4>Chapter 2853: Kicked Down</h4>

    The moment Big Sis entered the river of time, she had recovered her previous cultivation. It had been taken by time, and she had found it once again in the river of time.

    But even if she had found it, so what? Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been incapable of reversing time, and the attempt had caused her cultivation to be stolen by the river of time. She still had no way to get herself out.

    What had changed was that she was not alone this time. She had family, and a younger brother, who had pursued her into the river of time, ignoring the risk of death.

    For her family, she would fight even to the death.

    "The abyssal flower blooms, crossing over to the other side." The enormous ck image of the woman behind Big Sis raised its hands, and ck flowers blossomed all around her. They bloomed within the river of time and actually stopped the river from flowing for an instant. This was the power that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had reached after a lifetime of cultivating.

    A cultivator who had reached the pinnacle of power was capable of harnessing limited aspects of the power of both time and space. Even if Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had never specifically developed those powers, she was still capable of doing this much.

    She had been one of the most powerful individuals on the Second Maind and had been considered a guest of honor by Gu Yizhi.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hands clenched tightly as his Lightstream flickered, throwing both himself and Big Sis out of the river of time.

    Lu Yuan''s eyes red, and he waved a hand to swat his Champions¡¯ Stage away. The river of time disappeared.

    The entire process felt incredibly short, as just a moment had passed for Lu Yin and Big Sis. However, the rest of the universe had experienced the passing of half a year. A full half year had passed.

    Time did not target people or a single species, but rather entire universes.

    If time possessed awareness and consciousness, then it would think of humanity as nothing more than a sh in the pan.

    There were some people who believed that everything in the universe was rtive. To them, without human consciousness, outer space with all of its meteorites, astral phenomena, stars, and more would not exist. In this belief, even time was included.

    How could anyone determine if time existed if there was no one to track it?

    At the moment, Lu Yin and Big Sis were both quite confused about time.

    They had only spent a moment or two in the river of time, but everyone else had experienced the passing of half a year.

    For that half a year, Ancestor Lu Yuan had continuously suppressed the river of time with his Champions¡¯ Stage, preventing it from disappearing. It was only because of this that Lu Yin had been able to escape with Big Sis. If not for Lu Yuan, how else could Lu Yin have escaped within that narrow window of time?

    Space could chase time, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength was not enough for him to rise above the river of time.

    During the six months that Lu Yin had been in the river of time, the Heavens Sect, the Lu family, and all of the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors had gathered, worried that he would not be able to escape. Even if he did, they feared how long it would take him to do so.

    Even people like Chen Le, who did not care about the Heavens Sect, were concerned. After all, without Lu Yin, Chen Le would have a very difficult time staying in the Origin Universe.

    Fortunately, after half a year, Lu Yin had returned, and he had even brought back Big Sis.

    Panting for breath, Lu Yin''s arms were shaking. It had not been a simple matter to escape from the river of time. His Lightstream had the power of space, which essentially meant that Lu Yin had overreached his own abilities when it came to the power of space. If he had not sessfully be a Semi-Progenitor, what he had just done would have beenpletely impossible.

    Big Sis suddenly grabbed Lu Yin''s clothes and gave him a fierce re. "Who asked you to save me? You think I need you to save me? Huh?"

    Lu Yin looked back at Big Sis, who was staring at him.

    "Big Sis, your image..."

    Big Sis coughed and let go of Lu Yin. "So I didn¡¯t tell you before. If this impacts my chances of getting married, I¡¯ll skin you alive."

    Lu Yin was speechless. <i>Your chances of getting married were abysmal in the first ce...</i>

    Some distance away, Ancestor Lu Yuan let out a pent up breath. Fortunately, this had not happened during the Heavens Sect era. During that era, it would have been impossible for anyone to remain in the river of time for so long. <i>The kid is too impulsive, but he exemplifies the Lu family in everything he does.</i>

    Lu Qi hurried over, nervous, and his face quite pale. "Little Seven, are you okay?"

    Upon seeing Lu Qi''s obvious concern, Lu Yin felt rather apologetic, and he quickly spoke to the man.

    Highsage Leon and many others had been present and waiting since a long time ago. When they saw two people emerge from the river of time, they rushed over. They felt as though they had been the ones to survive the crisis.

    Big Sisughed and cursed with them, joking that the river of time could do nothing to change her. Highsage Leon kept patting her on the shoulder.

    Lu Yinughed. Big Sis had already recovered her memory and cultivation as Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, but her personality had not changed at all, and neither had her rtionship with Leon¡¯s Armada. It was possible that her personality had been exactly the same even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Lu Yin did not have many people whom he considered family, but Big Sis was unquestionably one of them. As long as it was within Lu Yin¡¯s power, he would protect his family.

    "Little Seven, don''t do anything like that again. That was too dangerous," Ancestor Lu Yuan spoke up.

    Lu Qi immediately echoed his ancestor. "That¡¯s right. Little Seven, there are things in the universe that you can¡¯t touch, not even after you be a Progenitor. They¡¯re just too dangerous."

    Lu Yin nodded and then looked at Ancestor Lu Yuan, quickly thanking the man, "Thank you for your help, Ancestor. She¡¯s my sister, and I just couldn¡¯t watch as she disappeared."

    Lu Yuan stared off into the distance as a smile appeared on his face. "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming is your sister... That¡¯s interesting. During the Heavens Sect era, she didn''t like my Lu family, and we never had any interactions with her. I never thought that, after so many years of a cold rtionship, she would eventually be one of the people closest to one of my descendants. It truly is impossible to predict things."

    Big Sis arrived and bowed to Lu Yuan. "Progenitor Yuan, it''s been a long time."

    Lu Yuan looked at Big Sis. "It certainly has been. I can¡¯t even remember thest time we met."

    Big Sis gave a teasing smile. "It was when I insulted your Lu family in front of Progenitor Mavis."

    Lu Yin blinked.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan was startled. "You were insulting us back then?"

    Big Sis nodded. "Back then, there were many people who looked down on your Lu family, including that despicable and shameless bastard, Ce Wangtian. I remember that someone from your Lu family said something."

    She paused, still looking at Progenitor Lu Yuan, before quoting, "¡¯I love how you look at me with clear distaste, yet are unable to do anything to me.¡¯"

    Lu Yin looked over at Ancestor Lu Yuan. Whoever had said that really deserved a beating. But then, why did Lu Yin feel like he had had simr thoughts himself?

    "Didn¡¯t I say that? Have we met before?" Lu Qi asked in confusion.

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    Progenitor Lu Yuanughed awkwardly. "I made that saying famous. So, it was because of that that you didn¡¯t like my Lu family."

    Big Sis shrugged. "It wasn¡¯t just me. That saying caused many people to dislike your Lu family, but things are different now. Those people are all dead or missing, while your Lu family is still alive and well. Progenitor Yuan, your famous words have endured from the Heavens Sect era to the present era. I can admire that."

    "Hahahaha, whoever doesn''t like my Lu family should just die. They¡¯re none of my concern," Progenitor Lu Yuan said with augh.

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. No wonder so many people hated his Lu family. If their ancestor behaved like so, then the rest of the family would act the same. Even Lu Yin¡¯s own father, Lu Qi, had spoken the exact same words as their ancestor.

    While it was true that the four ruling powers had rebelled against the Lu family, some of their anger towards the Lu family may have been justified.

    Before long, everyone dispersed.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan quickly left, returning to study a way to revive Progenitor Ku.

    Lu Qi also left. He was the one responsible for overseeing the 100,000 currents.

    Lu Tianyi had note, as he was standing guard over the Perennial World.

    Soon, only Lu Yin and Progenitor Y¨­u Ming remained. Even the members of Leon¡¯s Armada had moved far away.

    Big Sis shifted about awkwardly, clearly upset. "I really owe a huge favor this time. I can¡¯t even think of how to repay it."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Juste work for me."

    Big Sis red at him. "When did I ever say that I owed <i>you</i>? I owe the founding ancestor of your family."

    Seeing Lu Yin''s confusion, Big Sis rolled her eyes. "Do you think that it''s that easy to stay in the river of time? He paid a price, and it was even steeper than if he had faced off against someone as strong as himself."

    Lu Yin had already learned that, during the Heavens Sect era, Ancestor Yuan had been unable to save his own son. While things had changed since that era, the river of time remained very difficult to deal with, let alone holding it in ce for half a year.

    Progenitor Yuan¡¯s strength meant that there was no need for him to use his innate gift, unless he was facing someone as powerful as the Three Realms and Six Dao. However, in order to restrain the river of time, he had used his Champions¡¯ Stage, which could be viewed as the man revealing some of his strength that was normally kept hidden. Indeed, Progenitor Lu Yuan had paid a steep price to save Lu Yin.

    "Big Sis, you don''t need to repay any favor. I asked my ancestor to help," Lu Yin replied.

    Big Sis just sneered at Lu Yin. "Right, is this how you¡¯re going to choke your sister? Am I the kind of person who doesn''t repay the money that I owe? Bah! Are you trying to say that I don¡¯t repay favors? Do you think that I need you to take care of me? Are you looking down on me? That¡¯s what this is, isn¡¯t it? Since I couldn¡¯t help you wipe out the four ruling powers, you don¡¯t take me seriously anymore, do you?¡±

    Lu Yin grimaced. "Of course it¡¯s not that. It''s just-"

    "It''s just nothing! I''ll repay my own debts. As your beloved Big Sis, what do you owe on my behalf? I''ll help you repay it." Big Sis thumped her chest. She was quite proud that her former cultivation had returned. In the current universe, few had the strength to contend with Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    Lu Yin grew very somber as he fell deep into thought about something.

    Big Sis did not bother him.

    After a while, Lu Yin looked at Big Sis. "I want to save Yan''er."

    Thisment startled the woman. "You haven¡¯t asked Progenitor Yuan?"

    Lu Yin repeated what Ancestor Lu Yuan had told him.

    Upon hearing that, Big Sis grew embarrassed. "Actually, I still haven''t quite recovered my full strength. After so much time has gone by, well, this is how it is."

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I understand, Big Sis. After all, you don¡¯t have the same strength as the Three Realms and Six Dao."

    Big Sis¡¯ face flushed red. Her hand rose, and she patted Lu Yin''s shoulder in a somber manner. "Little Seven, don''t worry. I will work hard, and once I¡¯m confident, I will do my utmost to help my family."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "By the way, what happened to you in the past? How did you end up in such a situation, Big Sis?"

    The question instantly roused Big Sis¡¯ anger. "Undying God was absolutely right! I was tricked by that bastard, Ce Wangtian."

    Lu Yin asked, "Exactly what happened?"

    Big Sis gritted her teeth, clearly furious. "During the fiercest fighting in the war on the Third Maind, a big tree appeared. It was the big tree that can take people to the Immemorial Citadel, which is a ce where many people want to go. Ce Wangtian, me, and a few other powerhouses from that era tried our best to grab hold of the big tree, but that bastard, Ce Wangtian, schemed against me and kicked me off of the tree. How could he be so unreasonable? The damn bastard."

    The woman¡¯s anger did not diminish. "I didn¡¯t have any way to get there on my own, and while I didn¡¯t have a problem risking my life on the Third Maind, I would only do so if it was my choice. I would not allow that bastard Ce Wangtian to block my way."

    At this point, Big Sis coughed before she continued to say, "That bastard wanted to go to the Immemorial Citadel without me. I obviously refused, so I immediately tried to reverse time by a second in order to avoid being kicked off the tree by Ce Wangtian."

    She let out a deep sight. "You should already know that, during that era, reversing time was exceptionally difficult, essentially forbidden. My attempt caused me to fall into the river of time, and I couldn¡¯t escape. I was lost, and my cultivation and my memories were all stripped away. All that was left were my instincts when I fell out and ended up in this current era.¡±

    "The river of time is an all-epassing concept. Any power lost in the river of time might reappear in the past, or in the future. The Impious Sutra appeared long ago, and you know what happened after that."

 Chapter 2854: Found It

    <h4>Chapter 2854: Found It</h4>

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Big Sis had gotten so angry whenever Ce Wangtian was mentioned. Even without Big Sis''s fierce temper, being kicked out of the tree by Ce Wangtian would make even a mild-mannered person furious. Moreover, where had Ce Wangtian kicked Big Sis?

    Lu Yin nced at Big Sis.

    Big Sis gritted her teeth, still lost in her anger towards Ce Wangtian. She had to chase that bastard to the Immemorial Citadel so that she could y him.

    "Then, what about the Y¨­u Secret Art? What''s the deal with that?"

    "That was a back-up I left behind. I left it behind before going to the war in the Third Maind. That was to avoid dying on the battlefield."

    "Smart."

    "Of course."

    "Big Sis, is Ce Wangtian very powerful?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis clenched a fist. "While I really don''t want to admit it, that bastard is beyond shameless and extremely insidious. The strength that he¡¯s revealed so far is absolutely not his true power, or else he would have never been able to kick me down. At that time, everyone was on guard against each other, and there was no way I would have trusted him, but he was still able to kick me off.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that Ce Wangtian was a very cunning person.

    "Why did you want to go to the Immemorial Citadel in the first ce?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis frowned, but took a moment to think about it. "The Origin Progenitor once said that the Immemorial Citadel has a path that contains the power to rise above the Progenitor realm."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew wide. "The power to rise above the Progenitor realm?"

    Big Sis looked at Lu Yin. "Everyone is certain that the Progenitor realm is the pinnacle of human cultivation, but you already know that there is a difference between weak and strong Progenitors. The weakest Progenitors can''t defeat you, while you aren¡¯t capable of even putting up a fight against the strongest Progenitors. Since we are split between the strong and the weak, then why are we all called Progenitors?

    "Because the Progenitor realm is not the true pinnacle.

    "The Origin Progenitor was not a Progenitor. While he imed that he was a Progenitor and was referred to as such, everyone from our era agreed that the Origin Progenitor had clearly reached a higher level. The Three Realms and Six Dao were at the limit of a Progenitor¡¯s strength, but the Origin Progenitor was still on another level from them. The only possibility anyone could imagine was that the Origin Progenitor had ascended beyond the Progenitor realm.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. "The Lost n has Primeval cards, and those are also beyond the Progenitor realm."

    Big Sis looked quite solemn. "The war between humans and Aeternus hassted for countless years. Truthfully, during our era, the Aeternals were not taken seriously at first. It wasn¡¯t until the First Maind was destroyed and the Origin Progenitor disappeared, followed by one of the Three Realms and Six Dao. One by one, they died or disappeared. Only after that did the Aeternals show their fangs.¡±

    Lu Yin nervously asked, "Why did that happen? What happened at the beginning?"

    Big Sis shook her head. "It all happened too quickly. By the time we even reacted, the First Maind had already shattered, quickly followed by the Fourth Maind. An all-out war was being fought on the Third Maind at Turtledove River. At the time, we had peak powerhouses from other universes helping us. I was kicked off of a tree by Ce Wangtian during the battle of Turtledove River, and I tried to reverse time, which is how I ended up in this current era. Actually, hasn¡¯t Progenitor Yuan shared any of this with you?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. Naturally, he had asked Ancestor Lu Yuan about the fall of the Heavens Sect, but the man had not wanted to say much to Lu Yin. Lu Yuan had mentioned that it involved karma beyond the limits of what Lu Yin could handle, which suggested that it involved forces beyond the Progenitor realm. That was the power that had shattered the First Maind.

    Progenitor Yuan feared that telling Lu Yin about such matters would influence the direction of the young man¡¯s cultivation, which would change the path he was following.

    "Where is the Origin Progenitor? Is he dead?"

    "Since you¡¯ve already asked Progenitor Yuan, don''t ask me. How could I know more than him?"

    Lu Yin realized that this was urate.

    Progenitor Lu Yuan was certain that the Origin Progenitor was not dead, but then, where was he? The Immemorial Citadel?

    What did the Immemorial Citadel mean to the Aeternals? If there were many powerful humans there, why had they not counterattacked against Aeternus?

    Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor, and thus, this was all that he knew. He would not be able to learn more until he became a Progenitor.

    Progenitor Lu Yuan had mentioned that Lu Yin¡¯s path would only be fixed during his breakthrough to be a Progenitor. After that, the man would tell Lu Yin everything he knew.

    Soon, Lu Yin and Big Sis parted ways.

    The Heavens Sect had gained another powerfulbatant: Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    At the moment, the Heavens Sect and the Lu family had a total of twelve peak powerhouses in total. That number also did not include Lu Yin, who could fight on that level, or the jiao, which had escaped. Lu Yin still did not know where it was hiding.

    In terms of sheer number, the Heavens Sect surpassed the Cyclic Universe, which had lost Sage Yuan, Evergreen Sage, and Sovereign Shao Yin. There was no question that the Origin Universe was the strongest member of the Sixverse Association.

    The Cyclic Universe had Sovereigns Dou Sheng and Ninth Lotus, but the Origin Universe had Progenitor Lu Tianyi, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie, as well as Astral-10¡¯s headmaster, Shao Chen, who had reached the peak by taking an alternate path. Arch-Elder Zen was also someone who could not be ignored, as his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique was able to bring out the power of Progenitor Lu Tianyi.

    If war broke out between the two universes and Progenitor Lu Yuan held back the Great Sovereign, the Cyclic Universe would be defeated.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had personal connections throughout the entire Sixverse Association who would support him. No matter how one looked at the situation, Lu Yin led the strongest force among the known parallel universes.

    Lu Yin was particrly looking forward to when Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors started to break through to the Progenitor realm. At that time, the Heavens Sect would witness the birth of another glorious era.

    There were advantages and disadvantages to everything. The Origin Universe¡¯s strength would naturally draw the ire of the Aeternals. For the next battle with Aeternus, the Origin Universe could not allow the Sixverse Association to take the lead.

    ...

    "That way." In the Sixth Maind, Destina was indicating towards a particr direction. Beside her were Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin had asked Lu Tianyi to apany him to the Sixth Maind to search for the Stargazing Deck.

    Destiny had long since been a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s heart, and both Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi also wanted to investigate Destiny more.

    They were already aware that Wilderness God could be reborn, and both the Heavens Sect and the Lu family had been working hard to collect humanoid sourceboxes. If they could also find all of Destiny¡¯s pearls, it might cause more of the Heavens Sect era¡¯s greatest powerhouses to reappear.

    Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi followed Destina¡¯s directions and moved across the Sixth Maind.

    The Sixth Maind was the Aeternals¡¯ domain, but with Lu Tianyi taking the lead, Lu Yin and Destina were not at all afraid.

    In fact,pared to the Aeternals, Destina was more worried about Lu Tianyi.

    During the Heavens Sect era, Lu Tianyi had been a Dao Chosen, just like Chu Yuan, Heluo Mavis, and the others. However, he had since risen up to be one of the Lu family¡¯s ancestors, and he was second only to Lu Yuan. Destina could sense the man¡¯s strength.

    Cultivating Destiny¡¯s methods had granted Destina a unique means of feeling people¡¯s strength, and to her perception, Lu Tianyi was exceptionally powerful.

    The unfathomable aura reminded her of her master, Destiny. Destina found it ridiculous that Lu Tianyi actually gave off a simr impression as her master, as it should be impossible. Lu Tianyi could never reach the same level as Destiny, no matter how much time might pass. Even so, the oppressive feeling never diminished.

    With Lu Tianyi leading the way, the three quickly arrived at where Destina had been indicating, and there, they saw the Daosource Sect.

    At the end of the Heavens Sect era, four Mainds had been destroyed, leaving only the Fifth and Sixth Mainds surviving.

    The Fifth Maind had relied on the Lu family to survive, and in the subsequent years, Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and other amazing and talented people had been born. However, Lu Yin did not know how the Sixth Maind had managed to survive for so long.

    Still, the Sixth Maind should not be that weak, or else it would have never been capable of fighting against the Fifth Maind, even with the cooperation of the Aeternals.

    All of the Sixth Maind¡¯s most powerful cultivators and their descendants had moved to the Fifth Maind¡¯s Outerverse, and they had also relocated their Daosource Sect. At one point in time, Kui Luo had snuck into the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect and seen the statue of the Origin Progenitor. However, what Lu Yin and the others were looking at was the ruins of the Sixth Maind¡¯s original Daosource Sect.

    Lu Tianyi stared at the ruins before him, feeling rather conflicted.

    Only people who had lived during the height of the Heavens Sect era could appreciate the sadness induced by the rise and fall of the Origin Universe. The Daosource Sect had been the symbol of humanity for the Origin Universe, but it had been reduced to a haunt where the Aeternals produced corpse kings.

    "Are you sure that it¡¯s here?" Lu Tianyi asked softly.

    Destina nodded. "Absolutely."

    Lu Tianyi raised a hand and pointed a finger. The void warped, and an entire region of the universe was squeezed by some invisible power that swept out and split the ruins of Daosource Sect in two.

    "The glory of the past is gone."

    A massive figure charged out. It was one of the Aeternals¡¯ Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    The corpse king rushed at Lu Tianyi. It did not fear death, as corpse kings felt no fear at all. The monster raised a fist and mmed it down. ck gravel swirled just beyond the fist¡¯s shockwave, which was clearly the corpse king¡¯s innate gift.

    Lu Tianyi''s eyes did not even look at the corpse king. He continued to stare off into the distance as he took a single step forward, leading Lu Yin and Destina past the corpse king.

    The corpse king was simply crushed.

    Even a Progenitor-level corpse king had no way to fight back.

    Destina''s pupils shrank. She could not understand what had just happened.

    However, Lu Yin did understand. Lu Tianyi had not attacked, but the sequence particles in front of the man had not moved or disappeared. The corpse king had killed itself by rushing straight into those sequence particles.

    Those sequence particles were thews of the universe that Lu Tianyi wielded, and it was aw of extreme destruction. As long as he touched something, should he so desire, Lu Tianyi would shatter what he touched. If he touched a person, they would not be able to heal the injury or heal. It was a truly domineeringw.

    This was Lu Tianyi¡¯sw.

    The gap between Progenitors was vaster than what people could imagine.

    Ripples spread out, and everyst corpse king was destroyed.

    "If one chooses to be the corpse king, then they deserve no pity when they die. If they were forced to transform, then death liberates them. Xiaoxuan, you cannot be soft-hearted when ites to Aeternus," Lu Tianyimented in an off-hand manner.

    Lu Yin acknowledged the advice, "This junior understands."

    The ruins of the Daosource Sect were in terrible condition, and the walls that still stood were at risk of copsing from the slightest touch. The ce that had once represented the ultimate glory of the Sixth Maind had been brought so low.

    "Ancestor, is the Sixth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch dead or alive?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nothing was known about the Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan n. There were known to have been the Three Realms and Six Dao during the Heavens Sect era, and while the Three Realms were all known, the Six Dao consisted of the six Dao Monarchs. The First Maind had had the Origin Progenitor himself, and the Mavis family had ruled over the Second Maind. Gu Yizhi had been the Dao Monarch of the Third Maind. Wilderness God had been given the Fourth Maind, and Ancestor Lu Yuan had been in charge of the Fifth Maind. All of them were known and spoken about, but the Sixth Maind¡¯s Garan n was almost never mentioned.

    Lu Tianyi found the Stargazing Deck and led Lu Yin to it. "The Garan n has a single lineage inheritance. Such an inheritance ensures that each descendant of their family will be powerful and that no weaklings will be born, but the shorings of such a bloodline are also quite clear. The family can be easily wiped out.

    "The Garan family¡¯s bloodline was severed with Sky Garan''s disappearance. His father also died in battle, and their ancestor disappeared. Since then, the Garan family never appeared again. As time passed, everyone believe that the family had been wiped out."

    Lu Yin asked, "The Garan family¡¯s ancestor went missing?"

    Lu Tianyi looked forward. "There it is."

    Lu Yin looked forward and saw the Stargazing Deck just up ahead. The entire ruins of the Daosource Sect had been freed of corpse kings.

    Lu Yin slowly walked down next to the Stargazing Deck. He had finally found it.

    The pearl that had been given to the Lu family had been given away long ago, going missing. With the pearl that Lu Yin recovered, the only one still missing was the one that had been given to the Lu family. However, Lu Yin should be able to track it down with the other pearls that he had gathered.

    With Lu Tianyi at his side, Lu Yin was in no hurry to grab the pearl. He wanted to first step onto the Stargazing Deck.

 Chapter 2855: Rematch

    <h4>Chapter 2855: Rematch</h4>

    Lu Yin still vividly remembered when he had stepped onto the Stargazing Deckst time. The visions he received were influenced by the power of Destiny¡¯s pearls. What had left the deepest impression was when he had held a Book of Destiny and stepped onto the Stargazing Deck. He knew that he had witnessed a shocking scene, but he had forgotten all of the details.

    He could not remember what he had seen, only that it had left him badly stunned.

    Stepping onto the Stargazing Deck with and without a Book of Destiny inducedpletely different scenarios.

    While the Books of Destiny were badly damaged, Lu Yin had instead obtained Destiny¡¯s pearls.

    Thinking of this, Lu Yin stepped forward and onto the Stargazing Deck. The continent of fatesand inside of him trembled. The various powers were still streaming out of the continent and into the sky above it, condensing into stars. At this moment, Lu Yin froze for a moment, as he could see the outline of time.

    Simultaneously, in two different Mainds, Destina, Skymender, and Xiao Shi all vomited blood. Bai Xian¡¯er did the same, despite being in the Cyclic Universe.

    All of them were too familiar with this sensation, and they knew that Lu Yin had triggered Destiny again.

    At the same moment, Lu Yin was staring at a cliff. It was ck and endless. He looked up to gaze above the cliff. What was that?

    An indescribable power knocked Lu Yin backwards. He stumbled a few steps back and looked up to stare at the Stargazing Deck.

    Once again, he hadpletely forgotten what he had just seen. Eyes opened in the sky, and strange sequence particles swirled down to disappear around the Stargazing Deck.

    It was the power of Destiny.

    Lu Tianyi suddenly reached out and grabbed one of the sequence particles. There was a shout, and the ruins of the Daosource Sect copsed. Cracks appeared in the Stargazing Deck, and Lu Yin''s pupils shrank to pinpricks. Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s power had shed with the power of Destiny that hung in the air. This was a collision between thews of the universe.

    Even so, regardless of how powerful Destiny might be, she was not present. When Lu Tianyi opened his hand once again, the sequence particle had disappeared.

    He had defeated the power of Destiny, though it had only been a tiny bit.

    "This is the power of Destiny. A universe needs endless rules before it cane into being, and Destiny wielded thew of Destiny," Lu Tianyi murmured to himself.

    Lu Yin did not understand. He had simply wanted to step onto the Stargazing Deck to see if he could remember what he had seen before. Unfortunately, the Stargazing Deck continued to crack until it finally shattered into dust, leaving behind only a single pearl.

    "So fragile?" Lu Tianyi was stunned.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Well, Destiny isn¡¯t here."

    As he spoke, he squatted down and picked up the pearl. With this, there was only one pearl still missing. Once he gathered them all, would Destiny possibly appear?

    However, with Ancestor Lu Yuan behind him, Lu Yin was no longer frightened of such a possibility.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, Lu Tianyi''s expression changed, and he slowly turned around. "An old rival is here."

    Right after that, Lu Yin felt the atmosphere grow heavy, and the starry sky gained greater depth. The stars trembled as a suffocating pressure drew closer and closer.

    For Lu Yin to feel such pressure with his current strength, this had to be one of the Seven Skygods, though he could not say which one.

    Soon, someone appeared, and they looked down at Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin.

    "ckless God." Lu Yin''s expression turned solemn.

    Of the Seven Skygods, Whiteless God was the most mysterious. Lu Yin had faced off against Forgotten Ruins God and Shaman God the most, and he had developed a decent understanding of both of them. As for ckless God, he gave Lu Yin an impression of depth, boundless depth.

    ckless God was the first Skygod that Lu Yin had evere into contact with. After Lu Yin received help from Progenitor Chen, the first time he had ever been trapped was by ckless God as well.

    Lu Yin would never forget the time in Millions City when ckless God''s avatar had been instantly destroyed by Mister Mu. While the Skygod¡¯sst words before death had meant nothing, they had revealed that ckless God knew Mister Mu.

    None of the Seven Skygods were simple characters.

    ckless God''s eyes were bright and lively, yet they contained a hidden darkness and depth to them. In them, three ck lines crossed to form a star-shaped pattern. He stared at the three people before him. "Lu Tianyi, it¡¯s been a long time."

    Lu Tianyi staRedback at ckless God. "It won''t be that long."

    "I thought that you would never show up again."

    "When our ancestor awoke, he would always be able to bring us back. Why would I not show up?"

    "You are incredibly lucky, but since you have returned, you can die with this era." The moment ckless God finished speaking, the three ck lines in his eyes started to spin.

    Lu Tianyi shoved Lu Yin away. "Be careful!"

    Against ckless God, not even Lu Tianyi could afford a moment¡¯s carelessness.

    Lu Yin had heard that Lu Tianyi had once fought against the Seven Skygods on his own and that he had even faced off against True God. At that time, Lu Yin had thought that, if Lu Tianyi truly possessed such strength, he should be at least equal to the Three Realms and Six Dao. After all, one of the Three Realms and Six Dao had be one of the Seven Skygods: Ancient God.

    Later, while speaking with Ancestor Lu Yuan, Lu Yin had learned that the Skygods had all been shunned from the Origin Universe. This was an unique ability of the Dao Monarch, and it prevented the Skygods from exerting their full strength. Still, Lu Tianyi had conferred the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as his gods, and with his own power added on, Lu Yin believed that the man was at least as strong as the rulers of the other parallel universes.

    ckless God could not stop Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin nced around, as it would be a big problem if another Skygod appeared.

    A distant figure appeared. Despite the distance, Lu Yin still heard heavy breathing.

    It was a very familiar sound, and he had a shback to when he had been ambushed during hisst visit to the Sixth Maind. The corpse king who had attacked Lu Yin at that time had reappeared. His name was Zhong Pan, and he was a captain of the True God Guard.

    The sight of Zhong Pan caused Lu Yin to grow solemn. When they first met, Lu Yin had been too weak to do anything to the corpse king. He had beenpletely overpowered and utterly suppressed at every turn. This time, it would be different.

    In the sky above, ckless God and Lu Tianyi started a fight that Destina could not understand. The power that unfolded shattered space and was not something that she could even see. While that battle carried on, Zhong Pan had appeared in front of Lu Yin and Destina.

    "Be careful," Lu Yin also said. He then stared at Zhong Pan. "I¡¯ve wanted to see you again."

    Zhong Pan possessed incredible physical strength. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the corpse king was a freak.

    Slitted scarlet eyes stared at Lu Yin. Suddenly, the corpse king raised a hand, throwing a palm strike at Lu Yin from a distance.

    A purplish-ck substance spread across Lu Yin''s body, and the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant appeared behind him and let out a roar as Lu Yin retaliated with his own palm strike.

    There was a bang as the void twisted and exploded.

    When Lu Yin first faced off against Zhong Pan, he had been injured by a single attack. Lu Yin had only been able to survive through thebination of his slipper and Investiture of the Gods. He had managed to divert Zhong Pan¡¯s attacks just enough to be able to escape with Jiang Qingyue. At present, Lu Yin no longer needed those tools.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm had not just formed four inner worlds; it had also induced an earth-shaking change in Lu Yin''s own physical strength. He was confident that his strength was no less than Zhong Pan¡¯s now.

    The corpse king leapt up,nded in front of Lu Yin, and released a punch. It was a simple and pure attack with nothing fancy about it. There was not even the slightest hint of a battle technique. It was nothing more than a punch.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and released a mirrored punch of his own. The two fists collided with a deafening noise, and a shockwave rippled out that pushed Destina back.

    She did not dare to move too far away, as she feared that Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin would leave her behind when they left. At the same time, she did not dare to get too close either. Lu Tianyi''s battlefield did not even need to be mentioned, as merely being touched by the aftershocks would be fatal. However, Lu Yin''s battlefield was also more than what Destina could handle. She was vomiting blood after just being struck by the shockwaves.

    She gritted her teeth and sent out a thread of Destiny before herself, trying to spread out her strength.

    However, the intensity of the sh between Lu Yin and Zhong Pan was rising. Zhong Pan underwent a Gray Eye Transformation, while at the same time, Lu Yin used Infinity. Terrifying forces impacted each other, knocking Destina away.

    She had never imagined that a day woulde when she was unable to even approach Lu Yin''s battlefield, let alone when he was only a Semi-Progenitor.

    The Gray Eye Transformation increased Zhong Pan¡¯s strength tenfold while Lu Yin''s Infinity formed more and more lines of strength. It truly did appear to be infinite, even if it was ultimately limited. That restriction would remain, unless Infinity transformed into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Still, it was enough, for the moment.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    As fist met fist in simple, brutal collisions, the two did not even flinch, though the shockwaves of their shes swept through the surrounding area, destroying the remaining ruins of the Daosource Sect and shattering space.

    Far away, Lu Tianyi and ckless God simultaneously looked at each other.

    "The heir of your Lu family is amazing, Lu Tianyi. His threat is much greater than even you," ckless God said with no expression on his face. Three intersecting ck lines kept moving about in front of the Skygod, attempting to trick and trap Lu Tianyi, but the Progenitor had fought ckless God before, and he knew the Skygod¡¯s tricks.

    "You can''t touch him. As long as the Lu family lives, not even True God can touch him."

    "Human emotions are tooplex, and while thatplication allowed the incredible Heavens Sect to rise up, in the end, the Heavens Sect is gone, never to reappear."

    "The Heavens Sect has already reappeared. Not all of you Seven Skygods are corpse kings, so why are you so loyal to True God?"

    "The fact that you are trying to dissuade me indicates that you have such intentions and that that goes for all of humanity as well. Does that mean that there are also previous examples of Aeternals that were persuaded to double cross us? Are they still in Aeternus?"

    Lu Tianyi''s expression did not change at all, though he grew far warier. Just a casual sentence had given ckless God various ideas. This enemy was both powerful and smart.

    "ckless God, do you really think that you can stop us?"

    "I will try."

    "In the Origin Universe, not even all Seven Skygodsbined can stop me."

    "That doesn¡¯t mean that you will be able to take Lu Xiaoxuan away."

    "You are underestimating the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas!" Lu Tianyi shouted in a deep voice. Over his head, the Investiture of the Gods appeared, and figures stepped out one after another.

    A golden light illuminated the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin forced Zhong Pan back with a punch and looked around.

    He saw Lu Tianyi¡¯s conferred gods appearing from the golden scroll. Those were the summoned gods of Progenitor Ku, Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan.

    Three figures stepped out, representing three of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    As long as a person did not die, their power could be used by the person who had conferred them as gods. The fact that these people appeared was proof that they were not dead.

    Progenitor Ku still lived.

    Lu Tianyi was proof of this, which was why Ancestor Lu Yuan continued to try to save Progenitor Ku. Progenitor Ku was still alive.

    However, it was impossible for Lu Tianyi to summon Xia Shenji''s conferred god. The original Xia Shenji had died, and his clone had been conferred as a god by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grew excited. In front of him, Zhong Pan¡¯s eyes changed color once more, turning green, and then red.

    The corpse king¡¯s improved strength was enough to solidify the air, making it impossible for Lu Yin to move.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s chest, the Withered Bark twitched as it sent a stream of energy into the sky above the continent. Lu Yin pulled his arm back and then punched out, confining a hundred punches with the power of time.

    Zhong Pan¡¯s eyes had already be solid-red when Lu Yin released his punch, and the corpse king could only instinctively retaliate with his own fist.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    There was a terrible noise, and Zhong Pan was knocked back again. His arm was twisted unnaturally, and his body tumbled through space, leaving behind a dark streak in the sky.

    At this same time, Lu Tianyi arrived, and his Investiture of the Gods disappeared as he grabbed Lu Yin. Destina was desperate to survive, so she took the opportunity and rushed over. Lu Tianyi grabbed her as well. "Let''s go."

    They wanted to leave, and ckless God alone was unable to stop them.

    He showed no intention of even trying to do so, and he simply watched as Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin left.

    A short distance away, Lu Yin tore through the void, and the three people vanished.

 Chapter 2856: A Request For Help

    <h4>Chapter 2856: A Request For Help</h4>

    After the humans were all gone, Zhong Pan rose back to his feet. The Red Eyes Transformation slowly faded. ckless God nced over and said, "You will have plenty of opportunities to fight him again. Next time, use the Red Eyes Transformation immediately, or else you¡¯ll die."

    Zhong Pan gave no answer, though his breathing grew heavier.

    Upon returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Tianyi returned to the Perennial World. Before leaving, he specifically warned Lu Yin to never underestimate the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin asked his ancestor if he was confident about saving Progenitor Ku, but Lu Tianyi could not give an answer.

    Lu Yin felt rather frustrated. The fight against Zhong Pan had prevented him from seeing the moment when the summoned god of Progenitor Ku had attacked ckless God. Given Progenitor Ku''s ability to instantly defeat Undying God, Lu Yin had no idea what sort of oue would ur if the Progenitor faced off against ckless God.

    Having retrieved the pearl, Lu Yin asked Destina and the others who cultivated Destiny¡¯s power to determine the location of thest pearl.

    The people worked together to perform a divination and ultimately determined that thest pearl was in a parallel universe.

    Lu Yin immediately thought of Bai Xian''er, as he could not think of anyone else who might have that pearl.

    With that thought, Lu Yin took Destina to the Cyclic Universe and asked her to perform the divination again in that universe.

    Surprisingly, the final pearl was not in the Cyclic Universe.

    Lu Yin naturally assumed that Bai Xian''er was not in the universe either, so he tried to contact her.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, I didn''t expect you to call me." Bai Xian''er''s voice immediately came through from themunication crystal.

    Lu Yin ended the call. Bai Xian''er was in the Cyclic Universe, but the pearl was not. This meant that she did not have the final pearl.

    Elsewhere in the Cyclic Universe, Bai Xian''er was stunned. Lu Yin had called her, which had surprised her. She had thought that he was reaching out because of what had happened with the four ruling powers. At the moment, aside from the members of the White Dragon n and the Xia family, everyone else in the Perennial World who had been part of the four ruling powers had been sent to protect the 100,000 currents. Bai Xian¡¯er had already learned about this, but she was powerless to intervene.

    Lu Yin had called her, but he had not spoken a word. What did that mean? Could he have wanted to see if Bai Xian¡¯er was dead after he triggered Destiny?

    No matter how smart Bai Xian''er might be, she could not make any sense of Lu Yin¡¯s actions.

    Lu Yin had no ns to check the other parallel universes to search for the pearl. He could not go through them one by one. After all, the parallel universes thatposed the Sixverse Association was nowhere close to all of the parallel universes in existence. How was he supposed to find the pearl?

    The only option was to temporarily give up.

    He might be able to get an answer from Zhao Ran in the future, even though no one knew the girl¡¯s true identity.

    The Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe both entered a quiet period for a time.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus visited the Heavens Sect once. Speaking on behalf of the Great Sovereign, she asked the Origin Universe to send out at least half of its Progenitors to help protect the Sixverse Association.

    However, Lu Yin refused. He answered by saying that, if Nutjob Lu was not delivered to the Lu family, the Origin Universe would ignore the Great Sovereign¡¯s requests.

    Lu Yin''s response infuriated Sovereign Lotus, but there was nothing that she could do about it.

    The Origin Universe had a greater number of peak powerhouses than even the Cyclic Universe, and it was impossible for the Great Sovereign to start a war against Lu Yuan. The only option was to abandon the matter.

    Before the woman left, Lu Yin made a request for the Cyclic Universe to also return Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan to the Origin Universe. Sovereign Lotus reprimanded Lu Yin for being too arrogant, but Lu Yin justughed.

    He was not the slightest bit concerned about the Great Sovereign.

    Two months passed, and during this period, the various powers in Lu Yin¡¯s heart continued to stream up into the sky above the continent of fatesand. The 380,000 stars that he had simted with the Cosmic Art filled that sky, and Lu Yin was eagerly awaiting the moment when all of the powers in his universe finished transforming into stars. At that time, how powerful would his power be?

    During these two months, one person caught Lu Yin''s attention. It was the young man named Tuo Lin.

    Tuo Lin was from the Cyclic Universe, but despite having absolutely no cultivation whatsoever, he wanted to be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple.

    This was already rather strange, but what really caught Lu Yin''s attention was that he had seen this same young man at the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremony.

    Aside from the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses, the only other group invited to attend the Tea Ceremonies were those who had performed exceptional achievements in the defense of humanity.

    The young man appeared to be very young, and he also had no cultivation at all, which indicated that it was impossible for him to have aplished anything of note. But despite that, he had been allowed to attend the Tea Ceremony. Lu Yin had taken note of the young man at that time, but with all that had happened at the Tea Ceremony, Tuo Lin had been forgotten.

    Recently, on a whim, Lu Yin had released his domain to observe the Heavens Sect. He had then summoned Wu Da and asked the man to pay attention to Tuo Lin.

    Wu Da grew excited. There were only a handful of people in the entire Origin Universe who were able to interact with Lu Yin. He was not the same person he had been in the past, and speaking to Lu Yin was an incredible stroke of luck for Wu Da.

    He treated Lu Yin''s words as a divine decree, and Wu Da¡¯s eyes never left Tuo Lin. asionally, Wu Da would go and ask questions, trying to learn everything about the young man. The reporter had a hunch that things might be about to take off for the young man.

    One day, Madam Nn returned, and she asked to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin hosted the woman on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect and asked Zhao Ran to brew some tea. "Is your training with the Merchant Exchange finished?"

    Madam Nn shook her head. "Not so quickly, but I have a mission here."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin looked at Madam Nn.

    An eye appeared on the woman¡¯s forehead. This was the Merchant Exchange¡¯s emblem, and Lu Yin remembered that it was essentially a better version of a Void Wanderer.

    It was a bizarre creature that would protect their user from even most Progenitors. Every member of the Merchant Exchange had such a creature, and this ensured their safety.

    "Dao Monarch, this eye is the Merchant Exchange¡¯s emblem, and it¡¯s called a Decaying Diablo."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "A Decaying Diablo?"

    This was not an unfamiliar name to him, as Yi Ren had used the same thing to escape in the Starfall Sea. However, the Decaying Diablo that Yi Ren had used had been utterly revolting, as the eye had beenpletely covered in tentacles.

    "There is a strange parallel universe that is a part of the Endless Frontier. It¡¯s called the Decaying Diablo Universe. There are no native humans in that universe, nor any astral beasts. There is only one species that live there, the Decaying Diablos. There are a variety of them as well.¡±

    "The mostmon type is the Tentacled Diablo, but there are others, such as Stone Diablos, de Diablos, and many more. The Space Diablo is one of the most elite Decaying Diablos. The Merchant Exchange has acquired arge number of Space Diablos from that universe, and they are distributed to all of the Exchange¡¯s members to ensure their safety throughout the Sixverse Association.

    "At this moment, I am here to request the Dao Monarch¡¯s help on behalf of the Merchant Exchange."

    Lu Yin understood. Apparently, Yi Ren had been in possession of a tentacled Decaying Diablo, while the Merchant Exchange relied on Space Diablos. What a bizarre universe. "What sort of help are you requesting?"

    Madam Nn cautiously replied, "Something has happened in the Decaying Diablo Universe. Sovereign Shao Yin has entered the universe, leading the Aeternals in an attempt to take over total control of the universe. Because of this, the Merchant Exchange has sent me here to ask for help. This would be a transaction, and the Merchant Exchange can pay you 10 trillion star essences for your assistance."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Sovereign Shao Yin is in the Decaying Diablo Universe?"

    Madam Nn nodded. "Bi Lan asked me to tell you that Sovereign Shao Yin''s Rotting the Heavenly Dao is a battle technique that he cultivated in the Decaying Diablo Universe. He has been stripped of his power by the Great Sovereign, and so he wants to re-cultivate Rotting the Heavenly Dao in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    "In the past, he belonged to the Cyclic Universe and thus had a good rtionship with the Merchant Exchange, so there was no issue with him cultivating in that universe. However, everyone now knows that he is a spy of Aeternus. When he returned to the Decaying Diablo Universe, he immediately attacked the Merchant Exchange and tried to wipe us out entirely, or at least drive us from the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    "The Merchant Exchange cannot lose that universe."

    Lu Yin stood up and stared off into the distance, his hands sped behind his back. Was Sovereign Shao Yin in the Decaying Diablo Universe?

    Zhao Ran returned, having prepared some tea for the two people.

    Madam Nn casually sipped her tea. Zhao Ran was no stranger to the woman.

    Zhao Ran eagerly stared at Lu Yin. This was hertest creation, and its taste was quite different.

    Lu Yin sat back down and asked, "What is the most that the Merchant Exchange can pay?"

    He was short on funds, and he had been thinking about how to umte enough of a fortune to be able to Possess the various peak powerhouses of the Sixverse Association. The Merchant Exchange was the best way to gather such a fund.

    Lu Yin had even considered simply robbing the members of the Merchant Exchange, but after considering the implications, he had decided against it. His status made it difficult to take such actions, and there had to be a better way.

    Before he could make any moves, the Merchant Exchange had opened their purse to Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Shao Yin wanted to obliterate the Merchant Exchange, and the Merchant Exchange¡¯s money was precisely what Lu Yin needed. The only problem was the Endless Frontier.

    It was not that easy to push across the Endless Frontier, but with the presence of Ancestor Lu Tianyi and a group of Progenitors such as Arch-Elder Zen, it should not be too difficult.

    Lu Yin did not believe that things would be so easy. After all, the Aeternals could still gather the Seven Skygods toy an ambush in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    However, it was impossible for the Merchant Exchange to join forces with the Aeternals.

    Madam Nn bluntly replied, "30 trillion star essences from the Cyclic Universe."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "An instant jump from 10 trillion to 30 trillion?"

    Madam Nn smiled. There was no need for her to offer any ttery, as just her demeanor and appearance was enough to make people swoon over her. "I am yours."

    Lu Yinughed. "The Merchant Exchange certainly understands me quite well, knowing how to entice me with money. However, 30 trillion is still not enough."

    Madam Nn nodded. "I''ll go tell them."

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. "Don¡¯t bother. This is your first mission from the Merchant Exchange, and we can¡¯t let you fail at it."

    Madam Nn smiled at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, I don''t need you to pay to keep my position."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin¡¯s face. "But I need your position to be secure."

    Madam Nn said nothing more, as she already understood what Lu Yin was nning. The Merchant Exchange was too wealthy, and that wealth was something that Lu Yin badly needed. But how could he take it? There is no point in trying to force Madam Nn to take it up, as it would not be easy for anyone to take over the Merchant Exchange.

    Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring. It still held Bi Rong''s body within it. The higher Madam Nn''s position in the Merchant Exchange was, the more Lu Yin would understand thepany. Corpse God wanted Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring, which suggested that he wanted Bi Rong¡¯s corpse. That body was a chess piece, so it was best to use it. Perhaps Lu Yin could trick Corpse God and kill him.

    The Merchant Exchange, Corpse God, Bi Rong, money. The various details kept spinning in Lu Yin''s mind. He needed toe up with a good n.

    At the moment, what Lu Yin wanted to do the most was deal with the issue of Sovereign Shao Yin. Additionally, Lu Yin wanted those 30 trillion star essences.

    "Dao Monarch, aren''t you worried that the Merchant Exchange might belong to Aeternus? What if they try to use the Decaying Diablo Universe to set an ambush for you?" Madam Nn asked. It was impossible for her to know about the Merchant Exchange¡¯s true intentions.

    Lu Yin just sneered. "If the Aeternals are able to take me down, there¡¯s no need for them to set an ambush for me in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    "Go back and tell the Merchant Exchange that I ept the 30 trillion star essences and that I will go to the Decaying Diablo Universe."

    Madam Nn nodded as she looked at Lu Yin. "Be careful."

    Lu Yin hummed.

    Zhao Ran watched as Madam Nn left. The girl opened her mouth to mention that Madam Nn had not finished her tea yet, but the woman left too quickly.

    Right after that, Lu Yin also left.

    Zhao Ran wilted. Her tea...

    Lu Yin went to the Lu Sanctum. It would be best if either Ancestor Lu Yuan or Ancestor Lu Tianyi could go to the Endless Frontier with him.

    However, once Lu Yin arrived, he learned that Ancestor Lu Yuan had left the Lu Sanctum.

    "He left?" Lu Yin felt confused.

    Lu Tianyi solemnly replied, "Ancestor has gone to the Sixverse Association. It''s time to retaliate against Aeternus. The Great Sovereign is going to take the lead, and the rulers of all the member universes are going to attack the Aeternals and deal a vicious blow."

    "When?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Tianyi did not know the answer to that. "Just wait. As soon as they take action, news will arrive from the Endless Frontier."

    With Lu Yuan gone, Lu Yin could not ask Lu Tianyi to apany him, as that would ce the Origin Universe at risk.

 Chapter 2857: Clues

    <h4>Chapter 2857: Clues</h4>

    Even if the chances of Aeternusying a trap for Lu Yin in the Decaying Diablo Universe were 10,000 to 1, if it happened, it would be a disaster for the Origin Universe. If Lu Yin wanted to go save the Merchant Exchange, he had to leave Lu Tianyi behind and take other Progenitors with him. Fortunately, Big Sis had already broken through and regained the incredible strength of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    In addition to that, if Lu Yin received word from the Endless Frontier that the Great Sovereign and the other rulers of the various member universes of the Sixverse Association hadunched an attack, the Aeternals would not have the spare forces to plot against Lu Yin and the Origin Universe. If they were capable of doing so, then there would be no need for them toy an ambush, as they could simply wipe out the entire Origin Universe. If the Aeternals had that kind of strength, why would they bother with schemes and plots?

    "Xiaoxuan, are you sure that you want to go to the Endless Frontier?" Lu Tianyi asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Ancestor, 30 trillion star essence is waiting for me. I don¡¯t want to let this opportunity slip by."

    Lu Tianyiughed. "My Lu family''s cultivation truly does consume more resources than others. It''s fine if you go. The battle that the Great Sovereign and the others are about to fight will berge enough to keep the Aeternals upied. If Sovereign Shao Yin is in the Decaying Diablo Universe, then you can take advantage of the situation. This would be the best time to make a move, as Aeternus will be feeling the pressure, and Ancestor will create an advantage that will allow you to sweep through the Decaying Diablo Universe and benefit from the battle."

    Lu Yin smiled. "That''s what I was thinking."

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s smile disappeared. "However, do not grow careless. I can''t go, but Progenitor Y¨­u Ming can."

    Lu Yin nodded. If not for the fact that he had the support of a truly powerful Progenitor or two, such as Big Sis, he knew that he would suffer when going to the Endless Frontier. Big Sis¡¯s breakthrough hade at the perfect time, and Lu Yin wanted to showcase the power of Origin Universe to the Sixverse Association.

    The Merchant Exchange had not asked the Sixverse Association for help, but rather the Origin Universe. This was the acknowledgement of the outside powers.

    What Lu Yin needed to do at this moment was wait for news from the Endless Frontier of the impending assault.

    After more than ten days passed, Bi Lan arrived, delivering 5 trillion star essence as a demonstration of the Merchant Exchange''s sincerity.

    This was a truly impressive show of sincerity.

    In the past, the wealthiest group that Lu Yin had interacted with was the Mavis family. They had been known as the Lu family''s purse, but even so, it was impossible for them to offer 30 trillion star essence to ask a favor from Lu Yin.

    Of course, the two groups were not on the same level at all. The Mavis family had fallen from their former glory, and they were limited to the resources of just the Fifth Maind. On the other hand, the Merchant Exchange had the ability to oversee the economy of the entire Sixverse Association, and they were ruthless in collecting theirmissions. How much money had they umted? Lu Yin could not even begin to guess.

    They were willing to offer Lu Yin 30 trillion star essence for his assistance, but there was no way that this amount would harm the Merchant Exchange¡¯s profits in the least. Lu Yin was developing a growing interest in the Merchant Exchange.

    ...

    In the Cyclic Universe, a wooden pole blocked a city gate. There was a sign hanging from the pole: ¡°All who look at me are cowards.¡± The sign belonged to Snack Sage. He had grown restless, so he had traveled to this city and started provoking people. Many were infuriated intopeting with him, only to suffer disastrously.

    Just outside the city gates, another pole appeared, and this one was also holding up a sign: ¡°Bai Qian''s Ninth Grandpa.¡± On the back was another message: ¡°Fortune telling¡ªBelieve it or not.¡± Xuan Jiu had arrived.

    There were two signs at the city gates, one inside and the other outside.

    Xuan Jiu and Snack Sage¡¯s eyes met, and they both looked at the other¡¯s sign. What was this?

    Xuan Jiu observed Snack Sage¡¯s powerful physique, as well as his big mouth that he was constantly stuffing full of food at a frenzied rate. The man¡¯s face clearly belonged to an idiot.

    Xuan Jiu turned around and walked away. Just a nce was enough to tell that this person had no brain, and Xuan Jiu did not want to get into trouble.

    "Stop!" Snack Sage shouted.

    Xuan Jiu picked up his pace.

    Snack Sage¡¯s eyebrows rose, and he grabbed his wooden pole and threw it out. The pole passed by Xuan Jiu and stabbed into the ground, blocking the old man¡¯s path. It had nearly stabbed Xuan Jiu. He grew furious, and he whirled around to yell, "Who is carelessly throwing things around? What if that had hit Grandpa Jiu? I wish you and your family a long and happy life!"

    The nearby people gave the old man odd looks. Was that a blessing or a curse?

    Snack Sage shoved his way through the crowd and approached Xuan Jiu, staring at the old man withrge eyes.

    Xuan Jiu was briefly intimidated, but then he sneered. "Little Brother, it¡¯s clear to see from just a nce how the vital task of saving mankind will one day fall upon you. There¡¯s no doubt. One day, you will punch Lu Xiaoxuan into the sky and kick the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Junior Sovereign. Little Brother, the future belongs to you."

    Snack Sage¡¯s eyebrows climbed high as he stared at Xuan Jiu. The young man again looked at the sign. "Are you Bai Qian''s Grandpa Jiu?"

    Xuan Jiu''s face twitched. "Yes."

    "What is your name?"

    "Xuan Jiu."

    Snack Sage''s eyes red, and he stared at Xuan Jiu with much greater intensity. "What did you just say your name is?"

    Xuan Jiu felt confused. "Xuan Jiu. What''s wrong, Little Brother?"

    "You don''t deserve it!" Snack Sage grabbed Xuan Jiu and threw him away.

    Xuan Jiu shrieked as he tumbled through the sky. Just who had he gotten involved with?

    Snack Sage snorted contemptuously. This old man dared to use the same surname as Xuan Qi, but hecked the strength to be worthy of it. What trash.

    Xuan Jiu fell into a distant river with a ssh. There was a small boat quietly drifting along the river, and sweetughter rang from it.

    "Miss, someone fell into the river."

    "Pick them up. Master has said that it¡¯s best to do a good deed every day."

    "Yes."

    Xuan Jiu cursed as he popped back up to the surface of the river. He red at the direction that he had flown from. <i>I don¡¯t deserve it? Why not? Is there something special about the name ¡®Xuan Jiu?¡¯</i>

    At this moment, a pole descended in front of Xuan Jiu. It was held by the boatman. "Come on up. Ourdy is kind-hearted, and she asked me to save your life."

    Xuan Jiu''s eyes lit up. Ady? That meant that he had the chance to have a wonderful life. Over the years, he had lost count of how many youngdies and noble women he had helped divine their future, especially those who were interested in learning about their love life. Thinking of this, the old man smiled. "Thank you, Madam. I wonder, may I meet you?¡±

    The boatman red down at the old man. "How dare you ask to meet ourdy!"

    "Let him in." A pleasant voice called out from the cabin, as well as a bit moreughter.

    The boatman bowed. "Mydy is kind-hearted. Meeting her will be the greatest blessing of your entire life, so cherish this moment."

    The man then raised his pole and lifted Xuan Jiu onto the boat.

    The old man wrung out his clothes to dry them, and then said in as dignified a manner as he could, "Please lead the way."

    The boatman let out a small snort, feeling that this old man was quite pathetic.

    Soon, Xuan Jiu was led into the cabin. He was met by the sight of several young women smiling and chatting. One was ying the piano, though there was no sound. It appeared as if she was contemting something.

    When Xuan Jiu entered, the women turned to look at him.

    He coughed, looked up to face the women. "I, Xuan Jiu, was brought low by a cheater. Many thanks for rescuing me."

    The happy expression of the women disappeared the moment the name Xuan Jiu was mentioned. The woman ying the piano instantly looked up to stare at the old man. "What did you just say your name is?"

    Xuan Jiu blinked, suddenly having a bad premonition.

    "Sister, he said that his name is Xuan Jiu."

    "What connection do you have to Xuan Qi?"

    "Sister, look, he carries a sign that says ¡®Bai Qian''s Grandpa Jiu'' written on it. I understand that Bai Qian has some sort of connection to Xuan Qi. I heard someone mention that she was able to rise to power in the Transcendent Universe because Xuan Qi framed He Ran as a spy, which caused her to disappear.¡±

    "This old man must be rted to Xuan Qi. There¡¯s no other reason for such a coincidence. Xuan Qi and Xuan Jiu. Well, Xuan Qi has already been exposed, so who does Xuan Jiu want to deceive by showing up?"

    Xuan Jiu felt terribly confused. Who was Xuan Qi? Xuan Jiu had not been in the Cyclic Universe for very long, and he had not met any important individuals, so he had not heard of many matters. However, his instincts were screaming that he was in grave trouble, and he was desperate to exin himself.

    Unfortunately, before he could even speak, one of the women moved against him and struck Xuan Jiu hard. "Looking at his wretched appearance! He must have something to do with that Xuan Qi! Xuan Qi was disrespectful to Lotus Master¡¯s disciples and caused senior sister to be sent to the Endless Frontier. Even worse, he made Master angry! Sisters, beat him!"

    "Beat him!"

    Xuan Jiu felt furious. He did not even understand who he had provoked, or what he had done to antagonize them so badly!

    He was so frightened by the attacks of the young women that he immediately fled.

    Fortunately, Xuan Jiu had spent many years roaming about the Fifth Maind, and he had acquired a great deal of experience. While the young women were quite decent, they were not able to catch up to the fleeing old man.

    "Asshole! Spread word that there is someone named Xuan Jiu and that he might be rted to Xuan Qi. Have everyone keep an eye out for him. Don¡¯t let the bastard deceive anyone!"

    ...

    Elsewhere, Xuan Jiu''s appearance had sessfully roused Snack Sage''s desire topete with Lu Yin. Of course, Snack Sage was well aware that he was not Lu Yin''s opponent anymore. His recent breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm and Infinity were far more than what Snack Sage could handle. Even so, Snack Sage dreamed of seeing that strength for himself. Despite receiving multiple warnings from Food Sage, Snack Sage simply could not help himself, and he headed out.

    More than half a monthter, Snack Sage arrived outside of the Heavens Sect. He was shocked by the sight of the behemoth that stretched out before him.

    Was this the Heavens Sect? The greatest glory in human history? The closer Snack Sage got, the more majestic he felt the ce was. It was a ce of unmatched splendor.

    Snack Sage felt as though he was being stared at by multiple peak powerhouses, and he was afraid to move closer.

    Wu Da was also outside the Heavens Sect, still monitoring Tuo Lin. There were countless people waiting just outside the Heavens Sect. Some of them wanted to join the sect, while others were looking to visit friends. There were others who were simply visiting to show their respects. There were many visitors from the Sixverse Association.

    Too many people were curious about the Heavens Sect.

    The Origin Universe had reced the Three Monarchs Universe as a member of the Sixverse Association, but if the two werepared, the Origin Universe was vastly more powerful. At present, even if the Great Sovereign was still invincible in everyone''s hearts, the Origin Universe had already reced the Cyclic Universe and be the leader of the Sixverse Association.

    Snack Sage announced himself to the Heavens Sect. His identity qualified him to meet with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin soon received word of his visitor. Snack Sage? Lu Yin waved a hand. "I don¡¯t want to see him."

    Snack Sage was still pestering Lu Yin to arm wrestle. How did he have the guts to challenge Lu Yin after his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough and his demonstration of pure strength? Where did Snack Sage¡¯s confidencee from?

    A short whileter, the Second Nightking returned. "Dao Monarch, Snack Sage has asked your servant to inform you that he has a clue regarding the jiao¡¯s location."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Bring him over."

    The jiao had escaped during the battle at the Tea Ceremony. Lu Yin had hurried back to the Heavens Sect without paying attention to the beast, and once the dust settled, the jiao had vanished entirely.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had even mentioned the jiao when he went to the Great Sovereign to demand that Nutjob Lu be given to the Lu family, but the Great Sovereign did not have the beast.

    With the Great Sovereign¡¯s identity, regardless of how much she may want to acquire the jiao, she would not use deception to do so. She could not return the jiao, as she did not have it.

    Lu Yin had no clues regarding where the jiao might have gone. The few people he had asked in the Sixverse Association had not known anything either. The battle at the Tea Ceremony had been too intense, and the jiao had shrunk itself before escaping. No one would have noticed it leaving, unless they had been specifically paying attention to it.

    Snack Sage was quickly led to Lu Yin, and his eyes lit up when he saw the Dao Monarch.

    Lu Yin¡¯s finger twitched, and an invisible force pressed down on Snack Sage. The man felt as though the sky was copsing as he was forced down.

    "Are you still determined to ask me to ?pete with you?"

    Snack Sage gritted his teeth and used all of his strength to stubbornly raise his head. "I want to see your inner world! The first one you formed."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. "My first inner world is called Infinity, referring to infinite strength. If you want to see it, you can. Where is the jiao?"

 Chapter 2858: Carefree And Unrestrained

    <h4>Chapter 2858: Carefree And Unrestrained</h4>

    The pressure disappeared, and Snack Sage was finally able to gasp for breath. He was covered with sweat. Forget Snack Sage¡ªeven if his father, Food Sage, were to face Lu Yin, the Sage would hold no advantage in physical strength.

    "Jiang Xiaodao told me that Sage Jiang saw Mr. Daheng tear through the void after the battle at the Tea Ceremony and that he led the jiao away. I don''t know where they went, and neither does Sage Jiang," Snack Sage stated.

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted with a dangerous light. So, it was Mr. Daheng?

    It was no wonder why no one knew what had happened to the jiao. No one would have paid any attention to Mr. Daheng tearing through the void after the battle and therefore would not have noticed him leading the jiao away, given that the beast had shrunken down. At that moment, everyone had been concerned about the return of the Lu family. Who had been paying attention to the jiao?

    What had Mr. Daheng done to the jiao?

    Lu Yin did not believe that the man had the courage to challenge Lu Yin in the current situation.

    "Let me see your Infinity," Snack Sage asked eagerly.

    Lu Yin grinned, and his inner world suddenly manifested. Lines of light appeared, each strand representing power. They surrounded Lu Yin, creating a beautiful yet dangerous sight.

    Snack Sage stared nkly at the inner world, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He could not sense any power, but this showed just how terrifying Lu Yin¡¯s inner world was. The power that Lu Yin possessed waspletely confined within those lines of light. How had he done it?

    Snack Sage could not resist touching one of the lines, and the moment he did so, he was repulsed by a powerful force. His fingers were crushed, and he mmed against the wall, grinning and in pain.

    Lu Yin smiled, and his inner world disappeared. He looked down at Snack Sage, Lu Yin¡¯s hands were sped behind his back. "Satisfied now?"

    Snack Sage cradled his fingers, his face pale. He was clearly in agony, but he looked thrilled. "I felt an irresistible power! Strength given an alternative form. The power that we have been using was too rigid."

    Lu Yinplimented the young man, "You are a Taotie, and your talent is incredible. I hope that you can improve your strength.

    ¡°Right, while you¡¯re here, give me some of your blood."

    Snack Sage felt terribly confused. "You want my blood? For what?"

    "There are people from the Sixth Maind who cultivate with Taotie blood. I can offer it to them as a reward."

    Snack Sage did not know what to say. The request felt wrong, but he could not refuse. He did not seem to have the leverage to do so.

    So what if his father was one of the Nine Sages? Did that grant Snack Sage the right to act arrogantly in front of Lu Yin? Not even the slightest.

    The man before Snack Sage was someone bold enough to shout at the Great Sovereign herself.

    Ultimately, before leaving, Snack Sage left behind so much blood that he was greatly weakened.

    Lu Yin threw the Taotie blood into the Tower of the Fifth as a reward. It would be incredibly tempting to any Sixth Maind cultivator who used the Progenitor of Bloodlines¡¯ methods.

    Previously, the only people from the Sixth Maind who had been able to cultivate with Taotie blood had been Realmlings, but Lu Yin had just opened that door for more and more people. Taotie blood would no longer be so rare, though it was certainly not bad for improving a cultivator¡¯s general strength.

    Lu Yin recalled that the Realmling who cultivated with Taotie blood was a man named Nan Yanfei. The more he ate, the stronger he became.

    Lu Yin had no idea when he would receive word from the Endless Frontier. He wanted to lead his people to the Decaying Diablo Universe, and to do that, the jiao would save him a great deal of effort. He had to get the jiao back.

    Mr. Daheng? Liberation Pce.

    In the past, Lu Yin had been cautious and had avoided having all contact with Mr. Daheng, but there was no longer any need for that.

    He did not hesitate to visit the Arboreal Realm. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was there, which meant that he had nothing to fear.

    Lu Yin did not know where the Liberation Pce was located, so he went to Bureau Director Gan of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Bureau and asked the man to guide him there.

    Bureau Director Gan was a member of the Liberation Pce, and he was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s visit. The director had apletely different attitude from before; he seemed far more reserved, and it was not only due to Lu Yin''s identity, but also the young man¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin was capable of fighting against Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor. If he sessfully became a Progenitor, his strength would immediately reach that of the most powerful experts in the Sixverse Association.

    On top of that, the Lu family was quite difficult to mess with.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, if Mr. Daheng had known of your visit, he would definitely be delighted," Bureau Director Gan said with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior Gan."

    "You can just call me Gan," Bureau Director Gan said quickly. "When ites to cultivators, those who possess strength are ranked higher, regardless of age."

    Lu Yin acquiesced, "Alright, then I''ll call you Director Gan."

    Bureau Director Gan nodded readily.

    "Some time ago, you invited me to the Arboreal Realm to help you root out spies, Director Gan. I wanted to know which spies are so difficult to make you so eager to look for outside help. During this visit to the Arboreal Realm, if I have the time, I would be happy to lend a hand. After all, spies are the enemy of all humanity."

    Bureau Director Gan gave a bitter smile. "I¡¯m not concerned about a specific spy, but rather all the spies in my universe."

    Lu Yin grew curious.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you should know that my Arboreal Realm is older than all civilizations, aside from the Cyclic Universe. We even participated in the wars fought by the ancient Heavens Sect in the original Origin Universe.

    "In fact, since then, Aeternus has been constantly infiltrating my Arboreal Realm. Given the number of years that have passed, countless spies have emerged, and their existence has exhausted all of us. Of those various spies, there has been more than one Arborean.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. "There are spies with the strength of Progenitors?"

    Bureau Director Gan nodded with a sigh. "Aeternus¡¯s methods of infiltrating humanity are unimaginable to ordinary people. They are able to win over anyone, starting with the weak, helpless, and lonely, but they can also create grudges that lead to wars. Essentially, there¡¯s no end to the means that they employ to develop and recruit spies, and my bureau is simply unable to handle it all. That¡¯s why I wanted to ask Dao Monarch Lu to help us in the past. I¡¯m confident that, since you were able to purge spies from the Voidforce Universe, you can do the same for the Arboreal Realm.

    "Truthfully, there is an Aeternus Kingdom in our universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "There¡¯s an Aeternus Kingdom here?"

    Bureau Director Gan solemnly continued, "There¡¯s no doubt about it. There are also Semi-Arborean avatars of the Seven Skygods."

    Arboricums were the Arboreal Realm¡¯s equivalent of Semi-Progenitors. Just like the Fifth Maind, the Arboreal Realm had Semi-Progenitor avatars of the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin stared at Bureau Director Gan. The man¡¯s eyes were calm, and he did not flinch at all under Lu Yin¡¯s stare.

    He had originally assumed that Bureau Director Gan''s invitation to visit the Arboreal Realm might be rted to Mr. Daheng. While it was impossible for Mr. Daheng to have known about the connection between Chen Le and Xuan Qi, the Monarch had since joined the Heavens Sect. This had to have roused some of Mr. Daheng¡¯s suspicions, but clearly, the man had nothing to do with the invitation that Bureau Director Gan had extended to Xuan Qi.

    Lu Yin grew serious. "Director Gan, don''t worry. If possible, I will definitely visit the Arboreal Realm and eliminate the spies."

    Bureau Director Gan was overjoyed, and he bowed low to Lu Yin. "On behalf of my Arboreal Realm, I, Gan, offer Dao Monarch Lu my deepest thanks."

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s status as the ruler of the Origin Universe, agreeing to visit the Arboreal Realm and hunt for spies was a massive favor to Bureau Director Gan.

    ...

    The Liberation Pce was a ce for people to pursue their own freedom, unrestrained by any others. There was no stance regarding good or evil. ¡°A thought to eternity¡±¡ªthis was the Liberation Pce¡¯s motto.

    Lu Yin looked out at the hills and mountains that spread across the tree trunks before him. He was surrounded by mountains. There were ancient buildings in between them, some of which were stone huts. This was the Liberation Pce.

    He stared in shock. "Are you sure that <i>that</i>''s Liberation Pce?"

    Bureau Director Gan smiled. "Everyone whoes here and sees the Liberation Pce for the first time is just as surprised as you, Dao Monarch Lu. However, that is indeed the Liberation Pce.

    "Outsiders are deceived by the word ¡®pce¡¯ in the name, but truthfully, the name ¡®Liberation Pce¡¯ was taken from these ruins, which predate the organization. The only important part of the name is the word ¡®liberation.¡¯ That is what drew us to join the Liberation Pce. We value our freedom.

    "How many people have cultivated, only to be constrained by the world around them and forced to live for others? The Liberation Pce allows us to live for ourselves. As long as one does not betray humanity itself, we can live free and carefree lives. This is the purpose of the Liberation Pce, just this and nothing else: freedom. There is no good or evil to this ce. A thought to eternity.

    "Other parallel universes of the Sixverse Association have many misunderstandings about my Liberation Pce, believing us to be selfish individuals, but that is simply not true. We simply wish to be free of others¡¯ control. We are nothing more than a group of friends with simr interests who have found a ce to speak freely."

    Lu Yin nced at Bureau Director Gan. This description waspletely wrong. If all of this was true, then why had Mr. Daheng taken control of Chen Le? Why was he so desperate to collect the Peaks and Rivers Rocks?

    The so-called Liberation Pce was portrayed as a ce for people to pursue their own desires, but this was a deception for outsiders. Mr. Daheng¡¯s true purpose was to gather the Peaks and Rivers Rocks, though Lu Yin still had no idea where the stones were from.

    Had Bureau Director Gan really voluntarily joined the Liberation Pce? Could he be in the same situation as Chen Le?

    "Dao Monarch Lu, please." Director Gan led the way.

    Lu Yin nodded. "How many members does the Liberation Pce have?"

    "People keep joining, and people keep leaving. At the moment, we have about twenty people, most of whom are cultivators from the Arboreal Realm. Five of us are Arborean. Of the peak powerhouses from the Arboreal Realm, in addition to Mr. Daheng and myself, there is also Brother Wu Heng. The other two are from parallel universes of the Endless Frontier."

    Arboreans were the equivalent of Progenitors.

    It was quite impressive that the Liberation Pce had managed to gather five Progenitor-level experts into a single organization.

    Before the Lu family had returned and before Leng Qing and the others had broken through, the entire Heavens Sect had only possessed a handful of Progenitors, none of whom had been a sequence powerhouse like Mr. Daheng.

    Inparison, the Liberation Pce¡¯s strength surpassed that of the just-reestablished Heavens Sect.

    The Arboreal Realm was filled with tree trunks, and the portion that held up the Liberation Pce was particrly massive. It was the size of a continent, and there was even a mortal empire on it.

    When Lu Yin and Gan arrived at the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng emerged to greet Lu Yin.

    "Wee to the Liberation Pce, Dao Monarch Lu." Mr. Daheng was an elegant man with a kind face.

    Lu Yin responded politely.

    Mr. Daheng continued to praise Lu Yin, focusing on his recent Semi-Progenitor tribtion during the attack on the Tea Ceremony and the revtion that Lu Yin possessed four inner worlds. It was something unprecedented throughout known history.

    Lu Yin also expressed his own curiosity toward the Liberation Pce that Mr. Daheng had founded.

    The two spoke to each other in a veryfortable manner. They were sitting in a pavilion, and there were farmers working the fields off in the distance. Birds flew through the sky, and the sun was setting in the west. It was a quaint yet picturesque scene.

    "The path of cultivation is truly difficult. I have heard of too many ordinary humans who hold great aspirations and desire to cultivate to seize control of their own fates. However, I don''t know if I am even in control of my own fate. On the contrary, I find that it is easier for ordinary humans to control their own. They have no need topete for resources, they don¡¯t need to participate in wars, and they don¡¯t need scheme and plot.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, those farmers might have a limited lifespan, but in truth, it is unlimited.

    "When a seed is nted, it sprouts and bears fruit. From that, other seeds will eventually be born. It¡¯s an endless cycle, which means their lives are, in a sense, eternal. While we cultivators may live for a very long time, we move away from our original selves. Are we even the same people? My current self is certainly not the same as my younger self.

    "We are much like those floating seeds¡ªconstantly sprouting, blooming, fruiting, scattering, and continuing the cycle."

    Mr. Daheng stared out at the sunset-painted fields and sighed.

 Chapter 2859: The Heavens Sectâ€™s Tyranny

    <h4>Chapter 2859: The Heavens Sect¡¯s Tyranny</h4>

    Lu Yin took a sip of tea. This particr tea had been grown on the other side of the mountains, and it was quite ordinary. "Senior, are you discussing philosophy with me?"

    Mr. Dahengughed. "I''m merely overthinking things. Dao Monarch Lu is still so young, so why would you muse about such things?"

    Bureau Director Gan looked at Lu Yin enviously. The director and Mr. Daheng were both old, while Lu Yin was so young yet so powerful. No one knew how high the young man might reach in the future.

    Lu Yin put down his tea cup. "Senior, do you feel like you are growing old, or do you feel that the person you are now is no longer the person you once were?"

    Mr. Daheng smiled. "What do you think, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yin replied. "The former."

    Bureau Director Gan shook his head, but Mr. Dahengughed. "At Liberation Pce, we focus on being free and unfettered. That is because we all feel that we are being forced to change by everything around us and that we cannot escape the constraints that bind us.

    "Because there is the Endless Frontier, we must enter it.

    "Because the Arborean realm exists, so we had to be diligent with our cultivation.

    "Because there is day and night, we must distinguish between the two.

    "Because there is good and evil, we must consider the morality of our actions before acting.

    "These are all influences that constrain us, but we never consider such things. Are we really doing what we want to? I want to sit here and drink tea, but because night is falling, I must return. I want to enjoy the scenery in a location, but because it became a battlefield, I was unable to go there anymore. I want to eat a specific type of delicacy every day, but because the chef died of old age, I can no longer enjoy it.

    "From birth to death, every person is swayed by too many influences, and it is impossible to achieve true freedom. Isn¡¯t this the ultimate regret of life?

    "The purpose of our Liberation Pce is to allow people to feel at ease and to have thoughts that inspire eternity.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, have you ever considered staying in one ce forever? Never parting ways from one person? Have you ever imagined what kind of life you could live? Why have you not lived that life?"

    Bureau Director Gan''s eyes zed with emotion. This was the exact reason why he had joined the Liberation Pce. He wanted to do what he wanted to do.

    There was a bang, and a teacup cracked.

    The sound startled Bureau Director Gan out of his thoughts, and it caused Mr. Daheng to abruptly stop speaking.

    Lu Yin rxed his hand. "I''m sorry. Your words reminded me of the past."

    Mr. Daheng stared at Lu Yin with fervent eyes. "It appears that Dao Monarch Lu is also a man of emotion."

    Lu Yin smiled. "There is something that I really want to do right now. I wonder, could you help me, Senior?"

    "Dao Monarch Lu, please tell me," Mr. Daheng replied with a smile of his own.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I want to get the jiao back."

    Thement surprised Bureau Director Gan, and he turned to look at Mr. Daheng in confusion. "The jiao?"

    Mr. Daheng was not surprised. He calmly observed Lu Yin. "I also have something that I really want to do, and I would like to ask Dao Monarch Lu to help me."

    "Please tell me, Senior."

    "I want Chen Le to join the Liberation Pce."

    Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng stared at each other, and neither looked away. They had both stated their conditions.

    Lu Yin understood. Mr. Daheng was a truly ruthless person. The entire reason why he had taken the jiao away had been to force Chen Le to return to the Liberation Pce. For this one reason, he had not hesitated to target the jiao, even on a battlefield as dangerous as the one at the Tea Ceremony. The man had risked death, and he knew that he could die if he were discovered. Despite that, he was willing to potentially be an enemy of the Origin Universe.

    There was no way that Chen Le was what Mr. Daheng truly wanted. What the man actually wanted was the same thing that he had desired all along. Even if the Peaks and Rivers Rock had fallen into Luo Shan''s hands, Mr. Daheng still needed to learn why Chen Le had given the stone to Luo Shan. Where had Chen Le gotten the confidence to defy Mr. Daheng, and who had helped the Monarch? These details were very important, and Mr. Daheng wanted to know the answers.

    This was the Liberation Pce.

    ording to Mr. Daheng¡¯s own words, he wanted to be free and do whatever he wanted, and he was working hard towards that goal. Chen Le was one of the things that Mr. Daheng wanted.

    In order to regain Chen Le, Mr. Daheng had taken a terrible risk at the Tea Ceremony, and he was even willing to use the jiao as a bargaining chip. He did not care about the methods he used, and he eschewed ideas such as good or evil.

    Bureau Director Gan was unable to understand what the two were talking about, but he understood that the atmosphere had suddenly grown very heavy.

    "Chen Le voluntarily joined the Heavens Sect. If he wants to join the Liberation Pce, I won''t stop him. If he doesn''t want to, I also can''t force him," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Mr. Daheng argued, "Dao Monarch Lu certainly has the means to do so. Chen Le is nothing more than a minor figure. I want him to join the Liberation Pce."

    Lu Yin looked away and stared out at the distant farnd. "It seems that Mr. Daheng is determined."

    "A thought to eternity," Mr. Daheng stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Very well, I''ll bring Chen Le. However, it will be up to you, Mr. Daheng, to convince him to join you. Of course, I also want to see the jiao."

    Mr. Daheng smiled. "I''m sorry to have troubled you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin left the Liberation Pce, and Mr. Daheng¡¯s smile faded.

    Bureau Director Gan could not resist speaking up. "Senior, this-"

    The man knew that the conversation between Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng had not been good.

    Mr. Daheng waved the question off. "Call Wu Heng. Lord Lu might not be willing topromise so easily."

    "Doing this will offend the Origin Universe and the Lu family. We will be in trouble if one of the Lu family¡¯s seniorse, especially their ancestor, Lu Yuan."

    "There¡¯s no need to worry. We are only requesting Chen Le. For this child of the Lu family to be the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch and the ruler of the Origin Universe, he can¡¯t be helpless. Besides, I have already prepared enough of a reward to satisfy the Lu family," Mr. Daheng replied. He genuinely did not want to offend the Origin Universe. He would never forget the scene that the Lu family had put on at the Tea Ceremony. First, Lu Yin had called the Great Sovereign a crazy bitch, and then Ancestor Lu Yuan had repeated the insult. These were not people who could be crossed.

    The man rubbed his cosmic ring. As long as he was able to meet Chen Le, he would pay a price sufficient to convince the Lu family to leave the Liberation Pce alone. The jiao was nothing more than a lure to draw Lu Yin over. Mr. Daheng was certain that he would be able to satisfy Lu Yin.

    Mr. Daheng had founded the Liberation Pce, and regardless of his behavior¡¯s morality, he was no fool. He clearly understood which people could be offended and which people could not.

    Bureau Director Gan breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. If Dao Monarch Lu became upset, the Bureau Director feared the retaliation of the Heavens Sect and the Lu family. Those powers were capable of destroying the entire Liberation Pce.

    Mr. Daheng hade up with a good idea, and he had used the jiao to lure Lu Yin to the Liberation Pce. As long as Lu Yin brought Chen Le to Mr. Daheng, the man was willing to pay a steep price to convince Lu Yin to give Chen Le up.

    The thought of truly using the jiao as leverage had never urred to Mr. Daheng. The two parties involved in this matter did not have anything remotely resembling equal strength, and trying to force negotiations would be bad for the Liberation Pce.

    However, the man could never have imagined Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts.

    Throughout his life, Lu Yin had experienced a number of grievances and faced life and death countless times. With the return of the Lu family, as well as the Heavens Sect¡¯s gradually increasing prosperity, how could Lu Yin act like he had before? Especially at the current moment. The Origin Universe needed to establish its reputation within the Sixverse Association and intimidate the Cyclic Universe. Was the Liberation Pce really qualified to negotiate terms with the ruler of the Origin Universe?

    Was there any need for Lu Yin to even listen to the Liberation Pce¡¯s terms? What a joke.

    Upon returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin summoned Chen Le, Leng Qing, Arch-Elder Zen, and even Big Sis. "Someone is creating trouble for me, so pleasee with me to settle this matter."

    Big Sis looked up. "Sounds interesting."

    Arch-Elder Zen stroked his beard and smiled.

    Leng Qing remained stoic.

    Chen Le sneered. Who would be stupid enough to provoke someone as ruthless as Lu Yin at this point in time?

    Lu Yin tore through the void and led the small group to the Arboreal Realm, and then towards the Liberation Pce.

    The Heavens Sect needed to establish its dignity.

    Wu Heng had already arrived at the Liberation Pce. As one of the Arboreal Realms¡¯ rare Arboreans, Wu Heng was even more powerful than Bureau Director Gan.

    "What''s wrong?" Wu Heng asked as he gave Mr. Daheng an indifferent stare.

    The man calmly replied, "Some friends are on their way to visit, so let''s wee them together."

    Ridicule appeared in Wu Heng''s eyes. "Are they joining the Liberation Pce?"

    Mr. Daheng did not answer, but Bureau Director Gan said, "It''s the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch Lu."

    Wu Heng was surprised. "Lu Yin?"

    The Bureau Director nodded.

    Wu Heng looked back at Mr. Daheng. "You¡¯re willing to antagonize him?"

    Mr. Daheng frowned. "Just watch."

    In the same manner as Chen Le, Wu Heng had been forced to join the Liberation Pce. He both feared and hated Mr. Daheng. On the other hand, Bureau Director Gan had joined voluntarily. The two men¡¯s attitudes towards Mr. Daheng were pr opposites.

    Additionally, the Bureau Director knew nothing about Wu Heng and Chen Le¡¯s situations.

    Wu Heng stared at Mr. Daheng for a long moment, saying nothing.

    Lu Yin soon led a group of people through the Arboreal Realm.

    Their arrival was not quiet at all. Leng Qing¡¯s killing intent was zing at full force. While Arch-Elder Zen was calmer, the intensity of his Progenitor-level aura was fully released and had spread across the Arboreal Realm. However, the most domineering member of the party was Big Sis. Just her appearance exerted a suppressive feeling. A dark purple energy seemed to shatter the stars of the universe. It was as though a massive boulder had been dropped in the peaceful pond of the Arboreal Realm, and the disturbance shocked all of the universe¡¯s peak powerhouses.

    Mu Shen¡¯s eyes snapped open. "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming?"

    Mu Ke looked up, clenching the hilt of his saber. This person was quite strong.

    In the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng''s expression instantly changed. Who did this power belong to? He had never felt it before.

    Big Sis looked at the Liberation Pce from a distance. "I found it. Little Seven, let''s go."

    A smile touched Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "Let''s go."

    The Arboreal Realm was huge, but for Progenitors, especially Progenitors like Big Sis who had touched upon thews of the universe, the universe could be traversed in a blink of an eye.

    As he looked at Big Sis and the four people apanying her, Mr. Daheng¡¯s expression changed suddenly. The pressure on him made it difficult to breathe, and he felt incredibly uneasy.

    Behind him, Wu Heng waspletely stunned.

    Bureau Director Gan had turned pale. Where had Lu Yin gathered so many peak powerhouses?

    Lu Yin looked down at Mr. Daheng and the other two. "Here, I¡¯ve brought Chen Le. Where is the jiao?"

    Chen Le was both shocked and confused. He did not know about Lu Yin¡¯s intentions for this visit to see Mr. Daheng. Did the Dao Monarch want to turn Chen Le over to Mr. Daheng? No. No matter how Chen Le looked at the situation, the Dao Monarch was looking to make trouble.

    While Chen Le still had a deep-set fear of Mr. Daheng, after seeing the power of the Heavens Sect and after fighting back the Aeternals¡¯ assault on the Heavens Sect, Chen Le had grown much more confident. If even the current Heavens Sect was unable to protect him, then what human power could?

    Even if Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor, he could be regarded as humanity¡¯s greatest protector.

    As Mr. Daheng looked up at Lu Yin and the others, his expression fell. "Dao Monarch Lu, what is the meaning of this?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Didn¡¯t you want to make a deal with me? Chen Le is right here, so bring out the jiao."

    Mr. Daheng gritted his teeth. "It seems that Dao Monarch Lu has note to negotiate, but rather with aggression."

    Lu Yinughed. "You steal my mount and threaten me, and then have the gall to im that <i>I¡¯m</i> the one being aggressive? You must be out of your mind."

    Big Sis took a step forward. "Cut the crap! I haven''t done a thing yet after regaining my old strength. Just looking at this guy is enough to tell that he¡¯s aplete hypocrite. Just die."

    With that, Big Sis pointed forward, and her dark purple abyssal power took on the form of a terrifying hammer that crashed down.

    Mr. Daheng was beyond furious. "Dao Monarch Lu, do you really want to start a war with my Arboreal Realm?"

    "You can¡¯t represent the Arboreal Realm!" Lu Yin shouted fiercely as he waved his hand.

 Chapter 2860: Lu Yinâ€™s Status

    <h4>Chapter 2860: Lu Yin¡¯s Status</h4>

    Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, and Chen Le surrounded the Liberation Pce from three sides.

    Four Progenitor-level powerhouses attacked as one. They intended to instantly overwhelm the Liberation Pce. This was the strength of the Heavens Sect.

    Mr. Daheng quickly reacted. "Wu Heng, Gan, move!"

    Wu Heng trembled. They were being attacked on all sides by peak powerhouses. Chen Le was the weakest person present, but the power of the attacksing from the other three sides left Wu Heng¡¯s scalp numb. Even if Mr. Daheng was blocking the absolutely terrifying woman, the others were certainly not easy opponents either.

    Gan shouted, "Dao Monarch Lu, it¡¯s a misunderstanding! It¡¯s all a misunderstanding!"

    Lu Yin ignored the man and calmly watched with his hands sped behind his back.

    Big Sis¡¯ Thundering Hammer, Leng Qing¡¯s saber, Chen Le¡¯s arrows, and Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s unique palm strike all fell down. The void shattered instantly under the terrifying pressure.

    Mr. Daheng raised an arm and viciously swung it down, severing the Thundering Hammer.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed him to see sequence particles being wielded. While Mr. Daheng was another sequence powerhouse, Lu Yin was not able to observe sequence particles without Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Wu Heng brought out his Progenitor¡¯s world. It was a wooden umbre that blocked everything in the sky above him. Green light emerged to block Chen Le and Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s attacks. As for Bureau Director Gan, he stood no chance against Leng Qing and was struck down by the Progenitor¡¯s de.

    If not for Lu Yin¡¯s orders to not seriously injure Bureau Director Gan, Leng Qing¡¯s attack would have had far more severe consequences.

    As it was, Bureau Director Gan suffered no injuries and managed to escape due to his own strength, though he appeared quite reluctant to do so.

    There was truly a gap between the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses and the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors.

    Progenitors were people who had survived countless disasters. By the time they reached the Progenitor realm, their strength far exceeded that of the Sixverse Association¡¯s various peak powerhouses.

    Wu Heng was not as lucky as Bureau Director Gan. While the man was able to deflect Arch-Elder Zen''s palm strike, Chen Le''s arrow pierced Wu Heng¡¯s arm, forcing him to retreat.

    The entire sh started with a startling exchange of power. Seven peak powerhouses had taken action at the same time, and the outburst sent ripples throughout the entire Arboreal Realm, causing the universe to tremble.

    Big Sis stared at Mr. Daheng. "I want to see whatws you¡¯ve mastered."

    With that, a blood-red lotus slowly blossomed and drifted towards Mr. Daheng.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed. He knew that there had to be somew or sequence particle connected to Big Sis'' lotus. It was time for them topete with their mastery of the universe¡¯sws.

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s expression was miserable. These lunatics had attacked without a word, and they had not even allowed him to finish speaking.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, are you really going to fight us to the death?"

    Lu Yin answered arrogantly, "Fight to the death? Are you even capable of that?"

    Big Sis pressed a hand down, and her blood-red lotus turned and dropped onto Mr. Daheng.

    The man¡¯s hand rose up, and just as the blood-red lotus was about to m into him, it abruptly froze.

    Big Sis looked surprised. "So that''s what you have. Interesting, but unfortunately, it''s too weak."

    Mr. Daheng dodged, keeping his eyes on Big Sis as she continued to attack. Suddenly, the void was split asunder. While this attack was clearly not as sharp as a de¡¯s, it cut across space like a de that was even more terrifying than Leng Qing¡¯s saber.

    Leng Qing¡¯s eyes locked onto the attack. <i>That¡¯s not a sh</i>.

    Lu Yin saw it as well, though he watched as sequence particles spread out from Mr. Daheng''s arm and attacked Big Sis. The man was using sequence particles to seal off the void.

    Big Sis showed no intention of dodging. Instead, more flowers bloomed in front of her, and they blocked Mr. Daheng''s attack.

    "Lightness. You wield thew of lightness."

    Mr. Daheng was horrified. Where had this monstere from? She was capable of seeing through that Mr. Daheng had mastered aw rted to weight with nothing more than a nce, and had even casually blocked his attack. This woman was absolutely terrifying and a freakishly powerful expert. Why had she never appeared before?

    Big Sis stared down at Mr. Daheng. "You have the balls to try to force our Heavens Sect to negotiate with you? You clearly don¡¯t want to live a long life."

    Abyssal flowers blossomed in the void and moved forward. Lu Yin clearly saw Big Sis¡¯ sequence particles destroyed Mr. Daheng''s. The two were not on the same level at all.

    Big Sis was Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, a powerhouse from the greatest heights of the Heavens Sect. Even a Dao Monarch had treated her as a guest of honor, and she had yed a massive role in the war that had destroyed the Third Maind. It was possible that Mr. Daheng had not even been born at that time.

    Mr. Daheng spat out a mouthful of blood as he retreated further and further. All he saw before himself was an overwhelming number of blooming abyssal flowers.

    At this moment, the trees of the Arboreal Realm shook, and a sigh was heard. "Y¨­u Ming, for my sake, let him go this once."

    The abyssal flowers froze, and Big Sis looked to the right.

    Lu Yin and others nced over as well, and they all saw the ruler of the Arboreal Realm: Mu Shen.

    Mr. Daheng coughed up more blood. He clutched his chest as he turned to face Mu Shen and offered a bow across the distance. "Greetings, Senior Mu Shen."

    Wu Heng and Bureau Director Gan noticed that Mu Shen had appeared, and both men let out sighs of relief as they bowed in unison. "Greetings, Senior Mu Shen."

    Mu Shen moved closer, stopping when he was close to Big Sis and Lu Yin. The man stared at Big Sis. "It¡¯s been a long time, Y¨­u Ming."

    Big Sis gazed back at Mu Shen. "It hasn''t been that long for me. I woke up in this era after getting lost in the river of time. I''m not as old as you."

    Lu Yin nced at Big Sis. Clearly, she knew this man.

    Mu Shen gave a bitter smile. "You¡¯re still the same as ever."

    Big Sis snorted disdainfully. Her hand pulled back, and all of the abyssal flowers disappeared. "This brat dared to offend the Heavens Sect. The Heaven¡¯s Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch ordered me to teach this man a lesson today. Do you object to that, Mu Shen?"

    Mu Shenughed, looked over at Lu Yin, and offered the young man a nod. "Dao Monarch Lu, we meet again."

    Lu Yin and Mu Shen gazed at each other. Ancestor Lu Yuan had gone to the Sixverse Association to prepare to retaliate against Aeternus with the Great Sovereign and the other rulers of the member universes. Mu Shen should also be part of that expedition. The fact that he was still in the Arboreal Realm indicated that the battle was still off in the distance. "We meet again, Mu Shen. While we never spoke at the Tea Ceremony, we can still be considered acquainted with each other."

    Mu Shen replied, "For my sake, can you let him go, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yin was not speaking to Mu Shen as a junior. Lu Yin was the ruler of the Origin Universe, which gave him a status equal to Mu Shen¡¯s. "This man dared to use the jiao to threaten me. He is incredibly audacious. If I just let him go after such an insult, what will be of my reputation in the Sixverse Association? Who will still treat me seriously in the future?"

    Mu Shen smiled. "That¡¯s a valid point. What do you want, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yinju looked down at Mr. Daheng. "Where is the jiao?"

    Mr. Daheng''s face turned pale. He had clearly heard Lu Yin''s conversation with Mu Shen and thus understood his own unfortunate situation. Mr. Daheng had antagonized someone he clearly should not have.

    The truth was that Mr. Daheng had not intended to provoke Lu Yin. The man had wanted to simply draw Lu Yin out with the jiao, and then offer other conditions to exchange for Chen Le. At no point had Mr. Daheng intended to make an enemy of Lu Yin, and the deal that had been proposed had not been intended to be a negotiation at all. However, Mr. Daheng had never been granted the opportunity to speak. Lu Yin was too domineering, and he had immediately taken action without even offering Mr. Daheng a chance to defend himself. It was despicable.

    Ultimately, there was no escaping the end result, as Mr. Daheng waspletely unqualified to argue with Lu Yin.

    "I have ced the jiao in a parallel universe that only I know of. I will bring it to Dao Monarch Lu right away," Mr. Daheng solemnly stated.

    Lu Yin looked down. "Is that all? Because of you, so many of my Heavens Sect¡¯s people have been forced out, and even Mu Shen had to get involved. If Aeternus took this opportunity to attack my Heavens Sect, who would take responsibility? I was forced to take a terrible risk because of you.¡±

    Mr. Daheng''s face twitched. How was any of this his fault? He had never asked to be humiliated like this.

    Mu Shen stared at Lu Yin. This young man was exactly the same as Lu Yuan. They were bothpletely unreasonable.

    Mr. Daheng let out a long breath, feeling horribly aggrieved. "I have here some resources from the Arboreal Realm that I am willing to give to Dao Monarch Lu. If converted into the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star essence, the value would be in the trillions. This can be regarded aspensation for Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s losses."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This person seemed to understand him well enough to know that Lu Yin loved money.

    In general, such resources meant little to peak powerhouses, but Lu Yin was an exception. Everyone in the Origin Universe knew this, and Mr. Daheng was offering the proper price.

    The jiao was quickly brought back.

    Mu Shen invited Big Sis to visit him. She agreed, and Lu Yin and the others left to return to the Heavens Sect.

    Once Lu Yin and the others from the Heavens Sect all left, Mr. Daheng''s expression fellpletely. His refined demeanor vanished entirely, and murderous intent clearly appeared on his face.

    This brat of the Lu family had humiliated Mr. Daheng, and he would definitely get revenge in the future.

    Bureau Director Gan started to speak, but then he stopped himself.

    Wu Heng heaved a sigh of relief. "If Mu Shen had arrived just one stepter, we would have all suffered."

    Thatment forced Bureau Director Gan to speak up. "Lu Yin would not dare to actually kill us, not unless he wants to start a war. Even if he did, the Great Sovereign would never allow it."

    Wu Heng sneered. "While I was not present for the Tea Ceremony, what happened there was clear to everyone. Two members of the Lu family yelled and insulted the Great Sovereign. Do you really think that the Great Sovereign can control the Lu family?"

    "If the Great Sovereign can''t handle them, then we¡¯ll let Luo Shan deal with this matter," Mr. Daheng stated coldly.

    Wu Heng and Bureau Director Gan were both confused by thatment. Luo Shan? No matter how powerful the Three Monarchs Universe might have been, its ruler could never surpass Mu Shen, the Voidlord, or the rulers of the other universes, much less the Great Sovereign. How could Luo Shan do anything?

    Mr. Daheng clenched his fists. "Luo Shan hates the Origin Universe, while the Lu family will never willingly let Luo Shan go. In the beginning, I wanted to tell them of Luo Shan''s secret, but that Lu Yin is too arrogant and actually attacked me! In that case, we¡¯ll let Luo Shan teach the brat how to behave. If they dare to underestimate Luo Shan, Lu Yin will die."

    Wu Heng and Bureau Director Gan nced at each other. Neither of them had much of an opinion about Luo Shan, but from what Mr. Daheng was suggesting, Luo Shan was not as simple as the two Arboreans had previously understood.

    After his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough at the Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had fought against Sovereign Shao Yin. In order to have any real hope of killing Lu Yin, it would take an exceptional powerhouse. Was Luo Shan really capable of that?

    Mr. Daheng did not say anything more. This day¡¯s humiliation would be repaid in double in the future.

    Wu Heng watched Mr. Daheng, a twinkle in the Arborean¡¯s eyes.

    ...

    Just as Lu Yin assumed, the attack on Liberation Pce shocked the Sixverse Association.

    No matter how impressive Lu Yin¡¯s performance during the Tea Ceremony had been, no matter what Ancestor Lu Yuan had shouted at the Great Sovereign or how he had publicly insulted the woman, everything had taken ce at the Tea Ceremony. Those who were aware of what had happened would not dare to risk spreading rumors, out of fear of being punished by the Great Sovereign should she learn of their actions.

    While it was widely known that the Origin Universe was very powerful, themon people of the Sixverse Association had no understanding of just how powerful the ce truly was.

    Only after four of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors appeared in the Arboreal Realm and threatened the Liberation Pce did those who were still unaware of the Origin Universe¡¯s power realize the monstrous power of the Heavens Sect.

    The Liberation Pce was not famous, but Mr. Daheng was. Many people regarded him as the most powerful individual in the Arboreal Realm after Mu Shen. Mr. Daheng enjoyed a status equal to Xu Wuwei¡¯s in the Voidforce Universe. The man was far more famous than Mu Ke, and he was naturally regarded as one of the most powerful individuals in the entire Sixverse Association. Despite Mr. Daheng¡¯s strength, he had still been forced into a corner by Lu Yin and made to apologize. This was a public demonstration of Lu Yin¡¯s domineering behavior.

    Lu Yin had achieved his goal. He had shattered anyone¡¯s assumption that they could negotiate terms with Lu Yin. The current Heavens Sect was different from before, and so was Lu Yin. He no longer needed to fear,promise, or lower himself into a lesser position when meeting with anyone, as he had done in the past. He no longer needed to simply address those old powerhouses as ¡°Senior¡± any longer.

    Lu Yin was willing to respect those who had made sacrifices for mankind, but he would not respect others just for their cultivation alone.

    He would respect virtue, but not age.

 Chapter 2861: Returning To The Wall Of Purity

    Chapter 2861: Returning To The Wall Of Purity

    The jiao came back. When Ancestor Tortoise saw it, it pulled its head into its shell.

    Upon returning, the jiao did not behave as arrogantly as before, and it did not dare to sh its fangs or ws. It had been scolded by Lu Yin.

    The beast had been aplete embarrassment at the Tea Ceremony. Lu Yin had tried to get the jiao to bite Corpse God, but the beast had shrunk down to its smallest size and done its best to disappear during Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion. It had beenpletely useless.

    Throughout Lu Yin''s scolding, the jiao never dared to make any attempt to retaliate. All it could do was flex its ws to indicate understanding.

    There was simrly nothing that Lu Yin could do about the dumb beast. The truth was that, if the jiao''s mind had not been destroyed by lightning, it would undoubtedly be incredibly strong.

    Long ago, even Forgotten Ruins God had been impressed by the jiao¡¯s defenses.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was right, the jiao had been struck by the Lord of Lightning. The fact that it had survived such a powerhouse¡¯s attack was proof of its strength in and of itself.

    "How about that, Little Seven? Wasn¡¯t I awesome?" Big Sis looked very proud of herself and seemed to be fishing forpliments when she returned.

    Lu Yin quickly ttered the woman and patted Big Sis¡¯ head, which satisfied her perfectly."From now on, call your big sister for this kind of thing. I¡¯ll help you handle things properly, and anyone who doesn''t give you face will suffer." Big Sis patted her chest, causing Chen Le and the others nearby to quickly turn around.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin struck while the iron was hot. "Big Sis, there¡¯s going to be a difficult battle breaking out very soon."

    Big Sis grew interested. "Who¡¯s it going to be against this time?"

    "Sovereign Shao Yin."

    Big Sis'' face fell. "Is that the bastard who instigated the Great Sovereign into banishing the Lu family, tried to frame you as a spy, and even attacked you at the Tea Ceremony?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Big Sis looked irritated and intimidating. "You¡¯re taking me with you."

    Lu Yin felt a burst of warmth in his heart. "Don''t worry, Big Sis, I¡¯ll drag you along even if you don''t want to go. I can''t beat him."

    Big Sis left.

    Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen returned to Heavens Sect. Ultimately, only Chen Le and Lu Yin stood in space.

    "What do you want to say?" Lu Yin looked at Chen Le.

    Chen Le respectfully said, "Dao Monarch Dao, what happened with Mr. Daheng?"

    Lu Yin replied, "He captured the jiao and used it to threaten me into sending you back to the Liberation Pce."

    Chen Le grew puzzled. "The Peaks and Rivers Rock is clearly in Monarch Luo''s possession, so why is Mr. Daheng still focused on me?"

    Lu Yin also found this quite odd. There was no reason for Mr. Daheng to care about Chen Le anymore. If the man simply wanted to discover who had removed the seal for Chen Le, which had allowed the man to break through to the Monarch realm, then all of that effort did not make sense. After all, anyone could see that Chen Le had received help from the Heavens Sect. Just why did Mr. Daheng still want Chen Le?

    Lu Yin gave Chen Le a threatening re. "Have you been hiding something from me?"

    Chen Le was startled, and he quickly bowed. "Absolutely not. Dao Monarch, please rest assured! If anything has been hidden from the Dao Monarch, your servant is willing to die without a grave and will stay far away from you for the rest of my life."

    Lu Yin frowned. This matter did not make any sense. What did Mr. Daheng want from Chen Le?

    ¡­

    One day, news finally arrived from the Endless Frontier. The Great Sovereign, Ancestor Lu Yuan, the Voidlord, Mu Shen, and the other rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes had attacked Aeternus. The assault caused several parallel universes to copse. Countless cultivators from the Sixverse Association fled, and even Progenitor-level powerhouses were forced to retreat.

    This was a massive battle between the Sixverse Association and the most powerful members of Aeternus.

    When Lu Yin received the news, he knew that it was time. He had expected it to take a bit more time and was surprised to receive the news so suddenly.

    The Decaying Diablo Universe was not closely connected to the universes of the Endless Frontier where the battle was taking ce, so Lu Yin did not need to worry about getting caught up in the overwhelming battle there.

    He immediately contacted Big Sis. It was time to make their way to the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    For this trip, Lu Yin led Big Sis, Leng Qing, Chen Le, and Wang Jian. The rest of the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses would stand guard in the Origin Universe.

    Wang Jian was the Wang family¡¯s only remaining Progenitor in the Origin Universe. He had never dreamed that he would be summoned by Lu Yin, but he was also unable to refuse.

    Wang Jian received orders from the Lu family. Lu Tianyi himself had ordered the Wang family¡¯s Progenitor to keep the young master of the Lu family safe.

    Wang Jian could not believe that he had been reduced to a mere bodyguard, but in the face of the Lu family, he simply could not refuse.

    However, just as the expedition was about to set off, Wang Jian was reced by Arch-Elder Zen. There was no avoiding a major battle on the Endless Frontier, and Lu Yin did not really have any faith in Wang Jian''s strength. On the other hand, Arch-Elder Zen was able to summon Progenitor Tianyi¡¯s power if needed, which was a level of strength that Wang Jian could notpare to.

    Chen Le was even more reluctant to participate in the expedition than Wang Jian. They were entering the Endless Frontier. Only those who had been there before understood just how terrifying that battlefield was. However, Chen Le was also in no position to refuse his orders.

    Once Big Sis arrived, Lu Yin stepped onto the jiao and spoke up, clearly in a good mood. "Let''s go to the Cyclic Universe."

    Countless people, both members of the Heavens Sect and outsiders, watched with envy and reverence. "Farewell, Dao Monarch."

    "Farewell, Dao Monarch."

    ¡­

    Tuo Lin''s eyes showed his excitement. He had been waiting outside of the Heavens Sect for several months, and he still needed to wait a bit longer. He had no idea how long he would be forced to wait for, but this was his best opportunity. If he lost it, he would always remain an ordinary person.

    No matter how long it took, he needed to be patient.

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, He Ran looked up and let out a contemptuous snort. How long had she been in the Heavens Sect for? Could Lu Yin really have no consideration for her at all? Had she lost her charm?

    Thoughts swirled through her mind as she leaned against the cauldron. A twig popped out, and leaves caressed the woman¡¯s face.

    He Ran nced inside the cauldron. Sapling¡¯s green leaves were glowing happily, and the sight of them greatly cheered her up. "I don''t believe that he can endure.

    "However, when this ce was attacked, my presence here was exposed. Someone from the Sixverse Association was here as well. Is it possible that the Transcendent Universe still hasn¡¯t learned of my presence here? Won¡¯t Lord Weie save me?" He Ran murmured to herself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s journey could be regarded as the Heavens Sect¡¯s first official foray onto the Sixverse Association¡¯s battlefield.

    Aside from the Merchant Exchange and Lu Yin, no one was aware that the Heavens Sect was aiming for the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Even if Lu Yin had not made much of an effort to keep this matter concealed, it was still something that very few people knew of.

    Lu Yin did not go directly to the Endless Frontier. Rather, he needed to first find a guide. Without one, it would be a long and difficult process to travel to the Decaying Diablo Universe from elsewhere on the Endless Frontier. They might even be forced to traverse the entire Endless Frontier.

    In the Cyclic Universe, the roar of the jiao announced the Heavens Sect¡¯s arrival.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Once again, he hade to this universe.

    In the same manner as when she had visited the Arboreal Realm, Big Sis released her power across the Cyclic Universe in a brazen manner, putting pressure on the entire universe.

    Many of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s experts looked over in shock, and their expressions changed drastically.

    The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had already been restored, but the guardian of the Heavenly Gate, Evergreen Sage, had died. He had been the first peak powerhouse to die during the attack on the Tea Ceremony.

    The jiao immediately moved towards the Wall of Purity.

    That wall was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s battlefield. Lu Yin had visited the ce once before, sent there to witness Sage Hua perform the Lament of the Sages. It had been a shocking sight for Lu Yin.

    The Great Sovereign was capable of granting the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages the power level of a peak powerhouse, but she was also able to withdraw that power at any time.

    The reason why Sovereign Shao Yin was in the Decaying Diablo Universe was precisely because the Great Sovereign had stripped the Sovereign of his power, and he needed to recultivate back to his full strength.

    While the man was still technically a sequence powerhouse due to his years of cultivating and training, he had lost his cultivation as a peak powerhouse, which should have drastically reduced Shao Yin¡¯s ability to wield thews of the universe.

    Part of Lu Yin¡¯s goal in visiting the Decaying Diablo Universe was to see just how powerful the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were without the strength boost of the Great Sovereign. This would give Lu Yin a better understanding of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s strength.

    The jiao raced across the Cyclic Universe, brazenly revealing its power as it charged towards the Wall of Purity.

    As they passed, countless cultivators in the Cyclic Universe were stunned.

    No one had ever dared to act so arrogantly in the Cyclic Universe before. The brazen demonstration of power oppressed many people. With Lu Yin''s tacit consent, the jiao started to roar and brandish its fangs and ws. The beast felt that it had regained a bit of the dignity it had lost.

    In one corner of the Cyclic Universe, Sage Yajna¡¯s eyes opened. "Will the Origin Universe¡¯s former glory reappear?"

    The entire Cyclic Universe seemed to be trembling beneath the roars of the jiao and the suppression of Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s grant disy of power. Lu Yin was boldly dering the Heavens Sect¡¯s power.

    At the Wall of Purity, Arrow Sage solemnly turned to look back. What was happening?

    A short distance away, Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor were also present. They nced at each other, each having a bad premonition.

    Soon, the enormous form of the jiao appeared, apanied by a st of wind that sent many of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s cultivators sprawling.

    Despite their anger and irritation, no one dared to say a word. People were shocked by the sight of the huge jiao.

    This was the first time that the jiao had publicly revealed its full size to the Sixverse Association. Its massive body was incredibly intimidating, and as long as it did not reveal its stupidity, the jiao was terrifying.

    Chu Jian was also at the Wall of Purity, and he stared at the jiao from a distance. The Junior Sovereign had changed. He had lost most of his former arrogance and grown much calmer.

    He no longer pursued perfection, let alone his supposed invincibility. He was determined to climb up from the bottom, step by step, higher and higher. Then, one day, he would challenge that person again.

    Lu Yin and his party were sitting on the back of the jiao, and they looked down at the battlefield of the Wall of Purity.

    The Wall of Purity was an actual wall. It was where the maind of the Cyclic Universe had been rolled up to form a barrier that kept the Aeternals out.

    From atop the jiao, Lu Yin and the others were able to observe the entire battlefield of the Wall of Purity, and naturally, this included Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors.

    Lu Yin grinned. "An unexpected prize."

    The four ruling powers had been dismantled. There was no longer any need for these Progenitors to help defend the Sixverse Association, especially Specter Progenitor, who had already been revealed as Wang Fan¡¯s clone. Why had Wang Fan not collected his clone?

    Arrow Sage took a step forward, appearing in front of the jiao. He spoke in a very polite manner. "Dao Monarch, I wonder, why have youe to the Wall of Purity?"

    Before Lu Yin could speak, the jiao opened its mouth and roared.

    Arrow Sage frowned. As one of the Nine Sages, no one in the entire Sixverse Association had ever been so rude to him. Even the rulers of the member universes would not treat him so disgracefully. After all, Arrow Sage was a truly powerful individual.

    Unfortunately, no matter how irritated the man might be, he could say nothing to Lu Yin.

    During the attack on the Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had destroyed the Seven Skygods¡¯ goal. Arrow Sage had no confidence in defeating Lu Yin after Chu Jian¡¯s defeat. On top of that, Lu Yin had since broken through to the Semi-Progenitor realm, and the four inner worlds that he had obtained were allpletely iprehensible. This child was even capable of fighting against Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Arrow Sage had also heard about how the Liberation Pce had been attacked and humiliated by the Heavens Sect. It was bing clear that Lu Yin was not nearly as humble as he had first appeared.

    "Find me a guide to the Orchid Forest Universe," Lu Yin ordered indifferently.

    Arrow Sage grew confused. "Dao Monarch Lu, are you heading to the Endless Frontier?"

    "That¡¯s why I¡¯m here." Lu Yin did not provide much of an exnation. He then looked past Arrow Sage at Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor. "You three,e here."

    Bai Sheng and the other two Progenitors nced at each other. Then, without any hesitation at all, they turned and moved away from the Wall of Purity.

    Was this a joke? Was Lu Yin here to clean house?

    Lu Yin''s eyes red, and just as he was about to ask Big Sis to take action, Arrow Sage hurriedly spoke up. "Dao Monarch Lu, this is the Wall of Purity, one of the warfronts against Aeternus. All eyes are on this."

    There were too many people fighting against Aeternus along the Wall of Purity. There was no universe that was not represented on this battlefield, as there was never a shortage of people willing to sacrifice their lives in defense of mankind.

    Such people were passionate, fearless, and willing to die for humanity. They deserved everyone¡¯s respect.

    Lu Yin might not care about Arrow Sage, the Cyclic Universe, or even the Great Sovereign. However, he could not dismiss the people fighting at the warfront.

    These people knew that they would most likely not survive their time on the battlefield, but they had still volunteered to fight here. They did not fear death, and they knew that their sacrifices were necessary.

    Who did not have brothers and sisters, or parents and family? Every death hurt a family, and such pain deserved to be remembered.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2862: Gourd?

    Chapter 2862: Gourd?

    Lu Yin suppressed the urge to attack, and he instead stared beyond the Wall of Purity with a cold expression. "If you had nothing to do with my Lu family¡¯s exile, then you are wee to return to the Origin Universe. You will be questioned, just to ensure that you are telling the truth, but I will not humiliate you. If you insist on not returning, then if you are from the Origin Universe, I will treat that as an admission of your participation in my family¡¯s exile. Then, you will suffer the consequences of that betrayal."

    Lu Yin stared at Specter Progenitor. "Wang Fan, I will see you die without a grave. No matter how big the Sixverse Association might be, they won¡¯t be able to protect you."

    Specter Progenitor did not speak, though his eyes flickered. The four ruling powers were gone, and there was no longer any ce for them in the Perennial World.

    Bai Sheng and Xia Qin nced at each other. Neither of them had been involved in the Lu family¡¯s exile. They had not returned to the Perennial World not only because they had been helping protect the Sixverse Association, but also because they had not been certain of the Lu family''s attitude towards them.

    No one wanted to die, not even them.

    The Lu family had always been domineering. It would be a pity if the two Progenitors were killed and anointed as champions.

    Xia Qin had been very frustrated with her Xia family, but that did not mean that she wanted to risk death by returning. She had not been very clear on the rtionship between Xia Shenji and Lu Yin as well.

    Lu Yin had now made that position clear, and the two Progenitors felt that they should seriously consider returning.

    Big Sis snorted disdainfully. "Let me go deal with them."Lu Yin whispered, "Big Sis, this isn¡¯t the right ce."

    Why did Lu Yin not want to deal with everyone here? The Great Sovereign was already protecting the spy, Nutjob Lu, from Ancestor Lu Yuan, as well as the traitors Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan. These debts would eventually be collected, and once Lu Yin had the confidence to act, even the Great Sovereign would be forced to pay the price.

    But that time had not arrived yet.

    Arrow Sage was afraid that Lu Yin and his group would attack Bai Sheng and the others, so he quickly asked a guide to the Orchid Forest Universe toe over.

    The guide was a woman, and she was a native of the Voidforce Universe. She was normally tasked with transporting people from her own universe to the Orchid Forest Universe, but she had temporarily been brought to the Wall of Purity.

    Coincidentally, Xu Xiangyin was in the group of people being sent to the Orchid Forest Universe. Due to Lu Yin''s interference, the date for Xu Xiangyin and those in his group to go to the Endless Frontier had been dyed.

    "Your servant is a guide for the Orchid Forest Universe. Greetings, Lord Lu, and all of you seniors." The woman was nervous and close to panicking. She trembled as she addressed all these peak powerhouses, with the jiao leaving the woman particrly uneasy. She just hoped that she would not be swallowed whole.

    Lu Yin calmly ordered, "Take us to the Orchid Forest Universe."

    "Yes, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin and the rest were soon taken to the Endless Frontier¡¯s Orchid Forest Universe by the guide.

    Once they left the Wall of Purity, Arrow Sage heaved a sigh of relief. Lu Yin¡¯s presence had pressured him greatly. The Heavens Sect had too many powerhouses, while the Cyclic Universe only had four peak powerhouses at the Wall of Purity. If Lu Yin and the jiao were also taken into ount, then the Heavens Sect had sent six peak powerhouses. What¡¯s more, there were still more experts in the Origin Universe.

    The bnce of power in the Sixverse Association hadpletely shifted.

    The Orchid Forest Universe was separated from the Decaying Diablo Universe by four parallel universes.

    Lu Yin did not want to make it too obvious that they were going to the Decaying Diablos Universe to help the Merchant Exchange lest they be targeted by the Aeternals. So, the only option was to travel to a nearby universe like the Orchid Forest Universe and then rush through several parallel universes.

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi received a message from Arrow Sage that surprised her. Lord Lu had led a total of six peak powerhouses to the Orchid Forest Universe. What were they doing in that ce?

    At the moment, the Great Sovereign and the other rulers of the universes were fighting a massive battle against Aeternus, and their fight was tearing the Endless Frontier apart. Several parallel universes had already copsed. But at such a time, Dao Monarch Lu and several other Progenitors were entering the Endless Frontier. Why?

    "Immediately find out what is going on with Lord Lu and his party," Sage Bodhi ordered.

    A woman quickly reported, "Lord Lu and the others were detected in the tinum Universe."

    Sage Bodhi was surprised. How much time had passed? Had Lu Yin already passed from the Orchid Forest Universe to the tinum Universe?

    On the Endless Frontier, in the tinum Universe, Lu Yin was sitting atop the jiao and staring at the falling stars before him. Was this the tinum Universe?

    This was the universe that Wendy Yushan had been taken to after being kidnapped by Sovereign Shao Yin. At that time, Lu Yin had thought that he needed to rescue Wendy, but the woman had escaped on her own.

    Unexpectedly, Lu Yin had still arrived in the tinum Universe, though his circumstances were entirely different from before.

    At that time, Lu Yin had been forced to travel across the Endless Frontier by Sovereign Shao Yin. This time, Lu Yin was on his way to kill that very same Sovereign. There was no way to predict the twists and turns of life.

    The tinum Universe was an ordinary parallel universe. There were no peak powerhouses in the universe, and the strongest people here were only equal to Semi-Progenitors.

    However, the next parallel universe waspletely different.

    In the Endless Frontier, for every three connected parallel universes, one would be a dangerous battlefield with peak powerhouses. Examples of these dangerous universes included the Big Stone Universe and the Umbral Universe that Lu Yin had visited in the past.

    In order to reach the Decaying Diablo Universe from the Orchid Forest Universe, the most direct route was to go through the tinum Universe, the Gourd Universe, and the Musica Universe, which was connected to the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Of these four parallel universes, the Gourd Universe was acknowledged as one of the top ten most dangerous universes on the entire Endless Frontier.

    However, they had no choice but to travel through that universe to reach the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    The Merchant Exchange had wanted Lu Yin to bring people straight to the Decaying Diablo Universe through a guide, but Lu Yin did not want to alert Aeternus to his intentions, and would rather take the longer path.

    No matter how dangerous the Gourd Universe might be, a group of six Progenitor-levelbatants would be enough to barge through.

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi was carefully observing the battlefield where the Great Sovereign was fighting, while also keeping track of Lu Yin¡¯s movements.

    The Sage knew that Lu Yin was about to enter the Gourd Universe.

    "Give me an updated report on the Gourd Universe."

    Wendy Yushan lifted her head. "At present, four peak powerhouses are fighting in the Gourd Universe. From our Sixverse Association, there are Mu Tao Man and Xiu Ci, and for the Aeternals, two Progenitor-level corpse kings, one fighting each of our experts. Mu Tao has faced the same opponent for thousands of years, with no victor being determined. The second corpse king only recently arrived in the Gourd Universe, and it is capable of undergoing a Red Eyes Transformation, which has overwhelmed Mu Tao and Xiu Ci. Things are not looking good for us in the Gourd Universe."

    Sage Bodhi immediately ordered, "Find a way to send this information to Dao Monarch Lu. Ask him to lend a hand to Mu Tao and Xiu Ci."

    "Understood."

    The jiao crossed the tinum Universe without encountering any obstacles. Whenever they found a battlefield, Arch-Elder Zen would take action, and he easily cleared one battlefield after another, nearly purging the tinum Universe as they crossed it.

    If they were not pressed for time, Lu Yin and his group would have been able to purge multiple universes of the Endless Frontier, as long as they did not encounter any freaks equal to the Seven Skygods.

    After passing through the tinum Universe, they entered the Gourd Universe. The moment they entered that universe, a strange power manifested, and everyone¡¯s body was encased within an energy barrier shaped like a gourd.

    Lu Yin stared, dumbfounded. Was this where the Gourd Universe¡¯s name hade from?

    Arch-Elder Zen and Big Sis were both simrly confused. What was this?

    The jiao had a massive, t gourd that encased its massive form. It looked to both sides, its eyes wide with surprise.

    Big Sis frowned. This was a rather undignified appearance, and she quickly used her abyssal power to shatter the barrier around her.

    The entire Gourd Universe trembled, and a deep sound echoed out.

    Chen Le was startled. "Senior, don''t attack!"

    Big Sis nced sideways at the man, clearly irritated. "Are you talking to me?"

    Chen Le''s face turned pale. "Senior, this is a unique characteristic of the Gourd Universe. Anyone who enters this universe will be encased in a gourd, and the fighting method in this universe is to smash into other gourds."

    "Bullshit! Are you saying that I can¡¯t get away from this?" Big Sis was quite annoyed.

    Chen Le carefully exined, "Monarch Luo once told me that, the first time the Voidlord entered this universe, he shattered his own gourd, and it triggered a retaliation from the universe. I was told that, unless you want topletely destroy this universe, do not destroy your gourd."

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "Big Sis, is this aw in this universe?"

    Big Sis snorted contemptuously as she looked around to observe the universe. "I don''t know who would have such bad taste to actually force such aw onto this universe. This ce isn¡¯t veryrge, as otherwise that person would have suffered terribly.

    "I can shatter my gourd, but doing so will destroy this entire Gourd Universe. Breaking this gourd is no different from breaking thews that person enforced on this universe, and destroying thisw would be no different from challenging this universe as a whole. This is really disgusting."

    Lu Yin nced over at Chen Le.

    The Monarch replied, "It is said that this universe became like this because of Hu Guiren."

    "How strong is this Hu Guiren?" Lu Yin turned to ask Big Sis.

    "He¡¯s about equal to me."

    Lu Yin nodded. Imposing aw on a universe and then integrating it into the fundamental existence of the universe was something that could only be done by someone far more powerful than Sovereign Shao Yin. Old Mo had managed to alter the entire Umbral Universe with the Law of Darkness, but that man was also much stronger than Sovereign Shao Yin.

    However, there was no need to pay attention to Hu Guiren, as the man was already dead.

    Lu Yin patted the jiao. "Let''s go."

    The jiao did not like being trapped within a gourd. No matter how anyone looked at the situation, the jiao looked absurd.

    However, there was nothing that the jiao could do, as it could not overpower thews of the universe.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal vibrated.

    Throughout the Sixverse Association, mostmunications were conducted throughmunication crystals. Lu Yin also had his own, just to allow for easymunications.

    In the Perennial World, wireless jincans had already recedmunications crystals, and after the Origin Universe had be a member of the Sixverse Association, each of the other member universes had started interacting and trading with the Origin Universe.

    The wireless jincans were one of the Origin Universe¡¯s products that they were most eager to distribute. However, they had not be very popr yet.

    "Is this Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yin hummed.

    "There is a crisis in the Gourd Universe, and I would like to request Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s assistance to reinforce the center of the universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "What¡¯s going on?"

    "Our Sixverse Association¡¯s Senior Mu Tao and Senior Xiu Ci are fighting against two corpse kings, one of which has used a Red Eyes Transformation, which makes its gourd incredibly hard. The two seniors are only able to survive by helping each other, as neither of them can directly stand up to this corpse king. They¡¯re struggling to hold out and won¡¯tst much longer. None of the nearby battlefields can afford to send reinforcements.¡±

    Lu Yin lowered hismunication crystal. He quickly found their destination, and the jiao shot forward.

    Lu Yin had never met Mu Tao, but he was familiar with Xiu Ci, and the man had an excellent reputation.

    Even more importantly, Xiu Ci had very good standing in the Voidforce Universe, which made it more than appropriate for Lu Yin to help this Void Suprema.

    A great distance away from the jiao, at the center of the Gourd Universe, Mu Tao was panting, trying to catch his breath. Blood dyed his mustache red and constantly dripped down. His sword was broken, and his Progenitor¡¯s world only had a few peaches remaining on the tree.

    Nearby, Xiu Ci was not in much better condition. Blood had also stained his beard, and his Formless Barrier was pressed right up against his own gourd.

    "Bearded freak, how are you doing?" Mu Tao asked between breaths. His eyes never left the female corpse king in front of him that was surrounded by a sea of blood.

    Xiu Ci gave a bitter smile. "Little Mustache, we¡¯re going to suffer this time. We can''t hold out."

    He eyed the distant red-eyed corpse king. It was clear that the gourd surrounding that corpse king was far more durable than the ones surrounding either of the two humans. Their gourds were covered with cracks.

    If their gourds broke, they would die.

    Mu Tao shrugged. "Proximity has known about our situation for some time, but no reinforcements have shown up even after all this time. I¡¯d say that the other battlefields are having a rough time of things as well.¡±

    "Aeternus attacked the Tea Ceremony, and war broke out across the Endless Frontier, as well as in each of the Sixverse Association¡¯s members'' universes. The Aeternals have gone nuts, and we¡¯re just lucky we aren¡¯t facing a captain of the True God Guard."

    "Lucky my ass! We¡¯re still going to die."

    Neither of the two ever mentioned escaping. They would rather die fighting than flee. This was their responsibility.

    Without people bearing this responsibility, how could humans have sessfully defended against the Aeternals for so long?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2863: Arrival

    Chapter 2863: Arrival

    "It seems that we will soon be old friends who are remembered by the Great Sovereign during her Tea Ceremonies," Xiu Cimented.

    The corpse king in front of the man suddenly charged.

    Mu Tao gritted his teeth. "No matter what, let''s deal with these ones first. Even if we die, we need to hold them back for as long as possible. I can only hope that someone else will show up to help us before this battle ends."

    The moment the man finished speaking, both humans turned to look in the same direction.

    The charging corpse king also stopped and turned to look.

    All three of them saw an enormous t gourd rushing towards the battle, and it mmed into one of the two corpse kings.

    The sight of a t gourd was not unusual, as the Gourd Universe had many astral beasts, and most of them had t gourds.

    Rather, what caught everyone¡¯s attention was that there were several more gourds on the back of the t gourd, and the sight of one of those gourds caused people¡¯s eyes to pop out.

    It was a dark purple gourd, and it was absolutely zing with power.Mu Tao, who had spent many, many years fighting in the Gourd Universe, could understand the strength of the person within a gourd with only a nce. He had only seen such a powerful gourd when the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had visited, or other top powerhouses, such as Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng, and Xu Wuwei.

    Which powerhouse had suddenly appeared?

    The t gourd struck the corpse king, and the jiao opened its mouth to let out a roar.

    Xiu Ci and Mu Tao then clearly saw the people atop the jiao. "Lord Lu?"

    When the jiao crashed into the corpse king, the monster did not flinch, and it instead struck back.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    The void shattered. The sh between the two gourds was incredible, and the resulting shockwave tore the void apart.

    Even Forgotten Ruins God God had once praised the jiao¡¯s physical might. During the attack on the Tea Ceremony, even though the jiao had acted like a coward, Lu Yin had thrown the beast at Corpse God, and it had been fine after mming into the Skygod. There was no need to worry about a collision with the corpse kings that were in the Gourd Universe.

    While the jiao was a dumb beast, it was also incredibly sensitive to danger.

    The jiao would never willingly approach Corpse God, but if the jiao charged at a creature, it meant that the beast felt confident in its victory.

    The jiao flourished its fangs and ws before mming into the corpse king again.

    The monster red at the jiao as they crashed into each other.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    <em>Boom!</em>

    <em>Boom!</em>

    After several impacts, the jiao shook its head before continuing.

    Lu Yin frowned. "We can¡¯t waste time."

    He then leaped out, manifesting Infinity. The lines of light merged with the gourd that surrounded Lu Yin, and he raised a hand and pressed it against his gourd while releasing his Wielder-realm battle force. Fifty punches were confined before a single attack was released.

    There was a terrible bang, and the corpse king''s gourd cracked.

    Lu Yin had used his full strength to fight against Zhong Pan, who was a captain of the True God Guard, but there was no need to go all out to defeat this corpse king.

    While this corpse king had undergone a Red Eyes Transformation, it still could notpare to Zhang Pan, and it was utterly incapable of stopping Lu Yin.

    The jiao struck again.

    The gourd shattered, and the corpse king tore through the void in an attempt to escape. Just as Lu Yin was about to finish the corpse king off, Big Sis stopped him. "Don¡¯t bother."

    As the corpse king rushed into the void, half of its body cracked and shattered, and the damage aligned perfectly with how the corpse king¡¯s gourd had broken. Half of the corpse king¡¯s body was reduced to nothing but blood, and the remaining half shot through the crack in the void.

    The half that had escaped was already as good as dead.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. This was thew that Hu Guiren had forced upon the Gourd Universe. Once a gourd was destroyed, the creature that had been within it would also be broken.

    Could thews of the universe really be manipted in such a manner?

    The jiao stared at the female corpse king, which immediately escaped.

    Lu Yin stepped back onto the jiao. He nodded to Xiu Ci and Mu Tao and then ordered the jiao to leave.

    The jiao was even faster than the female corpse king, and it let out a roar as it mmed into her. The female corpse king¡¯s gourd was far less durable than the corpse king that had just been defeated, and she was instantly smashed to pieces. The jiao then raced off to the next universe, lookingpletely unstoppable.

    Xiu Ci and Mu Tao were still standing in the same ce, having not yet recovered from their shock.

    "Is it over?"

    "It''s over. We don''t have to die anymore."

    "The Origin Universe¡¯s power was demonstrated at the Tea Ceremony, but I just saw it again for myself."

    "The Sixverse Association is going to change."

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi soon received an update, informing her that the crisis in the Gourd Universe had been resolved.

    She exhaled. The Origin Universe had only recently joined the Sixverse Association. Due to the many things that had happened in the past, the Origin Universe had not had a very good rtionship with the Sixverse Association. If not for that, given the number of peak powerhouses in that universe, the Sixverse Association would not have been in such a disadvantageous position in the war.

    <em>After the Great Sovereign¡¯s battle, we need to ensure that the Origin Universe sends some of their Progenitors to the Endless Frontier to help alleviate some of the pressure there</em>.

    Sage Bodji focused on the Gourd Universe where Lu Yin was currently located. From the Orchid Forest Universe, Lu Yin had gone on to the tinum Universe, and then to the Gourd Universe. They were moving with purpose, and if they next entered the Musica Universe, it was very likely that the Decaying Diablo Universe would be next.

    Where was Lu Yin heading?

    Proximity had not yet received information regarding Sovereign Shao Yin''s presence in the Decaying Diablo Universe. It was impossible for the Aeternals to inform Proximity, and the Merchant Exchange did not want the Sixverse Association getting involved. As far as the Merchant Exchange was concerned, the Decaying Diablo Universe was their own private territory, which was why they had not wanted to ask the Sixverse Association for help.

    The Merchant Exchange belonged to Bi Rong, who was a powerhouse independent from the Sixverse Association. Like the Lord of Lightning, Bi Rong had no obligation to listen to the Sixverse Association, and to arge extent, he waspletely autonomous.

    The jiao finished crossing the Gourd Universe and entered the Musica Universe.

    With that, there was just one more universe to cross before they reached their goal: the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    ¡­

    On the Endless Frontier, the parallel universe known as Decaying Diablo Universe was a very odd ce.

    The universe had not given birth to any humans or even any astral beasts. There was only one kind of creature, the Decaying Diablos. Their bodies were eyes, but various species of Decaying Diablos withpletely different powers hade into being. They were bizarre creatures.

    These Decaying Diablos were intelligent, had their own civilization, and even possessed innate gifts.

    The most noteworthy species was the Space Diablos, whose control over the power of space made it difficult for most Progenitor-level experts to even touch the creatures.

    The Decaying Diablo Universe had not been discovered by the Sixverse Association. Rather, it had been brought to them by the Merchant Exchange. Due to the Merchant Exchange¡¯s wish to conduct business with the various members of the Sixverse Association, they had used the Decaying Diablo Universe to show thepany¡¯s sincerity and had annexed the universe onto the Endless Frontier. With this, the Merchant Exchange had been allowed to trade with the Sixverse Association.

    The presence of the Merchant Exchange meant that the Decaying Diablo Universe was not a part of the Endless Frontier that saw a great deal of fighting. Though, it did asionally arouse a bit of interest from Aeternus, as the Decaying Diablos were too unique to be left alone.

    Even the most basic Tentacled Diablos could reach the Progenitor level, which was extremely useful to Aeternus.

    However, Bi Rong was strong enough to scare the Aeternals off from being too aggressive towards the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Unfortunately, Bi Rong had not left seclusion in many years, and in other ces, there were even rumors circting that Bi Rong had died. Recently, the Aeternals had started attacking the Decaying Diablo Universe with increasing frequency, and that had culminated with Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s arrival after he had revealed himself as a spy. With the Sovereign¡¯s arrival, it became clear that the Aeternals were determined to drive the Merchant Exchange from the universe and take control of it for themselves.

    Because the Merchant Exchange had introduced the Decaying Diablo Universe to the Endless Frontier, the Sixverse Association had never established a data center in the universe, and this prevented Proximity from learning about that universe¡¯s situation.

    In one corner of the universey the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters. It was a tower that was surrounded by many Space Diablos. They wandered near the tower, and their presence caused the building to appear and disappear randomly.

    Inside the tower, Bi Teng, Bi Lan, Madam Nn, and more people from the Merchant Exchange were staring out from the building. Outside of the tower, Sovereign Shao Yin had seized control of the majority of the Decaying Diablo Universe. Even so, the people of the Merchant Exchange were able to easilye and go from the universe without any issue, as they had all left marks on a coordinate seal for the universe. However, if the humans were driven away, the universe would be the Aeternals¡¯ territory.

    As for the Space Diablos, none of what was happening outside affected them at all.

    "When will the people from the Heavens Sect arrive?" Bi Teng stood by a window so that he could look out. He was staring off into the distance with a frown.

    Nearby, Bi Lan nced at Madam Nn, who replied, "They are already on their way."

    Bi Teng¡¯s eyes flickered. "The Aeternals are not easy opponents, so we can only ask the Heavens Sect for their help. The Lord of Lightning is not able toe here himself, and the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes are all participating in that massive battle. Sovereign Shao Yin saw this as an opportunity, and he had the gall to attack us.¡±

    Bi Lan said. "If Master Bi Rong emerges from seclusion, he can deal with these enemies with one stroke."

    "Lord Bi Teng, why don¡¯t we try to reach out to Lord Bi Rong again?" someone suggested.

    Everyone else nearby also looked over at Bi Teng.

    The Merchant Exchange¡¯s foundation that allowed them to conduct business with the Sixverse Association without being in the alliance was Bi Rong. He was a peak powerhouse who was able tough and carry on in a casual manner with the Great Sovereign herself. It was the Aeternals¡¯ fear of Bi Rong that had prevented them fromunching an all-out attack on the universe, even if probing attacks were still asionally sent out.

    As long as Bi Rong appeared, Sovereign Shao Yin would not dare to stick around.

    Bi Teng felt helpless. "Master is in seclusion, and it is very difficult to contact him. On top of that¡­"

    The man¡¯s eyes lit up as he looked back at the others nearby as he continued, "Master is one of the most powerful humans in existence. During his seclusion, it¡¯s possible that he might even take that legendary step to surpass all others. If that happens, even the Aeternals will fear him. No, Master cannot be pulled from seclusion right now. He must stay there.¡±

    The others were not nearly as optimistic as Bi Teng. They had heard simr words too many times before. Initially, they had imagined a future under an invincible powerhouses where the Merchant Exchange would stand above even the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. Bbut as time had flowed by, people¡¯s excitement had faded.

    Was it not possible that there was an exnation behind why the Aeternals were bing increasingly aggressive in their attacks on the Decaying Diablo Universe? It seemed possible that something might have happened to Lord Bi Rong.

    Madam Nn had only recently joined the Merchant Exchange, and she still did not really have any sense of belonging to the organization. She was far more worried about Lu Yin. The Aeternals¡¯ forces had some powerful individuals among them.

    Just outside the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters was where the Space Diablos circled, and beyond them were corpse kings.

    There was arge number of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings surrounding the Merchant Exchange. Further away, Sovereign Shao Yin was watching with four peak powerhouses behind him. There were two regr Progenitor-level corpse kings, and even a captain of the True God Guards. The captain was Ju Ji, the woman who had fought against Mu Xie when the Aeternals had attacked the Origin Universe. The fourth individual was a man wrapped up in a ck robe thatpletely hid his face.

    "How long will it take?" Sovereign Shao Yin asked.

    Ju Ji indifferently answered, "Not long. What¡¯s really keeping them hidden is the Space Diablo that¡¯s above the tower. I''m doing my best to suppress it, but that still needs some time."

    "Is Bi Rong really dead?" the man in ck robe asked in a deep voice.

    Sovereign Shao Yin sped his hands behind his back. "He should be."

    The man in the ck robe remained solemn. "While I have never met Bi Rong, I have heard legends about the man. If he truly hasn¡¯t died, you and I are doomed. None of us can stop him."

    "Bi Rong is capable of fighting against the Seven Skygods. When the Merchant Exchange first appeared, Corpse God fought against Bi Rong on many asions without ever being able to determine a winner," Ju Ji agreed.

    The man in ck robe voice dropped lower. "A true monster ising."

    At that moment, the entire group turned to look. They all felt a terrifying aura that belonged to an exceptionally powerful individual.

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. It was impossible for this powerhouse to be there to help them, which meant that it had to be someone whom the Merchant Exchange had asked for help. However, who would the Merchant Exchange have approached?

    Inside the tower, Bi Teng was also looking in the same direction, though he was overjoyed. "Here hees!"

    Everyone else turned to look.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2864: Lu Yin VS Shao Yin

    Chapter 2864: Lu Yin VS Shao Yin

    There was a sharp roar, and the jiao instantly appeared.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s pupils shrank sharply, and he ground his teeth before shouting in a deep voice, "Lu- Yin!"

    Ju Ji and the man in the ck robes both stared. Far away, at the same moment that the jiao appeared, so had Lu Yin and the other humans.

    They had not expected the Merchant Exchange to ask the Heavens Sect for help. What could the two¡¯s rtionship be?

    From behind the jiao, Lu Yin was also able to see Sovereign Shao Yin and others. Lu Yin¡¯s head rose, and he shouted, "Big Sis, don''t let any of them go! Kill them all!"

    Without wasting any time, the jiao charged straight towards Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s group, fiercely roaring the entire way.

    Big Sis waved a hand, and her abyssal flowers started blossoming. At the same time, her abyssal power formed a hammer that she used to execute the Thundering Hammer technique, incorporating sequence particles into the attack. She acted as though she was already on a battlefield, locked in a life and death battle.

    Leng Qing¡¯s saber rose and shed out.

    Chen Le started loosing arrows.Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique summoned Xue Wuqing, and a biting cold filled the area.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Infinity appeared, and the lines of his inner world continuously merged into his body. At the same time, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant let out a roar as a shockingly powerful physical might was released. Lu Yin¡¯s right fist rose, and he shouted out, "Sovereign Shao Yin, we need to settle the grudge between us!"

    Far away, Sovereign Shao Yin grew furious. "Child of the Lu family, you are seeking death!"

    The power of Extreme Yin erupted from the Sovereign, but it could not match the terrifying number of sequence particles that Shao Yin had wielded during the battle at the Tea Ceremony. The Great Sovereign had stripped the man of his power.

    Beside him, the two Progenitor-level corpse kings both instantly underwent a Corpse King Transformation.

    The man in ck robes expression was hidden, but he took a step back.

    Ju Ji, however, stepped forward. "Don¡¯t take him head on."

    The moment she spoke, divine energy surged from her body and formed a red sun that shot out at the jiao.

    The zing orb of divine energy mmed into the attacks that Lu Yin and the others had released, and it even blocked Big Sis¡¯ sequence particles, which intimidated her. "Be careful! Don¡¯t touch that divine energy! That¡¯s an extremely strong energy."

    There was no need for Big Sis¡¯ reminder. The jiao was the first to react, and it instantly shrunk down. It was well aware of how terrifying divine energy was, and it did not want to touch the energy at all.

    Leng Qing, Chen Le, and Arch-Elder Zen all evaded the divine energy as well.

    Lu Yin did not actually need to dodge, as he was actually capable of absorbing this divine energy. However, he had to avoid the divine energy at this moment, as doing so otherwise would trigger questions that he could not answer.

    The orb of divine energy scattered everyone, but when Ju Ji pointed her finger forward, the dark red sun suddenly transformed into a t surface that spread out in every direction. All of space was enveloped in an instant, and a dark red light descended.

    Ju Ji used her divine energy very differently from the Chiliagonist. If anything, Ju Ji¡¯s method was even more bizarre.

    "If you can''t beat him, then escape!" Ju Ji shouted.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was unwilling to give up. "I want to kill that descendant of the Lu family."

    Ju Ji stared at the man. "We are not their opponents. They have a peak expert on their side."

    The man in the ck robes did not hesitate and was already tearing through the void to make his escape.

    They were focused solely on Lu Yin and the others in the distance, having forgotten all about the Merchant Exchange.

    The man in the ck robes wanted to escape, but the Spatial Decaying Diablos that had surrounded the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters and were protecting it instantly repaired the void when it was torn, leaving the man with no escape route.

    At this moment, Big Sis arrived. ¡°You bunch of rats!¡±

    A Thundering Hammer mmed down.

    The Aeternal group had no choice but to flee.

    The result was that only a number of corpse kings were crushed where they stood.

    Two Progenitor-level corpse kings had alreadypleted the Red Eyes Transformation, and they roared as they charged at Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen.

    Big Sis had set her eyes on Ju Ji. At the moment, Ju Ji was the opponent who posed the greatest threat. Sovereign Shao Yin had been deprived of a great deal of his strength, and he had fallen too far to be a true threat. Thus, he was left for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wanted to deal with the man personally.

    Chen Le aimed an arrow at the man in ck robes.

    The Decaying Diablo Universe had never seen a battle between so many Progenitor-level experts before.

    Inside the tower, Bi Teng''s eyes were zed with excitement. How could Lu Yin be so impressive? He had agreed to help the Merchant Exchange, and he had brought so many experts with him, but that was only a part of it. Even if those two old monsters of the Lu family were disregarded, if the Origin Universe mobilized its full strength, the Merchant Exchange would be able to safely retreat even if all Seven Skygods appeared.

    Just how had Lu Yin aplished this?

    The Decaying Diablo Universe was filled with all different kinds of Decaying Diablos.

    One bizarre Decaying Diablo drifted across the battlefield, swept along by the shockwaves of the various fights. Two pairs of eyes stared at each other through the Decaying Diablo; one pair was filled with resentment, and the other with killing intent.

    "Child of the Lu family, I will kill you!" Sovereign Shao Yin growled out through gritted teeth.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Let¡¯s see how you can pull that off after you¡¯ve been stripped of your power by the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin then took a step forward, his hand rising to unleash a palm strike. It was a pure and simple Hollow Palm, but it possessed both power and speed.

    The attack struck Sovereign Shao Yin, and he vomited blood as he flew backwards.

    Lu Yin moved along the spatial lines, and he instantly appeared close to the Sovereign. "Show me how you¡¯re going to kill me."

    Another palm strike flew out, and the impact caused Sovereign Shao Yin to cough up more blood. His power of Extreme Yin was not a defensive power, and without his sequence particles, Shao Yin was even weaker than the ordinary Progenitor-level powerhouses that Lu Yin had faced before. The Great Sovereign had taken the man¡¯s cultivation away.

    At this moment, Shao Yin was not even Chu Jian¡¯s opponent.

    Just as another one of Lu Yin¡¯s palm strikesnded, a bright and zing power suddenly appeared from Sovereign Shao Yin''s body. It illuminated the Decaying Diablo Universe, and at the same time, the aura of a peak powerhouse erupted.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. What was this?

    Sovereign Shao Yin waved a hand, and the zing energy surged forwards, shooting towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt quite confused. "This is the power of yang! You use the power of Extreme Yin to nourish the power of yang. Your power of Extreme Yin was taken from you, so why has your power of yang reached the Progenitor level?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin sneered, though blood still stained his mouth. "How could I have remained hidden for so long if my power could be so easily taken away?

    "Among the Aeternals, my status is no less than that of the captains of the True God Guard! I have everything that they have, and I also have everything they don''t! Child of the Lu family, allow me to show you what Yin Yang really is."

    The zing power burned outer space.

    Lu Yin used his Heaven¡¯s Sight and saw sequence particles. These sequence particles werepletely different from what Shao Yin had used before with his Rotting the Heavenly Dao. This should be impossible. Had Shao Yin really mastered two differentws of the universe? That was something that not even Big Sis had aplished, as it was supposed to be impossible.

    Supposedly, Shao Yin had entered the Decaying Diablo Universe to recultivate his Rotting the Heavenly Dao, so what was happening with this other power?

    Far away, Big Sis also saw what was happening. "Not good!"

    She immediately took off to help Lu Yin.

    Ju Ji pressed a hand down, and the dark red light from the divine energy formed a t sheet that blocked Big Sis'' path. However, Big Sis was not so easily stopped.

    As an abyssal flower bloomed, the path to Lu Yin opened back up.

    At the same time, another path appeared, which was Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s simple path. He had also seen Shao Yin change drastically while fighting with Lu Yin, and the Progenitor wanted to bring Lu Yin away.

    Lu Yin shouted, "I¡¯ll deal with him!"

    Arch-Elder Zen hesitated, and Big Sis frowned. "There''s something wrong with that man."

    Lu Yin was able to see that, even though Sovereign Shao Yin was wielding sequence particles rted to the power of yang, something about thews felt half-finished to Lu Yin. This zing energy was not nearly as threatening as the Rotting the Heavenly Dao that Lu Yin had faced earlier. Shao Yin seemed to be wandering between two differentws of the universe, not fully using either one.

    What was going on?

    The power of zing yang swept out.

    Confronted by the half-finished sequence particles, Lu Yin did not even bother blocking the attack with his Wordless Heavenly Book. Instead, he just took the attack with his body.

    For thest portion of his Semi-Progenitor Tribtion, he had used just his physical body to endure lightning strikes that contained the power of sequence particles. These half-finished sequence particles could notpare to that lightning.

    Lu Yin could see that, although Shao Yin had been deprived of his power, he was also able to somehow wield an opposing form of power.

    Wait. An idea suddenly urred to Lu Yin, and he thought back to what he had seen in the Extreme Yin realm.

    <em>Extreme Yin, the sun, underground, the border, yin overtaking yang, using yin to resist the yang of the sun¡­</em> Lu Yin attacked Sovereign Shao Yin.

    The Sovereign had already been struck by multiple palms. Even if Lu Yin was not able to withstand the yang sequence particles, Sovereign Shao Yin would still copse before Lu Yin.

    Both men were trying to endure the other¡¯s attacks, but Sovereign Shao Yin was clearly at his limit.

    "I understand." Lu Yin stared at Sovereign Shao Yin. "The power of Extreme Yin that you revealed is not your real power. You actually cultivate Extreme Yin and Yang, but you only ever revealed your power of Extreme Yin. That¡¯s why the power of the Three Sovereigns that you received from the Great Sovereign was also connected to your power of Extreme Yin. That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t matter if the Great Sovereign stripped you of your power, as you can just rebuild your power of Extreme Yin with the power of Yang. Then, by merging Yin and Yang, you willpletely master your true sequence particles."

    Big Sis overheard from the distance, and was surprised. "Fusing yin and yang? That¡¯s certainly a path forward."

    Ju Ji grew solemn. She did not even know when she had been injured. The woman that Ju Ji was facing was terrifyingly powerful. Ju Ji had even used her divine energy at the beginning of the fight. Without it, she would have already died.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was impressed. "As expected of a member of the Lu family. Despite the brief bit of time that you¡¯ve spent re-cultivating, you¡¯ve already reached a height that everyone must look up to. Since you¡¯ve already guessed the truth, I might as well admit it.

    "My innate gift is Two Faces; the positive side is Extreme Yin, while the negative side is Extreme Yang. In the Sixverse Association, I use the negative side to nourish the positive side, using the Extreme Yang to feed the Extreme Yin. Everyone assumed that it was just my cultivation method, especially since I used the same method to train my disciples, but no one ever knew that my real cultivation method is to use the positive to feed the negative, which means that my Extreme Yin has always been nourishing my Extreme Yang.

    "So what if I was deprived of my power of Extreme Yin? I can rebuild that power in a short time and even step onto the level of fusing Yin and Yang by understanding thews of positive and negative. Once I fully seed, not even Sovereign Dou Sheng will be my opponent.

    "Child of the Lu family, what can you do even if you know? Can you hold me back?"

    With that, in the same manner as Ju Ji, a surge of divine energy erupted from Shao Yin¡¯s body, and it merged with Ju Ji''s divine energy to create a terrifying power that enveloped the entire Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Bi Teng and the others in the tower looked up at the dark red light in fear. This was the power of True God. In the face of this power, everyone was nothing more than an ant.

    Big Sis grew pale. True God was a powerhouse who not even she could fully fathom. The threat that his power posed exceeded what most people could even imagine.

    "If you want this Decaying Diablo Universe, I''ll give it to you, child of the Lu family! Remember, the next time we meet, you and I will once again have a death match!" Sovereign Shao Yin shouted.

    In outer space, the dark red light suddenly fell, enveloping Big Sis, Lu Yin, and the others.

    No one was able to disregard divine energy, not even sequence powerhouses. Divine energy possessed unmatched power.

    Sovereign Shao Yin and the other Aeternals wanted to escape under the cover of divine energy, as not even Big Sis could do anything to stop them.

    Big Sis was the strongest expert within Lu Yin¡¯s group, so if she was incapable of stopping them from leaving, then no one could.

    However, there was one exception: Lu Yin.

    It did not matter that the divine energy fell. As long as he did not absorb it, he did not need to exin himself to anyone. Even Mister Mu was unable to see through the power that Lu Yin was cultivating.

    Just as Sovereign Shao Yin was about to escape through a tear in space, Lightstream appeared beside Lu Yin. "Go."

    Lightstream was the manifestation of space, and a carrier for time.

    During his tribtion at the Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had formed his inner world, Lightstream, passing the tribtion with the help of his die¡¯s Timestop. After that, everyone had seen Lu Yin reverse time for a single second.

    Naturally, Sovereign Shao Yin knew this as well.

    It was not easy to escape from Lu Yin, but Shao Yin was not trying to rely on himself to escape; rather, he was relying on divine energy. How could Lu Yin do anything while suppressed by divine energy? Even that sequence powerhouse had been rendered helpless.

    No matter how cautious Sovereign Shao Yin might be, he would never consider such a threat.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2865: Innate Gift Reappears

    <h4>Chapter 2865: Innate Gift Reappears</h4>

    Lightstream forced the Sovereign back, but Ju Ji, the ck-robed man, and the two Progenitor-level corpse kings managed to escape.

    Sovereign Shao Yin stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "You can actually move?"

    Lu Yin answered in a cold and arrogant tone, "Are you able to understand my power?"

    He then took a step and instantly disappeared. He used Lightstream again and reversed time.

    As soon as he saw Lu Yin disappear, Sovereign Shao Yin immediately fled, but he was already toote.

    As long as Lu Yin was able to endure the attacks of the Yang sequence particles, their battle was destined to be one-sided.

    Lu Yin took out the seven star Immemorial card Evernight, wanting to capture Sovereign Shao Yin, which would also prevent any idents from urring.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was not Xia Shenji, and the moment Lu Yin took out his card, the Sovereign understood what was happening. The moment he was sucked into Evernight, he would be finished.

    In a fit of madness, blue lines suddenly appeared on Shao Yin¡¯s body, and they spread all across his body as a new power erupted, knocking Lu Yin backwards.

    Lu Yin stared at the blue lines in a daze. Had the power of the Garan family just appeared on Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s back?

    Far away, Big Sis witnessed the same thing, and she blurted, "The power of the Garan family?"

    They had never imagined that Sovereign Shao Yin would actually possess that power.

    The power of the Garan family from the Origin Universe¡¯s Sixth Maind was a power that had only ever been passed down in a direct line of inheritance. The previous generation had to pass it along to the next.

    It was because Sky Garan had disappeared that the Garan family had lost that inheritance, and without that, the Garan surname had practically vanished from history.

    The Garan family had led the Sixth Maind in the same manner that the Lu family led the Fifth Maind. The Garan family¡¯s only shoring was that their power could only be inherited by a single heir from each generation, but due to that same limitation, their power had been shocking.

    Lu Yin had witnessed it for himself when he had fought against Sky Garan and the other Dao Chosen.

    However, what had truly given the Garan family the ability to rule over the Sixth Maind was their innate gift, Eight-Star Garan.

    Sovereign Shao Yin gasped for breath as he red at Lu Yin. "Do you really think that I¡¯m an easy target? The power and foundation of Aeternus is beyond your imagination! Lu Yin, it''s your turn to die."

    As he spoke, the blue lines on his back started to fade, and a drop of a brilliant blue liquid appeared before the Sovereign¡¯s eyes. Shao Yin opened his mouth and swallowed it.

    This droplet was the incredible innate gift that the Garan family was so proud of, as well as what had made them famous, the Eight-Star Garan.

    It had reappeared once more.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the Sovereign Shao Yin. "Are you a member of the Garan family?"

    After swallowing the droplet, Sovereign Shao Yin sneered at Lu Yin. "Die in your ignorance!"

    The man raised a hand andshed out with a palm strike. This was an attack that Lu Yin could not be more familiar with, as it was his own Hollow Palm.

    The Eight-Star Garan was a form of spatial memory that allowed a person to reproduce any attack that had urred within a certain area of space.

    When Lu Yin had faced Sky Garan, the Dao Chosen had replicated Chu Yuan''s innate gift of time with his own innate gift, Eight-Star Garan. That moment had stunned countless people, as no one had expected someone to have such an ability.

    In front of Lu Yin, Shao Yin was once again using the Eight-Star Garan.

    Lu Yin raised his own hand and dispersed the Hollow Palm that was aimed at him. Shao Yin waved a hand again, and then abyssal flowers bloomed and shot towards Lu Yin. Big Sis¡¯ power was attacking Lu Yin, and behind them was a beam of light.

    "Little Seven, don''t let that light touch you! Anything that touches it will be reduced to two dimensions," Big Sis warned.

    Lu Yin avoided the beam of light, and his Lightstream shot towards Shao Yin.

    The man looked up, and Lightstream appeared at Shao Yin¡¯s side as well.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Was it even possible to use the Eight-Star Garan to replicate an inner world?

    The Eight-Star Garan had granted the Garan family the power to unquestionably lead the Sixth Maind, and the innate gift¡¯s miraculousness had just been revealed.

    Shao Yin had not wanted to use this power, but he was helpless to hold back against Lu Yin.

    Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, Chen Le, Leng Qing, and Ju Ji¡ªall of their Progenitor¡¯s worlds were used against Lu Yin, one after another. It was a dazzling sight, and Lu Yin even saw his own powers be used against him. It became extremely difficult for him to get close to Shao Yin.

    Lu Yin could not believe that this power could be used without any sort of restrictions. However, the divine energy was about to disappear, which would give Big Sis and the others a chance to recover.

    Shao Yin was not actually arrogant enough to believe that he could actually kill Lu Yin with the Eight-Star Garan innate gift. The man had just been buying time.

    Shao Yin took this opportunity to leave as the others were being restrained by the divine energy. He tore through the void and nced back at Lu Yin. "I already told you that you can''t stop me. Next time we meet, I will definitely kill you."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You won¡¯t get the chance."

    Shao Yin suddenly felt uneasy. A bone spur suddenly shot towards him from the side, stabbing at him with a shocking amount of voidforce energy.

    While the Eight-Star Garan was able to reproduce any attack that had urred within a certain region, it was still impossible to reproduce an attack that had not even urred.

    The bone spur was something that Lu Yin had not used yet. It was a weapon made by Wu Tian that had been left in the Voidforce Universe for future generations.

    Even Lord Xu had mentioned that the bone spur could ignore any defenses and that it was an incredible treasure even for peak powerhouses.

    Lu Yin rarely ever used the bone spur. With his current strength, the opponents who could actually threaten him were all sequence powerhouses, and the bone spur could not break through their defenses. The bone spur was not the slipper, but it could still be incredibly useful if used at the right opportunity.

    Lu Yin did not intend to kill Shao Yin with the bone spur, merely prevent the man from leaving.

    As soon as the bone spur pierced through space, the void was shredded and warped, which prevented Shao Yin from leaving for a second time.

    Lu Yin took out his slipper. "Let''s see how long you can survive."

    The slipper swung at the man, scattering every attack that Shao Yin sent out. Lu Yin pressed forward, one step at a time. Shao Yin started to grow a bit anxious. His power was about to expire, as the Eight-Star Garan could notst for too long.

    Shao Yin had no way to deal with Lu Yin. The young man possessed myriad powers, many of which had not been used before in this battle. Those tricks could be used to continuously prevent Shao Yin from escaping.

    Lightstream surrounded Shao Yin as he continued to fall back. "Lu Yin, do you really want to fight me to the death?"

    "Do you even qualify?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Shao Yin gritted his teeth. "The Aeternals are not nearly as simple as you believe. Humanity cannot win. Why else would we join Aeternus? So what if your Lu family has returned? The Great Sovereign is a mad woman, and since she was able to attack your family once, she can certainly do so again.¡±

    Lu Yin pped an abyssal flower aside with his slipper, evaded Ju Ji¡¯s power, and then raised his right fist. In his chest, the Withered Bark had not yet fully transformed into a star above the continent, and it swayed as the power of time confined Lu Yin¡¯s punches. "Shao Yin, die!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch shot out as he spoke. He was able to confine a hundred punches before releasing a single attack, which was strong enough to threaten even the captains of the True God Guard. In Zhong Pan, Lu Yin had witnessed a creature whose physical strength was second only to Corpse God, but Lu Yin would surely surpass that, and at this moment, Shao Yin saw that for himself.

    No matter what attacks Shao Yin had reproduced or what power he had used, none of it was capable of standing up to Lu Yin¡¯s blow that had confined a hundred punches into one. Even during Big Sis¡¯ fight with Ju Ji, no attack had been as powerful as the punch that Lu Yin released at this moment.

    This was a punch that could shatter everything.

    In the same manner as when Lu Yin had faced the Cyclic Tribtion, he intended to smash everything apart with one punch.

    Shao Yin''s face turned pale. He felt an unprecedented sense of danger from this attack. If his power had not been taken from him by the Great Sovereign, he would not feel intimidated by this attack, as his Extreme Yin sequence particles would have been enough to block Lu Yin''s attack. Sequence particles were a qualitative change in power level, but Shao Yin¡¯s sequence particles were only halfplete.

    As Lu Yin¡¯s punch approached, Shao Yin let out a breath and replicated all of the attacks that had already been used in the nearby area, and everything moved to block Lu Yin¡¯s punch.

    As for Lu Yin¡¯s attack, it was only a punch.

    However, the punch shattered every power that Shao Yin reproduced before continuing on towards Shao Yin.

    Shao Yin grew pale and clenched his teeth. He refused to believe that this young man could kill him with a single punch.

    The power of the Garan family was not so easy to deal with!

    Behind Shao Yin, more than half of the total blue stripes disappeared, which were thest of them.

    Sovereign Shao Yin expanded the area affected by the Eight-Star Garan, epassing not only the battlefield, but also the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters.

    Suddenly, Shao Yin coughed up blood. Shock covered his face, though he also let out a triumphantugh. "Child of the Lu family, your death has arrived!"

    An invisible power fell from the void and shot towards Lu Yin.

    Danger screamed in Lu Yin''s mind. An incredible power had just appeared. This was not something that he could stop on his own, and there was no way that this was Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s power. This was something that the Eight-Star Garan had found, and it had appeared in the Decaying Diablo Universe long ago.

    For Lu Yin to feel such terrible danger from this attack, it had to be from a sequence powerhouse.

    Lightstream appeared, and time was reversed. Lu Yin had released countless punches that were confined and released as a single attack, and reversing time undid this punch. However, Lightstream could only reverse time for Lu Yin. It only impacted a small area, and it was impossible for Lu Yin to reverse Shao Yin¡¯s time.

    All of the attacks that Shao Yin had reproduced with his Eight-Star Garan reappeared, and in addition to that, the attack that made Lu Yin feel so threatened also approached.

    That strange power came from behind, and it instantly destroyed all of the attacks that Shao Yin had reproduced and directed towards Lu Yin. After that, the mysterious attack continued on towards Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Shao Yin''s eyes zed with excitement. He had no idea who had used this attack in the past, but there was no doubt that it could kill Lu Yin in an instant. If possible, Shao Yin wanted to eliminate this threat.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "This is quite interesting, but if you want to kill me, you first have to hit me."

    Lightstream swirled, and just as the unknown attack was about to strike Lu Yin, time reversed, and Lu Yin used the extra second to dodge with Inverse Step. The attack shot through where Lu Yin had just been standing, shattering space into an unknown distance. The attack seemed to split the entire Decaying Diablo Universe in two.

    Sovereign Shao Yin was dumbfounded. Had Lu Yin actually dodged the attack?

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had done such a thing. He had used the same method during the final tribtion of his Semi-Progenitor tribtion. In fact, if he hadn¡¯t dodged with this method, Lu Yin would have died during his tribtion.

    This was the disadvantage of Eight-Star Garan. While it was possible to copy abilities, it was impossible to fully control them.

    Ultimately, the Eight-Star Garan was simply a form of spatial memory, and it could even be considered simr to runes in a sense. How much damage had an attack done to space in the affected area? That was what the Eight-Star Garan copied, not the actual abilities that had once been used.

    As long as the attacks could be avoided, what could copied attacks aplish?

    There was no invincible innate gift in existence, and this was just as true for the Garan family¡¯s familial innate gift as it was of the Lu family¡¯s.

    Shao Yin vomited a mouthful of blood and swayed on his feet. He had not expected Lu Yin to actually be able to dodge that attack.

    Lu Yin took a step forward. At this moment, Shao Yin no longer had the strength to fight back against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose, and he grabbed hold of Shao Yin. The Sovereign stared at Lu Yin in a daze, and the young man pressed down firmly with his hand, forcing Shao Yin to his knees. "Kneel for my Lu family and for all those who sacrificed their lives for us.¡±

    Lu Yin then lifted Shao Yin up, only to m him back down to his knees again, shattering the man¡¯s knees. "Kneel in penance for your own crimes. You¡¯ve betrayed mankind and turned to Aeternus, bing a spy."

    The former Sovereign was lifted up yet again.

    Madness filled Shao Yin''s eyes as he red at Lu Yin. The man wanted to say something.

 Chapter 2866: Kneeling Three Times

    <h4>Chapter 2866: Kneeling Three Times</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly pressed down with his hands, forcing Shao Yin to kneel for the third time. "And this is for me! I told you before that I would force you to kneel for me. I¡¯ve already executed Sage Yuan, and next is your turn.¡±

    Shao Yin suddenly looked up. All of the hatred and rage were gone from his eyes, and he started begging, "Don''t kill me! I don''t want to die! Lu Yin- Dao Monarch Lu, Dao Monarch Lu, don''t kill me! Don''t kill me..."

    Lu Yin frowned. "A lot of people act like this before death because they finally realize they¡¯re about to die."

    Shao Yin kept begging, "I don''t want to die! I want to keep cultivating. I am a strong sequence powerhouse! I was one of the Three Sovereigns! Even in Aeternus, I am second only to the Seven Skygods. Dao Monarch Lu, don''t kill me! Please, don¡¯t kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin''s hand fell, and Shao Yin went bug-eyed. His eyes were bloodshot, and he slowly copsed.

    At this exact moment, the divine energy finally disappeared.

    Big Sis and the others were all freed to move again.

    Lu Yin stared at Shao Yin as he fell through outer space, and then turned to look to the side, where Sovereign Ninth Lotus stepped out. Shock filled Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    "Exin now." Lu Yin demanded in a cold voice. He had not killed Shao Yin. Just as he had been about to do so, Sovereign Lotus had arrived and stopped Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus took a deep breath. She looked at the nearly dead Shao Yin in a conflicted manner. "He is still useful."

    "The Great Sovereign already knew that he was a spy?" Lu Yin was not stupid. Sovereign Lotus¡¯s appearance at this exact moment proved something. At this same time, Lu Yin remembered how Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji had all been tossed to the Endless Frontier during the Tea Ceremony, but Shao Yin had not.

    Over the years, Sovereign Shao Yin had made various mistakes while on the Endless Frontier, but had always managed topensate for those matters in other ways. The Great Sovereign had never shown any doubt in the man.

    However, this trust was rather unreasonable.

    In the past, Lu Yin had merely thought that the Great Sovereign was too arrogant, thinking that she could control the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, even determining their lives and deaths, and that the woman¡¯s sense of control was the reason that she had not worried about Shao Yin, but it appeared that things were not as Lu Yin had believed.

    Sovereign Lotus softly replied, "This is a matter for my Cyclic Universe. Lord Lu has made him kneel three times to atone for his crimes, so release him."

    Lu Yinughed. "You want me to release him just because you tell me to? Just who do you think you are?"

    The woman¡¯s eyes red. "What did you say?"

    "Hey, little sister, you have a bad attitude."

    Big Sis walked towards Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen were both staring at the woman as well.

    Sovereign Lotus frowned. "Dao Monarch Lu, do you want to start a war with my Cyclic Universe?"

    Lu Yin looked away, his eyes frigid. "You¡¯re asking me to release a spy, which is reason to believe that you are also a spy yourself. I could kill you without needing to justify my actions to anyone."

    Big Sis¡¯s smile grew even brighter. ¡°Little sister, are you Sovereign Lotus? I happen to also be quite good at flower battle techniques. How about apetition?¡±

    Sovereign Lotus looked over at Big Sis. Was this woman really going to attack? Was the descendant of the Lu family really going to ignore Sovereign Lotus? Was everyone from the Origin Universe mad?

    The Sovereign suppressed her anger. "Master has ordered me to keep an eye on Sovereign Shao Yin. While he is undoubtedly a problem, Master has said that he cannot die. Master must have arranged something for him. Dao Monarch Lu, please consider this, and for the sake of my master¡¯s wishes, let Sovereign Shao Yin go."

    Lu Yin remained silent for a bit. "When did the Great Sovereign realize that there was something wrong with Sovereign Shao Yin?"

    Sovereign Lotus shook her head. "I don''t know that."

    "When were you ordered to keep an eye on Sovereign Shao Yin?" Lu Yin asked another question.

    The Sovereign¡¯s eyes flickered. "Not long ago."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. "What do you mean, not long ago?"

    "Just what exactly are you asking, Dao Monarch Lu?" Sovereign Lotus retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously. "When you say long ago, do you mean before my Lu family was exiled, or after?"

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s fingers twitched and she nced at Big Sis, but refused to answer.

    Still, Lu Yin understood, and he sneered. "What an amazing Great Sovereign. What an incredible strategist. What a... crazy woman."

    Sovereign Lotus instantly shouted, "Dao Monarch Lu, show some respect!"

    Lu Yin roared, "Shut up. Fuck off!"

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus red at Lu Yin. "You!"

    Lu Yin met the Sovereign¡¯s gaze, "Give a message to that crazy woman for me; sooner orter, I¡¯ll force her to repay the debt she owes the Lu family."

    "You are too arrogant! Master is from the same generation as your Origin Progenitor! Even if she is-"

    Before the woman could finish speaking, Big Sis attacked, and a blood-red lotus shot towards the Sovereign. Sovereign Lotus gritted her teeth. "You¡¯re all madmen!"

    She then turned and left.

    Lu Yin let out a breath, looking very upset.

    The Great Sovereign had known for a long time that there was something wrong with Sovereign Shao Yin, and yet she had still gone along with his n to banish the Lu family. Why? There were only two possibilities that Lu Yin could think of; either the Great Sovereign had simply been following the general trend of the times when she had targeted the Lu family, or she had sacrificed the Lu family for the sake of her own n. Those were the only two possibilities.

    It waspletely impossible that Ancestor Lu Yuan had conspired with the Great Sovereign and been privy to her ns. While Lu Yin had only met with his ancestor a few times, it was clear that the man would never participate in any scheme that would risk his Lu family.

    How many members of the Lu family and their vassals had died since the four ruling powers had exiled the Lu family? How much had the Lu family suffered from that matter?

    Wan Zhiyi, Tu Qiming, Lu Yin¡¯s old servant, the people who had been driven insane in Crimson Garden, the Seven Heroes, and even Lu Yin himself. If Ancestor Lu Yuan had truly really conspired with the Great Sovereign, he would have to be too cold-blooded.

    Countless people had been sacrificed in order to fight against the Aeternals, so many of whom had been loyal to the Lu family and to Lu Yin himself. While sacrificing them might have been the correct decision when considering the overall picture, sacrificing those close to him was something Lu Yin refused to ept no matter what.

    Besides, how much harm could Sovereign Shao Yin alone do to Aeternus?

    No matter how he considered the situation, Lu Yin could onlye up with those two possibilities.

    Regardless of which might be true, the Great Sovereign was insane.

    Far away, Chen Le was terrified by what had just urred, and he stared at Lu Yin with greater fear than he had even felt for Mr. Daheng.

    Lu Yin was ruthless and arrogant. His behavior contrasted sharply with how he had acted in the past. He had actually insulted the Great Sovereign, and then done so repeatedly. He had told Sovereign Lotus to get lost, and had nearly killed Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Had joining the Heavens Sect really been the right choice for Chen Le?

    He was a Monarch, a peak powerhouse, and yet he was nothing more than Lu Yin¡¯s servant, and not even one who received much respect. Chen Le somewhat regretted his decision, but, at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s strength made it so that Chen Le did not have to worry about Mr. Daheng. There were always wins and losses.

    Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, and the others who were present were also able to reach the same conclusions as Lu Yin, and no one knew what to say.

    If the Great Sovereign''s n that involved Sovereign Shao Yin was able to eliminate Aeternus entirely, then the price that had been paid was more than justified. However, if it was not possible to utterly destroy the Aeternals, or the full impact of the n could not be determined, then exiling the Lu family had been too high a price to pay. Essentially, it came down to the fact that the Great Sovereign had wanted to banish the Lu family.

    Regardless of what may have happened, the Lu family had been treated unjustly, and Lu Yin had been wronged even worse.

    "Little Seven, what do you want to do? Everyone in the Origin Universe will support you." Big Sis¡¯ voice dripped with killing intent. She was not one to stick to the rules. During Heavens Sect era, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had not only been famous for her strength, but also for her unruliness.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "Chen Le."

    Chen Le was startled to be called out, but he quickly stepped forward. "Dao Monarch, what can this subordinate do for you"

    "Toss Sovereign Shao Yin away."

    Many things had already happened, and Lu Yin would be sure to make the Great Sovereign pay the price, but for the moment, regardless of what the Great Sovereign had nned for Shao Yin, Lu Yin did not need to ruin those ns. After all, it would only harm Aeternus.

    Chen Le grew confused. "Where should I send him?"

    "Any other universe on the Endless Frontier."

    Chen Le nodded, grabbed Sovereign Shao Yin, and left.

    The Monarch was exceptionally nervous. He had never imagined that he might one day drag a Sovereign around in such a manner. After all, in the past, even Monarch Luo had needed to show a level of respect towards Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Chen Le could not even begin to describe what he felt at the moment.

    Arch-Elder Zen was worried. "If we let him go free like this, won¡¯t he suspect something?"

    Lu Yin replied, "It doesn''t matter if he does. If he wants to live, he won''t dare tell the Aeternals that I let him go. He has to realize that I don¡¯t want to release him, so he won¡¯t dare say a word to anyone."

    Big Sis felt frustrated. "It''s a pity that we have to just let him go like this."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "It is a pity. I had wanted to anoint another champion."

    The jiao flew over. As soon as the divine energy had appeared during the previous battle, the beast had hidden itself, and only returned after all of the fighting was over.

    Lu Yin was already quite familiar with the jiao¡¯s behavior, and was not concerned. After all, how could he expect anything more from a mere mount?

    After stepping onto the jiao, the group made their way towards the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters.

    Inside the tower, Bi Teng grew solemn. "Open the gates to wee our guests."

    Bi Teng then led dozens of people from the Merchant Exchange out to greet Lu Yin and the others.

    The Spatial Decaying Diablos that had surrounded the tower had all disappeared.

    The jiao arrived and stared at the top of the tower with massive eyes. It could see the strange creature thatzily lounged atop the tower. The presence of the odd creature caused the entire tower to flicker.

    "The Merchant Exchange¡¯s Bi Teng wees Dao Monarch Lu as our guest."

    Lu Yin hummed in response and walked into the tower behind Bi Teng.

    The Merchant Exchange had witnessed the entire battle of Lu Yin and his peoplepletely subduing the enemy. They had watched as Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses had been forced into retreat.

    Sovereign Shao Yin had even been forced to his knees three times by Lu Yin, and the Merchant Exchange had witnessed that event as well.

    At the moment, all of them stared at Lu Yin with respect and a bit of fear.

    It was not that the Merchant Exchange feared no one, but that they did not fear those who were no threat. This included many peak powerhouses, but did not include sequence powerhouses.

    The Merchant Exchange had previously needed to show Sovereign Shao Yin a measure of respect, but they hade to realize that there was another person they needed to be wary of: Lu Yin.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to be overly polite to Bi Teng or anyone else from the Merchant Exchange. After all, the two had simplypleted a transaction.

    Once they had entered the tower, Bi Teng asked Lu Yin to have a seat. The man then wasted no time and pulled out a pile of cosmic rings. "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu, for saving our Merchant Exchange. Here is what we agreed to."

    Lu Yin nodded, and Bi Teng then delivered all of the cosmic rings to Arch-Elder Zen.

    "I''m quite curious about something; I¡¯ve heard that the Aeternals im that Bi Rong is dead?" Lu Yin asked bluntly.

    Bi Teng answered in a solemn manner, "Of course the Aeternals hope that Lord Bi Rong is dead, but our lord cannot die."

    "Oh?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Bi Teng frowned slightly. He was a bit put off by Lu Yin''s indifferent attitude, but that was not something that Bi Teng could afford to reveal. Without Bi Rong, the Merchant Exchange was no different from a wallet that could not protect itself.

    The Aeternals could attack the Merchant Exchange, but so could the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin was a particr threat, as his greed for resources exceeded all others. If he targeted the Merchant Exchange, it would be very bad for them.

    Bi Teng nced over at Bi Lan, who spoke up in a respectful tone, "Dao Monarch Lu, Lord Bi Rong is a powerhouse who even the Great Sovereign addresses with respect. Our lord is merely in seclusion. While it has indeed been a very long time, there is no chance that any ident has befallen him. The Sixverse Association can rest assured."

    Lu Yinughed. "I don''t care if the Sixverse Association believes the rumors or not. I¡¯ve heard that Bi Rong has a good rtionship with the Lord of Lightning. Why didn''t he ask the Lord of Lightning for some help?"

    Bi Teng gave a bitter smile. "The Lord of Lightning has too much on his own te. The Aeternals are insane. Everyone who attended the Tea Ceremony, no matter if they are a part of the Sixverse Association, the Endless Frontier, or from powerful outside organizations, they are all being targeted by the Aeternals. If not for this, we would naturally ask the Lord of Lightning for his assistance.¡±

 Chapter 2867: Welcome To Join

    <h4>Chapter 2867: Wee To Join</h4>

    Big Sis grew bored as she listened to the conversation between Lu Yin and Bi Teng. She had no interest in what they were discussing, and had only tagged along to make sure that Lu Yin was kept safe.

    The deal had been concluded, so there was no need for Lu Yin to stay around. There was nothing worth paying attention to in the Decaying Diablo Universe, aside from the Space Diablo above the tower.

    That Space Diablo was thergest Decaying Diablo Lu Yin had ever seen, and its ability to control the power of space had to be extraordinary. It seemed likely that the creature was responsible for holding back Shao Yin and the others from Aeternus.

    "By the way, I heard that there is a Temporal Diablo in this universe. I was wondering if those rumors are true?" Lu Yin suddenly asked before leaving.

    The question startled Bi Teng. "No."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "No?"

    Bi Teng somberly replied, "Those rumors are absolutely not true. At least, from the time that my Merchant Exchange settled in this Decaying Diablo Universe, we have never seen a Temporal Diablo."

    Lu Yin stared at the man for a long moment before leaving. Not once did Lu Yin say a single word to Madam Nn.

    Once Lu Yin and the others from the Origin Universe were gone, Bi Teng released a sigh of relief.

    "Dealing with Dao Monarch Lu isn¡¯t much easier than dealing with the Aeternals. I keep feeling like he might attack us at any moment," Bi Tengined.

    Bi Lan replied, "The Origin Universe is also a member of the Sixverse Association. We have already reached an agreement with the Sixverse Association, so Dao Monarch Lu should not vite that ord."

    Bi Teng quietlymented, "That was the previous Sixverse Association."

    All of the members of the Merchant Exchange nced at each other. They had all felt tremendous pressure during Lu Yin¡¯s brief visit. It was rare for the Merchant Exchange to feel intimidated, and they did not appreciate it.

    It was clear that Dao Monarch Lu was not going to be easy to interact with.

    "Liu Fuxue." Bi Teng looked over at Madam Nn.

    The woman¡¯s eyes sparkled.

    "Prepare a generous gift, and then personally deliver it to Dao Monarch Lu at the Heavens Sect ," Bi Teng ordered.

    Madam Nn nodded with a smile. "I understand."

    At this same time, Lu Yin and his group had already returned to the Heavens Sect. For them, despite the battle, the trip had not been particrly exciting. This was mostly because, even though the battle had included an unusual number of peak powerhouses, they had been supported by the terrifyingly powerful Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    Not even the captain of the True God Guard had dared antagonize Big Sis.

    With 30 trillion star essence acquired, Lu Yin''s next task was to visit the Cyclic Universe and roll his die while trying to Possess one of the Nine Sages.

    If he could Possess any one of the Nine Sages, he would be able to obtain everything that person had ever mastered. This was the most terrifying aspect of Lu Yin¡¯s innate gift.

    Just how many peak powerhouses were there throughout the entire Sixverse Association?

    Provided Lu Yin had sufficient resources, he could get to know all of them very well.

    He could not realistically try to use Possession in the Origin Universe, as there were too many people there who Lu Yin cared about, such as Arch-Elder Zen, Big Sis, Senior Brother Mu Xie, and more. Lu Yin did not want to Possess those people, as doing so would be too disrespectful.

    Sometimes it was necessary to make benefits a priority, but benefits could never outweigh rtionships. That was how Lu Yin lived his life, and it was also why Arch-Elder Zen and so many others acknowledged Lu Yin; he always stuck to his bottom line.

    People with more powerful emotions couldfort themselves with those emotions, while people who were focused on their own self-interests could ignore others. Only people like Lu Yin struggled the most.

    As soon as they had returned to the Heavens Sect and Big Sis and the others had parted ways from Lu Yin, someone arrived. Surprisingly, this was the man who had fought against Lu Yin with Mr. Daheng. <i>If I remember correctly, I believe his name was Wu Heng?</i>

    "Dao Monarch, a man named Wu Heng from the Arboreal Realm is requesting an audience," the Second Nightking reported respectfully.

    "Show him in." Lu Yin sat in the main hall, his face calm.

    Before long, Wu Heng was escorted in by the Second Nightking. Even though the man had already been aware of Lu Yin''s location for some time, he could not simply bypass the Second Nightking. All that Wu Heng could do was slowly follow behind the Second Nightking each step of the way. Ascending the Stairway to Heaven was a matter of showing respect for Lu Yin.

    "Dao Monarch Lu." Wu Heng bowed.

    Lu Yin observed the man. "I remember you. You were with Mr. Daheng against us when we visited the Liberation Pce."

    Wu Heng answered in a respectful manner, "I was not against you, but forced to be there."

    "Did Mr. Daheng send you here to look for me?"

    "I came to Dao Monarch Lu to ask for help in escaping from the Liberation Pce."

    Interest appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he looked at the man. "Come, have a seat."

    Wu Heng nodded and sat while maintaining a respectful attitude. "Mr. Daheng may appear to be elegant and polite, but the truth is that he is despicable and is willing to use whatever means are necessary in order to achieve his goals. For that reason, I would like to ask Dao Monarch Lu for help."

    Lu Yin said, "Did you not voluntarily join the Liberation Pce?"

    Wu Heng''s face contorted, and he proceeded to exin how he had be a member of the Liberation Pce. Much like Chen Le, Wu Heng had had his cultivation blocked by Mr. Daheng, which had prevented the man from bing an Arborean. If Wu Heng had not joined the Liberation Pce, he would never have sessfully broken through. Also, much like Chen Le, Wu Heng also mentioned the Peaks and Rivers Rocks.

    "Once Mr. Daheng had control of me and could threaten me with preventing my breakthrough to be an Arborean, he told me that he wanted me to help him acquire something. It was a stone with andscape painting on it, though I don''t know what the purpose of those stones might be," Wu Heng respectfully exined.

    Lu Yin stood and walked towards the door of the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, his hands sped behind his back.

    Wu Heng quickly rose to his feet and followed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stepped into the doorway, and stared out at the distant stars. "Do you know anything about those pieces of stone?"

    Wu Heng replied, "Not at first, but after many years in the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng started to rx his control of me. I used various methods to learn about those stones, and have learned that they seem to have a connection to the legendary Mirari Realm.

    "I wonder, do you know about the Mirari Realm, Dao Monarch Lu?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I don''t."

    Wu Heng took a deep breath. "The Mirari Realm is a strange ce, and it¡¯s impossible to know where it might appear. It could appear directly in front of you, or you might never find it. Even the most powerful people cannot find it. There are legends that im that there is something in the Mirari Realm that can allow people to transcend."

    "What does it mean to transcend?" Lu Yin asked. His senior brother had also mentioned this same term.

    Wu Heng shook his head. "I don''t know. The stone that Mr. Daheng asked me to find belonged to a sect that had an old connection to my family. It was a tiny sect, and given Mr. Daheng¡¯s strength, there was no need for him to use me at all. However, with the threat of never being able to be an Arborean, I found that stone.

    "I believe that what Mr. Daheng has been searching for for so many years is the Mirari Realm. There is a pattern to the stones, which seems to be andscape painting. It¡¯s possible that the overall image can guide one to the Mirari Realm."

    Lu Yin calmlymented, "The conflict between Mr. Daheng and I has already been resolved, so why do you think I will help you escape from the Liberation Pce?"

    Wu Heng''s eyes flickered. "That grudge still exists."

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    Wu Heng then proceeded to share with Lu Yin what Mr. Daheng had said after Lu Yin and the others had left the Liberation Pce. "Mr. Daheng is certainly not stupid, and the Heavens Sect stands at the peak. Dao Monarch Lu even had the courage to insult the Great Sovereign, to no consequences. How could Mr. Daheng ever do that? In order to coerce Dao Monarch Lu, Mr. Daheng used the jiao as a lure, and used others to direct you to the Liberation Pce under the false premise that Chen Le could be traded for the jiao.

    "However, Dao Monarch Lu never gave Mr. Daheng any chance to speak."

    Lu Yinughed. "So that''s what it was all about. I misunderstood him. Tell me, just who in the Sixverse Association dares to threaten me openly anymore?"

    Wu Heng took a step back and offered another bow. "Dao Monarch Lu has no peers in the megaverse, and there is no one in the Sixverse Association who would dare disrespect you. I, Wu Heng, ask that Dao Monarch Lu allow me to join the Heavens Sect and serve as one of its elders."

    Lu Yin looked at Wu Heng.

    Wu Heng did not lift his head, and maintained the deep bow.

    Wu Heng was cunning. After Lu Yin had confronted Mr. Daheng, Wu Heng had checked various old records about the Origin Universe. The Arboreal Realm had a very old connection to the Origin Universe, and so a great deal of information could be found, especially by an Arborean. Wu Heng had been able to uncover everything he wished to know.

    In the past, he had not known very much about the Origin Universe, due to the Cyclic Universe¡¯s attitude. The Cyclic Universe had led the entire Sixverse Association to being biased against the Origin Universe.

    However, after searching through old records, Wu Heng had learned a great deal about the Origin Universe. Only after conducting his research had he understood just how glorious that universe had been in the past. He had learned of the peak of humanity, as well as what the Heavens Sect had once been.

    All that he had read left Wu Heng yearning to join the Origin Universe. He longed to be a part of the Heavens Sect and join its glory. He wanted more than simply to be free of Mr. Daheng.

    It was true that the modern Heavens Sect could notpare to the ancient Heavens Sect that Wu Heng had read about, but looking at the Sixverse Association, except from the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Great Sovereign, who else would dare be an enemy of the Heavens Sect? Even after being insulted and yelled at by Lu Yin, the Great Sovereign had done nothing.

    Wu Heng had been forced to join the Liberation Pce, and when hepared the two organizations, he felt that the Heavens Sect was a much better option.

    Lu Yin stared at Wu Heng for a long time. Even if Mr. Daheng was a bit clumsy in how he handled things, he had still managed to gather several obedient Progenitor-level experts.

    Chen Le and Wu Heng were both people who had been controlled while still at a level equal to a Semi-Progenitor, but that control had been maintained even after they had reached the peak. The mentality of such people was fundamentally different from most peak powerhouses.

    The innate sense of superiority that most peak powerhouses gained after their breakthrough was inviable, and it would be impossible for most other peak powerhouses to show Lu Yin such a high level of deference and be willing to act as his servants. Even if it happened, other peak powerhouses would never truly regard themselves as Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates.

    For these people who had been controlled, their mindset was only half that of a peak powerhouse, while the other half was that of someone still striving for the peak.

    "To your knowledge, how many of the Peaks and Rivers Rocks are there?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Heng thought for a moment. "To my understanding, there should be about five."

    Lu Yin frowned. Only five stones? That did not seem right. After so many years of effort, Mr. Daheng should not have only found five of the stones. While it made sense that not all of the stones were in the Origin Universe, Lu Yin felt certain that there should be far more than five Peaks and Rivers Rocks. From what he had seen, they looked to be a part of a muchrger painting, and it seemed reasonable that they formed a painting of the Mirari Realm.

    "The Heavens Sect is open to all to join," Lu Yin said.

    Wu Heng was overjoyed.

    "But." Lu Yin looked at Wu Heng. "Not right now."

    Wu Heng¡¯s head rose, and he gave Lu Yin a nk stare. "Dao Monarch, please exin that."

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. "Even if I am willing to ignore the Great Sovereign, I still can''t break the rules. The reason I was able to make trouble before for the Liberation Pce was because Mr. Daheng threatened me with the jiao. No one could fault me for going after him. However, if I go after him again because of you, there¡¯s no clear exnation for my actions, and it would be difficult to justify my actions to Senior Mu Shen.

    "You should be aware of the current situation on the Endless Frontier. Right now, everyone is focused on dealing with the Aeternals. I cannot instigate any internal conflicts. Harming humanity as a whole is something that no one will tolerate."

    Wu Heng answered respectfully, "I understand. I will remain in the Liberation Pce for now, but if Dao Monarch Lu has any instructions for me, please tell me, and I will do my best to carry out your wishes."

    A smile touched Lu Yin¡¯s lips. It was always easier to talk to smart people. "Alright, head on back now, and don¡¯t worry. I will find a way to get you out of the Liberation Pce and let youjoin the Heavens Sect."

    Wu Heng''s eyes lit up, and he grew excited. "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu. I will take my leave now."

 Chapter 2868: Lu Yinâ€™s Determination

    <h4>Chapter 2868: Lu Yin¡¯s Determination</h4>

    Lu Yin stared out into space. Mr. Daheng had wanted to secretly have Luo Shan deal with Lu Yin and Chen Le. After Lu Yin had humiliated the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng had said and done nothing, intending to have Luo Shan go after Lu Yin in the future. The more that time went by, the more that Lu Yin realized that he did not really understand Luo Shan.

    The Monarch pretended to be quite weak. Despite having been the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, Luo Shan had not been willing to risk offending even Sovereign Shao Yin. However, In fact, Luo Shan¡¯s strength was quite extraordinary.

    If not for this, Lu Yin would have already targeted Luo Shan.

    When Aetrenus had attacked the Heavens Sect, Old Mo had also tried to attack Lu Bu Zheng, and Luo Shan had reopened the spatial passage that connected Shenwu Continent to the Three Monarchs Universe. Lu Yin had not forgotten about that matter.

    Unfortunately, it was not an easy matter to deal with either Old Mo or Luo Shan.

    Even so, Lu Yin would one day crush both men with unquestionable strength. He had already killed Sage Yuan, and forced Sovereign Shao Yin to his knees. Old Mo and Luo Shan would nto be any exceptions.

    However, those were only matters that could be readily seen. At the moment, Lu Yin needed to be the rather cautious of Mr. Daheng.

    Luo Shan was in possession of one of the Peaks and Rivers Rocks, which meant that Mr. Daheng had to be keeping an eye on the Monarch. Mr. Daheng wanted to manipte events in order to have Luo Shan make trouble for the Heavens Sect for Chen Le. It might not even be necessary for Mr. Daheng to do anything at all, as Luo Shan already had a grudge against the Heavens Sect. If any trouble broke out between Lu Yin and Luo Shan, Mr. Daheng would likely be able to reap the benefits.

    It was clear that Mr. Daheng was a cunning individual, and Lu Yin would need to be on guard against him.

    In fact, did Wu Hen truly want to leave the Liberation Pce an djoin the Heavens Sect, or had he been sent Mr. Daheng to get close to Lu Yin? Lu Yin could not say.

    ...

    In the Transcendent Universe, at the top of the stairs, Bai Qian was staring at hermunication crystal as though lost in trance.

    She had just received a message from someone who wanted to use Bai Qian to send a message to Lord Wei that Cloudflow was in the Heavens Sect.

    Bai Qian did not even need to guess who the messenger was, as it was clearly Luo Shan.

    When Luo Shan had attacked the Heavens Sect, he had seen Cloudflow, and guessed at everything.

    Xuan Qi had been Lu Yin, and Cloudflow was in the Heavens Sect. It was clear that Lu Yin had been the one to rescue Cloudflow from the Transcendent Universe.

    Luo Shan wanted to use this matter to try to get Lord Wei to confront the Heavens Sect. Luo Shan was personally unable to be an enemy of the Heavens Sect, as even the Endless Frontier was aware of the Heavens Sect¡¯s power.

    Zuo Lao grew worried. "Madam, how should we handle this matter?"

    Bai Qian put hermunications crystal down. "We visit the Heavens Sect."

    ...

    Lu Yin had just ended his meeting with Wu Hen when Zuo Lao arrived. Once the massive battle had broken out on the Endless Frontier, and many people throughout the Sixverse Association had started to make their own moves.

    "Greetings, Lord Lu," Zuo Lao said respectfully.

    Lu Yin smiled at the man. "There¡¯s no need for such courtesy. I''m sorry, but it¡¯s been a long time."

    Zuo Lao smiled back. "I feel honored to be remembered by Lord Lu."

    "For you to visit me, is something wrong with Bai Qian?"

    Zuo Lao shared what had just happened.

    As Lu Yin listened, his expression never changed. "I understand. You can return."

    Zuo Lao respectfully took his leave.

    Lu Yin frowned. Was Luo Shan trying to instigate discord? While acting as Xuan Qi, Lu Yin had managed to form a great number of connections in the Sixverse Association, but he had also managed to offend several people. Also, it was important to note that there were several things that Lu Yin was known to be capable of that were considered impossible for Xuan Qi.

    It was undeniable that Lu Yin had taken Cloudflow from the Transcendent Universe. That matter had harmed the Transcendent Universe¡¯s research, and had also revealed Lu Yin¡¯s connection with Zi Jing, which was something the Transcendent Universe could not possibly tolerate.

    If Luo Shan reached an agreement with Lord Wei, Lu Yin would undoubtedly face a difficult situation.

    Fortunately, Lord Wei was one of the experts participating in the massive battle on the Endless Frontier. Luo Shan was unable to get in contact with the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, which was why the only option had been to leave a message with Bai Qian. No one knew that Bai Qian was actually one of Lu Yin¡¯s people.

    There was a simple reason that Bai Qian had asked Zuo Lao to deliver the message to Lu Yin, which was to resolve the danger that Luo Shan posed as soon as possible. Lord Wei was not weak. During the Tea Ceremony, even though Lord Wei had teamed up with Sovereign Lotus to fight against Forgotten Ruins God, Lu Yin was unable to truly determine the limits of the man¡¯s strength.

    The fact that Lord Wei was the ruler of a universe and was qualified to sit in one of the nine front seats during the Tea Ceremonies was not due to false bravado.

    However, it was really not the right time to deal with Luo Shan. The Monarch was not Shao Yin. To deal with Luo Shan, Lu Yin would need to at least ask Ancestor Lu Tianyi for help, in order to be confident. Big Sis would not be enough.

    Ancestor Tianyi was unable to move freely, which meant that it was necessary to wait and see how things developed after the battle taking ce on the Endless Frontier.

    After Zuo Lao left, Madam Nn arrived.

    It seemed that it was going to be a very busy day for Lu Yin.

    There was no need to greet Madam Nn in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, and the two enjoyed some tea on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. The atmosphere was quite casual.

    "The people of the Merchant Exchange fear you, Dao Monarch Lu. You frighten them badly," Madam Nn said with a smile.

    Lu Yinughed. "They just don''t understand me."

    Fairy Nn chuckled. "If they did, they would be even more afraid."

    "Really?" Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn looked at Lu Yin with a smile. "The Dao Monarch may be very kind to his own people, but he is merciless to his enemies, as well as to those with whom he has no rtionship. With such people, only benefits matter."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Maybe."

    Madam Nn pulled out a cosmic ring and set it on the table before pushing it towards Lu Yin. "Be Teng asked me to deliver this to Dao Monarch Lu. This is our thanks for helping the Merchant Exchange."

    Lu Yin took the ring. "It was just a business deal. There¡¯s no need for such thanks."

    Madam Nn smiled yet again. "Businessmen are always eager to trade profits for favors from people who can help them."

    Lu Yin shook the cosmic ring. "That¡¯s all?"

    Madam Nn replied, "There¡¯s an additional 5 trillion star essence in that ring, as well as apass."

    "Apass?" Lu Yin asked in confusion. He opened the cosmic ring and took thepass out.

    It was an ancientpass, and there was nothing special about it at all, though it seemed to be made of some sort of incredibly durable material. Lu Yin was unable to harm it with any amount of his strength.

    Madam Nn exined, "Bi Teng told me that this is something that belonged to Bi Rong. It once hung at Bi Rong''s waist, and when Bi Rong entered seclusion, he left thispass with the Merchant Exchange. While they can do nothing with thispass, it remains extremely important to them.

    "This is what Bi Teng wishes to exchange for your favor. This will also make clear to others the rtionship between Dao Monarch Lu and the merchant Exchange."

    Lu Yin nodded and put thepass away. "Does this mean that if I offend the Great Sovereign and pull out thatpass, the Merchant Exchange will share responsibility with me?"

    Madam Nnughed. "I knew that would ur to you! Bi Teng and the others really don¡¯t understand you very well, Dao Monarch.

    "They would never imagine that the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe would have such thoughts. If they did, they would never dream of giving you thatpass, not even if they were beaten to death. Giving that to you is simply inviting trouble for them, and a favor from you is not worth antagonizing the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin also smiled. The Merchant Exchange really did not understand him very well at all. How could a favor from him be useful enough to warrant the leverage they had given him?

    ...

    Lu Yin continued to wait for news from the Endless Frontier.

    Finally, after half a month had passed, Ancestor Lu Yuan returned and met with Lu Yin in the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin was shocked at the sight of Ancestor Lu Yuan. "Ancestor, are you injured?"

    Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s face was pale, and he seemed quite weak.

    Even so, the man waved Lu Yin¡¯s concern away. "I¡¯m fine. That crazy woman isn¡¯t in much better condition, and neither are the Aeternals. After our battle, the Aeternals will pull back a great deal, and True God and the Seven Skygods shouldn¡¯t step out for some time. All of us retreated in order to heal our wounds. Little Seven, this is a rare opportunity, so try to press our advantage in the war against the Aeternals during this time."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    "However, you must remember one thing," Ancestor Lu Yuan solemnly warned. "Don''t press deep into Aeternus¡¯s territory. No matter how badly you may want to destroy them, do not push forward. While both sides were injured during this battle, no one pushed things to a deathmatch. If you try to invade Aeternus, things will be extremely dangerous."

    Needless to say, Ancestor Lu Yuan was telling Lu Yin that pushing into Aeternus¡¯s territory would be courting death.

    Lu Yin had a rough understanding of Progenitor Ku''s strength, which was undoubtedly simr to the Seven Skygods. Even with that level of strength, Extremes Must Be Reversed had only barely been enough to save Progenitor Ku¡¯s life. If Lu Yin tried to follow in that man¡¯s footsteps, it would be no different frommitting suicide.

    "Ancestor, were you able to eliminate one or two of the Seven Skygods?" Lu Yin asked eagerly.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "What do you think the Seven Skygods are, cabbage? They¡¯re not at all easy to deal with. That guy Gu Yizhi is one of the Seven Skygods. If we were fighting in this universe, I would definitely be able to get rid of him, as they are all shunned from this universe, but on the Endless Frontier, there is nothing restricting their strength, and they are unable to restrict us as well."

    "Then how did you end up reaching a draw if True God was there?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan replied, "Humans have umted a great deal of knowledge over the years, and those efforts were not in vain. Moreover-"

    The man suddenly paused. He cut off abruptly, as though he was worried about saying anything more.

    Seeing that his ancestor would not say anything further, Lu Yin did not press the matter, but instead changed the topic, "I''m going to kill Shao Yin."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan did not care at all about Shao Yin.

    "The Great Sovereign knew long ago that Shao Yin is a spy, even before our family was exiled," Lu Yin continued.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan''s eyes bulged and he angrily cursed, "I knew that crazy bitch was sick in the head!

    ¡°Ahem, when your ancestor recovers, I will definitely settle the score with that woman."

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. His ancestor''s attitude revealed that Lu Yin¡¯s assumptions had been urate. There had not been any sort of conspiracy between Lu Yuan and the Great Sovereign, trying to scheme against the Aeternals at the expense of some members of the Lu family. All that had happened was that the Great Sovereign alone had been scheming against Aeternus, and she did not care at all about what happened to the Lu family.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan was truly furious. "Master mentioned long ago that that crazy bitch Tai Hong will do things regardless of the consequences and that she only thinks about herself. While she will consider the overall situation, she has always been short-sighted. It¡¯s true that she cares about humanity as a whole, but she has never been able to truly achieve anything of note, and has even hindered mankind¡¯s progress. When Master told us about this, we all agreed with his assessment. I just never expected such consequences would impact my Lu family. That crazy bitch!

    ¡°Ahem."

    Lu Yin tried tofort his ancestor, "Don''t worry, Ancestor. We will definitely force her to repay this debt."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan ground his teeth. "Of course I¡¯ll make her pay us back! A thousand times over!

    "Just because of her own ns, that madwoman ignored the lives and deaths of the members of my Lu family! What can some Sovereign Shao Yin aplish? Can he destroy True God? How absurd! Instead of trying to beat her ass all those years ago, we should have just killed her! Ahem."

    It was clear the man was venting, but Lu Yin could clearly see Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s rage.

    The members of the Lu family who had been sacrificed could never be resurrected, and the price paid by people like Wan Zhi Yi, Tu Qiming, and so many others could never be returned to them. All of this hade to pass because of the Great Sovereign¡¯s selfishness and her own ns to target the Aeternals.

    She was too arrogant and refused to see the impact her decisions made on those beneath her. In that aspect, how was she any different from the Aeternals?

    No matter what, the Lu family¡¯s debt must be paid back.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan''s fit of rage caused him to grow even paler, and he gave Lu Yin a fierce re. "Little Seven, just go ahead and do what you want. Us old people won''t be able toe out for a while, and if that crazy bitch really dared to mess with us like that, than you¡¯re wee to do whatever you want."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "I understand, Ancestor. Don''t worry, when youe out of seclusion, you will find the Sixverse Associationpletely transformed."

    Lu Yin¡¯s words caught Ancestor Lu Yuan off guard, and while he felt that Lu Yin must be exaggerating, Lu Yuan also felt that he should warn Lu Yin not to go too far.

    Then, Lu Yuan remembered what the Great Sovereign had done, and the old man¡¯s anger took over. "Good!"

 Chapter 2869: Possession

    Chapter 2869: Possession

    Soon, Ancestor Lu Yuan returned to the Perennial World.

    With what Lu Yuan and the others had aplished, as well as what Lu Yin had done, things seemed to calm down between humanity and Aeternus. Even the fighting on the Endless Frontier was not as intense as normal. Given the situation, it was Lu Yin¡¯s turn to take action.

    He summoned Wei Rong, and once again verified a few details concerning some pawns. With that, Lu Yin announced that he was going into seclusion. He nned to use up the star essence he had just received.

    His first target was the Cyclic Universe, which was also the most important target.

    After announcing his seclusion, Lu Yin went straight to the Cyclic Universe, where he found an unremarkable location. There, he raised his hand and brought out his die. He tapped it with a finger, hoping for a good result.

    Far away, Mu Ke entered the Origin Universe, seeking out Mu Xie and Qing Ping.

    ¡°Senior Brother.¡±

    ¡°Senior Brother.¡±

    Mu Ke looked at the two. ¡°Master¡¯s judgement when epting disciples remains as sharp as ever.¡±Mu Xie smiled. ¡°That truth is reflected vividly in you, Senior Brother. You are able to challenge even the Seven Skygods head-on.¡±

    Mu Ke shook his head. ¡°It is only truly reflected in our junior brother.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need topare ourselves with our junior brother. I believe that even Master himself is amazed at junior brother¡¯s power,¡± Mu Xiemented.

    Mu Ke looked at Qing Ping. ¡°I¡¯m here to take you to the Endless Frontier. With things a bit stabilized there, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity for you to gain some experience and search for the opportunity to break through and be a Progenitor.¡±

    Qing Ping agreed, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±

    Lu Yin missed this reunion of fellow disciples, as he had not expected Mu Ke to visit the Origin Universe in order to take Qing Ping to the Endless Frontier.

    At the moment, Qing Ping was no longer one of the most powerful experts in the Heavens Sect. However, the moment that he broke through again, the fact that he was a Semi-Progenitor Realmbreaker made it difficult to judge just how powerful a Progenitor the man would be.

    Mu Ke, Mu Xie, and Qing Ping all possessed enough talent to cause Mister Mu to notice them, but that talent would only be fully expressed once they reached the level of Progenitors.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin looked at the spinning die as it slowly stopped on Timestop.

    His first roll was four pips.

    Entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin increased his time in it to nearly a year, intending to focus on cultivating during this time.

    The power system in his chest had almost all of the various energies forming stars in the sky above the continent. Lu Yin was eager to see how his strength would transform once the transformation waspleted.

    The energies that Lu Yin had cultivated into his own universe included death energy, Destiny¡¯s power, and other energies, but all of them were different from stellr energy. It was very possible that this transformation would not trigger a stellr tribtion, but Lu Yin understood that there could very well be unexpected consequences.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin left his Timestop Space and resumed rolling his die.

    Enhance. Lu Yin truly wished to repair the Books of Destiny, but each one needed at least 6 trillion star essence, which meant that repairing all three books would consume nearly half of Lu Yin¡¯s current resources in one go. He could not ept that cost.

    Lu Yin resisted the temptation and forced himself to continue rolling the die.

    While the most powerful individuals, such as the Great Sovereign, were in seclusion, Lu Yin needed to do something. He had already been encouraged to do so by Ancestor Lu Yuan, so Lu Yin was eager to proceed.

    For Lu Yin¡¯s third roll, his diended on six pipes: Possession. With hopeful excitement, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness entered the strange dark space, and he started searching through the orbs of light. All that he saw were dim. At best, the ones he saw belonged to people with the strength of Semi-Progenitors, which was utterly useless to him.

    He kept searching, but was unable to find any bright lights.

    It was difficult to find anyone with the strength of a Progenitor. There were countless cultivators across the various parallel universes, but very few peak powerhouses. It was a challenge to find even one.

    Helpless, Lu Yin exited the dark space, knowing that even his failure had consumed some of his resources.

    Again.

    The fourth roll was Pilfer, and something useless fell out. All that he could do was rest for ten days before he could resume rolling the die.

    After ten days, Lu Yin rolled Pilfer, Enhance, Gift Copy, and Timestop. After nearly a year in his Timestop Space, Lu Yin waited for ten days before resuming. Enhance, Gift Copy, Possession.

    Before Lu Yin could even react, his mind was back in the dark space again.

    Entering the dark space was no guarantee that Lu Yin would be able to Possess a Progenitor-level powerhouse. There was a good deal of luck and searching involved as well.

    This time, luck seemed to be with Lu Yin. He saw a bright ball of light. It was exceptionally brilliant, and even if it did not belong to a peak powerhouse, it had to belong to someone with the strength to fight against such experts.

    The Cyclic Universe had more than one Realmbreaker capable of challenging peak powerhouses. Chu Jian, Yao Lan, and even Bai Xian¡¯er were perfect examples. In fact, Lu Yin was even more eager to Possess those three than many peak powerhouses, just because of their potential.

    In particr, Bai Xian¡¯er was high on Lu Yin¡¯s list. He had never been able to understand her, and Possession seemed to be the only way.

    He moved closer to the orb with his consciousness, and then merged with it.

    The body quivered, and then Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. Where was he? The Wall of Purity?

    His vision took in both sides of the Wall of Purity, and all the fighting that was taking ce. Lu Yin also saw Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor. However, none of them were participating in any of the battles. They were just standing atop the Wall of Purity and gazing off into the distance.

    So, Lu Yin had Possessed Arrow Sage?

    Lu Yin had Possessed Arrow Sage. His goal had been to Possess one of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, and he had done just that. Sess was a bit of a surprise.

    Possessing a Sage could allow Lu Yin greater understanding of the Cyclic Universe.

    Lu Yin, or rather, Arrow Sage, stood quietly in ce, gazing into the distance along with Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors. However, Arrow Sage¡¯s eyes were a bit unfocused, as Lu Yin was busy going through the man¡¯s memories.

    The most important memories were those of Arrow Sage receiving his power from the Great Sovereign.

    People always imed that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had had their power bestowed upon them by the Great Sovereign and that the Great Sovereign was able to give anyone the strength of a peak powerhouse, while also able to strip that power away, if she so wished. At first, Lu Yin had not believed it. How could the Great Sovereign possibly be capable of granting the strength of what was regarded as the peak of human cultivation?

    However, after having more contact with the Sixverse Association, Lu Yin had started to believe the rumors more and more. Everyone imed that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages received their cultivation from the Great Sovereign, including Lord Xu.

    Lu Yin was curious about how the Great Sovereign bestowed that power, and finally, he was able to see for himself.

    In front of Arrow Sage, Bai Sheng averted his eyes and looked at Xia Qin. ¡°They¡¯re retreating.¡±

    Xia Qin nodded with a sigh. ¡°Word from the Endless Frontier says that the intensity of the fighting everywhere is calming down. It looks like that¡¯s true here as well, now.¡±

    ¡°The Great Sovereign and the rulers of the member universes all attacked Aeternus in a massive battle that involved even True God and the Seven Skygods. It is said that even outsiders joined the fight, which resulted in a lose-lose situation between us and Aeternus. With this, the Sixverse Association and the Endless Frontier will surely see some stability,¡± Specter Progenitormented.

    Bai Sheng turned to look at Arrow Sage. ¡°The war is gradually diminishing. I would like to retreat and rest within the Cyclic Universe. Is that eptable?¡±

    It was not that Bai Sheng needed to obey Arrow Sage¡¯smands, but that the three Progenitors were currently like homeless dogs. They needed the protection of the Cyclic Universe, and no matter how confident they might be, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were intimidatin. After all, Bai Sheng was not the same as Bai Wangyuan.

    Arrow Sage did not answer.

    Bai Sheng frowned. ¡°Arrow Sage?¡±

    Arrow Sage still did not answer.

    Xia Qin and Specter Progenitor turned back to look, and they both shouted as well. Finally, Arrow Sage¡¯s eyes regained a bit of rity, but the man red at the three Progenitors. ¡°Be quiet! Just stay where you are!¡±

    Xia Qin became upset. ¡°Arrow Sage, while I do respect you as the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, we are also Progenitors. There¡¯s no need to be so rude!¡±

    ¡°Arrow Sage¡± sneered. ¡°How do any of you deserve my respect? You¡¯re nothing but stray dogs.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Bai Sheng¡¯s temper snapped, and he clenched his Superior Heavenly Cudgel tightly.

    ¡°Arrow Sage¡± looked up. ¡°What? You want to fight? Once Aeternus withdraws, you actually dare to show disrespect to my Cyclic Universe? Do you really believe that you are the ones who defeated the Aeternals? If you have that ability, then get out of my Cyclic Universe. You are not wee here.¡±

    Specter Progenitor spoke up in an icy tone, ¡°Arrow Sage, your words are sowing discord between your Cyclic Universe and us. The Great Sovereign won¡¯t let you off.¡±

    ¡°Arrow Sage¡± did not care. ¡°That depends on whether you stray dogs can even manage to see the Great Sovereign. Forget about you guys, not even Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan can see her.¡±

    Bai Sheng¡¯s face turned red. This was outrageous. This person was suddenly acting so rudely. As soon as the Aeternals retreated and the Progenitors were no longer needed, did Arrow Sage really want to burn bridges the moment the Sixverse Association had a chance to catch its breath?

    Bai Sheng then suddenly thought of a possibility. Since the Origin Universe had be a member of the Sixverse Association, Arrow Sage¡¯s sudden change in attitude felt quite strange. Was this representative of the entire Cyclic Universe? Were the three Progenitors going to be abandoned?

    Bai Sheng quickly shared his fears with Xia Qin.

    It was impossible to share much with Specter Progenitor, as the man was Wang Fan¡¯s clone. Wang Fan had a very different rtionship with the Cyclic Universe than the other two Progenitors.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s worries made a great deal of sense to Xia Qin.

    Arrow Sage had cooperated with them quite harmoniously in the past. While the man had a cold demeanor, he had been kind. However, his attitude had changed rather drastically, indicating a problem.

    Lu Yin watched as Bai Sheng and Xia Qin¡¯s expressions changed, and knew that his goal had been achieved. He ended the Possessionfrom the fusion.

    In a certain location in the Cyclic Universe, Lu Yin opened his eyes, frowning. He had indeed seen when Arrow Sage had been bestowed his power by the Great Sovereign, but truthfully, Lu Yin did not understand it. He had felt something, but it had been mysterious and elusive, he didn¡¯t understand, but he felt something¡ªthe mysterious and elusive sensation.

    During his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, one of Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds had transformed with Flipping the Sky as the trigger, and when oveing that tribtion, he had felt something simr.

    At the moment when Arrow Sage had received his power, it had seemed as though he had been assisted by the entire Cyclic Universe. It had been a strange and marvelous feeling.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. While he could not understand where Arrow Sage¡¯s bestowed power came from, he had been able to confirm that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sage truly did receive their power from the Great Sovereign. However, just because they had received their power did not mean that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were not true peak powerhouses.

    Even before receiving power from the Great Sovereign, Sovereign Shao Yin had already been a peak powerhouse. With his foundation of the power of Extreme Yin, the great Sovereign had bestowed upon Shao Yin even greater power, strengthening him to the point of touching upon theprehension of sequence particles in one step.

    It would be a lie to say that Lu Yin was not envious. If he were capable of simrly bestowing power upon others, restoring the former glory of the Heavens Sect would no longer be a mere dream. Just granting people power equal to the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages would be enough to create many Progenitors.

    However, Lu Yin had always felt that there was something wrong with this method.

    Aside from gaining this bit of knowledge, unexpectedly, by Possessing Arrow Sage, Lu Yin had been given the opportunity to shout at Bai Sheng and the others. While Lu Yin had no idea what the final oue might be, he at least knew that he had upset the four ruling powers.

    They had believed that by fleeing from the Origin Universe and joining the Cyclic Universe they would escape, but how could Lu Yin let them off so easily?

    Lu Yin checked to see how much he had used during that Possession, and groaned.

    30 trillion star essence! What an exaggerated amount! The most he had ever used before during a Possession had been just over 2 trillion star essence, and that had been when he had Possessed one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquises. Just how much had the cost increased?

    This was the price of Possessing a Progenitor-level expert, and it was exorbitant.

    The gap between a Semi-Progenitor and a Progenitor was truly vast.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2870: Transforming The Universe

    Chapter 2870: Transforming The Universe

    Lu Yin had originally believed that 30 trillion star essence would be enough for him to use rather freely, but it appeared that his funds were still insufficient.

    Once one reached a certain level, it was natural that the resources needed would also correspond to that level.

    However, that did not particrly matter. Lu Yin was already trying to target peak powerhouses, and there were not very many in the entire Sixverse Association. Even more, there were fewer who he could potentially Possess.

    He continued to roll his die.

    Pilfer, Enhance, Gift Copy, Timestop. He spent nearly a near in his Timestop Space, and then waited ten days to resume rolling the die. For his next session, he rolled four pips three times in a row.

    Lu Yin had already been in secluded training in his Timestop Space for nearly three years, and he expected that the system in his heart would finish its transformation during the fourth year.

    He eagerly entered his Timestop Space for the fourth time.

    ¡­

    From a human perspective, a universe was infinite, and each of the stars that filled it was massive. Each could be home to entire nations, as well as billions, or even tens of billions of people, as well as additional living creatures.In the Origin Universe, there were races of giants, and thergest giant known had been Progenitor Chen. He had beenrge enough to y withs like they were marbles. Was it possible that there were evenrger creatures which could swallow stars or form gxies just by breathing? A creaturerge enough to erase all normal humans with nothing more than a wave of a hand?

    To ants, were humans the equivalent of giants?

    For the tiny creatures that were parasites on human bodies, were humans giant creatures that could swallow stars?

    Inparison to the tiny universe in his heart, Lu Yin was a massive huge creature.

    At the moment, there were 380,000 stars rotating throughout the spacious universe in Lu Yin¡¯s body, and among them were several strange stars.

    One star had a gray color, like that of a dead, decaying tree. It was connected to the fatesand continent by what appeared to be a tornado.

    There was a tri-colored star. It appeared to be devoid of life, but it was quite colorful. It was also connected to the fatesand continent, and three colors flowed towards the star.

    There was a star that was a vibrant green that appeared to be the color of vegetation, and it was connected to the continent by what appeared to be a towering tree.

    There was a star of water, and it was connected the fatesand continent by a river that flowed into outer space.

    There was also a massive star that was connected to the stellr energy sea on that same continent. The connection between the two seemed to be raising the ocean into the sky.

    Far away from the other stars was a dark red star. This star was dark and not brilliant, yet was somehow not dim, and it illuminated all of the other stars with a weak red light.

    The entire expanse of stars was surrounded by a ck and white mist, and beneath it was a continent of fatesand. If not for the continent and the expanse of stars, it would no longer be a universe.

    As time passed, the gray tornado rose up from the continent, and merged entirely with the gray star. The star shook slightly, and then started to revolve, perfectly matching the movements of the other 380,000 stars, though the gray star¡¯s appearance remained unique.

    Right after that, the tri-colored flow of energy disappeared from the continent.

    Therge tree, the river through the sky, and the astral ocean all vanished, fully forming stars in the sky above the continent.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and what he saw changed entirely. After a moment, he returned to the Cyclic Universe.

    In that split second, earth-shaking changes took ce within his body.

    Lu Yin did not know what this change represented. All he knew was that the universe within him was a power that no one could see through, and it was a power that he felt was stronger than any of his inner worlds. Even without trying to use the contained universe, he could feel its power.

    It did not matter how many different cultivation methods Lu Yin used, or how messy his cultivation became, as all of those various powers would merge into a single power within Lu Yin. Since his body was incapable of handling all of the powers that Lu Yin possessed, it had pushed them together and created a universe of infinite potential.

    The moment that the transformation finished, Lu Yin could feel the power of his universe.

    He took a deep breath, and then released the universe from within his body.

    <em>Crack</em>

    There was a soft sound, and a ck crack appeared in front of Lu Yin. It was the Hollow.

    His expression changed drastically, and he quickly drew back, but the Hollow followed him like a shadow. It formed a ck sphere that surrounded his body. Outside that sphere was the Cyclic Universe, while inside the sphere was Lu Yin¡¯s independent universe.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s universe, he was surrounded by 380,000 stars, which included the few strange stars. None of them were able to push beyond the ck sphere that enveloped Lu Yin.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s universe and the Cyclic Universe werepletely isted from each other, divided by the Hollow where the void had been torn apart.

    Lu Yin stared at his surroundings. Just by releasing his universe, he was isted from the Cyclic Universe?

    It felt as though two parallel universes were colliding, and the Hollow formed the crack between the two.

    Lu Yin¡¯s independent universe was not particrlyrge, but it fully surrounded his body. If seen from a distance, he appeared to be within a ck sphere that moved about with him.

    Lu Yin withdrew his power back into his heart, and the void returned to normal. He released the universe again, and just like before, the Hollow surrounded him in a sphere, isting his universe from the Cyclic Universe.

    After trying things several times, Lu Yin gradually understood what was happening.

    In the past, his universe had been oveid upon whatever universe he had been in, which had not fundamentally altered the universe. After being transformed, Lu Yin¡¯s universe could no longer ovep with any other universe, and instead, a repulsion appeared. This indicated that he had truly created an independent universe.

    If parallel universes werepared to people, then in the past, Lu Yin¡¯s universe had been a mere child that could be picked up by adults and carried around by them. However, his universe had suddenly grown up and be considered an adult. Naturally, other adults would no longer pick it up and carry it around, and instead viewed Lu Yin¡¯s universe as a peer.

    It was only natural for two adults to maintain a bit of distance between each other.

    Lu Yin was not entirely certain that his understanding of the situation was correct, but if it was, then his power was more than a bit scary.

    After all, Progenitor¡¯s worlds were essentially an independent universe created by a peak powerhouse, and they were capable of altering the real universe. However, as far as Lu Yin had experience, no matter how powerful a Progenitor¡¯s world became, it would always superimpose itself on the real universe. It was possible that the Great Sovereign and others at her level were different, but Lu Yin had never seen the real power wielded by such individuals. Even so, what Lu Yin did know was enough to prove to him just how extraordinary his universe was. It appeared that he was able to, on some level,pare to the Great Sovereign, despite only being a mere Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect. No matter his guesses, there was no proof to any of his suspicions, and he needed to confirm his theories with others, like Big Sis. She had lived during the Heavens Sect era and had seen the Three Realms and Six Da with her own eyes. She should have also felt their power, so her greater understanding of the different levels of power might be enough to determine more than Lu Yin could on his own.

    Even so, Lu Yin was not optimistic. Mister Mu''s knowledge and experience undoubtedly exceeded Big Sis¡¯, and even Mister Mu had not been able to see the future of the universe in Lu Yin¡¯s heart. It was doubtful that Big Sis would be able to tell Lu Yin anything.

    At the moment, Big Sis was drinking with Leon¡¯s Armada.

    Despite regaining her old memories, Big Sis remained the same as ever. She was still Big Sis, bold and capable, standing up for her family. While she seemed to be impulsive, the truth was that she was as meticulous as could be.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival caused a burst of cheers from Leon¡¯s Armada.

    The new members were very wary. After all, in the Origin Universe, it was impossible for anyone who did not know Lu Yin to be calm when meeting Lu Yin, but the old members of Leon¡¯s Armada were all at ease. They knew that Lu Yin was at home among them.

    He was very happy to be able to visit Leon¡¯s Armada. They and Big Sis would never forget him.

    At the moment, Leon¡¯s Armada was having a celebration, and the entire Cosmic Sea was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

    The following day, Lu Yin and Big Sis stood on an ind.

    "Rejected? Use it and let me see." Big Sis was very interested.

    Lu Yin released the universe within his heart, and just the same as in the Cyclic Universe, Lu Yin¡¯s independent Universe repelled the Origin Universe, and the Hollow appeared in a sphere around Lu Yin and his universe.

    Big Sis went bug-eyed. "What the fuck? Is this for real?"

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Big Sis, what''s wrong?"

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Little Seven, have you reached the same level as the Three Realms and Six Dao?"

    Lu Yin was left even more confused. "What do you mean?"

    Big Sis stared at him as though seeing a monster. "Progenitors can be separated between normal Progenitors, Sequence Progenitors, and the most powerful, which are the Progenitors who can break thews of the universe. You know about this, right?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He heard mention of this from Ancestor Lu Yuan before, but had not paid much attention to the exnation. Progenitors were Progenitors, and no one categorized the different levels of Progenitors, and Ancestor Lu Yuan had said that the only reason to make such a distinction was to verify one¡¯s own level.

    "Big Sis, is that how you divide the different levels of Progenitors?"

    "Yes, but this is also how most peak powerhouses understand the different levels of strength within our realm.

    "You are familiar with the strength of ordinary Progenitors. Xia Shenji is an example of them, as he has not gained any sort of mastery of sequence particles. Above that level are Progenitors who have touched upon sequence particles. I am a Sequence Progenitor, and Shao Yin is at the same level as me. You can see that there can be a significant difference in strength within the same level, so this is only a very rough division.

    "What¡¯s important to mention are the Progenitors who can break thews of the universe. The way you would understand this is that these are the Progenitors at the level of strength of the Three Realms and Six Dao."

    Lu Yin stared at Big Sis as she continued in a solemn tone, "When we touch upon sequence particles, we use our own strength to find and mesh with the existingws of the universe and learn to manipte thosews. At the level of the Three Realms and Six Paths Dao, cultivators are no longer limited to searching for existingws. If they don¡¯t exist, they can find a way to force thews into existence.¡±

    "Creatingws?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. "Don''t interrupt."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips.

    "Calling it creation is an exaggeration. Well, maybe. Maybe not. I don¡¯t really understand that level, but in my opinion, the only one who is truly qualified to have the word ¡®creation¡¯ attributed to them is the Origin Progenitor himself. I feel that it¡¯s unlikely that the Three Realms and Six Dao are able to createws of the universe, but thews that they control are ones that ordinary people can¡¯tprehend. My abyssal power and Shao Yin¡¯s Extreme Yin are both darkws, but just as there are too many stars in a universe and we only name a few of them, the same is true of thews of the universe, and abyssal power and Extreme Yin are just two that have been named.

    "However, it is difficult for you to find thews that the Three Realms and Six Paths control anywhere in the current universe. For example, where would you find Destiny or death energy?"

    Lu Yin nodded. It was true that neither of those powers really seemed toply with the normal behavior of the universe.

    "It¡¯s not very likely that they createws. I prefer to believe that they simply break existingws in order to achieve what they desire. For example, they destroy a star and create a ck hole in order to create thews of a ck hole, if they so desire, or melting and destroying a cier in order to acquire water that¡¯s needed."

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin. "Once such experts take action with their full power, because thews that they wield are do not exist in the current universe, or they break some of the existingws to get thews that they desire, and the result is that the Hollow opens up around thews that they wield, adding a ck halo to their power.

    "It looks very simr to what¡¯s happening to you."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2871: Confidence

    Chapter 2871: Confidence

    Lu Yin blinked. "So are you saying that I¡¯ve reached the level of the Three Realms and Six Dao?"

    Big Sis rolled her eyes and answered in a mocking tone, "Go ahead and dream. I was merely shocked by what you just did. If you want to stand at the same level as the Three Realms and Six Dao, then you need to at least be a Progenitor first. Of course, you¡¯re nowhere near their level right now. Any one of the Three Realms and Six Dao could deal with you in seconds without even needing to attack.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Then what''s going on with me?"

    Big Sis gave him an odd look. "Who knows? I can''t make any sense of your cultivation. Based on what we¡¯re seeing right now, it¡¯s possible that your cultivation is following the same path as the Three Realms and Six Dao. If that¡¯s true, then, Little Seven, you might be overtaking them in one very small aspect."

    Lu Yin was speechless. Overtaking them in a small aspect? That was definitely not what it was, or rather, not just that.

    If Lu Yin was following the same cultivation path as the Three Realms and Six Dao, then Mister Mu would have understood Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation. However, the universe that Lu Yin was cultivating had surprised Mister Mu, and it seemed to be far more bizarre than anything the Three Realms and Six Dao had ever done.

    "Long ago, I helped bury one of the Seven Skygods in the Third Maind. To thank me, that old guy Gu Yizhi shared a few words with me. Do you want to hear them?" Big Sis asked in a tempting manner.

    Lu Yin was intrigued. "Of course."

    Big Sis thought for a moment. "It''s easy to stab someone, but it''s not easy to want others to stab you."Lu Yin stared at Big Sis, and she stared back at him.

    The two gazed at each other, neither one speaking.

    "That¡¯s all?"

    "That¡¯s all."

    "Just that one sentence?"

    "How much do you want?"

    "Then, do you understand that, Big Sis?"

    "Bullshit, when did I have time to try to understand that? Right after I was told that, I was tricked by that bastard, Ce Wangtian, and almost died in the river of time. As soon as I opened my eyes and regained my memories, I was looking at you."

    Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "Should I ask Ancestor Lu Yuan?"

    Big Sis smiled. "He¡¯s your ancestor, not mine. Go ahead and ask."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Alright. I''ll tell you what he tells me."

    Big Sis felt satisfied, and she gave Lu Yin a look of admiration.

    "By the way, Big Sis, have you ever heard of a realm of cultivation beyond the Progenitor realm?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Big Sis''s eyes flickered. "I have."

    Lu Yin stared at her.

    "The Origin Progenitor is beyond the Progenitor realm," Big Sis continued.

    Lu Yin pressed further, "What is that realm called?"

    Big Sis raised a finger. "Origin."

    Lu Yin blurted, "The Origin realm?"

    "It should be. That¡¯s what I heard from the ancestor of the Mavis family when I was on the Second Maind. Even though we don¡¯t have a great rtionship, I still spoke to her asionally."

    Lu Yin started thinking¡ªthe Origin realm? He remembered what he had heard about the Mirary Realm and the nine words that he had been told. ¡°Ascend to the Origin realm. Ovee Dukkha. Gain immortality.¡± Were those nine words rted to this Origin realm?

    "Use the power that you just showed me again. I thought of something that I want to try," Big Sis suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin released his independent universe again. It had to be said that while Lu Yin¡¯s universe drove back the Origin Universe, the dark depths of the Hollow that appeared was very beautiful, and it shrouded Lu Yin within an absolute darkness.

    Big Sis looked up and raised her hands as she released her abyssal power. Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight and saw that the abyssal power was empowered with sequence particles.

    The abyssal power sted towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared intently. If Big Sis wanted to strike Lu Yin with an attack, she needed to break through his universe that surrounded his body, but before that, she needed to push past the Hollow that separated Lu Yin¡¯s universe from the Origin Universe.

    As soon as the abyssal power touched the Hollow, Lu Yin''s expression changed. Through Heaven¡¯s Sight he clearly saw that the sequence particles of the abyssal power was being devoured by the Hollow.

    Big Sis lowered her hands and let out a breath. "As I expected."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Big Sis, what just happened?"

    Big Sis gave Lu Yin a look of envy. "The Hollow gives you a way to block sequence particles. Congrattions, Little Seven. From now on, Sequence Progenitors will only be able to deal minimal damage to you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide, and he became ecstatic. "Really?"

    Big Sis blew out a long breath. "Throughout history, just how many people have managed to be Sequence Progenitors? At best, one Semi-Progenitor out of a hundred can be a Progenitor, and only one out of ten Progenitors can be a Sequence Progenitor. Even then, there are strong and weak Sequence Progenitors. Your sister¡¯s a rtively strong Sequence Progenitor, while Shao Yin is rather weak. Even if he had not been stripped of his power by the Great Sovereign, the damage that his sequence particles could do to you would be negligible if you two fought now.

    "I heard that you survived your Semi-Progenitor tribtion by enduring lightning that had sequence particles. Even if someone¡¯s sequence particles are able to break past the Hollow and hit you, the damage that you would suffer will be almost nothing, which is beyond amazing."

    Lu Yin had never considered this possibility, that the Hollow that appeared around his own universe to repel the natural universe would also protect him from sequence particles. Even if some sequence particles were able to break through the Hollow and attack him, if he also took out his Wordless Heavenly Book to shield him further, how much would be left after all of that? Would such an attack even do anything?

    When Lu Yin had faced Old Mo, the man¡¯s darkness sequence particles had rendered Lu Yin helpless, and he had been worried about what he would do if he ever faced a Sequence Progenitor again.

    Finally, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

    Big Sis saw Lu Yin visibly rxing, and she immediately warned him, "Don''t underestimate Sequence Progenitors. Anyone who can reach that level is exceptional, and even if they lose their sequence particles, they will still be very powerful. Even if they don¡¯t have ess to their sequence particles, they remain very powerful. If I wanted to attack at full power, I could force my way through the Hollow and injure you, or even kill you.

    "For anyone as strong as the Seven Skygods or the Three Realms and Six Dao, if even a few of their sequence particles manage to force their way through the Hollow, you won¡¯t be able to do anything. You cannot be careless, Little Seven."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry, Big Sis. I¡¯ll be careful."

    He would never be able to forget the sight of when Forgotten Ruins God had attacked him during the Tea Ceremony.

    Even a few insignificant sequence particles had been enough to leave Lu Yinpletely helpless. After that, the woman had left Lu Yin utterly powerless even without using sequence particles.

    Such a powerhouse was among the most powerful in existence.

    Compared to the Seven Skygods, Lu Yin was still very weak.

    Even so, he had climbed up to his current strength one step at a time, and just how old was Lu Yin? In a few more years, after he became a Progenitor andprehended sequence particles, it would be time for him to face the Seven Skygods.

    <em>I wonder, what sort of sequence particles will I be able to master by then?</em>

    Big Sis repeatedly warned Lu Yin not to be careless. There were too many strange powers in existence, and the Hollow was not all powerful.

    In response, Lu Yin repeatedly promised that he would not be careless.

    Of course he knew that the Hollow was not omnipotent. Luo Shan had sessfully emerged from the Hollow, and Lu Yin had learned that the incident waspletely true.

    Chen Le had believed the story to be a lie, and many other people also believed that Luo Shan had faked the entire matter. However, Lu Yin had learned the truth from Monarch Mu, and he knew that Luo Shan had really emerged from the Hollow.

    The fact that Luo Shan had managed to escape from the Hollow served as proof that it was not omnipotent.

    Even so, Lu Yin was quite satisfied. The Hollow and his Wordless Heavenly Book were two measures that could work together to protect him from sequence particles. If Lu Yin faced off against Old Mo again, Lu Yin would not be afraid even if he was singled out.

    If Old Mo underestimated Lu Yin, the man would undoubtedly be in for a huge surprise.

    Lu Yin returned to the Cyclic Universe and resumed rolling his die.

    Half a month passed, and Lu Yin finally rolled six pips again. He spent a very long time searching the dark space for a bright light, but failed to find anything. He was left with no choice but to exit the space and resume rolling the die.

    It took another twenty days for him to manage to roll Possession again.

    This time he was a bit desperate, so he kept searching regardless of how long he needed to seed. No matter how much star essence it cost him, it was still better than trying to rely on luck.

    The results did not disappoint him. After spending some time searching, he finally found a bright ball of light, and he quickly merged with it.

    When he opened his eyes, he wondered why he was looking at the Wall of Purity again.

    However, after considering the matter for a moment, Lu Yin realized that the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages would typically be at the Wall of Purity, or on the Endless Frontier. The only ones who would be found wandering around the Cyclic Universe were likely the Great Sovereign herself and Sage Yajna, who had never taken action.

    Lu Yin had hoped to Possess Sage Yajna so that he could learn what the man did with his time.

    <em>Wait, I¡¯m Possessing Bai Sheng this time?</em>

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked back, where he saw Arrow Sage. He had recently Possessed Arrow Sage and had looked at Bai Sheng, while this time, he was Possessing Bai Sheng and looking at Arrow Sage. It was a very odd feeling.

    Lu Yin shook his head and stopped thinking about the matter. Since he had Possessed someone, he should examine their valuable memories.

    Bai Sheng''s memories were not of much use to Lu Yin. The man had been extremely talented since his childhood, and he had cultivated in the Celestial Frost Sect. All along, things had gone very smoothly for Bai Sheng. The only memories of note that Lu Yin found were those rted to himself and his family. He even found a memory of his parents¡¯ wedding.

    Lu Yin had never spoken with Lu Qi about his mother. He only knew that his mother had died of illness and not due to an enemy.

    Once, when stepping onto the Stargazing Deck, Lu Yin had seen his father embracing him, with Lu Yin¡¯s mother standing behind. Bai Sheng''s memory provided a much clearer image.

    Lu Qi was the heir of the Lu family, and thus his marriage had been a truly significant event in the Perennial World.

    On that day, the entire Perennial World had celebrated. Many people had visited the Lu Sanctum to congratte the family. Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from what had be the four ruling powers had also attended, wearing fake smiles.

    By that time, Bai Sheng had already been a Progenitor, and in the man¡¯s memories, Lu Qi was arrogant, disrespectful, domineering, and aplete scoundrel.

    At the time, everyone had said that Lu Yin¡¯s mother had been kidnapped by his father, but after seeing Bai Sheng''s memory, Lu Yin''s eyes grew red. During their wedding, Lu Yin¡¯s mother had been very happy, and it had clearly been a heartfelt joy.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s mother had not had any talent for cultivation, which had resulted in her dying of illness.

    Bai Sheng only had so many memories of Lu Yin¡¯s parents. He had not paid any particr attention to the Lu family and had instead focused on his own cultivation and protecting the Outer Realm from Aeternus.

    Bai Sheng had always viewed the Lu family as being worthy of respect, and he had never considered harming them.

    From Bai Sheng¡¯s memories, Lu Yin also saw the scene of his family being exiled.

    The sky had been filled with rain of red flowers, and Bai Xian''er had been as beautiful as a picture. She had looked up at the Python Ancestor as it rolled over, throwing the entire Lu Sanctum out of the Perennial World.

    At that moment, Bai Sheng had felt incredibly torn. He had felt sorry for the Lu family¡¯s fate, but he also had not dared to offend Bai Wangyuan.

    Bai Sheng had not been alone, as Xia Qin, Wang Jian, and others such as Nong Yi and the Liu family¡¯s Progenitor had all felt the same.

    The day of the Lu family¡¯s exile had been a day of celebration for the four ruling powers, but not everyone in the four ruling powers had been happy.

    After that day, Bai Sheng had always remained in the Outer Realm, and he had not had any intentions of returning to the Celestial Frost Sect. Even if he visited the sect, he had always returned to the Outer Realm.

    Lu Yin''s ascension to the Sky Beyond the Sky had coincided with Bai Sheng''s visit, which had led to the two meeting atop the Sky Beyond the Sky.

    While tightly clenching Bai Sheng¡¯s Superior Heavenly Cudgel, Lu Yin''s thoughts grew conflicted.

    While Bai Sheng had never thought of harming the Lu family, he was also utterly unable to stand up to Bai Wangyuan, which had resulted in him obeying Bai Wangyuan''s orders.

    Bai Qi had also never wanted to harm the Lu family, but after the Lu family had been exiled, in her mind, the exile needed to be thorough andplete. Bai Sheng had been influenced by Bai Wangyuan''s thoughts, and Bai Wangyuan had been regarded as a superior power who had always suppressed Bai Sheng and influenced all of his thoughts.

    This suppression had been introduced into the man when he had ascended the Sky Beyond the Sky.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2872: The Last Colors

    Chapter 2872: The Last Colors

    The Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s Sky Beyond the Sky had originally been Bai Wangyuan¡¯s attempt to dominate all living creatures. It had been destroyed after the Lu family¡¯s return, but the sense of suppression had been embedded deeply in Bai Sheng''s psyche, and it had be impossible for him to break free.

    For example, Bai Sheng had wanted to return to the Origin Universe for a long time, but he could not make himself do so.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew determined. While it was impossible for Bai Sheng to break free of the suppression he suffered from, Lu Yin could.

    Slowly, Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    The intensity of the fighting at the Wall of Purity had been slowly dying down, and there was no need for Bai Sheng or the other Progenitors to do anything for the time being.

    Neither Xia Qin nor Specter Progenitor cared about Bai Sheng¡¯s actions.

    Soon, rity returned to Bai Sheng''s eyes, though he looked around in a bit of confusion. What had just happened? It felt like something had changed.

    In a corner of the Cyclic Universe, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, and he quickly checked his cosmic ring.

    Seeing it, a wry smile appeared on his face. He had known that this Possession would be expensive, but even so, he had not expected it to cost this much.8 trillion star essence. Possessing Bai Sheng had cost 8 trillion star essence, which was 5 trillion more than when Lu Yin had Possessed Arrow Sage.

    The primary reason for this steep cost was that Lu Yin had recited the Origin Sutra, which was the same as exerting power. Otherwise, a mere Possession, even if it took a long time, would only cost 4 to 5 trillion at most.

    Lu Yin sighed. He truly never had enough money.

    The Merchant Exchange was absurdly rich, but it was impossible for him to collect a simr amount of wealth from them again. It would be difficult for Lu Yin to gather further funds any time soon.

    Bai Sheng''s sense of inferiority towards Bai Wangyuan had been eliminated. Whether the man would return to the Origin Universe or not would depend solely on himself.

    If Bai Sheng did decide to return, Lu Yin would not turn the man away. While Bai Sheng had done a number of things for the Celestial Frost Sect and had been Lu Yin¡¯s enemy for a period of time, the Progenitor had never had any real impact on the overall situation. The same was also true of Xia Qin.

    In addition, Lu Yin had also seen another important memory from Bai Sheng. It was a familiar, yet unfamiliar name: Ye Bo.

    During the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremony, when Bai Wangyuan and his group had been using Lu Yin of being a spy of Aeternus, they had mentioned the name ¡°Ye Bo.¡±

    They had imed that, every time that Lu Yin entered seclusion, Ye Bo would appear, and when Lu Yin emerged from seclusion, Ye Bo would vanish.

    At the time, Lu Yin had assumed that the name had been made up by Bai Wangyuan and the others. What had truly mattered at the time had been Jiu Yao''s testimony and Xuan Qi''s confirmation of the four ruling powers¡¯ evidence, rather than any true evidence.

    However, from Bai Sheng''s memories, Lu Yin learned that there really was a spy with the name of Ye Bo, and that spy was also quite extraordinary.

    Ye Bo was a spy in the Perennial World who was hidden exceptionally well. Ye Bo had be a serious concern for Bai Wangyuan and other Progenitors. The spy had been active even before the Lu family¡¯s exile, and they had delivered great harm to the Perennial World.

    Bai Wangyuan and the others had falsely used Lu Yin of being Ye Bo, but a spy by the name of Ye Bo did indeed exist.

    The Sixverse Association had Cheng Kong, while the Origin Universe had Ye Bo.

    At least, this was the opinion of Bai Wangyuan and the others.

    Bai Sheng had started to learn about the Sixverse Association after Sage Yuan visited the Perennial World and took Nutjob Lu away. The more that Bai Sheng learned about the Sixverse Association, the more he was determined to find Ye Bo in the Perennial world.

    The most important detail was that Ye Bo had once killed a Progenitor. A peak powerhouse from Shenwu''s Sky had been killed by Ye Bo, in an attempt to destroy Ye Bo at the cost of his own life.

    The reason why Lu Yin had never heard of Ye Bo was because, after the Lu family had been exiled, Ye Bo had be less and less active. Thest time that Lu Yin could find any mention of Ye Bo taking any action was during the time when Lu Yin had been posing as Long Qi. And at that time, Lu Yin had not had the strength to interact with any Progenitors.

    Ye Bo was a spy who had been specifically tracked by Humility¡¯s Gate. In fact, Mu Xie was personally responsible for the investigation, and he had coordinated with the four ruling powers to try to hunt Ye Bo down. It was simply at a level that Long Qi could not have interacted with.

    It also appeared rather foolish for Lu Yin to have been used of being Ye Bo. However, if Ye Bo was regarded as a code name or even a team, then that changed everything.

    Ye Bo had been around for a long time, but if Ye Bo was a team, then the members of that team might not have been part of it for very long.

    Bai Sheng knew that Ye Bo was a group, as that was what Bai Wangyuan and the others understood.

    Unfortunately, it had so far proven impossible to expose this team, and any members who had been found had died. The Progenitor from Shenwu''s Sky had entered a frenzy and fought to the death, taking down a Progenitor with him, but that also made it difficult to show that Ye Bo was a team.

    Ye Bo?

    Lu Yin kept the name deep in his heart, determined to ask his senior brother for more information after returning.

    For the time being, Lu Yin needed to keep rolling his die.

    He still had 22 trillion star essence remaining, which was enough.

    In a blink of an eye, two months passed, and Lu Yin finally rolled six pips again.

    Possession always became progressively more difficult to roll when Lu Yin repeatedly rolled his die.

    No matter how long it might take, Lu Yin was determined to find an orb of sufficient brilliance in this strange dark space.

    He spent even more time searching than when he had Possessed Bai Sheng.

    Fortunately, he eventually found a target.

    Lu Yin merged with the ball of light, and memories started pouring in. He was able to see clearly and knew that he had Possessed Sage Jiang.

    Of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Lu Yin had already Possessed two, which left six more, though three were dead. Lu Yin had no idea when the Cyclic Universe would have all Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages again.

    Lu Yin was lucky to Possess Sage Jiang. The man had only just returned from the Endless Frontier. If he had not, Lu Yin could not say how long it might have taken him to find a peak powerhouse to Possess.

    After starting the Possession, Lu Yin once again visited the memories of when the Sage had received his strength from the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin would not reject any cultivation method, as he would love to merge all the different powers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses into his body and strengthen his universe. Out of all the various powers avable, the Great Sovereign¡¯s power was quite appealing to Lu Yin.

    ¡­

    Half a yearter, Lu Yin was still in seclusion. He had not only spent his time rolling his die, but had also spent most of his time cultivating his four inner worlds and the universe in his heart.

    As for Possessing powerhouses, while he had done it, he had not Possessed anyone with the strength of a Progenitor.

    There were not very many Progenitor-level experts in the Cyclic Universe.

    From Possessing Sage Jiang, Lu Yin had learned that the Cyclic Universe not only had the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, but also the Thirty-Six Ascendants. They were Semi-Progenitor experts who had also been given their cultivation by the Great Sovereign.

    It did not seem like it would be worth it to bestow the strength of Semi-Progenitors upon people for the Great Sovereign, and yet the Cyclic Universe had its Thirty-Six Ascendants, which made up nearly half of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Ascendants. They were a genuinely powerful force. Additionally, Possessing the Thirty-Six Ascendants could also grant Lu Yin the memories of receiving power from the Great Sovereign.

    During the past six months, several major events had urred in the Cyclic Universe. To begin with, the Nine Sages¡¯ positions had been filled back out andpleted, and the new Sages included Yao Lan, Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan.

    Additionally, Nutjob Lu had been made a Sovereign, recing Sovereign Shao Yin. This meant that, in recent years, nearly half of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had been reced.

    All of this was also rted to the fact that the Sixverse Association had made contact with the Origin Universe.

    This was just how some people were. Even if they simply stood in ce and did nothing at all, they would still shine brightly.

    Out of all the various parallel universes, the Origin Universe was the most outstanding universe. Even if the universe had fallen from its former glory, making contact with the Origin Universe had instantly caused various changes in the Sixverse Association. This was not even considering the variable that was Lu Yin.

    Half a year was not much time for a cultivator.

    Sage Jiang rested for half a year, spoke to Jiang Xiaodao, and then returned to the Wall of Purity.

    Regardless of Lu Yin''s personal opinion of the Cyclic Universe, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as the Great Sovereign herself, were all doing their best tobat Aeternus.

    Lu Yin had not expected that the first Progenitor-level expert that he Possessed after half a year would once again be Sage Jiang.

    He stared out at the Wall of Purity and saw Arrow Sage, Bai Sheng, and the others guarding the wall. Lu Yin had seen this ce many times already.

    Just as he was about to end the Possession, a scream rang out. Lu Yin looked over and saw that it came from Arrow Sage.

    Far away, Arrow Sage was covered with blood. A saber had chopped into the Sage¡¯s neck. The slice had opened the void, creating a long spatial tear.

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused. Just what had happened?

    Suddenly, colorful bubbles filled his vision. Was this the Dreamweaver¡¯s Bubble Fantasy? This was bad! This was one of Cheng Kong¡¯s illusions.

    The moment that Lu Yin thought of Cheng Kong, he also found that it was impossible to move. The same instance that Lu Yin had been distracted by Arrow Sage¡¯s scream, Cheng Kong had seized the opportunity to take control of Sage Jiang¡¯s body. At that same moment, the scenery in front of Sage Jiang¡¯s eyes changed. Arrow Sage had not been seriously injured, and in fact, nothing at all had happened. The only thing that had changed was that Lu Yin had lost control of Sage Jiang¡¯s body.

    "I control your body now." A familiar voice spoke. Lu Yin felt frustrated, but no matter what he tried, it was impossible to move. He was in Sage Jiang¡¯s body. If Lu Yin was in his own, then Cheng Kong would never be able to seize control of it, but there was too great a gap between Sage Jiang and Lu Yin.

    There was a bang as the bubble popped. Sage Jiang suddenly spat out blood and copsed.

    His movement drew Arrow Sage¡¯s attention. The Sage looked over and saw Sage Jiang¡¯s pale face as he copsed. The sight startled Arrow Sage. "Brother Jiang!"

    Arrow Sage shot over, his hand rising and forming a bow in his hand as he searched for the enemy.

    However, Cheng Kong was not easily found.

    Lu Yin understood that Sage Jiang''s body was dying. Cheng Kong had found an opportunity during a time when everyone had assumed that the fighting would die down. With the opportunity granted when Sage Jiang visited the Wall of Purity, Cheng Kong had seen how Arrow Sage and the other peak powerhouses had rxed their guard. At the moment that Sage Jiang¡¯s guard was the lowest, Cheng Kong hadunched a sneak attack.

    The Sixverse Association viewed Cheng Kong as the greatest threat. Not even the Seven Skygods couldpare to Cheng Kong in the eyes of most people from the Sixverse Association, and this was because Cheng Kong was just too good at assassinating his targets. Cheng Kong had killed more of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses than any other expert from Aeternus.

    Cheng Kong had killed many peak powerhouses with sneak attacks. Sage Jiang was not the first, and he would not be thest either.

    Lu Yin heard Arrow Sage''s screams and saw the stunned expressions on the faces of Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors, but there was nothing that Lu Yin could do. The moment that Sage Jiang¡¯s body had been controlled by the Bubble Fantasy, he had been doomed.

    Cheng Kong only took action when he was utterly confident.

    However, it was also impossible for Cheng Kong to know that Sage Jiang was not alone at this moment, and that there were unounted variables in y.

    Darkness filled Lu Yin¡¯s vision. This was the moment right before a person¡¯s death. Colors were disappearing, and all that could be seen were colorful bubbles that had reced everything. Cheng Kong¡¯s power was maintaining control of Sage Jiang until he was dead.

    Could it really be that easy? It was Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness in the body, not Sage Jiang¡¯s. Even if Sage Jiang died, Lu Yin would not allow Cheng Kong to seed so easily.

    Sage Jiang''s body could still be used.

    Lu Yin had spent more than half a year in seclusion, Possessing many different people and continuously studying the power that the Great Sovereign had granted them. After so long, he had managed to understand a few things, and this allowed Lu Yin to briefly use Sage Jiang¡¯s body to touch upon the Great Sovereign''s Great Cycle of Reincarnation.

    The Great Cycle of Reincarnation was the Great Sovereign¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, and by using it, she was able to bestow power to the Three Sovereigns, Nine Sages, and Thirty-Six Ascendants. This was the power that had made the Cyclic Universe invincible within the Sixverse Association, and what had made the Great Sovereign the leader of mankind.

    Right before Sage Jiang''s death, Lu Yin used his understanding of the Great Cycle of Reincarnation, reluctantly taking action just once. That was all that Lu Yin could do.

    With a wave of Sage Jiang¡¯s hand, the Cyclic Universe changed. An invisible power passed through the void, causing Arrow Sage to freeze in shock. Everyone instinctively felt their hearts tremble, and they felt as though the sky was about to copse.

    At that moment, a tiny bit of colorful, gaseous matter that was practically invisible descended from the infinite void.

    That bit of gaseous matter was also thest colors that Lu Yin saw while in Sage Jiang''s body.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2873: Iâ€™ll Pay You Back

    <h4>Chapter 2873: I¡¯ll Pay You Back</h4>

    In the depths of the Cyclic Universe, a pair of eyes snapped open. The gaze in the eyes was pure, and despite seemingly very old, they were also very simple. They were Sage Yajna¡¯s eyes.

    "Someone has touched upon Master''s Great Cycle of Reincarnation? What a pity that Master is in seclusion. If not for that, this person would undoubtedly be promoted to be one of the Three Sovereigns. What a pity."

    At the Wall of Purity, Sage Jiang''s body crumpled to the ground. He waspletely dead.

    At the moment of the man¡¯s death, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness had broken free from the Possession and returned to his own body.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened, revealing rage and killing intent. Cheng Kong had appeared again, and he had killed another peak powerhouse. Lu Yin had almost been killed by Cheng Kong on the Endless Frontier, and Sage Jiang had just died to the Aeternal.

    Lu Yin had witnessed Sage Jiang¡¯s death, but he had been unable to do anything to stop it. Lu Yin felt guilty, because he could not help but wonder if Sage Jiang would have been able to escape from Cheng Kong¡¯s control if the Sage had not been Possessed by Lu Yin.

    There were many different possibilities, but ultimately, Sage Jiang had met the worst end.

    Lu Yin stood, his fists clenched tightly. He had to kill Cheng Kong.

    <i>By the way, what was that thing?</i> Lu Yin emerged from his ce of seclusion and made his way to the Wall of Purity.

    At the Wall of Purity, Arrow Sage stood in the middle of the battlefield and stared downwards. At the bottom of a huge cratery Sage Jiang''s supine body.

    While it was inevitable for people to die during war, it was not easy to kill a peak powerhouse.

    When Aeternus had attacked the Tea Ceremony, True God and almost all of the Seven Skygods had taken action, as had the True God Guard, but only a few peak powerhouses had died.

    Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor stood a short distance from Arrow Sage, also staring at Sage Jiang''s body.

    "Was it Cheng Kong?" Xia Qin asked fearfully.

    Arrow Sage sighed. "Yes."

    Specter Progenitor quietlymented, "Cheng Kong is too great a threat. His mere existence means that everyone needs be vignt at all times. To be constantly ced under such mental pressure is difficult for even someone like me."

    "Unless Cheng Kong is eliminated, he can cause even more harm than the Seven Skygods," Bai Sheng said.

    Arrow Sage let out a long breath. How many people from the Sixverse Association wanted to kill Cheng Kong, but were unable to? Several different peak powerhouses had pursued Cheng Kong, only to fail to find any trace of him.

    "Sage Jiang''s death is a loss for my Cyclic Universe. You three, while the fighting is dying down, Cheng Kong remains a grave threat, so please be careful."

    Bai Sheng, Xia Qin and the Specter Progenitor all gave Arrow Sage strange looks. This person''s attitude had changed so drastically that they felt that he must be a fraud. Could this person already be under Cheng Kong¡¯s control?

    Sage Jiang''s body was quickly gathered to be taken away for a grand funeral in the tradition of the Cyclic Universe.

    News of his death quickly spread throughout the Sixverse Association.

    Cheng Kong''s name was brought up once more, and Lu Yin was also mentioned.

    Lu Yin had been nearly killed by Cheng Kong on the Endless Frontier. Not only had Lu Yin miraculously survived, but he had nearly killed Cheng Kong. That was something that had shocked even Sage Bodhi when she first learned of it.

    The contrast between the living and the dead caused more people to realize just how powerful Lu Yin was.

    After visiting the Wall of Purity several times by Possessing peak powerhouses, Lu Yin finally visited the ce in person for the third time.

    His arrival was immediately noticed by Arrow Sage and the Progenitors. Lu Yin had no intention of trying to keep a low profile, and his powerful aura swept across the Wall of Purity.

    When Arrow Sage noticed that Lu Yin had arrived, the Sage appeared unhappy. Lu Yin¡¯s impression on Arrow Sage was almost entirely the opposite of the impression that Xuan Qi had given the man. Xuan Qi had been humble, while Lu Yin was too domineering.

    As for Bai Sheng and the other two Progenitors, they simply went beyond the Wall of Purity. They knew Lu Yin well enough to know that it would not be surprising for him to attack without a word.

    Lu Yin had a solemn expression on his face as he arrived at the Wall of Purity. "Was Sage Jiang killed by Cheng Kong in a sneak attack?"

    Arrow Sage stepped forward. "You¡¯ve already heard about it, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "I pay particr attention to any news regarding Cheng Kong, and Sage Jiang died fighting for humanity. Since he fell here, I should see him off on his final journey."

    Arrow Sage stared at Lu Yin for a moment before bowing. "Thank you, Lord Lu."

    While Lu Yin¡¯s true motivation was to retrieve a colorful bubble that Cheng Kong had left behind, he also did want to pay his final respects to Sage Jiang.

    Anyone who died fighting for humanity deserved Lu Yin¡¯s respect.

    When he arrived at the crater where Sage Jiang had fallen, Lu Yin stood in silence.

    "Lord Lu, this is where Brother Jiang fell," Arrow Sage said. Sage Jiang''s body had already been taken away, sent back to his home.

    Lu Yin stared at the crater, silent and with aplicated look in his eyes.

    Arrow Sage softlymented, "The truth is that Cheng Kong must have been lying in ambush for me for some time, here at the Wall of Purity. If not for Brother Jiang, I would have most likely been the target of this attack. Brother Jiang might well have died for my sake."

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "The sneak attack wasunched when an opportunity presented itself. It had nothing to do with you.

    ¡°Give me a moment alone."

    Arrow Sage nodded and moved back.

    Away from the Wall of Purity, Bai Sheng observed Lu Yin from the distance. While the young man was ruthless and merciless when it came to getting revenge, he had an excellent reputation in the Perennial World. In particr, Lu Yin had be famous for leading the charge into the New World from the rear battlefield, driving the Aeternals from the Perennial World, and bringing peace to the ce. That alone had been an immeasurable contribution to that world.

    Lu Yin had undoubtedly aplished great deeds for humanity.

    His regret for Sage Jiang''s death was also clearly not faked.

    <i>Perhaps, should I go back to the Origin Universe? It is still my home</i>.

    Xia Qin was also feeling rather conflicted at this moment. Unlike Bai Sheng, she was able to return to the Origin Universe whenever she wished. She was aware that Progenitor Xia Shenji had helped Lu Yin for some reason. Because of this, Shenwu''s Sky had not suffered much punishment after the return of the Lu family. Shenwu¡¯s Sky had not suffered as much as the other ruling powers.

    Lu Yin quickly found the colorful bubble.

    Since it was very small and had been pushed into the ground by Sage Jiang''s corpse, no one had noticed anything unusual, and Arrow Sage had not noticed the bubble either.

    Lu Yin stared at the bubble in his hand. It was only the size of a grain of rice. This was what had been left behind when Lu Yin had released the Dao of Great Reincarnation from Sage Jiang¡¯s body, touching upon the power that the Sage had been granted by the Great Sovereign. If Lu Yin had been physically present, he would have been utterly incapable of releasing such an attack, despite the fact that he had managed to gain some level ofprehension of the Dao of Great Reincarnation.

    Cheng Kong should have been injured by the attack, so why had only a small bubble been left behind?

    It was clear that the bubble was from Cheng Kong¡¯s battle technique, Bubble Fantasy. Was it possible that the battle technique could be tangible, just like the Impious Sutra?

    Lu Yin frowned. Was it really possible for such a bizarre urrence to happen more than once? What if this bubble was not from a battle technique, but rather part of Cheng Kong¡¯s body?

    No one had ever seen Cheng Kong''s true form. While it was possible that he avoided being seen because of his identity, it might also be possible that it was simply impossible to see Cheng Kong. What if he was not even human?

    Most Aeternals were corpse kings, but they also had astral beasts and other odd life forms.

    Could Cheng Kong be one such odd life form?

    Lu Yin considered the possibility.

    Before long, Lu Yin put away the bubble and turned to look out from the Wall of Purity. Arrow Sage watched Lu Yin from a distance.

    When Lu Yin looked over at the Sage, Arrow Sage¡¯s eye twitched, and he offered a slow bow. It was clear that he was saying goodbye.

    However, Lu Yin had no intention of leaving so easily.

    While he could ignore Bai Sheng and Xia Qin, Specter Progenitor could not be ignored.

    Specter Progenitor was already publicly known to be Wang Fan''s shadow clone. Wang Fan had gone to the Endless Frontier and left Specter Progenitor at the Wall of Purity. Clearly, there was something off about this. There was no question that Wang Fan had his own ns.

    Lu Yin had suspected Shao Yin of being a spy, and Wang Fan had cooperated with Sovereign Shao Yin to exile the Lu family. It did not seem impossible for Wang Fan to also be a spy, though Lu Yin had evidence to support such a im. Given Wang Fan''s rtionship with Lu Yin, even if Lu Yin voiced his spections, everyone would assume that it was a false allegation.

    However, it did not really matter if it was false or not. Lu Yin was capable of handling matters differently from before, and he could be as domineering as he wanted.

    He used the spatial lines and disappeared.

    Arrow Sage breathed a sigh of relief, as he assumed that Lu Yin had left, though Arrow Sage was also quite surprised to discover that he was unable to sense any trace of Lu Yin¡¯s movements. Still, Lu Yin had publicly fought against Sovereign Shao Yin, so it should not be a surprise that he was more powerful than Arrow Sage.

    Suddenly, a scream erupted.

    Arrow Sage''s expression changed drastically, and his head whipped around to look beyond the Wall of Purity.

    At the same time, Bai Sheng and Xia Qin both turned to look at Specter Progenitor.

    The Progenitor was in extremely miserable condition. He had just been struck from the front by an incredibly powerful palm strike, and it had even damaged his heart. His body was flying backwards through space as he let out a scream of agony.

    Lu Yin was standing in front of Specter Progenitor, and he took a step forward. "Wang Fan, you have debts that must be paid."

    Specter Progenitor¡¯s face was extremely pale. "Lu Xiaoxuan, I am helping to protect the Cyclic Universe."

    Arrow Sage reflexively attacked, and his Seven Divine Arrows flew out as he tried to stop Lu Yin.

    Bai Sheng and Xia Qin watched in a daze. Lu Xiaoxuan seemed to bepletely unhinged! He actually attacked so openly? This was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s warfront battlefield. Did Lu Yin not fear that attacking Specter Progenitor would be regarded as ignoring the overall situation and harming mankind as a whole?

    In the past, Lu Yin had held back because of the location of the Wall of Purity, so why had he boldly attacked this time?

    Lu Yin sneered as he flicked a finger, shattering the arrow. "If I eliminate one of your protectors, I¡¯ll send another to help defend the Wall of Purity. My Heavens Sect has more than one Progenitor."

    Attacking alone was apletely different concept from attacking with numerous Progenitors. When Lu Yin had gone to the Decaying Diablo Universe, he had been apanied by Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, and more. At that time, Lu Yin had avoided showing any hint of aggression in the Cyclic Universe to avoid giving an appearance of wanting to start a war. However, it was possible for him to take action at this moment precisely because he was alone.

    The Wall of Purity was a special ce in that many of the people present deserved respect. However, Lu Yin¡¯s respect for those people was not enough for him to ignore an enemy.

    Specter Progenitor quickly tried to flee. He had no desire to face Lu Yin in a head-on fight. The youth had been a difficult opponent in the past, and after bing a Semi-Progenitor, he had reached a level of strength that allowed him to face off against someone as powerful as Sovereign Shao Yin, who was far beyond Specter Progenitor¡¯s level. "Arrow Sage, hold Lu Xiaoxuan back!"

    Arrow Sage shot out another one of his Seven Divine Arrows. "Lord Lu, please reconsider your actions!"

    Lu Yin shot a fierce look at Arrow Sage. "This is none of your business."

    He waved his hand, once again shattering the arrow.

    Arrow Sage had only wanted to stall Lu Yin a bit, not actually fight him. There was no way the Sage would attack with his full power, so naturally, the Seven Divine Arrows were easily shattered.

    However, even if Arrow Sage had tried his best, he still would not be able to stop Lu Yin.

    Specter Progenitor continued to run away. He tried to tear through the void to escape, but given how easily Lu Yin moved through space, the torn void was instantly restored. "Lu Xiaoxuan, do you really want to fight me to the death?"

    "You deserve it. Since I¡¯ve cultivated the God of Death¡¯s power, I will use his death energy to clean house!"

    Death energy surged from Lu Yin''s body, filling the void and blocking the stars in the blink of an eye. The entire Wall of Purity was overshadowed, which caused both the humans and the Aeternals to look up in shock as everything was reced with darkness.

    Lu Yin pulled out the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe. He aimed at the distant form of Specter Progenitor, and the scythe shed out. "Die for me."

    Specter Progenitor''s pupils instantly shrank. He was all too familiar with this scene. In the Perennial World, Nutjob Lu had been gravely wounded by this attack, and at that time, Specter Abyss''s death energy had been drawn out.

    While no external death energy had been drawn out for the current attack, Lu Xiaoxuan''s own reserves of death energy were extraordinary. Additionally, the death energy felt unfamiliar, as though it consisted not merely of death energy.

 Chapter 2874: Lu Yinâ€™s Foundation

    <h4>Chapter 2874: Lu Yin¡¯s Foundation</h4>

    The God of Death¡¯s scythe shed down at an angle, fueled by the ck and white mist from within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. It was death energy, but at the same time, not.

    Specter Progenitor had no way to dodge, though his eyes flushed red as he did his absolute best.

    Boiling death energy gushed out from Specter Progenitor¡¯s body, forming a ck forest that continuously spread out until it covered the Wall of Purity. The Progenitor himself was wearing the skeleton of an astral beast, strengthening his body with the Xie family¡¯s technique while using death energy to transform his body. He was strengthening himself as much as possible before he released his own attack. The sky as the guillotine, and death energy as the de.

    <i>Shing! </i>The de fell.

    The two attacks mmed into each other fiercely, the shocking blow forcing Arrow Sage and the others to fall back again and again.

    The Wall of Purity was a warfront battlefield, fierce and covered with death. However, beneath the two overwhelming attacks made with death energy, the Wall of Purity took on a dark and ethereal appearance that made it look like some sort of hell.

    Shockwaves swept out from the point of impact. The guillotine was torn apart, and the sh from Lu Yin''s scythe continued on, splitting the ck forest and striking Specter Progenitor.

    The scythe sliced into the man¡¯s body, cracking through all of his defenses. "Impossible! Lu Xiaoxuan, you-"

    Lu Yin took a step forward, his hand shooting up to grab Specter Progenitor.

    The Progenitor looked up at Lu Yin,shed out with a palm strike, and howled, "Lu Xiaoxuan, I will make you pay for this!"

    Even as the man spoke, his body shattered, along with the bones of the astral beast that had been protecting him.

    Lu Yin''s hand fell, and all of the ambient death energy swirled around him, gradually sweeping away Specter Progenitor¡¯s death energy. A massive maelstrom of death energy formed, filling the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose, and he pulled at the vortex. It shrunk down and was absorbed into his body. Once he finished, the ck and white mist in his chest had expanded by a full circle.

    Specter Progenitor¡¯s death energy hade from Specter Abyss, which made it very pure, exactly like the death energy that Lu Yin had encountered in Gaia''s Swamp and other ces.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many fields of death energy the God of Death had left behind, but he suspected that there were not too many. With this, one more field had been depleted.

    He had no idea if there were any fields of death energy in the Sixverse Association.

    As the death energy dissipated, peace returned to the Wall of Purity.

    The Aeternals stared at the humans¡¯ side of the battlefield with their scarlet eyes, but none of them dared to make a rash move. Lu Yin''s attack had been earth-shattering, and without the support of a powerhouse equal to one of the captains of the True God Guard, the more ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings would not dare to approach the humans at this time.

    Some distance away, Arrow Sage gulped. The matter had been resolved.

    Specter Progenitor had not been weak in the slightest, at least as powerful as Arrow Sage himself. Even so, Lu Yin had easily eliminated the Progenitor. Not even one of Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds had been brought out or needed. It was too extreme.

    Bai Sheng and Xia Qin nced at each other and then moved closer together. Lu Yin was growing increasingly arrogant. The Lu family had returned, and the Heavens Sect was only gaining more and more Progenitors. Lu Yin was behaving in a more domineering manner than ever, and there was no guarantee that he would not deal with the two of themter.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned around and looked at Bai Sheng and Xia Qin.

    At that moment, they both felt incredibly nervous.

    Arrow Sage was startled, and he quickly moved to intervene. "Lord Lu, you just killed Specter Progenitor!"

    "I didn¡¯t kill anyone. He was nothing more than Wang Fan''s shadow," Lu Yin corrected.

    Arrow Sage¡¯s expression fell. "Regardless, our Wall of Purity is now missing a peak powerhouse who was helping to defend this ce."

    "I¡¯ll send someone to the Heavens Sect and tell Chen Le toe help defend the Wall of Purity, just as I said." Lu Yin was clearly unconcerned.

    Arrow Sage had no idea how to handle the situation. He lost all confidence when trying to deal with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back at Bai Sheng and Xia Qin. "Are you two going to stay in the Cyclic Universe like beaten dogs like Bai Wangyuan, or are you going to return to the Origin Universe?"

    Xia Qin felt frightened. "I¡¯ll go back."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes fell upon Bai Sheng.

    The Progenitor frowned.

    "I will only give you this one chance. If you don''t want to return now, then never go back!" Lu Yin shouted coldly. "You¡¯re only a Progenitor, and my Heavens Sect already has plenty. If you do return, you will need to be investigated to determine whether or not you ever participated in persecuting my Lu family."

    Bai Sheng replied, "I had nothing to do with the Lu family¡¯s exile, and I never persecuted anyone from your family or any of the vassal families."

    "That needs to be proven. If it is discovered that you ever persecuted my family, you will be forced to pay the price, even if you try to stay hidden in the Cyclic Universe. Not even Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan will be excluded. No one will be able to escape," Lu Yin dered as he sped his hands behind his back.

    Arrow Sage''s expression grew even worse. "Lord Lu, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan are now two of the Nine Sages! Their fates are up to the Great Sovereign to decide."

    Lu Yin finally looked back at Arrow Sage. "I can decide their fates as well."

    Arrow Sage¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was an open provocation, as Lu Yin was tantly showingpletely disregard for the Cyclic Universe. He was an absolute madman!

    In the past, Arrow Sage would have simply attacked. Regardless of anything else, the Cyclic Universe was the leader of the Sixverse Association. Not even the most powerful cultivators could have afforded to offend the Great Sovereign. However, at the current moment, Arrow Sagecked the courage to attack. Lu Yin was a difficult person to deal with, and more importantly, there was someone even more overbearing behind him. That person dared to publicly berate the Great Sovereign, and she had been unable to do anything in response. Just what was the deal with this family?

    Even though they had been exiled, they had still managed to return.

    Lu Yin left, though he nced back at Bai Sheng. He had given Bai Sheng a chance. It was up to him whether or not he returned.

    ...

    The news that Lu Yin had eliminated Specter Progenitor at the Wall of Purity quickly spread throughout the Sixverse Association. His public disy of tyranny and disregard for the Cyclic Universe opened the eyes of countless people in the Sixverse Association.

    This was aplete disregard of the Cyclic Universe.

    Something else happened on the Endless Frontier that was rted to Lu Yin during this time; Qing Ping had started to make a name for himself on the Endless Frontier. He remained a Realmbreaker, and he had proven it by killing a Progenitor-level corpse king and purging two parallel universes. Unfortunately, after that, he had encountered a captain of the True God Guard in the third universe, and had to be rescued by Mu Ke.

    Despite the need to be rescued, Qing Ping¡¯s achievement shocked the Sixverse Association.

    It was nearly impossible for a Semi-Progenitor to be a Realmbreaker and fight against peak powerhouses, much less actually kill such an opponent.

    How many people in the entire Sixverse Association were capable of such a feat? It was possible to count them all with one¡¯s fingers.

    Yao Lan was said to be a Realmbreaker who could challenge peak powerhouses, though she had never actually killed a Progenitor-level corpse king. Qing Ping was one of the few humans throughout the history of the Sixverse Association to kill a Progenitor-level corpse king as a Realmbreaker.

    Word of Qing Ping¡¯s ability spread, and it was astonishing enough to attract the attention of the most powerful people in multiple universes. The Semi-Progenitor had proven that he would be one of the most powerful peak powerhouses alive as soon as he became a Progenitor.

    If he had not already epted a master, many of the most powerful peak powerhouses would be most eager to take in such a person as their disciple.

    Lu Yin and Qing Ping were both Semi-Progenitors who were capable of killing peak powerhouses, and their senior disciple brothers were Mu Xie and Mu Ke, who were both peak powerhouses.

    The rtionship between the four men was also exposed, and their connection left countless people speechless.

    How was this even possible?

    In the beginning, Lu Yin had led the Heavens Sect and a number of Progenitors from the Origin Universe. He had then led the Lu family back from their exile, including their founding ancestor who dared to publicly insult the Great Sovereign, and the unfathomable Lu Tianyi. Lu Yin¡¯s father was another Progenitor, and after all of that, it was revealed that he had three senior disciple brothers. All of them were shockingly talented and powerful, which made their master an even greater mystery.

    Once numerous people came to understand Lu Yin''s background, there was a unanimous reaction; who would dare to mess with such a person?

    It was no longer a question of whether people could afford to offend Lu Yin, but rather more of a question of how far he wanted to take things. The bolder his behavior, the more people took what he did for granted. With such terrifying backing, how could Lu Yin not be brazen?

    There was a location in the Cyclic Universe that was filled with jagged rocks.

    The stones in this ce not only looked bizarre, but their nature was also varied and odd. There were stones that were so hard that even the strongest Semi-Progenitor-level cultivators could not break them, as well as others that would melt at a touch. There were also stones that continuously produced odd sounds. The entire region was very strange.

    This was the Stone Boundary, and it was the location where every generation of Sage Stone lived.

    The title of Sage Stone sounded a bit simr to the Endless Frontier¡¯s Big Stone Universe, but there was no connection between the two.

    The Big Stone Universe¡¯s name came from the fact that every cultivator in that universe needed to carry stones in order to avoid being wiped out by thews of the universe. As for Sage Stone, that title hade into being because of a cultivation method that needed many different kinds of stones. This cultivation method transformed one¡¯s energy channels, making them as hard and durable as stone. Additionally, there was the Stone Cudgel and the Eight Hands of the Stone Gate battle techniques, which also used stone.

    After the death of the previous Sage Stone, the title had been given to Nutjob Lu.

    At the moment, Nutjob Lu had returned from the Endless Frontier.

    He had not attended the Tea Ceremony, though not because he had not wanted to. Rather, Shao Yin had been worried that Nutjob Lu¡¯s presence would impact their n, so the Sovereign had found a way to send Nutjob Lu to the Endless Frontier.

    The attack on the Tea Ceremony had urred simultaneously with another attack on the entire Endless Frontier.

    Nutjob Lu had boldly killed three Progenitor-level corpse kings during that battle, which was an impressive achievement. Only because of that had he been allowed to return from the Endless Frontier ahead of schedule. In fact, he had only spent three months away from the Stone Boundary.

    When Nutjob Lu heard the news that Lu Yin had eliminated Specter Progenitor at the Wall of Purity, the new Sage Stone had thrown his bottle of wine while letting out a loud belch. "Even if I hate the Lu family, this is the tyranny of the Lu family. They are unwilling to let anyone who has crossed their bottom line live, and they will ughter them, hahahaha.

    "So what if the Lu family hase back? Let''s see what you can do to me! When I gainplete control over my sequence particles, I¡¯ll take out that old bastard Lu Yuan along with that little bastard, and then I will be the patriarch of the Lu family! Hahahaha! Come on, more liquor!"

    At the bottom of the mountain, a frightened-looking man pulled out a jar of wine from a pile of rocks and started to climb up the rocky mountain. "Senior."

    Nutjob Lu grabbed the jar of wine and opened his mouth to start drinking. As the scent of the alcohol spread, so did a violent aura. It was so fierce that the man who had delivered the jar stumbled and nearly fell.

    Even so, the man remained standing behind Nutjob Lu in a respectful manner, his eyes dark. This man was Jiu Zizi.

    The man had once been themander of the Fourth Array Base on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, but he was actually a Redback who had been raised to a position of authority by being given various aplishments by the Aeternals. They often used this method to promote Redbacks in the Perennial World.

    It was difficult for any such person to be suspected of being a Redback in the Perennial World. After all, such magnificent achievements granted them respect and good treatment wherever they went, and they would even be allowed to readily join any of the four ruling powers. These spies were of great use to Aeternus.

    As Lu Yin rose to power, the Aeternals had intended to have Jiu Zizai enter Lu Yin¡¯s service. This was why, after Lu Yin had cleared the Aeternals from the rear battlefield, Jiu Zizai had taken the initiative to ask to join the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Maind.

    Some time ago, Wei Rong had suddenly approached Jiu Zizai and asked him to aplish a specific mission. The man was asked to go to the Cyclic Universe and find a way to be epted by Nutjob Lu.

    The mission had confused Jiu Zizai. What connection did he have to Nutjob Lu? Why did the Heavens Sect want him to follow the man?

    Wei Rong had offered an exnation, stating that they needed to get someone close to Nutjob Lu. Several people had been sent before, but they had either died, or had never had any opportunity to even see Nutjob Lu. The reason why Wei Rong had sought out Jiu Zizai was because of his previous experience fighting on the rear battlefield, as well as the fact that Jiu Zizai greatly resembled Nutjob Lu.

    Jiu Zizai had wanted to curse when he had been given the mission. He looked a lot like Nutjob Lu? Was that really a valid reason to give him such a mission?

    However, Jiu Zizai had been in no position to refuse. He was only a minor character in the Heavens Sect, and Wei Rong was someone who advised Lu Yin himself. The man was known to be incredibly conniving, and the entire Heavens Sect knew that offending Wei Rong was asking to have their entire lives ruined.

    There had been no choice, and Jiu Zizai had been forced to go to the Cyclic Universe.

    Jiu Zizai had assumed that it would be impossible to get close to Nutjob Lu. So, not knowing what else to do, he had contacted Aeternus to see if they could do anything to help him. As a result, not only had Jiu Zizai joined Nutjob Lu and be a follower, but many other people had alsoe, though Jiu Zizai was the person who grew closest to Nutjob Lu.

    It was a situation that he had never dreamed of.

    The more that Jiu Zizi saw what Aeternus was capable of, the more determined he became to join them.

 Chapter 2875: Searching In The Past, Tracing Back To The Origin

    Chapter 2875: Searching In The Past, Tracing Back To The Origin

    While the Heavens Sect had grown incredibly powerful, and the Lu family had also returned, what of it? The ancient Heavens Sect had been destroyed at the height of its power. Humans would never be able topare to Aeternus.

    Jiu Zizai had sessfully gotten close to Nutjob Lu, which meant that his next task depended on what Wei Rong requested. The Aeternals were also waiting to see what Wei Rong''s goals were.

    Jiu Zizai had no idea that Nutjob Lu was also a Redback, just like Jiu Zizai himself. Naturally, it was easy to ce one Redback close to another.

    While Aeternus did not know why Wei Rong had sent Jiu Zizai to get close to Nutjob Lu, they assumed that it was because Lu Yin was targeting the traitor to the Lu family.

    This was quite interesting. While it appeared that Lu Yin was in control, the truth was that the Aeternals were manipting everything.

    However, neither the Aeternals nor Jiu Zizai were aware that Lu Yin also knew that the man was a Redback. In fact, Lu Yin knew that both Jiu Zizai and Nutjob Lu were Redbacks, which was why he had sent Jiu Zizai to get close to Nutjob Lu. After spending years within the Heavens Sect, there was finally a use for Jiu Zizai.

    There were times when patience was imperative to a n¡¯s sess. If Jiu Zizai had been given such a mission shortly after he joined the Heavens Sect, it would have been very suspicious, and the Aeternals were not stupid. They would have easily guessed that Lu Yin knew the man was a Redback. However, given the number of years that Jiu Zizai had been a part of the Heavens Sect, the Aeternals felt that Lu Yin must have forgotten about the man.

    They did not know that Lu Yin had only started to y his game.

    ¡­Lu Yin returned to where he had been in seclusion, and he continued rolling his die. He hoped to Possess Nutjob Lu, as that would be ideal. There would be no need to do anything, as Lu Yin would simply have the manmit suicide.

    Unfortunately, given the length of time that Lu Yin had been in seclusion for, the chances of rolling Possession were extremely low now.

    There were times when there was no reason to go into seclusion for an extended period of time, as doing so would provide no benefits.

    On Lu Yin¡¯s first roll, he got Enhance.

    Lu Yin took out the bubble. He had previously considered the possibility that Cheng Kong was not human, but rather some sort of strange life form. Could this be like Sapling¡¯s case and produce a new Cheng Kong once it reached the limit?

    Cheng Kong was the greatest hidden threat to the Sixverse Association. The possibility of a sneak attack befalling anyone at any time produced a great deal of mental pressure. If Cheng Kong could be eliminated, it would be worth paying almost any price.

    With this thought, Lu Yin tried to upgrade the bubble.

    Besides, it was difficult to roll six pips.

    He decided that he would next go to the Arboreal Realm to roll the die, but first, Lu Yin would enhance the bubble.

    He ced the bubble on the top screen of light and then started throwing out star essence. Not only could the bubble be Enhanced, but it was even possible to do so with the Cyclic Universe¡¯s star essence.

    Lu Yin proceeded to toss out more and more star essence onto the two screens of light, and he watched as the bubble fell out the bottom, only to pick it back up and set it on top again. It fell again and again, Enhanced repeatedly. Lu Yin intended to have the bubble reach the limit of its potential.

    Soon, Lu Yin had spent over 100 billion star essence Enhancing the bubble.

    This was not a simple item. After all, even when Lu Yin had Enhanced Sapling from a stellr energy pill, it had only cost him 7.2 billion star essence.

    Of course, just because it cost more to upgrade, that did not mean that this bubble was more valuable than Sapling. It simply meant that the possibility of the bubbleing alive was not as high as it had been with a stellr energy pill. For this reason, Lu Yin had triggered Sapling¡¯s life and growth with just a few billion star essence, but he needed to spend over 100 billion on the colorful bubble.

    There was nothing that couldpare to the value of the Mother Tree. It would be unbelievable if Cheng Kong was equal to the Mother Tree.

    Using Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin could clearly see that some sort of life had appeared in the bubble. Something was being developed. Whatever it was, it was alive, but also not.

    Regardless of what it was, Lu Yin intended to continue Enhancing it.

    Lu Yin continued to throw out more and more star essence. 200 billion. 500 billion. Soon, he had spent more than 1 trillion.

    The only treasures that had ever required such an exorbitant sum to reach the limit of Enhancement were the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword and the Books of Destiny. No other item had ever needed a trillion star essence, not even Sapling¡¯s seed. The fact that this bubble required so much indicated that it was iparable to just about everything else.

    After spending so much, Lu Yin continued to Enhance the bubble, wanting to reach the limits of its potential.

    Ultimately, Lu Yin reached the limit after spending 3 trillion star essence on the bubble.

    Lu Yin checked his cosmic ring. He had previously Possessed Sage Jiang for a second time and then used the Dao of Great Reincarnation to wound Cheng Kong. That Possession had consumed 12 trillion star essence, which was a truly terrifying cost for a single Possession, though most of the cost came from the moment that Lu Yin had touched upon the Dao of Great Reincarnation.

    After using 3 trillion star essence to Enhance the bubble, Lu Yin only had 7 trillion star essence left.

    For anyone else, 7 trillion was a startlinglyrge number. Even the gift that Lu Yin had received from the Merchant Exchange after saving them had only been 5 trillion. Unfortunately, he could easily use up that amount by Possessing just one peak powerhouse.

    There were three Books of Destiny, and repairing even one would drain all of the funds that Lu Yin had left.

    In addition to the 7 trillion star essence of the Cyclic Universe, which was what remained of the Merchant Exchange¡¯s payment, he had also already had 5.5 trillion star essence from the Origin Universe, and 300 million transcendent crystals and 8 trillion flourishing crystals. This summed up his total liquid assets.

    It was not enough. It was absolutely not enough.

    Lu Yin sighed heavily and then returned to the Heavens Sect to find Big Sis again.

    He understood how to use the bubble after it had been Enhanced, and he needed to test it out with Big Sis.

    When Big Sis saw Lu Yining to see her again so soon, she was thrilled. "Who are we going to deal with this time? Just say the word."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Big Sis, I want you to look at something."

    As he spoke, Lu Yin ced the bubble over his face. Quickly, it seemed to dissolve and spread over his face, creating a thin barrier that altered his appearance. Lu Yin had put on Big Sis¡¯ face.

    Big Sis blinked. "Is that a disguise?"

    "Can you see through it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin for a long time and then frowned. "I can¡¯t. What is that?"

    She was quite interested. What sort of disguise could deceive Big Sis? It was possible that this was something that only the Three Realms and Six Dao could see through, though it might be beyond them as well. This meant that, theoretically, anything could be done by someone with this mask.

    Lu Yin shared where he had found it.

    Big Sis considered the information. "There are many strange life forms throughout existence, but no matter how strange they might be, it is impossible for them to disguise themselves so perfectly that even I can''t see through the disguise."

    Lu Yin proudly stated, "I can improve the performance of different items."

    Big Sis nodded and stopped asking questions. Instead, eagerness filled her eyes. "Are you giving this thing to your sister?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What do you want it for?"

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. "That¡¯s my business."

    "I can¡¯t give it to you now, as I need it myself. However, after I¡¯ve used it, I¡¯ll give it to you. Or, if I can find Cheng Kong and get another one from him, I''ll upgrade that one for you, Big Sis."

    "Deal, but you have to get me one. Hehe, one day, I¡¯ll be able to enter the Immemorial Citadel, and then I¡¯ll find that bastard Ce Wangtian. When that timees¡­" A dangerous smile appeared on Big Sis'' face as she thought about getting revenge for her past grievances. <em>I¡¯ll pay you back, Ce Wangtian. Just you wait. I¡¯ll pay you back for everything, you bastard.</em>

    Even if Big Sis was unable to see through the mask, Lu Yin still did not feel safe. He went to the Lu Sanctum and sought out Lu Tianyi, asking him to also examine the mask.

    Lu Tianyi was caught off guard. "I can''t see through it. What is it?"

    Lu Yin rxed a bit. This was very reassuring, and he felt that he had picked up a precious treasure.

    Lu Yin asked about Progenitor Ku''s condition, and Lu Tianyi replied, "Our ancestor is in seclusion, and I don¡¯t have any time to focus on Progenitor Ku for the time being. We¡¯ll discuss the matter after Ancestor emerges."

    After leaving Lu Tianyi, Lu Yin found his senior brother, Mu Xie, and asked for information concerning Ye Bo.

    Just as Cheng Kong was a grave threat to the Sixverse Association, Lu Yin did not want Ye Bo to threaten the Origin Universe.

    "Ye Bo? Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?" Mu Xie was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s curiosity.

    Lu Yin shared what had happened during the Tea Ceremony. Everyone was aware that Bai Wangyuan and the others had tried to frame Lu Yin, but the specific details of their usations had not reached the Origin Universe. This was because the entire matter was seen as a joke, as the Progenitors had tried to get Lu Yin to frame himself. Everyone hadughed at the joke, and they had not asked about any of the details.

    Mu Xieughed. "So that''s what it¡¯s all about. Ye Bo? If you had not actually been Ye Bo, they might have really sessfully used you of being a spy. After all, Ye Bo is real, and it would not really matter if the time of activity coincided with your periods of seclusion."

    Lu Yin understood. "What would have mattered is that Ye Bo is real, and whether or not the Great Sovereign believed the allegations."

    Mu Xie nodded. "Exactly. As long as the Great Sovereign believed the usations, the truth would not actually matter."

    Lu Yin said, "Senior Brother, you should know a lot about this Ye Bo."

    Mu Xie shrugged. "I do, and yet I can¡¯t find anything.

    "Ye Bo has been around since before your Lu family¡¯s exile. Senior Tianyi even participated in the search, as have many people from the four ruling powers. However, no one has been able to find anything. As time passed, people have stopped searching. At the same time, Ye Bo has be less and less active, and the amount of damage he¡¯s caused has also been greatly reduced.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. "That shouldn''t be. If Ye Bo is a spy of Aeternus, then the only reason for a decrease in damage or activity would be if there¡¯s some greater scheme in y."

    Mu Xie repiled, "But what if Ye Bo isn¡¯t a spy?"

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Not a spy?"

    It had been from Bai Sheng¡¯s memories that Lu Yin had learned that Ye Bo was an Aeternal spy in the Perennial World, as well as the simrities between Ye Bo and the Sixverse Association¡¯s Cheng Kong. How could Ye Bo not be a spy?

    "Come with me." Mu Xie led Lu Yin to a specific location on the trunk of the Mother Tree. It was a location that was above the Middle Realm, but below the Higher Realm, and it was rtively hidden.

    Lu Yin followed without saying a word.

    Soon, Mu Xie led Lu Yin to a ce where he saw something strange. There was a ?ar¨©ra hidden in the trunk of the Mother Tree, and it gave off faint ripples that left the surrounding area somewhat hazy. It was difficult to tell what was real or an illusion.

    "Senior Brother, is that your ?ar¨©ra?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Mu Xie grew serious. "As you know, if my ?ar¨©ra is destroyed, I can produce another. However, those ?ar¨©ras are merely derived from the true ?ar¨©ra, and they are not real in and of themselves. What you are looking at is my true ?ar¨©ra. That is your senior brother¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world."

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared at Mu Xie in a daze. "Senior Brother, are you telling me that, even with all the times that you¡¯ve taken action, you¡¯ve never gone all out?"

    Mu Xie sounded depressed. "It''s not that I don''t want to, but that I can''t.

    "Junior Brother, Master has two unique battle techniques. One is the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, which you alone managed to master, and the other is Origin Tracer. However, do you understand what Origin Tracer does?"

    Lu Yin thought for a bit. "Senior Brother, you once told me that Origin Tracer allows you to deny a bit of time that was ignored or skipped."

    Mu Xie sped his hands behind his back. "True, but also not quite urate."

    He looked at Lu Yin, and upon seeing his puzzled expression, proceeded to calmly exin, "Denying a portion of time that was skipped is possible because of Origin Tracer, but the search through time is only the beginning.

    "The true purpose of Origin Tracer is not in the present, but rather in the past."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. "The past?"

    These two words held an extraordinary meaning.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2876: That Day

    Chapter 2876: That Day

    Mu Xie solemnly said, "Origin indicates a specific point and ce in time, while Tracer means to track the source and deny it. Combined, they be Origin Tracer. It is an unpredictable battle technique. ording to my own understanding, if the technique if truly mastered, then it should be possible to undo the past and alter the future. If you can master it, Junior Brother, it would not be impossible for you to deny the event of Ming Yan being injured by Xia Ji."

    Lu Yin grew excited. "Can it alter the river of time?"

    Mu Xie corrected Lu Yin, "This simply opens up a branch on the river of time."

    Lu Yin''s eyes were shocked. Was this really possible with a battle technique?

    A technique that allowed a person to travel down the long river of time and alter the past was by far the most terrifying time-rted ability that Lu Yin had ever heard of. Origin Tracer was not truly wielding the power of time, and yet it somehow surpassed the power of time. If what Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother had said was true, then what could not be aplished with Origin Tracer?

    Were Mister Mu¡¯s battle techniques really that terrifying?

    "Senior Brother, have you mastered the technique?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Xie shook his head. "Right now, I can only deny something that has recently happened, specific to my current battle. I cannot use Origin Tracer to alter the past. I asked Senior Brother Mu Ke about this, and he is incapable of doing this as well. It might be that only Master can do it."

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. Was it impossible to do this?Suddenly, Lu Yin wanted to learn Origin Tracer, but Mister Mu had already said that Lu Yin would only be allowed to learn one of the two unique battle techniques.

    While Origin Tracer was an extremely powerful battle technique, Lu Yin already had the ability to chase time, which was actually easier for him to practice. Additionally, he did not want to abandon the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. He had a feeling that he was far from realizing the true power of his battle technique.

    Lu Yin had gained a better understanding of Mister Mu. He was someone from the same generation as the Origin Progenitor himself, which exined why he was so powerful.

    It was no wonder why the abilities and opportunities that Lu Yin had been so proud of in the past had been so worthless in Mister Mu''s eyes. The man¡¯s expression had not even changed when Lu Yin had demonstrated his abilities. What could Mister Mu possibly be wary of in the entire megaverse? Only the Aeternals.

    "This ?ar¨©ra of mine has been using Origin Tracer, and it is targeting Ye Bo," Mu Xie stated.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Targeting Ye Bo?"

    Mu Xie exined, "Origin Tracer is searching through the past for a certain period of time, and I set Ye Bo as my target. Since it is possible to have my ?ar¨©ra use Origin Tracer to search through time to try to find him, then why not do it?"

    "In that case, when will you be able to use Origin Tracer freely again, Senior Brother?" Lu Yin looked forward to it.

    Mu Xie shrugged. "Instead of asking me, why don''t you ask Senior Brother Mu Ke? He has been cultivating for much longer than me."

    "What about Ye Bo? Why did you say that Ye Bo might not be a spy?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Mu Xie led Lu Yin away. "I have been trying to find him with Origin Tracer for many years, and while I have not seeded, I have notpletely failed either. I¡¯ve captured moments of Ye Bo here and there. It is not a spy, nor a team that Aeternus sends out to harm humanity. In fact, Ye Bo is not even a living creature, which is why no one has been able to catch it. It¡¯s more urate to call it a consciousness.¡±

    "Consciousness? Like Progenitor Hui''s manifested thought?" Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was of Progenitor Hui.

    Mu Xie muttered, "That¡¯s possible."

    "Who knows about this other you?"

    "There shouldn¡¯t be anyone. From the fragments of time that I was able to glimpse, the Aeternals have never contacted Ye Bo. They may have tried to recruit Ye Bo to join them, but they most likely failed."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "In that case, are they aware of Ye Bo¡¯s true nature?"

    Mu Xie said, "If they knew, they would have never tried to recruit Ye Bo. To my understanding, the reason why Ye Bo has not done much in recent years should be because his consciousness is weakening. Everyone will eventually grow old, especially thoughts. Nothing canst forever, and Ye Bo may have already disappeared. That¡¯s why Humility¡¯s Gate hasn¡¯t focused much on trying to find Ye Bo in recent years.¡±

    "Consciousness?" Lu Yin pondered.

    Mu Xie did not bother Lu Yin. The Progenitor knew that his junior brother always had various means avable, and things that troubled others might not be difficult for Lu Yin. He might even have a way to find Ye Bo.

    "Senior Brother, tell me, is this consciousness a ball?"

    Mu Xie stared at Lu Yin nkly.

    Lu Yin did not remain with Mu Xie for very long. After parting ways, Lu Yin made his way to the Middle Ocean, where his father was standing guard over the 100,000 currents.

    Lu Qi was thrilled by Lu Yin''s visit.

    Lu Qi had taken over an ind, and he spent every day fishing and drinking. Like so, he had grown quite bored.

    "Son, watch as your dad catches you a huge fish!" Lu Qi said excitedly.

    Lu Yin looked around at the simple wooden house and the sunny beach. While it looked quite rxing, it was also very simple. The only spot of bright color was arge flower garden behind the hut.

    "Has anyone been by to see you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Qi smiled. "Everyday. It¡¯s annoying to have visitors all the time."

    Lu Yin nodded and stopped asking questions.

    He had lost his memories as Lu Xiaoxuan, so even though Lu Qi was Lu Yin¡¯s biological father, the two were rather ufortable when spending time together. However, Lu Yin wanted to learn more about Lu Xiaoxuan.

    As soon as Lu Xiaoxuan was mentioned, Lu Qi felt a wave of guilt, and he took a sip of wine. "Your father¡¯s useless. We¡¯re such a big family, and yet we¡¯re forced to depend on a child like you. In the past, you had many friends, and the reputation of the Seven Heroes had spread throughout the entire Perennial World. Countless people envied you, and so many women wanted to get close to you.

    "The Lu family has suffered, and your memories were sealed while you lost your cultivation and were thrown to the Fifth Maind. You rose back up from being an ordinary human. Your father is such a waste. If I hadn¡¯t been fooling around, I would have already be a Progenitor back then, and then maybe our Lu family and you wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so badly.¡±

    Lu Yin sat down and faced the sea breeze. He then very softly asked, "Ancestor Lu Yuan was blocked by the Great Sovereign. Why couldn''t Ancestor Tianyi deal with the four ruling powers that day?"

    Lu Yin had not asked Lu Tianyi this question. Asking the question would sound like Lu Yin med the man for what had happened. Still, it was a question that many people wondered about.

    What kind of cultivation did Lu Tianyi possess? From the days of the ancient Heavens Sect to the present, he was undoubtedly one of the most powerful individuals to live. Even if Ancestor Lu Yuan was currently awake and often showed up instead of Lu Tianyi, it was because Ancestor Lu Yuan felt guilty towards his family. However, this did not mean that Lu Tianyi was weak and could not settle the problems at hand.

    Lu Tianyi had conferred the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as his gods, and he had faced off against all of the Seven Skygods on his own while in the Perennial World, and he had even dared to fight against True God. Even if this was only possible because the Aeternals had all been shunned from the Fifth Maind, Lu Tianyi¡¯s own strength had to be utterly terrifying. Lu Yin could not understand the man¡¯s strength at all.

    No one knew the true limits of Lu Tianyi¡¯s power.

    How could such a powerful cultivator have been exiled by Bai Wangyuan and the others at his level of power? Even with the Yellow Springs, how could the Python Ancestor have managed to deal with Lu Tianyi? It was simply impossible.

    Lu Qi lowered his drink. "Didn''t you ask Ancestor Tianyi about this?"

    Lu Yin shook his head.

    Lu Qi''s eyes took on a rare somberness. "The day that we were exiled coincided with the day that you and that bitch Bai Xian''er were to be married. Food Paradise was raised up to stand next to the Lu Sanctum. The entire Perennial World was celebrating and blessing your wedding.

    ¡°They took advantage of that day, and the Yellow Springs managed to take down most of our family members, and even some of our Progenitors had their strength greatly reduced. The Great Sovereign blocked our ancestor¡¯s perception, and the Python Ancestor rolled over, shoving the Lu Sanctum out."

    Lu Qi remained silent for a moment. "I personally watched as the Seven Heroes fell. Xiaoxuan, they died for your sake."

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin''s body, but he said nothing and simply listened quietly.

    "Qian''er and Little Mo both died." Lu Qi seethed with fury, and he crushed his wine bottle with a bang. "They were your eldest sister and second brother. All of the others were your sworn siblings, and I treated them all as my own children. I saw them all fall, one after another.

    "It''s good that you lost your memories. Your father doesn''t want you to suffer through that pain again. Your brothers and sisters died, one by one, right in front of you. The despair that you suffered caused you to lose consciousness.

    ¡°There was a direct connection between their deaths and our Lu family¡¯s exile.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Qi. "Who was it?"

    Lu Qi shook his head. "I don''t know, but they were powerful, and they had never appeared before that. First, they restrained Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s sequence particles, and after that, they moved towards you. Qian¡¯er was the first to try to protect you, and the attack shot right through her. Right after that, Big Ye, Xingxing, Little Pebble, Lingdang, and Little Mo all tried to protect you, and they died for it. That attack pierced through each one of them, and aside from you, the Seven Heroes died in Food Paradise.

    "After we were exiled, I discussed that matter with Ancestor Tianyi. But he had no idea where that attack hade from. He had never felt that power before, but it was definitely not the power of the Aeternals, nor of anyone from the four ruling powers, and not even the Great Sovereign¡¯s. The strangest thing was that, while that power that had appeared was powerful enough to fight against Ancestor Tianyi, you were the target." Lu Qi looked at Lu Yin. "That is the greatest mystery to all of us. Why were you attacked?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. As Lu Qi shared what had happened, broken images asionally appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He saw the blood-stained Food Paradise and heard voices call out "Little Seven!" and "Quickly, go!" as those images appeared in his vision. His big sister Lu Qian, second brother Lu Mo, third brother Nong Ye, fourth sister Long Xing, fifth brother Liu Shi, and sixth sister Wan Lingdang had all stood in front of him, one by one to face the attack aimed at him.

    It hade from someone powerful enough to fight against Ancestor Tianyi, so it should have easily killed Lu Yin. But in an almost teasing manner, it had instead ughtered his brothers and sisters one by one, leaving Lu Yin alive.

    Who had it been?

    Lu Yin''s eyes flushed red.

    "Our ancestors asked me not to tell you about this. They wanted to wait until after their murderer was found, but I¡¯m more worried because I have no idea when that person might target you again. If someone powerful enough to face off against Ancestor Tianyiunches a sneak attack, who can stop it?" Lu Qi feltpletely helpless.

    Lu Yin slowly unclenched his hand. "Don''t worry, I''ve experienced a great deal over the years, and I won''t be impulsive just because of what you¡¯ve told me."

    Lu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked down at the broken shards of his wine bottle. With a wave of his hand, he brought out another bottle.

    "Where was Bai Xian''er? What was she doing at that time?"

    "Bai Xian''er? I didn¡¯t pay attention to her."

    Lu Yin looked up and let out a breath. "She was the one who asked me to move Food Paradise up next to the Lu Sanctum."

    Lu Qi paused. "What are you getting at?"

    Lu Yin was not sure himself, but the entire thing seemed strange. It seemed that everything had been leading to the Lu family¡¯s exile, but then, why had Bai Xian''er known about the seal that had been ced on Lu Yin? Since she had known, then given her power, why had she not gone to the Fifth Maind to eliminate Lu Yin once and for all before he rose up to power once again? She was the one who had caused Food Paradise to be raised up beside the Lu Sanctum. If not for that, the powerhouse who was capable of fighting against Lu Tianyi might not have been able to attack the distant Food Paradise.

    Finally, it had been the rain of Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s red flowers that had heralded the end of the Lu family¡¯s home in the Higher Realm.

    If anyone tried to im that Bai Xian''er was nothing more than a bit of eye candy, Lu Yin would never believe it.

    She was the only person who had ever managed to ignore the power that Lu Yin cultivated in his heart, and she seemed to possess a simr level of power. She was not at all as simple as she appeared.

    Too much was hidden about her, and even after so long, Lu Yin could not see through Bai Xian¡¯er.

    The more hidden she was, the more uneasy Lu Yin felt.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2877: Never Alone

    <h4>Chapter 2877: Never Alone</h4>

    After that, Lu Qi shared a great number of things about Lu Xiaoxuan with Lu Yin, which caused the somber atmosphere to be much more cheerful. Lu Xiaoxuan had been a true optimist. From Lu Qi''s words, Lu Yin gained an impression of Lu Xiaoxuan¡ªsomeone from a perfect fairy tale. Lu Xiaoxuan had been born with everything: a powerful family, a childhood sweetheart, maids, and friends with shared interests. He had been pampered and envied by countless people. He had lived a truly carefree life.

    Even just listening to the story of his life was enough to arouse envy.

    The more carefree a life that Lu Xiaoxuan had lived, the more that Lu Yin''s experiences caused the Lu family to pity him. The two had livedpletely opposite lives.

    How many people wanted to live as Lu Xiaoxuan? Unfortunately, the harsh reality was that most people lived like Lu Yin.

    It was possible that Lu Xiaoxuan''s life had been too good and that all the disasters and sufferings had been given to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yinughed. He did notin or hate his former self. He was who he was. No matter how good he may have been, or how bad he had since be, if he did not even want to be himself, then how could he continue to live?

    Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings had transformed into another type of creature, and they were no longer their former selves at all.

    Lu Yin could see this clearly, and he did not envy others. He wanted to live the life that he dreamed of and pursue it himself. Rising up and walking forward was certainly more exhausting than lying down, but he was content.

    Of course, if the Lu family dealt with all of their various matters, then Lu Yin would not object to experiencing a bit of Lu Xiaoxuan''s lifestyle.

    "Father, tell me about my oldest sister and the others," Lu Yin asked.

    "Your big sister, Lu Qian, was born to a branch of the Lu family. She was skilled at cultivation and was highly intelligent even as a child. Despite her impressive talent, she remained humble. There were certainly times when she was impulsive, but frequently, that was because of you...

    "Xiao Mo was also from a branch family, and he was known as a peerless talent. He..."

    ...

    Lu Yin had learned about the Seven Heroes from Master Shan and the four ruling powers. His formerpanions were not strangers, and at the moment, he was just using Lu Qi''sments to remember them.

    "The Seven Heroes bing sword siblings was a perfect representation of an era. Everyone was certain that the Seven Heroes would rece the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and be the strongest of their own era. That boy, Tu Qiming, also had an incredible innate gift, but while outsiders believed that he was at the same level as you Seven Heroes, the truth is that he was a step behind you.¡±

    Lu Yin''s heart moved. "Our innate gifts?"

    Lu Qi replied, "You don''t need to tell me about our family¡¯s, as the Investiture of the Gods and the Champions¡¯ Stage are the innate gifts that we direct descendants of the Lu family can awaken. They are invincible talents, but the rest of the Seven Heroes were not bad at all, though we never managed to understand exactly what all of their innate gifts were.

    "For example, your eldest sister was aplete money-grubber, but she was also able to produce strange and powerful power vessels. While everyone from our Lu family required a tremendous amount of resources for our cultivation, no one couldpare to her. Honestly, you can¡¯t imagine just how bad of a money-grubber she was...¡±

    "What sort of innate gift did my oldest sister have?" Lu Yin suddenly asked, staring intently at Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi continued, "Qian¡¯er would never say anything about it, so it was aplete mystery to the rest of us. Only you Seven Heroes were aware of it, and none of you ever shared that information with anyone."

    "What about my second brother? And the others?" Lu Yin had a sudden premonition, and it broke his heart. He did not want to believe it, and he desperately hoped that he was wrong.

    Lu Qi felt confused about Lu Yin''s reaction, but he still answered, "Your second brother was known as a peerless cultivating genius. Not even you canpare with his speed. Xingxing was a member of the White Dragon n and had a much longer lifespan than other humans. When she and the rest of you swore your pact, despite the fact that she had been cultivating the longest, she could notpare to your second brother.

    "Your second brother was incredibly fast at mastering everything he practiced, and what was most impressive was the fact that he was never in seclusion for very long at all. In fact, he would frequently be in seclusion for no more than ten days, and he never remained in seclusion for longer than half a year. He was as impatient as me."

    Lu Yin''s breathing grew ragged, and the ache in his heart was growing stronger.

    "Your third brother was that child, Nong Ye, from the Nong family. That boy had the ability to predict the future. He knew many things that others couldn¡¯t know, but he would. He was repeatedly harassed by Humility¡¯s Gate for a time, and even Mu Xie personally visited Seed Garden to try to recruit him. That boy was brilliant at uncovering spies.

    "Long Xing was known as the Vast Sky Dragon, and she had an unchangeable innate gift, but no one ever managed to learn what her innate gift was, other than that it was very bizarre.

    "The Liu family''s Little Pebble had an innate gift known as Midas¡¯s Touch. Everyone knew about his innate gift, which was dposition. He could refine any substance into its base materials, even substances that Semi-Progenitor could not refine. It was an odd innate gift, but it matched him well.

    "Ling Dang¡¯s innate gift was known as Plucking the Stars, though none of us ever knew why. Only you Seven Heroes understood his nickname."

    After hearing Lu Qi''s exnation, Lu Yin shot to his feet. "I need to go."

    "Xiaoxuan, are you-?" Lu Qi wanted to ask something, but Lu Yin was already gone. All that Lu Qi saw was his son¡¯s back.

    Above the Middle Sea, Lu Yin dropped his head. His entire body was trembling.

    There was a ssh as he jumped down into the ocean in an attempt to wash something away with the cold currents.

    His die had six faces, which were six different innate gifts. Lu Xiaoxuan had had six sworn siblings. His die was them. It really was them.

    How had this happened? How could he have received their innate gifts? Not to mention people at their cultivation level, but not even Ancestor Lu Yuan could transfer his innate gift to another person. This ability was beyond Lu Yin¡¯sprehension. How had the Seven Heroes aplished it?

    Lu Yin¡¯s heartache became unbearable. All six of his siblings had died for his sake, and after their deaths, they had given him their innate gifts. How could he repay such kindness? How could he return such a gift?

    <i>Eldest Sister-</i>

    <i>Second Brother-</i>

    <i>Third Brother-</i>

    <i>Fourth Sister-</i>

    <i>Fifth Brother-</i>

    <i>Sixth Sister-</i>

    How could he repay their kindness?

    Lu Yin''s eyes were bloodshot. He had not felt such a powerful surge of emotions in a long time. Not even when he had been suppressed by the Great Sovereign, or when the Lu family had returned and he had reunited with his family had Lu Yin felt such a powerful flood of emotions.

    A silent pain pressed upon the depths of his heart as he saw smiling faces that called out.

    <i>¡°Little Seven!¡±</i>

    <i>¡°We live and die together.¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Little Seven!¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Hurry, run!¡±</i>

    <i>¡°Little Seven!¡±</i>

    ...

    A deep roar erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s throat as he shot into the sky, bursting out of the ocean and stirring up the water. His breath was heaving.

    He closed his eyes and let the water run off of his body. His lips trembled as he slowly exhaled.

    <i>So, the truth is that I¡¯ve been protected this whole time</i>.

    The seal of the Lu family had protected him, and the die had also protected him. There had always been eyes watching him. He had not walked through life alone. In fact, he had never been alone.

    Lu Yin looked up to the sky and started tough.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had lived his own blessed life, and Lu Yin had lived his own life. Even though their lives had not ovepped, love had passed from one to the other, and that love had never diminished.

    As the seawater dripped down his body and returned to the Middle Ocean, Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open. He lifted his hand and brought out his die, watching it slowly spin above his hand. He wanted to reverse time so that he could rescue his brothers and sisters and bring them back.

    ...

    A year passed quickly. During this year, Lu Yin quietly remained within the Heavens Sect. While he asionally looked at his die, he treated this time as a true time of rest.

    The most that he ever did during this year was absorb the flourishing crystals that he had and unite the monarch essence with the tri-colored star in his universe.

    Lu Yin had acquired more than 8 trillion flourishing crystals. They hade from Monarch Luo''s power, but they had now been transformed into Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin had originally wanted to use the star essence that he had received from the Merchant Exchange to Possess many of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses, but he had ultimately been disappointed. It was not easy to Possess anyone with the strength of a Progenitor, and on top of that, it was prohibitively expensive. There were other uses for the star essence, such as repairing the three Books of Destiny.

    He needed to find a way to obtain more resources.

    His eldest sister Lu Qian had been a money-grubber because her innate gift had been Enhance. Lu Yin¡¯s need for money could not evenpare to what Lu Qian had needed.

    "Dao Monarch," Wei Rong called out.

    Lu Yin continued to stare out at theke. "Go ahead."

    "We¡¯ve received word. Should we take action now, or wait a bit longer?"

    "Wait a bit more. I dealt with Specter Progenitor just a year ago. The Great Sovereign and the others will likely need a long time before they can emerge from seclusion, so we can¡¯t rush things."

    Wei Rong bowed. "Understood."

    ...

    Another year passed, and Wei Rong returned again. "Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin put away his fishing rod. "Let''s go."

    In the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Stone Boundary, Jiu Zizi stood beside a pile of rocks, nervously looking up at the sky from time to time.

    There was a bang as another jar of wine shattered. "Bring me more wine!"

    Jiu Zizi''s heart trembled, and he approached Nutjob Lu to deliver another jar of wine.

    Suddenly, the sky broke open, and powerful auras erupted from the tear and fell upon the area.

    Nutjob Lu shot to his feet as he red at the sky. "You are seeking death!"

    As he spoke, a violent aura burst from his body. Regardless of who was intruding on his territory, arriving in such a manner was just asking to die.

    Nutjob Lu never even considered giving in.

    However, the tyrannical aura that Nutjob Lu was proud of was casually undone. A voice spoke, cold and indifferent, "Senior Nutjob, it''s time to return."

    Nutjob Lu stared up at the sky, and his pupils constricted sharply. "Lu Tianyi?"

    It was not only Lu Tianyi, but also Lu Yin, Mu Xie, and Leng Qing.

    There were three Progenitors and Lu Yin, a cultivator with thebat strength of a Progenitor. This was essentially a lineup of four Progenitors descending upon the Stone Boundary.

    At this same moment, elsewhere in the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Ninth Lotus abruptly looked over and took a step. "Not good!"

    Simultaneously, two other individuals started moving towards the Stone Boundary. One was Yao Lan, newly promoted as one of the Nine Sages, and the other was Chu Jian.

    Chu Jian had managed toprehend the Dao of Great Reincarnation during thest two years. Despite not being a peak powerhouse, the fact that he could use the Dao of Great Reincarnation meant that hisbat strength had spiked.

    One by one, the auras of peak powerhouses erupted, shattering the peace of the Cyclic Universe.

    In the Stone Boundary, Nutjob Lu cackled. "Lu brat, I thought that you wouldn¡¯t dare toe! I was getting impatient waiting for you, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu. "You¡¯re a member of the Lu family, and yet you¡¯ve relied on the Cyclic Universe for protection. You¡¯re an embarrassment to our family."

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "The Lu family can go to hell! Now that they¡¯ve returned, just wait! Sooner orter, I will take control of the Lu Sanctum! I am the true master of the Lu family!"

    Lu Tianyi sighed. "Even after so many years, you still haven¡¯t let that go. I really can''t understand how you managed to reach your current status, let alone how you managed to be a Progenitor with your state of mind."

    Nutjob Lu answered with contempt, "A Progenitor¡¯s tribtion questions the heart, but I simply want to destroy the Lu family. I¡¯ve always been clear on what I want. iming that hatred blinds a person is nothing more than an excuse for stupid and useless people. Lord Lu, what are your intentions ining here? Do you intend to break all pretenses of civility with the Cyclic Universe?"

    Lu Tianyi said nothing, and neither did Lu Yin. They were waiting for Sovereign Lotus and others to arrive.

    Nutjob Lu grabbed his jar of wine and drank heavily.

    Soon, Sovereign Lotus arrived, and she warily eyed Lu Yin and the others from the Origin Universe. "Lord Lu, you are acting too arrogantly. Do you intend to start a war with my Cyclic Universe?"

    Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "Can you afford to have war break out?¡±

 Chapter 2878: Unfathomable

    <h4>Chapter 2878: Unfathomable</h4>

    Sovereign Lotus was furious. Her Cyclic Universe had never been humiliated like this before. With the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, there was no universe in the entire megaverse who dared to cross them. However, the Origin Universe had recently reappeared, and it was climbing up higher and higher. Already, they had more peak powerhouses than the Cyclic Universe, and they even had a monster who couldpare to the Great Sovereign herself. They also had multiple Sequence Progenitors. Across countless years, aside from Aeternus, this was the first time that the Cyclic Universe had been suppressed by another universe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew frigid. "Many traitors of my Origin Universe fled to take refuge with your Cyclic Universe. Are you telling me that I shouldn¡¯t antagonize your Cyclic Universe and that I should consider the overall situation? Don¡¯t misconstrue matters. How does your universe have the strength to start a war with us?"

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s expression turned stiff. She wanted to attack so badly.

    On the other side, Chu Jian and Yao Lan arrived at the same time.

    "What is it that Lord Lu wants to do here?" Chu Jian asked. His match with Lu Yin at the Tea Ceremony had transformed the young man. He no longer pursued perfection, and his mentality had stabilized, allowing him to see many things clearly.

    The truth of the matter was that the Cyclic Universe had been on edge ever since the Lu family had returned, and they had been worried that the Lu family would disregard the Cyclic Universe¡¯s stance on matters and start a war over Nutjob Lu, Bai Wangyuan, and the other refugees. Fortunately, the Lu family had remained somewhat reasonable and had not done so. There was also the fact that an outsider had intervened in the matter and prevented a war from erupting, but Chu Jian did not know if Lu Yin was aware of that detail.

    It waspletely understandable that the Origin Universe wanted to punish its traitors, but that could not be done until it was confirmed that doing so would not benefit Aeternus. This was also the reason why the Great Sovereign had led the massive assault on the Aeternals on the Endless Frontier. The attack on the Tea Ceremony had been a trigger for many things.

    This was also why Lu Yuan had participated in the attack on Aeternus on the Endless Frontier. As long as the Lu family was not certain of the bnce between humanity and Aeternus, it was impossible to attack the other human forces because of the traitors.

    Unfortunately, the attack had resulted in a draw, and neither side had gained any particr advantage.

    However, while the Great Sovereign, Lu Yuan, and the other most powerful cultivators from the Sixverse Association were in seclusion, Lu Yin had stepped out. This made Chu Jian quite nervous. Lu Yin was not Lu Yuan, and if the young man was unaware of the agreement between the two universes and recklessly started a war, the Cyclic Universe would have to respond in kind. The problem was that, even without the Lu family, Lu Yin could sway or lead enough peak powerhouses to his cause to fight against the Cyclic Universe¡¯s current strength.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Is everyone here? Alright then."

    He looked at Jiu Zizai. "Jiu Zizai, tell me."

    Everyone turned to stare at Jiu Zizai, and Nutjob Lu¡¯s violent aura instantly enveloped the man.

    With a wave of a hand, Lu Tianyi¡¯sw of Undoing dispersed the tyrannical aura, which caused the expressions of both Sovereign Lotus and Nutjob Lu Madman to change. They could not discern Lu Tianyi''s strength.

    Jiu Zizai had never felt the focus of so many powerful individuals on him before.

    When the man heard Lu Yin¡¯s orders, he gulped and bowed low to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, I have stayed close to Sage Stone for several years, and I am absolutely certain."

    Everyone stared as Jiu Zizai continued to say, "I can say with absolute certainty that Sage Stone is not a spy.

    "You asked me to frame Sage Stone as a spy, but this subordinate could not bear to do it. Sage Stone fought against the Aeternals on the Endless Frontier and only narrowly escaped death. A person like him who fights to protect humanity should not die because of a false usation. I beg the Dao Monarch to let Sage Stone go."

    There was silence all around.

    Itsted for a long time.

    Finally, Nutjob Lu let out augh and turned to re at Lu Yin. "Child, you actually wanted to try to frame me? How ridiculously stupid!"

    Chu Jian, Sovereign Lotus, and Yao Lan all looked at Lu Yin with conflicted expressions. What was happening felt like deja vu. During the Tea Ceremony, Sovereign Shao Yin and several others had tried to do this exact thing and portray Lu Yin as a spy by using a man named Jiu Yao. Xuan Qi had been asked to verify the evidence, but the matter had turned into a joke when it was revealed that Xuan Qi had actually been Lu Yin himself. That incident had be the biggest joke the Sixverse Association had seen in recent years.

    However, the exact same scenario was ying out again, but this time, the person being mocked was Lu Yin.

    He had sent someone to get close to Nutjob Lu in hopes of arresting the man as a spy. How ridiculous was it that Lu Yin¡¯s hidden agent had not followed through on his orders, but had rather exposed Lu Yin¡¯s scheme?

    The people present were not stupid, and they understood perfectly well that Jiu Zizai would have never helped Nutjob Lu just because of some sense of human righteousness. The only possibility was that Nutjob Lu had discovered Jiu Zizai¡¯s intentions and had bought his services in order to bite back against Lu Yin. This made it clear that Nutjob Lu was even more capable than Lu Yin.

    Sovereign Lotus sneered as Nutjob Luughed mockingly. Jiu Zi had such a sincere expression on his face, but all eyes were focused on Lu Yin''s face. He had just been made a fool of, and he had been humiliated in a shocking manner.

    However, Lu Yin calmly asked, "Jiu Zizai, what are you talking about?"

    Jiu Zizai bowed low once more. "Dao Monarch, for the sake of all mankind, please let Sage Stone go. I beg Dao Monarch to consider the bigger picture."

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "What? Does the brat from the Lu family still want to threaten me?"

    Sovereign Lotus spoke up with open contempt. "Enough, this ends here. Lord Lu, if there¡¯s nothing else, please leave. We will keep today¡¯s matter quiet."

    Chu Jian also spoke up. "Lord Lu, return."

    Lu Yin looked over at Sovereign Ninth Lotus. "Have you misunderstood something? I am here to prove that both Jiu Zizai and Lu Crazy are spies."

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s expression changed drastically, but down below, Jiu Zizai''s face underwent an even greater transformation. <i>What?</i>

    Nutjob Lu was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s words, and he stared at the young man.

    Lu Yin looked down. "Jiu Zizai, you were already a spy of Aeternus when you were themander of the Fourth Array Base on the rear battlefield. I specifically invited you to join my Heavens Sect so that I could keep an eye on you, and then I purposely tasked you with getting close to Nutjob Lu and framing him as a spy. In the end, you decided to help him. Spies really work well together."

    Jiu Zizai was stunned. "Dao Monarch, while I am guilty of disobeying your orders, you shouldn¡¯t malign your servant. I am absolutely not a spy. I spent many years fighting against the Aeternals on the rear battlefield, and I led the Fourth Array Base, aplishing many great things on the rear battlefield. Dao Monarch, you cannot betray your people like this."

    Lu Yin sneered. He had first learned that Jiu Zizai was a spy because the man had been Possessed with the use of Lu Yin¡¯s die. However, without Possessing the man again and forcing him to announce that he was a spy, Lu Yin had no way of proving anything, as there was no evidence. On top of that, Jiu Zizai had not been anyone of great importance who needed to be dealt with swiftly.

    However, for the many years that the man had been part of the Heavens Sect, he had been under surveince, and he had not gone the entire time without making contact with the Aeternals. With enough time, they had gathered proof of the man¡¯s true nature.

    The proof was also quite simple, as it was simply a recording of a conversation that had taken ce between Jiu Zizai and the Aeternals.

    When the evidence was revealed, Jiu Zizai felt terribly confused. How could he have possibly been under tight observation for so many years? When had it started?

    He looked up at Lu Yin, dazed. Had Lu Yin always known that Jiu Zizai was a spy? How was that possible? How could anyone possibly have known?

    Lu Yin had falsely asked Jiu Zizai to join the Heavens Sect, and he had even falsely given the man the task of framing Nutjob Lu. From beginning to end, the man had never been anything more than a pawn, and he had been used as such.

    The expressions of the experts from the Cyclic Universe all fell. This person was startlingly cunning.

    However, since Jiu Zizai was a spy, why had he helped Nutjob Lu?

    This question caused everyone to turn and stare at Nutjob Lu.

    Nutjob Lu was unconcerned with the attention. "So the little bastard turned out to be a spy? You¡¯re quite impressive, Lu brat. But even if he is a spy, that doesn¡¯t mean that I am as well."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "If you still won''t admit it even now, then I''ll force you out."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand then rose, and he pointed it at a random corner of the Stone Boundary. A palm strike shot out, and a mountain shattered, revealing a scarlet stone eye with a slitted pupil.

    "A Cosmic Door?" Sovereign Lotus and Yao Lan eximed in unison.

    They were not the only ones startled by this revtion, as even Lu Tianyi was taken aback. He had followed Lu Yin to the Cyclic Universe simply because Lu Yin had said that there was a reason to take Nutjob Lu back to the Origin Universe. Lu Tianyi unconditionally trusted Lu Yin.

    Jiu Zizai''s performance had made Lu Tianyi think that Lu Yin had failed, but things had suddenly been reversed yet again. This was also not simply a reversal of logic and words, but rather irrefutable evidence.

    Lu Yin had revealed one of the Aeternals¡¯ Cosmic Doors.

    Nutjob Lu stared nkly. Naturally, he understood what a Cosmic Door was, but why was there one in the Stone Boundary?

    Aside from Lu Yin, everyone else present waspletely stunned.

    Of course, Lu Yin had been the one to nt this Cosmic Door in the Stone Boundary. Because he had already known that Jiu Zizai was a spy, how could Lu Yin allow one spy to frame another? Not even an idiot would try to do such a thing. Lu Yin¡¯s true purpose had been to expose Jiu Zizai while in the Stone Boundary. As for nting the Cosmic Door, that was an unexpected opportunity that hade about due to the bubble that Lu Yin had enhanced. That bubble was a mask that not even Lu Tianyi could see through. Of course Lu Yin had to take advantage of such a perfect disguise, and without any concrete proof against Nutjob Lu, Lu Yin had to find other means of aplishing his goals.

    This was the Cosmic Door that Lu Yin had obtained from the Six-Fingered Tribe.

    The Six-Fingered Tribe had been one of the ruling powers of the Lars Weave. When the Innerverse and Outerverse were separated from each other, Lu Yin and Wei Rong had fought for control of the Outerverse. Wei Rong had nearly destroyed the Six-Fingered Tribe, but luckily, they had joined Lu Yin to save themselves. At that time, they had given Lu Yin a Cosmic Door.

    Back then, Lu Yin had not known what a Cosmic Door was, but he had since learned the truth. For that reason, he had nted the Cosmic Door in the Stone Boundary as proof that Nutjob Lu was a spy.

    Lu Yin knew that Nutjob Lu was guilty, but he was unable to prove it. Also, Nutjob Lu was not stupid enough to expose himself.

    Since there was clearly no straightforward solution, Lu Yin had found an alternative.

    To deal with cunning people, it was necessary to either be smarter or more cunning than them.

    With the revtion of a Cosmic Door in the Stone Boundary, as well as proof that Jiu Zizai was a spy who had been trying to protect Nutjob Lu, it was impossible for anyone to believe that Nutjob Lu was innocent.

    Mu Xie shouted, "Nutjob Lu, how do you exin yourself?"

    Nutjob Lu red at Lu Yin through bloodshot eyes. "Child, was this you?"

    Lu Yin looked down at the man from high above. "I suggest that you give up now. Ancestor Tianyi, this person has betrayed our family and all of humanity. I¡¯ll leave him to you."

    Lu Tianyi''s expression grew cold. "You cannot escape."

    Nutjob Luughed angrily. "So, after so many years, the Lu family has finally produced someone decent? Child, you¡¯ve proven that you have the ability to frame me, and I¡¯m convinced of that. However, if you think that you can deal with me, you must be dreaming!"

    The golden scroll of an Investiture of the Gods appeared above the man¡¯s head, and to his side, his Champions¡¯ Stage spun into existence. At the same time, a vicious aura exploded. "With my blood, I summon a champion."

    One after another, dozens of figures appeared. Most of them only had the strength of Semi-Progenitors, but they were led by three Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had never even tried to anoint any Progenitor-level corpse kings as a champion. The Lu family''s ancestral rules forbade that anyone ever anoint a corpse king, and yet Nutjob Lu had just summoned three of them. It was clear that the man had thrown away all of the Lu family¡¯s precepts.

    Lu Tianyi took action and pointed a finger forward. Hisw of Undoing caused the void to warp.

    In front of Nutjob Lu, the three Progenitor-level corpse kings and dozens of champions rushed forward to meet Lu Tianyi''s attack.

    Instantly, all of the figures were eliminated with but one finger.

    The sight of this left Sovereign Lotus and many others present numb. While the Sovereign herself was capable of defeating three ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings, she could not do so with just one finger. She was rather frightened of Lu Tianyi¡¯s strength.

    Nutjob Lu''s pupils constricted, as he was also startled by Lu Tianyi''s power.

    Nutjob Lu had been imprisoned in the Lu Sanctum for many years, and thus he only had a very vague understanding of the family''s strength. When the Lu family had been exiled, Nutjob Lu had attacked Lu Tianyi, but Lu Tianyi had not revealed such terrifying strength at that time.

    Destroying three Progenitor-level corpse kings with one finger revealed a shocking level of strength and proved that Lu Tianyi wielded a terrifying kind ofw.

 Chapter 2879: Master?

    Chapter 2879: Master?

    Lu Tianyi''s single finger transformed the Sixverse Association''s understanding of the man¡¯s strength. He was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Fifth Maind''s Daosource Sect era. Lu Tianyi had faced off against True God while protecting the Fifth Maind. He was extremely powerful. No matter how brightly Lu Yuan might shine, even he could not eclipse Lu Tianyi¡¯s brilliance.

    If Lu Yuan had founded the Lu family and led them to glory, then Lu Tianyi had furthered that work.

    Lu Tianyi moved closer. "Ancestor, this is the end."

    Lu Tianyi was a direct descendant of the Lu family, as was Nutjob Lu. This meant that Lu Tianyi was not only a descendant of Lu Yuan, but also of Nutjob Lu. This was because Nutjob Lu was the third generation of the Lu family¡¯s direct line.

    It was after Nutjob Lu that the Lu family started to have branches of the family. However, while there were various branches of the Lu family, only one line was ever able to awaken both the Investiture of the Gods and the Champions¡¯ Stage: the direct line.

    Nutjob Lu clenched his fists. Over his head, the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods grew even brighter, and a dark-red light surged from the man¡¯s body as a purplish-ck substance covered him. This was Wielder - Indestructible. "Junior, I may have been imprisoned for many years by the family and had my cultivation stalled, but even so, what I have aplished is not something that you can surpass so easily. If you really believe yourself to be invincible, then just die!"

    The man leaped upwards, punching at Lu Tianyi.

    Far away, Sovereign Lotus frowned. It was true that there was proof, but even if Nutjob Lu was a spy, he should be dealt with by the Cyclic Universe, not someone from the Origin Universe.

    The woman turned to Chu Jian. "Inform the Great Sovereign of this matter."Chu Jian nodded and turned to leave. However, he found that, at some point in time, someone else had arrived, and they were standing a short distance behind the experts from the Cyclic Universe. Upon seeing the person, Chu Jian''s expression changed drastically. "Who are you?"

    Sovereign Lotus spun around and only then did she see the man standing in the sky. Horror covered the Sovereign¡¯s features. "Who are you?"

    No one had even noticed when this person had arrived.

    Lu Yin heard themotion and looked over, and was also startled. <em>Who is that, and when did they arrive?</em>

    Mu Xie and Leng Qing both looked over as well.

    At no point in time had anyone sensed the arrival of an additional person at the Stone Boundary. Only when they looked over did they notice a smiling, middle-aged man.

    "I didn¡¯t want to disturb you. Also, please don''t disrupt Tai Hong''s seclusion. I can make a decision on this matter."

    The Lu family was a decidedly odd family. Their founding ancestor, Lu Yuan, had no equal when it came to being domineering, and most of his descendants had that same personality. This was why Lu Yin had refused to bow to the Great Sovereign during the Tea Ceremony.

    While it was true that Nutjob Lu was a spy, his violent temper revealed the greatest sort of confidence that anyone had ever seen. The determination formed from the man¡¯s hatred was withoutparison. Instead, Lu Tianyi appeared to be too calm. However, this was not the calmness of still water, but rather the calmness of a silent volcano.

    As Nutjob Lu¡¯s punch that was strengthened by Wielder-realm battle force approached Lu Tianyi, the silent volcano finally erupted.

    The overwhelmingly domineering punch struck the single finger, and an odd sound rang out. It sounded like rubber being hit. Lu Tianyi had caught Nutjob Lu''s punch with a single finger, and the man then looked up at the terrifying attack before him. "Ancestor, this fight is not only about dealing with traitors to humanity, but it is also a chance for my Lu family to clean up our own mess and collect on the debt owed for the deaths of our family members and the suffering that so many endured."

    <em>Boom!</em>

    Nutjob Lu''s body mmed down to the ground, shattering the Stone Boundary.

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Tianyi in utter disbelief.

    Lu Yin had already known that Lu Tianyi was incredibly powerful and undoubtedly stronger than Nutjob Lu. After all, without such strength, they would never be able to drag Nutjob Lu back. However, Lu Yin had expected the confrontation to be a battle, not a beating.

    He had never expected there to be such a vast gap between the two Progenitors.

    Lu Yin also had Wielder-realm battle force, which was an inheritance from Gu Yizhi. The ancient Dao Monarch had believed that Wielder - Indestructible was the true cultivation path that humans should take. Regardless of whether that belief was right or wrong, the power of Wielder-realm battle force was undeniable, and Lu Yin relied on it extensively. He was fully aware of just how powerful Nutjob Lu¡¯s punch had been, and that it would be difficult to find anyone who had reached that level of physical might.

    However, Lu Tianyi had ovee a punch strengthened by Wielder-realm battle force with nothing more than a finger.

    This finger had not only overwhelmed Nutjob Lu''s strength, but it had also shattered Lu Yin''s confidence. How was such a thing even possible? What had Ancestor Tianyi done? Lu Yin had not seen anyws of the universe being utilized, which indicated that none had been used. Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger had been nothing more than a finger.

    Everyone was shocked. Nutjob Lu was unquestionably powerful, and even Sovereign Lotus had felt threatened. Nutjob Lu was the only one of the Nine Sages, with the possible exception of Sage Yajna, to have touched the level of mastering sequence particles. While Sage Stone had not used any sequence particles yet, his violent energy was profound enough to incorporate some of thews of the universe, which Sovereign Lotus could clearly see. However, even when that power had beenbined with Nutjob Lu¡¯s extraordinary physical strength, he had still been utterly suppressed and outssed.

    The woman stared at Lu Tianyi. Were all of the people from the Origin Universe freaks?

    Mu Xie let out a breath. This was Senior Tianyi, someone who had once faced the full power of Aeternus on the rear battlefield with his summoned gods of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. He still had note close to revealing his full power.

    The ground shattered, and Nutjob Lu rose back up. He was staring at Lu Tianyi in disbelief, his fist horribly disfigured. The strength that Nutjob Lu had been so proud of had beenpletely defeated. How had this brat done it?

    Suddenly, the man was reminded of the first time he had met Lu Tianyi. At the time, Lu Tianyi had still been a child, and he had been introduced to Nutjob Lu by that old bastard Lu Yuan. The old man had been very proud of the genius who had been born in the Lu family. At the time, Nutjob Lu had not cared at all about the child, and he had asked the old bastard to take the child away. However, after seeing Nutjob Lu, the child had not shown any fear, and instead had wanted to approach.

    It had been absurd, and if the old bastard had not stopped things, Nutjob Lu would have pped the brat dead.

    Time had passed, and Nutjob Lu met Lu Tianyi for a second time. The child had just be an adult and had politely asked to see Nutjob Lu. The brat had seemed oblivious to the man¡¯s hatred, and he had shared many things that had happened.

    The one time that Nutjob Lu had spoken to Lu Tianyi, the brat had been happy for a long time, even though the conversation had not been a pleasant one.

    Nutjob Lu had asked Lu Tianyi what he would do if the day came that the Lu family could no longer keep Nutjob Lu trapped?

    The brat had smiled and offered a determined answer, "If Ancestor can¡¯t be kept imprisoned, then I will kill Ancestor."

    Nutjob Lu had beenpletely certain that the brat had given a truthful answer. He had beenpletely serious, and while his tone had been polite, his smile had been ice-cold.

    Time had passed, and the brat had grown increasingly powerful. Nutjob Lu had watched Lu Tianyi be a Progenitor, and then he had seen the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds be destroyed. The old bastard had led the Lu family in protecting the Fifth Maind. As for Lu Tianyi, he had eventually be the most dazzling figure in the Lu family, but even when the old bastard went into seclusion, Nutjob Lu was certain that Lu Tianyi would visit frequently.

    However, throughout all of those years, not once had Nutjob Lu tested Lu Tianyi¡¯s strength. He had been the greatest genius of the Lu family during the Daosource Sect era, and also when the Perennial World hadter broken away from the Fifth Maind. That had been the height of Lu Tianyi¡¯s glory, and Nutjob Lu had never wanted to challenge the brat, as it was clear that Lu Tianyi had outssed his ancestor.

    However, after entering the Cyclic Universe and fleeing from the Fifth Maind, Nutjob Lu had lost the feeling of powerlessness that he had always suffered while in the Fifth Maind. He had received guidance from the Great Sovereign and gained mastery over sequence particles, which had allowed his own strength to spike sharply. With the power that Nutjob Lu had gained, he should not have been defeated by Lu Tianyi so easily. In fact, such a thing was impossible to imagine.

    Unfortunately, the strength of an ancient Dao Chosen was not something that could be ovee.

    Nutjob Lu''s face twisted, as he became more and more frenzied. An ufortable sensation filled the area.

    Beyond the Stone Boundary, space warped. This uneasy feeling made it impossible for Yao Lan to even breathe. Nothing that could be seen, and yet everyone felt a confusing sense of difort emanating from Nutjob Lu. The universe seemed to be in chaos with no order to anything. How could there be such a sensation?

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu, his expression solemn. This was the effect of Nutjob Lu¡¯s sequence particles.

    Sure enough, the man had touched upon sequence particles, but just what was thew that he wielded?

    "Lu brat, you came to see your ancestor and fulfill your promise, didn¡¯t you? If you want to kill your ancestor, then go ahead and try it!" Nutjob Lu swung a hand and threw a palm strike at Lu Tianyi. This attack was strengthened by sequence particles, and the man followed his attack and charged at Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi let out a sad breath. "Ancestor, it would have been wonderful if you hadn¡¯t betrayed our Lu family. With another powerhouse like you, the Lu family would be invincible."

    Once his words fell, Lu Tianyi pointed his finger out once again. This time, he was using his sequence particles. It was as if the universe itself was a curtain, and Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger poked that curtain into the shape of a cone. As for Nutjob Lu''s sequence particles, they were instantly scattered by the distortion of the curtain, while the sequence particles that came into direct contact with Lu Tianyi''s finger were simply destroyed.

    When it came to mastery over thews of the universe, Nutjob Lu could note close to Lu Tianyi. It might be possible for the man to catch up given enough time, but there was no time.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger fell, bit by bit, shattering the restrictions of the universe itself as it fell upon Nutjob Lu. The man was stunned by the sight, and he reflexively tried to defend himself, but the finger tore through everything and struck Nutjob Lu''s heart. There was a bang. The attack passed through the man, piercing his body, striking his Champions¡¯ Stage, and going through even that.

    There was a deafening noise as the Champions¡¯ Stage split in two. At the same time, the Investiture of the Gods transformed into a golden light that slowly dissipated.

    Everyone stared, bbergasted. This was absolute suppression. No matter what Nutjob Lu tried, it would all be useless.

    Lu Yin''s fingers clenched into a fist. This was simply too powerful. Ancestor Tianyi had only used three finger strikes throughout the entire exchange, and yet he had utterly crushed Nutjob Lu.

    Sovereign Lotus had never before felt such fear. At the return of the Lu family, everyone had been entirely focused on their founding ancestor, Lu Yuan, and they had ignored Lu Tianyi.

    However, it turned out that Lu Tianyi was also absurdly powerful, and he was not any weaker than the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. In fact, it was possible that Lu Tianyi was stronger than any of them.

    In the Cyclic Universe, the only person other than the Great Sovereign who could stand up to this person was Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    On the ground of the Stone Boundary, Nutjob Lu lowered his head to look at the blood that stained his body. He coughed up blood and copsed.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s hand pulled back. "Ancestor, it''s time to return."

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s body trembled, and his face turned pale. He bitterly mourned his loss. "I never thought that I would be defeated by a brat like you. If I had known how things would turn out, I would have pped you dead long ago."

    Lu Tianyi looked at Nutjob Lu and gave a small smile. It looked as though he was seeing the old man for the first time. "If people were capable of undoing their mistakes, the universe would descend into chaos."

    With that, he took a step forward and passed by Nutjob Lu. The madman''s body quivered, and his head rose before he crumpled to the ground.

    Lu Yin frowned. Nutjob Lu had never used the Corpse King Transformation. Was that because he had known that it would be useless, or was there some other n in mind?

    At this moment, Lu Tianyi turned his head to look at a distant point in the sky. It was where the mysterious middle-aged man was standing. While Sovereign Lotus and the others had not known when the man had arrived, Lu Tianyi did.

    After turning to face the man, Lu Tianyi took a deep breath and bowed. "Master, it¡¯s been a very long time."

    Lu Yin and others were stunned for a moment, and they stared at the middle-aged man. Master?

    No one had expected this stranger to actually be Lu Tianyi¡¯s master.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2880: Chu Yi

    Chapter 2880: Chu Yi

    Lu Tianyi was a direct descendant of the Lu family, and he had been a Dao Chosen in his youth. How could he have an unknown master? If anyone was his master, it should be Ancestor Lu Yuan. Who was this stranger?

    Everyone stared at the middle-aged man, and heplimented Lu Tianyi, "Tianyi, you have grown so much. It would be such a pity for you to not go to the Immemorial Citadel."

    Lu Yin''s eyes filled with shock. Was this person from the Immemorial Citadel?

    He then remembered what Ancestor Lu Yuan had mentioned about someone from the Immemorial Citadel serving as an adjudicator on Nutjob Lu¡¯s matter, and that that person had asked Lu Yuan not to fight with the Great Sovereign. Ancestor Lu Yuan had said that he owed that person a favor. Was this that adjudicator?

    "Are you from the Immemorial Citadel?" Sovereign Lotus blurted.

    Mu Xie, Leng Qing, and Yao Lan were all taken aback. The Immemorial Citadel was a familiar name that was shrouded in mystery. Since ancient times, countless people had tried to go to the Immemorial Citadel, and there were many powerful experts known to have gone there, but the ce itself remained elusive. Forget finding the ce and going there¡ªno one had ever even seen anyone return from the Immemorial Citadel. Had this man reallye from that ce?

    Chu Jian was the one person who was not surprised by this, as he had seen the Great Sovereign meet with this person and Lu Yuan.

    Lu Tianyi respectfully answered, "There are too many matters that need to be dealt with. Once everything is settled, your disciple will definitely go to the Immemorial Citadel."

    The man nodded. "We are waiting for you."The man then turned to Lu Yin and addressed him, "We are waiting for you as well."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Senior, you know me?"

    The manughed. "Of course! You are a member of the Lu family, not to mention Mister Mu''s disciple. Lu Yin, right?"

    Lu Yin grew excited. He had finally heard his master¡¯s name be spoken by other people. Before this, with the exception of his senior disciple brothers, he had never heard Mister Mu be mentioned by another person. The closest had been when Undying God had recognized Mister Mu, or when Ancestor Lu Yuan had mentioned that Mister Mu had previously met with the Origin Progenitor. However, Lu Yin had been the one to ask his ancestor about Mister Mu.

    Essentially, Mister Mu waspletely unknown to the universes that Lu Yin was familiar with.

    Lu Yin bowed to the middle-aged man. "I don''t know Senior¡¯s name."

    The middle-aged man did not answer Lu Yin, and he instead nced around at everyone present. "The Immemorial Citadel is not a ce that refuses to ept outsiders, but it is too early for you and others to go there. All of you are talented individuals, and so long as you do not die prematurely, you will eventually find your way to the Immemorial Citadel. When we meet again, it will be in that ancient city. When that dayes, heroes will not be judged by the strength of their cultivation, and the Immemorial Citadel will continue to fight to the death."

    After saying that, the middle-aged man slowly disappeared.

    Everyone stared at the suddenly empty sky with mixed emotions.

    Even Sovereign Lotus did not know about the Immemorial Citadel. Given her cultivation level, she was capable of going to the city, but she could not leave. Was it really possible to meet again in the Immemorial Citadel one day?

    Heroes would not be judged by the strength of their cultivation, and the Immemorial Citadel would continue to fight to the death.

    Was that really what the Immemorial Citadel was like?

    How many of humanity¡¯s greatest heroes had gone to the Immemorial Citadel?

    Everyone wanted to know this answer.

    Lu Tianyi looked away, grabbed Nutjob Lu, and left.

    Sovereign Lotus quickly moved to stop the Progenitor. "Lu Tianyi, regardless of whether he is a spy, his fate should be decided by my Cyclic Universe."

    Lu Tianyi frowned at Sovereign Lotus. "If you can stop me, then I will leave him here."

    This response left Lu Yin choking on what he had been about to say. Ever since the Lu family had returned, Lu Yuan had demonstrated the family¡¯s trademark domineering behavior, but Lu Tianyi had remained in the shadows, appearing refined and cultured. Even when he had cast the four ruling powers down from the Perennial World¡¯s Higher Realm, Lu Tianyi had not revealed much of his strength. However, the man had just revealed a hint of his true strength, and he was directly challenging Sovereign Lotus. This was Lu Tianyi, the master of the Origin Universe¡¯s Daosource Sect. He had conferred all of Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as gods, and no one could stop him.

    Lu Yin smiled. This was how his ancestor should behave.

    Mu Xieughed. None of the people present had any idea just how powerful Lu Tianyi was. While the man was kind and gentle to his own, to outsiders and enemies, he was more ruthless than anyone else.

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s expression changed as she stared at Lu Tianyi. Could she stand up to this man¡¯s finger? She truly had no confidence.

    Before seeing the man fight against Nutjob Lu, the Sovereign had been utterly confident in her own power, but after seeing Lu Tianyi achieve victory with only three fingers, she realized that she could not understand the depths of his power at all. If she forced this fight, she would be badly wounded, even if she did seed. It was simply not worth the risk.

    "Xiaoxuan, let''s go," Lu Tianyi called out, and Lu Yin, Mu Xie, and Leng Qing all followed him back.

    Sovereign Lotus''s face turned pale. She desperately wanted to stop them, but she could not force herself to speak.

    Chu Jian spoke up quietly, "That senior made a decision on behalf of Master. Leave it be."

    The Sovereign remained furious. "Those people from the Origin Universe are too arrogant! The day wille when they will suffer for it."

    Yao Lan just shrugged. The Origin Universe had already suffered for their arrogance. The Great Sovereign herself had taken action against them, and the Cyclic Universe had cooperated with other organizations in the Origin Universe to banish the Lu family. But they had been brought back by Lu Yin alone. How was anyone supposed to deal with a family like that?

    Even if the Lu family had not returned, Lu Yin alone would not be easy to deal with.

    ¡­

    Nutjob Lu was imprisoned in the Lu Sanctum once again. Despite repeatedly saying that he would kill the man, Lu Tianyi really could not do so.

    The only person who could make a decision regarding Nutjob Lu was Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    The nging of chains could be clearly heard outside the cell.

    "This is where he was imprisoned before. He¡¯s finally returned home." Lu Tianyi cracked a rare joke.

    Lu Yin asked, "Can this really hold him?"

    "Don''t worry, these chains were made by our family to restrain Sequence Progenitors. The same kind of chain was used to drag Ku Jie back. Without these, we probably wouldn''t have been able to bring him at all," Lu Tianyi replied.

    "Chains like that exist?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

    Lu Tianyi nodded as he continued to stare towards Nutjob Lu¡¯s cell. It was clear that the man felt conflicted.

    "Ancestor, Nutjob Lu can use the Corpse King Transformation," Lu Yin suddenly mentioned.

    Lu Tianyi was startled. "Really?"

    "If not for that, I would have killed him before."

    Lu Tianyi frowned. "No wonder you were so certain that he¡¯s a spy."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Before I told you about this, you and Ancestor both believed me without question?"

    Lu Tianyi smiled back. "We¡¯re not the only ones. Everyone in the family trusts you unconditionally."

    Lu Yin was not good at sharing his emotions, but Lu Tianyi was not even trying to do that. He had simply been stating the truth. Even so, the man¡¯s words warmed Lu Yin¡¯s heart.

    "Do you really want to know about my master?" Lu Tianyi asked as he and Lu Yin walked away and moved on to the peak of a mountain on the Lu Sanctum. Beneath the mountain, many members of the Lu family bowed as they passed by. They all gazed at Lu Yin with open admiration.

    Many of the women stared at Lu Yin with sparkling eyes, which made him rather ufortable.

    All of the women in the Lu Sanctum were part of the Lu family. Some were descendants of the family, while others were servants or vassals. While these women were rather inconspicuous within the Lu family, to the outside world, they were talented enough to be regarded as geniuses.

    The Lu family was home to far too many such geniuses.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "That senior must be from our Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect era."

    Lu Tianyi spoke slowly, "My master''s name is Chu Yi, and he was the Dao Monarch of the First Maind, one of the Three Realms and Six Dao."

    Lu Yin blinked, feeling rather confused. "That senior is one of the Three Realms and Six Dao?"

    Lu Tianyi smiled. "What? Did you think that the Dao Monarch of the First Maind and one of the Six Dao was actually the Origin Progenitor?"

    Was that not the case?

    From the time that Lu Buzheng and the others had been released from the sourcebox, all of them had agreed that the Origin Progenitor had been the Dao Monarch of the First Maind. In addition to that, they had all been ustomed to referring to the Origin Progenitor as one of the Three Realms and Six Dao. However, the Origin Progenitor had never been either of those things.

    Lu Yin did not pry into this matter, and he had assumed that it was simply a custom of the Heavens Sect era.

    "The Origin Progenitor only temporarily held the position of the First Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch. The true Dao Monarch was my master, Chu Yi. He was given his name by the Origin Progenitor, and he is the oldest of the Three Realms and Six Dao. He was their senior brother.

    "When the Heavens Sect was first established and split among the six Mainds, my master ruled the First Maind. As everyone knows, the Three Realms¡ªthe God of Death, Destiny, and Wu Tian¡ªdid not rule over any Maind, and they instead remained independent.

    "Later, my master went to the Immemorial Citadel. There were very few rumors about my master in the Heavens Sect era, so everyone believed that the Origin Progenitor was the First Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch¡­"

    Lu Yin listened in silence. Chu Yi? It was a very random name, yet it somehow seemed to fit with the name of the Origin Progenitor.[1]

    Lu Tianyi proceeded to share more about Chu Yi with Lu Yin, including that Lu Tianyi had only be the man¡¯s disciple at the request of Ancestor Lu Yuan. That was also why Lu Yuan owed Chu Yi a favor.

    This was likely the favor that Chu Yi had called upon to prevent Ancestor Lu Yuan from starting a fight with the Great Sovereign.

    While Lu Yin had frequently visited Ancestor Lu Yuan for some time in order to learn more about the Heavens Sect era, it had been an entire era filled with countless people and so many events that no one could clearly recount everything. It was impossible for people to do so with a time period of just a hundred years, let alone an entire era.

    In the Cyclic Universe, news that Nutjob Lu had been arrested as a spy and taken back to the Origin Universe by the Lu family quickly reached Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan.

    To preserve the Cyclic Universe¡¯s dignity, Sovereign Lotus forbade anyone from speaking of the matter, which prevented it from spreading through the Sixverse Association. However, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan had be part of the Nine Sages, which naturally qualified them to learn of the incident.

    As soon as Wang Fan learned of what had happened, he went straight to the Endless Frontier without a second thought. The Cyclic Universe was no longer safe.

    If not even the Cyclic Universe could protect them, then they could only rely on themselves, and fighting on the Endless Frontier was a form of protection.

    Bai Wangyuan also wanted to go to the Endless Frontier, but before he did, he went to the Wall of Purity to meet with Bai Sheng.

    "Take care of yourself, Ancestor. I intend to return to the Origin Universe." Bai Sheng made his decision while speaking with Bai Wangyuan.

    The older Progenitor¡¯s face fell. "You want to return to the Origin Universe and submit to the Lu family?"

    Bai Sheng and Bai Wangyuan stared at each other. There was no fear in Bai Sheng¡¯s eyes.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eye twitched. What was going on? He had clearly left an indelible mark of inferiority on Bai Sheng''s heart. It should be impossible for Bai Sheng to stand up to Bai Wangyuan in any matter. This was something that had happened before Bai Sheng had be a Progenitor, so how had it been undone?

    Even if the Lu family had destroyed the Sky Beyond the Sky, that should not have had any affect on Bai Sheng.

    Upon thinking of this, Bai Wangyuan moved closer to Bai Sheng, which caused the man¡¯s eyes to narrow. "Ancestor, are you going to attack me?"

    Bai Sheng was not a direct descendant of the Bai family, but rather a descendant of a remote branch family. There was no familial connection between him and Bai Wangyuan, which meant that the Bai family could be split. Bai Wangyuan could lead his own Bai family, while Bai Sheng could lead the portion of the Bai family that remained in the Origin Universe.

    In the past, Bai Sheng had been incapable of standing up to Bai Wangyuan, but that had changed.

    Bai Sheng had no idea why, but Bai Wangyuan no longer seemed invincible in his eyes.

    Arrow Sage moved to block Bai Wangyuan. "Brother Bai, are you going to attack? Please reconsider your actions, as you are at the Wall of Purity."

    Bai Wangyuan frowned. "Get out of my way. This is my Bai family''s business."

    The rude words caused Arrow Sage¡¯s expression to turn ugly. "People from the Lu family have continuouslye to my universe to make trouble. Sage Stone has been arrested by the Lu family because of their insistence on taking care of their family business, and now Brother Bai wants to do the same? Do you want to take care of your Bai family¡¯s affairs? Then you will see how my Cyclic Universe answers you!"

    1. We have:

    Chu Yi (³õÒ») - First Day

    Chu Jian (³õ¼û) - First Meeting/Sight

    Chu Yuan (³õÔª) - First Origin.

    It''s important to note that all of these names have very vague, indistinct meanings. For example, Chu Yi would make people think of the first day of the year. ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2881: Formal Acceptance

    Chapter 2881: Formal eptance

    Arrow Sage certainly feared Lu Yin, but he did not fear Bai Wangyuan. This was because Bai Wangyuan was currently relying on the Cyclic Universe.

    Additionally, Arrow Sage did not believe the rumors about Bai Wangyuan¡¯s strength. The man was hailed as one of the Origin Universe¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and he had once been just as famous as Lu Tianyi. But so what? Were all of the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors more powerful than the Cyclic Universe¡¯s peak experts?

    Arrow Sage was able to tolerate Lu Yin¡¯s behavior, but he would not ignore things that were within his power to handle.

    Bai Wangyuan''s eyes shed, and an overwhelming surge of power erupted. It caught Arrow Sage off guard, and the man was knocked back. The Sage lost his temper, and he aimed his bow at Bai Wangyuan while nocking an arrow.

    At that moment, a sh of sword qi suddenly flew between Arrow Sage and Bai Wangyuan. The ground of the maind was split open, and the attack drew the attention of several other people.

    "Brother Bai, you should show some restraint when living under someone else''s roof. This is not very bing of you."

    Bai Wangyuan stared at the neer with cold eyes. "Xia Shenji."

    Far off, Xia Qin was surprised. Progenitor Shenji?

    Bai Sheng and Arrow Sage also looked over. Xia Shenji?Sure enough, none other than Xia Shenji had arrived and interfered. During the Tea Ceremony, he had been condemned to the Endless Frontier by the Great Sovereign, which meant that he had avoided the subsequent battle at the Tea Ceremony.

    After that, he had not immediately left the Endless Frontier as his service was a punishment meted out by the Great Sovereign. If he left, there was no telling whether the Cyclic Universe would try to make trouble for his defiance. Thus, Xia Shenji had wanted to be sure that Lu Yin could protect him.

    He had gained that assurance, given the Heavens Sect¡¯s current strength.

    The Great Sovereign and many others had all gone into seclusion to recover, and during that time, Lu Yin had led people to arrest Nutjob Lu and drag him away from the Cyclic Universe. On top of that, Wang Fan''s shadow clone had been eliminated right on top of the Wall of Purity. Both of these incidents were tantly provoking the Great Sovereign and the entire Cyclic Universe, but Lu Yin remained safe and sound. The Cyclic Universe had done nothing to him.

    This meant that Xia Shenji could return.

    The only potential issue he might face was criticism from the Lu family upon returning to the Origin Universe. After all, one of Xia Shenji¡¯s clones had used the Prison Lock secret technique to trap the Lu family, and that action could not have been made through coercion. However, in a way, the current Xia Shenji had indeed been forced to use the secret technique, and on top of that, he had aplished important tasks for the Lu family. Thus, his previous actions against them would not condemn him. The bottom line was that Xia Shenji did not want to remain on the Endless Frontier like Bai Wangyuan and the others.

    Xia Shenji had already submitted to Lu Yin, which was equivalent to breaking away from Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the ruling powers. It was highly likely that the Cyclic Universe would not ept Xia Shenji, and the Great Sovereign most likely despised him. The only safe ce for the Progenitor was either the Origin Universe or the Endless Frontier.

    However, it was also impossible for him to remain on the Endless Frontier. If he stayed there, his luck would inevitably run out one day, and he would run into one of the Seven Skygods or suffer from one of Cheng Kong¡¯s ambushes. The only option was to return to the Origin Universe.

    No matter what, he had to return.

    However, before returning, it would be best if Xia Shenji made a contribution. He had immediately thought of Xia Qin and intended to take her back with him; this way, two Progenitors would be joining the Heavens Sect. Xia Shenji felt that there was no way the Heavens Sect would not be moved by such an addition.

    The Lu family dreamed of restoring the Heavens Sect to its ancient glory, and Lu Yin was even more ambitious. The temptation of having more Progenitors under the Heavens Sect¡¯s banner would be enough to alleviate some of Xia Shenji¡¯s past mistakes.

    Even so, he had not expected to arrive at the Wall of Purity and see Bai Wangyuan wanting to attack Bai Sheng. Naturally, Xia Shenji had to intervene. It would be even better if he could also lead Bai Sheng to the Heavens Sect.

    Bai Wangyuan shot Xia Shenji a frigid re.

    The two Progenitors¡¯ eyes locked. "Brother Bai, how does it feel to live under someone else''s roof?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s voice was as cold as his eyes. "You are not Xia Shenji. You are nothing but a clone."

    Xia Shenjiughed. "You¡¯re right, I am one of Xia Shenji''s clones. You never even considered that I might still be alive after using the Prison Lock secret technique, as you wanted to kill me as soon as I used it. Fortunately, my main body secretly kept me alive, or else I would have died long ago. Actually, now that you mention it, I owe a favor to you, Wang Fan, and Progenitor Long for wanting to eliminate me. Did I fully repay that favor at the Tea Ceremony?"

    Bai Wangyuan''s voice dropped lower. "We should have realized the truth long ago. After Progenitor Long died, of us three survivors, you became the easiest for Lu Xiaoxuan to deal with, Xia Shenji. He had already arranged his ns back then, and he is most likely responsible for your escape from Shenwu''s Sky."

    Bai Wangyuan waspletely wrong about this assumption, as the clone¡¯s escape had been pure coincidence. But that did not mean that the clone had any intention of exining this. "Brother Bai, this is the Wall of Purity. You are truly courageous to want to attack Bai Sheng here. I have no idea whether you can seed, but even if you force Bai Sheng to leave with you, do you think that the Cyclic Universe will simply let you go? Will the Sixverse Association ignore your actions?

    "The Wall of Purity is one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s border warfronts, and yet you, one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages, are trying to attack a peak powerhouse who is helping to defend this universe. Such actions are forbidden. Have you truly contemted the consequences of your actions?"

    Arrow Sage snorted contemptuously. "Xia Shenji, the affairs of our Sixverse Association are none of your business."

    Xia Shenjipletely ignored Arrow Sage. The Progenitor was only concerned about not getting into a deathmatch with Bai Wangyuan. Arrow Sage might not understand Bai Wangyuan¡¯s strength, but how could Xia Shenji also be that ignorant? Bai Wangyuan was truly powerful, and he had simply never revealed his true strength.

    There was no denying that Bai Wangyuan was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas; he had fought alongside people like Xia Shang, Ku Jie, and other such heroes. No matter what, none of the Nine Sages who had been granted their power by the Great Sovereign couldpare to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Fighting Bai Wangyuan would be a terrible challenge.

    Bai Wangyuan stared at Xia Shenji for a long moment. "Given Lu Xiaoxuan''s character, it is impossible for him to simply ignore and disregard all that you¡¯ve done and wee you with open arms. Do you really think that your past actions can be erased by submitting to him? Just wait. The day wille when he leads the Heavens Sect to its pinnacle, and at that time, you will die."

    Xia Shenji''s smile never changed at all, though a chill appeared in his heart. He could not help but remember Lu Yin''s various plots and schemes, and the Progenitor hesitated at Bai Wangyuan''s warning.

    Lu Yin was not a kind person. He treated those loyal to him very well, but that kindness did not necessarily extend to those who had harmed the Lu family in the past, or to those whose loyalty could not be fully trusted.

    Was submitting to Lu Yin truly Xia Shenji¡¯s only option?

    Xia Qin spoke up, asking, "Why do you want to submit to Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Xia Shenji''s expression finally changed, and he turned to look at Xia Qin.

    The woman was staring at Bai Wangyuan. "We simply want to go back. Regardless of how high our cultivation climbs, we still remain human beings, and our home will always be our home. We don''t want to be abandoned by it."

    "Exactly," Bai Sheng agreed. "If I need to join the Heavens Sect in order to return home, then I will do so. The Heavens Sect does not belong to Lu Yin alone. It represents the entire Fifth Maind."

    Bai Wangyuan looked saddened. "The Heavens Sect belongs to the Lu family, which means that Lu Xiaoxuan can determine the fate of anyone who belongs to the Heavens Sect."

    "That''s still better than being homeless!" Bai Sheng shouted back.

    Bai Wangyuan grew furious.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s eyes were locked onto his senior. "The Celestial Frost Sect is still in the Fifth Maind. Progenitor Bai, have youpletely abandoned your own people?"

    Bai Wangyuan trembled, and images appeared in his mind, particrly that of Bai Qi. His daughter was still in the Fifth Maind, and she was under the Lu family¡¯s control. Could Bai Wangyuan really abandon her?

    Conflicted emotions filled his eyes.

    Xia Shenji shook his head and let out a sigh. "Brother Bai, you cannot go back."

    Bai Wangyuan clenched a fist, but then he turned around and left. He made his way towards the Endless Frontier.

    If he could not return, then he would not try to do so. Instead, he would try to find a way to drive the Lu family away. They could not be invincible. There was no such thing as invincibility in the entire megaverse. Hadn¡¯t the most glorious Heavens Sect once fallen as well?

    Seeing Bai Wangyuan leave, Arrow Sage turned to look at Xia Shenji. "Why have youe here?"

    Xia Shenji simply turned to look at Xia Qin. "Let''s go to the Heavens Sect."

    Xia Qin nodded, saying nothing.

    Xia Shenji then turned back to Bai Sheng. "Will you go with us?"

    Arrow Sage angrily shouted, "Xia Shenji, they are here to help defend the Wall of Purity! They cannot go with you!"

    Xia Shenji answered in a mocking tone, "Arrow Sage, I think that you¡¯re misunderstanding something. They are going to the Heavens Sect. Do you really want to stop them?"

    Arrow Sage answered with open contempt, "Xia Shenji, you once begged my Cyclic Universe for mercy, and you were even willing to kneel before the Great Sovereign, abandoning all dignity just for the chance to receive her praise. That person has been reced by a mere clone, and yet you want to cling to the thighs of the Heavens Sect and beg Lu Yin for mercy. How are you any different from your original self? Both of you are equally pathetic."

    Xia Shenji red at Arrow Sage, killing intent growing in his eyes.

    Arrow Sage stared at the Progenitor icily. The Sage had indeed received his power from the Great Sovereign, but that did not mean that he would be humble before Xia Shenji. No matter what, Xia Shenji was a peak powerhouse, so why was he willing to beg for mercy? Such a person was too shameless.

    Xia Shenji was not Lu Yin, and neither was Bai Wangyuan. No matter how badly they might want to take action, it was impossible for either of them to act brazenly at the Wall of Purity.

    Ultimately, Xia Shenji left along with Xia Qin and Bai Sheng. To begin with, Arrow Sage was not capable of stopping them, but on top of that, the Great Sovereign had dered that the Origin Universe had to send half of its Progenitors to help protect the Sixverse Association. Since the Origin Universe had joined the Sixverse Association, Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors could freely choose to help defend either the Wall of Purity or the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. They were free to choose where they served.

    Arrow Sage could not dispute Xia Shenji''s logic, though deep down, the Sage did not want to offend Lu Yin and draw his attention.

    Fortunately, the fight with Aeternus had been slowing down, which meant that Arrow Sage was able to protect the Wall of Purity on his own.

    The greatest threat that he faced was still Cheng Kong, but it was practically impossible to guard against that person¡¯s sneak attacks.

    ¡­

    On Earth, a massive disy had been erected beside the statue of Lu Yin, and countless people were focused on it.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the disy. It was one of tens of thousands across Earth, and there were even more throughout the entire Origin Universe. This way, everyone could watch what was happening.

    The Heavens Sect had released an announcement that a number of peak powerhouses were being officially epted into the sect.

    Drums echoed among the stars, and images of people stepping onto the Stairway to Heaven and climbing it appeared. All of them grew respectful as they faced the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue.

    Lu Yin also appeared, and he looked down from the highest position. Directly below him were Big Sis, Mu Xie, the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, Shao Chen, Leng Qing, Master Shan, and the Heavens Sect¡¯s other Progenitors. There was no particr order to their positioning, but beneath them were Kui Luo and the other powerful Semi-Progenitors, such as Highsage Grandmaster. There were people arrayed all up and down the entire staircase.

    At the bottom of the stairs, beside the cauldron, He Ran was staring upwards. When she had first arrived at the Heavens Sect, there had not been this many peak powerhouses, but in this short amount of time, so many hade out. What¡¯s more, none of the Lu family¡¯s powerhouses, who remained in the Perennial World, or the people who were being officially epted into the Heavens Sect hade out yet.

    Just how many peak powerhouses did the Heavens Sect have at the moment?

    The jiao roared, and the Ancestral Tortoise quivered. They were two Progenitor-level creatures, and they were absolutely massive.

    "My Heavens Sect was born in a desperate situation. From the day of its inception, the number of powerhouses has increased day by day. However, our enemy has also grown stronger. Today, we officially ept a number of peak powerhouses.

    "Where is Monarch Xing?"

    A person stepped out in outer space. Her face appeared calm, but how could she really be calm in the face of so many Progenitors who all belonged to the Heavens Sect?

    Monarch Xing had never seen so many peak powerhouses gathered together before. Even if the Cyclic Universe had its Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, they had never all gathered at the same time.

    Monarch Xing stepped into the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, approaching the cauldron. As she moved, she looked up at the Stairway to Heaven, where Lu Yin was standing at the top. He was only a Semi-Progenitor, and yet he stood above all the Progenitors. Even so, in this ce, no one could object.

    "Where do you hail from?" Lu Yin''s voice rang out. Progenitor-level experts were officially joining the Heavens Sect, and it was necessary to address them individually to show respect for such powerhouses.

    At this moment, countless people throughout the Origin Universe were extremely excited. The Progenitor realm was the peak of human cultivation. How many Progenitors had their universe had just a few decades ago? When Xia Shenji had first arrived and attacked, it had taken the entire Fifth Maind to resist him, and it had even necessitated all cultivators to be gathered together in a unified whole.

    After just a few years, it was no longer too difficult to see a Progenitor in the Fifth Maind.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2882: Permitted

    Chapter 2882: Permitted

    This was the Heavens Sect, and the Heavens Sect protected the entire Fifth Maind. This was Lu Yin''s Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin was the one who had gathered all of these powerful cultivators together, and he had also been the one to bring about an unprecedented sense of safety.

    Everyone was staring at whatever disy was closest to them, excited and amazed. They all looked at Lu Yin, who stood above all others, and shouted, "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    ¡­

    No one led the cheers. It was a spontaneous eruption of passion that poured out spontaneously from the masses. It was their support for Lu Yin.

    There were also people from the Sixverse Association who hade to watch, and they stared on in shock.

    Peak powerhouses were rare in the Sixverse Association, but it seemed that they were rathermon in the Heavens Sect. Why were there so many?People from the Transcendent Universe, the Voidforce Universe, the Arboreal Realm, the Lost n, and even the Cyclic Universe all came. All of them arrived in the Origin Universe to observe this ceremony. However, they were left speechless when they saw the current Heavens Sect.

    He Ran stood beside the cauldron, in the open and revealed for all to see. Lu Yin no longer cared if people saw her in the Heavens Sect.

    He had the confidence to expose what he had done.

    He had already repeatedly offended the Cyclic Universe, and he had no need to hide his deeds from anyone. He was Lu Yin, the master of the Heavens Sect and the Dao Monarch of the Origin universe.

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, Monarch Xing bowed. "This one is from the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Why do you wish to join the Heavens Sect?" Lu Yin asked again.

    Monarch Xing remained silent for a moment. "To protect my family."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "Are you willing to join the Heavens Sect, protect mankind, and share in all of the struggles and tribtions that we may face?"

    Monarch Xing took a deep breath. "Yes."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Permitted."

    The moment Lu Yin spoke, an invisible wind blew by, confusing Monarch Xing. The moment Lu Yin spoke that word, she felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy with the Origin Universe. What had just happened?

    She did not give the sensation too much thought and instead started climbing the stairs, heading towards the level where Kui Luo was standing. Once she passed by him, she reached the level where the peak powerhouses were all gathered.

    On this day, there was no hierarchy or order to the positions of the peak powerhouses. Whoever came first stood at the front. Though if they were standing ording to power, there was no doubt that she would stand at the rear.

    "Where is Chen Le?"

    Chen Le stepped out, revealing himself in outer space. He took a deep breath. This day had finally arrived. Even though he had already joined the Heavens Sect long ago, he had actually only submitted to Lu Yin and had little connection to the Heavens Sect.

    Starting from this day forth, Chen Le would officially be a part of the behemoth that was the Heavens Sect. This organization could ignore the Cyclic Universe and even dare to arrest one of the Nine Sages in the Cyclic Universe. The Heavens Sect would undoubtedly be the most glorious ce for humanity in the future.

    Chen Le felt as though he had glimpsed the future as he stood before the Heavens Sect. This day would be a legend for future generations.

    The more the Monarch thought about it, the more excited he became.

    Lu Yin stared at Chen Le with cold eyes. If not for the current magnificent disy of power from the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin would not want Chen Le to join the Heavens Sect. In fact, Lu Yin would rather imprison Chen Le like he had done to Monarch Mu. Chen Le was simply too rebellious.

    Even so, that did not matter. Joining the Heavens Sect did not mean that Chen Le would receive his acknowledgement. Lu Yin would treat the manpletely different from Monarch Xing.

    Chen Le approached the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, and he offered a respectful bow. He appeared far more submissive than Monarch Xing, and he fully treated Lu Yin as a superior. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin asked solemnly, "Where do you hail from?"

    "Dao Monarch, this one hails from the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Why do you wish to join Heavens Sect?"

    "I wish to serve the Dao Monarch until death. I submit myself to the Dao Monarch and will be loyal to the Heavens Sect!" Chen Le shouted. He had considered his answer for a long time, so he shouted it when it was finally asked.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines and the other peak powerhouses all gave the Monarch odd looks. <em>This person was a bit special</em>.

    The countless people watching the ceremony let out more wild cheers. What did it matter if a person was as strong as a Progenitor? Even they had to dere their loyalty to the Dao Monarch. Even Progenitors had to serve Master Lu Yin to death. This was what people yearned for most. At this moment, the shouts grew even more fanatic, and they filled the universe.

    The entire Origin Universe felt like it was about to copse from all the cheers.

    On Earth, Zhou Shan smiled bitterly, even as he admired the people''s enthusiasm for Lu Yin. Their reactions showed just how much Lu Yin had done for mankind. He deserved everyone''s praise.

    How many years had it taken for Lu Yin to reach these incredible heights? Would he ever return to Earth? <em>Remember your old friend.</em>

    Lu Yin arched a brow at Chen Le¡¯s pointed demonstration of absolute loyalty. "Are you willing to join the Heavens Sect, protect mankind, and share in all of the struggles and tribtions that we may face?"

    Chen Le answered even louder than before, "I am willing to live and die with the Origin Universe! I am willing to live and die with the Dao Monarch."

    "Permitted."

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch." Chen Le grew excited. He looked up the Stairway to Heaven and then proceeded to climb up until he stood behind Monarch Xing.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Aeternus has always been the greatest enemy of our Heavens Sect, but once in the past, I also faced a great enemy known as the four ruling powers¡­"

    Lu Yin proceeded to recount the enmity and grudges that had built up between Lu Yin and the four ruling powers. As he spoke, the Heavens Sect remained silent.

    Everyone listened to the story that Lu Yin shared, and their hatred for the four ruling powers grew even stronger than ever.

    Countless people screamed for the four ruling powers to be destroyed in order to avenge Lu Yin.

    "Today, the four ruling powers have been dissolved, and not even their name exists any longer. However, our Heavens Sect looks to the good of all mankind in the war against Aeternus. Even if the four ruling powers are my enemy, as long as theyy down their hatred of me, I, Lu Yin, am still willing to ept them into the Heavens Sect so that humanity can gain greater strength and be united against the Aeternals.

    "Where is Xia Shenji?"

    Xia Shenji also appeared in outer space. The day had finallye.

    It had been a bit of time since he had led Bai Sheng and Xia Qin back to the Heavens Sect as a demonstration of his sincerity to Lu Yin. All three of the Progenitors had wanted to return to the Origin Universe. Upon meeting them, Lu Yin had asked them to wait for an official ceremony to join the Heavens Sect, as two more people would be joining them. Xia Shenji had considered a great number of things over thest two months. He really had hesitated because of Bai Wangyuan''s words, but what of it? Regardless of whether he wanted to rely on others for protection or wait to be hunted down by the Heavens Sect, Xia Shenji would inevitably eventually return to the Heavens Sect.

    He was a clone who had already cooperated with Lu Yin, not Xia Shenji¡¯s true body. Regardless of how severe his punishment might be, he was sure to survive.

    These thoughts drifted through Xia Shenji¡¯s mind as he approached the Stairway to Heaven and looked up at Lu Yin. Behind Lu Yin stood the statue of the Origin Progenitor in all of its great majesty. Lu Yin represented the Origin Progenitor. A junior who had once beenplimented by Xia Shenji was now gazing down at him, ready to deliver judgment.

    "Xia Shenji is present."

    "As the master of the four ruling powers¡¯ Shenwu''s Sky, do you have anything to say about how the four ruling powers once persecuted my Lu family, resulting in humanity falling to a disadvantage in the war with the Aeternals?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Shenji grew solemn. "Yes."

    He had already known that Lu Yin would ask this question, and he had naturally prepared an answer.

    "Speak."

    "Speak."

    "Speak."

    ¡­

    Countless voices echoed in the Progenitor¡¯s ears, and an incredible pressure beyond what Xia Shenji could bear descended. Was this the pressure of the entire Heavens Sect? No, Xia Shenji might not understand what this pressure was, but it was clear that it did note from any of the sect¡¯s Progenitors. Where was the pressureing from?

    He clenched his fists. "The four ruling powers were wrong."

    "How were they wrong?" Lu Yin shouted.

    "How were they wrong?"

    "How were they wrong?"

    ¡­

    Xia Shenji answered in a low voice, "We should not have targeted the Lu family. That was our first mistake. We should not have cooperated with the Cyclic Universe to weaken the Origin Universe, which was our second mistake. We should not have gone after the Dao Monarch after learning of his peerless talent, which was our third mistake. After the Heavens Sect was reestablished, the four ruling powers did not work with the Heavens Sect to fight against Aeternus, which was our fourth mistake. The four ruling powers and I have made all of these mistakes.

    "My Shenwu''s Skymitted these wrongs.

    "I, Xia Shenji, alsomitted these wrongs.

    "I beg the Dao Monarch to deliver justice." Xia Shenji bowed low after he finished speaking and even dropped to a knee, startling everyone, including Lu Yin.

    Xia Shenji was a powerful Progenitor whopared himself to the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and yet he had willingly bent a knee to a junior like Lu Yin. This was something that would surely go down in history and be spoken about by countless people for generations toe.

    It was easy for people to imagine how ridiculed Xia Shenji would be in the future. At this moment, was he even still the master of Shenwu''s Sky? How could Shenwu''s Sky ept a master who would kneel to Lu Yin?

    Xia Shenji had once knelt in worship to the Great Sovereign, but there was a fundamental difference between the Great Sovereign and Lu Yin. To begin with, the Great Sovereign far surpassed Xia Shenji in terms of seniority.

    Lu Yin was still a junior.

    Kneeling humiliated both Shenwu''s Sky and the Xia family.

    The four ruling powers were disgraced by this act.

    With this single gesture, Xia Shenji had submitted himself to Lu Yin in a manner that was even more subservient than Chen Le¡¯s actions. All the dignity that a Progenitor should possess had been cast aside.

    However, it was also true that, by kneeling, Xia Shenji had caused Lu Yin¡¯s originally nned punishment to be dismissed.

    Punishment was no longer necessary, as there was nothing that Lu Yin could demand from the man that would be more demeaning or humiliating than kneeling to Lu Yin in public.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenji for a long time. This man¡¯s desire to survive had surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. Xia Shenji¡¯s name would be stained with this humiliation for the rest of his life.

    Big Sis watched with contempt, and Leng Qing watched on indifferently. In his eyes, Xia Shenji was not worthy of wielding a de. Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes grew contemtive as he observed Xia Shenji perform before countless ordinary humans.

    If the fact that Chen Le had publicly submitted to Lu Yin and dered his loyalty had allowed everyone to see Lu Yin''s ability to lead peak powerhouses, then Xia Shenji''s kneeling essentially made Lu Yin look like a god. A Semi-Progenitor had caused a Progenitor to willingly kneel in obeisance. It staggered belief. It was something that would leave a permanent mark in human history.

    Beyond the Stairway to Heaven, Wang Wen and Wei Rong nced at each other. "He¡¯s a lot smarter than I thought. He is not kneeling to the current Dao Monarch, but to the Dao Monarch a few years into the future."

    Wei Rong''s eyes flickered. "Progenitors can live for a very long time. In a few years, who will remember that Xia Shenji knelt to Dao Master Lu when he was a Semi-Progenitor? All that anyone will remember is that Xia Shenji knelt down to the ruler of the Origin Universe, a man destined to reach the peak of all of humanity. Will someone think that there¡¯s a problem with kneeling to someone like the Origin Progenitor?¡±

    "While he¡¯s temporarily destroyed his reputation with this, he¡¯s bound himself entirely to the Dao Monarch, which will only benefit him in the end. He¡¯s willing to wait for the day when the Dao Monarch bes invincible, as who will dare to mock him then? Most people will merely praise him for his foresight. On top of that, he just eliminated the punishment that he was about to receive.¡±

    "Most people can only see the present, but Xia Shenji ces his hope in the future, preferring to act as the Dao Monarch¡¯s dog. As everyone knows, when a person ascends into heaven, even their chickens and dogs go up with them. How a dog is treated depends on who its master is."

    "The man is very tolerant. It¡¯s no wonder that a clone was able to suppress and rece the original body. Xia Shenji''s original self can¡¯tpare to his clone."

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, Xia Shenji silently waited for Lu Yin''s response.

    The Progenitor was not at all concerned about what others thought of him. He knew that Lu Yin was destined to lead all of humanity. If ordinary humans could kneel before such a person, then why not him? Once Lu Yin became a Progenitor, what would be the difference between him and Xia Shenji? It would be like the one between a normal Progenitor and a normal human. Xia Shenji was looking to the future.

    Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenji. This kneeling meant that Xia Shenji would never betray him, because no one would ever want this Progenitor. It was possible that even the Aeternals would look down on him for his actions. "Xia Shenji."

    "Here." Xia Shenji bowed his head.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2883: The Might Of The Heavens Sect

    <h4>Chapter 2883: The Might Of The Heavens Sect</h4>

    Lu Yin looked at Xia Shenji. "The four ruling powers were wrong, and my Heavens Sect will pursue the matter to the end. However, you have aided me. You were the one who helped me expose the four ruling powers'' conspiracy to frame me at the Tea Ceremony, and you were also the one to disable Bai Wangyuan and the others. You have aplished deeds of note, and since you have repented for your past mistakes with sincerity and knelt down in contrition, I will pardon all your former sins. From this day forward, I hope that you will fight for humanity and protect us from the Aeternals."

    Xia Shenji let a sigh of relief slip out as he replied, "Thank you, Dao Monarch, for your forgiveness. I will definitely fight for humanity."

    "Rise and step forward."

    Xia Shenji stood back up and looked up at the stairway. He then proceeded to climb it, ignoring the many looks of contempt that were directed his way.

    Even Kui Luo looked down on the Progenitor, but so what? Within a few more years, all of these looks would change.

    Xia Shenji deliberately stood behind the other Progenitors at the top of the Stairway to Heaven. Lu Yin had specifically asked the Progenitors to appear after Monarch Xing and Chen Le, and this was why.

    Three Progenitors from the four ruling powers were joining the Heavens Sect. While Chen Le and Monarch Xing were neither enemies nor friends of the Heavens Sect, the three Progenitors had once been enemies, and their position needed to reflect that.

    "Where is Bai Sheng?"

    The Progenitor appeared, looking up at the top of the stairway at Xia Shenji. Bai Sheng had honestly not expected the previous scene to y out like that.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s unexpected actions had somewhat humiliated Bai Sheng.

    The Progenitor arrived at the foot of the stairs and slowly bowed. "Bai Sheng is present."

    "As a Progenitor from the four ruling powers¡¯ Celestial Frost Sect, do you have anything to say?"

    Bai Sheng hesitated briefly. "Yes."

    "Speak."

    "Speak."

    ...

    Bai Sheng took a deep breath. "The Celestial Frost Sect was wrong in their actions."

    "What did they do wrong?"

    "What did they do wrong?"

    ...

    Bai Sheng lifted his head. "The fault lies with Bai Wangyuan.

    "Bai Wangyuan was the one who took action to exile the Lu family, and his actions have nothing to do with the rest of the Celestial Frost Sect. As the leader of the sect, no one dared to disobey Bai Wangyuan''s words."

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Sheng. "As a Progenitor, have you ever persecuted the Lu family?"

    "No. I, Bai Sheng, swear this on my life!" Bai Sheng loudly proimed.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I will not wrongly condemn anyone. Bai Sheng, the Heavens Sect has investigated this matter and will allow you to join the Heavens Sect. Are you willing to live and die with humanity as we fight against the Aeternals, never backing down?"

    Bai Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had been very worried that Lu Yin would force him to kneel as well, as he would not have been able to do anything about it.

    Not everyone could let go of their dignity like Xia Shenji. The Progenitor was no longer the original Xia Shenji, but rather a clone, and this clone was alsopletely shameless.

    "I am willing."

    "Permitted," Lu Yin announced. He did nothing to try to embarrass Bai Sheng. The man had truly never done anything to harm the Lu family, and it would not be realistic to judge Bai Sheng based on the fact that he had not helped the Lu family as a crime for which to judge him. That would be too ridiculous.

    Bai Sheng climbed up the Stairway to Heaven. There were two rows of cultivators at the top, with Xia Shenji standing behind Chen Le. Bai Sheng stood directly behind Monarch Xing in the second row, refusing to stand behind Xia Shenji.

    A cold glint flickered across Xia Shenji''s eyes.

    "Where is Xia Qin?"

    Countless people were staring at outer space beyond the Heavens Sect. Was there really another Progenitor joining the Heavens Sect?

    Xia Qin appeared in space, an ugly expression visible on her face. Xia Shenji hadpletely embarrassed the Xia family. If she had the strength to defeat him, she would have killed the man herself. This Progenitor clone was beyond shameless.

    After arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Xia Qin red up at Xia Shenji, refusing to acknowledge him as the true Progenitor Shenji.

    While Progenitor Shenji had been a cruel and ruthless individual, he had also been stronger than his clone.

    "Xia Qin is present."

    "As a Progenitor from the four ruling powers¡¯ Shenwu¡¯s Sky, do you have anything to say?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xia Qin gritted her teeth. "Yes."

    "Speak."

    "Speak."

    ...

    Xia Qin looked up. "Shenwu''s Sky was wrong, and the one responsible for this was Xia Shenji."

    Xia Shenji''s expression changed slightly.

    Many people watched with growing interest.

    Xia Qin¡¯s voice was cold as she mercilessly continued. "Xia Shenji, Bai Wangyuan, and the other leaders of the four ruling powers agreed to exile the Lu family. Their decision and actions had nothing to do with the rest of Shenwu''s Sky. All who harmed or persecuted the Lu family have already been punished by the Heavens Sect. Since we arrived here, an investigation was performed on behalf of the Dao Monarch. The Dao Monarch should not allow Xia Shenji to join the Heavens Sect so easily.

    "He is one of the primary culprits."

    Hearing this, Big Sis nearly let augh slip out, and she nced over at Lu Yin.

    Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, and a few others openlyughed. This woman wanted to get revenge on Xia Shenji. The man hadpletely humiliated the Xia family, which meant that someone from the Xia family needed to seek revenge.

    Xia Shenji gritted his teeth as he red at Xia Qin. <i>This bitch!</i>

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "The current Xia Shenji is not the Xia Shenji who made those decisions and performed those actions. Xia Qin, as one of Shenwu¡¯s Sky¡¯s Progenitors, you should understand the Nine Clones Secret Technique. The current Xia Shenji is a clone, not the original Xia Shenji who exiled my Lu family."

    Xia Qin was unwilling to let up. "The secret technique Prison Lock that was used to banish the Lu family was performed by him!"

    Xia Shenji snapped, "Xia Qin, I have already atoned for my crimes! Are you still not satisfied?"

    Xia Qin red up at Xia Shenji. The two Progenitors from the Xia family were having a public falling out before the entire Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin indifferently stated, "Enough."

    Xia Shenji was startled, and he immediately broke eye contact with Xia Qin and bowed to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, please be appeased."

    Xia Qin was reluctant to look away.

    Lu Yin looked down at Xia Qin, his eyes growing colder and colder. "Are you unable to understand what I''m saying?"

    Xia Qin felt a tremendous burst of pressure fall upon her. She found it difficult to breathe and could not understand where the pressure came from, even if it was clear that it was somehow connected to Lu Yin.

    The man obviously had not taken any sort of action, but he was able topletely suppress Xia Qin in this manner.

    How had he aplished this?

    Xia Qin finally looked back at Lu Yin again. She saw the coldness in his eyes and felt that this young man was bing increasingly unfathomable. "Dao Monarch, please settle this matter."

    Lu Yin''s expression softened slightly. "Have you finished what you wish to say?"

    "I¡¯m done."

    "I ask you now, are you willing to live and die with humanity as we fight against the Aeternals, never backing down?"

    Xia Qin temporarily shoved her hatred for Xia Shenji aside as she loudly replied, "I am."

    "Permitted."

    Xia Qin heaved a sigh of relief and looked up. She climbed up the Stairway to Heaven, eventually taking her ce beside Bai Sheng.

    Xia Shenji gave the woman a cold stare.

    With this, five more Progenitor-level powerhouses had officially joined the Heavens Sect.

    The sect erupted as countless people cheered. The Ghost Monkey shouted wildly and started yelping out cheers. He felt that it would be good to learn from Ling Que, and he thought of forming a cheerleading squad to cheer for Lu Yin.

    The entire universe was cheering, and countless people called out that the Dao Monarch was invincible.

    The people from the Sixverse Association who were observing the ceremony had bitter smiles at this moment. The Heavens Sect had abruptly gained five more peak powerhouses, which brought their numbers to a terrifying neen Progenitor-level powerhouses. Even when the Progenitor of Bloodlines was excluded, there were still eighteen peak powerhouses under Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    Eighteen peak powerhouses was a terrifying number, and it was clear that their numbers were destined to rise.

    One or two of the sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors should break through soon and be Progenitors as well.

    Was it really possible for the current Heavens Sect to return to the glory of the past?

    Lu Yin stood at the top of the Stairway to Heaven, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s statue behind him as he stared out into the Origin Universe. An unprecedented sense of power and control welled up within him, wanting to be released as a roar.

    At this moment, what human force could be his enemy?

    What did the Great Sovereign matter? With Ancestor Lu Yuan on Lu Yin¡¯s side, as well as the rest of the peak powerhouses, there was nothing to fear. The Origin Universe was undoubtedly the strongest universe in the Sixverse Association.

    Still, was it enough? No. It was still not enough.

    "We pay our respects to the Dao Monarch."

    "We pay our respects to the Dao Monarch."

    "We pay our respects to the Dao Monarch."

    ...

    One by one, the powerful Progenitor-level powerhouses bowed to Lu Yin, as did the countless people throughout the Origin Universe. Lu Yin''s eyes filled with an even greater yearning. He desperately wanted to restore the ancient glory of the Heavens Sect.

    The ancient Heavens Sect had had the Three Realms and Six Daos, and Lu Yin wanted to restore those titles. The ancient Heavens Sect had also had the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which he also wanted to restore. Who said that the current era¡¯s people were not as good as the ancients? The ancients had indeed given birth to many outstanding experts, and the current era could do the same.

    Lu Yin wanted to truly regain the glory of the ancient Heavens Sect, and even surpass the past with the present.

    While the current Heavens Sect already had many Progenitor-level powerhouses and stood above the rest of the Sixverse Association, that also meant that the Heavens Sect needed to take responsibility and lead the war against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin ordered five peak powerhouses¡ªChen Le, Cloudflow, Bai Sheng, Xia Shenji, and Xia Qin¡ªto help protect the rest of the Sixverse Association. They were joining Progenitor Nong and Progenitor Smoke, who were already fighting within the other universes of the Sixverse Association. The support of seven peak powerhouses was substantial.

    While proportionately, the Origin Universe had only sent a rather small number of its peak powerhouses, less than half of them, who would dare toment on that?

    Lu Yin already had his own ns. The Sixverse Association had been fighting against Aeternus for countless years, and the two sides had established a certain bnce. Lu Yin wanted to find a way to use the Heavens Sect to create an advantage that would eventually be the final straw that crushed the Aeternals.

    It was also a certainty that Aeternus was plotting to find a way to deal with the Heavens Sect.

    From this point forward, there would be no peace.

    The events that had transpired at the Heavens Sect quickly spread throughout the Sixvese Association, which caused many people to marvel at the power of the sect.

    They had never heard of so many peak powerhouses being gathered in one ce before. In the past, the Cyclic Universe had been home to the greatest number of peak powerhouses, but they had only had the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages.

    The Heavens Sect had surpassed the Cyclic Universe in a shockingly short period of time.

    Lu Yin''s goal for the ceremony had been achieved. epting Xia Shenji and the others into the Heavens Sect had been an opportunity to firmly establish the Heavens Sect¡¯s status and power, and he had seized it. With this, the entire Sixverse Association had seen the strength the Heavens Sect had acquired.

    In the Arboreal Realm, Mr. Daheng looked upset. He had already received the news, and he knew that the Origin Universe had nearly twenty peak powerhouses now. That was a terrifying number. How could there be so many experts in the Origin Universe?

    With so many powerful experts, there was no chance that Luo Shan would ever have the courage to try to take revenge on Lu Yin. Most likely, the man would not even dare to show his face.

    "Wu Heng, find a way to locate Luo Shan on the Endless Frontier," Mr. Daheng ordered.

    Wu Heng frowned. "It is not yet time for me to serve on the Endless Frontier."

    Mr. Daheng retorted, "The fighting between us and the Aeternals has died down substantially. You¡¯ll be fine, so long as you avoid the most dangerous parallel universes."

    Wu Heng stared at the other Arborean. "Luo Shan is most likely hiding in the Three Monarchs Universe. That ce is still very dangerous."

    Mr. Daheng suddenly shot a re at the other man. "I was not discussing this with you."

    Wu Heng stared at Mr. Daheng. After a moment, he relented. "I will do my best."

    Mr. Daheng looked away. It was not difficult to deal with Wu Heng. Even if the man was an Arborean, he did not have the corresponding attitude and courage of such a cultivator. In contrast, Lu Yin was a thorny problem. As long as Lu Yin was around, Mr. Daheng would not be able to do anything about Chen Le.

    Wu Heng left, but the moment his back was to Mr. Daheng, zing killing intent burned in the man¡¯s eyes. <i>If Lord Lu goes after you, you won¡¯t ever be able to recover. Just wait</i>.

    Old Mo had returned to the Endless Frontier¡¯s Umbral Universe. He had also learned about the situation in the Heavens Sect. While most of those experts could notpare to him, there were a few exceptional cultivators among them, particrly the members of the Lu family.

    With the return of the Lu family, it would be difficult for Old Mo to attack Lu Yin. Even so, the man had to obtain Heaven¡¯s Sight, not to mention deal with that bastard, Lu Buzheng. Old Mo had to find a way.

    ...

    In a certain parallel universe, people wearing blue and white research uniforms were staring at a strange device with evident expectations, as well as a great deal of nervousness. At the front of the group was the leader of the Energy Research Group, the rather crazy old man. Beside him stood Zi Jing.

    A short distance away stood two powerful individuals who possessed ck energy converters. One was Wen Shi, who was the guardian of the Transcendent Universe, and the other was a man named Cong Si, who was responsible for the Energy Research Group¡¯s safety.

    Further away, apart from the crowd, stood Bai Qian.

 Chapter 2884: Success

    <h4>Chapter 2884: Sess</h4>

    Bai Qian stared at the odd machine. It was a cultivation technology that had been specially developed to study sequence particles. It incorporated both the energy converter and Bestowal Art technologies, and it was the pinnacle of cultivation technology since the inception of the Transcendent Universe. Lord Wei had shared this with Bai Qian while delivering her to this parallel universe.

    This was the first time she was seeing the members of the Energy Research Group.

    All of the people here had one characteristic inmon; they were focused. Very, very focused. Bai Qian was standing right there, but no one said hello or even nced at her.

    Everyone was entirely focused on the weird piece of cultivation technology.

    On this day, Bai Qian had learned that the parallel universe with the different flow of time where the Energy Research Group had been conducting research had been destroyed. Thus, all of the researchers had returned to the Transcendent Universe. This was also the day that Bai Qian learned that the sequence particle research had reached a breakthrough point.

    "It''s beautiful! So beautiful! Zi Jing, look! This is all because of you! This will transform all of the known human universes!" The crazy old man danced about, ecstatic at the breakthrough.

    Zi Jing was staring at the machine. She could see specks there. Those specks were sequence particles.

    By relying on the foundation of the research that she hadpleted before escaping from the Transcendent Universe, as well as the assistance of the parallel universe with the altered time flow, they had finally seeded in manifesting sequence particles. This manifestation was fundamentally different from what they had aplished before. In the past, they had only been able to observe sequence particles, but at this moment, they were not just observing sequence particles. Rather, they had actually brought them out.

    Lord Wei had told them that this particr power existed, so the Energy Research Group had worked tirelessly to realize it. Zi Jing¡¯s insight had allowed them to initially observe the mysterious power, but at this moment, they had truly brought the power out. This was not even close to mere observation.

    The crazy old man suddenly looked over to stare at Cong Si with great excitement. "You,e over here."

    Cong Si could use a ck energy converter, which granted him a very high status in the Transcendent Universe. Despite that, he did not dare to refuse the old man''s order. Only those who knew the man well understood that he had an exceptional status in the Transcendent Universe. Even if He Ran had once enjoyed a status that even Bai Qian could notpare to, this mad old researcher had still been the true number two in the Transcendent Universe.

    Cong Si stepped forward. "Head Researcher, what are your orders?"

    The old man pointed towards the machine. "Touch it."

    Cong Si was startled, and he turned to look at the sequence particles that had appeared within the odd machine. Truthfully, he had no idea what he was looking at. He had simply been tasked with protecting the Energy Research Group. As for what they were studying, he had never bothered to ask. This was the reason why the ruler of the Transcendent Universe trusted Cong Si so much. After all, the Energy Research Group¡¯s research was the greatest secret in the entire universe, and it was imperative that it not leak.

    While Cong Si did not know what the researchers had been studying, he was very clear about its importance. Lord Wei had personally destroyed the parallel universe where the research had been conducted, just to keep the research a secret. The specks that Cong Si was looking at were the results of that research.

    Touch them? The idea terrified the man.

    The crazy old man grew irritated. "Hurry up! I''m letting you touch it!"

    Cong Si¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he still hesitated. "Head Researcher, may I ask what this is?"

    The old man lost his temper. "How presumptuous! Do you think that you can ask questions about this? Are you seeking death? Do you believe that I can take everything away from you and use you as a test subject?"

    Cong Si turned pale, and he hurriedly offered a bow. "This subordinate behaved recklessly. Please forgive me, Head Researcher. I will touch them now."

    The old man snorted contemptuously, and a frenzied light returned to his eyes as Cong Si¡¯s hand rose and stretched out to touch a particle.

    As the man¡¯s fingers drew closer and closer to the particles, the old man''s eyes zed brighter and brighter, and they nearly bulged from his head. Zi Jing was also staring intently, as were all the other researchers.

    Slowly, as if resigned to his fate, Cong Si¡¯s fingers touched a particle.

    At first, he felt nothing.

    His eye twitched as he stared at his fingers. He bent them, unable to feel anything different. The only thing that had changed was the color of his fingers.

    At this moment, Cong Si¡¯s fingers were yellow. They had changed color the moment he touched the sequence particle. At times his fingers were white, other times ck, asionally red, and then even blue. It was as if some invisible power was changing the color of Cong Si¡¯s fingers. The color did not spread or gradually shift, it simply... changed.

    Cong Si was certain that no one and nothing had touched him, aside from the strange speck he was touching.

    Were those specks some sort of pigment?

    Everyone else watched, their eyes growing as questions appeared in them. It was impossible to know what the researchers were thinking about.

    Bai Qian was unable to understand what she was seeing, but that was also unnecessary. She simply needed to focus on Zi Jing and the crazy old man. Their enthusiasm had not diminished in the slightest, and Bai Qian saw an indescribable ecstasy that neither researcher could suppress. It was clear to Bai Qian that the research had seeded.

    "Pull your hand back," Zi Jing ordered.

    Cong Si nced over at the old man for confirmation, but the head researcher just nodded.

    Cong Si let slip a sigh of relief as he quickly pulled his fingers back. He stared at it, but it had returned to its normal color. What had just happened? Cong Si was certain that nothing had spilled on his finger, and it seemed as though his finger had changed color from the inside, as if his entire finger had be the color. What were those particles?

    The Energy Research Group had burned through massive amounts of materials and resources from multiple universes, and this had even caused a parallel universe with an elerated time flow to be destroyed. Were these specks really what they had been researching this whole time?

    Cong Si did not dare say a word as he slowly stepped back.

    Zi Jing exhaled. "Those colors are Laws! We just witnessed the particles of the Law of Colors."

    Excitement filled the old man''s eyes. "We still can''t control what appears just yet, but since we are already able to materialize thews of the universe, it means that we will eventually seed."

    He looked at Zi Jing. "Once we finish our research, I promise you that the person in the Transcendent Universe second to only Lord Wei will no longer be He Ran, Bai Qian, or even me, as we will all have to step down. Zi Jing, you will be able to look down upon the entire Sixverse Association!"

    Zi Jing demurely refused the praise. "Teacher, please be serious. Our research relied on you, and I was nothing more than an assistant."

    The old man shook his head. "I''m too old. You need to take responsibility for guiding the Transcendent Universe¡¯s research after this. I will report this matter to Lord Wei."

    The man then nced around. "My Transcendent Universe is guaranteed to upset the current bnce of the Sixverse Association very soon.

    "As for Sovereign Shao Yin, the Three Monarchs Universe, or any others who dare to scheme against us, they will all be forced to bow down!"

    The old man¡¯s words caused Cong Si and Bai Qian both to give him odd looks from the distance.

    Sovereign Shao Yin? The Three Monarchs Universe? Both had already been ruined by the same person. The Energy Research Group had been cut off from the outside world while conducting their research, and they had not heard of any of the recent events. The Sixverse Association had alreadypletely changed, and a monster even more terrifying than the Cyclic Universe had risen.

    A short whileter, the crazy old man, Zi Jing, and the rest of the researchers were taken elsewhere by Lord Wei, and their location was once again kept secret from Bai Qian.

    ...

    On the same sunny beach on Earth as before, Lu Yin arrived before Bai Qian.

    He had received a message to meet her.

    When Bai Qian arrived, Lu Yin already had a drink in hand.

    The beach was covered with people, even though it had beenpletely empty in the past. It was now difficult to find any ce on Earth with no people. However, regardless of how crowded the beach might be, none of the people present were able to recognize Lu Yin, as anyone whoid eyes on him immediately forgot what he looked like.

    "Aren''t you concerned that Lord Wei has you under surveince?" Lu Yin watched as Bai Qianid down, and then handed the drink to her with a smile.

    Bai Qian gave a small, indifferent smile of her own. She was unquestionably beautiful, but she also kept her distance from other people, much like He Ran. "With someone as powerful as Dao Monarch Lu behind me, there¡¯s no reason for me to be scared."

    Lu Yinughed. "Still, Lord Wei is the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and the Heavens Sect cannot interfere in the affairs of other parallel universes for any reason."

    "Really?" Bai Qian looked over and smiled at Lu Yin. "Has the Dao Monarch¡¯s goal already been achieved?"

    "What goal?"

    "It''s my turn to ask the questions. What is Lord Lu''s goal?"

    "It¡¯s too exaggerated, but I want to eliminate the Aeternals."

    "And what about before that?"

    Lu Yin took a sip of his drink. "What are you getting at?"

    Bai Qian gestured with her ss. "A hundred undisciplined people will never be able to defeat a trained army of just fifty. The members of the Sixverse Association all fight on their own, which is the biggest reason why it is so difficult for us humans to overpower the Aeternals. There are times when, even though Dao Monarch Lu knows that someone is a spy, you are still forced to take extra precautions with them in order to avoid offending certain people. Don¡¯t you find such things too tiring, Lord Lu?¡±

    Lu Yin set his drink down. "If there¡¯s anything you need from me, just say it."

    He already knew what Bai Qian was hinting at, but the truth was that Bai Qian was not qualified to have that conversation with Lu Yin. While it appeared as if Bai Qian had the final say in the Transcendent Universe, how much power did she really wield?

    As soon as Lord Wei appeared, Bai Qian''s duty was relegated to providing him with information, nothing more. Lord Wei could destroy the woman with a single word, just like how Lu Yin could destroy He Ran. Some people were nothing more than pawns. Of course, if things changed, Lu Yin was not adverse to pursuing the discussion further.

    Everyone tried to climb further up. If one did not want to end up as another¡¯s pawn, it was necessary to climb higher faster.

    Bai Qian did not pursue the conversation. "I saw Zi Jing."

    "How is she?"

    "Very good. The sequence particle cultivation technology proved sessful."

    Lu Yin¡¯s head whipped around, and he stared at Bai Qian.

    The two people stared at each other. "It was only a partial sess, and I don¡¯t really understand what they aplished, but judging by Zi Jing''s reaction, I know that there is hope to seed in their research. They are not even in the parallel universe anymore, as they have been moved back to the Transcendent Universe. If you want to find Zi Jing, the only way is through Lord Wei. No one else can find her.¡±

    Lu Yin stared out at the ocean. Lord Wei? Lu Yin had sought the man out on several asions, but the man had deliberately avoided meeting with Lu Yin.

    The ruler of the Transcendent Universe was a mystery to Lu Yin.

    It was impossible for Lord Wei to still be ignorant to the fact that Lu Yin had plotted against him. Both Cloudflow and He Ran were in the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin did not believe that the information had not made it to Lord Wei. Even so, the man had not said anything, and he had even saved Lu Yin during the Tea Ceremony. Just what was the man thinking?

    "I can¡¯t understand what Lord Wei is thinking. You should talk to him," Bai Qian suggested.

    "He¡¯s been avoiding me, and there¡¯s nothing that I can do about it. I can¡¯t force him. Even if we are both rulers of parallel universes, it¡¯s necessary for us to show respect to each other."

    Bai Qian slowly smiled. "Respect? From the time the Heavens Sect started to rise up, Lord Lu has not shown anyone respect. You even insulted the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin did not answer. The fact that Bai Qian had asked for a meeting meant that she had to have already found a solution. If not, it would have been foolish for her to meet with Lu Yin.

    "The parallel universe with the altered rate of time has already been destroyed. I can¡¯t say how long they spent on this research, but the one thing I¡¯m certain of is that they still don¡¯t have enough materials," Bai Qian casually mentioned.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "The materials they need for researching the sequence particle cultivation technology were mostly obtained from the Origin Universe and the Voidforce Universe. I¡¯m the only person who can get everything that they need."

    Bai Qian sipped her drink and then left.

    Lu Yin stared out at the ocean as though in trance. He waspletely lost in his own thoughts.

    In the Perennial World, Lu Yin returned to the Lu Sanctum. He had decided to start looking for Ye Bo.

    ording to Senior Brother Mu Xie, Ye Bo might be some sort of consciousness, and the only way that Lu Yin could think of was to find Ye Bo with his die¡¯s Possession.

    All he could do was try. If it worked, Lu Yin would be able to grab Ye Bo. If not, he would simply let Mu Xie track him down with Origin Tracer.

 Chapter 2885: The Die

    Chapter 2885: The Die

    As Lu Yin raised his hand, the die appeared. In the Lu Sanctum, he did not need to worry about anyone spying on him. He had not felt such a sense of security in a very long time.

    A finger tapped the die, and it started slowly spinning.

    It had not been very long since Lu Yinst rolled the die in seclusion. It would not be easy to roll Possession again, but Lu Yin was not in a hurry. He decided to roll the die while waiting for someone to arrive from the Transcendent Universe. Eventually, he would roll six pips.

    A month soon passed, and Lu Yin finally rolled Possession on his twelfth roll. It really was not easy to get six pips to appear.

    As his consciousness entered the strange dark space, he started searching.

    If Ye Bo was a consciousness, then the orb of light that represented it in the dark space might have a different appearance from the other ones. All Lu Yin could do was try to find it.

    As he looked around at the nearby balls of light, he saw nothing special. He quickly left and resumed searching, but he could not find anything different. He kept going¡­

    He continued to search, even though he was not certain where to search for the consciousness known as Ye Bo. It was possible that Ye Bo was not even in the Perennial World any longer. Still, Lu Yin needed to keep going¡­

    He had never spent this much time in the strange dark space before. Lu Yin could not even guess at how much star essence he must have consumed while searching. Lu Yin grew a bit nervous, mostly at the unknown cost of his actions.Suddenly, he focused in one direction. Inexplicably, he felt as though there was something in that direction staring at him, but how could that be possible? The dark space was filled with nothing but balls of light representing the minds of different beings, and yet one of those consciousnesses was staring at Lu Yin. Who could it be?

    Lu Yin headed in the direction where he sensed attention.

    As far as he knew, the only person who had cultivated consciousness had been Progenitor Hui. No, Progenitor Hui had cultivated manifested thought. Consciousness was something different. Well, there was another who had cultivated consciousness, which was the Chiliagonist. In fact, the Chiliagonist was the one who had made Lu Yin confident that it was possible to cultivate consciousness.

    In the Umbral Universe, the Chiliagonist had tried to control Lu Yin with the power of consciousness, but Lu Yin had broken free. Compared to how many times Lu Yin had Possessed other minds from the strange dark space, the Chiliagonist¡¯s attempts at control meant nothing.

    Lu Yin had no idea if his own consciousness was strong or weak. He was only certain that the Chiliagonist could notpare to him in terms of consciousness. However, Lu Yin was unable to freely wield his consciousness when not using his innate gift.

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness shot through the space towards where he sensed something staring at him. He found a small ball of light. It was not very bright, and it was hiding behind another orb. If not for the attention on him, Lu Yin would have never noticed this ball of light.

    Ignoring the details, Lu Yin rushed over and merged with the orb.

    The small ball of light was unable to hide, and Lu Yin¡¯s mind easily mmed into it, merging with it.

    At that instance, countless scenes shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. He opened his eyes as memories continued to pour in. His expression changed when he saw two sets of memories. One belonged to the body he had just Possessed, which belonged to an Explorer. In the scope of the Perennial World, this cultivator was quite weak. He lived in an ordinary region of the Middle Realm, and his entire life was perfectly very ordinary. The other set of memories belonged to Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin had indeed Possessed Ye Bo''s mind.

    Ye Bo really was a consciousness, but what surprised Lu Yin was that Ye Bo was an independent consciousness. Ye Bo only needed a host, though it did not matter if the host was a human or some other creature. As long as the host possessed consciousness, Ye Bo could possess it in the same manner as Lu Yin¡¯s Possession ability from his die.

    The difference between the two was that Lu Yin needed to consume resources to Possess another, whereas Ye Bo had to rely on their own innate gift.

    Ye Bo had once been a human who lived in the Fifth Maind. The person had been extremely talented but he had also possessed an extreme personality. He had believed himself invincible among his peers, and after being antagonized one time, he had taken the initiative to challenge the Celestial Frost Sect, the Xia family, and even the descendants of Lu family. In the end, he had been miserably defeated. Even so, Ye Bo had firmly believed that his opponents had relied on their families¡¯ resources to gain their strength and that their true, individual strength could notpare to his own. He had found himself surrounded by bastards who continuously antagonized him. That,bined with his already extreme personality, led to him suffering from cultivation deviation, and he had died as a result.

    Normally, death was the end of a person, and no one would have cared about Ye Bo¡¯s death, aside from possibly treating it as a joke.

    What no one knew was that Ye Bo had possessed an innate gift of consciousness that used resentment and hatred as fuel. Upon dying, his consciousness had devoured the enemy who had provoked Ye Bo, as well as many others whom he had been familiar with, gobbling up the hatred and resentment that Ye Bo had felt towards the descendants of the powerful organizations. He had continued to possess one person after another while each constituted to carry out his will.

    Due to Ye Bo¡¯s unique innate gift, his consciousness was able to take control when he possessed a person, and he could direct them like a puppet. The person would not even realize that there was another one directing their actions, as Ye Bo would influence people¡¯s subconscious into doing as he wished.

    This was why, no matter how hard the Lu family and the Celestial Frost Sect had searched over the years, they had never been able to find Ye Bo. It was also why they had thought that Ye Bo was a team.

    Many of Ye Bo¡¯s hosts had been killed, but none had been the current host of the true Ye Bo. As time passed, Ye Bo had be a shadow that hung over the Perennial World.

    However, an innate gift could notst forever. At the moment of Ye Bo¡¯s death, his innate gift had powered his consciousness with his burning resentment and hatred, but that fuel had slowly depleted as the years passed. Without Ye Bo being able to cultivate the power of consciousness, it was impossible for his consciousness to increase in strength. Instead, his consciousness was very simr to Sage Yuan¡¯s Grafting innate gift that had activated upon his death. The Sage¡¯s innate gift had caused his spiritual force totch onto Chu Jian, which had been depleted as Chu Jian used it to strengthen his attacks.

    Ye Bo''s consciousness was on the verge of disappearing, and he was unable to do anything to harm humanity.

    At this point in time, he could at most use his consciousness to cause a puppy to bite someone, and even then, it could only be an ordinary human.

    The various memories went by in a sh. It was clear that Ye Bo was no longer a problem.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin was startled by something. In the memories, he saw a familiar figure. Was that Bai Xian''er?

    In Ye Bo''s memories, Lu Yin saw Bai Xian''er. <em>Is that Food Paradise? It is</em>.

    Disbelief caused Lu Yin¡¯s eyes to go wide as he reviewed this particr memory. He witnessed the Lu family¡¯s exile from Ye Bo¡¯s perspective, and he saw Bai Xian''er lying in the forest cabin that she and Lu Xiaoxuan had so carefully constructed. A tremor ran through the Lu Sanctum as a massive tail rose high into the sky. This was the sight of the Python Ancestor rolling over.

    Lu Yin heard Ancestor Lu Tianyi¡¯s roar of rage, and he also heard countless people call out for Ancestor Lu Yuan. He wanted to see more, but it was only a memory. He was seeing Ye Bo¡¯s memories. On the day of the Lu family¡¯s exile, Ye Bo had been on Food Paradise. No, it had not been Ye Bo, but rather a servant of the Lu family who had coincidentally been a host for Ye Bo''s consciousness. Ye Bo¡¯s consciousness had carried that servant¡¯s memories with him, and the memories had eventually be his as well.

    The ground shook as the golden light of the Lu Sanctum flickered. Bai Xian''er looked like a sleeping beauty as she silentlyy on the bed in the cabin in the woods. A blurry figure ovepped with Bai Xian''er''s body, and then that second figure stood up. Lu Yin saw who it was, and he was startled. Prof. Wei ?

    Prof. Wei walked out of the cabin, looked up, leaped into the sky, and released a strange attack that shot towards Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin remembered what Lu Qi had said, and at this moment, Lu Yin realized that the strange power that had hindered Ancestor Lu Tianyi hade from Prof. Wei.

    Fear filled Ye Bo¡¯s memory, which indicated that the servant had panicked.

    Suddenly, another blurry figure ovepped with Bai Xian''er''s body, and then that figure rose up and left the cabin. This woman looked 70% simr to Bai Xian''er, but with greater arrogance. She radiated killing intent as she also released an attack in a specific direction. It was the same strange power that Prof. Wei had released, and the servant''s gaze followed the attack to see the Seven Heroes.

    "Xiao Qi, be careful!" A scream rang out, and Lu Yin watched through Ye Bo¡¯s memory as the attack pierced his oldest sister''s body. While Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s memories had been lost, Lu Yin still recognized his oldest sister who had also been a member of the Lu family: Lu Qian.

    The attack released by the woman who had emerged from Bai Xian''er''s body shot through Lu Qian''s body and then continued on towards Lu Xiaoxuan.

    His third brother, Nong Ye, pushed Wan Lingdang aside, and the attack tore Nong Ye''s body apart as well. Long Xing jumped forward, attacking with her innate gift, but it did nothing to stop or even slow the attack. She was also cut down.

    Next was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s fifth brother, Liu Shi.

    In Ye Bo''s memory, Lu Yin clearly saw just how helpless Lu Xiaoxuan had been. He had rushed forward, wanting to fight, only to be pushed back by Wan Lingdang. "Little Seven, run away!"

    "Little Seven, escape!"

    "Go, Little Seven!"

    "Little Seven-"

    The screams of death all around him caused Lu Xiaoxuan to copse. As he reexperienced the memory, Lu Yin also copsed. Numerous thoughts swirled through his mind: the love his sworn siblings had all held for him, the scene of them swearing to be siblings, and the rtionships between the Seven Heroes.

    All the others were dead. At the same time, they had all fallen.

    That attack had continued on towards Lu Xiaoxuan, as fierce as ever. However, just as it was about to m into him, a Champions¡¯ Stage had suddenly appeared. The attack crashed into the Champions¡¯ Stage, instantly shattering it and stunning Lu Xiaoxuan.

    Lu Qi''s distant roar could be heard, and the attack turned his way.

    Ye Bo''s memory did not follow the attack, and the host instead remained focused on the fallen Seven Heroes.

    Lu Yin watched as his oldest sister, covered in blood, slowly crawled over to Lu Xiaoxuan. The others were struggling to speak as Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s oldest sister crawled over to his side. She took a small cube out of the unconscious Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s cosmic ring and smiled very happily. It was impossible to know just what she said, but she smeared her blood on the cube before handing it over to Xiao Mo, who was closest. After that, the cube was passed along to Long Xing, Liu Shi, Nong Ye, and then Wan Lingdang.

    Once Wan Lingdang had smeared his blood on the die as well, it floated into the air, emitting a soft light. Pips appeared on each of the cube¡¯s six sides, and the die then transformed into a beam of light that shot into Lu Xiaoxuan''s body.

    After seeing the die disappear into Lu Xiaoxuan''s body, Lu Qian closed her eyes and slowly copsed.

    This was the end of Ye Bo¡¯s memory, as the servant had died, destroyed by the shockwaves of the battle in the sky.

    The Possession suddenly ended, as Lu Yin withdrew and returned to his own body, passing through the dark space.

    He slowly opened his eyes. They were flushed red. He had finally seen the truth of that fateful day.

    The Seven Heroes had all died to save him, and he had also remembered everything.

    The die was not his own innate gift, but it was also exactly that.

    The cube had appeared in the sky on the day that Lu Xiaoxuan had created Flipping the Sky.

    Lu Yin had never fully regained his memories as Lu Xiaoxuan, but certain things could trigger the return of specific memories.

    On the day that Lu Xiaoxuan had created Flipping the Sky, the battle technique had drawn out Ancestor Lu Yuan. Soon after that, the cube had been drawn out as well. It had then followed Lu Xiaoxuan wherever he went, and while he was able to store it in his cosmic ring, or even in his body, he had never been able to move very far from the cube. Any time he moved a certain distance away, the cube had automatically chased after him.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had kept no secrets from the Seven Heroes, and he had told all of them about the matter.

    From their experiments, they were shocked to learn that innate gifts could be stored in the cube. With it, Lu Xiaoxuan had be able to use the innate gifts of any of the other Seven Heroes, and their innate gifts had also caused pips to appear on the cube and create the die. At the moment of their deaths, they had given everything they had left to Lu Xiaoxuan, which had permanently granted him their innate gifts.

    They had not even known whether Lu Xiaoxuan would survive, but for a mere glimmer of hope, all of them had willingly given him everything.

    <em>Bai Xian''er. It was Bai Xian''er, but who was it that had emerged from her body?</em>

    Lu Yin left the Lu Sanctum and made his way towards Virtue Archives. The attack that had blocked Ancestor Lu Tianyi had been released by Prof. Wei.

    The fact that Prof. Wei was capable of standing up to Ancestor Lu Tianyi intimidated Lu Yin, so he first spoke to his ancestor.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2886: A Paper Cut-out

    Chapter 2886: A Paper Cut-out

    Lu Tianyi was surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s request, but he joined him in visiting Virtue Archives.

    But when they arrived at Virtue Archives, they learned that Prof. Wei had already left.

    "Prof. Wei left? When?" Lu Yin looked solemn.

    Headmaster Wen replied, "It''s been some time."

    "Headmaster, please show us where Prof. Wei lives."

    Headmaster Wen hesitated briefly, but he still led the two men to Prof. Wei¡¯s quarters.

    Prof. Wei was a woman who disguised herself as a man. She had never explicitly resigned from the academy, but had rather taken a leave of absence for a while. It was not exactly appropriate for Headmaster Wen to show the two men to the woman¡¯s quarters, but it was clear from Lu Yin¡¯s expression that something was not quite right.

    After all, even Senior Lu Tianyi had tagged along.

    They soon ascended one of the stone columns and arrived at Prof. Wei''s residence.Lu Yin had visited this ce many times in the past, but he had always spoken to Prof. Wei with the identity of Yu Hao. During those visits, they would often speak about history and current events.

    Lu Yin had a good impression of Prof. Wei from his interactions with her, and he had never dreamed that the woman would be connected to the Lu family¡¯s exile, or be somehow rted to Bai Xian''er.

    Upon opening the door, they were greeted by the sight of a very simple room with nothing special about it. There was not even the smallest sign that a woman had lived here. It had also clearly been cleaned up, as the only thing out of ce was a paper cut-out.

    On the tabley a single piece of paper that had been cut to form the character for Wei.[1]

    "There¡¯s nothing here. Prof. Wei is a very tidy person. This paper cut-out may be her gift to the academy, as she quite enjoys making paper cut-outs," Headmaster Wen said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin nced around, only to find that there was something wrong with Lu Tianyi¡¯s expression. "Ancestor?"

    Lu Tianyi picked up the paper cut-out. "Let''s go."

    The two men quickly left Virtue Archives and returned to the Lu Sanctum. Along the way, Lu Tianyi continued to stare at the paper cut-out in a daze.

    Once they had returned, Lu Yin asked, "Ancestor, is there something wrong with this paper cut-out?"

    Lu Tianyi took a deep breath. "When I was a child, someone gave me a paper cut-out, and it was exactly the same as this one."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. When had Lu Tianyi been a child? That was a bit extreme, as it meant that it had happened during the Heavens Sect era.

    "Ancestor, are you saying that you saw this same paper cut-out during the Heavens Sect era?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Tianyi finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "Are you certain that you saw Prof. Weie out of Bai Xian''er''s body?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Absolutely."

    Lu Tianyi''s expression grew solemn. "You asked before if the seal on your back had any connection at all to Bai Xian''er. I can no longer give you an answer. If Prof. Wei was the one who blocked me that day, then it is not impossible for her to have also interfered with your seal. It¡¯s certainly possible. Xiaoxuan, we need to find Bai Xian''er."

    The two of them did not dally for even a moment, and they immediately made their way to the Cyclic Universe to find Bai Xian''er.

    When Chu Jian saw the two men arrive, he instantly felt a headache approaching.

    "Where is Bai Xian''er?" Lu Yin asked bluntly.

    Chu Jian was instantly on edge. "Lord Lu, Senior Tianyi, what do you want with my senior sister?"

    "I need to ask her something," Lu Yin replied. "You don¡¯t need to worry. I won''t take any actions against her. If I was going to do anything like that, I¡¯d go find Bai Wangyuan or one of the others, not Bai Xian''er."

    Chu Jian considered the matter, but then he realized that Lu Yin¡¯s words made sense. If the Lu family wanted to eliminate traitors, they really should go after Bai Wangyuan first. Taking revenge on Bai Xian''er would be seen as a joke by everyone. "My senior sister volunteered to serve on the Endless Frontier."

    "Which parallel universe is she in?"

    "I don''t know. She simply told me that she was heading to the Endless Frontier, which is good enough. There¡¯s no need for her to report her whereabouts to me. Also, there¡¯s no need to bother asking anyone else, as no one knows where she went."

    "When did she leave?"

    "Just now."

    The two men left the Cyclic Universe.

    "Bai Xian''er most likely isn¡¯t deliberately avoiding us. She couldn''t possibly know that I learned the truth of what happened. Still, the fact that she just left is too much of a coincidence," Lu Yinmented.

    Lu Tianyi frowned. "I was careless."

    Lu Yin felt confused for a moment, but then a realization startled him, and he smiled bitterly. "Yes, we were careless."

    While it was certainly impossible for Bai Xian''er to know that Lu Yin had seen the truth through Ye Bo''s memory, it was possible for her to have put an early warning system in ce.

    Prof. Wei had emerged from Bai Xian''er''s body, and that same woman had deliberately left a paper cut-out in Virtue Archives. It was possible that the paper cut-out had been some sort of warning system; Bai Xian¡¯er might have been alerted the moment that paper was touched. It was even possible that she had instantly known who had touched the cut-out.

    Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi had gotten so caught up in their search for Prof. Wei that they had never considered what she might be capable of. They had indeed been careless.

    "If we¡¯re right, then it''s basically impossible for us to find Bai Xian''er. She might have even deliberately lied to Chu Jian about going to the Endless Frontier. He would have no reason to suspect her or question what she told him." Lu Yin felt rather helpless.

    Lu Tianyi looked very serious. "Don''t worry about her for the time being. She will show up one of these days. Let''s be sure to protect the Origin Universe and deal with matters one by one."

    Lu Yin agreed. There were too many matters that needed to be dealt with, and there was no need to rush through them.

    Step by step, they were getting closer to the truth. Once everything became clear, they would be able to resolve such matters.

    As soon as Lu Tianyi returned to Lu Sanctum, Lu Yin went to the Middle Realm, to a very ordinary city on a coast. This was the location of thest person that Ye Bo had possessed, and Lu Yin had also Possessed that man.

    Within the city, in an ordinary house, a middle-aged man was holding a scroll, staring at it with a joyful expression. There were also several people standing in front of the man¡¯s desk, anxiously waiting.

    After a while, the middle-aged man lowered the scroll. "Alright, go back. I will ept your children."

    "Thank you, Senior! Thank you!" The people quickly thanked the man.

    Satisfied, the middle-aged man picked up his tea cup and took a sip.

    "Will the students that you teach all have the same extreme personality as you?" a voice suddenly asked from behind the man.

    The middle-aged man was startled, and he spun around to look.

    Lu Yin was staring at the man with open interest.

    "Who are you?" the middle-aged man shouted.

    "Ye Bo, I¡¯ve found you."

    The middle-aged man''s pupils shrank, and he reflexively attacked. However, Lu Yin easily took control of the situation. The man looked at Lu Yin, and his consciousness erupted. Ye Bo wanted to possess Lu Yin''s body, but he was rejected by Lu Yin.

    "You?"

    Lu Yin casually forced the middle-aged man to the floor and looked down at him. "I feel sorry for you. You were clearly very talented, but you were taken advantage of. Your extreme personality did not even allow you to die in peace. Ye Bo, go now in peace.¡±

    The middle-aged man struggled against Lu Yin. "I simply want to spend this time peacefully. Who are you? How did you find me? Release me!"

    Lu Yin sighed. If not for seeing Ye Bo¡¯s memory of the Lu family''s exile, the remnant consciousness would have died without ever being able to say a word.

    "You can give me yourst words," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    The middle-aged man ground his teeth. He looked over at the scroll that had fallen to the ground, and shouted, "There is too much injustice in this world! I simply desire fairness! Is that so wrong?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "What you consider fairness is not fair to those who have worked hard."

    After those words were spoken, the man¡¯s body disappeared.

    At the same time that the middle-aged man¡¯s consciousness was destroyed, so was Ye Bo¡¯s.

    Lu Yin could have left Ye Bo to live out the rest of his days. The consciousness was fading, and it was almost entirely gone. However, Lu Yin had made it a point to find and destroy Ye Bo because the identity was very useful. After all, Ye Bo had been in contact with Cheng Kong.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Xie had learned about Ye Bo through Origin Tracer, and he had told Lu Yin that, while Aeternus had wanted to recruit Ye Bo, they had never been able to really contact the person. But from his recent Possession, Lu Yin had learned that this was not actually urate.

    Cheng Kong had made contact with Ye Bo in the form of bubbles. At the time, Ye Bo had been possessing someone¡¯s body, but Cheng Kong had been certain that he had not met the real Ye Bo. Even so, Cheng Kong had not been able to find the true Ye Bo.

    Without Possessing Ye Bo or tracing him through time like Mu Xi had done, it would be hard for anyone to imagine that Ye Bo had been a consciousness that relied on resentment and hatred as a means to persist.

    Ye Bo had not known who Cheng Kong was. Ye Bo had not had any ambition, and he had only lived to target humans. It was impossible for such a being to join Aeternus, but they had managed to manipte Ye Bo and align their goals.

    However, the fact that Cheng Kong had made contact with Ye Bo meant that Cheng Kong had visited the Origin Universe. Cheng Kong had not limited himself to the Sixverse Association, as had been previously assumed.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and secretly sent out orders to all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors who were helping to protect the Sixverse Association. As soon as any of them found any trace of Bai Xian''er, they were to immediately report it to the sect.

    A few dayster, a man arrived at the Heavens Sect and requested to meet with Lu Yin. He was Zuo Lao.

    Zuo Lao had arrived as the Transcendent Universe¡¯s representative in a bid to purchase materials from the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin did not even meet with the man. The request had been made, as the Transcendent Universe wanted to purchase materials from both the Origin Universe and the Voidforce Universe. However, Lu Yin intended to speak with Lord Wei in person.

    Given that Zuo Lao was unable to even see Lu Yin, the man had no choice but to return.

    He proceeded to the Voidforce Universe to meet with the Xu Yang and Xu Yin ns, again to purchase materials, only to receive the same wee.

    Lu Yin''s influence throughout the Sixverse Association was so extensive that it had surpassed even Lord Wei¡¯s.

    Lord Wei had never had any interactions with Xu Heng or Xu Leng, but they both viewed Lu Yin as their junior brother.

    Desperate, Zuo Lao could only return to the Transcendent Universe and deliver Lu Yin''s message.

    Lu Yin soon received word that Lord Wei had left seclusion and wanted to meet with him.

    Lu Yin left the Heavens Sect and entered the Transcendent Universe. Finally, he was going to meet Lord Wei. Lu Yin was very curious about just what the man was thinking.

    In the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin met with Lord Wei on a very ordinary. The only thing unusual about the was the massive bestowal art carrier off in the distance. This was just a short ways away from the Transcendent Universe¡¯s warfront, and it was easy to see the warfront.

    Lu Yin saw Lord Wei.

    This time, Lord Wei lookedpletely different from what Lu Yin had seen during the Tea Ceremony. This time, Lord Wei was a woman.

    "Lord Lu, I heard that you wished to see me." Lord Wei had a clear and ethereal voice that was very pleasant to hear.

    However, Lu Yin felt a little odd, as he knew this was not Lord Wei''s previous body.

    "Lord Wei, you had a rather decent appearance at the Tea Ceremony, so why did you change it?" Lu Yin asked calmly. While he was quite angry with Lord Wei, Lu Yin would not show that.

    Lord Wei gave a small smile. "I am neither male nor female. Lord Lu should understand that there is no need for me to maintain a particr image."

    As she spoke, the woman stared at Lu Yin. "Why do you wish to see me, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin replied with his own question, "As the ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes, do I need a special reason to meet the ruler of the Transcendent Universe?"

    "Yes. Bai Qian rules this universe for me, as did He Ran before her. They are able to make any of the decisions necessary, and I have not met with Lord Xu or any of the other rulers for a very long time. I did not even attend the previous Tea Ceremony," Lord Wei calmly replied. There was no denying that the woman was stunningly beautiful. Even if she was not as impressive as He Ran, Lord Wei¡¯s current form had no need for any arrogance. Her aura was different from that of a domineering man.

    Lu Yin apologized, "So that''s the case. I thought that Lord Wei was deliberately avoiding me."

    Lord Wei gazed at Lu Yin with a hint of a smile.

    Lu Yin continued, "That¡¯s a fault of mine. The more that others avoid me, the more determined I be to meet with them. I¡¯ve greatly inconvenienced you this time, Lord Wei. I apologize."

    1. Just so you know, the "wei" character is Î´, and in case you want to see examples, HERE are some paper cut-outs. ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2887: Sudden Control

    Chapter 2887: Sudden Control

    Lord Wei dismissed Lu Yin¡¯s concerns with a wave of a hand. "It doesn''t matter. However, why did you wish to meet with me, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin grew more serious. "I wanted to thank you, Lord Wei, for what happened at the Tea Ceremony."

    Lord Wei smiled. "We are all humans fighting against Aeternus. There¡¯s no need for any thanks. The greater a threat you present to the Aeternals, the more of a help you¡¯ll be to us humans."

    Lu Yin had heard simr words too many times, and there was no sense of sincerity in Lord Wei¡¯s response.

    Yes, that was exactly how Lu Yin felt. Lord Wei was not at all sincere.

    At this moment, Lu Yin felt that Lord Wei waspletely different from the person who had warned him to not gaze directly at the Great Sovereign at the Tea Ceremony. It was impossible to say exactly what was different, but there was certainly ack of sincerity.

    Was this nothing more than an illusion caused by Lord Wei changing from a man¡¯s body to a woman¡¯s?

    Lu Yin really could not determine exactly what was different.

    "Lord Lu, when the Great Sovereign led us onto the Endless Frontier, we fought a great battle against Aeternus. I was injured in the fighting, so I must return to my seclusion to recover. Are you willing toplete the transaction and sell us the materials that we require?""Of course. I have no problem with that. I had simply thought that Lord Wei had some problem with me."

    "How could that be? Despite your young age, Lord Lu has already be the ruler of the Origin Universe. In the future, you will be one of our primarybatants in the war against Aeternus. How could I have any trouble with you?"

    Lu Yin stared at Lord Wei. "I created the alias of Xuan Qi, and during that time, I stole Cloudflow from your universe. Lord Wei doesn''t resent this?"

    Lord Wei answered with a smile. "He is just Cloudflow. Given the level that you have already reached, Lord Lu, do you need to concern yourself with such a person? The only reason why I captured him was because he was too rude to me, and I wanted to teach him a lesson. Since Lord Lu has a use for him, I¡¯m happy to give him to you.¡±

    Lu Yin had also wanted to bring up the matter of He Ran, but after thinking about it, Lu Yin did not want to antagonize Lord Wei. For this meeting, Lu Yin just wanted to probe the ruler of the Transcendent Universe.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not satisfied with the results. The Lord Wei that Lu Yin had met seemed like a stranger. His behavior was so different that Lu Yin could not help but wonder if the man who had pleaded on his behalf and warned him during the Tea Ceremony had been nothing more than an act.

    "I have a request that is very important to me. I wonder, can Lord Wei assist me with it?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lord Wei gestured for Lu Yin to continue, but the motion looked very strange. It was arge, open movement that very clearly belonged to a man, but a woman had made it, which made for a strange scene.

    "I want to take Zi Jing with me," Lu Yin stated.

    Lord Wei was stunned, and she stared at Lu Yin. The two locked eyes and just stared at each other for a moment.

    After a while, Lord Wei finally spoke. "Why did you suddenly bring up Zi Jing, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "How could I neglect my lover?"

    Lord Wei was even more surprised. "Who are you to Zi Jing?"

    Lu Yin shared the story that he had used while posing as Xuan Qi.

    While Xuan Qi had been an alias, there was no way that anyone could say that his rtionship with Zi Jing had been an act as well. Zi Jing had gone to the Origin Universe, which was also where Lu Yin came from. Additionally, Xuan Qi had repeatedly mentioned Zi Jing to He Ran, which meant that it was impossible for Lord Wei to not know about the two¡¯s rtionship.

    The startling detail about Lu Yin mentioning Zi Jing was simply the timing. The woman had only just left the parallel universe with the elerated flow of time, and yet Lu Yin was already asking to see the woman. This was too much of a coincidence, and Lord Wei could not help but suspect that someone close had leaked the information to Lu Yin.

    "This is the real reason why I have been trying to meet with you, Lord Wei. I was left with no choice but to pretend to be Xuan Qi and join Zi Jing when she returned to the Sixverse Association. At that time, I needed the help of the Transcendent Universe, but now, I can protect myself, which is why I want to take Zi Jing back. I ask that you help me with this matter, Lord Wei." Lu Yin spoke politely.

    Lord Wei stared at Lu Yin intently. "Is this the true reason why you tried to see me repeatedly?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "If not for the fact that your universe needs to purchase materials from me, I would have never had the opportunity to meet with you, Lord Wei. Then, I would have been forced to spend more time away from Zi Jing."

    The tension left Lord Wei¡¯s eyes. Clearly, she had been overthinking things. Lu Yin had only sessfully met with Lord Wei because the Transcendent Universe needed the resources the Origin Universe possessed, but Lu Yin had made several previous attempts to meet with the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. This meeting had nothing to do with the fact that Lu Yin had learned that Zi Jing had returned.

    "Lord Lu, the cultivation technology that Zi Jing is currently researching is extremely important to me. I can''t let her go with you for now. However, I promise you that, as soon as the technology is finished being developed, she will be safely sent back to the Origin Universe. Not only that, but I promise you that when I send her to you, I will reward her with a ck energy converter for her efforts," Lord Wei promised Lu Yin.

    A ck energy converter essentially meant thebat strength of a Progenitor, which was a significant reward. Officially, the Transcendent Universe only had five such energy converters, but in truth, there were closer to ten of them.

    Lu Yin frowned. "In that case, I would like to ask that you allow me to see her, Lord Wei. Even just one meeting would be enough."

    Lord Wei shook her head. "Lord Lu, you should understand that personnel working on top secret research are not allowed to casually make contact with the outside world. You¡¯ll have to forgive me, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Our meeting can be in your presence, Lord Wei. He Ran has asked for your permission to allow me to meet with Zi Jing before."

    Lord Wei frowned. "Lord Lu, the research of this cultivation technology is at a critical juncture. Zi Jing cannot be allowed to see anyone at this point in time."

    "Is Zi Jing still alive?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Lord Wei''s voice dropped low. "I promise you that she is alive and well. I will send her to you in the Origin Universe in the same condition that she is in now. Lord Lu, this is the best that I can offer you, so please don¡¯t push for more."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. It was clear that he had reached Lord Wei¡¯s limit, and Lu Yin had only asked hisst question to test Lord Wei¡¯s attitude. The reaction told Lu Yin that the sequence particle research was just as close to a sessful conclusion as Bai Qian had mentioned.

    After bidding farewell to Lord Wei, Lu Yin made a show of returning to the Heavens Sect, but he secretly went to visit the You family.

    This visit was a carefully guarded secret.

    When Lu Yin arrived, he found You Fang in the middle of repairing something, and the man was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s arrival.

    "Lord Lu?" You Fang was shocked.

    Lu Yin observed the older man. "You¡¯re quite rxed."

    You Fang was nervous, and he quickly adjusted his clothes. "I wonder, what might have caused Lord Lu to drop in on me so unexpectedly?"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "I won''t waste time. I want you to help me find Zi Jing."

    You Fang''s expression changed. "Lord Lu, Zi Jing is in a parallel universe that not even He Ran knew how to get to. My family has absolutely no chance of locating her."

    "She''s back," Lu Yin stated.

    This took You Fang aback. "She¡¯s back? Has the sequence particle research already seeded?"

    Lu Yinughed. "You still care about that research?"

    You Fang¡¯s voice grew bitter. "I¡¯m merely curious. Given my You family¡¯s current status, it¡¯s impossible for any of us to touch those research results. Lord Lu, I can''t help you with what you are asking. Please leave my You family alone."

    Lu Yin set a hand on You Fang''s shoulder, and the man suddenly felt the pressure on him rise drastically.

    His ck energy converter had been taken away by Lord Wei, and there was not a single peak powerhouse in the entire You family anymore. However, that did not mean that the You family was helpless.

    "Never forget what you once told me. There are some things that your You family couldn''t do in the past, but which are now easy for your family to aplish," Lu Yin reminded.

    You Fang wished that he could p his former self to death. Why had he ever said such a stupid thing in the first ce? If he had known that Xuan Qi was really Lu Yin, he would have never cooperated with the young man, even upon threat of death.

    "Lord Lu, I-"

    "Find Zi Jing for me, and I promise that I will ensure that no one in the entire Transcendent Universe will stand above your You family." Lu Yin pressed down even more firmly with his hand. You Fang''s face turned pale, and an ugly expression covered his face. The pain in his shoulder took his breath away.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "If you can''t find her, I can erase your entire family. We¡¯ll see whether or not Sovereign Dou Sheng can protect you."

    With that, Lu Yin turned and left. However, before leaving, he did leave a clue for You Fang to use: Xiao Hai.

    Xiao Hai had been a member of the Energy Research Group, as well as a spy for Aeternus. He had also yed the role of an information broker to umte tremendous resources, all in a bid to convince the Aeternals to change his body to one that could reach the level of a Progenitor.

    Even though Xiao Hai had been removed from the Energy Research Group, he still had a good rtionship with the head researcher. Thus, he most likely knew where the secret location of the Energy Research Group was.

    Xiao Hai had died long ago. He had died when He Ran had vanished from the Transcendent Universe. While it was certain that Lord Wei had investigated the man¡¯s death, the dead were not overly important. By sharing Xiao Hai¡¯s name with the You family, Lu Yin had ensured that they would investigate the man, and they might be able to learn something over the course of their investigation.

    Lu Yin vanished.

    You Fang let out a heavy breath as he fell into his chair. This was trouble, as it was clear that Lu Yin was targeting the You family.

    <em>I can only me myself. I told him so much back then, when I thought that I had ckmail on him. I should have used that information, as even if it meant bing his enemy, it would still be better than bing his tool.</em>

    You Fang bitterly regretted his actions, but there was no way to change the past.

    It was impossible for You Fang to betray Lu Yin and share information with Lord Wei. Between the two, Lord Wei was even more unlikely to trust the You family.

    You Fang¡¯s only option was to follow Lu Yin''s instructions. It had been possible to use Sovereign Dou Sheng''s favor to protect the You family once, but it could not be used a second time. Besides that, the Origin Universe was not intimidated by Sovereign Dou Sheng at all. Additionally, if You Fang used that favor, there would be nothing left to protect them from Lord Wei, who would then be free to destroy the You family.

    ¡­

    The dark-red ground seemed endless. In one direction, there was no limit, and in the other, the enormous Mother Tree stood tall. If a person looked up, they would see the tree¡¯s branches filling the sky, with stars asionally shining through.

    This was the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield.

    Ever since humans had invaded the New World from the five array bases and Lu Yin had defeated the Aeternals, the rear battlefield had not seen renewed activity.

    However, there were times when massive twisted forms moved across the ground. They were the devouring metal that Lu Yin had Enhanced.

    Lu Yin had Enhanced a lot of the metal from the Absolute Beast Cage with his die, and some of those Enhanced bits had been lost in the New World. If the Aeternals ever tried to set foot on thend again, they would have to sacrifice some of their numbers to the greedy metal.

    This metal had be a disaster for the Fourth Maind long ago, and it remained a terrifying object.

    One day, pairs of slitted scarlet eyes once again appeared on the rear battlefield. After many years, the rear battlefield was once again weing Aeternus.

    rms sounded throughout the Perennial World.

    The five array bases made their preparations.

    Lu Tianyi stepped out from the Lu Sanctum. This invasion seemed very odd. The fighting had calmed down tremendously across the Endless Frontier, so why were the Aeternals assaulting the rear battlefield?

    Countless cultivators congregated upon the rear battlefield.

    This battlefield had not seen a reprieve in countless years. While there were periods of rtive peace, the threat of the rear battlefield had never faded from the Perennial World, and it had be engraved in the bones of the cultivators there.

    As the rms sounded, the five array bases finalized their preparations.

    On the New World, all the cultivators who had been on guard for an invasion withdrew.

    Lu Tianyi personally went to the rear battlefield to wee the Aeternals.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin instantly received word of the invasion, and he also immediately made his way to the rear battlefield.

    The war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus had fallen into a lull after humanity¡¯s counterattack against Aeternus. So, something was clearly wrong with this invasion.

    Could the Aeternals be shifting the primary battlefield to the Origin Universe? The thought left Lu Yin nervous. Fortunately, Ancestor Lu Yuan and the other powerful individuals from the Sixverse Association had already attacked and hurt Aeternus. Thus, their most powerful individuals, such as the Seven Skygods, most likely would not appear.

    To the north of Middle Realm was where the Middle Ocean sat. On an ind in the Middle Ocean, Lu Qi was staring at the seabed in trance. Where were the fish? There had clearly just been a fish there, so why was there only a bubble in his sight? It was so colorful¡­

    More and more bubbles appeared. They slowly rose up through the water, moving closer to Lu Qi while moving along his fishing line.

    He wanted to touch the bubbles, but he soon found that he could not move his body.

    "You shouldn¡¯t me me. If you want to me someone, then me your son." A deep voice echoed in Lu Qi''s ears.

    Aside from his eyes, Lu Qi was unable to move a single part of his body. He waspletely under the control of another being.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2888: The Immortal Lu Qi

    Chapter 2888: The Immortal Lu Qi

    One of the bubbles popped with a clear sound, and Lu Qi''s skin flushed red. An incredible pressure erupted with the arrival of a scorching heat that spread out, evaporating the Middle Ocean in its wake. The entire Middle Ocean started to boil. Countless dead fish floated to the surface, as the ocean had instantly started boiling.

    A shockwave sted out, the high temperature warping the air. Countless spatial cracks appeared, and the Higher Realm was rattled by the pressure that shot upwards into the sky.

    Just a short distance away, Cheng Kong was startled. What was this? What kind of power had just appeared?

    Lu Qi''s clothes werepletely burned away, exposing his scarred body. There was practically no part of his body that was unblemished. The terrifying pressure that reached even the Higher Realm did not crush the man.

    "Where¡¯s that rat who dared to attack me? Don''t you know that I¡¯m called the Immortal Lu Qi?" Lu Qi searched for Cheng Kong, but he had already vanished.

    It was only natural for an assassin to escape if the attack failed.

    Cheng Kong had instantly sensed that his attack had failed. This was not his first failure either.

    Anytime Cheng Kongunched a sneak attack, the target was either on guard and Cheng Kong failed to seize control of them, or the target was controlled and eliminated. Nine times out of ten, Cheng Kong would seed, but he had first failed with Lu Yin, and then again with Lu Qi. His attacks on both the father and son had failed. What was going on?

    It was also clear that Lu Qi was not particrly strong.Lu Qi had no idea that Cheng Kong had already left, and he continued to search for his attacker.

    At this time, people started to shoot up out of the Middle Ocean. "It''s so hot! Which bastard screwed up so badly?"

    "I nearly got cooked!"

    "Who was it? Get out here!"

    "Shh! Keep your voice down! It might have been some powerhouse we can¡¯t afford to offend."

    ¡­

    Lu Qi stared nkly at the numerous people emerging from the Middle Ocean. They were all quite familiar to him. Aside from the cultivators from the four ruling powers who had been condemned to the 100,000 currents, all of the other guardians were people that Lu Qi were responsible for.

    All of the guardians of the 100,000 currents had risen to the surface.

    Clearly, the 100,000 currents had been damaged.

    The Aeternals!

    A fog appeared above the ocean, blocking everyone¡¯s sight.

    Lu Qi waved his hand, dispersing the fog. He stared out at everyone, and everyone stared back at him.

    Someone quickly shouted, "Lu Qi, you lied to us! Where are the resources that we were promised?"

    Many others also started to re at Lu Qi.

    All of the people looked to be in miserable condition, and some were even quite skinny, looking like they had starved for a long time.

    In order to prevent the 100,000 currents from being found by Aeternus, the Lu family had hidden them to ensure that they could not be used to attack the Mother Tree. This also prevented the guardians from leaving their posts.

    In the past, the Lu family has sent the various guardians training resources on a regr schedule, but after the Lu family¡¯s exile, none of the guardians had received any resources during the many years that the family had been missing for.

    Lu Qi had been sent to the Middle Ocean with the task of delivering the neglected resources, but he had never gotten around to it as he had been considering what he should say to the guardians of the 100,000 currents.

    That the Lu family had been exiled? That was too humiliating, but what would be best?

    Before Lu Qi coulde up with some excuse, the Aeternals had destroyed the 100,000 currents, releasing all of the guardians.

    While the sourcebox array used to hide the 100,000 currents could conceal them from average cultivators, it was impossible to hide the currents from the Aeternals¡¯ peak powerhouses. In the past, due to the presence of the Lu family, the Aeternals had not dared to approach the 100,000 currents, but at this moment, they attacked manically.

    Everyone who had appeared above the ocean was staring at Lu Qi.

    100,000 cultivators who were at least Enlighters should have been guarding the 100,000 currents, but nowhere close to that number appeared before Lu Qi, even with the cultivators from the four ruling powers. There were significantly more than half, but even so, a great number was missing.

    Even so, it was a shocking number of cultivators.

    Because of this, Lu Yin noticed the odd situation above the Middle Ocean even from the rear battlefield. He immediately changed course when he saw tens of thousands of cultivators who were at least Enlighters surrounding Lu Qi. Many of them looked as though they had been starving for years, and it made for a rather impressive spectacle.

    Everyone was waiting for Lu Qi''s exnation.

    However, his face twitched. "Shut up!"

    Everyone''s hearts trembled. Only when Lu Qi shouted did they realize that the man was no longer the man that they had known. Had he be a Progenitor?

    Everyone on the Middle Ocean gradually bowed to the Progenitor before them. Such cultivators stood at the peak of human cultivation. Had Lu Qi, that absolute bastard, actually be a Progenitor?

    In the face of a Progenitor, no one dared to be too bold, and their attitudes became far more subdued.

    Lu Qi pointed at Bai Qi. "You, exin things to them."

    The woman¡¯s expression instantly changed.

    She turned and looked at the eyes of the tens of thousands of cultivators that were focused on her, but just as Bai Qi was about to speak to them, Lu Qi waved a hand. "Move away a bit. I don''t want to see their faces."

    Soon, all the various guardians of the 100,000 currents moved away together. After hearing an exnation of what had happened, the guardians learned that there was a group of people who would continue to guard the 100,000 currents, but many of them were done with their time there and could return.

    Lu Yin arrived at the ind. "Father, what''s going on?"

    Lu Qi was still upset as he shared what had happened.

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Cheng Kong sneak attacked you?"

    "So that¡¯s Cheng Kong? I¡¯ll be sure to remember this!" Lu Qi snorted coldly.

    Lu Yin was quite frightened. Cheng Kong had attacked again. The threat posed by that person had been magnified by an infinite degree with this particr attack.

    "Cheng Kong killed Sage Jiang, as well as the previous Stone Sage," Lu Yin said quietly.

    Lu Qi grew solemn. "It¡¯s a pity that I couldn¡¯t find that rat, or else I would have burned him to death."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Father, how did you break free of Cheng Kong''s control?"

    Lu Qi blinked. "I didn¡¯t break free of anything. He can¡¯t hurt me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s confusion only increased.

    Lu Qi was clearly not as strong as Lu Yin, and with Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin knew that Lu Qi had not mastered any sequence particles. There was no one beneath the level of a Sequence Progenitor who could threaten Lu Yin, he was certain of it. However, while Lu Yin was confident that he could escape from Cheng Kong¡¯s control or simply not be harmed by the assassin, what had Lu Qi relied on?

    Lu Qi moved a hand, asking Lu Yin to sit with him. The older man took a bit to organize his thoughts. "I have a nickname¡ªImmortal Lu Qi."

    Lu Yin still did not understand.

    "How should I exin this? When I was a child, I identally touched Progenitor Chen¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Furnace. Fortunately, he found me in time and was able to alleviate some of the pressure from the furnace. He then cooperated with Ancestor Tianyi to save me. Even so, for all these years since, a great deal of pressure remains in my body, which constantly puts me in pain, but it¡¯s also saved my life many times during battle.

    "If not for that pressure, I would have died alongside our ancestors when our family was exiled."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Progenitor Chen''s Heaven¡¯s Furnace?"

    Lu Qi grinned. "You never got to meet Progenitor Chen, so you don''t know how terrifying his Heaven¡¯s Furnace is. It¡¯s one of his clones¡¯ innate gift, and he once used it to destroy one of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitors. Just think about that! A power that can obliterate a Progenitor is terrifying, and yet your dad can handle it! Awesome, huh?"

    Lu Yin agreed. "That is awesome."

    Of course, Lu Yin was no stranger to Heaven¡¯s Furnace. During his first stellr tribtion, he had faced a humanoid tribtion of Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had fought against eight of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clones, including the one with Heaven¡¯s Furnace. If not for Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin would have been crushed to death by that furnace.

    Lu Qi mentioned the matter rather simply, but no one could understand just how painful it was for his body to constantly suffer from the terrifying pressure.

    "Father, where¡¯s your Champions¡¯ Stage?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Lu Qi was taken aback, and his eyes started to dart about. "My Champions¡¯ Stage? I didn¡¯t need it, as I couldn¡¯t find the rat who attacked me. If I had, I would have crushed him to death."

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Qi. "I want to see my father''s Champions¡¯ Stage."

    Lu Qi''s eye twitched. "Well, I''m pretty tired right now, so let¡¯s do that next time, alright? I''ll show you next time."

    Lu Yin quietly said, "It must have broken."

    Lu Qi was startled. "How did you know about that?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned bitter. "It broke when you saved me."

    "Ancestor Tianyi told you?"

    "When you were attacked in Food Paradise by the strange power that was headed your way, it was Heaven¡¯s Furnace¡¯s pressure in your body that kept you from dying, wasn¡¯t it?"

    Lu Qi stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a ghost. "You know about all of that? I never mentioned that bit to Ancestor Tianyi. Xiaoxuan, how do you know about that?"

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Thank you."

    He paused and looked over at Lu Qi. "Dad."

    Lu Qi stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Being called ¡°Dad¡± had touched him deeply, and he felt as though he was seeing Lu Xiaoxuan again, with his bright smile. Lu Qi saw the Seven Heroes all waving to him, encouraging him to have a drink. How long had it been since he had seen that scene? It felt like so much time had already passed, but it had not been very long at all.

    Lu Qi''s eyes started to flush red, and he quickly pulled out a bottle of alcohol and took a drink.

    Lu Yin stood to leave.

    "Xiaoxuan, don''t dwell on things. Everyone wishes for you to live a good life," Lu Qi said solemnly.

    Lu Yin gulped. Yes, all of his family wanted him to live a good life, but he wished the same for all of them. Why was such a simple wish so difficult?

    Sometimes the simpler the wish, the more difficult it was to realize.

    After leaving the Middle Ocean, Lu Yin returned to the rear battlefield.

    The Aeternals had invaded in massive numbers, but no powerhouses were among them.

    "Ancestor, these monsters are acting like they¡¯re at the warfront," Lu Yinmented.

    Lu Tianyi looked solemn. "It seems like they attacked this ce to divert our attention from the sneak attack on the 100,000 currents."

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "You can never underestimate the Aeternals."

    Lu Tianyi nodded. "Even the incredible Heavens Sect was destroyed by them, and back then, Aeternus was much, much weaker than the Heavens Sect. Even so, they managed to destroy the other Mainds, one by one. They instigated traitors, like Wu Xing, Wang Miaomiao, Gu Yizhi, and so many others. Now, the Aeternals are no longer what they once were, so of course we cannot underestimate them.¡±

    As Lu Tianyi spoke, Lu Yin looked upwards. Senior Brother Mu Xia and Master Shan had both arrived there. The Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitor-level experts were scattered all over the megaverse.

    Chen Le, Cloudflow, Bai Sheng, Xia Shenji, Xia Qin, Nong Yi, and Progenitor Smoke were all helping to protect other parts of the Sixverse Association. Meanwhile, Lu Tianyi, Master Shan, Mu Xie, and Lu Qi were standing guard over the Perennial World. In the Heavens Sect itself, there was Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Monarch Xing, Shao Chen, the jiao, and Ancestor Tortoise.

    The Heavens Sect was not impregnable, but it was getting there.

    Even after more than ten days of fighting on the rear battlefield, no Progenitor-level corpse kings ever appeared.

    Finally, Lu Tianyi stepped away from the array bases and headed towards the New World. He wanted to see who was directing the Aeternals on the rear battlefield.

    The results were disappointing. There really were none of Aeternus¡¯s peak powerhouses. Not to mention the Seven Skygods, there were not even any of the captains of the True God Guard.

    Any Progenitor could easily sweep away all of the attacking corpse kings.

    Lu Tianyi casually destroyed the Cosmic Door.

    This was the second of the Aeternals¡¯ Cosmic Doors to be destroyed in the Perennial World.

    With the Cosmic Door destroyed, the Aeternals were unable to send out more corpse kings to the rear battlefield. The defenders of all five array bases moved out and eliminated the rest of the corpse kings from the New World in a matter of days. Of course, this was in part due to the fact that Lu Yin also took action.

    However, Aeternus showed no reaction at all even after all of the corpse kings were wiped out.

    On top of that, no Progenitor-level corpse king appeared with another Cosmic Door.

    Lu Yin wondered why it had been so incredibly difficult to destroy the first Cosmic Door. After all, Corpse God had personally moved to protect the Cosmic Door in the Astral Sea when Lu Yin had gone to attack it. There was no question that the Cosmic Doors were extremely important to the Aeternals, so why had it been so easy to destroy this one?

    No one could understand this until Lu Yin received a bit of news.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2889: The Words On The Tree Trunk

    Chapter 2889: The Words On The Tree Trunk

    Behind the Mother Treey the rear battlefield, as well as the five array bases.

    Hua Beibei swallowed his saliva as he anxiously looked forward, feeling a bit lost.

    "Did you deliver the news?" Lu Yin looked at Hua Beibei. They knew each other, having met on the rear battlefield years ago, and also going through a bit of a misunderstanding at the time. Although Hua Beibei was a part of the Celestial Frost Sect, his status was very low. He was essentially a shepherd for astral beasts, and thus he had not been sent to guard the 100,000 currents by the Lu family.

    There had been no need to punish the dregs of the four ruling powers who had not persecuted the Lu family.

    Additionally, Hua Beibei was somewhat useful. His innate gift made him very suitable for leading astral beasts.

    Hua Beibei felt unmatched pressure from Lu Yin. Lu Yin was not intentionally releasing the pressure; rather, he naturally exuded it after having held a high status for a long time, as well as fighting against peak powerhouses. This pressure made it difficult for Hua Beibei to even breathe, and he could not shake the urge to kneel down.

    Lu Yin asked his question again.

    Hua Beibei answered with a tremor in his voice, "Yes."

    "Tell me every detail of what you found," Lu Yin quietly ordered, not wanting to scare the messenger. Hua Beibei was not very brave.Hua Beibei spoke slowly¡­

    The news that Hua Beibei delivered was very simple, as it was just a single name: Transcendent Universe.

    The Transcendent Universe was not unknown to the Origin Universe, but things changed when the name appeared on the rear battlefield, and even more so when the name had been carved on the trunk of the Mother Tree. Given the fact that the words had been left in a well hidden location, it seemed clear that the name had been left as some sort of warning.

    Someone had carved that name during the Aeternals¡¯ attack on the rear battlefield.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he quietly listened to Hua Beibei''s story. The engraving had already been examined, and it was clear that the name had only recently been carved into the trunk. However, who had left the message, and what did the Transcendent Universe have to do with Aeternus¡¯s attack on the rear battlefield?

    Hua Beibei soon left. This contribution was clearly very important, and Lu Yin would not be stingy with rewarding the man.

    After Hua Beibei was gone, Lu Yin went to see Lu Tianyi and asked, "Do we humans have any spies in Aeternus?"

    Lu Tianyi thought for a moment. "I don''t know, but it could be possible."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Long ago, he had started to suspect that there could be some human spies within Aeternus. The clearest evidence he had of this was that Cheng Feng had been exposed as a spy. There should not have been any evidence topletely uncover the man, but he had been ordered to recruit additional spies. Those spies werepletely unnecessary, and they had never been given any tasks. Recruiting those people had ultimately caused Cheng Feng to be exposed.

    This was how Lu Yin had learned that Cheng Feng was a spy.

    Not even Cheng Feng himself had ever known which Aeternal had ordered him to recruit spies.

    Why had that individual ordered Cheng Feng to do such unnecessary things? In Lu Yin''s opinion, the intention had always been to expose Cheng Feng.

    If the Aeternals could nt spies among humans, then it seemed reasonable that humans could also nt spies within Aeternus. It was something that Lu Yin had not even considered for many years, given everything that he knew about the Aeternals had been corpse kings. He believed that the moment any human became a corpse king, they would betray humanity and serve True God, even if they had originally intended to act as a spy.

    Later, Lu Yin had learned that there were also non-corpse kings among the Aeternals.

    It was true that most of their forces were corpse kings, but Aeternus also cooperated with outsiders.

    "When ites to who could possibly nt a spy within Aeternus, the first person whoes to mind is Hui Wen," Lu Tianyi said.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Is Progenitor Hui really that powerful?"

    Lu Tianyiughed. "You''ve seen what he¡¯s capable of before, haven''t you?"

    Lu Yin recalled how both the Sixth Maind and Aeternus had been plotted against, as well as how the Technocracy had taken advantage of both the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World to gather resources to manufacture the army of mechanical ants that had fought against the Aeternals. Lu Yin also thought about how Progenitor Hui had worked to seal away the humanoid sourceboxes in order to prevent Wilderness God from ever returning. Everything that Progenitor Hui had done had been impressive and admirable.

    Everyone who had lived during the Daosource Sect era admired Progenitor Hui. One of Lu Yin¡¯s deepest impressions of Progenitor Hui had been Lu Tianyi¡¯sment that anyone else might have truly died, but it was impossible for Hui Wen to be dead.

    This was the absolute confidence that Ancestor Lu Tianyi held in Progenitor Hui. It was possible to imagine just how shocking Progenitor Hui must have been during his own era.

    Even Progenitor Chen, the Rune Progenitor, and Progenitor Ku had been overshadowed by Progenitor Hui.

    Was it possible for Progenitor Hui to have ced a spy within Aeternus? Lu Yin also felt that it was a possibility, if for no other reason than they were speaking of Progenitor Hui.

    Lu Tianyi looked at Lu Yin as he spoke. "There must be something going on in the Transcendent Universe. It¡¯s possible that this whole thing is some n of the Aeternals to provoke a conflict between the Transcendent Universe and our Origin Universe. Still, just in case, we need to keep an eye on the Transcendent Universe."

    "I understand." Lu Yin then solemnly shared the fact that the Transcendent Universe¡¯s sequence particle research was at a critical juncture. He was inclined to believe that there were human spies among the Aeternals who were warning them that the Aeternals were also watching the Transcendent Universe.

    So what if someone was trying to provoke a conflict between the Transcendent Universe and the Origin Universe? Lu Yin had already been carefully observing the sequence particle research being conducted.

    ¡­

    Zuo Lao returned to the Heavens Sect, this time to purchase materials on behalf of the Transcendent Universe. The transaction proceeded smoothly, and nothing happened to embarrass Lu Yin at all. Not only did the Transcendent Universe trade with the Origin Universe, but resources were also purchased from the Voidforce Universe.

    Back in the Transcendent Universe, Zuo Lao delivered everything to Wen Shi. Once Zuo Lao left, Lord Wei appeared, personally inspected all of the materials to confirm that there were no problems, and then took them away.

    "The materials were delivered to Wen Shi," Zuo Lao reported.

    Bai Qian was unsurprised. The materials were purchased by her from the Origin Universe, but it had been a different person, Wen Shi, who had collected the things. Lord Wei trusted no one, and he may have even inspected the materials himself.

    At this moment, Zuo Lao''s expression changed. "Madam, Luo Shan is back again."

    Bai Qian frowned.

    Luo Shan soon arrived.

    "Monarch Luo, you should be on the Endless Frontier, and yet this is the third time that you havee to visit me, which ces me in a very awkward position," Bai Qian stated indifferently.

    Luo Shan stared at Bai Qian. "Does Lord Wei know that He Ran is in the Heavens Sect?"

    Bai Qian stared back at the man. "Either ask Lord Wei yourself, or leave. I have nothing to do with this matter."

    Luo Shan¡¯s expression turned cold as he stared at Bai Qian. "What is your rtionship with Lu Yin?"

    Zuo Lao interjected, "Monarch Luo, please watch your tone! You are in the Transcendent Universe."

    Luo Shan felt nothing but contempt for the two people before him. If he did not need to speak to them tomunicate with Lord Wei, such ants would never be qualified to even speak to him, Luo Shan. Even if the Three Monarchs Universe had been defeated, the Monarch¡¯s strength was not something that these two could understand.

    "He Ran vanished, and then you rose to power. Now, He Ran is in Heavens Sect. It''s clear that Lu Yin has been helping you. Do you really want to try to say that there is nothing between the two of you? It would be best for you to clearly tell me where Lord Wei is, and then I can help put in a few good words with Lord Wei for you. Otherwise, once Lord Wei learns that He Ran is in the Heavens Sect, you will be the first to die," Luo Shan threatened.

    Bai Qian''s expression never changed. "He Ran is in the Heavens Sect, so I must be connected to what happened to her? Even if I were not in my current position, there would be someone else here. Would that person also be connected to what happened to He Ran? I received Lord Wei¡¯s personal acknowledgement.¡±

    Luo Shan stared at Bai Qian for a long moment. "You know full well that Lu Yin was posing as Xuan Qi here in the Transcendent Universe. You cannot escape from this matter. Since you won''t tell me where Lord Wei is, then I will find him myself. When I do, I will tell him everything. You will die a horrible death."

    With that, the Monarch left.

    Zuo Lao angrily raged, "Madam, Luo Shan is ignoring the orders of the Sixverse Association more and more, leaving and returning to the Endless Frontier however he pleases! He is viting the rules."

    Bai Qian''s eyes flickered. "The Great Sovereign and many others are in seclusion, while the Three Monarchs Universe has been destroyed. Luo Shan''s attitude haspletely changed, and if he¡¯s pushed any further, it¡¯s even possible that he might betray mankind."

    "Then what should we do?" Zuo Lao was quite worried. He was well aware that he was not even close to being on the same level as Luo Shan. Even if Luo Shan was notparable to Lord Wei or the other rulers of the Sixverse Association, at the very least, Luo Shan was stronger than most peak powerhouses. After all, he had the strength to cooperate with Shao Yin and scheme against Lord Wei.

    Bai Qian reported Luo Shan¡¯s actions to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had a headache. That guy was still haunting him. It was clear that Luo Shan wanted to get revenge against Lu Yin, and he was seeking any opportunity to make trouble. Worse still, Luo Shan was no weakling.

    On top of that, Luo Shan did not only bring his own trouble, but also Mr. Daheng, who was staring at Luo Shan. Mr. Daheng wanted the Peaks and Rivers Rock that was in Luo Shan¡¯s possession, and this impacted the entire situation.

    After discussing the matter with Wang Wen and Wei Rong, Lu Yin went to visit Aeternus Nation to speak with Monarch Mu.

    When Monarch Mu saw Lu Yin, she got worked up. "Dao Monarch Lu, I have already been conferred as one of your gods, so why don¡¯t you release me?"

    Lu Yin moved closer. "That¡¯s not enough."

    Monarch Mu grew confused.

    "I need you to help me lure out Luo Shan," Lu Yin stated.

    Monarch Mu hesitated. While she had already betrayed Luo Shan by sharing a great deal of information about him with Lu Yin, she did not want to lure the man out. She did not want topletely betray her old friendship. "Dao Monarch Lu, Luo Shan is very powerful, and he hides his strength too well. You can¡¯tprehend the power that he wields, as there is no way to resist that sort of strength.¡±

    "Are you talking about sequence particles?" Lu Yin asked.

    Monarch Mu nodded. "I¡¯ve already told you that Luo Shan is a sequence powerhouse. You have never fought against such an expert, so you can¡¯tprehend the power they wield. I promise you, you can¡¯t stand up to him at all."

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Who said that I haven''t fought with a sequence powerhouse? You¡¯re wrong, I have faced such experts."

    Monarch Mu was startled, but she simply sneered. She did not believe Lu Yin at all.

    Could he fight against a sequence powerhouse? Absolutely not. He would have been massacred. Not to mention one Lu Yin¡ªeven a hundred Lu Yins were incapable of standing up to a sequence powerhouse. There was a qualitative change at that level.

    Lu Yin did not waste time with Monarch Mu. "If you want to be set free, then help me lure Luo Shan out. You don''t need to face him yourself, as it¡¯s impossible for you to fight against him. All I need is for Luo Shan to learn of your whereabouts."

    Monarch Mu was not stupid. In fact, it was the opposite, as she was highly intelligent. From what Lu Yin said, she understood that he intended to divert trouble away.

    No matter where she appeared, Luo Shan would instantly focus on that ce.

    This proposal allowed her to rx a bit. If this was all that Lu Yin required, there was no need to see Luo Shan at all.

    "Alright, I agree."

    If the Aeternals were watching the Transcendent Universe, then what Lu Yin needed to do was get the jump on them. He intended to seize the sequence particle research before the Aeternals destroyed it.

    Lu Yin returned to the Ziyou Realm, and the You family gave him information about three locations.

    "These are where the researchers are most likely located now. I have done my best." Exhaustion filled You Fang¡¯s voice.

    Lu Yin checked the three locations that the You family had identified. "How can I confirm which is the real location?"

    You Fang shrugged. "That¡¯s beyond what my You family can do. All we can do is set things up for you, Lord Lu. Each of these locations should be protected by a hyper-analysis mode, which means that anything that happens in these three locations will attract Lord Wei¡¯s attention."

    "So, if I stir things up in these three ces, how do I determine where Zi Jing is?"

    You Lele spoke up. "As long as you make trouble in just one of the ces, the hyper-analysis mode will react and cause the defenses to be tightened at some of the locations. The ce that shows no reaction is where you¡¯ll find Zi Jing."

    You Fang frowned as he nced over at You Lele.

    She was smiling at Lu Yin, who was looking at her as well. "Shouldn¡¯t it be the one where the defenses are increased?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2890: Face To Face

    Chapter 2890: Face To Face

    You Lele replied, "I understand Lord Wei very well. Our You family has studied the ruler of our universe for countless years, and I am absolutely certain that whichever one increases their defenses won¡¯t be the real target."

    "In that case, how did you determine that the researchers must be in one of these three locations? There¡¯s a super analysis mode in other ces as well," Lu Yin asked.

    You Lele said, "Because Lord Wei also needs to take idents into consideration. The researchers can¡¯t work in a ce that hasn¡¯t been properly prepared. On top of that, these three locations form an equteral triangle. In other words, given that Wen Shi, Cong Si, and Qiu Zhan are each stationed in a location, any one of them can support the other two locations in an instant. This is one of the reasons why we identified these three potential locations.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. "If you¡¯re right, I¡¯ll regard this as your You family¡¯s first aplishment for me."

    With that, Lu Yin left.

    You Fang gave You Lele an irritated look. "You said too much."

    You Lele''s eyes shed. "We just gave him some information. We never worked with him."

    You Fang sighed, but he did not press the matter.

    Their family had already failed to overthrow Lord Wei. You Lele was still young, and it was natural for her to have her own ideas. She would not give up without trying. However, given the new circumstances, it might truly be possible for Lord Wei to be overthrown. Lu Yin was not Sovereign Shao Yin, and he wielded much, much greater power.A few dayster, one of the three locations that the You family had told Lu Yin about was attacked by people from the Cloudflow Universe.

    When they attacked, even though the offense did not affect much, it still drew Cong Si out.

    All of the people from the Cloudflow Universe who participated in the attack had volunteered to do so, and while things did not end well for them, Lu Yin''s goal had been achieved.

    He now knew where the Energy Research Group was operating.

    Meanwhile, Cong Si interrogated the cultivators from the Cloudflow Universe who had attacked. It was clear that Cloudflow had already left, so why had they attacked the Transcendent Universe? The answer he received was not a surprise, but neither was it something that the Transcendent Universe had considered.

    The people of the Cloudflow Universe had wanted to free their universe byunching constant attacks on the Transcendent Universe, and that was the motivation behind this attack. While this might sound perfectly normal to most people, anyone who had an understanding of the Cloudflow Universe would know about their extremely rigid thinking. When Cloudflow had first been captured, the cultivators from his universe had charged out in unending waves, as though rushing over to die. They had never considered attacking any other locations, as such things simply never urred to them. However, shockingly enough, it seemed that the people of the Cloudflow Universe had found a way to fight back against the Transcendent Universe.

    Cong Si reported this information to Lord Wei, who became slightly concerned. Hearing about the Cloudflow Universe reminded the ruler of Lu Yin. Could this attack be connected to Lu Yin?

    There was no way to confirm anything, so Lord Wei simply ordered the Energy Research Group to change locations.

    However, Zi Jing refused.

    She had just thought of something, and she wanted to pursue the matter while she was still inspired. No one dared to disturb her, and even Lord Wei could not forcibly move the woman. If her line of thought was disrupted, then the losses would far outweigh the potential gains.

    Despite their desperation, everyone could only patiently wait for Zi Jing to finish.

    As they waited, Lord Wei personally took over the defense of the Energy Research Group. Additionally, a message was sent to Bai Qian, telling her to speak with the Heavens Sect and announce the release of the Cloudflow Universe.

    Cloudflow was back in the Heavens Sect. He had been helping protect the Voidforce Universe when he suddenly received a message from the Heavens Sect, summoning him from the Voidforce Universe¡¯s warfront.

    "Dao Monarch Lu," Cloudflow respectfully greeted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled at Cloudflow. "Do you still remember what I promised you?"

    Cloudflow was momentarily stunned, but then he quickly thought of something and excitedly asked, "Is it about the Cloudflow Universe?"

    Lu Yin looked past Cloudflow, and Zuo Lao stepped forward.

    Cloudflow instantly recognized Zuo Lao as someone from the Transcendent Universe, and excitement and anxiety filled Cloudflow¡¯s eyes as he stared at Zuo Lao.

    "Congrattions, Cloudflow. From this day forward, the Cloudflow Universe will be free. The Transcendent Universe will pull out of your universe, and will no longer interfere in anything that happens there."

    Cloudflow was so excited that he trembled. "Really?"

    Zuo Lao nodded with a smile. "This is Lord Wei''s order. For Lord Lu, we have decided topletely release the Cloudflow Universe. Cloudflow, you should thank Lord Lu."

    Cloudflow turned around and bowed low to Lu Yin. "You have Cloudflow¡¯s deepest thanks, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin helped Cloudflow stand back up. "Since you have joined my Heavens Sect, you are already a member. There is no need for any thanks. This is nothing more than me fulfilling the promise I made to you."

    Lu Yin understood Cloudflow''s excitement very well. Just like how the Lu family had returned to Lu Yin, Cloudflow¡¯s home had finally returned as well.

    This development could be considered an ident. Lu Yin had never thought that ordering people from the Cloudflow Universe to attack would worry Lord Wei this badly. It could only be said that Lord Wei feared Lu Yin too much. This reaction showed that Lord Wei was quite wary of Lu Yin.

    Given Lord Wei¡¯s reaction, the other two locations should not be where the researchers were based, right?

    Lu Yin quickly returned to the Transcendent Universe to speak with the You family.

    You Lele pointed to a specific location. "Here."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. She was pointing to a ce right in the middle of the three locations that the You family had originally identified. Lu Yin had actually considered having the people from the Cloudflow Universe first attack this central location in order to threaten all three of the locations that the You family had identified. What would have happened if he had followed through with that initial thought?

    Lu Yin was also worried that the Energy Research Group might have already been moved to a new location.

    "Are you sure they haven''t moved over thest few days?"

    You Lele replied, "We can¡¯t know that for sure, but given how long the hyper-analysis mode has been operating for, I would say that they haven¡¯t moved.

    "The previous attack made Lord Wei extremely vignt. Them moving or not goes beyond anything that we can control. I can only help Lord Lu find the location."

    Lu Yin did not answer and immediately left.

    Now that he knew the location, the next step was to have Luo Shan take action. Since the man was so desperate to see Lord Wei, Lu Yin would arrange a meeting for them.

    Lord Wei had the power of manifested thought, which made it difficult to hide from the man. There was also no chance that Monarch Mu could get in contact with Luo Shan while they were this close to the Energy Research Group. If not for the fact that Lu Yin had already confirmed that no one else would interfere through runes, he might have thought that Lord Wei was observing the entire Transcendent Universe right now.

    Runes allowed Lu Yin to know if any sort of power was approaching him. However, it went both ways with Lord Wei¡¯s manifested thoughts; if they were detected, then Lord Wei would also discover Lu Yin.

    Thus, it was clear that Lord Wei was not with the Energy Research Group.

    There were both advantages and disadvantages to Lord Wei''s caution. There was no way that his manifested thought was not surrounding the Energy Research Group, which meant that Lord Wei did not need to be physically close to them. As long as Luo Shan learned that Monarch Mu was in the Transcendent Universe and was led in the correct direction, the Monarch would inevitably run into Lord Wei. As long as the two met, Lu Yin¡¯s goal would be achieved.

    Lu Yin moved away from the Ziyou Realm and removed Monarch Mu from the Zenith Mountain there. Lu Yin made sure to position himself so the Energy Research Group¡¯s location was right between him and Monarch Luo. "Contact Luo Shan."

    Monarch Mu was taken aback. "This is the Transcendent Universe. Is Luo Shan here?"

    "Call him now!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Monarch Mu did not dare to refuse, and she immediately used their own unique means of contact to reach out to Luo Shan. It did not take long for the two to connect.

    In a corner of the Transcendent Universe, Luo Shan shot to his feet. "Little Mu?"

    He looked over, but suddenly, his connection with Monarch Mu was broken. Luo Shan immediately stepped forward, moving towards her.

    Lu Yin led Monarch Mu a little closer to the Energy Research Group and then asked her to call Luo Shan again. After that, he did not hesitate to take Monarch Mu and flee from the Transcendent Universe.

    Luo Shan arrived quickly, and his monarch essence surged to fill the area. <em>Why was Little Mu here? How could she be in this universe? Could that information broker have been right?</em>

    Long ago, Lu Yin had tried to use Xiao Hai to frame Monarch Mu''s disappearance onto the You family. As a result, Monarch Luo had tried to force his way into the Ziyou Realm to verify the information broker¡¯s news.

    Ultimately, everything had been settled with the intervention of outsiders. However, it was also true that, at that point in time, Monarch Luo had been cooperating with the You family and Sovereign Shao Yin as part of a n to overthrow Lord Wei. Luo Shan had never personally believed that the You family had done anything to Monarch Mu.

    However, Monarch Mu had just appeared in the Transcendent Universe, which confused Monarch Luo quite badly.

    He looked at where Monarch Mu had disappeared from and mentally drew a line connecting it to her previous location. The direction that she had been moving in was clear to see, as she had been moving towards Luo Shan.

    A fierce look covered the man¡¯s face. Regardless of the circumstances, there was no denying that Little Mu had appeared in the Transcendent Universe. On top of that, Lord Wei had been avoiding Luo Shan, even after the Monarch sent messages reporting the presence of both Cloudflow and He Ran¡¯s presence in the Heavens Sect. It suddenly seemed possible that Bai Qian had not been refusing to deliver Luo Shan¡¯s messages, but rather that Lord Wei simply did not care at all.

    Luo Shan and a few others had helped the You family in their attempted rebellion. If Little Mu had indeed been captured by Lord Wei, then Lord Wei should have taken action against the Three Monarchs Universe long ago.

    <em>Right, the attempt to overthrow Lord Wei failed, so he already knows everything</em>.

    Monarch Luo''s thoughts grew moreplicated. He had no idea if his thoughts were going in the right direction, but he knew that Monarch Mu had appeared in the Transcendent Universe. For that alone, it was necessary to speak with Lord Wei and get a clear answer.

    Luo Shan headed in the same direction that Monarch Mu had been moving in.

    Soon, Luo Shan was restrained by someone¡¯s power. He looked up ahead. "Lord Wei,e out."

    In the location where the Energy Research Group was based, Lord Wei looked extremely upset. Why was Luo Shan here?

    Manifested thought moved through space and gradually created an image of Lord Wei that stood face to face with Luo Shan. "Luo Shan, even if you refuse to remain on the Endless Frontier, why are youing after me in the Transcendent Universe? For you to casually leave the Endless Frontier, do you not fear being punished by the Great Sovereign?"

    Luo Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Cloudflow and He Ran are both in the Heavens Sect. Lord Wei, do you know about this?"

    Lord Wei arched a brow. Of course he knew about this, but he had never addressed the matter. The Heavens Sect had be too powerful, and Lord Wei¡¯s sole focus was the sequence particle research. He did not care about Cloudflow or He Ran at all. "That¡¯s a matter concerning my Transcendent Universe. It has nothing to do with you."

    Luo Shan''s face fell. "Then what about Little Mu? Where is she?"

    Lord Wei was left confused. "Who¡¯s Little Mu?"

    "My wife, Monarch Mu!"

    Lord Wei could not understand. "What does Monarch Mu¡¯s whereabouts have to do with me? Luo Shan, have you gone mad? Do you expect to find Monarch Mu in my Transcendent Universe?"

    Luo Shan''s voice grew cold. "Sovereign Shao Yin convinced me to help the You family in their attempt to overthrow you, and I admit to being at fault in that matter. However, even before that, Little Mu disappeared. Lord Wei, you are certainly sneaky enough, to have gone after Little Mu back then. Why else would she be here in the Transcendent Universe?"

    Lord Wei became upset. "Luo Shan, what are you going on about? How could Monarch Mu possibly be in the Transcendent Universe?"

    Luo Shan shouted back, "Little Mu just called me! She¡¯s here in the Transcendent Universe. Just drop the act, Lord Wei! Who else in this universe could trap Little Mu other than you? Those worthless ck energy converter users that you have in this universe arepletely incapable of handling her. You¡¯re the only one here who could overpower Little Mu.

    "Return her to me!"

    The usation infuriated Lord Wei, and heughed. "Did you lose your brain on the Endless Frontier? Are you seriously iming that Monarch Mu is here? Luo Shan, if you are seeking death, I can help you find it. Honestly, I really want to kill you!"

    "Go ahead and try!" Luo Shan had no intention of properly exining the situation.

    Luo Shan had just found out that Monarch Mu was in the Transcendent Universe, and the only person in the entire universe who could defeat her was Lord Wei. Luo Shan had to rescue his wife. The more powerful people he gathered around himself, the more likely he was to wield authority again.

    Monarch Luo had forced himself to endure for long enough. First, he had to tolerate Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s existence, and then there was Lu Yin. The Monarch no longer wanted to hold back.

    Even if the Great Sovereign emerged from seclusion, it would not change anything. Monarch Mu was in the Transcendent Universe, and there was no way for Lord Wei to escape responsibility. More importantly, Lord Wei and the other rulers of the universes had all been injured on the Endless Frontier, which meant that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Luo Shan. It might be possible to take advantage of the current situation and defeat the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, or even the universe itself.

    After all, was that not exactly what Lu Yin had done? Luo Shan could do the same.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2891: Exposed

    Chapter 2891: Exposed

    With this thought, Monarch Luo''s eyes zed. "Lord Wei, you forced me to do this."

    Lord Wei felt that something was wrong. Luo Shan did not seem to be putting on an act. Could Monarch Mu have really appeared in the Transcendent Universe? But how could he have not noticed anything? Could someone have been scheming against both of them?

    "Luo Shan, wait!" Lord Wei wanted to say something, but Luo Shan no longer felt any need to listen to anything Lord Wei said. The Monarch merely wanted to take advantage of Lord Wei''s grave injuries, as well as the fact that the Great Sovereign and the other rulers were in seclusion. In fact, he wanted to defeat the Transcendent Universe and rece Lord Wei as the ruler of the universe. Luo Shan was also a part of the Sixverse Association, and he hade to the Transcendent Universe to save Monarch Mu. She had clearly appeared in the universe, which was enough of a justification.

    Luo Shan was not stupid, and he had also guessed that there was something wrong with the situation. But regardless of what that problem might be, it was not as important as the current opportunity.

    The man let out a roar, and the Transcendent Universe trembled.

    Luo Shan instantly attacked Lord Wei, revealing an astonishing level of power.

    Tri-colored monarch essence covered the entire Transcendent Universe. "The Monarch¡¯s Domain."

    Lord Wei angrily shouted, "Luo Shan, please exin things clearly before attacking!"

    "Lord Wei, you captured Little Mu! This fight is to the death!"Some distance away, Lu Yin took action. He had used the Enhanced bubble to alter his appearance, and the of tri-colored monarch essence in his universe was trembling. From it emerged monarch essence, which was very simr to Luo Shan¡¯s, and Lu Yin instantly attacked the hyper-analysis mode.

    The Energy Research Group was startled by a sudden rm.

    At the same time, Wen Shi and Cong Si both made their way towards the Energy Research Group from different directions.

    In outer space, monarch essence shed with Lord Wei''s manifested thought, and the collision caused the color of the entire Transcendent Universe to change.

    Cong Si and Wen Shi both looked up in shock, as the resulting power terrified even them.

    "Watch out!"

    Tri-colored monarch essence shot towards the two men as though it possessed a mind of its own. But in truth, this attack contained Lu Yin''s peerless strength. Neither Wen Shi nor Si Da Die could have imagined that what they thought was a shockwave from Luo Shan''s attacks was actually Lu Yin targeting them in secret.

    The tri-colored monarch essence sted the two men away, and they spat out blood as they tumbled through outer space.

    Seizing the opening, Lu Yin rushed into the Energy Research Group¡¯s facility. There was actually someone else inside the facility who could use a ck energy converter, and there was also equipment using the Bestowal Art to devour any energy that was used nearby.

    However, the cultivation technology was useless, as Lu Yin relied on physical strength.

    Luo Shan was furious, and he wanted to kill Lord Wei as quickly as possible.

    In the Energy Research Group¡¯s facility, Lu Yin ran into the person with the ck energy converter, who was an old woman.

    The woman was startled by the sight of Lu Yin. "Who are-?"

    Lu Yin did not give the woman a chance to finish speaking before heshed out with a palm strike. The battle force covering his attack made it terrifyingly powerful, and the old woman¡¯s ck energy was instantly overwhelmed. Lu Yin made a grabbing motion, and the ck energy converter appeared in his hand.

    The old woman''s face grew pale. She had not even had a chance to do anything before being defeated.

    A peak powerhouse whose strength came solely from external forces would always be helpless against Lu Yin. After all, his physical strength could evenpete with Zhong Pan¡¯s, the captain of the True God Guard.

    Lord Wei noticed the moment the old woman was defeated, and he looked back, an extremely ugly expression on the man¡¯s face. Sure enough, this entire thing was a trap.

    There was no hesitation as Lord Wei raced towards the Energy Research Group¡¯s facility.

    However, Lord Wei had underestimated Luo Shan. Truthfully, aside from the Great Sovereign herself, everyone in the Sixverse Association had underestimated Luo Shan. He was not at all weak, and he was actually incredibly powerful.

    Lord Wei could not break free from the battle against Luo Shan so easily.

    "Luo Shan, we¡¯ve been tricked! Someone else has Monarch Mu, and he¡¯s right over there!" Lord Wei had no choice but to expose the Energy Research Group.

    It did not matter, as Luo Shan''s purpose had already changed. At this moment, he wanted to eliminate the ruler of a universe and conquer the Transcendent Universe. In essence, the Monarch wanted to once again rule a universe. While it sounded absurd, this was actually how he had seized control of the Three Monarchs Universe.

    In the Energy Research Group¡¯s facility, Lu Yin broke past every obstacle to find Zi Jing.

    When she saw Lu Yin, Zi Jing was very wary. "Who are you?"

    "It''s me," Lu Yin replied.

    Zi Jing was instantly thrilled. "Dao Monarch, you¡¯re finally here!"

    Lu Yin moved to Zi Jing''s side. "Let''s go."

    "What about the research here?"

    "I¡¯ll destroy it."

    Zi Jing grabbed Lu Yin''s arm.

    At this time, an invisible power appeared. "So it¡¯s you. Lu Yin, you have vited the precepts of the Sixverse Association!"

    Lu Yin was startled. How did Lord Wei know it was him?

    He instantly looked at Zi Jing, who had turned pale. "Dao Monarch, it wasn¡¯t me!"

    "What a pain. Since Lord Wei knows it¡¯s me, then regardless of how things go, this is definitely going to scare many people in the Sixverse Association. There¡¯s no denying that I broke the fundamental rules of the association."

    When Luo Shan had worked with the You family to overthrow Lord Wei, his actions had disgusted many people throughout the Sixverse Association, and they had felt the same way about Sovereign Shao Yin.

    However, Lu Yin could not worry about such details at the moment, as he first needed to escape.

    But while Lu Yin wanted to leave, Lord Wei would not let him do so without a fight.

    Manifested thought shattered space, and the ruler of the Transcendent Universe appeared. The man waved a hand towards Lu Yin.

    At that moment, Lu Yin felt his thoughts grow clouded, and both his movements and mind seemed to slow. Lord Wei took a step forward and grabbed at Zi Jing.

    She was terrified.

    At thest moment, a stream of light appeared at Lu Yin''s side, and time was reversed by one second.

    Lord Wei''s expression changed as his movements inexplicably stopped and then were reverted back by a second. With this opportunity, Lu Yin grabbed Zi Jing and fled.

    He had noticed that his thoughts had seemed to slow down, which was definitely rted to Lord Wei.

    This was neither Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s Sit and Forget, nor the Chiliagonist¡¯s method of controlling people with the power of consciousness. In an instant, Lu Yin had felt like an old man at the cusp of death. Even the power in his heart had not been able to resist its effects.

    At this moment, Luo Shan arrived.

    Three rulers of parallel universes confronted each other.

    "Lu Yin, release Zi Jing!" Lord Wei red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was extremely wary of Lord Wei. This person was a sequence powerhouse, and Lu Yin could not grasp Lord Wei¡¯s true power. Sovereign Shao Yin had plotted against the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and he had even destroyed one of the ruler¡¯s bodies, but only one. There was no way to know how many more bodies Lord Wei had, but at the moment, he was once again in the body of a man.

    Lord Wei had only acted out of desperation to guard against Luo Shan, but he had still nearly fallen for this trap.

    "Zi Jing is mine," Lu Yin dered.

    Lord Wei¡¯s retort was dripping with killing intent. "You havemitted a terrible sin! None of the members of the Sixverse Association are allowed to pry into each other''s secrets, much less interfere in another universe¡¯s affairs. You already interfered with the Cyclic Universe¡¯s matters in the past, and now you are forcing yourself into my Transcendent Universe. What are you trying to do? Do you really believe that no one in the Sixverse Association can stop you?

    "Your Lu family is not invincible!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Lord Wei. This person''s attitude towards Lu Yin waspletely different from what he had shown during the Tea Ceremony. This feeling had already manifested during Lu Yin¡¯sst meeting with Lord Wei; just what was going on with this person?

    "I simply want to take Zi Jing with me. Who in the Sixverse Association doesn''t know that she belongs to me? I received word that you intended to silence Zi Jing, so of course I needed to take action," Lu Yin snapped back.

    Lord Wei¡¯s previously calm expression fell. "Nothing but words."

    Lord Wei had been so focused on getting Zi Jing back that he had not thought about the current situation. But when confronted with Lu Yin, Lord Wei could not help but wonder why Lu Yin was even present. How did he know about this location? How did he know that Zi Jing had returned to the Transcendent Universe?

    Only a handful of people knew about this.

    Lord Wei¡¯s eyes shed. Bai Qian.

    He Ran and Cloudflow were both in the Heavens Sect, but in the past, Lord Wei had been so focused on the sequence particle research that he had not paid any attention to those two. After considering the matter, it became clear that Bai Qian had long since served Lu Yin. That was why Lu Yin had taken He Ran away; he had wanted to help Bai Qian take over the Transcendent Universe.

    Upon realizing what had happened, Lord Wei looked back at Lu Yin, this time with a much colder expression. Lu Yin had been plotting against the Transcendent Universe for quite some time.

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked over at Luo Shan. "I wonder why you¡¯re here, Monarch Luo?"

    Luo Shan was afraid of Lu Yin. While the young man was not particrly strong, there was nothing simple about him or his plots. It was clear from Lord Wei¡¯s reaction that he was at a disadvantage against Lu Yin. "Little Mu is in the Transcendent Universe, so I have to find her."

    Lu Yin instantly understood, and he turned to look at Lord Wei. "Senior, your scheming is impressive. You dealt with Monarch Mu before anything even happened. Clearly, you were already aware of Monarch Luo and Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s intentions to help the You family rebel. You must have captured Monarch Mu in an attempt to shake up the Three Monarchs Universe and reduce their strength."

    Lord Wei looked frustrated. He had always been the one to strategize and scheme, and he could not help but feel a bit of admiration for Lu Yin at this moment. "Child of the Lu family, I must admit that I admire you. So you were the one to capture Monarch Mu, and then you used her to lure out Luo Shan to give you an opening to meet Zi Jing. This would allow you to achieve your own goals while antagonizing Luo Shan into taking action.

    "When the Sixverse Association first came into contact with the Origin Universe, you were already scheming against my own universe and the Three Monarchs Universe. Even I have to admire your ability to gather information and n ahead. All of us have all be your pawns.

    "There¡¯s no shame in Sovereign Shao Yin losing to you, as he underestimated you too much."

    Luo Shan stared at Lu Yin. He was not stupid, and Lu Yin''s presence spoke volumes. Besides, it was far more believable for Lu Yin to capture Monarch Mu than Lord Wei. The signs all pointed to Lu Yin being the mastermind behind the scenes.

    Lu Yin had already expected such a reaction from Lord Wei when Lu Yin¡¯s hand was exposed, but so what if others knew the truth? People¡¯s self-interest would always outweigh everything else.

    "Luo Shan, the Three Monarchs Universe is already gone, but the Transcendent Universe is still here. I will support you in bing the ruler of the Transcendent Universe," Lu Yin stated solemnly.

    Luo Shan''s eyes shed, and a fire blossomed deep in his eyes.

    The current Origin Universe was extremely powerful, and the Lu family¡¯s return had raised the Origin Universe to the peak. If the Origin Universe supported the change, then it would not be impossible for Luo Shan to seed. On the contrary, if Luo Shan wanted to instead go after Lu Yin, he would be up against a terrifying monster, and he would lose everything he had left in the Sixverse Association.

    Lord Wei sneered. "You still believe Lu Yin¡¯s words after everything that has happened? Don''t forget, Luo Shan¡ªyour Three Monarchs Universe was destroyed by him."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Enemies neverst forever, as everyone will always prioritize their own interests."

    Lord Wei suddenly attacked Lu Yin. "Release Zi Jing!"

    Lu Yin felt a bout of vertigo as his thoughts grew sluggish once again. This time, Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed him to clearly see the sequence particles that fell upon him. These sequence particles did not cause any overt harm, but rather slowed his thoughts and his body¡¯s reflexes.

    If Lord Wei had mastered sequence particles that produced physical attacks, then Lu Yin would not be afraid. He had already survived Lightning Sequence Particles, even if it was only a small number. However, Lord Wei¡¯s sequence particles were far trickier to deal with. There was also no way that this was the limit of what Lord Wei could do, which meant that there had to be some sort of attack that was used inbination with the sequence particles.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and his bone spur shot out at Lord Wei. This weapon was capable of ignoring all defenses, and it contained an incredible amount of voidforce energy.

    There was a bang as the bone spur mmed into a wave of energy. It was tri-colored monarch essence.

    Luo Shan stared at Lu Yin. "Snap out of it!"

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank sharply as he stared at Luo Shan in disbelief. How had that happened? How had he attacked Luo Shan?

    "Dao Monarch!" Zi Jing eximed.

    A beam of light suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin''s eyes, stabbing at his forehead. This was Lord Wei¡¯s killing attack. Lu Yin was not only facing the attack in front of him, but also simr attacks shooting at him from every direction. Clearly, his mind was being manipted again. Not even reversing time with Lightstream would allow Lu Yin to avoid all of these attacks. With no other choice, at the veryst moment, Lu Yin pulled out Evernight and entered the card.

    At the ce where Lu Yin had just been standing, Evernight disappeared into the void.

    Lord Wei raised a hand and pressed down. His manifested thought suppressed the void with a startling sound, and Evernight suddenly reappeared. Lu Yin emerged from the card, and he retreated as far as possible while staring at Lord Wei with open fear.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2892: The Truth

    Chapter 2892: The Truth

    "Your attacks have no effect on him, he can also control your thoughts," Luo Shan said.

    Lord Wei stared at Luo Shan. "Do you want to be tricked by him yet again?"

    Lu Yin had already known that Lord Wei was very powerful, to the point that Shao Yin could notpare to Lord Wei at all. Even so, Lu Yin had not expected to be so thoroughly suppressed.

    Lord Wei was able to alter Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, and even trigger bloodlust. This was not anything that Lu Yin could protect himself from.

    Lu Yin was able to use his die¡¯s Possession to take over others¡¯ bodies. That innate gift relied on consciousness, which was the mind¡¯s awareness of the outside world. Thoughts were the mind¡¯s response to the presence of consciousness.

    It was impossible for Lord Wei to manipte Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness, but what was altered were Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts, which were his brain¡¯s responses to the outside world. Thoughts urred incredibly quickly, and due to the fact that the maniption was being done with sequence particles, there was absolutely nothing Lu Yin could do to stop it.

    If the ruler of the Transcendent Universe had also mastered sequence particles rted to consciousness, Lu Yin might not be able to defend against that, either.

    This was the gap between sequence powerhouses and all who had not yet reached that level.

    What could Lu Yin do? Wrap his Wordless Heavenly Book around his own head in order to defeat Lord Wei?Such people did not usually have very strong defenses. Sovereign Shao Yin had once rotted Lord Wei¡¯s body, so as long as Lu Yin could block Lord Wei''s sequence particles that manipted thoughts, he was confident that he could defeat Lord Wei with a single palm strike.

    The invisible killing intent returned. Lord Wei was showing no mercy at all towards Lu Yin, and was genuinely trying to kill him.

    It was utterly impossible to hide from such a killing intent.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin''s head, and his summoned gods emerged and charged at Lord Wei. Of the figures, Xia Shenji''s attack was the most intense. A de shed through the void, and the Divine Martial Armor that appeared caused even Luo Shan to nce sideways. He had fought with Xia Shenji before, and thus Luo Shan was very familiar with the Progenitor¡¯s abilities.

    While Xia Shenji was not a Sequence Progenitor, his strength essentially touched upon the limits of what was possible beneath that level. This was precisely why Luo Shan had not killed Xia Shenji when they had fought. Well, that and the fact that Luo Shan had been keeping his own strength hidden.

    Regardless, Xia Shenji¡¯s attack power was far from weak.

    Even so, regardless of how powerful an attack might be, it first had to be able to strike Lord Wei.

    The reason Shao Yin had attacked in secret had not only been because of the rules of the Sixverse Association, but also because he had not been confident that he could injure Lord Wei. Lord Wei¡¯s control over opponents¡¯ thoughts was too strong.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods was brilliant, and the summoned gods that included Xia Shenji, Leng Qing, and more charged at Lord Wei. However, they all abruptly disappeared.

    Lord Wei had instantly altered Lu Yin''s thoughts, which had caused the Investiture of the Gods to disappear.

    The Lu family had relied on their Investiture of the Gods and Champions¡¯ Stage to retain control over the Fifth Maind. One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all. The power to summon both living and dead powerhouses was extremely powerful, but it still had certain weaknesses. If a person¡¯s own strength was unable to keep up, it did not matter how many gods they conferred or champions they annointed, as they would be useless. If this were not the case, the Lu family would have be invincible.

    Forgotten Ruins God was able to counter the Investiture of the Gods by making a person forget, while Lord Wei could achieve the same result by affecting a person¡¯s thoughts.

    Lu Yin was helpless against such opponents. He looked over at Luo Shan and said, "If you deal with Lord Wei, the Transcendent Universe is yours. I and my Lu family will fully support you. Even if the Great Sovereign opposes this change, it will mean nothing. You should already know about my rtionship with the Voidforce Universe, as well as my rtionship with the Lost n. On top of that, Mu Ke, one of the strongest experts in the Arboreal Realm, is my senior disciple brother."

    Luo Shan sneered. This was the precise moment he had been waiting for. "Free Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing and bring me Chen Le. Agree to that, and I will help you deal with Lord Wei. Additionally, any past grudges between you and I will be forgotten."

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Lord Wei shouted, "Luo Shan, you are a fool!"

    The ruler of the Transcendent Universe hurried to attack Lu Yin, and the endless manifested thought formed an impressive valley that was so deep it looked like an inverted mountain as it filled the universe. Lord Wei was wanting topletely destroy Lu Yin''s thoughts, reducing the young man to an idiot.

    Lu Yin was startled, and the pressure he felt from the attack intimidated him. With Heaven¡¯s Sight, he was able to see the countless sequence particles that had merged together to form the bottomless abyss of manifested thought. This was an attack that could overwhelm everything, and Lu Yin could not handle it at all. Not even his Wordless Heavenly Book could withstand such an endless amount of sequence particles. He quickly shouted, "Alright, I promise! So long as Monarch Xing is willing to go with you, I won¡¯t stop her."

    "Release Monarch Mu!" Luo Shan''s expression was solemn as he looked upwards. He was pointedly ignoring Lord Wei¡¯s frantic shouts.

    Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain and ced Zi Jing in it before he released Monarch Mu. At this moment, Lu Yin really had no other choice.

    The moment that Monarch Mu appeared, the first thing she saw was the abyss of manifested thought before her. The sight caused her to go pale. What was this?

    Luo Shan red at Lu Yin with a cold expression. It really had been Lu Yin, though this was not the time to be concerned about such things.

    Lord Wei alone sank into the abyss of manifested thought, and tried to drag the others along, reducing them to idiots.

    "Luo Shan, wouldn''t it be better to join me and kill Lu Yin?"

    Luo Shan had long dreamed of killing Lu Yin, but what would be gained from Lu Yin¡¯s death? Origin Universe would remain a member of the Sixverse Association, and Luo Shan would also still need to serve out his time on the Endless Frontier. At best, he would leave for another parallel universe, while in the worst case scenario, the Monarch would have to face the endless pursuit of the Heavens Sect and the Lu family.

    Without Lu Yin, Luo Shan would have no support and would also not get Monarch Xing. Luo Shan desired to conquer the Transcendent Universe and once again rule over a universe that was a member of the Sixverse Association. He did not want to restart from scratch.

    "Lord Wei, after so many years, it''s time for you to step down from ruling." Tri-colored monarch essence surged out from Luo Shan''s body and spread out.

    With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin watched as Luo Shan''s sequence particles moved into the abyss of manifested thought.

    What did a collision of differentws of the universe look like? While Lu Yin had seen such shes before, he had never seen such a massive collision of sequence particles. Both powerhouses were going all out.

    "Even if you obtain Lu Yin¡¯s support, what of it? If you want to steal my universe, will anyone else agree?"

    "You don''t need to worry about that. In the worst case scenario, the Transcendent Universe will be annexed to the Endless Frontier, dragged down just like my Three Monarchs Universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "I¡¯ll support that, Monarch Luo."

    Lord Wei stopped talking as he plummeted into the abyss of manifested thought.

    Lu Yin witnessed an odd sight. Luo Shan''s sequence particles continued to collide with Lord Wei¡¯s, but at the moment of impact, there was no collision, nor any damage to the universe. Instead, all of the sequence particles simply vanished.

    What was happening?

    More and more sequence particles collided and disappeared.

    While the terrifying abyss of manifested thought still spread across the universe, it did not feel threatening to Lu Yin any longer.

    Without sequence particles, manifested thought was just another cultivated power, and not even a Progenitor¡¯s power could pose much of a threat to Lu Yin.

    What was thew of the universe that Luo Shan had mastered?

    Lu Yin looked over at Monarch Mu.

    The woman let out a sigh of relief, and then noticed Lu Yin¡¯s attention. Neither of them said anything.

    "Luo Shan, do you really want to be my enemy?" Lord Wei roared.

    Luo Shan lifted his head. "If you were still at your peak, I couldn¡¯t be sure I could handle you. However, the battle on the Endless Frontier reduced your sequence particles by nearly half. Lord Wei, it''s time for you to step down!"

    The abyss of manifested thought disappeared, and Lord Wei reappeared, panting for breath. res were shot at both Luo Shan and Lu Yin. "I never expected to see this day."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Lord Wei, you clearly just tried to genuinely kill me, but you also clearly saved me during the Tea Ceremony. Why?"

    Lord Wei said nothing. Luo Shan had already attacked. The Monarch wanted Lord Wei dead as quickly as possible. Lord Wei had reached his limit.

    The tri-colored monarch essence solidified as it formed a massive hand thatunched at Lord Wei. He suddenly stopped panting and raised his own hand.

    <em>Boom</em>

    The two hands collided, and Luo Shan was blown backwards. He retreated a thousand meters, startled by the exchange. "Impossible!"

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. With Heaven¡¯s Sight, he had seen that Lord Wei''s power had suddenly changed. The power of manifested thought had vanished and been reced with a power that Lu Yin was extremely familiar with: space.

    How was this possible? Did Lord Wei control the power of space?

    Any powerful cultivator could influence time and space after reaching a certain level of strength, but that did not mean that they actually controlled those powers. During thest exchange, Lord Wei had used the power of space to push Luo Shan back. This was due to his overpowering strength.

    Luo Shan was quite strong, and yet he was unable topare to Lord Wei¡¯s palm strike?

    Monarch Mu could not believe her eyes, and Luo Shan found the situation even harder to believe. He had never heard any hint of Lord Wei possessing such power. This was impossible.

    "You are not Lord Wei!" Luo Shan suddenly shouted.

    Lord Wei let out a breath and then raised his head. His eyes werepletely from before. They took on a yful glint, sparkling with cruelty. They were eyes that Lu Yin was very familiar with. <em>Is that¡­?</em>

    "Everything was going so well. Child of the Lu family, why did youe looking to make trouble for me? You were clearly a pawn in my own conspiracy, and yet, ultimately, I need to put you down myself. What a pity."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. "Shaman God!"

    Luo Shan and Monarch Mu were both startled. Neither of them had ever imagined that the ruler of one of the six member universes of the Sixverse Association would actually be Shaman God. How was such a ridiculous thing even possible?

    Even so, the truth was right before their eyes.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. The carving etched on the rear battlefield that spelled out "Transcendent Universe" had to have been referring to this. Someone had been trying to warn Lu Yin that Lord Wei was actually Shaman God. If the sequence particle research was taken by the Aeternals, it would be a massive problem for humanity. Such a thing could not be allowed to happen.

    Still, how was this possible? How could Shaman God have be Lord Wei? No one could have suspected a thing, as both had been present during the battle at the Tea Ceremony.

    No wonder Lord Wei had constantly been in seclusion and had skipped out on several of the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremonies. Additionally, the greatest cover for posing as Lord Wei was the fact that Lord Wei had multiple bodies. Even if a stranger appeared, it would not have exposed Shaman God. The biggest problem was how could multiple bodies be controlled simultaneously? How had both Shaman God and Lord Wei appeared at the same time?

    Lord Wei¡¯s power was manifested thought, while Shaman God could confound the five senses.

    "Why did youe out just now?" Lord Wei suddenly said to herself.

    "Kakaka, it takes time to arrange things."

    "My manifested thought is nearly consumed. Do you really want them to destroy me?¡±

    "You¡¯re overthinking. Keeping you around is still useful. You initially wanted to control me, but you underestimated me! How could I be controlled by you? You can forget about escaping after entering my body. At best, you can send your thoughts out so that no one detects anything odd.¡±

    "I believe the Great Sovereign and a few others have started to doubt me. During the battle on the Endless Frontier, the power I revealed was different from before."

    "You were fighting me during that battle! No one noticed a thing. Beside, it doesn''t matter. The sequence particle research ispleted, so there¡¯s no reason to wait around in the Sixverse Association."

    "You nearly died as well..."

    Seeing Lord Wei talking to himself, Lu Yin and Luo Shan nced at each other. They understood that the body they were fighting belonged to Shaman God, but that Lord Wei''s consciousness had infiltrated Shaman God''s body, only to be trapped by Shaman God. Lord Wei was unable to escape.

    Lord Wei was a mind, and that mind could separate from the host¡¯s brain. In the past, Lord Wei¡¯s mind had manipted other bodies to prevent anyone from noticing Shaman God¡¯s presence, but Lord Wei¡¯s mind was under Shaman God¡¯s control.

    The best way to understand the current situation was that the body was Shaman God¡¯s, and Lord Wei was an alternate personality.

    "Lord Wei, you actually cooperated with Shaman God? You have betrayed humanity!" Luo Shan asked.

    Shaman God responded with an odd smile. "Is Lord Wei really still human?"

    The question left Luo Shan speechless. Lord Wei really was no longer human. It was possible for such a being to be human, a corpse king, or even an astral beast. It all depended on the current choice.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2893: One Word Manifestation

    <h4>Chapter 2893: One Word Manifestation</h4>

    Neither Lu Yin nor Luo Shan hesitated, and they both fled in two different directions at the same time. At the moment, they had no other thoughts aside from escaping. They did not want to fight one of the Seven Skygods to the death.

    Shaman God gave a strange smile, and rays of light shot out to form a huge sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin and Luo Shan were both trapped within the array.

    "Don''t even think about escaping, Luo Shan. I¡¯m offering you a chance to join Aeternus," Shaman God said with a grin.

    Luo Shan sneered. "You really think you can trap me? You¡¯re underestimating me too much."

    "Kakaka, this isn¡¯t the Origin Universe or the Cyclic Universe. Our strength isn¡¯t restricted at all here. You should already understand what that means from the Endless Frontier," Shaman God threatened.

    Luo Shan looked quite afraid. "That''s why I don¡¯t have any intention of fighting you to the death."

    He looked at Lu Yin. "It''s a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to kill you myself, but I do hope that you won''t betray humanity."

    Monarch Luo then held Monarch Mu tightly as sequence particles condensed at his fingertips. He pointed forward. "New World, open."

    Lu Yin watched as Luo Shan opened the Hollow, and then stepped into it and disappeared while holding Monarch Mu.

    There were rumors that Luo Shan had once emerged from the Hollow, and that it was that incident that had caused him to gain the Great Sovereign¡¯s respect.

    Chen Le had told Lu Yin that the rumors were false, and countless people throughout the Sixverse Association believed them to be fake as well, but the story was actually true.

    Lu Yin had already known this from Monarch Mu, and thus understood that Luo Shan had the ability to temporarily enter the Hollow. This had nothing to do with the man¡¯s strength, but with his sequence particles. Even so, not even Monarch Mu knew whichw of the universe Luo Shan had mastered.

    By entering the Hollow, Luo Shan could escape without issue.

    While Luo Shan knew that he could escape, he did not believe that Lu Yin could do the same, and neither did Shaman God.

    "Child of the Lu family, why don¡¯t I offer you a chance to join Aeternus? Kakaka."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Goodbye."

    Upon speaking, Lu Yin released his universe from within his chest. His surroundings warped and twisted as a shell of the Hollow appeared around Lu Yin. Everywhere that the Transcendent Universe came into contact with Lu Yin¡¯s universe, the resistance between the two universes caused the Hollow to open.

    Shaman God stared in a daze. Just what was Lu Yin doing? He was repelling the universe that they were in?

    Lu Yin took a step forward and broke free of Shaman God¡¯s sourcebox array, leaving just as easily as Luo Shan.

    The sourcebox array had been arranged in the Transcendent Universe, but the Hollow was a break in a universe. This was why Lu Yin had been so confident that he could also escape.

    First Luo Shan and then Lu Yin. The sourcebox array that Shaman God had asked Lord Wei to construct with manifested thoughts to stall the two humans, yet had failed entirely.

    Even so, Shaman God¡¯s expression never changed.

    Lu Yin rushed away from where the Energy Research Group was based, only to be faced with countless Shaman God dolls that were scattered throughout the void. Even so, Lu Yin pressed forward. He was surrounded by the Hollow, which separated him from the Transcendent Universe. That meant that nothing in the Transcendent Universe could stop him.

    Events proved Lu Yin¡¯s assumption to be correct, and the dolls failed to stop him. He did not force his way through with brute strength, but sliced through with the Hollow.

    Unless a power surpassed the strength of the Transcendent Universe and was able to impact the Hollow, nothing could trap Lu Yin.

    After some time had passed, Lu Yin saw another of Shaman God¡¯s dolls before him. Lu Yin should have already escaped, so why was there still a doll?

    Elsewhere, an ugly expression appeared on Luo Shan''s face as well. He also had one of Shaman God¡¯s dolls in front of him, but how was that possible? He had clearly entered the Hollow, so how could anything trap him?

    Monarch Mu was terrified, as the sight of the dolls left her trembling.

    "Kakaka, this is Shaman Maze! The sourcebox array you just escaped from was only there to test what you were capable of. This maze once trapped Gu Yizhi on the Third Maind."

    Shaman God''s words caused Lu Yin''s hair to stand on end. Gu Yizhi had been a Dao Monarch. This maze was capable of trapping even a Dao Monarch?

    "Explode." A soft voice reached his ears.

    All around Lu Yin, space condensed, and then suddenly exploded.

    He quickly dodged, moving away from where he had been standing. That area waspletely obliterated, and the Hollow appeared in a space of about a meter wide.

    "Explode."

    "Explode."

    "Explode."

    The soft voice continued to ring in Lu Yin¡¯s ears.

    He relied on his control of space and Heaven¡¯s Sight to just barely be able to evade each explosion before it urred.

    Luo Shan was in a much worse situation. While he was able to clearly observe what was happening to the space around him, he was unable to evade before it exploded. Additionally, the attacks that Shaman God aimed at Luo Shan possessed a greater number of sequence particles, which caused the Monarch to be repeatedly struck by spatial explosions. His arms, legs, abdomen, and back were all riddled with wounds.

    "Explode." The soft voice spoke again, and this time, Monarch Mu''s head exploded, the force shaking Luo Shan back.

    The Monarch stared nkly at Monarch Mu''s corpse, sadness welling up in his heart. Even more than that, he feltpletely powerless.

    This was the true strength of one of the Seven Skygods.

    They had been restricted during the battle in the Cyclic Universe, due to being shunned in that universe. Only on the Endless Frontier were they able to exert their full power. Luo Shan had identally gotten caught up in a fight between Sovereign Dou Sheng and Corpse God, which had given the Monarch a clear understanding of just how unfathomably powerful the Seven Skygods were. There were very few individuals in the entire Sixverse Association who were capable of standing up to the Seven Skygods when they could ess their true power.

    It was beyond Luo Shan¡¯s abilities, and also beyond Lord Wei. Even Lord Xu might not be able to fight against the full strength of one of the Seven Skygods.

    The Sixverse Association appeared to be extremely powerful, given the number of peak powerhouses they had, but there were too few who had the strength to resist the Seven Skygods while on the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin kept dodging, drifting through space and reversing time by a second when necessary.

    The assault on him reminded him of the portion of his Semi-Progenitor tribtion when he had been struck by lightning and had needed to dodge the shattering of space at the same time. Shaman Maze left Lu Yin feeling as though he was back in his stellr tribtion with no way to escape.

    More and more sequence particles kept attacking.

    "Child of the Lu family, as long as you join Aeternus, I can promise that you will be made the eighth Skygod. True God will grant you power which will help you transform. You will have no equal among humans," Shaman God tempted.

    Lu Yin let out a heavy breath, and then waved a hand. A Zenith Mountain appeared. "Ancestor, I have done my best, so I¡¯ll have to leave this to you now."

    Space rippled in a violent manner as someone emerged from the Zenith Mountain. "Shaman God, we meet again."

    Shaman Maze quivered.

    Luo Shan suddenly found that space had stopped exploding. Shaman God was no longer attacking him.

    After a brief moment, a sharp shout rang out, "Lu Tianyi?"

    The person who had emerged from the Zenith Mountain was, of course, Lu Tianyi.

    Someone had once cautioned others that no matter what happened on the rear battlefield, Lu Yin would never be allowed to visit any universe unapanied. It was not a surprise that Lu Tianyi was with him.

    Lu Yin had not asked Lu Tianyi out during the battle with Lord Wei, nor when he had been trying to escape from Shaman God''s sourcebox array. Lu Tianyi had not been asked to help so that LU Yin could see the limits of Shaman God''s strength.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan, Ancestor Lu Tianyi, and even Big Sis had repeatedly warned Lu Yin to never underestimate the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin had taken those warnings to heart, and never underestimated the Seven Skygods.

    If one of the Seven Skygods was unable to trap even Lu Yin, then there was no chance that they were revealing their true strength.

    With Shaman Maze being used, as well as the endless attacks from the Skygod that included sequence particles, Lu Yin knew that it was time.

    Shaman Maze had appeared, and this was something that had once trapped even Gu Yizhi. If this was not the limit of Shaman God¡¯s strength, then how could humans have survived for so long?

    Lu Tianyi looked around. "This is the same power that was used during the Battle of Turtledove River, yet you have never used it in our universe. Is that because of being shunned? Shaman God, do your best to survive this day."

    "Lu Tianyi, do you really think you can handle me?" Shaman God shouted as a massive region of space copsed. Shaman God''s doll let out a strangeugh.

    Lu Tianyi sneered. "Ancestor reminded me that you were seriously injured during the battle on the Endless Frontier. Right now is the best time to kill you!"

    From when Shaman God had been talking to themself, Lu Yin had learned that during the massive battle on the Endless Frontier, Shaman God had been fighting against Lord Wei¡¯s thoughts in a staged confrontation. However, Shaman God had still nearly died during that battle. Apparently, Ancestor Lu Yuan had had something to do with that.

    Shaman God sounded rather upset. "I should have trapped that old bastard Lu Yuan from the beginning.

    "Explode!"

    "Dao of One Heavens, One Word Manifestation."

    Space warped and twisted in all directions around where the Energy Research Group had been working, and then it all exploded.

    The entire Transcendent Universe started to crack and break as countless spatial tears shot out, carrying disaster with them.

    Shaman Maze was destroyed by the confrontation between Lu Tianyi and Shaman God. Taking advantage of the sudden opportunity, Luo Shan escaped. There was no hesitation.

    He did not want to face either Shaman God or Lu Tianyi, as they were both absolute monsters.

    Lu Yin was forced to enter Evernight to avoid getting caught up in the battle.

    Finally, he had managed to see Ancestor Lu Tianyi''s true power. The man had only used three fingers to defeat Nutjob Lu, but it was also clear that Lu Tianyi did not hold any advantage when facing Shaman God. An indescribable sea of sequence of particles roiled like an ocean, shrouding everything in the Transcendent Universe.

    Shaman God¡¯s sequence particles that seemed to be rted to the power of space were bombarded and constantly consumed.

    "If I weren¡¯t seriously injured, you would never be able to suppress me, Lu Tianyi!" Shaman God was unwilling to give up.

    Lu Tianyi responded with an indifferent tone, "My ancestor told me that I must destroy you. The debt you owe from the Battle of Turtledove River needs to be repaid."

    "Kakaka, still? You¡¯re going to do that on your own? Even if Lu Yuan shows up, he can''t keep me here!" Divine energy erupted from Shaman God''s body, and shot towards Lu Tianyi.

    The Progenitor¡¯s expression changed. Divine energy was a power that could overwhelm everything. With this attack from Shaman God, Lu Tianyi could not instantly break through.

    Shaman God turned around and suddenly appeared right next to the massive machine that was used to study sequence particles. He intended to escape with it. This research was the entire reason he had remained in the Transcendent Universe. This research could alter humanity¡¯s power, but it could also do the same for Aeternus.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed red. He could not allow Shaman God to take the research away.

    Lu Yin shot towards the divine energy. Ancestor Lu Tianyi was unable to break through divine energy in an instant, but Lu Yin could open a path.

    Lu Tianyi was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s actions, and grabbed him. "Little Seven, don''t be impulsive."

    At this moment, Shaman God should have been leaving, yet the Skygod suddenly vomited blood, and fear filled his eyes. "What''s going on? Are you injured? Didn''t you say that no one can kill you? Escape!"

    "Shut up!" Shaman God shouted. Lord Wei had been the one to panic a moment before.

    Shaman God tore the void open. Behind, Lu Tianyi pushed Lu Yin away while facing Shaman God. "One Word Manifestation: Break! I told you you can''t escape."

    As Lu Tianyi spoke, Shaman God''s body cracked. The Skygod was unable to maintain a hold of the machine, and it slipped from the man¡¯s hand. He turned back to look at Lu Tianyi in shock. "You¡¯ve reached this level?"

    Lu Tianyi stood in front of the Skygod, parting the divine energy. The Progenitor took a step forward, and peered down at Shaman God while pointing a finger forward, just as he had done when faced with Nutjob Lu. This finger had left Nutjob Lu desperate and unable to fight back.

    Madness filled Shaman God''s eyes, even as cracks continued to spread across the body. Dots of space condensed and then shot into the body. They were Space Sequence Particles that could be seen even without Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    The only other time Lu Yin had seen sequence particles in this same manner had been when the Great Sovereign had done so during her Tea Ceremony.

    Shaman God''s body suddenly shattered, and the Space Sequence Particles that had entered his body abruptly connected together to form a sourcebox array.

 Chapter 2894: A Long-Term Plan

    <h4>Chapter 2894: A Long-Term n</h4>

    Shaman God stared at Lu Tianyi in a crazed manner. "Like I said, no one can kill me! Lu Tianyi, I¡¯ll remember this! I¡¯ll leave the sequence particle research here for now, but I¡¯ll be back for it!"

    With that, the Skygod¡¯s body instantly vanished without any warning.

    Lu Tianyi''s fingers fell upon nothing, and he stared at the empty space. Shaman God was gone.

    Lu Yin quickly approached. "Ancestor."

    Lu Tianyi had a solemn look on his face. "He used the Law of Space to break his body apart and forcefully escape. While he got away, he¡¯s at death¡¯s door. Unless he receives the help of a truly powerful individual, he¡¯ll still die."

    "But since he escaped, he must have some sort of back-up n." Lu Yin was unwilling to just give up.

    Lu Tianyi nodded. He had not expected Shaman God to have such a trick prepared, but the Progenitor had still been able to wound Shaman God, which would have been an impressive aplishment even during the Heavens Sect era.

    Suddenly, the void nearby twisted, and Shaman God reappeared.

    Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin stared nkly at the man, who stared back at them in a daze. Why was he back?

    Lu Tianyi quickly attacked, and a finger struck Shaman God''s forehead. The Skygod¡¯s head was destroyed, and yet his body still briefly disappeared. At thest moment, Lightstream flickered, and reversed time by a second. Shaman God''s fading body returned, and Lu Tianyi took the opportunity to raise a hand and strike Shaman God''s nearly headless body. The sourcebox array within Shaman God''s body that had been formed by space sequence particles was directly destroyed by Lu Tianyi. This was something only Lu Tianyi could do.

    With the sourcebox array broken, Shaman God could no longer escape. At this moment, he lookedpletely dead.

    Lu Yin stared at the headless body. Was the Skygod really dead? It felt unreal. This was one of the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin had never heard of any of the Skygods dying, aside from in the distant Heavens Sect era. He had simply wanted to take the sequence particle research, yet had inadvertently caused the death of one of the Seven Skygods?

    Shaman God''s body swayed, and then lines of blood flowed from the ruined body. They merged together and formed a head out of the various lines of blood. The face red at Lu Tianyi. "You weren¡¯t the one to kill me! Lord Wei, why did you do this?"

    The expression of the face of blood changed, and revealed an expression of mockery and arrogance. "How many years has it been since you learned about the Transcendent Universe¡¯s sequence particle research and targeted this universe¡¯s ruler? For all of the years since then, I¡¯ve been waiting for this exact moment."

    "You aren¡¯t Lord Wei?" Shock covered the features of the head of blood, and then once more grew arrogant. At this moment, such arrogance was strangely reassuring.

    "I dealt with him one step ahead of you. As soon as I eliminated Lord Wei, you came after me. Truthfully, I never thought that this would be the way to kill you. Few of the Seven Skygods have ever died since the moment of their inception. Even during the Heavens Sect era, only one or two ever died, and after that, no one has managed to kill any of the Seven Skygods. You¡¯re just too difficult to kill.

    "This was the only way to deal with you, and it means that one less person will die."

    "Who are you?" Shaman God demanded.

    Lu Tianyi sighed. "It¡¯s been a long time, Hui Wen."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Progenitor Hui?"

    "Haha, it has indeed been a long time, Lu Tianyi. Your Lu family nearly ruined my luck."

    "You¡¯re Hui Wen? That despicable, sneaky bastard?" Shaman God¡¯s fury was clearly seen on the face of the head formed from blood, but that expression quickly changed again and returned back to that of Progenitor Hui.

    "When ites to being despicable, how could anyonepare to you Aeternals? Aside from the shattering of the First Maind, all of the other Mainds were destroyed through sneak attacks or underhanded means. Your shameless ways led to the fall of the Heavens Sect. Shaman God, you yed no small part in all of that.

    "During the Battle of Turtledove River, you ughtered your way across the entire battlefield. Lu Tianyi is right, you need to pay the debt of blood you owe."

    "You¡¯re mad! Even if I die, you¡¯ll die with me!" Shaman God roared.

    Progenitor Hui sneered. "I died a long time ago, and only my mind has remained. Now that I¡¯ve revealed myself, do you really think that I was ever controlled by you? Lu Tianyi, finish it, or have the kid do it."

    Shaman God refused to ept defeat. "Hui Wen, you can''t defeat Aeternus directly, so you rely on these kinds of twisted methods! You¡¯re too despicable! Completely hateful..."

    There was a bang as Shaman God''s body shatteredpletely, destroyed by Lu Tianyi ''s sequence particles.

    Lu Yin watched as Shaman God''s body vanished into a cloud, and an indescribable feeling of relief overcame him. The Seven Skygods were not immortal.

    From the moment Lu Yin had first learned about the existence of the Seven Skygods, he had thought about how to defeat them. However, the further Lu Yin had risen, the more he had understood just how unfathomable those seven powerhouses were. There seemed to be no limits to their strength, and any time that Lu Yin had felt like he had seen their limits, he hadter discovered that what he had seen was not the truth at all.

    There had even been a time when Lu Yin had doubted if it was even possible for the Seven Skygods to die.

    However, Shaman God was dead, and his death had shattered Lu Yin''s impression of the invincible Seven Skygods. Even they could still die.

    Shaman God had died because of Progenitor Hui¡¯s plotting, but also because Lu Yuan had managed to leave the Skygod badly wounded before Lu Tianyi had delivered the final blow. It had taken several of humanity¡¯s most powerful individuals to work together, but so long as Shaman God was dead, everything had worked out.

    Lu Tianyi let out a breath. "Finally, I killed one."

    "Yes, I finally killed one." An ethereal voice came from Progenitor Hui. All that remained was his manifested thought.

    Lu Tianyi looked over to see a figure form from condensed manifested thought. The translucent figure was none other than Progenitor Hui.

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Hui. This man was a true legends. Unlike Progenitor Chen, who had left behind records of victories in battle, or Progenitor Ku who had left behind a magical battle technique, Progenitor Hui¡¯s influence ran through a great deal of human history. He had created and enacted the n that had gotten revenge on the Sixth Maind. He had been the one to leave behind the Tocracy, which had managed to create a bit of breathing space for humanity to fight against Aeternus. He had been the one to set up Ceaseless Impetus on the rear battlefield to defend the Perennial World from the Aeternals'' invasion. Once again, Progenitor Hui had done something miraculous, by scheming against Shaman God and bringing about the downfall of one of the Seven Skygods.

    Progenitor Hui had never been the strongest Progenitor in human history, and yet he was the Progenitor who had left the greatest mark in human history. His legends and aplishments had served as greater contributions for humanity than anyone else.

    Lu Yin admired Progenitor Hui more than almost every other Progenitor.

    It was shocking for Lu Yin to be able to meet Progenitor Hui in the Transcendent Universe.

    "Brother Lu, your descendent is very good. I admire him." Progenitor Hui smiled as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly stepped forward and bowed low to Progenitor Hui. "This junior is Lu Yin. Greetings, Progenitor Hui."

    "Haha, smart, strong, and polite. I can¡¯t understand how the Lu family managed to give birth to such a child. Child, are you sure your surname is Lu?" Progenitor Hui teased.

    Lu Tianyi shook his head. "Really? Your tongue is just as sharp as ever. Alright, talk to me. What¡¯s happening?"

    Progenitor Hui smiled. "In life, so long as you talk, you will always gain something."

    Lu Yin curiously observed Progenitor Hui. This man was Progenitor Hui, one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The same Progenitor Hui who had been mocked by Progenitor Smoke, who had said that Hui Wen was the most conniving of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, while also mentioning that the man had loved to make sarcastic remarks.

    Progenitor Smoke had told Lu Yin that Progenitor Hui had once mentioned that he only acknowledged a few people as worth his attention, but that Progenitor Ku was one of them. For that reason, many people had challenged Progenitor Ku to a duel, while many others had started to take a detour when they had seen the man.

    While Progenitor Smoke had not said much, and had even gritted her teeth when speaking about Progenitor Hui, she clearly admired him.

    This was Progenitor Hui.

    "We found Ku Jie. I¡¯ll have him talk to you when he eventually wakes up," Lu Tianyi mentioned.

    Hui Wen''s eyes red. "You found Ku Jie? Didn''t that idiot go after True God to challenge him? He''s still not dead?"

    "Not dead."

    "That¡¯s ruthless enough. I''ll ept it."

    Lu Tianyi studied Progenitor Hui. "This manifested thought of yours can persist for much longer."

    Progenitor Hui shrugged. "I was up against Shaman God. You know how difficult an opponent he is.

    "I also learned about the Transcendent Universe¡¯s sequence particle research long ago, which was when the ruler of this universe decided to choose me to be his next body. I did my best to escape, and after I became a Progenitor and was confident, I came back to this universe. With my abilities and intelligence, I dealt with him, and just a short time after that, Shaman God learned about the sequence particle research and came after me."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "I see. The You family told me that someone once escaped after being selected by Lord Wei. So that was you, Progenitor Hui.¡±

    "Since Shaman God decided to throw himself into a trap, of course I was happy to follow along. I sent my mind into his body, pretending to be trapped. All along, I maintained the image of being the ruler of this universe, and I kept up the sequence particle research.

    "Kid, what¡¯s your take on things?" Hui Wen suddenly turned to address Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin coughed. "The Technocracy was divided into two opposing factions, one of which was supported by the Sixth Maind, and the other by the Perennial World. The two sides fought against each other in the Sophic Rift. However, while they appeared to be enemies, they were really taking advantage of the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World to gather resources that were used to create an army of mechanical ants that was gathered to deal with the Aeternals. If my guess is right, you¡¯ve been spending your time here in the Transcendent Universe, studying sequence particles together with Aeternus through through this universe."

    "Hahahaha, clever! I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re pretty smart, kid. Taking that risk to save you during the Tea Ceremony wasn¡¯t a waste. Yes, you¡¯ve got it. Sequence particles are not at all easy to study. Do you really think that this research was able to seed by relying on the Energy Research Group? That girl Zi Jing was able to solve just one problem, while most of the obstacles were actually dealt with by Shaman God.

    "He¡¯s an incredible Array Grandmaster, and I¡¯m another Array Grandmaster. Weplemented each other well, and together we were finally able to finish the sequence particle research.

    "Shaman God believed that I was Lord Wei the entire time, which is why he believed he could really control me. I rxed while allowing him to remain in control while I waited to find a chance to deal with him. Who would have thought that something would happen to your Lu family? Honestly, Brother Lu, your Lu family must have been really desperate! You had to have a child rescue you!"

    Lu Tianyi frowned. "If you have something to say, do it now."

    Progenitor Hui rolled his eyes. "I had originally nned to reach out to your Lu family when the sequence particle research was about to seed, and ask you to work with me to get rid of Shaman God, but your Lu family was actually banished, whichplicated matters. I don''t care for those people from the Sixverse Association, as I don¡¯t trust them. I didn¡¯t have a choice but to trick Zi Jing and scare the girl away so that the research would be dyed."

    "Is that why Zi Jing coincidentally appeared in the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.

    Progenitor Hui nodded with a smile. "She doesn''t know it, but I was the one who set up that whole thing. I manipted the appearance of Lord Wei. Shaman God thought that he had my manifested thought under his control, but he needed to attend to many different things with his avatars, which meant that it was impossible for him to keep an eye on me at all times. When he was distracted, I had a chance to do what I needed."

    Lu Yin understood that this was how Zi Jing had managed to escape. Given the importance of the sequence particle research, Lu Yin had always been a bit puzzled by the fact that Zi Jing had been able to escape from the Transcendent Universe, and he finally had an exnation.

    "Does that mean you have always been observing me, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.

 Chapter 2895: Preparing For The Road Ahead

    Chapter 2895: Preparing For The Road Ahead

    Progenitor Hui shook his head at Lu Yin¡¯s question. "Not at all. When Zi Jing returned and brought you with her, I was able to guess your identity. I admired your desire to scheme against the Transcendent Universe, given your youth. Fortunately, you were not eager for quick sess and took your time, all the while silently cooperating with your allies and acting as though nothing was happening. Ultimately, you achieved this ending. Kid, I have to say it again, but you¡¯re amazing.

    "In order to truly deceive someone, you must also genuinely believe what you are telling them. I am Lord Wei, which is the persona that I created for Shaman God. Because of that, there were times when I had to be merciless to you, especially since Shaman God was no fool. If he had discovered even a single abnormality, he would have taken direct actions, which is what happened when you stole the ck energy converter while Sovereign Shao Yin was fighting against Lord Wei, or when you were asking about Zi Jing¡¯s whereabouts. As Lord Wei, it was impossible for me to tell you anything, and also¡­ I had to be wary of you.

    "As for your plots against the Transcendent Universe, I was not the one to make most of the decisions, and Shaman God had already started to get directly involved. He would never hold back against you, and he really wanted Luo Shan to kill you.

    "Fortunately, I had watched you for long enough to know what kind of person you are, so I knew that you wouldn¡¯t rush in to find Zi Jing. If someone else had been in your position, I might not have been able to take the same actions. I don¡¯t think that even your ancestor, Lu Tianyi, could have done any better than you.

    "Still, there were a few holes in what happened. For example, after you took away He Ran, if I had been the real Lord Wei, I would have undoubtedly investigated everything concerning Xuan Qi, and it would have also been impossible to let the You family go just because of Sovereign Dou Sheng. All of that was fake, and it was because Lord Wei was a mask. Neither I nor Shaman God wanted to draw Sovereign Dou Sheng over, as he could have easily exposed us, which is why the You family was able to survive. That¡¯s also why the disappearance of He Ran and Cloudflow were never looked into.

    "As long as you didn¡¯t touch the sequence particle research, you were basically going to be allowed to do whatever you wanted with this universe."

    Lu Yin gave the man a strange look. Essentially, the You family had worked with Sovereign Shao Yin and Luo Shan to try to overthrow Progenitor Hui and Shaman God. It was no wonder that Lord Wei had won. It would be strange for such a team to defeat Progenitor Hui and Shaman God.

    "At the Tea Ceremony, I took a risk to save you by interceding on your behalf, but that also caused you to try to visit me. I treated you inconsistently, which meant that it would have been strange for you to not seek me out, given your personality. I decided to treat you a bit worse if you came to see me, as with an insider like Bai Qian, you would be able to know when the sequence particle research was nearlyplete, and you would definitely move to take Zi Jing and steal the research. That¡¯s something that only someone in your position would choose to do or even consider.

    "In the end, the sequence particle research is just too important. With such a thing on the line, you would definitely set your emotions aside and not be controlled by them. You knew that this research was important enough to disregard the favor that you owed me and that the only logical answer was to attack the Transcendent Universe. You may value emotions, but you favor rationality more. On top of that, given how cautious you are, there was no chance of you acting on your own. While the process saw a few hups, everything was worthwhile since we eliminated Shaman God," Progenitor Hui said with augh.Lu Yin was impressed. Not only had this n taken a tremendous amount of time to y out, but it had also been an incrediblyplicated scheme. It was also possible that Progenitor Hui had already taken everything into consideration when Shaman God had firste to the Transcendent Universe to deal with Lord Wei.

    In order to make Shaman God lower its guard, the Progenitor had pretended to be Lord Wei, and he had even allowed himself to be controlled by Shaman God. In the end, Progenitor Hui had counterattacked, bing the final blow to deal with Shaman God. If not for Progenitor Hui, Shaman God would not have died.

    The details of what had happened had certainly changed in unpredictable ways, but all the unexpected events had been incorporated into Progenitor Hui¡¯s n one way or another to achieve his ultimate goal.

    This showed what Progenitor Hui was capable of doing.

    It was no wonder why Patriarch Tianyi had said that Hui Wen would not die even if someone saw him die.

    "What would you have done if the Lu family hadn¡¯t returned or if Little Seven hadn¡¯te after Zi Jing?" Lu Tianyi asked.

    Progenitor Hui considered the question. "I would have killed everyone in the Energy Research Group, destroyed the equipment, and then reset everything back to zero.

    "Also, my own manifested thoughts would have disappeared."

    A smile then appeared on Progenitor Hui¡¯s mouth. "But that would have never been allowed to happen. How do you think that parallel universe with the elerated time flow was destroyed? Before the Lu family returned, my attitude towards this child would have remained very good, to the point where he would have been embarrassed toe after me and target this universe, haha.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, but after thinking things through, he realized this was an urate estimate of the situation. If Zi Jing and the other researchers had not left the parallel universe with the elerated flow of time, then Lu Yin would have never been able to target the Transcendent Universe. On top of that, if Lord Wei had shown him kindness, it would have been nearly impossible for Lu Yin to attack Lord Wei or the Transcendent Universe.

    The man¡¯s kindness during the Tea Ceremony had already put Lu Yin on edge. He was not in the habit of repaying kindness with hatred. If Lord Wei had treated Lu Yin well, then Lu Yin would have found a way to get along with the man.

    While everything had appeared to go ording to Lu Yin¡¯s ns, the truth was that everything had been orchestrated by Progenitor Hui.

    This was the real n.

    Lu Yin rubbed his head. "Senior, I really admire you."

    Progenitor Hui smiled at Lu Yin. "No one is perfect. While I am very smart and was very confident in this n, I am not very good at fighting. If I were, I would never have waited for you to take action. While you aren¡¯t as smart as me, you aren¡¯t bad, and you don¡¯t need to be like me. You have your own path, and your future is something that my own can¡¯tpare to.

    "Lu Yin, the future of mankind will depend on you."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Hui in shock, wondering how Progenitor Hui could say such words. Did the Progenitor really understand Lu Yin?

    Lu Tianyi looked proud. "The future of mankind certainly will depend on Little Seven!"

    Progenitor Hui rolled his eyes. "Alright, but understand that your Lu family will only be his helper."

    As he spoke, Progenitor Hui''s body grew increasingly transparent.

    "My manifested thought is about to dissipate. Kid, we¡¯ll talk more next time. By the way, it would be best if you don¡¯t break the seals and allow that animal to be resurrected. It¡¯s too much of a beast and is also extremely resentful of humans. Also, after thest big battle on the Endless Frontier, the Seven Skygods all separated, but none of them returned to Aeternus. At least one or two of them are still on the Endless Frontier. Take advantage of their current weakness to eliminate another one or two, kid. Goodbye."

    The moment he finished speaking, Progenitor Hui''s form vanished, dissipating into space.

    Lu Yin stared at the suddenly empty ce. Despite the short amount of time that Progenitor Hui had appeared, he had left a deep impression on Lu Yin.

    Lu Tianyi''s eyes looked conflicted. While Hui Wen was not as talented as Xia Shang or many others during the Daosource Sect era, he had done much to benefit the future generations.

    The only real problem was that Hui Wen enjoyed making sarcastic remarks, regardless of how appropriate the asion might be.

    "Ancestor, is Progenitor Hui dead?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Tianyiughed. "Like I said before, no matter who else dies, he won¡¯t. If he ever does die, it will be the day that humanity truly defeats Aeternus."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Around them, all of Shaman God¡¯s dolls were broken and shattered. The Shaman Maze had dissipated the moment the Skygod had died.

    It was at this time that Wen Shi, Cong Si, Qiu Zhan, and the other ck energy converter users appeared, and they all looked nervous as they examined the area.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin, everyone was shocked.

    It was not only the Transcendent Universe¡¯s powerhouses; Bai Qian, Zuo Lao, and quite a number of others were also present.

    While the battle had notsted for very long, it had impacted the entire universe. It was the most intense fight that the Transcendent Universe had ever witnessed.

    Lu Yin nced around. Had Luo Shan escaped?

    "Lord Lu, why are you here?" Qiu Zhan was the first to speak up, and there was an ugly expression on his face. No one saw Lu Tianyi, as he had already left. It would have been very difficult to exin his presence in the Transcendent Universe.

    Since Lord Wei had freed the Cloudflow Universe, it was only natural that Qiu Zhan had returned to the Transcendent Universe to serve as a protector, just like Wen Shi.

    Everyone present was very familiar with Lu Yin. While posing as Xuan Qi, he had always been very polite to everyone. However, after the battle at the Tea Ceremony and the return of the Lu family, the Heavens Sect had be the strongest human power, and Lu Yin¡¯s attitude had taken a sharp turn.

    The fact that he had attacked someone at the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Wall of Purity and captured the new Sage Stone proved that Lu Yin refused to be bound by the rules of others.

    Now, his appearance in the Transcendent Universe made everyone quite nervous.

    This wariness only increased when they saw Shaman God¡¯s broken dolls. Just what had happened?

    Lu Yin nced around. "Lord Wei was going to let me take Zi Jing back to the Origin Universe, but Shaman God suddenly appeared and attacked Lord Wei. Unfortunately, Lord Wei died in the fight."

    Ziu Zhan and others were startled. "Impossible! How could Lord Wei be dead?"

    None of the people present could believe what Lu Yin was saying. How could Lord Wei have died?

    Bai Qian was shocked. Had Shaman God killed Lord Wei, or had Lu Yin?

    People from the You family arrived, but they kept their distance. Among them were You Fang and You Lele. They werepletely horrified by Lu Yin''s words, and just like Bai Qian, they wondered whether it was Shaman God or Lu Yin who had killed Lord Wei.

    Lu Yin stepped aside. "If you don''t believe me, go ahead and look for yourselves. Lord Wei has been destroyed, but the evidence from the battle remains. You can also see Shaman God¡¯s dolls, as well as divine energy."

    Qiu Zhan and the others all rushed to check on the Energy Research Group, only to find that everyone within the facility was already dead. It was impossible to survive being so close to such an intense battle.

    The Energy Research Group head researcher, the crazy old man, had also died. Before dying, he had been trying to escape. Upon achieving their goals, such infatuated people would return to normal. The old man had also feared death and wanted to escape, but it had been impossible for him to do so.

    Evidence of Shaman God¡¯s attacks and the presence of divine energy could be seen with a nce.

    Xu Wuwei, Mu Ke, and even Sovereign Lotus all arrived, one after another. They all examined the battlefield, and everyone confirmed that Shaman God had attacked.

    "Where is Shaman God?" Sovereign Lotus asked as everyone turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Dead. Senior Lord Wei died taking him down."

    Everyone was stunned. Was Shaman God also dead?

    "Is Shaman God really dead?" Xu Wuwei asked excitedly.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Senior Lord Wei risked his life to protect humanity, and he died with Shaman God. I feel ashamed, as if this junior had been stronger, things would not have turned out like this."

    "Senior Sovereign Lotus, was Lord Wei really killed by Shaman God?" Cong Si suddenly asked.

    Everyone turned to look at Cong Si.

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s eyes shed as she stared at Cong Si. "Do you have any doubts?"

    Cong Si looked over at Lu Yin while softly replying, "Lord Wei once mentioned that, if Lord Lu came here, we needed to be very careful."

    Sovereign Lotus also turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, what did Lord Wei mean by that warning?"

    Qiu Zhan, Wen Shi, Xu Wuwei, and everyone else was focused on Lu Yin. Could Lord Wei¡¯s death have any connection to Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin met all of the stares. "What do you want me to say? Do you suspect that I cooperated with Shaman God to kill Lord Wei?"

    Everyone rxed a bit at Lu Yin¡¯s challenge. Could the young man have really cooperated with Shaman God to kill Lord Wei? The very idea was ridiculous. This was Lu Yin, the ruler of the Origin Universe who was backed by the Lu family. If he really wanted to betray humanity, what could the Sixverse Association do about it?

    Cong Si''s face grew pale, and there was nothing that he could say. After all, he did not understand Lord Wei¡¯s warning.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. Progenitor Hui really knew how to put on an act. In order to hide the truth from Shaman God, no detail had been overlooked.

    "Lord Wei¡¯s death is a pity for our entire Sixverse Association. Right now, I am announcing that I, Lu Yin, have decided to conquer the Endless Frontier," Lu Yin suddenly dered in a loud voice.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus and the others were all astonished. "You want to conquer the Endless Frontier?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "We cannot allow Lord Wei¡¯s death to be in vain. Before, my Lu family¡¯s ancestor and many others fought a massive battle against True God and the Seven Skygods. Now, it is our turn."

    "No, the Endless Frontier has finally achieved some level of peace. Don¡¯t be rash." Sovereign Lotus instantly objected.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold, "Sovereign Lotus, are you saying that the Aeternals can decide the intensity of the war, but we humans cannot?"

    Sovereign Lotus frowned. "That''s not what I meant at all. I meant-"

    "Good. Sovereign Lotus, there¡¯s no need for you to go if you don''t want to. I, Lu Yin, will avenge Lord Wei and conquer the Endless Frontier. If you fear death, then you don¡¯t need toe," Lu Yin proimed.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2896: Zi Jingâ€™s Shock

    Chapter 2896: Zi Jing¡¯s Shock

    Lu Yin''s words aroused everyone¡¯s fighting spirit, and Qiu Zhan instantly raised his head. "I''ll go."

    Wen Shi took a deep breath. "I''ll go as well. It''s my duty to avenge Lord Wei."

    Cong Si clenched his fists. "I''ll also go."

    Mu Ke turned to leave. "I''m going to clean my de. Let me know when we leave."

    Xu Wuwei''s face twitched. He really did not want to go to the Endless Frontier, but it seemed difficult to refuse. "Call me as well."

    Sovereign Lotus shouted, "Lord Lu, if you rush to conquer the Endless Frontier, you may be taken advantage of by the Aeternals!"

    Lu Yin shot back, "Are you saying that we humans aren¡¯t as smart as the Aeternals?"

    Sovereign Lotus was so furious that she choked twice while trying to respond and then simply left without getting out a word.

    Lu Yin nced at Bai Qian. "With Lord Wei¡¯s death, someone needs to take charge of the Transcendent Universe. Before dying, Senior Lord Wei asked me to tell you to make good use of what you were left with, as the future of the Transcendent Universe will be given over to you."Wen Shi and the other powerhouses all looked at Bai Qian.

    Bai Qian had only risen to the top because of Lord Wei. With the true ruler of the Transcendent Universe dead, was she still qualified to make decisions for the universe?

    Lu Yin looked over at You Fang. "The You family once rebelled against Lord Wei, and yet he was forgiving and dropped the matter. For this, you will help Bai Qian oversee the Transcendent Universe and make sure that no mistakes ur."

    You Fang understood. Starting this day, regardless of who targeted the universe, the You family would need to help Bai Qian rule the Transcendent Universe. No, they were actually helping Lu Yin.

    "My You family will follow Lord Wei¡¯s instructions," You Fang said while offering a respectful bow.

    The entire You family bowed as well.

    Bai Qian grew pale. "With Lord Wei dead, I will need time to mourn their passing. Lord Lu, I don''t know when you intend to attack the Endless Frontier, but I will try my best to help avenge Lord Wei."

    Lu Yin hummed. "I will inform you before the timees."

    Everyone quickly dispersed. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had died, and the people who were impacted the most were Wen Shi and the other people who used ck energy converters. The entire matter had absolutely no impact on the ordinary people of the universe. As for what would be of the Transcendent Universe, at least for the time being, it was impossible for it to be annexed to the Endless Frontier, as Lu Yin would not allow it.

    His purpose in conquering the Endless Frontier was to find the Seven Skygods.

    They had been granted a rare opportunity, and Progenitor Hui had asked Lu Yin to find the Seven Skygods who were hiding on the Endless Frontier specifically because this was the best chance to eliminate another one. The Seven Skygods were at their weakest right now, and it was critical that humanity seize the opportunity to eliminate another one.

    The Sixverse Association could be said to be the most powerful that it had ever been in history. With the number of Progenitors that the Heavens Sect boasted, it was indeed possible to sweep across the Endless Frontier.

    What was important was that they did not try to push into the Aeternals¡¯ territory or confront True God.

    Since Shaman God could die, so could the rest of the Seven Skygods.

    Bai Qian and You Fang stepped forward to approach Lu Yin, and they both bowed deeply. "Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin opened his hand, revealing a ck energy converter. "Wen Shi, Cong Si, Qiu Zhan, and Zuo Lao have four ck energy converters. There is one in the Heavens Sect, and one right here. I heard that the Transcendent Universe possesses about ten ck energy converters. Where are the other three?"

    Bai Qian looked over at You Fang.

    You Fang politely answered, "Originally, my You family had three ck energy converters, and they were held by my father, myself, and You Teng. However, both my father and You Teng died recently, while my own energy converter was taken away. Thus, all three of my family¡¯s ck energy converters are gone. They were taken by Lord Wei, and my family has no knowledge of their location any longer."

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Qian, but she shook her head. "ck energy converters are solely controlled by Lord Wei."

    Lu Yin frowned, but then he suddenly remembered something. "Where did Lord Wei always go into seclusion?"

    Bai Qian pointed in a certain direction, but Lu Yin did not immediately move out. Instead, he returned to the ruins of the Energy Research Group¡¯s facility and looked at therge machine with excitement.

    This was the result of years of research conducted by Aeternus and the Transcendent Universe. This machine could materialize sequence particles so that anyone could observe them.

    This machine was the entire reason why Shaman God had willingly stayed in the Transcendent Universe, and Progenitor Hui had also paid a steep price to see this researchpleted. Lu Yin was certain that the Aeternals wanted this device, but they could not be allowed to obtain it.

    Lu Yin released Zi Jing, and she instantly looked around. Only after seeing that there was no fighting did she let out a sigh of relief. "Is everything alright?"

    Lu Yin was still staring at the machine. "Can this be used?"

    Zi Jing examined the device. "It¡¯ll work. Where¡¯s the head researcher?"

    It was only then that she discovered that she was the only member of the Energy Research Group who had survived.

    Zi Jing was frightened. Such battles were too terrifying. Finally, she noticed the distant forms of Bai Qian and You Fang. The fact that they were present meant that the fighting waspletely done. In that case, where was Lord Wei? He had clearly attacked Dao Monarch Lu, right?

    "Dao Monarch, what happened in the battle just now?"

    "Lord Wei died."

    Zi Jing''s heartbeat quickened. "Was that you, Dao Monarch?"

    Lu Yin nced over. "It was Shaman God who killed Lord Wei. I had nothing to do with it."

    How could Lu Yin be unrted to Lord Wei¡¯s death? Zi Jing was no idiot, and the killing intent that Lord Wei had directed towards Lu Yin had been all too clear. In the end, Lord Wei had died, and judging by their behavior, it seemed that both Bai Qian and the You family were following Lu Yin''s orders. The ruler of the Transcendent Universe had changed.

    Zi Jing could not believe it. Lord Wei had been the ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. How could he be dead?

    However, regardless of what she could ept, the facts remained unchanged.

    Lu Yin did not bother Zi Jing. She had spent quite some time in a parallel universe with an increased rate of time flow. Many recent events that had taken ce were unknown to her, and Lu Yin did not have the time to bring her up to speed. Zi Jing only needed to know the final oue.

    What was important was that the Heavens Sect now had the final say in what happened in the Transcendent Universe.

    Zi Jing calmed down, forcing herself to ept what had happened. She nervously looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, might I ask you something? No, there¡¯s something that I need."

    Lu Yin looked over.

    Zi Jing was staring at Lu Yin. While his actions frightened her, her years of studying sequence particles allowed her to quickly calm down. The mes of ambition that had been fanned by He Ran, as well as the constant fear of death pushed Zi Jing to be bold enough to demand something of Lu Yin.

    A smile yed at the corner of Lu Yin''s mouth. "I told you that, if you helped me, I would make sure that you obtained whatever you wanted. The best thing that He Ran ever did was to stir your ambitions and rouse your desires."

    Zi Jing''s eyes flickered, and she bowed low. "Please, Dao Monarch, give me a ck energy converter."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Do you want to fight?"

    "It''s for self-protection," Zi Jing replied.

    Lu Yin understood. "If I told you that you will be granted a high status in both the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association and no longer need to worry about your own safety, would you still need a ck energy converter?"

    Zi Jing bent lower. No answer was the best answer.

    She could not actually use a ck energy converter yet, but it would still be better than nothing. The day woulde when she was capable of using it.

    Lu Yin gave a small smile and tossed the ck energy converter to Zi Jing.

    Zi Jing epted it, thrilled. "Thank you so much, Dao Monarch!"

    "Continue to study sequence particles for me. I want all of our Progenitors to undergo a transformation. If you can do this, I will give you more, more than what you can even imagine." Lu Yin ced both the machinery and Zi Jing into a Zenith Mountain and moved away. The research facility waspletely abandoned now.

    Both Bai Qian and You Fang noticed Zi Jing, but neither asked any questions.

    Lu Yin moved in the direction that Bai Qian had indicated, and he eventually found Lord Wei¡¯s ce of seclusion.

    It was the oddest location that he had ever seen someone use for secluded training. It looked like abination of futuristic technology and primitive witchcraft. Multiple bodies were neatly arranged, suspended in an unknown liquid. There were both male and female bodies in the thick, oozing liquid.

    The You family had only known that Lord Wei had one body, which had fallen to Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s rot. They had thought that He Ran or Bai Qian were to be Lord Wei¡¯s recement bodies, but ultimately, the You family had been wrong. Lord Wei had possessed multiple bodies.

    Amongst the bodies, Lu Yin saw the female form that Lord Wei had used to meet with Lu Yin before.

    Even so, regardless of how well Lord Wei had hidden his strength, it was impossible to have so many bodies. Most of the bodies looked like experiments. Essentially, after Progenitor Hui had defeated and reced the real Lord Wei, this ce had not been changed at all, and it had been left as it had been originally, as Progenitor Hui had not cared about the location.

    Lu Yin found the three missing ck energy converters, which were the equivalent of creating three additional peak powerhouse. With just this, the trip had not been a waste of time.

    Not only had one of the Seven Skygods been eliminated, but Lu Yin had also spoken to Progenitor Hui and added several more powerhouses to the Heavens Sect. Finally, he had gained the right to speak for the Transcendent Universe. In the future, the Transcendent Universe would only be regarded as a vassal of the Heavens Sect.

    In the past, thousands of different groups and organizations had been vassals of the Heavens Sect, which must have been a truly incredible sight. Lu Yin was striving for that same height one step at a time.

    ¡­

    In the Heavens Sect, a group of people had gathered around the machine that could manifest sequence particles, looking at it curiously.

    Present were both ordinary cultivators, such as Wang Wen and Wei Rong, as well as Semi-Progenitors¡ªincluding Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo¡ªand even Progenitor-level powerhouses. Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Monarch Xing, Big Sis, and even Shao Chen were present.

    Zi Jing was rather nervous about being in front of so many powerful individuals.

    She had already learned about all the recent events, and the shock had struck her like a hammer. She simply could not believe it.

    In such a short amount of time, the Heavens Sect had risen up to dominate the Sixverse Association, and the Dao Monarch was even able to ignore the Great Sovereign. The Lu family who had oncemanded the wind and rain had returned, and the Origin Universe was now home to the greatest number of peak powerhouses in the entire Sixverse Association.

    It was not even a small degree of superiority; the difference in strength was tremendous. If Lu Yin was also included, then the Origin Universe had nearly double the number of peak powerhouses as the Cyclic Universe.

    It was a terrifying thought.

    Not long ago, not a single Progenitor had existed in the entire Fifth Maind, and the shocking change left Zi Jing feeling like she was in a dream.

    "Everyone, who would like to be the first to try touching sequence particles?" Lu Yin looked at everyone with a smile. Despite his words, he was only addressing the Progenitor-level individuals, as no one else was qualified to make the attempt.

    Unsurprisingly, Leng Qing stood up first. He greatly admired Lu Yin, in no small part because Leng Qing had only sessfully be a Progenitor because of Lu Yin. Lu Yin also liked to take Leng Qing with him whenever he left the Origin Universe and expected to have a fight. Leng Qing was a ruthless person and also a man of few words.

    It was a surprise that Leng Qing had not stood up to volunteer. "Dao Monarch, I wish to be a Sequence Progenitor on my own. If I touch these before I am ready, it will affect my path. Please allow me to decline, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yinughed. "Of course. I won''t force anyone."

    Arch-Elder Zen stepped forward. "In that case, allow me. How many Progenitors are able to master thews of the universe? I have no intention of bing one of them."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It''s possible for anyone, and Senior Zen''s path is true. You have sacrificed much for humanity, and humanity will not mistreat you."

    Lu Yin then looked over at Zi Jing.

    She nodded. More than a month had passed since they had returned from the Transcendent Universe, and she had finished making the various adjustments needed to manifest sequence particles, allowing them to be touched or even used.

    Of course, just like a child learning to walk, a Progenitor would need to take their time when they first came into contact with sequence particles. Fortunately, the Heavens Sect already had Sequence Progenitors who could oversee the process, such as Big Sis. Lu Yin had also observed many different kinds of sequence particles before, so he was not entirely new to it.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2897: Humanityâ€™s Flagbearer

    <h4>Chapter 2897: Humanity¡¯s gbearer</h4>

    A scene that previously urred in the Transcendent Universe now yed out in the Heavens Sect.

    The void warped for a time, and then, with a strange gentle sound, particles started to appear in the void. They were arranged in a curve, and they started to slowly rotate.

    Everyone stared on with wide eyes.

    Aside from sequence powerhouses, who else had ever seen sequence particles? Lu Yin was an exception, but no one else was capable of observing them.

    At this moment, even people like Wang Wen and others who were not Envoys were able to see the ultimate power of the universe.

    Only by mastering sequence particles could one hope to truly have the strength to protect themselves. This was something that was gradually being recognized by everyone in the current era. Just bing a Progenitor was no longer enough to guarantee security.

    "Are those sequence particles? They¡¯re a bit cute." Wang Wen was intrigued.

    Kui Luo''s face twitched. "I have no idea if an old man like me will ever live to be able to use sequence particles."

    "Not likely," someone replied.

    Kui Luo turned around, ready to curse angrily, only to discover that Lu Qi had made thement. Kui Luo¡¯s expression turned as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Dad, why are you here?"

    Lu Qi continued to stare forwards with his eyes wide open. "Ancestor Tianyi told me that there are sequence particles that you can observe, so I came to see. Xiaoxuan, have you actually developed sequence particles?"

    "It wasn¡¯t us, but rather the Transcendent Universe and the Aeternals." Lu Yin then shared all that had happened, and the storypletely stunned Lu Qi.

    "Senior Hui Wen isn¡¯t dead?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Probably not."

    Lu Qi sighed. "Sure enough, Progenitor Hui deserves his reputation."

    Zi Jing spoke up, "Which of you seniors will try? Just as a reminder, I don''t know what sort of sequence particles these are, and I can¡¯t control whichws of the universe will manifest, so whatever shows up ispletely random. If you seniors are not satisfied with what appears, then just use it. There are countlessws of the universe, and if you want to wait for a specificw to appear, then you must understand that it is nearly impossible and be mentally prepared for this."

    Arch-Elder Zen stepped forward. "How do we use them?"

    Zi Jing replied, "Just touch them, and the sequence particles will cling to whatever touches them."

    Surprised, Arch-Elder Zen touched the sequence particles while everyone watched on in expectation. The sequence particles did indeed wrap around Arch-Elder Zen''s hand in a manner that looked as though they were conscious, ultimately forming a shape that looked like a bracelet that clung to his wrist.

    "What does it feel like?" Big Sis was curious.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "It doesn''t feel like anything. It feels as though it isn¡¯t even there."

    "Go ahead and use it to find out what sort ofw they are."

    Lu Yin was also quite curious. These sequence particles had been manifested through technology, which meant that they were more of a tool than anything else. Arch-Elder Zen had no way of knowing whatw had been manifested just by touching the sequence particles. He needed to discover it for himself.

    In the past, sequence particles had always been a symbol of the most powerful peak powerhouses, but they had just be a tool of the Heavens Sect. While they did not have full control over this tool, once they managed to manifest powerful sequence particles, the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors would gain a powerful weapon.

    Zi Jing was also very curious about what sort ofw Arch-Elder Zen had obtained. In the Transcendent Universe, they had tested the cultivation technology just a few days before Lu Yin arrived. All of the sequence particles had been rted to oddws of the universe, some of which they had not even been able to confirm.

    Arch-Elder Zen began testing things.

    In order to determine whatw he had obtained, he had to first discover the nature of the sequence particles.

    As Arch-Elder Zen tested things out, Zi Jing restarted the machine and started to manifest more sequence particles. Each activation of the equipment took a long time, and it was just enough time for Arch-Elder Zen to determine thew of his sequence particles.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he left. He went straight to the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall.

    Wu Heng had arrived.

    When the Arborean saw Lu Yin, he quickly bowed. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded and waved a hand. "Sit."

    Wu Heng took his seat. "Lord Lu, Mr. Daheng has gone to the Endless Frontier to find Luo Shan."

    A glint shed across Lu Yin''s eyes. "When did he leave?"

    "Only a month ago. Mr. Daheng first asked me to go to the Endless Frontier and search for signs of Luo Shan, but a month ago, I learned that Luo Shan had gone to the Transcendent Universe. Shortly after that, Mr. Daheng went to the Endless Frontier. It seems that he was certain of Luo Shan¡¯s whereabouts," Wu Heng reported.

    Lu Yin looked away. A month ago? That would have been at the same time as the battle with Shaman God. Luo Shan had escaped during that battle, and the only ce that he could have fled to was the Endless Frontier. Mr. Daheng had also gone to the Endless Frontier right after that. Did he want to take advantage of Luo Shan''s injuries and attack the Monarch?

    Wu Heng did not disturb Lu Yin and simply waited quietly.

    A short whileter, Lu Yin looked up at Wu Heng and gave the man a small smile. "This news is very useful. Well done."

    Wu Heng stood up. "It''s my honor to have helped the Dao Monarch. I wonder what the Dao Monarch¡¯s orders might be? I will do my best to aplish whatever you need."

    "Find a way to locate Mr. Daheng and inform me without him knowing," Lu Yin ordered.

    "I understand."

    The Arborean showed a great deal more respect towards Lu Yin than he had in the past. Lord Wei had died, and Lu Yin had been present for the death of the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. No one knew exactly what had happened, and spections were running rampant in the Sixverse Association. There were even some people who imed that Lu Yin had killed Lord Wei.

    Despite the conjectures, people only dared to discuss such things in private, and no one dared to question Lu Yin. This reflected Lu Yin''s current status. He had the final say in the Sixverse Association. While it was true that the Great Sovereign was in seclusion, even if she were not, there was no doubt that Lu Yin would stand at the apex of the Sixverse Association.

    Just what did it mean for someone to have more than a dozen Progenitors under theirmand? Just the thought gave people shivers.

    Lu Yin was the only one in the entire Sixverse Association who would dare to announce that he would conquer the Endless Frontier. In the past, the Sixverse Association had only ever been able to defend the Endless Frontier in the war against Aeternus.

    Wu Heng greatly admired Lu Yin, and because of that, he had be more obedient.

    Elsewhere, Arch-Elder Zen had figured out what sort ofw these sequence particles affected: objects must fall from a high ce to a low ce. That was thew.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, as he was surprised that such aw of the universe even existed. At the same time, he felt that it was only natural. Of course objects should fall from high ces. If they went from a low ce to a high ce, it would not be falling, but rather flying. This had nothing to do with gravity, as even if gravity were reversed, ¡°falling¡± would still mean falling, and ¡°flying¡± would still mean flying. The core of thisw was the concept of falling, not gravity.

    With thew made clear, the next question was how it could be used.

    At this juncture, Arch-Elder Zen feltpletely lost.

    The next person to obtain sequence particles was Monarch Xing. After that, Lu Qi also tried out of curiosity. He did not really care about whether he ever became a Sequence Progenitor. Finally, Shao Chen tried it out. His cultivation was based on experiencing the mortal world, which was different from any path that anyone else had ever taken. He was more than willing to try the variousws of the universe in order to better understand the mortal world of the universe.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Qi and Lu Yin were sitting across from each other.

    "The Heavens Sect and the Daosource Sect were the same sect in the past, but the names actually represented different things." Lu Qi stared off into the distance at the huge jiao and Ancestor Tortoise. "The Daosource Sect is the name that was used internally, and it referred to humanity. This was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s intention. He created stellr energy and the foundation of all human cultivation, as well as the six Mainds. That was the Daosource Sect, while the Heavens Sect included more than that. It represented the unification of all different races and indicated the invincibility of humanity.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. "Dad, is this what you wanted to talk about?"

    Lu Qi made a face. "Ancestor Tianyi asked me to tell you this. We did not want to tell you about certain matters, as we didn''t intend to impact your cultivation path, but there are certain things that you need to be aware of."

    The man¡¯s expression grew solemn. "Are you aware of the Lu family¡¯s direct line¡¯s visualization method?"

    Lu Yin replied, "The Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Qi nodded. "You have been using the branch family¡¯s visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, but have you ever considered using the direct line¡¯s visualization method?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I¡¯ve already trained with it."

    Lu Qi felt confused. "You have?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, Dad. I really have practiced it."

    The continent of fatesand in Lu Yin¡¯s chest had be the Fifth Maind with the visualization method of the direct line of the Lu family. The image of the Fifth Maind had long been imprinted directly upon Lu Yin''s heart.

    The continent in Lu Yin¡¯s chest had first formed from Destiny¡¯s fatesand, but it had grown endlessly beyond that to form a replica of the Fifth Maind.

    This was something that Lu Yin had only graduallye to understand.

    "Since you are already training with that, then there¡¯s no need for me to say anything more about it. However, do you know where the idea of using the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant as a visualization method came from?" Lu Qi asked.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Lu Buzheng lived during the Heavens Sect era, and there are a few things that he¡¯s more informed about than even you, Dad. The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s mount."

    Lu Qi grew embarrassed. How did this kid already know everything?

    Lu Qi had learned from Lu Tianyi that Lu Yin had already conferred a number of gods to his Investiture of the Gods, including even Xia Shenji. That man was a Progenitor who was even Lu Qi¡¯s senior, which left Lu Qi feeling very embarrassed. He remembered when he had conferred Wang Jian and blushed.

    "What about the Champions¡¯ Stage? Do you know about that?"

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "The Champions¡¯ Stage? Isn''t that our family¡¯s innate gift?"

    Lu Qi heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, there was something that the kid did not know about. He grew solemn as he spoke. "The Champions¡¯ Stage is not just our Lu family''s innate gift. What does ¡®Champions¡¯ sound like to you?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. <i>Champion, Champions¡¯ Stage...</i> "Warriors who represent a domain and fight for them?"

    A smile spread across Lu Qi''s face. "On the battlefield, soldiers are given orders, and so are champions, while our Lu family serves as themanders. That is the true use of the Champions¡¯ Stage. Xiaoxuan, if you want to conquer the Endless Frontier, then it¡¯s time for our Lu family to join the Sixverse Association and takemand once again.

    "During the Heavens Sect era, our Lu family were known as the Origin Progenitor¡¯smanders. One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all. Regardless of the size of a battlefield, our Lu family served asmanders who never fell. The other Mainds were all destroyed, but the Fifth Maind will never be destroyed. That is because it is protected by our Lu family.

    "Our Lu family not only served as the Origin Progenitor¡¯smanders, but also as themanders for all of humanity.

    "Our Lu family is the backbone of humanity, the gbearer that will never fall. Our Lu family will never fall, and thus humanity will never fall.

    "From the moment you became the Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind, you became the master of our Lu family, Xiaoxuan. Bring the Champions¡¯ Stage back from the long river of time and restore humanity¡¯s past glory."

    Lu Yin looked down at the Heavens Sect, determination filling his eyes. He loudly dered, "Send word¡ªin 100 days, the Heavens Sect will formally assign generals for the conquest of the Endless Frontier as we push back the Aeternals.

    "All grudges and enmities between the people of the Origin Universe are to be put on hold, and all cultivators are to await further orders.

    "For these 100 days, no fighting will be allowed in the Origin Universe. No..."

    Orders rang out one after another, and the entire Origin Universe started to churn, and the flurry of activity spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin had announced in the Transcendent Universe that he intended to conquer the Endless Frontier. Most people in the Sixverse Association had assumed that this would only involve a few peak powerhouses who would charge out and destroy a few corpse kings. Who had thought that Lu Yin would treat the matter so seriously?

    The Great Sovereign and the other most powerful individuals of the Sixverse Association were all in seclusion, but so was the Aeternals¡¯ True God. One of the Seven Skygods had died, and in a very rare twist, the rest were all also in seclusion. The Heavens Sect had reached new heights of power and prosperity. Lu Yin wanted to seize this unique opportunity to increase mankind''s advantage over the Aeternals. On top of that, he felt that it was imperative that the Heavens Sect also used this opportunity to demonstrate their strength to the Sixverse Association.

 Chapter 2898: It Is Inevitable

    Chapter 2898: It Is Inevitable

    Lu Yin simply had too many enemies scattered across the Endless Frontier: Old Mo, Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, Bai Xian''er, Luo Shan, and the Seven Skygods. All of them were hiding on the Endless Frontier. Thus, he wanted to sweep through the entire Endless Frontier and resolve as many threats as he could.

    Of course, the campaign to conquer the Endless Frontier was not a matter for just the Heavens Sect. It was impossible for Lu Yin to fight against Aeternus with just the Heavens Sect and no additional support.

    He extended an open invitation to the rest of the Sixverse Association, allowing anyone who was interested in joining the campaign to do so. Lu Yin also personally invited various peak powerhouses to join, including the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Mu Shikong and Lord Gan, the Lost n¡¯s Shan Pu and Shan Fangyi, and the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng.

    In 100 days, the entire Sixverse Association would join Lu Yin¡¯s crusade.

    All of the Progenitors that the Origin Universe had sent out to help protect the Sixverse Association started to return, and many of them tried interacting with sequence particles. Lu Yin''s goal was for everyone to surpass their peers, and that was not impossible with this newfound sequence particle research.

    ¡­

    The news of the Heavens Sect¡¯s crusade into the Endless Frontier quickly reached the Endless Frontier as well.

    When Bai Wangyuan heard the news, his expression changed drastically. He refused to believe that Lu Yin simply intended to avenge Lord Wei; instead, he would rather believe that Lu Yin wanted to use this opportunity to deal with people like Bai Wangyuan. This was a problem. If the Heavens Sect really did sweep across the Endless Frontier, Bai Wangyuan would have no choice but to return to the Cyclic Universe.

    Wang Fan had the same thoughts.Old Mo cursed angrily. He had felt quite rxed while hiding on the Endless Frontier. Although it was a deadly battlefield, for someone at Old Mo¡¯s level of strength, it was a safe ce as long as he did not deliberately antagonize some old freak. He was actually morefortable on the Endless Frontier than in the Sixverse Association. Did that brat from the Lu family actually want to conquer the Endless Frontier?

    Mr. Daheng''s reaction was even worse. He had finally managed to find a trace of Luo Shan, but the Monarch would not be easy to deal with. Mr. Daheng needed time to n and prepare, and there was no way that he could finish his business in the 100 days left before the crusade started.

    At this moment, Mr. Dahengpletely resented Lu Yin. With the addition of the previous matter, Mr. Daheng really wanted to kill Lu Yin.

    One person could change the lives of countless people with a single order.

    Lu Yin''s n to conquer the Endless Frontier altered the ns of many peak powerhouses, all of whom had previously stood above almost all others.

    Sovereign Lotus arrived at the Heavens Sect and waited in the main hall. Also present was Xu Wuwei.

    "You two don''t support this crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier?" Lu Yin''s eyes fell on the two people. While he did not care about Sovereign Lotus¡¯s opinion, he did respect Xu Wuwei.

    Sovereign Lotus nced at Xu Wuwei, looked back at Lu Yin, and slowly bowed. "Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed and softened a great deal. While it was true that he was prejudiced against Sovereign Lotus, this was mostly due to Lu Yin¡¯s enmity against Shao Yin and the fact that Sovereign Lotus had deliberately stopped Lu Yin and saved Shao Yin from death. However, Sovereign Lotus had been acting at the Great Sovereign¡¯s orders all along, and there was no real grudge between her and Lu Yin.

    With Sovereign Lotus acting polite, Lu Yin had no reason to hold a grudge.

    "Please tell me your concerns," Lu Yin asked in a far more polite tone.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus breathed a sigh of relief. She struggled to ept the need to bow to Lu Yin. He was a child who was not even a peak powerhouse, and yet she had no choice. He was the ruler of the Origin Universe and could even be considered the person best qualified to speak for humanity as a whole. There was no shame in bowing to such a person, and given the fact that Lu Yin was capable of fighting against Shao Yin, bowing to Lu Yin could not be considered humiliating even to a Sovereign like her.

    "The war between humans and Aeternus has gone on for countless years, and yet humans have never gained the upper hand. The reason for this is that the Aeternals all follow True God. If he tells them to die, none of the Aeternals will disobey. This,bined with their rising level of power, is utterly terrifying. True God stands at the top of Aeternus, with the Seven Skygods and Cheng Kong right below him. It is not wise to try to fight against existences like the captains of the True God Guard head-on. The Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect has gained more and more powerhouses, gathering a brilliant momentum, but since this is the case, why not choose the safer path, Lord Lu, and guide the Heavens Sect back to its former glory? After that, it will not be toote toy waste to the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Wuwei. "Senior, do you have the same opinion?"

    Xu Wuwei sighed. "We have been fighting on the Endless Frontier for far too long, and we have gained a deep understanding of the Aeternals. Lord Lu, I know that you want to eliminate Aeternus as soon as possible and erase humanity¡¯s ancient enemy, but please remember not to be impatient. It is not that we fear death and don¡¯t dare to fight against the Aeternals. Rather, your Heavens Sect has finally shown hope of returning to its former prosperity, and I don¡¯t want that possibility toe to nothing.

    "If not even the Great Sovereign and those who fought with her pushed into Aeternus¡¯s territory, then what does it matter if we are able to sweep across the entire Endless Frontier?"

    Lu Yin considered the man¡¯s words.

    Sovereign Lotus nced at Xu Wuwei before continuing. "The Aeternals¡¯ foundation and true strength is something that we don¡¯t understand at all. Without absolute confidence, only after restoring the Heavens Sect to its former glory will it be time to have a decisive battle against the Aeternals. Additionally, the strength that the Aeternals have revealed on the Endless Frontier has at timespletely surpassed what they¡¯ve revealed even in my Cyclic Universe. They reach apletely different level¡­"

    Sovereign Lotus shared information that not even Xu Wuwei was privy to. He had once wondered if the strength that the Aeternals had demonstrated in the Cyclic Universe was different from what they were capable of exerting on the Endless Frontier, but he did not understand the reasons for this difference.

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop Sovereign Lotus. With a solemn expression, he stated, "This crusade is inevitable."

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s expression instantly changed. "Lord Lu-"

    Lu Yin raised his hand to again stop the woman from continuing. "Your words of caution make sense, so please listen to my reasons.

    "First, I have already announced that this crusade will beunched after 100 days of preparation. This announcement has gone out to all the universes, and I cannot rescind it.

    "Second, this crusade is beingunched by my Origin Universe against the Endless Frontier. The other member universes of the Sixverse Association can choose to join or simply protect their own universe. There is no obligation to join.

    "Third." Lu Yin paused as he looked at Sovereign Lotus and Xu Wuwei before continuing to say, "Do you really believe that I am looking for quick sess and an instant win inunching this crusade against the Endless Frontier? Do you think that I am trying to wipe out all of Aeternus as quickly as possible?"

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Xu Wuwei were both confused. "Aren¡¯t you?"

    Many people from the Sixverse Association had this same thought. Lu Yin had be a Semi-Progenitor and brought back the Lu family. His universe was constantly gaining more and more Progenitor-level powerhouses, bing ever more impressive. Given the circumstances, it was only normal for a young man like Lu Yin to be eager for quick sess.

    Many people believed that avenging Lord Wei¡¯s death was just an excuse for Lu Yin to attack the Endless Frontier and that he really just wanted to leave a significant mark in history for himself.

    If this crusade was sessful, it would be an aplishment remembered in the future by all generations of humanity.

    Such temptation was too powerful.

    Lu Yinughed. "I, Lu Yin, have risen to my current status from the bottom as an ordinary cultivator. If your thoughts were true, I would have died countless times over the years.

    "During the battle in the Transcendent Universe that killed Shaman God, we received a bit of news."

    Lu Yin looked at the two people. "All of the Seven Skygods are seriously injured right now, and some are hiding on the Endless Frontier."

    Both Sovereign Lotus and Xu Wuwei were startled. "The Seven Skygods are still on the Endless Frontier?"

    Everyone believed that all the Seven Skygods had already returned to Aeternus¡¯s territory, just like True God. No one thought that the Seven Skygods were still on the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "Thest major battle left all of the Seven Skygods severely injured, just like Shaman God, and some are still hiding on the Endless Frontier. Since we were able to kill Shaman God, we can do the same to more of the Seven Skygods. Don¡¯t you two want to take advantage of this opportunity and eliminate one or two more of the Seven Skygods?¡±

    Xu Wuwei grew excited. "Are you certain of this?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Completely. Not only that, but this crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier can also serve as an opportunity to root out some of the spies hiding in the Sixverse Association. It would be best if we could deal with some of the Seven Skygods, but even if we can¡¯t, we can ensure that the Sixverse Association obtains a strong advantage on the Endless Frontier. So then, why not use this opportunity?

    "I absolutely will not invade the Aeternals¡¯ territory, but this crusade is a battle that I must lead humanity in.

    "If we cannot conquer even the Endless Frontier after gathering so many Progenitors, how can we ever hope to achieve victory over Aeternus?

    "Win or lose, we need to demonstrate the strength of humanity.

    "Do you two have any other objections?"

    Sovereign Lotus felt helpless. It was clear that Lu Yin had made up his mind, and she could not change things. Furthermore, if it was really possible to eliminate one or two of the Seven Skygods, then the entire bnce in the war between humanity and Aeternus might shift.

    Even just Shaman God¡¯s death was an incredible morale booster for the Sixverse Association. If one or two more of the Seven Skygods died, the Aeternals would fall to a disadvantage.

    Sovereign Lotus and Xu Wuwei were visiting the Heavens Sect as representatives of many people¡¯s thoughts and feelings towards Lu Yin¡¯s crusade, and this was the only reason why Lu Yin had been willing to exin himself so thoroughly.

    While the Heavens Sect was indeedunching a crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, without any cooperation from the Sixverse Association, Lu Yin would face a great deal of pressure.

    Once Sovereign Lotus and Xu Wuwei left, the opposition to the crusade from the Sixverse Association decreased substantially.

    After 100 days of preparation, the Heavens Sect mobilized its troops, gathered cultivators, and stockpiled weapons from everywhere. At this time, cultivators from the Sixverse Association also started to arrive.

    Lu Yin did not refuse anyone that he had personally invited, and he intended to personally participate in the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier.

    This was the first war that Lu Yin had instigated on his own since bing the master of the Heavens Sect. Such a war was unprecedented, as there would be potentially dozens of peak powerhouses fighting on behalf of both humanity and Aeternus. Such a battle had been rare even during the most prosperous days of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    This was also a vitally important step for Lu Yin to establish his status within the Sixverse Association.

    Everything that he had done before had simply been enough to allow him to deny the Great Sovereign. However, this crusade would grant Lu Yin the right to be the leading force for the entire Sixverse Association.

    To start the crusade, the first thing was to assign themanders.

    As time passed, more and more familiar faces returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Ku Wei arrived, leading the Giant Army. Upon seeing the Heavens Sect, tears filled the man¡¯s eyes. He had never wanted to go to the Astral Beast Domain. That ce was too miserable.

    "Hey, Ku Lei?"

    Across the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, Ku Lei was calmly sitting cross-legged. There were too many others like him present as well.

    ncing around, it was clear that there were at least a million people present in the za. There were cultivators from every ce imaginable, and all of them were volunteers who had answered Lu Yin¡¯s call.

    Upon seeing Ku Lei, Ku Wei ran over.

    Ku Lei frowned, stood up, and left.

    Ku Wei blocked Ku Lei¡¯s path. "Ku Lei, why are you running?"

    Ku Lei was very different from how he had been in the past. He was calmer and more restrained. "Have you returned?"

    Ku Wei proudly replied, "Master summoned the Giant Army, so how could they be here without me? So you¡¯re here too? Aren''t you afraid of dying on the Endless Frontier?"

    Ku Lei indifferently answered, "My choices have nothing to do with you."

    Ku Weiughed. "I thought that someone like you would only hide in the back so that you can steal other people''s achievements. What? Did the Ku family decide that you¡¯re too useless and kick you out? Hahahaha!"

    Ku Lei moved around Ku Wei and left.

    After experiencing the vicissitudes of life, it was inevitable for people to grow and change. Even if some people had previously been exceptionally arrogant or had darkness lurking in their hearts, they could change as time passed.

    Ku Wei had not expected Ku Lei to just walk away without retorting. Was this really the same Ku Lei that he had known before?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2899: Battle

    Chapter 2899: Battle

    In the distance, Y¨­u Ye''er, Ce Jiu, and many others had arrived as well. All of the people who had once been part of the Court of Seven Names had gathered in the same area.

    Further away, two figures were happily racing about, one ck and one white. They were ck and White from Eversky Ind. Behind them were Highsage Shenwei and Highsage Wudi.

    Elsewhere in the za, Wen Sansi had returned from the Sixverse Academy, wanting to fight in the crusade. Xing Kai, Ling Gong, Liquor Hero, and all the former Ten Arbiters also arrived, one by one.

    None of them wanted to miss out on this battle.

    This crusade was going to be a massive excursion, and the battles to be fought would definitely be extraordinary.

    Time flowed by. In the blink of an eye, the 100 days were nearly gone.

    All of the armies gathered in the Origin Universe. The members of the Lu Elite Troops, Heavens Corps, Astral Beast Army, as well as new equipment from Backyard all constantly streamed in. asionally, the aura of a powerful, Progenitor-level figure would sweep through as another peak powerhouse arrived at the Heavens Sect.

    At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, He Ran stared down at the za in shock.

    This scene was so shocking that she had never even imagined she would ever see anything like it. There were countless impressive cultivators, many of whom were extremely powerful. Even cultivators as strong as Semi-Progenitors kept arriving. If He Ran had not known any better, she would have thought that she was witnessing the gathering of the entire Sixverse Association, not just the Heavens Sect.For the full 100 days, Lu Yin did not reveal himself.

    At the deadline, a truly terrifying host of cultivators had assembled in the Heavens Sect. Many people stood along the Stairway to Heaven, all quietly waiting for something.

    At the top stood peak cultivators as powerful as Progenitors. Beneath them stood Semi-Progenitors, then Envoys, and so on.

    At the very top stood Progenitor Lu Tianyi and Y¨­u Ming, followed by Mu Ke, Xu Wuwei, Mu Xie, Arch-Elder Zen, Shao Chen, and more. One by one, powerful peak powerhouses gathered at the top of the stairs, their auras suppressed as they waited out the 100 days.

    Finally, the awaited day arrived.

    It was heralded by the deafening ringing of a bell.

    Atop the Stairway to Heaven, Lu Yin emerged from the void directly in front of the statue of the Origin Progenitor.

    Everyone turned to face Lu Yin and slowly bowed. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    ¡­

    An impressive sound resounded throughout the entire Origin Universe, pushing back the void in waves that could be readily seen.

    Countless people on every watched with bubbling excitement. Together with the people present in the Heavens Sect, everyone greeted the Dao Monarch.

    At this moment, even Lu Tianyi and Lu Qi had to bow to Lu Yin. They were not actually bowing to Lu Yin, but rather to the Dao Monarch. They were acknowledging the ruler of the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin stood at the very top of the Stairway to Heaven and looked down at everyone.

    Not one person was looking up at him, but he could see everyone.

    "Be at ease," Lu Yin said.

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch."

    ¡­

    Everyone stood back up and gazed at the top of the stairs where Lu Yin stood. At this moment, even He Ran was stunned. Lu Yin looked absolutely brilliant at this moment, and he seemed to be the ruler of all humanity.

    "I have been told that I should not lead this crusade," Lu Yin stated as he looked out at the gathered crowds.

    These words shocked many people.

    Xu Wuwei''s expression changed, and he looked over at Lu Yin. What did the young man intend to say?

    Everyone remained silent as they stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression seemedpletely indifferent. "There are people who im that humans are not as powerful as the Aeternals and that Aeternus possesses unfathomable strength. If a true war erupts, we humans will suffer terribly.

    "Some people say that with the fighting on the Endless Frontier has reached a temporary lull, so we should not be the ones to provoke matters andunch a campaign against Aeternus.

    "People im that I want to see immediate results, that I am seeking fame and fortune, which is why I announced this crusade.

    "Some people say that this crusade will initiate humanity¡¯s ultimate fall.

    "So many people have tried to convince me to give up this crusade, and so many are begging for this war to be abandoned. They have given reasonable arguments. It is true that the Aeternals have always held the dominant position on the Endless Frontier. If the Aeternals want to fight, then we fight. If the Aeternals don¡¯t wish to fight, then battles are put on hold.

    "The warfront between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus has always been determined by the Aeternals. If they don¡¯t attack, then our borders are peaceful. When the Aeternals attack, our borders see bitter fights to the death.

    "The Aeternals attacked the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, which was something that no one ever anticipated. After all, humanity has never invaded the Aeternals¡¯ territory, and yet the Aeternals ruined humanity¡¯s greatest event.

    "It''s quite interesting, isn''t it? The Aeternals are always the ones to decide when we fight or when we are at peace. In that case, should we fight? Should weunch this crusade?¡±

    No one spoke. Everyone remainedpletely silent.

    "I don''t think we should," Lu Yin dered in a loud voice.

    Everyone stared at him, dazed. They should notunch the crusade? Then why had they all gathered?

    "Why fight when we know it''s useless?

    "Can a mere crusade destroy Aeternus? Impossible.

    "Can a crusade eliminate humanity¡¯s disadvantage in the war against the Aeternals? That¡¯s also impossible.

    "This crusade will very likely cause many of you to die. I am afraid of dying. Everyone fears death. In that case, why should we fight? It would be better to just wait until the Aeternals want to restart the battle, and then we¡¯ll fight again. We should wait for the Aeternals so that we have some time to recuperate. If the Aeternals want to fight, then we fight. If the Aeternals say that they won¡¯t fight, then we won¡¯t either. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, his voice grew louder and louder until his shouts rang in everyone¡¯s ears.

    What he said frustrated everyone who heard him. If the Aeternals wanted to fight, then humans would fight, but if the Aeternals did not wish to fight, then humans should not instigate anything. How infuriating was that?

    "Are we fighting a war of subjugation? No! We are fighting for our very existence!" Lu Yin shouted. His finger rose up to point at a specific person. "You might die the moment you step onto the battlefield."

    He pointed to another person. "You might be the next to die.

    "You, you, you, and you will all die as well. If you know that you will die, why bother fighting?"

    Massive disys suddenly appeared in the sky all throughout the entire Heavens Sect. One by one, they activated, showing countless scenes.

    One disy showed the darkness of outer space where tens of thousands of cultivators charged forward, only to be entirely wiped out by corpse kings.

    Another disy showed an old man weeping tears of blood atop a mountain. Below him, a young man shouted, "Father, we will be father and son again in our next lives."

    "I will see you in the next life."

    "Father, I¡¯ll be your father in our next life, and I will help you stand at the frontlines."

    "Hahahaha, alright."

    At that moment, the mountain shattered, and a pair of slitted scarlet eyes reced everything on the disy.

    Another showed a cracking, and dozens of people crowded together. "This is good enough. We drew away most of the corpse kings, and the rest of them are no match for Senior Zhang and the others. They¡¯ll definitely win, so this is good enough, hahahaha."

    ¡­

    "Daughter, take good care of your mother."

    ¡­

    "Lin''er, do you regret it?"

    "Why would I regret it? Meeting you is enough for this life."

    "I hid my sword after killing Aeternals for my whole life. The thing I regret least is dying on the battlefield, but the thing I regret most is meeting you."

    "My, Li Lin''er¡¯s, luckiest moment was meeting you, Brother Jian. It was living and dying together with you."

    ¡­

    "Brothers, today is the end. The Aeternals won¡¯t kill us because they want to transform us into corpse kings. Will you agree?"

    "Never!"

    "Then what should we do?"

    "Fight until our bones shatter!"

    "Fight until our bones shatter!"

    ¡­

    Every disy showed a different scene of people dying, of their final words echoing across the Origin Universe.

    Everyone stared in a daze as the various scenes yed out, watching as one corpse after another fell, though many people died without even leaving a corpse behind. The final sight in every scene were the cold, emotionless eyes of a corpse king as it ughtered humans.

    The people who died all had parents, spouses, and children. Even so, they all died valiantly, fighting for mankind, ready to be reborn as humans once again. They died with a powerful fighting spirit, and their roars andughter at the moments of their deaths shocked the people watching.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Look at them all and how pathetically they died. If weunch this crusade, you will also die."

    "We are not afraid of death!" someone yelled, his face flushed red.

    "Dao Monarch, I¡¯m not afraid of death!"

    "Even if we die, we won¡¯t regret it!"

    "Fight for humanity, and die for humanity! Dao Monarch, please help us."

    "Lord Lu, we are willing to die!"

    "Lord Lu, please start the crusade!"

    "Lord Lu, please start the crusade so that we can fight the Aeternals!"

    "I don''t care about the results of the crusade, damn it! Of course there will be heavy casualties, but I don¡¯t believe that the Aeternals have three heads and six arms!"

    "Even if I die, I¡¯ll take a bite of their flesh!"

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    "Fight!"

    ¡­

    Countless people shouted, "Fight!" while even more stared at Lu Yin with zing vigor in their eyes. The unending scenes of people showing valor and courage on their deathbeds had ignited the determination of the entire crowd, creating an indescribable, unified will. Even Lu Yin was shocked by the people¡¯s determination. "This will be a battle of conquest, and we may not win.¡±

    "We don¡¯t need victory, just a fight with the Aeternals!" countless people screamed back.

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "We will suffer heavy casualties."

    "Then we will fight to the death!"

    "Won¡¯t you regret not waiting?"

    "We will fight to the death! No regrets!" countless people roared. Their united voices broke past the stars. At the bottom of the stairs, He Ran''s face grew pale from the shock of this deration to fight to the death.

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly red, and he shouted, "Very well, then let''s fight to the death! Regardless of sess or failure, of life or death, I, Lu Yin, will definitely lead humanity to conquer the Endless Frontier as we fight the Aeternals to the death!"

    His Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods erupted, illuminating the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin was bathed in the golden light as he looked down upon the Heavens Sect. "I, Lu Yin, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe, do hereby dere that this crusade on the Endless Frontier has officially begun!

    ¡°Y¨­u Ming! Step forward to receive yourmand!"

    Big Sis stepped forward and looked up at Lu Yin. "I am here."

    Lu Yin looked down at her. "I appoint you as themander of the crusade¡¯s first battalion. You will be assisted by Arch-Elder Zen, Xia Shenji, Cloudflow, and Shan Pu."

    Big Sis¡¯ twitched. She did not like the sound of being appointed as amander. She was a powerful Sequence Progenitor, and yet she was being ordered about like a minion. Such a thing had not happened even during the Heavens Sect era. Back then, Gu Yizhi had treated her as an honored guest. How could an honored guest ever be ordered about like a minion?

    Even so, she had no choice, and at least she was being ordered about by her little brother. "Y¨­u Ming epts her orders."

    "Mu Ke!"

    "Present."

    "I appoint you as themander of the second battalion, to be assisted by Mu Xie, Wang Jian, Chen Le, and Director Gan."

    "Mu Ke epts his orders."

    "Xu Wuwei!"

    "Present."

    "I appoint you as themander of the crusade¡¯s third battalion, to be assisted by Shao Chen, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Bai Sheng."

    "Xu Wuwei epts his orders."

    "Lu Tianyi!"

    "Present."

    "I appoint you to remain in the Origin Universe to guard against any of the Aeternals¡¯ sneak attacks. You will be assisted by Lu Qi, Monarch Xing, and the Ancestor Tortoise."

    "I, Lu Tianyi ept my orders."

    "I, Lu Yin, will serve as the field marshall of the crusade, as well as themander of the fourth battalion. I will be assisted by Shan Zheng, Leng Qing, Xia Qin, and the jiao.

    "The crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier crusade begins now! Battalions, move out!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2900: Green Lights One After The Other

    Chapter 2900: Green Lights One After The Other

    At Lu Yin¡¯smand, all of the guides who had been waiting nearby stepped out to lead the battalions to the Endless Frontier.

    The Endless Frontier had previously been made up of sixty-two parallel universes. With the addition of the Three Monarchs Universe, the number had risen to sixty-three, but the massive battle of the Great Sovereign and the other top members of the Sixverse Association had destroyed several universes.

    The four battalions split up to push across the Endless Frontier along four different paths.

    These routes had been predetermined even before themanders were appointed. They had alsoe up with defensive measures and tactics to deal with the Seven Skygods, should they be encountered.

    Each of the fourmanders was a Sequence Progenitor, which meant that they would not be quickly defeated even if an individual battalion encountered one of the Seven Skygods. If not for this, Lu Yin would have never dared to try to conquer the Endless Frontier.

    The appointment of the battalionmanders at the Heavens Sect had shocked the entire Sixverse Association.

    A full twenty-five Progenitor-level powerhouses had appeared. In the past, the only time that so many powerhouses had ever appeared was during the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremonies, and even then, such numbers were unusual.

    Lu Yin''s influence had clearly been revealed at this moment.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Lotus let out a breath, aplicated expression on her face. Lu Yin had casually thrust the decision of whether or not tounch the crusade upon all of the people participating in it. Regardless of whether the crusade was sessful, even if the resulting casualties were catastrophic, Lu Yin would not be held responsible at all.Still, that did not mean that his words were not unreasonable. Humanity did need to seize the initiative and instigate the war against the Aeternals.

    The massive battle that the Great Sovereign had led the other most powerful humans on had not been a real deration of war, but rather an attempt to get revenge.

    Lu Yin was truly inciting war.

    At the end of this crusade, regardless of victory or defeat, the Heavens Sect''s influence would undoubtedly transcend that of the Cyclic Universe. Simrly, Lu Yin''s reputation would rise to nearly match the Great Sovereign¡¯s, even if the young man was not even a peak powerhouse yet.

    The moment that Lu Yin broke through again and became a peak powerhouse, it was possible that he would take the position of leader and master of all humanity.

    While Sovereign Lotus did not want to admit it, she was certain that it would not be long before Lu Yin¡¯s influence wouldpletely eclipse the Great Sovereign''s.

    How could such a person have appeared?

    Sovereign Lotus found it hard to believe that the Aeternals had not made a point to kill Lu Yin. If she had been in their position, she would have ensured Lu Yin¡¯s death no matter what it might cost.

    On the Endless Frontier, in Proximity, Sage Bodhi weed four guests. They were Shui Chuanxiao, Xu Qing, Wang Wen, and Wei Rong.

    The Sage frowned when she looked at the four people. It was normally impossible for Proximity to ept the presence of any outsiders, but Lu Yin had strongly insisted on this, iming that it was a necessary step for Proximity and the crusade tomunicate, which was not something that Sage Bodhi could refuse.

    She was not confident that she could fullymand the crusade, given the number of peak powerhouses participating.

    "There are four battalions and four of you. Did Lord Lu task each of you with keeping an eye on one of the four battalions?" Sage Bodhi asked.

    Wei Rong smiled. "We are here to learn from you, Senior Sage Bodhi."

    Sage Bodhi looked at Wei Rong. "Get rid of that hypocritical smile."

    Despite not knowing much about Wei Rong, the woman¡¯s instincts warned her that the man was extremely conniving.

    Wei Rong''s smile remained unchanged.

    Wang Wen looked around curiously. "Hey, Wendy. It¡¯s been a long time."

    Shui Chuanxiao observed the various disys andmented, "So, this is Proximity? What a good ce. I¡¯ve only dreamed of being able to operate from such amand center."

    Xu Qing calmly stated, "I am responsible for the second battalion."

    Wei Rong continued to smile. "I am in charge of the third battalion."

    Shui Chuanxiao said, "I am in charge of the first battalion."

    Wang Wen shrugged. "In that case, I¡¯ll be responsible for His Royal Chesspiece."

    "What''s your real purpose here?" Sage Bodhi asked.

    The other women in Proximity nced over at the four people in a questioning manner. No outsider had ever entered Proximity before. The Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch was arrogant and overbearing.

    Wang Wen smiled at the Sage. "We¡¯re looking for spies."

    Sage Bodhi nodded. She already had too much to do with the arrival of the four battalions. Since these four people had been sent to Proximity by Lord Lu, then they should be quite capable. "Then I''ll leave that to you."

    Shui Chuanxiao turned to look at Sage Bodhi. "You are still themander of this battlefield, Senior."

    Sage Bodhi¡¯s eyes shed. <em>Bullshit!</em>

    "There it is!" someone eximed. Everyone turned to look at the disys. Simultaneously, green lights had appeared on four different parallel universes in the Endless Frontier. They were the Sky Spider Universe, the Majestic Universe, the Cyan Universe, and the Lilliput Universe. These were the four parallel universes that the four battalions had entered.

    The moment the four battalions entered the Endless Frontier, Lu Yin¡¯s crusade had officially begun.

    The crusade was not anything new to the people of the Perennial World. They had initially been unwilling to invade the New World, but then Lu Yin had taken the lead and acted as the vanguard. That charge hadpletely driven the Aeternals from the rear battlefield. The crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier was not the first such campaign that Lu Yin hadunched.

    Only by knowing oneself and the enemy was it possible to have a chance to defeat that enemy. However, there were also times when being cautious would cause one to lose the courage necessary to win.

    Lu Yin arrived in the Lilliput Universe, but unlike when he had first appeared in this universe, he was not alone this time. Instead, he was apanied by hundreds of thousands of cultivators, most of whom were from the Origin Universe. Many of the people were even part of the Heavens Sect, though a good number of people were from other universes of the Sixverse Association.

    Among the cultivators were many with the strength of Explorers, which meant that they were able to freely travel through outer space on their own, but there were also weaker cultivators who relied on universal armor to move through outer space. These people were not on the Endless Frontier to fight in the crusade, but rather to search.

    It would not be easy to find any of the Seven Skygods. Even if they were present, it was impossible for anyone to sense them unless they took action.

    Fortunately, the development of the sequence particle cultivation technology came with many other innovations. In particr, Zi Jing had developed a new tool. It was not a weapon, but rather a sensor that could disrupt sequence particles. It was essentially a grossly oversimplified version of the sequence particle machine, but instead of manifesting sequence particles, this machine would detect the usage of any sequence particles within a certain range.

    The reason why some of the Seven Skygods were hiding on the Endless Frontier was that they had been injured during the most recent battle and needed to recuperate. While recovering, it was likely that they would utilize sequence particles. If they did, that activity would be picked up by the sensors, which would inform the battalion. This was the only way they could hope to find any of the Seven Skygods.

    It was certainly not a very efficient method, and it really boiled down to waiting for something to happen, but it was the best option that Lu Yin had been able to find.

    The 100 days of preparation had not been in vain. Not only had cultivators gathered to participate in the crusade, but equipment had also been mass-produced, including the sequence particle sensors.

    After learning about the sensors, Lu Yin had asked Zi Jing if it might be possible to create a device that could interfere with thews of the universe within a certain range, and the idea had resonated with her. She was certain that it could be done, but it would take time to develop the technology. She did not know if it was something that could be done quickly, or if it would take a long, long time to develop.

    If such a device could be developed, it would be of immense use. The idea that an enemy¡¯s sequence particles could be interfered with, even if for only a moment, would be an incredible advantage. Such a device would be a sequence weapon.

    With the sequence particle sensors activated, the fourth battalion descended upon the Lilliput Universe.

    Elder Ling Neng and Princess Ling Qi, as well as the other Lilliputs, all stared at the vast host of human cultivators which had just arrived. The sight of such an army was indescribably shocking.

    There were a number of cultivators whose strength the Lilliput elder could not even sense, as well as a number who were clearly equal in strength to the elders. Initially, Lu Yin appeared to be leading an infinite army.

    As Lu Yin raised his hand and waved it forward, the jiao let out a roar, and Leng Qing¡¯s saber shed out, nearly severing the universe in two. The fighting on a distant battlefield instantly ceased, as all of the corpse kings were instantly destroyed, even the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings. Not a single monster had been able to put up any sort of resistance.

    When Lu Yin had purged the Lilliput universe, he had eliminated everyst Aeternal in the universe. However, the Aeternals would not abandon any part of the Endless Frontier. So naturally, they had resumed their efforts in the Lilliput Universe, returning.

    It was impossible to truly eliminate the Aeternals from any of the parallel universes on the Endless Frontier, including even the Decaying Diablo Universe that belonged to the Merchant Exchange.

    "Kill!"

    Endless shouts shook the universe, and the Lilliputs were left dumbfounded as they watched the Aeternals be ughtered across all the battlefields in their universe. When had humanity grown so powerful? They had always held a disadvantage in the past.

    Princess Ling Qi was familiar with Lu Yin, so she quickly stepped forward. "Mr. Lu, is it really you? Why are you here?"

    Ling Qi did not dare to approach the massive jiao, and she instead shouted from a distance.

    Lu Yin quickly suppressed the jiao and then moved over closer to Ling Qi. He smiled at her. "As long as the Aeternals still live, I wille fight them."

    The Lilliputian princess was impressed. "Mr. Lu, these people are so powerful. The elder mentioned that some of them are even peak powerhouses. Is that right?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Your Lilliput Universe will quickly be purged. Lead your people away and leave the fighting here to us."

    Ling Qi grew excited and bowed low to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Mr. Lu, and thank you to all of yourrades."

    It was not a battle, but a ughter. The jiao roared arrogantly as it looked down on the universe. Very soon, the beast led the fourth battalion to the Gemini Universe.

    At nearly the same time, the Sky Spider Universe, the Majestic Universe, and Cyan Universe were all given green lights as well. It was not a matter of purging the universes, but more like apetition to see who could do so first.

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi had never witnessed such a thing before.

    She has seen several universes receive green lights, but never had multiple purges urred so close together with the victories so wless. Was this the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier? Such a thing had never been aplished in the entire history of the Sixverse Association. This was truly an unprecedented gathering of humanity¡¯s strength.

    "Senior Sage Bodhi, please send out an order to all the cultivators from the Sixverse Association who are not serving on the Endless Frontier but are present. As soon as any such people encounter one of the crusade¡¯s battalions, they must join the army, and they will not be allowed to refuse for any reason. Any who disobey this order will be punished as spies." Wang Wen suddenly spoke up, addressing Sage Bodhi.

    The Sage grew curious. "Cultivators from the Sixverse Association who are not serving on the Endless Frontier?"

    Wang Wen looked over at Sage Bodhi. "The Endless Frontier is the greatest battlefield in existence, and it is a ce that even people as strong as Progenitors don¡¯t want to visit. Any cultivator from the Sixverse Association who is on the Endless Frontier is naturally serving time on the battlefield, which means that none of them should be present for any other reasons. If they are there, then what is their purpose? Their mere presence on the Endless Frontier is an issue, so please order them to join the crusade so that we can keep an eye on them."

    Sage Bodhi replied, "There are always people from the Sixverse Association who volunteer to fight on the Endless Frontier without being ordered to serve on the frontlines. In fact, there are quite a number of such people."

    "And that is indeed very admirable. After the crusade is over, I will make sure that such people are rewarded and acknowledged for their sacrifices, but that doesn¡¯t change anything, does it? After all, there are also other possibilities why such people would be present on the Endless Frontier, aren¡¯t there?" Wang Wen''s smile never changed.

    It was only then that Sage Bodhi realized that this man might be even more insidious than the one named Wei Rong.

    <em>Right, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan are both on the Endless Frontier, and neither one was sent to serve there. Is Lord Lu pushing for Proximity to send this order out?</em>

    Sage Bodhi¡¯s eyes flickered as she hesitated.

    Wang Wen frowned. "Are you unwilling to give this order, Senior Sage Bodhi?"

    The woman locked eyes with Wang Wen. "Infighting is not allowed on the Endless Frontier."

    Wang Wen nodded. "Of course not."

    Only then did Sage Bodhi give themand for the order to be sent out to all the universes of the Endless Frontier.

    The Gemini Universe received a green light as the Sage¡¯s orders were submitted. However, Lu Yin would not wait for the Sixverse Association¡¯s cultivators in a universe as weak as the Gemini Universe to gather and join the crusade. None of the people would be able to keep up with the battalion, which meant that it would be impossible for them to catch up when the battalion moved on.

    Every battalion was led by Progenitor-level powerhouses, and with their assistance, even Explorers were able to experience what it was like to travel at the speed of a Progenitor. This ensured that all the battalions would quickly move across the Endless Frontier.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2901: Miserable Old Mo

    <h4>Chapter 2901: Miserable Old Mo</h4>

    While Lu Yin¡¯s battalion could enter the Big Stone Universe next, Lu Yin instead opted to go to the Umbral Universe.

    The absoluteck of light in the Umbral Universe was difficult for the fourth battalion¡¯s cultivators to adjust to, but that was also unnecessary. It was a very small universe, and only a few Semi-Progenitors needed to take action to clear the universe.

    Rather, Lu Yin¡¯s primary goal foring to this universe was to find Old Mo.

    The old man waspletely amoral, and it was possible for him to join Aeternus at any time. For such a powerhouse, they either needed some sort of guarantee that he would join the Sixverse Association, or he needed to be eliminated. There was no third option.

    During the Aeternals¡¯ attack on the Heavens Sect, Old Mo had also targeted Lu Buzheng, showing absolutely no intention of helping the humans. For this reason alone, Lu Yin was inclined to eliminate the man, despite the fact that losing a human Sequence Progenitor was a terrible loss.

    The other three battalions also moved onto parallel universes that were more challenging battlefields.

    The first battalion was attacked by a Progenitor-level corpse king the moment they entered the universe, but the monster only managed to attack once before Xia Shenji executed it. It had had no chance of escape.

    Mu Ke led the second battalion to a universe that was filled with astral beasts. In this parallel universe, the Sixverse Association had alway been at a severe disadvantage due to the fact that the astral beasts had allied with Aeternus.

    In order to purge the universe, not only did all of the Aeternals need to be wiped out, but all the hostile astral beasts also needed to be extinguished. While this was not particrly difficult, it was very time-consuming.

    The third battalion led by Xu Wuwei did not meet any difficult opponents, but they soon found that the spatial tunnel leading to the next universe had been destroyed by the Aeternals. Thus, the Sixverse Association needed to restore the connection between the two parallel universes.

    Proximity sent orders back to the Sixverse Association, and at the same time, Wei Rong suddenly spoke up. "Arrest all of the people in the Magnajade Universe¡¯s data center and send new people to take over the data center¡¯s operations."

    Sage Bodhi had the same idea. Two of the Magnajade Universe¡¯s spatial gates had been destroyed, which was a problem. It was too coincidental, and the only reasonable possibility was that someone had informed Aeternus ahead of time that the crusade was headed towards the Magnajade Universe. In response, the Aeternals had done whatever was necessary to destroy the two connections to the universe, stalling the third battalion¡¯s progress.

    The only people capable of essing and sharing the relevant information were the people who worked in the Endless Frontier¡¯s data centers.

    The Magnajade Universe¡¯s data center had arge number of people working in it, but that was not a problem for Wei Rong. He was someone who would rather kill a thousand innocents than let a single guilty person go free. However, they were on the Endless Frontier, and Sage Bodhi was the General of the Endless Frontier. She was the one who decided what would happen with the people from the Magnajade Universe¡¯s data center.

    The Sage opted to simply rece all of the workers in the data center. Executing this many people without having any evidence would only incite panic in the other universes in the Endless Frontier.

    What¡¯s more, the Sixverse Association had forced some of these parallel universes to join the Endless Frontier. For examples of that were the Three Monarchs Universe and the Big Stone Universe. These universes made up the majority of the parallel universes in the Endless Frontier, but there were also others that had been at war with Aeternus even before they had encountered the Sixverse Association. This was true of the Lilliput Universe and the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    The more important a universe was on the Endless Frontier, the more cooperative their rtionship with the Sixverse Association would be. Sage Bodhi always needed to consult the various parallel universes with each of her decisions.

    "How is the fourth battalion doing?" After handling the matter of the Magnajade Universe, Sage Bodhi turned back to Wang Wen.

    He replied, "There is no way to get any information from the Umbral Universe, but that¡¯s not a problem."

    <i>The Umbral Universe?</i> Sage Bodhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. A battle in the Umbral Universe had recently drawn the attention of the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder. She hoped that there would not be anyplications in that universe.

    At the same time, Lu Yin was spreading out his domain. While he was doing that, the sequence particle sensors were being deployed.

    When Lu Yin''s domain swept through one particr area of the Umbral Universe, someone whispered, "There was a reaction."

    Lu Yin''s eyes abruptly snapped open, and Infinity emerged from his body. Its lines of light entered his arms, and the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant let out a roar. "Old man, get out here!"

    A single palm strike shattered the void, and a deeper darkness appeared in that area of the universe.

    Old Mo stepped into outer space from that darkness. "Child of the Lu family, do you really have the guts to make trouble for me?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Old man, when my Heavens Sect was attacked, you helped the Aeternals even though you were once a gatemaster of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. You will be executed without mercy."

    As Lu Yin spoke, his Investiture of the Gods appeared, and its golden light illuminated the Umbral Universe. It acted as a beacon, directing Leng Qing and others to attack Old Mo.

    Every battalion had a Sequence Progenitor, and the fourth battalion was no exception. Shan Zheng, a powerhouse from the Lost n who was second only to Great Elder Shan Gu, was part of the fourth battalion. He was the Lost n¡¯s response to Lu Yin¡¯s request for support in the crusade.

    Lu Yin had originally only intended to send out three battalions, but the addition of the Lost n¡¯s Shan Zheng meant that a fourth battalion could be formed.

    Old Mo¡¯s expression grew ferocious. "I will make you regret this!"

    An endless sea of darkness spread out, and the already dark Umbral Universe was shrouded in an even deeper darkness. However, this darkness was unable to suppress the Investiture of the Gods¡¯ light.

    Leng Qing and Xia Qin both attacked, but Old Mo aimed a raised hand at the two of them, and they were instantly deprived of all their senses.

    The two suddenly froze in outer space, exactly like what had happened to Lu Yin and Shan Pu in the past.

    They had been deprived of their senses and no longer knew which direction to go in, or anything else for that matter. Unless someone rescued them, they would remain lost in the darkness forever. This was the effect of Old Mo¡¯s mastery of sequence particles for the Law of Darkness.

    Multiple figures stepped out from the Investiture of the Gods, totalling six summoned gods. Because Monarch Mu had been killed by Shaman God, Lu Yin had lost the ability to summon her as a god. Still, he had six other peak powerhouses that he could use.

    Old Mo was vicious, and he used Inverse Step while raising his hand and flicking out finger sword attacks at Leng Qing and Xia Qin.

    It was at this time that Shan Zheng appeared in front of the two Progenitors, and with a wave of his hand, Shan Zheng dispersed Old Mo¡¯s attacks. Even so, Shan Zheng was forced back a few steps, and he looked over at Old Mo in surprise. That attack had been impressively powerful.

    Old Mo¡¯s eyebrows rose, but at this moment, the summoned form of Xia Shenji and Lu Yin¡¯s other summoned gods attacked.

    Sequence powerhouses were incredibly powerful, and they existed on a different level from ordinary Progenitors. However, this did not necessarily mean that numbers could notpensate for the difference in power.

    The summoned forms of Xia Shenji and Leng Qing demonstrated the true power of the Investiture of the Gods. The Shenwu World fell as a shing attack while Leng Qing¡¯s Celestial de World and Arch-Elder Zen''s quiet path also attacked.

    The power of six Progenitors fell upon Old Mo from every direction, and the man was immediately pressured.

    He used Inverse Step to create a field of chaotic time and space with which to evade the attacks. It was useless to try to deprive summoned gods of their senses. There was only one option left. "Darkest Sky."

    In the world of darkness, Old Mo was alone.

    The absolute darkness instantly suppressed the light of the Investiture of the Gods. This attack was capable of suppressing everyone, and Old Mo seized the opportunity to rush towards Lu Yin. The young man had to die.

    A cruel smile appeared on Old Mo¡¯s face as he approached Lu Yin. A hand stretched out. "Give me Heaven''s Sight!"

    The old man¡¯s fingers drew close to Lu Yin. With the Darkest Sky in effect, no one could escape from Old Mo unless their own mastery of sequence particles had surpassed his own.

    Just as the man¡¯s hand was about to touch Lu Yin''s head, Old Mo inexplicably felt uneasy. The sensation was so bad that his scalp went numb. He had survived for many years, even living through the destruction of the various Mainds at the end of the Heavens Sect era. This was due not only to his strength and ability, but also his trust in his intuition.

    As soon as Old Mo felt uneasy, he pulled back. Unfortunately, he was still a step behind. Lu Yin''s Heaven¡¯s Sight pierced through the darkness, and his universe erupted from his chest, creating an isted universe that repelled the Umbral Universe with a shell of the Hollow.

    The Hollow insted the two universes from each other, and it separated Lu Yin¡¯s universe from his surroundings. However, Old Mo failed to pull his hand back quickly enough, and the Hollow enveloped the hand, tearing at it.

    Old Mo wailed in agony as he ripped his hand back. His wrist had been torn open, and he was now bleeding profusely.

    He stared at Lu Yin in shock. How had the youth suddenly rejected the Umbral Universe? How was this even possible? Old Mo¡¯s unease suddenly returned, and he spun around to see that Shan Zheng had appeared behind him. A card flew towards Old Mo, and a powerful attractive force pulled at him.

    The fact that Shan Zheng was capable of breaking free from the Darkest Sky proved that he was a sequence powerhouse.

    Normally, Old Mo''s cautious nature would make it impossible for one of the Lost n¡¯s cards to capture him, as his sense for danger was far too refined.

    Old Mo used Inverse Step again, preventing Shan Zheng from getting closer to him with the region of chaotic time and space. "Child of the Lu family, I will definitely make you pay for this!"

    "To do that, you first need to be able to escape!" Lu Yin shot back. Old Mo''s pupils shrank sharply as his Inverse Step suddenly failed. Lightstream had appeared beside him at some point, and it reversed time for a moment, undoing the effect of Inverse Step. As a result, Old Mo returned to his original position.

    As Lightstream was taking effect, Shan Zheng''s card arrived, and Old Mo was sucked in.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as he stared at the card.

    Leng Qing and Xia Qin had been released from the sensory deprivation effect the moment Old Mo was sucked into the card, and they moved next to Lu Yin as they stared at the card.

    This was a battle between Shan Zheng and Old Mo. Shan Zheng had warned Lu Yin before that, even if he seeded in pulling someone as powerful as a Skygod into the card, no one should try to interfere. The traps in the card had been set up by Shan Zheng, and only he could use them effectively. If others were present, they could easily hinder him instead of helping him.

    Lu Yin did not believe that Shan Zheng was capable of killing Old Mo. That man was a monster who had lived since the Heavens Sect era, and his capabilities were fathomless. In particr, Old Mo was still alive even though he had once betrayed Wu Tian.

    Before too long, the edges of the card started to warp.

    Lu Yin shouted, "Get back!"

    Monster Mo reappeared, though he looked extremely miserable now. His body was covered with blood while panic and rage filled his eyes. He red at Lu Yin with open hatred, but he only moved to escape.

    Lu Yin immediately attacked, using Inverse Step as he pped the slipper at Old Mo.

    Old Mo screamed, "Child of the Lu family, I will never let you go!"

    The old man¡¯s screams gradually faded away. Lu Yin watched, helpless, as Old Mo disappeared. He had used a power vessel to escape.

    A Sequence Progenitor had been forced to escape with a power vessel. Who could have imagined such a thing?

    This moment reversed the situation in the entire Umbral Universe.

    Shan Zheng appeared, panting heavily and looking just as miserable as Old Mo. Wounds covered the man¡¯s body, and he did not look like he was in much better condition than Old Mo.

    "Senior, are you alright?" Lu Yin asked with great concern.

    Shan Zheng waved the question off with a hand, though the movement was clearly rather weak. "That old man is incredibly powerful. I couldn¡¯t hold him back."

    Lu Yinforted Shan Zheng. "He¡¯s a powerhouse who¡¯s survived since the Heavens Sect era. You did well to injure him so badly, Senior. This should prevent him from taking action any time soon."

    Shan Zheng remained nervous. "You cannot be careless. While his sequence particles are not particrly powerful right now, the Law of Darkness that he wields is extremely strong. It is the samew as your seven-star Immemorial card, Evernight. My Lost n only has three cards at that level, and of those three cards two of them use the Law of Light, and only one uses the Law of Darkness."

 Chapter 2902: Crises At The Borders

    <h4>Chapter 2902: Crises At The Borders</h4>

    Lu Yin now understood what Shang Zheng meant. The Law of Darkness was very powerful no matter how one looked at it. Old Mo could not be given even the slightest reprieve to recover.

    However, since Old Mo had already escaped, he definitely would not keep hiding in the Endless Frontier, which meant that it would be extremely difficult to find him.

    Proximity soon received the news.

    The fourth battalion had officially purged the Umbral Universe, and the master of that universe, Old Mo, had been seriously injured before escaping. It was likely that the man would defect to the Aeternals.

    Wang Wen solemnlymented, "Senior Sage Bodhi, please ask the Sixverse Association to do their best to find Old Mo. That man attacked our Heavens Sect when we were being attacked by the Aeternals, and his actions harmed us greatly."

    Sage Bodhi stared at Wang Wen for a long moment. She was quickly realizing that the four people that Lu Yin had sent to Proximity had not merely been sent to uncover spies, but also to deliver Lu Yin¡¯s orders to the Sixverse Association.

    This did not mean that Sage Bodhi could not ept the orders that Lu Yin was giving, as the two orders that he had given¡ªdrafting all members of the Sixverse Association currently on the Endless Frontier into the crusade and searching for Old Mo¡ªwere both acting for the overall benefit of the Sixverse Association.

    However, if too many such orders were given, they would silently increase Lord Lu¡¯s influence throughout the Sixverse Association.

    <i>I¡¯ve still underestimated him. Lord Lu isn¡¯t only fighting a battle on the Endless Frontier, but also waging a war of influence within the Sixverse Association.</i>

    Could Sage Bodhi refuse? No. She was the Endless Frontier¡¯s General solely because she had instant ess to all the information of the battlefield, not because she was qualified to give orders to all the people fighting on the Endless Frontier.

    When she was asked to convey orders or information from the Endless Frontier to the Sixverse Association, it was extremely difficult for the Sage to refuse, as long as the request was reasonable.

    The Great Sovereign was in seclusion, which meant that there was no one around who could stop Lu Yin.

    More than a month passed after the battle in the Umbral Universe, and during that time, the four battalions had green lit seventeen parallel universes. It was an unprecedented aplishment.

    The entire Sixverse Association was watching the crusade.

    At this juncture, even if the crusade ultimately failed, just the aplishment of having purged seventeen parallel universes was enough to shock countless people.

    An uncountable number of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings had been ughtered, including dozens at the Semi-Progenitor level and no less than five at the Progenitor level. Additionally, eleven spies had been uncovered, some of whom were from the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, with others from the Sixverse Association.

    Just as Lu Yin had wanted, the four battalions were sweeping across the Endless Frontier, leaving it clean in their wake.

    Never before had the Endless Frontier seen such activity. The crusade inspired confidence in many of the Endless Frontier¡¯s universes.

    However, Lu Yin and the others were not at all happy about their progress. The seventeen parallel universes that they had purged were only the most ordinary and average of the universes that made up the Endless Frontier, and only the Umbral Universe had been somewhat remarkable. Without Old Mo, a Sequence Progenitor, the Umbral Universe would not rank among the top fifteen most dangerous universes. And even with him in it, the universe would never be ranked any higher, not unless Old Mo defected to Aeternus or allied with the Sixverse Association. The battalions had not met any of the true challenges on the Endless Frontier yet.

    At the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Wall of Purity, Arrow Sage was reviewing the reports that had been sent back from the Endless Frontier as shock filled his heart.

    Lu Yin might have acted overly arrogant and overbearing in the Cyclic Universe, but he was finally doing something extremely satisfying.

    Many people had objected to the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, but Arrow Sage had not been one of them. As Lu Yin had said, why should the Aeternals be the ones to decide when and how the war was fought?

    Arrow Sage had also wanted tounch an attack against the Aeternals, but hecked the necessary strength.

    There were currently four battalions sweeping across the Endless Frontier, each of which had five peak powerhouses, including a sequence powerhouse. Such a force was something that not even the Aeternals would dare to take lightly. This was how humanity should be behaving, by boldly seizing the initiative.

    Arrow Sage let out a breath. He wanted to join those four battalions, but someone had to protect the Wall of Purity.

    Still, Lu Yin was performing quite satisfactorily.

    An rm suddenly rang across the entire Wall of Purity.

    The Sage¡¯s expression changed, and he looked into the distance, his face growing pale. <i>No way</i>.

    Beyond the Wall of Purity, an endless horde of corpse kings with several Progenitor-level corpse kings approached. The horde was being led by a True God Guard Captain, Zhong Pan.

    At the same time, at the Arboreal Realm¡¯s border, an endless wave of corpse kings also appeared, which were led by another True God Guard Captain.

    The Lost n¡¯s universe¡¯s border was attacked en masse as well.

    Lu Yin was leading four massive battalions across the Endless Frontier. They were strong enough that even the Aeternals were unwilling to directly face the armies. Even if all of the True God Guard Captains gathered together, they might not be able to stop the battalions. Thus, Aeternus had abandoned the Endless Frontier and moved their forces to directly assault the Sixverse Association.

    There was a tacit agreement that humanity and Aeternals would use the Endless Frontier as their primary battlefield, and whichever side managed to break through the Endless Frontier would be free to directly attack the other by passing through the Endless Frontier.

    The Aeternals had not willingly abandoned the Endless Frontier, but Lu Yin¡¯s threatening army had forced them to abandon the main battlefield. For that reason, they had decided to directly attack the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. The Aeternals might¡¯vecked the forces to stop Lu Yin¡¯s sharp de, but they were still strong enough to threaten the rest of the Sixverse Association.

    At the Wall of Purity, every arrow that Arrow Sage fired was shattered by Zhong Pan. It only took a single punch for the corpse king to deal with each arrow. The Sage¡¯s Seven Divine Arrows used emotions as weapons, which meant that they were rather ineffective against the Aeternals. Arrow Sage felt that Zhong Pan gave off the same sort of invincibe aura as Lu Yin.

    Zhong Pan did not try to break through the Wall of Purity, but instead continued targeting Arrow Sage with all of his attacks.

    From far away, Food Sage raced over. "Let me!"

    Arrow Sage heaved a sigh of relief. He was not particrly effective against physically powerful opponents, but such opponents were precisely where Food Sage shone the brightest.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The impact of the two fists resulted in a deafening noise, but Food Sage was sent flying backwards, his entire arm misshapen. In front of him, he saw that Zhong Pan¡¯s eyes had turned red from a Corpse King Transformation.

    Food Sage''s true form was a Taotie, and he was extremely powerful, but not even he could measure up to Zhong Pan¡¯s strength after a Red Eyes Transformation.

    Zhong Pan charged at Food Sage, punching at him again.

    Food Sage gritted his teeth and transformed back into his Taotie form. He roared at the sky as Arrow Sage released another arrow. Food Sage was unable to endure on his own.

    At this moment, another Progenitor-level corpse appeared in the distance.

    The Transcendent Universe was also facing a terrible crisis.

    The Aeternals had attacked the Transcendent universe¡¯s border as well, and the universe was in terrible jeopardy.

    Lu Yin looked down on people who used ck energy converters, which was why he had rejected Qiu Zhan and Cong Si¡¯s requests to join the crusade.

    However, the Aeternals looked down on people who used energy converters in the exact same manner as Lu Yin.

    There had been a time when the ck energy converters had been enough to fight against ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings. However, as soon as a True God Guard Captain appeared, the whole Transcendent Universe was thrust into immediate danger.

    As soon as the True God Guard Captain appeared, Cong Si was killed. This captain had green hair and was known as Greenridge.

    No matter what kind of attacks Cong Si had used, they had been as effective as a breeze against Greenridge; Cong Si had beenpletely unable to harm the enemy in any way.

    Not only was Cong Si killed, but the bestowal art carrier at the Transcendent Universe¡¯s border was also destroyed.

    Greenridge stared off into the distance. "If we can''t win on the Endless Frontier, then we¡¯ll just change the battlefield. If we can''t beat the Heavens Sect, then does that mean that we can''t beat you?"

    Far away, Wen Shi and Qiu Zhan heard thement, and their faces fell. They had already heard of Cong Si''s death, and the news had shocked them.

    Their universe was in grave danger.

    All of the rulers of the member universes of the Sixverse Association were in seclusion, and without any sequence powerhouses to take action, the humans were doomed to be wiped out by the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin had already received an update from Sage Bodhi, who had asked the four battalions to reinforce Sixverse Association wherever they were needed. If the Sixverse Association was defeated, then a victory on the Endless Frontier would still be meaningless.

    As for asking the rulers of the various universes to emerge from seclusion, that waspletely impossible.

    True God and the Seven Skygods had all retreated into seclusion to heal their wounds. Simrly, the Great Sovereign and Ancestor Lu Yuan, who had fought against the Aeternals in that massive battle, had done so as well. If humanity¡¯s most powerful individuals were not allowed to heal and recover, humanity would face a disadvantage in the future when they faced the Aeternals most powerful members, which would be an even worse catastrophe.

    Lu Yin''s crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier could already be regarded as sessful, but the price was going to be steep.

    If the four battalions were forced to abandon the crusade to rescue the Sixverse Association, humanity¡¯s invincible de would lose its magnificence.

    Fortunately, beforeunching the crusade, the Heavens Sect had already taken such a move into consideration.

    Lu Yin''s fourth battalion instantly split apart. He led some people to the third battalion¡¯s location, while Leng Qing took some people to join the second battalion.

    The four battalions had been following a predetermined route across the Endless Frontier, and they were never too far away from each other. At every point in time, there were never more than two parallel universes separating the battalions from their nearest neighbors, and this served to ensure that they could always support each other.

    It had already been decided that, the moment the Sixverse Association was threatened, the fourth battalion would break apart, and the four battalions would be three. Each battalion would retain the same strength as before, which would allow all the peak powerhouses of one battalion to go reinforce the Sixverse Association.

    Shan Zheng immediately returned to the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    Lu Yin joined the third battalion. There, Shao Chen, who had been with them, moved to the Transcendent Universe to support them, and he was joined by Leng Qing and Chen Le.

    The Transcendent Universe was simply too weak, and it required a number of peak powerhouses to save it.

    Xia Qin led her forces to join the second battalion, and Bureau Director Gan then left the second battalion to return to the Arboreal Realm.

    The fourth battalion merged with two of the other three battalions, while the first battalion remained unchanged. In the second battalion, Xia Qin reced Chen Le, and in the third battalion, Lu Yin and the jiao had reced Shao Chen, which strengthened that battalion dramatically.

    In the Transcendent Universe, people moved quickly to transfer a bestowal art carrier to the border.

    Wen Shi, Zuo Lao, and Qiu Zhan worked together with their ck energy converters to hold back Greenridge. The three men were still at a disadvantage, and they risked being overpowered at any moment.

    On their own, the three men could only handle the most average Progenitor-level corpse kings, and they werepletely outmatched by the True God Guard Captain. This individual was on apletely different level, and if one of the True God Guard Captains went to the Origin Universe, they would be capable of defeating anyone who was not a Sequence Progenitor. They were all experts at the same level as Xia Shenji.

    With just ck energy converters, there was no way for the Transcendent Universe¡¯s experts to measure up to someone like Xia Shenji.

    Greenridge casually waved a hand, and a wave of leaves flew out, which Qiu Zhan only narrowly managed to evade. This was the same attack that had killed Cong Si when Greenridge had first arrived.

    The seemingly soft leaves were powerful enough to break past their ck energy, and not even the bestowal art carrier was able to eliminate anything. These leaves were moving due to pure physical power, and the bestowal art carriers were only able to absorb energy.

    "If not for Lord Wei, this universe would have been wiped out long ago." Greenridge''s long hair ruffled in the wind. There was an icy expression on his face and a frigid glint in his eyes as ripples visibly radiated from his body and spread across the nearby area.

    Qiu Zhan and the other two were all shocked. "Is that aurelian force?"

    Sure enough, Greenridge was using aurelian force, the second most powerful level of battle force. With the boost of aurelian force, even if Greenridge did not use the Corpse King Transformation, his physical strength would still reach an extremely terrifying level.

    "You can all die now." Greenridge charged at Qiu Zhan.

    The three men all released their ck energy at the same time. Each ck energy converter had enough raw power topare to a Progenitor, but not even all threebined were able to have any effect on Greenridge. All three bursts of ck energy passed right through Greenridge when the attacks approached him.

    The three men had no idea how, but Greenridge was able to disable all of their attacks.

    Aurelian force swept out, and the pressure alone was almost enough to make the three humans cough up blood. Greenridge appeared right in front of Qiu Zhan. Even when facing an endless bombardment of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s attacks, Greenridge¡¯s eyes did not waver in the least. It was impossible for any of these people to hurt him.

    Suddenly, Greenridge turned his head and looked in a particr direction. From that direction, a saber attack shot out. It was extremely sharp, and the ck energy attacks were not evenparable.

    "Herees a real expert."

 Chapter 2903: Purpose

    <h4>Chapter 2903: Purpose</h4>

    Astral-10¡¯s headmaster, Shao Chen, Leng Qing, and Chen Le all appeared at the Transcendent Universe¡¯s border.

    Their arrival caused Qiu Zhan and the other two defenders to feel a bit anxious. While they did not want to admit it, the truth was that, when it came to peak powerhouses, ck energy converter users were at the absolute bottom. They had essentially reached their level by cheating, and their power could be taken from them away at any time, as it was not really their own power.

    The Origin Universe¡¯s cultivators were the exact opposite. They were all people who had survived through various tribtions to reach their current strength. Lu Yin''s Semi-Progenitor tribtion during the Tea Ceremony had terrified the entire Sixverse Association. In addition to that, the Origin Universe was slowly interacting with the Sixverse Association more and more. As a result, the members of the Sixverse Association were gaining a greater understanding and admiration for the Origin Universe.

    The Cyclic Universe¡¯s Great Sovereign was able to bestow power upon the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, which was very powerful. But inparison, the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors had all reached their level of power by surviving various tribtions, which granted them an even more robust foundation and allowed for near infinite possibilities.

    The Origin Universe was the only universe to have given birth to something as glorious as the ancient Heavens Sect era, and it was impossible for such a thing to appear in any other universe.

    The arrival of Shao Chen and the others reassured the Transcendent Universe on a subconscious level. It was not something that the universe¡¯sbatants had even considered, and they did not realize that this sense offort was actually an indication that the Origin Universe hadpletely surpassed the Transcendent Universe.

    des sliced through the void, constantly attacking Greenridge. However, the result was no different from when Qiu Zhan and the Transcendent Universe¡¯s powerhouses had been attacking; all of the des were dulled, and Greenridge did not move at all.

    Leng Qing frowned. What was going on?

    "Celestial de World." An endless number of sabers fell down, enveloping the entire border warfront.

    The Celestial de World looked as though it could instantly kill Greenridge, but every single attack was slightly diverted as it fell upon him.

    An arrow was shot from far away as Chen Le attacked, but the arrow was also deflected.

    "These True God Guard Captains are quite a pain," Chen Le said with an ugly expression on his face. The truth was that he wanted to be participating in the crusade on the Endless Frontier. Given the number of peak powerhouses there, the Endless Frontier was rather safe, whereas Chen Le was currently facing off against a True God Guard Captain in the Transcendent Universe. Lu Yin had not even discussed Chen Le¡¯s assignment with the Monarch, and he treated him entirely like a subordinate.

    The ck energy converters continued to unleash endless attacks as well, but everyst attack missed Greenridge.

    Shao Chen finally took action, and heshed out with a palm strike. There seemed to be nothing special about this attack, but Greenridge was unable to evade this palm strike. His body trembled, and his eyes grew unfocused.

    Qiu Zhan and the others from the Transcendent Universe all looked at Shao Chen in surprise, as they could not tell what was happening.

    Chen Le¡¯s eyebrows rose. Shao Chen¡¯s cultivation was the mortal world, and the man was an absolute monster. He was trailzing a new cultivation method. When the Heavens Sect had been attacked, Shao Chen had personally held back one of the True God Guard Captains even though he had just broken through to be a peak powerhouse. Even among all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors, there was no doubt that the man was a freak.

    Shao Chen had experienced too many things, and he had transformed his experiences of the mortal world into memories, which were then forced onto Greenridge. The True God Guard Captain was being forced to experience the lives of others.

    This method that forced the lives of others onto a person could introduce both pain and joy. However, for peak powerhouses, this method was only moderately effective. Every single peak powerhouse had to possess a certain level of determination and confidence in their own path in order to have reached their level. It was a requirement for them to possess some level of self-awareness.

    When Shao Chen forced his mortal world onto another, it would bring about a change in the person¡¯s thoughts.

    Greenridge had been confident that he could face a number of Progenitors on his own, but at this moment, his expression changed drastically.

    Seizing the opening, Leng Qing and others all attacked.

    "Greenridge¨C!" A sharp shout rang across the battlefield, and it sessfully roused Greenridge.

    His eyes regained rity, and he deflected all of the iing attacks again. He grew scared of Shao Chen, as there was something very odd about the man.

    A man whose appearance waspletely hidden by ck robes had suddenly appeared on the battlefield in the Transcendent Universe, and his shout had woken up Greenridge.

    Another one of the Aeternals¡¯ peak powerhouses had appeared.

    On top of that, the man was not alone, as multiple powerful auras appeared behind him, terrifying Qiu Zhan and the others.

    Fifteen. A total of fifteen Progenitor-level corpse kings had appeared in the Transcendent Universe.

    Chen Le''s face turned pale. This was the end.

    "Destroy the Transcendent Universe!" a shout echoed out in everyone¡¯s ears.

    The man in the ck robe charged at Shao Chen. "I will take care of him."

    The fifteen Progenitor-level corpse kings that had appeared behind the ck-robed individual charged forward, scattering in every direction. Their purpose was to destroy the universe.

    Greenridge waved his arms, and leaves flew forward, shooting at Leng Qing and the others. "All of you can die!"

    Leng Qing frowned as he quickly gave orders to the guides who had led them to the Transcendent Universe. The guides were ordered to inform Lu Yin that the Transcendent Universe¡¯s reinforcements were not enough to handle the attack.

    Arrows flew out as two Progenitor-level corpse kings moved to surround Chen Le. The Monarch gritted his teeth and nced around. The man in ck robes was fighting against Shao Chen, and the Progenitor was using the mortal world to attack his opponent. However, Shao Chen¡¯s attacks were actually useless. As for Leng Qing, his opponent was Greenridge.

    Even though Leng Qing''s attacks could do nothing, Greenridge''s attacks were not much of a threat to Leng Qing either.

    Qiu Zhan and everyone else was being besieged by the Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Zuo Lao was facing a crisis. People who used ck energy converters were all very weak for their level. At best, they could only deal with one of the weakest Progenitor-level corpse kings, and they would be doomed if they ever faced more than one.

    One of the Progenitor-level corpse kings in the rear underwent a Green Eyes Transformation, which greatly strengthened the monster¡¯s body. The pressure on Chen Le kept increasing. Desperate, he used his sequence particles.

    Thew of the universe that his sequence particles represented was Indolence.

    Laziness was intrinsic to sapient creatures. Both humans and astral beasts, provided that they were sapient, would possess some degree of indolence. Of course, other creatures could also bezy, but it was not as obvious with them.

    Whileziness seemed to be part of human nature, Indolence was actually aw of the universe. If it were not, it would never appear. The truth was that every kind of phenomena in the universe was associated with a correspondingw, which was why thews of the universe were endless.

    Chen Le attached his sequence particles to an arrow and shot it at the corpse king that had justpleted the Corpse King Transformation. The monster retaliated with a punch, shattering the arrow, but the sequence particles still struck true.

    Would a corpse king bezy? Of course not, but things changed when thews of the universe were being wielded.

    Chen Le watched as the green color faded from the corpse king''s eyes. The monster was toozy to use the technique any longer.

    On top of that, theziness caused the corpse king to freeze in ce, as it was toozy to even move.

    Chen Le breathed a sigh of relief, delighted at the power of his sequence particles. They had proven very useful.

    This left the Monarch with only one Progenitor-level corpse king to deal with.

    Using sequence particles that came from thews of the universe was something that couldpletely reverse a battle. If not for his sequence particles, Chen Le would have most likely fallen to the two corpse kings that had targeted him.

    Zuo Lao was not nearly as lucky, and he was killed almost as soon as he was targeted by the corpse kings.

    Wen Shi was also in grave danger, and he was about to die as well.

    Shao Chen was still busy with the ck-robed man. The man had no fear of Shao Chen¡¯s mortal world, which made it difficult for Shao Chen to do anything to his opponent.

    One of the Progenitor-level corpse kings reached the Ziyou Realm, and it immediately started destroying everything.

    Wails rang out from the You family as blood flowed like a river.

    Outside the stairs where Bai Qian stayed, another Progenitor-level corpse king was quickly approaching.

    Without Lord Wei to protect it, the Transcendent Universe had be the weakest link of the Sixverse Association. Their ck energy converters werepletely incapable of holding back the Aeternals.

    Back at the border warfront, Lu Yin entered the fray with a roar.

    He had charged over as soon as he received the report from the Transcendent Universe, and at the same time, the third battalion had merged with the first battalion.

    The Aeternals were not stupid, and they would naturally find various ways to respond to Lu Yin¡¯s crusade.

    Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and the others had all spent the 100 days of preparation analyzing potential reactions. That way, the human forces could be prepared for as many situations as possible.

    Lu Yin had already expected the Transcendent Universe to be the target of a massive attack, and the nned response was for the three remaining battalions to merge into two.

    Chen Le was overjoyed to see Lu Yin. Even if only one person came to reinforce the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin possessed the means to reverse the tides.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods illuminated the forces of the Sixverse Association, and it instantly drew the attention of all of the Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Lu Yin stood atop the jiao as Xia Shenji and all the other summoned gods scattered in multiple directions. As for Lu Yin himself, he held the slipper in one hand before moving through spatial lines to instantly appear in front of a Progenitor-level corpse king, the slipper already raised to attack.

    "Avoid it!" a voice snapped.

    The corpse king wanted to dodge Lu Yin''s attack, but the human was far faster than most Progenitor-level corpse kings. The slipper mmed down onto the corpse king''s head, shattering it.

    Lu Yin looked over at a Progenitor-level corpse king that was further away and again moved along the spatial lines.

    "All of you, dodge!" the same sharp voice screamed.

    However, in the face of Lu Yin''s control over the power of space, it was impossible for any of the ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings to escape from him. In the blink of an eye, three of the powerful corpse kings had been destroyed.

    Before the return of the Lu family, Lu Yin had not had any opportunities to kill Progenitor-level corpse kings and anoint them as champions. After his family returned, Lu Qi had shared some of the family¡¯s ancestral teachings with Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had learned that they were forbidden to ever anoint a in corpse king as a champion.

    It was very possible that Nutjob Lu was the only person in the history of the Lu family who had ever anointed a corpse king as a champion.

    That taboo had been established by Lu Yuan, and it had been passed down since ancient times.

    In the face of three fallen Progenitor-level corpse kings, Lu Yin resisted temptation and turned his attention to the ck-robed man who was still shouting. "You¡¯re so noisy."

    With that said, Lu Yin moved towards the man in ck robe.

    The man screamed, "You¡¯ve fallen into a trap! The third battalion has already been destroyed!"

    Lu Yin instantly appeared behind the ck-robed man. "Bullshit."

    The slipper mmed down.

    The man in the ck robe fled, only to discover Lightstream flickering around him, reversing time by one second. The slipper smashed into the man, who screamed as his ck robe shattered, revealing his true body.

    Lu Yin was startled. <i>What the hell is this?</i>

    Lu Yin was not alone, as Leng Qing, Qiu Zhan, and everyone else on the battlefield was simrly stunned. Was that... a fish? It was no wonder why Shao Chen¡¯s mortal world had been useless. Even if a fish experienced human life, it would be as effective as a human experiencing the life of a fish. How much of an impact would such a thing have? At best, the individual would be surprised.

    The man in the ck robe was really just a fish that was upright and walking on its fins.

    It was nothing more than a fish.

    Lu Yin stared at the fish. How could his opponent be a fish?

    The mouthy fish that sat on Xi Qi¡¯s head had altered many people¡¯s understanding of the universe, but what was before Lu Yin was even stranger.

    "My name is Yu Huo, a True God Guard Captain! Dao Monarch Lu, your third battalion should already be destroyed by now! Your so-called crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier is nothing but a joke. This is the start of the end for your Heavens Sect!" The fish raised its head high as it spoke, its shrill voice sounding more like a scream.

    It was clearly just a fish, but it demonstrated extreme arrogance.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. There were countless different creatures throughout the universe, so there was no need to be too shocked by this one. "Again, that¡¯s bullshit."

    ...

    On the Endless Frontier, the third battalion had been moving to join the first battalion, but they were attacked by the Aeternals after covering about half of the distance.

    The four battalions had been taking four different routes across the Endless Frontier. In response, the Aeternals wanted to eliminate two of the battalions and make it impossible for the fourth battalion to support the third. This was their strategy to counter Lu Yin¡¯s crusade.

 Chapter 2904: Ending

    <h4>Chapter 2904: Ending</h4>

    The third battalion was not attacked by one of the True God Guard Captains, but by Sovereign Shao Yin, Yi Ren, and five ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings, as well as a horde of weaker corpse kings.

    Once Lu Yin and the jiao were gone, the third battalion had only four Progenitor-level experts: Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Bai Sheng. While it might seem like a good number of powerhouses, they were facing seven of Aeternus¡¯s Progenitor-level experts, which was a substantial threat.

    In one of the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes, humans fought against corpse kings, and space was destroyed.

    Sovereign Shao Yin sneered. "That Lu brat really thought that he could conquer the Endless Frontier just because he wanted to? If you want to me someone for your death, Wuwei, me that brat. He¡¯s responsible for you dying here."

    The power of Extreme Yang burned through space, and positive transformed into negative, feeding the Extreme Yin, while the negative then transformed back into Extreme Yang. While it appeared that the negative was feeding the positive, the truth was that both were urring, and Extreme Yin was feeding Extreme Yang as positive fed negative and yin and yang merged.

    A solemn expression appeared on Xu Wuwei''s face as he looked at Shao Yin¡¯s Extreme Yang. Xu Wuwei could only counter this power with his Spiral Domain. "Sovereign Shao Yin, you actually cultivate the power of Extreme Yang? You really seeded in deceiving everyone. Still, you should have had your power stripped from you.¡±

    "Old man, I''ve known for a long time that you don''t like me. You even tried to cooperate with that Lu brat to entrap me. Today, I¡¯ll make you pay for what you¡¯ve done. Regret your actions as you die!"

    Sovereign Shao Yin proceeded to not only challenge Xu Wuwei¡¯s Law of Space sequence particles with the Law of Yang sequence particles, Shao Yin also brought out his own Spiral Domain. Blue striped appeared on Shao Yin¡¯s back as he used the Eight-Star Garan to copy the Spiral Domain that Xu Wuwei had used.

    At this moment, Shao Yins mastery of Extreme Yang far surpassed what he had been capable of when he had fought against Lu Yin in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Xu Wuwei was stunned. How could Sovereign Shao Yin use Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain?

    The two Spiral Domains shed, causing the void to copse. That provided an opening, and the power of Extreme Yang burned Xu Wuwei.

    Falling back, blood leaked from the corners of Xu Wuwei¡¯s mouth.

    Off in the distance, the Superior Heavenly Cudgel mmed into a disk as Yi Ren and Bai Sheng faced off against each other.

    "This is not just a battle between Aeternus and humanity, but also a battle between my Sixth Maind and your Fifth Maind!" Yi Ren shouted.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s eyebrows rose. "You¡¯re from the Sixth Maind? That''s great! I always regretted missing out on the war between the Fifth Maind and your Sixth Maind. Today, you will be forced to pay the price."

    Yi Ren sneered. "Die."

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng were dealing with four different Progenitor-level corpse kings at the same time.

    Additionally, Yao Di was holding back another Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Yao Di was a gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates, and all of those Semi-Progenitors were participating in the crusade. Yao Di just happened to have been assigned to the third battalion.

    Further away, Sky Garan was crossing realms to challenge a Semi-Progenitor corpse king, but the young man¡¯s eyes were focused on the battle between Sovereign Shao Yin and Xu Wuwei. <i>Is that the Eight-Star Garan? Why can he use that? That¡¯s my family¡¯s inherited innate gift. Could he be a member of my Garan family?</i>

    "Xu Wuwei, die!" Sovereign Shao Yin shouted. The power of Extreme Yang pressed forward while the two Spiral Domains were locked together.

    Xu Wuwei''s face was pale, and yet he showed a mocking smile. "Sovereign Shao Yin, have you forgotten that I an a cultivator from the Voidforce Universe?"

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s pupils shrank.

    Across from him, Xu Wuwei took out a pot. "In one pot, cook all five of the world¡¯s vors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty- Sovereign Shao Yin, try it!"

    As the man shouted, a terrifying amount of voidforce energy shot from the pot and mmed into Sovereign Shao Yin.

    Both the power of Extreme Yin and the power of Extreme Yang erupted from Shao Yin¡¯s body.

    The two struck each other with a bang, and ripples spread through the void.

    When fighting, people from the Voidforce Universe were capable of wielding multiple times their own energy reserves with their voidforce puppets. There were people who could even control ten times their own power, which could provide a significant advantage in a battle.

    Even if Shao Yin was using the powers of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang together to wield aw of the universe that surpassed thew that Xu Wuwei wielded, it would be difficult for Shao Yin to force his way through so much raw power anytime soon.

    At this critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared directly behind Xu Wuwei, an arm raised high and arge ck bar in the hand. The rod dropped down to crush Xu Wuwei.

    The Void Suprema spun around. The danger he sensed sent tremors through his body, but while he wanted to evade this attack, he was surrounded by the powers of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang, and Xu Wuwei¡¯s voidforce energy was upied suppressing Shao Yin. It was nearly impossible for Xu Wuwei to respond to this sneak attack.

    As the ck bar fell, a golden light suddenly illuminated the entire universe as an Investiture of the Gods appeared above Xu Wuwei.

    "All these guys from Aeternus are so weird." Lu Qi appeared with his back to Xu Wuwei as he faced the figure wielding the ck bar.

    The long ck weapon struck the Investiture of the Gods, and the ck bar merged with the golden light to create a massive shadow that spanned the entire universe.

    Xu Wuwei was frightened. "Be careful! That should be one of the True God Guard Captains."

    Lu Qi had been following the third battalion across the entire Endless Frontier. This was because the third battalion was the one that faced the greatest risk of the four battalions. As soon as the fourth battalion dispersed, it made sense for Aeternus to target the third battalion as they tried to move. The first and second battalions were still too far to be able to help.

    Lu Qi was powerful enough to deal with a sequence powerhouse, despite not being one himself. This was due to the man¡¯s unique situation, rather than his own strength.

    However, Lu Qi was not facing a powerful Sequence Progenitor, but a True God Guard Captain.

    Sovereign Shao Yin¡¯s face twisted into an ugly expression. The fact that Lu Qi could suddenly appear suggested that other experts from the Heavens Sect might do so as well. The Heavens Sect had been prepared for this ambush, which meant that it had already failed.

    "You have such a weird and disgusting power that covers you." Lu Qi stared at his opponent with the ck bar, and then leaped forward while attacking with the Hidden Needle.

    At the same time, the summoned form of Wang Jian stepped out of the Investiture of the Gods and went after Yi Ren.

    Yi Ren had betrayed the Sixth Maind. Regardless of whatever grudges might exist between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, the fact that Yi Ren had betrayed the Sixth Maind made him Lu Qi¡¯s primary target. After all, it waspletely impossible for Lu Qi to kill Shao Yin.

    Lu Qi alone was the same as two Progenitors joining the battle, and Shao Yin was left with no choice but to order a retreat. If the Aeternals did not pull back, they would be trapped as soon as the first battalion arrived to support the third battalion.

    Yi Ren wanted to leave as well, but was stopped by Bai Sheng. Once the summoned Wang Jian arrived, there was no way for Yi Ren to escape.

    "Sovereign Shao Yin, save me!" Yi Ren shouted.

    Just as Sovereign Shao Yin was about to intervene, Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain spread out and stopped the Sovereign.

    Shao Yin would not get into a deathmatch with Xu Wuwei just to save Yi Ren, which meant that the only option was to leave.

    The True God Guard Captain who Lu Qi had stopped from attacking Xu Wuwei also left.

    Yi Ren looked furious, and divine energy erupted from his body and shot towards Bai Sheng.

    Bai Sheng was afraid of divine energy, so he quickly pulled back.

    Yi Ren took the opportunity to escape, only to discover that at some point in time, he had be surrounded by the Spiral Domain.

    So long as the Spiral Domain was present, there was no way for Yi Ren to tear the void and leave, and wanting to pull out a Cosmic Door to escape was even more impossible. The traitor¡¯s every path of escape had been cut off by Lu Qi, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng.

    Yi Ren''s heart dropped. This was not an oue that he had ever considered. It was clear that the Aeternals had been counter-ambushed.

    Lu Yin had only daredunch a crusade against the Endless Frontier after making ample preparations.

    Lu Qi looked at Yi Ren with a sneer. "Getting rid of one of them isn¡¯t bad."

    Bai Sheng raised his Superior Heavenly Cudgel and pointed it straight at Yi Ren.

    The traitor gritted his teeth. "I¡¯ll betray Aeternus. I¡¯m willing to share all of their secrets with you, so long as you don¡¯t kill me and allow me to join the Heavens Sect.

    "I know many of their secrets, and I promise that they will be useful to you."

    Lu Qi¡¯s eyes narrowed. "That¡¯s just pathetic. First you betrayed us humans and joined Aeternus, now when you¡¯re facing death, you¡¯re willing to betray the Aeternals. Who would ever dare ept someone like you?"

    Yi Ren clenched a fist. "I just want to survive! Humans weren¡¯t able to stop what was happening to the Fifth Maind. Just let me go. I am still a Progenitor, and the Heavens Sect wants to chase after its ancient glory, which means the more Progenitors that join, the better. Isn¡¯t this a good deal?¡±

    Xu Heng and Xu Leng nced at each other. It was rare to see such shamelessness from a peak powerhouse.

    Xu Wuwei said, "We will capture you if you stop fighting. I promise that we won¡¯t kill you now."

    Yi Ren¡¯s expression changed. "I want Lu Yin''s promise."

    "Then you can just die." Bai Sheng¡¯s Superior Heavenly cudgel dropped down. At the same time, a Hidden Needle shot at Yi Ren and Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain shrank as a terrifying amount of voidforce energy surged forward. Yi Ren was pushed to the edge of death, and he begged for mercy as he spat out blood, "Alright! I surrender! No conditions! I just want to see Lu Yin and talk to him."

    There was no denying that Yi Ren could be a valuable source of information, given how long he had been a part of Aeternus.

    Bai Sheng¡¯s Superior Heavenly Cudgel pressed down upon Yi Ren¡¯s shoulders. A miserable expression decorated the Progenitor¡¯s face. This was not the oue he had expected.

    He had genuinely not believed humans were capable of winning in the Origin Universe. Who would have thought that someone like Lu Yin would suddenly appear and lead the Fifth Maind to drive the Aeternals out? If Yi Ren had known that such a thing would happen, he never would have betrayed mankind.

    His extreme regret caused him to cough up more blood.

    Bai Sheng reached out to grab their captive, but Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain suddenly contracted and forced Bai Sheng back. The Progenitor was confused, but then saw divine energy surge out of Yi Ren¡¯s body and proceed to incinerate him. Yi Ren let out a miserable howl, and his screams echoed, piercing the entire universe.

    He was enveloped by an unspeakable pain. Yi Ren had never considered such a thing, and his body writhed as he tried to get rid of the divine energy. "I was wrong! True God, I was wrong! I did not mean to betray the Aeternals!

    "True God, please, let me go! I was wrong, ah¨C!

    "Ah¨C!"

    Everyone stepped back, staring in horror as things yed out before them.

    They could only imagine how much pain Yi Ren must be experiencing, for a Progenitor to scream in such a manner.

    His body was consumed by the mes of divine energy, but it happened very slowly. Inch by inch, his hair, skin, muscles, and bones were consumed by the mes. However, his head was not injured at all, and his brain was not damaged at all. He was fully cognizant of all of the pain he was experiencing.

    The people watching felt chilled.

    Bai Sheng was horrified. If Xu Wuwei had reacted anyter, Bai Sheng would also have been burned by the divine energy. Just the thought terrified the man.

    Yi Ren kept screaming and thrashing about as he begged for mercy until his voice grew hoarse.

    Everythingsted as long as it took for a stick of incense to burn.

    Yi Ren was consumed by the mes of divine energy until, finally, only his head remained.

    His head was consumed more slowly than the rest of his body. The purpose of the mes had been to produce pain, which meant that the skin and muscles of his head were incinerated much slower than his body had been burnt. Yi Ren''s miserable screams were chilling. "Ossis Ark! The Ossis Ark! Beware the Ossis Ark! When the Ossis Ark arrives, everything will be destroyed--"

    Once Yi Ren started to speak those words, the mes suddenly elerated, and they drowned out his voice. He was quickly left unable to make any sound, though a smile of relief appeared on his face.

    There were times that living was worse than dying, and that was definitely what Yi Ren had just experienced.

    Many members of the third battalion watched as Yi Ren was incinerated until there was nothing left at all. They felt as though they had just been dunked in ice water, and their entire bodies felt chilled to the bone.

    This was the fate of those who betrayed Aeternus.

    ...

    The moment that Shao Yin and the others retreated, Greenridge, Yu Huo and the others in the Transcendent Universe received word that the attempt to ambush the third battalion had backfired and they had been countered.

    The Aeternals had not miscalcted, as if they were confident that the first battalion could not reach the third battalion in time, Sovereign Shao Yin and others likely possessed enough strength to fight the third battalion to the death.

    Yu Huo finally understood why Lu Yin had not been at all concerned.

    Aeternus had failed to wipe out the third battalion in an ambush, and they were also unable to gain any advantage in the Transcendent Universe. Their only choice was to withdraw.

 Chapter 2905: We Meet Again

    Chapter 2905: We Meet Again

    Lu Yin saw what the Aeternals were doing, and he shouted, "Everyone, keep an eye on the Aeternals! Don''t let them escape."

    "Dao Monarch Lu, do you really think that you can keep us here?" Yu Huo red at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sneered back. "I want to see why a fish like you swam into my hands."

    As he spoke, his Lightstream shot out, and Lu Yin swung his slipper.

    Yu Huo''s eyes red. "First stage, change."

    As soon as Yu Huo spoke, his appearance changed, and he grewrger andrger. He transformed from a fish into a massive python, and his tailshed out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin responded with a p of the slipper. It did not matter if his opponent was a fish or a python; it would still be pped to death by the slipper all the same.

    There was a snap, and the python''s tail tore open as the beast let out a howl. As this happened, Shao Chen grew pale while spitting out blood.

    Lu Yin was startled by the unexpected development. "Headmaster?"No one had expected Shao Chen to be suddenly injured.

    The python roared, and a deep voice ordered, "Let''s go!"

    Just as Lu Yin was about to attack again, he remembered something, and he looked at Shao Chen with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    There was a fish scale stuck to Shao Chen¡¯s body. Without looking carefully, it would have been impossible to even notice, but the scale seemed to havee from the fish. There were no sequence particles around, so could it be an innate gift?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered that the True God Guard Captains all seemed to have unique innate gifts.

    "Headmaster, get rid of that scale!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Shao Chen quickly shook the scale off, but Greenridge and Yu Huo were already escaping.

    Lu Yin pursued, and the slipper rose up and mmed down, but Greenridge moved to block the attack. At that moment, Lu Yin witnessed something odd; a circle and a straight line blocked his path of attack towards Greenridge, and Lu Yin himself moved along the circle,pletely missing Greenridge.

    With this opening, Yu Huo and Greenridge fled from the battlefield. Lu Yin wanted to give chase, but the Progenitor-level corpse kings were still wreaking havoc.

    The True God Guard Captains had been apanied by no less than fifteen Progenitor-level corpse kings, which had all run into the Transcendent Universe.

    Lu Yin easily smashed the corpse kings into pieces.

    At the same time, the Aeternals receded from the border warfront like a tide.

    Chen Le breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally out of danger.

    However, Zuo Lao and Cong Si had both died, and Lu Yin had not been able to eliminate all of the Progenitor-level corpse kings on his own. His arrival had not done much more than reverse the flow of the battle.

    The Aeternals had invaded the Transcendent Universe, and humanity had lost two ck energy converter users: Cong Si and Zuo Lao.

    Their ck energy converters were still present, but all of the energy within them had been consumed.

    The Transcendent Universe could create more ck energy converters, but theycked the ability to recharge them. If not for that limitation, they would not have just ten ck energy converters, but rather a hundred. With such an armory, the Transcendent Universe would have been able to deal with the True God Guard Captains without any help.

    Furthermore, these were merely the casualties at the border warfront. As a whole, the Transcendent Universe¡¯s losses were much steeper.

    The Progenitor-level corpse kings had rampaged across the entire universe. One result was that the Ziyou Realm had been destroyed. You Fang was dead, but what worried Lu Yin the most was that Bai Qian had gone missing.

    Without a body, it was impossible to know if she had been killed or captured by a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    It was much more likely that she had been killed. With Lord Wei dead, the Aeternals should not care about Bai Qian.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned ugly. He had had no choice in the matter. He had known that the Aeternals might attack the Transcendent Universe, and he had even anticipated such an attack. However, it was not possible to cancel the crusade just because the Transcendent Universe risked suffering an attack.

    With Lord Wei gone, the Transcendent Universe had lost the necessary strength to remain a member of the Sixverse Association. The universe¡¯s greatest value at the moment was their technology and research skills.

    Lu Yin already had ns to make the Transcendent Universe into Backyard¡¯s research base.

    Backyard was the Heavens Sect¡¯s research and development department. They developed and improved microarray technology, medicines, and materials research. As for the Energy Research Group, their research had already been incorporated into Backyard. It was certainly feasible to transfer the rest of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s research and development teams to Backyard.

    No one could even object, as Lu Yin was currently the guardian of the universe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s status in the Sixverse Association meant that no one could order him about unless the Great Sovereign herself emerged from seclusion.

    The invasion hadpletely awakened the Transcendent Universe, and people finally understood that, without Lord Wei, their universe waspletely unable to measure up to the other parallel universes in the Sixverse Association. Without the Heavens Sect, the Transcendent Universe would have been destroyed this day.

    However, Lu Yin was more concerned about Shao Chen¡¯s injury.

    Shao Chen had not been injured since his breakthrough, nor had he been injured during his breakthrough, all due to his unique form of cultivation. He was strong enough to fight against the True God Guard Captains with his mortal world, which made him far, far superior to a peak powerhouse like Chen Le. Lu Yin would rather lose ten Chen Les than a single Shao Chen.

    "I just got smacked around a bit. I¡¯ll be fine," Shao Chen protested weakly.

    Lu Yin frowned. Yu Huo¡¯s innate gift had clearly replicated the same injuries that he had suffered onto Shao Chen, spreading his suffering. When Yu Huo had been injured by Lu Yin¡¯s attack, so too had Shao Chen due to the fish scale. If Lu Yin had used just a bit more power in his attack, he might have identally killed Shao Chen in a single blow.

    However, that was not guaranteed. It was also possible that Shao Chen was capable of enduring greater injuries than Yu Huo and that he would have survived with the fish dying.

    "I don''t know how the Aeternals found their True God Guard Captains, but each of them looks like a freak, and their innate gifts are even more bizarre," Shao Chen said with a sigh.

    Chen Le was scared. "Monarch Luo once said that, between the members of the Sixverse Association and the Endless Frontier, there are about seventy known parallel universes. In addition, there are others that are controlled by various universes, which puts that total to about a hundred. However, Aeternus controls far, far more parallel universes than the entire Sixverse Association.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at Chen Le. "Luo Shan said that?"

    Chen Le nodded.

    "What else did he say?" Lu Yin hade to discover that Luo Shan knew a great number of things. He had taken over the Three Monarchs Universe, be its ruler, and even enjoyed the respect of the Great Sovereign. Despite all of that, Luo Shan had still been willing to hide his true strength for years, and he had even cooperated with Shao Yin. What on earth was the man thinking? What were his goals?

    Luo Shan''s personality had driven him to attack the Origin Universe when the Heavens Sect had been attacked by Aeternus. The man had reopened the spatial passage connecting the Origin Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe, which made it clear that the Monarch was not someone who focused on the bigger picture. Rather, he instead pursued his own goals and revenge. Normally, this kind of person would easily betray humanity and join Aeternus, much like Old Mo, and yet Luo Shan had not done that. Even after all that had happened, Luo Shan continued to have hope that he could regain his position as a ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universe. When Luo Shan had escaped from Shaman God, he had mentioned that he hoped that Lu Yin would not betray humanity. What did the man hope for that held him back from betraying humanity?

    Chen Le thought for a while. "Monarch Luo told me about many things. I wonder, what specifically would you like to know, Dao Monarch?"

    "You should all stay here in the Transcendent Universe to prevent the Aeternals from attacking this ce again. I''m going to go join back up with the second battalion." Lu Yin had no time to waste chatting with Chen Le. The crusade was not some joke. While humanity might appear to have gained the upper hand for the moment, the crusade had not fulfilled its true purpose yet.

    The true goal of the crusade was not merely to conquer the Endless Frontier, boost humanity¡¯s morale, and improve their position in the war. More importantly, they needed to find the hidden Seven Skygods and eliminate them.

    Each Skygod was truly a difficult opponent.

    The third battalion merged with the first battalion, which meant they were now an army led by nine Progenitor-level powerhouses. Naturally, Lu Yin would not join the first battalion, instead joining the second battalion. With the addition of Lu Yin, the second battalion would have six Progenitor-levelbatants.

    Two dayster, Lu Yin sessfully regrouped with the second battalion. Themander of the second battalion was Mu Ke, but the man was rather taciturn. Upon Lu Yin¡¯s arrival, Mu Ke naturally cededmand of the second battalion.

    Four battalions had been reduced to just two, but while there were fewer armies, they were both much more powerful than the original ones.

    Several more months passed as the two battalions fought their way across the Endless Frontier. They sessfully purged five more parallel universes. This speed was unprecedented, but it was because of the number of peak powerhouses participating in the crusade.

    Still, their true purpose was to find the hiding Skygods.

    It was possible that a Skygod might be hiding in every single parallel universe that the battalions had passed through, and most of their time was spent checking for hidden threats.

    One day, the second battalion finally arrived at the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The parallel universes of the Endless Frontier were all interconnected, but those connections had nothing to do with distance. After all, there was no distance between parallel universes.

    The Three Monarchs Universe had been annexed to the Endless Frontier, and it had been arranged in the middle of the battlefield. It was connected to the Starlight Universe.

    When the second battalion arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe, Lu Yin immediately ordered the sequence particle sensors to be released. He was not only searching for the Seven Skygods, but also people like Old Mo and Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan¡¯s hiding ce was most likely in the Three Monarchs Universe. It was the ce that he was the most familiar with, and with the fighting dying down across the entire Endless Frontier, there was a high chance that Luo Shan had returned to the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The Aeternals had destroyed the Mo Courtyard long ago, and many corpse kings had settled down there.

    Old Greenpeel and Suo Xian both arrived outside the Mo Courtyard, and they immediately started attacking the corpse kings inside.

    When the people of the Three Monarchs Universe had moved to the Origin Universe, Old Greenpeel and the other Semi-Monarchs from the Mo Courtyard had all joined the Heavens Sect. Old Greenpeel and Suo Xian were part of the second battalion, and upon arriving in the Three Monarchs Universe, conflict welled up within them.

    The two men eliminated many corpse kings, and they were quickly surrounded by Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings. Old Greenpeel sighed. "I never thought that the Mo Courtyard would end up like this. I wonder what Monarch Luo felt like when he saw this ce."

    Suo Xian looked quite rxed. Being surrounded by three corpse kings at their cultivation level on the Endless Frontier was a rather desperate situation. Even though Suo Xian was not a Realmbreaker, that did not matter. They were part of the second battalion, and reinforcements would arrive at any moment. "Don''t worry about such things. The Mo Courtyard is already history. All of us are now part of the Heavens Sect."

    The fighting restarted, and before long, Wang Jian arrived and attacked, instantly eliminating the three Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Suo Xian threw down a sensor and activated it. As he did, his expression changed. "There¡¯s a reaction."

    Wang Jian¡¯s eyebrows rose, and he immediately contacted Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked over at the Mo Courtyard. Who had they found?

    The Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s imperial treasury had been housed in the Mo Courtyard, and aside from the three Monarchs themselves and the members of the Mo Courtyard, only a few people had known about that fact.

    At this moment, inside the imperial treasury, Luo Shan¡¯s eyes opened. What was going on? He was starting to feel a bit anxious, as though someone was staring at him.

    Suddenly, his expression changed, and the imperial treasury was torn in two right above his head. Wang Jian had attacked.

    As the treasury shattered, tri-colored monarch essence surged out and mmed into Wang Jian.

    The Progenitor¡¯s expression changed drastically as the tri-colored monarch essence was difficult to resist. This person was a true expert, and Wang Jian quickly pulled back.

    There was a hiss as a de swept out, and it sliced through the monarch essence as well as severed stars. Wang Jian was knocked back, nearly injured by the saber.

    Mu Ke held a saber in his hand as he faced the ruins of the imperial treasury. The ck cloth was still concealing his eyes. "Luo Shan."

    The Monarch emerged from the imperial treasury and looked around at the second battalion in surprise. He saw both Mu Ke and Lu Yin. "Why are you here?"

    Luo Shan had fled the Transcendent Universe before Lu Tianyi had started fighting against Shaman God, and to recover from his injuries, he had hidden himself in the Three Monarchs Universe¡¯s imperial treasury. He had no knowledge of the recent developments, so when he saw the number of cultivators and peak powerhouses who were a part of the second battalion, he was rather confused.

    Lu Yin was standing atop the jiao, and he stared at Luo Shan from the distance. "We meet again, Luo Shan."

    Mu Xie, Wang Jian, and Xia Qin all gathered around the imperial treasury.

    Beneath them, Old Greenpeel and Suo Xian were staring on in a daze. Why was Monarch Luo here?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2906: Muddying The Water

    Chapter 2906: Muddying The Water

    Luo Shan''s expression fell as his tri-colored monarch essence surged. "Lu Yin, did you bring all these people to the Three Monarchs Universe to surround and kill me? Don''t forget, while I may no longer be a ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, I am still fighting against the Aeternals on the Endless Frontier. If you target me, especially on the Endless Frontier, you will be punished by the Sixverse Association as a whole."

    Lu Yinughed. "Yes, this is a crusade, but our target is not you, but rather¡­"

    He paused for a moment.

    Luo Shan''s pupils shrank to pinpricks, as everything that he knew about Lu Yin shed through the Monarch¡¯s mind, including Lu Yin¡¯s actions in the Origin Universe. Luo Shan immediately grew very pale. "What have you done?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. What had he done?

    Luo Shan grew furious. "Lu Yin, you must have framed me as a spy in order to gain greater recognition from the Sixverse Association. That¡¯s why you¡¯vee here and surrounded me, isn¡¯t it?"

    Strange expressions appeared on the faces of Wang Jian and the others, and they could not help but nce back at Lu Yin. Was this true? It certainly seemed to fit with Lu Yin¡¯s modus operandi. He had unified the Fifth Maind and then schemed against the four ruling powers. Was Luo Shan¡¯s usation against Lu Yin really that far-fetched? Was it possible that the crusade was a lie and that his real goal was to eliminate Luo Shan?

    The better someone knew Lu Yin, the more likely they would be to agree with Luo Shan''s suspicions.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. "You¡¯re overthinking things. A few months ago, our Heavens Sectunched an official crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier to avenge Lord Wei. We found you by mere coincidence."Luo Shan was startled. "Lord Wei is dead?"

    Lu Yin sneered as he looked in another direction. "How long are you going to sit there and watch? Get out here!"

    As he spoke, he raised a hand, and his fingers made a grabbing motion as he tore space apart in the direction he was looking. The void trembled as a terrifying power swept out, shattering space.

    Everyone turned to look, and they saw someone emerge, quickly evade Lu Yin¡¯s attack, and then try to escape.

    Mu Ke spun around, his saber raised up before he chopped down.

    The sh cut through the Three Monarchs Universe as it shot towards the fleeing figure. The attack was indescribably sharp, and it left everyone''s scalp numb.

    The individual who was trying to escape was startled, and theyshed out at the attack, shing against Mu Ke¡¯s attack. The universe was sundered into four sections, but even though the fleeting figure¡¯s counter attack had struck Mu Ke¡¯s sh, a part of the attack continued on.

    The impact between the two attacks briefly slowed Mu Ke¡¯s sh, which allowed the other person to evade it. The attack slicked by, leaving a ck spatial crack in its wake.

    "Mu Ke, it''s me¡­"

    Mu Ke frowned. "Daheng?"

    Luo Shan''s eyes red. "Daheng?"

    Lu Yin was not surprised. Mr. Daheng had located Luo Shan on the Endless Frontier, which Lu Yin had learned about from Wu Heng. This was also why Lu Yin had wanted to find Luo Shan. Lu Yin was not worried about Mr. Daheng¡¯s goals, as the man clearly just wanted to get the Peaks and Rivers Rock. Lu Yin also wanted to take the stone back from Luo Shan.

    However, Lu Yin also wanted to know what Mr. Daheng wanted to do with the Peaks and Rivers Rock.

    In the distance, Mr. Daheng was fearfully staring at Mu Ke. Everyone imed that Mr. Daheng was the second-most powerful individual in the Arboreal Realm, with only Mu Shen above him. The man had even believed it himself.

    However, during thest Tea Ceremony, Mu Ke had revealed a level of strength that had made everyone take another look at him. Even Mr. Daheng felt that his fellow Arborean was likely superior, and Mu Ke¡¯s sh in the Three Monarchs Universe had only further confirmed Mr. Daheng¡¯s suspicions. Mu Ke was the person in the Arboreal Realm who was really second to Mu Shen.

    "Mr. Daheng, why are you in the Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin asked in a casual manner. While Mr. Daheng was a sequence powerhouse, Lu Yin did not need to be particrly concerned about that.

    Luo Shan stared intently at Mr. Daheng. Lu Yin had asked the exact question that the Monarch wanted answered. Why was this man shadowing Luo Shan?

    Mr. Daheng nced at the second battalion. While he was quite intimidated by the forces arrayed before him, he put on a show of being rxed and at ease. "I just happened to be passing by. I¡¯m actually on my way to the Starlight Universe. I¡¯ve heard that a particr type of starlight grass grows there and that it¡¯s very beautiful. Dao Monarch Lu has seen my Liberation Pce and knows what it¡¯s like. So, you should know that this starlight grass would greatly improve the view."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s mouth. "But you¡¯ve been in this universe for a long time already."

    Mr. Daheng''s eye twitched, and he reflexively nced at Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan was staring at the Arborean with cold and wary eyes. Had Mr. Daheng been in the Three Monarchs Universe for a while? Then he must have been watching him.

    "You must be joking, Dao Monarch Lu. I only just arrived," Mr. Daheng replied.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "When you arrived doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re here, so you aren¡¯t leaving. You¡¯ve been officially drafted into the second battalion to join the crusade."

    Mr. Daheng instantly refused. "While I respect Lord Lu¡¯s crusade against Aeternus, this crusade is your Heavens Sect¡¯s affair, and I have other matters to see to. I will take my leave now."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "If you try to leave, you will be regarded as a traitor to humanity."

    Mr. Daheng''s expression changed, and he glowered at Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, joining your crusade is a purely voluntary matter. I am from the Arboreal Realm, so even if I am forced to join your crusade, it must be Mu Shen who makes that decision. You have no authority over me."

    "Mu Ke, you know this."

    With the exception of Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng was confident that no one present was capable of stopping him, which meant that he could leave whenever he wished. As for Lu Yin, what would the brat be without the protection of a sequence powerhouse?

    Lu Yinughed. "You tried to argue when I said that you¡¯ve been in the Three Monarchs Universe for a long time, and you¡¯re still trying to argue with me. Proximity has already issued an announcement to the entire Sixverse Association. Any cultivator on the Endless Frontier who is not currently serving as an assigned defender is required to join our crusade when we encounter them. If any refuse this draft, they are to be treated as traitors to humanity.

    "The announcement was made a long time ago."

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s expression grew ugly. Had this really happened?

    Luo Shan clenched his fists as he stared at Mr. Daheng. How long had this man been watching him? What did he want?

    Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber. "Daheng, join the battalion. All who refuse are to be treated as spies."

    Mr. Daheng red at Lu Yin, furious. This brat was clearly targeting him. <em>You bastard!</em>

    Lu Yin continued to smile brightly at Mr. Daheng. <em>You want to feel at ease? A thought to eternity? How absurd. If you refuse to take responsibility, how can you truly be free? What you have is pure selfishness. Carefree? It¡¯s nothing but anarchy</em>.

    ?Everyone wanted to do whatever they wished and obtain all that they desired, receiving everything they sought, but how could that be possible?

    In order to obtain the Peaks and Rivers Rock, Mr. Daheng had forced Chen Le to steal one. In order to gain control of more peak powerhouses, he had also sealed Chen Le and Wu Heng¡¯s cultivation. This was not freedom and being at ease, but rather seizing control of others.

    True liberation and freedom would be to ensure the safety and security of humanity as a whole, protecting peace for all future generations.

    Sitting alone up above all others was not freedom, but rather loneliness.

    "Lord Lu, all the previous grudges between us were instigated by me. I, Daheng, formally apologize here and now to Lord Lu for my previous actions.

    ¡°Now, I really have some important matters to attend to, so I ask that you allow me to go, Lord Lu. Once my affairs are in order, I will surely return to the Endless Frontier and join a battalion. I, Daheng, have bound myself to the fight for humanity against Aeternus." Mr. Daheng suppressed his anger and slowly bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin sighed. "So, are you saying that I¡¯m drafting you into this battalion because of our past grudges?"

    Mr. Daheng''s heart skipped a beat. "Of course not. I just wanted to take this coincidental meeting with Lord Lu to apologize. This matter has nothing to do with whether or not I join your battalion."

    "Then join. I don''t want to waste any time arguing." Lu Yin showed no mercy.

    Mr. Daheng nched. He had said so many ttering things, but this brat refused to give the Arborean any face.

    Lu Yin nced over at Luo Shan. "Do you want to join us and avenge your Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Luo Shan replied in a soft voice, "The Three Monarchs Universe is a part of the Endless Frontier, which makes me a defender of the Endless Frontier. Because of this, I can refuse to join you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "It''s your choice.

    "How long do we need to purge this universe?"

    Xia Qin replied, "It¡¯ll take fifteen days."

    Lu Yin said, "Do whatever is needed to get the Three Monarchs Universe green lit."

    Wang Jian, Xia Qin, and the jiao went in three different directions, and many of the second battalion¡¯s other cultivators started fighting across the universe.

    Mr. Da Heng wanted to leave, but he did not dare to attempt it. He knew that Lu Yin would do as he said, and if Lu Yin obtained any sort of leverage against Mr. Daheng, it would not be unexpected if the brat led a number of Progenitors to surround and kill Mr. Daheng.

    Mu Shen had already helped the man once, but he would not be able to do so a second time.

    Helpless, Mr. Daheng had no choice but to temporarily join the second battalion.

    The addition of Mr. Daheng boosted the second battalion¡¯s strength even further. Regardless of the man¡¯s character, they were still on the Endless Frontier, and Mr. Daheng had no choice but to join the second battalion in their crusade against the Aeternals. The second battalion had gained another sequence powerhouse, which was a substantial addition.

    Lu Yin still felt that it was a pity, as it would have been best if Luo Shan had also joined their numbers.

    In the ruins of the Mo Courtyard, Mr. Daheng spoke with Lu Yin alone, hoping to go.

    Of course, Lu Yin refused and instead called Luo Shan over.

    Luo Shan also wanted to leave, but the reason why he was able to refuse to join the second battalion was because he belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe. As long as the second battalion remained in that universe, Luo Shan could not leave. On top of that, he wanted to keep an eye on Mr. Daheng and find out why the Arborean had been watching him.

    The three men met in the ruins of the Mo Courtyard.

    Mr. Daheng did not want to speak with Luo Shan, and he only wanted to beg for Lu Yin¡¯s permission to leave.

    Luo Shan also wanted to meet with Mr. Daheng alone, as the Monarch did not want to deal with Lu Yin.

    And Lu Yin wanted to speak with both men, so the three met amidst the ruins of the Mo Courtyard.

    "You''re already here, so if you have anything to say, just say it," Lu Yin said.

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes flickered. "Lord Lu-"

    The man was cut off before he could even start making his request, "If you¡¯re still trying to leave, don''t even bring it up. I don¡¯t want to grow suspicious and use you of betraying humanity."

    Mr. Daheng gritted his teeth and suppressed his anger, trying to avoid arguing with Lu Yin. This young man was too overbearing.

    Luo Shan looked at Lu Yin before turning to Mr. Daheng, but the Monarch said nothing.

    Lu Yin watched Luo Shan. "Do you not have anything to say?"

    Luo Shan quietly retorted, "Lord Lu, what do you want me to say?"

    Lu Yinughed. "At the end of the battle with Shaman God, you fled on your own, leaving me behind. Shouldn''t you give me an exnation?"

    Luo Shan stared at Lu Yin. "In that case, Lord Lu, please exin why Monarch Mu was your captive."

    Lu Yin answered with a smile, "Because back then, we were enemies."

    Luo Shan''s eyes bulged. His thoughts aligned with Mr. Daheng; if the second battalion were not present, the Monarch would want to kill Lu Yin. They should still be enemies.

    Monarch Mu might have been killed by Shaman God, but was Lu Yin not also responsible for her death?

    If Lu Yin had not been plotting against Lord Wei and exposed Shaman God, then Monarch Luo would not have needed to fight against Shaman God, and Monarch Mu would still be alive.

    Not once had Luo Shan ced any of the me for Monarch Mu¡¯s death onto himself. The truth was that his greed and desire to be the ruler of the Transcendent Universe had motivated him to stay and fight against Lord Wei, which had forced Shaman God to reveal himself.

    "Didn''t you tell the Sixverse Association the truth about Lord Wei, Lord Lu?" Luo Shan asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No matter what, he was the lord of the Transcendent Universe, and exposing the truth would only disgrace the Sixverse Association. This crusade wasunched to avenge Lord Wei. The true reasons don¡¯t really matter, as the results are what¡¯s most important."

    Only the people who had fought in that battle knew that Lord Wei had been under Shaman God¡¯s control and that he had even voluntarily helped Shaman God research sequence particles, deceiving the entire Sixverse Association.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2907: Little Weasels

    Chapter 2907: Little Weasels

    "If Lord Wei is dead, then what¡¯s happened to the Transcendent Universe?" Luo Shan asked as he stared at Lu Yin.

    The two men locked eyes, and Lu Yinughed. "You don''t still want to be the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, do you?"

    Luo Shan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He really wanted to say something, but he kept it to himself in the end.

    Lu Yin nced over at Mr. Daheng. "If that¡¯s what you want, then why don¡¯t you deal with your own issues first? There¡¯s Mr. Daheng watching you in your Three Monarchs Universe. There¡¯s no way he has good intentions."

    Luo Shan looked over at Mr. Daheng, and the Arborean¡¯s eyes flickered. "I was merely passing by. Since Lord Lu doesn''t believe me, then just forget it."

    Lu Yin stared at Luo Shan.

    The Monarch spoke slowly. "Mr. Daheng and I have only met each other a few times, and we both respect each other. I believe that Mr. Daheng is not here because he was watching me, as I have nothing that warrants his attention."

    "Well, in that case, then let''s end this little meeting." With that, Lu Yin left.

    As long as he was present, the two men would not say anything.There were many deeply hidden matters, and unless the depths were plumbed, there was no telling when they would surface.

    If not for the Lu family¡¯s return and the sudden spike in the Heavens Sect''s strength, Lu Yin would have never dared to disturb the murky waters. However, the situation had changed drastically, and he wanted to discover what had been hidden.

    Lu Yin left, and Mr. Daheng also turned to leave.

    Luo Shan''s voice entered the Arborean¡¯s ears. "Why have you been watching me? I made it clear from the beginning that there is nothing between the two of us. Everything from the past should have disappeared."

    Mr. Daheng''s voice grew cold. "I already told you. I was not watching you."

    Luo Shan abruptly attacked, and heshed out at Mr. Daheng with a hand. The Arborean dodged, but he still red at Luo Shan. "Do you want us both to die? Lu Yin has his eye on both of us."

    Luo Shan looked quite irritated. "That''s still better than having you plotting against me without knowing why. Why have you been watching me?"

    Mr. Daheng took a deep breath, but he still hesitated.

    Luo Shan quietly stated, "If you don¡¯t tell me, then you can forget about leaving! I¡¯ve already been reduced to this, and unless something changes, I won¡¯t ever be able to live anywhere other than the Endless Frontier. In the worst case scenario, you say nothing, and then let¡¯s see how long you can stay turtled up in the Arboreal Realm. You¡¯ll either be forced to defect to the Aeternals or be exiled to the Endless Frontier, just like me. You¡¯re the only one who can choose."

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes flushed red. "Don''t try to force me! You¡¯re the one who instigated things with the Origin Universe!"

    "That matter is already in the past, and yet you¡¯re still watching me. You¡¯re the one trying to force me!" Luo Shan shouted back in a restrained voice.

    Even if the Three Monarchs Universe had been annexed to the Endless Frontier and Monarch Mu killed, Luo Shan refused to live under the eyes of another.

    Mr. Daheng let out a long breath. "Fine. You are also hoping for this matter to be put to an end, and I would like for the two of us to never have to meet again. Everything from the past should be settled andid to rest. In that case, give me the stone that Chen Le gave you."

    Mr. Daheng knew that he could no longer try to secretly target Luo Shan. That bastard Lu Yin had exposed matters, making it impossible for things to continue as they had been.

    Luo Shan was stunned. "What stone?"

    Mr. Daheng sneered. "You still want to pretend? Weren¡¯t you the one who sent Chen Le to join my Liberation Pce?"

    Luo Shan''s eyes red. "Chen Le was a part of your Liberation Pce?"

    Ever since Chen Le had given the Peaks and Rivers Rock to Luo Shan, Mr. Daheng had only been able to think of two options. The first was that someone had helped Chen Le remove the obstruction that Mr. Daheng had ced on the man, which had allowed Chen Le to break through and be a Monarch. The second possibility was that Monarch Luo had sent Chen Le to join the Liberation Pce and that Luo Shan had been behind all of Chen Le¡¯s actions.

    When the people of the Three Monarchs Universe joined the Heavens Sect, Mr. Daheng had leaned towards the possibility that the Heavens Sect had helped Chen Le. It seemed very likely, but the possibility of Luo Shan being behind everything was still possible, especially since the stone had been given to Luo Shan. That rock was the true object of Mr. Daheng¡¯s desires.

    If Luo Shan knew nothing about the true purpose of the stone, then it would mean the first possibility was true. However, if Luo Shan knew what the Peaks and Rivers Rocks were for, then it would prove that he was the one truly manipting things behind the scenes. After all, if the Heavens Sect had been the ones to help Chen Le, then why had the stone gone to Luo Shan? Lu Yin¡¯s personality made such a possibility impossible.

    As time passed and Mr. Daheng had thought more and more about the situation, he felt that Luo Shan was more likely the one directing Chen Le¡¯s actions.

    Chen Le must have joined the Heavens Sect at Luo Shan¡¯s orders, as the Heavens Sect¡¯s actions in the Three Monarchs Universe was not something that could be reversed. For that reason, Chen Le had been sent to join the Heavens Sect in order to find an opportunity for Luo Shan to deal with Lu Yin.

    Mr. Daheng had be increasingly convinced that this theory of his was urate.

    "Luo Shan, you and I have known each other for a long, long time, and I know you very well. I know that having Chen Le join the Liberation Pce in order to scheme against me is not beyond you. In fact, it could even be said to bepletely in line with how you do things. Are you trying to tell me that you don¡¯t know about that stone? Ridiculous! Now that the two of us are speaking openly, give me the stone! From this moment forward, the two of us will never cross paths again, or else you wille to regret it!" Mr. Daheng openly threatened the Monarch.

    Luo Shan suddenly looked down at his cosmic ring, only now remembering that, right after Chen Le had broken through and be a Monarch, he had inexplicably given Luo Shan a rock. Chen Le imed to have found it on the Endless Frontier, after which he had been targeted by a corpse king, which suggested that the stone was important. However, Chen Le had also said that he had no idea what the stone was for, and so he had given it to Luo Shan.

    At that time, Luo Shan had been protecting the border of the Three Monarchs Universe, and he had been on guard against Forgotten Ruins God. He had not paid any attention to the matter, and he had simply epted the stone without much thought. Was that the stone that Mr. Daheng wanted?

    Luo Shan''s eyes flickered, as he realized that he had been deceived from the very beginning. Chen Le must have defected to Lu Yin even before his breakthrough, which was when Lu Yin had been posing as Xuan Qi. Somehow, Xuan Qi must have convinced Chen Le to give the stone to Monarch Luo in order to divert the Liberation Pce¡¯s attention away from Chen Le.

    <em>Damn it! Just how deep do Lu Yin''s schemes run?</em>

    "Chen Le did give me a stone with a portion of andscape painting on it," Luo Shan agreed.

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s eyes practically zed as he stared at Luo Shan.

    The Monarch¡¯s eyes narrowed. "But why should I give it to you? You hid in my Three Monarchs Universe in order to take this stone, likely wanting to take advantage of my injuries from the battle in the Transcendent Universe. It¡¯s been months since then, and yet you never did anything or approached me. Thus, the only possibility is that you have been waiting for an opportunity to kill me."

    Mr. Daheng quietly replied, "I never had any intention of killing you. I merely want that stone."

    Luo Shan sneered. "I have no idea what that stone is for, and I also never knew that Chen Le had joined the Liberation Pce, but it''s not toote for me to learn about those things now. Why do you think that you can take the stone away from me? Don''t forget, I have always stood above you. You have never once surpassed me."

    A dangerous light glinted in Mr. Daheng''s eyes. "Luo Shan, I know you, and you know me. I swear by the freedom that I have pursued throughout my life that, if you do not give me that stone, disaster will befall you. You will surely regret your decision."

    Luo Shan''s eye twitched. From what he knew of Mr. Daheng, this oath was extremely vicious. It might be possible for Mr. Daheng to not care about his own cultivation and strength, but he absolutely cared about his so-called freedom. The man had been pursuing it ever since he had been a child.

    "I, Luo Shan, do not fear you." Luo Shan turned around and left.

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s eyes grew sinister as he watched Luo Shan vanish.

    Lu Yin watched everything from a distance. The two men he was observing clearly did not have a simple rtionship. They must have known each other for a long time, but Luo Shan had not given the stone to Mr. Daheng. Mr. Daheng must have either not mentioned the matter to the Monarch, or Luo Shan must have refused to give the stone away.

    Regardless of which was true, the two men would continue to be tangled together because of the Peaks and Rivers Rock.

    After separating from Mr. Daheng, Luo Shan set out to find Lu Yin.

    "Regardless of the final oue in the Transcendent Universe, you did release Little Mu. I told you at that time that all grudges between us would be erased." Luo Shan spoke bluntly.

    Lu Yin grew contemptuous. "You wanted to me me for Monarch Mu''s death earlier. What did you just figure out?"

    Both men knew that, if it were possible, neither would hesitate to eliminate the threat that the other posed. Lu Yin''s first choices would be to confer a god or anoint a champion, while Luo Shan preferred to simply kill Lu Yin. They both tacitly understood the other, which was also why Lu Yin had nothing to say about how Luo Shan had escaped during the battle against Shaman God. In fact, Lu Yin had already considered using that matter as an excuse for when he would eventually go after Luo Shan.

    However, neither could do anything to the other for the time being.

    Lu Yin could not instigate any sort of internal conflicts within the Sixverse Association, while Luo Shancked the necessary strength to attack Lu Yin in the current situation.

    Luo Shan nced at the ruins of the Mo Courtyard. "You helped Chen Le get away from the Liberation Pce."

    Lu Yin neither admitted nor denied anything. He wanted to see what Luo Shan had to say.

    "Mr. Daheng is a veryplicated man, and he will do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. He has already confirmed that I had nothing to do with what happened with Chen Le, which means that he will target you next. You told Chen Le to give me this stone, so I will now give it back to you." Luo Shan took out the stone with a partialndscape painting on it from his cosmic ring and handed it to Lu Yin.

    Mr. Daheng was watching from the Mo Courtyard, and his expression twisted horribly.

    Lu Yin looked at Mr. Daheng, and then at Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan sneered. "What? Do youck the courage to ept it?"

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Why not just give it to Mr. Daheng?"

    Luo Shan replied, "I want to see if the magnificent Dao Monarch Lu of the Origin Universe will dare to take this stone."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It¡¯s just a stone, and yet you choose to use it to try to provoke a conflict between me and the Liberation Pce instead of trying to earn a favor from either of us. Luo Shan, it¡¯s no wonder why your Three Monarchs Universe has fallen to such a state. I can see why even Shao Yin did not regard you as much.¡±

    With that, Lu Yin epted the stone while Luo Shan red at him. Lu Yin had always wanted to retrieve the stone from the Monarch, but it had never been the ideal time.

    As for Mr. Daheng, he was wee to try to take the stone.

    The crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier was also intended to draw out all of these little enmities. Lu Yin wanted to shake the Sixverse Association up. As people tried to hide their heads, they would expose their tails and make all of their plots and schemes transparent.

    Luo Shan raised a hand to stop Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, I¡¯ll caution you that Mr. Daheng never does anything that he¡¯s uncertain about. He is not my opponent, and yet he hid in the Three Monarchs Universe with the intention of taking the stone from me. That is clearly a problem, as it indicates that there is someone else behind him.

    "Do not underestimate that man."

    At this moment, Mr. Daheng started approaching them.

    Luo Shan nced at the Arborean, turned, and then vanished.

    Lu Yin held the stone. This was the third Peaks and Rivers Rock that he had obtained. He had obtained one from the Han family, another from the Voidchaos region, and now thisst one. Chen Le had given the stone to Luo Shan, but Luo Shan had returned it to Lu Yin.

    Luo Shan had given the stone to Lu Yin in an open manner where Mr. Daheng would definitely see the exchange. The Monarch clearly wanted to incite a conflict between the Liberation Pce and Lu Yin. This was not something clever or even hidden, but it was rather sinister. Additionally, it was clear that Luo Shan had his own goals, though Lu Yin had no idea what those were.

    The Monarch¡¯s greed was such that he desired to seize the Transcendent Universe. When his attempt to do so had failed, he had quickly set aside his hatred over Monarch Mu¡¯s death and the fall of the Three Monarchs Universe to quietly and peacefully go to the Endless Frontier. This was a normal reaction; just like an ordinary human, Luo Shan would attack when he felt like he had an advantage, but he would hide his hatred when hecked the necessary strength.

    Inparison, Mr. Daheng¡¯s motivations were hidden much more deeply.

    Lu Yin toyed with the stone, a smile on his lips as he watched Mr. Daheng approach.

    Mr. Daheng only stared at the stone as he rushed over. He addressed Lu Yin in a very polite tone. "Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin held the stone in one hand and carefully observed it. "Don''t even bring up wanting to leave again. If I hear thate out of your mouth again, I¡¯ll ask my senior brother to deal with you."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2908: Trouble

    Chapter 2908: Trouble

    Mr. Daheng forced out a smile as he said, "I am honored to be able to participate in this crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier with Lord Lu. Such an opportunity is something that no one can ask for, so there is naturally no chance of me leaving."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s good. Just wait a few days, and then we will move on to the next parallel universe.

    ¡°Speaking of which," Lu Yin paused as he looked at Mr. Daheng. "One of the next few parallel universes is the Inorganic Universe. You should know a bit about it."

    Mr. Daheng''s expression grew solemn. "The Inorganic Universe is very strange. The entire universe is separated into various sections by the void. Due to thews of that universe, only individuals in sections that upy the same area are able to fight against each other. As soon as the void separates the sections, it bes impossible for them to fight. The Inorganic Universe is a battlefield that requires a chess master to oversee the battles taking ce there."

    Mr. Daheng''s attitude changed drastically as he told Lu Yin details about the Inorganic Universe.

    Lu Yin found that mastering thews of the universe was fascinating. Once a sequence powerhouse gained control of a given universe, they could arbitrarily change thews of that universe, or even impose newws upon it. This was what had happened to the Gourd Universe, the Inorganic Universe, the Umbral Universe, and the Big Stone Universe.

    Too many sequence powerhouses had existed throughout the ages, but most of them were dead, having lived in past eras.

    Lu Yin had no idea what sort ofw he might end up mastering, or what it would do to the Origin Universe.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the six Mainds had reached incredible heights of power, and that might have been rted to thews of the universe that the Origin Progenitor had mastered.After talking for a while, Lu Yin gained some understanding of the Inorganic Universe.

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes turned back to the Peaks and Rivers Rock. Lu Yin was toying with it, constantly putting it in and out of his cosmic ring.

    "Lord Lu, what is that stone?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked at Mr. Daheng. "Luo Shan told me that you wanted it."

    Mr. Daheng exhaled and bowed low to Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, please grant me that stone."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Tell me why."

    Mr. Daheng looked up at Lu Yin. "This stone is a map. The painting on these stones acts as a guide that directly leads one to the Mirari Realm, which you should have heard of, Lord Lu. The Mirari Realm contains the secret of attaining immortality.

    "My Liberation Pce has already gathered a few of these stones, and when the full map is put together, I will invite Lord Lu to go to the Mirari Realm with me. For this reason, I ask that you grant my request."

    Lu Yin moved the stone closer as he studied it. "So, how many of these stones are out there?"

    Mr. Daheng shook his head. "I don''t know. There could be more than a dozen, possibly several dozen pieces."

    "If Luo Shan already knows that you want this, then why didn¡¯t he just give it to you himself?"

    "I can¡¯t answer that. Maybe he misunderstood me," Mr. Daheng replied.

    Lu Yin smiled. He gave the impression of having reached a tacit understanding. However, such understandings usually only appeared between people of equal power. Were Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng equals? Lu Yin did not see things that way at all, as he wanted absolute control.

    "Do you really not hate me at all for what happened before?"

    "You must be joking, Lord Lu. We have no grudges between us. I acted recklessly at the beginning, but my actions were not an attempt to move against Lord Lu. There¡¯s no need to speak of any hatred. Lord Lu delivered a lesson that I will engrave on my heart. I will never do such a thing again."

    "In that case, what if I told you that I don''t intend to give you this stone?" Lu Yin asked in a casual tone.

    Mr. Daheng''s heart dropped, but he forced out a smile. "That is also Lord Lu''s choice."

    Lu Yin put away the stone. "You can head back to rest."

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes flickered as he nodded. "I¡¯ll take my leave."

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s back as Mr. Daheng left. The stone was in Lu Yin¡¯s possession, and he had made it clear that he would not give it to Mr. Daheng. It was time to see what the man would do next.

    As for Luo Shan, just because he had given the Peaks and Rivers Rock to Lu Yin, that did not mean that he had given up on the matter. The Monarch knew that Lu Yin would never give the stone to Mr. Daheng, and the ultimate victor was still uncertain.

    If Lu Yin were in Luo Shan¡¯s shoes, he would be doing his best to learn exactly what the stone was and what it was for.

    Aside from Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng, who else might know about the rocks?

    Lu Yin stared up at the starry sky, falling deep into thought.

    ¡­

    Half a monthter, the Three Monarchs Universe had been thoroughly searched and purged, and the second battalion prepared to move on to the next parallel universe.

    The next universe was the Starlight Universe, and after that was the Inorganic Universe.

    The Starlight Universe was Monarch Xing¡¯s home, though most of her people had already been relocated. At one point in time, they had been protected in the Three Monarchs Universe, but they had since moved to the Heavens Sect.

    There were many beautiful Starglow Grasses in the Starlight Universe. There was no denying their beauty, and Lu Yin could understand why Mr. Daheng had used collecting the grass as an excuse for his presence in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    It was extremely simple to green light the Starlight Universe, though the second battalion still needed to use their sequence particle sensors to search for the Seven Skygods.

    Right after the second battalion left the Three Monarchs Universe, Luo Shan stared out at the empty universe. After a moment, he tore through the void and left.

    ¡­

    In the Transcendent Universe, Chen Le was sitting on a bestowal art carrier. He asionally nced at the border, letting out a shaky breath each time he did so.

    As long as Chen Le remained in this ce, he would fear another invasion from Aeternus. However, if he left the Transcendent Universe and returned to the Endless Frontier, he would have to face the terrifying battles of the crusade.

    The Monarch had not had much rest ever since he joined the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had dragged Chen Le along wherever he went, treating the Monarch like a thug. Chen Le felt frustrated by this treatment, but there was nothing that he could do about it.

    Even when looking at the entire Sixverse Association, there was no ce where Chen Le could escape from the Heavens Sect.

    "Where is the second battalion now?" Chen Le asked.

    Someone replied, "In the Starlight Universe. They¡¯ll be heading into the Inorganic Universe within the next day or two at the most."

    Chen Le felt a flicker of fear. "The Inorganic Universe? That''s not a good ce. Soldiers are forced to face each other while the generals manipte where they go. If someone faces a powerful corpse king, they won¡¯t be able to escape. I¡¯m lucky to be here instead."

    A few dayster, the second battalion moved on to the Inorganic Universe.

    The Inorganic Universe had once given rise to a peak powerhouse known as Ancestor Wuji. However, the man had not been a sequence powerhouse, but rather an ordinary peak powerhouse who was a native of the Inorganic Universe. He had once hoped to have his universe be a member of the Sixverse Association, but his attempts had failed.

    When the second battalion entered the Inorganic Universe, all of the cultivators were separated from each other by barriers of the void.

    Lu Yin looked at the dark void that surrounded him. He was not able to see anyone on the other side of the barrier. It was as if he had been trapped in a box with no way to see out of it. The only thing that he could see was a massive old man high overhead. That old man was Ancestor Wuji.

    Ancestor Wuji looked down at Lu Yin and offered a slow bow. "Lord Lu, I¡¯ve heard of you for a long time."

    Lu Yin looked back at the old man. "The fate of the second battalion is in your hands."

    The Inorganic Universe had its own uniquews. If the Aeternals sent too many powerful individuals to this universe, such as the Seven Skygods, even Lu Yin would suffer upon encountering them. This was because no one could interfere in a fight. The matchups were entirely determined by the two people ying chess.

    Ancestor Wuji solemnly replied, "I understand."

    The game began. Ancestor Wuji¡¯s opponent on the Aeternals¡¯ side was another old man, rather than a corpse king. This man was a peak powerhouse from the Inorganic Universe who had betrayed humanity.

    As the second battalion entered the universe, the game began. Lu Yin turned around to face the direction where the void barrier that surrounded him opened up. His opponent was an Envoy-level corpse king, which was easily obliterated by Lu Yin.

    Throughout the entire Inorganic Universe, fights broke out. However, all of them were one-on-one.

    Some people were unlucky and encountered powerful corpse kings. In a normal universe, they would be able to receive support or reinforcements, but in the Inorganic Universe, everyone fought alone. If they were unable to defeat their opponent, they would die.

    In this universe, the second battalion lost a great deal of their advantagepared to how they had swept through the other parallel universes.

    At the same moment the second battalion entered the Inorganic Universe, the Transcendent Universe weed its own uninvited guest.

    A man with a concealed face appeared directly in front of Chen Le. The Monarch stared in horror as a hand reached out to grab him.

    Chen Le''s scalp went numb. He had no idea when or how this person had appeared, but that meant that he was a terrifying expert.

    Right as the stranger¡¯s hand was about tond, Chen Le used his sequence particles rted to the Law of Indolence to ovee the terrible crisis.

    As soon as the sequence particles touched the person, he stopped moving for a moment, unconsciously losing his motivation to move.

    Chen Le took the opportunity and instantly fled. "Enemy attack¨C!"

    A stern look appeared in the stranger¡¯s eyes. He took a single step forward and instantly caught up to Chen Le. The Monarch turned around and fired an arrow. He did not dare to let this person get close. However, the stranger simply seized the arrow in flight and threw it aside. ck energy appeared in the arrow¡¯s path as Qiu Zhan took action.

    Farther away, Leng Qing drew his saber and attacked the invader.

    The stranger remained fearless, and he even took another step forward, appearing directly in front of Chen Le. A hand fell upon Chen Le''s shoulder, and the man prepared to take him away.

    At thest moment, a bloody lotus blossomed from Chen Le''s back. It was eye-catching and beautiful, but it also radiated terrible danger, and the stranger was forced back multiple steps. He then turned around and left, ignoring Chen Le.

    "You want to leave with me here?" Big Sis looked up as her hands rose. Abyssal flowers bloomed, filling outer space and sealing off every direction of escape, making it impossible to tear through the void.

    The stranger looked back at Big Sis, and then his body vanished, leaving only the Hollow behind.

    Big Sis¡¯ expression changed. ¡°The Hollow? A true expert.¡±

    Chen Le was terrified when he realized that he had been nearly kidnapped.

    At that moment, Qiu Zhan and Leng Qing both arrived. "What just happened?"

    Big Sis turned to look at Chen Le. "Sure enough, someone showed up, targeting you."

    Chen Le was leftpletely confused. He recognized Big Sis, as who in the Origin Universe did not know the woman? She was the Heavens Sect era¡¯s Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, as well as Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s Big Sis. She was also renowned for beingpletely ruthless. "Senior, how did you know that someone woulde after this junior?"

    Big Sis could not be bothered to answer the man, and she instead turned to Leng Qing. "Be careful. That guy might return. If he does, don¡¯t hold back and use your sequence particles to buy some time."

    Leng Qing nodded.

    Big Sis then left, Chen Le''s question never even being acknowledged.

    Naturally, Lu Yin had made arrangements for Big Sis to appear. Given Luo Shan''s personality, even if he had given up on the stone, there was no way that he would allow the matter to end there. The only person who could have known about the stone being given to Luo Shan was Chen Le.

    Chen Le had gone to the Transcendent Universe instead of following the second battalion. As soon as the second battalion entered the Inorganic Universe, which was difficult to escape, Luo Shan had known that it was time for him to take action.

    However, Luo Shan had not considered the first battalion at all.

    Chen Le could not be allowed to be captured by Luo Shan. He was currently serving as bait. The reason why Mr. Daheng had continued to target Chen Le remained unclear, and Lu Yin intended to find out.

    Luo Shan returned to the Three Monarchs Universe. An ugly expression covered his face, and his breathing was ragged. He had been tricked. If that woman had managed to keep him trapped, he would have been in deep trouble.

    It should have been easy to capture Chen Le, but unexpectedly, the man had used sequence particles, which he had obtained from the cultivation technology that the Transcendent Universe had developed. It was no wonder why Shaman God had stayed hidden in enemy territory for so long. Even if only a few sequence particles could be manifested at a time, such an ability could still reverse a battle in an instant.

    Luo Shan clenched his fist. If he had known about this matter, he definitely would have found a way to obtain the sequence particle technology.

    <em>Forget it, I could not have gotten it even if I wanted to. It was the prize for a battle between two monsters: Aeternus and the Heavens Sect. I can¡¯t enter that battlefield.</em>

    While Luo Shan had not been exposed during the attack, the fact that the woman had been hidden in the Transcendent Universe before he even arrived meant that Lu Yin had already predicted Luo Shan¡¯s actions. It would be even more difficult to target Chen Le in the future.

    Helpless, Luo Shan decided to put the matter aside for the time being. He would not fight with the Heavens Sect.

    It would be better to let Mr. Daheng make trouble for the Heavens Sect.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2909: Verseless

    <h4>Chapter 2909: Verseless</h4>

    While the second battalion had lost a few people in the Inorganic Universe, those people could only be regarded as unlucky, as most of the cultivators held an advantage.

    The Aeternals had a Progenitor-level corpse king in the universe, and their chess master ensured that the most powerful individual on his side avoided all of the second battalion¡¯s peak powerhouses, and instead fought against the Semi-Progenitors.

    Two of the second battalion¡¯s Semi-Progenitors had already been killed. Ancestor Wuji was trying to maneuver the Progenitor-level corpse king next to one of the second battalion¡¯s peak powerhouses, but that was difficult to aplish.

    Ancestor Wuji was maintaining control over the entire battlefield, but his opponent had absolutely no regard for how many corpse kings were lost. Not even the loss of five Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings phased the man. His only concern was the Progenitor-level corpse king and none of the others. Naturally, it was easier to protect a single individual than it was to control the entire battlefield.

    For the third time, the Progenitor-level corpse king encountered a Semi-Progenitor, but this time, its opponent was Destina.

    Destina, Lu Buzheng, Wu Hen, and all the other gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates had joined the crusade. Among them, Destina had joined the second battalion.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king boldly took action against Destina. The monster assumed that it would easily kill this Semi-Progenitor, just like thest two. However, Destina was not an ordinary Semi-Progenitor. She was a master of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Heavens Sect era, and each gatemaster possessed the strength to challenge a Progenitor.

    The masters of the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates were not merely Realmbreakers capable of challenging corpse kings like the True God Guard, which only had the physical strength of a peak powerhouse. They could actually fight against true Progenitors.

    This particr corpse king only had the physical strength of a Progenitor, so Destina was not at all afraid of it. In fact, she was rather happy that she could contribute to the overall battle.

    Ancestor Wuji and the old man who was Aeternus¡¯s chessmaster in the Inorganic Universe were both focused on the corpse king''s battle with Destina. There might be many experts in the second battalion, but at the moment, Destina¡¯s battle was the most eye-catching.

    She used a thread of Destiny; one end led to life, and the other to death.

    In the face of the Progenitor-level corpse king¡¯s incredible physical might, Destina drifted about like duckweed. The power of the corpse king¡¯s attacks made it look like she could be killed at any moment, but she always managed to barely avoid the attacks. As she moved about, her thread twined about the Progenitor-level corpse king''s arms, thighs, and even its neck.

    Ancestor Wuji went bug-eyed as he watched on in shock.

    The woman was clearly nothing more than a Semi-Progenitor, but the Progenitor-level corpse king facing her lookedpletely helpless, as it was unable tond a single hit. This was not due to speed. Instead, it looked as though the woman had seen every single one of the corpse king¡¯s moves in advance. This was not simple prediction, but absolute control.

    In the isted section of the universe, the Progenitor-level corpse king could freely attack however it wanted, but the woman used some unknown means to preemptively determine the direction of every single attack. She was not just dodging the attacks, but rather controlling where those attacks fell.

    There were countless paths that could be taken in the universe, but Destina had left only one for the corpse king. There were no choices open to the monster.

    What kind of power was this? The woman was clearly much weaker than the corpse king, and yet she could make the corpse king move ording to her wishes.

    The battle was notrge or fierce, but it was difficult for even Ancestor Wuji to understand. The means of the woman sent chills down his spine, as she gave off the impression that she could see through her opponents¡¯ hearts.

    Destina was not at all weak. During the Heavens Sect era, she had chased after Lu Buzheng, trying to kill him. She had been the one gatemaster of the twelve who should not be provoked no matter what.

    Destina was ordered about by Lu Yin, but that was only him. Lu Yin was a Semi-Progenitor who was capable of fighting against Sequence Progenitors. If Destina faced any Semi-Progenitor other than Lu Yin, she would not lose. In fact, despite having been acknowledged by Mister Mu, it was quite possible that not even Qing Ping was capable of defeating Destina.

    She was someone who had been acknowledged by Destiny herself and been taught Destiny¡¯s methods.

    "Where did that womane from?" The Aeternals¡¯ chessmaster was just as shocked as Ancestor Wuji. The old man felt a terrible premonition from Destina. Even if he personally faced the woman, he could not be certain of the oue.

    Was this the power of the Origin Universe?

    Ancestor Wuji looked at his opponent. "Humanity¡¯s glorious rise is just around the corner. You betrayed my Inorganic Universe and joined Aeternus, and you will one day pay the price for that."

    The old man sneered. "Only after joining Aeternus can you understand the difference between the two sides. I have never regretted betraying the humans, Wuji. If you could see the Aeternals¡¯ true foundation, you wouldn¡¯t dare to even remain on the Endless Frontier."

    Ancestor Wujiughed. "The Aeternals were once suppressed by the Origin Universe, unable to even lift their heads. I believe that the Heavens Sect¡¯s former glory has already arrived."

    "So what if it does return? Even if the Heavens Sect returns to its greatest heights of the past, they still would not be the current Aeternals¡¯ opponent. However, you won''t live to see that day."

    At that moment, a number of additional corpse kings appeared in the Inorganic Universe.

    Ancestor Wuji''s expression changed. "Lord Lu, the Aeternals have sent reinforcements."

    Lu Yin frowned, despite having already predicted this. The Inorganic Universe was one of the few ces where the Aeternals could avoid an all-out battle that would give the second battalion the advantage, due to their number of peak powerhouses. It only made sense for Aeternus to take action in this universe.

    They needed to get past this obstacle.

    "Give me a clear picture on who Aeternus has sent," Lu Yin ordered in a low voice.

    Everyone who entered the Inorganic Universe would be separated and isted.

    "We meet again, people of the Heavens Sect."

    "I want to squeeze the Heavens Sect¡¯s entire gate into two dimensions."

    "Be careful¡ªLu Yin is no fool. He knew that he would lose the advantage when they entered this universe."

    "We have already achieved our goal. All we need to do is avoid Mu Ke and Daheng. None of the others in this battle matter."

    Ancestor Wuji grew pale, and fear filled his eyes.

    The old man across from him sneered. "What do you think, Wuji? Are you still confident now? Hahahaha!"

    Ancestor Wuji gritted his teeth. "Lord Lu, ten peak powerhouses have been sent from Aeternus."

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched.

    "Four of them are True God Guard Captains, and the other six are corpse kings from the True God Guard. Be careful."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. This was indeed a problem. Aeternus would disregard the deaths of any of the weaker corpse kings, which meant that they only needed to consider the Progenitor-level corpse kings and keep them away from Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng. Things would be fine even if those corpse kings ran into Lu Yin.

    On the other hand, Ancestor Wuji needed to consider everyone on the battlefield, as he was trying to protect all the members of the second battalion.

    The second battalion no longer held the advantage in numbers even when it came to peak powerhouses on the battlefield.

    If not for the uniquews of the Inorganic Universe, the second battalion would be able to sweep through the corpse kings arrayed against them, as they had no sequence powerhouses. However, they had fallen to a numerical disadvantage. Given time, the entire second battalion would be wiped out.

    It appeared that it was necessary to rely on theirst resort for this universe.

    "Inorganic Ancestor, inform my senior brother that it''s time," Lu Yin requested.

    Ancestor Wuji did not understand what Lu Yin meant, so he simply ryed the words to Mu Ke exactly as Lu Yin had spoken.

    Mu Ke¡¯s grip on his saber tightened as it slowly rose over his head. Was it time?

    "Junior Brother, carefully watch this de.

    "Master once said that the saber is an overbearing weapon that should cut through everything.

    "Everything we see, hear, feel, and think has traces that can be followed. Where there is a cause, there is an effect. Since there is a connection between cause and effect, that connection can be severed. I understand this as aw of the universe, but it is now. For now, this is as far as I can take this understanding.

    "If the dayes when I can truly cut through karma, I will be able to cut through every existence in the entire megaverse and will achieve true transcendence.

    "I offer you my sword: Verseless."

    A cold light shed through the universe. It appeared weak, but it crossed through the entire Inorganic Universe. Everyone saw that singr sh, despite how fleeting it was. However, the next moment, the void barriers that separated everyone were smoothly undone, and everyone stared nkly as the void that had once isted all of them was destroyed, and the effect epassed the entire Inorganic Universe.

    The Aeternals¡¯ chessmaster was split in two, and his blood sttered outer space.

    The Inorganic Universe started to crack. Mu Ke had sliced through thews of the universe that formed the very foundation of the Inorganic Universe.

    Ancestor Wuji was horrified. "Mu Ke, you-"

    Lu Yin quickly shouted, "Inorganic Ancestor, I will find a ce for you. We are still on the battlefield."

    Ancestor Wuji was lost in a daze. With thews of the Inorganic Universe severed, the entire universe was about to be destroyed. To counter the Aeternals¡¯ advantage in the Inorganic Universe, the second battalion simply destroyed the universe.

    Ancestor Wuji had never considered that this was what Lu Yin had meant when he had sent a message to Mu Ke.

    Lu Yin had been left with no choice. Without destroying the Inorganic Universe, how could they gain any sort of advantage? People would always be more important than a universe.

    Additionally, due to the uniquews of the universe, no one lived in the Inorganic Universe. Every living creature in the universe was on a battlefield where they could die at any moment.

    After the war between the Aeternals and the Sixverse Association had erupted in the Inorganic Universe, all of the natives had been moved away. If not for that, Lu Yin would have struggled to make such a ruthless decision.

    The sight of Mu Ke¡¯s attack left Lu Yin''s heart trembling. His senior brother had cut through thews of the Inorganic Universe. Lu Yin had personally watched with Heaven¡¯s Sight as his senior brother had sliced through the sequence particles. The terrifying de qi had actually reminded Lu Yin of the sensation that Corpse God¡¯s sequence particles gave off.

    This solitary attack had wiped out nearly all of the corpse kings in the entire Inorganic Universe. In fact, only the True God Guard Captains had managed to survive. In fact, they had only survived because they had already summoned their divine energy to ughter their way across the battlefield as quickly as possible and eliminate the second battalion. If not for that, they would have also died.

    Aside from sequence powerhouses, no one else could survive the attack that Mu Ke had just unleashed.

    Yu Huo, Ju Ji, and the Chiliagonist all fled. However, one of the True God Guard Captains remained where he was. It was Greenridge. He was the only captain who had not been able to use his divine energy, so while Yu Huo and the others tore their way out of the Inorganic Universe, Greenridge¡¯s body split in two.

    The entire Inorganic Universe was trembling.

    The second battalion quickly made their way to the next parallel universe.

    Ancestor Wuji¡¯s expression was hideous. Without the Inorganic Universe, where would he go? The Sixverse Association? How was that any different from taking refuge under another¡¯s roof?

    While any peak powerhouse would be given a high status in the Sixverse Association, it would never be as good as ruling over his own universe.

    The man stared as the universe copsed. Thews had been shattered, so no one could remain in the Inorganic Universe. It could not even be used as a battlefield any longer.

    Lu Yin was incredibly ruthless.

    The second battalion quickly arrived in the next parallel universe, where everyone was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

    Many looked at Mu Ke with admiration and awe. Cutting through the entire Inorganic Universe with one de? Just how powerful was the man?

    Lu Yin looked back at Ancestor Wuji. "If we had not done this, the second battalion would have suffered heavy losses, and our crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier would have lost all meaning. Inorganic Ancestor, you have always remained on the Endless Frontier, so you should be able to clearly see the overall situation."

    Ancestor Wuji looked lost. "Then why did you still enter my Inorganic Universe?"

    Lu Yin had no answer to give. There was no denying that he had entered the Inorganic Universe with this exact oue in mind.

    When people stood at different heights, they would naturally see things from a different perspective, and the choices that they would make would naturally be different as well.

    Lu Yin stood at the peak of the entire Sixverse Association, and that perspective allowed him to easily sacrifice several parallel universes. As long as it would greatly harm the Aeternals, the price was worth paying.

 Chapter 2910: Rather Impressive

    <h4>Chapter 2910: Rather Impressive</h4>

    Mu Ke had just cut through the Inorganic Universe, killing eight of the enemy¡¯s peak powerhouses. One had been the old man who had been Ancestor Wuji¡¯s opponent. Of the other seven, one had been a True God Guard Captain, and the other six had been Progenitor-level corpse kings from the True God Guard. What an... incredible aplishment.

    Sacrificing a single parallel universe was definitely worth the gains, in Lu Yin''s opinion.

    However, from the perspective of Ancestor Wuji, the Inorganic Universe was his territory, as well as his home. A victory gained at the price of the Inorganic Universe was difficult for the old man to ept.

    When it came to seeing the overall situation, this was what it meant.

    Lu Yin had sacrificed a great deal for the sake of the bigger picture, so he understood Ancestor Wuji¡¯s feelings quite well. No matter how brilliant Lu Yin¡¯s achievements during this crusade might be, and even if everyone in the entire Sixverse Association praised him, he would continue to sympathize with Ancestor Wuji. Lu Yin did not feel qualified to sacrifice others in order to further his own ns; if he did so, how would that be any different from what the Great Sovereign had done by sacrificing the Lu family and Sovereign Shao Yin?

    At the same time, it did not matter how much Lu Yin wanted to act like that crazy woman.

    "Ancestor Inorganic."

    The old man turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I have no way to return the Inorganic Universe to you."

    Ancestor Wuji¡¯s eyes grew dim.

    "This is the pattern of universes. They break down and then rise back up. I heard the conversation that you had with that traitor. Since you understand my Heavens Sect so well, join us. I will show you that sacrificing the Inorganic Universe was not meaningless. If we can destroy the Aeternals, what would it matter if I need to sacrifice my own universe?" Lu Yin said.

    Ancestor Wuji sighed deeply, and then his expression seemed to show that he had recovered slightly. "I''m sorry, Lord Lu, but please allow me to consider this."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Mu Xie moved over to Lu Yin''s side. "Are you really willing to sacrifice the Origin universe?"

    Lu Yin grinned. "Only on the basis that the Cyclic Universe is sacrificed first. I can make sacrifices for the bigger picture, but not without gaining some sort of benefits. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let someone else benefit over my sacrifices."

    Mu Xieughed, as Lu Yin had perfectly portrayed his personality in his response.

    He was willing to make necessary sacrifices, but he would always make sure that he gained something from doing so. He would not take advantage of others, but he also did not want to suffer unnecessary losses. This was a realistic person. Inparison, it felt as though their master was too detached from the mortal world.

    Did a cultivator have to transcend human nature? Mu Ke felt that his junior brother was not bad.

    At least, he would not allow his own people to suffer.

    Mu Ke clenched his saber. It would be great if another opportunity like the one in the Inorganic Universe appeared. That had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So many corpse kings had gathered together, but none of them had been able to see Mu Ke prepare his attack. As long as his opponents were not overly lucky or cautious, they would invariably fall to his attack in such a situation.

    If he could repeat that event a few more times, he would likely eliminate all of Aeternus. Regardless of how many of the True God Guard¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings appeared, they would not be able to do anything but die.

    At this same time, the first battalion was fighting a battle in the Gourd Universe. The first battalion did not face an overwhelming attack like the second battalion. Instead, they simply needed to eliminate the Progenitor-level corpse kings that were already in the Gourd Universe.

    After just ten days, the Gourd Universe was officially purged. Immediately after that, the second battalion crushed all opposition to purge another parallel universe.

    In Proximity, Sage Bodhi was amazed. In such a short amount of time, a third of the Endless Frontier¡¯s sixty-three parallel universes had all been given a green light. It was impossible for the crusade to sweep through the entire battlefield¡¯s universe, but as long as they could purge more than half, the Sixverse Association would gain an absolute advantage in the war on the Endless Frontier.

    No matter how many corpse kings Aeternus might have, it was impossible for all of them to assault more than half of the Endless Frontier at the same time.

    This was especially true when it came to Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Ever since the crusade on the Endless Frontier had officially started, nearly twenty Progenitor-level corpse kings had died. It was a startling number, and a conservative estimate suggested that around thirty such corpse kings should fall by the end of the crusade.

    This would create a true advantage.

    Even if they failed to find any of the Seven Skygods by the end of the crusade, eliminating so many Progenitor-level corpse kings was already an aplishment that would shock everyone in the Sixverse Association.

    For more than four months after that, no major battles were fought on the Endless Frontier. It seemed as though the Aeternals had disappeared. Even the ten most dangerous universes, which were even more terrifying than the Gourd Universe and the Inorganic Universe, had no Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Many people started to wonder if the Aeternals had simply decided to abandon most of the parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, only focusing on protecting the battlefields that were connected to Aeternus¡¯s territory.

    This was what Sage Bodhi believed. Without the Seven Skygods, Aeternus would naturally struggle to deal with the crusade¡¯s various battalions that were each led by a sequence powerhouse. Each of the two battalions had more than six Progenitor-levelbatants, as well as two sequence powerhouses. Such powerful armies necessitated that the Aeternals gather their forces if they wanted to stand against the battalions.

    After considering the situation, Sage Bodhi reached out to Lu Yin.

    "Lord Lord, the Aeternals should be pulling back their defensive line and concentrating them within the parallel universes at their end of the Endless Frontier. Be careful as you move closer. The Seven Skygods are not the Aeternals¡¯ only sequence powerhouses, as they also have people like Cheng Kong, Shao Yin, and other experts that they have kept hidden. On top of that, they may bring in outsiders to support them," Sage Bodhi warned.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Will an outsider powerhouse show up?"

    Sage Bodhi''s voice dropped low. "Normally, even though our Sixverse Association cooperates with outsider powerhouses, and so do the Aeternals, outsiders almost never appear on the Endless Frontier. That is our primary battlefield against the Aeternals.

    "However, right now, the Aeternals are not only being pushed to a disadvantage, but they¡¯ve also lost their numerical suppression. Unless the Seven Skygods leave seclusion, it will be difficult for Aeternus to stop our Sixverse Association. Because of that, we can¡¯t disregard the possibility of outsider powerhouses appearing to assist the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. An outsider powerhouse who would cooperate with Aeternus?

    Throughout the megaverse, the two most powerful organizations were Aeternus and the Sixverse Association. Everyone agreed on this point. Beyond their scope, both the Sixverse Association and the Aeternals would asionally discover previously unknown upied parallel universes, but it was rare for any of those universes to have even a single peak powerhouse. Most were quite weak, and the upants of those universes were not qualified to join Aeternus or the Sixverse Association. However, some would choose to cooperate with one or the other, and those experts were regarded as outsider powerhouses.

    Both the Merchant Exchange¡¯s Bi Rong, and the father of Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue, the Lord of Lightning, were outsider powerhouses.

    Such experts might be from a parallel universe, or they might be from the Astral Wilderness. Without seeing where they came from, it was impossible for others to know.

    Ever since Ancestor Lu Yuan had warned Lu Yin that there were powerful outsiders who had a cooperative rtionship with the Aeternals, Lu Yin had made it a point to investigate such people.

    So far, not many outsider powerhouses had chosen to cooperate with the Aeternals, but there were still a few. Each of those cultivators had to be a sequence powerhouse, and the appearance of even one or two such individuals couldpletely reverse the momentum of the crusade.

    "If the Aeternals are able to get help from outsider powerhouses, can the Sixverse Association ask any of its allies to join this crusade?" Lu Yin asked.

    Sage Bodhi struggled to answer. "We can contact them, but those people each have their own ns, so they may not join us."

    "Let''s at least try reaching out," Lu Yin replied.

    Sage Bodhi agreed, but then she hesitated for a moment. "Lord Lu, if possible, please break through the Endless Frontier."

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "That won¡¯t be easy at all."

    "The Endless Frontier currently consists of sixty-three parallel universes. Most of those universes have already been purged, including even the Inorganic Universe and the Gourd Universe. Only the top three universes have never been purged, and those three universes are the real meatgrinders, usually with at least six peak powerhouses from both sides fighting. Right now, there are fewer experts in those universes than ever before. If those universes can be given a green light, this crusade can be regarded as having perfectly aplished its goals," Sage Bodhi replied.

    Lu Yin lowered hismunication crystal and stared off into the distance. Purge the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier?

    Lu Yin already knew that, unless Old Mo had officially joined Aeternus, the Umbral Universe could only be close to the top ten most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. If that man did join Aeternus, then the universe would be regarded as one of the three most dangerous universes in the entire Endless Frontier.

    Most likely, some of the Aeternals¡¯ experts in the top three universes were sequence powerhouses, and there were definitely more than a handful of Progenitor-level enemies.

    Before the Great Sovereign and the other most powerful cultivators in the Sixverse Associationunched their assault, almost all of the Seven Skygods asionally fought in the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. With this, one could only imagine how terrifying those battlefields were.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng, who Lu Yin had never even seen, was constantly protecting the entrance between those three universes and the Aeternals¡¯ territory. He fought nonstop, and he had not even taken a break to attend the Tea Ceremony.

    One of the crusade¡¯s goals was to reach the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. If everything went well, Lu Yin even hoped to officially purge two of the three parallel universes.

    The Seven Skygods were still in seclusion, and the two battalions had four sequence powerhouses. As long as they did not run into any outsider powerhouses, there should not be any problems.

    Suddenly, someone called out, "There¡¯s a response!"

    Lu Yin nced over and saw withered yellow leaves swirling about. They carried the scent of death with them. Almost instantly, a terrifying sh erupted, and it caused everyone who saw it to be stunned.

    Mu Ke instantly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, his saber pointed forward.

    Two sabers shed through the universe,peting against each other. The shockwaves alone caused many of the members of the second battalion to freeze in ce, feeling as though countless des had been arrayed before them, each one unstoppable.

    Mu Ke grew solemn as he took one step forward, his saber raised high to attack.

    Across from him, the withered yellow leaves suddenly gathered together to form a de that shed at Mu Ke.

    A deafening sh echoed in everyone¡¯s ears, causing many to start bleeding.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Had they found Undying God?

    <i>Bang bang bang</i>...

    The des shed again and again. Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber, as every impact almost knocked his weapon out of his hand. He felt like it was difficult to breathe, as though something was weighing down upon him, and he felt an uncontroble surge of bloodlust.

    "Alright, alright! I haven''t met an opponent like you for a very long time. It feels good to be awake, hahahaha!"

    Mu Ke cocked an eyebrow, and his saber shed upwards: Verseless.

    In front of the man, the fallen leaves dissipated, only to be reced by withered yellow hair. The hair filled the sky, and it tried to envelop Mu Ke¡¯s attack, only to be sliced through by the saber.

    "A de that seversws? Hahahaha."

    Mu Ke suddenly took a step back, his weapon raised and pointed straight ahead.

    Everyone watched as Undying God revealed himself. His withered yellow hair had been shorn off, and he had a nondescript face, though his expression belied his great excitement as he stared at Mu Ke. A fanatical light filled the Skygod¡¯s eyes. This person looked and behavedpletely different from Undying God¡¯s typical appearance.

    Lu Yin has seen Undying God in this state on more than one asion. This was Undying God when he was fully conscious and had a weapon in his hand. This was Wu Xing.

    <i>Found you!</i> Finally, they had found another member of the Seven Skygods.

    Undying God lifted his head to stare at Mu Ke. "Your dework is rather impressive, and thew that you wield is powerful. Let''s fight, hahahaha!"

    Mu Ke frowned. He felt a great deal of pressure from Undying God. This was the true power of one of the Seven Skygods. During the attack on the Tea Ceremony, the Seven Skygods had been suppressed as they were shunned by the Cyclic Universe, and even then, Mu Ke had struggled to deal with Corpse God. However, at the current moment, Corpse God was not shunned, as they were in an average universe.

    Even so, Mu Ke had been waiting for a battle like this for a very long time.

    He had not broken through in his saber skills in a very long time.

 Chapter 2911: Skip

    <h4>Chapter 2911: Skip</h4>

    Without wasting any time, Mu Ke raised his saber and attacked Undying God again. A smile appeared on the Skygod¡¯s face. At the same time, withered yellow strands grew from his arms, spreading out to eventually form a withered yellow saber that shed at Mu Ke.

    Everyone held their breath as they watched the greatest duel of sabers possible in the current era.

    Everyone was dumbfounded by the sheer saber mastery the two opponents disyed. Every sh and attack appeared perfectly ordinary, yet contained unimaginable power. Every twist and move of the des proceeded smoothly. Even if a series of movements was broken, the very next shift wouldpensate for that. The des seemed to rove about randomly, yet they shook the stars and caused the universe to tremble.

    Everyone''s eyes were filled with the light of de qi, as it felt like there was nothing else in sight aside from de qi.

    Lu Yin watched carefully. Senior Brother Mu Ke used his saber in an overly casual manner, but the more at ease the Arborean seemed, the greater his ability to counter Undying God¡¯s attacks.

    Each swing of Undying God¡¯s de appeared perfectly unexceptional, but his mastery had already surpassed the weapon in his hand. Undying God no longer needed the saber, as he could freely attack with or without it¡ªthe saber changed nothing.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    <i>Bang!</i>

    <i>Bang!</i>

    With each collision, Undying God excitedly fought back, while Mu Ke¡¯s expression grew increasingly solemn. Eighteen, neen, twenty-seven, thirty-two. They were clearly engaged in a duel with their des, but Undying God had already struck the back of Mu Ke¡¯s saber thirty-two times. The Skygod was deliberately striking the back of the weapon. Mu Ke had not sensed anything about this at first, but as the number of blows increased, Mu Ke found that the casualness in his weapon¡¯s movements started to grow increasingly uncontroble. The de would randomly feel heavier or lighter, and he could not predict the changes.

    Across from Mu Ke, Undying God''s withered yellow long de shed across horizontally. Mu Ke¡¯s weapon rose to block the attack, and while there was a bang from the impact, the saber that should have blocked the attack had missed the mark by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Mu Ke retreated, blood dripping from his neck.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Daheng, attack."

    Mr. Daheng was terrified, though he knew that he needed to join the battle. He was the only other sequence powerhouse present in the second battalion, which meant that he was the only person capable of getting involved in this battle against Undying God.

    Mu Ke touched his neck. "I find your skill with the de impressive."

    Undying God casually waved thement away with a hand as drops of blood fell from his withered de. "I have been the guardian of the Sword Monument for countless years, and I¡¯ve observed too many different weapon techniques. Aside from those who possess Heaven¡¯s Sight, no one else can be my opponent. You can''tpare to me. Your de moves about casually, proving that your mastery has reached the pinnacle, but the more perfect your control is, the easier it is for me to destroy you with that same control. Hehe, I could actually guide you, but unfortunately, you will die here today."

    Mu Ke raised his head. "I won''t die. You can''t kill me."

    "Really? Why not?" Undying God looked past Mu Ke to focus on Mr. Daheng. "Just because of him?"

    As he spoke, his yellow hair continued to spread out, until the entire region of the universe had taken on a dark-yellow hue, looking like it was decaying and withering.

    Through Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin could clearly see that Undying God¡¯s sequence particles were surging crazily. This was no longer apetition of skill with the de.

    Undying God had received Wu Tian¡¯s inheritance. It was no boast to im that no one couldpare to him when it came to weapon skills. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother had already lost, but that was only when it came to saber skills. If Undying God wanted to suppress and kill Mu Ke, he had to first break through thew of the universe he wielded, as well as Mu Ke¡¯s innate gift.

    Mr. Daheng raised a hand, slicing through the void. It was the Law of Lightness, and it removed all weight before the Arborean. That difference caused the void to squeeze in from both sides due to the difference in weight. All together, it appeared like the sh of a de.

    Undying God did not move at all as the attackunched through thews of the universe passed through him without producing the slightest bit of damage.

    All the while, withered yellow hair twisted around Mr. Daheng and Mu Ke like an evil ghost.

    Mr. Daheng was frightened, and he used his own sequence particles to counter Undying God¡¯s.

    Mu Ke stepped past the hair, quickly approaching Undying God. A de sliced at the Skygod¡¯s head, cutting through all of his sequence particles.

    Undying God¡¯s body grew illusory, and Mu Ke¡¯s attacks passed straight through his opponent without leaving the slightest injury.

    As Mu Ke passed by Undying God, the Skygod used Inverse Step to create a region of chaotic time and space, and the withered yellow hair struck at Mu Ke¡¯s back.

    Before the hair could make contact, Lightstream flickered, and time was reversed by a second. Mu Ke broke free from the hair and spun around, shing his saber.

    Undying God raised a hand, using a finger to unleash his de skills. There was a bang as Mu Ke¡¯s attack was blocked.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    A mouthful of blood was spat out, and then Undying God''s body grew illusory once more.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. His senior brother had not injured the Skygod. These were old wounds, most likely left behind after the battle that the Great Sovereign and Ancestor Lu Yuan had participated in.

    They had to deal with Undying God at this time.

    Undying God looked over at Lu Yin and gave a vicious smile. "No one can ovee my innate gift!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as he raised a hand. Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Undying God cackled. "I have the power of withering, as did Ku Jie, but my withering drags people to death, while his withering grants vitality to reappear. How disgusting!

    "We are shunned in the Origin Universe, which is why I was trapped by the Python Ancestor. Only then were you able to recklessly attack me. Do you really think that you can ovee my innate gift with that half-baked version of Extremes Must Be Reversed?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand froze. It was true that his Extremes Must Be Reversed would not be enough to defeat Undying God.

    Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng both attacked Undying God with thews of the universe, but the Skygod¡¯s Drifting innate gift allowed him to remain unharmed.

    "If no one can break your innate gift aside from Progenitor Ku, then how were you injured?" Lu Yin shot back. "I actually thought that your power was invincible, but you¡¯re nothing more than the boy who betrayed Wu Tian."

    Undying God let out another raucousugh. "Betrayed? That''s not true. I''m not from your Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What was that?"

    Undying God¡¯s eyes abruptly snapped up, and he took a step forward before charging straight for Lu Yin.

    Mu Ke¡¯s expression changed. <i>Not good!</i>

    "Attack!" Mu Xie pushed his ?ar¨©ra out.

    Wang Jian and Xia Qin both attacked as well.

    Mr. Daheng saw that Undying God was trying to kill Lu Yin, and he also moved to stop the Skygod. This was not an attempt to save Lu Yin, but rather an attempt to keep the Peaks and Rivers Rock from disappearing. If Undying God obtained that stone, Mr. Daheng would have no chance of ever getting it back.

    Undying God appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, apanied by what felt like the end of the world. It was as if the universe itself was withering. Lu Yin could almost hear endless wails and smell the cloying scent of death.

    He took a deep breath and then released his own universe from his heart.

    At that instant, Lu Yin¡¯s universe repelled the universe that they were fighting in, and the shell of the Hollow surrounded him. Undying God was pushed back by Lu Yin¡¯s universe.

    At the same time, Lu Yin also attacked, using Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Undying God¡¯s expression changed drastically. What was this?

    He stepped back, but the Hollow still swept over him at the same time that Lu Yin¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed struck. If Undying God used his innate gift of Drifting, he would be struck by Extremes Must Be Reversed, but if he did not, he would be struck by the Hollow. Even worse, the man feared that Lu Yin was only pretending to use Extremes Must Be Reversed and that his true goal was to force the Skygod into the Hollow.

    It was the same situation that had yed out before in the Perennial World, where Lu Yin had used Extremes Must Be Reversed in conjunction with his slipper. It had be a game of who could correctly guess what the other would do.

    Undying God could not afford to gamble, which meant that there was no other option. He had but one choice. Regardless of whether Lu Yin was really using Extremes Must Be Reversed, Undying God had to use his innate gift, as he would be devoured by the Hollow otherwise.

    The Hollow passed by, and Undying God vomited blood. Half of his body was struck by the Hollow, and it broke. At the same time that he suffered from the Hollow, Extremes Must Be Reversed shattered his innate gift of Drifting.

    Upon seeing Undying God vomiting blood and trying to flee, Lu Yin''s eyes red. "Ancestor, now!"

    Lu Tianyi appeared from the void, his hand raised. A Hidden Needle shot at Undying God, and the Law of Undoing caused the Skygod to let out a howl.

    Just exposing the Seven Skygods¡¯ hiding spots on the Endless Frontier was not enough, as it would be extremely difficult for the two battalions to prevent any of the Skygods from escaping. Shaman God had almost escaped even when it was on the verge of death. It was impossible to even imagine what the Seven Skygods were capable of doing to stay alive.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only option had been to use himself as bait. If the Seven Skygods wanted to kill him, Lu Yin wouldsh out by releasing the universe from within his body, using the Hollow to counterattack. With this opening, Ancestor Tianyi would thenunch a sneak attack, which was their best chance of eliminating one of the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin still wondered how Luo Shan had done it. Even the Seven Skygods were injured when they made contact with the Hollow, and yet Luo Shan was able to escape by entering the Hollow entirely.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s Law of Undoing mmed into Undying God.

    Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng, and Lu Tianyi all attacked again. Undying God¡¯s head fell, and his excited expression vanished. Once again, he had be Undying God, who only wanted to sleep, toozy to even want to move. "Child of the Lu family, have you really mastered Inverse Step?"

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Inverse Step? Time?

    Undying God picked up a foot and took a step forward. An illusion of his body appeared, and as everyone watched in disbelief, the shattered half of the Skygod¡¯s body recovered; instead, the illusory figure shattered.

    No one could believe what they were seeing.

    Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°This is bad.¡±

    Undying God stared at Lu Yin. "I''m so sleepy right now, but we¡¯ll meet again."

    He took another step and vanished entirely.

    Every attack from Ancestor Tianyi and everyone else did nothing at all.

    Lu Yin stared nkly as Undying God disappeared. He was not thinking of Undying God, but rather of Bai Xian''er.

    What Undying God had just done looked incredibly familiar, as Lu Yin had seen it before. On the day that the Lu family was exiled, illusory figures had emerged from Bai Xian''er''s body. One had gone to stop Lu Tianyi, while another had gone to kill the Seven Heroes. Were the two actions really the same? If not, then why were they so simr?

    Was this the true extent of Inverse Step¡¯s capabilities? Clearly, the power of time was being used, but how could it have such an effect?

    Undying God had forced his way out and escaped from three sequence powerhouses: Lu Tianyi, Mu Ke, and Mr. Daheng. While the Skygod had been severely injured, as long as he was not killed, he would eventually return one day.

    Even so, Undying God¡¯s escape method left everyone speechless.

    The more that people understood the battle they had just witnessed, the more shocked they were.

    While Lu Yin could reverse time with Lightstream, he could not actually control time, not even with Inverse Step, like Undying God had suggested. Was it really possible to control time with Inverse Step?

    It seemed that Lu Yin had only skimmed the surface of what Inverse Step was capable of doing.

    "Ancestor, what just happened?" Lu Yin had to ask. He was very uneasy about Undying God¡¯s escape, as he had never seen such a method before.

    Lu Tianyi''s expression was as serious as it had ever been. "If my guess is correct, he just skipped time."

    Lu Yin grew confused. Skipped time?

    Mu Ke spoke up in a low voice. "Time is not static. It can be found, reversed, and also skipped. Undying God''s mastery of the power of time is terrifying."

    "How does what he just didpare to Origin Tracer?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ke¡¯s eyes shed. "The two are different means of aplishing things. They both use the power of time, but Origin Tracer searches through time, while Undying God skipped a period of time. If we could find the moment of time that he skipped, he would be forced to endure all of the damage that he just avoided.¡±

    While Mu Ke¡¯s exnation was not particrly clear, Lu Yin understood that Origin Tracer denied what had happened at a moment in time, making it so that the events had never urred. On the other hand, Undying God did not deny the events, but rather denied a moment of time. He skipped over that moment in time.

 Chapter 2912: The Giantsâ€™ Purgatory

    <h4>Chapter 2912: The Giants¡¯ Purgatory</h4>

    Denying time and skipping time might have the same results, but if the moment in time that Undying God had skipped were ever found, the heavy damage that he should have suffered during that moment would be returned to him. This thought triggered a sh of inspiration for Lu Yin; he wondered, why did it feel like Origin Tracer had been developed specifically to find such moments?

    The moment of time that Undying God had skipped could be found with Origin Tracer. It seemed as if the two abilities had developed in tandem out of a need for mutual restraint.

    There was nothing invincible in the universe, and everything had a counter. Undying God had sessfully escaped from three sequence powerhouses, one of which was Lu Tianyi. That was quite a terrifying aplishment. However, if Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Ke had had the opportunity to use Origin Tracer, Undying God might not have been able to escape.

    He could only be regarded as incredibly lucky.

    Undying God would definitely reappear one day, but for the time being, he was seriously injured. Lu Yin did not believe that the power of time could be used casually. If it could, then how had Undying God suffered such grievous injuries during the previous battle in the Endless Frontier?

    Lu Tianyi returned to the Origin Universe.

    The assault on Undying God had failed, but it had also inspired the entire Sixverse Association.

    The fight had proved that Lu Yin''s suspicions were correct. At least <i>some </i>of the Seven Skygods were hiding on the Endless Frontier, and it was alsopletely possible to find and kill another one or two Skygods.

    The better one understood the Seven Skygods, the more terrifying they became. If even just one more of them was eliminated, it would be a tremendous blessing for mankind.

    Proximity also made the battle public. The intention was to boost human morale, but the recordings also raised Lu Yin even higher in the realm of public opinion. He became the most talked about conversation topic for countless people throughout the Sixverse Association. His crusade had also be the focus for everyone.

    Countless expectations were ced upon the two battalions as they fought their way towards the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. These three parallel universes had never been purged, and they were always upied by sequence powerhouses.

    These three parallel universes of the Endless Frontier were also known as the Three Purgatories.

    Regardless of whether one belonged to the Sixverse Association or Aeternus, those universes were absolute hell.

    Upon seeing the spatial tunnel up ahead, the jiao plunged through it.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A deafening roar practically stunned the entire second battalion, and it also startled Lu Yin. He looked up and gazed into the distance. There, he saw massive forms attacking each other. They were colossal giants.

    There were not just one or two colossal giants; there were an endless number, all bound with chains. They fought throughout the entire universe, fighting against each other while letting out deafening roars. The sounds of collisions and impacts shattered the universe in every direction, and the void constantly warped and broke out, causing spatial tears to spread out like exploding raindrops.

    The countless members of the second battalion were blown away by the sights before them, and they gazed in stupefaction as chains whipped about. Flesh was cleaved in two, and blood poured out. A severed armrger than a mountain fell off of one of the giants, and enough blood to fill ake fell down, sprinkling onto the nearby chains.

    The jiao went bug-eye, and its ws moved to block the broken chains flying at them. It raised its head and let out a tremendous roar.

    That drew the attention of the colossal giants. Each one was about the same size as the jiao, and they could all treat mountains like mere clumps of dirt.

    The presence of so many massive giants put a great deal of pressure on the second battalion.

    Even the jiao¡¯s arrogance was suppressed, and its roar died down. These giants did not have the strength of Progenitors, but their killing intent surpassed most peak powerhouses¡¯. Even the colossal giants that only possessed the strength of Envoys or Semi-Progenitors looked at the jiao with eyes that viewed everything as prey.

    A miserable expression appeared on Mr. Daheng''s face. He had actually been forced into the Giant Purgatory. Did Lu Yin really intend to try to sweep across the entire Endless Frontier?

    It was a good thing that the second battalion was so strong. With two sequence powerhouses, four peak powerhouses, and Lu Yin, who was more powerful than most Progenitors, the second battalion appeared to have the strength necessary to sweep right through the Endless Frontier. However, the Three Purgatories werepletely different from any other battlefield in the Endless Frontier. Not once had any of the three universes been purged, and no one could guess what the Aeternals had sneakily prepared to defend their position in the Three Purgatories.

    Even without having to fight against the Aeternals, the Three Purgatories were obstacles that were difficult to get past. The Giants'' Purgatory, where the second battalion currently found itself, was a perfect example. There were two leaders among the colossal giants, and each was an absolute monster.

    At this time, another group of people rushed through the spatial passage. It was the Giant Army, led by Ku Wei.

    The army of colossal giants had been following the second battalion across the Endless Frontier. Because the giants were too big to ride the jiao, their division had followed behind the rest of the army. Upon entering the newest parallel universe, they had the same stunned reaction as the rest of the second battalion.

    "What the hell? Where did so many giantse from?" Ku Wei was confused.

    Chen Huang was shocked. He had thought that his own n was the only people to carry the blood of colossal giants. He had never even considered the possibility that there might be colossal giants on the Endless Frontier. Not only were there other giants, but these giants were much bigger than the ones from the Origin Universe. None of them were shorter than the patriarch, Chen Huang, and a casual nce revealed that all of thebatants in the the Giants'' Purgatory were about 100,000 meters tall.

    No, these giants were different from the ones in the Giant Army.

    "Patriarch, these giants are different from us." Chen Ling was afraid.

    Ku Wei had noticed the same thing. "There are two different breeds. One has only one eye, while the other carries mountains on their backs. What kind of giants are these?"

    If almost anyone else had made such ament, Chen Huang would have pped them across the face. Was that any way to describe other people? However, given that Ku Wei had made thement, Chen Huang could only endure the insult. What could he do to the person who had brought about a transformation for the race of colossal giants?

    "Giant is a rather general term, as it simply describes something with a massive body. Just like with humans, if they remain in the ocean for too many generations, their appearance will change. Not all giants are descended from the same line, and these giants are muchrger than us colossal giants. To them, we are nothing more than lesser giants," Chen Huang replied.

    Of course, Ku Wei already knew all of this, and he had just been amazed by the sight before them.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were steely as he looked about, observing the Giants'' Purgatory.

    The Giants'' Purgatory also had its own uniquews.

    The universe was upied by two different kinds of colossal giants. One type of giants were cyclops , while the other race carried mountains on their backs. They looked simr to the giants that Lu Yin had once encountered during a trial, as those giants had also carried mountains on their backs as a form of defense. The difference was that the mountain-backed giants that Lu Yin had seen before had only been 100 meters tall, while the giants in the Giants'' Purgatory were even taller than Chen Huang. These creatures were estimated to be as tall as Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, though, of course, there was nothing to do an actualparison to.

    Progenitor Chen had managed to achieve an incredible size even with the same bloodline as Chen Huang and the other colossal giants from the Origin Universe, but the giants in the Giants'' Purgatory were far older than Progenitor Chen. Given their size, they should not even be referred to as colossal giants, but rather as super giants.

    The giant cyclops and the enormous giants carrying mountains on their backs had both been trapped by thews of the universe of the Giants'' Purgatory. The chains that bound all of the giants had forced them to fight against each other for countless years. No new giants had been born in many years. But the number of giants had not decreased because they were all unable to die. Even when their bodies were torn apart, thews of the universe would reform their bodies.

    For these two races of super giants, thews of the Giants'' Purgatory were notws, but rather a curse.

    It was a curse that could only be lifted if one of the races was quickly andpletely exterminated. Without that happening, the endless battle would continue.

    Of course, before reaching the Three Purgatories, Lu Yin had learned everything he could about the three parallel universes.

    He had checked and learned that the giant cyclops and the mountain-backed giants both possessed simr levels of strength, which was why neither side was able to wipe out their enemies in a short amount of time. Even with Aeternus and the Sixverse Association joining the battlefield, a bnce had been established.

    It was impossible for either side of the war to quickly destroy an entire race of super giants.

    This stalemate was the current condition of the Giants'' Purgatory.

    Regardless of their cultivation level, the super giants were all sorge that their attacks werepletely unrted to their cultivation. In fact, the giants did not even use their cultivation bases, instead fighting with brute force. It was the most primitive method ofbat.

    "I don''t know who cursed these two races of super giants, but they have been fighting for countless years. Their war has never stopped," Mu Kemented in a low voice.

    Lu Yin grew curious, "The Sixverse Association doesn''t know?"

    Mu Ke shook his head. "No, but it was the Aeternals who first found this parallel universe. At that time, they wanted to help the mountain-backed giants destroy the cyclops, but then the Sixverse Association stepped in, forming the current bnce. The Three Purgatories are the center that the current Endless Frontier grew from.¡±

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    There was never a moment of quiet. With the second battalion gathered close to the spatial portal, it was as though they had been squeezed into a corner of the universe by the giants¡¯ battle.

    Before entering this universe, Lu Yin had already considered how to purge this particr universe. Eliminating Aeternus¡¯s forces in the universe would be too difficult, as the mountain-backed giants would never agree. They could only survive in the Giants'' Purgatory because of the Aeternals¡¯ support.

    Off in the distance, huge bodies collided.

    The jiao raised its ws, and a massive body mmed into the jiao. The resounding impact rang in everyone''s ears.

    The mountain shattered. The super giant that had fallen towards the second battalion was a mountain-backed giant, and the jiao¡¯s ws destroyed the giant¡¯s mountain before tossing the giant away.

    None of the super giants in the Giants'' Purgatory could die. It was not allowed by thews of their universe. For this reason, they were not afraid or intimidated by the jiao, but being immortal did not mean that they could ovee the gap in strength between them and the jiao.

    Regardless of the super giants¡¯ size, the jiao could still sweep through them.

    The only beings that Lu Yin feared were the Cyclops King and the Mountain-Backed King. Those two were absolute monsters, whose sizes wereparable to Corpse God¡¯s.

    The enormous mountain-backed giant that had been tossed aside by the jiao was bleeding from half of his body. When he finally came to a stop, he looked up and red at the jiao. There was no fear in the giant¡¯s eyes as he charged at the jiao, an arm raised to smash the beast.

    It was a shocking sight, as regardless of the giant¡¯s strength, its sheer size was already intimidating.

    Just as the jiao was about to take action, Ku Wei shouted, "Master, let your disciple handle this!"

    He then winked at Chen Huang. The Giant Army could not be treated as a mere decoration, and it only made sense for giants to fight against giants.

    Chen Huang stepped forward. He was now 30,000 meters tall, which was nearly three times taller than when he had first met Lu Yin. The giant¡¯s strength had also risen by aparable amount.

    As Chen Huang looked up at the approaching mountain-backed giant, his eyes suddenly red, and he let out an enraged roar as he leaped up with his own hand raised. <i>Boom!</i> There was a loud impact, and a shockwave spread out that took many people¡¯s breath away in the second battalion.

    This was not a battle between two powerhouses, as the second battalion had already witnessed multiple fights between Progenitor-levelbatants. These two giants were only at the Envoy level, but the visual impact of their sh was on an entirely different level.

    Both Chen Huang and the mountain-backed giant had the strength of an Envoy, but Chen Huang also had battle force. Nine-lined battle force erupted, letting Chen Huang grab the arm of his opponent and throw him away.

    From a distance, it looked like a child tossing an adult aside. The mountain-backed super giant was at least 50,000 meters tall.

    But size was not everything.

    Chen Huang dropped down, his expression somber. He had only faced off against a single super giant. As he looked around this universe, he could not even estimate how many super giants were in here. It was possible that their numbers were not particrly high, but their enormous size made it look as though they filled the entire Giants'' Purgatory.

    Suddenly, chains shot over from a different direction. They were clearly targeting Chen Huang.

    The colossal giant was startled, but before he could even react, the jiao swung its ws and smashed the chains apart. Another vicious swipe tore through the void, and the jiao ughtered another mountain-backed giant.

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "Forward!"

 Chapter 2913: Annihilation

    Chapter 2913: Annihtion

    Lu Yin¡¯s one word sent the second battalion forward. They were led by the jiao, which shot straight at where the fighting was the fiercest. The mountain-backed giants that they encountered along the way were all torn apart by the jiao. The most powerful mountain-backed giant was unquestionably taller than 100,000 meters, and its cultivation level was equal to a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s. Even so, the jiao easily tore the giant apart, and blood filled outer space.

    They proceeded further and further, and even the giant cyclops nearly attacked them when they saw the second battalion joining the battle.

    The Sixverse Association warned all the cultivators that entered the Giants'' Purgatory that, while they supported the giant cyclops in their battle against the mountain-backed giants, that did not mean that the giant cyclops were their allies. They only had a symbiotic rtionship, as if they didn¡¯t help the giant cyclops, it would be impossible to hold back the Aeternals.

    In the same manner, the Aeternals were not the mountain-backed giants¡¯ allies either.

    While the Giants'' Purgatory might appear to be split into two sides at first nce, the truth was that it was a four-way battle.

    However, the second battalion was fearless. Even if the giant cyclops and the mountain-backed giants attacked them in unison, the battalion was confident that they could safely leave the Giants'' Purgatory. Besides, the cyclops normally would not do anything to cultivators from the Sixverse Association.

    The jiao charged across the battlefield, its huge eyes flitting all about. Not only did this vicious battlefield not excite the beast, but it also made it incredibly wary. While the super giants did not seem to pose any threat to the jiao, it found them too big forfort.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance. Why was there no opposition?

    So far, they had only seen the super giants fighting against each other. There had not been so much as a single corpse king.No, if there really were no corpse kings in the universe, then it would have already been given a green light, as purging a universe only required all of Aeternus¡¯s forces to be eliminated. Regardless of whether the super giants were hostile towards the Sixverse Association, they were unable to leave their universe, and they also never viewed humans as a threat.

    Suddenly, Mu Ke attacked the right side with his saber. Lu Yin and the others reflexively looked over, only to see a huge, invisible arm stretching out towards them. They had only noticed the arm after Mu Ke attacked it, and the silent, invisible arm had nearly struck the second battalion.

    The de shed with the hand, opening a bleeding wound.

    "What a sharp de. Are you Mu Ke?" A deep voice spoke from a great distance. It rang across the universe with such force that it caused the void to tremble.

    Mu Ke clenched the handle of the weapon. "Cyclops King, why did you attack us?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. The ruler of the giant cyclops was one of the two most powerful individuals in the Giants'' Purgatory, and his physical strength was so excessive that even sequence powerhouses would struggle to break through it. Lu Yin had heard this warning from Mu Ke before they arrived in the universe.

    Mu Ke had fought in the Giants'' Purgatory once before.

    The arm retracted, and in the next moment, a terrifying figure appeared. It was impossible to even estimate this giant¡¯s height. His presence alone overshadowed all the other super giants, and a boiling heat rose from his body, twisting the void.

    The second battalion was stunned by the sight as an unspeakable pressure fell upon them. It felt as though the universe was copsing.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw a single massive eye staring at him. This Cyclops King was probably about the same size as Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone. Such an enormous giant could y withs like they were marbles. Sure enough, there was an evenrger super giant in the Giants'' Purgatory who wasparable to Progenitor Chen''s giant clone.

    The jiao¡¯s mouth fell open in shock, and it automatically wanted to flee. The giant dwarfed the jiao in size, which terrified the beast.

    "You¡¯vee with such an impressive lineup. Could it be that your Sixverse Association is finally willing to bring your strength to my Giants'' Purgatory?" When the Cyclops King spoke, his voice resonated like a bell, and it contained an odd pressure.

    Lu Yin looked up. "The Heavens Sect hasunched a crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, and the Giants'' Purgatory will not be ignored."

    "Little thing, who are you?" The Cyclops King was curious.

    "I¡¯m a member of the Sixverse Association, the ruler of the Origin Universe," Lu Yin solemnly replied.

    The Cyclops King spat in contempt. "The Aeternals are right! The Sixverse Association has grown weaker if such a pathetic little thing can be the ruler of a universe. Child, where are your parents?"

    Lu Yin''s expression fell, and Mu Ke prepared to attack. However, before the Arborean could do anything, Lu Yin stopped him. "Senior Brother, let me do it."

    Mu Ke nced over. "The Cyclops King''s defense is second only to Corpse God¡¯s. If not for the fact that he is bound to this universe by itsws, no one could stop him."

    Lu Yin nodded. "His defenses might be impressive, but I¡¯m far from weak. Even if I can¡¯t do anything, he needs to pay for what he¡¯s said."

    As Lu Yin spoke, the lines of light of Infinity appeared around his body. "Cyclops King, open your eyes and take a good look. Your size just makes you an easier target."

    He took a step forward and arrived directly in front of the Cyclops King. More lines of light merged into Lu Yin¡¯s body as his Wielder-realm battle force spread across his arm and the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant roared. The gray star in Lu Yin¡¯s universe trembled, and he confined a hundred punches with the power of time.

    The Cyclops King sneered, and then his enormous body suddenly swayed. "Little thing, you can''t even touch me."

    In the giant¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin was very miniscule, and Lightstream was even smaller. The Cyclops King intended to use his flexibility to evade Lu Yin''s punch, but he did not expect Lightstream to reverse time by one second. The giant suddenly reappeared where he had just been standing.

    The sudden change was too shocking for him to even react, and at that moment, Lu Yin¡¯s punchnded. The power of time had confined a full hundred punches into one.

    A cry rang out as Lu Yin, a human smaller than an ant to the giant, punched the Cyclops King on his upper lip. The force of a hundred confined punches was released, carrying Wielder-realm battle force and the raw power of Infinity. Not even a sequence powerhouse could easily face this attack head-on.

    With a bang, ck cracks radiated out from the Cyclops King¡¯s upper lip. First, his head tipped back, and then the rest of his body leaned back. He had been forced back by Lu Yin''s punch.

    Lu Yin remained standing in outer space. He looked down at his fist. The feeling of his fist striking the Cyclops King had been very simr to how it felt to attack Corpse God. With Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin had seen sequence particles cover the body of the giant.

    While the punch had thrown the Cyclops King back, it had not harmed the giant at all. The only thing was that the sequence particles on his head had been partially dispersed.

    This meant that Lu Yin¡¯s punch had not even truly struck the Cyclops King, as it had been blocked by the sequence particles.

    Still, while his punch might not have harmed the Cyclops King at all, it had been plenty powerful. The giant had not been acting when he had reared back, as he had moved back out of reflex in order to disperse a bit of the punch¡¯s force. This indicated that he had acknowledged Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    After only bending back briefly, the Cyclops King quickly straightened back up and then red at Lu Yin. "Little thing, you dare to punch me?"

    Lu Yin grinned cheekily. "If your skin wasn''t so thick, that punch would have cracked your skull."

    The Cyclops King became furious, and he pped a hand at Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, the giant¡¯s arm froze and then jerked back. A ck line spread down his arm, a cut appearing as the Hollow opened. Mu Ke hadshed out.

    The Cyclops King turned to re at Mu Ke.

    The Arborean looked up, his saber pointed straight at the Cyclops King. "If you want to start a war with my Sixverse Association, keep going."

    The Cyclops King angrily shouted, "Who is he? Your son? Why else would you protect him so much?"

    Lu Yin put his hands behind his back and looked at the Cyclops King, "I already told you, I¡¯m the ruler of the Origin Universe. Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heaven Sect."

    The Cyclops King was startled. "The Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch? The same Heavens Sect that reached an unprecedented height before being destroyed by the Aeternals?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You¡¯ve heard of the Heavens Sect?"

    Very few of the Sixverse Association¡¯s weaker cultivators ever entered the Three Purgatories. Those three parallel universes were not a ce for weaklings. For such people, entering the Three Purgatories was not training, but a death sentence. In the end, only a few of the most powerful individuals ever entered those universes, so it was difficult toe by information about other universes in here.

    The Three Purgatories might not even know about other ces like the Gemini Universe or the Lilliput Universe.

    The Cyclops King had not known about Lu Yin, the ruler of the Origin Universe, but he had heard of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarchs before. It was clear that the name of the Heavens Sect was what he had recognized.

    "Someone once briefly passed through here, iming to be from the Heavens Sect. I learned about the Heavens Sect from him. Unfortunately, the Heavens Sect of that past era has already disappeared, which means that your Heavens Sect is most likely a fake."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Who came through here? What was his name?"

    The Cyclops King sneered. "Why should I tell you? I might, if you can also take one of my punches."

    Only an idiot would take a punch from this giant. Such an attack would not be much weaker than a punch from Corpse God. Even if Lu Yin was more confident in his own strength, he would never agree to such a stupid thing.

    For the moment, the Cyclops King was not attacking due to his fear of Mu Ke. That did not mean that the giant could not defeat Mu Ke, but that Mu Ke was strong enough to make the Cyclops King concerned.

    "Cyclops King, why did you just attack us?" Mr. Daheng asked.

    The Cyclops King looked over. "You¡¯re here as well? I recognize a number of people here."

    Mr. Daheng gave a small smile. "Without being at my level, how could anyone dare to enter the Giants'' Purgatory?"

    The Cyclops King''s eyes lit up, glowing with desire and bloodlust. "Since all of you are now here, help me destroy the mountain-backed giants! You have the strength to do it!"

    Mr. Daheng nced over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "Given our strength, we can do that, as long as there¡¯s no interference from the Aeternals. It¡¯s very difficult for True God or the Seven Skygods to appear right now, which is why this crusade was sent to conquer the Endless Frontier. This is the time to put an end to this Giants'' Purgatory.¡±

    The Cyclops King''s burned brighter and brighter as Lu Yin spoke. "Yes! It''s time! It¡¯s true that very few of the Aeternals have beening heretely, so we can destroy the mountain-backed giants once and for all."

    Lu Yin looked at the giant. "We can."

    The bloodlust zed even more intensely in the eyes of the Cyclops King. "We absolutely must destroy them!"

    He thought of the curse that they had suffered for countless years. Such a way of life was more painful than death. He wanted to die, but that death could not be at the hands of the mountain-backed giants. Even if the Aeternals wanted to kill the Cyclops King, he would not resist, but the Sixverse Association would not agree to such a thing. The same was also true of the mountain-backed giants that the cyclopes fought against. They would readily ept being destroyed by the Sixverse Association to put an end to their pain, but the Aeternals would not allow it.

    The Giants'' Purgatory was locked in a strange cycle, but the arrival of Lu Yin and the second battalion could finally end that cycle.

    "Tell me, why did you just attack us?" Lu Yin shouted.

    The Cyclops King was startled by the question. "Help me kill the mountain-backed giants, and I¡¯ll tell you."

    Lu Yinughed. "I think that fighting against those mountain-backed giants for so many years has damaged your brain! You don¡¯t have a choice. Tell me, or else I¡¯ll help the mountain-backed giants destroy you."

    The Cyclops King''s eyes red. "That''s fine. Go ahead and destroy my cyclops."

    Lu Yin had not expected the Cyclops King to be so stubborn.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2914: Another One

    Chapter 2914: Another One

    Mr. Daheng shook his head. "Both types of giants refuse to be destroyed by the other type, but they both want to die. Rather, It¡¯s the interference of Aeternus and the Sixverse Association that has prevented both sides from dying out, which is the worst torture for them. Killing him is merely granting his deepest wish."

    If that was true, then Lu Yin had a question. "Then why was he so afraid when Senior Mu Ke attacked just now?"

    Mu Ke answered in a low voice, "Before being absolutely certain that we can destroy his entire race, he will never fight to the death. Doing so would put his people at a disadvantage in their war against the mountain-backed giants. However, if he is confident that we can destroy all of them, he would be willing to anger us to try to coerce us into attacking him.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at the Cyclops King. For the moment, the giant was clearly struggling and hesitating over something.

    "Since we can destroy you, we are also clearly capable of simply leaving this Giants'' Purgatory. Cyclops King, you should understand this."

    The Cyclops King gasped. "Aren''t you going to destroy us? I won''t fight back. If you attack again, I won''t even get upset."

    "Tell me what I want to know, and we will move against the mountain-backed giants. If you refuse, I will lead the second battalion out of the Giants'' Purgatory, leaving you to suffer from your curse forever." Lu Yin stated calmly.

    "You should understand our Sixverse Association quite well, so there¡¯s no need to waste time."

    The Cyclops King red at Mr. Daheng and Mu Ke. "I attacked because of the giants who followed you."Lu Yin was surprised. "Because of them?"

    What did that mean? Had the Giant Army somehow triggered these super giants¡¯ hatred?

    "Why?" Lu Yin was confused.

    The Cyclops King exined, "They have the potential to be the same race as us. Ordinarily, no one can break free from their racial restrictions, but giants who have already broken past such restrictions are different. If we can keep them here, we giant cyclops will gain newbatants to help us over time. Even if they can only contribute to the battle in the distant future, time has already lost all meaning to us.¡±

    Lu Yin understood that, while the super giants were bound to their universe by the curse, they were still doing whatever they could to gain additional fighting power. Aeternus and the Sixverse Association would never listen to the giants¡¯ requests, and they were not even regarded as allies. However, Ku Wei''s Giant Army was different. While there was a tremendous difference in size, they were still giants.

    "Who was the person who imed to be from the Heavens Sect?" Lu Yin asked again.

    The Cyclops King stared at Lu Yin. "The guy''s name alone deserved a beating. He was exceptionally arrogant and utterly unruly."

    Lu Yin went bug-eyed, and the expressions of Mu Xie, Wang Jian, and Xia Qin all changed. "Ce Wangtian?"

    Ce Wangtian had been a peak powerhouse from the Heavens Sect era, as well as the founding ancestor of the Ce family. He had once kicked Big Sis off of the big tree in order to prevent her from going to the Immemorial Citadel. Lu Yin had never expected to learn that Ce Wangtian had once passed through this Giants'' Purgatory.

    "When did hee here?" Lu Yin asked hurriedly.

    "He wasn¡¯t here for very long." The Cyclops King suddenly stopped and waved an arm in a specific direction. Another enormous arm appeared there, and it mmed into the Cyclops King''s arm. "Bei Shan, you¡¯re dead this time! There are so many experts here from the Sixverse Association! Mu Ke, let¡¯s do this!¡±

    The attack hade from none other than the king of the mountain-backed giants, who was just as powerful and renowned as the Cyclops King.

    The jiao growled in fear.

    The second battalion then witnessed an unforgettable scene as the two impossibly massive figures shed with each other across the universe. Every impact produced a deafening sound and was capable of incapacitating or killing any of the humans watching.

    Further away, the super giants attacked each other. The area surrounding the second battalion became the fiercest region of the entire battlefield, and the second battalion was like a group of ants that had been caught out in a storm. It looked as if they would be stomped and crushed at any moment, but Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng asionally retaliated when an attack approached the second battalion. The ants had proved that they could transform into a deadly dragon.

    ¡­

    At this same time, the first battalion had entered another one of the Three Purgatories. The parallel universe that they had entered was known as the Purgatory of Vitality.

    It was a parallel universe that did not have a vast starry sky and an infinitely expanding outer space. Instead, this universe consisted of arge maind with what looked like thick clouds high above it. The fighting in the Purgatory of Vitality was not as fierce as in the Giants'' Purgatory, but the atmosphere was oppressive and very ufortable.

    "The Purgatory of Vitality. In this ce, everyone possesses a value that represents their life, and that value is basically the power level that our technology can evaluate. This is thew in the Purgatory of Vitality, and anyone can obtain power by sacrificing their life. This method uses the universe¡¯sw to add additional power to an attack, which can allow a person to reach an invincible level of strength here." Xu Wuwei exined the peculiarities of the universe.

    Arch-Elder Zen grew solemn. "Sacrifice one¡¯s life?"

    Xu Wuwei nodded. "Sacrificing one¡¯s life is a uniquew of this universe. You can sacrifice your entire life value to this universe for the sake of another person. Up above, while those objects might look like clouds, that is actually the power of this universe. Thews here dictate that, when a life is sacrificed, an amount of power equal to that life value will be granted.

    "If a peak powerhouse willingly sacrifices most of their life value, they can nearly double their power level and strength in this universe."

    Big Sis somberly asked, ¡°What will happen to me once I sacrifice my life value?¡±

    Xu Wuwei grew equally solemn. "The more you sacrifice, the more you will harm your own foundation. Upon leaving this universe, your cultivation will fall by a corresponding amount."

    "This universe really consumes people," Big Sis said with a sneer. "Whoever set thisw in ce ispletely ruthless. Clearly, they just wanted to create an endless battlefield."

    Xu Wuwei sighed. "All of the Three Purgatories are endless battlefields.

    "The Purgatory of Vitality is actually the calmest of the Three Purgatories. This universe even has its own indigenous people still living here, and right now, one of the two strongestbatants in this universe is one of those natives. He is the Lord of Holy Dayan City, who is as powerful as one of the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. The other is a terrifying monster who has received the sacrifices of countless corpse kings'' life values. The creature is not a corpse king itself, but rather some other enormous monster.

    "For now, we should first meet with Lord Dayan to see how we should join forces with Holy Dayan City to deal with Aeternus."

    Big Sis had no objection. The first battalion was powerful, and they seemed capable of sweeping across the entire battlefield. But in the face of the oddws in the Three Purgatories¡¯ parallel universes, it was best to be cautious.

    Big Sis might be grouchy and temperamental, but she certainly was not stupid. If she were, she would have never managed to trap and kill one of the Seven Skygods during the Heavens Sect era.

    ¡­

    A de sliced through outer space, causing a river of blood to pour out.

    "Mu Ke, you are seeking death!" the Mountain King roared as he endured a punch from Cyclops King. At the same time, the Mountain King raised a foot to stomp at the jiao.

    The jiao was terrified, and it hurriedly dodged.

    Mu Ke leaped up, his saber shing as he attacked again.

    The de rose up, only to instantly change directions and sh to the left. In that ce, a sh of red appeared. It was like the setting sun, and it melted Mu Ke¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin and many others were quite familiar with this sight, as it was divine energy.

    It was impossible for the Aeternals to simply sit back and watch as the Sixverse Association ughtered the mountain-backed giants. Naturally, Aeternus needed to maintain the power bnce within the Giants'' Purgatory.

    More and more figures appeared, each one boiling with divine energy upon their arrival. These were the True God Guard Captains. Each of the captains had unique innate gifts, but none of them were sequence powerhouses. They were only capable of offsetting sequence particles with divine energy; otherwise, they might not be able to withstand Mu Ke¡¯s saber.

    Mr. Daheng alone was enough to suppress all the True God Guard Captains.

    A massive individual stepped out from behind the True God Guard Captains.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Corpse God."

    Another one of the Seven Skygods had appeared.

    Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber, and Mr. Daheng''s expression changed drastically. He did not want to have a deathmatch with Corpse God. Of the Seven Skygods, Corpse God''s defenses were exceptional. He had already demonstrated so during the battle at the Tea Ceremony, but in the Giants'' Purgatory, Corpse God was not shunned. No one knew how high hisbat power would be when he was not shunned.

    These were everyone¡¯s thoughts as Corpse God took a step forward, moving past the True God Guard as he punched at Lu Yin.

    The jiao curled its tail and turned around to flee. It was utterly terrified.

    Mu Ke also took a step forward. "Verseless."

    Corpse God''s enormous fist struck Mu Ke¡¯s sh instead. Lu Yin was shocked when, through Heaven¡¯s Sight, he saw Mu Ke¡¯s saber cut through some of the sequence particles on Corpse God''s punch before continuing to break through. This attack severed thews of the universe, and even Undying God had been impressed by this attack.

    However, Corpse God¡¯s body was simply too powerful. While the sh had cut through the fist¡¯s sequence particles, as soon as the attack reached Corpse God¡¯s actual hand, it was barely able to draw out a tiny droplet of blood. This was the same thing that had happened during the Tea Ceremony.

    Corpse God was shunned from the Cyclic Universe, but in the Giants'' Purgatory, despite not being shunned, he was still suffering from an earlier battle¡¯s injuries. The Skygod was not in peak condition as he faced off against Mu Ke. However, Mu Ke was still unable to defeat Corpse God.

    There was a significant gap in power between them.

    There was a bang, and Mu Ke was sent flying by Corpse God¡¯s punch.

    On the other side, Mr. Daheng''s Law of Lightness appeared, and an attack sliced through the void. However, the Arborean¡¯sw was incapable of even injuring Corpse God.

    Corpse God''s slitted scarlet eyes suddenly turned to look at Lu Yin. Receiving such a being¡¯s stare would make anyone¡¯s scalp go numb.

    The only people in the second battalion who were capable using thews of the universe to fight against Corpse God were Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng. No one else was capable of standing up to the Skygod.

    While Lu Yin had methods to weaken sequence particles, he was not able to stop the sheer force of Corpse God¡¯s attacks.

    The only option was to ask Ancestor Tianyi for his help again. Ancestor Tianyi was also the reason why Lu Yin was trying to eliminate another one or two Skygods.

    At this moment, a figure tore through the void to appear in front of Lu Yin, stepping onto the battlefield with his back to Lu Yin and the others. The man¡¯s face could not be seen, but he was holding a long, golden cudgel. While this person was only as big as an ordinary human, his appearance caused a golden light to fill all of the Giants'' Purgatory. The man somehow managed to overshadow all the super giants as he faced off against Corpse God.

    "Child of the Lu family, you have done well. Leave this next bit to me." The man raised his long cudgel up high. "This is our twenty-first match! Let¡¯s go, you old corpse!"

    Corpse God looked up and growled, "So, you¡¯re here as well."

    The cudgel dropped, and Corpse God punched back.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The force of the impact from the two attacks caused the Giants'' Purgatory to tremble, and everyone felt their scalps tingle.

    Even Lu Yin was shaken by the collision. He was shocked to see the two figures, onerge and one small, shing in a war between a golden and red light. It looked as though the two were going to shatter the entire Giants'' Purgatory.

    Mr. Daheng heaved a sigh of relief. "Sovereign Dou Sheng arrived just in time."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "That¡¯s Sovereign Dou Sheng?"

    Lu Yin had already seen two of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns: Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Sovereign Shao Yin. However,pared to those two, Lu Yin could clearly see that Sovereign Dou Sheng was on an entirely different level. Both the man¡¯s courage andbat power far exceeded the other two Sovereigns.

    It was no wonder why everyone referred to Sovereign Dou Sheng as an existence second only to the Great Sovereign in the Cyclic Universe. He deserved to be called the Sky Sovereign.

    Mu Ke did not stubbornly insist on continuing to fight after Sovereign Dou Sheng appeared to face off against Corpse God. The Arborean knew that he was not really strong enough to challenge the Seven Skygods on his own. So, he instead turned his attention to the True God Guard Captains who were behind Corpse God.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2915: Enemy Attack

    Chapter 2915: Enemy Attack

    Lu Yin was also keeping an eye on the True God Guard Captains.

    Although these captains were not sequence powerhouses, their innate gifts were all unique. As soon as any of them broke through and became a sequence powerhouse, they would be incredibly difficult to deal with.

    Divine energy roiled and filled Giant¡¯s Purgatory, adding an even deeper feeling of cruelty to the universe. The divine energy¡¯s dark-red color twined with the red of the spilled blood as the vicious battlefield expanded.

    The super giants roared as they fought.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. There was a pair of eyes staring back at him, and at that moment, they changed from scarlet to red. It was Zhong Pan.

    ckless God had already warned Zhong Pan to perform a Corpse King Transformation as soon as he encountered Lu Yin; otherwise, the corpse king might die. As soon as Zhong Pan saw Lu Yin, the monster¡¯s eyes turned red, and his physical might reached a level where the void twisted and shattered around him.

    A sh of darkness fell as Zhong Pan tore through the void, charging at Lu Yin with a punch.

    Lu Yin casually flicked a hand, and Infinity appeared. Lines of light merged into Lu Yin¡¯s body, and at the same time, Wielder-realm battle force appeared and shrouded his body while the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant let out a roar. Lu Yin¡¯s arms withered. "Come on!"

    <em>Boom!</em>The resulting explosion caused Mr. Daheng, who was a short distance away and trying to counter the divine energy, nce over at Lu Yin in surprise. This boy''s physical strength was beyond freakish, and given their close proximity, Mr. Daheng sensed it quite clearly.

    The void rose and fell rhythmically before it shattered entirely.

    Countless ck shards scattered in all directions. They were bits of the Hollow.

    Lu Yin fell back, his entire arm feeling a bit numb.

    After having undergone a Red Eyes Transformation, Zhong Pan¡¯s strength had reached a level that left Lu Yin feeling as helpless as when he had first faced off against the corpse king. He was unable to match up to even one of Zhong Pan¡¯s punches.

    Zhong Pan moved closer to Lu Yin, crushing the void with every step.

    In Lu Yin''s heart, the gray star moved, and 100 punches were confined.

    There was a bang, but Lu Yin was still pushed back. Even if he was not forced back as far as before, he was still being pushed back without even shaking Zhong Pan¡¯s body.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s full strength, he was capable of fighting against Zhong Pan after a Green Eyes Transformation, but he was no match for Zhong Pan after a Red Eyes Transformation.

    However, that was only when it came to physical power.

    Seeing Zhong Pan¡¯s third punch approaching him, Lu Yin took a deep breath and used Inverse Step to move past the corpse king. Within the chaotic region of time and space, Zhong Pan¡¯s punch missed, and Lu Yin seized the opportunity to raise his slipper.

    Zhong Pan was forced to dodge the slipper, but Lightstream appeared and reversed time by a second.

    This happened twice, and then Lu Yin sessfully pped the slipper onto Zhong Pan¡¯s back, which sent the corpse king flying and blood spraying.

    Lu Yin moved forward, chasing after Zhong Pan. Rage filled the corpse king¡¯s eyes, and dark-red divine energy boiled out of his body, shrouding his body like steam. Not only did the bleeding wounds recover, but Zhong Pan¡¯s aura also surged wildly.

    Lu Yin pped Zhong Pan again with the slipper, but this time, his attack was blocked by divine energy. The corpse king grabbed Lu Yin''s arm and squeezed hard. It was extremely painful, and Lightstream flickered, reversing time by one second. With that extra second, Lu Yin altered his attack. Instead of swinging the slipper at Zhong Pan, Lu Yin stopped the attack and stepped back.

    He did not attack at all, so Zhong Pan failed to counter Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    The two stood across from each other.

    Seeing the roiling divine energy that covered Zhong Pan''s body, Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he nced around. Everywhere he looked, vicious battles were breaking out. The jiao had already moved most of the second battalion away. Trying to have them join the fights that were happening in Giant¡¯s Purgatory would be nothing less than sending them all to their deaths.

    The army¡¯s greatest use was in their numbers and searching for the hidden Skygods in the various parallel universes. With the appearance of Corpse God, Lu Yin did not want any of the other Seven Skygods to show up, as that would be a huge issue.

    Should he ask Ancestor Tianyi to participate as well?

    The battle between Sovereign Dou Sheng and Corpse God was shattering the universe, but Lu Yin had no time to watch it. His battle was with Zhong Pan. The corpse king used his divine energy like an invincible armor. Regardless of whether he faced sequence particles or the slipper, this armor would protect Zhong Pan. This was what gave the True God Guard Captains the confidence to fight against anyone.

    However, while Zhong Pan had his confidence to face sequence powerhouses, so too did Lu Yin.

    With his divine energy, Zhong Panpletely ignored Lu Yin''s slipper, and he instead intended to use his increased strength from his Red Eyes Transformation to crush Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin held the slipper high in one hand as he shot forward, as though racing to his own death.

    The slipper rose high and mmed down.

    Zhong Pan did not try to dodge or evade. Instead, he clenched a fist with one hand, while opening the other like ws that grasped at Lu Yin. In another moment, it looked as if Zhong Pan wouldpletely shred Lu Yin to pieces.

    The two were moving closer and closer to each other. Like stars about to collide, the impact could happen at any moment.

    Lu Yin released his universe from within his chest, and the shell of the Hollow appeared around it. Zhong Pan¡¯s expression remained unchanged as his ws shot through the Hollow to grab Lu Yin.

    Not even the Hollow could instantly cut off divine energy. It was True God Wei Yi¡¯s power, and the Hollow was not omnipotent. Even Luo Shan was able to safely leave the Hollow, and with his armor of divine energy, Zhong Pan could ignore not only Lu Yin¡¯s slipper, but also endure the Hollow.

    However, the entire foundation of Zhong Pan¡¯s confidence was his divine energy. What would happen if he had no divine energy?

    It was not something that anyone had ever considered. It was not merely Zhong Pan who had not thought of it, but also the Aeternals and even the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe. No one in any of those ces had ever considered such a thing, aside from Lu Yin.

    The moment that Zhong Pan''s wed hand pierced into Lu Yin¡¯s universe that had 380,000 stars revolving about it, in Lu Yin¡¯s perception, the corpse king¡¯s movements slowed down to a crawl. It was identical to when Lu Yin had first used the Cosmic Art against his peers.

    Within the 380,000 stars, there was one colored dark red that was so inconspicuous that no one would pay any attention to it.

    However, it was exactly that dark-red star that erupted with what looked like a whirlpool of divine energy that shot out and attached to Zhong Pan''s arm.

    For the first time ever, the corpse king¡¯s expression changed. Such a creature was supposed to be devoid of all emotions, and their expressions would not change even as they died, especially one that qualified to be a True God Guard Captain. However, Zhong Pan¡¯s expression became one of absolute confusion at this moment. Where had his divine energy gone? Had it already been consumed?

    Everything happened too fast. For Zhong Pan, he had merely thrown a punch, and was thus unable to clearly discern what had happened. However, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, a long time had passed, and he had been given plenty of opportunity to absorb Zong Pan¡¯s divine energy from his arm.

    Time was a rtive thing. Some people might experience a brief bit of time, while others would experience a long period. It seemed like a paradox, and yet it was reality.

    For example, Zhong Pan and Lu Yin had not experienced the same passage of time.

    With the divine energy gone, Zhong Pan''s arm broke and flew away. Lu Yin mmed the slipper onto Zhong Pan''s head. There was a snap, and the corpse king¡¯s head twisted before his body was smashed into the distance.

    He still was not dead, and Lu Yin was already aware of just how terrifying the monster was.

    He moved forward, using Inverse Step to chase after Zhong Pan. Lu Yin needed to use this chance to kill the corpse king, or else Zhong Pan would only be an even greater threat in the future.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin froze in ce, unable to move his body at all. His pupils constricted, as he knew that Cheng Kong was attacking him.

    The miniature saber that Mu Ke had given to Lu Yin that hung from his neck took action, and eighty-one shes erupted, attacking the invisible opponent.

    Sure enough, the Dreamweaver was present, and he had attacked Lu Yin with Bubble Fantasy. However, Cheng Kong was surprised to discover that Lu Yin had Mu Ke¡¯s miniature saber again. Thest time that Cheng Kong had attacked Lu Yin in the Big Stone Universe, this same protective charm had wounded Cheng Kong, and it had prevented him from taking action for a period of time.

    A good bit of time had passed since that first attack, but once again, Cheng Kong suffered from eighty-one shes as soon as he targeted Lu Yin.

    Far away, Mu Ke felt when the eighty-one shes were released. Knowing that Lu Yin was in danger, the Arborean hurried over.

    Cheng Kong was once again wounded by eighty-one shes. Lu Yin nced around at the fractured space all around him, certain that Cheng Kong could not have gone far. There had not been enough time to escape.

    "Junior Brother!" Mu Ke rushed over.

    Lu Yin shouted, "Cheng Kong¡¯s here! We can¡¯t let him escape."

    Mu Ke responded with a rare smile. "I will kill Cheng Kong today."

    There were other True God Guard Captains far off in the distance, but none of them had any intention of trying to rescue Cheng Kong. They knew Cheng Kong very well, and knew that no one could find him. If they could, he would have died long ago.

    However, Zhong Pan was in grave danger. Mr. Daheng looked at the corpse king and attacked from a distance. Fortunately, Zhong Pan was physically strong, and more divine energy resurged from his body, allowing him to survive the attack. If not for that, an attack from a sequence expert like Mr. Daheng would have undoubtedly killed Zhong Pan.

    Lu Yin looked around, searching for Cheng Kong.

    Mu Ke was doing the same, examining the area around them.

    The Aeternals were thrilled to see this, as Cheng Kong alone was able to keep two of the human powerhouses upied, which gave the rest of the Aeternals a chance to breathe.

    "Can you find him?" Mu Ke asked solemnly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Yes."

    ¡­

    In the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect had beenpletely sealed down, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. While the crusade was active on the Endless Frontier, the Heavens Sect was worried that the Aeternals would attack the sect itself.

    However, such an attack was quite unlikely.

    In one corner of Heavens Sect, a man stepped out of the shadows. With a tap of his finger, the void opened, and another figure emerged from the void.

    "Fortunately, I was careful after deciding that I wanted to destroy this ce, and I controlled someone. Without that, it would have been really difficult to get in here," a man with a sinister voicemented.

    The individual who had arrived through the void was Yu Huo.

    "Can you find it? We must take that thing back," Yu Huo said.

    The man replied, "All of the Heavens Sect¡¯s research projects are concentrated in Backyard, so we can just go straight there."

    "Let¡¯s go."

    The Heavens Sect was truly massive, but the man led the way, and the two people quickly arrived at Backyard.

    Backyard remained the Heavens Sect¡¯s research center, and it was where things like microarray technology and wireless jincans were studied. Already, the sequence particle sensors had been added to the various projects. It was clear to see that the destruction of Backyard would drastically reduce the overall power of the Heavens Sect.

    After all, the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors were only able to temporarily gain the ability to use sequence particles with the help of the sequence particle technology.

    The man sessfully arrived at Backyard while leading Yu Huo, though they were stopped at the entrance.

    "Show me your voucher." A cultivator with no expression on his face stood guard at the entrance.

    The man smiled and pretended to take out a voucher, but the guard¡¯s eyes shed, and he immediately sounded the rm.

    There were no vouchers to enter Backyard, and the question itself was a trick. All the guards knew the faces of everyone who could enter Backyard, so there was no need for any sort of credentials. The guard had only asked the question to buy a bit of time to sound the rm.

    The moment the rm rang, the man''s expression changed. "We¡¯re exposed!"

    Yu Huo casually pped the guard dead and then stepped forward. However, as he did so, ck energy surged over and mmed into the fish.

    Yu Huo¡¯s expression grew exceptionally cold beneath his ck robes. "Another ck energy converter."

    As the fish spoke, his ck robe shattered, and his body grew. The True God Guard Captain immediately entered his transformed state, growing into a massive python as a powerful aura swept across the Heavens Sect.

    Everyone in the sect was startled. "Enemy attack!"

    Monarch Xing looked up and hurriedly over towards the Backyard. At the same time, two more ck energies appeared in the Heavens Sect, both making their way towards Backyard. One belonged to Highsage Grandmaster, while the other belonged to Elder Gong. Lu Yin had temporarily given them two ck energy converters, in order to better protect the Heavens Sect.

    With Master Shan, Monarch Xing, and the Ancestor Tortoise, there were another five Progenitor-levelbatants guarding the Heavens Sect. Regardless of what they might face, they could at least buy some time.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2916: Threat

    Chapter 2916: Threat

    Yu Huo looked down on people who used ck energy converters, and while Master Shan was using a ck energy converter, he fully knew that there was a huge gap between himself and his opponent. For this reason, Master Shan immediately used his sequence particles.

    Yu Huo had encountered many peak powerhouses over the years, but this was the first time he had ever seen an energy converter user also use sequence particles. <em>Damn it, when did thews of the universe be so easy to use?</em>

    Thew of the universe that Master Shan''s sequence particles corresponded to was the Law of Depiction. Anything in existence, whether it be a pen, sand, water, or even blood, air, and sound, could be tracked through the universe through its description.

    Something appeared before Yu Huo''s eyes. It was the curve of a mountain range that blocked his line of sight. This was aw of the universe, and it would eventually fade away, but while it still existed, it would block his line of sight.

    Master Shan used his sequence particles to stall Yu Huo and the man who had fallen under the Chiliagonist¡¯s control. With the time that Master Shan bought, Monarch Xing, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong were all able to arrive.

    As a True God Guard Captain, Yu Huo was strong enough to easily defeat anyone who used a ck energy converter, and Monarch Xing possessed a very ordinary level of strength for a peak powerhouse. Without the Three Monarchs Formation, her strength was at bestparable to that of the Progenitor of Bloodlines at his peak, which was much worse than any of the True God Guard Captains. There was a terrible gap between them.

    Fortunately, all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s protectors could use sequence particles in some capacity, but even so, they were at a distinct disadvantage against one of the True God Guard Captains.

    The fish¡¯s tail tore through the ck energy, and the Chiliagonist instantly used his consciousness to attack everyone¡¯s minds.

    Elder Gong instantly felt a terrifying pressure surround him, and he lost consciousness. Highsage Grandmaster brought out a sourcebox and set up an array. However, it could not protect him from the attack of consciousness.Helpless before the unusual attack, everyone was forced to use their sequence particles to protect themselves.

    Strangews of the universe all appeared. Thesews surpassed the strength of most Progenitors, and regardless of how powerful Yu Huo and the Chiliagonist might be, they could not ignore the sequence particles.

    They were struggling in the face of so many bizarrews of the universe.

    "Use divine energy!" Yu Huo warned, even as his own divine energy boiled from his body and shot high into the sky, forcing the sequence particles back and causing many of them to vanish entirely.

    The Chiliagonist raised a hand, and his divine energy rose up like a sun.

    The entire Heavens Sect was illuminated by the divine energy¡¯s dim light.

    At the critical moment, golden light appeared and shed with the divine energy¡¯s red light. Yu Huo and the Chiliagonist were both shocked. Was someone from the Lu family in the Heavens Sect?

    It was impossible for the Heavens Sect to be devoid of a guardian who was powerful enough to defend it from almost any attacker, and its current guardian was Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi had first followed the third battalion, but then he had secretly returned to the Heavens Sect after the Aeternals¡¯ ambush was thwarted. If one ignored the intensity of the battles being fought, Lu Qi had been the busiest of the various people supporting the crusade.

    With the appearance of divine energy, Lu Qi had been forced to take action. Without him, Master Shan and the others would not be able to endure.

    ¡­

    In the Endless Frontier¡¯s Giant¡¯s Purgatory, Cheng Kong had been cut by eighty-one swords, which meant that he had certainly been injured. However, he had quickly hidden himself again, which forced both Lu Yin and Mu Ke to leave the battle to hunt for the assassin. They did not want to let go of an opportunity to kill Cheng Kong, while Cheng Kong was absolutely confident that they would never find him. As long as both Lu Yin and Mu Ke were removed from the battle, the Aeternals would be able to gain an advantage over the second battalion and secure a victory.

    All of the Aeternals present were also confident that no one could find Cheng Kong.

    The people of the Sixverse Association refused to abandon any opportunity to potentially kill Cheng Kong. As long as Cheng Kong died, it would be worth it even if they lost Giant¡¯s Purgatory. The psychological pressure that Cheng Kong put on the Sixverse Association was simply too great.

    For Lu Yin, this was also not a problem, as he was confident that he could find Cheng Kong.

    He took out his Enhanced bubble and held it in his hand. He sensed it pulling him slightly in one direction, behind him and slightly to the right. Lu Yin calmly followed the pull.

    As he moved, the pull grew stronger and stronger.

    Cheng Kong was too confident. He did not believe that anyone could find him, and he had never even considered the possibility that there could be an innate gift like Lu Yin¡¯s that could upgrade almost any material tool in existence.

    Lu Yin had once suspected that Cheng Kong might not even be human, and while following that line of thought, he had Enhanced the bubbles that Cheng Kong had dropped, thinking that, by enhancing the bubble, it might be possible to produce another lifeform that was the same as Cheng Kong.

    No one could find Cheng Kong, and not even the bubble that had fallen from Cheng Kong''s body could find him. After all, it was a dead object. However, Cheng Kong could find himself.

    Lu Yin changed directions a few times, but he always moved towards the same destination. All along, the pulling force grew stronger and stronger, like two mas moving closer to each other.

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ke. "Senior Brother, do you remember what you told me when you gave me the second saber with eighty-one shes?"

    Mu Ke¡¯s expression did not change at all. "I forgot."

    Lu Yin replied, "You told me that those eighty-one shes were capable of killing Cheng Kong and that he might already be dead."

    Mu Ke lifted his saber and looked down at it. "Perhaps, but there¡¯s also a possibility that he hasn¡¯t died. I can¡¯t tell, and no one really understands Cheng Kong."

    "In that case, please give me another miniature saber, just as protection in case something unexpected happens. We can stop looking around here, as I can¡¯t find anything," Lu Yin said.

    Mu Ke looked up at Lu Yin. "Alright."

    He then suddenly attacked Lu Yin with the saber.

    When Lu Yin had been given the second miniature saber formed from eighty-one attacks, just like the first time, he had to endure all of the attacks. This time was no different, as if Lu Yin wanted to receive those eighty-one shes, he would need to endure them again.

    As soon as Mu Ke¡¯s saber flew out, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes red, and he dodged with Inverse Step.

    Just behind Lu Yin, the hidden form of Cheng Kong stared on in a daze as Mu Ke released eighty-one shes. Mu Ke was unable to locate Cheng Kong, and he was merely attacking in his direction, but why was the attack so urate?

    There was clear intent behind this attack. A casual swing of the de could not force Cheng Kong out, but this was Mu Ke¡¯s eighty-one shes, and this attack had already wounded Cheng Kong on two different asions.

    Cheng Kong could not stay hidden, and what appeared to be his Bubble Fantasy emerged from a twist in the void, evading Mu Ke''s sh.

    However, Lightstream shuttled around the bubble, reversing time by one second.

    Cheng Kong was stunned. "No-"

    The bubble was returned to where it had just been, and it was struck by Mu Ke¡¯s third sh. The bubble trembled, and Lu Yin carefully watched everything take ce. Sure enough, while everyone imed to have never seen Cheng Kong, the truth was that they had all seen Cheng Kong. Bubble Fantasy was Cheng Kong, not a technique. He was not a human, and Bubble Fantasy was nothing more than a cover to hide the fact that Cheng Kong was nothing but a bubble.

    After eighty-one shes, the bubble was covered with cracks. It looked so fragile, and yet it had withstood a full eighty-one shes.

    The appearance of the bubble had given Mu Ke a target, and he prepared to use Verseless.

    The bubble shot away, and a voice roared, "Give me divine energy!"

    At that moment, Zhong Pan and the other True God Guard Captain moved as one. Their divine energy arced through space towards the bubble. All of the captains were startled, as they had never seen Cheng Kong''s true form; they were also discovering that he was actually just a bubble.

    The megaverse was vast and filled with all kinds of different wonders.

    Cheng Kong was a bubble, while Ye Bo was a consciousness formed from a dying human¡¯s desire for revenge. These existences both followed thews of the universe, but as long as there werews, unpredictable consequences could always happen.

    The divine energy shot through space, aiming straight for Cheng Kong, only to be stopped halfway by the Cyclops King.

    The inhabitants of Giant¡¯s Purgatory had a good understanding of both Aeternus and the Sixverse Association. The Aeternals¡¯ divine energy was a miraculous energy that could allow weaker beings to defend against sequence powerhouses and fight against them. It was important to block such energy for as long as possible.

    The Mountain King kicked the Cyclops King, and the two enormous beings started a fierce battle in outer space that shook the entire universe.

    However, the Cyclops King had blocked the divine energy, and Cheng Kong was unable to reach it.

    Mu Ke was right behind Cheng Kong, and the man¡¯s saber rose to sh out again. The de qi terrified Cheng Kong.

    The truth was that Cheng Kong did not possess very strong attacking power orbat power. He was an assassin who targeted his victims with illusions and then struck when they fell under his control. This was his only way to kill peak powerhouses, and if Cheng Kong could not control an opponent, he would struggle to fight against them head-on.

    Different beings possessed different habits. While Cheng Kong had endured the eighty-one shes on more than one asion, he had never risked exposing himself to an enemy¡¯s attacks. This was part of the reason why so many peak powerhouses from the Sixverse Association had tried to track Cheng Kong down. However, because they did not understand what sort of creature he was, that meant that, even if they could find him, they would not be able to kill him.

    Even so, Cheng Kong had never risked fighting against those who hunted him.

    After being exposed to Mu Ke''s de, Cheng Kong was so terrified that his mind was about to explode. This fear was born from his natural instincts. He was not necessarily afraid of Mu Ke, but more of his own instincts.

    Cheng Kong¡¯s instincts were telling him that he could be killed by Mu Ke.

    Mu Ke''s attacks never let up. While Cheng Kong repeatedly seeded in vanishing from sight, Lu Yin was always able to guide Mu Ke and reveal Cheng Kong¡¯s location once more.

    Cheng Kong realized what was happening and sent a message to Lu Yin, "Don''t think that I don''t know who you are! No matter what Whiteless God¡¯s ns might be, I cannot be sacrificed! If you try to kill me for real, I will expose you!"

    Lu Yin frowned. "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.

    "Senior Brother, to the southwest."

    Mu Ke shed out again, causing the bubble to reappear to dodge the attack before vanishing once more.

    "You are actually one of Whiteless God''s people! Whiteless God was the one who asked me to let you escape from the Sixth Maind. Do you really think that you could have escaped with that turtle otherwise?"

    "You think too much." Lu Yin''s expression remained unchanged, but he truly did not understand. Why would Whiteless God help him? It was very possible that the Skygod had not been helping Lu Yin, but ratherying out some sort of conspiracy, simr to what Shaman God had tried.

    Even so, Lu Yin had no idea who Whiteless God might be.

    He had initially thought that he could expose Whiteless God, only to discover that none of the people close to him had any abnormalities.

    "Senior Brother, to the southeast."

    Mu Ke¡¯s de flickered again.

    Even if Cheng Kong was able to dodge Mu Ke¡¯s attacks that were guided by Lu Yin, he was still injured by them, and more and more cracks appeared on the bubble.

    "Lu Yin, don''t push me! I know for a fact that you are a spy that Whiteless God''s been grooming! I kept an eye on you during your fight with Zhong Pan, and I saw when you absorbed the divine energy from his arm!" Cheng Kong was starting to sound panicked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Right, if all of this is true, then why did you ambush me in the Big Stone Universe?"

    "I was just trying to see what sort of n Whiteless God made for you. Let me go, or else I¡¯ll expose you!" Cheng Kong threatened. He was certain that Lu Yin was one of Whiteless God''s spies. Why else would Whiteless God protect the young man? How else could Lu Yin absorb divine energy?

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Mu Ke stopped moving, as without Lu Yin''s guidance, he could not find Cheng Kong.

    Lu Yin''s silence gave Cheng Kong a wave of relief. He did not dare to say another word, and he quickly fled. He could not handle the fear and danger that came from being directly in front of an enemy''s de.

    Suddenly, Mu Ke¡¯s saber shifted, and he turned and attacked again. A tremendous number of sequence particles shot out, parting the void and enveloping an entire region of the universe. The saber rose and then shed down.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2917: The Real Goal

    <h4>Chapter 2917: The Real Goal</h4>

    Once again, Mu Ke was using Verseless, though this particr attack was even more powerful than the ones that he had used before, and it covered an absolutely massive range. This attack had been specially saved just for Cheng Kong.

    Lu Yin had sent a message to Mu Ke. While Lu Yin had not spoken, he had been cooperating with Mu Ke, just waiting for an opportunity. Even their previous exchanges had only happened for Cheng Kong¡¯s sake and to keep him from doing anything.

    Cheng Kong was horrified, as this attack could not be dodged. Mu Ke was stronger than Cheng Kong. If the bubble had not been exposed, Cheng Kong would have had no trouble surviving the encounter, but with Lu Yin acting as Mu Ke¡¯s eyes, the final blow was delivered. "Lu Yin, how dare you lie to me!

    "Lu Yin is a spy! He¡¯s a spy that Whiteless God''s been groom-"

    A terrible sound reached everyone''s ears. Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng, the Cyclops King, the Mountain King, and even the distant second battalion heard it.

    The de swept through the void, splitting Giant¡¯s Purgatory in two. This was Mu Ke¡¯s most powerful attack, and it relied on the Law of Breaking that he had mastered, and his sequence particles covered the entire universe. Cheng Kong was able to avoid part of the attack, but not the entire thing.

    Everyone looked over, only to see that the Bubble Fantasy had been cut in two. When that happened, Cheng Kong''s voice had abruptly cut off.

    At this moment, even Sovereign Dou Sheng and Corpse God looked over.

    Cheng Kong was not as powerful as the Seven Skygods, but he had been even more feared than the Seven Skygods. Even Sovereign Dou Sheng had considered eliminating Cheng Kong, though the opportunity had never appeared.

    Unexpectedly, at this moment, in Giant¡¯s Purgatory, Mu Ke sessfully killed Cheng Kong.

    The words that Cheng Kong had spoken as he died continued to echo in everyone''s ears. Was Lu Yin a spy? Had he been groomed by Whiteless God?

    Countless people stared nkly at Lu Yin.

    Even the Cyclops King and the Mountain King were looking at him.

    Was he really a spy?

    Lu Yin appeared calm. Even with countless eyes staring at him, he had no intention of exining himself. Instead, he looked up at Corpse God. "You¡¯re next."

    Mu Ke attacked Corpse God with his saber, wanting to join forces with Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The second battalion cheered as a powerful fighting spirit erupted from them.

    Was Lu Yin a spy? The thought was ridiculous. How could that even be possible? Would a spy have killed Cheng Kong? Would a spy have worked with Lord Wei in the Transcendent Universe to kill Shaman God?

    Not to mention Whiteless God, even if Lu Yin was a spy who had been groomed by True God himself, it was impossible for him to sacrifice one of the Seven Skygods and Cheng Kong to stay hidden. Such sacrifices were absolutely impossible.

    The people of the Origin Universe trusted Lu Yin to a shocking degree. They might believe that anyone else was a spy, but they would never believe that Lu Yin was one. He was the spiritual pir of the entire Fifth Maind.

    He was the Dao Monarch who had been acknowledged by the Origin Universe.

    "Hahahaha, Corpse God, you old thing, you can''t run away! You will die here!" A golden light radiated from Sovereign Dou Sheng as he shed with Corpse God. Mu Ke¡¯s sh and Mr. Daheng''s Law of Lightness also fell upon the Skygod.

    Three sequence powerhouses had ganged up on Corpse God, who was also already injured. There was a very good chance that they could kill him here.

    The Cyclops King was growing increasingly excited. This was the day that the mountain-backed giants would finally be killed, and the day that all of the giants would be able to escape from Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    Lu Yin stood in space, not moving. He had already received word of Aeternus¡¯s sneak attack on the Heavens Sect. Were they attempting to divert the tiger from the mountain?

    Many unexpected things had happened during the battle in Giant''s Purgatory. Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s abrupt arrival had not been part of Lu Yin''s ns. He was not able to order the Sovereign about. Sovereign Dou Sheng had always been fighting in front of the Three Purgatories, right at the entrance to the Aeternals¡¯ territory. In fact, it was unusual for him to enter the Three Purgatories at all.

    The arrival of Sovereign Dou Sheng had alleviated a great deal of the pressure from Corpse God, and it meant that Lu Yin did not need to call Ancestor Lu Tianyi over to help. However, the part that confused Lu Yin at this moment was that, since he had not anticipated Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s actions, neither should the Aeternals. In that case, why did they insist on remaining in Giant''s Purgatory and fighting to the death?

    Not only were the Aeternals continuing to fight fiercely in Giant''s Purgatory, but they had also attacked the Heavens Sect with two True God Guard Captains.

    It was impossible that Aeternus did not know that Ancestor Lu Tianyi had not entered Giant''s Purgatory. Let alone the True God Guard Captains, even if two of the Seven Skygods had attacked the Origin Universe, Lu Tianyi would be able to stop them.

    But if that was true, then what was the point in the attack on the Heavens Sect? What was the goal? The sequence particle technology was very important, but the Aeternals wanted to steal that technology, notmit suicide. So, why had they taken action if they knew that Lu Tianyi was avable to protect the Heavens Sect?

    Cheng Kong had not died instantly, as Lu Yin had had to cooperate with Mu Ke tond multiple attacks on the bizarre lifeform. Given how long they took, Corpse God should have been able to rescue Cheng Kong and escape, and even Sovereign Dou Sheng might not have been capable of stopping the Skygod. Without the additional support of Ancestor Lu Tianyi, the Aeternals could have easily escaped from Giant''s Purgatory.

    However, Corpse God had refused to leave. Even after Cheng Kong died, the Skygod still stayed in Giant''s Purgatory. He fought against Sovereign Dou Sheng and Mu Ke, even with the possibility of Ancestor Lu Tianyi arriving at any moment.

    Just what were the Aeternals thinking?

    Lu Yin stared at Corpse God''s bleeding body, even as another one of Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s blowsnded, causing Corpse God to cough up blood. He had multiple wounds from Mu Ke¡¯s saber, and he had even been scratched by Mr. Daheng''s Law of Lightness. Why did Corpse God refuse to leave? He showed absolutely no intention of leaving.

    The Aeternals were not stupid, and Lu Yin understood just how cunning they were. They had destroyed the Origin Universe one Maind at a time. They would never take actions that clearly led to their own demise, which meant that there was a reason for Corpse God¡¯s insistence on participating in this fight to the death.

    But what was it?

    Lu Yin felt increasingly uneasy. On multiple asions, he had transformed a dangerous situation into an opportunity, and oftentimes, he had even used such opportunities to achieve his own goals. Of course, the Aeternals were capable of turning things around as well, but what goal were they pursuing at this moment?

    The war between them and the Sixverse Association was not particrly intense at the moment, and the Aeternals had also retreated from their attack on the Transcendent Universe. Even the Heavens Sect had only been attacked by two True God Guard Captains.

    What was their goal?

    ...

    The Heavens Sect was an absolute behemoth, but beneath it and protected by it, Earth appeared miniscule.

    No matter how fierce the battles that broke out in or around the Heavens Sect were, nothing would ever affect Earth, as all of the shockwaves would be stopped by the Heavens Sect before they reached the.

    After the crusade had set off to conquer the Endless Frontier, the Heavens Sect had suffered a sneak attack from Aeternus. The Sixverse Association as a whole was wary of how the Aeternals seemed to be abandoning the Endless Frontier, and no one dared to act rashly.

    At the moment, Earth was a bright, sunny ce.

    The ordinary people of Earth werepletely unaware of the battle that was going on in the Heavens Sect. When one stood on the streets of Earth, it was possible to make out the distant form of the Heavens Sect that had reced the starry sky. The view from the had transformedpared to before the Heavens Sect¡¯s appearance.

    A man and a woman were walking down a street, each carrying a drink. They asionally looked up at the sky to stare at the distant Heavens Sect.

    "Brother Lu is so impressive. When we first met, I never thought that he would eventually be the master of this universe. Sister, you should know that when I first met him, he was still very innocent." The man sighed with emotion.

    The woman nced sideways at the man. "Are you trying to say that you are pure?"

    "How can a man be considered pure? I am innocent!"

    "You¡¯re just a virgin."

    "I simply have high standards. Sister, don''t you also have high standards? Or could it be that no one wants you?"

    A turtle¡¯s head popped up on the woman''s shoulder. "This matter is quite troublesome. I think that that boy, Lu Yin, is very good. Dear, can''t you take him to meet Master?"

    The man nodded. "While he¡¯s a bit cunning, he still has a good reputation. It''s fine to take him to meet dad. Especially given his strength. I can¡¯t figure out just how he¡¯s cultivated so quickly."

    The woman stopped walking, her expression souring. "If you have so much time to rx, then why not help the Heavens Sect deal with the Aeternals? You can then take some of the credit for yourself."

    The man rolled his eyes. "I can''t handle a Progenitor."

    The turtle retracted its head. It had no desire to fight.

    The woman stared off into the distance again, her eyes lost in thought.

    At this moment, a strange ripple swept by them.

    The two people¡¯s expressions changed instantly, and they looked at each other.

    The turtle¡¯s head poked back out from the woman''s shoulder. "Experts are here! We need to hurry up and leave."

    "Why have they appeared on Earth?" The man felt quite puzzled.

    The next moment, all of Earth grew a bit dim as a terrifying pressure fell upon the with enough force to make the entire sphere quiver.

    In Jinlin, Zhou Shan stepped out in shock. What was going on? He was frightened by what he felt.

    There were many cultivators on the earth, as it was the ce where Lu Yin had first started cultivating. However, at this moment, everyone felt as though disaster was about to strike, and the terrifying pressure caused space to tremble and break.

    Beyond Earth, someone was staring intently at the, but they could not find what they were searching for. Given that the was so small, it should be easy to find, so where was it?

    The fact that this person¡¯s aura had been released meant that they would not be able to stay here for very long. Given the situation, the figure raised a hand and pointed a finger at Earth. "nar Conversion."

    This woman was Ju Ji, one of the True God Guard Captains.

    On Earth, the turtle leaped off of the woman¡¯s shoulder. "Young master, young mistress, hurry and escape! These people are peak powerhouses from Aeternus."

    "Go find Father!" the woman shouted at the man.

    The man grabbed the woman. "Let''s go together."

    "I can''t leave Dragonturtle. He might not be able to stop them on his own, and I have power vessels that I can use. Hurry up and leave! We can¡¯t waste any time!" the woman shouted.

    The man gritted his teeth, but he still tore through the void and left.

    Above Earth, Ju Ji was surprised to learn that there was a peak powerhouse present.

    "How dare you sneak attack the Lord of Lightning¡¯s son!?" Dragonturtle shouted. He pulled in all of his limbs as he knocked the orange energy back.

    Ju Ji frowned. Was the Lord of Lightning¡¯s son on Earth?

    She only hesitated briefly before pointing another finger out, ready to transform both Earth and Dragonturtle into two dimensions.

    However, she had underestimated Dragonturtle. Even if the beast¡¯s attacks were weak, its defenses were terrifying.

    In the Sixth Maind, even Zhong Pan had struggled to break through the turtle¡¯s shell, and Ju Ji met the same obstacle. Her innate gift continuously tried to transform the turtle¡¯s shell, but at most, the shell distorted slightly. Her nar Conversion would not take effect no matter what.

    Even so, Dragonturtle was wailing. He released his aura in order to alert the Heavens Sect, even as he threatened his opponent. "How brazen! Do you really want to fight the Lord of Lighting to death? You will be struck by lightning."

    The woman on Earth was Jiang Qingyue. She had not expected one of the Aeternals¡¯ Progenitor-level experts to suddenly attack the. Why were they attacking Earth?

    Seeing Dragonturtle¡¯s agony, Jiang Qingyue pulled out a power vessel. It was a strange piece of ice or stone that was capable of freezing even Progenitor-level experts.

    However, the icy stone transformed into two dimensions as soon as it drew close to Ju Ji. "Something from the Ice Spirit Tribe?"

    Jiang Qingyue''s face turned pale as she realized that they were facing a True God Guard Captain, not some ordinary Progenitor-level opponent.

    In outer space, outside of the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise stretched out its head and looked down at Earth. It saw another of its same kind, but how could it be so tiny?

    Dragonturtle was constantly being tortured by Ju Ji''s innate gift, and as soon as he noticed Ancestor Tortoise¡¯s gaze, Dragonturtle looked up. "Are you still just watching? Are you not going to help? Come on, we''re the same kind, Big Brother."

    Ancestor Tortoise rolled its eyes in a very human manner and then simply retracted its head. It could not defeat Ju Ji, so the tortoise refused to fight. Well, it <i>could </i>defeat Ju Ji, but it was toozy to get involved. So, the turtle decisively opted to stay out of the matter.

    Dragonturtle cursed loudly, "You¡¯re such a scared turtle! Are you actually turtling up? You¡¯re embarrassing our kind! How shameless."

    Ancestor Tortoise was unfazed. This was not the first time someone had cursed it, and it had already be ustomed to hearing such insults.

 Chapter 2918: Kong Tianzhao

    <h4>Chapter 2918: Kong Tianzhao</h4>

    The Heavens Sect had already noticed Ju Ji''s attack, though everyone was surprised by it. Why were the Aeternals attacking Earth?

    Lu Qi used his Investiture of the Gods, and the summoned Wang Jian stepped out, attacking the Chiliagonist and Yu Huo.

    "Young Master Qi, I''m going to go help Earth." Master Shan sounded anxious. He knew that Earth held a special meaning to the Dao Monarch, and Master Shan refused to allow anything to happen to the.

    Lu Qi sneered. "Don¡¯t bother. Someone¡¯s already dealing with it."

    Master Shan could not do anything against one of the True God Guard Captains, and his presence might even increase the number of casualties. It had to be acknowledged that Lu Tianyi had not done anything yet, and he was still present in the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Qi was right. Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s arrival in Giant''s Purgatory meant that Lu Tianyi had not needed to race over to Giant''s Purgatory. He remained in the Fifth Maind, ready to deal with any unexpected urrences. However, the Aeternals were not stupid. They also knew that Lu Tianyi had not appeared in Giant''s Purgatory, and yet they had still insisted on attacking Earth. This meant that they had other people who could handle Lu Tianyi.

    On the other side of the Heavens Sect, Lu Tianyi stood in front of a figure.

    This person''s entire body radiated a white light, which prevented their face from being seen clearly.

    Lu Tianyi appeared solemn. "Of the Seven Skygods, I have fought against six. The only one that I have never faced is you, Whiteless God. This has been a very long time ining."

    Across from the Progenitor, the figure of white light softly replied, "Lu Tianyi, one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Very few people in the Origin Universe can face the True God himself, so how could I have the courage to face you?"

    The voice did not reveal any indication of belonging to a man or a woman, though it sounded quite sad.

    Lu Tianyi stared at Whiteless God. "Who are you? Why is Aeternus suddenly attacking Earth? Your real goal is clearly Earth, not Giant''s Purgatory or even the Heavens Sect. Those attacks are just a cover."

    "You¡¯ll have to find that answer on your own, as none of us will tell you. However, you can¡¯t leave, at least not for now." Whiteless God sounded very confident.

    Lu Tianyi took a deep breath. It would not be difficult for a Skygod whom he did not know anything about to keep him tied up. However, he was also a direct descendent of the Lu family, and one person had the power of a nation.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods illuminated the entire Fifth Maind.

    Lu Qi saw the light and heaved a sigh of relief. Ancestor Tianyi was taking action.

    Lu Tianyi had conferred the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as his summoned gods, and each one of them was very powerful. The Progenitor was confident that Whiteless God alone could not stop the summoned gods, and any one of those summoned gods could handle matters on Earth.

    After all, Lu Tianyi had conferred people like Progenitor Ku and Progenitor Chen.

    At the sight of the Investiture of the Gods appearing, Whiteless God¡¯s right hand waved, spreading sourceboxes throughout the void until they surrounded the entire Heavens Sect. Above the Skygod¡¯s head, white mountains appeared, and white water cascaded down from them.

    Several figures emerged from Lu Tianyi''s Investiture of the Gods, but they werepletely surrounded by the sourceboxes. Already, a sourcebox array that trapped all of the summoned gods had been set out.

    This eight-matrices sourcebox array had once trapped Leng Qing when Whiteless God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar tried to open the Extreme Path. The Skygod had only failed because Destina had also taken action.

    That had merely been a Semi-Progenitor avatar. Against Lu Tianyi, Whiteless God was using a Progenitor¡¯s world, as well as the sourcebox array. The eight matrices trapped every bit of power that Lu Tianyi had unleashed.

    While this would notst for very long, Whiteless God''s goal was Earth, not Lu Tianyi¡¯s defeat. It would not take long to deal with Earth.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s fingers stabbed out one after another, using his Law of Undoing. This was the Dao of One Heavens.

    It was impossible to see Whiteless God¡¯s expression, even as the Skygod retreated again and again. The white mountains overhead fell as they were broken one after another by Lu Tianyi ''s fingers.

    No one could ignore Lu Tianyi''s attacks. Shaman God had not been able to, and it had been severely injured by just one finger. Whiteless God was not capable of doing any better.

    Still, Whiteless God was one of the Seven Skygods, and if Lu Tianyi wanted to defeat a Skygod, it would take a great deal more time.

    If they were not in the Origin Universe, Lu Tianyi might not even be able to defeat one of the Seven Skygods at their peak.

    The void suddenly warped, and a terrifying de qi erupted.

    Whiteless God looked up. This was Progenitor Chen''s de qi. The Skygod had trapped Lu Tianyi¡¯s summoned gods within a sourcebox array, but the summoned Progenitor Chen was crumbling the Eight Diagram Formation sourcebox array.

    On the other side of the Eight Diagram Formation, another summoned god had also nearly broken through. That was the summoned Progenitor Ku.

    Six figures were present, which were six of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. It was nearly impossible to trap three of those individuals within the eight matrices.

    Desperate, Whiteless God looked at the distant Heavens Sect. The divine energy that the Chiliagonist and the others had released was pulled over, arcing through space to enter the white mountains and white water before merging with the sourcebox array.

    It was at this moment that Lu Tianyi had arrived before Whiteless God. "I want to see your real face."

    As he spoke, his terrifying finger fell. Not even the universe could withstand this finger, and it shattered in every direction, starting with where the finger struck.

    Whiteless God looked up, raising a finger as well, and a blue light shed.

    The two fingers struck each other, and the shocking impact created a zone of perfect darkness as the Hollow appeared in the shattered space. It spread out, as though it would swallow the entire Heavens Sect.

    Within the Heavens Sect, Yu Huo, the Chiliagonist, and even Lu Qi all looked up in a daze. What kind of attack could create such a massive tear in the Hollow? This was terrifying even to Progenitors.

    On Earth, Dragonturtle howled. His shell was getting closer and closer to giving out.

    Ju Ji was losing patience. When the massive tear to the Hollow suddenly appeared, she knew that Whiteless God was fighting against Lu Tianyi. That man was one of the most terrifying enemies of Aeternus. Even if one of the Seven Skygods wanted to buy a bit of time, it would be difficult for them to avoid disaster.

    Given the situation, Ju Ji also released her divine energy.

    Divine power was not an endless resource, and it was difficult for any of the ordinary Progenitor-level corpse kings to obtain any divine energy at all. Normally, only those at the level of the True God Guard Captains or above could obtain any, and once they consumed it, the only way to restore it was to return to the Aeternals¡¯ territory. For most of the Aeternals, divine energy was ast resort to save their lives.

    However, there was no choice, and Ju Ji needed to use her divine energy at this moment. The turtle¡¯s shell was simply too tough.

    As soon as Dragonturtle saw the divine energy appear, he started wailing. "Don''t push too hard! That isn¡¯t even your own power, and using it in a fight isn¡¯t ethical!"

    The divine energy boosted Ju Ji¡¯s innate gift¡¯s power, causing cracks to appear in the turtle¡¯s shell.

    Dragonturtle¡¯s howling grew louder and louder. Right when the cracks in his shell were about to converge and shatter the entire thing, a ck shadow descended and struck Ju Ji from left to right, knocking the woman away.

    Dragonturtle stared ahead, his eyes bulging. It was a tail. Ancestor Tortoise had intervened!

    "Big Brother, you finally took action! You¡¯re too passive," Dragonturtle cried out.

    Ancestor Tortoise still had its head tucked into its shell, and it even pulled its tail in as well. No movement could be seen at all, and it even appeared as though the tortoise had not done anything.

    Dragonturtle took the opportunity to quickly shrink his body, and he raced over to Jiang Qingyue. "Young Mistress, let''s go!"

    Jiang Qingyue anxiously looked up at the massive expanse of the Hollow that had spread out above the Heavens Sect.

    Dragonturtle started pushing her. "Young Mistress, don''t worry about things here. This isn¡¯t something that we can handle! We need to go."

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. "If we leave, this universe¡¯s Earth will be destroyed."

    Dragonturtle felt ready to cry. "If we don''t leave, we¡¯ll be doomed! The Aeternals areing back to attack us again. Let''s go, Young Mistress."

    He then immediately tore through the void, grabbed Jiang Qingyue, and raced away.

    Once they were gone, Ju Ji returned. She red at Ancestor Tortoise, who instinctively retreated slightly.

    Ju Ji had no time to pay attention to Ancestor Tortoise, and she redirected her attention back to Earth to use her nar Conversion.

    A strong, inexplicable sense of unease emerged from Earth. A white light shed out and shot towards Ju Ji. In an instant, her innate gift was shattered, and shended on Earth.

    In front of her stood a swordsman dressed all in white.

    Ju Ji¡¯s vision was reced by the image of a sword, and the edge of the de moved closer and closer to her. Just as it was about to stab her, she managed to step back. As she retreated, shepressed the void in front of her to block the edge of the approaching sword.

    However, the de pushed through the barrier of the void, and Ju Ji did not even have a moment to catch her breath.

    Divine power surged from her body, and she stretched out a hand. Before her, the divine energy was transformed into two dimensions before it moved forward to block the edge of the sword.

    "Why are you here?" Ju Ji asked softly as she stared intently at the white-clothed swordsman.

    She recognized the man. He was Kong Tianzhao, an outsider powerhouse. He was the Lord of Lightning¡¯s number two and a peak powerhouse who ranked among the most dangerous of Aeternus¡¯s outsider enemies.

    Kong Tianzhao¡¯s sword was held up and pointed directly at Ju Ji. "A True God Guard Captain?"

    The woman¡¯s expression turned ugly. "Has the Lord of Lightning joined the Heavens Sect?"

    Kong Tianzhao turned to look into the distance. "Is that the rumored Heavens Sect? That aura... is that one of the Seven Skygods?"

    Ju Ji continued to stare at Kong Tianzhao. His words suggested that the two most likely had not joined forces. Was this the man¡¯s first time seeing the Heavens Sect? Then why had he appeared?

    <i>Wait, could it be?</i>

    Ju Ji''s expression changed drastically. Could the two be true parallel universes?

    "Uncle, stop trying to act suave and just kill her! Kill the Aeternal!" Jiang Chen jumped about on Earth. He had not realized that Jiang Qingyue and Dragonturtle were not dead. Where could they have gone?

    Kong Tianzhao turned his sword as divine energy continued to surge towards the tip of the de. He grew solemn, as the Aeternals¡¯ divine energy was the most troublesome type of power. After using divine energy, the Aeternals were able to ignore thews of the universe, at least to a certain extent.

    Ju Ji fell back. "Kong Tianzhao, you will have to pay a price for interfering in the Heavens Sect''s affairs! Not even the Lord of Lighting can afford this price."

    Kong Tianzhao¡¯s expression grew cold. "He is him, while I am me."

    With that, he slowly pulled his sword back and concentrated intently while staring at the edge. "The day will eventuallye when I die at the hands of the Aeternals, but the person who kills me will not be you."

    White light shed again. The sword was instantly unsheathed again, and the attack shot towards Ju Ji, but she just snorted contemptuously. This man was genuinely trying to kill her, but unfortunately for him, he was incapable of doing so. His sword was unable to pierce her innate gift.

    The tip of the sword was once again blocked by the divine energy boosted innate gift.

    "nar Conversion affects everything. No matter how powerful your sword might be, it can only suffer the effects of transformation," Ju Ji stated coldly.

    Kong Tianzhao looked up. "Even a two-dimensional object has a center."

    With that, a point appeared directly before the sword. It was formed by the sword piercing through the void, as well as where Ju Ji¡¯s innate gift had been pierced. It was only a single point, but its appearance caused Ju Ji''s expression to change drastically.

    That solitary point seemed to be the center of the universe. There were no ripples whatsoever, but when that point appeared, even Whiteless God, who was stalling Lu Tianyi, looked over.

    Lu Tianyi also nced over in surprise. What sort ofw of the universe had just appeared?

    Throughout the Heavens Sect, countless people''s eyes were instinctively drawn to this point, and it seemed as though it was seen and noticed by everyone.

    "Impossible." Ju Ji was shocked.

    There was a hiss as the white light passed through. Ju Ji remained standing in ce, but her hands slowly dropped, and her eyes grew dull.

    Kong Tianzhao appeared behind her and sheathed his sword.

    As soon as the edge of the swordpletely disappeared, a point appeared on Ju Ji''s forehead as well, and then her body copsed.

    On Earth, Jiang Chen¡¯s mouth fell open, and his eyes lit up. "You are amazing! If I can be as great as Uncle Kong, why would I need to worry about not being able to find a wife?

    "Dad should¡¯ve let Uncle Kong be my master all along. It¡¯s such a waste for him to be my sister¡¯s master."

    Kong Tianzhao looked up at the Heavens Sect.

 Chapter 2919: Lu Yinâ€™s Brother-in-law

    Chapter 2919: Lu Yin¡¯s Brother-inw

    On the other side of the Heavens Sect, Whiteless God shrugged. "This universe always holds many surprises.

    "Still, this incident has revealed something to us very clearly."

    Lu Tianyi stared at Whiteless God. "Who are you? You just used the Eight-Star Garan. Are you a member of the Garan n?"

    At this moment, the sourcebox array shattered, and Whiteless God shattered right along with it.

    "Lu Tianyi, next time we meet, I will kill you."

    Lu Tianyi watched as Whiteless God scattered and vanished. When one of the Seven Skygods wanted to leave, there was nothing that Lu Tianyi could do to make them stay.

    If he tried to force the matter, it would destroy the Fifth Maind.

    Their battlefield could not be the Fifth Maind.

    More importantly, at this moment, the person who had just taken action was within the Heavens Sect.Soon, Lu Tianyi and Lu Qi both arrived at Earth.

    They both curiously observed Kong Tianzhao, as neither of the Progenitors were familiar with the swordsman.

    Kong Tianzhao calmly looked back at Lu Tianyi, though it belied the surprise deep in the man¡¯s eyes. "You are strong."

    Lu Tianyi stared back at Kong Tianzhao. "You are also very strong, though you seem to somehow be different from us."

    Kong Tianzhao''s eyes remained calm. "My understanding of cultivation is different from yours."

    Lu Tianyi''s eyes shed. Understanding? Normally, people would speak about different cultivation methods and things along those lines. A different understanding suggested something far different.

    "Are you an outsider?" Lu Qi asked.

    Jiang Chen approached. "Uncle Kong, don''t be so cold. People are going to think that you¡¯re going to start a fight."

    The young man then turned to smile at Lu Tianyi and Lu Qi. "Greetings, seniors. My name is Jiang Chen, and I am Lu Yin''s friend."

    Lu Qi was surprised. "You¡¯re Little Seven¡¯s friend?"

    Jiang Chen beamed. "I¡¯ve known him for a long time, and he might even be my brother-inw one day."

    Kong Tianzhao arched a brow as he nced at Jiang Chen.

    Lu Tianyi and Lu Qi looked at each other and then turned to stare at Jiang Chen. "Where is your sister?"

    "Hahahaha¡­ Um, my sister was just here, but she was scared away. I¡¯ll tell you, you¡¯re lucky that my sister was here and let Dragonturtle protect her. Otherwise, the Earth in this universe would have been done for¡­"

    Jiang Chen kept on talking for a long time, and Lu Qi suppressed the various questions that popped up so that he could listen to the youth.

    Suddenly, Lu Qi remembered the Giant¡¯s Purgatory, and he quickly mentioned it to Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi calmly replied, "There¡¯s no need for me to go. The Aeternals are not stupid. After failing here, they¡¯ll retreat there as well."

    Lu Qi considered the matter and then turned back to smile at Jiang Chen. "Young man, let''s talk. By any chance, do you have a picture of your sister?"

    Jiang Chen instantly pulled out his gadget. "There are just too many. Uncle, you must be Lu Yin''s father."

    "That¡¯s right. And who is your father?"

    "Everyone calls him the Lord of Lightning."

    "What about the guy you refer to as Uncle Kong?"

    "He¡¯s my sister''s master."

    "So it turns out to be my inws¡­"

    Kong Tianzhao''s expression remained calm as he looked at Lu Tianyi. "I hope that there will be an opportunity to exchange pointers."

    Lu Tianyi nodded. "I have heard of the Lord of Lightning before. When you and I are inws, we will certainly have a chance."

    Kong Tianzhao frowned. "Don''t pay too much attention to Little Chen¡¯sments. Please forgive any offense that he may have caused."

    "I feel that the boy is quite enthusiastic and also speaks quite reasonably."

    Kong Tianzhao¡¯s eyebrows rose. Did the Lu family need to find Lu Yin a wife?

    ¡­

    After Whiteless God escaped from the Origin Universe, in the Giant¡¯s Purgatory, Corpse God learned of what had happened. He looked at Sovereign Dou Sheng and the golden cudgel that was raised high, and then nced at Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng who were attacking from other directions.

    Across Corpse God¡¯s entire body, all of the sequence particles instantly disappeared. They did not leave, but instead entered his body.

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat, and he felt a re of danger. "Watch out!"

    Corpse God turned to face the three sequence powerhouses and punched at them with a fist so intense that ripples appeared.

    Suddenly, the Skygod¡¯s arms flew out to both sides, as though he was trying to escape from something. At that moment, the attacks from Sovereign Dou Sheng, Mu Ke, and Mr. Daheng all struck, and everyone watched as the Hollow appeared, spreading out from Corpse God in all directions.

    The feeling was as though a new universe had just been opened up in the Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    The Hollow broke the bodies of all of the super giants, including even the Cyclops King and the Mountain King.

    The two giant kings stared at each other in shock. "No! Corpse God wants to destroy our universe."

    Sequence powerhouses were capable of destroying a universe. For example, Big Sis could have destroyed the Gourd Universe¡¯sw that caused gourds to form around everyone who entered the universe, but doing so would have destroyed the Gourd Universe itself.

    When Mu Ke had sliced through thews of the Inorganic Universe with Verseless, that attack had also destroyed the Inorganic Universe.

    As one of the Seven Skygods, Corpse God possessed a terrifying level of power, and he was more than capable of destroying a universe.

    He did not actually want to destroy the Giant¡¯s Purgatory; rather, he wanted to deal with his three opponents¡¯ attacks by showing them that, if they continued to push him, their fight would destroy the Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    The choice was left to the Sixverse Association. It was up to whether or not they were willing to destroy the Giant''s Purgatory.

    The Giant''s Purgatory was extremely useful for the Sixverse Association as it was an important battlefield in the war against Aeternus. If they were willing to casually destroy the universe, then what had been the point of using it as one of the foundation for the Endless Frontier¡¯s initial formation?

    Whether or not a price was worth paying depended on what would be gained. The Inorganic Universe had been destroyed as the price for killing a True God Guard Captain. This was a fair exchange. Lu Yin fully believed that sacrificing the Inorganic Universe had been a worthwhile price to pay for the Aeternals that they had killed. As for sacrificing the Giant¡¯s Purgatory to kill Corpse God, once again, Lu Yin believed that the price was worth paying.

    Lu Yin was not alone, as Sovereign Dou Sheng and Mu Ke both thought the same as well, provided that they could kill Corpse God.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng did not fear death, and he brazenly charged into the Hollow, intending to pass through it to kill Corpse God.

    Mu Ke did not flinch, and he followed right behind.

    They were so focused on destroying Corpse God that they ignored the Cyclops King.

    The Cyclops King had finally seen a glimmer of hope to destroy the Mountain King, which would allow the cyclops to escape from the Giant¡¯s Purgatory. Thus he did not want Corpse God to be killed.

    If Sovereign Dou Sheng and the others continued their deathmatch with Corpse God, the result would be the deaths of all of the super giants of both races. How could the Cyclops King agree to mutual destruction at this point?

    A hand appeared from the side, striking both Sovereign Dou Sheng and Mu Ke. The two men were caught off guard by the sudden attack, and the Cyclops King sessfully pushed them back.

    The surprise attack infuriated Lu Yin, and he used Inverse Step to arrive from a different direction. He punched the Cyclops King, trying to give Sovereign Dou Sheng and the sequence powerhouses an opening with which to deal with Corpse God.

    Unfortunately, it was already toote. The Cyclops King¡¯s interference gave Corpse God the time that he needed to escape.

    He did not look at Sovereign Dou Sheng or anyone else, but instead focused solely on Lu Yin. "You will pay for this."

    With that, Corpse God left.

    Far away, all of Aeternus¡¯s forces, aside from the True God Guard Captains, had been abandoned. Unfortunately, Cheng Kong¡¯s death was the humans¡¯ only gain from the battle in the Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    Lu Yin was not originally part of the Sixverse Association, so even though he had learned a great deal about them, he still failed to understand the Sixverse Association''s hatred for Cheng Kong.

    The truth was that Cheng Kong¡¯s death would cause an even greatermotion than the death of one of the Seven Skygods in the Sixverse Association.

    As soon as this news was delivered, Lu Yin would receive the gratitude of countless people throughout the Sixverse Association, and his reputation would instantly surpass most of the peak powerhouses in the alliance.

    The Origin Universe was already constantly interacting with the Sixverse Association, and the two were continuously learning about each other. Recently, Lu Yin had helped Lord Wei kill Shaman God. Then, he had initiated a crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, ughtering a great number of the Aeternals. Progenitor-level corpse kings had been killed, as well as a True God Guard Captain. Most recently, Cheng Kong had been killed. Very quickly, Lu Yin had already sessfully caused more harm to Aeternus than what thebined Sixverse Association had achieved over the course of countless years.

    Lu Yin had left behind countless legends in the Origin Universe, and he was starting to replicate that pattern in the Sixverse Association.

    Of course, such a reputation was an integral part of the Heavens Sect¡¯s intentions. Wang Wen was well aware of just how important image and publicity were. Often, people were confused by appearances, rather than the truth. It did not matter what Lu Yin aplished; if no one learned of his achievements, they were meaningless. Instead of Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments mattering to people, what actually mattered was what everyone thought of him. Those were the real great achievements.

    Wang Wen and Wei Rong were both masters at capturing the hearts of themon people. Everything that Lu Yin had achieved was magnified countless times over as it was shared with the people of the Sixverse Association.

    The Hollow slowly recovered.

    Lu Yin looked upset as he stared out at the empty universe. There had been a chance to deal with Corpse God, preventing him from escaping, but that opportunity had been lost solely because of the Cyclops King.

    Mu Ke appeared next to Lu Yin. "Don''t think too much about what happened. Since Corpse God dared to show himself, he had to have had a back-up n in ce as well. No one could have anticipated the Cyclops King''s attack. All he did was keep Corpse God¡¯s back-up n hidden from us."

    Lu Yin knew that this was true, but he was still frustrated by the results.

    Even if Corpse God had used divine energy to safely escape, Lu Yin did not believe that any of the Aeternals could use divine energy without limits. No matter how much divine energy the True God possessed, it could never be enough.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the more divine energy the Aeternals were forced to consume, the greater the impact it would have on the True God.

    The universe trembled. The Cyclops King was still fighting against the Mountain King. The giants would not stop fighting just because the Aeternals in their universe had been defeated. The battle between the giants was aw of the universe in the Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    "Where is Sovereign Dou Sheng?" Lu Yin suddenly noticed that Sovereign Dou Sheng had left. He should not have left to chase after Corpse God.

    Mu Ke replied, "Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s primary battlefield is not this ce. With Corpse God gone, there was no point in the Sovereign remaining here."

    Lu Yin found this to be a pity, as he had wanted tomunicate with Sovereign Dou Sheng and find a way to learn Triumphant Brawl. Lu Yin had noticed that Triumphant Brawl would perfectlyplement Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    There was a bang. A chain that was flying through the sky crashed down. Mu Ke had chopped it to pieces.

    "What are you all doing? Use this opportunity to destroy the mountain-backed giants!" the Cyclops King roared.

    Across from him, the Mountain King looked ferocious. "One-eye, even if I die, it will never be at your hands!"

    The Cyclops King arrogantly shot back, "You have no choice!"

    Lu Yin watched the exchange with cold eyes. He was quite irritated with the Cyclops King, but at the moment, the only option was to help him eliminate the Mountain King. Lu Yin could not switch sides and help the Mountain King, as many cultivators from the Sixverse Association had died to that giant¡¯s hands over the years. The mountain-backed giants had been working with the Aeternals, and everyone knew it.

    The only way to take full control of the Giant¡¯s Purgatory was to destroy the mountain-backed giants.

    The Mountain King and the Cyclops King possessed simr levels of strength, and neither could defeat the other. However, if Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng took action, that bnce would be broken.

    Lu Yin watched from a distance as the Mountain King was surrounded and killed. It was a strange feeling, watching such an event. It was clearly the end of an entire race of beings, and yet there was no sadness from the Mountain King, nor from any of the other mountain-backed giants. Instead, all of them looked relieved.

    The battles between the rest of the super giants all stopped as the entire Giant¡¯s Purgatory watched as the Mountain King was attacked. His resistance grew weaker and weaker as he grew closer and closer to death. If the Cyclops King had not joined the assault, the Mountain King would not have even put up any resistance.

    Finally, with a loud noise, the chains that bound the Mountain King broke and scattered across the Giant¡¯s Purgatory.

    Blood apanied the broken chains as they flew everywhere, spilling across the universe and sprinkling onto the faces of many of the super giants.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2920: Revenge

    Chapter 2920: Revenge

    Many of the mountain-backed giants looked as though they were being liberated, and many of the giant cyclops were also ecstatic about being freed from the curse.

    Before he died, the Mountain King shot an unwilling re at the Cyclops King. "You couldn''t kill me! You can''t kill me! You could never kill me! One-Eye, you didn''t kill me-"

    The Cyclops King took a step forward, wanting to deliver the final blow to the Mountain King.

    However, Mu Ke¡¯s de abruptly rose, and he attacked the Cyclops King.

    The Cyclops King was startled, and he hurriedly dodged the attack. He turned to re at Mu Ke, furious. "What are you doing?"

    Lu Yin walked past Mu Ke to approach the Mountain King. Infinity appeared. "I''m here to give the final blow."

    "Little one, his life is mine! Get lost!" the Cyclops King roared as he tried to push forward.

    Mu Ke¡¯s de rose yet again, and he attacked the Cyclops King.

    The giant was enraged.The Mountain King saw Lu Yin¡¯s punch approaching, and satisfaction covered the giant¡¯s face. "In the end, he still can''t kill me, hahahaha."

    Lu Yin took another step forward as he confined 100 punches. There was a deafening bang as the back of the Mountain King¡¯s head shattered, and then the huge body slowly fell.

    At the same time, Wang Jian and Xia Qin started to sweep away all the mountain-backed giants.

    The mountain-backed giants all needed to die within a short period of time, or else thews of the Giant''s Purgatory would cause them all to be reborn in the universe. This was a terrible curse.

    The giants possessed an unlimited number of lives, but they were also trapped within the Giant''s Purgatory and forced to fight against each other. No one knew who had established such a vicious universe to torture the giants.

    Lu Yin looked at the corpse of the Mountain King. As he stared, the Champions¡¯ Stage appeared. It was time to anoint another champion.

    Lu Yin had wanted to deliver the final blow to the Mountain King, but not to fulfill the giant¡¯s dying wish. How many people had the Mountain King killed while helping the Aeternals? How could Lu Yin do anything to help the Mountain King?

    Lu Yin simply wanted to anoint another champion. He had not been able to add another champion to his Champions¡¯ Stage in quite a long time. In recent battles, Lu Yin had always summoned his conferred gods from his Investiture of the Gods, but the most powerful expert that Lu Yin had conferred was Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji was no longer strong enough for Lu Yin¡¯s battles. He urgently needed a sequence powerhouse.

    The Mountain King was precisely a sequence powerhouse. The giant had been so powerful that even Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Ke had not been certain that he could kill the Mountain King in a one-on-one battle. If Lu Yin could anoint the giant as a champion, it would be a tremendous help.

    The only problem was Lu Yin¡¯s fear of suffering from bacsh.

    He still remembered the agony of the bacsh that he had suffered when he had tried to forcefully anoint a Semi-Progenitor shortly after his first stellr tribtion.

    As a Semi-Progenitor himself, Lu Yin feared that he might suffer the same sort of bacsh from his innate gift if he tried to anoint the Mountain King as a champion. However, the temptation of gaining such a powerful supporter meant that Lu Yin had to try.

    "By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    After a long time, Lu Yin was finally anointing another champion. He watched as the image of the Mountain King slowly appeared on the Champions¡¯ Stage. A loud noise filled Lu Yin¡¯s head. It was almost like an explosion, and he grew a bit dizzy.

    He has experienced this sensation in the past. This was the bacsh from his innate gift that had appeared when he tried to surpass his level when anointing a champion. Sure enough, anointing a sequence powerhouse as a Semi-Progenitor was enough to trigger another bacsh.

    Not only was Lu Yin suffering, but his Champions¡¯ Stage also started to shake. The image of the Mountain King that had appeared on the stage suddenly moved away from it and shot towards Lu Yin, looking almost as though it was alive. This was not the real Mountain King, but rather the sequence particles rted to thew of the universe that the Mountain King had wielded.

    Anointing a champion also anointed the champion¡¯s sequence particles. At this moment, Lu Yin needed to not only deal with the bacsh from surpassing his own realm by attempting to anoint the Mountain King, but he also needed to handle the bacsh from the Mountain King¡¯s sequence particles.

    Mu Ke quickly took action, and he tried to sever the approaching sequence particles with his saber.

    However, a portion of thew of the universe swept past the de and shot towards Lu Yin, carrying with it the resentment of the Mountain King that had umted over the course of countless years.

    It was a massive number of sequence particles. While Mu Ke had blocked most of them, what remained was sufficient to badly injure Lu Yin.

    Desperate, Lu Yin released the universe from his chest, and the shell of the Hollow isted him. The sequence particles were weakened as they passed through the Hollow, but some remained, and they mmed into Lu Yin. He felt as though he had been punched by the Mountain King himself, but luckily, he was able to endure the attack.

    He gave a bitter smile. He had not expected there to be such a severe bacsh from anointing a sequence powerhouse as a champion.

    Lu Buzheng could not have known anything about this matter, and Lu Tianyi and the others had not considered the possibility of Lu Yin attempting to anoint a sequence powerhouse as a champion. Or was it possible that they had never attempted such a thing?

    There were not very many Sequence Progenitors, and even during the Daosource Sect era, it was hard to say just how many of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had reached that level. Xia Shenji had been the most powerful Progenitor aside from the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and none of those people had ever been anointed as a champion. It was possible that a simr bacsh had appeared when a Sequence Progenitor was conferred as a god, but Lu Tianyi had surpassed the strength of all the other Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Thus, he would not have had any problems handling the bacshes that might have appeared when conferring those people.

    No one had considered the possibility of a Semi-Progenitor like Lu Yin trying to anoint a sequence powerhouse as a champion, but that was exactly what had happened.

    On the Champions¡¯ Stage, the image of the Mountain King¡¯s appearance became even more ferocious, and his roaring reverberated in Lu Yin¡¯s head as his Champions¡¯ Stage trembled.

    He forcefully endured the vertigo. Since he had already suffered the bacsh, as long as it did not continue to increase to a point that he could no longer endure, he would continue to try to anoint a new champion. If he gave up, all of his suffering so far would have been in vain.

    The image of the giant grew clearer and more distinct, but at the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s dizziness grew worse and worse. His eyes were so bloodshot that it looked like his blood vessels were about to burst.

    At this moment, the body of the Mountain King suddenly shattered. When that happened, the corpses of all of the mountain-backed giants shattered as well. However, no flesh and blood was left behind as the shattered remains scattered across the Giant''s Purgatory.

    On the Champions¡¯ Stage, the image of the Mountain King instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin went bug eyed. What the hell had just happened?

    Everyone stared at the scene in a daze. So many corpses had just exploded, so why was there not a single drop of blood to be seen? Blood had flowed in rivers during the recent battle.

    The Cyclops King was stunned, and he quickly examined himself. He wasposed of flesh and blood. He was real, but how could the Mountain King have disappeared in such a manner?

    All of the scattered corpse fragments that had spread across the Giant''s Purgatory started to converge in a particr direction. Ultimately, everything gathered above where the Mountain King had died, and an image appeared in outer space.

    The image showed two massive armies colliding. They were the mountain-backed giants and the cyclops. Everyone watching easily noticed the Cyclops King and the Mountain King. The image showed the same tragic scene that had taken ce when the second battalion had first entered the Giant''s Purgatory.

    However, the universe in this image was different from the Giant''s Purgatory. In the image, the universe containeds, people, and other living creatures.

    The two races of super giants collided, shattering multiples and extinguishing various species. The universe was destroyed, and that destruction transformed it.

    The image then shifted to focus on a single, featuring a hellish vision. Countless people cried out as they were swallowed byva. Untold numbers of people struggled on the edge of life and death, trying to escape. While the universe was vast, where could they flee to for a hope of survival?

    Any one of the giants¡¯ chains could pierce through the void, and a single shockwave could destroy an entire region of the universe.

    Wails and cries for help rang in the ears of everyone watching the scene y out.

    Everyone in the second battalion was watching. It was a familiar sight. Anyone who had fought a battle in outer space had witnessed such a scene before.

    Lu Yin had witnessed simr scenes all too many times before. He had fought in many wars, and he had watched countless people struggle to survive, especially ordinary humans. Those people simply wanted to survive and live ordinary lives, but they were ultimately destroyed without even knowing what had killed them.

    This was the cruel reality of the universe.

    The image finally focused on a little boy. This child stood alone at the edge of the cliff as he looked up at the starry sky. There was only half of a remaining beneath his feet, and he was also about to be swallowed up by the destruction. Following the boy¡¯s gaze, it was clear that he was watching a fight between two super giants. He was staring at the Cyclops King and the Mountain King.

    The resentment and malice that filled the child¡¯s eyes caused everyone who saw him to shiver.

    "Why is this happening? Why do you want to destroy my home while fighting against each other? Why does your battle have to affect my family and kill my parents? You deserve to die! All of you beasts deserve to die! I swear, if I survive, I will force you to live forever, suffering the pain of war while making it impossible for you to live or die-"

    The little boy''s vicious oath rang out across all of the Giant''s Purgatory, and everyone turned to look at the Cyclops King.

    The giant¡¯s eyes red as he stared at the image with pure hatred. He ground his teeth so hard that they nearly cracked. "It''s him! He¡¯s the one who created the Giant''s Purgatory. He¡¯s the one who cursed us to live forever!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes remained calm. The image showed the little boy leaping off of the cliff.

    The image then disappeared.

    The vision had notsted for very long, but everyone who saw it felt shocked. They had just witnessed a stunning moment in history.

    The war between the super giants had destroyed a, but the only survivor, a child, had ultimately seeded in getting his revenge. He had be an absolute powerhouse who had then created the Giant''s Purgatory, forcing the cyclops and the mountain-backed giants to fight an endless war. They would never truly die, and they had no hope of escaping from their terrible fate.

    That child had seeded, and while achieving revenge could be thrilling, all who understood what had happened felt a heavy weight fall upon them.

    What cultivator had never harmed innocent people, even if only by ident? Such actions would form karma that would eventually return to them one day.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and considered what he had just witnessed. Had he ever harmed innocent people? Of course he had. But, did he even know about it?

    This was simr to the Cyclops King. Had the giant ever cared about an ant-like child during his fights? And yet, in the end, it had been that same child who had cast the super giants into hell.

    Seruzen¡¯s innate gift proved that karma truly existed, and Destina had survived a horrible bacsh from her divination by transferring her karma to others. She had fought too many times in the Fifth Maind, and no matter how many lofty excuses were given, there was no way that Destina could ever make things up to those who had suffered from her battles.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He honestly did not regret any of his actions. If he had not made the choices that he had, could the current Heavens Sect have evere to be? What about the crusade that he was leading? Given all that he had done to help humanity, Lu Yin was willing to bear the consequences of his actions.

    Inexplicably, he remembered the future he had witnessed from the merged Books of Destiny. Was what he had witnessed a scene of his karma returning to him?

    The void was shattered by a punch. The Cyclops King was panting, clearly furious. Only at this moment had he learned the reason behind the existence of the Giant''s Purgatory. It was no wonder why thews of this particr universe had forced the two races of super giants to fight and kill each other. The giants had alle to hate their very own existences, and yet, they had still been unwilling to die at the hands of their enemies.

    Someone had taken advantage of the giants¡¯ mentality, forcing them to continue fighting for endless years.

    The Cyclops King roared angrily.

    Off in the distance, all of the giant cyclops roared as well. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they were all eager to destroy their own universe.

    The second battalion remained silent as they watched the giant cyclops vent their rage, but not everyone sympathized with the giants. Some of them saw certain shadows in the giant cyclops¡¯ fate, as it reflected the cruelest truth of reality.

    "Listen to me!" the Cyclops King shouted.

    All of the cyclops turned towards him.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2921: Anointing A Champion

    Chapter 2921: Anointing A Champion

    The Cyclops King''s eyes red. "Remember, in the future, you must clean up every battlefield!

    s that have been destroyed but still have living creatures must be fully destroyed!

    "Tear those creatures that survive in those ces apart!

    "Instead, we will destroy those creatures, and all of our enemies!"

    All of the giant cyclops roared at the Cyclops King''s announcement.

    Lu Yin nced over at Mu Ke. Coincidentally, the man was also looking at Lu Yin at this moment.

    Lu Yin then looked at Mu Xie, Wang Jian, Xia Qin, and everyone else in the second battalion.

    Everyst person in the second battalion was now looking at the giant cyclops as though they were enemies.

    "Senior Brother, how long?""If Daheng cooperates, not long."

    "Leave the rest to the second battalion."

    "Doing this may create an uproar within the Sixverse Association."

    "That doesn''t matter. I, Lu Yin, represent the Sixverse Association."

    A de flickered across the universe, and pain erupted from the Cyclops King''s back. He turned around to see Mu Ke descending, his de raised high and swinging down.

    The Cyclops King was startled by this development. "Mu Ke, you want to kill me?"

    Mu Ke did not respond. From the other side, Mr. Daheng attacked at the same time. The same scene as before reappeared, but this time, it was not the Mountain King being assaulted on all sides, but rather the Cyclops King.

    Mu Xie and everyone else turned to ughter the giant cyclops.

    It was a rare urrence, but Ku Wei waspletely serious at this moment. These super giants did not possess any trace of humanity in them. It might have been mere coincidence that the mountain-backed giants had cooperated with Aeternus. After all, it seemed quite possible that, if Aeternus had instead approached the giant cyclops, they would have readily cooperated with the Aeternals as well.

    The super giants¡¯ temperament could clearly be seen. Neither the mountain-backed giants nor the giant cyclops saw humans as creatures equal to the giants. The super giants were another race, and just like the Aeternals, they would readily attack humans at any time.

    Given the threat that the giants posed, it was best to destroy them.

    "Mu Ke, don''t you want the Giants'' Purgatory to block the Aeternals? I have been freed from thews of this universe and can now leave this ce. I will join your Sixverse Association and help you fight against the Aeternals. Do you really dare to kill me?

    "I can be of great assistance."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "You can be of great assistance regardless of whether you¡¯re dead or alive."

    The Cyclops King heard Lu Yin¡¯sment, and he was instantly reminded of the strange scene of when Lu Yin had attempted to anoint the Mountain King as a champion. The Cyclops King felt a chill strike his heart. "Are you the one? Are you the one who wants to attack me? I have an agreement with the Cyclic Universe! It¡¯s an agreement with the Great Sovereign! You can''t attack me!"

    Regardless of what the Cyclops King said, Mu Ke did not hesitate in the slightest. After having fought against the Mountain King and killed that giant, the humans saw greater sess while attacking the Cyclops King.

    Mr. Daheng secretly cursed Lu Yin as a madman. There are too many people like this Cyclops King in existence. Ganging up on the giant and killing it would have a great impact on their reputations. In particr, how would they justify this matter to the other parallel universes of the Endless Frontier? Just thinking about the ramifications of this battle made Mr. Daheng¡¯s teeth ache.

    However, Lu Yin had given the order, and Mr. Daheng would not refuse. While killing the Cyclops King was indeed dangerous, Mu Ke was acting as the vanguard, so Mr. Daheng cooperated with the other Arborean.

    First, the crusade had already destroyed the Inorganic Universe, and now, they were alsopletely wiping out the giant cyclops. This was after the mountain-backed giants had been eliminated by the crusade. While the crusade had aplished great things during its conquest of the Endless Frontier, there were certain losses that could not be avoided.

    Lu Yin did not care. He no longer needed to worry about the opinions of anyone in the Sixverse Association.

    As Wang Wen had once said, there were certain matters that people could know about and which could be publicized, and there were others that people did not need to know about.

    The Cyclops King fought desperately, but he could not escape his fate after being surrounded and attacked by the second battalion¡¯s powerhouses.

    Before dying, the giant cursed viciously, looking exactly like the little boy.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at the giant. "You¡¯re the one who taught me that any creature that holds hatred towards me should be destroyed."

    With that, Lu Yin punched the giant. In the same manner as the Mountain King, the Cyclops King also fell to Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    Fearing that something could happen again, Lu Yin quickly anointed his champion.

    After having experienced it once, the process went much faster the second time. Lu Yin was prepared for the vertigo, and thus, he was better able to endure it.

    Soon, the Cyclops King became his champion.

    Lu Yin swayed slightly atop the jiao. He put his Champions¡¯ Stage away and then let out a long breath.

    He clenched his fists. While he felt it was a pity that he had not been able to anoint the Mountain King as a champion, he had at least obtained the Cyclops King.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s current strength meant that, at best, he could only anoint one sequence powerhouse as a champion. Even so, that was enough.

    In the Giants'' Purgatory, the giant cyclops were wiped out by the second battalion. This was not because Lu Yin was cold-blooded, but rather because, after countless years of battle, the super giants were no longer normal creatures. Letting them roam free across the various parallel universes would only lead to countless tragedies.

    As for the Giants'' Purgatory, Lu Yin had honestly not given the matter much thought before deciding to kill the Cyclops King. The Three Purgatories could not be left empty, which meant that the universe would have to be ced under the Sixverse Association¡¯s jurisdiction.

    In that case, Lu Yin felt that the Giants'' Purgatory should be the Sixverse Association¡¯s forward base to attack Aeternus. From here, it was possible to reach the other two universes that made up the Three Purgatories, and one could also reach the battlefield right before the entrance to Aeternus¡¯s territory. It would even be possible to invade the Aeternals from that point.

    Never before had Lu Yin been so close to the Aeternals¡¯ territory.

    The Three Purgatories were true hells.

    The death of the giant cyclops was different from the eradication of the mountain-backed giants. The giant cyclops were made of flesh and blood, and their corpses floated through the universe.

    However, if the cyclops race had been eliminated first, their bodies also would have shattered into nothingness, as this was one of the universe¡¯sws.

    Lu Yin admired the man who had established thews of the Giants'' Purgatory. The man had gotten his revenge on the super giants. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had forgotten to ask about what had happened to that man. It was possible that the Cyclops King might have known something.

    The jiao flourished its ws, feeling quite proud.

    All of the super giants had been eliminated. The jiao no longer had any opponents in this universe, and it was now thergest creature present.

    This thought roused a desire within the jiao to show off its fangs and ws in an intimidating manner.

    There was a roar as the jiao lifted its head. The sudden noise startled many people.

    "How is the first battalion doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    Someone gave a report, "There was a great battle in the Purgatory of Vitality after the first battalion and Holy Dayan City joined forces to overwhelm the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin took a moment to think before deciding to make his way to the Purgatory of Vitality as well. The second battalion could reinforce the first battalion and help them deal with the Aeternals more quickly.

    The Three Purgatories were the ultimate destination of the crusade, as past them was the entrance to the Aeternals¡¯ territory. Lu Yin would not push any further, as he did not want to draw out the Aeternals¡¯ True God.

    Just as the second battalion was about to head towards the Purgatory of Vitality, a beam of light appeared, followed by another, and then another. These three beams of light illuminated the entire Giants¡¯ Purgatory.

    Everyone stared at the three pirs of light that had suddenly appeared. No one had any idea what was happening.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as there were no sequence particles orws of the universe in these beams of light. This was the result of outside influence impacting the Giants'' Purgatory. Someone was trying to the universe.

    Mu Ke was on edge. The Aeternals were unlikely to simply abandon the Giants'' Purgatory, but where could they gather forces powerful enough to retake the universe?

    The void broke apart within the foremost pir of light. From the tear emerged a massive, odd-looking beast, and it fully entered the Giants'' Purgatory. The creature had four limbs and six eyes, and it looked like a cross between a wolf and a tiger.

    The jiao instantly cut its roar of dominance short, as a truly powerful creature had just arrived.

    Lu Yin gaped at the beast that had just arrived. "A Star Devourer?"

    The creature that suddenly appeared was none other than a Star Devourer, just like the one that had participated in ZENITH. Star Devourers were astral beasts with six eyes, and they literally devoured stars ands as their form of sustenance and power.

    Lu Yin had a very deep impression of these creatures, even though the one that he had faced years ago had long since ceased to be a threat to him.

    The beast that had just entered the Giants'' Purgatory was another Star Devourer. It looked exactly like the one that Lu Yin had seen before, though it was countless timesrger.

    Yes, it was undoubtedly a Star Devourer.

    "A Star Devourer? What¡¯s that?" Mu Ke did not know the term. Such creatures had never appeared in the Sixverse Association before.

    Mr. Daheng and the others were all staring at the beam of light.

    Finally, once the monster had fully emerged from the tear in the void, it shook its body. All six of the beast¡¯s eyes were closed, but Lu Yin did notice a difference between this beast and the one that he had seen before. The Star Devourer in the Giants'' Purgatory¡¯s head had a transparent portion right between its six eyes. Within that transparent portion was a rod. There was something flowing through it, which made it look like a pipe.

    Lu Yin shared what he knew of Star Devourers, and Mr. Daheng frowned. "I believe that I¡¯ve heard of such creatures before."

    Mu Ke sounded solemn as hemented, "There are many strange creatures throughout the megaverse, but it is rare for any to growrge enough to devour stars."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the Star Devourer. How many stars ands had such arge beast swallowed?

    This Star Devourer was not any smaller than the previous Cyclops King.

    Why had it suddenly appeared?

    "Hmm? I believe that I just heard someone call me a Star Devourer. That¡¯s an ancient name," a hoarse, deep voice called out. It did not seem very loud, and yet it echoed throughout the entire universe.

    One of the Star Devourer¡¯s six closed eyes suddenly snapped open, and the eye rolled to stare at the second battalion, taking particr note of Mu Ke. "What did you just call me, human?"

    "Star Devourer, why have youe here?" Lu Yin asked, drawing the beast¡¯s attention.

    The sole open eye turned to look at Lu Yin. "I want this universe."

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "Did the Aeternals send you here?"

    The suggestion of a smile appeared in the astral beast¡¯s eye. "You could interpret things that way. They said that they would allow me to seize a universe and provide me with enough stars to eat, granting me all the stars in the universe."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "It appears that you are one of Aeternus¡¯s outside allies."

    Mu Ke said, "Just as our Sixverse Association has outside allies whom we can call upon, so too do the Aeternals. They are unable to hold out on their own any more, which is why they have called for help."

    "This thing will not be easy to deal with." Mr. Daheng was afraid of the Star Devourer.

    Just like Lu Yin, Mr. Daheng could tell that this Star Devourer was extremely powerful. How strong did an individual have to be for the Aeternals to entrust all of the Giants'' Purgatory to them? This astral beast might not be much weaker than the Seven Skygods at their peak.

    The Star Devourer rolled his eye before staring at the second battalion again. He focused on Lu Yin, Mu Ke, and the other powerhouses for a moment before eventually turning his attention to the jiao. The Star Devourer was quite interested in Lu Yin¡¯s mount. "Is this a meal that was prepared for me?

    "While I prefer stars, I¡¯ve also devoured many creatures, both humans and astral beasts. They can be quite delicious."

    The jiao grew increasingly nervous, and it subconsciously pulled back a bit.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell further back.

    Mu Ke suddenly attacked. Given his level of strength, he dared challenge most people. The chances that his opponent could instantly defeat the Arborean was extremely slim.

    The attack sliced through the void and pierced the pir of light to directly strike the Star Devourer¡¯s body.

    The Star Devourer¡¯s huge body was cut open by the attack, and the beast stared at Mu Ke. "Human, you arepletely unreasonable. I never said that I want to eat you, but now I¡¯ve changed my mind. I will devour you."

    The beast then bent his limbs and pushed. The void copsed, and the enormous body shot towards the second battalion with incredible speed.

    Lu Yin snapped, "Jiao, hit it!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2922: Return

    Chapter 2922: Return

    Hit it? The order terrified the jiao, but it still reflexively obeyed Lu Yin''s order and ran head-first into the Star Devourer. At that same moment, both Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng attacked, and even Lu Yin punched at the astral beast. In fact, all of the peak powerhouses in the second battalion attacked.

    All of the second battalion¡¯s attacks fell towards the Star Devourer that was in front of the jiao.

    The astral beast just rolled his open eye, and in a bizarre manner, all of the attacks were transferred elsewhere, mming into the jiao. There was a bang, and the jiao howled as its massive body was blown back.

    The jiao had not reached the level where it could manipte sequence particles or thews of the universe, so it made sense that it was impossible for it to endure the Star Devourer¡¯s attacks. This astral beast was so powerful that the Aeternals had asked it to take control of the Giants'' Purgatory.

    However, Lu Yin had not underestimated the jiao at all. The dumb beast had survived the Lord of Lightning¡¯s attack, andter, Forgotten Ruins God had praised it for its impressive defenses. Lu Yin did not believe that the jiao would die so easily.

    There were also the cultivators from the second battalion behind the jiao.

    The Star Devourer froze in ce and stared in surprise. "What a tough hide."

    Only after being thrown far away did the jiao finally stop moving. It vigorously shook its head and then looked over at the Star Devourer. Fear was readily apparent in the jiao¡¯s eyes. It understood that it should not attack or run into this big brother.

    The jiao decided that it was time to escape, and nothing that Lu Yin said would change that at all.Mu Ke had already leaped up high, and as he looked down at the Star Devourer, his de rose up and dropped down.

    The Star Devourer just rolled his eye again. This time, Lu Yin could clearly make out its sequence particles. These sequence particles appeared in the Star Devourer¡¯s gaze, and they contained a powerful attraction force, which drew Mu Ke¡¯s attack in.

    Thew of the universe that the Star Devourer had mastered was the Law of Attraction.

    The astral beast¡¯s mouth opened, and he bit at Mu Ke.

    The Arborean¡¯s de dropped and then shed across horizontally.

    The Star Devourer''s eye rolled yet again, but this time, the beast failed to shift the attack. Mr. Daheng had used his Law of Lightness to the full extent of his abilities, and his attack was transferred by the Star Devourer. Essentially, Mr. Daheng had sacrificed his own attack so that Mu Ke¡¯s attack couldnd. The Star Devourer might have a tremendous number of sequence particles, but it was difficult for the astral beast to use them without adequate preparation.

    This sh directly struck the Star Devourer¡¯s mouth.

    However, the results of the attack that everyone had thought sessful left everyone stunned.

    The only effect on the Star Devourer¡¯s mouth was a bit of a red mark. It had taken one of Mu Ke¡¯s Verselesss on its mouth without any consequences.

    This was the same attack that had destroyed the Inorganic Universe and allowed Mu Ke to fight against Corpse God. Verseless had seriously wounded Cheng Kong, but the Star Devourer had taken the attack so casually.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "It survives by devouring stars. The hardest strongest part of its body should be its mouth. Aim for its stomach instead."

    The Star Devourer turned its eye to stare at Lu Yin. "Human, don''t expose my weaknesses so casually. That¡¯s not any good. As punishment, I will eat you."

    At that moment, a second eye opened.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. During ZENITH, he had learned that, each time a Star Devourer opened an eye, the creature¡¯s strength would transform qualitatively. Effectively, each eye represented a doubling in strength, which was very simr to Aeternus¡¯s Corpse King Transformation used by Aeternus. When all six eyes opened at once, the astral beast¡¯s power level would be terrifying enough to ovee all opponents. The Star Devourer was not using anything close to its full strength yet.

    "Be careful. It¡¯s incredibly strong. Much, much more so than me."

    The Star Devourer grew even more irritated. "Human, you seem to understand me very well. Are there others of my kind in your universe? That''s no good. I¡¯ll have to visit your universe so that I can devour all of my own kind. Then, none will know my weaknesses."

    The two open eyes then flicked to opposite sides of the beast, and sequence particles appeared in both ces. One side drew away Mu Ke¡¯s attack, while the other attracted Mr. Daheng¡¯s attack. At the same time, the Star Devourer charged at Lu Yin, intent on swallowing him.

    Lu Yin waved a hand, bringing out his Champions¡¯ Stage. "With my blood, I summon a Champion."

    He had just anointed the Cyclops King as a champion, but Lu Yin already needed to use him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s power was what manifested the Cyclops King, but because Lu Yin was not capable of using sequence particles himself, hisck of understanding meant that his champions were also unable to use thews of the universe that they had mastered during their lives.

    However, a massive halo of the Hollow shrouded the form of the Cyclops King''s summoned body. Just like when Lu Yin released the universe in his heart and it repelled whatever universe he was in, the power of the summoned Cyclops King repelled the Giants'' Purgatory with a barrier formed of the Hollow.

    The champion was unable to wield thews of the universe, but it could still deal with such obstacles.

    The Cyclops King¡¯s physical strength was very impressive.

    The Star Devourer continued its charge towards Lu Yin. Meanwhile, the summoned Cyclops King opened his arms and embraced the astral beast.

    With that, the two enormous formspeted with each other in a match of brute strength.

    The Cyclops King was forced back one step at a time.

    The Star Devourer''s head pressed against the Cyclops King¡¯s body, and the beast¡¯s limbs pushed to maintain its momentum against the giant.

    Not even the Cyclops King could endure the Star Devourer¡¯s strength without using sequence particles.

    Lu Yin took advantage of the opening to pull out Evernight. The Immemorial card was the only thing that he had that might be able to deal with the Star Devourer.

    Evernight isted powerhouses from their sequence particles, so if Lu Yin could draw the Star Devourer into the card, it would be a match of pure strength. Under those restrictions, Lu Yin did not believe that it would still be impossible to kill the Star Devourer if he cooperated with a few other powerhouses.

    Although the Star Devourer was incredibly strong, at best, it was equal to one of the Seven Skygods.

    Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng, and Lu Yin stood in three different directions. As for Mu Xie, Wang Jian, and Xia Qin, none of them got involved. They were not strong enough to participate in a battle that involved sequence particles. If they rashly took action, there was no telling what sort of losses the second battalion might suffer.

    The bottom line was that the Cyclops King was unable to gain any advantage over the Star Devourer even though the Star Devourer had only opened two of his six eyes.

    However, the champion had managed to keep the Star Devourer upied for a bit of time, which was exactly what Lu Yin wanted.

    Evernight appeared, and Lu Yin ced it right before the Star Devourer without any problem, instantly sucking the beast into the card¡¯s dimensional pocket.

    The pull of the Lost n¡¯s cards did not rely on anyws of the universe. Rather, it behaved more like opening a passage to another universe. More importantly, the Star Devourer did not resist at all, and it was instantly sucked into Evernight.

    It waspletely dark inside Evernight. Both Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng appeared at the same time, and they attacked in unison even though they were also incapable of using their sequence particles inside Evernight. With all advantages being removed, they would unite against the Star Devourer inside of Evernight.

    Shockingly, Lu Yin witnessed something incredible.

    The Star Devourer''s eyes rolled, and the Attraction Sequence Particles suddenly reappeared.

    Lu Yin could not believe what he was seeing. How was this possible? Evernight should iste sequence particles from those inside the card¡¯s space, so why did that ability not work on the Star Devourer?

    Both Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng were dragged away by the sequence particles, and they moved towards unknown danger.

    "Human, apparently you don''t know me all that well. I know about the Lost n¡¯s cards, and I deliberately entered your card. Watch, the victor will be determined right now." The Star Devourer''s deep voice was overflowing with arrogance.

    While the astral beast had a very odd appearance with his four limbs and six eyes, he was actually highly intelligent.

    Lu Yin had not expected the Star Devourer to be able to ignore Evernight¡¯s restrictions. The beast¡¯s sequence particles did note from the universe, but rather belonged to the beast himself, stored within the transparent portion of his head.

    The creature was incredibly strange. Lu Yin waved his hand, bringing out his Wordless Heavenly Book, which cut through the Laws of Attraction that were pulling Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng away. The Star Devourer was confused. "Human, how did you do that?"

    Lu Yin did not waste any time talking to the beast, and he simply left Evernight.

    With the humans gone, the Star Devourer left as well.

    Once they were back in the Giants'' Purgatory, Lu Yin grabbed Evernight and put it away. In front of him, the Star Devourer slowly opened his third eye.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Retreat!"

    The decision greatly relieved Mr. Daheng.

    Mu Ke also did not argue. He was unwilling to allow the Giants'' Purgatory, which they had struggled to conquer, fall to the Aeternals¡¯ control. However, against a monster like the Star Devourer, they really had no choice in the matter. Additionally, there were still two other pirs of light remaining, which were clearly an open threat.

    If the crusade¡¯s second battalion continued to fight against the Star Devourer, even if they won, there would be two more outsider powerhouses that they would have to face afterwards. The second battalion was facing a force that was about as strong as the Seven Skygods at their peak. Lu Yin had no confidence that they could win.

    The Aeternals had managed to ask three outsider powerhouses to help secure the Giants'' Purgatory, but that did not mean that those same people could be convinced to go to the Origin Universe.

    The results that the crusade¡¯s battalions had achieved across the Endless Frontier were more than enough to stun the Siverse Association, which meant that the crusade had already achieved its goals.

    Mu Ke took a step forward and slowly raised his saber as he faced the Star Devourer. A single attack wasunched.

    The Star Devourer rolled his eyes. Mu Ke was attacking with Verseless, and he was holding nothing back. This attack was powerful enough that even the Star Devourer needed to be careful. He used two eyes to divert the attack with the Law of Attraction.

    However, this sh was only a distraction to allow the second battalion to escape.

    Mu Xie tore through the void, and the jiao eagerly fled, not willing to stay in the Giants'' Purgatory a second longer.

    As Mu Ke¡¯s de fell and the attack arrived in front of the Star Devourer, the attack was continuously diverted. "You humans are very impressive. If you were any stronger, I would have been in danger."

    Lu Yin nced over. "Senior Brother, let''s go."

    Mu Ke took a step and arrived at the tear in the void. He nced back at the Star Devourer again, killing intent filling the man¡¯s eyes.

    The Star Devourer red at Lu Yin and the others who still remained in the Giants'' Purgatory. "Humans, don''t run away."

    Before the beast could finish speaking, Lu Yin and Mu Ke had already passed through the tear and entered Aeternus Nation.

    In the Purgatory of Vitality, Big Sis and the first battalion received word that the second battalion had returned to Aeternus Nation, and they were told that the crusade was over.

    The crusade hadsted for eleven months, and it had been wildly sessful. More than ten Progenitor-level corpse kings had been killed, and the battalions had green lit more than a third of the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes. The Aeternals had even been forced to ask their allies for help.

    As for the Seven Skygods, both Undying God and Corpse God had been even more severely injured, and Whiteless God had been forced to step out. The crusade had really stirred the muddy waters.

    While the crusade and the Sixverse Association had suffered some losses, when those costs werepared to the Aeternals¡¯ losses, the price of the crusade was negligible.

    In Aeternus Nation, Big Sis was quite irritated. "Why did we leave in such a hurry? What a waste! If I had been given just a bit more time, I could have broken through the Purgatory of Vitality."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "If more outsider powerhouses had shown up, then even if you had wiped out all of the Aeternals in the Purgatory of Vitality, the universe would have been taken back by those powerhouses."

    Big Sis gave a disdainful snort. "If they showed up, we¡¯d deal with them as well! The crusade had so many powerhouses, so how can you be afraid of a few outsider powerhouses? It¡¯s not like the Sixverse Association can¡¯t call on its own allies from among the outsider powerhouses. I refuse to believe that the Aeternals are better connected."

    Lu Yin was aware of everything that Big Sis was saying, but he refused to risk the two battalions. Before taking such risks, it was first necessary to learn more about the various outsider powerhouses.

    The Aeternals¡¯ recent sneak attack on the Heavens Sect had apparently been to steal the sequence particle technology, but Earth had also been attacked, which had forced one of the Lord of Lightning¡¯s powerful underlings to take action. Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue had been in the Heavens Sect during the attack, and they were the ones who had first taught Lu Yin about the existence of outsider powerhouses.

    After talking for a lot longer, Big Sis¡¯ bloodlust waned. The two battalions spent a brief amount of time conducting some repairs before returning to the Origin Universe. Their return had already been publicly announced by Wang Wen and a few others.

    The crusade was greeted by endless cheers. They had indeed won many battles and performed beautifully. While a fewplications had appeared, the overall results of the crusade were amazing.

    This crusade had demonstrated the Heavens Sect¡¯s power, and it had also elevated Lu Yin''s reputation in the Sixverse Association to unprecedented heights.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2923: Guessing The Purpose

    Chapter 2923: Guessing The Purpose

    The Endless Frontier was regarded as the Sixverse Association¡¯s ughtering fields. Even if the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages entered together with the Great Sovereign, they still would not be able to conquer the Endless Frontier. However, Lu Yin had done just that.

    He had aplished the most appropriate task at the most appropriate time. And for his efforts, he had received the most appropriate reward.

    Soon after returning from the crusade, Lu Yin quickly announced to the Sixverse Association that he wouldunch another crusade. His announcement ignited the bloodlust of countless people across the Sixverse Association, and everyone who had joined the first crusade hoped to return to the cheers of all humanity after their great victory.

    The first crusade had not suffered that many losses, especially since most of the weaker cultivators had been able to follow behind a number of peak powerhouses. The entire expedition had been like a dream for many people.

    It was entirely possible that the second crusade would far exceed the scale of the first one.

    "As long as we achieve another great victory, every part of the Sixverse Association will put their faith in the Dao Monarch alone," Wei Rongmented in a respectful tone.

    Lu Yin was sitting in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. "These crusades are hard on those fighting at the frontlines, but those of you who stay behind don¡¯t have an easy time of things either."

    Wei Rong bowed low. "We are far fromparable to the Dao Monarch, who risks his life while fighting."

    "Where are Jiang Chen and the others?""Still on Earth."

    Lu Yin stood up and left the Heavens Sect, making his way towards Earth.

    Dragonturtle had blocked Ju Ji''s attack on Earth. Even though the had suffered from the oppressive aura of a peak powerhouse, luckily, very little real damage had been done.

    A huge statue stood in arge square. Around it, a group of people had gathered to show their respect for Lu Yin.

    Some distance away, inside a rather stylish coffee shop, Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue were sitting across from each other. Dragonturtle waszily lounging on Jiang Qingyue''s shoulder, looking as though he might die at any moment.

    "The crusaders have returned, which means that Lu Yin should be here soon. Sister, are you nervous?" Jiang Chen teased.

    Jiang Qingyue had a cold personality, but she always drew everyone''s attention.

    In fact, as soon as Jiang Chen finished speaking, a man approached and offered a flower to Jiang Qingyue, bringing it out like a magic trick as he shed her a handsome smile. "Beautiful youngdy, this is for you."

    Jiang Qingyue did not even look at the flower.

    Dragonturtle opened his mouth, yawning.

    Jiang Chen stirred his coffee while watching with interest.

    The man was not the slightest bit embarrassed that he had been ignored. It was quite clear that he was quite experienced with such situations.

    He pulled out another flower. The first blossom had been a rose, but the second flower was more umon. "Beautifuldy, I personally nted this flower in the garden of my home in Jinlin. This particr floweres from Great Brocade Ind in the Cosmic Sea. The flowers of this are not worthy of your beauty. Only this flower can reveal your true self."

    The man was very particr with his words, and he naturally revealed his true identity.

    Jinlin was the most exclusive city on Earth. Every inch ofnd there was priceless, and it was very impressive for the man to have a houserge enough to have a flower garden. On top of that, the flower that he had offered Jiang Qingyue hade from the Cosmic Sea, which demonstrated the man¡¯s strength, apart from his financial means. There was nothing about the man that could be disparaged.

    These very words were the foundation behind the man¡¯s confidence to sessfully ask out many different girls.

    He confidently gazed at Jiang Qingyue, quietly waiting for her reply. No woman would reject him. It was not possible.

    However, Jiang Qingyue still did not respond to the man.

    Dragonturtle eyed the flower, opened his mouth, and chomped down, swallowing the blossom in one gulp.

    Jiang Chenughed.

    The man stared at the bare stem in his hand, more than a bit confused. Despite his many years of experience, he had never once considered such an oue.

    Just as he was about to lose his temper, Dragonturtle spoke up. "Is that what the flower tastes like? Bah."

    The mes of the man¡¯s rising temper were immediately extinguished, and he carefully observed Dragonturtle. This was a talking astral beast. Such creatures were not indigenous to Earth, which meant that the beast and these people hade from elsewhere in the universe.

    This woman was not simple.

    It was no wonder why she could ignore the man.

    With this thought, the man smiled again. "I must have disturbed you, beautiful youngdy. I''m sorry. Your meal will be on me, so please just sit and enjoy it."

    The man then smiled at Jiang Chen as well before returning to his own seat. From start to finish, the man had behaved in a polite, refined manner.

    Jiang Chen was impressed. "That guy isn¡¯t bad. He is handsome, discerning, and tolerant. Sister, why don''t you consider him too? Don''t worry about whatever you¡¯re currently cultivating. You know that Dad doesn''t need you to think about such things."

    Jiang Qingyue frowned and looked over at Jiang Chen. "When did you start spouting so much hot air?"

    Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "I don¡¯t have a choice. Only interesting people can win the love of a youngdy. Just being handsome is useless."

    "Well said, Young Master Chen," Dragonturtle praised.

    Jiang Chen drew himself up in his seat, even more proud.

    "What¡¯s got you so happy?" Lu Yin arrived at the table. He was wearing simple clothes, making him look like an ordinary person.

    The sight of Lu Yin caused Jiang Chen''s eyes to light up, and he pointed to a chair across the table. "Sit down."

    Lu Yin nced at the table. Next to Jiang Qingyue?

    Jiang Qingyue instantly shot a cold re at Jiang Chen. "Keep this up, and we¡¯ll be ¡®sparring¡¯ for half a month."

    Jiang Chen was taken aback, but then heughed. "It was just a joke, Sister. I''ll take that seat. I¡¯ll move over."

    He quickly gave up his seat and moved over to sit next to Jiang Qingyue, giving Lu Yin the other chair.

    Lu Yin sat down and looked at Jiang Chen. "It¡¯s been quite some time."

    Jiang Chen looked back at Lu Yin and sighed. "It''s been a very long time since west saw each other. Thest time was when you gave me that gardener."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You showed up at the perfect time. If not for you, I would have been in grave danger."

    Jiang Chen angrily retorted, "Every time I run into you, nothing good happens. Still, I keep repaying such evil with kindness, and we even saved your Heavens Sect this time. Tell me, how are you going to thank me?"

    Lu Yin indeed needed to thank Jiang Chen and the others. If not for them, both the Heavens Sect and the Origin Universe¡¯s Earth would have been doomed.

    And Lu Yin cared greatly for Earth.

    "I''ll treat you to this meal," Lu Yin offered.

    Jiang Chen stared at Lu Yin with widening eyes. "I risked my life to help you by asking Uncle Kong to fight the Aeternals off, and you want to thank me with just a meal?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "You¡¯re the Lord of Lightning¡¯s son. I can¡¯t offer you anything that you don¡¯t already have. So, there¡¯s no need to go overboard and waste time while trying to be pretentious."

    Jiang Chen scoffed. "I agree, but you¡¯re still too shameless about it. What? Are you bing even more miserly? I¡¯ve heard that Dao Monarch Lu is greedy for money, which isn¡¯t very good."

    "If you already know that I¡¯m greedy for money, you should understand just how much it means for me to offer to cover your meal," Lu Yin joked.

    Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "Sister, I find that I won''t be able to make it very far down the path of mooching off my brother-inw."

    Dragonturtle poked his head towards Lu Yin. "Young Master Chencks for nothing, but I am different. Lord Lu, I greatly helped protect Earth. If not for me, this Earth would have undergone nar Conversion."

    Lu Yin¡¯s joking demeanor fell away, and he faced the three across the table with a solemn expression. "I, Lu Yin, on behalf of Earth, want to thank you three for saving this ce. I will always remember your kindness."

    Jiang Qingyue looked over at Lu Yin. "Wee from a parallel universe¡¯s Earth, but regardless of the universe, this ce is still Earth. We will always protect it when it¡¯s in danger. There¡¯s no need to thank us."

    "There''s just one thing I''m curious about. Why did the True God Guard Captains attack Earth?" When asking this question, Jiang Chen grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had considered this matter for quite a bit before meeting with Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue, and he had even started forming a guess. "I¡¯ll address that question in a bit. First, I have a question of my own that I hope you can answer."

    Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue nced at each other. "In your universe, Earth is the home of the Lord of Lightning, isn¡¯t it?"

    Jiang Qingyue nodded. "That¡¯s right. An apocalypse struck Earth, which is when my father rose to power. Because of his ability to travel through parallel universes and the fact that some universes¡¯ times flow at different speeds, my father was able to achieve his current strength. If not for that, I would be nothing more than an ordinary human living on Earth, and there would be no Lord of Lightning in a parallel universe."

    "Do the Aeternals know about this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Chen grew puzzled. "Know about what? Of course they know that Dad is the Lord of Lightning."

    Lu Yin exined, "I mean, do the Aeternals know that the Lord of Lightning lives in a parallel universe that reflects this Earth?"

    Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue nced at each other again. "They should. Dad¡¯s been fighting against Aeternus for many years. They know us very well."

    "I didn¡¯t know," Dragonturtle suddenly interrupted.

    Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

    Dragonturtle looked thoughtful as he murmured, "When I apanied Master to explore parallel universes, we always used ¡°Whitecloud¡± as the we hail from and never once spoke of Earth. When Master fought against the Aeternals, he was already as strong as a Progenitor, and it was only after that that the Aeternals failed to defeat Master in several battles. Later on, after Master came into contact with the Sixverse Association, the Aeternals became unwilling to provoke him.

    "As the years passed, Master¡¯s battles have ceased to be against the Aeternals themselves, but rather shifted to the outsider powerhouses who are allied with them. Those allies are not human, and they only know the name of Whitecloud and Master¡¯s name. None of them know anything at all about Earth.¡±

    Jiang Chen was surprised. "Wait, really? Dad¡¯s never mentioned Earth to any outsiders?"

    Jiang Qingyue spoke up, "There¡¯s never been any need, as Whitecloud was founded by Father. Compared to Whitecloud, Earth is just a random that we came from. It means nothing at all in the scope of the entire universe."

    At this point, she turned to look at Lu Yin. "Is there something wrong?"

    Lu Yin''s expression fell a bit. "It¡¯s as I expected, and it only supports my guess."

    He looked up at Jiang Chen. "The first time we met, you told me that you have the ability to travel through parallel universes, and you also mentioned that you were chasing a rabbit. That rabbit came into contact with the Lord of Lightning at some point and also gained the ability to travel through parallel universes, right?"

    Jiang Chen nodded, but then he impatiently said, "Just tell us what''s going on. Stop beating around the bush so much."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Do you use some sort of power vessel to move between parallel universes?"

    "A bead," Jiang Qingyue replied.

    Lu Yin cautiously mentioned, "In addition to a bead, the Lord of Lightning should have two extremely powerful objects at the same level of power and age as that bead."

    "Wait, how do you know about that?" Jiang Chen was stunned.

    Dragonturtle was also surprised. "Master has never mentioned this matter to any outsiders while roaming through parallel universes."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "In this universe, there was once a man known as Undying Yushan. He was the emperor of the Great Yu Empire here in the Fifth Maind. His true identity¡­"

    Lu Yin then shared how Undying Yushan had been controlled by the Impious Sutra and searched for three treasures. An important detail that he especially noted was the oddness of Earth. Undying Yushan had focused intently on Earth, and he had shared everything that he knew with Lu Yin before dying. When Lu Yin had first heard Undying Yushan¡¯s final words, his first thought had been of Jiang Chen, and he had even started to form a guess at that time. More recently, the Aeternals had suddenly attacked Earth in the Origin Universe.

    What could Earth possibly have that warranted such attention? The only possibility was the three treasures that Undying Yushan had been searching for under the Impious Sutra¡¯s influence. It was clear that those treasures were not on the Fifth Maind¡¯s Earth, but rather the one in the Lord of Lightning¡¯s universe, where Whitecloud was. A different universe changed everything, especially when it involved the Lord of Lightning.

    Lu Yin believed that the Lord of Lightning¡¯s rise to power was connected to those three treasures, much like Lu Yin¡¯s own innate gift that was connected to his die. Without such an advantage, no one could rise to power so quickly, no matter how talented they might be.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2924: That Person

    Chapter 2924: That Person

    The Aeternals were most likely searching for those three treasures as well.

    "During theirst attack, the Aeternals wouldn¡¯t have found the three treasures even if they managed to use nar Conversion onto Earth. However, you happened to be there, and you even returned with a powerhouse who follows the Lord of Lightning and who has the strength to eliminate one of the True God Guard Captains. This has changed everything. If I¡¯m right, the Aeternals might have already known that those three treasures are in a parallel universe that reflects Earth. But now, they know that that universe is the same one home to Whitecloud and the Lord of Lightning.

    "If the Aeternals don''t give up their search for those three treasures, then they¡¯ll definitely go after Whitecloud." Lu Yin shared everything that he suspected to be true.

    He was not idly specting. The True God Guard Captain had not attacked the Heavens Sect, but instead Earth. Why? Earth was also an objectively odd. Every so often, the would suffer a disaster that erased all civilization from it, and Lu Yin had never been able to understand the reason behind this cycle.

    In order to keep the cycle hidden, the Hidden Earth Society had started asionally attacking others that were home to families with primeval surnames. The only reason for this was to obfuscate Earth¡¯s destructive cycles. The truth of the matter had nothing at all to do with the primeval surnames.

    Lu Yin felt that this entire affair was very likely rted to the three treasures.

    Even the Aeternals wanted to obtain those three treasures, and yet they had somehow ended up on Earth. This could actually exin many mysteries.

    The Impious Sutra had also been searching for those three treasures, and the Impious Sutra had been a power from the Heavens Sect era.

    Jiang Chen''s expression grew solemn upon realizing that Lu Yin''s suspicions were most likely true. If so, then Aeternus would absolutely go after Whitecloud.The reason why Whitecloud had been left rather untouched by the Aeternals, as well as the reason why they had not wanted to kill Jiang Qingyue in the Sixth Maind was merely because they did not want to fight the Lord of Lightning head-on. However, if the Lord of Lightning possessed something that the Aeternals were determined to obtain, everything would change.

    Whitecloud already had its own enemies, so if the Aeternals took action against them as well, Whitecloud would not be ready.

    "Thanks for the warning. My sister and I will head back now," Jiang Chen informed Lu Yin.

    Jiang Qingyue nodded as well, knowing that they needed to go warn their father.

    Just as Jiang Chen was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something, and he looked back at Lu Yin. "Do you want to go to Whitecloud with us?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Can I also go?"

    Dragonturtle shrugged. "Master isn¡¯t there."

    Jiang Chen then remembered. "Right, Dad¡¯s not there."

    "Which is unfortunate, because it would be good for Master to meet his son-inw¡­ The Lord of Lightning and the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch. How grand is that¡­" Dragonturtle muttered softly.

    Jiang Qingyue gritted her teeth, grabbed Dragonturtle, and then threw him over to Jiang Chen. "Get that thing out of here!"

    Jiang Chen grabbed Dragonturtle and said, "Sister, do you not want him to protect you anymore?"

    "Take him away!" Jiang Qingyue had lost all patience with Dragonturtle.

    The beast shouted, "Young Mistress, I won''t say anything more! I definitely won''t say a thing after this! Young Master Chen, please help me beg your sister for mercy. I can''t leave the young mistress, as she will be in danger if she¡¯s left alone!"

    Jiang Chen had no choice but to ce Dragonturtle on the table. "I need to go back and warn Dad. Sister, just put up with it for now."

    With that, the young man left.

    Dragonturtle directed a pitiful look at Jiang Qingyue.

    Lu Yinughed. It would be nice if that stupid jiao was even half as smart as Dragonturtle. <em>Oh, right, the jiao</em>.

    "Has the Lord of Lightning ever attacked the jiao?"

    Jiang Qingyue took a sip of her coffee. "Your mount?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin nced at Dragonturtle, but the small beast also shook his head. "While I did travel with Master for a bit, I was not with him all the time. Kong Tianzhao knows more about certain things."

    "Kong Tianzhao?"

    "He¡¯s the swordsman who defeated the True God Guard Captain. He¡¯s Master¡¯s eternal rival, as well as the best swordsman in Whitecloud. While he has lost several times to Master, Master did once mention that, when ites to pure swords skills, he is not Kong Tianzhao¡¯s match. One day, Kong Tianzhao will be able to reach the pinnacle of the sword," Dragonturtle exined.

    Lu Yin was impressed. "Whitecloud has many great powerhouses."

    Dragonturtle was speechless. "How can wepare to your Heavens Sect?

    "It''s not easy to be a Progenitor. There are only a few people from Master¡¯s generation who are still around, and¡­"

    Dragonturtle paused and nced over at Jiang Qingyue.

    Jiang Qingyue calmly stated, "My master killed another one of himself."

    Lu Yin was left quite confused. "What does that mean?"

    Dragonturtle sighed. "There can be the same people in different parallel universes. In two different universes, Master established Whitecloud. And in both universes, there lived a man by the name of Kong Tianzhao. In order toplete his Progenitor breakthrough, Kong Tianzhao fought a decisive battle against his alternate self from another parallel universe who simrly wanted to break through.

    "Ultimately, the breakthrough happened, but only by one of them killing the other,pleting the transformation."

    Lu Yin nodded. Although he had not witnessed the matter for himself, just hearing about it was quite tragic. He could not imagine what it would feel like to kill himself.

    "The Sixverse Association consists of multiple parallel universes, but I¡¯ve never seen two versions of the same person from different universes," Lu Yinmented.

    Jiang Qingyue looked up. "There are simply too many parallel universes, and each one develops a bit differently. The chances of the same person appearing in multiple universes is extremely small. At least, that is ording to my father."

    Lu Yin did not dwell on the matter. Instead, he invited Jiang Qingyue to visit the Heavens Sect. She preferred to continue wandering about Earth, so Lu Yin left on his own.

    Once Lu Yin was gone, Dragonturtlemented, "Young Mistress, you really won¡¯t be able to find another man like him. Can¡¯t you pursue a bit of romance?"

    Jiang Qingyue ignored him.

    At this moment, the young man from before returned. He smiled gently at Jiang Qingyue. "Beautifuldy, I¡¯m sorry to interrupt you again, but could I interest you in a visit to Jinlin?"

    Dragonturtle looked over. "We want to go visit the Heavens Sect."

    The man''s face alternated between green and white. They wanted to visit the Heavens Sect? Was there something wrong with this turtle¡¯s head? Was the Heavens Sect a ce that people could even visit? Not to mention the young man himself, but not even his father dared to approach the Heavens Sect, and that man was wee to enjoy tea with Lord Zhou Shan.

    Not long after Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, someone arrived with a message from Lu Tianyi. Nutjob Lu wanted to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin quickly went to the Lu Sanctum. First, he met with Lu Tianyi.

    "He asked to see you half a year ago, but I stalled for time. Ancestor will deal with Nutjob Lu when he emerges from seclusion, so there¡¯s no need for you to see him. However, his madness has grown worse in recent days," Lu Tianyi exined.

    Lu Yin grunted. "I''ll go see what he wants to say."

    When it came to Nutjob Lu, even if Lu Tianyi were not reluctant to deal with the man, the only choice was to wait for Ancestor Lu Yuan to leave seclusion.

    Soon, Lu Yin met with Nutjob Lu.

    The man grinned as soon as he saw Lu Yin arrive. "So, you finally gathered the courage toe see me."

    Lu Yin indifferently asked, "Why wouldn¡¯t I?"

    Nutjob Lu sneered. "You didn¡¯t dare toe see me, and yet here you are now. You are also a spy."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "We¡¯re in the Lu Sanctum. No one in this ce will believe such a thing. I¡¯m a spy? The entire Sixverse Association willugh at such a joke."

    "This is the Aeternals¡¯ most sinister scheme!" Nutjob Lu roared.

    Lu Yin stared at the madman.

    The two gazed at each other, but the madness did not fade from Nutjob Lu''s eyes at all. Pressure mounted as he radiated a violent aura, and the chains that bound him gently clinked. "You have divine energy."

    Lu Yin was startled. How did Nutjob Lu know that?

    The man continued, "When we fought in the Lu Sanctum¡¯s Treasury, you saw me use the Corpse King Transformation, which convinced you that I¡¯m a spy. However, I also saw you use divine energy. Since I know that you can use divine energy, how can you still try to say that you are not a spy?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "People may be good or evil, but the power that they wield is not."

    "Hahahaha, naive! The power that people cultivate is neither good nor evil? You have Heaven¡¯s Sight and can see sequence particles, so how can you still say something so absurd?

    "Some people create energy that is derived from their very thoughts, and divine energyes from the thoughts of the True God. Using it will invariably cause a person to fall under the True God¡¯s influence, giving him the power to drive you insane, kill you, or even transform you into someone else entirely.

    "You have used divine energy, so how can you not know this? Are you even still yourself?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Enough! What did you want to say to me? If you want to threaten me, then just forget about it. Even if Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others learn that I have divine energy, they still won¡¯t ever believe that I am a spy."

    Nutjob Lu stared at Lu Yin. "You can never be free of the True God. Even if you are not a spy right now, one day, his power will take you over, and you will be the greatest traitor in the history of humanity. The higher you climb, the more harm you will eventually do to mankind. The more power you gain, the more damage you will do to the Lu family.

    "This is fascinating. The person upon whom the Lu family has pinned all of their hopes of rising back to greatness will eventually shove the entire family into the abyss, hahahaha!"

    Lu Yin turned around and left. He had expected the madman to have something to say. If Nutjob Lu really wanted to expose Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation of divine energy, then he would do so. At worst, Lu Yin would exin the matter to everyone.

    His divine energy had always been a thorn in his heart. When he had seen his future in the merged Books of Destiny, he had bepletely convinced that he could change it.

    "Don''t you want to know who saved your life by pushing my palm away when I attacked you on the rear battlefield?" Nutjob Lu called out.

    Lu Yin froze, and then slowly turned around to look at Nutjob Lu.

    The man sneered. "Do you know who that was? Do you want to know?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    While Lu Yin had been on the rear battlefield, Nutjob Lu had once tried to kill Lu Yin with his Champions¡¯ Stage. At that time, Lu Yin had been unable to move and also unable to use his strength. It had been impossible for anyone to save him. However, before Nutjob Lu¡¯s attack couldnd, the power of time had appeared, and a hand had appeared and knocked the Champions¡¯ Stage away. Lu Yin had no idea who that hand belonged to, or what era the person who had taken action belonged to. He only knew that the hand had passed through time to block the Champions¡¯ Stage and save Lu Yin¡¯s life.

    Since that time, Lu Yin had been wondering who had saved him, as that solitary hand had been one of his greatest rescues.

    "Do you know who it was?"

    The madness faded a bit from Nutjob Lu''s eyes. "At the time, I didn''t, but I spent a great deal of time considering who could have intervened at that moment. I thought about it for a very, very long time.

    "Finally, I figured it out." He stared at Lu Yin. "The person who protected you was not from this era. Throughout everything, I have considered who could have taken action across time, as well as what sort of price they must have paid to save you.

    "I don''t know why that person was so desperate to save you, nor why they chose to pay such a high price, but boy, you owe more than your life to that hand. That is a debt you can never repay.

    "You owe that person too much, as he paid too high a price to save you."

    "Who was it?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Nutjob Lu cackled. "You think that I¡¯ll tell you?"

    "Do you think that I¡¯d believe whatever you tell me?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Nutjob Lu snorted. "Whether or not you believe me is up to you."

    Lu Yin stared at Nutjob Lu. Was the madman telling the truth? Logic suggested that the man was most likely lying, but Lu Yin was desperate to learn who that hand belonged to and who had saved him. He had wondered about it for years, but he had never been able to find an answer.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2925: A Decision Of Life And Death

    Chapter 2925: A Decision Of Life And Death

    Even if there was only a chance to hear the truth from Nutjob Lu, Lu Yin did not want to let the opportunity go.

    He still remembered the moment that the hand had appeared. As he looked at its scars, someone had asked, ¡°Is it worth it?¡± That question gave Lu Yin a heavy feeling, though he did not know it came from the question itself or from something else.

    "Hahahaha, kid, even if I told you that it was all just a lie, would you dare to believe it? Hahahaha." Nutjob Lu let out a wildugh.

    Lu Yin gave the man a cold stare. "What are your conditions?"

    Nutjob Lu''s expression grew cold, and he leaned forward. The movement caused the chains to rattle violently. "I don''t want that old bastard Lu Yuan to deal with me! Even if I end up dying tomorrow, I want to die an honorable death.

    "Boy, let''s have a deathmatch. No one will be allowed to interfere. If you beat me, I will tell you who that person is before my death. If not, you will never know."

    This answer thrilled Lu Yin. "You, a Sequence Progenitor, are challenging me? How is this anything less than trying to kill me?"

    Nutjob Lu grinned. "You can choose when the fight takes ce. It can be now, or whenever you think you are capable of beating me. It would actually be a good time to do it after you break through to be a Progenitor. Do you dare?"

    Lu Yin turned around and walked away as Nutjob Lu continuedughing wildly behind him.When Lu Yin met Lu Tianyi once more, he shared Nutjob Lu''s condition.

    Lu Tianyi grew solemn. "Are youpletely sure?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Who is that person? I really need to know."

    "Nutjob Lu is definitely a spy, so in a deathmatch, he might even use divine energy and the Corpse King Transformation. The reason why I was able to defeat him so easily before is that he did not dare use either of those powers. He was prepared to be taken away by me, but there is a big difference between being captured and facing death," Lu Tianyi warned.

    Lu Yin responded in a solemn tone, "I''m sure. Don''t worry, Ancestor. I won''t fight him unless I¡¯mpletely confident of victory. I¡¯ll take everything into consideration."

    Lu Tianyi stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. "The descendents of my Lu family do not fear death. Since you have made your decision, the family will fully support you. No one will deal with him before your deathmatch."

    This was most likely exactly what Nutjob Lu had wanted. Lu Yin understood the man¡¯s thoughts, but that also meant that he understood the madman¡¯s weakness.

    ¡°Is it worth it?¡± Just what had that person paid?

    ¡­

    A figure arrived at the New Inn on the border of the Voidforce Universe. "Is this the ce? How odd."

    The door soon opened, and the person stepped through, tossing in three corpses, which all belonged to Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Everyone in the New Inn turned to look at the neer, and they were shocked by the sight of the three dead Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    To them, such monsters were elusive and powerful enemies.

    A woman with heavy makeup walked over and carefully examined one of the corpses on the floor. She then looked up at the person standing inside the door and gave a sweet smile. However, caution still filled her eyes. "Senior, might I ask the meaning of this?"

    "My name is Shan, and I am from the Heavens Sect. This is to fulfill the agreement that our Dao Monarch Lu made¡ªto kill three Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings."

    Master Shan was the deliverer of the dead corpse kings. There was no need for Lu Yin to personally make a visit to the New Inn. He had already learned all that he needed to from the New Inn, and he had sent Master Shan to settle any possible cause and effect from karma with the inn.

    The woman looked upstairs, and Chou Bao descended from the stairs to approach Master Shan. "Lord Lu has fulfilled his promise. Please pass my New Inn¡¯s greetings to Lord Lu."

    Master Shan nodded and turned to leave.

    "By the way, the old man died. Please inform Lord Lu on our behalf," Chou Bao reported.

    Master Shan had no idea who Old Dian was, as he had merely beenpleting Lu Yin¡¯s promise.

    Back at the Heavens Sect, Master Shan delivered the message to Lu Yin. Lu Yin had not expected to hear of Old Dian¡¯s death.

    However, it very likely had no connection to the New Inn. Chou Bao was not someone who would go back on his word. Also, Old Dian had already learned the truth of who was destroying the Bai family, and he would have never gone after Chen Le to avenge that family. Old Dian had done all that he could, and he also had not belonged in the New Inn. It was possible that death had actually been a liberation for the old man.

    "Thank you for your hard work, Master Shan."

    "It is my honor to bear a bit of the Dao Monarch''s worries."

    Time passed, and the Heavens Sect remained quite peaceful. Things were quiet across the Sixverse Association, and even the Endless Frontier was quiet.

    The Aeternals did nothing to try to get revenge. The Star Devourer in Giants¡¯ Purgatory might as well have been sleeping. Even if Lu Yin sent people to monitor the beast, it did not react at all.

    Lu Yin had taken control of the Transcendent Universe, but no one voiced any objections.

    Backyard was transferred to the Transcendent Universe, along with a group of experts to protect it. At the same time, Wang Wen was tasked with sorting out what sort of strength and power would stay in the Transcendent Universe. Both the Bestowal Art and energy converters were powerful enough for the Transcendent Universe to join the Sixverse Association, and Lu Yin wanted all of their cultivation technologies for the Heavens Sect.

    Both Lord Wei and You Fang had died, while Bai Qian had vanished. Bai Qian¡¯s disappearance should have been a matter of the utmost importance, but the Transcendent Universe was simply returned to He Ran¡¯s stewardship.

    Ironically, Lu Yin had personally forced He Ran into the abyss, making her serve as the Heavens Sect¡¯s mascot for so long, but now, he thrust her back as the overseer of the Transcendent Universe. However, he had had no real choice in the matter. There was no one more suitable for the task than He Ran.

    She had never dreamed that she would one day be able to return to her universe and sit atop the staircase again. Beneath the stairs, Uncle Mo was even more excited than He Ran. He had never thought that he would be allowed to once again serve as He Ran¡¯s protector.

    The two remained silent for a very long time.

    In the past, they had received absolutely everything from Lord Wei, and now, everything that they had had been given to them by Lu Yin. The ruler of the Origin Universe had clearly tricked the two people, but he had ultimately be their master.

    He Ran had conflicting thoughts on the matter, and she considered it a great deal. She felt resentful, angry, and even panicked. She hated Lu Yin for stealing her away from heaven and casting her into the abyss, but he had raised her back up once again. However, no matter how much the woman might hate Lu Yin, she would never dare to reveal the slightest hint of her feelings.

    After all, everything that she had had been given by that man.

    He had toyed with her from beginning to end.

    The affairs of the Transcendent Universe did not cause the slightest disturbance within the Sixverse Association. Lord Wei had died, which meant that, logically, another parallel universe should have been selected to rece the Transcendent Universe as a member universe of the Sixverse Association. However, no one had brought that up.

    In the past, promoting a universe into an official member of the association, or revoking a member universe¡¯s status had to be approved by the Great Sovereign. However, many people had started questioning that practice. Should they look to the Cyclic Universe, or to the Heavens Sect?

    Half a year quickly passed by. During this time, Lu Yin remained at peace. The only thing he was anticipating was the arrival of the four ruling powers¡¯ star essence. Their wealth had not yet been delivered to the Heavens Sect, but he remained confident that he would receive enough star essence to stun him. There was no doubt that this influx of wealth would allow him to shake things up.

    One day, Wu Da arrived from outside the Heavens Sect, and he listened to his subordinates'' reports regarding recent events. "By the way, what happened to that young man who wanted to be the Dao Monarch¡¯s disciple? How has he been doing?"

    Wu Da still remembered the young man from the Cyclic Universe who wanted to be Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s disciple. The young man possessed no cultivation base whatsoever, and it seemed impossible for him to seed from all that Wu Da could see.

    However, Dao Monarch Lu had asked Wu Da to keep an eye on the young man because Wu Da had met him before.

    For three years, Wu Da had monitored the young man, and then for two years after that, he had given the task to his subordinates. Not once had Wu Da ignored his orders, and he asked about the young man every time he returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Already, more than five years had passed.

    A subordinate replied, "He is still here. It¡¯s clear that he has no intention of giving up."

    Wu Da nodded and then thought for a bit. "I¡¯m going to go check on him."

    Wu Da quickly approached a spacecraft. Because this young man had absolutely no cultivation base, he needed to stay in a spacecraft to stay outside the Heavens Sect. The man was still respectfully kneeling down, asking to be epted as Lu Yin¡¯s disciple.

    The man did not know if Lu Yin even knew about his existence, but the man could only do this. As long as even the slightest chance of sess remained, he would not give up.

    There were many, many other people kneeling outside of the Heavens Sect, begging to be epted as Lu Yin''s disciples. This indicated that there was at least a chance of sess, even if no one had ever managed to do it.

    "How long will you wait?" When Wu Da arrived, he walked over to the young man and knelt down to look at him.

    The young man remained determined. "As long as I don''t seed, I won''t get up."

    Wu Da sighed. "Really, what you¡¯re doing is useless. Dao Monarch Lu doesn''t even know that someone like you exists."

    The young man did not give up and remained kneeling on the floor.

    Wu Da was quite curious. What was it about this young man that had attracted Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s attention?

    The young man had no idea that he had already drawn Lu Yin¡¯s attention. As long as he could endure, he was guaranteed to ascend into the sky.

    The reality of the universe was that the majority of people would want to know the results before attempting something, but this man¡¯s actions were clearly delusional.

    Knowing that one¡¯s efforts would surely pay off would make one¡¯s dedication to a taskpletely different from someone who had no idea if they would seed or not.

    Knowing that a gamble would pay off would make people willing to risk their lives.

    If someone knew that they could make a fortune by learning a given skill, they would make sure to learn it, even if they did not enjoy it.

    This was the advantage of knowing the final oue, but such knowledge was nothing more than self-deception. Who could know the future for certain? Countless people would follow the same path, but ultimately, all those who reached the end would possess powerful determination and impressive luck. This was what determined the heights that people could ascend to.

    However, the man from the Cyclic Universe had already seeded. As far as Wu Da was concerned, attracting Lu Yin¡¯s attention was a sess. As long as this young man persevered, he would absolutely be Dao Monarch Lu''s disciple.

    Truthfully, Wu Da was envious of the young man. If Wu Da had known while attending the Astral Combat Academy that Lu Yin would eventually reach such amazing heights, Wu Da would have dropped to his knees and begged to be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, even if they had been ssmates at the time. No, Wu Da would have sworn loyalty to Lu Yin, even if he was not acknowledged as a disciple. Even having an indirect connection to Lu Yin would be eptable.

    Wu Da sighed. "Then keep going. I hope that your persistence pays off."

    If the young man gave up, Wu Da had no idea if he would pity the young man, but he would definitely wonder about what could have been.

    As Wu Da was about to leave, a woman arrived and gave him a t stare. Her gaze caused chills to run across Wu Da¡¯s entire body. He had never felt such a sensation before. It was as though this woman was the master of his life and could decide whether or not he died at any moment.

    This was not apletely foreign sensation to Wu Da, but throughout all his years of roaming the universe, the feeling had never been this strong. This woman radiated an indescribable authority as she slowly approached.

    Wu Da stood frozen as he stared at the woman.

    She merely nced at him. "Leave."

    Wu Da did not dare argue, and he quickly ducked his head and made to leave.

    However, just as Wu Da was leaving, ripples appeared in the void in front of him, and someone stepped out. Wu Da stared nkly before being ovee with joy and offering a respectful bow. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    It was indeed Lu Yin who had arrived in the spacecraft, as the woman who had appeared in front of Wu Da was the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Yao Lan.

    While the woman had not attacked Wu Da, he had felt as though his life had been threatened, and that thought terrified him. Lu Yin¡¯s arrivalpletely relieved Wu Da¡¯s fears.

    Lu Yin nced at Wu Da before looking back at Yao Lan. "Is it appropriate for you to visit my Heavens Sect without even saying hello to me?"

    Yao Lan had not expected Lu Yin to notice her, as she had arrived while suppressing her aura.

    She took a deep breath and slowly bowed. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    Wu Da felt much bolder in Lu Yin¡¯s presence, and he lifted his head to get a good look at the woman. She was beautiful, but if Dao Monarch Lu was speaking to her in such a manner, she had to be a Progenitor-level expert.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2926: Recruiting A Disciple

    Chapter 2926: Recruiting A Disciple

    Close by, the young man kneeling on the ground looked up at Lu Yin and excitedly said, "Lord Lu! You are Lord Lu! Please, ept me as your disciple! Please!"

    Lu Yin looked at the young man.

    As he did, Yao Lan''s expression changed, and she quickly moved to block Lu Yin''s line of sight. She then politely said, "Lord Lu, Tuo Lin has forgotten his manners. Please forgive him. I will take him back to the Cyclic Universe and discipline him strictly so that he will not disturb you again, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin looked at Yao Lan. "He isn¡¯t bothering me. I think that he is very good."

    Tuo Lin grew even more excited, and he fell down to kowtow to Lu Yin. "I beg Lord Lu to ept me as a disciple!"

    Yao Lan suddenly shouted, "Tuo Lin, be silent!"

    Lu Yin frowned. "Yao Lan, are you here to make trouble for me?"

    Yao Lan''s expression turned ugly. "I wouldn¡¯t dare. I merely don''t wish to see Lord Lu grow upset with Tuo Lin. His ancestor made a great contribution to mankind, and for his sake, I ask that Lord Lu let Tuo Lin go."

    Lu Yinughed. "He came here to worship me as his master. There is nothing to forgive."Yao Lan replied, "Tuo Lin is a child with absolutely no cultivation. Given his age, he has already lost any chance of being able to cultivate, and yet he still wants to be Lord Lu¡¯s disciple. This is nothing more than trying to humiliate Lord Lu. After learning about this matter, I came here to collect him and take him back to the Cyclic Universe."

    Yao Lan''s words caused Tuo Lin''s expression to fall. It was true that he had no cultivation and that cultivating was impossible for him. But despite that, it was what he desired most, and no one in the Cyclic Universe was able to help him. He had attended the Tea Ceremony and seen hope in Lu Yin.

    Lord Lu was so young, but he had already created many miracles and be the most influential person in the entire Sixverse Association. How had he managed it?

    Since Lu Yin had aplished so much, it was possible that he could also create a miracle for Tuo Lin, which was why the young man had traveled to the Origin Universe.

    "Lord Lu, no one in the Cyclic Universe can help me cultivate. This is why I came here, hoping to ask for Lord Lu¡¯s help. I- I really want to cultivate," Tuo Lin begged as he prostrated on the floor. He was just an ordinary human, and yet he smacked his head on the floor with enough force to cause his forehead to bleed.

    Yao Lan frowned. "Tuo Lin, let''s return now."

    Tuo Lin ignored the woman and remained on the floor. Blood continued to flow, and it stained the floor red.

    Wu Da sympathized with the man, but unfortunately, he had no voice in this matter.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Tuo Lin, right?"

    Tuo Lin lifted his head. He was feeling dizzy, and his face was pale. As he rose, he staggered back and almost fell. "Yes, I- my name is Tuo Lin."

    Lu Yin calmly asked, "How long have you been kneeling here?"

    Tuo Lin had lost too much blood, so his consciousness was a bit hazy. Still, he refused to pass out. "Five and a half years."

    "Not bad."

    "I will continue to kneel here as long as it takes, if Lord Lu will ept me as a disciple."

    Yao Lan shouted, "Tuo Lin, stop talking ande with me!"

    Lu Yin slowly smiled. "Alright, I''ll ept you as my disciple."

    Tuo Lin was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "You- did you just say that you¡¯d ept me as your disciple?"

    Yao Lan turned to look at Lu Yin. She anxiously protested, "Lord Lu, please reconsider. This child will never be able to cultivate, so making him your disciple will only bring you shame. Lord Lu, please allow me to take him back to the Cyclic Universe. The Cyclic Universe will be most grateful.¡±

    Lu Yin grew curious. "He¡¯s just a young man. Is your Cyclic Universe willing to show its gratitude to me just for him?"

    Yao Lan hurriedly replied, "This child''s ancestor performed great deeds for humanity, and the Great Sovereign has asked that all of the family¡¯s descendants be allowed to live infort in the Cyclic Universe and not cultivate. For the sake of the Great Sovereign, Lord Lu, please allow me to take this man with me."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "The Great Sovereign has no right to ask me for anything."

    Yao Lan''s heart fell. She was aware that the rtionship between the Lu family and the Great Sovereign was bad, but she had not expected things to be this bad. Lu Yin refused to show the Great Sovereign any respect at all.

    "I said that I am epting him as my disciple, so that¡¯s what he is now. Tuo Lin,e over and ept your discipleship," Lu Yin calmly ordered.

    Tuo Lin shakily rose to his feet. He felt weak and had almost no strength remaining, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through. His vision was spinning, but he would still move over to Lu Yin, even if he had to crawl.

    Tuo Lin slowly moved past Yao Lan.

    If it were at all possible, Yao Lan wanted to grab the young man and simply leave, but that was impossible. She was in the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin was right in front of her. She could do nothing. No matter how badly she wanted to take Tuo Lin away, she could only do so with Lu Yin¡¯s permission. Without that, she could do nothing but watch.

    The two men were less than ten meters apart, but it still took Tuo Lin a minute to cover that distance, dripping blood the entire way. Finally, he arrived in front of Lu Yin and knelt down, kowtowing once again. "Tuo Lin greets his master."

    Yao Lan gritted her teeth. "Lord Lu, please allow¡­"

    Lu Yinpletely ignored the woman as he looked down at Tuo Lin. "You are my first official disciple. From now on, you will be my, Lu Yin¡¯s, disciple."

    Ku Wei had epted Lu Yin as his lockbreaking master, which made the man Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking apprentice, but Tuo Lin was Lu Yin¡¯s first disciple.

    Lu Yin might not have epted the young man as his disciple, but Yao Lan''s attitude was very strange, and Lu Yin wanted to see how the Cyclic Universe would react to this matter. Surprisingly, Tuo Lin seemed to conceal some secrets.

    Tuo Lin vigorously kowtowed to Lu Yin, as he had sessfully be the Dao Monarch¡¯s disciple.

    As soon as Tuo Lin finished his three kowtows to his new master, he fainted.

    Wu Da stared at Tuo Lin with a great deal of envy. Starting from today, the young man would ascend into heaven. Few people in the entire megaverse couldpare to Tuo Lin in status anymore.

    Wu Da had no idea how the young man had attracted the Dao Monarch¡¯s interest, but the fact that a Progenitor-level expert from the Cyclic Universe had arrived for Tuo Lin suggested that his background was rather significant.

    Yao Lan watched on, helpless and unable to stop anything from happening.

    She looked up from Tuo Lin¡¯s unconscious body lying on the ground to Lu Yin. "With how matters have developed, I would like to ask Lord Lu to treat this child kindly. Regardless of whatever rtionships there might be between your universe and my Cyclic Universe, I ask that you not hold anything against him, Lord Lu."

    "Do I need you to show me how to behave?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    Yao Lan had no choice but to leave. Lu Yin''s indifferent attitude and overbearing behavior was unpleasant for her to deal with. As the Heavens Sect gained greater and greater power, Lu Yin behaved more and more domineeringly. When had the Cyclic Universe ever been suppressed this much by another member of the Sixverse Association?

    Once Yao Lan was gone, Lu Yin looked over at Wu Da. "Thank you for your hard work during this time."

    Wu Da quickly bowed. "It has been my honor to be able to work for you, Dao Monarch. I will continue to do my best."

    After acknowledging Wu Da¡¯s response, Lu Yin left with Tuo Lin.

    Seeing the empty spacecraft, Wu Da felt as though he had just woken from a dream. A Progenitor-level powerhouse from the Cyclic Universe had been scolded like a dog by the Dao Monarch before fleeing in humiliation.

    Wu Da took a second look, but the young man was really gone. It had not been a dream. From this day forward, almost everyone in the Origin Universe would look up to Tuo Lin.

    Lu Yin took Tuo Lin into the Heavens Sect and then examined him carefully. As he did so, Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew strange.

    It was not that Tuo Lin had never cultivated, but rather that it was impossible for him to do so. The energy channels in the young man¡¯s body were all fake. What was this? It was as though Tuo Lin was nothing more than an empty shell.

    Was the man a clone? No, that also did not seem quite right. What was he?

    Lu Yin asked several different Progenitors to examine the young man, as it was possible that one of them might know something.

    Unfortunately, no one knew what was going on with Tuo Lin. Finally, Lu Yin thought of someone else to ask: Senior Brother Mu Xie. He asked Mu Xie toe over and use Origin Tracer to search for the source of the young man¡¯s issue.

    "How do you know that Origin Tracer can do this?" Mu Xie was surprised. He had mentioned to Lu Yin that Origin Tracer could search through the past for certain individuals, but Lu Yin was asking for the opposite; he wanted to use a person to search for an event in the past. Even so, this was something that Origin Tracer was capable of doing.

    Lu Yin shared how Mister Mu had helped Lu Yin learn the Ce Secret Art by showing him a scene from the past. At the time, Lu Yin had not understood how Mister Mu had aplished such a feat, but he hade to understand that it was through Origin Tracer.

    The blood of the Ce family had let Lu Yin observe a certain moment in the past. Specifically, Lu Yin had seen Ce Wangtian during a certain time with the chessboard. Then, Lu Yin, an outsider, had entered that time to learn the secrets of the Ce Secret Art.

    As one¡¯s cultivation level increased, many things that were previously iprehensible would gradually be understood. However, the universe was too big, and there were still many things that could not be exined even in the ancestral realm. Otherwise, the ancestors would not have disappeared.

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi didn¡¯t even know what was going on with Bai Xian''er.

    Senior Brother Mu Xie was far inferior to Mister Mu when it came to tracing the origins of ancient times, but it was not impossible to find the source of Tuo Lin¡¯s problem with this method.

    "You have dealt with Ye Bo, so I¡¯ve been searching for a new target to practice Origin Tracer on. This child is eptable, though I can¡¯t say how long the search will take." With that, Mu Xie approached Tuo Lin and brought out his ?ar¨©ra. This was the Progenitor¡¯s true Progenitor¡¯s world that he had ced in the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk to perform Origin Tracer. Once Ye Bo had been dealt with, he had taken the ?ar¨©ra back.

    Mu Xie had not done much during the crusade across the Endless Frontier. There were not many opportunities for ordinary Progenitor-level experts to make a move, and the sequence powerhouses had not needed Mu Xie¡¯s assistance. Thus, while the man¡¯s true Progenitor¡¯s World had returned, Lu Yin had not yet seen Mu Xie¡¯s true strength.

    "Senior Brother, what powers do you think you will wield when you be a Sequence Progenitor?" Lu Yin was looking forward to it.

    Mu Xieughed. "You¡¯re better off waiting to see what Junior Brother Qing Ping will do when he breaks through and bes a Progenitor. It should be soon."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Is Senior Brother Qing Ping still on the Endless Frontier?"

    Mu Xie nodded. "All I know for sure is that he¡¯s still on the Endless Frontier, though I have no idea which universe he¡¯s in. In the past, Master told us to not get anxious and to slowly cultivate, but things have changed. Junior brother, your rate of improvement is simply absurd, and it must be putting a great deal of pressure onto Junior Brother Qing Ping."

    Lu Yin answered with a bitter smile. "I can''t help it. It didn''t take Senior Brother Qing Ping long to be a Semi-Progenitor, so there''s no need for him to worry."

    Mu Xie shook his head. Although their master¡¯s disciples all got along with each other, that did not mean that there was nopetition between them.

    Their youngest junior brother possessed such a freakish level of talent that even Qing Ping felt the need to enter the Endless Frontier. Mu Xie was feeling the same sort of pressure, and even Senior Brother Mu Ke could not ignore Lu Yin¡¯s rising strength.

    Qing Ping needed to break through so that he could maintain his dignity as a senior brother.

    The ?ar¨©ra slowly floated over Tuo Lin¡¯s head, and the void in the area started to warp. Time shifted, and images started to appear and flicker past them.

    This scene was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin. He had seen it many times before. After learning how to chase and even reverse time, he understood what he was seeing much more clearly now.

    The power of time was infinite, and they could only make contact with a mere drop in the ocean. The power of time was the basis for countless battle techniques that had appeared throughout the ages. In fact, Ancestor Tianyi believed that the battle technique that Bai Xian''er had used in the past most likely revolved around some aspect of time.

    Lu Yin slowly walked away and stared off into the distance. He was very envious of Origin Tracer. It was a battle technique that suited him perfectly, but unfortunately, he had not received it.

    He took a step and arrived beside the cauldron. He raised a hand and pressed it to the cauldron. A twig popped out and cutely reached out to touch Lu Yin''s hand.

    "With He Ran gone, are you lonely?" Lu Yin could feel Sapling¡¯s emotions, so he asked the question with a small smile.

    Sapling rubbed the back of Lu Yin''s hand, feeling a bit bad.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Alright, I''ll find someone else for you to y with."

    Sapling¡¯s green leaves stood straight up, clearly delighted at Lu Yin¡¯s words.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2927: Dukkha And Madness

    <h4>Chapter 2927: Dukkha And Madness</h4>

    More than ten days quickly passed before the ?ar¨©ra floating above Tuo Lin''s head suddenly spun. The void twisted to the side, and countless pictures appeared while creating ripples.

    Mu Xie''s eyes snapped open, and he stared at his ?ar¨©ra. It fluctuated between appearing and disappearing, as though time was tugging at the thing.

    Distorted images kept shing in and out around Mu Xie. Abruptly, all of the images converged into the same person, an old man. The man¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked at Mu Xie. "Lord Lu, pleasee see me, Sage Yajna."

    As soon as the old man spoke, space returned to normal, and Lu Yin stepped over. "Senior Brother?"

    It was at this moment that Tuo Lin woke up and looked around in a daze.

    The young man saw Mu Xie staring at him. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin arrived at Mu Xie''s side.

    Seeing Lu Yin, excitement filled Tuo Lin''s eyes, and he quickly got out of his bed to kowtow. "Disciple Tuo Lin greets Master."

    Lu Yin gently raised the young man back up, saying, "Get some rest and recover. I¡¯ll see you once you¡¯ve recuperated."

    Tuo Lin respectfully answered, "Of course. As you order, Master."

    Lu Yin and Mu Xie left.

    Mu Xie''s expression was solemn. "I saw someone just now. It was Sage Yajna, one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Nine Sages."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Sage Yajna?"

    "That young man is rted to Sage Yajna, and he is actually one of the Sage¡¯s descendants. Sage Yajna invited you to see him in the Cyclic Universe," Mu Xie exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. Tuo Lin¡¯s rtionship to the Sage Yajna was a big surprise.

    Of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Sovereign Dou Sheng was openly acknowledged as the strongest, and he always fought alone. As for Sage Yajna, the old man was the most mysterious of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. No one had ever seen the old man participate in any form ofbat, but because he was the oldest among the Sovereigns and Sages, no one dared to underestimate Sage Yajna. Not even Sovereign Dou Sheng was from the same generation as Sage Yajna, and the Sage was one of the only people who was allowed to share tea with the Great Sovereign at any time.

    Sage Yajna held the most unique position in the entire Cyclic Universe.

    Lu Yin still clearly remembered the Sage¡¯s fearless spirit.

    During his Cyclic Tribtion for his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, Lu Yin had faced an image of Sage Yajna, and he had been deeply impressed by the old man.

    "In that case, I should go see him," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Xie frowned. "I sensed something odd from this Sage Yajna. Be careful, and it would be best if you ask Senior Brother Mu Ke to apany you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "If that¡¯s what¡¯s necessary, of course."

    ...

    Lu Yin once again appeared in the Cyclic Universe, but this time, he had arrived in secret. No one knew about Lu Yin¡¯s presence other than Sage Yajna.

    The Sage normally stayed in one of the most hidden ces in the Cyclic Universe. Not even the Three Sovereigns or the other Sages knew that Lu Yin, an outsider, was visiting that secret location.

    Sage Yajna¡¯s sanctuary was very ordinary, and there was nothing special about it at all. The Sage looked like an old man who was close to his deathbed. He spent his time nting flowers and caring for his garden while living alone in a small hut. He gave people the impression of someone who was simply waiting to die.

    However, while that was the initial impression that the Sage gave, Lu Yin sensed something else entirely. To him, it felt that the old man was far from death, or rather, it seemed like it would be very difficult for the old man to die.

    Sage Yajna gave off the impression of an old man at death¡¯s door, but paradoxically, he also gave off the feeling that he could not die.

    Lu Yin could not resist looking again with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Sage Yajna stepped out of his house and directed a gentle smile to Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, I am nothing more than an old man. There is nothing dangerous about me, and there is no need for you to use Senior Wu Tian''s Heaven¡¯s Sight."

    Lu Yin stepped onto the ground a hundred meters away from Sage Yajna. "Is Tuo Lin your descendant?"

    Sage Yajna replied, "Let''s have this conversation in the house."

    "There¡¯s no need for that. We can stay out here among the flowers and grass," Lu Yin replied.

    Sage Yajna nodded. There was no table, just a stone, so the two men sat on the ground with a pot of tea boiling between them.

    There was nothing special about Sage Yajna serving Lu Yin¡¯s tea, and Lu Yin acted even more casually.[1]

    "Someone once taught me how to prepare tea, but I am not even one percent as gifted as that person. Otherwise, I would have served Lord Lu a cup of tea that you would never forget." Sage Yajna sighed as he picked up a tea cup and politely handed it to Lu Yin.

    The younger man epted the cup. "Do you enjoy tea? I also have someone who is capable of making an unforgettable cup of tea."

    Sage Yajnaughed. "Lord Lu, this is not the first time that we have met each other. You saw me before during your Cyclic Tribtion."

    Lu Yin took a sip of tea, finding it perfectly ordinary. "Is Tuo Lin your descendant?"

    "Yes."

    "Why did you feel the need to see me?"

    "Lord Lu, please release Tuo Lin."

    Lu Yin looked over at Sage Yajna. "Do you believe that I will try to use him as leverage against your Cyclic Universe?"

    Sage Yajna shook his head. "Of course not. You know nothing about Tuo Lin, Lord Lu. Let alone him, not even I am able to satisfy your grudge with the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin looked upwards. "I have epted him as my disciple, and I will treat him as such. This has nothing to do with the Cyclic Universe. I simply cannot harm a child who has no cultivation whatsoever."

    Sage Yajna looked at Lu Yin, powerful emotions filling the man¡¯s gaze. "Although the Lu family is domineering, there is a bottom line that you will not cross. I am naturally aware of this. However, Tuo Lin is truly incapable of cultivating. I am not saying this because I fear that you will harm him, Lord Lu. Rather, I fear that, if even you fail to give him the means to cultivate, it may break himpletely.¡±

    This was what Lu Yin had been wondering about. "Why is he incapable of cultivating?"

    "Certain matters have impacted my bloodline. Sacrifices were made, and that is why none of my descendants have ever been capable of cultivating," Sage Yajna said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin stared at Sage Yajna. "I''m asking why your family is unable to cultivate. What happened?"

    Sage Yajna and Lu Yin stared at each other. "Lord Lu, have you ever heard of ¡®oveing Dukkha?¡¯"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "ording to the legends, that is the cultivation realm beyond the Origin Realm, correct?"

    "Did Ancestor Lu Yuan tell you?"

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Is there really a cultivation realm beyond the Origin Realm?"

    Lu Yin had been simply making a guess, based off of what Big Sis had mentioned about the realm beyond the Progenitor realm being known as the Origin Realm. Thatment had reminded Lu Yin of the words rted to the Mirari Realm: Ascend to the Origin realm. Ovee Dukkha. Gain immortality.

    While the words did not explicitly mention cultivation, Lu Yin felt like it was most likely referring to realms of cultivation, and it turned out that he had been right.

    He had never asked Ancestor Lu Tianyi about this matter. If Ancestor Lu Tianyi and the others wanted to share this information with Lu Yin, they would have done so long ago. The fact that they had not said anything suggested that they were worried that they would impact Lu Yin¡¯s chosen path of cultivation.

    Sage Yajna took a sip of his tea. "Oveing Dukkha is a transformative process for any cultivator. Most cultivators believe that the equivalent of the Progenitor realm is the peak of human cultivation, but that is merely the peak of the first realm of cultivation. At that level, one is still human, a creature of flesh, blood, and emotion. Only by oveing Dukkha is it possible to transcend and be an alternative form of life, breaking away from the limitations of human beings.

    "I am helping the Great Sovereign ovee Dukkha.

    "I have sacrificed myself and my descendants in order to help the Great Sovereign ovee Dukkha."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "How do you ovee it?"

    Sage Yajna shook his head. "If I knew, I would not be at the Progenitor level.

    "Oveing Dukkha is a stage that represents a person''s most closely held desire, and that desire is magnified countless times over. This is what I have heard in the past. This is also the reason why all who are in the process of oveing Dukkha are quite literally insane, and that includes the Great Sovereign.

    "The Great Sovereign''s desire is to eliminate the True God. This goal is the chasm that she must surpass in order to ovee Dukkha. This is also why she will always think of only her own goal. Your Lu family and others who might be hurt in the process are not within her scope of consideration, and she would readily sacrifice everything in order to achieve her desire that has been magnified to such an extreme.

    "Once she achieves her goal, she will be another type of existence. I have never been in the presence of such an existence myself. Such a being may still be considered human, or perhaps not."

    Lu Yin frowned. A realm of cultivation that magnified one¡¯s deepest desire countless times over? Was this what it meant to ovee Dukkha? Was everyone who entered that realm truly insane?

    "From those people¡¯s perspective, nothing that they do is wrong or evil." Sage Yajna stared at Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, one day, you will also need to ovee Dukkha."

    Lu Yin looked back at Sage Yajna. "Are you saying that I will go mad?"

    Sage Yajna''s expression grew conflicted. "Humans are living creatures, and as long as we are alive, it is impossible for us to eliminate our desires. No one is an exception to that. Even those who sacrifice themselves and die have their own desires. The key to oveing Dukkha is to ovee one¡¯s desire. What is your greatest desire, Lord Lu?¡±

    Lu Yinughed. "I also want to defeat the Aeternals."

    Sage Yajna nodded. "That¡¯s very good. Regardless of whether one is a saint or a madman, it does not matter, as long as they can help humanity defeat Aeternus."

    Lu Yin picked his tea cup back up and swirled it. "Did you say all of that just to justify how the Great Sovereign exiled my Lu family?"

    Sage Yajna smiled. "Of course not. I''m merely sharing her reasons for it with you. The Great Sovereign has no need for me to make excuses for her. You are unable to do anything to her.

    "She is someone who has surpassed the Origin Realm and is working on oveing Dukkha. I can¡¯t say what level Lu Yuan, your Lu family¡¯s founding ancestor, has reached, but I do know that he has not reached the stage of oveing Dukkha. No one in this universe has ever seeded in oveing Dukkha. If there had been one, the current situation would be very different."

    "True God hasn¡¯t ovee Dukkha?" Lu Yin asked, suddenly thinking about something.

    Sage Yajna replied, "He might be at that level. It¡¯s possible that the Aeternals are his trial to ovee."

    Lu Yin''s eyes snapped wide open. That made sense. If the Great Sovereign¡¯s deepest desire was the defeat of Aeternus, then the True God¡¯s deepest desire might be to use the Aeternals to wipe out humanity. That might be his trial to ovee Dukkha.

    "You know a great deal. I wonder, how powerful are you yourself?" Lu Yin gave Sage Yajna a questioning look. This man gave Lu Yin a feeling of beingpletely at peace with the universe, and it made Lu Yin unable to take an aggressive stance towards the Sage.

    Sage Yajna shrugged. "I have no strength. I am nothing more than a vessel to help the Great Sovereign Ovee Dukkha. Once she seeds, I will disappear, and then it will be time for my descendants to rise up. This is why I asked you to release Tuo Lin, Lord Lu. It is not his time yet.

    "All that matters is that my descendants continue to live."

    Lu Yin set his teacup back down. "Did you invite me here just to talk about this?"

    Sage Yajna and Lu Yin looked at each other. "Lord Lu, if you refuse to send Tuo Lin back, then I, an old man who may perish at any moment, ask that you treat him kindly."

    With that, Sage Yajna stood and bowed deeply to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained calm. "He is my disciple, and I know exactly how to treat him. What you have just told me makes me aware of why the Great Sovereign is a mad woman, but I will still collect the debts that she owes us in my own way."

    Sage Yajna said nothing.

    "Do you have any objection to uniting the Sixverse Association?" Lu Yin suddenly asked. As he spoke, a smile spread across his face.

    Sage Yajnaughed. "The affairs of the outside world have nothing to do with me. Whatever you do, Lord Lu, is not up to an old man like me.

    "However, I am an old man who has lived for too long, and I do have some advice for you, Lord Lu."

    The Sage grew somber as he stared at Lu Yin. "There are matters that you should not be persistent about. If you continue to push, they will be inner demons of your heart. The more demons you gain, the more suffering you will face. The greater the suffering you face, the faster you will be pushed to insanity. If you can let go of some things, you might not be as insane to some people."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he continued to stare at Sage Yajna for a time. Finally, Lu Yin turned and left.

    As he stared at Lu Yin''s departing figure, Sage Yajna murmured to himself, "The more pure a person is, the easier it is to Ovee Dukkha. However, how is it possible for anyone to remain pure after cultivating to this level?

    "I can only hope that the child does not be a madman.

    "It all starts and ends with a cup of tea..."

    1. In this situation, Sage Yajna could have shown Lu Yin respect in the way that he served the tea, but he chose to do so in a casual manner, and Lu Yin responded with even greater casualness. ?

 Chapter 2928: The Power Of Destiny

    <h4>Chapter 2928: The Power Of Destiny</h4>

    The more persistent one was, the easier it was to go crazy. This was not only true for people Oveing Dukkha, but also for ordinary people.

    In the eyes of ordinary people, a madman¡¯s behavior was iprehensible. But in the eyes of a madman, ordinary people were the true madmen.

    The Great Sovereign was arrogant and determined. While she certainly had her own emotions and priorities, she also had an aspect of insanity.

    Unfortunately, the Lu family just so happened to be in the way of her insanity.

    When Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, the event that he had been most eagerly anticipating finally urred. All of the four ruling powers¡¯ resources had been calcted, and he was given 100 trillion star essence.

    100 trillion star essence. It was an unimaginable sum.

    Never before had Lu Yin received so many resources at once.

    Lu Yin was stunned by what he received.

    He had known that the four ruling powers were rich, as the Junior Progenitor Stars which had been arranged for the four ruling powers¡¯ Junior Progenitors¡¯ training had each held trillions of star essence. It was only after seeing thoses that Lu Yin had started to understand just how deep the four ruling powers¡¯ pockets were. They had ess to the resources of the entire Perennial World through various means, and they were able to concentrate those resources.

    Even so, he had not expected to receive so much at once.

    After all, a considerable portion of resources had been taken away from the four ruling powers before they were suppressed by the Lu family, or else Lu Yin would have received much, much more.

    Lu Yin''s breathing grew a bit ragged as he stood in the ce within the Heavens Sect that was used to store star essence. The sight nearly made him loseposure.

    Behind him was an old Semi-Progenitor woman from the Lu family. She spoke to him in a respectful tone. "Young Master, these are all the resources from the four ruling powers. We are still in the process of tracking down the criminals who escaped from the four ruling powers, and they must have taken away a great deal of resources. Once they are found, those resources will immediately be given to you, Young Master.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Will all of it be given to me?"

    The old woman smiled. "Young Master has a use for it, so I brought everything to you."

    Lu Yin felt a little embarrassed. The resources of the four ruling powers should have belonged to the entire Lu family, or more realistically, to the Perennial World as a whole. He had expected to share the majority of the star essence, not have all of it given to him.

    epting all the star essence could be regarded as selfish, but it could also be seen as his just rewards. After all that he had aplished for humanity as a whole, it could be regarded as a reasonable reward.

    The old woman stared at Lu Yin''s back, admiration filling her gaze. She had watched over Lu Xiaoxuan from birth to adulthood. She had never thought that, one day, the child would rise up to his current position. Time had flown by, and so many of them had grown old.

    Lu Yin had a total of 105.5 trillion star essence. On top of that, he also had seven trillion star essence from the Cyclic Universe, but the origin of the star essence did not really matter. His die was not picky about where the resources came from.

    At this point in time, it was possible that Lu Yin was even wealthier than the Merchant Exchange.

    Having received so much money at once, Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was of his die. More specifically, of Possession and Enhance.

    The Books of Destiny.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. It was finally time to repair the Books of Destiny.

    After announcing that he was going into seclusion, Lu Yin raised his hand and started rolling his die.

    His luck seemed to be exceptional this time, as his first roll was three pips. Filled with both anticipation and anxiety, he ced the first Book of Destiny on the upper light screen and then started throwing out an absurd amount of star essence.

    He already knew that it would take at least six trillion star essences to repair a single Book of Destiny.

    He had not been confident that he could repair all three books in the past. But with this recent windfall, he knew that he could do it now.

    His only worry was that restoring the books might trigger Destiny, but after analyzing the situation, Lu Yin realized that, even if he dyed repairing the Books of Destiny, he would still do so eventually. On top of that, he wanted to see his future.

    He wanted to divine his own future and know if it was really possible to see the future.

    As the Book of Destiny slowly fell through, all evidence of the mes that had scorched it gradually disappeared. With a final snap, the Book of Destiny fell out of the lower light screen,pletely repaired. Lu Yin¡¯s calctions were urate, as it had indeed taken six trillion star essences.

    Picking up the Book of Destiny, Lu Yin flipped through it, but he did not see any words. Continue.

    The second book was ced on the upper screen of light, and it eventually passed through the light screens, simrly costing him six trillion star essences.

    Again.

    As the third book slowly fell, Lu Yin''s breathing started to grow ragged, and his expression grew exceptionally somber.

    Would this trigger Destiny? She was one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. What would happen if Destiny appeared at this point in time?

    Despite having mentally prepared himself, Lu Yin still felt very nervous as the third book was about to be fully repaired.

    After struggling for a while, Lu Yin gritted his teeth and decided to not be so nervous about Enhancing the book. He needed the Books of Destiny to locate Bai Xian''er, see his own future, and also better understand the past. How many uses did he have for the Books of Destiny? There were just too many.

    Besides, even if Destiny herself was really drawn out, Ancestor Lu Yuan was present.

    The current Heavens Sect did not need to fear Destiny, and the chances of her appearing were extremely remote.

    There was another snap, and the third Book of Destiny fell down,pletely repaired.

    Lu Yin picked the book up and pulled out the other two books as well. He did not cultivate Destiny¡¯s methods, but he knew people who did.

    After leaving his seclusion, Lu Yin went to see Skymender.

    Upon seeing the three, fully repaired, Books of Destiny in Lu Yin''s hands, Skymender felt as though he had just been struck by lightning from a clear sky.

    "Dao- Dao Monarch, are these the Books of Destiny?" Skymender was stunned.

    Lu Yin tossed one of the books over. "Surprised?"

    Skymender wanted to curse. How was this a surprise? This was literally unbelievable. The Books of Destiny had clearly been burned by some kind of me until only half of each book remained. How could they have been repaired? Also, where had the other two bookse from?

    From what Skymender could remember, one of the books should have been with Bai Xian¡¯er, but when had the Dao Monarch managed to get the book from her?

    Skymender stared at Lu Yin with open amazement. This man was truly able to create miracles.

    Lu Yin could not deny that Skymender''s gaze made him feel quite good about his aplishment. "Let¡¯s merge these Books of Destiny. I want to see the future."

    Skymender was instantly ced in a dilemma. "Dao Monarch, your servant is able to merge the Books of Destiny, but if you wish to see the future, that is only possible if we have people work to channel both Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma.

    "By the way, Xiao Shi has been cultivating Heaven¡¯s Enigma, so you can call upon him, Dao Monarch."

    Even without Skymender''s reminder, Lu Yin would have called Xiao Shi over. After all, the man had been able to read a Book of Destiny even before cultivating Heaven¡¯s Enigma, and he was also capable of reading the merged Book of Destiny, which was something that Skymender could not do.

    Long ago, Xiao Shi had been asked to search for information regarding the Immemorial Citadel, which had drawn out the mes that had burned the Books of Destiny.

    Xiao Shi soon arrived, and Skymender then started to merge the three Books of Destiny.

    Once again, Lu Yin watched as the three books merged into one. Last time, only two books had merged, but this time, there were three. Lu Yin watched with Heaven¡¯s Sight, which gave him an entirely new perspective. In the past, he had been an outsider observer, but this time, he was capable of seeing the sequence particles that were taking action.

    Finally, Lu Yin was able to see the power of Destiny.

    At the exact moment that the three books fully merged together, Skymender shouted, "Xiao Shi, Heaven¡¯s Enigma!"

    Xiao Shi nodded and started seriously using Destiny¡¯s method of Heaven¡¯s Enigma, while Skymender simultaneously started using Inverse Enigma.

    At the same moment, elsewhere in the Origin Universe, Destina felt something in her heart, and she turned to look towards the Heavens Sect.

    The exact same thing happened with Starsibyl.

    Xuan Jiu, who was far away in the Sixverse Association, also felt that something was wrong. "Did someone just trigger Destiny again? That person has to be rotten goods!"

    Somewhere on the Endless Frontier, Bai Xian''er¡¯s eyes opened. There was an indifference to her eyes that no one had ever seen before. Her expression would give people a sense of distance. While the eyes were the windows to the soul, at this moment, there was no emotion in her eyes.

    "Did you trigger it? What did you use to do so? This shouldn''t have happened."

    In the Heavens Sect, as Xiao Shi and Skymender used Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma, a strange and mysterious sensation fell upon them. Lu Yin suddenly turned to stare in a particr direction, feeling as though a pair of eyes were staring at him. Was it an illusion, or could Destiny be watching him?

    With Heaven¡¯s Enigma and Inverse Enigma being used in tandem, the pages of the merged Book of Destiny started flipping. Lu Yin stared at the book and saw sequence particles appear, which were the power of Destiny. He saw a threade out, and it started probing into the endless void. He even saw the blurry form of the river of time, and the thread stretched into the river of time and extended in two different directions.

    Was this the power of destiny?

    Lu Yin stared more intensely. Destiny was not a power like that of time or space, nor was divination an urate description of this particr power. This was a shortcut, one that could travel along the river of time.

    For an ordinary human, from birth to death, their life wouldst for 100 years at most, and that time could be seen as a thread that stretched across the years of their life. From this thread, it was possible to see a person¡¯s future as well as their past, depending on which direction one looked.

    In the river of time, a person''s entire life could be seen at once, though it was difficult for most people to probe the river of time. This was something that only these threads could do.

    Connecting the past and present, peering into both the past and the future was the power of destiny.

    Yes, since time was a river, it made sense that there were things that could cross that river.

    It was at this moment that Zhao Ran arrived, carrying tea. She had prepared some herbal tea, and she had wanted to serve it to Lu Yin and his two guests.

    However, at the moment that Zhao Ran arrived, another thread appeared from the Book of Destiny, and it extended towards Zhao Ran, where a thread appeared on her wrist. The two threads connected.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank, as this made it clear that Zhao Ran had some connection to Destiny.

    Zhao Ran felt quite confused. She was unable to see any of the threads, but she could see the shock on Lu Yin¡¯s face as he stared at her, and his reaction scared the girl.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to use the merged Book of Destiny to investigate Zhao Ran, both Skymender and Xiao Shi vomited blood and copsed to the ground. The three merged Books of Destiny instantly disappeared, and two books fell to the ground. Even stranger, these two Books of Destiny had the exact same appearance that they had possessed after Lu Yin had attempted to divine information about the Immemorial Citadel. They both looked as though they had been nearly consumed by mes.

    It was as though Lu Yin had never restored the books with his die.

    Lu Yin quickly grabbed the Books of Destiny. How could this have happened? Why had they reverted to their previous state? Also, what about the third Book of Destiny? Where had it gone?

    As for Skymender and Xiao Shi, they had both lost consciousness.

    Zhao Ran was startled. "Your Highness, what happened to them?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Zhao Ran. Confusion filled the girl¡¯s eyes, and she looked exactly the same as ever. Touching the power of Destiny had not changed Zhao Ran. What was happening with the girl?

    And what had happened to the Books of Destiny?

    When Lu Yin saw that Zhao Ran was quickly putting the tea down, he told her, "Move back for now."

    Zhao Ran wanted to try to help, but as she could not, all she could do was retreat.

    Master Shan soon arrived, and he saw the unconscious forms of Xiao Shi and Skymender on the ground. "Young Master, what happened?"

    "Please ask Senior Brother Mu Xie toe here," Lu Yin ordered.

    Master Shan did not ask any further questions, and he quickly traveled to the Perennial World.

    As for Lu Yin, he hurried to the Arboreal Realm to ask Senior Brother Mu Ke for help as well.

    Both of Lu Yin¡¯s senior brothers were a bit incredulous when they saw the two Books of Destiny in Lu Yin''s hands.

 Chapter 2929: A Terrifying Existence

    <h4>Chapter 2929: A Terrifying Existence</h4>

    "If what you told us is urate, then there is only one exnation." Mu Ke sounded very serious as he spoke. "Someone used an ability simr to Origin Tracer to deny the moment in time when that Book of Destiny was given to you."

    Senior Brother Mu Xie added, "If that time has been denied, then naturally, you do not possess that Book of Destiny. Wherever there is a cause, there is also an effect. Without the third Book of Destiny, the karmic effects produced by the other two books that you repaired would naturally not exist either."

    Lu Yin frowned. "But other things haven¡¯t changed. If someone is capable of denying a moment of time during the Tea Ceremony, then why not alter other events that happened at that time as well?"

    "Alright." Mu Ke stared at Lu Yin. "It is possible to use Origin Tracer to rece a piece of a given parallel universe with a corresponding piece from another parallel universe in order to achieve one¡¯s desired results as long as that other parallel universe has nothing to do with the events being targeted. This would require incredible power, essentially at the level of what Master refers to as ¡®transcending.¡¯ This is far beyond what I am capable of right now.¡±

    Mu Xiemented. "We are cultivating Origin Tracer to reach that level of mastery, but the technique is too difficult. Even if Master has said that it is possible to achieve transcendence, we can''t see any hope of reaching that level."

    Lu Yin started to grow worried. "So what you¡¯re saying is that someone else has already achieved this level of mastery with a technique simr to Origin Tracer and that they denied the moment in time when I received the third Book of Destiny. If this denial was done by recing a portion of a universe with an unrted parallel universe, then what other changes might have urred?"

    Even as Lu Yin spoke, he did not believe what he was saying. How could there be a person with such power? Would this ability not mean that they could alter history to fit their whims?

    Mu Xie replied, "There are too many strange abilities in existence. Even thews of the universe are a sort of power. Since time exists in the various universes, then it can be altered and controlled. The only question is if one has the ability to do so.

    "Junior Brother, whoever is capable of altering cause and effect possesses a terrifying power."

    Mu Ke''s voice dropped as he added on, "Such power is very scary. If you are able to meet Master again, you need to make sure to tell him and let us know what you learn. This ability is beyond anything that we can understand."

    Even without such a suggestion, Lu Yin already intended to do exactly that. What he was hearing from his senior brothers gave him chills all over his body, and he felt as though there was a monster targeting him.

    His first thought was of Bai Xian''er and the figure which had emerged from her body. Prof. Wei was powerful enough to stop even Ancestor Tianyi, while the second form that had emerged from Bai Xian¡¯er had executed the Seven Heroes and nearly killed Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s father as well. Who could say how many figures were inside of Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s body?

    What kind of existence was that woman?

    However, Lu Yin also felt quite lucky. If not for this incident, he would have never learned of this terrifying individual¡¯s existence. Was this the power of someone oveing Dukkha, like the ones that Sage Yajna had mentioned?

    What Lu Yin regretted the most was that everything had happened too quickly. With more time, he had wanted to use the Books of Destiny to investigate Zhao Ran, his own future, and the future of the Heavens Sect.

    After chatting with Mu Ke and Mu Xie, Lu Yin went to see Ancestor Lu Tianyi and Big Sis, asking them about the same incident. However, possibly due to the fact that neither had ever used Origin Tracer, their understanding of what might have happened was not nearly as clear as Lu Yin¡¯s senior brothers¡¯. Even so, there was amon consensus, which was that a truly terrifying individual had taken action. Both Lu Tianyi and Big Sis suspected that it might have been Destiny.

    Big Sis immediately prepared to move into the Heavens Sect, while Ancestor Lu Tianyi wanted Lu Yin to return to the Lu Sanctum for a while, though Lu Yin refused.

    If such an individual wanted to go after Lu Yin, they would have done so long ago.

    Bai Xian''er, Destiny, outsider powerhouses, Old Mo, Luo Shan, and more. Lu Yin sighed. The megaverse was simply too chaotic, and his cultivation was still too low for him to clearly see through it.

    It would be good if he could find a way to improve his own strength, such as his inner worlds. In particr, it would be good if he could find a way to reverse time by more than just one second.

    The best way for Lu Yin to improve his cultivation would be to find a parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate.

    Lu Yin contacted Madam Nn in order to connect with the Merchant Exchange.

    It would not take long for the Merchant Exchange''s people to arrive, but while waiting for them, Lu Yin went to see Zhao Ran.

    "Have you made any new teas recently?" Lu Yin asked softly as he looked at Zhao Ran.

    She blinked in surprise. "Your Highness, are you thirsty?"

    "No, I¡¯m not."

    "Then, you''re hungry?"

    "I¡¯m not hungry either."

    "Oh."

    Neither of the two said anything for a time.

    Lu Yin did not know what to say. When facing an enemy, he could probe them or intimidate them, but with Zhao Ran, Lu Yin felt as though there was nothing he could do.

    That thought caused his eyes to drift to the thread around Zhao Ran''s wrist. That thread was somehow connected to Destiny¡¯s threads. Lu Yin had clearly seen that connection with Heaven¡¯s Sight. Even so, Zhao Ran possessed no hint of cultivation, and Ancestor Lu Yuan had said that Zhao Ran was not Destiny; he had not been able to sense any connection between the two women.

    What had happened for that thread to appear?

    Zhao Ran pursed her lips when she saw Lu Yin staring at her wrist, and she subconsciously tucked her hand back. "Your Highness, I need to go wash my hands."

    Lu Yin feltpletely helpless. "Go ahead, and then make me a cup of tea."

    Zhao Ran happily replied, "Alright."

    With that, she skipped away.

    As long as she was able to make her teas, Zhao Ran would be happy.

    While staring at Zhao Ran''s back, Lu Yin grew increasingly confused. Just what was the deal with the girl?

    She had to have some sort of connection to Destiny, but then why was Ancestor Patriarch Lu Yuan able to sense anything? She had lived for a very long time and even apanied Progenitor Ku for a time, though she had always acted as though she was waiting for someone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s typical way of handling things would be to test Zhao Ran, or find some way to ensure that she could never do anything to him. This was what he had done with the humanoid sourceboxes to prevent Wilderness God¡¯s return. Lu Yin was protecting Progenitor Hui¡¯s seals and would not touch them.

    However, things with Zhao Ran were clearly different. She had followed Lu Yin for too long.

    The two had been together ever since Lu Yin had been nothing more than a peerless Enlighter. Out of everyone, Zhao Ran had been with Lu Yin the longest, and it had be a habit of his to enjoy a cup of the girl¡¯s tea whenever he was in a bad mood.

    Her nk eyes caused people to feel distressed, but she had always done her best to show kindness to Lu Yin.

    He simply could not attack such a person.

    Lu Yin was still lost in thought when Zhao Ran returned with his tea. She handed it to Lu Yin and then looked at him expectantly.

    He nced at the tea, and his eye twitched. Zhao Ran¡¯s tea had be even stranger than ever.

    How was this tea? It was clearly poison! He had already gotten ustomed to her teas, but the sight of this new concoction had even Lu Yin hesitating.

    Zhao Ran edged closer, staring at Lu Yin with hope-filled eyes. "Your Highness?"

    Lu Yin stood up. "Right, I forgot that I need to do something. I¡¯ll head out and take care of that now, but I¡¯ll try your tea next time."

    With that, Lu Yin tore through the void and escaped.

    Zhao Ran was hurt, as she had spent a long time developing this tea.

    ...

    Unlike in the past, this time, Bi Lan was received in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall.

    She felt that something must have happened, as the main hall felt too formal.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I happened to be thinking about something here, so I just decided to have our meeting here."

    Bi Lan nodded.

    Naturally, Bi Lan was apanied by Madam Nn. The woman was considered the middleman between the Merchant Exchange and the Origin Universe. Even though she had only recently joined the Merchant Exchange, her status was quite unique. In fact, even Bi Teng had to be polite to her.

    "I wonder, what has Lord Lu asked us here for?" Bi Lan respectfully inquired.

    Lu Yin replied, "I want to find a parallel universe with a different rate of time."

    This request ced Bi Lan in a difficult position. "Lord Lu, our Merchant Exchange only converts currency. We don¡¯t deal in any other types of transactions."

    "But you definitely know who has ess to such things," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    Bi Lan hesitated. Even if they did know of such things, there were certain matters that were inconvenient to mention, as they were considered off limits.

    Lu Yin''s voice grew much colder. "I don''t want to waste time. If the Merchant Exchange doesn''t tell me, I''ll deal with someone else."

    Bi Lan''s heart dropped, and she grew even more respectful in speaking to Lu Yin. "Luo Shan knows of one."

    When Lu Yin did not speak, Bi Lan gritted her teeth and continued to exin, "My Merchant Exchange has also had dealings with many extremely powerful individuals throughout the Sixverse Association, and thus we are privy to certain information. Should Lord Lu require it, I will return and speak to Lord Bi Teng, sharing your situation with him in detail to see what he suggests."

    This was eptable to Lu Yin. "Alright, I''ll wait for your answer then."

    Bi Lan stood up, bowed to Lu Yin, and left.

    Madam Nn remained behind.

    Once Bi Lan was gone, Madam Nn smiled at Lu Yin. "The Merchant Exchange behaves incredibly arrogantly towards others, but they are so well-behaved in front of you, Dao Monarch. You have be even more intimidating."

    Lu Yin looked at the gorgeous woman. "This is something that is very important to me."

    Madam Nn''s smile did not change in the slightest. "I understand, Dao Monarch. You don¡¯t have to worry."

    The Heavens Sect had grown in power too quickly. It has not been long since Madam Nn had joined the Merchant Exchange. She had initially been sent there to serve as a hidden pawn that might be of value in the future. At that time, Madam Nn had not been asked to do anything, for fear that her true purpose would be discovered by the Merchant Exchange.

    However, that no longer mattered. Regardless of what Madam Nn did, the Merchant Exchange could no longer do anything to her.

    Besides, there were no fools involved. How could the Heavens Sect rmend a simple businesswoman to join the Merchant Exchange?

    The Merchant Exchange had always understood this, and Madam Nn had always been even clearer on the nature of her purpose within the Merchant Exchange.

    Far away, Bi Lan had returned to the Decaying Diablo Universe. She felt weighed down as she met with Bi Teng.

    The man had been waiting for Bi Lan¡¯s return, and his expression grew solemn when he saw her. "What does Lord Lu want from us?"

    Bi Lan answered in a helpless tone, "He wants to know who has parallel universes with different rates of time flow."

    Bi Teng frowned. "Our Merchant Exchange does not conduct any form of business other than currency exchange."

    "I told him that, but..." Bi Lan sounded increasingly helpless as she exined, "Lord Lu said that if we don''t tell him, he will find someone else."

    While there was nothing wrong with these particr words, Bi Teng was not stupid, and he understood that Lu Yin must have looked quite intimidating when he had spoken to Bi Lan. There was no telling what that man might do if the Merchant Exchange refused to cooperate with him.

    Bi Teng frowned. While it was true that he had asked the Heavens Sect for help in the past, the truth was that, if Bi Teng had been given any choice in the matter, he would have preferred the Heavens Sect to have never appeared.

    In the past, the known megaverse had been like a pool of calm water. The Sixverse Association had been one portion of the pool that was one color, and the Aeternals had been another color, with the two immiscible. There were times that one won and the other lost, but the sudden appearance of the Heavens Sect had added another color to the calm pool, and this new color was absolutely domineering. They were unreasonable and ignored the established rules. In particr, the leader of the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin, acted as though the Sixverse Association meant nothing to him.

    He had brazenly meddled in the internal affairs of other parallel universes, and yet his intimidating background allowed him to do so uncontested. On top of that, he had excellent rtionships with many of the top figures of the Sixverse Association. Lu Yin had even pointed a finger at the Great Sovereign and insulted the woman. The appearance of Lu Yin was simply too disruptive to the status quo.

    Lu Yin had been in the Transcendent Universe and witnessed the scene of Lord Wei¡¯s death. Everyone was certain that Lord Wei had been killed by Shaman God, and that Shaman God had also been killed by Lord Wei. The evidence left at the scene perfectly supported this story. However, was it really true that Lu Yin had nothing to do with Lord Wei¡¯s death?

    Bi Teng had tasked the Merchant Exchange with collecting as many stories concerning Lu Yin as possible. The better that Bi Teng understood Lu Yin, the more Bi Teng felt that the young man was impossible to deal with and would ignore the epted rules.

    Lu Yin was ruthless, extremely talented, and also capable of bulldozing his way through things. This was a terrible threat to face.

    Lu Yin¡¯s friends would live and die with him, but his enemies would be trampled upon as he walked forward, and each one would be cast into the abyss.

    The moment the Merchant Exchange had asked the Heavens Sect for help, they had been destined to have a rtionship with Lu Yin. It would be nearly impossible for them to break away.

    No, the truth was that everything had changed the moment that Liu Fuxue had joined the Merchant Exchange.

    Asking the Heavens Sect for help had been the Merchant Exchange¡¯sst resort, while sending gifts to Lu Yin after the transaction concluded had been unavoidable.

    The more that Bi Teng thought about his situation, the more frustrated he became. He mmed a fist onto the table, smashing it to bits.

 Chapter 2930: The Fifth Universe

    <h4>Chapter 2930: The Fifth Universe</h4>

    Bi Lan was startled by the ugly expression that had appeared on Bi Teng''s face.

    She had never imagined that Lu Yin would reach such a shocking status, nor that a single sentence from the young man could forcefully change the Merchant Exchange''s position. He had risen so high that the Merchant Exchange felt forced to maintain a smile and never risk offending Lu Yin. At their first meeting, Bi Lan had not even once considered that he would eventually achieve a status where he couldpletely suppress the Merchant Exchange. She would no longer even consider sitting down with him as an equal.

    "The fact that we do not participate in any other forms of business is precisely why so many people trust us. We may have learned a few tightly held secrets, but such things cannot be shared with anyone, as doing so will cause us to lose all credibility." Bi Teng stared at Bi Lan. "As apany, if we lose our credibility, we will lose everything.¡±

    Bi Lan¡¯s voice was bitter. "Of course I understand that, Lord Bi Teng. What do you think we should do?"

    Bi Teng''s expression grew more and more ugly. He really wanted to refuse Lu Yin''s request for information on who had ess to parallel universes with different flows of time. If Lu Yin could find such things for himself, then why bother the Merchant Exchange?

    However, Bi Teng did not dare to voice such thoughts. While it seemed simple enough to refuse the request, the price that the Merchant Exchange would be forced to pay would be truly steep.

    "If Lord Bi Rong emerges from seclusion, no one in the entire Sixverse Association would dare to offend us. We would still have the right to maintain our distance from everyone," Bi Lan muttered to herself. She spoke very softly, but Bi Teng clearly heard every word.

    He sighed heavily. "True, it would indeed be wonderful if Lord Bi Rong came out of seclusion."

    "By the way, Sir, we can also ask for help from Whitecloud City. The Lord of Lightning is a close friend of Lord Bi Rong¡¯s. They have experienced life and death together, and he can definitely help us." Bi Lan''s eyes lit up as she hopefully suggested an option.

    Bi Teng shook his head. "There¡¯s no point in considering that option. Even if we could get in touch with the Lord of Lightning, it might not help. His daughter, Jiang Qingyue, has an unknown rtionship with Lu Yin."

    Bi Lan was startled. "Really? That happened?"

    Bi Teng¡¯s voice grew increasingly bitter. "Jiang Chen, the Lord of Lightning¡¯s son, is a close friend of Lu Yin¡¯s, and the two have even risked their lives together. This is something that many people in the Sixverse Association know about."

    Bi Lan was rendered speechless. Just how many friends had Lu Yin made?

    Bi Teng felt incredibly frustrated. How could he take the better road?

    "Bi Lan, tell Lord Lu about the fifth and seventh universes." After thinking for a long time, Bi Teng softly gave Bi Lan an order.

    The woman was not surprised. Aside from this option, they really had no other possibilities to choose from. They could not betray any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses¡¯ confidence, as doing so would cause the Merchant Exchange to lose all of their clients¡¯ trust.

    As for Luo Shan, a homeless dog would not be any problem.

    The Monarch and Lord Lu were already enemies, and the Merchant Exchange would not feel any guilt over betraying Luo Shan. On top of that, no one would condemn them for such an action.

    Bi Lan did not stay in the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters for very long before returning to the Heavens Sect.

    "The fifth universe?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Madam Nn was also present, and she was equally confused. She had never heard of this parallel universe, as she had not been with the Merchant Exchange long enough.

    Bi Lan patiently exined, "My Merchant Exchange does not conduct any form of business or trade other than currency exchange. This is not because we do not wish to, but rather because such activities are unnecessary. We can acquire whatever we need on our own, such as finding parallel universes with different rates of time flow.

    "The existence of the Space Diablos means that every member of the Merchant Exchange can be regarded as an explorer. Each of us are constantly searching for civilizations throughout the megaverse, and there are times when one is discovered.

    "The fifth universe is a parallel universe that we stumbled upon where time flows five times faster than other parallel universes. If you need this, Lord Lu, you can go there whenever you wish for training. No one from the Merchant Exchange will disturb you."

    Lu Yin and Madam Nn nced at each other.

    Madam Nn smiled. "The fifth universe? Does our Merchant Exchange control that many parallel universes?"

    Bi Lan nced at Madam Nn, but she understood that this question was really from Lu Yin. "The fifth universe was not given that designation because it was the fifth one found or anything like that, but rather because time flows five times faster there. It¡¯s nothing more than a convenient name that is easy to remember."

    Lu Yin felt a bit torn. "What is the price to ess this ce?"

    Bi Lan politely replied, "We are giving you this ce for your training, Lord Lu. There is no price for you to pay."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That''s not eptable, as it would simply be taking advantage of you. Since you¡¯re offering a parallel universe, rent it to me and charge me as you see fit."

    Bi Lan stood up and offered a deep bow. "Lord Lu, saying this shows that you are staying quite distant from us. When the Merchant Exchange was in trouble, you led the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak powerhouses to our rescue. Those people stand at the peak of mankind, so how can their assistance be purchased with mere star essence? Star essence is a resource that can be bought and traded, whereas you led a number of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitors to save us. My Merchant Exchange remains in your debt.

    "A little bit of star essence was nothing more than a token of our gratitude, and it cannot possibly be consideredpensation for the assistance you rendered. Bi Teng has always wanted to do something for you, Lord Lu. So now that you are the one in need, the Merchant Exchange can''t ask for anything in return. Lord Lu, please don''t refuse, as doing so will make us ufortable.¡±

    Lu Yin gave her a small smile. This woman was quite good with her words. Despite offering Lu Yin so much star essence for the Heavens Sect¡¯s efforts, Bi Lan was able to pass it off as a minor matter. This was despite the fact that the Merchant Exchange had paid a price steep enough for even them to feel the pinch. On top of that, they had even given Lu Yin an additional gift after the transaction concluded. On top of that, they had given him Bi Rong¡¯spass. While the Merchant Exchange did not know the item¡¯s purpose, it was something that represented the Merchant Exchange as a whole. To a certain degree, it could be said that the Merchant Exchange was supporting Lu Yin.

    The universe was a cruel ce, and yet people were emotional creatures.

    The better the Merchant Exchange treated Lu Yin, the less he would be able to harm them. When Lu Yin had targeted the Transcendent Universe, he had used the excuse of taking Zi Jing away, but that matter had been nned from the beginning. Going against the Merchant Exchange after their previous interactions would be a true betrayal.

    Regardless of the Merchant Exchange¡¯s internal opinion of Lu Yin, his show of respect for them made it difficult for Lu Yin to do anything harmful to the Merchant Exchange.

    Lu Yin toyed with his cosmic ring, thinking of Bi Rong''s corpse within it. The Merchant Exchange genuinely believed that Bi Rong was in seclusion.

    Bi Lan nced over at Madam Nn and winked at her.

    Madam Nn stood up and respectfully said, "Dao Monarch, since the Merchant Exchange is being so sincere, please allow them to have their way in this matter."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright. I''ll go check out this fifth universe first."

    "Thank you, Lord Lu, for being so understanding," Bi Lan said. The words were like ashes in her mouth. Despite the price they were being forced to pay, the Merchant Exchange still needed to thank Lu Yin.

    ...

    The void twisted, and two people appeared in the middle of outer space.

    One was Bi Lan, and of course, the other was Lu Yin.

    "Lord Lord, there are no humans in this universe. The only creatures that live here are what we call Pole Nodes. These creatures have the shape of a bamboo pole andck eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. They may not appear to be sapient, but they have evolved into intelligent creatures, which is quite amazing. They have already started developing the use of tools and have begun to show hints of developing a civilization.

    "The creatures are the only intelligent upants of this universe, and there are at least one trillion of them. If not for the fact that this parallel universe is so small, there would be much, much more of them," Bi Lan exined.

    As she spoke, she pointed to a up ahead. "That is home to many of them"

    Lu Yin looked at the forested and saw creatures that looked like bamboo poles jumping and leaping about. They truly didck eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and limbs of any kind, and yet they fought in groups against strange beasts and insects. The creaturesmunicated with each other through tapping. They were absolutely bizarre lifeforms.

    "Without civilization or any form of cultivation, how were they able to spread across this universe? They should not have been able to leave that."

    Bi Lan replied, "Not all creatures evolve on aary environment. Whiles can give birth to unique lifeforms, it is also possible for all thes in a universe to give birth to the same form of life. That way, every in the universe will give rise to the same sort of life.

    "Actually, such a situation might also be true of humans."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Bi Lan in surprise. "Humans?"

    Bi Lan¡¯s eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s. "In both the Origin Universe and on countless others throughout the Sixverse Association, humans have been born. Is it really possible that the same species could have spread across so many parallel universes ands from a single origin?"

    This question left Lu Yin stumped. It was something that he had never considered before, but once it was brought to his attention, he realized that there really were countless humans throughout the Origin Universe. They were not merely numerous, but rather truly countless. If the Sixverse Association and other parallel universes were taken into ount as well, there was no way to even estimate just how many humans were alive.

    Humans must have either reproduced and spread across countless parallel universes, or they had to be a standard life form that appeared in the environments of many parallel universes. It seemed possible that, as long as the conditions were appropriate for life, humans would appear in a universe.

    If this possibility waspared to the idea of humans spreading across infinite parallel universes, the idea that humans were a standard life form for many universes seemed to be far more likely.

    Who could cause humans to spread across so many parallel universes? Who would visit so many universes to ensure that humans were born there?

    It was not exactly an impossibility, but it defied imagination.

    Still, this was not what Lu Yin needed to focus on at the moment. He watched Bi Lan leave and then descended onto the that they had been observing. In front of Lu Yin were the poles. While the creatures had no eyes, they still seemed capable of sensing Lu Yin¡¯s presence. They all stopped moving and turned to face him. Well, they seemed to be facing him, as they moved to block his path.

    Before long, he was surrounded.

    Lu Yin had a feeling that these poles were regarding him as prey. Just what did these creatures eat?

    Just as the thought urred to Lu Yin, all of the poles surrounding him leaped for him, as though they were going to crush him to death.

    Lu Yin''s body flickered and vanished.

    All of the poles mmed into each other in a confused tangle. What had happened to the creature that they had been chasing?

    Noises could be heard as the polesmunicated among themselves, but Lu Yin could not be found anywhere.

    Lu Yin appeared in outer space and slowly raised a hand. Ripples spread out as he touched the power of space.

    This particr universe experienced time five times faster than other parallel universes. How was such a thing possible? The power of time was truly miraculous.

    As time passed, Lu Yin''s expression slowly changed. What was going on? He was unable to warp space with the same amount of force as normal. The space in this parallel universe was far more robust than in the Origin Universe or any of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes.

    Lu Yin did not believe that he could not seed, so he continued, using more and more strength as he tested the fabric of the universe.

    He peered into the void and looked at the spatial lines, and once he did so, his expression changed yet again.

    In this universe, the spatial lines were actually both denser and thicker than what in the Origin Universe. This actually exined why space seemed so much tougher in this parallel universe.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first started cultivating, he had experienced various ces where space had differing levels of stability. For example, in the Fifth Maind, the space in the Neoverse and Outerverse werepletely different. In one ce, one needed to be an Enlighter to tear through the void, while in the other, only the strength of an Explorer was needed.

    Even so, the difference in the stability of space in the two different ces was not very significant, and for someone with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, such a difference waspletely negligible.

    Simrly, throughout the Sixverse Association, there were various parallel universes where the stability of space varied, but such fluctuations meant nothing to those at Lu Yin¡¯s level.

    However, the parallel universe that Lu Yin was in waspletely different, as space was significantly more durable, to the point where even Lu Yin needed to take notice of it.

    Lu Yin considered the matter for a bit, his expression growing serious. <i>Five times, almost five times different</i>.

    <i>This universe is five times tougher than the Origin Universe.</i>

    <i>Again, it¡¯s five times different, just like the flow of time. Could there be a connection?</i>

    <i>This can¡¯t be a random coincidence. There must be a reason.</i>

    Lu Yin had used the power of space to trigger the formation of his inner world, Lightstream, which granted him the ability to chase time. Thus, he clearly knew that there was an intrinsic connection between space and time.

    Lu Yin slowly sat down. He wanted to carefully mull over the implications of what he had discovered, as he felt that he had touched upon a major concept.

    ...

 Chapter 2931: Targeting

    <h4>Chapter 2931: Targeting</h4>

    In a certain parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, the ground stretched out endlessly, and the entire thing was filled with corpse kings.

    The corpse kings all silently stood in ce, awaiting orders to fight.

    They had been waiting like this for several years.

    The sky suddenly grew dark, like a curtain had fallen, shrouding all the corpse kings in a shadow.

    Behind the corpse kings, one individual looked up. "You are seeking death."

    An attack surged into the sky in an attempt to break the darkness.

    Above that darkness, Qing Ping was peering down. "Marquis Xiang?"

    The one on the ground who had attacked the darkness was indeed Marquis Xiang, one of Aeternals¡¯ Twelve Marquises who had fought on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. When the rear battlefield was conquered, some of the Twelve Marquises had managed to escape, and Marquis Xiang was one of them.

    The Marquis had not expected to meet anyone who recognized him on the Endless Frontier.

    "Are you the Chief Justice?" Marquis Xiang asked in surprise.

    Qing Ping raised a hand, and his darkness dropped down. "Skyless."

    Marquis Xiang was very wary of Chief Judge Qing Ping. Despite only being a Semi-Progenitor, the man¡¯s strength was enough for the Aeternals to take note of him. Even more important was the fact that Qing Ping was Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother.

    Recently, Lu Yin''s fellow disciples had all be public knowledge. Aside from Lu Yin, there was also Mu Xie, who was a Progenitor, and Mu Ke, who was a sequence powerhouse. With time, their master¡¯s requirements had also spread, and people now knew that all the disciples were Realmbreakers; Envoys needed to be able to fight against Semi-Progenitors, and Semi-Progenitors had to be able to challenge Progenitors. This was not only true of Lu Yin, but also of his fellow disciples.

    While Marquis Xiang had no idea who their master was, it was clear that Qing Ping was a Realmbreaker like the rest of his fellow disciples. The man might only be a Semi-Progenitor, but hisbat strength was in no way inferior to a normal Progenitor¡¯s.

    One figure after another shot up from the horde of corpse kings, each one attempting to break through Qing Ping¡¯s Skyless.

    Skyless was not a technique that could be easily ovee, and the Semi-Progenitor-level corpse kings vanished after entering the darkness.

    Marquis Xiang turned around and left. He had no desire to fight against Qing Ping. Without confidence, the Marquis would say nothing. Even if he could defeat Qing Ping, the price to do so would be steep.

    It would also be a problem if Lu Yin was lured back to the Endless Frontier. The crusade had nearly passed through this parallel universe, and if not for sheer luck, Marquis Xiang would have died to the crusade.

    Even the True God Guard Captains had fallen to Lu Yin¡¯s crusade, let alone someone with the Marquis¡¯s strength.

    Marquis Xiang wanted to escape, but Qing Ping would not allow it.

    Skyless continued to expand, and it enveloped the horde of corpse kings before spreading out towards the escaping Marquis.

    Upon seeing this, Marquis Xiang shouted, "Are you that monster of darkness?"

    A few years ago, someone had appeared on the Endless Frontier, and been given the moniker of ¡°monster of darkness.¡± This person had ruthlessly eliminated countless corpse kings, but they should have been hunted down by the True God Guard.

    Skyless expanded faster than Marquis Xiang could move, and he was about to be swallowed by the darkness.

    At the veryst moment, Marquis Xiang used his inner world to fight back against Skyless, while also activating his innate gift. However, that action triggered a blood-red bell, which rang gently. The sound stunned the Marquis and nearly caused him to faint.

    The Twelve Marquises had once terrified humanity on the rear battlefield. They were incredibly powerful and virtually invincible, as long as a Progenitor did not get involved. Each one had been capable of influencing the entire battlefield, but one of them was beingpletely suppressed by Qing Ping alone.

    Soon, Marquis Xiang fell, and Qing Ping stared down at him.

    The Marquis was unwilling to give up. "I¡¯m just one step away, just one step away from bing a Progenitor. What terrible luck to have run into you."

    Qing Ping''s eyes shed, and a hand pressed down, ending Marquis Xiang''s life.

    Qing Ping stood where he was, meditating for a bit before he sent a message to the Heavens Sect.

    ...

    In the fifth universe, a few yellowed leaves fell from Lu Yin''s body. He had sat in ce for half a month without opening his eyes.

    There had to be a connection between space and time, but the only connection that he could think of was that space carried time. Since it was the carrier, if the time passed at an elerated rate, then space needed to be capable of withstanding the increased flow, or else the universe would copse.

    This was the only exnation that Lu Yin coulde up with.

    He released his inner world, Lightstream.

    When Lightstream appeared, it clearly moved very slowly. It was a manifestation of the power of space, but in the fifth universe, Lightstream moved as though it were mired in thick mud. In fact, it moved about twenty percent slower.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts went in the other direction. If his Lightstream was five times tougher, much like space in the universe that he was upying, would that mean that Lightstream could carry five times as much time? Would he be capable of reversing time by five seconds?

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing started to speed up. The idea drove him crazy. If reversing time by one second could change the situation of a battle, then what about five seconds? He raised his hands and looked at his palm. This was an incredibly alluring possibility.

    He needed to find parallel universes with elerated flows of time so that he could develop Lightstream.

    The fact that there was someone possibly capable of denying Lu Yin¡¯s very existence caused him to feel a deep sense of crisis. If that person did deny Lu Yin¡¯s existence, it would mean his death.

    Lu Yin was not used to entrusting his life to another.

    At this moment, the slow-moving Lightstream shook. Right after that, space in every direction also trembled, and Lu Yin felt an instant and terrible sense of danger from every direction. This threat came from the universe itself.

    He reflexively fled.

    After returning to Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief and then returned to the Heavens Sect from Aeternus Nation. What had just happened?

    The sense of danger had felt like the universe itself had been looking at and threatening him.

    Lu Yin went straight to the Decaying Diablo Universe on the Endless Frontier in order to visit the Merchant Exchange''s headquarters.

    Bi Teng had not expected Lu Yin¡¯s unannounced visit, but he quickly hurried out to greet the Dao Monarch.

    Bi Lan and Madam Nn were right behind Bi Teng.

    A group of people who could represent the Merchant Exchange greeted Lu Yin.

    He did not waste any time. "It feels like I''m being targeted by the universe that you shared with me. I feel an incredible threat there. What''s going on?"

    Bi Teng felt confused. "What was targeting you?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "It felt like the whole universe wanted to destroy me."

    Bi Teng nced over at Bi Lan, who was simrly confused. "Lord Lu, we have no idea."

    Lu Yin turned around and left. The two people were not putting on an act. They were not targeting him. If they had been, Lu Yin would not have left so easily. It seemed that the problem was with the universe itself.

    Lu Yin found Big Sis and exined his issue to her as well.

    However, even Big Sis was confused. "I¡¯ve cultivated in parallel universes with different rates of time flow as well. In the past, such universes were basically a form of currency used among powerful Progenitors. Let alone time that passed five times faster, there were universes that were fifty, or even 500 times faster. Everyone had something, but I never heard about anything like your situation."

    She gave Lu Yin an odd stare. Why did this kid run into unique situations no matter what he did?

    "You faced that situation because of Lightstream. For matters involving parallel universes, it would be best to ask a Progenitor who actually understands the situation."

    Lu Yin realized that this was the right way to handle the situation, so he went to speak with Xia Shenji. While Xia Shenji was only a clone of the Progenitor¡¯s original body, after taking over the main body, the clone had acquired the original Xia Shenji¡¯s cultivation and memories.

    Upon hearing Lu Yin''s question, Xia Shenji grew serious. "You cannot attempt to practice with time in parallel universes with different rates of time flow. Doing so will invite a disaster upon you from the universe itself."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You know this for sure?"

    Xia Shenji respectfully answered, "My original body encountered it before. ording to those memories, people of our universe, including both the Lu family and the four ruling powers, have had ess to parallel universes with elerated time. However, excessive use has always caused those universes to be destroyed.

    "Those parallel universes are inherently unstable and are extremely easy to destroy, especially when theye into contact with a power that is forbidden by the universe."

    "Exin," Lu Yin ordered.

    Xia Shenji organized his thoughts before sharing what he knew of the matter.

    ording to Xia Shenji¡¯s understanding of the power of time, parallel universes that had elerated time flows were essentially streams that bifurcated from the river of time.

    The river of time¡¯s flow rate was steady and constant, but the streams were different. Those streams could flow either faster or slower than the river itself, though Xia Shenji had no idea of the mechanics behind this phenomenon. He only knew that, whenever he was in one of those parallel universes and had tried to use the power of time, he had felt a terrible sense of danger. In the most serious situation, pushing ahead could destroy the entire universe.

    "The river of time is a powerful force that was formed by the universe. The streams¡¯ flow rates can be different from the main river, though I don¡¯t understand how that works. All I know is that, if the power of time is touched in those parallel universes, it will result in a disaster," Xia Shenji concluded.

    Lu Yin asked, "What do you mean when you said that everyone used these parallel universes?"

    Xia Shenji replied, "Back when the Fifth Maind was still a solitary whole, before the Perennial World was split off, that era could be regarded as the peak of the Fifth Maind. At that time, Shenwu''s Sky knew about at least a dozen parallel universes with various temporal flow rates. Different organizations would send people to those parallel universes, but doing so would cause all of those parallel universes to be gradually destroyed.

    "All of us knew that, whenever we found such a parallel universe, we could not casually enter or take advantage of them and should only do so when it became necessary."

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why the Transcendent Universe had only allowed Zi Jing and the Energy Research Group to enter that parallel universe after they found a direction to proceed in with their sequence particle research, and not before.

    Lu Yin had barely heard anything concerning parallel universes that had elerated time.

    Xia Shenji had no understanding of the actual principle behind the formation of these special tributaries of the river of time, but Lu Yin felt that he was starting to grasp at something. It was actually what he had already hypothesized in the fifth universe, which was the rtionship between time and space.

    Only space, as a carrier, could hold time. The stronger a universe¡¯s spatial fabric was, the faster time could flow through that space. This was like a pipe diverting a portion of the river of time.

    Lu Yin had no idea if his suspicions were correct, but it was the only way that he could understand this phenomenon.

    Xia Shenji did not know anything more, so Lu Yin then went to speak with Ancestor Lu Tianyi.

    It turned out that Lu Tianyi knew about the same thing as Xia Shenji, though he revealed to Lu Yin that the Lu family had once known about at least twenty different parallel universes with elerated time.

    "Such parallel universes are not verymon, and they need to be sought out. Searching through parallel universes is very dangerous, but if one with elerated time can be found, it is absolutely worth the risk," Lu Tianyi exined.

    "Of course, there are some things that are forbidden when using such universes. A normal human only has a lifespan of about 100 years. If such a person goes to a parallel universe where time passes 100 times faster, then spending just a year in that universe means that they wille back at the end of their life.

    "The years that a human body experiences have nothing to do with their native universe, but are instead entirely dependent on the subjective amount of time that passes. This is why the use of such parallel universes is not as beneficial as one might imagine. Most Progenitors used the elerated passage of time to give their descendants a bit more time to increase their experience, but it is impossible to continuously use such methods. Also, just as Xia Shenji told you, overusing such parallel universes causes them to be destroyed.

    "Thews of the universe are unstable in parallel universes with altered temporal flow rates, especially the more fundamental rules. If those rules are used in such universes, there will be unimaginable consequences..."

    This gave Lu Yin a headache. He wanted to develop his power of time, but doing so would make him be rejected by the very parallel universes that he needed to practice in. How was he supposed to seed?

    Lu Tianyi then shared a method to do exactly that with Lu Yin¡ªbe recognized by the universe.

    Lu Yin had managed to be the Fifth Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, and he had even received the Wordless Heavenly Book, where he could write down the names of people shunned by the Fifth Maind. This was because Lu Yin had been acknowledged by the universe.

 Chapter 2932: Five Seconds

    <h4>Chapter 2932: Five Seconds</h4>

    "A universe is not a living thing, but neither is itpletely dead. They are able to give birth to countlessws, and in some aspects, the universe can almost be regarded as a type ofw itself. Obtaining thatw is equivalent to being acknowledged by the universe," Lu Tianyi exined.

    Lu Yin understood. "So, as long as I receive a universe¡¯s recognition, I won''t be rejected when I use the power of time?"

    Lu Tianyi nodded. "It stands to reason, so you might as well try. You won¡¯t lose anything even if you fail."

    Lu Yin thought of the pole-shaped lifeforms in the fifth universe. They did not look like creatures that could recognize him, and yet those Pole Nodes filled that universe. Lu Yin could only be acknowledged by the universe if he received those Pole Nodes¡¯ acknowledgement.

    How was he supposed to do that?

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi attached great importance to any matter regarding Lu Yin''s cultivation. In order to avoid any possible mishap, the matter was also passed along to Ancestor Lu Yuan, despite the fact that their ancestor was still in seclusion. Lu Yin expected it to take a while to get a response, but surprisingly, Ancestor Lu Yuan responded the very next day. That response only consisted of a few words: unite all sapient creatures to conceal the truth from the universe!

    ...

    Lu Yin returned to the fifth universe again. This time, he immediately felt a sense of danger, as though the universe was threatening to fall upon him at any moment.

    The universe¡¯s space was about five times more stable than the Origin Universe¡¯s. Normally, this stability would have no effect on Lu Yin; let alone a fivefold increase, even if the universe was fifty times more stable, Lu Yin would still be able to easily tear through the void.

    However, his ability to control the power of space had been impacted significantly. Since the space here was five times more durable than what he was used to, Lu Yin found it difficult to adapt to the change. In addition to that, whenever he tried to do so, he would be threatened by the universe. It was all very frustrating.

    Lu Yin had returned to test out the advice he had received from Ancestor Lu Yuan; unite all sapient creatures to conceal the truth from the universe.

    These words were easy enough to understand, and Lu Yin had already learned as much from his conversation with Ancestor Lu Tianyi. Lu Yin needed to be recognized by the fifth universe, in the same manner that the Fifth Maind had recognized him.

    The Fifth Maind had acknowledged Lu Yin because of everything that he had done for humanity, earning universal respect and admiration. Unfortunately, replicating that process would take far too long, and Lu Yin could not spend that much time on another universe.

    In that case, how could he make the universe recognize him?

    Lu Yin felt a bit confused, but he could only try to form a connection with the Pole Nodes.

    He quickly found them again and moved closer. This time, Lu Yin remained hidden as he observed them.

    The pole-like creatures¡¯ lives werepletely different from a human¡¯s. The Pole Nodes seemed to be abination of beast and bamboo. They jumped around, hunted various beasts, and ate them. Their method of eating was also very strange, and Lu Yin''s scalp went numb every time he observed the process.

    Theymunicated with each other primarily through tapping.

    Lu Yin watched the creatures for a full month before he finally managed to understand what their taps meant. This was only because he was a cultivator. If he were an ordinary human, he would have never been able to unravel the meaning of the Pole Nodes¡¯nguage, even if he spent an entire lifetime studying them.

    "It¡¯s grown cooler recently. We¡¯ll need to replenish our food soon."

    "We don''t have enough water in our bodies, and the rivers will freeze. We need to dig out a ce where we can collect enough water before it freezes."

    "I¡¯ve received news that the Three Nodes Tribe was torn apart by that fog wolf and that there are none left."

    "Are there fog wolves around here?"

    "Some."

    "Then we need to relocate. We can¡¯t handle fog wolves. They can tear us apart with just one w..."

    ...

    The Pole Nodes that Lu Yin was observing soon began migrating. Hundreds of thousands of the creatures leaped across the ground, moving in another direction.

    As they traveled, they asionally encountered a fog wolf. Fog wolves were ten timesrger than any of the poles, and they could shred the poles apart with a single swipe of their ws. Additionally, the wolves moved much faster than the poles.

    The Pole Nodes werepletely helpless against the fog wolf, and they could only try to escape by ousting the wolf. With the fog wolf¡¯s higher speed, the poles could only hope to escape after exhausting the fog wolf. However, as soon as the fog wolf recovered, the Pole Nodes would continue being massacred.

    Lu Yin did nothing to help the creatures. Beasts did not attack without reason, and they only pursued either food or revenge.

    These Pole Nodes were clearly not something that fog wolves ate, which meant that the beast was pursuing revenge.

    Such actions of revenge were all toomon among humans.

    All of the Pole Nodes were terrified whenever the fog wolf appeared. They tried to leap in the same direction, hoping to lose the fog wolf, but after catching sight of the poles, the wolf would never stop until all of the Pole Nodes had been torn apart.

    "This is all the Nine Nodes Tribe¡¯s fault! If they hadn''t eaten that little fog wolf, the beast wouldn¡¯t have gone mad and started massacring us."

    "We would never antagonize a creature as terrifying as the fog wolves."

    "Who can save us?"

    "It would be great if we could find that creature we ran into before. It has something like invisibility or evasion."

    "If we can find it, our chances of survival would improve greatly."

    Lu Yin was surprised to discover that the Pole Nodes were talking about him. There were no other cultivators in the entire universe. Bi Lan had told Lu Yin that no one from the Merchant Exchange ever visited the fifth universe, and they only maintained it in case of an emergency.

    Clearly, the Merchant Exchange understood that the more people who entered the universe, the faster it would degrade and copse.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He continued to watch the group of poles migrate, while also observing their fear of the fog wolf. Finally, he decided to give things a try.

    Down below, rage filled the fog wolf¡¯s eyes. A paw rose up, and sharp ws swept out to tear at a pole before the beast.

    The group of poles continued to flee. Days passed as they were hunted down, and tens of thousands of poles were torn to pieces. A fear of fog wolves had already been deeply engraved into their hearts. Their only chance was to escape, but they were not nearly as fast as the fog wolves.

    Just as the wolf leaped forward to resume ughtering the Pole Nodes, Lu Yin stepped out with an upraised hand. He grabbed the wolf and trapped it in mid-air.

    All the Pole Nodes were frozen in shock. Despite having no eyes, ears, mouths, or noses, Lu Yin knew that all the poles were observing him in their own manner.

    His other hand stretched out and started tapping.

    "Do you need help?"

    All of the Pole Nodes felt confused. This was the first creature that was not one of their own kind that was capable ofmunicating with them. Immediately, many of the poles started tapping, most of them asking what kind of creature Lu Yin was, why he was able tomunicate with them, and why he was able to subdue the fog wolf.

    Lu Yin casually tossed the wolf aside, making sure to not kill the beast. There was nothing wrong with the fog wolf seeking revenge.

    The fog wolf fell to the ground, where it looked up at Lu Yin fearfully before turning around and escaping. It felt that it was utterly impossible to go against Lu Yin.

    The beast''s intuition was quite urate.

    After seeing the fog wolf flee, all of the tribe members rxed. They continued to stare at Lu Yin with open curiosity.

    Lu Yin used the Pole Nodes¡¯ ownnguage tomunicate with them, and he grew increasingly familiar with them. His purpose was to teach these poles how to cultivate, thereby bing a god in their hearts. Guiding them and being misconstrued as a god would make it easier for them to ept whatever Lu Yin told them.

    After half a year, Lu Yin left the and moved on to another to teach another group of Pole Nodes.

    The Pole Nodes that Lu Yin had left behind were all grateful to him, as they had received a cultivation method from him that they spread to the other tribes. With the cultivation method, Lu Yin¡¯s image and reputation were also spread.

    As far as the Pole Nodes were concerned, Lu Yin was a god.

    What Lu Yin had given them was not a cultivation method that used star energy, but rather something that he had quickly put together based on the creatures¡¯ unique traits. It was not particrly good, but it was enough to allow them to fight back against the fog wolves, which was enough for the Pole Nodes.

    As time passed, some of the creatures might even be able to improve the cultivation method.

    Lu Yin had spread the initial sparks of the fire of cultivation in the universe.

    In a sh, ten years had passed in the universe, while only two years passed in the Origin Universe.

    For ten years, Lu Yin had stayed in the fifth universe. During that time, he had guided no less than thirty tribes of the native Pole Nodes. Among them were several super tribes that took up entires, though only in terms of numbers. Whenever the Pole Nodes were confronted by the fog wolves, they had no choice but to flee.

    The fog wolves were just one of the disasters that the Pole Nodes faced. There were many, many more dangers that the Pole Nodes could not survive.

    However, obtaining a cultivation method changed that, and they now had infinite possibilities for the future.

    Over the course of ten years, countless Pole Nodes had started worshiping Lu Yin, and many of them regarded him as a god. Such worship was closer to that of faith, which gave Lu Yin the confidence to try to touch on the power of space again. He could not be sure if his intuition was nothing more than an illusion and that he still needed to spend a great deal more time in the fifth universe, but Lu Yin felt that the universe¡¯s animosity had faded.

    Standing in an empty region, Lu Yin stared straight ahead. Ten years. He had endured this ce for ten years. He had not tested the power of space even once, but now, he was about to try again.

    His expression suddenly changed, and he observed the spatial lines in front of him. Lu Yin stretched out his hand to touch the lines, and his body disappeared. Instantly, he reappeared in another location. The transition was smooth, which caused his eyes to light up.

    Lu Yin could not wait to use Lightstream. His inner world had the appearance of a beam of light that constantly swirled about. Sure enough, there was no threat. Lu Yin nearlyughed aloud, as Lightstream was moving about much quicker and smoother than before. It no longer felt like it was stuck in a quagmire.

    Lu Yin quickly returned to Aeternus Nation, and with a wave of his hand, Lightstream moved around. He watched as time reversed around him, and he saw the moment of when he had arrived in the small parallel universe. He could also see that, before he arrived, no one had been present. One, two, three, four, five. Sure enough, he could see five seconds into the past.

    Lu Yinughed, knowing that he could now see five seconds into the past. It really did work exactly like he had suspected.

    Right, he needed to test out reversing time as well.

    Lu Yin made the attempt, but this test did not go as well as the first. He was still only able to reverse time by one second, not five seconds like he had expected.

    Something was wrong. There had to be something wrong. Why could he not reverse time by five seconds?

    He stood there, thinking about it.

    Even after mulling over the matter for a long time, he still failed to figure anything out. He shook his head, deciding to not bother focusing on it if he could not understand it. Being able to see five seconds into the past suggested that he might one day also develop the ability to reverse time by five seconds. That was good enough for him.

    Cultivation was something that needed to be done one step at a time.

    Lightstream was the power of space, and it was able to chase time to manipte both time and space. Strengthening the power of space in Lightstream by five times allowed Lu Yin to see five seconds into the past, but Lu Yin wanted more. Five seconds was not good enough. He wanted to increase that time to one minute, one hour, one day, even one year, and eventually, an entire era.

    The main hall of the Daosource Sect had been able to shuttle people through time to observe the Heavens Sect era, but that was only possible because of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. That ability proved that the sword possessed an incredible power of time as well as spatial toughness. Since the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword could do such a thing, Lu Yin would one day be capable of doing the same.

    His time in the fifth universe hade to a close. He had sessfully seen five seconds back in time, so next, he needed to find another parallel universe.

    In fact, he needed a universe with an even more exaggerated rate of time flow.

    Having time pass five times faster was not particrly important. The Merchant Exchange definitely had ess to universes with much faster flows of time.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and asked the Merchant Exchange to visit him again.

    However, Lu Yin did not know how to go about asking the Merchant Exchange for ess to another parallel universe. Thepany did not want money, which meant that it was impossible to buy that information from them. Even so, he needed to get it.

    Progenitor Hui had been quite urate; there were indeed things that ordinary people cared about greatly that those who held high positions werepletely unconcerned about.

 Chapter 2933: Special Physique

    Chapter 2933: Special Physique

    "Dao Monarch, Tuo Lin has asked for an audience with you," the Second Nightking reported.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "Bring him to me."

    Tuo Lin soon arrived, following the Second Nightking. The young man appeared anxious as he walked over. Upon seeing Lu Yin, Tuo Lin knelt down and bowed. "Your disciple greets you, Master."

    Lu Yin nodded with a small smile. "You don''t need to kneel when you see me in the future."

    Tuo Lin was clearly ufortable. "Understood."

    "Come, have a seat."

    Tuo Lin slowly walked over across from Lu Yin and sat down.

    "What do you want from me?" Lu Yin looked at him.

    Tuo Lin shot to his feet and gave Lu Yin another deep bow. "Your disciple wishes to cultivate, and I ask that you teach me, Master."Lu Yin stared at Tuo Lin, making the young man increasingly uneasy. He had attempted to start cultivating countless times in the Cyclic Universe, and many powerful experts had been willing to try to teach him. This was because he was allowed to attend the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremonies, while many of the people who had attempted to teach him were not. As far as they were concerned, sessfully teaching Tuo Lin would most likely let them enter the Great Sovereign¡¯s sight.

    However, everyst person who had attempted to teach Tuo Lin had failed. He was born unable to cultivate.

    This was precisely why he had been so determined to be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple. Lu Yin had achieved an amazing level of strength and cultivation at an incredibly young age. Additionally, witnessing Lu Yin¡¯s Semi-Progenitor tribtion had excited Tuo Lin. As far as he was concerned, the fact that Lu Yin had managed to ovee such a terrifying final tribtion was proof that Lu Yin could aplish miracles.

    Only a person who could create miracles could let Tuo Lin start cultivating.

    However, Tuo Lin had spent all of his time in the Heavens Sect without ever receiving any guidance from Lu Yin. This made Tuo Lin feel more and more nervous, and he had started to panic, fearing that Lu Yin would not be able to teach him.

    The young man was awaiting Lu Yin¡¯s answer. It was the answer to a question that left Tuo Lin teetering on the edge of both hope and despair.

    Lu Yin stared at Tuo Lin. "I¡¯ve examined your physique."

    Tuo Lin''s face turned pale, and yet he bowed even lower while his panic grew stronger.

    "You have a very good physique."

    Tuo Lin¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared at Lu Yin in surprise. He must have heard wrong. What could that mean? A very good physique? Was that true?

    "Master, you think that it''s very good?"

    Lu Yin stated in a matter-of-factly tone, "Didn''t anyone tell you that your physique shows signs of atavism, which makes you perfectly suited for humanity¡¯s true cultivation method?"

    "Oh, is that so?" Tuo Lin answered in a dazed manner. Signs of atavism that suits humanity¡¯s true cultivation method? The words sounded so impressive, so why had Tuo Lin never heard them from anyone in the Cyclic Universe?

    Lu Yin gazed at Tuo Lin with admiration. "You possess a physique that hasn¡¯t been seen since the days of our universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. It can be said that only one in a billion has a possibility of cultivating to the peak, and by those standards, you possess the essence that can save countless people.¡±

    Tuo Lin blinked, his eyes flickering between excitement, confusion, and disbelief. It was only natural that he was a bit doubtful. How could he possess such a physique? An essence that could save countless people ? What was this about?

    Lu Yin stood up, staring at Tuo Lin with emotion. "I have dreamed of obtaining a physique like yours, but unfortunately, I don''t. However, you do. This type of physique is not something that can be cultivated by normal means, as the energy in the body is scattered, rather than existing in the form of energy channels. Your energy might feel present, and yet also missing, almost like an illusion. It is also difficult for you to retain any energy when you try to cultivate.¡±

    Tuo Lin started to grow excited, as this perfectly described the issues bothering him.

    "With your physique, everyone will tell you that it''s impossible for you to cultivate."

    Tuo Lin''s eyes grew red. "Yes, that''s exactly it! Master, do you know what sort of physique I have?"

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "As I already said, this is a physique that is unique among billions. With this physique, you bear the heavy responsibility of saving mankind. How can ordinary cultivation methods seed for you, let alone those cultivators guiding you, if your physique has never appeared in their universe? They would find it impossible for you to ever cultivate.

    "If I''m not wrong, there is no one in the entire Cyclic Universe who can teach you. In fact, they don''t even know what physique you possess or what it means."

    Tuo Lin dropped to his knees. "Master, that is exactly what your disciple has endured! I beg you to teach me, Master, so that I can step onto the path of cultivation!"

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He was deceiving Tuo Lin with every word, and he could not bear to cast the young man into the depths of despair.

    Sage Yajna had been absolutely right, and Tuo Lin was indeed unable to cultivate. How could a person whocked energy channels ever cultivate? However, the truth would emotionally crush Tuo Lin.

    "Of course I will teach you. In fact, at the Tea Ceremony, I noticed your physique and wanted to bring you back to my Heavens Sect, but the attack arrived too suddenly, and the fact that you were qualified to attend the Tea Ceremony made me think that the Great Sovereign greatly values you, so I decided to leave the matter alone.

    "It wasn''t until you arrived outside the Heavens Sect, asking to be my disciple that I was reminded of you again. I had you kneel outside of the Heavens Sect as a test. You won''t me me for that, right?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

    Tuo Lin lifted his head. "How could I? Everything that Master does is for the good of your disciple. Of course this disciple understands."

    Lu Yin smiled. "If the Cyclic Universe had not arrived to take you away, I would have left you to kneel there for at least ten years. This was not to be a test for you, but rather a test for a future savior of humanity. Your physique means that you are destined to save humanity from disaster, and as such, you must be capable of shouldering the tremendous responsibility of bringing prosperity to the human race. Of course your tests will be more difficult."

    Tuo Lin''s face flushed with excitement. He had initially doubted Lu Yin, but those doubts had all evaporated now. Why would his master lie to him? There was no reason for the ruler of the Origin Universe to lie to Tuo Lin.

    Seeing the sincerity in Lu Yin''s eyes, Tuo Lin gritted his teeth and resolutely dered, "Your disciple is willing to ept any test from you, Master! Regardless of the test, your disciple will pass. I only ask that you guide your disciple onto the path of cultivation so that I may one day protect the Heavens Sect and humanity.¡±

    Lu Yin agreed. "I can teach you."

    Internally, Lu Yin let out a secret sigh of relief. Tuo Lin was fully convinced.

    "With your physique, as soon as you start cultivating, it will be difficult to contain your growing power. You will rise up very quickly, but this will also exacerbate any ws in your character. In the future, you will need to ovee your Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. At that time, there is a test you will have to face that is known as questioning the heart. If you easily rise to power, you will not be able to pass this test, as there will be obsessions hidden in your heart.¡±

    Tuo Lin grew very respectful. "Regardless of how you teach me, Master, this disciple will surely pass the questioning my heart."

    Lu Yin shrugged, as he was not confident that he could pass that trial himself. "Alright, I originally intended to have you kneel outside of the Heavens Sect for ten years as a means to polish your character, but that was ruined by the Cyclic Universe. In that case, we¡¯ll need to find another way.

    "I will ask people to gather the Origin Universe¡¯s entireption of human history. You will need to study this history carefully and understand the meanings contained within these records before you can prove yourself. On the day that your character matches your physique, as your master, I will formally guide you on your cultivation and show you how to step through the door and begin. On that day, you will be the greatest in the entire megaverse, and no one will be able topare to you. I hope that you will be able to bear the heavy burden of protecting mankind when that timees."

    Tuo Lin clenched his fists. "Your disciple understands! I will never disappoint your expectations, Master!"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Head on back."

    Tuo Lin suppressed his excitement as he left. He now wanted to diligently study human history, uncover the secrets contained in those records, and prove himself worthy of the path that he would tread. His master had such high expectations of him, and Tuo Lin would not let his master down.

    Once Tuo Lin had left, Lu Yin called back the Second Nightking. "Go and send him every book you can gather on human history."

    The Second Nightking was startled. "All of them?"

    Lu Yin was deadly serious. "Everything."

    Any given would have numerous history books. Just how many records did the entire Origin Universe contain? Lu Yin could not even begin to guess. The Second Nightking left, a confused look on his face. If a person wanted to read through all of those records, the amount of information could kill a Progenitor. Just what was the Dao Monarch doing?

    After that, the Merchant Exchange arrived, again represented by Bi Lan.

    She was a bit nervous, facing Lu Yin.

    "Lord Lu," Bi Lan said with a bow.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I can''t use the fifth universe, for the reasons that I shared with you."

    Bi Lan hesitated. "What are you saying, Lord Lu?"

    At this moment, Zhao Ran arrived with some tea.

    Bi Lan drank the tea as though it was natural, though Lu Yin hesitated a bit. However, after seeing the hope in Zhao Ran''s eyes, he pushed his hesitations aside and sipped his tea.

    "I would like to think that there is a strong sense of cooperation between us and the Merchant Exchange," Lu Yin said as he set his tea cup down.

    Bi Lan also lowered her tea cup. "Of course. Lord Lu is a friend of the Merchant Exchange¡¯s."

    Lu Yin continued, "Since we are friends, I won''t mince words. If the Merchant Exchange needs anything at all in the future, all you need to do is ask. Now, I hope to use the Merchant Exchange to gain ess to more parallel universes with elerated time. Of course, if you have some already, that would be even better."

    Bi Lan felt cornered. "It¡¯s true that there are not many universes where time passes faster, but they can still be found after searching. Why don''t you have people of your own Heavens Sect search for you, Lord Lu?"

    "I''ve already done that, but I¡¯ve recently encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation, and I¡¯m in urgent need of universes with faster time flows, and I cannot wait. I have no idea when my people might seed."

    "I see."

    After a moment of silence, Bi Lan gritted her teeth and said, "My Merchant Exchange also has ess to the twelfth universe. If you would like to go there, Lord Lu, I can take you."

    As soon as the Merchant Exchange had received Lu Yin¡¯s request for a meeting, they had already guessed at what he wanted. Bi Teng had struggled, but he ultimately decided to offer Lu Yin ess to the twelfth universe. The man really had no other choice, as it was imperative that the Merchant Exchange maintain a positive rtionship with Lu Yin.

    This was the disadvantage of unequal cooperation. If the Merchant Exchange possessed the same level of strength as the Heavens Sect, then there would be no need for them to be so concerned about Lu Yin¡¯s opinion. Unfortunately, they simplycked the strength.

    While there was a pretense of cooperation, the truth was that, in the face of Lu Yin¡¯s pressure, the Merchant Exchange could only capitte.

    Lu Yin was aware that he was pushing too far, so he brought something out and offered it to Bi Lan. "Your Merchant Exchange has been extremely generous, already having lent me the fifth universe. I can''t keep selfishly imposing upon you, so please treat this ck energy converter as rent.¡±

    Bi Lan instantly refused, but this time, she was not allowed to say no. Lu Yin insisted that she ept the ck energy converter.

    A ck energy converter was important to anyone, even the Merchant Exchange. Lu Yin was paying a reasonable price.

    He really had no choice, as he knew that he was going too far in forcing the Merchant Exchange to offer him the twelfth universe. If he was unwilling to pay any sort ofpensation, how would they ever willingly cooperate with him again in the future?

    No one wanted to work with a miser. It was necessary to pay a reasonable price.

    Bi Lan held onto the ck energy converter. It was an extremely valuable device, and the Merchant Exchange had tried to purchase them from the Transcendent Universe in the past, only to always be refused by Lord Wei. Each ck energy converter meant another peak powerhouse, even if they could only be regarded as the dregs of that level. Even so, such people were not weak.

    Typically, a ck energy converter would be more valuable than a parallel universe where time flowed faster. This was because a ck energy converter guaranteed another powerhouse, while there was no guarantee that the additional time offered by such a parallel universe could give rise to a peak powerhouse.

    At best, such ces could elerate things a bit.

    Staring at the ck energy converter, Bi Teng frowned. "He is going to ask us for another universe after this."

    Bi Lan hesitated, and Bi Teng looked up at her. "Just say what¡¯s on your mind."

    Bi Lan said, "We are not actually giving Lord Lu the parallel universes, but simply lending them for him to use in his cultivation. Doing this costs us nothing. Since Lord Lu is willing to pay, and we are also not suffering any losses from his use of the universes, then why not deepen our rtionship?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2934: Sense Of Superiority

    Chapter 2934: Sense Of Superiority

    After listening to Bi Lan''s words, Bi Teng shook his head. "Such things might not matter to ordinary cultivators, but for those at Lord Lu''s level, especially since he is capable of reversing time¡­" At this point, the man paused, seemingly hesitant to continue. "For such people, these parallel universes are essentially consumables."

    Bi Lan did not understand, but upon seeing the expression on Bi Teng¡¯s face, she did not ask any further questions.

    "If this doesn''t work, then we¡¯ll just tell him about that ce," Bi Teng muttered to himself, though his voice was soft enough that Bi Lan could not make out his words.

    ¡­

    The storm stirred the dark red sea, raising up huge waves. In the distance, lightning flickered continuously, and a green mist nearly covered the entire sky. asionally, massive creatures would leap out of the sea, swallow some of the sea water, linger among the lightning, and then fly off into the distance.

    This was the Merchant Exchange¡¯s twelfth universe.

    It was referred to as the twelfth universe because time flowed twelve times faster than in the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin stood on a deserted ind. It was an enormousndmass, and it was equal to an entire continent on Earth. And yet, it was nothing more than the tiniest ind in the vast sea that surrounded Lu Yin. That was because even just a small corner of this sea far exceeded the size of Earth.

    The entire universe consisted of seas. When Lu Yin looked into the distance, he saw various seas connected to each other, all of which formed a unique parallel universe.This entire universe wasposed of nothing but these seas. Some looked like they were lying on top ofs, while others floated in outer space. No matter what, they were all interconnected, and there was no end in sight.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, moving past the lightning storm. A wave of his hand dispersed the green mist from the sky, revealing the depths of a slightly green starry sky. In this universe, even outer space was poisonous, and the universe was not at all suitable for human survival.

    This was another parallel universe without any humans, and it was also considerablyrger than the fifth universe.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide when he looked at the spatial lines in the twelfth universe. Sure enough, they wererger and more robust than the spatial lines of the fifth universe. Specifically, they were twelve times thicker than the Origin Universe¡¯s, and adapting to this universe would allow Lu Yin to peer twelve seconds into the past.

    It was entirely possible to immediately enter a universe where time flowed fifty times faster than in the Origin Universe, which vastly exceeded the twelfth universe¡¯s flow rate. However, Lu Yin had quickly dismissed the possibility after considering it. It would be even more difficult to adapt to an extreme difference in temporal flow rates. If just a fivefold increase had made his Lightstream feel like it was stuck in a quagmire, then a universe whose time flowed fifty times as fast might reject him the moment he tried to bring out Lightstream.

    It would also be very difficult to obtain the acknowledgement of such a parallel universe.

    Now, all of this was nothing more than Lu Yin''s personal conjecture, and it was entirely possible that the difficulty in being acknowledged by a parallel universe had nothing to do with how fast time passed in that universe. It might be possible that one could quickly receive the acknowledgement of a parallel universe where time passed millions of times faster than in the Origin Universe, but that was nothing more than a possibility. Without any proof, Lu Yin could only go off of his own conjectures.

    It would also be extremely difficult for him to gain ess to such a parallel universe. Even if the Merchant Exchange had one, there was no way they would ever be willing to share it with Lu Yin.

    Additionally, Lu Yin knew that he could not continue to rely solely on the Merchant Exchange. He needed to learn about others with ess to simr parallel universes from them.

    There was a snap as a bolt of lightning shot across the sky overhead. Nearby, a gigantic tornado spun around.

    Lu Yin took another step forward and started to learn about the current universe. Only by understanding it could he receive its recognition.

    A monthter, Lu Yin stood above a sea as stellr energy surged out from his body. He suppressed the entire sea, causing it to spread out in every direction. Huge creatures that lurked within the sea looked at Lu Yin in terror. There were fish, turtles, and many more bizarre creatures.

    All of the creatures were wagging their tails or somehow submitting to Lu Yin in their own manner.

    Lu Yin discovered that, while all of the creatures in the twelfth universe were marine astral beasts, they were all quite intelligent and understood how to submit to higher powers.

    The entire universe was a system of interconnected seas, and the astral beasts had divided them into various territories. Some of the creatures banded together to defeat powerful opponents, while others acted independently.

    This universe had a unique marine civilization.

    Things were easier to handle since some sort of civilization had already been established.

    The only method to receive the universe¡¯s recognition that Lu Yin could think of was to conquer all of the astral beasts. He would never offer the astral beasts cultivation methods, as the beasts were barbaric. The civilization they did have was primitive, and the idea of survival of the fittest was engraved into their very bones. The only way for Lu Yin to establish himself as the apex existence was to suppress all the astral beasts with absolute power.

    Wherever Lu Yin went, just the pressure of his stellr energy was enough to cow all the astral beasts. The more powerful the creature was, the greater the terror that they felt from Lu Yin¡¯s show of strength. When faced with an utterly irresistible power, no creature would resist. They would only choose to surrender.

    Two months, three months. Finally, five months passed before Lu Yin swept through the entirety of the twelfth universe. For the Origin Universe, less than half a month had passed, and Lu Yin had already forced all of the most powerful marine astral beasts in the twelfth universe to surrender to him.

    Twelve times the speed of time meant that Lu Yin had twelve times more time to work with.

    He could feel that the universe was no longer hostile to him. This feeling had not been noticeable in the past, but it had be more prominent after he received the fifth universe¡¯s acknowledgement. This subtle feeling made Lu Yin confident that the twelfth universe had recognized him.

    Of the two universes, intimidating creatures into submission had been much faster and easier than educating the pole-like creatures. Lu Yin had spent ten years to receive the acknowledgement of the fifth universe. If he had firste to the twelfth universe, Lu Yin would not have wasted nearly as much time.

    Despite feeling that the lost time was a pity, Lu Yin could not me the Merchant Exchange. After all, they had been forced into cooperating with him.

    It was time.

    Lu Yin used his inner world, Lightstream.

    He felt nervous as he brought out his inner world, and he felt the same sensation as he had in the fifth universe; it felt as though Lightstream had been submerged in a quagmire. If he had not taken the time to first adapt to the fifth universe, the feeling would have been even more extreme in the twelfth universe.

    In the fifth universe, after receiving the universe¡¯s acknowledgement, Lu Yin had been able to use Lightstream smoothly and without any hindrance. However, in the twelfth universe, even after receiving the universe¡¯s recognition, Lightstream moved as though it was trapped in a quagmire. Was it possible that Lu Yin had not been truly acknowledged by the universe?

    Lu Yin gazed up at the stars and waited.

    After a long time passed, he let out a sigh of relief. He was not in danger of being rejected, which proved that he had been epted by the universe.

    The astral beasts were the dominant lifeforms in the twelfth universe. Just like how Lu Yin had received the acknowledgement of the fifth universe by teaching the poles, convincing the dominant lifeforms in the twelfth universe gave Lu Yin the universe¡¯s acknowledgement.

    In that case, since he had been recognized by the twelfth universe, why did Lightstream still behave as though it was trapped in a quagmire?

    Lu Yin started to adjust to the twelfth universe with Lightstream. Well, he attempted to do so.

    ¡­

    In the Heavens Sect, Tuo Lin stared nkly at the books that practically filled an entire room before him. The Second Nightking stood behind the books, unable to even enter the room as the books blocked him.

    "These are the books that the Dao Monarch ordered me to gather for you. I ask that the Young Master review them." The Second Nightking spoke respectfully to Tuo Lin, even though there was clear envy in his voice. This young man had been epted as the Dao Monarch''s disciple. In the Origin Universe, not even Progenitors couldpare to Tuo Lin¡¯s new status. The young man had taken one step and surpassed the sky.

    Tuo Lin was stunned by the sight before him. "So many?"

    The Second Nightking replied, "This is nothing more than a small portion of what has been gathered. Much more is still on the way."

    Tuo Lin''s face turned pale. There was even more? How would he ever finish reading all of these books?

    He stared at the piles of books that were piled everywhere he looked. For a moment, he questioned his situation.

    "Young Master, these books have been collected by various sects, organizations, and families. All of them are ounts of human history. Once you have finished reading these, please inform your servant, and the books will be returned to their owners," the Second Nightking exined.

    Tuo Lin frowned. "Are these books very valuable?"

    "Extremely," the Second Nightking replied. He was following Lu Yin¡¯s orders with his responses.

    Tuo Lin took a deep breath. It was impossible for his master to lie to him. If Lu Yin wanted to lie, he could have simply found a few ordinary books. Why bother gathering valuable records? Only these precious records would contain details of history that were hidden to ordinary people.

    Yes, Master''s expectations for Tuo Lin were extremely high, and this test was beyond challenging.

    The young man remembered every word that Lu Yin had ever said to him. Thinking about those words and the approval in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes when he had looked at Tuo Lin caused the young man to take a deep breath. After releasing it, a determination stronger than ever filled his eyes. No matter what was ced before him, how difficult his path might be, or how long Master¡¯s test mightst, Tuo Lin would see things through to the end.

    He needed to bear the heavy burden of protecting humanity. He would be their savior.

    "Let¡¯s go!" Tuo Lin picked up a book in front of him and started reading.

    The Second Nightking did not understand where the young man¡¯s sudden excitement came from, but he intended to leave the young man alone to read the books. Just the ones in that room wouldst the young man for several years. After all, Tuo Lin was apletely ordinary human.

    ¡­

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin waved a hand and brought out Lightstream. It shuttled about, and he silently counted. <em>One, two, three¡­ thirteen, huh? More? Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen.</em>

    Lightstream returned to Lu Yin¡¯s body, as he stood there in surprise. How could he see eighteen seconds into the past?

    After adapting to the twelfth universe, Lu Yin had expected his inner world to allow him to see a total of twelve seconds into the past, simr to what had happened after he had finished his time in the fifth universe when he had seen five seconds into the past.

    Why could he see eighteen seconds into the past instead?

    Eighteen seconds could be interpreted as one second plus five seconds plus another twelve seconds for a total of eighteen seconds. This was the cumtive time of the Origin Universe, the fifth universe, and the twelfth universe.

    Why was this the case?

    Lu Yin considered the matter for a long time, but he failed to determine anything. Still, this seemed like a positive result.

    Instead of seeing just twelve seconds into the past, Lu Yin could see eighteen seconds. If he continued to visit parallel universes with different rates of time and cumtively add all of them together, he would be able to see further and further into the past.

    One minute? An hour? A day? Even a month or a year?

    Lu Yin used Lightstream again. He was still only able to reverse time by one second, but he could see what had happened eighteen seconds in the past. This discrepancy was really hard for him to understand.

    He became increasingly eager to visit more parallel universes with elerated time.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin returned from Backyard, an ugly expression on his face.

    He had asked Zi Jing about the parallel universe where the Transcendent Universe had sent the Energy Research Group to study sequence particles. That universe¡¯s time had flowed a hundred times faster than in the Origin Universe. Lord Wei had found an impressive parallel universe for the researchers to use.

    Unfortunately, that universe had been destroyed by Progenitor Hui. How frustrating. It was really such a pity.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered, and he sent a message to Madam Nn, asking her to visit him in the Heavens Sect.

    "Dao Monarch, you¡¯ve scared the Merchant Exchange by calling me here. They think that you want yet another parallel universe with an altered flow of time." Madam Nn rxed as she looked at Lu Yin with bright, fascinated eyes.

    Lu Yinughed. "They¡¯re absolutely right. I do want another parallel universe."

    Madam Nn was taken aback. "So soon?"

    Lu Yin did not know how to exin his situation to Madam Nn, but it also was unnecessary. "Does the Merchant Exchange have any more options?"

    Madam Nn replied, "They must, but there is a tacit agreement not to share such information with me. I¡¯ve already asked, and I¡¯ve even spoken with Bi Teng himself. However, he won¡¯t tell me anything."

    As the Heavens Sect grew increasingly powerful, Lu Yin and many others from the Heavens Sect were taking more and more direct actions. This waspletely different from how they had behaved in the past. While this change could be regarded as a good thing, as the people of the Origin Universe had gained a great deal of confidence, there were also negative effects. This attitude of superiority could potentially cause trouble.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2935: Deliver A Message

    Chapter 2935: Deliver A Message

    Part of the reason why the Aeternals had not been eliminated during the Heavens Sect era was because the Origin Universe¡¯s humans had grown too arrogant. They had looked down upon the Aeternals.

    Why did the Cyclic Universe hate the ancient Heavens Sect so much? It was because of their arrogance. If Aeternus had been dealt with all those years ago, this dire threat to humanity would have never risen up.

    The ancient Heavens Sect had paid a terrible price for that mistake, and Lu Yin did not want to repeat it in the current era.

    That was how history worked. Failure to respect history was essentially betraying both the past and the future.

    Lu Yin quietly listened to Madam Nn. This was not the time to try to correct the situation. Rather, it was important to take time and not rush. Attempting to correct things too soon would only be counterproductive.

    "Are you saying that everyone in the Merchant Exchange is deliberately hiding things from you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Madam Nn seemed troubled. "They don''t dare to offend me, but they also won''t let me get close to them. Even Bi Lan maintains some distance from me, either intentionally or unintentionally."

    Lu Yin tapped the void with a finger. It seemed like he was in real trouble this time. If the Merchant Exchange was clearly keeping its distance from him, had he been pushing them too hard?

    If that was the case, then the only choice was to leave the Merchant Exchange alone for some time. Lu Yin remembered that Bi Lan had mentioned that Luo Shan also had ess to parallel universes with different rates of time flow. So, Lu Yin could only go after the Monarch.Madam Nn left, and Lu Yin secretly asked Wu Heng to visit the Heavens Sect.

    Wu Heng was excited to receive Lu Yin''s summons. Finally, Lord Lu had remembered him. The Arborean could not wait to go to Heavens Sect.

    "Wu Heng greets Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Thank you foring all this way."

    Wu Heng jumped in fright. "It is my honor to be able to serve you, Lord Lu. If you have any orders for me, then just say it. I will serve Lord Lu to the death!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s smile grew slightly. "It¡¯s nothing that exaggerated. Tell me, what has Mr. Daheng gotten up to recently?"

    Wu Heng replied, "Mr. Daheng has remained in the Liberation Pce. He has not gone anywhere."

    "Has he asked you to do anything?"

    "Yes. He ordered your servant to hide on the Endless Frontier in the Three Monarchs Universe. If I notice any movement, I am to immediately report it to him."

    Lu Yin frowned. Even though he was the one in possession of the Peaks and Rivers Rock, Mr. Daheng had not stopped staring at Luo Shan. Clearly, there was something more than just the rock in this matter.

    "Does he not know about your trip to see me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Heng bowed. "I am certain that he does not. He cannot monitor your servant¡¯s whereabouts."

    Lu Yin felt satisfied. "In that case, please deliver a message to Mr. Daheng. Tell him that Chen Le has gone to the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Wu Heng was taken aback. "Chen Le?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Can you do it?"

    Determination filled Wu Heng''s eyes. "Yes, Lord Lu. Do not worry about it."

    Wu Heng quickly left, not asking any questions about his task. Lu Yin was quite satisfied with the man¡¯s attitude. Mr. Daheng had used rather despicable means to gain control of Wu Heng, and the matter meant that Wu Hengcked the arrogance and pride normal to a peak powerhouse, which made him a rather ideal subordinate.

    Chen Le suffered from the same sort of mentality.

    Once Wu Heng left, Lu Yin immediately ordered Chen Le to go to the Three Monarchs Universe and make a point of investigating the spatial passage that connected the universe to the Fifth Maind. Chen Le was allowed to conceal his cultivation during his time in the Three Monarchs Universe so that he would not be noticed by Luo Shan.

    Chen Le felt rather confused by his orders. Go to the Three Monarchs Universe? That was a ce he did not want to visit, as he did not want to risk running into Luo Shan.

    Despite his misgivings, Chen Le needed to listen to Lu Yin¡¯s orders, which meant that the Monarch had no choice but to hide his cultivation and do as he was told. Everything would be fine as long as he was not discovered by Luo Shan.

    It was impossible for Luo Shan to actively monitor the entire Three Monarchs Universe.

    At the same time, Wu Heng had returned to the Liberation Pce in the Arboreal Realm, and he delivered Lu Yin''s words to Mr. Daheng.

    The man stared at Wu Heng. "Are you sure that you saw right? Chen Le?"

    Wu Heng replied, "It is definitely him. Although he hid his cultivation, I easily recognized his figure. He thought that no one would notice him, but he was out of luck, and he happened to pass right over my head."

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes flickered. Was Chen Le really in the Three Monarchs Universe? Why?

    In the past, Mr. Daheng had considered two different possibilities. The first was that Chen Le had submitted to the Heavens Sect and that they had helped him eliminate the seal that Mr. Daheng had ced on the man, which was why Chen Le had sessfully broken through and be a Monarch. The other possibility was that Chen Le had been ordered to join the Liberation Pce and that Monarch Luo had been behind all of Chen Le¡¯s actions, manipting events from the shadows.

    The problem with the first option was that, if Chen Le was under Lu Yin¡¯s control, then the Peaks and Rivers Rock should have never been given to Luo Shan. Given Lu Yin''s personality, as long as he understood the importance of the stone, he would never allow it to fall into Luo Shan¡¯s possession. For this reason alone, Mr. Daheng could not bring himself to suspect solely the Heavens Sect. Also, even if he did confirm his suspicions, the Heavens Sect had already gained the power that prevented Mr. Daheng from taking any action against them.

    The second possibility seemed far more likely to Mr. Daheng, mostly because he was very familiar with Luo Shan. The Monarch was quite extraordinary, and with all that had happened between them, Mr. Daheng was confident that Luo Shan had manipted Chen Le in a plot against Mr. Daheng.

    As for the time when Chen Le had given the stone to Luo Shan, that incident had not been hidden from Mr. Daheng because it did not matter if Mr. Daheng knew about it. Also, it was impossible to enter the Mirari Realm with a single stone. There had simply been no reason for Luo Shan to hide anything, as he had wanted to use the presence of the Peaks and Rivers Rock to negotiate with Mr. Daheng. Unfortunately, too many things had happened before that opportunity had appeared. The Three Monarchs Universe had been plotted against by another universe, and Monarch Luo had been seriously injured. The man had been left with no choice but to give the stone to Lu Yin in front of Mr. Daheng.

    The fact that Chen Le was hiding himself while secretly visiting the Three Monarchs Universe only served as further confirmation of all of Mr. Daheng¡¯s suspicions.

    The man spent an entire day sitting in the Liberation Pce, concocting various ns. However, they all resulted in nothing. There were too many uncertainties in the current Sixverse Association, and Mr. Daheng was not confident that he could deal with Luo Shan.

    He had previously wanted to sneak attack Luo Shan on the Endless Frontier because the Monarch had been injured during the battle in the Transcendent Universe between Lord Wei and Shaman God. Enough time had passed where it was possible that Luo Shan had greatly recovered.

    Without confidence, Mr. Daheng could not take action, and yet he had no choice but to push forward.

    Mr. Daheng considered many things before ultimately making a trip to the Heavens Sect.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin received Mr. Daheng in the main hall.

    The two had fought together against the Aeternals while on the Endless Frontier. While Mr. Daheng had been forcefully drafted into the crusade, he had still fought there, and the grudges between him and Lu Yin had been erased.

    "Why have youe to our Heavens Sect, Mr. Daheng?" Lu Yin asked with a smile. There was absolutely no indication of any animosity ever having existed between him and Mr. Daheng.

    The Arborean offered a slow bow. "I''m disturbing you, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin waved thement away with a hand. "Both of us fought in the crusade on the Endless Frontier, and you are wee to visit this ce. I was already nning to invite you to join our next crusade when itunches. I hope that you won¡¯t refuse us, haha."

    Mr. Daheng answered with a smile, "I wouldn¡¯t think of refusing your invitation, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    They then enjoyed some tea for a bit. Lu Yin was in no hurry to speak, so Mr. Daheng took the initiative to chat with Lu Yin about a few random topics. The atmosphere between the two grew quite rxed.

    Before long, Mr. Daheng took a sip of tea while asking, "Lord Lu, I wonder, what is your opinion of Chen Le?"

    Lu Yin looked confused. "Chen Le?"

    Mr. Daheng nodded.

    Lu Yin considered the question. "He¡¯s a fierce fighter and an excellent archer. He¡¯s a great support on the battlefield."

    Mr. Daheng pressed, "Have you ever suspected Chen Le, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin did not understand the question. "Why would I suspect him?"

    "Chen Le might have been deliberately sent to your Heavens Sect," Mr. Daheng stated in a serious tone.

    Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, but then he quickly let out augh. "You¡¯re overthinking things. That¡¯s impossible."

    Mr. Daheng remained solemn. "Why do you say that?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Mr. Daheng, do you know that, when the Tea Ceremony was attacked, my Heavens Sect was also attacked by the Aeternals? At that time, Luo Shan also arrived, and he specifically tried to kill Chen Le. If not for Monarch Xing stopping Luo Shan, Chen Le would have died. Why would a traitor take such a risk? It was clear that Luo Shan wanted to kill Chen Le for betraying the Three Monarchs Universe, so how could he have ced him within the Heavens Sect?"

    "This sort of brilliance is exactly what Luo Shan is capable of," Mr. Daheng said in a soft voice. "Lord Lu, you don¡¯t understand Luo Shan, but I know him very well. He will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. That one attack and attempt to kill Chen Le caused you to trust him without any reservations. The risk was certainly worth taking.¡±

    Lu Yin still did not believe it. "If anyone learned of Luo Shan¡¯s attack against Chen Le during the Aeternals¡¯ attack on the Heavens Sect, he would not have been able to resolve that matter so easily. Such an attack would make him bebeled as a traitor to humanity, which is no small price."

    Mr. Daheng shook his head. "At that time, the Heavens Sect did not have even a single expert capable of stopping Luo Shan."

    Thisment startled Lu Yin, and he frowned as he considered the possibility.

    The change in Lu Yin¡¯s expression caused Mr. Daheng to quickly continue. "To Luo Shan, as long as his attack was not discovered, there would not have been any risk. Given his strength, he would not have left any evidence of his attack behind in the Heavens Sect, and the Aeternals would have been thrilled to see us humans have internal fighting. Thus, they would not reveal anything either.

    "Lord Lu, have you ever considered that, given the level of trust that you ce in Chen Le, if he ever turns on you and helps Luo Shan attack your Heavens Sect, it is very likely that the rising glory of your Heavens Sect wille to an end?"

    Lu Yin answered with open contempt, "Just because of Luo Shan?"

    Mr. Daheng continued to suggest caution. "Luo Shan is a sequence powerhouse, and while your Heavens Sect has many such powerhouses, as well as the members of your Lu family, your enemy is all of Aeternus. Luo Shan could very well be the final straw."

    Lu Yin stood up and walked to the door of the hall, his hands sped behind his back as he silently stared off into the distance.

    Mr. Daheng casually rose to his feet as well, silently observing Lu Yin.

    "Why do you suspect that Chen Le might have been sent by Luo Shan to join the Heavens Sect?"

    Mr. Daheng let slip a sigh of relief. This question meant that Lu Yin believed Mr. Daheng¡¯s suspicions as well. "Where is Chen Le right now?"

    Lu Yin immediately replied, "The Transcendent Universe¡¯s border warfront."

    "He''s not there," Mr. Daheng retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. "Are you watching the people of my Heavens Sect?"

    Mr. Daheng bowed. "Lord Lu, please don''t misunderstand my intentions. I¡¯ve been observing the Three Monarchs Universe."

    "Is Chen Le in the Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin''s voice chilled.

    Mr. Daheng bowed lower.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he used his wireless jincan to send a message, ordering someone to find Chen Le in the Transcendent Universe.

    Less than half an hourter, someone reported that Chen Le had entered seclusion.

    Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan.

    A smile spread across Mr. Daheng''s face. In seclusion? How ridiculous. Chen Le was clearly in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The Arborean did not try to push Lu Yin, simply standing motionless behind the young man, waiting for Lu Yin''s decision.

    "There is no evidence. Chen Le is a Progenitor-level powerhouse who enjoys a high status in my Heavens Sect," Lu Yin spat out coldly.

    Mr. Daheng was secretly thrilled by this reaction. "I am willing to help you deal with this matter."

    "Tell me why. Don¡¯t give me any bullshit. You and I are not friends. While we may have erased our past grudges, you still hold some resentment towards me in your heart."

    Mr. Daheng replied, "I want to deal with Luo Shan."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Do you have a grudge against Luo Shan?"

    "You can say that."

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I have no interest in your grudges, but are you confident that you can handle him?"

    Mr. Daheng shook his head. "I¡¯m not."

    Lu Yin stared at Mr. Daheng. "So that''s why you came to me."

    Mr. Daheng bowed again, still saying nothing.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2936: A Copper Coin

    Chapter 2936: A Copper Coin

    Lu Yin took the Peaks and Rivers Rock from his cosmic ring. "This is what you¡¯re really after."

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s head rose, and his eyes lit up when he saw the stone. He made no attempt to conceal his desire. "If you are willing, Lord Lu, that is indeed what I want."

    "The Mirari Realm. Immortality is truly attractive," Lu Yin muttered to himself. He looked over at Mr. Daheng. "Help me deal with Chen Le. As for Luo Shan, if he dares to do anything against me, he will die a harsh death. I¡¯ll send people to help you take care of him, but this matter cannot be known to anyone else. If the Sixverse Association learns of this, my Heavens Sect¡¯s reputation will be tarnished. Do you understand?"

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s excitement started to mount. "I understand, Lord Lu. You don''t need to worry. We will be sure to deal with that traitor Chen Le and that poisonous snake, Luo Shan."

    "If you can handle this properly, I will give you the stone, but I also want to go to the Mirari Realm," Lu Yin calmly announced.

    Mr. Daheng promised, "Once all of the stones have been gathered, I will definitely inform you, Lord Lu, so that we can go to the Mirari Realm together."

    In the Endless Frontier¡¯s Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le was standing on a far away from the spatial passage that connected to the Fifth Maind. He was not far from the ruins of the rainbow wall. Evidence of the Aeternals'' destruction was visible everywhere, though ever since the crusade¡¯s battalions had swept across the Endless Frontier, no Aeternals had appeared in the Three Monarchs Universe.

    The Aeternals had reappeared in many of the parallel universes across the Endless Frontier, but the Three Monarchs Universe remained quiet.

    It was possible that the peace was due to the spatial passage and that the Aeternals feared antagonizing Lu Yin.Investigate the spatial passage? How long was that supposed tost for?

    Chen Le warily looked into the distance, in the direction of the Emperor Domain. He was terrified that Luo Shan might discover him.

    Chen Le hadpletely concealed his cultivation, hiding like an ant. Luo Shan should not be capable of finding him, and even if that did happen, Luo Shan would not be able to do anything about it. Was he unafraid of the Heavens Sect¡¯s threat?

    Chen Le was one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitor-level powerhouses who had been personally invited into the sect by Lord Lu during a massive ceremony.

    The more he thought about things, the more confident Chen Le became. While he had initially been very nervous regarding following Lord Lu, Lu Yin had since gained the strength to control the entire Sixverse Association.

    Chen Le could not help but feel proud of his original decision.

    Suddenly, severe pain swept through his nerves. A deep crevice opened up before him, and it swept past his body and mmed him against the side of a mountain.

    It all happened so suddenly that Chen Le was badly injured before he could even react.

    "Who?" He was startled. Could it be Luo Shan?

    Mr. Daheng stepped out of the void and looked down. "It¡¯s been a long time, Chen Le."

    Chen Le''s pupils constricted. "Mr. Daheng?"

    "Thank you for remembering me," Mr. Daheng said as he sped his hands behind his back.

    Chen Le was stunned. "Mr. Daheng, how dare you attack me! I am one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitor-level experts who has been acknowledged by Lord Lu himself! Do you intend to antagonize the Heavens Sect?"

    Mr. Daheng sneered and then promptly ignored Chen Le to look off into another direction. There, Luo Shan suddenly appeared.

    Mr. Daheng had not hidden his attack on Chen Le, so Luo Shan had naturally noticed it.

    Luo Shan arrived to find both Mr. Daheng and Chen Le.

    How could the traitor be in the Three Monarchs Universe?

    "Luo Shan, your reputation precedes you." Mr. Daheng instantly attacked.

    The Arborean¡¯s power surged and shot straight towards Luo Shan. Beneath the energy was a fishing rod, and it moved along with the overwhelming attack, heading for Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan was taken aback. "Daheng, I gave that stone to Lu Yin. Why are you still here, making trouble for me?"

    "Hahahaha, Luo Shan, Luo Shan, how many years have you and I known each other? Do you still think that you can deceive me with such a petty trick? Chen Le is nothing more than a pawn that you sent into the Heavens Sect, and that was after you ced him in my Liberation Pce. From him, you learned that I was collecting certain stones, which is why you must have started collecting them as well. During the crusade, you discovered that I was already going after you, which is why you gave that stone to Lu Yin. However, you still have another!" Mr. Daheng shouted.

    As the man finished speaking, the fishing rod arrived directly above Luo Shan, and then it fell straight down.

    Luo Shan was furious. "You idiot! If I sent Chen Le to your Liberation Pce, why would I ever have let you know that he gave the stone to me?"

    Tri-colored monarch essence shot upwards, and the fishing rod¡¯s string twisted. However, it continued towards Luo Shan.

    Mr. Daheng sneered. "That''s because you knew that I had another stone and that you wouldn¡¯t be able to get it from me. That¡¯s why you used that stone. It was to lure me out to negotiate with you in the future. Back then, you didn¡¯t considerpletely hiding your actions, but you also never expected the Heavens Sect to appear in the middle of everything, which caused your Three Monarchs Universe to be added to the Endless Frontier. Later, you yourself were injured from the battle between Lord Wei and Shaman God, and because you were afraid that I woulde after you, you had no choice but to give the stone to Lu Yin.

    "Luo Shan, Luo Shan, you tried plotting against both the Liberation Pce and the Heavens Sect at the same time. Do you really believe yourself to be aplete mastermind?"

    "Shut up! We agreed to never speak of that!" Luo Shan snapped. He looked up and saw the fishing line falling towards him, and he suddenly vanished, only to instantly appear far away.

    Mr. Daheng kept his eyes on Luo Shan and continued to use the Arboreal Realm¡¯s battle techniques. However, none of them did anything to Chen Le.

    Mr. Daheng frowned. Why were the Heavens Sect¡¯s people not taking action?

    "Daheng, I''ll give you one chance! Leave now, or else you can¡¯t me me for what I¡¯ll do." Killing intent zed in Luo Shan''s eyes. As soon as he spoke, his monarch essence filled the area. "No matter whether you are right or wrong, even if I did put Chen Le in your Liberation Pce, that stone has been given to Lu Yin, and there is no point in you fighting me."

    A vicious glint flickered across Mr. Daheng¡¯s eyes. "Give me the rest of the stones!"

    Luo Shan was losing his patience. "I don''t have any!"

    Mr. Daheng did not believe a word of it. "If you didn¡¯t have more than two stones, you would have never allowed me to learn about the stone that Chen Le gave you. You also would have never given a stone to Lu Yin, which means that you must still have it! Give it to me! With this, we can write off all of our past grudges.¡±

    Luo Shan was so angry that a smile appeared on his face. "What an idiot! Since you want to die, I will help you."

    The Three Monarchs Universe trembled. Both Chen Le and Wu Heng were horrified by the distant battle between the two sequence powerhouses. Only at this time did the two men understand just how powerful Luo Shan really was. Mr. Daheng, whom they had believed to be invincible and peerless, was clearly not Luo Shan''s opponent as the monarch essence continued to overpower Mr. Daheng¡¯s energy. Even when the Arborean used his sequence particles, he was unable tond a single hit on Luo Shan. In stark contrast, Luo Shan''s monarch essence was pressing in on Mr. Daheng. The fishing line finally snapped without Mr. Daheng ever managing to even touch Luo Shan.

    "Even when we were children, you had your unrealistic dreams of being free and at ease. You idiot! How can freedom be found in this megaverse? The more you pursue such things, the dumber you are! Daheng, you will cause your own death!" Luo Shan raised a hand. "New World."

    One step forward caused the Monarch¡¯s body to disappear into the Hollow that had opened up before him. Slowly, the Hollow recovered.

    Mr. Daheng''s pupils shrank. "You¡¯ve actually mastered the second move!"

    <em>St!</em>

    The Arborean spat out a mouthful of blood as Luo Shan stepped out from behind him with a lowered hand. He had struck Mr. Daheng with a palm strike, causing monarch essence to infiltrate the man¡¯s body, dispersing his own energy reserves. The fishing rod snapped. It was Mr. Daheng¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Luo Shan looked over at Chen Le in the distance and frowned. Why was Chen Le in the Three Monarchs Universe? Daheng acted as though Chen Le¡¯s presence was proof that he had been controlled by Luo Shan, but that was not true at all. This was all a trick, and it felt quite familiar¡­

    Luo Shan¡¯s eyes shed. Lu Yin. He had to be the one behind this plot as well.

    In the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin had used Monarch Mu to force Luo Shan into a fight against Lord Wei while Lu Yin himself went to capture Zi Jing. This time, Lu Yin was using Chen Le to force Daheng to fight against Luo Shan. That man was so vicious.

    Luo Shan felt a chill touch his heart. With Lu Yin targeting the Monarch, Luo Shan knew that he would never find peace unless he betrayed humanity.

    However, he was a human being, and he could not even imagine what it would be like to join Aeternus.

    There was a very narrow path left open for him.

    Luo Shan looked back at Mr. Daheng again. There was no way to clearly exin the situation, and if Daheng did not believe what Luo Shan said, the fight would continue. Even if Daheng did believe Luo Shan, would Lu Yin let them go?

    Since Daheng had arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe to fight against Luo Shan, Lu Yin had to be observing their battle. Lu Yin would never let anything happen without having absolute control of the situation.

    There were times when the truth was not particrly important; instead, one¡¯s choice was what mattered.

    Luo Shan decided not to exin things to Daheng, which left an exit for the Monarch.

    Mr. Daheng gasped for breath. Why had no one from the Heavens Sect appeared yet? He was no match for Luo Shan. Daheng had never defeated Luo Shan ever since their childhood. If things continued this way, Luo Shan might very well kill Daheng.

    "Luo Shan, give me the stone!"

    Luo Shan sneered. <em>You idiot! You still can¡¯t see what¡¯s happening?</em>

    How could Mr. Daheng be med? How could he ever imagine that Wu Heng had betrayed him and that Lu Yin was scheming against him? Unless something unexpected happened, Mr. Daheng would forever remain ignorant of these facts.

    It was much like when Luo Shan had wanted to go after Lu Yin. It should have been nearly impossible for Lu Yin to sense anything in advance.

    When scheming urred without any hint of malicious intent, it was easy for deception to take ce.

    Luo Shan was the one who was being wrongly used, which was why he was able to see the truth, but so what? While he could share the truth with Mr. Daheng, Luo Shan remained silent for his own sake.

    Those who failed to see the truth would be plotted against, while people who could see the truth would try to protect themselves. This was human nature.

    The one detail that Luo Shan could not understand was that Daheng was clearly no match for the Monarch. Where was the Arborean¡¯s confidence to demand the stone from Luo Shaning from?

    Luo Shan did not believe that the Heavens Sect would openly attack him. Daheng might believe that, but Luo Shan knew that, even if Lu Yin did use the strength of the Heavens Sect to attack, the Dao Monarch would not be dumb enough to leave behind evidence that would cost him the trust of the Sixverse Association.

    The Heavens Sect had justpleted a nearly perfect crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, and this aplishment had brought Yin''s reputation within the Sixverse Association to the peak. At such a time, it was impossible for the man to destroy his own reputation.

    In the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin had shown that he was aware that there were situations he could not survive without the protection of a sequence powerhouse.

    "Daheng, where is your confidence of forcing me to capitteing from?" Luo Shan sneered.

    Mr. Daheng wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth. Still, no one from the Heavens Sect was joining the battle. The pressure from the tri-colored monarch essence was increasing, and Mr. Daheng looked miserable. "When did you learn the second move?"

    Luo Shan and Mr. Daheng stared at each other. "Really, you are just too stupid. You can''t even learn the first move, while I have already learned the second. In that case, let me use the second move to send you to the afterlife."

    As Luo Shan spoke, the Hollow appeared in front of him again.

    A single step would cause Luo Shan to enter the Hollow once again.

    However, he suddenly stared intently at Mr. Daheng. Had the man just pulled out a copper coin?

    It was indeed a copper coin, and it was about the size of a human head. It looked rather ordinary, and yet it caused Luo Shan''s expression to change drastically.

    He stared at Mr. Daheng. "Really? Did you?"

    Mr. Daheng threw the copper coin. "Drop dead, Luo Shan!"

    Luo Shan''s expression turned ugly, and he immediately entered the Hollow, vanishing.

    The copper coin drifted about in the void before returning to Mr. Daheng''s hand.

    The Arborean stared at the copper coin. <em>Did Luo Shan really just run away? Damn it! What in the world is Lu Yin doing? If someone from the Heavens Sect had helped, Luo Shan would never have been able to run away! Now that he¡¯s escaped, it will be difficult to find him</em>.

    Mr. Daheng felt humiliated that he had been forced to reveal his trump card.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2937: Silent Layout

    <h4>Chapter 2937: Silent Layout</h4>

    Mr. Daheng quickly put the copper coin away and moved over to Chen Le. He grabbed the Monarch and then left.

    It did not matter. If things were exposed, then so be it. Mr. Daheng did not intend to try to keep things hidden for long anyway.

    Besides, in the end, Luo Shan had escaped. Lu Yin¡¯s scheming ran too deep, so it would have been good to keep Luo Shan around to restrain the young man. The biggest issue was still the stones. Did Luo Shan have any at all?

    In Proximity, the disys returned to normal.

    Wendy Yushan watched on quietly. Behind her, Sage Bodhi and an entire group of people had been watching a disy showing the entire scene of Mr. Daheng attacking Luo Shan and Chen Le.

    Proximity had observed everything from the very beginning.

    Sage Bodhi''s face revealed her displeasure. "Inform the Arboreal Realm that Mr. Daheng has attacked the Three Monarchs Universe without authorization, and ask them to send someone to take the man down and demand an exnation."

    While there were various disputes within the Sixverse Association, those matters were never allowed to affect the Endless Frontier.

    The Endless Frontier was already a battlefield, and it was even the primary battlefield that protected humanity from Aeternus. If disputes between the Sixverse Association¡¯s members were allowed to spill over into the Endless Frontier, there would be unforgivable consequences to the overall war.

    That was a burden that no one could afford to bear.

    Of course, this was also under the assumption that such matters were known by the Sixverse Association.

    Generally speaking, even if someone attacked someone else on the Endless Frontier, the matter would not be noticed by the Sixverse Association. There were countless people fighting on the Endless Frontier at all times. Who among them did not have some sort of grudge with another? As long as such matters were not discovered, there was no issue.

    Everything remained hidden in the dark.

    However, Mr. Daheng had attacked Luo Shan in a public manner, and the people of Proximity had watched the entire exchange take ce. This was not a small matter, and if the Sixverse Association did not deliver judgment for this vition, how would order be maintained on the Endless Frontier in the future?

    If the Endless Frontier was negatively impacted, the entire Sixverse Association would suffer the effects.

    The Endless Frontier was not upied solely by humans, as there were other creatures there. They could choose to ally with the Sixverse Association, but they could also choose to betray the Sixverse Association.

    Mr. Daheng had never dreamed that his actions would be noticed by Proximity. The Three Monarchs Universe had no data center, which was a big reason why the Arborean had assumed that his actions would not be noticed by the Sixverse Association. However, Lu Yin¡¯s n had taken everything into ount.

    Lu Yin wanted to target Luo Shan, but he had also wanted to deal with Mr. Daheng at the same time.

    The grievances between them could not be dismissed easily, which meant that Lu Yin needed to seize the initiative in order to handle matters.

    If either Luo Shan or Mr. Daheng were given a chance, neither of them would let Lu Yin go, and he was fully aware of that. His goal was to unify the Sixverse Association and make it so that no one there would ever plot against him. ?

    The Great Sovereign was in the process of oveing Dukkha, and her selfishness had caused her to agree to exile the Lu family. It was all to push her own ns to deal with the Aeternals forward.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to unite the Sixverse Association, and he did not care about anything else. He intended to force the Great Sovereign to pay for what she had done.

    This Sixverse Association had been founded by the Great Sovereign, but it had now fallen under the Lu family¡¯s control.

    Mr. Daheng returned to the Liberation Pce in the Arboreal Realm. He had no idea that Proximity had already contacted the Arboreal Realm.

    Chen Le dropped to the ground. His face was pale, and he looked quite miserable.

    Wu Heng gave the man an indifferent look.

    Mr. Daheng looked down at Chen Le. "Chen Le, you¡¯ve finally visited the Liberation Pce."

    Chen Le was badly frightened, as he still did not understand what was going on.

    How had Mr. Daheng known that he had been in the Three Monarchs Universe, and why had the man attacked Chen Le?

    Mr. Daheng looked at the fear in Chen Le''s eyes. "That is a wonderful look. That expression is precisely the reason why I chose you. Unfortunately, you are nothing but Luo Shan''s pawn, working against me."

    Chen Le felt terribly confused. Was he Luo Shan''s pawn? Since when?

    "Luo Shan is certainly cruel enough. He wanted to use you to work against me, while simultaneously putting you in the Heavens Sect to work against Lu Yin. However, he overestimates himself. Does he really think that he can scheme against everyone?

    "For a time, I wasn''t sure if you belonged to Luo Shan. It wasn''t until you sneaked into the Three Monarchs Universe that my suspicions were confirmed."

    He stared at Chen Le. "Does Luo Shan have any more stones?"

    This was the reason why Mr. Daheng had been so desperate to get his hands on Chen Le.

    Chen Le had given the Peaks and Rivers Rock to Luo Shan out of fear of being targeted by Mr. Daheng. Lu Yin had also been worried about the same thing, which was why he had suggested it.

    As far as Lu Yin and Chen Le were concerned, that action had been caused by their fear of Mr. Daheng.

    But from Mr. Daheng''s perspective, there could only be one reason why Chen Le had delivered the stone to Luo Shan; Luo Shan had to be collecting the stones for himself.

    After ascertaining that Chen Le had always been under Luo Shan¡¯s control, Mr. Daheng had then deduced that Luo Shan had to be the one with the stones.

    It was a good deduction. The man was not an idiot, and there certainly were more stones. Unfortunately, they were with Lu Yin. Mr. Daheng¡¯s deductions had led to the wrong person.

    Chen Le was able to piece some things together, and he understood Mr. Daheng¡¯s thoughts. It was a possibility that Chen Le had not considered. Was Mr. Daheng was certain that Chen Le had been following Luo Shan¡¯s orders because he had secretly entered the Three Monarchs Universe?

    At that moment, Chen Le understood everything. Lu Yin had suddenly ordered him to go to the Three Monarchs Universe. The order itself had already been suspicious, but Mr. Daheng¡¯s reaction confirmed things. Had Lu Yin already nned everything out? Why? What was going to happen next?

    Was Lu Yin really going to target both Luo Shan and Mr. Daheng?

    Mr. Daheng was still staring at Chen Le. "I know that you fear death, so tell me. Does Luo Shan have any more stones?"

    Chen Le and Mr. Daheng stared at each other. The fear in Chen Le¡¯s eyes could not be faked. It was true that he was afraid of death, Luo Shan also did not have any stones. When Chen Le gave the one stone to Luo Shan, the man had had no idea what the stone was. Could Chen Le say that?

    Lu Yin had used Chen Le to instigate Mr. Daheng into attacking Luo Shan in the Three Monarchs Universe, but Chen Le could not understand Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. It was possible that the entire n was to target Mr. Daheng. If that were the case, then what was Chen Le¡¯s role to y?

    Chen Le knew that he should be able to figure this out. What role did he want to y?

    He started to panic. He was afraid of being destroyed by Mr. Daheng, as the possibility of being abandoned by Lu Yin was terrifying, as was the prospect of being sacrificed to Lu Yin¡¯s schemes. Chen Le had no idea how Lu Yin wanted to handle things. Logically speaking, Chen Le, as one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak powerhouses, could not be abandoned. However, Lu Yin might have decided to let Mr. Daheng kill Chen Le as a part of a greater scheme, as Chen Le¡¯s death would give Lu Yin ample cause to openly go after Mr. Daheng.

    Was that what was happening?

    Chen Le¡¯s fear grew stronger and stronger. He simply could not see through Lu Yin¡¯s intentions.

    Mr. Daheng frowned. "Chen Le, tell me the truth. I can speak with the Heavens Sect on your behalf and ask Lord Lu to spare your life. After all, you are still a peak powerhouse, so he might not be willing to let you die."

    Chen Le went stiff with shock, and he stared at Mr. Daheng. "Lord Lu knows what happened?"

    Mr. Daheng casually replied, "Your identity as a traitor is already known to the Heavens Sect, though this is only known to Lord Lu and I. I am able to let you live or die."

    "How did you know that I was in the Three Monarchs Universe?" Chen Le asked.

    Wu Heng answered, "I have been keeping an eye on the Three Monarchs Universe."

    Chen Le turned to stare at Wu Heng. Had this person been observing the Three Monarchs Universe? Then Wu Heng should also know that Chen Le had never met with Luo Shan. If that was true, then why had Wu Heng not mentioned it to Mr. Daheng?

    Wu Heng would have to be an idiot to assume that Chen Le¡¯s mere presence in the Three Monarchs Universe was proof that he served Luo Shan. However, it was highly unlikely that someone so stupid could cultivate to the level of a peak powerhouse.

    The other option was that Wu Heng was also one of Lu Yin''s people and that he was speaking words that Lu Yin had given him. Chen Le sincerely hoped that thetter possibility was the real one.

    The whole thing was a game, and Lu Yin was ying against both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan.

    Lu Yin already knew that Mr. Daheng would tell Chen Le about certain things, and the fact that Lu Yin was not concerned about Chen Le learning of such matters indicated that Chen Le had not been abandoned. Wu Heng had been observing Chen Le, which meant that Wu Heng should also be serving Lu Yin. If Chen Le said anything, it would get back to Lu Yin through Wu Heng, and Chen Le refused to even consider what would happen then.

    Yes, it was best not to say anything. He should just wait things out and see what Lu Yin had nned.

    "Tell me, when did Luo Shan decide to have you join the Liberation Pce? Was it before or after I took control of you?" Mr. Daheng asked softly.

    If Luo Shan had made that decision before Mr. Daheng had taken action, then it meant that Luo Shan had been scheming against Mr. Daheng far in advance. If the decision had been madeter on, then it indicated that Luo Shan had been trying to take advantage of a situation, that not everything had been premeditated.

    Such a seemingly insignificant question involved Mr. Daheng¡¯s past with Luo Shan. The Arborean wanted to know whether or not Luo Shan had moved past that incident.

    Chen Le said nothing.

    Mr. Daheng frowned. "It was not easy for you to cultivate to your current level. There are countless human beings alive, but how many of them can reach your level of strength? Chen Le, you can¡¯t me me for not giving you a chance."

    Chen Le still said nothing, though he nced at Wu Heng.

    Wu Heng''s face revealed nothing. He was well aware of the fact that Chen Le was not Luo Shan¡¯s pawn, but Lu Yin wanted Mr. Daheng to believe that that was true. If this was the intent of Lord Lu, then so be it.

    Mr. Daheng''s expression turned ugly. "Chen Le, do you really want to die?

    "Luo Shan has already fled. He can no longer save you. There is no need for you to die with him.

    "I¡¯ll tell you right now that the Heavens Sect will never let Luo Shan go."

    Chen Le gritted his teeth. He wanted to speak, but he also did not dare to say anything. Compared to Mr. Daheng, the Heavens Sect was far more terrifying.

    Mr. Daheng struck Chen Le, attempting to force the man to speak.

    Wu Heng looked on emotionlessly.

    Chen Le gritted his teeth and endured. He continued to motivate himself. The longer he endured for, the more that Lord Lu would owe him. Chen Le was holding out for Lord Lu''s sake.

    Mr. Daheng had not expected such determination from Chen Le. The longer that Chen Le refused to say anything, the more that Mr. Daheng felt that something was wrong. Was Luo Shan worthy of Chen Le sacrificing himself? The more that Chen Le endured, the more important the question became.

    "Chen Le, I''ll count to three. If you refuse to speak, I will cripple your cultivation."

    Chen Le''s pupils shrank, but he clenched his teeth.

    "One."

    Chen Le''s face turned pale.

    "Two."

    Chen Le trembled.

    "Three."

    Mr. Daheng raised his hand. Chen Le could no longer endure. His head rose, and he looked over at Wu Heng. Did Lord Lu no longer care about Chen Le? The man refused to truly sacrifice himself for Lord Lu.

    At this moment, a figure stepped out from the void and moved down to the Liberation Pce.

    Mr. Daheng looked up. "Mu Ke?"

    Chen Le grew excited. Mu Ke was Lord Lu¡¯s senior brother. Finally, someone had arrived.

    Wu Heng was equally excited. The Heavens Sect had finally made their move. He stared at Mr. Daheng with open resentment.

    Mu Ke looked cold as he stared at Mr. Daheng. "Why did you attack Luo Shan?"

    Mr. Daheng was stunned. How did Mu Ke know about that?

    "Why did you attack Chen Le?"

    Upon hearing these two questions, Mr. Daheng''s heart sank. It was clear that something was very, very wrong. The battle between the Three Monarchs Universe should not have been discovered by anyone uninvolved in the battle. Mu Ke was clearly not surprised to see Chen Le in the Liberation Pce. How long had the man known?

    Thinking back through the entire ordeal, and after remembering that no one from the Heavens Sect had ever appeared, despite Lu Yin¡¯s promises, something finally urred to Mr. Daheng. A possibility appeared, and all the color drained from the man¡¯s face.

    "Proximity knows that you attacked Luo Shan, viting the rules of the Endless Frontier! Come with me. You owe the Sixverse Association an exnation!" Mu Ke ordered with a shout.

    Mr. Daheng clenched his fists. "Chen Le has betrayed the Heavens Sect. Lord Lu asked me to help him deal with the traitor. As for Luo Shan, he is suspected of betraying humanity. I can exin everything."

 Chapter 2938: Hard To See Through

    <h4>Chapter 2938: Hard To See Through</h4>

    "You can save your exnation for the entire Sixverse Association. We are going to go to the Heavens Sect," Mu Ke stated. Since the Great Sovereign and the other rulers of the Sixverse Association were all in seclusion, Lu Yin was the only person qualified to deliver judgment, and he was in the Heavens Sect. Of the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Dou Sheng was still fighting on the Endless Frontier, while Sovereign Ninth Lotus could not deny Lu Yin. At this moment, the Sixverse Association acknowledged Lu Yin as the only person qualified to make decisions.

    But how could Mr. Daheng possibly agree to go to the Heavens Sect? He had already thought of a possibility, and he knew that both he and Luo Shan might have been tricked by Lu Yin. Mr. Daheng had been so focused on Luo Shan that he had forgotten about what Lu Yin was capable of.

    If Mr. Daheng¡¯s new suspicions proved true, then going to the Heavens Sect at this time would ce him in an entirely passive position.

    "Mu Ke, you are also from the Arboreal Realm. The six members of the Sixverse Association all possess equal status. Even if I havemitted a crime, why should I have to go to the Heavens Sect?" Mr. Daheng retorted.

    Mu Ke red at Mr. Daheng with a frigid expression. He had not been informed of anything in advance. Proximity had asked the Arboreal Realm to arrest Mr. Daheng, and Mu Ke was the only one active in the universe who was capable of doing so.

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s words were not unreasonable, but who in the Arboreal Realm was qualified to judge the man?

    Mu Shen was still in seclusion, and the rest of the Sixverse Association would not ept Mr. Daheng¡¯s words on their own merit.

    Amunication crystal trembled, and Mu Ke answered the call.

    "Excuse me, but have you arrived at the Liberation Pce, Senior Mu Ke?"

    "I¡¯m here."

    "Then I¡¯ll have to ask Senior Mu Ke to escort Mr. Daheng to the Heavens Sect to provide an exnation of his actions to the Sixverse Association. Proximity has already ryed an ount of recent events to the entire Sixverse Association."

    Upon hearing this, Mr. Daheng¡¯s expression changed drastically. The entire Sixverse Association knew about what he had done?

    Mu Ke looked back at Mr. Daheng. "Did you hear that? The entire Sixverse Association agrees that you should go to the Heavens Sect to defend yourself. Why did you attack Luo Shan and disrupt the Endless Frontier? Your actions not only require you to offer an exnation to the Sixverse Association, but also one to the Endless Frontier. The consequences of your actions will be very, very serious."

    A smile spread across Wu Heng''s face. He had been waiting for this day for far too long. It was impossible for him to defeat Mr. Daheng on his own, but fortunately, Wu Heng had decided to follow the right person. Lord Lu was capable of cornering Mr. Daheng and leaving no escape.

    Mr. Daheng stood in ce, his eyes flickering.

    Mu Ke slowly descended, and at some point in time, his saber had appeared in his hand.

    The threat of that sharp edge caused Mr. Daheng to sober up. He had just attacked Luo Shan. No matter what happened next, he would not be really threatened. At worst, he would be condemned to serve on the Endless Frontier. But if he fought back, everything would change.

    The realization of the potential consequences caused Mr. Daheng to slowly calm down. He looked at Mu Ke, but just as he was about to agree to follow the man, Lu Yin suddenly appeared nearby. "Senior Brother."

    Lu Yin went straight over to Mu Ke.

    Upon seeing Lu Yin arrive, Mr. Daheng¡¯s expression fell, and something dark flickered in his eyes, though only for a moment.

    "Why are you here?" Mu Ke felt puzzled.

    Lu Yin looked over at Mr. Daheng and everyone else. "I heard that our Heavens Sect¡¯s Chen Le was captured and brought here. Is that right?"

    Mr. Daheng stared at Lu Yin. The man did not even know what to say.

    Mu Ke calmly replied, "Mr. Daheng tells me that he was helping you deal with a traitor to the Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yin gave a faint smile. "I see. I can decide whether or not Chen Le is a traitor. Senior Brother, do you want to take him to the Heavens Sect?"

    "Proximity has reported this matter to the Sixverse Association, so I was about to take him to the Heavens Sect."

    "In that case, let''s settle this here right now. After all, I¡¯d be the one in the Heavens Sect making the decision anyways," Lu Yin casually suggested.

    Mu Ke was not an inflexible person, and he had no objection to Lu Yin¡¯s suggestion.

    Lu Yin looked at Mr. Daheng. "Why did you attack Luo Shan?"

    Mr. Daheng softly answered, "I have a personal grudge against him."

    "Luo Shan is currently the master of one of the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes. Did you know this?"

    "I did."

    "And yet, despite knowing that, you still attacked him. It sounds like you deliberately intended to disrupt the Endless Frontier. That is no small matter."

    Mr. Daheng took a deep breath. "Luo Shan and I have a very deep personal grudge. He happened to have been recently injured, so I took the opportunity to try to get revenge. I did not give the matter much thought."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You¡¯re a cultivator, and revenge is only normal. Fortunately, Luo Shan is fine, which means that your crimes are not unforgivable."

    After thinking for a while, Lu Yin asked.aid, "Do you have any objection to being punished with a thousand years of service on the Endless Frontier?"

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s face twitched. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. "Good."

    Lu Yin had used Mr. Daheng to deal with Luo Shan, but it was impossible for Lu Yin to actually kill Luo Shan. This was because, right before Luo Shan had escaped from the battle against Shaman God, he had mentioned something to Lu Yin. Thatment about hoping that Lu Yin would not betray humanity had made Lu Yin spare the Monarch¡¯s life.

    Lu Yin did have a grudge against Luo Shan, and he was also certain that if there was any opening, Luo Shan would not hesitate to kill him. Still, before anything else, Luo Shan was the master of the Three Monarchs Universe, which was a part of the Endless Frontier. It was possible for any attack against the Monarch to fail, and the best use of Luo Shan was to leave him on the Endless Frontier as a guard dog to fight against the Aeternals.

    The same was true of Mr. Daheng. That man likely hated Lu Yin nearly as much as Luo Shan, but things had not yet reached the point where Lu Yin needed to kill the Arborean. Sending him to fight in the Endless Frontier was the best option.

    Lu Yin¡¯s desire to unite the Sixverse Association not only stemmed from his desire to have the entire Sixverse Association acknowledge him, but also the desire to eliminate all internal threats and all enemies of humanity. Those people needed to be sent to the Endless Frontier so that everyone else would be willing to listen to Lu Yin. This was his domineering nature.

    Mu Ke left. Since the punishment had been doled out and Mr. Daheng had epted it, there was nothing left to be done.

    Once Mu Ke left, Lu Yin approached Mr. Daheng and looked past the man, at Chen Le. "It isn¡¯t easy to cultivate to the level of a Progenitor. Do you want to die?"

    By now, Mr. Daheng might have guessed that, even if Lu Yin had been using Mr. Daheng to deal with Luo Shan, Mr. Daheng had also been a target of Lu Yin¡¯s scheme. The man might have realized that Luo Shan had not sent Chen Le to join the Heavens Sect.

    There was a chance that Luo Shan had sent Chen Le to the Heavens Sect, but it was no longer guaranteed. The truth could not change the current situation.

    As long as Mr. Daheng was alive, the current situation could be maintained. In the end, it was just a simplemand.

    Chen Le had never answered Mr. Daheng, as he had been considering Lu Yin''s intentions.

    "I don''t want to die," Chen Le answered weakly.

    Lu Yin looked up. "Return to the Heavens Sect. I will decide your fate there."

    Chen Le shakily rose to his feet and offered Lu Yin a deep bow.

    Lu Yin turned his attention to Mr. Daheng. "I¡¯ll have Wu Heng take Chen Le to the Heavens Sect if you have no objections, Mr. Daheng."

    Mr. Daheng stared at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s your decision, Lord Lu."

    Wu Heng nodded and moved to help Chen Le. Both men left.

    Soon, everyone left, leaving only Mr. Daheng and Lu Yin remained in the Liberation Pce.

    Lu Yin sat down. "Mr. Daheng, it looks like things did not go well?"

    "Luo Shan escaped," Mr. Daheng stated.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "He fled, but he¡¯s just a homeless dog. You already helped me uncover that traitor Chen Le, which is very good."

    Mr. Daheng secretly sneered. He no longer knew whether Chen Le had betrayed the Heavens Sect. No one from the Origin Universe hade to help in the battle against Luo Shan, and that battle had even been discovered by the Sixverse Association. It was too much of a coincidence, and Mr. Daheng knew that someone had plotted against him.

    <i>In the past, I always focused on Luo Shan. My past prejudices caused me to ignore this person. He might be young, yet his schemes run deeper than anyone else¡¯s</i>.

    "Lord Lu, when I was fighting against Luo Shan in the Three Monarchs Universe, why did no one from the Heavens Sect help me?" Mr. Daheng asked. His voice was t, but his meaning was very clear.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "My people noticed that Proximity was observing the Three Monarchs Universe, so of course they weren¡¯t able to do anything."

    Mr. Daheng frowned. Was this true?

    "Why was Proximity observing the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "Mr. Daheng, are you questioning me? Or do you suspect me?"

    Mr. Daheng quickly backed down. "I don¡¯t dare! It¡¯s just very odd."

    No one in the Sixverse Association would dare to offend Lu Yin, and Mr. Daheng was no exception.

    The man believed that Lu Yin had most likely nned everything. Luo Shan¡¯s current situation was quite pathetic, and Mr. Daheng did not want to end up in the same situation. Thus, he tried not to repeat Luo Shan¡¯s mistakes.

    Lu Yinughed. "You are from the Liberation Pce, Mr. Daheng! You pursue freedom in all things, with a thought to eternity. If you have some spection, then why suppress yourself and not say anything?"

    Mr. Daheng replied, "I¡¯m not suppressing myself. I simply don''t want to make any unreasonable assumptions."

    "What sort of unreasonable assumptions?" Lu Yin felt quite curious.

    Mr. Daheng did not answer, instead asking, "I wonder, how will the Heavens Sect handle Luo Shan?"

    Lu Yin looked away. "That is my business. By the way-"

    He pulled out the Peaks and Rivers Rock from his cosmic ring and tossed it over to Mr. Daheng.

    The man caught it, but did not understand. "Lord Lu, what is this?"

    "Your reward. My Heavens Sect failed to help you this time around, so this is our way of apologizing," Lu Yin replied.

    Mr. Daheng stared at the stone in confusion. Just what was going on? Could his guesses be entirely off? Had the Heavens Sect really not helped him because they had discovered that Proximity was observing the Three Monarchs Universe?

    It was not unreasonable that Proximity would do so, as Proximity observed the entire Endless Frontier.

    Mr. Daheng felt terribly confused. If Lu Yin had been targeting both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan at the same time, then there was no reason for him to give the stone to Mr. Daheng. And yet, that was precisely what had happened.

    As for Chen Le, this made it clear that he was a traitor to the Heavens Sect.

    Was it possible that he had been overthinking things?

    Lu Yin''s expression remained calm. He still had more Peaks and Rivers Rocks. It was not possible to go to the Mirari Realm without all of the pieces, so what did it matter if Lu Yin gave a piece to Daheng? The man was a sequence powerhouse, and Lu Yin had already banished the man to the Endless Frontier as punishment. It was only proper to give him a carrot after the stick.

    "Mr. Daheng, you need to be careful while you are on the Endless Frontier. Luo Shan will not let you go," Lu Yin cautioned the man.

    Mr. Daheng solemnly put the stone away before bowing deeply to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Lord Lu, for your warning. I will be on guard against him."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I will send a message to the people on the Endless Frontier from my Heavens Sect and ask them to help you. It¡¯s only a thousand years, which will pass quickly."

    Mr. Daheng felt a little grateful. A thousand years was indeed not long. Such a punishment could be said to be nothing more than a public showing of discipline. The man stared at Lu Yin. Just what was the young man thinking?

    Could Mr. Daheng¡¯s initial suspicions be correct?

    "By the way, Mr. Daheng, you¡¯ve been in the Sixverse Association for many years. Do you happen to know anyone who has ess to a parallel universe where time flows more quickly?" Lu Yin suddenly asked while looking at Mr. Daheng.

    Mr. Daheng was caught off guard by the question. "A parallel universe with elerated time? Do you need one, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "In the end, I¡¯m just too young. If I want to maintain my rate of growth, I need these universes."

    Mr. Daheng''s eyes flickered. "If that¡¯s the case, then I have one, Lord Lu. As long as you don¡¯t mind the time flow there being a bit slow, you can use it for a while."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "You have ess to one? That''s great!"

    This was truly an unexpected bonus. Lu Yin had wanted to learn who had ess to such parallel universes, and he had not expected the man to have ess to one himself, much less offer it to Lu Yin. It had been a marvelous idea to ask that question.

 Chapter 2939: Astral Anura

    Chapter 2939: Astral Anura

    Mr. Daheng saw Lu Yin''s obvious surprise, and he instantly regretted saying anything. Clearly, Lu Yin had not known anything before asking the question. It had not been a test, but a genuine question. If Mr. Daheng had known, he would have never admitted anything.

    However, the words had already been spoken and could not be taken back.

    "I do have ess to one, and the flow of time is about thirty times faster than the Arboreal Realm¡¯s. If you need it, Lord Lu, I will take you there." Mr. Daheng''s voice sounded slightly helpless.

    Lu Yinughed as he stood up and walked over to Mr. Daheng. His hand rose up as he patted Mr. Daheng on the shoulder. "Thank you very much."

    Mr. Daheng forced out a smile. He intended to carefully think about the recent events while he was on the Endless Frontier. He kept feeling that many things were wrong. It felt like he was constantly being manipted by Luo Shan and Lu Yin.

    It had been many years since Mr. Daheng had felt manipted. The Sixverse Association had changed ever since Lu Yin entered it.

    A short timeter, Mr. Daheng led Lu Yin to a parallel universe where time passed thirty times faster. The universe was connected to the Arboreal Realm, which meant that it could be entered without a coordinate seal. The connection was even close to the Liberation Pce.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect.He found Chen Le sitting in the main hall. When the man saw Lu Yin approach, Chen Le quickly stood and bowed.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and helped the Monarch stand back up. "Thank you for your hard work."

    Chen Le¡¯s tone was very respectful. "It is my honor to serve you, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin smiled. "You did very well. Wu Heng told me that, no matter what sort of torture Mr. Daheng subjected you to, you never said anything. I underestimated you."

    Chen Le felt a bit excited. "You don¡¯t need to worry, Dao Monarch. Even if I had died, I wouldn¡¯t have said a word."

    Lu Yinughed. "Alright, head on back. I¡¯ve seen your loyalty."

    Chen Le was thrilled to hear this acknowledgement. "Yes, Dao Monarch."

    At this moment, the Second Nightking arrived to report to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, Luo Shan is requesting an audience with you."

    Chen Le was stunned. Luo Shan?

    Lu Yin had not expected Luo Shan to visit the Heavens Sect. He nced at Chen Le and said, "Show him in.

    "Chen Le, sit back down."

    Chen Le did as he was told.

    Luo Shan was quickly escorted in. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw Chen Le. There was no reaction in the Monarch¡¯s eyes as he approached Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, I previously told you that our grudges should have been cleared in the Transcendent Universe. Why are you stilling after me?"

    "How dare you speak to Lord Lu that way!" Chen Le scolded angrily.

    Luo Shan gave the man a frigid re.

    Chen Le was not the slightest bit intimidated. He had just expressed his loyalty to Lu Yin and was in a good mood. On top of that, they were in the Heavens Sect. No matter how powerful Luo Shan might be, Chen Le could behave arrogantly in the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin smiled and asked Chen Le to sit back down. He then looked at Luo Shan. "If our past grudges have been erased, then why did you give me that stone in the Three Monarchs Universe?"

    "I believe that you were the one who told Chen Le to give that stone to me, Lord Lu," Luo Shan repiled.

    Lu Yin nodded. "But that isn¡¯t why you gave me the stone. You did that to divert Daheng''s attention."

    Luo Shan¡¯s eyes glittered. "Lord Lu, you didn¡¯t have to take the stone."

    "Who do you think I am?" Lu Yin gave Luo Shan a pointed look. "You and Daheng are just small fries. How would I ever back down from it?"

    Luo Shan clenched his fists while ring at Lu Yin.

    "Don''t tell me that it wasn''t you who attacked my forces in the Transcendent Universe and tried to capture Chen Le," Lu Yin continued.

    Luo Shan took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know exactly why."

    "Chen Le is a member of my Heavens Sect. By daring to attack him, you are disregarding me. What you spoke of with erasing our past grudges only applies to matters that took ce before the battle between against Shaman God in the Transcendent Universe. Your actions after that remain to be ounted for. On top of that, do not forget that it was my crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier that revealed Mr. Daheng lurking about in the Three Monarchs Universe. Without me, you would not have known anything before he ambushed you," Lu Yin shouted.

    Luo Shan''s eyes flickered. "Is that why you coerced that moron Daheng to go to the Three Monarchs Universe and attack me?"

    "What more of a reason do you want?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    Luo Shan stared at Lu Yin for a long moment while thinking about things. "Very well, this matter ends here. Daheng has been sent to the Endless Frontier, and from now on, I will also remain on the Endless Frontier. Please don''t make trouble for me again, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yinughed and rose to his feet. He slowly and deliberately walked over to Luo Shan. The distance between the two closed until they were so close that either could attack the other at any moment.

    It was clear that Luo Shan was the stronger of the two. After all, he was a sequence powerhouse. Even so, at this moment, Luo Shan was the one who abruptly took a step back. Lu Yin was a threat. This had nothing to do with Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation orbat strength. Rather, the sense of danger came from Lu Yin¡¯s aura.

    "The Aeternals cannot seize the upper hand on the Endless Frontier while I am around. Do you think that <em>you </em>can do so here on my own turf? Luo Shan, you overestimate yourself."

    Luo Shan red at Lu Yin. "I canpensate you.¡±

    "That reason why that idiotic Daheng had the courage to ambush me was not only because of my injuries, but also because of a power vessel that he has. You should have seen our battle, so you should have seen the copper coin that he pulled out at the end."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "A copper coin?"

    Luo Shan nced at Chen Le. "Get out."

    Chen Le became furious, but Lu Yin dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Head on out first."

    Chen Le gave a respectful bow. "Of course, Dao Monarch."

    Only Lu Yin and Luo Shan remained in the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall now. The Monarch stared at Lu Yin. "It has not been long since you first joined the Sixverse Association. Because of this, you are still unclear about many details, particrly about outsider powerhouses.

    "That copper coin is the emblem of a very powerful outsider known as Astral Anura."

    Lu Yin listened quietly.

    "Astral Anura is a very powerful creature. It is said that even the Great Sovereign needs to show him a measure of respect. He is one of the outsider powerhouses who cannot be provoked. He is not an ally of the Sixverse Association, but neither is he an ally of Aeternus. He is willing to cooperate with both sides, yet is also willing to treat both as his enemies.

    "The copper coin that Daheng brought out is Astral Anura¡¯s emblem. I ran away from the battle not because I am afraid of Daheng, but rather because I am afraid of that copper coin."

    Lu Yin was both surprised and intimidated. Luo Shan was sharing information that could be regarded as a secret of the Sixverse Association.

    Luo Shan could be sneaky and underhanded, but he also had a measure of righteousness to him. He had been willing to suffer humiliation and act as though he was submitting to Sovereign Shao Yin, and yet he also wanted to rece Lord Wei as the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Luo Shan could run away from a fight without any hesitation, but he would never betray humanity as a whole. He had been willing to search the entire Sixverse Association for Monarch Mu, but he had also been able to let go of his feelings for the woman when necessary.

    No matter how much the man hated Lu Yin, Luo Shan was willing to make peace.

    Such a person would readily escape from a battle without hesitation, but it was not easy for him to admit that he had been frightened away from a battle.

    On top of that, he was scared of a mere copper coin.

    "Daheng is Astral Anura¡¯s. That creature would never give his copper coins to an outsider. Will this serve to erase our grievances?" Luo Shan asked solemnly.

    Lu Yin pondered. "Since this Astral Anura is a neutral party, why is he helping Daheng?"

    "Astral Anura doesn¡¯t consider emotional attachments, only profits. Daheng clearly must have done something to help Astral Anura earn considerable profits. Your scheme may have deceived Daheng into believing that I sent Chen Le into the Heavens Sect and the Liberation Pce, but if anything happens to Daheng, Astral Anura will never forgive the matter. Then, you will be forced to deal with a powerful creature which is nearly equal to the Great Sovereign." Luo Shan did nothing to hide the gloating in his voice.

    He had shared this information with Lu Yin in order to eliminate any grudges, as Luo Shan did not want to constantly have to worry about Lu Yin¡¯s schemes. On top of that, Luo Shan wanted to disrupt Lu Yin. The young man had destroyed the Three Monarchs Universe, and he was also responsible for Monarch Mu¡¯s death. Luo Shan desperately wanted to kill the bastard, but unfortunately, that was impossible. Still, there were some ways for him to get a bit of revenge.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "What happened between you and Daheng?"

    Luo Shan''s eyes shed. "We¡¯ve known each other for a very long time. In fact, we both started cultivating at nearly the same time. There are too many grievances between us, such that I can not even recount them all. Lord Lu, are you really curious about us?"

    Lu Yin did not really have any interest in Luo Shan and Daheng¡¯smon past. His true purpose was to visit various universes where time passed at different speeds.

    "Give me ess to a parallel universe where time passes at a different speed, and all of our past grudges will be cleared. As long as you don''t provoke my Heavens Sect, I will not go after you again," Lu Yin promised.

    Luo Shan¡¯s wish for Lu Yin to not betray humanity as the Monarch escaped from the Transcendent Universe had not only saved Luo Shan¡¯s life, but had also made Lu Yin dismiss his thoughts of killing the Monarch. Granted, this was on the premise that Luo Shan did not pose a threat to Lu Yin.

    Luo Shan was surprised. "How do you know I have ess to such a universe?"

    As soon as he spoke, his eyes flickered with realization. "The Merchant Exchange told you."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Do you agree?"

    Luo Shan could not see through Lu Yin. Regardless of who may have leaked the information to Lu Yin, Luo Shan needed to pay this price.

    "Lord Lu, from now on, our te is wiped clean." Luo Shan agreed to give Lu Yin ess to the parallel universe.

    Lu Yin was satisfied. "If you have any other such universe, you cane to me with a price, and I will pay you or owe you a favor."

    Luo Shan barked an oddugh.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Why are youughing?"

    Luo Shan exhaled. "I¡¯mughing at you, Lord Lu, because you and Astral Anura will eventually end up at odds with each other."

    "Because of Daheng?"

    "No, because of parallel universes with different rates of time flow." Luo Shan grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin. "Themodity that Astral Anura most prefers to use for his trades are the same kinds of parallel universes that you are seeking."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly changed.

    "Lord Lu, take care." Luo Shan left.

    Lu Yin had no idea if thisstment was true or not, but it most likely was. Luo Shan could not be the only one in the Sixverse Association who knew about Astral Anura, so there would be no point in trying to lie to Lu Yin.

    Did Astral Anura also need parallel universes with different temporal flow rates?

    That might make things really, really tricky!

    Lu Yin became lost in his own thoughts. Just how many others were seeking the same thing as him?

    ¡­

    Dark-red earth stretched out into the distance. It was the surface of a in the parallel universe that Mr. Daheng had given Lu Yin.

    It was a tiny universe, and it was about asrge as the Astral River and all of its tributaries. Lu Yin had already visited all thes in this universe, and not a single one of them had any form of life. This was not something that Lu Yin had ever encountered before.

    It was as though the universe had only been recently born.

    He felt rather confused about the absence of life. How was he supposed to gain this universe¡¯s recognition?

    After considering the matter for a long time, Lu Yin ultimately decided that, since there was no life, he would introduce life to the universe.

    Of course, he could not create life. Rather, he would bring it in.

    It would also have to be a form of life that could adapt to the universe.

    For a bit of time, Lu Yin wandered about the Origin Universe, gathering up various lifeforms and introducing them to the parallel universe. Most of the creatures died the moment they entered the universe,pletely unable to survive. The fact that there was no life in the universe meant that either no life had yet appeared, or that nothing was capable of surviving in it.

    After Lu Yin found the first lifeform that seeded in surviving in the universe for half a year, he knew that it was possible for creatures to live in the universe. Unique lifeforms would eventually appear in the universe, but what Lu Yin wanted to do next was entirely dependent on luck.

    For some time, Lu Yin introduced many different lifeforms from the Origin Universe, hoping that by doing so, he could elerate the process of being acknowledged by the parallel universe.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2940: Guests

    Chapter 2940: Guests

    One year. Two years. Five years.

    Lu Yin spent five years in the parallel universe, though only two months passed in the outside world. In this universe, time passed thirty times faster.

    Of course, for Lu Yin, it was a full five years.

    The truth was that Lu Yin had been cultivating for far longer than what most people thought. His die had given him a great deal of extra time early on, and ess to parallel universes where time passed more quickly had elerated his cultivation even further.

    In a blink of an eye, eight months passed for the outside world, while twenty years passed in the parallel universe.

    Some of the creatures that Lu Yin had taken into the universe had survived and started to spread, bringing vitality to the universe. All of these creatures had started in the Origin Universe, which meant that they should already acknowledge Lu Yin.

    He tested summoning Lightstream and instantly felt a sense of danger from the universe, which prompted him to immediately stop and leave. What he had done so far was not enough, so he continued.

    Another twenty years quickly passed in the parallel universe, meaning that Lu Yin had stayed there for forty years in total. He really wanted to try summoning Lightstream again, but after remembering what Xia Shenji had once said, Lu Yin understood that even repeated tests with Lightstream could easily cause the universe to copse. For that reason, Lu Yin suppressed his desires and waited even longer.

    Another twenty years passed. An entire sixty years had passed for Lu Yin in the parallel universe. This was a significant amount of time for him, as he had only cultivated in the Origin Universe for a bit more than sixty years.Sixty years in the parallel universe was only two years in the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin finally tried using Lightstream again, and this time, he felt no sense of danger. After sixty years of spreading life through the universe, it had finally acknowledged Lu Yin.

    He had really found a shortcut this time. If no lifeform from the Origin Universe had been able to survive in the parallel universe, then Lu Yin would have needed to wait for life to naturally develop in the universe. Not only that, but he would have also needed to wait for that life to develop enough intelligence to be able to acknowledge him in order for the universe to do the same.

    The time needed for the overall process would likely need to be measured in hundreds of millions of years.

    Being acknowledged by a universe was one thing, but adapting Lightstream to the universe was something else.

    Quite a bit of time passed before Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and tested out Lightstream again. This time, he was able to peer forty-eight seconds into the past. The time had increased by thirty seconds.

    Lu Yin was excited by these results, so he continued. Next, he would visit the parallel universe that he had received from Luo Shan.

    Lu Yin wanted to use this parallel universe to test some things out. Lightstream had just adapted to a universe where time passed thirty times faster, and now, he was moving on to a universe where it passed only twenty times faster. He believed that the slower passage of time would be easier for Lightstream to adapt to, and he wanted to test this theory with the two universes. If Lu Yin could go and quickly adapt Lightstream to this parallel universe, he would gain another twenty seconds that he could see into the past. If he seeded, then it would validate Lu Yin¡¯s hypothesis. If this was not urate, then it would mean that all of Lu Yin¡¯s guesses about Lightstream and parallel universes with elerated temporal flow rates were wrong.

    The differing rates of time were indeed rted to the durability of space in a given universe, but this connection was not exactly what Lu Yin observed.

    The parallel universe that Luo Shan had shared with him proved to be much more convenient than the one provided by Mr. Daheng. There were intelligent creatures in the new universe, though there were no humans.

    There were too many parallel universes throughout the megaverse, and only a handful of them had human upants.

    Lu Yin spent a total of twenty years in this universe to receive its acknowledgment, which meant that a single year had passed in the Origin Universe.

    Upon receiving the universe¡¯s recognition, Lu Yin discovered that some of his hypotheses were wrong. It was clear that the space in this universe was not as robust as that in the universe where time passed thirty times faster than the Origin Universe. However, Lightstream was not able to immediately adapt to the universe. He needed a new line of thought.

    He returned to the Heavens Sect and started testing Lightstream out again.

    Sixty-eight seconds. He was able to see sixty-eight seconds into the past, which was more than a minute.

    Lightstream now granted Lu Yin the ability to peer sixty-eight seconds into the past. As the time increased, Lu Yin grew more and more addicted to increasing its time. He was eager to visit more and more parallel universes so that he could develop Lightstream to the point where he was able to reverse time by more than just one second. That would be the beginning of aplete transformation.

    The time that Lu Yin spent in the parallel universe to develop Lighstream was the most peaceful the Sixverse Association had been in a very long time.

    Most of the fighting had died down across the Endless Frontier, and there was practically no fighting at any of the member universes of the Sixverse Association¡¯s borders.

    Both the Sixverse Association and Aeternus were waiting for their top experts to recover.

    During this time of peace, the White Dragon n weed a mysterious guest to the Perennial World. The guest had already stayed with the n for more than a year.

    After the destruction of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon n had moved to the Lower Realm to be closer to the Python Ancestor. This move was both their atonement and their escape.

    The living conditions in the Lower Realm were not ideal. The ce was filled with various types of beasts, though none of them posed any threat to the White Dragon n. Grand Elder Ni Huang possessed Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye, which allowed the man to possess thebat strength of a Progenitor. Lu Yin had also agreed to let the White Dragon n move to the Lower Realm, which meant that they were tasked with guarding the Lower Realm, in the same manner that the Celestial Frost Sect and the others had been tasked with protecting the 100,000 currents.

    There was no one capable of serving as the guardian of the Lower Realm, aside from the White Dragon n. Their members possessed auras that were simr to the Python Ancestor¡¯s, which allowed them to stay close to the Python Ancestor.

    In the Lower Realm¡¯s third region, Elder Ni Huang had been meditating for a year. He had arrived in this location shortly after their guest arrived. Ni Huang was sitting directly under the Python Ancestor''s head, and if he looked up, he would see the bottom of the Python Ancestor''s jaw.

    Only in this ce could he calm his heart.

    "The White Dragon n has been banished to the Lower Realm to live among beasts. If he wasn¡¯t able to use you to protect the Lower Realm, your n would have been erased. Do you really think that using the Python Ancestor to rise up and banish the Lu family would not incur a cost?" a sharp voice asked Ni Huang.

    The man opened his eyes. "How are you able to get so close to this location?"

    "You underestimate me too much. We are from the same n, so why wouldn¡¯t I be able to get close?" A dark figure shrouded in a ck robe approached the old man, standing a short distance away from Ni Huang.

    The man looked up and stared at the Python Ancestor with conflicted emotions flickering through his eyes. "We betrayed the Lu family once, and yet the Lu family did not wipe us out. They have shown kindness to my White Dragon n."

    "And yet your n is now only able to remain here in the Lower Realm. How is that any better from being wiped out? What do the people of the Perennial World think of you? You have already betrayed the Lu family, and now, you might as well have betrayed the four ruling powers. Throughout human history, such people are destined to suffer the worst ending imaginable. You can only start over by returning to your own people. We can help you step onto the path of being able to surpass the rest of the four ruling powers. Ni Huang, you are no fool. You should understand which choice you should make," the sharp voice spoke again.

    Ni Huang sighed heavily. "I have been sitting here quietly for a year, and yet I still can¡¯t rid myself of my greed. Yes, I want my White Dragon n to return to the Higher Realm and rece the Lu family once more."

    "Then return to your own kind."

    "My White Dragon n does not want to stay in the Lower Realm."

    "Return to your own kind."

    Ni Huang turned his head to stare at the ck-robed figure once more. "Even if we do, what makes you believe that my White Dragon n can return to the top? Do you understand just how terrifying that person is? He lost all of his memories and cultivation, but in just a few dozen years, he rose up and cast us down from the top.

    "He went to the Sixverse Association and overturned the status quo there. Even you were swept away by him. If he appears here now, do you have the courage to face him?

    "With such an opponent, why would you help us?"

    The ck robed figure shouted back, "Shut up! You think too much of him!"

    "And you think too little of him. I admit that, when you arrived and spoke to me a year ago, I was very tempted. And yet, my sense of reason told me that this is a path of no return and that stepping onto it will push the White Dragon npletely off of the edge and into the abyss. That is why I came here to meditate. I wanted to suppress the greed that fills in my heart. Right now, the White Dragon n only needs to survive, and yet my greed cannot be suppressed.

    "Give me a reason to trust you and lose my doubts, or else my White Dragon n will never take such a risk."

    The ck-robed figure remained silent for a while and did not move, either. Suddenly, Ni Huang''s expression changed. His face grew pale as the figure approached, and he unexpectedly spat out a mouthful of blood. His body underwent the White Dragon Transformation, but not voluntarily. Also, this time, the transformation was different from before. This time, it seemed that Ni Huang had fully transformed into a monster.

    The man groaned in pain.

    The ck-robed figure slowly walked closer. "My blood innately suppresses yours. Your lives belong to me! I can end them at any moment, and yet I still waited an entire year for you. This was my demonstration of sincerity for your n.

    "Would you offer an ant a chance, when you could crush it at any moment? Just because you and I are part of the same race, I offered you a chance. This was never a threat, but rather a show of my sincerity."

    Ni Huang stared at the figure in fear. When this person had first arrived at the White Dragon n a year ago, he had demonstrated nearly the same ability to suppress the White Dragon n¡¯s bloodline. Ni Huang was certain that this person¡¯s bloodline was even purer than the White Dragon n¡¯s, which could only mean that he was from the same race as the Python Ancestor.

    Additionally, this person had offered Ni Huang the opportunity to get revenge against the Heavens Sect and to take the White Dragon n back to the Higher Realm. It was time for a decision to be made.

    The suppression on his bloodline grew stronger and stronger, and Ni Huang''s entire body transformed. He understood that this person was truly capable of ending his life at any moment. What did Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye matter before such power? Even if Progenitor Long himself were still alive, he still would not be able to put up any resistance before this person.

    This was not simply a gap in cultivation, but also a suppression in bloodlines.

    The consequence of this sort of suppression was all too clear to the White Dragon n.

    In the past, they had used their blood pool to lure in experts who wanted to improve their physical strength. However, all who bathed in that pool would find themselves suppressed by anyone with the White Dragon n¡¯s bloodline. At the moment, Ni Huang was experiencing that same sort of suppression himself.

    "Not only can I suppress your bloodline, but I can also make the Python Ancestor roll over."

    Thisment horrified Ni Huang. "You can make the Python Ancestor roll over?"

    "How foolish. If even you can do it, then why can¡¯t I?" The ck-robed figure barked augh. "I want the Lu family to once again endure the agony of the Python Ancestor rolling over, but this time, I want topletely eliminate the Lu family.¡±

    Ni Huang¡¯s response was enthusiastic. "I believe you. What do you need of my White Dragon n?"

    This was the answer that the ck-robed figure wanted. "There is a medicine in this ce that can cause astral beasts to go berserk. I need your White Dragon n to spread it throughout the Lower Realm by a certain time, which will create chaos everywhere here."

    "Is that all?"

    "Before that, I also need your White Dragon n to clearly locate the 100,000 currents. The Mother Tree should rot away."

    Ni Huang quickly agreed, and he immediately summoned all of the n¡¯s elites to gather in the third region. As for the ck-robed figure, he hid himself.

    The Lower Realm was massive, and it was split into five different regions. The Python Ancestor''s huge body was wrapped around the trunk of the Mother Tree, and it served as the sky of the Lower Realm.

    Right above the third region was the Python Ancestor''s head, while above the fifth region was its tail. The other three regions were covered by the snake¡¯s body.

    The Ancestor Python had wrapped around the Mother Tree multiple times, and its body was so massive that it was capable of shoving the Higher Realm away from the Perennial World. If the snake moved in the other direction, it was equally capable of crushing the entire Lower Realm.

    The ck-robed figure looked up at the Python Ancestor. Before visiting the Perennial World, he had never imagined that such a terrifyingly powerful individual could appear from his n. This massive body could easily crush the entire Lower Realm.

    The members of the White Dragon n gradually congregated in the third region. Among them were Long Laogui, Long Kui, Long Tian, Long Xi, and many more. Even Long Kui''s mount, Gui, was present. Everyone appeared in the third region.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2941: Determination

    Chapter 2941: Determination

    Great Elder Ni Huang had never gathered the members of the White Dragon n together after they migrated to the Lower Realm. It was clear to everyone that something big must have happened.

    Most people struggled to move about in the Lower Realm, due to the presence of the various powerful beasts. However, the members of the White Dragon n had brought out all of the n¡¯s reserves of dirt touched with Ancestor Python¡¯s saliva, which meant they couldpletely ignore the beasts of the Lower Realm.

    It took half a month for all of the n¡¯s elites to gather beneath Python Ancestor''s head. Although there were many people, there was nomotion. This was a sacred ce for the White Dragon n.

    Long Xi lifted her head to look at Python Ancestor. She was back in this ce once again. She and Brother Xiaoxuan had visited this ce when he had been posing as Long Qi¡ªno, he was Lu Yin.

    Long Xi would never forget that day beneath Python Ancestor.

    How wonderful it would be to go back to that day with her current memories.

    Great Elder Ni Huang sat quietly before everyone. When he spoke, his voice was soft. "Is everyone here?"

    Long Laogui stepped forward and respectfully answered, "Great Elder, all of our n¡¯s elites are here. What are your orders, Great Elder?"

    Ni Huang turned to look at everyone who had gathered. There were tens of thousands of people. These nsmen represented the future of the White Dragon n. At this moment, he needed to make a decision, and it was one that would determine the fate of the White Dragon n that had been tasked with protecting the Lower Realm. This was not a ce where their n should remain forever, and Ni Huang still had some ambitions."How long has it been since we arrived in the Lower Realm?" Ni Huang asked.

    "Great Elder, it has been ten years," Long Laogui answered again.

    Long Xi looked conflicted. Had it already been ten years? Time passed by so quickly.

    Ni Huang looked at all the n members. "Has it been ten years? Have you all adapted to being here in the Lower Realm?"

    Many of the n members nced at each other, wondering what the great elder meant with this question.

    Long Xi frowned. Something was off about Great Elder Ni Huang¡¯s tone. Why had he suddenly asked this question?

    Ni Huang nced at Long Laogui, Long Tian, and Long Xi before ncing at the n¡¯s various young geniuses. "There are those among you who relied on the status that our White Dragon n once had as one of the four ruling powers to be famous in the Perennial World.

    "Some of you became Junior Progenitors, who were looked up to by the entire Perennial World.

    "All of you were both envied and respected by countless people.

    "Do you still remember those days?"

    Long Xi''s eyes flickered, and she took a step forward. "Great Elder, what are you saying?"

    Great Elder Ni Huang gave Long Xi a cold stare. "Has our White Dragon n ever trulymitted any sin? When we were faced with the pressure of the Lu family, we did indeed admit that we were wrong, but is that actually true? All we wanted was a better ce to live and some more advantages. Everyone possesses a bit of selfishness. Is it wrong to pursue a better future for our n?¡±

    "Great Elder, just what exactly do you want to do?" Long Xi shouted sharply.

    Long Tian¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Long Laogui''s face grew pale, and he quickly tried to dissuade Ni Huang. "Great Elder, the Heavens Sect is the master of this ce. Even the Sixverse Association must obey Lu Yin now. Great Elder, please reconsider your next words."

    "Great Elder, please reconsider."

    "Great Elder¡­"

    ¡­

    Great Elder Ni Huang shook his head. "Everyone wishes to reach the peak. Who among you has never dreamed of bing a Progenitor? Is that possible as long as we remain in the Lower Realm? We must leave this ce and join the rest of the Perennial World, or else our White Dragon n will have no future at all.¡±

    Long Xi angrily shouted, "Great Elder, we have already been blessed by the fact that the Lu family did not pursue our crimes against them. Dao Monarch Lu even went so far as to return Progenitor Long¡¯s eye to our White Dragon n. Without that, our White Dragon n would have been destroyed by Aeternus. Why do you still want tosh out at the kindness that has been shown to us? This is not merely selfish, but rather utter shamelessness!"

    Long Tian frowned. "Great Elder, while I do hate Lu Xiaoxuan, this is not how things should be done."

    Long Laogui was terribly worried. "Great Elder, what do you want?"

    Great Elder Ni Huang''s eyes lit up with excitement. "No matter what you all may think, I wish to lead the White Dragon n back to greatness! I want my people to be qualified to be Progenitors and make it so that my people can proudly raise their heads in front of others. No one can stop me, no one! Any who attempts to do so will be betraying our entire n!"

    This was madness! All of the members of the White Dragon n members felt that Great Elder Ni Huang must have lost his mind.

    Long Xi was beyond furious. "Great Elder, return Progenitor Long¡¯s eye to me!"

    The great elder sneered at the woman and then took a single step forward to appear in front of her. The pressure that the man gave off made it difficult for Long Xi to even breathe. Long Tian''s expression changed, and he quickly moved to stand in front of Long Xi, despite their distant rtionship. At this moment, everyone in the n wanted to stop Ni Huang, as he was really acting insane.

    Long Xi had a very high status in the White Dragon n, but her status was even higher in the scope of the entire Origin Universe. It was her rtionship with Lu Yin that made it so that no one dared to make trouble for the White Dragon n. If Ni Huang did anything to Long Xi, the White Dragon n would lose all hope.

    At this moment, even Long Laogui took action, and he moved to block Great Elder Ni Huang.

    Killing intent zed in Great Elder Ni Huang¡¯s eyes as he grabbed Long Xi''s head with a hand. Every member of the White Dragon n stared in horror as the man captured Long Xi. Her vision blurred, and she felt the threat of death approaching. She had made a terrible mistake. She should never have given Progenitor Long¡¯s eye to the great elder. Long Xi had thought that her n had clearly seen the direction that things were heading, and she had believed that they could change their ways. She had never expected this to happen.

    The White Dragon n was about toe to an end.

    "Great Elder, stop!"

    "Stop!"

    Great Elder Ni Huang held Long Xi in front of his body, and moved her so that her body blocked the sight of his own face from a particr direction. At that moment, gentleness filled his eyes, as well as hope and reluctance. "I leave the future of the White Dragon n to you. Live well.¡±

    Long Xi stared at Ni Huang in utter confusion.

    The man smiled at her, and then a ferocious look covered his face. His left hand swept out, tearing open the void and shoving Long Xi, Long Tian, and several of the other nearby n members in. "Stay alive¨C!"

    Far away, the ck-robed figure¡¯s expression changed. <em>No! That idiot!</em>

    The ck-robed figure instantly attacked, trying to disrupt Great Elder Ni Huang''s actions. The strange eye appeared on the great elder''s forehead, and it stared at the ck-robed figure. At that moment, the tear in the void disappeared.

    A sh of Progenitor-level power instantly shattered many of the nearby people.

    Long Xi, Long Tian, and the others who had been pushed into the void by Great Elder Ni Huang watched as many of their fellow n members died. Before they lost sight of the Lower Realm, they saw Great Elder Ni Huang cough up blood. At that moment, they understood that everything that the man had said had been a trick.

    The moment that the void returned to normal, and the ck-robed figure snapped, furious. "You idiot! You bastards are not worthy of belonging to the same race as me! I will destroy you all!"

    The Lower Realm trembled, and the various members of the White Dragon n vomited blood as they died. Not one member of the n in the entire Lower Realm was spared. This was the power of bloodline suppression. Great Elder Ni Huang took on the massive form of a dragon, and he mmed his body into Python Ancestor, hoping the beast would wake up and drive their enemy away.

    In the Lu Sanctum in the Higher Realm, Lu Tianyi suddenly looked down. His expression shifted. What was going on?

    The arms of the ck-robed figure stretched out from beneath the ck robe. What appeared were not human arms, but rather fish fins. The ck-robed figure was one of the Aeternals¡¯ True God Guard Captains, Yu Huo.

    His fins appeared soft, but they sliced right through the enormous draconic body of the transformed Ni Huang.

    The great elder nced at Yu Huo with Progenitor Long¡¯s eye, but it was useless against Yu Huo.

    Even if Progenitor Long were still alive, he would be no match for a True God Guard Captain, so Great Elder Ni Huang had absolutely no chance, seeing how he was only barely able to exert thebat strength of a Progenitor with the help of Progenitor Long¡¯s strange eye.

    As the jiao was broken apart, Long Laogui pulled out a de and attacked Yu Huo.

    The man was sliced to pieces by the fish¡¯s fins.

    Long Kui rode Gui to m into Yu Huo. "We will live or die with our great elder!"

    There was a bang, and blood and flesh scattered across the sky. There was not one bone left of Long Kui or Gui¡¯s bodies.

    The sudden violence spurred the members of the White Dragon n to action, and many of them charged forward. Their bloodlust had been fully roused.

    Yu Huo red at Ni Huang as the fish prepared to leave. He was in the Origin Universe, and any sort of dy would very likely draw out an expert from the Lu family.

    Even so, Yu Huo was already toote. Lu Tianyi was on the move, and he pointed a finger as he stared down at the Lower Realm. "You are seeking death!"

    Yu Huo''s scalp went numb. He knew that he was absolutely no match for someone as powerful as Lu Tianyi. "We¡¯ll see who is seeking death! Let¡¯s see if your Lu family can handle Python Ancestor rolling over again!"

    The fish then pulled out some unknown item and smashed it against Python Ancestor''s head.

    The enormous snake¡¯s eyes snapped open, and it went berserk. The massive coils untangled from the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, and Python Ancestor mmed against the Middle Realm.

    Lu Tianyi''s expression changed drastically. "Python Ancestor, stop!"

    The Middle Realm shook, and countless mountains and rivers cracked and broke. Tsunamis swept across the Middle Ocean, drowning countless coastal cities.

    Lu Tianyi had never considered that anyone other than the White Dragon n could cause Python Ancestor to roll over. At this moment, Python Ancestor did not even seem conscious, despite its thrashing. Themotion and violence were utterly terrifying.

    Yu Huo wanted to use this opportunity to escape.

    The shattered body of Ni Huang¡¯s dragon form fluttered as he bit Yu Huo. Almost all of the members of the White Dragon n who had been in the Lower Realm had already died. Their great elder had already done all that he could.

    Yu Huo sneered. "Trash! This is what you get for betraying our n! Let''s see who can save you now."

    The fish shot through the void, and starting at the jiao¡¯s forehead, he tore Ni Huang apart, splitting him in two. Flesh and blood spilled and painted the Lower Realm¡¯s third region red.

    Everything had happened too fast. No one in the White Dragon n had the ability to resist a True God Guard Captain. Yu Huo tore through the void and was just about to leave, but he suddenly whirled around. He saw a finger approaching him. That should have been impossible. Lu Tianyi was clearly upied by Python Ancestor¡¯s rolling over. How had the human Progenitor found a chance to attack him?

    No matter how unbelievable it was, Yu Huo still needed to deal with Lu Tianyi''s attack.

    His ck robe shattered, and the form of the fish underwent two changes in an instant. First, the scales faded away, and the fish transformed into a snake-like creature. After that, the beast took on seven colors. It looked like a seven-colored python, and it greatly resembled Python Ancestor.

    Lu Tianyi pointed another finger at the giant python. The beast¡¯s body was pierced through, and it was flung back. There was no way to know where it might havended.

    Beneath the Middle Realm, as soon as Lu Tianyi looked away from the figure he had just struck, he turned to face Python Ancestor, who was about to m into the Progenitor. The beast was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s pet, and it had been around since the days of the ancient Heavens Sect. Lu Tianyi could not kill Python Ancestor even if he tried his best. Still, Python Ancestor was still thrashing about, and its body was about to m into the Middle Realm. At that moment, Lu Tianyi raised his head. "Eagle¨C!"

    An eagle¡¯s cry rang throughout the Perennial World as a shadow dropped down from the top of the Mother Tree. It was massive, and it whipped up powerful winds and caused the void throughout the Perennial World to warp.

    The Divine Eagle grabbed Python Ancestor from the side, and the two monstrous beasts shed. Their impact tore the Middle Realm in two. Lu Tianyi quickly worked to stabilize the Middle Realm as Python Ancestor was struck by the Divine Eagle. Once the pythonnded in the Lower Realm, it still took a while for it to settle down.

    It only took a short amount of time, but it had been incredibly dangerous. If there had been the slightest mistake, the entire Perennial World would have been destroyed.

    Lu Tianyi feared that the biggest threat to upsetting the Perennial World might be Python Ancestor itself. The enormous snake¡¯s strength wasparable to the Seven Skygods, and it could be a powerful threat against the Aeternals, but if Aeternus could take advantage of Python Ancestor, the beast could cause incredible damage to humanity.

    Aside from the Origin Progenitor himself, only the Divine Eagle was capable of temporarily restraining Python Ancestor.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2942: A Fishhook

    Chapter 2942: A Fishhook

    The enormous eagle soared across the sky of the Lower Realm.

    Python Ancestor had not woken up yet, but after it was struck by the Divine Eagle, it stopped pushing up towards the Middle Realm. Instead, the python wrapped back around the Mother Tree¡¯s trunk, returning to its previous position.

    Lu Tianyi let out a breath as he quietly watched.

    By the time Lu Yin arrived, the Divine Eagle had already returned to the Dominion Realm.

    "Ancestor, what happened?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Lu Tianyi waved a hand, opening the void and allowing Long Xi, Long Tian, and the other surviving members of the White Dragon n to emerge. Great Elder Ni Huang had torn through space, sending the n¡¯s youths to the Higher Realm, rather than a parallel universe.

    The White Dragon n had lived in the Higher Realm for many years, so they had naturally prepared some back-up ns.

    When Long Xi saw Lu Yin, her eyes flushed red.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "Are you alright?"Long Xi shook her head. "My White Dragon n is gone!"

    Lu Yin silently listened to Long Xi. At the side, a terribly gloomy expression covered Long Tian''s face.

    A short timeter, a group of people descended to the Lower Realm, and they saw where the White Dragon n had tried to fight against Yu Huo. Blood and flesh covered the ground, giving everything a red tint and filling the ce with the pungent stench of blood.

    Long Xi and the others slowly walked across the blood-stained ground, ovee with sorrow.

    Lu Yin had not expected the White Dragon n to do such a thing. They had chosen to fight an enemy to their death, rather than turn and join the enemy.

    Lu Tianyi sighed. "The White Dragon n has fully redeemed themselves."

    Conflicted emotions filled Lu Yin''s eyes. The White Dragon n had eliminated any possible grudges with the Lu family by paying with the lives of nearly the entire n. There was no longer any reason for the White Dragon n to remain in the Lower Realm. This had been Great Elder Ni Huang¡¯s intention. He had never wanted to free the White Dragon n by joining with Yu Huo. Instead, he had guaranteed that the Lu family and Lu Yin would forgive the White Dragon n''s past mistakes.

    Long Xi and the others were seeds left behind by the White Dragon n. As long as the youths did not die, the White Dragon n would one day rise again.

    Everything from the past had disappeared with the blood spilled across the battlefield.

    The White Dragon n no longer owed the Lu family anything at all.

    "Why didn''t Python Ancestor help the White Dragon n?" Lu Yin was surprised by this. Given the White Dragon n¡¯s abilities, as long as they remained in the Lower Realm, not even Progenitor-level powerhouses from Aeternus should have been able to deal with the n so easily. Even the Aeternals were wary of Python Ancestor. They should not have been able to get so close to Python Ancestor without kicking up a fuss.

    Long Tian and the other survivors could not provide any answer. The only person in their entire n who had known about Yu Huo¡¯s existence had been Ni Huang.

    Great Elder Ni Huang had not had any opportunity to share anything with Long Xi or the others, because he had constantly under Yu Huo¡¯s monitoring. The only way he had sessfully earned the fish¡¯s trust had been by summoning all of the White Dragon n¡¯s elites. Without doing that, it might have been impossible to send Long Xi and the others to safety.

    The White Dragon n had lost all their usefulness, though that was not true of Long Xi. Her rtionship with Lu Yin alone was enough to ensure the future of the White Dragon n. On top of that, Long Tian was their most talented member of the generation.

    "The one who ughtered the White Dragon n should be one of the Aeternals¡¯ Progenitor-level powerhouses, but this time, it wasn¡¯t a corpse king. It was very strange, and it was actually a fish," Lu Tianyi told Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Yu Huo?"

    "You know the creature?" Lu Tianyi was surprised.

    Long Tian approached Lu Yin and stared at him. "Who was that?"

    Lu Yin shared what he knew of Yu Huo. "The True God Guard Captains are a level above most Progenitors. They¡¯re the most difficult opponents we face beneath the Sequence Progenitor level. If you want to get revenge, you¡¯ll need to cultivate to the level of a Sequence Progenitor first.

    "Still, was he able to survive after being struck by your finger, Ancestor?"

    Lu Tianyi waspletely certain about that. "The beast¡¯s still alive. My finger wasn¡¯t able to kill it."

    Lu Yin frowned. Aeternus had always enjoyed the advantage in the war against humanity. Lu Yin had managed to overturn that advantage with his recent crusade, and that had solidified his reputation. The Aeternals had quickly retaliated by directly attacking the Perennial World. If not for the fact that the White Dragon n had been willing to fight to the death, there was no telling what Yu Huo might have aplished.

    How many times had Lu Yin warned people to be wary of the Aeternals? Even so, they had managed to sneak through.

    Lu Yin raised his head to look at Python Ancestor. "Yu Huo is able to make Python Ancestor roll over. Is he rted to the White Dragon n?"

    Lu Tianyi was also curious about that. "About that, the fish transformed into a seven-colored python."

    "The White Dragon n came to be by using Python Ancestor''s blood for their cultivation. If Yu Huo is also able to cause Python Ancestor to roll over, could he be from the same species as Python Ancestor?" Lu Yin guessed. Given that Yu Huo had turned into a seven-colored python, it was hard to avoid drawing a connection to Python Ancestor.

    "It''s possible. That would exin why it could move about the Lower Realm and get close to the White Dragon n," Lu Tianyi replied.

    Long Tian clenched a fist. "No matter what it is, our n¡¯s genocide must be avenged!"

    Lu Yin nced at Long Tian. He did not want to shatter the man¡¯s hopes, but it would be far too difficult for Long Tian to reach the necessary level of strength to get revenge.

    Long Tian was extremely talented, and he would very likely be Progenitor some day, but there was a vast difference in strength among Progenitors. The True God Guard Captains were some of the strongest powerhouses beneath the sequence powerhouse level, and even if a Sequence Progenitor wanted to kill one of the captains, it would be a challenge. All of the captains had bizarre innate gifts.

    "All of you can move up to the Middle Realm," Lu Yin stated, officially removing the restrictions that had been ced on the White Dragon n.

    Long Xi looked at Lu Yin. "Find me a master. Someone very powerful."

    Lu Yin''s heart moved. "Alright."

    He could not deny her request. The rtionship between the two of them was unusual.

    However, Lu Yin would have to think carefully about who could be Long Xi¡¯s master.

    ***

    Cultivators flew across the sky above the Middle Ocean, all of them searching for something. They were there at the orders of the Lu family and were searching for the seriously injured Yu Huo.

    Because Lu Tianyi had to deal with Python Ancestor, he had only been able to attack Yu Huo with a single finger strike. The Progenitor was certain that Yu Huo was not dead, but he did not know where the fish had ended up.

    Every cultivator in the Perennial World who was stronger than an Envoy had been drafted into the search, and all of them had been ordered to report any odd fish that they discovered.

    No one had actually said that Yu Huo had ended up in the Middle Ocean, but because people were searching for an odd fish, most of them automatically headed for the Middle Ocean.

    At this moment, a strange scene was ying out on the bottom of the Middle Ocean. A huge sea beast was thrashing about crazily. It was gigantic, nearly as powerful as a human Envoy. It was regarded as an overlord in the Middle Ocean, but at this moment, fear and helplessness filled the sea beast¡¯s eyes, and it was all because of a fish.

    There was a fish attached to the sea beast¡¯s belly. Every so often, the fish would p its fins twice. Every time that happened, the sea beast would m to the bottom of the sea from the agony. Each time, the beast needed to spend a long time to recover. The fish on its belly was Yu Huo.

    He had been badly injured by Lu Tianyi''s single finger, and the attack had smacked Yu Huo back into his original form. If not for the protection of the divine energy in his body, that finger strike might have instantly killed him. Even so, Yu Huocked the strength to protect himself, even from an Envoy. It was a pathetic level of power to the fish.

    He did not have enough power to use his second or third forms, let alone maintain his more human form.

    The biggest problem was that Lu Tianyi¡¯s attack had knocked Yu Huo¡¯s cosmic ring away, and he had no idea where it might have ended up. That ring contained a cosmic door that could allow Yu Huo to return to Aeternus¡¯s territory, which was his only option. If he returned to his own people, given his current state, there was no doubt that he would be devoured. That ce was even more dangerous than the Origin Universe.

    Desperate, Yu Huo had decided to stay in the Middle Ocean. He was still a fish, and no one paid attention to fish, not even one that could control sea beasts. With time, Yu Huo would be able to startmunicating with Redbacks, and then he would be able to send word back to the Aeternals. After that, someone would arrive and take him back with a cosmic door.

    "Did you find it?"

    "Of course not! Just how many fish are there, and how many of them look strange? I just wanted to use this opportunity to try to get closer to the Lu family by doing a bit of fishing."

    "Rx. This isn¡¯t just an order from the Lu family. I heard that this is connected to what wiped out the White Dragon n. Even Lord Lu is paying personal attention to this, so be careful that no one knows of your intentions."

    "I won¡¯t do anything. Who knows? Maybe one of these fish is the one that Lord Lu is searching for."

    "I hope so. I heard that Lord Lu is furious this time. Whoever manages to find that fish will definitely be promoted to a new level."

    "That¡¯s why the entire Perennial World is so worked up. Even people from the Fifth Maind have shown up to search for the fish. The Middle Ocean is about to get much busier."

    ¡­

    From the bottom of the Middle Ocean, Yu Huo listened to the cultivators¡¯ conversations and sneered at them. They wanted to find him? They were dreaming.

    However, the sea beast that Yu Huo had attached himself to was a bit too noticeable. After thinking it through, he broke away from the sea beast and shifted his appearance slightly. This made Yu Huo look like amon species of fish in the Middle Ocean, which should prevent anyone from trying to catch him. He had no idea how many cultivators might start searching the Perennial World for him.

    Disguised as amon fish, Yu Huo would be able to rx and live freely in the Middle Ocean. He would only need a bit more than ten years to recover his cultivation and return to Aeternus.

    A few dayster, sword qi sliced through the sea water and brushed across Yu Huo''s body, startling the fish. Had he been discovered?

    He stared upwards.

    "The Heavens Sect has announced that the reward¡¯s been doubled! Whoever finds that fish will immediately be the disciple of a Semi-Progenitor! They can chose any of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates!"

    "Start attacking and force that fish to reveal itself."

    "Yes, force it out! As long as it is in the Middle Ocean, I don¡¯t believe that it can stay hidden."

    More and more attacks struck the sea water, and Yu Huo secretly cursed his bad luck. He carefully restrained his aura and moved into the depths of the Middle Ocean. He did not want to be struck by any of these attacks. Hecked the strength of even an Envoy, and these attacks would be incredibly dangerous at this point in time.

    Half a month quickly passed, and more and more cultivators started searching for Yu Huo. The Middle Ocean was divvied up into sections for people to search through, and there were even cases of people trying to steal other people¡¯s territories.

    Yu Huo felt that things were getting increasingly difficult for him. These madmen were desperate for the rewards of his capture, and greed filled their eyes.

    Yu Huo had no idea how much longer he would be able tost. The chaos had filled almost the entire Middle Ocean.

    <em>Hey, is there no one over there?</em>

    Yu Huo''s eyes lit up and he headed towards a distant region. No cultivators were attacking the Middle Ocean in that area, and there was only a single ind.

    He swam to the bottom of the ocean and then let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he no longer needed to try to escape.

    He nced back. Those losers would be ovee with despair when the Aeternals destroyed the Heavens Sect!

    Just as Yu Huo was thinking about that future, his tail stung. He nced back and found that a hook had pierced his tail. Was that a fishhook?

    He was startled, and he tried to break free, but then he heard a raucousugh from above the surface. "You still want to escape after I caught you? Hahahaha, you¡¯re all mine tonight!"

    There was a powerful yank on the fishhook, and Yu Huo''s body was dragged back.

    He was startled, as this person was clearly a Progenitor. The fish spun around to bite the fishhook and get free, but just as he was about to make his escape, the fish line wrapped around him as though it possessed its own consciousness.

    "Hey, you''re pretty smart! You know how to bite off a fishhook? The smarter you are, the more I want to eat you! Let¡¯s go."

    Yu Huo watched helplessly as the water flowed away from him, the irresistible force dragging him back. He wanted to reveal his real strength so that he could escape, but since the fisherman was a Progenitor, Yu Huo would be in even greater danger if he revealed his strength. He would struggle to escape from most cultivators of reasonable strength, let alone a Progenitor.

    It was no wonder why this part of the Middle Ocean had been empty. None of the fish wanted to be eaten by this guy.

    Arge hand grabbed Yu Huo, and the fish was held before the man¡¯s eyes.

    Yu Huo stared nkly at therge face before him. Was this Lu Qi? Had he been caught by Lu Yin''s father?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2943: A Fish On The Chopping Block

    <h4>Chapter 2943: A Fish On The Chopping Block</h4>

    Lu Qi leaned closer to stare at Yu Huo.

    Yu Huo wished he could hit the man¡¯s head, but for the moment, he could only pretend to be a dumb fish.

    "There¡¯s really no intelligence in its eyes, but the fish is very flexible, so the meat should be good. Okay, we¡¯re having grilled fish tonight." As the man spoke, he threw Yu Huo to the ground. The fish was overjoyed when he saw that the man wanted to keep fishing, which meant that Yu Huo had a chance to escape. However, the very next moment, Lu Qi raised his hand up high and smacked Yu Huo''s tail.

    Yu Huo¡¯s mouth fell open from the agony he was suffering, and he wanted to retaliate.

    Lu Qi had smashed the fish¡¯s tail and almost made Yu Huo be one with the ground. The man¡¯s hand then swung to the side, aiming straight at Yu Huo''s head. The fish¡¯s head was jostled, and he fell to the ground.

    "This way you can''t run away." Lu Qi lifted his head back and turned to walk away with his fishing rod.

    Yu Huo put on a show of being unconscious, but he was really ring at Lu Qi''s back in utter fury. He really wanted to kill this bastard, and one day Yu Huo would personally kill the human.

    Still a bit dazed from the blow to the head, Yu Huo rolled his eyes, gritted his teeth, and then swept his fins back to cut off his own tail and make his escape.

    Suddenly, he found himself staring nkly as a figure stepped out of the void a short distance away. At that moment, Yu Huoid his head back on the ground and pretended to be dead.

    After stepping out of the void, Lu Yin stared across the Middle Ocean. Many cultivators were in the sky above the ocean, and the entire Middle Ocean had grown quite chaotic.

    Lu Yin did nothing to stop those people, as the chaos would all be worthwhile if Yu Huo was found.

    "Hey, Little Seven, why are you here?" Lu Qi walked out, carrying his fishing rod with a new hook attached.

    Lu Yin replied, "Mental rxation.

    "Dad, why are you still here? Hasn¡¯t everything with the 100,000 currents been dealt with?"

    Lu Qi said, "The environment here¡¯s pretty good, and Ancestor Tianyi is worried that the Aeternals will do something. As you know, the war is no longer confined to the rear battlefield. In the past, the Aeternals would only show up with one or two of the Seven Skygods, and even then, the fighting would be limited to the rear battlefield. Now, we might be attacked by all Seven Skygods, as well as the True God Guard, Cheng Kong, and more. They might attack the 100,000 currents again."

    Lu Yin nodded. This evaluation of their current risks was quite urate. After all, Yu Huo had recently eliminated the White Dragon n.

    Recently, Lu Yin had been conducting a high profile search looking for Yu Huo.

    Lu Qi took a seat on the beach, still holding his fishing rod. "Was the White Dragon n wiped out?"

    Lu Yin sat next to his father. "Yes. Only a few people survived."

    Lu Qi stared off into the distance. "I really pity that girl Long Xi."

    Lu Yin said nothing. He was still considering who could potentially serve as Long Xi¡¯s master.

    "Of the four ruling powers, I hate the White Dragon n the least, even if they were the ones who caused the Python Ancestor to roll over and throw us out," Lu Qi murmured.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why don''t you hate them?"

    He had decided not to pursue revenge with the White Dragon n and had instead sent them to protect the Lower Realm. Lu Yin had assumed that this decision would upset at least a few members of the Lu family, but no one had revealed any dissatisfaction. Lu Yin had assumed that it was likely because of his own identity and how the entire family readily catered to his various desires.

    Lu Qi sighed. "Do you know how the White Dragon n started?"

    A short distance away, Yu Huo''s eyes lit up, as he also wanted to know how the White Dragon n¡¯s bloodline was so close to his own that they could be regarded as kin, and yet the White Dragon n was clearly human.

    Yu Huo had been shocked when he had first learned of the White Dragon n¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "How did theye to be?"

    Lu Qi exined, "Humans have always tried all sorts of different methods to gain strength, especially when threatened by Aeternus.

    "Most cultivators proceed down the typical path, while some of the more extreme ones, like the Xia family, will force their branch families into submission to the main family in order to promote those with the greatest potential.

    "Even then, there are people who will take even more extreme actions, and try to integrate the power of other creatures in order to gain greater strength. That''s how the White Dragon n started.

    "There was once a powerful Progenitor in the Daosource Sect. Without saying anything to our Lu family, they chose a few people to integrate with the Python Ancestor¡¯s blood. Ultimately, a single person seeded, and they were the first member of the White Dragon n."

    "Progenitor Long?" Lu Yin was stunned.

    Lu Qi shook his head. "That first member of the White Dragon n didn¡¯t live for very long, but before his death, he did leave an heir behind. Of the various descendents, Progenitor Long was the best.

    "The pain of fusing a human body with the blood of the Python Ancestor is something that is difficult for outsiders toprehend. The White Dragon n has survived that pain. Their existence is a failure of the Daosource Sect, and they can also be regarded as our Lu family¡¯s failure.

    "Progenitor Chen took the initiative to fuse with the blood of giants, which was something not epted by most people at the time. As soon as the White Dragon n was revealed, the Progenitor responsible for creating them knew that he would die, so he charged to the very front of the war against the Aeternals and eventually was killed by them. However, his death did not bring things to an end. For many, many years, the White Dragon n has been looked down upon by others. The members of their n enjoy a longer life expectancy than other humans, they can use the White Dragon Transformation, and they are generally far more talented than other people. Despite all this, they are still seen as outsiders.

    "Many people have targeted the n, both openly and secretly, and they have suffered far worse persecution than even Progenitor Chen. While our Lu family has helped the White Dragon n on several asions, we are unable to eliminate the root of the animosity. It wasn¡¯t until Progenitor Long was inspired by Progenitor Smoke that he was able to break through and be a Progenitor that the situation changed. After all, no one is willing to offend a Progenitor, not even massive sects like the Celestial Frost Sect or Shenwu¡¯s Sky.

    "The White Dragon n holds a grudge against other humans, and it all stems from the oppression that they have suffered for so many years. Their existence is a sign that our Lu family failed in our duty."

    Lu Yin understood. "It is precisely because they were persecuted by other humans for so long that the White Dragon n did their best to rise up and gain a better status. They felt that the higher they could go, the better, and so they were used by the Celestial Frost Sect."

    Lu Qi sighed. "Only people who lived through that era could understand what the White Dragon n lived through. Progenitor Chen''s hatred for the Xia family¡¯s main line incited him to steal a Mountain and Sea that should have belonged to the Xia family, taking control of an extra Mountain and leaving the Xia family without any of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. At the same time, his actions gave rise to Xia Qin, who also hates the Xia family. If this is what happened with Progenitor Chen, then the White Dragon n could only have an even worse attitude.

    "When the Python Ancestor rolled over, not only did that throw our Lu family out, but also the previous main family of the White Dragon n. That incident eliminated the former White Dragon n and brought the four ruling powers into existence. Even so, that was not a true change, but rather the n venting while also being used. The real change urred for the White Dragon n only now.¡±

    Lu Yin responded, "The White Dragon n has washed away all of their previous sins with the blood of their people, demonstrating their determination to never betray humanity. From now on, the White Dragon n will be seen as humanity¡¯s White Dragon n, and they will be seen as true humans.

    "This was the oue that Elder Ni Huang wanted to see."

    A short distance away, Yu Huo was furious at the idiots. <i>They¡¯re all so dumb! If they were oppressed by humans, then why not fight backpletely? Even if they failed once, they¡¯d seed a second time. If they failed the second time, then they would seed the third time. What are they so afraid of? Species is nothing more than the form given to us by the universe. Creatures are born from the universe itself, which cannot be betrayed. That entire tribe is made up of idiots!</i>

    <i>It doesn¡¯t even matter if they¡¯re entirely wiped out. Such trash doesn¡¯t deserve to be seen as the same species as us. A few were missed, but that doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll have a chance to deal with them sooner orter.</i>

    <i>Wait...</i> Yu Huo sadly found that he was currently unable to escape. How could there be any chance in the future?

    He rolled his eyes as he started panicking. Was this what it felt like to be a fish on the chopping block?

    "Little Seven, what are you going to do about that girl, Long Xi?" Lu Qi suddenly asked, turning to stare at Lu Yin with bright eyes.

    Lu Yin felt torn, as he did not know how to answer this question himself.

    "There¡¯s also that daughter of the Lord of Lightning. Do you want Ancestor Tianyi to help you propose? It''s time for your dad to have some grandkids. Right, there¡¯s also that girl, He Ran, who is stunning. She went to the Transcendent Universe, right? Your dad thinks that she¡¯s pretty good, too, not to mention that Madam Nn fairy and...¡±

    Lu Yin had a headache. "Dad, I have a wife."

    Lu Qi pursed his lips. "It''s not like you can only have one."

    "Wasn¡¯t my mother your only wife?"

    "She was my true love."

    Lu Yin stared at Lu Qi. The way the man could speak as though he did not fear being struck by lightning really made Lu Yin want to smack his father.

    "Ha! We caught another fish. We¡¯ll feast on grilled fish tonight! Little Seven, what kind of food do you want to have?" Lu Qi asked proudly.

    Lu Yin smiled and turned to look out across the sea. He was enjoying this time. Things would be even better if his mother was still alive.

    All he wanted was to reunite his family, spend some time chatting with his parents, drink with the Seven Heroes, and be apanied by Yan''er. Such a life would hold no regrets. However, the simpler the desire, the harder it would be to achieve it.

    "I need to go," Lu Yin said.

    This was not what Lu Qi wanted to hear. "Why don''t you just stay for some grilled fish?"

    "Next time." With that, Lu Yin left.

    Lu Qi shook his head, muttered something, and kept fishing.

    Yu Huo was growing increasingly anxious. He was desperate to escape, but it was impossible. It seemed like, as soon as the bastard Lu Qi caught enough fish, everything would be over, as he would start grilling his meal. This was the end. Was Yu Huo really doomed to be eaten?

    Lu Qi put his fishing rod away. "Just look at that. Those people are also crazily searching for fish across the entire Middle Ocean, which has chased a lot of fish over here. Haha, this works out great for me."

    Yu Huo grew depressed, as Lu Qi had just described exactly how Yu Huo had ended up at the ind.

    Lu Qi grabbed Yu Huo with a hand. "Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s time to start grilling the fish."

    Rage filled Yu Huo''s eyes. He would do his best, and at worst, he would simply return to his own people. With his divine energy, there was a chance he could survive in that ce. At the very least, it would be better than being roasted and eaten.

    Just as Yu Huo made his decision, someone emerged from the void. They held a sword, and the de flickered about, the attacks opening up the Hollow as the person stabbed at Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi sneered. "How does some rat have the courage to ambush me?"

    There was a snap, and the sword shattered. Lu Qi instantly grabbed his attacker with a hand. "Let me see who you are."

    The attacker¡¯s head snapped up, revealing a pale face. "I am Ye Bo!"

    The moment the words were spoken, the body exploded.

    Lu Qi waved a hand, pping away the flesh and blood. "Ye Bo? That guy isn¡¯t dead yet?"

    No one noticed that the moment that Lu Qi was attacked, a fish had jumped into the Middle Ocean and quickly swam away, leaving behind only a smashed tail.

    At the bottom of the Middle Ocean, Yu Huo grew excited that he had sessfully escaped. What incredible luck that someone had attacked that bastard Lu Qi! <i>Did he say he was Ye Bo? I know that name</i>.

    When Ye Bo had attacked and then self-destructed, Yu Huo had leaped back into the sea. He had only barely managed to hear the name.

    Aeternus was familiar with Ye Bo. He had dealt a great deal of damage to the Perennial World, and within it, he was nearly as famous as Cheng Kong. The Aeternals had initiated contact on several asions, trying to recruit Ye Bo, but all of their advances had been rejected. Cheng Kong had even made a personal visit, only to fail without ever even learning of Ye Bo¡¯s true identity.

    The Aeternals were very intrigued by Ye Bo, but for many years, the man had not done anything at all. This had led Aeternus to assume that Ye Bo had died, so his sudden appearance was quite the surprise.

    Had Ye Bo really returned? On top of that, it seemed like he was stronger than ever, as there was no other reason for him to be so confident as to directly attack Lu Qi.

    If Yu Huo could recruit Ye Bo for Aeternus, it would be an incredible aplishment.

    Cheng Kong had recently died, but Ye Bo could fill that empty space.

    Yu Huo¡¯s mind churned as he swam off into the distance. Suddenly, he felt eyes on him. He instantly sped up, but the feeling of being watched only grew stronger.

 Chapter 2944: Forbidden

    <h4>Chapter 2944: Forbidden</h4>

    "Who are you?" A hoarse voice entered Yu Huo''s ears.

    Yu Huo turned around and looked back. He saw a blurry figure that could not be clearly made out.

    "A fish. A fish with intelligence. You must be the one the Lu family is searching for," the hoarse voice continued.

    Yu Huo stared at the indistinct figure and then demanded, "Are you Ye Bo?"

    The figure moved closer, but Yu Huo was cautious and pulled back.

    "Who are you?" The hoarse voice continued. Of course, the blurred figure was Lu Yin.

    He had felt an ufortable sensation when he arrived on Lu Qi''s ind. It had been a feeling of absolute revulsion. This feeling did note from Lu Yin himself, but rather from the Origin Universe. The feeling hadsted throughout his conversation with Lu Qi, and Lu Yin had spent that time searching for the source of the feeling, eventuallynding on the fish.

    While Lu Yin had seemingly been chatting with Lu Qi about the White Dragon n, Lu Yin had actually been studying the fish. He had noticed that the mention of the White Dragon n had caused the very human emotions of ridicule and anger to appear in the fish¡¯s eyes, which was very odd. At that moment, Lu Yin had started to have the ridiculous suspicion that Lu Qi had identally caught Yu Huo.

    Yu Huo had been badly wounded by Ancestor Tianyi''s finger, and he had been forcibly reverted back to the form of a fish. Currently, very few ces in the Middle Ocean had any sign of peace and quiet, one of which was very clearly the region surrounding Lu Qi''s ind. No one would dare to disturb Lu Qi, so it was not particrly surprising that Yu Huo would end up in that part of the Middle Ocean.

    Just in case his suspicions were correct, Lu Yin did not rush to deal with the fish. Something else had urred to him instead, and that idea had led to the current scene. Lu Yin was impersonating Ye Bo in order to try to learn more about Aeternus from Yu Huo.

    The fish warily eyed the blurred figure. "Are you Ye Bo?"

    "If you¡¯re not going to answer, then you can just die," Lu Yin spoke in a hoarse voice while releasing a surge of killing intent.

    This development startled Yu Huo. "Wait! We aren¡¯t enemies!"

    "You aren¡¯t human, and neither am I, but how does this mean that we aren¡¯t enemies?"

    "I¡¯m from Aeternus."

    The killing intent faded, and a smile spread across his face as he continued in the hoarse voice. "Aeternus?"

    Yu Huo released a sigh of relief when he saw that ¡°Ye Bo¡± did not continue to be aggressive. "You should already know that I am part of Aeternus. I¡¯m the fish that the Lu family is looking for."

    "A fish ims to be from Aeternus?" Lu Yin asked in obvious disbelief.

    Yu Huo became anxious, "I am Yu Huo, one of Aeternus¡¯s True God Guard Captains. You¡¯ve met Cheng Kong before, who¡¯s also from Aeternus."

    "Cheng Kong? I do seem to remember meeting someone with that name before. Are you really from Aeternus?"

    "I am from Aeternus, which means that we aren¡¯t enemies. There¡¯s no reason to be hostile."

    "Is that all? How boring. I¡¯m going." With that, Lu Yin moved to leave.

    "Wait!" Yu Huo grew anxious.

    Lu Yin stopped.

    "What are you doing now?"

    "None of your business."

    "You want to go after the people in this universe, right?"

    "I told you, it¡¯s none of your business."

    "I can help you."

    Lu Yin acted confused. "I won¡¯t join Aeternus."

    Yu Huo was curious. "Why not? Aeternus can help you deal with the humans in this universe. On your own, you can''t even deal with the Lu family."

    Lu Yin pretended to hesitate.

    "After all these years, you should perfectly understand just how powerful the Lu family is. This universe has the Heavens Sect, which has too many Progenitors for you to deal with," Yu Huo cautioned.

    Lu Yin mocked the fish, "Didn''t you also fail? I might not have done anything recently, but I still saw how you Aeternals were kicked out of this universe. You so-called True God Guard Captains have a high status, but you were nearly grilled and eaten. Be serious. You want me to cooperate with you? How ridiculous."

    Yu Huo gritted his teeth. "You have absolutely no understanding of Aeternus! This is merely one universe that we have to deal with. We have the Seven Skygods, the True God Guard, and more Progenitor-level powerhouses. Once all of them appear, this universe won¡¯t be able tost for even a moment!¡±

    "I don''t believe you," Lu Yin retorted.

    Yu Huo secretly cursed Cheng Kong, as well as the fact that Yu Huo had no idea what Cheng Kong might have said to this Ye Bo. "In that case, why don¡¯t you and I first find a safe ce for us to stay, and I¡¯ll exin Aeternus¡¯s situation to you. Besides, since your ambush failed, we shouldn¡¯t stick around here for long. If you decide to attack again, you won¡¯t lose out by learning about Aeternus. Even if you don¡¯t join us, we can treat you almost like an ally, just like in the past."

    Lu Yin acted as though he was considering the suggestion. "Alright."

    Soon, Lu Yin led the fish to a hidden location. "No one will find us here."

    Yu Huo felt relieved at finally finding a safe ce. He had been tricked by the White Dragon n, and his luck had been terrible from that moment on.

    "I¡¯m not joining Aeternus," Lu Yin repeated.

    Yu Huo replied, "I understand that, but please first listen about us Aeternals so that we can cooperate against the humans of this universe."

    "Start talking."

    Yu Huo pondered for a bit and then started sharing various information about the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin was already aware of most of what Yu Huo shared, which was essentially exaggerating the numbers of True God Guard, boasting about the strength of the Seven Skygods, and giving excessive numbers for how many parallel universes the Aeternals upied, how many corpse kings they had, and the various advantages that they enjoyed in the war against the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin was not phased by what he heard, though he had to put on a show of learning all this information for the first time.

    While he was slightly surprised, he did not hear anything too concerning.

    Several days passed as Yu Huo tried to recruit Ye Bo into Aeternus, but he showed no indications of being convinced. Not only that, but Yu Huo was unable to even see Ye Bo¡¯s face.

    "That''s it. I''m leaving. Cooperating with you is good enough." Lu Yin acted as though he was about to leave.

    At this exact moment, the aura of a Progenitor dropped down and swept over the region.

    Its appearance startled Yu Huo. "Didn''t you say that no one knows about this ce?"

    ¡°Ye Bo¡± was also confused. "There¡¯s no reason for anyone to search this ce, but that doesn¡¯t mean that no one knows about it. It¡¯s possible that someone might have juste through here. The Heavens Sect has too many Progenitors, and some of them don¡¯t really do anything."

    Yu Huo was panicking. "Don''t leave me! I won¡¯t survive without you!"

    "I have no obligation to save you."

    "Wait a minute! Can¡¯t you just wait? Just wait until I get picked up by someone and taken back before you leave."

    Lu Yin was intrigued. "Is it one of Aeternus¡¯s spies?"

    "Yes! Just wait a little while longer."

    Lu Yin refused. "Forget it. In this situation, even if your mole is a Progenitor, they¡¯ll have a hard time getting to you here."

    "It will just be a short while before he arrives, and it¡¯s impossible for the Heavens Sect to know about it. Ye Bo, since you intend to cooperate with Aeternus, then help me this once. I promise that, when I return, I will lead my division of the True God Guard to help you. Ten Progenitor-level corpse kings plus me will be more than enough to help you."

    Lu Yin acted as though he was feeling swayed, but unwilling to say anything.

    Yu Huo rolled his eyes. "I''ll let you in on a secret, but you absolutely can¡¯t share it. It¡¯s a secret big enough to convince you to join Aeternus."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Tell me."

    Yu Huo was about to speak, but suddenly hesitated. He was clearly worried about sharing this information, and Lu Yin saw fear in the fish¡¯s eyes.

    This was a secret that even one of the True God Guard Captains did not dare to share, which meant that it had to be something shocking.

    This could possibly be Lu Yin¡¯s greatest gain from posing as Ye Bo. There was also the Redback who was on their way to help Yu Huo, which was another bonus.

    After a moment of silence, Yu Huo gritted his teeth. "I need you to promise me one thing! You¡¯ve spoken to Cheng Kong before, so if anyone learns that you know what I¡¯m about to tell you, you need to tell them that you learned it from Cheng Kong."

    "Fine, that doesn¡¯t matter," Lu Yin replied while staring intently at Yu Huo. It seemed that this was a truly important secret, if one of the True God Guard Captains needed someone else to take the me.

    Yu Huo exhaled. "We, the Aeternals, have an absolutely terrifying weapon which is known as the Ossis Ark."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. The Ossis Ark?

    During the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, Shao Yin, Yi Ren, and a few of the Aeternals¡¯ other Progenitor-levelbatants had attacked the third battalion. Before the end of the battle, Yi Ren had betrayed the Aeternals, only to be incinerated by mes of divine energy. This punishment from True God had been a fate worse than death, and Yi Ren had felt the need to elerate his death. He had done so by mentioning the Ossis Ark.

    After the crusade ended, Lu Qi and a few others had told Lu Yin about the incident, and the words ¡°Ossis Ark¡± had a deep impression on him.

    The mes of divine energy had slowly burned Yi Ren to nothing, inflicting a pain worse than death. Yi Ren had feared that pain so much that he had begged for death. To ensure that the pain would end, he had shouted out the words ¡°Ossis Ark,¡± and the fact that the True God had indeed instantly killed Yi Ren after that was proof that the Ossis Ark was a great secret of Aeternus.

    Lu Yin had wanted to learn more about this "Ossis Ark," but he had not been able to find any clues yet.

    Unexpectedly, he had received a surprise from Yu Huo.

    "What¡¯s the Ossis Ark?" Lu Yin suppressed his excitement and probed for more information while actingpletely calm.

    Yu Huo stared at the blurry figure before him. "Human beings have gbearers. On a battlefield, as long as that gbearer doesn¡¯t fall, their army will not lose morale. We Aeternals also have something simr to a gbearer, which is the Ossis Ark. The difference between us and humans is that, when the Ossis Ark appears, it means that things are over.

    "The Ossis Ark does not herald battle, but rather utter destruction. Right now, there is a consensus within Aeternus. When the True God emerges from seclusion, along with the Seven Skygods, he will fall upon the Sixverse Association with the Ossis Ark,pletely destroying it all, including this universe."

    "So, what exactly is this Ossis Ark? Some kind of weapon?" Lu Yin asked softly in his hoarse voice.

    Yu Huo shook his head. "It is forbidden to speak of it. All I can tell you is that the Ossis Ark represents the strength of Aeternus and that it is fully capable of destroying the Sixverse Association. As for what the Ossis Ark actually is, I can''t say anything. Speaking further will kill me."

    Lu Yin was irritated. "You haven¡¯t told me anything at all! This Ossis Ark and gbearerparison tell me nothing other than their symbolism. How am I supposed to trust that?"

    Yu Huo replied, "I swear that the Ossis Ark is undoubtedly able to destroy the entire Sixverse Association. If you want to truly understand what the Ossis Ark is, then you must join Aeternus, and I can even ensure that you get a special exception. Once you learn about the Ossis Ark, if you still doubt that it can destroy the Sixverse Association, you will be allowed to leave Aeternus, and we will resume our current rtionship of cooperation."

    "It¡¯s possible to leave Aeternus after joining?"

    "You won''t want to leave. The Ossis Ark¡¯s mere existence is enough to guarantee that the Sixverse Association can be destroyed." Yu Huo waspletely confident.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. The Ossis Ark? Yi Ren had mentioned this before dying, and Yu Huo was bringing it up again. Since the Ossis Ark was a forbidden topic for the Aeternals, it had to be incredibly important. But how could humans learn more about this threat?

    "What do you say? Come with me to Aeternus¡¯s territory, and I promise that you won''t regret it," Yu Huo tempted.

    Lu Yin answered in a hoarse voice, "Ye Bo is not a solitary existence. You should know this."

    "I do," Yu Huo replied. This was not a secret. The Perennial World was aware of it, and so were the Aeternals. However, no one knew for certain what exactly Ye Bo was. Was it a team? Or a cloning technique?

    "I will go with you to Aeternus¡¯s territory, but if I feel that your Ossis Ark might not be enough to destroy the Sixverse Association, I can abandon this body at any moment."

    Yu Huo was taken aback. Was Ye Bo really someone who used clones?

    "That¡¯s not a problem." Yu Huo¡¯s goal was to safely return to Aeternus. As for the secret of the Ossis Ark, it was still up in the air whether he would say anything more to Ye Bo. Even a True God Guard Captain like Yu Huo would not carelessly speak about the Ossis Ark.

    The only option was to ask Aeternus for further instructions.

 Chapter 2945: Decision

    <h4>Chapter 2945: Decision</h4>

    Lu Yin remained with Yu Huo for the moment, as Lu Yin wanted to find some way to learn more about the Ossis Ark.

    The next day, more and more cultivators appeared in the area, forcing Lu Yin to take Yu Huo elsewhere. The fish was terrified, and he acted very frightened by the threat of death. Lu Yin had no idea how the fish had ever be a True God Guard Captain.

    The two spent more than half a month moving about.

    Finally, one day, Yu Huo suddenly pointed in a particr direction, and then he asked Lu Yin to travel in that direction to reach a ce where someone would meet them.

    Lu Yin pretended to hesitate, but he eventually agreed. He led Yu Huo to the meeting point, and after three days, they met an unknown six-tribtion Envoy in a hidden location.

    There were too many cultivators in the Perennial World, and there were a number of them who had passed their sixth stellr tribtion. It was impossible for Lu Yin to have met all of them.

    This Envoy was a kingly-looking old man. If not for the fact that he had arrived to help Yu Huo, no one would ever consider that the man could be a Redback.

    The old man was surprised by Lu Yin''s presence.

    Yu Huo moved towards the old man while releasing a sigh of relief. "This is Ye Bo."

    "Ye Bo? <i>That</i> Ye Bo?" The old man was surprised.

    Yu Huo answered impatiently, "Alright, let''s go. Which parallel universe can you take us to?"

    The old man respectfully replied, "The White Bamboo Universe."

    Yu Huo nodded. "The White Bamboo Universe? Not bad. Let¡¯s go."

    The fish then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Ye Bo, the White Bamboo Universe is a universe that belongs to Aeternus, and we¡¯ve left a few spies in this Origin Universe who are able to travel to the White Bamboo Universe, or other simr universes. This is one of our guides. We¡¯ll be safe in that universe, and you¡¯ll learn whatever you wish to know when it¡¯s the right time.¡±

    Lu Yin took a while to consider the matter. "Alright."

    Yu Huo smiled. Being able to win over a powerhouse like Ye Bo was an impressive achievement. Ye Bo was clearly powerful enough to be one of the True God Guard Captains, and coincidentally, several of the other captains had died recently, and they needed to be reced.

    "Then, let''s go."

    The old man tore the void open, but at that moment, a golden light enveloped the entire world, and Yu Huo''s expression changed drastically. What was this?

    "Sure enough, I could find you by watching this spy. You can forget about escaping now! Hey, that fish looks familiar..." Lu Qi¡¯s voice was quickly moving closer.

    The old man was horrified. The Investiture of the Gods?

    Yu Huo was furious. "You¡¯re being watched by the Lu family?"

    The old man had no idea when he might have been exposed, as it should have been impossible. Nothing should have revealed him.

    Redbacks who could serve as guides to Aeternus¡¯s parallel universe were some of the most tightly guarded secrets. Ever since the old man had first be a Redback, transporting Yu Huo was his first mission. How could he have been caught?

    Of course, the Envoy had not been caught. Lu Yin had simply sent Lu Qi a message, and the old man had been a reasonable excuse for Lu Qi to attack. Lu Yin wanted to learn about the Ossis Ark, but he had no intention of traveling to the Aeternals¡¯ territory. What if he was discovered while there?

    Lu Qi attacked, instantly destroying the ind.

    There was no opportunity to leave the Perennial World.

    Yu Huo begged, "Ye Bo, take me away from here!"

    Lu Yin grabbed Yu Huo and shot to the bottom of the Middle Ocean in order to escape. Behind him, the ground shook as the power of a Progenitor caused the Middle Ocean to boil. Dazzling golden light lit up the entire area as a sword swept across the bottom of the ocean, chasing after Yu Huo without ever stopping.

    Yu Huo regretted ever contacting the Redback. The Envoy had been under Lu Qi¡¯s observation, which meant that Lu Tianyi and the other Progenitors would show up at any moment. That would really be the end of the fish.

    At this moment, the fish was knocked about by a massive impact that left him stunned. "Ye Bo, take me away from here!"

    "I''m going to go stop Lu Qi." A hoarse voice replied.

    Before Yu Huo could even react, he saw the blurry figure shooting up from the bottom of the Middle Ocean. Right after that, a shocking battle erupted above the water, and Lu Qi roared, "Ye Bo, your cultivation has improved so quickly! I can''t keep you here.¡±

    "Everyone from the Lu family deserves to die!"

    Yu Huo''s body was sted far into the distance by the battle that raged. Only once his momentum disappeared did the fish find that he could once again control his body. He automatically swam further away. Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared from a different direction. "Let''s go."

    Yu Huo felt terribly confused. "Are you Ye Bo? Weren¡¯t you just fighting with Lu Qi?"

    "That¡¯s another me."

    Yu Huo was startled. Sure enough, Ye Bo was someone with multiple clones. Such an ability seemed too miraculous. There were rumors that the Origin Universe¡¯s Xia family had a method of developing nine clones. Supposedly, the person who had reached the greatest mastery of that technique was someone named Progenitor Chen. Could Ye Bo¡¯s method of developing clones be from the Xia family?

    There was no time to think about such things, as the battle between the two Progenitors was still raging above the Middle Ocean. No matter how far they might have moved from that battle, Yu Huo could still feel the shockwaves.

    However, Ye Bo¡¯s strength was astounding. Just one of his clones was capable of fighting against Lu Qi. There was no doubt that Ye Bo had the strength to be a True God Guard Captain.

    "Do you have any other spies you can contact?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Huo replied, "Not right now. All of them might be under the Lu family¡¯s observation.

    "Lu Yin is exceptional at finding spies. I have no idea how he does it. By all logic, our secret guides should have never been exposed."

    ¡°Ye Bo¡± acted quite irritated. "We were just found and almost caught, which means that someone might catch up to us soon. You better find a way for us to leave soon, or else I might not be able to protect you."

    Yu Huo begged, "You have to save me! Don''t worry about things here. As soon as the True Godes out of seclusion and the Ossis Ark arrives, this entire universe will be destroyed! You¡¯ll be able to do whatever you want at that time, and I promise you that you will receive all that you desire."

    "There''s nothing that I want." Lu Yin put on a show of indifference.

    Yu Huo had no idea what to say to tempt this Ye Bo. The fish knew nothing about Ye Bo. Even Aeternus¡¯s information that imed that Ye Bo was a team of people had beenpletely wrong. It was clear that the person possessed multiple clones.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin repeatedly escaped with Yu Huo. The whole time, Lu Yin asked experts from the Perennial World to help by attacking. Lu Qi appeared several different times, and even Lu Tianyi showed up, forcing Ye Bo and Yu Huo to struggle greatly before they managed to escape.

    Yu Huo was so frightened that he nearly fled to his own universe.

    Lu Yin believed that if he scared the fish just a few more times, he would definitely escape.

    "I really don''t want to go back there unless I absolutely have to. My people can improve our strength by devouring our own kind. If I go back like this, there¡¯s a high chance I end up as the other guys¡¯ food. I need to return to Aeternus." Yu Huo remained determined.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "I can''t promise that I won''t be found by Lu Qi or someone else again. If we get found again, I might not be able to help you escape. If I have to, I¡¯ll leave you and escape on my own."

    Yu Huo suddenly remembered something. "Take me to the Lower Realm!"

    "Do you have a spy there?"

    "No. My cosmic ring was knocked away from me by Lu Tianyi¡¯s attack. He was focused on holding back the Python Ancestor at that time, so he might not have noticed. As long as we can find my cosmic ring, we can go back. There¡¯s a Cosmic Door in it."

    "Why don¡¯t you just go straight back to Aeternus¡¯s territory?"

    "Only the Seven Skygods are able to do that. None of the rest of us have marked a coordinate seal to that area."

    "You wiped out the White Dragon n in the Lower Realm, so there¡¯s a good chance that there are Progenitors down there. Trying to get your ring is risky. I can¡¯t do that."

    "That¡¯s the only way I can get back to Aeternus!"

    "I have no obligation to help you take such a risk."

    They were abruptly interrupted by the arrival of a ?ar¨©ra above their heads. Mu Xie had arrived.

    Yu Huo was stunned to see another Progenitor suddenly appear.

    Lu Yin threw Yu Huo far away before putting on a show of fighting with Mu Xie. The goal was to force Yu Huo deeper and deeper into despair, making the fish so desperate that he would be willing to share the secrets of the Ossis Ark.

    After Mu Xie, Leng Qing appeared, followed by Arch-Elder Zen. The entire Perennial World was enveloped by the Progenitors¡¯ oppressive auras.

    Yu Huo was indeed getting more and more desperate. How could they escape from so many Progenitors? Would he really need to return to his native universe where he would be food for others of his species?

    Lu Yin grabbed the fish¡¯s body. "Sorry, but I can''t protect you any more. I¡¯m going to have to distract them with you so that I can escape."

    Yu Huo screamed, "Ye Bo, you have to believe me! This universe will definitely be destroyed! You are already the humans¡¯ enemy, and you can¡¯t afford to be Aeternus¡¯s enemy as well."

    "Why should I believe you?"

    "The Ossis Ark! The day it arrives is the day that humanity will die!"

    "Bullshit." With that, Lu Yin prepared to throw Yu Huo far away. At this moment, it was impossible for the fish to even return to his own universe, as Ye Bo was regarding Yu Huo as an enemy.

    "The Ossis Ark! The Ossis Ark is..."

    The ocean floor fell silent as Lu Yin stared nkly at Yu Huo. With his figure blurred, Yu Huo was unable to see Lu Yin¡¯s face, which prevented the fish from seeing just how badly shocked Lu Yin was by what he had just heard.

    "Is that really true?"

    Yu Huo heaved a sigh of relief. "I told you that, as soon as you learn the secret of the Ossis Ark, you will never question that it can destroy the humans! I didn''t lie to you! Now you know the power of the Ossis Ark."

    Lu Yin swallowed, feeling ovee with weakness. Was the Ossis Ark real?

    A chill swept over him, seeping into his bones. Was what he had heard about the Ossis Ark true?

    "Hurry! Escape!" Yu Huo reminded.

    rity snapped back to Lu Yin''s eyes. "I¡¯ll get you back to Aeternus."

    Yu Huo was overjoyed. "Really? Can you escape?"

    "I''ll fight to make sure that you can escape, but you have to promise me that you¡¯ll fight to get me a high position within Aeternus."

    "I can promise that you¡¯ll be a True God Guard Captain. I already told you that."

    "Alright." Lu Yin threw Yu Huo away once more. "I don''t have many clones left, but I¡¯ll do my best to buy you time."

    The fish was quickly regrabbed by Lu Yin who was pretending to be another one of Ye Bo¡¯s clones. At the same time, the fake battle above the ocean started once again.

    Mu Xie and the others all felt quite puzzled. The act should have ended, so why was Lu Yin acting more and more like he was being cornered? Didn¡¯t it look like he really did want to escape with the fish?

    Far away, Lu Yin''s voice entered Lu Tianyi''s ears, and the young man shared what he had learned about the Ossis Ark.

    Lu Tianyi was startled. "Is this true?"

    "Ancestor, I want to go to Aeternus¡¯s territory."

    "No!" Lu Tianyi instantly refused. "The Aeternals are too dangerous. No one knows how many powerhouses they really have, and not to mention Aeternus, there are also their allied outsider powerhouses. There¡¯s a very good chance that you will be caught."

    Lu Yin replied, "I won''t be caught. I¡¯m already using a bit of Cheng Kong''s body to disguise myself. Not even you, Ancestor, can see through that disguise."

    Lu Tianyi grew stern. "The megaverse is vast, and there are too many strange creatures. It does not necessarily require one to have a high cultivation to see through certain things. After all, how did that odd creature Cheng Kong die? You can¡¯t take this risk."

    "If the Ossis Arkes, who can stop it?"

    This question gave Lu Tianyi pause, and his expression turned ugly.

    "If Yu Huo hadn''t been trapped in our universe, we would have never learned about this secret. Once the Ossis Ark shows up, it will already be toote. Even if Ancestor Lu Yuanes out of seclusion, so what? Even if the Great Sovereign and everyone else fights with their full strength, what can they do? Is there any chance of stopping the Ossis Ark? The Aeternals still have the Seven Skygods and True God. All together, the Sixverse Association will be instantly wiped out. Ancestor, let me go."

    Lu Tianyi''s finger trembled. "This is not your responsibility, Little Seven. Give me Cheng Kong¡¯s bubble, and I will impersonate Ye Bo. Given my cultivation, it will be harder for anyone to see through me."

    "It''s better for me to go. Ancestor, you need to stay here and protect the Origin Universe," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Tianyi shouted, "Little Seven, as your ancestor, I order you toe back! The Heavens Sect needs you! The Lu family needs you! You cannot risk your future. You are the master of the Origin Universe! Come back now!"

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Are the Aeternals stupid, Ancestor?"

    Lu Tianyi had no answer.

    "They aren¡¯t. That is how they managed to destroy the original Heavens Sect and four of the Mainds. They are too smart. They were able to deceive the four ruling powers and the entire Sixverse Association with their plots, and no one is able to deceive the Aeternals. Not even you, Ancestor, can do that. If you go, you will nevere back.¡±

    "And yet you want to go!" Lu Tianyi clenched his fist.

    Lu Yin sighed. "There is something I haven¡¯t told you, Ancestor. I have divine energy."

 Chapter 2946: The Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 2946: The Scourge</h4>

    Lu Tianyi''s expression changed drastically. He simply could not believe what Lu Yin was telling him. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin repeated, "I¡¯ve cultivated with divine energy. I¡¯ve had it for a long time. There is divine energy in my body, and I can use it and absorb it. Ancestor, with this, the Aeternals will never doubt me."

    Lu Tianyi was stunned. He had never dreamed that Lu Yin would actually be cultivating divine energy. That was the True God¡¯s power. There were not many even within Aeternus who were capable of cultivating it, let alone humans.

    As soon as anyone came into contact with divine energy, they would be regarded as an Aeternal, and that was because divine energy would change whoever absorbed it.

    Power was neither good nor bad; rather, it depended solely on the person who used it, but this concept did not apply to divine energy.

    Not even a Progenitor could stop the corrupting influence of divine energy.

    "A Ye Bo who cultivates divine energy and hates humans is what the Aeternals need most right now. Ancestor, we have always been curious about the Aeternals¡¯ inner workings, and this is an opportunity for me to get in and take a look around," Lu Yin said in a rxed tone. It sounded like he was talking about a little vacation.

    Conflicted emotions could be seen in Lu Tianyi¡¯s eyes, as he was still caught up on the fact that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy. Even if Ye Bo''s real identity was exposed, Lu Yin might not face any danger.

    As much as humans feared divine energy, the Aeternals trusted it.

    This would be Little Seven¡¯s greatest protection when infiltrating Aeternus.

    Lu Tianyi fell silent.

    Lu Yin knew that revealing that he possessed divine energy had badly shocked Lu Tianyi, and Lu Yin had no idea what his ancestor would think of him after this. Even so, Lu Yin did not regret revealing this information. The day would eventuallye when Lu Yin¡¯s divine energy was exposed. He had responsibilities to carry out, and he was the only one who could aplish this task.

    Lu Yin continued to lead Yu Huo to the Lower Realm. All the while, Progenitors pursued the two. Lu Yin deliberately let several of Ye Bo¡¯s clones be destroyed, making it a particrly tragic escape.

    Once he infiltrated Aeternus, not only did he need to learn everything he could about the Ossis Ark, but he also needed to learn more about what was happening within his own body.

    The bit of divine energy that Lu Yin had absorbed into the universe in his chest had be a thorn that he could not remove.

    Why could he absorb divine energy without actively cultivating it, while others could not even touch divine energy?

    If divine energy did not affect Lu Yin, then could the energy be used to bring about yet another transformation to his personal universe again?

    This was a question Lu Yin needed to answer.

    Additionally, the Aeternals were in possession of various things that Lu Yin desired, including resources, parallel universes with different rates of time, information and knowledge, and much more. He needed to enter Aeternus to acquire any of those things.

    Humans had been fighting against Aeternus for far too long, but did humans actually understand Aeternus? There was a clearck of knowledge. It was possible that only the Great Sovereign and a few others at the peak had some level of understanding, but as the ruler of the Origin Universe, Lu Yin knew far too little about the Aeternals. This was a big reason why humanity had always been at a disadvantage in the war.

    There were responsibilities that someone needed to bear.

    There was no doubt that Lu Yin was the most suitable candidate for this task.

    On top of that, Lu Yin had conducted infiltration missions on several asions in the past. He had created the identities of Long Qi, Yu Hao, Xuan Qi, and next, he would be Ye Bo.

    "Little Seven, remember, thews of the universe impose limits, but there are no absolutes in existence. No matter how desperate a situation may appear, there is always a glimmer of hope. This is the method of using the One Word Manifestation, which I will share with you now. I hope that this will ensure your safe return to us..."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. His ancestor had ultimately decided to trust him, abandoning his long-held beliefs concerning the dangers of divine energy. The responsibility that Lu Yin needed to bear was not his alone. "Thank you, Ancestor Tianyi."

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi was Chu Yi¡¯s disciple, and that man had been the Dao Monarch of the First Maind during the Heavens Sect era. He was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s oldest disciple, and he had been the senior brother to all of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Chu Yi¡¯s greatest technique was the One Word Manifestation. It was a technique that allowed a person to take advantage of a loophole in thews of the universe, and with that, it was possible to survive any desperate situation.

    Lu Tianyi had never taken the initiative to teach Lu Yin the battle technique, but with Lu Yin leaving to infiltrate Aeternus, the older man decided to share the One Word Manifestation in order to increase Lu Yin¡¯s odds of survival.

    Lu Yin had divine energy, and while Lu Tianyi understood that this one fact would change many people''s minds, what did it really matter? Between divine energy and Lu Yin, Lu Tianyi trusted Lu Yin far more. The old man ced his trust in the child who had climbed up as an ordinary human to bring the entire Lu family back from exile. Their entire family owed that child too much, and yet that child still wanted to do more for them.

    This was a child who was capable of creating miracles and who could change everything.

    Lu Tianyi was willing to give this child everything, and he would not hold back at all.

    ...

    After surviving many difficult battles, Lu Yin finally arrived in the Lower Realm with Yu Huo.

    The fish was excited. He indicated a direction, and Lu Yin and Yu Huo started searching, hoping to find the fish¡¯s cosmic ring. They absolutely had to find it.

    They continued to hide and fight their way out to escape, which resulted in another one of Ye Bo¡¯s clones being destroyed. Yu Huo was moved. Ye Bo had sacrificed five clones to save Yu Huo. Just how many clones could Ye Bo have?

    "You still haven''t found it yet?" Lu Yin asked in an anxious voice.

    Yu Huo was even more desperate. "I will definitely find it! I can already sense it, as it has my own aura on it. We¡¯re almost there."

    That night, Yu Huo became ecstatic. "I found it!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed.

    Lu Tianyi suddenly appeared in the distance. "Do you really think that you can hide from me?"

    Yu Huo stared at Lu Tianyi in a daze. How could he have appeared? Yu Huo had just found his cosmic ring, only for Lu Tianyi to show up at thest moment. They were toote. After everything, they were toote. It was impossible to escape when Lu Tianyi was present.

    Lu Yin was furious. "Just because of you, I¡¯m going to die now, too! I can''t stop that monster at all."

    Yu Huo stared at Lu Tianyi. Were they really going to die here?

    Lu Qi arrived, and very quickly, Mu Xie, Arch-Elder Zen, and Leng Qing all appeared, and the Progenitors all moved to surround the area.

    "Now that I think about it, aren''t you the fish that I caught? So it was you? Haha, you''re still going to end up being grilled by me!" Lu Qiughed.

    Leng Qing clenched the hilt of his saber, the sharp edge glinting.

    Yu Huo gave up all hope under the pressure of so many Progenitors. This was truly the end.

    "You are Ye Bo. I have been searching for you for many years. Finally, you reveal yourself." Mu Xie examined Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s blurry figure slowly grew clear. What appeared before everyone was a pale face that seemedpletely drained of all blood. The features were average, while the eyes were cold. Lu Yin had taken on the appearance of Ye Bo. "If not for this fish, you would have never caught up to me."

    Mu Xieughed. "You were destined to be caught! The rise of the Heavens Sect would never permit arrogance such as yours."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do you really believe that you can kill me?"

    Mu Xie was taken aback. "I already know that Ye Bo is not a group of people, but rather one person¡¯s clones. Apparently, this is not yourst clone, but that doesn''t matter. The others will be found soon enough."

    Lu Yin looked down and quietly addressed Yu Huo, "What was the power that you mentioned that let you block Lu Tianyi''s finger?"

    Yu Huo had already given up hope. "Divine energy. It¡¯s True God¡¯s power."

    "Give it to me."

    Yu Huo was startled. "Can you use it?"

    "I don''t know. This isn¡¯t a clone, but my real body. If I die, Ye Bo will truly disappear, so why don¡¯t we at least give it a try?"

    Yu Huo responded in a helpless tone, "You can''t use it. Even those of us who can absorb divine energy and hide it within our bodies need to first experience years of cultivating with divine energy. It¡¯s impossible for you to be able to use it."

    "My body is quite special, so please give me your divine energy," Lu Yin said through gritted teeth.

    Lu Tianyi suddenly attacked, and a finger fell, carrying with it a terrifying pressure.

    Divine energy boiled and surged from Yu Huo''s body, twining around Lu Yin''s body as though it was conscious. Ye Bo was right, and Yu Huo knew they were about to die, so they might as well exhaust everyst option.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and instantly devoured the divine energy while Yu Huo watched in amazement.

    It was devoured?

    Yu Huo was confused. He was unable to process what he had just seen. How was it possible to use divine energy in such a manner? Had Ye Bo just eaten divine energy?

    The divine energy entered Lu Yin¡¯s body and shot straight to the universe in his chest, merging with the small red star that hung there.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up. "Open the cosmic door! Let''s go!"

    With that, his hand rose up, and divine energy shot out. It reinforced Lu Yin¡¯s own strength, and the counterattack tore through the void and mmed into the descending attack.

    Lu Tianyi was startled. "Divine energy?"

    The expressions of Lu Qi, Mu Xie, and everyone present instantly changed. None of them had even a suspicion that Lu Yin might possess divine energy. As they watched Lu Yin¡¯s actions, the Progenitors assumed that Lu Yin had fallen under the control of Yu Huo''s divine energy, and they all acted quickly to rescue him.

    Lu Yin briefly gave everyone a deep look. Behind him, Yu Huo opened the cosmic door.

    "Done! Let''s go!" The fish was incredibly excited. He had never expected Ye Bo to actually be able to use divine energy. It was like a dream, but luck had smiled on Yu Huo, and he was going to be able to return alive.

    "Stop!"

    "Stop!"

    Lu Qi and the others were stunned, and they frantically attacked.

    Lu Tianyi closed his eyes. Slowly, he clenched his fists. <i>Little Seven, you muste back safely!</i>

    Yu Huo jumped into the cosmic door and disappeared. Lu Yin slowly retreated until his body moved into the cosmic door. Thest thing Lu Yin saw were Lu Qi''s eyes. "Son¨C!"

    "Goodbye, Dad. I''ll be back."

    Lu Qi shot towards the cosmic door, only to be stopped by Lu Tianyi at thest moment. "This is his decision. We will wait for him to return."

    ...

    Red rivers flowed across an endless ckndscape. Strangely shaped mountains rose high into the sky. The entire ce had a gloomy aura, and a chill swept through it and into the distance.

    Far away, a massive tree connected the sky to the ground. It was impossible to see how tall or wide the tree was. It appeared to support the entire universe.

    The enormous tree was ck, though a red river fell from its canopy. It looked like thergest waterfall in existence.

    In the sky above, stars moved by. Beyond them, darker forms could be made out. Those were cosmic doors.

    This was the Aeternals¡¯ territory. This was the Scourge.

    Yu Huo looked at the ck earth and leaped for joy. "I''m back! I''m finally back!"

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, shocked by what he saw there. The tree he was looking at was not any smaller than the Mother Tree, though this one waspletely ck. Was this another Mother Tree?

    <i>That red waterfall falling from the tree can¡¯t possibly be divine energy!</i>

    "Ye Bo, thank you! If not for you, I would have never been able to return here." Yu Huo was thrilled to no longer be risking death.

    Lu Yin pointed to the distant tree. "Is that a Mother Tree?"

    Yu Huo gave a small smile. "Yes, that¡¯s the Aeternals¡¯ Mother Tree."

    "What''s that red river?"

    "You should already have guessed," Yu Huo replied.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Divine energy?"

    Yu Huo raised a fin to point forward. "There are rivers,kes, and oceans in thisnd of Aeternus, but all of them are red, as they are all filled with divine energy. They are oceans and rivers of divine energy. In your universe, star essence is spread throughout the universe, and it cannot be seen or touched, but here, divine energy forms rivers and oceans that everyone can see. Here, everyone is allowed to cultivate divine energy. It just depends on whether or not they can bear it."

    Lu Yin tore his eyes away from the ck tree and looked at a branch of a river flowing nearby. It was a stream that was only a few meters wide, and yet the divine energy that filled it was beyond anything that a human could withstand.

    "Is this where you got your divine energy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Yu Huo nodded. "There are many Progenitor-level creatures who are part of Aeternus, but only a few of us are qualified to be True God Guard Captains. This isn¡¯t just because of our strength, but also because we are capable of cultivating with divine energy. We control the True God Guard with our divine energy. That is what makes one a captain. This is also the path that you will want to take.

    "Alright, follow me. We¡¯ll go to my territory. Once we get there, I can rest in peace and recover my strength."

 Chapter 2947: Progenitor Xi

    Chapter 2947: Progenitor Xi

    Lu Yin soon started moving in a particr direction, led by Yu Huo¡¯s guidance.

    As they traveled, they saw corpse kings roaming across the ck earth. At times they saw many, and other times only a few. They might see only two or three, or they might see an endless horde.

    The corpse kings did not only roam about thend. When Lu Yin looked up at the stars in the sky, there were times when he saw countless corpse kings moving about in outer space, sometimes heading towards a nearby cosmic door. There were also corpse kings returning from cosmic doors and making their way towards nearbys.

    Lu Yin even saw at least a few tens of millions of human cultivators numbly walking across thend. They were people who would be transformed into corpse kings.

    If each cosmic door led to a different parallel universe, Lu Yin could understand where the Aeternals gathered so many corpse kings from.

    He also understood why people imed that the Aeternals controlled more parallel universes than the Sixverse Association.

    This was not just a few more. There was simply noparison in how many universes the two sides controlled.

    Thend that Lu Yin traveled across was incredibly monotonous, and it seemed to be truly without end. Despite Lu Yin''s current cultivation, he was still unable to see the end of thendmass, though it was clear that it was able to support the huge Mother Tree. It was clear that thisndmass was at least the size of the Perennial World.

    "Are there only corpse kings here?" Lu Yin was curious.Yu Huo replied, "Of course not. There are many Aeternus Nations here in the Scourge, but we¡¯re already in the depths of thend because I am one of the True God Guard Captains. That means that my cosmic door leads to the interior of this ce. The various Aeternus Kingdoms are out at the edge. Many different odd species live there, though naturally, humans are the most numerous.

    "So the humans are here to be transformed into corpse kings."

    "Not all of them. Many of the humans don''t even know that they are living in the Scourge. They live just like in your universe."

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more questions, but Yu Huo raised a fin to point at a high tower up ahead of them. "Look, only Progenitor-level experts are qualified to own that kind of tall tower. Those towers represent status. Now, that tower before us doesn¡¯t belong to someone at the level of True God Guard, or a corpse king whose physical strength is at the Progenitor level. I mean real Progenitor-level powerhouses."

    Lu Yin looked at the tall tower that rose in the distance. It was not particrly high, but it was a very abrupt change from the monotonousnd. Like Yu Huo had said, the tower represented status.

    "Each tower represents another peak powerhouse. When they die, their tower is destroyed. When another Progenitor-level expert appears, Aeternus will construct another tower for them. As you look across thisnd, the number of towers you can see represents how many Progenitor-level experts there are in Aeternus," Yu Huo briefly exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed as he looked into the distance. One, two, three¡­ eight, nine. Some towers were close together, while others were very far apart. They continued far off into the distance.

    <em>Impossible!</em> From just a nce, Lu Yin counted no less than ten towers. That was only in a single direction, and there should be a simr number of towers in every other direction.

    Where had Aeternus gathered so many Progenitor-level experts from? If this was real, then how had the Sixverse Association endured for so long?

    "The closer we move that way, towards the Mother Tree, the taller the towers get. The tallest all belong to the Seven Skygods, and their towers surround the Mother Tree. They stand closest to the Mother Tree and to the True God. The towers that belong to us True God Guard Captains are quite a distance away from the Seven Skygods¡¯.

    "We aren¡¯t too far now. Let¡¯s go, and we¡¯ll be there soon."

    Lu Yin said nothing. This was not the right time to ask more questions. He would stay in this ce for a long time, which meant that he would have plenty of time to learn more.

    The Sixverse Association knew too little about the Aeternals. It was no wonder why Jiang Qingyue had mentioned long ago that no one understood just how powerful the Aeternals truly were. Regardless of how powerful humans might appear to be, the Aeternals could handle it. This was a giant whose strength was impossible for anyone to see fully. No one wanted to confront such an opponent.

    A wide redke of divine energy only gave off a faint light, and yet it illuminated the starry sky.

    Lu Yin finally arrived at Yu Huo¡¯s tower.

    "Across thiske is my tower. What do you think? The scenery here¡¯s pretty good for this ce. Somewhere like this is better than most." Yu Huo wanted to p his tail, only to remember that his tail was still gone, which greatly annoyed the fish. "I¡¯m going to kill that bastard Lu Qi one day!"

    Lu Yin suddenly stopped walking, as he had noticed a person standing beside theke. She was a woman. She was tall and she wore a white dress, which was particrly conspicuous when she stood on the cknd.

    This was the third color that Lu Yin had seen since stepping foot on the Scourge.

    The woman in white was quietly standing next to theke. It was impossible to tell what she was doing.

    "Who is she?"

    Yu Huo looked over, and was surprised to see the woman. "Progenitor Xi?"

    <em>Progenitor Xi?</em> Lu Yin almost felt like he had just heard the name Xi Wei.[1]

    "Hurry! Get over there! That is Progenitor Xi, and she is the steward of the Scourge."

    Lu Yin moved closer to theke of divine energy with Yu Huo.

    The woman turned around, revealing a face that was not stunningly beautiful. She had a rather in appearance, but something about her face left people feeling veryfortable. "Yu Huo, you¡¯vee back."

    Yu Huo was still in his fish form. Confronted with this woman, he was clearly rather frightened. "Yu Huo did not perform well with hisst task. Please punish me, Senior Progenitor Xi."

    The woman responded with a small smile. "I am not the True God, so how do I have the authority to punish you? I simply wished for you to return."

    She then turned her attention to Lu Yin. "And who is this?"

    Yu Huo gave an introduction. "This is Ye Bo. I wonder, might you have heard of him before, Senior Progenitor Xi?"

    The woman was clearly surprised. "Ye Bo? The one who is nearly as famous as Cheng Kong?"

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. "I am Ye Bo."

    "Senior Progenitor Xi, I was only able to return alive because Ye Bo rescued me. Not only that, but he also seeded in absorbing divine energy the first time he came into contact with it, and he gained enough strength to temporarily hold back Lu Tianyi¡­" Yu Huo gushed. He had promised to help Ye Bo be one of the True God Guard Captains, so the fish praised his rescuer quite highly.

    The woman was impressed. "I see. In that case, thank you very much, Ye Bo."

    Lu Yin nodded indifferently, saying nothing.

    "It''s a pity that Cheng Kong died. He was quite talented." The woman sighed with regret.

    Yu Huo felt the same way. "Yes, if I could have worked with Cheng Kong this time, things might not have turned out as they did. I intended to ask the White Dragon n to help me find the 100,000 currents so that we could destroy the Lower Realm and incite chaos in the Perennial World while destroying the roots of their Mother Tree. Unexpectedly, The White Dragon n was so dumb that they chose death over obeying me. They don¡¯t deserve their bloodline, so it was better to just destroy them."

    The woman clearly had no interest in the matter, and instead, her eyes returned to Lu Yin. "With Cheng Kong dead, Mr. Ye Bo can rece him."

    Yu Huo quickly replied, "Senior Progenitor Xi, Ye Bo wishes to be a True God Guard Captain."

    Progenitor Xi smiled. "A True God Guard Captain? Not a bad idea either. It''s time for the captains to assemble. We face great pressure on the Endless Frontier, and we need to adjust our strategy."

    Yu Huo responded with evident excitement, "Great! After seeing the reactions of the humans in the Sixverse Association, I really can¡¯t stand them. They really believe that they can overwhelm our Aeternus, which is absurd. They have never faced our real strength."

    Lu Yin soon left theke, still with Yu Huo. As for Progenitor Xi, she remained where they had found her by theke. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.

    They quickly arrived at the high tower that belonged to Yu Huo. It was clearly taller than any of the other towers that Lu Yin had seen so far, which represented Yu Huo''s status. He was a True God Guard Captain.

    Eight Progenitor-level corpse kings stood outside of the tower, and Lu Yin arched a brow at the sight of them.

    "Ye Bo, thank you for all that you¡¯ve done. I need to go into seclusion in order to recover my strength. If I don¡¯t, things will get ugly for me when the captains gather. You can wander around a bit, as long as you don¡¯t go any closer to the Mother Tree. Don¡¯t try to get close to the Seven Skygods¡¯ towers," Yu Huo said. With that, his tower was sealed as he went into seclusion to recuperate.

    Lu Yin looked at the eight Progenitor-level corpse kings that stood around the tower. He wanted to know just how the Aeternals had created the True God Guard. Even if these corpse kings only had physical might at the level of a Progenitor, their numbers were more than what most people could even imagine. Any one of the Progenitor-level corpse kings could have utterly overwhelmed the Fifth Maind before the Sixth Maind¡¯s invasion.

    At that time, the Fifth Maind had not had even a single Progenitor.

    Lu Yin proceeded to wander around the area near the tower. He did not move closer or farther away from where the Seven Skygods¡¯ towers stood, and he demonstrated no curiosity.

    He did not know if he might be under observation.

    Perhaps it would be good to raise the Aeternals¡¯ confidence in Ye Bo.

    The Aeternals trusted divine energy more than anything, so Lu Yin felt that trying to cultivate divine energy would be a good option.

    With that thought, he approached a nearby stream. It was merely a tributary to a real river, and the stream was only a meter wide. It was more of a creek than a stream.

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged and stared at the stream of divine energy before him as he slowly stretched out a hand.

    The moment his fingers made contact with the stream of divine energy, he could feel the energy¡¯s vastness. Even if it was only a tiny bit, the divine energy gave off the illusion of facing off against the True God. That man was irresistible, invincible, and surrender was the only option. These were the feelings that Lu Yin experienced when he made contact with the divine energy.

    He tried to absorb the divine energy, and things proceeded smoothly, very smoothly. The energy transformed into a dark-red light that entered his body and moved straight into the universe at his heart, where it merged with the red star.

    Lu Yin spent several hours absorbing divine energy, and he watched the red star grow several timesrger. While it was still much, much smaller than the other stars in Lu Yin¡¯s universe, its amount of divine energy had increased significantly.

    Lu Yin did not want to appear too impressive, so he retracted his hand and let out a breath.

    He looked up at the distant form of the ck Mother Tree. He was capable of absorbing more divine energy, much, much more. He could continue until the dark-red star was the same size as the star that had formed from the Withered Bark, or possibly evenrger.

    However, Lu Yin did not know what might happen to him if he absorbed that much divine energy.

    Regardless of how much Lu Yin had tried to convince himself that he was in control of his own fate, he would never forget what he had seen in the merged Books of Destiny. He had seen a future where he ughtered all the people close to him. Could that be due to the influence of divine energy?

    Was Lu Yin currently experiencing a part of that future that he had witnessed?

    Since ancient times, humans had feared divine energy. Unlike other powers, divine energy was regarded as pure evil that corrupted all that it touched. Would Lu Yin be an exception to that? He could not be sure.

    He stared at the stream of divine energy in a daze.

    "You were cultivating very well. Why did you stop?" A soft voice asked from behind. Progenitor Xi had approached him.

    Lu Yin did not turn to look back and continued to stare at the divine energy. "I can''t handle it any longer."

    Progenitor Xi was standing a short distance behind Lu Yin. When the wind picked up and blew her skirt, she held it down with a hand. "Do me a favor."

    Lu Yin stood and turned to give Progenitor Xi a confused look. "Me?"

    Progenitor Xi smiled. "Yes.

    "The recent crusade that the Sixverse Association waged across the Endless Frontier took the lives of many of Aeternus¡¯s experts. There are certain situations that cannot be avoided."

    "What do you need?" Lu Yin asked, not refusing the request. If he refused this woman, his time in the Scourge would be far more difficult. This woman terrified Yu Huo, and she had mentioned punishing the fish. Everything indicated that Progenitor Xi enjoyed an exceptional status in the Scourge.

    The steward?

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s fingers moved, and the stream of divine energy rose into the sky, arcing upwards into outer space, where it eventually merged with a cosmic door. "Go to that universe and help us destroy it."

    1. Îô is the same "xi" that is in Progenitor Smoke''s name (Xi Wei). ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2948: Strange Laws

    Chapter 2948: Strange Laws

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. "Destroy it?"

    Progenitor Xi smiled. "Simple, no?"

    "Are there humans?"

    "Do you want there to be?"

    "I hate humans."

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "I¡¯m sorry, but there are no humans in that universe, only some astral beasts. They are multiplying too quickly, and more and more powerful ones are appearing. If things continue in this manner, they will eventually be a problem for our Aeternus. Please, go kill them all and destroy the universe."

    As the woman spoke, figures approached from the distance. They came to a stop behind Progenitor Xi, and Lu Yin saw that they were five Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    "Given your strength, you are indeed qualified to be a True God Guard Captain. These five are yours tomand. You can control them with divine energy, so just use your own understanding of the energy to control them. They are now yours," Progenitor Xi stated with a smile.

    Lu Yin was surprised. This was what Yu Huo had meant when he had said that he controlled his corpse kings with divine energy.Divine energy was simr to stellr energy, in the sense that they were both types of energies. It was possible to cultivate stellr energy and be an Envoy, then a Semi-Progenitor, and finally even the Progenitor level. People at the same cultivation level could have vastly differing levels ofbat strength, and there were countless different battle techniques that used stellr energy. The same could be said of divine energy.

    Everyone who cultivated divine energy should have slightly different understandings of the energy. Did that extend to how the various captains controlled the True God Guard?

    Lu Yin quickly took control of the five Progenitor-level corpse kings by leaving a bit of his own divine energy within their bodies.

    Progenitor Xi praised his actions. "Yu Huo mentioned that you were able to use divine energy the very first time you came into contact with it. I see that it¡¯s true. Mr. Ye Bo, you have a good chance of bing one of the next Seven Skygods of Aeternus."

    Lu Yin pretended to be confused. "One of the next Seven Skygods?"

    Progenitor Xi smiled. "Shaman God is dead, and his ce needs to be taken by another. The True God Guard Captains and other Progenitor-level experts are allpeting for that position, including even some of our outside allies. Given your talent for divine energy, you have a very good chance.¡±

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "I will do my best to take it."

    "I look forward to seeing your efforts," Progenitor Xi replied.

    Lu Yin looked up at the cosmic door that the divine energy was touching, and he leaped into the sky and moved towards it.

    This task was essentially a test that the Aeternals had given him. If he could pass it, he would be a True God Guard Captain. If he failed, Ye Bo would be nothing more than another average Progenitor-level powerhouse within Aeternus.

    Lu Yin needed to obtain a high status among the Aeternals. Only someone who was at least on the level of the True God Guard Captains were qualified to know about secrets like the Ossis Ark.

    As for bing one of the Seven Skygods, Lu Yin knew that even if he truly tried his best, he would not be able to take such a position. He was far from the necessary level of strength.

    Even when seriously injured, Shaman God had been incredibly difficult to kill, even with the help of Progenitor Hui. The outsider powerhouse who had appeared in the Giants¡¯ Purgatory, the Star Devourer, had been equally terrifying. Lu Yin was not as strong as those experts.

    With a single leap, he charged through the cosmic door, closely followed by the five Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    On the other side, they found themselves in the middle of a massive battle that filled outer space. All that separated this chaos from the Aeternals¡¯ peaceful territory was a single cosmic door.

    An endless number of the Aeternals¡¯ corpse kings were fighting against ferocious-looking astral beasts. There were actually even more astral beasts than there were corpse kings, and the creatures could be seen everywhere, as they practically filled the universe.

    There were both strong and weak astral beasts, and Lu Yin even saw one with the strength of a Progenitor. It was fighting against a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    There was more than just one Progenitor-level corpse king on the battlefield. Lu Yin noticed three, as well as a Progenitor-level powerhouse with a ck cloth draped over his figure, making him look like a bamboo pole. That figure was another one of the True God Guard Captains. His name was Da Hei. He had been among the Aeternals who had ambushed the third battalion, and Da Hei had been the one to fight against Lu Yin¡¯s father, Lu Qi.

    Lu Yin ordered his five Progenitor-level corpse kings to join the fight.

    The astral beasts were ferocious, seemingly endless, and absolutely bloodthirsty.

    The corpse kings were not much better.

    The arrival of five Progenitor-level corpse kings on the battlefield instantly reversed the situation, and countless astral beasts were quickly ughtered.

    Lu Yin actually breathed a sigh of relief. He felt incredibly lucky that he had not been sent to attack a universe upied by humans, as he had no idea how he would have dealt with such a task.

    This was the way of the universe; the strong lived, and the weak died. Lu Yin was no saint, and he had no intention of saving this particr parallel universe, let alone the race of astral beasts. All he could do was extend his selfishness to mankind as a whole. He would do what was necessary to preserve mankind, because he was human.

    It was possible that the day woulde when some powerful creature wanted to exterminate all of humanity for its own selfish desires. That was certainly possible, and humanity could only do all they could to protect themselves. There was no point in ming the attacker.

    Only by having sufficient strength could one establish a secure foothold.

    An astral beast attacked, snapping at Lu Yin with a blood-stained mouth.

    Lu Yin easily dealt with the creature and then joined his first battle as Aeternus¡¯s Ye Bo.

    The arrival of six Progenitor-levelbatants shifted the bnce of the battle. More and more of the astral beasts fell, and space shattered as cracks spread through the void. The universe was doomed.

    This parallel universe had met its end.

    As more and more astral beasts died, one Progenitor-level beast let out a tremendous roar. Half of its body had already been sliced apart. After that, the rest of the astral beasts also let out roars of their own, as though responding to some kind of signal. All of the creatures lifted their heads and roared.

    Even in the face of death, these astral beasts roared.

    Lu Yin frowned and looked into the depths of the universe. He sensed a vague feeling of danger.

    After the deafening roars ended, ripples spread through the void, radiating from the depths of the universe, but quickly sweeping across the entire realm.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. This was a true powerhouse.

    The roars continued in a rhythmic manner. It was clear that some sort ofmunication was taking ce. Far away in the universe, a massive shadow shot forward, rapidly approaching the battlefield. It was a terrifying creature that was muchrger than any of the other astral beasts. It was even bigger than the jiao. As it roared, sharp ws shed out of the Hollow up above, falling towards Lu Yin, Da Hei, and countless corpse kings.

    Lu Yin immediately turned and fled. He had no intention of saving any of the corpse kings, not even his own.

    Da Hei took the exact same actions, though he retreated even faster than Lu Yin.

    The sharp ws fell, shattering the void and opening the Hollow, which swallowed many of the corpse kings and countless astral beasts. There was no distinction between friend and foe.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched and he used Heaven¡¯s Sight, instantly seeing sequence particles. This beast was actually a sequence powerhouse.

    The cosmic door connected to this particr universe was nothing exceptional, and yet it had led to a parallel universe with a sequence powerhouse. It was clear that the Aeternals were not only fighting against the Sixverse Association.

    Why did they want to destroy this specific universe?

    A single swipe of the enormous beast¡¯s ws eliminated two Progenitor-level corpse kings. Upon seeing this, Lu Yin felt both relieved and worried.

    Progenitor Xi had told Ye Bo to destroy this universe, but there was a sequence powerhouse protecting it. If Lu Yin failed at this task, would he fail to be a True God Guard Captain?

    As the terrifying astral beast fully appeared, it red at the entire battlefield with fury-filled eyes. Again, the rhythmic roars rang out. The beast was talking, and itsnguage could be instantlyprehended by Progenitor-level experts. "Who? Who is ughtering my n? Who?

    "Doing this is asking to die!"

    The moment the beast finished speaking, its ws rose back up and swung down.

    Lu Yin nced over at Da Hei and saw an upraised hand. The ck cloth that shrouded the True God Guard Captain shot towards the astral beast and wrapped around its ws. The cloth was so strong that even Progenitor-level experts would find it difficult to break free once they were enshrouded within the cloth¡¯s folds.

    The astral beast kept swiping its ws about, trying to tear through the cloth, but every attempt failed.

    Da Hei tore through the void and instantly appeared above the astral beast. A hand rose up, and the ck shroud tightened on the astral beast as a beam of ck light fell upon it.

    The astral beast raised its head, its mouth open to let out a roar. A terrifying surge of energy distorted the void and stopped the beam of ck light from striking. At the same time, the astral beast¡¯s tail swept in from behind Da Hei, ready to deliver a vicious blow.

    Lu Yin moved out. He could not use any technique or ability connected to his identity as Lu Yin, which meant that his only option was to use the most ordinary battle techniques. He struck from the side, deflecting the tail so that it merely grazed Da Hei.

    Da Hei fell back, waving his arms to continuously tighten the cloth that had wrapped around the astral beast. The True God Guard Captain was trying topletely bind the creature.

    The beast''s eyes turned red, and it swiped its ws yet again. This time, it used its sequence particles. The shroud could do nothing to stop the attack, and the ws finally broke free from the cloth to attack Da Hei.

    The Aeternal retreated yet again. He was being attacked from every direction by multiple Progenitor-level astral beasts.

    Lu Yin had his Progenitor-level corpse kings attack as he turned to Da Hei. "What is itsw?"

    Da Hei looked over. "A lock has but one key."

    Lu Yin was confused. What was that supposed to mean?

    Sharp ws swept across from the side, tearing open five shes in space. This was an incredibly vicious attack.

    This time, the attack was aimed at Lu Yin. He looked over at the approaching ws, and upon focusing on them, Lu Yin inexplicably had the feeling that, aside from dodging, the only way to deal with this attack was to retaliate with a headbutt.

    A headbutt? How stupid! Only an idiot would meet such an attack with their head.

    Lu Yin simply dodged. At that moment, he understood Da Hei¡¯s words.

    ¡®A lock has but one key.¡¯ This was thew that the astral beast hadprehended and what it used with its attacks. Any attack that the astral beast made could only be resisted in a single manner that the beast itself decided upon. This was itsw. Regardless of how powerful its opponent might be, unless they surpassed the astral beast in mastery of sequence particles, they would have to meet the creature¡¯s attacks in the sole method that it had devised to be used. Even someone just as strong as the astral beast would be subject to thew of the universe it used. Only one method could be used to counter the attacks, and nothing else was allowed.

    In other words, even if Lu Yin were already a Sequence Progenitor, unless his mastery of his own sequence particles had surpassed this astral beast¡¯s, he would have to meet its attacks with a headbutt. There was no other way to block the attacks. If Lu Yin tried to use his hands, legs, battle techniques, or anything else, he would be defeated.

    There were some very oddws of the universe.

    Lu Yin was a bit surprised, but he already knew that there were an endless variety ofws of the universe. Chen Le had obtained the Law of Indolence, and his sequence particles made his enemies toozy to do anything at all. It was not at all surprising to discover that practically anyw could appear.

    The trouble was in how to handle this astral beast.

    It was not impossible to deal with the creature with divine energy, but the challenge was in the astral beast¡¯sw.

    The beast''s sharp ws continued to rip through the void as its huge eyes remained fixed on Lu Yin and Da Hei. All the others were nothing in the beast¡¯s eyes, including even the Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Lu Yin was the beast¡¯s current target, and although he wanted to attack several times, he was stopped each time.

    The astral beast¡¯s sequence particles were really too bizarre. The second time Lu Yin faced the creature¡¯s attack, he somehow understood that he could only block it with his mouth. This was even dumber than headbutting the creature¡¯s ws. Of course, Lu Yin instead opted to dodge the attack. He also knew that he had to block the third attack with his mouth, but the fourth and fifth attacks were ones that he needed to block with his back. Thew of the universe that the astral beast hadprehended prevented Lu Yin from fighting it normally.

    The same was true for Da Hei.

    The two were pursued across outer space by many astral beasts. The battle raging between the corpse kings and the astral beasts had never stopped, but regardless of whether others fought or not, they remained within the powerful astral beast¡¯s attack range. The creature was as much an enemy to its own kind as it was to the Aeternals. It was close to destroying the universe on its own.

    "Is there any way to win?" Lu Yin asked in a hoarse voice.

    Da Hei said nothing as he continued to dodge.

    Lu Yin frowned. It appeared that there was no option but to use divine energy. However, divine energy was typically used as ast resort, even for the True God Guard Captains. It was always regarded as a final option.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2949: Common

    <h4>Chapter 2949: Common</h4>

    Lu Yin nced over at Da Hei. While Lu Yin had no choice but to stay and fight, Da Hei had not tried to leave either. This was proof that he had not given up yet. Had he done something like this before?

    Space shattered as Lu Yin stared at the astral beast. Although this creature hadprehended aw of the universe that made it impossible to counterattack, the beast¡¯s speed and strength were not particrly impressive. Its attacks were quite destructive, but they were simr to Xia Shenji¡¯s. It was not impossible to defeat the astral beast, as long as its sequence particles could be dealt with.

    If Lu Yin were fighting as himself, he had more than one way to deal with the beast¡¯s sequence particles, but at the moment, he had to be Ye Bo.

    Ye Bo did not have Lu Yin''s abilities, so other methods were necessary.

    The sharp ws swept in from the side again, and Lu Yin dodged as he controlled a Progenitor-level corpse king to move closer. The next time the astral beast''s ws fell, Lu Yin knew that this attack needed to be met with a leg. Immediately, the Progenitor-level corpse king was controlled, and the astral beast¡¯s ws struck the corpse king¡¯s leg.

    There was a bang, and half of the corpse king was torn to pieces by the swipe of the ws. Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold, as he had just seen a portion of the astral beast¡¯s sequence particles disappear.

    Right, that was another option. Sequence particles represented aw of the universe, and that meant that, as long as thew was followed, it was possible to grind away at an opponent''s sequence particles. This could also be considered a kind ofw of the universe.

    No matter the expert,prehending sequence particles was one thing, while mastering their usage was another, and both required practice. This created a distinction between weak and strong sequence powerhouses.

    Sequence particles represented aw of the universe, and they could be regarded as another form of energy.

    As long as thews of the universe were obeyed, it was possible to wear away at the corresponding sequence particles.

    Old Mo had mastered sequence particles rted to the Law of Darkness. Enforcing that particrw consumed some of the man¡¯s sequence particles. With enough time, all of his sequence particles would be consumed, and this same idea applied to every other sequence expert as well.

    Lu Yin had no idea how the astral beast had managed to cultivate to the sequence powerhouse level. Logically, a creature that fought on instinct, like this astral beast, should have never been able to reach such a level. There was no one who could answer this question for Lu Yin.

    Taking advantage of the opportunity that hade from the decrease of sequence particles at the astral beast¡¯s ws, Lu Yin attacked with a level of strength worthy of a Progenitor-level expert. While he only used a crude battle technique, it did not matter as long as it was powerful enough.

    Right when Lu Yin attacked, Da Hei did as well.

    Two attacks struck the astral beast, tearing it apart. Unexpectedly, the creature¡¯s defenses were not nearly as robust as they appeared.

    The astral beast roared and raised its ws to attack again.

    Lu Yin used the same method once again, sacrificing a Progenitor-level corpse king to follow the rules established by the astral beast in order to erase a portion of the beast¡¯s sequence particles, creating another opening in which to attack.

    After repeating this process several times, the astral beast was severely wounded. Da Hei¡¯s attacks were particrly effective, as his power was extremely corrosive. Heaven¡¯s Sight showed Lu Yin that the creature did not possess even half of the sequence particles that it had controlled at the beginning of the fight.

    Of course, they had not paid a small price to make such progress. Three Progenitor-level corpse kings had been killed along the way.

    One of Da Hei¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings had also died.

    Of course, Lu Yin did not care at all about the Progenitor-level corpse kings. He simply had not expected Da Hei to simrly not care at all. Even Progenitor-level corpse kings were nothing more than mere tools.

    Blood sttered across outer space, and the astral beast gasped. If it did not attack, there was no opening for Lu Yin and Da Hei to use to attack the astral beast. Their only means of fighting the creature was to counterattack the moment the sequence particles were actively used. Without that, they would be forced to take the initiative, which would cause them to directly face the astral beast¡¯s sequence particles and run into a bad end.

    A seemingly infinite battlefield surrounded them. The endless fighting seemed to never fade.

    The astral beast stared at Lu Yin, as he had been the first to find the counterattacking method of sacrificing a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    "Why do you massacre my kin?" the astral beast growled.

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he looked at Da Hei. Lu Yin was also curious about this.

    Da Hei said nothing, and he simply stared at the beast.

    "My n has never fought you or any others. Throughout all of my memories, we have never even seen creatures like you before. Why do you ughter my kin?"

    No one answered the astral beast.

    It roared. "Why? Since you ughter us, there must be a reason for it!"

    Lu Yin nced over at Da Hei once again. Had there really never been any contact between these astral beasts and the Aeternals? Then why was Aeternus determined to eliminate these beasts? There had to be a reason for it, though it was clear that Da Hei was not going to say anything.

    Da Hei waved his hand, and the ck cloth swept towards a distant Progenitor-level astral beast. The massacre resumed.

    The most powerful astral beast raised its ws to attack Da Hei. At this same time, its body shrank down until it was about the same size as Lu Yin and the others from Aeternus.

    Lu Yin was surprised to see the shrunken form of the astral beast. Was it sacrificing strength for speed?

    Again, sharp ws swept at Da Hei, only for the same scene to y out yet again. Da Hei used a Progenitor-level corpse king to take the attack, wearing away at some of the sequence particles. The opening was seized, and a ck beam of light mmed down upon the astral beast at the same time that Lu Yin attacked.

    However, this time, the astral beast managed to dodge the attacks. By shrinking, its speed had increased several times over. "Are you still determined to ughter my kin? Then we will eat you alive!"

    Da Hei looked up, and divine energy erupted from his body. Behind him, the cloth shot high into the sky. At this time, the shroud was wrapped in divine energy, giving the cloth a red color as it shot towards the astral beast.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. This was the end.

    When the astral beast had been at its full size, it had been too big for the cloth to fully capture it, and Da Hei did not have enough divine energy to make such arge piece of cloth. By reducing its size, the astral beast had ensured its own death.

    The astral beast had no idea that divine energy was capable of countering sequence particles. No one had used divine energy earlier in the battle, as they had all been waiting for this exact moment. Using divine energy meant that victory or defeat was about to be determined.

    The dark-red shroud simply batted the astral beast''s ws aside as the creature was bound.

    This was a shocking development, and the astral beast found it unbelievable. How could this cloth ignore sequence particles? The beast had clearly defeated this same cloth before.

    No matter how the beast attacked, it could not destroy the cloth that had been strengthened by divine energy.

    The shroud shrank and tightened, and the wails of the astral beast could be heard from within. Bones shattered, and blood spurted out, staining the already dark-red cloth with another shade of deep red.

    All around, many of the astral beasts roared and charged, but Lu Yin easily stopped all of them while watching the cloth. It shrank more and more, and the roars and wails of the trapped creature slowly faded away. In the end, not even bones or flesh remained. There was nothing but the cloth, and it flew back to Da Hei and wrapped around him.

    The divine energy had faded from the cloth, but it remained quite dark.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This cloth was a truly powerful weapon. Even a sequence powerhouse could be crushed to death within its folds. Even someone as powerful as Old Mo would find themselves in grave danger if they were wrapped up in the cloth when it was strengthened by divine energy. Lu Yin needed to find an opportunity to kill this person.

    With the most powerful astral beast in the universe dead, the other creaturescked the strength to resist the Aeternals.

    "We are willing to submit to you and serve as your mounts." It was the nature of astral beasts to fear death, and it was no surprise that they begged for mercy.

    Lu Yin had expected Da Hei to agree. After all, the creature surrendering was a Progenitor-level astral beast, which would be of great help to Aeternus.

    However, Da Hei simply ughtered all of the astral beasts without any hesitation. Even all the Progenitor-level creatures were wiped out.

    At this moment, Lu Yin wondered if Da Hei was just like Lu Yin. The True God Guard Captain had readily sacrificed Progenitor-level corpse kings, just like Lu Yin. After that, Da Hei did not hesitate to ughter Progenitor-level astral beasts that had been willing to submit to Aeternus. Lu Yin would not have trouble believing that such a person was seeking the destruction of the Aeternals, just like him.

    Lu Yin watched as the astral beasts were ughtered. He had already stopped participating in the massacre himself.

    It was just a matter of time before this universe was destroyed.

    ...

    Passing back through the cosmic door, Lu Yin was followed by two Progenitor-level corpse kings as he returned to the Scourge with a numb expression on his face.

    He looked back to see Da Hei also emerge from the cosmic door, closely followed by a massive horde of corpse kings. The corpse kings moved to the that sat closest to the cosmic door.

    After thest corpse king stepped through, the cosmic door swayed and then fell through the sky tond on the ground of the Scourge.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Wait, was that even possible? Did all of the cosmic doors scattered across thend belong to destroyed universes? How many were there? How was that possible?

    "Well done, Mr. Ye Bo," Progenitor Xi called out.

    Lu Yin looked around, his pale face expressionless and his eyes devoid of all emotion. "Is he also a True God Guard Captain?"

    Progenitor Xi answered with a slight smile, "Yes. His name is Da Hei, and he is decently powerful."

    Lu Yin nodded but said nothing.

    "Do you have any questions?" Progenitor Xi asked softly.

    Lu Yin stepped aside, revealing that there were only two Progenitor-level corpse kings behind him. "Three were sacrificed."

    "That doesn''t matter. Sacrificing a few corpse kings means nothing if it allows for the death of a sequence powerhouse," Progenitor Xi replied.

    Lu Yin was curious. "Why destroy them?"

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s smile remained. "Whenws bemon, they are no longer rules."

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    Progenitor Xi lifted a hand and pointed in a certain direction. "A tower has been built for you, Mr. Ye Bo. It isn¡¯t far from Yu Huo¡¯s. Consider this an early expression of congrattions for bing a True God Guard Captain.

    "We can only give you these two Progenitor-level corpse kings for the moment, but the rest will be given to you as soon as possible. Allow me to officially wee you to Aeternus."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."

    He then said goodbye to Progenitor Xi and walked in the direction that she had indicated. He soon found a tall tower that was very simr to Yu Huo¡¯s. Outside of the tower stood a beautiful woman.

    "Greetings, Master." The woman offered a respectful bow.

    Lu Yin knew that every tower was supplied with maids to meet the needs of the owner. For Aeternus¡¯s human Progenitor-level experts, they received human maids. Yu Huo''s maid was not human, but rather a fish from the same species as Yu Huo.

    "Where are you from?"

    The maid remainedpletely respectful, "Master, your servant is from an ordinary universe."

    "Have you ever heard of the Sixverse Association?"

    "No, Master."

    Lu Yin entered the tower. The maid¡¯s universe seemed to have no connection to the Sixverse Association. There were many parallel universes with humans upying them, and they served as the source of the Aeternals'' endless corpse kings.

    "What resources do you require, Master? I will request them from Senior Progenitor Xi."

    Out of reflex, Lu Yin nearly replied that he wanted star essence, but given Ye Bo¡¯s level of strength, such things should no longer matter. Making such a request would only raise suspicions.

    "I want to eat fruit fish."

    The maid was confused. "Fruit fish?"

    "It¡¯s a type of fish that only lives in the Origin Universe¡¯s Astral River. They¡¯re quite delicious," Lu Yin exined. He was curious to see if the Aeternals could get this for him.

    With that exnation, the maid no longer hesitated. She gave another respectful bow and then left.

    Half a dayter, she returned. "Master, Senior Progenitor Xi has ordered people to collect fruit fish for you."

    Lu Yin grunted and then ignored the maid. He stood atop the tower and stared at the distant ck Mother Tree of the Aeternals.

    Divine power fell from the Mother Tree like a waterfall. What was at the top of this Mother Tree?

    Which of the Seven Skygods was the master of the tower that had been raised closest to the Mother Tree? Lu Yin was quite curious about that.

    His greatest curiosity was about Whiteless God. No one had ever seen Whiteless God¡¯s true appearance, and that was true even after Ancestor Tianyi had fought against Whiteless God.

 Chapter 2950: Ultimate Techniques

    <h4>Chapter 2950: Ultimate Techniques</h4>

    A few dayster, the maid asked to see Ye Bo, and she delivered the fruit fish that had been requested.

    Lu Yin epted the food and found that it was indeed fruit fish. This creature could only be found in the Astral River in the Origin Universe¡¯s Outerverse. The people who were most likely to catch this type of fish were members of the Anglers¡¯ Club. Even so, fruit fish were rare enough that even the Daynight n could not easily acquire them.

    Lu Yin had once enjoyed a fruit fish when attending the Daynight Banquet, and it had left an impression on him.

    At present, Aeternus should have very little power within the Origin Universe, and yet they were still able to acquire fruit fish. This indicated that their influence there was considerable.

    "How did you get this?" Lu Yin could not stop himself from asking.

    The maid was unable to give an answer, as she herself had no idea.

    Lu Yin did not press the matter. He had received five fruit fish, so he casually gave one to his maid. "You can have it."

    The maid was startled, and she fell to her knees. "Master, please ignore your servant! Your servant doesn''t dare! I don¡¯t dare!"

    "It''s just a fish. What¡¯s the problem?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The maid continued to kowtow to him, and Lu Yin realized that the woman¡¯s head was about to start bleeding. "Alright, get up. I''ll just eat it myself."

    The maid let a sigh of relief escape as she slowly rose to her feet. An intense fear filled her eyes.

    "What are you so afraid of?" Lu Yin asked.

    The maid bowed low. "It''s a blessing for me to be able to serve you. I would never dare to even dream about receiving a gift from you."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. "Where is your family?"

    The maid trembled, and again fell to her knees. "Please forgive me! Please forgive me! Please forgive me..."

    "Alright, I won''t ask anything else." Lu Yin grew impatient.

    The maid was terrified, but she slowly stood back up and left the tower.

    Even without asking the question, Lu Yin understood that the maid¡¯s family had either been transformed into corpse kings or killed. She was not a corpse king herself, which could be considered incredibly lucky. It was understandable that she would suffer from such intense fear at almost all times.

    Lu Yin looked at the five fruit fish and considered things. He was really quite greedy. Even so, he casually threw the fruit fish away. At this moment, he was Ye Bo, not Lu Yin. The fruit fish had been nothing more than a test. It was impossible for Ye Bo to actually eat it.

    ...

    Aeternus was nothing like what Lu Yin had imagined. He had managed to quickly learn many things that had previously been regarded as secrets. While the Scourge was a mysterious ce, Lu Yin felt like he was able to see through the Aeternals now.

    In the sky up above, there were the cosmic doors. On the ground below, there were rivers of divine energy and the ck Mother Tree, as well as the various tall towers scattered about. If Lu Yin wanted to, he could roam about thend, counting just how many towers there were.

    But such a thing would be meaningless. While the Progenitor-level corpse kings that were part of the True God Guard were nothing more than tools, they still possessed the destructive power of a peak powerhouse. The Progenitor-level corpse kings were not given towers, and there were also far more of them than any other type of expert within Aeternus.

    Before Lu Yin could even blink, he had spent an entire month in the Scourge.

    He had done nothing during this time other than the one mission to destroy the parallel universe.

    Progenitor Xi never showed herself again.

    Lu Yin did not interact with his maid at all.

    He strolled along a river of divine energy for some time, never encountering any other people or even any corpse kings. The deathly silence of the Scourge could be terrifying.

    Yu Huo had mentioned that the towers of the True God Guard Captains were close to the innermost regions of the Scourge and that there were many Aeternal Kingdoms in the outer regions. Lu Yin wanted to see those.

    Just as he was about to make the trip, Lu Yin suddenly stopped and turned to look behind him. Far away, he saw a man walking towards him. When the man noticed Lu Yin looking at him, he smiled. While it was a hideous smile, the man seemed to be doing his best to appear friendly.

    Lu Yin stayed where he stood and stared at the man.

    The man was quite ugly, though he possessed a cultivation equal to a Progenitor¡¯s. The closer the man approached, the more clearly Lu Yin felt that the man was not any sort of threat at all. While he was a peak powerhouse, at best, the man couldpare to the Sixth Maind¡¯s Progenitor of Combat.

    "Friend, my name is Qi You. Might I ask your name, Brother?" The ugly man spoke politely as he drew closer. He nced at the river of divine energy without any reaction, but looked at Lu Yin with open respect.

    Qi You had seen Lu Yin leaving the depths of the Scourge, which meant that Lu Yin had a higher status than Qi You. However, Lu Yin looked so young that the ugly man had no idea how to refer to him.

    Lu Yin replied in a t voice, "Ye Bo."

    Qi You smiled. "So you are Brother Ye Bo. I''m sorry to bother you."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the man. "You approached me with a purpose."

    Qi You was taken aback, and he grimaced. "Since Brother Ye Bo is such a straightforward person, I''ll be frank. Might I ask if you are searching for True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, Brother Ye Bo?"

    Lu Yin stared at Qi You. True God¡¯s ultimate techniques?

    Qi You was also staring at Lu Yin. He was unable to see through the young man, and Qi You saw no reactions in the other man¡¯s eyes. "Brother Ye Bo, you don¡¯t need to say anything at all. I get it. However, this isn¡¯t the way to search, Brother. The Scourge is too big, and it is muchrger than most parallel universes. It¡¯s impossible to blindly search along a divine energy river. Have you ever considered cooperating with another person, Brother?"

    Lu Yin looked away, instead turning to stare at the nearby river. He seemed to be deep in thought.

    Qi You grew somber. "There are rumors that the True God¡¯s three ultimate techniques have been hidden within the divine energy that flows across the Scourge. Anyone who finds one of these techniques will instantly be made the Eighth Skygod, and they might even be epted as the True God¡¯s disciple. Many people have searched these rivers for countless years but never found anything. You may want to find those techniques for yourself, Brother Ye Bo, but it is impossible."

    "Since no one has found any of the ultimate techniques, how can anyone be sure that they even exist?" Lu Yin challenged in a cold voice.

    Qi Youughed. "Because there are also rumors that one of the Seven Skygods obtained one of the ultimate techniques, and Progenitor Xi has confirmed it as true.

    "That is the source behind the rumors and also why so many powerful people are searching for the three ultimate techniques. However, it is impossible to cultivate in a river of divine energy, let alone search through it.

    "All of us have failed in our attempts to cultivate divine energy. The only ones who can do that are either the True God Guard Captains or people like Cheng Kong and other powerful individuals."

    At this point, Qi You turned to stare at Lu Yin. "If my guess is right, you should be one of the True God Guard Captains, Brother Ye Bo."

    Lu Yin nced back at Qi You. "Why do you say that?"

    Qi You said, "This particr stream of divine energy does not pass by any other towers. But the closest area to it is reserved for the True God Guard Captains. Brother Ye Bo, you walked along this stream, which means that you are most likely a True God Guard Captain. If you weren¡¯t someone at that level and capable of cultivating divine energy, how could you possibly have the courage to search for the ultimate techniques on your own?"

    "Have you ever seen one of the True God Guard Captains?"

    "I have. I¡¯ve seen all of them. However, the recent fighting has been very fierce, and several of the True God Guard Captains have died. It isn¡¯t impossible for you to have taken that position, Brother Ye Bo."

    "What battles are so fierce that even the True God Guard Captains are killed?" Lu Yin asked, sounding confused and curious.

    Qi You nced around before whispering, "The Sixverse Association, of course.

    "Out of all the wars that we Aeternals haveunched, the only ones who are capable of putting up such a fight are the Sixverse Association. I even heard that the Seven Skygods were wounded and forced to go into seclusion to recover."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Is this Sixverse Association our Aeternus¡¯s greatest enemy?"

    Qi You''s expression changed. "Brother Ye Bo, it''s better not to speak of such things. After all, this involves the Seven Skygods."

    Lu Yin stopped talking.

    "Brother Ye Bo should be one of the True God Guard Captains, right?" Qi You asked again.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "You¡¯ve guessed wrong. No."

    Qi You was caught off guard. "That shouldn''t be the case, not along this river."

    "I¡¯ve been wandering around."

    "You¡¯re wandering around the Scourge? Brother Ye Bo, you really are rxed and at ease." Qi You rolled his eyes. Only an idiot would believe such an excuse. The Scourge was not a pleasant ce. Who would wander around it? What if one stumbled upon some unreasonable old monster and was obliterated?

    It was perfectlymon to run into corpse kings, but the only humans here were all traitors. None of them had very good characters.

    On top of that, the inner regions of the Scourge were even more frightening.

    High in the sky, far away, a corpse king emerged from a cosmic door, and it was followed by an endless line of people, all of whom were human cultivators.

    Lu Yin stared at them in a daze. Were these defeated cultivators? It was perfectly clear what their fate would be.

    Qi You also looked up into the sky and sighed. "Another parallel universe has been defeated. Judging by this, at least a few billion cultivators will be transformed into corpse kings."

    "Where are they transformed?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qi You subconsciously replied, "That¡¯s what thes near the cosmic doors are for. There¡¯s one near every cosmic door. It¡¯s a convenient way of gathering and transforming corpse kings,

    Wait, you didn''t know that?"

    "I just joined," Lu Yin replied.

    Qi You''s face twitched. "Then you don''t know about the ultimate techniques either?"

    Lu Yin looked down at Qi You. "Not a thing."

    Qi You was left speechless. This guy really had just been wandering about. He had not been searching for the True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. Qi You had been wasting his time speaking to this person.

    Qi You really wanted to beat Ye Bo, except that the man felt that it was impossible to do so. He had no idea where Ye Bo hade from. Had he wandered in from the outer reaches of the Scourge, or was he from the inner portions? Qi You did not dare to take such a risk.

    High above in the sky, an old woman emerged from a cosmic door. She was covered in blood, and she nced around in confusion. Her obvious befuddlement only grew worse when she noticed the distant form of the ck Mother Tree, as well as the waterfall of divine energy plummeting from it. Shock covered her face.

    Qi You gave an odd smile. "Another person who betrayed humanity to join Aeternus. This must be her first time in the Scourge. It''s always interesting to see the shocked expressions."

    Even through the blood covering the woman, Lu Yin could tell that she was stunned by all that she saw. It was evident that she had just survived a difficult fight and had submitted to the Aeternals before being killed. There was no other exnation for her appearance. If she were a spy, she would show nothing but pride.

    "Brother Ye Bo, did you also betray humanity?" Qi You suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin turned to give Qi You a dirty look.

    Qi You quickly exined himself, "Brother, don''t get me wrong. I don''t mean anything by that. All of us are the same, as I also betrayed mankind. Fortunately, the Aeternals ept traitors like us, whereas creatures like astral beasts will find it very difficult to be epted."

    Seeing that Ye Bo still said nothing, a dangerous glint appeared in Qi You''s eyes. "There¡¯s really nothing shameful about betraying humanity. Everyone has the right to live. My survival is essentially shifting the continuation of my universe¡¯s humans. How is it anything else? At least I¡¯m not a corpse king.¡±

    Lu Yin did not look at the man, and he instead silently stared up at the sky. The cultivators who had lined up were starting to move towards the nearby. The old woman had submitted to Aeternus to live on behalf of others. <i>What a good reason indeed</i>.

    "In fact, the Aeternals aren¡¯t nearly as scary as we originally thought. The Aeternus Kingdoms on the outskirts are pretty good, and they look just like any other human city. Brother Ye Bo, have you ever visited them?" Qi You asked.

    Lu Yin finally looked at the man. "I did not betray humanity."

    Qi You was startled by this response, but also quite confused.

    "I just hate them," Lu Yin stated in an emotionless voice. He then started to walk forward again.

    Qi You took a while to even react. Hate them? Was that somehow different? How was that different from betrayal? What was there to be proud of?

    The old man continued to stare at Lu Yin''s back. It seemed possible that this person really did believe that he could rx and enjoy his life by joining Aeternus. However, the Aeternals fought on countless battlefields, and on some of them, there would be no one to help and no reinforcements sent, and their entire force would perish. It was simply a question of how long one could survive.

    "Just wait and see." Qi You sighed before turning around and leaving.

    Suddenly, his pupils shrank. At some point in time, a person had arrived, and they had been standing behind Qi You.

    The man had not even noticed when this person had arrived.

    Lu Yin was far away, still walking, but he noticed what had happened, stopped, and turned around. The person who had just arrived was Shao Yin.

 Chapter 2951: The Ice Spirit Tribe

    <h4>Chapter 2951: The Ice Spirit Tribe</h4>

    Shao Yin looked down at Qi You. "You,e with me."

    Qi You''s expression changed drastically. This was terrible. Being conscripted by a powerhouse like this man definitely meant going to a fierce battlefield. Thinking of this, Qi You instantly wanted to refuse. "Senior, this junior has just recently fought on a battlefield and is still injured. This-"

    A dangerous gleam appeared in Shao Yin''s eyes as his aura descended, instantly crushing Qi You to the ground. "I didn''t ask if you wanted toe with me."

    Qi You was terrified, as this pressure undoubtedly belonged to a sequence powerhouse. In all of Aeternus, there were only a handful of such people, and all of them surpassed the True God Guard Captains.

    Qi You did not dare to refuse again. "Understood. I¡¯ll follow you, Senior."

    Shao Yin retracted the pressure.

    Qi You gasped and got back to his feet. "Might I ask if you are still short of people, Senior?"

    Shao Yin frowned. "There¡¯s no shortage."

    Qi You''s expression changed, and he nced at the distant form of Lu Yin. The man quickly suppressed the thought of dragging Ye Bo down with him.

    "However, it doesn¡¯t matter if a few more join. That way, I won¡¯t have to do anything," Shao Yin continued.

    Qi You was overjoyed to hear this, and he pointed at Lu Yin. "That person over there is named Ye Bo, and he has just joined Aeternus. If you need more people, Senior, taking him with you would be seen as helping Aeternus to grow."

    Shao Yin looked over.

    Lu Yin lifted his head and looked back at Shao Yin with cold and emotionless eyes.

    The two men stared at each other.

    "Come here." Shao Yin did not waste any time.

    Few people in all of Aeternus could be sequence powerhouses. They exceeded the strength of even the True God Guard Captains, and they were regarded as second only to the Seven Skygods themselves.

    After learning of Shaman God¡¯s death, Shao Yin was eager to take the newly open Skygod position for himself. This was why the man was uncharacteristically putting in a great deal of effort toplete a task. If not for this, Shao Yin would be entirely focused on recovering his strength.

    Lu Yin obediently walked over.

    "You¡¯ve just been drafted. Let''s go." Shao Yin stated directly.

    Qi You nced at Lu Yin, thinking to himself, <i>If I have to be unlucky, then we might as well both be unlucky. If I hadn¡¯t seen you, I wouldn¡¯t havee out and been seen by this man. It¡¯s all your fault that I got drafted</i>.

    "Where are we going?" Lu Yin asked.

    Shao Yin frowned. "Just follow me."

    "What if I refuse?" Lu Yin challenged.

    Shao Yin''s eyes turned cold, and a chilling aura surrounded him. Lu Yin knew that the man was using his sequence particles. Just a thought from Shao Yin would cause Lu Yin to be affected by the Law of Rot.

    Seeing that Lu Yin still did not move, Shao Yin lifted his head and announced, "There is a clear hierarchy within Aeternus. If you refuse my orders, I can just kill you."

    Qi You was thrilled to hear this.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at Shao Yin.

    Shao Yin waspletely unfazed. After all, why should he be at all concerned about someone who had not evenprehended aw of the universe?

    Suddenly, Progenitor Xi appeared. "Sovereign Shao Yin, you cannot order this man."

    Shao Yin was surprised to see Progenitor Xi appear.

    Qi You quickly bowed. "Greetings, Senior Progenitor Xi."

    Lu Yin offered a slow bow of his own. "Progenitor Xi."

    "Why not?" Shao Yin felt puzzled. Progenitor Xi certainly had a very high status within Aeternus, but Shao Yin¡¯s status was not low either, which meant that he did not have to bow to the woman. He already considered himself as a new member of the Seven Skygods.

    The Seven Skygods were second only to the True God, so Shao Yin could not see any reason to pay much attention to this steward of the Scourge.

    Progenitor Xi was not bothered by Shao Yin''s attitude. "He is a new True God Guard Captain. The True God Guard only obey the True God¡¯s orders."

    Qi You was startled, and he turned back to look at Lu Yin. Was this man really a True God Guard Captain? Why had he not just said so himself? What was he trying to do?

    Shao Yin nced at Lu Yin in surprise. "A True God Guard Captain? Fair enough, I can¡¯t order them about. Still, I have enough. Progenitor Xi, I¡¯ll leave now."

    Progenitor Xi nodded.

    "Wait a minute." Lu Yin suddenly spoke up, surprising the other people present. He asked, "Senior Progenitor Xi, may I ask how long it will take for the captains to gather?"

    Progenitor Xi considered the question for a moment. "Even if Yu Huo quickly recovers his strength, we will still need to wait for the other captains toplete their current tasks. It will be at least a few years."

    Lu Yin continued in the same respectful manner, "In that case, I will apany this senior toplete his mission."

    Progenitor Xi was caught off guard. "You want to go?"

    Shao Yin also had not expected this new captain to show any interest.

    Qi You found the decision even stranger. Just what was this man thinking?

    Lu Yin said, "Since I¡¯ve joined Aeternus, I should do something to help my new organization.¡±

    Lu Yin feltpelled to follow Shao Yin. The former Sovereign was a sequence powerhouse, and he had a very high status within Aeternus. Whatever task Shao Yin had been given had to be something extremely important to the Aeternals. Besides, if Lu Yin remained in the Scourge, he would likely be targeted and drafted eventually. And next time, he might be forced to attack other humans. If that happened, Lu Yin could not say how he would react. Following Shao Yin was for the best.

    Progenitor Xi was impressed. "It''s rare for someone to have such loyalty. In that case, go with Shao Yin and help him with his mission."

    Shao Yin alsoplimented Ye Bo. "The other True God Guard Captains are ratherzy, but you are different. Don''t worry, I will keep an eye on you and make sure that nothing happens to you.

    "Progenitor Xi, I¡¯m leaving."

    The woman nodded and watched as Shao Yin led Qi You and Lu Yin away.

    There were many cosmic doors hanging in the sky, and Shao Yin led Lu Yin and Qi You to an inconspicuous one. "The enemies we will face this time are not at all simple. Restrain your aura to avoid being discovered by them for now."

    Lu Yin and Qi You quickly did as they were told.

    Shao Yin nced at the two men and then passed through the cosmic door.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to follow after Shao Yin, Qi You sent him a message, "Brother¡ªno, Senior, I was wrong before. Please forgive me, Senior. Shao Yin is a strong sequence powerhouse, and any enemy he is sent against is more than what I can handle. I ask that you forget my earlier words on this mission and for the two of us to work together to try to survive."

    Lu Yin looked back at Qi You. "Alright."

    Qi You was thrilled. "Thank you, Senior!"

    After passing through the cosmic door, they encountered a cold that pierced straight to the bone. This parallel universe was filled with ice and snow.

    The megaverse was vast, and there were all different kinds of parallel universes, but frozen ones were rare. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing such a universe.

    As he nced around, he saw that everything in outer space waspletely white. Snow and ice seemed to have reced everything that was normally present in a universe, and all of thes were frozen.

    Qi You emerged from the cosmic door and looked around. What he saw caused his pupils to shrink. When a particr thought urred to him, his face suddenly turned pale.

    Shao Yin led the other two to a nearby. It waspletely frozen, and no soil could be seen at all. They could only find pure ice.

    When they arrived, they found someone was already present on the. It was the old woman who had betrayed humanity and caused countless cultivators to be captured and brought to the Scourge.

    The old woman looked terrible. She was clearly still injured, not having recovered from her wounds yet. She had merely changed her clothes.

    When she saw Shao Yin descending, the woman quickly bowed. "Greetings, Senior."

    Shao Yin merely grunted.

    Lu Yin and Qi You arrived right behind him, and the old woman nodded to them. She tried to appear as friendly as possible.

    The two of them were indifferent to her efforts, and they stopped paying attention to the woman after merely ncing at her.

    "Senior, this junior''s injuries are too serious. Might I-?" The old woman addressed Shao Yin, but she was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

    "Don''t worry. This mission is very simple, and you won¡¯t even need to fight."

    Shao Yin looked at the three people. "This is the territory of the Ice Spirit Tribe. Have you heard of them?"

    Qi You''s face grew even paler, but he said nothing. Just like Lu Yin and the old woman, Qi You acted ignorant.

    Lu Yin was not putting on an act this time.

    The old woman also had no idea who they were facing.

    Shao Yin calmly exined, "The Ice Spirit Tribe possesses a treasure known as Iceheart. Our mission this time is to steal that Iceheart while also exposing ourselves as humans. Of course, we will only do that after we have stolen the Iceheart.

    "However, the Iceheart is protected by the Ice Lord, who is the leader of the Ice Spirit Tribe. He does not always stay near the Iceheart, and he asionally leaves. The next time he does sso will be our chance. It might take a few years, or even a few hundred years, but the Ice Lord will eventually leave. I will tell you when that happens.¡±

    "A few hundred years?" The old woman was surprised.

    Qi You bowed. "Senior, isn''t a few hundred years too long? Can we return to the Scourge for a bit?"

    Shao Yin coldly replied, "Time in this universe passes quicker than normal. Even if we wait hundreds of years here, only a few years will pass in the Scourge. How is that too long?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. Several hundred years was equal to just a few years passing in other universes? Could time really pass a hundred times faster in this parallel universe?

    He became very excited, as this universe was exactly what Lu Yin needed most. This mission fit him perfectly.

    The old woman was stunned. "Time passes about a hundred times faster here? That¡¯s highly unusual."

    "You are lucky to havee here for this mission, as it gives you a hundredfold more time to cultivate. If you are lucky, you might even have a breakthrough. Cherish this opportunity." At that point, Shao Yin suddenly turned to look at Lu Yin. "Ye Bo, given that you are a new True God Guard Captain, have you cultivated with divine energy yet?"

    Lu Yin answered, "Not yet."

    Shao Yin said nothing more about the matter and instead assigned people to different locations.

    Qi You secretly sneered at Shao Yin. It was true that this universe where time flowed a hundred times faster was good for cultivating, but there was no denying that one also aged a hundred times faster. There was no way around this. Additionally, all of them were peak powerhouses. For people like them to break through, more than just time was needed. Shao Yin¡¯s words were nothing but a joke.

    Despite Qi You¡¯s thoughts, he did not dare to reveal anything.

    Shao Yin quickly assigned the three to different locations. All four people settled into ces very far from each other, and they maintainedmunications withmunication crystals. For the moment, they could not be exposed as humans. Given their cultivation level, this was nothing difficult, as long as they did not run into anyone of simr strength.

    As soon as Shao Yin was certain that the Ice Lord had left, they would all take action.

    At the center of the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universey the Ice Spirit Domain. That was the Ice Lord¡¯s realm, who was a sequence powerhouse. Shao Yin had been clear about several details, and they all understood that they could not take the Iceheart away by force. In addition to the Ice Lord, the Ice Spirit Tribe had two other Progenitor-level powerhouses.

    Qi You and the old woman were tasked with luring away those two powerhouses, while Ye Bo was given the task of actually stealing the Iceheart once Shao Yin lured the Ice Lord away.

    The most important detail of this mission was Lu Yin¡¯s task of stealing the Iceheart and taking it away. This made him quite uneasy, as the Iceheart was the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s most precious treasure. Shao Yin had originally imed that he had had enough people for this mission, and that had been before Ye Bo had volunteered to join. But now, Ye Bo had been given the critical task of stealing the Iceheart, which made it clear that something was very wrong with this mission.

    However, none of them could question Shao Yin.

    There was a mountain covered with heavy snow, and Lu Yin sat atop it, staring at the distant Ice Spirit Domain. Despite the cold that filled this parallel universe, Lu Yin felt rather excited.

    The Ice Spirits were not humans. Rather, they looked like round snowmen. They had white eyes, white noses, and white arms, but no legs. The snowmen glided atop the ice and snow, and there were many of these beings.

    The Ice Spirit Domain had various cities that had been built from ice and snow. The Ice Spirit Tribe had their own celebrations and means of trade andmerce. Initially, things appeared quite strange, but after observing for a time, it became clear that the creatures were sapient and had all the characteristics of a developed civilization.

 Chapter 2952: Watching A Show

    Chapter 2952: Watching A Show

    Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled. It was a message from Qi You.

    "Senior Ye Bo, have you ever heard of this Ice Spirit Tribe?" Qi You asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "No. Have you?"

    "Of course. While I might not be particrly strong, I have been a part of Aeternus for quite some time, and I have managed to learn a bit about several of our more powerful enemies. The Ice Spirit Tribe is one of them.

    "Well, more precisely, it''s not the Ice Spirit Tribe itself, but rather the entire Five Spirits Alliance and the Lord of Lightning."

    This made Lu Yin''s eyes go wide. "The Lord of Lightning?"

    "So you¡¯ve heard of him, right? The Lord of Lightning is one of Aeternus¡¯s greatest enemies, but we also do not fight directly against him in the open. I¡¯ve heard that the Lord of Lightning managed to reach his current cultivation level by relying on the Five Spirits Alliance, which includes the Ice Spirit Tribe, the Fire Spirit Tribe, the Wood Spirit Tribe, the Earth Spirit Tribe, and the Lightning Spirit Tribe.

    "The Five Spirits Alliance has a very close rtionship with the Lord of Lightning, while also being very powerful themselves. Senior, we need to be very careful. The Ice Lord can speak with the Lord of Lightning, which means that he might not be any weaker than Shao Yin."

    Lu Yin was confused, "Does our Aeternus want to start a war against the Lord of Lightning with this attack on the Ice Spirit Tribe?""I have no idea. I''ve only heard what I¡¯ve told you. Shao Yin told us to expose that we are human during this mission while also warning us to not let it be known that we are from Aeternus. The true goal might be to trigger a conflict between humans and the Five Spirits Alliance. It¡¯s just a guess, but it¡¯s possible that stealing the Iceheart is nothing more than a means to an end. Senior, your task is to steal the Iceheart, which should be very simple. If you can get it, do it, but if you can¡¯t, then just forget it. "

    Was this urate? Lu Yin stared at the Ice Spirit Domain in a trance.

    He had already assumed that Shao Yin would not be given an easy task, but even then, Lu Yin had not expected that this matter would involve the Lord of Lightning himself.

    <em>The Lord of Lighting¡­ I¡¯ve really wanted to meet him for a while now</em>.

    In the blink of an eye, ten years passed. For the entire ten years, Lu Yin had sat atop the snowy mountain. He had barely moved at all, and he had simply stared at the Ice Spirit Domain.

    There were a few times when some of the Ice Spirits had visited the, but whenever that happened, Lu Yin had not been seen anywhere.

    Even if someone had passed right by Lu Yin, they would not have seen him.

    During these ten years, Lu Yin had been reciting the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. The sutra was profound andprehensive. Lu Yin had once used it to truly be the Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind in the Origin Universe, and yet, even with that, he felt that he was still very far from fully understanding the meaning of the Origin Sutra.

    Mister Mu had given Lu Yin and his senior disciple brothers Origin Tracer and the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, both of which were supposed to allow them to achieve transcendence. The battle technique that Lu Yin had received from his master might offer a path to transcendence, but there was more than one path. It seemed that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was capable of doing something simr.

    Also during this time, Lu Yin had been trying to master the One Word Manifestation that he had received from Ancestor Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s One Word Manifestation was something that had been developed by his master, Chu Yi. That man had been the First Maind¡¯s Dao Monarch, and Lu Tianyi had shared the technique with Lu Yin. The true usage of this technique was to create a chance of survival when Lu Yin encountered a truly desperate situation.

    Nothing in existence was truly absolute, which meant that there were no truly hopeless situations. One Word Manifestation would allow Lu Yin to see that glimmer of hope that could save him from a desperate situation.

    Ancestor Tianyi hoped that Lu Yin would never need to use it, and Lu Yin felt the same way, but there were wishes that would never be fulfilled. So, Lu Yin proceeded to learn the battle technique.

    Soon, another twenty years passed.

    There was no movement at all from Shao Yin.

    From time to time, Qi You would reach out to Lu Yin to exchange a few messages, and the old woman also joined in, which gave Lu Yin a general understanding of the current state of affairs in the Ice Spirit Domain.

    Even so, there were some things that were pointless to learn about, as it was impossible to understand them. Such a case existed in the Ice Spirit Domain.

    Lu Yin observed an entire generation of Ice Spirits grow up and learn to cultivate while he stared at the Ice Spirit Domain. Their cultivation method only required them to face the wind and snow. This was not nearly as exhausting as the methods used by humans, but this method was also unique to the Ice Spirit Tribe.

    Eventually, a full fifty years passed, though only half a year had passed in the Scourge and the Origin Universe.

    However, in the fiftieth year, the frozen universe underwent a change. Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight, and he saw sequence particles moving away. They should indicate the Ice Lord¡¯s location. He had finally left the Ice Spirit Domain and gone to a distant.

    All of the humans¡¯munication crystals trembled, and they heard Shao Yin¡¯s voice. "Move now! Remember, only reveal that you are human when I tell you to. If I don¡¯t tell you, do not allow yourselves to be exposed.

    "Ye Bo, go steal the Iceheart. It¡¯s on the white-blue in the southeast region of the Ice Spirit Domain. I¡¯ll give you the specific location once you get there."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. The white-blue? He had clearly watched the Ice Lord go towards that. Shao Yin had no intention of luring the Ice Lord away; instead, he wanted to force Ye Bo to fight against the Ice Lord while Shao Yin himself stole the Iceheart. The man was trying to seize all of the glory.

    Had Shao Yin ever considered that Ye Bo and the others could simply expose themselves as part of Aeternus?

    That was not something that would never happen. The three were human, not corpse kings. Theycked the defining characteristics of the Aeternals, and even if the three did speak to the Ice Spirit Tribe, the Ice Spirits might not believe them. This was also why Shao Yin had specifically asked Ye Bo if he cultivated divine energy.

    If Ye Bo had confirmed that he did cultivate divine energy, Shao Yin might have assigned him a very different task.

    It was important to note that the Aeternals had been preparing for this mission for a very long time. Since it was necessary to frame the humans as the ones that had attacked the Ice Spirit Tribe, there also had to be someone to take the me. Aeternus must have already found a scapegoat, which meant that there was no way the people following Shao Yin could ever convince the Ice Spirit Tribe that they were not from a human organization.

    Whether the three lived or died also did not matter. Their deaths could even serve to give even greater meaning to the mission.

    Lu Yin instantly saw through Shao Yin¡¯s intentions, but if not for Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin would have beenpletely deceived and driven to his death.

    "Move!"

    Outside the Ice Spirit Domain, Qi You and the old woman used some ice to impersonate Ice Spirits as they entered the Ice Spirit Domain, where they immediately went after the two Progenitor-level experts.

    Chaos soon broke out in the Ice Spirit Domain, and a frighteningly cold blue light covered the area, shing continuously.

    Qi You and the old woman both fled from the Ice Spirit Domain at the same time, closely pursued by the two Ice Spirit powerhouses. The two creatures used ice and snow to glide through the void, and they both had the strength of a Progenitor. Cold energy passed through the void in front of them, and the old woman was nearly frozen to death.

    "Ye Bo, it''s your turn," Shao Yin ordered.

    Lu Yin did not move, and instead, he watched quietly.

    "Ye Bo, go!" Shao Yin spoke through themunication crystal again.

    Lu Yin still did not move.

    No matter how Shao Yin shouted, Lu Yin did nothing but stare at the Ice Spirit Domain. He was not the only one on this mission, and he wanted to see what Shao Yin intended to do without Ye Bo¡¯s cooperation.

    "Ye Bo, you dare to disobey orders during a mission? Even if you are a True God Guard Captain, you will die for this! Go now, or else it will be toote for you!

    "Ye Bo, you are seeking death!"

    Shao Yin kept raging, but Lu Yin was unphased. He even put hismunication crystal away.

    This mission was clearly very important to Shao Yin, so Lu Yin wanted to watch the show y out.

    Outside the Ice Spirit Domain, Shao Yin was so angry that he crushed hismunication crystal. He would make sure to kill that bastard when they returned to the Scourge.

    With Lu Yin refusing to take action, Shao Yin was forced to do so himself. Before the Ice Lord returned, he would need to steal the Iceheart. Aeternus had prepared for this mission for a very long time, with themying down their ns even before the Lord of Lightning had risen to prominence. If the Lord of Lightning had not risen up from nowhere, the Aeternals would have targeted the Five Spirits Alliance long ago. Instead, they had postponed the mission for a very long time.

    Shao Yin shot into the Ice Spirit Domain, and with a wave of his hand, he shattered the city of ice that stood at the center of the region, exposing the Iceheart beneath.

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s scalp went numb. He looked up at the starry sky and saw something that left him stunned.

    The universe itself was freezing. Far away, a massive Ice Spirit glided towards Shao Yin, his white eyes locked onto the man. "Stop!"

    Shao Yin gritted his teeth and raised his hand. From his palm, a Divine Yin Awl appeared, this time formed from the power of Extreme Yang. The awl flew straight towards the Ice Lord.

    The Divine Yin Awl contained the Law of Extreme Yang that Shao Yin hadprehended. While he had not yet seeded in merging Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang, the Divine Yin Awl contained sequence particles that could not be underestimated.

    All of the ice and snow melted as the Divine Yin Awl passed by, and a cold rain fell upon the Ice Spirit Domain.

    Shao Yin used one hand to fire a Divine Yin Awl at the Ice Lord, while his other hand pressed down towards the city of ice to steal the Iceheart.

    "Lord of Ice, the pain you have given our alliance will be repaid today!" Shao Yin shouted, showing a crazed smile.

    The Ice Lord''s snow-white eyes twitched. "It''s you. We¡¯ve agreed on this before, why are you going back on your words?"

    "I¡¯ll melt your Ice Spirit Tribe before we talk." Shao Yin shattered the city of ice, ruthlessly ughtering countless Ice Spirits. From deep underground, a white light zed. It came from the Iceheart.

    Shao Yin''s eyes lit up, and his fingers opened to grab the Iceheart.

    Far away, Lu Yin''s pupils shrank at the sight. <em>Is that?</em>

    High above in the sky, the Ice Lord raised his round, snow-white arms. Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed Lu Yin to see a shocking number of sequence particles descend. Even as he saw them, he felt its chill.

    The entire universe froze.

    This terrified Shao Yin, as he understood that he had still underestimated the Ice Lord. The Five Spirits Alliance was a serious threat to Aeternus, to the point where rumors imed that, if the Lord of Lightning had not appeared, the Aeternals would have already sent the Ossis Ark to wipe out the Five Spirits Alliance. Shao Yin had assumed that the rumors were exaggerated, but he suddenly realized that if all the leaders of the Five Spirits Alliance were at the same level as the Ice Lord, then the alliance had five sequence powerhouses of shocking strength. It was no wonder why Aeternus was wary of the alliance.

    The only enemy that posed a greater threat to Aeternus than the Five Spirits Alliance was the Sixverse Association.

    As the Ice Lord froze the void, some of the sequence particles came from him, while others rose up from down below. They actually came from the Iceheart.

    The sequence particlesbined, causing the cold to be increasingly intense. It grew so bad that not even Shao Yin wanted to face it.

    The man¡¯s hand was instantly frozen, and he fled without any hesitation. The mission could already be regarded as a sess, even if they had not stolen the Iceheart. Shao Yin had done enough. Losing the Iceheart would certainly enrage the Ice Spirit Tribe even more, but Shao Yin had already thoroughly offended them, which was the true goal of the mission.

    Still, the fact that things had not gone perfectly was all the fault of that bastard, Ye Bo.

    Shao Yin raced through outer space, headed for Ye Bo. It was possible to simply tear through the void and escape from the universe, but Shao Yin could not forget about Ye Bo. It would be best if that bastard died without returning.

    Lu Yin was all too familiar with Shao Yin, and as soon as Shao Yin had taken action, Lu Yin had changed locations. How could he ever allow Shao Yin to plot against him?

    Shao Yin shattered the mountain, but he did not find Ye Bo anywhere. Furious, Shao Yin tore the void open and left the universe.

    He was also a sequence powerhouse, and the Ice Lord could not hold Shao Yin back.

    As for Qi You and the old woman, they were still being pursued by the two Ice Spirit powerhouses. One of the humans was not that powerful for his cultivation level, while the other was still seriously injured. Neither of them had a chance to tear through the void and escape.

    Lu Yin had already moved to the other side of the Ice Spirit Domain. He was ready to leave. He knew that Shao Yin would definitely try to make trouble for Ye Bo after returning to the Scourge, but that did not matter. At worst, there would be a disagreement.

    However, if Lu Yin drew the Ice Lord¡¯s attention, it would mean death. For that reason, Lu Yin stayed behind and continued to act as Ye Bo. This was the best identity possible to use at this moment to infiltrate Aeternus. Acting as Ye Bo would give the Origin Universe an advantage, and Lu Yin would not allow Shao Yin to ruin that opportunity.

    Lu Yin had managed to outwit Shao Yin and see through the man¡¯s schemes, but Lu Yin had failed to outwit the Ice Lord.

    They were in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, and the Ice Lord hadprehended aw rted to ice and snow. He had been able to find Shao Yin, so of course he was also capable of finding Lu Yin.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2953: The Ever-Changing Dao Monarch Lu

    <h4>Chapter 2953: The Ever-Changing Dao Monarch Lu</h4>

    As soon as Shao Yin escaped, the Ice Lord''s sequence particles spread out everywhere and swept across the entire Ice Spirit Domain. He instantly found Lu Yin.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to tear through the void to leave, the ground beneath his feet froze, and the ice crept upwards.

    His expression changed. This was bad; he had been caught.

    Lu Yin instantly released the universe from within his chest, and it rejected the frozen universe. The barrier of the Hollow surrounded Lu Yin, shattering the ice that had been encroaching upon him.

    The Ice Lord was taken aback. What sort of ability was this?

    The frozen sequence particles fell down towards Lu Yin while also rising up from below. The Hollow held them back, but only partially. Some of the sequence particles pushed through the Hollow and entered Lu Yin¡¯s universe. He frowned as he considered whether or not it was possible to escape from the Ice Lord. It would be incredibly difficult to get away from a sequence powerhouse this strong.

    In that case, there was only one option. They were in a universe where time passed far more quickly than in other universes, which meant that, as long as Lu Yin released Lightstream and tried to use it, it would trigger a response from the universe. This response would not only target Lu Yin, but the entire universe.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to act on his idea, a familiar voice called out, "Senior Ice Lord, please stop."

    High above Lu Yin, the Ice Lord looked over.

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin''s body as he stared. Jiang Qingyue?

    Far away, a white-d Jiang Qingyue had appeared. Her outfit was simr to what Bai Xue usually wore, and she perched atop a snowy peak, looking quite anxious.

    "Blue Moon, do you know this human?" the Ice Lord asked.

    Jiang Qingyue looked at Ye Bo and let out a sigh of relief. "Stop it, Brother Lu."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "How did you recognize me?"

    He was disguised as Ye Bo and using a mask that not even Ancestor Tianyi was able to see through. How had Jiang Qingyue recognized him as Lu Yin?

    "Brother Lu, that power of yours is unique."

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. True, he had forgotten about that when he released his universe. The ability to reject the universe was indeed unique.

    "Also, there is no one that can deceive my eyes. My cultivation is rather special as well," Jiang Qingyue added.

    She then looked up at the Ice Lord. "Senior, he is not the one who just attacked the Ice Spirit Domain, and he has done nothing to harm your Ice Spirit Tribe. Can you please hear his exnation?"

    The Ice Lord¡¯s white eyes stared at Lu Yin. "This human indeed did not attack my people... Very well, I will listen to what he has to say."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. If at all possible, he really did not want to fight the Ice Lord to the death. Even if he did manage to escape with Lightstream, how would he ever exin himself to the Lord of Lightning?

    It was best to exin things to the Ice Lord.

    "There are two other humans." The Ice Lord turned to look into the distance, and a blue light pierced the sky. At that same moment, Qi You and the old woman were frozen and dragged over, where they fell in front of Lu Yin.

    The two were still alive and even conscious. They both looked up at Lu Yin with eyes that begged him for help.

    "These two are unforgivable, as they both attacked the Ice Spirit Domain," the Ice Lord stated as he stared straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared back. "They are both human traitors. There¡¯s no need to pity their deaths."

    Qi You and the old woman were both dumbfounded by this, and they stared at Lu Yin. How was Ye Bo able to speak to the Ice Lord?

    "What do you mean by that?" The Ice Lord was confused, and he descended tond on the ground.

    At the same time, the other two Ice Spirit powerhouses appeared, surrounding Lu Yin.

    Jiang Qingyue approached as well, and she looked at Lu Yin with open curiosity. "Brother Lu, what is your current identity?"

    Lu Yin smiled and removed his disguise. "Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, greets the Ice Lord."

    The old woman was puzzled at this introduction, but Qi You was beyond shocked. The Heavens Sect? <i>That</i> Heavens Sect? Was this person really the legendary Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect? How was that possible? Had the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch managed to infiltrate the Scourge? This was the biggest joke ever! How had he not been recognized?

    Qi You felt as though all that he knew as true needed to be reexamined.

    The Ice Lord was simrly surprised. "The master of the Heavens Sect? Are you the Dao Monarch who managed to raise the Heavens Sect back up once more? Are you the one who led the crusade across the Sixverse Association¡¯s Endless Frontier?"

    "You¡¯ve heard of me, Ice Lord?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. He had never heard of the Five Spirits Alliance, yet they seemed familiar with him.

    Jiang Qingyue spoke up to exin, "Brother Lu, you aren¡¯t merely known to the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. Nearly all the outsider powerhouses have heard of you as well. You were able to reverse certain defeat into victory in only a few decades, suppress the four ruling powers, bring back the Lu family, and lead the Origin Universe to join the Sixverse Association. You waged war across the entire Endless Frontier, defeating the Aeternals the entire way through. You are the only one anyone knows of to have aplished such things over the course of countless years."

    As Jiang Qingyue spoke, Lu Yin found that things sounded a bit excessive. She was not trying to tter him, and yet her words sounded even better than ttery. This was something that those guys like Ku Wei needed to learn.

    Qi You''s eyes widened even more than ever. Was this man really the legendary Dao Monarch?

    The Ice Lord felt puzzled. "If he¡¯s the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch, why is he here in my Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe? Does he have a connection to those people from the Luna Alliance?"

    Jiang Qingyue looked over at the Ice Lord. "Senior, the situation is quiteplicated, so let¡¯s move somece where we can take our time discussing things."

    The Ice Lord agreed and led Jiang Qingyue and Lu Yin into the Ice Spirit Domain.

    Given the Ice Lord¡¯s strength, he did not need to worry about Lu Yin. As for Jiang Qingyue, even the Ice Lord needed to give some face.

    Everything depended on whether or not the humans could offer a clear exnation.

    Just a short whileter, space above the Ice Spirit Domain froze once again. Countless Ice Spirits who had only recently calmed down started to feel anxious once again.

    At the center of the Ice Spirit Domain was the region that had been destroyed by Shao Yin when he had nearly stolen the Iceheart. Things had already been returned to their original condition.

    The Ice Lord was angrily gliding back and forth, which looked quite funny. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes betrayed his suppressed amusement. The atmosphere was quite tense, and it would not be appropriate tough, but the Ice Lord''s appearance really made Lu Yin want tough.

    He reflexively nced over at Jiang Qingyue, and at the same time, she happened to look at him as well. Their eyes met, and they both ducked their heads in a mutual, silent understanding as they did their best to restrain theirughter.

    The Ice Lord''s fat white body was sliding back and forth. He had the appearance of an angry snowball. "It''s the Aeternals! It''s all them! They actually attacked my Ice Spirit Tribe while pretending to be part of the Luna Alliance. That¡¯s really despicable!"

    Lu Yin coughed. "This is a n that they devised long ago, though I¡¯m not sure of all the details. I didn¡¯t even know about the Luna Alliance beforeing here. Still, the Aeternals always move carefully. If this is their n, there has to be more to it. If not for me, this would have already caused your Ice Spirit Tribe to suffer losses.¡±

    The Ice Lord turned to look at Lu Yin with his white eyes. "We wouldn¡¯t have simply suffered losses. It would have been aplete disaster."

    Lu Yin had not expected the Ice Lord to be so straightforward and not have a problem admitting such a thing.

    "Long ago, my Five Spirits Alliance was enemies with the human Luna Alliance, and we fought against each other for many years. Fortunately, the Lord of Lightning appeared, and he used his overwhelming strength to mediate between us, putting an end to that conflict. However, the Luna Alliance has never been willing topletely abandon their grudges against us, as they have suffered too many losses over the years. My Five Spirits Alliance has more sequence powerhouses than the Luna Alliance, and we once nearly wiped out all of Moon God¡¯s disciples. After that, they threatened to take away the Iceheart. That¡¯s why, when Aeternus attacked this time and showed that they were determined to steal the Iceheart at any cost, I believed that the Luna Alliance was attacking us again.

    "If you hadn''t exined this matter clearly, Dao Monarch Lu, our Five Spirits Alliance would have most likelyunched war against the Luna Alliance."

    Jiang Qingyue looked up. "That¡¯s not even all. The Aeternals don¡¯t just want to instigate a war between you and the Luna Alliance. There must be more to this n. After all, if the Five Spirits Alliance goes to war with the Luna Alliance, the Aeternals must know that my father will intervene again, but they won¡¯t allow that to seed a second time.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. "The Five Spirits Alliance, the Luna Alliance, and even the Lord of Lightning. Can even all these powerful people not destroy Aeternus?"

    The Ice Lord softlymented, "The Aeternals are not our enemies."

    Lu Yin was stunned by this remark, and he barked out augh. This was true. The Aeternals were the enemy of humanity, but that did not mean that they were the enemy of the Five Spirits Alliance. This alliance did not have any humans, and their war against the humans in the Luna Alliance might have even pushed the Five Spirits Alliance towards supporting the Aeternals.

    From what Lu Yin could understand of things from the Ice Lord, Aeternus had never attacked the Five Spirits Alliance before. Because of this, even if the Lord of Lightning fought against the Aeternals, it was highly unlikely that the Five Spirits Alliance would join the war.

    "If the Five Spirits Alliance is not enemies with the Aeternals, then why would they attack your Ice Spirit Tribe?" Lu Yin was curious.

    This was something that the Ice Lord also struggled to make sense of. "That¡¯s precisely why we would never have considered Aeternus. By all reason, they shouldn¡¯t be looking to make more enemies. Even if they have their own allies, there¡¯s no reason for Aeternus to attack my Five Spirits Alliance without reason. They simply don¡¯t benefit from it."

    Lu Yin looked over at Jiang Qingyue. The Lord of Lightning was the only possible exnation.

    However, Jiang Qingyue was also confused. "The Five Spirits Alliance has never helped Whitecloud fight against Aeternus. There¡¯s no exnation for their attack on the Ice Spirit Tribe this time."

    Lu Yin looked away. "It also doesn¡¯t make sense that we were able to catch them off guard with this."

    "Brother Lu, how did you manage to infiltrate Aeternus?" Jiang Qingyue was very curious about this. Lu Yin had told them that he had infiltrated the Aeternals, and he had even exined the mission that Aeternus had sent him on, but he had made no mention of how he had aplished this or what his motives were for doing so.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and he looked back at the Ice Lord. "Senior, have you ever heard of the Ossis Ark?"

    The Ice Lord was confused. "The Ossis Ark? Never heard of it."

    Lu Yin turned back to Jiang Qingyue.

    Jiang Qingyue also shook her head. "I haven''t either."

    Lu Yin then exined his reasons for joining Aeternus.

    The Ice Lord''s face betrayed nothing, but his tone of voice instantly grew serious. "If they really do possess such a weapon, then you do need to sneak in and learn more about it."

    "Brother Lu, just because the Aeternals can''t see through your disguise right now, it doesn¡¯t mean that it willst. You should take this opportunity to leave. Have Ye Bo die," Jiang Qingyue suggested.

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, they won¡¯t be able to see through me for some time. The Seven Skygods are still seriously injured, and even the True God is in seclusion. That¡¯s why I wanted to use this opportunity to learn more."

    The Ice Lord was impressed. "You live up to your reputation as the legendary Dao Monarch. I¡¯ve heard that the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch has ever-changing identities. After seeing you today, I find that it¡¯s true. You can even infiltrate into the ranks of Aeternus. I¡¯m very impressed."

    Lu Yin gave a pained smile. "Ever-changing identities? Who spread that rumor?"

    Jiang Qingyue answered with a small smile, "I¡¯ve heard that you deceived the four ruling powers in your Origin Universe with your disguises on several asions, as well as the entire Sixverse Association. Right now, you¡¯re deceiving the Aeternals. What would you call that other than ever-changing identities?"

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless. "You make me feel like a fraud."

    "Haha, countless people wish that they had your ability, Dao Monarch Lu. Being able to deceive so many people is proof of your capabilities," the Ice Lord said with a smile.

    Matters had been made clear, and the Ice Lord had a very good impression of Lu Yin. If not for the young man, the Five Spirits Alliance might have indeed gone to war with the Luna Alliance once more. While the Five Spirits Alliance was stronger than the Luna Alliance, there would always be losses in war. Aeternus would be the one to benefit the most. The more Lu Yin understood the Aeternals, the more certain he became that none of their ns would ever be as simple as they appeared. This particr plot had not merely intended to weaken two groups, but rather to aplish what the Ice Lord had first mentioned: absolute destruction.

    To some degree, Lu Yin¡¯s actions had saved the Ice Spirit Tribe, and even the Five Spirits Alliance.

 Chapter 2954: Anointing Progenitor-Level Champions

    <h4>Chapter 2954: Anointing Progenitor-Level Champions</h4>

    The three people chatted for several hours. Lu Yin was very curious about the other universes. While the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes undoubtedly knew about many outsider powerhouses, all of those people were currently in seclusion. Thus, there was no one who could share any details with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had also asked Jiang Chen and a few others about such matters before, but they knew little.

    Since he had the opportunity to speak with the Ice Lord, Lu Yin wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to ask about these things.

    From the Ice Lord, Lu Yin learned a great deal about other parallel universes. The so-called ¡°outsiders¡± did not refer to a specific region, but rather to all existences who did not belong to one¡¯s own forces. For example, the people of the Sixverse Association regarded the Five Spirits Alliance and Whitecloud as outsiders, but as far as the Five Spirits Alliance was concerned, the people of the Sixverse Association were outsiders.

    There was little to say about outsider powerhouses, but that was mostly because there were simply too many parallel universes. There was no telling when some terrifyingly powerful creature might appear.

    The Ice Lord knew the most about the Five Spirits Alliance, Aeternus, and the Luna Alliance. He had had little contact with any other outsider powerhouses.

    Lu Yin learned that almost all the powerful outsiders that the Five Spirits Alliance knew about were somehow connected to the Lord of Lightning, either as friends or as enemies. It was also only now that Lu Yin understood why Jiang Qingyue had received special treatment from the Aeternals in the Sixth Maind. Even when the opportunity had arisen, they had not killed her. It was clear that there were some very powerful alliances beyond the Sixverse Association. Why did the Great Sovereign treat Jiang Qingyue so well? For the same reason, how could the Lord of Lightning alone possibly intimidate the Aeternals so much?

    As for the Ice Lord, he was quite curious about the Sixverse Association. Jiang Qingyue had not shared much, and the Lord of Lightning himself did not have much time to chat with the Ice Lord.

    Lu Yin shared many details concerning both the Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe. The two were exchanging information about their respective civilizations.

    There were too many parallel universes throughout the megaverse, and they were filled with a gamut of civilizations. The Aeternals were the enemy of humanity, but that was not necessarily the case for other races. No one wanted to make enemies for no reason, especially powerful enemies.

    Many humans fantasized about uniting various civilizations across the megaverse in order to destroy Aeternus, but to most of those civilizations, the Aeternals were just another race of beings. They were of no threat.

    In the current situation, the Aeternals had attacked the Ice Spirit Tribe, and the Five Spirits Alliance would not ignore this.

    But the Aeternals did not know that they had been exposed. Shao Yin had escaped, while Qi You and the old woman had both been captured and were awaiting a decision regarding their fates. Unless there was a traitor within the Ice Spirit Tribe who reported to Aeternus, the Aeternals would continue to believe that the Ice Spirit Tribe had been deceived by the attack.

    "I¡¯m going to destroy these two humans to vent some of this hatred." The Ice Lord looked at the frozen forms of Qi You and the old woman as he casually mentioned his intentions.

    Qi You and the old woman were terrified, and their eyes darted about.

    "Senior Ice Lord, can you give these two to me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Qi You¡¯s eyes turned to Lu Yin. The man had an uneasy feeling...

    The Ice Lord also turned to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, while I do admire you, please don''t make things difficult for me. My Ice Spirit Domain was destroyed during this attack, the culprits must pay a price for that. I understand your feelings for your fellow humans and the desire to save powerful cultivators, but still."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, you must be joking. I meant to ask to allow me to deal with these two people. I will settle things in front of you so that your Ice Spirit Tribe can receive an exnation."

    The Ice Lord grew puzzled. "As long as they die, what difference does it make?"

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes lit up. "Brother Lu, you want to be the one to kill them?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The Ice Lord was left puzzled, as were Qi You and the old woman. They might have heard about the Origin Universe, but they had no real knowledge of the universe. After all, no one from Aeternus would ever praise the Lu family¡¯s innate gifts of their Champions¡¯ Stage or Investiture of the Gods.

    Before they had been sent to attack the Origin Universe, it was possible that not even the True God Guard Captains had known about these matters.

    Lu Yin briefly exined things to the Ice Lord, and the Ice Spirit became quite interested. "Is that really possible? Very well, then feel free to proceed, Dao Monarch Lu."

    The Ice Lord subsequently removed the ice that had sealed Qi You and the old woman.

    The cold had seeped into their bodies, immobilizing for a while even after the ice was removed.

    "Senior Ye, Ye Bo, are we alright?" Qi You asked. He had no idea how Lu Yin had managed to infiltrate Aeternus. It defied all that the man understood. "Senior, don''t worry, we are already considered dead, so we won¡¯t return to Aeternus for as long as we live. It¡¯s impossible for us to return, and we truly know nothing.¡±

    Lu Yinughed. "You have seen my real face."

    Qi You''s pupils shrank. "This junior is willing to swear loyalty to you, Senior. You can demand my death, and I won¡¯t hesitate. I merely ask that you spare us."

    The old woman also started begging. "Please, Senior, let us go."

    Seeing the two beg made Lu Yin lose all interest in speaking to them. He had wanted to learn more about the Scourge from Qi You, but he had lost all interest.

    A hand rose, and a palm strike shot out before Lu Yin lowered his hand. In the eyes of the two Ice Spirit powerhouses, Lu Yin had not even moved. Only the Ice Lord himself was capable of clearly seeing Lu Yin¡¯s attack, as the young man had moved too quickly. Even the Ice Lord was amazed by the speed.

    The Ice Lord stared at Lu Yin for a moment. While the two of them had fought very briefly, Lu Yin was not yet a peak powerhouse. Despite that, he was capable of defending against the Ice Lord¡¯s sequence particles. If Jiang Qingyue had not stopped the fight, it was very possible that Lu Yin was capable of doing even more. Just as the rumors imed, this person was an absolute monster, and his cultivation did not reflect his power at all.

    Qi You slowly copsed. Even at the moment of his death, he had not expected to be killed so simply. He did not even know Lu Yin''s true identity, as Lu Yin¡¯s conversation with the Ice Lord had ended before the two traitors were brought over.

    The old woman stared at Qi You¡¯s crumpling corpse in a daze, and she felt an approaching chill. She was ovee by the terror of her own impending death, and her vision seemed to go dark.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and Lu Yin grew solemn. "By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    The Ice Lord and Jiang Qingyue watched in shock. They had never witnessed such a magical scene before. Even the dead could be used. They looked at the various images on Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. Was he really able to summon all those powerhouses?

    If all of those images reflected peak powerhouses, then just how strong was Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin''s face remained solemn. Qi You had not been particrly powerful, and he had only possessed the strength of the most ordinary Progenitors. There was no bacsh from anointing such a champion.

    He had already anointed the Cyclops King, and that giant could have killed several people as strong as Qi You with a single p.

    Qi You¡¯s image soon appeared on the Champions¡¯ Stage, and the Ice Lord¡¯s white eyes went wide at the sight.

    This was Jiang Qingyue¡¯s first time seeing a champion anointed, and she was also shocked by the sight.

    The Lu family possessed truly enviable abilities. They were able to borrow the power of the living and anoint the dead as their champions. There was no one the Lu family could not use. As long as they were provided with enough resources, the Lu family alone was capable of rivaling a powerful alliance of multiple parallel universes.

    The old woman stared at the scene, dumbfounded. She was suffering from not only the fear of death, but also the fear of the unknown.

    Was this her fate? What power was this?

    "Monster, monster, you¡¯re a monster! You¡¯re a monster¨C!" the old woman shouted as she copsed.

    Lu Yin slowly turned from his Champions¡¯ Stage to look at the old woman. "To those you betrayed, you are also a monster."

    The old woman shrieked. Her mind had snapped. "You monster! I don''t want to die! You¡¯re a monster¨C!"

    She did her best to resist the invasive chill and rise to her feet to try to escape. After just a few steps, her vision went dark, and her body fell. She was already dead.

    Lu Yin showed no mercy. This old woman had betrayed her universe and everyone in it, leaving her own people to the fate of being transformed into corpse kings. Just how desperate had those people been?

    Lu Yin did not consider himself a good person, and he did not feel qualified to judge anyone for their actions. He acted only ording to his own judgment, which he felt was enough.

    He did not follow some greater morality or sense of righteousness, but merely his own conscience.

    He had acquired the strength to be able to do that.

    The old woman was quickly anointed as well.

    Lu Yin''s mind felt a bit hazy, and he was ovee with exhaustion after anointing two Progenitor-level champions in a row. Still, the dizziness was iparable to the pain of anointing the Cyclops King.

    The Ice Lord eximed, "Dao Monarch Lu, you have shown me the infinite possibilities of humanity. It is no wonder why your species is the only one in existence that can face the Aeternals head-on. So this is why Aeternus only transforms humans into their corpse kings."

    He then looked back at Jiang Qingyue. "Humans have too many options. When the Lord of Lightning first visited the Five Spirits Alliance, he was still very weak, but he quickly rose to power. That is what humans are capable of."

    Jiang Qingyue slowly bowed. "I wish to thank the Five Spirits Alliance for granting my father those opportunities in the past. My father has often said that, without the Five Spirits Alliance, the current Lord of Lightning would have nevere to be."

    The Ice Lord smiled. "That was all due to your father''s own efforts. Our Five Spirits Alliance has also prospered over the years because of the Lord of Lightning¡¯s assistance."

    Once his Champions¡¯ Stage disappeared, Lu Yin exhaled. There was sweat dripping from his forehead.

    Jiang Qingyue stepped forward. "Even with your level of talent, it''s not easy to anoint two Progenitor-level experts at once."

    Lu Yin forced out a smile. "It''s not that bad. I can manage."

    Jiang Qingyue nodded.

    The Ice Lord observed Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue together. "What kind of rtionship do you two have?"

    The two were caught off guard, and they did not understand what the Ice Lord was asking.

    He smiled at them. "We Ice Spirits don¡¯t have males and females, but you humans do. I feel that you two have an unusual rtionship."

    Lu Yin realized that everyone seemed to be pairing him up with Jiang Qingyue. Right, where was Dragonturtle?

    "Where''s Dragonturtle?"

    Jiang Qingyue replied, "He talks too much, so I left him at home."

    Lu Yin nodded and did not ask anything further.

    "What will you do next? How will the Aeternals respond?" Jiang Qingyue asked.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to the Ice Lord. "Senior, have you ever heard of froststones?"

    The Ice Lord replied, "Of course. My people have many froststones, and we can differentiate between them by their age. The oldest froststones are absolute treasures that can freeze even the vitality of a person."

    "Is there any connection between the froststones and the Iceheart?"

    The Ice Lord answered openly, "The Iceheart is really just a froststone that hassted for countless years, growing more powerful. It¡¯s hard to estimate just how old it must be. Why do you ask?"

    "Senior, could you allow me to take a look at the Iceheart?" Lu Yin asked solemnly. He had juste up with an idea.

    The Ice Lord did not refuse. "Of course."

    The Ice Lord''s ready agreement made Lu Yin take a second look at the Ice Spirit Tribe. The Iceheart they were speaking about was clearly not some ordinary treasure, but rather the source of power for the Ice Spirit Tribe.

    When the Ice Lord had faced off against Shao Yin, through Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin had seen the Ice Lord use sequence particles that hade from the Iceheart. Only with that boost had Shao Yin been defeated and forced to retreat. The Ice Lord alone was not powerful enough to drive Shao Yin back, and the battle could have potentiallysted for much, much longer.

    The Ice Lord led Lu Yin deep underground. The further they descended, the more extreme the cold. Even with Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, he still felt as though he was about to be frozen solid.

    Jiang Qingyue was protected by the Ice Lord, which was the only way she was able to join them. On her own, she would have frozen.

    Soon, Lu Yin saw the Iceheart.

    "It''s so beautiful," Lu Yin unconsciously remarked.

    Ahead of them, the Iceheart looked like a blooming lotus formed from mist. The snow-white mist of ice spread out into what looked like petals in the air above the stone. It was stunningly beautiful.

    Jiang Qingyue was also impressed. "My father once said that the Iceheart is the most beautiful flower he has ever seen."

 Chapter 2955: Opportunity

    Chapter 2955: Opportunity

    The Ice Lord felt quite proud, as this was the same thing that everyone who saw the Iceheart said. The Iceheart had given birth to the Ice Spirit Tribe, which was why the Luna Alliance had once threatened to take away the Iceheart. That disaster would cause the Ice Spirit Tribe topletely melt away.

    Losing the Iceheart would mean the death of the entire Ice Spirit Tribe.

    "Senior Ice Lord, how many people have seen Iceheart?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Ice Spirit considered the question. "Besides me, only a few members of the Five Spirits Alliance and people who belong to the Lord of Lightning."

    "For example, my master," Jiang Qingyue interjected.

    The Ice Lord agreed, "Your master, Kong Tianzhao, has seen it, and the decisive battle that took ce between his two selves took ce here in in our Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. What did this mean? How could a decisive battle have taken ce between a man and himself?

    Jiang Qingyue''s expression fell.

    "Aside from those few, no one else has seen it. Oh, also, Bi Rong has seen it," the Ice Lord continued.Lu Yin pressed further, "Has any person or creature with any connection to the Aeternals ever seen it?"

    The Ice Lord answered with absolute confidence, "No.

    "The only ones who have ever seen the Iceheart are the people who have been recognized by our tribe. Without that, not even other members of the Five Spirits Alliance can see it."

    Lu Yin continued to consider the problem. The most important point of this visit was for him to somehow create a fake Iceheart that he could take back to Aeternus as part of his cover story. However, for that to work, the Aeternals could not know what the Iceheart looked like.

    It would not be easy to fake the Iceheart, but he would be able to do it, provided he obtained a piece of froststone.

    "Why do you ask, Dao Monarch Lu?" The Ice Lord was quite curious.

    Lu Yin did not hide his thoughts. "I want to make a fake Iceheart to take back to the Aeternals to exin myself."

    The Ice Lord shook his head. "That¡¯s impossible. The Aeternals are not stupid, and the Iceheart is unique. So far, such a thing has not appeared in any other parallel universe. It can¡¯t be faked or copied. Even our tribe¡¯s oldest froststone is impossible topare to the Iceheart."

    "Senior, can you give me a piece of froststone? It doesn¡¯t need to be much, and it can be any random piece." Lu Yin said.

    "Just a piece?" The Ice Lord gave Lu Yin an odd look. Did this young man want to use a froststone as a fake Iceheart to deceive the Aeternals? That would be nothing less than courting death.

    Jiang Qingyue also grew worried. "Brother Lu, what you¡¯re thinking can¡¯t possibly work. The Iceheart cannot be copied."

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry, I will find another way."

    Not needing any further exnation, the Ice Lord gave Lu Yin a piece of froststone. Dao Monarch Lu was no fool, and he would not chase after death.

    Lu Yin stared at the froststone as though in a trance. It radiated a biting cold that was far more intense than the froststone that Lu Yin had first acquired. It was clear that the Ice Lord had not given Lu Yin a random froststone. This one was clearly quite old.

    "This froststone is quite old. Ones at this age can be used as life-saving treasures."

    Lu Yin put the froststone away. "I know. I¡¯ve acquired one before."

    This caught the Ice Lord by surprise. "Have you ever used it?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    The Ice Lord stared at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s highly unlikely. Froststones that are capable of freezing someone¡¯s vitality to save their life are simply too rare. Even our entire tribe only has one such froststone. In the past, we had several, but all the others have been used."

    Lu Yin did not argue and simply brought out Ming Yan¡¯s frozen form.

    The moment she appeared, the Ice Lord saw her, and his expressionpletely changed. "No!"

    Lu Yin was startled, and he was slow to react.

    The frozen form of Ming Yan shot straight towards the Iceheart. This startled Lu Yin, and he quickly stopped the movement. However, the moment his hand made contact with Ming Yan¡¯s frozen figure, his entire arm froze. This was because freezing sequence particles had appeared.

    "Let go." The Ice Lord grabbed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin felt desperate. "Yan''er!"

    "She''s fine." The Ice Lord pulled Lu Yin back, and he stared in a daze as she entered the Iceheart. He waspletely confused, and his mind went nk for a moment.

    "Brother Lu!" Jiang Qingyue shouted.

    Lu Yin turned to stare at the Ice Lord. "Senior, what just happened?"

    If the Ice Lord had not stopped Lu Yin, he would have been able to find some way to pull Yan''er back.

    The Ice Lord¡¯s mouth fell open. The Ice Spirit looked adorable as he stared at the Iceheart, and then at Lu Yin. He felt like crying, but he had no tears.

    "Senior, what just happened?" Jiang Qingyue was puzzled. She examined the Iceheart, but there was no trace of Ming Yan''s figure.

    Jiang Qingyue was aware of Ming Yan¡¯s existence, and regarded her as Lu Yin''s most precious person and his wife.

    If this matter was not handled carefully, there would be big trouble. Everything had happened too quickly.

    The Ice Lord sounded bitter as he exined, "You don¡¯t need to worry. This is that person¡¯s great luck."

    Lu Yin felt incredibly confused.

    The Ice Lord turned around and faced the Iceheart. "That person should have been on the verge of death, which is why you froze her with that froststone. Such measures are incredibly useful, as they allow a truly powerful expert to save themter on. However, now that she has entered the Iceheart, she¡¯s not merely being frozen by the Iceheart, but has also encountered a matter of fate.

    "She did not merely have her vitality frozen, as she was also frozen in time. This means that, one day, someone could save her. Now, she might also obtain the power of freezing, which will basically make her a human member of our Ice Spirit Tribe. She will be equal to a very powerful Ice Spirit."

    Lu Yin was shocked. Was this really possible?

    Jiang Qingyue was simrly stunned. "Are you saying that she¡¯s both frozen and cultivating?"

    The Ice Lord still sounded quite bitter. "Very nearly. For them, this is a blessing, but for my Ice Spirit Tribe, this is a massive loss. It took uncounted years for the Iceheart to form, and a tremendous amount of power was taken from it by freezing a person long ago. With a second person added, the Iceheart might bepletely consumed.

    "This is all my fault. You shouldn''t have been allowed to take out that froststone. The Iceheart is very greedy, and it tries to devour ancient froststones. Our Ice Spirit Tribe had several such stones, but they were all consumed by the Iceheart. That human was frozen by a froststone, so the moment that she appeared, the froststone was devoured by the Iceheart, which means that she is now being frozen by the Iceheart.

    "I was simply careless."

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. "So, are you saying that Yan''er is fine?"

    The Ice Lord shrugged. "She¡¯s not just fine, she¡¯s doing wonderfully."

    Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight to examine the Iceheart. He had not done so before, as he had been worried about offending the Ice Spirit Tribe, but at this point in time, Lu Yin simply did not care.

    Instantly, he saw the freezing sequence particles that surrounded the Iceheart, as well as countless more inside. Everything was blurry, but he could make out the form of a person within the Iceheart. Wait, why were there two people?

    "Are there two people inside it?" Lu Yin was horrified.

    Jiang Qingyue was startled, not because of what Lu Yin had said, but because Lu Yin¡¯s expression looked like he had just seen a ghost. Was the sight that scary?

    The Ice Lord replied, "There is another person frozen within it."

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, and his pounding heart calmed down. <em>I see. That''s good, that''s good.</em>

    For a moment, he had thought that Yan''er¡¯s two personalities had separated into different bodies, and he had been terrified by the prospect.

    "Who is the other one? Are they also human?" Jiang Qingyue was curious.

    The Ice Lord was still staring at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, can you see through the Iceheart?"

    "It¡¯s very blurry," Lu Yin admitted.

    The Ice Lord was impressed. "You are not even a peak powerhouse yet, but you can already see through the Iceheart. Your reputation is certainly deserved, Dao Monarch Lu."

    With a sigh, he then turned to look at Jiang Qingyue. "There is another person inside, Jiangyue, and you know her."

    Jiang Qingyue grew terribly confused. "Do I know her?"

    "Right, your father won¡¯t let me speak of that matter, so just forget I said anything at all," the Ice Lord continued.

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes flickered, and then grewrge. "Is it her?"

    "Don''t mention anything, even if you understand. Your father is keeping her existence a secret." The Ice Lord stopped Jiang Qingyue from saying anything.

    Jiang Qingyue nodded with a smile. "So she''s not dead. That¡¯s wonderful."

    "Senior Ice Lord, how do I get Yan''er out again?"

    "She simply needs someone powerful enough to pull her out. I am not able to do that."

    Lu Yin looked at the Iceheart, conflicted emotions ying across his eyes. Staying here would greatly benefit Yan¡¯er, but it meant that he would need to leave her behind for some time, and that made his heart feel empty.

    The Ice Lord was also in a bad mood. The person who had first been frozen in the Iceheart had only entered after the Lord of Lightning paid a steep price. However, another person had entered without exnation, and no price had been paid at all. No matter how the Ice Lord looked at the situation, the Ice Spirit Tribe had suffered a terrible loss.

    "Brother Lu, how is your injured arm?" Jiang Qingyue asked.

    Lu Yin nced down. "It''s fine. I¡¯ll just need to be careful for a bit."

    His arm had been frozen by the Iceheart. If the Ice Lord had not acted as quickly, Lu Yin¡¯s entire body would have been frozen.

    Thinking of that, Lu Yin realized he should be grateful to the Ice Lord for rescuing him and Yan¡¯er.

    Speaking words of thanks were meaningless. Froststones were the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s greatest treasures, culminating in the Iceheart. However, not even Lu Yin could produce a second Iceheart.

    He moved away from the Ice Spirit Domain, but he did not immediately return to the Scourge. Rather, he wanted to first Enhance the froststone that he had been given and see if he could create another Iceheart.

    Jiang Qingyue also did not leave. She had visited the Ice Spirit Tribe to cultivate in their universe.

    Above snow-capped mountains, pure white maelstroms swept through the sky and across the earth. This was not suitable for living creatures, but it suited Lu Yin¡¯s needs for his seclusion.

    His hand rose, and his die appeared. He tapped it with a finger to begin rolling the die.

    With Pilfer, a packet of something powdery fell out. Lu Yin checked it and found that it was a seasoning envelope. He simply threw it away. Again. Five pips, Gift Copy. However, there was no one nearby from whom Lu Yin could borrow an innate gift. Again. Three pips.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as he pulled out the froststone. It was muchrger than the one he had received years ago that he had used to freeze Yan¡¯er.

    Lu Yin broke it in two, as that was big enough.

    He first threw one of the two pieces onto the top light screen and started frantically throwing out star essence.

    The froststone was already roughly equal to Lu Yin¡¯s first froststone after ten Enhancements. Lu Yin quickly spent seven billion star essence Enhancing the stone, and he watched as the froststone fell through the two screens of light. Such an amount of money no longer meant the same to Lu Yin as it once had.

    He had nearly 100 trillion star essence at the moment.

    As the froststone was continuously upgraded, the coldness it radiated underwent a qualitative change.

    Once it cost over a trillion star essence for a single upgrade, even Lu Yin started to grow wary of the froststone¡¯s chill. Even so, it was not enough, so he continued.

    Again and again, the froststone was Enhanced until it had passed through the two light screens ten times, which was roughly the same as if Lu Yin¡¯s first froststone had been upgraded twenty times. Thest upgrade cost him five trillion star essence.

    This was an incredible cost to Enhance something. It had only cost him six trillion star essence to repair one of the Books of Destiny.

    Lu Yin watched as the stone slowly fell down, and the ground beneath it cracked. Mist appeared and surrounded the froststone. Everything nearby froze instantly, and the effect spread throughout the nearby area.

    A purple-ck substance appeared on Lu Yin''s left hand, and he grabbed the froststone. If not for his Wielder-level battle force, he would not be able to endure this extreme cold.

    This level should be enough to make a convincing fake Iceheart. Even sequence powerhouses would need to be careful of this cold, and Shao Yin had never actually made contact with the Iceheart. Because of that, he was even more likely to believe that this froststone was the Iceheart.

    However, this froststone had not been Enhanced to its limit yet, and it was still capable of further upgrades. Lu Yin could not say how many more times it could be Enhanced.

    If it reached the same level as the Iceheart, would that mean that, by cultivating inside the stone, they would gain the power to freeze things?

    Would that also cause freezing sequence particles to appear?

    Lu Yin stared at the froststone in his hand, excitement zing in his eyes. This was another way to gain strength.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2956: Return To The Scourge

    Chapter 2956: Return To The Scourge

    Lu Yin put the Enhanced froststone away and then began Enhancing the second piece to the same level. In total, he expended 10 trillion star essence.

    He already had ns for both pieces; one would be given to the Ice Lord to repay the Ice Spirit Tribe for the losses incurred by Yan''er entering the Iceheart, while the other piece would be used to deceive Aeternus.

    As for the origin of these upgraded froststones, Lu Yin had already reached the level where he no longer needed to hide his abilities. The Aeternals had likely already identified several of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, and his ability to improve items should have been the first one that they had deduced.

    Lu Yin returned to the Ice Spirit Domain with two Enhanced pieces of froststone. When they were presented to the Ice Lord, the spirit was stunned.

    He stared nkly. "Dao Monarch Lu, what is this?"

    Lu Yin handed one of the pieces to the Ice Lord. "I¡¯m uncertain, but will this serve as a fake Iceheart?"

    The Ice Lord took the froststone and examined it. Not only was he unharmed by the cold from the stone, but it would also improve his cultivation. The source of the Ice Spirits¡¯ cultivation was coldness, and a deeper cold would strengthen the Ice Spirits in the same way that one of Lu Yin¡¯s subordinates could increase their strength through eating poison. Others could never use these methods.

    The Ice Lord stared at the froststone for a long time before he solemnly returned it to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, is this a half of the froststone that I just gave you?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s right."Even though the Ice Lord had suspected as much, hearing an affirmation to his question still sounded unbelievable.

    A normal piece of froststone had been transformed into an ancient and powerful one in such a short period of time. It really was not a dream, no matter how much of a fantasy it felt like.

    Seeing the dazed look on the Ice Lord¡¯s face was hrious to Lu Yin, and he quickly offered an exnation. "I am able to shorten the time needed for certain items to grow."

    The Ice Lord was left speechless. How was this shortening the time needed? This was simply skipping that time.

    He really did not know what to say to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin then handed the froststone back over to the Ice Lord. "This froststone is yours, topensate for the losses you¡¯ve suffered by letting Yan¡¯er enter your Iceheart. If this isn¡¯t enough, I can help your Ice Spirit Tribe by elerating the growth of more froststones. Will this form ofpensation be enough for using the Iceheart, Senior Ice Lord?¡±

    The Ice Lord stared at the froststone for a long time before epting it. "Dao Monarch Lu, you must have paid a steep price to use this sort of ability."

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "It''s worth it."

    He said nothing about the price that he had paid, but the less Lu Yin said about the matter, the steeper the price the Ice Lord suspected. As far as the spirit was concerned, Lu Yin must have paid a price close to that of the Iceheart itself.

    "It was merely a coincidence that your person was frozen within the Iceheart. There is no need to pay any form ofpensation. Dao Monarch Lu, please take this back," the Ice Lord refused.

    However, Lu Yin insisted. "I don¡¯t have much use for a froststone anymore, and besides, I still have another one. Senior, you mentioned earlier that the Iceheart likes to devour froststones, so just give this one to the Iceheartg then."

    The Ice Lord repeatedly refused, but no matter how he protested, Lu Yin insisted. In the end, the Ice Lord could only ept the gift.

    Once again, the Ice Lord¡¯s impression of Lu Yin changed. The Ice Lord was not even considering Lu Yin¡¯s gratefulness, but rather the fact that the Dao Monarch possessed an ability that could be of great assistance to the Five Spirits Alliance. There mighte a day when they would need to rely on Lu Yin¡¯s ability.

    The Ice Lord''s attitude towards Lu Yin was constantly changing, and Lu Yin could feel it. He had alsoe to understand just how powerful the Five Spirits Alliance was. The Heavens Sect needed such allies.

    The Sixverse Association had many powerful individuals outside of the six member universes who could be relied on, but they were onlypliant towards the Sixverse Association. They had no connection to the Heavens Sect.

    Since Lu Yin had reestablished the Heavens Sect, he needed to return it to its former glory. At that point, the Heavens Sect might not need any help from outsiders. They would be the strongest, with enough power to suppress the Aeternals and render universes like the Arboreal Realm or the Cyclic Universe speechless. But the Heavens Sect had not reached that level yet. The more that Lu Yin learned about other civilizations, the more that he wanted to integrate these powers and form a different Heavens Sect from the past one.

    He did not just want to restore the ancient glory of the Heavens Sect; Lu Yin wanted to surpass it.

    The Ice Lord also told Lu Yin that the Enhanced froststone would indeed be able to trick Aeternus, as this froststone was approaching the same level of power as the Iceheart itself. If there was any problem, Lu Yin could simply say that the Iceheart had been broken in half, as the froststone had clearly been split apart.

    Lu Yin prepared to leave, but before he did so, the Ice Lord asked Lu Yin to leave a mark on a coordinate seal in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe so that he could return at any time. This was also what Lu Yin had hoped to achieve by revealing his secret. Yan''er was in the Iceheart, so Lu Yin needed to be able to see her at any moment.

    Shao Yin had already returned to the Scourge, and he quickly told Progenitor Xi about what had happened during the mission in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe. They had sessfully deceived the Ice Spirit Tribe into thinking that someone from the Luna Alliance had tried to steal the Iceheart, which meant that the Ice Spirit Tribe should dere war on the Luna Alliance soon.

    In Shao Yin¡¯s original n, Qi You and the old woman would have lured away all of the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s Progenitor-level experts. Instead, Shao Yin had wanted Ye Bo to lure away the Ice Lord so that Shao Yin would have a chance of stealing the Iceheart himself. The goal was to have Ye Bo die, Qi You and the old woman escape, and Shao Yin steal the Iceheart. That would have been the best-case scenario.

    Unfortunately, Ye Bo had refused to obey orders at the very start of the battle, and Shao Yin had been forced to take action himself.

    He had no idea how things had turned out.

    It was possible that both Qi You and the old woman had died, and it was also possible that the Ice Lord had believed Shao Yin¡¯sment and that he would soon dere war on the Luna Alliance. It was also possible that Qi You and the old woman were still alive and that the mission had failed entirely.

    Shao Yin had no way of knowing if the mission was sessful or not, so he forced all of the responsibility onto Ye Bo, making any potential failure Lu Yin''s problem.

    "Ye Bo fled before the battle even started?" Progenitor Xi was surprised.

    Shao Yin quietly shared his original n. "We waited for fifty years, and we could have seeded when the opportunity appeared, but because Ye Bo fled at thest moment and did not dare to attack with us, I was forced to stall the Ice Lord while also trying to steal the Iceheart. I wasn¡¯t able to steal it, and I have no idea if the mission was a sess or not. It all depends on whether the Ice Lord learns that I am from Aeternus.¡±

    Progenitor Xi still appeared calm. "Is Ye Bo dead?"

    "I don''t know."

    "Then the mission should have failed," Progenitor Xi stated.

    Shao Yin grew puzzled. "Not necessarily. I made sure to indicate that I was part of the Luna Alliance, and everyone who participated in the attack was human. Are you worried that one of them might have been captured and admit to being from Aeternus?"

    Progenitor Xi stared at the Sovereign Shao Yin. "Ye Bo will definitely use divine energy if he faces certain death. The moment divine energy appears, they will know that he¡¯s from Aeternus."

    Shao Yin was startled. "Ye Bo¡¯s cultivated divine energy?"

    "You didn¡¯t know?" Progenitor Xi asked.

    Shao Yin became even more furious. That bastard have clearly said that he had no divine energy. If Shao Yin had known the truth, he would have never tried to use Ye Bo to distract the Ice Lord. How could that bastard be so unreasonable? Shao Yin had tried to be clever, but everything had backfired. It would have been perfect if Ye Bo had died, but instead, it looked like the bastard would be the cause of the mission failing. This mission had been Shao Yin¡¯s opportunity topete to be one of the Seven Skygods. That bastard!

    Progenitor Xi suddenly stared off into the distance, her eyes lighting up. "Ye Bo is back."

    Shao Yin was taken aback. "What?"

    He turned and looked as well, and he saw Ye Bo quickly approaching. The man¡¯s face was pale, and his whole body radiated an icy chill. It was clear to see that he had been badly hurt. His right arm was the worst, as it had been entirely frozen.

    Lu Yin reached the other two, panting heavily while he red at Shao Yin. "Senior, you actually ran away from the battle!"

    Shao Yin was startled so badly that he could not even react.

    Progenitor Xi examined Lu Yin''s arm. "That injury¡ªYe Bo, who hurt you?"

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "This is all from the Iceheart."

    This surprised Progenitor Xi. "The Iceheart?"

    Shao Yin shouted angrily, "Ye Bo, you disappeared before the battle even started, causing the mission to fail. How dare you return now?"

    Lu Yin retorted in anger, "You¡¯re the one who ran away! You didn''t have the courage to hold out for even three breaths against the Ice Lord. I almost failed, and it was all because of you."

    "This is ridiculous! The other two moved, but you stayed where you were and never moved, and yet you dare to try to use me?" Shao Yin was absolutely furious.

    Lu Yin sneered. "Are you saying that I¡¯m making it all up? Then what¡¯s this?"

    He then pulled out the Enhanced froststone from his cosmic ring. The moment the stone appeared, a white mist spread out, freezing the void wherever it went.

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s eyes flickered, and her hand shot out to grab the stone. "Is this it?"

    Shao Yin was stunned. While he had never actually seen the Iceheart, he had nearly managed to steal it, and he had been exposed to its coldness. The cold that he felt from this stone was very simr to what Shao Yin had felt before. Could this be the Iceheart? How was that possible?

    "This is not the Iceheart." Progenitor Xi looked away from the stone to stare at Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin''s expression never changed. "It is, but it¡¯s only half of it, since the Iceheart broke."

    Progenitor Xi was taken aback. "It broke in two?"

    Lu Yin grew solemn and turned to stare at Shao Yin. "While we were making ns to attack the Ice Spirit Tribe, this man tasked me with stealing the Iceheart, but when it was time, he changed his mind and wanted me to distract the Ice Lord while he stole the Iceheart himself. I didn''t know about that beforehand, so I tried to do as I was told. However, the Ice Lord ignored me and instead returned to the Ice Spirit Domain as quickly as possible. Given the Ice Lord''s strength, he could have frozen me in ce easily, thus, I didn¡¯t have a chance to execute the task properly.

    "Not only did this man not try to save me, but he also didn''t steal the Iceheart. As soon as the Ice Lord returned, this man escaped without a word, which led to the deaths of Qi You and some other old woman who went with us. If I hadn''t sacrificed one of my clones, I would have died."

    "That¡¯s bullshit!" Shao Yin roared. He was ready to attack Ye Bo.

    Progenitor Xi looked at the former Sovereign and said, "Shao Yin, tell me what happened from your perspective."

    Shao Yin gritted his teeth and then proceeded to share how he had ordered Ye Bo to take action, but that Ye Bo had never responded.

    "This is nder! How can you say such things? Are you really a sequence powerhouse?" Lu Yin demanded in a rage.

    Shao Yin was also incredibly angry. "I told you to take action, but you never even replied!"

    Lu Yin retorted, "My job was to steal the Iceheart, so mymunication crystal was in my cosmic ring. I never got any of your messages, so of course I wasn¡¯t able to respond. Besides, the directions that you gave me in those messages indicated somewhere far away from the Ice Spirit Domain. When I tried to get there, I had to suppress my aura. How can you possibly expect someone to answer you when they¡¯re trying to sneak around?"

    Shao Yin''s eyes bulged. "You never even moved!."

    "Right when I was about to take action, you attacked a different location. The Ice Lord appeared and instantly froze me as soon as he found me. He never paid any attention to me at all," Lu Yin replied.

    There was nothing that Shao Yin could say to this. He stared at Ye Bo in a daze. Was this possible? Everything that this man said sounded perfectly reasonable.

    Shao Yin had not been able to contact Ye Bo because he hadpletely retracted his aura in preparation to steal the Iceheart. Ye Bo not known that the Iceheart was not at the ce he had targeted, so it made sense that Ye Bo had restrained his aura. There was also no problem with him iming that the Ice Lord had instantly frozen him, as Ye Bo could notpare to the Ice Lord''s strength at all.

    When Shao Yin had led the Ice Lord to Ye Bo¡¯s hiding ce, there had been no one there. Could Shao Yin have been wrong about Ye Bo from the very beginning?

    Shao Yin was stumped, and he reconsidered all that had happened and all that Ye Bo had said. There were no problems to be found. Could he have been mistaken?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2957: Complaint

    Chapter 2957: Comint

    Lu Yin red at Shao Yin, openly angry. "Senior, if you had held the Ice Lord back for even a short while, I could have stolen theplete Iceheart! Instead, I only barely managed to grab a piece of it, as I was discovered and had no choice but to break it. There was no way to get the entire thing. If you had just stalled for a few moments more, I would have had it, but you had to give up and run away! You abandoned Qi You, the old woman, and even me! "

    Shao Yin stared at Ye Bo. How was this possible? Ye Bo had gone after the Ice Lord, so how could he have possibly stolen the Iceheart? The Iceheart had clearly been in the Ice Spirit Domain.

    Shao Yin understood that it was not truly impossible. Given Ye Bo¡¯s strength, as long as he was not frozen, he could have almost instantly entered the Ice Spirit Domain. On top of that, it would have taken very little time for him to steal the Iceheart and escape. Was it possible to have done all that? It was true that Ye Bo¡¯s arm had been frozen, and he had brought back a piece of the Iceheart, but what was really going on? Something felt off about the entire matter.

    Shao Yin wanted to carefully go over his own experience and Ye Bo¡¯s story, but at that moment, Progenitor Xi spoke up. "Shao Yin, why was Ye Bo sent to distract the Ice Lord?"

    Shao Yin''s expression suddenly changed.

    Lu Yin shouted, "That¡¯s right! You clearly said that I would be the one to steal the Iceheart, so why did I end up having to distract the Ice Lord? Answer me!"

    Shao Yin took a deep breath. Hepletely ignored Ye Bo and gave Progenitor Xi his full attention. "The Iceheart contains sequence particles, which meant that I was the only participant in the mission who could touch it."

    As he spoke, he looked at Lu Yin. "When you touched the Iceheart, your arm was frozen. You can see what happened."

    "Then why didn''t you warn me from the beginning? That way I could have been prepared. Even if I died, I could have helped you hold off the Ice Lord for a bit and avoided being instantly frozen," Lu Yin snapped back.Shao Yin''s face twitched. He had no idea how to answer that question.

    Ye Bo was a True God Guard Captain, but Shao Yin¡¯s actions meant that he had been willing to sacrifice one of those captains. This would not be easy to exin to Aeternus.

    Progenitor Xi''s eyes grew cold. "Shao Yin, you already knew that a True God Guard Captain did not need to cooperate with you or go on this mission, and yet you were still willing to allow him to die during the mission."

    Shao Yin wanted to protest, but he could say nothing.

    "In the end, he was the one toplete the mission and return alive. Ye Bo, did you ever use your divine energy?" Progenitor Xi asked.

    Lu Yin quickly replied, "No."

    Shao Yin frowned. "How could you have stolen the Iceheart from under the Ice Lord¡¯s eyes without using divine energy?"

    Ye Bo retorted, "You never even asked me where I, Ye Bo, am from."

    Shao Yin became confused.

    Progenitor Xi calmly stated, "Ye Bo is from the Origin Universe. He killed Progenitors there under the eyes of the Lu family and the four ruling powers. No one was ever able to catch him. In that universe, he is just as infamous as your Sixverse Association¡¯s Cheng Kong. He has the ability to steal the Iceheart."

    Shao Yin''s expression changed drastically. The Origin Universe? The man stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. This exined a great deal. For someone to be as famous as Cheng Kong in that universe, he had to have the ability to steal the Iceheart.

    If Shao Yin had known about this in advance, his n would have been quite different. If he had tasked Ye Bo with stealing the Iceheart, the mission would not have been nearly so difficult.

    This realization made Shao Yin feel extremely regretful.

    Progenitor Xi turned back to Ye Bo. "What about the other two?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Dead. I watched them freeze and their bodies shatter. They died frustrated and hating Senior Shao Yin."

    The man¡¯s face twitched yet again.

    Progenitor Xi remained unfazed. ¡°Good. That means that the Ice Spirit Tribe has no idea that Aeternus was behind this attack, correct?¡±

    Shao Yin stared at Lu Yin, as only Ye Bo could answer this question.

    Lu Yin replied, "I can¡¯t say for certain, as there might be a spy within Aeternus."

    Progenitor Xi gave a small smile. "There is absolutely no chance of there being any spies among the Aeternals. In that case, this mission has beenpleted. While the entire Iceheart was not stolen, breaking the Iceheart is even more likely to rouse the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s anger. Ye Bo, well done. "

    Lu Yin bowed. "I was lucky."

    Progenitor Xi then turned back to Shao Yin. "This mission¡¯s sess has nothing to do with you. On top of that, you will be punished for your actions. Do you have any objections?"

    Shao Yin was unwilling to back down. He was striving for the avable position of one of the Seven Skygods. How could he not object to being punished?

    Still, there was no denying that he had made a mistake on the mission.

    This thought caused Shao Yin to re at Ye Bo again before turning around and leaving.

    Lu Yin stared at Shao Yin¡¯s back with cold eyes.

    "Given his high status within Aeternus, I can''t really punish him. At best, I can prevent him from receiving credit for this mission¡¯s sess. I hope that you don''t mind," Progenitor Xi spoke softly as she looked at Ye Bo

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t mind, but I refuse to work with such a person ever again. If I do, I won¡¯t even know how I died."

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s slight smile never wavered. "I never intended for you to cooperate with him. The True God Guard Captains don¡¯t need to follow that man¡¯s orders."

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned bitter. "Yes I followed him of my own will.

    "Senior Progenitor Xi, what was the point of this mission?"

    Progenitor Xi looked at Ye Bo. "Since you performed so well, I can give you some details regarding this mission¡­"

    Progenitor Xi then shared some details concerning the Five Spirits Alliance, the Lord of Lightning, and the Luna Alliance. Lu Yin had already heard this information before, but he made a point of appearing surprised when he heard all this.

    "While it appears that the Lord of Lightning has no connection to your universe, when Yu Huo and a few others attacked the Heavens Sect, one of the Lord of Lightning¡¯s people showed up to save them. If not for that, the Heavens Sect would have suffered heavy losses."

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. "The Lord of Lightning helped the Heavens Sect?"

    Progenitor Xi nodded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned cold. "Then I did the right thing this time. Let the Five Spirits Alliance fight the Luna Alliance to the death and destroy the Lord of Lightning¡¯s strength. This will prevent the Heavens Sect from ever receiving outside help again."

    "That was the entire purpose of this mission. Once the True God emerges from seclusion, he will destroy the Origin Universe and the entire Sixverse Association. We must make it very difficult for outsiders like the Lord of Lightning to intervene, which is why our current task is to remove as many of the Sixverse Association¡¯s allies as possible. This mission will permanently weaken both the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, as they will go to war. This will create an opportunity for us," Progenitor Xi continued to exin.

    Oh? That was not all. Lu Yin remembered when Ju Ji had attacked Earth. The Aeternals had suddenly attacked the Five Spirits Alliance, which was an indirect attack on the Lord of Lightning. It seemed clear that they were after the three treasures that were in the Lord of Lightning''s possession.

    After understanding the purpose behind the mission, Lu Yin asked Progenitor Xi for more missions of the same kind. However, Ye Bo was told to first recover. It would take some time to recuperate from his frozen arm, and Progenitor Xi preferred Ye Bo to be at his full capabilities.

    In a sh, half a year passed. During this time, Ye Bo had not been assigned any missions. Lu Yin was eager to receive a mission in the Origin Universe, but Progenitor Xi never sought him out, and Ye Bo could not chase after Progenitor Xi, as it would make him appear too eager.

    During this half year, Lu Yin spent most of his time absorbing divine energy. The star of divine energy in the universe within Lu Yin had grown multiple sizesrger. It was still far smaller than the other stars, but it was quickly catching up.

    He could not say how long he would remain in the Scourge for. At the verytest, he would leave as soon as he heard that the True God was leaving seclusion or that the Seven Skygods were about to return. If any of them were present, Lu Yin could not be confident that his disguise would not be seen through.

    Lu Yin stared across ake of divine energy, thinking about what Qi You had said. Was it true that the True God had hidden three unique battle techniques beneath the divine energy that flowed across the Scourge?

    It would be nice if Lu Yin could find them.

    He had not wandered away from his tower over thest few months, instead staying within the nearby area.

    The tower was very nd and boring. It was nothing more than a status symbol, and it did not actually bear any special significance.

    As for the maid who had been assigned to Ye Bo, there was nothing toment on, as Lu Yin had not even spoken to the woman in nearly half a year.

    One day, while Lu Yin was standing beside ake of divine energy, a figure passed through the sky overhead. It was Shao Yin.

    Shao Yin looked down at Ye Bo. "Ye Bo, I have received another mission. Do you want toe with me?"

    Lu Yin just stared at the man coldly.

    Shao Yin sneered. "Have you lost all courage to leave this ce after what happened with the Ice Spirit Tribe?"

    "Do you really have any right to ask that?" Lu Yin challenged.

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I overlooked you on thatst mission. If we work together again, I will take good care of you."

    With that, the man left.

    Lu Yin looked away. If not for the Great Sovereign¡¯s n that involved Shao Yin, the man would have died to Lu Yin long ago. Lu Yin felt the man would make an excellent champion.

    "Have you offended Shao Yin?" a voice asked from behind. It was a very familiar voice.

    Lu Yin turned around to find himself looking at the Chiliagonist.

    "Who are you?"

    The Chiliagonist walked closer. "You must be the new True God Guard Captain. I am the Chiliagonist, another of the True God Guard Captains."

    Of course Lu Yin recognized the man, though the Chiliagonist did not realize that Ye Bo was really Lu Yin.

    Ye Bo and the Aeternals had made contact previously, but only through Redbacks and Cheng Kong. None of the Aeternals¡¯ other powerhouses had ever met Ye Bo.

    "We have heard of the name ¡®Ye Bo¡¯ for a long time. The Origin Universe is not a simple ce, and yet you were able to do so much harm to the humans there. You must be very powerful. It¡¯s no wonder why you were able to be as famous as Cheng Kong," the Chiliagonistplimented Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "You are the third of the True God Guard Captains I have met."

    The Chiliagonist appeared to be an easy-going person. "You¡¯ll meet all of them soon enough, though two are dead and one has been captured. I had no idea if he¡¯s still alive or already dead. You¡¯re recing one of those three."

    Lu Yin did not reply. He did not know what he should say to the Chiliagonist. This person cultivated consciousness, so Lu Yin had to be very careful.

    "Have you offended Shao Yin?" the Chiliagonist asked again.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "That''s right."

    "That''s a problem. That man is very cunning, but he¡¯s also quite strong. He hid himself in the Cyclic Universe for a long time, serving as one of the Three Sovereigns. He¡¯s ruthless and vindictive. It¡¯s not good to have him as an enemy," the Chiliagonist warned.

    Lu Yin''s voice grew colder than ever, "I just want to get revenge on the Perennial World."

    The Chiliagonist smiled. "I understand. Who doesn¡¯t want to get revenge? As long as you aren¡¯t a corpse king, everyone who joins Aeternus does so because of their own ambitions."

    "What are yours?" Lu Yin asked. His voice sounded curious, but his expression remained calm and unconcerned.

    The Chiliagonist considered the question for a moment. "Survival."

    "That¡¯s a very simple motive," Lu Yin replied.

    "Is living as a traitor a simple life?" The Chiliagonist stared at Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin replied in an indifferent tone, "It''s just nature."

    "Shao Yin haspleted an important mission and just returned. He ispeting to be one of the Seven Skygods. If he seeds, even you and I will be at hismand. If possible, you should settle any grudges before that." After sharing that suggestion, the Chiliagonist walked away.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. An important mission? Could it be another mission rted to the Five Spirits Alliance that was part of thepetition to be one of the Seven Skygods? Regardless, it had to be a plot that involved someone at the Lord of Lightning¡¯s level.

    The Five Spirits Alliance needed to be on guard. Could Shao Yin have been dealing with another outsider powerhouse?

    Lu Yin needed to find a way to learn about what had happened.

    Soon, another half year passed.

    Lu Yin had spent more than a year infiltrating the Aeternals, and one day, Yu Huo stepped out of his tower, d in a ck robe. Most of his strength had recovered.

    Progenitor Xi sent out an announcement, assembling the True God Guard Captains.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2958: Skydog

    Chapter 2958: Skydog

    There was a tall temple in the furthest depths of the Scourge. It stood beneath the ck Mother Tree, beneath where the waterfall of divine energy fell. The building was solemn, majestic, and surrounded by red stars. The waterfall of divine energy swept over the entire temple, as it actually stood within the waterfall.

    For the first time, Lu Yin was close to the ck Mother Tree. He had moved past the Seven Skygods¡¯ towers and entered the deepest regions of the Scourge.

    This huge temple was no smaller than the main gate of the Heavens Sect. Behind the temple stood a statue that was set within the Mother Tree itself. It depicted the True God.

    Lu Yin observed the massive temple before him as divine energy washed over him. He could not ignore the enormous True God statue that stood behind the temple, as the closer he approached, the more he seemed to sense the True God¡¯s actual power.

    Even with Lu Yin¡¯s level of strength and status as the ruler of the Origin Universe, he still felt pressured. This was not merely the True God¡¯s pressure, as there was also pressure from the presence of the Scourge, the ck Mother Tree, and all of Aeternus.

    As Lu Yin stared at the statue, everything around him fell dark. All that remained in the dark space was him and the statue.

    There was a booming roar of evening drums and morning bells, and Lu Yin felt forced to bend beneath the tremendous pressure. He wanted to bow to this statue. No, he had to bow to the statue.

    Lu Yin''s vision doubled, and his head felt as if it were about to explode, but what of it? He had felt the same sensation when he anointed the Cyclops King as a champion. Lu Yin had already ovee such sensations before.

    He did not want to bow to the True God, and that determination allowed Lu Yin to endure.The divine energy within his body surged and boiled, trying to find release. Lu Yin suddenly looked up and stared at the statue of the True God. As he did so, a hand fell on his shoulder, instantly suppressing the divine energy and giving Lu Yin a refreshing sensation.

    His expression changed and he slowly turned his head.

    He found Progenitor Xi smiling at him.

    Lu Yin''s pupils flickered and hemented in Ye Bo¡¯s hoarse voice, "My divine energy went out of control."

    Progenitor Xiplimented him, "You were just inspired by the True God. He must like you a great deal."

    Lu Yin blinked. Was that really the case?

    A short distance away, Yu Huo was shocked. "Ye Bo, how long have you been in the Scourge for? How have you already gathered so much divine energy? When I first visited this temple, I instantly fell to my knees."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. Kneel? He would rather run away.

    Progenitor Xi pulled her hand back. "When any creature faces the statue of the True God for the first time, as long as they do not have enough divine energy to protect themselves, they will be forced to their knees. Only once a sufficient amount of the divine energy has been gathered can one face the statue directly. This is a privilege granted by the True God. You and the other captains are capable of doing this, and since Ye Bo is capable of it, he is qualified to be a captain as well.¡±

    Yu Huo eximed, "The first time he used divine energy, it went very smoothly. I knew then that Ye Bo is incredibly talented at cultivating divine energy, but I still underestimated him. Just a bit more than a year of cultivating has allowed him to catch up to all of our years of hard work. Ye Bo, you might also be able topete to be one of the Seven Skygods."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Really?"

    "Don''t listen to his nonsense. The Seven Skygods possess a level of strength far beyond what we can evenprehend. That¡¯s not something that just divine energy alone canpensate for," the Chiliagonist said as he arrived.

    Yu Huo responded with an odd smile, "You¡¯re only saying that because you don¡¯t understand how high Ye Bo¡¯s affinity for divine energy is. Just wait¡ªas long as one of the Seven Skygods¡¯ seats opens up in a thousand years, he will definitely be able topete for it."

    The Chiliagonist shrugged and walked into the temple on his own.

    Progenitor Xi stepped forward. "Let''s go."

    Lu Yin looked back up and stared at the statue of the True God again. This second time, he no longer felt the same pressure as before. Was it really because of the divine energy in his body?

    As he stepped into the temple, the roaring sound from the waterfall of divine energy falling outside of the temple was cut off, despite the deafening sound outside the temple.

    The temple was dark, and the floor was dark red. As they moved further in, there were lit candles, and their light spread into the distance.

    There were other people inside, and Lu Yin nced at Yu Huo, who was the closest to him. Next was the Chiliagonist, whom he also knew. Farther away, the candlelight revealed Zhong Pan standing quietly. Across from him was a stone. A face had been painted on the stone in ck, but it looked like nothing more than a simple stone. On their way to the temple, Yu Huo had exined that this strange being was known as Stone Ghost.

    Further in, Da Hei was leaning against the wall in a corner.

    The candlelight also illuminated a woman with long pink hair. She raised a hand to block the light. "Are you here already? I wanted to y hide-and-seek with my brother."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. She was quite beautiful, but there was something childish about her appearance. As Lu Yin looked at her, he saw mischievousness and cunning in her eyes.

    A hand fell onto the woman''s shoulder. "Don''t misbehave. There¡¯s business to be done."

    The candlelight spread further and revealed the handsome face of a man with short-cropped blue hair. He was wearing a long robe, and there was a long sword at his waist. He looked as though he had just stepped out of a painting.

    The man met Lu Yin''s gaze and smiled. "You must be Ye Bo. This is our first time meeting. I am Dual deform."

    Dual deform was not one person, but two. The man and the womanbined served as one of the True God Guard Captains.

    They were a very strange pair, as they were not people, but rather knives, knives that had taken on human form.

    "Hey! My brother just said hello to you, and you didn''t even respond! How rude!" The pink-haired woman was quite irritated, and she red at Lu Yin.

    The blue-haired man rubbed the woman''s head. "Don''t shout. This ce is peaceful."

    "Who''s still missing?" Progenitor Xi asked as she stepped forward and looked around at everyone.

    The Chiliagonist replied, "Boss isn¡¯t here."

    Lu Yin''s eyes moved. The True God Guard Captains were all regarded as equals, but Yu Huo had mentioned that they recognized one of the captains as their boss. He was the strongest, and he was known as Skydog.

    Yu Huo had not mentioned any details. Instead, he had simply said that, even if all the other captains joined forces, they would not be able to defeat Skydog.

    Thisment had left Lu Yin quite concerned. Even sequence powerhouses could not ignore an attack from nine True God Guard Captains. All of them were powerful experts who had divine energy, which allowed them to handle sequence particles. On top of being able to block sequence particles, the captains were also individually very powerful, and they had unique innate gifts.

    Even so, Skydog had seeded in cowing all the other captains. Lu Yin believed that this Skydog had to be nearly as powerful as one of the Seven Skygods.

    "Last again? He¡¯s always so slow, despite having two more legs than the rest of us," the pink-haired womanined.

    Yu Huomented, "He¡¯s probably looking for something to eat."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Looking for something to eat? Could this Skydog be a creature simr to a Taotie?

    "Here hees." Progenitor Xi looked into the distance.

    Lu Yin stared outside of the temple. The leader of True God Guard Captains, Skydog, was undoubtedly a formidable enemy, and Lu Yin wanted to see this opponent for himself.

    After they waited for some time, a figure slowly entered the temple. The candlelight caused the shadow to stretch out very long as the figure entered the temple.

    Lu Yin stared at the door, very solemn, but once he actually saw the figure clearly, Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. He stared, dumbfounded. Was this really Skydog?

    At the temple entrance, a short, half-meter-long white dog walked in. His tongue was hanging out, and he panted as he walked. His tongue hung so low that it was practically licking the ground. His feet were a bit unsteady, and his belly was round and swollen.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Whose pet dog had been released into the Scourge?

    "Wow, Boss! You¡¯re so cute!" The pink-haired woman leaped forward and hugged the little white dog.

    The beast was frightened, and it fled from the woman. She chased after it. "Boss! Let me hug you! I just want to give you a hug."

    "Woof!"

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. That one bark shattered all his impressions.

    After Skydog arrived, the atmosphere of the entire temple changed. The pink-haired woman chased after the dog, who kept on barking at her as he ran away. Yu Huo and the other captains were used to this sort of behavior, and they watched on calmly.

    Even Progenitor Xi watched with a smile.

    The blue-haired man also moved to chase after the pink-haired woman. "Hurry up and get back here! Quit messing around! You¡¯re going to anger the boss."

    "Boss isn¡¯t angry¡ªhe¡¯s so cute! I just want to hold him, hahahaha!"

    "Woof!"

    The farce continued for some time before it finally stopped.

    The pink-haired woman never managed to grab Skydog. The dog hid behind Progenitor Xi, and the pink-haired woman did not dare to act recklessly around Progenitor Xi. The woman could only stare at Skydog, eager and ready to continue the chase at any moment.

    Skydog''s ears drooped, and his tongue hung out further than before. The dog looked exhausted.

    "Alright, all of the captains have arrived. I want to exin something to everyone," Progenitor Xi announced. As soon as she spoke, everyone''s expressions changed, and they grew solemn as they stared at her.

    Progenitor Xi nced around. "Of the True God Guard Captains, Ju Ji and Greenridge have both been confirmed dead. Chong Gui was part of the attack on the Heavens Sect, and no one knows if he¡¯s alive or dead. That means that three captains are currently missing. This is Ye Bo, who is a new captain."

    All the True God Guard Captains turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still staring at Skydog. When Progenitor Xi introduced Ye Bo, Skydog had nced over. The dog¡¯s eyes were round and bright, making him look like a cute and well-behaved dog. Seeing the tongue lolling out and the belly nearly scraping the ground, Lu Yin simply could not connect the animal that he was looking at with the boss of the True God Guard Captains.

    Could this cute little dog really defeat all of the other captains together?

    The man and the dog stared at each other, and there was only silence for some time. Finally, the dog got to his feet and slowly walked over to Lu Yin.

    Progenitor Xi and others all just watched. Skydog was the boss of the True God Guard Captains. If he did not agree with Ye Bo bing a captain, then nothing that anyone else said would matter, not even Progenitor Xi.

    Skydog had a quite special status.

    As everyone watched, Skydog walked over to Ye Bo and looked up at him.

    Lu Yin looked down at Skydog. Should he squat down and pet the dog¡¯s head?

    ¡°Woof!¡±

    Skydog barked again and then circled Lu Yin. Once the dog was behind Lu Yin¡¯s left leg, he raised a leg and peed.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he nearly kicked the beast away.

    "Congrattions. Skydog has recognized you and left his scent on you," Progenitor Xi said with a smile.

    Lu Yin swallowed. He stared at Skydog as the god wandered back towards Progenitor Xi. After that, Lu Yin looked down at his own legs. He had just been pissed on by a dog.

    A feud had just been ignited.

    ¡°Woof!¡±

    Skydog barked again, drawing everyone''s attention.

    Progenitor Xi nced around again. "There are still two captains who need to be appointed, so I hope that you can rmend some decent candidates. That is why I¡¯ve gathered you here today. Ye Bo, as of today, you are officially one of the True God Guard Captains. Within three years, you will be assigned ten corpse kings. I hope that you will use them well to eliminate Aeternus¡¯s powerful enemies and help unite all universes beneath us."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Ye Bo will follow your orders."

    ¡°Woof!¡±

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. It was hard to take this barking seriously.

    ¡­

    Stars shattered as spatial cracks spread into the distance.

    Lu Yin was standing tall in outer space, five Progenitor-level corpse kings behind him. Before them was an endless swarm of weird bugs.

    They were in another parallel universe. Ye Bo had been given a mission to destroy this universe.

    The upants of this particr parallel universe were all bugs. There were no other creatures to be found at all. While some of the bugs had the strength of a Progenitor, they were odd lifeforms thatcked sapience even at that level. There were also a tremendous number of Progenitor-level bugs.

    Fortunately, the creatures had no intelligence, so Lu Yin was able to wipe them out even while controlling the corpse kings.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2959: Target: Qing Ping

    <h4>Chapter 2959: Target: Qing Ping</h4>

    It had already been three years since Lu Yin had officially be one of the True God Guard Captains, and this was the fifth parallel universe that he had been sent to destroy.

    He had not yet encountered a parallel universe upied by humans, and all of them had been filled with either astral beasts or bugs, like the current one. Lu Yin had also encountered a parallel universe that had only recently produced life. He had no idea why the Aeternals wanted to destroy such a universe. In addition to Ye Bo, all the other True God Guard Captains were carrying out simr missions.

    As for the Sixverse Association, the Aeternals did not seem to care at all. Lu Yin had heard a lot of rumors concerning the Sixverse Association, all of which were rted to the Aeternals'' defeat.

    On both the Endless Frontier and the border warfronts of the various member universes, the Sixverse Association had gained a strong advantage, and Aeternus was unable to hold its head up high anywhere within the Sixverse Association¡¯s domain.

    This news was not enough to cheer Lu Yin up. The Aeternals possessed an unimaginable foundation and strength. The reason why they had not fought a decisive battle against the Sixverse Association yet was simply because they were waiting for their True God and the Seven Skygods. As soon as the True God emerged from seclusion, he would descend upon the Sixverse Association with the terrifying Ossis Ark. At that moment, the Sixverse Association would be destroyed.

    For three years, Lu Yin had searched everywhere for more information, and he had be increasingly convinced that this Ossis Ark was the exact thing that Yu Huo had mentioned. This made Lu Yin quite anxious. As soon as the Ossis Ark entered the Sixverse Association, everything would be destroyed.

    Lu Yin needed to find some way to get close to the Ossis Ark. It would be best if he could actually destroy it.

    Unfortunately, such a task would undoubtedly be far more difficult than killing one of the Seven Skygods.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance went to war. Lu Yin understood that the Five Spirits Alliance was aware that the Aeternals were instigating the war, but this war was still allowed to proceed. Lu Yin hoped that the entire thing was nothing more than a farce, as a real war would do nothing more than waste strength that could eventually be turned against the Aeternals.

    The universe continued to copse. Lu Yin turned around and stepped through a cosmic door, leaving the universe.

    That parallel universe was already done for.

    Shortly after returning to the Scourge, Lu Yin was absorbing divine energy when a stone fell from the sky. This stone was none other than Stone Ghost, one of the True God Guard Captains.

    "What are you doing here?" Lu Yin asked in an emotionless voice. During his time in the Scourge, other than his interactions with Progenitor Xi or Yu Huo, Ye Bo had been indifferent to everyone else. The Chiliagonist had tried to get to know Ye Bo better, but he had been given the cold shoulder every time.

    The less contact there was with others, the less likely Lu Yin was to reveal any ws in his disguise. On top of that, Ye Bo was known to be a cold and indifferent person.

    However, his indifference did not make anyone ufortable as they were all part of Aeternus. In the Scourge, smiles were a foreign concept, whereas Ye Bo¡¯s behavior was considered normal.

    "Progenitor Xi is calling us." Stone Ghost sounded strange when he spoke, like a vibrating rock. It was unpleasant to listen to.

    Lu Yin continued to absorb divine energy. He had frequently mentioned that he used divine energy in all of his missions, as this gave him an excuse to always be cultivating more divine energy.

    Over the past three years, the divine energy that had originally only been a small red dot in Lu Yin¡¯s universe had grown a great deal. Now, it was the size of a walnut.

    Soon after, Da Hei arrived, appearing nearby.

    Right after that, Progenitor Xi arrived. "I''m sorry, you three. You¡¯ve all just recentlypleted a mission, but a new one has already been assigned to you. This one is both urgent and very important, so I hope that you three will do your best toplete it.

    "It must seed at all costs."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Xi. Even his first mission, which had been the attack on the Five Spirits Alliance, had not caused the woman to be so solemn.

    Progenitor Xi looked at Ye Bo. "Ye Bo, have you heard of Qing Ping, the Interster Supreme Court¡¯s Chief Justice?"

    Lu Yin''s expression did not change at all, but his heart dropped. "I''ve never heard of him before."

    Progenitor Xi was not surprised. "You spent all your time in the Origin Universe¡¯s Perennial World, so it makes sense for you to not have heard of him before. Qing Ping is the Chief Justice of the Neoverse¡¯s Hall of Honor in the Origin Universe¡¯s Fifth Maind. He was always in the Fifth Maind until the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin, appeared and entered the Perennial World. As time passed, more and more news regarding the Fifth Maind spread, but by that time, you had already disappeared.

    "After Lu Yin became the ruler of the Origin Universe, Qing Ping only visited the Perennial World a few times, so there was never much of an opportunity for you to have heard of him.

    "While Qing Ping is only a Semi-Progenitor, he is extremely important. He is Lu Yin''s senior disciple brother, and he is also your target for your next mission. I want you three and your teams to work together to capture Qing Ping. He needs to be kept alive, as we need to transform him into a corpse king."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, flickering with killing intent. They wanted to go after Senior Brother Qing Ping?

    "Where is he?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Xi replied, "In one of the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes."

    Lu Yin had known that Qing Ping was training on the Endless Frontier in preparation for his breakthrough to be a Progenitor, but he had not known that Qing Ping had never left the Endless Frontier. It was also unexpected for the Aeternals to target the man.

    However, it also made sense. They were not able to directly deal with Lu Yin, so it was not unreasonable for Aeternus to start targeting those close to Lu Yin. His senior brother, Qing Ping was the best target.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had managed to infiltrate the Aeternals, as otherwise, Qing Ping would have been in grave danger. There would have been no warning that the man was being targeted.

    However, this line of thinking also seemed wrong. If Aeternus really wanted to get rid of Qing Ping, they should have done so long ago. It should have been impossible for them to leave the man on the Endless Frontier for so long. They had attacked him on several asions in the past, but after failing, no true experts had gone after the man. This did not align with the Aeternals¡¯ typical methods.

    Could there be a different reason for targeting Qing Ping? Something that did not involve Lu Yin? Could there be a connection to someone else?

    This possibility instantly made Lu Yin think of their master, Mister Mu.

    The Sixverse Association had no contact with the Immemorial Citadel at the moment, but the Aeternals were different. Over thest three years, Lu Yin had learned one very important detail; the Aeternals were fighting on an absolutely terrifying battlefield, which was against the Immemorial Citadel.

    It was possible to reach the Immemorial Citadel through the Aeternals¡¯ territory.

    This was something that Lu Yin was very interested in.

    If Qing Ping was indeed being targeted because of Mister Mu, then this mission had to be rted to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind started racing. He had no idea if his suspicions were correct or not, but regardless, he would not allow anything to happen to his senior brother.

    "You three must capture Qing Ping. This mission is of the utmost importance. I hope that you understand." Progenitor Xi''s expression grew ugly as she became far more serious while staring at the three True God Guard Captains.

    Lu Yin was the first to reply, "Don''t worry, Senior Progenitor Xi. We will make sure to capture Qing Ping."

    Progenitor Xi was satisfied with this response. All of the True God Guard Captains had weird personalities, and inparison, Ye Bo was rtively normal.

    While the Sixverse Association had coordinate seals to all the various parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, the Aeternals had even more. After all, all of the Sixverse Association¡¯s coordinate seals had been taken from the Aeternals.

    The three captains and twenty-seven Progenitor-level corpse kings entered the Meter Universe with the goal of capturing Qing Ping. Their numbers were a bit exaggerated, considering their task. As long as there were no sequence powerhouses, this would be enough to eliminate one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes. These numbers also indicated just how important this mission was to Progenitor Xi.

    The Meter Universe was a perfectly ordinary universe.

    As soon as Lu Yin and others entered the universe, they dispersed to search for Qing Ping.

    Da Hei and Stone Ghost stood guard at the spatial portals to cut off any possibility of Qing Ping moving to another parallel universe without tearing through the void.

    As for that possibility, the Aeternals were also prepared, as they had brought along a sourcebox array.

    Lu Yin had not expected to discover that Stone Ghost was an Array Master, and actually an Array Grandmaster at that. It seemed impossible for a piece of stone to be an Array Grandmaster.

    It was no wonder why Progenitor Xi had sent Stone Ghost along on this mission. His task was to prevent Qing Ping from escaping by tearing through the void.

    The Aeternals were truly well prepared, but regardless of their preparations, they could not outwit a traitor.

    Once Lu Yin moved away from Da Hei and Stone Ghost, he immediately sent a message to Qing Ping with a wireless jincan. However, even after sending multiple messages, there was no response.

    It was possible that Qing Ping was cultivating.

    While searching through the universe, Lu Yin deliberately allowed his aura to leak a bit, even as he continued to send messages with his wireless jincan.

    Trying to find a single person in a universe asrge as the Meter Universe was little different from looking for a needle in a haystack. The Meter Universe was quiterge, and it was at least asrge as the Outerverse. While Progenitor-level cultivators could move quickly, that did not mean that they could also find people quickly. On top of that, if any of the Aeternals released their aura, they were afraid that Qing Ping would be startled into instantly escaping.

    A few dayster, the wireless jincan trembled, causing Lu Yin''s eyes to light up with joy. His senior brother was contacting him.

    "Why are you here?" the message came through with the vibrations of the wireless jincan.

    Lu Yin sent back, "Aeternus has sent three True God Guard Captains to capture you. Hurry up and leave."

    "I can''t. There¡¯s someone watching me."

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. "Who¡¯s watching you? Someone from Aeternus?"

    "I don''t know. I''ve felt eyes on me for several months, and the feeling has been growing stronger and stronger. I have a premonition that I wouldn¡¯t be able to escape even if I wanted to."

    "Have you contacted Senior Brother?"

    Qing Ping stayed silent for a moment. "That might be what the person watching me wants."

    Lu Yin understood what Senior Brother Qing Ping meant. The man was worried that he was being used as bait. How could someone who could make Qing Ping feel that escape was impossible identally reveal their presence? It was clearly a trap.

    "Where are you?"

    "I don¡¯t want you toe over here."

    "I won''t, but I can lure the Aeternals over."

    "What does that mean?"

    "Senior Brother, just tell me where you are."

    Qing Ping again fell silent for a moment before he shared his location.

    Lu Yin sent one of his Progenitor-level corpse kings forward, acting as though it was just a random sweep of the area.

    There was still a bit of fighting taking ce within the Meter Universe. After all, it was still part of the Endless Frontier, though the most powerfulbatants were only as strong as Semi-Progenitors.

    Because of the level of the battlefield in the Meter Universe, Lu Yin sent one of his corpse kings over towards Qing Ping to draw the attention of whoever was watching Qing Ping. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was being used as bait, which meant that whoever was targeting him was not from Aeternus, and most likely not from the Sixverse Association either. The only possibility was that this person was targeting the Origin Universe and people who were close to Lu Yin.

    Such a person would never allow a Progenitor-level corpse king to wander about the Meter Universe, as they would not want to alert Proximity to what was happening in the Meter Universe.

    Just as Lu Yin expected, he lost contact with the corpse king, and it vanished shortly after it arrived close to where Qing Ping was hiding.

    Lu Yin had been keeping his aura restrained while watching from a distance with Heaven¡¯s Sight. He saw a deep darkness swallow the corpse king. It was Old Mo.

    Old Mo was actually targeting Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother, Qing Ping.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. While the Aeternals might be going after Qing Ping because of the Immemorial Citadel and Mister Mu, Old Mo could only be doing so because of Lu Yin. That old monster kept making trouble at the worst moments.

    After thinking about the current situation, Lu Yin sent a message to Proximity while simultaneously sending his own Progenitor-level corpse kings over to capture Qing Ping. At the same time, Lu Yin also sent a message to Da Hei and Stong Ghost. "I¡¯ve found Qing Ping."

    Da Hei and Stone Ghost hurried over. To avoid making too much of amotion, the other twenty-five corpse kings scattered in every direction to surround the entire area.

    "Where is Qing Ping?" Stone Ghost asked.

    Lu Yin pointed up ahead. "In that area."

    Stone Ghost immediately started setting up the sourcebox array.

    Given their distance, it was very unlikely that Old Mo would find them, not unless he was deliberately looking for them.

    However, as the sourcebox array was being set up, Old Mo discovered it.

    Old Mo suddenly looked up from the that he had been hiding on. After staring into the distance, he tried to take a step forward, but the void that should have casually torn through continued to warp. The sourcebox array had already beenpleted.

    At this exact same time, Stone Ghost was startled. "Watch out! There¡¯s a true expert here."

    ¡®Ye Bo¡¯ was taken aback. "Why would there be an expert here?"

    Da Hei quietly replied, "I knew that this mission wouldn''t be easy. This person might be Qing Ping''s protector. We need to kill them."

 Chapter 2960: Winning Over

    <h4>Chapter 2960: Winning Over</h4>

    As soon as Da Hei finished speaking, he raised a hand, causing his cloth to fly towards Old Mo.

    Stone Ghost stepped forward to stabilize the sourcebox array.

    At the same time, Lu Yin took action.

    The sight of the approaching cloth caught Old Mo by surprise. What was it? He was a cautious person, so even if his opponent was not a sequence powerhouse, Old Mo would still be careful. That habit only became more exaggerated when he encountered something as odd as this cloth.

    Old Mo instantly fell back, though the cloth pursued him closely.

    It looked like the cloth had the upper hand and that Old Mo was afraid of it. This gave Da Hei a bit of confidence, and he pushed the cloth further in an attempt to capture Old Mo.

    Old Mo frowned. The more he looked at the cloth, the less sequence particles he saw. In fact, this strange thing did not appear to be all that powerful.

    His hand rose, and he used a finger to release a sword technique.

    Sword qi surged and tore right through the cloth. Darkness sequence particles followed right behind, enveloping Da Hei.

    Da Hei''s voice suddenly changed. "We can¡¯t defeat this sequence powerhouse. Ye Bo, hurry up and capture Qing Ping."

    As Da Hei spoke, divine energy surged out and merged with the cloth.

    Old Mo was startled. "Aeternals?"

    It was at this moment that Qing Ping charged away. He did not try to tear through the void, and instead used pure speed to try to get away.

    Qing Ping¡¯sbat strength could notpare to any of the True God Guard Captains, but it was different when it came to speed. Right when ¡®Ye Bo¡¯ and Stone Ghost were about to capture the Chief Justice, he used a visualization method to manifest the Divine Eagle. The bird screeched at the sky, and Qing Ping started moving much faster. He broke away from Lu Yin and Stone Ghost.

    Stone Ghost lost his temper. "Why didn¡¯t he try to tear through the void to escape?"

    His sourcebox array had been set up for nothing.

    Upon seeing Qing Ping escape, Old Mo let out a snort of derision. "Darkest Sky."

    Endless Darkness Sequence Particles spread across the entire universe. Countless people stared in a daze as everything grew dark and disappeared. Fear struck as all fighting stopped.

    Beneath the Darkest Sky, only one could stand tall. This was a trick that Old Mo had mastered with his sequence particles, and it allowed him to send an entire universe into darkness.

    Qing Ping was unable to escape from the darkness that shrouded the entire Meter Universe, and Da Hei and the others from Aeternus were also swallowed. They could only resist with their divine energy.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. Old Mo was clearly determined to capture Qing Ping. Lu Yin shouted, "This person wants to kill Qing Ping! We need to capture him alive! Use your divine energy."

    Da Hei and Stone Ghost had no time to consider the situation, so they followed Ye Bo¡¯s lead. Divine energy erupted from their bodies and merged high above, creating a sun of divine energy that drove the darkness back.

    This sun of divine energy was muchrger than what the Chiliagonist could create on his own.

    Old Mo had been very cautious all along, so the sight of the sun of divine energy spurred him to use Inverse Step to chase after Qing Ping. Fighting could wait for after the Semi-Progenitor was captured.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Mo and then shot forward. He pierced the sun of divine energy while observing the spatial lines, and then used them to pursue Old Mo.

    As far as anyone else could see, the sun of divine energy inexplicably connected to a distant location and then moved in a manner that defied any concept of speed. The movement sundered the entire universe.

    Old Mo whipped around to stare at Lu Yin. Was this the power of space?

    The divine energy merged with the spatial lines, allowing Lu Yin to warp space. At the same time, Old Mo¡¯s Inverse Step also produced a field of chaotic time and space, and the two distortions collided, instantly shattering the void. The divine energy countered the sequence particles, and Old Mo instantly retreated. He kept a wary eye on Lu Yin before racing after Qing Ping once more.

    Qing Ping was also quite quick, and he had already reached the edge of the encirclement formed by the twenty-five Progenitor-level corpse kings. A corpse king was right in front of the man was, and it attacked Qing Ping.

    However, Qing Ping used Old Mo¡¯s darkness to use Skyless, borrowing the Sequence Progenitor¡¯s strength to eliminate the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Old Mo''s eyes lit up. "How clever! Come with me."

    The old man did not use any battle techniques, just the pure power of a Sequence Progenitor, to cross through the void. The spatial lines that had merged with divine energy were unable to stop Old Mo, as he had used his sequence particles to push through.

    Lu Yin grew anxious. Old Mo was clearly determined to capture Senior Brother Qing Ping. Unless Lu Yin revealed his truebat strength, it would be very difficult to stop the old man.

    Already, Lu Yin had exposed his mastery of the power of space. He could not afford to reveal anything more.

    Two more Progenitor-level corpse kings rushed after Qing Ping, one from the left and another from the right. They were closely followed by Old Mo, who was constantly closing the distance. Darkness Sequence Particles permeated the entire universe, and while some of the sequence particles had been driven back by divine energy, it was still impossible for anyone to tear through the void to leave. Old Mo could instantly stop any such attempt.

    The only escape was through the cosmic door.

    No matter what happened, Lu Yin could not allow his senior brother to be caught.

    Lu Yin''s eyes zed. There was no choice but to expose himself.

    At this moment, a gray mist suddenly appeared, and it surrounded Qing Ping before spreading out to envelop the approaching Progenitor-level corpse kings and Old Mo.

    Old Mo wanted to disperse the fog, but he discovered that he was unable to do so immediately.

    The old man attacked again, finally dispersing the fog, only to discover that Qing Ping was already far away.

    Next to him stood a woman. It was clear that she was Xi Wei.

    Lu Yin had sent a message to Proximity before anything took ce, but he had not expected them to send Progenitor Smoke over.

    While Progenitor Smoke was not nearly as powerful as Ancestor Tianyi or the others, she was still one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and she was certainly capable of stalling someone like Old Mo for a brief moment with her smoke. A single moment was all that someone with the strength of a Progenitor needed to reach one of the spatial portals.

    Old Mo red at Progenitor Smoke and Qing Ping. So what if they were already at the spatial portal? They were so close, yet also so far away.

    Darkness engulfed the spatial passage. In order to leave the universe, it was necessary to pass through the Darkness Sequence Particles. Neither Xi Wei nor anyone else present dared to make that attempt.

    However, the next moment, a red light pierced the void, prating the darkness at Xi Wei and Qing Ping''s sides, opening a path to the spatial passage for them.

    Xi Wei and Qing Ping shot forward, escaping from the Meter Universe.

    Old Mo turned back to re at Ye Bo. Behind him, Da Hei and Stone Ghost quickly caught up. At the same time, all of the Progenitor-level corpse kings were in the area, as well as the sun of red divine energy overhead.

    This was not a situation that Old Mo wanted to fight in, so he simply left.

    Lu Yin and the others had no intention of chasing after Old Mo. They were incapable of holding back a sequence powerhouse who wanted to leave, and Old Mo was not at all weak among sequence powerhouses.

    "Don''t me me. The only option was to help them escape. If that old man had captured them, we would have gained nothing at all," Lu Yinmented.

    Stone Ghost replied, "Progenitor Xi made it clear that Qing Ping needs to be captured alive, not dead. You did well, though our mission is a failure. On top of that, we exposed our intentions of capturing Qing Ping."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "That¡¯s not the case. We were actually attacking that sequence powerhouse the entire time. As for Qing Ping, I helped him twice. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll ever think that Aeternus is also trying to capture him after that."

    Da Hei retracted his cloth. "Let¡¯s return to the Scourge."

    Lu Yin refused, "No, let''s go to the Origin Universe. Our mission isn¡¯t over yet."

    Stone Ghost stepped back. "I''m not going to the Origin Universe with you."

    Da Hei softly joined in, "I¡¯m not going either."

    Lu Yin looked at the two. "If you want toplete this mission, then we need to chase them to the Origin Universe. By now, Qing Ping must be feeling quite safe, which means that this is the best time for us to attack. You both know how important this mission is to Progenitor Xi."

    Da Hei stared at Lu Yin through his ck cloth. "That''s not enough of a reason to die. Chong Gui was captured in that universe, Ju Ji was killed, and Yu Huo was beaten into his original form, nearly dying. All of that happened in the Origin Universe. Aeternus doesn¡¯t want to make any trouble in the Origin Universe right now, so we need to return to the Scourge and wait for our next orders from Progenitor Xi."

    ¡®Ye Bo¡¯ was unwilling to give up. "Believe me, this is really the best time to capture Qing Ping. I am very familiar with the Origin Universe, and nothing will happen to us there."

    However, the other two made a point of deliberately ignoring Ye Bo as they pulled out their cosmic doors and returned to the Scourge.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to do the same.

    Lu Yin¡¯s urging of the two other captains was not sincere. He had simply wanted to provide a reasonable excuse for why he had helped Qing Ping twice.

    In the Scourge, Lu Yin shared all that happened and was entirely truthful. He even admitted to helping Qing Ping twice so that he could escape.

    Da Hei and Stone Ghost never interrupted.

    Progenitor Xi took a moment to consider the matter. "Who was it that helped Qing Ping escape?"

    Lu Yin lifted his head. "One of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, Progenitor Smoke."

    Progenitor Xi''s eyes shed. "Xi Wei?"

    Lu Yin was surprised, as this reaction indicated that Progenitor Xi and Xi Wei knew each other. How? That simply did not seem possible. There was no denying that the two had simr names, and Lu Yin had actually first thought of Progenitor Smoke after hearing Progenitor Xi¡¯s name.

    While Progenitor Xi did not show much concern for anything else that happened during the mission, she was very interested in Xi Wei''s actions.

    "Senior Progenitor Xi, I wish to go to the Origin Universe andplete this failed mission," Lu Yin stated.

    Progenitor Xi looked at him. "While your mission failed, our goal was not revealed, and you prevented Qing Pin from being captured by that sequence powerhouse. This is not aplete failure.

    "There is no need to go to the Origin Universe. Right now, we cannot take any overt actions against the Sixverse Association. Silence is key right now."

    Lu Yin frowned. The more insistent that the Aeternals were about not targeting the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association, the more nervous he became. It was clear that there was a much bigger n in y. The Ossis Ark would destroy humanity as soon as the True God emerged from seclusion, and the Sixverse Association would naturally be doomed. This was all that Lu Yin could think about.

    "That sequence powerhouse who used the Law of Darkness should be Mo Shang. He was originally someone from the Origin Universe¡¯s ancient Heavens Sect, and he was even one of the masters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. His position regarding us is unknown, but there is no denying his strength.

    ¡°Ye Bo, I¡¯m assigning you another task: win over Old Mo," Progenitor Xi ordered.

    Da Hei and Stone Ghost both left, as neither of them were needed for this next mission.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Win him over?"

    Progenitor Xi appeared lost in thought. "I¡¯m rather familiar with Old Mo. During the Heavens Sect era, he betrayed Wu Da. He is timid and terrified of dying. He has no morals, but is both talented and cautious. He can be brought over to our side, and recruiting him will serve our master well."

    "Do you want him to be the missing Skygod?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Xi did not answer the question. "Take the Chiliagonist with you. He¡¯s fought Mo Shang before."

    Half a monthter, the Chiliagonist returned to the Scourge, and he quickly headed towards the Endless Frontier with Ye Bo.

    The Aeternals had already found traces of Old Mo. He was actually still in the Meter Universe.

    Lu Yin was quite curious about this. "How did Aeternus manage to track down a sequence powerhouse?"

    The Chiliagonist smiled. "That is the power of us Aeternals. We can find anyone we want to."

    "For example?"

    "Anyone at all."

    "Where is Dao Monarch Lu of the Heavens Sect?"

    The Chiliagonist froze for a moment. "How should I know? There¡¯s no way anyone would tell me something like that. If you want to know that, go ask Progenitor Xi.

    ¡°Wait, do you want to try to assassinate Dao Monarch Lu? Don''t go try to kill yourself."

    Lu Yin made a point of being upset. "Everyone from the Lu family needs to die! Dao Master Lu only relies on a number of external powers, but he isn¡¯t even a Progenitor himself. With divine energy, I think that I can kill him."

    The Chiliagonist just shook his head. "Stop dreaming. Even if you fought him one on one without anyone else helping him, you don¡¯t stand a chance. That man is an absolute freak. Amongst both the humans and us Aeternals, monsters at his level are not our True God Guard¡¯s business. That man is the Seven Skygods¡¯ target. All we need to do isplete a few missions."

    "You seem quite familiar with him," Lu Yinmented in surprise.

 Chapter 2961: Killing Three Birds With One Stone

    Chapter 2961: Killing Three Birds With One Stone

    The Chiliagonist looked at ¡®Ye Bo¡¯. "This Mo Shang that we¡¯re on our way to try to recruit once fought against me and Dao Monarch Lu. I was beaten to the point where I couldn¡¯t even fight back, but Dao Monarch Lu managed to grab Heaven¡¯s Sight and then escape with it. How do you think he managed to do that?

    "Someone like that is too lucky, and you and I could never deal with him. If you ever see him, just run the other way."

    Lu Yin returned to the Meter Universe.

    Once again, they were searching the universe for someone, though this time, they were looking for Old Mo.

    While the Aeternals were able to confirm that Old Mo was in the Meter Universe, they could not determine his exact location. Such an ability would be too miraculous.

    The Chiliagonist split his consciousness into thousands of different bits and made countless people throughout the Meter Universe spread out and shout, "Senior Mo Shang, can youe out and talk?"

    "Senior Mo Shang, can youe out and talk?"

    "Senior Mo Shang, can youe out and talk?"

    ¡­In a corner of the universe, Old Mo heard the shouts and frowned. What did the Aeternals want this time?

    He noticed the Chiliagonist, who was an old acquaintance. That man had been Old Mo¡¯s first opponent after waking up. As for the other person with the Chiliagonist, Old Mo had a deep impression of the man, as he had prevented Old Mo from capturing Qing Ping.

    The man wanted to attack, but the Aeternals were asking to talk. They might not be targeting him.

    After considering the matter, Old Mo decided to meet the two and see what they wanted. However, he would not meet them in the Meter Universe.

    A short whileter, someone delivered a message to the Chiliagonist. "I will see you in the Orchid Forest Universe."

    The Chiliagonist sent a message to ¡®Ye Bo,¡¯ and the two moved out for the Orchid Forest Universe.

    They had to cross several parallel universes to reach their destination from the Meter Universe. Old Mo was very cautious, and he believed that the Orchid Forest Universe would be the safest ce for a meeting.

    The three men soon met in the Orchid Forest Universe.

    Old Mo was clearly unfriendly with the Chiliagonist, but he quickly turned to Lu Yin. "What does Aeternus want with me?"

    The Chiliagonist got straight to the point. "We want you to join us, Senior."

    Old Mo sneered. "I¡¯m a human, so how can I join Aeternus? Do you want me to be a corpse king?"

    The Chiliagonist smiled. "Not all Aeternals are corpse kings. Given your strength, Senior, there would be no problem with you remaining human. Of the Seven Skygods, Shaman God has died, which means that there is a vacant position. Given your strength, you clearly have a good chance of taking that position. If you do, you will stand below one person while lording over countless within Aeternus.

    "ording to the ancient Heavens Sect era, you will be equal to one of the Three Realms and Six Daos."

    There was no denying that the Chiliagonist was quite convincing. Old Mo was indeed swayed by the suggestion, as he had always dreamed of reaching the same heights as Wu Tian.

    "The Aeternals are certainly sincere, sending you two over to convince me to join after you¡¯ve both attacked me." Old Mo sneered.

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "We were not targeting you. We just had conflicting interests."

    The Chiliagonist looked at Old Mo. "Senior, you don¡¯t actually have that many options before you right now. In the current situation, it¡¯s impossible for you to join the Sixverse Association as there is an irreconcble enmity between you and Lu Yin. When we attacked the Heavens Sect, you did the same, going after Lu Buzheng, who is another member of the Lu family.

    "You can''t join the Sixverse Association, which means that Aeternus is your only other option."

    Old Moughed. "You must really believe me to be an idiot. I won''t join anyone. I¡¯d like to see what anyone can do to me."

    "But if you do that, it will be difficult for you to ever achieve your goal, Senior."

    "What is that supposed to mean?"

    "Senior, don''t you want to get Heaven¡¯s Sight?"

    A flicker passed through Old Mo¡¯s eyes. "What of it? I may not be able to get it, but do you think that you Aeternals can? Recently, you all have been beaten terribly again and again by the Sixverse Association, to the point where you can''t even hold your heads up. That child from the Lu family used his own abilities to get Heaven¡¯s Sight. He might be cunning, but his talent is also peerless. I have never seen someone better than him, not even during the Heavens Sect era. When he breaks through to be a Progenitor, Aeternus¡¯s good days will be over."

    The Chiliagonistughed. "The same goes for you as well, Senior. You can¡¯t think that Lu Yin will ever be willing to forgive you, can you?"

    Old Mo''s eyes flickered. Of course he was not naive enough to believe something like that. It was the exact reason why he had been hiding on the Endless Frontier. He had been trying to find a way out of his current situation, which was why he had wanted to capture Qing Ping. With Qing Ping, Old Mo would have enough leverage to negotiate with Lu Yin and erase their old grudges. That had been the n, but it had failed. It was all because the Aeternals had interfered.

    "You Aeternals ruined my ns on several asions. If not for you, how could that Lu brat have ever found Heaven¡¯s Sight?" Just thinking about it caused Old Mo¡¯s temper to re, and he red at ¡®Ye Bo.¡¯ "If it weren¡¯t for you, how could Qing Ping have ever noticed me and run away? You Aeternals came after me and ruined everything.¡±

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s voice rose. "That¡¯s why we are here¡ªto invite you to join Aeternus, Senior. With this, we will only have onemon enemy: the Sixverse Association."

    Old Moughed. "You repeatedly ruined my ns, and now you want to win me over? You must be dreaming! Get lost, or else don¡¯t me me for being rude."

    The Chiliagonist shrugged. "Senior, joining Aeternus will only benefit you and won¡¯t harm you at all, so why remain so stubborn? The True God has mentioned before that, regardless of whether one is a human, an astral beast, an insect, or a corpse king, all of them are born ording to the needs of the universe. It¡¯s possible that, after this current universe is destroyed, another species will be born in the next one. All creatures are born from the universe itself and are merely different representations of life. There is no need to be concerned about race or species. After all, we turn into dirt when we all die."

    Old Mo stared at the Chiliagonist. "Don¡¯t bother spouting all this nonsense. If I cared about such drivel, I would have attacked you long ago."

    "Then why do you refuse to join Aeternus, Senior?" The Chiliagonist was quite puzzled.

    Old Mo''s eyes shed. "I can join, if that¡¯s what you really want, but you¡¯ll first need to show a bit of sincerity."

    "How so?" Lu Yin asked in a cold voice.

    Old Mo looked over. "I want Lu Buzheng¡¯s life."

    Lu Yin frowned.

    "Senior, Lu Buzheng has constantly been staying inside the Heavens Sect. Killing him would basically mean starting an all-out war between Aeternus and the Heavens Sect."

    "What? You don''t dare?" Old Mo sneered.

    Just as the Chiliagonist was about to respond, Lu Yin interrupted, "It''s not that we don''t dare, but that it''s not necessary."

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Either kill Lu Buzheng or get lost," Old Mo shot back impatiently.

    The Chiliagonist had no choice but to wink at Lu Yin. They needed to leave. It was very rare for the Aeternals to sessfully recruit a peak powerhouse the first time they approached them, unless the person was on the verge of death. For a sequence powerhouse like Old Mo, it was impossible to stress the benefits that he would enjoy from joining Aeternus, which made it very difficult to recruit such powerful cultivators.

    The man already possessed a great deal of experience.

    Lu Yin shook his head as he looked at Old Mo. "We have no intention of starting a war with the Heavens Sect right now, which means that we can''t kill Lu Buzheng. However, we can help you deal with Qing Ping."

    Old Mo¡¯s eyebrows rose. "What does that mean?"

    The Chiliagonist stared at Ye Bo, as he also did not understand where this conversation was heading.

    ¡®Ye Bo¡¯s¡¯ expression was cold, but his eyes zed with confidence. "Qing Ping should have fled back to the Origin Universe. There, he believes himself to be safe. We can go to the Origin Universe and capture him. Didn¡¯t you want to capture Qing Ping? Since we ruined your ns, we¡¯llpensate you for that. This should be enough to do that.¡±

    The Chiliagonist did not understand their previous mission to capture Qing Ping alive, but he felt that Ye Bo was being quite reasonable. Still, the Chiliagonist did not want to go to the Origin Universe.

    "Are you willing to go to the Origin Universe to help me capture Qing Ping?" Old Mo asked suspiciously.

    Lu Yin stared at Old Mo. "It won¡¯t be just us, as you¡¯ll be there as well. Just us alone might not be able to capture Qing Ping. I don''t know what that man means to you, but he is very important to Dao Monarch Lu. It¡¯s said that Qing Ping is the Dao Monarch¡¯s senior disciple brother."

    Old Mo''s eyes lit up. If not for that, he would have no reason to target Qing Ping.

    The old man had no idea that the Aeternals had also been going after Qing Ping earlier. Rather than help Old Mo capture Qing Ping, it would be better to say that this n was Old Mo helping Aeternus. Having another powerhouse assist in capturing Qing Ping would change everything, and Progenitor Xi should now agree to allow the mission to proceed. At the same time, Old Mo would see this as a sign of the Aeternals¡¯ sincerity.

    However, everything was within Lu Yin''s n. For Lu Yin, he seemed to be helping the Aeternals deceive Old Mo into helping themplete the mission of capturing Qing Ping while also helping Aeternus show their sincerity to Old Mo in an attempt to recruit him. However, it was not as simple aspleting two missions at once. Lu Yin¡¯s real purpose was to demonstrate Ye Bo¡¯s loyalty to Aeternus while eliminating another one or two of the True God Guard Captains. If this could result in Old Mo¡¯s death, it would be even better.

    For Lu Yin, this was a chance to kill three birds with one stone.

    The Chiliagonist was keptpletely kept in the dark, but Progenitor Xi would be able to see everything quite clearly. She praised Ye Bo for being so clever in convincing Old Mo to cooperate with Aeternus to capture Qing Ping while simultaneously winning a sequence powerhouse to their cause. Regardless of whether the mission was sessful or not, Progenitor Xi had seen Ye Bo¡¯s loyalty and dedication. She quickly agreed to allow Ye Bo, the Chiliagonist, and Old Mo to go to the Origin Universe to capture Qing Ping.

    While Old Mo feared the Origin Universe, he was not afraid to go to that universe. He knew that Progenitor Lu Yuan was in seclusion, and Old Mo was confident that no one else could stop him.

    Since the Aeternals were willing to help Old Mo, he felt that he might as well take action.

    However, he refused to move together with Ye Bo and the Chiliagonist. Before agreeing to join Aeternus, Old Mo did not want to risk being branded as a traitor to humanity.

    Before they left, Progenitor Xi gave Ye Bo some information to contact several of Aeternus¡¯s spies in the Origin Universe. These spies had ess to coordinate seals, which meant that they could ess parallel universes that connected directly to the Scourge.

    Lu Yin felt as though he had just been given a treasure. This was invaluable information.

    Yu Huo had allowed the Heavens Sect to capture an old man who had ess to the White Bamboo Universe, and Lu Yin had likely just received the information for several other simr spies. With a few more, the Heavens Sect would be able to attack the Scourge directly through these various parallel universes.

    In the Origin Universe¡¯s Neoverse, in a ce where yellow sand filled the sky, a massiveiu swung its tail, asionally mming it on the ground. It was intimidating nearby creatures while also preventing any sneak attacks.

    Theiu might be massive, but it was only capable of defending, not attacking. Its mostmon means of protecting itself was pure intimidation.

    On theiu¡¯s back, Lu Yin was sitting cross-legged, calmly staring off into the distance. Close to him was the Chiliagonist.

    "We¡¯ve found another hidden world in a cliff by this yellow sand. It¡¯s not bad. They practice battle techniques rted to this yellow sand," the Chiliagonist said while looking in a particr direction.

    Lu Yin said nothing. As they traveled, the Chiliagonist had been very interested in finding hidden worlds. Fortunately, he had never attacked any of them, or else Lu Yin would have killed the man before they ever reached the Hall of Honor.

    "The Origin Universe is truly the most brilliant human universe. Not to mention the ancient Heavens Sect era, or the current Heavens Sect, just recently, this universe did not even have a single Progenitor. Even so, they had so many people that they needed to hide some of their poption in these hidden worlds. Those ces have developed multiple different civilizations, and some of them are likely not bad at all. Do you think that Lu Yin and the Heavens Sect have aplete census of all the hidden worlds in this universe?" the Chiliagonist asked.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Sorry for thete chapter. Unexpectedly lost all sort of inte or connection for several hours and it really messed things up.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2962: Overcome By A Tribulation

    Chapter 2962: Ovee By A Tribtion

    Lu Yin looked up. A census? The only information that he had on the Origin Universe¡¯s hidden worlds was the Neoverse¡¯s World League.

    The World League had originally been the Hall of Honor¡¯s wallet and had specialized in manufacturing, selling, and recycling hidden worlds. Through the World League, the Hall of Honor, andter the Heavens Sect, had a general understanding of the hidden worlds.

    Among them were ces like the Light World and the Red Prism World. Some of the hidden worlds were led by powerful Envoys, while many others were upied by people who were incapable of surviving in the Neoverse and had hid to survive. Most of the hidden worlds¡¯bat strength could not even measure up to that of a minor flowzone in the Innerverse. With such strength, there was no need to have a full understanding of the hidden worlds.

    Still, neither the previous Hall of Honor nor the current Heavens Sect would ever dare to make the im that they fully understood all the hidden worlds.

    Additionally, no one knew if there were any peak powerhouses concealed in a hidden world.

    The Fifth Maind had survived several veryrge battles, even one that could have wiped out all of humanity in the universe. There were times when the hidden worlds had been used, but no truly powerful individuals had been found in any of the hidden worlds. They were better used as a means of transportation.

    However, Lu Yin still remembered when he had been traveling across the Honor Zone and a card had passed by. That card had terrified Mu Tianlun, a Judicial Commissioner of the Interster Supreme Court. The man had been too frightened to even touch the card, and at the time, Lu Yin had suspected the hidden world of being home to an expert with a power level of over a million, possibly even someone close to the Semi-Progenitor level. Later, he had ordered that card to be searched for, but it had never been found.

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s question about the hidden worlds had reminded Lu Yin about that card. He knew nothing about it, but he certainly wanted to.

    Still, regardless of what remained hidden, there should not be any Progenitors living in the 3,000 hidden worlds, which was why the Heavens Sect had never cared too much about them, and neither had Lu Yin. He had just happened to be reminded about his questions, and so was mulling things over."Aeternus should also have some hidden worlds," Lu Yinmented.

    The Chiliagonist casually replied, "I don''t know anything about that. All of my missions have been rted to the Endless Frontier, so I don¡¯t know much about this universe. I would assume that we have some. It¡¯s impossible to just ignore something with so much potential and not take a few hidden worlds.¡±

    Lu Yin had the same thoughts.

    In particr, Lu Yin desperately wanted Whiteless God''s Aeterna, a list of all the spies and redbacks that Whiteless God had developed. The Origin Universe had uncovered arge number of spies, but quite a few still remained hidden, such as the names that Ye Bo had been given by Progenitor Xi. No one would have ever guessed that those few ordinary cultivators were actually Aeternus¡¯s spies.

    Theiu made its way towards the former Hall of Honor. While the Hall of Honor had been destroyed by the Seven Skygods¡¯ attack, it had been rebuilt in its original location. The only thing that had changed was that the Hall of Honor was no longer the center of power for the Fifth Maind.

    Up above, cultivators asionally passed by. The entire Honor Zone waspletely different from when Lu Yin had first visited the ce.

    Back then, the Honor Zone had been a deste ce. It was possible to travel for weeks without seeing another person. At present, people asionally passed by overhead. It was clear that the overall strength of the Fifth Maind''s cultivators had increased tremendously.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin¡¯smunication crystal trembled. He connected to the call and heard Old Mo¡¯s voice, "I''m here. Where are you?"

    "We¡¯ll be there soon." Lu Yin put themunication crystal down and rose to his feet. "Let''s go. He''s here."

    Theiu continued walking across the Honor Zone, swinging its tail back and forth. This time, there was no one on its back.

    While Lu Yin and the Chiliagonist were on theiu¡¯s back, waiting for Old Mo, they had also been silently scouting to see whether there were any powerful cultivators in the Honor Zone. There seemed to be none at all.

    Soon, Lu Yin and the Chiliagonist arrived at the ruins of the former Hall of Honor. There were some buildings that had been erected atop the ruins of the destroyed structures, but they could notpare to the majesty that had once been the Hall of Honor.

    "Where¡¯s Monster Mo?" The Chiliagonist looked around.

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry about him. If we seed and someone shows up to stop us from leaving, he¡¯ll step in. We just need to capture Qing Ping. There¡¯s no need for three Progenitors to work together for that."

    "I¡¯m first going to take control of some people to evaluate the situation. Qing Ping was attacked on the Endless Frontier before, and I¡¯m worried that the Heavens Sect might have sent one of their powerhouses over to protect him," the Chiliagonist said as he spread out his consciousness. He instantly took control of more than a dozen people and had them move further in.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered at the sight of consciousness being used. He suddenly considered the possibility of snatching away the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness. If Lu Yin could do that, would it cause his die¡¯s Possession ability to change?

    That was an exciting thought, and it caused him to alter his ns. The Chiliagonist did not need to die.

    A few hourster, the Chiliagonist¡¯s expression changed. "I found Qing Ping."

    Lu Yin looked over.

    "Right now, it seems that there¡¯s no powerhouse keeping an eye on him."

    "How could your people find Qing Ping?" Lu Yin wondered.

    The Chiliagonist replied, "He¡¯s drinking tea."

    "Tea?"

    "Everyone deals with exhaustion at times, and it¡¯s normal to rx and rest. When we¡¯re about to take action and he¡¯s still unprepared, I¡¯ll use my consciousness to rattle his mind. All you¡¯ll need to do is capture him. As long as there aren¡¯t any experts nearby to protect him, we should be able to finish this quickly. Let¡¯s go, and don¡¯t hesitate,¡± the Chiliagonist warned.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I understand."

    "Go!" The Chiliagonist stared into the distance, and his consciousness fell as he tried to take control of Qing Ping. At the same time, Ye Bo stepped forward, approaching Qing Ping.

    The teacup fell from Qing Ping''s hand, shattering as it struck the ground. His vision grew blurry right as Lu Yin appeared and reached out to grab the Chief Justice.

    Elsewhere, Old Mo''s eyes lit up. They had seeded!

    At this moment, Qing Ping, who should have been under the control of the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness, looked up and stared straight at Ye Bo, who was very close. Qing Ping¡¯s body instantly vanished, and he reappeared far away. It was the Ce Secret Art.

    Old Mo went bug-eyed. Was the Chiliagonist unable to control the man?

    Lu Yin spun around and grabbed at Qing Ping again. This time, a powerful aura exploded as he took action. There was no need to hold back, as they had already exposed themselves.

    The Chiliagonist was startled. Qing Ping deserved to be Lu Yin¡¯s senior disciple brother. He could not be controlled? That did not matter, as Qing Ping could not escape from Ye Bo.

    Old Mo thought the same thing.

    When Ye Bo revealed his full strength, no one in the Honor Zone could stop him. Even if the Heavens Sect sent a Progenitor, it would take time for them to arrive.

    Lu Yin did his best to act as Ye Bo. Qing Ping had only managed to evade the first attack because no one had expected him to be able to break free from the Chiliagonist¡¯s control. However, against the full power of a Progenitor-level expert like Ye Bo, Qing Ping could do nothing. He was capable of fighting against ordinary Progenitors, but he was helpless before someone as strong as the True God Guard Captains.

    Lu Yin''s hand moved closer once more, and Qing Ping watched helplessly as he was grabbed. The man stood still, not seeming to react at all.

    Suddenly, stars appeared in front of Ye Bo and instantly exploded.

    He was forced to retreat.

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s pupils shrank. No! Lu Yin was present. Aeternus was aware of many of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, especially Star Stomp, which he could use by borrowing Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. Lu Yin had taken action.

    The Chiliagonist raced away. "Old Mo, now!"

    Old Mo stopped hesitating and instantly took action, causing darkness to instantly envelop the area.

    If all three men acted together, there was no way they would fail to capture Qing Ping.

    However, all of them froze in ce at the same time before fleeing. They had felt a terrible sense of danger. It did note from a person, but rather from overhead.

    They looked up to see a massive vortex with a ck hole at the center. No one knew when it had appeared.

    "A Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. Let''s go!" Ye Bo shouted.

    Needless to say, Old Mo had already pulled back his power of darkness, and the Chiliagonist had not reacted slowly either. He was already fleeing. In order to return to the Scourge, he needed to pass through a cosmic door. But the vortex of the Progenitor¡¯s tribtion was spreading out, and he had to first leave the range of the stellr tribtion before he could try to use a cosmic door. The sense of danger left the Chiliagonist too nervous to stick around.

    Shockingly, they had failed yet again. Three Progenitor-level experts, including a sequence powerhouse, had failed to capture a Semi-Progenitor twice.

    Looking up, the Chiliagonist saw that he had moved beyond the stellr tribtion. He instantly pulled out a cosmic door. Ignoring Ye Bo, the Chiliagonist prepared to leave on his own.

    Suddenly, stars appeared in front of him, and the Cosmic Art exploded.

    Lu Yin was attacking again.

    The Chiliagonist grabbed his cosmic door and fled. Lu Yin had used Progenitor Chen¡¯s Star Stomp again. The power of the exploding stars was not small when real stars were exploding. Progenitor Chen had used the Cosmic Art to create countless stars throughout the Fifth Maind, and detonating those stars with Star Stomp could produce enough power to threaten a Progenitor. However, Lu Yin was only detonating his simted stars, which was not nearly powerful enough to threaten the Chiliagonist.

    As the stars exploded, the Chiliagonist reacted. He did not have to worry about such a weak explosion. Again, he took out the cosmic door, only to have more stars appear in front of him. The Chiliagonist pressed a hand down, shattering the stars without a tremor passing through the man¡¯s body. This was not nearly enough power to prevent him from leaving.

    Just as he was about to step through the cosmic door, Ye Bo shouted from behind, "Wait for me!"

    The Chiliagonist looked back and frowned. "You-"

    Before he could finish saying anything at all, Ye Bo shouted, "Watch out!"

    Another star appeared, and the Chiliagonist casually destroyed it. Lu Yin seized the opportunity to appear next to the Chiliagonist, pass by the man, and move towards the cosmic door. The Chiliagonist was right behind Ye Bo.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin stopped and turned around to face the Chiliagonist. The man was briefly stunned, and before he could react, he was struck by Lu Yin''s palm strike. The attacknded on the Chiliagonist¡¯s abdomen with enough force to nearly tear his body to pieces. It was just one attack, but Lu Yin had confined a hundred attacks and released them together. This was too much for even Zhang Pan to handle, who had the strongest body among the True God Guard Captains.

    The Chiliagonist spat out a mouthful of blood as his body crumpled. He watched as Ye Bo moved further and further away.

    The man stared at Ye Bo. <em>Why?</em>

    Lu Yin turned around and stepped through the cosmic door, vanishing.

    The Chiliagonist mmed to the ground with a bang, where he spat out blood yet again. He suppressed the agony he was suffering and tried to tear through the void in order to escape. There was something very wrong with Ye Bo.

    At this moment, something entered the Chiliagonists¡¯s mind. <em>This feeling¡­ The mortal world?</em>

    He looked up and saw the distant form of Shao Chen. The once-mad man slowly walked forward. "We meet again, old friend. Whose life would you like to experience this time?"

    ¡­

    The stellr tribtion grewrger andrger, causing many cultivators to flee in every direction.

    No one had expected Qing Ping to suddenly initiate his breakthrough, but this was actually part of Lu Yin''s n. Without this, how could Qing Ping possibly hope to resist being captured by three Progenitors? As for the breakthrough itself, Qing Ping had already decided to attempt it.

    If the Heavens Sect tried to set a trap with Progenitors, it would invariablypromise Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Ye Bo. After all, Ye Bo had been the one to instigate the n to sneak into Fifth Maind to capture Qing Ping. The identity of Ye Bo was still very useful, and Lu Yin did not want to lose it.

    No one could be med for failure when a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion ruined the mission.

    As for the Chiliagonist¡¯s failure to escape, that was his own problem. As long as Old Mo did not see Ye Bo attack the Chiliagonist, there would be no problems at all.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2963: As Stable As A Boulder

    <h4>Chapter 2963: As Stable As A Boulder</h4>

    In the Outerverse, at the Heavens Sect, Progenitors and other cultivators moved out one after another, all making their way towards the Neoverse. They all wanted to watch Qing Ping be a Progenitor.

    Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors were particrly eager, as they all wanted to make their own breakthroughs, but were not confident about seeding. They could only watch as their peers broke through one by one to be Progenitors.

    Beneath the tribtion¡¯s vortex, Qing Ping appeared calm. He had not been waiting very long for this day, but his junior brother''s cultivation was improving too quickly. Lu Yin¡¯s speed was so unbelievably fast that Qing Ping feltpelled to be a Progenitor.

    After all, he was the senior brother.

    Unless they died, all seniors had an obligation to protect their junior disciple brothers and sisters.

    However, how was Qing Ping supposed to protect Lu Yin as a mere Semi-Progenitor?

    More and more people arrived at the edge of the stellr tribtion. There were a great number of powerhouses from the Heavens Sect.

    As expected, they witnessed a familiar scene: the Skyfield of Destruction.

    This strange scene only ever appeared when the most extraordinary Semi-Progenitors challenged their Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. It manifested as a perfect vacuum of stellr energy that restrained whoever was challenging the tribtion. The appearance of the Skyfield of Destruction indicated a certain level of recognition from the true universe. Qing Ping, much like Leng Qing before him, was strong enough that the true universe itself wanted to stop the man from bing a Progenitor.

    Leng Qing had treated himself as a de, slicing through the sky and oveing the tribtion.

    Lu Yin had faced the Skyfield of Destruction during his sixth stellr tribtion. He had used the universe in his chest to seal his stellr energy in ce, preventing the tribtion from stealing it.

    Without the ability to ovee the Skyfield of Destruction, how could a cultivator ever hope to create their own power as a Progenitor?

    Everyone was curious about how Qing Ping would handle this trial.

    His weapon was a bell, and Qing Ping had only ever used stellr energy, as far as anyone knew. There had never been any sign of the man creating his own form of energy.

    How would he survive this trial?

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin returned to the Scourge, conflicted emotions filling his eyes. He was the one who had decided that his senior brother would escape capture by triggering his stellr tribtion. Ye Bo had repeatedly suggested sneaking into the Fifth Maind to capture Qing Ping precisely because Qing Ping was ready to face his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    None of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples were simple, so failure was simply not considered.

    Lu Yin walked towards his tower. His mission had failed, and he needed to give a report to Progenitor Xi.

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse, the Skyfield of Destruction sealed off everything within a specific area, and not even sound could make its way in.

    Qing Ping stood tall. Even as the Skyfield of Destruction surrounded him, he did nothing.

    Everyone watched. Qing Ping could not fail. While he had not been particrly noticeable in recent years, that did not mean that he was by any means weak. He was one of Lu Yin''s senior disciple brothers, which meant that Qing Ping also had the qualifications to be recognized by Lu Yin¡¯s master.

    Everyone was curious to see how Qing Ping would survive this trial.

    Mu Xie arrived, and although he saw that Qing Ping was surrounded by the Skyfield of Destruction, no worry appeared on the Progenitor¡¯s face. "As stable as a boulder."[1]

    "As stable as a boulder?" Arch-Elder Zen felt puzzled.

    Mu Xie exined, "Master has madements regarding several of my fellow disciples, and he mentioned that Junior Brother Qing Ping is as stable as a boulder."

    Arch-Elder Zen mulled over thisment.

    The Skyfield of Destruction filled an entire region of outer space. There was absolutely no movement within the field, causing everyone watching to grow nervous.

    Time passed, but everything remained the same.

    The mostmon method to ovee this particr trial was like Lu Yin¡¯s, who had sealed his stellr energy and prevented it from being stolen. One could also be like Leng Qing, who had destroyed the Skyfield of Destruction itself. Qing Ping¡¯s situation was rare, as it only urred when a person could not ovee the Skyfield of Destruction.

    However, if Qing Ping was unable to ovee this trial, then it should have ended long ago. Why was it still continuing?

    It was like seeing the waves of an ocean sweep across thend, only to fail to drown thend.

    "So that''s it." Big Sis appeared and she stared at the stellr tribtion. "What amazing control of stellr energy. The Skyfield of Destruction steals stellr energy from the body of the one challenging the tribtion, and then it attacks them with that same stellr energy. It¡¯s very simple in principle, as it¡¯s a basic attack from the stellr tribtion. However, Qing Ping is able to control his stellr energy even when the tribtion is trying to take it from him. He¡¯s basically stealing stellr energy from the Skyfield of Destruction.

    "If the Skyfield of Destruction won, he would fail this trial of his stellr tribtion and be destroyed. However, it appears that he was the victor. Any and all stellr energy that attacks him bes his to use. What a freak. I¡¯ve only ever heard of this sort of ability before.¡±

    Mu Xie was surprised. "Has this happened before?"

    He had thought that Qing Ping was the first one in human history to have used this method to surpass the Skyfield of Destruction. Stealing stellr energy from a tribtion sounded simple enough, but stellr tribtions came from the true universe, which was the origin of all stellr energy. How difficult was it to steal stellr energy away from its origin? This was something so difficult that even Mu Xie could not do it at his current level. This was also why their master had made thement that Junior Brother Qing Ping was as stable as a boulder.

    When it came to controlling stellr energy, Qing Ping was undoubtedly the best among all of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples, and Lu Yin could notpare at all.

    Qing Ping was simply too stable.

    Big Sis rolled her eyes at Mu Xie. "What? Do you think that your master¡¯s the only one capable of producing geniuses?"

    "May I ask, Senior, who you¡¯ve heard of surpassing the Skyfield of Destruction in this way?" Mu Xie asked.

    Again, Big Sis rolled her eyes. "Wu Tian."

    The Skyfield of Destruction was still raging, but within, everything was as stable as a boulder. Qing Ping was just standing in ce, as though he could remain there forever.

    Ultimately, the Skyfield of Destruction disappeared, and Qing Ping reappeared before everyone. He was as calm as ever, his expression not changing even once. His breathing had not shifted, and there was not a single wrinkle on his clothes. The Skyfield of Destruction had seemingly done less damage than a breeze.

    Everyone stared at the man as he looked up at the ck hole at the center of the vortex. Not a sound could be heard.

    As everyone waited, Arch-Elder Zen grew curious about something. "Your master¡¯s evaluation of Qing Ping is that he is as stable as a boulder. What is his evaluation of the Dao Monarch?"

    Big Sis also looked at Mu Xie with curiosity.

    Everyone who heard the question was intrigued.

    Mu Xie smiled. "Senior Brother Mu Ke doesn¡¯t hide his edge, but he only heard Master say one thing about our junior brother."

    He paused, and everyone stared.

    Mu Xie sped his hands behind his back. "Master can''t see through him."

    Big Sis¡¯ eyebrows shot up. "He can''t see through him?"

    Mu Xie nodded and sighed. "Master can''t see through my youngest junior brother. Not even Master can determine Lu Yin¡¯s future."

    Big Sis was quite happy with this answer. The more uncertain Lu Yin¡¯s future was, the more potential he possessed. In the end, Little Seven was indeed the best.

    She had just felt a bit of pressure from Qing Ping. During her era, she had only ever heard of Wu Tian surpassing his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion in this manner, and while Big Sis hoped that Qing Ping would be very powerful, she never wanted anyone to surpass Little Seven. Her little brother had to be the best.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others who heard Mu Xie¡¯s answer were not surprised. No one could see through Lu Yin. That young man was unfathomable.

    "Here it is!" Someone shouted.

    Everyone looked up at the ck hole at the center of the vortex, where they saw a finger appear and slowly descend, pointing downwards.

    Ripples spread out from the finger, confusing everyone. Then, a chessboard appeared in outer space. Stars were scattered across the chessboard like pieces in the game. Qing Ping was also on the chessboard, clearly another piece in the game.

    The finger pointed at a corner of the chessboard. Qing Ping¡¯s foot rose, and he moved across the chessboard. He was using himself as a piece to y against the owner of the finger.

    No one was sure what was going on. It was a very simple game of chess, but Qing Ping was using himself as a piece in the game. Was he restricted to the chessboard, or could he break free from it?

    Regardless, the game continued to y out before everyone¡¯s sight.

    The game proceeded, and things were very clear to everyone watching. However, the onlookers¡¯ expression grew strange, as it was clear that Qing Ping was about to win.

    Everyone had expected the master of the finger to be a master of the game, but clearly, the other side was absolutely terrible. That person was so bad that everyone watching looked down on them. How could anyone who was so bad have the courage to y chess?

    "This person is clearly very powerful since their image was summoned to attack Senior Qing Ping during his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, so I expected to see a chessmaster. Why is this person so terrible?"

    "You¡¯re right. I could beat him ten times in a row."

    "I could beat him a hundred times in a row."

    "What are you saying? Are you saying that you can kick my ass at chess?"

    "Ahem, don''t get me wrong. It just slipped out like that."

    "Still, this guy is so bad. The game¡¯s about to end."

    There was a snap, which was the soft sound of a piecending on the board. The sound seemed to echo in everyone''s ears. Qing Ping took a step forward, moving to a position that secured his victory beyond any question or doubt.

    Everyone stared, wide-eyed. This was the first time that anyone had seen chess being yed during a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and yet the game had been a horrible match.

    Just when everyone assumed that the game was over, the finger suddenly pointed at Qing Ping, causing the man¡¯s body to move of its own volition. At the same time, the various other pieces on the board started moving, and several of them returned to their previous positions. After a few seconds of movement, the game resumed.

    Everyone stared, dumbfounded. What was this? Did Qing Ping¡¯s opponent just take their move back?

    Silence reigned as everyone stared. Manipting a chessboard was beyond shameless, and yet the person summoned by the stellr tribtion had done exactly that before countless witnesses.

    Big Sis suddenly became furious. "It''s Ce Wangtian! It¡¯s that shameless bastard, Ce Wangtian!"

    People were startled by her sudden shout.

    Mu Xie was taken aback. "Ce Wangtian?"

    Big Sis gritted her teeth. "That¡¯s definitely him. He''s a terrible chess yer, but he loves ying the game. However, whenever he loses, he just maniptes the board. There¡¯s no one else who¡¯s as shameless and brazen."

    "Ce Wangtian? I remember that name. I heard that Progenitor Ce Wangtian was not good at chess, but I never thought that he¡¯d be this bad."

    "I can¡¯t believe how shameless he is! He changed the entire board!"

    "That¡¯s beyond shamelessness. Look, he¡¯s doing it again."

    For the second time, the game of chess being yed beneath the vortex of the stellr tribtion was about to end with Qing Ping¡¯s victory. And once again, the finger changed the board. Qing Ping wanted to resist, but Ce Wangtian manipted the power of space, forcing Qing Ping back a few moves. Everyone was left speechless by the sight.

    "Shameless! Utterly shameless!"

    "I can¡¯t believe that anyone could be so shameless."

    "Shameless!"

    ...

    Within the crowd, Ce Laoyan was left speechless, and he silently ducked his head. "Ancestor, this is humiliating! You might have taken back your move, but you were still recognized. This is so embarrassing!"

    Ce Laoyan cursed his ancestor, as did the rest of the Ce family. For a time, the Ce family was universally hated.

    Big Sis gasped as she stared at the finger. If this was not a stellr tribtion, but the real person, she would absolutely rush up to cut that off that shameless Ce Wangtian¡¯s finger.

    No one had ever seen such an absurd Progenitor¡¯s tribtion before. That finger reset the board again and again, refusing to admit defeat. Despite that, the finger always lost, no matter how many times the game was yed. This person¡¯s chess skills were so bad that they defied all understanding.

    No one could have imagined that a powerful Progenitor, someone with the strength to see across billions of stars in an instant, could be so terrible at chess. Even if Ce Wangtian were not a Progenitor, no Semi-Progenitor would have such miserable chess skills.

    The finger reset the board dozens of times. No one knew how many times it would take for this trial to end.

    Qing Ping finally took action. As the power of space started manipting the game once again, the man pointed a finger and used Origin Tracer.

    The obscure power of time moved as Ce Wangtian reversed space. The game shifted to a battle between the powers of space and time, which caused the void to constantly warp and tear, destroying the entire chessboard.

    Qing Ping was forced to move a few ces forward by the power of space, but Origin Tracer seeded in finding the exact moment in time when Qing Ping was about to be manipted, and that moment was denied.

    The chessboard instantly shattered, as it was unable to withstand the battle between space and time.

    Qing Ping''s body trembled, but he had still won.

    He had not been facing Ce Wangtian as a Progenitor, which meant that Qing Ping had not been facing the true Ce Secret Art. The board had been reset repeatedly through the power of space turning things back to where they had been. So, when Qing Ping used the power of time to resist, the chessboard had been destroyed, which had naturally ended the game.

    In fact, this game had never been a game of chess, but rather a matter of whether the board could be destroyed and if Qing Ping could escape from Ce Wangtian''s power of space. If Qing Ping had failed to escape, he would have failed this stage of his stellr tribtion.

    1. This is a Chinese idiom, but it trantes pretty well. ?

 Chapter 2964: Giving Up

    <h4>Chapter 2964: Giving Up</h4>

    Qing Ping¡¯s stellr tribtion had manifested Ce Wangtian''s ability to undo movement with the power of space. The chess game had been nothing more than the surface appearance of the trial.

    However, the people watching did not know this. Most had only seen Ce Wangtian manipting the board and taking back his moves every time he lost a game of chess. It was a pathetic and despicable demonstration of the man¡¯s poor character.

    Qing Ping also did not need to exin anything, as Ce Wangtian loved ying chess and had always taken his moves back. There was a reason why this secret technique was based off of chess and manipting the board.

    Of course, there were still some people present who did understand what had happened, one of whom was Big Sis. She had not been insulting Ce Wangtian because he cheated at chess, but rather because she simply wanted to insult him. Additionally, she had been impressed with Qing Ping''s abilities, as the man had managed to ovee Ce Wangtian''s mastery of space at the same cultivation level.

    Ce Wangtian had always been impressively powerful for his level. While his personality might have been criticized by many people, he had always been exceptionally crass and extremely cautious. With both of those traits, he rarely took action. Few people during the Heavens Sect era had understood Ce Wangtian¡¯s true strength, but Big Sis was one of them.

    Big Sis was Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. She had once been Dao Monarch Gu¡¯s honored guest. But even with all of her strength, Ce Wangtian had still kicked her off of the big tree.

    "That bastard really didn¡¯t reveal his strength until thatst moment. The bastard," Big Sis cursed the man out of pure habit.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others nearby were already used to this. Whenever the Heavens Sect era was mentioned, Big Sis would bring up Ce Wangtian and start insulting him.

    But right now, everyone was staring at the stellr tribtion¡¯s ck hole. What would appear next?

    No one expected Qing Ping to have an easy tribtion. While both the Sky-like Field of Destruction and Ce Wangtian¡¯s spatial control had been difficult challenges, neither had been deadly. On top of that, after the trials that tried to kill the challenger outright, there was also the portion that questioned the heart. This was the portion that most Semi-Progenitors were wariest of, including Lu Buzheng and Destina.

    As everyone watched, a bell pealed across the sky.

    The sound of the bell caused a burgeoning sorrow to rise up within the listeners¡¯ hearts, and tears fell as they listened.

    Countless people¡¯s eyes flushed red without them noticing. They began reminiscing on family, friends, and lovers that they had been reluctant to part with, but who were also gone forever.

    The bell peals drew out everyone¡¯s deepest sorrows.

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "That bell sounds so familiar."

    "Tombkeeper?" Elder Gong eximed from a distance.

    "Is this a humanoid tribtion?" Big Sis eximed at the same time. She and Elder Gong nced at each other. "Has Tombkeeper appeared?"

    Arch-Elder Zen turned to look at Big Sis. "Senior, Tombkeeper is one of our contemporaries. How could you possibly know about him?"

    "Bullshit! He¡¯s from my era. He attracted people to follow him with his unyielding will to protect humanity¡¯s inheritance, while also waiting for the day to counterattack," Big Sis softlymented.

    Elder Gong felt quite puzzled. "Counterattack? He¡¯s just a Semi-Progenitor."

    Big Sis listened to the sound of the bell. "This sound is a manifestation of his determination. In every generation, some of the universe¡¯s peak powerhouses will be buried in Burial Garden, waiting for the day when they are summoned out once more. During our era, it was said that being buried in Burial Garden meant that one would never find eternal rest, but that was Aeternus¡¯s methods, not ours.

    "Many people believed that saying, and they preferred to escape or die than be buried in Burial Garden. That¡¯s why anyone who was chosen by Burial Garden but refused to enter it would have the death bell rung for them and be carried away on a sedan chair by the Dead Regiment.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen and others looked at each other. They had regarded Tombkeeper and the Dead Regiment as their peers and equals. Were the people of Burial Garden really that powerful?

    Thinking back to his interactions with Tombkeeper, Arch-Elder Zen could not believe the man or the Dead Regiment to be that powerful. Tombkeeper had clearly been just a Semi-Progenitor, while each of the four leaders of the Dead Regiment had only had a power level of just over a million. How could they forcefully take away an ancient Progenitor?

    Still, there was clearly something off about the entire matter. The guardians of Burial Garden had been very familiar with the Seven Skygods, which was something that no one else from the modern Fifth Maind could understand. The Seven Skygods were each ancient powerhouses, and it was impossible for anyone from the modern era to be familiar with them. Despite that, Tombkeeper of Burial Garden had clearly been quite familiar with a number of the Seven Skygods, and had been very antagonistic towards them. On top of that, the Burial Garden had always been waiting to be opened.

    During Burial Garden¡¯sst opening, Undying God had activated arge number of desated corpses and sent them out to hunt down people with ancient bloodlines. That was the incident that had prompted Burial Garden to open.

    In fact, no one knew just how old Burial Garden was.

    But during thest exploration, fiends had appeared, which had been extremely powerful. Burial Garden also contained many ancient inheritances.

    The bell continued to ring beneath the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex. The peals grew louder and louder, and the dour emotions became more and more intense. Qing Ping looked up. He had already learned the truth about Burial Garden from Mister Mu. Qing Ping¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion had manifested the people of Burial Garden to inter the man into Burial Garden.

    Was this just a trial from the stellr tribtion, or was Qing Ping really being chosen by Burial Garden?

    Qing Ping could not say for sure.

    Bits of white paper fluttered down from the sky as a paper man stepped out of the tribtion¡¯s vortex. It was an odd sight. A river also flowed down, and while it was impossible to make out the color, Qing Ping knew that it was the Yellow Springs.

    A strange sedan rode atop the Yellow Springs, with stick-thin figures on either side of it like an escort of guards.

    The Dead Regiment had appeared to take Qing Ping back to Burial Garden.

    The suona summons forth hell.

    The dead travel on sedans.

    A paper-thin life.

    Rice straws protect tombs.

    These words entered the minds of everyone watching the stellr tribtion.

    Shock filled Big Sis''s eyes. She was seeing this scene again. Even if it was a recreation by a stellr tribtion, it remained as sad and shocking as ever. She was reminded of many tragic events from that ancient era.

    How many people had been interred into Burial Garden? How many had been willing, and how many had been carried away by the Dead Regiment? The appearance of Burial Garden brought on despair and the feeling that the battle was already lost, but it also represented new life and humanity¡¯s unyielding will.

    In fact, Big Sis had nearly entered Burial Garden herself. If not for the fact that she had happened to catch sight of the big tree, she would have entered Burial Garden.

    The Dead Regiment emerged from the stellr tribtion. The knelling of the death bell filled the Neoverse with an odd sound.

    The scene gave everyone watching chills, let alone Qing Ping. He had to face the Dead Regiment.

    "Has anyone ever sessfully resisted the Dead Regiment?" Arch-Elder Zen suddenly asked.

    Big Sis frowned. "No one."

    These words caused even Mu Xie''s heart to sink. This was a power of the ancient Heavens Sect era. Why had it appeared now? Junior Brother Qing Ping was not a simple person. While he could notpare to Junior Brother Lu Yin, the fact that Qing Ping was able to trigger such a unique stellr tribtion was proof that the true universe had acknowledged the man¡¯s strength.

    At this same time, Lu Yin arrived at a tall tower in the Scourge. Inside stood Progenitor Xi, who was silently staring at a river of divine energy, as though in a trance. Lu Yin had no idea what she was looking at. Was she also hoping to find the True God¡¯s three unique battle techniques?

    "Progenitor Xi, the mission fai-"

    Before Lu Yin could finish speaking, Progenitor Xi cut him off, motioning for him to step forward.

    Lu Yin was wary, but he still walked forward. He followed Progenitor Xi¡¯s gaze and stared into the river of divine energy. His pupils shrank, as there was an image in the river. It was Qing Ping¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    "What is this?" Lu Yin was horrified. If Progenitor Xi was able to see the Origin Universe, she could have seen Lu Yin turning on the Chiliagonist.

    This thought chilled Lu Yin to the core.

    "I received word that Qing Ping triggered his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, so I came here to watch. Was it his tribtion that caused your mission to fail?" Progenitor Xi asked.

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes. The Chiliagonist and Iunched a sneak attack to capture Qing Ping, but he shook off the Chiliagonist¡¯s control and dodged my attack. Right when we were about to follow up, Lu Yin took action. He separated us from Qing Ping with exploding stars. I was able to escape, but the Chiliagonist could not get away."

    Progenitor Xi did not seem to care. She continued to silently stare into the river of divine energy. "His trial actually summoned Burial Garden. It appears that Qing Ping is quite talented. He deserves to be that person''s disciple."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Mister Mu? Did Progenitor Xi also know Mister Mu?

    The two no longer spoke, as they both silently stared into the river of divine energy.

    In the Neoverse, the Yellow Springs spread out until it reached Qing Ping¡¯s feet. A paper figure approached in the sedan chair, and the knelling of the death bell grew louder and louder as it drew closer.

    Qing Ping watched as the Dead Regiment approached him. He was unwilling to attack.

    Whether they were a part of his stellr tribtion or truly people of Burial Cemetery, they still represented a ce that contained countless heroes and the hope of mankind. They were the sorrow of an era, as well as the hope of that era. Qing Ping would not attack them.

    He closed his eyes, and the stellr energy within his body retracted. If this was his only option, then he would give up.

    "What is he doing?" someone eximed.

    "Did he give up?"

    Arch-Elder Zen watched as the stellr energy within Qing Ping''s body dispersed, his aura growing weaker and weaker. How could the man have given up? Qing Ping''s personality would not have given up, not even if he was absolutely certain of his failure.

    Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong, and several others watched, feeling torn. They all knew Qing Ping and were broken-hearted to see him abandon his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Sure enough, it was too difficult to be a Progenitor.

    Lu Buzheng and many others felt helpless. If they had to face Burial Garden, they would be able to do absolutely nothing.

    People from the Heavens Sect era naturally had an understanding of Burial Garden¡¯s legends. They knew that no one could escape from the Dead Regiment when they appeared to inter someone into Burial Garden. The only options were death or giving up.

    It was a pity that the Dao Monarch¡¯s senior disciple brother had failed, as he was clearly another amazingly talented person.

    Big Sis stared at Qing Ping. Was it that he had not been able to defeat the tribtion, or that he was unwilling to defeat them? Qing Ping had his own determination, and his sense of righteousness forced him to abandon his tribtion.

    Little Sevencked Qing Ping¡¯s determination, but it was also a pity that the man had failed. If he had surpassed his stellr tribtion, he would have be an amazingly powerful Progenitor.

    Mu Xie sighed. Any tribtion sent to a cultivator could be ovee with that person¡¯s strength. Qing Ping knew this truth, but he had still resolutely abandoned his breakthrough. He had not abandoned his tribtion; rather, he had refused to attack Burial Garden. Mu Xie¡¯s junior brother¡¯s heart was as stable as a rock, just like his cultivation, and nothing could shake him.

    In the Scourge, Lu Yin clenched his fists at the sight of the failure. <i>Senior Brother, why did you give up?</i>

    Progenitor Xi praised Qing Ping, "That man is truly great. Not everyone has the determination to give up on the chance to be a Progenitor in order to remain true to their values. He must understand Burial Garden very well.

    "Ye Bo."

    Lu Yin looked at Progenitor Xi. "I¡¯m here."

    "Continue searching for a way to capture him and transform him into a corpse king," Progenitor Xi ordered, her eyes bright as she continued to stare at the river of divine energy.

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. "He just failed his tribtion, so hasn¡¯t he lost all value? Even if he is Lu Yin''s senior disciple brother, will Lu Yin still care about him?"

    A smile spread across Progenitor Xi¡¯s face. "His valuees from no one but himself. He¡¯s qualified and worthy to be raised up by Aeternus. Just because he¡¯s failed his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion doesn¡¯t mean that he cannot progress further."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "I understand. I will reach out to Mo Shang to n another attack."

    "There¡¯s no need to bother with him. If he captures Qing Ping, he will never give him to us."

    "Understood."

    Progenitor Xi then left, and the river of divine energy returned to normal.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Since Senior Brother Qing Ping had failed his tribtion, would Mister Mu show up? The Aeternals had the means to let Qing Ping continue cultivating and graining strength, but what about Mister Mu? He might not have the means.

    In the Neoverse, the Yellow Springs flowed beneath Qing Ping¡¯s feet as he remained rooted in ce. The Dead Regiment faced him and moved closer, but they were gradually growing indistinct and transparent. Up above, the vortex of the stellr tribtion was also disappearing.

    The Progenitor¡¯s tribtion was over.

 Chapter 2965: Law Of Judgment

    <h4>Chapter 2965: Law Of Judgment</h4>

    Many people sighed. They had expected to see the rise of another Progenitor here.

    Progenitors were extremely rare, but the Heavens Sect had many experts at that level. How many of them had actually risen to power in the Origin Universe? Just because the Heavens Sect had a great number of experts, it did not mean that it was easy to reach that level.

    If it were, Lu Buzheng and his peers would have broken through long ago.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others watched as the tribtion¡¯s vortex disappeared, and they readied themselves to step forward tofort Qing Ping.

    Suddenly, they froze, staring ahead nkly.

    They saw Qing Ping. His aura had already fallen to the point where he did not even possess the strength of an Envoy. But then, white light suddenly erupted from his chest. It spread further and further out, illuminating the universe and instantly lighting up the entire Neoverse.

    Countless people looked up at the sky, where they saw an unforgettable scene.

    They saw the darkness of space give way to a white sky. It looked as though the universe had been eclipsed by this light.

    This was not a form of power. No one could sense anything like stellr energy, and yet the darkness of outer space had been reced by this bright sky that illuminated everything. It was also possible to vaguely make out a massive set of scales in the distance space. They looked as though they were weighing something.

    Everyone was stunned.

    "This is not a stellr tribtion. He- he¡¯s taking another path!" Destina was horrified.

    Lu Buzheng and others just stared. There was yet another person in this universe who was able to reach the Progenitor level without facing a stellr tribtion. Qing Ping had already clearly failed his tribtion. Just what kind of talent did he possess in order to instantly challenge an alternate path?

    Big Sis was shocked. Many people during the ancient Heavens Sect era had not be Progenitors with stellr energy. However, not only had Qing Ping found an alternate path to cultivating with stellr energy, but he had also done so the moment he failed his stellr tribtion. Was this something that a human could even do?

    Further away, Shao Chen watched in admiration. Just like Astral-10¡¯s headmaster, Qing Ping was taking an alternate cultivation path that did not require stellr energy. People had done this in the past, and the people of the current era were capable of doing so as well.

    The universe was filled with endless possibilities. There were rules, but there were ways to do things while bypassing those rules. It was possible to be a Progenitor through pure cultivation, but there were also other means of reaching that level. The only constant was that it was impossible to reach that level without incredible perseverance and outstanding wisdom.

    Qing Ping was aplishing just this, as had Shao Chen before him.

    It seemed possible that the future Lu Yin was hoping for might actually appear, with the Three Realms and Six Daos and Nine Mountains and Eight Seas all appearing once more. Only then could the Heavens Sect truly rival its former self.

    There was no vortex in space, no stellr energy, nothing at all. All that could be seen was the white sky that had reced the Neoverse¡¯s outer space, along with the set of scales.

    Qing Ping took a step forward and stood on one side of the scales, his hands sped behind his back. "Others are judged by these scales, but justice truly begins by weighing one¡¯s own heart.

    "Judge yourself as you judge others. Law of Judgment."

    Madness! This thought urred to all who were watching when they heard Qing Ping dere the rules of his judgment.

    Unless one was a madman, how could one judge their own heart? The heart could not be controlled. Everyone possessed some bit of greed and selfish desires. How could anyone be truly fair and just?

    It was no wonder why Qing Ping was capable of taking another path. His path was simply seeking death. He had been true to his sense of justice and his morals for countless years, taking an incredibly difficult path, but the path that he had chosen could only lead to his death.

    Even Mu Xie did not believe that Qing Ping could sessfully tread this path that he had chosen. Humans were creatures with greed in their hearts. How could anyone abandon the seven emotions and six desires? Such a person would no longer be human.

    On the scales, Qing Ping''s body started to slowly drift upwards. On the other end of the scales was the white sky that had reced the universe. It was bright enough to illuminate anything, even Qing Ping''s heart.

    Seeing Qing Ping drifting upwards, the hearts of Arch-Elder Zen and the others watching all sank. Sure enough, this was another failure. The trial had already started. As soon as Qing Ping rose to the top, the failure would beplete.

    Qing Ping stared at the opposite end of the scales. "I am very just. When I fight against non-humans, judgment is passed based on their species. Their guilt is not mine, but theirs. Who decided that they were something other than human?"

    Everyone was stunned by his words.

    "I am very just. When I fight against a dwarf, judgment is passed based their height. Who decided that they were shorter than me?"

    No one could say a thing.

    "I am very just. When I fight against a cripple, judgment is passed based on being whole. Who decided that they were an iplete person?"

    People¡¯s mouths were hanging open.

    "I am very just. When fighting against an ugly person, judgment is passed based on their appearance. Who decided that they were uglier than me?"

    Everyone was left utterly confused.

    "Where is the injustice in my judgments? These are the rules of my judgment. There are billions ofws in the universe. If aw exists, then it can be used to perform a judgment. If the ruling is unfair, then it is the universe that is unfair, not me. If the universe is unfair rather than me, and people are made unequal by thews of the universe, then how can we transcend thesews?

    "I am very just. Not once have I conducted an unfair judgment."

    When Qing Ping finished speaking, the scales actually stopped moving. After that, the scales moved further up, drifted back down, and then rose up again. It continued to move up and down.

    Everyone watching felt terribly confused. They had never seen anything so shameless in their entire lives. Qing Ping¡¯s words were shameless¡ªthere was no doubt about that, so why did they sound so sacred? Qing Ping¡¯s questions had shifted the judgment from him to thews of the universe.

    It was true. There werews to the universe, so it made sense to judge ording to thosews. How could anyone im that such judgments were unfair?

    While Qing Ping was the one to propose thews being used to judge, the universe did not deny thosews.

    Existence made things reasonable. That was Qing Ping''s form of being just.

    No one would ever consider ming the universe itself for being unfair or unreasonable, so it made sense to allow the universe itself to perform an impartial judgment.

    Instead of saying that the brilliant sky that had taken over the universe was judging Qing Ping, it would be more urate to say that it was judging thews of the universe themselves.

    Qing Ping was nothing more than the messenger.

    Big Sis gulped. This person was truly shameless. In fact, he even made Ce Wangtian look reasonable.

    This was the greatest height a scoundrel could reach.

    How would this judgment end? If Qing Ping lost, it would mean that thews of the universe should not exist, and the universe would be forced to eliminate thews that Qing Ping had proposed for his judgments. For example, thew of species or thew ofpleteness. However, thosews could not be eliminated.

    This judgment that Qing Ping had triggered was really a judgment of thews of the universe.

    To have thews of the universe negate thews of the universe. This was the path that Qing Ping had chosen.

    He was guided by his own sense of justice and followed thews. This allowed him to take a shortcut, which was to take advantage of the universe¡¯s very ownws.

    At this moment, everyone who heard Qing Ping''s words felt that what he said was true and urate, no matter how shameless it was.

    The judgment proceeded as expected. Slowly, Qing Ping dropped back down, while the bright sky was raised up.

    It was a sight that no one who saw would ever forget.

    That was a bright sky that pierced through everything its light touched. Who could lift the sky? But the judgment did not rule in favor of the bright sky.

    This was a scene that would be recorded down in history.

    The entire ordeal, from the moment the bright sky appeared to when the judgment was decided, onlysted long enough for a stick of incense to burn. Once the darkness of outer space returned, Qing Ping''s aura had utterly vanished. There was only a single man standing all alone in the middle of outer space. No one knew what he was doing.

    Everyone stared. Had Qing Ping seeded?

    Big Sis let out a breath. "There are so many madmen in this era."

    With that, she simply left.

    Mu Xie smiled. "Congrattions, Junior Brother."

    From far away, Shao Chen nodded to Qing Ping. "Congrattions."

    "Congrattions."

    More and more people congratted Qing Ping on his sess.

    Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors nced at each other. Was this really fine?

    If one could be a Progenitor like this, then what else was possible?

    They had always viewed the Progenitor realm as something strict and difficult, but the truth of the matter was that everyone walked their own path. The keyy in whether one could clearly see their own path.

    Qing Ping''s path had clearly been blocked, so he had simply found an alternative path.

    His method of bing a Progenitor felt like a p in the face to all the Semi-Progenitors who had been putting off their breakthroughs.

    Lu Buzheng decided to return to the Heavens Sect. He would not do anything except train for the time being. If he could not be a Progenitor, he would not be able to keep up with the changing times.

    More and more juniors were breaking through, but Lu Buzheng, an expert from the ancient Heavens Sect, had not. It was rather embarrassing.

    Destina, Hen Xin, and the others felt much the same way.

    Not only had Qing Ping be a Progenitor by opening a new path for the Fifth Maind, but he had also given many Semi-Progenitors greater confidence and an understanding of their options.

    This was a man who had be a Progenitor after failing his breakthrough.

    At the same time, far away from where Qing Ping had his breakthrough, there was an asteroid field. The void twisted, and a bit of dirt mysteriously fell out.

    Ten dayster, a spacecraft limped into the asteroid field.

    "Warning, vessel is severely damaged. Please conduct repairs immediately. Warning, vessel is severely damaged. Please conduct repairs immediately..."

    There were many people on the ship, and cries rang out everywhere.

    "How is it? Can we fix it?" The middle-aged captain was solemn as he stared ahead at the asteroid field. If they could not go around it, they would have to st their way through. Their current situation would notst for very long.

    "Repairs won¡¯t be a problem, but we need time."

    "Are there enough materials?"

    "Plenty. Even in the worst case scenario, if we can¡¯t fix it, we can at least hold out until a rescue team arrives."

    "Good."

    "Captain, am I seeing things? Is that a tree in front of us?"

    The captain looked over at the disy. It showed what was around the spacecraft, and something very strange had appeared.

    There was arge tree in space, but it was only half visible. It looked as though half of the tree had been cut away.

    Everyone looked over in surprise.

    "The universe is filled with strange things. That tree must have been tossed away," someone guessed.

    "Do you think that that tree looks familiar?"

    "Yes, it does look rather familiar to me. I feel I¡¯ve seen it before."

    "Me too."

    The captain''s eyes lit up. "That¡¯s the big tree that the Heavens Sect is looking for!"

    People around him grew excited. "That¡¯s right! That''s the big tree that the Heavens Sect ordered everyone to search for! Whoever finds it will be greatly rewarded."

    "Captain, we¡¯ve made a fortune this time! This is the Heavens Sect, the Heavens Sect!"

    Everyone was very excited.

    The captain''s eyes were bright as he stared intently at the disy. Sure enough, this was the big tree that the Heavens Sect had been searching for. The announcement had made it clear that whoever managed to find the tree would be generously rewarded for reporting the tree¡¯s location to the Heavens Sect.

    The Heavens Sect was the ruler of the current universe. A single ruling from that ce could change countless lives.

    The captain had spent all of his money to buy his ship in order to transport goods, but this business was very risky. The transportation industry had been monopolized for a long time, which meant that small-time businesses like the captain¡¯s were more likely to face trouble. However, he had no choice if he wanted to make a living.

    At this moment, he was staring at an amazing opportunity. All he needed to do was report the location of this big tree to the Heavens Sect.

    "Hahahaha, it really is! Brothers, this is our chance to rise up in one go!" the captain said with augh.

    The others were just as excited. "Captain, let''s catch it! However, it¡¯s broken now, so I don¡¯t know if the Heavens Sect will still want it."

    "Don''t be ridiculous! We can''t catch a tree that the Heavens Sect is searching for. Besides, look carefully. That tree isn¡¯t really broken. It looks more like it¡¯s hiding half of itself in the void."

    "There¡¯s dirt beneath it. I wonder what it¡¯s connected to."

    "The void is warped there, so don¡¯t get any closer. Take a picture and immediately send it to the Heavens Sect. Don''t even think about trying anything. Catching that tree isn¡¯t something that people like us can even attempt."

    "Captain, you¡¯re smart!"

    "Hurry up!"

    ...

 Chapter 2966: Lightning Strikes

    <h4>Chapter 2966: Lightning Strikes</h4>

    The Scourge suddenly shook. Lu Yin stood up in his tower and looked into the distance. The origin of the vibrations was the area of the Seven Skygods¡¯ towers. One of those towers had just copsed.

    He stepped out of his tower, where he found his maid respectfully standing and waiting for him.

    "What just happened? Go ask," Lu Yin ordered.

    People like Ye Bo would draw attention if they roamed about the Scourge, while the maids from the various towers were generally ignored. This made it more convenient for them to go and ask questions.

    The maid bowed in assent and went away.

    Some timeter, she returned. "My lord, Shaman God¡¯s tower copsed."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. Since Shaman God was dead, it only made sense for his tower to be destroyed. However, why did it happen at this time?

    "Another tower is about to be built on the same location. It¡¯s said that someone is about to be the next Skygod," the maid exined.

    Now, this information surprised Lu Yin. "Can you find out who it will be?"

    "Supposedly, it will be Shao Yin."

    Lu Yin frowned. Did Shao Yin really want to take Shaman God¡¯s ce among the Seven Skygods? Regardless of how well the man had aplished hisst mission, did he really possess the necessary strength?

    Ever since the Great Sovereign had revoked Shao Yin''s power, his strength had be very unstable. However, it turned out that he had hidden a great deal of his strength, and his true cultivation method was to use yin to feed yang and yang to feed yin, creating a cycle of yin and yang. At the moment, Shao Yin was striving for a breakthrough to merge yin and yang. Once he seeded, his strength would rise precipitously. There was no saying what level he would reach then.

    If he was really qualified to be one of the Seven Skygods, then had he finally seeded in merging yin and yang and transforming his power?

    It should not have been that easy.

    However, even if Shao Yin had not reached the required level of strength, it was possible that he had umted enough merit within Aeternus and that they were willing to wait until his strength met the necessary requirements.

    What mission had hepleted?

    Lu Yin started to feel a bit uneasy. Shao Yin¡¯s mission had to have somehow targeted the Lord of Lightning. After the attack on Earth, Aeternus had confirmed that the Lord of Lightning was in possession of the three treasures that they were seeking. Soon after, they had attacked the Ice Spirit Tribe in order to provoke a war between the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. Why? It appeared as if everything was intended to target the Lord of Lightning.

    Were the Aeternals nning to take action against the Lord of Lightning?

    Thinking of this, he returned to his tower and then went to visit the Ice Spirit Tribe.

    As long as the True God Guard Captains did not have an active mission, they were not restricted at all, unlike Aeternus¡¯s other Progenitor-level experts. After all, the captains had all cultivated the True God¡¯s divine energy and were incapable of betraying the Aeternals.

    This was something recognized by both the Aeternals and the humans.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin received word that the True God Guard Captains were being summoned to a specific cosmic door in the sky above the Scourge.

    As Lu Yin observed the distance cosmic door where the captains were gathering, he wondered if they were being summoned because of the universe that the cosmic door connected to.

    "Why the sudden summons? We haven¡¯t evenpleted our current mission yet." Dual deform arrived, and the pink-haired woman expressed her irritation.

    The blue-haired man consoled the woman, "We¡¯re mostly finished, so we can justplete it as soon as we get back. There''s no need to rush."

    "It¡¯s still annoying," the pink-haired womanined. When she noticed Ye Bo calmly standing there, she rolled her eyes at him. "All of these people are so weird. Why can¡¯t we get someone talkative?"

    Across the way, a sharp voice called out, "Ye Bo!"

    Lu Yin looked over and saw Yu Huo calling out for him.

    "Is the Chiliagonist dead?" Yu Huo demanded.

    Four captains had already gathered: Ye Bo, Dual deform, Yu Huo, and Zhong Pan.

    When they heard Yu Huo''s question, everyone looked over.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "I don''t know. He never returned."

    Yu Huo gloated, "I warned you all not to go to the Origin Universe! That ce is too difficult to mess with, but no one listened, haha!"

    The pink-haired woman grew curious, "Is the Origin Universe really that powerful?"

    Hidden beneath his ck robes, Yu Huo''s body trembled. It was clear from his bodynguage that he was smiling. "You know what, Dual deform, why don¡¯t you go find out?"

    The pink-haired woman turned to give the blue-haired man an expectant look, but the man frowned while giving Yu Huo a cold re. "Do you want to be stabbed?"

    Yu Huo sneered. "I already warned you before, so if you don¡¯t want to listen and need me to remind you repeatedly, you deserve whatever you get."

    Skydog arrived at this time, as little and cute as ever, and the pink-haired woman¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the dog.

    When Da Hei and Stone Ghost also arrived, Progenitor Xi appeared. "After you pass through this cosmic door, you will find that everything has already been arranged by Shao Yin. This mission is of the utmost importance, so I hope that you will not disappoint Aeternus."

    "Senior Progenitor Xi, are we not allowed to take any Progenitor-level corpse kings with us?" Yu Huo asked. He still had not fully recovered his strength and felt particrly vulnerable.

    Progenitor Xi calmly replied, "There¡¯s no need for that. Just go."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog leaped at the cosmic door.

    Dual deform followed closely behind, the pink-haired woman¡¯s eyes glued to Skydog. "Boss! Let me pet you!"

    Zhong Pan and Da Hei followed as well.

    Lu Yin approached the cosmic door without a word.

    After passing through, his expression changed drastically as he peered into the distance. What was he looking at?

    Yu Huo appeared behind Lu Yin, and was instantly horrified by what he saw. "The Five Spirits Alliance?"

    "Also the Luna Alliance. This is a massive battle." The blue-haired man of Dual deform solemnly observed the battle.

    They were gathered in a corner of a universe where they could observe a massive battle unfolding far away. The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were locked in a vicious brawl.

    Lu Yin looked at the sequence particles scattered throughout the universe. Why was this happening? He had already told the Ice Spirit Tribe that everything was part of the Aeternals¡¯ plot, so why had the Five Spirits Alliance insisted on starting a war against the Luna Alliance?

    The captains soon found Shao Yin, as well as a ck-robed man standing next to him.

    Shao Yin appeared to be very focused. "Listen carefully. At my order, as soon as I give it, use your divine energy to massacre everyone from the Five Spirits Alliance."

    The True God Guard Captains suppressed their auras as they watched events unfold.

    "Anyone who disobeys my orders will be immediately punished for betraying Aeternus," Shao Yin added as his eyes passed over Lu Yin. It was clear who he was speaking to.

    Lu Yin just stared at the far off battle without batting an eye,pletely ignoring Shao Yin.

    There were times when attacks escaped the battle and shot towards the hidden Aeternals, tearing through the universe and shattering space.

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched at the sight of the sequence particles. There were simply too many. There were not just one or twows of the universe being used, but at least five. As for powerhouses, there were at least eight sequence powerhouses between the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance.

    Even during the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, there had never been this many sequence powerhouses in a single battle. The only instance where so many experts had gathered in one ce was when the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony had been attacked.

    More and more stray attacks shot out of the battle, and space continued to warp until an entire line of the Hollow stretched across the universe.

    Sequence particles rted to freezing, lightning, earth, and other iprehensiblews of the universe were constantly shing.

    "Get back," Sovereign Shao Yin warned everyone. Right after that, the ce where they had been standing was destroyed by a wave of sequence particles.

    It would not be long before the entire universe was gone.

    "If not for the Lord of Lightning¡¯s intercession, your Luna Alliance would have been wiped out long ago! Even so, you still dare to attack my Five Spirits Alliance," the Ice Lord of the Ice Spirit Tribe roared.

    "Your Five Spirits Alliance can¡¯t escape responsibility for Yue Shen¡¯s death! Even if the Lord of Lightning himself appears, it will be useless! The Luna Alliance demands an exnation!"

    "Your Luna Alliance also killed the leader of the Fire Spirit Tribe! Where is our exnation?"

    Terrifying attacks then destroyed half of the universe, and the battle spilled into another parallel universe.

    Lu Yin just stared. Were both Yue Shen and the Fire Spirit Tribe¡¯s leader dead? He looked over at Shao Yin. It was said that Shaman God¡¯s tower had been demolished in anticipation of Shao Yin¡¯s promotion, which meant that whatever missions Shao Yin hadpleted were important enough for the Aeternals to make him one of the Seven Skygods. The former Sovereign had to have something to do with these recent developments.

    However, Lu Yin had visited the Ice Spirit tribe just days before, but war had still erupted. Either Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions were wrong, or the Luna Alliance had really attacked the Five Spirits Alliance. How else could the two have started such a tragic war?

    There was also one other possibility, which was that everything that Lu Yin and the Aeternals were seeing was fake.

    The war raged from one parallel universe to another, and then yet another.

    The sequence powerhouses never stopped fighting, and Shao Yin and the True God Guard Captains followed the battle to each subsequent universe, carefully watching everything.

    Lu Yin saw more and more problems with the war. At first, the battle had looked massive and vicious, but as time passed, the intensity had never once abated, but Lu Yin did not see a single casualty. Not only had none of the sequence powerhouses died, but none of the weaker cultivators had perished either. This did not make any sense.

    Was the war really fake?

    Lu Yin was not the only one who noticed something wrong with the battle. Shao Yin had also noticed the issue, and his expression grew worse and worse.

    "What''s going on? This battle hassted for so long, and there¡¯s no reason for it to still be like this. There should be rivers of blood flowing." The unknown, ck-robed man was also surprised.

    Shao Yin frowned. He had started feeling rather uneasy.

    There could not be anything wrong with this war. Shao Yin had been working on this mission from the very beginning, and he was absolutely certain that nothing had gone wrong.

    More than half a month passed, and the violent fighting still raged on. At the same time, Shao Yin¡¯s expression grew worse and worse. No matter how vicious the fighting looked, there were very few deaths. Even stranger was the fact that Whitecloud never sent anyone to act as an intermediary.

    There was definitely something very wrong.

    Shao Yin was not an idiot. He could not have reached his current strength as a fool. He had been unwilling to ept that something had gone wrong in his mission, but he was forced to finally admit it.

    Suddenly, hismunication crystal trembled. "Return to help the Scourge. Hurry!"

    Shao Yin instantly pulled out a cosmic door and ordered, "Return to help the Scourge!"

    Everyone hurried through the cosmic door to return to the Scourge. The moment Lu Yin passed through, he felt an inexplicable sense of terrible danger. He was ovee with a terrifying chill and dodged aside out of pure instinct. Lightning struck just outside the cosmic door, lighting everything up. The cosmic door shattered, as did ake of divine energy and Yu Huo, right as he emerged from the cosmic door.

    Yu Huo never saw anything before half of his body was destroyed. He died instantly.

    Lu Yin looked up in shock.

    "Dodge!" Shao Yin¡¯s shout was the only thing that Lu Yin could hear.

    He used Inverse step, creating a field of chaotic time and space as an ocean of lightning swept through the void, shattering it as more lightning shot into the distance. Right after that, lightning reced the sky itself and filled Lu Yin¡¯s vision. At the same time, he heard a roar, "Yong Heng, show yourself!"[1]

    <i>Crack.</i>

    <i>BOOM!</i>

    Lightning erupted in the void, tearing the ground of the Scourge apart. Lakes of divine energy burst out and spilled over as dazzling lightning fell down in torrents. The entire universe was quaking.

    Lu Yin gasped as he stared into the distance. That lightning, was it the Lord of Lightning?

    Lightning sequence particles filled the sky like infinite fireflies. Aside from the Lord of Lightning, Lu Yin could not imagine anyone else wielding such terrifying sequence particles.

    It was a domineering and destructive power that felt as though it wanted to shatter the entire universe.

    Another cosmic door appeared, and Skydog and the rest of the True God Guard Captains poured through. They stared into the distance in shock.

    "Is someone attacking the Scourge?" Dual deform was startled.

    One of the divinekes on the Scourge suddenly formed an inverted vortex that shot into the sky, creating a maelstrom that blocked the lightning.

    Divine energy possessed a unique form of oppression, and the appearance of this storm caused everyone¡¯s hearts to quicken as they sensed a power that could destroy the Scourge.

    On the ground below and in the sky above, storms of divine energy shed with rivers of lightning. It was an apocalyptic sight that would drive most Progenitors to despair. Neither of the two colliding forces were anything that ordinary powerhouses could stand against. These powers belonged to individuals that were far superior to all other living creatures.

    1. Yong Heng literally means "eternal" and is the exact same term that has been tranted as Aeternal and Aeternus. Aeternus is literally Yong Heng''s tribe, if tranted exactly. ?

 Chapter 2967: Attacking The Scourge

    Chapter 2967: Attacking The Scourge

    At this time, a sharp attack suddenly erupted behind Lu Yin. He turned around to see a white light approaching from the distance. There was a swordsman behind the attack, quickly moving forward while passing through the void. The white-clothed man¡¯s sword seemed to be the center of the entire universe, and it drew everyone¡¯s eyes to it.

    "Whitecloud¡¯s Kong Tianzhao!" Shao Yin growled through gritted teeth. He could not believe what he was seeing. He could not ept that, while the Aeternals were plotting against Whitecloud, Whitecloud had actually counterattacked, targeting the Scourge. Had they gone crazy?

    High overhead, the cosmic door that Lu Yin and the others had passed through quivered as peak powerhouses suddenly emerged from it. These were the leaders of the Five Spirits Alliance, as well as the Luna Alliance¡¯s Yue Shen, Moon Fairy, and Moon Ghost. All three leaders of the Luna Alliance were female, and they all red at the Scourge as soon as it entered their eyes.

    Yue Shen was supposed to be dead, as was the leader of the Fire Spirit Tribe, but both had appeared at this moment.

    At this moment, even a moron would understand that the Aeternals had been deceived. Whitecloud had known about the conspiracy against them from the very beginning, but instead of exposing anything, they had taken advantage of the conspiracy tounch a counterattack against the Scourge.

    The Lord of Lightning was the vanguard, while Kong Tianzhao protected the rear. The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had both arrived as well, but there was still more toe. From yet another direction, a dazzling golden light blossomed, apanied by a roar. Sovereign Dou Sheng had arrived.

    Eleven sequence powerhouses had arrived to attack the Scourge.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This was the extent of Whitecloud¡¯s influence. It was no wonder why Aeternus had not wanted to wage open war against Whitecloud. It was no wonder why Jiang Qingyue had been able to behave so brazenly in the Sixth Maind, confident that the Aeternals would never dare to do anything to her. This was too impressive.

    While the Heavens Sect had arge number of Progenitors, they had very few Sequence Progenitors, and the Heavens Sect could notpare to the invasion force that Whitecloud had gathered to attack the Scourge.While it was clear that not all the sequence powerhouses belonged to Whitecloud, there was no doubt that everyone hade to the Scourge because of the Lord of Lightning¡¯s influence.

    No one had imagined that the day woulde when the Scourge would face such a powerful enemy.

    Zhong Pan¡¯s hoarse voice shouted, "Thest person to invade the Scourge was that one who couldn''t be killed.

    "This is serious! Everyone, do your best."

    <em>Woof!</em>

    While it was clear that he was in the Scourge, Lu Yin still had the illusion that the Aeternals were surrounded at this moment.

    Far away, lightning shattered the remaining six towers that belonged to the Seven Skygods. The Lord of Lightning unleashed an unparalleled, absolutely domineering power as he rushed straight towards the ck Mother Tree. The man was determined to fight the True God himself.

    Kong Tianzhao had be one with his sword, while Sovereign Dou Sheng was a peerless master. Battles broke out everywhere in the sky above and on the Scourge below.

    All across the Scourge, Progenitor-level corpse kings charged forward, much like moths flying to a me. In the past, when humans and Aeternals had fought, it had looked as though the humans were the moths drawn to the me, but at the moment, that impression was reversed.

    Zhong Pan, Dual deform, Da Hei, and the rest of the True God Guard Captains let their divine energy surge out of their bodies as they shot forward to attack the experts from the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. Lu Yin did the same. The captains could only face this level of experts by relying on divine energy. None of the captains could actuallypare to a true sequence expert, but the Scourge was being invaded.

    The Origin Universe had driven Aeternus out, while at this moment, the Aeternals needed to drive the outsider powerhouses out from the Scourge.

    Skydog barked as he raced towards Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The Sovereign raised his long golden cudgel and mmed it down hard. With one swing, he eliminated three Progenitor-level corpse kings and destroyed a tower. The humans who had betrayed their own species and taken refuge with Aeternus were horrified by what they saw. Half of the individuals who had tried to block Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s attack had been killed by it.

    Skydog mmed into the Sovereign, and Sovereign Dou Sheng''s cudgel swept across, striking the dog head on with a loud bang.

    Lu Yin looked over and saw that Skydog had been hit, and the small body was sent crashing into the ground below. However, the dog got back up like nothing at all had happened and barked as he raced straight back towards Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    This shattered Lu Yin''s understanding. That dog¡¯s body was so small, and he did not appear to possess any power. So how was Skydog able to ignore Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s powerful attacks?

    Far away, a sword de flickered, causing Lu Yin''s scalp to go numb. He saw the heads of several Progenitor-level corpse kings go flying. One of them had even undergone the Corpse King Transformation, but it had still failed to block the sword.

    That was the strength of Kong Tianzhao. When the Origin Universe¡¯s Earth had been attacked, the man had killed Ju Ji with a single strike of his sword. In the Ice Spirit Domain, Lu Yin had spoken with Jiang Qingyue for a time, and from her, he had learned that her master, Kong Tianzhao, imed that a single sword was enough to face any enemy. One sword was enough to determine life and death. It was a simple philosophy.

    The man¡¯s sword felt like it had be the center of the universe, and it flickered with a bright light, each attack ending spectacrly.

    Meeting an enemy who could force him to attack a second time was not just a dream for Kong Tianzhao, but possibly also the day he would die.

    Progenitor Xi appeared, a sword in her hand, and her movements rxed.

    Kong Tianzhao¡¯s sword shed, moving as if it were stirring up the void. Lu Yin did not see any sequence particles, but this particr attack seemed incredibly difficult to deal with, no matter who faced it.

    In front of the swordsman, Progenitor Xi looked up. "Your sword is incredibly pure, but it¡¯s too extreme."

    The moment she spoke, her swordid sideways and then danced around its own hilt, acting like a spinning wheel. Kong Tianzhao¡¯s sword struck the hit of the spinning de, close to the center of where the movement began. There was the soft sound of an impact, and the void shattered like ss, spatial tears spreading out from the point of impact.

    Progenitor Xi was driven back by the attack, but she was unharmed by Kong Tianzhao¡¯s de.

    The man appeared to be unfazed as he stepped forward. Progenitor Xi responded in kind, and the two swords shed again. A shockwave spread out from the point of impact, opening the Hollow.

    No one could be seen where the two swords shed. All that was visible were two shing white lights that cut through the void and sundered the ground.

    The long golden cudgel swept across the world, obliterating everything in an attempt to destroy the Scourge itself.

    Lightning shed and spread across the stars above the Scourge. It looked like the Aeternals were about to meet their end.

    Lu Yin zed with divine energy as he faced Moon Fairy.

    The woman gave the impression of a banished immortal descending to earth. It looked as though she was clothed in moonlight itself. She looked young and was quite stunning. Even Lu Yin was taken with her appearance.

    It was also clear that Moon Fairy did not take Ye Bo seriously. A True God Guard Captain was not even a sequence expert, and theycked the strength to face those at Moon Fairy¡¯s level. If not for the fact that they were invading the Scourge, Moon Fairy was confident that she could easily kill Ye Bo, even if he did use divine energy.

    Divine power was capable of resisting sequence particles, but how much divine energy could a True God Guard Captain have?

    Lu Yin''s divine energy acted like armor. As soon as he used Heaven¡¯s Sight, he saw Moon Fairy continuously use her sequence particles. They shot towards Lu Yin but were all eliminated by his zing divine energy. He retaliated with a punch.

    Moon Fairy¡¯s expression chilled. Moonlight appeared and formed a river that flowed beneath her feet. Her bare feet stepped onto the river, and a white halo appeared behind her. Everything was illuminated by the moonlight.

    "Fairy Moon - Water Reflection shines on the river." Lu Yin seemed to hear a voice speak these words while, at the same time, an overwhelming attack of shes of moonlight mmed into him. Each sh was powerful enough to kill a Progenitor, and the assault filled the sky and covered the ground in a terrifying attack.

    There was no way for Ye Bo to stand against a sequence powerhouse like Moon Fairy on his own. Lu Yin could only desperately use as much divine energy as possible to resist the attacks and offset the woman''s sequence particles.

    Moon Fairy mocked him, "How long can your divine energyst?"

    Although they were fighting in the Scourge, which was filled withkes and rivers of divine energy, that divine energy needed to first be absorbed by an individual. Just because there was divine energy present, it did not mean that it could be used without restrictions.

    Moon Fairy¡¯s shing attack could exhaust the True God Guard Captain¡¯s divine energy and kill him as soon as that happened.

    The other True God Guard Captains were each facing simr challenges. The ones even worse off were the human traitors who had taken refuge with Aeternus. Even several Progenitor-level powerhouses were killed.

    The Scourge proved to not be as safe as they had believed.

    The most eye-catching person in the entire Scourge at the moment was the Lord of Lightning. He had sent a terrifying st of lightning at the ck Mother Tree.

    The earth shattered, and the endless divine energy struggled to stop the attack.

    The lightning was like a sharp sword that was about to pierce the ck Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin watched, noting that the Lord of Lightning was truly ruthless. The Aeternals had plotted against him, and he had reacted by openly counterattacking and invading the Scourge. There had been no discussion or announcement. This was a domineering action.

    However, the Lord of Lightning had invaded by relying on arge number of sequence powerhouses. If the Heavens Sect possessed an equal number of Sequence Progenitors, Lu Yin would also have the boldness to invade the Scourge.

    "Yong Hong, get out here! Don''t you want something from me? I''m right here!" A deafening shout erupted from within the lightning,ing from the Lord of Lightning. He was challenging the True God.

    A voice replied from the direction of the ck Mother Tree. "Jiang Feng, do you intend to incite open war with my Aeternus?"

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Jiang Feng was Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue¡¯s father.

    "I''ve brought what you want! If you have the ability,e here and get it!" The Lord of Lightning¡¯s shout caused the Scourge to tremble.

    "You underestimate me and my Aeternals!"

    "You underestimate my Whitecloud City!"

    "You are no match for me. You are bringing disaster to your Whitecloud City this day."

    "We came here to die. Show me how you madmen are better than us." That said, the Lord of Lightning released another sh of lightning at the ck Mother Tree. The tree swayed, and the waterfall of divine energy arced through the sky and shed with the lightning. At the impact, both the waterfall and the temple beneath it were shattered.

    Endless lightning continued onwards towards the ck Mother Tree, and the divine energy waterfall swept out with another arc.

    The duel between the lightning and the dark-red divine energy separated heaven and earth.

    Lu Yin was shocked. Was the Lord of Lightning really the True God¡¯s rival? How? While the Lord of Lightning was undoubtedly very powerful, he should not be at the True God¡¯s level.

    The Scourge was filled with outsider powerhouses, but even so, the Lord of Lightning had a shocking level of strength. He was far more powerful than what Lu Yin expected. It was possible that many people had underestimated the man.

    However, there was also no way that the Lord of Lightning was someone oveing Dukkha. His own words had made that clear.

    Howrge of a gap existed between those oveing Dukkha and those beneath them? Lu Yin stared into the distance.

    In front of him, Moon Fairy frowned. How did her opponent have the leisure to watch someone else¡¯s battle? This thought drove the woman to increase the intensity of her attack as she pushed to consume more of Ye Bo¡¯s divine energy.

    Lu Yin returned to his senses and turned to look at his opponent. "You aren¡¯t done yet?"

    Moon Fairy¡¯s eyebrows rose, and her expression fell. This man was tantly antagonizing her.

    Even more shes struck at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin shook his head, not saying anything more. He had spoken without thinking, and he regretted his words the moment he said them. If anyone had been listening, they might have insinuated something from thement.

    For the moment, Lu Yin needed to focus on the fight.

    How could Moon Fairy possibly consume all of Lu Yin¡¯s divine energy? For years, he had done almost nothing but absorb divine energy from the Scourge without using it. His reserves were something that none of the other True God Guard Captains couldpare to. If Lu Yin were willing to release even more of his divine energy, he might be able to give his opponent an unpleasant surprise.

    However, the battle should notst for much longer.

    While Lu Yin''s divine energy was able to endure, the other True God Guard Captains were unable to do the same.

    Da Hei faced the leader of the Lightning Spirit Tribe. While this individual used the same kind of sequence particles as the Lord of Lightning, the leader of the Lightning Spirit Tribe was not the Lord of Lightning¡¯s equal. Even so, he could do more than what most people couldprehend.

    As the lightning roared, Da Hei''s divine energy was continuously consumed. He was quickly reaching his limits.

    The same was true for Stone Ghost. He was facing Yue Shen, who seemed to have deliberately targeted Stone Ghost. Yue Shen was also an Array Grandmaster, but her mastery of lockbreaking exceeded Stone Ghost¡¯s. Lu Yin clearly saw that Stone Ghost¡¯s sourcebox array was being eroded. It was also close to its limits.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2968: Death At Any Moment

    Chapter 2968: Death At Any Moment

    The distant, ck Mother Tree shook. Inside the lightning, a long sword appeared in Jiang Feng''s hand. It rose up as the man stepped onto the lightning and moved forward. The de fell down, chopping down on the ck Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin watched. This attack drew many others¡¯ attention as well, as everyone subconsciously stopped fighting in order to watch.

    They saw a hand stretch out from the ck Mother Tree and flick a finger to counter the sword.

    <em>ng!</em>

    There was the ringing of a de, and no other sound. Everyone was stunned, and they grew dizzy. Countless visions yed out before them, as though they were observing their entire lives in a single moment.

    The edge of the sword was deflected, and a hand grabbed the hilt. Lightning erupted as a purplish-ck substance spread down Jiang Feng''s arm and over his hand. There was a bang, and starting at the ck Mother Tree, the entire void was instantly reced by the Hollow, horrifying all who saw it. Even the sequence powerhouses were intimidated by the sight, as it looked as if the Hollow was going to devour the entire Scourge.

    From above the ck Mother Tree, cracks appeared on Jiang Feng''s wrist that was covered by the purplish-ck substance. Blood dripped down, and yet the man¡¯s wrist turned again as he shed out once more. Again, the hand reached out, grabbing the wrist and gently deflecting the de with a soft sound and devastating results.

    A ck rain fell upon the Hollow, and every drop was devoured. The Hollow made a good attempt to destroy the universe.

    When the sword was deflected again, the hand released Jiang Feng''s wrist, which instantly recovered. The man¡¯s hand rose up once more, and his sword shed again. The hand rose up, and all five fingers bent.Suddenly, the lightning pulled back. Where it had once been, the void shattered.

    Even the Hollow disappeared.

    The confrontation had started and stopped all too quickly.

    The lightning quietly floated beside the ck Mother Tree, the sword hanging down. If one looked carefully, they would be able to see blood staining the hilt of the sword.

    "Leave those things behind, and Whitecloud will enjoy peace forever," True God¡¯s voice rang out.

    Within the lightning, Jiang Feng¡¯s arm rose up. He pointed his sword straight at the ck Mother Tree. "I told you, I came here today to die!"

    "Jiang Feng, it would be a pity for you to die. If I wanted you to die, you would have never survived for so long."

    "That¡¯s no pity. Haven¡¯t a lot of people died? My death will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean. If I can take you with me, it would be perfect."

    "Why bother?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. This question reminded him of when he had tried to kill Undying God with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, but been stopped by True God. The man¡¯s voice was soft but irresistible.

    "Astral Anura,e out." True God¡¯s voice echoed throughout the entire Scourge.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. Astral Anura?

    A beam of light fell from the sky above the Scourge. Inside of it, the void tore.

    Lu Yin was familiar with this sight. When the crusade had conquered Giants¡¯ Purgatory, Aeternus had used this same method to bring in a Star Devourer who had driven the entire battalion from the parallel universe.

    Was Astral Anura going to emerge from this beam of light?

    Lu Yin knew of Astral Anura. Mr. Daheng¡¯s copper coin had been given to him by Astral Anura. The toad was a terrifyingly strong outsider powerhouse.

    Within the beam, a lotus leaf emerged from the crack in the void. It was quickly followed by a massive toad that was nearly the size of the jiao.

    It was a golden toad wearing a straw hat on his head, holding a lotus leaf in one hand, and wearing a chain of copper coins on his neck. The creature held his head up high as he stepped out of the void. He looked quite rxed.

    <em>A tattered straw hat on my head.</em>

    <em>A lotus leaf held in my hand at my waist.</em>

    <em>What I love most is making money from nothing.</em>

    <em>Money is true while love is garbage.</em>

    "Yong Heng, did you call for me?" A baby voice thundered across the sky. It was Astral Anura¡¯s voice.

    True God answered from the direction of the ck Mother Tree, "Help me see my guests out."

    "Seeing guests out? Are they old acquaintances? Lord of Lightning, it¡¯s been a long time." Astral Anura stared at Jiang Feng with bronze-colored eyes as he let out augh.

    Within the lightning, Jiang Feng stared back at Astral Anura. "This has nothing to do with you!"

    "You¡¯re not acting like a proper guest. Your host has asked me to help maintain order. Please don¡¯t make things difficult for me and see yourself out," Astral Anura said. Despite the toad¡¯s mouth clearly not moving at all, his voice was quite loud.

    "The Aeternals are declining by the day, Astral Anura. Calcte whether his business is worth this."

    Astral Anura rolled his eyes as he raised his lotus leaf. "Give me a minute, I¡¯ll run the numbers.

    "When we first met, Aeternus was weak, and the most powerful force in the megaverse was the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. At that time, I helped the Heavens Sect¡­

    "The Heavens Sect was destroyed, and Aeternus rose to power. Humans conducted various deals with me, as did the Aeternals. However, most of my business was with the Aeternals because they were so powerful, as well as generous¡­

    "More and more parallel universes were gradually discovered, and the Sixverse Association was established, while the Five Spirits Alliance gave rise to Whitecloud. In order to curb their growth, I gave some copper coins to a few people to help the Aeternals instigate some conflicts. I have also been looking for opportunities to settle matters for Whitecloud¡­

    "Another Heavens Sect has appeared in the Origin Universe, and one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods has died. They do seem to be at the beginning of their end. No matter how bad things be, my business will suffer some losses. The biggest reason for this is that the Heavens Sect in the Origin Universe has been rising too quickly. Really, that little human brat Lu Yin is just so ruthless¡­

    "Not long ago, I helped the Aeternals target the new Heavens Sect. I specifically asked Daheng to find a way to deal with the brat, but it appears that he is incapable of doing so. I¡¯ll need to find another way, or else I won¡¯t be paid in full¡­

    "The Aeternals don''t hold any advantage over the Immemorial Citadel, and the humans keep sneaking more of their people in¡­

    ¡­

    The expressions of both the humans and the Aeternals in the Scourge turned strange as they listened to Astral Anura verbally run through his calctions. The toad was speaking his thoughts aloud, sharing everything that he had done. How was this reasonable? He had already exposed several conspiracies, including his own plots against the Luna Alliance, Whitecloud, and the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin stared at Astral Anura. He had heard "Daheng" be mentioned. It turned out that Astral Anura had actually assigned Mr. Daheng the task of dealing with Lu Yin. Having heard some of the details, there was a chance that the toad was going to share everything.

    He had been alive during the Heavens Sect era. Could the copse of the ancient Heavens Sect have had anything to do with Astral Anura?

    The thunder crashed, causing everyone¡¯s ears to ring.

    "Astral Anura, stop with your calctions. I''ll double your payment," a voice spoke from the ck Mother Tree.

    Astral Anura''s voice instantly stopped, and two webbed hands rose up and sped each other in a very human manner. The toad¡¯s eyes practically turned into copper coins. "Thank you, Boss! You¡¯re my eternal god, the one true god! Thank you, thank you!"

    The toad¡¯s expression then changed, and his eyes grew sinister as they turned to stare at the Lord of Lightning. "Jiang Feng, we¡¯re all old friends here. Don''t embarrass anyone. Leave now, and don¡¯t disrupt my business."

    "Astral Anura, no matter how much the Aeternals have promised you, it¡¯s worthless. Once they¡¯re destroyed, you will receive nothing."

    "Human, you think too highly of yourself. Hurry up and leave. Don¡¯t interfere with my business. Hahahaha, Boss True God, are you happy with this?" Astral Anura¡¯s tone transformed once again, and he started fawning as he turned back to the ck Mother Tree, waving his lotus leaf like a fan.

    True God spoke again from the ck Mother Tree. "Jiang Feng, Aeternus is far more than what you have seen. There have been many temporary rises and falls through the history of Aeternus. My promise remains. Give me those three things, and I will ensure that Whitecloud forever sees peace.¡±

    "Yong Heng, humans are a very odd group. We may seem weak, but our spirit is always ungging. Even if you kill hundreds of millions of us, even if you eliminate 99% of us, the remaining 1% will still be enough to create miracles. Your Aeternus will never win. With how long you have cultivated for and your strength of level, you should understand that while human cultivators may be weak or strong, thews of the universe themselves are not. Since the megaverse has given birth to humans, there must be a reason for our existence. You can never wipe all of us out.

    "As for whether Whitecloud lives or dies, we don¡¯t need the blessing of Aeternus. My Whitecloud is ready to die at any time!"

    After that, the lightning flickered and vanished, instantly followed by Kong Tianzhao, Sovereign Dou Sheng, and everyone from the Five Spirit n and the Luna Alliance also retreating.

    Aeternus did nothing to stop this.

    They had only agreed to pay Astral Anura to expel the Lord of Lightning from the Scourge. If they took the initiative to go after the invading forces, they would have to pay a very different price.

    In front of Lu Yin, Moon Fairy red at him with evident fear. This person seemed to possess far more divine energy than the other True God Guard Captains, as he had actually managed to block her, a sequence powerhouse, for so long. The next time they met, she would need to pay attention to him.

    As the powerful invaders retreated, peace returned to the Scourge.

    Lu Yin dropped to the ground and stared off into the distance.

    Astral Anura¡¯s enormous bulk was facing the ck Mother Tree. He let out a sound of envy but did not move any closer. No matter how Lu Yin looked at the toad, he was a businessman, though a terrifyingly powerful one.

    For Astral Anura to be able to step into the middle of the battle and force the Lord of Lightning to retreat, the toad had to be in the process of oveing Dukkha.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as this was an unexpected problem.

    Astral Anura soon left, clearly satisfied with his business. He waved his lotus leaf about in a very rxed manner. Right before the toad left, his eyes moved over, and he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. Why was the toad staring at him? No, he was staring behind Lu Yin.

    He turned to look behind him and saw Progenitor Xi quietly standing in the sky, her face calm.

    "Goodbye, old friend." Astral Anura smiled, pressed his straw hat onto his head, and left.

    Lu Yin looked at Progenitor Xi. Was she another old friend of Astral Anura¡¯s?

    Progenitor Xi looked down and happened to see Ye Bo. Lu Yin looked away.

    This invasion had caused the Aeternals considerable losses. From what Lu Yin could see, more than ten Progenitor-level corpse kings had been in, and of the True God Guard Captains, Yu Huo, Stone Ghost, and Da Hei had all died.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to learn that Da Hei and Stone Ghost had died. They had been pushed the hardest by the invaders.

    Still, the deaths of three True God Guard Captains was no small matter.

    There was also the potential impact of the Lord of Lightning''s battle against True God. While no one else had been able to observe their battle, that did not mean that there was no effect on True God. Why else would the Lord of Lightning have attacked?

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief, as this brief invasion ensured that True God¡¯s time of seclusion would be extended.

    Aeternus had plotted against the Five Spirits Alliance, the Luna Alliance, and Whitecloud. The goal had been to eliminate all three organizations, and Shao Yin had targeted the three groups on multiple asions to help Aeternus acquire the Lord of Lightning¡¯s three treasures.

    The Aeternals had suffered a terrible loss this time because it was impossible for them to ount for someone like Lu Yin, an enemy who had infiltrated them. Because of him, the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had been able tounch a counterattack.

    Even Whitecloud had joined in, which had led to the invasion of the Scourge.

    As Lu Yin considered how things had developed, he realized that it was quite likely that Shao Yin, who had been responsible for the missions carried out against the three organizations, would be in big trouble.

    Lu Yin''s suspicions were quite urate.

    Just a few dayster, many of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses gathered around ake of divine energy. Ye Bo, Dual deform, Zhong Pan, and Skydog were the only four True God Guard Captains still alive, and they were all present. They all stared at Shao Yin, who was suspended above theke.

    He looked pathetic. His limbs had been pierced, and he was clearly in agony. He was also about to be dropped into theke.

    This was his punishment as dered by Aeternus.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2969: Mu Ji

    <h4>Chapter 2969: Mu Ji</h4>

    "Give me a chance, Progenitor Xi! Please, help me beg for mercy! I just need another chance, and I can make amends!" Shao Yin¡¯s screams were pitiful.

    At the edge of theke, Progenitor Xi calmly replied, "Shao Yin, if it were not for all that you¡¯ve aplished, your punishment would not be nearly this kind. You should understand what a death penalty within Aeternus means."

    Shao Yin was terrified. "I do understand! I know! Progenitor Xi, please give me another chance! As long as I can master my ability, I will not be any weaker than any of the Seven Skygods. I don''t even need to be given that position. I only want to serve Aeternus! Progenitor Xi, please, give me another chance."

    Progenitor Xi indifferently ordered, "Drop him."

    Shao Yin gritted his teeth and looked down. While being submerged in ake of divine energy was not a death penalty within Aeternus, that did not mean that it was a light punishment.

    The entire reason why Yu Huo and the others had been able to be True God Guard Captains was because they were all capable of cultivating divine energy. However, even if that was true, just how much were they capable of absorbing? If Yu Huo had been able to absorb more, he would not have died during the invasion of the Scourge.

    Shao Yin was also capable of cultivating divine energy, but if he came into contact with too much at once, he would experience pain that was a hundred, a thousand, or tens of thousands of times worse than death.

    Not only that, once he was dropped into theke of divine energy, if he was not careful, he might bepletely corrupted by the divine energy and transformed into a monster that was neither human nor corpse king. Such a creature would be even more revolting than a corpse king. Shao Yin had seen such monsters with his own eyes, and they were nothing more than killing machines. They did not even listen to the Aeternals¡¯ orders, as there was nothing left of the monsters¡¯ minds.

    Shao Yin did want to be that kind of monster.

    However, no matter how much he begged, his efforts were useless, and he was soon submerged beneath theke.

    Everything surrounding theke was silent. This was normal in the Scourge, as no one typically spoke much.

    Lu Yin looked around. Previously, there had been a few Progenitor-level experts who had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, but a number of them had died during the invasion. Aeternus had lost at least twenty peak powerhouses during the invasion of the Scourge.

    The Lord of Lightning was ruthless. He had personally been the vanguard in an attack on the Scourge, the Aeternals¡¯ home territory.

    "The normal practice is to pull one out when one is dropped in," Progenitor Xi calmly remarked. The surface of theke rippled back, as if something was rising to the surface.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Was there something else that had been in theke before?

    Soon, a person was pulled out. They were curled into a ball and trembling.

    As soon as they emerged from theke, the figure let out a crazed roar. Not only were their irises scarlet, but their entire eyes were dyed that color, as was their skin and hair. A faint energy surrounded their body, and it produced a shockwave when the roar was released.

    Lu Yin was knocked back, startled. What was this creature?

    Progenitor Xi frowned. "Drop it back in and pull another one out."

    The roaring figure started to calm down as soon as it made contact with theke again, and it no longer acted so crazed. Another figure was then pulled up, but just like the first one, this one also let out mad roars, as though it was unwilling to leave the divineke.

    Lu Yin stared, dumbfounded. What were these things? They released such terrifying pressure, and there seemed to be a number of them. Were they corpse kings? No. Were they people? That also was not quite right. These monsters were what remained after a being waspletely corrupted by divine energy. These were neither corpse kings nor humans, but rather mindless beasts devoid of all reason.

    He looked down at the ground, seeing his own footprints there. Just a roar had forced him back. While these monsters were utterly mindless, their strength was terrifying.

    Four monsters in a row were pulled up, each one capable of pushing Lu Yin back with their roars alone. Each one possessed the strength of a peak powerhouse, and each one seemed like an incarnation of divine energy.

    <i>No way, are the Aeternals actually keeping things like these hidden? Why didn¡¯t they use them during the invasion?</i>

    A fifth figure was pulled up, and Lu Yin stared closely.

    This figure emerged from theke, but it did not roar. It was not curled up, but rather hanging limply like a corpse. The limbs dangled, and long, light red hair covered the face. The figure looked like a ghost.

    Progenitor Xi''s eyes lit up. "Your name?"

    The figure remained limp, as though dead.

    Progenitor Xi did not rush and patiently stood where she was.

    Everyone around theke watched curiously. A few astral beasts appeared, and they also nced over.

    Most experts recruited into Aeternus were human, but not all. There were a few astral beasts as well.

    Lu Yin stared at the limp figure. This person was not dead, but Lu Yin did not understand what sort of state they were in.

    "Your name?" Progenitor Xi asked again.

    The figure still did not respond.

    Finally, a maid across theke timidly spoke up. "Hi- his name is Mu Ji."

    When Progenitor Xi looked over at the maid, many other eyes fell on her as well.

    The maid panicked. Her master had died during the invasion, and she was waiting for Progenitor Xi to assign her to a new master. She had not expected to see her first master reappear.

    "Mu Ji?" Progenitor Xi was surprised. "The same Mu Ji who tried to control Zhong Pan?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Tried to control Zhong Pan?

    He looked towards the other True God Guard Captain, as did many other people.

    Zhong Pan rarely said a word. He was staring at the limp figure above theke. "That¡¯s him."

    The pink-haired woman of Dual deform eximed, "I remember that Aeternus recruited someone hundreds of years ago who was capable of controlling others with evil. So, is this him?"

    The blue-haired man nodded. "He wanted to control a True God Guard Captain with evil? How absurd! That must be why he was punished by being ced in theke of divine energy. I thought that he would have turned into a frenzied corpse by now, but he still hasn¡¯t."

    Lu Yin looked back at the limp figure. Had this person actually tried to control one of the True God Guard Captains?

    Progenitor Xi looked back at the figure as well. "Mu Ji."

    The figure twitched. After a moment, he slowly lifted his head. A hand rose up and brushed a bit of his red hair back, revealing the man¡¯s face as he looked around.

    His irises were a light shade of red. They were not the same scarlet as the monsters that had appeared earlier. Still, these dark eyes made Lu Yin very ufortable.

    "Am I being released?" It sounded as though the man had not spoken in a very long time. His voice was dry and hoarse.

    After looking around, the man¡¯s eyes fell onto Progenitor Xi. He straightened up and rubbed his eyes. "Progenitor Xi? Am I being released?"

    Progenitor Xi calmly observed the man. "Some people are dropped in, while others are pulled out. Mu Ji, you are free."

    Mu Ji blinked, grinned, and then brushed his hair out of his face. "I''m free? That''s great! Hahahaha, I''m free, and I still haven''t be a mindless monster, hahahaha!"

    A smile crept across Progenitor Xi''s face. Anyone who could avoid bing a frenzied corpse after being submerged in ake of divine energy was a genius.

    "From now on, you will be a True God Guard Captain. I hope that you won¡¯t make the same mistakes again as you serve Aeternus once more."

    Mu Ji started to move his limbs. "Thank you, Progenitor Xi."

    The crowd started to break up. Lu Yin carefully observed Mu Ji before also leaving.

    The Aeternals truly had an unfathomably deep foundation. There could be countless mindless monsters beneath the divineke.

    Aeternus had not released these frenzied corpses when the Scourge was invaded. It was possible that they were not quite as useful as they appeared.

    There were monsters hidden within ake of divine energy, and there were also True God¡¯s three unique battle techniques. Lu Yin nned to take some time to search around.

    Lu Yin hesitated and turned back to take a second look at theke of divine energy.

    At the moment, there were only five True God Guard Captains, and even the addition of Mu Ji did notplete their numbers.

    Lu Yin believed that the Aeternals would definitely rece all the missing captains as soon as possible.

    After thinking about it, Lu Yin realized that this would make Ye Bo one of the veteran captains.

    A few dayster, Mu Ji suddenly arrived outside of Ye Bo¡¯s tower, asking to meet with him.

    Lu Yin did not understand what the other man was doing, but he still stepped out of the tower.

    Mu Ji stepped forward with a smile on his face and a very polite tone. "Captain Ye Bo, this is our second time meeting."

    Lu Yin casually asked, "What do you need?"

    Mu Ji continued to smile. "Nothing, I simply wish to get to know you, Captain Ye Bo. We are both True God Guard Captains, and there are currently only five of us. There are sure to be many opportunities for us to work together on future missions, so I hope to get to know each of the other captains first."

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Ji. He appeared to be a perfectly normal person. He had been submerged in theke of divine energy for hundreds of years, but it seemed as if nothing had happened to him. If not for the pale red hair and eyes, Lu Yin would question whether the man had even even been in theke.

    "There''s nothing to know," Lu Yin calmly replied.

    Mu Ji¡¯s smile remained. "Don''t be so cold. I just went to see Dual deform, and we had a lovely conversation. In fact, sometimes people who appear cold be much more enthusiastic once they start to open up. Captain Ye Bo, are you someone like that as well?"

    Lu Yin calmly stared at Mu Ji, not saying anything.

    Mu Ji showed no hint of embarrassment, and he continued to smile. "Alright, well, no matter. We still need to get to know each other, and we have a long time to do so in the future."

    "Not necessarily," Lu Yin retorted.

    Mu Ji let out augh. "Captain Ye Bo, you¡¯re quite interesting. Do youck confidence in yourself, or in me? If it''s me, there''s no need for you to worry. I''m very powerful."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. The red-haired man¡¯s expression finally changed, and he grew serious. "I''m very powerful."

    Lu Yin turned around and walked away, returning to his tower.

    "Captain Ye Bo, do you want topare notes? I think that we will be good friends," Mu Ji called out.

    Lu Yin entered his tower without a backwards nce, and the door closed. Only Ye Bo¡¯s maid remained outside the door to face Mu Ji.

    Mu Ji sighed. "Sure enough, everyone¡¯s so cold. It¡¯s so boring."

    He then also left.

    Lu Yin stood in his tower and stared at Mu Ji''s retreating figure. Lu Yin was actually quite curious about what Mu Ji had experienced underneath theke of divine energy. Why had he not be a monster like the others, what were referred to as frenzied corpses?

    Those frenzied corpses were all peak powerhouses who had made mistakes. Just like Shao Yin, they had been punished by being dropped into theke.

    Anyone weaker was not qualified to receive such a punishment.

    Since so many other peak powerhouses had been reduced to frenzied corpses, how had Mu Ji managed to retain his sanity without being corrupted?

    After Mu Ji was gone, Dual deform arrived, and they also asked to see Ye Bo.

    "Ye Bo, did Mu Jie here to see you?" the pink-haired woman asked, her big eyes darting about with curiosity.

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Don''t believe anything he says!" The woman clenched her fists in anger.

    Lu Yin caught off guard. "What''s wrong?"

    The blue-haired man exined, "That guy is absolutely disgusting. After he joined Aeternus, he worked with us on a few missions. Several times, he tried to take control of us. Luckily, we were always wary, so he never seeded. We weren¡¯t the only ones, as he must have done the same thing to others as well. Aside from corpse kings, he wants to control everyone.

    "If his means for controlling people wasn¡¯t exposed, I don¡¯t even know how things would have turned out."

    Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. "How does he control people?"

    "Evil." The pink-haired woman said one word in disgust.

    Lu Yin felt even more confused.

 Chapter 2970: A World With Limitations

    <h4>Chapter 2970: A World With Limitations</h4>

    The blue-haired man exined in a low voice, "Mu Ji possesses the waning good, which represents evil and the cmity that will befall. He is able to see the evil in people''s hearts and then use that evil to control them."

    Lu Yin''s flickered. "He just came to see me."

    "Yes, he came here to see how evil you are," the blue-haired man replied.

    Lu Yin frowned. "He can see evil?"

    The blue-haired man let out a breath. "Everyone has different abilities and innate gifts, and there are manyws of the universe that can be seen. A senior once told me that evil is also aw, and Mu Ji is able to see it."

    "Is he a sequence powerhouse?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    The pink-haired woman shook her head. "Of course not, but that¡¯s not the only way to observe evil. There¡¯s never only one solution, and since evil can be aw of the universe, it can naturally be an innate gift as well."

    Lu Yin now understood that Mu Ji was able to see the Law of Evil as a manifestation of his innate gift. It was no wonder why he had suddenlye to see Ye Bo.

    Did Lu Yin have any evil thoughts or desires? Heughed at the thought; of course he did. Anyone without such desires would be a saint. How could any human have no evil?

    "Even if he can see evil, how can he control people?" Lu Yin asked.

    The blue-haired man nodded. "Mu Ji is quite impressive. He did not originally cultivate divine energy, but he is even more difficult to deal with than those of us who have. Not even you or I can guarantee retaining our sanity after being dropped in thatke, and yet he seeded at just that."

    Lu Yin was very wary of Mu Ji. No matter how he looked at it, a person who had never cultivated divine energy to remain sane after being submerged in ake of divine energy for hundreds of years was a startling aplishment.

    "I heard that he also has a second innate gift, which is called the Roulette of Life and Death. Maybe that¡¯s what allowed him to remain normal," the blue-haired man mentioned.

    This was a surprise. "A second innate gift?"

    <i>Wait, Mu? A second innate gift? Could it be an acquired innate gift from the Arboreal Sanctuary?</i>

    "Where is Mu Ji from?" Lu Yin asked.

    The blue-haired man replied, "I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s someone from the Sixverse Association¡¯s Arboreal Realm. He supposedly left his name on the Arboric Scripture and was a disciple of the ruler of that universe."

    Lu Yin''s face twitched slightly. Mu Ji had been a disciple of Mu Shen and had left his name in the Arboric Scripture, just like Seruzen. This man was a traitor from the Sixverse Association.

    "We came by to warn you so that you do not fall under his control. Don''t bother thanking us¡ªwe just don¡¯t want to have to worry about both him and you when we¡¯re out on a mission." The blue-haired man then turned to leave.

    Before the woman left, she waved at Ye Bo. "Don''t die soon. I¡¯ve lost all of my ymates recently. It''s a pity."

    <i>ymates?</i> Lu Yin watched Dual deform leave. The two were not humans, but knives. They had taken on human form, but they were from a very strange universe, from what Lu Yin understood.

    They were not human, which meant that they were not traitors.

    Right after Dual deform left, before Lu Yin even had a chance to return to his tower, a distant white figure caught his eyes. <i>Progenitor Xi?</i>

    He started walking towards the woman.

    Progenitor Xi was standing beside a river of divine energy. She seemed to prefer being close to a source of divine energy.

    "Don''t worry about Mu Ji. If he does it again, his punishment will be death. He wouldn¡¯t dare."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Can he really control us with evil?"

    Progenitor Xi smiled. "Every power has its own advantages and disadvantages. You might just counter him."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I can¡¯t be sure."

    After a moment of silence, Progenitor Xi looked over at Ye Bo. "Yu Huo is dead. What are your thoughts?"

    Lu Yin calmly asked, "What do you mean, Progenitor Xi?"

    "Are you sad? Regretful? Anything like that?" Progenitor Xi stared into Ye Bo¡¯s eyes, but they remained cold.

    "We were never friends, just two people using each other. I helped him escape from the Origin Universe, and he brought me to the Scourge to give me the opportunity to get revenge on the Origin Universe. There was nothing more to it. As for his death, that¡¯s entirely on him.¡±

    Progenitor Xi looked away. "Then, what would you think if I asked you to destroy Yu Huo¡¯s species?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Destroy his species?"

    Progenitor Xi continued to stare at the river of divine energy. "There are some races that only exist because a single member is valuable. Once that one is gone, the race no longer holds any value."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Xi¡¯s back and unhesitatingly said, "I understand. I''ll do it."

    "Yu Huo¡¯s race is not simple. Do you need me to find another captain to help you?"

    "I''ll try on my own first. If I can¡¯t do it, I''ll ask another captain for help."

    Yu Huo had been a fish that could transform into a snake. He was from the same species as the Python Ancestor. Even though Lu Yin had already known this, when he entered the parallel universe and saw countless giant pythons coiling throughout space, it gave him chills.

    It was an indescribable feeling that reminded him of what it must feel like to fall into a serpents¡¯ nest.

    Fortunately, the enormous snakes were not particrly powerful. Looking around, Lu Yin did not see any that had the strength of a Progenitor.

    In addition to the pythons, the mostmon creatures in this universe were fish. They looked practically identical to Yu Huo¡¯s fish form. However, while Yu Huo had mimicked humans by standing upright most of the time, these fish swam about. Many of them wererge, but theycked any of Yu Huo¡¯s more human aspects.

    All of the living creatures in the universe were either snakes or fish, but most of them were not sapient and relied purely on their innate instincts. Lu Yin saw that even the Semi-Progenitor-level snakescked intelligence. It seemed possible that these creatures would only attain sapience at the Progenitor level.

    After spending some time observing the universe, what stood out to Lu Yin was that most of the creatures were fighting each other. Giant pythons devoured other giant pythons, fish devoured fish, and giant pythons also devoured fish. This was a cruel universe, and Lu Yin understood why Yu Huo had not wanted to return to it when he had been badly wounded. The creatures in this parallel universe gained strength through devouring others, and the stronger the creature that was devoured, the greater the benefits.

    Also, Lu Yin received another surprise; it had an elerated flow of time. The time in this universe passed twenty times faster than in the Origin Universe, which Lu Yin had not noticed before arriving. It was only after he looked at the spatial lines that he noticed the difference.

    Such universes were rare, so Lu Yin was in no hurry to destroy it. He started thinking about how he could gain the recognition of this universe.

    After taking some time to think, Lu Yin remembered that he still had some of the soil with the Python Ancestor''s saliva. He had been given some by the White Dragon n, but he had barely used it. In fact, he had only ever used it in the Astral Beast Domain and the Lower Realm, so he still had a bit remaining.

    The Python Ancestor¡¯s aura had never appeared in this universe before.

    Just as Lu Yin was prepared to try it out, a massive form appeared behind him and overshadowed him.

    He looked back and saw a blood-stained mouth and cruel reptilian eyes that radiated rage, malice, and killing intent. A Progenitor-level creature was trying to bite him.

    He quickly dodged, but as the giant python passed over his head, its tail whipped out fiercely to strike him.

    Lu Yin casuallyshed out with a palm strike, blocking the tail. Lu Yin had the physical strength to fight against a Progenitor-level corpse king that had undergone a Red Eyes Transformation. The snake could note even close to matching that level of strength. After all, not even Yu Huo had been able to deal with Lu Yin¡¯s physical power.

    The enormous snake roared in pain, and then spun around to snap at Lu Yin again. At this same time, multiple pairs of reptilian eyes opened in the far-off distance. They stared at Lu Yin, seeing nothing but prey.

    However, these massive snakes were only as strong as a Semi-Progenitor at best.

    When a snake¡¯s head drew near, Lu Yin frowned and moved along the spatial lines to appear at the python''s head, where he took out the bit of dirt.

    The snake froze in ce, fear blossoming in its cold eyes.

    Lu Yin stared at the beast and then turned around. The soil in his hand had been contaminated by the Python Ancestor''s saliva, and the aura it gave off frightened the Semi-Progenitor-level pythons that had started to gather. They retreated further and further, as did the fish. Not even the Semi-Progenitor-level beasts were an exception, even though they had initially regarded Lu Yin as prey.

    The soil had frightened all of the nearby beasts away.

    Lu Yin looked at the lone Progenitor-level python beneath his feet, wondering if he could frighten it as well.

    The results disappointed Lu Yin. Although the Progenitor-level snake beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet was frightened, it did not cower before mere saliva. It curled up and shrank, transforming from a giant python. Lu Yin was forced to move away from its head, and he watched the python transform into something that looked very simr to Yu Huo, somewhere between a bipedal fish and arge. normal-looking fish.

    The fish stared at Lu Yin, unwilling to give up. It wanted to eat Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice was cold. "You are asking to die."

    The big fish shook its broken tail as it continued to stare at Lu Yin. It felt an incredible amount of danger from Lu Yin, but it also did not want to be seen flinching. This was the beast¡¯s instincts; in its universe, creatures either ate or were eaten. Even if the beast had obtained sapience, it could not suppress its instincts.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. While the soil he had could drive back any creature beneath the Progenitor level, he would simply deal with the Progenitor-level beast personally.

    He took a step forward and instantly appeared right before the big fish. A terrifying amount of power gathered before a palm strike was released. No one else from Aeternus was present, which meant that Lu Yin could use some of his real power, even if he had to hold back to avoid attracting attention.

    There was a bang, and the big fish exploded. Lu Yin watched the corpse fall. He wanted to anoint it as a champion, but he held himself back. He could not guarantee that he was not being observed by Aeternus. Since he was disguised as a Ye Bo, then he had to be Ye Bo for the time being. Otherwise, it would be too easy to make a mistake, and then there would be no way for him to escape from the Scourge.

    Besides, while the fish had been at the Progenitor level, that did not mean much. Lu Yin actually wanted to erase all the champions that he had anointed beneath the Progenitor level, as they werepletely useless at his current level. Only Progenitor champions could offer him any strength.

    After Lu Yin first left the Origin Universe, he had visited many parallel universes, and he was now aware that Progenitor-level experts were not terribly umon.

    While there might be few or no peak powerhouses in any given parallel universe, there were countless parallel universes filled with myriad races and species. There were plenty of experts for him to anoint as champions.

    In the past, the Lu family had been confined to the Origin Universe, but Lu Yin had gone far past that. His Champions¡¯ Stage might already be the most terrifying in the history of the Lu family.

    The only thing that Lu Yin did not know was whether Ancestor Lu Yuan had ever dealt with peak powerhouses from other universes during the ancient Heavens Sect era. During that era, the Heavens Sect had represented the ultimate power in the megaverse, and thousands of people had submitted to the Heavens Sect. In the past, Lu Yin had assumed that the Heavens Sect¡¯s 10,000 races had all been from the Origin Universe, but he had sincee to understand that that number most likely represented countless races from many parallel universes.

    In the past, Lu Yin¡¯s vision and understanding had been too limited, but his understanding had expanded and his perspective widened after visiting numerous parallel universes.

    There was nock of peak powerhouses, and that meant that Lu Yin would have plenty of opportunities to anoint more champions.

    After his first battle in the universe, Lu Yin went to search for more Progenitor-level giant pythons to eliminate. Anytime the creatures noticed Lu Yin, they would attack him and attempt to eat him. Nothing was ever said, and there was no consideration of morality. These battles were the most primitive fights for survival. Thew of the jungle reigned in this universe.

    Half a year passed, but less than ten days had gone by in the Origin Universe. Lu Yin had already eliminated all the Progenitor-level beasts in the universe. There had not been many, just four or five, and none of them hadprehended sequence particles. He did not understand why Progenitor Xi had warned him that these beasts were not simple. What could she mean?

 Chapter 2971: Total War

    <h4>Chapter 2971: Total War</h4>

    After eliminating the Progenitor-level giant python, Lu Yin¡¯s next goal was to receive the universe¡¯s acknowledgement.

    Lu Yin took the bit of soil everywhere, searching for Semi-Progenitor-level snakes, which he then forced into submission. The Python Ancestor''s aura was quite useful. Even if these pythons were only surrendering temporarily, due to the way of life in the universe, that was enough for Lu Yin¡¯s purposes.

    While the beasts were intimidated by the Python Ancestor''s aura, if they had the chance, they would unquestionably eat the Python Ancestor. Lu Yin had no doubt of this.

    After a year, Lu Yin tried releasing Lightstream. After doing so, he let out a sigh of relief. It had worked.

    Far away from Lu Yin, another figure arrived in the same universe.

    "As expected. You can forget about destroying this universe." The neer looked around at the giant pythons that surrounded her. The sight gave her the chills. She waved a hand, and a powerful aura forced all the giant pythons to retreat in fear.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked over. Had a peak powerhouse arrived?

    He quickly used Heaven¡¯s Sight, which revealed a familiar figure far away. Moon Fairy?

    The Luna Alliance¡¯s Moon Fairy, who had been Ye Bo¡¯s opponent during their invasion of the Scourge, had arrived in this universe. This was outside of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. Could it be that what Progenitor Xi had said about the species not being simple was true? Had she been referring to the fact that the Luna Alliance would interfere?

    However, why were they getting involved at all?

    Before he got a clearer picture of the situation, Lu Yin just watched as Moon Fairy drew closer.

    When the woman saw Ye Bo, her eyebrows rose, and then she sneered at him. "It''s you? That''s great. I want to see just how much divine energy you have."

    As she spoke, moonlight flowed under her feet like a river, and behind her, an illusory moon rose into the sky. The moon shone on the river, and the endless power of the moon zed, filling outer space and forcing all the nearby pythons and fish to flee.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Woman, did youe here for a reason?"

    Moon Fairy sent a barrage of countless attacks that Lu Yin could only resist with divine energy. He still had no idea what the woman¡¯s sequence particles were, and he did not want to find out. As long as he was acting as Ye Bo, it should be impossible for him to stand up to a sequence powerhouse. Ye Bo could not fight against such opponents.

    "You look human, but who knows what you might really be? All the Aeternals deserve to die!" Moon Fairy was beautiful, her bearing was exceptional, and her voice was lovely to listen to. But that beauty belied her violent actions. She kept waving her arms, sending an endless number of shes at Ye Bo in order to consume his divine energy.

    Lu Yin was curious. "What connection does this universe have to your Luna Alliance? Or did youe here specifically to kill me?"

    "Just for you?" Moon Fairy raised a snow-white arm, gathering an endless amount of moonlight that radiated in every direction.

    Lu Yin knew that his opponent was about to unleash a massive attack. He did not want to fight her, as he could not win the battle, which made fighting pointless. Besides, he had already gotten his answer, which was that Moon Fairy¡¯s appearance in the universe had nothing to do with Ye Bo. In other words, it had something to do with the universe itself.

    Once again, Lu Yin was reminded of Progenitor Xi¡¯s warning, and he realized that there was something off about this parallel universe.

    A surge of divine energy erupted from Lu Yin, dying the surrounding area a dark-red color that shed with Moon Fairy¡¯s pure moonlight. She was startled by the eruption. "How can you have so much divine energy?"

    The Luna Alliance was familiar with Aeternus, but they had never heard of a True God Guard Captain with so much divine energy before.

    Lu Yin left. With the divine energy holding back the moonlight, it was easy for him to return to the Scourge.

    Moon Fairy had wanted to stop Ye Bo from escaping, but she was unable to keep him behind.

    As soon as he returned to the Scourge, Lu Yin went straight to the cosmic door that connected to Stone Ghost¡¯s native universe. It was a perfectly normal parallel universe, and time flowed normally there.

    Stone Ghost¡¯s species was also very strange. All of them were living stones that were covered with patterns that moved as if they were alive.

    In that universe, Lu Yin found a peak powerhouse from the Lightning Spirit Tribe. An ordinary peak powerhouse was no match for Lu Yin, and as soon as the man saw Ye Bo arrive, he left. Lu Yin knew that if he did not leave as well, the leader of the Lightning Spirit Tribe would arrive soon after.

    What was going on? It felt like a very odd development to Lu Yin.

    Only Progenitor Xi could give him an answer.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mission had not been in vain. After all, his trip had increased Lightstream¡¯s power, allowing him to now see a full eighty-eight seconds into the past. While this might not seem much, that length of time would only continue to increase.

    He found Progenitor Xi standing beside a river of divine energy. While she appeared calm after hearing his report, Lu Yin could clearly sense that the woman was suppressing her emotions. "Whitecloud really wants to force a confrontation. Jiang Feng is domineering and wants to seize control of everything. This perfectly matches his personality.

    "Since he wants an all-out war, let¡¯s see whether or not your Whitecloud has a strong enough foundation. It¡¯s absurd that you think that you¡¯ve already dealt with all of the threats.

    "Assemble the captains."

    Shock filled Lu Yin''s eyes. All-out war?

    The temple still stood beneath the ck Mother Tree. It looked as though the Lord of Lightning had never even attacked it.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s second time visiting the temple. Compared to his first visit, nearly half of the True God Guard Captains had died, leaving only five. While Mu Ji had been added to their numbers, this gathering of the captains seemed pointless.

    "Captain Ye Bo, we meet again." Mu Ji greeted Ye Bo warmly as soon as he arrived.

    Lu Yin continued on towards the temple without a nce.

    Mu Ji shrugged. "Still as cold and boring as ever. And here I was, wanting to tell you about something interesting."

    Lu Yin stopped and turned to look back at Mu Ji.

    The man¡¯s eyes lit up. "Are you interested? Haha, I knew that Captain Ye Bo had a good personality! You¡¯re not some blockhead who only knows how to perform your missions."

    "Mu Ji, who are you calling a blockhead?" Dual deform arrived, and the pink-haired woman red at Mu Ji.

    The blue-haired man¡¯s eyes showed pure animosity as he also stared at Mu Ji.

    Mu Ji grew embarrassed. "Haha, of course I wasn¡¯t referring to you. I was referring to the corpse kings who follow you all around. None of the beasts can even speak clearly. I have some of my own, and all of them are too boring."

    "Hmph!" The pink-haired woman snorted contemptuously. When she noticed Ye Bo standing by the door of the temple and looking at them, she rolled her eyes. "I told you not to spend time with this guy."

    The blue-hair man nodded to Lu Yin before walking into the temple.

    After being interrupted, Mu Ji lost all interest in talking. He simply smiled at Ye Bo before entering the temple himself.

    Of course, Lu Yin also entered.

    There were four people in the temple when Lu Yin entered. He looked at the two extra people, as one of them was very familiar to him. She was Wang Xiaoyu, one of the Twelve Dukes from the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield, and Progenitor Chen''s former lover.

    Wang Xiaoyu was the reason why Progenitor Chen had gone to the Sixth Maind and used his Heaven¡¯s Furnace to obliterate a Progenitor from the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. That incident had triggered the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    The woman was known as the greatest redback to have ever betrayed the Fifth Maind.

    The other person was a man. He was over three meters tall and had a muscr body. He actually looked quite simr to Zhong Pan.

    Lu Yin suppressed his surprise at seeing the two and moved to stand in a corner.

    All of the Twelve Marquises had been Semi-Progenitors, but at this moment, Lu Yin felt something very different from Wang Xiaoyu. It was clear that she had broken through and be a Progenitor.

    The room was silent. Several of the True God Guard Captains had died, and not even Dual deform was feeling yful.

    Soon enough, Skydog also arrived. Lu Yin nced at the dog. This creature was capable of fighting against Sovereign Dou Sheng. How was Skydog a mere True God Guard Captain?

    When the pink-haired woman saw Skydog, her eyes lit up, and she wanted to grab the dog. But before she could do so, she was grabbed by the blue-haired man, who shook his head.

    It was clear to everyone that this meeting was more somber than before.

    A short whileter, Progenitor Xi arrived, and she looked around. "Two new captains are joining your numbers: Marquis Wu and Marquis Wang. This makes for seven True God Guard Captains, and the final three will soon be selected.

    "I¡¯ve gathered you all here to tell you that a total war has already erupted between Aeternus and Whitecloud City. All of your current missions are hereby suspended. You are to stand by in the Scourge awaiting deployment. That''s all."

    While the statement sounded simple and calm, the subsequent actions of Aeternus were anything but.

    Multiple frenzied corpses were fished out of theke of divine energy, and each one was then tossed through a cosmic door.

    Lu Yin recognized one of the cosmic doors, as it led to the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    Not even the Aeternals were able to control these frenzied corpses. The monsters knew nothing but ughter, and they were being used to deliver absolute chaos to the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance.

    Lu Yin grew worried about Ming Yan, as he had no idea if the Five Spirits Alliance could endure this attack.

    For the moment, Ye Bo could not leave the Scourge, as he was awaiting deployment and could receive orders at any time.

    In the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, a frenzied corpse lifted its head to the sky and roared, inciting panic among the entire Ice Spirit Tribe.

    This frenzied corpse had once been a peak powerhouse, but his mind had been destroyed by divine energy. The resulting abomination stoked a feeling of impending disaster in the Ice Spirits.

    One of the Progenitor-level Ice Spirits shot towards the frenzied corpse, attempting to freeze the monster, but the frenzied corpse simply shattered the ice before charging at the spirit.

    The peak powerhouse retreated again and again. As they pulled back, multiples were shattered by the frenzied corpse. The monster had no reasoning and used no battle techniques. It was nothing more than a killing machine, and it destroyed all that it saw.

    The Ice Lord stepped out, an ugly expression on his face. What kind of monster was this?

    The Five Spirits Alliance had never fought against Aeternus, and this was also the first all-out war between Aeternus and Whitecloud.

    The presence of the frenzied corpse made the Ice Lord feel extremely nervous. He quickly attacked, freezing the monster with sequence particles, but the monster simply ignored the sequence particles entirely.

    The frenzied corpse had been submerged in theke of divine energy for too long, and its entire body had been permeated with divine energy. All Ice sequence particles melted the moment they made contact.

    "No! He¡¯s headed towards the Ice Spirit Domain!"

    The Ice Lord stood in front of the frenzied corpse and struck the monster with two round, snow-white arms. The frenzied corpse was struck by both attacks, and it froze wherever the Ice Lord made contact. However, the frozen portions only caused the monster to bend slightly. It stared at the Ice Lord through scarlet eyes and reached out with a hand to grab at him.

    The Ice Lord reflexively raised his arm to block the attack.

    There was a bang, and the Ice Lord''s arm was scratched. Cracks appeared, startling the powerhouse. Was this thing that powerful?

    Their prolonged exposure to divine energy not only granted the frenzied corpses the ability to ignore sequence particles, but it also made their bodies unimaginably hard.

    All of the Ice Lord''s various attacks were blocked by the frenzied corpse. Whenever the monster attacked, the Ice Lord was forced to retreat. He could not stop the monster, especially since the frenzied corpse could ignore his sequence particles.

    Desperate, the Ice Lord waved a hand. Beneath the Ice Spirit Domain, sequence particles erupted from the Iceheart. They merged with the Ice Lord''s sequence particles to form a unified attack that shot towards the frenzied corpse.

    The monster was finally stopped, and its body slowly froze over.

    The Ice Spirits all breathed sighs of relief when they saw the monster finally freeze over.

    However, the Ice Lord''s expression grew even worse. He alone was aware that, even still, the frenzied corpse was dissolving the sequence particles that were keeping it frozen in ce. While the monster appeared to be frozen, it was nothing more than a temporary measure to buy a bit of time. As soon as the sequence particles werepletely consumed, not only would the Ice Lord need topensate for the loss of sequence particles, but the Iceheart¡¯s sequence particles would also be lost.

    "Go to Whitecloud now! We need help!" Ice Lord shouted.

    "What about the Lightning Spirit Tribe or the others?"

    "They won¡¯t be in any position to help us if we¡¯ve been attacked by a monster like this."

    The Ice Lord¡¯s suspicions were quite urate. At the same time, the Ice Spirit Tribe, the Lightning Spirit Tribe, and Fire Spirit Tribe had all been attacked by frenzied corpses, as had the members of the Luna Alliance.

    As for Whitecloud City, they were dealing with a challenge that they had thought they handled long ago, the Ancient Lightning Locust.

 Chapter 2972: Bottom Line

    <h4>Chapter 2972: Bottom Line</h4>

    "What? The Ancient Lightning Locust returned?" The Ice Lord was stunned.

    The Progenitor-level Ice Spirit replied, "Clearly, after the beast was exiled to that parallel universe by the Lord of Lightning, it should not have been able to return, and yet it has. This must be the work of Aeternus."

    The Ice Lord looked at the frenzied corpse that was still continuously melting the sequence particles that kept it frozen in ce. The Aeternals had been scheming against them for far too long.

    It was clear that they had been eyeing Whitecloud for a long time. After all, the gravest threat that Whitecloud had ever faced was the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    Some time ago, the Lord of Lightning and several others had teamed up. After working together and exploiting the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s weaknesses, they had trapped it in a maze in a parallel universe. How could it have returned so quickly? The only exnation was that the Aeternals had intervened. They had been watching all along, found the Ancient Lightning Locust, and led it out of the maze so that it could attack Whitecloud.

    If they had known that the Ancient Lightning Locust could return, there might have never been a consensus to unite and invade the Scourge.

    The Five Spirits Alliance enjoyed a very good rtionship with Whitecloud, but the Luna Alliance did not. They were simply angry that they had been targeted by Aeternus because of Whitecloud¡¯s affairs. Even then, Yue Shen had to pretend to be dead during an attack, which allowed the three different groups to join together and invade the Scourge.

    In the end, it appeared that the Aeternals had been one step ahead since the very beginning.

    "Evacuate the Ice Spirit Domain and find a way to send this monster to another parallel universe. Notify Whitecloud, and have them ask for outside help. We need to unite to fight against the Aeternals," the Ice Lord shouted, this was the only option that he could think of.

    The Ice Spirit Tribe was not alone, as the other four members of the Five Spirits Alliance and the members of the Luna Alliance also immediately sought help.

    The frenzied corpses were extremely difficult to kill, and if any other Aeternals appeared, it would be impossible to deal with them.

    Moon Fairy quickly returned from Yu Huo¡¯s native universe.

    Despite trying to never underestimate Aeternus, they had still underestimated them.

    No one knew just how powerful the Aeternals truly were, but they had managed to destroy the Heavens Sect, which had once been visited by thousands of races.

    Their foundation and various back-up ns were the reasons why the Aeternals were able to instantly regain a strategic advantage.

    In the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect weed Jiang Chen. He was received by Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Where''s Brother Lu?" Jiang Chen asked anxiously.

    Arch-Elder Zen replied, "The Dao Monarch is cultivating in seclusion. What happened?"

    Jiang Chen solemnly exined, "Aeternus hasunched an all-out war against Whitecloud and our subordinates. I want to ask the Sixverse Assocation to help."

    Arch-Elder Zen''s expression changed. "An all-out war? True God and the Seven Skygods are still in seclusion. How can the Aeternalsunch an all-out war like this?"

    Jiang Chen said, "I can''t exin this with just a sentence or two, as it involves Aeternus¡¯s master n. We¡¯ve struck a sore spot recently, even if we didn¡¯t rush when we attacked the Scourge."

    Arch-Elder Zen thought he must have misheard. "You also attacked the Scourge?"

    "Senior, I really can¡¯t wait. I need to speak with Brother Lu."

    Arch-Elder Zen was facing a dilemma. "If at all possible, I would let you, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t contact him myself."

    Arch-Elder Zen was not simply trying to be evasive. Jiang Chen could see that the Heavens Sect was more concerned than anyone else when it came to Aeternus.

    "With Brother Lu gone, who can make a decision for the Sixverse Association?" Jiang Chen asked anxiously.

    While the Lord of Lightning had thought that they had everything under control, they had underestimated Aeternus¡¯s determination to eliminate Whitecloud. Aeternus had brought back the Ancient Lightning Locust, which meant that they had known about its location for some time. Whitecloud had believed the beast to be banished forever, but the Aeternals had clearly investigated it beforehand and simply chosen to not rescue the beast. It had been kept in reserve for if and when the Aeternals decided to start a war with Whitecloud.

    At the moment, Jiang Feng and the others were being held back by the Ancient Lightning Locust while the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were asking for reinforcements. In an instant, they had been overwhelmed by Aeternus.

    This was a simr level of pressure as to what the Sixverse Association had always faced. Finally, Whitecloud was seeing something simr.

    As soon as Jiang Chen left, Arch-Elder Zen reached out to the Lu family. Whitecloud had asked for help, and the Heavens Sect could not ignore that request.

    However, before the Heavens Sect could even react, frenzied corpses appeared on the rear battlefield, as well as in the Cyclic Universe and the Arboreal Realm.

    Lu Tianyi looked at the rear battlefield, where Leng Qing was struggling with a frenzied corpse.

    "I didn''t expect Aeternus to create another group of frenzied corpses." Lu Tianyi was stunned. While the Five Spirits Alliance knew nothing about these monsters, and perhaps Whitecloud as well, how could the Origin Universe be as ignorant?

    They had fought against the Aeternals for far too many years and had obtained a good understanding of the Aeternals'' strength.

    "These monsters are able to ignore sequence particles, and their bodies are so tough that it¡¯s nearly impossible to kill them. We¡¯ll suffer greatly if we fight them directly. As long as they''re left alone, they destroy whatever they see. They have no intelligence and are just killing machines," Lu Qi said.

    As Lu Tianyi stared at the rear battlefield, Leng Qing''s de struck the frenzied corpse, though there was not even a trace of any damage.

    "A frenzied corpse is easy to deal with, though that¡¯s only for people like us. The rulers of the Sixverse Association are all in seclusion, which is what makes these frenzied corpses so difficult for the Sixverse Association to deal with, let alone Whitecloud."

    "What did Whitecloud do to Aeternus to actually make them bring out these frenzied corpses? Not even the Aeternals can control these things. As soon as they¡¯re released, they can¡¯t be taken back. They¡¯re basically consumables, and even the Aeternals will feel this steep price.¡±

    Lu Tianyi looked solemn. "This really is an all-out war. The Aeternals are serious this time.

    "Since they¡¯ve released these monsters, they have no intention of taking them back. The best way to deal with these frenzied corpses is to lure them away, but the Aeternals have already ced divine energy wherever they released the frenzied corpses, which drives them crazy. They are drawn to the divine energy, destroying everything there."

    Lu Tianyi then disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in the sky above the New World, where Leng Qing was fighting against the frenzied corpse.

    Leng Qing had tried everything he could think of, but nothing could hurt the frenzied corpse. However, the monster was simrly unable to harm the Progenitor. On top of that, if Leng Qing could not be seen by the frenzied corpse, the monster would do nothing to the man. The frenzied corpse would only destroy whatever it saw.

    As soon as Lu Tianyi appeared, he dropped down in front of the frenzied corpse.

    The monster stared at Lu Tianyi with itspletely scarlet eyes. It let out a roar and raised its hand to grab the Progenitor. There was no sign of anybat ability at all.

    In the face of the frenzied corpse, Lu Tianyi simply raised a finger and pointed at the monster.

    The fingertip touched the frenzied corpse¡¯s palm, and the monster froze in ce. Starting from its palm, its body started to break apart. The phenomena spread across its entire body, until the entire thing shattered as Leng Qing stared on in shock.

    Leng Qing took a long look at Lu Tianyi. This was a level of strength that Leng Qing could not even imagine.

    He felt certain that not even most Sequence Progenitors could do anything to the frenzied corpse, and yet Lu Tianyi had shattered it with just one finger. It seemed that nothing could stop the man.

    Nutjob Lu had been dealt with so simply, and so had the frenzied corpse.

    Lu Tianyi pulled his hand back. "Those things are quite tough."

    In the Dominion Realm, Lu Qi rolled his eyes. No matter how tough the monster might have been, it still could not endure even one of Lu Tianyi¡¯s fingers.

    Originally, before the Lu Sanctum was thrown out of the Perennial World by the Python Ancestor¡¯s rolling over, Lu Qi had understood Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s strength. In fact, Lu Qi had believed that his father, Lu Feng, was as powerful as Ancestor Tianyi. However, after the Lu Sanctum was exiled, they had encountered the Aeternals. The endless assault they had suffered at that time had clearly shown Lu Tianyi¡¯s terrifying abilities to Lu Qi.

    Lu Qi believed that Lu Tianyi might not be much weaker than Ancestor Lu Yuan. However, Lu Tianyi always kept a low profile, to the point where not even the Great Sovereign or any of the other human powerhouses had even considered taking Lu Tianyi along when they attacked Aeternus.

    That joke had entertained Lu Qi for quite some time.

    However, it was also a good thing, as it meant that the Origin Universe had retained an incredibly powerful individual.

    "Senior, how would you like to respond to Whitecloud¡¯s request?" Arch-Elder Zen arrived at the rear battlefield, and he saw the remains of the frenzied corpse that had just been shattered.

    As soon as Jiang Chen visited the Heavens Sect and requested help, messages had gone out ande in. Soon, everyone learned that more frenzied corpses had appeared at the border warfronts of most of the Sixverse Association. The monsters were difficult to deal with, as even sequence powerhouses struggled to destroy the monsters. For example, Xu Wuwei needed to rely on his voidforce puppet.

    Only Lu Tianyi, Sovereign Lotus, and Mu Ke were able to eliminate the frenzied corpses.

    However, Arch-Elder Zen had just seen Lu Tianyi crush a frenzied corpse with a single finger. Seeing such strength was very reassuring.

    However, Lu Tianyi, Sovereign Lotus, and Mu Ke were among the most powerful individuals in the entire Sixverse Association. They were second only to the rulers of their respective universes. Even if Whitecloud had many experts, just how many could possibly possess that level of strength?

    It was not unreasonable for Jiang Chen toe and ask for help.

    Lu Tianyi replied, "Since Whitecloud is asking for help, then we must help. However, we need to determine how to do that. Get back in touch with Jiang Chen to find out what exactly he needs from us. We will do our best to reach out to Little Seven."

    Lu Qi broke in, "Yes, nothing can happen to Whitecloud."

    Those people were going to be his inws, so how could he allow anything to happen to his inws?

    Of course, Arch-Elder Zen already knew that it was important to help Whitecloud, but to do so, it was necessary to go through Lu Tianyi and the others. The Heavens Sect itself did not have any powerhouses who were strong enough to deal with a frenzied corpse and help Whitecloud, aside from possibly Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, but she alone would not be enough.

    On top of that, even if they did help Whitecloud, it was important to keep the Origin Universe¡¯s safety in mind. The Aeternals excelled at deception.

    In the Scourge, Lu Yin emerged from the temple, his face calm. However, internally, he was very concerned. The fact that the Aternals had attacked both the Five Spirits Alliance and Whitecloud indicated that they had a certain degree of confidence. Otherwise, Progenitor Xi would have never considered all-out war.

    The Lord of Lightning had once said that Aeternus was like a pool of water with a bottom that could never be seen. No one knew its true depths, but no matter how many experts humanity raised up, or what methods they used, the Aeternals were always able to counter it.

    Lu Yin had believed that, by entering the Scourge, he would be able to easily understand Aeternus¡¯s full strength, but he found that that was not at all the case.

    When had Marquis Wu and Marquis Wang be Progenitors? How many frenzied corpses were hidden beneath thekes of divine energy? How many peak powerhouses were able to withstand the corrupting effect of divine energy? When would the Ossis Ark appear? Where was Whiteless God? There were many things that Lu Yin could not fully understand.

    Even more importantly, the Aeternals still had a number of outsider powerhouses.

    As Lu Yin let out a deep breath, a voice spoke from behind him. "It looks like we¡¯re serious about things this time. Whitecloud must have done something extraordinary."

    Lu Yin looked back and saw that Mu Ji had appeared. The man certainly liked to talk.

    Seeing Ye Bo¡¯s attention, Mu Ji smiled. "Captain Ye Bo, even you and I might not be able to survive an all-out war. We should enjoy this time, as once we receive a mission, we might be running to our deaths."

    "What do you know?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Xiaoyu emerged from the temple and passed by the two men. She never nced at them or looked back.

    Marquis Wu and Zhong Pan stepped out and left in the same manner. Only the pink-haired woman of Er Dao Ryo said anything. "Ye Bo, watch out. Don¡¯t let him control you."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog passed by and quickly disappeared.

    Mu Jiughed. "I don''t dare to try to take control of anyone anymore. Just because I managed to survive my time in theke of divine energy doesn''t mean that I can survive an execution. I¡¯ll definitely die next time."

    Lu Yin looked away and started to walk off.

    Mu Ji''s voice reached Lu Yin¡¯s ears. "You just asked me what I know. How long have you been a member of Aeternus?"

    "A few years," Lu Yin replied in a frigid voice.

    Mu Ji shook his head. "No wonder you don''t know about this. People like you who fight in a war without knowing anything are the most likely to die. I''m a kind person, so I¡¯ll tell you this much. The reason why we¡¯reunching a total war this time is because Whitecloud City has touched Aeternus¡¯s bottom line.¡±

 Chapter 2973: Sequence Strings

    <h4>Chapter 2973: Sequence Strings</h4>

    Lu Yin stopped. "Aeternus¡¯s bottom line?"

    Mu Ji''s mouth curled up into a smile. "Have you ever heard of sequence strings?"

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Ancestor Lu Yuan had once mentioned that there was a connection between sequence strings and Whitecloud. However, the man¡¯s fear of impacting Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation path had prevented him from saying much.

    "From that reaction, you clearly don''t understand. Let me put it this way. A sequence string is the foundation thatbines countless parallel universes. You can think of them as lines that split the megaverse into countless sections. Each line connects somewhere, and there might be a few, or even dozens, that intersect at a single point. If this connection point is destroyed, then all of the sequence strings touching that point will loosen, and they might even copse.

    "Aeternus has been working to destroy various universes in order to eliminate those connection points, trying to cause the sequence strings to copse, which will result in the destruction of countless parallel universes. This is all in order to achieve their goal of controlling the megaverse."

    Lu Yin paid close attention as he stared at Mu Ji.

    "What? You don''t believe it? Hehe, at our level, this should bemon sense. Didn''t Progenitor Xi already tell you about this? All of the True God Guard Captains know this much." Mu Ji smiled.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold. "This works well. It¡¯s a good way to crush many parallel universes at once."

    "Exactly, it¡¯s very good. Aeternus was destroying each conjunction of sequence strings that we came across, but Whitecloud suddenly intervened, which enraged Aeternus. This is the reason behind this all-out war." Mu Ji stretched and moved to leave the temple.

    Lu Yin felt puzzled about something. "If we know that destroying a conjunction of sequence strings can easily destroy countless parallel universes, Whitecloud should have tried to stop us a long time ago, as should the rest of the humans. Why are they only now taking action?"

    Contempt filled Mu Ji¡¯s voice. "Because of bnce.

    "When Aeternus tried to destroy the Immemorial Citadel, the Sixverse Association and a few other outside powers stopped us, which led to a temporary bnce. That bncested for a very long time, but no one ever believed that it wouldst forever. Aeternus believed that neither the Immemorial Citadel nor the rest of humanity could endure. On the other hand, humans never believed that we Aeternals would actually be able to destroy those intersection points. There are simply too many of them, so it doesn''t matter if a few are destroyed.

    "The problem is Whitecloud. They never got involved in the past. However, now that they were targeted, they have started to make trouble for us. They attacked the Scourge and are stopping us from destroying the intersection points. They are trying to tip the bnce. Do you really think that Aeternus can let that go? This needs to be taken care of.

    "As far as Aeternus is concerned, the bnce that the humans see is only what we want the humans to see. However, with Whitecloud joining in, bnce has truly been achieved. Who wants a true bnce?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "As for the humans, the bnce that Aeternus sees might also only be what the humans let us see."

    Mu Jiughed. "Perhaps. Regardless, Whitecloud suddenly got involved, and that infuriated True God. This war is inevitable, but Whitecloud won¡¯t be easy to defeat. Little by little, Aeternus¡¯s secrets will be revealed. Over time, it¡¯s possible that both of our statuses will drop within Aeternus. Captain Ye Bo, I know that you don¡¯t trust me, but I value my life, and for that, I won¡¯t try to control you. I would like to cooperate, if possible. There are good and bad rtionships between the different True God Guard Captains. Even if Zhong Pan and Dual deform never speak to each other, they actually have a very good rtionship. "

    "Is that why Dual deform has been trying to prevent me from speaking to you?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Mu Ji smiled and nodded. "You just need to understand that, as long as you don¡¯tprehend sequence particles, you will always be nothing more than an ant. If you want to survive, it¡¯s best to stick together. I would like to cooperate with Dual deform, but unfortunately, they don''t trust me, so I¡¯ll have to forget about that."

    As he spoke, Progenitor Xi stepped out of the temple. She overheard the conversation between Mu Ji and Lu Yin but did nothing to interfere.

    As Mu Ji had mentioned, things like sequence strings were not regarded as secrets at a certain level, and the True God Guard Captains were qualified to know.

    There was no need for Progenitor Xi to exin everything to Ye Bo, though Mu Ji would not try to stop the woman if she decided to take over exining.

    Mu Ji stepped over to Lu Yin''s side and nced at Progenitor Xi. He then quietly mentioned, "By the way, let me remind you that it won¡¯t be long before we receive our next mission. There aren¡¯t that many frenzied corpses in the divine energyke. We¡¯re using them up quickly, and without enough time to create more, they¡¯ll be gone soon.¡±

    With that, the man left.

    Lu Yin turned back around to look at Progenitor Xi.

    Progenitor Xi was staring off into the distance. She took one step forward and vanished.

    After returning to his tower, Lu Yin quietly sat down and considered everything that Mu Ji had said.

    Aeternus¡¯s primary goal was actually to attack sequence strings and destroy multiple parallel universes by causing the sequence strings to copse. Was such a thing really possible?

    Lu Yin now also had a guess regarding the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s purpose. That ce had most likely been established to protect sequence strings and prevent their copse.

    In theory, one side was trying to destroy countless parallel universes, while the other had risen up to protect them. From what Lu Yin could see, there was one major problem with this theory: if destroying sequence strings could really cause multiple universes to copse, then what would happen to the outsider powerhouses who helped the Aeternals?

    Were they all going to gather in the Scourge? That was impossible.

    Powerhouses who qualified to help Aeternus had their own goals, and if their universes were destroyed, where would they live?

    Lu Yin continued to mull over the matter. If Aeternus wanted humanity to see the situation as one in a state of bnce, then was this the n that they intended humanity to know about?

    Regardless of if what Mu Ji had said was right or wrong, he had been right about one thing. The True God Guard Captains received their mission just three dayster.

    The seven True God Guard Captains were tasked with destroying seven parallel universes.

    The one that Ye Bo was assigned to happened to be connected to the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, and it also belonged to them. This was another intersection point.

    Some of the universes that the other captains were assigned to destroy belonged to other members of the Five Spirits Alliance, while others belonged to the Luna Alliance.

    The Aeternals had discovered plenty of sequence string intersections. In the past, they had not targeted these universes because they belonged to the Five Spirits Alliance, but things had since changed. Not only did Aeternus want to destroy the parallel universes that had given birth to Yu Huo and Stone Ghost, but they also wanted to destroy many of the universes that belonged to the Five Spirits Alliance, as well as those of the Luna Alliance and Whitecloud.

    The missions were all of the highest priority, and as soon as the cosmic doors were confirmed, the captains set off one after another. However, this time, none of them took any Progenitor-level corpse kings with them.

    At the moment, there were less than 150 such corpse kings in the True God Guard. The war against the Sixverse Association, the fighting across the Endless Frontier, and the invasion of the Scourge had all destroyed many Progenitor-level corpse kings, and there was not an infinite supply of the monsters.

    All of the surviving Progenitor-level corpse kings were taken away to fight on other warfronts.

    After passing through the cosmic door, Lu Yin arrived in an unfamiliar universe. After ncing around, he took off.

    This universe was connected to the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, and the Ice Spirits had already eliminated all the indigenous creatures. The native creatures had seen the Ice Spirit Tribe as their arch-enemy, just as humans saw Aeternus.

    In fact, in many universes, the division of friend and foe was the simplest thing imaginable; it was nothing more than survival of the fittest.

    As Lu Yin traveled, he saw Ice Spirits, which confirmed that he was right about his location. He tore through the void and went straight to Aeternus Nation before returning to the Heavens Sect.

    At the moment, the Heavens Sect was still waiting for an answer from Whitecloud. The sect wanted to know how to help.

    Lu Yin¡¯s return greatly cheered up Arch-Elder Zen and others.

    "Why is everyone gathered here?" Lu Yin was surprised to see so many people.

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, he saw Big Sis, Senior Brother Qing Ping, Senior Brother Mu Xie, Leng Qing, and many others. In fact, nearly half of the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors had gathered together in the room.

    "Jiang Chen has asked us for help. Whitecloud is facing a difficult situation right now," Arch-Elder Zen immediately answered.

    Lu Yin grew solemn. "That¡¯s also why I came back."

    He suddenly turned to look at Qing Ping in surprise. "Senior Brother, you...?"

    Qing Ping''s expression remained calm. "I became a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused. "Didn''t you fail?"

    Big Sis grinned. "Congrattions, Little Seven, your senior brother took an alternate path to the peak as well. He failed his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, but he still managed to reach the Progenitor level. His sess has created quite a stir among the Semi-Progenitors, and many of them can¡¯t wait to quickly face their own breakthrough to be Progenitors.¡±

    Lu Yin was thrilled by this news. "Really? That''s great! Congrattions, Senior Brother!"

    Even someone as serious as Qing Ping showed a rare smile at this moment.

    Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Qing Ping deserved to have been selected as one of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples. A single attack from Senior Brother Mu Ke had instantly convinced the entire Sixverse Association of his strength, and even the Seven Skygods were wary of his attacks. Meanwhile, Senior Brother Mu Xie¡¯s strength was unfathomable. As for Senior Brother Qing Ping, he had just created a new path to the peak, despite failing his first attempt. Lu Yin felt like he was stillgging behind his seniors.

    "Now that Senior Brother has broken through, we have more than enough people. Everyone, Aeternus hasunched an all-out war on Whitecloud, and they have even drawn Whitecloud¡¯s ancient enemy out to attack them. Because of this, Whitecloud is unable to rescue the Five Spirits Alliance or the Luna Alliance, which means that there¡¯s no one to stop the Aeternals from destroying those universes.

    ¡°I, Lu Yin, give the following order as the master of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe."

    Everyone grew solemn.

    "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, Qing Ping, Mu Xie, Shao Chen, Xu Wuwei, and Mu Ke will all visit the six universes that are being attacked and stop the Aeternals from seeding."

    While Big Sis and the others could not understand everything that Lu Yin said, as they knew nothing about the Five Spirits Alliance or the universes being destroyed. They simply knew that they just needed to listen to Lu Yin''s orders.

    "Didn''t you say there are seven universes being targeted? As Ye Bo, you should also be responsible for destroying a universe," Arch-Elder Zen reminded Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. It was true, he needed someone to move to protect the universe that he had been sent to destroy, or else the identity of Ye Bo would be useless.

    "I''ll go!" A loud shout rang out from just outside of the main hall. Lu Qi stepped out of the void.

    Lu Yin looked over. "Dad?"

    Lu Qi grinned. "Little Seven, let me join."

    Lu Yin felt conflicted. "Aren¡¯t you protecting the Perennial World?"

    "Ancestor Tianyi has that handled, and he won¡¯t be afraid even if True God shows up. Besides, Ancestor Lu Yuan is only in seclusion, not dead," Lu Qi stated loudly.

    Lu Yin was speechless. If their ancestor had heard Lu Qi, the man would have a difficult life ahead of him.

    Lu Yin stopped hesitating. If the others could go, then Lu Qi, as Lu Yin¡¯s father, could also go. Not to mention, the man had personally asked to be included.

    This was what cultivation was. A bloodied journey to the peak.

    "Contact Xu Wuwei and Mu Ke. We need to set off as soon as they show up. We can¡¯t wait at all," Lu Yin formally ordered.

    Soon, Shao Chen, Xu Wuwei, and Mu Ke all arrived.

    Xu Wuwei had been holding back the frenzied corpse that had been sent to the border of the Voidforce Universe, but given the current situation and the need to send him out, there had not been any choice. Ancestor Lu Tianyi had personally gone to the Voidforce Universe and dealt with the frenzied corpse there to free up Xu Wuwei.

    If possible, Lu Yin would have liked to ask Ancestor Lu Tianyi to eliminate all the frenzied corpses that were attacking the Sixverse Association, but the man could not take action a second time. If he tried to do so, the Aeternals might set a trap for Lu Tianyi by taking advantage of the situation, or possibly do something simr in the future. There were times when, even when someone was capable of dealing with a matter, they could not, just because of the future consequences.

    As for the frenzied corpse in the Arboreal Realm, Mu Ke had eliminated it himself.

 Chapter 2974: Lu Yinâ€™s Methods

    <h4>Chapter 2974: Lu Yin¡¯s Methods</h4>

    As soon as everyone arrived, Lu Yin immediately led them to the Ice Spirit Tribe. That was the only ce where they could reach the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance¡¯s parallel universes that were about to be destroyed.

    Lu Yin assigned an opponent to each of the attacking captains based on the characteristics of the True God Guard Captains.

    He himself returned to the Ice Spirit Domain, while Shao Chen went to the parallel universe that Ye Bo had been tasked to destroy to leave behind some evidence of a battle.

    Far from the Ice Spirit Domain, the Ice Lord was still freezing the frenzied corpse. Sequence particles rose up from beneath the Ice Spirit Domain, merging with the Ice Lord''s own sequence particles as both were constantly consumed.

    Lu Yin arrived in the Ice Spirit Domain and saw what was happening. He quickly went underground to check on the Iceheart and then contacted the Ice Lord.

    Even when the Ice Lord learned of Lu Yin''s arrival, he had no chance to return.

    Big Sis and the others were led to other parallel universes by members of the Ice Spirit Tribe.

    ...

    In a parallel universe filled with mes, Dual deform continued to swing and sh at everything. A creature made entirely of mes crazily devoured the surrounding high temperatures and was wrapped around the two knives.

    "It''s time to finish this! The Fire Spirit Tribe has no one to help them deal with the frenzied corpse," the blue-haired man shouted.

    The pink-haired woman was happy to hear this. "This doesn¡¯t look nice at all, and it almost burned my hair off. Chop it! Chop it!"

    After they both spoke, the blue-haired man held the pink-haired woman in his arms. As their bodies came into contact with one another, they slowly transformed into two long knives. One was a shimmering ice blue, while the other was a shimmering pink. Both of the knives gave off a cold light.

    The two knives shed down at the same time.

    The creature of mes was startled. It was a Progenitor-level Fire Spirit, but it was not a sequence powerhouse. The Fire Spirit had only been able to endure for this long because Dual deform had not used their full strength. Before a full-force attack, the Fire Spirit felt the shadow of death loom over it. This attack was unstoppable, absolutely unstoppable.

    At that moment, a ?ar¨©ra suddenly appeared and shot straight for Dual deform.

    The two knives¡¯ sh was blocked, surprising them both. "What is this?"

    Mu Xie emerged from the void. "Your opponent is me."

    At the same time, in other parallel universes, the rest of the True God Guard Captains encountered their own opponents.

    ...

    Xu Wuwei stood in front of Marquis Wu with a pot radiating a majestic amount of voidforce energy.

    "The Voidforce Universe actually has the ability to support the Five Spirits Alliance?" Marquis Wu was taken aback.

    "It appears that you are quite familiar with my Voidforce Universe. In that case, why don¡¯t we see if you can stop me?" Xu Wuwei stated solemnly.

    ...

    In front of Zhong Pan, Lu Qi grinned. "You¡¯re quite the freak, with that physical strength. Still, you can''t kill me! I¡¯m the immortal Lu Qi!"

    Zhong Pan leaped forward, his fist raised as he dropped down.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Qi''s head, and Wang Jian''s power erupted, only to be shattered by Zhong Pan¡¯s punch. Once that attack was shattered, Lu Qi visualized the Fifth Maind. "Come!"

    ...

    Wang Xiaoyu stared at Qing Ping who had appeared. "I know you, you¡¯re the Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court. You actually became a Progenitor?"

    Qing Ping was simrly surprised. "I also know of you. You¡¯re one of the Twelve Marquises of the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. When I went to the Perennial World to train and fight for Origin Matter, I learned of the Twelve Marquis. You were Progenitor Chen¡¯s lover, and yet you betrayed humanity."

    "Whether I was right or wrong, you have no right to say. Do you deserve to hold the royal scepter?"

    "Can you endure judgment?"

    ...

    In the middle of outer space, an odd expression covered Big Sis¡¯ face as she gritted her teeth in anger. "Damn it, Little Seven! You actually sent me to fight a dog?"

    <i>Woof!</i>

    "Why are you barking? Watch out, I eat dog meat."

    Skydog became furious, and he struck Big Sis on the head with a vicious blow.

    Big Sis¡¯ eyebrows rose high. "You want to bite me? I¡¯ll train you properly today."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    ...

    Mu Ji stared in front of him, a deep fear and utter disbelief filling his eyes. "Mu Ke? Why are you here?"

    Mu Ke stared back at Mu Ji from a distance. "It¡¯s been a long time, Mu Ji. The Arboreal Realm has been waiting for this moment for a long time."

    Mu Ji''s expression finally changed. "Why are you here? Has the Sixverse Association joined this war? How is that possible?"

    Mu Ke raised his saber. "Mu Ji, you left your name behind in the Arboric Scripture. Despite being one of Mu Shen¡¯s disciples, you betrayed the Arboreal Realm, bing the greatest traitor we have ever known. It¡¯s time to clean house."

    ...

    Lu Yin stepped out into the Ice Spirit Domain. The Iceheart''s sequence particles were constantly being consumed, and he could not allow that to continue. He had no idea if this would eventually ruin the Iceheart.

    He made his way towards the Ice Lord and quickly found him. The Ice Lord was not alone, as Lu Yin also saw the frenzied corpse that was constantly melting the sequence particles that were keeping it frozen in ce.

    Lu Yin frowned, as the Ice Lord¡¯s actions were useless. This was nothing more than a temporary measure that would inevitably deplete all of the powerhouse¡¯s sequence particles.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, how many of these monsters do the Aeternals have?" the Ice Lord asked in a rush as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s voice dropped. "Not many, at least, not anymore. Can¡¯t you deal with this one, Senior?"

    The Ice Lord felt helpless. "It¡¯s body is too strong, and it can also resist sequence particles. I¡¯m barely able to even freeze it."

    "What will happen to the Iceheart if this continues?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Ice Lord did not answer. Sometimes, silence was the best answer.

    Lu Yin looked at the frozen frenzied corpse and slowly approached it.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, what are you going to do? Be careful, as that thing is very powerful," the Ice Lord warned.

    Lu Yin said, "Let me try something. I can''t allow the Iceheart to be ruined."

    The Ice Lord was left speechless. If he was forced to continue, the Iceheart would really be ruined, but he did not have any choice. What could Lu Yin hope to do? Just being able to escape from one of these monsters was impressive enough. After all, Lu Yin was not even a Progenitor, while even the Ice Lord felt helpless against the frenzied corpse.

    Lu Yin approached the frenzied corpse.

    Despite being frozen in ce, the monster¡¯s eyes that had been corrupted by divine energy still darted around. The frenzied corpse was staring at Lu Yin, its eyes zing with a terrifying killing intent.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time seeing one of these monsters up close. Mu Ji had mentioned that there were only a few frenzied corpses left in theke of divine energy, but even a few more would spell disaster.

    These things were able to resist sequence particles by simply relying on the fact that every single part of their bodies had been infused with and corrupted by divine energy. They were entirely red. They were not able to cultivate with divine energy; rather, it had transformed them into monsters.

    Since this monster was infused with divine energy, Lu Yin felt that he should be able to deal with it.

    At this thought, he raised a hand and touched the frenzied corpse¡¯s body, instantly feeling chilled. The sequence particles were affecting Lu Yin, and he could feel that they would soon freeze him.

    "Dao Monarch Lu!" The Ice Lord could not hold back from shouting.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and tried to absorb the frenzied corpse¡¯s divine energy.

    Not even Aeternus was able to control the frenzied corpses. They were nothing but killing machines, as divine energy hadpletely corrupted everyst part of their bodies, including their brains.

    Not even those who could cultivate with divine energy were able to absorb the divine energy that had permeated the frenzied corpses¡¯ bodies.

    However, Lu Yin was different. He did not actively cultivate divine energy like others. While he could absorb divine energy, he did not rely on himself, but rather on the universe in his chest and the star of divine energy that had appeared there.

    He pressed his hand to the frenzied corpse''s frozen body, and the dark-red star of divine energy in his chest tried to absorb the divine energy. There was no reaction.

    Lu Yin stared into the frenzied corpse¡¯s crimson eyes and then suddenly released his universe from within his chest. The Hollow isted Lu Yin from the nearby universe, and it swept past the frenzied corpse. As the Hollow passed through, it forced the sequence particles back.

    The Ice Lord was startled. "Dao Monarch Lu, you..."

    The frenzied corpse shook free from the freezing effect, and it raised a hand to grab at Lu Yin. The monster¡¯s fingers were as sharp as des, and Lu Yin had no doubt that not even he could block this attack. This was not even because of the frenzied corpse¡¯s physical strength, but rather because of its body¡¯s sheer durability. These monsters were so robust that it was hard to harm them even with sequence particles.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, creating a field of chaotic time and space. He stood beside the frenzied corpse, and the Hollow swept over the monster. There were only a few traces of damage, and there was not even any blood. Lu Yin was once again startled by the monster¡¯s toughness.

    Even Shaman God had been injured by the Hollow. Did this mean that the frenzied corpses were physically tougher than even Shaman God?

    Divine power hadpletely corrupted the thing¡¯s body. This was actually somewhat simr to how Undying God had sealed his own sequence particles within his body.

    The frenzied corpse missed. After that, because it could no longer see Lu Yin, it charged at the Ice Lord.

    The Ice Lord had no idea what Lu Yin was trying to do.

    Lu Yin stared at the frenzied corpse, surrounding it with his own universe. A touch of Lu Yin¡¯s divine energy struck the frenzied corpse, and suddenly, the monster froze. Its entire body trembled. After a brief moment, the bright red color of its skin, eyes, and hair that had all been corrupted by divine energy started to visibly drain way.

    To others, it looked like the red color was fading away, but Lu Yin knew that the star of divine energy in his own universe was ripping the divine energy away from the frenzied corpse.

    Sure enough, the power of his personal universe was different from other powers.

    Most likely, not even Aeternus¡¯s most powerful experts were able to do what Lu Yin was doing to the frenzied corpse.

    The Ice Lord and other Ice Spirits stared in shock, watching as the red color faded from the frenzied corpse¡¯s body. However, even without the red color dying its body, the monster was still mindless, as its brain had been corrupted long ago. It was still nothing more than a killing machine. It was a monster, but one that had lost the protection of divine energy.

    Lu Yin retracted his universe and aimed a palm strike at the frenzied corpse¡¯s back. The monster vomited blood, a deep handprint embedded on its back as it was sted away.

    The frenzied corpse had originally been as powerful as a Progenitor, though the man had only been among the most average of Progenitors.

    A single palm strike from Lu Yin was enough to wound the man, and he would be helpless before the Ice Lord. In an instant, the monster was frozen solid, and Lu Yin shattered its body.

    It was forbidden to anoint corpse kings to the Champions¡¯ Stage, but this frenzied corpse was not a corpse king. It was impossible for a corpse king to have made a mistake and be punished by being tossed into ake of divine energy, so Lu Yin anointed the body.

    ording to Progenitor Xi, all the frenzied corpses were human cultivators who had made mistakes after betraying humanity and joining Aeternus. Of course, this did not mean that none of them were Progenitor-level experts who had been captured by Aeternus, and Lu Yin could not know for sure. However, that did not matter. The people had to have hated Aeternus before their minds were destroyed. Thus, Lu Yin would allow their hatred to be unleashed by summoning them as champions.

    When the Ice Lord saw the Champions¡¯ Stage again, he was just as stunned as the first time. Not only that, but Lu Yin had somehow managed to destroy the protective redyer surrounding the frenzied corpse, and the young man was shrouded in a growing haze of mystery.

    The Ice Lord stared at Lu Yin, feeling a great deal of respect.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, what just happened?" The Ice Lord was quite puzzled. As a sequence powerhouse, even he had been helpless against the frenzied corpse, but Lu Yin had dealt with the monster so easily. This quite confused the Ice Lord. His cultivation far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s, and as for age, there was an even greater discrepancy, so why was Lu Yin able to easily deal with something that had been impossible for him to handle?

    Lu Yin turned to look at the Ice Lord. "How badly has the Iceheart¡¯s sequence particles been depleted?"

    Ice Lord replied, "Don¡¯t worry, Dao Monarch Lu. As long as they are not continuously consumed, the Iceheart will automatically replenish its sequence particles. Right now, what remains is still enough to keep the people within it frozen."

 Chapter 2975: Roulette Of Life And Death

    <h4>Chapter 2975: Roulette Of Life And Death</h4>

    The Ice Lord¡¯s answer let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief. "Senior Ice Lord, we don¡¯t have much time. Please take me to the other universes where frenzied corpses have appeared. Aeternus wants to use these monsters to upset the bnce of the war between them and Whitecloud. Just leave the frenzied corpses to me."

    "Very well. Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu." The Ice Lord bowed his rotund body in a human manner. If not for Lu Yin, the Ice Spirit Tribe would have been doomed. He had done them a great favor.

    Lu Yin had first helped the Ice Lord see through the Aeternals¡¯ scheme, and at this moment, Lu Yin was rescuing the entire Five Spirits Alliance from the frenzied corpses. The Ice Lord could not allow such kindness to go unnoticed.

    "Although the Heavens Sect and Whitecloud have not interacted much, both are human powers with Aeternus as their enemy. There¡¯s no need to be polite. Let''s go," Lu Yin urged.

    Not long after, a Progenitor-level Ice Spirit led Lu Yin to the Earth Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    Given the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s previous predicament had faced, the other four members of the Five Spirits Alliance could not be having an easy time of things either. The frenzied corpses were difficult issues for anyone to deal with.

    The Aeternals had never imagined that anyone could eliminate the frenzied corpses so quickly. While Lu Tianyi''s incrediblebat strength meant that he could quickly eliminate a frenzied corpse, it was also impossible for him to deal with the frenzied corpses everywhere. Aeternus had already taken Lu Tianyi¡¯s power into consideration, and they understood how to avoid that man. It was expected that someone with Lu Tianyi''s strength could massacre the frenzied corpses, but Lu Yin was a variable that no one could have predicted.

    Mu Ji had told Lu Yin that there were not many frenzied corpses still beneath theke of divine energy. The frenzied corpses were also why the Aeternals were confident aboutunching an all-out war. By sending the frenzied corpses to the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, Aeternus expected to instantly deal with both organizations. By keeping eight sequence powerhouses tied up, the war would be instantly decided.

    At this moment, Progenitor Xi still did not know what was happening.

    The Heavens Sect had entered the war, which had drastically tipped the bnce of the scales.

    Aeternus did not expect this assault to eliminate Whitecloud¡¯s forces, but that was not the purpose of the war. Their goal was to destroy the different parallel universes and thereby demonstrate to Whitecloud that Whitecloud could not afford to interfere in the fight over sequence strings. As for the Heavens Sect entering the fray, their purpose was to tell Aeternus that the Heavens Sect would continue to wage war against Aeternus until one of the two was destroyed. It did not matter if the Aeternals pulled out of the Sixverse Association; the Heavens Sect would only stop fighting when only one of the two remained.

    In outer space in a universe, light kept shing as roars were heard.

    Lu Qi gasped, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. "Damn! Where did this monstere from? His body is so strong! No wonder Little Seven warned me to be careful."

    In front of him, Zhong Pan charged forward again, throwing another punch.

    There was a bang as a fist struck Lu Qi''s chest. It rang with a metallic sound as Lu Qi was knocked back. He grinned through pain. "If it weren''t for Heaven¡¯s Furnace, I would have been beaten to death by now. Still, you can¡¯t be having an easy time of things either. "

    Blood dripped from Zhong Pan¡¯s fists. His eyes were locked onto Lu Qi. The corpse king was indeed struggling.

    The fire from Heaven¡¯s Furnace flowed just beneath Lu Qi''s skin. That fire raged throughout his body, causing him to endure agony at all times. However, that fire was also a form of protection for Lu Qi. It not only protected him from external harm, but it also retaliated, damaging an attacker every time they struck Lu Qi.

    Zhong Pan¡¯s skin had been burned by the mes. After all, these mes were from Progenitor Chen¡¯s innate gift.

    "Hehehehe, I can''t be beaten to death, I¡¯m Lu Qi! Come on, I can keep fighting you for a hundred years! Let¡¯s go!" Lu Qi seized the initiative and shot forward, attacking Zhong Pan.

    The corpse king retaliated with a punch, blowing Lu Qi away. He spat out blood, which sprayed through the vacuum of space, only to instantly be vaporized by the scorching temperature. Zhong Pan''s arm was twisted in an unnatural position. The heat was forcing him to suffer badly.

    ...

    Lu Qi''s battle was theplete opposite of Big Sis¡¯. She was doing her best, but she was unable to harm Skydog at all. The dog kept barking, and the sound echoed through space, giving Big Sis quite the headache.

    While she was unable to harm Skydog, Skydog was also unable to hurt Big Sis, which had led to their current stalemate.

    "Where did this mutte from? Get lost!"

    <i>Woof!</i>

    "If you¡¯re strong enough to fight with me, it doesn''t matter if you don''t fight back."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    "Go on, attack me again! Don''t be a coward! If you can attack, then make a move! Don¡¯t show me your tail."

    <i>Woof! Woof!</i>

    "Say something."

    <i>Woof! Woof! Woof!</i>

    "I don¡¯t believe you can''t actually speak. Go to hell!"

    <i>Woof!</i>

    "Damn it..."

    ...

    A saber kept on shing, slicing through thews of the universe and sequence particles. Every sh made Mu Ji nervous. He still could not cultivate divine energy. The only thing that let him just barely resist the shes was the divine energy that had started to corrupt the surface of his body.

    Just the man¡¯s skin and hair had barely been corrupted by divine energy, but this was enough to prevent Mu Ke from slicing Mu Ji to pieces. Without this protection, Mu Ji would have died long ago.

    "Mu Ke, while I may have betrayed the Arboreal Realm, I never did anything to harm our universe! You and I once had the best rtionship, so don''te after me." Another saber sh attacked Mu Ji, nearly slicing his arm off. He was quite worried.

    Mu Ke looked over, raising his saber up high and pointing it straight at Mu Ji.

    The man¡¯s expression changed. "Not this move!¡±

    He waved his hands, creating a strong wind that swept through the void. This was the waning good, and it allowed Mu Ji to see the evil in people.

    He saw the evil in Mu Ke, but while Mu Ji wanted to control it, Mu Ke¡¯s saber was still attacking, and it sliced right through the waning good.

    Mu Ke was a sequence powerhouse. While Mu Ji¡¯s power was effective on Progenitor-level powerhouses, it was useless against sequence powerhouses.

    However, Mu Ji had merely wanted to interrupt the attacks against him, not actually control Mu Ke. Mu Ji wanted to bring out his roulette wheel.

    A roulette wheel appeared over Mu Ji''s right hand. It looked quite simple. There were four characters on it: top, bottom, left, and right. Together, they formed the Roulette of Life and Death. There were five ces on the wheel that the arrow could point to, corresponding to the five segments.

    Mu Ke looked at it, but he simply raised his saber up again.

    Mu Ji gritted his teeth and spun the wheel. "Please, please, please, please..."

    Mu Ke¡¯s de fell, and there was no time for another thought.

    Even Corpse God needed to be serious against Verseless. This was the attack that had severed the Inorganic Universe and also severely injured the super giant Bei Shan. This attack could kill a sequence powerhouse.

    There was nothing that Mu Ji could do to stop this attack. He could only stand in ce, gritting his teeth while staring at his roulette wheel. <i>Hurry, hurry, hurry!</i>

    The wheel stopped.

    The de sliced through.

    Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber and stared into the distance. All he could see was Mu Ji standing in outer space, his arms dangling in an odd manner that made him look dead.

    Mu Ke frowned. Suddenly, something urred to him, and his de rose up andshed out again.

    However, he was already toote. Mu Ji''s body entered the void, disappearing entirely.

    Before he vanished, Mu Ji returned to normal and let out a breath. He grinned at Mu Ke. "I managed to escape from death, which is quite lucky. You¡¯re out of luck, haha! Just wait, Mu Ke! I¡¯ll make you pay me back for that attack! I¡¯ll make the Arboreal Realm pay the price."

    The attack passed by, and the void returned to normal.

    Mu Ke looked quite upset.

    Escape from Death was one of the options on Mu Ji¡¯s Roulette of Life and Death. No matter how desperate the situation he was in, he would have a chance to survive. His bizarre innate gift was what qualified him to leave his name in the Arboric Scripture, as well as be epted as Mu Shen¡¯s disciple. After that, he had unexpectedly betrayed the Arboreal Realm and joined Aeternus.

    Mu Ji had a truly magical innate gift. If Mu Ke could not kill the man, it would mean much greater trouble for the future.

    Mu Ji had already fled back to the Scourge. When he arrived, he saw Marquis Wang and Zhong Pan. "You must have failed as well."

    Wang Xiaoyu appeared to be unbothered, and she showed no interest in talking.

    Zhong Pan was even worse.

    Mu Ji was speechless. He had only narrowly escaped death, and he wanted to talk to someone to avoid being ovee with fear. It was a pity that Ye Bo had not returned yet. Hopefully, he was not died.

    Progenitor Xi appeared. "Who were your opponents?"

    "Lu Qi."

    "Qing Ping."

    "Mu Ke."

    Progenitor Xi was stunned. First of all, it was a surprise to learn that Qing Ping was capable of fighting off Marquis Wang, but it was just as surprising as the fact that Mu Ji had managed to escape from Mu Ke.

    Mu Ke was someone who could fight against the Seven Skygods. Even if he could not defeat any of them, he was at least capable of fighting against them. How could Mu Ji escape from someone with that level of strength?

    When Mu Ji saw Progenitor Xi staring at him, he panicked. "Senior Progenitor Xi, why are you looking at me like that? I¡¯m not a traitor."

    Progenitor Xi was unfazed. "How did you escape from Mu Ke?"

    The seven True God Guard Captains had all been attacked by masters of the Heavens Sect. There was only one reason for such a precise counterattack, which was that Aeternus¡¯s ns had been leaked.

    Only the seven True God Guard Captains knew about the seven universes that they had been sent to, which meant that the Heavens Sect must have a spy among the True God Guard Captains.

    The most likely suspect was Mu Ji.

    He was the only one of the captains who had not yet cultivated divine energy. ording to what the Aeternals knew, it was impossible for anyone who had cultivated divine energy to betray Aeternus.

    From the beginning, Progenitor Xi suspected that Mu Ji was a traitor, but the fact that he had managed to escape from Mu Ke only exacerbated her feeling that something was quite wrong.

    Marquis Wang and Zhong Pan both turned to stare at Mu Ji.

    The man¡¯s expression turned ugly. "Progenitor Xi, I definitely did not betray Aeternus! I came to this ce after killing one of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Arboreans. I have spent years working for Aeternus. I¡¯ll admit that I have made some mistakes, but I will not ept the me for this. It¡¯s clear that you suspect that I have betrayed Aeternus."

    "Just tell me how you managed to escape from Mu Ke," Progenitor Xi calmly ordered.

    Mu Ji quickly brought out his Roulette of Life and Death. "Many people believe that the waning good is my innate gift, which is what allows me to see evil. But really, <i>this </i>is my innate gift. It has five options: Live and Die Together, Return From Death, Drunk and Dreaming of Death, and Escape From Death.

    "As long as I get the right spin, I will have a higher chance to survive against a powerful enemy. When Mu Ke attacked me, I managed to spin ¡®escape from death.¡¯¡±

    Progenitor Xi was surprised, as she had not known about this.

    She had not been the one to recruit Mu Ji into Aeternus, which meant that she had never been responsible for him before. To her knowledge, Mu Ji had the ability to see evil, and he had once used that ability to try to take control of a True God Guard Captain. That crime was the reason why the man had been cast into theke of divine energy.

    The Aeternals were emotionless, and the Scourge was even colder. No one rxed or wandered about, spreading rumors. Progenitor Xi was no exception to this, and this was why she had never heard of Mu Ji''s innate gift before.

    Even Zhong Pan was surprised by the information. If what Mu Ji had said was urate, then he had a chance to survive an encounter with anyone.

    "No wonder you were able to be Mu Shen¡¯s disciple," Progenitor Ximented as she stared at Mu Ji. "If that¡¯s your innate gift, then prove it."

    She instantly waved a hand, transforming the sky and the ground. A single sword de filled Mu Ji¡¯s vision as it fell upon him. His pupils shrank, as he knew that he was about to die¡ªhe could feel it. As soon as this sword fell, Mu Ji would be executed.

    <i>Damn it! This crazy woman!</i>

 Chapter 2976: Return From Death

    <h4>Chapter 2976: Return From Death</h4>

    Mu Ji spun the pointer on the roulette without even looking at the approaching sword. Looking would not make any difference. He did not have the ability to survive on his own. Only his Roulette of Life and Death could possibly save him. <i>Come on! Come on! I just need one chance. Luck! Be a lucky spin!</i>

    The sword did not drop quickly, as Progenitor Xi was not trying to kill Mu Ji, but rather test him.

    If he was not a traitor and was being honest about his innate gift, then he would be extremely useful to Aeternus. As soon as heprehended sequence particles, he might even be able topete for a ce as one of the Seven Skygods. Mu Ji was someone even Mu Ke wanted to kill, and Progenitor Xi wanted to make use of this.

    The arrownded on Return From Death.

    Mu Ji¡¯s mouth fell open, but he did not move. The edge of the sword sliced through his body, pierced his chest, and pinned him to the ground. His upper body bent backwards in an odd manner. He waspletely defeated by this one strike of Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword.

    His expression showed his agony at the pain of death.

    Progenitor Xi watched calmly and saw that Mu Ji had already dead.

    Zhong Pan and Marquis Wang both stared at Mu Ji. They could clearly see that the arrow had stopped on Return From Death. Could Mu Ji really still be alive?

    As the three people watched, Mu Ji''s clearly dead body twitched. The de of Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword disappeared, and Mu Ji''s body copsed to the ground. His enraged expression changed, and he coughed several times while clutching at his chest. He gasped loudly as his pupils dted. It took him some time to recover.

    When he looked up, he saw the surprised expressions of Progenitor Xi and the other two, and a cold light flickered through Mu Ji¡¯s eyes. If he had not been lucky with his spin, Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword would have really killed the man. Even if he had been lucky enough to survive, he would need a very long time to recover from being stabbed in the chest.

    Not even Mu Ji¡¯s battle with Mu Ke had wounded him so badly. <i>This woman... </i>

    "Your innate gift is quite impressive." Progenitor Xi rarely gave out any form of praise.

    Mu Ji gasped, "Do you believe me now?"

    Progenitor Xi did not answer and instead looked over at Marquis Wang. "Was Qing Ping able to defeat you?"

    "He¡¯s broken through and be a Progenitor," Marquis Wang calmly reported.

    This caught Progenitor Xi by surprise. "Didn''t he fail his tribtion?"

    Wang Xiaoyu shook her head, as she knew nothing of this matter.

    A short timeter, Progenitor Xi once again reviewed the information that she had received from the Origin Universe. There was information that had been transmitted to the Scourge after Qing Ping seeded in his breakthrough, but Progenitor Xi had not read it at the time. As she finally looked at it, her expression changed. ¡°How is this possible? He failed his stellr tribtion, only to immediately take another path and seed? He truly is worthy of being <i>his </i>disciple. This man never truly failed, as he was unwilling to attack the people from Burial Garden. Such resolution is not a good thing for our Aeternus. "

    Progenitor Xi looked up at the cosmic doors in the sky. The seven surviving True God Guard Captains had all been targeted while out on a mission. Clearly, there were traitors within Aeternus. Their all-out war would not achieve the desired results.

    ...

    In the Lightning Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, Lu Yin pulled his hand back. He brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage and began to anoint a champion.

    He had just eliminated another frenzied corpse. So far, he had dealt with the frenzied corpses that had been sent to the Ice Spirit Tribe, the Earth Spirit Tribe, and the Fire Spirit Tribe. He had also just taken care of the frenzied corpse sent to the Lightning Spirit Tribe, which meant that his next goal was the Wood Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    Through his efforts, the dark-red star in the universe in his chest had absorbed a tremendous amount of divine energy from the frenzied corpses. This divine energy had corrupted peak powerhouses for decades, centuries, or even longer. Each one had been steeped in much more divine energy than what any of the True God Guard Captains had ever managed to absorb.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had anointed four more Progenitor-level champions to his Champions¡¯ stage from the bodies of the powerhouses who had been transformed into frenzied corpses. In addition to Qi You, the old woman, and the Cyclops King, Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage now had more champions than his Investiture of the Gods¡¯ summoned gods. He had not even noticed.

    As for the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s summons, his most powerful summoned god from his Investiture of the Gods was Xia Shenji. It was possible that Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s summon was more powerful after it used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon Lu Tianyi, but that power was very difficult to use. As for Lu Yin¡¯s champions, he had the Cyclops King, which was shrouded in the Hollow and was capable of fighting against a sequence powerhouse. In some ways, the Cyclops King was simr to the frenzied corpses, as it did not have ess to sequence particles, but was still capable of fighting against a sequence powerhouse.

    This was the power of the Lu family. If the Investiture of the Gods and the Champions¡¯ Stage were used in unison, Lu Yin could summon a total of twelve Progenitor-level experts. This was absolutely freakish.

    Even Lu Yin felt that it was a bit excessive.

    Even so, it was not enough strength, not even close.

    When Lu Yin had been an Explorer, he had felt that there were not very many Explorers in the entire universe. When he had be an Enlighter, he had felt the same way about Enlighters. After gaining the strength to fight against Progenitors, Lu Yin needed his summons in the Investiture of the Gods and Champions¡¯ Stage to at least be at the Progenitor level, or even possibly at the Sequence Progenitor level.

    This was how one person became as strong as a nation, how one person could lord over all. At this level of strength, there was no point in obtaining more summons, not unless they were as strong as a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin needed to keep moving. Next was the Wood Spirit Tribe.

    ...

    The universe shook. The violent power of voidforce energy was pulled over by a pot and forced forward.

    Marquis Wu coughed up blood and tried to attack, only for his arm to be frozen in midair. If Lu Yin were present, his Heaven¡¯s Sight would be able to see the sequence particles that twined around Marquis Wu''s arm. These were Xu Wuwei¡¯s sequence particles, the Law of Blocking. This sequence particle could block anything, be it an exit or a path. At the moment, Xu Wuwei had blocked Marquis Wu''s ability to defend, and that resulted in the Marquis being continuously assaulted by voidforce energy.

    If not for the fact that Xu Wuwei¡¯s sequence particles had no offensive ability, Marquis Wu would have been killed long ago.

    Xu Wuwei was a cautious man, and he wondered why the Marquis had not used his divine energy yet. Against a sequence powerhouse like Xu Wuwei, what possible reason could there be for one of the True God Guard Captains to not use divine energy? However, throughout the entire battle, Marquis Wu had never once used any divine energy.

    Given the situation, Xu Wuwei used his Spiral Domain.

    Each line isted the void, and the domain shrank down.

    Marquis Wu suddenly looked up, a terrible chill appearing in the depths of his eyes. He raised a hand, bent his fingers, and then pressed down.

    Up above, red spots appeared, each one apanied by a dark-gold light that flickered in outer space. They looked like meteorites falling, and the Spiral Domain twisted as it was torn apart.

    Xu Wuwei¡¯s eyebrows rose. Finally, his opponent was using his divine energy.

    However, why was this divine energy not in the man¡¯s body?

    Marquis Wu¡¯s head rose, and his mouth opened wide. More and more red spots appeared up above, each one apanied by the same dark-gold light. Meteorites appeared, and they rained down, striking everything.

    Xu Wuwei was dumbfounded. How were there so many? He willed his pot to growrger and ced it over his head. Sequence particles surged into the sky, blocking the rain of meteors.

    Constantly, the divine energy countered the sequence particles.

    Seizing this opportunity, Marquis Wu fled.

    It was not that Xu Wuwei did not want to stop the Marquis, but rather that there were simply too many meteors falling down from the sky overhead. He had never seen anyone use divine energy in such a manner. Could it be a trap? Why else would there be so many meteorites in this universe?

    Lu Yin arrived in the Wood Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, and he saw the frenzied corpse that the Wood Spirits had trapped. They had used a very simr method to the Ice Lord, continuously consuming sequence particles to trap the monster.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head rose, and he looked in another direction. He felt someone familiar in that direction. It was Big Sis.

    A step forward, and Lu Yin easily dealt with the frenzied corpse. He anointed it as a champion and then headed to the other region of the universe.

    The leader of the Wood Spirit Tribe was known as Wood Lord. If not for race and the other members of the Five Spirits Alliance, Lu Yin would have wondered whether the Wood Spirits had some sort of connection to Mu Shen.

    "Over there are the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses that you sent to fight the experts from Aeternus, Dao Monarch Lu. Thank you for your help, Dao Monarch." The Wood Lord looked like a piece of wood that had eyes, ears, a nose, and limbs.

    None of the members of the Five Spirits Alliance were humans, and each race had their own unique appearance. For example, the leader of the Earth Spirit Tribe looked like a swamp, the leader of the Fire Spirit Tribe was a ball of mes, and the leader of the Lightning Spirit n was a stormcloud.

    The Five Spirits Alliance consisted of strange lifeforms.

    "You''re very wee. All of us are enemies of the Aeternals. I¡¯m going to go take a look." Lu Yin was worried, because Big Sis¡¯ opponent was Skydog.

    From the very beginning, Lu Yin had made a point to tell Big Sis to just try to drive Skydog away, as the dog was nearly impossible to kill.

    Big Sis looked like she was losing her mind.

    "Hey, you damn dog, what are you trying to say by wagging your tail? Are you looking down on me?"

    <i>Woof!</i>

    "Stop barking! I already have a headache."

    <i>Woof! Woof!</i>

    "Get lost! I¡¯m not talking to you anymore!"

    <i>Woof! Woof! Woof!</i>

    Lu Yin silently observed from a distance. He saw Skydog charge at Big Sis again and again, only to be beaten back by Big Sis¡¯ various battle techniques. However, the dog never lost his enthusiasm and continued to charge at Big Sis, never showing any wounds.

    Lu Yin heard Big Sis¡¯ words and knew that she was already convinced of her opponent¡¯s power.

    Given the situation, Lu Yin quietly left. He could not approach Big Sis at this time. If she saw him or learned that he had overheard her, things would not end well for Lu Yin.

    Instead, he continued on to the Luna Alliance.

    The frenzied corpses that had been sent to the Five Spirits Alliance had already been dealt with, but Lu Yin had further ideas. He wanted to turn their defense into offense.

    Whitecloud had already invaded the Scourge, and the Lord of Lightning had fought against True God, which had forced the Aeternals to pay a price to ask Astral Anura for help.

    That had to be expensive for even Aeternus.

    If Whitecloud could do it, so could the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin was fed up with how the Aeternals constantly kept revealing new and additional secrets. Even if it was impossible to defeat Aeternus right now, Lu Yin at least wanted to obtain a clear idea of just how much power they had in reserve. He wanted to probe the depths of the pool.

    The Five Spirits Alliance did not refuse. They were part of a massive battlefield. If Whitecloud were not facing their old enemy, the Ancient Lightning Locust, the Lord of Lightning might have already returned to the Scourge.

    Both Whitecloud and the Heavens Sect were qualified to lead others into the Scourge.

    For the Heavens Sect, their leadbatant who gave them such courage was Ancestor Tianyi.

    The Luna Alliance was a massive universe that was no smaller than the Fifth Maind. There were three rings of moonlight that shone brightly, creating a beautiful scene.

    Lu Yin had fought against Moon Fairy twice as Ye Bo, but he had never met any of the Luna Alliance¡¯s members as Lu Yin.

    The Aeternals had sent five frenzied corpses to the Luna Alliance, which had destroyed a great deal of the Luna Alliance. Two of their peak powerhouses had even died.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s arrival reversed the situation.

    Moon Fairy watched from a distance as Lu Yin dealt with a frenzied corpse and killed it. The sight stunned the woman. Was this the power of the Lu family from that legendary universe?

    There were too many parallel universes in the megaverse, and some were connected to each others through various means, much like how the Sixverse Association was interconnected. As for the parallel universes beyond the Sixverse Association, even if they were aware of those universes, without a connection to the Sixverse Association, those universes were considered outsiders.

    To the Sixverse Association, the Luna Alliance, the Five Spirits n, and Whitecloud were all outsiders. But from the Luna Alliance¡¯s perspective, the Sixverse Association was regarded as outsiders.

    So in the Luna Alliance¡¯s view, Lu Yin was an outsider powerhouse.

    Lu Yin was somehow an outsider powerhouse who was not actually a peak powerhouse himself. Despite that, he was capable of eliminating the frenzied corpses and had even drafted a n to counterattack Aeternus. He led an outsider organization that boasted more than ten Progenitors, and he could cooperate with sequence powerhouses.

    "Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu, for your help." Moon Fairy was genuinely grateful, and she did not put on the typical arrogance of a sequence powerhouse. In front of the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch, not even sequence powerhouses had much status.

    The interaction felt quite odd to Lu Yin. This was his third time encountering Moon Fairy, but the first two times they had met were as enemies. The Five Spirits Alliance would not tell the woman Lu Yin¡¯s secret, and he certainly would not either. Aeternus had spies everywhere, and it was possible that they were already on Lu Yin¡¯s trail, based on some clues that he had left behind.

    "You''re wee. Show me where the other frenzied corpses are," Lu Yin asked brusquely.

    Of course, Moon Fairy was even more anxious than Lu Yin to get rid of the frenzied corpses. Seeing his enthusiasm, her impression of the young man only improved. "This way, please, Dao Monarch Lu."

    ...

 Chapter 2977: I Want Everything

    Chapter 2977: I Want Everything

    Skydog returned to the Scourge. Big Sis did not try to stop the dog at all. She was unable to beat the dog, but Skydog was simrly unable to harm Big Sis.

    <em>Woof!</em>

    Marquis Wu returned just a bit before Skydog.

    Progenitor Xi was still looking at the sky, focused on two of the cosmic doors. These led to the universes that Dual deform and Ye Bo had gone to. Neither had returned yet.

    Even Skydog had returned, but the other captains had not, which meant that something must have happened.

    There had to be a traitor among the seven True God Guard Captains, but not even Progenitor Xi was certain was to who it might be.

    Mu Ji had never cultivated with divine energy, and in theory, he could be a traitor. ording to what the Aeternals knew, it was impossible for anyone who had cultivated divine energy to betray True God. However, Mu Ji''s innate gift had let him survive against even Mu Ke. Mu Ji was incredibly talented, and he had managed to retain his sanity even after being submerged beneath theke of divine energy. Even if he was the traitor, Progenitor Xi still wanted Mu Ji to cultivate divine energy and turn on the humans.

    The Aeternals did not target traitors, because they had a number of human traitors among their ranks. It would not be surprising to have such people also try to betray Aeternus.

    There was also no guarantee that Mu Ji was the traitor. If he was not, then which of the other six captains could it be?Aeternus could tolerate the existence of a traitor, but they could not tolerate not knowing who the traitor was. They had to find out the traitor¡¯s identity.

    "It seems that they can''t return. Two more captains have died," Progenitor Xi said while looking at the remaining True God Guard Captains. "Please return to your own towers and wait for your next mission."

    Hearing this, Zhong Pan and the other True God Guard Captains all left.

    Mu Ji also held his chest as he left.

    Progenitor Xi appeared calm. She had obtained some additional information. The frenzied corpses were being dealt with quite quickly. She had tried tounch an all-out war and had used the frenzied corpses to keep both the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance upied so that Aeternus could immediately seize the advantage. Unfortunately, the frenzied corpses had all been dealt with quite quickly, which was unexpected. This disrupted all of Progenitor Xi¡¯s following ns.

    Lu Yin? How on earth was he capable of eliminating the frenzied corpses¡¯ divine energy?

    As far as Progenitor Xi was concerned, this detail was far more important than her failed strategy.

    However, there was also nothing that she could do about Lu Yin for the time being. Rather, she needed to send all the remaining frenzied corpses at the Sixverse Association.

    In many ways, Lu Yin was very simr to the Lord of Lightning. Both of them were people who wanted to hold the initiative. Since Aeternus had just suffered a setback, it was very likely that Lu Yin would attack the Scourge. Give the current strength of the Heavens Sect, that was not at all impossible.

    Lu Yin had already sent aid to the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. If he led an attack on the Scourge, Aeternus would likely suffer at least as badly as when the Lord of Lightning had led the invasion.

    Before long, Lu Yin eliminated all the frenzied corpses that had been sent to the Luna Alliance. This also meant that he had anointed thirteen new Progenitor-level champions to his Champions¡¯ Stage. That was a terrifying number. Lu Yin did not n to anoint any additional champions for the time being. He wanted to try summoning the ones that he had and needed to understand just how many champions he could bring out at once.

    Suddenly, he received word that more frenzied corpses were appearing in the Sixverse Association. These new ones were not attacking the borders, but had rather appeared within the member universes of the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin was taken aback by this news. What was Aeternus doing? Sending frenzied corpses to the border warfronts could keep the Sixverse Association¡¯s powerhouses upied, but why were they sending more frenzied corpses? There was no way they thought that the Sixverse Association could not handle such an attack.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned gloomy. Had the Aeternals already guessed that he wanted to attack the Scourge?

    At this time, he received another report, and this one made Lu Yin certain that Aeternus had already guessed at his intentions. This meant that there was an Aeternal spy hidden in the Five Spirits Alliance or the Luna Alliance. It also had to be someone who knew of the ns tounch a counterattack against Aeternus.

    Forgotten Ruins God was hiding in the Inorganic Universe on the Endless Frontier that had been severed.

    Undying God was in the Transcendent Universe.

    Why had they suddenly received this information?

    While no one could be sure where the information originated from, Lu Yin knew that Aeternus itself had released the information, possibly Progenitor Xi herself. It was clear to Lu Yin why the information had been released; he was being given a choice. Did he want to attack the Scourge, send out powerhouses to help the Sixverse Association deal with the frenzied corpses attacking, or seize the opportunity to go after more of the Seven Skygods?

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s choice, and it was being offered by Progenitor Xi.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance also received this information at the same time.

    The Aeternals wanted everyone to see what Lu Yin chose.

    He had already negotiated with the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, and they had agreed to attack Aeternus. This was not only to help the Heavens Sect uncover Aeternus¡¯s true strength, but also to help Whitecloud get revenge for the all-out war that Aeternus hadunched against them. With this new information that had suddenly appeared, if Lu Yin decided to not attack the Scourge, it would impact his reputation within the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. This would greatly reduce the chances of them cooperating to attack the Scourge with the Heavens Sect in the future.

    If Lu Yin continued with his n to attack the Scourge, what would the Sixverse Assocation say? The Great Sovereign was in seclusion, which meant that Lu Yin was the decision maker for many of the Sixverse Association¡¯s matters. If he did not rescue the Sixverse Association and the various parallel universes suffered heavy losses, his reputation there would be negatively impacted.

    While everyone could talk about seeing the bigger picture, it was not something that most people could truly ept.

    At this moment, Lu Yin should attack the Scourge so that he could get a clear picture of Aeternus¡¯s strength. However, would that be enough to offset the damage that Lu Yin¡¯s reputation would suffer within the Sixverse Association by making that choice? It was a question without an answer.

    Lu Yin would lose all the prestige that he had built up with the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, and there was no telling how long it would take for him to rebuild his reputation.

    A blood debt was the hardest to repay.

    The Aeternals excelled at ying with people''s hearts. They believed that emotions were a failing of humanity and that emotions were essentially worthless. For that reason, the Aeternals had no issue in toying with human emotions or using psychological warfare.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, since the Sixverse Association is facing trouble, let''s deal with the frenzied corpses there first," Yue Shen told Lu Yin. She admired the young man a great deal. He had risen to a very high position despite his youth. He had also achieved this not because of the Lu family, but rather despite them. He was the one who had returned the Lu family from their exile.

    The three women, Yue Shen, Moon Fairy, and Moon Ghost, were all quite arrogant. They might not even show such respect to the leaders of the Five Spirits Alliance, who were also sequence powerhouses. Despite that, the women were amazed by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared up at the endless starry sky, a smile touching his lips. "Only children make choices. I want everything."

    The three leaders of the Luna Alliance were left confused. What did this mean?

    "Everyone, please prepare yourselves. Our n continues unchanged," Lu Yin announced. He then promptly returned to Aeternus Nation and to the Fifth Maind from there. He went straight to the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin went to the Lu Sanctum to meet with Lu Tianyi.

    "Ancestor,e with me to the Cyclic Universe."

    "You want to go to the Cyclic Universe right now? What do you want there?"

    "I want to wake up the Great Sovereign."

    "What?"

    When Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi arrived in the Cyclic Universe, it was something that no one had expected or even imagined.

    "Little Seven, are you sure that you want to wake the Great Sovereign?" Lu Tianyi hesitated. The Great Sovereign and the other rulers of the Sixverse Association had fought against True God and the Seven Skygods, and everyone involved in that battle had subsequently gone into seclusion. The idea to attack the Scourge was only viable because True God was in seclusion. ording to Lu Tianyi¡¯s understanding, disturbing the Great Sovereign at this moment would dy her recovery, which was no small matter.

    Lu Yin appeared quite solemn. "As long as no one disturbs Ancestor Lu Yuan, everything will be fine.

    "In order to ovee Dukkha, the Great Sovereign needs to eliminate Aeternus. To further that goal, she was willing to sacrifice my Lu family, which caused the tragic deaths of countless members of our family. People from the Lu Sanctum died, the Qiming family died, the All-Dao family died, and the Seven Heroes all died. I¡¯ve long wanted to force her to repay this blood debt that she owes.

    "Right now, we have a rare opportunity to counterattack Aeternus. Besides, the Great Sovereign will face off against True God. Even if we wake her and she dys her recovery by going to the Scourge to fight True God, True God¡¯s seclusion will also be extended. No one will suffer a loss from this.

    "As far as we¡¯re concerned, the longer that crazy woman remains in seclusion, the better. Besides, the Great Sovereign is the only one who can force True God out and make trouble for him.

    "As long as Ancestor Lu Yuan is able to fully recover, it would actually be best if the others aren¡¯t able to do the same."

    Lu Tianyi stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. The old Lu Xiaoxuan would have never been able to do such a thing. The current Lu Yin was not a selfish person, but seeing his scheming was heartbreaking. Lu Tianyi wanted to see the youth be innocent and free, not forced to such underhanded means.

    However, if Lu Yin had not changed, he would have died long ago.

    Lu Tianyi was not alone, as the entire Lu family had learned of everything that Lu Yin had experienced over the years. He had seen too much. The more the family learned, the greater their debt to Lu Yin.

    If a person was not forced, who would allow themselves to descend into darkness and be such a terrifying person?

    Fortunately, Lu Yin refused to cross his bottom line. However, what would happen to him when he tried to ovee Dukkha? Lu Tianyi could not even guess.

    At this thought, determination filled Lu Tianyi''s eyes. No matter what, since the Lu family had returned, there were certain things that Lu Yin no longer needed to bear. The Lu family would always have his back.

    Lu Tianyi suddenly raised his hand. "Great Sovereign, get out here-!"

    The sharp shout not only shook the Cyclic Universe, but also startled Lu Yin. What had excited Ancestor Tianyi all of a sudden?

    In a corner of the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Ninth Lotus was about to attack the frenzied corpse when she was startled by the shout. Who was it?

    In the middle of a certain field, Sage Yajna rose to his feet. This was not good.

    One after another, various people started making their way towards Lu Tianyi.

    No one knew where the Great Sovereign was in seclusion, but that did not matter. As long as the Cyclic Universe was disturbed, the Great Sovereign would know about it. Just like Lu Yin, she was the ruler of the universe and had received its acknowledgement.

    "Great Sovereign,e out!" Lu Tianyi suddenly attacked the universe with the Dao of One Heavens.

    Sovereign Lotus was shocked at the man¡¯s behavior. "Lu Tianyi, you¡¯ve lost your mind!"

    She raised a hand, using a Ninth-Grade Lotus to block Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger attack.

    However, she was unable to stop his attack, and her lotus instantly shattered.

    This was Lu Tianyi''s attack to force the Great Sovereign awake. Even Shaman God had been severely injured by the Dao of One Heavens. Nutjob Lu had beenpletely incapable of fighting back. No matter how powerful Sovereign Lotus might be, she could do nothing against this finger.

    Then Chu Jian appeared as well, and he used the Phoenix Tail Sweep secret technique, as well as the power of Annihtion.

    From elsewhere, Sage Yajna appeared. "Lord Lu, please stop."

    The finger shattered the power of Annihtion. Lu Tianyi did not hold back at all with his attack. He wanted to wake the Great Sovereign, and to do so, he was ready to break the Cyclic Universe.

    His finger rendered the various powerhouses of the Cyclic Universe helpless.

    This attack also served to open Lu Yin''s eyes. Even Ancestor Tianyi was so domineering.

    No matter how gentle and elegant a member of the Lu family might appear to be, they could never escape a certain domineering thatid in their very bones. Lu Tianyi was no exception.

    The Daosource Sect had needed a gentle person to rule over it, but Lu Yin needed someone domineering to support him.

    The sky cracked, and the Cyclic Universe shook.

    Chu Jian''s pupils shrank sharply. "Stop!"

    The Cycle of Reincarnation appeared from him. He wanted to use this power to stop Lu Tianyi.

    At this moment, the sky warped. In fact, the entire Cyclic Universe seemed to distort before Lu Yin''s eyes. The distortions formed a path that led to an unknown location. This was the Great Cycle of Reincarnation.

    Lu Yin saw an endless amount of sequence particles. The Great Sovereign wasing out.

    "Greetings, Master."

    "Greetings, Master."

    "Greetings, Great Sovereign."

    ¡­<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2978: Manhandled

    Chapter 2978: Manhandled

    Countless people throughout the Cyclic Universe saw the Great Sovereign appear, and they all knelt to her.

    The Great Sovereign looked down upon everything, appearing invible and unfathomable as she stood above everything. Her cold and cruel eyes locked onto Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi.

    Just like when he had first seen her at the Tea Ceremony, looking at the Great Sovereign made Lu Yin feel as though his eyes were being stabbed and he was going blind.

    This person should not be directly looked at, only looked up to.

    "Juniors of the Lu family, are you seeking death?" The Great Sovereign''s voice rang across the Cyclic Universe, shaking the entire universe.

    As she spoke, endless sequence particles fell. It looked like the very sky was falling.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Ancestor."

    An Investiture of the Gods appeared over Lu Tianyi''s head, and a golden light shot into the sky. At the same time, the man himself was surrounded by countless sequence particles. They formed a vortex around Lu Tianyi that connected the sky to the earth.

    At this moment, the confrontation between the Great Sovereign and Lu Tianyi''s sequence rules set off a unique storm that rampaged through the Cyclic Universe.Sovereign Lotus and the others were all startled by the confrontation, and they all pulled back.

    What?

    The Great Sovereign''s eyes shed, and she raised her hand.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s eyes flickered, and he took a step forward.

    Lu Yin shouted, "You crazy woman, the Aeternals are falling apart!"

    The Great Sovereignpletely ignored Lu Yin, and her upraised hand fell.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. Every move that this woman made was powerful enough to destroy the universe. He had thought that Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s presence would at least give Lu Yin the opportunity to speak to the Great Sovereign. He had not expected the crazy woman to refuse to listen to a single word.

    When the Great Sovereign''s hand fell, she did not attack the two men from the Lu family, as Lu Yin had expected, but instantly destroyed the few frenzied corpses that were scattered about the Cyclic Universe. Nothing remained of them.

    "Why have those frenzied corpses appeared?" The Great Sovereign looked at Sovereign Lotus.

    The Sovereign had also expected the Great Sovereign to attack Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin, and Sovereign Lotus¡¯s face had already turned pale. As soon as she heard the Great Sovereign¡¯s question, the Sovereign quickly exined the situation.

    The Great Sovereign looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "The Whitecloud and Aeternus have gone to war?"

    Lu Yin looked at the Great Sovereign. "The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance are both ready to attack the Scourge at any moment, but the Sixverse Association was suddenly attacked by the frenzied corpses. We intended to settle them while waking you. I wish to ask you to go to Scourge to attack it. I want to force Aeternus to reveal their full strength.¡±

    "Little thing, who do you think you are?" the Great Sovereign thundered. Her voice shook the sky and nearly caused Lu Yin to lose consciousness.

    "Do you believe yourself capable of fighting against Aeternus?

    "Who do you think I am? How do you believe that you can shout at me and wake me up however you please?

    "Not even that kid, Lu Yuan, would dare to speak to me in such a manner!"

    Lu Tianyi frowned and maintained a firm stance in front of Lu Yin.

    A roaring filled Lu Yin''s mind, and his vision blurred. <em>This crazy bitch!</em>

    He gritted his teeth and angrily shouted back, "Who do you think <em>you</em> are? If not for being older than me, who would you be? Just a random madwoman!"

    Sovereign Lotus and the others who heard Lu Yin felt chills cover their bodies. Thest time Lu Yin had insulted the Great Sovereign like this, it had been at the Tea Ceremony. He had just done the same thing again.

    Chu Jian was furious at Lu Yin¡¯s behavior. "Lu Yin, shut up!"

    Lu Yin pointed a finger at the sky. "So many of us have worked to create this opportunity for you to attack Aeternus! Why are you putting on this act here? Besides, you¡¯ve already left seclusion, and you are able to fight against True God. Even the Lord of Lightning has already attacked the Scourge and fought against True God. Who do you think you are when others are willing to fight your battles?"

    "Lu Yin, if you want to attack the Scourge, then go bother your own ancestor! Why bother my master?" Chu Jian yelled.

    Lu Yin shot a re at Chu Jian. "Because I can."

    These three words left Chu Jian utterly speechless.

    Sovereign Lotus was stunned, and she felt an urge to p Lu Yin away.

    Sage Yajna, a quiet, peaceful man, struggled to not curse Lu Yin.

    It was obvious that the young man was seeking revenge. How despicable!

    Even Lu Tianyi was rendered speechless. <em>Couldn¡¯t Little Lu be a little more tactful?</em>

    He took a deep breath, and his sequence particles slowly fell down. It was possible that Lu Yin¡¯s three words wouldpletely enrage the Great Sovereign. Their goal was to convince the Great Sovereign to attack the Scourge and force Aeternus to fully reveal all of their hidden strength, not initiate a fight between the Great Sovereign and the Lu family. Lu Yin was ying with fire, and it was important that he did not burn himself.

    Lu Yin was again staring straight at the Great Sovereign. Although the woman was insane, there was no doubt that she genuinely wanted to destroy Aeternus. This was not only because of the threat that the Aeternals posed to humanity, but also because the Great Sovereign wanted to ovee Dukkha. For both of these reasons, she should not forsake the opportunity Lu Yin was giving her. After all, she had already left seclusion. It was better to force True God out as well, instead of suffering a loss on her own.

    The Cyclic Universe remained silent as everyone waited to hear the Great Sovereign¡¯s response.

    The longer the silence stretched, the more unsettling it became.

    "The Lu family is doing this for themselves," the Great Sovereign stated.

    Lu Tianyi''s expression fell.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. "This is your struggle to ovee Dukkha!"

    "Little thing, you are not qualified to discuss such things with me, though you are right in that. I have already emerged from seclusion, and since that is the case, I cannot allow Yong Heng to rx." As she spoke, the Cyclic Universe fell back. The universe started to spin, and all the sequence particles that had filled the area suddenly vanished, as well as the tremendous pressure that had been present. The Great Sovereign had disappeared.

    The woman¡¯s sudden absence startled Chu Jian and the others. Had their master gone to attack Aeternus?

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Ancestor, hurry back to the Lu Sanctum! Don¡¯t let the crazy woman wake Ancestor Lu Yuan!"

    Even as Lu Yin spoke, he quickly tore the void, and Lu Tianyi shot through to return to the Lu Sanctum.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin also disappeared. As he stared, the scenery fell away, blurring from the incredible speed. In an instant, he was already at the border of the Cyclic Universe. He looked around and saw Arrow Sage. By the time Lu Yin looked back, he was already in an unknown universe.

    Everything had happened in less than a second, so quickly that he had not had any opportunity to even react.

    When he did react, he smelled a refreshing scent and also heard a familiar voice. "Little thing, since you want to see the Aeternals true strength, I¡¯ll take you there to see."

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth fell open, and he slowly turned his head. The Great Sovereign was right at his side.

    At this moment, she was holding onto him. She had taken him to the Endless Frontier.

    Back in the Cyclic Universe, Lu Tianyi had taken action the moment Lu Yin had been captured by the Great Sovereign. Even so, Lu Tianyi could not catch up. He could only watch as the Great Sovereign left his sight. The man¡¯s entire demeanor instantly and drastically changed. "You crazy bitch! Let go of Little Seven!"

    Sovereign Lotus and the others from the Cyclic Universe could not even react. Shockingly, after leaving, the Great Sovereign had returned and captured Lu Yin.

    What was going on?

    Throughout known history, no one had ever heard of anyone getting physically close to the Great Sovereign, and yet she had just whisked Lu Yin off with a hand. It was very clear to all of them

    Something big had just happened.

    On the Endless Frontier, Lu Yin stared at the Great Sovereign in a daze. The woman was very close. A veil still covered her face, preventing Lu Yin from seeing her clearly, but her eyes were beautiful and wless, radiating a holy light that could not be desecrated.

    They moved through the void, going further and further. In just an instant, they had already crossed half of the Endless Frontier.

    Lu Yin gulped. While he had just been shouting at the Great Sovereign and insulting her, at this moment, he panicked. This was not because he was afraid, but rather because Lu Yin was unwilling. Dying to the Great Sovereign would not be worth it.

    At the Tea Ceremony, the Great Sovereign had pushed Lu Yin to the point where his temper had snapped, and he had be reckless that he had ignored the potential consequences. Because of that, he had insulted her.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no anger at all. He had forced the woman to repay a bit of the debt that she owed the Lu family by forcing her out of seclusion, which had been quite satisfying. However, she had subsequently captured Lu Yin, and he was in no position to say anything.

    "Little thing, keep insulting me. I want to hear what you have to say." When the Great Sovereign spoke, she was very close, and her voice was no longer as loud. It was still impossible to determine the Great Sovereign¡¯s gender from her voice, but it was very soft, and it flowed like clear water. There was an ethereal aspect to it.

    "Why did you capture me?" Lu Yin asked in a daze.

    "Don''t you want to see the true strength of Aeternus?"

    "Just go and see for yourself. I need to go take care of the frenzied corpses. They¡¯ve appeared everywhere in the Sixverse Association, and I can deal with them faster than anyone."

    "It doesn''t matter. Such brainless monsters can''t cause much damage. If you want to see the Aeternals¡¯ true strength, then I''ll take you to see it."

    As they spoke, they already arrived in the Giants¡¯ Purgatory, which Lu Yin was very familiar with. The Star Devourer was no longer present.

    In an instant, the Great Sovereign carried Lu Yin through the Giants¡¯ Purgatory, and they entered a dark ce. This was another ce that Lu Yin was very familiar with: the Scourge. To be precise, this was where the Scourge was connected to the Endless Frontier, which made it where the Sixverse Association connected to Aeternus¡¯s territory. This was the first battlefield in the war against Aeternus. This was the ce that Sovereign Dou Sheng always stayed at.

    "Great Sovereign, I can¡¯t really do anything against True God, but if you let me go, there are things that I can aplish." Lu Yin wanted to fight back, but unfortunately, he found that there was absolutely no way for him to resist the Great Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign coldly answered, "Aren¡¯t you going to call me a crazy woman now?"

    Lu Yin opened his mouth. At this moment, his life was literally in the hands of another. This was an experience he had not suffered in a long time. Threats were useless, and the Great Sovereign would not even be intimidated by Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    The Great Sovereign was one of the strongest beings in the entire universe. She was someone attempting to ovee Dukkha, which was a level that not even True God had exceeded. This meant that there was no one in the universe above the Great Sovereign, and that included Mister Mu. There was no one Lu Yin could use to try to threaten the Great Sovereign.

    He had never even considered the possibility that the Great Sovereign would capture him, which was clearly a mistake.

    There was a loud bang, and a golden light red. It was Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The Great Sovereign dragged Lu Yin along, and they instantly arrived at the source of the golden light. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shifted to the side, and he saw that Sovereign Dou Sheng had just smashed a frenzied corpse to death with his golden cudgel.

    Sensing something, Sovereign Dou Sheng turned around. He saw the Great Sovereign, as well as Lu Yin, who was in her grip. Sovereign Dou Sheng was briefly stunned. Just what was going on?

    The Great Sovereign merely nced at the Sovereign before taking another step towards the Scourge.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his golden cudgel tightly. A frenzied corpse rushed at him from the side, but the man ignored it. Instead, he chased after the Great Sovereign.

    Right after that, Lu Tianyi also appeared, and he simrly chased after the Great Sovereign into the Scourge.

    None of the Aeternals in the Scourge were aware that Lu Yin had gone to the Cyclic Universe to awaken the Great Sovereign. Things had proceeded too quickly, so even if a spy had managed to get the information, they could not have moved faster than the Great Sovereign herself.

    As the Great Sovereign entered the Scourge, the entire maind trembled.

    The Cyclic Universe had shunned all the known Aeternals, while the Scourged had shunned most individuals who were not part of Aeternus, especially the Great Sovereign. As soon as she entered the Scourge, her very presence shook the ce, just like when True God had entered the Cyclic Universe.

    The ck Mother Tree swayed, and the void trembled. The Great Sovereign arrived in one step, erasing all of the Aeternus Kingdoms that she passed by. At the same time, she eradicated all the Progenitor-level corpse kings. Her power was without equal.

    Progenitor Xi was startled. "Tai Hong?"

    A st of pressure shot towards Progenitor Xi. In his tower, Mu Ji was shocked, and he turned to look into the distance. What a terrifying presence! As it swept out, it threatened to overturn the entire Scourge. Mu Ji had not felt such a powerful aura even when he approached the temple beneath the ck Mother Tree and faced the statue of True God. It was as though the apocalypse had arrived.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2979: Is It Clear Now?

    <h4>Chapter 2979: Is It Clear Now?</h4>

    Who could threaten the Scourge? Not even the Lord of Lightning had managed to deliver such oppressive pressure when he came.

    The Great Sovereign looked around with cold eyes as she carried Lu Yin across the Scourge. She focused on the ck Mother Tree in the distance. "Yong Heng, get out here¨C!"

    Lu Yin was essentially a puppet on strings. He had wanted to ask the Great Sovereign to put him down before they entered the Scourge. After all, a fight might break out at any moment between the Great Sovereign and True God. However, Lu Yin did not dare to say a word, out of fear of disturbing the Great Sovereign.

    True God and the Great Sovereign must have had many fierce fights over the years. Was it possible that this was the first time the Great Sovereign had entered the Scourge? Absolutely not. She was quite familiar with this ce.

    "Tai Hong, how dare youe in?" Progenitor Xi tore through the void to appear before the Great Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign looked at the other woman. She did not speak a word as she waved her hand, causing a wave of sequence particles to strike Progenitor Xi like a tsunami. The Great Sovereign had used nothing but sequence particles to suppress Progenitor Xi.

    Progenitor Xi''s expression changed, and she unhesitatingly retreated.

    The Great Sovereign spared the woman a cold nce before taking a step forward and continuing on towards the ck Mother Tree.

    Behind her, Sovereign Dou Sheng zed with golden light. His golden cudgel flickered out as a white streak shed by. Skydog was attacking. He had noticed Sovereign Dou Sheng. Anytime the Sovereign appeared, Skydog would go and get beaten by the man. After all, it was impossible for the man to kill the dog.

    Lu Tianyi was right behind the Sovereign. "Great Sovereign, release Little Seven!"

    No matter how hard Lu Tianyi pursued the two, he could not draw any closer to the Great Sovereign. He watched as she crushed the void and moved closer to the ck Mother Tree.

    Down below, Zhong Pan barely managed to escape being trampled to death, though his tower was shattered.

    "Great Sovereign!" Lu Tianyi bellowed. In front of him, Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword shed, but Lu Tianyi just raised a finger and retaliated with a bang.

    "The Dao of One Heavens?" Progenitor Xi was stunned. "Are you Chu Yi¡¯s disciple?"

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s expression turned ugly as he stared into the distance. He was very worried that the Great Sovereign would kill Lu Yin.

    At that instance, the Great Sovereign crushed the temple and stepped onto the ck Mother Tree itself.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breathing quickened. He had never been this close to the ck Mother Tree before. The waterfall of divine energy was falling right in front of him. The closer he drew, the stronger his desire grew. For some reason, this cascading divine energy held a strong attraction for him, and the dark-red star in his universe was vibrating.

    He quickly suppressed it before the Great Sovereign noticed anything.

    The woman¡¯s attention was entirely focused on the ck Mother Tree. ¡°Yong Heng, why aren¡¯t you showing yourself?¡±

    She then started to ascend higher and higher, climbing onto the Mother Tree. She reached the same location where the Lord of Lightning had stood, and once there, the Great Sovereign raised her hand up high and swung it down.

    "Tai Hong, you actually came here." True God¡¯s voice rang out. His hand stretched out from the ck Mother Tree and blocked the Great Sovereign¡¯s attack.

    There was a bang, and the void exploded as a sh shot across the sky, splitting it across the entire Scourge. The sky was severed from the ground below.

    The Great Sovereign pulled her hand back. "This little thing from the Lu family has made seclusion impossible for me, so you can also forget about it."

    She then lifted Lu Yin up. "Didn¡¯t you want to see the full power of Aeternus? See it for yourself."

    A branch of the ck Mother Tree that had been blocking their view of the surrounding area was cut off. Through the opened space, Lu Yin stared into the distance. His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and disbelief covered his face. He felt as though he had just been struck by lightning. How was this even possible?

    Throughout Lu Yin¡¯s life as a cultivator, he had seen many shocking sights, but what filled his vision at this moment was something that he struggled to ept.

    What was he seeing?

    He saw anothernd mass, very far from the Scourge. There was an Aeternus Kingdom there, as well as cosmic doors in the sky above. It was another Scourge.

    He looked in a different direction, and there he saw anothernd mass. When he looked elsewhere, while the branches of the Mother Tree blocked his view, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that there was anothernd mass.

    Morend masses like the Scourge surrounded the ck Mother Tree on all sides.

    The sight reminded Lu Yin of the ancient Heavens Sect era, when the Origin Universe had been at its peak. At that time, there had been six Mainds surrounding the Mother Tree.

    The Heavens Sect had the Mother Tree, while Aeternus had the ck Mother Tree. The Heavens Sect had had six Mainds, which suggested that the Aeternals also had sixndmasses. The Heavens Sect had had the Three Realms and Six Daos, but what about the Aeternals? ording to the parallels, it seemed possible for Aeternus to also have powerhouses simr to the Three Realms and Six Daos. In that case, what were the Seven Skygods?

    Lu Yin''s mind seemed to go nk from too many thoughts racing through it at once.

    At this time, a white light shed out, causing a chill to run through Lu Yin''s whole body. The Great Sovereign raised her hand and flicked a finger. An arrow suddenly appeared right in front of Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, just about to pierce his head. If not for the Great Sovereign¡¯s intervention of flicking a finger, that arrow would have stabbed Lu Yin right in the throat.

    The sequence particles above the arrow copsed.

    The Great Sovereign looked down and nced around the ck Mother Tree. "You have clearly seen this Scourge, and next, it will be time to eliminate the Seven Skygods one by one. This little thing from the Lu family is extremely talented but also very ruthless. I want to see how the Three Pirs and Six Skies, whom you are so proud of, die to this little thing¡¯s schemes.¡±

    "You think too highly of him. If not for being useful, he would have died long ago."

    "I also want to kill him, but even more than that, I want to see him disgust you."

    On the Scourge, beams of light appeared. More and more of them appeared, each one connecting the sky above to the earth below. Lu Yin had seen such things several times before; this was how Aeternus requested help from outsider powerhouses.

    The void tore open within one of the beams, and a familiar form squeezed through. It was the Star Devourer, and his massive body covered the sky.

    A humanoid creature, though one with no facial features, stepped out of the adjacent beam of light. Its body looked like it was entirely made of mercury.

    More and more strange creatures appeared, as all of the Aeternals allies had appeared.

    Above all the others in the sky, Astral Anura emerged.

    "Yong Heng, what evil guest are you asking me to help you evict this time? Wait, Tai Hong?" Astral Anura stared at the ck Mother Tree with his gigantic eyes.

    The Great Sovereign looked up at the sky. "When did you start to specifically cooperate with Aeternus?"

    "I love to make money. I don¡¯t consider affection or emotions, only wealth. Tai Hong, if you can afford it, I¡¯ll fight Yong Heng for you right now," Astral Anura stated proudly as he shook his straw hat.

    "Astral Anura, you need to be honest when conducting business," True God¡¯s voice rang out.

    Astral Anura appeared quite distraught. "That''s true, and the Aeternals did already pay me. I¡¯m sorry, Tai Hong."

    The Great Sovereign''s eyes remained cold as she carried Lu Yin back towards the Endless Frontier. "You will need to call for outside help when we attack. Yong Heng, I¡¯d like to see what sort of price you can afford to pay.

    "Show me how long you can maintain this wretchednd of yours."

    No one stopped the Great Sovereign from leaving, not even Astral Anura.

    As the Great Sovereign left, Sovereign Dou Sheng and Lu Tianyi followed behind her.

    The Scourge fell quiet. Only Astral Anura''s voice broke the silence, in a tone that was filled with schadenfreude. "Yong Heng, your bad guest has gone. While we did not need to do anything, you can¡¯t ignore your bill."

    "Tai Hong did note here for a fight, but rather to show that child of the Lu family that my Aeternus has changed."

    ...

    In the Endless Frontier, at the entrance to the Scourge, the Great Sovereign threw Lu Yin to the ground. His body turned around, letting himnd solidly on the ground. His feet touched down on a mix of blood and water, which released a pungent smell.

    High in the sky above him, the Great Sovereign looked down. "Is it clear now?"

    At that moment, Sovereign Dou Sheng and Lu Tianyi arrived.

    "Little Seven!" Lu Tianyi shouted as he raced over to Lu Yin''s side.

    Lu Yin replied, "I¡¯m fine, Ancestor."

    Lu Tianyi heaved a sigh of relief. "That''s good."

    He then noticed that Lu Yin¡¯s expression did not seem quite right. He looked rather frightened, which made Lu Tianyi frown. "What''s wrong, Little Seven?"

    The Great Sovereign spoke up again. "I asked you, is it clear now?"

    Lu Tianyi lifted his head to stare at the Great Sovereign. "If anythinges after us because of this, Great Sovereign, my Lu family will deal with you!"

    "Is it clear now?" Great Sovereign demanded for a third time.

    Lu Yin slowly raised his head to look up at the Great Sovereign. While he was unable to look directly at the woman, his eyes never flinched. "I saw."

    "Is that what you wanted to know?"

    "Yes."

    "Do you still have your arrogance?" the Great Sovereign asked. Her voice echoed across the universe, causing the countless corpse kings still present to freeze in ce, none of them daring to move. In the distance, Sovereign Dou Sheng restrained his golden light.

    Lu Yin remained silent as he stared up at the Great Sovereign.

    "There is an impossible gap in strength that might as well be the difference between heaven and earth. You are nothing but a mortal. So what if you have managed to be the ruler of the Origin Universe? Does it matter if you rise up and be a Progenitor? Even if you can fully unite the entire Sixverse Association, what difference will it make? It will never be enough. What does this difference in strength mean to you? How can you believe that you can control everything? All you possess is a touch of cleverness, nothing more."

    "Great Sovereign!" Lu Tianyi shouted angrily.

    "I owe your Lu family nothing. Just your Lu family cannot make any difference at all. Only by sacrificing something can something more be gained. Lu Yuan has no idea what Aeternus has be. Your Lu family has always limited your vision to the Origin Universe. What makes you think that you can protect humanity?

    "All that you have ever seen, all of the universes and organizations together are not enough topensate for this difference."

    Lu Tianyi was taken aback, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. What on earth had the two seen?

    Lu Yin asked, "Is this why you are trying to ovee Dukkha?"

    The Great Sovereign remained indifferent. "Only by oveing Dukkha and bing the strongest in the megaverse can we conquer all others. Regardless of how many ants there may be, just a thought will be enough to deal with them. Do you care how many mortals attack you?

    "I am willing to destroy an entire portion of the megaverse and sacrifice any number of peak powerhouses.

    "This difference in strength cannot be ovee, which means that we must rise to a higher level. Now, do you understand?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers finally rxed and tension drained away from his heart. His entire body rxed. "I understand."

    "In the end, I want you to understand that you are nothing more than an ant." The Great Sovereign made her contempt readily evident.

    Lu Tianyi was growing increasingly worried. He had no idea what Lu Yin had seen. Although his life had not been in danger, if the young man¡¯s mind snapped, it would be a fate worse than death. What on earth could Lu Yin have seen?

    Off in the distance, Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a breath. "When people can see hope, they possess the courage to fight. Even when they can''t see hope, as long as they can see the end, the stupid ones will dare to fight. However, if you can''t even see the end, how can you fight?"

    Humans believed that they were roughly equal to Aeternus. Both of them ground away at each other on the Endless Frontier, sometimes winning and sometimes losing. However, the truth was that this was nothing more than what the Aeternals were willing to let humanity see. It was possible for Aeternus to mobilize its full strength and crush humanity at any time, if they so chose.

    Humanity was essentially on the side of a cliff. No matter how hard they try to climb up, they would never even see the top. Such despair was enough to drive a person mad.

    Even though he was confused and felt despair, not everyone could ept the truth about the Aeternals, let alone a young man who was not even a Progenitor yet.

 Chapter 2980: The Path To Take

    Chapter 2980: The Path To Take

    In Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s mind, while Lu Yin was a rare genius who stood out in all of history, despite the fact that he had a level of determination that other people could not imagine, he remained an ordinary person of flesh, blood, feelings, and fear.

    It was possible that what Lu Yin had just seen could shatter Lu Yin¡¯s will.

    In particr, Lu Yin had thought himself to be standing at the peak, only to discover that there was still no end in sight.

    It must seem to Lu Yin as though he had been living in a false world.

    "Great Sovereign, may I ask you a few questions?" Lu Yin asked softly.

    The Great Sovereign looked down at him. "Since you have seen the truth and now understand it clearly, you should know what you want to do. Stay in the Origin Universe and focus on that ce. Conceal the truth that you have seen while maintaining a facade of your perceived power as much as possible until you sacrifice thatst bit of your life for humanity."

    "Is the Origin Progenitor dead?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    The Great Sovereign''s eyes shed.

    "How many of the original Three Realms and Six Daos died?""The affairs of the Origin Universe have nothing to do with me," the Great Sovereign said with a frown.

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look at the Great Sovereign. "What is happening in Burial Garden?"

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s eyebrows started to rise.

    "What is happening in the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin continued his questions.

    The Great Sovereign stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes.

    Lu Yin raised his head up tall. "I admit, I just panicked. I clearly saw the Aeternals¡¯ power, and I now understand the insurmountable gap between us, and that scared me. I became anxious and confused, not knowing what to do. Can humanity really be saved? Will Aeternus even give us the time?

    "Fear is something that I rarely experience, but I am genuinely scared right now. I am very worried that, one day, the truth of the Aeternals¡¯ power will be reality. I am able to see what you wanted me to see, and I understand what you wanted me toprehend. I get it, but¡­

    "But I am not alone."

    A short distance away, Sovereign Dou Sheng''s eyes lit up, and a smile spread across his face.

    Lu Tianyi smiled when he saw Lu Yin''s eyes. Those eyes were filled with fear, panic, and unease. Lu Yin was feeling the exact emotions that he admitted to feeling, which was a very human reaction. No matter if one was an ordinary person or a Progenitor, they would remain human and wereplex things. People could be scared or even suffer from despair. But there was only one thing that they could notck: determination.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Since I¡¯m afraid, then I just find more people to face this with me. If one person can''t do what needs to be done, then I¡¯ll gather ten people. If ten people are still not enough, then I will gather a hundred. There are so many people standing behind me. The sky copsed long ago when the various Mainds were all destroyed, but some people have managed to survive until now. Burial Garden is the hope that was left behind by that ancient era, no matter how slim that hope might be.

    "I have never understood why no one has ever been able to prove whether or not the God of Death, Wu Tian, and the others died, or if they are destined to return. Wilderness God can be reborn, while Garan disappeared. I have no idea where everyone went, including the Origin Progenitor. Are they actually dead?

    "Before just now, when I saw the truth, I had no answer, but now I understand that they are also waiting. It¡¯s possible that they are also scared and panicked. If one person cannot defeat the Aeternals, then it¡¯s best to just wait. There will eventually be a day when we all gather together."

    The Great Sovereign sneered contemptuously. "While no one has been able to prove that they are dead, no one has ever proven that they are alive either."

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and death energy appeared above his palm. "Inheritances are what make a civilization immortal. Death energyes from the God of Death, Heaven¡¯s Sightes from Wu Tian, fatesand and the Books of Destiny alle from Destiny. On top of that, I and my Lu family also have the Garan bloodline and humanoid sourceboxes, which also represent other inheritances.

    "Even if those people are actually dead, their era can be brought back. As long as human beings live, they will never give up. I am now absolutely certain that the Aeternals are incredibly difficult opponents and that we have no hope of winning. Since I can''t see victory, I won¡¯t look for it.¡±

    Lu Yin''s words actually confused the Great Sovereign.

    "You follow your own path and struggle to ovee Dukkha, entering insanity. All of us must follow our own path. If I fail, someone else will stand up and take my ce. If others fail, I will rise up and stand for myself. It''s okay to retreat. Fear is only temporary. While each person only has one life, the human spirit is infinite. At worst, people will be just like you. After all, madmen don¡¯t fear death," Lu Yin''s voice echoed.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng wasughing. "Young man from the Lu family, I admire you. Madmen don¡¯t fear death? Hahahaha!"

    Lu Tianyi let out a breath and looked up with a smile.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes were focused tightly on Lu Yin. "Are you trying to convince me?"

    Lu Yin grinned. "No, I¡¯m simply venting my fear. I¡¯m so scared right now that my legs are still shaking."

    The Great Sovereign had no idea what to say. She felt that there was something wrong with this child¡¯s brain. How could anyone in his position say such things? Admitting to his fear? Instead, he should have been saying something righteous, like voicing his determination to die, right? Instead, Lu Yin ranted like he was going mad.

    He had to be mocking her. <em>You Lu bastards!</em>

    ??Had the child really seen the strength of the Aeternals clearly?

    Not knowing what to say to Lu Yin, the Great Sovereign simply left.

    Lu Yin watched as the Great Sovereign left, feelingpletely relieved.

    "Little Seven, exactly what was it that you saw?" Lu Tianyi asked.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Ancestor, you actually don''t know?

    "The Aeternus that we have been fighting against is just one of their mainds. If I understand things correctly, Aeternus has copied the ancient Heavens Sect. They have their ck Mother Tree at the center and have surrounded it with sixnd masses."

    Lu Tianyi''s expression changed drastically. "What did you just say?"

    "He''s right." Sovereign Dou Sheng approached, along with a heavy pressure.

    Lu Yin examined the man. While the Sovereign had fought against Corpse God with the battalion that Lu Yin had led during the crusade, Lu Yin had never gotten a clear look at Sovereign Dou Sheng before. This was the first time he was fully seeing the man. The Sovereign had average features, but determination filled his eyes. A nce was enough to know that this man had an iron will. There was also a hint of bloodlust in his brilliant golden eyes.

    "Aeternus¡¯s true strength is the same as your Origin Universe¡¯s ancient Heavens Sect. The Heavens Sect had the Origin Progenitor and the Three Realms and Six Daos, while Aeternus has True God and the Three Pirs and Six Skies."

    Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi both felt quite confused. "Three Pirs and Six Skies?"

    Sovereign Dou Sheng grew solemn. "That is the term, though I don¡¯t know exactly who they are, because we¡¯ve only faced a single Scourge so far. However, you don¡¯t have to think that the situation is quite that bad. The Seven Skygods are also part of Aeternus, and their strength is second only to True God. The Great Sovereign has mentioned before that the Seven Skygods are a collective name for the most powerful individuals from Aeternus who fight against our Sixverse Association. Some of them are also part of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, holding both titles."

    The exnation gave both Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi some measure of relief. This made far more sense. Otherwise, Aeternus would simply have too many unfathomable powerhouses.

    If there was no ovep between the two titles, then the Seven Skygods and the Three Pirs and Six Skies would mean that the Aeternals had sixteen incredible powerhouses. That would truly mean that humanity had no hope.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng looked at Lu Yin with admiration. "Didn¡¯t the sight of the other Scourges make you feel despair?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned bitter as he replied, "Scared and desperate, it¡¯s true."

    "Hahahaha, honestly, I feel the same way," Sovereign Dou Sheng said.

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Have you also seen it?"

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s expression grew heavy. "I have seen it. If the Aeternals concentrated all their power onto the Sixverse Association, there is no way the Sixverse Association would havested until now.

    "Very few people in the entire Sixverse Association know this truth about Aeternus. Not even most of the rulers of the member universes are aware. For example, neither the Voidlord nor the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder know the truth. Your Lu family also didn¡¯t know before now. It¡¯s not surprising, as Aeternus just needed to point a single Scourge and the Seven Skygods at us to suppress the Sixverse Association to the point where we can¡¯t even breath.

    "The Great Sovereign wants to ovee Dukkha and reach the next level so that she can use absolute power to sweep the Aeternals away like ants. There is nothing wrong with her path, but she is too extreme in her actions. She is willing to sacrifice anything for her goals, which is precisely the reason behind the friction between the two of us. I choose to stay here, as even if the Aeternals do decide to attack the Sixverse Association with their full strength, I will at least be able to send a warning to the Sixverse Association."

    Lu Yin was in awe of this man. After learning the truth about Aeternus, Sovereign Dou Sheng still had the courage to stay at the edge of the Scourge on his own. It was clear that the Sovereign had never considered leaving the ce alive. This was someone who deserved respect.

    Lu Tianyi was shocked by all that he had learned. "I never imagined that we had not even clearly seen Aeternus."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng turned to Lu Yin. "The Great Sovereign admires you a great deal."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned a bit strange. "Admires me? She wants to kill me. How many times have I called her crazy?"

    Sovereign Dou Shengughed. "I know her very well. After all, she¡¯s my master. If she didn¡¯t admire you, she would have never cared about what you said and would not have taken you here to show you the truth. Do you believe that she is actually willing to set foot in the Scourge? She wants to ovee Dukkha, and will thus avoid any unnecessary battles. Despite that, she took you to the Scourge. I am quite certain that she admires you. At the very least, her attitude towards you ispletely different from how she treats others.

    "True God led the Seven Skygods to attack her Tea Ceremony. His intentions were to test the Great Sovereign¡¯s cultivation and progress. If the impact of that attack on her Tea Ceremony hadn¡¯t been as severe, and if someone hadn¡¯t arrived from the Immemorial Citadel, then the Great Sovereign would have never led the rulers of the different universes to attack the Aeternals.

    "Throughout all these years, you are the only one whom Master has personally taken to the Scourge."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Your words won¡¯t erase the blood debt that she owes my Lu family."

    "That''s a matter between you and her. As far as she¡¯s concerned, sacrificing your Lu family in order to ovee Dukkha means nothing, so she also won''t care about how you want to get revenge," Sovereign Dou Shengmented.

    That was what the Sovereign said, but how was Lu Yin supposed to get revenge? He was well aware that even breaking through again and bing a Progenitor would not make him a match for the Great Sovereign anytime soon.

    The peak of human cultivation was the Progenitor realm, or the equivalent. Lu Yin had once believed that it was an actual realm of cultivation, but he had sincee to understand that it was more of a concept that referred to touching upon the source. An Origin realm cultivator could be regarded as a Progenitor realm, or someone who had reached a higher realm of cultivation. In the same manner, someone oveing Dukkha could also be regarded as a Progenitor. Only by surpassing Dukkha and bing immortal could a person fully break away from the Progenitor realm. That was the meaning of transcendence: immortality.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was aware that there were several ways to achieve transcendence, such as Mister Mu''s Origin Tracer, the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s stellr energy, and True God¡¯s divine energy. ording to those people, each of those powers was able to achieve transcendence. However, the individuals themselves had all failed to transcend.

    What made Lu Yin the most certain that transcendence was possible was the Lost n¡¯s Primeval card. While only a corner of it had appeared, it had frightened away the seven-star Immemorial card Evernight. Evernight matched the level of the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder. Although the man might not have reached the Origin Realm, he was still an incredible powerhouse who surpassed even Mu Ke. Even something at that level of power had been intimidated by just the corner of the Primeval card. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that that card had transcended.

    He hoped that he would be able to draw out that card after his Progenitor breakthrough.

    "There are millions of paths in existence, and no one can say which one is unquestionably correct. Madmen do not fear death, but that doesn¡¯t mean that only madmen can defeat their enemy," Lu Yin murmured to himself.

    ¡­<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2981: Surrounding Undying God

    <h4>Chapter 2981: Surrounding Undying God</h4>

    At the same time that the Great Sovereign took Lu Yin to the Scourge to see the truth about Aeternus, a massive battle broke out in the Transcendent Universe that threatened to destroy the entire universe.

    He Ran stared nkly into the distance as space trembled. At times, sharp des sliced across the sky, cutting through the void and leaving behind massive tears in the void and even cracks of the Hollow.

    Uncle Mo was quite anxious. "Madam, hurry and leave now! If you don''t leave soon, it will be toote."

    He Ran clenched her fists. "I only just returned. I can''t leave. If I return to the Heavens Sect, I will forever be a puppet."

    There was a snap, and a withered yellow sh passed over their head, smashing the stairs behind the two to pieces. Uncle Mo quickly moved to block the resulting debris and protect He Ran.

    Just a short time ago, they had received a message telling them to quickly return to the Heavens Sect because a war was about to break out in the Transcendent Universe and that they did not have much time to leave. Not only did the Heavens Sect try to evacuate He Ran and Uncle Mo, but they had also tried to evacuate as many of the residents of the Transcendent Universe as possible in the brief amount of time avable.

    However, less than a quarter of an hour after He Ran received the message, the fighting started.

    Uncle Mo had no idea who was participating in this battle. All he knew was that, even if he had a ck energy converter, he would die without a doubt if he got involved in this fight.

    The battle was horrifying and took ce at a level that Uncle Mo had never witnessed before.

    He could not even make casual contact with the aftermath of the attacks.

    Far away, at the other end of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s battlefield, five figures stood in outer space. Undying God was at the center, surrounded by four other figures. Two of them were human¡ªBig Sis and Mu Ke¡ªbut the other two were not. They were outsider powerhouses whom Lu Yin had asked for help: the Fire Lord and Lei Tian, the Lightning Lord.

    Many frenzied corpses had been sent to the Sixverse Association, and the Heavens Sect did not have enough powerhouses left who could handle this matter. Thus, Lu Yin had had no choice but to ask the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance for their help in surrounding and eliminating Undying God and Forgotten Ruins God after Lu Yin learned of their locations.

    The Lightning Lord and the Fire Lord were here to attack and kill Undying God, while the Wood Lord, Yue Shen, and the Moon Fairy were helping to deal with Forgotten Ruins God.

    Since Aeternus had leaked the two Skygods¡¯ locations, Lu Yin naturally wanted to eliminate them both. It was best to deal with such powerhouses one by one.

    Before seeing the truth of Aeternus, when Lu Yin had heard that Aeternus had leaked the two Skygods¡¯ locations, he had assumed that the Aeternals were genuinely out of their depths. However, after learning the truth, Lu Yin no longer had any idea what the Aeternals were thinking. They were actually allowing experts as powerful as the Seven Skygods to be surrounded and killed.

    It was also only at this point in time that Lu Yin understood why the Seven Skygods would rather hide on the Endless Frontier within the Sixverse Association¡¯s territory than return to the Scourge after being seriously injured.

    Undying God''s eyes looked wild. Right in front of him, Mu Ke¡¯s saber was raised high. The man took a step forward and brought his de down at an angle. Thepetition between Mu Ke and Undying God in terms of their de skills had already been decided, and Mu Ke knew that he was not the Skygod¡¯s opponent, but that was why Mu Ke was determined to keep distracting Undying God with his saber.

    Undying God sneered as he attacked Mu Ke with a withered yellow sword. "Why haven¡¯t you given up yet? You should know that you can¡¯t defeat me with your de."

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The two des shed, creating a shockwave that tore through the void with a roar.

    Lightning ran through the shockwave¡¯s tears, sting at Undying God. Meanwhile, Big Sis opened her hands, revealing a massive Abyssal Flower. Undying God felt a huge threat from the blossom.

    Withered grass spread from beneath Undying God¡¯s feet, shooting towards the flower and then growing over it. At the same time, his de keptshing out, attacking Mu Ke in a relentless assault. This was no longer apetition of pure de skills, but rather a life and death battle. Undying God was using his Drifting innate gift to try to kill Mu Ke.

    Everyst one of Mu Ke¡¯s attacks was real, but that was not true of Undying God¡¯s.

    He released both real and immaterial attacks with his Drifting innate gift, which made it very difficult for Mu Ke to deal with.

    Only the frantic bombardment of lightning was able to hit Undying God after he used his innate gift.

    No matter how incredible his innate gift of Drifting might be, it was still impossible for an injured Undying God to deal with four sequence powerhouses at the same time. Already, Mu Ke had left behind some fresh wounds.

    More Abyssal Flowers blossomed, consuming Undying God¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world while Mu Ke kept the Skygod¡¯s de upied. Undying God wanted to leave, but more Abyssal Flowers filled the entire area, and beyond them, the Lord of Fire burned the void into the Hollow.

    In order to surround and kill Undying God, the four sequence powerhouses were doing their best. Still, it was far from easy to actually defeat Undying God. After all their efforts, he still had not used his divine energy.

    They continued to wear each other down, shattering the universe and causing it to tremble from their fight.

    Some timeter, Undying God finally used his divine energy, hoping to use it in order to survive.

    Mu Ke, the Lightning Lord, and the Fire Lord all attacked. If Undying God escaped again, there was no telling when they would have another opportunity to attack him like this.

    Undying God used Inverse Step and easily broke free from the encirclement. He entered the Hollow that had been burnt open by the Fire Lord and managed to escape. However, at the veryst moment, a massive ck silhouette of a woman appeared behind Big Sis. This was her Progenitor¡¯s world, Lord of the Abyss.

    The Lord of the Abyss¡¯s hands rose, and a massive Abyssal Flower bloomed, covering the entire sky. "Only when the Abyssal Flower blooms can reincarnation be achieved."

    The enormous flower then shrank, as though constricting the entire void.

    Sequence particles erupted around Undying God, filling the area with the Law of Rot, which caused the Abyssal Flower to wither.

    Big Sis snorted contemptuously. The Abyssal Flower that covered the sky continued to shrink and condense. She was fighting against Undying God in a battle of sequence particles. The Skygod had already been seriously injured, and his sequence particles could not match Big Sis¡¯s. At best, his divine energy could protect him a bit, but he himselfcked the strength. In the past, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had tricked one of the Seven Skygods and killed them, so she was experienced in this matter.

    Undying God watched as the Abyssal Flower held up. If the fight continued in this manner, the moment another one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses appeared, he would have an even more difficult time making his escape.

    This thought made the enthusiasm suddenly fade and disappear from Undying God''s eyes. He grewzy, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.

    His change caused Mu Ke¡¯s expression to change. He put his saber away and stared at Undying God.

    Undying God lifted a foot and stepped forward with Inverse Step. As he moved, a shadow appeared in front of him. As Undying God walked, his injuries disappeared, stunning both the Fire Lord and the Lightning Lord. How was this possible?

    Big Sis was taken aback. "Skipping time?"

    As he used Inverse Step, Undying God not only managed to fully recover from his injuries, but he also escaped from the encirclement. He had just skipped past the period of time where Big Sis¡¯s Abyssal Flower had injured him by stopping him from leaving.

    Big Sis could not believe what she was seeing. How could they fight against someone who could skip time?

    Suddenly, Mu Ke''s eyes snapped wide open. He had found it. His arm rose up high and then snapped back down. "Get back here!"

    As he spoke, an indistinct shadow mysteriously appeared from the void, and it instantly merged into Undying God¡¯s body.

    Right when Undying God was about to escape, the shadow merged with him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body changed visibly. Nearly half of his body shattered apart. This was the injury that he had suffered when he had touched the Hollow while fighting against Lu Yin. Not only that, but he also regained the wounds that he had suffered from Lu Tianyi¡¯s Law of Undoing sequence particles and his Hidden Needle.

    The vague shadow represented the time that Undying God had skipped during the battle on the Endless Frontier.

    How could the Heavens Sect not be prepared when they attacked Undying God, intent on killing him?

    How was it possible to surround and kill someone who could skip time as they pleased? The only way was to find the time that had been skipped, and Origin Tracer was capable of doing exactly that.

    It was very difficult to use Origin Tracer to find a moment of time that Undying God had skipped without some sort of guide, but the moment that Undying God tried to skip time again, Mu Ke was prepared. He used that moment as a guide to find thest moment in time that Undying God had skipped and then returned that moment to the Skygod.

    Mister Mu¡¯s battle techniques demonstrated their true potential at this moment.

    Undying God was seriously injured and on the verge of death. Hiszy demeanor vanished once again. He turned around and stared at Mu Ke. "It¡¯s really my nemesis."

    "Kill him!" Big Sis screamed. Her Abyssal Flower erged once again, making it nearly impossible for Undying God to escape.

    The Lightning Lord and Fire Lord both attacked.

    Mu Ke stared at Undying God. As long as the Skygod tried to skip time again, Mu Ke could use Origin Tracer to return another moment of serious injury to Undying God. If two instances were returned at the same time, there was no question that Undying God would die.

    At this moment, Undying God¡¯s Inverse Step was as good as countered.

    One attack after another fell, constantly consuming Undying God''s divine energy.

    "Wu Xing, you will definitely die this time!" Big Sis looked incredibly upset. She was from almost the same generation as Undying God, and his betrayal infuriated her.

    Undying God smiled. "Yes, I¡¯ll certainly die. I never thought that you would survive all this time, Y¨­u Ming. I thought that you had gone to the Immemorial Citadel with Ce Wangtian and the others."

    "Why did you betray humanity? Why did you betray Wu Tian?" Big Sis screamed at the man.

    The divine energy that covered Undying God''s body was steadily being consumed.

    "We all saw what Wu Tian did for you back then. He adopted you, guided your cultivation, and gave you a path to follow! He even tasked you with guarding the Wu Stele, allowing you to observe it whenever you wanted. Throughout the ages, how many people have wanted to study the Wu Stele, but couldn¡¯t? Even I wanted that. How could you betray such a person?" Big Sis demanded.

    Undying God and Big Sis stared at each other. "Calling it a betrayal is not very urate. I am not from the Origin Universe."

    "You betrayed your own humanity! Even a dog doesn¡¯t betray its master. It doesn''t matter whether you are human or another species¡ªWu Tian still treated you as his heir!" Big Sis raged.

    Undying God lifted his head. Lightning continued to crash down, and the mes still raged. He looked over at Mu Ke. "I can''t escape even with Inverse Step. You were perfectly prepared for me. Was this all arranged by that kid from the Lu family? Have hime see me. I have an exnation to give him."

    "No! There¡¯s no need for him to see a dead man who betrayed Wu Tian," Big Sis dered in a frigid tone.

    A smile pulled at the corners of Undying God''s mouth. "What if I told you that Wu Tian isn¡¯t dead?"

    The expressions of Big Sis and Mu Ke both changed drastically. "Wu Tian isn¡¯t dead?"

    The smile grewrger on Undying God''szy face. "Wu Tian ??is not dead."

    "Where is Wu Tian?" Big Sis quickly asked.

    Undying God turned his smile towards her. "Have that kid from the Lu familye see me, and I¡¯ll tell him."

    "You want to make a deal with Little Seven?"

    "What other choice do I have?"

    Big Sis felt confused, and she nced over at Mu Ke. He nodded, and a message was sent to the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had already returned to the Heavens Sect to direct the attacks on Undying God and Forgotten Ruins God. He had not gone to participate in either assault himself. Given the efforts put into the attacks, Lu Yin was almost certain that the two Skygods would be killed, though he did not expect them both to die. When faced with a real risk of death, the Seven Skygods would bring out their hidden abilities. How could any of them be easy to kill even if they were on the verge of death? Shaman God was a perfect example.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to join either attack.

    However, when the news involving Undying God arrived, Lu Yin could no longer sit still. He did not know if Undying God would tell the truth or lie, but if Wu Tian was really still alive, it would be wonderful news for mankind.

    Lu Yin instantly made his way to the Transcendent Universe.

    When he arrived, he saw an enormous Abyssal Flower far off in the distance. Inside the blossom was Undying God, who was constantly being bombarded by lightning and mes.

 Chapter 2982: Eight Words

    <h4>Chapter 2982: Eight Words</h4>

    Through Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin clearly saw that Undying God¡¯s sequence particles were nearly exhausted. He was also quickly consuming his divine energy and was not far from death.

    Lu Yin went straight over, quickly arriving beside the Abyssal Flower, where Undying God saw him.

    "I''m here. Where is Wu Tian?" Lu Yin asked loudly.

    Within the blossom, Undying God stared at Lu Yin. "I have encountered this child from the Lu family many times, but this is probably our first time having a real conversation."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "What do you want to say?"

    "Haha, you''re incredibly impressive, being able toe up with a plot to kill me, but I¡¯m not too bad myself. I''ve been plotting to kill Wu Tian." Undying God spoke slowly, an incredible chill deep in his eyes.

    Lu Yin frowned. "So, is Wu Tian really not dead?"

    "No, it''s not that easy to kill him. I¡¯ve done my best, but I¡¯ve unfortunately failed." Undying God clearly regretted his failure.

    Lu Yin stared at Undying God. "Why do you want to kill Wu Tian?"

    Undying God snorted and thenughed at Lu Yin. "Why? I am one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods! I have cultivated divine energy and respect True God as the source of my cultivation. Why do you think I want to kill Wu Tian?

    "Over the years, I have incurred countless blood debts in the Origin Universe. I was the one who created the desated corpses that hunted down those with ancient bloodlines. I wanted to eliminate all of the inheritances of those powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era. Heh, your Lu family is no exception!" With that, Undying God suddenly disappeared.

    Big Sis¡¯ expression changed. "Watch out!"

    The Skygod appeared right before Lu Yin, already holding a de. However, Mu Ke had kept his eyes trained on Undying God the entire time, as had the Lightning Lord and Fire Lord.

    Despite Undying God¡¯s close proximity to Lu Yin, it was practically impossible for the Skygod to touch Lu Yin.

    Undying God used Inverse Step, repeatedly trying to move closer to Lu Yin. Flowers bloomed in front of him, and regardless of whether the man used his Drifting innate gift or Inverse Step, he could not get any closer.

    Lu Yin silently stood where he was and watched. He was observing the miraculous usage of Inverse Step. Undying God used Inverse Step differently from the one that Lu Yin had learned. There was a greater variety, and the technique seemed to do more than simply produce a field of chaotic time and space.

    Undying God kept using Inverse Step to try to get past Big Sis and the others. Attacks continued to strike the man, and his injuries grew increasingly severe, but he persisted in using Inverse Step.

    At that moment, Lu Yin was drawn in by what he was seeing. He clearly observed the steps that Undying God took while using Inverse Step, as well as the changes he was producing. Lu Yin could see the entirety of Inverse Step.

    <i>What is this?</i> Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared at Undying God. The man was staring back at Lu Yin. A shing attack appeared at the Skygod¡¯s side, and his arm flew off. mes burned his back, and attacks pierced his stomach. Lightning fell, shattering half of his head and taking an eye away. Still, the remaining eye continued to stare at Lu Yin, and it possessed a terrifying calmness.

    When Undying God saw that Lu Yin was staring at him, the man suddenly stopped. He then deliberately raised a foot and took a step forward. As he did so, an illusory shadow appeared.

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank. This was thest change that Inverse Step could produce, and Lu Yin saw it clearly.

    Undying God passed through the illusory shadow, and Mu Ke¡¯s arm rose before dropping back down. At that same time, an indistinct shadow appeared and shot towards Undying God.

    Undying God stepped past the vague shadow that he had emerged from. He skipped time to appear right in front of Lu Yin.

    His actions startled Big Sis. "Little Seven!"

    Lu Yin confronted Undying God face to face. Behind the Skygod was the shadow that Mu Ke had pulled out with Origin Tracer. This image represented a moment before the battle that Undying God had skipped. It was another moment where he had avoided being seriously injured, and given his current physical state, merging with this moment of time would guarantee his death.

    Mu Ke thought that Undying God had used Inverse Step to skip time and find a chance to recover again. The fact that the Skygod had used the opportunity to get close to Lu Yin was unexpected.

    Big Sis also had not even considered such a possibility.

    Neither person had expected Undying God to use Inverse Step to skip time. After all, doing so was suicide.

    Big Sis screamed.

    Lu Yin calmly looked at Undying God.

    Half of the man¡¯s head was missing, his abdomen had been pierced, and his arms were ruined. The shadow was quickly approaching from behind, and its arrival would be Undying God¡¯s moment of death.

    Even so, the man just stared at Lu Yin and opened his mouth. "Be careful of Wei Nu and the Third Scourge."

    He only managed to speak eight words before the shadow caught up from behind, merging into Undying God¡¯s body. Cracks appeared all across his body, and blood spurted out from each one, sttering into outer space. The man¡¯s already seriously injured body suffered grievous wounds once again, as the injuries that he had avoided by skipping time had been returned to him. Undying God¡¯s body waspletely destroyed.

    He secretly smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at him in a daze.

    "I want Wu Tian to die. Wu Tian <i>must</i> die.

    "I don''t regret all that I¡¯ve done to the Origin Universe. It¡¯s not my universe. I don''t regret joining Aeternus or bing one of the Seven Skygods. I''m no traitor. I''m not from the Origin Universe, and that ce¡¯s survival has nothing to do with me. All I want is for Wu Tian to die..."

    A shrill voice echoed across the universe as Undying God¡¯s body broke apart and slowly disappeared.

    Throughout everything, Lu Yin never even moved. Undying God had never had any intention of attacking Lu Yin. He had only moved closer to speak those eight words.

    The lightning disappeared, and the mes extinguished. The Abyssal Flowers vanished.

    Big Sis hurried over to Lu Yin. "Little Seven, are you alright?"

    Lu Yin stared into the void, Undying God¡¯s voice still ringing in his ears.

    Another Skygod had just died, but Lu Yin could not rx at all.

    Undying God had certainly deserved to die. No matter what he might have said at the end, there was nothing that he could do topensate for all of his sins.

    Undying God had done more harm to the Origin Universe than any of the other Seven Skygods, severing multiple ancient bloodlines. He deserved his death.

    The man had never cared about the life and death of the humans in the Origin Universe; he had only ever cared about Wu Tian. However, why did Undying God insist that Wu Tian had to die?

    The Third Scourge. That was where Wu Tian should be.

    Lu Yin felt a heavy burden settle onto him. Could Wu Tian have also betrayed the Heavens Sect? Aeternus had the Three Pirs and Six Skies; could one of them be Wu Tian?

    However, even if Wu Tian had betrayed the Heavens Sect, why would that concern Undying God? He had never cared about the Origin Universe, and he was also a traitor.

    Lu Yin could not understand the situation, but he knew that the answer was in the Third Scourge.

    He needed to find a way to get to the Third Scourge.

    The Aeternals had six Scourges, the Three Pirs and Six Skies, the Ossis Ark, and True God. Lu Yin needed to clearly understand all of these things. He could not abandon his alias as Ye Bo.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, this sword belonged to that Undying God." The Lightning Lord brought over the withered sword.

    Lu Yin took it. This had been Undying God¡¯s sword. The withered yellow color that covered the surface of the de hade from Undying God''s very own Progenitor¡¯s world. After the man died, the yellow color was starting to dissipate.

    <i>Hmmm?</i> As the yellow color faded, a sharp de was revealed, as well as a few words written on the sword: can kill Mo Shang!

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Could this de kill Old Mo?

    "Why would Wu Xing leave this to you?" Big Sis felt quite puzzled.

    Mu Ke frowned. The Seven Skygods were humanity¡¯s greatest enemies, and killing one was perfectly understandable. However, Undying God had never tried to even attack Lu Yin before he died. On top of that, Undying God had left Lu Yin a sword that could kill a dangerous enemy. This was very strange. They had not killed the wrong person, right?

    Big Sis was also thinking about the situation, and an odd expression covered her face. "Little Seven, this was Wu Xing¡¯s."

    Lu Yin replied, "There¡¯s no doubt that Wu Xing betrayed mankind. The damage he caused us as a Skygod, destroying multiple Mainds, and ending the ancient bloodlines¡ªall of those things truly happened."

    "Then why did he help you?" Big Sis asked in confusion.

    Lu Yin put away the sword. "He wasn¡¯t trying to help me. He simply wants Mo Shang to die. There¡¯s no contradiction to this."

    Big Sis thought back to Wu Xing¡¯s final moments. The man had done his best to get close to Lu Yin, despite suffering increasingly serious injuries. Even so, he had continued to use Inverse Step to approach Lu Yin. Even at the moment of his death, Undying God had not attacked Lu Yin. Just what had he said to Lu Yin?

    Mu Ke did not ask any further questions, and he simply returned to the Arboreal Realm.

    Lu Yin thanked the Lightning Lord and Fire Lord, and they also returned to their own universes.

    Finally, Lu Yin and Big Sis returned to the Heavens Sect.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, they received word that Forgotten Ruins God had never been found. She had fled in advance.

    Lu Yin was not surprised. They had sessfully killed Undying God, and Lu Yin would have been shocked if they had eliminated two Skygods at the same time.

    While Forgotten Ruins God was not the strongest Skygod, she was certainly the most cunning. It would not be easy to surround and kill her.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, the first thing that Lu Yin did was announce an order to capture Bai Xian''er.

    There was no need to be concerned with where she was in the Cyclic Universe. Lu Yin no longer needed to care about such things.

    His order instantly created amotion in the Cyclic Universe. Bai Xian''er had been epted as a disciple of the Great Sovereign herself, and yet the Heavens Sect wanted to arrest her. Without a specific reason, this matter would lead to war.

    Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Chu Jian both went to the Heavens Sect to meet with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was staring at a list in a trance.

    It was a list that he had been given by Sovereign Dou Sheng. It listed details regarding all the outsider powerhouses who had been called to the Scourge by the Aeternals. At the top of the list was Astral Anura.

    As long as these outsider powerhouses were not dealt with, Aeternus would always be able to fight back.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had given Lu Yin this list for a very clear reason; he was hoping that Lu Yin could find a way to deal with these powerful enemies.

    The Great Sovereign was focused on oveing Dukkha, and she was unwilling to fight Aeternus to the death. She believed that doing so was pointless, so it made sense for Sovereign Dou Sheng to pass this matter on to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared at "Astral Anura," which was written at the top of the list. The toad really needed to be dealt with. He was the one who had first driven the Lord of Lightning out of the Scourge. Astral Anura was powerful enough to confront the Great Sovereign, which suggested that he was also oveing Dukkha. This was a very difficult opponent.

    In order to deal with Astral Anura, there was no avoiding using Mr. Daheng.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sovereign Lotus and Chu Jian are seeking an audience with you."

    "Let them in," Lu Yin answered indifferently as he continued to stare at the list.

    The two were quickly escorted to the main hall. "Lord Lu."

    "Lord Lu."

    Despite their extreme reluctance, both Sovereign Lotus and Chu Jian needed to show an adequate amount of respect towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had been taken away by the Great Sovereign, and yet he had returned alive. The Great Sovereign had gone back into seclusion, which meant that there was no one in the entire Cyclic Universe who could influence Lu Yin.

    On top of that, the Heavens Sect had just eliminated another one of the Seven Skygods, which was an incredible boost of morale throughout the entire Sixverse Association. Given the current circumstances, Lu Yin''s status had risen to an entirely different level, and even the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Sovereigns had to bow to him.

    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yin asked calmly without even looking up.

    Chu Jian asked, "May I ask why Lord Lu wants to capture my senior disciple sister?"

    "Bai Xian''er?"

    "Yes."

    "If I catch her, I''ll give you an answer."

    Chu Jian choked at this answer. "Lord Lu, Bai Xian''er is my senior disciple sister. She is also a disciple of the Great Sovereign."

    Lu Yin finally looked up. "So what?"

    Chu Jian frowned. "Lord Lu, before issuing your order to capture a disciple of the Great Sovereign, have you considered the Cyclic Universe?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I don¡¯t need to consider it."

    Sovereign Lotus spoke up. "While the Aeternals have suffered a grave setback, they have not been wiped out yet, and they still have many outsiders who will reinforce them. It won¡¯t be easy topletely eliminate Aeternus. Given the circumstances, why do you insist on creating a conflict with my Cyclic Universe, Lord Lu? The Sixverse Association needs to be united to fight against the Aeternals."

 Chapter 2983: Self-Judgement

    <h4>Chapter 2983: Self-Judgement</h4>

    Lu Yin waspletely unconcerned with Sovereign Lotus¡¯s words, and he calmly replied, "There¡¯s no issue here. Bai Xian''er is the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, so the Great Sovereign should be the one who has something to say. You aren¡¯t qualified to make trouble for me. As I said, if we capture her, I¡¯ll give you an exnation. That¡¯s all I¡¯ll say about it.¡±

    "Lord Lu, if you do this, the other members of the Sixverse Association won¡¯t agree," Chu Jian could not help saying.

    Lu Yin casually sipped his tea. "I won¡¯t give the Great Sovereign any face."

    Ugly expressions appeared on both Sovereign Lotus and Chu Jian¡¯s faces.

    "However, I am willing to give Sovereign Dou Sheng some face. Go find Bai Xian''er yourselves, and I will give her a chance to confront me face to face," Lu Yin said as he lowered his tea cup.

    Sovereign Lotus felt puzzled. "The four ruling powers might have rebelled against your Lu family, but will you really humiliate my Cyclic Universe for the sake of just Bai Xian''er?"

    Lu Yin looked over at the Sovereign Ninth Lotus. "Once again, I will give her a chance to confront me face to face, provided that you are able to find her."

    Chu Jian frowned. As soon as the Heavens Sect had made the announcement about Bai Xian''er, he had looked for his senior sister, but he had not been able to find her anywhere.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s unwavering determination, was it possible that there could be something wrong with Bai Xian''er?

    Although Lu Yin was overbearing, he was not unreasonable.

    "Lord Lu, what has happened with Bai Xian''er? Is there a reason why you are determined to capture her? If so, my Cyclic Universe is willing to help." Chu Jian changed his tone of voice as he tried to probe.

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s mouth. "Whether you help or not is your choice. You don''t need to know too much."

    Lu Yin then tossed the list that he had been reading over to Chu Jian. "When we invaded Aeternus this time, they summoned these outsider powerhouses to help. If you have a chance, find some way to deal with a few of them. While Aeternus is able to call upon outsider powerhouses, so are we. Let¡¯s take advantage of this time when Aeternus seems to have suffered a grave setback to deal as much damage as possible."

    <i>Seems to have suffered a grave setback?</i> Sovereign Lotus did not understand why Lu Yin had chosen to word things in such a way. No matter how one looked at the current situation, Aeternus had suffered badly.

    Another one Skygod had died, the Great Sovereign had invaded the Scourge, which had forced Aeternus to call upon outsider powerhouses, the frenzied corpses had all been eliminated, and the True God Guard Captains kept on dying or being captured. There was no denying that Aeternus had been gravely injured.

    Before long, Lu Yin drove Sovereign Ninth Lotus and Chu Jian away. The Cyclic Universe was forced to help find Bai Xian¡¯er. She was the Great Sovereign¡¯s disciple, and if the Cyclic Universe did not find the woman first, the Heavens Sect would undoubtedly kill her as soon as she was found. It was imperative that the Cyclic Universe find Bai Xian¡¯er so that they could talk to her before Lu Yin got to her. They needed to find out why Lu Yin was determined to capture the woman.

    If the Heavens Sect really did execute Bai Xian''er, the Cyclic Universe and the Great Sovereign would both lose all face, and war would very likely break out between the two universes.

    Additionally, Lu Yin had maintained the upper hand within the Sixverse Association, and the other member universes would listen to him.

    After the two left, Qing Ping arrived.

    "There is a problem with Wang Xiaoyu."

    This caught Lu Yinpletely by surprise. "What''s the problem?"

    Qing Ping considered the question. "There¡¯s a problem with her betrayal."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Why do you say that?"

    "I judged her for betraying her race, but Wang Xiaoyu was not condemned. Instead, the judgment was a draw. Disregarding all else, that alone means that neither her nor I have betrayed our own race," Qing Ping stated solemnly.

    Lu Yin frowned. "How could that be? Wang Xiaoyu is known as the biggest redback that the Fifth Maind has ever seen. If it weren''t for her, Progenitor Chen would have never started the war against the Sixth Maind. The war between the two Mainds created an opportunity for the Aeternals, and it ultimately led to the current situation. It was during that war that the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect disappeared and most of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas died. The Lu family even had to break the Perennial World away from the Fifth Maind to serve as a shield against the Aeternals. Wang Xiaoyu was the trigger for all this.¡±

    Qing Ping agreed, "I know, and yet the judgment says otherwise."

    "Senior Brother, what is the basis for your judgment?"

    "Thew."

    "Have you already mastered aw?" Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised.

    Qing Ping shook his head. "Thew that I am referring to is different from thews of the universe that you are familiar with. I don''t know how to exin this to you. While it might seem as if my judgments are determined by outside factors, they actually force anyone being judged to judge themselves. Everyone in the universe wears a mask, even you and me. We wear masks for others to see, and sometimes, we wear the mask for so long that we forget who we are underneath it.

    "My judgments essentially remove that mask and forces a person to face their true selves."

    "What if Wang Xiaoyu is able to deny her true self?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Qing Ping considered the question. "Then her very existence would also be denied, and she would be obliterated byws that govern her true self."

    Lu Yin still failed to understand, but he believed his senior brother. Since Qing Ping was so certain, could there really be something wrong with Wang Xiaoyu''s betrayal of the Fifth Maind?

    Lu Yin was reminded of his previous spections that there had to be a human spy within Aeternus. He still had no idea who it might be, but it was possible that it was one of the Seven Skygods, or maybe a Progenitor-level expert who had betrayed humanity. It was even possible that it was one of the freakish existences among the True God Guard Captains. It was possible that the one helping humanity was not actually human themselves.

    If there was a problem with Wang Xiaoyu''s betrayal, then could she be a spy?

    Still, the cost of being a spy had to be absurdly high, to the point where it should be impossible.

    Who could exin the universe clearly? It was impossible for the Aeternals to imagine that Lu Yin had entered the Scourge, disguised as a Ye Bo. This was basically proof that anything could happen.

    It was still necessary that Lu Yin return to the Scourge and learn more about Aeternus.

    What Lu Yin had learned about Aeternus was terrifying, but after seeing the truth, despite the hopelessness of the situation, Lu Yin at least had a direction to proceed in now.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current goal was to ovee the First Scourge and drag the other Scourges into the war against the Sixverse Association, thereby forcing out Aeternus¡¯s entire strength. Of course, his alias as Ye Bo was his only means of getting inside information.

    When Lu Yin shared his thoughts with Wang Wen, the man had a headache. "The Aeternals must already believe that there is a traitor among the True God Guard Captains. If they catch that traitor, there will be no problem with Ye Bo returning, but the problem is that you are the traitor they¡¯re searching for, Your Highness. Before the traitor is caught, as soon as Ye Bo returns to the Scourge, even if they don¡¯t decide that you are the traitor, they will undoubtedly subject you to a long period of surveince and stop trusting you. If that happens, there¡¯s no point in you returning to the Scourge."

    Lu Yin was already aware of this as well. "Which is why you need toe up with a reason for me to return that won¡¯t arouse the Aeternals¡¯ suspicions."

    Wang Wen had already been filled in on the truth regarding Aeternus. While Lu Yin might worry about others losing hope and giving in to despair, there was no fear of that when it came to Wang Wen.

    Long ago, they had used their foothold in the Outerverse as a foundation upon which they nned their campaign to conquer the entire Fifth Maind. That level of difficulty was no less than trying to have the current Heavens Sect be the foundation of the fight against Aeternus.

    Wang Wen was someone who was unwilling to act alone. He was always seeking out a bigger and better challenge. Wei Rong was exactly the same in this regard.

    This was a good aspect to intelligent people. They understood themselves very well and knew what they could and could not do.

    "While I can¡¯te up with an answer right now, we can at leasty the groundwork. The Heavens Sect has already captured three of the True God Guard Captains: Chong Gui, the Chiliagonist, and the captain that Senior Mu Xie captured during thest battle. Thest captured captain is a man and woman pair, who seem to be known as Duel deform. Your Highness, have Ye Bo also be captured by the Heavens Sect, and after that, we can figure out a way for you to escape. After all, you can¡¯t go back to the Scourge for now, as it would be too sudden," Wang Wen said.

    Lu Yin agreed, so they proceeded ording to Wang Wen¡¯s suggestion.

    ...

    The Progenitor-level enemies that the Heavens Sect had captured could only be imprisoned beneath the death energy in Aeternus Nation. The death energy could even suppress and weaken peak powerhouses, which was how Lu Yin had initially dealt with Monarch Mu.

    Death energy was cold and oppressive, and being suppressed by it was incredibly unpleasant.

    At the moment, Duel deform had also been imprisoned beneath Aeternus Nation after being captured.

    "This is all my fault! If I had managed to hold him back, you could have escaped, brother." The pink-haired woman med herself. She was curled up in the arms of the blue-haired man.

    The man looked up at the death energy that blocked their vision. "It doesn''t matter. At worst, we will break like other knives. It¡¯s the fate that we deserve."

    "I''m sorry, brother."

    "There¡¯s nothing to be sorry for. I won¡¯t live on my own without you. As long as we are together, it doesn¡¯t matter if we are part of Aeternus or the Sixverse Association."

    "Mm-hmm."

    Suddenly the death energy parted before the two, and Wang Wen approached. He looked at the two with a smile and evident curiosity.

    The pink-haired woman instantly raised her guard as she stared at Wang Wen. This person¡¯s gaze gave her the chills.

    The blue-haired man frowned. "Human, kill us!"

    Wang Wen was curious. "Are you two des?"

    "What do you want?" The pink-haired woman was put even more on edge, and she acted like she was about to bare her teeth and ws. "I''m warning you, don''t try to mess with us! We would rather be broken."

    Wang Wen gave the two a bright smile. "Since your weapons, you can freely pledge your loyalty to Aeternus or to us. There¡¯s no need for any sort of loyalty."

    The blue-haired man looked up. "A weapon¡¯s loyalty is different from that of you humans. We will never betray anyone."

    Wang Wen shook his head. "You¡¯re wrong on that. After all, if you die, you¡¯ll have nothing."

    "We don''t care," the two said in unison.

    Wang Wen was caught off guard. "This isn¡¯t something that you can just not care about. Let me exin it this way; if you refuse to join us, only one of you will survive."

    The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Human, we are des. We can break at any moment. Your little tricks won¡¯t work on us."

    The blue-haired man did not even bother responding to Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen suddenly pointed at the pink-haired woman. "Even if you break, I will take your pieces and give you to a pervert who¡¯s covered in stinky pus, who hasn¡¯t washed their hair for 10,000 years, and who likes to clean the dirt from his hair with a knife."

    The pink-haired woman was startled, and after a moment, she screamed at Wang Wen, "Human, that¡¯s too much!"

    Wang Wen gave her an odd smile before pointing at the blue-haired man. "I will give you to the most beautiful woman in the universe."

    The pink-haired woman¡¯s scream rose louder. "Human, I¡¯ll fight you!"

    The blue-haired man quickly grabbed the woman, even as he red at Wang Wen. "Human, you are the most vicious, shameless person I have ever met!"

    Wang Wen shrugged. "Thanks for thepliment. I like the sound of that. After all, that¡¯s high praise among humans."

    Dual deform both red at Wang Wen. He had infuriated them both with just a few words. This human was an absolute bastard.

    "Enough, human. No matter what you say, it''s useless. If we are broken, we will no longer have any sort of consciousness. Only our broken bodies will be left behind, and you can use them however you want," the blue-haired man spat in a cold voice as he cradled the pink-haired woman.

    As for her, the woman was still ring at Wang Wen, wishing that she could chop him to pieces.

 Chapter 2984: Fascinated

    <h4>Chapter 2984: Fascinated</h4>

    Wang Wen sighed heavily. "I really don''t know what sort of pill the Aeternals gave you to make you so loyal. The other three are all the same."

    "Three?" The blue-haired man was surprised.

    Wang Wen usually waved his hand, and the death energy opened up to reveal arge area. Three figures could be seen in three different directions. One was wearing ck armor that covered even his face, hands, and legs. The other miserable man was the Chiliagonist. He had copsed to the ground, though his eyes were moving about, clearly indicating that he was still conscious. Thest one was Lu Yin, disguised as Ye Bo. His hands and feet were both bound with death energy, and he looked like he was in agony.

    Since the death energy had created barriers separating them, none of them had known about the others¡¯ existence, despite the close proximity.

    "Ye Bo?" the pink-haired woman eximed.

    Lu Yin lifted his head to look over. "Dual deform? Were you also captured?"

    "Were you captured too? How were you beaten so badly?" The blue-haired man was shocked.

    Lu Yinined in a bitter tone, "I was captured by the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses. I have no idea who betrayed us, but none of Aeternus¡¯s attacks on the six different universes were sessful."

    "Are you the new True God Guard Captain? How pathetic for you to be beaten to such a state. Look at me, I''m fine! I told you before that there¡¯s never any shame in wearing more armor. Look at me, I was clearly right," Chong Gui spoke up from the distance.

    The blue-haired man looked over at Chong Gui. "You still aren¡¯t dead?"

    "Hey, hey, hey, what''s that supposed to mean? Do you want me to die? I was only hit once by Lu Tianyi''s attack. That¡¯s not such a big deal. Look- <i>cough</i>." He spat out a few mouthfuls of blood.

    Dual deform looked at the Chiliagonist, who was lying on the ground. "Hey, Chiliagonist, are you still alive?"

    Lu Yin spoke up in Ye Bo¡¯s hoarse voice, "He isn¡¯t dead. He¡¯s even still conscious. Chiliagonist, please speak."

    The Chiliagonist gritted his teeth. The rage he felt nearly overwhelmed him. This bastard, Ye Bo, was clearly a spy that the humans had sent into Aeternus. Ye Bo had attacked the Chiliagonist, forcing him to be captured, and yet the bastard was actually pretending to also be a captive. What was his goal? The Chiliagonist was incapable of speaking even a single word because of this bastard.

    "Hey, Chiliagonist, you shouldn¡¯t be dead, right?" Lu Yin said a bit more.

    The Chiliagonist was practically spitting blood.

    The blue-haired man spoke up. "Forget it. It seems that he was seriously injured."

    <i>p, p, p</i>???????????.

    Wang Wen apuded. "Everyone, are you happy chatting here? Would you like to keep talking?"

    "There¡¯s no need for the bullshit! We won¡¯t betray Aeternus!" Lu Yin spoke up first.

    The Chiliagonist nearly cracked his teeth when he heard Ye Bo¡¯s response.

    Wang Wen shook his head in a mournful manner. "What a pity. I had wanted to let you chat for a bit so that you could gain a tacit understanding to betray Aeternus and help my Sixverse Association. Since you are unwilling, then we¡¯ll just go with our original n and torture you all to death, especially you, Ye Bo."

    Looking at Ye Bo, Wang Wen¡¯s expression changed drastically, growing incredibly cold. "With the crimes that you¡¯vemitted in the Perennial World, not even executing you 10,000 times would be enough. You¡¯ll be given to the Lu family to suffer their unimaginable punishment. "

    Ye Bo responded by mocking Wang Wen. "If we betray Aeternus, our punishment will be even worse. You humans are destined to lose sooner orter! You can¡¯tprehend the strength of Aeternus."

    Wang Wen casually waved his hand, and the curtain of death energy fell back down, isting everyone except for the Chiliagonist.

    As soon as the barriers reappeared, Lu Yin let out a breath and removed his mask, returning to his true appearance. The Chiliagonist stared in utter shock as Lu Yin slowly walked over to him.

    The Chiliagonist could have never imagined that Ye Bo was actually Lu Yin in disguise. When the two of them had tried to escape from the Neoverse, Ye Bo had thrown a palm strike to block the Chiliagonst and stop him from leaving. But even then, the man had never suspected that Ye Bo was Lu Yin in disguise.

    Only at this moment did the man learn the truth.

    The revtion was so shocking that the man had a feeling that everything he knew must be fake.

    Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe, had actually risked his life to sneak into the Scourge and had even cultivated divine energy. How had he aplished this?

    The Chiliagonist waspletely stunned as he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s approaching figure.

    Lu Yin squatted down in front of the True God Guard Captain. "Surprised?"

    The Chiliagonist was finally able to speak, though he still stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Dao Monarch Lu, I have to admire you."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "The Aeternals can''t detect me."

    "Because you¡¯ve cultivated divine energy." The Chiliagonist said this because he could not believe it himself, despite knowing it to be true.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, I¡¯ve cultivated divine energy. As far as the Aeternals are concerned, cultivating divine energy means that you can never betray them and will always obey True God. However, I am an exception to that."

    "You are no exception. Your time simply has not yete," the Chiliagonist growled through gritted teeth.

    The two men stared at each other. "You people can never betray True God, can you?"

    The Chiliagonist said nothing and simply stared at Lu Yin.

    "In that case, there is no reason to keep any of you, especially you. You are aware that I have Ye Bo as an alias and that I¡¯ve infiltrated the Scourge," Lu Yin casually mentioned.

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s pupils shrank. "Sooner orter, you will be just like the rest of us. True God is our god, and Aeternus is our home. You will not be any different."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand suddenly rose up and then mmed down.

    The Chiliagonist red at Lu Yin when he saw that Lu Yin was about to attack. However, Lu Yin¡¯s hand abruptly stopped.

    A strong wind blew by, chilling the Chiliagonist.

    He stared at Lu Yin in shock.

    "The taste of death must be unpleasant," Lu Yin said lightly.

    The Chiliagonist stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "Why don''t you kill me?"

    Lu Yin stood up. "I need you alive so that I can put on a show, though not yet. Just sit here and wait for death. It wille for you eventually."

    After saying those words, Lu Yin left.

    The greatest value that the Chiliagonist held for Lu Yin was his consciousness. The Chiliagonist was capable of using his consciousness to control others. Lu Yin had no idea if the man¡¯s ability was an innate gift or a battle technique, but he wanted the ability. It might even be possible to turn Possession into an ability that Lu Yin could control freely.

    This was why Lu Yin had threatened the Chiliagonist with death. Despite the fact that none of the True God Guard Captains would ever betray Aeternus, the fear of death was innate to all living things. This had nothing to do with whether or not the Chiliagonist would betray the Aeternals. Lu Yin simply hoped that he could learn something from the Chiliagonist during his next visit. After all, that man held what Lu Yin wanted.

    This was the same method that Lu Yin had used to wear down Monarch Mu''s will bit by bit.

    Lu Yin did not think that he was a charming person, and it was impossible for him to convince people to join him after he had captured them. Only an idiot would expect such an oue. Lu Yin knew that he could only do things step by step.

    The Chiliagonist was breathing heavily. He had genuinely thought that he was about to die, and he had felt true desperation at that moment.

    If he was not afraid of death, he would not have been in such a hurry to return to the Scourge from the Neoverse.

    No living creature did not fear death at least somewhat, not unless they were entirely mindless like the corpse kings.

    The Chiliagonist did not want to die, but it was absolutely impossible for him to betray the Aeternals.

    What did Lu Yin want from him?

    Elsewhere, Dual deform was having a conversation.

    "Ye Bo¡¯s going to have a terrible time," the pink-haired woman muttered softly.

    The blue-haired man replied, "He¡¯s from this universe, and there¡¯s an imcable hatred between him and these people. He won¡¯t have a good end."

    "What a pity. I actually quite enjoyed him, even if he is a frigid person."

    "Such people are all toomon in Aeternus. Just forget about him. I don¡¯t want to talk about this anymore."

    "I''m sorry, brother."

    "Here we go again..."

    ...

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin sipped some tea that Zhao Ran had prepared. It was a new blend that she hade up with, and it had an emerald color. It looked nice, but the taste was a bit ssy.

    More than half a month had passed since Lu Yin and Wang Wen had put on a show before Dual deform and the other captains. All the frenzied corpses in the Sixverse Association had already been dealt with. In addition to the Cyclops King, Lu Yin had anointed another seventeen Progenitor-level experts to his Champions¡¯ Stage.

    This was a terrifying number, and it perfectly portrayed the power of the Lu family. As long as they were given the chance, they could quickly go from having nothing to more than ten powerful champions.

    Since Lu Yin could do it, then so could Lu Tianyi and the others. They simply had not encountered very many Progenitor-level opponents who could be anointed as champions.

    The Sixverse Association had gained a clear advantage across all parts of the Endless Frontier, and they had gathered their forces outside of the Three Purgatories after suppressing the Aeternals in the other parallel universes.

    Even the Star Devourer, who had been left behind to defend the Giants¡¯ Purgatory, had left. He had gone back to support the Scourge at one point, but no one knew where the beast had gone after that.

    Despite the optimistic-looking situation, no one suggested an attack on the Scourge. No one aside from the Great Sovereign or Lu Yin would dare to make such a decision.

    As for the two people who were capable of making that decision, one did not care, and the other knew that a loss was inevitable.

    For this reason, Sovereign Dou Sheng alone remained at the entrance of the Scourge, acting as the gatekeeper to the Sixverse Association.

    Wang Wen continued to think and n, trying to find a reasonable excuse to send Ye Bo back to the Scourge.

    Wei Rong also joined in, and the two met in a corner of the Heavens Sect to plot and scheme. Whenever the two were together, Lu Yin always felt like that area grew darker.

    He was testing out Inverse Step.

    Undying God had added new aspects to Inverse Step, allowing the movement technique to not merely create a field of chaotic time and space, but also to skip time. Lu Yin had seen that aspect of the technique very clearly.

    He understood what was possible, but if he wanted to reach that level of mastery himself, it required bothprehension and time.

    Along the way, Lu Yin remembered the disciple that he had epted and called the Second Nightking over.

    "How has Tuo Lin been doingtely?"

    The Second Nightking gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Dao Monarch, he- he¡¯s be a bit obsessed."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "What''s his obsession?"

    "The history books that I gathered for him. He seems to be fascinated by the books. He continues to read all of them and won¡¯t respond even when people shout at him," the Second Nightking exined.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Had things really developed in this manner?

    He had just been making things up, trying to ensure that Tuo Lin did not give in to despair. It was nothing more than a test that was intended to take an exceptional amount of time toplete. Why had Tuo Lin be obsessed with his task?

    After thinking of this, Lu Yin went to where Tuo Lin was staying, and he found an entire courtyard piled high with books there. In fact, the books not only filled Tuo Lin¡¯s courtyard, but also all of the surrounding area and even the nearby hilltop.

    Many of these books were clearly precious volumes that had been preserved through special methods.

    "Where did all of these bookse from?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking exined, "Many people learned that the Dao Monarch was collecting books concerning the history of the Fifth Maind, and they voluntarily sent these over. Your servant has had to refuse a good number of them. But even so, there are an incredible number of them. There are even more still waiting to be delivered.

    "In fact, this matter has even created a new administration department, the Book Transport Department."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. A few casual words from him had actually instigated the creation of an entire bureaucratic branch.

    He looked inside the courtyard between the books and saw Tuo Lin flipping through a book as though in a trance. The pages were turning incredibly quickly. Was this still reading?

    After watching for a time, Lu Yin left. He had clearly seen that Tuo Lin had no intention of stopping. It did not matter, as there was no harm in reading more books.

 Chapter 2985: Lu Yin And Progenitor Chen

    Chapter 2985: Lu Yin And Progenitor Chen

    A few dayster, someone reported that Old Mo could no longer be found in the Umbral Universe.

    Lu Yin frowned. Where had the old man gone? Old Mo was a thorn in Lu Yin¡¯s side, and if it was not removed, there would be endless trouble in the future.

    If Old Mo joined Aeternus, humanity would gain a very powerful enemy.

    After receiving Undying God¡¯s sword, Lu Yin naturally wanted to find Old Mo and show him the de to see if he would have some kind of reaction. But unfortunately, the man could not be found.

    Lu Yin¡¯s improved status and reputation meant that the Heavens Sect had also grown increasingly powerful. Now, many of his old enemies had either already been dealt with, or had gone into hiding.

    There were times when standing higher would allow one to see further, but also not as clearly as before.

    One day, Peach requested an audience, which surprised Lu Yin.

    Peach was themander of the Great Yu Empire¡¯s Thirteen Imperial Squadrons¡¯ Sixth Squadron. After all these years had passed, her height had increased from just 1.2 meters to 1.7 meters. She had be a great beauty, and her cultivation had risen from the Cruiser to the Enlighter realm.

    While Lu Yin did not visit the Great Yu Empire very often anymore, it was much like Earth in that it represented Lu Yin¡¯s past and rise to power. The overallbat power of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons far exceeded what they had once been.Every one of themanders was at least an Enlighter.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch." Peach was quite calm when she arrived and bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin observed the woman. "You look like you¡¯ve been doing well. You¡¯ve improved a lot."

    Peach smiled at him, and her smile remained as sweet and cute as before, reminding Lu Yin of when he had given her snacks.

    "Dao Monarch, I came here to deliver this." Peach opened her gadget and shared an image of outer space.

    Lu Yin looked at it, and his expression changed. The big tree?

    It was a picture that had been taken by the spacecraft that had found the big tree. Half of the tree was rooted in the void and invisible, while the other half remained exposed.

    "A captain of a transport ship happened upon this scene. He remembered the Heavens Sect¡¯s posted reward and took this picture. He initially wanted to directly report it to the Heavens Sect, but it was very difficult for him to meet with any senior officials of the Heavens Sect. Because of that, he found someone he trusted to reach out to me, and I was asked to deliver this picture to you, Dao Monarch," Peach exined.

    Lu Yin was quite excited, as he had finally found the big tree again.

    "They deserve to be greatly rewarded. Give me the location."

    Peach quickly shared the coordinates with Lu Yin.

    He found the location easily enough, but because of the amount of time that had passed since the ship had found the big tree, it was nowhere to be seen.

    Lu Yin studied the area and looked at the spatial lines.

    Since half of the tree had been hidden in the void, it was possible that it was also capable of fully entering the void.

    However, Lu Yin could not glean anything from the spatial lines. Lu Yin was unwilling to ept this. He used Heaven''s Sight and scanned the area. After a moment, he found a discrepancy. While there was nothing different about that location, there had to be a reason why Heaven¡¯s Sight had noticed something different.

    Lu Yin took a step forward and arrived at the location of the discrepancy. He moved along the spatial lines and appeared in a hole in the void.

    This should be the exact location where the big tree had taken root in the void. Lu Yin had no idea where this gap might lead.

    Lu Yin''s current strength ensured that he could return from wherever he went. On top of that, the hole that he had found was not a hole in the universe, but rather a hole in space. It was simr to the pocket dimensions that contained hidden worlds.

    There was no hesitation as Lu Yin slowly reached a hand in. He felt nothing, so he entered with his entire body next.

    The scenery around him transformed, and he left outer space to arrive at a yellowke.

    The yellow light seemed dazzling, yet it was somehow quite gentle.

    Lu Yin stared at the hugeke before him, feeling that it looked very familiar. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked elsewhere. He saw a figure sitting quietly on a stone beside theke, staring at the yellow waters as though in a trance. The yellow light illuminated the figure''s face, and the reflections from theke flickered across the features.

    A breeze blew by, creating ripples on the yellowke surface.

    There was no sound in the area. It looked like a peacefulndscape painting.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the figure sitting atop the stone, his mouth hanging open. After a moment, he blurted out, "Progenitor Chen?"

    The unexpected voice echoed out, disrupting the peaceful setting.

    Lu Yin''s mind was in chaos. He had not expected to suddenly see Progenitor Chen. Wait, that meant that he was in Burial Garden, and he suddenly pieced things together.

    When Lu Yin had Possessed a wandering corpse, he had happened to see Progenitor Chen sitting beside a yellowke. It was the exact same scene that Lu Yin was seeing right now, at this moment.

    The distant figure sitting on the stone looked away from theke and turned his head to peer at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Chen in a daze. This person¡¯s appearance was an incredible shock. It could be said that, without Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin would have never be his current self.

    When Lu Yin had first started cultivating, the very first cultivation art that he had found was the Cosmic Art. With that as his foundation, Lu Yin had quickly risen to the top, surpassing all of his peers. At no point in time had the Cosmic Art ever fallen behind his other cultivation arts. In fact, as Lu Yin progressed, the Cosmic Art had also improved. It had proven particrly effective during the battle to drive Aeternus from the Fifth Maind, as the Cosmic Art was what had allowed Lu Yin to rescue the Progenitor of Bloodlines and drive the Aeternals out of the universe. It was also what had allowed him to fight against Xia Shenji.

    Later on, Lu Yin had learned Inverse Step because of Progenitor Chen once again, and that movement technique gave Lu Yin the ability to create a field of chaotic time and space, which had enabled him to touch upon the power of time. Without the Inverse Step, it was possible that Lu Yin might have never been able to touch the power of time, even with the Withered Bark.

    Lu Yin''s path of cultivation was truly inseparable from Progenitor Chen, and Progenitor Chen''s powers had influenced Lu Yin¡¯s progress and cultivation for decades.

    On top of that, Progenitor Chen himself was an absolute legend within the Fifth Maind.

    "We finally meet." Progenitor Chen opened his mouth to speak a second sentence.

    Lu Yin still stared nkly at the man. "You know who I am?"

    Progenitor Chen appeared calm, though admiration could be seen in his eyes. "Of course I know who you are. I noticed you the first time you entered Burial Garden. You¡¯ve cultivated the Cosmic Art."

    Lu Yin had no idea what to say. Unexpectedly, upon seeing Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin felt like there was a great deal he wanted to say, but all his words were stuck in his mouth and would note out.

    "This is Burial Garden. Although you have entered, it isn¡¯t time for Burial Garden to appear," Progenitor Chenmented as he looked back at theke.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Why not? Burial Garden was already opened."

    "It is ast resort. Burial Garden is the ancient Heavens Sect¡¯s inheritance for future generations. This ce represents both hope and inheritance. Without an absolute certainty of defeating the Aeternals, Burial Garden cannot be fully opened. Humanity cannot be allowed to lose hope."

    Lu Yin was surprised. Is this something that Progenitor Chen should say?

    Progenitor Chenughed. "That¡¯s what Tombkeeper asked me to tell you. He hopes that you won¡¯t try to force Burial Garden open."

    Lu Yin asked, "What are your thoughts on this, Senior?"

    Progenitor Chen gave a small smile. "Hope and inheritance are things that I don¡¯t really think about as I excel at fighting. If not for the fact that I owe Tombkeeper a favor, I wouldn¡¯t stay here. I belong to history."

    Lu Yin looked around. Sure enough, he was in Burial Garden. Could he not force it open? This ce contained the inheritances of ancient bloodlines, as well as inheritances from the Heavens Sect era. If this ce was opened, it would be far more significant than the Tower of the Fifth. Burial Garden was a connection between eras. It was a terrible pity that it could not be opened.

    When Lu Yin stared off into the distance, he saw that there was actually a city. It should have been built by the people who had entered Burial Garden and been trapped within it.

    He saw the First Protector of the Hall of Honor, as well as Shang Qing and the Unseen Light.

    These people had built a city not far from Progenitor Chen.

    "Tombkeeper doesn¡¯t want Burial Garden to be opened right now, but how is he supposed to determine the proper time to open this ce?

    "The Heavens Sect has returned, and we have more than fifteen Progenitor-level powerhouses, including several Sequence Progenitors. We even have equipment that can manifest sequence particles that allows even ordinary Progenitors to wield thews of the universe. The Heavens Sect stands at the top of the Sixverse Association.¡±

    Progenitor Chen and Lu Yin stared at each other. "Is it possible for you to defeat the Aeternals?"

    Lu Yin was choked. He might have been willing to say yes to this question before, but after seeing Aeternus¡¯s true strength, he knew that the Heavens Sect was far from strong enough.

    "Senior, do you know the Aeternals¡¯ true strength?"

    Progenitor Chen looked away. "I''ve seen it."

    "The six Scourges?"

    "You¡¯ve seen them too?" Progenitor Chen asked.

    Lu Yin shared how the Great Sovereign had captured him and revealed the truth of Aeternus to him.

    Progenitor Chenughed. "That experience sounds like a legend."

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile as he sat down. "I would rather not have experienced such a legend. At the time, I really thought that that crazy woman was going to kill me."

    Progenitor Chen''s voice remained calm. "Those who are in the process of oveing Dukkha have their own determination. They are obsessed with something they must ovee, but they are not genuinely mad. Still, they handle certain things very differently than people who are not oveing Dukkha."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Chen. "Senior, do you have a good understanding of the Dukkha realm?"

    "Oveing Dukkha is not a realm, but rather a process. Only by oveing Dukkha can one reach another realm. As long as you do not ovee Dukkha and are still in that process, you are still regarded as a Progenitor. There¡¯s no huge difference in strength."

    "Really?" Lu Yin thought of the Great Sovereign''s power andpared the woman to Old Mo. There was a massive difference between the two.

    However, since Progenitor Chen was quite familiar with the state of Dukkha, what was the man¡¯s current cultivation level?

    Just as Lu Yin was about to ask, Progenitor Chen spoke up. "How is the Xia family?"

    Lu Yin felt his heart move. "Senior, did you know that my Lu family was exiled?"

    "I heard about it," Progenitor Chen replied calmly.

    "Xia Shenji''s main body was overtaken by one of his clones, and that clone now obeys me," Lu Yin stated.

    A smile spread across Progenitor Chen''s face. "The Xia family is nothing but trash. Xia Shenji is a jealous person. When I was still a child, I defeated him with my own strength, so he tried to get revenge on me. His path was destined to be a pitiful one."

    The man turned to look back at Lu Yin again. "What does the Fifth Maind say about me?"

    Lu Yin thought for a while. "Invincible."

    "Just that?"

    "That¡¯s your reputation."

    Progenitor Chenughed. "Invincible? I would love to be invincible, but it¡¯s impossible. If I were invincible, I would have destroyed the Scourge long ago, and I would have never allowed Ku Jie to go on ahead. I have no idea what happened to him. "

    "Progenitor Ku has been brought back. My Lu family found him during their exile. They found him in outer space, though he¡¯s be a living corpse. We don¡¯t know how to save him."

    "Haha, so that¡¯s what happened? You don''t need to save him. He will wake up sooner orter. How many of my old friends from back then are still alive? I really want to go see."

    Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Senior, did Wang Xiaoyu really betray humanity?"

    Progenitor Chen remained silent, refusing to answer.

    Lu Yin waited in silence.

    "I''m good at fighting, but I really can¡¯t read people very well. I don¡¯t want to think too much about what happened back then. If you want my opinion, then¡­" Conflicting emotions warred across Progenitor Chen''s eyes as he paused for a moment. "I believe in her."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Chen and saw ambivalence within the man¡¯s eyes, as well as deep affection. Progenitor Chen was a pure person. Only such a person could create a nearly invincible record.

    "Are you disappointed?" Progenitor Chen asked.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Disappointed?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2986: Parallel Time

    Chapter 2986: Parallel Time

    "Given the Fifth Maind¡¯s history, my reputation is probably far more impressive than what you see before you," Progenitor Chen said with a small smile.

    Lu Yinughed. "History is nothing more than legends. A person¡¯s reputation will be altered by others¡¯ perception of them. No matter what, everyone¡¯s still human."

    "You are young but very open-minded. You shouldn¡¯t be so mature. There are times when being impulsive isn¡¯t a bad thing. It''s exhausting to carry too many burdens on your own," Progenitor Chen said with a smile.

    Lu Yin smiled back. "I thought that you were a serious person, Senior."

    "I¡¯m very serious when I fight."

    "I hope that I¡¯ll be able to see you emerge from Burial Garden one day, Senior," Lu Yin said.

    Progenitor Chen''s expression remained calm, though a hint of longing could be detected. "One day, I will create an invincible battle technique that will bring me closer to killing True God than anyone else."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Closer?"

    Progenitor Chen continued to stare out at theke. "I have spent all of these years in Burial Garden creating a battle technique that can kill True God. My forte isbat and creating battle techniques. Still, even after all these years, it is difficult to create something that can threaten True God. But while trying to create an invincible battle technique, I¡¯ve managed to alter another technique. This might not mean anything to me, but it could be of help to you. Do you want to learn Inverse Step? ""I have already learned Inverse Step."

    "I¡¯ve made some changes to it."

    "I also learned some changes from Undying God."

    "Undying God of the Seven Skygods? Right, when I first fought against him, he imed to have created Inverse Step. He was able to skip time and fully restore himself with the use of Inverse Step. It was an impressive alteration of the technique. How is he?"

    "Dead. We surrounded and killed him."

    "Really?"

    "I learned his version of Inverse Step, but I¡¯m far from mastering it to the point of being able to skip time."

    "He altered it to skip time, while I altered it to move parallel to time. You can also think of it as essentially freezing time."

    Lu Yin went bug-eyed. "Time can be frozen?"

    Progenitor Chen looked over. "Interested?"

    Of course Lu Yin was interested. Every time Mister Mu appeared, time had stood still. Lu Yin had no idea how his master aplished this effect, but Progenitor Chen had figured out a way to replicate this effect with Inverse Step. This was¡­ Lu Yin did not know how to even describe it. Not even Undying God, who had created Inverse Step, could do such a thing with the technique.

    Was it really urate to simply say that Progenitor Chen was good at creating battle techniques?

    Meeting Progenitor Chen was something that exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations, though the meeting was also proceeding along his expectations.

    Progenitor Chen was easy to get along with. The Fifth Maind had many legends of Progenitor Chen, but they were all rted to battle and his victories. There was no mention of the man himself or his personality.

    The only thing known about Progenitor Chen¡¯s personality was the incident with Xia Qin. In order to get revenge on the Xia family, Progenitor Chen had instigated Xia Qin, forcing the Xia family to make a choice.

    As another part of his revenge on the Xia family, Progenitor Chen had taken control of the Xia family¡¯s Mountain and Sea, which was why Xia Shenji had never managed to be one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    These stories served as evidence that Progenitor Chen was someone who pursued revenge, which also suggested that he was not as magnanimous as people believed. After all, he was the one who had started the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds.

    However, this was a real person. Someone true and genuine.

    Progenitor Chen had suffered persecutions and experiences that had pushed him bit by bit to the man he was now.

    However, his purity had never changed. He had not betrayed humanity after being persecuted by the Xia family. He had not harmed the innocent. He had gotten revenge, but notined or dragged others down. He had agreed to remain in Burial Garden because of Tombkeeper, never leaving despite the evident desire to do so.

    While humanity had faced the threat of the Aeternals for countless years, Progenitor Chen had sat here quietly, contemting and developing a battle technique that could change the situation. Not only that, but the man was also confident that he would seed.

    The man enjoyed helping his juniors as well, and given that Progenitor Chen liked Lu Yin, the man was willing to teach him without any reservation.

    Progenitor Chen was in the purest sense a cultivator.

    Two monthster, Lu Yin prepared to leave. He had already mastered the alterations that Progenitor Chen had added to Inverse Step, though Lu Yin still needed a great deal of time to reach the level of mastery that would allow him to move parallel to time. It required the same level of mastery as skipping time.

    Before Lu Yin left, he turned to face Progenitor Chen and offered a deep bow. "Throughout this junior¡¯s entire journey of cultivation, I have received your favor, Senior. For that, I wish to express my thanks."

    However, Progenitor Chen had already disappeared. All that Lu Yin received were a few words. "I am not that great. You¡¯re the one who had the luck to obtain my techniques, which has nothing to do with me. On the day that I manage to create an invincible battle technique that can kill True God, who will worship me? I am willing to ept such gratitude then.¡±

    Lu Yin stood back up, tore through the void, and left.

    During his two months¡¯ absence, nothing happened within the Heavens Sect, but there had been a great deal of news from the Sixverse Association.

    Sovereign Lotus had cooperated with an outsider powerhouse to kill one of Aeternus¡¯s outsider allies.

    The Voidforce Universe¡¯s Deepsea Region had been utterly destroyed, and Xiu Ci had been killed. Blood had washed the entire Deepsea Region, and the culprit was an outsider powerhouse by the name of Jing Zhe.

    Jing Zhe had not only destroyed the Deepsea Region, but he had also announced that he had taken action because the Sixverse Association tried to deal with outsider powerhouses like them. If the Sixverse Association dared to target any more outsider powerhouses allied with Aeternus, they would retaliate by destroying a region within the Sixverse Association.

    When Lu Yin heard about this, his expression turned sour.

    "If the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s members universes weren¡¯t in retreat, these outsider powerhouses would never dare to invade us!" Xu Leng visited the Heavens Sect, and her expression betrayed her fury.

    "Sister Leng, I will ask Senior Xu Wuwei to go to your dual-colored mountains. With him there, you should be able to protect yourselves," Lu Yin offered. Xu Wuwei was a sequence powerhouse, and no matter how powerful the outsider powerhouses might be, they were unlikely to be as powerful as the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes.

    Xu Leng bitterly replied, "Jing Zhe has threatened the entire Voidforce Universe. Unless he is dealt with, it¡¯s impossible for us to remain on guard all the time."

    Lu Yin frowned. Jing Zhe was merely the first. If he was not dealt with, there would soon be a second and a third. Worst of all, even Astral Anura might appear, and no one would be able to stop that toad.

    Lu Yin had chosen to ignore the Great Sovereign and intended to seize control of the entire Sixverse Association, but that also meant that he needed to be able to shoulder the corresponding responsibility.

    Lu Yin had received a list of outsider powerhouses who were allied with Aeternus, and the intention behind that list was to have Lu Yin make sure that all those powerhouses were dealt with. They could not stop at this point in time.

    Xu Leng left. She had only stopped by to ask for the Heavens Sect¡¯s protection. Without that, the dual-colored mountains might be the next Deepsea Region.

    Xu Leng had also made this trip without informing Xu Heng. Lu Yin understood her intentions, and he also did not want anything to happen to them.

    Jing Zhe needed to be dealt with. No outsider powerhouse could be allowed to threaten the Sixverse Association, as it would only lead to additional problems in the future.

    However, he first needed to learn more about Jing Zhe.

    A few dayster, Jiang Chen arrived at the Heavens Sect unannounced, which surprised Lu Yin.

    "Why are you here?" Lu Yin was caught off guard by this visit. When Whitecloud had requested the Heavens Sect¡¯s assistance, six powerhouses had been sent to fight against six of the Aeternals True God Guard Captains, which had prevented the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance from being destroyed. At around the same time, the Great Sovereign had abruptly made a visit to the Scourge, which had put an end to the Aeternals¡¯ war efforts for the time being. For the moment, Whitecloud only needed to deal with their own matters.

    "Is it true that you¡¯re asking for information about Jing Zhe?" Jiang Chen mentioned as he sat down.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Do you know something?"

    "My father does, so he sent me to share that with you," Jiang Chen replied.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "The Lord of Lightning knows Jing Zhe?"

    "They fought once. If the worm hadn''t fled so quickly, my father would have killed it," Jiang Chen said with clear regret.

    From Jiang Chen, Lu Yin was able to learn a bit more about Jing Zhe.

    Jing Zhe was a worm. He was very powerful, but also extremely timid. The worm¡¯s timidity allowed him to aplish many things with impressive sess. For example, his attack on the Deepsea Region had instantly startled the Sixverse Association and paralyzed the Cyclic Universe, preventing them from going after any more outsider powerhouses.

    When Lu Yin saw the picture of Jing Zhe that Jiang Chen drew, Lu Yin remembered that, when he had been captured by the Great Sovereign and dragged to the Scourge, this worm had been among the summoned powerhouses that the Aeternals had called upon for help.

    "This guy is incredibly greedy, but he is also a bigger coward than anyone else. If he hadn¡¯t managed to scare the Sixverse Association with his attack, he would have instantly fled. As soon as this matter is finished, Jing Zhe will go into hiding, and not even the Aeternals will be able to find him. If you want to get rid of him, you need to create an opportunity for him to take advantage of, or else you¡¯ll never have any chance at all," Jiang Chen exined.

    "He¡¯s promised to destroy another one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s parallel universes," Lu Yin replied.

    Jiang Chen was openly contemptuous. "Nothing but a show. He just wants to scare you. If he can do it, it¡¯s best for him, and if he can¡¯t, then he¡¯ll just run away. He¡¯s literally a worm, so do you expect him to have any sort of self respect?"

    After thinking about things for a moment, Lu Yin felt this was an urate assessment. He continued to consider the matter. "So, how can we create an opening for him to attack us again?"

    Jiang Chen shared what he knew about Jing Zhe''s habits. The worm had not randomly chosen to attack the Deepsea Region. Rather, the Deepsea Region was an environment that perfectly suited the worm, which let him feel confident. In the future, as long as Jing Zhe could find another suitable location to attack, he would do so as soon as the Cyclic Universe took action against another outsider powerhouse.

    Of course, they would only have a single chance to deal with the worm. If he escaped, it would be impossible to find him again.

    Lu Yin immediately sent a request to the Sixverse Association to have people secretly search for a location that was simr to the Deepsea Region. Simultaneously, he asked the Cyclic Universe to pause their activities.

    "Thank you. Without this information that you¡¯ve provided, I really would have had no idea how to deal with the worm," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Chen casually replied, "I''m sure that you¡¯ll be able to deal with him. Jing Zhe isn¡¯t actually that strong. He can¡¯tpare to Astral Anura, let alone the Ancient Lightning Locust."

    "The Ancient Lightning Locust? Is that the name of the old enemy the Lord of Lightning is currently dealing with?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Chen was clearly frustrated. "Yes. If not for that bug, my father would have definitely joined you in invading the Scourge a second time. Regardless of whether he survived or not, he would happily join the attack. Unfortunately, the Ancient Lightning Locust is his natural counter."

    "What''s going on?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Jiang Chen rubbed his head and shared about the grudge between the Ancient Lightning Locust and the Lord of Lightning.

    The Lord of Lightning was capable of absorbing the power of lightning through touch. Jiang Chen did not hide his ability, and he had aplished this through the power of a ck bead.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust was a creature that cultivated the Law of Lightning, and it had a powerful instinct to devour lightning.

    If the two werepared, the Lord of Lightning¡¯s power was not nearly as pure as the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s. Due to this, as long as the Ancient Lightning Locust was not provoked, everything should have been fine. The bug would not take the initiative to do anything, as it was veryzy.

    However, the Lord of Lightning had identally touched the most powerful lightning in the megaverse, which was the same kind of lightning that the Ancient Lightning Locust guarded. This led to the Lord of Lightning constantly being pursued by the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    No matter where the Lord of Lightning fled to, the Ancient Lightning Locust could find the man.

    "Can''t the Lord of Lightning just defeat the Ancient Lightning Locust?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "How ridiculous. Why would he bother escaping if he could beat it?

    "The Ancient Lightning Locust is practically invincible. Not even the Aeternals want to antagonize the thing. Basically, it¡¯s about as powerful as your Great Sovereign. Father can stall and lure the bug away, but he doesn¡¯t stand a very good chance in a direct fight. He¡¯s always worked with Uncle Kong to drive it away in the past, but it usually reappears soon after.

    "Eventually, we managed to find a parallel universe where we created a maze to trap the bug. No one thought that the Aeternals were watching the whole time, and as soon as they were prepared tounch an all-out war, they released the Ancient Lightning Locust, which caught us off guard. That¡¯s why my father and the others weren¡¯t able to go help the Five Spirits Alliance. Why else do you think I had to ask your Heavens Sect for help?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2987: The Strange Compass

    <h4>Chapter 2987: The Strange Compass</h4>

    Lu Yin felt rather sympathetic after he heard Jiang Chen''s exnation. "Such an opponent must have made life quite difficult."

    "So you understand, but even so, my father asked me toe here and tell you about Jing Zhe. What do you think? Isn¡¯t your future father-inw very considerate?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.

    Lu Yin was rendered speechless, but then he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, help me take a look at something."

    He then took out thepass he had received.

    The moment Jiang Chen saw thepass, his expression changed drastically. He took it from Lu Yin and carefully examined it, looking at it again and again. Finally, he looked up to stare at Lu Yin, his eyes full of disbelief. "How did you get this?"

    "The Merchant Exchange gave it to me," Lu Yin replied.

    A rather interesting expression appeared on Jiang Chen¡¯s face. He looked angry, amused, and a touch of something that could not be ced. "Bi Teng?"

    Lu Yin nodded, and Jiang Chen smiled. "Did Bi Teng actually give this to you? There must be something wrong with him. Shouldn''t this be with Bi Rong, the master of the Merchant Exchange? How did Bi Teng even get it?"

    "I can¡¯t answer that, but Bi Teng gave me thispass as a special gift after I saved the Merchant Exchange. He said that it¡¯s worthless, but that it¡¯s supposed to represent the Merchant Exchange¡¯s attitude and rtionship with me," Lu Yin exined.

    Jiang Chen cursed loudly, "Fuck, worthless? Not even ten Merchant Exchangesbined could buy thispass. It didn¡¯t matter what my father said back then to Bi Rong, he refused to let my father borrow it. Finally, he lent it to my father after he was deceived and nearly robbed. Now, Bi Teng tries to drag Whitecloud along, scared that we¡¯ll grow bored and ignore them, while he gives this to you? What a joke!"

    Lu Yin felt like he had stumbled upon a treasure. "Is this thing that useful?"

    Jiang Chen stared at thepass with excitement filling his eyes. It was as though he could not get enough of the small item. "It¡¯s not about whether it¡¯s useful or not. For some people¡ªhell, almost everyone¡ªit¡¯s the most useful thing imaginable, as it can help you find the best ce for whatever you want.¡±

    Lu Yin was left confused. "The best ce for whatever you want?"

    Jiang Chen touched thepass as he continued to stare at it.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and pulled thepass away. "Alright, I''ll let you see itter."

    Jiang Chen jumped. "Hey! I''m being honest with you with good intentions! Who else would be willing to tell you about all this? Now you won''t even allow me to touch it?"

    Lu Yin was not upset. "Tell me what it¡¯s for, and then I¡¯ll touch it for you."

    <i>Why do you have to word it so strangely?</i> Jiang Chen organized his thoughts and what he knew about thepass. A hint of obsession appeared in his eyes. "It¡¯s very simple to use. You just need to..."

    The man hesitated, appearing slightly confused.

    Lu Yin was watching. "Tell me."

    Jiang Chen frowned and shook his head. "No, this belongs to Uncle Bi Rong. That disloyal bastard Bi Teng has no right to give this to anyone."

    His head rose and he looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, this thing is Uncle Bi Rong¡¯s most precious treasure. He would never sell it to anyone for ten, or even a hundred Merchant Exchanges. Even so, Bi Teng just gave it to you without any authorization, which doesn¡¯t make it yours."

    Lu Yin started to grow wary. "What? Do you want to take it back and hold onto it for Bi Rong?"

    Jiang Chen sneered. "That''s not what I¡¯m saying at all. Since you have it, how do I have any right to ask you for it? I just want to make it clear to you that, as soon as Uncle Bi Ronges back, thispass will need to be returned to its rightful owner. If you refuse to do that, I won¡¯t tell you what it¡¯s for. I can also promise you that, in the entire megaverse, there are only a few people in Whitecloud who know what thispass is for. Not even Bi Teng knows, as he wouldn¡¯t have given it to you otherwise, even if you killed him."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Sure, I agree."

    Jiang Chen sighed. "Brother Lu, people can''t be too greedy. You already have the Heavens Sect, so why do you need to cling to someone else''s treasure? This whole thing is embarrassing. On one hand, Bi Rong is my father''s friend, while on the other hand, you are my friend. What did you say?"

    Lu Yin sat down and casually stated, "I agree."

    Jiang Chen was stunned. "You agree?"

    "Yep."

    "Just like that?"

    "Did you want me to refuse?"

    "That''s not it at all, but why did you agree so easily?"

    "You¡¯re the son of Lord of Lightning, the young master of Whitecloud. You shouldn¡¯t say so much."

    "No, it''s just that I''m rather confused. Why did you agree so quickly?"

    "Because what you said makes sense."

    "What did I say?"

    "Figure it out for yourself."

    Jiang Chen stood there, carefully reviewing all that he had just said. What had it been? How had he convinced Lu Yin so easily?

    "Ahem, um, Brother Lu, let me just reconfirm with you. I told you that thepass needs to be returned to Uncle Bi Rong when hees back. Are you willing to agree to that?" Jiang Chen stared at Lu Yin and spoke in a very serious manner.

    Lu Yin nodded again, his expression even more somber than Jiang Chen''s. "I agree."

    Jiang Chen was speechless. While he was thrilled that Lu Yin had agreed, why did it feel somehow unreal? Was he somehow being deceived? Still, Lu Yin had agreed, and Jiang Chen had stated the conditions. Even so, something felt wrong. Jiang Chen observed Lu Yin, but saw nothing but sincerity. Had he really agreed?

    Lu Yin started to lose his patience. "Just tell me if you¡¯re going to exin how to use this thing or not. If you won''t tell me, then just forget it. However, then I¡¯ll never return thispass to the Merchant Exchange, not even when Bi Ronges back. You can tell him to try to steal it from my Heavens Sect."

    Jiang Chen quickly said, "I agree! No, I didn''t agree, you agreed. I¡¯ll tell you what it¡¯s for and how to use it."

    Lu Yin grunted. He was very calm about the whole thing.

    Bi Rong¡¯s return? That was a joke, and Jiang Chen could go ahead and dream about it. Lu Yin had Bi Rong¡¯s body in his cosmic ring, and the man would never resurrect. In fact, in some sense, thepass had been returned to its original owner, as they were both in Lu Yin¡¯s cosmic ring.

    "Using thepass is very easy. While touching it, just think about the thing that you want most, and thepass will point to it. You then just need to look for it," Jiang Chen said.

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Chen and then at thepass, which he was still holding. "It doesn¡¯t do anything."

    "Of course not like that." Jiang Chen waved a hand and tore through the void. He gestured for Lu Yin to hold thepass towards the tear. "Thepass won¡¯t point to anything in the universe that you¡¯re in. Rather, it¡¯ll point to a parallel universe that holds what you¡¯re seeking. If you want to find a specific parallel universe, thispass is the best way to get there. That¡¯s why my father wanted to borrow thepass in the first ce.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he pushed thepass towards the spatial crack. As he did so, the needle started to slowly move.

    It really moved. At the moment, Lu Yin was thinking about parallel universes with different flow rates of time.

    His primary goal was to find those parallel universes so that he could improve Lightstream. That inner world had the potential to be a deciding factor in any fight.

    Although Lightstream could still only reverse time by a second, Lu Yin had a hunch that his inner world would eventually transform.

    Throughout the megaverse, it was impossible for cultivators at a certain level to not touch upon the powers of time and space, and Lightstream could affect both.

    In particr, Lu Yin had realized that he could use Inverse Step in conjunction with Lightstream, and he intended to explore this idea next.

    "What¡¯s next?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. While thepass¡¯s needle was moving and pointing in a particr direction, where was it pointing to? The parallel universe that the spatial tear was connected to had been found by Lu Yin himself, which had nothing to do with thepass.

    Jiang Chen exhaled. "You hold thepass in your hand while you tear the void. Thebination of your strength and thepass¡¯s power will let it guide you to a parallel universe that can fulfill your desires. If you¡¯re strong enough, the needle will move. If you¡¯re not, the needle won¡¯t move, and you¡¯ll fail. That¡¯s all there is to using it, but even my father had to practice with it for a long time before he could use it.

    "When you reach a parallel universe that thepass led you to, the needle will move again, guiding you to what you want within that universe."

    Lu Yin pulled his hand back. This was quite clear and understandable.

    He suddenly thought of the Immemorial Citadel. Could thepass show him where that was?

    Next, Lu Yin thought about the Books of Destiny, but he quickly decided to not bother trying. He did not want to have thepass to burn away like the books.

    Thispass had been Bi Rong¡¯s most precious treasure, and even the Lord of Lightning had wanted to borrow it. If thepass was damaged, even if it was possible to repair thepass, it would not be cheap to do so.

    Jiang Chente moved closer, curious. "Brother Lu, what were you just thinking about?"

    Lu Yin put thepass away. "A parallel universe with an elerated time flow."

    Jiang Chen felt quite disappointed. "That again? Why do you like those universes so much?"

    "They¡¯re very useful to me."

    "When are you going to search for something with thepass?"

    Lu Yin was surprised by the question. "What are you really asking?"

    Jiang Chen grew serious. "Take me with you."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You want toe with me?"

    Jiang Chen wanted that very much. "Thepass usually guides people to universes that are unknown, which is quite rare, and I want to travel."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. This is very dangerous."

    Jiang Chenughed in a yful manner. "Dangerous? If I¡¯m afraid of danger, I might as well stay in Whitecloud and act as a young master. Do you know how strong my father was when he first left his universe?"

    Lu Yin was quite curious about this. Logically speaking, since the Lord of Lightning was from a parallel universe that also had a version of Earth, there should not be a massive difference in age between him and Lu Yin. "How strong?"

    Jiang Chen proudly stated, "He was as strong as your universe¡¯s Explorers."

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Was the Lord of Lightning really only an Explorer when he went to explore the universe?"

    Jiang Chen shook his head. "He didn¡¯t just explore our universe, but rather parallel universes as well. My father has a ck bead, which allows him to easily travel between various parallel universes. Combined with his other two treasures, unless he ran into a peak powerhouse, nothing would happen to him.

    "It turns out that he was also very lucky. While he ran into several dangers, he eventually arrived at the Five Spirits Alliance. Their universes¡¯ time flows a hundred times faster than ours, so when my father returned, his strength had undergone aplete transformation, and he had also made several friends. My father met Uncle Bi Rong during his first trip exploring the megaverse. Back then, Uncle Bi Rong was already a sequence powerhouse, and he did my father a favor.

    "When my father left the Five Spirits Alliance, Uncle Bi Rong saw him again, though by that time, my father¡¯s strength was something else entirely. They separated and met several times. Hey, you don''t know how wonderful Uncle Bi Rong''s expression was..."

    The Lord of Lightning was another legendary figure, though Jiang Chen only knew part of the man¡¯s story. Even so, Lu Yin really yearned to live such a life.

    He also wanted to ignore everything and explore parallel universes. He wanted to be unburdened by hatred, responsibility, and other such weights, but that was not Lu Yin¡¯s life. There were too many people and things that he cared about in the Origin Universe, and he had too many responsibilities to tend to.

    "My father had the courage to explore parallel universes when he was just an Explorer. I¡¯m already an Envoy, so how could I not have the same courage? How can I even show my face in Whitecloud? By the way, you should also take my sister with you. You two can cultivate both your strength and feelings before you return to Whitecloud. If you also take old Dragonturtle, you can throw him out when you encounter danger, and that might be enough to protect you," Jiang Chen encouraged.

    Lu Yin could not refuse. He needed to seek out parallel universes with different time flows. There were not many people he could take with him, but he had never intended to search on his own.

 Chapter 2988: Ambushing Jing Zhe

    <h4>Chapter 2988: Ambushing Jing Zhe</h4>

    Parallel universes where time flowed at a different rate were almost always under the control of a powerhouse. Lu Yin had even heard that outsider powerhouses used such universes as a form of currency, especially the non-human ones. Many of them were able to live for a long time. Even if they did not have much else, they had a great deal of time, so it did not matter if they spent more time in parallel universes.

    "You need to think carefully about this, as once I go searching, I won¡¯t be able to return anytime soon. I¡¯ll be consuming my own life in those parallel universes, and it¡¯s possible that, by the time you return to Whitecloud, several generations might have already passed there," Lu Yin warned.

    Jiang Chen was unbothered. "Do you know how Whitecloud gained its strength? If we were only relying on my father, then even if nothing happened, he would still be tied up protecting Whitecloud at all times. In order to grow and develop, it¡¯s necessary for others to keep up. Uncle Kong, Ba Shu, and others all visited the Five Spirits Alliance to cultivate, but..."

    At this point, Jiang Chen¡¯s mood fell. "Too few of them were able to return alive. All of them were proud and wanted topete with my father, and so they refused to return unless they reached the same level as him.

    "Ever since Whitecloud was first established, nearly every single person from the first generation of powerhouses has died. My father mes himself, because many of those people didn¡¯t receive nearly enough resources. When Earth becamepletely safe, my father was only an Explorer, and he had only recently started freely traveling about the universe. At that time, he was stronger than everyone else in Whitecloud, as they were only Limiteers. It¡¯s basically impossible for people at that level to improve their strength with nothing but extra time.

    "An entire group of people left, never to return. Still, Whitecloud continued to develop. We had already drawn the attention of countless powerhouses across the megaverse, and we needed to strengthen ourselves. One group of people after another left, though only a few ever came back. Still, Whitecloud has managed to steadily increase our number of peak powerhouses.

    ¡°I understand my father¡¯s pain. As the young master of Whitecloud, I also have to bear that burden. Why do you think my sister stayed in the Sixth Maind and cultivated there on her own while it was upied by the Aeternals? Why do you think I keep visiting this universe? When I¡¯m not here, I¡¯m cultivating and training in other parallel universes.

    "The Lord of Lightning is not the only powerhouse in Whitecloud."

    Lu Yin stared intently at Jiang Chen. At this moment, the yful young master of Whitecloud City seemed like apletely different person.

    Some people were born with a silver spoon and appeared to be quite arrogant, but the pressure that they were forced to bear was also quite different from what ordinary people had to endure. Such burdens could drive people insane.

    Lu Yin went through it, and so did Jiang Chen.

    "Alright, let me go find a parallel universe, and I¡¯ll take you with me when I go," Lu Yin agreed.

    Jiang Chen was grateful. "Thank you.

    "Take advantage of this opportunity, and you can get closer to my sister."

    Lu Yin was left speechless. The Lu family was impatient to find him a wife, and Whitecloud City could not wait to marry Jiang Qingyue off. It made for an impressive situation.

    As long as Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue gave their consent, they would quickly find themselves with children.

    Half a monthter, many people sent in reports, iming to have found a handful of locations that fit Lu Yin¡¯s specifications. Each area was quite simr to the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Deepsea Region. If Jing Zhe intended to attack the Sixverse Association again, he would likely go after one of these ces.

    However, most of them were just ordinary ces and would not be a suitable target for Jing Zhe¡¯s attack. Lu Yin believed that there was only one unique location that was close to a water source like the Deepsea Region, and it happened to be the Knowledge Nexus.

    "Because of how Jing Zhe is, as soon as he does something, he¡¯ll make sure that it¡¯s as effective as possible. He killed a peak powerhouse in the Deepsea Region, so if that doesn¡¯t intimidate the Sixverse Association, he¡¯ll most likely try something different. Brother Lu, where is this Knowledge Nexus that you just mentioned?" Jiang Chen tried to analyze the situation.

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s located at the ce where the Voidforce Universe collects and disseminates information from the Endless Frontier. It¡¯s their primary connection to the battlefield."

    Jiang Chen pped. "That''s it! If killing a powerhouse doesn¡¯t work, Jing Zhe will need to do something that will have a powerful impact. Also, Aeternus should be concerned about such a location."

    Lu Yin shared what had happened with Cheng Feng, and this only made Jiang Chen even more certain that Jing Zhe''s next attack would be the Knowledge Nexus.

    "That worm¡¯s mastered sequence particles rted to dirt. My father referred to it as dust to dust, soil to soil. Basically, if Jing Zhe makes contact with an opponent, their body will instantly be reduced to dust."

    "The power of time?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Jiang Chen shook his head. "This kind of effect can be caused by elerated time, but it can also be a qualitative change. It¡¯s like a ss of water¡ªwhen the surrounding temperature is different, the speed at which the water evaporates will also change. This worm is able to directly transform anything formed from flesh and blood into dust, which is a qualitative change of the flesh and blood.¡±

    Lu Yin feared that this ability would be a terrible challenge.

    "His touch can turn flesh into dust, but not blood. Jing Zhe uses this for intimidation, as wherever he passes by, blood will stain the dust that appears. However, while it sounds intimidating, it¡¯s just a means for the coward to scare people," Jiang Chen said.

    "On top of that, he can also harden his body to an exceptional degree. His toughness will make you question your very existence. If not for this ability, my father wouldn''t have let him escape..."

    Jiang Chen shared everything that he knew about Jing Zhe with Lu Yin so that the Heavens Sect could prepare a thorough n to eliminate the worm.

    Lu Yin considered the matter again and again before deciding upon a n to ambush and kill Jing Zhe.

    While Lu Yin believed Jing Zhe would attack the Knowledge Nexus, it was important to protect the other locations as well, and the Sixverse Association¡¯s powerhouses spread out to keep an eye on all of the discovered locations.

    Lu Yin had also wanted to send people to observe simr locations in the Origin Universe, just in case Jing Zhe attacked there, but Jiang Chen said that there was no need. Even if Jing Zhe had ten times more courage, he would never dare to attack the Origin Universe.

    ...

    In the Voidforce Universe, the Knowledge Nexus sat between twokes, right where the waters flowed between the twokes. Because of the different elements present in the twoke¡¯s waters, they were two different colors, and the Knowledge Nexus sat where the two colors met. It was odd, but very beautiful.

    Lu Yin led Xu Wuwei, Big Sis, and Qing Ping to the Knowledge Nexus.

    Lu Yin had asked Xu Wuwei to inform the Knowledge Nexus of their arrival beforehand, as it would be easy for any activity near the Knowledge Nexus to be misinterpreted. Even if Lu Yin was not overly concerned, he felt that it was best to take precautions and avoid any unexpected situations if Jing Zhe did attack this location.

    Once they settled in near the Knowledge Nexus, Lu Yin sent a message to the Cyclic Universe, telling them to proceed with the attack on another outsider powerhouse.

    Soon, word was sent of a fierce battle that had erupted beyond the Sixverse Association. The report imed that even Sovereign Dou Sheng had gotten involved, and he had nearly killed an outsider powerhouse with his golden cudgel.

    Lu Yin sat atop the Knowledge Nexus, with a fishing line hanging down. This was amon pastime for cultivators who stayed at the Knowledge Nexus. Due to the number of people fishing, Lu Yin did not appear out of ce at all.

    Quickly, a month passed. Lu Yin was still calmly fishing, though his mind was analyzing the newly learned modifications to Inverse Step.

    Progenitor Chen imed to be good at fighting and creating battle techniques, and there was no denying this im.

    Undying God had lived for far longer than Progenitor Chen, but he had only been able to skip time with Inverse Step. It was not even clear whether the man had created the modification himself. On the other hand, Progenitor Chen had improved Inverse Step to the level where it could allow a person to travel parallel to time, essentially freezing it. This was an ability that Lu Yin had only ever dreamed of.

    Progenitor Chen was an incredible genius.

    A shadow fell over Lu Yin, and he looked up. "Big Sis, you''d better not show yourself. This worm is incredibly timid."

    Big Sis rolled her eyes. "But it¡¯s so boring!"

    "Just be patient and hold on for a few more days. If it doesn¡¯te, we¡¯ll just leave."

    "That¡¯s easy to say, but what if it shows up after we¡¯re gone? With how strong this thing¡¯s supposed to be, even a second¡¯s dy would be a disaster."

    Of course Lu Yin was already aware of this, as it was the only reason why they were waiting at the Knowledge Nexus.

    To travel from the Heavens Sect to the Voidforce Universe, and then to the Knowledge Nexus, not even a Sequence Progenitor could cover the distance in an instant. The time needed to make the journey was enough for Jing Zhe to destroy the Knowledge Nexus.

    The worm had taken less than a hundred breaths to destroy the Deepsea Region. Not even Xiu Ci had been able to mount any sort of real resistance, and all that had been left behind was bloody sea water.

    The Knowledge Nexus did not even have any peak powerhouses, which meant that it would not be able tost as long as the Deepsea Region.

    Furthermore, it was very difficult for a lone Progenitor to stop Jing Zhe from escaping. The worm had already survived an attack from the Lord of Lightning and then escaped. Mu Ke alone would not be able to restrain Jing Zhe.

    Aeternus did not look down on any species. The first mission that Lu Yin had received as Ye Bo was to destroy a universe. The strongest creature in that universe had been a sequence powerhouse. Even so, the Aeternals had not given the creature a second look, and they had simply eliminated the astral beast. Anyone who was qualified to cooperate with the Aeternals would not be an easy opponent.

    "Big Sis, you should head on back. We don¡¯t want you to be noticed," Lu Yin suggested again.

    Big Sis was quite irritated as she turned around. Suddenly, she froze in ce. At that same moment, Lu Yin felt his hair stand on end. There was someone watching.

    He held the fishing rod tightly, not moving at all.

    Big Sis lifted her head and continued to walk away.

    Beneath theke, a pair of eyes stared upward. After a moment, the massive form of a gigantic earthworm squirmed upwards and emerged from the bottom of theke.

    There was a bang that jostled the Knowledge Nexus. The ground beneath it cracked, and a long, purple worm rose up from the bottom of theke. It rose high into the sky, connecting the sky to the ground like a pir as it shouted with a piercing voice that sent ripples across the void, "Humans, you are seeking death!"

    Lu Yin looked up. "I''ve been waiting for you for a long time, Jing Zhe."

    Big Sis¡¯ head whipped around as her right hand waved. Abyssal Flowers bloomed across the ground, spreading across the region. At the same time, two men appeared: Xu Wuwei and Qing Ping.

    The moment that Jing Zhe saw flowers start to bloom, he instantly shot back towards the bottom of theke. He knew that the situation was bad and that he had run into an ambush. The humans had actually predicted his target, which made the worm extremely nervous, and he fled without a single thought of fighting.

    Xu Wuwei sneered. "You want to escape with me right here?"

    His sequence particles were from the Law of Jamming. They could jam anything, whether it was an exit or the release of a battle technique. Thus, it was very easy for Xu Wuwei to block the bottom of theke.

    Jing Zhe mmed into the bottom of theke, where he saw the sequence particles.

    The worm was startled, as this meant that there was more than one sequence powerhouse participating in this ambush. He needed to get away as soon as possible.

    Lu Yin raised his right fist, and Infinity appeared, the lines of light merging with his body as Wielder-realm battle force spread across his body. He visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and used time to contain a hundred punches.

    There was a bang, and Jing Zhe''s body twisted and distorted from the power of the impact. The single punch had nearly torn a hole in his long body. If not for his sticity, the punch would have ripped right through him.

    Jing Zhe screamed as he spun around to face Lu Yin and spit out a mouthful of dirt.

    Lu Yin quickly retreated. He did not dare to touch the soil. It merely looked like soil, but it was actually sequence particles. If they made contact, whatever they touched would instantly be transformed into dust.

    "Humans, do you want to fight me to the death?" Jing Zhe screamed.

    "You deserve it!" The sight of the dirt had suddenly reminded Lu Yin of one of his other inner worlds, Dust World. It was nothing more than a speck of dust, and he still had no idea how he was supposed to use it. It seemed useless in a fight.

    Jing Zhe viciously swung his body around,shing out in all directions and instantly destroying the Knowledge Nexus.

    Fortunately, the moment the fighting started, the Knowledge Nexus had beenpletely evacuated. If anyone had remained behind, they would have already died.

 Chapter 2989: Loopholes

    Chapter 2989: Loopholes

    Jing Zhe leaped out of theke and rose upwards into outer space. As he ascended, his body became as smooth as a mirror, which was an indication that he had hardened his body. The worm was too terrified of death to have the courage to stand and fight. He had instantly raised his defenses while trying to flee.

    Lu Yin tried another punch, but while his strikended, it was entirely useless.

    This was the best time for his senior brother, Mu Ke, to use his Law of Breaking, but that was also why Qing Ping was present.

    Lu Yin had very carefully considered who to bring along in the ambush, and he was certain that it was impossible for Jing Zhe to escape.

    More Abyssal Flowers bloomed in the sky, sealing off all paths of escape. However, not even Big Sis could pierce Jing Zhe''s defenses.

    When Xu Wuwei saw Jing Zhe frantically attacking the flowers, the Void Suprema waved a hand and blocked the worm¡¯s efforts.

    Sequence particles blocked every path that Jing Zhe tried to take, and the worm grew increasingly upset. "Humans, you are seeking death!"

    A set of scales suddenly appeared in outer space. One side appeared beneath Qing Ping''s feet, while the other end of the scales extended towards Jing Zhe.

    Jing Zhe''s body immediately coiled up. He did not want to touch this set of scales, so he opened his mouth and spat out more dirt, covering the scales.Lu Yin frowned. The dirt was actually sequence particles. This was the first time when Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother''s scales had not even been able to touch his opponent.

    Jing Zhe suddenly shot towards Xu Wuwei. This was the man responsible for repeatedly stopping the worm from escaping. The man also did not have very many sequence particles, but their ability was infuriatingly able to block Jing Zhe¡¯s path. It was not impossible for Jing Zhe to simply force his way through, but doing so would consume a great number of his own sequence particles.

    Xu Wuwei¡¯s hand rose, and he continued to block Jing Zhe''s path.

    Big Sis used her Abyssal Flowers to further stall the worm.

    Jing Zhe felt like he was stuck in a swamp, unable to move andpletely trapped.

    At this moment, the sky above changed, and a swirl of energy enveloped the area in an entangled series of storms.

    Jing Zhe started to panic. Unknown changes were always intimidating, especially something this extreme.

    Lu Yin looked over at Qing Ping, as he was the cause of thismotion.

    The transformed sky filled everyone¡¯s vision, and the swirl of energy took on the form of a massive, ancient steel bar that connected a set of scales that stood tall. One dangled down towards Jing Zhe like a fishing line. The worm screamed and spat out soil in a frenzy, hoping to drown the scales in dirt. However, this attempt failed. The sequence particles could not ovee the massive set of scales.

    The steel bar descended, and a cord twined around Jing Zhe''s body. The worm thrashed and twisted like crazy, but he was still captured by the scales.

    Lu Yin stared in shock. There were no sequence particles involved. His senior brother was not a Sequence Progenitor, so what was going on? Why could his Progenitor¡¯s world ignore sequence particles?

    Big Sis was bbergasted. "He¡¯s using thews of the universe to judge thews."

    "What does that even mean, Big Sis?" Lu Yin was confused.

    Big Sis¡¯ voice dropped low. "There is nothing in existence that is absolutely perfect, not even thews of the universe. Most peopleprehend thosews and learn to use them, but there are also some people who do not cultivate thews of the universe. Rather, they exploit loopholes that exist within thosews, using those loopholes to create something different. That is what your senior brother has managed to do. He¡¯s relying on the vast and endlessws of this universe to conduct his judgment.

    "This ispletely independent of bing a sequence powerhouse, as he has managed to both circumvent thews while simultaneously using them. This is something that very few people have ever been able to aplish throughout all of human history.

    "What a madman! When he became a Progenitor, he dered his own existence to be reasonable and caused thews of the universe to judge his tribtion while acting as the messenger. He managed to be a peak powerhouse by ascending to the highest level of shamelessness imaginable. Now, he¡¯s be even more adept at this method. Honestly, Little Seven, your senior brother is the most shameless person I have ever seen."

    Lu Yin stared at Qing Ping in a daze. <em>Are you really shameless?</em> People who enjoyed a good reputation could actually be the most shameless of all, while those who were concerned about their reputation were bound by it. This was also aw.

    The most terrified creature at this moment was Jing Zhe. He was terribly confused, having no idea what was happening. He felt like he waspletely suppressed by some power that he could not resist. However, the worm¡¯s opponent clearly was not even a sequence powerhouse, so what the hell was happening?

    "Judgment: courage."

    Qing Ping''s voice echoed throughout his Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin, Big Sis, and even Xu Wuwei were all left speechless. How was this anything less than bullying? This was unquestionably bullying the worm.

    Jing Zhe was simrly stunned. <em>How dare you?</em> Qing Ping had spoken the forbidden word. There was no creature that would dare to speak that word before Jing Zhe. Was this human mocking his timidity?

    <em>Wait</em>, <em>judgment?</em>

    Jing Zhe stared at Qing Ping, and the man silently stared back.

    Suddenly, the enormous steel scales started to move, and Jing Zhe was slowly lifted up. The worm grew increasingly uneasy, as his fear was growing worse. He felt that something was very, very wrong.

    Once Jing Zhe was raised all the way up, Lu Yin knew that the worm had lost the judgment. However, at what cost?

    There was a whooshing sound as the energy disappeared, along with the set of scales.

    Jing Zhe took off instantly, but a fissure had appeared in his body at some point in time. This wound had not been caused by Lu Yin or any of the others, and it had also not been there before the judgment, which meant that this wound had been caused by the judgment.

    Far away, Qing Ping spat out a mouthful of blood as he plummeted to the ground.

    Lu Yin raced over to help the man.

    Big Sis sighed. "Loopholes in thews of the universe are never easy to exploit, and there is always a price that needs to be paid."

    "Big Sis, he¡¯s been wounded."

    "I know. He won¡¯t be able to escape."

    Jing Zhe wanted to flee, but Xu Wuwei continued to block the worm¡¯s path. Big Sis lifted her head, and her dark-purple abyssal power attacked Jing Zhe.

    The worm was utterly furious. He opened his mouth and spat out more dirt in an attempt to overwhelm everything nearby, as without doing that, he would never be able to escape.

    Lu Yin took a step forward while using Lightstream to reverse time by a second. The dirt that Jing Zhe had spat out vanished, and Lu Yin took advantage of the opening. His hand rose with the slipper in his grip, and he struck the open wound on the worm¡¯s body.

    There was a scream as Jing Zhe curled up and fell back. Purple blood leaked out from the wound.

    This attack terrified Jing Zhe, and he lost his mind. He spat out more soil, only for the attack to fail again. This time, the worm¡¯s mouth had been blocked. Xu Wuwei had taken action.

    Jing Zhe roared, and sequence particles poured from his mouth in a directpetition against Xu Wuwei.

    The man¡¯s face turned pale. He had far fewer sequence particles than Jing Zhe. "I can''t hold him here any longer!"

    Lu Yin instantly appeared beside the wound, the slipper raised high already.

    Jing Zhe let out another wail. The open wound was a weakness in his hardened body, and he continued to thrash about, hoping to escape. But in response, Lu Yin used Inverse Step to create a region of chaotic time and space. Jing Zhe could not be allowed to escape.

    Jing Zhe was far from weak, and his ability to harden his body had rendered many people who had faced the worm in the past helpless. On top of that, his sequence particles made it so that no one dared to make physical contact with the worm.

    Lu Yin had cooperated with two sequence powerhouses and Qing Ping toy an ambush to kill the worm. The worm¡¯s attacks were too simple, so after Jing Zhe was trapped, his only options were to either escape or fight to the death.

    This could be the reason behind the worm¡¯s timidity. His body did not give him many means to attack.

    Humans were creatures with limitless possibilities. While creatures like Jing Zhe might appear to be very powerful, theycked options and were actually quite limited.

    In fact, if not for Jing Zhe¡¯s ability to harden his body, he might have never warranted the Aeternals¡¯ attention.

    With the worm¡¯s defenses prated, he could only wait to die. Escape was impossible.

    The wailing continued. Abyssal Flowers filled the area as Lu Yin mercilessly beat Jing Zhe. The worm¡¯s body shrank as the wound grewrger andrger.

    Suddenly, the worm¡¯s body split in two; one half fled to the north while the other half fled south.

    Lu Yin had never considered this scenario, and it had never been mentioned by Jiang Chen either. Most likely, no one had ever forced the worm into such a terrible situation where he had been left with no choice but to split his body in order to escape.

    The Lord of the Abyss appeared behind Big Sis, and a massive Abyssal Flower blossomed down below. It wasrge enough that it cut off Jing Zhe¡¯s escape in every direction. The worm was startled, as this flower contained at least as many sequence particles as the worm himself. No, this flower surpassed Jing Zhe. The worm had simply not needed to worry about the flowers earlier on in the fight because they were not able to prate his defenses.

    However, those defenses had been shattered , and Jing Zhe had even split his body in two in order to escape. This was a very dangerous time for him to be trapped by the Abyssal Flower.

    "Humans, let''s call a truce! We can stop fighting!" Jing Zhe screamed.

    Lu Yin sneered.

    The Abyssal Flower started to close. This technique had even sessfully trapped Undying God, so how could Jing Zhe ever escape?

    Both halves of Jing Zhe''s broken body were being pulled towards the center of the Abyssal Flower. The worm continued to thrash about. "Humans, I¡¯ll help you! I¡¯ll help you fight against Aeternus! I¡¯ll join your Sixverse Association!"

    Lu Yin was unmoved. He was currently considering anointing another champion.

    This worm had incurred a heavy blood debt to mankind. The Deepsea Region had been washed with blood. It would not be good to ept the worm¡¯s surrender. Even if Lu Yin could convince the worm to submit and be conferred as a summoned god, it would not be allowed, as Lu Yin would have no way to exin himself to the Voidforce Universe.

    When looking at the bigger picture, it was indeed better to have more powerhouses, but humans were selfish creatures, and gaining another summoned god was not worth offending the Voidforce Universe.

    This universe had always treated Lu Yin very well.

    On top of that, the worm had tantly threatened the entire Sixverse Association. Even if Lu Yin did confer Jing Zhe as a god, it would do nothing to intimidate the other outsider powerhouses.

    Since conferring a summoned god was not possible, then Lu Yin intended to anoint a champion.

    The Abyssal Flower continued to close. Lu Yin had never seen Big Sis actually kill someone with her flower, and he was curious about the process, but Jing Zhe could not be killed by Big Sis.

    "Big Sis, I want a champion."

    Big Sis grew a bit irritated. "It''s not easy to nourish my Abyssal Flower. Ah, nevermind. You can have this one."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Big Sis, what nourishes your Abyssal Flower?"

    "Forget about it."

    Xu Wuwei spoke up, "Lord Xu once mentioned the Heavens Sect¡¯s Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. He said that her Abyssal Flower is nourished by the blood of powerhouses and that even the strongest cultivators would struggle to escape."

    This did not help Lu Yin¡¯s confusion.

    "When the Abyssal Flowerpletely closes up, no one can save a powerhouse trapped within it. The Abyssal Flower is nourished by the blood of peak powerhouses, and it can continue to grow. Lord Xu said that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming used her Abyssal Flower to trap and kill one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods," Xu Wuwei exined.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Big Sis, can your Abyssal Flower grow stronger?"

    Big Sis cocked a brow. "You thought that what you¡¯ve seen is as strong as I ever was, didn¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin gulped and he quickly backtracked. "Of course not."

    "What? Because I wasn¡¯t able to help you out a few times, you''re disappointed in my power?" Big Sis voice revealed her worsening mood.

    Lu Yin quickly tried to reassure her, "Absolutely not. You know what, Big Sis, it¡¯s all yours."

    Big Sis snorted disdainfully. "Go ahead and anoint your champion."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I already have a lot of Progenitor champions, so I might not even be able to anoint this worm as another. It¡¯d be safer to leave this one to you, Big Sis."

    The woman stared at Lu Yin, so he quickly brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage. "Look. See how many I have?"

    Big Sis frowned as she looked at the images on Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage. "Are all of those really peak powerhouses?"

    "I have more than ten!" Lu Yin stated rather proudly. No one else in the history of the Lu family had ever anointed so many peak powerhouses as champions.

    Xu Wuwei was blown away. How ruthless did someone need to be to have killed more than ten peak powerhouses on their own?

    Big Sis finally looked away. "Fine, then I won¡¯t hold back. Let me have this one."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2990: Progenitor Kuâ€™s Wish

    Chapter 2990: Progenitor Ku¡¯s Wish

    When he saw Big Sis agree, Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. He did not want Big Sis to go after him.

    However, if Big Sis¡¯ Abyssal Flower had once managed to trap one of the Seven Skygods, then why was it so weak at the moment? Was it because the power that she had lost to the river of time had not fully returned to her? Or had it been consumed somehow?

    Jing Zhe heard their conversation, though he had no idea what a champion or an abyssal flower was. All the worm knew was that he was in grave danger. "Human, I know Aeternus¡¯s secrets. I have been to the other Scourges. Release me, and I¡¯ll help you deal with the Aeternals. Humans, do you hear me?¡±

    Big Sis nced at Lu Yin, but he made no attempt to stop her. She understood that there was no need to waste any more time, so she caused her flower to quickly close.

    Jing Zhe''s screams grew louder and louder. He thrashed and banged against the sides of the flower and tried to spit out more dirt in an attempt to consume the Abyssal Flower¡¯s sequence particles. However, every time the worm tried to eject the dirt, his mouth would be blocked by Xu Wuwei¡¯s sequence particles. It was infuriating, and Jing Zhe looked like an earthworm that had been caught on a fishing line as he twisted and struggled.

    Finally, the Abyssal Flowerpletely closed. Inside, Jing Zhe''s body paused, and both halves of his body froze. A purple light flowed from the flower and wrapped around Jing Zhe. As Lu Yin and the other two watched on in amazement, the purple light absorbed all of the blood from Jing Zhe''s body, and the worm shriveled at a visible rate.

    It was a shocking scene, but the beauty of the flower separated it from violence.

    Jing Zhe enjoyed transforming living creatures to dust, leaving their blood behind as a warning to others, but at this moment, his own blood had been absorbed by Big Sis¡¯ Abyssal Flower. It was a fitting end.

    The worm¡¯s screams disappeared. His eyes turned white and then gray. There was no hint of life remaining. The corpse fell, passing through the Abyssal Flower and plummeting into theke below.The Abyssal Flower bloomed again, and its purple light spread across the entire Voidforce Universe. It was stunning to see.

    The Iceheart was the most beautiful flower that Lu Yin had ever seen, but Big Sis¡¯ Abyssal Flower wasparable to the Iceheart.

    Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight to observe the Abyssal Flower.

    He had never figured out what sequence particles Big Sis had mastered, as Lu Yin had never asked. He could only see that the Abyssal Flower was covered with sequence particles that radiated a beautiful purple light. They flowed about the flower in a beautiful and dangerous manner.

    This was the true Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.

    The Abyssal Flower slowly disappeared, and Big Sis heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally, I¡¯ve started to recover."

    Xu Wuwei was stunned. He knew that if he were to fall into the Abyssal Flower, he would never be able to escape. This was Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. During the ancient Heavens Sect era, the Origin Universe had been home to a great number of peak powerhouses, and thousands of races had submitted to the Heavens Sect. Neither the Cyclic Universe nor the Arboreal Realm could even draw the Heavens Sect¡¯s attention. The Three Realms and Six Daos and the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had all been powerful cultivators respected by outsider powerhouses.

    Even in that Heavens Sect, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming had been exceptionally powerful and been respected by even the Dao Monarchs. One could only imagine how powerful Progenitor Y¨­u Ming must have been at her peak, as even the Voidlord had feared the woman. Progenitor Y¨­u Ming was both extremely beautiful and extremely dangerous.

    The Knowledge Nexus had beenpletely destroyed by the battle.

    Jing Zhe''s corpse floated atop theke, shriveled. Still, his body was extremely tough, which meant that it would likely be a very useful material.

    With the battle over, the Voidforce Universe¡¯s cultivators started to slowly approach in increasing numbers.

    Xu Heng, Xu Leng, and Xu Wuji all arrived, and they stared at Jing Zhe''s body. For a long time, they could find nothing to say.

    Most people in the Sixverse Association knew nothing about outsider powerhouses, and that included peak powerhouses.

    Aeternus was the Sixverse Association¡¯s enemy, and while they also had other enemies, they had little to do with the Sixverse Association. This was no different from how the Sixverse Association had few opportunities to intervene in fights between outsider powerhouses.

    However, one of those outsider powerhouses had just been killed in the Voidforce Universe.

    This was not a trivial matter for either the Sixverse Association or Aeternus.

    Truthfully, the moment the Aeternals had requested outsider powerhouses to act against the Sixverse Association, the term ¡°outsider powerhouse¡± had be obsolete. Such a thing no longer existed. If they were willing to get involved in the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus, then they needed to be prepared to die. This was just as true for experts like Jing Zhe as it was for the Sixverse Association¡¯s cultivators.

    Lu Yin was certain that there were outsider powerhouses staring at him and Big Sis at this moment.

    Given the situation, he was ready to see who was more powerful.

    ¡­

    The great battle at the Knowledge Nexuspletely shocked the universes beyond the Sixverse Association. Before the battle, the Cyclic Universe had been able to track down and attack some of Aeternus¡¯s allies, but after the battle, all of those outsider powerhouses had disappeared. None of them could be found. There was nothing to fear from them, as they were all concerned that they would also run into an ambush and be killed.

    Jing Zhe''s fate had frightened many peak powerhouses away.

    However, this had also generated a great deal of enmity towards the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin already knew the consequences this battle would have, but he had been left with no choice but to handle the threat. He had startled everyone involved and eliminated an outsider powerhouse. More of these powerhouses would appear during major battles with Aeternus, and all of them might eventually get involved. Regardless of how many peak powerhouses the Sixverse Association could field, it would never be enough.

    Outsider powerhouses had to be watching Lu Yin, but he was also observing them.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin held thepass while slowly tearing through the void. Thepass¡¯s needle kept moving. Lu Yin had failed again.

    It had been three months since Jing Zhe¡¯s death, and Lu Yin had been focused on trying to sync thepass¡¯s ability with the void when he tore it open. However, just as Jiang Chen had said, it was far from easy.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had already made some progress. When he had first started, the needle would never show any sign of staying still, but after three months of practice, Lu Yin was able to make the needle stay still for a moment. From what Lu Yin could determine, if he wanted the needle to bepletely stable, he would need at least a few more years of practice. However, from what Jiang Chen had said, this was much faster than the Lord of Lightning¡¯s progress, which was quite impressive.

    However, Lu Yin did not have the time to wait so long.

    For that reason, he decided to roll his die and practice in his Timestop Space.

    It was not actually necessary to tear the void open to practice with thepass. As long as a person could stabilize the needle, they would be able to use thepass. All that would be needed to be done would be to incorporate the process of tearing through the void.

    With this, Lu Yin announced that he was going into seclusion.

    The announcement left many people speechless. When they heard that Lu Yin was going to make an announcement, they felt like it was unneeded. Some people¡¯s breaks were even longer than Lu Yin¡¯s ¡°seclusions.¡±

    As Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose, the die slowly spun. He tapped it with a finger and watched as it eventually stopped on three pips and screens of light appeared.

    Enhance? Lu Yin nced at his cosmic ring. Did he have anything that deserved to be improved?

    He thought for a moment and then pulled out the slipper.

    Ever since Lu Yin had first acquired the slipper, it had helped him so much that he had not even bothered trying to get a decent weapon, instead relying entirely on the slipper.

    While using it was a bit embarrassing, it was incredibly powerful.

    Although Lu Yin had Enhanced the slipper before, it had not been improved to its limits. Lu Yin simply had not had the necessary funds before, but that had changed now. He wanted to see how far the slipper could be improved.

    This slipper could even threaten the Seven Skygods and counter sequence particles. Lu Yin had no idea who it had belonged to, but that did not prevent him from using it.

    He threw the slipper onto the upper screen of light and then started tossing out star essence.

    First, he intended to use up the star essence from the Cyclic Universe, as he still had 7 trillion remaining.

    After tossing out 2 trillion, the slipper fell out from the bottom, seemingly unchanged. After another 4 trillion, the slipper fell out a second time, still seemingly the same. When Lu Yin put the slipper on the upper light screen this time, it did not move.

    He threw out more star essence, but nothing was consumed. Lu Yin blinked. This was as far as the slipper could be improved.

    This round of upgrades for the slipper had cost 6 trillion star essence, which was the same price to repair each Book of Destiny. It seemed that many powerful items would reach their limit after 6 trillion star essence.

    So far, repairing the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had been Lu Yin¡¯s costliest Enhancement yet, as it had cost him 12 trillion star essence.

    He picked the slipper up and casually waved it around, but he could not find any difference. He would have to test it out on something to see its new power.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was of the jiao, but he almost immediately changed his mind. Before improving the slipper, even Undying God had been afraid of it. After Enhancing it several times, Lu Yin thought that he might p the jiao half to death with one strike.

    It would be best to find an enemy outsider powerhouse.

    Lu Yin put the slipper away and resumed rolling his die. The next roll was unexpectedly Possession, though Lu Yin did not want to use Possession in the Origin Universe. All of the people he could Possess were at least as strong as Progenitors.

    Lu Yin stood at the peak of the Origin Universe, and all of the Progenitors in the universe were either his elders or his subordinates. There was no reason to Possess them, and in particr, it would be beyond embarrassing to Possess someone like Big Sis.

    However, Lu Yin had rolled Possession, and he did not want to waste it.

    In the worst case scenario where he Possessed someone he was familiar with, he would simply end the Possession.

    Lu Yin was not someone who felt the need topletely control the thoughts of his subordinates. Since he trusted people like Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Yin would not doubt them. On the other hand, Lu Yin had never trusted people like Chen Le, but there was also no need to know the Monarch¡¯s thoughts. As long as Chen Le could be controlled, he was wee to have his own thoughts, and Lu Yin did not need to know them.

    His consciousness entered the dark space, and he quickly saw a dazzling ball of light off in the distance. This clearly belonged to a Progenitor.

    Given that Lu Yin was in the Heavens Sect, who did this ball of light represent? Arch-Elder Zen? Monarch Xing? Someone else?

    There was no point in guessing, so Lu Yin intended to just merge with the orb.

    He shot towards the ball of light and merged with it.

    When he opened his eyes¡­ Was that death energy he saw?

    Memories started to pour in, and Lu Yin burst outughing. He had actually Possessed the Chiliagonist. The man was technically in Aeternus Nation, which was a parallel universe, but since that universe was permanently connected to the Origin Universe, it was possible for Lu Yin to Possess the Chiliagonist.

    He had already known that Possession could affect someone in the Perennial World while he was in the Fifth Maind, so it made sense that he could also Possess someone in Aeternus Nation.

    This was a Possession worth pursuing. The Chiliagonist was one of the True God Guard Captains, and he should know a great deal about Aeternus.

    Lu Yin quickly scanned through the man¡¯s memories.

    Within the death energy, the Chiliagonist¡¯s expression kept changing, though it was actually Lu Yin¡¯s expression. He had already confirmed what Yu Huo had told Ye Bo about the Ossis Ark, and the Chiliagonist knew roughly what Yu Huo had known. The True God Guard Captains had a rtively high status within Aeternus, but not enough for them to be privy to any true secrets. Still, Lu Yin was able to reap some benefits from Possessing the Chiliagonist.

    The man had not experienced anything too different from Ye Bo while serving as a True God Guard Captain. All that Lu Yin saw were memories of missions. Endless missions. Almost all of the missions were to destroy certain universes, though those missions were actually intended to destroy sequence strings.

    Suddenly, the Chiliagonist¡¯s expression changed drastically, and shock filled his eyes.

    Lu Yin saw Progenitor Ku in the Chiliagonist¡¯s memories. Progenitor Ku had indeed invaded the Scourge on his own, and by relying on his near immortality due to Extremes Must Be Reversed, he had endured attacks from several of the Seven Skygods, as well as from powerhouses from the other Scourges. The Progenitor had even attacked the ck Mother Tree and fought against True God.

    Unfortunately, the Chiliagonist had only seen a flicker of that fight, as it was something far above his level. He was not strong enough to get involved, so the Chiliagonist had left toplete another mission.

    Complicated emotions filled Lu Yin''s eyes. While the Chiliagonist had not seen much of the battle, the sight of Progenitor Ku enduring the attacks of the Seven Skygods and then challenging True God had left a very deep impression on the man. It had been an amazing sight, and Progenitor Ku had been determined to die to achieve his goal. His attack had stunned thousands of people in the Scourge.

    Throughout the entire ordeal, Progenitor Ku had only ever spoken one sentence. ¡°Humans will eventually pave a road with blood to kill you! I am willing to be a paving stone in that road and be trampled upon by future generations! I will help create a path for them to kill you!¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2991: Wrestling Of Consciousness

    Chapter 2991: Wrestling Of Consciousness

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Had Progenitor Ku seen the other Scourges? Of course he had. In addition, he had also withstood attacks from the other Scourges. Did he give up? No, his willpower was unimaginable to ordinary people. His belief represented the belief of mankind, that one day, mankind would kill True God. And for that belief, he was willing to be a stone, an ordinary stone on a bloody road. This was Progenitor Ku.

    Knowing that he would die, Progenitor Ku had still invaded the Scourge.

    Progenitor Chen had sat alone in Burial Garden for countless years, contemting a battle technique that could defeat True God.

    The Rune Progenitor had created runes and saved the Fifth Maind.

    Progenitor Hui had set ns in motion that spanned eras, plotting against both humans and Aeternus in order to obtain a chance for mankind to seize victory.

    And yet, those men merely represented the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era. Long before their time, Burial Garden and Boundless had already lit the fires of humanity¡¯s inheritances. From the Heavens Sect era, how many of the Three Realms and Six Daos had died? How many still lived? What were they doing? It was possible that they were also doing their best to help humanity find a chance at victory. The Immemorial Citadel was locked in a fierce battle against the Aeternals, but who even knew about that fight at the forefront of humanity?

    Lu Yin was not alone, and he had never been.

    Humans were veryplex creatures. They could scheme against each other, but they could also unite. They could be greedy, angry, delusional, and even evil. Even so, there would also be those who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, serving all of humanity. All of these people represented different aspects of humanity, as they were all creatures of flesh and blood.

    Lu Yin slowly took a seat, closed his eyes, and ended the Possession.Once Lu Yin returned to his own body, the Chiliagonist opened his eyes. He felt terribly confused. What had just happened to him? He felt like he had lost control.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin tore through the void, headed straight for Aeternus Nation. Once there, he descended beneath the ground and confronted the Chiliagonist.

    The man stared at Lu Yin, confused by his sudden arrival and wondering what Lu Yin was about to do.

    Lu Yin sat down cross-legged, facing the Chiliagonist. "I¡¯m going to give you a chance to kill me."

    The Chiliagonist felt confused. "What did you just say?"

    Lu Yin calmly repeated, "I¡¯m going to give you a chance to kill me, though this will be restricted to a duel of consciousness."

    The Chiliagonist stared at Lu Yin. "You want topete against me in consciousness?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s confusion mounted. He did not understand what was happening. Lu Yin wanted to duel him with his consciousness? Where had the man found such confidence?

    In the Umbral Universe, the Chiliagonist had once attempted to seize control of Lu Yin and make him attack Old Mo, but that attempt had failed. At the time, the Chiliagonist had realized that Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was decently strong, though it was not nearly at the level of the Chiliagonist¡¯s. Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was like a rock, and while the Chiliagonist might not be able to crush that rock, the rock was also inert and unable to move on its own.

    "Are you even capable of fighting with your consciousness?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "No, but I want to see if your consciousness can crack mine."

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s eyes flickered. He did not move, but his mind was racing. <em>Is this a trap? If so, where¡¯s the catch?</em>

    "What? Scared?" Lu Yin waved a hand, dispersing the death energy to reveal Dual deform, Chong Gui, and a false Ye Bo disguised by death energy. Everyone had been eroded by death energy and were thus unable to perceive things clearly.

    "Three True God Guard Captains are watching you right now, and I¡¯ll give you this opportunity to kill me. Killing me will eliminate a powerful enemy for Aeternus, and I¡¯ll even promise to only fight you with consciousness. Do you still not dare?" Lu Yin casually asked.

    Chong Gui shouted, "A duel with consciousness? Chiliagonist, if you actually fight him normally, you¡¯ll just die, so go ahead and give this a try! This is a collision of love!"

    The pink-haired woman clenched a fist. "Don¡¯t be afraid, Chiliagonist!"

    The blue-haired man frowned. "He clearly knows that the Chiliagonist cultivates consciousness, so why is he giving him this chance? There¡¯s something wrong with this Dao Monarch Lu."

    "If you don''t betray Aeternus, he¡¯s going to kill you, so there¡¯s no reason not to take this chance," Ye Bo stated coldly. This Ye Bo had been formed by Lu Yin, but Dual deform and the others were unable to see through the death energy construct.

    The Chiliagonist heard everything that they said. It was important to consider many matters, as it was true that the Heavens Sect would kill all the True God Guard Captains unless they betrayed Aeternus, and such betrayal was impossible. Given the fact that they had all cultivated divine energy, betrayal was also a death sentence. It would be better to fight.

    "Very well, since you are seeking death, I will show you the way." The Chiliagonist instantly attacked, his consciousness surging out and invading Lu Yin''s body. The man refused to give Lu Yin any time to prepare, and he attacked as soon as possible.

    Lu Yin''s eyes focused as his mind was bombarded. His consciousness remained as solid as a rock, and the Chiliagonst could not gain the slightest bit of leverage.

    The Chiliagonist constantly increased the intensity of his assault.

    However, Lu Yin had already Possessed the Chiliagonist, and in addition to seeing memories, Lu Yin¡¯s greatest gain was learning the secret to how the Chiliagonist cultivated consciousness.

    The man¡¯s consciousness was neither an innate gift nor a cultivation art, but rather abination of the two. It resulted from a cultivation art that allowed the Chiliagonist to cultivate his innate gift. His innate gift was known as the Thespian, and it allowed him to control others to an extent, and it also allowed him to strengthen his consciousness. However, that growth was quite slow, and it had stalled until the man was recruited by the Aeternals. They had taught him a cultivation art called Thousand Leaves, and this cultivation art allowed the Chiliagonist to steal others¡¯ consciousness and add it to his own innate gift. With this, he quickly improved his consciousness to the level where he became one of the True God Guard Captains. This was the secret to his strength.

    However, there were both advantages and disadvantages to the Thousand Leaves. The main advantage was that a person could use it to quickly improve the strength of their consciousness, but the disadvantage was that it did not matter who activated the cultivation art, only who had the greater level of control.

    The Thousand Leaves was not so much a cultivation art as it was theft. The Chiliagonist¡¯s innate gift brought out his opponent¡¯s consciousness, and then the Thousand Leaves allowed him to drag it over and make it his own. When things went well, this method would strengthen his consciousness, but what if someonepeted against the Chiliagonist for the consciousness? The Thousand Leaves was like a rope, and whoever was stronger would take all the consciousness involved.

    Thus, Lu Yin wanted to use the Thousand Leaves to rip the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness away from him. If things went well, Lu Yin would be able to strengthen his own consciousness. If the attempt failed, Lu Yin would move on. After all, his own consciousness was as stable as a rock, so no matter how strong the rope might be, it would never move this rock.

    The Chiliagonist poured more and more of his consciousness into Lu Yin as the man frenziedly attacked with his full strength. Lu Yin could feel his own consciousness being pulled at.

    He was not able to perceive consciousness, but the Chiliagonist could do so with his innate gift.

    He gritted his teeth as he stared at Lu Yin. It was clear to the Chiliagonist that Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was terrifyingly tenacious. It really was like a rock. No matter how hard the Chiliagonist pulled with his Thousand Leaves, his efforts were all useless. It was impossible to move no matter what.

    Without warning, Lu Yin abruptly took action, and he started to pull on the Thousand Leaves with his consciousness, using what he felt when using Possession.

    The sudden shift startled the Chiliagonist, horrifying him. "You!"

    Lu Yin calmly stared back at the Chiliagonist. "It¡¯s about time to settle this. Let¡¯spare."

    The Chiliagonist gritted his teeth. "Is this why you asked me to duel you? Do you want to steal my consciousness?"

    Lu Yin did not hide a thing. "Pretty good."

    "How do you know the Thousand Leaves?" The Chiliagonist could not believe what was happening, mostly because Lu Yin had directly targeted the cultivation art without any hesitation when he took action. This was something that only someone who already knew the cultivation art would do.

    Lu Yin answered with open disdain, "It''s just a technique. I was able to figure it out with just a nce. Haven¡¯t you heard anything about me?"

    The Chiliagonist suddenly started remembering Lu Yin¡¯s legends. The young man was extremely talented, and he had quickly learned many battle techniques and cultivation arts after encountering them. He never spent very long in seclusion, which indicated that he did not need long to cultivate. He was acknowledged as the most talented individual throughout all of history. Could Lu Yin be telling the truth? Had he really pinpointed the weakness in the Thousand Leaves with just a single nce?

    "No matter how you learned the Thousand Leaves, consciousness is not something that you can develop overnight. If you want to steal my consciousness, then go ahead and try! If you lose, you will end up an idiot." The Chiliagonist calmed himself and stopped his wandering thoughts to focus entirely on his consciousness.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and did the same.

    He was not confident that he could win this duel, but he was certain that he would at least not lose. Thus, why not at least try?

    Chong Gui shouted, "This is amazing! The Chiliagonist has finally met an opponent, and this Dao Monarch Lu is somehow able to steal consciousness. This is a terrifying man! Very scary!"

    The blue-haired man looked rather upset. Lu Yin was indeed as unpredictable as the rumors imed. Things that were regarded as impossible by others were done quite casually by Lu Yin. At this moment, he was trying to steal the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness, and it was clear to everyone watching that the Chiliagonist was struggling.

    This was a very dangerous battle.

    Since Lu Yin had gone ahead and provoked this battle, he had to be confident.

    "Brother, will the Chiliagonist win?" the pink-haired woman murmured. She was not concerned about the Chiliagonist, as there was no friendship between any of the True God Guard Captains. Rather, she was worried about what would happen afterwards for herself and her brother.

    The blue-haired man smiled. "I think so. Consciousness is a very rare power in the entire megaverse."

    The pink-haired woman suddenly grew anxious as she watched the fight between Lu Yin and the Chiliagonist y out.

    The Chiliagonist was extremely confident in his own strength. After all, it was rare for anyone in the megaverse to even be capable of cultivating consciousness.

    A flood of consciousness streamed into Lu Yin''s mind. His face color rapidly vacited between blue and white. He was assaulted by waves of vertigo, which was exactly what the Chiliagonist anticipated. Regardless of how strong Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness might be, it was impossible for him to control it like the Chiliagonist, as Lu Yin had not used the Thousand Leaves, but rather his own innate gift. The Chiliagonist had only attained his current strength with thebination of his own innate gift and the Thousand Leaves. What was Lu Yin relying on?

    The Chiliagonist might have no idea how Lu Yin had cultivated his consciousness to be so tough, but it did not matter. Given enough time, a drop of water would eventually wear through a stone.

    Lu Yin was essentially riding a small boat through a storm, and the boat could capsize at any moment.

    The Chiliagonist never stopped attacking, always seeking to eliminate Lu Yin with one strong push. However, while Lu Yin''s boat was small, it was able to always stay atop the waves and ride the wind, and in that manner, he withstood the Chiliagonist¡¯s attacks.

    No one at their level was stupid, and the Chiliagonist clearly understood that Lu Yin had the courage to duel the Chiliagonist in consciousness, and the young man had even set his sights on stealing the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness. The Chiliagonist was simrly confident in himself. While Lu Yin had yed a few tricks and was not revealing any sign of weakness, a mere tough mind could notpare to the Chiliagonist¡¯s overwhelming might.

    All he needed was a single moment.

    The Chiliagonist sted the full force of his consciousness at Lu Yin. The man did not want to simply control Lu Yin, but rather to steal Lu Yin''s consciousness and reduce him to an idiot.

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly red, and his vision grew increasingly blurry. A tremor ran through his body, and he felt like he was about to faint.

    The Chiliagonist resumed his attack, gritting his teeth as he pressed on.

    <em>Boom, boom, boom</em>.

    The Thousand Leaves pulled at Lu Yin''s consciousness. The Chiliagonist could feel it. He felt that Lu Yin was too arrogant. The youth might be talented, but when it came to cultivating consciousness, even within Aeternus, there was no one but that one freak who surpassed the Chiliagonist.

    The attacks continued.

    Lu Yin was growing weaker and weaker. It was clear by looking at him that he might faint at any moment.

    Nearby, the woman with the long pink hair clenched her fist tighter. "Come on! End him!"

    Chong Gui shouted, "Get him! Get him!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2992: Changes

    Chapter 2992: Changes

    The blue-haired man frowned. This battle had been going on for a long time, but Lu Yin still had not fainted yet. Something was wrong.

    As the duel with Lu Yin continued, the Chiliagonist¡¯s confidence of winning grew weaker and weaker. He had discovered that no matter how hard he pulled, he could not pull Lu Yin''s consciousness away. While Lu Yin looked like he might faint at any time, he was just dealing with fits of dizziness. In reality, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was not tough enough to not be moved, but any time it shifted, he would return it back to where it was, like a fish swimming against the current.

    Gradually, the Chiliagonist realized that something was wrong. <em>Is he baiting me?</em>

    This was quite urate, as Lu Yin was baiting the Chiliagonist like a fish in this duel of consciousness.

    How could Lu Yin¡¯s control of his consciousnesspare to the Chiliagonist¡¯s? Lu Yin¡¯s only advantage was his stability, but he also needed to draw the Chiliagonist into continuing his attacks if he wanted to devour the other man.

    Just as there were limits to a human¡¯s physical strength, the same was true of consciousness.

    After attacking Lu Yin so many times, the Chiliagonist would eventually tire. He had underestimated Lu Yin.

    Fishing was a very interesting activity. It was not possible to simply catch something and pull it in; rather, certain skills were needed. While Lu Yin was not particrly good at fishing, he understood the general concept, and using what he knew against the Chiliagonist was the best method possible.

    After noticing that the Chiliagonist had realized what was happening, Lu Yin abruptly shifted tactics. His eyes grew clear, and the signs of dizziness vanished. He lookedpletely normal. "Well then, let''s get started."The Chiliagonist was stunned. He had been trying his best all along. <em>This despicable bastard!</em>

    The pink-haired woman pointed at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s so scummy!"

    Chong Gui screamed, "Despicable! Despicable human!"

    The blue-haired man sighed. Things were progressing as he had expected. Lu Yin was not using despicable means, but rather fighting intelligently. Did a duel have to be fair and follow unspoken rules? The two were fighting to the death. This was the most vicious kind of fight that one could participate in.

    It was no wonder how Lu Yin had managed to reach his current level by slowly climbing up as a weakling. He fought all of his battles to the fullest, never rxing or lowering his guard.

    The Chiliagonist gritted his teeth. "No matter what you do, you can never surpass me in controlling consciousness! At best, you can avoid being defeated."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That''s true. In that case, why is your consciousness suddenly growing weaker?"

    The Chiliagonist¡¯s expression shifted.

    "No matter what kind of power we use, it needs something to support it, whether that¡¯s physical strength, will, determination, status, or something else. That¡¯s what ourpetition has been for all along. Whether or not you can kill me depends on your determination." As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, he closed his eyes and started to silently recite the Origin Sutra. Even after all this time, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was still able to provide Lu Yin with benefits. Even if it would not help his current situation, reciting the Origin Sutra was never a bad move.

    The Chiliagonist stared at Lu Yin and then took a deep breath. Since they were dueling, he refused to believe that he would lose.

    One day. Two days. Three days. Finally, ten days passed, and Lu Yin''s expression remained the same as ever. On the other hand, the Chiliagonist had grown quite pale. After all, he was not onlypeting with Lu Yin¡¯s willpower, but also enduring the constant eroding effects of death energy.

    The death energy had never stopped wearing away at the Chiliagonist, weakening both his body and his will.

    Without death energy¡¯s unique characteristics, how could Lu Yin ever be confident that he could keep the True God Guard Captains prisoners?

    The more time that passed, the less the Chiliagonist would be able to persevere.

    The man¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and he red at Lu Yin. At this juncture, it was impossible for him to retreat. Lu Yin was pulling on the Thousand Leaves Completion, which meant that, the moment the Chiliagonist rxed, his consciousness would be stolen from him. He had to endure.

    The pink-haired woman stared at the Chiliagonist. Her own expression grew worse as her hopes disappeared.

    "He lost from the very beginning," the man with short blue hair stated.

    The pink-haired woman was upset. "This human is so despicable!"

    The blue-haired man sighed. "While it might appear as if the Chiliagonist had the choice to not participate, given our situation, how could he not? What appeared to be a choice was nothing more than an inescapable nightmare. This human is horrible."

    Another five days passed, and the Chiliagonist suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The world was spinning before his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.

    Across from the man, Lu Yin calmly opened his eyes for a moment before closing them again and resuming his recitation.

    After another three days, the Chiliagonist copsed. His mind was empty, as his consciousness had just been stolen by Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not only stolen the man¡¯s consciousness, but also destroyed his determination.

    The Aeternals had always suppressed humans. They had always told their outsider powerhouse allies stories of humans¡¯ terrible natures. Human emotions and desires were regarded as weaknesses, while humans¡¯ determination would never be able to match the Aeternals¡¯, because the Aeternals did not fear even death.

    However, Lu Yin had just defeated the Chiliagonist. Regardless of the method he employed, victory remained victory.

    Dual deform and Chong Gui fell silent. None of them had ever been righteous individuals, and calling someone despicable was not an insult, but rather a means of venting. Lu Yin had won, defeating the Chiliagonist in a duel of consciousness, which had been the Chiliagonist¡¯s forte. This served as a strong shock to the other True God Guard Captains.

    At this moment, Lu Yin''s internal universe experienced a change. An inexplicable force poured in, and a new star formed in the universe, slowly rotating with all the rest. This was a star of consciousness.

    Another star had been added to Lu Yin¡¯s universe.

    When he opened his eyes, he saw that the Chiliagonist had copsed.

    Lu Yin stood up and nced over at Dual deform and the other prisoners. He said nothing as he sealed them away again with a surge of death energy.

    When Lu Yin returned to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin continued to roll his die. He hoped to roll Possession again so that he could see if the innate gift had changed.

    The die slowly stopped spinning, eventually ending on four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin was speechless. He had failed to roll it when he wanted it, but then rolled it immediately when he did not want it.

    As the scenery changed before his eyes, Lu Yin immediately increased his time in his Timestop Space and then started to practice with thepass.

    The Lord of Lightning had taken a very long time to master thepass, and Lu Yin did not believe that he would be quicker than him.

    Nearly a year soon passed, and the scenery shifted around him again as Lu Yin returned to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. He raised a hand and continued to roll the die.

    One pip. Two pips. He then rested for ten days before continuing. Six pips.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. This was the roll that he wanted.

    His consciousness appeared in the strange dark space, and Lu Yin looked around. The orbs of light looked the same as ever, though he found that he could see further than before.

    <em>Wait, what is that?</em>

    Lu Yin saw something far away. It looked like a wall that split the dark space.

    He moved towards it.

    He soon approached the transparent wall and touched it. Its sticity caused Lu Yin''s consciousness to instantly rebound. He looked past the wall and saw more balls of light.

    Could he be looking into another parallel universe?

    Each ball of light represented a human consciousness. So far, Lu Yin had only been able to Possess people in the universe he was upying. The Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, and the Perennial World were all part of the Origin Universe. Also, Lu Yin had Possessed people in the Voidforce Universe by using voidforce energy to fuel the Possession. Lu Yin was also only able to Possess people who had cultivated the same power as him.

    However, things had now changed. His newly strengthened consciousness had changed the dark space. He could now see a barrier separating him from the other universes. As long as he could push through it, he would be able to Possess people in other universes.

    This thought made Lu Yin grow excited, and he started to m into the wall.

    The wall was not hard, but rather stic. Lu Yin continued to try to push through with his consciousness, but he could not prate the wall. He could not even create a ripple in the transparent wall.

    His consciousness was still too weak. He needed to further strengthen it.

    After leaving the dark space, Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. It was important that he strengthen his consciousness. If he could break through that transparent wall, he would have ess to far more cultivators to Possess. If he was right and that transparent wall represented another parallel universe, then Lu Yin would have ess to far more than just the Sixverse Association. This could give him ess to outsider powerhouses.

    Lu Yin wanted to use thepass to find parallel universes with different rates of time was not only because he needed such universes to train Lightstream, but also because he wanted to learn about other such universes.

    Without such knowledge, the moment the Aeternals fell to a disadvantage, they would be able to resolve the crisis by inviting a few outsider powerhouses to help them out. Lu Yin refused to ept this.

    If Lu Yin could strengthen his consciousness to the point where he could Possess people in other universes, it would be far better than wandering through parallel universes.

    Still, this was not something that could be aplished in just a day or two. It would take a significant amount of time for Lu Yin to gain the necessary strength to break through the transparent wall.

    The Chiliagonist had spent a very long time absorbing other consciousnesses with the Thousand Leaves Completion. However, if Lu Yin wanted to break through that transparent wall, he would need to absorb the consciousness of a couple more people who were just as strong as the Chiliagonist. There was no way he could do that anytime soon.

    He continued to roll his die.

    Lu Yin spent two months in seclusion. During these two months, he had rolled his die repeatedly, fought against the Chiliagonist, and used Timestop several times. As a result, he had practiced enough to master thepass and could now use it properly.

    It was at this time that Jiang Chen visited again, clearly happy at Lu Yin¡¯s misfortune.

    "Brother Lu, how did your training go?" Jiang Chen smiled, looking like he was ready to have some fun.

    He was well aware of just how difficult it was to use thepass to travel between parallel universes. Even his father had spent a great deal of time practicing with thepass, and even then, he had only seeded after receiving Bi Rong¡¯s help. Just how many years would Lu Yin need to master thepass without any help?

    The man had created legends in the decades of his cultivation journey, and it appeared that nothing could stop or hinder him, but this time, he must have been defeated.

    Lu Yin knew what Jiang Chen was thinking as soon as he saw Jiang Chen''s expression. "Why? Did youe tough at my struggles?"

    Jiang Chenughed. "You¡¯re misunderstanding me, Brother Lu. I just wanted to see if you needed any help."

    "My practice went very smoothly. There¡¯s no need for any help," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. "Brother Lu, given our rtionship, why don¡¯t we stop pretending? Thatpass is very hard to use, so just tell me, and I¡¯ll help you."

    Lu Yin stared at Jiang Chen. "Can you control it?"

    "That''s impossible. But I do know how to help you. That''s because Uncle Bi Rong helped my father when he learned how to use it. Do you want me to help you? Just tell me. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. Who hasn¡¯t encountered obstacles at some point or another? Hehe."

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. "It is quite difficult."

    Jiang Chen puffed up proudly. "That''s right. My father practiced for several years, and even then, he still needed Uncle Bi Rong¡¯s help. Let me see how much progress you¡¯ve made."

    Lu Yin took out thepass, and Jiang Chen watched as the void tore open. However, thepass¡¯s needle stably pointed in a single direction. It did not fluctuate at all.

    Jiang Chen was stunned. "Did you really seed?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    "No, how long did you practice for?"

    "Not too long."

    Jiang Chen suddenly thought of something, and he said, "You must have cheated by using a universe where time moves faster."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He could not deny the allegation, as he had essentially done just that.

    He realized that someone had unraveled one of his legends.

    In the past, Lu Yin had used Timestop to aplish many things, and people had been amazed by how quickly Lu Yin had mastered various things, feeling that he was exceptionally talented. This was how he hadprehended the Ce Secret Art, the Cosmic Art, the Origin Sutra, and many more things. Nearly everything that Lu Yin had learned had been mastered quickly because of his Timestop Space. That ability had given him the title of a genius.

    However, that method was no longer a secret.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 2993: Lu Yin And Master Qing Cao

    <h4>Chapter 2993: Lu Yin And Master Qing Cao</h4>

    The truth was that Lu Yin¡¯s ¡°secret¡± was not a secret among Progenitors. There were a number of parallel universes where time ran faster. This was something that could only be regarded as a secret beneath the Progenitor realm.

    Jiang Chen was an exception.

    Lu Yin shrugged, knowing that his reputation as a genius had just been destroyed.

    "Since you¡¯ve figured things out, I¡¯ll head back first and ask my father for permission to visit parallel universes with you." Jiang Chen was eager to leave.

    Lu Yin warned, "We¡¯re not going to go sightseeing. This is going to be very dangerous."

    "I know. I won¡¯t me you if I die." With that, Jiang Chen left.

    Lu Yin did not even know why the young man had made a point to stop by.

    For the time being, Lu Yin could not use Ye Bo''s identity. Without a justifiable reason, returning to the Scourge would be asking to die.

    Not even Wang Wen and Wei Rong had been able to think of a perfect reason for Ye Bo to return to the Scourge.

    That was arge part of the reason why Lu Yin nned to use the next period of time to learn more about universes beyond the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. At the same time, he would search for parallel universes where time flowed at different speeds.

    For this trip, the only tentative members were Lu Yin himself and Jiang Chen. It was unknown whether Jiang Qingyue would join them, but they also needed a peak powerhouse to tag along. Big Sis was Lu Yin¡¯s first choice, but she was too impulsive. Senior Brother Mu Ke might not have time, as he was responsible for the Arboreal Realm for now. Simrly, Lu Tianyi wanted to stay in the Perennial World, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to decide who else to take along.

    Also, he needed a mount.

    Lu Yin continued to think about his options.

    A short timeter, the Second Nightking delivered a report. "Dao Monarch, there is news from the Astral Combat Academy that the Astral Combat Tournament is about to begin. Do you want to take a look?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "The Astral Combat Tournament?"

    "That¡¯s right."

    Lu Yin''s eyes betrayedplicated emotions. Before he had even realized it, it was time for the Astral Combat Tournament again.

    Periodically, the Astral Combat Academy would hold apetition between the different branches of the academy. While several of the schools had been lost, the Astral Combat Tournament had endured as a tradition.

    Long ago, Lu Yin had gained the attention of countless people throughout the universe by participating in the Astral Combat Tournament. In a way, thatpetition had been the start of his legends. He wondered if there was anyone like him who was participating in the next Astral Combat Tournament.

    "Let''s go take a look."

    Soon, a disy appeared in the sky, and Lu Yin sat at the stone table, enjoying a cup of tea that Zhao Ran had prepared as he watched the Astral Combat Tournament.

    As he stared at the images on the disy, the battles looked so childish to Lu Yin. However, he knew that they were a level above what had urred during the tournament he had participated in.

    When he had been in Astral-10, it had been difficult for students of the Astral Combat Academy to cultivate battle force, and the best battle techniques all belonged to the most powerful sects and families. At that time, there had been no knowledge of the Sixth Maind or the Perennial World.

    However, the Tower of the Fifth had allowed countless cultivators to acquire battle techniques, and the member universes of the Sixverse Association had also provided alternate cultivation methods. Even if the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprints were considered a garbage cultivation method by the Fifth Maind, it was still an alternate cultivation method. With all of these various options, the Astral Combat Tournament was now quite exciting.

    If the current generation of the Astral Combat Academy were topete with Lu Yin¡¯s generation, he knew that his own ss might not be able to stand up to the current generation.

    Unfortunately, there was nothing during the tournament that caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    However, while he was watching, he suddenly noticed an old acquaintance: Coco. Her syringe was still too eye-catching. "Why is Coco at the Astral Combat Academy?"

    The Second Nightking respectfully answered, "Coco has be an external instructor for Astral-10."

    <i>So that¡¯s it</i>. Lu Yin watched Coco on the disy and suddenly felt his age.

    The timid and cute girl he had once known was now a teacher.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s expression changed, as he just remembered her master, Master Qing Cao.

    When Jiang Qingyue had exined how to cultivate aura and mentioned that the universe itself had life and breath, Lu Yin had not understood. He had asked Lu Buzheng and some others about the matter, and Lu Buzheng had said that Ancestor Lu Yuan had also mentioned something along those lines long ago. However, Lu Yin had forgotten to ask his ancestor about it after the Lu family returned.

    When Jiang Qingyue had given Lu Yin an exnation of aura, it had sounded familiar, but he had not been able to remember why.

    Seeing Coco had reminded Lu Yin of Windrift Hall, as well as of Master Qing Cao.

    <i>¡°The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I am treating it.¡±</i>

    <i>"It¡¯s quite easy to see that the poisonous gasses are moving about abnormally. It¡¯s just like when a human¡¯s breathing is wrong."</i>

    <i>"Look, when the dayes that you are able to see this grass observing you, you should also be able to see the Venom Flowzone¡¯s breath. In this universe, every natural order has its own breath and its own life."</i>

    The words that Master Qing Cao had spoken returned to Lu Yin''s mind. He remembered everything that Master Qing Cao had said.

    Lu Yin took out a small bit of grass from his cosmic ring. This was the same grass that Master Qing Cao had given to him. The man had told Lu Yin that if he could see the grass looking back at him one day, he would be able to see that the Venom Flowzone was breathing. Lu Yin had not thought about the matter any further, and the only other time he had met Master Qing Cao was when the human blood fruit had appeared in Burial Garden. Lu Yin had never had any further contact with the man.

    Master Qing Cao was also a very quiet individual, and he kept to himself so much that not even all the disciples of Windrift Hall were sure to recognize him. In fact, even Lu Yin had forgotten about the man.

    However, after he thought about it, how could an average cultivator who was not even an Envoy be able to see the breath of the universe?

    Lu Yin stepped out and made his way towards Windrift Hall.

    He had never visited the ce before, but Windrift Hall was in the Innerverse¡¯s First Flowzone, and it was not too far from the Y¨­u family.

    Lu Yin easily found the ce.

    Windrift Hall was located on a that was lush with vegetation. Lu Yin''s sudden arrival shocked everyone in Windrift Hall. No one in the ce had ever dreamed that Lu Yin would visit them.

    Master Qing Cao was still the Hall Master of Windrift Hall, but the one who usually oversaw things was Zeng Die, whom Lu Yin had met long ago.

    "Zeng Die and Windrift Hall greet Dao Monarch Lu."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Windrift Hall had arge number of people. There were tens of thousands of them, which was a great deal more than when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy. This growth was inseparable from the support of the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin had seized control of Shamrock Enterprise, and Windrift Hall had been a small organization dedicated to helping and saving people. It had naturally received the Heavens Sect¡¯s support, and now, they had ess to resources and connections on apletely different scale from before.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Zeng Die," Lu Yin said with a smile.

    Zeng Die was horrified. "Dao Monarch Lu, you still remember this humble one?"

    Lu Yin nodded. He sped his hands behind his back and looked around. "Send these people away. Tell me, where is Master Qing Cao?"

    "Master is in the Venom Flowzone."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Is Master Qing Cao still trying to treat the Venom Flowzone¡¯s poisonous gas?"

    Zeng Die gave a bitter smile. "Master has set his sights on the Venom Flowzone, for some reason. He has been there for more than a hundred years, but we don''t dare to disturb him."

    Lu Yin grunted. "I''ll go find him myself. You all are busy with your own work."

    With that, Lu Yin headed towards the Venom Flowzone.

    Zeng Jian felt quite confused. He had no idea why Lu Yin had suddenly asked about the Hall Master. The two men most likely had not interacted much.

    <i>I hope that Master will be smart and not too righteous. Lu Yin is no longer just the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, but rather the leader of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe</i>.

    Lu Yin returned to the Venom Flowzone. He had once feared this ce that required people to acquire something to hold the poison back before entering, but the Venom Flowzone¡¯s toxins could no longer threaten Lu Yin. He only took a few steps around before he found Master Qing Cao. The man was still in the same location as before, right where Lu Yin had first met him. He was still strolling through poisonous green gas with a bamboo basket on his back, observing the strange flowers that bloomed within the poisonous gas.

    Lu Yin approached and just observed the older man.

    Master Qing Cao''s white robes had turned gray. He stared at the flowers in the poisonous gas while muttering to himself, "Why has it changed again? It should be following a pattern and shrinking. Did I make a mistake?"

    As the man spoke, he brushed his messy hair back and nced to the side, where he saw Lu Yin''s smiling face.

    Master Qing Cao was startled. "Who are you?"

    "Master Qing Cao, it¡¯s been a long time. This junior is Lu Yin."

    Master Qing Cao blinked. It appeared that he had not yet recovered from his surprise. "Lu Yin? What are you doing here?"

    "What are you doing, Master Qing Cao?"

    "The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I¡¯m treating it."

    "I see."

    "Do you understand?"

    "Not at all."

    Master Qing Cao scratched his head. "Wait, why does this conversation feel so familiar? Have we had this conversation before?"

    "We spoke before, many years ago."

    "And yet you still asked me the same question?"

    "Aren¡¯t you still here, Master Qing Cao?" Lu Yin returned.

    Master Qing Cao realized that this was quite urate. "It''s only been a few decades. That¡¯s not very long at all."

    The man then gave Lu Yin a second look. "Right, you are now the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, aren¡¯t you?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "You managed to put it together."

    Master Qing Cao pursed his lips. "Why is someone like you here? If you are free enough to take the time to talk to me, why not cultivate? The majestic Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect is not even a Progenitor. How will you be able to intimidate any outsiders?"

    Lu Yin just shrugged. "Given the short amount of time that I¡¯ve been cultivating for, another breakthrough won¡¯t be easy."

    "Then what are you doing here?" Master Qing Cao was puzzled.

    Lu Yin replied, "I wanted to see how your treatment of the Venom Flowzone has been going."

    Master Qing Cao gave Lu Yin a weird look. "Do you care about the Venom Flowzone?"

    "I care about curing diseases," Lu Yin replied.

    Master Qing Cao nodded. "That¡¯s your business, then. If you have some free time, then feel free to watch what I do here. Regardless, I have a great deal of time."

    As the man spoke, he returned to staring at the poisonous gas. Another small flower bloomed there, and Master Qing Cao stared at the flower, anxiously waiting for something.

    Lu Yin did not bother the man and simply stood at the side, observing the flower in the same manner as Master Qing Cao.

    As the petals withered, another flower bloomed, and the cycle continued to repeat.

    An unknown amount of time passed, and finally, Master Qing Cao sighed. "Another possibility has failed. Let me see... there are still 896,200,000,000 possibilities left to try out, so let¡¯s continue."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "How long does it take to try each possibility?"

    "I can''t say. After all, it¡¯s possible to try multiple possibilities at the same time. Wait, you still haven¡¯t left yet?" Master Qing Cao was surprised to see that Lu Yin was still there.

    Lu Yin looked at the man. "I want to see how you treat the Venom Flowzone¡¯s disease. Master Qing Cao, you once said that the Venom Flowzone itself is breathing. Can you feel it?"

    Master Qing Cao pointed at Lu Yin''s hand. "Didn''t I give you a bit of grass? When you feel that the grass is looking at you, you will be able to feel it."

    "But this junior has no clue where to start."

    "What kind of clue do you need? Feel things carefully. The grass is also alive."

    "There are other things with more life to them. An animal can also stare at me."

    "You''re right, which is why grass is also fine."

    Lu Yin had no idea how to continue such a conversation, so he bluntly asked, "Master Qing Cao, what does it mean that the universe is breathing?"

    Master Qing Cao blinked. "What does that mean?"

    "What does it mean to say that battle techniques breath?" Lu Yin continued.

    "Did I say something like that?" Master Qing Cao was confused.

    "Have you heard of aura energy before?" Lu Yin looked solemn.

    Master Qing Cao took a moment to seriously consider the question, and then he turned to face Lu Yin directly. He solemnly asked, "Dao Monarch Lu, are you overreading me as a mysterious person?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at Master Qing Cao.

 Chapter 2994: The Way To Become A Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 2994: The Way To Be A Progenitor</h4>

    Master Qing Cao shook his bamboo basket. "I¡¯m just an ordinary doctor. Naturally, that makes my understanding of things different from that of other people. In the same way, my wording of things is different from other people¡¯s. It''s nothing more than how some people can tell how much money they possess with just a touch of their purse. Would you think such a man to be the God of Wealth?

    "The breathing that I speak of is simply the result of countless years of experience. It¡¯s possible to learn to see pathologies when looking at people or things. That was all I meant. As for this aura that you mentioned, I know nothing about it at all."

    Master Qing Cao spoke in a very serious manner, especially when he saw that, not only was Lu Yin as serious as ever, but also looking at him like a deranged person.

    Lu Yin carefully observed Master Qing Cao. No matter how Lu Yin looked at him, Master Qing Cao was nothing more than an Enlighter with a power level of just over 300,000. He was not even an Envoy. Lu Yin saw the same thing even when he used Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight was able to see sequence particles, and it would eventually give Lu Yin the ability to look into parallel universes. It also clearly revealed Master Qing Cao¡¯s strength. Was it possible that the man was not actually a hidden powerhouse?

    "As a doctor, I sense sickness in everything I see. However, as a powerful cultivator, everyone must look the same to you, Dao Monarch Lu. In fact, that is also a disease, and it needs to be treated," Master Qing Cao stated somberly.

    Lu Yin exhaled. "There is no need to treat this. If everyone looks like a powerhouse, then that will simply encourage me to be more vignt."

    Master Qing Cao was taken aback. "That¡¯s quite a good idea. Yes, why didn''t I think of that? It¡¯s possible that what afflicts the Venom Flowzone isn¡¯t a disease, but rather a means of natural protection. If I forcefully cure this disease, it will harm this ce. Yes, that¡¯s it. Yes...¡±

    When Lu Yin saw Master Qing Cao muttering to himself as though he had lost his mind, Lu Yin had no idea if what the man was saying was true or not.

    Could Master Qing Cao be a powerhouse? Some master who had lived for countless years and was able to see the breath of a universe? Or, was he as he imed, nothing more than an ordinary doctor?

    Lu Yin could not be sure, but he preferred to believe that Master Qing Cao was a very powerful cultivator, as that would help Lu Yin stay wary. As for the fact that the man refused to admit to being a powerhouse, forcing the issue would be entirely useless.

    Master Qing Cao waspletely focused on his new train of thought, exactly like a cultivator who had just broken through a bottleneck.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s wireless jincan trembled. He looked at it, and his expression changed drastically. Was Destina attempting her breakthrough to be a Progenitor?

    Lu Yin hurried back to the Heavens Sect.

    At the moment, the jiao and the Ancestor Tortoise had moved far away from the Heavens Sect. Arch-Elder Zen, Monarch Xing, and the other Progenitor-level powerhouses were staring into the distance, waiting for something. To the side stood Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, Hen Xin, and the others from the Heavens Sect era. Everyone had gathered together, and they were all quietly staring into the distance.

    Lu Yin arrived, and he appeared in front of Lu Buzheng. "What''s going on?"

    "Destina is about to attempt to break through and be a Progenitor." Lu Buzheng''s tone revealed hisplicated feelings at this moment. There was no one who understood the challenge before Destina better than Lu Buzheng, as one of his three streams of Ancestral Qi could summon Destiny herself.

    Those who followed Destiny¡¯s cultivation methods did not cultivate stellr energy, and their Progenitor¡¯s tribtions were also thus different from normal. No one had any sort of precedence to know what Destina might face.

    This was also why Lu Buzheng himself had never dared to attempt his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. In fact, he was quite surprised that Destina had decided to challenge her own tribtion.

    Lu Yin turned to look into the distance. He saw Destina, who was quietly cross-legged in the middle of outer space. There was a thread surrounding her. One end connected to life, while the other connected to death. Was the woman really going to attempt her breakthrough?

    "Why did she suddenly decide to try to be a Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "I don''t know. She rarely interacts with any of us."

    Lu Yin looked over to one side and suddenly disappeared. He reappeared in front of Starsibyl.

    After Starsibyl was found, she had been taken away by Destina. Starsibyl had deceived Destina, and Destina had held a grudge because of that.

    "Why did Destina suddenly decide to challenge her Progenitor¡¯s tribtion?"

    Starsibyl offered a slow bow when she saw Lu Yin appear. "She can only rece Destiny if Destiny does not appear herself. The Heavens Sect is gaining more and more Progenitors, and it¡¯s possible that Destiny may also reappear. Given that uncertainty, Destina feels that it¡¯s better to make the attempt now than wait any longer.¡±

    "Do you think she¡¯s confident?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Starsibyl.

    The woman shook her head. "I don''t know."

    Lu Yin looked back over at Destina¡¯s distant form. While Destiny¡¯s power was mysterious and unpredictable, Lu Yin had some understanding of it.

    What was known as the power of Destiny was essentially a bridge built across the river of time. Others needed to travel up and down the river to see through time, but Destiny¡¯s power allowed her to look beyond the river and see into the future. That ability allowed her to then calcte back to the present, which created what was known as the power of Destiny.

    How could such a power reach the Progenitor level? Lu Yin was curious to find out. If Destina passed her tribtion, what would she be? Would she be the next Destiny?

    But how could two Destinys exist at the same time?

    Destina¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion did not appear instantly. She spent half a month sitting in outer space without triggering her tribtion.

    Big Sis arrived, a solemn expression on her face. "Does she really intend to rece Destiny? Why would she do that?"

    When Lu Yin heard Big Sis¡¯ question, it struck him. "Big Sis, why did you say that?"

    She replied, "I¡¯ve heard legends about Destiny. She did not be a Progenitor on her own, but was rather forcibly pushed into bing a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin was surprised and confused by thisment.

    "All creatures that cultivate in the megaverse, especially humans, need to either follow a path paved by others, or create their own path in order to be a peak powerhouse. Stellr energy is an example of the first, while Shao Chen is an example of the second. The God of Death during the Heavens Sect era is another example of the second. However, there is a third option, which is to passively be a Progenitor by exploiting loopholes in thews of the universe. That is what Destiny did.

    "Gu Yizhi once said that Destiny¡¯s cultivation method was to get closer to thews of the universe, assimte with them, and then rece them through proximity. She was not the first of the Three Realms and Six Daos to be a Progenitor. In fact, she was actually thest to reach that level. That was because Destiny set a restriction in ce for herself; she would only allow herself to be a Progenitor after all the other Three Realms and Six Daos had already seeded.

    "To tell you the truth, I¡¯m not very familiar with the legends surrounding Destiny. Gu Yizhi¡¯s words were rather mysterious, so I only know that Destiny was the only one capable of bing Destiny. None of the other Three Realms and Six Daos could have reced her, or even the Origin Progenitor. Destina wants to rece Destiny, but that¡¯s simply impossible. The current era can¡¯t evene close toparing to our Heavens Sect era.¡±

    Lu Yin listened in silence. Getting closer to thews of the universe, assimting with them, and then recing them? Was this something that was even possible for a person who had not yet be a Progenitor?

    How was it possible to passively be a Progenitor?

    "Exploiting loopholes in thews of the universe? Isn¡¯t that exactly what Senior Brother Qing Ping did?"

    Big Sis stared out into space. "No universe can ever be perfect. No one knows how many loopholes there might be, but those who can exploit those loopholes are all ruthless people. I don''t think that Destina is that kind of person. Besides, it¡¯s impossible for her to rece Destiny.

    "In order for her to be a Progenitor, she must rece Destiny due to her cultivation method, but Destiny cannot be reced by this woman. So..."

    Big Sis slowly concluded, "She will definitely fail."

    A few dayster, Destina rose to her feet, ready to face her Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Big Sis stared intently at Destina, eager to see what sort of fate awaited the woman.

    Lu Yin wanted to see Destina seed. Compared to Destiny from the Heavens Sect era, Destina was clearly much easier to control. Regardless of how mysterious Destiny¡¯s cultivation method might be, it was still a cultivation method. She had been at the same level as the God of Death, Wu Tian, Ancestor Lu Yuan, and the others. That indicated that Destiny had not surpassed them, which also meant that she could be controlled.

    Destina¡¯s intention to face her Progenitor¡¯s tribtion had drawn a great deal of attention, including from other parts of the Sixverse Association.

    The Heavens Sect era had been far too brilliant, and the name of Destiny indicated a certain level of power from those ancient days of glory.

    The reestablished Heavens Sect already had too many powerhouses, and if Destina seeded in her breakthrough, it would antagonize many other parallel universes, and even Aeternus might feel the need to take action.

    Already, several of the Heavens Sect¡¯s people had seeded in their breakthroughs to be peak powerhouses. Would the streak end with Destina?

    While all of them were human, many people in the Sixverse Association would prefer to see Destina fail.

    While they did not want to be overpowered by Aeternus, people also did not want a monster that suppressed all others to appear within humanity. While the Heavens Sect had already be the strongest member of the Sixverse Association, it was still far from its former brilliance. If the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s other members universes emerged from seclusion, they would be able to speak with the Heavens Sect as equals. However, if the Heavens Sect gained many more peak powerhouses, there was no guarantee that any sort of equality would remain.

    The days of the ancient Heavens Sect, when all races and universes had been forced to submit, should not reappear.

    A thread was constantly moving about Destina, appearing and disappearing randomly. Everyone who was watching felt confused, as no one could understand what Destina was doing.

    Where was the tribtion? Where was the visible phenomena? There was nothing for anyone to see.

    Was Destina really attempting a breakthrough?

    Lu Yintian was unable to make out anything. What was the woman doing?

    No one could understand.

    As the thread continued to move about, dots of light started to gradually appear in space, each one floating in a particr arrangement.

    Starsibyl eximed, "Karmic transfer!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. "Are you talking about the method of transferring karmic effect like when divinations are performed?"

    Starsibyl¡¯s face was pale as she nodded.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell, and he shouted, "Destina, regardless of your intentions, if you dare to transfer your karmic effect to innocent people again and kill them, even if you pass your tribtion, I will kill you myself!¡±

    Everyone near the Heavens Sect was startled by Lu Yin¡¯s sudden killing intent.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others were all staring at Destina. The woman might appear innocent, but she was actually crueler than anyone could imagine. Her ability to transfer the karmic effect of her divinations had caused countless tragic deaths. This was a matter that had long weighed on Lu Yin¡¯s conscience, bing a thorn in his heart. It was something that he knew needed to be addressed, but he simply had not had the opportunity to do so.

    Upon seeing that Destina intended to transfer karmic effect again, it was readily apparent that she intended to divert her tribtion. Who did she intend to send that danger to?

    In the middle of outer space, Destina looked towards the Heavens Sect. "Dao Monarch Lu, this is a matter concerning Destiny, so please don''t interfere.

    "There are no innocents among those connected to Destiny."

    Then, the specks of light dissipated and vanished. As they disappeared, Starsibyl spat out blood.

    Elsewhere within the Heavens Sect, both Skymender and Xiao Shi reacted the same way.

    Their auras suddenly surged, as though their cultivation had been forcibly raised.

    Starsibyl¡¯s face grew even more pale. "She transferred the power of destiny to us."

    Lu Yin checked Starsibyl, but found that she had not been injured. She had vomited blood because her body was unable to withstand the sudden surge in strength. This would only happen if her cultivation had increased too quickly. What was Destina trying to do?

    Not even Big Sis could understand what was happening.

    Skymender called out from the distance, "Dao Monarch, Destina has transferred all powers of Destiny to us. She haspletely discarded her cultivation of Destiny¡¯s power."

    Lu Yin turned back to look into outer space. Clearly, Destina had never intended to rece Destiny, which was why she had discarded her cultivation of Destiny¡¯s power. Despite her previous cultivation, there was an incredible amount of stellr energy emanating from her body. She wanted to be a Progenitor with stellr energy.

 Chapter 2995: A Thread

    <h4>Chapter 2995: A Thread</h4>

    "It¡¯s impossible for her to be a Progenitor by recing Destiny, which means that attempting to do so would simply be seeking death. She¡¯s smart, as she chose to abandon Destiny¡¯s power and use stellr energy to be a Progenitor. After that, she can once again choose to cultivate Destiny¡¯s power, or she can choose not to. She has seized the initiative. This woman¡¯s clever," Big Sis praised.

    "There¡¯s no need for her to recultivate that power," Skymender said with an ugly expression. "If she chooses to regain the power of Destiny, all she needs to do is undo the karmic transfer that she just performed. That would retrieve the power she just gave to all of us."

    "Is that even possible?" Lu Yin was taken aback. Was it that easy to transfer the power of Destiny?

    Skymender bitterly answered, "It is because we are willing to do so."

    Starsibyl spoke up, her voice hoarse, "No one wants to bear the power of Destiny. The more a person understands Destiny, the less they want to touch her power. Destina knows this, which is why, when she requests that we return this power to her, she knows that we will agree without hesitation."

    "We are essentially being treated as containers to store her power." Skymender red at Destina, murder bright in his eyes.

    Lu Yin looked back at Destina. The vortex and ck hole of a stellr tribtion had appeared above the woman. This woman had also found an alternate path to be a Progenitor, and hers was to transfer her power away. This made it so that it was no longer impossible for her to be a Progenitor, and once she seeded, she would be able to freely retrieve the power that she had given away.

    Judging from the expressions on the faces of Skymender and the others, they would not refuse Destina¡¯s attempt to reim her power, and it would also be difficult for any of them to refuse a Progenitor.

    <i>Was that why Destina told me not to interfere?</i> Only another person¡¯s intervention could prevent Destina from retrieving Destiny¡¯s power. As long as there was no interference, Destina would hold the initiative.

    Big Sis eximed, "In the past, a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion was a very serious matter. It was difficult for even one out of a hundred Semi-Progenitors to seed in their breakthrough. But suddenly, that¡¯s all changed. In particr, the path of your senior brother, Qing Ping, to bing a peak powerhouse has opened up new doors for many people everywhere. I¡¯m guessing that this woman concocted this n from your senior brother¡¯s breakthrough."

    "That stellr energy wasn¡¯t gathered overnight," Lu Yinmented.

    Big Sis realized that Lu Yin was right. Destina must have been secretly cultivating stellr energy for a very long time, though no one knew when she had started. This was a n that she had devised long ago.

    Lu Buzheng''s expression was as ugly if he had eaten a dead fly. This woman chased after him for so long because of Destiny, but in the end, she abandoned Destiny¡¯s power in order to be a Progenitor. <i>What a hypocrite! Bah!</i>

    Cai Er''s expression was just as ugly. She had always wanted to surpass Destina, even when it came to appearance. However, not only was Destina more beautiful, but Cai Er¡¯s cultivation had also fallen behind.

    In the middle of outer space, Destina looked upwards into the vortex¡¯s hole as it slowly formed. She smiled. "Master, the power of Destiny that you taught me is only the power that you created. Regardless of whether you are here today, I can¡¯t rece you. I knew this the day I first became your disciple. I practiced the method of transferring karma all so that I could avoid the fate that you had nned for me.

    "I also knew that, as long as you were around, I wouldn¡¯t be able to transfer my karma away. However, this era is different, and you aren¡¯t here. Still, I still can¡¯t avoid wanting to rece you. What sort of fate did you set for yourself? I can¡¯t even imagine.

    "For that reason, I¡¯ve determined my own fate, Master. Today, I will be a Progenitor with stellr energy, and whether I ever again touch the power of Destiny will depend on Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s thoughts. Master, your disciple is going to be a Progenitor!"

    Destina spoke for herself, but she was also saying goodbye to Destiny.

    The moment she had transferred the power of Destiny to Skymender and the others, Destina had ceased to be Destiny¡¯s heir. She had defied Destiny.

    Stellr energy surged within Destina¡¯s body, ready to trigger the tribtion.

    Few people were happy while facing a stellr tribtion, but Destina was very happy at this moment. She was confident that she could survive her Progenitor¡¯s tribtion and be one. She had cultivated the power of Destiny before, but it did not particrly matter to Destina whether or not she cultivated it again in the future. She knew her path, and she intended to see it to the end. She would eventually be a Sequence Progenitor.

    Destina did not want to rece Destiny, but she still wanted to be one of the most powerful people of the era. She did not need the power that she had cultivated for countless years. This was the day when she met the fate that she had chosen for herself.

    Stellr energy surged out of Destina¡¯s body, and the Skyfield of Destruction formed and mmed down upon her.

    A smile spread across Destina''s face as she raised a hand. She had her own means of oveing this tribtion.

    Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. A line had appeared before her eyes. This was a thread of Destiny. One end led to life, and the other to death. This was the power of Destiny that Destina had cultivated for many years, but why had it suddenly appeared? She had already transferred all of her power of Destiny to Skymender and the others. Why had the Power of Destiny still appeared during this tribtion?

    The thread only appeared for an instant, but just that caused earth-shattering changes in the Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. This was because the thread was the power of Destiny, the same power that Destina had abandoned by transferring it to others before triggering her tribtion. Even so, a thread of Destiny had appeared beneath the stellr tribtion. This meant that an outside power was interfering with the tribtion, and this would increase the strength of the tribtion immensely.

    Destina stared at the thread that was falling from the tribtion¡¯s ck hole. This was another thread, but this thread did not belong to Destina, but rather to Destiny herself.

    The tribtion¡¯s vortex was drawing out the power of Destiny into the Skyfield of Destruction.

    "No, no! How could this happen? Master, master¨C!" Destina screamed in despair.

    Lu Yin and the others stared in shock. The thread slowly descended towards Destina''s head and then wrapped around her. As everyone watched on in horror, Destina herself was transformed into a thread, and then she vanished.

    Space returned to normal in an instant, but everyone continued to stare on in a silent daze.

    What had just happened?

    Lu Yin''s eye twitched. Somehow, the power of Destiny had interfered with the tribtion and altered it drastically. The Skyfield of Destruction had disappeared, and a thread of Destiny had fallen.

    Destina had transferred her power of Destiny away to others, but she had still been taken away by Destiny. She had been defeated, and her fate would not be good.

    Destine had thought that she could be a Progenitor by transferring her power of Destiny away, but had Destiny already seen through those ns?

    Was it really impossible to resist Destiny?

    A figure appeared in the Fifth Maind. They tore through the void and instantly arrived at the Heavens Sect. It was Lu Yuan, who had abruptly left his seclusion. "I sensed the power of Destiny. Little Seven, what happened?"

    Lu Yin did not expect the tribtion to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan, but he quickly shared what had happened.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan sneered. "What an idiot! Did she actually think that she could escape from Destiny? No one can imagine how insidious that woman is. She grew up while plotting and scheming. How could she be deceived by her disciple¡¯s little ploy to be a Progenitor?

    "This Destina brought her fate upon herself. We can''t control what happened to her, but it¡¯s very troublesome that she was transformed into a thread before disappearing. She has be a weapon of Destiny. I said that Destiny would return, and I was right."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "Destiny¡¯s weapon?"

    Lu Yuan snorted contemptuously. "That woman has always been good at using people as weapons. She determines her own fate, as well as the fates of others. You don¡¯t fight her inbat, but by altering the future."

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    Destiny would eventuallye back.

    "Is she an enemy or a friend?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan took a while to consider this question. "Neither. She has her own ns, and it¡¯s impossible to understand what she¡¯s thinking. Still, you don¡¯t need to worry about her. Your ancestor beat her before, so she won¡¯t dare to try anything with you even if she does appear."

    Big Sis was taken aback. "Senior, you¡¯ve beaten Destiny?"

    Ancestor Lu Yuan proudly stated, "Of course!"

    Lu Yin was speechless. How was this anything to be proud of? How was this anything less than inviting disaster?

    First, Lu Buzheng had made Old Mo an enemy for Lu Yin, and with that precedent, Lu Yin was terrified that Lu Yuan would end up making Destiny an enemy as well.

    If at all possible, Lu Yin did not want to make more enemies, especially one as bizarre as Destiny.

    Destina had failed to be a Progenitor, and she had suffered an unbelievably tragic fate. Countless people had witnessed her failed tribtion, and it would not take long for the news to spread across the entire Sixverse Association.

    While the Heavens Sect had lost a powerful cultivator, that loss actuallyforted the Sixverse Association.

    Bing a peak powerhouse was not an easy process, so how could all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Semi-Progenitors seed? Already, many had seeded: Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, and Qing Ping. Such a record was quite impressive, and Lu Yin had never expected the streak to continue.

    He simply hoped that Lu Buzheng would be anxious about increasing his own strength.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to worry. Lu Buzheng had already abandoned all thoughts of quickly striving to be a Progenitor.

    Destina had prepared such extreme measures, going so far as to abandon her primary cultivation method. Even so, she had failed. Lu Buzheng cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and one of his three summons was Destiny herself. Eliminating a summon like that was even more difficult than removing the power of Destiny like what Destina had done. Lu Buzheng did not also want to be a thread.

    Destina¡¯s failure served as a warning to others who had been preparing to face their Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. Her tribtion also tempered the impact of Qing Ping''s sess in bing a Progenitor after failing his first attempt to break through.

    A Progenitor¡¯s tribtion was always a serious topic. It was extremely difficult to find a shortcut, and even if one existed, most people would not be able to discover it.

    The more extreme the shortcut was, the harder it was to take.

    "Ancestor, I want to visit unknown universes," Lu Yin told Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan grew confused. "Why do you want to do that?"

    Lu Yin expressed his reasons, and Ancestor Lu Yuan listened quietly. "You want to visit parallel universes where time flows differently, while also learning about the situation beyond the known portion of the megaverse. There¡¯s no issue with either of those things, but with your current strength, you will be in great danger if you encounter an outsider powerhouse. Still, while it¡¯s dangerous, you can go.

    "However, you need to be fully prepared. No one knows just how many parallel universes exist, and you could randomly run into a powerhouse whom you have no hope of defeating. You might even run into someone more powerful than any of us, which would be quite troublesome."

    Lu Yin agreed. "I understand. Also, there¡¯s something more..."

    After a pause, he met Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes. "I¡¯ve cultivated divine energy."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin nkly. "What did you say?"

    Seeing the old man¡¯s reaction, Lu Yin knew that Ancestor Tianyi had not shared this detail with Lu Yuan. It might have been because Ancestor Lu Yuan had been in seclusion, or possibly because Lu Tianyi had not wanted to mention the matter. If it was thetter, then Ancestor Tianyi was too willing to indulge Lu Yin.

    "I have cultivated divine energy."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan stared at Lu Yin nkly, his eyes showing his conflicted emotions.

    Lu Yin grew worried, as he had no idea what Ancestor Lu Yuan would think about this.

    When it came to Aeternus, everyone had their own understandings and prejudices. While Ancestor Tianyi was able to trust that Lu Yin would remain in control of himself, that did not mean that Ancestor Lu Yuan would feel the same way.

    After a while, Ancestor Lu Yuan raised a hand, slowly reached out, and then set it onto Lu Yin''s shoulder, squeezing tightly. "The descendants of my Lu family are strong and won¡¯t be controlled by others. Just cultivate however you see fit."

    Lu Yin stared at Ancestor Lu Yuan, but the man did not shy away from Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    "Ancestor, aren''t you afraid that I will be controlled by the divine energy?"

    "Of course I¡¯m afraid of that."

    "Then?"

    "What else can I do? All I can do is believe you, Little Seven. In your first life, you were able to live a carefree life, but in your second life, you took the heaviest burden of humanity upon yourself. There was no time when someone could have taken control of you, so you can act as you see fit. All I can do is support you as much as possible."

    Lu Yin felt his heart grow heavy. This was very simr to what Ancestor Lu Tianyi had said. The Lu family was Lu Yin¡¯s strongest support. He had done his best to bring his Lu family back, and they refused to let him down.

    "I understand, Ancestor," Lu Yin said.

 Chapter 2996: Departure

    <h4>Chapter 2996: Departure</h4>

    Ancestor Lu Yuan nodded and then coughed. "Just one quick question¡ªhow did you start cultivating divine energy?"

    Lu Yin replied, "It was by ident. I encountered some divine energy, and it entered my body."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan''s face twitched. He thought for a long time and then quietly said, "Don''t be so rash in the future."

    He then left and did not look back.

    Lu Yinughed, but as he watched Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s departing figure, he felt a heavy weight settle down on him.

    Lu Yin had admitted to cultivating divine energy willingly, and yet Ancestor Lu Yuan still allowed Lu Yin to remain free. The man had to be feeling a heavy burden of responsibility as well, and he was likely in a very bad mood at the moment.

    Lu Yuan returned to the Perennial World and immediately went to find Lu Tianyi, "Did you know that Little Seven has cultivated divine energy?"

    Lu Tianyi nodded calmly. "He told me."

    "What did you tell him?"

    "That we trust him."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan held his head. "What a headache."

    Lu Tianyi turned to look at Ancestor Lu Yuan. "I really do trust him."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan sighed. "I don''t share your trust. You don''t understand the characteristics of True God¡¯s power at all. If it were so easy to break free from his control over all divine energy, why would Aeternus trust it so much? Divine energy is not merely a form of power, but also a form of belief."

    "Then what do you want to do about this, Ancestor?" Lu Tianyi stared at Lu Yuan.

    The older man shook his head. "Keep an eye on Little Seven. If he shows any signs of being controlled by divine energy, then capture him. My Lu family will be responsible for all of his actions. At worst, our family will take care of him for the rest of his life, and we will keep him in the Lu Sanctum."

    "He likes his freedom."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment. "If ites to be a matter of life or death, then all of us will die before him, and he will be free once more."

    As Lu Tianyi observed Ancestor Lu Yuan, he realized that the man had visibly aged.

    Half a month passed. During this time, Lu Yin went to speak with Arch-Elder Zen, and he asked the man to join him on his journey to visit parallel universes. At the same time, Lu Yin had decided who would be going with him. The first party member he decided upon was the jiao, which would serve as Lu Yin¡¯s mount. Additionally, Jiang Chen would join, and Lu Yin decided to take the Ghost Monkey as well. Ghost Monkey was able to hide in the shadows, and not even a peak powerhouse would notice the monkey without paying careful attention. Ghost Monkey was also not weak. After he received some of Progenitor Wushang¡¯s memories and power, it was possible that Ghost Monkey might try to be a Progenitor after this journey.

    One more person should go, and Lu Yin thought for a long time and considered many people before finally settling on someone: Zhao Ran.

    This journey would likely be dangerous, and it would take a great deal of time. It would not be bad to have a beautiful maid who could brew some delicious tea tag along. More importantly, Destina¡¯s fate made it so that Lu Yin did not dare to leave Zhao Ran behind. If she remained behind in the Heavens Sect, given her vague connection to Destiny, it was possible that something might happen, and that could create difficulties for the Heavens Sect.

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi could not guard the Heavens Sect at all times, so Lu Yin would take this particr uncertainty along with him. This would pose some level of danger to Lu Yin himself, but he would rather keep Zhao Ran where he could keep an eye on her than leave her in the Heavens Sect.

    As for Arch-Elder Zen, given his cultivation, his strength was only average most of the time. While his Progenitor¡¯s world could asionally create rather miraculous effects, it was useless against truly powerful foes. However, the Progenitor¡¯s strength transformed when he went all out. One of his streams of Ancestral Qi could summon Lu Tianyi, which meant that Arch-Elder Zen was able to call upon the strength of a Sequence Progenitor, which would stun any enemy no matter how powerful they might be.

    From everyone Lu Yin had selected, he only needed to await news from Jiang Chen.

    Jiang Chen, as well as Jiang Qingyue, were the Lord of Lightning¡¯s children, and both of them should have the means to protect themselves in a critical situation.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin decided to go to the Ice Spirit Domain and say goodbye to Yan''er.

    Lu Yin had cultivated for decades, and he had not spent very much time with Yan''er. Still, those days were representative of his ignorant youth, as well as the shock of love at first sight. She also represented the pain of life and death. Lu Yin had met many women, and what broke his heart the most was that the one whom he cared about the most and whom he could never let go of was Yan¡¯er.

    Lu Yin quickly tore through the void and arrived in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    The Ice Lord was expecting Lu Yin, and he quickly moved out to greet him.

    Lu Yin was led to the Iceheart, and he stared at it in a trance.

    The Ice Lord left, not speaking or bothering Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the Iceheart, his eyes filled withplicated emotions.

    How many people had apanied him throughout the unknown first half of his life? Regardless of whether he had been poor, rich, young or old, or even nearly dead from illness, those people would have never left, and there had always been someone with Lu Xiaoxuan whenever he had been the loneliest. Despite that, the smile and the face that he wanted to see the most was the one that he could not.

    To beforted after waking from a nightmare, to receive some warm porridge when he was hungry, to enjoy the asional drink or dance to a song¡ªthis was all Lu Yin really wanted from life, and he felt that it was enough for him.

    Lu Yin did not actually have grand desires. He had always pursued the most ordinary life, but that consisted of the return of the Lu family, peace for humanity, and having a wife by his side with whom he could raise many children. These might be the simplest of wishes, but often, the simplest were the most difficult to achieve.

    It seemed that this was also aw of the universe. The more powerful a person was, the less they were capable of protecting those they cared for.

    As Lu Yin stood in front of the Iceheart and stared at it in a daze, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

    Finally, on the fourth day, a beautiful figure arrived, disrupting Lu Yin''s staring.

    "Brother Lu, you will meet your wife again one day," Jiang Qingyue said. She had been cultivating in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    Lu Yin let out a breath and gathered his thoughts before looking over at the woman. "Are you ready? Are you joining us on this trip?"

    Jiang Qingyue said, "Jiang Chen isn¡¯t able to go."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why not?"

    "My master said that Jiang Chen already wanders about various parallel universes all the time, and this trip is essentially just more of the same. For that reason, he isn¡¯t allowed to go, and he needs to stay back and cultivate with Master," Jiang Qingyue exined. Lu Yin was not sure if he was hearing things, but he could swear that he heard gloating in Jiang Qingyue¡¯s tone.

    "Your master? Kong Tianzhao?"

    "Mmhmm."

    "And what about you?"

    "Of course my young mistress is going! Aren¡¯t you happy?" Dragonturtle climbed up from behind Jiang Qingyue, flicking his tail as he shouted proudly.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. "Do you want to go back into solitary confinement?"

    Dragonturtle instantly pulled his head back. "I''m sorry, Young Mistress."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I didn¡¯t see youst time. Were you in solitary confinement?"

    Jiang Qingyue calmly replied, "Master said that he was being too cocky."

    Lu Yin looked back at Jiang Qingyue. "So you¡¯reing along on this journey with me?"

    Jiang Qingyue hesitated briefly before nodding. "I rarely visit parallel universes, aside from the Sixth Maind. Master has asked me to move around a bit more."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then everyone who¡¯s going has been decided. In that case, let''s head out.

    "Right, I want to leave something for the Ice Spirits before we go."

    Lu Yin went to find the Ice Lord and asked him for a few froststones.

    The Ice Lord grew excited, as he knew that Lu Yin was able to improve items. By asking for froststones, it was clear that Lu Yin wanted to Enhance them. Even if they did not reach the same level as the Iceheart, any improved froststones would greatly benefit the Iceheart. They could evenpensate for the losses caused by freezing the two people in the Iceheart.

    One dayter, Lu Yin handed four Enhanced froststones to the Ice Lord.

    When the Ice Spirit saw the four froststones surrounded by frozen mist, his breathing quickened. "Dao Monarch, so many?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t want anything to go wrong with the Iceheart."

    The Ice Lord said, "I understand that, but to improve these stones by so much... What price did you have to pay?"

    "A lot." Enhancing the four froststones had cost Lu Yin a total of 20 trillion star essence. There was no denying that it was a very steep price, but it was one that Lu Yin would dly pay if it meant protecting Yan¡¯er. He would much rather lose money than her, so he had decided to do what he could to protect the Iceheart.

    While none of the four froststones were as good as the Iceheart, they were more than enough to strengthen the Iceheart.

    It was not that Lu Yin did not want to Enhance the froststones to the same level as the Iceheart, but rather that, if he did, he could not predict how the Enhanced froststones would interact with the Iceheart. On top of that, there was no telling how the Ice Lord would react when faced with such temptation.

    Lu Yin would never underestimate human nature. People could be both good and evil, and that applied to all other creatures as well.

    Finally, Lu Yin had no idea what it would cost to Enhance a froststone to the same level as the Iceheart, or how many times he would need to improve such a froststone. It was possible that it would consume too many resources and ultimately be useless. Thus, Lu Yin did not want to suffer such waste.

    For the moment, what he had done would be enough.

    ...

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin stood beside Arch-Elder Zen, Jiang Qingyue, and a nk-faced Zhao Ran. Ghost Monkey was hiding in a shadow, and Dragonturtle was perched on Jiang Qingyue''s shoulder. As for the jiao, it was on top of Lu Yin''s shoulders. This was the entire group that would be making this trip with Lu Yin.

    He had already announced that he was going into seclusion, and he had never officially ended that seclusion. There had also been no hint as to how long Lu Yin might remain in seclusion.

    "Everyone, traveling to unknown parallel universes might be very dangerous, or this could just be an easy time. We really don¡¯t know. Still, thank you for apanying me." Lu Yin spoke slowly before solemnly bringing out thepass.

    In the shadow, Ghost Monkey grew excited, "If I can stay with you, Seventh Bro, I won''t be afraid even if we face mountains of swords and seas of fire. Seventh Bro, Little Monkey is willing to die for you."

    Arch-Elder Zen was rendered speechless. This monkey had lost his mind, and the way he ttered Lu Yin throughout the Heavens Sect was enough to make a person sick.

    From his perch atop Jiang Qingyue''s shoulder, Dragonturtle let out a disdainful sound.

    "Who? Who¡¯s challenging me?"

    Lu Yin raised the hand that held thepass and stared at the needle as he slowly tore through the void. Throughout the entire process, the needle never twitched. The jiao dropped down from Lu Yin¡¯s shoulders, and grew justrge enough to carry everyone present. The beast then shot into the spatial tear, and the exploration of unknown universes officially began.

    While this trip seemed to be to a distant location, they were not actually traveling that far, and they could return at any moment. More importantly, there was no way to know how much time would pass before they returned.

    And most important of all, they might run into Aeternals or outsider powerhouses who were antagonistic towards humans. This was the greatest uncertainty and danger that Lu Yin expected to meet during this journey.

    The jiao carried the group of people into the spatial tear, and they arrived in a parallel universe. This universe appeared to be perfectly ordinary, though a violent cosmic storm filled their entire line of sight.

    Lu Yin checked thepass and then ordered the jiao to travel in the direction the needle was indicating.

    The jiao grewrger as it charged through the cosmic storm. They quickly arrived at where the needle was indicating.

    They found a meteor field. There were strange astral beasts crouched in the distance, but they were nothing to worry about. Lu Yin held thepass, and a faint light emanated from it. The light slowly spread out and filled the area.

    "Qingyue, can you see the light?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head.

    Lu Yin turned to Arch-Elder Zen, but he was also unable to see the light.

    Lu Yin exhaled. It appeared that only people who could perceive sequence particles could see this light. This indicated that only sequence powerhouses could use thepass.

    "Let''s go!" Lu Yin shouted, and thepass dragged the jiao above the light with a powerful pull. It did not seem like they were traveling through the universe, but rather across multiple parallel universes. The sight of various parallel universes flickered by before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and they soon arrived in a new universe. They had not even needed to move, but they had already arrived in a new parallel universe.

 Chapter 2997: Getting Older

    <h4>Chapter 2997: Getting Older</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and his eyes snapped open as he stared into the void.

    Sure enough, the spatial lines of this universe were tougher than the Origin Universe¡¯s. They were about three timesrger, which meant that time passed three times faster in this universe than in the Origin Universe. This was indeed a parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate.

    Throughout the entire process, Arch-Elder Zen, Jiang Qingyue, and the others were at aplete loss.

    Lu Yin had no intention of exining anything. He had simply shared the targets that he was aiming for with them.

    "Time passes three times faster in this universe, so I need to train for a bit here. You can stay on top of the jiao or cultivate however you want in this universe," Lu Yin stated before leaving on his own.

    It was at this moment that Zhao Ran''s purpose was revealed. She immediately prepared some tea for Arch-Elder Zen to drink.

    Arch-Elder Zen felt quite rxed. He had been responsible for the entire Fifth Maind from when the Perennial World had split off until Lu Yin rose up. At the moment, Arch-Elder Zen did practically nothing for the Heavens Sect but asionally make an appearance and act like Lu Yin¡¯s thug. He had joined Lu Yin on this trip because the old man had been asked to do so by Lu Yin.

    Just as Arch-Elder Zen had promised when he had be a Progenitor, he had dedicated himself to paving the way for Lu Yin.

    Jiang Qingyue left the jiao; she and Dragonturtle went to explore the universe.

    Ghost Monkey was also driven away by Lu Yin, and he was ordered to either stay with the jiao or go explore on his own.

    Lu Yin''s goal was to receive the universe¡¯s acknowledgement, which meant that he first needed to get a clear picture of the universe. If it would take too long to be recognized by the universe, then there was no need to stick around. After all, time only passed by three times faster in this universe, which was very little.

    Just a few dayster, everyone gathered on the jiao¡¯s back. Lu Yin held thepass in his hand as he tore through the void and they left the universe. There was no life in the universe, which meant that it would take a very long time to receive its acknowledgement. For just a three second improvement in his Lightstream, it was not worth it. Lu Yin would continue and search for another universe.

    The same scene as before yed out; the jiao entered the spatial crack, determined its direction from thepass¡¯s needle, and then they were dragged along by thepass, following the light that led through the void. They soon arrived at another parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate.

    Time passed about twelve times faster in this universe, and after examining the universe, Lu Yin estimated that it would take him five years at most to be recognized by the universe. This was worth it.

    He stayed in the universe, and Jiang Qingyue officially arrived in an unknown universe and started training.

    Five yearster, Lightstream emerged from Lu Yin¡¯s body, and then he returned to the jiao. Jiang Qingyue had also returned, and she gave Lu Yin a questioning look.

    Lu Yin had never shared the reason why he was searching for universes where time flowed at different rates with any of hispanions. So, they had no idea why he had decided to stay in this universe for five years.

    "Your Highness, have some tea." Zhao Ran was very happy. By visiting an unknown parallel universe, she was able to gather unique flowers and prepare new teas, which delighted her.

    Lu Yin looked at the tea in the cup before him, which looked like flowingva. It appeared that Zhao Ran had also made some progress.

    He took a sip and found the tea to be a bit spicy, but filled with a sweet aftertaste. It was an oddbination of vors, but it inexplicably left people feeling refreshed after they had some. "Very nice."

    Zhao Ran was thrilled by thepliment. "Really? Then I''ll go pick some more red fruits."

    "What red fruits?" Lu Yin asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "Zhao Ran found a fruit that she used to make the tea that you just enjoyed, Dao Monarch. They are very good."

    Lu Yin nodded, not particrly concerned. He watched as Ghost Monkey took Zhao Ran to gather ingredients from a certain.

    They returned after just half a day. Then, Lu Yin held thepass in his hand and started guiding them towards their next universe.

    ...

    One yearter in the Origin Universe, Lu Yin received the acknowledgement of another universe. Time passed seventeen times faster in this universe, which meant that they had spent seventeen years in it.

    Seventeen years were enough for Zhao Ran to grow attached to the universe.

    Jiang Qingyue had be very familiar with the universe as well. She had learned where the best tasting fruits and vegetables could be found, where strange mountains stood, and which ces had the most beautiful scenery.

    To gain this universe¡¯s recognition, Lu Yin had spent seventeen years wandering around the universe. There were no animals in the universe, only nts. So, Lu Yin had to touch and observe every nt he came across.

    He had essentially gone on a sightseeing tour of the universe.

    During this period, he and Jiang Qingyue had also traveled together for nearly three years. If not for Dragonturtle calling that time their honeymoon, Jiang Qingyue would have never parted ways with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had also felt quite embarrassed. Dragonturtle''s mouth was too loose. He was even worse than Ghost Monkey.

    Ghost Monkey had also wanted to apany Lu Yin in sightseeing, but Lu Yin found the monkey too annoying.

    ...

    In what felt like the blink of an eye, three years had passed in the Origin Universe. However, nearly 100 years had passed for Lu Yin and his group as they traveled through different unknown universes where time flowed faster.

    During these 100 years, they never encountered any danger. The only time they had encountered an aggressive astral beast was when Zhao Ran had run into one. However, it had only been as strong as an Explorer, and Ghost Monkey had pped it away.

    Living through nearly 100 years of peace had also let Lu Yin feel much more rxed.

    Arch-Elder Zen also enjoyed their journey. The calmer things were, the morefortable he felt.

    Zhao Ran had managed to create at least twenty new kinds of tea. All of them were still strange looking, but they were absolutely delicious.

    Living such a life was the dream of many people.

    "Young Mistress, it¡¯s been so long, and yet you¡¯ve made no progress at all!" Everyone was enjoying some tea on the jiao¡¯s back, enjoying the sight of a distant waterfall. They were all quite rxed.

    Jiang Qingyue remained calm. "This is how cultivation works. Always fighting andpeting is not the only way to make progress."

    Arch-Elder Zen agreed. "To improve your cultivation, you not only need to improve yourbat power and your cultivation realm, but also your mentality. Being able to rx once in a while will provide you with tremendous benefits when you challenge your Progenitor¡¯s tribtion."

    Dragonturtle raised his short tail. "I''m talking about feelings!"

    Arch-Elder Zen froze, coughed, and then looked away.

    Jiang Qingyue arched a brow. "It sounds like you want me to send you back to Whitecloud."

    Dragonturtle immediately pulled his head back. "It¡¯s been so many years, but you still haven¡¯t made any progress at all! That Dao Monarch Lu is really a blockhead, eh?"

    "Who? Who¡¯s badmouthing Seventh Bro? Show yourself! I¡¯ll fight you to the death!" Ghost Monkey emerged from a shadow and red at Dragonturtle while cursing the little turtle.

    Dragonturtle rolled his eyes. "This stupid monkey is so noisy!"

    "You damn turtle! Step up! We¡¯re fighting!"

    "I''ll beat you to death with just my tail."

    "You have a tail? Where is it? Why can¡¯t I see it? Isn¡¯t that a little horn?"

    "You damn monkey! You need a beating!"

    "You damn turtle! If you dare to badmouth Seventh Bro again, I¡¯ll kill you and make you into stew!"

    "I won¡¯t argue," Jiang Qingyue interjected.

    Dragonturtle wilted. "Young Mistress, I¡¯m doing this for your own good!"

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Three years had passed in the Origin Universe, but he had experienced nearly 100 years. It was amazing how time could change.

    "Brother Lu, how long will this tripst for?" Jiang Qingyue asked. Her question instantly silenced Dragonturtle and Ghost Monkey¡¯s argument.

    Even Arch-Elder Zen looked over.

    Lu Yin replied, "I don''t know, but I¡¯m going to keep going. I probably won¡¯t go back anytime soon."

    As he spoke, he felt something inside. "What''s wrong?"

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "Nothing."

    Ghost Monkey moved closer. "Seventh Bro, she¡¯s getting older."

    "You damn monkey! Don''t insult my young mistress!" Dragonturtle leaped forward.

    Ghost Monkey rolled his eyes. "What¡¯s wrong with getting married when you¡¯re a bit older?"

    Dragonturtle was stunned for a moment, but then he vigorously shook his head. "Absolutely! You¡¯re right! I have no objection! Young Mistress, you¡¯re getting older."

    Jiang Qingyue''s expression turned ugly. She was basically the same age as when their journey had started. After all, for cultivators, 1,000 or even 10,000 years old was not considered old.

    Lu Yin casually threw the two beasts away, and things grew quiet.

    "It can sometimes be very dangerous to visit an unknown universe. Jiang Chen was right when he mentioned that, just because things are safe for a time, it does not mean that things will stay safe. This is especially true since I¡¯m searching for universes where time moves faster. I¡¯ve heard that many outsider powerhouses treat these universes as resources and currency. If we keep searching, we¡¯ll definitely run into an outsider powerhouse at some point.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue thought for a bit. "Father has mentioned that Astral Anura''s favorite thing is parallel universes where time flows differently. If we run into that toad, you and I won''t even be able to escape."

    Lu Yinughed. "It''s not that big a deal¡ªAstral Anura likes to do business. All we need to do is tempt him enough, and he¡¯ll leave us alone."

    Jiang Qingyue gave a small smile. "I hope that we can meet Astral Anura."

    Lu Yin smiled.

    Arch-Elder Zen regretted his life. When he had been as young as these two, forget a creature like Astral Anura, he had not been able to interact with even Progenitors. When the Perennial World split off from the Fifth Maind, thest Progenitor that Arch-Elder Zen had encountered was Lu Tianyi, as Nutjob Lu did not count.

    Times had changed things drastically, and it was wonderful to be young.

    Over the course of 100 years, Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream had improved to the point where he could now see 165 seconds into the past. However, the further back in time Lu Yin was able to see, the more certain he became that this was not Lightstream¡¯s true purpose. He should be able to use it for something else.

    However, because Lightstream still had not improved enough, Lu Yin was unable to confirm his suspicions. He needed to improve his ability to look back through time even further.

    ...

    The jiaonded. Lu Yin and his group had arrived in a new parallel universe, and the time in this one also flowed faster.

    However, all of them were stunned by the sight that met them upon entering the universe.

    Ahead of them were sevennd masses stacked on top of each other to create what looked like a tower standing tall in the universe.

    Each continent was smaller than the one below, and Lu Yin and the others clearly saw everything because of how far away they were.

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had never seen such a thing in any of the parallel universes he had visited before. There were no stars ors, only seven continents that were stacked on top of each other. It was a somewhat simr arrangement to the Lower Realm, Middle Realm, and Higher Realm of the Perennial World.

    The universe was not particrlyrge, and Lu Yin could observe the entire thing with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    At the same time, Lu Yin clearly saw the spatial lines of the universe; they were nearly eighty times tougher the Origin Universe¡¯s.

    Lu Yin''s breath quickened. Eighty times! Time flowed eighty times faster in this universe. This was the most that Lu Yin had seen anywhere other than the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s universes.

    This was an absolute treasure.

    Lu Yin stared at the sevennd masses, and as he did so, his expression gradually fell. There were humans in this universe.

    Thus far in his journey, Lu Yin had not encountered humans in any of the parallel universes that he had visited. There were countless parallel universes throughout the megaverse, and the chances of entering a parallel universe that was inhabited by humans was not particrly high. Furthermore, Lu Yin was deliberately targeting universes where time flowed at different speeds, and that further lowered the chances of meeting other humans.

    In this universe, there were humans. Unfortunately, the humans of this universe did not live good lives.

    "Everyone, restrain your auras. Jiao, shrink down. We¡¯re going to visit those continents," Lu Yin ordered. By this point, his expression was livid.

    Arch-Elder Zen understood that there was something very wrong in this universe to make Lu Yin to be so upset, and the old man¡¯s expression grew solemn.

    Jiang Qingyue turned to look into the distance. While she was not able to see that far because shecked Heaven¡¯s Sight, she did cultivate aura energy. The feeling that she received from the seven continents was very dark and depressing.

 Chapter 2998: The Seven-Star Mantis

    <h4>Chapter 2998: The Seven-Star Mantis</h4>

    The jiao soon arrived at the lowestndmass.

    A dim light covered thend, and cities and viges could be seen scattered across thend. It looked quite normal, but as the jiao passed by the settlements, the expressions of Arch-Elder Zen and Jiang Qingyue fell, and even Ghost Monkey and Dragonturtle grew upset.

    This ce was not a continent, but rather a hell.

    The humans living on this continent were not living in these settlements, but instead fleeing for their lives. They were all being chased by creatures that looked very simr to praying mantises. The creatures were all at different levels of strength, and the more powerful ones would destroy the cities, while the weaker ones would go after the viges. Lu Yin and his group watched with their own eyes as the mantises hunted and killed the humans for pleasure. They deliberately killed thest person to escape, and they only killed one person at a time. The people at the front were able to escape without any problem, as only thest person to escape would be killed.

    This was not a massacre or a ughter, but a game. Humans were being forced to y a game of survival.

    The humans were permitted to resist, and there were people who fought back and even killed the mantises, but whenever that happened, a more powerful mantis would soon appear and take over the role of hunter in the survival game.

    Everyone with Lu Yin clearly saw how, close to every human settlement, there was also arge group of mantises eager to attack. Seeing their own kind killed by the humans only further excited the mantises, and more of them would go out to ughter humans. Regardless of whether the mantises killed or were killed in return, all the death excited them.

    They were a revolting species of astral beast.

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes grew cold, and she was unable to resist attacking and eliminating an entire group of the mantises. Unfortunately, there were so many of them spread across the seven continents that it was impossible to even count them.

    None of the people living in this ce had any idea just how many praying mantises were staying out of sight, just waiting to join the game. Killing a mantis gave people hope, which simply transformed into despair with a bit more time. This survival game forced people into true desperation, and it was impossible for the humans to ever defeat their conquerors.

    Lu Yin let the jiao move upwards towards the sixth continent, where they found the same situation as on the lowestndmass. The only difference was that there were fewer mantises and the humans¡¯ situation was not quite so desperate. Still, the death game was also being yed on the sixth continent, and humans were being ughtered everywhere.

    The same was simrly true of the fifth, fourth, and third continents. Only on the second continent did the ughter stop.

    Lu Yin and his group clearly understood that everyone from the bottom to the top of the tower of continents were part of a game of death. They were all able to protect themselves and kill the mantises, but there was also another option open to them, which was to climb to a higher continent. Each continent was a bit better than the one below, and the people who were capable of ascending were not weaklings, but rather those capable of fighting back against the mantises.

    Whenever someone arrived at the second continent, they no longer needed to participate in the survival game. The game did not exist on that continent.

    This stack ofndmasses seemed to be arranged with the same philosophy of raising gu. It looked as though the mantises were specifically trying to rear strong humans.

    The second continent was nothing less than a paradise, and it was entirely different from the lower continents.

    The people who lived on the second continent still wanted to ascend further and reach the first continent, as there were legends that the first continent held wonderful food, wine, beauties, and more things that they would otherwise never be able to enjoy. The treasures of the first continent were enough to tempt anyone.

    The people of the secondndmass were free from the survival game, but that did not satisfy them. They wanted more, and they wanted to pursue greaterforts and pleasures. They had been cursed by their ascension of the continents, as they had developed a habit of wanting to climb higher and further.

    As for the topndmass, Lu Yin and the others were able to see that it was where the real game began. There was a mantis there with the strength of a Progenitor, and it hunted any and all humans who managed to ascend to the first continent. There were no survivors. There was too vast a gap of strength between a creature with the strength of a Progenitor and the human cultivators.

    This game allowed the humans to escape from death to life, but then it would force them from life back to death. They rose to heaven from hell, and then were cast back into hell.

    This was the cruelest game imaginable, as people were given hope, only to be plunged back into despair.

    This game tested human nature. It was clear to all that they could live and enjoy a good life on the second continent, but people were not satisfied with that, and they wanted to climb higher.

    No one had ever returned from the first continent, but as far as the upants of the second continent were concerned, why would anyone return when they had every pleasure imaginable on the first continent?

    This kind of thinking had already be the standard for most people in the seven continents of the universe, and it was also why they feltpelled to rise up to the first continent.

    "Seven-Star Mantis!" Still on the jiao¡¯s back, Jiang Qingyue mentioned a name, her expression solemn.

    Neither Lu Yin nor Arch-Elder Zen had ever heard of this name before. "Seven-Star Mantis? Qingyue, do you know what these creatures are?"

    Jiang Qingyue answered in a low voice, "The Seven-Star Mantis is an outsider powerhouse, but one that enjoys manipting the desires of other living creatures. Regardless of whether one is a human, astral beast, or even a nt, as long as they have thoughts and desires, the Seven-Star Mantis will enjoy manipting them. It¡¯s one of Aeternus¡¯s allies.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. He had not seen any mantises among the outsider powerhouses that had appeared to help defend the Scourge.

    "How strong is the Seven-Star Mantis?" Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Dragonturtle was umonly serious. "Very. While my Whitecloud City has never fought it, we know of several outsider powerhouses who have been killed by it. This guy excels at using its de-like arms, and it is also incredibly fast. Master once mentioned that the Seven-Star Mantis can move at the speed of time."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. It was the power of time yet again. The moment he had started to interact with sequence powerhouses, the powers of time and space no longer seemed as mysterious anymore, as anyone with that level of strength could interact with those powers.

    However, this did not mean that the powers of time or space were by any means weak. On the contrary, it was precisely because of the power that time and space held that they were so valued by sequence powerhouses. This also made those two powers more focused upon.

    Undying God had managed to repeatedly escape by skipping time, while the Seven-Star Mantis was able to move at the speed of time. Lu Yin did not even understand what sort of speed that was.

    Jiang Qingyue looked at the first continent. "Father wanted to deal with the Seven-Star Mantis a long time ago, but he held back. He didn''t want to start a war with Aeternus, and he also wasn¡¯t sure that he could instantly deal with the mantis, so he didn¡¯t attack it. The monster is very sensitive, and any time it encounters an opponent like Father, who¡¯s too strong for the mantis, it escapes. It¡¯s very difficult to kill.

    "Father was also afraid that he might force it to fully side with the Aeternals."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "This Seven-Star Mantis hasn''tpletely allied with Aeternus?"

    Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "It¡¯s helped the Aeternals before, but it¡¯s different from Jing Zhe. The Seven-Star Mantis helped the Aeternals because it lost a bet. There was a bet regarding the desires of human nature.

    "The mantis likes to manipte desires, and the greater the intelligence of its target, the greater its pleasure. For that reason, its favorite pastime is to manipte human desires. It also sees the Aeternals as humans, but what kind of desires can a corpse king have? However,pared to the Seven-Star Mantis, the Aeternals have a far better understanding of human nature, and because of that, it¡¯s lost several wagers, which is why it¡¯s only helped the Aeternals a few times. Still, Whitcloud City views this mantis as one of the Aeternals¡¯ allies.¡±

    Dragonturtle sighed. "We can''t let it join us either, because of how it likes to manipte human desires. It only enjoys that and killing. That¡¯s why Master wanted to get rid of the monster rather than win it over. This beast is impossible to have as an ally."

    Lu Yin stared at the seven continents. Did this mantis like to manipte human desires? That was precisely what the seven continents of this universe were doing. The bottomndmasses brought out true human nature, while the top continent tested human desires. In the end, almost every decision the humans could make would result in their deaths. It was truly pitiful.

    Beasts were beasts. If humanscked desires, how could they have emotions? How could there be any motivation to grow and develop? Desires were not wrong to have. After all, the desire to survive was a basic instinct of all creatures.

    "So it likes to toy with people¡¯s desires and y them to death? I want to see just how this mantis begs when it faces its own death," Lu Yin muttered to himself. His voice was soft, but his words were incredibly cold.

    Dragonturtle was startled. "You don''t need to fight it, and you¡¯re better off not even trying. Master said that this mantis can move at the speed of time, and he wasn¡¯t exaggerating. Even if the mantis isn¡¯t a sequence powerhouse itself, the fact that it can move faster than such powerhouses makes it an even greater challenge.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "It isn¡¯t a sequence powerhouse?"

    Jiang Qingyue answered, "No, and that''s exactly why it¡¯s so afraid of meeting Father. Regardless of whether someone is the mantis¡¯s enemy or not, any time a sequence powerhouse appears, it will run away. What¡¯s more, no one has ever managed to find itsir. I didn¡¯t expect us to randomly stumble upon it."

    "It would be best to report this to Master and ask him to deal with it. That would be the safest," Dragonturtle suggested.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. "Father is already dealing with the Ancient Lightning Locust, so I have no idea when he¡¯ll be free. It might be a very long time."

    "Since it''s not a sequence powerhouse, there''s nothing to worry about. If it¡¯s fast, then we just need to dig its grave first." Lu Yin¡¯s tone was vicious.

    Everything he had seen on the seven continents had roused his anger and bloodlust. Regardless of whether the Seven-Star Mantis was one of Aeternus¡¯s allies, even if it was an ally of the Sixverse Association, it still needed to die.

    Lu Yin¡¯s words made it clear to Jiang Qingyue that she would not be able to stop him from trying to deal with the mantis, but she also had no intention of even trying to stop him. Anyone who had witnessed the hellscape on these seven continents would want to kill the mantis.

    The only question was how to go about doing that.

    The jiao wandered across the continents again.

    "The Seven-Star Mantis is not here right now, or else it would have discovered the jiao the moment it approached the continents," Jiang Qingyuemented.

    They discussed things for a bit and decided to set a trap for the Seven-Star Mantis based on its desires and habits. To begin with, they could not fight it in the universe that they were in, as the battle would kill everyone on the seven continents.

    Lu Yin had Ghost Monkey go across the seven continents to spread rumors. He was to tell people that he had discovered a parallel universe with many other humans in it, as that would draw the Seven-Star Praying Mantis¡¯s attention when it learned of those rumors. Jiang Qingyue worked with Ghost Monkey, while Lu Yin and the others started searching for a parallel universe that could be used toy a trap for the Seven-Star Mantis. They would also need to take a group of people to that universe.

    "The rumors can¡¯t spread too quickly. I¡¯m sure that at least a few people on the second continent have already realized the reality of this ce, and they have chosen not to ascend to the first continent. All of those people have to be under the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s observation, which means that they¡¯re the best way to get the rumors to the mantis. Don¡¯t worry about taking too long. Time passes eighty times faster in this universe, so we have plenty of time to work with,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Jiang Qingyue replied, "We don''t know when the Seven-Star Mantis will return, so there¡¯s no need to be in a hurry."

    "Seventh Bro, you have to keep an eye on Little Monkey at all times! Little Monkey doesn''t want to die!" Ghost Monkey wailed. He was going to move about in the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s territory, and if that creature waved its des just once, Ghost Monkey would die.

    Dragonturtle looked down upon the monkey. "Coward!"

    Ghost Monkey instantly jumped up. "You damn turtle! Your shell is so hard, I bet that that mantis can¡¯t do anything to you. But how can I be like you? You are a coward and a turtle."

    "That''s Ancestor Tortoise, not this Dragonturtle!" Dragonturtle snapped back.

    Jiang Qingyue shouted, "Just shut up and go!"

    Dragonturtle red at Ghost Monkey and then headed towards the second continent with Jiang Qingyue.

 Chapter 2999: Probing

    <h4>Chapter 2999: Probing</h4>

    Ghost Monkey also wanted to go to the second continent, as he felt that that was the safest ce in this universe. Unfortunately, he was threatened by Lu Yin, who said that, while the second continent was safest, it was also definitely being watched by the Seven-Star Mantis. This terrified Ghost Monkey, and he instead went to visit the third continent.

    Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen separated to search for a nearby parallel universe. This was not an easy task, as searching for universes required one to travel around. This meant that the people of the seven continents should not be able to find any parallel universe at all. Thus, they also needed to craft a reasonable excuse.

    Five years quickly passed in the universe.

    At the top of the stack of continents, the killing game continued.

    Arge mantis waved one of its des, and the expression of the human in front of the beast contorted in fear. Not a word was spoken before the mantis chopped the man to pieces.

    The mantis mmed its des against each other, which let out a pleasant ringing sound as the beast nced around.

    There were more mantises everywhere, and far away was one that radiated a terrifying pressure. That was the Progenitor-level mantis that Lu Yin and the others had first noticed.

    There was only one such mantis in the entire universe, which indicated that the Seven-Star Mantis had not returned yet.

    Dozens of humans were surrounded by arge number of mantises. They pressed in together tightly as they looked around, their despair mounting. Some of the people were missing arms or legs, and blood trickled away from the small group. The eyes of the mantises turned red.

    "So the rumors were actually true. This is the ce of death."

    "If I had known, I would have nevere. I should have listened to those people."

    "They¡¯re beasts. They¡¯re nothing but beasts! If you want to kill us, we¡¯ll take you down with us! Come on! Let¡¯s go!"

    Crazed roars apanied desperate howls as people struggled against death. All of these sounds only served to arouse the mantises¡¯ excitement even more.

    They loved to watch humans right before they died. The beasts could never get enough of the sight.

    The furthest mantis, which was the Progenitor-level beast, excitedly raised one of its des before suddenly dropping it down and slicing through the void. Its attack shot forward, cutting through a number of mantises as it approached the group of people.

    All of them died before they could even react.

    For the mantis, even killing its own kind was entertaining.

    The Progenitor-level mantis excitedly ughtered other creatures. Its des were extremely sharp, and they reflected its vicious and terrifying face.

    The top continent was stained with blood, and the scent of it filled the air.

    One attack left only a few humans still alive, and they trembled with fear.

    They were surrounded by a group of giant mantises, and the beasts¡¯ shadows fell over the people. As they looked up, they saw blood-stained des and ferocious faces with sharp pincers.

    Some of the people lost their minds, and they started cackling wildly as they were cut down by the des, split from head to toe.

    "No, no! I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die! I can still live! Please don''t kill me! Don''t kill me-" someone begged, but the des still fell, cutting him to pieces.

    All eyes then focused on thest living human. His eyes were dull as they flickered around. He not only took in the numerous mantises which surrounded him, but also their blood-stained des and the corpses that covered the ground. The blood that had pooled together flowed away in a stream, visibly traumatizing the man.

    The mantises did not attack the man, though their des moved closer and closer to him. This was another form of entertainment, and it was their favorite form of pleasure. In every round of the killing game, thest person to die gave the beasts their greatest enjoyment, because thest person always disyed the greatest fear.

    The more fearful a person was, the less predictable they would be. There was no telling what sort of act of desperation they would take, and those final struggles to survive were what the mantises looked forward to most.

    This man''s legs were already weak, and he slumped to the ground, unable to even stand. His body syed out along the ground, and he trembled as he muttered something to himself.

    All around the man was the mantises¡¯ strangeughter, and it sounded like a nightmare. He had heard this sound too many times as he ascended to the second continent. It was a sound that had always woken him from his sleep. He had thought that reaching the second continent would erase those nightmares, but he had instead climbed higher and been confronted with an even crueler game than the one that he had survived before.

    <i>Why is this happening? Why is the world this way?</i> If the man had known the truth, he definitely would have stayed on the second continent. He should have listened to those people. There was clearly a ce of escape, but he had not wanted to stay there. He had wanted to live.

    "I can escape! I can escape!" His voice continued. He had clearly lost his mind.

    When a mantis raised a de, it would soon fall, and then they would quickly start their next game.

    Suddenly, the sharp de swept out, slicing through all the nearby mantises. The Progenitor-level beast had taken action.

    Its massive shadow fell upon the final survivor as the mantis slowly moved closer. Its triangr head moved close to the human, listening to his ranting.

    "I can escape! There are people in another parallel universe. They say that they can take us away from here, so I can escape. I should escape, hahahahaha! I want to escape, hahahaha..."

    The Progenitor-level mantis lifted its body, stepped forward, and with a bang, crushed the man into a puddle. It then red down at the second continent with cold eyes. A parallel universe with more humans? What a joke.

    Another ten years passed, and during these ten years, nothing seemed to have changed across the seven continents. However, there were voices spreading a rumor, and those voices were getting louder and louder. Now, the rumor was upying many people¡¯s thoughts.

    <i>Go to that parallel universe where there are more humans. There, it is possible to live free from these monsters.</i>

    <i>The top continent is simply hell. The only way we can survive is by escaping to the parallel universe.</i>

    No one knew when the rumors had started, but they had been circting for around ten years, and they had only grown stronger with time. The rumors had developed at a speed that even Jiang Qingyue and Ghost Monkey had not expected.

    It was as though there was something propelling the spread of the rumors, and that something was growing stronger.

    Lu Yin sat on the jiao¡¯s back as he stared down at the top continent. "That praying mantis wants to change the game."

    Arch-Elder Zenmented, "It already knows that people from a parallel universe have entered this universe to save these humans, but instead of stopping them, the mantises are pushing things forward. It looks like they want to treat the parallel universe as another second continent."

    "Games get boring after you¡¯ve yed them for too long, but a new game can be quite entertaining."

    "They are also very confident. There¡¯s no fear that this parallel universe will have a peak powerhouse."

    "No, there¡¯s fear." Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "It¡¯s because of that fear that the mantis hasn¡¯t tried to investigate that parallel universe. It¡¯s waiting for the Seven-Star Mantis to return. It¡¯s taking the safest option."

    "This altered game is its gift to the Seven-Star Mantis, while the beast can take the safe and stable path. That¡¯s what it wants."

    Fifteen years had passed since Lu Yin had first arrived in the universe. He had been waiting for fifteen years, and he intended to continue to do so.

    He would not leave this universe until the Seven-Star Mantis was dealt with.

    The Aeternals were trying their best to recruit outside allies, while Lu Yin was doing his best to eliminate all of Aeternus¡¯s allies. Jing Zhe would certainly not be thest one, and neither would the Seven-Star Mantis.

    Finally, after Lu Yin and the others had spent thirty years in the universe, they felt their hearts skip a beat.

    All of them nced at the uppermost continent, and Lu Yin felt a flicker of fear. It was clear that the Seven-Star Mantis had returned.

    "Call Qingyue and Ghost Monkey back. We¡¯ve alreadyid the trap, so we just need to wait for them to take the bait," Lu Yin said as he moved in a particr direction. That was where the parallel universe that he had found connected to the current universe.

    There were people in that other universe, though they were all humans that Lu Yin had taken from the seven continents over the years.

    The mantises were unable to differentiate between humans, and they could not even tell the difference between corpse kings and normal people.

    While the Progenitor-level mantis had never visited the parallel universe, it had sent weaker mantises to verify that humans lived there.

    Lu Yin and others entered that universe and then waited for another three years. During these three years, more mantises were sent to investigate the universe, but the inhabitants had been taught by Lu Yin and the others, which meant that they were far, far stronger than the humans of the seven continents.

    This only served to convince the mantises that the parallel universe was inhabited by humans not from those of their own universe.

    Finally, after a total of thirty-five years passed, the Progenitor-level mantis finally entered the parallel universe.

    Jiang Qingyue stepped forward. "It¡¯s mine."

    This had been decided long before.

    When Lu Yin had first seen Jiang Qingyue in the Sixth Maind, she had only been an Envoy, but since then, both she and Jiang Chen had broken through, and they had both be Semi-Progenitors.

    Jiang Qingyue mostly cultivated in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, where time passed 100 times faster than in most universes. Lu Yin had no idea how long the woman had spent in that universe, and he did not ask her. It was impolite to ask about things like age.

    However, the fact that she had broken through and reached the Semi-Progenitor level indicated that it had not been a short amount of time.

    Bing a Semi-Progenitor meant a qualitative change in power. Lu Yin had no idea what Whitecloud City referred to the cultivation realm as, though he was very curious to see just how strong Jiang Qingyue had be.

    This would be her first real battle since apanying Lu Yin on his journey, and she was ying the part of the ruler of the human universe that had been rescuing humans from the mantises.

    Upon seeing Jiang Qingyue, the Progenitor-level mantis was surprised and grew uncertain. This was not a peak powerhouse. "Human, who are you?"

    Jiang Qingyue''s eyes grew cold as she raised her sword and pointed it at the mantis. "Leave!"

    The Progenitor-level mantis tipped its triangr head to the side. "Are you the strongest person in this universe?"

    "I told you, leave!" Jiang Qingyue was deliberately acting tough. She was following Lu Yin¡¯s instructions, though she said very little and maintained a cold demeanor.

    The Progenitor-level mantis made a move, and a de shed out, tearing through the void as the de sliced downwards. It had been ordered to investigate the universe by the Seven-Star Mantis.

    At the same time, Jiang Qingyue attacked. Not even a shadow of her snow-white sword could be seen. There was only the spatial cracks created by the impact of the two des.

    de met de, but Jiang Qingyue was forced to retreat. The Progenitor-level mantis¡¯s eyes flickered with a cold light, and it unfurled its wings. In an instant, its speed spiked. des kept shing, as it attempted to overwhelm Jiang Qingyue.

    Lu Yin frowned. If not for Dragonturtle hiding in Jiang Qingyue''s sleeves, Lu Yin would not have been able to resist getting involved.

    It was very difficult for a Semi-Progenitor to be a Realmbreaker. While Lu Yin could do it, and so could his senior brothers Qing Ping, Mu Xie, and Mu Ke, that did not mean that it was easy. On the contrary, it showed Mister Mu¡¯s stringent disciple-selection criteria. After all this time long, Lu Yin was only barely able to determine that Mister Mu was at least on the same level as the Great Sovereign, which meant that he was even more powerful than the Lord of Lightning.

    While Jiang Qingyue was the daughter of the Lord of Lightning, that did not mean that she was as powerful as Mister Mu¡¯s disciples.

    The mantis¡¯s assault forced Jiang Qingyue to continuously retreat, though there was no fear in her eyes. Her expression betrayed the same determination and fearlessness that Lu Yin had seen when he had first met her. A purplish-ck substance continued to spread across her body, and that gave Jiang Qingyue the ability to fight back against the mantis¡¯s des.

    Whitecloud City had never fought against the Seven-Star Mantis, let alone this Progenitor-level mantis. So, the creature had no idea what the purplish-ck substance that had covered Jiang Qingyue was. All the beast knew was that Jiang Qingyue''s sword had suddenly be more powerful.

    The universe was constantly being sliced apart.

    Jiang Qingyue was barely able to fight back against the Progenitor-level mantis, though it was clear that she would eventually be defeated, unless she had some other form of strength that she had kept hidden.

    The Origin Universe¡¯s Semi-Progenitors all had inner worlds, but what was Jiang Qingyue relying on?

    This battle was far from over.

 Chapter 3000: Speed Comparable To Time

    <h4>Chapter 3000: Speed Comparable To Time</h4>

    Jiang Qingyue soon made her escape, following the n that they had agreed upon in advance. After all, if she did not escape, how would they lure the Seven-Star Mantis in?

    The Progenitor-level mantis chased after her, and it was shockingly fast, but Jiang Qingyue was far from slow. Given that she also had Dragonturtle¡¯s help, the mantis was unable to catch up, and it eventually gave up.

    It explored the entire universe, but it found that Jiang Qingyue was the only human present who could fight back.

    The beast took several days to make certain that there were no peak powerhouses in the universe before being satisfied with what it had discovered and returning to its own universe.

    Their next visitor should be the Seven-Star Mantis.

    Jiang Qingyue returned to Lu Yin, her breathing heavy.

    Lu Yin looked at her. "How was it?"

    Jiang Qingyue clenched the hilt of her sword. "I will deal with it."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. The mantis¡¯s strength was very focused. While it had the destructive power of a true Progenitor, it could note close to any of the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors who had faced multiple stellr tribtions on their path to power and who all possessed a Progenitor¡¯s world. Still, the mantis would not be easily defeated by a Semi-Progenitor.

    Jiang Qingyue still had a trump card that she had kept hidden. That was good.

    "It won¡¯t be long before the next battle," Lu Yin muttered to himself.

    Just half a monthter, the Progenitor-level mantis returned. It appeared to be searching for Jiang Qingyue, but when it failed to find her, it returned.

    After another month passed, the mantis returned. It visited again and again, until Lu Yin and the others grew practically numb to its visits. Only after more than half a year passed did Lu Yin suddenly feel a sh of danger that caused his heart to skip a beat.

    He stared across the universe with Heaven¡¯s Sight and saw that a truly enormous mantis had arrived. It looked quite simr to the Progenitor-level mantis, though this one was more than ten timesrger and radiated a terrifying pressure.

    "Here we go." Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn.

    The jiao''s ws extended, but not because it wanted to attack. It felt threatened.

    Despite not being a sequence powerhouse, the Seven-Star Mantis still possessed enough strength to draw Aeternus¡¯s attention, and even the Lord of Lightning found the mantis a difficult opponent. There had to be something special about the bug.

    The Seven-Star Mantis stared forward with its triangr head. The Progenitor-level mantis appeared behind therger beast. It was clear that the two weremunicating, but Lu Yin and the others were too far away to hear anything. Even if they were closer, they might not be able to understand anything that was said.

    Jiang Qingyue revealed her aura energy, which caused the Seven-Star Mantis to instantly look over at her. The Progenitor-level mantis also sensed Jiang Qingyue, and it spread its wings before shooting through the void.

    Jiang Qingyue stepped forward, her sword in her hand already shing out.

    The Progenitor-level mantis released a strangeugh as it stared at her with its narrow eyes. It was a look that would give anyone the chills, especially as it shed at Jiang Qingyue with its two des. There was a bang as the attack flew at Jiang Qingyue, and the Progenitor-level mantis shot towards her even faster.

    Lu Yin focused entirely on the Seven-Star Mantis. This creature showed no intention of moving any closer, though it continued to stare at Jiang Qingyue.

    Many peak powerhouses were extremely cautious individuals. Without such caution, they would not have survived this long.

    Old Mo had that trait, and so too did the Seven-Star Mantis.

    Lu Yin observed the spatial lines, moved along them, and attacked.

    Seven-Star Mantis was still staring at Jiang Qingyue¡¯s battle against the Progenitor-level mantis, but it suddenly tilted its head to the side. Right after that, Lu Yin appeared. He had disguised himself to prevent the Seven-Star Mantis from recognizing him, and the fact that Lu Yin clearly was not a peak powerhouse meant that the Seven-Star Mantis would not sense a deadly threat and not immediately try to escape.

    Things proceeded exactly as Lu Yin had predicted. While the Seven-Star Mantis was cautious, it would not run from a mere Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin held a long sword in one hand, and he attacked the mantis with it. This was the Twelfth Sword.

    The sh shot straight for the Seven-Star Mantis, but the beast just casually waved its own des and sliced Lu Yin¡¯s attack apart. The mantis then opened its wings. It instantly appeared right in front of Lu Yin, a de raised high and falling down.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was enormous, and it gave off an intimidating pressure.

    The mantis¡¯s natural de fell, glittering with a cold light that made even Lu Yin wary.

    A purplish-ck substance spread across his body as his sword rose back up. There was a loud bang, and Lu Yin was sent retreating. This surprised him.

    As expected of an ally of Aeternus, the Seven-Star Mantis was not any weaker than Lu Yin with his Wielder - Invincible battle force. If he wanted to rely on physical might to win, he would need to use Infinity as well.

    Lu Yin was surprised, but the Seven-Star Mantis was equally surprised. It had never encountered a non-peak powerhouse who could match its des. No human nor any other creature had ever been capable of this.

    This human was incredibly powerful.

    "Human, you must be the strongest person in this universe," the Seven-Star Mantis spoke in a harsh voice.

    Lu Yin clenched the hilt of his sword and pointed the de at the mantis. "You are the most powerful beast in your own universe."

    "<i>Chirp,</i> you picked the wrong opponent! You¡¯re lucky, as you can just bring some others to have fun with this game. <i>Chirp!</i>" The mantis¡¯s des then fell again, and Lu Yin was forced to bring his full strength to bear to counter the blow.

    The mantis¡¯s shes repeatedly forced Lu Yin back, and the Seven-Star Mantis advanced step by step, fully assured of its victory.

    There was a loud bang as the sword de broke.

    The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s natural des shed sideways, the attack was so sharp that itpletely severed the void. This attack wouldpletely overwhelm Lu Yin, given the strength that he had revealed so far.

    Lu Yin let out a deep shout as he turned his broken sword sideways and shed it to the side. The attack struck the broken sword, and Lu Yin should have gone flying. However, he firmly grasped the back of the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s de, and at that same moment, a finger attacked the mantis from behind.

    The Seven-Star Mantis whipped around to see Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Tianyi, who was formed from the Progenitor¡¯s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. However, this finger attack was using Lu Tianyi''s Law of Undoing.

    Given Lu Tianyi''s strength, even if a sequence powerhouse tried to block this attack, they might not be able to seed. This finger was the killing move that Lu Yin had prepared for the Seven-Star Mantis.

    He himself had been nothing more than bait to distract the Seven-Star Mantis and create an opening for Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Tianyi dropped his fingers, one after another. They pierced the void, each attack shooting at the mantis with stunning speed, only to stop. Lu Yin stared, but the attacks were unable to move any closer to the mantis. It was as though the beast was simply out of reach, and no matter how fast the attacks moved, they would nevernd. Lu Yin felt as though he was somehow out of phase with the universe itself.

    By the time Lu Yin realized what was happening, he was far away from where he had been standing, and Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s attack that Arch-Elder Zen had just released was still frozen in ce in the distance.

    A tremendous power twined around the mantis¡¯s des as they attacked Lu Yin, and he quickly released his grip and retreated. The beast¡¯s triangr head turned towards Arch-Elder Zen as the mantis¡¯s narrow eyes red at Arch-Elder Zen. "Human, <i>you</i> are the strongest."

    Arch-Elder Zen felt quite confused. What had just happened?

    <i>Poof!</i>

    He spat out a mouthful of blood. It was the bacsh from forcibly releasing Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s sequence particles with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. The attack was incredibly difficult for the Progenitor to use, but it would have absolutely been worth the price required if the attack hadnded. Unfortunately, the attack had failed, and Arch-Elder Zen was essentially out of the fight due to the bacsh.

    Lu Yin stared at the Seven-Star Mantis. When Ancestor Tianyi had attacked, time had stopped entirely. At that moment, the mantis had moved at a speed as fast as time, which had frozen time from the mantis¡¯s perspective. That was the reason why Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s attack had seemed to freeze in ce and failed tond.

    This was what it meant to move as fast as time

    "<i>Chirp, chirp,</i> An attack that can threaten me? I felt sequence particles from that, didn¡¯t I? <i>Chirp</i>, very impressive. Humans, where are you from? You set a trap for me." The Seven-Star Mantis stared at Arch-Elder Zen. As far as the beast was concerned, Arch-Elder Zen, as the most powerful human present, must be the mastermind behind this attack. The fact that such an intimidating attack had been released by the old man was proof to the mantis.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s face grew pale, and the summoned Lu Tianyi slowly disappeared. The Progenitor was already powerless.

    The Seven-Star Mantis could see this, but thest attack that had targeted it had been quite terrifying, and it was not sure if the human was merely pretending to be weakened.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. Since the n had failed, the only option was to fight at full power.

    He observed the spatial lines and visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant as Wielder-realm battle force spread across his arms and Infinity merged with his body. As Lu Yin released a punch, the star in his inner universe that was formed from the Withered Bark shifted and confined 100 punches.

    The Seven-Star Mantis had grown wary of Arch-Elder Zen, and it was not paying much attention to Lu Yin. However, the moment that Lu Yin attacked, the mantis could no longer ignore the younger man. The beast¡¯s des rose, and while it continued to stare at Arch-Elder Zen, its des attacked Lu Yin.

    While this attack appeared quite ordinary, it managed to block every path that Lu Yin''s attack could take. The Seven-Star Mantis might not have learned any sword skills, but it wielded them with inimitable familiarity, and it had been fighting since the day it was born. It killed out of sheer instinct, and its attacks were just as skilled as someone who had studied the sword, if not even better.

    Lu Yin stared at the mantis¡¯s des with Heaven¡¯s Sight. Regardless of whether a creature relied on battle techniques, practiced skills, or biological instincts, there would always be some sort of trace that Heaven¡¯s Sight could find. From there, Lu Yin would be able to break through any weapon technique.

    While the mantis¡¯s des had blocked all paths that Lu Yin¡¯s attack could take, nothing in existence was perfect. The Seven-Star Mantis was not even a sequence powerhouse, and it was far from reaching the level of perfection.

    Using Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin stepped forward with Inverse Step.

    The mantis¡¯s de suddenly froze, and then it was pushed back at an odd angle, taking the Seven-Star Mantis by surprise. Lu Yin seized the opportunity to punch the beast in the abdomen.

    This attack finally managed to actually hit the Seven-Star Mantis.

    The mantis had even managed to avoid a sneak attack from Arch-Elder Zen with its shocking speed, but Lu Yin had managed tond a direct hit. The mantis thought that it had blocked Lu Yin¡¯s attack, but Lu Yin had broken past the creature¡¯s defenses and struck with 100 confined punches. This attack had even rocked the Cyclops King. The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s defenses could notpare the Cyclops King¡¯s, and the damage from the punch could only be imagined.

    Green blood leaked from the corners of the beast¡¯s cruel mouth, and its huge body was knocked back by the punch. The narrow eyes stared at the small human in utter disbelief. The mantis could not believe that a human who was not even a peak powerhouse could cause so much damage with a single punch.

    This punch made the beast question its entire life.

    Its abdomen had cracks running across it.

    The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s narrow eyes stared at Lu Yin as it chirped angrily.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, and his hand rose to release another punch.

    The Seven-Star Mantis no longer dared to underestimate Lu Yin. It had automatically been wary of Arch-Elder Zen, as the man was a Progenitor, but it turned out that the weaker human posed just as serious a threat.

    Four pairs of wings unfurled from the mantis¡¯s back, and it suddenly disappeared. With its wings in use, its speed had increased dramatically.

    Lu Yin frowned and stopped moving.

    The Seven-Star Mantis attacked from Lu Yin¡¯s side, its des falling. Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, and the de fell in front of him. He grabbed the de with his left hand as the slipper appeared in his right before pping down.

    He had further Enhanced the slipper, and Lu Yin was certain that a direct hit from the slipper would instantly leave the mantis close to death.

    Perhaps because the humans¡¯ previous two attacks had terrified the mantis, or possibly because it sensed danger, the moment the slipper appeared, the Seven-Star Mantis unfurled all six pairs of wings from its back, and it instantly disappeared.

    Once again, the sense of being out of phase with the universe appeared, but Lu Yin clung to the mantis¡¯s de and refused to let go. He wanted tond a blow with the slipper, but he was unable to reach the beast¡¯s actual body. It was constantly shifting its body around as it dragged Lu Yin through the void at a speedparable to time itself. The only part of the mantis¡¯s body that Lu Yin could hit with the slipper was the de that he was holding in his hand.

    The Seven-Star Mantis wanted to shake Lu Yin off with its speed, but it had underestimated Lu Yin''s strength. The human had caught hold of one of the beast¡¯s des, and it would be difficult to break free.

    The mantis¡¯s forte was speed, not strength. It was not much stronger than Lu Yin, and it waspletely incapable of escaping from the human¡¯s clutches.

 Chapter 3001: Lu Yinâ€™s Game

    <h4>Chapter 3001: Lu Yin¡¯s Game</h4>

    Even though the Seven-Star Mantis was moving at the speed of time itself and making Lu Yin feel like he was out of phase with the universe, he still managed to endure and hold onto its de. Lu Yin¡¯s strongest attribute was his physical strength at this moment, and it confused the mantis. How could a non-peak powerhouse possibly endure this speed?

    The mantis¡¯s other de swung down. Even if the human was able to endure the mantis¡¯s speed, him should not be able to counterattack. This sh should be the final blow.

    Lu Yin briefly lost sight of the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s body, even with Heaven¡¯s Sight. While the technique was capable of seeing through the ws of any weapon technique and could even peer through parallel universes, it struggled to keep up against the mantis¡¯s incredible speed. However, the moment the mantis raised its other de, Lu Yin sensed danger in his very bones. He did not hesitate to p the slipper down with his right hand, mming it into the de that Lu Yin was grabbing in his left hand.

    There was a bang as the de shattered. Lu Yin heard a wail as the mantis quickly pulled back.

    Lu Yin was thrown aside. He was so dizzy that he nearly sumbed to the resulting nausea.

    As he looked up, he saw that he had indeed shattered one of the mantis¡¯s des. All six of the beast¡¯s wings were open, and they slowly pped as the beast stared straight at Lu Yin. There was a grimace on its triangr face, which still had green blood dripping down it. ¡°Human, who are you?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Despite the odd sensation of being out of phase with the universe while moving at the speed of time, he had gained a unique insight. He had learned two improved versions of Inverse Step: Undying God¡¯s skipping time and Progenitor Chen¡¯s moving parallel to time. Progenitor Chen¡¯s version¡¯s effects were very simr to what happened when the mantis moved at the speed of time.

    The difference was that one relied on a battle technique to achieve the effect, while the other used pure speed.

    While Lu Yin had learned the battle technique, he was still struggling toprehend how he could actually move parallel to time.

    Could he firstprehend moving at the speed of time, and then apply that understanding to the technique?

    This thought opened up a new path for Lu Yin, and he suddenly stared at the mantis with not just killing intent, but also greed.

    ¡°Human, who are you? Why are you targeting me? Did youe here to kill me?¡± the Seven-Star Mantis shrieked.

    All the while, off in the distance, the battle between Jiang Qingyue and the Progenitor-level mantis continued, just as intense as ever.

    Lu Yin said nothing as he approached the mantis with Inverse Step.

    After learning its lesson twice, the Seven-Star Mantis had already decided to stop fighting Lu Yin. It had realized that the entire universe was a trap.

    After living for all these years and encountering numerous parallel universes with human inhabitants, how many peak powerhouses had the mantis faced? This human had not even reached that level, so it should have been impossible for him to ever kill it.

    The only culprit the beast could think of was the Sixverse Association or Whitecloud City and its allies.

    Suddenly, the mantis shouted, ¡°You¡¯re the Heavens Sect¡¯s Lu Yin!¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned that the mantis had urately determined his identity.

    The mantis opened all six pairs of wings and turned around, fleeing towards its own universe. It had decided to not even bother fighting anymore. It had grasped the situation, and if it was indeed facing Lu Yin, then only trouble awaited. As proof, the mantis had already encountered three impressive cultivators.

    Lu Yin had already killed Jing Zhe, and then he had sent the Sixverse Association¡¯s powerhouses to attack other outsider powerhouses. Aeternus¡¯s allies had all retreated, as there was no need for them to fight against the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin chased after the mantis, but how could he match the speed of time itself?

    Time froze.

    There was no need for Lu Yin to give chase. He had already spent decades in this universe, and he had long since been prepared for this exact moment.

    At almost the exact moment that the mantis opened its six pairs of wings to move at the speed of time, its body shuddered. ¡°Sourcebox array?¡±

    Over the course of decades, Arch-Elder Zen had used his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon Progenitor Hui, who had set up a sourcebox array that covered this entire universe.

    Fortunately, the universe was quite small, and the sourceboxes that Lu Yin had been given by the Big Stone Universe were finally made use of.

    By sealing the void with a sourcebox array, Lu Yin was able to prevent the Seven-Star Mantis from tearing through the void to escape. This was his means of keeping the mantis in the trap.

    Of course, this only prevented the mantis from returning to its own universe, but that did not mean that the Seven-Star Mantis was incapable of leaving. The only problem was that going to a random parallel universe inherently contained unknown dangers.

    Given the mantis¡¯s cautious nature, it would never choose that option unless it was certain that it had no other choice.

    Right now, the mantis did notck the confidence that it could defeat Lu Yin; rather, it merely did not want to take any unnecessary risks.

    The two options avable to the beast both involved risk, and it had to choose one.

    Naturally, it chose to leave.

    Lu Yin had already killed Jing Zhe, which had made him infamous among outsider powerhouses. The Seven-Star Mantis would rather risk entering an unknown parallel universe than stay and fight Lu Yin to the death.

    Given the mantis¡¯s strength, what were the chances that it would run into some unmanageable danger when entering a random parallel universe? Staying and fighting against Lu Yin was clearly far more dangerous, so why would the beast stick around?

    It made the correct choice, but it made its decision toote. The sourcebox array had been in ce for decades, but it had never been intended to trap the Seven-Star Mantis. Lu Yin had only ever wanted it to create an opening.

    When the Seven-Star Mantis attempted to tear the void a second time in order to escape, Lightstream flickered around the beast, reversing time by one second.

    The torn void returned to how it had been, bewildering the mantis. Had time been altered?

    A single second was enough to both prevent the mantis from leaving and give Lu Yin the chance to get close. Just one second was enough time to do many things.

    In that extra second, Lu Yin arrived behind the Seven-Star Mantis, reached out, and grabbed it.

    The mantis¡¯s six pairs of wings pped rapidly, but there was no indication that the mantis wanted to fight. All it wanted was to get away from Lu Yin.

    Moving at the speed of time was enough for the Seven-Star Mantis to escape from Lu Yin, who could not clearly see the beast at those speeds. As long as it could open up a bit of distance and tear through the void again, it was certain that the human would not be able to stop it. Lightstream had taken advantage of the brief moment when the sourcebox array had blocked the mantis¡¯s move. Without that brief moment, Lu Yin¡¯s inner world would not have been able to even approach the mantis.

    The mantis moved at the speed of time and created a bit of distance. At this moment, it believed Lu Yin to bepletely helpless.

    Normally, this would be an urate assessment. The n had changed greatly after Lu Yin¡¯s first attack. Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s sneak attack had failed, but after Lu Yin stopped the mantis from escaping, the Seven-Star Mantis abandoned all thoughts of fighting a drawn-out battle. All it wanted now was to escape, and when a creature with unmatched speed wanted to escape, it was impossible to stop it.

    Unfortunately, it had run into Lu Yin.

    The mantis wanted to escape by relying on its speed that matched time itself and taking advantage of Lu Yin¡¯s inability to clearly perceive what was happening.

    However, Lu Yin was able to look an entire eighty-eight seconds back in time. However, for this battle, he only needed to look back one second.

    Lighstream reversed time by one second. The Seven-Star Mantis could do whatever it wanted, as it had no desire to attack Lu Yin. It only wanted to escape.

    With Lightstream¡¯s two abilities, Lu Yin knew the direction and even the exact location of the mantis¡¯s escape route.

    After pinpointing the position, Lu Yin used Lightstream to move towards where the mantis would appear.

    The Seven-Star Mantis instantly appeared, believing that it had already escaped from Lu Yin¡¯s reach. It wanted to tear through the void, but Lightstream was already close at hand. Everything took ce in a single brief second.

    It was just one second, and it was so fast that Arch-Elder Zen and the others were unable to understand anything that happened. Not even the Seven-Star Mantis couldprehend the full situation.

    It took an entire second to tear the void and escape, but this second gave Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream enough time to catch up. The moment the mantis tore the void apart and was about to leave, Lightstream arrived and reverted time by a second. Right after that, Lu Yin arrived, the slipper raised high and already swinging down.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was horrified. <i>What¡¯s going on? How did he find me? I need to try again.</i>

    The same thing yed out a second time. The Seven-Star Mantis believed that it could escape, but as soon as Lu Yin saw the direction and location of the beast¡¯s escape, Lightstream would ruthlessly hunt the mantis down and prevent it from escaping.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was slumped. How was this possible? How was the human keeping up with its movement? It should be impossible. Not even Aeternus¡¯s sequence powerhouses were able to catch up to the mantis, so how was this human doing it?

    ¡°Arch-Elder Zen, the sourcebox array!¡± Lu Yin coldlymanded.

    Arch-Elder Zen suppressed his injuries and manifested his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon Progenitor Hui. The summon instantly took control of the sourcebox array, greatly increasing its power.

    Lu Yin wanted to make it even more difficult for the Seven-Star Mantis to tear through the void, ideally increasing the time it needed to do so from one second to two. To that end, besides the sourcebox array, he could also rely on the power of space.

    He observed the spatial lines and moved along them.

    The Seven-Star Mantis kept moving through the void with Lightstream relentlessly pursuing it. Every time the beast tried to tear through the void, Lightstream would reverse time by one second, which ensured that Lu Yin could keep up no matter where the mantis fled.

    Finally, by manipting the spatial lines and cooperating with Arch-Elder Zen and the sourcebox array, Lu Yin was able to slow the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s escape attempts by two seconds. Two seconds was a significant amount of dy, and this time, Lu Yin did not even reverse time with Lightstream, but instead grabbed the mantis¡¯s wings. They felt cold and hard in his grip.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was horrified by this development. ¡°Human, release me!¡±

    ¡°Can you still escape?¡± Lu Yin retorted in a frigid tone. Wielder-realm battle force spread across his hands as his grip tightened.

    Not even the tough wings of the Seven-Star Mantis could endure Lu Yin¡¯s strength, and the creature started wailing, ¡°I¡¯m not a part of Aeternus! Release me, and I¡¯ll help you fight against them!¡±

    ¡°You sound just like Jing Zhe when he begged before dying,¡± Lu Yinmented indifferently.

    The Seven-Star Mantis trembled. ¡°Then you really are Lu Yin. Let me go! I¡¯ve done nothing to help Aeternus, and I¡¯m willing to serve you. Release me.¡±

    Lu Yin squeezed even harder.

    The mantis¡¯s triangr head suddenly turned aroundpletely, its mouth open to bite Lu Yin. It was a disturbing sight, as the creature really was a mantis, and its mouth looked terrifying.

    Lu Yin snorted contemptuously. He continued to tightly grip the wings with his right hand while his left hand pulled out the slipper. Then, he aimed ata the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s face.

    Terrified, the mantis blocked the slipper with its other de, which instantly shattered even though its des were the toughest part of its body. It knew that, if it was struck again, it would surely die.

    ¡°Lu Yin- Dao Monarch! Dao Monarch Lu! I don¡¯t dare! I¡¯ll do whatever youmand, just please, let me go! Let me go!¡± the Seven-Star Mantis pleaded.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice remained as cold as ever. ¡°Don¡¯t you like to manipte humans¡¯ desires? Well, how about you and I y a game. Fly as fast as you can, and I won¡¯t attack you. See if you can shake me off. If you seed, I¡¯ll let you go. However, if you fail, you¡¯re dead.¡±

    The Seven-Star Mantis felt terribly confused. ¡°Fly?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t want to?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do! I¡¯ll do it! You really won¡¯t attack me?¡± it asked fearfully as it eyed the slipper.

    ¡°We¡¯re just ying a game. You like games, and so do I. Let¡¯s see who wins this one,¡± Lu Yin said in a rxed tone. One of his hands clenched a wing while the other held the slipper that radiated unimaginable danger.

    The Seven-Star Mantis nced around with its narrow eyes. Abruptly, all six pairs of wings opened up, and it vanished.

    Normally, no one could touch it the moment it moved at its top speed. The only exceptions were opponents who could control the power of time, which was exactly what Lu Yin had relied on. This truly frustrated the mantis, as it had encountered its nemesis in Lu Yin.

 Chapter 3002: Parallel To Time

    <h4>Chapter 3002: Parallel To Time</h4>

    Once again, Lu Yin experienced the sensation of being out of phase with the universe. He fundamentallycked the ability to perceive the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s speed. So, Lu Yin could only try to adapt to it while enveloping himself with stellr energy and keeping a firm grasp on its wings.

    The entire universe flew by as the Seven-Star Mantis zoomed about.

    Elsewhere, blood was flowing from the corners of Jiang Qingyue¡¯s mouth. Her white sword was stained with the Progenitor-level mantis¡¯s green blood.

    The Progenitor-level mantis had witnessed the battle between the Seven-Star Mantis and Lu Yin, and it was not stupid. It also wanted to escape, but itcked the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s speed. Every time the weaker mantis tried to leave, Jiang Qingyue would stop it. Even without the sourcebox array, escape was impossible for the beast.

    ¡°Human, you can¡¯t defeat me. Just give up. Your target is the leader over there, which has nothing to do with me. I promise to never attack humans ever again in the future,¡± the Progenitor-level mantis spoke in a sharp, grating voice.

    After fighting for some time, both Jiang Qingyue and the Progenitor-level mantis were injured. This was the reason behind the mantis¡¯s confidence. From its perspective, it was impressive that Jiang Qingyue had managed to endure for so long, but victory was impossible for her. Still, the mantis knew it likewise be very difficult for it to defeat the woman.

    ¡°Young Mistress, let me take over,¡± Dragonturtle requested from within Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sleeve.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s response was icy. ¡°It¡¯s my opponent.¡±

    Dragonturtle¡¯s expression looked torn. ¡°Young Mistress, you aren¡¯t nning to use that move, are you?¡±

    Jiang Qingyue did not answer, but her long sword slowly lowered.

    Seeing this, the Progenitor-level mantis sighed. ¡°Human, that¡¯s a wise choice.¡±

    It prepared to tear through the void and leave.

    Suddenly, in the endless darkness of outer space, snowkes started to dance about. It was impossible to tell where they hade from, but they were apanied by a bone-chilling cold.

    The Progenitor-level mantis was terribly confused, but it felt a sinking premonition. It hastily tore through the void, only to discover that all of its movements were slower. A white sword had appeared behind Jiang Qingyue at some point in time. It was identical to the one in her hand, but this second sword emanated an inexplicable sense of sadness.

    Dragonturtle sighed. This sword had belonged to Kong Tianzhao, though the deceased one.

    Jiang Qingyue had two masters, and one had defeated the other, killing them. Their final battle had be an unforgettable scene for Jiang Qingyue, and it had shaped her path. The memory of that battle and her own mastery of aura energy allowed the woman to receive the support of her fallen master.

    This sword represented a different Kong Tianzhao, and it symbolized that formidable man.

    The white sword slowly fell down, ovepping with the one in Jiang Qingyue¡¯s hand. The Progenitor-level mantis stared nkly at the human before it. Something about the human had changed. The mantis seemed to see another figure, one dressed in pure white who was isted from the world amidst the dancing snowkes. One step brought the figure right in front of the mantis.

    Instinctively, the Progenitor-level mantis raised its des to attack.

    <i>ng</i>.

    A gentle sound rang out as both of the mantis¡¯s des were simultaneously severed. The cuts were smooth and even. At that moment, the white figure shed by.

    Jiang Qingyue remained where she was, staring at the mantis with an indifferent expression.

    The Progenitor-level mantis stared at its severed des in confusion. What had just happened?

    Green blood leaked from its head. Suddenly, its entire body split in two. Behind the dead creature, the void had also been sliced apart by the white figure.

    This sword contained an invincible edge.

    Jiang Qingyue rxed her grip, and her sword fell to the ground. The battle that she had witnessed in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe filled her vision, as she would never be able to forget this sight. That unforgettable scene had traumatized her, and she could only ovee that heart demon on her own.

    It was also why she had taken this journey to unknown universes.

    No one else could help her.

    She looked up into outer space where the Seven-Star Mantis was flying about, unseen. This universe had already been severed.

    Lu Yin was tightly holding onto the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s wing as he focused on the sensation of moving at the speed of time. Time passed, and his feet started to move. Progenitor Chen had taught him an improved version of Inverse Step, but he still needed to incorporate those changes into the technique.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was struggling internally. Its favorite pastime had always been to manipte human desires, and it had created a massive game of life and death to entertain itself. But now, it was being forced into such a game as a participant.

    It feared death and wanted to escape, but escape was impossible.

    The human clinging to its back was capable of killing the mantis at any time, but he refused to do so. Despair was crushing the mantis, much like the humans that it had manipted in the past.

    This was just a game, a game of survival.

    The mantis did not want to y this game anymore. The word ¡°game¡± had already be a nightmare to it.

    For Lu Yin, the sense of disharmony slowly disappeared. His Inverse Steps gradually became smoother as he adapted to the mantis¡¯s speed and incorporated the changes into the technique.

    Lu Yin was now able to see his surroundings, and even the fluttering wings of the Seven-Star Mantis were visible. He slowlyprehended what it meant to move at the speed of time. He might not be able to infuse his newfoundprehension into Inverse Step quite yet, but he had finallyid the foundations. Sess was not far away. In fact, it could appear at any moment.

    At the same time, the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s mind was about to shatter. It knew that, no matter what it tried, it was impossible to escape from this human. The feeling of a de hanging above its head was terrifying, and it needed to find a way to escape.

    The mantis had witnessed too much human nature, and it knew that humans¡¯ greatest weakness was not selfishness, cowardice, or even the fear of death. Rather, it was their emotions.

    Its narrow eyes suddenly focused on the distance as it looked at Jiang Qingyue. The mantis slowed down and raised its de. It dropped down and then rose again, attacking both Jiang Qingyue and Arch-Elder Zen.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was giving Lu Yin time, which was why it had deliberately slowed down. The mantis was giving the human enough time to save the two people, which would give the mantis enough time to escape.

    These two attacks were powerful enough to kill both humans. The mantis was forcing Lu Yin to make a choice: either save the two humans, or watch them die to kill the Seven-Star Mantis in return.

    The mantis refused to believe that Lu Yin could hinder it while also saving the two people. The human had limits, no matter how strong he might be.

    However, the mantis did not know that there were other creatures present from Lu Yin¡¯s group.

    When the Seven-Star Mantis attacked, both Dragonturtle and the jiao reacted. Dragonturtle shielded Jiang Qingyue, while the jiao¡¯s ws were aimed at the attack directed towards Arch-Elder Zen.

    Both of the attacks were thwarted at the same time.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was badly startled. More enemies?

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking death!¡± Lu Yin roared as he mmed the slipper down, instantly shattering a pair of wings.

    The Seven-Star Mantis howled as it writhed about. But now, its speed had dropped.

    Its wings were the key behind its speed, and losing two wings meant that the mantis could no longer maintain its former speed.

    ¡°Human, I¡¯ll fight you to the death!¡± The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s body suddenly shrank down just as Lu Yin pped the slipper down again. The mantis¡¯s back shattered, but as that happened, a much smaller mantis crawled out. This was the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s true form. The massive body had been nothing more than a shell, and shedding that protection was its final resort to save its life.

    The much smaller version of the Seven-Star Mantis also had six pairs of wings, and the moment they unfurled, the mantis moved at the speed of time. It needed to escape, and after that, it could think about revenge.

    Determination steeled Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. He used Inverse Step, trying to move parallel to time.

    At that moment, the universe froze. Only Lu Yin and the Seven-Star Mantis were moving. Lu Yin observed the mantis¡¯s movements and chased after it. As he did so, his Inverse Step grew smoother.

    The Seven-Star Mantis turned to look back, stunned by what it saw. How was this possible? How had the human caught up?

    In the past, Lu Yin could only prevent the mantis from escaping by reversing time, but at this moment, Lu Yin was moving at the same speed as the mantis itself. How was that even possible? What had Lu Yin done?

    No matter how hard the Seven-Star Mantis racked its brain, it could not understand what it was seeing.

    More than once, Lu Yin had been amazed by Progenitor Chen¡¯s unparalleled talent at creating battle techniques. As he chased after the Seven-Star Mantis at the speed of time, Lu Yin was made even more aware of Progenitor Chen¡¯s impressive abilities than before.

    He could finally follow the Seven-Star Mantis, and Lu Yin had already had the means of intercepting the beast and even killing it.

    Champions¡¯ Stage.

    <i>One, two, three... ten, eleven, twelve</i>. The Seven-Star Mantis stared in a daze when it waspletely surrounded by various Progenitors. This was too confusing. Just where had all these peak powerhousese from?

    Summoning Progenitors, especially so many of them, was not easy for Lu Yin. Fortunately, his stellr energy reserves were far beyond what most people could even imagine. Even after summoning all these Progenitor-level champions, Lu Yin still had some stellr energy leftover.

    His vast reserves of stellr energy ensured that he could summon arge number of Progenitors.

    Ultimately, seventeen peak powerhouses were summoned, and they moved across the entire universe. While the Seven-Star Mantis could move at the speed of time, it was unable to break free from Lu Yin, who was capable of both chasing the beast and even catching up to it. The summoned champions were not needed to deal with the Seven-Star Mantis. Lu Yin just wanted them to stall it a bit.

    The mantis¡¯s de swept out, splitting a Progenitor in two. Right after that, more summoned champions were cut down and reduced to nothing.

    The Seven-Star Mantis wanted to tear through the void and make its escape, but the sourcebox array was still present, which meant that the mantis needed a full second to tear through the void. The beastcked that one second of time.

    One after another, Lu Yin¡¯s champions were cut down. He continued to move closer to the mantis, a rising threat. The mantis wailed, ¡°Lord Lu, I surrender to you! I will never fight back! You also need powerful allies like me to fight against Aeternus, right? I can help you! I can even work with Aeternus and uncover their secrets for you. Lord Lu, please spare me! I don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent. The Seven-Star Mantis needed to die, as it had already lost itsst bit of value.

    Its death would serve as a memorial to the humans it had ughtered.

    If species were taken into ount, Lu Yin could not say that the Seven-Star Mantis had been wrong in its actions, but as a human, Lu Yin needed to pursue revenge. That was in line with his own principles.

    The Seven-Star Mantis saw that Lu Yin was still closing in on it. Nearly half of the Progenitor-level champions remained, and if the mantis was dyed just a bit more, Lu Yin would catch up. The mantis¡¯s only means of dealing with Lu Yin was pure speed, and its speed was also the only reason why it had attracted the Aeternals¡¯ attention. Without that advantage, the mantis was not much stronger than other peak powerhouses who had not yet touched upon sequence particles.

    ¡°Lord Lu, I can help you a lot! You humans need me!¡± The Seven-Star Mantis continued its begging.

    Lu Yin stared at the beast. ¡°Thest one dies.¡±

    The Seven-Star Mantis trembled. This was the rule of its own game that it had yed across the seven continents; only thest human to escape in a group would be killed. At this moment, the Seven-Star Mantis was thest one to escape, and Lu Yin was going to kill it.

    ¡°Lord Lu, are you really going to leave me without any choice?¡± The mantis¡¯s tone suddenly changed, and it gained a level of sharpness as its eyes glinted with a vicious light.

    Another champion appeared in front of the mantis, only to be cut down by a de. The mantis turned back to face Lu Yin, and then it charged at him.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Was it actually charging him? No, was it...?

 Chapter 3003: Anointing The Mantis

    <h4>Chapter 3003: Anointing The Mantis</h4>

    The Seven-Star Mantis raced towards Lu Yin, only to abruptly stop and then change directions, leaving Lu Yin puzzled.

    After repeating this several times, Lu Yin noticed that the mantis had left behind seven dots in space. They surrounded Lu Yin.

    ¡°Seven Star sh!¡± The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s de fell. Lu Yin tried to break free from the encirclement, but he was toote. The point closest to Lu Yin released an explosive attack. Each subsequent dot released a greater number of attacks, until the seventh point released thirty-two shes.

    Lu Yin used the slipper to obliterate the first strike. The sh may have been powerful enough to kill a Progenitor, but it posed no threat to him.

    The only real challenge was the sheer number of attacks.

    The seventh point released thirty-two shes, each one as powerful as the first one. Lu Yin needed to endure thirty-two of the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s attacks. Even so, while it might have been difficult for others, it could not threaten Lu Yin. He had already faced a simr situation against the Luna Alliance¡¯s Moon Fairy and her Fairy Moon - Water Reflection.

    The slipper flickered between the shes, destroying one after another. The Seven-Star Mantis was unable to move away, as it had to be close by to release the attacks and control the seven points.

    When its attack proved ineffective, the Seven-Star Mantis shouted, ¡°Seven Stars, Unite!¡±

    The seven points reappeared, and then they unleashed 128 attacks. It wanted to overwhelm Lu Yin.

    The universe shattered into fragments.

    Dragonturtle panicked at the sight, and he swiftly dragged Jiang Qingyue and Zhao Ran away from the universe. At the same time, the jiao and Arch-Elder Zen fled. Only Lu Yin and the Seven-Star Mantis were left behind in the broken universe.

    Fortunately, just a bit earlier, Lu Yin had gathered all of the humans in the universe and ced them onto the jiao¡¯s back. If not, no one would have been able to escape the destruction.

    The entire universe was breaking apart.

    Beneath the rain of attacks, Lu Yin stopped defending himself with the slipper. His entire body was covered in Wielder-realm battle force as he directly resisted the attacks.

    The Seven-Star Mantis was astonished. It knew just how powerful its attacks were, especially in these numbers. Most peak powerhouses would have to be wary of these attacks, so how was this human able to simply endure them?

    Lu Yin received the overwhelming rain of attacks, shattering the shes that were in his path. He faced the Seven-Star Mantis and raised the slipper to strike down.

    In the mantis¡¯s eyes, Lu Yin had be a giant at this moment, and it was ovee with despair as the slipper gave off a fatal aura. It wanted to escape, but that was impossible. The Seven Star sh was its greatest battle technique, and after it was activated alongside the Seven Stars Unite, the mantis would be connected to the technique and unable to leave. If not for that, it would have fled long ago.

    Even at the brink of death, it was unable to harm Lu Yin.

    ¡°Lord Lu, I beg you!¡±

    There was a bang right before the Seven-Star Mantis finished speaking. Lu Yin pped the mantis dead with a single p of the slipper. Even as it died, the Seven-Star Mantis could not believe its fate.

    It had always thought that its speed would be enough for it to stay alive. After all, that ability had even caught the attention of Aeternus.

    The mantis had assumed that, by not getting directly involved in the war between humanity and Aeternus, it would be able to stay free from the conflict.

    It simply enjoyed ying games, but one human refused to let the mantis go, even after it had tried to submit to him. Lu Yin did not care about the mantis¡¯s impressive power.

    Lu Yin panted as he clutched the slipper tightly. He watched the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s corpse drift away and let out a deep breath. It was over.

    After Lu Yin had be a Semi-Progenitor, aside from Sequence Progenitors, he had felt that all other peak powerhouses were around the same level and rtively easy to deal with. However, the Seven-Star Mantis had been a new experience for Lu Yin.

    Sequence particles were not the only means to gain strength. No matter if it was physical might, speed, toughness, or any other other attribute, achieving a certain level would grant one extraordinary power. The Seven-Star Mantis had just happened to encounter Lu Yin, but if it had run into someone else, even an ancient powerhouse like Lu Tianyi, the mantis might have been able to escape alive.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to immediately anoint the mantis as a champion.

    ¡°By my name, I anoint a Champion.¡±

    As he watched the image of the Seven-Star Mantis appear on the Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, feeling rather invigorated.

    Lu Yin felt no pity for the Seven-Star Mantis. First of all, the creature had to pay for what it had done, and secondly, there was no need for the mantis to submit to him. Regardless of whether or not a creature was willing, Lu Yin had a way to utilize its power. That was the terror of the Lu family.

    At the moment, Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage could summon neen peak powerhouses. In the past, the strongest had been the Cyclops King, but that position now belonged to the Seven-Star Mantis, particrly because the champion version of the Cyclops King could not use sequence particles. Inparison, the Seven-Star Mantis was able to wield its full strength from when it had been alive.

    In the past, Lu Yin had also anointed astral beasts like the Amethyst Beast and the patriarch of the sylvan dragons. For this reason, he felt that it was only natural to anoint the Seven-Star Mantis.

    This new champion gave Lu Yin even more confidence at contending against outsider powerhouses.

    The universe around Lu Yin continued to copse and break apart, the fractures revealing the Hollow.

    This universe had beenpletely destroyed, though luckily, itcked any sort of life. This was one of the reasons why Lu Yin had selected the universe. Also, it was quite small.

    Soon, Lu Yin returned to the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s home universe, and he stared at the stack of continents in the distance. The countless mantises that lived there and hunted the humans had no idea that both the Seven-Star Mantis and the Progenitor-level mantis had just been killed.

    When Jiang Qingyue saw Lu Yin arrive, she breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Is the Seven-Star Mantis dead?¡± Arch-Elder Zen immediately asked.

    Dragonturtle also looked over at Lu Yin. The Seven-Star Mantis was a creature that even the Lord of Lightning needed to pay attention to.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Anointed.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen burst outughing.

    Jiang Qingyue heaved yet another sigh of relief.

    Dragonturtle stared in awe. ¡°What a monster...¡±

    Anointing the Seven-Star Mantis meant that Lu Yin now officially had the strength to face off against even sequence powerhouses on his own. This was a qualitative change in strength, and it was a powerful reassurance to everyone on their journey.

    Lu Yin looked towards the seven continents in the distance. ¡°Let me use these mantises to gain this universe¡¯s recognition.¡±

    He then took a step and vanished.

    ¡°Young Mistress, Master will definitely be satisfied with this man as his son-inw! He even dealt with the Seven-Star Mantis. While it wasn¡¯t extremely strong, its speed was peerless, and it was capable of surviving against almost anything. Hearing that it¡¯s dead will probably put a smile on Master¡¯s face,¡± Dragonturtle praised.

    Jiang Qingyuepletely ignored everything that Dragonturtle said as she stared at the seven continents. <i>The Seven-Star Mantis? That might not be what Lu Brother is most concerned about here. His goal for this journey is to visit parallel universes where time passes differently. What sort of transformation will he experience given the extreme rate of time flow in this universe?</i>

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s face was still a bit pale. When his sneak attack against the Seven-Star Mantis had failed, the Progenitor had thought that victory was impossible. Unexpectedly, Lu Yin had still managed to create a miracle. The young man¡¯s power was unfathomable, and there was no doubt that he would lead humanity to even greater heights in the future.

    The time in the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s home universe passed eighty times faster than in the Origin Universe, which was considerable. This was something that Lu Yin was absolutely willing to pay a bit extra to deal with.

    He had waited thirty-five years to fight against the Seven-Star Mantis, but now that he had dealt with that, he swiftly swept through all seven continents, eliminating all the mantises that took pleasure in ughtering the humans who lived there. After that, Lu Yin spent another ten years to be the spiritual pir of all the people who lived in the seven continents, which finally gave him the acknowledgement of the universe. With this, Lightstream was now able to look 245 seconds into the past.

    The additional eighty seconds provided Lu Yin with a different perception of Lightstream.

    He already had a feeling that looking back through time was not the true way to use Lightstream, and that intuition had only grown stronger.

    Lu Yin felt as though he was about to grasp something, but he was still missing something. He needed to be able to look further back into the past.

    He needed to search for more parallel universes where time passed at a different rate.

    He had spent nearly forty-five years in the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s universe, but only half a year had passed in the Origin Universe.

    All together, more than three years had passed since Lu Yin had left the Heavens Sect, and it was time to return in case any mishaps urred. Of course, before leaving, Lu Yin also needed to settle the affair with the people on the seven continents. After all, if he had missed any mantises in his purge, there might be disastrous consequences after he left the universe.

    He had used thepass to find this universe, but returning home was straightforward; Lu Yin simply went straight back to Aeternus Nation.

    As the void twisted, the jiao disappeared from the universe right behind Lu Yin and the others.

    However, less than half an hourter, someone else arrived in the universe. If Lu Yin had still been present, he would have instantly recognized the individual. Zhong Pan, the True God Guard Captain, had arrived.

    He was there to see the Seven-Star Mantis, as Aeternus needed the mantis¡¯s assistance.

    Zhong Pan quickly discovered that all of the mantises had vanished from the seven continents. The entire universe had undergone significant changes.

    He immediately returned to the Scourge to report the changes.

    After Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and confirmed that everything was fine, he and hispanions set back out to continue searching for parallel universes where time flowed differently.

    In the blink of an eye, two years passed in the Origin Universe. However, for Lu Yin and his group, they had lived through sixty years. Lightstream could see another twenty-five seconds into the past, allowing Lu Yin to look 270 seconds back in total.

    While visiting various parallel universes with Arch-Elder Zen and Jiang Qingyue, they encountered no significant dangers during these sixty years.

    Zhao Ran remained as innocent and cheerful as ever, happy as long as someone was enjoying her tea. There was nothing out of the ordinary about her at all.

    Jiang Qingyue also remained the same, though Lu Yin had noticed a softening in her gaze. He had learned exactly what she had done to kill the Progenitor-level mantis.

    It was a technique thatbined an attack with a mental trauma. This was something that would be a grave danger during a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, but Jiang Qingyue was from Whitecloud City and followed a different cultivation path than stellr energy. Even so, no matter which path a cultivator took, bing a peak powerhouse was never easy. If Jiang Qingyue did not ovee her mental trauma, she would have to pay a steep price one day.

    Arch-Elder Zen had long since recovered from the bacsh that he had suffered from using Lu Tianyi¡¯s power.

    The most notable change was Ghost Monkey. Surprisingly, the monkey imed that he would soon break through and be a Progenitor. Lu Yin was left rather speechless at this im, as he wondered if the monkey had ever even cultivated.

    Aside from adding time to Lightstream, Lu Yin had also developed his proficiency in Inverse Step, mastering the ability to move parallel to time. He felt that, one day, he would be able to demonstrate the same level of mastery of the power of time as Mister Mu and cause time to freeze upon his arrival.

    ¡°Careful, we¡¯re about to arrive.¡± Even if the chances of meeting danger when entering a new universe was minimal, it was imperative that they always remain cautious. Every time they entered a new universe, Lu Yin would give the others a gentle reminder.

    They were not entering a universe where time flowed differently, but rather a regr parallel universe. They intended to use thepass in this one to find their next destination.

    The void twisted, and the jiao emerged from it, instantly looking about in a wary manner. There was no danger, but the scene before the jiao was exceptionally beautiful.

    Lu Yin and the others were also staring straight ahead. Universes were supposed to be dark and mostly empty. After visiting multiple universes, they had only found a few exceptions to this rule. However, there was a faintly glowing structure in front of them that nearly filled the entire universe much like how the Fifth Maind had once been.

 Chapter 3004: Godâ€™s Domain

    <h4>Chapter 3004: God¡¯s Domain</h4>

    Lu Yin used Heaven¡¯s Sight to look ahead. He could not see the entirendmass at once, but he could tell that there was a thriving civilization that existed above the cloud-like structure. Was that a human civilization? And were those wings made of light on their backs?

    Suddenly, the space around them changed as brilliant light appeared above them.

    Lu Yin and the others all looked up to see the light coalesce into a massive hand that covered the sky and caused the void to tremble.

    ¡°No one is allowed to trespass into God¡¯s Domain. Leave.¡± A stern voice echoed, and it caused Jiang Qingyue to groan as her face turned pale.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The voice prated his head and caused his ears to ring.

    The jiao stared nkly up at the enormous hand and started panicking.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Dragonturtle shouted.

    Lu Yin looked at Dragonturtle. ¡°Have you ever heard of this God¡¯s Domain before?¡±

    Dragonturtle looked bewildered. ¡°Never.¡±

    ¡°Die, trespassers!¡± The booming voice echoed out again. As the voice rang out, the hand smashed down at the jiao, clearly intending to crush Lu Yin and the others.

    Lu Yin was infuriated. The people of this universe were also human, and yet they had ruthlessly attacked them without even meeting Lu Yin and the others. He pulled a Zenith Mountain out from his cosmic ring and had Arch-Elder Zen and the others enter it. At the same time, he leaped up, the slipper in his hand. ¡°Who¡¯s trying to y god? Show yourself!¡±

    The slipper mmed into the hand. The hand pressed down, powered by sequence particles that were entwined at its center to formplex characters. However, Lu Yin had seen countless sequence particles before, and the main body had not even appeared yet. Did this person want to crush him with a single swat of their palm? Impossible.

    There was a resounding crash that caused the void to quiver, and numerous spatial cracks spread out, sweeping towards the beautiful cloud in the distance while slicing through the void.

    At this same moment, far away, a pair of beautiful eyes snapped open in astonishment. ¡°Blocked? This trespasser is formidable. Four Elephants: Great Sage Elephant, suppress them.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s slipper caused cracks to appear in the hand formed from light. Just as he was about topletely shatter it, his pupils constricted. The entire sky above him was flooded with endless sequence particles, and they surged into the hand. If before the sequence particles had only formed a single character at the center of the hand, then they now illuminated the entire hand. With this newfound power, it instantly suppressed him.

    Lu Yin was shocked. The only other time he had seen this many sequence particles at once had been when the Seven Skygods or the Great Sovereign had taken action. This was an extremely powerful opponent.

    All hesitation disappeared, and Lu Yin slipped away with Inverse Step. He moved parallel to time and instantly vanished.

    The hand of light crushed the void, shattering everything nearby, but there was no trace of Lu Yin.

    Far away, the owner of the beautiful eyes was a girl veiled in purple. She frowned when she realized that Lu Yin had escaped instead of dying. She could sense that he had escaped from her attack. Just who was he?

    He had not had any kind of impressive aura, but regardless, anyone who trespassed into God¡¯s Domain deserved death.

    With this, the girl closed her eyes and spread her arms out. Her graceful figure almost seemed as if it was from a painting as she stepped forward with her bare feet. With her as the center, the entire universe seemed to condense and shrink, swirling around her as she searched.

    Soon, she opened her eyes. She had found him.

    Elsewhere, Lu Yin had used Inverse Step to escape from his earlier predicament. He felt horribly confused. What was going on? There was actually an incredibly powerful individual in this universe who was most likely at the same level as the Seven Skygods. This was not an opponent Lu Yin could face head-on, but fortunately, he had managed to escape with Inverse Step. This was not someone who was oveing Dukkha.

    What kind of universe was this? Did they really expel all outsiders and threaten them with death if they did not immediately leave? That was too arrogant.

    God¡¯s Domain? The name matched such arrogance.

    Dragonturtle had never heard of God¡¯s Domain before, which meant that Whitecloud City had also never encountered this universe. Though, there was no way to know whether or not the Sixverse Association had ever made contact with them.

    There were too many parallel universes throughout the megaverse, and it was impossible to know what might happen.

    Lu Yin was curious about this God¡¯s Domain, and he wanted to learn what sort of civilization it might be. If he could convince them to join the fight against Aeternus, they would be a powerful ally.

    Just as Lu Yin was contemting such things, a hand of light suddenly took shape above him, and it instantly dropped down.

    Its appearance startled Lu Yin. Had he already been found? How had they managed to do that?

    He immediately fled again with Inverse Step.

    However, it did not seem to matter where he fled, as his opponent seemed capable of finding him everywhere, and they pursued him relentlessly.

    Helpless, Lu Yin took out his Champions¡¯ Stage and summoned a Progenitor to help him escape.

    The summoned champion was instantly crushed into nothingness by the hand of light, but Lu Yin took the opportunity to suppress his aura and stop moving.

    Time passed, but the hand of light did not reappear.

    Lu Yin let a sigh of relief slip out. He had managed to trick his pursuer, but just who were they? How had they managed to find him? If they were unable to see through Inverse Step, then how had they repeatedly found him?

    He waited a while, but the hand of light never reappeared.

    Lu Yin stared up at the sky. Was it really enough to conceal his aura? Or did his pursuer actually believe him dead?

    Far away, the girl opened her eyes, feeling a powerful sense of doubt. That person should not have died so easily. How could anyone who had repeatedly escaped from her attacks die to a single direct hit? However, she was also unable to find the trespasser, as he hadpletely suppressed his aura. It would be difficult for her to find him even with her full efforts.

    This trespasser was skilled, and he was also adept at concealing themselves.

    ¡°Divine Maiden, the Godseeker Day is approaching. All the citizens are eagerly awaiting it, and they are directing their most sincere blessings and prayers to you.¡±

    The girl indifferently replied, ¡°Has everything been prepared?¡±

    ¡°Everything is ready.¡±

    ¡°Announce that the entire nation is to be ced on alert. There are trespassers, so we must be vignt.¡±

    The person outside seems quite surprised by this news. ¡°Trespassers? Weren¡¯t they dealt with by you, Divine Maiden?¡±

    ¡°Leave.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Divine Maiden.¡±

    The girl stared off into the distance. Could the intruder have arrived for the Godseeker Day? The timing lined up.

    ...

    Far away, Lu Yin approached the glowing cloud. The closer he drew, the more the radiance weakened. When he stepped onto the clouds, the light beneath his feet was nearly gone.

    This continent had been formed from ayer of the clouds.

    Across the vast megaverse, there were countless strange phenomena, so Lu Yin did not find a continent of clouds to be too strange.

    He soon found what appeared to be a vige, and it was popted by people with wings of light, much like the ones he had seen before. However, these people had an extra pair of luminous wings.

    Lu Yin stayed in the vige for a few days, and he was joined by Arch-Elder Zen and the others. All of them disguised themselves to look the same as the natives of the universe, and they fully immersed themselves in the local culture.

    The universe was known as God¡¯s Domain, and it was home to apletely isted civilization that was closed to all outsiders. Lu Yin had already learned who had attacked them earlier: the Divine Maiden. She was a girl who had been deified within God¡¯s Domain.

    When Lu Yin first learned of this, he could not believe that he had been defeated by a young girl.

    Given their cultivation, it only took a few days for Lu Yin and the others to learn the secrets of God¡¯s Domain.

    Lu Yin discovered that the Divine Maiden was not personally a powerhouse; rather, she was capable of wielding the legendary power of the Four Symbols, who had protected the universe from one generation to the next. With the power of the Four Symbols, the Divine Maiden was able to protect the universe, making itpletely impervious to any formidable enemies.

    As for exactly what the power of the Four Symbols was, Lu Yin had no idea. There were cultivators in God¡¯s Domain, but they cultivated an energy that was simr to stellr energy. It was nothing special, and it certainly was not the power of the Four Symbols.

    What intrigued Lu Yin the most was how the Divine Maiden, who was just an ordinary girl, was able to wield the power of the Four Symbols to attack him. Suppressing Lu Yin required an insane level of strength, and the hand of light that had attacked him had been filled with sequence particles that were unquestionably at the level of the Seven Skygods.

    It was beyond strange that an ordinary girl could wield strength equal to the Seven Skygods¡¯.

    The only usible exnation Lu Yin could think of was that the Divine Maiden had been acknowledged by the universe, much like how he had been acknowledged by the Fifth Maind. That might exin why she was able to use the power of the Four Symbols and how she had managed to repeatedly locate Lu Yin.

    ¡°These people are too enthusiastic. They¡¯re far too motivated and entirely too pure,¡± Ghost Monkey eximed upon his return as he attached himself to Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s shadow.

    Arch-Elder Zen shared the same feeling. ¡°I have never seen such pure-hearted people in my many years, though it¡¯s possible that we¡¯ve simply interacted with too few ordinary humans. In fact, such people might be quitemon amongst the ordinary folk.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Arch-Elder Zen. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re feigning their simplicity.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s genuine. The people of this vige are all genuinely kind and pure. There is no deceit and no oppression. All that can be found is mutual assistance and support,¡± Arch-Elder Zen stated.

    Lu Yin had noticed the same situation in other ces as well, not just in this vige.

    Both near and far, all the people in God¡¯s Domain appeared to be living in a fairy tale. Although there were conflicts, arguments, and even fights, everything was kept within limits. Regardless of whether people were cultivators or ordinary people, there was no distinction in hierarchy, and everyone seemed to live together harmoniously, to an extent that was decidedly abnormal.

    Lu Yin¡¯s experience from his years of cultivating told him this must be fake. What he was seeing had to either be a facade, or everyone¡¯s minds were being manipted, with all of their actions and reasoning being bent to the will of another.

    He leaned toward thetter possibility, because even with a facade, it was impossible for everyone in a given universe to follow it. On the other hand, a sequence powerhouse could alter the thoughts of everyone in the universe, provided that the powerhouse was strong enough.

    Jiang Qingyue and Zhao Ran also returned. Zhao Ran looked terribly confused, as she was carrying so many flowers that she looked like she was about to be buried beneath them.

    ¡°I- I just said that I liked the flowers, and then they gave me all of them,¡± Zhao Ran said, still looking confused.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s tone was more somber. ¡°This sort of excessive kindness is unsettling. It¡¯s clear that they don¡¯t allow any outsiders to enter, and they will even drive people away with violence.¡±

    Dragonturtle chimed in, ¡°Forbidding outsiders while also demonstrating such warmth to each other suggests that their kindness simply isn¡¯t directed towards strangers. As soon as we are exposed, their warmth might transform drastically. Everyone, we need to be careful. This universe is suspicious.¡±

    ¡°I think that they¡¯re nice,¡± Zhao Ran had already started arranging her flowers, and looked quite happy about things.

    Ghost Monkey retorted, ¡°You¡¯re still too young. Human nature can beplex, as there are people who are both malicious and tolerant. However, this sort of harmonious state can¡¯t be natural. Something¡¯s off about all of this. Seventh Bro, let¡¯s leave.¡±

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. ¡°I want to see what¡¯s going on in this universe.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Then go to the Divine Realm. Thend we¡¯re on is called God¡¯s Domain or the Cloud Nation, and the so-called Divine Realm is at the center. That¡¯s where the Divine Maiden can be found. If you want to understand this universe, you¡¯ll need to go to the Divine Realm.¡±

    ¡°Young Mistress, that¡¯s a bit risky. This universe doesn¡¯t seem like it would be easy to deal with,¡± Dragonturtle cautioned.

    Arch-Elder Zen said, ¡°We aren¡¯t going to fight them. Let¡¯s just observe things for now. I genuinely want to see if this entire universe is the same. The kindness and tolerance that these people disy does not seem to be a facade, from what I can see. I would like to visit the Divine Realm.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen rarely asked for anything, and this request happened to align with Lu Yin¡¯s own thoughts.

    ¡°In that case, let¡¯s go to the Divine Realm. Their biggest holiday ising up, the Godseeker Day, so let¡¯s go check it out. There¡¯s no need to rush things. We¡¯ll follow the vigers and try to learn as much about this universe as possible,¡± Lu Yin decided.

    ...

 Chapter 3005: Dancing In The Sky

    <h4>Chapter 3005: Dancing In The Sky</h4>

    God¡¯s Domain was quite vast, and it wasparable in size to the entire Outerverse. It took a considerable amount of time to travel from the vige that Lu Yin and the others had first arrived in to the Divine Realm. Fortunately, they had special modes of transportation that could move across the cloud, much like wormholes in outer space. With these, even ordinary people who lived on the outskirts of God¡¯s Domain were capable of reaching the Divine Realm in just a few days.

    Lu Yin and the others blended in with the vige¡¯s procession, remaining inconspicuous as they smoothly entered the Divine Realm.

    Along the way, they encountered numerous people from different parts of God¡¯s Domain as they passed through various cities, viges, and even locations where influential families resided. Regardless of the location, the same harmonious atmosphere always existed. People from the city did not look down on vigers, and powerful cultivators had no hint of contempt toward ordinary people. Everyone treated each other equally, which was rather unbelievable to see.

    When Lu Yin and the others arrived in the Divine Realm along with the vigers, nothing changed. The vigers acted casually, greeting everyone they met, even the inhabitants of the Divine Realm. Despite some of them appearing to be formidable cultivators, they warmly greeted Lu Yin and the vigers.

    Such kindness was disconcerting.

    Lu Yin saw through their actions and knew that these people were genuinely weing and embraced others from the heart. This was something that everyone should strive for, and yet it only made him ufortable.

    He had spent many years cultivating and had grown ustomed to intrigue, schemes, and precariously bncing between life and death. However, he had never dealt with universal friendliness before.

    While the kindness was undoubtedly genuine, Lu Yin and the others found it difficult to ept.

    Clearly, these people were living lives that everyone should aspire to, but suddenly encountering this was difficult to adapt to.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression was conflicted. ¡°Ever since the Perennial World separated from the Fifth Maind and I established the Hall of Honor, I always hoped to lead the Fifth Maind to this state, but I knew that it was an unattainable dream.

    ¡°At first, I wanted to see this Divine Realm because I didn¡¯t believe that such a ce could actually exist. While it might be possible for people in the remote areas of this God¡¯s Domain to be so simple and pure, typically, the closer one gets to the center of power, the more that ambitions and darkness flourish. However, I was wrong about that here. This ce is the same as everywhere else in this universe.

    ¡°I really want to know who aplished this. Who caused all of these people to live together so peacefully? What we¡¯re seeing is the greatest contrast to the darker side of human nature.¡±

    Lu Yin, Jiang Qingyue, and the others remained silent. No normal cultivator was capable of adjusting to such a ce.

    Cultivating was struggling against fate and against other cultivators. How could such a harmonious coexistencee to be? Where did such kindnesse from? When a cultivator was kind to everyone like this, it would not be long before they died.

    Even if the Heavens Sect suppressed the Origin Universe and everyone obeyed Lu Yin¡¯smands, conflict would never disappear. There was no one who could eliminate such a core part of existence.

    The scenes that Lu Yin and the others had witnessed left them in awe. They were curious about the Divine Maiden. Just what kind of person could transform a ce as vast as God¡¯s Domain into such a harmonious ce?

    Compared to the Sixverse Association, the Divine Realm was a true utopia.

    Lu Yin and the others remained in the Divine Realm and interacted with many people while posing as ordinary people. They savored the rare peace and tranquility.

    As the Godseeker Day drew closer, the atmosphere in the Divine Realm grew livelier. Various means of praying appeared, which opened the eyes of Lu Yin and the others to a new world.

    Everywhere they looked, they saw people and wings of light, which created a dazzling disy.

    One day, a colorful astral riverpletely surrounded the Divine Realm before forming what looked like a reflectiveke in the sky above. Theke served as a mirror, flipping the entire Divine Realm upside down while revealing the reflections of everyone. It was quite a surprising thing to see.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Zhao Ran asked.

    Someone nearby answered, ¡°The Divine Maiden¡¯s prayer dance will take ce on thatke. Don¡¯t you know?¡±

    Lu Yin quickly dragged Zhao Ran away.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s prayer dance wasmon knowledge in God¡¯s Domain. Not knowing about it could easily rouse suspicions, and Lu Yin was not certain whether the Divine Maiden thought he was dead or not.

    The astral river sent ripples across theke that reflected everyone within the Divine Realm. It was an amazing sight to see. While the Divine Realm was only a tiny portion of God¡¯s Domain, it was still a massive territory in its own right, and it was about asrge as one of the Outerverse¡¯s weaves.

    It was as though a weave had be ake and been brought over to reflect everyone from high above.

    The appearance of theke signaled the countdown to the Godseeker Day.

    Graceful figures ascended into the sky and stepped onto theke, where they danced gracefully as a prelude to the Godseeker Day.

    This event was something that everyone in God¡¯s Domain eagerly anticipated. Only pure girls were allowed to step onto theke and dance.

    The harmony that existed in God¡¯s Domain was not due to an absence of emotions or desires, but rather the suppression of those desires by some sort of ideology. Desires might be suppressed, but the longing for beautiful things remained.

    There was no one who did not enjoy seeing beautiful women dance.

    Countless figures ascended into the sky. Many women had deliberately remained pure just for this day, and they had also prepared beautiful dresses and elegant dances so that they could showcase themselves in front of everyone in the Divine Realm. This was essentially a kind ofpetition.

    Lu Yin sat on a rooftop and stared up at the sky. There were so many women on theke, even though only the extremely confident would have the courage to disy their dance.

    He had never seen so many people dancing before. It was quite impressive, and the scene was filled with exotic charm.

    ¡°Seventh Bro, this is so beautiful! Come on, let¡¯s grab them and make them all our mascots,¡± Ghost Monkey excitedly suggested.

    Dragonturtle spat out, ¡°You¡¯re just a shadow, and yet you¡¯re so lecherous and shameless.¡±

    Ghost Monkey was furious. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with you? Are you jealous? There¡¯re no female turtle up in the sky.¡±

    ¡°Stupid monkey, what nonsense are you spouting?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Have you seen a mother turtle?¡±

    Zhao Ran weakly interjected, ¡°Tea, anyone?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Dragonturtle remained silent, and Ghost Monkey offered a ttering smile as his eyes seemed to admire a woman up in the sky.

    Arch-Elder Zen praised, ¡°Truly beautiful. Youth is wonderful.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. ¡°This sort of beautypetition is rather unique. When we return to the Heavens Sect, we can go ahead and organize one to lighten the mood while giving those girls a chance to demonstrate themselves.¡±

    ¡°Haha, that will thrill those children,¡± Arch-Elder Zen happily agreed.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s too bad that Jiang Chen isn¡¯t here, or else he¡¯d be able to find a wife, which would prevent him from longing for Luo Shen.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue instantly paid attention. ¡°Luo Shen?¡±

    Lu Yin thought back. ¡°I never told you this, but Jiang Chen likes Luo Shen, though it¡¯s an unrequited love.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue simply responded with an ¡°Oh,¡± and then said nothing more.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled at the woman. ¡°Do you have any thought about going up and trying for yourself?¡±

    Jiang Qingyue was stunned, and she turned to meet Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Me?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded.

    Lu Yin blinked and then stared at Jiang Qingyue. He had never even considered that Jiang Qingyue could dance.

    She nced at Lu Yin, and their eyes locked briefly before she looked away. ¡°No.¡±

    Dragonturtle raised his tail. ¡°Old man, my young mistress¡¯s dancing isn¡¯t something that you can witness. Show a bit of shame.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. ¡°I¡¯m an old man and am happy to step aside, provided that the Dao Monarch agrees.¡±

    Dragonturtle¡¯s eyes red. ¡°My young mistress won¡¯t dance for anyone. All of you are unworthy. Right, Young Mistress?¡±

    As Dragonturtle spoke, he kept winking and nudging Ghost Monkey, who leaped up. ¡°You stupid turtle, what did you just say? Who¡¯s unworthy? My Seventh Bro is the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, the ruler of Origin Universe! Even if Whitecloud City¡¯s Lord of Lightning showed up, he¡¯d have to be polite.¡±

    ¡°If my young mistress says that someone¡¯s unworthy, then they¡¯re unworthy.¡±

    ¡°My Seventh Bro is worthy!¡±

    ¡°Not worthy.¡±

    ¡°Worthy.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Qingyue shouted sternly before grabbing Dragonturtle and throwing him away. She was not foolish, and she knew that the two astral beasts were trying to goad her into dancing. How could she not see what they were doing? Still, she said, ¡°Brother Lu, don¡¯t share what happens here today.¡±

    With that, she disappeared.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was Jiang Qingyue going to dance?

    Arch-Elder Zen had not expected his casualment to be taken so seriously by Jiang Qingyue. He looked at Lu Yin. Who would she dance for?

    Dragonturtle returned and was openly excited. ¡°My young mistress changed her mind!¡±

    Ghost Monkey was thrilled. ¡°Seventh Bro, you¡¯ve hit the jackpot.¡±

    Lu Yin finally pieced together what was happening, and he looked up at the sky. Some of the women on theke had revealed their luminous wings while dancing, but others had not. That was good, as Jiang Qingyue might have been exposed otherwise. ¡°Can she really dance?¡±

    That was hard for him to imagine. Jiang Qingyue was a cold person who focused on her sword and gaining strength through battle. She did not seem like someone who would learn to dance. The idea of seeing her softer side excited Lu Yin.

    A wind blew from behind, and it carried a figure in a white dress up towards the celestialke.

    Lu Yin looked up to Jiang Qingyue dancing like a fairy in a white dress. He saw a new aspect of Jiang Qingyue. Gone was her usual decisiveness, and a certain gentleness had reced it. She had set down her sword and let down her hair, allowing it to flow in the breeze. She looked like an entirely different person.

    Jiang Qingyue danced upon theke, creating ripples. As she continued to move, the water shimmered like scattered starlight. It was a beautiful scene that looked like something from a dream.

    Lu Yin was captivated, and he felt as though he was seeing Jiang Qingyue for the first time.

    When he had first seen her in the Sixth Maind, it was not her beauty that had caught his attention, as she had been ughtering corpse kings. There was no denying that the woman was beautiful, but that just contrasted more with how she mercilessly yed her foes.

    A man could charge onto a battlefield with a sword, while a woman was capable of both wielding a sword and dancing above the clouds.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s dance revealed a side of her that Lu Yin had never seen before. She demonstrated tenderness, extraordinary beauty, and an unforgettable charm that would never be revealed to outsiders.

    Countless voices entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears as everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to Jiang Qingyue. She danced with a unique style and allure that did not match God¡¯s Domain, and as she danced, she became the most stunning sight on theke in the sky.

    Lu Yin stared at theke, and everything around him faded away until all that remained was Jiang Qingyue.

    Sounds, light, andplex thoughts were all reced by her dancing at this moment. It was as if only Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue remained in the world.

    Atop theke, Jiang Qingyue transformed into light, bing the Divine Maiden to numerous people watching.

    The most beautiful moments were always brief. Lu Yin had no idea how long Jiang Qingyue danced for, but when he returned to his senses, she was already by his side. However, she was once again the same cold swordswoman. It was as if the dancer who had appeared earlier had been apletely different person.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the woman. Her face was slightly red, and she looked a bit tired. When she noticed Lu Yin looking at her, she asked in confusion, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback for a moment, and he awkwardly coughed. ¡°You danced really well.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue remained expressionless as she raised a teacup and took a sip. At this moment, she perfectly bridged the gap between coldness and tenderness.

    Suddenly, Ghost Monkey eximed, ¡°Beautiful!¡±

    His strange exmation startled everyone.

    Lu Yin clenched his teeth, and he wanted to beat the monkey silly.

    ¡°She¡¯s my goddess forever. You damn turtle, you¡¯re really lucky to have such a beautiful young mistress,¡± Ghost Monkey said enviously.

    Dragonturtle gloated, ¡°Of course! My young mistress is the most beautiful person in the megaverse.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. ¡°Shut up, or I¡¯ll send you back to Whitecloud City.¡±

 Chapter 3006: Lu Yin And The Divine Maiden

    <h4>Chapter 3006: Lu Yin And The Divine Maiden</h4>

    Arch-Elder Zen praised, ¡°After performing such a dance, countless people in this Divine Realm won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight, hehe.¡±

    He then nced at Lu Yin, who remained silent and continued to sip his tea.

    Zhao Ran eximed, ¡°I also want to go dance!¡±

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. You won¡¯t even get halfway there before you forget yourself.¡±

    Zhao Ran looked disappointed.

    Jiang Qingyue astonished the Divine Realm with her dance, but many women from all across God¡¯s Domain had prepared for the Godseeker Day.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s dance was soon eclipsed by others.

    Lu Yin readily acknowledged that Jiang Qingyue¡¯s dance had been beautiful, but there were equally stunning performances put on by other women, and not everyone was able to resist the charm of those dances.

    However, the longer that Lu Yin watched other women dance, the more he was reminded of Jiang Qingyue¡¯s graceful movements, and the way that he looked at her changed.

    Jiang Qingyue was still as cold as ever, and she asionally toyed with her sword. It was unexpected that he had seen such a gentle side to the woman.

    ¡°Hehe, how was it? Wasn¡¯t my young mistress beautiful?¡± Dragtonturtle asked with a chuckle.

    Lu Yin averted his gaze and looked back at theke in the sky. As the Godseeker Day drew closer, fewer and fewer women continued to dance in the sky.

    Dragonturtle leaned closer. ¡°My young mistress¡¯s mother is named Liu Pianran, who is also known as the Rain Goddess of Light. She was once famous for being one of the most beautiful women in our universe. My young mistress inherited the Rain Goddess¡¯s looks, and my mistress even taught my young mistress. You are the first to see her dance, as not even Young Master Chen has seen her dance before.

    ¡°I never thought that the young mistress would be willing to dance.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred. ¡°Jiang Chen hasn¡¯t seen her dance?¡±

    Dragonturtle shook his head. ¡°No, Young Master Chen hasined about that for a long time.¡±

    ¡°Actually, now that you mention it, if Qingyue has you to protect her, who protects Jiang Chen?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Dragonturtle replied, ¡°No one. In Whitecloud City, we have a saying: ¡®Raise sons in poverty, raise daughters in wealth.¡¯ Master has taken this expression to the extreme, and Young Master Chen is allowed to do whatever he wants, while the young mistress needs to report her whereabouts to Master at all times. He worries about her a great deal.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. This sounded like a situation he might one day face with his own children.

    Days passed, and fewer and fewer women danced upon theke. Once thest one left, theke regained its initial tranquility.

    Only several days remained until the Godseeker Day.

    This day was the greatest festival in the Divine Realm, and people had gathered here from all parts of God¡¯s Domain. The unity that Lu Yin and hispanions felt remained consistent, even with such arge crowd. While they had witnessed a handful of disputes during these days, the actual conflicts that had broken out were minimal and practically non-existent.

    ¡°I find myself increasingly ustomed to this ce,¡± Arch-Elder Zen said as he observed the bustling crowd below.

    Jiang Qingyue replied indifferently, ¡°These people aren¡¯t at all suited for cultivation or actualbat.¡±

    ¡°Which must be why God¡¯s Domain doesn¡¯t allow any outsiders in,¡± Lu Yin remarked as he stared off into the distance. This ce was essentially a sanctuary, and it would be good if it remained so. However, if the gates of this sanctuary were breached, the fate that awaited the people of God¡¯s Domain would be unimaginable.

    Every creature should have some sense of danger, rather than being blind andpletely protected. This was especially true of humans.

    Was the Divine Maiden really so confident that she could protect all these people?

    After several days of waiting, the Godseeker Day finally arrived.

    Silence fell over God¡¯s Domain on that day as countless people stared up into the sky. Even the people who were not in the Divine Realm looked in its direction. No one spoke as they all awaited the Divine Maiden¡¯s appearance.

    Lu Yin and hispanions also stayed silent as they looked upwards. They were eagerly anticipating the Divine Maiden¡¯s arrival.

    None of them would forget what had happened when they first arrived in the universe. It had even caused Lu Yin and the others to avoid using any of their power while in God¡¯s Domain.

    Lu Yin had not even used Heaven¡¯s Sight. He was well aware of just how absurd the results could be when someone received a universe¡¯s acknowledgement, as he could not forget his own difort in the presence of Yu Huo.

    Anything that was even slightly amiss might be detected by the Divine Maiden.

    ¡°God¡ªdescend.¡±

    ¡°God¡ªdescend.¡±

    ¡°God¡ªdescend.¡±

    ...

    Countless voices roared in unison, and the sound pierced through the sky and produced ripples on theke.

    The unified voices created visible waves of energy. These were the transformed prayers of countless people as they weed a young girl with a purple veil.

    The girl was slender, and her bare white feet were standing on the surface of theke. As everyone watched, she slowly moved upwards, her arms opened as though she was praying to the gods.

    This was the Divine Maiden¡¯s unique dance. It was nothing intricate, but it was a dance reserved solely for the Divine Maiden of God¡¯s Domain.

    This dance had carried countless prayers over the course of endless years. As the Divine Maiden moved through the dance, she lifted the Godseeker Day to its climax. At this moment, everyone¡¯s eyes were fixed on the Divine Maiden. They stared at the graceful figure that was as beautiful as a painting.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. There was no denying that this scene was truly beautiful.

    If Jiang Qingyue¡¯s dance had dazzled and drawn attention to her unexpected gentleness, then the Divine Maiden¡¯s dance belonged to a higher realm. It was as if she was weing the divine and bestowing blessings upon them all.

    At that moment, the hearts of everyone in God¡¯s Domain were united as they dedicated everything to the Divine Maiden.

    It was a terrifying event.

    Due to being acknowledged by the Origin Universe, Lu Yin was able to sense how he could use hismands to shun the leaders of the four ruling powers, weakening them whenever they entered the Origin Universe. This could be regarded as Lu Yin wielding the beliefs of countless people from all across the Origin Universe. Even so, he was unable to aplish what the Divine Maiden had just done. She did not merely wield the belief of the people of God¡¯s Domain; she was a continuation of their very lives.

    Lu Yin understood that the reason why the people of God¡¯s Domain were so united and kind was due to this all-epassing devotion that was guided by the Divine Maiden.

    God¡¯s Domain, which was made up of countless individuals, could also be regarded as just one.

    The Divine Maiden was God¡¯s Domain, and God¡¯s Domain was the Divine Maiden.

    It almost felt as though God¡¯s Domain was the Divine Maiden¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Her dance atop theke set things in motion across the entirety of God¡¯s Domain. Countless people were cheering and offering their prayers to the Divine Maiden. At the end of the dance, the Divine Maiden spun atop theke, the entire body of water creating a vortex that swirled around her before the water transformed into a happy rain that fell upon everyone.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, catching the raindrops in his palm. They were warm, as though they held the Divine Maiden¡¯s breath, and they also held a peculiar scent.

    Everyone weed the rain, epting the Divine Maiden¡¯s blessing.

    In the sky above, the Divine Maiden¡¯s expression remained calm, but the moment the raindrops touched Lu Yin, her eyes changed, and her focus fell upon Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up, and his eyes briefly met those of the Divine Maiden.

    At that instance, they both knew that the other had discovered them.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Had he been noticed? Was it because of this rain?

    ¡°Get ready to leave at any moment,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Jiang Qingyue moved closer while warily eyeing the sky.

    The Divine Maiden continued to spin, but her eyes remained on Lu Yin and the others. Sure enough, the trespasser had survived and evaded her detection. He had also blocked her first attack, which indicated that he had an impressive level of strength.

    <i>However, he isn¡¯t one of those monsters. He¡¯s simr to us. He¡¯s human.</i>

    The rain continued to fall, watering the Divine Realm and soaking into the clouds that formed it.

    This rainsted for three whole days.

    The entireke was transformed into rain that soaked into the ground below with a gentle light. Flowers blossomed across God¡¯s Domain, as thend weed a new vitality.

    All of the inhabitants of God¡¯s Domain knelt down while expressing gratitude. ¡°Thank you, Divine Maiden, for your blessing.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Divine Maiden, for your blessing.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Divine Maiden, for your blessing.¡±

    ...

    Lu Yin still stared up into the sky. The Divine Maiden was just standing there quietly, but then her figure shed, and she disappeared.

    <i>She¡¯s here</i>. Lu Yin immediately turned around and saw that the Divine Maiden had appeared nearby.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Jiang Qingyue were instantly on guard.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s eyes swept over all of them before she focused on Lu Yin. ¡°Trespasser, why have youe to my God¡¯s Domain?¡±

    Her voice was soft, crisp, and clean.

    Lu Yin tried to keep his tone gentle. ¡°We arrived here unintentionally, and if we have caused any disturbance, we sincerely apologize.¡±

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s eyes were locked with Lu Yin¡¯s. ¡°To be guests, one can only enter after being invited by the host. You are trespassers.¡±

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°If we are trespassers, then how could your Godseeker Day have passed so peacefully?¡±

    Unlike her previously ruthless actions, the Divine Maiden¡¯s eyes held a gentleness. While her tone of voice remained frigid, her eyes were gentle and kind, just like all the people of God¡¯s Domain. ¡°Whether or not it passed peacefully is dependent on me, not you.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re confident that you can suppress us?¡± Arch-Elder Zen retorted.

    The Divine Maiden replied, ¡°Completely.¡±

    This simple response caused the expressions on both Jiang Qingyue and Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s faces to change. This young girl appeared to be quite young, yet she was so decisive.

    Lu Yin was unfazed. ¡°We¡¯ve already spent some time in this ce, and everyone has been extremely friendly towards us. I¡¯m surprised that our first unfriendly encounter is with the Divine Maiden, who leads this universe to such a beautiful harmony. It¡¯s quite ironic.¡±

    The Divine Maiden looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°Their beautyes from me.¡±

    ¡°Then it appears that you¡¯re aware that other universes are not so peaceful,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s voice remained indifferent. ¡°The peace in God¡¯s Domain is all that matters.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°After finding us this time, you didn¡¯t instantly attack, which suggests that you¡¯ve sensed our goodwill. We¡¯re not trespassers. At worst, we¡¯re uninvited guests. Divine Maiden, could you offer us a formal invitation to enter God¡¯s Domain?¡±

    The Divine Maiden stared at Lu Yin and then looked at Arch-Elder Zen, Jiang Qingyue, and even briefly at Zhao Ran, Dragonturtle, and Lu Yin¡¯s shadow. ¡°God¡¯s Domain wees you.¡±

    The atmosphere rxed.

    The Divine Maiden had confirmed that Lu Yin and the others harbored no ill intentions towards God¡¯s Domain, which allowed her to rx a bit. If she had decided to take action against these people, it was hard to estimate just how much damage God¡¯s Domain would suffer.

    Since these outsiders were already present, the Divine Maiden did not have any choice but to wee them.

    Arch-Elder Zen and the others also breathed sighs of relief. The first attack they had faced after arriving in the universe had left a truly deep impression on them. They were very wary of the Divine Maiden.

    After receiving the Divine Maiden¡¯s invitation, Lu Yin and the others no longer restrained their auras.

    She led them around, and they toured the universe, seeing its beauty and exotic scenery. The entire ce had a sense of peace, especially the glimpse that they caught of the Divine Maiden¡¯s own residence. It was not some grand pce that could amaze Lu Yin, and it could notpare to the Heavens Sect. However, what shocked Lu Yin was a statue of a familiar creature outside the Divine Maiden¡¯s residence: the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    Why would the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant be in this ce?

    There were four elephants that held up the Divine Maiden¡¯s residence. It towered above God¡¯s Domain and was located at the very center of the Divine Realm.

    Lu Yin was certain that one of those four elephants was the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, which he had long used for his visualization method.

 Chapter 3007: Plan

    <h4>Chapter 3007: n</h4>

    ¡°Your Excellency Divine Maiden, could we go up and look?¡± Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    The Divine Maiden replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my residence is not open to visitors. Additionally, there¡¯s nothing there worth seeing. It¡¯s just an ordinary home.¡±

    ¡°What about those four elephants?¡± Lu Yin inquired.

    The Divine Maiden responded, ¡°The power of the four elephants is the protection of my God¡¯s Domain. Any enemies whoe here will face the power of the four elephants.¡±

    Lu Yin was intrigued. ¡°Could you tell me about these four elephants? They must be incredibly powerful if they can protect God¡¯s Domain.¡±

    Hearing the four elephants mentioned, and especially the respect in Lu Yin¡¯s tone, greatly pleased the Divine Maiden. She looked over at the four elephants. ¡°The four elephants of my God¡¯s Domain are the Great Sage Elephant, the All-Dao Elephant, the Virtue-Erasing Reincarnation Elephant, and the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    ¡°The Great Sage Elephant specializes inbat and is capable of overwhelming all enemies.

    ¡°The All-Dao Elephant can see through the void.

    ¡°The Virtue-Erasing Reincarnation Elephant can dispel all trouble.

    ¡°The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is an unstoppable force.

    ¡°It is only because of the power of the four elephants that my God¡¯s Domain has been able to enjoy this peace and eliminate all outside threats.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen felt this exnation was rather strange. <i>The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant? Isn¡¯t that the visualization method of the Lu family¡¯s branch families?</i>

    He looked at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin did not shift his eyes at all. ¡°Truly formidable. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the power that you first drew upon to suppress us was the Great Sage Elephant.¡±

    The Divine Maiden did not answer.

    ¡°Are all four of the elephants in God¡¯s Domain right now? Can we visit them?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    The Divine Maiden stared at Lu Yin. ¡°The four elephants never ept visitors.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Oh well, then I¡¯ll just forget it.¡±

    ¡°Where are you from, and where are you heading?¡± the Divine Maiden asked. While they had spent a few days together, she had never probed into Lu Yin and the others¡¯ origins. This was her first time seeking any information about their background.

    Lu Yin did not bother concealing anything as he revealed the Sixverse Association.

    The Divine Maiden had never heard of the Sixverse Association before. Given that Whitecloud City also had no knowledge of God¡¯s Domain, it seemed quite likely that God¡¯s Domain and the Sixverse Association had never interacted with each other.

    Truthfully, the chances of two specific parallel universes interacting with each other was exceptionally low.

    It was not unexpected for the Divine Maiden to be unaware of the Sixverse Association. However, when Lu Yin mentioned Aeternus, her expression changed. ¡°Are you also enemies of Aeternus?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°You know about Aeternus?¡±

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s expression changed for the first time, and her voice grew solemn. ¡°Our enemy is called Aeternus.¡±

    Lu Yin and the others exchanged nces. How many parallel universes had Aeternus interacted with? If they were enemies of God¡¯s Domain, then it meant that there might be even more universes fighting again the Aeternals. This could also exin why, despite having so many powerhouses, Aeternus had never gone all out in attacking the Sixverse Association; they simply were unable to because of the multitude of enemies they were always fighting against.

    Of course, it was possible that there were other reasons as well.

    ¡°Tell me the details of your encounters with Aeternus,¡± the Divine Maiden requested very solemnly.

    Lu Yin simrly wanted to know exactly which powerhouses from Aeternus God¡¯s Domain faced as their enemy.

    After both sides shared their information, they realized that neither of them had ever heard of the experts that the other faced. Even so, they were bothpletely certain that they faced the same Aeternus, given that they both fought against corpse kings and enemies who used divine energy.

    ¡°The Seven Skygods? I¡¯ve never heard of them,¡± the Divine Maiden stated.

    Lu Yin stated something simr, ¡°So your most dangerous enemy is someone known as Di Qiong? We¡¯ve also never heard of him.¡±

    This was bad. Lu Yin had experienced the strength of God¡¯s Domain for himself, so the fact that the Divine Maiden was scared of the powerhouses they faced suggested that Aeternus had sent a sequence powerhouse to this universe. Even if there was only one such powerhouse, the fact that they were able to intimidate the Divine Maiden so badly suggested that they were on the same level as the Seven Skygods.

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. This Di Qiong might be one of them.

    The information they learned from the Divine Maiden made Lu Yin and the others nervous. They had mentally prepared themselves for news of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. However, the shock on the Divine Maiden¡¯s face when she learned that the Sixverse Association did not just face only one or two terrifying enemies, but the Seven Skygods was evident. This was an entire group of sequence powerhouses.

    She understood that the Sixverse Association was an alliance of many powerful universes, and yet they were still oppressed by Aeternus. Was her God¡¯s Domain truly safe?

    ¡°Aside from Di Qiong, who else have you faced?¡± Lu Yin hoped to hear a familiar name from the Divine Maiden, as that would at least indicate that Aeternus was not aplete mystery to them.

    However, the Divine Maiden shook her head. ¡°There is no one else, just Di Qiong.¡±

    ¡°You told us that he¡¯s your most dangerous enemy.¡±

    ¡°We have many enemies, while Aeternus is the most dangerous. We know that Aeternus has more powerful experts than just Di Qiong, but we¡¯ve only dealt with Di Qiong.¡±

    ¡°How strong is this Di Qiong?¡± Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    The Divine Maiden considered the question. ¡°I am barely able to stop him with the power of the four elephants. Each time we face him, he is better able to endure the suppression of the four elephants. In a few more years, they might no longer be able to stop him.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen could not stop himself from speaking up, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, have you not considered using other ways to deal with this Di Qiong? Such as seeking help from other human civilizations?¡±

    The Divine Maiden calmly replied, ¡°We can simply leave. We do not need to face him.¡±

    This answer took Lu Yin and the others by surprise. Humans always saw the war against Aeternus as one that needed to be won, rather than something that could be escaped. God¡¯s Domain was so powerful that not even thebined efforts of the Heavens Sect would have been able to take it down before the Lu family returned. It was unexpected that God¡¯s Domain would consider escape.

    This was not a response that Lu Yin could understand.

    It was possible that this was the mindset that the Divine Maiden had instilled into this civilization: tolerance towards both their own people and towards their enemies. Escaping when they would otherwise be overwhelmed might be considered normal by the Divine Maiden.

    This manner of thinking sharply contrasted with that of Lu Yin and the others. That did not mean that the Divine Maiden was necessarily wrong, rather that their civilizations had taken different paths.

    Lu Yin believed that, while God¡¯s Domain was a peaceful ce, it was a peace that could transform into utter destruction. If the civilization was unable to stop an external threat, or if something happened to their Divine Maiden, the entire civilization would copse without putting up any resistance.

    Everyone wanted to stay in God¡¯s Domain, living carefree days, but someone needed to stand at the front lines.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, the Divine Maiden was not a qualified guardian. Her approach was too straightforward: expel any outsiders, regardless of whether they were enemies or not. If victory was deemed impossible, escape. It seemed possible that this mindset matched the entire civilization.

    Philosophical disputes would not produce any results, and Lu Yin had no intention of arguing with the Divine Maiden. He was just a visitor in her universe.

    At first, Lu Yin and the others assumed that the Divine Maiden would at least show them around a bit before allowing them to leave. But no matter how they looked at their situation, the Divine Maiden did not appear to be a very hospitable person. Surprisingly, she decided to allow them to stay a few more days.

    While it might have just been a polite gesture, Lu Yin and the others took it seriously.

    In particr, Lu Yin asked the Divine Maiden if she knew of any parallel universes where time flowed at a different speed. They hade to God¡¯s Domain to use thepass, and it was possible that the civilization already had ess to such universes.

    The Divine Maiden readily shared with Lu Yin that their universe was indeed connected to other parallel universes where time flowed at different speeds, and more than one at that. These universes had been found by God¡¯s Domain over the course of many, many years.

    Furthermore, she generously allowed Lu Yin to visit a universe to cultivate there.

    The contrast in her current attitude with her previous attitude towards Lu Yin and the others was so drastic that it made them feel rather ufortable. Lu Yin suspected that she held some ulterior motive.

    However, what of it? The most important thing for him at the moment was to cultivate in parallel universes where time passed at different speeds.

    As for being in danger, the Divine Maiden could not instantly overwhelm Lu Yin even with the power of the four elephants. Even if the elephants themselves appeared, between Lightstream, Inverse Step, and the ability to travel parallel to time, Lu Yin was confident that he could stay safe.

    Before long, the Divine Maiden led Lu Yin and the jiao he rode upon to a parallel universe that was connected to God¡¯s Domain.

    This was one of the universes they controlled where time passed at a different speed. They used the universe for both cultivating and living space, though their cultivation seemed to be ineffective. There was not a single peak powerhouse in all of God¡¯s Domain, and if the Divine Maiden had not received the recognition of the universe and was able to borrow the power of the four elephants, any Progenitor-level corpse king could have easily destroyed the universe without Di Qiong.

    The time of the parallel universe that Lu Yin was led to flowed thirty-six times faster than the Origin Universe¡¯s, which was quite valuable.

    As for how to obtain the universe¡¯s acknowledgement, Lu Yin would need some time to look into it.

    Receiving a universe¡¯s acknowledgement and bing the ruler of the universe were quite different concepts. Lu Yin was the ruler of the Origin Universe, and he had been recognized by the will of the Origin Universe. That was why he could shun people from the Origin Universe and dere them as enemies of the Origin Universe.

    The Divine Maiden held a simr status in God¡¯s Domain, which was why she could use the power of the four elephants.

    Being acknowledged by a universe could be thought of as simply no longer being rejected by it. Any foreign creature would automatically be rejected by a universe before receiving its recognition.

    For that reason, even if the Divine Maiden was the ruler of the universe and could wield its will, Lu Yin could still be acknowledged by it.

    The biggest issue was how much time it would take for Lu Yin to receive that recognition.

    Twenty yearster, Lu Yin finally received the universe¡¯s acknowledgement, and that allowed him to look an additional thirty-six seconds back in time. During this same time, only a year and a half had passed in God¡¯s Domain.

    When Lu Yin and the others returned to God¡¯s Domain, right when he was about to cheekily request to use another parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate, the Divine Maiden bluntly asked, ¡°Was that already enough for you? Honestly, there¡¯s no problem if you want to cultivate in that universe for hundreds or even thousands of years.¡±

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the girl. How was that not a problem?

    Even the foolish jiao was able to sense that something was off at this moment.

    ¡°That universe is no longer able to help me,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The Divine Maiden felt puzzled. Cultivators would routinely go into seclusion for a thousand or even tens of thousands of years at a time. Even if Lu Yin had cultivated in a parallel universe where time passed more quickly, he should have finished so quickly.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s n was quite simple. God¡¯s Domain was threatened by Di Qiong, so she wanted to keep Lu Yin and the others in her universe for as long as possible, preferably stalling them until Di Qiong attacked again. At that time, joining forces with Lu Yin and the others would be the ideal response. If they could kill Di Qiong, things would be for the best, but if not, they could ensure that Di Qiong developed a fear of God¡¯s Domain. Their universe was not without formidable powerhouses.

    However, the fact that Lu Yin had ended his cultivation so quickly had caught the girlpletely off guard. Since things had turned out this way... ¡°Do you want to visit another parallel universe with a different flow rate of time?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. <i>If you had just waited a few more seconds, you wouldn¡¯t have even needed to ask. I would have brought it up myself</i>.

    ¡°Uh, well, that¡¯s a bit embarrassing,¡± Lu Yin answered modestly.

    Ghost Monkey secretly sneered, and Jiang Qingyue¡¯s face looked odd.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s expression remained as indifferent as ever, though her eyes rxed a bit. It was clear that she felt rather relieved. ¡°That¡¯s fine. If you want to use another one, just tell me. Since you¡¯re our invited guests, my God¡¯s Domain will naturally treat you as well as possible. I¡¯ll show you there myself.¡±

    Lu Yin and the others exchanged nces. There seemed to be no reason for them to be polite. While they suspected the girl¡¯s intentions, they were not bothered. In fact, they also wanted to discover just how strong Di Qiong was and what sort of position he held within Aeternus.

 Chapter 3008: Di Qiong

    <h4>Chapter 3008: Di Qiong</h4>

    Lu Yin and the others did not ask when Di Qiong mighte to God¡¯s Domain again. There was simply an unspoken understanding.

    Even so, that did not mean that they could wait indefinitely. There was a limit to how long they could wait for, and it all depended on how long it took Lu Yin to be recognized by the parallel universes that were controlled by God¡¯s Domain.

    As years passed, Lu Yin spent over a century in parallel universes where time flowed faster. During this time, only four years passed for the Origin Universe.

    During those four years¡¯ time, Jiang Qingyue and the rest were not always with Lu Yin. After all, they did not benefit much from the universes that he needed to visit.

    In particr, Jiang Qingyue focused on exploring the energy that the Divine Maiden used in God¡¯s Domain, and shepletely ignored the parallel universes. Jiang Qingyue was far more intrigued by the power of the four elephants, and she preferred to spend her time with the Divine Maiden.

    She knew that Lu Yin used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, one of the four elephants, in his visualization method.

    Arch-Elder Zen also stayed in God¡¯s Domain. Seeing this ce was equivalent to seeing his lifelong dream be fulfilled. Though, whether or not the dream was worthwhile remained to be seen.

    Zhao Ran apanied Arch-Elder Zen, as did Ghost Monkey.

    Lu Yin did not need anyone around him during this period of training.

    Only the jiao obediently followed Lu Yin around, as nobody else could control it. While the Divine Maiden technically could, if she intervened, the jiao would simply slip away.

    During these four years, Lu Yin visited five parallel universes where time passed more quickly.

    He had not expected God¡¯s Domain to have ess to so many of these universes. It was a bit surprising, but more was better, as far as Lu Yin was concerned.

    When he returned to God¡¯s Domain after gaining the recognition of the sixth parallel universe, the Divine Maiden hesitated for at least half a day before leading Lu Yin to yet another universe. Astonishingly, time flowed 110 times faster than in the Origin Universe in this particr parallel universe.

    This was the most extreme difference that Lu Yin had ever encountered.

    He looked at the Divine Maiden in surprise, only to see that she did not appear to be too happy about the situation. This was clear even through her thin veil. ¡°We obtained this ce after God¡¯s Domain experienced a battle. Take your time cultivating here.¡±

    Lu Yin could sense her sincerity. She genuinely wanted him to train slowly.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lu Yin said before entering the universe.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s expression was rather conflicted. This was God¡¯s Domain¡¯sst parallel universe where time passed more quickly. If Di Qiong did not attack before Lu Yin finished training in this universe, she was not sure what else she could do to convince Lu Yin and the others to stay a while longer.

    Even though the Divine Maiden had developed a good rtionship with Jiang Qingyue over the years, Lu Yin was the leader of the group. He was also the most powerful of them.

    God¡¯s Domain had never considered seeking outside help before, but the Divine Maiden saw Lu Yin¡¯s arrival as fated. It was possible that he could help, but it was not guaranteed.

    As Lu Yin nced around the universe where time passed 110 times faster than in the Origin Universe, he found that it was extremely small; even the Frostwave Weave was about ten timesrger than this ce. This universe was inhabited almost entirely by creatures that resembled pangolins. The creatures were covered with enormous stone shells, which made it impossible to quickly determine their exact numbers.

    While the universe was miniscule and only had a fews, each and every was inhabited by the pangolins.

    Lu Yin¡¯s first move was to try to learn more about these creatures, as they were the key to him gaining the universe¡¯s recognition.

    However, after several years of exhaustive efforts, Lu Yin came to realize that the creatures had no desires at all. They simply slept or crawled around, moving from one to another in a rather peculiar manner even though they had no cultivation or any real strength. They had an ability to crawl through outer space by relying on a unique breathing method.

    Lu Yin learned their breathing method, but it held little value as it was only suitable for these creatures.

    Even after learning about the pangolins, the question remained unanswered; just how could Lu Yin receive this universe¡¯s acknowledgement?

    Violence was not an option, and persuasion was simrly impossible. Bringing in a foreign species would be entirely meaningless. Even if the indigenous creatures were eradicated, Lu Yin would not gain the universe¡¯s recognition. Instead, he might even be rejected by the universe.

    This was thest situation that Lu Yin wanted.

    He much preferred a survival-of-the-fittest sort of universe, or one with undeveloped life forms. In fact, even a universe without any kind of life would be preferable to dealing with this one.

    As far as Lu Yin was concerned, these creatures were essentially blocking Lu Yin¡¯s progress without contributing anything to the universe. He somehow needed to gain their cooperation in order to receive the universe¡¯s acknowledgment. Unfortunately, he did not see any realistic way to do so.

    Finally, Lu Yin decided to copy the creatures in order to be recognized by the universe.

    He altered his appearance so that he looked identical to the creatures, and then he joined them in their crawling and sleeping as he headed into an unknown future. The creatures did not care enough to understand what awaited them.

    In the blink of an eye, an entire decade passed. Lu Yin looked back, only to sadly realize that he had only managed to crawl a few thousand kilometers. Determined, he persevered. The fact that time passed 110 times faster in this universe meant that gaining its acknowledgment would grant him an additional 110 seconds when peering into the past with Lightstream. This would undoubtedly be worth the effort needed.

    After all, only a bit more than a month had passed in outside universes.

    The only thing was that Lu Yin could not let Jiang Qingyue or anyone else see him in such a manner, especially not Ghost Monkey. The monkey might tter Lu Yin when they were together, but Ghost Monkey would not hesitate to gossip about Lu Yin behind his back. If he was seen in his current form, the Ghost Monkey would mock Lu Yin for the rest of his life.

    In the God¡¯s Domain, Arch-Elder Zen leisurely enjoyed a cup of tea that had been brewed by Zhao Ran. To the old man¡¯s surprise, he had noticed that Zhao Ran¡¯s tea had started to gain a better appearance.

    ¡°Girl, what¡¯s with this tea?¡± Arch-Elder Zen asked.

    Zhao Ran nervously replied, ¡°Is it not good?¡±

    ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s simply different from before.¡± Arch-Elder Zen held his teacup as he observed the particles floating inside.

    No one would be able to ept Zhao Ran¡¯s teas the first time they encountered them, but everyone who traveled with Lu Yin had long since gotten used to such things. Before they arrived in God¡¯s Domain, even Arch-Elder Zen had found the the girl¡¯s teas to look quite intimidating, but that appearance had toned down significantly.

    Zhao Ran blinked. ¡°I feel like the tea I was brewing before didn¡¯t look very appealing.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen gave Zhao Ran a strange look. ¡°You only realized that now?¡±

    Zhao Ran pursed her lips. ¡°So it¡¯s true?¡±

    ¡°Are you still not sure?¡± Arch-Elder Zen retorted.

    Zhao Ran shook her head as she stared at Arch-Elder Zen.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just do whatever you want. Brew your teas however you like.¡±

    Zhao Ran stared at Arch-Elder Zen, hope appearing in her eyes. ¡°Does it taste good?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. ¡°Of course it does! Every tea you make is always delicious.¡±

    Zhao Ran smiled happily.

    Elsewhere, Jiang Qingyue was in the Divine Maiden¡¯s residence. She had been granted ess to the ce six months ago, but she was the only one who had been invited over. After all, they were both girls, so there was no reason for the Divine Maiden to be cautious.

    ¡°Do you think that you can withstand this pressure? Do you really want to try?¡± The Divine Maiden stared at where Jiang Qingyue was standing with a sword in her hand.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s expression was very serious. ¡°I want to give it a try.¡±

    The Divine Maiden was impressed. ¡°One day, you¡¯ll achieve great heights.¡±

    After that, despite there being no apparent movement, a hand of light appeared above Jiang Qingyue¡¯s head, and it pressed down upon her with a terrifying power. This hand carried the power of the Great Sage Elephant.

    Jiang Qingyue thrusted her sword upwards.

    Over thest few years, she had frequently sparred with the Divine Maiden, and she had already experienced the pressure of the Great Sage Elephant¡¯sbat abilities. Facing this elephant¡¯s power had helped Jiang Qingyu¡¯s mind clear up, and her strength had also grown.

    There was a resounding bang, and the sword slipped from her hand and into a wall.

    The hand of light froze when it was less than half a meter from Jiang Qingyue¡¯s head.

    Jiang Qingyue panted for breath. She had failed. This was her limit.

    ¡°This hand has previously killed peak powerhouses about as strong as Arch-Elder Zen. It¡¯s only normal for you to be unable to stand up to it,¡± the Divine Maiden stated.

    Jiang Qingyue lifted her hand, and her sword returned to her grip.

    Unable to stand up to the hand? If she used her aura energy, she would be able to break through the hand, but that would be meaningless.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break,¡± the Divine Maiden suggested.

    Jiang Qingyue nodded.

    God¡¯s Domain was a rxing ce, but being too rxed could also lead to problems. Jiang Qingyue and the others were well aware of this, and the Divine Maiden undoubtedly knew it too, but this peace aligned with her own values.

    ¡°Friend Lu has spent more than half a year cultivating in that universe. For him, nearly sixty years have passed. I wonder how long he¡¯ll take to return,¡± the Divine Maidenmented as she stared off into the distance.

    Jiang Qingyue was also curious. As the Divine Maiden had mentioned, time passed a staggering 110 times faster in that parallel universe, which must make it incredibly alluring to Lu Yin. This was more exaggerated than any other parallel universe he had encountered on this journey.

    ¡°Qingyue, tell me more about the Sixverse Association,¡± the Divine Maiden suddenly asked.

    Jiang Qingyue nodded and then began to slowly describe the situation within the Sixverse Association.

    ...

    Soon, another six months peacefully passed within God¡¯s Domain. One day, as Jiang Qingyue was facing off against the hand of light like normal, the Divine Maiden¡¯s expression abruptly changed. ¡°This is bad.¡±

    Her body flickered, and she entered her home. The very next moment, a terrifying power filled the area, and countless sequence particles moved in the same direction.

    Jiang Qingyue was not able to see sequence particles, but she could still sense the unbelievable power of their movement.

    The Divine Maiden was using the power of the four elephants, as she had detected a trespasser¡¯s arrival.

    Far away, in outer space, a figure slowly appeared. They were wearing a ck coat that was covered with intricate patterns, and their hands were tucked into the coat¡¯s pockets. The individual¡¯s face was weathered, and there were bits of stubble to be seen. His eyescked vitality, and his hair neither long nor short, and it hung across his shoulders, scattered in an unkempt manner.

    This person¡¯s appearance had immediately rmed the Divine Maiden.

    He was Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong stood silently in outer space. He did not move at all and appeared to be waiting for something.

    Soon, a luminous hand appeared above his head, and the Divine Maiden¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Di Qiong, will you not give up? You can¡¯t enter this ce!¡±

    Di Qiong looked up at the hand of light. ¡°Little girl, how long can you hold me back for?¡±

    ¡°How long can you live?¡± the Divine Maiden challenged. She sounded unusually solemn, and there was a hint of killing intent in her voice as the hand of light pressed down upon the trespasser.

    Di Qiong raised his own hand and shed with the descending palm.

    God¡¯s Domain trembled, and the entire universe swayed as it suffered from the impact of two terrifying forces.

    Arch-Elder Zen shot to his feet. He had sensed a terrifying power.

    In outer space, an endless stream of sequence particles surged into the hand of light. It was even stronger than when it had attacked Lu Yin and the others. The Divine Maiden was using her full strength from the very beginning. Every generation of Divine Maidens needed to always remain vignt, as there was no room for any sort of negligence. The slightest bit of carelessness could lead to the destruction of God¡¯s Domain.

    Di Qiong merely raised one hand to block the hand of light. The luminous hand filled with more and more sequence particles as it relentlessly pressed down. Even so, Di Qiong stood tall. He did not retreat or advance the slightest bit.

    ¡°Qingyue, help me!¡± the Divine Maiden called out to Jiang Qingyue.

    Jiang Qingyue had already gone to the universe where Lu Yin was training. Regardless of what was going on there, they needed to help God¡¯s Domain in this current battle.

 Chapter 3009: Visualization Method

    <h4>Chapter 3009: Visualization Method</h4>

    The Divine Maiden had instantly erupted with her full power. This demonstrated the level of the threat that she faced. If she was unable to stop this invader, only disaster awaited God¡¯s Domain.

    Even if Lu Yin¡¯spanions had not embraced the attitude of the inhabitants of God¡¯s Domain, they still did not wish to witness its destruction.

    Jiang Qingyue quickly arrived in the universe where Lu Yin had been training. ¡°Brother Lu!¡±

    Her voice echoed throughout the entire universe, instantly drawing Lu Yin¡¯s attention. ¡°Qingyue?¡±

    He quickly recovered and shot through space. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Di Qiong is attacking.¡±

    Lu Yin took a step, leaving the universe and returning to God¡¯s Domain. What greeted him was a terrifying aura, but just as he was about to advance, it vanished.

    At this same moment, the Divine Maiden¡¯s eyes red in surprise. <i>He left? How irritating</i>

    She understood that Di Qiong had only appeared to test the strength of God¡¯s Domain and to see how close he was to oveing the four elephants¡¯ power. Each of his attacks continuously brought him closer to sess.

    What disturbed the Divine Maiden the most was the fact that she had no idea if Di Qiong might seed in his next attempt.

    Di Qiong was confident that he would eventually seed, but the Divine Maiden did not have the same self-confidence.

    This left her very ufortable.

    Lu Yin made his way straight to the Divine Maiden¡¯s residence, and he then waited for her outside.

    She soon stepped out. She appeared calm, but her eyescked their previous gentleness. Instead, there were hints of confusion and unease.

    Lu Yin spoke up, ¡°Why did Di Qiong leave so quickly? Why did hee here?¡±

    The Divine Maiden shared her spections.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°If you¡¯re right, then the next time hees, or the time after that, he might ovee the four elephants¡¯ power, which will be the end of your God¡¯s Domain.¡±

    At that moment, Jiang Qingyue, Arch-Elder Zen, and others all arrived. Further away were various cultivators from God¡¯s Domain. The strongest were only Semi-Progenitors, and their presence would do nothing to help protect their civilization.

    The Divine Maiden looked torn as she stared off into the distance. She had thought that Lu Yin and others could have helped defend God¡¯s Domain, but Di Qiong had left too quickly. Was he done testing her?

    ¡°Do you want to lead God¡¯s Domain to destruction?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    ¡°We can leave,¡± she replied.

    ¡°What if you can¡¯t? Or what if Di Qiong catches up to you?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡±

    Lu Yin suggested that they join the Sixverse Association, as that would prevent even Aeternus from touching God¡¯s Domain.

    The Divine Maiden met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°There¡¯s no need to try to convince me. I¡¯ll find a safe ce for my people. We don¡¯t want to be part of any war.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°How can there be any eggs left intact beneath a fallen nest?¡±

    The Divine Maiden stayed true to her ideals and was unyielding. While Lu Yin wished to bring more strong allies into the Sixverse Association, he could not force them to join.

    ¡°My apologies, but we can no longer host you,¡± she apologized.

    Di Qiong had attacked, which meant that he would not attack again for at least a century. However, God¡¯s Domain could not ask Lu Yin and the others to stay for so long. Despite their reluctance, God¡¯s Domain could only allow Lu Yin¡¯s group to leave.

    Jiang Qingyue said, ¡°Trying to flee will be very risky. As soon as Di Qiong finds you again, it will be over. You should reconsider joining the Sixverse Association in order to survive. Why do you insist on this? If you need, you can join Whitecloud City instead.¡±

    The Divine Maiden shook her head, determined. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but please leave as soon as possible.¡±

    Lu Yin stopped Jiang Qingyue from saying anything further and instead told the Divine Maiden, ¡°Your Excellency, I need only a few more months in thest universe that you¡¯ve allowed me to use in order to finish my current training. Could you allow us to stay for just a few more months?¡±

    The Divine Maiden nodded. ¡°Certainly.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The Divine Maiden had a favorable impression of Lu Yin and hispanions. When Di Qiong had attacked, Jiang Qingyue had raced off to get Lu Yin¡¯s help before the Divine Maiden had even asked for help. On top of that, Lu Yin had arrived as quickly as possible. Regardless of whether or not they had actually taken action, she appreciated their efforts. Besides, they were only asking for a few months.

    Lu Yin returned to the same parallel universe, and he once again disguised himself as one of the pangolins that he had posed as for over a hundred years. He felt rather numb to his experience, and he had even tested to see if he had received the universe¡¯s acknowledgement about halfway along. However, he had to continue.

    A few months in God¡¯s Domain was equivalent to Lu Yin spending several decades in this parallel universe.

    In the blink of an eye, several decades passed for Lu Yin as he crawled through outer space with a group of the creatures. They relied on their own abilities to move through outer space, while Lu Yin used his cultivation.

    <i>Let¡¯s give it a try.</i>

    His second attempt did not present any feeling of danger, which allowed Lu Yin to breathe a sigh of relief. He had seeded. The universe had finally acknowledged him.

    This might have been the most challenging universe to receive its acknowledgement yet. After all, Lu Yin had been forced to act as one of the indigenous creatures for over a hundred years. This was even longer than his total time spent cultivating in the Origin Universe.

    While it had been difficult to be acknowledged by the universe, the reward that Lu Yin reaped in the boost to his Lightstream was equal to the obstacle that he had ovee.

    For God¡¯s Domain, over half a year had passed since Di Qiong¡¯s attack. The Divine Maiden did not try to rush Lu Yin.

    When he emerged from the adjoining universe, he and hispanions bade the Divine Maiden farewell.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin tried to leave behind a few things to pay for borrowing the parallel universes and training, but the Divine Maiden refused.

    ¡°While I may have let you use those universes for your cultivation, I did so with the intention of using your strength against Di Qiong. Whether or not I seeded in my goals, our transaction ispleted,¡± the Divine Maiden stated bluntly.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t insist. However, for the sake of God¡¯s Domain, I suggest that you put a contingency n in ce.¡±

    The girl appeared puzzled.

    ¡°Send someone with us to the Sixverse Association so that they can leave their mark on a coordinate seal. That way, should you encounter any danger, or if Di Qiong catches up to you even after you escape, you can use this to travel to the Sixverse Association,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The Divine Maiden was not a naive person, and while she was unwilling to join the war due to her ideology, putting a contingency n in ce was never a bad idea.

    Lu Yin and hispanions mounted the jiao, and a Semi-Progenitor-equivalent cultivator from God¡¯s Domain joined them. They tore through the void and returned to Aeternus Nation.

    Before they left, Jiang Qingyue could not stop herself from saying, ¡°I hope that we will have the chance to meet again someday.¡±

    They had spent nearly six years in God¡¯s Domain, and Jiang Qingyue had spent the most time with the Divine Maiden, and the two had developed a bond.

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s expression wasplex as she answered. ¡°I also hope so.¡±

    The jiao shot through the spatial tear and instantly arrived in Aeternus Nation.

    The cultivator from the God¡¯s Domain who had apanied them marveled at the sight of the death energy beneath Aeternus Nation. The energy gave the man chills, as this power was beyond his imagination.

    Lu Yin quickly had the man leave a mark on the coordinate seal and then watched as he left. Lu Yin¡¯s time with God¡¯s Domain was over.

    ¡°What do you think about the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant?¡± Jiang Qingyue suddenly asked.

    Lu Yin countered with his own question, ¡°How much did you manage to learn about the four elephants over the years there?¡±

    Jiang Qingyue thought back. ¡°The four elephants are the guardians of God¡¯s Domain, and they have existed since the ancient days, when the civilization was first established. Each generation of Divine Maidens possesses the ability to wield the four elephants¡¯ power to protect God¡¯s Domain. That¡¯s basically all I know.¡±

    ¡°All it means is that the four elephants have never changed,¡± Arch-Elder Zen spoke up.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s eyes flickered as she stared at Lu Yin.

    He spoke as he sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Ancestor Lu Yuan once used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant as his mount. Unless I¡¯m mistaken, God¡¯s Domain lost their Immovable Heavenly King Elephant long ago. Even so, they have been able to stop Di Qiong all this time. Whoever created God¡¯s Domain is definitely someone unlike the Divine Maidens. Those women do nothing more than borrow power that was left behind.¡±

    ¡°And what about the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant? Where is it?¡± Dragonturtle asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Ancestor Yuan never mentioned that, but I know that it isn¡¯t in the Lu Sanctum. I¡¯ll ask when we get back.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s tone grew heavy. ¡°If the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant doesn¡¯t return to God¡¯s Domain, the Divine Maiden might not be able to stop Di Qiong again.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s possible. We¡¯ve given God¡¯s Domain an escape, but whether or not they use it depends on their Divine Maiden. There¡¯s no need to get sentimental,¡± Lu Yin stated. He then led everyone back to the Heavens Sect, while he went to the Lu Sanctum.

    At the Lu Sanctum, Lu Yin met with Lu Tianyi, as Lu Yuan was still in seclusion.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly asking about the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant?¡± Lu Tianyi questioned.

    Lu Yin shared all that had happened in God¡¯s Domain.

    Lu Tianyi was stunned. ¡°Such a ce exists? The megaverse really does give birth to all kinds of civilizations. For a ce like that where humans are so kind and tolerant of each other, while it may appear beautiful, it is extraordinarily dangerous.

    ¡°As for the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant,¡± Lu Tianyi paused as he fell silent for a moment, ¡°When the Second Maind was destroyed, Corpse God tried to destroy the Fifth Maind as well, but the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant pushed past Corpse God. Ultimately, it was destroyed along with the Second Maind.¡±

    ¡°The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is dead?¡± Lu Yin eximed.

    Lu Tianyi sighed. ¡°During the battle that caused the destruction of the Second Maind, our Ancestor received a vicious wound, which is why he was asleep for so long. During that battle, the Second Maind¡¯s powerhouses perished, and I watched with my own eyes as the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas¡¯ Silver River de Emperor died. He was never even given a chance to enter Burial Garden. The Mavis family owed our Lu family too much for saving them, which is how they ended up bing our wallet. Without us, the Mavis family would have perished long ago.

    ¡°The death of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant has be a constant wound in our ancestor¡¯s heart.¡±

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. ¡°If the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is dead, then why can our Lu family still use it as a visualization method?¡±

    Lu Tianyi stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Visualization methods rely on faith. This is also how the Sixth Maind was led astray by Aeternus and how their cultivation method deviated. They started cultivating imprints, which can indeed boost their strength quickly. However, as soon as their Imprinter dies, the imprint disappears. This is a critical w in the Sixth Maind¡¯s imprint method, and it is a deadly w, as their faith disappears with the imprint. A visualization method, on the other hand, is different.

    ¡°As long as there is faith, there can be visualization.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. Aeternus had given the Sixth Maind the cultivation method of imprints not only to grant them the strength to deal with the Fifth Maind, but also to destroy the faith of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivators.

    After all, could a person truly be strong without faith?

    Aeternus had seeded in undermining the very foundation of the Sixth Maind¡¯s cultivation while simultaneously eliminating the Fifth Maind¡¯s strength.

    This was how the Aeternals worked.

    ¡°You were right to not mention the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant to that Divine Maiden. When she learns of its death, her faith might not survive. Right now, God¡¯s Domain relies on the power of the four elephants and their Divine Maiden being acknowledged by the will of their universe, as well as utilizing something simr to the faith that is the foundation of visualization methods. Should that faith copse, God¡¯s Domain will crumble.

    ¡°On top of that, if they learn that the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant died here, their attitude towards our Origin universe might change entirely,¡± Lu Tianyi concluded.

    Lu Yin had already considered this, which was why he had refrained from mentioning anything. It would have been too easy toplicate things and unintentionally turn God¡¯s Domain into their enemy.

 Chapter 3010: Farewell

    <h4>Chapter 3010: Farewell</h4>

    Even though the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant was dead, there were still three other elephants in the Divine Realm, and each one was a formidable sequence powerhouse. If they became enemies of the Heavens Sect, even if the Origin Universe won in the end, they would have to pay a steep price for that victory.

    ¡°While only a decade has passed here, you¡¯ve been exploring unknown parallel universes and have lived through hundreds of years yourself. How has your harvest been?¡± Lu Tianyi asked.

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°Not bad. I¡¯ve found a few new paths, though I don¡¯t know how things will go once I walk down them.¡±

    Lu Tianyi praised Lu Yin, ¡°Throughout history, no one can surpass your talent. Since you¡¯ve decided on your path, walk down it. Don¡¯t worry about the Heavens Sect. We will keep it safe.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. Thank you, Ancestor.¡±

    Ten years was a short time for cultivators.

    Aeternus remained unchanged, and the Sixverse Association had seized dominance of the entire Endless Frontier long ago. Their forces were almost entirely gathered near the entrance to the Scourge and were ready tounch an attack at any moment.

    The Great Sovereign would rather focus on her own cultivation and ovee Dukkha than fight directly against the Aeternals. But at the moment, Lu Yin was second only to the Great Sovereign in the Sixverse Association, and he wanted tounch an attack and restart the war. He wanted to force Aeternus to reveal a bit of what they had been keeping hidden.

    Lu Yin had already seen the heights of Aeternus¡¯s power, and while the truth had driven him to despair, he did not believe that victory was impossible for humanity. The Aeternals had once viewed the ancient Heavens Sect as invincible, and yet they had eventually destroyed it, one Maind after another. This was the foundation of Lu Yin¡¯s confidence.

    The Sixverse Association, Whitecloud City, the will of past peak powerhouses, and even Burial Garden¡ªthese forces would gradually converge into a unified will that would resist Aeternus.

    As the Lord of Lightning had once said, ¡°We march to the Scourge to meet death.¡±

    Progenitor Ku had wanted to be a stone that paved a path for future generations to eliminate the Aeternals.

    With so many peak powerhouses having led the way, why did they need to be afraid?

    Humanity¡¯s faith was inexhaustible and unyielding.

    After returning from the Lu Sanctum, Lu Yin met with Wang Wen and Wei Rong. The two had not yet managed toe up with any n to let Lu Yin safely return to the Scourge as Ye Bo.

    The best option was simply to allow the Aeternals to save themselves from Aeternus Nation, but unfortunately, Aeternus was not currently capable of saving the captive True God Guard Captains. True God¡¯s seclusion had been extended multiple times, and several of the Seven Skygods had been killed. The surviving ones would not easily move, and if they did, they might wreak havoc rather than mount any sort of rescue attempt.

    For Aeternus to take open action against the Origin Universe, they would need another one of the Scourges to get involved.

    Soon, Lu Yin and the others prepared to set off again. Lu Yin needed to further improve Lightstream so that he could peer even further into the past, and he was eager to continue. He felt like he had found the right path for him. It was a path that he had conceived while crawling through a universe for over a hundred years in the same manner as the pangolin-like creatures. While his path was vague, Lu Yin at least had a direction now.

    ¡°Oh, Dao Monarch, there¡¯s something that you should know about. Elder Gong failed his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and his life ising to an end.¡± Wei Rong suddenly remembered something when he saw that Lu Yin and the others were about to leave.

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and he gestured for Jiang Qingyue and the others to wait for him as he headed to the Neoverse alone.

    While Lu Yin had never been as close to Elder Gong as he was to Big Sis and many others, the old man was still an elder who had protected Lu Yin over the years. While most of the man¡¯s protection was actually him wanting to protect theplete version of the Cosmic Art, there was no denying that Elder Gong had helped Lu Yin on multiple asions.

    Given that Elder Gong¡¯s failed breakthrough would cost him his life, Lu Yin felt that it was necessary to go see the man before he passed.

    Soon, Lu Yin arrived at the Cosmic Sect in the Neoverse.

    The atmosphere in the Cosmic Sect was heavy, as the disciples were in mourning, kneeling throughout the sect. The entire ce was shrouded in a gloomy mood.

    Yuan Qiong, the sect master of the Cosmic Sect, Elder Yuan Shou, the guardian of the Cosmos Hall, Yuan Ke, the elder who protected the sect¡¯s secret technique, and others all stood beneath the peak of the mountain where Elder Gong was generally in seclusion or enjoying tea. Only two people were on the mountain peak itself to care for Elder Gong: Elder Jiu Shen and Qiu Shi.

    When Lu Yin arrived, Elder Jiu Shen and Qiu Shi both bowed respectfully.

    Lu Yin was no longer the person they had once known, and they knew the proper level of respect to show the Dao Monarch.

    Elder Gong was leaning against arge tree, and when he spoke, his voice was very weak. ¡°Dao Monarch, please forgive me for not being able to offer you a bow.¡±

    Lu Yin waved the apology away. Elder Jiu Shen and Qiu Shi both offered a second bow before they excused themselves.

    Lu Yin took a seat across from Elder Gong. ¡°How did you fail?¡±

    Elder Gong¡¯s voice was bitter as he recounted the matter. ¡°I took too long. I wanted to break through, but I hesitated for too long. Once I finally attempted my breakthrough, my mental state was too wed, and it was impossible for things to naturally fall into ce as they should have.¡±

    Lu Yin poured tea for Elder Gong and handed the cup to the old man.

    Elder Gong epted it. ¡°Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin looked away and stared off into the distance at all of the Cosmic Sect disciples who were kneeling. The Cosmic Sect had never felt such sorrow before, not even when Aeternus had invaded the Fifth Maind and the sect had been forced to relocate.

    Elder Gong had always been the pir of the Cosmic Sect, and his presence had allowed the sect to thrive. Without him, their future became uncertain.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, why have youe? I didn¡¯t expect to see you, as you should be in seclusion,¡± Elder Gong asked.

    Lu Yin calmly replied, ¡°I happened to emerge from seclusion, and as soon as I heard what happened to you, I came to see you. The Cosmic Sect cannot continue without you. If you want to live, I have a way.¡±

    Elder Gong shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve already lived for too long, and I¡¯m tired. Semi-Progenitors rarely bother to live the lives of mortals, but I¡¯m different, as I have lived as both a Semi-Progenitor and as a mortal. With my life at its end, it¡¯s time for me to move on. This is in ordance with thews of the universe.¡±

    What the old man referred to as thews of the universe were not thews that were governed by sequence particles, but rather what ordinary humans understood as the mandate of heaven and reincarnation.

    Lu Yin said nothing further to try to persuade the old man. ¡°I won¡¯t allow the Cosmic Sect to weaken. When did Elder Jiu Shen break through to be a Semi-Progenitor?¡±

    ¡°Right after my failure.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised, but then he chuckled after a moment. ¡°I thought that he was terrified of death. I never thought there¡¯d be a day when he¡¯d be willing to risk his life.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, my Cosmic Sect needs a Semi-Progenitor to protect it,¡± Elder Gong said with augh. He was at peace with his own death in part because Elder Jiu Shen had sessfully be a Semi-Progenitor.

    The Cosmic Sect¡¯s Origin Matter had already been given over to Jiu Shen. Lu Yin would not interfere with this, as he did not care about the Origin Matter. If needed, the masters of the Perennial World who were in the Dominion Realm could get some.

    Already, the Heavens Sect had announced that apetition would be held, simr to the one in the past, allowing youths topete for Origin Matter. Thispetition was intended to uncover extraordinarily talented young cultivators, and they would be rewarded with Origin Matter.

    After all, Origin Matter only had any real value when it was used. Otherwise, it would just go to waste.

    ¡°The sect has a Semi-Progenitor in Jiu Shen, and the disciples can follow Qiu Shi. I can die without regrets,¡± Elder Gong said with a sigh. His skin started to turn gray. It was clear that the end was near.

    Lu Yin looked at the dying man. ¡°The Cosmic Sect¡¯s greatest regret is the Cosmic Art. I want you to rest assured that once I be a Progenitor, I will make sure to leave the full Cosmic Art to the Cosmic Sect.¡±

    Elder Gong coughed. ¡°Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s one other thing that might be good to tell you.¡± Lu Yin pondered for a moment. ¡°I met Progenitor Chen.¡±

    Elder Gong went bug-eyed as he stared at Lu Yin in astonishment before excitedly asking, ¡°You met Progenitor Chen?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°He¡¯s in Burial Garden.¡±

    Elder Gong burst outughing. ¡°I knew it! I knew that Progenitor Chen couldn¡¯t have died so easily! Progenitor Chen is still alive! Hahaha, he¡¯s still alive!¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how he would allow the Cosmic Sect to inherit Progenitor Chen¡¯s power, but seeing Elder Gong¡¯s happiness made Lu Yin feel like he had somewhat fulfilled the man¡¯s dying wish.

    The sect was safe, and his wishes had been granted. He could die without any regrets.

    Lu Yin stood up and left. This parting would be final, as they would never meet again. There were many final partings throughout a person¡¯s life, and many times when neither person even knew that it was a final farewell. Being able to bid farewell to Elder Gong was good fortune for both him and Lu Yin.

    The day woulde when Lu Yin would also pass on, and he had no idea who might be there to bid him farewell.

    Soon after Lu Yin left, Elder Gong passed away whileughing.

    The Cosmic Sect mourned.

    The passing of a Semi-Progenitor was no longer a significant event for the Fifth Maind as a whole, and Elder Gong¡¯s death did not raise much of amotion, despite the fact that he had once been one of the seven Semi-Progenitors who had protected the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain. This was also why Wei Rong had not even thought to inform Lu Yin of Elder Jiu Shen¡¯s breakthrough to the Semi-Progenitor realm.

    The Origin Universe had truly changed.

    ...

    Lu Yin and the others set out on a new journey. Each time they set out, they faced the unknown, which increased their anticipation.

    Guided by thepass, Lu Yin found a parallel universe where time passed more quickly. While it was only seven times faster than the Origin Universe¡¯s, it was still better than nothing.

    However, as soon as Lu Yin realized that it would take a very long time to gain this universe¡¯s recognition, he immediately moved on.

    The effort needed was not at all proportionate to the reward that he would earn, which rendered the matter meaningless. He continued his search.

    A year passed in the Origin Universe, and during this time, Lu Yin was only able to improve Lightstream by another twelve seconds. This was a meager increase, and it seemed as if he had reached a difficult section of his journey. The parallel universes that he had found were not very suited for what he needed.

    The only surprising thing that happened during this time was Zhao Ran¡¯s teas, which had be increasingly fascinating.

    While they were still very far from being anything simr to normal teas, but they were moving in that direction.

    This was not a good sign.

    If Zhao Ran¡¯s tea became unexpectedly appealing to look at, was Zhao Ran still the same person?

    Lu Yin made a point of ordering Arch-Elder Zen to keep an eye on Zhao Ran. After all, no one knew Zhao Ran¡¯s true identity.

    Ghost Monkey was getting increasingly closer to breaking through to be a Progenitor, or more precisely, transforming into a Progenitor Wushang. Still, the monkey hesitated. Both of the most recent attempts to break through to the Progenitor realm had ended badly, with one person bing a thread of Destiny, while the other had died. Their fates made Ghost Monkey feel like these incidents were signs that it was not a good time to attempt a breakthrough. So, he wanted to wait for others to seed before he made his own attempt.

    Lu Yin did not force things, as he did not believe that Ghost Monkey would easily seed in his breakthrough to be a Progenitor.

    It was never easy to be a peak powerhouse, or else Progenitors would not be so rare.

    During the past year, Lu Yin had held multiple conversations with Jiang Qingyue about aura energy, as Lu Yin also wanted to cultivate it.

    Dragonturtle warned Lu Yin that cultivating too many different things would be counterproductive, but this did not bother Lu Yin at all. He was eager to cultivate as many different energies as possible.

    However, aura energy was regarded as a shortcut for people from Whitecloud City, and to date, no one from anywhere else had ever managed to learn to cultivate the energy. Lu Yin was simrly puzzled, as he could not understand where this inexplicable power came from. He wondered if it was rted to the three artifacts that the Lord of Lightning possessed.

    One day, they arrived in a new parallel universe. The jiao was following the direction indicated by thepass, when Lu Yin suddenly looked elsewhere. He took a step and instantly vanished.

    The jiao froze in confusion.

    Far away, Lu Yin was staring at something that resembled a meteorite. He took another step forward and chased after it.

    This meteorite had just passed by them, and there was not anything unusual about it. It was just another meteorite. However, Lu Yin had suddenly sensed consciousness from the rock.

    While Lu Yin could not use his consciousness like the Chiliagonist and control people, after absorbing the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness, Lu Yin had be very sensitive to the energy, and he had sensed it from the meteorite. This was highly unusual.

    How could a meteorite have consciousness?

 Chapter 3011: A Civilizationâ€™s Sorrow

    <h4>Chapter 3011: A Civilization¡¯s Sorrow</h4>

    Naturally, Lu Yin wanted to take a look at the meteorite.

    It headed towards Lu Yin.

    He stood still and slowly raised a hand, aiming it at the meteorite.

    As he did so, the meteorite suddenly changed directions and moved to his left.

    Lu Yin smirked. Sure enough, there was something different with the meteorite. It was not just a meteorite. He tore through the void and looked inside.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight revealed a miraculous world. It was rather simr to the 3,000 hidden worlds, as there were three continents inside of the meteorite. People lived on them, cultivated, and carried out all the normal activities of everyday life. Everything that normal people did was happening inside the meteorite.

    What intrigued Lu Yin the most was that these people were not humans, but rather consciousnesses. All of them were nothing but consciousnesses, and the world that they lived in was not a real world, but an illusion. More urately, the world inside of the meteorite appeared to be something like a game.

    Lu Yin took a step forward and again blocked the meteorite¡¯s path.

    It changed directions again, but Lu Yin continued to block it. After several attempts, the meteorite finally stopped, and a deep voice spoke up. ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t make things difficult for us. We are just failures who have lost our physical bodies.¡±

    Lu Yin was curious. ¡°Come out and talk.¡±

    A figure slowly took shape outside the meteorite. He had the appearance of an old man, and he somberly stared at Lu Yin with eyes that were filled with fear and nervousness.

    This old man was a peak powerhouse. His figure was not a physical body, but rather a condensation of consciousness, simr to Progenitor Hui¡¯s manifested thought. Lu Yin was quite surprised.

    The old man bowed to Lu Yin. ¡°I implore you to spare us. We are simply a group of failures who couldn¡¯t even save our physical bodies. We are of no use to you, so please just let us drift through the universe to live and die on our own.¡±

    Lu Yin examined the old man in front of him. Despite being formed from consciousness, the man wore clothes like a regr person, and the style was simr to the Transcendent Universe¡¯s. On top of that, the illusionary world inside of the meteorite suggested a technologically advanced civilization, and yet they had a peak powerhouse.

    ¡°Are you humans?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The old man answered in a respectful tone, ¡°Yes, just like you, all of us are humans.¡±

    ¡°Why did you lose your physical bodies?¡±

    The old man sighed. ¡°We lost a battle. Our physical bodies were a temptation that drew powerful enemies, so our only means of escape was to abandon our physical bodies.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    The old man did not hesitate and shared what his people had gone through.

    It was a simple story. The old man¡¯s civilization had been defeated, and he had used his Progenitor-level strength to carry the illusory world away. This world had been created by his civilization before they knew that their loss was imminent, but it had been prepared for such a day. The old man had used his innate gift to move all everyone¡¯s consciousnesses into the meteorite.

    In other words, within the illusory world of the meteorite, the other people had already forgotten that they had lost their physical forms. They believed that the world was real and not just an illusion.

    The old man had also abandoned his physical body and sent his consciousness into the meteorite. Then, he guided it to drift through the universe as he sought a ce for them to settle.

    This was the civilization¡¯s sorrow.

    Lu Yin stared at the old man. ¡°Who defeated your people?¡±

    The old man answered in a dry, scared voice, ¡°Aeternus.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised. After all, Aeternus needed the physical bodies of humans to transform them into corpse kings. These people had been defeated, and they had abandoned their physical bodies and fled. The abandoned physical bodies had be useless to Aeternus, while beings of consciousness were also useless.

    ¡°Who led the Aeternals to defeat you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The old man was astonished. ¡°You know of Aeternus?¡±

    ¡°They have enemies in many parallel universes, so of course I know of them,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The old man trembled. ¡°Enemies across multiple universes? And here I had believed that only we faced such a formidable foe.¡±

    After a pause, the old man continued, ¡°The one who led Aeternus...¡±

    A short whileter, Lu Yin returned to the jiao.

    Jiang Qingyue asked, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Lu Yin shared what he had learned, and the story amazed Arch-Elder Zen and the others.

    ¡°That really happened?¡±

    ¡°They had to abandon their bodies and enter an illusory world with only their consciousnesses in order to escape? That really is sad. They seem so helpless. Why not send them to the Sixverse Association?¡±

    Lu Yin casually replied, ¡°God¡¯s Domain also refused to go to the Sixverse Association. These people have given up their physical bodies, keeping only their consciousness in order to escape. They are even less willing to go to the Sixverse Association where they would have to face Aeternus directly.¡±

    One thing Lu Yin did not mention was the fact that he could not guarantee that he could keep the people alive.

    The Aeternals fought wars across multiple parallel universes, but unfortunately, the various human civilizations who fought against Aeternus did not even know about each other. This was a terrifying detail.

    While Lu Yin was traversing parallel universes, it would be exceptionally challenging to unite all of humanity and lead them against Aeternus.

    Besides, what could the consciousnesses in the illusory world even offer Lu Yin? He could absorb their consciousness, and doing so would significantly increase the strength of his own consciousness, but how could he do such a thing?

    Ghost Monkey sighed. ¡°Even something like this is possible. By abandoning their bodies, they made it pointless for the Aeternals to go after them. However, they also abandoned their own humanity. It was a smart move, making themselves useless. While no one will pay any attention to them, they also won¡¯t face any danger.¡±

    His words were rather harsh, but they were also quite true.

    ¡°We need to change our destination. Since we¡¯ve encountered Aeternus here, we should face them and see what sort of strength the other Scourges possess,¡± Lu Yin stated resolutely. The Sixverse Association was not currently at war with their Scourge, so Lu Yin was eager to understand what was happening in the other Scourges.

    Di Qiong was someone from another Scourge.

    Undying God had mentioned right before he had died that Wu Tian might be in the Third Scourge, and from the illusory world, Lu Yin had just learned about a new Aeternal powerhouse. Lu Yin did not intend to let this opportunity slip by.

    He wanted to see how different the other Scourges were from the First Scourge.

    Following some directions that he had received from the civilization of consciousnesses, Lu Yin and his group soon found Aeternus¡¯s forces.

    They stared at a distant Aeternus Kingdom. This was something that Lu Yin had seen many times now.

    Aeternus had an obsession with establishing their Aeternus Kingdoms, even in other universes.

    ¡°The strongest person in this Aeternus Kingdom is someone known as Da Hui. He was the one who defeated that powerhouse, which forced that civilization to abandon their physical bodies and store their consciousness in that illusion to preserve their lives,¡± Lu Yin exined.

    Arch-Elder Zen said, ¡°Let me go first.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue also jumped in. ¡°Let me go attack. The Aeternals won¡¯t be so wary if it¡¯s me.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Alright. Be careful, Qingyue.¡±

    While Lu Yin was confident that he could prevent Da Hui from escaping, Jiang Qingyue was on this journey in order to gain experience. This was a chance for her to practice facing off against a peak powerhouse.

    They watched as Jiang Qingyue entered the Aeternus Kingdom, and two hourster, they witnessed a dazzling disy of sword skills.

    The jiao lifted its neck, baring its teeth and ws. There were no threats to the beast in this Aeternus Kingdom.

    ¡°She started. I wonder how long she canst for without using that ability,¡± Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    The ability he was referring to was not Jiang Qingyue¡¯s normal battle techniques and sword skills, but rather the attack that she had used to kill the Progenitor-level mantis. It was an ability that came from the dead Kong Tianzhao. Without using that ability, it would be very difficult for Jiang Qingyue to defeat a peak powerhouse.

    As they were thinking about such things, Jiang Qingyue suddenly shot away from the Aeternus Kingdom, blood streaming from her shoulder.

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. ¡°So soon?¡±

    ¡°An expert.¡± Lu Yin took a step forward. He passed Jiang Qingyue in an instant and saw a long spear approaching. The tip seemed to have been magnified countless times over, and it released a pale glow as it stabbed at Lu Yin.

    He stopped moving and leaned to the side while using Inverse Step to create a field of chaotic time and space.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± In front of Lu Yin, a middle-aged man was holding the spear. This man was Da Hui. After seeing Lu Yin evade his spear, especially that movement technique, Da Hui felt a bit confused. His eyes grew more focused, and the spear mmed down, sweeping through space.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, appearing right in front of Da Hui. The spear swept behind Lu Yin, while a fierceness blossomed in Da Hui¡¯s eyes. Energy boiled from his body and added a powerful thrust to the sweeping attack, directing an attack towards Lu Yin from both the front and the back. The intention was to crush him.

    There were countless parallel universes, and many of them cultivated different energies.

    Da Hui cultivated an energy that was even softer than stellr energy. It seemed to be more gentle, but it alsocked the inclusive nature of stellr energy.

    After observing his opponent¡¯s energy, Lu Yin once again used Inverse Step and easily evaded Da Hui¡¯s pincer attack, shocking the man. While it was clear that the young man had a simr cultivation level to the young woman from before, there was a vast difference inbat strength. The girl possessed exceptional swordsmanship and a power that intimidated Da Hui, but her actual strength was far below his own.

    However, this young man? Da Hui did not dare to underestimate him. The spear thrust forward again. ¡°Who are you people?¡±

    ¡°You forced us to abandon our bodies, and yet you still ask who we are?¡± Lu Yin snapped back as he released a palm strike. There was a terrible bang as the palm strike distorted the tip of the spear. This horrified Da Hui, as regardless of his own physical strength, he could note close toparing to Lu Yin.

    ¡°Are you from the Totem Civilization?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Da Hui pulled his spear back and then stabbed at Lu Yin from a very tricky angle. At the same time, multiple spear images flickered into being. Even another peak powerhouse might find it difficult to see through Da Hui¡¯s attack, and while he acknowledged that Lu Yin had an impressivebat power and a strange movement technique, that did not mean that he had the insights to understand Da Hui¡¯s spear technique.

    Da Hui¡¯s spear technique was quite impressive, though Lu Yin saw it as merely average. Most of his recent opponents had been sequence powerhouses. Unless he reached that level, Da Hui would not be strong enough to fight against Lu Yin, especially since hecked an overwhelming strength, such as the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s speed. Da Hui was simply too weak.

    If not because Lu Yin was buying some time for Jiang Qingyue, the fight would not havested this long.

    Just as Lu Yin was thinking about it, Jiang Qingyue¡¯s sword thrust forward from behind him. This sword happened to hit the weakest point of the spear¡¯s shaft. Not only had Jiang Qingyue seen through all the spear images, but she had also sessfully prevented Da Hui from using a follow-up attack.

    Da Hui took a step back as he stared at Lu Yin and Jiang Qingyue.

    While neither of these people¡¯s cultivation realms surpassed Da Hui¡¯s, they were both capable of fighting against him. Where had these two Realmbreakerse from?

    If he could capture them and take them back to Aeternus, there was no doubt that it would be treated as an impressive achievement.

    This thought caused excitement to light up Da Hui¡¯s eyes. ¡°No matter who you might be, since you¡¯ve attacked me, you can forget about leaving this ce alive!¡±

    The next moment, Jiang Qingyue was once again fighting against Da Hui. The sword and spear shed in an example of the most primitive form of weapon-basedbat. Jiang Qingyue¡¯s mastery of the sword was no less than Da Hui¡¯s expertise with the spear. Her movements allowed her to always anticipate her enemy¡¯s actions, but unfortunately, her lower cultivation realm meant that Da Hui was able to retake the initiative with powerful attacks.

    Even so, Da Hui struggled to force Jiang Qingyue back again.

    This was because, any time Jiang Qingyue was unable to endure, Lu Yin would intervene.

    Da Hui was feeling quite stifled, and he gradually figured things out. The young man was treating Da Hui as a sparring partner for the woman! ¡°Are you using me for training? Unbelievable! You¡¯re seeking death!¡±

    At that moment, vortices appeared all around Da Hui, and one of them nearly swallowed Jiang Qingyue.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Was this the man¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world? Even if he cultivated a different energy, all peak powerhouses possessed simr abilities.

    Da Hui had released his Progenitor¡¯s world, so unless Jiang Qingyue used her white sword, she would not be able topete with him any longer.

    Jiang Qingyue stepped back. There was no need for her to continue this fight. Things would instead be left to Lu Yin.

 Chapter 3012: The Fourth Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 3012: The Fourth Scourge</h4>

    Lu Yin felt a formidable force appear around Da Hui that had a powerful suction effect. Lu Yin raised his hand andshed out with a palm strike while merging with Infinity. The attack pierced straight through the Progenitor¡¯s world and mmed into Da Hui, sending him flying.

    The man spat out a mouthful of blood as he tumbled towards the Aeternus Kingdom.

    There was a deafening impact that shattered the Aeternus Kingdom. Corpse kings shot out of the rubble, roaring as they charged at Lu Yin.

    ¡°Leave them to me.¡± Arch-Elder Zen descended. There was no need for Lu Yin to eliminate the corpse kings.

    Lu Yin looked beneath the ground and saw that Da Hui was struggling to get back up, and he had also pulled out a cosmic door. Lu Yin stepped forward, moving parallel to time. Everything around him froze, including the Aeternus Kingdom, Arch-Elder Zen, Da Hui, and the distant jiao.

    Lu Yin arrived in front of Da Hui and stopped using Inverse Step.

    When Lu Yin stopped using Inverse Step, Da Hui stared at him in shock. ¡°You?¡±

    Lu Yin reached out to grab the other man, and Da Hui¡¯s pupils shrank. Once again, he released the same vortex as before, but this time, it produced a repelling force that pushed Lu Yin and Da Hui apart from one another.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to make another move, Da Hui whirled around. ¡°Returning Spear!¡±

    That one move caused the spear to pierce through space. While it looked like it was moving forward, the tip suddenly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin.

    This attack seeded in catching Lu Yin off guard, as it was extremely unexpected. However, with Inverse Step, even apletely unexpected attack would be useless unless Da Hui attacked faster than Lu Yin¡¯s reactions.

    Lu Yin brushed past the spear and grabbed hold of Da Hui¡¯s shoulder. At the same moment, the Returning Spear stopped moving, and a ck light propelled it forward. This attack shattered the void and revealed the Hollow.

    It was an incredibly powerful attack.

    Lu Yin squeezed Da Hui¡¯s shoulder with a hand, and the man screamed in agony as half of his body shattered. Blood streamed down to the ground, and his spear fell.

    ¡°That Returning Spear is quite impressive,¡± Lu Yin praised.

    Da Hui dropped to knee to the ground as he coughed violently. Each time he coughed, he spat out blood.

    Inside the Aeternus Kingdom, Arch-Elder Zen was busy wiping out all the corpse kings. At the same time, Jiang Qingyue, Dragonturtle, and Ghost Monkey moved underground to release all the humans who were waiting to be transformed into corpse kings. These people should also be from the Totem Civilization, and while they were freed, their civilization had already fled.

    ¡°<i>Cough</i>, who are you?¡± Da Hui struggled to look up at Lu Yin as the man tried to make sense of what was happening.

    Lu Yin stared down at the man. ¡°Where are you from?¡±

    Da Hui stared back at Lu Yin. ¡°Where are <i>you</i> from?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed, and he squeezed again. The pressure spread across Da Hui¡¯s body and tore him apart.

    After an initial scream, Da Hui stopped making any further noises. He endured the pain while staring at Lu Yin. The man¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re quite tough.¡±

    He had met many peak powerhouses who feared death, though there had also been some who faced death without fear. Lu Yin believed that Da Hui had most likely betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus. As the man was not a corpse king, it was odd for him to not fear death.

    ¡°You should understand that, now that you¡¯ve fallen into my hands, there is no chance of escape. You¡¯ve betrayed humanity and joined the Aeternals, so I¡¯ll give you this chance right now: betray Aeternus and tell me everything you know, and I can let you live,¡± Lu Yin promised.

    Da Huiughed, despite the agony he was suffering. A mocking expression covered his features. ¡°I never betrayed anyone! I was raised in an Aeternus Kingdom. This ce is my home.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. Had Da Hui grown up in an Aeternus Kingdom?

    ¡°I can admit to being both a human and part of Aeternus, but I¡¯m no traitor. In fact, answering any of your questions would make me a traitor,¡± Da Hui continued.

    Lu Yin stared down at Da Hui. He was a human who had grown up in an Aeternus Kingdom. This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time encountering such a person. While there were precedents, he had never paid attention to such things, as no human from an Aeternus Kingdom had ever managed to be a peak powerhouse. Da Hui was the first that Lu Yin had ever heard of.

    ¡°Humans and corpse kings are two different races. Can you ept that?¡± Lu Yin asked, his brow furrowing.

    Da Hui sneered. ¡°Humans can be transformed into corpse kings, so what is there to not ept? Rather, you want me to be a traitor? Impossible.¡±

    ¡°If Aeternus chose to transform you into a corpse king, would you be willing?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve been waiting for that moment for a long time!¡± Da Huiughed.

    This man truly felt like he belonged to Aeternus. It was clear to Lu Yin, and it terrified him.

    While betraying one¡¯s race might be shameful, sincerely feeling an innate sense of belonging to Aeternus waspletely different. It seemed possible that the Aeternals had established the Aeternus Kingdoms not simply to target the captured humans, but also to raise individuals like Da Hui, who were born there. These people were fundamentally different from people who had been forced into an Aeternus Kingdom.

    At this moment, the threat of Aeternus Kingdoms in Lu Yin¡¯s heart escted infinitely.

    Lu Yin suddenly realized that he had been overlooking the Aeternus Kingdoms all along. He had assumed that they were nothing more than facilities where the Aeternals could transform humans into corpse kings. He had treated the idea of assimting humans and corpse kings into a unified civilization as nothing more than a fantasy. However, it seemed that the Aeternals¡¯ motives were far deeper than what Lu Yin had thought.

    If a peak powerhouse like Da Hui possessed such loyalty to Aeternus, then what of others who were born in an Aeternus Kingdom?

    They would wholeheartedly ept Aeternus and would even willingly be corpse kings. This was a lethal threat.

    Against an enemy, humans could unleash an unprecedented level of strength to fight back when they knew that they were outnumbered and in dire straits. However, if what they faced was an opponent who was not truly an enemy, would they still put up such resistance?

    Aeternus looked too far into the future, and every step they took held more meaning than what met the eye.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind raced as he stared off into the distance.

    Arch-Elder Zen was still eliminating the corpse kings. There were many humans in the Aeternus Kingdom, and some had been imprisoned underground where they had been waiting to be transformed into corpse kings. Others, such as Da Hui, had been born in this ce. Such people were also enemies.

    However, could Lu Yin really make himself deal with such people?

    Not dealing with them would be no different from leading a group of corpse kings into human civilizations, and the threat might easily go unnoticed.

    While Lu Yin became lost in his own thoughts, Da Hui¡¯s eyes shed, and he suddenly attacked. A short spear appeared in his hand, and he thrust it towards Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin flicked the spear away with a finger. He turned to meet Da Hui¡¯s determined eyes. Lu Yin hesitated; should he kill the man or continue interrogating him?

    While Lu Yin was considering his options, the short spear that he had flicked away suddenly reversed directions, as Da Hui had used Returning Spear.

    However, this attack was not particrly powerful, so Lu Yin did not even consider dodging.

    However, the spear slid past Lu Yin¡¯s neck and shot towards Da Hui¡¯s.

    Lu Yin¡¯s foot moved as he used Inverse Step and moved parallel to time. Everything froze, including the short spear that was about to pierce Da Hui.

    Lu Yin grabbed the short spear and stopped using Inverse Step, allowing time to resume. Da Hui stared in shock at the short spear that was now frozen inches from his neck.

    Again, he had failed. First, he had failed when he tried to escape, and at this moment, even his suicide attempt had failed. Could this human possess the ability to freeze time? No, that was impossible. Not even Da Hui¡¯s master was capable of doing that.

    ¡°It seems that interrogating you is pointless. You really don¡¯t fear death at all.¡± Lu Yin squeezed the spear, shattering it. Even if Da Hui died, he would still ultimately betray Aeternus, as Lu Yin would anoint the man as a champion.

    Da Hui stared at Lu Yin. ¡°The Fourth Scourge.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew sharp. ¡°What was that?¡±

    Da Hui clenched his fists. ¡°Ie from the Fourth Scourge.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°I thought that you said that you wouldn¡¯t tell me anything?¡±

    Da Hui let out a breath as he dropped his head, as though thinking about something.

    Lu Yin watched the man.

    <i>Spurt!</i>

    Suddenly, blood sprayed out of Da Hui¡¯s mouth, startling Lu Yin. He instantly grabbed Da Hui¡¯s hair and lifted his head, only to discover that the man was already dead. That spray of blood had been the man¡¯s life leaving him.

    <i>Thud.</i> The corpse fell to the ground as Lu Yin released his grip.

    The shattered remains of the spear were also dropped.

    Soon, Jiang Qingyue and Arch-Elder Zen both arrived.

    ¡°Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin was still staring at Da Hui¡¯s corpse. ¡°He chose to kill himself. He didn¡¯t even give me the chance to end things for him. He waspletely fearless, even in death.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. ¡°He betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, yet was unafraid of death?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. ¡°We¡¯ve been underestimating the Aeternus Kingdoms.¡±

    He then exined where Da Hui hade from, which caused Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression to turn unusually serious. ¡°A weak power level can bepensated for, but a sense of belonging like this can never be removed. They¡¯ve undermined these people¡¯s very identity as humans. This is very serious.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s expression fell. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why Aeternus builds Aeternus Kingdoms wherever they go. I need to tell my father about this. The people we¡¯ve rescued from Aeternus Kingdoms might be a grave risk.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. Who would have thought that the people they had rescued from Aeternus Kingdoms at great risk to their forces might be a threat to their rescuers? These people appeared to be perfectly normal, but their hearts might very well belong to Aeternus. That was the utterly terrifying part.

    All of the Aeternus Kingdoms had to be destroyed. Not one could be left behind.

    Lu Yin used Da Hui¡¯s blood to ess the man¡¯s cosmic ring. In it, he found a few resources, but nothing special. The man had taken out a cosmic door while underground in an attempt to escape. It most likely led to the Fourth Scourge.

    This cosmic door had belonged to Da Hui, and since the Fourth Scourge was connected to this universe, there should be another cosmic door somewhere else.

    If Lu Yin had not spent time in the First Scourge, he would be ignorant of such things. Instead, he had the jiao take Arch-Elder Zen to search for the cosmic door. Lu Yin wanted to pass through it and explore the Fourth Scourge.

    Aeternus should have six Scourges, and Lu Yin intended to investigate the strength of the Fourth Scourge.

    Unfortunately, this universe was not connected to the Third Scourge.

    The cosmic door was not far from the Aeternus Kingdom, and it was quickly found.

    Lu Yin had already decided to go through the cosmic door and visit the Fourth Scourge, which worried Arch-Elder Zen. ¡°Dao Monarch, are you sure about this?¡±

    Lu Yin replied in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about Aeternus¡¯s other Scourges, and that makes me very nervous.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ll be fine, as long as I¡¯m not instantly discovered the moment I arrive.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue warned, ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled to reassure the two and then looked back towards the cosmic door as he approached it.

    If possible, he would prefer to not take such a risk, but there were certain things that only he could aplish, such as infiltrating Aeternus.

    If anyone else tried to go on such a mission, there was no question that they would be caught. Lu Yin was the only one who could seed, as he possessed divine energy.

    He simply hoped that there was no one like Progenitor Xi in the Fourth Scourge. If there was, then it would be quite difficult for him to return.

    This thought filled his mind as he stepped through the cosmic door and disappeared.

    A cosmic door connected two universes.

    As soon as Lu Yin emerged from the other side, he went straight towards the ground. He could already tell that the Fourth Scourge was simr to the First Scourge that Progenitor Xi was in charge of. There was a dark ground with rivers of divine energy flowing across it. Far away, the towering ck Mother Tree could be seen, just like in the First Scourge. The ground was littered with strange rocks.

    Corpse kings wandered around, and tall towers that belonged to peak powerhouses could be seen scattered about. Further away, a massive mountain range was shrouded in ck clouds. The mountains were exceptionally tall and were also filled with a deep darkness.

    Everything appeared to be very quiet.

 Chapter 3013: A Familiar Palm Technique

    Chapter 3013: A Familiar Palm Technique

    As soon as Lu Yinnded, he moved to a river of divine energy and started absorbing some of its power. He wanted to minimize his interactions with any possible powerhouses who had seen him enter the Scourge. After all, if someone saw him absorbing divine energy, they would most likely leave him alone.

    Humans subconsciously trust their own kind, which was the greatest threat that the Aeternus Kingdoms posed. In the same vein, the Aeternals automatically trusted anyone with divine energy. Such behaviors were ingrained thought patterns.

    The ability to exploit such thought patterns was terrifying.

    After Lu Yin spent about an hour absorbing divine energy without anyone approaching or probing him, he scanned the area with Heaven¡¯s Sight. There were no probing energies or sequence particles to be seen.

    This Fourth Scourge looked quite calm. While Lu Yin had seen a number of towers as he made his way to the ground, there were noticeably fewerpared to the First Scourge.

    This was the Fourth Scourge.

    Lu Yin followed the river of divine energy, moving closer to one of the towers. There were more towers visible in the distance, though they were quite far apart. They did not interrupt his line of sight.

    Suddenly, he stopped and turned around. There was someone approaching from behind. ¡°Senior, are you from the ckcloud Mountains?¡±

    Lu Yin observed the slender man speaking to him. While this person appeared to be quite young, his eyes contained the wisdom of age. ¡°Do you need something?¡±The young man smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Wei Shu. May I ask your name, Senior?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern,¡± Lu Yin retorted coldly. Before entering the Fourth Scourge, he had used the Enhanced bubble from Cheng Kong to alter his appearance. At this moment, he did not look like either Lu Yin or Ye Bo, though the familiar environment made it easy for Lu Yin to revert to Ye Bo¡¯s cold personality.

    Even when confronted with such a cold response, there was no anger to be seen on Wei Shu¡¯s face, and he continued smiling. ¡°I saw you walking along the river, Senior, so I thought that you might be from the ckcloud Mountains. Senior, are you searching for True God¡¯s ultimate techniques?¡±

    Lu Yin gave the young man a strange look. Was this person rted to Qi You? Both men had approached Lu Yin in the exact same manner.

    In the First Scourge, after Lu Yin had strolled along a river of divine energy for the same amount of time, Qi You had appeared. Eventually, the man had shared some information about True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. Wei Shu was doing the exact same thing.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to speak, Senior, this junior won¡¯t pry. However, with all due respect, your searching method isn¡¯t very effective. The Fourth Scourge is muchrger than a normal universe, so trying to search along the rivers of divine energy is impossible. Have you ever considered cooperating with others, Senior?¡± Wei Shu suggested.

    Lu Yin looked away. This conversation was eerily reminiscent of the one he had held with Qi You long ago. Could it be that there were people in each of the Scourges who spent their time searching for True God¡¯s ultimate techniques? That would be rather interesting.

    ¡°How would we cooperate?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Shu¡¯s expression lit up. ¡°First of all, do you truly wish to find the ultimate techniques, Senior?¡±

    Lu Yin gave the man a cold stare. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Wei Shu was not at all embarrassed. ¡°There are rumors that True God¡¯s ultimate techniques have been hidden beneath thekes or rivers of divine energy, but there is no proof that anyone has found any of them. If you hold any sort of doubts, your chances of finding one of the techniques will drop even lower. I am hoping to work with someone who fully believes in the existence of the ultimate techniques, even if we need countless years to find them.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Had no one ever found one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques? Qi You had mentioned that one of the Seven Skygods had found one, but Wei Shu was iming that nothing had ever been proven. Could the man not know about the Seven Skygods?

    The title of the Seven Skygods only existed in the First Scourge, which fought against the Sixverse Association. Lu Yin was aware of this, and yet Wei Shu did not seem to know about the Seven Skygods. Could this ignorance be an act?

    ¡°I heard that someone found one,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Wei Shu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°ckless God?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Wei Shuughed. ¡°I knew it! I knew that ckless God would not deceive me! When he invited me to join Aeternus, he told me that True God¡¯s ultimate techniques were hidden here. I knew that he wasn¡¯t lying. Haha!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Wei Shu. This person knew about ckless God, but he was ignorant to the rumors that one of the Seven Skygods had obtained one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. Was it possible that the rumors had not spread between the Scourges? In that case, why did Wei Shu know about ckless God?

    ¡°Senior, let¡¯s search together. ckless God is one of the revered Three Pirs and Six Skies, so since he has mentioned True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, they must exist. While I am unable to cultivate divine energy for now, I have spent many years drawing a map of the rivers of divine energy that flow across the Scourge. It should be quite helpful, Senior.¡± Wei Shu was clearly exhrated.

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°You drew a map of the rivers of divine energy by hand?¡±

    ¡°Yes! While True God¡¯s ultimate techniques are supposed to be beneath the rivers orkes, I believe that a map of the flow of divine energy can reveal something.¡±

    ¡°Show me,¡± Lu Yin demanded.

    Wei Shu grew cautious. ¡°I don¡¯t mind showing it to you, but since we have agreed to work together, we need to rify a few things.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s eptable.¡±

    ¡°Senior, please follow me to my tower so that we can discuss things.¡±

    Wei Shu¡¯s tower was not far away, and it was actually the tower that Lu Yin had been headed towards.

    Since he was in the Fourth Scourge, it was only natural that he wanted to learn about the local situation. How could he have expected someone like Wei Shu to deliver themselves to him?

    There was a maid standing outside the tower, just the same as in the First Scourge.

    Wei Shu led Lu Yin in, and they both entered the tower.

    Wei Shu got straight to the point and proceeded to share a proposed division of tasks and how rewards would be shared in their united efforts to find True God¡¯s ultimate techniques.

    ¡°Senior, are my requests too much?¡± Wei Shu asked.

    Lu Yin remained calm. ¡°Who else are you working with to find these techniques?¡±

    Wei Shu¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°You¡¯re the first, Senior.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not stupid.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s true, Senior. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can check around the Fourth Scourge. There are fewer than five human peak powerhouses. All the others are corpse kings. The others you¡¯ve seen are nothing more than Lord Kong Ji¡¯s puppets and are not of any real use. Backless God is usually not here in the Fourth Scourge, and it¡¯s been a long time since any new peak powerhouses have joined us,¡± Wei Shu said. He suddenly gave Lu Yin a curious look. ¡°Senior, when did you join?¡±

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, ¡°Before you.¡±

    Wei Shu was taken aback. ¡°Senior, you know when I joined?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time. It isn¡¯t difficult to draw a map of the flow of divine energy, and while your conditions are indeed reasonable, I don¡¯t want to be deceived. Who knows how many people might have already seen that map of yours?¡± Lu Yin said.

    Wei Shu showed a confident smile. ¡°The map I mentioned is not only of the Fourth Scourge.¡±

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯ve mapped out the other Scourges?¡±

    Wei Shu grew solemn. ¡°Aside from the First Scourge, the other five Scourges asionallymunicate with each other. While corpse kings are basically dead, we humans are still alive, and we need tomunicate and share information. This map of divine energy rivers is one way we do that.

    ¡°True God¡¯s ultimate techniques are not necessarily in the Fourth Scourge, which means that it¡¯s necessary to consider all six Scourges in order to have a chance of finding any of them.¡±

    Lu Yin was impressed. ¡°You are quite capable.¡±

    Wei Shu modestly replied, ¡°It¡¯s not as impressive as you make it sound, Senior. So, what do you say? Is this map enough for us to discuss terms, Senior?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°Even if I am able to see a map of all the rivers andkes of divine energy across all the Scourges, it¡¯s useless if I can¡¯t visit those other Scourges.¡±

    Wei Shu grew puzzled. ¡°Why can¡¯t you visit them? The Divine Selection is about to begin, and at that time¡­¡±

    The man suddenly stopped speaking, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. ¡°Senior, don¡¯t you know about this?¡±

    Lu Yin knew that his cover had just been blown. Without any sign of effort, he moved faster than what most Progenitors couldprehend. Even so, Wei Shu reacted instantly. He spun around, shattering his tower as he screamed, ¡°Enemy attack!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression shifted, and he shot up towards the cosmic door in the sky.

    Wei Shu was no weakling, but instead of choosing to engage in a direct fight, he had instantly chosen to flee. Such decisiveness and strength exined how he was able to cooperate with people in other Scourges toplete a map of the flow of divine energy. Lu Yin had underestimated the man.

    Lu Yin rose into the sky above the Scourge. As he did so, he could see the silhouettes of others rising up as well, all of them wanting to attack him. However, none could catch up to him.

    Suddenly, he felt a terrible sense of danger.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked over at the ckcloud Mountains in the distance. Using Heaven¡¯s Sight, he locked eyes with an ice-cold gaze. The next moment, a palm print appeared in front of Lu Yin, startling him. ¡°Vacuum Palm?¡±

    There was a loud bang as Lu Yin was struck by the palm. It had moved too fast, and it had also been invisible. Shockingly, it really was Vacuum Palm.

    When used by a peak powerhouse, Vacuum Palm moved so fast that even Lu Yin was almost unable to react to it. Luckily, he had managed to use Extremes Must Be Reversed at the veryst moment.

    While the attack had been very powerful, it had not been enough to ovee the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed, so it had only pushed Lu Yin back.

    On the mountain range shrouded with ck clouds, a man rose to his feet and threw out another Vacuum Palm.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the man for a moment before using Inverse Step to rise up to the cosmic door.

    The man attacked with another Vacuum Palm, and Lu Yin retaliated with his own palm strike. The two attacks shed in the sky, and the void exploded. Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew even more severe, as this man was capable of unleashing very powerful attacks, even if Lu Yin could match their power.

    The cosmic door was already within reach.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to pass through the cosmic door, a terrifying surge of gravity erupted, and it nearly dragged him back down. Lu Yin saw sequence particles. The same man had attacked again. He was a sequence powerhouse.

    Sequence particles filled the sky and dragged Lu Yin downward.

    As this happened, the man approached Lu Yin.

    Progenitor-level corpse kings surrounded Lu Yin from all sides and started attacking him.

    He let out a breath and used Inverse Step to move parallel to time. Everything froze and grew silent. Lu Yin saw the sequence powerhouse ready an attack aimed at the cosmic door with a palm strike. If the cosmic door was destroyed, the only way for Lu Yin to escape would be to return to the Origin Universe. But then it would be very difficult to find Arch-Elder Zen and the others again, while Aeternus would certainlyunch an attack on the parallel universe where they were waiting for Lu Yin. Returning to the Origin Universe would put Arch-Elder Zen and the others in danger.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had managed to use Inverse Step at the critical moment.

    He took a few steps and passed through the cosmic door. Right before he left, he turned to see the sequence powerhouse getting closer.

    Lu Yin passed through the cosmic door and left, but the sequence powerhouse only saw his opponent instantly vanish. The man casually waved a hand, and the Vacuum Palm that had been directed at the cosmic door was diverted. The man stepped forward and passed through the cosmic door himself, chasing after Lu Yin.

    In the next universe, Lu Yin saw the jiao up ahead, with Arch-Elder Zen and the others on its back.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The jiao raced away, opening up more distance. It could move extremely fast and was quite adept at escaping.

    Lu Yin retreated a few steps. He had time to destroy the cosmic door, but chose not to. As long as his opponent was not someone as powerful as the Seven Skygods, Lu Yin was confident taht he could face them. Furthermore, the man had attacked Lu Yin with a Vacuum Palm, which was confusing. Could he be connected to the Fifth Maind?

    The man soon appeared from the cosmic door, and he instantly went after Lu Yin.

    The two stood across from each other in outer space.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you destroy the cosmic door?¡± the man demanded.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. ¡°You¡¯re not a corpse king.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Da Hui?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Did you just use the power of time?¡±

    ¡°Why do you know Vacuum Palm?¡±

    Both of them bombarded each other with questions, neither having any intention of answering.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3014: Vacuum Rebound

    <h4>Chapter 3014: Vacuum Rebound</h4>

    The man stared at Lu Yin. ¡°The fact that you know Vacuum Palm means that you have most likely been to the Starfall Sea.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a breath. ¡°So you really are a traitor from the Fifth Maind, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°You know things that I want to know, while I know things you want to know. It¡¯s just a matter of who will end up being the one who asks the questions.¡± The man attacked again, still using Vacuum Palm. He did not underestimate Lu Yin just because he was not a peak powerhouse. Additionally, his Vacuum Palm was even more powerful and faster than before.

    Lu Yin simrly raised his own hand andshed out with a Vacuum Palm as well.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The palms collided, and the impact caused the void to copse. The damage spread, and the Hollow was exposed.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Could this man actually block his attacks? Lu Yin knew that, aside from individuals like members of the Mavis n or a Star Devourer, it was extremely rare to meet someone with a simr level of physical strength as him, even if he did not use his visualization method or Infinity. That was even true of sequence powerhouses, but this opponent had not used any sequence particles yet.

    On the other side, the man was simrly surprised. This young man was incredibly strong. He was clearly not a Progenitor powerhouse, and yet he was able to block the man¡¯s Vacuum Palm. What kind of person had the Fifth Maind produced?

    Aeternus had six Scourges, but only the First Scourge had ever interacted with the Origin Universe. This man had stayed in the Fourth Scourge for too long, and ckless God hardly ever returned, which was why he had no knowledge of the Origin Universe¡¯s current situation.

    Regardless, he would learn soon enough.

    The man attacked again, this time using Hollow Palm.

    Lu Yin also used Hollow Palm.

    Again and again, palm strikes shed, tearing the universe apart. The man continuously increased the strength of his attacks, and Lu Yin reciprocated. On one side, there was a sequence powerhouse, who possessed a much higher cultivation realm. On the other, there was a man whose physical strength went far beyond what most people could even imagine. Both of them increased the strength of their attacks as the fight continued.

    Far away, Arch-Elder Zen was stunned. How could this man use the same palm techniques as the Dao Monarch?

    Thepetition of palm strikes continued, with neither man taking the initiative to use any other power or attack method.

    Finally, Lu Yin visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant, which caused his strength to surge as he overpowered the man with a Hollow Palm.

    In retaliation, the man used a new palm strike. It was simr to Vacuum Palm and Hollow Palm, as it gathered all of the man¡¯s power into a single palm strike, but this attack was very gentle. No matter how much Lu Yin increased the power of his attack, everything was absorbed as if his attacks were hitting a sponge.

    Lu Yin instinctively knew that this must be thest palm strike that could be learned from Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    The palm strike continued to grow more powerful the more that Lu Yin tried to stop it.

    This palm strike did not seem to carry any particr attack power, and it instead seemed intended solely to absorb and eliminate all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    The man kept staring at Lu Yin. <i>He doesn¡¯t know the third palm strike. Did he not learn it? He is clearly powerful enough to have done so.</i>

    The man¡¯s expression firmed as he stared at Lu Yin.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The palm strike collided again, and Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This time, a powerful force passed through the point of impact, continuing on towards him. Lu Yin nearly lost his footing, as the man in front of himshed out with another palm strike. Something was wrong.

    <i>Bang.</i> There was another impact, as another attack was thrown. Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s palm strike. This was another unknown palm strike, which had probablye from Mt. Stacks Dojo. This attack was not only able to absorb and dissolve Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, but it was also able to unleash a powerful attack of its own. No, the attack was not that simple. This attack transformed Lu Yin¡¯s own attack power into an attack against him, absorbing his attack to grow stronger.

    The stronger Lu Yin¡¯s counterattacks were, the stronger the attack that he would face.

    He immediately used Infinity, and lines continuously surged into his body as his physical strength spiked.

    The man was startled. How could any mere Semi-Progenitor exert such power? Not even ordinary Progenitors would be this young man¡¯s opponents. It looked like the odds were against him.

    Lu Yin did not believe that his opponent was capable of countering all of his palm strikes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength rose to the peak with Infinity, and there was a loud bang as the two palm strikes met. Lu Yin was forced to take a step back, but he had seeded in countering the man¡¯s attack.

    The man lowered his hand as he stared at Lu Yin with open admiration. ¡°You are the first to ever make me so serious, as I can¡¯t even be confident in my own counter-attacks. My name is Kong Ji. You are worthy of knowing my name.¡±

    ¡°Are you from the Fifth Maind?¡± Lu Yin asked solemnly.

    Kong Ji nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You betrayed humanity?¡±

    ¡°You could say that.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Kong Ji looked upwards. ¡°Everyone has their goals that they pursue, while race and one¡¯s physical form are just external signs. Even without my body, I remain myself, so why cling to something like humanity?¡±

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°How ridiculous! You were lured over by ckless God, weren¡¯t you? What did he offer you?¡±

    Kong Ji clenched a fist, but then he rxed it. ¡°You will find out for yourself. Receiving that inheritance and meeting me here is fate. Since you hate Aeternus so much, I will simply kill you and not allow you to be a corpse king. This is the respect I will show to you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s arm moved. ¡°I¡¯ll show you my own respect, and I will make you pay for betraying humanity.¡±

    There was a whoosh as Kong Jished out with another palm strike. ¡°Since you never learned the third palm, watch carefully. This is the fourth, which is known as Vacuum Rebound.¡±

    Vacuum Rebound was the palm strike that could devour an opponent¡¯s force and convert it into the palm strike¡¯s own power. To deal with this, Lu Yin had been forced to use his visualization method and Infinity, but he once againshed out with a single palm strike. Kong Ji watched in shock as his Vacuum Rebound was countered by a palm strike, but as Lu Yin attacked, his hand and arm suddenly withered; he had used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    There was a deafening bang, and Lu Yin felt a tremendous force strike him. This was the power of Lu Yin¡¯s own attack, which Kong Ji had sent back with Vacuum Rebound. However, the attack was absorbed by Extremes Must Be Reversed, and Lu Yin¡¯s arm started to recover. This attack had not been powerful enough to ovee the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Kong Ji was startled, and he stared at Lu Yin¡¯s withered arm. ¡°What is that?¡±

    Extremes Must Be Reversed allowed Lu Yin to absorb any attack that did not surpass his limits, and that power would then continuously enhance his strength. Even if Lu Yin¡¯s own attacks were returned to him, they would simply raise Lu Yin¡¯s own strength. While Kong Ji had been able to fully absorb the power of Lu Yin¡¯sst attack, his increased strength meant that Lu Yin¡¯s next palm strike would be far stronger than expected.

    There was an explosion as the void between the two men shattered, and the resulting shockwave forced them both to retreat.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arm had returned to its original condition; it had been fully restored after absorbing the power of Kong Ji¡¯s attack with Extremes Must Be Reversed before releasing another attack. Vacuum Rebound had not been able to absorb the full power of Lu Yin¡¯s enhanced attack.

    Kong Ji stared down at his own hand and then looked back at Lu Yin. No longer was the man merely astonished, as a powerful wariness had appeared in his eyes. ¡°You can actually overpower Vacuum Rebound.¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fist. ¡°Enough ying around. It¡¯s time to get serious.¡±

    At that moment, Kong Ji¡¯s eyes red, and his entire demeanor changed. A heavy pressure rolled off of him, and just his breathing was enough to shatter the void.

    Lu Yin grew solemn when he saw sequence particles appear. Even if Kong Ji could notpare to Senior Brother Mu Ke, he was at leastparable to Xu Wuwei. This was someone from the Origin Universe, and he should not be too old. It was possible that he had lived during the Daosource Sect era that had been dominated by the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, or he might be even older. However, a Sequence Progenitor would not be an unknown powerhouse in the Fifth Maind, which left only one exnation; this man had been lured to the Fourth Scourge by ckless God before he became a Sequence Progenitor. Aeternus must have helped Kong Ji reach that level.

    "Is this what ckless God gave you?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice.

    Kong Ji''s eyes flickered. "So you can see sequence particles. I didn¡¯t know that was even possible for someone not yet a Progenitor. Still, seeing them doesn''t mean that you can resist them. If I hadn''t gone to the Fourth Scourge, I would have never been able to achieve this power."

    "Even if you did, so what? You can only stay in the Fourth Scourge. Even if you¡¯ve be immortal, you''re still just a dog for Aeternus," Lu Yin sneered.

    Kong Ji shook his head. "You don''t understand what it means to pursue power. What was that strange move you just used?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Given Kong Ji¡¯s level of strength, it was impossible for him to not know about Extremes Must Be Reversed if he had been around. Thus, he must have gone to the Fourth Scourge before the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had risen to power during the Daosource Sect era. "Figure it out for yourself."

    Kong Jished out with Vacuum Palm again, but this time, the invisible attack was filled with sequence particles. Theplete change in the attack made Lu Yin¡¯s scalp go numb, and he evaded with Inverse Step, moving at the speed of time. However, his feet felt heavy, and it was incredibly difficult for him to use Inverse Step.

    It was not nearly as easy to move at the speed of time in the presence of sequence particles as Lu Yin had expected.

    In an instant, the nearby universe returned to normal, and the Vacuum Palm brushed past him to shatter the void.

    Lu Yin looked back. He had only very narrowly avoided being struck.

    Suddenly, he felt his hair stand on end again as Kong Jished out with Vacuum Rebound. This time, Lu Yin did not face just one attack, but dozens of palm strikes that filled the area in front of him. While he could move at the speed of time with Inverse Step, not even that would be enough for him to avoid all the approaching attacks.

    He released his universe, isting himself from the surrounding space with a ck halo. As the Vacuum Palms swept through the Hollow, a number of the sequence particles were eliminated, and at the same time, Lu Yin retaliated while using Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    He was still struck by three attacks, and each one forced him to take a step back. Luckily, while the palm strikes hadnded, Lu Yin had sessfully blocked all of them.

    Kong Ji was shocked. What he was seeing should be impossible. This person had already been able to block Kong Ji¡¯s normal attacks, which was already incredible, but he had also just blocked attacks reinforced with sequence particles!

    Taking advantage of Kong Ji¡¯s astonishment, Lu Yin instantly used Inverse Step and seized the initiative. "With my name, I summon a champion."

    Kong Ji was not an easy opponent, and Lu Yin was not confident that even a sneak attack with the slipper would work. Someone this strong would not rx their guard no matter what they faced.

    However, Lu Yin had no intention of hiding his strength. He would not allow Kong Ji to leave this battle alive.

    One figure after another appeared as over a dozen summoned Progenitor champions charged at Kong Ji.

    Kong Ji¡¯s pupils shrank. "A Champions'' Stage? The Lu family... You¡¯re part of the Lu family!"

    The surrounding champions all attacked, but Kong Ji raised his hand and effortlessly eliminated all of them. Ordinary Progenitors were of no use against this man.

    Suddenly, the Cyclops King and the Seven-Star Mantis were summoned. Doing so caused Lu Yin to feel a wave of dizziness. Sure enough, summoning these two was difficult, and he was not able to use the power of his Champions'' Stage without any sort of limits. For the moment, Lu Yin could only summon twenty champions at the very most.

    While this was not a huge number of champions, everyst one of Lu Yin¡¯s summons was a peak powerhouse.

    The Cyclops King was surrounded by a halo of the Hollow as he punched at Kong Ji.

    The Seven-Star Mantis swung one of its des.

    Kong Ji shed with the Cyclops King. The massive giant possessed a terrifying level of physical strength, as well as an utterly massive body. In strength alone, it overwhelmed Kong Ji. However, the summoned champion could not contend with sequence particles, and while the halo of the Hollow was able to eliminate some of the sequence particles, the remaining were more than enough to shatter the Cyclops King¡¯s arm.

    When the Cyclops King attacked, he released enough strength to lock down the space in the region. At that moment, all six pairs of the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s wings unfurled, and it moved at the speed of time to appear behind Kong Ji, where its de fell.

    There was a hiss as a massive wound appeared across Kong Ji¡¯s back.

    He spun around andshed out with a palm strike, but the Seven-Star Mantis vanished. While movement techniques like Lu Yin''s Inverse Step would be restrained by sequence particles, the Seven-Star Mantis used its own body and power to move at the speed of time. It had almost never encountered anyone who could counter it before running into Lu Yin.

 Chapter 3015: Divine Selection

    <h4>Chapter 3015: Divine Selection</h4>

    The Seven-Star Mantis continuously circled around Kong Ji, unleashing various attacks. The man was unable to keep up with the beast¡¯s speed, and his wounds kept umting. In addition to the Cyclops King¡¯s asional burst of pressure, the man instantly fell to a disadvantage.

    Lu Yin also found an opportunity to attack himself, moving in at the speed of time with Inverse Step as he pulled out the slipper and pped at Kong Ji.

    Kong Ji clenched his fists as he counter-attacked. At that moment, the universe itself twisted, and the distortion spread out, warping the entire universe.

    The Cyclops King, the Seven-Star Mantis, and Lu Yin all froze in ce, as if the space around them had frozen in ce.

    Was this the Law of Gravity?

    Lu Yin was startled. While it was already clear that Kong Ji had mastered aw that could increase the power of his palm strikes and Oveying Stacks Path that formed his Vacuum Palm, it was shocking to learn that it was gravity. The man¡¯s power left Lu Yin breathless.

    Kong Ji had been waiting for Lu Yin to attack. The Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s speed had locked the man in ce, preventing him from approaching Lu Yin. He had only been able to wait for Lu Yin to approach him.

    Finally, an opportunity had opened up.

    Kong Ji spun around and attacked with another palm strike. At this moment, Lu Yin had no way to dodge or evade. Sequence particles filled the area, and gravity suppressed the entire universe.

    As the hand moved closer, Kong Ji was able to see his own reflection in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, while Lu Yin could clearly make out the other man¡¯s expression. This palm strike did not appear to be particrly fast.

    Suddenly, Kong Ji hastily slipped to the side. When he saw his reflection in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, Kong Ji had also seen another figure appear behind himself, and the sight had been apanied by an overpowering sense of danger.

    While Kong Ji had dodged quickly, he had still been a tiny bit toote. The summoned Lu Tianyi that Arch-Elder Zen had brought out with his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique managed to attack Kong Ji¡¯s shoulder, and it shattered. Blood sttered across outer space.

    In an instant, Kong Ji suffered severe injuries, and the wounds destabilized his sequence particles. Lu Yin automatically raised the slipper and brought it mming back down.

    It pped onto Kong Ji¡¯s back, and he spat out blood as his entire body cracked, and he was sent hurtling into the distance.

    The Seven-Star Mantis disappeared, and when it reappeared, it was dragging Kong Ji¡¯s body back to Lu Yin.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage vanished, as did the Cyclops King and the Seven-Star Mantis. Kong Ji was dropped down, and he drifted through outer space as he violently coughed up blood. He was on the brink of death.

    Lu Yin stood in front of Kong Ji, watching as the man¡¯s life faded away. ¡°Tell me, do you still think it was worth it to betray humanity?¡±

    When most people were at death¡¯s door, they would speak the truth. Kong Ji was an impressively powerful peak powerhouse, and without using a sneak attack, Lu Yin would not have been able to defeat the man without paying a price. Even if Kong Ji failed to defeat Lu Yin, his sequence particles would normally guarantee that he could escape safely.

    This was not an impressive victory.

    However, Lu Yin encouraged himself. After all, he was only a Semi-Progenitor, and there was no denying that what he had aplished was quite impressive.

    Kong Ji gasped for breath, still bleeding all over. His entire body waspletely drenched in blood.

    He stared at Lu Yin, blood staining his vision. ¡°I- I have no regrets.¡±

    Lu Yin silently stared at the man.

    ¡°Humanity might see me as a traitor, but I was always true to myself, and I pursued my greatest desires, <i>cough, cough</i>.

    ¡°I stood near the peak, and from there, I could see what I wanted. I am content, <i>cough cough</i>.¡± Kong Ji could not stop coughing, nor could he stop spitting out more blood. He stared at Lu Yin. ¡°I may have betrayed humanity, but I never- I never left the Fourth Scourge. I never harmed the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°I have achieved my goals, so use my power well. Please, use it with the Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage so that I can finally have a ce where I belong. Let this be my atonement to humanity.

    ¡°Lastly, I must beg you for one thing; when you return to the Fifth Maind, go to the ce where I left my palm prints, andy me to rest in my hometown.¡±

    With that, Kong Ji copsed. He was dead.

    Lu Yin stared at the man, wondering if he had actually intended to attack him with his final palm strike.

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. ¡°Too stubborn.¡±

    The Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and Lu Yin anointed Kong Ji.

    ¡°He had no divine energy,¡± Lu Yinmented.

    Only then did Arch-Elder Zen realize that it was true. ¡°You right, he had no divine energy. He never cultivated that power.¡±

    Despite his many years as a part of Aeternus, Kong Ji had not cultivated divine energy. Was it because he had been incapable of doing so, or because he had chosen not to?

    If Kong Ji had moved a bit faster with his final attack, would it have struck Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin had seen the hesitation in the man¡¯s eyes.

    Kong Ji might not have wanted to kill Lu Yin, despite their differing positions.

    While the man had indeed betrayed the Fifth Maind, he had never done anything to harm it, and he had always stayed in the Fourth Scourge. He had wanted to see things from a higher perspective. However, if everyone shared the same desires and goals, it would be impossible for humans to ever defeat Aeternus. Kong Ji had simply been too stubborn and extreme in his actions.

    The jiao arrived, and Jiang Qingyue and the others saw that Kong Ji was dead, which allowed them to breathe sighs of relief.

    The battle had been nothing short of spectacr. It had shaken the entire universe, and not even Dragonturtle had dared to approach.

    ¡°You finally killed someone worthwhile on this journey to see some outside universes,¡± Ghost Monkey praised. ¡°Congrattions, Seventh Bro, for defeating a sequence powerhouse head-on.¡±

    Dragonturtle snorted. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that Arch-Elder Zen also attacked?¡±

    Ghost Monkey bared his teeth. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything. You¡¯re cross-eyed.¡±

    ¡°Look at him! Arch-Elder Zen looks like a dying ghost! It¡¯s clear that he summoned Lu Tianyi!¡± Dragonturtle shouted.

    Arch-Elder Zen was speechless. What did the turtle mean when he said that he looked like a dying ghost? Did he really look that bad?

    ¡°You¡¯re the dying ghost! Show some respect!¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression improved slightly. Ghost Monkey clearly know how to speak a bit better.

    ¡°That was Ancestor Lu Tianyi! Seventh Bro¡¯s ancestor!¡± Ghost Monkey growled through bared teeth.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression grew worse than ever. He could not stay silent any longer. ¡°Be quiet!

    ¡°Dao Monarch, how were things in the Fourth Scourge?¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin, as all of them were curious about the Fourth Scourge.

    Lu Yin briefly shared some of the details he had seen, and Arch-Elder Zen and others sighed in relief.

    Jiang Qingyue asked, ¡°So, the Fourth Scourge isn¡¯t as strong as the one that we¡¯ve been fighting against?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve been dealing with the First Scourge, which is far, far stronger than this Fourth Scourge. On top of that, ckless God is both one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies and one of the First Scourge¡¯s Seven Skygods. Because he¡¯s been so focused on the Sixverse Association, and especially the Origin Universe, he rarely has time to pay attention to the Fourth Scourge. If he were there, I might not have been able to return after I was discovered.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, ¡°Even so, what you did was extremely risky. If the master of the Fourth Scourge was not ckless God or one of the other Skygods, you might have been in grave danger, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Ghost Monkey joined in, ¡°Since this guy chased after you, Aeternus might send some other powerhouses as well. Should we head back now, Seventh Bro?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Kong Ji¡¯s body. ¡°Let¡¯s go back for now.¡±

    As Lu Yin delivered Arch-Elder Zen and the others to the Heavens Sect, he informed them that he intended to return to the Fourth Scourge.

    Arch-Elder Zen was startled. ¡°Are you really going back? That¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    Lu Yinforted the old man, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s safe right now. No one will expect me to return to the Fourth Scourge so quickly, and they also won¡¯t think that anyone could kill Kong Ji so quickly.¡±

    Lu Yin then pulled out a cosmic door and passed through it to return to the Fourth Scourge.

    He was very concerned about the Divine Selection that Wei Shu had mentioned. Was it some kind of campaign against humanity, or did it involve other races from other parallel universes?

    Just as Lu Yin had assumed, upon entering the Fourth Scourge, he saw Progenitor-level corpse kings filling the sky, all of them awaiting Kong Ji¡¯s return. Down below, the Fourth Scourge looked perfectly normal.

    Since Lu Yin had used a cosmic door to enter the Fourth Scourge, he appeared on the ground itself, which meant that he did not draw any attention to himself.

    He returned to Wei Shu¡¯s tower, which should have been mere ruins, yet had somehow already been repaired. The Aeternals seemed to have an unusual obsession with their towers.

    Lu Yin easily entered the tower without anyone noticing him.

    At the moment, Wei Shu was standing by one of the tower¡¯s windows, staring off into the distance. ¡°That was incredibly gutsy. I wonder who had the courage to sneak into a Scourge? There really are people who don¡¯t fear death. I¡¯m lucky I was so wary, or else I would have been the first to die.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not toote for you,¡± someonemented.

    Wei Shu was irritated to hear such an insult. ¡°Who¡¯s cursing me?¡±

    He spun around to attack, but a hand fell upon his head with a heavy weight. ¡°Do you want to live or die?¡±

    Wei Shu did not dare to move a muscle, as sweat dripped from his forehead.

    Lu Yinughed. Just how badly did this man fear death to have such a strong reaction so quickly?

    ¡°Senior- no, Grandfather! Please spare me! It wasn¡¯t easy for me to cultivate to this level. Please, Grandfather, let me go!¡± Wei Shu pleaded quietly.

    Lu Yin was stunned. This was the first time anyone had ever referred to him as grandfather. This man clearly feared death, which was theplete opposite of Kong Ji or Da Hui.

    This was most likely the more normal reaction of Aeternus¡¯s human peak powerhouses. Without fearing death, how could anyone betray humanity?

    ¡°I¡¯m not your grandfather! I don¡¯t associate with shameless traitors who betray their own ancestors,¡± Lu Yin spat in a cold voice.

    Wei Shu instantly agreed, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. You¡¯re not my grandfather. I¡¯m not worthy of being your grandson. In that case, Ancestor! Ancestor, please spare my life!¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°Give me the map.¡±

    There was absolutely no hesitation as Wei Shu took out a memory chip from his cosmic ring. He never once had the courage to even look back.

    Lu Yin grabbed the memory chip. It was rather advanced technology.

    ¡°Is that all of it?¡±

    ¡°I swear it is! If I¡¯m lying, may I die a horrible death.¡±

    ¡°Do you really fear death so much?¡±

    ¡°And also pain! Please, Ancestor, spare me!¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Wei Shu¡¯s back. ¡°Tell me about the Divine Selection then.¡±

    Wei Shu blurted, ¡°The six Scourges each select their finest elites and send them to a testing ground to undergo an assessment. Passing that assessment qualifies one to be one of the Three Supports and Six Heavens, receive True God¡¯s own guidance, and also gain endless cultivation resources. They will rece any of the Three Pirs and Six Skies who fall. There¡¯s even a legend that they can receive one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques from him without needing to search beneath the divine energy rivers. The Divine Selection has been held many times over the years, but very few have ever passed the assessment. Doing so always requires going to the First Scourge.¡±

    Lu Yin instantly thought of Undying God and the other dead Skygods. They had not been amongst the Three Pirs and Six Skies and had only been part of the Seven Skygods, who were second only to True God. Did this mean that they had passed the Divine Selection¡¯s assessment in the past and were qualified to take the ce of the Three Pirs and Six Skies if any of them fell?

    However, Undying God had not learned any of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, and neither had Shaman God. On the other hand, ckless God was already one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, not a backup.

    If there were no open positions among the Three Pirs and Six Skies, did it mean that none of the dead Skygods had been part of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, or did it mean that the Seven Skygods were separate, but equal to the Three Pirs and Six Skies? Could there be a slight discrepancy between the two? Lu Yin was rather confused.

    ¡°What do you know about the people who¡¯ve passed the Divine Selection?¡± Lu Yin demanded.

    Wei Shu was stunned. ¡°Know about them?¡±

    ¡°Such as their titles or anything else.¡±

    ¡°That, I¡¯ve never heard about like that.¡±

    ¡°Do you know who have passed the assessment?¡±

    Wei Shu grimaced. ¡°Ancestor, I really don¡¯t know anything. Almost no one has ever passed the Divine Selection before, as the challenge is simply too difficult. Honestly, while it¡¯s said that some of the current Three Pirs and Six Skies received their positions through the Divine Selection, no one really knows for sure. It¡¯s rumored that the master of the Third Scourge did that, but no one actually knows.¡±

 Chapter 3016: Testing Grounds

    <h4>Chapter 3016: Testing Grounds</h4>

    Lu Yin started thinking. The best elites of each Scourge? These elites were clearly not members of the younger generation, but rather peak themselves, or even possibly sequence powerhouses. Who else could hope to be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies by passing an assessment?

    This meant that the chosen candidates were Aeternal powerhouses second only to the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    This Divine Selection could be considered an importantpetition for the Aeternals, one that was at a much higher level than normal.

    ¡°Where is the testing grounds you mentioned?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    Wei Shu hesitated for a moment.

    Lu Yin pressed down harder with his hand, and Wei Shu instantly answered, ¡°The Immemorial Citadel! It¡¯s the Immemorial Citadel!¡±

    ¡°The Immemorial Citadel?¡± Lu Yin was surprised.

    Wei Shu¡¯s voice dropped back down. ¡°Honestly, I shouldn¡¯t know this, but I¡¯ve exchanged information with powerhouses across five of the six Scourges, and we¡¯ve discussed the Divine Selection before. One person who joined Aeternus a long time ago mentioned that the Divine Selection takes ce at the Immemorial Citadel.

    ¡°The Immemorial Citadel is the most intense battleground for the war between Aeternus and humanity. Only the survivors of those battles pass the assessment.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn. It was no wonder why the elites chosen for this Divine Selection rarelypleted the assessment. The Immemorial Citadel was where humanity¡¯s greatest experts all gathered, including people like Chu Yi, Ce Wangtian, and many others. Only people at the level of the Seven Skygods or the Three Pirs and Six Skies could hope to fight against such powerhouses.

    The idea of fighting in the Divine Selection and visiting the Immemorial Citadel suddenly popped into Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    No, that would be too dangerous. Even though True God was in seclusion, he might still pay attention to something like the Divine Selection. If he noticed Lu Yin, everything would be over. On top of that, the participants in the Divine Selection would undoubtedly be experts equal to the Seven Skygods. Even if Lu Yin was not discovered, he might just die at the hands of some human powerhouse if he went to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Regardless of how risky and dangerous that would be, Lu Yin found himself increasingly tempted to try. The Immemorial Citadel held humanity¡¯s greatest secrets, and it was the ce where a great number of the most powerful humans gathered, and they had done so since the Heavens Sect era. On top of that, the Immemorial Citadel was where the Aeternals¡¯ greatest secrets could be found as well. Lu Yin had already heard that the Ossis Ark was located in the Immemorial Citadel, and if not for the Immemorial Citadel restraining it, the Ossis Ark would have descended upon the Sixverse Association long ago.

    The Immemorial Citadel was truly the highest stage of the inter-universe war.

    Lu Yin was eager to visit the Immemorial Citadel and learn more about Aeternus¡¯s other Scourges by participating in the Divine Selection.

    However, doing so carried an extremely high risk of him being exposed.

    What should he do?

    Lu Yin hesitated.

    Wei Shu did not dare to move, and he stood frozen in pace as sweat streamed from his forehead, sshing onto the floor.

    Outside the window, the Fourth Scourge¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings were high in the sky, waiting for Kong Ji¡¯s return.

    ¡°Who is the Fourth Scourge¡¯s candidate for the Divine Selection?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Wei Shu grew puzzled. ¡°Well, it¡¯s supposed to be Lord Kong Ji.¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised at all. Kong Ji¡¯s strength had certainly been enough to qualify him to join the Divine Selection. If he had managed to receive True God¡¯s guidance, or if he had cultivated one of the ultimate techniques, then Kong Ji¡¯s strength might have reached the same level as the Seven Skygods¡¯.

    While the Fourth Scourge itself was not particrly strong, especially since ckless God rarely paid any attention to it and left it essentially unattended, it had still had Kong Ji. In that case, what about the other Scourges? They should each have simr experts.

    Lu Yin suddenly regretted killing Kong Ji. He should have dragged the man back to Aeternus Nation and had him break free from the death energy there, while also rescuing Dual deform and the other captives. At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s identity of Ye Bo could have ¡°escaped¡± with Kong Ji as well, which would have given him an excuse to return to the First Scourge. It would have been perfect.

    Kong Ji was not part of the First Scourge, and he also had not known about the developments in the Origin Universe. Thus, he had not been particrly wary.

    Too bad. That would have been a perfect n.

    Still, even with Kong Ji dead, he could carry out that n with other experts from the other Scourges.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Do you have a cosmic door to any of the other Scourges?¡±

    Wei Shu answered immediately, ¡°Absolutely not. They don¡¯t even exist. Only asionally is there anymunication between the Scourges, and sharing or trading cosmic doors is strictly forbidden. It¡¯s one of the major crimes within Aeternus.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned, and pressed down harder. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear excuses! I need a cosmic door to another Scourge.¡±

    Wei Shu begged, terrified, ¡°Ancestor, I really don¡¯t have any! I¡¯m too scared of dying to break any of the rules here. If I had a cosmic door without the proper authorization, at best, I¡¯d be sent toplete a mission, but I might be thrown into ake of divine energy and turned into a frenzied corpse! You know about frenzied corpses, right? They have no reasoning or thought left in them and know of nothing but ughter. Not even Aeternus can control those monsters, and I don¡¯t want to be one of them. Such creatures can¡¯t be killed, and they¡¯re never able to find peace.¡±

    Lu Yin continued his threats, but Wei Shu just kept begging for mercy. Finally, Lu Yin forced the man to open his cosmic ring and remove everything in it.

    It was true. While the man had multiple cosmic doors, they all led to the Fourth Scourge. Not one led to any other Scourge.

    Aside from the cosmic doors, the man possessed nothing else of interest.

    ¡°How many frenzied corpses are there in the Fourth Scourge?¡± Lu Yin demanded.

    Wei Shu grimaced. ¡°Senior, why are all of your questions about things I can¡¯t answer? All of the frenzied corpses are beneath thekes of divine energy. How could I possibly know how many of them there are?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously. ¡°How many frenzied corpses have you seen been taken out?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°Where did they go?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°How useless.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am useless! But please, Ancestor, spare me!¡±

    Lu Yin left and returned to Aeternus Nation. He had learned what he needed to, though he felt conflicted on whether he should use Ye Bo¡¯s identity to join the Divine Selection.

    This decision was far more difficult than simply infiltrating Aeternus.

    To begin with, when the opportunity to infiltrate Aeternus had first appeared, both True God and the Seven Skygods had been in seclusion, and Lu Yin had also not known about Aeternus¡¯s true strength. He had simply wanted to learn more about the Ossis Ark. On the other hand, if he participated in the Divine Selection, he might have a direct encounter with True God or the Three Pirs and Six Skies. It was very likely that some of those people would be able to see through his disguise.

    However, Lu Yin knew that he would not be able to rx if he did not participate.

    The Three Pirs and Six Skies might not be able to see through Lu Yin¡¯s disguise when he posed as Ye Bo, though it was guaranteed that True God would do so. On top of that, Jiang Qingyue had already figured out Ye Bo¡¯s true identity through Lu Yin¡¯s actions and fighting style, which meant that someone from Aeternus could do the same thing. There were countless strange creatures throughout the megaverse, and it was likely that, since the First Scourge had had someone like Cheng Kong, the other Scourges might have other simr creatures.

    Lu Yin sighed heavily. This choice could be deadly.

    ...

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, people slowly trickled back into the Starfall Sea after Aeternus had been driven out. While the barrier of the horizontal ck hole still isted the Starfall Sea, there was no endless horde of corpse kings, but that did not mean that Aeternus could not ce another cosmic door there. This meant that anyone who returned to the Starfall Sea was taking on some level of risk.

    On a vast continent, Mt. Stacks Dojo had reopened.

    For safety, Mt. Stacks Dojo was still headquartered in the Outerverse, but all new disciples who were epted were sent to visit Grayweed Continent to participate in a memorial ritual. Dojo Master Lan had died fighting there, while Lan Si had never returned after entering Burial Garden. At the moment, Elder Ji and Lan Baobao were in charge of Mt. Stacks Dojo.

    Elder Ji had be an elder after Elder Tie died, and Elder Ji had also sessfully be an Enlighter. After Elder Tie had died fighting with the Redemption Army, only Lan Baobao, Tie San, and a few other disciples from Mt. Stacks Dojo had survived. Fortunately, Elder Ji had sessfully broken through and be an Enlighter and an elder in the sect, which allowed Mt. Stacks Dojo to endure.

    There were twenty tforms of earth stacked on top of each other in Mt. Stacks Dojo. As one climbed up, the gravity on each consecutive level grew stronger and stronger.

    On one day, hundreds of Mt. Stacks Dojo disciples were delivered to Grayweed Continent by Elder Ji. They were apanied by Tie San and a group of people who had once been disciples of Grayweed Continent¡¯s various dojos.

    ¡°Do you see those tforms? Each one¡¯s gravity is stronger than the lower ones, so the higher you climb, the more extreme the gravity bes. Try to climb as high as possible, as the height you achieve will determine your status in Mt. Stacks Dojo!¡± Tie San shouted. He had gone through this routine many times before, as he apanied each new batch of disciples.

    While he had initially been nervous, and they had asionally encountered a few scattered corpse kings, he was no longer afraid.

    Over the years, as the Heavens Sect grew stronger, Progenitors had been stationed in the Starfall Sea, so Aeternus no longer dared to step foot in the ce.

    Hundreds of disciples were eager to start climbing, so as soon as they heard Tie San¡¯smand, they excitedly shot towards the stacked tforms. All of them knew that even Dao Monarch Lu had attempted this test before.

    Tie San moved closer to Elder Ji. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this y out too many times before. The more excited they are at the start, the greater theirter disappointment.¡±

    Elder Ji stood there, his hands sped behind his back. ¡°If we don¡¯t knock them down a peg, they¡¯ll believe that the Heavens Sect¡¯s glory is easy to achieve. Dao Monarch Lu faced countless life and death struggles in the Starfall Sea and all across the entire Fifth Maind. All of us have survived catastrophes for the Heavens Sect to rise to its current heights. These children are simply too young, and they don¡¯t understand the struggles that led to our current glory. This disappointment they¡¯re about to face still isn¡¯t nearly enough.¡±

    Tie San sighed. ¡°True. Dojo Master Lan died in battle, and Lan Si has gone missing. It hasn¡¯t been easy for our Mt. Stacks Dojo to keep going.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also your father, Elder Tie,¡± Elder Jimented solemnly.

    Tie San felt a pang of pain, but he quickly suppressed it. Death was simply too familiar for cultivators. ¡°Eh? Elder Ji, am I seeing things? Look.¡±

    Elder Ji looked where Tie San was pointing and saw a person slowly approaching the stacked tforms. It was Lu Yin,ing to bury Kong Ji¡¯s body.

    Elder Ji went bug-eyed, and he hurried forward.

    ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch Lu.¡±

    Tie San nervously greeted Lu Yin as well, ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the stacked tforms. ¡°Has Mt. Stacks Dojo recruited new disciples?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dao Monarch.¡± Elder Ji had never even dreamed that he would see Lu Yin on Grayweed Continent. This man was the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, the ruler of the Origin Universe! Even if Elder Jie¡¯s cultivation improved by several realms, he still would not be qualified to meet with this young man.

    The first time Elder Ji had ever seen Lu Yin was right in Mt. Stacks Dojo, but at that time, the man had been an official in the dojo who had not even been an elder, as he had only been a Hunter. He had been neither an elder nor an elite disciple, and he had had no connection to Lu Yin. Once the dojo moved to the Outerverse, only a few people like Elder Tie had been qualified to speak to Lu Yin. However, all of those people had either died or gone missing. Elder Ji had never imagined that he would be able to stand so close to Lu Yin, not even in his dreams.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept past Elder Ji and Tie San, but then they returned to Tie San. ¡°Where¡¯s Lan Baobao?¡±

    Tie San answered immediately, ¡°She stayed in the Outerverse. We take turns bringing the disciples here.¡±

    Lu Yin did not say anything more as he looked back at the stacked earthen tforms. After a moment, his eyes drifted to the ground beneath them.

    There were twenty earthen tforms. The first tform had a palm print that had been left with ten stacks of force, and anyone who could manage to make their way there could learn Vacuum Palm. The tenth tform had a palm print with 100 stacks of force, and it could teach a person Hollow Palm. That was where Lu Yin had stopped, as he had not returned to Mt. Stacks Dojo again after that.

    At the top tform was the palm strike that Kong Ji had used against Lu Yin, the one which could gently absorb an enemy¡¯s attacks. The final palm strike was called Vacuum Rebound, and it had been hidden underground.

 Chapter 3017: Intervention

    <h4>Chapter 3017: Intervention</h4>

    In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to see it, but at this moment, he clearly saw that there was a fist impression underground, and this one contained a thousand stacks of force.

    There was no denying that Kong Ji¡¯s obsession with strength had helped him rise up to a certain height. Vacuum Rebound was a technique that could even be used in a battle between peak powerhouses. It was able to neutralize and reflect an attack back to one¡¯s opponent, which would absolutely catch someone off guard, especially if Kong Ji used it with his own sequence particles.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to bury someone today. While there are no Aeternals in the Starfall Sea, this ce still isn¡¯tpletely safe. You should return early.¡± Lu Yin then moved towards the stack of earthen tforms to bury Kong Ji on top. Since the man missed his homnd, Lu Yin would let him see it.

    Kong Ji had indeed betrayed the Fifth Maind, but the hesitation in his eyes at the end of the fight against Lu Yin had convinced Lu Yin that the man had truly never harmed the Fifth Maind. Kong Ji missed his hometown, but because he had not wanted to harm it, he had not been able to ever return. This was his way of atoning for his selfish betrayal of the Fifth Maind.

    The palm technique that he had left behind had been of great help to Lu Yin. Regardless of what kind of person Kong Ji had been, his teachings had saved and protected Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin slowly climbed the twenty stacked tforms, passing the disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo. They were not even able to see Lu Yin as they struggled to climb higher. The scene was all too familiar to Lu Yin, as he had climbed to the tenth level of the stacked tforms while many people watched, and he had learned Hollow Palm there. At the time, the Sixth Maind had been invading the Fifth Maind, and the Outerverse had been isted.

    So many years had passed in the blink of an eye.

    Lu Yin quickly arrived at the top, and he looked at the palm print before him. He took out Kong Ji¡¯s corpse and buried the man beneath his own palm print. After that, he brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage and spoke to Kong Ji, telling him to look around and see where he was.

    ¡°This is the ce you wanted to see, so look. While your hometown has undergone quite a few struggles, the ce hasn¡¯t really changed all that much,¡± Lu Yin murmured as he turned around and stared into the distance. ¡°If not for Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s sneak attack, would you havended thatst attack?¡±

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, lost in thought. After a while, he put away his Champions¡¯ Stage and stepped off, disappearing.

    ¡°Dao Monarch Lu is gone,¡± Elder Ji said in a regretful tone. He had wanted to have a long talk with Lu Yin, but hecked the qualifications to do so.

    Tie San clenched a fist. In the past, he could have followed Lu Yin. However, at present, Tie San could no longer even see Lu Yin¡¯s back. Even if Lan Si were present, it would not be any different. The Ten Arbiters had stood at the peak of their era, but none of them could keep up with the genius who had transcended that era.

    Lu Yin intended to leave the Origin Universe after burying Kong Ji, continuing to search for more unknown universes in order to learn more about Aeternus¡¯s outsider allies, as well as strengthen Lightflow. However, upon returning to the Heavens Sect, he was informed that Highsage Grandmaster was facing his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Lu Yin hurried to the Neoverse.

    In the Neoverse, people like Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei had all gathered. They anxiously stared off into the distance. Big Sis, Leon, and many others had also arrived to watch Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s stellr tribtion. Qing Ping, Lu Buzheng, and others were also present.

    The vortex of the stellr tribtion had appeared above Highsage Grandmaster, and while it was not particrlyrge, the tribtion that appeared was impressive. It was a sourcebox array.

    Highsage Grandmaster was an Array Master, and his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion had him facing a sourcebox array.

    Beneath the ck hole of the tribtion, two sourcebox arrays shed, breaking each other down and merging with deadly bursts of power. Many of the people watching werepletely bewildered.

    Anyone who was not an Array Master would fail to understand what was happening.

    Xiu Ming stared intently. He considered himself to be at least as skilled an Array Grandmaster as Highsage Grandmaster, perhaps even better. Even so, Xiu Ming knew that he was incapable of mastering the sourcebox arrays he saw before him. Only a few Array Grandmasters had appeared throughout the countless years, and each one had created at least five sourcebox arrays. There had also been people like Progenitor Hui, who had gone above and beyond that, but Highsage Grandmastercked the necessary mastery to deal with what he was facing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a failure,¡± Xiu Ming dered solemnly.

    There were other lockbreakers watching closely. Many had arrived after they received word of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s tribtion. Both Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster anticipated encountering a sourcebox array during their Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, and that assumption had proven urate for Highsage Grandmaster.

    Geoffrey, Shang Yang, Master Hao Yue, Gui Junheng, and the other qualified lockbreakers all arrived, including Xi Qi and Cai Jianqiang. It was clear to all that Highsage Grandmaster had been preparing for his tribtion for quite some time.

    However, all of his preparations were insufficient before the tribtion that he faced.

    The danger zone of Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s sourcebox array continued to weaken, and more people started to realize that the man would not be able to endure for much longer.

    ¡°Master!¡± Highsage Leon shouted.

    Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei stared on, their eyes bloodshot. ck and White were present, and they wrung their hands as they watched with bated breath.

    Even the Cosmic Sect¡¯s Elder Jiu Shen was present, his gazeplex. Would his senior brother be able to seed?

    <i>Cough</i>.

    Highsage Grandmaster spat out blood. It was an indication that he could not endure.

    Highsage Leon was ready to charge over, but he was held back by Highsage Wudi. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your life.¡±

    ¡°Senior Brother, let me go! We can¡¯t just watch Master die!¡± Highsage Leon raged as he tried to break free from Highsage Wudi.

    Another hand fell on Leon¡¯s shoulder, as Highsage Shenwei also moved to stop him.

    His eyes bloodshot, Highsage Shenwei stated, ¡°Going over there means that you will die with him. Do you think that we want to just watch as Master dies?¡±

    Highsage Leon clenched his fists as he trembled.

    Highsage Grandmaster spat out more blood, and he swayed in ce as the danger zone of the other sourcebox array drew closer to him. His failure was clear for all to see.

    He had waited for so long, and yet he had still failed. Even so, it was better to struggle and fail. Lingzhi Mavis, Elder Gong, and Highsage Grandmaster had all failed their Progenitor¡¯s tribtions. Of the Fifth Maind¡¯s seven Semi-Progenitors, only Arch-Elder Zen had seeded.

    <i>Old friends, I¡¯ming too</i>.

    Highsage Grandmaster was powerless, and he allowed the danger zone to descend upon him.

    From the distance, Big Sis suddenly shot straight towards the stellr tribtion. Highsage Grandmaster was important to Highsage Leon, and he could also be considered part of Big Sis¡¯ family. She could not let him die, even if he failed his tribtion.

    However, there was someone even faster than Big Sis.

    As she moved forward, Highsage Grandmaster vanished from beneath the vortex in outer space.

    Where had he gone?

    At the same time, the stellr tribtion¡¯s vortex started growing rapidly, and its increasing power caused everyone¡¯s hearts to drop.

    ¡°RUN!¡± A shrill scream rang out, and everyone raced away at the same time.

    Big Sis looked towards where the center of the tribtion¡¯s ck hole had shifted. <i>Is that Little Seven?</i>

    Naturally, Lu Yin had was the person who had moved faster than Big Sis.

    Highsage Grandmaster was only a Semi-Progenitor, and having failed his breakthrough, there was nothing he could say about his failure. This was what it meant for cultivators to struggle against the heavens. Lu Yin had not considered intervening with Highsage Grandmaster¡¯s failure, but when he saw Big Sis moving forward, Lu Yin had not been able to simply stand to the side.

    Despite the danger, all Lu Yin needed to do was give Highsage Grandmaster a chance to reduce his cultivation, which would disperse his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    Elder Gong had died because he had not had enough time to dissipate his cultivation, and Highsage Grandmaster had very nearly gone down the exact same path.

    ¡°Senior, dissipate your cultivation!¡± Lu Yin reminded.

    Highsage Grandmaster hastily did as he was told.

    The man¡¯s stellr tribtion disappeared. Lu Yin watched cautiously, as he had interfered with the tribtion. As it faded away, it still managed tosh out at Lu Yin once before vanishing, and it struck him with the same sourcebox array. The danger zone was powerful enough to threaten even Lu Yin, and it was far more powerful than what Highsage Grandmaster had faced during his tribtion.

    Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed to endure the attack of the tribtion, and he gazed upwards as the vortex finally dissipated entirely.

    ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch...¡±

    Big Sis was the first to race over. ¡°Little Seven!¡±

    Lu Yin was holding on to Highsage Grandmaster, and he just shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Everyone around was stunned. It wasmon knowledge that no one should ever interfere with a stellr tribtion, and yet Lu Yin had just done exactly that.

    Big Sis waspletely speechless.

    Highsage Wudi and the others from Eversky Ind quickly expressed their gratitude.

    Highsage Leon breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Little Seven, thank you.¡±

    Lu Yin justughed. ¡°Captain, there¡¯s no need to be so polite with me.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±

    Highsage Grandmaster coughed a few times. While he had not died to his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, he had still been seriously injured by it, and reducing his cultivation to that of an Envoy had only aggravated his condition. The man¡¯s future cultivation prospects were entirely gone. ¡°Dao Monarch, it wasn¡¯t worth it to risk your life to save an old man like me. If anything had happened, I would have never been able to atone for it.¡±

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. ¡°I only did what I did because I was confident. I wouldn¡¯t have taken any real risk.¡±

    ck and White approached, tears of joy streaming down their faces. They were still as childish as ever.

    Far away, Xi Qi cradled her head where the rude fish had pped her with his tail. ¡°That kid really doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for him! Getting involved in another¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion? There¡¯s no discipline at all!¡±

    Xi Qi quickly grabbed the fish¡¯s tail. ¡°Stop pping me! It hurts.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still not used to it? Lord Fish is training you with the Iron Head Technique!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Are you talking back? Take care, or else Lord Fish will abandon you.¡±

    People started to move away from Eversky Ind, and Highsage Grandmaster again expressed his gratitude to Lu Yin before entering seclusion to recover.

    Lu Yin spent some time chatting with his old friends and acquaintances before Big Sis pulled him aside.

    She examined him with questioning eyes.

    Lu Yin felt nervous. ¡°Big Sis, why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    She circled around him. ¡°How did you move faster than me?¡±

    ¡°To save Highsage Grandmaster?¡±

    ¡°There was no one here who should have been able to move faster than me. I was the fastest one present, and I could have saved Highsage Grandmaster, but before I could even blink, you had already taken him away. How did you do it?¡±

    Lu Yin proudly replied, ¡°Inverse Step.¡±

    Big Sis¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Did you master the ability to skip time?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I learned to move at the speed of time.¡±

    Big Sis grew puzzled.

    Lu Yin shared his encounter with Progenitor Chen in Burial Garden and then demonstrated how he could move parallel to time.

    Big Sis was amazed. ¡°This Xia Shang is truly a genius, to aplish such a thing.¡±

    Lu Yin was simrly impressed. ¡°Progenitor Chen was the most brilliant Progenitor of the Daosource Sect era, and few have ever been able to equal him. Each of his nine clones was able to kill Progenitors, and he forced the Sixth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect to turtle up and not dare show themselves. He even left a mark on Aeternus.¡±

    Big Sis replied, ¡°Of course I know all that. I don¡¯t only know about the Heavens Sect era. I¡¯m simply admitting that I underestimated Progenitor Chen. You need to know that moving parallel to time isn¡¯t any easier than skipping time. Wu Xing¡¯s ability to skip time was something that he developed over the course of countless years, and the same goes for Inverse Step. For Xia Shang to create an alternate variation of a movement technique that he inherited long ago just demonstrates how terrifyingly talented he is.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Chen also told me that he¡¯s in Burial Garden not only to fulfill a promise he made to Tombkeeper, but also because he¡¯s developing a battle technique to defeat True God,¡± Lu Yin shared. If anyone else had made such a im, he would not have believed them. However, for some reason, he could not help but believe it when Progenitor Chen said it.

 Chapter 3018: A Brutal Battle

    <h4>Chapter 3018: A Brutal Battle</h4>

    If Lu Yin had heard Progenitor Chen make such a im while he was still learning about sequence particles, he would not have believed the Progenitor. Previously, Lu Yin had associated Progenitor Chen with the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which Lu Yin thought were approximately on par with other sequence powerhouses. Such experts were a far cry from someone like True God, who was in the process of oveing Dukkha. Lu Yin could not even imagine how powerful such a powerhouse must be.

    However, with the passing of time, Lu Yin had gained a greater understanding of Progenitor Chen. If Progenitor Ku had been able to invade the Scourge on his own without dying, then why would that feat be beyond Progenitor Chen?

    The title of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Daosource Sect era was nothing more than that¡ªa title. It signified that a person had received an inheritance from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. The title had been passed down from the Heavens Sect era, and because of that, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era had not necessarily been as powerful as their titles suggested.

    At the very least, Progenitor Ku had not corresponded to that level of power, and neither did Ancestor Tianyi. Because of this, Lu Yin was certain that the same was true of Progenitor Chen. After all, that man had been acknowledged as the strongestbatant of his era.

    Even Progenitor Chen himself had admitted to being a good fighter.

    The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era had not been limited by their titles, but those titles had defined the strength that other people believed that they possessed.

    If the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Heavens Sect era had encountered Progenitor Chen and assumed the man to be their equal, those ancient Progenitors would have instantly learned that they were at a significant disadvantage.

    Big Sis released her sequence particles. ¡°Come on, Little Seven. Show me how you move at the speed of time.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s very difficult to move at that speed in the presence of sequence particles. I already tried doing it before.¡±

    Big Sis smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Remember, there is no battle technique in existence that is truly invincible. That¡¯s something Gu Yizhi once said, and even if he became a traitor, he was once one of the top powerhouses of the Heavens Sect.¡±

    Lu Yin knew that Big Sis was trying to caution him.

    In one¡¯s life, having a few true family members and friends who genuinely cared for you was veryforting.

    Before long, Lu Yin resumed exploring unknown parallel universes, this time without Jiang Qingyue and Ghost Monkey. One of them had already gained enough experience, having fought against the Progenitor-level mantis and Da Hui. Jiang Qingyue had benefited greatly from her time following Lu Yin, and she had already returned to Whitecloud City.

    Ghost Monkey no longer needed to follow Lu Yin any longer either, and Lu Yin asked the monkey to stay in the Heavens Sect with Progenitor Wushang¡¯s corpse. He hoped that Ghost Monkey would break through and that the Heavens Sect would gain another peak powerhouse.

    Ghost Monkey was confident that he could be a Progenitor, but he hesitated in the face of actually attempting a breakthrough.

    ...

    Lu Yin, Arch-Elder Zen, and Zhao Ran rode the jiao again, and they left the Origin Universe behind.

    In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. During these three years, Lu Yin did not encounter Aeternus even once. As for the parallel universes that he visited, he had found two with human civilizations, though neither knew anything regarding cultivation.

    Lightflow had grown further, and Lu Yin could now look 600 seconds into the past, which was a full ten minutes.

    The moment his limit reached 600 seconds, Lu Yin had an epiphany, and this thought instantly sent him into seclusion.

    He found a and started rolling his die.

    As the die slowly stopped spinning, itnded on six pips, Possession.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind appeared the strange dark space, and he frowned. This ce was not rted to stellr energy, monarch essence, or even voidforce energy. He had never cultivated the power of this universe, so how was it possible for him to enter this dark space?

    He looked around but could not see even a single orb of light. Just what was going on?

    The fact that he had been able to enter the dark space meant that there was something in the universe that he could Possess, but was there a creature in this universe that had cultivated stellr energy?

    Lu Yin moved his consciousness about, and after moving a great distance, he found the transparent wall again.

    After he absorbed the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness, Lu Yin had be capable of seeing these transparent walls, but he was unable to pass through them. He felt that this was most likely because his consciousness was not strong enough, and he believed that the walls represented the limits of parallel universes.

    If he could push past the walls, he had a feeling that he would be able to bypass the restriction that he had to have cultivated the same energy as his target. Being able to Possess people from across multiple parallel universes would be fascinating.

    Still, he could not do this just yet.

    Just as he was about to leave the dark space, Lu Yin suddenly sensed something off in the distance. Was that a ball of light?

    There was an orb of light, and it was shooting by.

    All thoughts vanished from Lu Yin¡¯s mind. If he had possessed a face at this moment, it would have been covered with shock. There was indeed a ball of light, but it had partially been on both sides of the transparent wall. Just what was it?

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin directly merged with the orb, eager to find out what he had found.

    The ball of light was blindingly bright, and there was no doubt that it belonged to someone with at least the strength of a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness touched the orb, and he instantlypleted the Possession.

    His eyes snapped open as countless memories flooded his mind, as did an indescribable sensation. He could see everything around him, including directly behind himself, and there were multiple duplicate images. Just how many eyes did he have?

    As the memories continued to pour in, his expression turned to shock. Had he Possessed a nine-headed bird?

    This creature was known as the nine-headed bird, and learning some more exined why Lu Yin was seeing so many perspectives. After all, how could a creature with eighteen eyes not see a lot?

    Slowly, Lu Yin shifted his focus and concentrated on a single head. His eyes were fixed on a graynd. In the sky above, a golden light zed. It was Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    ording to the nine-headed bird¡¯s memories, it was taking part in an assault on Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The nine-headed bird, Purple Emperor, and a being of pure energy were all outsider powerhouses who were allies of Aeternus.

    After Jing Zhe and the Seven-Star Mantis died, not to mention another group of peak powerhouses who had been eliminated by the Cyclic Universe, Aeternus¡¯s allies had felt a sense of crisis. Unlike Jing Zhe, who had verbally threatened the Sixverse Association, these three had decided to cooperate with each other and attack Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    At this moment, Purple Emperor and the creature of pure energy were both attacking Sovereign Dou Sheng while the nine-headed bird hid in the void, ready to deliver the fatal strike at any time.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had no idea that he was facing not two, but rather three outsider powerhouses.

    The battle that the nine-headed bird saw y out between Sovereign Dou Sheng and the Purple Emperor was a brutal brawl. The Purple Emperor was the most powerful of the three outsider powerhouses, as well as the one who had suggested that they work together to attack Sovereign Dou Sheng. Of Aeternus¡¯s allies, the Purple Emperor¡¯s strength was second only to Astral Anura.

    The Purple Emperor was facing Sovereign Dou Sheng directly while the energy lifeform wasunching sneak attacks. The final blow was being left to the nine-headed bird, whose innate gift ensured sess.

    Lu Yin quickly ended the Possession, and his mind returned to his own body. As soon as he returned, he led Arch-Elder Zen and the others through a tear in the void, heading straight to the Cyclic Universe.

    ¡°Wait here.¡± Lu Yin did not want Arch-Elder Zen or anyone else with him to try to help, so he made his way to the Endless Frontier on his own as he sent a message to Sovereign Lotus.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng could not be allowed to die. He was humanity¡¯s vanguard, as well as the first line of defense against Aeternus. His death would undo all of the progress that the Sixverse Association had made from the deaths of two Skygods. On top of that, Lu Yin had a great deal of respect for the man, and he did not want the Sovereign to fall to an ambush.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Lotus was shocked by the message. ¡°Dou Sheng is being attacked?¡±

    She did not hesitate as she hurried to the Endless Frontier as well.

    The Endless Frontier was the primary battlefield for the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus, but the attack on Sovereign Dou Sheng remained unknown to the Sixverse Association. The Purple Emperor wanted the nine-headed bird to hide and for it tounch a sneak attack that prevented Sovereign Dou Sheng from escaping. After all, if Sovereign Dou Sheng was determined to escape, they would not be able to stop him.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was an arrogant and aloof individual, and he had never intended to leave the Endless Frontier alive. He would never retreat, unless he was absolutely certain of his own defeat. That was his conviction.

    Purple and gold shed with each other again and again above the darknd. The impact shattered the sky above and the ground below. The void was constantly breaking and tearing, and the fissures spread far into the distance.

    Even the shockwaves of the battle were terrifying as they swept out from each impact.

    A clear light asionally lit up, enveloping both the purple and the gold colors. Each burst of light caused the golden color to dwindle rapidly, while allowing the purple light to gain an advantage.

    The golden cudgel iled about, crushing everything it struck. Across from the Sovereign stood his opponent. The Purple Emperor had a humanoid shape, but he had tentacles for limbs and no facial features at all, aside from a single white eye with a vertical pupil.

    The Purple Emperor boldly confronted one of Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s strikes. The cudgel mmed into the purple creature, but it only knocked him back a short distance as the Purple Emperor grabbed hold of the golden cudgel with both hands. ¡°Dou Sheng, you¡¯re finished!¡±

    As he spoke, the Purple Emperor clenched the cudgel and swung it away.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng did not let go of his weapon. Luminous golden blood streamed from his body, shining brightly. As the blood burned, it transformed into a golden light that caused the Sovereign¡¯s strength to continuously rise. Just as the cudgel was about to be flung away, the human released it and then struck the hilt with a palm. The weapon turned into a beam of golden light that mmed into the Purple Emperor yet again. It pierced through the purple body, which was unable to endure the attack, and the Purple Emperor fell.

    Far away was the creature that produced the clear light. It had a humanoid figure, but it consisted of nothing but clear light. This was the being that consisted of pure energy. It had no name, and even the Aeternals referred to it as ¡®the creature of pure energy.¡¯ It was a miraculous lifeform born from a universe. The clear light that it radiated was its sequence particles: Absolute Energy Domain.

    Anyone who was enveloped by the clear light would have all forms of power and energy suppressed, aside from physical strength. Not only that, but those energies would also counter the wielder, which was how the being of pure energy attacked.

    This was how the outsider powerhouses had managed to suppress Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s stellr energy, repeatedly sapping the man¡¯s strength away. This was also the only way the Purple Emperor could fight against the Sovereign. Without the creature of pure energy, not even the Purple Emperor would have stood the slightest chance of obtaining victory over Sovereign Dou Sheng in a one-on-one exchange.

    The Purple Emperor mmed into the ground, purple blood leaking from his chest. His white eye flickered about as he stood back up. He stared into the distance.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng dropped to the ground. He swayed on his feet, still bleeding badly. Still, his blood was the source of his strength. With his stellr energy suppressed by the being of pure energy, Sovereign Dou Sheng had no choice but to continuously burn blood to obtain the strength that he needed. If the man were not as decisive, victory would have likely beenpletely impossible.

    ¡°Just two losers like you can¡¯t kill me.¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s knees bent, and then he dashed forward to punch at the Purple Emperor, who retaliated with a side kick.

    The resulting impact echoed across the sky and deep underground. However, only Aeternus was aware of this battle, and they would not intervene.

    Even with his stellr energy suppressed, Sovereign Dou Sheng was able to use his unshakable determination to fight with an ever increasing fierceness, despite his pitiful physical condition.

    The Purple Emperor did not appear to be in a very good condition either. He cooperated with the sequence particles of the pure energy entity, and they struggled together to wear down Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The Sovereign believed that, if the battle of attrition continued, he would definitely kill these two outsider powerhouses. As for the Purple Emperor, he was just waiting for the right moment to call the nine-headed bird out.

    The two brawled in the most primitive form ofbat. With his energies suppressed by the being of pure energy, Sovereign Dou Sheng had no choice but to engage in a melee with the Purple Emperor. Even so, the Purple Emperor slowly fell to a disadvantage, and he was unable to block or deflect all of the attacks. More and more wounds appeared on his body. While the same was true of Sovereign Dou Sheng, the human¡¯s flowing golden blood only strengthened the halo around him.

 Chapter 3019: Itâ€™s Your Turn

    Chapter 3019: It¡¯s Your Turn

    The Purple Emperor kept retreating as the fighting continued to intensify. Suddenly, Sovereign Dou Sheng beckoned, and his golden cudgel flew towards him. He smashed it down once more, but this time, instead of taking the blow with his body, the Purple Emperor moved forward and punched the hand that held the golden cudgel. The Sovereign struggled to maintain his grip on his cudgel, but he still reacted very quickly. Even as he let go of his weapon, his foot snapped out, and the kick nearly shattered the Purple Emperor¡¯s upper body.

    The Purple Emperor was knocked back, and Sovereign Dou Sheng grabbed hold of his cudgel, ending the exchange.

    The cudgel dropped again, but this time, the Purple Emperor could not escape.

    He looked up, his white eye staring at Sovereign Dou Sheng. The Purple Emperorpletely ignored the falling cudgel and simply stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Just as the golden cudgel was about to strike, it froze in ce. Sovereign Dou Sheng froze as well, and his expression changed drastically as he locked eyes with the Purple Emperor. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Attack!¡± the Purple Emperor ordered. Every part of his body was bleeding.

    The nine-headed bird instantly appeared out of nowhere, its massive body covering the sky as it raised its nine heads up high. It let out a piercing shriek. Three of its heads and six of its eyes stared down at Sovereign Dou Sheng. ¡°Die, Dou Sheng!¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng felt a chille over him. The nine-headed bird possessed an innate gift of cursing. Anyone who was targeted would essentially have their life linked to one of the bird¡¯s heads. If that head was cut off, the person¡¯s life would end. This was the nine-headed bird¡¯s most terrifying ability, and it was also the reason why the Purple Emperor had ordered the bird tounch a surprise attack.

    Only the nine-headed bird could kill Sovereign Dou Sheng for sure. It cursed the man, willing to sacrifice three of its heads.In normal circumstances, the nine-headed bird would never dare to make any trouble for Sovereign Dou Sheng, but the man was immobilized, so the bird quickly seized the rare opportunity, confident in its ability to kill the man.

    When the three heads targeted him, Sovereign Dou Sheng felt as though his perspective had somehow shifted and that his life had been tied to three of the nine-headed bird¡¯s heads.

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± the nine-headed bird shrieked triumphantly. With this, its reputation would soar, and it would even surpass Astral Anura. Much like humans and many other creatures, the nine-headed bird was extremely vain.

    It was a critical moment, and Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his teeth. He refused to ept this as his end.

    His blood boiled, and he prepared to use Triumphant Brawl¡ª

    Suddenly, a gray figure flickered by, and it mmed into the nine-headed bird.

    The bird was knocked aside, and its opportunity to curse Sovereign Dou Sheng was ruined.

    Such an unexpected development drew everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Seven-Star Mantis?¡±

    ¡°Seven-Star Mantis?¡±

    ¡°Seven-Star Mantis?¡±

    The Purple Emperor and everyone else present was shocked. ¡°Aren¡¯t you dead?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The creature of pure energy spoke for the first time, its voice reminiscent of ripples fluctuating across ake. ¡°That is nothing but energy.¡±

    Everyone continued to stare at the Seven-Star Mantis, and they quickly realized that it looked different from what they remembered. This creature looked like a gray copy of the original.

    The nine-headed bird was absolutely furious. ¡°Seven-Star Mantis, no matter who you might be, stopping me from cursing Dou Sheng deserves death!¡±

    As the bird spoke, one of its heads stared at the Seven-Star Mantis, while another three resumed focusing on Sovereign Dou Sheng. The bird refused to abandon this opportunity to curse the Sovereign.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng sneered. ¡°So this is your ultimate n, to use three losers.¡±

    As he spoke, his cudgel rose high and then mmed back down.

    The Purple Emperor instantly dodged, but this attack was not aimed at him, but rather at the creature of pure energy.

    Only by eliminating that creature would Sovereign Dou Sheng be able to unleash his full strength. As long as the odd lifeform was around, the Sovereign would be locked in a desperate fight against the Purple Emperor.

    The creature of pure energy simply vanished, even as the clear light spread out once more. This time, it enveloped the Seven-Star Mantis, which was instantly dispersed.

    Far away, Lu Yin was shocked to see his champion vanish. His summon had been erased.

    The creature of pure energy¡¯s Absolute Energy Domain was merciless.

    Lu Yin knew of the being of pure energy from the nine-headed bird¡¯s memories, but he had not been able to learn much about the creature due to how brief the Possession had been.

    He had wanted to take control of the nine-headed bird during its attack on Sovereign Dou Sheng, but because he had no idea how long the bird might wait for, Lu Yin had ended the Possession. There were battles that couldst days, and also battles that couldst years. But Lu Yin could not afford to dy at all, as even a few short hours might be enough to change the bnce of the battle.

    Possessing the nine-headed bird again would not be easy at all. It was a sequence powerhouse, and a powerful one at that. It was not just a matter of the resources needed to carry out such a Possession, but also something more. When Lu Yin had just been a Hunter, he had once Possessed an Envoy, but the difference in strength had forced Lu Yin to end the Possession early. If he had been forced to end the Possession before the nine-headed bird attacked, Lu Yin would be left with no choice but to watch as Sovereign Dou Sheng was surrounded and killed.

    Even if Lu Yin had tried to attack the Purple Emperor or the being of pure energy while Possessing the nine-headed bird, there was no guarantee of sess. With Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s life hanging by a thread, Lu Yin had no room for any sort of carelessness.

    As a precaution, Lu Yin had quickly ended the Possession and made his way to the Endless Battlefield to support Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    There was no need to think any further about the matter.

    The Seven-Star Mantis had been erased, and the creature of pure energy dodged Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s attack. The Purple Emperor¡¯s white eye was once again staring at Sovereign Dou Sheng again.

    The Sovereign¡¯s body suddenly froze in ce again. Even if he did not make eye contact with the Purple Emperor, the outsider powerhouse would still be able to control his movements. This secret was the Purple Emperor¡¯s trump card.

    The nine-headed bird took this opportunity to once again try to curse Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The man clenched his fists, and his golden blood that had evaporated created a maelstrom that swept over the ground and across the sky and ground. He swung his cudgel, thundering, ¡°You underestimate me!¡±

    The golden cudgel smashed into both the Purple Emperor and the creature of pure energy, sending them flying away. For the first time in the battle, the creature of pure energy suffered injuries, and they were not light.

    The Purple Emperor coughed up blood. Their opponent was an absolute monster.

    Despite all three of them cooperating, they were still being swept aside.

    The nine-headed bird was not attacked, as it was in the sky. After Sovereign Dou Sheng attacked with his cudgel, he fell to one knee. He had been bleeding profusely for a long time, and he was no longer able to hold on.

    The nine-headed bird seized its opening and once again tried to curse the man.

    Lu Yin took action, using Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. He threw a fist, confining a hundred punches into a single attack.

    However, Lu Yin found that he could not deliver his punch. The bird had grown extremely wary ever since the Seven-Star Mantis had appeared, as it meant that there were other enemies lurking about. While three of the bird¡¯s heads focused on Sovereign Dou Sheng, the other six were scanning in every direction. Anyone who attacked would be a target, and the bird would try to curse them.

    The bird saw Lu Yin and looked at him, and he did notnd his punch. Suddenly, his body appeared a short distance away from the nine-headed bird.

    The bird eximed, ¡°Lu Yin?¡±

    The Purple Emperor and the creature of pure energy also had not expected Lu Yin to make an appearance.

    On the other hand, Sovereign Dou Sheng had realized what was happening the moment he had seen the Seven-Star Mantis. The mantis¡¯s appearance had made it clear to the Sovereign that it had been summoned by a member of the Lu family, though Dou Shen did wonder¡ªjust how had Lu Yin known of the attack?

    ¡°Mangy bird! You deserve to die!¡± Lu Yin waved a hand, bringing out his Champions¡¯ Stage to summon more champions.

    The nine-headed bird shrieked, ¡°The Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage? Did you summon the Seven-Star Mantis? Fine. Killing Dou Sheng isn¡¯t good enough, so you can die too!¡±

    At that moment, a subtle connection allowed Lu Yin to see an alternate perspective.

    While no one else knew the truth, Lu Yin did. What everyone thought was the nine-headed bird¡¯s innate gift of cursing was not actually an innate gift. Rather, it was the sequence particles that the bird had mastered. The nine-headed bird could make its sequence particles invisible, and because others could not see them, they assumed that the effects were due to an innate gift.

    The nine-headed bird was actually a sequence powerhouse.

    By disguising its mastery of sequence particles as an innate gift, the bird had made the Aeternals as impressed with it as they had been with the Seven-Star Mantis. The Aeternals believed that, once the nine-headed bird became a sequence powerhouse, its strength would greatly increase.

    That was the bird¡¯s exact goal.

    The truth was that the nine-headed bird could notpare to even the Seven-Star Mantis. The Seven-Star Mantis had genuinely not been a sequence powerhouse, whereas the nine-headed bird was merely pretending.

    Despite its fa?ade, the bird¡¯s strength was real, and anyone who touched the nine-headed bird¡¯s sequence particles would be doomed to suffer from bad luck.

    Unfortunately for the nine-headed bird, Lu Yin was aware of its secret, and he would not allow it to form a connection with him that easily.

    The easiest way for Lu Yin to aplish this was to simply release the universe from his chest and use the shell of the Hollow to block the sequence particles.

    The nine-headed bird was shocked by what it saw. ¡°Huh?¡±

    Before it could question the matter any further, Lu Yin used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time and close in on the bird.

    The nine-headed bird knew that something was wrong the moment Lu Yin vanished, and it frantically released its sequence particles.

    While its sequence particles were invisible to ordinary people, they still suppressed Lu Yin¡¯s ability to move at the speed of time, and he was forced out. The nine-headed bird was no less wary than the Seven-Star Mantis or Jing Zhe.

    All of these creatures were always extremely cautious.

    This was the second time that Lu Yin had appeared to stop the nine-headed bird¡¯s attack on Sovereign Dou Sheng, which allowed the man to attack the Purple Emperor once more.

    It was at that moment that Sovereign Lotus finally arrived.

    ¡°That creature of pure energy is yours!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    Sovereign Lotus scanned the battlefield, and her eyes focused on the being of pure energy. A lotus bloomed as the woman entered the fray.

    There were three humans fighting, and each of them faced their own formidable foe.

    The creature of pure energy left Lu Yin feeling sick, as it was able to simply invalidate both his Champions¡¯ Stage and Investiture of the Gods. It might even be capable of disrupting the universe in his chest. For Lu Yin, the nine-headed bird was a much easier opponent, as he already understood it quite well. Additionally, if he could get close to the bird, he would be able to Possess and control it.

    However, the bird was too cautious. It shrank down, and all nine of its heads turned to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯re seeking death!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Today, I¡¯m going to anoint another champion!¡±

    The nine-headed bird bristled as its invisible sequence particles went after Lu Yin. The bird aimed for the young man¡¯s limbs, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and every single part of the human¡¯s body.

    This was how the nine-headed bird attacked, and even when it did not eliminate its foes by decapitating itself, most foes were unable to stand up to the bird in a fight.

    However, Lu Yin intimately understood the bird and its methods. He knew that it was focused on him, and his entire body instantly withered.

    The nine-headed bird¡¯s sequence particles were unpredictable, so Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed on his entire body, which gave him a desated appearance. Every ce the nine-headed bird tried to target would suffer damage, which would cause it to recover back to normal.

    When the nine-headed bird saw Lu Yin¡¯s body dry up, it was shocked. All nine pairs of its eyes instantly narrowed, and fear entered its cries. ¡°Extremes Must Be Reversed?¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°You actually know about Extremes Must Be Reversed?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your connection to that bastard who can''t be beaten to death?¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Ku?¡±

    The nine-headed bird turned and fled. It had chosen to escape from the battle.

    Ever since the bird had first mastered sequence particles, it had be practically invincible. Even so, there was one person it had never been able to affect, no matter how it had attacked him. That person had even seemed to enjoy the bird¡¯s attacks, and he had used an ability known as Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    The nine-headed bird had encountered that human in a random universe, and it had seen him as just another delicious snack, only to discover that the man was too tough to swallow. If that human had not been practically dead, the bird was certain that it would have never been able to escape. It had been traumatized by that human, and his words had haunted the nine-headed bird ever since that day. ¡°I want to eat roast chicken!¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3020: Fold

    Chapter 3020: Fold

    Those six words had frightened the nine-headed bird into instantly fleeing. It had seen the desire and greed in the human¡¯s eyes¡ªthat human had truly wanted to eat it. What a monster.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was exactly what that human had called the technique, and that technique or ability was too terrifying to even describe. Someone else had actually mastered that same ability, which was the bane of the bird¡¯s existence.

    Lu Yin was using Extremes Must Be Reversed on his entire body, and that rendered all of the nine-headed bird¡¯s cursespletely ineffective, as long as the attack did not exceed the limits of what Lu Yin could withstand.

    Were Lu Yin¡¯s defenses sufficient to protect him from the nine-headed bird¡¯s curse if the bird went all out? Perhaps not, but Progenitor Ku had absolutely been able to endure anything the bird could throw at him. Just what had happened between the bird and Progenitor Ku that had frightened the nine-headed bird so badly?

    Still, the nine-headed bird might want to escape, but that was impossible.

    It was a unique opportunity to see three outsider powerhouses in one ce. On top of that, all three of these enemies had appeared to help Aeternus when the Great Sovereign had appeared in the Scourge. Eliminating these three would deal a heavy blow to the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin summoned the Seven-Star Mantis and Kong Ji, and the Seven-Star Mantis moved at the speed of time to chase after the nine-headed bird.

    As this was taking ce, the being of pure energy was also attempting to escape. It had seen that the n to ambush and kill Sovereign Dou Sheng was impossible with the opponents that had appeared, and thus, it had decided to flee.

    Sovereign Lotus did not let up on her assault on the pure energy being, but since she had never focused on developing her physical strength, she was only able to fight a battle of attrition.The most intense portion of the battle was still the fight between Sovereign Dou Sheng and the Purple Emperor. The Sovereign was trying his best to kill the Purple Emperor, and at this point in time, he was not only using his physical might, but also his Progenitor¡¯s world. Behind the man stood another Sovereign Dou Sheng, this one a hundred times taller than the original, and this one was wearing golden armor and wielding a golden cudgel that mmed down to deliver fierce attacks.

    The Purple Emperor looked up, which caused Sovereign Dou Sheng to pause for a moment. While the man was able to quickly break free, that moment was enough for the Purple Emperor to dodge.

    ¡°Dou Sheng, if this continues, you¡¯ll bleed dry.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng cackled. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting a long time to die, so why should I fear a good fight?¡±

    The Purple Emperor gritted his teeth. He also wanted to escape, but the Sovereign¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world covered arge area, which made escape far more difficult.

    The Purple Emperor nced around and saw that the nine-headed bird was being stopped by the Seven-Star Mantis, while the being of pure energy was in a stalemate against Sovereign Lotus. The battle was not looking good for Aeternus¡¯s allies.

    Suddenly, two more people arrived: Food Sage and Arrow Sage. They had been in the nearby Three Purgatories, and since Sovereign Lotus had spread news of the battle to the Sixverse Association, the two Sages were the first to arrive.

    The moment Arrow Sage arrived, he aimed an arrow at the Purple Emperor.

    Further away, Food Sage revealed his true form, and the taotie roared loud enough to send ripples through the air.

    The Purple Emperor swatted the arrow away as he stretched out a hand towards Food Sage, his fingers touching. The two Sages were peak powerhouses, but not sequence powerhouses, and neither was capable of enduring the Purple Emperor¡¯s attacks.

    However, as the Purple Emperor attacked, the golden cudgel fell from behind him.

    The outsider powerhouse felt a chill, and he quickly dodged. Unfortunately, he did not move fast enough and was caught up in the attack and sent flying.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng pressed his attack, and the Purple Emperor struggled to get back up. He propped himself up on an elbow as he stared at the golden light that covered everything. The Purple Emperor felt a terrible sense of danger, and he let out a breath as he prepared to unleash his full power.

    As the cudgel struck, the ground trembled and space quivered.

    Food Sage and Arrow Sage looked at where the Purple Emperor had fallen. Was he dead?

    A muffled groan caused them to turn back, where they saw both Sovereign Dou Sheng and the Purple Emperor, whose hand was inside Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s body.

    ¡°Sovereign!¡± both of the Sages eximed in shock.

    Lu Yin looked over, wondering what had just happened.

    Sovereign Lotus turned pale. Did the Purple Emperor actually possess such an ability?

    The Purple Emperor stood in front of Sovereign Dou Sheng, his single white eye ring at the man. ¡°Dou Sheng, you¡¯ve forced my hand! Who doesn¡¯t want to keep a trump card hidden? This was intended for Aeternus, and yet you¡¯ve forced me to use it on you.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng looked down at the arm that had pierced his chest, and at the golden blood that trickled down the arm and onto the Purple Emperor.

    ¡°What did you just do?¡±

    The Purple Emperor answered in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time to think about it after you¡¯re dead.¡±

    He pulled his hand back and raised it high. After that, no one could see any movement, and yet his arm suddenly stabbed into Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s body again. The Sovereign spat his blood at the Purple Emperor¡¯s face, and the Purple Emperor quickly withdrew his hand to strike again¡­

    Holes riddles Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s body, and yet the man smiled, blood spilling from his lips. ¡°Folding. You¡¯ve mastered the Law of Folding, and you just folded time.¡±

    The Purple Emperor¡¯s pupils shrank. He felt a terrible sense of impending danger. He tried to attack again, but found that he could not pull his arm back.

    ¡°Your attacks are nothing more than annoying tickles to me!¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng roared as he released a punch that shattered half of the Purple Emperor¡¯s body, including the arm that had been thrust into the Sovereign.

    The Purple Emperor coughed up blood, horrified at the sudden reversal. This man was an absolute monster. Despite his terrible injuries, he still was not dead. Just how was that possible? Even the Great Sovereign would have most likely died from such wounds.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng swayed on his feet, his vision blurred. He looked to be on the brink of death, and yet he did not die. It seemed as though death was impossible for him.

    Lu Yin watched, his eyes twitching. When he had Possessed the nine-headed bird, Sovereign Dou Sheng had already been engaged in a vicious fight with the Purple Emperor, and by the time Lu Yin arrived, the situation had seemed even more desperate for the Sovereign. The man had looked ready to copse at any moment, but he never had. Despite enduring several seemingly fatal wounds from the Purple Emperor, Sovereign Dou Sheng remained on his feet. Just how much more could the man endure?

    It seemed that he never ran out of blood, as he was constantly bleeding from all of his wounds. After so long, even a giant would have been drained.

    Everyone was stunned by Sovereign Dou Sheng. He was not a giant, but he was even more formidable than one. He stood tall, magnificent in his golden splendor.

    In particr, Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed Lu Yin to see the sequence particles that filled the entire sky. They felt unstoppable and utterly terrifying.

    The Purple Emperor ground his teeth. He was unwilling to fight to the death against this monstrous opponent. There was no telling how much longer the man could keep going.

    Thinking quickly, the Purple Emperor tried to escape, and his body vanished as he folded time.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had been absolutely right; the Purple Emperor had mastered the Law of Folding. He had fought against the Sovereign by folding his own physical strength, again and again. Even a single piece of paper could be incredibly tough after it was folded enough times, let alone something like the Purple Emperor¡¯s strength.

    In addition to folding his body, he was also capable of folding time, which was his trump card against Aeternus, though he had been forced to reveal it against Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Even after all that, the Purple Emperor¡¯s first priority was to escape.

    The Purple Emperor wanted to leave, and Sovereign Dou Sheng could not stop him. He was unable to even find the Purple Emperor, and he had only seeded in delivering such a dreadful wound by physically trapping the Purple Emperor¡¯s arm.

    However, even if Sovereign Dou Sheng could not find the Purple Emperor, that did not mean that no one else could.

    Lu Yin moved quickly, having already seen the direction the Purple Emperor had escaped in after folding time, and a punch shot out, intercepting the creature fleeing through the void.

    The Purple Emperor was startled. Was this human actually capable of seeing him?

    Lu Yin let out a breath. His presence could only be considered bad luck for the Purple Emperor. In some ways, folding time was simr to skipping time, and being able to peer back through time could counter both abilities.

    Even if the Purple Emperor had folded time, the original moment of his actions had not disappeared, and Lu Yin only needed to look back through time.

    The Purple Emperor tried to escape by folding time again, but Lu Yin continued his attacks. Each punch struck the path that the Purple Emperor tried to escape through, which stopped him from leaving.

    After repeated attempts, the Purple Emperor gritted his teeth, deciding to simply ignore everything. He would ept a punch from Lu Yin in order to escape. However, it was not only Lu Yin who attacked, but also Arrow Sage and Food Sage. They followed Lu Yin¡¯s lead, and the grievously injured Purple Emperor, who was also feeling drained from repeatedly folding time as he tried to escape, found himself trapped by thebined attacks of three peak powerhouses.

    <em>It¡¯s all his fault!</em> the Purple Emperor thought angrily. He forced his severely injured body to punch at Lu Yin through the void. Lu Yin moved to dodge, but the punch had already arrived.

    The Purple Emperor was not only able to fold time to escape, but also to attack. This was how he had managed to repeatedly injure Sovereign Dou Sheng, and this time, the method was directed at Lu Yin.

    Out of pure instinct, Lu Yin threw his own punch, infusing it with the power of Extremes Must Be Reversed and Infinity. The impact forced Lu Yin to retreat further and further back. Each step back he took crushed the void beneath his feet, and his desated arm had instantly recovered.

    Lu Yin felt a chill as he looked down at his numb arm. Even on the verge of death, the Purple Emperor was capable of unleashing incredibly destructive attacks. This was what a powerhouse capable of fighting against Sovereign Dou Sheng was capable of. Even without the support of the nine-headed bird or the being of pure energy, the Purple Emperor would not have been helpless against Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Lu Yin understood that, despite his various abilities and strengths granting him thebat strength to join a battle with sequence powerhouses, and even the ability to defeat some of those experts, there could be a vast discrepancy in power amongst sequence powerhouses. He was unable to truly grasp the limits of Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s power.

    Lu Yin was only able to step onto this battlefield, but he was unable to determine the oue.

    Suddenly, a golden cudgel dropped from the sky, mming into the Purple Emperor and sending him crashing to the ground. No one knew the creature¡¯s fate.

    Elsewhere, the nine-headed bird was struggling against both the Seven-Star Mantis and Kong Ji.

    The two summoned champions were relentless in battle, and even if the nine-headed bird was capable of destroying their bodies, they were always able to retaliate.

    The nine-headed bird sessfully sacrificed a head to eliminate the summoned Kong Ji, but it was never able to form a connection with the Seven-Star Mantis. The mantis was simply too fast. Not only did the mantis prevent the nine-headed bird from escaping, but its des had also managed to sever two of the bird¡¯s heads, which had elicited pitiful screams.

    In this manner, the nine-headed bird was slowly being pushed towards death by the Seven-Star Mantis.

    There was no choice left, and the bird decided to endure the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s shes in order to escape. The nine-headed bird aimed to travel to the inner depths of the Scourge.

    None of the outsider powerhouses even considered trying to escape to a parallel universe. Simply fleeing to the Aeternals would be enough.

    Beneath the ground, the Purple Emperor also fled towards the Scourge.

    The being of pure energy took the exact same action.

    Lu Yin raised his arm and aimed a hundred confined punches at the Purple Emperor.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin froze when the Purple Emperor¡¯s white eye stared up at him from beneath the ground. Once again, Lu Yin¡¯s confined punch failed.

    At the entrance to the Scourge, the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s arm de sliced down, decapitating another one of the nine-headed bird¡¯s heads. Right when the mantis was about to release another attack, a white figure appeared, and it mmed into the Seven-Star Mantis, knocking it back.

    <em>Skydog?</em>

    Lu Yin was not particrly surprised to see that Aeternus had finally decided to get involved in this fight.

    Skydog¡¯s appearance indicated that Aeternus had also gotten involved in the battle.

    They had not been left with any choice in the matter. If they allowed the Purple Emperor and the other two outsider powerhouses to die, it would ruin Aeternus¡¯s rtionships with their allies, and they would lose a great deal of strength that they could call upon. The Aeternals could not ept such a loss.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3021: Terrifying Destructive Power

    <h4>Chapter 3021: Terrifying Destructive Power</h4>

    Lu Yin and the others had already anticipated the Aeternals making a move, and Lu Yin was prepared to summon all of his Progenitor-level champions just to ensure that at least one of them could survive after Aeternus joined the battle.

    However, someone else reacted even faster.

    A golden light filled the sky and covered the earth, illuminating the Scourge and blinding Lu Yin and the others.

    He instinctively turned around, whereupon Lu Yin saw a colossal version of Sovereign Dou Sheng wielding his golden cudgel. The weapon dropped from the sky in an unstoppable manner, attacking Skydog, the Seven-Star Mantis, and the nine-headed bird, who were all at the entrance to the Scourge.

    A surge of divine energy erupted in an attempt to block the cudgel, but it failed. The golden weapon mmed into the ground, shaking the entire First Scourge.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had been waiting for a long time to release this attack. He resented not having killed Skydog in the past. He had been waiting to unleash this attack for far too long.

    Everyone stared at the entrance to the Scourge. Even divine energy was being forced back by this attack. Who could possible survive such a thing?

    Lu Yin had no idea whether Skydog had died, but he was certain that the nine-headed bird was dead. There was no question that it had been killed by Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s blow. Even at its peak, the nine-headed bird would have been instantly killed by such an attack, let alone after suffering serious wounds.

    As for the summoned Seven-Star Mantis, it had not had a chance to survive either.

    Far away, Sovereign Dou Sheng was gasping for breath. People looked over as the towering Progenitor¡¯s world slowly faded away. The Sovereign had delivered his final strike with his full power. It had not only been aimed at the nine-headed bird and Skydog, but also at the Purple Emperor, who had been trying to escape to the Scourge underground. However, it was uncertain whether the Sovereign¡¯s attack hadnded on the Purple Emperor, given that he was able to fold time.

    Debris shot away like shrapnel as divine energy raged, shing with the golden light.

    Some timeter, the dust settled. What appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes was the smashed corpse of the nine-headed bird, which had beenpletely crushed by the cudgel. Skydog was also there.

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped. It was no use attacking the mutt.

    Far away, Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his cudgel tightly, as he realized it was futile for him to attack the dog.

    Sovereign Lotus was startled to see that not even Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s full-powered blow,unched with everyst ounce of his strength, had killed Skydog. What was the creature made of?

    Arrow Sage and Food Sage exchanged nces, clearly able to see the shock in the other¡¯s eyes.

    Lu Yin focused his Heaven¡¯s Sight onto Skydog. How could the dog have survived Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s attack without using any sequence particles? The nine-headed bird had been a sequence powerhouse, and yet it had been killed instantly by the blow. Just what was the leader of the True God Guard Captains made of?

    Lu Yin somewhat regretted the nine-headed bird¡¯s death. If Lu Yin had been given a bit more time, he could have eliminated the feathered nuisance himself, potentially anointing another sequence powerhouse to his Champions¡¯ Stage. However, even if he was capable of summoning the nine-headed bird, it would not provide much assistance to him.

    The nine-headed bird¡¯s most formidable factor was its ability to curse its opponents with invisible sequence particles. If Lu Yin anointed the bird as a champion, the summon would not have been able to use its sequence particles, rendering the skill useless. Aside from acting as a shield, such a champion would serve no purpose at all.

    After considering this, Lu Yin stopped regretting his lost opportunity to anoint another champion.

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog barked again, sounding like he was mocking everyone.

    Figures started to appear behind him, their bodies roiling with divine energy. There was Zhong Pan, Marquis Wu, and Marquis Wang. Three more True God Guard Captains had joined Skydog, and they faced off against Lu Yin and the others.

    The Aeternals were sharply focused on Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    At the moment, the Sovereign was truly at his limits, and he gave everyone the impression that even a single touch would be fatal. Such a vulnerable state was very tempting for Aeternus.

    It was in this charged atmosphere that Arch-Elder Zen arrived, and his wary eyes locked onto the entrance to the Scourge.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng gasped for breath as he cracked a smile. ¡°Well,e on then! Kill me here and now, if you dare. If you miss this chance, you¡¯ll never get another.¡±

    Zhong Pan clenched a fist. Skydog wagged his tail as he stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng. Both Marquis Wu and Marquis Wang were also looking at the Sovereign.

    As for Lu Yin, he was focused on Marquis Wang. Her name was Wang Xiaoyu. Lu Yin was wondering whether the woman had truly betrayed the Fifth Maind.

    There was a gust of wind, and another figure emerged from the entrance of the Scourge. It stopped right in front of Marquis Wu and the others. ¡°Dou Sheng, if you wish to die, then so be it.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng red at the neer, his eyes ring and overflowing with a frigid killing intent. ¡°Sovereign- No, Shao Yin!¡±

    Sovereign Lotus, Arrow Sage, and Food Sage were all startled by the man¡¯s appearance. ¡°Shao Yin?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank. Shao Yin? He had been punished and cast into theke of divine energy, so how was he already out? How had he gotten free? Not only that, this feeling...

    Shao Yin smirked, oozing an overbearing arrogance. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, everyone. Especially you, Lord Lu.¡±

    Lu Yin and Shao Yin locked eyes. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were ice cold. ¡°So, you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes bored into Lu Yin. They were filled with hatred, killing intent, though there was also confusion. When they had fought in the Decaying Diablo Universe, Shao Yin knew that he had been captured by Lu Yin. The man had been forced to his knees and made to apologize. He had been right at the brink of death, and yet he had survived. Shao Yin could not understand why he had survived that encounter, as it was clear that Lu Yin loathed the former Sovereign. After all, Shao Yin was the mastermind behind the Lu family¡¯s exile. Why had Lu Yin not killed him? He had had the opportunity.

    ¡°Lord Lu, it¡¯s been a long time,¡± Shao Yin said through gritted teeth. Regardless of why Lu Yin had allowed Shao Yin to live, the man had still vowed to get revenge for the humiliation that he had endured in the Cyclic Universe and of being forced to his knees in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Lu Yin grew very wary. For some reason, Shao Yin feltpletely different from the past. Had he sessfully integrated yin and yang? If he had, it would be quite the problem.

    In the past, Shao Yin had merely been a rather average sequence powerhouse,parable to someone like Old Mo. After the Great Sovereign had stripped the former Sovereign of his granted power, his power of Extreme Yin had been greatly weakened, and his strength had plummeted. However, the man had never cultivated just the power of Extreme Yin, as he had been hiding the fact that he also cultivated the power of Extreme Yang. His true path was to merge yin and yang into a unified power.

    The man had not yet seeded when he was submerged in theke of divine energy, so how had he managed to seed? What had happened in just a bit more than a decade?

    ¡°Shao Yin, you were lucky to survive ourst encounter. This time, your luck has run out,¡± Lu Yin threatened.

    The Purple Emperor emerged from underground. Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s strike had not killed the outsider powerhouse. Elsewhere, Sovereign Lotus was still keeping an eye on the creature of pure energy, preventing it from escaping.

    Shao Yinughed loudly at Lu Yin¡¯s statement. ¡°The one who needs luck is up for debate. This time, all of you will die.¡±

    As the man spoke, he raised a finger. At its tip, a dark-green color swirled alongside something that looked like the zing light of the sun, the two sequence particles twining together in a unique manner. The sight gave Lu Yin an indescribable sense of dread. It was the same feeling that he had felt at Shao Yin¡¯s arrival, only more intense.

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes rose, and his finger pointed forward. Lu Yin¡¯s expression instantly changed, and he moved to dodge, but this attack was not for him. Shao Yin was targeting Sovereign Ninth Lotus.

    The woman was still using her lotuses to fight against the creature of pure energy, and their exchange had not attracted much attention before Shao Yin suddenly targeted Sovereign Lotus.

    She waspletely caught off guard, and the only defense she was able to raise was to open a Ninth-Grade Lotus directly beneath her feet.

    Even sequence powerhouses found it difficult to break through her lotuses. Sovereign Ninth Lotus was one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns, and her strength was second only to Sovereign Dou Sheng. She had been regarded as superior to Shao Yin during his time as a Sovereign. Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples had spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association, and nearly all of them relied on the defenses of her lotus technique.

    A beam shot out from Shao Yin¡¯s fingertip, bypassing Lu Yin and the others to strike Sovereign Lotus. The beam struck her Ninth-Grade Lotus, which instantly started to crack. The sight of the cracks caused Sovereign Lotus¡¯splexion to drastically change. How was this possible?

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The blooming lotus shattered, and the beam formed from the intertwined dark-green and brilliant lights mmed into Sovereign Lotus. It pierced through her shoulder, drawing blood before it vanished into the void.

    Sovereign Lotus was sent flying by the force of the attack, and she nearly copsed.

    The being of pure energy took the opening, and it shot straight for the entrance to the Scourge.

    The beam slowly faded away.

    Shao Yin¡¯s attack had injured Sovereign Lotus, which was something no one had expected.

    Lu Yin had expected Shao Yin¡¯s strength to have risen precipitously, as he had sensed a threat from the man. But even so, that beam had surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. The beam was created from the merging of yin and yang, and it had both shattered a Ninth-Grade Lotus and wounded Sovereign Lotus.

    Out of everyone on the battlefield, Sovereign Dou Sheng was the only person on the humans¡¯ side who possessed the strength to face off against the power that Shao Yin had just revealed.

    After instantly wounding Sovereign Lotus with his opening attack, Shao Yin grew smug, and he smirked at his opponents. ¡°This is my true power. In the Sixverse Association, I was one of the Three Sovereigns. In Aeternus, I am one of the Seven Skygods! Starting today, I will destroy the entire Sixverse Association!

    ¡°Especially you, Lord Lu. I will ensure that each and every person from your Heavens Sect dies before you. Tell me, just who can stop me?¡±

    The former Sovereign then pointed a finger at Lu Yin, openly changing his target.

    The beam shot out again, and Lu Yin¡¯s scalp went numb. Had he known that Shao Yin would obtain this much strength, he would have never let the man live. Lu Yin had been told to leave the man alive for the sake of the bigger picture, but while Lu Yin had no idea what sort of n the Great Sovereign had in store for Shao Yin, or how that plot might harm True God, the most important thing at the moment was the danger that Shao Yin posed at the present moment.

    Using Inverse Step, Lu Yin moved at the speed of time and fled.

    The beam shot through the sky, its terrifying sequence particles instantly making it impossible for Lu Yin to move at the speed of time with Inverse Step. He did not manage to get very far before Shao Yin shifted his hand, and the beam swept across arge area as it chased after Lu Yin. It wasn¡¯t just him¡ªArrow Sage and Food Sage were also targeted by the beam, and they frantically tried to escape its path of destruction.

    Given their strength, if that beam so much as touched them, there was no doubt that they would die.

    Arch-Elder Zen used his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi to summon Lu Tianyi, and the summoned Progenitor attacked with his Law of Undoing, instantly breaking the beam.

    The summoned Lu Tianyi had sessfully disrupted Shao Yin¡¯s beam, but doing so caused Arch-Elder Zen to spit out blood.

    Shao Yin attacked yet again. The power formed from merging yin and yang was notplex, but it was terrifyingly destructive. It gave the impression of somethingplex returning to something simple.

    Arch-Elder Zen had sessfully blocked the beam once, but a second time was impossible.

    When the beam reappeared, just as Lu Yin was about to dodge it, a golden cudgel mmed down from the sky. It sealed off the area to Lu Yin¡¯s right, which was where the beam was approaching.

    Shao Yin¡¯s beam struck the cudgel and tried to destroy it.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng dragged his horribly wounded body over, and he hefted his golden cudgel as he red at Shao Yin. Sequence particles filled the Sovereign¡¯s weapon, which made this confrontation a contest between Sovereign Dou Sheng and Shao Yin¡¯s sequence particles.

    When it came to mastery over thews of the universe, Sovereign Dou Sheng was in no way inferior to Shao Yin, but the Sovereign was too severely wounded to even remain standing.

    Golden blood still dripped from his numerous injuries, evaporating to power the man¡¯s Triumphant Brawl as he stood and blocked Shao Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin took out the slipper and mmed it into the beam, instantly breaking it.

    Shao Yin sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can endure for.¡±

    Another attack instantly shot out, the beam aimed at both Lu Yin and Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    ¡°Move!¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng reached for Lu Yin, intending to push him away.

 Chapter 3022: The Thermometer Of Life

    <h4>Chapter 3022: The Thermometer Of Life</h4>

    Lu Yin desperately tried to pull out something that could block the attack, but all of a sudden, a turtle shell appeared in front of him.

    It¡¯s appearance startled him, but he saw that it was indeed a turtle shell. He first thought of Dragonturtle, but he would never move in front of Lu Yin to block this attack. Dragonturtle was not suicidal.

    The beam struck the turtle shell, and shockingly, the attack was blocked. After that, an all too familiar power descended. The sky itself was pressed down as pressure spread across the entire Scourge.

    It was voidforce energy.

    Someone stepped in front of Lu Yin. ¡°We¡¯ve been in seclusion for too long, and all of you have had a difficult time of things. You can leave this to me now.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Lord Xu?¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng swayed on his feet as his energy drained away. He had been hanging on by the thinnest thread, and finally, a powerful ally had arrived. This was what the Sovereign had been waiting for.

    Lord Xu, the ruler of the Voidforce Universe, was someone powerful enough to participate in the battle where the Great Sovereign had led the top powerhouses of the Sixverse Association against True God and the Seven Skygods. While Sovereign Dou Sheng had mentioned that neither Lord Xu nor Mu Shen were aware of Aeternus¡¯s true strength, their ignorance did not alter their formidable strength.

    The Voidlord¡¯s arrival let everyone release sighs of relief, as they had all felt quite outmatched against Shao Yin.

    On the side of Aeternus, Shao Yin stopped attacking, and his expression grew. ¡°Xu Jiea.¡±

    Lord Xu stood there, his hands sped behind him as the turtle shell floated in front of him. He looked quite out of ce, yet he exuded an air of beingpletely unshakeable. ¡°Shao Yin, I never expected you to be capable of reaching such heights. You hid yourself well.¡±

    Shao Yin answered with an arrogant sneer, ¡°So what if you are here? Do you think that you can save them? First save yourself!¡±

    As Shao Yin spoke, another beam shot out, this time attacking Lord Xu.

    The man¡¯s eyes flickered. He had to admit that merging yin and yang to open up a new path offered formidable power and impressive sequence particles. It was indeed possible that Shao Yin might have reached a level where he was no weaker than even the Seven Skygods. This would not be an easy battle.

    Voidforce energy surged out, and the turtle shell rose up to stop the beam.

    There was a boom as the beam mmed into the turtle shell, and the ripples that spread out from the impact tore the void apart and shook the Scourge. Both the sky above and the ground below trembled.

    Only then did Lu Yin realize just how terrifyingly powerful the Voidlord was. For a moment, Lu Yin had the impression that Lord Xu was using an ocean to feed a river.

    While Shao Yin was not as powerful as Lord Xu, his sequence particles managed to continuously suppress the turtle shell, which prevented Lord Xu from advancing.

    The Voidlord¡¯s eyes zed with murder. They were at the entrance to the Scourge, which meant that Aeternus could send more powerhouses to join the battle at any moment. The humans needed to quickly deal with Shao Yin, or else they might never get another chance to end him.

    This thought caused the old man¡¯s expression to grow more determined, and he raised a hand. His voidforce energy surged, as though he intended to flood the Scourge and rece all of the energy within it.

    At that moment, divine energy streamed across the Scourge to the entrance, where it then pushed against Lord Xu¡¯s power.

    The old man gritted his teeth and tore the void open to establish a connection to the Voidforce Universe. He then drew on the energy of the entire universe, as all of it was his. As he did so, all the Void Supremas from the Voidforce Universe, such as Xu Wuwei, Xu Wuji, Void Heng, and Xu Leng, took action. They channeled their own voidforce energy towards Lord Xu and the Scourge, helping their ruler.

    Lord Xu pressed his hand down.

    Shao Yin felt puzzled. He was confident that he could not be suppressed by any amount of voideforce energy. The cultivators of the Voidforce Universe had a natural advantage against enemies from other universes due to how they were able to manipte a greater amount of energy than what they personally possessed. However, at the sequence powerhouse level, just how much more voidforce energy could Lord Xu wield?

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown old, Xu Jiea.¡± Shao Yin stepped forward, his dark-green and zingly bright energy surrounding his body as they intertwined. His unified energy then shot into the sky, piercing the veil that the Voidlord had dropped over the battle. A hole was opened up, and then forcibly expanded. Shao Yin intended to overpower Lord Xu¡¯s voidforce energy with sequence particles.

    Lu Yin was startled to see this development. It was clear to him that Shao Yin¡¯s sequence particles were in no way inferior to those used by Undying God or Shaman God. It was no wonder why Shao Yin was so confident, even though he was facing the Voidlord. It was understandable why Shao Yin had even imed that he would destroy the entire Sixverse Association. He truly was as strong as the Seven Skygods.

    Lord Xu frowned. ¡°Old or not, I¡¯ll still kill you.¡±

    As he spoke, the voidforce energy that had filled the entire region suddenly condensed and gathered upon Shao Yin. This sudden change caught the man off guard. Not only was he surrounded by voidforce energy, but it was also permeated with Lord Xu¡¯s sequence particles, and they hadbined into a rather odd shape.

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. ¡°A thermometer?¡±

    Everyone stared in astonishment as what greatly resembled a primitive thermometer formed around Shao Yin. The whole thing was reinforced with Lord Xu¡¯s sequence particles. Lu Yin was able to very clearly see this.

    Thews of the universe that Lord Xu had mastered might not be as impressive as Shao Yin, who had merged yin and yang into a unified path. That merged power was powerful enough to let Shao Yin face off against even Sovereign Dou Sheng, which meant that Lord Xu was at a disadvantage in raw power. However, the Voidlord had just done something that waspletely impossible for Shao Yin.

    It could be said that Lord Xu had perfectly merged his sequence particles with his voidforce energy when forming the thermometer, but what was its purpose?

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s voice reached Lu Yin¡¯s ears. ¡°As long as no one else interferes, Shao Yin is doomed now.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he stared into the distance.

    The rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes rarely took action, but when they did, they usually fought against the Seven Skygods.

    Lord Xu was no exception. He had always fought against the Seven Skygods, but because of the need to maintain a certain bnce, no decisive battle had ever erupted. This was why Shao Yin waspletely unaware of Lord Xu¡¯s true strength. The same was also true of Sovereign Lotus. Of the three Sovereigns, only Sovereign Dou Sheng had ever seen Lord Xu¡¯s true strength.

    The Great Sovereign had cooperated with the rulers of various parallel universes to fight against True God and the Seven Skygods, and Sovereign Dou Sheng had witnessed that battle.

    He had seen the power that Lord Xu had kept hidden, which was his thermometer. Its name was the Thermometer of Life.

    During the previous battle, Lord Xu had injured Ancient God with his Thermometer of Life, which had astonished Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Even at this moment, Shao Yin was clearly inferior to Ancient God, and he was unable to break free from the thermometer with his own power.

    The True God Guard Captains, including Zhong Pan, had not taken action yet. It appeared as if they had only been sent here to provide divine energy.

    Within the Thermometer of Life, Shao Yin remained indifferent even as he tried to break free with his sequence particles. However, he quickly realized that it was impossible to breach the thermometer. Lord Xu had summoned too much voidforce energy, and this thermometer was also reinforced by his own sequence particles.

    Everyone stared in amazement.

    There were five markings on the Thermometer of Life, separating it into six sections which corresponded to forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, and forty-five degrees.

    These temperatures were meaningless to cultivators.

    Lord Xu¡¯s expression grew stern. He raised a hand, and the temperature rose to forty degrees.

    Shao Yin started to shiver, and he held his head. He felt nauseous and extremely ufortable. What was this feeling? Why was he suffering so much?

    Lu Yin also felt confused. ¡°What is that?¡±

    Lord Xu spoke casually as he continued to stare straight ahead. ¡°For ordinary humans, forty degrees is a very high fever.¡±

    Lu Yin wondered. ¡°Are you saying that he¡¯s sick?¡±

    Lord Xu did not answer, which was essentially a confirmation.

    The Thermometer of Life subjected Shao Yin to the torment of a high fever and all the symptoms that would apany it for an ordinary human. This included delirium, extreme difort, and even loss of consciousness. The temperature started to push higher.

    Shao Yin dropped to one knee. He vomited. He was unable to do anything at all. His vision was blurry, and he struggled to even counterattack. His sequence particles shed with those in the thermometer, but Lord Xu¡¯s overwhelming power was simply too vast for the former Sovereign to quickly ovee.

    Zhong Pan and the other True God Guard Captains quickly attacked, and they tried to break the thermometer from the outside.

    The turtle shell produced a howl as it swept towards the captains.

    <i>Woof!</i>

    The shell pushed Skydog back, and Marquis Wu and Marquis Wang were also forced to retreat. Zhong Pan underwent a Red Eyes Transformation and punched at the turtle shell with a terrifying amount of physical force. A light shed around the light, producing a gust that erupted from it and swept out in every direction.

    Lu Yin instantly focused on it. ¡°A Channeling Diagram?¡±

    It was not that exact sourcebox array, but it was quite simr. The turtle shell had essentially just done a spatial transference. Still, the turtle shell did have a sourcebox array.

    For that moment, everyone was focused on the thermometer, as its temperature had just risen to forty-three degrees.

    That kind of fever would kill ordinary humans, or at the very least, cause severe brain damage.

    Shao Yin wailed as he clutched his head. He beat against the thermometer as he endured the excruciating agony.

    He was experiencing the torture that an ordinary person would suffer if they had a high fever, and the experience was unbearable for Shao Yin.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a breath. This thermometer had even injured Ancient God. There was no need to even consider Shao Yin.

    Far away, Sovereign Lotus clenched her teeth. She desperately wanted to tell Lord Xu to stop. Shao Yin was crucial to the Great Sovereign¡¯s ns, and those ns could not be ruined at this juncture.

    Lu Yin also understood this, and he turned to look at Sovereign Lotus, who was staring at him. Their eyes met, and they each knew what the other was thinking. Even so, how could they stop things at this point? Any attempt on their part to interfere would be too obvious, and it would clearly demonstrate that the Sixverse Association did not want Shao Yin to die.

    Even so, Lu Yin was not too eager to stop Lord Xu. Shao Yin had openly threatened the Sixverse Association, and regardless of the potential damage that he could do to True God, Lu Yin was worried about what Shao Yin might do to the Heavens Sect. It might be better for the man to die.

    ¡°Progenitor Xi¨C!¡± Shao Yin screamed with all his might.

    A white light suddenly appeared, and it sliced across the sky, traveling through the void. It was a sword sh aimed at Lord Xu. His turtle shell appeared in front of him to stop the attack, but when the sh struck with a ng, Lord Xu¡¯s body actually shook, and he was forced to take a step back. This was something that not even Shao Yin had been able to achieve.

    ¡°In the sky!¡± Arrow Sage shouted.

    Everyone looked up. At some point in time, white mountains and rivers had appeared in the sky. They looked like a reflection of the earth below, and they pressed down on everyone¡¯s heads.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Whiteless God.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng, Sovereign Lotus, and the others grew solemn. Was Whiteless God about to attack them?

    Of the Seven Skygods, none were more mysterious than Whiteless God. It was rumored that she controlled Aeterna, the list of human traitors. She had never openly attacked humanity, and yet the damage that she had caused over the years surpassed that of any other Skygod, and it far surpassed all that Cheng Kong had done.

    If given a choice, the Sixverse Association would rather kill Whiteless God than three other Skygods. Such was the threat that Whiteless God posed.

    While Whiteless God had never attacked, that did not mean that she was weak. On the contrary, the more mysterious one of the Seven Skygods was, the more terrifying they became.

    With Whiteless God¡¯s appearance, as well as the sword sh that had arrived from within the Scourge, Lord Xu knew that it was impossible to kill Shao Yin today. Trying to force the matter would only cause a major battle to erupt between the two sides.

    Progenitor Xi emerged from the Scourge, her hand raised to release another sh. The Thermometer of Life disappeared, releasing Shao Yin. He gasped for air, still down on one knee. His head was stered with sweat, and his pupils were dted. He would never be able to forget what he had just experienced.

    Lord Xumented, ¡°I was just one step away.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have moved faster?¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng could not resist asking.

    Lord Xu was left speechless. After a moment, he replied, ¡°Raising the temperature can¡¯t be done instantly, and each degree needs to be passed consecutively. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to raise the temperature?¡±

 Chapter 3023: Powerful Weapon

    <h4>Chapter 3023: Powerful Weapon</h4>

    ¡°Also, this woman is incredibly powerful. Is she Whiteless God?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Her name is Progenitor Xi. She isn¡¯t Whiteless God.¡±

    Lord Xu¡¯s voice betrayed his wariness. ¡°The full depth of Aeternus¡¯s strength is indeed profound. Anyone they send out is a formidable opponent.¡±

    Lu Yin was equally wary. He did not know Progenitor Xi¡¯s history or level of strength. While the First Scourge had been attacked multiple times in the past, Progenitor Xi had never really done much to defend the ce. Even so, Lu Yin distinctly remembered how Astral Anura had formally greeted the woman, and how she had referred to the Great Sovereign as Tai Hong. It was clear that Progenitor Xi was no ordinary figure.

    The fact that she was familiar with both Astral Anura and the Great Sovereign meant that the woman¡¯s simple appearance belied more.

    When the Purple Emperor saw Progenitor Xi appear at the entrance to the Scourge, he heaved a sigh of relief. This woman¡¯s presence showed that Aeternus would not allow its allies to die.

    Progenitor Xi walked towards Shao Yin. She slowly and deliberately took each step, as though unaware that she was on a battlefield.

    Shao Yin was staring at the ground. He was drenched in his own sweat and breathing heavily.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Progenitor Xi asked, her voice soft and gentle.

    Shao Yin clenched his fists and rose to his feet. He looked over at Lord Xu with a great deal of caution filling his eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Xu Jiea to have such an ability.¡±

    Progenitor Xi nced at the gathered humans. ¡°Never underestimate anyone. Anyone who is able to be the ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes is not simple, and that even includes Dao Monarch Lu.¡±

    Shao Yin stared intently at Lord Xu for a moment before turning to Progenitor Xi and giving the woman a slight bow. ¡°Thank you, Progenitor Xi, for rescuing me.¡±

    While submerged beneath theke of divine energy, Shao Yin had seeded in merging Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang, and he had broken free from theke with his own power. At that moment, he had shaken the entire Scourge, and he had also greatly resented Progenitor Xi for punishing him. His pride in his new strength had made him arrogant enough to look down on the woman.

    Progenitor Xi had not taken that to heart. Aeternus needed powerful individuals who could support them, and she had tacitly approved of Shao Yin¡¯s escape from theke of divine energy. She had even implicitly epted him as a new member of the Seven Skygods.

    However, the most recent battle had just crushed Shao Yin¡¯s arrogance, while also revealing some of Progenitor Xi¡¯s power to him. Seeing it destroyed his confidence, as he did not believe that he could force back Lord Xu on his own.

    With Whiteless God above and Progenitor Xi in front, as well as Shao Yin and the True God Guard Captains, it looked like it would not be possible for Lu Yin and the others to eliminate the Purple Emperor and the being of pure energy.

    Seeing Shao Yin¡¯s respectful attitude towards her, Progenitor Xi ignored the man, and her gaze drifted to Aeternus¡¯s opponents. ¡°Xu Jiea, have you recovered?¡±

    ¡°Thanks to being left alone and given a period of peace. You know me?¡± Progenitor Xi had never left the Scourge, so not even Lord Xu knew who the woman was. Despite that, she recognized the Voidlord.

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s expression remained calm. ¡°Of course I know the ruler of the Voidforce Universe.¡±

    ¡°And yet I don¡¯t know you,¡± Lord Xu retorted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s interest was piqued. He only knew of the woman as Progenitor Xi and knew absolutely nothing about her past or her abilities.

    Progenitor Xi did not continue the conversation and instead looked over at Sovereign Dou Sheng. ¡°This battle has taken quite a toll on you.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was still breathing heavily. ¡°Three losers thought that they could ambush me. If you hadn¡¯t intervened, I would have left them without so much as an intact corpse.¡±

    The Purple Emperor¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t received reinforcements, you would¡¯ve died.¡±

    Progenitor Xi drilymented, ¡°He¡¯s right. If we had note to rescue you, you would have all died and your corpses destroyed.¡±

    The Purple Emperor felt puzzled, as he could not understand Progenitor Xi¡¯sment.

    Lu Yin and the other humans were simrly confused, including even Lord Xu.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng appeared to be on the verge of death, so how could he possess the strength to kill both the Purple Emperor and the being of pure energy?

    Of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns, Dou Sheng was unquestionably acknowledged as the most powerful of all, and he was seen as second only to the Great Sovereign herself. Still, even his impressive level of strength had limits, and the Purple Emperor had cooperated with two other outsider powerhouses to ambush the Sovereign. Such an attack should have been enough to kill the man. Was it really possible that he had kept some of his strength hidden?

    Sovereign Dou Sheng stared at Progenitor Xi for a long moment. This woman was not simple.

    Finally, Progenitor Xi¡¯s gaze fell to Lu Yin. Her eyes filled with both admiration and a bit of surprise. ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Lu Yin faced the woman directly. ¡°Just who are you?¡±

    Progenitor Xi replied, ¡°The steward of the Scourge.¡±

    ¡°You im to be a steward, and yet you are able to change the oue of this battle.¡±

    ¡°The fact that I am able to oversee the Scourge for True God and have the power to alter the oue of this battle is nothing too impressive. On the other hand, Dao Monarch Lu, you are not even a Progenitor, let alone a Sequence Progenitor, and yet you also possess the strength to alter the oue of such a battle. I have to admire that.¡±

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin, as Progenitor Xi¡¯s words resonated with all of them.

    The recent battle was no ce for ordinary peak powerhouses, and even people like Arrow Sage and Food Sage had felt nervous participating. Despite that, a mere Semi-Progenitor like Lu Yin had threatened Aeternus¡¯s sequence powerhouses and made it difficult for the Purple Emperor to escape. Lu Yin¡¯s presence had forced Aeternus to step out and save their allies, which amazed everyone.

    The Purple Emperor and the creature of pure energy were staring at Lu Yin. This human was intimidating. For him to be so powerful as a Semi-Progenitor, just what sort of power would he possess when he became a Progenitor, let alone a Sequence Progenitor? They refused to even consider such a thing.

    Both Jing Zhe and the Seven-Star Mantis had been killed by Lu Yin, and he had also directly contributed to the nine-headed bird¡¯s death. Lu Yin posed a very significant threat to them.

    Zhong Pan stared intently at Lu Yin. If not for that turtle from Whitecloud City, Zhong Pan would have sessfully killed Lu Yin years ago.

    Marquis Wu and Marquis Wang were also staring at Lu Yin. The shock that the young man had given all of Aeternus was immense.

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog was staring at Lu Yin while sniffing curiously. He suddenly cocked his head to the side, giving Lu Yin an odd look.

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°Since you admire me, do you n on eliminating me to remove a hidden danger for Aeternus?¡±

    Progenitor Xi met Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Of course.¡±

    Her answer instantly charged the atmosphere once again as tensions spiked.

    As soon as Lord Xu had stepped back and Progenitor Xi had started casually speaking, it had be clear to all that the battle was over and that no one would be able to do anything to their enemies for the time being. However, there were hidden des in both Lu Yin and Progenitor Xi¡¯s voices, and everyone readied themselves to attack at the slightest hint of provocation from their enemies.

    ¡°Why not go ahead and try it? Maybe you¡¯ll seed,¡± Lu Yin challenged with a hint of a smile.

    Progenitor Xi just shrugged. ¡°We won¡¯t seed now, but that day isn¡¯t far off. I¡¯m curious, now that you¡¯ve seen the true strength of my Aeternus, what do you think?¡±

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he replied, ¡°Kill all of you.¡±

    Progenitor Xi was momentarily startled, but then sheughed.

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Arrogant.¡±

    Lu Yin red at the man. ¡°That includes you.¡±

    Enraged, Shao Yin would have attacked, if not for his worries that Lu Yin¡¯s side held the upper hand due to their greater numbers.

    <i>Woof! </i>Skydog barked.

    Lu Yin looked at the dog and frowned. <i>What¡¯s with that look? He couldn¡¯t have recognized me, right? Wait...</i> Lu Yin suddenly remembered that the dog had once pissed on his leg. Could Skydog have picked up that scent?

    This thought caused Lu Yin¡¯s heart to drop.

    Skydog looked at Lu Yin in an increasingly odd manner, his nose twitching as though the dog was trying to figure something out.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, as he realized just how much of a problem this was. He could not be recognized as Ye Bo. That alias was too important to lose. His eyes flickered, and then he suddenly pulled something from his cosmic ring. ¡°Shao Yin, in our eyes, you¡¯re just as disgusting as this.¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, both Lord Xu and Sovereign Dou Sheng instantly moved away from him. Shock and disbelief filled their eyes as they stared at Lu Yin¡¯s hand. What was that stench?

    Everyone nearby looked over, stupefied by the foul stench that had suddenly appeared.

    In front of them, Progenitor Xi frowned when the horrid scent reached her. It was unbearable even for her. She immediately waved a hand to disperse the smell, only to find that it was impossible to get rid of. What was that thing?

    The smell reached Shao Yin as well, and he stared at the item in Lu Yin¡¯s hand. It was so disgusting.

    <i>Woof! </i>Skydog¡¯s reaction was the most intense, and he instantly vomited.

    From his cosmic ring, Lu Yin had taken out the strange fruit that he had obtained from lockbreaking. The thing gave off the worst stench imaginable.

    When the Sixth Maind had invaded the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin had used this fruit to disgust many people, and at this moment, he had taken it out again, hoping to confound Skydog¡¯s sense of smell. If the dog wanted to smell something, then Lu Yin would give him something special.

    An intense, foul stench spread across the Scourge.

    No matter if they were allies or enemies, everyone pulled away from Lu Yin as they stared at him in shock. Where had such a foul smelle from?

    The stench of the fruit was something that Lu Yin knew not even Envoys could shield themselves from, but it was nothing more than a nuisance. Lu Yin had used the fruit to chase away anyone at the Enlighter realm and below, including even Zhi Yi and Bu Kong. Not even their secret techniques had been able to protect them from the smell of the fruit. However, Lu Yin had been against such weak opponents at that time that there had been no reason to expect the foul fruit to also be effective against even peak powerhouses.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood how wrong he had been. Everyone around him was a peak powerhouse or a sequence powerhouse, but none of them could shield themselves from the smell of the fruit. How was that possible?

    Even Lu Yin was taken aback. Could even Progenitors not block the smell?

    <i>Cough, cough!</i>

    Sovereign Dou Sheng coughed violently.

    Lu Yin blinked.

    Lord Xu could not help but speak up, ¡°Hurry up and put that thing away! If you¡¯re not careful, we won¡¯t be killed by our enemies, but rather die of disgust instead.¡±

    Lu Yin asked in shock, ¡°You can¡¯t block it?¡±

    ¡°Obviously not.¡±

    ¡°With your sequence particles?¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t stop it.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. It was clear that something was wrong. How could sequence particles not block the smell of the fruit? That should not be possible.

    It was also clearly not only the Voidlord who was unable to block the smell of the fruit, as it was obvious that the same was true of the more distant Sovereign Lotus, and even Progenitor Xi. The smell affected Shao Yin, the Purple Emperor, and everyone else present as it spread across the battlefield. No one could stop the smell.

    Everyone stared at the nasty fruit as they wondered what it was. Even sequence particles could not block its smell!

    Lu Yin was also suffering. Truthfully, it was a struggle for him to endure. He could understand why this fruit had driven Bu Kong, Zhi Yi, and others crazy when he had used it in the past. However, he had no choice but to endure for the moment. The fruit was the only thing that could confuse Skydog¡¯s sense of smell. It was clear that the dog¡¯s nose was extremely sensitive.

    <i>Woof! </i>Skydog tucked his tail between his legs and fled back into the Scourge, vomiting as he ran.

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s expression grew solemn. No matter who Aeternus faced, no one could kill Skydog. The dog had never fled from a battlefield with his tail between his legs.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s eyes went wide in surprise. The unkible mutt had actually run away. When the Sovereign had pushed his way into the Scourge, he had been unable to kill the dog no matter what he did. It was clear that Skydog had unexpectedly met his nemesis, which was an unexpected benefit. Suddenly, Dou Sheng felt a sense of fondness for the foul stench.

    ¡°Put it away now!¡± Lord Xu urged.

    Since Skydog had run away, Lu Yin quickly stored the fruit back in his cosmic ring. He was also unable to endure the smell any longer.

    As the smell dissipated, everyone eventually recovered.

    Lord Xu was amazed. ¡°Kid, just what is that thing? Even sequence particles can¡¯t block its stench. That defies thews of the universe.¡±

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. ¡°I got it from lockbreaking.¡±

    Lord Xu nodded. ¡°I see. Anything that is sealed in a sourcebox is not simple. Unfortunately, most sourceboxes are empty when opened and are therefore usually more useful in sourcebox arrays. When you have a chance, let me borrow that thing.¡±

    Lu Yin readily agreed, as he was also quite curious about the fruit. If not even sequence particles could stop the fruit¡¯s smell, what would happen if it was Enhanced with his die? It could be a very powerful weapon.

 Chapter 3024: Invading The Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 3024: Invading The Scourge</h4>

    After the short exchange, no one had any interest in continuing the conversation.

    Progenitor Xi nced around at everyone. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we¡¯ll see you when we have the opportunity.¡±

    She then promptly turned and walked back towards the Scourge. At the same time, the white mountains and rivers in the sky disappeared, indicating that Whiteless God had also left.

    Shao Yin shot a cold nce at Lu Yin, still furious at beingpared to something as revolting as that vile fruit. He swore to make Lu Yin pay.

    The forces of the Sixverse Association watched as the Aeternals returned to the Scourge. The battlefield regained a measure of peace.

    Lord Xu let out a long breath. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s over.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng coughed again.

    Lord Xu looked over. ¡°You should return to the Cyclic Universe.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng put his golden cudgel away. ¡°Understood.¡±

    The Sovereign was more than willing to die on the battlefield, but not in his current, horribly injured state. Given his condition, even a True God Squad Captain would pose a very real threat to Sovereign Dou Sheng. He wanted to at least recover from his injuries before returning to act as the first line of defense against Aeternus.

    Sovereign Lotus had also been injured by Shao Yin, and her face was quite pale.

    Arch-Elder Zen was suffering from the bacsh of summoning Lu Tianyi to attack, so he was also in a rather bad condition.

    The battle had reached its end, though Lu Yin did not see it that way.

    ¡°Senior Voidlord, are you able to hold back Astral Anura?¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Lord Xu was about to leave, but he hesitated at Lu Yin¡¯s question. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    Lu Yin turned and shed a smile at the man. ¡°Let¡¯s invade the Scourge.¡±

    Lord Xu was stunned.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s eyes red, but after a moment, he smirked.

    Further away, Sovereign Lotus overheard Lu Yin¡¯sment, and it shocked her. ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, do you want to invade the Scourge right now?¡±

    Arrow Sage and Food Sage exchanged nces.

    Lu Yin looked towards the entrance to the First Scourge. ¡°Jing Zhe, the Seven-Star Mantis, and the nine-headed bird are all dead. The Purple Emperor was just badly injured, and we¡¯ve figured out how that creature of pure energy functions. How many more outsider powerhouses can the Aeternals call upon? Astral Anura? That Star Devourer? How many outsider powerhouses can our Sixverse Association rely on? If we don¡¯t take this opportunity to invade the Scourge, when will we?

    ¡°All of you have fought against Aeternus too many times, and the current truce is nothing more than an implicit agreement. You¡¯re all familiar with the status quo, so allow me to change the pattern.¡±

    Sovereign Lotus instantly refused, ¡°No. Both Dou Sheng and I are injured, so how can we invade the Scourge?¡±

    Lord Xu considered Lu Yin¡¯s proposal. ¡°This is certainly an opportunity, but...¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s different from the normal way of handling things, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Lord Xu nodded, acknowledging that there was a certain rhythm to the war.

    ¡°I¡¯m not used to stopping just because it¡¯s suggested. I tend to take the more surprising action. Right now, three of the Aeternals¡¯ outsider powerhouses are dead, and another one is seriously injured. The Seven Skygods are all hiding in seclusion, while on our side, Sovereign Dou Sheng and Sovereign Lotus have been gravely injured. Aeternus is treating things as though the current battle is over, so if we don¡¯t act now, how long will we wait?¡± Lu Yin lifted his head, determination steeling his gaze. ¡°These are my orders, as the ruler of the Origin Universe: I call for an invasion of the Scourge. All who refuse to answer to this conscription will be treated as traitors to humanity and will be summarily executed by the Heavens Sect without mercy.¡±

    ¡°Lord Lu!¡± Sovereign Lotus wanted to say something.

    Sovereign Dou Shengughed. ¡°Good! Lord Lu, I, Dou Sheng, will serve under yourmand.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Senior, rest for now. You won¡¯t be able to join this battle.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng shrugged, as it was true that his current injuries would only make him a liability during the invasion.

    ¡°I call out Lu Tianyi, Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, Cloudflow, Leng Qing, Chen Le, and Qing Ping.

    ¡°I call out Arrow Sage, Food Sage, Chu Jian, Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan.

    ¡°I call out Mu Ke, Mu Tao, and Director Gan.

    ¡°I call out Xu Wuwei, Xu Heng, and Xu Leng.

    ¡°I call out Shan Zheng, Shan Yan, and Shan Pu.

    ¡°Lord Xu and I will carry out a simultaneous attack on the Scourge, leading a great number of peak powerhouses to overwhelm the Scourge. This will be a crusade for the sake of humanity, and we will also request the assistance of the Five Spirits Alliance. Everyone, I hope topletely destroy the Scourge with this invasion.¡±

    Aeternus controlled six Scourges that surrounded the ck Mother Tree. If the First Scourge could not be destroyed, then how could Lu Yin possibly force the powerhouses from the other Scourges to show themselves? The Three Pirs and Six Skies and the top elites who would soon participate in the Divine Selection were all still unknown to the Sixverse Association, and most people had no idea of the full extent of Aeternus¡¯s hidden strength.

    No matter how many peak powerhouses Aeternus might boast, the fact that they had never sent their full power against the Sixverse Association indicated that there was a reason behind their reservations.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s journey exploring unknown parallel universes, he had encountered God¡¯s Domain, which fought against Di Qiong and the Fourth Scourge. Even if victory or defeat were ignored, the fact that there were powerful opponents protecting each of the Aeternus¡¯s other Scourges still remained.

    There was a bnce between the Aeternals and humanity, and each of Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges had developed an independent bnce with the human forces they fought against.

    It was time to overturn that bnce.

    Only by disrupting the bnce could certain truths be revealed. Lu Yin might fear facing the full might of Aeternus, but one day, humanity would inevitably be forced to face the full might of Aeternus. If that was the case, Lu Yin wanted to seize the initiative.

    The Lord of Lightning had invaded a Scourge, and so had the Great Sovereign. It was now Lu Yin¡¯s turn.

    ...

    Progenitor Xi and the others returned to the First Scourge, where they separated.

    Shao Yin stood beside Progenitor Xi, near ake of divine energy.

    Progenitor Xi stared at theke, lost in thought.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me, Progenitor Xi.¡± Shao Yin formally thanked the woman.

    However, Progenitor Xi ignored his thanks. ¡°What are your thoughts about Lu Yin?¡±

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°The man is despicable and shameless. He¡¯s cunning and ruthlessly efficient in how he handles things, and that perfectlyplements his extraordinary talent. If he is not eliminated now, he will soon be a terrible threat to us.¡±

    Progenitor Xi continued to stare off into the distance. ¡°Yet, he has already left a mark on the current state of affairs.¡±

    Shao Yin promised, ¡°I will find an opportunity and eliminate him. There are too many people he cares for, and that makes the Origin Universe both his strength and his weakness.¡±

    Progenitor Xi considered the suggestion. ¡°If you were given the chance to face him on your own, are you confident in winning?¡±

    Shao Yin smirked. ¡°Absolutely.¡±

    Progenitor Xi turned to stare at Shao Yin. ¡°Then do it.¡±

    Shao Yin wanted to say more, but Progenitor Xi was clearly done with the conversation, and Shao Yin knew that he needed to leave.

    Once Shao Yin was gone, someone else spoke up. ¡°He¡¯s too arrogant. Lu Yin might not be his equal in pure power, but that man will still die.¡±

    Progenitor Xi nodded. ¡°I know. Lu Yin has the Lord of Lightning¡¯s overbearing sense of dominance, the Great Sovereign¡¯s pride, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s perspective, as well as truly unmatched talent. He¡¯s the most promising and challenging individual I¡¯ve ever encountered.

    ¡°What a waste that he wasn¡¯t eliminated when he was weaker.¡±

    ¡°Regardless of how formidable he may be, he¡¯ll never be anything more than a pawn for True God. Humanity will never be able to break free from their cage,¡± the voice replied.

    Progenitor Xi frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not a cage. Your view is too limited.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps,¡± the voice responded as it faded away.

    Progenitor Xi thoughtfully remarked, ¡°We must be careful and keep an eye on Lu Yin. I have a feeling that he won¡¯t leave things as they are.¡±

    ...

    Three dayster, the once dim Scourge was enveloped by a golden light that swept over it in an arc that spread into the depths of the continent.

    Progenitor Xi spun around, her expression changing drastically. Was that Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s power?

    ¡°Aeternus! Our battle is not over yet!¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s heartyugh echoed from beyond the Scourge. He entered, wielding his golden cudgel and apanied by other figures that charged towards the Scourge. It was clear that this was an invasion.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, ¡°Are you satisfied, Senior?¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng coughed. ¡°Quite. Thank you.¡±

    The Sovereign was the trigger behind this invasion, and this battle would mark the day that heralded the future. Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s injuries precluded him from participating any further, but he had already done enough.

    Lu Yin gave the man a small smile as he stepped into the Scourge.

    Shao Yin emerged from a tower. From its height and position, it could be seen that he had been recognized as a new member of the Seven Skygods.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s power swept across the Scourge, startling Shao Yin. What was happening?

    Marquis Wu, Marquis Wang, and Zhong Pan all stepped out as well.

    In one tower, Mu Ji¡¯s eyes opened. Was another terrifying powerhouse invading the Scourge? Such incidents had been rare throughout history, as few had had the courage to enter the Scourge. But in recent years, they had be rather frequent urrences. Who was it this time?

    More than twenty peak powerhouses entered the Scourge at the same time, and their arrival shattered the earth.

    Progenitor Xi brought out her sword, releasing a sh that targeted everyone who had just invaded the Scourge.

    The first person to step forward was Lu Tianyi, and he pointed a finger at the approaching sh. The impact shattered the attack with a loud ng.

    Progenitor Xi studied the crowd of invaders before her gaze settled onto Lu Yin. ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, I underestimated you.¡±

    Lu Yin stared straight back at the woman. ¡°Then take another look.¡±

    Divine energy boiled and surged up from theke behind Progenitor Xi, and it swept through the sky towards Lu Yin and the rest. Lord Xu raised a hand,shing out at the divine force. At the same time, everyone else released their own attacks.

    All of them had been shunned in the First Scourge, which greatly weakened their strength. But despite that, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

    At the moment, how many truly strong peak powerhouses remained in the First Scourge?

    Far away, the Purple Emperor moved to leave, but he was stopped by Shao Yin. ¡°You¡¯re the one who instigated this battle. Leaving now doesn¡¯t seem appropriate, does it?¡±

    The Purple Emperor¡¯s solitary white eye looked over at Shao Yin. ¡°The humans have too many powerhouses.¡±

    ¡°My Aeternus does notck for experts.¡± Shao Yin firmly blocked the Purple Emperor.

    Space twisted and warped all across the First Scourge as a massive protective sourcebox array was activated.

    As the Purple Emperor watched, he found that he was no longer capable of leaving, even if he wanted to.

    Over the years, Aeternus had weed human traitors. With the Aeternals suddenly falling to what appeared to be a disadvantageous position, those traitors¡¯ first instinct was to escape. This massive sourcebox array had actually been erected across the Scourge for them.

    Five frenzied corpses were dredged up from beneath theke of divine energy. There were only five more still beneath the surface.

    Beams of light shot upwards, connecting the sky to the ground. Aeternus was summoning the assistance of their allies.

    Lu Tianyi went after Progenitor Xi, while Mu Ke focused on Shao Yin. As for Lu Yin, he contended with the frenzied corpses. An unprecedented battle erupted in the Scourge, the fighting surpassing even the intensity of Whitecloud City¡¯s invasion.

    The leaders of the Five Spirits Alliance also arrived, which added five more sequence powerhouses to the invasion¡¯s forces.

    Not even the divine energy from thekes across the Scourge could overpower the invaders.

    The Purple Emperor was capable of folding time, and he became Big Sis¡¯ target. She had once lost her strength to the river of time, which made her very sensitive to the power of time.

    Food Sage went after the being of pure energy. While the Taotie¡¯s strength could notpare to that of the pure energy entity, the Sage was its natural nemesis. Food Sage possessed extremely formidable physical strength, and with Arrow Sage¡¯s assistance, the two had the ability to deal with the outsider powerhouse.

    The Star Devourer appeared within one of the beams of light that rose high into the sky, and the astral beast immediately opened four of his eyes. His terrifying strength twisted the void around him, and the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s Fire Lord and Wood Lord joined together to block the Star Devourer.

    Never before had Lu Yin felt that it was so easy to overpower the forces of Aeternus, especially since they were invading the Scourge.

    Towers crumbled, and three peak powerhouses who had betrayed humanity to join Aeternus felt as though the sky was falling and the earth was shattering.

    They had thought that the Scourge was safe, but they found themselves facing a truly desperate situation.

    Thunder echoed as the Lightning Lord struck down one of the peak powerhouses, causing the other two to flee in despair.

 Chapter 3025: Formidable Enemy

    <h4>Chapter 3025: Formidable Enemy</h4>

    Skydog charged at the Lightning Lord, who abandoned his pursuit of the two fleeing peak powerhouses and turned to attack Skydog. The mutt was extremely wary of Lu Yin, after after suffering from the stinky fruit that the man could bring out. So, Skydog stayed far away from Lu Yin.

    The frenzied corpses rampaged across thend, unleashing destruction in a manner that not even the Aeternals could control. While the frenzied corpses could have simply been ignored, Lu Yin instead chose to eliminate them to ensure that they did not escape to the Sixverse Association.

    Progenitor Xi fought against Lu Tianyi, only to learn that his Law of Undoing was just as oppressive as her own sword shes. The man was able to stop every one of the woman¡¯s attacks.

    The Scourge shattered beneath their shes, and corpse kings fell from the sky like rain, recklessly attacking everyone from the Sixverse Association.

    Mu Ke hefted his saber and sliced through the void, severing the sky above the Scourge.

    Chen Le loosed arrow after arrow as he dealt with Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    There were over forty such corpse kings, and they went after Arrow Sage, Food Sage, Bureau Director Gan, Xu Heng, and the others. Lu Yin¡¯s goal for this battle was to deplete most of the Scourge¡¯sbat strength.

    A lotus leaf appeared within one of the beams of light that rose into the sky, and it was followed by a rotund golden belly. Astral Anura had arrived.

    The toad instantly took the opportunity to start haggling. ¡°Oh, what an unusually lively battle! Let¡¯s negotiate the price, Aeternus. Double the normal fee.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Lord Xu, I¡¯ll leave him to you.¡±

    Lord Xu looked at Astral Anura, the man¡¯s face more serious than ever before. This creature was in the process of oveing Dukkha, which theoretically ced it on par with the Great Sovereign and True God. ¡°Remember, if I start to be overpowered, send me reinforcements. I might not be Astral Anura¡¯s opponent.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Lu Yin responded gravely.

    Astral Anura had appeared in the past, and while the toad had never fought, just his presence had been enough to eliminate many crises for Aeternus. It was for that reason alone that Lu Yin had taken measures to counter Astral Anura.

    ¡°Wonderful! Make sure you keep a good bit for the future. Humanity seems to be growing stronger, hahaha!¡± Astral Anuraughed as he adjusted his straw hat and prepared to fight against Lord Xu and his overwhelming amount of voidforce energy. A wave of the lotus leaf dispersed the gathered energy. ¡°Leave!¡±

    A violent gust scattered the voidforce energy. This single wave of Astral Anura¡¯s lotus leaf also sent the approaching turtle shell flying back with a bang.

    Lord Xu tensed. He wanted to surround Astral Anura with voidforce energy so that he could use the Thermometer of Life.

    Astral Anura bellowed, and Lord Xu was forced to abandon his strategy.

    The toad kicked a foot, clearing a hole in the surrounding voidforce energy.

    Lord Xu sucked in a sharp breath. There was no denying Astral Anura¡¯s strength.

    In the sky above, the voidforce energy moved like a tide, mming towards Astral Anura. However, each p of Astral Anura¡¯s lotus leaf prevented the Thermometer of Life from forming.

    However, even with Astral Anura¡¯s participation, the Aeternals were unable to stop ruing gradual losses.

    Lu Yin neutralized all five frenzied corpses, and more and more Progenitor-level corpse kings fell from the sky. The three peak traitor powerhouses had all died, and Marquis Wu was coughing up blood. Mu Ji was hiding, refusing to show himself while the Scourge was beingpletely overpowered.

    Zhong Pan stepped out from behind Lu Yin, and the corpse king¡¯s eyes rapidly changed colors before finally ending at the Specter Eye Transformation. As soon as his strength was enhanced, Zhong Pan punched at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around. ¡°Perfect timing.¡±

    He used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time and dodge Zhong Pan¡¯s punch. Infinity¡¯s lines merged with Lu Yin¡¯s body as he visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and used Extremes Must Be Reversed. A hundred punches were confined for a single attack to be released.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The impact sent Zhong Pan flying. While the corpse king¡¯s punch was powerful enough topare to Lu Yin¡¯s hundred punches that were confined through time, it could not even touch Lu Yin, as Zhong Pan had not been given the chance to directly sh with Lu Yin¡¯s fist.

    Zhong Pan crashed into a river of divine energy, shattering the riverbed at the bottom.

    Lu Yin moved forward, using Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. As he moved forward, everything around him froze.

    Suddenly, he felt a terrible sense of danger. ¡°Junior Brother, watch out!¡±

    Lu Yin narrowly avoided freezing up as sequence particles disrupted Inverse Step and stopped him from moving at the speed of time. Shao Yin had fired a beam at Lu Yin, attacking him from a distance.

    Lu Yin looked over and met Shao Yin¡¯s cold eyes.

    That had been a very close call.

    Mu Ke¡¯s expression fell, as his oversight had allowed Shao Yin to attack Lu Yin. Mu Ke had underestimated Shao Yin. The former Sovereign¡¯s strength could notpare to what it had been before.

    ¡°Senior Brother, Shao Yin has merged Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang together. He¡¯s now nearly as strong as the Seven Skygods,¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Mu Ke took a deep breath. ¡°Leave him to me.¡±

    In front of Lu Yin, Zhong Pan erupted from the ground, attacking once again. Despite having taken Lu Yin¡¯s punch, Zhong Pan showed no significant injuries, and his physical might remained impressive.

    In the past, Zhong Pan had been able to overwhelm Lu Yin with nothing more than physical strength. Lu Yin had struggled to even survive their first encounter. In the present, they had justpeted in physical strength, but Lu Yin no longer felt that he was in any way inferior. Unfortunately, he had no time to waste in such contests on the current battlefield.

    Lu Yin evaded Zhong Pan¡¯s assault as though he were taking a stroll, and he even retaliated with his own time-confined punches. If one attack was insufficient, Lu Yin would attack twice. If two was not enough, he would attack twenty times. No matter how impressive Zhong Pan¡¯s strength might be, it was not without limits.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    <i>Bang!</i>

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The impacts echoed through the void as Lu Yin repeatedly punched the same point on Zhong Pan¡¯s chest. Finally, a crack appeared, and the marks from the punches could even be seen on Zhong Pan¡¯s back.

    Still, he was a corpse king, utterly fearless of even death and numb to pain. Zhong Panshed out at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist, wary of other enemies ambushing him as he prepared tond one final punch on Zhong Pan. This attack would be powerful enough to shatter him.

    Zhong Pan leaped at Lu Yin as divine energy suddenly erupted from his body and covered him.

    Lu Yin had forgotten that all of the True God Guard Captains were capable of cultivating divine energy. With this boost of divine energy, it would be much more difficult to kill Zhong Pan.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to take out the slipper and settle things that way.

    Zhong Pan released his divine energy with no intention of holding anything back. There was so much divine energy that Zhong Pan nearly resembled a frenzied corpse. His pupils vanished as he underwent a Pupilless Transformation.

    There was a crack, and the void nearby cracked open, unable to withstand Zhong Pan¡¯s pressure. Just his breathing suppressed the void, and when he raised his hand, afterimages appeared in the void as he pressed through multipleyers.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. A punch from Zhong Pan in this state was absolutely terrifying.

    Zhong Pan let out a breath, and it swirled like a dragon, shattering the void. He shot forward, tearing through the void as he threw a punch at Lu Yin. It was an incredibly simple attack, but Lu Yin felt as though it were somehow inevitable. It felt like this punch was not aimed at just him, but at everything before Zhong Pan. It felt like the corpse king intended to destroy everything in his sight.

    No matter if this punch was aimed at Lu Yin or a sequence powerhouse, no one could ignore this punch of Zhong Pan¡¯s.

    Every time Lu Yin evaded Zhong Pan¡¯s previous attacks, he had not moved too far away, so he was still within range of the corpse king¡¯s attack.

    This punch was utterly terrifying.

    In the end, Zhong Pan was just a corpse king, and surprisingly, Lu Yin was able to dodge the punch by traveling at the speed of time. While everything froze around Lu Yin, he was also able to do something else.

    Right as Zhong Pan threw his punch, terrifying everyone in a particr direction, Lu Yin had already reached the corpse king¡¯s side. The slipper pped down onto Zhong Pan¡¯s arm, and it not only stopped the punch that was in the middle of being thrown, but it also broke the corpse king¡¯s arm.

    Having his punch stopped mid-throw meant that Zhong Pan was not able to control himself, and he crashed forward. Lu Yin spun around andshed out again with the slipper, striking Zhong Pan¡¯s back and mming him to the ground.

    The slipper had been Enhanced multiple times, thest improvement had cost Lu Yin 6 trillion star essence, which was the repair price for each Book of Destiny. While this did not mean that the slipper was on the same level as the Books of Destiny, Lu Yin believed that there was not much of a difference in quality between them.

    In other words, if the Books of Destiny represented Destiny, then the Enhanced slipper possessed a power equal to Destiny, which meant a powerhouse as strong as the Three Realms and Six Daos. That was not something that Zhong Pan could endure.

    He might have been strengthened by divine energy, but that was not his own power.

    Lu Yin would never dare to use the slipper against True God, as that would be seeking death.

    The ground shattered. Zhong Pan was lying on the ground, unable to even move. His body had been split open by the slipper, and he waspletely incapacitated and unable to rise to his feet.

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°We¡¯ve fought several times. The first time, youpletely overpowered me. But now, even if I had to use some items, you are no longer able topare to my strength. This is the end.¡±

    He then casually waved a hand, and a palm struck Zhong Pan¡¯s head, executing him.

    Yet another one of the True God Guard Captains had been eliminated. Even with the depths of Aeternus¡¯s strength, they had not been able to fill all the positions of the True God Guard Captains after the event where Chong Gui was captured. With this, they were missing yet one more.

    Lu Yin looked up at where Lord Xu was holding back Astral Anura and trying to kill the toad with the Thermometer of Life. The Voidlord was not seeding, and he was barely able to block Astral Anura.

    The battles between Ancestor Tianyi and Progenitor Xi, Senior Brother Mu Ke and Shao Yin, and the dual forces of the Fire Lord and Wood Lord against the Star Devourer all continued. However, the overall bnce of the battle raging in the Scourge was leaning in humanity¡¯s favor. After some time, the First Scourge would fall.

    Lu Yin looked at the ck Mother Tree. Would True God be able to stay in seclusion?

    More and more Progenitor-level corpse kings were killed. There was no doubt that the First Scourge was suffering terrible losses from this attack.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin looked over in a particr direction. It was where the shattered remains of the True God Guard Captains¡¯ tall towers stood. Even so, one of the captains had never appeared: Mu Ji.

    The Aeternals had sealed off the Scourge with a massive sourcebox array, so while the Scourge could be entered, no one could leave. That meant that Mu Ji should also be somewhere in the Scourge.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight swept through the area, and Lu Yin soon found the man.

    In the direction that Lu Yin was looking, Mu Ji felt a surge of panic. He was hiding behind the ruins of a high tower, and yet he felt like he was being watched. He peeked through the ruins, and as he stared into the distance, his eyes met Lu Yin¡¯s. Mu Ji¡¯s expression changed drastically. This was very bad.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, intending to chase after Mu Ji and kill him. The man had already managed to escape from Mu Ke once with his peculiar innate gift. The man had to be eliminated.

    Suddenly, a terrible pressure fell upon the entire battlefield, and it caused everyone¡¯s hearts to drop. Was the sky falling?

    People looked up to see a figure emerging from the void to stand high in the sky above the Scourge.

    Although this person was standing quietly in the sky, their presence altered the atmosphere of the entire battlefield. As he looked down, all who met his eyes felt their hearts quiver uncontrobly.

    ¡°Ancient God?¡± someone eximed.

    ¡°Gu Yizhi?¡±

    The leader of the Seven Skygods, Ancient God, had appeared in the sky. This man had once been the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Third Maind. He was Gu Yizhi, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks. Gu Yizhi was joining the battle.

    Lu Yin had been trying to hunt down the Seven Skygods or lure them out in order to kill them one by one, but he had never once hoped to find Gu Yizhi. The man was one of Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s peers, and there was no one in this group who could take on Ancient God, regardless of his previous injuries. This was someone who could alter the oue of the entire battle.

 Chapter 3026: Pressure

    <h4>Chapter 3026: Pressure</h4>

    Progenitor Xi stood with her sword in her hand. Her eyes moved down from the sky to look at Lu Tianyi. ¡°Do you wish to continue this battle?¡±

    The man¡¯s expression had turned very solemn. Gu Yizhi had once been one of the top powerhouses of the Heavens Sect era. His sudden appearance was unexpected, and Lu Tianyi had not anticipated it at all.

    The battle had just be far more difficult.

    In the sky, above the Scourge, Ancient God observed the entire battlefield from his vantage point before turning to look at a point in the distance where Astral Anura¡¯s massive body was constantly quivering. After a moment, Ancient God¡¯s gaze dropped back down, and then he abruptly vanished.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    Before he could even finish giving a warning, three heads flew into the air. They had belonged to Bureau Director Gan, Chen Le, and Shan Pu. Those three had been the closest to Ancient God.

    Three peak powerhouses had died without even seeing their attacker.

    Blood sprayed, dyeing the ground red. Three pairs of eyes remained vignt, even in death. They had been extremely wary of Ancient God suddenly attacking them, but even then, they had not been able to anticipate their instantaneous deaths.

    White snow covered the ground as the Ice Lord attacked, trying to freeze Ancient God with sequence particles.

    Ancient God raised a hand, and a purplish-ck substance spread out. A single sweep of the man¡¯s hand pushed all of the snow aside. Lu Yin stared in astonishment as Ancient God swept the freezing sequence particles away with one hand, and then clenched his other fist and punched at the Ice Lord¡¯s distant form. There was a bang, and the Ice Lord was sent flying. His sequence particles had not been able to protect him at all.

    The gap in strength between the two was simply too vast. They were not on the same level at all.

    Ancient God only took action twice, and yet he had killed three peak powerhouses and injured the Ice Lord. There seemed to be no difference between peak powerhouses and sequence powerhouses to the Skygod.

    The ground twisted as the Earth Lord attacked. Sequence particles rose from beneath the ground, attempting to drag Ancient God underground. At the same time, the Lightning Lord attacked, ignoring Skydog¡¯s attack as lightning rained down on Ancient God.

    Sequence particles from two different powerhouses assaulted Ancient God, enveloping him from both above and below.

    The man looked up, and the purplish-ck substance shrouded his entire form as he simply allowed the sequence particles to surround him. Then, he bent his legs and shattered both of the attacks.

    Both the Lightning Lord and Hou Zhu were leftpletely dumbfounded. Was it really that easy to break through their sequence particles?

    Ancient God ignored both Hou Zhu and the Lightning Lord, suddenly turning away to face where someone else was making their way towards the Skygod. Shockingly, it was Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi had been fighting against Progenitor Xi, but he had been left with no choice but to abandon her to confront Ancient God.

    If Ancient God were allowed to rampage across the battlefield, how many more people would he kill?

    Big Sis took Lu Tianyi¡¯s ce, fighting against Progenitor Xi¡¯s, and Xu Wuwei chased after the Purple Emperor.

    Despite the distance between Ancient God and Lu Tianyi, the two had instantly recognized each other as opponents. On the current battlefield, practically no one could truly be considered Ancient God¡¯s opponent. The only avable option was Lu Tianyi.

    Neither of the two were moving fast as they drew closer and closer to each other.

    Ancient God raised a hand and threw a punch. He had pioneered Wielder-realm battle force and literally created the race of colossal giants. He was the first person in human history to have achieved Wielder - Indestructible on his own merit. When it came to physical strength, Aeternus might not have anyone who surpassed Ancient God.

    Lu Tianyi pointed a finger,bining his Law of Undoing with the Dao of One Heavens. Thisbination had once severely injured Undying God. Lu Tianyi boldly shed with Ancient God.

    As the two men¡¯s attacks collided, there was no sound, but the impact¡¯s sound was so overwhelming that it eclipsed everything else anyone heard.

    A shockwave sted out, sweeping over everything with such power that not even peak powerhouses could avoid being blown back.

    If someone looked down on the Scourge from far above, they would see that everything had been pushed back from a single point. The impact had forced back the earth, the rivers of divine energy, and even the void. The Hollow expanded and devoured everything it encountered.

    Lu Yin retreated further and further. He needed to swat debris away with a hand, but as he looked over, Heaven¡¯s Sight only saw the Hollow, which was a deadly threat to even peak powerhouses. <i>Where is Ancestor Tianyi?</i>

    Ancestor Tianyi was fighting against Ancient God, which was equivalent to fighting against Ancestor Lu Yuan, as he and Ancient God were peers.

    While Ancient God had attacked the Fifth Maind in the past, the fact that all Seven Skygods had been shunned from that universe meant that Lu Tianyi had been able to face off against all of them on his own. In the Scourge, the situation was reversed; Lu Tianyi was shunned, while he had to face Ancient God¡¯s full strength. Lu Yin was quite worried about his ancestor.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to look at the source of the shockwave. Even Astral Anura looked down from where he was fighting against Lord Xu in the sky.

    A golden light pierced through the darkness as beams of light shot into the sky. The Investiture of the Gods had appeared.

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. As long as the Investiture of the Gods could be used, Ancestor Tianyi had to be fine.

    Suddenly, a clear light swept through the area, and the light of the Investiture of the Gods instantly disappeared.

    Lu Yin grew furious, and he spun around to look for the being of pure energy.

    He scanned the area with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    The creature¡¯s Absolute Energy Domain had erased Lu Tianyi¡¯s Investiture of the Gods, and that forced the man to receive a powerful blow from Ancient God that sent Lu Tianyi reeling and blood to leak from his mouth. Ancient God leaped forward, instantly appearing above Lu Tianyi and throwing down a single palm strike.

    Lu Tianyi dodged. The Dao of One Heavens gave him the ability to counterattack even when in a disadvantageous position.

    Even so, Lu Tianyi had underestimated Ancient God. Regardless of where Lu Tianyi went, Ancient God stuck to the man like his shadow, matching not only his speed, but even anticipating his moves.

    ¡°Chasing time?¡± Lu Tianyi was shocked.

    Ancient God had pioneered two different cultivation methods: battle force, in which Ancient God had reached the level of Wielder - Indestructible, and domains, in which the man had reached the level of Wielder - Void. That was the peak for domains, and it allowed one to control the power of time.

    The information that Lu Yin had ess to had imed that Ancient God had never been able to quite raise his domain to the level of being able to control time, and that was one of the reasons why Lu Yin had been quite proud after being able to move at the speed of time. However, the truth was Ancient God had achieved Wielder - Void with his domain long ago, and he was able to use his domain to manipte time, simr to how Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream used the power of space to chase time. It was nothing more than achieving the same result through different paths.

    Lu Yin could use Lightstream, and Ancient God could use some unseen power to chase time. This was something that not even Lu Tianyi could evade.

    Ancient God¡¯s palm dropped down, and as it moved thest bit of distance, a massive seal formed from the purplish-ck substance of his battle force, and it mmed down upon Lu Tianyi. ¡°Purgatory Seal.¡±

    The seal smashed Lu Tianyi into the ground. His hands were raised up to hold the seal back.

    The seal was an external manifestation of Wielder-realm battle force, and Ancient God had called the technique ¡°Purgatory Seal.¡± It was incredibly difficult for even Lu Tianyi to push the seal away, and even his Law of Undoing struggled to shake the seal.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the Fifth Maind. If it were, you might have been able to break my Purgatory Seal, Lu Tianyi. You are one of the most talented individuals I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± Ancient God then nced at a distant point. He took a step forward and disappeared. The next time he appeared, he had already moved over to where Chu Jian was fighting. Chu Jian had been facing off against three Progenitor-level corpse kings. He had already killed one, and was just about to kill the second when Ancient God passed by. In the Skygod¡¯s wake, Chu Jian froze, and then slowly fell.

    Ancient God¡¯s focused stare never wavered. He was staring at a further location, which was where Big Sis was fighting against Progenitor Xi.

    At the same time, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sharply narrowed, and he chased after Ancient God with Inverse Step. The Skygod was about to attack Big Sis.

    Ancient God was fast, and he was also able to use his Wielder-realm domain to chase time. Lu Yin was also fast, and he could use Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. In Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, Ancient God was the only other individual who was still moving.

    Ancient God spun around and looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve grown extremely quickly.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Ancient God, killing intent zing in his eyes.

    ¡°If you want to die, I¡¯ll grant your wish.¡± With that, Ancient God turned to face Lu Yin and brought his hand down.

    A terrifying pressure covered the area, and Lu Yin¡¯s face grew pale. He was unable to breathe, and he felt as though his organs themselves were being razed to ashes. It was as though he was surrounded by walls of copper and iron. He was unable to move, and he could only see the hand descending upon him in an unavoidable manner.

    Ancient God¡¯s hand pressed down.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. <i>Move! Move! I need to move!</i>

    Whatever Ancient God had done, it prevented Lu Yin from being able to move at all.

    Just as Ancient God¡¯s hand drew closer, a small de shot out from Lu Yin¡¯s chest, and Ancient God was attacked by eighty-one shes. It was the miniature saber that Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Mu Ke had given him as a precaution before the start of the battle.

    Lu Yin had not expected to need to use it, as he could move at the speed of time with Inverse Step. But as it turned out, the saber had indeed been used.

    The eighty-one shes were aimed at Ancient God¡¯s hand, but all the shes were crushed by that same hand.

    The gap between Mu Ke and Ancient God was immense and impossible to cross. It was difficult for Mu Ke to even slow down Ancient God¡¯s hand.

    Still, it was enough. The eighty-one shes had bought a moment¡¯s time for Lu Yin, and he had used that breath to release the universe from his heart, isting him from the universe of the Scourge. When Ancient God¡¯s hand started falling again, he was surprised to receive a wound. The Hollow?

    Still, not even that was enough. The hand continued to drop down onto Lu Yin.

    The moment Lu Yin released his own universe, he had found that he could move again, and he raced away with Inverse step.

    For Lu Yin, a lot had happened in a single moment, but to others, everything had happened instantly.

    As soon as Lu Yin stopped using Inverse Step, his surroundings returned to normal.

    Ancient God¡¯s attack had missed, but the man simplyshed out again.

    It was at this time that Chu Jian, who had fallen to the ground, slowly rose back up. He saw that Ancient God was pursuing Lu Yin, and he gritted his teeth. Chu Jian spat out a mouthful of blood that released a golden light as he used Triumphant Brawl. The young man¡¯s hand rose, and he released the Annihtion Phoenix.

    The attack shot through the sky towards Ancient God.

    The Skygodpletely ignored the Annihtion Phoenix, and it struck him. However, it could not even leave a single mark.

    Chu Jian felt bitter. The gap between him and the Skygod was simply too vast.

    Lu Yin was facing a level of pressure that no one could even imagine. Ancient God was serious with his attacks, and while Lu Yin had managed to escape once, escaping again would not be so easy.

    ¡°Gu Yizhi¨C¡± With a hoarse shout, the colossal figure of the Lord of the Abyss appeared, a hand upraised. At the same time, a massive Abyssal Flower bloomed in the sky.

    Ancient God turned around. ¡°Y¨­u Ming, I had meant to kill you, but this child interfered. Now, when I am about to kill the child, you interfere. In that case, you two will die together.¡±

    ¡°Gu Yizhi, I should have trapped and killed you back then!¡± Big Sis¡¯s expression was fierce. By targeting Lu Yin, Ancient God had crossed the woman¡¯s bottom line.

    Ancient God spat back in a cold voice, ¡°You never even had the chance. Your Abyssal Flower from back then disappeared long ago.¡±

    His other hand rose, and he pointed a finger at Big Sis. At the same time, Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword fell. She was shing at Big Sis.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°Big Sis¨C!¡±

    Big Sis¡¯s towering Progenitor¡¯s world, the Lord of the Abyss, was split in two by Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword sh. Gu Yizhi¡¯s attack also partiallynded, and Big Sis turned pale as she fell.

    Progenitor Xi raised her sword once again, prepared tosh out with another strike and kill Big Sis.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils constricted, and his heart pounded. Slowly, the color of blood filled his eyes. He could not hear anything, and he could only see Big Sis, who was on the brink of death. An overwhelming, uncontroble urge to kill overcame him.

    At this moment, a white mist spread across the ground, twining its way towards Progenitor Xi while also dragging Big Sis away.

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword sliced through empty air. She frowned and turned to look. Progenitor Smoke was standing there.

 Chapter 3027: Utilization

    <h4>Chapter 3027: Utilization</h4>

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s sudden appearance saved Big Sis¡¯s life, which also suppressed the raging killing intent that had been about to consume Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Little Wei?¡± Progenitor Xi was surprised.

    Progenitor Smoke stared nkly at Progenitor Xi. ¡°Master?¡±

    Big Sis had already suffered heavy injuries, so Progenitor Xi would definitely finish Big Sis off if they were left alone. To the side, Lu Yin was not out of danger himself as Ancient God was looking at Lu Yin again. ¡°Your Lu family produces truly impressive talents: Lu Yuan, Lu Tianyi, Lu Feng, Lu Qi, and now you. Unfortunately, your Lu family is destined to be lost in the river of time.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Ancient God. ¡°The God of Death was called ckie, while Wu Tian was called Big Thug. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    This question took Ancient God aback. ckie? Big Thug? They were such familiar names, and hearing them took him back to an ancient era when they had yed around and had been naive enough to want to beat Tai Hong silly. The man¡¯s expression instantly becameplex.

    Behind Ancient God, Lu Tianyi somehow managed to break free from the Prison Suppressing tform and pointed his finger at Ancient God.

    The Skygod stood still. There was no movement as the purplish-ck substance spread over his entire body again before forming into beams of ck light that rose into the sky. His hair quickly grew longer, falling all the way to the ground. The purplish-ck substance even covered Ancient God¡¯s face and forehead. Behind him, an even more intense purplish-ck substance created vague patterns across the man¡¯s back.

    This was not an unfamiliar sight to Lu Yin, as he underwent a rather simr transformation whenever he used the God of Death Transformation. Ancient God¡¯s strength would absolutely spike, which meant that he still had not used his full strength so far. <i>Right, he hasn¡¯t even used his sequence particles yet</i>.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger mmed into Ancient God¡¯s back, producing a crackling sound. The purplish-ck that covered his back cracked, but he received no injuries.

    Ancient God turned his head to look at Lu Tianyi behind him. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would be able to break free from the Prison Suppressing tform. I apparently underestimated you. You¡¯re able to use so much strength, even when you¡¯re being shunned by this Scourge. You¡¯re not far behind us.¡±

    Lu Tianyi moved back as he stared at Ancient God. ¡°Given that you are someone on the same level as our ancestor, Gu Yizhi, there is no one here who can defeat you.¡±

    Ancient God turned around to fully face Lu Tianyi. ¡°If Lu Yuan does not show himself today, your Lu family¡¯s bloodline will end.¡±

    The Investiture of the Gods reappeared above Lu Tianyi. ¡°The ancient Heavens Sect was a glorious period. The Three Realms and Six Daos were regarded as invincible. However, there were also geniuses born toter eras, and there are people who cannot be buried by time. You cannot suppress an entire era.¡±

    As Lu Tianyi spoke, figures stepped out from his Investiture of the Gods, and Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku moved up to stand with Lu Tianyi. The three stood side-by-side.

    Far away, Bai Wangyuan was caught up in a fierce battle with a Progenitor-level corpse king, but he still managed to exchange nces with Wang Fan. The two of them had not been summoned. Was Lu Tianyi looking down on them?

    The three figures moved to surround Ancient God.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era should not be underestimated. While Bai Wangyuan and some of the others had not reached the same heights, Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku possessed truly unimaginable power. Ancient God should understand this, as Aeternus had never stopped fighting against the Fifth Maind.

    ¡°Little Seven, do what you need to,¡± Lu Tianyi reminded.

    Lu Yin nodded, and after ncing at Ancient God, he slowly moved away. He needed to find the being of pure energy. Otherwise, its absolute energy domain would once again counteract the Investiture of the Gods.

    Lu Yin had always been the one who was a perfect counter to others. He had never expected to one day meet someone who perfectly countered him.

    <i>Wait, how is Big Sis doing?</i>

    Lu Yin nced in another direction and heaved a sigh of relief. Hou Zhu had dragged Big Sis away, and neither Progenitor Xi nor Progenitor Smoke had made another move. The two women seemed to be having a conversation. From the moment Lu Yin first met Progenitor Xi, he had felt that her name was very simr to Progenitor Smoke¡¯s, and sure enough, they knew each other.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The void exploded, and another shockwave swept out across the battlefield.

    Lu Yin looked back at where an exchange had destroyed the void.

    Together with Ancestor Tianyi, the summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were enough to pressure Ancient God.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight scanned the Scourge as Lu Yin searched for the being of pure energy. Eventually, he found it.

    Far away, the Food Sage had reverted to his Taotie form and was still shing with the being of pure energy with Arrow Sage¡¯s assistance. The two men should have been able to overpower the creature throughout the entire battle, but at several critical moments, the being had found opportunities to take action and help other battles.

    That same thing happened again.

    The being of pure energy released its absolute energy domain,pletely unaffected by Food Sage and Arrow Sage.

    Seeing this, Lu Yin summoned the Seven-Star Mantis, and its six pairs of wings unfurled as it took flight.

    When Lu Yin moved at the speed of time by riding on the Seven-Star Mantis, everything on the battlefield seemed to freeze as he instantly arrived next to the being of pure energy. Just as Lu Yin was about to attack, the creature dodged at a speed that was in no way inferior to the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s.

    How was that possible? Lu Yin was badly startled. Could the pure energy entity also move at the speed of time?

    Although the creature of pure energy managed to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s attack, the absolute energy domain still dissipated.

    Lu Yin stared at the creature, puzzled. If it was truly able to move at the speed of time, then Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s earlier ambush should not have failed. If Aeternus had not taken action, the creature of pure energy should not even have been able to escape.

    Why was that?

    The Taotie suddenly leaped forward, charging at the pure energy being.

    Arrows flew over from the distance as Arrow Sage also attacked.

    The pure energy entity stood still, unfazed as the arrows flew by. It swiped a hand and attacked Arrow Sage with something that resembled an arrow. Just when the Taotie was about to strike, the creature of pure energy lifted a hand and stopped the Taotie with a bang.

    It possessed unbelievable speed when it needed to and overwhelming strength when it was required. It was essentially a replica of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the outsider powerhouse in utter disbelief. This creature should not possess this much strength. Something was off.

    ¡°Lord Lu, we¡¯ve been fighting it for a long time, and we¡¯ve found that it always acts a beat behind. The only thing it can initiate on its own is its surge of clear light,¡± Arrow Sage informed Lu Yin from far away.

    A light bulb lit up in Lu Yin¡¯s head. He had figured out why the creature was always a step behind.

    The being of pure energy was not using its own abilities, but rather manipting energy.

    Its control of energy was not limited to the energy that cultivators possessed; more likely, it included all forms of energy in existence, including things such as wind or natural disasters. Any given movement could impact the surrounding area, which was a form of energy. The being of pure energy was able to use that energy as its own.

    When Arrow Sage fired an arrow, the being of pure energy could use that arrow¡¯s strength to fire an arrow of its own. It carried the same raw power as Arrow Sage¡¯s attack, but itcked the Sage¡¯s ability to impact emotions.

    When the Seven-Star Mantis moved at the speed of time, its movements affected its surroundings, which was also a manifestation of energy. Thus, the being of pure energy was able to use that to move at a simr speed.

    This exined everything the creature had done.

    This being had always been passively wielding the nearby energy, which gave it an appearance of being nearly omnipotent. However, once its methods were seen through, there was nothing to really worry about.

    The being of pure energy was able to use the energy that impacted its nearby surroundings, and Lu Yin possessed a simr ability through the usage of runes. At this thought, his pupils transformed into runes, and God of mes¡¯ figurine appeared on his shoulder, releasing a surge of runes. At the same time, Lu Yin used Infinity.

    The Taotie frantically charged at the creature of pure energy, which blocked the charge with a nearly identical strength, producing a deafening sound.

    Lu Yin rode upon the Seven-Star Mantis and also charged the creature.

    The Seven-Star Mantis instantly arrived next to the pure energy entity as everything else froze. Lu Yin struck the creature¡¯s back with a palm strike. He could feel a smooth surface with little resistance when his attacknded, and it was easy to feel the creature¡¯s physical weakness as the single palm strike tore the creature open and sent it flying.

    The Taotie had been attacking the being of pure energy when the creature was sted away. It had failed to move at the speed of time and stop Lu Yin¡¯s attack.

    On the back of the Seven-Star Mantis, Lu Yin stared off into the distance. His suspicions were proving correct. The creature of pure energy was able to use all local energies. Lu Yin had used runes to move the energy associated with the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s movements away. Since the energy had been transferred, the creature of pure energy could not use it, and thus, it was unable to keep up with the Seven-Star Mantis¡¯s speed.

    Far away, the being of pure energy slowly rose to its feet. There was no expression on its face, but Lu Yin could clearly sense the creature¡¯s confusion and fear. It was terrified.

    ¡°Again!¡± Lu Yin rode the Seven-Star Mantis to instantly appear right in front of the being of pure energy, and a palmnded on the creature¡¯s forehead. Lu Yin wanted it dead and anointed as a champion.

    The creature would be extremely useful. Even if it lost its absolute energy domain as a champion that could no longer use sequence particles, its ability to manipte energy would allow it to fight against anyone, as long as they did not see through its ability.

    However, a sh of sword qi swept by right as Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded on the energy body entity¡¯s forehead. Lu Yin had failed to kill the creature, because it was already dead when his handnded.

    He turned to look into the distance at Progenitor Xi, who was lowering her sword while staring at Lu Yin. ¡°The Lu family¡¯s champions are quite troublesome.¡±

    ¡°So you killed it first,¡± Lu Yin muttered.

    Progenitor Xi was directly facing Lu Yin, and Progenitor Smoke was standing behind the woman. Xi Wei appeared to be lost. She was incapable of stopping Progenitor Xi¡¯s attacks, and she also had not expected the woman to take action so suddenly.

    ¡°In this Scourge, my Aeternus will not lose this battle! All that remains to be seen is what price you will need to pay in order to leave. Gu Yizhi is one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs, and his true strength still has not been revealed. It¡¯s still not toote for you to retreat,¡± Progenitor Xi threatened.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you call out all Three Pirs and Six Skies? Let¡¯s see if you can stop me from destroying this Scourge.¡±

    Progenitor Xi stopped speaking, and from behind her, Progenitor Smoke attacked with her Mistlock Tracking.

    Lu Yin had no intention of fighting against Progenitor Xi. To him, the woman was aplete mystery, and Ancient God¡¯s interference had already caused Lu Yin to raise his guard. Lu Yin knew that Progenitor Xi was acquainted with Astral Anura and the Great Sovereign, which meant that she had hid her own power the deepest, much like Whiteless God of the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin did not possess enough strength to face off against such opponents yet.

    All he could do was warn Progenitor Smoke to be cautious.

    As he looked around, he was surprised to see that Whiteless God was not in the First Scourge.

    Losing the being of pure energy as a champion was a pity, but Progenitor Xi was clearly wary of Lu Yin¡¯s champions. It would be difficult for him to anoint any champions in this battle.

    The woman was truly ruthless. The moment that she had realized that the being of pure energy was no match for Lu Yin, Progenitor Xi had executed it. Lu Yin had been nothing more than an aplice. If not for his ability to use runes and iste the creature of pure energy from nearby energy and prevent it from manipting that energy, Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword would have most likely had little effect on the creature. It was such a pity.

    A powerful shockwave swept through the entire battlefield.

    Lu Yin looked over at where Ancient God was fighting against Ancestor Tianyi, Progenitor Chen, and Progenitor Ku. Normally, Lu Yin would not be able to make out any of the details of such a battle, but Heaven¡¯s Sight made everything clear.

    Progenitor Chen was a genius fighter. And Progenitor Ku was virtually impossible to kill with his Extremes Must Be Reversed, which could absorb an opponent¡¯s attacks and then counterattack with that stored force. On top of that, there was also Ancestor Tianyi¡¯s Law of Undoing and Dao of One Heavens. Ancient God was wary of everything facing him. Lu Tianyi was wielding powers that could truly injure Ancient God. However, there was no denying Ancient God¡¯s own incredible strength. His Wielder-realm battle force allowed him to face off against three powerful opponents at once.

 Chapter 3028: The Terror Of Astral Anura

    <h4>Chapter 3028: The Terror Of Astral Anura</h4>

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Lu Tianyi was forced back by Ancient God, even as the man suffered attacks from Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku. Ancient God was also forced back.

    Lu Tianyinded on the ground, clutching his shoulder. Ancient God¡¯s palm strike had not been light, and it had rendered Lu Tianyi¡¯s left arm immobile for the moment. The man even fell to his knees and coughed up blood.

    Behind him happened to be the battlefield where Wang Fan was facing off against a Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku reached Ancient God and attacked. Using his Wielder-realm domain and battleforce, the Skygod swept past the two summons, intent onnding a killing blow and eliminating Lu Tianyi.

    Progenitor Chen used Inverse Step to create a field of chaotic time and space. As he did so, the Scourge and the sky above it started to warp and twist, shocking Lu Yin. When he used Inverse Step to create a field of chaotic time and space, the effect had been confined to a certain region. However, when the summoned Progenitor Chen did the same thing, the field of chaos even reached the distant temple beneath the ck Mother Tree.

    Inverse Step disrupted Ancient God¡¯s movements and forced him to show himself. Even so, his hand was still shooting at Lu Tianyi. The purplish-ck substance condensed in the void, forming another Prison Suppressing tform that was about to fall upon Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi looked up as his Champions¡¯ Stage appeared before him. It shot up to m into the Prison Suppressing tform.

    There was a loud bang, and the ground nearby shattered as a terrifying shockwave swept out again.

    Lu Tianyi had been seriously injured, and the Prison Suppressing tform was forcing his Champions¡¯ Stage down bit by bit. At this moment, a bit ofnd suddenly took form and shot towards the Prison Suppressing tform, pushing it away. It was Forgotten Ruins.

    Wang Fan had taken action.

    Lu Tianyi looked back, his eyesnding on Wang Fan.

    The man exchanged nces with Lu Tianyi. ¡°If I die here, can the Lu family forgive the Wang family¡¯s crimes?¡±

    Lu Tianyi answered in a solemn tone. ¡°The Wang family¡¯s crimes are yours alone. Regardless of whether you live or die, provided that you give your all in this battle, my Lu family will not hold a grudge.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Fan leaped forward, using Four Arts: Bear Stalwart tounch a palm strike against the Prison Suppressing tform. He spat out blood as his body crashed to the ground, but the attack had sessfully pushed the Prison Suppressing tform slightly to the side. At the same time, the Forgotten Ruins shattered, and it fell to the ground like a piece of broken earth.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage gained strength, and it suddenly pushed the Prison Suppressing tform away.

    Ancient God bellowed, ¡°The Wang family could have been spared because of the merits that Wang Miaomiao and Wang Xiaoyu have earned with Aeternus! Wang Fan, your actions have sealed your family¡¯s doom!¡±

    Wang Fan fell to the ground, spitting out blood. ¡°Even if my Wang family acted against the Lu family, it was never done for Aeternus.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking death!¡± Ancient God red at Wang Fan, who suddenly let out a cry of agony, though no one could understand what exactly Ancient God had done.

    Lu Tianyi threw a Hidden Needle at Ancient God.

    Stars spun behind Ancient God as Progenitor Chen¡¯s Cosmic Art erupted, stirring the starry sky.

    Progenitor Ku rushed forward, focusing on the explosive power of the Cosmic Art. Right when the summon was about to reach Ancient God, his withered body that had absorbed the power of the Cosmic Art fully recovered as he threw a punch at Ancient God.

    Ancient God raised a hand and released his own punch with a bang.

    The void exploded yet again. Progenitor Ku¡¯s punch, which contained both his own strength and Progenitor Chen¡¯s, collided with Ancient God¡¯s punch, which embodied the terrifying might of the human who had zed the path of physical cultivation. The collision of fists was not merely a contest of strength, but rather an explosion of unmatched destructive power, and it cut through the Scourge.

    Everyone stopped whatever they were doing at that moment and instead moved to protect themselves.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. These attacks far exceeded the power that he could unleash by confining a hundred of his most powerful punches with time. The two were not even in the same league. Even so, it was clear that neither the summoned Progenitor Chen nor Progenitor Ku had used any sequence particles, and neither had Ancient God. Despite that, they had all been able to unleash such power.

    The earth-shattering collision of fists captured everyone¡¯s attention.

    No one noticed that Wang Fan, who had just been writhing in agony, suddenly attacked¡ªand he went after Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi stood amidst the shattered fragments of Wang Fan¡¯s Forgotten Ruins. The moment Wang Fan took action, confusion filled Lu Tianyi¡¯s eyes as he forgot everything. This was the moment that Wang Fan had been waiting for.

    It was his chance to kill Lu Tianyi.

    ¡°Die, Lu Tianyi!¡± Wang Fan¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement. Four Arts: Celestial de was a technique known for its speed and power, and it shed out to decapitate Lu Tianyi. Wang Fan had waited too long to see this day. He fully believed that everyone from the Lu family deserved death.

    The Celestial de sliced out, but Wang Fan suddenly froze in ce just as he was about to make contact with Lu Tianyi¡¯s neck. The man could not move forward at all.

    Wang Fan slowly turned his head, and Lu Tianyi did the same thing. The two men¡¯s eyes met.

    Wang Fan¡¯s eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

    In contrast, Lu Tianyi¡¯s eyes shone with an icy killing intent. ¡°I have also been waiting for this day for too long.¡±

    A finger rose, and an attack pierced Wang Fan¡¯s arm as it shot for his forehead.

    Wang Fan¡¯s pupils shrank, and he retreated further and further as the finger moved closer and closer. Just as the attack was about tond, ck death energy appeared in front of the Progenitor, taking on the form of trees that blocked Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger. The attack instantly pierced through the trees of death energy, and crossed through the entire forest of death energy, but it failed to hit Wang Fan.

    The Progenitor gasped. ¡°Your injuries?¡±

    Lu Tianyi was calmly standing in ce. There was not a single sign of him being badly wounded. ¡°How else was I going to lure you out? Wang Fan, you are the Fifth Maind¡¯s worst traitor.¡±

    Finally, the exchange drew attention from others on the battlefield.

    ¡°Wang Fan, you¡¯re a traitor!¡± Chu Jian was furious. The Cyclic Universe had protected Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan after the Lu family returned. The discovery that Wang Fan was a traitor caused Chu Jian¡¯s anger to surpass even Lu Tianyi¡¯s.

    Big Sis, Qing Ping, and many others¡¯ expressions darkened.

    Even Lord Xu turned grim in the midst of his battle with Astral Anura. If the two werepared, humanity hated traitors even more than Aeternus¡¯s top powerhouses.

    Bai Wangyuan was stunned by the revtion that Wang Fan was a traitor.

    Bai Wangyuan had taken refuge with the Cyclic Universe alongside Wang Fan. The two of them had stood together to withstand the oppression they suffered while in the Cyclic Universe. The revtion that Wang Fan was a traitor made Bai Wangyuan worried that he might be regarded as one as well, and that could jeopardize his future in the Cyclic Universe.

    The Lu family¡¯s exile had seemingly benefited the Bai family the most, while the Wang family had always followed right behind.

    Evidence of such an impression could be seen as both Xu Heng and Xu Leng eyed Bai Wangyuan warily. Even further away, Arrow Sage shifted to aim at the Progenitor.

    Wang Fan took a deep breath as he stared at Lu Tianyi in a resigned manner. ¡°You were on guard against me all along.¡±

    Lu Tianyi waved a hand, and the forest of death energy dispersed in front of him. Death energy scattered into specks that disappeared. ¡°You were the one who instigated Wang Si. You reminded her of her past and helped stir up conflict between the four ruling powers and my Lu family. You also conspired with Sovereign Shao Yin. Unfortunately, my vignce came toote, and that led to my Lu family being exiled.

    ¡°I should have listened to Hui Wen all along and simply killed you back then.¡±

    Wang Fan¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Hui Wen? How could he be of any help? Even if he saw through me, he would have never been able to kill me. No one even knows if he¡¯s dead or not.¡±

    Lu Tianyi had no intention of revealing the truth about Hui Wen. ¡°With you exposing your true colors, you havebeled yourself as an enemy of the Sixverse Association, Wang Fan. Even if you hide with the Aeternals, you won¡¯t survive.¡±

    Another finger pointed at Wang Fan, and another attack struck.

    Wang Fan¡¯s expression grew even uglier. ¡°You think you know me? So what if I¡¯ve exposed myself? I¡¯ve waited for this day for far too long! I will send the entire Lu family to their deaths before everyone!¡±

    As he spoke, there was a surge of death energy, and the Forgotten Ruins rose up from beneath his feet. They merged with the death energy and spread out.

    Lu Tianyi pointed a finger forward as he stepped into the Forgotten Ruins, instantly cracking it. However, death energy shot upwards, twisting about like ghostly shadows that constantly hindered Lu Tianyi¡¯s attack.

    Even sequence powerhouses would struggle against Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger, but Wang Fan was not trying to block it. Instead, he was simply using his death energy to slightly stall the Forgotten Ruins.

    Lu Tianyi pressed forward, shattering more of the Forgotten Ruins with every step that he took, and yet each step was also slowed by death energy.

    Wang Fancked the strength of a sequence powerhouse, but bybining the God of Death¡¯s death energy with the Wang family¡¯s battle techniques, he was sessfully slowing Lu Tianyi down. The man seized the opportunity to race away, fully aware that he could only dy Lu Tianyi. As soon as Lu Tianyi used his Law of Undoing, there was no doubt that Wang Fan would die.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s finger fell andpletely shattered the Forgotten Ruins.

    Ancient God¡¯s attack arrived at that moment. In the end, Lu Tianyi¡¯s true opponent was still Ancient God.

    Wang Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He could no longer fight in the current battle. The moment he stepped forward again, he would be targeted by everyone from the Sixverse Association.

    Suddenly, he felt a terrible sense of danger. Someone appeared in front of him, and Wang Fan saw Lu Xiaoxuan throw a palm strike. The Progenitor had no time to react to an attack that moved at the speed of time. All he could do was endure the attack.

    Lu Yin¡¯s palmnded on Wang Fan¡¯s chest, which exploded with death energy that scattered in every direction.

    Lu Yin was taken aback when he saw the amount of death energy that existed in Wang Fan¡¯s body. The Progenitor had used the battle technique that he had inherited from his Mountain and Sea to create a clone that cultivated death energy. That allowed Wang Fan to personally cultivate death energy even after Specter Progenitor was killed.

    Death energy blocked Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike, which kept Wang Fan alive.

    Still, the man was severely injured.

    Wang Fan went flying, spitting out blood as he red venomously at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained cold and indifferent. If one attack did not kill Wang Fan, then two would.

    ¡°Yaaaaaaa!!!!¡±

    Suddenly, a shrill, baby-like scream echoed across the battlefield. Unbeknownst to all, Lord Xu had sessfully trapped Astral Anura within the Thermometer of Life, and the temperature had started rising. While forty-five degrees might be fatal to ordinary humans, would such a temperature mean anything to a species like Astral Anura¡¯s, even if he was trapped within the thermometer?

    Everyone stared.

    Lu Yin could not stop himself from also watching. If the Voidlord could kill Astral Anura, it would be the greatest victory that humanity could hope to gain against the Aeternals in the current battle.

    At that moment, Lu Yin turned to stare at Progenitor Xi. If the woman interfered again, Lord Xu would definitely fail, just like when he had captured Shao Yin.

    However, Progenitor Xi showed no sign of wanting to get involved. She was trapped within Progenitor Smoke¡¯s mist and was not moving at all.

    High above in the sky, Astral Anura¡¯s screams rang out louder and louder. Steam was rising from his body, and the lotus leaf that he held was quickly withering. The chain of coins around the toad¡¯s neck trembled violently as he shrieked, ¡°You have angered me, humans! You have angered me...!¡±

    As Astral Anura screamed, his golden skin transformed. It took on a mottled color, his straw hat became a deep red, and his lotus leaf morphed into a steel fork. The coins around his neck also transformed, and they became skulls of various sizes that belonged to various creatures. There were clearly human skulls among them.

    After Astral Anura finished his metamorphosis, a chill fell upon everyone on the battlefield, and the ground of the Scourge went from gray to blood-red.

    Astral Anura¡¯s eyes glowed a fierce red as he raised his fork and thrust it forward.

    Lord Xu was startled, and his turtle shell rose to protect him.

    The fork pierced right through the Thermometer of Life, stabbing at the Voidlord. The attack was blocked by the turtle shell, which produced a loud bang and sent ripples through the air that became red waves that spread across the entire sky above the Scourge. Most of the cosmic doors shattered, and the Hollow appeared above everyone¡¯s heads as the sky took on a deep red tint.

 Chapter 3029: Scarlet

    <h4>Chapter 3029: Scarlet</h4>

    The turtle shell shattered.

    Lord Xu¡¯s expression changed drastically as he raced towards the ground.

    The steel trident shot through the turtle shell, piercing through the void and leaving behind a streak of indescribable darkness that stretched out without any end in sight.

    Everyone was stunned. This was Astral Anura¡¯s level of power. Just a single thrust of the toad¡¯s trident had nearly skewered Lord Xu. Even the mighty Voidlord, ruler of the Voidforce Universe, was rendered powerless.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s face turned solemn, as did Mu Ke and Big Sis¡¯. All of the sequence powerhouses were more serious than ever before.

    Ancient God moved down, bringing with him a heavy pressure. At this moment, people felt just as much pressure from Astral Anura as they did from Ancient God, if not more. There was an indescribable sense of crisis in the air. It was the threat of extinction, as there were two species trying to exterminate the other.

    Even Ancient God looked very solemn at this moment.

    Astral Anura was the only outsider powerhouse who was qualified to hold a conversation with True God, and yet the toad usually seemed perfectly unremarkable. However, once he became enraged, another skull needed to be added to those around his neck.

    ¡°Yaaaaaaa!!!!

    ¡°Humans, you are seeking death! You are seeking death...¡± Astral Anura¡¯s bloodshot eyes red as he searched for Lord Xu.

    The Voidlord¡¯s scalp went numb. He was finally seeing the true power of Astral Anura, a creature that had existed since time immemorial. The toad¡¯s lifespan was aplete mystery. Lord Xu had always been nervous about fighting Astral Anura, and he had merely hoped to stall the toad, but as the fight proceeded, he had grown reckless. At one point, he had even thought that Astral Anura had already revealed his full strength, and he had used the Thermometer of Life in an attempt to kill the toad. However, that had only enraged Astral Anura, which had led to the current situation.

    Lu Yin clenched his teeth. Lord Xu had truly enraged the toad. Lu Yin had been the one to ask the Voidlord to face the outsider powerhouse.

    While Lu Yin had no idea of Astral Anura¡¯s precise power level, Mr. Daheng had managed to repel Luo Shan with a single coin, which amply demonstrated just how wary Luo Shan was of Astral Anura. Luo Shan was far from weak, and yet he had run from a battle after seeing a single coin. That was a good indication of just how formidable Astral Anura had to be.

    Lu Yin had known that Lord Xu was not as strong as the toad, but he had still hoped that Lord Xu would be capable of holding Astral Anura back. The sudden change indicated that Lu Yin¡¯s wish had been rather wild.

    Progenitor Xi quietly looked up into the sky. Astral Anura was finally fighting seriously, which made him an incredibly difficult opponent for anyone to handle.

    Astral Anura raised his trident. ¡°I found you, human! Meet your doom!¡±

    Lord Xu felt a chill run down his spine.

    As the trident dropped, a figure appeared at the entrance of the First Scourge. They waved a hand. ¡°Wood.¡±

    A piece of wood appeared out of thin air beneath the trident. The weapon pierced the piece of wood, but then another piece of wood appeared, and another after that. The trident pierced through each one, but it also slowed down with each impact. Eventually, it became stuck in the air and could not move any further.

    Astral Anura turned his head and looked over. ¡°Mu Shen?¡±

    The newly arrived person moved closer, and everyone was able to see him. Mu Shen, ruler of the Arboreal Realm, had arrived.

    Lu Yin sighed. In the end, he had had to show himself. Mu Shen had also been among the people chosen to invade the Scourge, but as a hidden force. Mu Shen had been ready to intervene in case the front lines started to falter.

    Lu Yin had hoped that Lord Xu would be able to hold Astral Anura back and that they would be able to defeat the First Scourge and force Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses from the other Scourges to reveal themselves before Mu Shen was forced to step forward. Unfortunately, things had developed in an unexpected direction.

    No one had anticipated Ancient God¡¯s arrival, but Ancestor Tianyi had proven capable of standing up to the former Dao Monarch. Simrly, Lu Yin had not nned on Progenitor Smoke¡¯s sudden appearance, let alone the fact that she had managed to hold back Progenitor Xi on her own. That had proven to be an unexpected boon for the human forces. However, the situation with Astral Anura had the potential to greatlyplicate their invasion of the Scourge.

    No one knew if Mu Shen was capable of standing up to Astral Anura. The toad was someone in the process of oveing Dukkha.

    ¡°Astral Anura, we meet again.¡± Mu Shen stared at Astral Anura as he spoke to the toad in an indifferent tone. There was no indication that the man was intimidated by the outsider powerhouse, which instilled some level of confidence into Lu Yin and others.

    Astral Anura¡¯s eyes were still red and bloodshot as he raised his trident. ¡°Are you looking for trouble?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been making trouble for us humans.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just conducting business.¡±

    ¡°We can also do business with you. Kill True God for us, and we will pay any price. You can run the calctions yourself.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. What use is payment if I¡¯m dead before I can spend it?¡±

    Mu Shen¡¯s voice dropped lower, ¡°You¡¯ve epted payment from Aeternus and have been attacking us humans. Do you really think that you will be able to enjoy your new wealth?¡±

    Astral Anura twirled his trident. ¡°No human can kill me! This deal is reasonable.¡±

    ¡°Jing Zhe, the nine-headed bird, the Seven-Star Mantis, and the being of pure energy all had the same thought as you,¡± Mu Shen threatened.

    Astral Anura¡¯s mouth opened wide, and he released a horrifying cry once more. ¡°Enough talk! That human has angered me! His head will hang from my neck! Mu Shen, if you interfere, I will make you into my second trident! No, you¡¯ll be a wooden fork!¡±

    ¡°It seems that negotiations have failed.¡± Mu Shen¡¯s expression fell.

    Astral Anura¡¯s trident suddenly shot forward at Mu Shen. It was a fast and ruthless stab that was intended to catch the man off guard. Mu Shen frowned, looking as though he had anticipated such an attack. His hand rose, and wood appeared in front of him, mming into the trident.

    This collision wasparable to when Lu Tianyi and his two summoned gods had worked together to attack Ancient God.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry for now. Mu Shen might not be able to defeat Astral Anura, but he can hold him off for a while,¡± Lord Xumented.

    Lu Yin looked over at the Voidlord. He wanted to say something, but Lord Xu cut Lu Yin off. ¡°I know, this is my fault. I¡¯ll handle one of the Aeternals for you.¡±

    As he spoke, his voidforce energy surged towards the Purple Emperor. Originally, the Purple Emperor had been Big Sis¡¯ opponent, but when Big Sis had attacked Progenitor Xi, Xu Wuwei had taken over dealing with the Purple Emperor. Their fight still had not concluded.

    Lord Xu¡¯s sudden attack badly startled the Purple Emperor.

    Three of the outsider powerhouses who had ganged up to ambush Sovereign Dou Sheng had already died, and the Purple Emperor did not want to join them. He immediately fled in the ck Mother Tree¡¯s direction.

    Due to his broken turtle shell and having had his battle rhythm disrupted, Lord Xu was desperate to eliminate an enemy, and his overwhelming voidforce energy surged towards the Purple Emperor ruthlessly. The Voidlord intended to bring his Thermometer of Life out again.

    Lu Yin simrly wanted to find Wang Fan and settle that score, but Astral Anura¡¯s sudden transformation had given Wang Fan a chance to escape.

    Since Lu Yin was unable to find Wang Fan, he turned his attention towards someone else: Mu Ji.

    Lu Yin had wanted to kill the man earlier, but he had been interrupted. He now had another opportunity to finish the job.

    The Seven-Star Mantis unfurled its six pairs of wings. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were glued to Mu Ji, who was hiding behind the ruins of a tower.

    Mu Ji was startled, as he sensed danger as soon as he was targeted by Lu Yin.

    Just as the Seven-Star Mantis was about to fly towards Mu Ji, Lu Yin caught a glimpse of white light approaching from the direction of the ck Mother Tree, and it sent a chill through him. ¡°Watch out!¡±

    The void was torn open, and an arrow suddenly appeared. Lu Yin moved at the speed of time with Inverse Step.

    At that moment, the Seven-Star Mantis was pierced through, and the champion disappeared. However, the arrow did not dissipate, and it instead flew across the battlefield, piercing the Lightning Lord in an instant. Through Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin saw that all of the Lightning Lord¡¯s sequence particles shattered, but the arrow still did not lose any momentum as it shot straight for Chu Jian.

    Chu Jian had no time to react before the arrow pierced him as well. It then flew across the destendscape of the Scourge before it eventually disappeared.

    Everything had happened in a single moment. Lu Yin had only been able to dodge by moving at the speed of time, but it had been toote for the Seven-Star Mantis to take flight. The Lightning Lord and Chu Jian had both been instantly shot through without any chance to evade the attack.

    Lu Yin was astonished. Who had fired that arrow?

    Lord Xu was also startled. He and Lu Yin were the ones closest to the ck Mother Tree, as the Voidlord had been pursuing the Purple Emperor and Lu Yin had wanted to deal with Mu Ji. Because of that, they had been the first to see the arrow.

    Both men turned to look into the distance at a figure who was slowly walking over the ruins that were scattered across the Scourge. Dust swirled and divine energy howled through the air, giving things a scarlet tint.

    As the figure slowly approached, they became clearer, and the expressions of both Lu Yin and Lord Xu changed.

    What a beautiful woman!

    The woman they were looking at had long scarlet hair, and her features were so exquisite that they seemed otherworldly. Her eyes were bright and lively, and every movement she made contained both a captivating charm and a sense of boldness that seemed to be at odds with her physical appearance.

    As she moved closer, the world around her seemed to contract upon her. It looked like every step she took was measured, but despite the fact that she was walking slowly, she was approaching more quickly than she should.

    The air twisted, blurring their vision as a gust of wind blew her scarlet hair about.

    The Purple Emperor stood between Lord Xu and the scarlet-haired woman. He did not seem to recognize the woman, and he did not rashly move closer to her. Further away, Mu Ji was also staring at the woman in confusion.

    She was approaching from the direction of the ck Mother Tree, and given the arrow that had just appeared, this woman had to be one of Aeternus¡¯s strongest powerhouses.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lord Xu asked.

    The woman suddenly raised a hand and fired an arrow at Lord Xu. There was nothing fancy about her archery. The arrow flew straight, and there was no hesitation.

    Lu Yin watched, but there were only a small number of sequence particles at the tip of the arrowhead. What could such a small number of sequence particles hope to do?

    Lord Xu waved a hand. A piece of his turtle shell that Astral Anura had shattered moved up to serve as a shield.

    There was a bang when the arrow struck the broken turtle shell, and the piece was pushed towards Lord Xu. Another shard rose to protect him, and the two pieces of turtle shell managed to stop the arrow.

    The woman¡¯s arrows were incredibly powerful, but not to the point where she could breach Lord Xu¡¯s defenses. Lord Xu had sessfully held back Astral Anura and nearly killed Shao Yin. Even if the woman¡¯s arrows were capable of instantly killing a peak powerhouse and had shot through the Lightning Lord, she could not hope to do the same to the Voidlord when he was on guard.

    The woman loosed a second arrow, and it pierced the first arrow and struck the fragments of the turtle shell. There was no deviation from the path of the first arrow, and the second one was also aimed straight at the turtle shell.

    The fragments gave off a loud noise as they were pushed back towards Lord Xu, who frowned. This woman was clearly very powerful, and she could even threaten him. She was an expert on the same level as the Seven Skygods themselves, and yet her second arrow seemed to be no different from the first.

    Lu Yin noticed this as well. There was no apparent difference between the two arrows, and they both only had a few sequence particles at their tips. What was this woman doing?

    She raised a hand and fired a third arrow.

    This third arrow pierced the second arrow and once again mmed into the broken pieces of the turtle shell, which were pushed back even further, though they still did not break.

    Lu Yin carefully observed the woman with Heaven¡¯s Sight. Something was off about her attacks. Even ordinary cultivators understood that repeatedly using the same attack against an opponent who could block it was useless. The woman was clearly a very powerful cultivator, so how could she make such a mistake?

    What was she trying to do?

    Lord Xu also felt that something was off about the attacks. To reach his level of strength, he had to be a cautious individual. Since he did not understand what the woman was doing, the Voidlord felt that it would be better to attack himself, rather than allow the woman to continue her own attacks. A surge of voidforce energy swept out, carrying an overwhelming pressure as it rushed towards the woman.

    Her expression did not change as she fired a fourth arrow. This arrow pierced the third arrow, just as her previous attacks had done, and it also mmed into the fragments of the turtle shell. Aside from the powerful impact pushing the fragments a bit closer to Lord Xu, there was no effect at all.

 Chapter 3030: Indestructible?

    <h4>Chapter 3030: Indestructible?</h4>

    Lord Xu¡¯s wariness rose, and he retreated a good distance. Regardless of what the woman intended to do by repeatedly shooting out arrows, there was certainly a purpose, and it would be better if he maintained some distance. A massive amount of voidforce energy had already encircled the woman, and it was about to form the Thermometer of Life.

    The woman fired her fifth arrow, which Heaven¡¯s Sight once again revealed to be absolutely no different from the previous four.

    However, this arrow pierced Lord Xu¡¯s body, drawing a trickle of blood that fell to the ground.

    Lord Xu stared at his bleeding shoulder in disbelief as his blood stained his clothes. How was this possible?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression drastically changed. What had just happened? How had it happened?

    The arrow had gone through Lord Xu, and that prevented him from forming his Thermometer of Life. The woman raised her bow and fired a sixth arrow.

    Lord Xu¡¯s pupils shrank. Given the power of these arrows, he should not have been struck at all, but as he watched the sixth arrow approach, he found himself at a loss to respond.

    Lu Yin moved at the speed of time with Inverse Step, and he pulled Lord Xu away. The arrow continued along its original path, traveling towards the more distant battlefield. Suddenly, the ground froze, and a frigid chill passed over and froze the arrow in the air before it fell.

    The Ice Lord had acted against the arrow. If it had continued and entered therger battle, there was no telling who might be hurt by it.

    While the woman¡¯s arrows appeared to be quite ordinary, they carried such immense power that only sequence powerhouses could block them.

    The Lightning Lord had been caught almost entirely off guard, which was why he had been struck by the sneak attack and seriously injured by a single arrow.

    The woman simply raised her bow and aimed at Lord Xu, who was being dragged away by Lu Yin. Another arrow was fired.

    ¡°She¡¯s acting strange. Don¡¯t catch it,¡± Lord Xu warned.

    Lu Yin did not need the warning. He did not dare to touch the arrows. Ignoring the question of whether or not he could withstand the arrow¡¯s power, there was clearly something odd about the arrows, as that was the only reason why Lord Xu would be so badly injured when he should have been able to block the attack. The way the Voidlord had been wounded was too odd, and without first clearly understanding what had happening, Lu Yin was unwilling to face any of the arrows head-on.

    Moving at the speed of time, Lu Yin dodged again with Lord Xu.

    The second arrow missed, flying through the air, and the woman loosed a third arrow. This one was aimed at Lu Yin.

    His expression changed, and he used Inverse Step to dodge again.

    The arrow missed him again, and a fourth arrow was fired. Lu Yin continued to use Inverse Step to dodge, but inexplicably, Inverse Step failed to dodge this arrow, which was flying straight at his neck.

    Lu Yin had seen something simr before. When he had been captured by the Great Sovereign and taken to the top of the ck Mother Tree to see the Aeternals¡¯ other Scourges, he had been attacked by an arrow. But that one had been far more powerful than the one approaching him at this moment. In fact, if not for the Great Sovereign, Lu Yin would have never avoided that arrow.

    This same woman must have fired that first arrow, which meant that she still had not used her full strength at present. Lu Yin was not facing the same situation as when he had been with the Great Sovereign.

    There was a ng as the arrow grazed Lu Yin¡¯s neck and passed by. While Inverse Step had failed, it did not mean that Lu Yin was without other means of protection. However, Lord Xu was the one who had deflected the arrow for Lu Yin.

    ¡°Something¡¯s off. It¡¯s clear enough that we should be able to dodge or block her arrows, but that simply doesn¡¯t happen. This woman is very strange,¡± Lord Xu said somberly.

    ¡°It¡¯s every five arrows. The fifth arrow will strike, Senior. Warn everyone else,¡± Lu Yin said hastily. After that, he and Lord Xu continued to retreat towards the main battlefield. The scarlet-haired woman¡¯s mysterious yet formidable archery was putting a great deal of pressure on both men.

    The woman turned to face the battlefield and raised her bow to target Mu Ke, who was fighting against Shao Yin. Suddenly, Mu Ke heard Lu Yin¡¯s voice, and he swung his saber to the side and sliced the approaching arrow in half.

    A second arrow was fired.

    Shao Yin appeared surprised, and he turned to look into the distance. Was it her?

    If the fifth arrow was capable of injuring Lord Xu, then Mu Ke would not be an exception. Lu Yin¡¯s warning allowed Mu Ke to decisively open up some distance after he cut down the third arrow.

    The scarlet-haired woman continued to fire her arrows. Her next target was Xu Wuwei. After that, she aimed at the Fire Lord, the Wood Lord, and the Ice Lord. One by one, she aimed at many of the sequence powerhouses present.

    The Fire Lord had a hot temper, and he also refused to believe that he could not stop such a weak arrow. He caught the fifth arrow, and yet it still pierced through him, badly wounding him and forcing him to pull away.

    While the woman¡¯s archery was peerless, she stopped firing when she was unable to see a target.

    One person, firing just one arrow at a time, swiftly seeded in suppressing the entire battlefield.

    Finally, the woman aimed at Lu Tianyi and fired an arrow.

    Ancient God stood by as an arrow whizzed past, going straight for Lu Tianyi. He casually swatted away the arrow and looked at where it hade from. ¡°Who is that woman?¡±

    Ancient God answered in a low voice, ¡°One of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, Arrow God. Be careful. It is not easy to catch her arrows.¡±

    Lu Tianyi was acutely aware of the current situation and how the woman had altered the entire battlefield. This was a troublesome opponent.

    Her arrows were certainly powerful enough to injure sequence powerhouses, but not so powerful that she should have had such an impact on the battlefield. What truly threatened everyone was that some of the arrows simply could not be avoided, and no one wanted to pit the the strength of their bodies against the arrows. This was not a matter of being unable to block the arrows, as some were guaranteed to strike their target, just like what had happened to Lord Xu.

    While the Voidlord might not be any weaker than the archer, taking another one or two arrows would quickly force him towards death¡¯s door.

    Even Lu Tianyi admitted to himself that things would not end well if he was forced to face the woman¡¯s arrows.

    Arrow God fired a second arrow at Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. If no one could handle Arrow God, then this battle was essentially over.

    Several peak powerhouses had already died. If humanity still failed to destroy the First Scourge, Lu Yin would not be satisfied with the oue of this invasion.

    Even so, the invasion had already achieved Lu Yin¡¯s true goal. The Aeternals had suffered terrible losses. More than forty Progenitor-level corpse kings were dead, and only Progenitor Xi, the Seven Skygods, and Shao Yin were still alive in the First Scourge. One of the True God Guard Captains had been killed during the battle, and Wang Fan had been forced to expose his true colors. The being of pure energy had been dealt with, and another one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies had been forced out. The First Scourge¡¯s full strength had been uncovered. This was not at all a bad oue, and yet it feltcking.

    Lu Yin really wanted to kill Wang Fan, the Purple Emperor, the Star Devourer, and ideally, Ancient God. That would be the greatest victory.

    However, all the humans here were already at their limit. Ancestor Tianyi, Lord Xu, Big Sis, the Fire Lord, and Hou Zu had all been badly injured. It was unknown if the Lightning Lord was dead or alive, and other people like Food Sage were too weak to even continue fighting. If another one of the Seven Skygods or the Three Pirs and Six Skies was forced out, there was no doubt that humanity¡¯s forces would be defeated.

    Lu Yin still had a trump card hidden, but that was intended for True God himself.

    Thinking things through, Lu Yin felt rather disheartened as he realized that it was time to end things.

    Suddenly, a brilliant golden light appeared at the entrance of the First Scourge. A long golden cudgel fell from the sky, aiming at Arrow God.

    Arrow God looked over and swiftly attacked. One of her arrows mmed into the golden cudgel, and the impact caused the void to shatter.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth dropped open. Sovereign Dou Sheng?

    Everyone else was simrly stunned. Was Sovereign Dou Sheng joining the fight, despite his severe injuries? He was close to death, and yet he was willing to enter the battle?

    The Purple Emperor was startled. He had personally inflicted many of Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s most serious injuries, and thus he knew that the man should not be able to take action so soon. Was the Sovereign insane? Did he want to die?

    Sovereign Dou Shengughed as he pulled his golden cudgel back and leaped forward, mming into the ground and positioning himself so that he was the one closest to Arrow God.

    Lord Xu could not hold himself back. ¡°Dou Sheng, you¡¯re almost dead on your feet. What are you doing here?¡±

    The man held his golden cudgel as he retorted, ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m about to die?¡±

    Everyone stared at the Sovereign. It was true, at the moment, he looked nothing like the critically wounded man that they had seen before the battle started. He looked like he was fully recovered, but how could that be the case? How could anyone recover so quickly? Even if he had gone to a parallel universe where time passed more quickly, he should not have been able to heal himself so soon.

    Some injuries could heal quickly and be recovered in just days, while other wounds might need years or decades. There were even wounds that might not heal even after hundreds or thousands of years.

    The Seven Skygods, as well as the Great Sovereign and True God himself, had all entered seclusion because their injuries were ones that could not be recovered from quickly.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng should have been in the same condition as the others, so what had happened?

    The Sovereign mmed his golden cudgel to the ground. ¡°I intended to wait for True God to make a move first, but this woman appearing and suppressing the entire battlefield forced me out.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s going on with you?¡± Lord Xu asked, puzzled.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his cudgel tightly. It was clear that he had no intention of exining anything. Instead, he charged straight at Arrow God while swinging his golden cudgel.

    A gust of wind blew by, causing the woman¡¯s scarlet hair to flutter. Her delicate features remained as calm as ever as she watched Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s attack crash down upon her. Her bow rose, and three arrows instantly flew out, one right after the other. The first arrow stopped Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s charge, the second made his cudgel stop, and the third pushed him back. The Sovereign turned around, swinging his golden cudgel again right as the fourth arrow appeared.

    There was a ng as the arrow struck the end of the golden cudgel and pushed the weapon back again. Sovereign Dou Sheng raised a hand and threw a palm strike at Arrow God.

    For the first time, Arrow God moved. It was only then that people realized that she had not taken a single step after she had stopped walking and started firing her arrows.

    She dodged Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s palm and released her fifth arrow.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± Lu Yin shouted.

    The Sovereign charged at the arrow, his cudgel lifted. There was not a single indication of the man intending to block the attack.

    The fifth arrow stabbed right into Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s chest.

    Lu Yin and the others watching were all shocked.

    Lord Xu¡¯s expression changed. Was this man actually seeking death?

    Dou Sheng roared, and his golden cudgel mmed down with enough force to shatter the ground and the void at the same time. Arrow God raised a foot, and her leg blocked the cudgel as another arrow was fired. This sixth arrow was fired straight at Sovereign Dou Sheng from a very close range, and it was impossible for him to dodge.

    The arrow struck the Sovereign¡¯s shoulder, but he just cackled. ¡°Bring it on!¡±

    The golden cudgel mmed down again. Arrow God frowned and loosed a seventh arrow that was aimed at Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s neck.

    The man did not dodge, even as the arrow flew forward and stabbed into his neck, causing golden streaks of blood to leak from the wound. As this happened, Arrow God was pressed to the ground by his cudgel.

    Three arrows had pierced Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s body. His hand rose up and grabbed the shafts, ripping them out and spraying blood everywhere as he smirked. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal.¡±

    Everyone was stunned. Was this man indestructible?

    Even Lu Tianyi was taken aback. Sovereign Dou Sheng was certainly powerful, but the earlier ambush had left him badly wounded. Despite that, he had just withstood multiple arrows that had injured Lord Xu. Even after three arrows struck him, the Sovereign showed no signs of being impeded by his injuries. This did not make any sense, unless...

    Lu Yin stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng and observed the golden glow that flowed over his body. Triumphant Brawl was zing brighter than ever, but hidden beneath the gold light was Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    There was no question about it; the man was using Extremes Must Be Reversed. Lu Yin gulped. Sovereign Dou Sheng had actually mastered Progenitor Ku¡¯s technique.

 Chapter 3031: Qingluo Jiantian

    <h4>Chapter 3031: Qingluo Jiantian</h4>

    It was no wonder why Sovereign Dou Sheng, despite his severe injuries, appeared to be unaffected. Everything had been nothing more than an act from the very beginning. He could use Extremes Must Be Reversed, which meant that, unless he was utterly obliterated by an overwhelming amount of power, he was indestructible.

    Progenitor Ku had used his Extremes Must Be Reversed to venture into the Scourge on his own, face off against True God, and survive the encounter. Sovereign Dou Sheng was capable of doing the same, which meant that his previous injured state had been nothing more than an act.

    Lu Yin felt redundant, which left him feeling bitter. Even if he had not gone to rescue the Sovereign, Dou Sheng could have dealt with the Purple Emperor and the other attackers on his own. The man had hidden his own capabilities too deeply, and thebination of Extremes Must Be Reversed and Triumphant Brawl meant that he possessed an iparable level of power. It was no wonder why Progenitor Xi had mentioned that the man could have eliminated the Purple Emperor and his helpers.

    However, just how had the Sovereigne to possess Extremes Must Be Reversed?

    Arrow God emerged from beneath the ground, and she stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng in astonishment. She was from the Fifth Scourge and was unfamiliar with the enemies of the First Scourge.

    The First Scourge possessed the greatestbat power and the most powerhouses of all the Scourges, including nearly half of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. However, it was still unable to achieve total victory and had even needed to call for reinforcements for this battle. If all the First Scourge¡¯s enemies were like this man, then there was a reason to call for help.

    Arrow God was able to dominate all the parallel universes the Fifth Scourge was tasked with facing, and she had no peer. However, after she came here to help the First Scourge, while her archery had suppressed the entire battlefield, the invading humans could retreat if they chose to. Were these people really Aeternus¡¯s strongest enemies?

    With Sovereign Dou Sheng handling Arrow God, Lu Yin could breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°Senior Voidlord, you don''t need to worry about Arrow God. No matter how strong she may be, she can''t kill Sovereign Dou Sheng. We just need to go deal with our own opponents.¡±

    Lu Yin then promptly used Inverse Step and moved away. He needed to deal with either Mu Ji or Wang Fan.

    Lord Xu took a long look at Sovereign Dou Sheng. This man had hidden his true power very deeply. The strength that the Sovereign was demonstrating was such that he had few peers in the entire Sixverse Association. It was no wonder why he had the courage to stand guard at the entrance to the Scourge on his own.

    High above in the sky, Mu Shen also let out a sigh of relief. He already had a headache dealing with Astral Anura. It was a wee relief to have someone else capable of dealing with Arrow God.

    Astral Anura''s steel trident kept stabbing at Mu Shen. "Die, die, die, die, die...!"

    On the ground below, hidden behind the rubble of a tower, Mu Ji felt miserable once again. This was the third time he had felt a sense of danger. Was Lu Yin targeting him specifically? Mu Ji had to escape as quickly as possible.

    Lu Yin sent the Seven-Star Mantis after Mu Ji, despite feeling dizzy from summoning the champion. Lu Yin was exhausted from the battle, but he had to eliminate Mu Ji.

    Mu Ji did not hesitate to run away, but such efforts were futile when the Seven-Star Mantis was chasing after him at the speed of time. Lu Yin also quickly caught up.

    "Luck! I need luck!" Mu Ji muttered to himself, already pulling out his Roulette of Life and Death. He immediately spun the pointer. He had no idea when the Seven-Star Mantis might attack, which meant that his only option was to spin. Mu Ji could not help but wonder why none of the other powerhouses from Aeternus had appeared yet.

    The Seven-Star Mantis raised one of its des, and it swiftly dropped back down.

    Mu Ji was not able to even see the de approaching, let alone move to block it.

    However, he was extremely lucky. Just as the de fell, the needle on his innate gift came to a stop: Live and Die Together.

    At the same time, the Seven-Star Mantis vanished as its de brushed past Mu Ji''s head and nearly decapitated him.

    The moment that Lu Yin saw the result of the Roulette of Life and Death, he had canceled his summon in shock. Live and Die Together? Could that target him?

    Because of his own die, Lu Yin was very wary of innate gifts like the roulette wheel.

    While someone else might not care about the Roulette of Life and Death and would not believe that it could aplish what Mu Ji proimed, Lu Yin was different.

    His sudden appearance startled Mu Ji, as he understood the incredible speed that Lu Yin was capable of.

    A strand of hair drifted down, fluttering in the wind in front of Mu Ji''s eyes. He had very nearly lost his head.

    Mu Ji''s face grew incredibly pale as he stared at Lu Yin. "Did you attack me?"

    Lu Yin was staring at the Roulette of Life and Death. "Live and Die Together?"

    Mu Ji was terrified. He nced at the roulette wheel, and then back at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re lucky that you didn''t kill me, or else you would have also died."

    Lu Yin gave Mu Ji a skeptical look. While Lu Yin was wary of the Roulette of Life and Death, was the innate gift really able to link Mu Ji¡¯s life to Lu Yin¡¯s? If Mu Ji could link his life to True God¡¯s with the roulette wheel, then would True God also die with Mu Ji?

    Clearly, that was not possible. There had to be limits to the innate gift.

    Still, Lu Yin was not even a Progenitor yet, so there was no way he could exceed the limits of Mu Ji¡¯s innate gift.

    "I would die with you?" Lu Yin asked. Killing intent flickered across his eyes, and his arm suddenly darted out, and he grabbed Mu Ji by the neck to pick him up.

    Mu Ji did not try to fight back and simply allowed Lu Yin to hold him, even as the man¡¯s face turned red. "You- you can''t kill me! If I die, you- so will you!"

    "On what grounds? Just because of your innate gift from the Arboreal Sanctuary?"

    "Yes! If you don''t believe me, just ask Mu Shen."

    Lu Yin started to squeeze. Mu Ji waspletely helpless before Lu Yin.

    "Even if your innate gift can link our lives, there must be limits to it. I won¡¯t kill you, but I can get someone else to do it," Lu Yin spoke grimly.

    Mu Ji struggled to speak. "I- I''ll bu- buy my life with a secret."

    Lu Yin frowned. "A secret? I''m not interested in your secrets."

    "It¡¯s about you!"

    Lu Yin puzzled "A secret about me?"

    Every word that Mu Ji spoke was a struggle. "Yo-, you¡¯re Ye Bo!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes red and his pupils dted. "What nonsense is this?"

    Mu Ji stared at Lu Yin through bloodshot eyes. "Your evil, it¡¯s exactly the same as Ye Bo¡¯s. Yo- you are-"

    As the man spoke, Lu Yin automatically let him go. It was as though some other power had taken control of him. He was about to attack again, but a sh of sword qi swept over, aimed at Lu Yin. He quickly moved back with Inverse Step and turned to see who had attacked. Progenitor Xi had taken action to save Mu Ji.

    Unfortunately, Progenitor Xi was so far away that Lu Yin could not really attack the woman himself.

    Mu Ji softly threatened, "Lu Yin, if you attack me again, I''ll spill your secret."

    "I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about."

    "I swear, I don¡¯t know either. If I break my oath to stay silent, may I never find any peace and be eternally punished by heaven and earth, doomed for eternity."

    Lu Yin eyed Mu Ji warily, not knowing what the man was up to. Mu Ji was making a truly vicious oath, and the higher a person¡¯s cultivation realm, the less they could afford to make such an oath. Some people believed in them, others did not.

    However, Ye Bo was too important an alias for Lu Yin, and he could not afford to make even one mistake.

    Mu Ji had to die.

    Lu Yin moved back with Inverse Step while preparing to attack Mu Ji again, ignoring the man¡¯s threat to expose Lu Yin as Ye Bo. If Lu Yin was outed, he could always just get a new identity. After he cultivated divine energy, any sort of identity was possible.

    Just as Lu Yin took a step forward, the tip of a pale green sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Lu Yin looked around and observed the distant battlefield. As he did, the tip of the pale green sword shed sideways.

    He hastily defended himself, and while the de swept past his body, it did not injure him.

    At that moment, the entire battlefield froze. Everyone, both those fighting for humanity and for Aeternus, was affected by the pale-green sword qi.

    It was Progenitor Xi¡¯s attack.

    As her sword sliced out, her expression remained as calm as ever. However, this calmness gave off a terrifying coldness.

    Across the entire battlefield, even individuals such as Astral Anura, Mu Shen, Lu Tianyi, Ancient God, Sovereign Dou Sheng, Arrow God, and all the others turned to look at Progenitor Xi.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, please, let us allow this battle toe to an end here," she said.

    Her voice was so tranquil that it gave off the impression that she was not speaking about an actual battle, but rather simply describing one.

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Xi across the Scourge, and their eyes met.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, may I?" As she spoke, the mist around Progenitor Xi dispersed to reveal the fallen form of Progenitor Smoke.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. "What happened to Progenitor Smoke?"

    Progenitor Xi spoke casually, "She merely fainted. After all, she is my beloved disciple, and I won¡¯t harm her."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Was Progenitor Smoke reallyProgenitor Xi¡¯s disciple?

    "You want to stop this battle, but on what grounds?"

    Progenitor Xi raised her sword up high and looked at its de. "My Qingluo Intent."

    Lu Yin was left rather confused.

    However, the very next moment, he felt as though the universe had started to spin, and he took an involuntary step forward to steady himself as he nearly fell over. He had been overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness caused by a spiritual force attack.

    Even Lu Yin felt dizzy, despite the many years that he had recited the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra for. In that case, what about everyone else?

    Soft sounds could be heard across the Scourge from people who had copsed; Food Sage, Arrow Sage, Cloudflow, Leng Qing, Mu Tao, Xu Heng had copsed, and even Xu Wuwei and Big Sis, who were sequence powerhouses, were down on one knee, barely able to keep themselves upright.

    The pale-green sword sh had attacked everyone''s spiritual force, and they had all been gravely wounded.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his golden cudgel as he used it to prop himself up.

    Lu Tianyi let out a long breath. He was the only one among humanity¡¯s forces who had remained unaffected. The Lu family practiced the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra as a means ofpensating for theircking spiritual force, and that practice made it incredibly difficult for anyone to use spiritual force attacks against members of the Lu family. Even so, Lu Tianyi was a bit pale.

    "Qingluo Jiantian. So it¡¯s you." Lu Tianyi stared at Progenitor Xi as he spoke slowly.

    It was an unfamiliar name, and Lu Yin had also never heard it before.

    Mu Shen slowly moved down tond on the ground. He cradled his head, also suffering from dizziness. "Qingluo Jiantian? The legendary figure who once forced the Lu family to seek the Origin Progenitor''s guidance in order topensate for theirck of spiritual force?"

    Big Sis was sweating badly as she looked up at Progenitor Xi. "That person¡¯s real?"

    Only people who had lived during the Heavens Sect era had ever heard the name ¡°Qingluo Jiantian.¡± In that distant past, when the Heavens Sect was at its peak, the Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind, and Lu Yuan had been one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    At that time, no one had dared to provoke the Lu family, aside from one person who had challenged the Lu family. Their spiritual force had left the family helpless. That person had been Qingluo Jiantian.

    Why did the Lu family recite the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra to strengthen their spiritual force? It was because of Qingluo Jiantian. That person had revealed the Lu family¡¯s weak spiritual force, and by doing so, she had altered the Lu family.

    Progenitor Xi looked at Lu Tianyi. "It''s been a very long time since Ist used that name."

    Lu Tianyi appeared very contemtive. "I truly never even considered that I might meet you in this era. So you are part of Aeternus."

    Progenitor Xi''s expression remainedpletely indifferent, and she offered no exnation. "Can we end things here?"

    Lu Tianyi looked over at Lu Yin.

    Despite the fact that Lu Tianyi was far stronger and older than Lu Yin, the decision to end or continue the battle rested on Lu Yin. He had earned his authority within the Sixverse Association through numerous battles and ns, and that was how he had gained a status that rivaled even that of the Great Sovereign herself.

    Progenitor Xi was aware of this, and it was why she had first addressed Lu Yin after releasing the spiritual force attack.

 Chapter 3032: Lu Yins Backup Plan

    <h4>Chapter 3032: Lu Yin''s Backup n</h4>

    Lu Yin''s face grew somber.

    Ever since he had first met her, Progenitor Xi had been one of the individuals in Aeternus whom he was most wary of. Someone whom Astral Anura greeted directly and who could address the Great Sovereign as Tai Hong was not someone to be underestimated.

    During the battle when Sovereign Dou Sheng had been ambushed and surrounded, a single sh of Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword had pushed Lord Xu back. That single exchange had shown Lu Yin how powerful the woman was, but he was now realizing that he had still underestimated her.

    A single person with a single sword had forced the Lu family to start reciting the Origin Sutra as a means ofpensating for theircking spiritual force. One only could imagine how much Ancestor Lu Yuan must have dreaded Progenitor Xi. She had to be someone on the same level as Lu Yuan, or possibly even someone in the process of oveing Dukkha. That would exin why even Astral Anura treated Progenitor Xi as an equal.

    Mu Shen was the foundation that Lu Yin had prepared for the invasion of the First Scourge, while Sovereign Dou Sheng had been an unexpected addition. Unfortunately, not even the support of the two powerhouses had been enough for the human forces to suppress Aeternus¡¯s known strength. On top of that, the Aeternals had been reinforced by Astral Anura, Arrow God, and Ancient God. After all that, Progenitor Xi had revealed herself as Qingluo Jiantian. Unless another ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes suddenly appeared, there was absolutely no point in continuing the battle.

    What infuriated Lu Yin the most was that both Mu Ji and Wang Fan were still alive. Wang Fan had revealed himself as a traitor, which meant that he would eventually be dealt with, but Mu Ji was a different kind of threat. He had seen through Ye Bo¡¯s identity and connected that person to Lu Yin. As long as Mu Ji was not dealt with, he would lose Ye Bo as an identity.

    It was also possible that Progenitor Xi had decided to reveal her identity because of Mu Ji. She had already saved him with a sh of her sword earlier in the battle, and then she had done so a second time when Lu Yin had been about to attack. Could Mu Ji be that important to Progenitor Xi?

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ji.

    The man was still moving away and on guard against Lu Yin, even after Progenitor Xi had cowed the entire battlefield.

    Mu Ji had moved very far away from Lu Yin.

    Given the current circumstances, it was no longer possible for Lu Yin to kill Mu Ji.

    "If we had not managed to gain an advantage just now, the battle still would have ended. Dao Monarch Lu, can we stop here?" Progenitor Xi asked for the third time.

    Aside from the odd cry from Astral Anura, there was no other sound on the battlefield.

    Ancient God and Arrow God no longer released any attacks at all.

    The fact that Progenitor Xi had forced humanity¡¯s forces to cease fighting suggested that the humans still held an advantage on the First Scourge. But even if that were true, continuing the battle would result in incalcble losses for both sides.

    On top of that, Progenitor Xi had never used her full strength before. She clearly had her own reservations, and that was the crux of the current matter.

    Lu Yin could clearly recognize the situation. He did not want to lead humanity¡¯s forces to die in the First Scourge, though it was also true that Lu Yin knew that they could force their way back if he decided to retreat. Aeternus could not stop them from leaving. How could Lu Yin have started an invasion without the confidence to retreat when necessary?

    As for the peak powerhouses who had died, the invasion was a single part of the ongoing war. Was there ever war without any deaths? The Aeternals¡¯ casualties far exceeded those of humanity¡¯s, regardless of how deep Aeternus''s foundations might be. It was also clear to see that pushing things any further would result in many more deaths, possibly even Lu Yin¡¯s own. Still, that was the path that needed to be taken, as it was impossible to even hope to achieve victory without clearly understanding Aeternus fully.

    "This battle is over."

    Those four words spread across the Scourge, allowing both sides to breathe a sigh of relief. While this battle had notsted very long, both humanity and Aeternus had lost a number of peak powerhouses, which had not happened in any of the previous battles. Continuing this fight would only lead to more deaths.

    "No way! Yayayaya! I¡¯m going to ughter that human! He tried to cook me! I''ll kill him!" Astral Anura screamed as he hopped about the sky and moved through the void.

    Mu Shen stayed alert.

    Progenitor Xi looked upwards. "Yourpensation will be raised by ten percent."

    These words triggered aplete and total change in Astral Anura¡¯s demeanor. He transformed back into a formal businessman holding a lotus leaf, and he became both formal and respectful. "Thank you, Boss."

    The people on both sides moved back. The humans moved towards the entrance to the Scourge, while the Aeternals moved towards the ck Mother Tree. The entire time, the two sides red at each other, and their killing intent raged.

    If at all possible, they wanted topletely eliminate the other side.

    Lu Yin looked at the Aeternals, and his gaze swept over Mu Ji, Wang Fan, Wang Xiaoyu, Shao Yin, Ancient God, and Arrow God before finally resting on Progenitor Xi.

    The woman was staring straight back at Lu Yin. There were profound meanings in that nce.

    ...

    After humanity¡¯s forces retreated from the Scourge, Mu Ji and the others were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

    Ancient God spoke in a grave tone. "The biggest mistake we ever made was allowing Lu Xiaoxuan to grow unchecked. He is the catalyst behind this entire battle."

    Wang Fan agreed, "Lu Xiaoxuan has be a symbol for humanity. This is something that the Lu family is adept at manipting and using. We need to find a way to deal with him."

    Shao Yin''s eyes were cial. "That little beast must die."

    Progenitor Xi calmlymented, "That day is not far, but this is not the time for a desperate struggle. As soon as the Ossis Ark arrives, the Sixverse Association will be a footnote in history. Everyone, we must be patient for now."

    The mention of the Ossis Ark caused Shao Yin''s expression to change drastically. That was the Aeternals¡¯ most terrifying weapon of destruction.

    Arrow God spoke in a clear, cold voice, "Your First Scourge is always so busy."

    Progenitor Xi looked over at the other woman. "Do you find it interesting? We still need to find onest Skygod. You could take that position."

    Arrow God turned around and started walking away. "Not interested."

    While the Three Pirs and Six Skies and the Seven Skygods possessed simr levels of strength, their responsibilities were different.

    If Arrow God joined the Seven Skygods, she would have to abandon the wars she fought in the Fifth Scourge and stay in the First Scourge, just like ckless God. The First Scourge¡¯s primary purpose was to fight against the Sixverse Association, and no one could change that.

    "The Divine Selection is approaching. In the past, your First Scourge rarely participated, but I hope to see you join this time. While my Fifth Scourge doesn''t face a situation nearly as intense as you do here, our elites are in no way inferior to yours." Arrow God¡¯s voice rang out and entered the ears of Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, and the others.

    Ancient God shook his head. "The situation we face here in the First Scourge means that we are always short of peak powerhouses, and we never have enough to send them to participate in the Divine Selection. Besides, we in the First Scourge are able to speak directly to True God, so there is no need for us to participate in the Divine Selection. The Seven Skygods are also positions that do not need to be determined through that challenge. There is no meaning in having our people participate."

    Progenitor Xi casually replied, "This privilege is precisely why the other five Scourges hold a grudge against us. The Seven Skygods are equal to the Three Pirs and Six Skies, but thetter nine positions can only be obtained through the Divine Selection. In contrast, only the people of our First Scourge can be a Skygod, and the other Scourges feel that that is unfair.

    "Most of those who have passed the Divine Selectione to our First Scourge, and with the constant wars that we face, most of them die and very few survive, which has led to even greater dissatisfaction among the other Scourges. There¡¯s no other reason for Arrow God to have specifically mentioned it. If even she mentions it, then the other five Scourges are certainly even more concerned."

    Ancient God looked over at Progenitor Xi. "What do you suggest?"

    "That we participate."

    Ancient God did not object. "Who will represent us? Our First Scourge is missing nearly half of our True God Guard Captains. Cheng Kong would have been a good choice, but he''s also dead."

    He then nced over at Shao Yin. "Shao Yin is qualified to be one of the Seven Skygods. There¡¯s no need for him to participate."

    Progenitor Xi''s eyes flickered. "We''ll discuss things when the time is closer. I already have a candidate in mind. For now, seal off the First Scourge. Lu Yin is extremely shrewd, and he will likely n another invasion for when Tai Hong and Lu Yuan emerge from seclusion. Tai Hong is no longer the one making the decisions.

    "Lu Yin has already forced Tai Hong out of seclusion, and yet she did not kill him. It¡¯s clear that she regards him very highly. We need to constantly stay on guard against him.

    "I have a premonition that if we are negligent, he may very well destroy this Scourge."

    ...

    Far away, beyond where the First Scourge connected to the Endless Frontier, Lu Yin and the others carried three corpses back to the Sixverse Association: Bureau Director Gan, Chen Le, and Shan Pu.

    The Lightning Lord had been seriously injured, and Chu Jian had managed to survive. Lu Yin had not expected that.

    Chu Jian had been struck by Ancient God and then also attacked by Arrow God. The Lightning Lord had been seriously injured by Arrow God¡¯s attack, but Chu Jian had managed to avoid the injuries with his innate gift, which was the unexpected part.

    As long as someone did not know what Chu Jian''s innate gift was, they would struggle to kill him.

    Still, Chu Jian was not in good shape, and he had been gravely wounded in the battle.

    Ancestor Tianyi, Big Sister, and many others had been seriously injured as well. There were many people who would need to take a long time to recuperate.

    There was a bang as Sovereign Dou Sheng mmed his golden cudgel on the ground. "You all head on back. I''ll stay here."

    No one knew what to say. Sovereign Dou Sheng''s invincibility had already left many people speechless.

    Lu Yin spoke a few words to everyone before dismissing them. They all needed to head home and recuperate. While the invasion had not achieved the desired goal, it had still been a historic moment for the Sixverse Association to take such action. There was no doubt that people would be inspired.

    The Endless Frontier was entirely under the control of the Sixverse Association now. The Aeternals¡¯ forces had been driven back and forced to hide in the Scourge. This was already more than enough to cause countless people throughout the Sixverse Association to cheer.

    Lu Yin made it a point to specially thank the Five Spirits Alliance. If it were not for them, they would not nearly had enough sequence powerhouses to carry out the invasion.

    "Take this cosmic door with you," Lu Yin told them.

    He had taken a cosmic door from the Scourge that directly led to the First Scourge. His reason for doing so was readily evident; as long as True God attacked, Lu Yin would go and provoke the Great Sovereign. If the Sixverse Association fell to a disadvantage against Aeternus, Lu Yin would go and provoke the Great Sovereign. He had already done it once, so what did it matter if he did it once or twice more?

    Lu Yin''s back-up n left Sovereign Dou Sheng speechless. While he and the Great Sovereign were at odds with each other and often argued, the man had never tried to do such a thing.

    Aside from bothering the Great Sovereign, no one knew whether Lu Yin had any other back-up ns in ce.

    One by one, everyone left. In the end, Lu Yin alone remained behind to speak with Sovereign Dou Sheng. The man had asked Lu Yin to stay back.

    "Senior, is something wrong?" Lu Yin asked as he observed Sovereign Dou Sheng. The man lookedpletely miserable, but after learning that the Sovereign had learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin understood just how tough the man was. The Sovereign could not be killed.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng admired Lu Yin. "Rather than the Great Sovereign, it would be better for the Sixverse Association to be controlled by you. In the future, if another battle is being nned,e find me. I¡¯ll fight whenever you need. Just point where I should go."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for your support, Senior."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was curious about something. "How did you know I was surrounded and under attack?"

    While the Sovereign had been confident that he could deal with the Purple Emperor and the others who had attacked him, he would have been forced to expose Extremes Must Be Reversed. Otherwise, he would have died without Lu Yin''s rescue. Before the invasion, no one had known that Sovereign Dou Shen cultivated Extremes Must Be Reversed, which meant he had genuinely tried to save the Sovereign, and he would remember this life debt.

    Lu Yin replied, "It was a coincidence that I found out when I found the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng did not press the matter further. "I will never forget how you saved me."

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Senior, please don''t be condescending. If I hadn''t shown up, you might have killed all three outsider powerhouses that attacked you. Not even the Purple Emperor would have escaped. We struggled to kill the being of pure energy, and I very nearly failed."

 Chapter 3033: Scouting The Path

    <h4>Chapter 3033: Scouting The Path</h4>

    Sovereign Dou Sheng shook his head upon hearing Lu Yin¡¯s words. "You can''t say it like that. You really did save me. It would have been ideal if I could have kept Extremes Must Be Reversed hidden. I was nning to wait for True God to attack before I revealed anything, just like Ku Jie. I was going to fight True God with my full strength, as it¡¯s difficult for me to die. However, Arrow God showed up. That woman is an incredibly difficult opponent."

    Lu Yin could not suppress his admiration. When Progenitor Xi had used her sword to stop the battle, both sides had ceased fighting. At that time, Lu Yin had noticed that Sovereign Dou Sheng had been pierced by dozens of arrows. Anyone else in that situation would have died, even Lord Xu. However, Sovereign Dou Sheng just bore all of his injuries with Extremes Must Be Reversed. While Arrow God might have appeared to bepletely unharmed, Lu Yin was fully confident that there was no way that she was truly unaffected by Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s powerful attacks.

    "Senior, what can you tell me about Arrow God?" Lu Yin felt that he had to ask this question.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s expression grew serious. "That¡¯s one of the reasons why I asked you to stay back. That woman is very tough to deal with. In addition to her perfect aim with her arrows, she can also undergo a Corpse King Transformation. She might look delicate, but she was able to withstand my attacks. She cannot be underestimated at all."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. He had already known that Arrow God would not be an easy opponent. After all, the woman was one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Still, it was a surprise to learn that she could undergo a Corpse King Transformation.

    He had never seen such a beautiful woman use the Corpse King Transformation before.

    "Also, thew of the universe that she has mastered is troublesome. If I''m not mistaken, it¡¯s something like chaotic disorder, which is why she¡¯s able to disorient her opponent every few shots. If you face her, you must be very cautious. She has certainly cultivated divine energy, though she never revealed that. Honestly, in a one-on-one fight, I might not be able to kill her, though she would struggle even more to actually kill me," Sovereign Dou Sheng was open and honest with his thoughts.

    The only peak powerhouses in the First Scourge that Sovereign Dou Sheng would admit to struggle to kill in a one-on-one fight were the Seven Skygods. There was no doubt that the Three Pirs and Six Skies were just as powerful as the Seven Skygods.

    Fortunately, there was a bit of ovep between the two titles, which reduced the number of terrifying experts that humanity was up against. How could humanity ever hope to face off against the Seven Skygods in addition to another Three Pirs and Six Skies? If Aeternus had that many experts, what hope could they have?

    "I understand. I won¡¯t underestimate her," Lu Yin replied. "Senior, I should be going now."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng then asked, "By the way, would you like to learn Triumphant Brawl?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback, though it was a very pleasant surprise. "Can I?"

    Sovereign Dou Shengughed loudly. "I knew you¡¯d be interested! Triumphant Brawl is a perfectplement to Extremes Must Be Reversed. Ku Jie also said that once. I met him here at the entrance to the Scourge, and we became close friends. We ended up teaching each other our skills. You¡¯ve already learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, haven¡¯t you?"

    "You learned Extremes Must Be Reversed from Progenitor Ku himself?"

    "That¡¯s right. He charged across the Endless Frontier, and coincidentally, at that time I was being attacked..."

    Lu Yin was very interested in the story. While the people of the Fifth Maind were somewhat familiar with Progenitor Ku, Lu Yin had never heard anyone from the Sixverse Association mention the man.

    However, Progenitor Ku had invaded Aeternus on his own, which meant that he had to enter the First Scourge. It really should not be a surprise that he had met Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng held Progenitor Ku in very high regards, and he had been genuinely amazed by Extremes Must Be Reversed. "I can¡¯t even imagine what a person must have gone through to create a power that breaks the norms in such a manner. Honestly, he was incredibly difficult to kill, though his means of attack were rathercking. He told me that he was invading Aeternus to kill True God, and Iughed at him."

    Lu Yin was speechless.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a long breath. "I also wanted to go into the Scourge to attack True God. When I said it, the Great Sovereignughed, just like how I hadughed at Ku Jie. In the end, I didn¡¯t go because I could see the gap between us. But Ku Jie went anyways. Before he left, he told me, ''I can¡¯t see any gap, so I need to explore. I¡¯ll pave the way for future generations.''

    "He made it sound like he was just going on a trip, but after that, I never saw him again."

    At this time, Sovereign Dou Sheng''s voice dropped lower. "I really admire him. Over the countless years, I''ve never admired the Great Sovereign in the same way. Only Ku Jie has ever earned my respect. I truly wish that I had went with him back then, if possible."

    "Senior, you have stood guard at the entrance to the Scourge for many years, and no one can deny your contributions to humanity. Everyone has their own responsibilities that they need to bear," Lu Yin replied. He could imagine just how determined Progenitor Ku must have been to invade the Scourge on his own with no intention of ever returning. The man¡¯s only goal had been to pave the way for future generations of humans.

    <i>Wait</i>... If the man had intended to explore and pave the way for future generations, then he must have intended to send information back. Lu Yin immediately asked Sovereign Dou Sheng about this, but the man just shook his head. "I don''t know anything about that. He never gave me any information.

    "I waited for many, many years, hoping that he might send something back. When the Lord of Lightning entered the Scourge, I followed without any hesitation, just so that I could search for any clues that Ku Jie might have left behind. When the Great Sovereign entered the Scourge with you, I did the same. I¡¯ve searched it several times over the years, but I¡¯ve never found anything at all."

    Lu Yin frowned as he looked towards the Scourge. This did not make any sense. Given Progenitor Ku¡¯s personality, if he had discovered anything at all, he definitely would have left a clue behind. He had gone from an ugly man who had been discarded by the Ku family, to a low-profile Progenitor. Later, he had inherited one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and eventually created Extremes Must Be Reversed, reaching a level of strengthparable to Progenitor Chen himself. There was no way the man would have gone to his death without leaving something behind.

    Could it still be in the First Scourge?

    In the dim light, Sovereign Dou Sheng sat beside his golden cudgel as he shared his friendship with Progenitor Ku. The man¡¯s reminiscent mood caused a surge of casualness and heroism to well up within Lu Yin, and he was reminded of the time he had drunk with Cai Jianqiang and Zi Rong. The way men became friends was quite simple: if they could see eye to eye, they would fight and drink together. It was easy to form a bond that wouldst for the rest of their lives, especially at a ce like the entrance to the Scourge where one constantly faced the risk of death.

    In the past, Sovereign Dou Sheng had truly wanted to invade the Scourge with Progenitor Ku, even if it meant dying there. For many years, the Sovereign had regretted not going.

    Like Lu Yin had mentioned, everyone had their own responsibilities. Some people could abandon everything and seek death, but that was only because others would carry the burden of living on. There were times when living was not easier than death.

    "Progenitor Ku has returned," Lu Yin stated.

    Thement startled and confused Sovereign Dou Sheng. "What did you say?"

    Lu Yin smiled at the older man. "Progenitor Ku has returned. My Lu family brought him back."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng''s eyes red and filled with excitement. "Truly?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Unfortunately, he¡¯s basically a living corpse right now. No one can wake him up. Would you like to see him, Senior?"

    Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a bellowingugh. "There¡¯s no need for that! Just knowing that he''s still alive is enough. A man like him can¡¯t sleep forever. He''ll wake up eventually, and I¡¯ll wait for that day and meet him again here at the entrance to the Scourge. When that dayes, I''ll definitely join him, and we¡¯ll invade the Scourge together, haha!¡±

    Lu Yin admired the pure camaraderie born from battle. He and Jiang Chen enjoyed something rather simr, though Lu Yin¡¯s responsibilities were much heavier.

    "Awesome!" Sovereign Dou Sheng shouted as he hefted his cudgel up high. "Listen carefully, what is known as Triumphant Brawl is all about embracing death. There can be no self, no desires, no fear, no want, no greed from the past, and no fear of the future..."

    As the cudgel mmed into the ground with a loud bang, Lu Yin was jolted awake.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s words echoed in Lu Yin''s mind. Was this really Triumphant Brawl? It was clearly a path that nudged a person towards death, while dragging their enemies along.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was an absolute madman! How could anyone yearn for death so much that they created Triumphant Brawl?

    And yet, someone who pursued death with such dedication had also managed to learn Extremes Must Be Reversed, which made it incredibly difficult for him to die. No wonder Extremes Must Be Reversed and Triumphant Brawl were such a perfect match. It was like two people standing at the edge of a cliff, one with wings, and the other without. The one with wings was insanely seeking death and insisted on dragging the wingless off the cliff. The wingless one would surely die, while paradoxically, the one seeking death would not. This was an infuriatingbination of battle techniques.

    Anyone who fought against Sovereign Dou Sheng would be in the position of the wingless person being dragged off the cliff. Regardless of the battle¡¯s results, Sovereign Dou Sheng simply could not die.

    This was a disgustingbination of battle techniques.

    Lu Yin left, still amazed at Triumphant Brawl and shocked by Sovereign Dou Sheng''s desire to pursue death. It was undeniable that this man was the one best suited to standing guard at the entrance to the Scourge.

    At this time, the Sixverse Association erupted into celebration at Aeternus¡¯s full retreat. They had learned that the entrance to the Scourge had been sealed, which marked a temporary end to the endless war that constantly raged between humanity and Aeternus. Mankind had earned a human victory.

    There would be no threat from the Aeternals for a long period of time.

    Aeternus had always presented a terrifying threat to the Sixverse Association. There had always been the Seven Skygods, Cheng Kong, and the True God Guard. At the moment, the Seven Skygods were in seclusion and remained there, while a number of them had died. Cheng Kong, the Aeternals¡¯ most terrifying assassin, was also gone, while nearly half of the True God Guard and their captains had been eliminated. All of this was solely thanks to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s reputation in the Sixverse Association spiked even higher.

    As for those who had died during the invasion¡ªBureau Director Gan, Chen Le, and Shan Pu¡ªtheir sacrifices were also celebrated. Was there ever a war with no casualties?

    When Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, he heard his praises being sung everywhere. Invading the First Scourge had sessfully forced the Aeternals topletely turtle up in their shells.

    However, Lu Yin was not able to rx. They had only managed to suppress the First Scourge and force the Aeternals to go into istion. This made it harder than ever before for the Sixverse Association to force their way into the First Scourge. Aeternus was undoubtedly waiting for a chance to counterattack.

    In the Heavens Sect, Chen Le¡¯s death went virtually unnoticed. The man had not had a good reputation within the Heavens Sect; he had been a gloomy person, and he had also betrayed the Three Monarchs Universe. His past aplishments had also failed to impress people like Arch-Elder Zen. Even Monarch Xing merely muttered an "Oh" and gave the Monarch¡¯s death no further thought.

    Qing Ping approached Lu Yin and delivered unexpected news; there was a problem with Marquis Wu.

    Lu Yin found this odd. "Senior Brother, did you also judge Marquis Wu on whether or not he has betrayed humanity?"

    "No," Qing Ping replied. "During this invasion, I was supposed to deal with Marquis Wang, but Marquis Wu intercepted me, and he gave me a cosmic ring that contains a cosmic door."

    Lu Yin took the ring. First Marquis Wang, and then Marquis Wu. Why had both of them sought out Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother?

    The incident with Marquis Wang had been a pure ident, but Marquis Wu... Could the man know Qing Ping?

    "Where does this cosmic door lead to?" Lu Yin mumbled as he toyed with the cosmic ring.

    "I''ve already checked, and it¡¯s just a in an ordinary parallel universe," Qing Ping replied.

    "You''ve already been there?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Qing Ping nodded. "That should be where Marquis Wu wishes to meet us."

    "Senior Brother, that was quite the risk!"

    "The responsibility was given to me, so of course I needed to handle it."

    Lu Yin was not too worried. For the time being, the First Scourgecked the power to ambush him, and he was quite curious about why Marquis Wu wanted to arrange a meeting.

    Could the Marquis be the human spy who was hidden among the Aeternals?

    There was also a problem with Wang Xiaoyu. If Marquis Wu was also a human spy, then in addition to the fact that Ye Bo was actually Lu Yin, then the True God Guard Captains were rather busy.

    "Senior Brother, you didn''t meet Marquis Wu?"

    "No, but I found two characters on that: Hui Wu."

    "Hui Wu?" Lu Yin grew puzzled. It sounded like a name that belonged to someone from the Hui family.

    "I''ve already checked," Qing Ping continued. "Hui Wu is indeed a name recorded in the Hui family¡¯s records. He¡¯s the son of Progenitor Hui, an elder of the Hui family."

    Lu Yin was astonished. "He¡¯s Progenitor Hui¡¯s son?"

 Chapter 3034: Hui Wu

    <h4>Chapter 3034: Hui Wu</h4>

    Qing Ping nodded. ¡°The Hui family still lives in the Fifth Maind, which is why Marquis Wu sought me out during the invasion. However, like all the other True God Guard Captains, he has cultivated divine energy. On top of that, given that he is the son of Progenitor Hui, it¡¯s unlikely for him to not be under the Aeternals¡¯ control. Because of that, the best choice would be to get some details from the Hui family.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go right now,¡± Lu Yin stated gravely. Given that this was a matter that concerned Progenitor Hui, Lu Yin needed to understand thingspletely.

    He soon arrived at the Hui family¡¯s territory in the Neoverse.

    When the Aeternals had attacked the Fifth Maind and poisoned its stellr energy, the Seven Courts had relocated to the Outerverse. Only after the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword purified the Fifth Maind had they returned to the Neoverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival created quite a stir within the Hui family. He was no longer the same person as the one who had visited the family in the past. Lu Yin¡¯s current status could absolutely determine the fate of the entire Hui family.

    The patriarch of the Hui family, Hui Zhi, led the family out to greet Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin lifted Hui Kong back up. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s no need to be so formal, is there?¡±

    Hui Kongughed merrily. ¡°Formality can¡¯t be discarded. Even elders from your Lu family must bow to you within the Heavens Sect.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only in the Heavens Sect. Alright, Brother, I came here to confirm some information with your Hui family.¡±

    ¡°Of course, go right ahead.¡± Hui Kong was always a straightforward person, and he was pleased to see Lu Yin treat him in the same manner as before. This was Hui Kong¡¯s little brother, Lu Yin.

    However, when Lu Yin mentioned the name Hui Wu, Hui Kong¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Why are you bringing him up?¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard by the reaction. ¡°What¡¯s the problem with him?¡±

    Hui Kong¡¯s expression fell even further. ¡°Hui Wu was the son of Progenitor Hui, which makes him one of our ancient ancestors. However, he was an uneducated troublemaker who misused Progenitor Hui¡¯s influence to create problems everywhere. Finally, Progenitor Hui gave his son a harsh punishment, confining him within the Daosource Sect. His crimes were so extreme that our family nearly disowned him. If not because of our respect for Progenitor Hui, Hui Wu would have absolutely been struck from our family records.¡±

    Lu Yin now understood why Qing Ping had not been able to find out almost anything about Hui Wu. He was Progenitor Hui¡¯s son, and Hui Kong¡¯s exnation filled in the rest.

    ¡°Why are you suddenly asking about Hui Wu?¡± Hui Kong was curious.

    Lu Yin did not intend to share the truth with the Hui family, but he also did not want to make things up or lie to Hui Kong. ¡°Please forgive me, Brother, but I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Hui Kong smiled. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Just tell me whenever you can.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Brother. I would like to know everything your family knows about Hui Wu,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Hui Kong nodded. ¡°While nothing more than Hui Wu¡¯s name is mentioned in our family records, his deeds were saved down. Here, let me show you.¡±

    Lu Yin was soon looking at a copy of the Hui family¡¯s records that they kept hidden from outsiders. At the very bottom, Hui Wu¡¯s information was kept.

    Hui Wu was the son of Progenitor Hui, and shortly after he was born, his mother had died. Progenitor Hui had then gone into seclusion for a century, and by the time he emerged, Hui Wu had already grown to be an adult.

    At that time, the strongest cultivator in the Hui family other than Progenitor Hui had merely been an Envoy, which had practically no significance in the Fifth Maind.

    The Hui family had treated the birth of Hui Wu like the arrival of a deity, exalting him to the heavens without offering him any guidance. This had spoiled him and caused him to develop a very willful personality that had created numerous issues throughout the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin carefully reviewed the ounts of the various incidents, most of which were nothing more than the acts of an arrogant youth and were not too terrible. However, one certain act had caused Hui Wu to be imprisoned within the Daosource Sect and nearly disowned by the Hui family, and it had urred in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect. The man had insulted the statue of the Origin Progenitor. ¡°You are a sinner, and you led all of mankind astray.¡±

    Hui Wu¡¯s insult was not merely targeted at the Daosource Sect, but also the Origin Progenitor, who was revered as the origin of all human cultivation.

    The utterance of those words had shaken the entire Daosource Sect, and Lu Tianyi had personally imprisoned Hui Wu. The man had been condemned to imprisonment for the rest of his life, and he had not been released even after Progenitor Hui emerged from seclusion. When the Progenitor learned of what had happened, he simply made a brief visit to the Daosource Sect and then left without another word. From that moment on, the name of Hui Wu became a taboo for the members of the Hui family.

    The name ¡°Hui Wu¡± was never mentioned after that, and the Hui family lost an ancestor. It was during the Daosource Sect era that elites from all walks of life hadpeted for supremacy and when the Perennial World had split away from the Fifth Maind. None of these events had anything to do with Hui Wu. From the records of that era, it was as though the man hadpletely disappeared.

    Lu Yin looked up. ¡°Brother, what happened to Hui Wu during the Daosource Sect?¡±

    Hui Kong shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. No one ever dared to mention the matter. At the time, no one from the Hui family dared to question Progenitor Hui, so nothing was asked until after Progenitor Hui vanished and the Technocracy appeared. Now, even Progenitor Hui is rarely mentioned, let alone Hui Wu.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Hui Kong. ¡°Brother, if it¡¯s possible, I would like to see the Hui family¡¯s Golden Meteors battle technique.¡±

    Hui Kong was surprised. ¡°Golden Meteors?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Hui Kong felt quite puzzled. ¡°Of course I can show it to you, but given your current abilities, Golden Meteors won¡¯t be of much help to you.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to observe the Golden Meteors battle technique because of what he learned from Xu Wuwei and Qing Ping.

    When Aeternus had sent the True God Guard Captains to attack the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, Lu Yin had gathered a group of experts from the Sixverse Association to target the captains. Xu Wuwei had faced off against Marquis Wu, and he had shared details of the battle with Lu Yin. What caught Lu Yin¡¯s notice the most was the fact that, when he used divine energy, it had formed meteors that fell from the sky. Aside from the one technique, Marquis Wu had never used divine energy for anything else.

    During the invasion of the Scourge, Marquis Wu had used the technique again against Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping.

    The technique had to be Golden Meteors, simply infused with divine energy.

    Brother Hui Kong had previously mentioned to Lu Yin that Golden Meteors was a technique that could be cultivated over time. The longer a person cultivated the technique, the greater the power that could be unleashed. Hui Kong had personally cultivated Golden Meteors in the Technocracy, and when he used it, he had forced Wang Shang to retreat. If it was possible to cultivate Golden Meteors with divine energy, then could Marquis Wu really be Hui Wu, and could he have diverted all of his divine energy into Golden Meteors in order to personally remain uncorrupted by the divine energy?

    Both Xu Wuwei and Qing Ping had said that they had never seen any trace of divine energy on Marquis Wu himself. The True God Guard Captain all had to be able to cultivate divine energy, and that included people like Mu Ji, who had been submerged beneath ake of divine energy for hundreds of years. Thus, diverting divine energy to Golden Meteors seemed like a reasonable way for Marquis Wu to prove that he could cultivate divine energy and be a True God Guard Captain.

    This was why Lu Yin wanted to check if it was indeed possible to cultivate divine energy externally with Golden Meteors.

    It was not long before he saw the battle technique.

    The Hui family¡¯s Golden Meteors was simr to voidforce energy. However, while people from the Voidforce Universe cultivated voidforce puppets, which contained arge amount of voidforce energy that could be used during battle, Golden Meteors was a technique that could be cultivated freely without a connection to anything.

    Lu Yin felt that Golden Meteors seemed superior to cultivating voidforce puppets, as it was possible to create a tool separate from the cultivator through sheer power. Not only that, but a single attack could be released when needed, or an entire barrage. It could be a shocking tactic when used.

    ¡°Was this battle technique created by Progenitor Hui?¡± Lu Yin marveled.

    ¡°Yes. Our Hui family did not have this technique before Progenitor Hui. This is a legacy that he left to us, much like the Hui Secret Art.¡±

    Lu Yinmented, ¡°Who said that Progenitor Hui wasn¡¯t any good atbat? He simply used a different style from Progenitor Chen.¡±

    Hui Kong proudly agreed, ¡°Exactly!¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless, as he had not been offering a purepliment. From what Lu Yin understood, Golden Meteors was perfect for ambushes or sneak attacks. If it was impossible to defeat an opponent, then one could lure them to where Golden Meteors had been cultivated and release everything at once. Who could withstand such an assault?

    Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku fought openly and honorably, but Progenitor Hui¡¯s methods had been different. Lu Yin did not know how else to put it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation meant that he was able to understand Golden Meteors with just a nce.

    He closed his eyes and simted the technique in his mind, which let him quickly understand that it was not impossible to cultivate Golden Meteors with divine energy. However, in order to do that, the cultivator¡¯s body needed to serve as a vessel, because the power that created the Golden Meteors needed toe from the cultivator themselves.

    This meant that divine energy had to travel through a person¡¯s body. It was debatable whether or not Hui Wu was under the control of divine energy.

    As for Wang Xiaoyu, both Lu Yin¡¯s Senior Brother Qing Ping and Progenitor Chen regarded the woman as trustworthy, but that was before she had be a True God Guard Captain. She had since cultivated divine energy, so could Wang Xiaoyu still be trusted?

    Lu Yin thought about things for a moment, but then gave a wry smile. He himself cultivated divine energy, and yet he was doubting others.

    No matter what, it was necessary to first meet with Marquis Wu. Since the Marquis wished to meet Lu Yin, he needed to go in person, regardless of if the Aeternals were setting a trap.

    Lu Yin left the Neoverse and returned to the Heavens Sect. Once there, he led his senior brothers, Qing Ping and Mu Xie, to the Lu Sanctum. Once they were all in front of Lu Tianyi, Lu Yin opened the cosmic door. ¡°Ancestor, if there¡¯s danger on the other side, things could be troublesome.¡±

    Lu Tianyi was staring at the cosmic door. ¡°Are you returning to the Scourge?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to go meet someone,¡± Lu Yin replied before passing through the cosmic door. Qing Ping and Mu Xie followed right behind him.

    After passing through the cosmic door, Lu Yin found himself on a deste that was covered with weeds. There were strange insects crawling about and a dark sky above. This was far away from its sun.

    He saw the name ¡°Hui Wu¡± written inrge characters on the ground, as though the author had been afraid that they would be overlooked.

    Not knowing when the other party would arrive, Lu Yin released his domain to search the nearby area.

    Mu Xie ventured out to scout the area.

    He returned dayster. ¡°There are no humans in this universe, only astral beasts. The strongest are barely capable of moving through outer space.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°In that case, this shouldn¡¯t be a trap. Let¡¯s wait. We just invaded the Scourge, so it won¡¯t be easy for any of the True God Guard Captains to leave anytime soon.¡±

    They waited for half a month.

    After that, all three men simultaneously looked in the same direction, as they had sensed someone approaching.

    As the figure arrived, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Sure enough, it was Marquis Wu.

    Aeternus had stationed twelve Semi-Progenitor-level cultivators, known as the Twelve Marquises, on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. Marquis Wu had served as their leader, and Wang Xiaoyu had been right below him.

    The Twelve Marquises had fought against the Perennial World for many years, right up until Lu Yin discovered Undying God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar, Liu Song. That discovery had prompted Undying God to force his way into the Perennial World with his real body. Ultimately, Aeternus¡¯s forces had been driven out of the Perennial World, and the Twelve Marquises had also retreated, though nearly half of them had perished in the process.

    Marquis Wu had been the leader of the Twelve Marquises, but Lu Yin had never met the man before.

    ¡°Marquis Wu?¡± Lu Yin called out.

    The mannded on the and faced Lu Yin. ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, it has been a long time.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Marquis Wu stared at Lu Yin. ¡°Hui Wu.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Hui¡¯s son?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°How did you be one of Aeternus¡¯s Twelve Marquis? On top of that, how did you be one of the True God Guard Captains?¡±

 Chapter 3035: Corpse Godâ€™s Whereabouts

    <h4>Chapter 3035: Corpse God¡¯s Whereabouts</h4>

    Marquis Wu let out a breath. He took a few steps to the side and sat down on arge rock. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but I¡¯ll keep things short. The truth is that I was ced in Aeternus by my father and Senior Lu Tianyi.¡±

    Lu Yin and his two senior brothers were all stunned. ¡°Progenitor Hui and Ancestor Tianyi?¡±

    Marquis Wu nodded.

    Lu Yin nced at Senior Brother Qing Ping and then at Senior Brother Mu Xie. They had entered this parallel universe from the Lu Sanctum, and they had even done so right in front of Ancestor Tianyi. The man had known all along. They should have asked about this matter earlier.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Marquis Wu made a weing gesture. ¡°You can ask Senior Tianyi about it whenever you wish, though if you can contact my father, that would also be good. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s dead.¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate at all as he turned and walked to the cosmic door, which left Marquis Wu quite puzzled. ¡°What is he doing?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s going to go speak with Senior Tianyi. He¡¯s just on the other side of that cosmic door,¡± Mu Xie exined.

    Marquis Wu felt this was a bit odd. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention anything to Senior Tianyi beforeing here?¡±

    Neither Qing Ping nor Mu Xie answered. It was true that they had spent half a month in the universe without speaking to Progenitor Tianyi, but that was mostly because the man had not asked about what Lu Yin and the other two were doing.

    Lu Yin was already meeting with Lu Tianyi.

    ¡°Ancestor, you know about Hui Wu,¡± Lu Yin directly said.

    Lu Tianyi was caught off guard. ¡°Why are you asking about him at this time?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°One of Aeternus¡¯s True God Guard Captains, Marquis Wu, is just on the other side of that cosmic door. He ims to be Hui Wu.¡±

    Lu Tianyi showed no surprise at all. ¡°Then it seems that he has learned of something vitally important. He wouldn¡¯t have exposed himself otherwise.¡±

    Lu Yin blinked. ¡°Is he really a spy?¡±

    Lu Tianyi walked to the cosmic door. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet him.¡±

    He stepped through, and Lu Yin quickly followed.

    On the deste, Marquis Wu¡¯s expression changed quite strongly when Lu Tianyi appeared. There was both excitement and relief upon his features.

    Lu Tianyi looked at Marquis Wu. ¡°We didn¡¯t meet when the Scourge was invaded. I didn¡¯t expect you to reach out to us on your own. It¡¯s been a long time, Little Wu.¡±

    Marquis Wu¡¯s face betrayedplex emotions as he stood up. He clenched his fists and then rxed them again as he took a deep breath. He released it in a roar that was so forceful it cracked the ground. It was as though the man was venting.

    Lu Yin and the others watched Marquis Wu at this moment. He changed. A moment before, he had been like one of the Aeternals¡¯ corpse kings, but at this moment, he seemed entirely human, both flesh and blood.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Senior Tianyi. I thought that I was doomed to live out the rest of my life in Aeternus.¡± Marquis Wu looked back up and let out a heavy sigh.

    Lu Tianyi expressed his regret, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry that the troubles of my Lu family have worried you.¡±

    Marquis Wu held his head. He appeared rather helpless at this moment. ¡°It¡¯s so ridiculous that the mighty Lu family was exiled. If you weren¡¯t able to return, and if my father never showed up, I would have never been able to even acknowledge my ancestors. Senior Tianyi, please, let¡¯s not deal with such issues again in the future. I also want to go home.¡±

    Lu Tianyi nodded and gave the man a small smile. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Marquis Wu. This man had been nted within Aeternus by Ancestor Tianyi and Progenitor Hui. How impressive! Lu Yin had been questioning if there might be a problem with Wang Xiaoyu, but the spy in Aeternus had turned out to be Marquis Wu.

    ¡°Let¡¯s introduce ourselves formally. I am Hui Wu. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet all of you,¡± Marquis Wu said in a low voice. His features were weathered, but he was still able to smile at this moment.

    It was possible that not a single person in Aeternus had ever seen the man smile. The expression looked extremely forced.

    Lu Yin observed at Hui Wu. ¡°All of us here know each other, and while I truly respect what you¡¯ve done, I still want to rify just how you were able to gain the Aeternals¡¯ trust.¡±

    Hui Wu met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°I have long admired you. When I was on the rear battlefield, I wanted to meet you. You are the one who brought back the Lu family. Without you, Dao Monarch Lu, I would have been a lost soul. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡±

    ¡°As for my story, you can ask Senior Tianyi about how I joined Aeternus. I believe you¡¯re asking me about how I became a True God Guard Captain,¡± Hui Wu continued.

    Lu Yin nodded. This man understood Lu Yin¡¯s hesitation. While Hui Wu was indeed admirable, the man had basically embraced death when epting his task to infiltrate Aeternus. Even so, the man¡¯s loyalty needed to be confirmed, as both the Fifth Maind and the entire Sixverse Associationy behind Lu Yin, and he could not afford to make any mistakes.

    Lu Tianyi did not intervene.

    His expression serious, Hui Wu said, ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. I¡¯ve cultivated divine energy.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. At this moment, he finally empathized with what Ancestor Tianyi and Ancestor Lu Yuan must have felt when they had learned that Lu Yin was cultivating divine energy. They trusted Lu Yin, but trusting Hui Wu was difficult. Lu Yin was the only one who truly understood the effects of cultivating divine energy.

    How was Hui Wu managing it? How had he sessfully cultivated divine energy without being controlled by it?

    Hui Wu shifted his shoulders and sat back down on the rock. When he continued, he sounded nostalgic. ¡°My birth, and even the path I would walk throughout my entire life, was all nned by my father. In fact, from the beginning, the purpose of my birth was for me to join Aeternus.¡±

    Lu Yin, Qing Ping, and Mu Xie were all stunned. Could Progenitor Hui have really done such a thing?

    Lu Tianyi was not surprised, as he had known about this for a long time.

    ¡°From the moment I was born, my father publicly entered seclusion. However, the truth was that he was nting the seeds of the Golden Meteors within me. He intended for me to one day cultivate divine energy by using those seeds. What is your impression of Progenitor Hui? Intelligent? Wise? To me, he was cruel. How is it anything less than cruel to burden a newborn babe who didn¡¯t even know the color of the sky with such a great mission? He wasn¡¯t qualified to be a father.¡±

    Lu Yin did not argue. Progenitor Hui¡¯s actions were indeed too much for a father.

    ¡°Even so, I epted my fate. From a young age, the idea was drilled into me, and it would not have been easy for me to reject it. Also, I admired him. Who else could plot against Aeternus? He was the only one. Starting in my childhood, he nted the seeds of the Golden Meteors in me, thinking about matters countless years into the future. The reason why I was never controlled by the divine energy after I started cultivating it is because all of the divine energy went into the seeds of the Golden Meteors. My father nted those seeds, which means that they came from him and were separate from me, though I can use the Golden Meteors battle technique to draw the divine energy back out from those seeds. In this manner, the Aeternals believe that I¡¯ve been cultivating divine energy.

    ¡°Does that exnation satisfy you?¡±

    Lu Yin looked towards Lu Tianyi. Was this actually possible?

    Lu Tianyi sighed. ¡°What Hui Wen did was certainly cruel, but also quite feasible. We devised this method together, and we originally intended to use it on more people and have them infiltrate Aeternus. However, even with Hui Wen¡¯s power, that proved impossible. Every seed of the Golden Meteors that he nted drained his life¡¯s cultivation. Each one that he nted meant ten years of cultivating in seclusion. There are a limited number of seeds within Hui Wu, which is why he has been cautious and has not cultivated too aggressively. There was a fear that there wouldn¡¯t be enough for the seeds for when it came time for him to cultivate divine energy. Otherwise, given his talent, he would have surpassed the Progenitor level by now.

    ¡°He is the only member of Aeternus to have cultivated the Corpse King Transformation as a human and managed to reach the Pupilless Transformation.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. ¡°Pupilless Transformation?¡±

    A smile spread across Hui Wu¡¯s mouth. ¡°That¡¯s right, Pupilless. I am the only person in Aeternus¡ªno, more precisely, the only human in the First Scourge to have cultivated to the Pupilless Transformation, as well as the only being to have cultivated divine energy without being controlled by it.¡±

    Lu Tianyi nced at Lu Yin. Hui Wu was not really the only one.

    Lu Yin was amazed. ¡°Just how many countermeasures did Progenitor Hui set up within Aeternus?¡±

    Hui Wu scoffed. ¡°Who can say? Even you might be part of his plots.¡±

    Lu Yin looked back at Hui Wu. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t under the control of divine energy, it means that you are still one of us. Why have you contacted us at this time?¡±

    This question sobered Hui Wu up considerably. ¡°To kill Corpse God.¡±

    Lu Yin and the others were caught off guard. ¡°Corpse God?¡±

    Hui Wu solemnly exined, ¡°Right now, Corpse God is in Giants'' Purgatory. While the Scourge is sealed off, Aeternus can¡¯t send reinforcements. That means that, if we can prevent Corpse God from escaping, he is as good as dead.¡±

    Lu Yin felt a bit confused. ¡°How do you know that Corpse God is in Giants'' Purgatory?¡±

    Such a secret would typically only be known to Progenitor Xi, and even she most likely did not know where all Seven Skygods were. There was no reason for one of the True God Guard Captains to know such information.

    Hui Wu took a moment to consider things. ¡°Actually, the Lu family¡¯s exile has proven to be a blessing in disguise.¡±

    He looked over at Lu Tianyi. ¡°The Aeternals excel at tempting humans to betray our own kind and be spies, but that also means that humans can nt their own spies within Aeternus. The Aeternals suspect all cultivators who aren¡¯t corpse kings, regardless of what those cultivators might have done, and that includes me as well.

    ¡°Even with my father¡¯s intelligence, I faced many tests after he ced me within Aeternus, and it was done specifically at the order of the Seven Skygods.

    ¡°After the Lu family was exiled, someone in Aeternus happened to share with me that Corpse God was hiding in Giants'' Purgatory. They even mentioned that he seems to have originally been one of those super giants from Giants'' Purgatory. When he¡¯s in that universe, he has a vulnerability. If we can find it, we can kill him.

    ¡°As a side note, the colossal giants which were created by Ancient God merely belong to the Origin Universe. The super giants from Giants'' Purgatory have nothing to do with Ancient God. Do not confuse Corpse God with Ancient God. Such a mistake could be costly.¡±

    Hui Wu¡¯s gaze swept over Lu Yin and the others. ¡°I believe this information about Corpse God. The Aeternals have their own means of making me believe things, much like how my father had his own means of getting me into Aeternus. When I learned about Corpse God, I was already preparing to inform Senior Tianyi, but that was when the Lu family was banished.

    ¡°It¡¯s ironic that even the Lu family could one day be betrayed. The entire Lu Sanctum vanished. I even went to the Higher Realm, but I was still unable to get in touch with Senior Tianyi. The information never made it to humanity¡¯s forces because I don¡¯t trust the Celestial Frost Sect or the others.¡±

    Lu Tianyi was surprised. ¡°So, that¡¯s how you passed Aeternus¡¯s test?¡±

    Hui Wu nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Mu Xie considered the information. ¡°A great deal of time passed between when you joined Aeternus and when the Lu family was banished. Why would the Aeternals test you at such a time?¡±

    Hui Wu looked at Mu Xie. ¡°A Semi-Progenitor who is one of Twelve Marquises doesn¡¯t deserve to have one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods test them. Even back then, the Aeternals were nning to choose one of the Twelve Marquises to be a new True God Guard Captain, and possibly increase the number of captains to twelve. I, Marquis Wang, Marquis Wu Yi, and West Mountain Tea King were all candidates. Only peak powerhouses qualify to be tested by Aeternus in such a way. Anyone beneath that level doesn¡¯t warrant any concern, even if they are traitors. No single traitor can actually have an impact on Aeternus.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. <i>That¡¯s right. When I disguised myself as Ye Bo and joined Aeternus, I was also given various tasks, but all of them werepletely unrted to the Sixverse Association. If not for the fact that arge number of Aeturnus¡¯s peak powerhouses were dying, I might not have had any contact with the Fifth Maind for a very long time.</i>

 Chapter 3036: A Civilization

    Chapter 3036: A Civilization

    At the time, Lu Yin had even questioned whether the Aeternals might know that he was an imposter.

    The truth was that the Aeternals had simply been going about it normally. It was rare for them to entrust important tasks to humans, rather than corpse kings. This was also why the Neohuman Alliance in the Fifth Maind had been almost entirelyposed of corpse kings.

    All human traitors who joined Aeternus were powerful cultivators, but those same people were given tasks with no connection to humanity.

    But right before they were given such an assignment, the traitors would be tested to check their loyalty.

    Hui Wu solemnly said, ¡°It was precisely because the Lu family was banished that I gained the Aeternals¡¯ trust. Even then, it was only because so many of the True God Guard Captains were recently lost that I was allowed to be one.¡±

    Qing Ping said, ¡°If this is also a test, that might not be true.¡±

    Hui Wu replied, ¡°I considered that as well, until the recent battle between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. All of the Seven Skygods went into seclusion to recover, and that was also when I discovered that Corpse God really is hiding in Giants'' Purgatory. At that time, I was in Giants'' Purgatory myself. Because of how long I¡¯ve been in Aeternus, I am very familiar with the auras of the Seven Skygods. Rather, it¡¯d be urate to say that their presence makes my heart race. Corpse God gives me a unique feeling, and I was sure he was in Giants'' Purgatory. Also, with how Aeternus handles things, the test that I was given was definitely real.

    ¡°This is why I reached out to you. Corpse God still has not emerged from seclusion, so he most likely hasn¡¯t fully recovered. If you take advantage of Aeternus¡¯s weakened state after the invasion and attack Corpse God now, you will likely most seed.¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at Lu Tianyi, who nodded. ¡°If we can eliminate Corpse God, it would be a significant blow to the Aeternals.¡±Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. The Seven Skygods had already lost Shaman God and Undying God. If they could also kill Corpse God, it would have a significant impact on Aeternus.

    During the battle in Giants'' Purgatory, Corpse God had not recovered from the previous battle, but he had still been forced to fight. When Lu Yin considered that fight, it became apparent that Corpse God had fought not only to stop the Sixverse Association from conquering the Endless Frontier, but also because he had been afraid that they would find his hiding ce in Giants'' Purgatory. That was why, even after he was defeated, he had summoned the Star Devourer and had it upy Giants'' Purgatory. It had all been for Corpse God¡¯s own purposes.

    ¡°Believe it or not, from the day I joined Aeternus, I never expected mankind to ever fully trust me,¡± Hui Wu casually mentioned.

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°I believe you, but if we ambush Corpse God and he survives, what will you do when the news gets back to Aeternus?¡±

    Hui Wu was not at all worried. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know that I saw him in Giants'' Purgatory. That universe is one of the Endless Frontier¡¯s Three Purgatories, and the Aeternals and humans are always fighting there. It¡¯s not even that rare for an outsider powerhouse to appear there. There¡¯s nothing strange about him being found by ident. You can handle the rest of it.

    ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve already cultivated divine energy, so the Aeternals won¡¯t suspect me.¡± Hui Wu then gave Lu Tianyi a suspicious look. ¡°Speaking of that, I¡¯m curious. Do you have any other spies among the True God Guard Captains?¡±

    Lu Tianyi calmly responded, ¡°No.¡±

    There were certain things that could not be said.

    Hui Wu looked away. ¡°Really? When the six captains attacked six different parallel universes, you managed to precisely counter them. That would be quite the coincidence if you didn¡¯t have any other spies among them. Never mind, I don¡¯t really want to know. I only asked so that I could avoid any idental harm. Mu Ji served as a scapegoat once, and if not for his unique innate gift, he would have actually died. While they don¡¯t suspect him anymore, Progenitor Xi is definitely keeping an eye on him. You just need to be careful.¡±

    With that, Hui Wu left. Lu Yin and the others remained behind.

    Once the man left. Lu Yin asked, ¡°Ancestor, do you really trust him?¡±

    Lu Tianyi sped his hands behind his back before he replied, ¡°We personally sent him into Aeternus. If we don¡¯t trust him now¡­¡±

    The man did not finish his sentence, but Lu Yin understood.

    Hui Wu had done many things that others would be unwilling to do. As Progenitor Hui¡¯s son, he could have lived a life free of all worries, and yet he spent his days among corpse kings, watching Aeternals ughter humans. It would be difficult for ordinary people to even imagine the man¡¯s thoughts and emotions.

    While acting as Ye Bo, Lu Yin had encountered many traitors who had joined Aeternus, and he struggled to not deal with them himself. Hui Wu had remained hidden for many, many years, and no one knew what the man had lived through.

    Such people should not be doubted.

    Still, given Lu Yin¡¯s position, it was not wrong for him to have his doubts. He even questioned whether he himself could truly be free from the control of the divine energy that he had cultivated. He frequently had shbacks to the vision of the future that he had seen.

    ¡°Ancestor, if the dayes when I can¡¯t control myself, kill me,¡± Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Qing Ping and Mu Xie both simultaneously turned to look at Lu Yin, their expressions torn.

    Lu Tianyi patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. ¡°All of us believe in you.¡±

    Lu Yin gave the man a wry smile. ¡°Everyone has the right to doubt me.¡±

    If Lu Yin could doubt Hui Wu¡¯s loyalty, then others could also question Lu Yin. It was not a matter of trust, but rather a precaution for the sake of all humanity and the future.

    ¡­

    With the Aeternals sealing off the First Scourge, the Sixverse Association started aprehensive cleanup effort across the entire Endless Frontier. Human experts flooded the Endless Frontier, and the various parallel universes were no longer the ughterhouse that they had be.

    This was even true of the Three Purgatories and Giants'' Purgatory. The Star Devourer no longer dared to stay in the universe, and more and more cultivators from the Sixverse Association entered it.

    Lord Xu entered Giants'' Purgatory and cautiously scanned the area. He had been given the task of locating Corpse God.

    Lu Yin and several others had used Lord Xu¡¯s failure to stop Astral Anura to give him the task of going to Giants'' Purgatory and searching for Corpse God as a form of atonement. Despite the Voidlord¡¯s frustration at being given such a task, he had still entered Giants¡¯ Purgatory. This was a matter that concerned the Seven Skygods, and the man had long dreamed of exterminating those powerhouses.

    Seizing the current opportunity to eliminate as many of Aeternus¡¯s top experts as possible was a top priority for the Sixverse Association.

    Hui Wu had revealed Corpse God¡¯s location to Lu Yin and a few others. Lord Xu raised a hand and released a vast surge of voidforce energy that spread across the entirety of Giants'' Purgatory. He intended to search every corner of the universe in the most straightforward manner. This would make it look like he was not specifically searching for Corpse God.

    Unexpectedly, the Origin Universe had spies within Aeternus, and they had even uncovered where Corpse God was hiding. Such things exined why the Origin Universe had been among the earliest and most fiercely attacked universes by Aeternus.

    Lord Xu might not be known for much else, but there was no denying that he had a tremendous amount of voidforce energy at his disposal.

    As he searched, he shouted, ¡°Make sure to check everything thoroughly! Giants'' Purgatory is a crucial gateway to the Scourge. We cannot allow any potential danger to remain hidden. No super giants, no corpse kings¡ªnothing is allowed to remain.¡±

    Cultivators with the strength of Envoys spread across Giants'' Purgatory. They heard Lord Xu¡¯s orders and answered him enthusiastically as they redoubled their efforts.

    Lord Xu¡¯s gaze drifted to a certain corner. That ce contained a hidden connection to a parallel universe where Corpse God was hidden.

    The man unleashed his voidforce energy into the corner of Giants¡¯ Purgatory.

    He quickly found something off about the area. Giants'' Purgatory, due to the endless fighting between the two races of super giants,cked evenrger asteroids. Despite that, this corner of the universe had a few scattereds drifting about. They seemed to have simply been unaffected by the endless war, but they were clearly out of ce.

    Lord Xu stepped onto one of thes.

    They were smalls, and after Lord Xunded on one of them, he enveloped it with his voidforce energy and said, ¡°Just to be safe, I should shatter it.¡±

    It took no more than a small bit of effort to crack the ground and destroy the entire.

    The Voidlord then moved on to another, which he also shattered.

    He soonnded on the fourth, intending to destroy it as well, but within this was a powerful b that held the together, and it was strong enough to prevent Lord Xu from instantly destroying the.

    The man casually opened the to expose the b, and he saw clear handprints upon it. It was also obvious that someone frequently visited the b, as the areas without the handprints were covered with a deepyer of dust.

    Lord Xu ced his hand on a handprint, and the scenery around him changed. He suddenly found himself on a busy street, and a vehicle was forced toe to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting the man. The driver leaned out the window to curse the man in the street, but then a car crashed into the vehicle from behind. The collision continued, as five or six more cars crashed as well. Many of the drivers stepped out.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the driving up front? Can¡¯t you drive?¡±

    ¡°Damn it, can you even drive?¡±

    ¡°I had to suddenly stop because of what was in the road. It¡¯s not my fault! I¡¯m not responsible¡­¡±

    Lord Xu looked around. Was this a civilization? Was there really a civilization within Giants'' Purgatory?

    Sirens wailed in the distance, and more and more people started to gather at the sight of the traffic ident. The entire street was soon blocked off.

    Lord Xu took another step and simply vanished.

    The people on the street were all stunned. Where had the man gone?

    In a certain corner of the city, within a very ordinary farmhouse, a child was sitting on a rocking chair, curiously watching the TV while eating an apple.

    The TV was reporting the traffic ident where Lord Xu had disappeared from the street.

    ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa!¡± the child shouted loudly.

    An elderly man entered the room, and he looked at the child affectionately. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Little Ye?¡±

    The child pointed at the TV. ¡°Grandpa, the TV says that someone disappeared into thin air! Look!¡±

    The old man nced at the TV and chuckled. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a magic trick. Do you like it, Little Ye?¡±

    The child excitedly bounced around. ¡°I like it! Grandpa, can you do magic?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± the old man replied.

    ¡°Your uncle can.¡± A middle-aged man entered the room with a smile. He held an apple in his hand and held it out to the child.

    The child looked at the apple that he was holding, and then at the one the middle-aged man was offering. The child could not resist the gift.

    The middle-aged man smiled as he tousled the child¡¯s hair. ¡°If you like them, eat more. They¡¯re good for you.¡±

    ¡°Mmm! Thank you, Uncle. Can you do magic?¡± the child asked naively.

    The middle-aged manughed. ¡°Of course! What do you want to see, Little Ye?¡±

    The child pointed at the TV. ¡°A magic trick like how that man disappeared into thin air.¡±

    The middle-aged man nced at the TV which was showing the scene of Lord Xu disappearing on a loop. The man¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡°Alright, then your uncle will perform it for you right away.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great!¡± the child cheered.

    The middle-aged man continued, ¡°However, you need to finish your homework first, Little Ye. If you don¡¯t, the teacher will scold your grandpa, and you don¡¯t want Grandpa to be scolded, right?¡±

    The child nodded obediently. ¡°Alright! Little Ye will do his homework first. I¡¯ll get it done quickly, and then you can show me that magic trick, Uncle.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no problem. Little Ye is the best,¡± the middle-aged man said. He tousled the child¡¯s hair again. It was soft and pleasant to touch.

    The old man watched from the side. Everything about the three people appeared to be peaceful and harmonious.

    Little Ye cheerfully climbed the stairs and went to his desk. He turned on hismp, took out his homework, and started earnestly working.

    While this was happening, the old man returned to cleaning the yard.

    The middle-aged man walked out of the farmhouse. He looked up as the sky grew darker and darker. This was voidforce energy, as a fast amount was spreading out and covering the entire civilization. As time passed, the power was cut, and rivers slowly stopped flowing. Eventually, even the birds froze mid-air. Everything looked like a painting.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3037: Attacking Corpse God

    Chapter 3037: Attacking Corpse God

    There were only three individuals in the entire civilization who were able to move at this moment. The first was the middle-aged man. The second was Lord Xu, who had been walking around up until this moment. The third was actually the child, who was still cheerfully doing his homework. Hismp was the only source of illumination in the entire civilization. The child waspletely oblivious to the world outside his room, and he was focused solely on finishing his homework so that he could see his uncle¡¯s magic trick.

    Lord Xu walked up to the middle-aged man. ¡°Corpse God, I never thought that you¡¯d be hiding here.¡±

    The middle-aged man was indeed Corpse God, and he stared at Lord Xu. ¡°You¡¯ve just ruined a child¡¯s beautiful dream.¡±

    Lord Xu chuckled. ¡°You are the one destroying his dream, not me. You should have never entered his dreams. Just what exactly are you doing here?¡±

    Hui Wu had only learned of where Corpse God was hiding, but as for what exactly the Skygod was doing, Hui Wu had not known, and he also had not dared to ask.

    Lu Yin and the others were all confident that Corpse God was recuperating, but when Lord Xu touched the tablet in the, he had discovered an illusory civilization. The entire thing was a false world. On top of that, Corpse God was ying a role within the false world, which was simply bizarre. Corpse God, who was a corpse king, was ying a role to maintain the illusion of this false world. No one would believe such a thing if they heard it.

    The more bizarre the situation, the more cautious a person needed to be. For Corpse God to be doing such a thing, he clearly had some particr purpose.

    The child was the creator of the illusory world, and he was also the one responsible for creating Giants'' Purgatory itself.

    Voidforce energy churned across the world, and an overwhelming amount mmed down towards Corpse God. As the energy moved, the civilization¡¯s skyscrapers were crushed and reduced to rubble, while thekes and oceans were pushed back. The world was facing a true apocalypse.Corpse God clenched a fist and stepped forward to punch Lord Xu.

    The fragments of his turtle shell protected the Voidlord from the front, but those shards were instantly pushed back towards the man by Corpse God¡¯s punch. Lord Xu¡¯s eyes went wide in astonishment as he was sted away.

    Lord Xu spun his body around in the air to dissipate some of the punch¡¯s force, but as he did so, Corpse God simply reappeared in front of man and threw another punch.

    None of the Seven Skygods were more straightforward in their attacks than Corpse God. Both when Aeternus had attacked the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony and during the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier, Corpse God had always been very blunt and straightforward with his attacks. However, the simpler the attack, the more pure and unstoppable it became.

    Lord Xu tried to weaken Corpse God¡¯s punch with a st of voidforce energy, but the corpse king simply pierced straight through the voidforce energy with a single punch and then swiftly closed in on Lord Xu.

    There was a gust of wind. The punch shattered the world around the two men, destroying everything. The only ce that remained intact was the farmhouse where the child was still working on his homework. That was the only quiet corner of the illusory world.

    Lord Xu moved down. He had fought against Corpse God in the past, and he had always felt as though hecked the necessary force to match up to the Skygod. Before, the turtle shell had still been whole, and it had been able to block some of Corpse God¡¯s attacks, but after losing it, Lord Xu no longer had anything that could withstand Corpse God¡¯s blows without being crushed.

    Where were his reinforcements?

    Corpse God leaped down while throwing another punch. He did not need much in the way of speed. As long as he targeted arge enough area, it would be good enough.

    His body, which had originally been iparablyrge, was currently only the size of a normal human¡¯s. However, his punches were still able to cover the same area, and they were also still too fast to dodge.

    Lord Xu cursed under his breath as he raced towards the farmhouse.

    Corpse God froze and just stared at Lord Xu.

    Lord Xu stood with the farmhouse behind him, and he stared at Corpse God. ¡°While I have no idea what you¡¯re trying to do here, this ce must be important to you, right?¡±

    Corpse God slowly raised an arm. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    He then released another punch.

    Lord Xu quickly dodged, and the punch swept through where the man had just been standing. The void exploded, but the damage did not have any effect on the farmhouse. Corpse God¡¯s control over his attacks was incredibly precise.

    Unless Lord Xu hid inside the farmhouse itself, Corpse God would not be worried. Everything else in the illusory world had already been destroyed.

    Lord Xu did not dare to rashly enter the farmhouse. He had no idea what the consequences of destroying the illusory world might be.

    He was the Voidlord, the ruler of the Voidforce Universe. He was far from weak, but after losing his most powerful defense¡ªthe turtle shell¡ªhe waspletely passive in the battle against Corpse God. Still, that did not mean that it was easy for Corpse God to put an end to the fight.

    Lord Xu might not be capable of unleashing very powerful attacks, but he did possess an incredible amount of voidforce energy, which was his greatest advantage.

    Even after several of his punches provedpletely ineffective, Corpse God still showed no signs of leaving.

    Lord Xu had been told to keep an eye on Corpse God and to prevent him from escaping, but Corpse God seemed to have no intention of leaving.

    Finally, the Voidlord¡¯s reinforcements arrived.

    An arrow, twined with tri-colored monarch essence, pierced through the distance as it flew at Corpse God.

    The Skygod turned and punched, shattering the arrow with the monarch essence. Luo Shan could be seen in the distance.

    Lu Yin had sent people to find the Monarch for this battle. Luo Shan was the former ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe, and he could not continue to do nothing while humanity fought against the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin had promised to forget all grudges between himself and Luo Shan, but that did not mean that the Monarch could avoid contributing to the Sixverse Association.

    Luo Shan did not want to fight, but this battle was not Lu Yin attempting to manipte the Monarch. There was a genuine shortage of sequence powerhouses. If Lu Yin had wanted to manipte Luo Shan, the man would have been forced to join the invasion of the Scourge.

    The sight of Luo Shan allowed Lord Xu to breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s do this together. Let¡¯s finish him.¡±

    Many people had looked down on Luo Shan¡¯s strength, but Lord Xu had never done so. Neither had the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder or Mu Shen done so. All of them knew that there was no way the Great Sovereign would allow a mere tterer to receive amanding position within the Sixverse Association. Luo Shan was undoubtedly strong in his own right.

    Luo Shan frowned. Corpse God was a terrifying opponent.

    Monarch essence was surrounded by voidforce energy, and thebined energies moved towards Corpse God. Luo Shan immediately started using his sequence particles, and he appeared directly behind Corpse God. He did not move with sheer speed or by controlling space, but rather by manipting thews of the universe.

    A sword of condensed monarch essence appeared in Luo Shan¡¯s hand, and the de shed at Corpse God.

    Nothing stopped the sword from striking Corpse God¡¯s back, but he remainedpletely unharmed by the attack. The surface of his body was covered with sequence particles. He was already using his full strength in this battle, as he was not just facing two sequence powerhouses, but two men who qualified to rule member universes of the Sixverse Association.

    The voidforce energy tried to form a Thermometer of Life and trap Corpse God, but a casual wave of the corpse king¡¯s hand dispersed the voidforce energy as Corpse God attacked Luo Shan.

    Luo Shan was wary of this attack, and his Monarch¡¯s Domain appeared in front of Corpse God¡¯s hand. It was a solid manifestation of monarch essence, and it was incredibly powerful, but Corpse God¡¯s hand simply contained too much strength, and the Monarch¡¯s Domain shattered. Corpse God¡¯s hand hurled towards Luo Shan.

    The Monarch blocked the attack with his sword, resulting in a loud ng. However, Luo Shan was forced back, and he spat out blood, just like how Lord Xu had done before.

    While the rulers of the universes of the Sixverse Association were capable of fighting against the Seven Skygods, neither Luo Shan nor Lord Xu specialized in offensivebat. Lord Xu focused on control, while Luo Shan excelled at evasion. Neither one was capable of restraining Corpse God.

    At this moment, a wooden lotus suddenly appeared beneath Corpse God¡¯s feet. It had been ced there by Luo Shan.

    The only reason why the Monarch had approached Corpse God had been to nt the wooden lotus that he had acquired from Mu Shen.

    The wooden lotus blossomed beneath Corpse God¡¯s feet. He tried to crush it, but despite its delicate appearance, it could not be crushed. Layer byyer, it closed back up, pressing upon Corpse God¡¯s legs and shattering his sequence particles. His legs started to bleed.

    Luo Shan and Lord Xu attacked in unison. One manifested his Thermometer of Life, while the other used his full strength to fire Monarch Arrows at the immobilized Corpse God.

    Rage filled Corpse God¡¯s eyes, and suddenly, his skin tore open. This was not due to any attack, but was rather caused by the corpse king himself. The tears formed a unique pattern.

    At that moment, a Monarch Arrow struck Corpse God¡¯s forehead, but the impact produced a metallic ringing. The sound caused the child doing his homework to frown, but he otherwise remained undisturbed as he continued with his homework.

    The Thermometer or Life appeared, and Lord Xu gritted his teeth as he raised the temperature.

    At that moment, Corpse God¡¯s skin waspletely torn apart. The tears formed a pattern that looked like branches, and they released a pale green light that spread out from Corpse God¡¯s upper body and to his legs. When the green light reached his legs, the wooden lotus shattered. At that moment, Corpse God raised a hand and released a punch, shattering the Thermometer or Life from the inside. He had broken free.

    Lord Xu staggered, shocked and coughing up blood. ¡°How is this possible?¡±

    Never before had Corpse God revealed such power in any previous battle. The truth was that he had never truly been threatened with death, not even during the crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier. Only at this moment, when he faced life or death, was he ying his final trump card.

    The branch-like patterns were unique, and the tears in his skin gave him a paradoxical and eerie aura.

    Corpse God and the branches of a tree. One was dead, and the other alive. The two should not coexist.

    Mu Shen appeared, and he stared at the branch-like patterns that had opened up across Corpse God¡¯s body. The man gravelymented, ¡°The Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree.¡±

    Lord Xu and Luo Shan heard the man¡¯sment, and they whirled around to look at Mu Shen. ¡°What?¡±

    Mu Shen¡¯s expression was more solemn than they had ever been. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the pattern of branches across his body belongs to the Mavis family from the Heavens Sect era. They were the rulers of the Second Maind.¡±

    This statement caused Luo Shan and Lord Xu¡¯s hearts to sink. Anything that came from the ancient Heavens Sect era was never simple.

    The two men knew of the Mavis family. It was a n of women with delicate-looking bodies and beautiful faces, but all of them also possessed immense strength. It was a clear contradiction and was highly abnormal. However, what sort of rtionship could the Mavis family have with Corpse God?

    Corpse God¡¯s legs were still bleeding, which meant that the pattern of branches across his body could not heal him.

    What was the Mavis family most renowned for? Brute strength.

    Just thinking about that gave the three men headaches. Corpse God was already incredibly powerful on his own.

    ¡°How do you have the symbol of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree?¡± Mu Shen could not stop himself from asking as he stared at Corpse God.

    The Skygod looked over Mu Shen. ¡°Both of us possess the strength of wood. Let¡¯s see if you can withstand this.¡±

    Corpse God immediately punched at Mu Shen. The man¡¯s pupils shrank, and he raised a hand. Wood appeared in front of Mu Shen, and the fist struck it with a deafening boom. An overwhelming power pushed the wood down upon Mu Shen, who raced away. This was a problem. Corpse God waspletely different from Astral Anura.

    Astral Anura used a steel trident to attack, and he had tried to pierce through Mu Shen¡¯s wood. However, his wood was not easily broken, which allowed the man to dy Astral Anura.

    Corpse God waspletely different. There was no need for the Skygod to break through Mu Shen¡¯s wood, as pushing it to the side or forcing it back would work just as well. Mu Shen¡¯s wood could not stop Corpse God¡¯s strength. The wood could somewhat weaken the attacks, but the remaining power still posed a deadly threat to the three humans.

    Given a choice, Mu Shen would rather fight against Astral Anura instead of Corpse God.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    A powerful blow sent the wood flying, and Corpse God attacked again, his punches targeting both Lord Xu and Luo Shan. The men had no intention of even trying to block the attacks, and they simply fled. They knew that they could not take Corpse God¡¯s punches, and even just a touch could prove catastrophic.

    Corpse God threw more and more punches. The torn skin that formed the branch-like pattern on his body eventually started to bleed, and his strength quickly drained away.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3038: The Child

    Chapter 3038: The Child

    Luo Shan¡¯s eyes went wide when he saw that Corpse God¡¯s aura was weakening. ¡°He hasn¡¯t fully healed from his injuries!¡±

    Mu Shen exined, ¡°During the massive battle in the Endless Frontier, he was wounded by the Lu family¡¯s ancestor, Lu Yuan. By forcing himself to exert this much strength, he¡¯s quickly reached his limit. We can¡¯t allow him to escape.¡±

    When Lu Yin and Mu Ke had fought against Corpse God in Giants'' Purgatory, the Skygod had never used his full strength, which was because his injuries had prevented him from doing so. While he had recuperated a bit, forcing himself to use his full strength had resulted in a bit of bacsh, and his wounds were being exacerbated. Fighting against the rulers of three universes was far from easy.

    Corpse God paused. His own blood stained his entire body.

    The current situation was much like ants attacking a giant. However, if things were reversed and Mu Shen, Lord Xu, or Luo Shan tried to escape, Corpse God might not be able to do much to stop them.

    Mu Shen and the other two were in no rush to press the fight. Just waiting would help wear Corpse God down.

    Corpse God panted for breath. The pale-green light faded from the branch-like pattern on his skin. It had nearly disappeared.

    He looked around. The three humans had spread out to surround Corpse God, blocking all paths of escape.

    Corpse God finally looked at the distant farmhouse. Years of his efforts were about to evaporate into nothing. It was regrettable, but also unavoidable. He clenched a fist and attacked the farmhouse.The building trembled even before the punch arrived, and themp flickered. The child stopped writing to tap themp.

    The punch was not fast, but that did not mean that it was slow. Still, the distance between the punch and the farmhouse seemed endless, and the child had enough time to tap themp a second time. ¡°Grandpa, themp¡¯s broken.¡±

    No one answered. Out in the yard, the old man¡¯s body slowly started to disappear.

    ¡°Grandpa!¡± the child called louder.

    The yard itself was dissolving into dots of light, and the phenomena soon spread to the farmhouse.

    The child held his pen as he ran to the balcony and looked down. Instead of the normal yard outside of the farmhouse, he saw a deste wastnd. ¡°Grandpa?¡±

    The child appeared stunned, and it was at the moment that he looked up that the punch finally arrived at the farmhouse.

    The pencil fell, softly hitting the ground. However, the sound of the impact echoed like thunder in the ears of Corpse God, Mu Shen, and the other two. It was as though the impact was shattering the illusory world itself.

    The staircase behind the child dissolved, and it was quickly followed by the attic, the desk, themp, and even the boy¡¯s homework. Everything disappeared.

    In the end, only the child remained.

    The child watched the approaching punch in a daze, not even moving.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The punch shattered the ground and buried everything.

    Mu Shen and the others watched from the distance as the farmhouse disappeared. They could not help but wonder what Corpse God was doing.

    Blood dripped from Corpse God¡¯s arms, but his eyes were fixed on where the farmhouse had just been standing.

    A huge cloud of dust was blown away by the wind to reveal a figure lying on the ground; it was the child. He had not been crushed by Corpse God¡¯s punch, and instead, hey on the ground, looking like he was asleep. There were not even any wrinkles in his clothes. It was as though Corpse God had never thrown a punch at all.

    Lord Xu frowned. ¡°The farmhouse, the old man, and the child were all illusions. This is the real person.¡±

    ¡°How are they still a child?¡± Mu Shen wondered. What could a child possibly do? Creating the illusory world was one thing, but how could a child have established Giants'' Purgatory? The universe had trapped numerous super giants in a never-ending war, two of whom had even been sequence powerhouses.

    However, the child really had been the one to create Giants¡¯ Purgatory.

    When the Mountain King died, a few scenes from before Giants¡¯ Purgatory was established had appeared, and there had been a screaming child. That child was identical to the one in the illusory world.

    How had the child done it?

    ¡°You want to still sleep? I¡¯ve apanied you through this innocent childhood of yours, letting your grandfather spend his twilight years with you so that that version of you could enjoy his childhood, fulfilling your wish. Do you really want to watch me die?¡± Corpse God spoke as he stared at the sleeping child.

    The child did not respond.

    Mu Shen frowned and immediately attacked Corpse God, surrounding the Skygod with blocks of wood that rose from the ground and also fell from the sky.

    Corpse God clenched his teeth. A dim, green pattern shed over his skin as he punched the wood away. A Monarch Arrow approached and embedded itself into his right shoulder. Before, his sequence particles had covered his body and prevented a single visible wound from appearing, but at this moment, even Luo Shan¡¯s arrow could prate Corpse God¡¯s defenses.

    Lord Xu reformed the Thermometer of Life, trapping Corpse God.

    ¡°After you¡¯ve spent so many years on this, do you really want to watch me die?¡± Corpse God bellowed.

    The temperature of the Thermometer of Life started to rise, and Lord Xu¡¯s expression turned solemn. While none of them understood the peculiarities of the sleeping child, there was no doubt that killing Corpse God as quickly as possible was the right decision.

    Another wooden lotus bloomed beneath the Thermometer of Life. Even if the Voidlord¡¯s innate gift failed to kill Corpse God, the lotus was powerful enough to crush him to a bloody pulp.

    ¡°Fine. I promise that I won¡¯t touch anything, and I won¡¯t bother you again. If you need, I can simply continue to recreate your perfect childhood!¡± Corpse God roared.

    In the distance, the child slowly opened his eyes. ¡°Thank you, Uncle.¡±

    Mu Shen and the others immediately looked over, and they saw the child sit up and look at them. At that moment, everything changed. The wooden lotus vanished. The Thermometer of Life disappeared. Corpse God fled, escaping what had appeared to be certain death.

    A Monarch Arrow in Luo Shan¡¯s hands shattered.

    Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

    Mu Shen and the other two were horrified. How was this possible? How could this child instantly cause all of their attacks to simply disappear? Just how powerful was this child?

    Mu Shen eximed, ¡°Dukkha! He must be oveing Dukkha!¡±

    Lord Xu was terrified. If this person was oveing Dukkha, then their cultivation was equal to the Great Sovereign, Astral Anura, and True God¡¯s. Who could have imagined that such a powerful expert had hidden themselves in Giants'' Purgatory?

    It was no wonder why Corpse God had spent so many years in the universe, living in an illusory world. If he had seeded in wooing someone who was oveing Dukkha for Aeternus, all of Corpse God¡¯s efforts would have been worthwhile.

    What was happening to the megaverse? One old monster oveing Dukkha after another kept on appearing. It was truly baffling.

    Luo Shan wanted to run away, but doing so from such a monster meant certain death. He knew very well how strong his master and Astral Anura were. Opposing such beings was suicide.

    Corpse God gasped for breath, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The child observed Mu Shen and the other two. ¡°You can leave. I have no wish to kill anyone. He has been with me for a very long time and is like an uncle to me. You cannot kill him.¡±

    Mu Shen stared at the child. ¡°You¡¯re also human, aren¡¯t you? That man is Corpse God, one of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings. He¡¯s sworn to exterminate our kind. You actually want to help this monster?¡±

    The child was unphased. ¡°When my home was destroyed, who helped me? A body is nothing more than a vessel for dreams and memories. All I need to live is those memories.¡±

    He raised a hand and observed his own body. ¡°Something like species really isn¡¯t important.¡±

    Mu Shen¡¯s expression soured. Reasoning and logic would not help when dealing with this person. People who were oveing Dukkha were all insane. They were focused on their own personal madness, some deep desire that was magnified to the point of bing an obsession. To normal individuals, such people were insane.

    The child looked back over at Mu Shen and the others. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to be so fixated on such things, either. Who can guarantee that everything you¡¯ve ever experienced is not also an illusion, a cycle, or some sort of dream? Isn¡¯t it better to just be yourself?¡±

    ¡°Even in a dream, there are still things that are right and wrong, as well as emotions and ties that bind us to each other. This false civilization had trafficws, systems, and hierarchies. Are such things not important to you? If not, then why did your civilization have them? What sort of civilization do you follow?¡± Lu Yin stepped forward. He had been present throughout the entire battle, but he had not gotten involved. He was certain that everyst Skygod had their own secret trump card. This had to be why Corpse God still had not used any divine energy.

    Lu Yin had intended to only take action after Corpse God had exhausted all his other options, in order to avoid a repeat of the battle in Giants'' Purgatory. Lu Yin did not want Corpse God to escape again.

    Every one of the Seven Skygods was extremely difficult to kill. That had been true of both Shaman God and Undying God, and it had to be true of Corpse God as well.

    The child looked over at Lu Yin, but he said nothing.

    Lu Yin stared at the child. ¡°If species means nothing, then what is the difference between humans and beasts? Who has the right to kill another? Since we are here, we are part of the same civilization.¡±

    He pointed at Corpse God. ¡°That man is a vile criminal, while we are the protectors of the system. Following thews of the civilization you created, we should eliminate him.¡±

    The child continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stopped speaking and just stared back at the child.

    ¡°You are quite the debater. Could I invite you to participate in a debate contest in the civilization where I live?¡± the child asked.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°I was overthinking, believing that I could change your mind. While you may look like a child, you¡¯ve lived longer than anyone else. Giants'' Purgatory was around for countless years, and you¡¯ve lived since before it¡¯s establishment. Even after all this time, you still cling to your convictions. There¡¯s no point in discussing anything.¡±

    Mu Shen shook his head. How could anyone hope to reason with someone who was oveing Dukkha? All of those people were madmen.

    The child rose to his feet, still looking at Lu Yin. ¡°Please leave and don¡¯t fight anymore. That¡¯s how my original home was destroyed. I¡¯ve already created Giants'' Purgatory, and I don¡¯t want to create another.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s guard rose. This child had easily saved Corpse God, and Mu Shen and the others had been utterly helpless to do anything at all. It looked like it would be impossible to kill Corpse God.

    It was no wonder why Corpse God had fearlessly remained in this ce and had shown no sign of wanting to escape.

    Lu Yin let out a resigned sigh and then said, ¡°If he¡¯s under your protection, then we might really not be able to kill him. Even so, we cannot simply give up. This is simply too rare an opportunity.

    ¡°I had no intention of destroying you home, but I do ask that you reconsider and take into ount that I am continuing the Cyclops King¡¯s torture for you. Please do not interfere.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage then appeared, and he summoned the Seven-Star Mantis, Kong Ji, and the Cyclops King. Lu Yin would not walk away from killing Corpse God.

    The moment Lu Yin summoned the Cyclops King, Corpse God¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    The child¡¯s face also changed quite a bit. ¡°The Cyclops King?¡±

    Lu Yin exined, ¡°This is my Lu family¡¯s innate gift, the Champions¡¯ Stage. My people killed the Mountain King, and then I anointed the Cyclops King to my Champions¡¯ Stage so that I can summon him. Now, even though he¡¯s dead, he will never have any peace. This should be an eptable punishment for one of the primary culprits behind the destruction of your homnd, right?¡±

    The child stared nkly at Lu Yin. ¡°Is the Mountain King also dead?¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. The child¡¯s reaction was off. How was it possible for this expert to not know about the destruction of Giants'' Purgatory? While Lu Yin was surprised to discover that the creator of Giants'' Purgatory had stayed in the same universe, but never revealed himself, the person who had created Giants'' Purgatory should have known about what had happened to it.

    ¡°A bit more than a decade ago, I led an army of cultivators, and we destroyed Giants'' Purgatory. While the Mountain King was dying, his body resonated with Giants'' Purgatory, and we were shown your reason for creating Giants'' Purgatory. Their war destroyed your home and. The Mountain King is now dead, and the Cyclops King is my summoned champion. Did you really not know about any of this?¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3039: Self-Destruction

    <h4>Chapter 3039: Self-Destruction</h4>

    The child turned to Corpse God and asked, ¡°Is he telling me the truth?¡±

    Corpse God responded in a low voice, ¡°You are the one who created Giants'' Purgatory. You should know if it¡¯s true or not.¡±

    The child angrily snapped back, ¡°He¡¯s taken control of the Cyclops King with his innate gift, allowing it to live on in another form. I¡¯ve been asleep this whole time and haven¡¯t gone into Giants'' Purgatory. How could I know?¡±

    Corpse God did not respond.

    Lu Yin was intrigued by the child¡¯s words. What did this mean? The child seemed to connect the existence of the Giants'' Purgatory to whether or not the Mountain King and the Cyclops King were alive. How could he be so certain? After all, thew that had ruled over Giants'' Purgatory had been that the extermination of one super giant race would break the curse that they had both been under. Could that have been a lie?

    Lu Yin asked the child, ¡°What is the rule for breaking Giants'' Purgatory?¡±

    The child met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze and replied, ¡°One side needs to wipe out the other.¡±

    ¡°Would that allow the survivors to live on?¡±

    ¡°No, not at all. All I gave them was false hope.¡±

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why the child was unable to sense whether or not Giants'' Purgatory had been broken when Lu Yin anointed the Cyclops King. A summon was not alive. In that case, what was the ¡°other form¡± that the child had mentioned?

    Lu Yin thought back to when the Mountain King had died in Giants'' Purgatory. He had possessed a physical body that could bleed, and yet he had dissipated into specks of light. All of the super giants who had died had been resurrected until Giants¡¯ Purgatory had been broken. Such a thing should have been impossible even for someone oveing Dukkha. Otherwise, how could the Seven Skygods die? True God would have simply resurrected them if it were possible. If resurrection was impossible for those who were oveing Dukkha, then how could it be achieved?

    Unless, things were not what they appeared.

    Lu Yin felt that he was on the verge of understanding everything, but he was unable to put the pieces together.

    ¡°Ye Zhang, what are you waiting for? My offer still stands. I will no longer enter this ce, provided that you help me eliminate these people,¡± Corpse God stated gravely.

    The child replied in a cold tone, ¡°You lied to me, and yet you still want my help?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t help me, you know what will happen to you,¡± Corpse God threatened.

    The childughed happily. ¡°Do you think that someone with my strength would choose to sleep here for eons and create Giants'' Purgatory for mere revenge? What makes me different from others?¡±

    These were also questions that Lord Xu and the others wanted to know the answers to. Why would such a powerful individual sleep in this ce? Had he been recovering? Or could there be another reason?

    ¡°Oveing Dukkha,¡± Mu Shen suggested.

    Beings who were in the process of oveing Dukkha had their innermost desires strengthened to the point of madness and obsession. This child¡¯s greatest desire had been his homnd. If he had perhaps been seeking revenge to resolve this obsession, it would make a great deal of sense for him to sleep in the universe.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind was racing. A Dukkhan? The Great Sovereign was willing to sacrifice everything in order to surpass that level. What were the obsessions of True God and Astral Anura? Who else was there? The mysterious Wei Nu was also most likely trying to ovee Dukkha given her age, and Lu Yin had no doubt that Mister Mu had reached that level in his cultivation as well.

    What were their obsessions that they needed to conquer in order to ovee Dukkha? For that matter, what would be Lu Yin¡¯s obsession in the future?

    The childughed. ¡°Oveing Dukkha is certainly a reasonable exnation, but s, beings like us will never be able to seed. We won¡¯t ever have the opportunity.¡±

    Everyone grew puzzled. What did this mean?

    ¡°I have lived for the sake of my homnd and to get revenge on those two super giant races, while also fulfilling my childhood dreams. These are my obsessions, and what I wish to dedicate the rest of my life to. I want to watch my homnd from sunrise to sunset and see my grandfather nt flowers while the ce is left undisturbed. I want the years to pass quietly. They are nothing more than the most simple of wishes.

    ¡°The two races of super giants are both dead, and I¡¯ve watched countless sunrises and sunsets. Haha, I¡¯vepleted so much homework. Do you think that people like me-¡± The child suddenly stopped as he stared at Corpse God. ¡°Are afraid of dying?¡±

    Corpse God¡¯s gaze was firm.

    The child smirked. ¡°People like me <i>long</i> for death. There¡¯s nothing left in this universe for me. There might be an afterlife, and maybe the civilization I long for can be found there. Maybe I can be reborn into the civilization I hope for. Do you really think that you can threaten someone like me?¡±

    Suddenly, Corpse God started to move. He tore through the void and fled.

    Lu Yin had been keeping a close eye on everything, and he saw the moment the Skygod tried to escape. The Seven-Star Mantis flew at the speed of time, and everything around it froze. The only other movement was Corpse God slowly turning his head. However, he was too slow, and Lu Yin¡¯s palm mmed into the corpse king¡¯s back as the Seven-Star Mantis raised one of its des to strike. At the same time, Kong Ji and the Cyclops King attacked as well.

    From elsewhere, two figures emerged from the void: Yue Shen and Moon Fairy from the Luna Alliance. Lu Yin had made ample preparations before moving to attack one of the Seven Skygods, and he had specifically asked the Luna Alliance to participate, as they were the only option for the time being.

    Fortunately, the Luna Alliance remembered how Lu Yin had helped them deal with the frenzied corpses, and they had been willing to help Lu Yin.

    Both Yue Shen and Moon Fairy were sequence powerhouses, and they worked together to destroy the sequence particles that covered Corpse God¡¯s body.

    The child did not attack Lu Yin and the rest of the humans. Mu Shen and the others exchanged looks before charging at Corpse God.

    Corpse God roared, ¡°Ye Zhang, if you don¡¯t act now, your life is mine!¡±

    The child simply looked around, indifferent to the destendscape.

    The Cyclops King punched Corpse God, sending him deep into the ground. Kong Ji raised a hand and attacked the Skygod below, pushing him down even further. All the while, Monarch Arrows and voidforce energy attacked, and Corpse God coughed up more and more blood.

    Finally, unable to bear the assault, Corpse God¡¯s body returned to his original, massive size.

    The child was startled by the sudden change, and his eyes grew frigid. ¡°You¡¯re also a super giant?¡±

    Corpse God had never exposed his true form in the illusory world, and he had always been the size of a normal human.

    ¡°Ye Zhang, do you really want to die?¡± Corpse God roared in a thunderous voice. The branch-like pattern reappeared on his body. He did not stop bleeding at all, but this time, a red light filled the pattern: divine energy.

    Killing intent welled up within the child as he stared at Corpse God. ¡°Had I known you were a super giant, I would have never allowed you to stay.¡±

    ¡°Then why not help us eliminate him?¡± Lord Xu shouted.

    However, the child remained motionless.

    Divine energy surged out from Corpse God, and it spread along the branch-like pattern before forming what looked like the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree behind him.

    Mu Shen warned, ¡°Be careful! The Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree holds immense power. His attacks will be even more powerful.¡±

    Lu Yin was all too aware of this, as he had been familiar with the Mavis family for a very long time. In particr, he had battled against Heluo Mavis, who had used the Rhythm of Life, the Circle of Life, and their Treeheart Descendants. When Lu Yin had fought against Ah Chi and she had devoured all those fruits from the Divine Tree, Lu Yin had be aware of the potential of the Mavis family¡¯s strength.

    Why did Corpse God have the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree?

    A massive Divine Tree formed from divine energy had appeared behind Corpse God. Fairy Moon - Water Reflection fell, but the Moon Fairy¡¯s shes were unable to even touch Corpse God. All of her attacks were repelled by the divine energy. Luo Shan fired a Monarch Arrow, and Lu Yin also ordered the Cyclops King to attack, but everything was blocked by the Divine Tree.

    ¡°He can no longer be harmed by any outside powers. He can leave whenever he wants,¡± Mu Shen said with a grim expression.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he focused on Corpse God. This was the Skygod¡¯s confidence. Given his incredible size, Corpse God had absorbed far more divine energy than any of the other Seven Skygods, but he had not chosen to use his divine energy as a means of attack, but rather of escape.

    The child looked up, still staring at Corpse God. ¡°I know the pain of having my civilization destroyed. Your attempt to destroy their civilization is a crime, and there is a penalty for that: death.¡±

    Right after, an invisible power emerged from Corpse God, and it created a cage that trapped him.

    Lu Yin and the others were startled. What sort of ability was this?

    Corpse God¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. ¡°I can¡¯t understand this at all. Your power should not be able to threaten me.¡±

    ¡°How much of my power can you understand?¡± the child retorted, his expression somber.

    ¡°You are seeking death!¡± Corpse God dered. He did not take any visible action, and yet the child suddenly coughed up blood, and the same branch-like pattern flickered across his body, a hint of divine energy moving through it.

    The energy pulled at the child¡¯s body, and it started to tear apart.

    Mu Shen and the others were puzzled by this development. This person was an incredible powerhouse who had easily saved Corpse God. He was oveing Dukkha, so how could he be gravely injured so easily?

    The child coughed up blood, but continued to stare at Corpse God. ¡°Pierce the Heavens!¡±

    The cage of unknown power that had formed around Corpse God¡¯s body suddenly shrank. It seemed to ignore his flesh as it entered his body.

    The corpse king¡¯s expression changed dramatically. His mouth opened, and he suddenly spat out blood that contained pieces of his internal organs. His previously formidable body continued to crack apart. He roared, ¡°I refuse to believe this. You can¡¯t hurt me! Ye Zhang, you¡¯ve hidden your power.¡±

    The child let out a miserableugh. His condition was identical to Corpse God¡¯s. Both of their bodies were breaking apart, and they were both approaching death. ¡°While I might not care about species, I must draw a conclusion for my own body. In the end, a body is a vessel for memories, and I believe that the human civilization is not bad and that it shouldn¡¯t be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°Go to hell-!¡± Corpse God growled as his body continued to crack apart, still in unison with the destruction of the child¡¯s body. Blood fell and stained the ground. It was a gruesome sight.

    The branch-like patterns on Corpse God¡¯s body that were filled with divine energy became unstable.

    Lu Yin shouted, ¡°Attack, now!¡±

    Before anyone could make a move, Corpse God¡¯s body suddenly exploded. As that happened, the void warped and shattered. The resulting Hollow that appeared started to devour the entire universe.

    Lu Yin immediately had the Seven-Star Mantis fly over to the child and grab him before fleeing.

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and Yue Shen all left at the same time.

    When they returned to Giants'' Purgatory, the stone tablet that had been hidden within a suddenly shattered, turning into dust.

    Lu Yin and the others were already standing in outer space in Giants'' Purgatory.

    The Seven-Star Mantis carried the child, who looked at the familiar universe. This was his true homnd. ¡°Everything¡¯s gone. Not even a single with life on it remains.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the child. ¡°Is your name Ye Zhang? I¡¯ll take you to be healed.¡±

    The child shook his head, smiling. ¡°I¡¯m going to die, so don¡¯t waste your time. Oh, and just so you know, he¡¯s not dead.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Corpse God?¡±

    The child nodded.

    Mu Shen and the others gathered around. ¡°You¡¯re saying that Corpse God isn¡¯t dead?¡±

    The child exined, ¡°His sequence particles are robust and have also integrated with his body, making him undying and unkible. His decisive self-destruction is definitely not enough to actually kill him. If so much as a single drop of his blood remains, he will survive.¡±

 Chapter 3040: The â€œHeavenâ€ Character

    <h4>Chapter 3040: The ¡°Heaven¡± Character</h4>

    ¡°Where is he now?¡± Lord Xu asked immediately. The conclusion of such a difficult battle had been Corpse God¡¯s self-destruction. If not for the child, they would have never been able to push Corpse God so far, but if even this was not enough to kill the Skygod, could they ever truly kill him?

    The child replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. He stayed within the illusory world that I created for many years just so that he could ce divine energy within me. Divine energy is the energy of someone who is oveing Dukkha, and while I was in that illusory world, I was not conscious and was unable to resist.¡±

    ¡°Is that the power that he used to wound you so badly?¡± Moon Fairy asked.

    The child coughed up more blood. ¡°He was trying to kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the child. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you possess some type of power that is rted to illusions.¡±

    Mu Shen and the others were not surprised by thisment, as they had already guessed as much themselves. Corpse God¡¯s words had been clear; without belief, Ye Zhang could not hurt anyone. This also exined how Ye Zhang had rescued Corpse God so easily earlier; his power was illusory.

    The child gave Lu Yin a look of admiration. ¡°You aren¡¯t a sequence powerhouse, or even a peak powerhouse, and yet you possess such strength. You are truly the future ruler of this megaverse. I just hope that you don¡¯t end up like me.¡±

    He suddenly stopped talking, and his expression changed before he quickly refocused on Lu Yin. ¡°The Cyclops King you summoned, is he actually suffering?¡±

    Lu Yin took a moment to think, but then shook his head. ¡°My champions are only summoned power. There¡¯s no connection to the person themselves.¡±

    The child sighed. ¡°I guessed as much. Otherwise, the Lu family would have disappeared long ago. Humans shouldn¡¯t possess that kind of power.¡±

    The child continued to say, ¡°Make me one of your summons.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback.

    The child appeared to bepletely serious. ¡°I¡¯m going to die anyway, so I might as well leave my power to you.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated. ¡°In order to anoint you as a champion, I need to kill you myself.¡±

    The child shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m already going to die, so why should I care about such a thing?¡±

    Lu Yin nced over at Mu Shen and the others. Striking down someone who was not an enemy was not easy for Lu Yin. He was not a murderer.

    However, the other people present all just nodded at Lu Yin. Gaining Ye Zhang¡¯s power would be a tremendous help to humanity. No matter if it was his power over illusions that could deceive people or that strange ability that had severely wounded Corpse God, both abilities were incredibly powerful.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. ¡°In that case, thank you, Senior.¡±

    Mu Shen and the others slowly backed away. Anointing champions and conferring summoned gods were the innate gifts of the Lu family, and they did not feel that it was appropriate to watch. This was especially true since everyone other than Lu Yin was a sequence powerhouse, and no one could say what they might discover if they watched.

    Lu Yin did not mind being watched when he anointed a champion, but he made no effort to stop anyone from leaving since they were taking the initiative themselves.

    The child¡¯s life was still slipping away. ¡°I possess two different powers. One is sin. I am able to imprison someone in their own sins. Pierce the Heavens is an attack that uses this power, and it affects those who feel a deep sense of guilt more deeply.

    ¡°My second power is illusions, which is also thew of the universe that I haveprehended. Belief is what makes my illusions real, while disbelief makes them cease to exist.¡±

    The child then turned to look at the distant group of humans. ¡°When Corpse God was being attacked and he called for my help, all of you believed that I had the power to save him. That¡¯s why all of you believed everything that happened when I did take action, and you were easily controlled by my illusions. Giants'' Purgatory is the same; the Mountain King and the Cyclops King both believed in the rules that I established, which made them real. That is why they did not truly die, even when they were killed. For as long as they believed, they would have continued to exist.¡±

    ¡°That is the power of my Law of Illusion.¡±

    Lu Yin was shocked. The Law of Illusion was utterly terrifying. It sounded easy to break; if belief made things real, then disbelief made them cease to exist. But how do you make someone stop believing in something?

    If Ye Zhang used the Law of Illusion to create a cage and everyone who saw it believed that it was a real cage, they would fall to his sequence particles. After that, no matter what they tried to think, the cage would be real to them.

    If Ye Zhang used the Law of Illusion to bring about the apocalypse, everyone who saw it would naturally believe it, and that would cause the apocalypse to truly arrive.

    No matter how simple it appeared, a false power like the Law of Illusion was one of the most difficult powers to deal with.

    ¡°People often get lost in illusions and are unable to extricate themselves. As long as nothing is said, such power is unsolvable.¡±

    Lu Yin let out a long breath. ¡°Senior, your ability is incredible.¡±

    The child gave a bitterugh. ¡°I was taught to use this power by someone else. Over time, I managed to cultivate it to the level of sequence particles.¡±

    ¡°Your master?¡± Lu Yin asked, intrigued by the thought of someone who was able to develop such an incredible power of illusions. Just how extraordinarily talented must that person be?

    The child shook his head, which led to him coughing up more blood. ¡°He never allowed me to call him my master.¡±

    ¡°What happened to him?¡±

    ¡°He must have passed away by now.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, suddenly feeling rather relieved. After learning about such an undefeatable and mysterious power, if the creator of this ability were still alive, Lu Yin would be left questioning whether everything he had ever seen was real or an illusion.

    ¡°<i>Cough, cough.</i> I¡¯m almost out of time. I can¡¯t hold on much longer. Please, do it,¡± Ye Zhang requested in a weak voice. There was blood covering his entire body.

    Lu Yin struggled again with what he had agreed to do, but ultimately, he raised a hand. ¡°Senior, I, Lu Yin, who was originally known as Lu Xiaoxuan, Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect in the Origin Universe¡¯s Fifth Maind, will see you off.¡±

    The child¡¯s vision was already blurry, and blood filled his eyes. ¡°Take good care of your civilization. I hope that you won¡¯t follow the same path as me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Lu Yin said earnestly.

    His hand then fell and struck the child¡¯s forehead. The child¡¯s body quivered slightly before he slowly fell to the ground.

    Mu Shen and the others all watched from a distance. A mighty powerhouse had just passed away. He had been the creator of Giants'' Purgatory, which had once been the focus of intense interest and study by the Sixverse Association, and he had just died.

    Lu Yin felt an indescribable weight fall upon him. He took a deep breath and brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage. ¡°By my name, I anoint a Champion.¡±

    As the image of Ye Zhang slowly appeared on the Champions¡¯ Stage, Lu Yin felt uncertain about how he should categorize the man¡¯s power. If his power was not understood, he could not be beaten. However, once his power was understood, it could be easily broken. Lu Yin could not figure out who he shouldpare Ye Zhang¡¯s strength to, but Lu Yin did believe that he could sessfully anoint Ye Zhang.

    As the image became more detailed and real, the Champions¡¯ Stage suddenly shook violently. It was connected to Lu Yin through his blood, and the disruption caused him to spit out blood as his face turned pale. Sounds became indistinct and blurry as he looked up. The character for ¡°Heaven¡± suddenly appeared, and as it did so, it smashed down upon him.

    Lu Yin experienced a sensation that he had never felt before. It had not appeared when Nightking Zhenwu hadunched a sneak attack and Lu Yin had been teetering on the edge of life and death, nor when he had stood up to the powerful and arrogant Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin felt as though he was being suppressed by heaven itself. It was as though the sky was copsing, and at that moment, Lu Yin had a glimpse of what normal humans experienced when they faced an apocalypse. Even that did not do the sensation justice. This was more akin to an ant looking up at the sky. <i>What is happening? What is this?</i>

    Everything urred in an instant. The ¡°Heaven¡± character was suddenly pressing down upon Lu Yin as though he had vited some cosmicw.

    At that same moment, the die unexpectedly appeared. There was absolutely no warning, but Gift Copy immediately turned to face the descending character, and the mes which had once burned the Books of Destiny appeared. However, the mes did not move towards the character of ¡°Heaven.¡± Instead, they moved towards Ye Zhang¡¯s corpse. Something unknown was destroyed, and the ¡°Heaven¡± character vanished just as it was about to crush Lu Yin.

    Had it been real or not?

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the sky above him, which had suddenly be empty. Close by, his Champions¡¯ Stage was also empty. There was no image of Ye Zhang to be seen. The die slowly disappeared, and everything grew eerily calm. Far away, Mu Shen and the others showed no signs of being at all disturbed. Theirck of reaction made it seem as though everything that Lu Yin had just experienced had been nothing more than an illusion.

    <i>An illusion? Could that be the Law of Illusion?</i>

    But then, why would Lu Yin ever believe that he could be suppressed by a single character, let alone killed? Why had his die appeared so suddenly?

    On top of that, there was blood, and it was real. Lu Yin had undoubtedly been overwhelmed, and the danger that he had felt had also been real. He had felt what it was like for ordinary humans to stand at the edge of death.

    Lu Yin looked over at where Ye Zhang¡¯s bodyy, but already, there was nothing but ashes. The body had disintegrated the moment the mes touched it.

    If not for Lu Yin¡¯s injuries and the inexplicable appearance of his die, Lu Yin would not believe that what had just happened was real. Where had that charactere from? Had it appeared because of Ye Zhang?

    Lu Yin carefully observed the area and brought out Lightstream so that he could see exactly what had happened.

    Why had he been suppressed? After suffering an injury out of nowhere, Lu Yin was determined to find out where the power hade from.

    Lightstream shimmered, and the scenery that Lu Yin saw shifted as he looked at the past. Ye Zhang¡¯s ashes slowly regathered and his corpse appeared once more. Lu Yin could see the mes that had incinerated the corpse, but the ¡°Heaven¡± character could not be seen anywhere. Lu Yin abruptly focused on the direction of the mes, and he then repeatedly rewatched the scene as Lightstream allowed him to look into the past. Lu Yin¡¯s focus was on Ye Zhang¡¯s corpse at a precise moment.

    He was able to clearly make something out. It was another character: ¡°ve.¡± It had appeared on Ye Zhang¡¯s forehead.

    The ¡°ve¡± character that was etched onto Ye Zhang¡¯s forehead was normally invisible, but it had appeared when Lu Yin had tried to anoint the dead man as a champion. Just what did ¡°ve¡± and ¡°Heaven¡± even mean?

    The effects of Lightstream ended, and Lu Yin¡¯s vision returned to normal. The area around him was empty.

    His mind was in chaos. How could ¡°ve¡± be etched onto Ye Zhang¡¯s forehead? The meaning of such a word was all too clear.

    Who could enve someone like Ye Zhang? Heaven? But what did ¡°Heaven¡± even represent?

    Lu Yin¡¯s fingers tingled. He felt like he had just touched upon some sort of forbidden knowledge.

    If not for the mes, would he even still be alive?

    Those mes had also appeared when the Books of Destiny had burned. At that time, Lu Yin had used his die¡¯s Gift Copy to steal the mes, which proved that they were someone¡¯s innate gift. After that, the mes had been stored in the die, and they had unexpectedly just saved him. Those mes had some sort of connection to the Immemorial Citadel. The Books of Destiny had burned precisely because Lu Yin had requested a divination regarding the Immemorial Citadel. Could whoever was rted to this ¡°Heaven¡± character also be rted to the Immemorial Citadel?

    It was clear to Lu Yin that the Immemorial Citadel was where both ancient and modern human powerhouses fought against Aeternus to prevent the destruction of sequence strings. This was an answer that Lu Yin had arrived at through logic. However, why had the ¡°Heaven¡± character appeared just now? What did this character mean in the context of the Immemorial Citadel?

    Lu Yin¡¯s confusion was only increasing. The Immemorial Citadel was not as simple as Mu Ji had made it out to be. There was clearly some sort of problem, and Lu Yin realized that he had to visit the Immemorial Citadel.

    Determination steeled his gaze. He needed to see the Immemorial Citadel for himself. There were a great number of important secrets hidden in that ce.

    The Champions¡¯ Stage slowly drifted down. When Lu Yin looked over at it, he saw that not only had Ye Zhang¡¯s image disappeared, but so too had the Cyclops King¡¯s.

    The Cyclops King had only existed because of Ye Zhang¡¯s Law of Illusion. After Ye Zhang had told Lu Yin that the super giants only existed because of the Law of Illusion, Lu Yin had stopped believing in the Cyclops King¡¯s existence. Thus, the Champions¡¯ Stage had lost the champion.

    Losing two of his most powerful champions possible at the same time was painful, but Lu Yin had also caught a glimpse of a certain secret, and he needed to uncover the full truth.

    Mu Shen and the others approached from where they had been waiting in the distance. ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, how did it go?¡±

    Lu Yin did not know how to exin what had just happened, so he simply nodded. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    Lord Xu rubbed his head as he frowned. ¡°We were finally able to force Corpse God into a corner and kill him, only to learn that he¡¯s still alive. From now on, it will be even harder to kill him.¡±

    Moon Fairymented, ¡°We were not the ones to defeat him. That child took care of things.¡±

 Chapter 3041: An Unwelcome Guest

    <h4>Chapter 3041: An Unwee Guest</h4>

    Lord Xu said, ¡°We are lucky that Lu Yin was able to anoint that child. Next time we run into Corpse God, we¡¯ll be able to attack him in the same manner.

    ¡°Just what is that child¡¯s power? We were unable to break through the defenses of the Divine Tree, and yet that child¡¯s power gravely wounded Corpse God from the inside.¡±

    Mu Shen nced at the Voidlord. ¡°It¡¯s time to return.¡±

    Such a question was essentially the same as probing into another¡¯s power. This was regarded as taboo among cultivators, and it was also why they had left Lu Yin to anoint Ye Zhang alone.

    Lord Xu quickly apologized, ¡°You¡¯re right, it is time to return. I was merely curious, nothing more. Let¡¯s go, Lu Yin.¡±

    Mu Shen said, ¡°While Corpse God is still alive, his heavy injuries mean that he will not show himself again for a very long time. When he does reappear, you might already be a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin appeared optimistic. ¡°I should break through by then. With that, it might not be so difficult to kill him.¡±

    With that, Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and Luo Shan all left. Yue Shen and Moon Fairy simrly bade Lu Yin farewell.

    Lu Yin thanked everyone once more.

    The Luna Alliance had repaid Lu Yin¡¯s favor, which meant that it would be difficult to ask for their aid again in the future. The Luna Alliance was not part of the Sixverse Association, nor was it formally allied with Whitecloud City. The alliance was led by three sequence powerhouses, and they were strong enough to stand on their own.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect. The next item on his agenda was to find the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest, as it contained some valuable treasures.

    The nine-headed bird had been a powerful outsider powerhouse, and it had gathered an impressive collection of treasures. After Possessing the bird, Lu Yin had learned the way to go to the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest, which had ess to several parallel universes where time passed faster. Many outsider powerhouses highly valued such universes.

    Lu Yin¡¯s only problem was that he needed to first find the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest.

    While Lu Yin had obtained some of the bird¡¯s memories, he was not the bird itself, and he had not left any sort of coordinate seal in the bird¡¯s nest. The only way he could hope to find it was by using Bi Rong''spass.

    Bi Rong''spass could guide a person to whatever they desired, as long as they were focused on an item and not a creature. For thepass, items were things that naturally urred within the megaverse, such as parallel universes where time passed at a different speed. Lightning was also a phenomenon that naturally urred within the megaverse. Thus, the Lord of Lightning had been able to use thepass to seek out lightning. However, searching for people or astral beasts did not work.

    Fortunately, from the nine-headed bird¡¯s memories, Lu Yin knew that, in its nest, there was an incredibly rare natural treasure: Searwood. This Searwood originated from the same universe as the nine-headed bird, and it was the core of the bird¡¯s nest. This treasure was what had allowed the nine-headed bird to evolve over the course of countless years, eventually bing a sequence powerhouse. However, the bird had never once in its long life found a second piece of Searwood. With that kind of rarity, thepass should be able to guide Lu Yin to the nine-headed bird¡¯s home universe.

    Lu Yin started focusing intently on the Searwood as he raised thepass and tore the void open.

    He stared at the spatial tear and then stepped through it, vanishing from the Heavens Sect. He reappeared in an unknown universe, but when Lu Yin looked around with Heaven¡¯s Sight, he became extremely excited. He had found the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest on his first try.

    This was the universe where the bird had lived.

    Parallel universes where time flowed at an elerated rate typicallycked sequence strings, which was why one had to use thepass to find them. The nine-headed bird¡¯s home universe was a normal universe, and because it had sequence strings, Lu Yin was able to directly ess the universe after tearing through the void.

    It was actually a rather normal universe, and Lu Yin hurried across it.

    He soon caught sight of a massive tree rising high. At the top of it sat the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest, with the Searwood at its core.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the tree. He could already see that there was someone inside the nest.

    There a figure searching for something in the nest, destroying things as they moved around.

    ¡°Searching like that is useless,¡± a voice rang out.

    The figure whipped around, revealing slitted scarlet eyes that were zing with violence.

    Getting a clear sight of the figure caused Lu to exim in surprise, ¡°Nie?¡±

    Nie was searching the nest. Lu Yin had encountered this corpse king while under his alias of Xuan Qi. At one point, he had been in the Transcendent Universe and had been sent to the Cloudflow Universe, where he had fought in a battle. Nie had attacked a bestowal art carrier. The actions of the Progenitor-level corpse king had let Lu Yin witness the power that Qiu Zhan was capable of unleashing with the help of a ck energy converter. Nie was nothing more than a rather average Progenitor-level corpse king. He was slightly stronger than a member of the True God Guard and just barely qualified to receive a name, but he was only about as strong as Qiu Zhan.

    Nie stared at Lu Yin. ¡°How are you here?¡±

    Lu Yin smirked. ¡°It looks like you recognize me. I¡¯m also curious about why you¡¯re here. Does Aeternus know where the home bases of all of their outsider powerhouse allies are?¡±

    Without warning, Nie suddenly punched Lu Yin.

    The punch froze right in front of Lu Yin¡¯s face. He caught the fist easily and held it in ce.

    Nie growled and lunged forward, but Lu Yin kicked and sent the corpse king flying. Lu Yin instantly appeared where Nie crashed down, and a foot stomped down, pinning Nie beneath it.

    Nie iled wildly, but his efforts were futile.

    Lu Yin was simply much stronger than the corpse king. The two were not on the same level at all.

    ¡°Are you going to tell me? Does Aeternus know where to find all of their allies¡¯ bases? Do they plunder them when the owner dies?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Nie red up at Lu Yin through scarlet eyes. ¡°Your own kind will kill you one day! Humans cannot resist us!¡±

    Lu Yin frowned and pressed his foot down harder, crushing Nie.

    Nie was a corpse king, which meant that interrogation was not an option, and speaking was unnecessary. Nie was only in the universe at Aeternus¡¯s behest, which meant that the Aeternals had somehow managed to locate the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest. That was certainly not some minor matter.

    The nine-headed bird had always been very cautious, and it had only ever returned to its nest when it was alone. There was no way the bird had shared its nest location with the Aeternals.

    However, if Aeternus knew where to find the nine-headed bird¡¯s nest, then what of the other outsider powerhouses? If those bases were also known, then the possessions of the dead would inevitably fall into the hands of Aeternus. If Lu Yin¡¯s guess was urate, then Aeternus had gathered an unimaginable amount of wealth.

    It was no wonder why Aeternus was able to repeatedly pay Astral Anura. The payment that the toad required must feel cheap to the Aeternals. There was no problem doubling Astral Anura¡¯s payment when Aeternus was paying with resources gathered by other outsider powerhouses.

    In that case, the question was, did Aeternus also know where Astral Anura¡¯s home universe was located? If they did, then considering the resources that Astral Anura had already been paid, was it possible that the Aeternals were confident that they could reim the wealth they had paid to Astral Anura?

    The more Lu Yin considered the possibilities, the more he realized that Aeternus was making deals that cost them nothing at all.

    The better he understood about Aeternus, the more impressed he was. Despite most of their numbers being corpse kings, Aeternus acted with an incredibly high level of intelligence. There was a reason why the ancient Heavens Sect had been destroyed. There were many seemingly simple events that had actually all been interconnected.

    Lu Yin suppressed his suspicions and then used the nine-headed bird¡¯s memories to move deeper into the nest. Once he arrived at a specific corner, he pressed down with a hand, exposing the hidden entrance to the nine-headed bird¡¯s vault. The bird had not used cosmic rings to store things, but rather hidden everything in a secret room.

    These were the treasures that Nie had been searching for.

    Lu Yin soon found all of the nine-headed bird¡¯s treasures: weapons, cultivation resources, and countless natural treasures. Unfortunately, what Lu Yin found was also of little use to him.

    There was even about 1 billion star essence. It was not a lot, but not too little either. At least, it was better than nothing.

    In addition to the star essence, Lu Yin found transcendent crystals, flourishing crystals, and other resources from the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes. There were also many other types of resources from the various cultivation civilizations that the nine-headed bird had encountered over the years. Lu Yin took everything, using them to strengthen the stars in the universe in his chest.

    Of the many treasures, there were two which were particrly valuable. First, there were a few cosmic doors that led to all the parallel universes the nine-headed bird had ess to where time flowed at different rates. The cosmic doors granted ess to these universes, and the bird had periodically patrolled them, just to ensure that no one had trespassed on its domain.

    The next invaluable item was the essence of Searwood. It was a liquid that took countless years to condense from the Searwood. Lu Yin did not know what the essence of Searwood did exactly, but he did know that the nine-headed bird regarded it as its most valuable treasure. The nine-headed bird had considered the essence of Searwood to be even more valuable than the universes it had found.

    Throughout the bird¡¯s entire life, the Searwood had only produced enough essence to fill a bottle the size of Lu Yin¡¯s palm. It was incredibly rare, and the bird had never once allowed itself to use it.

    Lu Yin took it.

    The fact that the nine-headed bird had never used the essence of Searwood worked in Lu Yin¡¯s favor, though he also had no idea what it could be used for. He would save it for the future.

    After that, there was little left of the nine-headed bird¡¯s possessions.

    Lu Yin picked up the cosmic doors and carried them out of the vault and away from the tree. He nced back but saw no need to destroy anything. The tree might soon see a new owner.

    He returned to the Heavens Sect and took the cosmic doors to the mountain behind the sect. He passed through, intending to cultivate in the parallel universes. Later, he would use the universes as rewards for the Heavens Sect¡¯s most elite disciples. No one would refuse the opportunity to train in such ces.

    For the first time since Lu Yin had be the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, he possessed significant rewards to offer his followers. The Tower of the Fifth was not nearly as attractive to cultivators as the parallel universes that Lu Yin had just acquired.

    The nine-headed bird had found four parallel universes where time flowed faster. Lu Yin took three years to be acknowledged by the four universes, which added another thirty-two seconds to how far Lightstream could look into the past. However, from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, he had spent seventy-eight years in those universes.

    This was what seclusion was truly supposed to be for cultivators. In the blink of an eye, three years passed, whereas before, Lu Yin¡¯s periods of seclusion were often as brief as a tea break.

    All together, more than ny years had passed since Lu Yin had arrived on Earth, and that was just the time that the Origin Universe had experienced. If Lu Yin also took the time that he had spent in his Timestop Space and in parallel universes into ount, he was several hundred years old. He was no longer a member of the younger generation.

    Lu Yin let out a breath and allowed his domain to sweep across the entire Heavens Sect. <i>Huh? Why is He Ran here?</i>

    He looked down the stairs and saw He Ran standing by the cauldron, ying with Sapling. Just as Lu Yin was about to check in with the woman, the Second Nightking arrived to deliver a report. ¡°There¡¯s a war in the Astral Beast Domain. Please advise on how to respond, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°A war in the Astral Beast Domain? With whom?¡±

    ¡°With a civilization that identally entered the Fifth Maind from another universe.¡±

    Lu Yin chuckled. He had been visiting various other parallel universes and civilizations, and there were outsiders visiting his home universe. Not only were they visitors, but they were also unwee ones.

    The Second Nightking quickly shared some footage of the war in the Astral Beast Domain with Lu Yin, who stared at the disy.

    He saw an array of uniquely shaped spacecraft which were surrounded by protective shields as they fired beams at arge number of astral beasts. These ships were distinctly different from the ones in the Fifth Maind, and each one was protected by its own independent shield. Many of the astral beasts had no choice but to simply endure the assault.

 Chapter 3042: The Infinity Empire

    <h4>Chapter 3042: The Infinity Empire</h4>

    Lu Yin saw a familiar astral beast charging at the armada of spacecraft. It was a Soaring Firebeast, one of the seven most powerful members of the Wilderness Beast Alliance, which had been stationed at the border of the Human Domain¡¯s Erudite Flowzone. When Lu Yin first encountered the beast, it had possessed the strength of an Enlighter, and after so many years, its strength had not changed much.

    Lu Yin had gone to the border warfront of the Erudite Flowzone back when he had just been a Melder. That was also when he had first encountered Yao Gu, who had sent a Void Thunder Beast to kill Lu Yin. Those matters now felt like a distant memory.

    The Soaring Firebeast charged at a vessel, spewing ck, white, and red mes that filled outer space.

    There were several other astral beasts with the strength of Enlighters charging at the armada right alongside the Soaring Firebeast.

    One of the beasts tore a spacecraft apart, leaving some debris in its wake. Before anything could be seen, the vessel exploded. The explosion filled the area, and itpletely enveloped the attacking astral beast.

    The Soaring Firebeast¡¯s tri-colored mes only managed to distort the protective shield of a spacecraft, but it failed to break through. After that, a beam swept out, piercing into the Soaring Firebeast¡¯s body and killing it instantly.

    The rest of the battle did notst long, and it ended with all of the astral beasts from the Wilderness Beast Alliance being killed.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, this happened during the first year of your seclusion. The Wilderness Beast Alliance waspletely annihted, and the attacking civilization left an announcement,¡± the Second Nightking softly said.

    Lu Yin was quite interested. ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°The Infinity Empire left a decree stating that the civilizations in this universe must not resist or hide. All vitors will be exterminated.¡±

    Lu Yin was taken aback by the decree, but then he burst outughing.

    The Second Nightking alsoughed.

    ¡°Interesting, very interesting. The Infinity Empire? Even the name is interesting.¡± Lu Yin chuckled.

    The Second Nightking continued in a low voice. ¡°So far, the Infinity Empire has attacked on three different asions. During their first attack, they exterminated the Wilderness Beast Alliance. In the second incursion, they wiped out the Xushui Alliance. The third time they appeared, the Soaring Firebeast race took action, and they attacked the spatial passage that the Infinity Empire opened to connect to the Astral Beast Domain. That first Soaring Firebeast was one of theirs, and even if they considered him a traitor, the species couldn¡¯t swallow the insult, and their patriarch got directly involved.¡±

    ¡°So there have been three invasions, and the Astral Beast Domain lost every single time?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Second Nightking silently agreed.

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought. He had previously met the patriarch of the Soaring Firebeasts. The creature had possessed a power level of over a million, making him one of the most powerful astral beasts in the Astral Beast Domain. The Soaring Firebeasts ranked tenth on the Celestial Beast List, so of course their leader was extremely powerful.

    In the current Heavens Sect, a power level of over a million would not attract any attention. The sect had multiple Progenitor-level powerhouses. However, just a few decades earlier, when Lu Yin had first started cultivating, a power level of a million had been considered supremely powerful. At that time, there had been no Progenitors in the Fifth Maind, only Semi-Progenitors. The entire Astral Beast Domain had only had two Semi-Progenitors: Yao Di and Skymender. In addition to those two, there had been a handful of astral beasts with power levels over a million.

    ¡°How did the Soaring Firebeasts lose?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no recording of that battle, but supposedly, they fought against something that looked like mechas.¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°Mechas?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Little Bear, the vice city master from the Technocracy¡¯s First Edition City, is currently studying some fragments of one of the Infinity Empire¡¯s destroyed vessels.¡±

    ¡°Send him to see me,¡± Lu Yin calmly ordered. He did not have any understanding of this Infinity Empire.

    No civilization that dared to challenge an unknown parallel universe could be simple.

    Little Bear soon arrived, his android form still that of a bear.

    ¡°Little Bear greets the Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the cute mechanical bear who stood before him and chuckled. ¡°You really seem to like this appearance.¡±

    Little Bear answered respectfully, ¡°That is mostly because this is the form that the Dao Monarch first saw, and I don¡¯t dare to change it casually.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Tell me, what have you learned about this Infinity Empire?¡±

    Little Bear remained extremely respectful. ¡°From what we¡¯ve been able to learn so far, they are a technological civilization. Both their defensive and offensive measures are powered by some unusual energy sources. Beyond that, I really can¡¯t say, given that I have nothing more than fragments of a vessel to work with.

    ¡°However, there is one point that is worth noting: this civilization possesses an incredible amount of material wealth. They use incredibly rare materials in their vessels. Such materials are used for our core technologies, yet the Infinity Empire uses such substances for theirmon vessels.¡±

    ¡°Common spacecraft?¡± Lu Yin arched a brow.

    ¡°Yes. They have only sent nothing more than average battleships here. Trump cards won¡¯t be revealed right at the beginning, so I suspect that battleships are not their primary form of offense. However, the power source for their vessels is very odd, so I need to continue researching it.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°How did they enter our Fifth Maind?¡±

    Little Bear replied in a grave tone, ¡°By tearing through space.¡±

    ¡°Deliberately?¡±

    ¡°Yes, deliberately.¡±

    Lu Yin looked away. This was a civilization that actively tore through space and instigated wars by issuing ultimatums the moment they encountered a new civilization. They must be incredibly confident in their power.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, my current estimate is that the Infinity Empire most likely relies on their mechas as their primary means of attack,¡± Little Bear stated.

    Lu Yin looked back at the android. ¡°Like the ones that they used to defeat the patriarch of the Soaring Firebeasts?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Typically, technological civilizations struggle to cultivate, and they instead focus on developing technology to achieve simr effects. My Technocracy does this, as does the Transcendent Universe. Given the Infinity Empire¡¯s vast material wealth and peculiar power systems, they are very likely the same as well,¡± Little Bear exined.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand. Continue your research.¡±

    ¡°Understood. I will take my leave,¡± Little Bear replied.

    Lu Yin then had the Second Nightking rey the recording of the battle. ¡°I was in retreat for three years, which means the Infinity Empire has been attacking the Astral Beast Domain for more than two years.¡±

    ¡°Two years and three months,¡± the Second Nightking rified.

    ¡°Three attacks. While they won all of those battles and even issued an ultimatum demanding surrender, they haven¡¯t pressed their attacks. Either they¡¯re waiting for something, or they¡¯re merely feigning confidence while observing our universe,¡± Lu Yin murmured. ¡°Has Leng Qing put any countermeasures in ce?¡±

    The Second Nightking replied, ¡°Lord Leng Qing was waiting for your seclusion to end so that he could receive your instructions.¡±

    No civilization that dared to arbitrarily tear through parallel universes and attack as soon as they arrived could be simple. Leng Qing must have already realized this. While the Sixverse Association currently held an advantage in the war against Aeternus, there was no guarantee that another civilization equally as powerful as Aeternals would not appear. Leng Qing did not dare to act on his own.

    ¡°Send orders to the Astral Beast Domain and have them feign surrender. I want to see what the Infinity Empire will do next,¡± Lu Yin instructed.

    The Second Nightking promptly ryed the orders to the Astral Beast Domain.

    ...

    In the Astral Beast Domain, a massive rift continued to expand in a dark part of the universe where it had opened up. A series of shielded vessels were lined up on either side of the rift, facing every direction. This was where the Infinity Empire had connected to the Astral Beast Domain, and it was not far from its border with the Erudite Flowzone. It was quite far from the Celestial Demons¡¯ territory.

    One day, an endless horde of astral beasts arrived at the rift.

    Arge number of the Infinity Empire¡¯s vessels activated and moved to head the astral beasts off. More spacecraft arrived through the spatial rift, bringing an incredible pressure with them.

    ¡°The Void Thunder Beasts represent all of the astral beasts in our civilization to negotiate with the Infinity Empire. Send out someone who can make decisions,¡± Xu Qing stated, using his true form of the Void Thunder Beast. He stared at the spatial rift, nked by the patriarch of the previously defeated Soaring Firebeasts, as well as the representatives of a variety of other astral beasts. None of them were too powerful or intimidating, as they wanted the Infinity Empire to lower their guard.

    On the other side, several vessels were clearly blocking the path forward, and one of them broadcast a message. ¡°By the order of the Infinity Empire, this universe¡¯s civilization must not resist or escape. Vitors will be exterminated.¡±

    Xu Qing sternly shouted, ¡°We are able to speak for our civilization. Even if you demand our surrender, someone with authority muste and speak to us.¡±

    The astral beasts waited for some time, but there was no response from the invaders.

    Xu Qing was in no hurry. Interactions between unfamiliar civilizations never proceeded smoothly, and both sides would always be wary of the other. Even if the Infinity Empire was unbelievably confident, that confidence had to stem from a sense of caution regarding the unknown, which was universal. If such caution did not exist, then a Progenitor like Leng Qing would have already attacked.

    So far, the Infinity Empire had not revealed any sort ofbat power equal to a Progenitor.

    Some timeter, a huge mecha emerged from the spatial rift. This mecha was familiar to the Soaring Firebeast patriarch, as it was the one that had defeated him.

    The mecha was blue, and it had sleek lines that formed a humanoid shape. It basically looked like a mechanical version of a colossal giant.

    This was not unique, as the Heavens Sect could produce a simr mecha if they wanted to. The technology was not particrly difficult, though acquiring the necessary materials was a different story.

    This mecha was strong enough to fight against a creature with a power level of over a million, which meant that it had been constructed from extremely rare materials. The amount of materials used to produce such a massive mecha seemed extravagant.

    The mecha was evenrger than the surrounding battleships.

    ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of animals. If they don¡¯t surrender, just kill them. Who do they think they are to demand a negotiation?¡± a voice inside the mecha asked. The person sounded young and arrogant. While they spoke in an unknownnguage, the voice emitting from the mecha was tranted so that Xu Qing and the others could understand what was being said.

    Xu Qing shouted back, ¡°Do you possess authority in the Infinity Empire?¡±

    ¡°I possess authority over you,¡± a haughty reply came from within the mecha.

    ¡°Arrogant!¡± Xu Qing barked.

    The mecha raised an arm, and it transformed into a massive sword that pointed straight at Xu Qing. ¡°No surrender, no mercy. That is the rule of my Infinity Empire.¡±

    As the mecha swung the sword, a barrier appeared around the de, and it sliced through space with a strength close to that of a peak Envoy.

    Xu Qing and the gathered astral beasts were all stunned by the formidable power bearing down on them.

    This was surely not the full power of the Infinity Empire. Xu Qing knew that Lu Yin had told the Astral Beast Domain to feign surrender in order to draw out the true powers of the Infinity Empire so that they could learn just how powerful the Infinity Empire was. Unfortunately, the one controlling the mechas was simply too arrogant.

    ¡°Fine, we surrender,¡± Xu Qing stated gravely.

    ¡°You have no choice,¡± the mecha replied in an arrogant tone. It then turned back to face the spatial rift. ¡°I told you that this was simple, but you didn¡¯t believe me. Come over here and choose your mounts. These astral beasts aren¡¯t very impressive, but they¡¯ll serve as mounts.¡±

    The gathered astral beasts grew furious. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s orders restraining them, they would have already attacked.

    Far away, at the border of the Erudite Flowzone, Lu Yin was calmly watching everything. The Infinity Empire was ruled by humans.

    Soon, mechas of various colors and shapes passed through the rift. There was red, white, yellow, and other colors. Some wererge, others small, and more than a dozen appeared, all quickly passing through the rift.

    The various mechas were around the same size as colossal giants, and such giants stood out in outer space. They dwarfed the battleships, making the vessels look tiny inparison. Even the enormous astral beasts appeared insignificant beside the mechas.

 Chapter 3043: True Strength

    <h4>Chapter 3043: True Strength</h4>

    ¡°Big Brother Fei Su is still as reliable as ever. He¡¯s already suppressed these beasts,¡± a voice from within a mecha stated.

    ¡°Of course. Big Brother Fei Su is very powerful. He¡¯s General Fei Yan¡¯s son, and a future Imperial Conquest General. He¡¯s even qualified topete for the position of Marshal.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Little Qing will be the Marshal one day, whereas I¡¯ll just be a general,¡± Fei Su interjected, though there was a clear note of pride in his voice.

    As he spoke, he looked over at a distant, cyan-colored mech. The mecha was even sleeker than Fei Su¡¯s blue one, and it gave off an air of elegance and possessed an unusual allure. ¡°Little Qing, you can report the oue to the Marshal. This universe has surrendered. We can begin searching for resources.¡±

    ¡°Got it. By the way, which of these beasts do you like? Just take it to be your mount.¡±

    A voice came from the cyan mech, ¡°Are you sure they¡¯ve surrendered?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Fei Su replied, He then turned to stare at Xu Qing and the various astral beasts. ¡°All who do not wish to die, get over here now.¡±

    Just as Xu Qing was about to reply, Ku Wei appeared on his back. ¡°Eh, which of you beasts is making all thismotion? You¡¯ve disturbed your grandpa¡¯s rest. Do you want to die?¡±

    All eyes turned to Ku Wei.

    Xu Qing was surprised to see the human and wondered if his appearance was because of a newmand from the Dao Monarch.

    The entire area fell silent for a moment, and then Fei Su furiously demanded, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Humans?¡±

    ¡°Are there humans in this universe?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ve conquered many human civilizations before. If they don¡¯t submit, we¡¯ll just annihte them...¡±

    Ku Wei casually picked at an ear, cleaning it as he stared at the blue mech. ¡°Are you talking to your grandpa over here? Listen up! I am themander of the Giants Army of the Astral Beast Domain! You trash have trespassed into the Astral Beast Domain, and you even dare to dream of conquering it, which is utterlyughable. Are you here to tell jokes to your grandpa?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking death!¡± Fei Su raised his mecha¡¯s massive sword and attacked Xu Qing.

    The sword was enormous, and it was as long as the arm of a colossal giant as it fell towards Xu Qing.

    Xu Qing swung his twin spears with a thunderous roar as he struck the massive sword.

    There was a boom as lightning traveled along the de, racing towards the mecha, which ignored the attack. The enormous de smashed down onto Xu Qing.

    Far away, a flicker of recognition appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes at the sight of peak Envoy-level strength. It was quite impressive to reach this level of power with pure technology.

    It was clear that Xu Qing was no match for the sword. His lightning only managed to stall the de briefly before Xu Qing was forced to quickly pull back.

    Fei Su sneered. ¡°You want to run? I¡¯m going to purge this universe!

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    The dozen mechas beside Fei Su activated and charged at Xu Qing and the other astral beasts. Each of the mechas was enormous, and on top of that, each one possessed the destructive power of an Envoy, which easily overwhelmed the astral beasts.

    The first row of astral beasts that had arrived to offer their surrender to the invaders fled, and the Envoy-level beasts behind them moved forward. Among them were the colossal giants, Chen Huang and Chen Ling.

    The two colossal giants were about the same size as the mechas, which immediately drew attention.

    ¡°Giants? Interesting. Capture them!¡± Fei Su ordered as he swung his sword. Xu Qing was pushed back, and the mecha shot towards Chen Huang.

    Nine-lined battle force covered Chen Huang¡¯s body, and he let out a roar as he punched at Fei Su.

    The mecha was massive, but it was also incredibly agile. It easily dodged the punch, and its retaliatory sword swipended on Chen Huang. The colossal giant was sent reeling back, an open wound on his arm.

    Chen Ling pushed forward, a heavy punch mming into Fei Su¡¯s mecha, which did not move at all.

    ¡°Your strength isn¡¯t bad, but it¡¯s not enough,¡± Fei Su scoffed as he kicked Chen Ling and sent him flying.

    The sight of a colossal giant being knocked back was truly spectacr.

    The dozen mechas easily subdued the nearby astral beasts, including the beasts that had the strength of a peak Envoy. Raw strength was one thing, but being able to break through the mechas¡¯ defenses was an entirely different matter.

    Lu Yin stared into outer space, watching as the patriarch of the Soaring Firebeast sted a mecha with mes. The beast had a power level of 900,000, but his mes only managed to push the mecha back in a strange manner.

    In a one-on-one fight, astral beasts with the same power level were no match for the mechas, which were perfectly protected by their shields. On top of that, the mechas had been made with extremely durable materials that were so rare that even Little Bear hadmented on their value. Such substances were too rare to be used in spacecraft, let alone to create mechas.

    The astral beasts werepletely outmatched. Lu Yin ordered Ku Wei, ¡°Bring one of those mechas to me.¡±

    Ku Wei was still standing on Xu Qing¡¯s back. The human was not even a peak Envoy, and he was no match for the mechas, even if he transformed into a colossal giant. Still, he had no choice but to obey Lu Yin¡¯smand.

    The Heavens Sect could not act rashly yet, as they stillcked a clear understanding of this enemy¡¯s full strength. Acting rashly could tip the Infinity Empire off.

    Gritting his teeth, Ku Wei called out, ¡°The master has given his orders! All hands, attack!¡±

    Up above, one of the mechas wielding a chakram released a shing attack. This mecha had a power level of a million, simr to Xu Qing. Inside the mecha, a manughed maniacally. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got a smart mouth. Go to hell!¡±

    Suddenly, the mecha froze, and the man inside looked up. An rm was ring, but he could not see any attack. ¡°Analyze!

    ¡°Spiritual force? This universe is getting even more interesting.¡±

    At that moment, the Celestial Demons arrived, led by Yao Xuan. None of them had a power level of a million, and when they tried to attack with spiritual force, they found that it waspletely ineffective, as the shields blocked spiritual force just like all the other forms of attack. They were aprehensive defense.

    Several more Envoy-level experts arrived in the Astral Beast Domain, but all of them were also crushed by the mechas.

    While the power levels of the two sides wereparable, none of the astral beasts were able to prate the mechas¡¯ defenses.

    ¡°Master, we can¡¯t hold them back!. These things are too ridiculous,¡± Ku Weimented.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. ¡°Yao Di, go ahead.¡±

    Yao Di was unable to restrain himself any longer. It was his Celestial Demons¡¯ territory that was being attacked. As Lu Yin had once said, the Heavens Sect served as the protector of the entire Origin Universe, but it did not force all powers to join the sect. The Celestial Demons remained independent, just like the Sword Sect, Mavis family, and several others.

    The Celestial Demons¡¯ territory was struggling, and Yao Di was the one suffering the most at this moment.

    As soon as he heard Lu Yin¡¯smand, Yao Di leaped into action. His wings spread wide as he released his Semi-Progenitor-level spiritual force across the universe, targeting the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas and ships.

    Many rms went off at that moment.

    Fei Su¡¯s expression changed. The sensors were indicating that an individual with a rank of nine rings had appeared, and he quickly retreated.

    The other mechas retreated as well.

    Yao Di showed himself as his overwhelming spiritual force bombarded the mechas. One mecha¡¯s shield shattered, and it was quickly followed by another and another. Their hulls started cracking.

    The difference between an Envoy and a Semi-Progenitor was unmistakable.

    ¡°Fei Su, let¡¯s work together.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    The blue and cyan mechas moved together, both charging at Yao Di. He red at them coldly, surprised that they dared to attack him. At this moment, they were the only two mechas with intact shields.

    The blue mecha raised its sword.

    The cyan mecha pulled back its arm and thrust a palm strike forward, the force of the attack sending ripples through the void. They spread out in a strange pattern that created a constricting force.

    Yao Di had the form of a gigantic bat. He spread his wings and let out a sharp screech as he attacked with his spiritual force. The blue mecha instantly slowed down, and it was unable to swing its sword the rest of the way down. The cyan mecha continued to move forward, grabbing the blue mecha and using the spatial ripples to build momentum as they moved forward. Once it gathered enough power, the blue blue mecha¡¯s sword dropped once more, the sh cleaving through stars.

    As the de fell, Yao Di pushed with his wings. He believed that his strength as a Semi-Progenitor would easily repel an attack with the strength of a peak Envoy, but the astral beast¡¯s wings were sliced through by the sword, and blood sshed into outer space.

    Far away, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. A peak Envoy was challenging a Semi-Progenitor. Was this why the technological civilization was so confident? It was no wonder why they had been so confident that they could purge the Astral Beast Domain.

    Two of the mechas had shields that a Semi-Progenitor could not break, while also having an attack powerparable to a Semi-Progenitor. This was the power of the Infinity Empire.

    The sword struck Yao Di, enraging him. He could not believe that he had underestimated the two mechas.

    The blue mecha thrust its sword forward to stab the astral beast. ¡°So what if you have nine rings worth of power? You¡¯re not the first nine rings I¡¯ve killed.¡±

    The cyan mecha followed right behind, its hands warping the void in a strange manner, strengthening its binding power.

    Yao Di raised his ws to contend with the sword strike. There was a loud crash, and the astral beast¡¯s body was forced back. Yao Di was startled by the incredible power of this attack.

    Fei Su was amazed. ¡°Is this one able to withstand my sword strike? It¡¯s stronger than the other nine-ringed creatures we¡¯ve encountered. Let¡¯s go again.¡±

    As the sword strikes continued to rain down, Yao Di had no choice but to continue retreating.

    No matter what, Yao Di was a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. Not even an average Semi-Progenitor could endure one of his attacks.

    Regardless of the strength of the person inside it, the mecha itself was indeed truly formidable.

    Yao Di¡¯s Obsidian Star appeared behind him. He had released his inner world.

    The appearance of the Obsidian Star caused more important rms to go off, and Fei Su started to be a bit uncertain. ¡°Does the beast still have more strength it can bring out?¡±

    ¡°Fei Su, something¡¯s not right. The beings in this universe are different from any we¡¯ve encountered before,¡± the person inside the cyan mecha suddenly spoke up.

    Fei Su¡¯s expression fell. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s take care of this.¡±

    His sword rose back up, and then fell.

    Yao Di¡¯s eyes went wide. As he stared at the falling sword de, his inner world merged with his body, and a terrifying spiritual force swept out. This time, both mechas¡¯ shields instantly shattered, and the mechas themselves were swept away.

    Fei Su¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Little Qing, retreat!¡±

    Before Fei Su could say anything more, the cyan mecha was already retreating.

    Yao Di pped his wings, instantly arriving at the blue mech, which suddenly elerated to escape. The astral beast then chased after the cyan mech, which failed to react as quickly as the blue one. The astral beast¡¯s ws caught hold of the cyan mech, but even as he started to squeeze with more and more pressure, the mecha remained undamaged.

    Inside the machine, the woman known as Little Qing was not still not panicking. ¡°Activate the self-preservation protocol.¡±

    The cyan mecha¡¯s outer shell began to flutter with mechanical ripples. They constantly deflected Yao Di¡¯s ws, and the sound of metal shing against metal the only sound that could be heard.

    The Celestial Demons publicly imed to have no physical bodies and to be nothing but a living form of spiritual force. However, after the Heavens Sect conquered the Celestial Demon Empire, the Human Domain had learned that the Celestial Demons did indeed have physical bodies. Their spiritual force was nothing more than an illusion to protect their true bodies.

    The Celestial Demons¡¯ true bodies were fragile, and they were unable to hold out for long against the spatial ripples that appeared when an Envoy-level mecha protected itself. Hence, they had to retreat.

    Even so, Yao Di refused to allow the cyan mecha to escape. He had received his orders from Lu Yin, and Yao Di would not be able to report back to Lu Yin without capturing the mecha.

    With that thought, Yao Di released all of his spiritual force, and he overpowered the mech with brute strength.

 Chapter 3044: Captured Alive

    <h4>Chapter 3044: Captured Alive</h4>

    Inside the mecha, the woman grew dizzy, which rendered her incapable of controlling the mecha. It fled into the distance on autopilot.

    Suddenly, the mecha was struck by something, and the already cracked hull shattered at one point as cracks radiated out from that location.

    At the spatial rift, Fei Su and others were rmed. ¡°This is bad! Save her.¡±

    Before they could move, another mecha flew out, headed straight for the cyan mech.

    This mecha was not as sleek and as brightly colored as the blue and cyan mechas. It was a dull, mottled gray-brown. It was rather inconspicuous, but when the mecha appeared, Yao Di felt a chill. His spiritual force erupted, but the gray-brown mecha raised a hand, instantly transforming the arm into a de that sliced right through the spiritual force. The edge of the weapon was aimed straight at Yao Di.

    Far away, Lu Yin arched a brow. This mecha had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. The mechas that had taken action earlier had been nothing but children, but the adults were finally participating. Still, this was not enough.

    The gray-brown mecha was strong enough to stand up to Yao Di. Given the strength of the Astral Beast Domain, it would be impossible for them to capture any of the mechas.

    Lu Yin was done slowly probing the strength of the Infinity Empire. He casually ordered, ¡°Go make your move, but be gentle. I want them captured alive.¡±

    The jiao shot into the sky from where it had been resting on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. Excitement filled the beast¡¯s fierce eyes as it headed towards the Astral Beast Domain.

    In the Astral Beast Domain, Yao Di was staring at the approaching gray-brown mecha. ¡°Does your Infinity Empire truly intend to wage war against us?¡±

    Inside the cyan mecha, the woman had finally recovered. She looked back, but was unconcerned.

    The gray-brown mecha was blocking Yao Di. ¡°Surrender or die.¡±

    Blood still dripped from Yao Di¡¯s wings. The Infinity Empire was truly powerful. The person who had moved to confront Yao Di did not appear to be anyone with true authority, but was more like a guardian for the elite youths.

    This was a problem. If Yao Di failed to capture a mecha, the Dao Monarch would certainly be displeased.

    ¡°We have already surrendered. Have yourmander speak with me,¡± Yao Di solemnly requested.

    A cold voice spoke from the gray-brown mecha, ¡°You are not qualified.¡±

    ¡°Then go ahead and see if you can conquer this universe!¡± Yao Di shouted.

    The gray-brown mecha raised its de. ¡°Release them.¡±

    Yao Di and the other astral beasts were confused, but the very next moment, the battleships surrounding the spatial rift released countless mechanical objects that resembled hummingbirds. The mechanical birds flew off in every direction, clearly to scout the universe for the Infinity Empire.

    After scattering everywhere, the mechanical hummingbirds would transmit detailed information about the universe back to the Infinity Empire.

    Lu Yin frowned. <i>Are they only really starting now? Then let¡¯s put an end to this for a bit</i>.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you one month,¡± the gray-brown mecha announced as it turned to leave. ¡°For one month, you can gather your fullbat strength. After that, you can either surrender or let this entire universe bleed.¡±

    The people in the more distant mechas all rxed. They had witnessed this same scenario many times before.

    ¡°I really wanted to find an astral beast to serve as a mount.¡±

    ¡°These astral beasts are wild and difficult to tame. Taking back one of each species to study would be valuable, and their offspring could then be trained to serve as mounts.¡±

    ¡°My family does that for a living, so anyone who¡¯s interested cane to me and we¡¯ll give you a 10% discount,¡± another mentioned.

    ¡°I¡¯ve imed all the materials these beasts had, and my family¡¯s already negotiated terms with the Marshal. Heh, these things are quite valuable,¡± another bragged.

    ¡°Hmph! If it weren¡¯t for you people, we would have already conquered this universe.¡±

    ¡°So short-sighted. By giving them a bit of time, not only will we reduce the amount of time we need to search for, but this also allows everyone to negotiate for a better distribution of the profits, which is quite nice.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me for interrupting, but has anyone else noticed that it¡¯s gotten darker?¡±

    ¡°Scoff¡ªBrother, we¡¯re in outer space. What do you mean by ¡®darker¡¯?¡±

    ¡°I also feel like it¡¯s gotten much darker.¡± One female pilot looked up from inside her mecha and suddenly let out a sharp scream. ¡°Mon- monster!¡±

    All of the mechas looked up. At some point in time, a massive creature had appeared above them, and its form shadowed over all the mechas. The jiao had appeared.

    rms rang out in all of the Infinity Empire¡¯s battleships. Further away, the man inside the dull, mottled mecha stared on in awe. His eyes were locked onto the jiao, shock covering his face. ¡°Ten rings? This universe actually has ten-ring creatures?¡±

    The jiao raised its head and let out a roar. It brandished its teeth and ws as the nearby void trembled.

    All of the astral beasts retreated, cowed into submission. Even Yao Di was shaking in fear.

    Countless beams shot at the jiao.

    All of the mechas had activated all of their defensive systems.

    The man in the mottled mecha gritted his teeth and swung his sword at the jiao. It was clear that this was the strongest creature in this particr parallel universe.

    The jiao¡¯s ws mmed against the sword. There was a ng, and the sword broke as the mecha was sent flying.

    The crowd of mechas raced for the spatial rift. The jiao demonstrated rather human-like behavior as it used its ws to scoop down and grab several of the mechas. It was very careful to avoid using too much strength, as it did not want to be punished by Lu Yin.

    The jiao might not possess any intelligence, but its defenses were so robust that even Forgotten Ruins God had been impressed. It was incredibly durable, to the point where even Xia Shenji struggled to wound the creature. Its strength was equal to Progenitors, but its defenses meant that even sequence powerhouses would struggle to kill the jiao.

    Not even the Semi-Progenitor tier mecha could do anything to the jiao.

    The mottled mecha was smacked away with a single swipe from the jiao, and cracks appeared on its hull. It was clear that the beast that had appeared surpassed ten rings.

    ¡°Retreat! All units-¡±

    After grabbing a few mechas, the jiao did not chase after the rest of the Infinity Empire¡¯s forces. Instead, it turned and flew back to the border of the Erudite Flowzone. It had been told to capture some mechas for Lu Yin.

    A smile appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s face in the distance. The jiao might not be very bright, but it was bing more and more obedient.

    Of course, things would be even better if the beast did not run away any time it encountered a more powerful opponent.

    The person within the mottled mecha was stunned. Despite the beast¡¯s overwhelming strength, it had not attacked the Infinity Empire¡¯s forces, and it had instead fled after grabbing a few of the mechas. What did this mean?

    He turned to look at Yao Di.

    Yao Di was speechless, as he was unable to wrap his mind around the jiao¡¯s thoughts, despite the Celestial Demon not being an idiot.

    ¡°Release them now! Even if that is a ten-ring beast, it¡¯s nothing but an ant in the eyes of our Infinity Empire! If you don¡¯t want to be ughtered, listen to me!¡± the man in the mottled mecha ordered in an urgent tone. Among the captured mechas were the blue and cyan ones, and their pilots were vitally important.

    Yao Di retorted in a cold voice, ¡°You intend to ughter my universe, so what difference will releasing them make?¡±

    ¡°I warn you, do not harm those who were captured. You will regret it if you do. There are many ways to die, and we can make you beg for death,¡± the mecha pilot threatened. After speaking, he turned and raced for the spatial rift, leaving to call for reinforcements.

    A great deal of time had passed since the Infinity Empire¡¯sst attack on the newly discovered parallel universe, and that was because they had been testing the waters and had not been fully prepared for arge-scale invasion. They had not anticipated that a ten-ring creature would suddenly appear. If they had suspected such a beast to be here, they would not have been so careless.

    The mechanical hummingbirds that had been released had all been crushed by the jiao¡¯s natural pressure, which meant that it was impossible for the Infinity Empire¡¯s scouts to learn more about the universe.

    Unless the empire retreated entirely, which would leave Lu Yin and many other powerhousespletely unknown, the initiative had already shifted.

    The side with more information about their opponent always held the advantage.

    Lu Yin did not underestimate the Infinity Empire, but he did not believe that the empire possessed the strength to defeat the Heavens Sect. Even if a civilization conquered countless parallel universes, a civilization¡¯s development was limited. The Heavens Sect had reached that limit in the past, but Lu Yin had never seen any other civilization aplish the same thing.

    The jiao quickly arrived, and it smashed the mechas it was carrying down onto a.

    The impact produced several loud booms, which drew the attention of many cultivators who were at the border of the Erudite Flowzone. However, when they nced over and recognized the jiao, they looked away again.

    The jiao was too well-known throughout the Fifth Maind. It was one of the guardian beasts of the Heavens Sect.

    The jiao had managed to capture four mechas, including the blue and cyan mechas, which were significantly stronger than the others. Both of them were capable of challenging opponents with a higher power level than themselves, and they could even face off against a Semi-Progenitor. This was despite the fact that both mechas¡¯ power levels were around a million, which approached the level of a peak Envoy.

    Dust filled the air above the ground as the mechas rose to their feet from the ruins. Their pilots were still dazed.

    Inside the cyan mecha, a woman rubbed her head. She had first been struck by Yao Di¡¯s spiritual force, and then smashed to the ground after the jiao breached the mecha¡¯s shield. If not for the durable hull, the woman might have already died.

    She finally regained herposure, and she looked around. She saw the blue mecha unsteadily rising to its feet as well, but the other two mechas failed to stand.

    ¡°Fei Su, how are you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Where¡¯s that ten-ring creature?¡±

    The woman looked around but saw no sign of the beast. However, she did make out some defensive structures in the distance. ¡°Where are we?¡±

    At that moment, an rm went off inside both of the mechas, which indicated that a creature was approaching them.

    The woman looked in the direction indicated by the rm, and she saw a small figure walking across the ground towards the mechas. The disy zoomed in, erging the figure. <i>Eh? Is that a person?</i>

    Fei Su and the pilots of the other two mechas also noticed the person¡¯s arrival.

    ¡°Someone¡¯sing,¡± Fei Su called out.

    The woman carefully observed the approaching figure. ¡°Be careful. This person might not be simple. Wait, look at his shoulder!¡±

    The other pilots immediately focused on the approaching figure¡¯s shoulder, and they saw a miniature jiao.

    Their expressions changed drastically. How was that even possible?

    Was a ten-ring beast perching on a human¡¯s shoulder? It almost looked like a pet.

    Fei Su¡¯s expression turned grim. ¡°This is a problem, a big one.¡±

    Driven by their need for more and more resources, the Infinity Empire had aggressively expanded and invaded multiple parallel universes. They had instigated countless wars and conquered many civilizations. Because of their aggressive policies, they had created a categorization system for the conflicts that they instigated.

    Originally, the Astral Beast Domain had been ssified as a level three threat. That had not changed even after Yao Di appeared. However, the appearance of the jiao had elevated the threat of the universe to level two, or maybe even level one, but the person the pilots were currently looking at hadpletely transformed what they knew about this universe.

    For someone to have a ten-ring creature as a pet, this universe was undoubtedly a priority level threat, regardless of the human¡¯s own power level. The fact that a ten-ring creature was a pet was simply too abnormal.

    It should be impossible for anyone to make a ten-ring creature a pet. Such a thing had never happened even within the Infinity Empire.

    The woman and Fei Su cautiously stared at the neer.

    Lu Yin was indeed approaching the enormous mechas, slowly strolling across the ground. Despite the mechas¡¯ impressive size that rose high into the clouds, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, these machines were still nothing more than ants.

    "I am also from this universe. Why don¡¯t you see if you can conquer me?" Lu Yin challenged the pilots. He stared at the four giant mechas with his hands sped behind his back.

 Chapter 3045: Style

    <h4>Chapter 3045: Style</h4>

    The woman''s expression was extremely grave as she stared intently at Lu Yin. "You¡¯re human."

    "Obviously."

    "What is your rtionship with those astral beasts?"

    "They¡¯ve submitted to me," Lu Yin replied, a smile tugging at his lips.

    Fei Sui''s pupils shrank. "Has that ten-ring creature on your shoulder also submitted to you?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the woman. "A third question. Once I answer you, it''s your turn to answer me. Yes, it has submitted to me."

    The woman''s heart dropped. This answer implied that the jiao was a pet.

    She tried to evaluate the man¡¯s strength with her mecha¡¯s sensors, but they were not able to detect anything at all.

    "Now, it''s your turn to answer my questions. However, before that, I¡¯ll give you a chance to defeat me. Go ahead and attack. I won¡¯t dodge," Lu Yin stated as he stared at the mecha before him.

    Fei Sui did not hesitate at all. His mecha¡¯s arm rose high while transforming into a sword. The de then fell in a fierce sh.

    As he attacked, the woman and the other two pilots carefully observed. They were all eager to gain some understanding of Lu Yin''s capabilities.

    Lu Yin stood still. The sword falling down upon him cut through the void, carrying enough power to leave the entire trembling beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet.

    As the sword fell in a terrifying attack, Lu Yin merely raised a hand.

    Silence fell upon the entire region, and the wind stopped. The ground no longer quivered, and everything calmed. There was not a single ripple on the distantke.

    As for the massive sword, it was frozen mid-air. Lu Yin had stopped it with a single finger, and it was not able to move at all.

    Fei Sui stared on in stupefaction. Sweat beaded along his forehead.

    The woman closed her eyes. Sure enough, just as expected, a man who could have a ten-ring creature as a pet was not someone they could contend against.

    The man had merely wanted to establish his authority in preparation for his uing questions.

    However, that waspletely unnecessary, as there was no need for the pilots to hold back any information regarding the Infinity Empire. They were allowed to disclose any information they wanted. It was their right when encountering mortal danger.

    There was a ng as the sword smashed to the ground.

    The cyan mecha opened up, and the woman stepped out.

    Fei Sui was startled. "Little Qing!"

    The woman remained calm. "These mechas are useless. Do you really think they can protect us?"

    Fei Sui was momentarily speechless. He was ovee by a wave of weakness.

    Lu Yin observed the woman with interest. She was quite striking, and her demeanor reminded him a bit of Wendy, as well as Jiang Qingyue.

    This was a decisive woman. She had not hesitated to expose herself after clearly recognizing her situation.

    She approached Lu Yin and offered him a graceful bow. Her long hair fell forward, exposing a pale neck. "Bu Qing greets you, my lord."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flicked past the woman to look behind her.

    Fei Sui stepped out of his own mecha, and the other two pilots quickly followed. They struggled down to the ground and then stepped forward to bow to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin studied the four people in front of him. Conveniently enough, there were two men and two women.

    "You are able to make bold derations, and yet restrain yourselves when necessary. You¡¯re quite adaptable, proving yourselves to be among the best of your generation," Lu Yin praised.

    Fei Sui''s face twitched. He was clearly irritated. He had already be ustomed to acting in an utterly domineering manner in the Astral Beast Domain, and he had even boasted that he would wash the entire universe in blood. The current situation was incredibly humbling.

    The power of the man who stood before them exceeded Fei Sui¡¯s imagination.

    Bu Qing respectfully asked, "May I ask how we should address you, my lord?"

    "You have no cultivation at all," Lu Yinmented while avoiding the question.

    "No," Bu Qing confirmed.

    Lu Yin nodded. He found this quite curious. These peoplepletelycked any sort of cultivation, and yet they were able to control such formidable mechas. He was reminded of the Transcendent Universe¡¯s energy converters. However, energy converters needed the users to have some level of ability to control the energy, even if that requirement was minimal.

    In contrast, the four mecha pilots werepletely ordinary humans, which was decidedly odd.

    After that, Lu Yin spent some time learning about the Infinity Empire from the four mecha pilots.

    The Infinity Empire used a type of energy they called ring energy to power everything. It permeated every corner of the Infinity Empire, and they used it to create both their protective shields and to power their mechas.

    Even the technology that they utilized to tear through the void and maintain the spatial rifts relied on ring energy.

    By relying on the ubiquitous presence of ring energy, various weapons had been developed.

    The Infinity Empire¡¯s ring energy was their equivalent to the Origin Universe¡¯s stellr energy. Early on, almost everyone in the Fifth Maind cultivated star energy, and as they grew stronger, the more talented individuals would go on to forge their own paths. No matter what, stellr energy was the foundational resource for cultivation in the Fifth Maind.

    As for how ordinary people were capable of tapping into ring energy, the Infinity Empire had developed its own methods. They primarily took on a survival of the fittest approach, as not everyone could control ring energy.

    The Infinity Empire possessed a vast fleet of battleships, as well as a considerable number of mechas. Each mecha was exorbitantly expensive to manufacture, as they required a plethora of rare materials. The empire''s native universe possessed far more resources than most parallel universes, which was what had initially steered them towards developing mecha manufacturing. Later, they had pushed their way into various parallel universes to mine the necessary rare materials to continue producing more mechas, and with each conquest, the empire grew stronger.

    The ruler of the Infinity Empire was known as Emperor Shang, and he piloted the Supreme Mecha, which was a twelve-ring mecha. Ring energy was quantified by the number of rings, and both Bu Qing and Fei Sui piloted eight-ring mechas, which were as powerful as a peak Envoy. Nine rings was equal to the Semi-Progenitor level, while ten rings matched Progenitor-level strength, as did eleven and twelve rings. The difference between those levels was unknown to the youths, as they had never seen Emperor Shang in action.

    This exnation caused Lu Yin to be more somber. If ten rings was equal to the strength of a Progenitor, then eleven rings most likely corresponded to the peak of an ordinary Progenitor, which was Xia Shenji¡¯s level of strength. It was possible that twelve rings was equal to a sequence powerhouse.

    Lu Yin gained a new understanding of just how strong the Infinity Empire might be. He could not afford to underestimate this civilization.

    Bu Qing and Fei Sui did not try to conceal anything from Lu Yin. Staying alive was their top priority, and the Infinity Empire did not care if their people spread information. Strength was undeniable.

    However, their willingness to share practically every detail made Lu Yin grow suspicious that something was off about the Infinity Empire. Such freedom of information was not at all normal.

    His eyes swept over the four pilots. Of them, Bu Qing enjoyed the highest status, as she was the daughter of Bu Wu, who was the Infinity Empire¡¯s Marshal. She possessed the decisiveness and flexibility of a goodmander. Next was Fei Sui, who was the son of the Infinity Empire''s General Fei Yan. Despite his arrogance and superiority, he was not the type of person to pathetically beg for his life when facing death.

    The other two pilots were different, and their demeanor and behavior were drastically different from Bu Qing and Fei Sui''s, which suggested they came from apletely different sort of background.

    Lu Yin separated the four people, and he first chose to speak with the other woman alone.

    "I see that you have something you want to say," Lu Yin observed as he stared at the woman.

    She was frightened and quickly offered a bow. "My lord, I have a request."

    "You''re not in any position to make any requests," Lu Yin replied indifferently.

    "I am aware of that, but considering your strength, my lord, as well as the fact that you did not immediately attack the Infinity Empire when you were invaded, you must have your own reasons. I am willing to share some information about the Infinity Empire that will grant you a much better understanding of it, so that you might be able to develop strategies to counter them." The woman spoke quickly while presenting her offer.

    Lu Yin was intrigued. "Go on."

    The woman swallowed nervously. "The Infinity Empire rarely suffers defeat when invading universes, but it has happened before. Many years ago, the empire opened a rift to a parallel universe, only for the rift to be instantly repelled. Emperor Shang participated in that very invasion. Right when the spatial rift was about to close, he used ring energy to force it to stay open and then he pushed his way into that universe.

    "Two other Infinity Mechas, each possessing a strength of eleven rings, apanied him.

    "No one knows what happened in that universe, but the Supreme Mecha returned alone. The other two disappeared forever, which was a significant loss for the Infinity Empire. With that one battle, Emperor Shang abandoned ever trying to conquer that parallel universe."

    While it sounded like a minor and unremarkable anecdote, Lu Yin understood the woman¡¯s implication: as soon as the Infinity Empire realized that a universe could not be conquered, they would abandon the invasion, and they would also abandon people like Bu Qing and Fei Sui.

    If the empire had been willing to abandon eleven-ring mechas, then they would undoubtedly abandon a few young prodigies like Bu Qing.

    Lu Yin reassessed the woman. "What''s your name?"

    The woman respectfully answered, "I am Hong Yi. My father is the minister of the Infinity Empire¡¯s armory, Hong Nian."

    "Minister of the armory?"

    "He oversees all of the empire¡¯s equipment, which includes the battleships, mechas, and part of the ring energy distribution."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "That sounds like a very important position.¡±

    Hong Yi nodded. "It is, and that is also why I am somewhat familiar with certain details of the empire. If you need information, my lord, feel free to ask me."

    Lu Yin stared at Hong Yi. The woman was not particrly beautiful, but she was certainly not ugly. She had a delicate appearance and was clearly insightful. She had only mentioned a single incident, but by doing so, she had provided Lu Yin with a direction to proceed. Her ability to understand the essence of the situation was impressive. There was no doubt that she was an intelligent person.

    "Why tell me this? You don''t know me," Lu Yin asked.

    Hong Yi remained extremely respectful. "You are very young, my lord."

    Five simple words were enough to express a sense of shock that Bu Qing and the others were unable to voice. It was true that Lu Yin appeared very young, and his youthfulness was not an act. Youths and the elderly possessed different auras, and some people could see through such things with a nce.

    Hong Nian held the position of minister of the Infinity Empire¡¯s armory, which could not be done by most people. There was no question that Hong Yi''s insight had been influenced by her father¡¯s guidance.

    She could see things too clearly.

    Even so, she was mistaken.

    Lu Yin¡¯s youth made the woman assume that there had to be an incredibly powerful person behind Lu Yin, and that that person was the one who truly controlled the universe. Hong Yi would have never guessed that Lu Yin was the genuine master of the Fifth Maind.

    Even so, the woman had correctly deduced Lu Yin¡¯s intentions. He wanted to draw out the full power of the Infinity Empire, which was why he had sent the jiao to toy with the invaders.

    Lu Yin also understood why Bu Qing and the others had been so careless with information concerning the Infinity Empire. If it proved impossible for the empire to conquer the Fifth Maind, the youths would be abandoned. They could only rely on themselves to survive, and the empire would not fault them for taking such actions.

    The civilization possessed clear objectives.

    In order to draw the Infinity Empire into the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin could not expose too much strength too soon. "What is the name of the civilization that drove Emperor Shang out and forced the Infinity Empire to give up on their invasion attempt?"

    The Infinity Empire was clearly not weak, and any civilization capable of such invaders deserved Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    Hong Yi thought for a moment. "It¡¯s called Go- God¡¯s Domain."

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the woman. "God¡¯s Domain?"

    "Yes. The name isn''t recorded in the empire''s history, so I only happened to hear my father mention it," Hong Yi exined. She did not dare to look at Lu Yin at this moment, as his response had made it clear that he was familiar with God¡¯s Domain.

    <i>They invaded God¡¯s Domain? Could they really be that unlucky?</i>

 Chapter 3046: Reinforcements

    <h4>Chapter 3046: Reinforcements</h4>

    Lu Yin was quite surprised, as the fact that the Infinity Empire had tried to invade God''s Domain and been repelled was an amazing coincidence. He was also interested to learn that God¡¯s Domain was capable of driving back the Infinity Empire. When wielding the power of four elephants, the Divine Maiden possessed a level of strengthparable to the Seven Skygods. Even if the Emperor Shang¡¯s twelve-ring mecha was as powerful as a sequence powerhouse, there was no possibility of the mecha being more powerful than the Seven Skygods. Reaching a higher level would mean bing an Ortuser,[1] or even a Dukkhan.

    If the Infinity Empire possessed that level of strength, it was highly unlikely that they would have been routed by God¡¯s Domain.

    Lu Yin fell into deep thought. <i>The Infinity Empire and God''s Domain... things are getting interesting.</i>

    When Lu Yin had left God''s Domain, he had shared Aeternus Nation¡¯s coordinates with them so that the people of God¡¯s Domain could flee to the Origin Universe if they encountered an unbeatable foe. There was no telling when such a crisis might ur.

    God''s Domain was constantly being threatened by Di Qiong. If the Infinity Empire had encountered God''s Domain, it was also possible that the Infinity Empire had encountered Di Qiong and Aeternus as well, which would connect everything together.

    Lu Yin wanted to go after the Aeternals¡¯ other Scourges after forcing the First Scourge to seal itself off. This was the perfect time to attack the other Scourges.

    The Infinity Empire needed to join the war against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin left the jiao in the Astral Beast Domain for the time being. The only Progenitor-level being that the Infinity Empire knew was in the Fifth Maind was the jiao.

    As for Bu Qing and the pilots, Lu Yin had their mechas moved away so that they could be studied. The pilots themselves were not particrly valuable, which meant that Lu Yin needed to find a use for them.

    Half a month passed. During this time, the jiao asionally shed its ws and terrorized the Infinity Empire''s battleships that were stationed around the spatial rift. The people aboard were horrified by the beast.

    The jiao exerted an incredible level of pressure. The entire reason why the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas were sorge was due to their admiration for enormous creatures. However, that admiration was touched by fear.

    The jiao was quite content, as it had been too long since it hadst frightened anyone.

    One day, a mecha appeared from the spatial rift, and it immediately moved to confront the jiao.

    This mecha was a simr blue to Fei Sui¡¯s, but a deeper color. Additionally, itcked the smooth hull that Fei Sui''s and Bu Qing''s mechas boasted, and it instead had many scars from numerous battles.

    "Are you the strongest creature in this universe? I am Fei Yan, a Marshal of the Infinity Empire," a voice rang out from the mecha.

    The jiao lifted its body, letting out a roar as it brandished its ws in an attempt to intimidate the mecha.

    Inside the mecha, Fei Yan frowned. "I am talking to you."

    The jiao continued to roar, trying to scare the mecha with its sharp ws.

    Fei Yan''s expression fell. "Given your strength, you shouldn''t be a dumb beast. Are you really refusing tomunicate with me?"

    The jiao again raised its sharp ws, continuing its intimidation tactics.

    Fei Yan''s expression grew grim. "You are seeking death!"

    With this deration, he stepped forward in a sh of blue light. The mecha instantly appeared in front of the jiao, and as the beast stared on in confusion, a fist flew at it.

    The mecha''s fist wasrge and hard.

    The punch forced the jiao¡¯s neck to turn, and after that, Fei Yan continued to rain blows down on the jiao¡¯s neck. He was targeting what should be the most vulnerable part of the creature.

    The mecha¡¯s speed meant that Fei Yan¡¯s assault did not let up in the slightest.

    After being struck dozens of times, the jiao grew angry, and it wildly swung its ws. There was a loud bang as the mecha was sent flying, but Fei Yan was unharmed. The jiao¡¯s ws were unable to breach the mecha¡¯s shield.

    At the same time, the mecha was also unable to do any real damage to the jiao.

    Fei Yan eyed the jiao suspiciously, impressed by its toughness.

    The jiao¡¯s eyes red, and it suddenly charged at Fei Yan.

    Time passed, and many astral beasts stared on as two massive objects shed in space. Fei Yan¡¯s mecha was fast and possessed incredible defensives, while the jiao was enormous and could releaserge attacks. It was also incredibly tough, and neither of the two could overpower the other.

    Lu Yin calmly watched the exchange from the distance. He knew that, if the jiao was given enough time, it would eventually win. Lu Yin had already seen the extent of the jiao''s durability. The mecha was a machine, and there was a limit to how long it could withstand the abuse for. On top of that, its ring energy was finite.

    The battle dragged on, and a long timeter, Fei Yan gasped for air as he stared at the jiao. The beast was still brandishing its ws, lookingpletely unharmed.

    <i>Eleven rings. This beast definitely has the strength of eleven rings.</i>

    Fei Yan knew that he could not win, but luckily, while the jiao was incredibly robust, it was not particrly fast, and itcked the destructive power of a real eleven-ring creature. It was also quite stupid. If not for all that, Fei Yan would have already died.

    Victory was impossible, and negotiations werepletely out of the question. With that, the Infinity Empire resolved to explore the universe.

    Fei Yan was reluctant to do this, but the empire hadmanded the universe to be explored. If their forces encountered simrly formidable creatures, it was very likely that the invasion would be abandoned.

    As for Bu Qing and Fei Su, they were left to fend for themselves.

    This was simply the nature of war. In the process of conquering countless parallel universes, the Infinity Empire had witnessed countless separations and deaths of their own people. They also had to endure terrible losses.

    The Supreme Emperor had lost four of his sons, and the Grand Marshal had also lost a son.

    Fei Yan ordered the army to release the mechanical hummingbirds so that they could scout the universe.

    The jiao moved to attack the mechanical hummingbirds, but Fei Yan rushed forward to stop the beast. However, this time around, the jiao did not fight back at all. It was focused entirely on stopping the mechanical hummingbirds, and it epted all of Fei Yan''s attacks without putting up any sort of resistance.

    Given the jiao¡¯s enormous size, as well as the other astral beasts intercepting the mechanical hummingbirds, none of them could escape the area.

    Fei Yan started to feel uneasy, and a horrifying suspicion started to sprout.

    The jiao seemed tock any form of intelligence and was clearly quite stupid, and yet it knew enough to stop the mechanical hummingbirds from exploring the universe. Could the beast be acting under the orders of someone else?

    That was a very distinct possibility. Fei Yan already knew that the universe had humans and giants, which meant that there was intelligent life present. It was rare to encounter a universe where beasts ruled over other sapient species, and it was also quite clear that the jiao was acting on someone¡¯s orders.

    The more that Fei Yan considered the matter, the more confident he was in his suspicions.

    Far away, Lu Yin frowned. The jiao''s actions were too obvious, and it had likely alerted the Infinity Empire to the fact that something more was going on. However, Lu Yin did not have any choice in the matter. The Infinity Empire could not be allowed to explore the Fifth Maind.

    Even if the jiao had ignored the mechanical hummingbirds, they would have still been destroyed, which would have caused the Infinity Empire to make the same conclusion.

    It had been necessary to take action.

    If everything else failed, Lu Yin would have taken action himself.

    The Infinity Empire was able to maintain spatial rifts with ring energy, while the Fifth Maind could use sourcebox arrays to do the same thing.

    Lu Yin had already made his preparations, and if the Infinity Empire decided to abandon their invasion, Lu Yin would have Grandmaster Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster take action.

    People all had their own priorities and morals. Seeing the jiao¡¯s actions, Fei Yan could guess that things were moreplicated than what he knew, but he decided to not report the matter to the empire. If he did, the universe would be categorized as a much greater threat, and the empire might choose to abandon the invasion. That would mean abandoning Fei Yan¡¯s son as well.

    If there was a chance, Fei Yan wanted to take it.

    These were his thoughts as he returned to the spatial rift to request for more reinforcements. There were things that did not need not to be said, while there were other matters that could be discussed.

    The jiao roared. It wanted to attack, but it was held back by Lu Yin.

    It would be best to not push the Infinity Empire too far, as Lu Yin did not want them to leave.

    No one could say for certain what was on the other side of the spatial rift; it might be the Infinity Empire itself, or a parallel universe that the empire used as a ry point.

    The Infinity Empire was not a part of the known megaverse, and Lu Yin would not be able to find it with Bi Rong¡¯spass.

    On the other side of the spatial rift, a massive spaceship that could carry dozens of mechas loomed. Such a massive vessel was nonexistent in the Origin Universe.

    Once Fei Yan was back inside the ship, he emerged from his mecha. As he walked out, he received various salutes.

    His face solemn, Fei Yan approached amunication station. "Connect me to the Marshal."

    A middle-aged man with a stern, cold expression and an intimidating scar on his face soon appeared on the disy.

    "How did things go?" This man was the Grand Marshal of the Infinity Empire, Bu Wu.

    Fei Yan''s expression was grave. "This ce will be difficult to handle. That creature has a defensive capability of eleven rings, though it thankfullycks the matching destructive power, and it also isn¡¯t particrly fast."

    "Were you able to scout the universe?"

    "We failed to do so. The creature''s size alone allows it to destroy vast regions of space, which made it impossible for our mechanical scouts to leave the surrounding area."

    "What do you estimate the level of that universe to be?"

    Fei Yan considered the question. "We need eleven-ring mechas."

    "We don''t have them," Bu Wu answered bluntly.

    Fei Yan frowned. "Without that level of power, we can''t defeat that creature. Your daughter has also been captu-"

    "I know, but that¡¯s her fate. We can¡¯t worry about that," Bu Wu interrupted.

    Fei Yan fell silent. It was not that Bu Wu was indifferent to his daughter''s plight, but that his position simply did not allow him to wallow in his emotions. When his own son had died in a battle, he had revealed almost no signs of emotion, but had proceeded to seclude himself for thirty days. When he returned, his hair had turned white.

    That incident had earned the man a great deal of respect across the entire Infinity Empire.

    He only had his daughter remaining, and the pressure he had to be suffering could not be imagined.

    "We don''t have any eleven-ring mechas, but I''ve used some of my personal connections to get Jiang Dongjian to help. If he can''t win, we''ll have to abandon that universe. We can''t spend an indefinite amount of time exploring a single universe when we could be exploring others," Bu Wu stated.

    Fei Yan was taken aback. "Jiang Dongjian? The one who¡¯s known as the empire''s greatest prodigy?"

    "He''s the same age as Xiao Qing and Fei Su, yet is capable of piloting a ten-ring mecha. He''s one of the best ten-ring pilots in the entire empire, so if he can¡¯t win, that¡¯s the end of this invasion," Bu Wu added. With that, the call ended.

    Fei Yan exhaled. "Jiang Dongjian, huh? While he¡¯s not the same as an eleven-ring mecha, he¡¯s not far off. He should be able to hold that creature back while I try to rescue Fei Su and the others."

    He felt some level of confidence in Jiang Dongjian. Fei Yan did not believe himself to be the youth¡¯s equal.

    However, how did the Grand Marshal have a personal connection to Jiang Dongjian?

    Time moved on, and about half a month passed. During this period, Fei Yan visited the Astral Beast Domain on several different asions. Each time, he tried to get past the jiao to search for Fei Su and the others, but the jiao blocked him every single time, while also ignoring all of the man¡¯s attempts tomunicate.

    Fei Yan decided it would be best to try to speak to Yao Di, Ku Wei, or one of the giants who had tried to negotiate with the Infinity Empire at the beginning, but no one paid Fei Yan any attention.

    More than ten more days passed, and then, finally, Jiang Dongjian arrived with his mecha: Sublime Sword.

    Jiang Dongjian was about as old as Fei Su and Bu Qing, but his nature was more aloof. He gave off the impression of an unsheathed sword. He was a normal human, but just looking at him made people feel like they were being cut.

    This impression had nothing to do with cultivation, as it was simply Jiang Dongjian''s personality.

    He was adored by countless young women in the Infinity Empire. He was heralded as one of the most brilliant geniuses, and with the addition of his handsome face and rather tragic backstory, he had seeded in drawing even the Emperor''s attention on several asions.

    1. We tried to find some way to use "origin" for the name, but nothing sounded good. Ortus is Latin for origin/dawn. ?

 Chapter 3047: Interception

    <h4>Chapter 3047: Interception</h4>

    When Jiang Dongjian arrived, the Infinity Empire¡¯s Fifth Prince Shang Cheng and Ninth Princess Shang An¡¯an arrived as well.

    General Fei Yan had never imagined that both a prince and a princess woulde to look at this invasion.

    ¡°General Fei Yan, at your service,¡± he introduced with a hasty bow to the prince and princess.

    Prince Shang Cheng smiled. ¡°Rise, General Fei Yan. There¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡±

    Fei Yan rose back up. ¡°Your Highness, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°We are simply apanying Brother Jiang on his training journey. We hope to witness his heroic deeds,¡± Shang Cheng replied.

    Fei Yan nodded. While not much was said, this only made the general even warier of Jiang Dongjian. Not only was the young man an incredible mecha pilot, but he also had the support of the imperial family members. He was guaranteed to one day hold a high position in the Infinity Empire.

    Prince Shang Cheng was known for his kindness and humility, but those who actually knew him understood that his goal was the throne, and he openly disyed his ambitions.

    His mecha was called Imperial City, which perfectly demonstrated his aspirations.

    If the person piloting the Imperial City was not an emperor, then who was?

    The prince was polite and friendly towards Fei Yan and most others, but he was frigid towards his older brother, Shang Tianzong. Shang Cheng made no attempt to hide his desire for the throne.

    Princess Shang An¡¯an was regarded as the most beautiful woman in the Infinity Empire. There was no denying that she was breathtaking, and she was also the emperor¡¯s favorite daughter. She was incredibly talented, and could pilot a nine-ring mecha, just like Shang Cheng. She truly was the pride of the empire.

    Fei Yan¡¯s gaze swept over the three youths, and he immediately noticed the flicker of passion that appeared in Jiang Dongjian¡¯s eyes when he looked at Shang An¡¯an. <i>Could he be harboring ambitions of marrying the Ninth Princess?</i>

    It was not impossible, given Jiang Dongjian¡¯s qualifications and the fact that he would likely pilot an eleven or twelve-ring mecha in the future.

    He would be one of the guardian pirs of the Infinity Empire.

    ¡°General Fei Yan, could you provide us with a briefing on this particr universe?¡± Shang An¡¯an asked. Her voice was as clear as flowing water.

    Once Fei Yan shared a bit of information, Jiang Dongjianmented in a cool tone, ¡°It¡¯s merely a beast with eleven-ring defenses. I can handle it. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Fei Yan warned the youth, ¡°The beast¡¯s defenses are outstanding. You need to be careful.¡±

    The general¡¯s primary concern was not the jiao¡¯s strength, but the possibility that there were even more powerful opponents still hidden in this universe. Fei Yan kept his suspicions to himself, as he wanted to avoid any severe consequences. He was willing to face this level of risk for the chance to save his son, but the consequences of Jiang Dongjian dying because Fei Yan failed to disclose his suspicions would be catastrophic.

    Jiang Dongjian reassured the general. ¡°You worry too much, General. It¡¯s just a beast. No matter how impressive its defenses are, it can¡¯t possibly withstand my Sublime Sword.¡±

    With no way to properly express his concerns, Fei Yan simply stated, ¡°I will cover you from the side.¡±

    Jiang Dongjian waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Shang Chengughed happily. ¡°I¡¯ve admired the power of your Sublime Sword for a long time, Brother Jiang, and now I¡¯ll finally get to see it. Sister, you should also be quite excited.¡±

    Her lips curved upwards beautifully as Shang An¡¯an replied, ¡°Of course.¡±

    Eagerness lit up Jiang Dongjian¡¯s eyes, and he quickened his pace. He was eager to impress Shang An¡¯an.

    After nearly a month of peace, there was an abrupt change in the Astral Beast Domain.

    The jiao looked up as several mechas emerged from the spatial rift. In addition to Fei Yan¡¯s Blue Mountain mecha, there was another machine that instantly drew the jiao¡¯s attention. The mecha looked like a collection of swords. This was Jiang Dongjian¡¯s mecha, which was known as the Sublime Sword.

    It was this mecha which ensured Jiang Dongjian¡¯s ce as one of the best ten-ring mecha pilots, and it also marked him as a future guardian of the Infinity Empire.

    The mecha was clearly designed for battle.

    Additionally, there were two other impressive mechas present. One was Shang Cheng¡¯s Emperor¡¯s City, which was a majestic golden color, and the other was Shang An¡¯an¡¯s Angel.

    The Angel mecha was white, and its appearance was more beautiful and elegant than any other mecha¡¯s so far.

    Lu Yin immediately noticed the arrival of the four mechas, and he used Heaven¡¯s Sight to observe the four pilots.

    He was briefly taken off guard by Shang An¡¯an¡¯s beauty, but that was only a minor surprise. He had seen many beautiful women before.

    His focus shifted over to the unusual design of the Sublime Sword.

    After capturing a few mechas, they had been disassembled by the Technocracy and carefully studied. It had been discovered that the mechas were capable of both offense and defense, but the exact bnce of the two was adjusted ording to the pilot¡¯s strength.

    Fei Sui¡¯s Blue Wind was known for its speed, while Bu Qing¡¯s Ripple was capable of extreme precision. No matter how personalized the mechas might be, each one was equipped with adequate defensive and offensive measures.

    However, there was one mecha that stood out as an exception. It appeared to bepletely defenseless, and it was basically a giant de.

    ...

    The jiao rose up in outer space, letting out a furious roar as it brandished its fangs and ws in a threatening manner.

    Prince Shang Cheng was impressed. ¡°It¡¯s a truly majestic beast. If we could capture it to serve as a mount, my chances of securing the throne would increase substantially.¡±

    Princess Shang An¡¯an cringed slightly. ¡°Brother, at least show a little restraint. You shouldn¡¯t be so blunt.¡±

    Shang Cheng was unfazed. ¡°Everyone in the Infinity Empire knows that I am striving for the throne. There¡¯s no reason to hold back.¡±

    As they spoke, Jiang Dongjian charged forward with his Sublime Sword.

    The Sublime Sword, true to its name, acted as a sharp de under Jiang¡¯s control, and it immediately shed at the jiao.

    The beast grew wary, and it brought up its ws to block the attack.

    A deafening impact twisted the nearby area before the void shattered sopletely that it could not even reform.

    Jiang Dongjian grew solemn. While his first attack had only been a probing one, the creature remainedpletely unscathed. Fei Yan had been right; the beast possessed truly terrifying defenses worthy of an eleven-ring beast.

    Excitement lit up Jiang Dongjian¡¯s eyes. This was the perfect opportunity. If the beast were just amon ten-ring beast, defeating it would not be enough to catch the ninth princess¡¯s attention. Only by defeating an eleven-ring creature could Jiang Dongjian hope to stand out and gain the qualifications to propose a marriage to her father.

    At this thought, the pilot transformed his mecha into a single massive sword that swung at the jiao.

    The jiao red menacingly while brandishing its fangs and ws. However, no one was intimidated by its disy at this point in time, and all eyes were glued to Jiang Dongjian as he maneuvered his Sublime Sword as smoothly as a giant using a battle technique.

    Fei Yan was quite impressed. ¡°Out of everyone in the entire Infinity Empire, not even the five guardians can control the Sublime Sword better than Jiang Dongjian. The mecha suits him perfectly.¡±

    Princess Shang An¡¯an smiled. ¡°The Sublime Sword was specifically crafted for Jiang Dongjian. He will one day be the empire¡¯s sixth guardian.¡±

    Prince Shang Cheng gave Shang An¡¯an a pleading look devoid of all dignity. ¡°Sister, could you help convince Jiang Dongjian to join me? With his support, my chances of winning the throne would spike.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an calmly replied, ¡°I refuse to participate in the struggle for the throne. If you want to persuade him, you need to do it yourself.¡±

    Shang Cheng sighed. ¡°While I hate to admit it, Shang Tianzong is more charismatic than me. If you won¡¯t help me, Jiang Dongjian will most likely be convinced to join Shang Tianzong. Sister, are you willing to see me defeated by him?¡±

    Shang An¡¯an frowned and looked over at Shang Cheng. ¡°Big brother won¡¯t do anything to harm you. You¡¯re overthinking things.¡±

    Shang Cheng shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re being naive.¡±

    As they spoke, the battle in outer space intensified.

    Fei Yan felt that something was amiss. This battle was supposed to be at least somewhat different from the one that he had fought, but despite the Sublime Sword¡¯s unparalleled offensive might, the attacks were still unable to breach the jiao¡¯s defenses. There was practically no difference from when Feu Yan had faced the creature.

    This would not do. Before the others realized anything, Fei Yan needed to leave to rescue Fei Sui and the Blue Wind. It looked like Jiang Dongjian would not be able to handle the jiao on his own, and Fei Yan might need to help the youth soon. If that happened, he would have no chance to attempt a rescue.

    ¡°Your Highnesses, we still have not been able to explore this universe at all, as we have not been able to send out any of our mechanical scouts. I intend to take a look myself,¡± Fei Yan stated.

    Shang Cheng responded nonchntly, ¡°Are you heading out to rescue your son? That¡¯s only natural, so go ahead.¡±

    Fei Yan¡¯s expression changed. The prince was too blunt with his words.

    Shang An¡¯an was a bit milder. ¡°General Fei Yan, you may proceed with your rescue attempt, but please don¡¯t forget to scout around. Also, since Jiang Dongjian might not be able to defeat this creature, you need to hurry back.¡±

    Fei Yan stared at Shang Cheng and Shang An¡¯an for a moment. ¡°I understand.¡±

    He had underestimated the prince and princess. They had already seen that Jiang Dongjian was unable to defeat the jiao, and yet they still allowed Fei Yan to leave. It was no wonder that, in the struggle for the throne, only the eldest prince, Shang Tianzong, and Prince Shang Cheng stood out from the rest.

    As for the ninth princess, she was equally astute.

    Fei Yan piloted his Blue Mountain into the distance, following the direction that Bu Qing and the others had been taken by the jiao after they were captured. He was headed straight for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. It was clear they were headed towards him, and that would not do at all.

    He immediately ordered the jiao to intercept the blue mecha.

    The jiao swept the Sublime Sword aside with a w and then spread its massive wings. It took off after Blue Mountain. The jiao was not slow, and Blue Mountain was unable to break away.

    Fei Yan was startled, and he tried to increase his speed, but the jiao raised its sharp ws and shed down, slicing through the void in multiple ces as the attack shot towards Blue Mountain.

    There was no choice but to turn the mecha around and defend against the attack.

    Behind the jiao, Jiang Dongjian had turned grim. Did the creature actually intend to face off against both mechas at once?

    As it turned out, the jiao was capable of just that.

    Neither Blue Mountain nor Sublime Sword were able to harm the jiao at all. While it was clear that the beast had no intelligence, its hide was so tough that even Forgotten Ruins God had been impressed. While the jiao frequently fled from battles and would run away from powerful opponents, the only ones who could frighten the jiao were sequence powerhouses.

    Neither of the two mechas couldpare to Xia Shenji, even if Sublime Sword was slightly stronger than Blue Mountain. Even together, the mechas could not defeat the jiao.

    All alone, the jiao was holding back two mechas, which caused Shang An¡¯an and the others watching to frown.

    ¡°It appears that we still can¡¯t defeat the beast. We need to either call for reinforcements or abandon this particr invasion,¡± Shang An¡¯an said.

    Shang Cheng felt frustrated. ¡°Calling for reinforcements isn¡¯t ideal. The empire is currently fighting on five different battlefields, and everyone except for the empire¡¯s guardians has been deployed. The guardians defend the empire itself, so we can¡¯t send them out. Even if we request reinforcements, there¡¯s no one who can help here.¡±

    ¡°If Eldest Brother can finish his campaign, he might be able to provide support,¡± Shang An¡¯an murmured to herself.

    Shang Cheng rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯d rather abandon this universe entirely.¡±

    Fei Yan and Jiang Dongjian were able to hear the entire conversation, as the pilots weremunicating through a channel that was connected to the mechas.

 Chapter 3048: Recapturing The Sixth Mainland

    <h4>Chapter 3048: Recapturing The Sixth Maind</h4>

    Jiang Dongjian clenched his teeth, determined not to fail. This was the first time the ninth princess was witnessing him fight in a battle, and there were also countless eyes from the empire watching him. If he failed, whatever the reason, he would lose face and be unable to propose for some time. There was no telling what might happen if he waited any longer.

    This thought caused his attacks to grow increasingly fierce. Earlier in the fight, Jiang Dongjian had been cautious around Fei Yan¡¯s Blue Mountain, coordinating with the other mecha, but that changed. The younger man¡¯s eyes were focused solely on the jiao, and he pushed his mecha to its full potential. The sudden change startled Fei Yan into hastily retreating as he avoided getting caught in the crossfire.

    The jiao kept bringing up its ws to protect itself, and the area echoed with the sound of the enormous collisions.

    Lu Yin was watching from the distance, and he realized that it was nearly time. He could see the Infinity Empire¡¯s hesitation, but he could not allow them to abandon this universe. It was time to reim the Sixth Maind.

    The mecha fiercely thrust a de forward, and Jiang Dongjian shed downwards to produce a loud ng. The jiao staggered back while letting out a deep growl.

    Jiang Dongjian was gasping for breath, and sweat dripped from his head. He wondered, just how could a creature have such incredible toughness?

    Shang Cheng exchanged another look with Shang An¡¯an. ¡°We should retreat first and discuss this.¡±

    Jiang Dongjian snapped, ¡°Wait! I have one more move. If it doesn¡¯t work, then we can retreat.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an warned, ¡°Don¡¯t force things. The empire has encountered powerful creatures before, and there are precedents for retreat. The megaverse is vast, and it¡¯s filled with countless bizarre creatures.¡±

    Jiang Dongjian still insisted, ¡°Just one more attack.¡±

    Shang Cheng remarked, ¡°Truly the empire¡¯s best talent. Despite being as old as us, you are able to face such a creature. Brother Jiang, what you¡¯ve already demonstrated is very impressive. Alright, show us what else you can do. Bring out the brilliance that you revealed during the tournament.¡±

    The Infinity Empire had encountered many cultivation civilizations over the years, and they had collected countless battle techniques. However, because of how it conflicted with ring energy, the people of the Infinity Empire did not cultivate and actually avoided doing so.

    Even so, they could still make use of battle techniques. Many battle techniques had be inspiration that guided the development of the empire¡¯s mechas, and even ordinary people like those in the Infinity Empire could enhance theirbat ability with such techniques, setting themselves above other people.

    Every five years, the Infinity Empire held the Infinity Combat Tournament, which was open to everyone. Jiang Dongjian had stood out in a tournament, utterly dominating it and defeating all the other semi-finalists, which had included famous individuals like Fei Su, who had used well-known battle techniques.

    His victory in the tournament had led Jiang Dongjian to experience a meteoric rise, and he had even gained the emperor¡¯s favor. He was naturally sensitive to battle techniques, and his senses werepletely peerless.

    Rumors imed that the Sublime Sword mecha had been designed toplement the battle techniques the young man used, but no one had ever seen them used in battle.

    Sublime Sword stood before the jiao in outer space.

    Fei Yan¡¯s Blue Mountain had moved away from the battle long ago, but he had not raced away yet. The jiao had made sure to prevent Blue Mountain from escaping. Fei Yan felt powerless, but he was also increasingly convinced that the jiao was under themand of some powerful hidden individual. There was a good chance that this parallel universe was much more than what it appeared to be.

    Jiang Dongjian focused on the jiao. He took a deep breath, calming himself.

    The jiao did notunch an attack of its own, but simply stared at the formidable Sublime Sword in open curiosity. While the mecha had been unable to breach the jiao¡¯s hide, the beast had also failed to prate the Sublime Sword¡¯s shield with any of its attacks.

    The jiao was reminded of Ancestor Tortoise and its tough shell.

    Inside the Sublime Sword, Jiang Dongjian regainedplete calmness. He reached out with the mecha and grasped a sword. The long de slowly rose. The man¡¯s breathing quickened and then slowed. Soon, he saw nothing but the sword. Not even the jiao entered Jiang Dongjian¡¯s sight. The sword was all that existed. It was as if he was back in the final match of the tournament, surrounded by all the semi-finalists with their prominent backgrounds. All of them had known each other, and they had looked down on him, an outsider.

    They had intended to eliminate him first.

    At that moment, just like in the present, Jiang Dongjian had held a sword while disregarding everything else. The sword rose, and he struck. This strike was a blending of heaven and earth, and the de seemed to tear through space. If not for someone interfering in the tournament, Jiang Dongjian would have killed all the other contestants.

    That same scene was ying out once again.

    Shang Cheng¡¯s expression grew solemn. This was it. The prince had witnessed the end of the tournament when Jiang Dongjian¡¯s attack had gained the attention of everyone and his status as the empire¡¯s greatest talent had solidified.

    This was that attack.

    The Sublime Sword raised its arms, and the mecha suddenly transformed into a sword as the arms fell. The attack appeared to be perfectly ordinary, but the sight of it caused the hearts of countless onlookers to tremble.

    Far away, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. <i>Not bad for a normal person to use that kind of sword technique</i>.

    It was clear to Lu Yin that Jiang Dongjian was just as talented with the sword as Liu Shaoqiu or Li Zimo. However, Jiang Dongjian was unfortunate to be a normal human. That meant that, no matter how powerful his attack might be, it would not be enough to change the situation.

    However, the attack did give Lu Yin the opportunity he needed.

    ¡°This is the chance! Run, you fool.¡±

    The jiao¡¯s eyes darted about as it watched the mecha¡¯s sword fall. The attack looked intimidating, so the jiao turned tail and fled, tucking its tail between its legs as it made a rather disgraceful escape.

    As the sword fell, it sliced through the void in a testament to the mecha¡¯s strength with the boost it received from ring energy. Under Jiang Dongjian¡¯s control, the ring energy surged a second time, and the destructive power of his previous attack extended endlessly, crossing the distance in a manner that left Fei Yan¡¯s eye twitching.

    There was no doubt that this attack had been at the level of eleven rings. Jiang Dongjian had unleashed a truly formidable attack.

    The strike had been quite powerful, but the jiao had escaped, and Jiang Dongjian had missed his target.

    He was unwilling to give up, and he quickly gave chase.

    ¡°Brother Jiang, don¡¯t chase it!¡± Shang Cheng warned.

    Jiang Dongjian¡¯s voice was transmitted through themunication channel, ¡°Beasts act on instinct. It fled because it knows that it can¡¯t endure that attack. Your Highness, I will definitely conquer this universe!¡±

    Shang Cheng¡¯s eyes flickered as he watched Sublime Sword chase after the jiao. Jiang Dongjian might possess exceptional talent, but personality wise, he was rather shallow. Suddenly being elevated to the empire¡¯s top prodigy had caused the young man to lose sight of himself.

    ¡°After it,¡± Shang An¡¯an ordered.

    Fei Yan had wanted to go search for his son, Fei Su, but he could not allow anything to happen to Jiang Dongjian.

    Shang An¡¯an stared at the general. ¡°General Fei Yan, this universe is not at all simple. If anything happens to Jiang Dongjian, you might not be able to handle the consequences of being responsible for it.¡±

    Fei Yan¡¯s heart sank. ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t let anything happen to him.¡±

    The man then chased after Sublime Sword.

    After that, a number of mechas appeared from the spatial rift. Some of them had participated in the earlier battle against Yao Di, while some of the others had clearly experienced a great deal of war.

    Nearly half of the twenty-some newly arrived mechas chased after Jiang Dongjian.

    The distant astral beasts watched, still wary of Shang An¡¯an and the group which remained behind.

    ¡°Little sister, we should go take a look as well,¡± Shang Cheng suggested.

    Shang An¡¯an looked over. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of danger?¡±

    ¡°I am, but it¡¯s safer for us to follow Jiang Dongjian. If we encounter any sort of unknown danger, staying here will be more dangerous,¡± Shang Cheng reasoned.

    Shang An¡¯an nodded and her mecha followed the others. Shang Cheng joined her.

    Ahead of all the mechas, the jiao made its way towards the spatial passage that connected the Sixth Maind and the Astral Beast Domain. The Extreme Path had been sealed off, but it was now time for it to be reopened.

    The Sixth Maind was also a part of the Origin Universe. The Sixverse Association had reimed the entirety of the Endless Frontier, so it only made sense for the Origin Universe to reim the Sixth Maind as well.

    The jiao soon arrived at its destination. The Extreme Path was opened with exquisite timing, and the beast charged forward.

    Jiang Dongjian was undoubtedly arrogant, but he was not foolish. The sight of a spatial passage leading to an unknown ce caused him to hesitate.

    It was at that moment that the jiao grabbed Fei Su and the others, who had been left on a nearby meteorite. The beast did not so much as nce backwards as it shot into the Extreme Path.

    Jiang Dongjian was startled. Were those the pilots from the Infinity Empire who had been captured? One of them had been another participant in the tournament that had been Jiang Dongjian¡¯s im to fame.

    The Sublime Sword mecha remained standing in outer space. It did not pursue the jiao any further. Instead, Blue Mountain chased after them.

    Fei Yan had also seen the jiao seize Fei Su and the others before racing through the Extreme Path. Upon seeing his son again, Fei Yan no longer cared about anything else, and he feltpelled to attempt a rescue.

    Blue Mountain plunged into the Extreme Path. Behind, the group of mechas arrived, led by Shang Cheng and Shang An¡¯an.

    The prince frowned. ¡°General Fei Yan is too impulsive. We have no idea what might be on the other side, but he just rushed in.¡±

    Jiang Dongjian exined, ¡°The people who were captured before were taken by the beast.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an was taken aback. ¡°Bu Qing and the others? No wonder General Fei Yan was so impulsive.¡±

    ¡°What should we do?¡± Jiang Dongjian asked, not wanting to blindly rush forwards.

    ¡°We wait,¡± Shang Cheng advised.

    That was the end of the debate. If there was some undefeatable danger on the other side of the spatial passage, then at least they had ensured their own safety.

    A host of mechas waited outside the Extreme Path.

    Lu Yin was also waiting, as he did not know what was happening on the other side. All he knew was that the Extreme Path was connected to the Sixth Maind.

    Still, Lu Yin was certain that the jiao was in no danger. The First Scourge was not currently capable of waging a war against the Heavens Sect, and that would not change until the surviving Seven Skygods recovered.

    Two of the Seven Skygods were dead, and one had been severely injured. It was unlikely that the Seven Skygods would make an appearance any time soon.

    Before long, the Blue Mountain mecha returned. Fei Yan¡¯s tone was grave. ¡°Your Highnesses, you had bettere see this.¡±

    ...

    Blue Mountain reappeared in the Sixth Maind, and this time, it was followed by Sublime Sword, Emperor¡¯s City, Angel, and all the other mechas.

    An army of giant mechas had appeared. In the distancey an Aeternus Kingdom.

    Shang An¡¯an and others observed the area. ¡°Where is the beast?¡±

    Fei Yan shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It disappeared as soon as I arrived. However, I saw a different type of creature in this universe.¡±

    His mecha opened its hand to reveal dozens of corpse kings that had been captured.

    ¡°Are they human?¡±

    ¡°Close.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°To be precise, they are some kind of transformed creature that is simr to humans...¡± Fei Yan shared his mecha¡¯s analysis with Shang Cheng and the others. In addition tobat, the empire¡¯s mechas were also capable of scanning and analyzing things. It was not rare that, when other scouting methods fail, the empire would send mechas out as scouts.

    Fei Yan shared his analysis of Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings. Shang An¡¯an and the others were puzzled by what they heard.

    There was no telling if the Infinity Empire had been lucky or unlucky, but they had never encountered any Aeternals before. There were simply too many parallel universes in the megaverse.

    ¡°A species that resembles humans, and can also cultivate, but all of these creatures are dead. They¡¯re useless,¡± Shang Cheng stated. He then looked up towards the distant Aeternus Kingdom. ¡°Let¡¯s get a better look.¡±

    It was at that moment that the corpse kings in the Aeternus Kingdom spotted the mechas. Among the corpse kings were ones with the strength of Semi-Progenitors.

    Every Aeternus Kingdom was protected by powerful individuals. In the past, Lu Yin had believed that the Aeternus Kingdoms were merely locations where Aeternus fostered a false sense of harmony between corpse kings and humans, but after exploring other parallel universes and fighting again Dai Hui, Lu Yin had realized Aeternus¡¯s true purpose for the Aeternus Kingdoms. They had been established to destroy humans¡¯ dependence on their own kind and to erase humanity¡¯s very own sense of unity.

 Chapter 3049: Ring Energy

    Chapter 3049: Ring Energy

    Aeternus did not care about the first generation of humans that they had captured and ced in the Aeternus Kingdoms. Rather, they wanted the children born within the Aeternus Kingdoms who would only ever learn about the outside world through the lens of the Aeternus Kingdoms. Such individuals felt like they belonged with the Aeternals, which was precisely what Aeternus needed.

    Those people were the Aeternals¡¯ greatest weapon to destroy humanity.

    During Lu Yin¡¯sst visit to the Heavens Sect, he had issued an order for everyone to immediately destroy any Aeternus Kingdom that they encountered. The length of time that an Aeternus Kingdom existed for would dictate how its inhabitants were treated. People from the first generation could be released, but those from the second or third generation, not to mention eventer generations, could not. All of those people needed to be very closely monitored. While they might be human and look different from corpse kings, their hearts still belonged to Aeternus.

    Lu Yin¡¯s next goal was to reim the Sixth Maind and destroy all of the Aeternus Kingdoms in it.

    As a whole, the Aeternals possessed terrifyingbat strength, a fearless tenacity, cunning intelligence, and extraordinary foresight. The more Lu Yin learned about Aeternus, the more he feared them.

    Far away from him, he saw a Semi-Progenitor level corpse king notice the mechas that were currently approaching an Aeternus Kingdom. At the front was Fei Yan¡¯s Blue Mountain.

    The Semi-Progenitor corpse king immediately underwent a Corpse King Transformation, and its scarlet eyes turned green as its physical strength spiked. Then, it aggressively charged at Blue Mountain.

    Within the mecha, Fei Yan was startled. His mecha¡¯s sensors had detected the sudden spike in the corpse king¡¯s power level.

    There was a tremendous bang, and the Semi-Progenitor corpse king was sent flying. Not even a Green Eyes Transformation was enough to bridge the gap between the corpse king and Blue Mountain.The mecha reached out to grab the Semi-Progenitor corpse king.

    The monster¡¯s bones shattered and was renderedpletely immobile the moment it was grabbed. ¡°What civilization do you belong to?¡±

    The green color faded from the Semi-Progenitor corpse king¡¯s eyes, and it red at Blue Mountain as it continued to struggle violently.

    ¡°I asked, what civilization are you from? Speak or die,¡± Fei Yan demanded harshly.

    The corpse king merely growled before letting out a roar.

    Blue Mountain¡¯s grip tightened, and the Semi-Progenitor corpse king was crushed with a stter of blood.

    The people of the Infinity Empire were ustomed to being ruthless and merciless while conquering other universes. Thus, even Shang Cheng and Shang An¡¯an, who were watching, considered Fei Yan¡¯s actions to be normal.

    ¡°The city up ahead has no powerfulbatants. Start investigating it now.¡±

    Several of the mechas moved out from behind the prince and princess, approaching the Aeternus Kingdom. Very quickly, a battle erupted. The corpse kings were basically ants before the mechas, and they were easily eradicated. A few oddly shaped giant corpse kings showed up, but even they were no match for the mechas.

    Lu Yin watched the Aeternus Kingdom from the distance. He was apanied by Bu Qing and the three other captives, and the jiao was perched on his shoulder.

    It was inevitable for the Infinity Empire to encounter this particr Aeternus Kingdom, and the empire would not pass up a chance to engage in battle. This was a certainty, given that the Infinity Empire had never encountered any Aeternals and were ignorant of their power.

    As Lu Yin watched, he could not help but wonder if the Infinity Empire was lucky or unlucky to have never encountered Aeternus before.

    No matter what, any human civilization that encountered Aeternus would react as though they had met their mortal enemy, and the Infinity Empire was no exception.

    Humans had a natural aversion and sense of disgust towards corpse kings.

    Bu Qing nced at Lu Yin. The man was not far away from the mechas, and yet he waspletely invisible to General Fei Yan and all the others. It was clear that this person was far more powerful than they had even imagined. Over the years, the Infinity Empire had encountered many human civilizations where people cultivated, but very few individuals had been as powerful as this young man.

    If only the empire¡¯s guardians could intervene. Bu Qing felt a surge of hope, but it quickly transformed into a wry smile. The guardians of the empire could not stray far from the emperor, and they would not get involved in other parallel universes.

    Bu Qing looked at the distant mechas and saw the ones that belonged to the ninth princess, the fifth prince, and Jiang Dongjian. However, even they would be helpless against this young man.

    At this moment, the prospect of returning home seemed impossibly distant to Bu Qing.

    She wondered what Lu Yin was nning. Could he be thinking of attacking the Infinity Empire? If that were the case, she might still have a chance to return home some day.

    Lu Yin suddenly nced over at Bu Qing, and she quickly looked away.

    ¡°Pray that your Infinity Empire doesn¡¯t decide to abandon this universe. If they do, you will never be able to return home,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Hong Yi looked over at Lu Yin. Even if the empire wanted to abandon their invasion of this universe, doing so would not be easy. It was clear that Lu Yin was targeting the empire and would not easily let them go. Hong Yi found herself curious about what this unknown universe actually signified.

    The Aeternus Kingdom could not withstand the power of the mechas, and the fighting quickly came to an end.

    After that, the mechanical hummingbirds scattered in every direction. The Infinity Empire was eager to scout the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin did nothing to stop their exploration attempts, intending to allow the empire to scout the Sixth Maind. If they gained an interest in the Sixth Maind, it would not be a problem for him to let them fight against Aeternus.

    The Aeternals should not have even the slightest foothold in the Sixth Maind.

    Soon, half a month passed. During this time, the Infinity Empire continued to push deeper and deeper into the Sixth Maind, and they frequently encountered the Aeternals. They developed a decent understanding of Aeternus, and they arrived at the same conclusion as Lu Yin: humans and corpse kings could not coexist.

    As they uncovered the true nature of the Aeternus Kingdoms, and as they learned more about the Sixth Maind, they also learned about the Fifth Maind through the people that had been imprisoned within the Aeternus Kingdoms.

    For a time, Shang Cheng and Shang An¡¯an found it hard to ept what they had learned.

    They could understand the idea of humanity being ughtered, enved, or even exterminated by formidable enemies, but they could notprehend the Aeternus Kingdoms. What purpose could such ces serve? Were they trying to force assimtion?

    ¡°I think that we should destroy this Aeternus,¡± Fei Yan analyzed. ¡°ording to all that we¡¯ve learned, while there are many of these Aeternals here in this Sixth Maind, they have almost no truly powerful individuals. At most, they have two beings with ten-ring strength, which means that we are fully capable ofpletely wiping out this species.¡±

    Shang Cheng replied, ¡°There is no need to deal with this species. However, those people from the Aeternus Kingdoms also told us that this ce is known as the Sixth Maind, and it¡¯s part of the same universe as the Fifth Maind, which is under human control. When Fei Su and the others first entered this universe, they encountered some humans. Our presence in this Sixth Maind is most likely a diversion created by those people from the Fifth Maind. They are most likely trying to pit us against the Aeternals in this Sixth Maind so that they can benefit from our efforts.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Shang An¡¯an said. ¡°I¡¯ve always felt that something about this has been off. That creature with eleven-ring defensive capabilities never once spoke or tried tomunicate, and its actions were also rather clumsy. It¡¯s possible that someone else was ordering it about, and with what we know now, clearly only people from the Fifth Maind could have done so. This universe needs to have its threat level raised to the highest level.¡±

    Jiang Dongjian also chimed in with, ¡°We cannot be used by others.¡±

    Fei Yan¡¯s expression fell. He understood that this matter could no longer be a secret, and he regretted not being able to rescue his son.

    Shang Cheng looked around. ¡°In that case, we need to return. The people of the Fifth Maind want us to wage war with this Aeternus, but even if we do fight against them, we first need to deal with the Fifth Maind. As for these Aeternals, we¡¯ll just deal with themter if we meet them again.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an and Jiang Dongjian both agreed.

    Fei Yan had no choice but to agree as well. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯spile everything we know and send a report to the Marshal. He¡¯ll be the one to make the final decision.¡±

    Far away, Lu Yin frowned. It appeared that the Infinity Empire was really going to abandon the Sixth Maind. He had underestimated their ability to tolerate the Aeternals. This empire was much like the ancient Heavens Sect, and they looked down on Aeternus, treating them as a minor threat. This was not really a surprise. While the Aeternals were the enemies of all humanity, their forces in the Sixth Maind were nowhere near enough to pose a threat to the Infinity Empire.

    The empire¡¯s confidence in their strength was no different than the former Heavens Sect¡¯s arrogance.

    Neither considered Aeternus to be a threat.

    Upon realizing what was happening, Lu Yin decided to keep the prince and princess in the Sixth Maind while he waited for the Empire to take action. However, if they still decided not to take actions against him, he will be going personally to find them.

    However, an unexpected discovery quickly changed everything in the Sixth Maind, and it left Shang Cheng and the otherspletely stunned.

    It was a discovery that made it impossible for the Infinity Empire to leave.

    Shang An¡¯an¡¯s expression changed as she looked over the new data. ¡°A ring energy utilization rate that can potentially exceed thirteen rings? I¡¯ve never heard of such a high utilization rate! What¡¯s going on with this universe?¡±

    Shang Cheng¡¯s eyes zed with excitement. ¡°No matter what this universe might be hiding, An¡¯an, we¡¯ve found a breakthrough for the empire!¡±

    Fei Yan was just as excited as the two youths. ¡°The empire has spent countless years conquering and exploring universes, and only once did we ever encounter a ring energy utilization rate of twelve rings. That was what allowed us to achieve our current level of power. This current universe might allow us to push our energy utilization to thirteen rings! When our report reaches the empire, His Majesty will never agree to abandon this ce.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t either,¡± Shang Cheng said. He was struggling to contain his excitement.

    A ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings. Once this was verified and achieved by the Infinity Empire, the credit would be attributed to Shang Cheng. Regardless of his direct involvement in the exploration of the universe or any of the fighting that had taken ce, Shang Cheng was the person who had given the order to explore it, and that order had directly led to the discovery of a ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings. Fei Yan could not have given the order. Shang Cheng was the one who had allowed Fei Yan to explore the universe, and also enter the Sixth Maind. There was no way that anyone could take this aplishment away from the prince.

    Shang An¡¯an¡¯s expression turned grave. ¡°A ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings will be irresistible for the empire, as it represents hope for a new breakthrough. However, have you considered the war we had to fight when we first discovered the utilization rate of twelve rings? That war nearly destroyed the entire Infinity Empire. That was because, at that time, twelve rings was an unprecedented level of power. This universe has a utilization rate of thirteen rings, which is an indication of the strength of this universe.

    ¡°There is very likely an incredibly powerful being who was ordering about the beast that we first encountered. We have not been able to explore the Fifth Maind at all, and that was likely deliberate. It might appear as if we are easily conquering this universe, but the truth may be that we are being used by certain people in this universe to cleanse the Sixth Maind. We are likely nothing more than pawns.¡±

    Her warning instantly cooled everyone¡¯s initial excitement.

    Shang Cheng was no idiot. The war that the empire had fought when the utilization rate of twelve rings had been discovered had nearly destroyed the Infinity Empire, and this new universe carried the same threat.

    Far away, a smile stretched across Lu Yin¡¯s lips. People were intelligent, and there were some things that were too obvious and would be clear over time. Even so, he was no longer worried about the Infinity Empire leaving. Their desire for the Origin Universe appeared to be even greater than ever.

    ¡°What is ring energy utilization rate?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Next to him, Bu Qing and the other captives were startled by the question, but they did not hesitate to exin. ¡°The Infinity Empire¡¯s ring energy is not a specific type of energy that exists in a given universe. Rather, it is the general term for the power produced when energy is generated.¡±

    ¡°Get to the point,¡± Lu Yin interrupted. They had already told him this much before.

    Naturally urring phenomena, such as wind, water, and electricity, produced power when they moved, and humans could harness that power and make great use of it. Such things were examples of naturally urring power. However, there was also a type of energy that was not inherent to universes, but rather introduced to them by sequence powerhouses who altered thews of the universe. These energies included things like monarch essence, the energy in the Arboreal Realm, and others.

    These energies filled specific universes, and since they were there, it was possible to use them.

    The Infinity Empire gathered these introduced energies with their ring energy technology, which could create power by utilizing them. This was how ring energy was produced.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3050: Laughter On The Battlefield

    Chapter 3050: Laughter On The Battlefield

    The aspects of ring energy implied that the Infinity Empire could harness the energy that other humans cultivated through motion and then use them to generate even more power. This was supposed to be the foundation of ring energy.

    The reason why the people of the Infinity Empire could not cultivate was because the ring energy that they controlled was essentially the same energy that other humans used to cultivate. If the people of the empire tried to cultivate, the additional force within their bodies would cause a conflict that would prevent the ring energy from properly moving around.

    Given the choice between self-cultivation and harnessing the power produced by energy that was used in cultivation, the Infinity Empire had opted for thetter. They had forsaken cultivation because they believed that ring energy had more potential and that there was no need to fight for it.

    They were essentially using cultivation technology.

    ¡°Every type of energy¡¯s movement or impact produces some level of destructive force, and that corresponds to a number of rings. The number of rings that a particr energy can achieve depends on its ring energy utilization rate. Right now, the highest rate the empire has ever seen is twelve rings,¡± Bu Qing exined.

    Lu Yin looked over at the woman. ¡°What would happen if an energy utilization rate of thirteen rings appears?¡±

    ¡°Thirteen ring-¡± Bu Qing started to answer, but then she realized what Lu Yin had just asked. The reality of the situation struck her, leaving her stunned. ¡°Thirteen rings?¡±

    Beside her, Fei Su, Hong Yi, and the other pilot were all equally stunned, and their faces went nk.

    From these reactions, Lu Yin was able to understand a bit more about just how important an energy utilization rate of thirteen rings would be to the Infinity Empire. This information was akin to the shock produced when the Lost n had confirmed the existence of a Primeval card, or perhaps the appearance of something that could guarantee a person seeding in oveing Dukkha. Such a thing would be an unimaginable temptation for people like the Great Sovereign, and they would not abandon this opportunity, no matter the cost.<em>In that case¡­</em>

    Lu Yin left and returned to the Heavens Sect. He no longer held any concerns regarding the Infinity Empire.

    If they still abandoned the Sixth Maind with thistest development, Lu Yin would simply ept it. However, since the empire had be aware of both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, then in order to prevent them from returning to the Fifth Maind, Lu Yin decided to leave Ancestor Tortoise at the border of the Astral Beast Domain. After all, if the Infinity Empire wanted to harness this ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings, they would have no choice but to visit the Sixth Maind.

    It was tantly obvious that the empire was being pitted against Aeternus, and they were helping the Heavens Sect reim the Sixth Maind. How the Infinity Empire decided to act was up to them.

    Also, the four pilots, Bu Qing and the other three, were taken to the Heavens Sect.

    When they saw the enormous Heavens Sect ahead of them, Bu Qing and the others experienced an unprecedented shock. They were nearly overwhelmed by the sight.

    The Infinity Empire had its own massive imperial city, but it had apletely different style from the Heavens Sect. One was the result of a technological civilization, while the other was the product of a pure cultivation civilization. When a person from a technological civilization witnessed a cultivation civilization that ruled an entire universe, it was an unprecedented shock.

    Lu Yin ignored the four captives and let the Second Nightking deal with them. They werepletely ordinary humans and unable to escape from even a small hill of the Heavens Sect.

    As for Lu Yin, he went to the Sixverse Association to search for Progenitor Smoke.

    During the battle in the First Scourge, Progenitor Xi had not killed Progenitor Smoke during their encounter. Progenitor Smoke had merely been knocked unconscious, and Lu Yin had taken her with them when they had retreated from the Scourge. However, Progenitor Smoke had not yet returned to the Origin Universe.

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s existence greatly worried Lu Yin, and he wanted to learn more about the woman from Progenitor Smoke.

    Unfortunately, the woman had not returned to the Origin Universe so far. The four ruling powers had been eliminated, Xia Shenji had been reced by one of his clones, Bai Wangyuan had fled to the Cyclic Universe, Wang Fan had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, and Long Er had died. What could be keeping Progenitor Smoke away?

    She had not even visited the Perennial World to see Ancestor Tianyi.

    Lu Yin soon arrived at the New Inn in the Voidforce Universe.

    With the Endless Frontier fully under the control of the Sixverse Association, the Aeternals no longer possessed the strength to directly invade the member universes of the Sixverse Association. The border of the Voidforce Universe was peaceful, and the atmosphere within the New Inn was excellent.

    Lu Yin altered his appearance before entering. He hoped to find Progenitor Smoke, as she frequently visited the New Inn. She had be good friends with Chou Bao.

    ¡°Brother, I haven¡¯t seen you around before. Are you new here?¡± As Lu Yin sat down, one of the servers quickly approached him and greeted him, which drew many eyes.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Yeah, my family sent me here to gain some experience.¡±

    <em>Hahahaha!</em>

    Lu Yin¡¯s answer instantly elicitedughter from everyone in the New Inn.

    Lu Yin looked puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    A muscr man sitting at a nearby table lowered his ss. ¡°Experience? What experience can you gain here now? The Aeternals have been driven off. Pretty boy, you¡¯vee to the wrong ce.¡±

    ¡°The thing is, without Aeternus around, people stille here to gain experience,¡± someone continued. ¡°Then, when they head back, they¡¯re able to brag about visiting the border, and they might even im to have fought here.¡±

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re actually lucky. If it weren¡¯t for Lord Lu leading the Sixverse Association to drive Aeternus out, it¡¯d be impossible for you to paint yourself in glory. Before Lord Lu showed up, no ce in the Sixverse Association was safe. People could die at any moment.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Kid, you should be thanking Lord Lu,¡± another person chimed in. ¡°He saved your life and even gave you a chance to make yourself look good.¡±

    ¡°Kid got given a silver spoon, pfft.¡±

    Some of the people were happy, while others mocked Lu Yin. With the Aeternals driven away from the Voidforce Universe, everyone was safe. And of course, some people had taken this opportunity to send their family¡¯s youths to build a reputation in ces that had previously been very dangerous. This was perfectly normal, though it still sparked envy in many people.

    ¡°Just ignore them, young man. What would you like to drink?¡± the server asked warmly, his demeanorpletely different from before.

    No one wanted to risk death if they could afford it, and the people who belonged to the New Inn had never expected to leave the ce alive. When they first arrived, many of them had even preferred death, but as time passed, they had grown ustomed to seeing people leave or die. They had epted such things, and their own situation had no longer been as important to them.

    It was better to stay alive.

    ¡°Bring me a bottle of your best wine,¡± Lu Yin said. He then hesitated for a moment before adding, ¡°Today, everyone¡¯s drinks are on me.¡±

    People nearby nced over at Lu Yin. ¡°How generous, brother! No matter if you¡¯re here to gain experience or to be given a silver spoon, thanks for your generosity.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Bro.¡±

    ¡°Much appreciated.¡±

    The people who had just been mocking Lu Yin and envying his situation now changed their gaze. People who lived on the battlefield were not petty, and a simple meal could often resolve conflicts.

    Everyone had their own fate. Some people would climb up from the bottom with their own abilities, while others were born with a silver spoon, which could also be considered a skill. Envy was nothing more than a waste of one¡¯s own life.

    Lu Yin had been separated from the rest of the Lu family and forced to cultivate as an ordinary human, surviving through countless life-and-death crises and a great deal of suffering. By oveing those hardships, he had obtained his current status. Everyone had just one life, so why not strive for a future? It was also true that the joy obtained from climbing up from the bottom was something that those who were born at the top could never experience. It could be considered a blessing in disguise.

    Upstairs, Chou Bao was watching Lu Yin. This stranger from an unknown family somehow possessed an unusual and vaguely familiar aura. It was intriguing.

    Lu Yin returned to the New Inn for several consecutive days, waiting for Progenitor Smoke to appear.

    He could search for her, but since she was not nearby, he had decided to wait for her in the New Inn.

    The inn¡¯s guests changed each day, and every day, Lu Yin would announce that he was buying drinks for everyone, which always elicitedughter. It was theughter of the battlefield, which was always pleasant.

    Inside the New Inn, the woman who always wore heavy make-up and who was enamored with Chou Bao approached Lu Yin. ¡°Have you heard? There are rumors about a big sucker who¡¯s been buying drinks for everyone in the New Inn.¡±

    Lu Yin took a sip of his drink. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re really generous. The New Inn isn¡¯t particrly expensive, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s cheap either. Tell me, kid, which family are you from?¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at the woman. ¡°I heard that you have a thing for the owner.¡±

    The woman chuckled in a flirty manner. ¡°Who¡¯s been running their mouth about me? It¡¯s embarrassing to talk about crushes, but that rumor is true.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°If you care about someone, you should be bold about it.¡±

    ¡°Heh, kid, are you trying to lecture me?¡± the woman retorted before sashaying away.

    She soon returned with a jar of wine. ¡°This is from the owner.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°I¡¯m honored. I know that the owner is a powerful Void Suprema. He¡¯s noticed me?¡±

    The womanughed. ¡°The owner said that your eyes look familiar.¡±

    Lu Yin smiled as he opened the wine. ¡°Good wine.¡±

    ¡°Do you even know what kind of wine that is?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I actually prefer tea.¡±

    ¡°Kid, talking like that is just asking for a beating.¡± The woman rolled her eyes. People like this young man did not visit the border. Most of the people she interacted with were either depressed or constantly gued by inescapable fear, but this young man teased her.

    ¡°Those people weren¡¯t wrong. If Lord Lu hadn¡¯t driven Aeternus away, kids like you wouldn¡¯t be able to visit the border at all. I wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to meet such an interesting young fellow either, heh.¡± The woman chuckled and then walked away after teasing Lu Yin. She deliberately swayed her hips in a provocative manner as she left.

    Lu Yin poured himself a drink and casually looked up, raising his ss towards where Chou Bao was silently standing.

    The old man nodded to Lu Yin and raised his own ss.

    The exchange caught the woman¡¯s attention, and she turned back to stare at Lu Yin. Something was off about the young man. How could she not understand Chou Bao¡¯s personality? Even when peers visited, the Void Suprema would not be this polite. Who could the young man be?

    ¡°Drinks are on me today!¡± Lu Yin shouted, startling the woman. She could not resist rolling her eyes again as cheers erupted across the room.

    It had been years since so muchughter had been heard in the New Inn. It was located in the middle of a dangerous battlefield, but at the moment, it resembled a regr inn.

    The woman returned that same day to sit at Lu Yin¡¯s table and talk with him. She was growing increasingly curious about his identity.

    When another woman entered the inn, Lu Yin looked up. His eyes flickered, as his target had finally arrived.

    The woman with the heavy makeup also looked up, and her brow furrowed as she muttered, ¡°Why is she here again? How annoying.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want her here?¡±

    ¡°How observant,¡± the womanmented with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

    Lu Yinughed as he raised his arm. ¡°Over here!¡±

    The woman with heavy makeup twitched. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°Big Sister, if you don¡¯t want her here, I¡¯ll help you teach her a lesson.¡±

    The woman with the heavy makeup grew startled. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around! You can¡¯t afford to offend that woman!¡±

    As Progenitor Smoke entered the door, she saw Lu Yin and casually approached him.

    The woman with heavy makeup started to panic, and she red at Lu Yin before standing up and approaching Progenitor Smoke. ¡°Senior, please forgive him. The young man didn¡¯t mean anything.¡±

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s expression remained serene. ¡°Brew me a pot of tea.¡±

    She then breezed past the other woman and took a seat at Lu Yin¡¯s table. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    It was then that the woman with the heavy makeup finally realized that the young man already knew the other woman. <em>How infuriating!</em> She ground her teeth in frustration, irritated that she had been worried about the young man for even a moment.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3051: The Past Era

    Chapter 3051: The Past Era

    As Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Smoke, he said, "Senior, I had toe find you because you¡¯ve never returned. After thest time we spoke, you met with your master. How do you feel about that?"

    Progenitor Smoke frowned. "I never knew that my master was part of Aeternus."

    "Did you know that your master was once known as Qingluo Jiantian, a supreme powerhouse who has lived since the Heavens Sect era?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I didn''t know. When I was young, I met my master by chance. She taught me to cultivate, gave me the name Xi Wei, and raised me. After I became a Progenitor, she disappeared. I never saw her again."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned solemn. "Qingluo Jiantian was a formidable figure during the Heavens Sect era who once forced the Lu family to alter their entire cultivation path so that we could address our spiritual force weakness. She is also familiar with the Great Sovereign and Astral Anura. If I''m not mistaken, she might be another Dukkhan. Senior, if possible, I would like you to tell me everything you know about your master."

    Progenitor Smoke sighed. "If I knew anything, I would tell you, but I truly know nothing about my master. I had never even heard of the name ¡®Qingluo Jiantian¡¯ before. You never heard it before, either, did you? Even after the Lu family returned, Senior Tianyi never mentioned her to you, right?"

    Lu Yin did not deny it.

    "It¡¯s because that name was lost to history long, long ago. If not for the invasion of the Scourge pushing the Aeternals so far, my master might have never revealed her old name of ¡®Qingluo Jiantian,¡¯" Progenitor Smoke continued.

    It was at that moment that the woman with the heavy makeup arrived with a teapot to serve Progenitor Smoke her tea.The woman moved slowly. She seemed eager to listen in to the conversation Lu Yin was having with Progenitor Smoke.

    Steam rose in the New Inn. Tea was a rarity in this ce.

    Progenitor Smoke was a well-known figure in the New Inn. Everyone knew that she was a peak powerhouse, and when they saw Lu Yin having a conversation with the woman, many people nearby exchanged nces. It was clear to them that they had underestimated the young man. He was not some young fool, nor was he someone trying to increase his reputation. He was a hidden expert.

    It was no wonder why the people of the New Inn treated the young man differently. People had seen the woman with the heavy makeup constantly hanging around him.

    This realization caused the people at the nearby tables to bow their heads in unison. None of them dared to speak for the moment.

    "What could be your master''s reason for hiding in the First Scourge?" Lu Yin asked.

    The woman with the heavy makeup trembled. The First Scourge was a term that had only recently started to circte. Outsider powerhouses had ganged up on Sovereign Dou Sheng, but then Lord Lu had led the Sixverse Association to invade the First Scourge. As time passed, more details about Aeternus had started to surface, and while almost everyone in the Sixverse Association was unaware that Aeternus had six Scourges, they were aware that they were fighting against the First Scourge. The woman with the heavy makeup had heard this much from Chou Bao.

    Learning of the First Scourge¡¯s existence had caused many people in the Sixverse Association to despair.

    While most people believed that the Aeternals had been driven out and were joyfully celebrating their victory, in reality, only the First Scourge had been pushed back.

    Anyone who knew of the First Scourge was not someone whom average people could antagonize.

    As soon as she heard Lu Yin utter the words "First Scourge," the woman in heavy makeup turned around and walked away. Just as she had suspected, the young man was no ordinary person. He might even be someone important enough that not even her boss could afford to offend him.

    Suddenly, the woman turned back around to look at Lu Yin. Something about his eyes seemed familiar, and the same was true of the woman he was speaking to. <em>Could it really be him?</em>

    Progenitor Smoke picked up her teacup and watched the steam rise. "Master was always a quiet person who lived in harmony with the world. For as long as I can remember, she never interacted with the outside world. Even when I was in danger, she never intervened. Other members of the Daosource Sect, including my peers like Xia Shang and Ku Jie, didn''t even know that she existed. I asked her about her past, but she never answered me. I thought that we had parted ways forever and would never meet again, and yet here we are."

    She stared at the ripples in her tea. Progenitor Smoke had truly never imagined that she would encounter her master during the invasion of the First Scourge.

    Why was her master with Aeternus? Just who was the woman?

    "What did Progenitor Xi tell you during the battle?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Smoke grew solemn. "I repeatedly asked her why she was in the Scourge and why she had joined Aeternus, but she would not give me any real answer. She would only say one thing."

    The woman stared at Lu Yin, her expression grave. "It¡¯s out of my control."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s out of my control¡±? That answer weighed heavily on Lu Yin, as it was not good news at all.

    Qingluo Jiantian was incredibly powerful. A single swing of her sword had ended the invasion of the First Scourge, and even Astral Anura was polite to the woman. For such a person to say that something was out of her control just demonstrated how terrifying Aeternus¡¯s hidden depths were.

    The atmosphere grew heavy.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin finally said, "You are Qingluo Jiantian¡¯s disciple. Have you also cultivated spiritual force?"

    Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "Master never shared any techniques or guidance rted to spiritual force. I even became a Progenitor on my own. She merely offered a bit of guidance at critical moments.

    "For example, when I inherited one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and received the inheritance of thought, I seeded because of Master¡¯s hints, but she never taught me any battle techniques.

    "My decision to give Long Er a bit of guidance was also because of my master. Every action she took, every word she said, it all influenced me. I saw my past self in Long Er, and I couldn¡¯t stop myself from offering him a bit of guidance, which allowed him to break through and be a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin felt frustrated. "If you knew about your master¡¯s abilities, we might be able to find a way to deal with her."

    Progenitor Smoke¡¯s expression turned grim. The prospect of possibly needing to confront her own master was truly difficult, but her master had joined Aeternus, which automatically made her an enemy. There was no changing that.

    Lu Yin said, "Senior, now that everything has settled down, why don''t you return to the Origin Universe?"

    Progenitor Smoke took a deep breath. "I need to deal with Wang Fan."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression hardened. "Wang Fan is a traitor. That¡¯s not something for just you to deal with, but rather for everyone to handle. That¡¯s not your responsibility alone."

    Progenitor Smoke grimaced. "It¡¯s my fault. I had a chance to kill Wang Fan that time, but I didn¡¯t. His betrayal is entirely on me.

    "If I had killed Wang Fan back then, many things wouldn¡¯t have happened, and your Lu family wouldn¡¯t have been banished."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean when you say that you had the chance to kill Wang Fan?"

    Progenitor Smoke stood up from the table. "This matter is my fault, so I will handle it myself. Lord Lu, make sure to protect humanity."

    With that, she turned to leave.

    Lu Yin stood up as well. "Senior, Wang Fan is hiding in the First Scourge. Going there is simply asking to die."

    "I won''t seek my own death as I''m just waiting for the right opportunity. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t do anything stupid. Don''t forget what my battle technique is," Progenitor Smoke replied.

    Lu Yin quietly mentioned, "I''ve met Progenitor Chen."

    Progenitor Smoke whirled around, excitement filling her eyes as she looked at Lu Yin. "He''s still alive?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''ve always refused to believe that Progenitor Chen, who was once regarded as being invincible, could be dead. I also never believed that Progenitor Ku, with his Extremes Must Be Reversed, could die. The Rune Progenitor read extensively and created runes, while Progenitor Hui could predict the future and prepare peerless schemes that yed out eons in the future. I refuse to believe that all of them are dead. Senior, be careful. There will be a day when you¡¯ll meet them again."

    Tears welled up in Progenitor Smoke¡¯s eyes as she turned back around. She left without saying another word.

    She was the only one who could understand her own feelings at that moment.

    The Daosource Sect era had been the best era. There had been the invincible Progenitor Chen, the low-key Progenitor Ku, the cunning Wang Fan, the mboyant Bai Wangyuan, and others like Progenitor Hui, who had asionally stirred up a bit of trouble. It had been their era: the era of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. How Xi Wei wished that she could go back to that time, even if just to see it.

    She had thought that the glory of that ancient era was gone forever, but had her peers truly died? She needed to finish things with Wang Fan, and she owed Ku Jie an exnation. Did he really harbor secret affections for her?

    Countless thoughts ran through Progenitor Smoke''s mind. Even for a Progenitor, it was overwhelming.

    How she wished to see all of them again.

    Lu Yin watched as Progenitor Smoke left the New Inn. With Progenitor Chen confirmed alive and Progenitor Ku having been brought back by the Lu family, the woman would not act rashly.

    As for Wang Fan, that was a matter that absolutely needed to be taken care of.

    After draining the tea from his own cup, Lu Yin also left.

    Not once during his visit to the New Inn did Chou Bao approach Lu Yin.

    The woman with the heavy makeup stepped forward, and she stared at the door in a daze.

    ¡­

    In the massive spacecraft thaty on the other side of the spatial rift in the Astral Beast Domain, Shang Cheng and others were waiting for word from the Infinity Empire.

    They had already sent back all of the information that they had gathered about the universe, and more than ten days had passed since. Whether or not the Infinity Empire invaded the Origin Universe was up to Emperor Shang alone to decide.

    "That creature that suddenly showed up is a tortoise, right?" Shang Cheng asked as he stared at an image of the Ancestor Tortoise on a disy.

    Fei Yan was very somber. "It¡¯s another ten-ring creature. No, at least in terms of toughness, that tortoise might be that other beast¡¯s equal. That tortoise has the defenses of an eleven-ring creature. As far as we know, both of them simply belong to the Astral Beast Domain. There¡¯s also the Fifth Maind¡¯s Human Domain to consider."

    "While we have gathered some basic knowledge about the Fifth Maind, what the people in the Sixth Maind know is outdated by many decades. None of them have any idea what the Fifth Maind¡¯s current situation is," Shang An''an said.

    Shang Chengmented, "Things shouldn¡¯t have changed too much. It¡¯s only been a few decades."

    Shang An''an nced over. "The people from the Sixth Maind told us that Yao Di is the emperor of the Astral Beast Domain, but what about now? Whoever is really in charge of the Astral Beast Domain must be the one ordering the two powerful creatures around. The Celestial Demon is only the emperor in name. There must have been some major changes in the Fifth Maind, so we should definitely be very careful."

    While Shang Cheng had the highest status of anyone present, he could not make such an important decision himself. This universe might elevate the Infinity Empire to unprecedented heights or utterly destroy the empire. No one but Emperor Shang had the authority to decide on this matter.

    One dayter, Fei Yan grew excited. "The Emperor has sent his orders."

    The others grew solemn, and they all stared at Fei Yan.

    Fei Yan announced in a grave tone, "The empire has decided tounch a full-scale exploration of the Sixth Maind. The energy of the Sixth Maind will serve as the foundation for testing thirteen ring energy. His Majesty has sent us a message."

    The general paused briefly. "¡¯Others may use us, but we can also use them. Everyone has their own agendas. As long as we seed in acquiring thirteen ring energy, no enemy will be able to stand up to our Infinity Empire.¡¯"

    Shang Cheng was thrilled. "Excellent! As is fitting of the emperor! Regardless of how the Fifth Maind might try to use us, the fact that they are attempting this proves that the Sixth Maind is difficult for them to handle. Our scouts have shown us that there might be some hidden strength in the Sixth Maind, but with more reinforcements from the empire, we will take them all down. No matter how strong the Fifth Maind might be, they cannot surpass our Infinity Empire."

    Jiang Dongjian affirmed in a stoic and determined voice, "Even if the Fifth Maind is strong, as long as the thirteen ring energy research seeds, the power of our empire will soar, and we will be able to suppress any enemy."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3052: Growth

    Chapter 3052: Growth

    As soon as the Infinity Empire sessfully conquered the Sixth Maind, Shang Cheng¡¯s efforts would be acknowledged as a great aplishment for the empire. As for Jiang Dongjian, his interesty in the thirteen ring energy. As the empire¡¯s greatest prodigy, as well as someone very close to mastering eleven ring energy, everyone was certain that the young man would eventually be able to control twelve ring energy, which would allow him to be the empire¡¯s sixth guardian. If the empire sessfully developed thirteen ring energy, then Jiang Dongjian was confident that he would eventually be able to use it as well.

    Once that happened, there was no doubt in his mind that the ninth princess would be his. A guardian who could wield thirteen ring energy was surely worthy of even a princess.

    Fei Yan felt that the empire''s decision was a stroke of luck, as it gave him some hope of being able to rescue his son.

    Only Shang An''an seemed disturbed, and she stared off into the distance. Would this really be so simple? Theycked a clear understanding of the Fifth Maind, and that made her nervous. She felt like there were always eyes watching them.

    "General Fei Yan, did the Emperor mention who will be sent as our reinforcements?" Shang Cheng asked urgently.

    Fei Yan hesitated before replying, "First Prince Shang Tianzong."

    Shang Cheng''s expression soured, and he looked quite upset. Shang Tianzong''s arrival would mean that the credit for all that they aplished in this universe would be split. It was clear to Shang Cheng that his father did not want him to surpass Shang Tianzong. How infuriating.

    "Marshal Bu Wu, Minister of the Armory Hong Nian, former Marshal Ge Shan, and Vice-Chancellor of the Imperial Academy Liu Ling are all on the reinforcement list," Fei Yan said.

    Jiang Dongjian was taken aback. "Is even Vice-Chancellor Liu Linging?"Shang Cheng answered in a low voice, "Shang Tianzong must have asked her to help. Someone like the vice-chancellor of the Imperial Academy does not take orders from the empire. Only Shang Tianzong, her most prized student could have asked her to be part of the reinforcements."

    Shang An''an sighed with relief. "With two eleven-ring pilots like Ge Shan and Liu Ling, as well as many ten-ring pilots like Shang Tianzong, Hong Nian, and our own General Fei Yan and Jiang Dongjian, things should be manageable, even if we encounter something unexpected."

    Fei Yanmented, "Throughout history, it is rare for the empire to allocate so many elites to a single excursion. We typically either encounter opponents whose strength is so overwhelming that we cannot face them, such as God¡¯s Domain, or we send out multiple ten-ring mechas to cleanse a universe. This excursion, my friends, will be recorded down in history. Please, do not take things lightly."

    ¡­

    When Lu Yin saw that the Infinity Empire was going to send more reinforcements over, he felt relieved. The lure of thirteen ring energy was too great, and the Infinity Empire was nowmitted to conquering the Origin Universe.

    The Sixth Maind genuinely did not have too many powerhouses, which meant that recapturing it would not be particrly difficult. However, the Infinity Empire would handle it, and Lu Yin was happy to be relieved of that burden. Once Aeternus was cleared out of the Sixth Maind, he would continue to spring surprises on the Infinity Empire. After all, his cosmic ring still held a cosmic door to the Fourth Scourge.

    As for the thirteen ring energy, it would not be easy for the empire to sessfully develop that technology. If such a thing were simple, the Infinity Empire would have be invincible long ago.

    For the moment, Lu Yin was considering his next breakthrough, which was the Progenitor realm. He possessed enough strength to just barely fight against a sequence powerhouse if he used all of his various methods, but that was far from enough to reach the level of the Seven Skygods. The invasion of the First Scourge and the revtion of Ancient God¡¯s power had left a deep impression on Lu Yin. He wanted to be a Progenitor, or at least get closer to that level.

    When others became Progenitors, their inner worlds would transform into a Progenitor¡¯s world after they endured a stellr tribtion and the heart tribtion, but Lu Yin¡¯s situation was unique. To begin with, he had a tremendous amount of stellr energy, to the point where he could not even imagine what his stellr tribtion would be. On top of that, Lu Yin had four inner worlds, none of which were simple.

    Infinity was normal enough. For Lightstream, which used the power of space to chase after time, Lu Yin had initially been directionless. His exploration of unknown parallel universes had gradually revealed a direction, so that inner world should also be manageable. However, the other two inner worlds, Dust World and the Wordless Heavenly Book, posed significant challenges.

    He had absolutely no idea how the two inner worlds could transform into Progenitor¡¯s worlds.

    In particr, Dust World was a mystery. Lu Yin did not even know how to use it. He had never used that inner world inbat, and he had no ideas about how it should be used.

    Without knowing how to use the inner world, he could forget about transforming it into a Progenitor¡¯s world. Thus, rashly challenging his next breakthrough could even prove deadly.

    Lu Yin had a headache, as he was simply unable to figure these things out. Frustrated, he approached the cauldron, and a small twig popped out and cutely brushed against his chin with some leaves. Lu Yin¡¯s mood immediately improved a bit.

    <em>Ah, the essence of Searwood.</em>

    That liquid had been the nine-headed bird¡¯s most precious treasure, and it had regarded the essence as even more valuable than parallel universes with different flows of time. Unfortunately, the bird¡¯s memories had not revealed how to use the essence of Searwood to Lu Yin.

    He took it out and stared at it.

    At that moment, Saplingpletely emerged from the cauldron, as though it was staring at the essence.

    "Do you want it?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.

    Sapling¡¯s leaves shimmered with a faint light. It seemed to be answering Lu Yin.

    "How would you use it?" Lu Yin wondered.

    Sapling''s leaves slowly stretched towards the bottle. Lu Yin removed the cap and dropped a small bit of the essence of Searwood onto the leaves. The liquid was instantly absorbed. Sapling appeared to be thrilled, and the green glow of its leaves increased greatly. The light was dazzling, yet somehow remained soft and was not at all hard to look at.

    Lu Yin stared at Sapling¡¯s leaves. Their color seemed to have deepened. Could the essence encourage nt growth?

    While thinking this over, Lu Yin took Sapling past the barrier that ran through the Starfall Sea. "Come on, let''s see how big you''ve gotten."

    Sapling hopped away from Lu Yin and started to stretch.

    The people from the Fifth Maind who passed through the Starfall Sea soon saw a massive tree rise high into outer space. The top seemed to touch the sky, amazing everyone who saw it. What was it?

    Lu Yin looked up in admiration. Sapling had grown to a very impressive size, even if it was still nowhere close to the size of the Mother Tree. There was noparison at all.

    Still, it was important to remember just how long the Mother Tree had been growing,pared to Sapling¡¯s few decades of existence.

    Sapling eventually stopped growing, which revealed Sapling¡¯s current maximum size to Lu Yin. "Hmm, not bad."

    Sapling swayed when it heard that. Its movements shook the earth, terrifying many people, who all quickly fled and reported the matter to the Heavens Sect. A gigantic tree had appeared in the Starfall Sea.

    Lu Yin then took out a few more drops of the essence of Searwood for Sapling. Its leaves caught the drops, and as the essence merged with Sapling, the tree started to visibly grow once more.

    Clearly, the essence really did help trees grow. However, what did that effect have to do with the nine-headed bird? Why had the bird cared so much about the essence of Searwood?

    The nine-headed bird had been born from Searwood. Could the essence of Searwood be connected to the bird¡¯s birth? Or had the bird thought that, if it could create more Searwood with the essence, another nine-headed bird would be born? That might not be impossible. Despite their intelligence, such creatures did not lose their natural instincts, and their way of thinking was fundamentally different from humans.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to pour out more essence of Searwood, he pped his forehead. What a waste to use it in such a manner. He should have Enhanced it with his die before letting Sapling have any of it.

    Lu Yin patted Sapling. "Alright, change back."

    Sapling shrank back to its small, cute form and then hopped into Lu Yin''s arms, nuzzling against his chin like a child.

    Lu Yinughed. "Let''s go home. I''ll help you grow soon."

    Sapling seemed to be even happier as it cuddled against Lu Yin¡¯s embrace.

    Once the two left, Monarch Xing opened her eyes in the Starfall Sea. <em>Are they gone?</em>

    After joining the Heavens Sect, the woman had initially stayed in the sect itself, but she hadter volunteered to stand guard over the Starfall Sea. She preferred solitude.

    When she had agreed to join the Heavens Sect, she had been promised that the people from her home universe would be granted a safe ce in the Origin Universe, and she had found the Starfall Sea to be quite suitable.

    Lu Yin knew about Monarch Xing¡¯s presence, but he had not gone to the Starfall Sea to see the woman. She was only interested in protecting her own people and was not particrly interested in the interested of the Heavens Sect. Still, that did not really matter.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin started rolling his die. He rolled Pilfer twice, which got nothing useful, but his third roll turned out to be Enhance.

    He ced the essence of Searwood on the upper screen and started frantically throwing out star essence.

    Lu Yin watched as the essence of Searwood slowly fell down, and then picked it up. Upgrading a single drop had cost him 800 billion star essence. This was unbelievably expensive. Even when he had Enhanced Cheng Kong¡¯s bubble to the sequence powerhouse level, the entire process had only cost 3 trillion star essence.

    This essence of Searwood proved itself worthy of being a cherished treasure for a creature like the nine-headed bird. This was indeed a treasure at the sequence powerhouse level.

    The bottle still had about twenty drops remaining, and Enhancing all of them would cost him tens of trillions of star essence.

    Lu Yin had a total of 740 trillion star essence, but even so, using so much at once was painful. Even so, there was no choice. He was more than willing to do that much for Sapling.

    He took a deep breath, and then started improving the essence of Searwood.

    After each upgrade, Lu Yin would give the drop to Sapling, who happily absorbed them. Drop by drop, they continued until all the essence of Searwood had been Enhanced and absorbed. In the end, Lu Yin had about 560 trillion star essences remaining.

    Lu Yin stared at little Sapling. It was still as little and cute as ever. Wait, had it grown an extra leaf?

    Blinking, Lu Yin noticed that there really was an extra leaf, though it was impossible to tell just howrge Sapling had grown to at this point.

    He reached out to touch the leaves. "Are you happy?"

    Sapling leaped up high and nearly ran into Lu Yin, whoughed and grabbed the little tree. "Alright, go y."

    Sapling was reluctant to leave Lu Yin, but after they yed for a while longer, Sapling returned to the cauldron.

    It really liked the cauldron.

    Lu Yin felt much better after ying with Sapling. If he was not able to figure out things for himself, he would just ask someone.

    His first thought was to ask Progenitor Smoke, whose Mountain and Sea carried the inheritance of thought. This made her particrly well suited to helping others. However, they had just spoken, and the woman was nowhere to be found.

    Lu Yin had no choice but to seek out Ancestor Tianyi. That man¡¯s knowledge and experience should help Lu Yin sort out some of his confusion.

    Ancestor Tianyi had been injured during the invasion of the First Scourge, but not to the point where he needed to go into seclusion to heal.

    Lu Yin went to the man and discussed his four inner worlds.

    Ancestor Tianyimented, "I''ve been thinking about this matter for some time. You''re destined to eventually be a Progenitor, and when you do, your inner worlds will be Progenitor¡¯s worlds. However, transforming your inner worlds won''t be easy.

    "Our Lu family possesses exceptional strength, and your first inner world, Infinity, perfectly matches our family''s power. It would be good for you tobine that inner world with the direct line¡¯s visualization method."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "The Fifth Maind visualization method?"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3053: The Path Ahead

    <h4>Chapter 3053: The Path Ahead</h4>

    Lu Tianyi nodded and took a seat across from Lu Yin. "You know of the Fifth Maind visualization method, but visualization first involves observation, followed by contemtion. Have you ever truly meditated on what the Fifth Maind is?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. It was true that he had never truly meditated on the Fifth Maind. He believed that thendmass of fatesand in the universe inside his chest was a replicate of the Fifth Maind due to his own efforts. However, he had never tried to meditated on the true Fifth Maind to try to strengthen that ability.

    "The reason why the Lu family''s main line and the branch families use differing visualization methods is because there are distinctions between them," Lu Tianyi exined. "You have always used the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant visualization method, but now that you know that the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is dead, your path with this visualization method hase to an end. The reason why you are still able to use it at all is because you deliberately forget that the creature is dead, but how long can you do so? Even if you could do this forever, how much improvement would doing so bring you?

    "The main family''s visualization method has always been the Fifth Maind itself. Our Lu family rules over the Fifth Maind, and the Fifth Maind in turn gives us this visualization power.

    "You have a unique advantage in this regard, as you possess the Wordless Heavenly Book. You are the Dao Monarch, someone acknowledged by the Fifth Maind. You carry the will of the Fifth Maind. Ancestor Lu Yuan should have already told you of this."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I think I understand things now."

    Lu Tianyi smiled. "I''ve wanted to tell you about these things for some time, but you tread a different path from us. It¡¯s possible that you will do even better than anything I can imagine, and for this reason, unless something is absolutely necessary, no one will try to change your cultivation path. Ancestor Lu Yuan didn''t dare to tell you anything, as he was afraid that even the slightest change might cause you to go down a different path.

    "Little Seven, you are the hope of our Lu family, and all of us are willing to sacrifice ourselves to protect you. We want to nurture you, and yet we don¡¯t dare to do so. Can you understand how we feel?"

    Lu Yin felt a warmth fill his heart. "I understand."

    Lu Tianyi intoned, "Visualize the Fifth Maind to increase your strength, Your Infinity will get stronger. Someday, Infinity will envelop all possibilities, allowing you to break through. When that dayes, nobody will be your match in terms of raw strength.

    Lu Yin earnestly replied, "I understand, Ancestor. I will definitely achieve that."

    Lu Tianyi hummed thoughtfully and then added, "As for your other three inner worlds, I can¡¯t offer you any help, though I do need to speak to you about something."

    The man grew very serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "When your third inner world was forming, did you encounter a speck of dust?"

    Lu Yin nodded. His Semi-Progenitorial tribtion had taken ce before the Lu family¡¯s return, so none of his family had personally witnessed Lu Yin¡¯sst breakthrough.

    Lu Tianyi¡¯s tone of voice turned grave. "If I¡¯m not mistaken, that speck of dust should be the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon. It¡¯s known as Primaldust."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "That¡¯s the Origin Progenitor''s weapon?"

    No one had mentioned this to Lu Yin. How could his stellr tribtion have made him face the Origin Progenitor''s weapon? How could there be any connection to the Origin Progenitor?

    The Origin Progenitor had been an unimaginably powerful person, to the point where Lu Yin still could notprehend the man¡¯s strength.

    Even True God and the Great Sovereign, both of whom were Dukkhans, had been suppressed by the Origin Progenitor in the ancient era. Although no one knew if the Origin Progenitor was dead or alive, no one believed that True God had killed him.

    The Origin Progenitor had not been seen since the copse of the First Maind. No one knew anything about his situation.

    Also, the man¡¯s capabilities had simrly been unknown.

    Supposedly, the Origin Progenitor had been a Dukkhan, because if he had been an Immortal, how could he have allowed True God to destroy the Heavens Sect?

    Even so, regardless of his cultivation level, the Origin Progenitor was known to be the strongest being that humanity had ever seen, unmatched by anyone. Even if Mister Mu held a high ce in Lu Yin''s heart, he didn''t believe that his master could surpass the Origin Progenitor.

    Upon learning that the Origin Progenitor''s weapon had appeared during his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, Lu Yin felt as though he had personally fought against the Origin Progenitor. It was hard for him to describe his feelings at the moment.

    Afraid? Honored? He could not really say.

    All Lu Yin could do for the moment was acknowledge the troubling implications. His third inner world was also just a speck of dust, and it perfectly resembled the Primaldust that he had encountered during his stellr tribtion. Could he have somehow taken the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon?

    Lu Yin chuckled to himself. "How could that be?"

    His Dust World was just one of his inner worlds. No matter how he thought about it, it could not possibly be at the Origin Progenitor¡¯s level.

    Just what exactly was going on?

    Lu Tianyi also felt quite puzzled. He had learned of these things from Ancestor Lu Yuan, who had chosen to not tell Lu Yin, for fear of rming him.

    But when Lu Yin specifically approached Lu Tianyi to ask about his inner worlds, it would not be appropriate to withhold information.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s expression, Lu Tianyi coughed. "Little Seven, don''t overthink things. Just think of the Origin Progenitor as another cultivator."

    Lu Yin responded with a wry smile, "That¡¯s easy for you to say, but this is my third inner world. Regardless of how powerful it might be, transforming it into a Progenitor¡¯s world is going to be difficult."

    Naturally, Lu Tianyi understood this, but what could they do about it? There were times when it was not good to be overly talented.

    After all, not only did Lu Yin have four inner worlds, but he had also cultivated divine energy, which was something that few humans had ever attempted. No one had ever before cultivated such an odd conglomeration of powers, not even the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Who would have thought that Lu Tianyi, who had once been regarded as the strongest person in the Origin Universe and the leader of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, to one day be stumped by a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s cultivation path?

    After finishing his conversation with Lu Tianyi, Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Ancestor Tianyi had promised that he would do his best to think of possible transformation paths for Lu Yin''s three other inner worlds.

    Of course, Lu Yin was not at all optimistic. Given how long Ancestor Tianyi had lived for, if there was anything new the man might think of, he would have done so already. The man would most likely not have any sudden revtions.

    Lu Yin would have to rely on himself.

    He suddenly remembered the tea made from the Roots of Intelligence. How great would it be if he could have some more!

    Progenitor Hui was still alive, so Lu Yin intended to ask for some more Roots of Intelligence the next time he saw the man, assuming he still had any at all.

    Long ago, Xiao Can had been captured and enved by the Wang family, after which he was forced to work as a miner until he was released when Lu Yin removed the four ruling powers from the Higher Realm. After an investigation, it had been determined that Xiao Can was the descendant of one of Progenitor Hui¡¯s disciples, which was why he had possessed several Roots of Intelligence. Unfortunately, all of those roots had been used up.

    Upon returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin brought out his Wordless Heavenly Book. He intended to use it to meditate on the Fifth Maind while he strengthened Infinity, but he also wanted to explore additional uses for the Wordless Heavenly Book.

    Lu Yin had initially been shocked that he had sessfully developed four inner worlds, but that shock had morphed into a matching headache.

    Still, after he managed to transform all of his inner worlds into Progenitor¡¯s worlds, things would be very different. Lu Yin could only imagine how powerful he would be at that time.

    Lu Yin was confident that, the moment he became a Progenitor, he would be a match for the Seven Skygods. The disparity between Lu Yin and other cultivators was simply too extreme.

    But the first thing was to break through.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He stared at the Wordless Heavenly Book as he started to meditate on the Fifth Maind,plementing it with the fatesand continent in his chest.

    A month soon passed, but the Infinity Empire still did nothing.

    During this month, Lu Yin rolled a four on his die and spent nearly a year in his Timestop Space. He spent that time meditating on the Fifth Maind. When he emerged and rolled his die for a second round, he was surprised when he failed to roll Timestop even once out of the four rolls.

    After ten days, he rolled the die again, and when he got Timestop on his first roll, he immediately continued his meditation session.

    The scenery around him changed as Lu Yin returned to the real world. Only a second had passed while he had spent nearly a year in his Timestop Space.

    Already, he had spent nearly two years meditating on the Fifth Maind.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book floated in front of him as Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. After all, the Origin Sutra was what had triggered the tribtion that eventually became this inner world. In the past, Lu Yin had not thought much about that connection, but he was trying to explore all possible avenues.

    As he recited the Origin Sutra, the Wordless Heavenly Book started to emit a faint light, and various voices began to ring out around Lu Yin.

    "You little brat! Hand the money over, or else I''ll kill you!"

    "Don''t! I want to cultivate! This is all the star energy I have left."

    "Get lost..."

    "Master, look, it¡¯s Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s statue."

    "Come and show some respect. If not for Dao Monarch Lu, who knows what the Fifth Maind would be like?"

    "Alright..."

    "Grandmother, I don''t want to cultivate anymore."

    "Why not, child?"

    "Little Ke¡¯s family bought an energy converter, and now they have the strength of a Hunter. How long will I have to cultivate for to reach that level? There aren¡¯t any wars now, so it doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t cultivate. Let¡¯s just buy an energy converter."

    "Nonsense! You know that cultivation is fundamental."

    "But there aren¡¯t any enemies now. I''d rather enjoy myself."

    "You fool! If war erupts again, everyone who doesn¡¯t cultivate will bepletely useless. Even if our family is wiped out, if you cultivate, there will stille a day when you can rise back up. Little Ke¡¯s familycks foresight, but can our family afford to do that? The peace that Dao Monarch Lu achieved was not easily obtained, and it¡¯s not something for you to squander. Kneel before the Dao Monarch¡¯s statue and apologize..."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped back open,plex motions flitting across his eyes. The universe was a busy ce that was filled with countless creatures, each with their own lives. Cultivation carried certain harsh realities with it, while peace brought its own diforts. God¡¯s Domain was a prime example of this. If the day ever came when the Divine Maiden was unable to hold back Di Qiong, God¡¯s Domain would be absolutely andpletely destroyed.

    A person could never allow themselves to stop walking the path that they had chosen, even if that path became twisted and winding.

    Was humanity at peace? Of course not, but there were certain details that could not be shared, which meant that an alternative path to war needed to be offered.

    A few dayster, the Heavens Sect released an announcement, dering that the Sixverse Tournament would soon be held. There would be separate categories for the various cultivation levels that matched the Sentinel, Melder, Limiteer, Explorer, Cruiser, Hunter, Enlighter, and Envoy realms. There would bebat tournaments for each category so that the strongest within a given realm could be determined. The winners would be allowed to join the Heavens Sect and cultivate there while receiving focused training and resources provided by the Sixverse Association. This was to prepare for the looming war.

    The announcement caused the entire Sixverse Association to erupt.

    As soon as any information regarding the First Scourge was leaked, Aeternus had sealed off the First Scourge and hunkered down. This istionist policy had led most of the Sixverse Association to feel rxed and at ease. The forting tournament rekindled a fiery enthusiasm in countless hearts.

    Who did not want to leave a mark of their own in history?

    This tournament would be held for each cultivation level, including even Sentinels. This would give many people an opportunity to rise high.

    At that moment, countless people from across the Sixverse Association decided that they would shine in the tournament.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes while reciting the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra. Once again, he heard the voices of the busy universe start to speak.

    "I want topete! I want to be the best!"

    "Little brat, do you really think that you can win?"

    "Father, if I win, there¡¯s no limit to what I¡¯ll be able to aplish in the future. What could anyone possibly want what the winner won¡¯t have?"

    "That¡¯s true, hahaha. Go for it, son. Your father will support you. I¡¯ll steal whatever you need..."

    "Master, I¡¯m sure to win! I have no peers among Limiteers!"

    "Hehe, your master will do everything possible to help you. When you win the tournament and meet Dao Monarch Lu, say hello to him for me."

    "Yes, Master..."

    "My son, you must excel and make our Fifth Maind proud."

    "For this Sixverse Tournament, our Fifth Maind must win in each category! We cannot disgrace Dao Monarch Lu..."

 Chapter 3054: A Good Show

    <h4>Chapter 3054: A Good Show</h4>

    Arch-Elder Zen arrived in the Heavens Sect and met with Lu Yin.

    "Dao Monarch, why did you suddenly decide to hold this Sixverse Tournament?" the old man asked.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "Whether passively or actively, humans always need to have something to strive towards."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "I thought that you didn¡¯t care about such things anymore, Dao Monarch. After repelling Aeternus, the iron-blooded spirit that infused our cultivation civilization in the past naturally changed. While this appeared to be a good thing, the truth is that it¡¯s the opposite. After all, our enemy has not been eliminated."

    Lu Yin turned to face Arch-Elder Zen. "Senior, you once wanted to turn the Fifth Maind into a ce like God''s Domain. What are your thoughts now?"

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Since ancient times, humans have never stopped fighting against each other. Even if we did not have an external enemy like Aeternus, we would still be caught up in endless infighting. There will never be no end to conflict. However, the more that this is true, the more likely it is that we humans will improve and see progress. The greatest invention of humanity is the lie. Everything we see and experience is built on lies. Lies give rise to war, and war serves as thedder of human evolution. There is no need to forcibly interfere."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "War is something that needs to be distinguished. We are fighting a war to protect all of humanity. This conviction will never change. On top of that, preparation is also a part of war."

    "You have given everyone in the Sixverse Association a new path, Dao Monarch," Arch-Elder Zenmented.

    Lu Yin replied, "It¡¯s impossible to truly eliminate war and conflict, which means that all I can do is present a goal to them. When the dayes when humanity needs them, they will be ready to take to the battlefield."

    "Will you personally oversee this Sixverse Association Trounament, Dao Monarch?"

    "There''s no need for that. If I make it so easy for people to see me, what good will the rewards of the tournament be? Senior, I''ll leave this to you."

    "Understood."

    ...

    Reinforcements from the Infinity Empire finally arrived in the Astral Beast Domain, and one mecha after another emerged from the spatial rift. The first mecha to arrive was First Prince Shang Tianzong¡¯s Skylord. Its silver color was extremely eye-catching.

    Right behind it was a ck and white mecha. Everyone in the Infinity Empire knew that this mecha was called Frostfall. It was the Infinity mecha of Liu Ling, the vice-chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Countless people in the empire had been inspired to be a mecha because of Liu Ling.

    Behind Frostfall was Ge Shan''s mecha, Skypiercer.

    The fourth mecha looked rather average, and it belonged to Hong Nian, the Minister of the Armory for the empire. Behind Hong Nian came more than 20 additional mechas, which the empire had pulled from various locations to add to the ones that had already been dispatched to the Astral Beast Domain.

    One-fifth of the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas had gathered in the Astral Beast Domain. This was an incredibly powerful army for the empire, and neither Shang Tianzong nor Shang Cheng had evermanded such a powerful group of mechas on their own.

    "Greetings, First Prince."

    "Greetings, First Prince..."

    Shang Tianzong''s voice was round and gentle. "Rise, everyone. You''ve worked hard."

    Shang Cheng pouted as he looked away in frustration.

    Fei Yan spoke up, his tone respectful. "Report, First Prince: this one is ipetent and has failed to conquer this universe. Please punish me, First Prince."

    "Haha, General Fei Yan, you''re too humble. This universe is a special situation, which is not at all your fault," Shang Tianzong replied before stepping aside. "Teacher, do you have any orders?"

    Liu Ling replied, "Everything on the battlefield is under the Marshal¡¯smand. Has he not arrived yet?"

    Fei Yan replied, "The Marshal will arrive soon.¡±

    Shang Tianzong said, "In that case, we¡¯ll wait."

    He then turned to Shang Cheng. "Fifth Brother, it''s wonderful to see that you¡¯re doing fine. In a universe with this threat level, I was quite worried that something might happen to you."

    Shang Cheng rolled his eyes. "Thank you for your concern, First Brother. Unfortunately, I''m fine."

    Shang An''an quickly asked, "First Brother, what are Father¡¯s thoughts on this universe?"

    Shang Tianzong was already used to Shang Cheng''s attitude, so he turned to Shang An''an. "Others have used our Infinity Empire before. As long as we are able to get what we want, such things don¡¯t matter. If we can acquire thirteen ring energy, we will be able to overpower anything."

    Shang An''an smiled. "Imperial Father is still so wise. We were intending to retreat."

    Shang Tianzongughed. "It wouldn¡¯t matter if you had retreated. Since we¡¯ve visited this universe, we can return to it whenever we want in the future. Temporarily retreating might even possibly paralyze this Fifth Maind."

    "However, we know nothing about this Fifth Maind for certain, so we cannot be confident," Ge Shanmented in a heavy voice.

    He had previouslymanded the empire¡¯s conquering armies, and he had also been the one to mentor Fei Yan. When Ge Shan spoke, everyone paid careful attention.

    Fei Yan bowed. "My ipetence prevented us from breaking past the blockade that those two creatures have created."

    Shang Tianzong dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. "That¡¯s also not your fault. You can¡¯t possibly hope to fight against two creatures with a defensive power of eleven rings."

    As the small group spoke, they waited for the arrival of the marshal of the empire''s armies: Bu Wu.

    When Bu Wu arrived, everyone bowed, including Shang Tianzong, Shang Cheng, and Shang An''an, though they gave half-bows. This was to show their respect for Bu Wu.

    Ge Shan went so far as to kneel on the ground, excitement covering his face.

    When Ge Shan had been the Marshal, Bu Wu had been a general. During that time, Ge Shan had been saved by Bu Wu on several asions, and he owed Bu Wu his life.

    Bu Wu''s mecha was named Fortress. The name was intended to mean ¡°stop the enemy and win without fighting,¡± which was the Marshal¡¯s hope every time he encountered a new parallel universe. At the same time, this represented his absolute confidence that he could force an enemy surrender without a fight.

    Bu Wu''s eyes swept over everyone, stopping on neither Shang Tianzong nor Shang Cheng. He only paused briefly at Liu Ling, but then he took a step forward. "The Sixth Maind."

    Bu Wu¡¯s arrival meant that the Infinity Empire was concentrating this particr invasion on the Sixth Maind. All of Aeternus¡¯s forces in the Sixth Maind would be ughtered.

    One mecha after another moved forward, ughtering the corpse kings. The battleships moved forward, their beams sweeping out. The Aeternals were powerless and unable to put up any real resistance.

    The only two Progenitor-level corpse kings that Aeternus had left in the Sixth Maind were dealt with by Ge Shan himself.

    He piloted an eleven-ring mecha, which was more powerful than an average peak powerhouse, let alone most Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    After just half a month, the empire had destroyed five Aeternus Kingdoms across the Sixth Maind. The Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas were unstoppable, and the Aeternals could not do anything to stop their march forward.

    People were released from the Aeternus Kingdoms. The Infinity Empire only wanted resources, not people. They did not care about the prisoners that they freed, and the people were left to fend for themselves.

    The Infinity Empire functioned like an emotionless mecha. It took what it wanted, regardless of any people or things that were unaffiliated with the empire.

    If the people of the Aeternus Kingdoms tried to stop the Infinity Empire from taking the resources they wanted, those humans would also be the empire¡¯s enemies.

    Aeternus simply abandoned the Sixth Maind.

    Lu Yin sat on the back of the jiao, watching as the Aeternus Kingdoms were emptied and destroyed. Even the Aeternus Kingdom that had once been protected by the death energy field and the Progenitor-level corpse king was wiped out.

    The mechanical hummingbirds moved forward to inspect the death energy, but none of them ever emerged after entering.

    Death energy was not ster energy. It was not quite as gentle.

    There was no way to hide this from the Infinity Empire, and they would undoubtedly return to study the death energy.

    The Aeternals had abandoned the Sixth Maind, but Lu Yin could not allow the Infinity Empire to simply start researching thirteen ring energy utilization. He was not certain just how powerful a thirteen-ring mecha would be.

    Lu Yin was prepared to open the cosmic door in his possession and connect the Sixth Maind to the Fourth Scourge, forcing the Infinity Empire to confront a powerful enemy.

    He wondered whether the Infinity Empire was lucky or unlucky. When Lu Yin had been prepared to attack Shang Cheng and the others in order to prevent the Infinity Empire from leaving the Origin Universe, the empire¡¯s forces had happened to discover the possibility of developing thirteen ring energy utilization, which meant that Lu Yin did not have to do anything. The Infinity Empire had not only stayed, but they had also sent reinforcements.

    But before Lu Yin could open the cosmic door, the Infinity Empire encountered a powerful enemy.

    Lu Yin was startled by the sight of nine massive wolf heads in the distance. How could Forgotten Ruins God be in the Sixth Maind?

    In outer space in the Sixth Maind, the appearance of the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves caused rms to re in the Infinity Empire''s mechas and battleships.

    A mecha mmed down. It had already been destroyed.

    Bu Wu looked up. He saw Ge Shan''s Sky Piercer and Fei Yan''s Blue Mountain both attacking at the same time.

    The Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves covered the entire sky, blocking out outer space from everyone¡¯s vision. The size of each wolf head was unbelievablyrge.

    Even Bu Wu, who had fought in countless invasions across numerous parallel universes and seen all different kinds of creatures, was shocked by the sight of the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves.

    Was this really a level of power that humans could achieve through cultivation?

    The strongest cultivators that Bu Wu had ever faced had wielded power equal to ten rings, which was already beyond the understanding of the Infinity Empire. What was going on with the phenomenon before them at this moment?

    In outer space, Forgotten Ruins God looked at the mechas in surprise. Blue Mountain charged at her. "What an interesting toy. I thought that if anyone found me, it would be Little Lu Yin. Who are you people?"

    As she spoke, one of the wolf heads fell, its mouth open as it dropped towards Blue Mountain.

    Each wolf head wasrge enough to swallow an entire mecha.

    Around Blue Mountain, a shield at the ten-ring level appeared. The mecha shot upwards, intending to body m the wolf head.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Space shattered. The shield was instantly destroyed, and the wolf head bit into Blue Mountain. There was a snap, and cracks appeared across the mecha¡¯s hull.

    Fei Yan was horrified. Was this twelve ring power?

    Sharp, spear-like objects shot through the sky from the distance, all aimed at the wolf head. However, before they arrived, another wolf head dropped down, blocking the attack. Ge Shan¡¯s Sky Piercer hadunched this attack.

    The Forgotten Ruins God''s eyes lit up. "Rather impressive strength. Your civilization is quite interesting."

    The ck and white mecha leaped forward. Countless des flew around it, slicing at the wolf head.

    To the side, Bu Wu moved his Fortress forward. This enemy had a strength of twelve rings. This was not someone whom they could fight against.

    More and more cracks appeared on Blue Mountain, and the broken pieces started to squeeze against Fei Yan''s body inside of his mecha. He could die at any moment.

    Fortress raised its hand, and the mecha''s arm transformed into a cylinder that was pointed at the wolf head biting Blue Mountain. Suddenly, the cylinder shot forward like a fist.

    The cylinder mmed into the wolf head, smashing it to pieces.

    Blue Mountain took that opportunity to escape. Fei Yan was gasping for breath as Bu Wu threw him to the ground.

    Up in outer space, Forgotten Ruins God stared at Bu Wu''s Fortress. "A new civilization?"

    Bu Wu stared back at Forgotten Ruins God. There were still eight more wolf heads remaining, and Ge Shan and Liu Ling were no match for this opponent. "Are you the powerhouse who controls the two beasts in the Fifth Maind?"

    Forgotten Ruins God giggled. "I have no idea what you''re talking about, but it appears that you¡¯ve been yed. This feels so familiar, so..."

    She rolled her eyes, and then focused on a certain direction. Her smile grewrger, more beautiful, and even more radiant. "Little Lu, are you enjoying watching your big sister''s misfortune?"

 Chapter 3055: An Unexpected Place

    <h4>Chapter 3055: An Unexpected ce</h4>

    As Forgotten Ruins God looked in his direction, Lu Yin''s expression changed. She had found him.

    Bu Wu and the others looked over as well, but they saw nothing.

    "The best part of your big sister''s performance isn''t so easy to see," Forgotten Ruins God said as a cold light flickered across her eyes. With a casual wave of her hand, eight wolf heads fell.

    Bu Wu''s face grew pale, and he shouted, "Stop!"

    The Skygod was unphased, and she did not even nce at the mechas as she made her way towards Lu Yin.

    <i>Booooom!</i>

    The sky shattered with a loud sound as the wolf heads covered all of the Infinity Empire¡¯s forces. Bu Wu¡¯s mecha raised its right arm and attacked the nearest wolf head. Ge Shan, Liu Ling, Fei Yan, Shang Tianzong, and Jiang Dongjian all piloted ten-ring mechas, and they attacked the wolf heads as well. Still, they were unable to stop all the wolf heads, and some of them crashed down.

    The empire¡¯s forces suffered heavy losses.

    At the same time, the jiao regained its full size and shot towards the mechas.

    Fei Yan eximed in shock, "Commander, that¡¯s the creature!"

    Bu Wu shattered another wolf head as he turned and saw the jiao approaching. On its back, Lu Yin¡¯s expression was solemn. He had no idea just how badly Forgotten Ruins God had been wounded during the battle the Great Sovereign had start, but regardless, Forgotten Ruins God was not someone whom Lu Yin could handle on his own.

    He was quite aware of the strength of the Seven Skygods. Aeternus had betrayed Undying God and had also shared Forgotten Ruins God¡¯s location. Undying God had been ambushed and killed, but Forgotten Ruins God had managed to escape. Lu Yin was certain that the woman was just as cunning as she was strong.

    Forgotten Ruins spread out crazily, making it look like a new sky had appeared above the Sixth Maind.

    "Little Lu Yin, weren''t you looking for your big sister? I¡¯m right here! Why are you running away?" Forgotten Ruins God''s was moving closer.

    Lu Yin looked back and asked, "Wang Miaomiao, aren''t you afraid that I¡¯ll bring more people over to capture or kill you?"

    "Heh, you can try. If you fail, the consequences will be severe," Forgotten Ruins God retorted. Her smile faded as she pointed to her Forgotten Ruins. They shattered, and debris went flying in all directions.

    The jiao was struck, and it wailed. For a moment, it looked quite confused. It had forgotten absolutely everything.

    Lu Yin kicked the jiao away and fled by himself. He could not rely on the stupid creature. It would quickly forget about everything as soon as the Forgotten Ruins touched it. It had even forgotten how to shrink its body.

    Just like the jiao, some of the Forgotten Ruins¡¯ fragments pelted the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas. Even though Fortress¡¯s protective shield remained intact, the mecha itself was knocked down.

    With even Bu Wu¡¯s mecha suffering, the others fared much worse.

    When Forgotten Ruins God took action, the Infinity Empire had no way to resist.

    There were no limits to human cultivation, and such power could not be ovee by things as simple as tools or weapons. Even if it was possible to temporarily bridge the gap or even surpass it, ultimately, such things could notpete with the potential of human cultivation.

    The Forgotten Ruins alone made it impossible for the mechas to even attack, and they were left at the mercy of the bombardment.

    Fei Yan''s mind went nk as a wolf head crashed down and bit into Blue Mountain once more. There was a ng, and the mecha shattered, utterly annihting Fei Yan. Right before he died, he realized that the empire might have provoked an unimaginable civilization.

    This was a civilization that made the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas look pathetic.

    One by one, all the mechas were crushed, and they were immediately followed by the destruction of the battleships. It did not even matter if the vessels managed to block the attack. Even if the debris of the shattered Forgotten Ruins was blocked, the people within the battleships or mechas would forget to defend against the next attack the moment any of the debris made contact with them. Survival depended solely on luck.

    Shang An¡¯an¡¯s Angel was nearly smashed to pieces, while Ge Shan''s Sky Piercer was the unluckiest; two wolf heads bit into the mecha and reduced it to shrapnel. The Infinity Empire¡¯s forces crumbled on contact.

    Only Bu Wu''s mecha remained intact, as it was the only twelve-ring mecha. While it was incapable of defeating Forgotten Ruins God, it would not be easily destroyed by her Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves or Forgotten Ruins.

    Bu Wu watched everything that happened. A single person hadpletely crushed an entire army of the Infinity Empire.

    Thirteen rings. This was the power of a civilization that possessed thirteen rings of power. Each time the Infinity Empire encountered an opportunity to improve their strength, it was apanied by terrible danger. Bu Wu already knew this, but he had still underestimated the potential danger.

    Lu Yin continued to dodge the debris of the Forgotten Ruins with Inverse Step. If even a single bit of rubble touched him, everything would be over. Forgotten Ruins God was looking for that single moment.

    She sneered at him. "How long do you think you can escape for?"

    Lu Yin turned around again to look at the woman. "Do you really think that you can kill me?"

    "I can certainly try. After all, you also can''t kill me."

    "We have already dealt with Shaman God and Undying God."

    "Oh, honestly, I''ve been ready to die for a very long time."

    Lu Yin felt helpless. While finding one of the Seven Skygods was certainly a good thing, much more needed to fall into ce before the encounter became an opportunity to deal with an enemy powerhouse. At the moment, the Heavens Sect¡¯s elders were injured, which made it impossible for them to deal with Forgotten Ruins God. She was more than capable of escaping. Should Lu Yin contact the Sixverse Association? It was already toote for that. Besides, Forgotten Ruins God was no fool, and she was more cunning than anyone else.

    The longer she remained and fought against Lu Yin, the more problematic things became.

    Trying to deal with Forgotten Ruins God would inevitably exact a steep price, and Lu Yin did not want the Heavens Sect to pay it. Thus, the Infinity Empire needed to take the brunt of things.

    Wolf heads converged upon Lu Yin from every direction as he moved about with Inverse Step. He suddenly started to move at the speed of time.

    At that instant, everything froze. He easily moved past the wolf heads and appeared directly above Bu Wu.

    When he stopped using Inverse Step, both Forgotten Ruins God and Bu Wu stared at him in disbelief.

    "Little Lu Yin, you really keep surprising people! You''ve even started to use the power of time," Forgotten Ruins God said with admiration.

    Worry flickered through Bu Wu¡¯s eyes. The people of this universe had even touched upon the power of time, which was something that the Infinity Empire had desperately tried to aplish themselves, but had failed. He needed to bring this information back to the empire. They could not afford to leave any of their forces in this universe.

    Lu Yin looked down and met Bu Wu¡¯s gaze. "We finally meet."

    Bu Wu¡¯s expression turned grave. "Are you the one who¡¯s controlling the creature that captured Little Qing and the others?"

    Shang An¡¯an, Jiang Dongjian, and the others were watching from far away. They had been lucky enough to not die from the Sky-Devouring Nine Wolves or the shattered Forgotten Ruins, but their mechas were barely functioning at this moment.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "I don¡¯t know if your Infinity Empire can stand up to this woman. If you can¡¯t, that¡¯s just your bad luck."

    He then turned and moved towards the Astral Beast Domain.

    Bu Wu¡¯s expression changed dramatically, and he immediately realized the danger. The young man was leading the woman towards the Infinity Empire!

    Forgotten Ruins God also understood the implication in Lu Yin¡¯sment. "Little Lu Yin, do you think that you can escape?"

    She chased after him.

    Bu Wu had his mecha leap after the two humans. He could not expose his empire to this universe. This ce defied any known threat level. If things were not handled properly, the Infinity Empire would face an absolute catastrophe.

    The mecha rushed into the Astral Beast Domain from the Sixth Maind, and Bu Wu immediately contacted the empire¡¯s forces. "Activate the Nightmare Protocol! I repeat, activate the Nightmare Protocol."

    In a distant location in space, Hong Nian received Bu Wu¡¯s order. The minister¡¯s expression changed drastically, but he did not hesitate at all. "Activate the Nightmare Protocol now!"

    Only once before in the history of the Infinity Empire had the Nightmare Protocol ever been enacted. The previous time, a formidable enemy had managed to invade the Infinity Empire, and the reigning emperor had been killed. The imperial family had almost been wiped out. Fortunately, the Nightmare Protocol had allowed the empire to just barely escape total disaster. That catastrophe had set the empire¡¯s strength back 10,000 years.

    Hong Nian had never imagined that the current universe would be home to so many experts, or that the Nightmare Protocol would be activated so quickly. Once the danger passed, if the situation was assessed as not critical enough to warrant the Nightmare Protocol, Bu Wu would be held ountable.

    Given Bu Wu''s cautious nature, there was little doubt that the protocol was necessary.

    Lu Yin moved across the Astral Beast Domain, making his way towards the spatial rift. At almost the same time that Hong Nian ordered the Nightmare Protocol be carried out, Lu Yin arrived, and he shot through the spatial rift. The Infinity Empire was not given any time to escape.

    The very next moment, Forgotten Ruins God also arrived at the spatial rift. Her eyes darted about, and then she vanished. She knew that she was going into a trap, so why go? She was no fool.

    Lu Yin was certainly clever, and Forgotten Ruins God understood that he had purposely said those words to lure her into the Astral Beast Domain. Passing through the spatial rift would mean fighting against the civilization with the mechas, while not passing through would mean certain defeat at the hands of the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin was quite cunning, but Forgotten Ruins God decided that she had messed around enough for the day.

    Her appearance ced tremendous pressure on the Astral Beast Domain. Her aura alone suppressed everyone, including the astral beasts. Everyone found themselves struggling to breathe.

    Hong Nian despaired. He had not expected Forgotten Ruins God to suddenly vanish. He quickly shouted, "Has the Nightmare Protocol been enacted yet?"

    "Yes, sir! It¡¯s already been activated."

    Hong Nian felt helpless. If he had known that the formidable enemy would simply leave, they could have dyed the protocol. However, that was not something that he could have decided. Bu Wu had made the call.

    Hong Nian looked towards the spatial rift. What of the person who had just rushed through?

    At this time, after passing through the spatial rift, Lu Yin found himself not looking at the Infinity Empire''s massive battleship, but rather at God¡¯s Domain.

    He was stunned. How had he ended up in God¡¯s Domain?

    Just arriving in that universe was one thing, but as Lu Yin looked around, he saw that God¡¯s Domain was trembling. Spatial tears filled the sky and covered the ground. Even from the distance, Lu Yin could see a terrible battle being fought.

    Three immense elephants stood between heaven and earth, crushing thend of God¡¯s Domain. Golden palms fell down like rain, attacking a figure who wielded a long spear. This individual pierced through the palms as they moved straight towards the elephants. The sky was filled with blood that rained down on the ground below.

    Lu Yin turned around, only to see that the spatial rift he had passed through had already disappeared. Something was wrong, and it was clear that the Infinity Empire was behind whatever had happened.

    He had no time to consider the matter any further. Lu Yin summoned the Seven-Star Mantis and moved forward. If he was right, the figure who was attacking was Di Qiong, one of Aeternus''s Six Skies.

    Lu Yin knew that, on his own, he was no match for Di Qiong. However, there was no choice but to fight. Lu Yin could not just ignore the destruction of God¡¯s Domain and escape on his own.

    If God¡¯s Domain had the means to restrain Di Qiong, he would not have been able to move so deep within the continent. However, how had Di Qiong invaded God¡¯s Domain again so quickly? Had his previous failures merely been a ruse?

    Lu Yin could not defeat Di Qiong. If things became desperate, Lu Yin would take the Divine Maiden to the Heavens Sect, where they could surround Di Qiong and attack him with reinforcements.

    Forgotten Ruins God most likely had left the Fifth Maind.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A thunderous roar tore the ground apart, and blood sprayed into the sky. The Divine Maiden¡¯s face was pale, and her veil had disappeared long ago. Beneath her, the enormous All-Dao Elephant swung its trunk. It swept past the nearby Virtue-Erasing Reincarnation Elephant and mmed right into Di Qiong.

    The invader¡¯s spear stabbed into the Great Sage Elephant as the All-Dao Elephant¡¯s trunk whipped about. The Great Sage Elephant roared at the sky as the sequence particles that surrounded it mmed down, restricting Di Qiong¡¯s movements.

 Chapter 3056: Lu Yin VS. Di Qiong

    <h4>Chapter 3056: Lu Yin VS. Di Qiong</h4>

    Di Qiong¡¯s voice was arrogant. "I''ve seen through everything you have! You were merely tools for my cultivation. Once I''ve ughtered your three elephants, you can me the Sixverse Association for suppressing the First Scourge. They¡¯ve forced all of us to take action."

    He then released his spear and clenched his fists while letting out a deep shout. A terrifying pressure created ripples around him that swept the Great Sage Elephant back. Di Qiong looked up and threw a punch, shattering one of the approaching golden palms before spinning around with a kick that mmed into the All-Dao Elephant¡¯s trunk. There was a loud bang, and the void shattered.

    Some distance away, Lu Yin''s eye twitched uncontrobly. Without using sequence particles, Di Qiong had used nothing more than his physical strength to defeat the three elephants, leaving the Divine Maiden helpless. This was the power of one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    The Divine Maiden was stunned. She had thought that she had driven Di Qiong back thest time, and while she knew that he would return and be able to defeat her the next time, she had thought that she had nearly 100 years to relocate God¡¯s Domain. Why was he attacking again so soon?

    Di Qiong raised his head, revealing that his pupils had vanished. This was the hallmark sign of Pupilless Transformation.

    The highest level of the Corpse King Transformation granted a progenitor-level corpse king enough strength to intimidate even sequence powerhouses. Zhong Pan was one example of such a corpse king. It was possible for these creatures to a sequence particle attack with just their incredible physical might after undergoing a Pupilless Transformation.

    Di Qiong himself was a sequence powerhouse, and oneparable to the Seven Skygods at that. When he used the Pupilless Transformation, the pressure he radiated was so intense that even Lu Yin struggled to breathe.

    Fortunately, Di Qiong waspletely ignoring Lu Yin. The young man was merely a Semi-Progenitor, and there were a few other cultivators at his level in God''s Domain.

    However, the Divine Maiden noticed Lu Yin, and his presence surprised her greatly. <i>How is Lu Yin here?</i>

    Lu Yin gestured to the Divine Maiden for her to stay silent, and then he flew towards Di Qiong at a speed typical of a Semi-Progenitor. It looked as though Lu Yin was going to his death.

    The Great Sage Elephant ferociously charged at Di Qiong, only for him to hold the elephant back with one hand. "I¡¯ve known for a long time that the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is no longer here in God¡¯s Domain. In fact, I know where it is."

    The Divine Maiden was startled. "You know where the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is?"

    Di Qiong was still blocking the Great Sage Elephant with one hand, but then his fingers started to squeeze. There was a boom, and something happened inside the elephant. It spat out blood before slowly copsing to the ground.

    The Virtue-Erasing Reincarnation Elephant raced over from another direction.

    The Divine Maiden''s eyes flickered as she watched the Virtue-Erasing Reincarnation Elephant also fall to Di Qiong. She waspletely unable to stand up to this monster. He had been toying with God''s Domain for many years, and all the while, she had thought that she had been the one holding him back.

    "We must flee!" a voice reached the Divine Maiden''s ears. The All-Dao Elephant was speaking to her. The beast was able to see through the void, and it was confident that it could guide the Divine Maiden to escape. However, doing so would mean abandoning God''s Domain.

    The Divine Maiden continued to stare intently at the distant form of Di Qiong. He looked back at her with open interest. "Don''t you want to know where the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is?"

    "Did you capture it?" This was the only possibility she could think of.

    Di Qiong sneered. "It''s in the Origin Universe, in a ce called the Daosource Sect."

    The Divine Maiden¡¯s eyes snapped over to Lu Yin. <i>The Origin Universe, Daosource Sect? Isn¡¯t that where Lu Yin and his people are from?</i>

    The moment that Lu Yin heard Di Qiong mention the Daosource Sect, he knew that things had turned for the worst. The Divine Maiden was aware that Lu Yin and hispanions were from the Origin Universe, and she had heard them mention the Daosource Sect.

    Sure enough, the Divine Maiden instantly turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Di Qiong frowned, and he also turned to look at Lu Yin. He had only mentioned the Origin Universe and the Daosource Sect in order to tease the Divine Maiden. She should not know these names, but the moment she heard them, she had instantly looked at this man who was recklessly rushing towards Di Qiong in a suicidal manner. Di Qiong had regarded the young man as too insignificant to bother with, as he could be easily crushed, but at this moment, he turned to stare at the Semi-Progenitor.

    Lu Yin sighed. Such was fate. He could have at least struck Di Qiong in the back with the slipper during a sneak attack, but the Divine Maiden hadplicated things.

    The Divine Maiden had been born in God''s Domain and knew little about the rest of the megaverse. If she had not received the recognition of the universe that held God''s Domain, she could have never wielded the power of the four elephants, let alone fight against someone like Di Qiong. She controlled the greatestbat strength in her universe, but shecked the corresponding experience.

    If she were an experienced cultivator, she would have never exposed Lu Yin.

    Since Lu Yin had been exposed, there was no choice but to fight. He used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. As he moved, he sent a message to the Divine Maiden, "Prepare to escape to these coordinates I just shared with you. That¡¯s the only ce where we can hope to corner Di Qiong and offer any bit of hope to your God¡¯s Domain."

    While the Divine Maidenckedbat experience, she was not dumb. She immediately understood what Lu Yin meant and instantly told the person who had gone with Lu Yin to tear the void and connect their universe to Aeternus Nation. Despite the Divine Maiden¡¯s reluctance to get involved in the war between the Sixverse Association and Aeternus, Di Qiong was clearly an enemy of the Sixverse Association, and God''s Domain¡¯s situation could not get much worse. She had to seize any chance to save her homnd.

    Everything around Lu Yin froze as he moved at the speed of time. He pped the slipper at Di Qiong, striking him right in the back of his head and knocking him to the ground.

    Lu Yin was astonished by his own sess. His slipper was rarely effective against opponents at this level. Even the Seven-Star Mantis had been wary enough to do everything possible to dodge the slipper when Lu Yin had used it.

    How could Di Qiong possibly fail to dodge Lu Yin¡¯s Inverse Step? If he were so incapable, then his formidable physical strength would bepletely useless.

    Lu Yin continued to use Inverse Step and chased after Di Qiong, trying to p him again with the slipper.

    There was a deafening crash as Di Qiong smashed into the ground. Lu Yin was right behind him, and he tried to hit him again with the slipper, but suddenly, everything changed. Inexplicably, Lu Yin froze in the process of swinging the slipper. He was held in ce by some indescribable force. In front of him, he saw the cold, pupilless eyes of Di Qiong.

    Pages circled around. It was as though Lu Yin had left God''s Domain and appeared in a new universe. A Progenitor¡¯s world?

    One of the pages showed the same action that Lu Yin was in the middle of making, and it glowed slightly. Lu Yin watched in confusion, curious about what was about to happen.

    "You aren¡¯t from God''s Domain," Di Qiong stated in a deep voice that was cold enough to chill a person to the bone.

    The back of his head was throbbing, and it had been years since he had felt such pain. This young man had actually managed to hurt him, Di Qiong¡ªand with a slipper?

    Looking at the slipper in Lu Yin''s hand caused Di Qiong to grow furious. He felt insulted, having been struck with such a thing. "You''re seeking death!"

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he fled with Inverse Step. It was clear that he could not swing the slipper again, but he was still able to retreat. Could it be that he could perform actions that were not shown on the pages, but would be prevented from duplicating a disyed action? Was that how Di Qiong¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world functioned?

    Time froze once again, which allowed Lu Yin to retreat while Di Qiong froze again. Lu Yin tried to p the man with the slipper again, but he froze mid-swing like before.

    "The power of time? Boy, who are you?" Di Qiong raised a hand, and his long spear flew to him from the distance. It pointed at Lu Yin as all of God¡¯s Domain started to crumble, apanied by the wailing of countless people.

    Lu Yin knew that it would be impossible to attack Di Qiong again, so he made his way to the Divine Maiden.

    She was close to the spatial tear that was directly connected to Aeternus Nation.

    "Go!" Lu Yin shouted as he charged forward.

    The Divine Maiden clenched her teeth and went through the tear.

    The three elephants shrank down, suppressing their wounds as they also rushed towards the tear.

    Behind them, Di Qiong casually waved a hand to tear apart the universe that housed God''s Domain. He then passed through the spatial tear without any hesitation. There was nothing in the universe of God¡¯s Domain that could threaten Di Qiong, but the young man had to die. The back of Di Qiong¡¯s head was still in agony. After he had undergone a Pupilless Transformation, he had thought that not even the other Three Pirs and Six Skies could hurt him so badly. Just what was the deal with that slipper?

    That one p had nearly split Di Qiong¡¯s head open, and it also seemed oddly familiar. He felt like he must have seen it somewhere before.

    After passing through the spatial tear. Lu Yin was once again in Aeternus Nation. He immediately alerted the Heavens Sect and asked for Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, and Ancestor Lu Tianyi to help him.

    They would not try to corner and kill Di Qiong, but rather force him to retreat.

    Unfortunately, Ancestor Lu Tianyi and many others had been injured during the invasion of the Scourge. Otherwise, it might have been possible to kill Di Qiong. Even with the three powerhouses, it would be difficult to prevent Di Qiong from leaving whenever he wished.

    The Divine Maiden and the three elephants rushed through the spatial tear at the same time.

    Di Qiong followed them and immediately turned to face Lu Yin, who reacted by unleashing 100 confined punches. Di Qiong countered with his own powerful punch, proving that his physical prowess was unmatched.

    The resulting impact caused Aeternus Nation to tremble, and many people looked up to see the sky above them grow dark.

    Lu Yin dodged to the side. As he moved, the ce where he had been standing disintegrated into the Hollow. Sweat beaded along his forehead. He could not match Di Qiong¡¯s physical strength, but even so, Di Qiong was surprised. "You actually dodged my punch? That punch of yours was also quite impressive. Kid, just who are you?"

    The Divine Maiden attacked, and a hand of light pressed down. However, the three elephants had all been gravely injured, and they were unable to offer much assistance.

    Di Qiong raised his spear and easily pierced through the descending hand,pletely uninterested in the Divine Maiden. His attention was solely focused on Lu Yin. Di Qiong was very curious about how someone who was not even a peak powerhouse had such extraordinarybat strength. The young man had already proven himself capable of unleashing attacks that even some sequence powerhouses might not be able to withstand.

    Suddenly, Di Qiong¡¯s expression changed. "You¡¯re Lu Yin!"

    The only living person in the entire megaverse who could match a sequence powerhouse with the cultivation of a Semi-Progenitor was Lu Yin.

    Di Qiong had never seen Lu Yin, as he had not been involved in the invasion of the First Scourge, but the man had still heard of Lu Yin. As one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, Di Qiong had been impressed by Lu Yin¡¯s aplishments, and after facing him in battle, Di Qiong had guessed correctly, simply because there was no possibility other than Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no intention of hiding his identity, and his Champions'' Stage appeared. "Di Qiong, which Scourge do you govern?"

    Di Qiong stared at Lu Yin for a moment beforeughing. "So it really is you! Lu Yin, this is quite interesting. You forced the First Scourge to seal itself off, which has made the other Scourges offer their support. I went to eliminate God''s Domain because we no longer have time to waste, and I was afraid that they might escape. That¡¯s why I decided to destroy them quickly. I didn¡¯t expect to run into you so quickly.

    "You truly live up to Progenitor Xi¡¯s evaluation, but regardless, you''re still going to die. How will you stop me by yourself when all of you together failed against the First Scourge? How interesting, I will achieve what that Scourge failed to do."

    As Di Qiong spoke, his spear rose and then smashed down towards Lu Yin. The tip of the spear sliced through the void, instantly arriving before Lu Yin.

    Beneath him, the Seven-Star Mantis appeared, and it unfurled its six pairs of wings and flew off.

 Chapter 3057: A Shocking Collision

    <h4>Chapter 3057: A Shocking Collision</h4>

    The mantis dodged the spear while moving at the speed of time and then flew towards Di Qiong. Lu Yin threw another 100 confined punches. There was a bang as his fist struck Di Qiong¡¯s back, but the impact only made him stagger slightly. Gritting his teeth, Lu Yin continued to throw more punches, determined to break through Di Qiong''s defenses.

    However, after dozens of punches, Lu Yin''s arms were numb, while Di Qiong had merely been pushed back a few meters. He stood there, unshaken like a towering mountain. Lu Yin feltpletely helpless.

    He had no choice but to pull out the slipper again. When he did so, Di Qiong turned around and stared at Lu Yin.

    Di Qiong might not haveprehended the power of time, but at his level, even mysterious powers like time were no longer unreachable.

    "How many more punches do you want to throw?" Di Qiong¡¯s pupilless eyes sent chills running down Lu Yin¡¯s spine.

    The Seven-Star Mantis shot at Di Qiong again, and the slipper in Lu Yin¡¯s hand fell in a fierce strike.

    Pages reappeared in the surrounding area, and one of them emitted a soft glow; it was the page with the image of Lu Yin holding the slipper. As soon as the pages appeared, Lu Yin''s movements were frozen once again. Fortunately, the Seven-Star Mantis was unaffected, and it carried Lu Yin a few meters past Di Qiong.

    Lu Yin clearly saw Di Qiong clench his fists, and his spear returned from far away.

    A hand of light fell from up above them, filled with countless sequence particles. The three elephants used their full power, but even so, their strength meant nothing before Di Qiong¡¯s spear.

    Di Qiong¡¯s eyes suddenly red, and the pages that surrounded him suddenly spread out. They enveloped Lu Yin, the Divine Maiden, the three elephants, and almost all of Aeternus Nation. More pages lit up, including one with the image of Lu Yin holding the slipper, one of the Divine Maiden using the power of the four elephants, the three elephants, and Lu Yin riding on the Seven-Star Mantis.

    At that moment, Lu Yin and all the others were immobilized.

    Lu Yin was shocked. What kind of Progenitor¡¯s world was this? How could it be so strong?

    Di Qiong sneered as he thrust his spear at Lu Yin.

    As the dangerous weapon approached, Lu Yin quickly unsummoned the Seven-Star Mantis, which allowed him to move once again. He also released the universe from his chest while summoning all of his Progenitor-level champions, including Kong Ji. More and more peak powerhouses appeared, and they shielded Lu Yin, ready to sacrifice themselves to Di Qiong. As for Di Qiong himself, he waspletely stunned. Was this the power of the Lu family''s Champions'' Stage? It truly was miraculous, though Lu Yin¡¯s efforts were futile.

    Just one thrust of Di Qiong¡¯s spear dispersed the summoned peak powerhouses. Kong Ji was thest to disappear, but even he had no way to put up any sort of defenses before he was shattered. Another page from Di Qiong¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world lit up.

    The spear pierced through the shell of the Hollow that surrounded Lu Yin. The tearing force that appeared between the two opposing universes was something that even Di Qiong feared, but his spear still steadily pushed towards Lu Yin.

    As the spear drew closer and almost reached his face, Lu Yin pulled out his Evernight card and pushed it towards Di Qiong. Instantly, Di Qiong was sucked into the card.

    Evernight was a card that had the same level of power as the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder, which was very close to the pinnacle of strength that peak powerhouses could achieve. Naturally, Evernight was able to pull Di Qiong in.

    However, Di Qiong was only inside Evernight for less than a second before he burst back out. The card could not contain him.

    Still, that was all the time that Lu Yin needed.

    As Di Qiong burst out of Evernight, Abyssal Flowers blossomed beneath him. Big Sis had arrived.

    The flowers tried to devour Di Qiong. He frowned and swept his spear out, tearing through the Abyssal Flowers.

    Big Sis shouted, "Wasn''t Forgotten Ruins God just here? Who else dares to cause trouble here?"

    The colossal Lord of the Abyss appeared, and the figure reached out for Di Qiong with an arm that had sequence particles twined about it. Even just that movement caused the void to twist.

    Di Qiong looked over and realized that a sequence powerhouse had appeared. He punched at the Lord of the Abyss¡¯s hand, which resulted in a tremendous explosion that flipped the sky and earth. The Lord of the Abyss¡¯s arm exploded despite being reinforced with sequence particles. Big Sis stepped back, shock covering her face. She had no idea who this monster was.

    "Be careful! His physical strength is ridiculous!" Lu Yin warned.

    "Then let''s see how he handles this." Shao Chen, the once mad dean of Astral-10, had also arrived. He stared at Di Qiong, who suddenly appeared rather confused. Was he experiencing someone else¡¯s life? However, it was impossible to keep someone as powerful as Di Qiong trapped for long.

    Di Qiong was incredibly powerful, and even though Shao Chen was able to momentarily affect the man, it was impossible to prevent Di Qiong from attacking. His spear continued to move forward, thrusting at Lu Yin. At the same time, another spear appeared, and it instantly stabbed at Shao Chen.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Brother Qing Ping also arrived at the scene.

    Arch-Elder Zen immediately used the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique to summon Ancestor Tianyi, who instantly pointed a finger at Di Qiong. The spear¡¯s advance was stopped, and the attack was redirected towards Di Qiong himself.

    As this happened, Qing Ping''s expression grew serious, as he pondered which judgment to conduct.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to retreat bit by bit. Down below, the Great Sage Elephant rushed over, letting out a roar as it attacked.

    It took everyone¡¯sbined efforts to force Di Qiong back.

    In particr, the summoned Lu Tianyi that Arch-Elder Zen had brought out caused Di Qiong to feel particrly nervous when the finger was directed towards him.

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily. He understood that they were facing an opponent who truly was at the same level as the Seven Skygods. Without Ancestor Lu Tianyi himself, it was impossible for them to kill Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong''s expression fell. The Sixverse Association had sessfully invaded the First Scourge, and it was rumored that both Ancient God and Progenitor Xi had participated in that battle. This meant that the Sixverse Association had at least a few powerhousesparable to Aeternus¡¯s experts.

    While confident in his invincibility, Di Qiong knew that he needed to be wary of such formidable enemies.

    <i>Even an ant, no matter how weak it may be, can kill an elephant,</i> he thought.

    As his eyes swept over everyone present, he decided not to waste any more time.

    He tightened his grip on his spear, and his eyes locked onto Lu Yin. Di Qiong shot forward, determined to eliminate Lu Yin.

    Big Sis and the others all attacked, but this time, Di Qiong ignored everything targeted at him. He was solely focused on Lu Yin and the spear. While this attack appeared quite simple, it was able to pierce through all obstacles.

    Lu Yin felt a chill. The threat emanating from Di Qiong had suddenly spiked, and Lu Yin could see sequence particles gathering around Di Qiong. The man was finally using his sequence particles.

    Big Sis¡¯ attacknded first, but Di Qiong neither dodged nor blocked it. He simply allowed the attack tond next to him, where it tore the ground and the death energy beneath it open.

    In the same manner, Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s summoned Lu Tianyi aimed his attack at the ground as well.

    Their attacks appeared to be useless.

    Di Qiong moved like he was striding over the sky itself. Any and all attacks could only slide off, and nothing could touch him.

    Lu Yin watched as the spear moved closer and closer.

    "Judgment: near or far. I choose... far," Qing Ping''s voice rang out, apanied by the appearance of a pair of scales. One side appeared beneath Qing Ping''s feet, while the other appeared under Di Qiong.

    These scales formed around everyone and did nothing to interfere with Di Qiong''s sequence particles.

    However, what did ¡°near or far¡± mean?

    Di Qiong watched as the scales raised him up, and he turned to look at Qing Ping in astonishment.

    Lu Yin heard the judgment as well. Di Qiong knew nothing about Senior Brother Qing Ping, and he was unable to react in time. However, Lu Yin understood what was happening. The rule that Qing Ping had chosen for his judgment was quite an infuriating one.

    Choosing "far" meant that the further away Qing Ping was from Di Qiong, the more advantageous the judgment would be for Qing Ping. In contrast, the closer Di Qiong moved to Qing Ping, the more the advantage would fall to Di Qiong.

    With Di Qiong so focused on killing Lu Yin, he was rapidly opening up the distance between himself and Qing Ping, which pushed the favor of the judgment into Qing Ping¡¯s favor, raising Di Qiong into the sky.

    The rule for this judgment was actually quite fair, as it could even turn things to Di Qiong¡¯s advantage. However, for that to happen, he had to move closer to Qing Ping.

    Instead, Di Qiong insisted on killing Lu Yin.

    Qing Ping had chosen this judgment purely to save Lu Yin.

    If Di Qiong decided to instead attack Qing Ping, the man would not only need to face Di Qiong''s attack, but also the punishment of the judgment.

    "Senior Brother!" Lu Yin''s heart trembled.

    As Di Qiong was pulled upwards, his temper snappedpletely. An enormous burst of sequence particles erupted forth, and pressure fell from the sky as the scales shattered. Qing Ping spat out blood as he staggered backwards.

    Lu Yin pulled out the God of Death''s left arm scythe and attacked Di Qiong.

    They were above a vast expanse of death energy, and it started to move.

    Di Qiong¡¯s spear had a countless number of sequence particles shrouding it, isting it from everything, and he stabbed downwards.

    A spear fell from above as a scythe de rose up from below. They met mid-air with a resounding sh.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The void warped, and the Aeternus Nation was severed from top to bottom. Lu Yin kept a tight hold on his scythe, merging with the glowing lines of Infinity. Behind him, the image of the Fifth Maind appeared, and the visualization method elevated Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Above him, Di Qiong¡¯s pupilless eyes red at Lu Yin as he scoffed, "The power of the God of Death? Do you think that that¡¯s enough? Even if the God of Death himself were here, so what?"

    The scythe cracked. The spear broke through, and it stabbed into the God of Death¡¯s left arm. It then pushed through, into Lu Yin¡¯s hand.

    Blood leaked from Lu Yin¡¯s hand. From behind, attacks from Big Sis and the others were pressed downwards by Di Qiong¡¯s sequence particles. There was no one who could help Lu Yin.

    As blood streamed down his arm, it slowly took on a golden color; Lu Yin had activated Triumphant Brawl. At the same time, his arm withered, as he had also used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    The incredible power that forced the spear downwards caused Lu Yin¡¯s arm to repeatedly recover and wither. The cycle repeated multiple times, only for Lu Yin to then release all the pent-up power in an instant. For the first time, he sessfully pushed the spear back.

    Down below, trapped within the death energy, Chong Gui, Dual deform, and the Chiliagonist stared upwards in shock.

    The pervasive death energy had been constantly corroding their bodies, so they were well aware of this energy¡¯s power. How was this person able to suppress the death energy?

    None of the True God Guard Captains recognized Di Qiong, but he noticed the divine energy inside their bodies.

    The presence of this energy meant that these people were powerhouses from Aeternus, and ones with significant status at that. It turned out that Di Qiong was in the prison for the captives from Aeternus.

    This was not a surprise to him, as the power of the God of Death was able to suppress even peak powerhouses.

    As cracks continued to cover the scythe, Lu Yin gritted his teeth. It was clear that he could not endure another attack from Di Qiong¡¯s spear. The spear fell down once more, and in order to avoid being skewered, Lu Yin used the attack to smash downwards into the ground. Di Qiong raced after Lu Yin, not noticing Lightstream as it flickered around. Time was reversed by one second.

    That one second prevented Di Qiong from catching up to Lu Yin as he smashed into the ground and shattered it.

    Just as Di Qiong was about to attack again, he suddenly turned around, his expression changing. He flung his spear to the side and reached into the ground to grab Lu Yin, as well as the captive captains.

    "Who dares to touch my Little Seven?" A furious voice shook Aeternus Nation. Lu Yuan suddenly appeared, and he confronted Di Qiong with a palm strike that sent the spear flying away. Di Qiong¡¯s expression crumpled. Lu Yuan?

    As Lu Yuan attacked, Di Qiong clenched a fist and retaliated with a punch. His strength after undergoing the Pupilless Transformation was terrifying, and it had easily overwhelmed Lu Yin and the others. However, that same power was easily swept to the side by a p from Ancestor Lu Yuan. Di Qiong¡¯s wrist broke.

    Lu Yuan was taken aback. "He actually survived one of my attacks?"

    Di Qiong was shocked. How was this even possible? How was it possible that he could not match up to Lu Yuan? Di Qiong had believed that, even if the God of Death were present, he would not be beaten. Just how powerful had Lu Yuan be?

 Chapter 3058: The Third Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 3058: The Third Scourge</h4>

    Lu Yuanshed out again, with the same simple and straightforward palm strike.

    However, this time, Di Qiong used his divine energy.

    Beneath the ground, Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked up and saw dark red divine energy filling the sky. Just as he was about to leave, the divine energy suddenly dropped, enveloping the earth. "Lu Yuan, this is not the time. I will find you and fight you sooner orter."

    "You little bastard, don''t run!" Ancestor Lu Yuan roared.

    The next moment, a pitch ck darkness fell in front of Lu Yin. <i>This is bad!</i>

    Was he being taken away? This was the end! Not even his ancestor could save him. As soon as Lu Yin was taken away by Di Qiong, his fate was clear: he would undoubtedly die.

    None of Lu Yin¡¯s powers could break through the divine energy, and he was also unable to use Inverse Step.

    His mind raced and his eyes grew focused. Suddenly, heshed out behind and to the right, striking someone¡¯s forehead. The Chiliagonist died instantly.

    Lu Yin then took out Cheng Kong¡¯s bubble and shifted his own appearance. Despite his unwillingness, it seemed that he would need to rely on Ye Bo in order to survive.

    The next moment, light again touched his eyes, and Lu Yin fell to the ground. He coughed a few times, and then looked up. A familiar red ground met his eyes. He was in a Scourge, though he did not know which one.

    Chong Gui was beside him, and the man was making strange noises.

    Further away, Dual deform also fell to the ground, in addition to the Chiliagonist¡¯s corpse.

    "Where is Lu Yin?" Di Qiong looked down at the people he had rescued, feeling a little puzzled. He stared at Ye Bo and the others.

    Lu Yin held a hand to his chest as he looked up. "Where are we?"

    "The Scourge. This is the Scourge! This is great! Brother, we''re back! This is the Scourge!"

    "Wow, the Scourge! Love is rewarded! This is the prize of love! I''m back, hahaha."

    Di Qiong frowned as he observed the small group, but Lu Yin was not among them. Could he have run away? Di Qiong remembered how Lu Yin had managed to reverse time by a second at the end of their battle. It was not impossible that Lu Yin had managed to escape.

    Di Qiong continued to stare at the people on the ground. "Who are all of you?"

    The blue-haired man of the Dual deforms stood up and answered respectfully, "We are the True God Guard Captain Dual deform. Greetings, Your Excellency."

    Chong Gui also quickly got to his feet. "True God Guard Captain Chong Gui. Greetings, Your Excellency."

    Lu Yin gave a respectful bow. "True God Guard Captain Ye Bo. Greetings, Your Excellency."

    Di Qiong stared down at them. "The True God Guard? There is such a group in the First Scourge. Do you know Zhong Pan?"

    "Zhong Pan? The True God Guard Captain? Is he from here?" Chong Gui eximed.

    Di Qiong stared at Chong Gui. "I felt divine energy in your body. Are you certain that all of you are from my Aeternus?"

    His eyes moved to Dual deform, and then to Ye Bo. "What about you?"

    Dual deform spoke respectfully, "Your Excellency, we have used up all of our divine energy, but Chong Gui can serve as a witness, vouching that I am a True God Guard Captain."

    Chong Gui shouted, "Your Excellency, Dual deform is a captain! We are friends!"

    "No." The long pink-haired woman spat. She despised Chong Gui. The man only ever talked about love, which was revolting.

    Di Qiong looked at Lu Yin, who exined, "This servant¡¯s divine energy has also been exhausted, but Dual deform can vouch for me. Additionally, if you don¡¯t believe me, I can absorb divine energy to prove myself to you, Your Excellency."

    Di Qiong felt quite disappointed. Were all of these people really True God Guard Captains? That was such a pity. He had really been hoping to find Lu Yin among them. That young man¡¯s methods were quite strange, and it would not be unreasonable for him to have the means of altering his appearance so thoroughly that even Di Qiong was deceived. As long as he could capture Lu Yin, he would be able to p the First Scourge right in the face.

    After a moment of silence, Di Qiong spoke, "This is the Third Scourge. Wait here, and I''ll take you to the First Scourge in a while. If you have a cosmic door, you can return on your own."

    The blue-haired man nced over at Ye Bo. "Ye Bo, do you have a cosmic door?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No."

    "We don''t either."

    "The Third Scourge? We haven''t been to any of the other Scourges yet. Thank you, Your Excellency, for bringing us back. However, none of us have a cosmic door, so we can''t go back on our own."

    Di Qiong nced at the Chiliagonist¡¯s corpse. "Was he also a True God Guard Captain?"

    "Huh, how did the Chiliagonist die?" Chong Gui only realized that the Chiliagonist was dead when it was pointed out.

    The pink-haired woman replied, "Lu Yin probably killed him when he fell down."

    "Or he killed him before he escaped," the blue-haired man said.

    Ye Bo remained silent.

    Di Qiong frowned. It did not particrly matter if the man was dead or not, but all of the First Scourge¡¯s True God Guard Captains were valuable people, as all of them could cultivate divine energy.

    Di Qiong soon left. It would be some time before he could send the rescued captives back to the First Scourge.

    Once he was gone, the pink-haired woman let out a breath. "That was so scary! He''s on the same level as the Seven Skygods, right?"

    The blue-haired man¡¯s voice was somber, "Each of the Three Pirs and Six Skies is incredibly powerful."

    Chong Gui screamed, "I''m back! Haha, I''m back! My babies, I''m back! Hahaha!"

    The pink-haired woman sneered. "Disgusting."

    She looked over at Ye Bo. "Ye Bo, why are you still so cold? Aren''t you happy to be back?"

    Lu Yin could not say how he felt at this moment. Was he happy? Mu Ji was aware that Ye Bo was really Lu Yin, and running into that man again would spell trouble. Technically, Ye Bo should return to the First Scourge, as he did not belong to the Third Scourge. However, Wu Tian was supposed to be in the Third Scourge, and so long as Lu Yin was disguised as Ye Bo, he should be safe.

    It might be possible to learn the truth about Wu Tian.

    So, was Lu Yin happy or not?

    He really had no idea, so he could simply continue to act indifferent to everything.

    He would remain in the Third Scourge for the time being, and would do his best to learn more about Wu Tian. If Wu Tian really was trapped in the Third Scourge, Lu Yin might as well take the man with him when he left.

    With that in mind, Lu Yin stared off into the distance. He would never return to the First Scourge. That ce was too dangerous for him.

    ***

    At this same time, in Aeternus Nation, Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others were unable to find Lu Yin, which led them to guess that he had been taken away by Di Qiong.

    "The Dao Monarch should be fine. He can simply disguise himself as Ye Bo," Arch-Elder Zen suggested.

    Big Sis agreed, "That kid can''t get into any trouble. He''s more cunning than anyone."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan frowned. He hoped nothing would happen to Lu Yin. <i>Little Seven, you muste back!</i>

    No matter how worried everyone was, there were things that needed to be done.

    The Divine Maiden was mourning. All three of the elephants were dead. Before leaving, Di Qiong had killed them all with his divine energy. That had been his goal all along, and he hadpleted his task. This was how the Aeternals worked, and most of the time, even when things went wrong, they would aplish their goals.

    Forgotten Ruins God had already left the Fifth Maind. As for whether or not the Infinity Empire would leave after the scare they had been given by the Forgotten Ruins God, no one could say.

    Without Lu Yin, the Heavens Sect lost its sense of direction.

    ...

    In the blink of an eye, Ye Bo and the other True God Guard captains had spent half a month in the Third Scourge. They did not see Di Qiong again, and no one sought them out. It was as though they had been entirely forgotten.

    This made Lu Yin a bit happy, though he could not continue to wait forever. As soon as Di Qiong returned, he would take the captains back to the First Scourge.

    It was also impossible for Ye Bo to tell Di Qiong that he wanted to remain in the Third Scourge, which meant that Lu Yin needed to find a way to stay.

    During this half a month, Lu Yin and the others had seen a great many corpse kings. There was not much of a difference between the Third and First Scourges, but one important difference was that all of the corpse kings in the Third Scourge could use the Corpse King Transformation.

    "It¡¯s said that Di Qiong created the Corpse King Transformation, and that¡¯s why all of the corpse kings in the Third Scourge can use the technique. If they can¡¯t use the technique, they aren¡¯t allowed to stay here in the Third Scourge." The blue-haired man sighed as he looked at the various corpse kings in the distance which were trying to master the Corpse King Transformation.

    "Hey, how do you know about that? It is forbidden to mention anything about the other Scourges in our First Scourge! That¡¯s a betrayal of love we have for the First Scourge!" Chong Gui yelled.

    The pink-haired woman grimaced. "That''s what Progenitor Xi said. She was the one who took us to the First Scourge, and she told us many things. None of which are any of your business."

    Lu Yin''s heart skipped a beat. "Progenitor Xi took you to the First Scourge?"

    The pink-haired woman''s eyes lit up. "Ye Bo, are you interested in talking now?"

    Lu Yin remained indifferent and refused to reply. The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Fine, don''t talk. I don''t care."

    Lu Yin turned to look at the distant ck Mother Tree. Despite only a few days passing, Lu Yin was already worried that Di Qiong would tell Progenitor Xi about the True God Guard Captains ¡® rescue, and that Progenitor Xi would share the news with Mu Ji and the others. Lu Yin had no confidence that Mu Ji would keep his secret.

    Lu Yin was in a very dangerous situation. Whether or not Progenitor Xi believed Mu Ji, she would certainly investigate the usation, and Ye Bo¡¯s identity would not be able to stand up to that.

    The reason Lu Yin wanted to stay in the Third Scourge was to investigate what was going on with Wu Tian, but that did not mean that he could just wander about right away. However, since several days had already passed, he felt that it would be reasonable to start to explore.

    With that thought, he started moving in a specific direction. It was the same direction that he had seen all of the corpse kings heading.

    ¡°Hey, Ye Bo. Where are you going?" the pink-haired woman called out.

    Lu Yin did not even turn his head. "To look around."

    "I''m going too!" The pink-haired woman had already grown impatient, but the blue-haired man hesitated.

    "Brother, let''s go take a look! Look, Ye Bo is already gone," the pink-haired woman begged.

    To the side, Chong Gui yelled, "Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go together and look around! It will be an exploration of love!"

    "Get lost!" The pink-haired woman was disgusted.

    The blue-haired man said, "Di Qiong may have already forgotten about us. He won''t go visit the First Scourge just for our sake. Let''s look around this Scourge for now. I''m also curious about it."

    Lu Yin did not wait for the others, and continued walking. He had his own purpose, so how could he wait for the others? It would be best if he could separate from them.

    Unfortunately, while Lu Yin wanted to go off on his own, Dual deform and the others wanted to stay together, so they followed after him.

    Tall towers dotted the ground. There were more of them than in the Fourth Scourge, showing that the Third Scourge surpassed the Fourth Scourge, though it fell far from the strength of the First Scourge.

    They were moving away from the ck Mother Tree, which meant they were moving towards the outskirts of the Third Scourge.

    The further they walked, the more corpse kings they saw. There were also human cultivators among the corpse kings. Some of the humans were wanting to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation, while others were attempting to cultivate divine energy.

    While the Third Scourge did not have any True God Guard, cultivating divine energy would cause a powerhouse¡¯s status to transform, and they would be elevated above their peers. There was a clear hierarchy in ce, and cultivating divine energy ced one on a different level, regardless of the Scourge.

    <i>Bang</i>

    They heard a distant collision, and Lu Yin looked over to see two individuals attacking each other. They had both used the Corpse King Transformation, and yet they were both human.

    Could humans cultivate the Corpse King Transformation? Of course they could. The first person Lu Yin had seen do this was Zi Rong, but his mastery of the technique had been far fromplete. The two people who were shing did not show any awkwardness when using the Corpse King Transformation, and they had also both reached the stage of being able to use the Green Eyes Transformation.

 Chapter 3059: Lu Yin And Mu Ji

    <h4>Chapter 3059: Lu Yin And Mu Ji</h4>

    Lu Yin knew quite well how to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation. When Undying God had been trapped by the Python Ancestor, Lu Yin had nearly beaten the man to death with the slipper. It had taken True God¡¯s intervention before the Skygod was finally rescued. However, before that happened, Undying God had disseminated the Corpse King Transformation across the entire Perennial World, which had created a great deal of chaos. Fortunately, the technique had eventually been suppressed.

    No, the Corpse King Transformation was no secret to Lu Yin.

    However, he had never considered cultivating the technique, as doing so would have unpredictable consequences. The most mysterious aspect of the technique was that it could transform humans into monsters that were neither human nor corpse kings.

    "If wepare the Scourges on just the strength of their corpse kings, this Third Scourge should be the strongest of them all. After all, all of them have cultivated the Corpse King Transformation. In our First Scourge, only a few corpse kings have managed to do that," the blue-haired manmented.

    The pink-haired woman did not care at all. "What''s the use of being a powerful corpse king? Without enough peak powerhouses to support them, the corpse kings are nothing but ants."

    "Haha, that''s right! That''s a loving rebuke, Dual deform! Well said!" Chong Gui said while moving about. His actions made people very ufortable.

    Lu Yin sped up. The Scourge was vast, and he had no idea how long it would take to reach his destination if he continued to simply walk along.

    Three days after he started to move faster, he was surrounded by a dense crowd of corpse kings. All of them were headed in the same direction. From the asional conversations between the human traitors that he overheard, Lu Yin had learned that all of the corpse kings were making their way to the Corpse King Monument.

    Di Qiong had made the Corpse King Monument specifically for the Third Scourge. It was a ce that was specially dedicated to cultivating the Corpse King Transformation. Anyone who stepped foot in the Third Scourge was allowed to visit the Corpse King Monument and cultivate the Corpse King Transformation.

    Dual deform had mentioned that Di Qiong had created the Corpse King Transformation, but none of them knew if that was true. However, given what they were all seeing, it seemed quite possible for Di Qiong to truly be the creator of the technique.

    It was not long before Lu Yin saw arge, ancient-looking stone monument. It waspletely surrounded by a dense crowd of corpse kings, but the distribution was very well organized. The stronger the corpse king, the closer they stood to the center, where there were fewer corpse kings. The further away from the monument, the more corpse kings there were, and the denser their spacing.

    Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings all had different sizes. While all of them had once been humans, some of the humans had been different from the beginning, due to the various environments where they had lived.

    At the moment, within the crowd of countless corpse kings that surrounded the Corpse King Monument, there were giants which were thousands of meters tall, as well as dwarves which were less than a meter tall. All of them had once been human.

    A nce around left Lu Yin disappointed. There did not seem to be anything here rted to Wu Tian. Lu Yin had expected the Corpse King Monument to somehow be rted to Wu Tian, but there was still no reaction from Heaven''s Sight.

    In that case, where was Wu Tian? Was he really in the Third Scourge?

    "Haha, all of them are cultivating the Corpse King Transformation! How useless! This is a loving temptation, but it''s useless, haha," Chong Gui yelled.

    His words drew a great deal of attention. While the corpse kings did not care at all, as their minds were already rigid, many of the human traitors, or more specifically, the humans from the Aeternus Kingdoms, were quite upset by Chong Gui''s words.

    The pink-haired woman frowned. "Hey, shut up."

    Chong Gui yelled, "Am I wrong? Haha."

    People started to walk over, and they quickly surrounded Chong Gui. He looked at them all. "Eh? What are you doing? What do you want?"

    "Are you not from our Third Scourge?" someone asked, though they clearly looked unfriendly.

    Chong Gui twitched. "No."

    "No wonder. Which Scourge are you from?"

    Chong Gui leaned over, pushing his ear out towards the man. "What did you say? Love me louder."

    The man''s eyes grew cold. "Which Scourge are you from?"

    Chong Gui gestured again and yelled, "What did you say? Love me louder."

    The man suddenly attacked, striking Chong Gui with a palm strike. Chong Gui did not even move, and when the man''s palm struck Chong Gui¡¯s shoulder, the man was knocked back, his arm broken.

    Everyone who had surrounded Chong Gui attacked at the same time.

    As for the nearby corpse kings, they simply stepped aside. They showed no indication of getting involved. It was rare for the creatures to show any sort of emotion at all.

    Chong Gui still did not move. Even taking all the attacks of the surrounding people did not faze him. The attacks rebounded back to the attackers, and several were instantly killed.

    Chong Gui was a True God Guard Captain, but among his attackers, only the man who had spoken had the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. None of the rest were even close to that level of strength.

    "Haha, it¡¯s useless! The Corpse King Transformation is useless, haha!" Chong Guiughed heartily.

    The pink-haired woman was openly disgusted. "He¡¯s so ridiculous! He¡¯s going to run out of luck one day."

    The blue-haired man¡¯s voice was grave, "You can¡¯t me him. He''s... special."

    The pink-haired woman snorted, but then she remembered something.

    Lu Yin looked around with Heaven''s Sight and looked far into the distance. He was hoping to find something rted to Wu Tian, but he could not find anything.

    Suddenly, he looked over to the side. There was a distant figure zing through the sky like a meteor, and they wereing straight for Chong Gui.

    Chong Gui turned around, only to be sent flying by the impact before he could even see what had hit him.

    There was an explosion, and the ground shook as the void warped and twisted. The damage spread out, causing the ground to shake from the point of impact.

    A nine-meter-tall lesser giant with zing red eyes had appeared. Chong Gui was his only target, and the lesser giant looked as though he might explode at any moment.

    The was a lesser giant who had mastered the Red Eye Transformation.

    "Lord Xin Wu."

    "Greetings, Lord Xin Wu."

    "Greetings, Lord Xin Wu..."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This person was not at all weak. Lu Yin sensed an overwhelming power from the lesser giant that reminded him of Zhong Pan.

    Dual deform instantly grew wary.

    As for Chong Gui, he had been smashed into the ground and had not yet risen back to the surface.

    This lesser giant was named Xin Wu. He stared at the distant Chong Gui with his red eyes and asked, "Is the Corpse King Transformation still useless?"

    Chong Gui coughed and slowly rose to his feet. "That¡¯s quite the love tap! Haha, What a love tap!"

    Xin Wu''s eyes instantly red, and he charged again, throwing another punch at Chong Gui. As for the True God Guard Captain, he suddenly pulled out a ck mace from an unknown ce. As Xin Wu''s fist approached, the mace grewrger and swept out.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The ground shook, and the incredible shock wave sted the clouds back, splitting the sky apart and pulling everyone''s attention.

    Xin Wu took a step back, as did Chong Gui.

    Lu Yin watched more carefully. Physically, Xin Wu was no weaker than Zhong Pan.

    Dual deform was impressed. Very few among the True God Guard Captains could match Chong Gui''s strength. This Xin Wu amply demonstrated the power of the Corpse King Transformation.

    Xin Wu was surprised. "It¡¯s no wonder why you look down on the Corpse King Transformation. Your strength is quite impressive. Alright, I''ll force you to really acknowledge me!"

    As the lesser giant spoke, his eyes moved past the Red Eye Transformation to the Specter Eye Transformation. His already terrifying power skyrocketed, and the void shattered.

    Chong Gui shrieked, "Stop! That¡¯s enough love taps!"

    Xin Wu shot forward, charging at Chong Gui with incredible speed and a raised palm. Unsurprisingly, Chong Gui was sent flying. He crashed right into a nearby river of divine energy.

    "It''s over. No one can survive that fall, not unless they cultivate divine energy," someonemented.

    "Serves him right! Who is he, mocking the Corpse King Transformation? This is the power of our Third Scourge!¡±

    "With the Divine Selection approaching, Lord Xin Wu also wants to do well and impress Lord Di Qiong."

    ...

    Xin Wu took a deep breath, and his eyes returned to normal. Regardless of which Scourge one came from, mocking the Corpse King Transformation in the Third Scourge was just asking for trouble.

    In Aeternus, apart from the First Scourge, the other five Scourges asionally interacted. corpse kings did not seek outpanionship or cooperation, but Aeternus was much more than just corpse kings.

    The void warped behind Xin Wu, and another person arrived. "That guy talks too much. It''s good that you taught him a lesson."

    Xin Wu grew puzzled. "Taught him a lesson? Will he even survive?"

    "Of course he will. He¡¯s a True God Guard Captain, just like me." The neerughed as his eyes shifted to another person who stood nearby. "Isn¡¯t that right, Brother Ye Bo?"

    Lu Yin stared intently at the neer. <i>Mu Ji?</i>

    Dual deform was also surprised.

    "Mu Ji? What are you doing in the Third Scourge?" the pink-haired woman eximed.

    Mu Ji responded with a dazzling smile, "After that great battle in the First Scourge, all of us who were injured were sent to other Scourges to recover. After all, who knows if that madman Lu Yin will attack the First Scourge again?"

    As he spoke to Dual deform, Mu Ji nced over at Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s gaze. "Was the First Scourge invaded?"

    "Brother Ye Bo, may I have a word in private?" Mu Ji asked with a grin.

    The pink-haired woman warned Ye Bo, "Ye Bo, be careful. This guy is sneaky."

    Finally, Chong Gui climbed out of the river of divine energy. "What a love tap! I''m hurt."

    Xin Wu stared at Chong Gui, already understanding why the man had survived the attack. One of the First Scourge''s True God Guard Captains? Zhong Pan had gone to the First Scourge.

    Chong Gui had been knocked into the river of divine energy, but the entiremotion ended with Mu Ji¡¯s arrival.

    It had been a rather small issue. None of the corpse kings had been affected by the exchange, only some of the nearby humans.

    Lu Yin and Mu Ji stepped away from the rest of the crowd.

    "Should I call you Brother Ye Bo, or by that person¡¯s name?" Mu Ji looked at Lu Yin with a smile.

    Lu Yin remained calm. "That person?"

    "Brother Ye Bo, are you ying dumb?" Mu Ji stared into Lu Yin''s eyes.

    Lu Yin''s voice grew cold, "Who is that person?"

    Mu Ji stared at Lu Yin, but Lu Yin met Mu Ji¡¯s eyes without flinching.

    After a while, Mu Ji sighed. "Truthfully, I''m not entirely sure. Normally, given that person''s status, he would never risking to any of the Scourges. Even if I told anyone about him, no one would believe me. Besides, Brother Ye Bo, you''ve cultivated divine energy, which makes the whole thing a huge joke. If word gets out that that person has cultivated divine energy, do you think that his people would ept it?"

    If they were not in a Scourge, Lu Yin would have made sure that Mu Ji died, no matter what it took.

    Lu Yin had been able to tell Ancestor Tianyi that he had cultivated divine energy, but that information absolutely could not be spread within the Sixverse Association.

    Mu Ji carefully observed Lu Yin. "My ability to see evil is seldom wrong. In addition to using a person¡¯s evil to identify them, I am also able to see through a person using their evil. You don¡¯t have very much evil, which really doesn¡¯t fit your position as a True God Guard Captain."

    Lu Yin coldly asked, "Are you done yet?"

    Mu Ji winced. "It¡¯s quite difficult to have a conversation with you. Let me tell you this much¡ªit really doesn¡¯t matter to me whether you are that person or not. I only have one goal."

    He raised a finger to Lu Yin. "True God¡¯s ultimate techniques."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "So it¡¯s True God¡¯s ultimate techniques again."

    "I want to obtain True God¡¯s techniques, so let¡¯s work together. Even if you are that person, it doesn''t matter to me. I won¡¯t ever give you a chance to silence me, but that person''s abilities can very likely help me obtain True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. That¡¯s because that person is known for aplishing the impossible," Mu Ji stated.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Not interested."

 Chapter 3060: Wu Tian Observatory

    <h4>Chapter 3060: Wu Tian Observatory</h4>

    Mu Ji still continued trying to convince Lu Yin. "We just need to cooperate. There are three ultimate techniques hidden beneath the rivers andkes of divine energy. You helping me means that I am also helping you. Don''t you also want to obtain those techniques? Haven''t you heard of the legends? You¡¯ve already cultivated divine energy, which means that any one of the ultimate techniques will be more helpful to you than to me."

    Lu Yin ignored nearly all of what Mu Ji said, only paying attention to the mention of legends. "Are you referring to the rumor that one of the Seven Skygods obtained one of the ultimate techniques?"

    Mu Ji shook his head. "No. There¡¯s a legend that says that True God has three ultimate techniques and that mastering any one of them can lead to transcendence, allowing a person to be the strongest in all of history."

    Lu Yin lost all interest. "Not interested."

    "You don''t believe it?"

    "If True God were the strongest of all time, the Sixverse Association wouldn''t even exist."

    "True God isn¡¯t the only one who has transcendent techniques. You should already understand that humans are unmatched when ites to creation. They also have the means to transcend. That means that it¡¯s all a race to see who''s fastest. I want to get involved in that race as well. My innate talent already destines me to be extraordinary. I survived one of Progenitor Xi¡¯s attacks, and let me tell you, that was terrifying.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Ji. "Not interested."

    The man was rendered speechless. "Can you only say those two words?"

    Lu Yin started to walk away, having decided that he would return to the Heavens Sect, regardless of whether or not Mu Ji exposed Ye Bo as an imposter or not. Lu Yin could not take the risk.

    "Hey, have you ever heard of the name ¡®Hui Wu?¡¯"

    Lu Yin suddenly froze in ce. His eyes started darting about.

    "There¡¯s also something wrong with Marquis Wang¡ªshe''s not particrly evil. Hehe, it¡¯s interesting, isn''t it? A True God Guard Captain, as well as one of the greatest traitors in the history of the Fifth Maind, but she''s not that evil. Brother Ye Bo, don''t you find that odd?"

    Lu Yin turned around to look at Mu Ji. "None of these things concern me."

    Mu Ji''s smile grew wider. "I''m afraid that I might offend some people, so why don''t you share all of this with Progenitor Xi?"

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Ji. Laughter filled the man¡¯s eyes.

    "None of this concerns me," Lu Yin stated again.

    Mu Ji was stunned. "Is it fun to just keep repeating the same thing?"

    "Who is Hui Wu?"

    "That¡¯s Marquis Wu''s name."

    "Is there a problem with him?"

    "There¡¯s no problem." Mu Ji hesitated, and then pped his forehead. "Right! I almost forgot! After the Sixverse Association invaded the Scourge, Marquis Wu left one time. No one else knows about that aside from me. Hehe, just a little after that, Corpse God almost died.

    "Corpse God is one of the Seven Skygods, and yet the Sixverse Association nearly killed him. That incident shook the entire First Scourge, and it prompted Progenitor Xi to reach out to the other Scourges. That¡¯s why those of us who were injured were sent out of the First Scourge, so that we wouldn¡¯t bepletely unlucky.

    "Brother Ye Bo, do you see any connection between the two?"

    Lu Yin''s expression remained frigid. "This doesn''t concern me."

    Mu Ji chuckled and leaned close to Lu Yin in a confiding manner. He whispered something in Lu Yin¡¯s ear before walking away.

    Lu Yin stood there, stunned. Mu Ji had just cursed True God in Lu Yin¡¯s ear, and a shockingly harsh insult at that.

    Lu Yin stared at Mu Ji''s retreating figure. The man never turned around, but he waved a hand. "The Wu Tian Observatory!"

    Cursing True God did not guarantee that Mu Ji would not expose Lu Yin, nor did it give Lu Yin any leverage on the other man. After all, Lu Yin had no evidence proving that Mu Ji had cursed True God. However, the act did signify that Mu Ji definitely did not consider himself a part of Aeternus.

    No one who cultivated divine energy would ever curse True God.

    This was much like how an ordinary human would not curse the god they prayed to, even if they did not personally believe that divine entity truly existed.

    However, Mu Ji had indeed cursed True God, and he had done so with such venom that Lu Yin waspletely shocked. This had given him a new perspective on boldness. Mu Ji was a vicious man.

    What was going on with Mu Ji? He had betrayed the Arboreal Realm, which Lu Yin had learned about from Senior Brother Mu Ke, and joined Aeternus. However, once he joined Aeternus, Mu Ji had tried to take control of Zhong Pan, and for that attempt, Mu Ji had been thrown into ake of divine energy. After hundreds of years, he had emerged unscathed.

    There was very little chance that the man was a spy that the humans had nted within Aeternus. To begin with, Mu Ji was too obvious a choice for a spy, and Progenitor Xi was not dumb. Hui Wu had made incredible sacrifices to infiltrate Aeternus, none of which Mu Ji couldpare to. However, if Mu Ji had actually betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, then he had simply been courting death within Aeternus, especially since he even dared to curse True God.

    Mu Ji also had not shared what he knew about Hui Wu with Progenitor Xi. The moment anything was said, Hui Wu would be doomed.

    Finally, there was also the matter regarding Wang Xiaoyu and Mu Ji¡¯s suspicions about the woman, which he also had not shared with anyone. Just what was Mu Ji trying to do?

    Was everything really just so that he could obtain True God¡¯s ultimate techniques?

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused.

    Dual deform approached. "Ye Bo, you look stunned. Mu Ji must have said something to you. You need to be careful around him. He¡¯s an absolute bastard!"

    Lu Yin agreedpletely. "He certainly is."

    "What did he say to you?" the pink-haired woman asked.

    Lu Yin told her, "He mocked us for getting caught."

    "Jerk."

    Lu Yin suddenly felt a sense of relief. If Mu Ji had wanted to do anything to harm Ye Bo, he would have done so by reporting everything to Di Qiong before he revealed himself to Ye Bo and the others. Lu Yin would have already been captured by Di Qiong if Mu Ji had said anything, which meant that Mu Ji had kept everything to himself. Lu Yin really could not understand Mu Ji¡¯s goals or intentions, but at the very least, there was no need to worry about being exposed for the time being.

    There had to be a reason why Mu Ji was staying silent for the moment, but Lu Yin¡¯s first priority was to learn more about Wu Tian as quickly as possible.

    Mu Ji¡¯sst words had been "the Wu Tian Observatory." What did that mean?

    The lesser giant Xin Wu left as well. Apparently, he had only been interested in teaching Chong Ghost a lesson, and he hadpletely ignored Dual deform and Ye Bo.

    Days passed, and Lu Yin finally managed to shake off Dual deform and Chong Gui. He traveled on his own and covered a great distance.

    He had learned where the Wu Tian Observatory was located.

    The Third Scourge was home to eighty-one Aeternus Kingdoms which were arranged in a circr formation. If a line was drawn between the ck Mother Tree and the Corpse King Monument and then extended further out in the direction of the Aeternus Kingdoms, it would eventually intersect with the very center of the eighty-one Aeternus Kingdoms. That was where the Wu Tian Observatory was located.

    Lu Yin started to pass by multiple Aeternus Kingdoms. The further he moved from the ck Mother Tree, the weaker the corpse kings were. All the Aeternus Kingdom here were very different from the Aeternus Kingdoms that he had seen in the Fifth Maind. No one was being killed or tortured by the corpse kings, and the two species truly did appear to live in harmony with each other.

    However, Lu Yin genuinely did not believe that humans could coexist with corpse kings. He carefully observed each Aeternus Kingdom he passed through, only to see that the humans living in them were truly coexisting with corpse kings, though each species had their own way of doing things.

    For example, there had been the Aeternus Kingdom that had sprouted up on the ruins of the Sea King''s Dome. There, humans and corpse kings had lived on opposite sides of the Aeternus Kingdom. While they had interacted, each side had their own reservations. What had maintained some sense of coexistence was theck of violence from the corpse kings directed towards the humans, which made the humans less afraid of the monsters.

    The first generation of humans who were forced to coexist with corpse kings in an Aeternus Kingdom were always terrified. The greater their fear and the more they revealed it, the more they triggered the corpse kings¡¯ violent tendencies. As time passed, the humans in the Aeternus Kingdoms were gradually reced by those who had been born there. The Aeternus Kingdoms were their homes, and corpse kings were seen as nothing more than another type of human. Such things did not rouse any fear in them.

    As Lu Yin traveled, his heart grew heavier. Just what did the Aeternals hope to achieve with these Aeternus Kingdoms? What could they gain by erasing humans'' sense of belonging to their own species?

    Objectively speaking, how was it not better and more efficient to simply transform all of these people into corpse kings and use them that way? What was the point of all these Aeternus Kingdoms?

    Lu Yin had so many questions he wanted answers to, and those answers could only be found within Aeternus.

    Suddenly, thendscape opened up before him. He had reached the border of a Aeternus Kingdom, and just up ahead of him was the midpoint between all eighty-one Aeternus Kingdoms. It was the location of the Wu Tian Observatory.

    Mu Ji must have his own reasons for mentioning the Wu Tian Observatory to Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin soon caught sight of the Wu Tian Observatory, and his pupils instantly shrank. His mind went ck. Was that really the Wu Tian Observatory?

    Equidistant from all eighty-one of the Aeternus Kingdoms stood a cylindrical tform. There were chains that stretched into the void, and they bound a man in tattered clothes. He lookedpletely wretched.

    There was no way to know how long the man had been bound to that ce. The chains and the tform reeked of age, and there were even crows circling overhead, letting out mournful cries.

    What truly stunned Lu Yin was that the chains binding the man created two characters: Wu Tian.[1]

    Was this man Wu Tian?

    Lu Yin felt a chill run down his spine as numbness covered his entire body. <i>Wu Tian... Is he really Wu Tian?</i>

    Lu Yin was at the Wu Tian Observatory, so this had to be Wu Tian. The purpose of the tform was to look at Wu Tian, which was why it was called the Wu Tian Observatory. This man was undoubtedly Wu Tian.

    Lu Yin slowly approached the tform, step by step. People around him rushed past. There were elderly people, children, corpse kings, and even various bizarre lifeforms.

    These people moved around the tform as though doing so waspletely normal. None of them gave the tform so much as a second nce. Everyone avoided the tform, clearly disgusted by it. The surrounding area reeked of decay.

    The tform was enveloped by a foul stench.

    Lu Yin could not see anything but the man on the tform. Was he truly Wu Tian?

    Laughter rang out, and a child bumped into Lu Yin. The child fell and started crying, which drew the attention of an adult.

    "Who are you? Didn''t you see the child? Why aren¡¯t you helping him up?

    "Kid, are you looking for a beating? Turn around and face me!

    "I''m talking to you! Answer me!

    "Brat..."

    Lu Yin continued forwards, approaching the tform that he was intently focused on. Hepletely ignored the man behind him who was shoving him.

    "Forget it, he''s just a madman, let''s go."

    "Wait." Lu Yin finally spoke, though his back still faced the people.

    "What? You want some trouble?"

    "Who is that person?"

    "Wu Tian. Can''t you see?"

    "Do you know who he is?"

    "Know who he is? The sign says that he''s a criminal who threatened the peace of our Aeternus Kingdoms. Kid, who are you that you don¡¯t even know this? You¡¯re not from our Aeternus Kingdoms, are you?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Did these people not recognize Wu Tian? These Aeternus Kingdoms had lost all records of human history, and their past had been forgotten. Were they still even the same species as Lu Yin?

    They could not be med for their condition. They had been born in the Aeternus Kingdoms and only knew this life. If there was any me to be assigned, it would lie with those who had failed to protect humanity.

    Why did people cultivate? To achieve transcendence? For immortality? None of those things. The purpose of cultivation was simple: to protect history and to protect one¡¯s own people. There was nothing more to it.

    The people of these Aeternus Kingdoms were all revolted by the Wu Tian Observatory, and they clearly regarded it as a ce of filth. Disgust covered their faces any time the tform entered their sight.

    Lu Yin alone stood beneath the Wu Tian Observatory and stared at it. He had no concerns of being noticed by Di Qiong; divine energy was the best protection.

    No one who had cultivated divine energy would be suspected of being a spy.

    At least, not for the moment.

    1. The chains are forming ÎäÌì, somehow or other... ?

 Chapter 3061: The Gaze

    Chapter 3061: The Gaze

    Wu Tian hung above the Wu Tian Observatory from the chains. They pierced into his bones and flesh, and he hung there like a b of meat.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. He did not even notice that the sky had grown dark. Above the Aeternus Kingdoms, glowing orbs floated to provide light. Where there was light, there would also be darkness.

    Once the darkness fell entirely, Lu Yin stepped onto the viewing tform.

    The moment his foot touched the tform, Heaven''s Sight activated outside of his control, and he stared at Wu Tian.

    At the same time, Wu Tian¡¯s eyes opened, and he looked back at Lu Yin. Their eyes met, and they each saw astonishment in the other''s eyes.

    Lu Yin had thought that Wu Tian was dead. Not the slightest hint of life could be felt from the man, and Lu Yin doubted that Undying God had truly intended to kill Wu Tian.

    As for Wu Tian, he was shocked to see Heaven''s Sight.

    Lu Yin just stared at Wu Tian.

    Wu Tian''s murky eyes suddenly grew crystal clear for a moment, and Lu Yin saw his own figure reflected in Wu Tian''s eyes. Thatsted for less than a moment, and then Wu Tian closed his eyes again. Once more, his body gave off the same rotting, decaying aura that made him seem dead.Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He had not been mistaken. For that brief instance, he had seen relief in Wu Tian''s eyes.

    <em>What was he relieved about? Did he recognize that I¡¯m not part of Aeternus?</em>

    Before Lu Yin could consider the matter any further, someone approached the tform from another direction. They moved as silent as a shadow and slowly drew close.

    Lu Yin looked over to see a woman with long ck hair pulled back in a braid. She had delicate features, and while she was not as stunningly beautiful as the woman with fiery red hair, the ck-haired woman had an indomitable spirit and a firm determination that Lu Yin could sense at just a nce. This woman¡¯s resilience was practically written on her face.

    The woman arrived at the Wu Tian Observatory and immediately stepped onto it. She ignored Lu Yin and walked over to stand directly beneath Wu Tian. "Do you think that you can survive this time?"

    Wu Tian¡¯s eyes opened, but he said nothing. He simply looked at the woman.

    She continued in a cold voice, "Let''s see if you can stay alive."

    At that moment, a thin, curved sword appeared in her hand, and she thrust it at Wu Tian.

    Lu Yin instinctively wanted to block the attack, but Wu Tian''s eyes suddenly flitted over to Lu Yin, freezing him in ce.

    Lu Yin watched as the woman''s sword pierced Wu Tian''s neck, but no blood appeared or leaked from the wound. It seemed as though all of Wu Tian''s blood had dried up long ago. The tip of the sword emerged from the back of the man¡¯s neck, and the attack tore the sky apart. The resulting distortions spread across the Third Scourge.

    A great distance away, Di Qiong¡¯s eyes opened, and his gaze pierced the void to look at the Wu Tian Observatory and the woman who was stabbing Wu Tian, as well as Ye Bo who was standing nearby.

    Unconcerned, Di Qiong¡¯s eyes slowly closed again.

    Wu Tian would not be so easily killed.

    The thin sword was pulled back. The woman continued to stare upwards, but Wu Tian remained the same as ever. It looked like he might die at any moment, and yet he continued to live.

    "You still can''t die. You deserve to suffer here, but I will continue to do everything I can to kill you." The woman¡¯s voice was frigid, but it elicited no response from Wu Tian. Her thin sword disappeared, and she turned to leave.

    Lu Yin called out, "Wait."

    The woman turned back to look at him. "Why do you want to kill him?"

    The woman was unruffled. "Who are you?"

    "True God Guard Captain Ye Bo."

    "One of the First Scourge¡¯s True God Guard Captains?" The woman''s eyes flickered, and she briefly sized Lu Yin up Lu. Without another word, she stepped forward, ready to vanish into the twisted void.

    Lu Yin also stepped forward, instantly arriving at the woman''s side. She casually threw a palm strike at him. It looked gentle, but the attack hadpressedyer afteryer of the void. It was in no way inferior to Vacuum Palm, and most peak powerhouses would not be able to endure it.

    Lu Yin used his divine energy to dodge the attack, and as he did so, he reached out and grabbed the woman''s arm.

    She allowed Lu Yin to grasp her arm, but then her eyes instantly changed, taking on an intense crimson color¡ªRed Eyes Transformation.

    A terrifying force transmitted down the woman''s arm, and Lu Yin was flung away. The thin sword reappeared in the woman¡¯s hand, and the de twisted to stab at Lu Yin from an inexplicable angle. Somehow, the thrust managed to seal off all of his possible escape routes.

    Lu Yin had faced many sword masters over the years, and he was quite aplished with the sword himself. In particr, after acquiring Heaven''s Sight, he had found that it was extremely easy for him to break down any sort of weapon technique. Despite all that, this sword thrust gave him a different feeling. This did not seem to be a sword technique, but rather something alive.

    He could not clearly see the edge of the sword and could only barely dodge the attack. Both of his arms and stomach were cut by the sword, and blood trickled down.

    The woman had not tried to deliver a fatal attack, or else she would have aimed the sword at Lu Yin''s head.

    He understood this, and it was also why he had limited the level of strength that he had used to try to evade the attack.

    "Is that all there is to a True God Guard Captain?" the woman said as she sheathed her sword, her eyes as indifferent as ever.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Your sword technique is quite special."

    "Why did you try to stop me from leaving?" The woman stared at Lu Yin. She only spoke to him in an icy tone. Most people who lived in the Scourges were rather aloof and indifferent, with Mu Ji being an exception.

    "Is that man really Wu Tian?" Lu Yin asked.

    The woman was surprised. "You¡¯ve heard of Wu Tian?"

    "I¡¯m from the Sixverse Association¡¯s Origin Universe. Wu Tian is a legend in our universe," Lu Yin exined.

    She stared at him for a moment. "And?"

    "If possible, I want to kill Wu Tian," Lu Yin dered.

    The woman looked away. "You betrayed your universe?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew cold. "I have always been their enemy."

    "I¡¯ll have to disappoint you. That man really is Wu Tian, but you cannot kill him."

    "Why not?"

    "If I can''t kill him, how could you?"

    Lu Yin''s voice dropped, "Why do you want to kill him?"

    The woman stared off at the horizon. "Most people from the Aeternus Kingdoms want him dead, and I-"

    The woman hesitated, and then she looked back at Lu Yin. "I¡¯m conducting an experiment."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "An experiment?"

    "Killing Wu Tian will mean that I¡¯ve reached a certain level. Unfortunately, despite him being half-dead, I still can¡¯t kill him," the woman casually exined.

    Lu Yin did not reply, and he simply stared at the woman.

    "There are many people in this Scourge who do the same. He frequently suffers from various attacks. It¡¯s no surprise that a once legendary figure like him has survived till now. However, he will one day die by my hand!" the woman dered. The void then warped again, and she vanished.

    Lu Yin watched as the woman entered the void and then slowly responded, "Well said."

    The woman might not have even heard him, as she had already disappeared.

    Lu Yin turned back to stare at Wu Tian. Nothing was said, and Lu Yin soon walked away.

    Atop the Wu Tian Observatory, Wu Tian¡¯s head hung down again, and he let out a sigh.

    Lu Yin''s expression was cold as he left. He soon arrived back at the Corpse King Monument. He looked around at the corpse kings and humans who were all trying to practice the Corpse King Transformation. He then grabbed a random person and asked them how to use the monument.

    The man was only as strong as a Semi-Progenitor, and he did not dare to resist. He readily answered all of Lu Yin¡¯s questions.

    The man was quickly released, and he raced away, not daring to even look back.

    Lu Yin stood where he was and stared at the distant Corpse King Monument. He took a step forward and walked towards it.

    On the ground surrounding the Corpse King Monument, there was a designated area for people to transfer their consciousness into the Corpse King Monument. Within it, practitioners could attempt to use the Corpse King Transformation with the myriad corpse king bodies left within the monument¡ªthis was the Corpse King Monument¡¯s primary use.

    With the Corpse King Monument, there was no need for someone to practice the Corpse King Transformation with their own body. They could instead let their mind enter the monument and use an endless number of corpse king bodies. With this, there were no personal consequences for failing to learn the Corpse King Transformation.

    Even so, not everyone could master the technique.

    Di Qiong had created the Corpse King Monument specifically so that all creatures in the Third Scourge, both corpse kings and humans, could learn the Corpse King Transformation. With this arrangement, the chances of sessfully mastering the technique increased exponentially.

    However, anyone who failed to master the Corpse King Transformation would be expelled from the Third Scourge, which was why every creature in the Scourge visited the Corpse King Monument.

    Beside the monument was a ranking list, with the names of those who had achieved the greatest level of mastery in the Corpse King Transformation.

    Given his formidable strength, Lu Yin was able to push through the ranks of corpse kings and move right in front of the Corpse King Monument.

    While most individuals needed to wait their turn to reach such a location, powerhouses like Lu Yin enjoyed certain privileges, given how few of them there were in the Third Scourge.

    "Was it you?" A man turned around when he noticed Lu Yin approaching.

    Lu Yin looked at the man, but he did not recognize him.

    "You must be from another Scourge. You just offended Lord Xin Wu, but now you''re here? What, do you want to practice the Corpse King Transformation?" the man asked curiously.

    Lu Yin remained silent and gave no answer at all.

    The man scoffed, "The Corpse King Transformation isn''t easy to master. Without a solid foundation, even ten or eight years aren¡¯t enough. I took five years just to get started after I joined the Third Scourge. It took me ten whole years to seed. After all, we are humans, not corpse kings.

    "The earlier you start training in this technique, the better. Being as strong as us actually makes it more difficult to learn the technique. If I didn¡¯t have such a high level ofprehension, I wouldn¡¯t have seeded even after fifteen years. Look around. Some of these people have spent a hundred years here, and they still can''t get it right. Lord Di Qiong will soon send them to another Scourge."

    Lu Yin ignored the man. Could he be a human traitor? Such traitors deserved to be targeted.

    Lu Yin looked at the ranking list that stood beside the Corpse King Monument. This list had the names of the Third Scourge¡¯s powerhouses who had mastered the Corpse King Transformation, which meant that it was essentially a list of the strongest beings in the Scourge.

    First on the list was someone named Di Xia. It was a name that carried some significance, given that the Third Scourge was ruled by Di Qiong. Did Di Xia mean to only be beneath Di Qiong?[1]

    The second on the list was the name Fei. There was only a single character, and Lu Yin was immediately reminded of the woman who had tried to kill Wu Tian. The fact that she had been able to injure Lu Yin when he revealed the strength of Ye Bo meant that she was clearly stronger than the True God Guard Captains. As such, she deserved to be on this list.

    The third name was Zhong Pan.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. So, Zhong Pan originally came from the Third Scourge. It was no wonder why his physical strength was so impressive, not to mention how the Corpse King Transformation made him even stronger. Still, Lu Yin had already eliminated the corpse king.

    Ranked fourth was Xin Wu, the lesser giant who had beaten Chong Gui.

    The fifth name was¡­

    The rankings for the Corpse King Monument only included the top ten peak powerhouses. There was no indication of how many Semi-Progenitor-level cultivators or corpse kings were in the Third Scourge.

    "Just forget it. Getting on that list is practically impossible. You¡¯re better off thinking about how to master the Corpse King Transformation. However, since you''re from another Scourge, there''s no need for you to even bother." The man spoke up again. He seemed to be rather talkative.

    Lu Yin finally looked over. "What about you?"

    "What about me?"

    "Aren''t you on the rankings?"

    "Are you mocking me?"

    "No."

    "It sounds like you¡¯re making fun of me."

    "Suit yourself."

    The man''s face twitched. "The Third Scourge has no less than twenty peak powerhouses, and that¡¯s not including the corpse kings with a matching level of strength, though with no intelligence. All in all, there should be about fifty peak powerhouses, but out of all of those powerhouses, only ten can make it onto this list. You should also know that all ten of those people have always lived here in the Third Scourge, so none of them have ever dealt with a situation like ours. People like us simply can''t make it onto that list."

    1. Di Qiong (µÛñ·) = Imperial/Royal + Dome/Sky

    Di Xia (µÛÏÂ) = Beneath/Below/Inferior + Di ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3062: Testing

    Chapter 3062: Testing

    The man grew annoyed when he saw that Lu Yin still had the same cold expression, but he continued speaking. "For example, Di Xia is ranked first. He¡¯s a powerful corpse king who was personally trained by Lord Di Qiong, and he¡¯s been chosen to represent the Third Scourge for the Divine Selection. Then there¡¯s the second-ranked Senior Fei. She was born in an Aeternus Kingdom right here in the Third Scourge, and she¡¯s trained in the Corpse King Transformation since her childhood.

    "There''s the third-ranked Senior Xin Wu, who was brought here by Lord Di Qiong many years ago. There¡¯s also¡­"

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. He was no longer paying any attention to the man, as he had already learned what he needed to know; there were at least twenty peak powerhouses in the Third Scourge, as well as dozens of Progenitor-level corpse kings. Lu Yin understood the strength of the Third Scourge now.

    Truthfully, it could notpare to the First Scourge, but if the Seven Skygods were not included, then the Third Scourge was not much weaker than the First Scourge. The fact that the first ranked Di Xia was qualified to represent the Third Scourge during the Divine Selection meant that he absolutely had to be a sequence powerhouse. On top of that, what about Fei?

    Unfortunately, he had no way of forcing the woman to reveal her true strength at the Wu Tian Observatory.

    After seeing Wu Tian¡¯s situation, Lu Yin had decided to stay in the Third Scourge. Mu Ji was not something to worry about for the moment, as he wanted to use Lu Yin, and Lu Yin intended to do the same thing. They were both aiming at their own goals.

    When Lu Yin considered that Mu Ji wanted help finding True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, Lu Yin would much rather take Wu Tian away.

    This was also why Lu Yin had decided to start training the Corpse King Transformation; he wanted to stay in the Third Scourge.

    He calmed himself and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was surrounded by darkness. His mind had entered the Corpse King Monument, and he was in the body of a corpse king.It was just his consciousness. The Corpse King Monument had somehow used the power of consciousness. How did Di Qiong have that power?

    Lu Yin instantly grew wary, as consciousness was not an easy power to deal with. The Chiliagonist had relied on his mastery of consciousness to be one of the True God Guard Captains. If Di Qiong could also use consciousness, then Lu Yin would need to tread very carefully as he moved around in the Third Scourge.

    Using the body of a corpse king to master the Corpse King Transformation was a reasonable way to test the technique.

    Lu Yin was already familiar with the Corpse King Transformation, but it was only at this moment that he was willing to try cultivating it. He had always found the technique very powerful.

    ¡­

    In the First Scourge, a cosmic door activated as a figure passed through it. Xin Wu appeared.

    Hended in the First Scourge and looked around, where he saw rents in the ground. Were they scars from when the Sixverse Association had invaded?

    Xin Wu looked up at the sky and immediately noticed that most of the cosmic doors that should have filled the sky were missing. The First Scourge had been dramatically weakened by the repeated invasions.

    "Did Di Qiong send you here?" Progenitor Xi suddenly spoke up, startling Xin Wu. He had no idea when or how the woman had appeared.

    "Yes. Three of your True God Guard Captains are in our Third Scourge. Lord Di Qiong sent me here to ask how you would like us to deal with them," Xin Wu replied. His eyes revealed his wariness.

    Before he left the Third Scourge, Di Qiong had strictly warned Xin Wu to not offend Progenitor Xi. It was clear that this woman was truly extraordinary.

    Lu Yin and the other captains had guessed correctly, and Di Qiong had only recently thought to send someone to inform the First Scourge that three of the True God Guard Captains were in the Third Scourge. The man truly did not care about them at all.

    In fact, if Di Qiong had not seen Ye Bo at the Wu Tian Observatory, Xin Wu would have never been sent to the First Scourge.

    "Why didn''t hee here himself?" Progenitor Xi asked calmly. She did not look away from theke of divine energy that she was staring at.

    "Lord Di Qiong recently fought a battle, and he is currently in seclusion," Xin Wu replied.

    "Tell me more."

    Xin Wu did not hold back and shared everything he knew, though he was ignorant of the fact that Di Qiong had entered the Origin Universe and faced Lu Yuan. Xin Wu only knew that Di Qiong had destroyed God¡¯s Domain and brought three of the First Scourge¡¯s True God Guard Captains to the Third Scourge.

    However, while Xin Wu did not know about these things, Progenitor Xi did.

    She knew that Ye Bo and the others had been captives of the Origin Universe, so if Di Qiong had taken them back to the Third Scourge, he must have gone to the Origin Universe.

    "It seems that he didn''t gain much of an advantage," Progenitor Xi muttered. She looked over at Xin Wu. "Bring them to me. They belong to my First Scourge, so it''s not good for them to remain in the Third Scourge."

    "I understand," Xin Wu replied, though he then hesitated instead of leaving.

    Progenitor Xi looked at the man. "Is there something else?"

    Xin Wu still hesitated, but after looking at Progenitor Xi for a moment, he asked, "May I inquire if the First Scourge intends to participate in the Divine Selection?"

    "Of course we''re participating," Progenitor Xi answered tly.

    "In that case, do you have a representative?" Xin Wu continued.

    Progenitor Xi observed Xin Wu. "Stop beating around the bush."

    Xin Wu gritted his teeth. "If the First Scourge has no one suitable to represent you for the Divine Selection, I would like to represent the First Scourge."

    In the Third Scourge, Di Xia and Fei were clearly going to be the chosen representatives for the Divine Selection, and Xin Wu knew that he was no match for those two. After seeing the condition of the First Scourge, he naturally believed the Scourge had been greatly weakened. It seemed possible for him to join the First Scourge and represent it for the Divine Selection.

    Progenitor Xi chuckled, but she did not answer.

    Shao Yin approached from the distance. "Why don¡¯t you represent the Third Scourge?"

    Xin Wu had not noticed Shao Yin''s arrival any more than he had Progenitor Xi¡¯s, and this increased the lesser giant¡¯s nervousness.

    "Is it because you simply aren''t qualified to represent the Third Scourge? If we allow you to represent our First Scourge, then wouldn''t we be eliminated even before the selection begins? What do you take our First Scourge for?" Shao Yin sneered as he moved closer to Xin Wu.

    The lesser giant¡¯s expression fell. "It''s not that I''m any less capable than them, but that Di Qiong is biased."

    Shao Yin scoffed. "Get lost. You aren¡¯t qualified to represent my First Scourge."

    Xin Wu grew furious. "What did you say?"

    Shao Yin looked at Xin Wu and casually waved a hand. Sequence particles of merged Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang erupted, instantly sting Xin Wu away. The lesser giant instantly underwent a Corpse King Transformation, but not even that let him withstand the blow. The terrifying sequence particles caused his skin to start decaying, but at the same time, the scorching heat caused his organs to start to burn. He was shocked, and he spat out blood.

    Shao Yin did not even look at the fallen man. "Get lost."

    Xin Wu stared at Shao Yin for a long moment and then left.

    Once he was gone, Shao Yin looked over at Progenitor Xi. His entire demeanor was far more polite and respectful than in the past. In the past, Shao Yin had respected Progenitor Xi for her unfathomable strength, but after the First Scourge was invaded, Shao Yin had learned that Progenitor Xi had once managed to force the Lu family to alter their training methods. Ages ago, the woman had been known as Qingluo Jiantian, and her current sword had ended the invasion of the Scourge.

    It was clear that Progenitor Xi was far stronger than Shao Yin, and he did not dare to act rashly in front of her.

    "What do you need?" Progenitor Xi asked tly.

    "I want to join the Divine Selection," Shao Yin stated.

    Progenitor Xi was not surprised. "You are already one the Seven Skygods, which is a statusparable to the Three Pirs and Six Skies."

    Shao Yin''s eyes flickered. The Seven Skygods were only acknowledged by the Sixverse Association, while the Three Pirs and Six Skies were recognized by True God himself as the most elite powerhouses in all of Aeternus. They held a status that was only below True God¡¯s, and they were all renowned throughout the six Scourges. They wereparable to the Three Realms and Six Daos of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    When Shao Yin had been part of the Cyclic Universe, he had been heralded as one of the Three Sovereigns. At that time, he had regarded himself as on the same level as the ancient Three Realms and Six Daos. Onlyter had he realized that he had been vastly overestimating himself. One of the Six Daos, Lu Yuan, was capable of openly challenging the Great Sovereign, while Shao Yin knew that he was nowhere close to matching the Great Sovereign''s power.

    The Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were not even close to reaching the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Only the Three Pirs and Six Skies, the greatest powerhouses of all the Aeternals, couldpare to the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Shao Yin aspired to be one of those elites.

    "I am asking you for your help, Senior." Shao Yin gave a deep bow.

    Progenitor Xi looked over. "None of the Seven Skygods have ever offered me such respect."

    Shao Yin took a deep breath. "Senior, you deserve such respect."

    The woman¡¯s expression never changed. "Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges allpete against each other. My First Scourge has always been the strongest, but it seems that we are now being underestimated."

    Shao Yin sneered. "How dare trash like that underestimate the First Scourge? During the Divine Selection, I promise that I will shatter the other Scourges¡¯ dignity!"

    Progenitor Xi coldly stated, "He was testing us."

    Shao Yin''s expression changed.

    "Di Qiong is quite cunning. You want to reach the same level as the Three Realms and Six Daos, but the Third Scourge holds Wu Tian prisoner," Progenitor Ximented indifferently.

    Shao Yin''s eyes flickered, and he momentarily found himself speechless. He had not considered the possibility of Xin Wu being a test, nor had he ever imagined that someone as powerful and famous as Wu Tian could be imprisoned in the Third Scourge. Was that how strong the Three Pirs and Six Skies really were?

    Despite his arrogance, Shao Yin never believed himself capable of surpassing Wu Tian, at least not at the moment. After all, he had nearly been killed by Lord Xu, and that man was far inferior to Wu Tian.

    "You may join the Divine Selection," Progenitor Xi consented.

    Shao Yin offered another bow. "Thank you, Senior."

    Xin Wu returned to the Third Scourge and went to deliver a report to Di Qiong.

    "You were injured by a single strike? The man uses formidable sequence particles," Di Qiong remarked with some sense of gravity as he acknowledged Shao Yin''s strength.

    Xin Wu maintained a respectful attitude. "That man is not one of the Seven Skygods, but there is no doubt that he will represent the First Scourge in the Divine Selection."

    Di Qiong looked up. "The strength of the First Scourge is profound, and they are not so easily weakened. Still, the rulers of the other Scourges are formidable in their own right. This next Divine Selection will certainly be fiercer than thest.

    "Go. Return those three True God Guard Captains to the First Scourge."

    Xin Wu nodded and turned to leave.

    "Wait," Di Qiong called out.

    Xin Wu quickly turned back around. "Yes, my lord?"

    Di Qiong studied the man. "Do you feel resentful?"

    Xin Wu was startled by the question. "I don¡¯t dare."

    "Do you really not dare, or do you simply not dare to show the resentment you feel?"

    "I hold no resentment, my lord. Di Xia and Fei are both beyond me. I genuinely hold no grudge," Xin Wu answered anxiously.

    Di Qiong''s eyes were ice. "You are not their equal. Remember that."

    Xin Wu quickly agreed and then nervously took his leave.

    The other Scourges might be strong, but that did not mean that the Third Scourge was inferior to them. Whoeversted to the end of the Divine Selection remained to be seen.

    Two of the Seven Skygods were already dead, and another had been severely wounded. Who could say that the Three Pirs and Six Skies would remain unscathed? If one of Di Qiong¡¯s people could be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, then his Third Scourge would wield even greater influence within Aeternus.

    ¡­

    In the Third Scourge, at the Corpse King Monument, the man who had tried to exin things to Lu Yin had grown extremely annoyed, and his hands itched to strike Lu Yin. The young man appeared to bepletely unfazed by anything he was told, and he treated the man¡¯s words like air.

    If not for the strict prohibition of any sort ofbat within the vicinity of the Corpse King Monument, the man would have already attacked Lu Yin.

    After returning to the Third Scourge, Xin Wu did not immediately go find Ye Bo and the other True God Guard Captains. Instead, he went into seclusion to recover. He had been wounded by Shao Yin¡¯s attack.

    Finally, the day that Xin Wu emerged came, and he went to find the captains.

    He found Dual deform and Chong Gui easily enough, but Xin Wu found it impossible to locate Ye Bo. It did not even ur to Xin Wu that Ye Bo might be attempting to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3063: The Domineering Ye Bo

    Chapter 3063: The Domineering Ye Bo

    It took Xin Wu several days to reach the Corpse King Monument and see Ye Bo there. He was standing at the very front of the crowd, facing the monument.

    "Is Ye Bo really cultivating the Corpse King Transformation?" the pink-haired woman eximed in surprise.

    The blue-haired man watched from a distance, puzzled by Ye Bo¡¯s possible intentions.

    Chong Gui yelled, "Get him away from there! Get him away!"

    Xin Wu moved closer to the Corpse King Monument. After being injured by Shao Yin, he was nursing a good bit of resentment towards the First Scourge, and he scoffed at the thought of someone from that ce trying to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation at the monument.

    Just as Xin Wu was about to reach Ye Bo and disrupt his cultivation¡ªa move he felt entitled to make given his status in the Third Scourge¡ªsomeone nearby suddenly shouted, "The rankings changed!¡±

    The lesser giant turned in surprise and looked at the list. The rankings for the Corpse King Monument had not changed in many years. Even when Zhong Pan had gone to the First Scourge, Xin Wu had not been able to surpass him. Why had it suddenly changed?

    Everyone''s eyes shifted to look at the rankings.

    They saw that a new name had appeared at the bottom of the list. "Ye Bo" had reced the previous name listed there."Ye Bo? Who¡¯s that?" someone asked.

    The man who had been exining things to Lu Yin immediately turned and looked at him. While the man did not recognize the name "Ye Bo," it clearly referred to the unknown man. No other unknown peak powerhouses had visited the monument recently. There was only one person whom the man did not recognize.

    But how was that even possible? How could this man have entered the rankings in such a short time? This had to be a joke.

    Xin Wu was stunned, and he stared at Ye Bo. It was simply too shocking for someone to enter the rankings within such a short amount of time.

    The lesser giant had intended to disturb Ye Bo¡¯s cultivation, but he could no longer do so.

    Xin Wu could not afford to interfere with the cultivation of anyone on the rankings list for the Corpse King Monument, as Di Qiong would never allow such a thing to pass.

    Suddenly, another shout rang out.

    Xin Wu looked over, only to see that the rankings had changed yet again. The name "Ye Bo" was steadily moving up. It was recing one name after another, and the progress shocked the entire Third Scourge.

    Xin Wu could not believe what he was seeing, as it should be impossible. How could anyone improve so quickly? What¡¯s more, Ye Bo had only spent a short amount of time cultivating the Corpse King Transformation so far.

    The man who had been speaking to Lu Yin waspletely dumbfounded, and when he thought back to what he had been saying earlier, his face flushed with embarrassment.

    In the mental space of the Corpse King Monument, Lu Yin let out a breath. He now intimately understood what this technique did.

    The Corpse King Transformation bound a body''s tissues at the microscopic level, which instantly increased the body¡¯s strength tenfold. While it was a technique, it could also be regarded as a different cultivation method.

    However, the drawback of the technique was that the binding not only involved physical muscles, but also emotions.

    Human emotions originated from their bodies¡¯ tissues, and binding those tissues meant binding everything together.

    While the binding strengthened the body, the process erased an individual¡¯s emotions. This was the greatest drawback of the Corpse King Transformation.

    For Aeternus, this was not actually a drawback, but rather an advantage, as corpse kings did not need emotions. However, Lu Yin needed his emotions.

    He could not erase his emotions to cultivate the Corpse King Transformation, as doing so would transform him into something that was neither human nor corpse king.

    For Lu Yin, mastering the Corpse King Transformation was rtively easy.

    He easily grasped the microscopic structure of human tissues, having already reached the Creation level of ster energy control. That previous aplishment allowed him to easily adapt to the Corpse King Transformation, and he quickly advanced to the level of the Specter Eye Transformation. If he wished, he could have even pushed to the Pupilless Transformation.

    However, everything that Lu Yin was doing was with the body of a corpse king. If he was unable to cultivate the technique with his own body, he would not be allowed to stay in the Third Scourge.

    He needed to find a way to undergo a Corpse King Transformation with his own body, which would draw Di Qiong¡¯s attention and secure Ye Bo¡¯s stay in the Third Scourge.

    Lu Yin had already stopped training in the Corpse King Transformation and had shifted to thinking. He needed to find a way to sessfully use the Corpse King Transformation with his own body.

    For other people, the moment that Lu Yin had mastered the Specter Eye Transformation with the Corpse King Monument, he had moved up to fifth ce on the ranking list. He was directly beneath Xin Wu.

    Xin Wu had been stunned. How had this happened so quickly?

    The corpse kings and all the other various creatures that surrounded the Corpse King Monument were utterly silent at this moment.

    Dual deform felt terribly confused.

    Chong Gui was dancing about animatedly, but he said nothing. He was clearly quite shocked as well.

    Days passed, and Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body. He had decided to give the technique a try.

    When he turned around, he discovered that countless eyes were staring at him. Directly behind him loomed a shadow. "Xin Wu?"

    Xin Wu looked intently at Ye Bo. "What do you think about the Corpse King Transformation?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s pretty impressive. I decided to try it for real."

    Xin Wu''s face twitched. Try it? This person made it sound as unremarkable as making a trip to the market to buy groceries. Who would dare im that it was easy to master the Corpse King Transformation?

    How long had Xin Wu spent to master the Pupilless Transformation? How many in all of Aeternus were able to reach that level?

    Besides, this was not the way the Corpse King Monument was supposed to be used.

    Who was able to master the Corpse King Transformation in the Corpse King Monument all at once without having ever practiced it with their own body? Such a thing had never happened before.

    Typically, everyone would visit the Corpse King Monument to train. They might go dozens, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times. They would use those visits to familiarize themselves with the technique before returning to practice on their own. They would go back and forth countless times until they seeded. Even after that, many people would return to the monument to try to gain a higher level of mastery in the Corpse King Transformation.

    That was the proper way to use the Corpse King Monument.

    That was what Xin Wu had done, and it was also what both Fei and Di Xia had done. So just what was going on with Ye Bo? After his very first visit to the Corpse King Monument, his mastery had already nearly matched Xin Wu¡¯s own. What¡¯s more, this had been done without Ye Bo even once trying to use the technique for real?

    Xin Wu stared at Lu Yin for a long time. "Di Qiong has ordered me to take you back to the First Scourge."

    Lu Yin refused. "I¡¯m not going."

    Xin Wu frowned. "You don¡¯t want to return to the First Scourge?"

    "I want to master the Corpse King Transformation."

    "You can practice it in the First Scourge as well."

    With the threat of being exposed by Mu Ji temporarily removed, Lu Yin could return to the First Scourge, but there was no need for him to do that. He wanted to take Wu Tian with him, which meant that Lu Yin could not leave the Third Scourge.

    "The First Scourge doesn¡¯t have the Corpse King Monument," Lu Yin stated.

    Xin Wu started to grow irate. "You no longer need the Corpse King Monument. Come with me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. "Out of the way."

    Xin Wu had an imposing stature, and he loomed over Lu Yin as he blocked the path. "Come with me to the First Scourge. Don''t make me repeat myself."

    "I''ve already told you to get out of my way," Lu Yin replied firmly.

    Xin Wu clenched a fist. "You asked for this!"

    There was no further hesitation. The lesser giant¡¯s eyes turned red, and he reached out to grab Ye Bo. The hand tore through the void as it stretched forward.

    There were times when things happened abruptly, no matter if it was among humans or within Aeternus. If Ye Bo did not qualify to speak with Xin Wu as a peer, then the lesser giant would have never bothered talking; he would have simply dragged Ye Bo back to the First Scourge.

    However, Lu Yin was able to stand up to Xin Wu.

    Xin Wu attacked mercilessly. He was well aware of the strength that a True God Guard Captain had, and for that reason, he immediately underwent a Red Eyes Transformation as he reached for Ye Bo. With this, Xin Wu was confident that Ye Bo would not be able to slip away.

    Lu Yin watched with cold eyes. When he had been on the Wu Tian Observatory, he had not been able to do anything to the woman who had attacked him, but this was a good opportunity. He could vent his frustration on Xin Wu while also showing Di Qiong that Ye Bo deserved to stay in the Third Scourge.

    Ye Bo¡¯s performance in the First Scourge had only been average at best, though that changed after he used divine energy.

    When the Lord of Lightning had invaded the Scourge, Lu Yin had been disguised as Ye Bo, and he had used divine energy to stop Moon Fairy, which had caught even Progenitor Xi off guard. While facing Xin Wu, divine energy was still Lu Yin¡¯s best disguise.

    Dark red energy surged, and it instantly covered his body. Lu Yin also raised a hand to grab Xin Wu¡¯s arm.

    Two hands collided: onerge and one small. Xin Wu reflexively grabbed Lu Yin''s arm, intending to capture the smaller man. However, the lesser giant went bug-eyed the very next moment, and he quickly let go as he retreated. He looked down and saw that there was a deep hand print pressed into his own palm. The imprint was bleeding.

    It was the mark that Lu Yin had left. His hand had utterly overpowered Xin Wu''s.

    Enraged, Xin Wu''s eyes continued to change. He shifted through the Specter Eye Transformation to the Pupilless Transformation. His overwhelming strength caused the area around him to tremble, and a terrifying aura shot into the sky.

    Everyone nearby, including the corpse kings, fled.

    Given the size and strength of a lesser giant, the Pupilless Transformation caused Xin Wu¡¯s aura to surge. He felt asrge as a colossal giant as his presence pressed down upon Lu Yin like an angry mountain.

    "Terrifying! That¡¯s terrifying!" Chong Gui shrieked.

    Dual deform exchanged nces with each other. Xin Wu''s strength was intimidating even to those at the True God Guard Captain level. Unless they used divine energy, they would not be this lesser giant¡¯s match.

    Lu Yin looked up as Xin Wu''s hand fell. The sky split, and the earth started to crack. The entire Scourge seemed to be within the grasp of this single hand.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned grave. His heart started pounding, and his divine energy surged out even more fiercely before suddenly shooting up into the sky. At the same time, the nearby rivers of divine energy started to boil over, creating a dark red mist that swept towards Lu Yin. It was as though the divine energy itself was being drawn to his body.

    Di Qiong watched from a distance. The stirring of the divine energy had drawn his gaze, and he recognized that Ye Bo had an incredible talent for cultivating divine energy.

    There were people who were naturally suited for cultivating certain energies. In Di Qiong¡¯s view, Di Xia was particrly well suited for the Corpse King Transformation. As for Ye Bo, he appeared to have a unique talent for cultivating divine energy.

    As Xin Wu''s hand covered the sky, it froze in mid-air. There was a dark red sh in the depths of Lu Yin''s icy cold eyes, and the sight of it unsettled Xin Wu.

    Xin Wu¡¯s hand was blocked by nothing but divine energy.

    In a ce like the Scourge, which was covered with divine energy, Lu Yin was practically a king. Opposing him meant going against divine energy itself. Who in any of the Scourges could survive against divine energy?

    Lu Yin leaped up. He clenched a fist and threw a punch.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The shockwave shook everything. Everyone felt as if they had been pped across the face. The st swept through the area, affecting even the peak powerhouses who were present.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist broke through Xin Wu''s hand and sent the lesser giant tumbling back.

    Lu Yin grabbed a finger. "Get over here!"

    An irresistible forcetched onto Xin Wu''s finger, and he was violently dragged forward. His face was smashed into the ground.

    Xin Wu¡¯s left hand pushed down on the ground as he braced his body, but Lu Yin was already above him, and a foot kicked down. There was a thunderous crash as Xin Wu was smashed deep into the ground. Dark red divine energy swept out in all directions, tearing the ground apart with new fissures as dust and debris were kicked up.

    The entire exchange was quite brief, but it shocked the entire Third Scourge.

    Xin Wu was acknowledged in the Third Scourge as only weaker than Di Xia and Fei, and yet he was being pushed into the ground and stepped on right now.

    Lu Yin stood on Xin Wu¡¯s back, finally feeling that some of his pent-up frustrations had been released. It was an exhrating feeling.

    Chong Gui froze in a bizarre, dance-like pose, and he did not move again.

    The pink-haired woman stared in disbelief. "Brother, is that¡­ Ye Bo?"

    The blue-haired man was simrly stunned. He had never seen Ye Bosh out in such a manner before. Fighting against one of the most powerful individuals in the Third Scourge in this manner was reckless, let alone standing on him.

    The other corpse kings and cultivators in the surrounding area all fell silent as they stared, dumbfounded. The Third Scourge had never witnessed such an event before.

    Lu Yin looked around, but at this moment, no one dared to meet his eyes.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3064: Divine Power Die Roll

    Chapter 3064: Divine Power Die Roll

    Beneath Lu Yin¡¯s foot, Xin Wu¡¯s body started to tremble, and the ground cracked open even more. Heavy breathing could be heard by everyone.

    Dark red divine energy surged from Xin Wu¡¯s body, showing that he had also cultivated the energy.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed at the sight. He knew that using divine energy would cause Xin Wu''sbat power to increase significantly. That was not a level that Ye Bo had the strength to ovee.

    The breathing grew heavier as Xin Wu suppressed something.

    Lu Yin solemnly stared downwards.

    The heavy breaths could be clearly heard by everyone.

    Slowly, Xin Wu crawled up from underground, but Lu Yin simply raised his foot and stomped it back down, pinning Xin Wu in ce again.

    Xin Wu gave a deep growl as he turned his head to look up at Ye Bo standing on his back. Murder and resentment filled the lesser giant¡¯s eyes.

    Suddenly, both men turned to look in the same direction. They had both felt a flicker of fear from that direction.Right after that, Dual deform, Chong Gui, as well as the other nearby peak powerhouses, turned to look as well.

    "Lord Di Xia?" someone eximed.

    Everyone stepped back, growing respectful as they watched a figure shrouded in a long ck coat slowly walk over.

    The neer''s face could not be seen in the shadows of the coat, but his aura was shockingly powerful. Just the man¡¯s breath alone created spatial distortions, and while his steps were light, the ground quivered each time his feet fell.

    His arrival caused Xin Wu¡¯s roiling divine energy to back down, and the divine energy that had risen from the nearby rivers was also mysteriously pushed back.

    In the universe within Lu Yin''s heart, the of divine energy was trembling. It was because of this neer.

    This person possessed a terrifying amount of divine energy.

    Lu Yin became unprecedentedly serious, as this was a sensation that he had only ever felt from the Seven Skygods before.

    Only someone at their level could possess enough divine energy to affect Lu Yin to this extent.

    Was this man Di Xia? The second-most powerful being in the Third Scourge who was second only to Di Qiong? This person was powerful enough that there was no question about him participating in the Divine Selection.

    He was clearly fully qualified for that.

    Step by step, Di Xia approached. Finally, he stopped when he was less than a hundred meters away from Xin Wu and Lu Yin, and he spoke in a deep, dry voice. "Can you, get off, of Xin Wu?"

    Di Xia spoke in the typical manner of corpse kings. It was clear what sort of creature he was.

    Lu Yin''s gaze became even more intense as he leaped off of the lesser giant.

    Xin Wu slowly rose to his feet.

    Suddenly, Di Xia disappeared. He reappeared on top of Xin Wu''s back before the lesser giant could even react, and he was smashed back into the ground as he let out a horrific scream. All anyone could see was blood spurting up from beneath the ground, and it painted the sky of the Third Scourge red.

    No one spoke, but many of those who were present felt a flicker of fear and started to tremble.

    Xin Wu was ranked fourth on the Corpse King Monument, but when he faced the person ranked first, there was an insurmountable gap.

    Every creature in the Third Scourge knew that Xin Wu did not even dare to look up at Di Xia.

    The corpse king pressed Xin Wu into the ground. Di Xia was still level with everyone standing on the ground, which made it difficult for people to imagine that he had just instantly suppressed such a formidable opponent. Xin Wu did not dare to resist at all.

    "The Third, Scourge, has grown,cent," Di Xia slowly spoke as he turned to face Lu Yin. The corpse king¡¯s voice was devoid of any emotion.

    Lu Yin stared at Di Xia, but he was unable to see the corpse king¡¯s hidden face without the use of Heaven¡¯s Sight. "You tter me."

    "Do you, wish, to stay?"

    "Yes."

    "Wee."

    "Thank you."

    "The Divine Selection, is about, to begin. If you can defeat, Fei, you may rece, her, for the, Divine Selection."

    Lu Yin cocked a brow.

    Countless eyes turned to look at Ye Bo. Was it really possible that Di Qiong held this man in such high regard? He was not even from the Third Scourge.

    While Di Xia had spoken those words, there was no question that they actually came from Di Qiong. Only Di Qiong had the authority to select who would participate in the Divine Selection.

    "Will I really be allowed to represent the Third Scourge for the Divine Selection?" Lu Yin was astonished.

    Di Xia''s voice was as deep as ever. "As long as, you can, fight and, defeat Fei. My Third Scourge, is not, petty. The First Scourge, offers you, no chances."

    Lu Yin expressed his appreciation, "Please give Di Qiong my thanks."

    Di Xia then left, but not before giving Ye Bo a cosmic door that was connected to the Third Scourge.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Clearly, Di Qiong actually trusted Ye Bo.

    Only once Di Xia left was there finally a bit of movement beneath the ground.

    Xin Wu slowly crawled up. His injuries were much more severe than those he had suffered when he visited the First Scourge. Di Xia''s ruthlessness served as a real eye-opener for Lu Yin.

    After rising up from underground, Xin Wu said nothing. He simply moved around Lu Yin, took Dual deform and Chong Gui away, and left to deliver them to the First Scourge. As for Ye Bo, he was allowed to remain in the Third Scourge.

    Once Xin Wu took Dual deform and Chong Gui to the First Scourge, no one in the Third Scourge bothered Ye Bo again. In fact, no one even bothered to speak with him. It seemed that even Mu Ji had disappeared.

    Ye Bo was assigned his own tower, and he even had maidens attending him, much like in the First Scourge.

    The main difference was that the Third Scourge had no True God Guard, and no missions were assigned to Ye Bo.

    Each Scourge had its own situation, and each of them handled things differently.

    The First Scourge constantly assigned people missions, but there were very few for the people of the Third Scourge.

    In the blink of an eye, an entire month went by. Lu Yin only visited the Corpse King Monument once during this time. He actually wanted to speak with someone, but no one dared to interact with him.

    Even the peak powerhouse who had spoken to Ye Bo when he had first visited the monument kept his distance now.

    Everyone knew that Ye Bo had offended Xin Wu, and anyone who got close to Ye Bo would undoubtedly find themselves in trouble with Xin Wu.

    Lu Yin was not particrly bothered. He was waiting for Mu Ji to reach out, as Mu Ji needed Lu Yin¡¯s help to find True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. It was guaranteed that the man would eventuallye.

    One day, Lu Yin was sitting in his tower, looking around with Heaven¡¯s Sight.

    He wanted to roll his die, but he needed to be sure that no one was watching him.

    The only people with the strength to observe Lu Yin in the Third Scourge were Di Qiong and Di Xia, though the chances of them doing so was extremely low. They also needed to cultivate, and besides, the Aeternals did not make a habit of observing each other. Arge part of this was because, aside from those who had been born in Aeternus Kingdoms, all humans who were part of Aeternus were traitors, and there was no purpose in watching a bunch of traitors.

    As Lu Yin surveyed the area, there was no sense of rm. With Heaven¡¯s Sight and Lu Yin¡¯s strength, he could sense when almost anyone was observing him. The only exceptions were people at True God¡¯s level, and Lu Yin had no means of doing anything against such powerhouses.

    Once he was certain that no one was watching, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die.

    A thought had urred to him; since he had cultivated divine energy, what if he rolled the die with divine energy? Could he Possess those who had cultivated divine energy? He had never tried this before, but this was an opportunity to do so.

    A flick of his finger caused the die to start to slowly spin. Pilfer appeared first, but it just gave Lu Yin a flimsy pair of scissors. They looked like a weapon, but they broke too easily. He rolled again: Gift Copy, followed by Enhance, and then Possession. Suddenly, Lu Yin found himself in the strange dark space after sessfully rolling Possession while using divine energy.

    Arriving in the dark space meant that there was at least one ball of light that Lu Yin could merge with.

    When he looked around, he saw several orbs, and one in the distance was particrly bright andpelling. Could that belong to Di Qiong, or maybe even True God?

    All six Scourges were in the same universe, so could Lu Yin Possess powerhouses from the other Scourges?

    Excited at the thought, Lu Yin considered how much this could help him learn more about the Aeternals, as well as the advantages he could gain in any future confrontations against those experts. At the very least, he would learn more about them. He also consideredmitting suicide during a Possession, but he knew that pulling that off would not be easy.

    His consciousness raced towards the brightest ball of light and merged with it.

    The next instant, as his eyes opened and memories flooded in, Lu Yin''s expression grew odd. He had actually Possessed Di Xia.

    It was no wonder that the orb had been so bright.

    What were the odds that, out of all six Scourges, Lu Yin would Possess Di Xia?

    Regardless, Lu Yin quickly started skimming through Di Xia''s memories.

    His expression grew stranger as time passed, as what he learned was fascinating.

    From Di Xia''s memories, Lu Yin was able to learn the corpse king¡¯sbat method, sequence particles, and even his current location. While Lu Yin was astonished by Di Xia''s strength, after gaining an understanding of the corpse king¡¯s abilities, Lu Yin now had the means to counter them. No matter how powerful Di Xia might be, he could not be more powerful than Shaman God, Undying God, or any of the Seven Skygods, and several of them had already been defeated.

    What most intrigued Lu Yin was a conspiracy aimed at him.

    It was clear to Aeternus that there was a traitor within the True God Guard Captains. Progenitor Xi had personally verified this. At one point in time, six of the True God Guard Captains had been specifically targeted by six peak powerhouses from the Sixverse Association. The truth was only too obvious.

    Even so, the Aeternals still had not yet determined who the traitor was.

    Mu Ji was the most suspicious, but by exposing his innate gift, he had proven that he could escape from Mu Ke. Not only that, but Progenitor Xi had also be intrigued by Mu Ji¡¯s innate gift.

    Aside from Mu Ji, all the other True God Guard Captains had cultivated divine energy.

    It seemed impossible for anyone who had cultivated divine energy to betray Aeternus. If there really was a traitor, then Progenitor Xi believed that they were likely using some sort of ruse that involved Ye Bo, Dual deform, and all who had been held captive by the Heavens Sect.

    Progenitor Xi was absolutely right, and her suspicions had led to the current conspiracy being directed at Ye Bo, though it was possible that he was not the only target.

    In a few days, Di Xia would seek Ye Bo out and inform him that Aeternus was nning tounch aprehensive attack on the Sixverse Association. The Sixverse Association had repeatedly invaded the First Scourge, forcing it to seal itself off and take a defensive position. This was not something that the Aeternals could ignore, and they wanted to retaliate.

    Telling Ye Bo about the attack was a way to test him. They wanted to see if he would inform the Sixverse Association so that they could prepare.

    This was a matter of life and death. If Ye Bo really was a spy that the Sixverse Association had managed to nt in Aeternus, he would certainly warn them of the attack. However, doing so would reveal him as the traitor.

    The Aeternals did not care about traitors in general. Even if they were peak powerhouses, it did not matter. What was more concerning was the matter of divine energy. If someone who had cultivated divine energy was capable of betraying Aeternus, that was simply uneptable. The Aeternals had to make this matter clear.

    Whether Ye Bo was a traitor was not the important point. What mattered was whether a True God Guard Captain who cultivated divine energy could betray Aeternus.

    Lu Yin felt a flicker of fear. He was lucky that he had decided to follow a whim and roll his die, or else he would have never learned of this plot. Then, he would certainly have failed the test and informed the Sixverse Association of the pending attack, which would have proven disastrous.

    How could an all-out attack not be reported to the Sixverse Association?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3065: Lets Be Friends

    Chapter 3065: Let''s Be Friends

    Di Qiong had been in a rush to destroy God¡¯s Domain because he needed to move on and support the First Scourge. This support was very likely connected to the pending attack on the Sixverse Association.

    The nned attack on the Sixverse Association was real, but the test for the True God Guard Captains was simply incidental. It was a pure coincidence that Di Qiong had rescued Ye Bo, Dual deform, and Chong Gui, so the Aeternals had taken the opportunity to test them. Despite the test, the attack was still nned, but the target was not actually the Sixverse Association, but rather the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance.

    This was also why Lu Yin was terrified.

    Announcing an attack on the Sixverse Association was simply a means of testing Ye Bo and the other True God Guard Captains who cultivated divine energy to ensure that they were all trustworthy. But in reality, the real targets were the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance.

    Together, the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had eight sequence powerhouses, and those people were Aeternus¡¯s real targets.

    Di Qiong, Di Xia, the First Scourge¡¯s powerhouses, as well as experts from the other Scourges were all set to join forces against the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. Their fall was inevitable.

    The Sixverse Association had taken out many of the outsider powerhouses allied with Aeternus, and the Aeternals were out for revenge.

    Lu Yin ended the Possession, and his consciousness returned to his body.

    He let out a deep breath as the full magnitude of Aeternus''s actions hit him. He finally understood their true goals.If the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were both destroyed, then Whitecloud City would lose almost all their support, which would leave the city to fend for itself. The Heavens Sect would also lose the support of the two alliances, as the Five Spirits Alliance had a close rtionship with Lu Yin. Losing them would cause him to suffer a great loss.

    The two alliances had also helped Lu Yin ambush Undying God and invade the First Scourge.

    Most importantly for Lu Yin, Ming Yan was frozen in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s Iceheart.

    Lu Yin once again felt that he had been incredibly lucky to possess Di Xia at this moment and learn about these ns. If not for this, not only would his identity as Ye Bo have been exposed, but the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance would have very likely been destroyed as well, as the Sixverse Association would not have been able to assist them in time.

    He never underestimated Aeternus, but he finally understood that, no matter how cautious he was, there were still things that could be hidden from him.

    The die had given him a great deal of help.

    Lu Yin guessed that Dual deform was also being tested, though there was no way that Chong Gui was included. That man had been held captive by the Heavens Sect for too long.

    Now knowing what Aeternus''s n was, Lu Yin considered how he should deal with it.

    Even if Aeternus openly announced their n to attack the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, how could the Sixverse Association help protect the two alliances if they didn¡¯t know what the full extent of Aeternus''s invading forces would be?

    Lu Yin himself did not know how strong Aeternus¡¯s attack force would be. All he knew for sure was that Di Qiong and Di Xia would be part of the attack. What kind of powerhouses did the other Scourges have? Who would the First Scourge send? Without knowing the strength of the forces being sent, the Sixverse Association would not be able to protect either the Five Spirits Alliance or the Luna Alliance.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered.

    Even after thinking for a long time, he could not find any way to proceed. It might be best to simply share the information with Wang Wen and the others and let them find a way.

    <em>That''s right.</em> He looked at his cosmic ring. Di Xia had given Ye Bo a cosmic door. That was their first step in testing Ye Bo, as it allowed him to freely travel to and from the Third Scourge without any worries. This was quite insidious.

    If Lu Yin wanted to return to the Heavens Sect, this was actually his best opportunity. He should take advantage of the fact that Di Xia had not yet told Ye Bo about the nned attack on the Sixverse Association. If Lu Yin left the Third Scourge after receiving that news, he would struggle to exin himself.

    In that case, the question was, how could he leave? What reason could he give for leaving? Actually, he most likely should not even be able to leave, right?

    Ye Bo was supposed to be someone originally from the Perennial World, but people from the Perennial World were not able to locate their home from among the infinite parallel universes. This was because the Perennial World had been split off from the Fifth Maind.

    This ced the people of the Perennial World in an awkward situation. Whenever they visited a parallel universe, they were unable to return home. The only way around that was to leave behind a trace on a coordinate seal.

    Ye Bo had been rescued from Aeternus Nation by Di Qiong. How could a fugitive like Ye Bo have a trace left anywhere in the Perennial World? He should be unable to visit any parallel universes, unless he tore the void open and entered one randomly. That was something that no one would do unless they needed to escape from a desperate situation.

    After thinking things through, Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. There was only one way.

    Lu Yin stepped out of his tower and looked towards the ck Mother Tree. That was where Di Qiong was located. Logically, that should also be where Di Xia and his tower stood. He had a veryrge tower that greatly exceeded the size of the one given to Ye Bo, and it even surpassed the Seven Skygods¡¯ tower in the First Scourge.

    However, Di Xia was not in his tower.

    There was no one in the Third Scourge, except Di Qiong, who knew where Di Xia actually was. Actually, Di Xia never stayed in his own tower. Instead, he stayed deep underground close to the Corpse King Monument. No one knew about this aside from Di Qiong and Di Xia himself.

    "Di Xia," or "underground," was the name that Di Qiong had given to the corpse king, and the name reflected his preference for staying underground.[1]

    Lu Yin stared at the Corpse King Monument and started moving towards it. To reach Di Xia, he needed to go past the Corpse King Monument, but it would be less conspicuous if Ye Bo went to the Corpse King Monument to cultivate.

    Lu Yin quickly arrived at the Corpse King Monument, where he proceeded to practice the Corpse King Transformation.

    The area near Ye Bo was so quiet a pin could be heard dropping. No one dared to disturb him.

    After a few days, Lu Yin casually started walking towards Di Xia. There was nothing unusual about where he was heading, and there were even a few corpse kings going that way as well.

    Coincidentally, Lu Yin saw the human traitor who had spoken to him when he had first visited the Corpse King Monument.

    The man was stunned to see Ye Bo approaching him, and he immediately turned to run away.

    Lu Yin moved forward, easily overtaking the man and cutting him off. "Why are you running?"

    The man smiled wryly. "Ah, that, Lord Ye Bo?"

    "This isn¡¯t our first time meeting," Lu Yinmented in Ye Bo¡¯s cold tone.

    The man''s face twitched. "You must be mistaken."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "You''re the genius who mastered the Corpse King Transformation within fifteen years."

    The man wanted to p himself for his loose lips. Why had he spoken to the unknown powerhouse? "Ahem, well, how can Ipare to you, Lord Ye Bo? You¡¯re currently ranked fifth on the Corpse King Monument, and you even achieved that after your first time practicing the technique."

    "Thank you for thepliment. You seem sincere. Let''s be friends."

    The man was stunned. "You- what are you saying?"

    Lu Yin made sure that he appeared genuine as he spoke. "I''m quite lonely."

    The man was stupefied, and he blinked. "You- uh, well, there¡¯s something I need to do, so I need to excuse myself."

    Lu Yin reached out and pressed a hand onto the man''s shoulder. "What''s your name?"

    The man nearly burst into tears. "Lord, please don''t toy with me! I don''t dare to be friends with you. I''m not worthy."

    Lu Yin turned to stare off into the distance. "Is that your tower?"

    The man nodded, his face showing his anguish.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "That¡¯s a great location."

    The man had no idea what Lu Yin meant by that. What was great about the location?

    "Let''s go. I want to see it."

    The man was speechless. "Lord, please let me go. I can''t take this any more!"

    Lu Yin held onto the man''s shoulder. "I''ll give you some pointers."

    <em>Can I say no?</em> The man wanted to reply, but the searing pain in his shoulder prevented him from even speaking. <em>Is there something wrong with this man? Who asks to be friends right away? Do people in Aeternus even have friends? All of us have betrayed humanity, and who wants to be friends with a traitor?</em>

    The man was a peak powerhouse who had joined Aeternus by betraying his civilization. He did not consider himself a good person. <em>Wait a minute, could Ye Bo be here to get revenge?</em>

    The more the man considered things, the more nervous and terrified he became. He felt like he had fallen into an abyss.

    The "great location" that Lu Yin had mentioned truly was a good location; it just so happened to be very close to where Di Xia was hidden underground.

    Lu Yin gave the man an odd look. If he knew that Di Xia was directly beneath his tower, would the man even be able to sleep? He might be gued by nightmares.

    The beautiful maids outside the tower saw the man return, and they immediately bowed to him.

    The man feltpletely helpless. "Lord Ye Bo, please."

    He watched as Ye Bo entered his tower. The man felt like he had very difficult days ahead of him. There was no way Xin Wu would not make some sort of trouble for him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face betrayed nothing as he entered the tower. He immediately proceeded to examine every corner of the ce.

    The owner of the tower had no idea what was going on, but he did his best to y host to Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin studied the man. "How is your mastery of the Corpse King Transformation?"

    The man answered immediately, "I¡¯ve barely reached the Red Eye Transformation."

    "You''re being modest."

    "No, not at all."

    "Let''s spar."

    The man was startled, and the scene of Xin Wu being stomped underground instantly reyed in his mind. He quickly tried to turn down the offer.

    However, Lu Yin did not even give the man the chance to speak before grabbing his neck. The man reflexively mobilized his energy reserves in an attempt to resist.

    He had cultivated a rather ordinary energy, and it could not evenpare to monarch essence. It was rather impressive that the man had been able to be a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin easily pushed through the man''s defenses and pressed down on his shoulder. This time, Lu Yin was not gentle, and the man felt a sharp pain. It felt as though half of his body was being crushed. Violence entered his eyes as they turned red, and he threw a hand at Lu Yin¡¯s face as a small weapon appeared in his grip. While the weapon was small, it was exceptionally sharp.

    Lu Yin allowed the man''s attack tond. To the man''s utter astonishment, Ye Bo was thrown out of the tower by the single attack. The tower shattered, and Lu Yin¡¯s clothes were shredded.

    The mannded on the ground. He coughed while holding his shoulder and looking around. Ye Bo charged out of the ground. "Let¡¯s go again."

    The man was startled, and he released a power that seemed simr to a Progenitor¡¯s world, but it had no effect before Lu Yin''s power. The man was smashed into the ground, directly above Di Xia¡¯s location. Lu Yin did not wait, and he chased after the man. As he moved underground, he arrived within range and Possessed Di Xia.

    Deep underground, Di Xia¡¯s eyes opened, but at that moment, the corpse king was no longer Di Xia, but rather Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up and saw the man falling down, as well as Ye Bo close behind.

    Di Xia, controlled by Lu Yin, moved past the falling man and threw an attack straight into the sky.

    Lu Yin used this opportunity to return to his body, and he twisted around, tore through the void, and disappeared.

    The moment Lu Yin disappeared, the attack from underground struck, and the sky shattered. This was Di Xia¡¯s palm strike, and it was powerful enough to draw Di Qiong¡¯s attention.

    The man appeared instantly, and asked, "What''s going on?"

    Di Xia grabbed the peak powerhouse who had fallen underground and turned to face Di Qiong. "I, don''t know."

    Di Qiong frowned and nced at the man held captive. "Was your attack aimed at this man?"

    "The target, of that palm, not him. Ye Bo.¡±

    Di Qiong was taken aback. "Ye Bo? How did he end up here? Did you hit him with your attack? Where did he go?"

    "He, reacted quickly. Escaped."

    As Di Xia had attacked while under Lu Yin¡¯s control, the corpse king had no memory ofunching the attack. However, the Possession had onlysted for a moment, and when Di Xia¡¯s consciousness returned, he had clearly felt himselfunching a palm strike, and he had also clearly seen Ye Bo tear through the void to escape.

    Di Xia tossed the man to the ground. The man had been knocked unconscious by Di Xia¡¯s palm strike simply brushing past his body.

    The man soon woke back up, and he clutched his head. He looked to be in agony.

    1. This "Di" (µÛ) is phically the same as the word for earth/ground, though they are not the same word when written. ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3066: Achieving Immortality

    Chapter 3066: Achieving Immortality

    Even with his hazy vision, the man was able to make out Di Xia. Even more shocking was that Di Qiong was also present. The man immediately bowed and greeted the ruler of the Third Scourge, ¡°Greetings, Your Excellency Di Qiong.¡±

    Di Qiong stared at the man. "What happened?"

    The man was also confused. What happened? What had just happened? Everything that had happened recently was too strange for the man.

    He thought back to when he had encountered Ye Bo and their subsequent spar. However, the man could not understand how Di Xia had suddenly appeared, apparently from underground.

    At that moment, a cosmic door opened far away.

    Di Qiong turned to look as Ye Bo returned.

    Lu Yin had raced to the Heavens Sect to inform Wang Wen of the recent developments so that he could devise a n. Lu Yin had then immediately hurried back to the Third Scourge. He did not dare to linger in the Heavens Sect for any amount of time.

    The only issue was that Lu Yin was not certain when Di Qiong and the others would attack the Five Spirits Alliance.

    Lu Yin quickly approached Di Qiong and gave the man a respectful bow. "Greetings, Di Qiong."Di Xia stared at Ye Bo, confused as to why he hadshed out at this man with a palm strike. It seemed possible that Ye Bo had disturbed Di Xia¡¯s cultivation.

    Even so, the corpse king was impressed that Ye Bo had been unharmed by the palm strike. There was a reason why Ye Bo had been able to defeat Xin Wu.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Di Qiong asked.

    Ye Bo answered nervously, ¡°I was sparring with someone when, unexpectedly, we both fell underground, where I ran into Di Xia. He attacked me with a palm, so I assumed that he was using the opportunity to help Xin Wu get revenge against me. Then, I immediately escaped¡­¡±

    Di Qiong showed no reaction after hearing the excuse that Lu Yin offered.

    The entire matter was only a minor incident. No one had known that Di Xia had been hidden underground, and it was normal for him to react reflexively when his cultivation was suddenly interrupted.

    Di Qiong left, seeing that the matter was unworthy of his concern.

    Di Xia also left. Since his location had been found, he intended to find a new ce.

    Only the man who had been sparring with Ye Bo was leftpletely baffled. "Lord Ye Bo, what just happened?"

    Lu Yin retorted coldly, "How should I know? However, it turns out that you were neighbors with Di Xia, which isn¡¯t bad, is it?"

    The man grew horrified. He would have never imagined that Di Xia had been so close by. Had the man known, he would have never built his tower there.

    Not even underground was safe. However, that begged the question, why had Di Xia been underground in the first ce?

    The man suddenly felt very nervous.

    He decided to dig up all of the ground in the surrounding area. Without being certain that it was safe, he would never be able to sleep again. Not knowing what might be hidden underground was simply too terrifying.

    "Let''s spar again sometime," Lu Yinmented before leaving the bewildered man alone. The man felt like everyone around him must have gone insane.

    After returning to his own tower, Lu Yin finally let himself breathe a deep breath of relief. The problem had been solved.

    He only needed to wait for Di Xia toe looking for Ye Bo.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s brief visit to the Heavens Sect, he had also learned that the Infinity Empire had fled from the Origin Universe.

    Truthfully, he felt that their retreat was a pity. The Infinity Empire was also a human civilization, and having additional allies in the war against Aeternus would have been of tremendous help. It was not that the Infinity Empire was particrly strong, but they did have the means to fight against sequence powerhouses. Unfortunately, they had fled too quickly.

    Lu Yin had also learned of the death of God¡¯s Domain¡¯s three elephants, which he also regretted.

    The death of the three elephants had essentially crippled God¡¯s Domain. Without the elephants, the Divine Maiden was no better than an ordinary human.

    The only good news was that God¡¯s Domain had not suffered too many casualties from Di Qiong¡¯s attack. Most of the people had been rescued.

    Karma existed in everything. Because of Lu Yin, the Sixverse Association had invaded the First Scourge, which had led to Aeternus¡¯s other Scourges sending support. That had prevented Di Qiong from immediately destroying God¡¯s Domain. Beyond that, Then, the Infinity Empire was ultimately caused Lu Yin to inadvertently arrive in God¡¯s Domain just in time to save their people.

    Simply put, things were too coincidental.

    Lu Yin looked up at the dark sky. He could not help wondering if there really was such a thing as a karmic cycle.

    Seruzen¡¯s Karmic Fruit allowed him to see people¡¯s karma, and from that, their sense of guilt. Mu Ji was able to see people¡¯s evil. Everything in existence, both material and immaterial, had its own destiny. But in that case, who determined that destiny?

    If the Lu family¡¯s exile was predetermined, then who were Lu Yin¡¯s true enemies? Was it Shao Yin and Wang Fan, or the one who had arranged everyone¡¯s destinies?

    When humanity faced destruction, should they seek revenge against Aeternus, or the one who had determined their fate?

    If things were truly destined, then was the existence of Aeternus a part of that destiny?

    If there really were predetermined destinies, then humanity as a whole was no more significant than ants.

    Lu Yin had no idea when Di Xia would look for him, so he decided to roll his die again. This time, he intended to use the power of the Arboreal Realm. Lu Yin wanted to see if he could Possess Mu Ji.

    He was extremely wary about Mu Ji, and he was not certain of the man¡¯s true intentions.

    If Lu Yin could Possess Mu Ji and learn his true goals, it would be ideal. If the man was not trustworthy, then suicide was also an option.

    When Lu Yin had Possessed Di Xia, he learned that Mu Ji had not shared his suspicions about Ye Bo with Di Qiong.

    Mu Ji had dared to curse True God, which showed that he felt no loyalty towards Aeternus. Lu Yin hoped that Mu Ji was actually a human spy who had been nted within Aeternus.

    However, if Mu Ji really was a spy, then it would mean that a significant portion of the True God Guard Captains were human spies, which would be rather pathetic of the Aeternals.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin continued to roll his die. Pilfer, Enhance, Gift Copy, Timestop; more and more rolls, but not once did he get Possession.

    Before he knew it, more than a month had gone by, and it was finally time for Di Xia¡¯s visit.

    Ye Bo cautiously looked at the corpse king.

    "No need. From what I see,st time, because I was, surprised and disturbed. I,shed out. Attacking you, was an ident," Di Xia stated.

    Lu Yin stared. "What do you want?"

    Di Xia''s face could not be made out, but Lu Yin could feel his stare. "Attack the Sixverse Association."

    Ye Bo was taken aback. "You want to attack the Sixverse Association? Just you?"

    "Us."

    "Who else?"

    "Three Pirs and Six Skies."

    Lu Yin was startled. "The Three Pirs and Six Skies are going to attack the Sixverse Association? Why?"

    Di Xia exined in a low voice, "Aeternus''s, Scourges cannot, tolerate arrogance. The Sixverse Association, attacked the Scourges, multiple times. Aeternus has, decided topletely, eliminate them. Three Pirs and Six Skies will, all take action. The Sixverse Association, will not, survive. Di Qiong asked, me to see, if you want to join. You can eliminate, your enemies in your, universe. The Lu family, right?"

    Ye Bo adamantly refused. "I''m not going."

    Di Xia''s tone suddenly changed. "Why?"

    Ye Bo¡¯s voice was earnest as he replied, "You don''t realize just how strong the Sixverse Association has be, especially the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. They are unbelievably strong. Ever since that Lu Yin took over, one peak powerhouse after another has joined them. They even managed to defeat the First Scourge. I¡¯m notmitting suicide."

    "The Three Pirs, and Six Skies, are attacking, this time," Di Xia stated.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "True God himself is currently injured and in seclusion, so there¡¯s no need to even mention the Three Pirs and Six Skies. As far as I¡¯m concerned, the Three Pirs and Six Skies have the means to protect themselves, and they won¡¯t be in any danger of dying. However, I won¡¯t be so lucky."

    Di Xia remained silent for a moment. "So, you don¡¯t, want to get, revenge anymore?"

    Lu Yin stared at Di Xia, trying to make out the corpse king¡¯s face clearly. "You know about my grudge?"

    "No. But you hate, humanity. This is, your chance."

    "I will find a way to get my revenge, but not yet. I think that joining the Divine Selection and reaching the same level as the Three Pirs and Six Skies will make it easier for me to get my revenge in the future. This won¡¯t be my only chance," Lu Yin said.

    Di Xia did not continue to try to persuade Ye Bo. "Alright, but if you, change your mind, you can find me. The Sixverse Association, will be, attacked in ten, days. They will be, wiped out."

    With that, Di Xia left.

    Lu Yin watched the corpse king leave. Ten days? That was quite an exact date. If Lu Yin had not known better, he would have absolutely taken action, even if he suspected a trap. After all, this was presented as something that concerned the continued existence of the entire Sixverse Association.

    Of course, there was another, unlikely, possibility. It was possible that the Aeternals already knew that Ye Bo was really Lu Yin and that they were deliberately using this method to lull him intocency so that the Sixverse Association would be unprotected, even after they announced the attack. However, Lu Yin felt that there was almost no chance that his real identity had been discovered, and even if it was a possibility, Wang Wen had been informed, and he and the others in the Sixverse Association would make the necessary preparations.

    If all of the Three Pirs and Six Skies moved out, it would not really matter whether or not the Sixverse Association was prepared for the attack.

    The Sixverse Association simply could not defeat the full strength of the Aeternals.

    He continued rolling his die. Lu Yin was determined to Possess Mu Ji. There were only ten days left before the attack. Lu Yin could only hope that it would be enough time.

    Luck seemed to be with him. Although Lu Yin had failed to roll Possession while waiting for Di Xia¡¯s visit, on the day that Di Qiong and the others left, Lu Yin seeded.

    He used the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power to roll the die, so when his consciousness appeared in the dark space, he only saw a single ball of light. It was not particrly bright, which meant that this person was not stronger than Lu Yin.

    He excitedly rushed towards the orb and merged with it.

    The next moment, memories started to surge into his mind, and Lu Yin opened his eyes. He was thrilled, as he really had Possessed Mu Ji. Finally, he had seeded.

    Lu Yin could not wait to look into Mu Ji¡¯s memories. Since Lu Yin had only cultivated a small bit of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power, his time was extremely limited.

    The most important thing was to confirm whether or not Mu Ji had shared his suspicions concerning Ye Bo with Progenitor Xi or anyone else. Even if Lu Yin felt that the man had kept things to himself, nothing could be more reliable than the man¡¯s own memories.

    Following that, Lu Yin looked into Mu Ji''s thoughts about Hui Wu and Wang Xiaoyu, as well as where Mu Ji¡¯s own loyalties actuallyy. All of these things were details that Lu Yin needed to confirm.

    Given his extremely limited amount of time for the Possession, Lu Yin was unable to fully review Mu Ji''s memories before the Possession ended.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. How should he put it? He felt both relieved and rather emotional.

    Humans wereplex creatures, and thisplexity also applied to their emotions, thoughts, actions, and everything else. No one could fully understand another person, because people were constantly changing.

    Naturally, this was also true of Mu Ji.

    He was a true genius, an absolute prodigy. His Roulette of Life and Death had led him to be one of Mu Shen¡¯s disciples, and it had also caused his name to be recorded in the Arboric Scriptures. This was an incredible honor for anyone in the Sixverse Association. Even in the Cyclic Universe, Mu Ji¡¯s status would have only been slightly below that of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. In many ways, it could be said that Mu Ji¡¯s path had started where many people¡¯s journeys ended.

    Mu Shen had greatly valued Mu Ji, and in order to nurture him, Mu Shen had not only meticulously taught Mu Ji cultivation arts, but Mu Shen had also made it a point to deliberately increase the young man¡¯s knowledge, sharing a great deal of information with him. Mu Ji had learned about the once peerless Heavens Sect, as well as the various rulers of the Sixverse Association. He had even learned about Ortusers and Dukkhans. In fact, Mu Ji had even learned that it was possible to achieve Immortality after one overcame Dukkha. Because of this, Mu Ji had developed an unimaginable obsession with Immortality from the very beginning.

    This was precisely why Mu Ji had ended up going down the wrong path.

    Mu Ji had once asked Mu Shen, ¡°Master, can you achieve Immortality?¡±

    Mu Shen shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve never heard of anyone in all of history reaching that level.¡±

    ¡°Can the Great Sovereign be an Immortal?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡±

    ¡°What about the once resplendent and splendid Heavens Sect? Could any of them reach Immortality?¡±

    ¡°None of them.¡±

    ¡°Who is powerful enough to reach Immortality?¡±

    Mu Shen considered the possibilities. "Right now, the one in the entire megaverse who is closest to achieving Immortality might be Aeternus¡¯s True God. That¡¯s why we are always at a disadvantage. Mu Ji, you must remember to cultivate very diligently. All of us need to do our very best to fight against Aeternus and save humanity from destruction. We must protect humanity and the Sixverse Association."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3067: Why?

    Chapter 3067: Why?

    Mu Shen''s words had shaken Mu Ji to his core. His greatest desire was to achieve Immortality, and yet he had been told that it was something beyond humans while the leader of Aeternus might be able to aplish it. This information hade from Mu Shen¡¯s master himself, but if this was true, then what was the point in staying with humanity?

    A seed had been nted, and Aeternus''ster words had made it sprout. "Whether one is human, a corpse king, or an astral beast, they are all just variations of life in the megaverse. Why cling to one of them?"

    This had led Mu Ji to betray the Arboreal Realm, and his name had been struck from the Arboric Scriptures. Mu Shen had been furious, as the Arboreal Realm had lost a cultivator with an unparalleled innate gift. Aeternus, on the other hand, had gained a True God Guard Captain.

    When Lu Yin saw the memories, the first thing he thought of was how Ancestor Lu Yuan had not mentioned anything about oveing Dukkha. Lu Yuan had thought that telling Lu Yin too soon could affect his cultivation. At the time, Lu Yin had not paid much attention to the matter, but it seemed that his ancestor had some foresight.

    There were certain things that should not be learned too early.

    Mu Shen had cared too much about Mu Ji and had wanted to guide him in every aspect. In doing so, Mu Shen had cultivated Mu Ji''s desire to transcend and achieve Immortality, but he had failed to guide him onto the right path.

    Mu Ji was a traitor. There was no question about it. However, he did not fully support Aeternus. Rather, he wanted to transcend. Since he had been able to betray the Arboreal Realm, he was just as capable of betraying Aeternus.

    All that Mu Ji truly wanted from the Aeternals was True God''s ultimate techniques, and that was because those techniques could lead to transcendence. Mu Ji¡¯s purpose was very clear.

    At his core, Mu Ji held no loyalty to Aeternus, which was why he had casually insulted True God. He was arrogant because his starting point was much higher than others¡¯. How many people had spent their entire lives without even knowing about the existence of peak powerhouses? Mu Ji had only started cultivating when his name was added to the Arboric Scriptures and he had learned about Immortality.His arrogance was why he was determined to find a way to obtain True God''s ultimate techniques on his own, rather than expose Lu Yin and Hui Wu and receive the Aeternals¡¯ rewards. Everyone had their own unique personality. If Shao Yin had suspected Ye Bo, then Lu Yin would have been exposed long ago. How long would Mu Ji be able to endure for?

    Lu Yin had also discovered that Mu Ji had purposely been put beneath theke of divine energy. He had made sure to be sent there so that he could search for True God''s ultimate techniques beneath theke. Before that, Mu Ji had already searched through the three rivers of divine energy that flowed across the First Scourge. After that, he had thought that theke was the only other location where the ultimate techniques could be hidden. However, thatke was where the frenzied corpses were kept, and no one was allowed into theke.

    Mu Ji had spent hundreds of years in theke of divine energy for the sake of searching for True God''s ultimate techniques. In order to transcend, Mu Ji had readily betrayed the Arboreal Realm, and he would also dly join forces with Lu Yin and even curse True God. This was Mu Ji. He was a man with nothing but his own goals. He was emotionless, extraordinarily arrogant, and utterly amoral.

    He waspletely insane.

    Lu Yin understood why Mu Ji would not share his suspicions about Ye Bo with Progenitor Xi. He had also remained silent about Hui Wu and Wang Xiaoyu because he wanted there to be a few people within Aeternus who could potentially work with him. For him, spies for humanity were the best options.

    Mu Ji did not trust people who had defected to Aeternus by betraying humanity, and corpse kings werepletely impossible to cooperate with. Ye Bo and the others were Mu Ji¡¯s only options. There was another even more important point: Mu Ji had his own ambitions. It was fine for him to betray humanity, but his goal was to eventually obtain True God''s ultimate techniques and then return to humanity.

    In order to return to humanity, Mu Ji knew that he would have to pay a price. For that reason, he wanted to establish his own power within Aeternus. This goal was even more insane than wanting to obtain True God''s ultimate techniques, but it was still part of Mu Ji¡¯s thoughts and goals.

    While Lu Yin was uniting various human forces on one side of the war, Mu Ji was doing the same within Aeternus.

    However, there was one detail that allowed Lu Yin to breathe a sigh of relief; Mu Ji was not nearly as confident about his suspicions as he had made it seem to Ye Bo. The evil that Mu Ji could see was merely a general impression. The reason why Mu Ji had acted so certain about Ye Bo being Lu Yin was simply because Mu Ji had been stalling for time and the entire thing had been a bluff. The only thing that Mu Ji was certain of was that Wang Xiaoyu possessed very little evil. After Hui Wu left the First Scourge, Corpse God had been gravely injured, which had led to Mu Ji¡¯s guess about that man¡¯s identity, but everything was nothing more than a bluff.

    The man was incredibly shrewd.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, thinking about the best way to use Mu Ji. Unfortunately, if not for the time constraints caused by how little of the Arboreal Realm''s power Lu Yin had cultivated, he would have tried tomit suicide while Possessing the man and simply dealt with him in that manner. Suicide was not easy during Possession, and there were certain powerhouses who found it difficult to die. With such a brief Possession, Lu Yin had no way to force Mu Ji to sessfullymit suicide.

    The following day, Di Qiong returned, but there had been no reaction from the Sixverse Association. They appeared to be unaware of any impending attack, which meant that neither Ye Bo nor Mu Ji were spies.

    On the First Scourge¡¯s side, Dual deform, Marquis Wu, and Marquis Wang were also cleared of being spies.

    Lu Yin had known that the attack was a fake, but he had still made it a point to tell Wang Wen about it for another reason: he had been worried that Hui Wu would also be tested.

    Aeternus most likely intended to test all the True God Guard Captains since they were already testing Ye Bo. If Hui Wu had told the Sixverse Association that they were going to be attacked, he would have been exposed. However, if the Sixverse Association knew the truth of the matter, then even if Hui Wu managed to warn them, the Sixverse Association would not react, as they were aware that the news of the attack was a test.

    With the test over, the next major event would be the attack on the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. While he had made preparations for this attack, he was still nervous.

    He had no idea how Wang Wen and the others would prepare for it.

    Another day passed, and again, Di Qiong and Di Xia left the Third Scourge. Lu Yin left his tower and moved towards Mu Ji. After all, Lu Yin already knew where Mu Ji was.

    It did not take long to find the man.

    Mu Ji looked at Ye Bo. "Ye Bo? What''s wrong? Have you figured things out?"

    ¡­

    Figures appeared in the Luna Alliance¡¯s universe. Among them were Di Qiong and Di Xia. The Aeternals had expected their attack to be a ruthless ughter, but they were not met by the Luna Alliance. Rather, Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and other peak powerhouses from the Sixverse Association appeared.

    It was clear that something was very wrong.

    At the entrance of the First Scourge, Sovereign Dou Sheng raised his golden cudgel and mmed it down. "Let¡¯s go again, First Scourge!"

    Sovereign Dou Sheng then invaded the First Scourge.

    At this same time, in the Third Scourge, Lu Yin walked towards Mu Ji. "You want to find True God''s ultimate techniques?"

    "What? Are you going to be open about things?"

    "I don''t know what you were talking about before, or who the person you think I am is, but I also want to find True God''s techniques. I have a map of the divine energykes and rivers, which might be helpful," Lu Yin said. He was already about eight meters away from Mu Ji.

    The man frowned. "Such a thing is useless. It¡¯s impossible for True God''s ultimate techniques to be in some corner that you can make out with a map. You shouldn¡¯t even say something like that."

    "What if the map covers thekes and rivers of all six Scourges?"

    "What did you just say? A map of all six Scourges?" Mu Ji was surprised.

    Lu Yin remained calm, "Since True God has apparently hidden his techniques under divine energy, there has to be some sort of pattern to it. Only True God can see where thekes and rivers of divine energy are across all six Scourges, but with this map, we can see it as well."

    A burning desire lit up in Mu Ji''s eyes. He did not care about a map of the flow of divine energy across one Scourge, but one that showed it across all six Scourges was something different.

    "Show me."

    Lu Yin took a step forward. He was only five meters away, and his vision shifted. He took control of Mu Ji''s body, brought out the Roulette of Life and Death, and spun it. At the same time, Mu Ji grabbed Ye Bo, who seemed unable to resist. His neck was held by Mu Ji, and Ye Bo was unable to move.

    While Possessing Mu Ji, Lu Yin tore through the void. At that exact moment, his consciousness returned to his own body, and Mu Ji woke up. He felt terribly confused; why was he grabbing Ye Bo¡¯s neck?

    Before Mu Ji could react, Lu Yin threw a palm strike, pushing Mu Ji into the spatial tear.

    Everything happened in an instant. Lu Yin had yed things out in his mind many times before. He wanted the exchange to be seen by others so that it would be reported to Di Qiong.

    From an outside perspective, Mu Ji had suddenly attacked Ye Bo, and Ye Bo had not expected anything and had been unable to resist for a moment. By the time he reacted, Mu Ji had used Ye Bo''s attack to flee into the spatial tear.

    Everything yed out smoothly. Mu Ji had been the one to tear through the void, which made it look like he had nned to escape in advance.

    After Mu Ji disappeared through the tear in the void, someone raced over, arriving the very next instant. It was the woman whom Lu Yin had seen at the Wu Tian Observatory. She was Fei, the Third Scourge¡¯s most powerful expert after Di Xia.

    Di Qiong really had left someone behind to watch Ye Bo.

    "What''s going on?" Fei shouted as she stared at Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin coughed. "I don''t know! He suddenly attacked me and stole my cosmic ring."

    Fei looked and saw that Ye Bo¡¯s finger was bleeding. His cosmic ring? She was about to ask something else, but at that moment, a terrifying aura descended in the distance. "Not good!"

    In the center of the Third Scourge¡¯s Aeternus Kingdoms, a cosmic door activated, and Lu Yuan stepped through. He appeared right after Mu Ji left, and he even used Ye Bo¡¯s cosmic door, which had been stolen by Mu Ji.

    As Lu Yuan emerged from the cosmic door, he saw the chained form of Wu Tian. Despite already expecting this sight, seeing Wu Tian''s current condition forced a roar from Lu Yuan. "Wu Tian!!"

    Above the Wu Tian Observatory, Wu Tian''s eyes snapped open, and he let out a hoarse sound of utter surprise, "Loam?"[1]

    Lu Yuan was instantly right in front of Wu Tian. "I''ll take you back."

    "Wait."

    Wu Tian wanted to say something, but Fei tore through the void and arrived from the distance. The moment she appeared, she kicked at Lu Yuan. The man casually knocked her back, but then Ye Bo appeared. A surge of divine energy erupted as he also attacked Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan showed no mercy, raising a hand and mming it back down.

    The sky and ground below both froze as Ye Bo¡¯s body was mmed down by the hand. Fei raced to intervene, and she barely managed to drag Ye Bo out of harm¡¯s way. The Aeternus Kingdom within range of the attack was reduced to dust, and the entire Third Scourge trembled beneath Lu Yuan''s might. No one could stop him.

    The man casually tore the chains apart and prepared to take Wu Tian away.

    Wu Tian fell, and his skin tore open. At the moment, his body was extremely fragile, and yet he could not die for some reason.

    Lu Yuan grabbed Wu Tian, but Wu Tian clutched at Lu Yuan''s arm, and bloodshot eyes looked up at Lu Yuan. "If I could leave this ce, I would have done so long ago, Lu Yuan. I am bearing fate. Leave."

    Far away, Fei''s two pupils vanished as she underwent a Pupilless Transformation before charging straight at Lu Yuan.

    The man did not even look at his attacker as a Hidden Needle appeared in his hand before it pierced the void. Fei tried to dodge, but she was unable to do so. The Hidden Needle ignored the distance, and it pierced Fei''s body and pinned her to the ground. Blood stained the earth.

    "What are you saying?" Lu Yuan stared at Wu Tian in disbelief.

    Wu Tian pushed Lu Yuan away. "Go!"

    At this moment, the divine energy from all of thekes and rivers in the Third Scourge rose up and surged towards the Wu Tian Observatory.

    Lu Yuan released Wu Tian and then clenched his fists. The void tore open, but Lu Yuan looked back. "Don''t die."

    With that, he stepped through the spatial tear and vanished.

    A short distance away, Lu Yin felt incredibly puzzled. Why had Lu Yuan not saved Wu Tian? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why had Wu Tian not been rescued? What was Ancestor Lu Yuan doing?<ol><li>

    ÎÖÍÁ = fertile soil. Given the context, Loam fits for the name that Lu Yuan was given by the Origin Progenitor. ?</li></ol><blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3068: Choosing One

    Chapter 3068: Choosing One

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. He could not help himself from half-copsing to the ground as he gasped for air.

    Di Qiong appeared in the sky above Lu Yin. Aeternus had returned.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had clearly been prepared for the attack, which meant that the Aeternals had been betrayed. They had tested all the suspected spies, but this betrayal made it clear that the Sixverse Association had to have a spy in Aeternus. This was not something that could be ignored.

    Wu Tian had nearly been rescued.

    Di Qiong surveyed the ground below, and he immediately noticed Ye Bo¡¯s crouching form, as well as Fei, who was pinned to the ground. Finally, Di Qiong turned to stare at Wu Tian. Frowning, the man descended to the Wu Tian Observatory.

    There, Di Qiong faced Wu Tian.

    The man was lying on the tform, staring up at the dark sky. He lookedpletely exhausted.

    Di Qiong asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take the chance to escape?¡±

    ¡°Tired.¡±¡°You could have escaped.¡±

    Wu Tian stopped responding.

    A cold glint flickered in Di Qiong''s eyes. "In this ce, you are subjected to constant torture. You are Wu Tian, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Are you really content to live like this?"

    Wu Tian slowly picked himself up so that he could sit on the Wu Tian Observatory. He looked up at Di Qiong. "You arepletely pathetic."

    Di Qiong''s eyes narrowed. He was clearly upset by thisment.

    "How long have you held me prisoner for? You¡¯ve used my strength to rise up to your current position. The Three Pirs and Six Skies areparable to us Three Realms and Six Daos. We seem to be equal, but are we really?" Wu Tian''s voice sounded old and hoarse, yet it was also fearless. "Do you know why I don''t leave? I know, and so does Loam, but you don''t. You Three Pirs and Six Skies are all ignorant. What makes you equal to us?

    "In the grand scheme of things, you are nothing."

    Di Qiong suddenly reached out and mmed Wu Tian¡¯s head down. ¡°I¡¯m the one with the knife now, while you¡¯re nothing but a piece of rotten meat! Don¡¯t speak to me of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Just who do you think you are? Do you really think that you¡¯re the same person you once were? Your disciple has be one of the Seven Skygods, betraying humanity. What good are you anymore? If I want, I can kill you at any time. I only keep you alive in order to torture you. Do you really think that you¡¯re the one who created tools and weapons? That was only in your universe.¡±

    Wu Tian¡¯s face was pressed to the floor of the tform. It looked humiliating. He was someone who was constantly being tortured, and yet he forced out a smile. "You really are pathetic."

    Di Qiong''s pupils suddenly shrank as his anger spiked.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin rose to his feet. "My lord, Mu Ji is the traitor."

    Di Qiong continued to stare at Wu Tian, who ignored the man while staring off into the distance. Wu Tian seemed to be lost in thought.

    After a while, Di Qiong released Wu Tian and sent him flying with a kick. The man crashed into the ruins of a city wall, and Di Qiong contemptuously said, "I decide when you die. Wu Tian? What a joke."

    He suddenly appeared beside Fei and Ye Bo, grabbing them and taking them away.

    Lu Yin felt incredibly puzzled. Why had Wu Tian not taken the opportunity to escape? He had chosen to remain at the Wu Tian Observatory.

    "What happened here? Exin," Di Qiong demanded coldly. Aeternus had beenpletely deceived. The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had been well-prepared for the attack, Sovereign Dou Sheng had forced his way into the First Scourge, and Wu Tian had nearly been rescued.

    While it was unknown why Wu Tian had not left, Di Qiong became increasingly unsettled by that fact. Wu Tian''s refusal to escape was bing a thorn in Di Qiong¡¯s heart.

    Lu Yin shared all that had happened with Di Qiong.

    Despite her severe injuries, Fei did not receive immediate treatment so that she could also share her observations with Di Qiong.

    Frowning, Di Qiong asked, "So, Lu Yuan entered my Third Scourge using the cosmic door that you were given?"

    Lu Yin replied gravely, "Yes. Mu Ji suddenly attacked me, and his innate ability is unique enough that he caught me off guard, and he was able to take control of me long enough to steal my cosmic ring before escaping.

    "Was Mu Ji not given a cosmic door to the Third Scourge?"

    Di Qiong''s expression turned frigid. "Mu Ji? Of course not. He''s a True God Guard Captain who was injured in the First Scourge. Progenitor Xi sent him here, but since he doesn¡¯t belong to the Third Scourge, he was never given a cosmic door."

    When testing the True God Guard Captains to see if they were moles, Mu Ji had not been given a cosmic door, as if he had been a human spy, he would not have bothered to return to the Scourge even if he had a cosmic door.

    Ye Bo had been given a cosmic door because of how well suited he was for the Corpse King Transformation. Di Qiong genuinely appreciated this talent, and since Ye Bo had already cultivated divine energy, Di Qiong had beenpletely certain that Ye Bo could not possibly be a traitor.

    As the events had seemingly proven, Mu Ji was the traitor.

    He had stolen Ye Bo''s cosmic ring to help Lu Yuan rescue Wu Tian. However, why had Mu Ji not informed the Sixverse Association of the announced attack during that earlier test? How had Mu Ji known that Aeternus was actually targeting the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance?

    Fei went into seclusion. Her injuries were far too severe, as Lu Yuan had shown her no mercy whatsoever. While it had looked like Ye Bo had also been viciously attacked, that bit had been staged.

    This was why Fei''s injuries were far more serious than Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Lu Yin soon returned to his tower as well. Aeternus waspletely certain that Mu Ji was the traitor, and he would never be able to return, as there was no denying that Mu Ji had stolen Ye Bo¡¯s cosmic ring.

    Forget the Third Scourge¡ªMu Ji would never be able to return to even the First Scourge.

    To get to the First Scourge, it was necessary to pass through the Endless Frontier and then go past Sovereign Dou Sheng. Would Mu Ji dare to take that risk?

    Mu Ji had be Lu Yin¡¯s scapegoat.

    However, doing this was quite risky for Lu Yin, as if Mu Ji had the means to contact Progenitor Xi, Lu Yin would absolutely be exposed.

    Lu Yin had wanted to rescue Wu Tian and then leave himself, as the identity of Ye Bo would have served its full potential then. Unexpectedly, Ancestor Lu Yuan had not taken Wu Tian from the Third Scourge, and this caused Lu Yin¡¯s ns to change. He wanted to check on Wu Tian after a bit of time so that he could understand what was really happening.

    Di Qiong went to visit the First Scourge.

    "Where is Gu Yizhi?"

    Progenitor Xi stared at Di Qiong. "Mu Ji or Ye Bo?"

    Di Qiong felt rather puzzled. "Why would you suspect Ye Bo? He has cultivated divine energy."

    Progenitor Xi calmly replied, "Until we know for sure, everyone is suspect."

    "Mu Ji."

    Progenitor Xi showed no sign of surprise. "It¡¯s true that he was a stronger possibility. What about Wu Tian?"

    "He didn''t leave. He chose to stay, despite having the opportunity to leave with Lu Yuan."

    This did surprise Progenitor Xi. "He chose not to leave? Why?"

    Di Qiong shook his head. "That¡¯s what I wanted to ask you."

    "You think I know?"

    "You should know better than me."

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "You''re mistaken. I don''t know."

    Di Qiong observed Progenitor Xi and then said, "He told me that the Three Pirs and Six Skies can''tpare to the Three Realms and Six Daos and that he refused to leave because the Three Realms and Six Daos know something that the Three Pirs and Six Skies don''t."

    Progenitor Xi became lost in her thoughts, and she stared at ake of divine energy. "There¡¯s an inherent inferiority."

    Di Qiong frowned. "I¡¯m not any weaker than Wu Tian!"

    Progenitor Xi replied in an unruffled manner, "It¡¯s not simply about strength. Even if you stand on the same level, you have no path forward, whereas he does."

    Di Qiong''s eyes flickered. "You should know what he was talking about. You were also one of the peak figures of that era. You were in no way inferior to the Three Realms and Six Daos."

    Progenitor Xi shrugged. "But I have fallen."

    Di Qiong started to say something more, but Progenitor Xi cut him off. "You can go back now. Even if Gu Yizhi knows, he won''t tell you."

    Di Qiong stared at Progenitor Xi for a long moment. "I don¡¯t care whether you know or not. Wu Tian''s life and death can still be decided at my whim, and he will not get another opportunity like this."

    Progenitor Xi said nothing.

    Right before Di Qiong left, he suddenly asked, "Has the First Scourge confirmed your representative for the Divine Selection?"

    Progenitor Xi spoke while her back remained facing the man, "It''s confirmed."

    Di Qiong moved away and vanished.

    Only after he was gone did Ancient God arrive. "He really tries topare himself to the Three Realms and Six Daos at every turn."

    Progenitor Xi looked over at Ancient God. "Why didn''t Wu Tian leave?"

    Ancient God shook his head. "I don''t know. If Lu Yuan knew that he would refuse, he would not have risked trying to rescue Wu Tian. Something must have been said when they met. If Wu Tian mentioned the same thing to me, I might understand, but without knowing what they talked about, I won¡¯t know. You don''t know either?"

    Progenitor Xi replied, "Of course not."

    "Then none of us know," Ancient God concluded.

    ¡­

    Di Qiong returned to the Third Scourge with an irritated expression on his face. Not only had he not received any answers from Progenitor Xi, but he also felt like the woman had mocked him.

    He steeled his resolve. He was determined to humiliate the First Scourge during the next Divine Selection.

    Since the First Scourge was so certain that they were the strongest of the six Scourges, Di Qiong intended to humble them.

    He summoned Di Xia and Fei and examined the woman¡¯s injuries.

    It was clear that she was in terrible condition, and Di Qiong frowned. ¡°Will you recover in time for the Divine Selection?¡±

    Fei thought for a moment, but then she had to inform Di Qiong that she would need more time.

    Di Qiong understood that Fei was essentially incapacitated. In fact, she was lucky to have even survived Lu Yuan¡¯s Hidden Needle.

    Like the other Scourges, the Third Scourge did not have very many truly powerful experts. The First Scourge was the only exception, and the Fourth Scourge had lost all of its most powerful individuals.

    Di Xia most likely surpassed the experts that the other Scourges would send for the Divine Selection, but the First Scourge was different. There was no telling how strong their representative would be. Fei¡¯s injuries made it clear that she was not even close to being able to match Di Xia for the time being, and with her incapacitated, Di Qiong¡¯s Third Scourge would fall to a disadvantage for the Divine Selection.

    After considering different possibilities, Di Qiong dismissed the idea of sending Xin Wu.

    Instead, Di Qiong¡¯s thoughts turned to Ye Bo. Ye Bo had only overpowered Xin Wu once, but that did not mean that Ye Bo was necessarily stronger. However, Ye Bo possessed a phenomenal talent for cultivating divine energy.

    What was the Aeternals most potent weapon? Divine energy.

    This indicated that Ye Bo might be a suitable recement for Fei as a representative for the Third Scourge.

    Still, Di Qiong was not certain. ¡°Are you sure that you won¡¯t be able to recover?¡±

    ¡°At best, I can regain 80% of my full strength,¡± Fei replied.

    Di Qiong shook his head. That would not be enough for Fei to measure up to the other Scourges¡¯ representatives. He asked another question, ¡°What do you think of Ye Bo?¡±

    Di Xia spoke up, ¡°He was, able to dodge, my attack. Not bad.¡±

    Fei jumped in, ¡°I defeated him at the Marital Viewing tform before. It will be difficult for him to match me any time soon.¡±

    Di Qiong knew that recing Fei would be difficult, but he also saw this as an opportunity. It was already extremely unlikely that Fei would emerge victorious during the Divine Selection, so Di Qiong considered using the event to test Ye Bo. If Ye Bo failed to surpass Fei, the Third Scourge would only be able to rely on Di Xia.

    Di Qiong¡¯s thoughts circled as he dismissed Di Xia and Fei and went to speak with Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin was in his tower, and Di Qiong¡¯s sudden appearance startled Lu Yin, and he almost reflexively fled, afraid that he had been caught.

    ¡°How are your injuries, Ye Bo?¡± Di Qiong asked immediately.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and then respectfully answered, ¡°Thank you for your concern. They are manageable.¡±

    Di Qiongmented, ¡°Surviving one of Lu Yuan¡¯s attacks with such minor injuries is quite the miracle.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly noted that he had been protected by his divine energy, which had allowed him to dodge while Lu Yuan was focused on Wu Tian.

    ¡°I know, Fei already told me. She also saved you,¡± Di Qiong added.

    ¡°Yes. Without Fei, I definitely would have died,¡± Lu Yin acknowledged.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3069: Closure

    Chapter 3069: Closure

    This was another reason why Di Qiong had not suspected Ye Bo. If Fei had not saved him at thest moment, Lu Yuan''s palm strike would have ended Ye Bo''s life.

    If Ye Bo were actually a human spy within Aeternus, why would Lu Yuan be so vicious?

    "What orders do you have for me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Di Qiong exined, "The Divine Selection is about to begin, but Fei was severely injured by Lu Yuan. Most likely, she will not be able to participate. I want to see if you can rece her for the selection."

    Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly refused. "I¡¯ve sparred with Fei before, and even if she is injured, there¡¯s very little chance of me being able to defeat her. If I''m not mistaken, Fei is a sequence powerhouse, isn¡¯t she?"

    Di Qiong, sped his hands behind his back. "There are times when being a sequence powerhouse doesn''t necessarily mean that a person is extremely powerful. You True God Guard Captains have killed more than one sequence powerhouse before, so you should understand this."

    "Still, I am clearly not a match for Fei."

    "Just give it a try. Cultivate as much divine energy as you possibly can. Fei is unable to cultivate divine energy, which is her greatest w."

    Thisment took Lu Yinpletely off guard. "Fei can''t cultivate divine energy?"Thinking back, it was true that, when Lu Yuan had appeared in the Third Scourge, Fei had never once used even a bit of divine energy. On the other hand, both Xin Wu and Di Xia had used divine energy.

    Di Qiongmented, "Not everyone is able to cultivate divine energy. Fei has an incredible talent for the Corpse King Transformation, and despite being a human, she¡¯s reached the Pupilless Transformation, which is incredibly rare. It¡¯s hard to find anyone in any of the other Scourges with her level of talent, but unfortunately, she is unable to cultivate divine energy, which means that she is unable to progress much further."

    Lu Yin was reminded of Hui Wu, who had been quite proud of himself for mastering the Pupilless Transformation as a human. It turned out that the Third Scourge had Fei, who was capable of the same thing.

    After practicing the Corpse King Transformation himself, Lu Yin understood just how challenging the technique was. Not only had Fei mastered the Pupilless Transformation, but she had done so while retaining her emotions, which was extremely rare. Lu Yin had no idea how she or Hui Wu had aplished such a thing.

    It was indeed an aplishment to be proud of.

    Di Qiong stared at Lu Yin. "Join the Divine Selection. Six people will be chosen for the final battle, and the final victor will be eligible to be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies when a position opens up. If any of us die, the winner will immediately rece them. Even if the winner does not join the Three Pirs and Six Skies, they will be at the same level as the First Scourge¡¯s Seven Skygods. You should understand their importance.

    "The Seven Skygods enjoy a status within Aeternus that is in no way inferior to us Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    "On top of that, there is even a chance for the victor to be True God¡¯s disciple, which means inheriting his ultimate techniques. Cultivating any of those techniques will let one¡¯s strength reach a terrifying level." At this point while speaking, Di Qiong seemed to remember something, and both wariness and tant envy filled his eyes. He also wanted to cultivate those ultimate techniques, but obtaining them was difficult for even the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    True God was the one who decided who was allowed to cultivate his ultimate techniques. The only other option was to find where they had been hidden, but not even Di Qiong would hope to be that lucky.

    Wei Shu and Mu Ji were far from the only individuals in Aeternus who were scouring the six Scourges for the ultimate techniques. Even the Three Pirs and Six Skies wanted to find them.

    Opportunities like the Divine Selection only came once in a lifetime.

    Lu Yin respectfully replied, "I would be honored to represent the Third Scourge during the Divine Selection, but I cannot promise you that I will win. After all, the other participants are likely sequence powerhouses."

    "That''s why I''m telling you to focus on cultivating divine energy," Di Qiong replied in a cold voice. "Divine energy can suppress sequence particles, which is your only chance. The strongest power in Aeternus is always divine energy. It might be the mostmon energy avable, but it¡¯s also powerful enough to turn defeat into victory and propel you to greater heights. I want you to participate in the Divine Selection, but even if you can¡¯t win, I don¡¯t want you to be eliminated too quickly. If you fail to do this, there will no longer be a Ye Bo in the Third Scourge. We don¡¯t have many frenzied corpses here, which is why we constantly need to add more."

    With that, Di Qiong left.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He genuinely had no confidence inpeting against sequence powerhouses, especially if he had to maintain the identity of Ye Bo. He would basically be rushing to his death.

    Since this was not possible, it looked like Lu Yin needed to meet with Wu Tian soon, or possibly just leave.

    That would be a pity, as he had just made Mu Ji be his scapegoat, and leaving felt a waste. After thinking for a moment, he clenched a fist and decided to roll his die again. He hoped to roll Possession and Possess Di Xia. After that, he would simplymit suicide. One way or another, Lu Yin intended to eliminate a powerful enemy.

    If at all possible, he would use his die in this manner much more frequently. Regardless of how many peak powerhouses belonged to Aeternus, the Aeternals could not afford to let Lu Yin eliminate their experts in such a manner.

    There were only a few days remaining before Lu Yin could roll his die again. He needed to roll six pips, kill Di Xia, and leave.

    Aeternus¡¯s Scourges were cold and emotionless ces. This was true of both the First and Third Scourges, and it also applied to all the others. The Scourges rarely interacted with each other. It was only during the Divine Selection that the Scourges were allowed any sort of major interactions.

    One day, dark clouds appeared above the Third Scourge, and they fell from the sky as they moved towards the ck Mother Tree.

    The moment the clouds appeared, Lu Yin suddenly felt his heart palpitate. He felt an inexplicable difort, almost as if he had been tossed underwater and was unable to breathe.

    He looked out from his tower at the sky. What was that dark cloud?

    Across the entire Third Scourge, most of the corpse kings, humans, and other creatures looked up at the sky and watched the cloud move.

    Close to the ck Mother Tree, Di Qiong stood silently as he watched the clouds approach. They started to shrink and condense, until the cloud was only a few dozen meters across. A single eyeball appeared inside the cloud, and it stared at Di Qiong while a strangeugh rang out.

    Di Qiong frowned. "Xu Jin, what are you doing in my Third Scourge?"

    "Did I hear right? Were you guys yed by the Sixverse Association again? So? Did you find the traitor?"

    Di Qiong''s voice turned cold. "That¡¯s none of your business."

    "Heh, we¡¯re both part of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, so how is this not my concern? I mean, how could there be a traitor? Especially here in your Third Scourge, where all of your people cultivate the Corpse King Transformation and have no emotions. How could you have a traitor?"

    Di Qiong sped his hands behind his back. "The traitor was from the First Scourge. He was never one of mine."

    "And yet the incident happened while he was in your Third Scourge."

    "Just what are you trying to say?"

    "I heard that the Sixverse Association tried to take Wu Tian away, but he refused to leave. Is that true?"

    Di Qiong stared at the eyeball, which rotated about in an eerie manner. "What if it is?"

    The eyeball spun around again before the pupil focused on the Martial Viewing tform. "Interesting¡­ Very interesting. It looks like Wu Tian''s decision to stay here in the Third Scourge wasn''t because he was forced by you¡ªhe simply doesn¡¯t want to leave. Di Qiong, you''ve always been extremely proud of yourself for capturing Wu Tian. You¡¯ve spent years bragging about it. Tell me, do you feel like you were just pped in the face? Heh!"

    A dangerous light glinted in Di Qiong''s eyes. "What exactly do you want to say? You aren¡¯t wee in the Third Scourge."

    The eyeball turned back to stare at Di Qiong again. "I want Wu Tian."

    "Impossible," Di Qiong bluntly refused.

    A red beam emerged from the eyeball¡¯s pupil. "You''ve kept Wu Tian here for long enough, so why not give him to me? You''ve gained everything you could from him, and you¡¯ve even transformed your own Progenitor¡¯s World. Di Qiong, you''ve already be another Wu Tian, and we all call you Dark Wu Tian. He is no longer of any real use to you."

    Di Qiong replied, "Regardless, I¡¯m not giving him to you."

    "What if I insist?" The dark clouds suddenly surged, enveloping the entire Third Scourge.

    Di Qiong''s eyes red, and a long spear appeared in his hand, the tip pointed straight at the dark clouds. "Take him by force, if you can. Go ahead, destroy the Third Scourge while you¡¯re at it. Are you able to do that, Xu Jin?"

    The dark clouds churned. It looked like the apocalypse had arrived, and countless people across the Third Scourge grew scared and started to panic.

    Di Xia, Fei, and Xin Wu all stepped out and looked up at the dark clouds.

    All of the peak powerhouses in their tall towers felt their hearts quiver. The dark clouds above them brought about an indescribable sense of danger. This was a powerhouse equal to Di Qiong.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the dark clouds. This was another one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Slowly but surely, Lu Yin was uncovering the true strength of the Aeternals.

    The dark clouds threatened the entire Third Scourge, but Di Qiong remained unfazed.

    After a while, the dark clouds receded. "Forget it, I''m really not entirely sure I can take you on. However, Di Qiong, you might have stopped me, but what about the next one? All of them want Wu Tian as well. Show us why Wu Tian won¡¯t leave. You¡¯re not the only one who wants to be equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos. All of us want to know how our understanding differs from that of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    "You don¡¯t want your Third Scourge to be targeted by the other Scourges, do you?"

    Di Qiong lowered his spear. "I will find out why Wu Tian won¡¯t leave, and I will then tell you."

    "Heh, waiting isn''t our style. Why don¡¯t we make a bet? Let''s gamble on the Divine Selection. If your representatives win, I''ll agree to anything you want, but if you lose, you¡¯ll have to send Wu Tian to my Second Scourge."

    "Why should I bother making any wagers with you?"

    "If you don''t, it¡¯s possible that your Corpse King Monument just might copse."

    Di Qiong shot a vicious re at the eyeball, which stared back at him.

    "Fine. What¡¯s the bet?"

    "I choose what we¡¯re wagering, so you can suggest the win conditions you want."

    Di Qiong''s expression fell. Xu Jin''s confidence meant that the Second Scourge''s representatives were very strong. "If both of the Second Scourge¡¯s representatives seed and both of the Third Scourge¡¯s fail, you win."

    These were truly unreasonable conditions. Even if Xu Jiean waspletely confident in his Second Scourge, requiring both of his representatives to win while having both of the Third Scourge''s people fail was too unlikely. The Divine Selection was not some tournament, but it did have specific rules, and winning depended a bit on luck.

    Di Qiong intended to use that detail to push back at Xu Jin.

    However, Xu Jin surprisingly agreed, "Fine. If that makes you happy, heh."

    Di Qiong''s expression soured even further. "You agree? Are your Second Scourge¡¯s representatives really that powerful? No matter how confident I am in Di Xia, I can¡¯t say for sure that he will seed. Aeternus has held many Divine Selections, and each time, only our strongest participate. I myself rose to power from one of them, so I am well aware of just how brutal they are, especially the portion at the Immemorial Citadel. Even I can¡¯t ensure my own survival if I go back to that ce now."

    "Our wager has been agreed upon. Di Qiong, a word of advice: don''t bring anyone else in, or else you won''t only be betting against me." As soon as those words were spoken, the dark clouds instantly dissipated. The eyeball itself transformed into dust and vanished.

    Di Qiong immediately activated the Third Scourge''s sourcebox array, sealing off both its entry and exit.

    Xu Jin was not the only one interested in the matter with Wu Tian, and Di Qiong was nervous about the bet he had just made. Fei was badly injured, and Di Qiong had not made a final decision on the second participant for the Divine Selection. If he was forced to bet against the other Scourges, he would essentially be cing the Third Scourge against all the other Scourges. Under those conditions, he would not have any way to win.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3070: Setting Sun

    Chapter 3070: Setting Sun

    The sudden sealing of the Third Scourge caused Lu Yin''s heart to sink. Not only was he unable to return to the Origin Universe now, but he also could not even leave the Third Scourge.

    While it was possible for Lu Yin to simply tear through the void, doing so would take time, and Di Qiong would easily be able to find Lu Yin and attack him.

    What had happened to make Di Qiong seal off the Third Scourge?

    As Lu Yin was wondering, Di Qiong made an unexpected appearance.

    Lu Yin was startled. Was Di Qiong going to attack him?

    Di Qiong stared at Ye Bo. "This particr Divine Selection is crucial to me. I don¡¯t have the time to let you slowly develop your power. I need to choose between you and Fei now. So, Ye Bo, show me just how impressive your talent for divine energy is. Show me that you¡¯re worth nurturing."

    With that, the man grabbed Lu Yin and flung him into ake of divine energy.

    With a ssh, Lu Yin sank into theke.

    Di Qiong stood at the side of theke, looking contemtive. If Ye Bo¡¯s talent for cultivating divine energy proved insufficient, Di Qiong would instead focus on helping Fei recover from her injuries and improving herbat strength as much as possible.Xu Jin had cornered Di Qiong. Wu Tian could not be given to anyone else. Di Qiong was the only one who deserved to be Wu Tian¡¯s captor.

    What would the Third Scourge even be without Wu Tian?

    As Lu Yin sank into theke of divine energy, he silently cursed. What had gotten into Di Qiong? Only recently encouraged, he had Ye Bo to cultivate as much divine energy as possible, but now, he had suddenly ced a ridiculous amount of pressure onto Ye Bo.

    Theke contained nothing aside from divine energy. As Lu Yin sank further down, he had no choice but to absorb the energy. Regardless of his intentions, theke¡¯s divine energy entered his body. This was how the frenzied corpses were created.

    Divine energy surged into Lu Yin from every direction, racing towards the universe in his chest.

    Lu Yin forced himself to calm down and focus on absorbing divine energy. However, a lust for violence and death sprouted in his mind. It was a desire that came from the divine energy in theke, which was overwhelmingly abundant.

    Lu Yin did not dare to recite the Origin Progenitor''s Sutra at this time, as he could not risk being noticed by True God. So, Lu Yin could only rely on his own abilities to absorb divine energy while maintaining his sanity.

    Lu Yin believed that he could handle this much. He did not think that even the entireke of divine energy could saturate his universe. Besides, Di Qiong would not force Ye Bo to stay in the divine energy for too long. His intention was to assess Ye Bo¡¯s talent for cultivating divine energy, not create another frenzied corpse.

    Time faded away while Lu Yin remained submerged in theke of divine energy. He grew disoriented and lost all track of time.

    Suddenly, some power reached into the depths and dragged him upwards.

    When he emerged from theke, his hair, skin, and even his eyes were tinted red. His condition perfectly mirrored Mu Ji¡¯s state when he had been retrieved from theke of divine energy.

    Unlike Mu Ji, who had soaked in ake for more than a century, Lu Yin had only been submerged for a short period of time.

    Di Qiong was surprised as he studied Ye Bo. "Sure enough, your talent for divine energy is impressive. You¡¯ve managed to absorb so much in just a short bit of time. If I left you to be a frenzied corpse, you might be the most powerful one ever produced. Unfortunately, frenzied corpses are of no use to us."

    Lu Yin stared at the ground. His pupils were erratically dting and contracting. He seemed to be unconscious, and his entire body was trembling.

    A mist of divine energy was present, and it formed a vortex around him.

    Di Qiong continued to speak to Ye Bo. "You¡¯re in the process of bing a frenzied corpse. Ye Bo, if you can hear me, you need to recover on your own, or else you will be nothing more than a frenzied corpse."

    The man then grabbed Lu Yin and threw him towards Ye Bo¡¯s tower before leaving.

    Di Qiong intended to test Ye Bo''s limits. If he could survive the ordeal, it would prove that it would be better to nurture Ye Bo rather than Fei for the uing Divine Selection. In fact, Ye Bo might even be the Third Scourge¡¯s secret weapon. On the other hand, if Ye Bo became just another frenzied corpse, he would lose all value.

    For the time being, Di Qiong needed to help Fei recover from her injuries and improve the woman¡¯sbat strength as much as possible. There was little hope for Ye Bo as he was.

    Lu Yin mmed into the wall of the tower after being thrown by Di Qiong. He copsed to the ground, curling up in a fetal position as he fought against the pervasive impulses stemming from the divine energy.

    A day passed, then two, then three. Only after three days did Lu Yin stop trembling, as he assumed that Di Qiong was no longer observing Ye Bo.

    The entire thing had been an act. While beneath theke of divine energy, Lu Yin had absorbed so much divine energy that the star of divine energy in his universe was now approaching the size of the other stars. When Lu Yin had first arrived in the First Scourge under the guise of Ye Bo, there had only been a single point of divine energy in Lu Yin¡¯s universe. That star had since grown and developed to an exceptional degree.

    Lu Yin realized that he was approaching the same amount of divine energy as what the Seven Skygods themselves had cultivated.

    After absorbing so much divine energy, it was only natural for a few anomalies to appear.

    Di Qiong assumed that Ye Bo was struggling and at the edge of sanity, but the truth was that Lu Yin had only suffered from murderous impulses and crazed thoughts while submerged in theke of divine energy. As soon as he was pulled out, he had returned to normal.

    He sat up and let out a deep breath. He was incredibly thankful that thekes and rivers of divine energy across the entire Scourge were all interconnected, or else Di Qiong might have realized just how much divine energy he had absorbed.

    However, concealing how much divine energy Ye Bo possessed was not a solution.

    It was true that Lu Yin had absorbed a great deal of divine energy, but how Ye Bo was supposed to use it to meet Di Qiong¡¯s expectations? Lu Yin had no idea. He had not intended to join the Divine Selection, and yet he was being forced to.

    He also could not approach Wu Tian without his every move being watched, as Di Qiong waspletely preupied with Wu Tian.

    Lu Yin stood inside his tower and stared at the Wu Tian Observatory. Slowly, he activated Heaven''s Sight while staring at Wu Tian.

    At this time, Wu Tian was once again hanging from the chains above the Wu Tian Observatory.

    He opened his eyes right as Lu Yin activated Heaven''s Sight.

    Inside his tower, Lu Yin''s forehead burned. The world started spinning as his vision grew blurry. His mind seemed to soar out of his body, beyond the Scourge, past outer space, and beyond anything that he could see. Confused, Lu Yin instinctively tried to stop using Heaven''s Sight.

    "Child."

    Lu Yin froze, bewildered.

    "Throughout my life, I¡¯ve loved studying various weapons and battle techniques, which is why I took the name Wu Tian for myself. My greatest achievement throughout my entire life are these memories of the pinnacle of martial techniques, which I hope can help you."

    Lu Yin stood there, frozen in a daze. It was as though his mind had entered a higher state of being. Everything around him disappeared from his awareness. There was no Scourge, no Aeternus, no divine energy. Everything dissolved into a darkness that surrounded him.

    Suddenly, the sky was torn open, and the Divine Eagle released a loud cry.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. <em>The Divine Eagle?</em>

    From high above the sky, the Divine Eagle swooped down, its fierce ws reaching for Lu Yin. Before he could react, the talons pierced him, and the eagle continued diving downwards. Lu Yin immediately turned to look down, and he saw that ake had appeared. The Arkfish leapt from the water, and as the Divine Eagle struck the water, its ws tore through the void while also freezing it.

    The fish swam through the void, drawing strange curves that shattered the frozen expanse before it dove back into the depths of theke.

    The Divine Eagle¡¯s talons scraped across the surface of theke, leaving deep gouges in the water before it reluctantly returned to the sky.

    Lu Yin tracked the eagle¡¯s flight. When the bird had attacked theke, its talons had seemed to erase space itself. What sort of attack was that?

    Before Lu Yin could consider the matter any further, the Divine Eagle shattered. ck streaks swirled by, piercing through the broken body. The ck swirls transformed into a scythe that shed sideways.

    Lu Yin''s pupils constricted. The God of Death?

    The God of Death wielded his scythe, leaving behind a trail of death energy across the sky. He released an attack that caused the universe itself to tremble.

    The scythe was aimed straight at Lu Yin. His hair stood on end. There was nothing he could do to defend himself from this attack. It would tear him apart.

    The scythe passed through Lu Yin, chilling him to the bone. He reached out to grab it, but mysteriously, the weapon vanished, and his hands grabbed hold of nothing.

    At that moment, the tip of a sword de appeared in the distance. It shot forward, stabbing Lu Yin through the head. After that, it disappeared just as quickly as the scythe had.

    Lu Yin stood frozen in ce. He understood. This was a scene that Wu Tian had once witnessed. Everything that Wu Tian had seen and studied came together to form a vast martial heaven, and Lu Yin was guided by the memories while also being allowed to see everything just once.

    Everything he saw were techniques that Wu Tian had cared about.

    Lu Yin remained rooted in ce as he witnessed various battle techniques either pass through his body, sweep by in front of his eyes, or vanish partway through. He was spellbound, and his eyes grew unfocused as he simply watched everything y out before him.

    He saw the Python Ancestor slithering about. He saw Qingluo Jiantian and studied the Mavis family¡¯s power. He saw Destiny¡¯s threads, and he also witnessed the First Maind¡¯s shattering. It was a ce that had given birth to countless geniuses and powerhouses.

    The moment the First Maind shattered, Lu Yin abruptly regained consciousness. He felt as though he had fallen into an abyss. With a thud, he fell to the floor, and he stared nkly at the ceiling of his tower.

    In his mind, every battle technique he had ever used throughout his entire life started to y out. Some were simple, while others wereplex.

    Lu Yin watched as another version of himself stood up and performed all the battle techniques he had just witnessed in Wu Tian''s memories.

    What constitutes a martial technique?

    Was it movement? Strength? Art of killing? Struggling against fate? A battle to take control of one''s own body? Countless thoughts circled through Lu Yin''s mind, leaving him increasingly confused as hey sprawled out on the floor, staring upwards at nothing, and yet seeing everything.

    Days passed, and Lu Yin remained as he was. He had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been a single day or hundreds.

    One day, Lu Yin''s vacant eyes suddenly lit up with vitality. He rose to his feet and then instantly appeared at the top of his tower. He stretched out a hand towards the distant horizon and slowly swung his arm. "With one move, the setting sun descends, sharing itsst glow with the ends of the earth!"

    In the Third Scourge, thest light of the setting sun suddenly appeared on the horizon. The light was obscured by clouds, but the red light shone down on thend, drawing countless eyes to it.

    Since when did the Third Scourge have a sun?

    Also, why was the sun setting?

    As Lu Yin¡¯s arm swung, the setting sun slowly faded away, and the Scourge returned to its former state.

    As the light disappeared, Di Qiong looked over at Ye Bo, a rare expression of surprise covering his face. Was this aprehension technique?

    As Lu Yin lowered his arm at the top of his tower, he finally fully regained consciousness. He picked his hand back up and stared at his palm, puzzled. What had just happened? What was that battle technique?

    Di Qiong suddenly appeared, and he stared at Ye Bo in utter astonishment. "Ye Bo, did you just create thatprehension technique?"

    Lu Yin grew nervous, as he had unconsciously performed the technique. It really was something that he had created, but not even he understood how he had created it. It felt as though his understanding of battle techniques had sublimated into another form. It was the manifestation of all of his understandings throughout his entire cultivation journey.

    Unexpectedly, this technique had drawn Di Qiong''s attention.

    "Yes, I did."

    Di Qiong stared at Ye Bo. "Do you know what sort of battle technique you created?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "While I was in theke of divine energy, the divine energy was corroding my mind and body, and I could only see scenes ying out that I never saw before. I honestly don¡¯t know how I created that technique, so please enlighten me."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3071: Comprehension Technique

    <h4>Chapter 3071: Comprehension Technique</h4>

    Di Qiong exined, "What you have created is aprehension stage that only happens when someone has received a deep insight into things. This is something that is only possible to attain with incredible enlightenment. There are some children who can understand such things, but at other times, even people at my level like the Three Pirs and Six Skies cannot grasp it. That is what it means to be aprehension technique.

    "The technique you just created is aprehension technique. Starting now, Ye Bo, you will be my Third Scourge¡¯s second representative for the Divine Selection."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "But I am still no match for Fei."

    "No. <i>She</i> is not <i>your</i> match. Comprehension techniques possess unfathomable power. It is difficult to say whether aprehension technique is more powerful than sequence particles, but there is one thing that is absolutely certain: no one actively tries to developprehension techniques because it is impossible to do so. This is true even for someone like me.

    "It is possible that you will neverprehend thews of the universe and wield sequence particles, but with thisprehension ability, you can stand equal to sequence powerhouses, even without divine energy. It all depends on how well you canprehend the technique.

    "I have personally borne witness to the most terrifyingprehension technique. Just a single thought was enough to transform heaven and earth into ancient history, while causing everything to vanish and simply cease to exist. Everything returned to the origin.

    "On top of that, since you have recovered from the corrosion of the divine energy, I will not go back on my word. I already told you that, as long as you recover from that ordeal, you will be allowed to represent my Third Scourge."

    Lu Yin kept his head bowed and did not look at Di Qiong. Even so, it was impossible to miss the desire in Di Qiong¡¯s voice when he spoke ofprehension techniques.

    Comprehension technique? This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first one. The first one he had created was the Flipping the Sky that Lu Xiaoxuan had developed.

    Flipping the Sky: the sky was above, and the earth below. Then, the earth would be in the sky: flipping the sky.

    The technique that Lu Yin had just developed was called Setting Sun. This technique revealed the setting sun, and it created an image of twilight along the horizon. This was the culmination of Lu Yin¡¯sprehension of martial techniques, and it was also what the technique attacked. As long as a creature cultivated, they were part of the world of martial techniques, which meant that they could be attacked by Setting Sun.

    Lu Yin finally understood why Lu Xiaoxuan had drawn out Ancestor Lu Yuan when he had created Flipping the Sky; it was because Flipping the Sky was aprehension technique. Just like how Di Qiong had been amazed by the creation of such a technique, so too had Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin also finally understood why Lu Xiaoxuan had been able to create Flipping the Sky; it was becauseprehension techniques had nothing to do with one¡¯s cultivation or age.

    A child might be able toprehend the insights needed for such a technique, while those at the level of Three Pirs and Six Skies might fail to do so. This was the power of aprehension technique. It was a mysterious and profound power, and not even the Three Pirs and Six Skies could willingly tread this path. The ability to walk it depended on luck and whether or not one could obtain some great enlightenment.

    Di Qiong was incredibly envious of Ye Bo. The man truly desired to master aprehension technique, but such things simply could not be forcibly obtained.

    The fact that Ye Bo had created aprehension technique at such a moment made Di Qiong feel as though some unseen power was helping him. Without Ye Bo, the Third Scourge could only send Di Xia and Fei to the Divine Selection. Mu Ji''s betrayal was already being treated as confirmed after Lu Yuan had appeared in the Third Scourge to rescue Wu Tian. That incident had also injured Fei, which could have easily been predicted.

    Then there was Ye Bo. He was an outsider who had been brought to the Third Scourge by Di Qiong just before the Divine Selection. The man had chosen to learn and cultivate the Corpse King Transformation in order to stay in the Third Scourge. He had confronted Lu Yuan when the human powerhouse appeared, and Ye Bo had somehow survived the incident without suffering serious injuries. After that, he had managed to develop aprehension technique after being thrown into ake of divine energy. Everything that had happened with Ye Bo seemed like a gift being granted to the Third Scourge, and Di Qiong felt that his representatives would definitely stand out during the Divine Selection.

    Ye Bo was undoubtedly prepared for the uing battle.

    Di Qiong stared at Ye Bo, finding the man more and more pleasing to the eye as time went by.

    "Aprehension technique is not at all easy to master. In a few days, I will have an opponent prepared for you so that you can test out your new technique and see its power."

    Lu Yin answered in a respectful tone, "I will ept whatever you arrange, Senior Di Qiong."

    Di Qiong nodded, feeling quite satisfied. "By the way, are you interested in Wu Tian?"

    Lu Yin did not deny it. "I was born in the Origin Universe, where Wu Tian is a legend, as he is one of the Three Realms and Six Daos."

    "If you''re interested in him, you can go back and look at him again."

    With that, Di Qiong left.

    Lu Yin returned to his tower, feelingpletely relieved.

    He had just survived far too dangerous a situation. He had inadvertently created aprehension technique, which had drawn Di Qiong''s attention. If Lu Yin had instead drawn True God¡¯s attention, it would have been disastrous.

    However, True God would not be easily drawn out. He had been injured and was in seclusion to recover. It was even possible that the man was preupied with oveing Dukkha.

    Lu Yin looked towards the Wu Tian Observatory. Wu Tian had shared his memories of the pinnacle of martial techniques with Lu Yin, which had allowed him to develop aprehension technique. This time, it was Lu Yin who had developed theprehension technique.

    Di Qiong had also given Ye Bo permission to see Wu Tian, though there was no need to rush things. Lu Yin intended to wait a bit longer.

    Elsewhere, Fei asked to meet with Di Qiong.

    "Your Excellency, what was that just now?"

    "Aprehension technique. Ye Bo just created one for himself."

    Fei was startled. "He created aprehension technique?"

    Di Qiong stared at Fei. "Do you have any objections if I have Ye Bo rece you for the Divine Selection?"

    "Of course not. I am injured, and the Divine Selection won¡¯t be dyed for my sake," Fei answered respectfully.

    Di Qiong nodded. "Still, if even with his divine energy andprehension technique, Ye Bo proves to not be your match, I will have you participate in the Divine Selection. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve made ns for you two to spar in a few days."

    Fei bowed her head. "Yes, my lord."

    She was not foolish. While Di Qiong was calling it a spar, this was nothing less than an opportunity for Ye Bo to obtain greater mastery of his newprehension technique. However, there was no other way for Fei. Aeternus respected the strong.

    Xin Wu had been severely injured by Di Xia, and he did not darein about any of his arrangements. In the future, Ye Bo''s status in the Third Scourge would surpass Fei¡¯s, and he would be second only to Di Xia. If Ye Bo¡¯sprehension technique was truly powerful, then he might surpass even Di Xia in a few more years and be second only to Di Qiong.

    Elsewhere, Di Xia averted his gaze. Aprehension technique? Ye Bo had already sessfully dodged one of Di Xia¡¯s attacks, and he had also managed to physically suppress Xin Wu, which proved that he was no weakling. After developing aprehension technique, it seemed likely that Ye Bo would be joining Di Xia in the Divine Selection.

    Aprehension technique... Di Xia wondered how strong it was.

    A few dayster, Di Qiong led Fei and Lu Yin to a corner of the Third Scourge.

    The two turned to face each other.

    They had already briefly exchanged moves on the Wu Tian Observatory; during that, Ye Bo had been wounded by Fei''s bizarre sword technique before being overpowered by her physical strength. This time, Lu Yin wanted to test out the power of his newprehension technique, which was exactly what Di Qiong and Fei also wanted to see.

    In fact, not even Lu Yin himself knew how powerful Setting Sun was.

    A slender sword appeared in Fei''s hand, and her pupilspletely disappeared as she underwent the Pupilless Transformation.

    Their brief exchange on the Wu Tian Observatory had not fully demonstrated the terrifying power of Fei''s Pupilless Transformation. When she activated it preemptively for her formal spar with Ye Bo, a terrifying power appeared along the edge of her sword''s de. The weapon made Lu Yin nervous. She was a sequence powerhouse, and with the physical strength boost of the Pupilless Transformation, she had to be about as powerful as Zhong Pan.

    Lu Yin moved back one step after another. The edge of the sword seemed almost alive, and for some reason, Lu Yin saw something different in the sword.

    In his eyes, the edge of Fei''s sword was no longer a sword, but rather a w. At that moment, the image of the Divine Eagle attacking the fish in theke appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and Fei¡¯s sword technique seemed identical to those talons. Theparison left Lu Yin momentarily stunned.

    He reflexively dodged as the de drew close. The sword sliced through the void and cut the ground open.

    A strand of hair fell.

    Fei stared at Lu Yin through eyes which had lost their pupils. "Were you just daydreaming?"

    Lu Yin indifferently replied, "I was merely trying to understand your sword technique."

    "How did that go?"

    "I dodged it."

    "I was holding back."

    The edge of the de was quite close to Lu Yin''s face. There was less than a meter between him and Fei, so they were both able to see the other clearly. As Fei spoke, her sword swept to the side, brushing past Lu Yin''s neck. She took a step forward, clenching the hilt of her sword tightly as she tried to m the hilt into Lu Yin. He had not anticipated such an attack, as this was not a sword technique, or at least not one that he had ever seen before. It was as though Fei was abandoning the de of the sword, or even abandoning the sword itself.

    Divine energy surged within Lu Yin, and it turned his eyes red. Visually, this was nearly identical to a Red Eyes Transformation, but Lu Yin was using his own power at this moment. He ced his hands over each other to block the blow from Fei¡¯s sword hilt, but as he did so, Fei¡¯s left hand darted in from an unseen angle and struck Lu Yin¡¯s chest.

    As she struck, Lu Yin¡¯s leg rose up and snapped out.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The noise of the impact rang out as the void churned and tore. Divine power apanied a terrifying shockwave that swept out, shaking the corner of the Third Scourge.

    The two people both fell back at the same time.

    Fei was amazed by the power of Ye Bo¡¯s Corpse King Transformation. His Red Eyes Transformation had stopped her attack while she was in a Pupilless Transformation.

    Lu Yin was simrly surprised by Fei''s unorthodox fighting style. Despite the fact that he was wary of her sword techniques, she had abandoned such methods without hesitation. Such unpredictability made her unstoppable, especially whenbined with her Corpse King Transformation.

    They had only briefly exchanged moves, but some things had already be clear.

    Di Qiong was greatly satisfied with what he observed.

    Peak powerhouses could shatter thes and stars when they fought, or they could engage in closebat. The Corpse King Transformation was essentially a closebat technique. Fei used it inbination with her sword skills to create something that most of her opponents could not handle. Surprisingly, Ye Bo was able to endure her assault with abination of the Corpse King Transformation and divine energy, which boosted his strength. His reflexes were also fast enough to dodge Fei''s sword. Ye Bo more than demonstrated a level of strength worthy of the First Scourge¡¯s True God Guard Captains.

    Fei clenched her sword even more tightly. "You really are qualified to represent the Third Scourge in the Divine Selection, but most of the representatives you will face will be sequence powerhouses. I¡¯m going to go all out now."

    "Bring it on."

    Fei thrust her sword forwards, just like before. However, Lu Yin knew that the sword was reinforced with sequence particles this time. Whatw of the universe had Feiprehended? It was impossible for Lu Yin to use Heaven¡¯s Sight at this moment, which meant that his only option was to use divine energy.

    His divine energy exploded, creating a pir of light that seemed to connect the ground to the sky. The sight drew the attention of many cultivators and corpse kings throughout the Third Scourge.

    Even Di Xia looked over, noticing that Ye Bo possessed a shocking amount of divine energy.

    Fei''s sword could not even get close to Lu Yin, as it was blocked by his divine energy. This was to be expected, but divine energy would eventually run out. Fei was well aware of just how much divine energy a Progenitor-level corpse king could possess, but even if Ye Bo was uniquely talented for cultivating divine energy, he could not possess much more than that.

    She intended to exhaust Ye Bo¡¯s divine energy.

    If she were facing Chong Gui or any of the other True God Guard Captains, Fei''s swordsmanship and her Corpse King Transformation would be enough to overpower their divine energy. However, Ye Bo was not that weak. If Fei could defeat him without using her sequence particles, she would not have chosen to use them.

    "Stop wasting time. You can''t exhaust Ye Bo''s divine energy. Ye Bo, that''s enough," Di Qiong spoke up.

    Fei''s eyes flickered as she stared at Lu Yin while divine energy surged around him. He isted himself from the rest of the world, and Fei could not get any closer. He looked at her, and suddenly, one of his hands rose into the sky. On the horizon, a setting sun appeared. It was somehow on the horizon, but also right in front of Fei and Ye Bo.

    Di Qiong''s eyes went wide and zed with desire. Even he felt jealousy towards aprehension technique.

 Chapter 3072: People Of The Immemorial Citadel

    <h4>Chapter 3072: People Of The Immemorial Citadel</h4>

    Fei suddenly felt something strange. It was as though the setting sun had enveloped her. Was she feeling its warmth? No. She was feeling something indescribable. All she knew at the moment was that something had been separated from her. She looked at Ye Bo. He appeared to be so very close, yet infinitely distant. It felt as though she could never reach him.

    Fei wanted to take a step forward, but her body could not move. Her battle techniques, her power, and absolutely everything she could normally do seemed to be locked down.

    Lu Yin stared at Fei. "Setting Sun incinerates your martial spirit. With one move of the Setting Sun, twilight shrouds the horizon."

    As he finished speaking, he waved a hand. In his eyes, as well as that of Di Qiong and countless other beings across the Third Scourge, the setting sun in the horizon seemed to be pushed by a great wind, and it slowly dissipated.

    As this happened, Fei''s expression changed drastically. An unprecedented feeling settled onto her. She felt like a puppet. Her mind waspletely nk, and she was unable to do anything to resist.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    She spat out a mouthful of blood. Her grip on her sword weakened, and it fell to the ground with a ng. Fei¡¯s Pupilless Transformation reverted, and her eyes lost all focus as she slowly crumpled to the ground.

    The setting sun was beautiful, yet deadly.

    Fei had lost.

    Lu Yin stared at the fallen Fei. He had not expected his new technique to so powerful. Fei was a sequence powerhouse, and yet his Setting Sun had utterly overwhelmed her.

    A short distance away, Di Qiong was amazed. This was the power of aprehension technique. This was a power that could rival thews of the universe, but in some ways, was even more difficult to master. There was no method to train inprehension techniques or develop the necessary insights. Without hisprehension technique, Ye Bo¡¯s strength was fairly ordinary, and he was only able to barely survive attacks from sequence powerhouses. However, when he used hisprehension technique, his opponents would struggle to defend themselves.

    This one technique provided an opportunity to change the course of a battle.

    "Ye Bo."

    Lu Yin turned to face Di Qiong. "Yes?"

    "The Divine Selection is about to start. Unless absolutely necessary, do not use Setting Sun. It is your best chance of obtaining victory, so if others are prepared for it, it will lose a great deal of effectiveness," Di Qiong warned.

    Lu Yin quickly agreed.

    Di Qiong soon left, showing absolutely no concern for Fei at all.

    Lu Yin nced over at Fei. The woman¡¯s sword technique was the same as what Wu Tian had shown Lu Yin in the Martial Heaven when the Divine Eagle had dived at the fish. What did this mean? Why did Fei know that technique?

    "You¡¯re not dead, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Fei''s fingers twitched. She took a moment and then pushed herself up off the ground. She rose and looked at Lu Yin, shock evident in her eyes. "Is that... aprehension technique?"

    Lu Yin looked at Fei. "Where did you learn your sword skills? That technique is quite unique."

    Fei did not answer. She stared at Lu Yin for a long moment and then walked away.

    Once no one was around, Lu Yin let out a breath. He really wanted to go see Wu Tian, but this was not the right timing. There was no doubt that Di Qiong was watching Ye Bo, and if he revealed any ws meeting with Wu Tian, it would be disastrous.

    Lu Yin wanted to leave the Third Scourge, but that was not possible. All he could do for the time being was wait. The Divine Selection? Each Scourge would send their strongest powerhouses to represent them. These were Aeternus¡¯s greatest experts beneath the level of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Lu Yin wanted to see what such people were capable of. One day, he would have to face all of them.

    ...

    In one part of the Third Scourge, divine energy formed what appeared to be a fog. Two cosmic doors suddenly crashed down from the sky,nding in the center of the Third Scourge.

    "Di Xia, Ye Bo, each of you are to choose a cosmic door to enter. On the other side, you will face an opponent. Kill them to officially enter the Divine Selection. Otherwise, you will lose your qualifications." Di Qiong''s voice echoed throughout the Third Scourge.

    Countless corpse kings in the Third Scourge were facing the cosmic doors, as well as many human cultivators.

    Xin Wu was among those staring at the cosmic doors. He longed to participate in the Divine Selection, but Ye Bo had taken that opportunity away. Despite Xin Wu¡¯s unwillingness, there was nothing that he could do about it. Ye Bo had supposedly already defeated Fei, which made him the second strongest in the Third Scourge. He was only weaker than Di Xia.

    The two cosmic doors were surrounded by a deste area. Lu Yin instantly arrived, and he stared at the cosmic door in front of him. This was the beginning of the Divine Selection. Not every representative of each Scourge could actually enter the true assessment. Only those who managed to pass this initial test would have a chance to survive the following tests. The Divine Selection itself was an incredibly cruel assessment.

    Lu Yin had learned this much from Di Qiong.

    From Wei Shu, Lu Yin was aware that the true Divine Selection would be held at the Immemorial Citadel.

    If it was held at the real Immemorial Citadel, then the difficulty of the assessment could not even be imagined.

    Di Xia also appeared, but he entered a cosmic door without any hesitation.

    Lu Yin stopped stalling. He stepped forward and passed through the cosmic door.

    He was in the middle of outer space. Lu Yin used Heaven''s Sight to look around, and his eyes instantly tensed. What was this?

    "Another one? Aeternus still won''t give up. They keep trying to get through my territory. Get lost!" A loud shout rang out from afar, though Lu Yin could not see the speaker. He quickly dodged, because Heaven''s Sight revealed that the area he had been standing in had suddenly been filled with sequence particles. Sequence particles filled the entire region of outer space. In terms of sheer quantity, there were as many sequence particles here as what the Seven Skygods had. This person was a pinnacle expert. This was someone at leastparable to Senior Brother Mu Ke.

    Space shattered where Lu Yin had just stood, and he heard the sound of scraping metal. He could see sequence particles forming chains that shot towards him from every direction. They not only appeared from where he had been standing, but everywhere else as well.

    Lu Yin quickly released his divine energy, which surged up in a dark red haze that erupted from his body.

    "What a disgusting power," a man said as he appeared in the distance. He was a burly and muscr man, and he was holding arge saber that he pointed at Lu Yin. "Aeternus scum, state your name. I don''t kill nameless people."

    Lu Yin felt nervous. He was surrounded by countless chains of sequence particles that were moving wildly. They could not break through his divine energy, but they kept him imprisoned within a confined space.

    This could not be allowed to continue. Lu Yin had no idea what other tricks this man might have, but Lu Yin had already been trapped in ce by the chains of sequence particles.

    Thinking quickly, Lu Yin raised a hand and wrapped it in divine energy beforeshing out. The attack shattered the chains in front of him.

    "Decent strength. You¡¯ve be a corpse king, a lifeless creature, so just die." The burly man raised his saber and shed down at Lu Yin from above.

    As the saber fell, Lu Yin heard a sharp and mournful sound. The ethereal noise caused Lu Yin''s ears to throb in pain. The de flickered with a cold glint as it dropped, and Lu Yin was forced to quickly dodge aside. The saber sliced by his side, shearing through the stars. Lu Yin lunged to grab the hilt of the saber just before the burly man¡¯s attack finished. The man appeared to be surprised by Lu Yin¡¯s reaction. "You have a bit of skill, but no luck."

    As the man spoke, a new de burst out from the hilt, and it abruptly spun around with a hiss. A gash opened up on Lu Yin''s arm as a simr injury appeared on his opponent.

    However, the burly man did not care at all, and heughed raucously as he attacked again.

    Lu Yin frowned. What was going on? This man fought so recklessly; did he not fear death? If Lu Yin were facing a corpse king, this would not be surprising, but this man was clearly human.

    Unable to understand the man''s tactics, Lu Yin pulled back.

    "Hahaha, so you''re not a corpse king! You''re actually afraid of dying. Kid, the more you''re afraid of dying, the easier it is for you to die against me. Watch my saber." The burly man''s saber was not a normal weapon; the de could attack from every angle, cutting both the man¡¯s opponent along with himself.

    The man was much like his saber, impossible to approach.

    As the two exchanged attacks, the chains of sequence particles continued to entangle Lu Yin from all directions.

    His divine energy surged wildly, and Lu Yin tried to push it outwards in an attempt topletely iste the burly man. The man just sneered. He had already faced divine energy countless times before, and he understood it quite well. "How long can your divine energyst?"

    Lu Yin''s divine energy couldst a very long time, but it was impossible for him to defeat this man with nothing but divine energy.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin asked.

    The manughed. "You came here to make trouble for me and yet you don''t know who I am?"

    Lu Yin said nothing. To enter the Divine Selection, he needed to kill this man, but this man was an enemy of Aeternus, as well as an incredibly powerful expert. How could Lu Yin kill such a person?

    "I am Qiu of the Immemorial Citadel! Remember that! I don¡¯t want you dying without knowing who killed you!" the burly man shouted before suddenly throwing his massive saber. It shot forward like a dart, only to then circle back. It went around the chains of sequence particles three times before suddenly stabbing at Lu Yin in a vicious attack.

    This was not some saber technique. The man hadpletely abandoned usingbat techniques. At this moment, he was essentially ying with his saber.

    Lu Yin was shocked by the man''s deration. <i>The Immemorial Citadel? Is this man a powerhouse from the Immemorial Citadel? Is this the Immemorial Citadel? Impossible.</i>

    There was no time for Lu Yin to think any further. The saber thrust into the divine energy, and Qiu grabbed the hilt once more, only to throw it out again. Each time he threw the saber, the power of the attacks rose, and the saber would tear through more of Lu Yin¡¯s divine energy.

    He gritted his teeth. No matter who this man might be, the Aeternals were undoubtedly watching this battle. If Ye Bo did not attack, it would be too suspicious.

    Lu Yin thought of this as he watched the saber stab at him again. This time, the de was less than a meter away.

    The entire area was filled with chains of sequence particles.

    Lu Yin turned to face Qiu as he raised a hand. He was going to use Setting Sun.

    An exquisitely beautiful sunset appeared in the dark emptiness of outer space. It looked like a painting.

    At this moment, Qiu felt the same sensation as Fei. It was as though he was being enveloped by something, and he felt a strange warmth.

    The saber shot over from the distance, but it could not destroy the breathtaking scene of the setting sun. As Lu Yin waved the sunset away with a hand, the saber fell. At that moment, Qiu''s expression changed dramatically, and his mind went nk. He felt as though he had just lost something very important, and he could not stop himself from spitting out blood. "Aprehension... technique."

    Lu Yin took advantage of the opening created by Qiu''s injury and quickly attacked. It looked like he was trying to kill Qiu. The truth was that Lu Yin had not used the full power of Setting Sun, just like how he had not used its full power against Fei.

    Lu Yin threw a palm strike at Qiu, and the man did not try to dodge or evade in any way.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. Why did the man not dodge? Given his strength as a sequence powerhouse, he should have been able to avoid the attack. Setting Sun was not powerful enough to incapacitate such an expert.

    Even so, Qiu just stood there. He acted as though he had been severely injured and was unable to move.

    Lu Yin was reluctant, but he had no choice but to finish his attack. He had already done his best and could not afford to be seen holding back. He needed to lose this battle. It was fine to be kicked out of the Divine Selection, and Lu Yin could even ept not going to the Immemorial Citadel, but he was not yet ready to abandon the identity of Ye Bo.

    It might still prove extremely useful.

    Besides, Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike would not kill Qiu.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    The attacknded, but the strength of the attack was quite limited. This was not because Lu Yin had deliberately held back, but rather because the chains of sequence particles were still pulling at him, which made it difficult to release a full-powered palm strike.

    Qiu finally looked up. "Aprehension technique. I have to kill you.

    "Heaven¡¯s Net."

    The surrounding universe changed dramatically. Countless chains appeared, and they formed a neb that spread out into the distance. These chains were not formed from sequence particles, but were rather a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Qiu had released a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    As the Progenitor¡¯s world appeared, Lu Yin felt a familiar energy: stellr energy.

    Qiu was from the Origin Universe.

 Chapter 3073: Lu Yins Method

    <h4>Chapter 3073: Lu Yin''s Method</h4>

    The Immemorial Citadel and the Origin Universe. If Lu Yin was not mistaken, Qiu was an expert from the Origin Universe who had gone to the Immemorial Citadel, just like Ce Wangtian.

    Now that he was trapped within Qiu''s Progenitor''s world and surrounded by endless chains of stellr energy, Lu Yin unleashed his divine energy in an attempt to break free. Qiu raised his arms, used his sequence particle chains to tear through the divine energy, and tightly grabbed hold of Lu Yin''s shoulders. With a big toothy grin, Qiu said, "Let''s die together!"

    The moment the man finished speaking, the entire universe suddenly seemed to contract. It was not the actual universe, but rather Qiu''s Progenitor''s world that contracted. The endless neb of stellr energy chains shrank down as much as possible. It felt as though the universe itself had just detonated, and Lu Yin was instantly put under an incredible amount of pressure.

    He was horrified, and his whole body turned cold. Even if he managed to withstand this attack, he would be close to death. Qiu was literally trying to die together with Lu Yin.

    Grabbing hold of Qiu''s arm, Lu Yin pulled with all his strength. There was a crack, and Qiu''s arm broke off. However, he reconnected it with the chains of sequence particles. Lu Yin¡®s foot snapped out, and the nearby void copsed. Everything was contracted to the limit, and Lu Yin felt like he was beingpressed down into a single point. Unable to bear the pressure, blood started to leak from the corner of his mouth.

    "Do you really want to die?" Lu Yin shouted.

    Qiuughed maniacally. "This is one of my 108 suicide techniques! What do you think? Is it intense enough?"

    <i>What a madman!</i> Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. He waved his right hand, unleashing Setting Sun again.

    Qiu had no way to block aprehension technique, and he coughed up more blood as his arms fell limp. Lu Yin seized the opening to retreat and fall back, only to discover that an actual chain had wrapped around his waist at some point. When had this chain appeared?

    Qiu raised his head. Blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, giving him a sinister and terrifying appearance. "Aprehension technique? I will never let you go. Here¡¯s another one of my 108 suicide techniques! Try this one."

    The man grabbed the end of the chain as he charged at Lu Yin. Lu Yin also saw the long saber approaching from right behind Qiu, and it was aimed at both men.

    Qiu waspletely honest about wanting to perish together.

    Helpless, Lu Yin used his Setting Sun for the third time, and it managed to cause the saber to fall. Lu Yin raced off towards the cosmic door, but he struggled to shake off the chain around his waist, which Qiu held onto tightly. "Heh heh, I already told you I won¡¯t let you escape.

    "Here¡¯s another one of my 108 suicide techniques!"

    The man¡¯s Progenitor''s world reappeared, and it frantically squeezed down upon Lu Yin. "Let''s die together!"

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked around. "Even if this is just a test, he¡¯s already severely injured. Aren''t you going to intervene? I¡¯ve clearly failed."

    No one responded.

    A crazed light filled Qiu''s eyes, but they were very clear in their depths. "A test? So that''s it¡ªthe Divine Selection. It¡¯s too bad that you don¡¯t know who I am, though those old monsters behind you certainly do. Do you think that I will die so easily?"

    Lu Yin arched a brow. So this was the situation; the man had been bluffing all along. Apparently, he had a way to survive even if they did die together.

    "Hehe. Kid, you were just unlucky to have run into me. Everyone else who has faced me for a Divine Selection has died. Even if you don''t die here, you''ll die at the Immemorial Citadel." As Qiu spoke, his Progenitor''s world continued to squeeze Lu Yin, making him cough up even more blood.

    "I¡¯m one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Heavens Sect! Remember that!" Qiu shouted.

    Lu Yin''s eyes turned cold. If this man could not be killed, then it would be much easier for Lu Yin to deal with him. He raised his hand and used Setting Sun once more.

    Qiu''s eyes went wide. He did not want to face this move again, though he also believed that he could endure it.

    Right after that, a tremor ran through Qiu¡¯s body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before staring ahead in shock. This time, theprehension technique was far more powerful than the previous two times. The kid had been holding back.

    Lu Yin gave Qiu a long look before he turned to leave.

    For the final use, Lu Yin had not held back at all with his Setting Sun. He had simply hoped that Qiu would not die. After all, Qiu himself had said that he could not be killed.

    One of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? That meant that Qiu was from the Origin Universe¡¯s most brilliant era.

    Passing through the cosmic door, Lu Yin arrived back in the Third Scourge. As he appeared, the cosmic door behind him shattered.

    His face was pale, and he coughed up blood as he crumpled to one knee while breathing heavily. He looked to have been severely injured.

    Di Qiong appeared in front of Lu Yin, and he looked decidedly unhappy. "Failed?"

    Lu Yin struggled to his feet. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he bowed. "I''m sorry, I failed."

    Di Qiong¡¯s eyes tightened, and he nced at the other cosmic door before looking back at Ye Bo. "Who was your opponent?"

    Lu Yin was surprised to learn that Di Qiong did not know. "Qiu. He imed to be from the Immemorial Citadel."

    Di Qiong was taken aback. "You actually encountered that madman? It¡¯s no wonder you failed."

    Lu Yin looked at Di Qiong. "You know him?"

    Di Qiong stared at Ye Bo. "Did you use Setting Sun?"

    "Three times."

    "You had no chance to kill him?"

    "He kept trying to die with me. Thest time he tried tomit suicide with me, I used my Setting Sun to the limit, managing to severely injure him, but I had a premonition that I would not be able to kill him, so I returned."

    Di Qiong frowned. "It¡¯s true that you can''t kill him. The Immemorial Citadel is full of madmen, and that Qiu is one of the hardest ones to kill. Not even Di Xia can kill him.

    "Forget it. Just wait."

    "Understood." Lu Yin did not dare to leave, so he stood beside Di Qiong, and they both waited for Di Xia.

    Some timeter, Di Qiong muttered to himself, "Five seeded. Two died."

    Lu Yin nced over at Di Qiong''s back. Five seeded and two died? This meant that eight people had already finished their initial assessments, including Lu Yin.

    He did not know whom the five sessful individuals had killed. Had they all been powerhouses from the Immemorial Citadel? Or could they have been experts from the Sixverse association?

    Regardless, everyone had undoubtedly faced Aeternus¡¯s enemies.

    Another half an hour passed before Di Xia emerged from the cosmic door, and his also shattered behind him.

    Di Qiong stared at Di Xia, who offered a respectful bow. "I did, not disgrace you, on this mission. Sess."

    Di Qiong heaved a sigh of relief. "Well done."

    He was concerned about his bet with Xu Jin. Ye Bo had already failed, so if Di Xia also failed, Di Qiong could only hope that one of the representatives from Xu Jin''s Second Scourge would also fail. At least that way, Di Qiong would not lose their wager.

    Very few participants would pass the first test for each Divine Selection. The chances of two representatives from the same Scourge passing were quite low. No matter how powerful Xu Jin might be, he could not raise two experts who were nearly as strong as the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Still, it was more reliable for Di Qiong¡¯s representatives to seed rather than hope that Xu Jin¡¯s failed.

    Besides, the wager with Xu Jin was only one thing that Di Qiong was concerned about. He genuinely hoped that Di Xia would be able to pass the Divine Selection and be a reserve member of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Di Qiong had his own ns.

    As for Ye Bo, Di Qiong did not me him for his failure. Even if Fei was the one who faced Qiu, she would not have simply failed; she would have faced certain death. Di Qiong had no doubt of that.

    While Ye Bo had indeed failed, it was quite impressive that he had been able to return alive.

    The final results were soon released. Of the six Scourges¡¯ twelve participants, eight had seeded, and three had died. Ye Bo alone had returned alive after failing.

    When Lu Yin heard that eight contestants had seeded, his heart sank. This meant that the Aeternals had killed eight enemy sequence powerhouses.

    Aeternus''s foundations were incredibly deep.

    Eight sequence powerhouses... Even if just one or two seeded during the assessment at the Immemorial Citadel, if they then joined the First Scourge, they would pose a significant threat to the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. Maybe it would be a good idea for him to participate in the assessment at the Immemorial Citadel so that he could eliminate one or two of the other contenders.

    However, how could he do that after already failing?

    Lu Yin nced over at Di Qiong and Di Xia and had a sudden thought. "Senior Di Qiong, when will the next Divine Selection ur? I would like to represent the Third Scourge again."

    As he spoke, he moved a few steps forward so that he was just three meters away from Di Xia.

    Di Qiong replied, "It will be a very long time before the next one. By then, you will be more than eligible to participate, so you don''t need to worry."

    "Thank you, Senior." Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, he Possessed Di Xia. If Possession used the power of consciousness in the same manner as the Chiliagonist¡¯s ability, Lu Yin would have never dared to perform a Possession in front of Di Qiong. However, while Lu Yin¡¯s Possession used the power of consciousness, it was fundamentally different from the Chiliagonist¡¯s ability. This was because of the special nature of Lu Yin¡¯s die and Possession. The die''s Gift Copy had even been able to absorb the mes that had destroyed the Books of Destiny and the Lord of Lightning¡¯s lightning. These were the reasons why Lu Yin waspletely confident that Di Qiong would not notice anything.

    After Possessing Di Xia, Lu Yin immediately caused the corpse king¡¯s body to self-destruct. Lu Yin had already Possessed Di Xia once before, so he was somewhat familiar with the corpse king¡¯s power.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    Di Xia suddenly spat out blood and copsed to the ground.

    Di Qiong was startled. "Di Xia, what just happened?"

    Lu Yin feigned surprise. "Di Xia?"

    He had failed. Di Xia had notpletely self-destructed. It was not because Lu Yin had failed to sufficiently understand Di Xia''s power, but rather that he had simply failed to pull it off.

    As Lu Yin had already guessed, it was impossible for certain powerhouses tomit suicide. Even if they wanted to die, it was not that simple. Lu Yin could make Di Xia kill himself, but not instantly. This was the same as when Lu Yin had Possessed Mu Ji. It did not matter if Lu Yin used the power of the Arboreal Realm or divine energy; it was impossible to instantlymit suicide when Possessing certain people.

    Di Xiay on the ground, breathing heavily. What had just happened? He himself did not know. For just a moment, his internal energy had gone out of control and been about to explode. It had felt like he was about to self-destruct. But why would he do such a thing? It was clear to him that he had not been the one in control of his power.

    <i>Cough, cough!</i>

    Blood continued to pour out as Di Xia coughed.

    Di Qiong set a hand on Di Xia''s shoulder. His eyes shed, and his expression turned extremely grim. "How were you injured?"

    Di Xia answered in his hoarse voice, "I, don''t know."

    Di Qiong demanded, "Who did you face?"

    "A, Cicadian."

    Di Qiong''s face fell. "Your power was controlled by another. Does the Cicada n have that sort of ability?"

    "I already, exterminated the Cicadian."

    Di Qiong did not care about the Cicadian. All he was thinking about was how to handle the rest of the Divine Selection.

    Di Xia''s inexplicable injury was likely rted to the Cicadian, but the cause of the injury could be ignored for the moment. The problem was the next portion of the Divine Selection.

    Participating in the Divine Selection with this kind of injury would not simply make it difficult to pass the assessment; it would be almost impossible for Di Xia to even survive.

    Even without considering his wager, Di Qiong did not want to lose Di Xia. The corpse king yed an extremely significant role in the Third Scourge, and he was far more important than Fei could ever hope to be.

    Should the Third Scourge abandon the Divine Selection?

    Di Qiong watched as Di Xia continued to cough up more blood. The corpse king¡¯s internal energy waspletely chaotic. It would be impressive if he could even exert fifty percent of his full strength. In Di Xia¡¯s current state, even Ye Bo could defeat him.

    <i>Wait, Ye Bo</i>.

    Di Qiong looked over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin noticed the man¡¯s gaze and met Di Qiong¡¯s eyes. "My lord, if Di Xia continues in the Divine Selection with these injuries, he might..."

    "I know," Di Qiong interrupted. "Ye Bo, how are your injuries?"

    Lu Yin replied, "My injuries are not very serious. I only need a few days of rest to recover."

    Di Qiong nced at Ye Bo and then at Di Xia. "Ye Bo, you will rece Di Xia for the rest of the Divine Selection."

    Lu Yin feigned shock. "Me?"

    Di Qiong turned to stare at Ye Bo. "Di Xia''s injuries make him incapable of continuing on in the Divine Selection, so you will rece him."

 Chapter 3074: The Selectionâ€™s Participants

    <h4>Chapter 3074: The Selection¡¯s Participants</h4>

    Lu Yin appeared to hesitate after hearing Di Qiong''s deration. "But I¡¯ve already failed."

    "No one has ever seen Di Xia''s face," Di Qiong said dismissively.

    This was something that Lu Yin had actually considered. The only way he could participate in the Divine Selection was by eliminating Di Xia and taking his ce. Lu Yin understood Di Qiong quite well, and thus he knew that De Qiong would never give up on the Divine Selection. Even if the man knew that it was impossible for his representatives to win, he would still push them to try.

    The events had yed out just as expected.

    "I am willing to serve you, but the results..."

    "Just do your best. Luck is also very important during the Divine Selection," Di Qiong stated in a tone that clearly revealed he no longer had any hope for his people to pass the Divine Selection.

    Ye Bo might have mastered aprehension technique, but that was not enough to change the overall situation.

    Di Xia was iparable to Ye Bo. If aprehension technique was enough to ovee such a gap, Ye Bo would not have lost to Qiu.

    At this point, Di Qiong was only hoping at least one of the Second Scourge¡¯s representative¡¯s had failed the initial assessment. If they had, he would lose Wu Tian.

    Ye Bo soon returned with a very different appearance. He was shrouded in a ck robe, impersonating Di Xia.

    Di Qiong was very reluctant to have Ye Bo impersonate Di Xia, and he had only gone through with it to avoid an instant and humiliating defeat for his Third Scourge. The man cautioned Ye Bo, "Just try to endure for a few days in the Divine Selection. If things be too difficult, just escape."

    Di Qiong had survived a Divine Selection himself, which was how he had obtained his current position. He was fully aware of just how brutal the next assessment was.

    Di Qiong also shared with Ye Bo that the next assessment of the Divine Selection would take ce at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin worked to suppress his excitement. He was finally going to see the Immemorial Citadel.

    Surprisingly, his first sight of the ce would not be as a human, but rather as a member of Aeternus.

    The Immemorial Citadel was a mysterious ce for most humans, as no one who went to that ce had ever returned, with the exception of Chu Yi. Even then, he had not returned to his own universe, but rather to the Sixverse Association to mediate a disagreement and prevent a war from breaking out between the Lu family and the Great Sovereign.

    The Immemorial Citadel was a ce where heroes were judged not by their cultivation, but by their willingness to fight to the death.

    That was the real Immemorial Citadel.

    Being able to go to the Immemorial Citadel meant that Lu Yin would see many human powerhouses who had either gone missing or were presumed dead, as well as Aeternus¡¯s Ossis Ark.

    The Immemorial Citadel was where many of humanity¡¯s peak powerhouses had gathered, while the Ossis Ark was the Aeternals¡¯ strongest weapon, and it was used to restrain or attack the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin would soon see all of this.

    ...

    Just a few dayster, Lu Yin followed Di Qiong through outer space to arrive at an unknown Scourge.

    It was the Second Scourge, which Di Qiong had informed Ye Bo of before they left the Third Scourge.

    They would be led to the Immemorial Citadel by the ruler of the Second Scourge, Xu Jin. He was one of the Three Pirs.

    Lu Yin had not expected the ruler of a Scourge to be one of the Three Pirs. The Three Pirs and Six Skies were supposedly Aeternus¡¯s equivalent to the Three Realms and Six Daos. Of the Three Realms and Six Daos, only the Six Daos had ruled over the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds, while the Three Realms had not. Aeternus had evidently made some changes.

    The Second Scourge did not look very different from the Third Scourge. The ground was the same dark color. Endless rivers of divine energy snaked through thend, Aeternus Kingdoms rose in the opposite direction of the ck Mother Tree, and tall towers sprinkled the horizon. Cosmic doors hung above everything, while a massive ck cloud sat beneath the ck Mother Tree.

    When Lu Yin and Di Qiong arrived, they saw that some others were already present.

    Lu Yin first noticed a couple of familiar faces: Shao Yin and Wang Fan.

    Lu Yin had expected Shao Yin to participate in the Divine Selection, but Wang Fan¡¯s presence was a surprise.

    It looked like Wang Fan had been doing well for himself in the First Scourge, if he had enough confidence in himself to join the Divine Selection.

    Aside from those two men, there were two other individuals who caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    One was a little girl with long, sky-blue pig tails. She was only about a meter tall, and she was wearing a blue princess dress, ck leather boots, and white socks. On top of that, she was holding a teddy bear. Everything about her looked like a child.

    However, Lu Yin did not dare to underestimate the girl. Appearances were meaningless.

    The more harmless someone appeared, the more dangerous they often were.

    The fact that this little girl was qualified to represent a Scourge in the Divine Selection meant that she had killed her opponent in the first assessment. On the other hand, not even Lu Yin¡¯s identity as Ye Bo had passed that first assessment.

    There was another individual that looked even more bizarre. They were nothing but a ck cloth with a rough humanoid form. There were human facial features, but they were nothing but a single piece of ck cloth from head to toe.

    Unlike Lu Yin, who was disguised as Di Xia and shrouded in a ck robe to hide his appearance, this individual was literally nothing but ck cloth. Their form was hollow.

    Could a piece of ck clothe alive? Lu Yin felt incredibly confused.

    "Xu Jin, are these two your Second Scourge¡¯s representatives for the Divine Selection?" Di Qiong was also rather shocked. While the Scourges asionallymunicated with each other, the Three Pirs and Six Skies themselves rarely visited other Scourges, even if there was no restriction preventing them from doing so.

    Di Qiong remembered that hisst visit to the Second Scourge had been a thousand years before. It had been a rtively long time since, but not enough to mean much to someone at his level. For such a powerhouse, a single round of secluded training couldst for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

    Up in the sky, a moving eyeball appeared within the dark cloud. "Hehe, what do you think? They look rather impressive, don''t they?"

    Di Qiong scrutinized the little girl with blue pigtails and then nced at the ck cloth. "Each of them is more bizarre than the other."

    "Hehe, that''s what makes them interesting, no? Huh? Is that Di Xia?"

    Di Qiong¡¯s eyebrow rose, but he said nothing.

    The eyeball slowly moved down and moved closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s heartbeat slowed, and he started to feel quite anxious. He was not sure if the Three Pirs were capable of seeing through his disguise, but he was afraid of being discovered.

    The eyeball kept descending, fixed on Lu Yin.

    Di Qiong frowned and stepped in front of Lu Yin. "What is this? Are you trying to intimidate my people?"

    The eyeball turned to look at Di Qiong. "Who is that?"

    "Di Xia."

    "Are you sure?" The eyeball seemed skeptical.

    Di Qiong¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    The eyeball spun a few times. "Fine, if you say so. Di Qiong, don''t forget our bet, hehe. I look forward to having Wu Tiane to my Second Scourge."

    "Wu Tian?" Shao Yin and Wang Fan eximed in unison.

    The name Wu Tian might not mean much to those who had never heard of the man before, but for people from the Sixverse Association, hearing the name was a massive shock.

    Wu Tian was a legend.

    "May I ask where Wu Tian is?" Shao Yin could not hold back from asking.

    The eyeball turned to look at Shao Yin. "What? Do you want to join the bet too?"

    "What bet?" Wang Fan asked, puzzled.

    Di Qiong spoke up in a cold voice. "They are not qualified."

    The eyeball spun. It seemed to be smiling. "Don''t say that. Anyone who can join the Divine Selection has their own abilities. If they pass, their status will rise up to match our own."

    Di Qiong shrugged. "Over the years, just how many have actually passed the Divine Selection? How many of those are still alive? Let them return from the Immemorial Citadel alive first."

    At that moment, the void warped, and three more individuals stepped out. They were led by Arrow God. She was the crimson-haired powerhouse who had dominated the battlefield with her archery skills when the Sixverse Association had invaded the First Scourge. Only Sovereign Dou Sheng had been able to stand up to the woman, and that was because of thebination of his Triumphant Brawl and Extremes Must Be Reversed. None of the others, including even Lord Xu, had been able to handle Arrow God¡¯s attacks.

    Two other people stood behind Arrow God. One was an old man with a gloomy expression. His long, narrow eyes made him look rather sinister, and his entire body was emaciated, as if he had not eaten for many days. Everything about the man contributed to his eerie aura.

    The other person was the exact opposite. He was a handsome man who was wearing a white suit and top hat. His smile was gentle, and he looked like a very pleasant individual and the perfect gentleman.

    Everyst person participating in the Divine Selection looked abnormal.

    "Arrow God has arrived, to no surprise. The two behind you must be two of the Five Elders," the eyeball said with an evident smile.

    Arrow God''s expression was cold, and her eyes flickered past everyone before she finally focused on the girl with the blue pigtails and the humanoid ck cloth. "Lan Lan and Q. Aside from those two, your Second Scourge has no experts."

    "Hehe, the quality of powerhouses is more valuable than their number." The eyeball spun around.

    Arrow God''s gaze then fell onto Lu Yin. "Di Xia?"

    Di Qiong answered in a voice even colder than Arrow God¡¯s. "When ites to the sheer number of experts, your Fifth Scourge has the most, aside from the First Scourge. Which of your Five Elders are participating this time?"

    Arrow God said nothing.

    The gentleman in the white suit stepped up from behind Arrow God and offered a slow bow. "I am known as the Magician. Greetings to you, seniors."

    The girl with the blue pigtails excitedly pointed at the man. "What a handsome man! Is your name really the Magician?"

    The man straightened back up and gave the girl a warm smile. "Yes, I''m the Magician."

    The girl looked thrilled. "Great! There¡¯s finally a normal person! All of these others are monsters. Handsome man, I''m Lan Lan."

    "Hello, Lan Lan."

    "Hello, Mister."

    The creepy old man stepped up to stand beside the Magician, and he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Da Huang greets all of you seniors."

    Di Qiong stared at the old man. "Da Huang? The leader of the Five Elders?"

    The old man bowed, which caused his bones to nearly pierce through his skin. "Greetings, Senior Di Qiong."

    Di Qiong turned to look at Arrow God. "Sometimes I really envy you, having five sequence powerhouses under yourmand."

    Arrow God replied coldly, "You have quite a few of your own."

    The eyeball spun around. "The Fourth Scourge is the worst off of all of us. ckless God has stayed in the First Scourge for many years, leaving the Fourth Scourge with only a single sequence powerhouse, who died. For this Divine Selection, the only representative that the Fourth Scourge had was the first to fail and die. It¡¯s pitiful."

    "What about the Sixth Scourge?" Arrow God asked.

    The eyeball turned to stare at Arrow God, and Di Qiong also looked over. "Ji Luo."

    Arrow God frowned. <i>Ji Luo?</i>

    "Is he actually going to join?"

    "I can¡¯t say for sure. He didn''t join thest Divine Selection."

    "Things are different now. Corpse God nearly died."

    As soon as those words were spoken, a figure stepped out of the void in front of everyone.

    Lu Yin looked over, and his eyes flickered. <i>So fast!</i>

    He had only just seen the person, and they were already right in front of everyone.

    Lu Yin was positive that this movement had not been achieved by cutting through space or by passing through the void. This was pure speed, nothing more.

    This neer was wearing a conical hat with a few red ribbons hanging from it. His clothes were tattered, straw sandals covered his feet, and a pure ck sword hung from his waist. He looked like a down-on-his-luck swordsman, but his arrival wiped the smile from the Magician¡¯s face, Da Huang straightened up, and Lu Yin felt a terrible sense of danger. This person was far from simple.

    "Sure enough, Ji Luo is here." The eyeball spun around before slowly approaching the neer. "Ji Luo, I heard that Corpse God is dead. Is it true?"

    This miserable-looking swordsman was Ji Luo. Di Qiong and the others had guessed that he would attend before he had even appeared.

    It seemed that this person was regarded as the most likely victor.

 Chapter 3075: Immemorial Citadel

    <h4>Chapter 3075: Immemorial Citadel</h4>

    Ji Luo did not move. "Not dead."

    "So severely injured?" Di Qiong asked.

    "Yes."

    "Was he ambushed by the Sixverse Association?" Arrow God inquired.

    J clenched the hilt of his ck sword. "Yes."

    "Will you seek revenge?" The eye asked as it spun around. It even circled around Ji Luo once.

    Lu Yin just stared at Ji Luo. The way Di Qiong and the other rulers of the Scourges spoke to Ji Luo was noticeably different from how they interacted with the other participants of the Divine Selection. They clearly respected Ji Luo.

    There was no hesitation as Ji Luo replied, "I will."

    Di Qiong cocked a brow. "This isn¡¯t the only reason why you joined the Divine Selection, is it?"

    The eyeughed. "So that''s it! The Sixth Scourge can¡¯t get involved in the First Scourge''s affairs, so you want to avenge Corpse God by joining the Divine Selection. Once you pass, you can go to the First Scourge."

    "Yes."

    Lu Yin''s face fell. Avenging Corpse God meant that this Ji Luo was aiming at the Sixverse Association. This man could not leave the Immemorial Citadel alive.

    "Now that everyone has arrived, let''s go. The Divine Selection will take ce at the Immemorial Citadel. As long as you can survive there for a month, you¡¯ll pass, haha. Let''s go." The dark cloud dropped down and wrapped around Lu Yin and the others before tearing through the void and vanishing from the Second Scourge.

    As for the Second Scourge, Arrow God left without any hesitation.

    Di Qiong''s eyes flickered. He hoped that Ye Bo would not die. As long as he survived, Ye Bo would be the Third Scourge¡¯s best candidate for the next Divine Selection.

    Lu Yin had experienced traveling between parallel universes before, particrly when he had used Bi Rong¡¯spass to find universes where time flowed more quickly. He had even seen sequence strings when passing between the various universes.

    Their current journey felt quite simr to what Lu Yin had experienced before.

    Within the dark clouds, other than the eye, there were only the eight participants of the Divine Selection.

    As universes vanished behind them, they were suddenly surrounded by nothingness. There were not even any parallel universes to be seen. All that surrounded them was an endless darkness and, far off in the distance, a fiery blooming lotus.

    Lu Yin stared at the distant object in awe, and he instinctively used Heaven''s Sight to get a better look. He could see sequence strings connecting to the ming lotus from all directions. Lu Yin also saw the lotus itself more clearly, and he realized that it was indescribably magnificent and actually the Immemorial Citadel itself. The name could be seen in three ancient characters.

    Above all sequences.

    This was all that Lu Yin could think about at this moment. The countless sequence strings seemed to be suppressed by the Immemorial Citadel, and the way they were connected to the ce made it look as though the Immemorial Citadel was both the starting and ending point of all the parallel universes in the megaverse.

    The fiery lotus was exceptionally beautiful as it bloomed in the dark expanse of outer space. It was massive, and bright mes shrouded the Immemorial Citadel. It was more impressive than anything else Lu Yin had ever seen.

    The Immemorial Citadel was a ce that had been of immense importance since ancient times, and the moment Lu Yin finallyid eyes on it, he seemed to hear countless war cries, endless battle drums, andughter in the face of death.

    With Heaven''s Sight, he also saw how sequence particles absolutely filled the megaverse.

    At the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, Lu Yin had seen sequence particlespletely fill the sky.

    When the Five Spirits Alliance had staged a battle against the Luna Alliance, Lu Yin had seen sequence particles fill outer space.

    When the Lord of Lightning, the Great Sovereign, and the Sixverse Association had each invaded the First Scourge, Lu Yin had also witnessed countless sequence particles. However, those previous disys were like trickling streamspared to the ocean currently disyed before Lu Yin.

    There was not a dense gathering of sequence particles. Instead, they acted like the air itself with the way that they spread throughout the megaverse.

    There were all different kinds of sequence particles floating about, which made Lu Yin wonder. Did the sequence particles he had seen in various parallel universes all originate from this ce, or were all these various sequence particles present because there were so many sequence powerhouses constantly fighting at the Immemorial Citadel. It seemed possible that the endless war had filled the megaverse with sequence particles.

    Lu Yin did not know which option was better, but he did know that, given his current strength, moving forward would be like an ant charging into the ocean. There was no telling what might happen.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time feeling so outmatched ever since he had be a Semi-Progenitor. He had not encountered any danger yet, but he already had no confidence that he could stay alive.

    This was the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin was finally seeing it. This was the legendary ce that had taken countless of his predecessors.

    This was also where Mister Mu had to be.

    The dark clouds moved towards the Immemorial Citadel. There was nothing else to be seen. Lu Yin could clearly make out various sequence strings, each of which connected to various parallel universes, while traveling through them. However, there did not seem to be any parallel universes near the Immemorial Citadel. No matter where Lu Yin looked, he could only see the bit of empty space that held the Immemorial Citadel.

    "It is impossible to tear through the void to escape within the vicinity of the Immemorial Citadel. Cosmic doors can¡¯t be opened either. You can only do either of those things after you flee a certain distance away from the citadel, so be careful." The eye spun around before abruptly turning to stare straight ahead. In that direction, a finger was falling, and the sight of it caused the eye to shout, "Chu Yi, it''s you again!"

    "Judging by the time, this should be your Aeternals¡¯ Divine Selection." A familiar voice echoed in Lu Yin''s ear. It was Chu Yi, the Dao Monarch of the First Maind during the Heavens Sect era. He was one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, as well as Ancestor Lu Tianyi¡¯s master.

    "Haha, let''s see if your Immemorial Citadel can kill them all," the eye spat back as it countered the descending finger.

    There was an explosion, and the void twisted as sequence particles scattered. The finger shattered the counterattack and continued to press down towards Lu Yin and the others. All of them felt an indescribable chill envelop them.

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. There was no way to escape from this finger, no matter what he tried. The finger seemed to freeze both time and space. It looked like just one finger, and yet it felt like eight, as each of the representatives had to bear the attack on their own.

    Shao Yin raised a hand, and his sequence particles that merged Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang formed a beam that shot at the falling finger.

    At the same time, Wang Fan, Lan Lan, Qi, and all the other experts attacked as well.

    Ji Luo drew his ck sword and shed at the finger.

    Divine power surged up from within Lu Yin, and he used it to fiercely attack the finger falling upon him.

    Shockwaves sted out from each of the terrifying impacts, and they tore space apart as they swept out. The Hollow opened up, and its tears continued to spread out.

    This not only happened directly around the participants in the Divine Selection, but simr events yed out further away in other directions from the Immemorial Citadel. Everywhere, the Hollow continued to appear and disappear, and various figures constantly moved through it. On this battlefield, the Hollow did not seem as feared as it was in most parallel universes.

    Lu Yin was blown back by the impact. His eyes tracked the falling finger. Chu Yi had managed to overpower the eight counterattacks, but his finger had lost a great deal of power.

    However, Lu Yin had learned the Dao of One Heavens, and he used it to escape from the weakened finger.

    Shao Yin and others all fled as well, each of them using their own methods.

    However, Chu Yi''s finger scattered the eight individuals challenging the Divine Selection.

    "Another Divine Selection? I killed one of themst time!" An old man¡¯sugh rang out in the distance.

    "Jian An, don''t be shameless. Last time, it was three against one, and yet you dare to take all the credit?" Another old man spoke up, this one surrounded by eighteen twisted tentacles formed from sequence particles.

    If one could not see sequence particles, the tentacles would not particrly matter, but for those who could see them, the old man looked like a monster.

    "Old Chen, let''spete this time. Whoever wins gets Sisi."

    "Fine, we¡¯llpete, but if you lose, you can¡¯t be shameless and back out."

    "We''ve both pursued Sisi for countless years, ever since we first became cultivators. We have to settle things this time."

    "Silence!" An old woman stepped out from another direction. Her head was full of silver hair, and she red at the two old men. "Enough with the chit chat! Attack."

    "Behold, thergest fist in the megaverse!" Jian An raised an arm and threw his fist at the void. As he did so, Lu Yin and the others looked up to see an enormous fist descending towards them. The fist wasposed entirely of sequence particles, and it threatened everyone beneath it.

    The eighteen sequence particle tentacles danced behind Old Chen as they swept towards everyone.

    Three tentacles shot towards Lu Yin. His divine energy boiled around him as he did nothing but defend himself. The tentacles were incredibly powerful, and given the fact that they were formed from sequence particles, Lu Yin did not dare to hold back with his divine energy. He did not know what sort ofw the old man hadprehended, but the slightest bit of carelessness could spell disaster for Lu Yin.

    Not far away, the gloomy old man from the Fifth Scourge who went by Da Huang had summoned a triangr object above his head. It surrounded him with a circr ring that kept spinning, and it blocked all the tentacles from approaching Da Huang. Surprisingly, the ring did not use any sequence particles itself.

    Further away, the Magician never stopped moving. As the tentacles attacked him, he raised a hand. There were mes burning in his palm. The fire attacked the tentacles, and they were forced to retreat.

    The most impressive was Ji Luo, who severed five tentacles with a single sh of his ck sword. The power of his attack reminded Lu Yin of Senior Brother Mu Ke.

    There was no question that Ji Luo was an incredibly strong powerhouse.

    Lu Yin could not pay attention to any of the others. The tentacles tangled around him, constantlyshing out and depleting his divine energy.

    He was the first of the Divine Selection challengers to use any divine energy. Even if the others had their own, they would not use it as early or as recklessly as Lu Yin. For the others, divine energy was something to hold in reserve to save their lives at a critical moment. No one else could waste divine energy like Lu Yin.

    The others were watching Lu Yin, just as he had been watching them. When they saw him use divine energy so soon, they proceeded to ignore him, as it seemed that Di Xia was not nearly as impressive as they had heard.

    Jian An''s enormous fist was stopped by Qi, who was a ck cloth. The cloth opened up and enveloped the fist, which caused it to disintegrate. Seeing this startled Jian An, as he had never encountered such a bizarrebat power before.

    Countless red umbres appeared in space, brought out by the old woman whom the two men referred to as Sisi.

    Shao Yin struck out again and again, shattering the red umbres. Since Lu Yin had no idea what purpose the umbres served, he refused to let them get anywhere close to him, though doing this forced him to expend even more divine energy.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin caught sight of a familiar technique out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned to look his expression changed drastically. Void Rip?

    A thin ck line sliced through space in the distance, going straight at Da Huang.

    The old man was standing inside his ring, and neither the red umbres nor the sequence particle tentacles could touch him. However, when the ck line of the Void Rip passed by, the ring was cut in two. Da Huang''s eyes went wide in disbelief. How was this possible?

    His innate gift was called Infinite Cycle because he could cycle his energy through the ring, and anyone who wanted to break through the ring had to have the strength to instantly shatter all of Da Huang¡¯s power. He was a sequence powerhouse and the leader of the Fifth Scourge¡¯s Five Elders; just who could overpower him in such a manner?

    He had always been confident that the only people who could overwhelm and defeat him were those whose strength was equal to the Three Pirs and Six Skies. He had never expected to die as soon as he arrived at the Immemorial Citadel. He had not even been able to see the entire city, let alone touch a single brick of it.

    As Da Huang¡¯s ring split in two, so did he.

 Chapter 3076: We Were Once Here

    <h4>Chapter 3076: We Were Once Here</h4>

    Lu Yin was amazed by what he saw. Unless he was mistaken, Da Huang had perished without even bringing out his sequence particles.

    Who had attacked him?

    "Bai Mu?" Wang Fan¡¯s startled voice echoed.

    He had been mostly passive since arriving at the Immemorial Citadel. His strength was not very impressive within the group of participants in the Divine Selection, but he could not stop himself from speaking up.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. The person who had attacked Da Huang was a young man who was holding a giant gourd of wine, which he was drinking out of. While the man appeared to be quite young, it was impossible to count the number of years he had lived.

    Bai Mu was a name Lu Yin was familiar with. He was connected to Void Rip, and he was someone quite important.

    He had been the sect leader of the Celestial Frost Sect, as well as the first patriarch of the Bai family.

    The Celestial Frost Sect had been a formidable faction even during the Heavens Sect era, and they had been second only to the Lu family in the Fifth Maind. Bai Mu had founded the Celestial Frost Sect, and he was from the same era as Forgotten Ruins God, Wang Miaomiao.

    Lu Yin had only learned about Bai Mu after he defeated the Celestial Frost Sect, but he had not expected that this ancient powerhouse would still be alive at the Immemorial Citadel.

    It was no wonder why the man was able to use Void Rip. With just one attack, he had effortlessly cleaved through Da Huang.

    Bai Mu held his gourd of wine as he nced over at Wang Fan. "You recognize me? Are you from the Fifth Maind? It looks like we¡¯ve got a traitor."

    Wang Fan nched. He had never imagined that Bai Mu would still be alive. Who would have thought that Bai Mu had survived for so many years? Wasn¡¯t it known that he had died in a war during the Heavens Sect era? That was what was recorded in the Celestial Frost Sect''s history.

    <i>Damn it, all of them faked their deaths beforeing here to the Immemorial Citadel.</i>

    Aeternus had done everything possible to prevent humans from reaching the Immemorial Citadel, which meant that only the strongest human powerhouses could make the trip. Even so, people had continuously found ways to strengthen the Immemorial Citadel.

    Regardless, Wang Fan could see death in Bai Mu''s eyes, and he retreated. Wang Fan would not fight this man. No matter how confident Wang Fan might be in his own abilities, he did not believe he could defeat Bai Mu, the founder of the Celestial Frost Sect. This was a man who had lived for eons.

    "Brother Bai Mu, is that fellow another person from our Fifth Maind?" Chen Laogui¡¯s voice rang out.

    Bai Mu took another sip of wine. "He recognized me, and he also looks familiar. Let me think... I think... he must be someone from the Wang family?"

    Sequence particles condensed around Old Chen, forming more tentacles. Nearly ten of them suddenly shot towards Wang Fan. "A traitor from the Fifth Maind should be dealt with by our Fifth Maind. Remember, my name is Jin Chen!"

    Wang Fan was startled. "Jin Chen? The Daosource Sect elder? One of the previous generation¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?"

    "So, he really is from our Fifth Maind. We came to the right area. Die!" Old Chen''s tentacles furiouslyshed out at Wang Fan.

    Only one tentacle stayed behind to attack Lu Yin, as all the rest were all aimed at Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan was quite unlucky. It was not always a good thing to know too many people.

    However, Wang Fan had not expected to find Bai Mu at the Immemorial Citadel, or for Old Chen to be one of the former Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    The Heavens Sect had been destroyed, and the Fifth Maind and the Sixth Maind were all that remained of the original six Mainds. As for the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, they had always been in the Fifth Maind after the fall of the Heavens Sect.

    The amount of time that had passed between the Heavens Sect and Progenitor Chen¡¯s era was significant, and many peak powerhouses had appeared during that period. While it was not clear why there were no records of that time or those people. It was not surprising to find previous generations of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin had already faced one of the previous Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Heavens Sect era during his initial assessment for the Divine Selection, and Qiu was much, much older than Old Chen.

    The Forgotten Ruins appeared beneath Wang Fan''s feet, and they spread out to form and that reached Jin Chen and Bai Mu''s feet. However, before the Forgotten Ruins could fully manifest, one of the many red umbres fell and broke through thend mass. The red umbres all looked quite ordinary, but not even the Forgotten Ruins could endure an attack from one of them.

    Death energy emanated from Wang Fan''s body, and ck trees sprouted around him as a dark forest spreading across the Forgotten Ruins.

    "Death energy?" Jin Chen was surprised.

    Bai Mu lowered his gourd of wine and raised a hand. Two points appeared, and a line formed between them: Void Rip.

    It was at this moment that Shao Yin raised his own hand, and he pointed a finger at Bai Mu. A beam of light that formed from the merging of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang shot forth, and it split the Void Rip in two. The beam continued on towards Bai Mu, who threw his wine gourd. There were sequence particles attached to the gourd, and Shao Yin¡¯s beam was absorbed, stunning the former Sovereign.

    After that, the gourd pointed at Shao Yin, and the same beam shot back at the man. While the strength of this attack was no different, it was formed from entirely different sequence particles, and itpletely overpowered Shao Yin¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Everything happening here was only one small corner of the battle raging around the Immemorial Citadel. Far away, an even more fierce battle was taking ce, but it was beyond Lu Yin¡¯s sight, even with Heaven¡¯s Sight, due to the absurd number of sequence particles present. This was truly the greatest battlefield in the war between humanity and Aeternus. The Sixverse Association would struggle to kill any of Aeternus¡¯s participant on this battlefield, and yet they somehow seemed weak before the Immemorial Citadel. Shao Yin''s sequence particles were no longer invincible. The Pupilless Transformation was no longer quite so terrifying, and even attacks at Senior Brother Mu Ke¡¯s level were being blocked.

    Da Huang¡¯s innate gift had been sliced in two by a Void Rip.

    It was no wonder why the Divine Selection was held at the Immemorial Citadel. This ce was a millstone that ground away at the lives of even sequence powerhouses.

    Up above, a giant fist was still hammering at Qi, the being of ck cloth, and the odd creature was doing its best to restrain the fist. Jian An kept attacking with his tentacles, but he failed to notice that a figure had appeared right behind him. Emotionless eyes gleamed beneath a conical hat as a sword flickered.

    "Jian An, watch out!" An old woman saw the assassin, and she screamed in anguish.

    She was toote. Ji Luo''s sword shed across, and it sliced through sequence particles as it decapitated Jian An.

    The man had not even seen who had struck him down.

    The old woman stared at Jian An''s corpse in a daze. They had been friends for countless years, knowing each other since they had first started cultivating. They had supported each other through family, foes, and had even harbored unspoken feelings for each other. The old woman¡¯s eyes flushed red at the sight of Jian An¡¯s death. More and more red umbres appeared, each formed from sequence particles, and all of them moved towards Ji Luo.

    Sequence particles fell from the red umbres like strings of beads. It was a beautiful sight, but also deadly.

    Ji Luo suddenly disappeared. He moved with a speed that not even sequence powerhouses could see. Once speed reached a certain level, there was no longer any need to travel through the void.

    Ji Luo''s sword appeared right in front of the old woman''s forehead. Mysteriously, a wine gourd appeared there as well, and it blocked the ck sword. Bai Mu''s expression had turned serious. They were facing a true expert.

    Above, Qi¡¯s ck cloth moved towards the old woman as well.

    At that moment, a hand suddenly stretched out from inside the Immemorial Citadel, reaching for a corner of the battlefield. Qi was instantly grabbed, as distance meant nothing to this hand. "An Aeternus weapon? A weapon that has gained sapience? I need to study this."

    With that, Qi vanished. He had been captured and dragged into the Immemorial Citadel.

    The sight of one of their peers disappearing terrified the Magician and the others.

    Even Ji Luo froze for a moment. While his facial expression could not be seen beneath his conical hat, it was easy to sense his shock.

    Of course, Lu Yin also saw the hand take Qi away. In fact, everyone on the battlefield around the Immemorial Citadel had seen the hand reach out from the city, and everyone fell silent for a moment.

    Lan, who Lu Yin had barely even noticed, had already slipped away. He had never seen her release any attacks, though she had fought against some enemies. She had faced off against one of Old Chen¡¯s tentacles, but the girl¡¯s battle had been so silent that Lu Yin had not caught so much as a glimpse of it.

    She had fled the battlefield quite quickly.

    In short order, of the eight participants of the Divine Selection, one had died, one had been captured, and one had fled. Each of these individuals was a powerful elite expert of Aeternus. They werepeting for the chance to rece the Three Pirs and Six Skies. They were among the best, even among sequence powerhouses, but in front of the Immemorial Citadel, they werepletely unremarkable.

    In this ce, sequence particles were as ubiquitous as air, and life and death were determined by luck.

    That hand could grab anyone, and no one could fight back against it.

    mes zed in the starry sky, incinerating the red umbres. The Magician had taken action.

    His usual smile was gone. Of Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges, the First Scourge dealt with the Sixverse Association, and the other five each had their opponents. For Aeternus, just like the humans, not all of their powerhouses would go to the battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel, and those who did rarely left.

    The same was true for both humans and Aeternals, and none of the participants in the Divine Selection had ever witnessed the war at the Immemorial Citadel before.

    These few moments of battle not only shocked Lu Yin, but it also shook the rest of the participants.

    None of them had expected to stand on the brink of death the moment they arrived at the battlefield.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. He had not been forced to reveal his true strength, and he had instead been constantly releasing divine energy. He did not dare to hold back or stop, as he feared being ambushed.

    Da Huang had been killed by a Void Rip, and while the technique was undoubtedly powerful, the man had been killed because he had been caught off guard. Otherwise, Da Huang might have been able to use his own sequence particles to fight back.

    This ce was a battlefield, not a ce for duels.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s caution, he still managed to catch Old Chen''s attention.

    Ye Bo¡¯s usage of divine energy was too conspicuous. He was constantly releasing it, which waspletely unlike anyone else from Aeternus. None of the other neers had used their divine energy yet, and this made Lu Yin a target. Suddenly, ten tentacles moved to attack him.

    He was instantly ced under immense pressure.

    In the distance, more and more red umbres appeared. The old woman had locked onto Ji Luo, whose sword was terrifying. If not for Bai Mu, the old woman would not be able to block any of the shes.

    After fighting fiercely for a time, Old Chen sighed and said with resignation, "Sisi, when we decided toe to the Immemorial Citadel, we never thought that we would return alive. We¡¯re already considered dead back home, and we have been ever since we left. It''s just a matter of whether we die sooner orter. Leave this one to me. Go deal with the others."

    The old woman¡¯s voice grew heavy. "Do you wish to die?"

    "So do you."

    "Chen, I hope to see you in the next world."

    Old Chen was momentarily stunned, but then his pupils suddenly shrank, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he roared, "Stop!¡±

    A pair of slitted scarlet eyes had appeared behind the old woman. A corpse king had arrived, but by the time she noticed the monster, it was already toote. The corpse king¡¯s hand pierced through her abdomen, though she seemed to have anticipated it. She shot a smile at Old Chen. "As I walked down the path of cultivation, it was truly wonderful to have all of you by my side."

    A red umbre then appeared beneath her feet, and it enveloped both her and the corpse king before it shot into the ming lotus of the Immemorial Citadel.

    Old Chen stared nkly as the red umbre entered the mes. All that remained was a wisp of smoke that drifted upwards.

    Bai Mu closed his eyes and sighed. "The goddess of an era has fallen. No matter how brilliant one is in life, who will remember them in death?

    "I merely hope that we will be able to leave a gravestone here in Immemorial Citadel, not to leave our names, but simply to acknowledge that we were once here. A sign of those who have been here."

    Lu Yin struggled to fend off the tentacles, but then they suddenly vanished. He turned to see Chen Laogui raging and shouting madly. He was surrounded by all eighteen tentacles, and he shot away. The Hollow erupted, and a massive white ship appeared.

    Lu Yin stared intently. This was the Ossis Ark.

    "Three of the eight are already dead. Now it¡¯s my turn, hahaha! I''ming! You two won''t shake me off."

    A de swept out, and before Jin Chen could even reach the Ossis Ark, his body was split in two, and the Hollow devoured his body.

    It happened in just a single moment, a fleeting incident, but that was all it took for an ancient sequence powerhouse to perish.

 Chapter 3077: The Immemorial Citadel And The Ossis Ark

    Chapter 3077: The Immemorial Citadel And The Ossis Ark

    The Ossis Ark revealed itself from where it had been hidden in the Hollow. Lu Yin now understood how a corpse king had suddenly appeared behind the old woman; it had left the Hollow, as it had been on the Ossis Ark.

    Humanity had the Immemorial Citadel, while the Aeternals had the Ossis Ark.

    Three of the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s sequence powerhouses had just fallen, and Shao Yin and Wang Fan took advantage of the opening given by the Ossis Ark¡¯s arrival to retreat. Lu Yin also did not dare to linger, and he raced away to an area that seemed to hold fewer sequence particles.

    However, he was soon targeted once again.

    Right as Chen Laoguai disappeared into the Hollow, more people appeared from the Immemorial Citadel, and they rained attacks down on the Aeternals.

    One of the neers focused on Lu Yin, and he chased after him relentlessly.

    This pursuer had bluish skin and hard scales on his face that looked like lime kes. While he did have a human form, it was clear that prolonged exposure to a specific environment hadpletely transformed his appearance.

    The man¡¯s pupils were slightly smaller than normal, and when those eyes locked onto Lu Yin, chills ran down his spine.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s attacker was unable to keep up with Lu Yin''s speed. As Lu Yin pulled away, the pursuer stopped chasing. At that moment, Lu Yin felt as though everything around him had been transformed into a map, with his pursuer at the center. A star appeared before Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. This was not a, but a star, a bright point of light like one would see from a great distance."Road''s End: Andromeda." A deep voice echoed in Lu Yin''s ears, and he was suddenly ovee by a wave of weakness. His entire body was dragged towards the star.

    He tried to escape, but he could not summon any power. The star was not pulling him with its gravity, but rather sapping his strength away. He was weakened and unable to exert any strength or speed.

    Behind him, the blue-skinned man threw a powerful palm strike. Trapped between the pulling force in front of him and the terrifying attack from behind, Lu Yin was in a dire situation.

    Once again, he unleashed his divine energy, straining to resist the star''s pull while also deflecting the attack.

    The bluish-man was visibly surprised, though not by Lu Yin¡¯s ability to block the palm strike. Rather, Lu Yin¡¯s resistance to the pull of Road''s End: Andromeda was what shocked the man.

    That was the man¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, and he had not expected Lu Yin to be able to ovee it.

    The man had gained a rough understanding of Lu Yin''s strength, which was why the man had chosen to pursue Lu Yin. The bluish man did not want to die while trying to fight against Ji Luo.

    Surprisingly, Lu Yin had been able to resist.

    As for Lu Yin, he had not anticipated the star''s energy-draining ability to be this formidable. It had depleted most of his strength. This was not the strength that he revealed as Ye Bo, but Lu Yin¡¯s true strength. At this moment, he was unable to exert his full power.

    He turned to look back. At this moment, divine energy isted Lu Yin from all external forces. The blue-skinned man continued his assault, but while none of the palm strikes were particrly powerful, they each carried a unique pressure rted to thew of the universe the man had mastered, and it seemed to be aw rted to some sort of oppression.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s mouth fell open from shock and he stared off into the distance.

    What was that he had just seen? The Magician had been smacked away by a slipper.

    <em>A slipper?</em>

    Lu Yin stared at the slipper as it flew through space until it arrived at the feet of a man who was picking his nose while looking around with tant contempt.

    The slipper belonged to the man, but he was only wearing one slipper, and his other foot was bare.

    Lu Yin stared in bewilderment. Did his own slipper belong to this man?

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze intensified.

    The man was rather average looking, but had a very arrogant demeanor, and he looked around with absolute indifference. His right hand picked his nose, while his left hand scratched his head. He appeared to be rather frustrated. Everything about the man¡¯s appearance screamed that he was a rascal, though his most striking feature was his clothes, as all of the cloth bore a chessboard pattern.

    It was Ce Wangtian.

    Despite never seeing so much as a picture of the man, Lu Yin instantly knew that he was looking at Ce Wangtian. Who else could he be?

    A rogue who loved to y chess and whose face people wanted to punch by simply seeing it. There was no one else quite like Ce Wangtian.

    Had Lu Yin really Pilfered Ce Wangtian''s slipper? Lu Yin suddenly felt an indescribable sense of irritation.

    Big Sis had seen Lu Yin hit many people with that slipper, so why had she never recognized it?

    His slipper belonged to Ce Wangtian. Really?

    The pressure was still building behind Lu Yin. The blue-skinned man''s eyes grew cold. "You dare to look elsewhere while fighting me? You are certainly confident."

    The man was able to see Ye Bo¡¯s face beneath the ck robe. In fact, Xu Jin and Arrow God had also seen his face. However, it was possible that they had not recognized Ye Bo¡¯s face, but even if they had, neither would have cared. Ye Bo had been eliminated from the Divine Selection, while Di Xia had passed the first assessment. Di Qiong''s decision to rece Di Xia with Ye Bo had nothing to do with the rulers of the two Scourges.

    In fact, they would be happy to see a failure rece a victor.

    Lu Yin looked away from Ce Wangtian and refocused on his own, blue-skinned opponent. Lu Yin gathered his thoughts and attacked: Setting Sun.

    It was already known that many human powerhouses who were presumed dead were actually at the Immemorial Citadel. It should not be surprising to encounter anyone on this battlefield, and for the moment, Lu Yin needed to deal with the immediate threat before him.

    The sliver of a setting sun appeared in the darkness, and the sight of a horizon shocked the blue-skinned man. As Lu Yin''s arm moved, the man''s understanding of strength was erased, and his mind went nk. He felt himself lose control of his own body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His Progenitor¡¯s world vanished, and then he was sent flying by Lu Yin''s palm strike.

    Lu Yin turned and left without pressing his sudden advantage.

    Once Lu Yin had moved away, the blue-skinned man vigorously shook his head and then cleaned the blood from his lips. Shock filled his eyes. "Was that aprehension technique?"

    At that moment, a shadow appeared behind the man. It was a ten-meter-tall corpse king. The monster clenched its fists and punched down at the bluish-skinned man. The man turned to face the blow directly, and after grabbing hold of the corpse king''s fist, he used the momentum of the attack to hurl the corpse king away.

    The blue-skinned man reluctantly looked over at where Lu Yin had escaped to, turned around, and left.

    The blue-skinned man''s name was Qing Hui, and those who knew him knew of his formidable defenses.

    Lu Yin had just experienced it for himself. He had managed tond a palm strike on Qing Hui, hitting the man¡¯s skin, but failing to break it. In fact, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had caused absolutely no injuries. While Lu Yin was relieved that he had not harmed one of the Immemorial Citadel''s powerhouses and had subsequently held back with his Setting Sun, he had still been shocked by the strength of a random powerhouse from the Immemorial Citadel.

    This was the strength of the Immemorial Citadel. This was the final destination of humanity¡¯s greatest cultivators, as they never left this ce.

    Going to the Immemorial Citadel required immense willpower, as established individuals were essentially asked to forsake their positions, their families, and everything they knew to fight and die at the Immemorial Citadel. It was the site of the fiercest battlefield that humanity knew.

    Qing Hui returned to the Immemorial Citadel, and when he arrived at the city wall, he saw Bai Mu, Ce Wangtian, and Chu Yi. Beneath the wall, mes burned brightly.

    "The Aeternals have sent thergest group ever for this Divine Selection, and they¡¯re also the strongest," Chu Yi stated solemnly. "Jian An and the others are already dead."

    Bai Mu took a sip of wine. "Even if the Immemorial Citadel is constantly at war, deaths here are not that frequent. If they were, how could we endure? The deaths of Jian An and the others have created a gap in this section."

    Ce Wangtian picked his nose. "Aeternus is also suffering casualties. Of the eight participants in their Divine Selection, one has died, one was captured, and one escaped. Also, the one I pped with my slipper went missing, so I guess there¡¯s only four left."

    He looked over at Qing Hui as he arrived. "How did it go for you?"

    Qing Hui''s expression was somber. "He has aprehension technique."

    The other three men were all surprised. "Aprehension technique?"

    Qing Hui nodded and cleaned his mouth again. "It erased my understanding of power."

    Ce Wangtian flicked his fingers. "Aprehension technique? That¡¯s quite tricky."

    "Leave him to me," an old man said as he walked over. He looked quite frail, as he was trembling from the mere effort of moving.

    Ce Wangtian rolled his eyes. "Old Zhong Tou, stop the act. You can move faster than anyone. What''s with that act?"

    The old man sighed. "I''m old, really old. I can barely walk anymore, unlike you young people who are so full of energy."

    Bai Mu nced over. "Saying something like that could get you punched. All of us are older than you."

    Old Zhong Tou chuckled as he settled down onto the wall.

    The ming lotus zed, contrasting against the darkness of outer space, and it cast a red glow on the old man¡¯s face. "I wonder how long I will be able to see this fire lotus for. It will be my final resting ce."

    He took a few steps and suddenly vanished.

    Bai Mu held his gourd of wine tightly. "Which of us won¡¯t ultimately end up in those mes? The fire lotus is both the guardian and the destroyer of the Immemorial Citadel."

    The Immemorial Citadel was surrounded by an incredibly vast battlefield. It extended beyond the bounds of a single universe, as the sequence strings were spread across countless parallel universes. However, there were no parallel universes near the Immemorial Citadel.

    If the megaverse was a sphere, then the Immemorial Citadel stood at the top, far above everything. For a great distance beneath the Immemorial Citadel, there were no parallel universes. The space around the citadel was rather simr to the Hollow that opened up in parallel universes.

    Everything in that empty expanse was part of the Immemorial Citadel''s battlefield.

    There was no safe ce to be found. If the Immemorial Citadel could be seen, then the observer was on the battlefield.

    Lu Yin sessfully escaped from Qing Hui, and then he fled to the edge of the battlefield. Despite his speed, he encountered a fair number of dangerous situations, though most were from other people¡¯s battles and were not attacks directed at him. Distance meant nothing on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. The greatest threat that Lu Yin faced was a spear image that shot out from the Immemorial Citadel. It pierced through space, and it took out two Aeternal powerhouses who had been hidden in the Hollow.

    All of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses on this the battlefield hade from the Ossis Ark. Lu Yin had realized this. The Ossis Ark was a fortress that held a great number of Aeternal powerhouses, and there were more experts hidden in the ship than he dared to even imagine. His fear of the Ossis Ark was once again reinforced. While Lu Yin had not been able to confirm everything that Yu Huo had mentioned, one thing was quite clear: the Ossis Ark rivaled the Immemorial Citadel. If it entered the Sixverse Association, all of the associated universes would be instantly and utterly destroyed.

    The Immemorial Citadel had human experts like Mister Mu, but the Ossis Ark held equally powerful individuals. This could be seen by the fact that the Ossis Ark could endure against even Mister Mu.

    The Ossis Ark was not truly a weapon, but rather a transport ship. It housed Aeternus¡¯s experts, and the upants of the Ossis Ark wereparable to the human powerhouses in the Immemorial Citadel. The Immemorial Citadel was where all of humanity''s strongest powerhouses throughout all of history had gathered, while the Ossis Ark was the same for the Aeternals.

    As the days passed, Lu Yin never stayed in one ce for very long, as he was terrified of being struck by hidden attacks.

    He had witnessed the deaths of many of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses, and the Aeternals had suffered far more casualties than the Immemorial Citadel. Even so, the Ossis Ark continued to release more powerhouses.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3078: Pursuit

    Chapter 3078: Pursuit

    Lu Yin had not encountered Ji Luo, Shao Yin, or any of the other participants of the Divine Selection, as they had all hidden themselves.

    Even for someone as powerful as Ji Luo, death coulde at any moment on the current battlefield.

    Also, the participants of the Divine Selection were undoubtedly targets for the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s powerhouses. Even if the Ossis Ark contained many powerful experts, not all of them could rival the Seven Skygods, whereas the participants of the Divine Selection were quite close to that level.

    It was time for Lu Yin to move again. He had stayed in the same ce for two hours, and he could not linger any longer.

    Just as he was about to leave, a sense of danger fell upon him. This feeling had be all too familiar to Lu Yin after he arrived at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. Every attack that approached him gave him this sensation.

    He scanned the area with Heaven¡¯s Sight, and he immediately noticed a pair of eyes staring at him from the distance. They belonged to an old man. He looked weathered and quite frail, to the point where he looked like he might copse at any moment. However, when the old man stared at Lu Yin, his gaze brought about a sense of imminent danger.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate, and he simply fled. He had no intention of fighting against any of the powerhouses from the Immemorial Citadel. All of them were the most powerful experts of their generation from the multiple eras of human civilization.

    The old man sighed. "You joined the Divine Selection, and yet you don''t even want to fight? You are too cautious."

    Lu Yin ignored the man and instead picked up his speed.The old man''s eyes shed. "A peak powerhouse who¡¯s mastered aprehension technique? You can''t be allowed to live."

    With that, the old man¡¯s hand rose up, and he pinched his fingers together as though he was grabbing something.

    Lu Yin suddenly froze when he was trying to escape, and his face contorted with pain. He clutched at his chest. He was suffering from an indescribable agony that felt like his heart was being burnt by the sun. He could not see any sign of an attack. There was no battle technique, no sequence particles, no Progenitor¡¯s world. There was nothing.

    How was he being attacked?

    He turned around to look at the old man.

    The old man was also staring at Lu Yin, his hand stretched out in Lu Yin''s direction.

    Realization suddenly struck Lu Yin. This was aprehension technique. The old man was attacking with aprehension technique. That was why Heaven¡¯s Sight could not see anything.

    The old man''s technique targeted Lu YIn¡¯s heart, though that was not quite right. It was much like how Lu Yin¡¯s Setting Sun seemed to burn his enemies, but they were not actually being burnt.

    Lu Yin quickly raised his hand, and he mirrored the old man''s position as he used Setting Sun.

    Once again, the darkness of outer space was illuminated by a beautiful, warm sunset. The old man found the sight beautiful, but also terrifying.

    "You can still attack while under my Burning Heart¡¯s effects?" the old man eximed as he tried to evade Setting Sun. However, there was no escape from the sunset. As Setting Sun disappeared, the horizon was illuminated by the afterglow.

    When Setting Sun disappeared, the old man grew pale, and he involuntarily took several steps back as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

    Lu Yin also coughed up blood, but he also used Inverse Step to escape as quickly as possible.

    The old man wanted to attack again, but Lu Yin had already disappeared.

    The man was stunned. What was with that cloaked figure¡¯s speed? No, he had used a movement technique that not even the old man could see through. Aeternus had gained another difficult expert, and realizing this ruined the old man¡¯s mood.

    Lu Yin was simrly frustrated. A peak powerhouse who had mastered aprehension technique was chasing after him. It appeared that Lu Yin was being targeted precisely because of his ownprehension technique.

    Comprehension techniques were difficult to find, as they could not be taught to another, and they were not easy to learn. However, once they were mastered, they made a person both powerful and unpredictable in battle.

    The Immemorial Citadel greatly valuedprehension techniques as well.

    There was no doubt in Lu Yin¡¯s mind that the old man was still pursuing him. In fact, it was possible that even more people had been sent after Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin decided that he would not hide any longer. Given the current situation, no one from Aeternus would still be observing him, and if he continued to hide his strength, the slightest mistake could result in his death.

    Over the next few days, Lu Yin used Inverse Step to evade conflicts, while also using Heaven''s Sight to move to locations with the fewest number of sequence particles. Always, he remained as far away from the Immemorial Citadel as possible.

    The old man remained in pursuit of Lu Yin, but he could never catch up.

    There were still two weeks left of the Divine Selection, and if Lu Yin continued to hide, he just might be able to survive.

    However, this could not be all that there was to the Divine Selection.

    One day, a dark red light glow appeared on Lu Yin¡¯s chest. It came from the slitted crimson eye that Di Qiong had given him before the start of the Divine Selection, though he had not received any exnation about its functions.

    Lu Yin pulled out the crimson eye. This particr item was not just the symbol of Aeternus, as it was also amunication device, much like the Origin Universe¡¯s wireless jincans andmunication crystals.

    "All remaining participants of the Divine Selection are to attack the southeast corner of the Immemorial Citadel. Failure to appear there will mean forfeiting the assessment."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. If the participants of the Divine Selection were allowed to hide until the end, the assessment would lose all meaning. On top of that, the number of people who had passed the previous Divine Selections would not be so small.

    He looked at the majestic Immemorial Citadel that stood in the distance. The southeast corner?

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current position, he would soon arrive at the specified location by going straight towards the citadel. However, he instead turned and went in another direction.

    Only a fool would attack the Immemorial Citadel. Even if Lu Yin was not a human, attacking was suicide.

    This was the real challenge of the Divine Selection. The first half of the month had been for the participants to adapt to the battlefield, but even that had caused half of them to be eliminated.

    At the moment, only four participants remained: Shao Yin, Wang Fan, Ji Luo, and the disguised Lu Yin. He wondered if the others would attack the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin decided to go elsewhere. In fact, he intended to go as far from the citadel¡¯s southeast corner as possible.

    He had no thought of actually trying to pass the Divine Selection, as he did not want to face True God.

    Lu Yin continued moving around the battlefield for several more days, and he unwittingly arrived at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s northwest corner, which was the furthest point from the southeast corner.

    Just one day ago, a fierce battle had broken out at the southeast corner. Through Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin had seen Ji Luo''s sword flicker about, as well as Shao Yin''s sequence particles. However, Lu Yin had only caught a fleeting glimpse of the battle before it was obscured by countless sequence particles.

    There were simply too many sequence particles around the Immemorial Citadel.

    In contrast, the northwest corner of the Immemorial Citadel was very quiet. There were still sequence particles continuously gathering to the southeast corner, which suggested that morebatants were being sent there. Thus, the northwest corner was rtively peaceful.

    Lu Yin rested for two days while asionally ncing at the distant battle. As he looked around the area, he spotted a familiar sight: Wang Fan.

    The Progenitor had also not gone to the southeast corner, instead moving away from it just like Lu Yin.

    What a coincidence.

    It appeared that Wang Fan simrly had no intention of passing the Divine Selection.

    Compared to the rest of the individuals challenging the Divine Selection, Wang Fan was rtively weak, as he was not even a Sequence Progenitor. In fact, Lu Yin wondered why Progenitor Xi had even allowed Wang Fan to participate as a representative of the First Scourge.

    Even Wang Xiaoyu would have been a better choice; she had at least cultivated divine energy, which would allow her to defend against sequence particles.

    When Lu Yin noticed Wang Fan, Wang Fan also saw him.

    The Progenitor approached, which caused Lu Yin to frown, though he did not move away. Instead, Lu Yin allowed Wang Fan to get closer.

    "I am Wang Fan, from the First Scourge. Are you the Third Scourge¡¯s Di Xia?" Wang Fan asked as he approached.

    Lu Yin turned to face Wang Fan directly. "Yes, I am."

    Wang Fan looked quite happy at the answer. "It seems that you also have no intention of trying to pass this selection."

    Lu Yin replied in a hoarse voice, "No confidence."

    Wang Fan sighed. "That¡¯s precisely it. That¡¯s why both of us decided to not join the fray."

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Fan. "Why did you join the Divine Selection?"

    Wang Fan''s expression fell. "A trick of fate."

    He had not wanted to join the Divine Selection.

    The Sixverse Association¡¯s invasion of the First Scourge had exposed Wang Fan as a traitor, which was why he could not return to the Sixverse Association. He had been stranded in the First Scourge.

    The First Scourge had also been sealed off. All of the human powerhouses who had joined Aeternus had perished during the invasion, leaving only Wang Fan and Shao Yin alive.

    Shao Yin was a sequence powerhouse, and he far surpassed Wang Fan. While Wang Fan was strong on his own, he had never cultivated divine energy, and he also had not managed to be a Sequence Progenitor. Thus, he was quite insignificant in the First Scourge.

    As for his achievements, no one mentioned anything.

    Wang Fan had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus because he had once been saved by Forgotten Ruins God when he had faced death on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. When confronted by his family¡¯s founding ancestor, the young Wang Fan had not had any intention of resisting. He had followed his ancestor''s thoughts and intention as his own. Besides that, Wang Fan possessed no sense of loyalty or righteousness.

    He had been easily swayed to betray humanity.

    While Wang Fan hadter regretted his decision, he had already betrayed humanity, and that was abel that he could never wash away. Without any other choice, he could only continue down his dark path.

    At first, everything had seemed to be going well. Wang Fan had sessfully caused Wang Si to remember her mother''s past, and then he had instigated the four ruling powers to go after the Lu family. The Lu family had sessfully been exiled, which had allowed the Wang family to rise to power.

    Unfortunately, everything had been ruined by Lu Xiaoxuan. Wang Fan had hoped to kill Lu Tianyi when the Sixverse Association invaded the First Scourge, and by doing so, be a hero of Aeternus. Unfortunately, Lu Tianyi had seen through those intentions.

    From the Daosource Sect era to the current era, Wang Fan had carried out many tasks for Aeternus, though none had seeded.

    While the Lu family had sessfully been banished, they hadter returned, stronger than ever. On top of that, Lu Xiaoxuan had be Lu Yin, who had risen up to be a major threat to Aeternus as a whole.

    Wang Fan¡¯s attempt to assassinate Lu Tianyi had failed, and he had also been exposed, which forced him to seek refuge in the First Scourge.

    Wang Fan''s betrayal of humanity had aplished absolutely nothing, and no one acknowledged his efforts at all.

    Even so, the man was proud and ambitious. After openly joining Aeternus, he had insisted on staying as Wang Fan, and he had refused to cultivate divine energy or allow Aeternus to control him. He wanted to be a sequence powerhouse and eventually attain the same level of strength as the Seven Skygods.

    Progenitor Xi had seen Wang Fan¡¯s ambition, and she had offered him the opportunity to participate in the Divine Selection.

    However, the man had never intended to genuinely participate in this Divine Selection. If he actually challenged the selection, he would only do so after bing a Sequence Progenitor.

    Taking the selection at Wang Fan¡¯s current level of strength was simply seeking death.

    However, Progenitor Xi had not given Wang Fan any choice in the matter. Aside from him and Shao Yin, there was no one else the First Scourge could send as representatives.

    Though reluctant, Wang Fan had joined the Divine Selection.

    For a moment, Wang Fan¡¯s thoughts swirled as he recalled his entire life.

    Lu Yin''s eyes glinted dangerously. During the Daosource Sect era, of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku had been the most talented and most powerful. However, while all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had shared the same title, people like Xia Shenji and Wang Fan could notpare to Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku.

    If not for the shared title, Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku would have never been ced on the same level as Xia Shenji and Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan was not a weak Progenitor, and he was also quite cunning and sneaky. He had kept the fact that Specter Progenitor was his shadow clone secret for many years. Even so, Wang Fan was not quite as strong as Xia Shenji, and he had not yet managed to be a Sequence Progenitor.

    Of the sequence powerhouses Lu Yin had ever met, such as Old Mo and Ancestor Tianyi, nearly all of them had lived for a very long time. Even Shao Yin and the other Sovereigns had lived for much longer than Wang Fan and those from his era. For Wang Fan¡¯s cultivation time, Arch-Elder Zen was the perfect example of an average cultivator.

    Arch-Elder Zen had started cultivating during the Daosource Sect era, and he had only broken through to be a Progenitor in recent years.

    The time he had taken was not much different from what Wang Fan and his peers had used to be Progenitors. It was possible that Wang Fan or some of his peers were more talented and had cultivated slightly quicker, but such differences were irrelevant given the level of time being considered.

    If Arch-Elder Zen wanted to be a Sequence Progenitor, it would take him an extremely long time.

    The same was true for Wang Fan and Xia Shenji.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3079: Above All Else

    <h4>Chapter 3079: Above All Else</h4>

    Wang Fan and his peers had been cultivating since the Daosource Sect era, but they still had not be Sequence Progenitors yet. The first sequence powerhouse that Lu Yin had ever encountered was Old Mo, and that man had been cultivating since the Heavens Sect era.

    Shao Yin and Sovereign Ninth Lotus had also lived for much longer than Wang Fan and those of his generation.

    On the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, Chen Laoguai was a powerhouse from two generations before Wang Fan, and Bai Mu was the founder of the Celestial Frost Sect, which meant that he was from the Heavens Sect era. Even the participants of the Divine Selection whom Lu Yin were not particrly familiar with, such as Ji Luo and Qi, had undoubtedly lived for a very long time.

    Given enough time, Wang Fan might manage to be a Sequence Progenitor, but it would be an incredible amount of time.

    Inparison, Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were both extraordinarily gifted.

    Lu Yin understood Wang Fan''s frustration and helplessness, but neither was any excuse for betraying humanity.

    Wang Fan had to be eliminated.

    "Di Xia, you and I should work together to escape from the Immemorial Citadel and this battlefield. We''ve already given up on the selection, so it would be best if we focused on opportunities to stay alive," Wang Fan suggested. This was the entire reason why he had approached Di Xia.

    Wang Fan was unable to escape on his own.

    Death existed everywhere on the battlefield that surrounded the Immemorial Citadel. Wang Fan had seen the Magician try to escape, only to be struck down by a slipper. No one knew what had be of the Magician after that. Wang Fan had also seen Lan Lan when she had tried to flee, but she had been pursued and attacked.

    It was easy to enter the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, but it was very difficult to leave.

    <i>Wait, a slipper?</i> Wang Fan turned to look at a distant point with suspicion. He remembered that Lu Xiaoxuan also used a slipper as a weapon. What was going on?

    Lu Yin''s face was still hidden beneath the ck robe, but at this moment, his murderous intentions were written on his features. "I will, go to the, southeast corner."

    Wang Fan was taken aback. "You haven''t given up on the Divine Selection?"

    "Why, give up? Not confident, but I don¡¯t, fear death."

    Wang Fan frowned. <i>Right, this broken speech pattern... Di Xia is most likely a corpse king</i>. Di Xia had most likely not immediately gone to the southeast corner because of other ns, not because he feared death or wanted to abandon the Divine Selection.

    Corpse kings had no emotions, but that did not mean that they were stupid. Di Xia was definitely waiting for something before he went to the battle at the southeast corner.

    As far as Wang Fan could see, there were two ways to pass the Divine Selection: either follow the Ossis Ark''s orders and join the battle at the southeast corner while also surviving for a month, or make sure that all the other participants died, leaving only one survivor. While being the sole survivor would make it appear like Wang Fan had failed the Divine Selection and was unqualified to rece one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, who else in Aeternus could take that position?

    While Wang Fan believed that he had found a way forward, hecked the capability to utilize it.

    It appeared that Di Xia had nned things out all along. He had intentionally shown weakness when first arriving at the battlefield by using his divine energy.

    It was very dangerous to stay close to such a person.

    "Since you''re heading to the southeast corner, I''ll take my leave," Wang Fan said as he decisively turned to leave.

    Lu Yin stared at Wang Fan''s back while preparing to follow the man in secret. Wang Fan was sure to face various attacks as he attempted to leave the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. If an opportunity arose, Lu Yin would strike.

    Suddenly, a ck line approached from a distance. Bai Mu was attacking again with his Void Rip.

    Wang Fan looked over at where the Void Rip cleaved through space, and his scalp went numb as he quickly dodged.

    "Bai Mu," Wang Fan muttered with a grim expression.

    Bai Mu still held his gourd of wine. "You''re definitely someone from the Wang family. There¡¯s no question after seeing you use the Forgotten Ruins. It¡¯s no wonder I find you so detestable. Your ancestor, Wang Miaomiao, already betrayed humanity, and so have you."

    Wang Fan could not escape from Bai Mu. The Progenitor could notpare to a Sequence Progenitor, and he did not hesitate to turn back.

    Wang Fan needed to find Di Xia and shift Bai Mu''s malice towards the corpse king. If not that, then they at least needed to work together to face Bai Mu.

    "Di Xia, let''s cooperate against him." Wang Fan quickly found the cloaked figure he had just left. Lu Yin had already returned to his previous position by the time Bai Mu started pursuing Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan sought Di Xia¡¯s help, and Lu Yin moved closer to the man.

    At this moment, Wang Fan was in between Lu Yin and Bai Mu, and both men were approaching Wang Fan from opposite directions.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, and various scenarios of ways to kill Wang Fan yed out in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Wang Fan would not be easy to kill. Lu Yin had not forgotten that, during the Lu family¡¯s banishment, while the Great Sovereign had sealed off Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s perception and Ancestor Tianyi had been stopped by Wei Nu, something else had also yed a critical role: all of the Lu family¡¯s experts, including those from affiliated families, had been affected by the Yellow Springs.

    Wang Fan was a cunning and insidious individual. Even if the man was weakened, Lu Yin still would not underestimate him.

    Numerous thoughts raced through Lu Yin¡¯s mind as Wang Fan drew closer.

    The man looked like he was leaving himselfpletely exposed to Di Xia, but Lu Yin could not make the decision to attack. Any mistake would destroy his identity as Ye Bo, and he would shatter Aeternus''s absolute trust in their divine energy.That would make it very difficult for Lu Yin to infiltrate Aeternus again in the future, and it also might make Hui Wu a target.

    Lu Yin hesitated: to attack, or to wait?

    Wang Fan was constantly moving closer. Bai Mu raised a hand, preparing to attack again with his Void Rip.

    Lu Yin saw what appeared to be panic in Wang Fan''s eyes. However, based on what Lu Yin knew, Wang Fan would never be flustered, regardless of the situation he faced.

    Wang Fan had to have a backup n.

    Divine energy surged from Lu Yin''s body, and it transformed into what looked like a rainbow as it shot towards Wang Fan.

    Wang Fan stared at the approaching divine energy, but it instantly shot past him and attacked Bai Mu, countering the Void Rip.

    "Go," Lu Yinmanded.

    Wang Fan let out a breath of relief. "Thank you."

    <i>CLANG!</i>

    A sudden, overpowering noise causing Wang Fan, Lu Yin, and even Bai Mu to bleed from various orifices. In the endless expanse of outer space above them, an enormous, ancient, weathered bell had appeared. It was shrouded with a gray aura that seemed to freeze time.

    Lu Yin stared up at the massive bell, ovee by a feeling of indescribable awe. This was an iprehensible power that was far beyond anything human strength should be able to achieve.

    <i>CLANG!</i>

    Another deafening peal shook the megaverse.

    Bai Mu spat blood. "It¡¯s that old monster Yuan Qi!"

    He turned and raced towards the Immemorial Citadel.

    The second time the bell tolled, the ming lotus that surrounded the Immemorial Citadel opened, sending fiery tornadoes towards the bell.

    These were the same mes that had once burned the Books of Destiny, incinerated Ye Zhang¡¯s corpse, and destroyed the resulting Heaven character that had appeared. At this moment, the mes tried to consume the bell.

    However, the mes failed to even approach the bell. As it tolled for a third time, Lu Yin''s mind reeled, and he coughed up blood. What kind of bell possessed so much power? It was terrifying to realize that Aeternus had such a formidable powerhouse. It was no wonder how they were able to assault the Immemorial Citadel.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s condition, it was certain that Wang Fan was even worse off.

    Lu Yin was still able to at least stay on his feet, but Wang Fan was about to copse.

    The enormous hand stretched up into the sky from within the Immemorial Citadel. "Yuan Qi Laoguai, you''ve finally shown yourself."

    This was the same hand that had captured Qi before, and this time, the hand was moving to grab the giant bell.

    An indistinct figure stood near the bell. "Have that old geezer Mue out to me. You are not worthy."

    "Is that so? I''ll take your broken bell and use it as a chamber pot."

    "Your words will be your downfall."

    <i>CLANG!</i>

    With another resounding peal, the enormous hand, as well as the arm it was attached to, cracked and splintered. Even so, the hand continued to reach for the bell.

    At this moment, the figure near the bell took a step forward. With a second step, they were already standing on the massive hand. Just the figure¡¯s presence caused the hand to bend beneath the pressure.

    "As I said, you are not worthy.

    "Old Mu, if you don''te out, I''ll destroy him."

    The ming lotus that enveloped the Immemorial Citadel shot mes into the sky, and they followed along the gigantic hand and moved towards the bell. The vague figure took another step forward, advancing on their own. The mes quickly scattered, seemingly afraid to approach the mysterious figure.

    Seizing this opportunity, the giant hand pulled back into the Immemorial Citadel.

    "Yuan Qi, when was ourst battle?" A voice rang out from within the Immemorial Citadel, and it woke Lu Yin from his stupor. He looked over with great excitement; this was his master''s voice.

    The figure just stood there, their hands sped behind their back after they caused the mes to retreat. They faced the Immemorial Citadel. "It''s been a long time."

    "Not that long. You also got involved during thest Divine Selection. This time, things will y out the same way again. None of your Divine Selection¡¯s participants will escape." As the words were spoken, a figure rose from the Immemorial Citadel. Lu Yin''s long-absent master had appeared; it was Mister Mu.

    From the first time Lu Yin had seen his master until the present, had he ever seen Mister Mu use his strength? Lu Yin had thought so, but he hadter on realized that that was not at all true.

    Mister Mu had shifted the Outerverse¡¯s warfront from Endless Weave back to the Southside Wave, and the entire Sixth Maind had not been able to do anything to stop him.

    Mister Mu had effortlessly killed ckless God''s avatar, which had been defenseless against him.

    Mister Mu had simrly annihted Undying God''s avatar, who had also been unable to defend himself.

    Every time Mister Mu took action, it had seemed effortless, but he had often told Lu Yin that there were things he could not do. Regardless of what was or was not possible, Mister Mu''s strength was undeniable. At this moment, he stood in outer space, above the Immemorial Citadel, high above countless parallel universes and sequence strings, above all else. He directly faced the terrifying bell. He acted as the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s ultimate guardian.

    Lu Yin knew that he could not reveal himself at this moment. All he could do was watch as the bell rang and Mister Mu yed a wooden flute. The mncholic tune intertwined with the majestic tolling of the bell.

    The bell and flute shed above the Immemorial Citadel. Not even Heaven¡¯s Sight could reveal the details of the conflict to Lu Yin.

    Close to him, Wang Fan was also looking up, his eyes flickering.

    Lu Yin noticed this and wondered if Wang Fan recognized Mister Mu. The Progenitor most likely had not recognized Mister Mu¡¯s name. While the four ruling powers knew that Lu Yin called his master Mister Mu, they were not directly familiar with the man himself.

    However, the Sixth Maind¡¯s three Progenitors had met Mister Mu, and the Perennial World¡¯s four ruling powers had been far more powerful than the Sixth Maind during the same period of time. They should have met Mister Mu.

    Regardless of whether or not Wang Fan recognized Mister Mu, he would not reveal anything to Lu Yin, who was posing as Di Xia.

    "Di Xia, do you still want to pass the Divine Selection? That man just said that none of us will survive. The previous Divine Selections were all challenged by formidable powerhouses, but very few of them ever passed. Don''t-" Wang Fan was shouting at Lu Yin, but then he suddenly hesitated. He had remembered that he was talking to a corpse king, and corpse kings had no fear.

    Di Qiong wanted Di Xia to pass the Divine Selection, which meant that Di Xia would try to do so, even at the cost of his own life.

    Frustrated, Wang Fan turned to leave. Persuading a corpse king to escape felt like a joke.

    "Fine, let''s go, together," Lu Yin said in the halting manner of a corpse king.

    Wang Fan was startled. "You want to leave the Immemorial Citadel?"

    Lu Yin looked up at the battle above the Immemorial Citadel. "Can''t force, this."

    Wang Fan was overjoyed. "Then let''s hurry up and leave."

    With Di Xia, Wang Fan¡¯s chances of escaping had increased significantly.

    Lu Yin moved closer to Wang Fan.

 Chapter 3080: That Sight

    <h4>Chapter 3080: That Sight</h4>

    Wang Fan was not very wary of Di Xia. He had just led Bai Mu towards Di Xia in order to join forces with the corpse king to fight against Bai Mu. When Di Xia had attacked Bai Mu with divine energy, the attack had brushed past Wang Fan, lowering the Progenitor¡¯s guard significantly. Divine energy was a clear sign of one¡¯s allegiance to Aeternus. That,bined with other recent events, meant that Wang Fan would never guess that who he assumed to be Di Xia was actually Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin drew closer to Wang Fan. This time, things were different.

    Before, Wang Fan had been wary of Di Xia, but Lu Yin had decided that this was the moment to take action. Wang Fan could not be allowed to return to Aeternus alive.

    While Wang Fan was not yet a Sequence Progenitor, he would undoubtedly eventually reach that level, given more time. He would not be a weak Sequence Progenitor either, as he had cultivated death energy and inherited a battle technique from his Mountain and Sea, which was the Shadows of Life.

    Shao Yin had managed to merge Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang together, and his sequence particles granted him a level of power that nearly rivaled the Seven Skygods. He had managed to severely injure Sovereign Lotus in an instant. Given that Wang Fan had mastered a battle technique from a Mountain and Sea, as well as cultivated death energy, he would be a grave threat to the Origin Universe if he ever became a Sequence Progenitor. The man¡¯s cunning nature only made him more dangerous.

    Lu Yin moved within a few meters of Wang Fan. "Let''s go."

    Wang Fan chose a direction and started to move.

    Up above, the bell continued to reverberate, and its tolling blended with the sound of the flute. The resulting pressure overwhelmed space and started to melt it away. Reality seemed to be an oil painting whose colors were dripping off; reality was stripped away to reveal the Hollow.

    Lu Yin felt his scalp go numb. The shing powers in this confrontation went beyond his imagination. He looked up, but Heaven''s Sight ached, and he was unable to make out anything. The powers here surpassed Lu Yin¡¯sprehension, and the sequence particles had solidified as they worked to erase space itself.

    "This way," Lu Yin growled, suddenly charging in another direction as the space in front of them disintegrated.

    Wang Fan was terrified. This was a battle far beyond the level of just Progenitors, and he was incapable of getting involved in any way. This proved that he had been right to believe that the Divine Selection would not be easy.

    This was the Immemorial Citadel''s battlefield.

    Legends imed that the Immemorial Citadel held the method for humans to transcend, which was why countless people throughout history had striven to reach the Immemorial Citadel. However, Wang Fan and his peers had never entertained those thoughts. If the Immemorial Citadel was so great, then why had no one ever returned from that ce?

    Wang Fan wanted to leave this battlefield alive and then return to the Immemorial Citadel at ater time when he was better prepared.

    Pain shot through the man¡¯s arm, and Wang Fan froze. He slowly looked down, only to see that his right hand was missing.

    There was a spray of blood, and to his side was the ringly conspicuous form of someone shrouded in a ck robe. Wang Fan stared at the figure. "Why?"

    Lu Yin had attacked while Wang Fan was distracted by the chaos above the battlefield, and the Progenitor¡¯s right arm had been severed, along with Wang Fan¡¯s cosmic ring that had been on his right hand.

    "Simple, to kill you." Lu Yin remained hidden beneath the robe as he struck out again. A withered arm struck out with a hundred confined punches.

    Wang Fan''s pupils shrank as his eyes zed with a crazed light. He felt even closer to death at this moment than when an entire universe had been destroyed. He was reminded of the time when Xia Shang had almost killed him, and Wang Fan suddenly relived that moment. In his eyes, the ck robe in front of him transformed into Xia Shang.

    Death energy started to spread, and it was immediately followed by a yellow liquid. It was the Yellow Springs.

    Lu Yin had expected the Yellow Springs to be in Wang Fan''s cosmic ring, but the man had instead hidden it beneath his skin.

    Regardless of what power Wang Fan tried to use, he was unable to stop Lu Yin''s attack. The fist pierced through the Progenitor¡¯s chest, spraying blood into outer space.

    High above everything else, the bell and flute shed with each other on a battlefield that was unreachable for practically everyone else in the nearby area. Compared to that grand battle, Lu Yin and Wang Fan¡¯s exchange was like the fighting of mere ants, and it wentpletely unnoticed.

    The space around them was being erased, and no one paid any attention to the minor skirmish.

    Lu Yin and Wang Fan were like two moths which had been caught up in a volcanic eruption, and they could be easily obliterated at any moment.

    Wang Fan grabbed hold of Lu Yin''s arm with his remaining hand. The man had be frantic. "You aren¡¯t Di Xia! Who are you? Why do you want to kill me?"

    The Yellow Springs crept towards Lu Yin from Wang Fan''s arm. Uncertain of the Yellow Springs'' effect, Lu Yin used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. Wang Fan seemed to freeze in ce, though the power that was destroying space around them continued without pause. It was a power that exceeded the limits of time or space. If it caught hold of Lu Yin, not even Inverse Step would be able to save him.

    However, Wang Fan was unable to touch the power of time.

    Lu Yin pulled back, and he tore off Wang Fan''s left arm before grabbing the man¡¯s neck and stopping Inverse Step.

    In an instant, Wang Fan''s left arm had been removed, and the ck-robed figure was right in front of him. Familiar eyes stared at Wang Fan from beneath the robe¡¯s folds.

    The Progenitor had never expected to meet this person in this ce.

    Lu Yin looked up, and the mes of the lotus illuminated his face. "Surprised to meet me here, Wang Fan?"

    Wang Fan could not believe his eyes, and he stared nkly at Lu Yin''s face. "Lu Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin''s lips curled up. "Killing you here at the Immemorial Citadel is all too easy, though I¡¯ll let you see humanity''s strongest before you die."

    Wang Fan''s face turned red. "You little bast... Lu Xiaoxuan, don''t kill me! I can be useful to you!

    "I was never willing to betray humanity. I was forced by my ancestor! My ancestor forced me to be a traitor! I couldn''t disobey her.

    "It was Xia Shang and Ku Jie! Those two wronged me. If they hadn¡¯t humiliated me, I would have never betrayed mankind! Lu Xiaoxuan, you have to spare me! I''ll help you fight against Aeternus to redeem myself. Spare me¡ªI can be useful."

    Lu Yin stared as Wang Fan struggled. The man¡¯s arms were already gone, giving him a pathetic appearance, though Lu Yin felt no pity.

    "Your four ruling powers banished my Lu family. Shaman God, ckless God, and even True God tried to recruit me, but did I ever betray humanity?" Lu Yin asked in a cial voice.

    Wang Fan¡¯s terror mounted. "If I die, I¡¯ll lose all value. I''ll tell you the secret of my Wang family''s floatingndmass! It¡¯s not actually a piece ofnd, but a hand. Spare me, and I''ll take you to find the other hand. Those are the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hands!"

    Lu Yin had already guessed as much, and he even knew where the other hand was: Burial Garden.

    The Origin Progenitor had transformed one of his hands into Burial Garden, using it to support those who had fought against Aeternus and were unwilling to ept defeat. Burial Garden had been established to give humanity the hope to be able to resist in the future.

    Lu Yin had no idea how the Wang family had obtained the Origin Progenitor¡¯s other hand, but that also did not matter.

    Space around the two men continued to melt. Lu Yin¡¯s grip tightened.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand rxed, and Wang Fan''s lifeless body dropped.

    Long ago, Lu Yin had vowed to avenge his family. He had never imagined that he would be able to kill Wang Fan so effortlessly.

    Xia Shenji''s main body had already been destroyed, and Wang Fan was now dead. Long Er had died years ago, which left only Bai Wangyuan.

    Whether or not Bai Wangyuan was a traitor to humanity, he would have to pay for his crimes.

    Lu Yin looked around, looking for the area with the fewest number of sequence particles, and then raced away. He was eager to leave this dangerous ce. He had been within range of the battle between Mister Mu and the being called Yuan Qi Laoguai. Lu Yin had never witnessed such a powerful fight before. Just touching any of the attacks¡¯ aftershocks would end him instantly.

    Lu Yin quickly seeded in escaping from the expanse of melting space, and then he looked back to see Mister Mu standing high above the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin was at the northwest corner of the citadel.

    The battle still raged fiercely at the southeast corner, but the fighting at the northwest was simrly relentless.

    The fighting never ceased anywhere near the Immemorial Citadel, and peace could only be found by escaping from the entire region.

    Lu Yin did not so much as nce backwards as he fled from the northwest corner. He did not want to be identally killed by Mister Mu.

    However, no matter how far he fled, he was still able to hear the bell''s tolling and the flute''s melody.

    The battle raged on for three days, but the bell and flute still had not stopped.

    The region of melting space continued to expand, and it had even started approaching the Immemorial Citadel.

    During these three days, Lu Yin asionally got caught up in the aftermath of the battle. He had suddenly run into some of the Aeternals¡¯ corpse kings, as well as some of the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s powerhouses. Some of those individuals were not even human. Lu Yin saw several strange-looking lifeforms that used all different kinds of battle techniques.

    On the fourth day, the Ossis Ark emerged from the Hollow, and it headed straight for the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin watched in shock as the Ossis Ark tore through the ming lotus to crash against the Immemorial Citadel. The walls of the city were destroyed, and it looked like the boat was trying to smash the city in two.

    People moved out to block the Ossis Ark, and at the same time, corpse kings emerged from the boat. The battle was dragged into the Immemorial Citadel.

    The massive Ossis Ark seemed unstoppable, and the sight of it crashing into the Immemorial Citadel sent chills down Lu Yin''s spine. Would this be the day that the Immemorial Citadel fell?

    The ground beneath the Immemorial Citadel tore open, and multiple powerhouses were shattered. From across the city, Chu Yi and Ce Wangtian both arrived to attack the Ossis Ark.

    A massive figure rose up from the depths with a roar, "Move aside! I''ll handle this."

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The ground shook, and space trembled almost imperceptibly. The enormous figure managed to hold the Ossis Ark back, but the force of the impact tore open the ground, the resulting fissures reaching far beneath the Immemorial Citadel.

    With Heaven''s Sight, Lu Yin witnessed an astonishing scene.

    He saw all of the countless sequence strings converging beneath the Immemorial Citadel. When the enormous giant collided with the Ossis Ark and the ground beneath the city was torn open, Lu Yin caught sight of a person down on one knee. They were armless, and they were holding all of the innumerable sequence strings in their mouth to prevent them from moving.

    Even when the Ossis Ark shattered the wall of the Immemorial Citadel and the ground beneath it tore apart, this figure remained unmoving.

    For a moment, everything around Lu Yin froze. The epic battle, the death, the bloodshed¡ªeverything seemed to disappear as Lu Yin''s eyes locked onto the half-kneeling figure underground. They held countless sequence strings between their teeth, forming the very foundation of the Immemorial Citadel as they held everything up.

    It was the Origin Progenitor.

    Was the Origin Progenitor still alive? No one had ever been able to give Lu Yin a definitive answer.

    True God had imed that the Origin Progenitor was dead. The Great Sovereign had once said the same thing, but Ancestor Lu Yuan insisted that the Origin Progenitor still lived.

    No one had ever been able to give Lu Yin a straightforward answer, but at this moment, he was able to see the truth for himself: the Origin Progenitor was beneath the Immemorial Citadel, holding up the entire city while biting the sequence strings. The man had lost his arms, so he used his mouth to stabilize countless parallel universes.

    Was the man even alive? Lu Yin did not know, as he could not tell. It was possible that the Origin Progenitor was still alive, but he might also already be dead. What Lu Yin could see did not actually prove that Origin Progenitor was alive.

    "Rise!" A roar echoed out, and from within the Immemorial Citadel, the enormous giant flipped the Ossis Ark up and forced it away with a push.

    Chu Yi, Ce Wangtian, Bai Mu, and many others charged out to attack the Ossis Ark.

    The ground beneath the Immemorial Citadel closed back up, the fissures that had just opened disappearing like a dream.

    Lu Yin stood frozen in outer space as he stared at the Immemorial Citadel in a daze. What had he just seen? Had it been real, or just an illusion?

 Chapter 3081: Itâ€™s Too Early

    <h4>Chapter 3081: It¡¯s Too Early</h4>

    The Ossis Ark hurtled through outer space before it vanished back into the Hollow. However, this time, Chu Yi and the others did not simply let the ship go, and they charged into the Hollow after it.

    For most cultivators, the Hollow was a ce to be avoided at all costs. Luo Shan had managed to be the ruler of one of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes because of some rumors that he was able to survive in the Hollow.

    Even in the fiercest battles throughout all the various parallel universes, it was rare for anyone to survive after entering the Hollow. It seemed to be an indication of a certain level of strength.

    However, it seemed that many people in the Immemorial Citadel had reached that level.

    Chu Yi, Ce Wangtian, Bai Mu, the massive giant, and many other powerhouses rushed into the Hollow to attack the Ossis Ark.

    Ce Wangtian was particrly noticeable with his checkered clothes and solitary slipper. He had a roguish look about him, but at this moment, he shone with a unique brilliance.

    "The Immemorial Citadel cannot be disgraced! The Aeternals must pay the price, even if it costs us our lives!"

    "Hahaha, old fart Xiang, do you remember our bet? I told you that I''ll die to a sword. This time, I¡¯m going to find that guy with seven swords, and he¡¯ll cut me to ribbons."

    "Rubbish! I''ll die first, and it will be by a saber."

    "In your dreams! I''ll kill whoever uses a saber."

    "Ce Wangtian, you''re down to just one slipper, and you still have the courage to charge in?" a woman teased.

    Ce Wangtian picked his nose and then flicked the finger at the woman. "For you."

    "Disgusting! Get out of my sight!"

    "Haha."

    "It''s been years since thest time the Immemorial Citadel was breached, but we have to avenge each and every such transgression. It¡¯s been my honor to live with you all, and it¡¯s my honor to die with you all. I''ll go first."

    "Brother Hua, that''s the most words I''ve heard you say in years. I''ll join you," Old Gu said.

    "Most of us are from different civilizations, and yet we¡¯ve all gathered here at the Immemorial Citadel. It''s quite exhrating!"

    "We don''t judge heroes by their cultivation. We fight to the death at the Immemorial Citadel..."

    "We don''t judge heroes by their cultivation. We fight to the death at the Immemorial Citadel..."

    "We don''t judge heroes by their cultivation. We fight to the death at the Immemorial Citadel..."

    ...

    One after another, various powerhouses raced straight into the Hollow. Their words echoed in Lu Yin''s ears: "We don''t judge heroes by their cultivation. We fight to the death at the Immemorial Citadel..."

    He had seen many people who were afraid of death, but for the people in the Immemorial Citadel, death was neither a release nor something to fear. What mattered most to them was the Immemorial Citadel.

    How many universes did these sequence strings connect to?

    Very few people in the Immemorial Citadel were from the same parallel universes, regardless of whether they were human or some other type of creature. As long as a creature had emotions, they would have something that was worth protecting.

    Lu Yin looked up at the Hollow. He also wanted to charge forward, to live or die with these people while destroying the Ossis Ark.

    Atop the city wall, Old Zhong Tou sighed. "Not all of us can leave. Some of us need to stay behind to continue guarding the Immemorial Citadel. Listen to me, do your best toe back alive. Otherwise, where will we find recements for all of you? Ah... they¡¯re still young and too impulsive."

    There was a rare moment of rtive peace around the Immemorial Citadel, as the fighting had subsided quite significantly.

    The fierce battle at the southeast corner and the brutal fighting in the northwest corner both continued, but where at Lu Yin¡¯s location, there was very little fighting.

    Before long, the Hollow reopened, and people returned to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists when he saw bodies being thrown out from the city. No one spoke as the bodies fell from the walls. Old Zhong Tou sighed as he pushed them all into the lotus¡¯s mes.

    Each person at the Immemorial Citadel was their own civilization¡¯s most powerful cultivator, and yet so many of them ended up as nothing more than a wisp of smoke in the end.

    Chu Yi returned. He was covered with blood, and his typical schrly demeanor had been reced by a bloodthirsty aura.

    Ce Wangtian returned. His slipper was half-broken, yet it still clung to his foot. There was no doubt that the man¡¯s slippers somehow resonated with some aspect of his power. He was carrying a woman in his arms. She was the one who had teased him when they had charged into the Hollow.

    The man was silent as he pushed her into the lotus¡¯s mes.

    Bai Mu returned, but only as a frigid corpse with half of his face missing. He also fell into the mes.

    Lu Yin suddenly felt suffocated. He had no idea how to describe his current feelings.

    Bai Mu, the ancient founder of the Celestial Frost Sect, had looked rxed and carefree with his gourd of wine. He had lived in the Immemorial Citadel for countless years, only to die in front of Lu Yin. In moments, there was no trace of the man.

    Lu Yin had never spoken to the Progenitor, nor told him that Wang Fan, the traitor, was dead.

    Lu Yin had wanted to speak to Bai Mu and tell the man what the Celestial Frost Sect had done before taking Bai Mu to the Sixverse Association to frighten Bai Wangyuan.

    There would never be an opportunity for that.

    Lu Yin had only witnessed a single battle. How many people had died at the Immemorial Citadel? How many ancient powerhouses and legends from the Origin Universe had perished in this ce?

    Lu Yin watched on in silence.

    Would simr scenes repeat in the future? Would he, Big Sis, Arch-Elder Zen, Ancestor Tianyi, and Ancestor Lu Yuan also make their way to the Immemorial Citadel? Would their bodies find their ce in those mes as well?

    "You saw things too soon," a voice said with a sigh.

    Lu Yin froze, and then he excitedly eximed, "Master?"

    He could still hear the flute ying in the northwest corner, which indicated that Mister Mu was still fighting against Yuan Qi.

    "I knew you were causing trouble. That thing on your face can''t deceive anyone in the Origin realm, and Aeternus has more than one Dukkhan," Mister Mu continued.

    Lu Yin answered with a bitter voice, "Master, I didn¡¯t have a choice. Aeternus ns to take the Ossis Ark to the Sixverse Association andpletely destroy all traces of human civilization in those universes. As soon as I learned of the Ossis Ark''s existence, I worked to infiltrate Aeternus. However, this time, I didn¡¯t go to the Scourge by choice, but was rather captured by Di Qiong."

    "There¡¯s no time for any exnation. You are not yet ready for this ce. Go back, and don''t cause more trouble. When you be a Progenitor, you¡¯ll understand everything. The burden of humanity will eventually fall upon your shoulders."

    Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Master, I have questions! What is your rtionship with the Origin Progenitor? Is the Origin Progenitor still alive? Do universes breathe? What does it mean to ovee Dukkha? What about Wei Nu?"

    "When you be a Progenitor, all will be revealed."

    Lu Yin signed and took out the slipper. "In that case, please give this to Ce Wangtian. He-"

    Before he could even finish, Lu Yin''s body dropped. His surroundings blurred, and then the Immemorial Citadel vanished. No, Lu Yin had left the Immemorial Citadel. He was suddenly surrounded by sequence strings, and then those disappeared as well. He fell into a parallel universe, where he eventually crashed onto a.

    He remained lying where he hadnded, deep in the ground. He nkly stared up at the sky. He had not learned anything at all. Did Mister Mu not want to answer Lu Yin¡¯s questions? That was possible, but it was also possible that there simply had not been enough time.

    The sky above Lu Yin was blue, and the clouds were white. The was rife with life and color.

    The war at the Immemorial Citadel seemed to be a distant memory, even if Lu Yin had only left it moments ago.

    A shadow loomed overhead as a giant eagle dived down, its talons open to grab Lu Yin.

    He rose to his feet and frightened the bird away.

    The eagle circled overhead, unwilling to abandon its prey.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath.

    Suddenly, he felt something in his hand. He looked down and saw that the slipper was gone. Mister Mu must have taken it. Instead, there was a cosmic ring in his hand, as well as a drop of blood.

    Where had ite from?

    Lu Yin had intended to take Wang Fan''s cosmic ring when the man was dead, but given the dangerous circumstances, Lu Yin had not had time, and he had missed his chance.

    Since the ring did not belong to Wang Fan''s, then it must be a gift from Mister Mu. Given the man¡¯s battle with Yuan Qi, he would not have bothered with Wang Fan''s cosmic ring.

    Was it a gift from Mister Mu?

    Lu Yin used the blood to open the ring, and in it, he found eight cosmic doors.

    There was no denying that Aeternus was humanity''s greatest enemy, but there was also no denying that Aeternus''s coordinate seals and cosmic doors were incredibly useful. Without such tools, humanity would struggle to travel between parallel universes.

    Could the eight cosmic doors lead to universes where Mister Mu could meet with Lu Yin?

    The thought excited Lu Yin, but he decided against visiting any of the universes right now. The battle in the Immemorial Citadel was still too intense for Mister Mu to leave, so Lu Yin felt like he should wait for a while.

    He tore through the void to return to Aeternus Nation. From there, he made his way back to the Heavens Sect.

    Upon returning, he immediately continued on to the Perennial World to speak with Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin needed answers concerning why Wu Tian had refused to be rescued, despite being given the opportunity.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the Lu Sanctum, he met Ancestor Tianyi.

    "Ancestor Tianyi, I wish to see Ancestor Lu Yuan," Lu Yin announced.

    Ancestor Tianyi was incredibly relieved to see Lu Yin return safely, and he said, "It''s good that you''ve made it back. While we know that you are quite capable, it was still an incredible risk to send Ancestor Yuan to the Third Scourge to rescue Wu Tian. If you had been caught, there would have been no way for you to escape."

    Lu Yin sighed. "I wouldn''t have taken that risk without it being necessary. But don''t worry, I won''t be using Ye Bo¡¯s identity any longer."

    Framing Mu Ji would only be a temporary measure. There was no telling if or when Mu Ji might return to the First Scourge, or if he would find a way to exin himself. Besides, Lu Yin had already learned enough from his time in Aeternus.

    If Mu Ji ever managed to contact one of Aeternus¡¯s top powerhouses, it was certain that Ye Bo would be exposed as Lu Yin.

    On top of that, there was also Hui Wu and Wang Xiaoyu. While Lu Yin did not know Wang Xiaoyu¡¯s full story, Hui Wu was absolutely in danger.

    Lu Yin shared his concerns with Ancestor Tianyi, and the Progenitor¡¯s expression turned grim. "I don¡¯t have any way to contact Hui Wu. Any such attempt might be picked up by Aeternus, which is why Hui Wu never contacted us before our meeting, despite how many years have went by."

    Lu Yin frowned. "If Mu Ji returns to Aeternus and manages to regain their trust, my identity as Ye Bo won''t matter, as I can simply not use it. But Hui Wu will be in trouble."

    Mu Ji had confronted and threatened Ye Bo, acting as though he was certain that Ye Bo was actually someone else. However, when Lu Yin had Possessed Mu Ji, he had learned that Mu Ji had been bluffing, but he had also learned that Mu Ji was simrly suspicious of Wang Xiaoyu. On top of that, Mu Ji had noticed when Hui Wu had left the Scourge, and he had noted how the man¡¯s return had taken ce shortly before Corpse God was ambushed and nearly killed. While there was no conclusive link between the two incidents, Mu Ji could still report his suspicions to Progenitor Xi.

    If Mu Ji regained Aeternus¡¯s trust, both Hui Wu and Wang Xiaoyu would be ced in grave danger.

    Unfortunately, it had been impossible for Lu Yin to make Mu Jimit suicide during the brief Possession.

    Actually, Lu Yin should cultivate more of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s power.

    Mu Ji was an Arborean, and he was not an easy opponent.

    Ancestor Tianyi remained silent for a time. "Hui Wu is truly pitiful. Hui Wen is clever and always scheming, even willing to plot against Aeternus. Hui Wu was Hui Wen¡¯s sacrifice. From the moment Hui Wu joined Aeternus, Hui Wen never expected his son to return alive.

    "Hui Wen can give up on his son, and Hui Wu can give up on himself, but we cannot give up on him. Little Seven, there are some people we simply can''t abandon."

 Chapter 3082: Straightforward

    <h4>Chapter 3082: Straightforward</h4>

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "I will have the Sixverse Association keep a careful watch out for Mu Ji."

    Ancestor Tianyi shook his head. "Doing that will only make Mu Ji more convincing if he returns to Aeternus."

    Lu Yin understood this reasoning. From Aeternus''s perspective, Mu Ji was a human spy who had been sent to the Aeternals. If the humans started targeting Mu Ji, it would only solidify the Aeternals¡¯ trust in him.

    "Ancestor, what if I disguised myself as Mu Ji, return to the First Scourge through a cosmic door, and give the First Scourge another surprise?" Lu Yin suddenly suggested.

    Ancestor Tianyi was momentarily stunned, but then he nodded approvingly. "Clever."

    "Time is of the essence. We need to act before Mu Ji finds a way to contact Aeternus so that we can prove that he¡¯s a spy. At the same time, we need to rescue Hui Wu. Leaving him in Aeternus is too dangerous," Lu Yin exined.

    Ancestor Tianyi nodded again. "This time, the results you can obtain aren¡¯t as important as ensuring that there are no casualties."

    "I understand." Lu Yin hesitated and stared at Ancestor Tianyi for a moment. "I still need to see Ancestor Lu Yuan."

    The man shook his head. "Ancestor has gone into seclusion again."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "Or is it that I''m not ready to ask the questions I have?"

    "It¡¯s not about readiness. There are some things which are best left unknown," Ancestor Tianyi replied.

    Lu Yin understood. Mu Ji had strayed due to learning too much, but Lu Yin could not shake Wu Tian from his mind. "Ancestor, Wu Tian aided me in learning aprehension technique. I really want to bring him back."

    With that, Lu Yin left the Lu Sanctum.

    Instead of returning to the Heavens Sect, he went straight to the Cyclic Universe.

    There was a region of the Cyclic Universe that was known as the Lotus Realm, and it was Sovereign Lotus¡¯s home for herself and her disciples.

    Lu Yin quickly arrived in the Lotus Realm.

    Most people could not simply enter such a ce. This was a special rule of the Lotus Realm, as any cultivator''s residence would not allow outsiders free entry.

    When Lu Yin arrived in the Lotus Realm, he was immediately struck by its beauty.

    The so-called Lotus Realm was a gigantic lotus tform, but it was not built. Rather, it was a single, enormous lotus flower.

    The Lotus Realm was protected by sourcebox arrays that prevented outsiders from entering without permission.

    Lu Yin stood with his hands sped behind his back. "Sovereign Ninth Lotus,e see me."

    His voice was not loud, yet it somehow prated the entire Lotus Realm, unaffected by the protective formations that were in ce.

    Deep within the Lotus Realm, the Sovereign Lotus''s eyes snapped open in shock. <i>Lu Yin? What is he doing here?</i>

    Regardless of what Lu Yin had aplished for the Sixverse Association as a whole, Sovereign Lotus found the young man to be unpredictable, bold, and utterly ruthless. If possible, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

    As time passed, Lu Yin¡¯s status and influence within the Sixverse Association had risen up to be second only to the Great Sovereign herself. If not for the Great Sovereign''s invincible cultivation, even she would have been overshadowed.

    At the moment, the Great Sovereign was in seclusion, which left Lu Yin as the de facto leader of the Sixverse Association.

    The Sovereign turned to look towards the entrance of her Lotus Realm. "Lord Lu, I was injured during the invasion of the First Scourge and am still recovering. May I ask what brings you here?"

    Lu Yin calmly replied, "I need to see Astral Anura."

    Sovereign Lotus was taken aback. "Astral Anura?"

    Several women were approaching the Lotus Realm at this time, and they were led by Little Lian, who was Sovereign Lotus''s favorite disciple. Little Lian was exceptionally talented at learning Sovereign Lotus¡¯s techniques, which made her unique out of all of the Sovereign''s disciples.

    Apanying Little Lian were Rou¡¯er, the girl who had once reprimanded Lu Yin while ttering Chu Jian, and Ling Mu, who had had a close rtionship with Cheng Feng. She had even tried to stop Lu Yin from arresting the Aeternus spy, but had failed to do so.

    The women quickly arrived before the Lotus Realm, where they saw Lu Yin.

    "Xuan Qi?" Ling Mu was surprised to see the young man.

    Little Lian was delighted. "Brother Xuan Qi."

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled. "Little Lian."

    Little Lian excitedly ran over. "Brother Xuan Qi, what brings you to the Lotus Realm? Are you here to see my master?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I have a bit of business with your master. Little Lian, you''ve improved."

    Little Lian beamed. "Thank you, Brother Xuan Qi."

    Standing beside Little Lian, Rou¡¯er kept her body bowed. She did not dare to even look at Lu Yin.

    She had once scolded him in order topliment Chu Jian, only to be pped by Sovereign Lotus herself. From that point on, Rou¡¯er had hated Lu Yin. She had been shocked by what he had aplished during the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremony, as he had started by defeating Chu Jian and Sage Yuan. Then, he had passed his Semi-Progenitor tribtion and fought against one of the Seven Skygods. She was still in awe of those feats, and her awe had silenced her contempt for Lu Yin.

    Later, as events had unfolded for the Sixverse Association, the attacksunched against the Seven Skygods and the crusade to conquer the Endless Battlefield had both caused Lu Yin''s reputation to soar. The greatest change had urred when he had been audacious enough to visit the Cyclic Universe and disturb the Great Sovereign¡¯s seclusion, but he had somehow survived the matter unscathed.

    This had proven to the entire Sixverse Association that no one could suppress Lu Yin.

    He was the undisputed ruler of the Sixverse Association. Even the Great Sovereign had not acted against him, which meant that Rou¡¯er¡¯s own master was powerless before the man.

    Rou¡¯er tucked her head down even lower, but to Lu Yin, the woman was insignificant to the point where he barely even remembered her.

    Instead, Lu Yin turned to look at Ling Mu.

    "When I arrested Cheng Feng, someone tried to ambush me and my people in the Voidforce Universe. You were the one behind that, weren¡¯t you?"

    Ling Mu''s face turned pale, and she quickly fell to her knees. "I beg for forgiveness, Lord Lu. My ignorance and arrogance offended you. Please forgive me."

    Little Lian bit her lip. While she appeared innocent, she was not naive. She clearly understood the situation.

    Little Lian was aware of the close rtionship between Cheng Feng and Ling Mu, as well as the fact that Ling Mu had done everything she could to help Cheng Feng, even going so far as to implicate their senior disciple, Yao Lan.

    While it had appeared to outsiders that all of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples had been trying to protect Cheng Feng to prevent Yao Lan from getting caught up in the scandal, the reality was that Ling Mu had yed a significant role in instigating matters.

    Little Lian disliked such underhanded methods, but she had not distanced herself from Ling Mu, who had been kind to the younger woman.

    Lu Yin calmly observed Ling Mu.

    Little Lian whispered, "Brother Xuan Qi, Sister Ling Mu knows that she was wrong. Can you show some leniency?"

    Lu Yin''s voice turned cold. "Because of her, Old Dian was exposed, captured, andter died at the New Inn. Should I show leniency for that?"

    Little Lian fell silent.

    Ling Mu''s face turned ashen.

    Lu Yin had never pursued the matter in the past, but not because he did not want to. It had been because he had not been able to. Later, after he had be a Semi-Progenitor and the Lu family had returned, he had been too busy to remember such a minor individual.

    If he had not made the trip to the Lotus Realm, Lu Yin likely would have never remembered Ling Mu.

    At this moment, Sovereign Lotus stepped out of the Lotus Realm. "Lord Lu, what do you intend to do with Ling Mu?"

    Lu Yin looked over. "Many people say that magnanimity is a virtue. Given my current status, dealing with someone like her would appear rather petty."

    Ling Mu felt a flicker of hope.

    "However, I don''t care about appearances. Life is more important than so-called magnanimity." Lu Yin''s face grew stern.

    Sovereign Lotus replied, "Old Dian''s death was of his own doing. He joined the New Inn to receive its protection, and he should have stayed there for life. Leaving broke the rules, and he would have eventually been exposed, regardless of how things yed out."

    "Are you saying that your disciple is not at fault?" Lu Yin countered.

    Sovereign Lotus sighed. She found it extremely difficult to deal with people like Lu Yin. Anyone else with his power and status would not bother about such a trivial matter, and they would simply allow past events to fade away.

    The Sovereign understood that Lu Yin genuinely wanted Ling Mu to pay for her actions. He was not trying to use the matter as leverage.

    Lu Yin asked, "Would you forget past pain?"

    Sovereign Lotus replied, "It would depend on the pain."

    "The sort that leaves scars," Lu Yin retorted bluntly.

    Sovereign Lotus frowned, but said nothing.

    Lu Yin continued, "Human history is crucial. Forgetting history is to betray the future and to do a disservice to oneself. Sparing her would be to betray my past self. Back then, I often wondered if, once I became stronger, I would be able to go back to help my past self. Mistakes need to be atoned for, and time cannot erase such things."

    He nced at Ling Mu. "I don''t want to deal with this. Handle it. This matter needs closure."

    Sovereign Lotus nodded. "I understand. Little Lian, Rou¡¯er, take Ling Mu back."

    Rou¡¯er quickly escorted Ling Mu into the Lotus Realm, but Little Lian nced at Lu Yin. "Brother Xuan Qi, I¡¯m heading in now."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Lord Lu, you mentioned Astral Anura earlier?" Sovereign Lotus asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. "If Aeternus can hire Astral Anura, so can we, right?"

    "That¡¯s true. The Sixverse Association has hired Astral Anura once before, but the cost was too steep, so we never did it again."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "The Sixverse Association epasses many parallel universes and does not belong to any one person or organization. Of course we can''t afford to pay the same prices as Aeternus, especially when they earn everything back in the end.¡±

    Sovereign Lotus grew puzzled. "Earn everything back?"

    Lu Yin did not borate, and instead said, "I want to hire Astral Anura. You should be able to contact it, right?"

    Curious, Sovereign Lotus asked, "Why do you want to hire Astral Anura?"

    "To attack the Scourge."

    Sovereign Lotus was startled. "You want to attack the Scourge again?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Scared?"

    Sovereign Lotus stared at Lu Yin as though she were looking at a madman. "Thest time we tried to invade the Scourge, the battle was already intense enough that we were forced to retreat. Aeternus has more powerhouses than anything we''ve ever seen, and the Seven Skygods could reappear at any moment. What¡¯s the point in attacking now? Do you really think that we can destroy the First Scourge? True God is also there."

    Lu Yin replied, "Don''t worry about it and just find Astral Anura. I''ll pay the price, even if it¡¯s more than what he demanded in the past. All that matters is that he doesn¡¯t betray us."

    Sovereign Lotus stared at Lu Yin. "Do you really intend to invade the Scourge again?"

    Lu Yin grinned at her. "Not just me, all of us."

    The woman¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    "Since you already know about my ns to invade the First Scourge, you¡¯reing with me."

    "I haven¡¯t fully recovered from my previous injuries."

    "That doesn''t matter. You just need to put on a good show.¡±

    ¡°Why should I go?¡±

    ¡°I don''t trust you, and I want to make sure that you don''t warn Aeternus."

    Sovereign Lotus was speechless. The man¡¯s bluntness was impossible to deal with.

    ...

 Chapter 3083: A Surprise Attack

    <h4>Chapter 3083: A Surprise Attack</h4>

    In the Arboreal Realm, far from Mu Ke, a figure furrowed his brow as he drifted deep into thought.

    "This direction won''t work, and neither will the other. This is a problem. Why did Mu Ke move to the border?"

    The man was none other than Mu Ji. After being kicked into a tear in the void in the Third Scourge by Ye Bo, the man had ended up in a parallel universe where his cosmic ring was stolen. Unable to directly return to any of the Scourges, he had been forced to return to the Arboreal Realm.

    In order to return to the First Scourge, Mu Ji needed to cross the Arboreal Realm¡¯s border and enter the Endless Frontier. From there, he could arrive at the entrance to the First Scourge, which would finally allow him to ess the ce.

    While returning to the Arboreal Realm was not a problem, as the man had been born there, crossing the border was an issue.

    For the time being, Aeternus had turtled up. There was no attack at the borders of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes, nor even anywhere throughout the Endless Frontier. If Mu Ji tried to force his way across the border, he would be caught by Mu Ke.

    Mu Ji did not want to face Mu Ke again.

    <i>That wretched Ye Bo, he has to be Lu Yin! Why else would he attack me? What was the point of attacking me?</i>

    It had all been a sh, but Mu Ji had been attacked and his cosmic ring stolen. It was clear that Ye Bo had wanted to prevent Mu Ji from returning to Aeternus.

    The worst-case scenario would be that Mu Ji had been framed as a human spy.

    Ye Bo was the actual spy, but if he had managed to shift the me onto Mu Ji, it would be the worst possible oue for Mu Ji.

    He was desperate to return to the First Scourge to exin everything to Progenitor Xi. Otherwise, Mu Ji would not be epted in either the Sixverse Association or Aeternus. What could he even do? He would not just find a random universe to live out the rest of his days.

    He needed to get back quickly. <i>Damn you, Ye Bo!</i>

    ...

    In the First Scourge, Progenitor Xi was still unaware of Wang Fan''s death.

    For the Divine Selection, the First Scourge had sent Shao Yin and Wang Fan. Progenitor Xi was not sure what would happen to Wang Fan, but Shao Yin had at least a thirty percent chance of passing, which was quite high. After all, not even the Three Pirs and Six Skies or the Seven Skygods could be certain of returning from that battlefield unscathed.

    After all, the Divine Selection was held at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield.

    Eight participants had been sent to the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, and Progenitor Xi simply hoped that at least a few of the participants would pass the assessment so that the First Scourge would be strengthened.

    As long as most of the Seven Skygods returned, and if a few individuals passed the Divine Selection, it would be time for Aeternus¡¯s counterattack.

    As for the Ossis Ark being sent to the Sixverse Association, it had always been a lie. While the people down below had not known, Progenitor Xi and the Seven Skygods had all been aware of this. The Ossis Ark could not leave the Immemorial Citadel. While it was certainly capable of destroying the entire Sixverse Association, the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield could not be abandoned.

    Without the Ossis Ark, the powerhouses at the Immemorial Citadel would be freed. Then, the location of the primary battle would merely shift.

    Forgotten Ruins God arrived. "I just received word that only one of the Second Scourge¡¯s representatives returned. The other was captured.

    "One of the Fifth Scourge¡¯s representatives returned, but they were seriously injured. The other died.

    "Currently, the only ones who remain are our two representatives, the Third Scourge¡¯s Di Xia, and the Sixth Scourge¡¯s Ji Luo."

    Progenitor Xi calmly continued to stare at ake of divine energy. "Only half remain."

    "Yes, just half, which is pathetic. Just imagine their expressions when they saw the Immemorial Citadel for the first time." Forgotten Ruins God chuckled.

    Progenitor Xi looked at the other woman. "Have you recovered from your injuries?"

    Forgotten Ruins God grimaced. "Of course not! It''s all Little Lu Yin''s fault, as well as that strange civilization which disturbed my seclusion. If not for them, I would¡¯ve been able to stay in the Sixth Maind until I had fully recovered."

    "The Heavens Sect will eventually reim the Sixth Maind. It''s no longer safe for you there," Progenitor Xi stated. "Or were you waiting there for Lu Yin?"

    Forgotten Ruins God smiled. "Maybe. I''m quite fond of our Little Lu Yin. I can just imagine it when he bes a Progenitor. In the current megaverse, aside from Dukkhans and Ortusers, no one will be able to overpower him. He''s going to be so arrogant! Iugh just thinking about it.

    "Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I forgot that you were one of those old freaks."

    Progenitor Xi remained unmoved. "I failed long ago and no longer have my previous strength.

    "However, it is impossible for Lu Yin to seed with his next breakthrough and be a Progenitor. Each of his four inner worlds is more exaggerated than thest. Any one of them would make for a very difficult breakthrough, and yet he has four such inner worlds."

    Forgotten Ruins God nodded. "That''s exactly why I¡¯m looking forward to it so much. He always manages to pull off a surprise, and he might do so again."

    The moment she finished speaking, both Progenitor Xi and Forgotten Ruins God turned to look at a distant point before they exchanged nces. Could things really be so coincidental?

    Far away, Mu She, Lord Xu, and Sovereign Lotus had all appeared. Even further away, a golden light zed as Sovereign Dou Sheng charged into the First Scourge. "This is how we humans handle things!"

    Progenitor Xi frowned, and her sword shed out as she used her Qingluo Intent.

    The green sword qi shed. The attack was unstoppable.

    Only a few human powerhouses had appeared in the First Scourge this time, and all of them were sequence powerhouses, with the exception of Lu Yin. Still, he was quite capable of defending himself from spiritual force attacks, so he was not cut down by Progenitor Xi¡¯s first attack.

    Lord Xu struggled to fight off a wave of dizziness. As he did so, he once again realized what a monster Qingluo Jiantian was. This was the woman who had forced the Lu family to start cultivating their spiritual force. How was anyone supposed to fight against such a person?

    Lu Yin was present but disguised as Mu Ji.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng leaped forward, his golden cudgel mming down upon the First Scourge. "Let¡¯s go!"

    Forgotten Ruins God winced. "I can''t stop him."

    The ground shattered again.

    Marquis Wu, Marquis Wang, and Dual deform all appeared.

    Skydog howled before charging at Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The Sovereign pulled out a rancid smelling object from his cosmic ring. The stench nearly knocked him out, but he forced himself to endure it in order to defeat the indestructible Skydog.

    ¡°Woof!¡±

    Skydog yelped before tucking his tail and fleeing.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng cackled and charged towards the ck Mother Tree. He wanted to see if Ku Jie had left anything behind.

    Divine energy surged as Dual deform, Chong Gui, Marquis Wang, and Marquis Wu moved forward.

    Marquis Wu was startled. Why were humans attacking the Scourge at this particr moment? Was it because of the Divine Selection? Did Lu Yin believe that Aeternus had been weakened? That seemed possible.

    In the sky above, Ancient God appeared, and purplish-ck substance formed his Purgatory Seal to crush everyone down below. The man searched for Lu Yin, but he did not see him anywhere.

    Mu Shen and Lord Xu worked together to counter Ancient God. The Skygod¡¯s strength was readily acknowledged, as the two men had seen when Ancient God had fought against Lu Tianyi and his Investiture of the Gods.

    Forgotten Ruins God was searching for Lu Yin, and she felt puzzled that she could not find him.

    Progenitor Xi was simrly looking for Lu Yin, but instead, she found Mu Ji.

    Lu Yin had disguised himself as Mu Ji, but at the moment, Chong Gui was attacking Mu Ji with a spiked club that grewrger every time it was swung downwards. "Traitor! Die from love¡¯s heavy blow!"

    Sovereign Lotus intervened, and a lotus bloomed, easily deflecting the club.

    Suddenly, pirs of light shot into the sky across the Scourge. Aeternus was summoning reinforcements.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was unstoppable, and not even Progenitor Xi''s sword could hold the man back. Without any reinforcements, the First Scourge could not stop the human attack.

    A familiar scene yed out as Astral Anura''s sharp, childlike voice echoed across the Scourge, "Haha, there¡¯s more money to earn! Thanks, Boss."

    Progenitor Xi red at Astral Anura. "Drive them out!"

    Delight filled the massive toad¡¯s eyes. He turned around and swung his lotus leaf, but it was actually aimed at Progenitor Xi.

    The Progenitor dodged. "Astral Anura, you!"

    Astral Anura beamed at the woman. "This time, my boss is the Sixverse Association. Sorry, old friend."

    Progenitor Xi frowned. Had this attack been nned? Things were getting troublesome.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin approached Hui Wen in his disguise as Mu Ji. Lu Yin pretended to fight the man. "Come with me! You''ve been exposed."

    "You aren¡¯t Mu Ji?" Hui Wu was caught off guard.

    Lu Yin spoke very quietly. "Mu Ji hasn¡¯t betrayed Aeternus. I simply tossed him into some parallel universe, but he¡¯ll eventually make it back. When he does, you''ll be finished. He saw you leave the Scourge right before Corpse God was attacked."

    Hui Wu''s expression fell. "You came here to take me away?"

    "Yes."

    Hui Wu stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "Thank you, but I can''t leave."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You have to leave. As soon as Mu Ji returns, he''ll expose you so that he can regain Aeternus''s trust. You won''t be able to survive."

    "I''m sorry that you¡¯ve gone through so much trouble, but I really can''t leave." Hui Wu remained firm.

    Lu Yin became upset. "What are you thinking? Isn''t it better to stay alive? Both you and Wu Tian! Do you understand how much we¡¯ve risked to save you? This isn¡¯t a game! Every step we¡¯ve taken could have killed us! First Wu Tian refused to leave, and now you are too. Why?"

    Hui Wu pushed shoved Lu Yin away with a palm strike. "There are things I can''t exin. I''m sorry, I really can''t leave."

    A golden meteor appeared in the sky above them, zing with divine energy as it crashed down.

    "Have you seen the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Hui Wu.

    The man trembled for a moment.

    "Countless powerhouses have sacrificed themselves at the Immemorial Citadel as they endured wave after wave of attacks. No one knows how long they will be able to endure for, or how many more wille to reinforce them. One day, the Immemorial Citadel will fall. If you want to die, why not go die there? Why stay here in Aeternus? What can you aplish here?

    "In this ce, your strength means nothing," Lu Yin argued.

    Hui Wu sighed and even nodded. "That¡¯s right, but it¡¯s precisely because I can do nothing that there¡¯s a reason to stay here."

    Lu Yin could not understand the man¡¯s reasoning.

    "Go back. Thank you, Brother Lu."

    The golden meteors of divine energy continued to rain down on the ground of the Scourge, and they forced Lu Yin to retreat.

    Lu Yin had intended to cooperate with Hui Wu while posing as Mu Ji, as doing so would not only strengthen the impression that Mu Ji was a human spy, but it would also give humanity a chance to rescue Hui Wu.

    However, Hui Wu had tantly refused to leave Aeternus.

    The battle started quickly, and it also ended just as swiftly.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng protected Lu Yin as he raced towards Mu Ji¡¯s tower, still disguised as the man. Lu Yin pretended to grab something from the tower, and then everyone withdrew from the First Scourge.

    There was no reason to remain and continue the fight. This was not the time for a decisive battle.

    As soon as Lu Yin and his allies retreated, Astral Anura also left.

    The ground of the First Scourge was shattered, but they had not suffered any significant losses. In fact, nothing worthwhile had been lost.

    All of the human traitors who had defected to the First Scourge had already perished, including Wang Fan, who had died on the battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel. Shao Yin was the only one who was still alive.

    The Scourge¡¯s frenzied corpses had been depleted, and the Progenitor-level corpse kings had also been used up.

 Chapter 3084: A Lonely Journey

    <h4>Chapter 3084: A Lonely Journey</h4>

    The First Scourge possessed nothing that was worth fighting to the death over, not unless the Sixverse Association had a chance to kill Progenitor Xi or one of the Seven Skygods. Prolonging the battle was pointless.

    For the same reasons, Ancient God and the other Aeternals did not pursue their attackers or try to force them to remain in the Scourge. They were aware that they could not trap the Sixverse Association''s powerhouses.

    "What a pointless battle," Forgotten Ruins God muttered.

    Ancient God descended from the sky. "What was the point of this attack?"

    Progenitor Xi stared at a distant tower. "It seems that Mu Ji wanted to take something back."

    "Did the humans really have a spy in Aeternus? Wasn''t Mu Ji held underneath ake of divine energy for a hundred years? How could he betray us?" Forgotten Ruins God was astonished.

    Progenitor Xi was not particrly surprised. "There are all kinds of people. Don''t get too caught up about him. In the face of absolute power, schemes mean nothing. It''s time to unite all six Scourges.

    "Di Qiong has already dealt with God¡¯s Domain. More and more civilizations will start to disappear, and sooner orter, it will be the Sixverse Association''s turn."

    Forgotten Ruins God grew wary. "You aren¡¯t asking us to help other Scourges, are you?"

    Progenitor Xi looked over. "I''ve always suspected that there could be a human spy among the Seven Skygods."

    Forgotten Ruins God rolled her eyes. "You can suspect anyone but me. I''ve even brought my own descendants, Wang Fan and Wang Xiaoyu, into Aeternus, and both of them have dealt heavy blows to humanity."

    Progenitor Xi did not argue. Wang Xiaoyu was known as the worst traitor in the entire history of the Fifth Maind. She had been directly responsible for the war that had erupted between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. That war had eventually led to the Fifth Maind¡¯s division.

    Wang Fan had cooperated with Sovereign Shao Yin to bring about the Lu family¡¯s exile.

    The damage the two members of the Wang family had inflicted upon the Origin Universe was so severe that it was impossible to suspect either of them of being human spies. Forgotten Ruins God had recruited both people into Aeternus, which made her even less likely to be a human spy.

    As for Ancient God, he had mastered the Corpse King Transformation and been recruited by True God himself, which left absolutely no room for Progenitor Xi to doubt anything.

    ckless God, Whiteless God, and Corpse God had also all done terrible damage to humanity.

    Progenitor Xi had simply been speaking casually. If anyone was qualified to suspect the Seven Skygods, it was not her. The Seven Skygods answered solely to True God.

    ...

    At this time, there was a grim expression on Lu Yin''s face. He had led an attack on the First Scourge to rescue Hui Wu, but the man had refused to leave, despite knowing that staying meant certain death. Why?

    At the First Scourge¡¯s entrance, Lu Yin met Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi had not been a part of the attack on the Scourge, but he had been prepared to step in if necessary.

    "Ancestor Tianyi, what''s going on? He refused to leave, despite knowing that he¡¯s going to die," Lu Yin asked in frustration. He had risked his life and spent many resources in a bid to save both Wu Tian and Hui Wu.

    Lu Tianyi was also puzzled. "I truly don''t know. Hui Wen was the one who nned Hui Wu''s infiltration into Aeternus, while I simply helped him execute his n. Logically, if things are hopeless, Hui Wu should retreat."

    Lu Yin knew that Lu Tianyi did not know anything more. If the Progenitor had known that Hui Wu would not leave, he would have never allowed the attack on the First Scourge. Lu Tianyi would never willingly risk Lu Yin in something that he knew was useless.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Let''s go back."

    Lu Tianyi observed Lu Yin. "Little Seven, throughout human history, many individuals have borne humiliation while walking a lonely path. Wu Tian and Hui Wu must each have their own reasons for their choices."

    Lu Yin''s voice grew bitter. "I understand, but I still feel like that was thest time I¡¯ll ever see Hui Wu.

    "Ancestor, there will be more partings like this in the future."

    Lu Tianyi sighed. "That¡¯s life."

    Lu Yin had done everything he could. He returned to the Heavens Sect, set aside his worries, and took out the cosmic ring he had received.

    Mister Mu had given Lu Yin eight cosmic doors, and Lu Yin wanted to find out what they were for.

    Even if they led to universes where Lu Yin could meet with Mister Mu, eight cosmic doors seemed excessive.

    Cosmic doors were made by Aeternus.

    Lu Yin opened one and stepped through.

    He instantly arrived in outer space in a universe that appeared to be no different from the Fifth Maind. However, something felt off.

    He looked around with Heaven''s Sight, looking farther and farther. There was definitely something wrong with this ce.

    He wandered through the universe. He saws, technological civilizations, cultivation civilizations, and even primitive civilizations, but the feeling of wrongness persisted.

    It took him a while to realize that this universe had a simr feeling as Aeternus¡¯s Scourges.

    That was it. This universe felt like the Aeternals¡¯ Scourges.

    Could this universe have some connection to Aeternus?

    Lu Yin¡¯s caution instantly spiked. He concealed his presence and dropped onto a. It was home to a technological civilization that had apparently entered the era of space exploration.

    A manned vessel was in a desert on the, preparing forunch. It was heading towards a space station.

    Far away, countless people were watching excitedly. "Five, four, three, two, one,unch!"

    The spacecraft shot into the sky, on its way towards the stars.

    Three men were inside the spacecraft, and they held their breath as excitement and anxiety surged within them. No idents could be allowed. They had to reach the space station, which would bring glory to their nation and homnd.

    The vessel shot into outer space without any incident. Everyone watched as it followed the predetermined trajectory. Many people held their breath in anticipation.

    The three men within the spacecraft exchanged nces. They could see the joy in each other''s eyes. They would not let their country down. They would reach the space station.

    Suddenly, one of the men¡¯s pupils constricted. His face looked as though he had just seen a ghost. He slowly turned his head to look at the vessel¡¯s fourth upant.

    The other two men also noticed their extra upant, and they also stared in shock at the neer. Of course, it was Lu Yin.

    "Sorry for startling you. You''re heading to that space station, right? I''ll take you there. I need to borrow this," Lu Yin told them before tossing the three men out of the spacecraft and into the space station. He then waved a hand and created a passage that connected the space station to the. "You can use this whenever you want to get back. It shouldst for at least a few years. Thanks!"

    With that, the spacecraft shot deep into outer space and vanished.

    The three men never said a word, as they were simply too stunned. What had just happened? Who was that man? How had he delivered them to the space station? What was the passage that had suddenly appeared? Could it really take them back home?

    Everything seemed surreal. The universe was too crazy.

    <i>Wait</i>. One of the men suddenly realized something. "Oh, no! That¡¯s just a shuttle! It can''t go far."

    Already far away, Lu Yin was flying the vessel far beyond the range of the civilization he had taken it from. The vessel was moving at a speed that the people of that could not even imagine.

    Lu Yin was being cautious because of how the universe felt simr to the Scourges, and he wanted to avoid running into an Aeternal powerhouse.

    It was possible that Mister Mu was aware that the universe belonged to Aeternus and that he wanted Lu Yin to investigate it.

    Which Scourge was Lu Yin in? The first thing he needed to do was find someone from Aeternus. After all, he was notpletely certain that he was in a universe that belonged to the Aeternals.

    The spacecraft continued to fly around for an entire day.

    After that, Lu Yin felt something unusual from a specific direction. He was ovee by a feeling of dread, as though something very unsettling was up ahead.

    He decided to guide the spacecraft towards that sensation.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s speed, after just half a day, he had covered an incredibly vast distance.

    He looked further with Heaven''s Sight. The outer space in that area was darker, though in a way that was invisible to the naked eye. It was as if there was some sort of oppressive presence in that area that was shrouding everything, which led to the sense of difort.

    Lu Yin continued forward. He moved further and further ahead.

    Eventually, his vessel came to a halt. It had been intercepted by another, far more advanced spacecraft. It was a battleship that belonged to an extremely advanced technological civilization.

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    ...

    Lu Yin peered into the darkness up ahead. There, he saw a cluster ofs that had been linked together to form a massive fortress, much like the ones in the Outerverse¡¯s Ironblood Weave. However, the fortress that Lu Yin was looking atcked the ancient, deste aura of the fortresses in Ironblood Weave. Instead, this fortress was more of an opulent pce.

    It was extraordinarily luxurious.

    Hundreds ofs, bothrge and small, had been connected across outer space to form a colossal construct. Thergest could even rival Nightking in size.

    The interconnecteds created a peerlessly opulent pce. Lu Yin could hearughter and sounds of celebration, as well as shouts of anger. He could see beautiful women, fine wines, and extravagant treasures. Even the waterfalls seemed to flow with precious nectar instead of water. Lu Yin could sense the hedonism without even setting foot on any of thes.

    This was not Aeternus. The Aeternals would never indulge in such a fashion.

    In that case, where had Lu Yin ended up?

    Despite thevishness, Lu Yin felt the same oppressive sensation he had previously associated with Aeternus¡¯s Scourges. Theughter he heard was loud and raucous, and yet it also sounded false. The wine was intoxicating and the women were enchanting, and yet the oppressive feeling permeated everything. It was as though Lu Yin was looking at an illusion. Everything seemed to be a facade.

    There were countless parallel universes throughout the megaverse. Lu Yin had personally witnessed the tragedies of the Aeternus Kingdoms, the peace of God¡¯s Domain, and the wanton cruelty of cultivation civilizations. At this moment, it was as though he was staring at a human paradise.

    Lu Yin stared. It was clear that, while there seemed to be a falseness to everything that he was seeing, it was also entirely real.

    What was going on? The oppressive sensation that covered the opulence was a massive contradiction.

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    The spacecraft pulled back and left, but Lu Yin continued moving forward.

    He carefully observed the ce in front of him. It was clear that this ce did not belong to the Aeternals and that it was inhabited by humans, but Lu Yin wanted to gain a better understanding of these people before he made his presence known.

    It was possible that Mister Mu had not given Lu Yin the eight cosmic doors so that they could meet or so that Lu Yin could target ces important to Aeternus. But rather, perhaps it was so that Lu Yin could find powerful civilizations capable of joining the fight against Aeternus.

    Lu Yin believed that the civilization he was looking at had reached that level.

    However, he needed to investigate the people here first. There were countless parallel universes, but not all the ones inhabited by humans had encountered Aeternus. For instance, the Infinity Empire had never seen the Aeternals before, and that was despite the empire being an active conqueror that had spread across many parallel universes, defeating even other human civilizations.

    Lu Yin easily infiltrated the multi pce. Once he arrived, he was astonished by the grandeur and luxury that he saw.

 Chapter 3085: Scourge Occupation

    <h4>Chapter 3085: Scourge upation</h4>

    Lu Yin could easily achieve a level of opulence that far exceeded the multi pce spread out before him with his status in the Sixverse Association, but no one in the association indulged in such extravagance.

    The floor beneath his feet was made from a dark yellow metal which was most likely as valuable here as gold was on Earth. In some ways, the pce reminded Lu Yin of Food Paradise, though with a focus on overall luxury, rather than solely on food.

    Lu Yin spent three days on the pce in order to gain a better understanding of it.

    The pce was known as the Scourge upation, and it shared the same "scourge" character as Aeternus¡¯s Scourges, and it even gave off a simr feeling. If not for the absence of corpse kings, Lu Yin might have thought that these people were a part of Aeternus.

    However, the inhabitants of the Scourge upation knew nothing about the Aeternals.

    This puzzled Lu Yin. How had Mister Mu discovered this universe if its people knew nothing of Aeternus?

    That was a question that only Mister Mu could answer.

    Lu Yin found that the people of this civilization did not cultivate, and yet they possessed incredible power. This was truly the most confusing detail.

    He spent the following half month in the pce, still observing its people. There was a clear hierarchy present, and Lu Yin worked his way up from the bottom. As he proceeded, he found individuals who possessed the strength of Semi-Progenitors, but none of these people cultivated at all.

    Such strength seemed impossible for a people who did not cultivate, unless they had a connection to a parallel universe where time flowed faster within the pce and that that was where the people cultivated.

    However, it did not seem reasonable for the thousands of people in the fortress to either not practice any battle techniques or to not discuss them at all. Instead, all of the conversations that Lu Yin overheard were about destruction: destroyings,ndmasses, universes, and anything else that these people saw or encountered. These people all radiated a destructive aura.

    On top of that, the people wore different colors on their arms which symbolized their varying levels of destructive power, though Lu Yin could not make sense of the distinctions.

    The Scourge upation was full of contradictions, and seeing them prompted Lu Yin to conduct a formal visit.

    Of course, Lu Yin would not go alone. He was still not entirely certain of the civilization''s full power, so Lu Yin used a cosmic door far away from the Scourge upation. He then returned to the pce while apanied by Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    "Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

    Arch-Elder Zen continued forward, his eyes fixed upon the pce. "We arrived in this universe unintentionally, and we wish to greet its ruler."

    The voice echoed through space, easily reaching the pce and drawing the attention of the inhabitants.

    At the top of the pce, in a luxurious residence, dozens of handsome men were dancing while casting seductive nces at a beautiful reclining woman. She was entranced by their performance and frowned at the interruption.

    Arch-Elder Zen''s voice had interrupted the rhythm of the dance, so she looked out at him.

    "Hmph, not interested."

    A man soon left the pce, and he approached Arch-Elder Zen while openly scrutinizing the old man. "Our chief says that she¡¯s not interested."

    Arch-Elder Zen remained courteous. "Please inform your chief that we entered this universe unintentionally. It¡¯s only proper to greet the ruler."

    The man grew irritated. "Your presence here means nothing to us. If we say that we¡¯re not interested, it means no. Leave."

    With that, the man turned to go back to the pce.

    Arch-Elder Zen was at a loss. He had never encountered such people before. Despite the fact that he had made the fact that he was a peak powerhouse very clear during his greeting, the ruler of this universe was not at all concerned. They did not seem worried about Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s presence, or the safety of the universe.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "Wait a moment."

    The man turned back, evidently quite annoyed. "Kid, do you not understand? No means no. Leave now."

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Have you heard of Mister Mu?"

    The man''s expression changed, and he looked surprised. "You know Mister Mu?"

    The man¡¯s reaction made it clear to Lu Yin that Mister Mu had indeed prepared the cosmic doors in advance. Lu Yin was supposed to visit the civilizations in the eight universes.

    Aeternus had six Scourges that fought across multiple parallel universes with the single goal of destroying all traces of humanity. However, humans had not been passive in the war.

    "He is my master," Lu Yin replied.

    The man¡¯s demeanor softened considerably. "I apologize. I didn¡¯t know you were Mister Mu¡¯s disciple. Who are these two men?"

    Lu Yin introduced both men. "They are my seniors. Honestly, we did not arrive here by ident, but were rather guided by Mister Mu."

    The man nodded. "Since you¡¯ve been introduced to us by Mister Mu, please follow me. I will lead you to our chief."

    "Thank you."

    "There¡¯s no need to be so formal."

    "My name is Lu Yin."

    "I am E¡¯ Nan. Our chief, E¡¯ Ji, is my mother. This way, please."

    E'' Nan led the way, and Lu Yin and hispanions made their way to the very top of the pce, where they met with E'' Ji, the chief of the Scourge upation.

    E'' Ji frowned when E'' Nan arrived with three guests. "What¡¯s this? Didn¡¯t I say no?"

    E'' Nan exined, "This is Brother Lu Yin, one of Mister Mu¡¯s disciples. He was led to us by Mister Mu."

    E'' Ji was caught off guard. "A disciple of Mister Mu?"

    She waved a hand, dismissing the dancers. Her demeanor shifted from that of a seductress to a grand and dignified leader, as was appropriate for the chief of the Scourge upation.

    Lu Yin observed E'' Ji. "Are you the ruler of this universe?"

    E'' Ji nodded and gestured for Lu Yin to have a seat. "Since you are Mister Mu''s disciple, there''s no need to stand on ceremony. You¡¯re among friends."

    Lu Yin was amazed at how effective Mister Mu''s name was with these people. They were clearly not known for their politeness and were typically brusque or even rude to Progenitors. However, they demonstrated a tremendous amount of respect for Mister Mu.

    "Chief E'' Ji, while my master led me to this ce, I know little about it or your people. Could you tell me more about it?" Lu Yin asked directly.

    E'' Ji nced over at E'' Nan, who proceeded to exin, "We are the Scourge upation. This entire pce is inhabited by our people."

    As E'' Nan continued, Lu Yin was finally able to understand the Scourge upation. Nothing was kept back, not even the reason why these people did not cultivate.

    Within the pce, a madman was sealed, who was also the founding ancestor of the tribe. His madness had been caused by cultivation deviation.

    The people¡¯s insane ancestor was imprisoned at the bottom of the Scourge upation. He was an incredibly powerful cultivator, but due to a mistake in his cultivation path, he had gone mad. Not only had his mind be clouded, but he was also unable to release his power, which had be trapped within his body. More specifically, it was sealed within his blood.

    The man¡¯s power continuously grew within his blood, and the only way to alleviate the growing power was by releasing his blood. If that was not done, his body would actually explode.

    All members of the tribe that inhabited the Scourge upation worked to dilute the power in their mad ancestor''s blood. They infused his blood into their own bodies to the limit of what they could endure. This was why they did not need to cultivate, as all of their power came from their ancestor. If they did not do this, their ancestor would self-destruct and die.

    The people absorbed their mad ancestor¡¯s blood from birth, starting with small amounts and gradually increasing as they grew up. The colors on their arms indicated how much blood they were able to handle.

    However, the people who absorbed the madman¡¯s blood also needed to constantly release the power they had absorbed, as failing to do so would cause them to explode as well. This was why they were so focused on destruction. It was not simply because they desired destruction, but rather because they needed to release the power that they had absorbed.

    This was also their cultivation method. Each time they absorbed their ancestor¡¯s blood, the amount they could handle increased.

    No matter what the Scourge upation encountered, they would destroy it, regardless of whether it was a universe, andmass,s, or stars. All would be destroyed until nothing remained.

    The Scourge upation had no specific enemies, though it could also be said that everyone was their enemy since they destroyed everything without any sort of discrimination. However, destruction did not mean ughter. These people merely destroyed, and they did not kill.

    They werepletely different from the Infinity Empire, which constantly sought more and more resources.

    The Scourge upation simply pursued survival.

    This was why the people of Scourge upation indulged in such hedonistic lifestyles. Their lives were naturally quite short. While absorbing their mad ancestor''s blood granted them the strength of peak powerhouses, and even though they could exert a level of destructive power equal to a sequence powerhouse¡¯s, their lifespans were shorter than even Enlighters¡¯.

    E'' Ji was only 200 years old.

    If Lu Yin included the life that he had lived as Lu Xiaoxuan, as well as all of the time he had spent in Timestop and the parallel universes where time passed faster, Lu Yin was old enough to be E'' Ji¡¯s grandfather.

    Short lives, uncontroble power, and an insatiable desire for destruction were the underlying reasons behind the Scourge upation¡¯s peculiar civilization.

    No one expected a people capable of ignoring even peak powerhouses to have such brief lifespans.

    "It doesn''t matter. We are already used to this. Enjoying life to the fullest is also a part of living," E'' Ji said, having epted their people¡¯s fate.

    E'' Nan''s expression soured. Their people had encountered countless civilizations whose people had lives thatsted for thousands of years, tens of thousands of years, or sometimes even longer. The more civilizations the Scourge upation encountered, the more unbnced they felt. They wielded such incredible strength, and yet their lives were so short.

    It was no different from an ordinary human suddenly gaining immense wealth, but only being given ten days to live. What would a person do with those ten days?

    Arch-Elder Zen was impressed. "Chief E¡¯Ji has a magnanimous heart. I admire that."

    E¡¯ Ji nced down at herself. "Yes, quite broad."

    Arch-Elder Zen coughed, taken aback.

    Lu Yin was left speechless.

    E'' Jiughed. "It''s been a long time since I''ve been able to chat like this with outsiders. For us, speaking to outsiders is a waste of our limited time, but I like all of you. Tell me, Lu Yin, why have youe here?"

    Lu Yin gathered himself. "Have you ever heard of Aeternus?"

    E'' Ji and E'' Nan exchanged nces. "We''ve heard of them, but we¡¯ve never encountered them."

    "Such a pity," E'' Nan added.

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "A pity?"

    E'' Ji replied, "Of course it¡¯s a pity. Their strength means that they are worthy opponents. We''vee across several civilizations that were destroyed by Aeternus. We''ve always wanted to face off against them, but we¡¯ve never had the chance.

    "Can you imagine our frustration of destroying an empty universe without ever facing an enemy? We also won¡¯t simply ughter random civilizations."

    Leng Qing''s eyes lit up. This statement gave him a different perspective on the Scourge upation. These people had not been corrupted by their power, and they deserved respect.

 Chapter 3086: The Ruins

    <h4>Chapter 3086: The Ruins</h4>

    "Don''t be fooled by my people''s desire for violence. We have never taken the initiative to attack another human civilization. Even astral beasts, as long as they don''t show any hostility towards us, are not harmed. This is a rule that was put in ce for my tribe by our ancestor, and we have always followed it diligently," E'' Ji exined.

    Arch-Elder Zen inquired, "Your mad ancestor?"

    E'' Ji nodded.

    Arch-Elder Zen was amazed, "Given the chance, I would love to visit your ancestor. The fact that he put such a rule in ce for your people demonstrates great character."

    E'' Ji instantly refused, "That''s simply not possible. Our ancestor is insane, and allowing any outsiders to see him would damage his image. When he was still sane, he was very particr about his appearance. His favorite saying was," E'' Ji paused. "''Where''s myb?''"

    Lu Yin blinked. "Your ancestor certainly has a unique personality."

    From the moment he had first met the Scourge upation, Lu Yin had sensed that there was something unusual about the tribe. They seemed to be a violent people, and yet they refused to bully the weak. They were quite blunt and straightforward, and they also had a rather dark sense of humor.

    It was possible that these traits naturally developed when people possessed immense power, yet very limited lifespans.

    Given their limited time, they tried to live as freely and extravagantly as possible.

    Lu Yin decided to get straight to the point. "I am from the Origin Universe, which is a member of the Sixverse Alliance. We are an organization of dozens of parallel universes which have united in order to fight against Aeternus. Even with our alliance, we still struggle to endure. I hope to ally with the Scourge upation to fight against Aeternus."

    "Is this Aeternus truly so formidable?" E'' Nan asked.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned serious. "I won''t lie to you. While I don''t know how strong your ancestor is, there is no doubt that there are individuals within Aeternus who can match him. On top of that, they are sane."

    E'' Ji''s eyes narrowed. "Sane, and yet as strong as our ancestor?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "There are limits in this megaverse, but so far, no one has managed to breakthrough to be an Immortal. Your ancestor is presumably confined to those limits as well, while Aeternus also have people who have reached those limits. We have simr individuals on our side, or else we would have been destroyed long ago."

    E'' Ji sighed with relief. "You should have said as much from the beginning. I was just trying toe up with the best way to turn you down."

    Lu Yin was yet again rendered speechless by the woman.

    E'' Nan spoke in a bitter voice, "You can¡¯t me my mother for her bluntness. You need to understand that all of us endure the power of our ancestor''s blood for both our own sakes, as well as to keep him alive. We don''t want to see our ancestor die, but we also wish to enjoy our short lives as much as possible. While we seek worthy opponents, we don''t seek death."

    "I understand. Right now, Aeternus and humanity have achieved some level of bnce. This is why Mister Mu sent me here to find you. Even if you don''t trust me, you should trust him. You''ve known him for a long time. If he didn''t believe that we have a chance of victory, he would not have gotten you involved."

    "That¡¯s why we agree," E'' Ji interjected.

    Lu Yin turned to face the woman.

    E'' Ji smiled. "No matter what, we owe your master a great debt. Given his character, if he believed that we would lose, he wouldn''t simply send us to our deaths.

    "Besides, even if we wanted to refuse you, doing so would be humiliating."

    E'' Nan nodded, as he felt the exact same way.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Just what exactly urred between your tribe and Mister Mu?"

    "You don''t know?"

    "Nothing at all."

    E'' Ji exined, "It''s quite simple. asionally, our Scourge upation encounters powerful enemies while destroying parallel universes. We once ran into a strange enemy who ughtered half of our tribe, including our then chief. We were unable to absorb any of our ancestor''s blood, which pushed him to the brink of self-destructing. Fortunately, Mister Mu appeared at that time, and he managed to suppress the pending explosion. He then stayed with us for an entire century, until our poption recovered.

    "If not for Mister Mu, both our tribe and our ancestor would have perished."

    Lu Yin now understood why the tribe held Mister Mu in such high regard.

    It was one thing to have saved the tribe and their ancestor, but staying with them for a century was a significant favor. While 100 years might not mean anything to someone like Mister Mu, it meant a great deal to the Scourge upation, and that time had fostered a deep bond.

    "Enough talk of business. Our Scourge upation will host you properly! Lu Yin, Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing,e enjoy some music and dancing," E'' Ji offered in a grand manner, and she immediately called for the start of a demonstration of luxury that left both Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing quite ufortable.

    Lu Yin was not particrly bothered. He was still young, by the standards of cultivators, and he quite enjoyed the music, dancing, and food.

    He also took the opportunity to observe the other members of the tribe. There were several who were capable of enduring enough of their ancestor''s blood to wield the strength of Progenitors, while E'' Ji seemed to possess the strength of a sequence powerhouse. However, Lu Yin had not yet seen anyone from the tribe in action.

    He was eager to see how these people fought, given that their strength came from another.

    Lu Yin remained at the Scourge upation for five days, though Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing both left on the second day.

    After five days, Lu Yin returned to Aeternus Nation. He returned with E'' Nan so that the man could leave a trace on the coordinate seal, which would allow the people of the Scourge upation to travel between the two universes. That done, Lu Yin bade the tribe farewell.

    The Scourge upation''s attitude left Lu Yin hopeful about the other cosmic doors.

    He had initially used Bi Rong¡¯spass to find parallel universes where time flowed faster, but he had also been hoping to find allies who could join the fight against Aeternus. Finding God¡¯s Domain had strengthened Lu Yin¡¯s belief that his goal was possible. If not for certain events, he would have continued to explore more unknown parallel universes.

    However, Mister Mu had given Lu Yin eight cosmic doors, which represented eight powerful civilizations. Even if there were only eight individuals, that would be eight new sequence powerhouses, which would be crucial for when the war with Aeternus resumed.

    Even more importantly, Mister Mu had most likely alreadyid the groundwork to cooperate with them long ago. Without his rtionship with the people of the Scourge upation, allying with the tribe would have been incredibly difficult due to their hostility toward outsiders.

    The stronger the civilization, the more self-serving they tended to be.

    Lu Yin was confident that he could rally other civilizations into the war against Aeternus, provided that they were human. The only uncertainty was the time it would take him, and Mister Mu had saved Lu Yin a tremendous amount of time.

    Lu Yin took out the next cosmic door, and once again he was apanied by Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing, as they feared the worst. If Mister Mu was able to find other civilizations, then so could Aeternus. If Aeternus had set a trap, it would be very dangerous for Lu Yin to visit the parallel universes.

    As long as Lu Yin was escorted by both Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing, Aeternus would find it challenging to instantly defeat all of them.

    On top of that, an escort of Progenitors gave Lu Yin a great deal of prestige, as he was not yet a Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin activated the cosmic door and passed through it, only to find himself in a familiar universe. This ce had been the home of God¡¯s Domain.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing stayed right with Lu Yin.

    "God''s Domain?" Arch-Elder Zen eximed.

    Leng Qing was equally surprised. "Is this God''s Domain¡¯s original universe?"

    Lu Yin had not expected one of the cosmic doors to lead to God''s Domain, but after thinking about it, it was not particrly surprising. God''s Domain had been a very strong civilization with the four elephants and the Divine Maiden, who could wield the elephants¡¯ powers since she had been recognized by their universe. That essentially meant that the civilization had had five sequence powerhouses. Only the Five Spirits Alliance could match such numbers.

    It was not surprising that Mister Mu had found God''s Domain.

    Unfortunately, that civilization¡¯s strength had already been destroyed.

    When the Sixverse association had invaded the First Scourge, Arrow God had been called over to support the First Scourge. After the invasion, the First Scourge had sealed itself off, and the Aeternals had been forced to change their strategies. The other Scourges had been urged to eliminate their opponents so that they could help the First Scourge destroy the Sixverse Association.

    That was why Di Qiong had attacked the God''s Domain with his full strength.

    Coincidentally, the Infinity Empire had also found God''s Domain in the past, and by using some unknown method, they had reconnected to it. Lu Yin had not known that the Infinity Empire possessed such a technology, and he had tried to lure Forgetting Ruins God to the Infinity Empire. However, the spatial rift had been diverted to God''s Domain.

    Due to nothing more than lucky timing, Lu Yin had been able to help God''s Domain fight back against Di Qiong. While all three of their elephants had perished, the people of God¡¯s Domain had been able to survive.

    For the moment, those people were living in Aeternus Nation.

    God''s Domain''s original universe was aplete ruin, as Di Qiong had destroyed the ce. All of the people of God''s Domain had been relocated, leaving the universe empty.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "I never thought that the once-powerful God''s Domain would be reduced to this."

    Lu Yin felt quite fortunate. "If the Infinity Empire hadn''t sent me here back then, God''s Domain would have beenpletely destroyed."

    "Speaking of them, Dao Monarch, the Divine Maiden has asked about the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant," Arch-Elder Zen mentioned.

    Lu Yin turned to the man. "What did you tell her?"

    "The truth."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ll talk to her."

    The trio left the ruins of God''s Domain with heavy hearts. If God''s Domain was in this state, then what about the civilizations represented by the remaining six cosmic doors? Mister Mu''s discovery of these civilizations might span a long time, long enough for anything to happen.

    The Scourge upation had given Lu Yin some hope, but visiting God''s Domain¡¯s ruined universe sombered the atmosphere.

    He stared at the third cosmic door for a moment, reminding himself to stay calm. Not even Mister Mu could find every powerful civilization throughout the countless parallel universes. These eight cosmic doors did not represent the eight strongest civilizations throughout the megaverse.

    After activating the cosmic door, Lu Yin hesitated, but Leng Qing stepped forward and vanished.

    None of them had any idea what mighty on the other side of the cosmic door, but Leng Qing did not want Lu Yin to take such a risk.

    Lu Yin nced at Arch-Elder Zen, who nodded. After that, the two men passed through together.

    On the other side of the cosmic door, they found themselves on a vast grasnd.

    Such a prairie was not unusual, as it was possible for the cosmic door to connect to a. However, there was something strange¡ªthe sheer size of the grasnd. Even with Heaven''s Sight, Lu Yin could not see the end, though he did notice signs of battle.

    "Let''s go." Lu Yin led Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing towards the conflict.

    The expansive grasnd reminded Lu Yin of the Outerverse, as the prairie was not any smaller than the Outerverse.

    The Origin Universe had originally had six Mainds with a starry sky above them all. The Mainds had formed the universe, with a star-filled sky up above, which was very simr to the grasnd where Lu Yin and the others had found themselves.

    Soon, Lu Yin and the other two found an Aeternus Kingdom on the grasnd.

 Chapter 3087: The Nine-Star Civilization

    <h4>Chapter 3087: The Nine-Star Civilization</h4>

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. The presence of an Aeternus Kingdom suggested that this universe had either already been upied by the Aeternals or was being actively invaded.

    The Aeternus Kingdom was home to Progenitor-level corpse kings, but Lu Yin¡¯s group managed to avoid drawing attention as they continued further across the grasnd.

    Before long, they saw a fight taking ce up ahead.

    There were Aeternus¡¯s corpse kings, which was no surprise, and they were fighting against a group of cultivators who were all dressed in white robes and oddly shaped hats. On top of that, they all held long, thin wooden sticks, and they employed a battle style that Lu Yin had never seen before: they were drawing. That was it, they were making pictures.

    The cultivators used their wooden sticks to draw in the air in front of them, creating what looked like constetions that then released bizarre attacks.

    None of the people engaged in closebat or even used battle techniques. All of them simply released the same energies in attack patterns. However, while the attacks all followed the same form, the power varied from one person to another.

    Lu Yin and hispanions did not rush to join the fight, as they wanted to observe the unknown civilization first.

    The fact that they were able to fight back against Aeternus, and even deal with Progenitor-level corpse kings, meant that the civilization was quite powerful.

    A Progenitor-level corpse king was on a rampage, and it tore right through the barriers that had been erected in its path. It instantly shredded one of the white-robed cultivators to pieces, and blood stained the grass below.

    A woman suddenly appeared, and she tapped the air with her wooden stick. "Light-Piercing Arrow."

    In an instant, she drew two constetions in the air, and then a beam of light shot at the corpse king.

    The corpse king threw a punch. It only fought in the most brutal and direct manner, and its punch shattered the beam of light. However, another beam appeared after that, as well as several more. Each one stalled the corpse king''s progress.

    "Supreme Shield." The woman quickly drew five constetions in the air, which resulted in the formation of a barrier that shot towards the corpse king. The monster¡¯s punches were unable to break this barrier. As the woman drew more constetions, the barrier transformed into multiple beams that pierced into the corpse king''s body, leaving it severely injured.

    It was at that same moment that several of the white-robed cultivators attacked in unison, all of them using the same Light-Piercing Arrow.

    The countless attacks overwhelmed the corpse king.

    The woman delivered the finishing blow as one of her Light-Piercing Arrows ended the corpse king''s life.

    Lu Yin watched the unusual battle y out. No one had used any impressive battle techniques, and every attack had been repetitive, if extremely effective, given their power.

    "They''ve standardized their techniques. This civilization must have some incredibly powerful individuals," Leng Qing concluded.

    Arch-Elder Zen added, "There are many strange civilizations scattered across the megaverse. This ce is the pr opposite of how the Scourge upation''s people use random means of attack."

    "The more standardized the techniques, the more stratified this civilization views strength and power," Leng Qing noted.

    The battle ended with corpses strewn across the grasnd. They belonged to both corpse kings and the white-robed cultivators, and blood stained the ground everywhere.

    Lu Yin and hispanions still did not reveal themselves, adopting caution instead. Mister Mu had sent Lu Yin to this universe, but that did not mean that he was supposed to meet with the white-robed cultivators'' civilization. Lu Yin needed to understand these people better before he initiated contact.

    The battlefield extended far beyond the immediate surroundings, as it covered an endless portion of grasnd. In fact, it seemed as though the battlefield covered the entire universe.

    Lu Yin noticed that there were stars in some of the puddles on the grasnd, as well as meteorites within the rivers. It was a very strange universe, and it appeared that the grasnd had formedter on.

    There was an intense war taking ce between the universe and Aeternus, and it resembled the Endless Frontier. The woman who had killed the Progenitor-level corpse king moved from one fight on the battlefield to another. Aside from her Light-Piercing Arrow and Supreme Shield, the group from the Origin Universe also saw other techniques, but the Light-Piercing Arrow and Supreme Shield were the most effective against Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    One day, a green-eyed corpse king appeared. Not only was the creature a Progenitor-level corpse king, but it also had an innate gift, and the woman struggled greatly against the monster.

    Her Light-Piercing Arrows were ineffective, and her Supreme Shield was casually shattered. The woman was forced to use the most powerful technique she had revealed yet. It was called Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion.

    The technique was as beautiful as an aurora, and it illuminated the grasnd and the distant faces of Lu Yin and the two Progenitors with him.

    At that moment, the woman sensed Lu Yin and hispanions, and she warily looked over.

    Lu Yin knew that they had been exposed, though they had not truly been trying to hide.

    "It''s time to put on a demonstration of goodwill," Lu Yinmented.

    Leng Qing immediately leaped forward, his de slicing at the Progenitor-level corpse king. The appearance of the man¡¯s Celestial de World startled the woman, though not terribly. She was also capable of releasing attacks with a simr level of power, and she simply viewed the Celestial de World as another kind ofbat technique.

    Leng Qing''s actions also indicated to the woman that the three men were not her enemies.

    All of the beams from the aurora-like attack converged and then stabbed into the corpse king.

    By teaming up with Leng Qing''s Celestial de World, he and the woman were eventually able to destroy the Progenitor-level corpse king.

    Lu Yin observed things closely with Heaven¡¯s Sight. The Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion was a powerful attack, though it was not at the same level as Leng Qing¡¯s Celestial de World. Without the Progenitor¡¯s assistance, the woman would have never been able to kill the Progenitor-level corpse king with her own techniques.

    Lu Yin also noted a rather peculiar trait of this civilization: their people¡¯s power was very difficult to measure.

    Even with Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was unable to determine the full extent of the woman''sbat strength.

    He had been able to estimate the strength of the people from the Scourge upation, but this woman who had just fought against a Progenitor-level corpse king appeared to be just as fragile as an ordinary human.

    "You must be from another universe," the womanmented to Leng Qing, but the Progenitor nced over at Lu Yin, who was approaching.

    Lu Yin answered the question. "Yes, we are from another universe. We have no desire to antagonize your people."

    The woman looked surprised at Lu Yin. "Are you the leader?"

    "Is there a problem with that?" Lu Yin smiled.

    The woman scrutinized Lu Yin. "You are very young."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "So are you. May I ask if your civilization is the ruling power of this universe?"

    The woman nodded. "My name is Mimina, and Ie from the Nine-Star Civilization, which is the most powerful people in this universe. What are your names?"

    "Lu Yin."

    "Leng Qing."

    "Arch-Elder Zen."

    Mimina nced at the three men. "Why did you help me?"

    Lu Yin answered in a straightforward manner. "Aeternus is our enemy as well, so it¡¯s only natural that we would help you."

    Mimina showed no surprise at all. "Aeternus has enemies in many parallel universes, so that¡¯s not unusual. However, you seem to be quite powerful, to the point where you would be regarded as among my Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s most powerful experts. May I ask why you came to this universe?"

    Lu Yin instantly grew serious. "To form an alliance against Aeternus."

    "An alliance?"

    "Yes. We are in the process of seeking out powerful civilizations to join forces with us to fight against the Aeternals. Only by working together can we humans have any hope."

    Mimina shook her head apologetically. "Thank you for your assistance, but I''m sorry. Our Nine-Star Civilization will not ally with you."

    "Why not?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "We don''t trust you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s confusion only increased. "You don''t trust us?"

    Arch-Elder Zen was simrly puzzled. "What reason is there to not trust us? We are merely looking for allies in the fight against Aeternus."

    Mimina shrugged. "The Aeternals are exceptionally cunning, and we can¡¯t know if you are actually their enemies or not. I might as well tell you that Aeternus has nted traitors within our people, and they have managed to cause incredible harm on multiple asions. You should never underestimate the Aeternals. They might be emotionless monsters, but they are extremely intelligent.

    "Do not underestimate Aeternus."

    Lu Yin found it ironic to hear this warning, as Mimina was speaking the same words that Lu Yin himself frequently used to caution others, only this time they were being directed towards him.

    "May I ask if you are the leader of your Nine-Star Civilization?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mimina shook her head. "I¡¯m not, but I can assure you that my people will not agree to form an alliance with you, so you shouldn¡¯t waste your time. I can treat you as guests as thanks for your assistance, but that is all."

    Lu Yin politely replied, "Regardless, since we are your guests, it would only be appropriate for us to pay a visit to the leader of the Nine-Star Civilization, wouldn''t it?"

    Mimina hesitated.

    Lu Yin added, "It¡¯s certainly reasonable for you to refuse an alliance due to your concerns andck of trust. It¡¯s a valid concern that we could be part of the Aeternals¡¯ plot, which is why we approached you. However, it''s far more likely that we are also enemies of Aeternus. Even if we don''t agree to an alliance, we aren''t your enemies. There might evene an opportunity in the future for us to help each other out.

    "We have never underestimated Aeternus, not in the past, not now, and not in the future. They are extremely powerful."

    Mimina took a moment to consider Lu Yin¡¯s request. "Alright, I can take you to see Mentor Kakawen, but first, we need to finish up this battlefield. There¡¯s also a distant Aeternus Kingdom that I need to deal with, as it poses a significant threat."

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. "We saw an Aeternus Kingdom, but it only had a single Progenitor-level corpse king. How is that a threat?"

    "A Progenitor-level corpse king? Is that what you call them? We call the strongest corpse kings Seven-Star corpse kings. Yes, that Aeternus Kingdom only has a single Seven-Star corpse king, but the Aeternus Kingdom itself needs to be destroyed. Its very existence undermines humanity¡¯s very foundation," Mimina stated firmly.

    Arch-Elder Zen nced at Lu Yin in surprise, but the younger man was staring at Mimina. "Are you referring to the humans born in the Aeternus Kingdoms?"

    For the first time, Mimina showed genuine surprise, and she stared intently at Lu Yin for a moment. "So you are also aware of that threat."

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Please, take me to see the ruler of your universe."

    The fact that these people had seen the true nature of the Aeternus Kingdoms meant that this Nine-Star Civilization had a very profound understanding of Aeternus. This meant that they had been at war with the Aeternals for a long time.

    With the assistance of Lu Yin¡¯spanions, the battlefield was quickly dealt with.

    Lu Yin, Mimina, and the other two men stood in the air above the Aeternus Kingdom, gazing down at it.

    The Progenitor-level corpse king roared as it shot into the sky, its pupils turning red as it waved a hand and tore space to shred.

    For the first time, Lu Yin took personal action, and he threw a punch. It was a hundred punches confined with the power of time.

    Mimina had been ready to attack, only to see the Progenitor-level corpse king bepletely obliterated by a single punch from Lu Yin. The creature had been utterly incapable of putting up the slightest resistance, and it did not even have a chance to struggle.

    Mimina was stunned, and she finally realized that the young man was actually the strongest of the three men, which was why he was the leader.

    His punch had been so quick that Mimina had to admit to herself that she would not have been able to do anything. She would not have had any time to prepare or use a battle technique, unless she acted first.

    If that punch were directed towards her, death would be her only option.

    "Mr. Lu Yin, your strength is quite impressive," Mimina eximed.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I''ve previously killed at least twenty simr Progenitor-level corpse kings. Dealing with one is not particrly difficult."

 Chapter 3088: Star Capital

    <h4>Chapter 3088: Star Capital</h4>

    Lu Yin did not downy his abilities. When dealing with powerful civilizations, the more humbly one behaved, the weaker they would be seen. Only by being bold and unabashed could he demonstrate his strength and gain a voice in a conversation.

    He did not immediately mention Mister Mu, as Lu Yin wanted to use his master as a trump card at a critical moment.

    First, it was important to earn their respect for his own strength, as that would help facilitate any future interactions.

    While conversations with the Scourge upation had been pleasant, that had mostly been because of Mister Mu. There would inevitably beplications in future coborations, which meant that Lu Yin needed to find opportunities to show his strength to those people.

    This Aeternus Kingdom they were targeting had not been established for very long, no more than a few years. Once the Aeternus Kingdom was destroyed, the people who had not yet been transformed into corpse kings would be allowed to go free.

    ording to Mimina, there were many Aeternus Kingdoms throughout her universe. In the past, they had been difficult to destroy because the Aeternals had posted a very powerful entity to protect those ces, but recently, that powerful guardian had disappeared, which had given them an opportunity for a counterattack.

    Lu Yin asked more specific questions about the powerful guardian.

    Mimina replied, "You might not believe me, but she was just a little girl. She only looked a few years old."

    Lu Yin blurted, "Lan Lan?"

    Mimina was taken aback. "You know her?"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. "So, you¡¯ve been facing the Second Scourge."

    Mimina grew puzzled. "What''s the Second Scourge?"

    Lu Yin answered in a solemn tone. "I am happy to share information about Aeternus with you, but I do ask that, in return, you share what you know about them with me."

    "Of course. Mentor Kakawen has already agreed to meet you, so I will take you to him immediately," Mimina stated clearly before moving to lead Lu Yin to the Nine-Star Civilization''s most prosperous city, which was also where Mentor Kakawen resided: Star Capital.

    Star Capital, as the name suggested, had been built in the shape of a star. The city wasrge, though not nearly asrge as the Heavens Sect.

    The city¡¯s poption bustled about, and there was no sign that their civilization was at war with Aeternus.

    Mimina held a high position within the Nine-Star Civilization, and that allowed her to guide Lu Yin and hispanions straight to the tallest building in the city. The building looked like a clock tower, and it even had a massive clock at the top, which gave off an exotic charm.

    There was an academy within the building. In a ce, above the massive expanse of Star Capital, many energetic students bustled about.

    Lu Yin felt a pang of nostalgia for his days at Astral-10.

    "Mimina requests an audience with Mentor Kakawen."

    "Come in," a hoarse voice replied, right as the clock struck the hour.

    Lu Yin and the other two followed Mimina into the tower, where they saw students hurrying up and down, seemingly focused on their studies.

    The group did not make their way straight to the top of the tower. Instead, they started walking up.

    As they climbed, the students greeted them, and many gave Lu Yin and hispanions curious nces.

    "I¡¯m sorry, but Mentor Kakawen insists that no one use any special privileges within the academy. Everyone is required to do the same as the students, which means that we need to walk up," Mimina said apologetically.

    Lu Yin did not mind. "That¡¯s only right."

    The clock tower was quite tall, and the people were walking slowly. The higher they went, the fewer students they saw.

    In the end, there was only a single female student with long golden hair who respectfully greeted Mimina as she walked past the group. Finally, they reached the end of their climb.

    There was a wooden door at the top of the clock tower that led to a single room. The door was clearly ancient, and it was practically falling apart, as there were gaps all around it.

    "Mentor Kakawen, we have arrived." Mimina respectfully announced their presence.

    "Come in. I won''t get up to greet my guests, so please forgive me for getting old," the same hoarse voice replied.

    Mimina opened the door and gestured for the three men to enter.

    Lu Yin stepped in and the first thing he saw was an old man sitting at a wooden table. The man smiled at his visitors.

    Sure enough, the old man looked quite decrepit.

    His aura was simr to the ancient wooden door, as it was filled with a sense of decay. This was not like Shao Yin¡¯s Extreme Yin and Law of Rot, as this decay was due to the passing of time. It gave the impression that the old man could die at any moment. His face was covered with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy. Even his white robe had faded into gray after many long years of use.

    "I am Kakawen, the mentor of the Nine-Star Civilization," the old man stated. His cloudy eyes focused on Lu Yin, and he gave off the impression of a kind elder. There was no pressure from the old man.

    Lu Yin answered politely, "I am Lu Yin, from the Origin Universe."

    Kakawen smiled. "I know."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You know of the Origin Universe?"

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing were both astonished as well.

    Even Mimina was surprised, as she had not known about this.

    Kakawen exined, "Mimina mentioned in her message that you referred to Seven-Star corpse kings as ''Progenitor-level corpse kings.'' The term ¡®Progenitor'' is from the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin was impressed. "I see. Since you know about the Origin Universe, then you should understand that we cannot be agents of Aeternus."

    "Hehe, not necessarily. Do you believe that Aeternus is unaware of the Origin Universe?" Kakawen retorted.

    Lu Yin had no counter to that. "If it¡¯s necessary, I invite you to visit the Origin Universe."

    Kakawen raised a hand. "Let''s sit down and talk first. Does the Daosource Sect still rule over the Origin Universe?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "There have been many significant changes since then. May I ask how you know about the Origin Universe and the Daosource Sect?"

    Mimina casually moved towards the wooden table, where she prepared a tea-like beverage for Lu Yin.

    "The people of my Nine-Star Civilization have visited the Origin Universe before your time. Some of our people have even gone to the Immemorial Citadel," Kakawen stated.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "They went to the Immemorial Citadel?"

    "The Immemorial Citadel might be a legend to you, but not to us. An old friend of mine is currently at the Immemorial Citadel," Kakawen replied, his smile deepening the creases on his face.

    Lu Yin realized that he had been underestimating the Nine-Star Civilization.

    The Immemorial Citadel not only held human powerhouses, but also other creatures who fought against Aeternus. Lu Yin had seen many strangebat methods be used on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield.

    Could there have been people from the Nine-Star Civilization there as well?

    "Senior Kakawen, since you know about the Origin Universe and since your civilization has sent people to the Immemorial Citadel, you should understand the threat posed by Aeternus. I am here as a representative of the Origin Universe to propose an alliance with the Nine-Star Civilization to stand against Aeternus," Lu Yin formally stated.

    "If you have doubts about us, we can take you to the Origin Universe. Once there, you will see everything.

    "Aeternus may be able to impersonate people from my Origin Universe and have them reach out to you, but they cannot falsify the entire Origin Universe. Right now, the universe is ruled by the Heavens Sect."

    Kakawen was astonished. "The Heavens Sect? The same all-powerful sect that Aeternus destroyed all those years ago?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    Kakawen grew puzzled. "Since the Heavens Sect was destroyed, how has it reappeared? By what right does the current sect carry the same name as the ancient Heavens Sect? As far as I know, during the Daosource Sect¡¯s era, your Origin Universe was incredibly powerful, but even then, people did not dare to use the name of the Heavens Sect. May I ask who the current leader of the Heavens Sect is?"

    "I am," Lu Yin replied.

    Mimina was stunned. While she had known that Lu Yin enjoyed a high status and possessed impressive strength, she had never thought that he was the ruler of an entire universe, which made himparable to Mentor Kakawen. How was that possible?

    Kakawen also did not believe Lu Yin. "You?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Forgive this old man¡¯s poor eyesight, but may I ask, what is your strength?"

    "Semi-Progenitor."

    "Say again?"

    "Semi-Progenitor."

    "A Semi-Progenitor is able to rule over an entire universe? The two men behind you are both Progenitors, aren¡¯t they? How did you manage this, young man?"

    Lu Yin shrugged. "There are many things that can''t be exined with just a few words, but the short answer is that times are changing. I managed to aplish things that might not be possible even for those at the Immemorial Citadel. If you don''t believe me, I invite you to visit the Origin Universe to see for yourself."

    This was the third time he had extended an invitation.

    Kakawen shook his head. "I won''t go. I simply don''t trust you. The Aeternals are too cunning, and while an old man like me isn¡¯t put off by the threat of death, I can still be of some use. Aeternus is always watching me. On top of that, how coincidental is it that, out of the countless parallel universes, the ruler of the Origin Universe just so happens to visit my Nine-Star Civilization? Such coincidences don''t happen."

    Lu Yin was at a loss. "In that case, I¡¯ll be open with you. The reason why I was able to enter your universe was because I was guided here by my master. He is known as Mister Mu."

    <i>Crash!</i>

    The teapot fell from Mimina''s hands, and it shattered on the floor.

    She stared at Lu Yin in shock, her expression frozen.

    Across the table from Lu Yin, Kakawen, despite his ancient and wise appearance, was equally stunned by Lu Yin''s words.

    "Mister Mu? Is Mister Mu your master?" Kakawen was visibly excited.

    Mimina was still staring at Lu Yin, her eyes filled with a mix of excitement and curiosity.

    Lu Yin had no idea what Mister Mu had done for this civilization, but judging by the strong reaction, he had clearly struck a chord.

    "Yes, my master really is Mister Mu."

    Kakawen''s eyes flickered, and his excitement gave way to intense scrutiny. "Are you really Mister Mu''s disciple?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "Prove it. Young man, I will warn you now. Even if you were actually sent here by Aeternus, I won''t act against you without proof, but if you dare try to deceive us by using Mister Mu''s name and are unable to prove that you are his disciple, I will make sure that you never leave my Star Capital, even if it means that my Nine-Star Civilization suffers. We are willing to bear that cost," Kakawen stated solemnly.

    The man¡¯s aura of decay had grown oppressive, and the skies over Star Capital grew dark.

    Mimina warily stared at Lu Yin, ready to attack at any moment.

    Lu Yin had not realized his master was held in such high regard by the Nine-Star Civilization, but in hindsight, this was not terribly surprising.

    The people of the Scourge upation were violent and rather crude, and yet they greatly respected Lu Yin just because of Mister Mu. The Nine-Star Civilization was bound to be even more cautious.

    The Scourge upation had not doubted Lu Yin because they did not believe that anyone would dare to impersonate Mister Mu to deceive them. There was no need to do so either, but the Nine-Star Civilization was different. They had fought against Aeternus for an unknown length of time and had experienced many things.

    In some ways, they were just like the Origin Universe, where even the glorious Heavens Sect had been destroyed by the Aeternals. This had not been aplished through overwhelming strength, but rather through Aeternus¡¯s cunning plots.

    Even the Lu family had been exiled due to Aeternus''s schemes, and they had very nearly been unable to return.

    Aeternus was adept at recruiting Redbacks and spies, and they were willing to use whatever means were necessary¡ªincluding assassination and crushing people¡¯s spirits. In fact, they excelled at such things.

 Chapter 3089: Restart

    <h4>Chapter 3089: Restart</h4>

    Many universes had already fallen prey to Aeternus''s schemes, so the Nine-Star Civilization''s caution was understandable.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current problem was proving that he was Mister Mu''s disciple.

    If he could not do so, Lu Yin had no doubt that the old man would risk everything in a fight. It was readily apparent the man was prepared to do so.

    "Master gave me a jade slip to contact him with, but I''ve already used it. Thus, I can offer two points of proof," Lu Yin stated as he locked eyes with Kakawen. The veins and blood vessels of the old man¡¯s eyes could be easily seen. "First of all, I have three senior disciple brothers. Second, my master has two ultimate techniques, and I have inherited one of them."

    Kakawen shook his head. He appeared as if he were growing calmer as Lu Yin spoke, but that actually made things even more unsettling. "We are not familiar with Mister Mu''s techniques, nor do we know anything about his disciples."

    Arch-Elder Zen interjected, "The entire Origin Universe knows that our Dao Monarch is Mister Mu''s disciple."

    Kakawen remained unmoved. He was questioning whether or not the three men were even from the Origin Universe at all, and he saw no reason to believe their ims. Furthermore, he did not intend to verify anything he was being told.

    If Lu Yin and hispanions had been sent by the Aeternals, they would have already put measures in ce to deceive anyone from the Nine-Star Civilization who apanied them to the Origin Universe. Kakawen was being extremely cautious.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Master always makes time stand still when he appears. Does that count?"

    Kakawen froze for a moment, and then he smiled. "You really are Mister Mu''s disciple."

    Lu Yin was stunned. He had only mentioned the matter casually.

    Mimina was equally shocked. Was it really that simple?

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing found this to be quite strange as well. Was it truly so easy?

    Kakawen exined, "The legends in our Nine-Star Civilization regarding Mister Mu have only been passed down by Babal and myself, as we are the only ones who have ever seen the man. The fact that Mister Mu freezes time whenever he appears is something we have never mentioned to anyone."

    "Isn''t that information too easy to acquire? What if the Aeternals are aware that Mister Mu likes to appear in that manner and also used it as proof?" Lu Yin himself found this to be quite peculiar.

    Kakawen replied, "How could Aeternus know that we would use this matter to verify that someone is Mister Mu''s disciple?"

    That was true. Lu Yin chuckled. Such a means of confirmation was so casual that Aeternus would never predict it. No one would ever imagine that the Nine-Star Civilization would ept such ament as proof.

    If Lu Yin were part of Aeternus, he would have never considered trying to pose as one of Mister Mu''s disciples by acting as he had. At the very least, it would be expected for his disciples to possess some sort of token or something more concrete. The actual test almost seemed childish.

    However, oftentimes, the more one overthought, the more that would go wrong. Sometimes, simple was best.

    As Kakawen looked at the expressions of the other people in the room, he gestured for Mimina to clean up the shards of the broken teapot. "Our Nine-Star Civilization respects Mister Mu very deeply, but respect is one thing. I cannot risk the entire Nine-Star Civilization. If we fail, how can we ever hope to repay Mister Mu for his help? Therefore, I am sorry, but we still cannot join forces with you."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "First, you refused because you didn¡¯t trust us, but now you are still refusing. Why? How would joining forces potentially destroy the Nine-Star Civilization?"

    Mimina could not hold back. "The enemies we face are too powerful. Even if we use our full strength, we can only barely maintain the current bnce. What the Aeternals are actually wary of is Mentor''s possible death. If we ally with you, they might be willing to sacrifice everything to kill Mentor."

    "What do you mean?" Lu Yin still did not understand.

    Mimina nced at Kakawen, who nodded. There was a hint of pride on his ancient face.

    "Our Nine-Star Civilization measures power by star levels. The attacks you''ve seen me use, such as the Arrow of Light and the Wall of Ether, are at the two-star and five-star level, respectively. Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion is at the six-star level. Above that, we also have seven-star, eight-star, and nine-star attacks.

    "The only reason why the Aeternals have not sent an all-out attack against us is because they fear that Mentor could release nine-star power, which would erase this entire universe, leaving absolutely nothing behind. Not even Aeternus is willing to pay such a price.

    "However, if we ally ourselves with you, Aeternus might decide that the price is worth it, if it means gaining the upper hand."

    Kakawen proudly added, "Right now, Aeternus is waiting for this old man to die of natural causes. They don''t want to fight me to the death. The current bnce only exists because both sides have something at stake. The moment that bnce is broken, the Aeternals will go all out. I might be able to take some of their powerhouses with me, but the Nine-Star Civilization would ultimately be destroyed."

    The old man stared at Lu Yin. "The Nine-Star Civilization shouldn''t be wiped out because of this."

    Lu Yin was intrigued. "Nine-star power? Does it require a life to be sacrificed?"

    "Can it erase an entire universe?" Arch-Elder Zen was astonished.

    Kakawen smiled. "Yes, it''s our most powerful attack. The seven-star technique is ''Ancient Key,'' while the eight-star technique is ''Against All Will.'' Our nine-star technique is ''Restart.''

    "There is only bnce because both sides fear something. Aeternus is willing to wait for me to die on my own, while we await the next mentor, who will also be capable of wielding nine-star power. Right now, everythinges down to who can wait longer. The current bnce cannot be upset."

    Lu Yin sighed. "Bnce. So it¡¯s another case of bnce. You aren¡¯t the only one facing such a situation, as the Origin Universe, the Sixverse Association, and every other civilization I''ve seen currently maintains a certain bnce with Aeternus. However, if we fail to break this bnce, Aeternus will, and when that happens, they will still gain the advantage.

    "You need to understand that passively epting such a bnce is simply suffering a slow death."

    Kakawen was startled. epting the current bnce was no different from dying a slow death?

    Given how long the man had lived for, he understood such a thing in principle, but hecked the means to break the bnce without risking the very survival of his entire civilization.

    Lu Yin nced at Mimina. "The enemy you face is merely Aeternus''s Second Scourge. I can tell you that Aeternus has six Scourges."

    "Six Scourges?" Mimina was shocked.

    Kakawen''s fingers trembled. "So, you already know."

    Lu Yin and Kakawen exchanged nces, each seeing surprise in the other''s eyes. Lu Yin immediately understood. "So that is what you are so concerned about."

    "Mentor, what do you mean?" Mimina was confused.

    Lu Yin was the one to exin, "Senior Kakawen isn''t just worried about your current enemies, Mimina. I told you earlier that I would share our information about Aeternus, but please keep this to yourself. For most, the truth is too much to handle."

    Lu Yin then gave a brief overview of Aeternus''s full strength.

    He spoke of the Six Scourges, the most powerful experts of the First Scourge, the Seven Skygods, the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and the powerhouses who had participated in the Divine Selection. Kakawen had known about a portion of Aeternus¡¯s power, but even his knowledge was not asprehensive as Lu Yin¡¯s.

    The information that Lu Yin shared shocked even the old man.

    The Nine-Star Civilization had already feared Aeternus and had not dared to upset the established bnce. Lu Yin''s information only heightened their caution, but it also made it clear that cooperation between human civilizations was essential. It was also readily evident that Lu Yin felt the need for total transparency.

    Kakawen and Mimina were both left dumbfounded.

    "How can Aeternus be so strong?" Mimina could not believe what she was hearing.

    Lu Yin sighed. "This is exactly why I''m trying so hard to establish alliances with other civilizations. Do you believe that I don¡¯t understand Aeternus?"

    Kakawen let out a long breath. The wrinkles on his face deepened. "In our Nine-Star Civilization, only Babal and I know about the existence of the six Scourges. No other civilization we¡¯ve ever encountered, including people from the Origin Universe, were ever aware of this.

    "This is a secret that can easily send humanity to the brink of despair."

    "So, you''ve been refusing to ally with us because of this, and you also didn¡¯t want to scare us so badly that we would be unwilling to continue to fight Aeternus. That¡¯s why you kept it to yourself, right?" Lu Yin asked.

    Kakawen nodded.

    Lu Yin felt grateful to the old man. "You were considering what is best for us. Honestly, until about a decade ago, I did not know about the six Scourges myself. The people at the top always hide certain information in order to protect those below them. This isn''t merely a matter of retaining control, but also about protection. It was overwhelming when I first saw the six Scourges with my own eyes. We were unable to stand up to even the First Scourge. The strength of the Seven Skygods is unfathomable, and they are practically invincible. On top of that, Aeternus has even more hidden powerhouses.

    "At the moment, I didn''t know what to do. However, humans have emotions, which is both a weakness and a strength. Our resilience is one of our strengths. No matter how powerful Aeternus may be or how many invincible powerhouses they might have, as long as humanity survives, we have hope of counterattacking.

    "I have searched beyond my own universe in order to forge alliances with one civilization after another, as my master wished. He gave me ess to universes that are home to civilizations he deems worthy, which is how I found you.

    "Senior, you respect my master, Mister Mu, not only for his strength, but also because of his character. If that is true, then you should trust that he would not try to harm you."

    Kakawen remained silent, as did Mimina.

    A long whileter, Kakawen finally sighed. "I still don''t know what to call you... Mr. Lu?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Anything is fine."

    "Alright then, Mr. Lu. If you were unaware of Aeternus''s true strength, I would have never even considered cooperating with you, no matter what you said.¡±

    Lu Yin became overjoyed. "Senior, are you agreeing to the alliance?"

    Kakawen somberly corrected the younger man. "Cooperation, not an alliance."

    "What''s the difference?" Leng Qing asked.

    Kakawen nced over at Leng Qing and Arch-Elder Zen. "We can end a simple cooperative agreement at any time, while a formal alliance is different. An alliance means living and dying together. I''m sorry, but I won''t drag the Nine-Star Civilization into such danger."

    Leng Qing remained impassive. As far as he was concerned, the fact that the Aeternals were already targeting the Nine-Star Civilization made the people extremely vulnerable. Their unwillingness to a full alliance seemed overly cautious.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin understood Kakawen''s concerns. The old man¡¯s civilization was a rather conservative one, much like their rigid and standardized battle techniques. Everyone had their own worries, and that did not make them wrong.

    Finally, after a great deal of discussion, Kakawen had finally relented. This allowed Lu Yin to heave a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 3090: Shock

    <h4>Chapter 3090: Shock</h4>

    Since the Nine-Star Civilization was able to fend off the Second Scourge, their strength was quite impressive. If civilization joined as another ally, the war against Aeternus would have gained even more hope.

    "Whether it''s cooperation or an alliance, it still helps us both. The Aeternals are marshaling their strength so that they can wipe out the civilizations that are opposing the various Scourges, one after another. Your Nine-Star Civilization is also in danger," Lu Yin remarked.

    Kakawen and Mimina were startled, "Marshaling their strength to attack?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Have you ever heard of God''s Domain?"

    The two showed confused expressions, so Lu Yin exined, "God''s Domain is another civilization that Mister Mu guided me to, though I had actually already made contact with them before. Their civilization was quite strong, as they had five sequence powerhouses. Senior, you should understand that level of power."

    "Of course."

    Lu Yin went on, "These five sequence powerhouses were able to repel or even kill any enemy who approached God''s Domain. The nation kept their borders sealed, and I was nearly driven away when I first encountered them. That civilization was recently destroyed. Four of their sequence powerhouses died, and the fifth was crippled."

    Kakawen''s heart sank. "Is this true?"

    Lu Yin solemnly replied, "If I¡¯ve spoken any falsehood, then may I be condemned by all."

    God''s Domain had indeed been destroyed, and the four elephants had all been killed. Only the Divine Maiden had survived, but she was no longer able to wield the power of the four elephants, which rendered her useless.

    Kakawen''s eyes flickered. By the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s standards, sequence powerhouses possessed the power of seven-star techniques. However, those techniques were not the same as actual sequence powerhouses.

    For example, Mimina was able to utilize seven-star techniques, though not easily. Sequence powerhouses had no such restrictions.

    The truth was that the only expert in the Nine-Star Civilization who was truly at the sequence powerhouse level was Kakawen, who could use eight-star techniques. He was the only one equal to sequence powerhouses.

    In other words, God''s Domain had been much stronger than the Nine-Star Civilization.

    However, Kakawen''s ability to unleash a nine-star technique exceeded the abilities of most sequence powerhouses, as not even the Second Scourge¡¯s Xu Jin could match that level of power. From this perspective, the Nine-Star Civilization appeared to be the stronger of the two human civilizations.

    In the end, they were two very different societies, though there was no way to im that God''s Domain had been much weaker than the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Even so, the civilization had been utterly defeated.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "The destruction of God''s Domain was partly the Sixverse Association¡¯s fault. When we invaded Aeternus''s First Scourge and suppressed them, it prompted the other Scourges to aid the First Scourge. For them to do so, they need to first eliminate their own opponents, and that led one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies to destroy God''s Domain. It was the ruler of the Third Scourge, Di Qiong."

    Lu Yin''s tale about God''s Domain instilled a sense of urgency into Kakawen.

    If God''s Domain had been destroyed for such a reason, then if the Sixverse Association united with other civilizations to fight against Aeternus and gained the upper hand, then the Second Scourge would also need to send support. For them to do that, they would need to settle their own matters first, which included eliminating the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Mimina''s voice turned dry. "Mr. Lu, we''ve agreed to cooperate. There''s no need for such intimidation."

    Arch-Elder Zen spoke up. "Do you believe this to be intimidation? Should we show you the ruins of God''s Domain?"

    Lu Yin said, "We don¡¯t need to use intimidation. This is onlymon sense. Given the fact that there are six Scourges, if one of them faces a crisis, the others will intervene, but that means that they have to first handle their own affairs. This has nothing to do with intimidation."

    Mimina fell silent, and she looked over at Kakawen.

    The old man was staring at Lu Yin. "You mentioned that the Aeternals are nning to gather their strength so that they can attack the various civilizations which stand against them. Is this true?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted. "If I were Aeternus, it¡¯s precisely what I would do."

    Kakawen felt helpless, as Lu Yin was essentially confirming things as fact. Aeternus was not run by fools. On the contrary, the Aeternals were both cunning and very intelligent. Kakawen was fully aware of this.

    With the First Scourge suppressed by the Sixverse Association, it was not impossible that the Aeternals would gather their forces in the other Scourges and attack different civilizations.

    What Lu Yin had mentioned was a distinct possibility.

    "Mr. Lu, we understand. Rest assured, whenever help is needed, our Nine-Star Civilization will certainly do our best," Kakawen promised.

    Lu Yin was quite satisfied. If he had said everything from the start, Kakawen and Mimina might have believed that Lu Yin was exaggerating. Even if there was logic and reasoning to his words, making such exaggerated ims without first having established some level of trust would not have the desired effect. However, given that they had already agreed to cooperate, the impact of Lu Yin¡¯s warning changed.

    At least, Kakawen''s attitude was more sincere.

    The old man was still looking at Lu Yin. "Since we are cooperating, we should share our own knowledge of Aeternus with you. For instance, Xu Jin."

    "I''m all ears," Lu Yin replied somberly. Xu Jin was one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies and the ruler of the Second Scourge.

    While Lu Yin was undercover as Ye Bo, he had once seen Xu Jin. The creature looked like nothing more than a dark cloud.

    However, Lu Yin knew very little about Xu Jin''s strength, and any information regarding the Three Pirs and Six Skies was vitally important. In the future, battles might depend entirely on the details of such intelligence.

    Kakawen had fought against Xu Jin more than once before, and he possessed a fair understanding of the creature.

    The old man shared everything he knew with Lu Yin. Of course, Xu Jin had to have kept some of his cards hidden, but Kakawen was unable to force such things out without using his nine-star technique, Restart.

    In the past, when the Great Sovereign, Ancestor Lu Yuan, and the others had fought against True God and the Seven Skygods, they had not been able to force the Seven Skygods to reveal all of their hidden cards.

    Everyone kept their ultimate lifesavers hidden for as long as possible.

    In addition to Xu Jin, Kakawen also shared what he knew about Lan Lan and Qi¡¯s abilities. The two had represented the Second Scourge for the Divine Selection, but while Lu Yin had seen some of what the two were capable of at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, it wasparatively very little.

    He had no interest in learning about Qi, as the living cloth would never reappear again. However, he was quite curious about Lan Lan.

    "Lan Lan may look like a small child, but she''s actually an ancient trickster. We had to first pay a terrible price in order to understand her ability. It can be summarized in just two words: Virtual Reality," Mimina stated.

    "Virtual Reality?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Mimina nodded. "She sees all of existence as a game, with every living creature described in game-like terms. She can customize settings and then act ording to them, which means that, for her, fights are much like fighting monsters in a game. Our Nine-Star Civilization also has some technological abilities, so we''ve studied games quite extensively.

    "Lan Lan''s Virtual Reality grants her an advantage, but the settings that she can manipte are not invincible. Every time we face Lan Lan, we send many people to the fight so that we can figure out her current settings. After all, when ites to games, you can only outy an opponent by understanding the settings better than them.

    "After we managed to learn about Lan Lan''s ability, we''ve experienced both victory and defeat against her, but we are longerpletely suppressed."

    Lu Yin had not anticipated that Lan Lan would possess an ability like Virtual Reality. It sounded like some sort of fantasy power. If Lu Yin fought against the girl, what kind of setting would she create to fight him?

    It sounded both dangerous and intriguing.

    "And then there¡¯s Qi. Qi is quite strange. They-"

    "There¡¯s no need to discuss Qi. They¡¯ve been dealt with," Lu Yin interrupted.

    Kakawen and Mimina grew puzzled.

    Lu Yin said, "Aeternus recently held a Divine Selection. Qi will never reappear."

    "Did that thing run into trouble at the Immemorial Citadel?" Kakawen asked.

    Lu Yin was impressed. "Senior, you know about everything, even that the Divine Selection takes ce at the Immemorial Citadel."

    Kakawen proudly replied, "After all, some of our people are at the Immemorial Citadel as well."

    "Are you referring to Babal?"

    "Exactly. He is only slightly weaker than me."

    Mimina threw a subtle nce at Kakawen, but Lu Yin noticed. He understood that Kakawen was exaggerating things a bit. However, as the master of the Nine-Star Civilization, it was not unexpected for the old man to know a bit about the Immemorial Citadel.

    This was much like the Sixverse Association¡¯s Great Sovereign. While she had not gone to the Immemorial Citadel herself, that did not mean that she knew nothing about it.

    Lu Yin suspected that the Great Sovereign was able to visit the Immemorial Citadel at any time, but chose not to. This was likely because, while the Immemorial Citadel dealt with Aeternus¡¯s Ossis Arc, the Great Sovereign opposed True God himself.

    ...

    Mimina followed Lu Yin to Aeternus Nation, as she needed to leave a marker on the coordinate seal there in order to facilitatemunications with the Origin Universe.

    "Is this your Origin Universe?" Mimina asked as she curiously looked around.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "Of course not. This ce was once an Aeternus Kingdom, which we captured. We now use it as a transit point for traveling to the Origin Universe, as it isn¡¯t safe to directly bring people to the Origin Universe itself."

    Mimina understood this reasoning.

    Lu Yin soon led Mimina into the Fifth Maind itself and took her to the Heavens Sect.

    When the woman saw the Heavens Sect, her shock left her speechless.

    The Heavens Sect was a colossal thing that filled outer space. Just looking at it ced one under a terrifying pressure. On either side of the sect were the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise, both of which were enormous creatures.

    Mimina could sense that the two creatures were as strong as herself, though she was not certain whether they could contend with her seven-star techniques.

    The Nine-Star Civilization had very few individuals that were capable ofparing to a Progenitor.

    "Mr. Lu, how many six-star experts, or as you call them, Progenitors, does your Heavens Sect have?" Mimina asked.

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s face. "Dozens."

    "Dozens?" Mimina was stunned. How was it possible for there to be so many?

    "That''s also not all," Lu Yin continued as he sped his hands behind his back. "When the Origin Universe and the rest of the Sixverse Association are taken into consideration together, along with the powerful external civilizations we have allied with, there are over a hundred peak powerhouse. These experts are our core forces in the war against Aeternus, and your Nine-Star Civilization will be included among them.

    "Knowing this, do you feel more confident about facing Aeternus?"

    Mimina suppressed her shock. "Mr. Lu, may I learn about your own deeds?"

    Lu Yin had not expected Mimina to suddenly ask about his own aplishments.

    Lu Yin had greatly underestimated the impact he had on others. The stronger the Heavens Sect, the more impressive its leader became. Learning about Lu Yin would grant even greater insights into the Origin Universe.

    Everything that Lu Yin had done in the Origin Universe had practically be myths. Mimina wanted to know the true story, which was not easy to uncover. Since the Nine-Star Civilization was bound to interact more with the Origin Universe in the future, Lu Yin promised to share its recent history with the other universe.

    As Lu Yin led Mimina into the Heavens Sect, countless people greeted Lu Yin: Envoys, Semi-Progenitors, and even Progenitors. Mimina was left dizzy by all that she saw.

    When they arrived at the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven and she looked up, she saw the statue of the Origin Progenitor.

 Chapter 3091: The Cave

    <h4>Chapter 3091: The Cave</h4>

    At that moment, Mimina was struck by an indescribable heavenly might that induced an overwhelming fear. She felt as though she was seeing the Origin Progenitor himself. In her eyes, the statue grewrger andrger, towering into the sky, and forcing her to her knees against her will.

    Lu Yin reached out and held the woman back up, and only then was Mimina able to regain her senses.

    "Mr. Lu, who is that?"

    Lu Yin looked at the statue with respect. "He is our Origin Universe''s Origin Progenitor. He is the creator of our cultivation method, and his deeds have aided the countless generations that havee after him."

    Mimina looked back at the statue again, this time with reverence filling her eyes. From the moment she left her Nine-Star Civilization, she had felt as though she was seeing the world through new eyes. While the Nine-Star Civilization had encountered many parallel universes, none had been as powerful as their civilization, which made them proud. At this moment, Mimina knew what those weaker civilizations had felt when they first saw the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Was this the Origin Universe? It was no wonder why Mentor Kakawen had spoken of it with such open admiration.

    The Origin Universe was much, much stronger than the Nine-Star Civilization.

    After being shown around the Heavens Sect, Mimina felt like she had finally gained some understanding of the ce.

    Lu Yin was curious about the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s battle techniques, and he requested a demonstration to facilitate their future alliance.

    Mimina corrected him, again emphasizing that their universes were cooperating, with no sort of alliance in ce.

    "I''ll handle this, Dao Monarch." Leng Qing stepped forward.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s just a friendly spar, nothing more."

    Mimina nced at Leng Qing. The man had disapproved of the Nine-Star Civilization from the beginning, believing its people to be too timid. Instead of the Nine-Star Civilization, the Progenitor had a much greater appreciation for the blunt and straightforward Scourge upation. Despite their initial rudeness, the Scourge upation had quickly agreed to ally with the Origin Universe, unlike the Nine-Star Civilization, which remained wary and hesitant.

    Even using Mister Mu¡¯s name had produced only a little change.

    The duel did not take ce in the Heavens Sect, but rather within an asteroid field.

    Lu Yin did not want the Aeternals to know about them contacting the Nine-Star Civilization, as their cooperation was intended to be a surprise.

    Leng Qing and Mimina faced each other from opposite sides of the asteroid field.

    While Leng Qing had helped Mimina deal with a Progenitor-level corpse king in the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s universe, the two people had never fought each other.

    At Lu Yin''s signal, Leng Qing charged at Mimina.

    The woman instantly erected one of her Supreme Shields, and the barrier flew out.

    Leng Qing leaped over the wall, his de shing at Mimina. The Supreme Shield suddenly expanded, crazily stretching out in every direction as it connected to the stars. Leng Qing swung his de, and with a tremendous crash, the wall cracked.

    Mimina was astonished. Had he almost broken through her full-strength Supreme Shield in just one strike?

    She had fought against other universes¡¯ cultivation methods before, and very few peers were able to break through her barriers so easily.

    Her perception of Leng Qing''s strength was forced to change.

    A short ways away, Lu Yin observed the battle, apanied by Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Buzheng.

    Lu Buzheng had been in seclusion to break through and be a Progenitor, but he had abandoned that goal after witnessing Destina''s fate. The Semi-Progenitor felt like he had been deceived by Ancestor Lu Yuan. While it had appeared that having Destiny as one of his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique¡¯s summons was a boon, the truth was that Destiny had been the one using Lu Buzheng.

    The man felt that trying to be a Progenitor was far out of his reach, so he had temporarily abandoned his breakthrough.

    "So, is this the Nine-Star Civilization? Their techniques are very rigid," Lu Buzhengmented.

    As they watched, Light-Piercing Arrows and Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion intertwined, and thebined attacks forced Leng Qing back. His Celestial de World appeared, only for it to be suppressed by the Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion. The two consumed each other.

    "Leng Qing was one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. If this woman underestimates him, she''ll regret it," Arch-Elder Zen remarked.

    Lu Yin added, "The Nine-Star Civilization is quite unique. Their six-star techniques certainly can''t defeat Leng Qing, but if she uses a seven-star one, she can reach the Sequence Progenitor level, though she can only do so out of desperation."

    Lu Buzheng was astonished. ¡°That powerful? Can those techniques really allow her to use sequence particles?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. ¡°There are countless civilizations throughout the megaverse, and who can truly im that theirs is invincible? Not even the Aeternals might be bold enough to make such a im. The Nine-Star Civilization has its own advantages and disadvantages, or else they would have never been able to hold off Aeternus.¡±

    After a fierce battle, Leng Qing gained an understanding of the techniques that Mimina could use. While there were some minor variations, everything clung to the same fundamental principles.

    When Leng Qing¡¯s de Mist appeared, a single sh of his de shattered the Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion, and then he pointed his weapon straight at Mimina.

    The woman frowned. This was the firstparison between her Nine-Star Civilization and the Origin Universe, and she could not afford to eat a loss.

    She considered using a seven-star technique. ¡°Be careful. The Ancient Key might drag you into the abyss.¡±

    With that, the wooden stick in her hand lightly tapped at the space in front of her, causing stars to appear and start forming a constetion.

    ¡°That''s enough.¡± Lu Yin suddenly intervened.

    Mimina stopped preparing her attack and turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Leng Qing also lowered his de.

    Lu Yin was watching Mimina. ¡°It isn¡¯t easy for you to use a seven-star technique, is it? If it were, you would have used it the first time we met.¡±

    Mimina did not deny it.

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s call this a draw.¡±

    Mimina refused to ept that. ¡°While I will admit that I was suppressed at the beginning and that, without the Ancient Key, I am no match for him, as soon as I use it, he¡¯s bound to lose.

    ¡°I would just need a few days of rest afterwards.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen stepped forward. ¡°But he also never used his full strength. You are unaware of this, but all of our Progenitors are able to utilize sequence particles.¡±

    ¡°Impossible.¡± Mimina refused to believe such a im. While she had been astonished by the Heavens Sect¡¯s strength and size, what Arch-Elder Zen was saying defied all that Mimina understood.

    Sequence particles were not something that just any peak powerhouse couldprehend or use. If they could, they would not simply be a peak powerhouse, but rather a sequence powerhouse.

    ¡°Don¡¯t act like I don¡¯t understand the basics. That man is a Progenitor, not a Sequence Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin led Mimina to where she could see the sequence particle technology, and then he allowed her to witness Arch-Elder Zen using sequence particles for herself.

    Mimina was stupefied, as this flew in the face of all she understood about how reality functioned.

    ¡°Dozens of your Progenitors can borrow these sequence particles, and yet you still haven¡¯t been able to defeat Aeternus?¡± Mimina was incredulous.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯ve been taking the risk to travel beyond our known universes to seek out powerful civilizations to ally with us.

    ¡°If Aeternus were so easy to deal with, why would your Nine-Star Civilization be so wary of us?

    ¡°Remember, Aeternus is always stronger than you believe. Never underestimate them.¡±

    Mimina took a deep breath, and then she offered Lu Yin a deep bow. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Lu, for helping us to better understand Aeternus. If not for this, our Nine-Star Civilization wouldn¡¯t have even known how we were exterminated.¡±

    Lu Yin raised Mimina back up. ¡°We¡¯re allies. There¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡±

    This time, Mimina did not correct Lu Yin¡¯sment.

    Given the current situation, it was indeed lucky for the Nine-Star Civilization to ally with the Origin Universe. In fact, in a normal situation, the Nine-Star Civilization should have been the one seeking an alliance with the Origin Universe.

    <i>The fact that Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, is putting in so much effort to establish an alliance with our Nine-Star Civilization is an opportunity for surviva</i>l, Mimina thought.

    Only by fully understanding the situation was it possible to make a proper choice.

    Mimina looked over at Leng Qing. ¡°It was my loss in our earlier battle. I may not have used my seven-star technique, but you didn¡¯t use sequence particles.¡±

    Leng Qing¡¯s expression softened. ¡°I may not have used sequence particles, but victory isn¡¯t something that can be decided with mere words. Someday, I¡¯d like to see your seven-star technique so that we can make a fairparison.¡±

    Mimina nodded. ¡°There will certainly be an opportunity.¡±

    After bidding farewell to Mimina, Lu Yin felt exhausted, but satisfied. With both the Scourge upation and the Nine-Star Civilization cooperating with the Origin Universe, Aeternus was in for a massive surprise.

    The question was how to best present that surprise to the Aeternals.

    Well, it was best to leave such matters to Wang Wen and Wei Rong. That was their forte.

    Lu Yin pulled out the fourth cosmic door.

    Mister Mu had made preparations in each of the civilizations behind the cosmic doors, which meant that, as long as the civilizations had not already been destroyed, they were almost guaranteed to be natural allies to face Aeternus with. It was absolutely worth the risk to seek such powerful allies.

    In the same manner as before, once the cosmic door was activated, Leng Qing passed through first, and he was immediately followed by Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Yin.

    As soon as they passed through the cosmic door, they found themselves not in outer space or on andmass, but rather inside what appeared to be a cave, and a rather small one at that. Nearby, there was a milky white liquid dripping into a pit that was about a meter across. The entire cavern could be scanned in a nce, though there was no exit in sight.

    Lu Yin used Heaven''s Sight. <i>Hmm? I can¡¯t see outside?</i>

    Heaven''s Sight allowed Lu Yin to see sequence particles, and in the future, it might even allow him to peer through parallel universes. Despite that, it was unable to see out of this cave. Clearly, there was something unique about this ce.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Leng Qing pressed a hand against the wall of the cave and used some force. There was a slight bit of sound, but absolutely no sign of any damage to the wall.

    ¡°This cave is a problem.¡±

    Lu Yin crouched down to study the pit that was filled with milky white liquid. What was it?

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing both looked over as well. The megaverse was filled with all kinds of strange things, though humans had only witnessed a small fraction of them.

    Could it be that Mister Mu had led Lu Yin to the cave for the milky white liquid? Aside from the liquid, there was nothing else in the cave. There was no starry expanse, nor any sort of civilization to be found.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, there are bloodstains.¡± Leng Qing pointed to a corner of the cave and stretched out a hand. ¡°They¡¯re dry and hard to notice without carefully looking. The blood dried up a long time ago, causing the stains to blend in with the soil.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°While this ce looks ordinary, there are signs that this cave was previously inhabited. Besides.¡± He nced at the pit filled with the milky white liquid. ¡°If nothing ever came here, this pit would have overflowed by now, but it hasn¡¯t. Let¡¯s wait. We might end up seeing something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll move outside to look around. There must be some way out,¡± Arch-Elder Zen suggested.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Thank you, Arch-Elder Zen. Be careful, as I can¡¯t see out of this ce.¡±

    It took Arch-Elder Zen some time to find the exit, which was a teleportation device hidden beneath a pile of dust to make it blend into the rest of the ground. At first, the device had beenpletely unnoticeable, especially because it had a concealment mechanism.

    Lu Yin had previously seen simr teleportation devices in the Astral Combat Academies and in the Technocracy. Such technology blended science and cultivation, which meant that they were sometimes absent even in extremely advanced technological civilizations and sometimes present in other various cultivation civilizations. It all depended on whether or not someone had conducted the right sort of research.

    Still, it was not particrly surprising to find such a device in the cave.

    Arch-Elder Zen left, and several days passed.

    Lu Yin was not in any hurry. He waited in the cave, meditating on visualizing the Fifth Maind, which caused it to appear behind him. There were many things that he needed to practice.

    All four of his inner worlds needed to evolve into Progenitor''s worlds, but aside from Infinity and Lightstream, he had no direction forward for his other two inner worlds.

 Chapter 3092: Luring Him Out

    <h4>Chapter 3092: Luring Him Out</h4>

    Many individuals would go into seclusion for thousands or even tens of thousands of years at a time simply because they had a direction to proceed with their cultivation. On the other hand, Lu Yincked that necessary direction. Once he found his path forward, time would not be an issue, and he would be able to easily continue.

    The difficultyy in finding a direction forward.

    Half a month passed, but Arch-Elder Zen still had not returned.

    Lu Yin was still not feeling rushed at all, and he calmly continued to visualize the Fifth Maind.

    Finally, after a full month went by, Arch-Elder Zen returned. However, he did not do so via the teleportation device, but rather through the cosmic door.

    The cosmic door activated, connecting the Heavens Sect to the cave, and it remained open.

    ¡°Why did you return through the cosmic door?¡± Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled wryly. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find this ce again. That teleportation device is connected to an unknown number of other devices. As soon as I left this ce, the device I arrived at broke and became unusable.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the teleportation device. It seemed that it was connected to quite a distant location, as well as an intricate setup.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, beyond this is a vast universe. I saw an Aeternus Kingdom,¡± Arch-Elder Zen reported.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Are there many Aeternals in this universe?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s expression grew solemn. ¡°Very many. It looks as though this entire universe has been upied by Aeternus. To avoid alerting them, I didn¡¯t engage in any battles. All I did was blend into the Aeternus Kingdom so that I could gather some information. The strongest expert from Aeternus who attacked this universe is Arrow God.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°Arrow God?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded. ¡°When we invaded the First Scourge Region, Arrow God arrived and helped them. Her arrows nearly turned the tide against us. If not for Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s intervention, Arrow God would have most likely reversed the situation. She¡¯s undoubtedly the most powerful individual in this universe, and she frequently takes action. The strongest civilization that once existed in this universe was destroyed by her.¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. Clearly, they were already toote. The image of the scarlet-haired woman appeared in his mind.

    Arrow God was not merely beautiful, but also extraordinarily powerful.

    When the Great Sovereign had shown Lu Yin Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges, Arrow God had attacked. She had also been the first one to reinforce the First Scourge when the Sixverse Association had invaded. The woman seemed unusually active, which was not at all like the other Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    During the Divine Selection, during which Lu Yin had been disguised as Ye Bo, he had learned that Arrow God was the ruler of the Fifth Scourge. Her subordinates included the Five Elders, all of whom were sequence powerhouses. Two of them, the Magician and Da Huang, had represented the Fifth Scourge during the Divine Selection, but Da Huang had died, and the Magician had been gravely injured. It was unknown what had be of the man.

    With five sequence powerhouses under hermand, as well as Arrow God¡¯s frequent activities, it was clear that the woman wielded tremendous influence within Aeternus.

    If ckless God were not one of the Seven Skygods and solely focused on the First Scourge, his Fourth Scourge would not be nearly so weak. Its only sequence powerhouse had been Kong Ji.

    At the moment, it appeared that the greatest threats to humanity among the Three Pirs and Six Skies were Di Qiong and Arrow God, as they had both done a great deal of harm so far.

    ¡°Let''s go. There''s no hope for this universe,¡± Lu Yin said as he stood.

    Arch-Elder Zen stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s not entirely hopeless.¡±

    Lu Yin grew puzzled.

    Arch-Elder Zen exined, ¡°While this universe¡¯s most powerful civilization was destroyed by Arrow God, she failed to kill a truly powerful expert known as The Abandoned.¡±

    ¡°The Abandoned?¡±

    ¡°The Abandoned is supposedly the strongest powerhouse from the civilization that Arrow God exterminated. While his civilization was destroyed, The Abandoned managed to escape, and since then, he¡¯s been targeting the Aeternus Kingdoms. He¡¯s seeded in destroying more than thirty Aeternus Kingdoms over the years.

    ¡°He is Aeternus¡¯s greatest obstacle in this universe, and while Arrow God has fought him several times, she has gained nothing.

    ¡°If we can recruit The Abandoned, we will gain a truly powerful ally.¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°For him to be able to fight against Arrow God on his own, he must be an incredible powerhouse. However, where do we find him?¡±

    As Lu Yin spoke, his expression changed, and he looked around the cavern.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing exchanged nces.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be a coincidence,¡± Arch-Elder Zen muttered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Perhaps Mister Mu sent us here to find The Abandoned.¡±

    From the very beginning, the men had known that the cave they had arrived in was quite peculiar. Not even Heaven''s Sight could see through the walls of the cave. It appeared to be the ideal hiding ce, and it was not unreasonable to think that The Abandoned had been hiding in the cave.

    How many ces throughout the megaverse¡¯s countless parallel universes could block Heaven''s Sight?

    Arrow God¡¯s inability to catch The Abandoned was possibly due to the man¡¯s strength, but it might also be due to the fact that she was unable to even find him.

    When Arch-Elder Zen had left the cave, the teleportation device that he had arrived at had instantly shattered. This suggested that whoever had used the cave in the past had wanted to avoid being tracked. The more the three men considered the situation, the more likely they felt that The Abandoned used this cave.

    All three men arrived at the same conclusion.

    Lu Yin frowned. Even if this cave was used by The Abandoned, how were they supposed to find him? Waiting for him to return could take countless years, and Lu Yin could not afford to wait for too long.

    When it came to cultivation time, Lu Yin was very different from most people.

    If waiting was simply not an option, then the best approach was to somehow lure The Abandoned out.

    ¡°Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, we¡¯ll split up and destroy Aeternus Kingdoms. Attack each ce once, and then immediately retreat so that we can avoid drawing out Arrow God,¡± Lu Yin ordered.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing agreed, and each of them stepped onto the teleportation device and left the cave.

    Lu Yin followed suit, and after experiencing a spatial warp, he appeared in a city.

    He had not expected to appear in a city.

    The city was not an Aeternus Kingdom, but simply a city that belonged to a primitive civilization. Lu Yin examined his surroundings through his domain, but he did not even find anyone at the Explorer level. The strongest people were only peak Limiteers, and they were all in what appeared to be a pce. They were clearly the most powerful individuals in the primitive civilization.

    The moment that Lu Yin arrived, a teleportation device shattered beneath his feet.

    Whoever had set up the teleportation devices had been exceedingly cautious, as some had even been ced in a primitive civilization that could not explore outer space.

    Such people might not even be able to draw Aeternus¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin stepped away and left the city. He immediately started searching for an Aeternus Kingdom. One should be somewhere nearby.

    He quickly seeded and moved over. Standing in outer space, Lu Yin looked down at the Aeternus Kingdom. A hand rose, and a palm strike fell.

    The void waspressed, and it took on the shape of a palm print that fell upon the Aeternus Kingdom.

    From within the city, a Progenitor-level corpse king charged upwards to protect the Aeternus Kingdom, only to be instantly crushed by the palm strike.

    The single attack shattered the Aeternus Kingdom into nothingness.

    Lu Yin had targeted the city sections that did not have human inhabitants, so while the Aeternus Kingdom was destroyed, the humans in it were left unharmed. Only the infrastructure had been shattered.

    After delivering a single attack, Lu Yin promptly left and moved on.

    At the same time, Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing also destroyed Aeternus Kingdoms themselves before quickly retreating.

    Lu Yin had no idea how many Aeternus Kingdoms existed in this particr universe, but he destroyed one every few days, continuously repeating the process.

    All together, the three men quickly destroyed almost ten Aeternus Kingdoms.

    They easily found their targets at first, but as soon as the Aeternals realized that they were being attacked, things became far more difficult. Otherwise, The Abandoned would not have destroyed a mere thirty Aeternus Kingdoms, and he likely could have targeted even more.

    One day, Leng Qing swung his de, expecting to destroy another Aeternus Kingdom, but the attack was blocked. A middle-aged man emerged from the Aeternus Kingdom, and he stared at Leng Qing with dark, cold eyes.

    Leng Qing¡¯s instincts screamed danger. This man was a very strong powerhouse.

    There was no doubt that the man was a sequence powerhouse, and Leng Qing did not hesitate. He immediately turned and fled.

    The middle-aged man sneered. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    He raised a hand, and the void warped. Seals appeared, and they all hurtled towards Leng Qing. The void exploded from the terrifying power, and the stars shattered, startling the inhabitants of the Aeternus Kingdom.

    Leng Qing¡¯s de swept out again and again to defend him from the surrounding seals and explosions, but he was trapped. While he could block the seals and the explosions, the unexpected attack had caught him off guard.

    The middle-aged man moved in on Leng Qing. ¡°I am one of the Five Elders under Arrow God, Thousand-Hand Seal. Tell me your name.¡±

    Leng Qing clenched the hilt of his de. He refused to use his Celestial de World, as the situation would be veryplicated if Arrow God¡¯s people recognized Leng Qing as someone from the Origin Universe.

    At the very least, Aeternus would raise their guard.

    Thousand-Hand Seal red at Leng Qing. ¡°Not talking? Then I¡¯ll cripple you and see how long you can stay silent for.¡±

    As the man spoke, the void twisted again, and more seals appeared. The sheer number was daunting, as each one on its own was enough to make Leng Qing wary.

    This was not his first time fighting against a sequence powerhouse. Leng Qing could put up a fight against such opponents, but to do so, he needed to first understand their sequence particles. Without that, Leng Qing would be at too great a disadvantage.

    Right when Thousand-Hand Seal was about to attack, the Aeternus Kingdom behind him shattered. He whipped around, his expression changing drastically. ¡°Bastard!¡±

    Someone had destroyed the Aeternus Kingdom, which momentarily distracted Thousand-Hand Seal. Leng Qing had an opening with which to escape.

    Thousand-Hand Seal was about to pursue, but he was abruptly enveloped by a strong chill. He froze in ce and stared intently at the Aeternus Kingdom.

    It took some time, but the man eventually calmed down.

    ¡°The Abandoned...¡±

    As for Leng Qing, as soon as he escaped from Thousand-Hand Seal, he had circled about in outer space. The Progenitor knew that The Abandoned must have intervened and drawn Thousand-Hand Seal''s attention. Leng Qing waited for The Abandoned to appear.

    However, even after several days, the man never appeared.

    It was possible that he was simply too cautious.

    Leng Qing decided to not wait any longer, and he returned to the Heavens Sect.

    He did not have to wait long for Arch-Elder Zen to also return. The old man looked quite battered, which Leng Qing immediately noticed. ¡°Did you also run into a sequence powerhouse?¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen was taken aback. ¡°You encountered a sequence powerhouse?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t? Then why do you look so bad?¡±

    ¡°I was attacked by a Progenitor-level corpse king that could undergo a Pupilless Transformation. It was quite a difficult opponent, especially since I couldn¡¯t use my Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi. It was very difficult to escape.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still luckier than me. I was attacked by Thousand-Hand Seal, one of the Five Elders. I wasn¡¯t even able to find out what his sequence particle is.¡±

    ¡°How did you escape?¡±

    Leng Qing red at Arch-Elder Zen. The word ¡°escape¡± grated on the man¡¯s nerves, no matter how urate it might be.

    ¡°Someone destroyed the nearby Aeternus Kingdom, which gave me an opening to escape. It was probably The Abandoned.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Did you see him?¡±

    Leng Qing shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s very cautious.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen was not surprised. ¡°Given his strength and the number of teleportation devices that are scattered about, the fact that he¡¯s only destroyed a few Aeternus Kingdoms over the years suggests that he is very cautious. He¡¯s probably been deceived or pinned down by Aeternus before and won¡¯t trust us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal. The Nine-Star Civilization didn¡¯t trust us either,¡± Leng Qing added.

    The two said nothing further as they simply waited. They had agreed with Lu Yin to return to the Heavens Sect at predetermined intervals.

 Chapter 3093: A Heavy Heart

    <h4>Chapter 3093: A Heavy Heart</h4>

    Lu Yin soon returned, and he also learned of Leng Qing''s encounter. He took out the cosmic door and said, "Let''s continue. We need to draw The Abandoned out, though this time, we need to be more cautious. The Aeternals are now prepared, so we''ll act together. Even if we run into a sequence powerhouse, we¡¯ll be fine."

    He then passed through the cosmic door, but just as Lu Yin was about to use the teleportation device, his expression changed. He used Inverse Step, moving at the speed of time and causing his surroundings to freeze. A cold glint flickered in the air, narrowly missing him. He turned to watch as the glint disappeared.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked back. There was a figure standing behind him, and a short de pressed against his neck. The sharp edge froze Lu Yin¡¯s movements, and he reflexively used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    "Don''t move," a hoarse voice whispered.

    At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing arrived, and they shouted, "Release the Dao Monarch!"

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the two men, but his eyes remained fixed on the figure. "The Abandoned?"

    The man¡¯s voice was low and hoarse, "You''ve been destroying Aeternus Kingdoms recently. Why?"

    "To draw you out," Lu Yin answered bluntly. The muscles in his neck withered, making it difficult for the figure to harm him with the short de.

    "Why did you want to draw me out?"

    "To join forces with us against the Aeternals."

    "Leave the cosmic door and go. I don''t work with others."

    Lu Yin stared at the figure. The man was short, to the point where his raised arm could barely bring the short de against Lu Yin''s neck. The man had also covered his own face so that Lu Yin could not get a good look at it.

    "You''re constantly destroying Aeternus Kingdoms. You hate the Aeternals. Why not work with us? What can you achieve alone?" Lu Yin pushed.

    The figure¡¯s head rose, revealing cold eyes. "That doesn''t matter. I''m thest remnant of a destroyed civilization. Death means nothing."

    "It''s still not worth it."

    "That¡¯s none of your concern. Leave."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes moved along the man¡¯s arm to eventually meet his eyes. "Aren''t you curious about how we found this ce?"

    The figure''s eyes flickered. "Speak."

    "Mister Mu," Lu Yin stated.

    The man was clearly shocked. "Mister Mu?"

    Lu Yin sighed in relief. As expected, Mister Mu had sent him to find The Abandoned.

    "I''m Mister Mu''s disciple. My master gave me several cosmic doors to unite various civilizations in the war against the Aeternals. You''re one of them. How else could we have found this ce?"

    The man¡¯s arm lowered. "No wonder."

    "You believe us?" Lu Yin was surprised. The Nine-Star Civilization had not initially believed him.

    The man looked down at his short de. His face reflected off of the de. "The megaverse is vast and has countless parallel timelines. Even just this universe alone is enormous. It¡¯s impossible to find this ce by chance with a cosmic door. The Aeternals can¡¯t find this ce. If they could, you wouldn¡¯t have been the ones to show up, but that woman.

    "There''s nothing to not believe about what you¡¯ve said."

    Finally, Lu Yin saw the man¡¯s face.

    The Abandoned was a gaunt old man whose face looked rather sinister. He reminded Lu Yin of a shadow that could vanish at any moment. The man¡¯s eyes were filled with a cold, endless hatred, and the short de in his hand made him look like an assassin.

    "Are you The Abandoned?"

    "Mister Mu did me a favor. I won¡¯t team up with you like you want, but I¡¯ll attack for you one time," The Abandoned stated.

    Having just finished negotiations with the Nine-Star Civilization, Lu Yin felt like he had said enough. He regretted not recording his conversation with Kakawen, as doing so would have saved him a great deal of trouble.

    It was rather obvious that The Abandoned did not like talking very much.

    "If that''s the case, then so be it. How should we contact you?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Abandoned handed Lu Yin something that looked rather simr to amunication crystal. It was likely this universe¡¯s equivalent of one.

    "You¡¯re the only one to get one of these from me, even after all of these years."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."

    Ultimately, having The Abandoned agree to attack once for Lu Yin was already quite good. The brief exchange had already demonstrated the man¡¯s strength to Lu Yin.

    Inverse Step had not been able to evade The Abandoned¡¯s de, which was not something that Lu Yin had expected.

    It was no wonder why The Abandoned had been able to survive against Arrow God for so long. The man was likely just as strong as Senior Brother Mu Ke.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin immediately took out the fifth cosmic door.

    As before, Leng Qing moved through first. Theirtest encounter with The Abandoned had made the Progenitor even more cautious.

    Arch-Elder Zen followed close behind.

    Anyone from the Origin Universe could die, even Lu Yuan. The sole exception was Lu Yin. He not only represented the present, but also the future.

    Everyone believed without a doubt that Lu Yin would reach at least the same level as the Great Sovereign, and quite possibly even higher.

    Even Lu Yin himself was confident of that, though he could not find his path forward at the moment.

    If he could find the way to break through and be a Progenitor, he would have already done so.

    Another breakthrough was Lu Yin¡¯s only way of directly fighting against the Aeternals. Only then could he no longer worry about fleeing every time he encountered an opponent at the level of the Seven Skygods.

    He had to find a way to break through.

    Through the fifth cosmic doory a shattered universe. There were spatial tears everywhere, much like the ce in the Daosource Sect where Progenitor Chen¡¯s handprint had been left behind.

    However, that had only been a single region of a universe, whereas the universe that Lu Yin and the others were currently looking at had been utterly destroyed.

    The three men spread out, but even after searching around, they found no signs of intelligent life. The universe had beenpletely destroyed.

    There were only some leftover indications that the universe had been destroyed by a powerful force. The three men could not even find the ruins of the civilization that Mister Mu had wanted Lu Yin to find.

    With no other choice, they left the universe and moved on to the sixth cosmic door.

    It appeared that they had run out of luck, as the sixth cosmic door was connected to another shattered universe. This one was in slightly better shape than the previous one, as there were at least some ruins. Still, everything indicated that the civilization no longer existed.

    Finding two destroyed universes in a row weighed heavily on Lu Yin''s heart.

    He continued to the seventh cosmic door, and with a grim expression, he impatiently went through.

    Lu Yin found himself arriving in an Aeternus Kingdom. It was a massive one, and there was a grand gate that clearly was not of the Aeternals¡¯ design. It was likely a relic of the civilization that they had conquered.

    Lu Yin and hispanions explored the universe, hoping to find traces of a civilization that was still fighting against the Aeternals, but the results were disappointing.

    There was no one. There was not a single person capable of fighting against the Aeternals.

    They spent two months in the universe, searching through it the entire time, hoping to find someone like The Abandoned.

    They found nothing. The Aeternals were the uncontested rulers of this universe.

    However, Lu Yin did manage to learn that the universe had been conquered by the Sixth Scourge.

    This made sense, as the Sixth Scourge was ruled by Corpse God, one of the Seven Skygods. He had been focused on the First Scourge for many years, but the Sixth Scourge still had other powerhouses, such as Ji Luo.

    Ji Luo was incredibly powerful, and Lu Yin believed that the man was just as strong as the Seven Skygods. For such a skilled powerhouse, it would be easy to defeat a single universe.

    With heavy hearts, the three men left the universe.

    Only one cosmic door remained, but Lu Yin did not rush to enter it. He simply stared at it.

    There were times when coincidences were real, but causality also existed.

    Destiny¡¯s power was no longer something mysterious; she built a bridge across the river of time, which allowed her to catch glimpses of the future.

    What truly fascinated Lu Yin were powers rted to karma, such as Seruzen¡¯s Karmic Fruit, Mu Ji¡¯s ability to see sin, or even the ability of Destina and several others to transfer karmic effects.

    There were all sorts of inexplicable powers and abilities in the megaverse, and not everything could always be exined.

    After encountering three civilizations in a row that had been destroyed, Lu Yin found himself hesitant to use the final cosmic door.

    The destruction of a civilization meant the loss of countless lives. Such an oue was too much to handle.

    Lu Yin turned away from the cosmic door and walked to a solitary mountain peak. From there, he stared off into the distance.

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing exchanged nces, but they said nothing as they shook their heads.

    They would not be bothered if Lu Yin responded heartlessly, but how was that possible? He was also human, and the emotions he felt after seeing the results of three civilizations of three different universes be wiped out was something that could only be imagined.

    It was possible that Lu Yin was thinking about the Sixverse Association, the Origin Universe, or possibly his loved ones.

    It was possible that someone would one day visit the Origin Universe and find nothing but Aeternus Kingdoms, without any trace left of the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin stood at the peak of the mountain and stared far into the distance. He saw the jiao roll over in its sleep. How nice would it be to be as carefree as the beast?

    He stared at the Heavens Sect, seeing many familiar faces. Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s gaze rested on a specific courtyard.

    The courtyard was filled with books. It belonged to Lu Yin¡¯s unfortunate disciple, Tuo Lin. The man must have been reading for a very long time.

    At this thought, Lu Yin vanished, and he reappeared just outside the courtyard.

    The courtyard was absolutely packed with books, many of which had been preserved with extraordinary means. All of the books had been donated by variousrge families or sects, some of which hade from personal collections. Even the owner¡¯s family members would have struggled to catch a glimpse of many of these volumes, but they were all piled up in a single courtyard because Lu Yin¡¯s disciple was going to read them.

    Tuo Lin was no longer inside the house, but instead buried among the books in the courtyard. He had bepletely engrossed in each page. There were times when he would read quickly, and at other times slowly. An asionalugh of excitement might be heard, or he might cover his face as he cried. The man lookedpletely mad.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. He did not want his disciple to go mad. If that happened, who would be willing to be Lu Yin¡¯s disciple in the future?

    The idea that the Heavens Sect''s Dao Monarch''s disciple might be a madman was terrifying.

    Lu Yin quickly entered the courtyard. "Tuo Lin."

    Within the pile of books, Tuo Lin''s ear twitched when he heard Lu Yin''s voice. He shot to his feet, toppling the nearby stacks of books as he happily looked over at Lu Yin. "Master!"

    Lu Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Tuo Lin still recognized Lu Yin, and he was notpletely mad.

    "Master, why have youe here?" Tuo Lin carefully moved around the books on the ground to approach Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "If I didn''t, you''d rot away with these books."

    Tuo Lin grew puzzled. "Rot away?"

    "How long have you been reading here?" Lu Yin asked.

    Tuo Lin considered the question for a moment, but then shook his head. "I don''t remember."

    Lu Yin looked at him. "How are these books?"

    Tuo Lin instantly lit up. "Master, your test was perfect! By living with these books, I''ve learned so many life lessons! Master, I now understand your intentions. You wanted me to learn to be a good person before I learned to cultivate, right?"

    <i>Did I?</i> That had not been Lu Yin¡¯s intentions in the least.

 Chapter 3094: To Live

    <h4>Chapter 3094: To Live</h4>

    "It''s good that you understand, but that¡¯s still not enough. I hope the day wille when you have an epiphany and break free of the constraints of books and history to look to the future." Lu Yin patted Tuo Lin''s shoulder while speaking earnestly. "Everyone has to walk their own path. Headmaster Shao Chen of Astral-10 walks the path of the mortal world, and he went mad for a long time. It was only after he achieved incredible enlightenment that he was able to break through to the Progenitor realm, bing someone whom even Aeternus fears.

    "The Chief Justice of the Interster Supreme Court, and my own senior brother, Qing Ping, fought countless life-and-death battles on the Endless Frontier before he broke free from ideological constraints, which allowed him to challenge thews of the universe with otherws, carving his own path. He is also feared by the Aeternals.

    "As for me, your master, I walk a path that ispletely unprecedented. As my disciple, I hope to see you also forge a brand-new path, one that no one has ever walked before, not even in the most glorious era of the ancient Heavens Sect."

    Tuo Lin''s breathing quickened, his face grew flushed with excitement. "Don¡¯t worry, Master, I understand! I won''t disappoint you. I''ll carve my own path and take up the responsibility of saving humanity."

    Lu Yin nodded, looking quite satisfied.

    His eyes swept over the courtyard. "So, tell me what you''ve learned from all these books."

    Tuo Lin excitedly began to share the insights that he had gained over the years.

    He had spent twenty-three years reading books. To the current Lu Yin, twenty-three years was not a very long amount of time, as he could easily spend more time in a single visit to a universe where time passed more quickly. However, Tuo Lin was an ordinary human, and twenty-three years was a long time for such a person.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had ordered the Second Nightking to take care of Tuo Lin. Despite never cultivating, the man looked exactly like he had when he had first met Lu Yin. In the Cyclic Universe, Sage Yajna had simrly helped Tuo Lin¡¯s physical condition.

    Before Lu Yin realized it, several hours had passed. Seeing Tuo Lin''s excitement, Lu Yin could not bear to interrupt the man.

    No matter what, Tuo Lin was Lu Yin¡¯s disciple, but he was also a disciple who was incapable of cultivating. Lu Yin had deceived Tuo Lin, and he pitied the man.

    "Master, do you know which is my favorite book? It''s this one! ¡®The Family Teachings of the Guye n.¡¯" Tuo Lin handed Lu Yin a tattered book that had clearly weathered many storms.

    Lu Yin epted the book. The Guye n? He had never heard of them.

    While casually flipping through the book, Lu Yin learned that the Guye n was just some family from a weave in the Outerverse. They were not worthy of Lu Yin¡¯s attention, and they were far from qualified to join the Heavens Sect.

    "The Guye n lives up to their name¡ªthey''re very stubborn. Did you know, Master? Despite almost beingpletely wiped out five different times, they¡¯re still around," Tuo Lin said.[1]

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Almost wiped out five times?"

    Tuo Lin nodded, and admiration filled his voice. "There were five different times when they were almost wiped out, and each time, only one or two members of their n managed to survive. They found ways to escape, and they did whatever it took to stay alive. One time, a n member hid in a city''s cesspool in order to escape, while another severed his own limbs. There are many more stories like that.

    "In short, the Guye n¡¯s unimaginable perseverance let them survive through five crises that should have wiped them out, and they still are around today. The most amazing part is that they never hid any of the crises. Instead, they documented everything in this book to warn their future generations.

    "This is all of their family teachings, and there¡¯s one sentence in particr that I love the most."

    Tuo Lin paused, and his expression grew solemn. "To live, just to live."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. <i>To live, just to live?</i>

    While the sentence sounded simple, or even like nonsense, it gave Lu Yin a profound feeling.

    To live, just to live. Indeed, only by living could a person continue to live.

    The more a person experienced, the more they would understand this particr sentence.

    "The Guye n survived each crisis thanks to their ancestral teachings¡ªthey never gave up. Master, I will also learn from them and live with determination. I will pass your tests and be the disciple you are most proud of!" Tuo Lin dered with determination.

    Lu Yin stared at Tuo Lin for a long moment. He had actually wanted to alter the test, as he had been afraid that Tuo Lin would go mad from all of the reading. However, seeing the man¡¯s attitude, Lu Yin decided to allow things to continue.

    "Your master believes that you can do it. There are countless parallel universes in the megaverse and innumerable people. Master believes that you will be their savior. Forge your own path. In the future, your master will have to rely on you."

    "Don''t worry, Master." Tuo Lin grew more determined than ever.

    Lu Yin left the courtyard. The Second Nightking was already waiting for him, ready for new instructions.

    "Look after the Guye n."

    "Yes, Dao Monarch." The Second Nightking bowed and left.

    Lu Yin returned to thest cosmic door. "Let''s go."

    Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing had no idea what had just happened, but after seeing howposed Lu Yin had be, they knew that he hade to terms with something.

    Leng Qing moved through the cosmic door first, quickly followed by Arch-Elder Zen. Lu Yin was thest one through.

    After passing through the eighth cosmic door, they arrived in the darkness of outer space. The universe looked quite typical, as there were stars,s, meteors, and other normal ster bodies. The ce did not look very different from the Fifth Maind¡¯s outer space.

    However, Lu Yin also felt a sense of familiarity that he was unable to ce.

    "Search carefully, but watch out for ambushes," Lu Yin instructed. The cosmic doors that Mister Mu had given him had all led to powerful civilizations or people who could fight against Aeternus. Any civilization that was valued by Mister Mu was also strong enough to be targeted by Aeternus.

    If the civilization that ruled this universe had already been destroyed, then there was a very good chance that Lu Yin and the two Progenitors would run into Aeternals.

    The three men were initially very cautious. They moved about while hiding their presence and searched the universe. As time passed, they eventually found an Aeternus Kingdom, but there was not even a single peak powerhouse protecting it.

    When Lu Yin saw a meteor, he finally remembered. It was no wonder why this universe felt so familiar.

    This was the universe he had passed through before he entered the Fourth Scourge, where he had killed Da Hui and Kong Ji. This was the universe where Lu Yin had encountered a civilization that had been defeated by Aeternus.

    In order to survive, that civilization had abandoned their physical bodies and transferred their consciousnesses into an illusory world that was anchored to a meteorite. With the help of their final peak powerhouse, the people had been able to escape destruction. Lu Yin had spoken with the civilization¡¯s protector, and there had not been any sort of hostility.

    He was once againying eyes on the same meteorite.

    However, while the illusory world still existed within the meteorite, the elder and all of its inhabitants had vanished. All that remained were the details of the illusory world itself.

    Lu Yin stared at the meteorite, wondering what could have happened. The consciousnesses were all gone, evidently destroyed. Could it have been Aeternus?

    Another civilization had vanished, and this was one that Lu Yin had met and interacted with before.

    His emotions wereplicated. If only he had guided the civilization to the Origin Universe when he had met them, even if they had been reluctant, which was quite likely.

    Civilizations that had fought against Aeternus were ultimately given two choices: flee and never encounter the Aeternals again, or fight an unending war.

    The Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe had both chosen thetter, while God''s Domain and the civilization of consciousnesses Lu Yin had met had both chosen the first option.

    However, both God''s Domain and the civilization of consciousnesses had met the same fate and been thoroughly destroyed.

    No matter how intense the war between the Origin Universe and Aeternus grew, the people of the Origin Universe still lived, and they were constantly cultivating.

    Escape was not a viable answer.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin disappeared. He used Inverse Step to travel at the speed of time, and he traveled in a very particr direction.

    He had just felt like he was being watched, as if there was a pair of eyes staring at him.

    At that moment, Lu Yin saw a young man standing in front of a distant meteorite, staring at Lu Yin. While using Inverse Step, everything around Lu Yin froze, so the young man waspletely unaware of Lu Yin''s movement.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived behind the young man, he stopped using Inverse Step, and time returned to normal around him.

    The young man was still staring into the distance, as Lu Yin had suddenly vanished from sight. <i>Where did he go?</i>

    The young man rubbed his eyes, but he still saw nothing.

    "Looking for me?" Lu Yin asked slowly.

    The question startled the young man, and he instinctively moved away from Lu Yin and raised his guard. "Who are you?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You''ve been staring at me, and yet you ask who I am?"

    The young man''s eyes flickered. "Staring at you? I don''t even know who you are or where you came from."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "In that case, who are you?"

    The young man slowly backed away. "Who I am is none of your business, but if I''ve disturbed you, I apologize."

    The young man then immediately turned and started moving away.

    A smirk appeared on Lu Yin''s lips. "Did I say that you could leave?"

    The young man''s expression turned cold, and he turned back to re at Lu Yin. "Brother, you may be powerful, but I''m not one to be trifled with either. There are no grudges between us, and we¡¯re both just passing travelers. It''s best if we don''t make any trouble for each other."

    Lu Yin retorted, "Trouble only appears between those of equal strength. But tell me, what does unequal strength invite?"

    The young man suddenly took off, trying to escape. However, Lu Yin also started to move. He did not use Inverse Step this time, but he still moved much faster than the young man and easily caught up to him.

    He was curious about the young man. After all, he was actually young, not even as old as Lu Yin, and yet he was already a peak powerhouse. This was rather disturbing. If the young man¡¯s strength came from his own cultivation, then it would be absolutely remarkable. After all, even someone regarded as perfect, like the Junior Sovereign, had to rely on the power of the Cyclic Universe itself to be a peak powerhouse at such a young age. How had this young man achieved his strength? There were very few ces like the Origin Universe in the megaverse, and the young man¡¯s movements and actions gave Lu Yin the distinct impression that he was greatly inferior to Chu Jian. How could such a person have broken through and be a peak powerhouse already?

    The young man¡¯s face fell when he saw that Lu Yin had caught up to him. "Senior, there''s no need for violence. I¡¯ve done nothing to offend you."

    "Now you¡¯re calling me senior?"

    "What do you want?"

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin asked.

    The young man gritted his teeth. He could not understand what he had done. He kept moving through the void, but he could note even close to matching Lu Yin''s speed.

    Lu Yin reached out to grab the young man while deliberately releasing his aura. An incredible pressure descended upon the void, and the young man felt as though he was being crushed and torn apart.

    His expression changed drastically as he realized that he had encountered a very difficult opponent. Vortexes suddenly appeared around the young man¡¯s body, and each one pulled at Lu Yin. As for the young man himself, he moved in another direction.

    Lu Yin stared at the vortexes in astonishment. This was Da Hui¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world! How did the young man have it?

    Things were bing more and more interesting.

    Lu Yin easily destroyed the vortexes and once again caught up to the young man.

    The young man''s expressionpletely changed. He was being pursued by a monster. He shouted, "Senior, I absolutely didn''t mean to offend you! Please forgive me, Senior!"

    "Then stop running," Lu Yin ordered as his hand rose up again to capture the young man. The man could move rather quickly, and Lu Yin wanted to try something.

    1. This n''s name (Õâ¹ÌÒ²) has ¹Ì in it, which means "stubborn." ?

 Chapter 3095: Completion

    <h4>Chapter 3095: Completion</h4>

    How could the young man possibly stop running? Escape at least gave him a glimmer of hope for survival, while stopping meant cing his life in his pursuer¡¯s hands.

    As Lu Yin reached out for a second time to grab the young man, a ruthless glint appeared in the young man''s eyes. "Senior, do you really not intend to give this junior even a chance?"

    Lu Yin remained silent as his hand inched closer to the young man.

    Suddenly, the young man pulled out a long spear that he thrust straight at Lu Yin as he whipped around.

    Lu Yin arched a brow while countering the spear. The young man had just attacked with Da Hui¡¯s Returning Spear, which was unique to the man. Just what was the connection between the two?

    The spear narrowly missed Lu Yin, and it instead shattered the void.

    The sight of his failed attack caused the young man''s face to turn ashen. Lu Yin grabbed the man¡¯s shoulder and squeezed, causing an intense pain to run through the young man''s body. He froze as he let out a cry of agony and dropped the spear.

    "Senior, spare me! Please, spare me!" the young man begged through the pain.

    Lu Yin let go, and the young man gasped for air as he reflexively took a step back. However, he did not try to escape again. He knew that it would be useless to even try.

    The next time he nced at Lu Yin, fear filled his eyes.

    "Who are you?" Lu Yin asked again.

    The young man did not dare refuse to answer again. "This junior is Ye Sheng, a cultivator from this universe."

    "Aeternus?" Lu Yin demanded.

    "No, I¡¯m not part of Aeternus. Senior, are you from Aeternus?" the young man asked nervously.

    Lu Yin gave the young man a sly look. "What do you think?"

    Ye Sheng''s expression changed. He was not sure of how to respond.

    "How have you cultivated to such a level? You''ve be a peak powerhouse, but you don¡¯t possess even close to the corresponding strength and ability," Lu Yin continued to ask, very curious about this.

    Ye Sheng hesitated.

    Lu Yin did not push, and he instead simply stared at the youth.

    "I won''t try to hide things from you, Senior. All of my cultivation is from my master," Ye Sheng ultimately confessed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "From your master? Are you saying that he raised you up to this level?"

    "Yes," Ye Sheng replied respectfully.

    Lu Yin stared even more intently. "How did he do it?"

    "I don''t know how to exin that, but if you are interested, Senior, I can take you to meet my master," Ye Sheng offered.

    He said this for a simple reason; Ye Sheng was trying to subtly threaten Lu Yin to stay alive. The intimation was that killing him would create a powerful enemy.

    Lu Yin had never actually thought of killing Ye Sheng. The young man¡¯s ability to use Da Hui''s Progenitor¡¯s world and battle techniques was too bizarre. It should be impossible for two identical Progenitor¡¯s worlds to exist.

    Unless it was the same person. Was Ye Sheng Da Hui? Of course not.

    Lu Yin observed Ye Sheng''s respectful demeanor. "Is your master very powerful?"

    "Yes," Ye Sheng replied instantly.

    "However, if your master can''t find me to get revenge, then that strength is useless," Lu Yin stated coldly.

    Ye Sheng started to panic. "Senior, this junior has never done anything to offend you! You... there''s no need to treat a junior like this! If you spare me, Senior, this junior promises that my master will reward you handsomely."

    Lu Yin''s gaze turned icy. "I''ll ask you once more. How did he do it?"

    Ye Sheng hesitated, but when he looked back at Lu Yin and saw his dangerously cold eyes, the young man¡¯s heart trembled. He softly answered, "It¡¯s true that my master helped me gain this strength. He did so through... symbiotic corpses."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Symbiotic corpses?"

    Ye Sheng closed his eyes. "Yes. When a powerful corpse is found, a symbiotic fusion can ur, merging the corpse''s strength with your own, allowing you to obtain the corpse''s power."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "Such a method exists?"

    Ye Sheng sighed bitterly. "If you don¡¯t believe me, Senior, you can meet my master and speak to him yourself. This method was created by my master. My master''s name is... Ye Wu."

    Lu Yin stared at Ye Sheng for a long moment. Symbiotic corpses seemed to let a living person obtain the power of a corpse, but just the thought of doing so was nauseating. Did that mean that a person¡¯s consciousness would be transferred into the corpse? No, that did not seem to be right. Ye Sheng should have symbiotically fused with Da Hui¡¯s corpse, but Ye Sheng was still a very young man. How did it work?

    This was quite peculiar.

    Despite the myriad cultivation methods in existence, Lu Yin had never imagined that a method like symbiotic corpses would exist.

    Could a cultivation method with such evil implications be conceived or epted by a normal person?

    "Did you gain your current strength from the corpse of the peak powerhouse that you symbiotically fused with?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Yes. His name was Da Hui. He was a candidate my master picked out long ago. He happened to die recently, so my master symbiotically fused his corpse with my body. However, neither me nor my master killed the man," Ye Sheng rified.

    Of course Lu Yin was well aware of this, as he had been the one to kill Da Hui.

    Fortunately, Kong Ji¡¯s body had been taken away, or else Ye Sheng might have symbiotically fused with that man instead.

    However, this process could not actually be that easy. There were limits to every cultivation method, and something like these symbiotic corpses, which seemingly allowed a person to ascend to the heavens in a single bound, was beyond ordinary methods.

    "Why are you here?" Lu Yin inquired.

    Ye Sheng was quick to answer, "This meteorite was once the home of a certain people. My master asked me to check on them, but when I found it, it was already an empty shell. Nothing was left. I didn¡¯t know how to tell this to my master, so I¡¯ve been staying around here, and that also happened to be when you arrived."

    "Your master asked you to look for this meteorite?"

    "Yes. It was home to one of this universe¡¯s civilizations. Even after they were defeated, my master had some interactions with their people, and he was unable to bear to see them bepletely destroyed. He asked me toe here and keep an eye on them and to contact him if any problems appeared."

    Lu Yin nodded. If this was true, then while Ye Sheng¡¯s master''s cultivation method seemed rather despicable, it was possible that the man himself was not a terrible person.

    "I don''t know how to tell my master what happened. I¡¯ve been using this time to search for any clues, but I¡¯ve only found one. When the meteorite passed near a, the inhabitants saw it, and they mentioned something that might help me give an exnation to my Master."

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°When the meteorite went by that, it was enveloped within a ck cloud.¡±

    Lu Yin was quite surprised by this. "A ck cloud?"

    Ye Sheng nodded. "The civilization that lived in the meteorite waspletely destroyed, and that ck cloud might have something to do with their disappearance."

    Lu Yin stared at Ye Sheng. "When did this happen?"

    Ye Sheng gave the time, and Lu Yin calcted some things. The civilization was erased right before the Divine Selection. Could Xu Jin, the ruler of the Second Scourge, have destroyed the civilization before he went to the Third Scourge? That did not seem impossible.

    "Which powerhouse did your master symbiotically fuse with?" Lu Yin asked, curious.

    He was suddenly reminded of the Sixth Maind¡¯s Justice Manor and how they controlled corpses as puppets in battle. Their methods seemed somewhat simr to these symbiotic corpses. If Justice Manor managed to obtain the symbiotic corpse method, Lu Yin wondered how excited they would be.

    Of course, Lu Yin would never help Justice Manor obtain such a cultivation method. These symbiotic corpses were something that should never exist.

    While there were no right or wrong cultivation methods, symbiotic corpses were something that would be extremely difficult for most people to ept.

    The Lu family¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage was already something that instigated hate and revulsion in many others, so their reaction to something like symbiotic corpses could only be imagined.

    Ye Sheng thought back, "I don''t know which powerhouse my master symbiotically fused with. I only saw Master fight once, which was when he fought off the master of the corpse that I fused with. He¡¯s one of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses."

    <i>Kong Ji? Da Hui was a disciple of Kong Ji.</i>

    The fact that Ye Sheng''s master was able to fight against Kong Ji meant that he had to be a sequence powerhouse.

    Was that man the reason why Lu Yin had been sent to this universe by Mister Mu? That was not very likely. Mister Mu most likely would not ept a cultivation method like symbiotic corpses.

    Lu Yin considered meeting Ye Wu, but he could not go alone.

    He ced Ye Sheng in a Zenith Mountain and took him back to Heavens Sect. After that, Lu Yin went to find Mu Xie and asked him to reach out to Mu Ke. Lu Yin wanted the Arborean to apany him to meet with Ye Wu, just to be safe.

    ...

    Figures stumbled along the Scourge¡¯s dead ground. They moved stiffly and roamed about aimlessly.

    The ruins of many tall towers could be seen, representing thend¡¯s past glory.

    Shattered cosmic doors littered the ground.

    This was the First Scourge, and even its rivers of divine energy had been destroyed and scattered. Far off in the distance, the Aeternus Kingdoms had simrly suffered terrible destruction.

    The First Scourge had been invaded multiple times, and it was no longer as prosperous as it had once been.

    One day, a figure descended from the ck Mother Tree tond in the First Scourge.

    This person''s arrival instantly drew the attention of many of the First Scourge¡¯s powerhouses.

    Progenitor Xi looked up. "Has he arrived?"

    A short distance away, Shao Yin was feeling rather torn. He had failed to pass the Divine Selection, though that failure did not impact his status as one of the First Scourge¡¯s Seven Skygods. Still, the failure was a stain on his reputation, as it was clear that Shao Yin had only be one of the Seven Skygods because of Progenitor Xi¡¯s consent.

    On the other hand, the new arrival had passed the Divine Selection, bing fully qualified to rece one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies should any of them fall. Ji Luo was next in line to be one of the top figures in all of Aeternus.

    Many people had already expected Ji Luo to pass the Divine Selection. It was known that he possessed the necessary strength, and if not for the man¡¯s gratitude towards Corpse God on behalf of his race, how could Ji Luo have ever agreed to serve as the Sixth Scourge¡¯s guardian for Corpse God?

    Having passed the Divine Selection, Ji Luo made his way to the First Scourge. Once there, with Progenitor Xi¡¯s approval, the man would be one of the Seven Skygods.

    "I officially dere that the First Scourge¡¯s Shaman God and Undying God of the Seven Skygods are now reced by Ji Luo and Shao Yin," Progenitor Xi announced. Shao Yin was not the only one standing before the woman, as the True God Guard Captains were also present.

    The First Scourge had been weakened to an unprecedented degree. For a time, the positions of the Seven Skygods had been unfilled, which was a blemish on the First Scourge¡¯s reputation.

    Wang Fan had died at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. Progenitor Xi did not care about the man¡¯s death. It was possible for anyone who participated in the Divine Selection to die.

    Shao Yin was incredibly frustrated by his failure to pass the Divine Selection, but there was nothing that he could do about it. There had simply been too many powerful enemies present at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, and each opponent that Shao Yin had encountered had been intimidating. There was no denying that Ji Luo was much stronger. After all, he had freely roamed about the battlefield surrounding the Immemorial Citadel, and he had even killed multiple human powerhouses. Ji Luo was an incredibly ruthless individual.

    "When can we attack the Sixverse Association?" Ji Luo asked. He said as little as possible, but his message was clear; he wanted to avenge Corpse God.

    Progenitor Xi calmly replied, "There¡¯s no rush. Aeternus is preparing a proper n."

    Before long, a dark cloud descended, as Xu Jin had arrived. "You''ve offered such a grand gesture and sought us out. Tell me, are you about to announce a Divine Commandment?"

    From the other direction, Arrow God approached. Her long, crimson hair flew behind her, exposing her stunning face as Shao Yin looked over.

    After that, Di Qiong arrived. He looked quite calm.

    "Di Qiong, give me Wu Tian. Even after all this time, you still haven¡¯t gotten anything useful from him, just a bit of power. What''s the point of keeping him?" Xu Jin asked mockingly.

    Di Qiong replied in a cold, aloof tone. "It would appear that your Second Scourge also failed."

    "It was the Divine Selection. If it were easy to pass, our existence would mean nothing,¡± Xu Jin replied nonchntly. "Speaking of which, it seems that your Third Scourge¡¯s Di Xia also died there."

    Thisment made Di Qiong rather ufortable. No one had seen Ye Bo die on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, but he also had not returned. There was a 90% chance that the man was dead.

 Chapter 3096: Divine Commandment

    Chapter 3096: Divine Commandment

    Ye Bo himself had created aprehension technique, which was exceedingly rare. He was Di Qiong¡¯s perfect candidate to send for the next Divine Selection, at which time he would beparable to Ji Luo during thest Divine Selection. It was practically guaranteed that Ye Bo would pass the next Divine Selection, but instead, he had died, which was a terrible loss for the Third Scourge. On top of that, Ye Bo had died while posing as Di Xia.

    Although everyone understood that Ye Bo had been posing as Di Xia for part of the Divine Selection, that did not mean that the Third Scourge could tantly parade Di Xia about.

    Di Xia would need a new name in the future.

    At that moment, the void warped a short distance away, and a ck-cloaked figure emerged.

    This was amon enough appearance in the megaverse, but this person¡¯s arrival gave even someone like Shao Yin chills.

    While it looked like the person was wearing a ck robe, that was not truly the case. Instead, they were shrouded with the Hollow, which was constantly appearing and disappearing while maintaining the form of a robe.

    The person had not emerged from the void, but rather from the Hollow itself, and they continued to wear the Hollow.

    All that could be seen were a pair of eyes. They were bright, spirited, and deep, reminiscent of the starry sky. There were three intersecting ck lines in the pupils that formed a star-shaped pattern. This person was ckless God.

    "Oh? You actually came. It looks like I was right. It really is the Divine Commandment this time," Xu Jinmented. His eye rolled around within the dark cloud. It was a very disturbing sight.ckless God replied in a deep and powerful voice, "Humanity has regained its peak strength. A Divine Commandment is not uncalled for."

    "Is a Divine Commandment really happening?" Arrow God spoke for the first time, and she looked at Progenitor Xi.

    Progenitor Xi turned to face the crowd. "Everyone, on behalf of True God, I officially announce that a Divine Commandment is about tomence. I ask for your full cooperation."

    Di Qiong''s eyes burned with a fierce light. "A Divine Commandment should have been called long ago. I''ve only participated in one."

    Xu Jin''s eye rolled again. "A Divine Commandment has been called twice before. I¡¯m eager to participate in the third one."

    Arrow God''s crimson hair fluttered in the breeze. "This Divine Commandment is irrelevant to me. My people can handle things on our own."

    Progenitor Xi continued, "A Divine Commandment marks both the end and the beginning of an era. I hope to see all of you in the next era."

    With that, everyone turned to look at the ck Mother Tree. "In obeisance to True God¡¯smand, we wee the Divine Commandment."

    ¡­

    Lu Yin and Mu Ke traveled through outer space, carrying Ye Sheng in the direction that he indicated. After several days of travel, they saw a dark mountain range spread throughout outer space. There were trees on the mountains, and numerous corpses hung from their feet. It was a sinister scene that looked like something from hell.

    Ye Sheng nced over at Lu Yin, and upon seeing his somber expression, Ye Sheng grew even more cautious. He was afraid that the sight of the corpses might prompt Lu Yin to kill him. "Senior, we didn¡¯t kill any of these people. We used various means to gather their corpses, as all of these people were cultivators. The most we ever did was watch people and collect their bodies after they died."

    "You need this many corpses to cultivate your symbiotic corpses?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mu Ke''s expression darkened. He felt an overwhelming disgust for the sight before him.

    Humans were one of the few creatures where most individuals feared the corpses of their own kind. While cultivators might not fear corpses, they would not feelfortable within such a disy either.

    Ye Sheng carefully chose his next words. "My master is the one who cultivates symbiotic corpses, not me. I don''t even know how to use it."

    "You''re quite quick to absolve yourself. I wonder how your master would react if he heard your words," Lu Yinmented coldly.

    Ye Sheng had the grace to look embarrassed, and he then fell silent.

    Lu Yin lifted his head. He was not willing to waste any more time, so he spread his domain out to epass the entire mountain range. He found no peak powerhouses, and there was only one human on the entire mountain range. It was a woman.

    The woman did not sense Lu Yin''s domain, and she was also unexpectedly weak. She could notpare to Ye Sheng at all.

    Lu Yin led Ye Sheng straight to the woman.

    "Xiaoxiao, where is Master?" Ye Sheng asked.

    The woman was startled by Lu Yin''s sudden arrival, but she answered Ye Sheng''s question out of pure instinct. "Master went to make trouble for Aeternus."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Make trouble for Aeternus?"

    "Who are you?" The woman blinked. She had a rather naive appearance, which made her lookpletely out of ce among the corpses that covered the dark mountain range.

    Ye Sheng introduced the woman, "Senior, this is my junior sister, Ye Xiaoxiao."

    "Xiaoxiao, this man is a senior. Be polite."

    Ye Xiaoxiao quickly bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin asked, "Your master went to cause trouble for Aeternus?"

    Ye Xiaoxiao nced at Ye Sheng. When she saw how he was staring at her, she nodded. "Master said that the Totem Civilization was destroyed, despite the warnings that he gave Kong Ji. So, he went to confront Aeternus."

    Ye Sheng felt puzzled. "How did Master know that the Totem Civilization was destroyed?"

    Ye Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and dropped her eyes.

    Ye Sheng red at the woman. "You told him! I told you to wait! I said that I¡¯d find the right chance to tell Master. Now, he''s gone to confront Aeternus. If anything happens, it''s on you!"

    Ye Xiaoxiao ducked her head. She did not dare to say a word.

    Lu Yin looked at Ye Sheng. "Can you find Aeternus?"

    Ye Sheng hesitated. "I can''t. Only Master can."

    "You also know about Kong Ji?"

    "Yes, he''s one of the most powerful Aeternals, and Master has fought him several times before. Master warned Kong Ji that the Totem Civilization was already defeated since they¡¯ve abandoned their physical bodies, so they were not to be pursued any further. Kong Ji agreed, but the Totem Civilization was still annihted. Not one of their people managed to survive. It¡¯s no wonder why Master is so angry," Ye Sheng exined.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Mu Ke was standing at the peak of one of the dark mountains.

    Should they enter the Fourth Scourge? Ye Wu had clearly misunderstood what had happened, as Xu Jin had to have been the one who had destroyed the Totem Civilization, not the Fourth Scourge. Even so, there was no real difference, as all of Aeternus were enemies to humanity.

    Ye Wu had to have gone to the Fourth Scourge, but Lu Yin had never met the man, and he did not know his personality. Just because someone was an enemy of the Aeternals did not mean that they were an ally. Old Mo had also fought against Aeternus and tried to plot against them, but he was still Lu Yin¡¯s enemy.

    After considering things a bit, Lu Yin decided to stay on the dark mountain range for a moment and wait for Ye Wu¡¯s return.

    At this moment, the Fourth Scourge was suffering from a catastrophic disaster. Given ckless God¡¯s frequent absence and how little he cared about the Fourth Scourge''s strength, there was a distinctck of peak powerhouses.

    The Scourge¡¯s only sequence powerhouse had been Kong Ji, and he had been killed by Lu Yin. During the Divine Selection, the Fourth Scourge had not sent any representatives at all.

    Because of this, Ye Wu was able to easily overpower the entire Fourth Scourge. Most of the peak powerhouses who had joined the Fourth Scourge after betraying humanity perished, and Wei Shu was fleeing for his life. He did not dare to confront Ye Wu.

    One after another, corpse kings charged at Ye Wu, only to meet their end at his hands.

    "Come out, Kong Ji!" Ye Wu looked like a young man with a pale, sicklyplexion due to not having any blood in his body. He looked more like an invalid than a sequence powerhouse.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The ground trembled, and towers shattered. Lakes of divine energy were split apart.

    Even the Progenitor-level corpse kings that could release a burst of divine energy were effortlessly eliminated by Ye Wu.

    With no sequence powerhouses present, there was no one in the Fourth Scourge who could stop the man.

    "Kong Ji- Senior Kong Ji disappeared long ago!" a peak powerhouse shouted from where hey on the ground in a pool of blood.

    Ye Wu dropped to the ground and stared at the crippled expert whose body had been pierced. Even if this man survived, he would never be able to cultivate again. "Kong Ji is missing?"

    The peak powerhouse¡¯s face was ashen. "Yes. Lord Kong Ji has been missing for a long time."

    "Who destroyed the Totem Civilization?"

    "I don''t know. We never attacked them. They gave up their bodies, which meant that they werepletely useless to us."

    Ye Wu casually killed the man. "A human who speaks on behalf of Aeternus deserves nothing but death."

    He turned to stare at a distant ck mountain range.

    Ye Wu moved forward, heading towards the mountains.

    At this time, ckless God''s expression changed drastically in the First Scourge. "Something is happening in the Fourth Scourge!"

    He disappeared back into the void.

    Xu Jin sneered at the suddenly empty space. "The Fourth Scourge doesn''t even have any decent experts right now and can be dealt with by any random enemy. He should take better care of the ce."

    Progenitor Xi spoke up to the small group of people, "This person who can invade the Fourth Scourge is also one of the objectives of the Divine Commandment.

    "Ji Luo."

    Ji Luo turned and left. He was already on his way to the Fourth Scourge.

    Only twice before had Aeternus dered a Divine Commandment. The first one had brought about the destruction of four of the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds, as well as the copse of the glorious Heavens Sect. The second time, an era had ended. That was the reason for theck of recorded human history between the Heavens Sect era and Daosource Sect era.

    Divine Commandments essentially represented Aeternus using nothing less than its full, concentrated strength to attack a single ce with the goal of eventually eradicating all traces of human civilization.

    When a Divine Commandment was dered, the six Scourges no longer focused on their individual opponents, but rather acted together as one.

    In the Fourth Scourge, Ye Wu had already arrived at the top of the ck mountains. Every step he took shattered another mountain until the entire range waspletely destroyed.

    It was at that moment that ckless God appeared.

    Hidden in his robes of the Hollow, ckless God''s arrival caused Ye Wu''s face to fall. "Are you the ruler of this Scourge?"

    The three ck lines spun in ckless God''s eyes. This caused three ck lines to appear around Ye Wu, and they intersected to create an inescapable prison.

    ck mes erupted.

    Ye Wu grabbed at the ck lines with his hands. The ck mes were ignored, and the man did not move.

    ckless God was taken aback. "If you are this strong, then Kong Ji would not have been a match for you. Why did you attack my Fourth Scourge?"

    "I warned you people not to touch the Totem Civilization after they escaped, and yet you destroyed them." Ye Wu shattered the ck lines and stepped forward. His movements shattered the void, and the man appeared in front of ckless God, his fist already raised as heshed out with a punch. It was a simple, brute force attack, just like what corpse kings utilized.

    However, regardless of how powerful the punch might be, it could not even touch ckless God. Instead, the fist passed through him and shattered the ground of the Scourge.

    The ck lines reappeared around Ye Wu. This time, there were not just three, but six, nine, and then more and more as lines kept appearing.

    Ye Wu became nervous, and he tried to retreat, only to find that his arm was stuck within ckless God''s body. ck mes burned as the man struggled to pull his arm out.

    "I know nothing about the Totem Civilization, but Kong Ji has been dead for a long time. You may have warned Kong Ji, but the one who acted was not him," ckless God stated calmly.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3097: Lu Yin And Ye Wu

    <h4>Chapter 3097: Lu Yin And Ye Wu</h4>

    Ye Wu¡¯s body was practically ovepping with ckless God¡¯s. The man was forced to endure both the ck mes and the destruction of the Hollow. Even so, the toughness of Ye Wu¡¯s body astonished ckless God, as not even he could survive such an assault.

    "With this strength, if you join Aeternus, you would qualify for the Divine Selection and be granted an audience with True God. You would easily be one of our top powerhouses," ckless God offered.

    Ye Wu''s expression turned grim. "Nonsense."

    Suddenly, everything around the man twisted. The void waspletely annihted, and even the Hollow quivered. In an instant, Ye Wu separated himself from ckless God.

    The Skygod¡¯s eyes flickered with surprise.

    At that moment, several red ribbons fluttered, and sword qi suddenly appeared behind Ye Wu as an attack shed at him. Ji Luo had arrived.

    The attack was fast, shockingly so. The attack nearly moved at the speed of time itself, demonstrating Ji Luo''s incredible speed.

    It looked like Ye Wu was unable to respond to the attack, and the sh severed his arm as it passed by. However, right after that, the edge of Ji Luo¡¯s sword suddenly exploded, shattering the void once again. Ji Luo was flung back by the destruction, and he mmed into the rubble of the destroyed mountain range.

    Ye Wu grabbed his severed arm and shot upwards into a cosmic door in the sky.

    ckless God red at the man, and a great number of ck lines instantly filled the sky. There were far more than the initial three lines, and the sight of many dozens of ck lines caused Ye Wu''s expression to change for the first time.

    "You will remain here. How can my Fourth Scourge allow you to leave so easily?" ckless God dered.

    Ye Wu''s eyes focused on ckless God. The man¡¯s solitary arm rose up and swirled around in a circr gesture, as though representing both the earth and sky.

    Right after that, ckless God looked up at the sky above, which was filled with countless ck lines and saw a furnace take form. It looked as though the entire sky was beingpressed and refined. The lid of the furnace was positioned directly above ckless God.

    "Heaven¡¯s Furnace?" ckless God was startled, as this should be impossible. Heaven¡¯s Furnace was Xia Shang¡¯s innate talent. How could Ye Wu possess the innate gift of someone from the Origin Universe?

    As the furnace took shape, an unimaginable pressure fell. It seemed as though the furnace was going to destroy the entire Fourth Scourge.

    The first thing to suffer from the pressure were the ck lines and mes that filled the sky above the Scourge. The pressure of Heaven¡¯s Furnace instantly eliminated all of them.

    Ye Wu seized the opening that he had created and shot across the sky to escape through the cosmic door.

    As soon as he was gone, Heaven¡¯s Furnace shattered.

    ckless God stared at the sky in a daze. Just who was that man? Could he be Xia Shang? No, that was impossible. While Xia Shang had the Nine Clones Secret Technique, the clone with Heaven¡¯s Furnace had already died.

    There were no two identical innate gifts in existence, and yet ckless God had clearly just seen Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Ji Luo emerged from the rubble on the ground, and he lifted his sword in a confused manner.

    "What just happened?"

    As soon as Ye Wu had passed through the cosmic door, he had destroyed it. It was the only connection between his universe and the Fourth Scourge, and Ye Wu had kept it as a threat to Kong Ji. However, it could no longer be used.

    The man looked down at the severed arm, but there was no blood from the wound. Ye Wu had no blood.

    Still, a severed arm was undoubtedly an injury, but the man who had attacked Ye Wu had done so too quickly for the man to react. On top of that, the ruler of the Fourth Scourge had possessed a level of strength that Ye Wu could not fullyprehend. If his escape had been dyed any further, he was not confident that he would have survived the encounter.

    Exhaling, Ye Wu tightly held his severed arm and started making his return.

    It was not long before he saw the dark and eerie mountain range. Almost immediately after that, his eyes grew sharply focused, and he stared at the mountains.

    Simultaneously, Lu Yin and Mu Ke both looked up from the mountain where they waited. They had both sensed Ye Wu''s arrival.

    After a moment of silence, Lu Yin spoke first, "Uninvited guests have paid you a visit. Please meet with us, Senior."

    Ye Wu nced at Lu Yin and then shifted his focus over to Mu Ke. This man gave Ye Wu a simr feeling as the one who had severed his arm; both men were cultivators who were obsessed with their weapon, and they also both possessed a fierce and powerful aura.

    Having just lost his arm, Ye Wu was even more cautious at this moment.

    "Who are you?" he demanded.

    Lu Yin answered, "I once encountered the Totem Civilization. I happened to recently discover that it was destroyed, and I also found your disciple nearby, so I came here to check things."

    Ye Wu looked over at Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao. "Come here."

    The man was testing Lu Yin, checking if Lu Yin would use the disciples as leverage.

    Ye Sheng could not stop himself from ncing over at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin remained standing where he was, his hands sped behind his back. He made no move to stop the disciples.

    Ye Sheng gathered his courage and then walked towards Ye Wu, taking Ye Xiaoxiao along with him.

    Once Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao were next to him, Ye Wu visibly rxed a slight bit. "What happened?"

    "Master, you''re hurt? What happened to your arm?" Ye Xiaoxiao eximed in shock.

    Ye Sheng noticed the same thing. "Aeternus?"

    Ye Wu frowned. "You don''t need to worry about that. What happened here?"

    Ye Sheng exined all that had transpired. As Ye Wu listened, his eyes flickered.

    It appeared that the two men were not enemies, or at the very least, they were not part of Aeternus.

    "Master, when I mentioned that you went to make trouble for Aeternus, this guy even considered going to help you," Ye Xiaoxiao whispered.

    Ye Sheng snapped, "Don¡¯t be ridiculous! When did he ever say that he wanted to help Master?"

    Ye Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue. "He didn''t <i>say</i> it, but I could tell that he was thinking it."

    "Be quiet! Master has his own concerns." Ye Sheng red at the woman. He had developed a strong dislike for Lu Yin, especially after being reprimanded. However, Ye Sheng also did not dare to risk offending the stranger.

    Lu Yin remained standing on the mountain, unmoving, as he waited patiently.

    He had also noticed that Ye Wu''s arm had recently been severed, and he was already specting about who the man might have encountered.

    Logically, the Fourth Scourge should not have had any truly strong powerhouses left, unless ckless God himself had returned.

    Lu Yin knew very little about ckless God. In fact, he knew almost nothing about the Skygod¡¯s past or his abilities. He only knew that the Skygod seemed to have a power rted to his eyes, as Lu Yin had once been trapped by three ck lines before being nearly burned to death.

    Ye Wu descended down the mountain andnded a short distance away from Lu Yin and Mu Ke. Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao had already been sent away.

    "What do you want of me?" Ye Wu asked as he stared at Lu Yin. While the man was wary of Mu Ke, it was clearly Lu Yin who made the decisions.

    Lu Yin responded with a question of his own, "Senior, are you the Aeternals¡¯ enemy?"

    "We are not the same kind, but we are neither enemies nor friends."

    "If they are neither friends nor enemies, why did you go to make trouble for Aeternus?"

    "The Totem Civilization was destroyed, and those people were kind to me. I warned Aeternus not to touch them. This was also a matter of face."

    Lu Yin understood. "Our civilization is also at war against the Aeternals. I''ve been searching beyond the universes we know of, seeking strong allies to fight against Aeternus with us."

    Ye Wu nced at Mu Ke. "I only answered your questions because you didn''t kill Ye Sheng. I don¡¯t enjoy ying host. You can leave now."

    Mu Ke continued to stare at Ye Wu. "I¡¯m not the one who can make that decision."

    Ye Wu frowned. He had assumed that Lu Yin was merely Mu Ke''s spokesperson. He looked back at Lu Yin. "Are you the one in charge?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "He is my senior disciple brother. Neither of us are in charge of the other¡ªit¡¯s just that my senior brother just doesn''t like to talk.

    "Senior, what happened when you went to visit the Fourth Scourge?"

    Ye Wu''s eyes glinted sharply. "You know that I went to the Fourth Scourge?"

    "It seems that you are also aware of some details, Senior." Lu Yin was not surprised at Ye Wu¡¯s knowledge. The Great Sovereign stood at the top of the Sixverse Association and was aware of Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges. Ye Wu was apparently the most powerful individual of his own universe, and he was even strong enough to have fought against Kong Ji. It made sense for such a person to know of the six Scourges.

    Kong Ji had joined Aeternus for the sake of improving his strength. Despite betraying humanity, he might have also revealed some of Aeternus''s secrets to Ye Wu, which would have raised the man¡¯s wariness of Aeternus.

    Ye Wu¡¯s voice dropped low, "I have no interest in you, nor do I wish to speak more. Leave."

    Lu Yin sighed inwardly. Every solitary expert he had encountered seemed to have a very strong personality. First there had been the Abandoned, and now there was Ye Wu.

    However, this also made sense. If such people were hospitable, they might not have survived for so long, given how insidious and pervasive the Aeternals could be.

    "Aren''t you worried about the Aeternals¡¯ retaliation?" Lu Yin asked. He had no intention of leaving just yet.

    Ye Wu nced at Lu Yin and then again at Mu Ke, but he said nothing.

    "Senior, don''t you want to know who destroyed the Totem Civilization?" Lu Yin continued.

    Ye Wu¡¯s eyes instantly locked onto Lu Yin. "You know?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "It seems that you are aware that Kong Ji died some time ago and that he couldn¡¯t have been the one to do this. The ruler of the Fourth Scourge, ckless God, is usually absent from his own Scourge. There is no one else from the Fourth Scourge who is capable of destroying the Totem Civilization. Thus, the one who devoured all of the human consciousnesses that made up the Totem Civilization wasn''t someone from the Fourth Scourge. Rather, it was someone from the Second Scourge."

    Ye Wu''s eyes remained fixed on Lu Yin. While the man¡¯s eyes remained as cold as ever, there was something new present as well.

    Ye Wu had not given up on avenging the Totem Civilization.

    While there was no denying that the man¡¯s cultivation method was quite peculiar. But, judging by his attitude toward Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao, Lu Yin felt that he had gained a good sense of Ye Wu¡¯s personality.

    Such a person would not allow the destruction of the Totem Civilization to go unpunished.

    The dark mountains were eerily silent. Corpses hung from the trees, and when the wind blew, the bodies swayed back and forth. It was a scene from nightmares.

    Lu Yin met Ye Wu''s gaze. "I can tell you who destroyed the Totem Civilization, but I first need you to answer a question of mine."

    Ye Wu¡¯s expression never even twitched. "Speak."

    The man was a cold-blooded cultivator, not some merchant. While Lu Yin had managed to gain the upper hand in negotiations, Ye Wu was not someone to consider such things.

    Lu Yin pointed at the corpses hanging from the trees. "What''s with all of these bodies? Also, what¡¯s with your so-called symbiotic corpses?"

    Ye Wu¡¯s eyes flickered. "I didn¡¯t make these corpses. I simply gathered them. As for symbiotic corpses, I was the one who created it. I was born to a family of coroners, but by the age of six, I had already surpassed my elders¡¯ understanding of corpses. Ultimately, my family was persecuted and destroyed, but my master guided me, and I became a cultivator. Eventually, I created symbiotic corpses, and after oveing countless hardships, I managed to reach my current level."

    "What are symbiotic corpses?"

    Ye Wu answered without hesitation, "it¡¯s a method of coexisting with a corpse. One bes both a person and the corpse that they fuse with."

    "And what is your view on humanity and the Aeternals?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Ye Wu continued to stare at Lu Yin. "As soon as a person starts cultivating, the line between right and wrong grows blurry. I merely distinguish between those who are kind to me and those who are hostile. For those who are kind to me, I return their kindness, and to those who show me hostility, I am their enemy."

 Chapter 3098: The Light Of Restart

    <h4>Chapter 3098: The Light Of Restart</h4>

    Lu Yin stared at Ye Wu, feeling as though he was looking at his former self. While both Lu Yin and Ye Wu had a certain line they refused to cross, Lu Yin knew that there was a distinction between good and evil, even in the world of cultivators.

    From the moment Lu Yin had first heard the voices of the countless people of the Fifth Maind, he had understood this.

    Cultivation was not just for a person themselves, but also for protection. In a way, protecting others was protecting oneself.

    Many people believed that cultivation meant traversing a lonely path, but that was simply because they chose to walk it alone.

    Lu Yin considered his past and how he had schemed against countless people in order to unite the Outerverse andter the Innerverse. Despite how ruthless he had been, he had still had many friends and people he considered family.

    It felt good to be cared for by others.

    Lu Yin did not want to be alone, and that desire had made his life an arduous one, but there were paths that needed to be paved by others.

    Neither Progenitor Chen nor Progenitor Ku had ever chosen to take the easy path.

    Despite how much easier things would have been if either had joined Aeternus, both men had always refused to do so.

    Both good and evil existed. Right and wrong were real things.

    Lu Yin had no desire to try to change Ye Wu¡¯s mind. At the very least, the man had his own principles.

    "The Totem Civilization was destroyed by the ruler of the Second Scourge, Xu Jin. He focuses on cultivating the power of consciousness. When the people of the Totem Civilization abandoned their physical forms and sent their consciousness into an illusory world, they became a valuable treasure to him. He would have never allowed such a thing to go free.

    "Ask your disciple. The Totem Civilization¡¯s meteorite entered a dark cloud, and that cloud is Xu Jin¡¯s body." Lu Yin informed Ye Wu.

    Ye Wu''s expression fell. <i>Xu Jin</i>. He would remember the name.

    "Xu Jin is one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies, and he is extremely powerful. You won¡¯t be able to kill him on your own. If you want to avenge the Totem Civilization, you¡¯ll need to join forces with us," Lu Yin said.

    Ye Wu remained calm. "I won''t join you, but thank you for telling me. Now, please leave."

    Lu Yin asked another question. "If we go after Xu Jin, will you join us?"

    Ye Wu thought for a moment. "Yes."

    "Good. Then I¡¯lle find you again some time." Lu Yin nodded to Mu Ke, and the two left the dark mountains.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin made sure to ask Ye Wu if he knew Mister Mu.

    The man did not know Lu Yin¡¯s master.

    Lu Yin wasn¡¯t surprised. Perhaps this dimension had once had powerful civilizations that were destroyed, including the Totem Civilization. Ye Wu and the others must have appeared after Mister Mu left.

    Lu Yin didn¡¯t know how long Mister Mu had lived for. Such circumstances weren¡¯t impossible.

    ...

    On an endless prairie, a breeze stirred up dust.

    Further aheady the ruins of an Aeternus Kingdom.

    A man sat on a pile of stones, breathing heavily. He had finally dealt with the situation.

    The nearby Aeternus Kingdom had been under the protection of someone who had betrayed the Nine-Star Civilization. The man had fought the traitor, and he had paid a steep price to unleash the seven-star technique, Ancient Key. With that, the traitor and most of the corpse kings in the Aeternus Kingdom had been sent into the Hollow.

    It was a miracle that the man himself had survived, though in the future, he would not be able to use even a three-star technique, as he had crippled himself.

    "Zezima, are you alright?" A young girl approached, looking at the man with concern.

    He forced out a smile. "I¡¯m fine."

    "You released a seven-star attack that¡¯s beyond what you can handle, so just how are you fine? Let me take you to the mentor. Maybe he can help you." The girl¡¯s eyes flushed red.

    The man patted her head. "Silly girl. You know the consequences of forcibly using a seven-star attack. It¡¯s already a miracle that I managed to survive. Don¡¯t worry. From now on, I¡¯ll stay at the academy. I¡¯ll help the mentor teach students. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll train a few geniuses, haha."

    The girl started crying. Losing a six-star expert was a tragedy.

    However, they had had no other option. The man would have lost the battle if he hadn¡¯t forcefully used the seven-star attack. In that case, he would not have ended up merely crippled, but rather dead.

    "Alright, go help clean up the Aeternus Kingdom. I¡¯m going to rest here," the manforted the girl.

    She reluctantly nodded. "Alright."

    She moved towards the ruins, though she frequently looked backwards.

    Suddenly, the void warped, and multiple figures stepped out. Their arrival was heralded by a terrifying pressure.

    A hand reached out and crushed the girl. "Get lost."

    The man sitting on the pile of stones stared nkly at the girl¡¯s tragic death.

    By the time he finally reacted, a shadow loomed overhead. A massive corpse king stomped a foot down, and blood flowed from the stone pile. "Kill."

    "Kill."

    "Kill."

    ...

    Far Away, in Star Capital, Kakawen''s expression changed drastically as he turned to look into the distance. "This is bad! Have the Aeternals gone mad?"

    A piercing rm echoed across the entire Nine-Star Civilization.

    Out on the grasnd, at the ruins of the Aeternus Kingdom, powerful figures appeared one after another: Di Qiong, Arrow God, Xu Jin, and Ji Luo. They were followed by Shao Yin, Dual deform, Marquis Wu, Marquis Wang, and a number of Progenitor-level corpse kings. It looked as though Aeternus had sent their full power.

    In the distance, Mimina felt the overwhelming pressure of their arrival, and she turned pale.

    "Mimina, go for help!" She heard Kakawen''s voice as he stepped out of Star Capital and moved towards the invaders.

    Mimina hesitated. "Mentor, what about you?"

    "Go!" Kakawen barked.

    Clenching her teeth, Mimina raced away.

    At the ruins, Xu Jinughed, its lone eyeball turning about. "It¡¯s finally time to end this! Just a reminder, but you need to be careful to not let that old fox Kakawen take you away. He''s not someone to be trifled with."

    Di Qiong sneered. "An old man? Can he fight against all of us?"

    "That old man can take any of us down with him." Xu Jin''s eye kept moving around. "Here hees."

    Kakawen flew through the sky. His expression fell when he saw Xu Jin, Di Qiong, and Arrow God. "Aeternals, are you courting death?"

    "Hehe, old man, I brought some people here for you. Use that nine-star technique, Restart, now, or else you¡¯ll never get the chance," Xu Jin taunted.

    Kakawen''s eye twitched. Xu Jin alone was already difficult to deal with, and if not for the threat of mutual destruction, the Nine-Star Civilization would have been destroyed long ago. At this moment, Kakawen was not only confronting Xu Jin, but also many of Aeternus¡¯s other top powerhouses. These people all posed a severe threat, and it was clear that some of them were just as strong as Xu Jin.

    Aeternus hade to annihte the Nine-Star Civilization.

    "Xu Jin, you should already understand that my Restart can destroy all creatures in this universe. No matter how many experts you bring, it''s still useless," Kakawen threatened. Restart was a technique that could only be used once, but using it would also doom the Nine-Star Civilization.

    As the old man finished speaking, an entire series of five-star constetions appeared beside him. Together, they formed a Supreme Shield. A de pierced the barrier, missing Kakawen by mere millimeters.

    Ji Luo had attacked. His sword was unbelievably fast.

    However, Kakawen was far from weak. He was the mentor of the Nine-Star Civilization, which meant that he was equal to a sequence powerhouse from the Sixverse Association. At the very least, he was as powerful as the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns. Such a powerhouse could not be killed by one attack from Ji Luo.

    Still, the attack made Kakawen tremble. Just a single moment''s dy and he would have died.

    "So this is how it¡¯s going to be. I¡¯m just an old bag of bones. If I must die, then so be it. Let''s see what Restart looks like." An Supreme Shield surrounded the old man as Kakawen raised his arm. He held a piece of wood in a hand, and it touched the void, sketching out the pattern of a constetion. Quickly, seven stars appeared, followed by an eighth, and then finally, the ninth star appeared.

    The moment the ninth star appeared, the universe froze. It was as if both time and space had frozen.

    "This is it," Xu Jin muttered, his eye starring at Kakawen.

    Beside the dark cloud, Di Qiong, Arrow God, and the others grew solemn. The strongest power of a civilization was finally going to be used against them.

    Legend had it that the power of the Nine-Star Civilization''s nine-star technique Restart could destroy an entire universe in an instant.

    The Nine-Star Civilization had made preparations long ago for Restart to be used. The moment the technique started activating, Star Capital would disappear, so that the inhabitants would be able to avoid the destruction of their universe.

    Kakawen had always used Restart to threaten Xu Jin, which had prevented Aeternus from taking action.

    However, Xu Jin had held back not only because of the power of the nine-star technique, but also because he did not want to die with his opponent.

    Kakawen was old and close to death. Aeternus had infiltrated the Nine-Star Civilization long ago, and they had assurances in ce that no new expert would ever arise who would be able to use Restart. Mimina was their most powerful expert after Kakawen, and she was much younger than the old man. All the older experts who had gotten close to the eight-star level had been eliminated by Aeternus. If Mimina ever approached that level, she would also meet her end.

    This had been Xu Jin''s strategy to deal with the Nine-Star Civilization. All they needed to do was wait for Kakawen to die on his own. His death would mark the end of the Nine-Star Civilization.

    However, the deration of the Divine Commandment changed things, and Xu Jin could not wait any longer.

    Restart was an incredibly powerful technique, but it also had a significant weakness: time.

    For peak powerhouses, even a moment could be a long time, especially for someone who could wield the power of time.

    While Restart froze the universe where it was used, there was a moment during the activation of the technique when people could escape. This single moment was impossible to grasp when a person faced Restart on their own,

    However, this opportunity could be exploited by multiple experts if they worked together.

    Xu Jin, Arrow God, Di Qiong, Ji Luo, and Shao Yin all attacked in unison, and the universe started to crack apart. The grasnd shattered, and fissures ran through the dark sky above.

    As Kakawen connected to the ninth star in the constetion he was drawing, the universe itself condensed into a single beam of light that shot at Xu Jin. This was Restart. The technique transformed an entire universe into a beam, destroying all that it struck. Naturally, the universe itself would be destroyed in the process.

    The beam shot at Xu Jin, who fled through a spatial tear to escape.

    At the same time, Arrow God, Di Qiong, and the others all escaped through spatial tears as well.

    All that remained of the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s universe was the Hollow, the beam of light, and the feeble form of Kakawen himself.

    When the beam arrived, Xu Jin was already gone.

 Chapter 3099: Reinforcements

    <h4>Chapter 3099: Reinforcements</h4>

    Xu Jin suddenly appeared beneath a starry sky, his eyes ncing about. "Did you really think that you could drag me down with you? You underestimate me. Do you think that I don''t understand the nine-star technique, Restart? You might have seeded if you had gone after one of the others, but me? Kakawen, you-"

    Its words were cut off as a beam of light appeared and swept through the dark cloud. It abruptly dissipated, leaving only the solitary eye staring nkly at the void. How? How could this happen? Xu Jin had been prepared for Restart.

    The nine-star technique should not have been able to touch him at all.

    The Nine-Star Civilization''s universe hadpletely shattered. The Hollow consumed all that remained, including Kakawen.

    Before he was devoured, Kakawen''s greatest relief was that the Origin Universe had sent a message. The Nine-Star Civilization had been given a ce to hide, which prevented Kakawen¡¯s people from beingpletely destroyed by Aeternus.

    "Xu Jin, did you really think an old bag of bones like me waspletely useless? Everything you learned about Restart was information that I deliberately allowed you to know. All of the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s traitors will soon die. There is no escape."

    With a deep sigh, Kakawen gazed longingly into the distance where Star Capital had once stood. The ce waspletely gone.

    Soon, the man was also swallowed by the Hollow, and he disappeared.

    Shortly after, Arrow God, Di Qiong, and the others returned, and they looked around at the shattered universe.

    "It¡¯s no wonder why Xu Jin never had the courage to fight this civilization to the death. This is enough power to severely injure any one of us, and with just a bit of bad luck, it could kill us," Di Qiong said apprehensively.

    Shao Yin''s eye twitched. This attack certainly would have killed him. That old man had been capable of unleashing a terrifying amount of power.

    "Where is Xu Jin?" Arrow God looked around, but Xu Jin did not appear.

    They continued to wait for some time, but Xu Jin never showed up.

    "Forget it. It doesn''t matter. The Nine-Star Civilization must have escaped. That old man would never allow his people to die with him, but they won¡¯t be able to hide. Whatever universe they are hiding in has to be connected to this one. Start looking," Di Qiong ordered.

    A cosmic door activated, and corpse kings rushed through it. They started searching through the shattered universe.

    Xu Jin had returned to the Second Scourge after being badly injured. He had not suffered such wounds in a very long time. He had been deceived by that old man. Even with the Divine Commandment, Kakawen had managed to drag Xu Jin down with him. However, Xu Jin would not die. Restart was nothing to him.

    Still, he would not be able to continue participating in the Divine Commandment.

    The disappearance of the beam of light indicated the end of Restart, as well as the end of Kakawen''s life.

    The vast Star Capital now found itself beneath a crimson veil. It was in a universe that was directly connected to the universe that had belonged to the Nine-Star Civilization, but was not a part of it. This prevented the universe from being destroyed by Restart.

    At this moment, everyone in Star Capital was staring up at the bell tower.

    They watched as the me atop the tower slowly faded away. Kakawen was dead.

    The person who stood closest to the bell tower was a middle-aged man named Wuwude. He was a seven-star powerhouse, just like Mimina. They were the only two seven-star experts in the entire Nine-Star Civilization.

    If the Divine Commandment had not been issued, Aeternus surely would have targeted Wuwude, just as they had Mimina. All of the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s seven-star experts needed to die.

    When the me extinguished, Wuwude bowed deeply. "The Nine-Star Civilization bids farewell to our mentor."

    Behind the man, countless people bowed in respect. "The Nine-Star Civilization bids farewell to our mentor."

    "Farewell, Mentor."

    "Farewell, Mentor."

    Kakawen had been very highly regarded by the people of the Nine-Star Civilization. He had been a mentor to countless people, not just in regards to cultivation, but also to life in general. He had served as the spiritual pir of the entire civilization.

    Kakawen''s death plunged the Nine-Star Civilization into sorrow and confusion, leaving them directionless for the future.

    Mimina soon returned, and she immediately noticed that the me at the top of the bell tower had been extinguished. Tears streamed down her face as she closed her eyes and bowed. "Mimina bids farewell to her mentor."

    "Mimina, what happened?" Wuwude asked.

    Before the woman could respond, the crimson sky cracked open. "Found you. Instead of lingering in pain, why not join Aeternus? Nine-Star Civilization, it''s time for you to choose."

    Mimina was startled. "How did they find us so quickly?"

    "There''s a traitor!" Wuwude roared. His eyes started scanning the people standing behind him. Only six-star level experts were told about this universe, which meant that the traitor had to be one of them.

    Corpse kings continued to appear, as well as Shao Yin, the True God Guards, and powerful corpse kings from other Scourges. Star Capital waspletely surrounded.

    Of all of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses that appeared, the Nine-Star Civilization most feared not Shao Yin, but rather Lan Lan.

    Lan Lan was a powerhouse from the Second Scourge, and she had fought against the Nine-Star Civilization on multiple asions, which was why she had left such an impression on them.

    Inside Star Capital, a short distance from Mimina and Wuwude, someone shot high into the sky, making their way towards Shao Yin and the others from Aeternus.

    Wuwude and Mimina reacted in unison, shouting, "Traitor!"

    Shao Yin pointed a finger, and the merged power of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang formed a beam of light that was aimed at Wuwude, forcing the man to use Supreme Shield.

    The beam struck the barrier, and cracks instantly appeared. The Supreme Shield shattered, and the beam pierced the ground beneath Star Capital.

    Even so, Wuwude managed to evade the attack.

    The person who had fled to Aeternus was a woman, and it was even someone whom Lu Yin might have been able to recognize, if he had been present; she was thest student he had encountered when climbing the bell tower to visit Kakawen.

    No one had expected the traitor to be a young student who had still been training at the academy.

    On top of that, she had been Kakawen''s most promising pupil.

    "Memefer, how could you betray us?" Mimina shouted in anger.

    The woman had already moved next to Lan Lan, and she stared down at Star Capital. She spoke to the inhabitants of the Nine-Star Civilization with a voice of calm indifference. "As Kakawen''s closest student in recent years, I knew that he was nearing his end. Even without this attack, he only had another hundred years left, at most. I often saw him coughing up blood.

    "Aeternus will never allow another Kakawen to rise. Our Nine-Star Civilization is already doomed, so why struggle?"

    She stared down at the people of Star Capital. "I advise you, while Aeternus hasn''tpletely written you off, join them. The only other possible fate awaiting you is worse than what you can even imagine."

    Despair spread through Star Capital. Many people exchanged nces. First, Kakawen had died, and then a traitor was pleading for their surrender. People whocked sufficient determination were already considering how they could surrender to Aeternus.

    Wuwude clenched a fist. "Shut up, Memefer! The Nine-Star Civilization has no traitors! Anyone who betrays us will die."

    Memefer was unphased. "Teacher Wuwude, Teacher Mimina, you two are the most valuable members of the Nine-Star Civilization, but unfortunately, you''re too stubborn.

    "I am the future mentor of the Nine-Star Civilization. Even Kakawen said that I am the most talented. At this moment, I exercise my authority as the new mentor to expel you both." Memefer then turned towards Di Qiong and Ji Luo, who had just emerged from the void. "As the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s new mentor, I request Aeternus''s help in expelling the traitors Wuwude and Mimina."

    Wuwude and Mimina were beyond furious. This woman, the true traitor, had the audacity to call the two of them traitors.

    Di Qiong observed Memefer with some interest before he looked down at Star Capital. "History is written by the victors. The Nine-Star Civilization will enter a new era. Joining Aeternus will preserve your civilization. Any who refuse to join are traitors who must be killed."

    Someone in the city called out, "I pledge my loyalty to Mentor Memefer!"

    As soon as the first person spoke up, many more people started shouting their allegiance to Memefer.

    No one wanted to die. When Kakawen had been alive, the Nine-Star Civilization had been able to fight their enemies to the death, but that was only because of the old man¡¯s incredible influence. With Kakawen dead, Memefer, his favorite student, seemed to represent the old man¡¯s legacy.

    The people who chose to turn to the Aeternals did so with the self-justification that they were supporting Memefer, rather than Aeternus. Memefer had to be their new mentor.

    Wuwude and Mimina were ovee by a deep sadness. There were some people who would fight to the death, while others would meekly surrender.

    "There aren¡¯t that many, so we''ll deal with the traitors first," Shao Yin dered as he pointed a finger at Wuwude.

    Another beam of light shot at the man.

    At the same time, Ji Luo slowly unsheathed his sword.

    This was the moment when the Nine-Star Civilization would cease to exist. Those who had pledged their allegiance to Aeternus would be allowed to refer to themselves as the Nine-Star Civilization, or by any other name. That simply did not matter.

    "Wuwude, we will never surrender! We pledged ourselves to follow Mentor Kakawen, and we will fight to the death!" someone shouted. While some people had surrendered, many more were ovee with rage and were ready to fight against Aeternus.

    Wuwude shouted, "Good! Today, our bones will fall here as we follow Mentor Kakawen!"

    He immediately unleashed the seven-star technique, Ancient Key.

    The attack formed a simple key in the sky, but it opened the Hollow, which proceeded to devour everything nearby.

    Mimina also attacked.

    Behind them, several six-star experts were already attacking with Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion.

    Beams of light filled the sky, all of them shooting at the Aeternals.

    Shao Yin''s beam pierced one Supreme Shield after another.

    Ji Luo stepped forward, and he instantly appeared in front of Mimina. As he moved, his sword was drawn in a seamless motion. The de fell, and Miminacked the time to even react. All she could do was watch as the sword fell. She knew that she was about to die, though her only regret was that reinforcements had not arrived yet.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The sword suddenly froze while dropping, and Ji Luo stepped to the side. Someone appeared, and their punch shattered the void. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that even Mimina was forced to retreat several steps. She barely saw that the neer was a stunningly beautiful woman with a tantalizing but destructive aura.

    "Why didn''t you ask my Scourge upation for help? After all, we are allies," the woman asked Mimina with a smile and a wink. This woman was E'' Ji.

    Mimina felt terribly confused. What was the Scourge upation?

    Battle cries rang across the sky as more and more people started to appear. Fury zed in their eyes, and they looked like rampaging beasts on the warpath. "Scourge upation, ughter!"

    "ughter!"

    "Destroy!"

    "Destroy!"

    Shao Yin waspletely bewildered. What was going on?

    Incredibly destructive power abruptly fell upon him, as E'' Nan, E'' Ji''s eldest son, attacked. There was no battle technique or anything shy, just a simple punch. Shao Yin instinctively raised a hand and released a beam of light.

    The beam collided with E'' Nan''s punch, and the impact shattered the void.

 Chapter 3100: Invading The Second Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 3100: Invading The Second Scourge</h4>

    Overwhelming power was released with an animalistic ferocity, and attacks rained down upon the Aeternals.

    For a moment, Shao Yin was utterly stunned.

    Lan Lan was astonished. When did the Nine-Star Civilization gain such an ally?

    These neers also fought with reckless abandon.

    Ji Luo attacked E'' Ji with his sword. The woman could not see the attack, as it was too fast, but that did not even matter. Her body was enveloped by a destructive energy, and the sh first needed to slice through thisyer of destructive force.

    "This is fantastic, kid! Come on! Let''s go again!" E'' Ji was excited. She had finally found a powerful enemy who was able to endure her power. How could she not be thrilled?

    In the past, her people had only been able to release their destructive power by destroying universes, stars,s, andnd masses. It looked like they had finally found a reliable outlet for their power.

    No longer would they have to worry about being unable to release the power that they drained from their ancestor.

    The people of the Scourge upation and the Nine-Star Civilization werepletely opposite in nature. The Nine-Star Civilization followed an incredibly rigid cultivation method and system of battle techniques. Each person was like a schr, and they maintained perfectposure even in the midst of battle. The people of the Scourge upation were the pr opposite, as each of them was a violent maniac. They radiated a powerful desire for destruction and lived lives of extreme luxury.

    An alliance between these twopletely opposing human civilizations presented Aeternus with an unprecedented dilemma.

    As they fought against the Scourge upation, Aeternus confronted a significant problem: the seemingly endless power of the Scourge upation.

    Anytime a person¡¯s internal power started to wane, they would immediately return to their ancestor, drain a bit of his power, and instantly replenish their strength. This became increasingly evident to Aeternus as the battle continued.

    Di Qiong coldly observed the Scourge upation¡¯s arrival onto the battlefield. It was clear that the Nine-Star Civilization and this mysterious civilization did not know each other. Where had these peoplee from?

    Suddenly, Xin Wu arrived. "Your Excellency, the Third Scourge is being attacked by the Origin Universe."

    Di Qiong was startled. "What?"

    He immediately returned.

    ckless God then arrived in the shattered remains of the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s original universe. Arrow God had stayed there, not pursuing the Nine-Star Civilization.

    "Have you resolved your issue?" Arrow God asked.

    ckless God replied, "He¡¯s a troublesome fellow, but it looks like he will also fall within the scope of this Divine Commandment."

    Arrow God barely reacted. "Things are not going well here. A new civilization has suddenly joined the battle, and they are helping the Nine-Star Civilization fight against us. Xu Jin seems to have been severely injured by Kakawen''s nine-star technique, Restart, and was forced to retreat. On top of that, Di Qiong''s Third Scourge is being attacked by the Origin Universe."

    "Is this all just a coincidence?" ckless God was surprised by all of these developments.

    Arrow God''s eyes narrowed. Was everything a coincidence? That did not seem likely at all.

    Her suspicions were why she had not pursued the Nine-Star Civilization and dedicated herself to that battle. Arrow God wanted to see what other developments would appear.

    She had participated in the second Divine Commandment, but she had only heard about the first one.

    In both instances, Aeternus had held total control from beginning to end and had utterly dominated everything. This time, it appeared that another hand was intervening, and events were being steered in an uncontroble direction. At the least, the Nine-Star Civilization would not fall easily.

    In the Third Scourge, Lu Tianyi pointed a finger, driving Di Xia to the ground. The corpse king¡¯s eyes zed. If he were in his peak condition, it was unlikely, but at least possible, that he could stop Lu Tianyi. This was because Lu Tianyi was attacking a Scourge, and he was shunned from all of them. No matter how powerful someone might be, they would be weakened after being shunned.

    Unfortunately for Di Xia, his inexplicable injuries were too severe, and instead of being nearly impossible, it waspletely impossible for him to stop his attacker.

    Far away, Fei was fighting against Leng Qing. Fei had also been severely injured, as she had suffered from Lu Yin''s Setting Sun.

    The Origin Universe was dominating the entire Third Scourge.

    Lu Tianyi casually arrived at the Wu Tian Observatory, and he looked at Wu Tian. "Senior, you may have your reasons for staying here, but please consider our feelings as well. There are people who have risked their lives to save you. Whether your sacrifice is worthwhile is not for me to judge, but you have a chance to leave now, so please take care of yourself."

    Wu Tian looked at Lu Tianyi and smiled. "I remember you. You were the most talented descendent of the Lu family."

    Lu Tianyi bowed slowly. "Senior, take care of yourself."

    Wu Tian sighed deeply. "Do not sacrifice any more for me. There are people whose destinies arepletely beyond their control. It¡¯s good to be young, as you don''t know when to give up."

    Lu Tianyi said nothing more. When Lu Yuan had returned from the Third Scourge, he had mentioned to Lu Tianyi in the Lu Sanctum that Wu Tian refused to return, but Lu Tianyi had not been told the reason for the man¡¯s refusal.

    Lu Tianyi was considering Lu Yin. He was aware of just how much the child had sacrificed, and while it was true that there were times when sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good, Lu Tianyi did not want to see Lu Yin''s efforts be one of those sacrifices. The child had already given up too much.

    However, if Wu Tian truly refused to leave the Third Scourge, the matter could not be forced.

    Di Qiong arrived in the Third Scourge, and he immediately looked towards the Wu Tian Observatory, where he saw Lu Tianyi speaking with Wu Tian.

    Di Qiong felt indescribably humiliated. He was supposed to be Wu Tian¡¯s imprisoner, and yet humans continued toe and go as they pleased, visiting Wu Tian, while Wu Tian refused to leave.

    Who was truly the prisoner? Wu Tian or Di Qiong?

    "You are courting death!" Di Qiong pulled out his spear and thrust it towards Lu Tianyi.

    The man nced over at Di Qiong, and as he did so, an Investiture of the Gods appeared above his head, its golden light illuminating every corner of the Third Scourge. "Senior, humanity has not weakened since the pinnacle of the Heavens Sect era. If we had, why would Aeternus be so concerned about us? Senior, look at the greatest heroes of an era."

    As he spoke, images of Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku emerged from the Investiture of the Gods, and they charged at Di Qiong.

    Wu Tian felt incredibly grateful, as this was the proper way for humanity to behave.

    Lu Yin had taken Mu Ke out of the Arboreal Realm to find Ye Wu. After observing things for some time, Mu Ji discovered Mu Ke¡¯s absence, and he had prepared to force his way onto the Endless Frontier. As long as Mu Ke was absent, there should not be a problem.

    Mu Ji suddenly shot forward, his eyes fixed on the border. As soon as he crossed over, he would be able to return to Aeternus.

    Suddenly, abyssal flowers blossomed in front of him. The massive flowers appeared beneath his feet andpletely surrounded him. "Let''s see where you can escape to now."

    Mu Ji''s scalp went numb. Another sequence powerhouse had appeared. First, he had been stopped by Mu Ke, and now this woman. It was clear that the Sixverse Association was determined to stop Mu Ji from returning to Aeternus. There was no doubt that Ye Bo was really Lu Yin.

    Mu Ji immediately turned and fled. He could not risk a direct battle.

    While the woman wanted to stop Mu Ji, he was far from weak. Even Mu Ke''s lethal strike with Verseless had not been able to stop Mu Ji.

    However, this encounter convinced Mu Ji to never again try to enter the Endless Frontier from the Arboreal Realm. Instead, he would go to some other parallel universe in the Sixverse Association, and try to reach the Endless Frontier from there. He refused to believe that it was impossible to cross the borders.

    If that still did not work, there had to be other ways to return. Right, there were also the human guides who could directly enter the various parallel universes of the Endless Frontier. Mu Ji pped his forehead, unable to believe that he had forgotten about that particr option.

    "Lu Yin, you can''t stop me," he muttered.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was also very busy.

    As soon as he had received Mimina''s request for help, Lu Yin had returned to the Heavens Sect and immediately reached out to the Scourge upation to ask them to help the Nine-Star Civilization. At the same time, he sent out more and more orders, directing the Origin Universe¡¯s experts to attack the Third Scourge, in order to divert Aeternus''s most powerful experts. As for Lu Yin himself, he went to the Second Scourge.

    From Mimina''s information, Lu Yin understood that several of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies were currently attacking the Nine-Star Civilization. While Lu Yin had no idea why Aeternus had suddenly decided to target the Nine-Star Civilization, the attack was not a real surprise. He had suspected for a long time that the Aeternals would try to shake up the current bnce, and attacking one human civilization at a time was the only way to do that.

    Lu Yin simply had not expected such a ruthless attack.

    All he could do was try to disperse Aeternus''s forces.

    The Third Scourge was attacked to draw Di Qiong away.

    The Second Scourge was attacked to draw Xu Jin away.

    Lu Yin charged into the Second Scourge, apanied by Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and Ye Wu.

    There was a massive dark cloud in the Second Scourge, just beneath the ck Mother Tree. It covered a ratherrge area, and that was where Xu Jin could be found.

    This was not Lu Yin''s first visit to the Second Scourge, but when he had first been here, he had been posing as Ye Bo. Beside him, Lord Xu was rather nervous about invading yet another Scourge. The war between humanity and Aeternus had be quite unstable in recent years.

    In the past, the ruler of the Voidforce Universe had never invaded a Sourge, despite all of his years as a member of the Sixverse Association. He had only ever taken action to counter the Seven Skygods.

    But the moment Lu Yin had entered the Sixverse Association, the war had slowly shifted from within the Sixverse Association itself, to the Endless Frontier, and then to the six Scourges. Humans had already invaded Aeternus''s territory on several asions, and it was all due to the ruthless young man.

    Actually, how had Lu Yin even found this particr ce?

    Lord Xu had to admit that he admired Lu Yin''s courage and methods, though he would have much preferred to attack the Third Scourge. That was because Wu Tian was in that Scourge, and Wu Tian was Lord Xu¡¯s old friend.

    Mu Shen''s expression was solemn. Finally, they were learning about Aeternus¡¯s foundation in the Second Scourge.

    Despite being under immense pressure, Mu Shen did not feel despair. He knew that Aeternus had many other enemies as well.

    Ye Wu stared at the distant dark cloud. Sure enough, the dark cloud was there. That meant that Xu Jin was present, right?

    The arrival of Lu Yin¡¯s group created quite a stir in the Second Scourge. Countless corpse kings shot towards the men, as well as some peak powerhouses who were traitors. There were also some experts who had been born in Aeternus Kingdoms.

    Lu Yin looked at the swarm of Aeternals and said, "Seniors, Aeternus hasunched an unprecedented attack in an attempt to destroy the Nine-Star Civilization. This time, they are targeting the Nine-Star Civilization, but their next target might very well be our Sixverse Association. I thank you for your assistance in this matter, as we are not only trying to help the Nine-Star Civilization, but also ensure that all civilizations who fight against the Aeternals know that our Sixverse Association will not abandon any ally."

    Lord Xu looked up. "Since we are already here, we need to defeat this Second Scourge."

    With that, a massive amount of voidforce energy swept forward as the Voidlordunched a fierce attack.

    Mu Shenshed out, sending massive wooden blocks flying across the Scourge.

    Ye Wu shot straight towards the dark cloud.

    A Champions¡¯ Stage appeared beside Lu Yin, and he started summoning multiple Progenitor-level champions. He rode atop the Seven-Star Mantis, anticipating that Xu Jin would return as soon as he learned that the Second Scourge was being attacked.

    Lu Yin did not know that Xu Jin was already within the dark clouds, having been severely injured by Kakawen¡¯s Restart.

    Ye Wu charged at the dark cloud. Since Lu Yin knew that Xu Jin had joined the attack on the Nine-Star Civilization, he allowed Ye Wu to charge forward.

    However, an eye suddenly appeared within the dark cloud, and it stared intently at the approaching Ye Wu. "Humans?"

    Lu Yin was startled. Why was Xu Jin already present?

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen were also taken aback, as something unexpected had already urred.

    The eye turned to the distance, where he saw Lu Yin and the other two.

    Xu Jin did not recognize Lord Xu or Mu Shen, but he did know Lu Yin. "Lu Yin? Why are you in my Second Scourge?"

    A major reason for the Divine Commandment was the fact that the human civilizations were uniting. The Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association had allied themselves with the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. If all of the Aeternals¡¯ major enemies united, things would be quite troublesome.

    This was also the reason why thest Divine Commandment had beenunched.

    However, Lu Yin''s appearance in the Second Scourge coincided with the first action of the Divine Commandment, which had been to destroy the Nine-Star Civilization. Xu Jin immediately suspected something terrible; could the Origin Universe and the Nine-Star Civilization have already united?

    Xu Jin had no time to consider things further, as Ye Wu was already attacking.

 Chapter 3101: Evasive Maneuvers

    <h4>Chapter 3101: Evasive Maneuvers</h4>

    Ye Wu charged straight at the dark cloud. From below, a corpse king ferociously lunged at the man. It was a Progenitor-level corpse king with formidable physical strength.

    Even so, Ye Wu effortlessly struck the monster down with a single blow. His own physical might was even more overwhelming.

    "Did you devour the Totem Civilization?"

    Xu Jin''s eye stared at Ye Wu, who had moved close. The eye did not recognize Ye Wu, but it was familiar with the Totem Civilization. "Are you one of their survivors?"

    Ye Wu had no need to answer, as that question had revealed the truth.

    Ye Wu''s expression grew cold as his figure entered the dark cloud and vanished from sight.

    Lu Yin stared from the distance. Most of what he knew of Xu Jin had been gleaned through Possession, but out of everyone Lu Yin had Possessed, only Di Xia knew a bit about Xu Jin.

    Xu Jin''s true form was an eye. No one understood how just an eye could cultivate, but they did know that its consciousness was incredibly powerful. Xu Jin was the one who had set up the Corpse King Monument, which pulled users¡¯ consciousness into it, for the Third Scourge.

    The Chiliagonist had also been a master of the power of consciousness, but if he werepared to Xu Jin, it would be likeparing a firefly to the bright moon. There had been an unimaginable disparity between the two.

    Ye Wu had agreed to attack the Second Scourge with Lu Yin in order to deal with Xu Jin. Originally, Lu Yin had merely hoped that he would be able to lure Xu Jin away from the Nine-Star Civilization by attacking the Second Scourge. The possibility of the Scourge¡¯s ruler already returning had not even urred to Lu Yin.

    However, at this moment, Xu Jin was the only powerful expert in the Second Scourge. While there were other peak powerhouses and Progenitor-level corpse kings, such opponents meant nothing to people at the level of Lu Yin, Lord Xu, and Mu Shen.

    All three men watched as Ye Wu charged into the dark cloud.

    After a moment, he exited the dark cloud again, having not encountered anything at all.

    Ye Wu turned back to look at the eyeball, and he immediately took another step forward whileunching an attack.

    The eyeball spun around and vanished into the dark cloud.

    No matter how Ye Wu attacked, all of his efforts were futile. He was simply attacking a cloud thatcked any sort of physical form.

    Lu Yin frowned. Could that cloud be the power of consciousness?

    The Chiliagonist''s consciousness had been intangible, and he had used it to control others like puppets. On the other hand, could Xu Jin''s consciousness be visible and have the appearance of a cloud? If that was the case, how could anyone fight against that? How could Xu Jin''s consciousness be ovee?

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen were also at a loss on how to deal with such an opponent.

    Ye Wu''s attacks were ineffective on the dark cloud, but Xu Jin also did not not counterattack.

    "It appears to have been injured, and not just a small bit. There¡¯s no other reason for one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies to just take hits without even trying to fight back," Lord Xumented.

    This made Lu Yin think of something. Xu Jin should have been attacking the Nine-Star Civilization, which was one of the Second Scourge¡¯s most formidable enemies. It did not make sense for Xu Jin to let the other Scourges deal with such an opponent by themselves.

    The only realistic possibility was that Xu Jin had been injured, and the only way for anyone in the Nine-Star Civilization to harm him was if Kakawen¡¯s Restart had struck him.

    Mimina had mentioned during her request for help that it was quite possible that Kakawen would use the nine-star technique, Restart, to buy a bit of time to protect the Nine-Star Civilization.

    If Xu Jin had been injured by Restart, then it meant it was possible to hurt him, but something like Restart had destroyed an entire universe to do so.

    Restart was a technique that destroyed every part of a universe. While this might possibly include the power of time and space, Lu Yin was not certain about that and could only specte.

    However, if that particr suspicion was true, then in order to harm or kill Xu Jin, it would take an attack that was capable of eradicating everything.

    That meant an attack that did not merely use one specific power, but rather a fullyprehensive attack.

    Basically, the attack needed to be powerful enough to tear open the Hollow andpletely destroy the surface of a given universe.

    As Lu Yin considered this, a portion of the dark cloud suddenly vanished, instantly reced by the Hollow.

    Lu Yin was astonished. He had no idea what Ye Wu had just done, but he had managed to destroy a portion of the universe and reveal the Hollow.

    The Hollow consumed and destroyed parts of the dark cloud that was pulled in, and Xu Jin¡¯s eye was revealed.

    The eyeball spun around to stare at Ye Wu. Clearly, Xu Jin also had no idea what had just happened. Ye Wu floated silently in the sky, his previously frigid expression nowpletely devoid of any emotion. It was as though his consciousness had been erased.

    "Attack!" Lu Yin shouted. The Seven-Star Mantis spread its pairs of wings and flew towards the dark cloud. It moved at the speed of time, which caused everything to freeze inparison. At that moment, even Lord Xu and Mu Shen were immobilized.

    By riding on the Seven-Star Mantis, Lu Yin managed to instantly arrive in front of the dark cloud, and he attacked the eyeball. Even Xu Jin¡¯s eye was frozen as the mantis¡¯s de swung.

    Right when Lu Yin thought that the attack would connect, the de suddenly disappeared. After that, the Seven-Star Mantis itself and even Lu Yin¡¯s Champions'' Stage vanished. Lu Yin stared at the eyeball in shock as it spun around and stared at him.

    At that same moment, an invisible power mmed into Lu Yin¡¯s mind with so much force that it felt like his skull was about to shatter. It felt like he had been struck by a hammer, and the world around him spun as he plummeted from the sky.

    Xu Jin was amazed that Lu Yin had not been renderedpletely brain-dead.

    As Lu Yin''s body fell, his vision grew blurry as he watched things fly upwards. He eventually managed to halt his fall and looked up to see the dark cloud suddenly move towards Lord Xu and Mu Shen.

    "Be careful of its consciousness!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Lord Xu¡¯s voidforce energy and Mu Shen''s power both erupted simultaneously, creating a cataclysmic surge that swept towards the dark cloud that flew above the Scourge.

    Thebined force of the attacks shattered the Scourge, and Lord Xu¡¯s vision blurred as he, much like Lu Yin, began to fall from the sky.

    Mu Shen fared slightly better, but he also struggled. He retreated as his own vision grew blurry.

    Xu Jin''s consciousness was overwhelmingly powerful, and he managed to suppress both Lord Xu and Mu Shen.

    This did not necessarily mean the two men were weaker than Xu Jin, but rather that theycked the means to counter such potent consciousness.

    Another example of such an unequal pairing was how Lu Yin had been able to defeat the Seven-Star Mantis, but Lord Xu might not have been able to do the same.

    There was no invincible power or ability in existence, as such a thing would be an extreme that went beyond the foundational principles of the megaverse. If such an extremity existed, the megaverse itself would cease to exist and would transform into an endlessly expanding monstrosity.

    At this moment, Ye Wu''s gaze sharpened as he focused on Xu Jin. There was a resounding boom, and the void shattered. Xu Jin screamed in pain as it turned to look at Ye Wu in shock. Whatw of the universe had just broken through its consciousness?

    Xu Jin had cultivated its consciousness to the level of a sequence powerhouse, and it had even gone so far as to essentially create something from nothing. This was the level that was universally recognized as creating aw of the universe, which was the standard of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Even so, Ye Wu had broken through Xu Jin¡¯s sequence particles.

    Had Ye Wu also reached the level of being able to disrupt thews of the universe?

    Ye Wu attacked again, and this time, Lu Yin saw it with Heaven''s Sight. He observed Ye Wu''s sequence particles as they entered the dark cloud, though Lu Yin failed to make out how the sequence particles broke the cloud apart.

    Ye Wu''s sequence particles seemed to be quite extraordinary.

    A block of wood fell down from the sky, aimed straight at the eyeball.

    The dark cloud did not move around the eyeball, but Lu Yin saw sequence particles spread out across the entire Scourge.

    "Watch out! He''s using sequence particles, and they¡¯re affecting the entire Scourge!" Lu Yin shouted.

    There was another explosion, and the void shattered. Once again, Ye Wu was the instigator.

    Xu Jin''s sequence particles targeted Ye Wu, Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and Lu Yin. The three older men blocked the attack with their own sequence particles, while Lu Yin used his internal universe to iste himself with the barrier of the Hollow. After that, he used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time and rapidly approach the eyeball, where heshed out. It was a hundred punches confined with the power of time.

    The eyeball was right in front of Lu Yin, and yet his attack missed, brushing past the eye.

    At the same time, the falling block of wood also missed the eyeball.

    It was as if the eye did not really exist.

    The eye turned to look at Lu Yin. "You will die with the Divine Commandment."

    Lu Yin met the eye¡¯s gaze, and at that moment, something significant urred.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step again, but this time, he attacked with a much weaker attack, just to see what would happen.

    His palm again brushed past the eyeball, but this time, Lu Yin used Lightstream to reverse time by one second.

    During that second, Lu Yin kept his eyes fixed on the eyeball, and he witnessed something astonishing.

    The eye moved behind Lu Yin, but it did not do so quickly. After his attack missed, the eye moved back to its original position. This exined why none of his attacks could connect with the eyeball.

    But how was that even possible? The eye did not move quickly at all, but Lu Yin could not see it move. If not for his ability to reverse time, he would have never known that Xu Jin¡¯s eye had passed behind him twice.

    Lu Yin was not the only one, as Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and Ye Wu also had not noticed anything, or else they would have warned Lu Yin about it.

    What was going on? Lu Yin felt quite perplexed.

    There were myriad bizarre powers in the megaverse. It felt like it was impossible tond an attack on Xu Jin.

    Xu Jin must have been gravely injured, or else it would have attacked after securing the perfect opportunity when it moved behind Lu Yin. However, Lu Yin and hispanions were simrly unable to hurt the floating eye.

    It was an extremely strange battle.

    Voidforce energy surged around thebatants, and when Xu Jin moved to avoid Lu Yin''s palm strike, Lord Xu trapped the eye in his Thermometer of Life. Then, the temperature started to rise.

    The Thermometer of Life would treat whoever was captured within as a normal member of their species, and it would then produce an unbearable fever for that particr species.

    For humans, that would be a temperature of 40 degrees, 41 degrees, and finally 42 degrees. However, Lord Xu had no idea what sort of creature Xu Jin was.

    He used what would be regarded as a high fever for a human, as the eyeball looked exactly like a human eye.

    However, as the temperature rose, Xu Jin showed no reaction.

    Lu Yin used Lightstream to reverse time again, but this time, the eyeball did not evade the attack. Xu Jin remained in ce, as the Thermometer of Life had no effect on the creature.

    Lord Xu also noticed this, and he dispersed his innate gift.

    "Are you trying to buy time?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Xu Jin.

    The eyeball spun around. "How did you enter my Scourge?"

    Lu Yin had arrived via the Nine-Star Civilization. They had been at war with the Second Scourge for many years, and they had naturally found a way to ess the Scourge.

    This was just like how the Sixverse Association knew where to find the entrance to the First Scourge.

    However, finding the entrance was one thing, and invading a Scourge was something else entirely.

    The Scourge upation had been sent to support the Nine-Star Civilization, being the reinforcements that Mimina had requested. Before she had left the Origin Universe, she had also shared with Lu Yin how to locate the entrance to the Second Scourge.

    Lu Yin said nothing as he attacked Xu Jin again.

    Ye Wu and Mu Shen attacked as well.

    Unfortunately, all of the attacks missed the eyeball again. Lu Yin used Lightstream, and he saw how Xu Jin easily dodged all of the attacks without even using sequence particles. The eye had somehow managed to remain unharmed.

    Could this be an innate gift?

    In order tond an attack on Xu Jin, it was necessary to attack the ce that the eye dodged to in the moment that it evaded an attack, but he could only find that location by reversing time.

    Even worse, that small bit of time was simply too brief.

    When Lu Yin had reversed time to attack the Seven-Star Mantis, it had only worked because the mantis¡¯s escape direction had been determined at that exact moment, which meant that Lu Yin had merely needed to change his attack to that particr direction.

    However, Xu Jin not only instantly dodged all attacks, but it also returned to its original position soon after. This was not a matter of using pure speed or the power of time, as it was something that Lu Yin simply could not make any sense of.

 Chapter 3102: Battle On All Fronts

    <h4>Chapter 3102: Battle On All Fronts</h4>

    Lu Yin suddenly fell back. Every time Xu Jin evaded an attack, it circled behind Lu Yin. It might be due to his instincts, or it might be because it could only dodge within a certain range. If thetter was true, then they needed to attack the entire area.

    Lu Yin secretly conveyed his guess to Ye Wu and the others.

    All three men attacked as one, targeting both Xu Jin and the surrounding area. All of the attacks intended to break the universe and reveal the Hollow.

    This time, the attacks did not brush past Xu Jin, and the dark cloud was instead dispersed, much like it had with Ye Wu''s initial attack, though on a muchrger scale.

    Xu Jin''s eyeball then appeared far away.

    "That¡¯s it! Again!" Lu Yin shouted.

    They attacked once more, and this time, Lu Yin also used Lightstream.

    When the attacks drew near to Xu Jin, the eyeball looked stationary, and yet it still avoided the attacks. In that moment, Lu Yin used Lightstream to reverse time by one second, and he saw the direction in which Xu Jin had escaped. Lu Yin was repeating the strategy he had used to defeat the Seven-Star Mantis.

    It did not matter how far Xu Jin fled, but rather how soon it stopped fleeing.

    Lu Yin attacked the direction in which Xu Jin had dodged, using a hundred confined punches.

    The void split open, and a dark streak opened up in the sky above the Scourge.

    The corpse kings down below looked up at the spatial tear, but no matter who or what they faced, they knew no fear.

    In contrast, the peak powerhouses who had betrayed humanity felt lost and confused as they looked upwards.

    Aeternus¡¯s Scourge had been invaded, and Xu Jin was being overpowered.

    Among the human powerhouses was a woman in white standing behind a shattered tower. She stared at Lu Yin from the distance. She was Bai Qian.

    When the Aeternals had invaded the Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian had vanished, and while Lu Yin had searched for her, he had not been able to find any clues.

    He had never imagined that Bai Qian would have gone to the Second Scourge.

    Bai Qian had no intention of meeting Lu Yin, and instead, she turned and left.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attack shot across the sky and struck Xu Jin head on, eliciting a scream from the eyeball as it was deformed by the impact.

    As long as a creature was alive, it could be killed.

    No matter how bizarre Xu Jin''s power might be, there would always be some means to counter it.

    If Restart was able to severely injure Xu Jin, then so too could Lu Yin and his allies.

    After being struck by the hundred confined punches, the eyeball turned pale and bloodshot. Xu Jin turned to re at Lu Yin, madness filling the eye. "I¡¯m going to kill you, Lu Yin! I will kill you!"

    "You won''t have the chance," Lu Yin retorted. Behind him, Ye Wu, Lord Xu, and Mu Shen all attacked again, destroying the dimension around Xu Jin.

    Lu Yin continued to use Lightstream.

    Xu Jin could do nothing under this barrage. It needed to escape from the destroyed portion of the universe, but as soon as it did that, it would fall into Lu Yin¡¯s ability to reverse time by a second. While it would try to stop in a position that Lu Yin could not see through, it unfortunately simply did not have enough time.

    While a single second might seem long, it was only enough time for Xu Jin to evade the destroyed region of the universe.

    Speed and strength were not Xu Jin''s fortes.

    If Xu Jin possessed Di Qiong¡¯s physical strength, Lu Yin would not be able to damage the eyeball with his attacks.

    None of the Three Pirs and Six Skies were invincible, and neither were the Three Realms and Six Daos. Each had their own individual strengths and weaknesses.

    Qingluo Jiantian had exposed the Lu family¡¯s weakness, and while they had then tried topensate for that weakness with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra, they never been able to gain an advantage over Qingluo Jiantian.

    Xu Jin¡¯s strength was its bizarre abilities, but with its weaknesses exposed, the eyeball had be an easy target. Of course, the prerequisite was that someone with the strength of a sequence powerhouse was attacking; ordinary peak powerhouses simplycked the necessary strength to harm Xu Jin.

    Another hundred confined punches struck Xu Jin¡¯s eyeball, distorting its body even more grotesquely. Lu Yin¡¯s confined punches couldpare to Zhong Pan¡¯s physical attacks after he had undergone a Pupilless Transformation. With just a few more such attacks, Xu Jin would no longer be able to endure.

    Xu Jin went berserk, releasing sequence particles that spread towards Lu Yin and the others. At the same time, consciousness hammered against Lu Yin¡¯s brain, as well as against the minds of Ye Wu, Lord Xu, and Mu Shen.

    All of them spat out blood and grew dizzy.

    However, as a result of these attacks, Xu Jin¡¯s eyeball dted significantly. It was not easy for it to use its consciousness, and the heavy injuries that Restart had inflicted had left it greatly weakened. If not for that, the four humans would have had no chance at all to team up against Xu Jin, as its consciousness would have rendered them all unconscious.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth and fought off the dizziness. "Again!"

    ¡°Just give me the direction,¡± Ye Wu replied.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed as he regained hisposure.

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen both simultaneously attacked Xu Jin, once again destroying a region of the universe.

    Lu Yin used Lightstream to reverse time by one second, and then attacked in a particr direction. Ye Wu raised both of his arms, as he had restored his severed arm, and they both moved in a circr motion.

    Xu Jin¡¯s eyeball appeared, and the moment it did so, Lu Yin was attacked by its consciousness, though Lu Yin¡¯s hundred confined punches also struck the eyeball.

    Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly copsed. His consciousness, which had been as sturdy as a rock in the Chiliagonist¡¯s perspective, was unable to endure Xu Jin¡¯s attacks.

    The eyeball was also pushed back, and it grew a bit paler.

    Suddenly, the eyeball spun to look upwards, as a furnace had suddenly appeared both in the sky and on the ground. It was Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen did not seem to recognize it, but Lu Yin was briefly stunned. He even thought that he might have started hallucinating due to Xu Jin¡¯s consciousness attack. Lu Yin rubbed his eyes and looked a second time, and his expression dramatically changed. ¡°Heaven¡¯s Furnace?¡±

    Ye Wu frowned. Once again, this innate gift had been recognized.

    Before, when he had attacked the Fourth Scourge, someone who had worn the Hollow had recognized this innate gift, and when he attacked Xu Jin¡¯s eyeball, Lu Yin had recognized the furnace as well. Had the owner of this innate gift been someone amazingly famous?

    Lu Yin stared at Ye Wu, wanting to ask why the man could use Progenitor Chen¡¯s innate gift. Lu Yin already had a guess, but this was not the time to ask.

    Now that Heaven¡¯s Furnace had manifested, Xu Jin was no longer able to evade the men¡¯s attacks. It had been trapped within Heaven¡¯s Furnace, and no matter how it tried to escape, it could not leave.

    A terrifying pressure mounted, and the eyeball red ferociously as Xu Jin continuously mmed against the sides of Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge of Progenitor Chen, he understood that it was practically impossible to escape Heaven¡¯s Furnace without some hidden trump card.

    Lu Yin had faced Heaven¡¯s Furnace during his first stellr tribtion when he had been attempting to break through to the Envoy realm. At that time, he had been overwhelmingly more powerful than any of his peers, but he had still nearly fallen to Heaven¡¯s Furnace. If not for Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin might have failed his first tribtion.

    Byparing Lu Yin¡¯s superiority over his peers as a peak Enlighter to his current superiority over other Semi-Progenitors, he was somewhat able to determine Progenitor Chen¡¯s true strength.

    Progenitor Chen had been able to fight at the same level as Lu Yin at his current strength, which meant fighting against sequence powerhouses.

    This meant that Progenitor Chen might have been able to fight against Sequence Progenitors as a Semi-Progenitor. If that was true, then the man had absolutely deserved his reputation of being invincible.

    However, Ye Wu was not using Heaven¡¯s Furnace from when Progenitor Chen had been a Semi-Progenitor, but rather the innate gift of a full Progenitor. This Heaven¡¯s Furnace could theoretically obliterate even sequence powerhouses.

    Xu Jin had not surpassed the level of a sequence powerhouse, which meant that it could certainly be obliterated by Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    If Ye Wu had attempted to use Heaven¡¯s Furnace to destroy Xu Jin at the beginning of the battle, it would have most likely failed. However, given the injuries that had umted, even if Heaven¡¯s Furnace was not sessful, it would at least force Xu Jin to reveal its final trump cards.

    Within Heaven¡¯s Furnace, the eyeball frantically mmed against the sides, quickly turning bloodshot.

    Divine energy erupted from the ground, forming cyclones that shot towards Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Lu Yin, Lord Xu, and Mu Shen all moved to block the divine energy and prevent it from touching Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Xu Jin was injured and surrounded by the rulers of several universes. It was a dire situation, as he was facing the same level of power that had trapped and killed both Shaman God and Undying God. These men were fully capable of killing Xu Jin as well.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    A soft sound rang through the air.

    Lu Yin turned his head to see someone emerge from the void. They had crimson hair that blew with the wind, and a bow rose up to release another arrow.

    Arrow God had arrived.

    Xu Jin had been buying time for Arrow God.

    Due to its injuries from Kakawen¡¯s Restart, Xu Jin was unable to defeat Lu Yin and the others. So, it had stalled for time so that Arrow God could arrive and provide support.

    One arrow, two arrows, three arrows. Attacks continued to strike Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Ye Wu remained focused on Xu Jin, as he knew that these arrows were not powerful enough to break Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    However, Lu Yin was more aware of just how formidable Arrow God¡¯s arrows could be.

    As soon as Arrow God arrived, Lu Yin took out a cosmic door from his cosmic ring and activated it. ¡°I¡¯ll leave this to you, Senior.¡±

    A broad-shouldered figure emerged from the cosmic door, radiating golden light as he swung arge golden cudgel at his distant opponent. ¡°Woman, I¡¯m still your opponent.¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had arrived. He alone could withstand Arrow God¡¯s arrows by employing Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Even though Lu Yin and the others had managed to see through Xu Jin¡¯s power and even though it had been injured even before their assault, sess would take a very long time. On the other hand, Arrow God¡¯s attacks remained a mystery to Lu Yin and his allies. For the time being, Sovereign Dou Sheng would have to hold the woman off.

    In the future, they would need to steal more cosmic doors. They were the tools that the Aeternals had used to easily conquer countless parallel universes.

    Arrow God¡¯s eyes grew more focused as she shot an arrow at Sovereign Dou Sheng. The Sovereign protected the outside of Heaven¡¯s Furnace and prevented Arrow God from rescuing Xu Jin.

    At this time, two more figures appeared from different directions, both of whom were sequence powerhouses. Lu Yin even recognized one of them: the Magician. He had, unfortunately, managed to return from the Immemorial Citadel alive.

    The other individual was unfamiliar to Lu Yin, but due to the timing of their appearance, he knew who they were.

    This man was another one of the Fifth Scourge¡¯s Five Elders: Thousand-Hand Seal.

    This was someone whom Leng Qing had encountered in the past.

    However, not even the arrival of two more sequence powerhouses was enough to save Xu Jin. At this moment, Ye Wu, Lord Xu, Mu Shen, as well as Lu Yin, were all free to take action.

    A chaotic battle erupted, and it shook the Second Scourge¡¯s very foundations. The shockwaves alone shattered one Aeternus Kingdom after another.

    This battle was unprecedented throughout the entire history of the Second Scourge.

    A simrly intense battle was ripping through the Third Scourge at the same time. Lu Tianyi was leading the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors while holding Di Qiong off.

    ckless God had returned to the Fourth Scourge, worried that it would also be attacked, given that the Second and Third Scourges had already been invaded.

    At this moment, only Jue Luo and a few of Aeternus¡¯s other experts, such as Shao Yin, were still attacking the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Twice in the past, Divine Commandments had gathered the full power of Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges to destroy the scattered human civilizations. However, for the third Divine Commandment, the Aeternals were not facing scattered enemies.

    Humanity refused to forget history and had instead learned from it.

    Mister Mu had traveled throughout the megaverse, visiting the Fifth Maind as well as many other parallel universes. In doing so, he had nted the seeds of a united humanity, and he had seeded before someone like Lu Yin appeared. Lu Yin had both the talent and the desire to unite all of humanity against the Aeternals.

    By the time Aeternus realized what had happened, they were already toote.

    Divine Commandments were intended for Aeternus to utterly defeat humans, but this time, it was being turned against them by humanity.

    Aeternus no longer held the same overwhelming advantage.

 Chapter 3103: A Mere Toad

    <h4>Chapter 3103: A Mere Toad</h4>

    In the Second Scourge, the sound of crashes continued to ring out from Heaven¡¯s Furnace as the eyeball within it mmed against the sides. Xu Jin¡¯s screams echoed across the Scourge.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. Xu Jin had to be obliterated within the furnace. The death of one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies would be an amazing victory for humanity.

    Beams of light fell from the sky, and Lu Yin''s expression changed. Outsider powerhouses?

    Familiar figures started to appear. One was the Star Devourer. As soon as the beast arrived in the Second Scourge, it opened all six of its eyes and stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng. The man¡¯s radiant golden figure was hard to miss.

    Another was Astral Anura.

    The toad was appearing yet again.

    Lu Yin¡¯s entire intention behind this invasion of the Second Scourge had simply been to force Xu Jin away from the Nine-Star Civilization. An all-out fight with Aeternus was not something that Lu Yin had anticipated, and he was therefore unprepared for it. Aeternus had beaten him in hiring Astral Anura.

    Astral Anuraughed loudly. "A big job! Another big job! Boss Yong Heng, is your Scourge in trouble again?"

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. While True God had not been forced out himself, Astral Anura had been summoned instead.

    Thinking quickly, Lu Yin pulled out another cosmic door. This one was connected to the Cyclic Universe. It was the one that he had obtained from the Six-Fingered Tribe, and it was the one that he had used to force Nutjob Lu to reveal himself as a Redback. There was only a single purpose for this cosmic door: to summon the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yin always kept a card hidden up his sleeve, as he was always afraid that there woulde a day when he might face an unbeatable foe. Regardless of whether it was Lu Yuan or the Great Sovereign, he needed to have someone who could save him.

    Between Lu Yuan and the Great Sovereign, thetter was naturally a better option.

    ¡°Lu Yin? Aren¡¯t you that big boss from the Sixverse Association?¡± Astral Anura¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked up at Astral Anura. ¡°Whatever Aeternus is paying you, I¡¯ll double it.¡±

    Astral Anura¡¯s mouth opened wide, and the coins hanging from his neck jingled as he replied in his high-pitched baby voice. ¡°A big boss! Truly a big boss! Lu Yin, I would be honored to serve you, but it¡¯ll have to be next time.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°If you''re a businessman, you shouldn''t be so upright. You should work with whoever offers to pay you more. You understand that, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Astral Anura looked troubled. ¡°Lu Yin, your offer is very tempting, but I''m an honest businessman. Only by being trustworthy can one go far.¡±

    Lu Yin felt exasperated. It was impossible to reason with the toad. Sooner orter, the creature would have to be dealt with.

    With no other choice, Lu Yin activated the cosmic door and passed through it, disappearing.

    Astral Anura looked regretful. ¡°He¡¯s escaping just like that? Come on, let¡¯s talk a bit more. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you. You¡¯re a big boss!¡±

    Golden light continued to shine across the Second Scourge, which looked like it had been shredded. Lord Xu and Mu Shen exchanged nces. Lu Yin would have never simply fled. He must have gone to get reinforcements. They needed to protect that cosmic door. If it was destroyed, they were done for.

    However, if the two men could understand that much, then so too could the Aeternals.

    The Magician immediately turned to attack the cosmic door, and Thousand-Hand Seal did the same,unching a barrage of seals.

    Ye Wu¡¯s expression fell. Xu Jin was extremely difficult to obliterate, and he still had not seeded.

    The Star Devourer charged at Ye Wu, which sent the man flying. However, right at the moment of impact, the void suddenly shattered, just like when Jue Luo had cut off Ye Wu¡¯s arm with his sword. The void shattered without warning due to Ye Wu¡¯s sequence particles, which no one could understand.

    Astral Anura lifted its lotus leaf and smashed it at the cosmic door. "This is over. Retreat."

    Pieces of wood appeared around the cosmic door. Mu Shen was protecting it.

    Mu Shen had no idea whom Lu Yin had gone to for help, but they had to be strong enough to handle Astral Anura. This battle would be the best opportunity to kill Xu Jin, and such a chance might note again.

    One of the Three Pirs and Six Skies had to die.

    The lotus leaf struck the wood, but it failed to shatter it.

    Mu Shen''s wood was extremely tough. In the past, even when Astral Anura had taken on his colorful form, he had not been able to immediately pierce the blocks with his steel fork.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had five arrows sticking out of his body. His golden blood was burning the void, and yet he still charged at Arrow God, smashing her into the ground with his cudgel.

    Arrow God was already in bad shape. She could not kill Sovereign Dou Sheng, only injure him. Unfortunately, each of those injuries was absorbed by Extremes Must Be Reversed, which converted the wounds into more powerful counterattacks to be used against her. It was hard to tell who was more madly wounded, Sovereign Dou Sheng or Arrow God.

    Originally, the Nine-Star Civilization''s universe had been the main battlefield, but things had since moved to the Second Scourge.

    Even the intensity of the fighting in the Third Scourge could not match what was happening in the Second Scourge.

    Lu Yin exited the cosmic door and appeared in the Cyclic Universe. He took a deep breath and shouted, "Great Sovereign,e out!"

    The Cyclic Universe trembled, and Sovereign Ninth Lotus¡¯s eyes snapped open. She stared nkly into the distance.

    Chu Jian nearly spat out a mouthful of blood upon hearing Lu Yin''s voice again. <i>Here we go</i>.

    Sage Yajna sighed. <i>Here we go again. Endless interruptions</i>.

    With Lu Yin''s current strength, no one in the Cyclic Universe could stop him aside from the Great Sovereign herself.

    Even if Sovereign Lotus wanted to deal with Lu Yin, it would not be easy for her. Given all of Lu Yin''s abilities, the best that the Sovereign could do was to protect herself.

    On top of that, because of Lu Yin''s status and reputation in the Sixverse Association, there was no one in the Cyclic Universe who even wanted to try to stop him, aside from Sovereign Lotus and Chu Jian.

    Chu Jian was furious, and he yelled, "Lu Yin, stop disturbing my master''s cultivation!"

    Lu Yin did not even look at the man. He stared up at the sky and said, "Great Sovereign,e out! We''re going to the Second Scourge."

    Chu Jian was stunned. The Second Scourge?

    Sovereign Lotus approached. She was badly startled. Did Lu Yin want to go to Aeternus¡¯s Scourge again? Not only that, but he even wanted to go to the Second Scourge? What was going on?

    Lu Yin shouted a few more times, but he received no response. He started to get anxious. In the Second Scourge, Sovereign Dou Sheng, Lord Xu, and Mu Shen were alone, and they might not be able to hold out for long. If the cosmic door shattered, then even the Great Sovereign would struggle to get to the Second Scourge.

    They would have to first go through the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s universe, and that would take too long.

    "Astral Anura said that you''ll never ovee Dukkha and that you''ll never defeat True God. That¡¯s why he¡¯s helping Aeternus.

    "He also mentioned that your feelings for Tai Chu are one-sided," Lu Yin shouted.

    A gust of wind blew past him, and Lu Yin was covered with chills. He slowly turned around to see the cosmic door shake a few times. He nced at Chu Jian.

    The man was in a daze.

    What had just happened?

    Lu Yin passed back through the cosmic door, only to be greeted by a scene of utter chaos. The sky above the Second Scourge was falling, the earth had shattered. Everyone was staring at the sky in shock. Astral Anura was crying.

    "Tai Hong, are you crazy? Do you really need to go all out? I''m leaving! I''m leaving! Isn¡¯t this enough?" Astral Anura screamed and he jumped about.

    Above his head, the Great Sovereign was staring downwards with a frigid gaze. Sequence particles that far outnumbered what Xu Jin was capable of wielding filled the sky and covered the ground as they pressed in upon Astral Anura. The toad¡¯s skin started to crack.

    "What did you say just a moment ago? If you have the guts, repeat it now." A majestic voice rang in everyone''s ears.

    Astral Anura waspletely bewildered. "What did I say? Tai Hong, you''re a madwoman."

    "A mere toad dares to speak such nonsense."

    Even Ye Wu was stunned. The fighting had been incredibly fierce, and then suddenly, the wood surrounding the cosmic door had all shattered as someone stepped out. As soon as the woman arrived, Astral Anura had beenpletely overpowered, and the toad had been forced to beg for mercy.

    His straw hat was torn, and his lotus leaf had been shattered. The copper coins around his neck were scattered all over the ground, and Astral Anura looked truly pathetic.

    Lu Yin''s face twitched. The madwoman had actually believed him. Perhaps in her mind, no one would dare to try to deceive her.

    What would happen to Lu Yin if the Great Sovereign learned that he had lied to her?

    Lu Yin did not even want to think about it. He regretted not going to Lu Yuan instead. Just because the Great Sovereign had not killed Lu Yin thest time he had disturbed her did not mean that she would be merciful again.

    "Argh, Tai Hong, I''ll fight you to the end!" Astral Anura''s body transformed and became more colorful. He clenched his steel fork and thrust it fiercely at the Great Sovereign, who was above his head.

    The woman raised a hand, and slender fingers gently flicked at the fork. There was a sound that seemed like a ripple, and the Second Scourge fell silent. At that moment, the Great Sovereign¡¯s fingers grabbed the steel fork¡¯s sharp de, and then with a snap, it broke.

    Astral Anura held his broken fork before his eyes, staring at the snapped portion and looking like he was about to cry. "Tai Hong, I never offended you. Why are you picking on me right now?"

    "You¡¯re a toad." The Great Sovereign''s voice was icy, and the sound of it gave everyone chills. Her hand fell, and the broken de from the fork gently dropped down, though it stabbed into Astral Anura''s body. He howled in agony.

    Lu Yin realized that he might have misunderstood something.

    Were the Great Sovereign and Astral Anura really both at the same level?

    Had he misunderstood something about the Origin realm and Dukkha? Or had he missed something else? It was clear that Astral Anura was beingpletely suppressed by the Great Sovereign, and the Great Sovereign was still injured.

    Astral Anura howled in pain, but he also went berserk. The void was constantly being shattered around the toad.

    Suddenly, the toad turned and rushed towards the ck Mother Tree. "Yong Heng, help me!"

    Seeing Astral Anura and the Great Sovereign both head towards the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yin refocused. No matter what, Xu Jin needed to be dealt with first.

    Heaven¡¯s Furnace had started to crack, and Lu Yin could see that the Star Devourer was not far away and was preparing to attack the furnace. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew cold, and his Champions'' Stage appeared. He rode atop the Seven-Star Mantis and sped towards Star Devourer at the speed of time itself.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to pull out his slipper, he remembered that he had returned it to Ce Wangtian. With a sigh, he instead brought out Infinity while simultaneously visualizing the Fifth Maind. He used Extremes Must Be Reversed and confined a hundred punches beforeunching a single powerful attack at the Star Devourer.

    At the Star Devourer''s side, sequence particles gathered and condensed. They produced a terrifying pull that shifted Lu Yin''s punch, and the attack merely grazed the Star Devourer instead of hitting him head on.

    However, even this was enough to prevent the Star Devourer from attacking Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Inside the furnace, Xu Jin''s eye was not moving at all. It looked like it had reached his limit.

    Ye Wu had blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he continued wearing down the eyeball.

    While the Totem Civilization had not been a particrly powerful civilization, its people had been very kind to Ye Wu.

    His cultivation method was something that humanity naturally rejected, and yet the man refused to join Aeternus and instead chose to live on the gray fringe.

    In all of reality, Ye Wu only cared about his two disciples and the Totem Civilization.

    While he could ept the Totem Civilization¡¯s defeat, he could not ept their people being devoured. Ye Wu¡¯s hatred for Xu Jin was far beyond what anyone had seen or understood.

    Ye Wu would not rest until Xu Jin was dead.

    Xu Jin suffered from unimaginable pressure while within Heaven¡¯s Furnace. Lu Qi possessed nothing more than a thinyer of pressure from Heaven¡¯s Furnace beneath his skin, and yet that gave the man the courage to face the True God Guard Captains and even im to be immortal. At this moment, Xu Jin was taking on the full pressure of Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Experts from the other Scourges and even outsider powerhouses had arrived to save him, but Xu Jin was still on the brink of death.

    However, Lu Yin did not believe this to be true.

    While fending off the Star Devourer, Lu Yin continued to keep an eye on Xu Jin.

    Shaman God had only been killed because Progenitor Hui had intervened. Even when Lu Yin had thought that they could kill Shaman God, the Skygod had still managed to escape right from under Lu Yin and Lu Tianyi¡¯s watchful eyes.

    Undying God had been surrounded and attacked on all sides, but that attack also would have failed without Mister Mu''s ultimate technique, Origin Tracer. In fact, without that technique, it would have been impossible to even injure Undying God.

    As for Corpse God, even with Ye Zhang¡¯s assistance, that Skygod had still ultimately escaped.

    Lu Yin knew all too well how difficult it was to truly eliminate any of the Seven Skygods or anyone else at that level.

 Chapter 3104: True Gods Natural Art

    <h4>Chapter 3104: True God''s Natural Art</h4>

    Even though Xu Jin had been severely wounded by the nine-star technique, Restart, Lu Yin refused to believe that it could be killed with just the power that they had used so far. No matter how hard Arrow God and the others had tried to rescue the eye, and even with the presence of Astral Anura, Lu Yin remained skeptical that Xu Jin would bepletely destroyed, and that was because True God had not intervened yet.

    They were in a Scourge, which meant that this ce was within True God¡¯s reach.

    When both the Lord of Lightning and the Great Sovereign had entered the First Scourge, they had drawn True God¡¯s attention without even causing much damage to the Scourge. If Xu Jin, who was one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies, could be killed beneath True God¡¯s eye, then what sort of authority would True God have left?

    Were all of the Three Pirs and Six Skies or the Seven Skygods present? Absolutely not. In fact, far from it.

    What other tricks could Xu Jin still be hiding?

    Inside Heaven¡¯s Furnace, the pupil of Xu Jin¡¯s eye was continuously dting and contracting. The white of the eye grewrger, and it looked increasingly vacant and lifeless. It seemed that, given enough time, the eye would bepletely obliterated by Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    This was what Ye Wu believed.

    Suddenly, the eye moved again. First, it looked at Ye Wu, and then it scanned the entire Second Scourge, even passing over Lu Yin.

    For a brief moment, Lu Yin met the eye¡¯s gaze. At that moment, Lu Yin did not see any hint of desperation. In fact, even the previous ferocity and madness and bloodshot appearance were all gone. At this moment, Lu Yin felt an inexplicable chill from the eyeball. It felt like something was about to happen.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lu Yin warned.

    Xu Jin¡¯s eye suddenly focused downward. The divine energy that had been held back by the voidforce energy and Mu Shen¡¯s power gently fell to the ground, as though it had lost all power. It simply sshed onto the ground of the Second Scourge.

    At the same time, everyone who was present in the Second Scourge heard a faint song.

    The Great Sovereign showed a particrly strong reaction to the song. She turned back to look at Xu Jin, despite walking over Astral Anura on her way to the ck Mother Tree. The woman¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°That¡¯s True God''s Natural Art.¡±

    True God had created three ultimate techniques, each one of which was capable of transcending. One of those techniques was known as True God''s Natural Art.

    The Natural Art represented absolute freedom, beingpletely unbound and unfettered. It was a matter of transcending both oneself and others, dissolving all preconceived notions while merging with the universe itself in eternal harmony.

    The sorrowful song could grant a person a carefree life. <i>Pray to True God. Seek freedom in the Natural Art</i>.

    ¡°Ethereal autumn waters, a vague beauty, gazing eastward...¡±

    ¡°Family unseen, ascending the heights of heaven, one person remaining...¡±

    ~~

    Everyone heard the sad song and instinctively stopped fighting. Every eye turned to stare at Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    This included even Ye Wu.

    Inside of Heaven¡¯s Furnace, Xu Jin¡¯s eye was slowly recovering. It seemed that he was no longer suffering from the pressure of the furnace. On the ground of the Scourge, divine energy slowly drifted up into the sky, where it formed rednterns that floated upwards. It was a beautiful sight, and yet it somehow carried a strong sense of mncholy.

    Everyone nervously watched the floatingnterns rise up.

    Lu Yin used Heaven''s Sight to look around. He could not see any sequence particles being used. Thenterns were purelyposed of divine energy.

    Suddenly, he realized something. His face grew pale as he turned to look back at Xu Jin again.

    Inside Heaven¡¯s Furnace, Xu Jin¡¯s eye was moving while staring downwards. Onentern was slowly rising up, approaching Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Ye Wu attacked in an attempt to shatter thentern.

    But thentern seemed to be intangible, and the man¡¯s attack passed through thentern as though it had struck nothing but divine energy.

    "Heir of the Lu family, flee now. This is True God''s Natural Art, which you cannot handle." The Great Sovereign¡¯s voice echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s ear. He nced towards the direction of the ck Mother Tree. He could see that the Great Sovereign still had Astral Anura pinned down, even as the toad was frantically racing for the ck Mother Tree, begging True God for help.

    With the Great Sovereign herself urging a retreat, no matter how reluctant Lu Yin was to do so, he knew that they needed to leave the Second Scourge in order to avoid pointless deaths.

    ¡°Everyone, retreat!¡±

    Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and Sovereign Dou Sheng did not argue at all. They all knew that Lu Yin would never abandon an opportunity to kill Xu Jin if there was even the slightest chance of sess. Unfortunately, Ye Wu was different. He only saw that Xu Jin was about to be obliterated within the furnace, and the man refused to let go of this opportunity, since he was the one controlling Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    Lu Yin turned to Ye Wu. ¡°Senior, we need to leave now. This is one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. We can¡¯t deal with this.¡±

    Ye Wu was unconvinced. ¡°Heaven¡¯s Furnace has never failed.¡±

    Lu Yin grew anxious. ¡°Retreat now! True God''s power is not something that you can imagine!¡±

    No matter how Lu Yin urged, Ye Wu refused to move.

    Though clearly reluctant to do so, Lu Yin prepared to leave the man behind.

    However, Lu Yin had not realized that he was already toote. The sides of thenterns started to reveal portraits, and the faces of Lu Yin and the others could be seen on the floatingnterns.

    Right as Lu Yin moved to abandon Ye Wu and escape with Lord Xu and the others, one of thenterns cracked and shattered.

    At that exact moment, blood spewed from Lord Xu¡¯s mouth, and his voidforce energy dissipated as though it had never even existed.

    The Voidlord was utterly horrified. What had just happened? His power had instantly vanished.

    Anotherntern shattered, and this time, Ye Wu was affected. Heaven¡¯s Furnace broke apart, and just like Lord Xu, Ye Wu spat out a great deal of blood while crumpling to the ground. The man was unable to support himself at all.

    Lu Yin''s pupils contracted sharply. He had no idea where the attacks wereing from or how both Lord Xu and Ye Wu had been so badly injured. All he knew was that they were toote.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    Mu Shen also spat out a mouthful of blood. Despite being made of wood, he spat out more blood than anyone else.

    The man¡¯s body swayed before he fell towards the ground.

    Lu Yin stared at Xu Jin''s eye, which was staring straight back at him. "Did you really believe that you could kill one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies? You underestimate us. True God''s Natural Art is enough to execute all of you!"

    At that moment, the universe within Lu Yin''s chest vanished from his mind. His power, his stellr energy, and his various cultivation methods¡ªeverything was gone. In their ce, an overwhelming agony took over. He could not stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood and falling to the ground.

    The next to be affected was Sovereign Dou Sheng, and his golden blood sttered all over Arrow God. An arrow stabbed into the man¡¯s body and pinned him to the ground.

    In just one instant, True God''s Natural Art had severely injured all of humanity¡¯s top experts in the Scourge, without exception.

    The Magician, Thousand-Hand Seal, and Arrow God all turned to stare at Xu Jin in fear. He had indeed used one of True God''s three ultimate techniques. There were few even among the Three Pirs and Six Skies who had mastered any of those three techniques. They were legends, and it was clear that they lived up to their formidable reputation.

    "Hurry! Kill them!" Xu Jin shouted.

    The Magician and Thousand-Hand Seal quickly moved to attack.

    At that moment, the sky split apart. The Great Sovereign had taken action.

    She tore the void apart, splitting the sky of the Second Scourge in twain. Everyone looked up to see a mountain range exposed through the spatial tear. It was the Lu Sanctum.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Was the Great Sovereign able to directly reach the Perennial World?

    A huge chasm tore open above the Lu Sanctum. Lu Yuan looked up, and he instantly saw the Second Scourge and the severely injured Lu Yin lying on the ground. The man¡¯s expression instantly and drastically changed. "Little Seven!"

    Lu Yuan entered the Second Scourge.

    His arrival gave Lu Yin a sense of relief. He had not anticipated a battle that had merely been intended to stall Xu Jin to transform into such a massive showdown. With Ancestor Yuan¡¯s appearance, True God would not be able to stay on the sidelines.

    The moment that Lu Yuan entered the Second Scourge, Xu Jin dove straight into ake of divine energy. It was unwilling to face Lu Yuan at this moment.

    A voice rang out from the direction of the ck Mother Tree. "Loam, Tai Hong, this is my Scourge. You cannote and go from this ce however you please."

    As these words were spoken, the cascade of divine energy shot out from the ck Mother Tree, transforming into a tornado that swept towards the Great Sovereign and Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan shouted, "I merely wish to take Little Seven away. This is not yet the time for our final battle! Madwoman, retreat."

    "My Scourge won''t allow you to leave so easily." Previously, the Lord of Lightning and the Great Sovereign had managed to leave the First Scourge, andter, Lu Yuan had tried to rescue Wu Tian while Lu Yin and some others had invaded the First Scourge again. Every time humanity entered a Scourge, they had sessfully retreated. True God¡¯s intervention had not been considered.

    This time, True God was serious, and he moved out from the ck Mother Tree.

    Astral Anura finally arrived at the ck Mother Tree. "Yong Heng, I can''t deal with this madwoman!"

    An overwhelming torrent of divine energy swept towards Lu Yuan.

    A Champions'' Stage appeared beside the man, and it mmed down and crashed onto the ground of the Second Scourge. Itnded right beside Lu Yin, who understood his ancestor¡¯s intention. Lu YIn immediately mbered onto the Champions'' Stage.

    The divine energy had already arrived at Lu Yuan, and it swept the man towards the ck Mother Tree. That would be the location of the grand battle.

    Lu Yin had been saved, but Lord Xu and the others had not. Still, Lu Yuan''s appearance had bought a bit of time, and True God''s Natural Art was not invincible. The brief bit of time was enough to let Lord Xu and the others recover slightly.

    They did not understand how True God''s Natural Art had instantly stripped them of all power, but with their strength recovered, they knew that it was time to leave.

    However, when they turned to flee, they discovered that the cosmic door they had used had been destroyed. During the brief moment when they had been injured and incapacitated by the Natural Art and before Lu Yuan¡¯s arrival, the Magician had used his mes to destroy the cosmic door.

    The only way to escape was to tear through the void.

    Xu Jin had hidden itself in a river of divine energy, which made it extremely difficult to kill it.

    Ye Wu and the others could only think of escaping from the Second Scourge. As time passed, more and more of Aeternus¡¯s top powerhouses would arrive.

    However, escape would not be easy. Arrow God and others would not allow Sovereign Dou Sheng or the others the time they needed to tear through the void.

    At this moment, Lu Yuan''s Champions'' Stage presented Lu Yin with two options: to summon reinforcements and make this current battle into a decisive battle for the Second Scourge, or to find some way to escape.

    It would be difficult to gather reinforcements. Lu Yin had originally had two cosmic doors, but one had been destroyed. As for the other, it was connecting the First Scourge and the Endless Frontier. Even if Lu Yin tore through the void to connect to Aeternus Nation, there was no one he could gather to reinforce the Second Scourge. Lu Tianyi had led the Origin Universe¡¯s Progenitors to the Third Scourge.

    The only other cosmic door that Lu Yin had could connect to the Abandoned¡¯s universe, but that man might not be in his cave, and trying to find him would take too long. It would be better to use the Heaven¡¯s Sect.

    Escape truly seemed like the best option at this time.

    Lu Yin stared at the ck Mother Tree. The battle between the four most powerful individuals not only shook the Second Scourge, but also caused the other five Scourges to tremble.

    Lu Yin was afraid that reinforcements would soon arrive from the First Scourge.

    No one noticed that someone had slipped through the cosmic door that Sovereign Dou Sheng had used to arrive in the Second Scourge.

    This person looked up at the chaotic battle, and with a single swipe of a sword, he became the center of attention for the entire Second Scourge. His sword sliced through the void, and it was followed by a streak of blood that rained down across thend.

    Thousand-Hand Seal looked down and saw that the de was piercing his neck. When had that happened?

    In front of the man stood Kong Tianzhao, dressed purely in white. The swordsman withdrew his weapon, allowing Thousand-Hand Seal¡¯s lifeless corpse to fall to the ground.

    No one had noticed the attack before it wasunched.

    Lu Yin stared at Kong Tianzhao in shock. ¡°Whitecloud City¡¯s Kong Tianzhao?¡±

    Kong Tianzhao turned to look at Lu Yin. ¡°I was helping Jiang Feng lure the Ancient Lightning Locust to the First Scourge when I saw a cosmic door and went through it. You must be Lu Yin. You¡¯ve got quite the fierce battle going on here.¡±

    Lu Yin felt invigorated, and he replied, ¡°Thank you for your help.¡±

    Kong Tianzhao clenched the hilt of his sword and turned to look at the Magician before stepping forward.

 Chapter 3105: Usurping Consciousness

    <h4>Chapter 3105: Usurping Consciousness</h4>

    Lu Yin watched Kong Tianzhao. The sight of the white-d swordsman gave Lu Yin a surge of confidence as Kong Tianzhao wielded his white sword. This man was strong enough that even Ancestor Lu Tianyi had noticed him. Kong Tianzhao was nearly as famous as the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng, and he was one of the guardians of Whitecloud City. There was no doubt about the swordsman¡¯s strength.

    While Kong Tianzhao might not be able to single-handedly defeat one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, he could certainly hold his own for a period of time, much like Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    With Kong Tianzhao¡¯s arrival, Lu Yin¡¯s desire to kill Xu Jin was reignited.

    It was not impossible to kill Xu Jin. True God''s Natural Art could not be used indefinitely, or else Xu Jin would not have waited for Arrow God to arrive.

    True God was being kept upied by the Great Sovereign and Lu Yuan, which offered Lu Yin a rare opportunity. Gritting his teeth, he decided to take the risk and attempt to kill Xu Jin.

    His hand rose, and his die appeared. He tapped it with a finger, hoping for Possession. <i>Possession! Give me Possession!</i>

    By theke of divine energy, Ye Wu was being besieged by Progenitor-level corpse kings.

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen were dealing with the Star Devourer together, while Sovereign Dou Sheng was still putting up with Arrow God. Dozens of arrows riddled the man¡¯s body, yet he refused to die. His persistence made Arrow God¡¯s expression fall.

    Kong Tianzhao stood at the center of the battlefield. His presence overshadowed even Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s impressive battle.

    The Magician¡¯s face grew pale. This man''s swordsmanship was terrifying, and it contained some sort of iprehensible power. The Magician had already been injured during his time on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, and the slightest mistake would mean certain death.

    However, the Magician had survived the Divine Selection and spent time on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, both of which were aplishments that were beyond even Wang Fan. While the Magician was not on par with the Seven Skygods, he was qualified to fight them. He would not immediately fall to Kong Tianzhao¡¯s sword.

    While on Lu Yuan¡¯s Champions'' Stage, Lu Yin was very safe at this moment. The Second Scourge¡¯s Progenitor-level corpse kings had arrived, as well as several human peak powerhouses who had betrayed their own species, but none of them could reach Lu Yin.

    He stared at his die as it slowly came to a stop: Timestop. He entered his Timestop Space.

    Lu Yin then spent more than six months recovering before he finally managed to fully heal from his injuries.

    During this time, Lu Yin seeded in gaining a bit of understanding about True God''s Natural Art. He had realized that he had not been injured by the Natural Art itself, but rather by himself.

    It had taken him six months to figure this much out.

    True God''s Natural Art seemed to havepletely erased Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation methods and battle techniques, and by doing so, he had suffered a bacsh from losing them. While Lu Yin could not understand how any technique could aplish this, it made sense for one of True God''s ultimate techniques to surpass the limits of ordinary techniques.

    Mister Mu had created Origin Tracer and the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. One harnessed the power of time, while the other was simply unfathomable.

    The Great Sovereign possessed the power of reincarnation, which allowed her to even bestow power upon others and raise ordinary cultivators into peak powerhouses.

    True God possessed three ultimate techniques, and it was no surprise that they possessed iprehensible power.

    It was simply bad luck that their target, Xu Jin, was able to use True God''s Natural Art.

    If it had been Corpse God, Xu Jin would have already died.

    As the scenery around him shifted, Lu Yin returned to the Second Scourge, where only a single second had passed.

    A fierce looking man was standing in front of Lu Yin, and he red at the young man while attacking repeatedly.

    The man was a traitor, and he possessed a powerful physique.

    "Kid, get out here and die!" The man sneered at Lu Yin, assuming that the young man was severely injured to the point where he could only hide within the Champions'' Stage.

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen had clearly been heavily injured, and they were barely able to hold the Star Devourer back.

    Ye Wu was struggling against the Progenitor-level corpse kings swarming around him.

    Normally, a man like the one trying to attack Lu Yin would not dare to approach such a battlefield, but at this moment, he believed that he had a good chance of killing Lu Yin, which would be an amazing contribution for the Second Scourge.

    Lu Yin raised his hand andshed out.

    The man sneered, and his arm underwent a strange transformation as he punched at Lu Yin. He could already envision Lu Yin¡¯s arm shattering.

    However, the man¡¯s expression suddenly changed dramatically, and he let out a scream of pain.

    Lu Yin had shattered the man¡¯s arm with a single palm strike, while also destroying half of the man¡¯s body.

    Another traitorous peak powerhouse was approaching the Champions'' Stage to attack Lu Yin, but the sight of Lu Yin¡¯s power terrified the man, and he turned to flee.

    Lu Yin''s eyes were cial as they fell upon the man. "Traitors deserve to die."

    "Wait! Senior, we¡¯re willing to defe-" The man tried to beg for mercy, but Lu Yin casually executed him. Lu Yin¡¯s strength could overwhelm an ordinary peak powerhouse.

    He rolled his die again.

    This time itnded on three pips: Enhance. He continued, only to get Timestop again. He kept going, and finally, he seeded: Possession.

    At this moment, divine energy rose up from the Second Scourge, once again forming the floatingnterns that slowly started to drift through the sky.

    The sight left Lord Xu trembling. "Run! We won¡¯t have another chance."

    Mu Shen agreed and immediately tried to tear through the void to escape, but a powerful force pulled at them from the front. The Star Devourer¡¯s sequence particles prevented Mu Shen and Lord Xu from escaping.

    Beneath theke of divine energy, Xu Jin''s eye rolled about. Lu Yin had guessed correctly, and it was not easy for Xu Jin to use True God''s Natural Art. Each time the eyeball used it, it would suffer a severe bacsh.

    Xu Jin had first been severely wounded by Kakawen¡¯s nine-star technique, Restart, and the bacsh from True God''s Natural Art had pushed it to its limits. However, using it once more would mean pushing the invaders back, or even killing several of the humans.

    At worst, Xu Jin would be forced to go into seclusion for a long time.

    Suddenly, its eye stopped moving and confusion filled it briefly before a bit of rity returned. At this moment, Xu Jin was no longer Xu Jin, but rather Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had used divine energy to roll his die, so when he entered the strange dark space, he had seen several orbs of light. One of them had been particrly bright, and Lu Yin had initially wanted to merge with that one, but then he had remembered Arrow God¡¯s presence on the battlefield.

    True God was not even a consideration. If a ball of light appeared that represented True God, it would likely be bright enough to illuminate the entire dark space.

    The bright sphere of light dazzled Lu Yin for a moment. Theparative brightness indicated that the individual represented by the ball was far more powerful than Lu Yin, and there was no doubt that they were at the same level as the Seven Skygods.

    On the current battlefield in the Second Scourge, the strongest individual Lu Yin could Possess through divine energy should be Arrow God, followed by Xu Jin, who had been heavily injured.

    Lu Yin hesitated briefly before choosing another orb of light to merge with.

    The sphere that he had chosen was also quite bright, but it was a bit dimmer than the brightest orb. There were several other balls of light around, but they were much dimmer, signifying a substantial difference in strength.

    Gritting his teeth, Lu Yin rushed towards his chosen sphere of light. He was gambling, but if he won, he might be able to kill Xu Jin. If he lost, the brightness of the sphere indicated that it belonged to a peak powerhouse capable of using divine energy. Lu Yin considered the Magician, but even if he Possessed the Magician, it would be possible to buy a bit of time.

    Everything depended on luck.

    Lu Yin''s luck proved to be decent, and he sessfully Possessed Xu Jin.

    Xu Jin was not a human, and it was literally nothing more than an eyeball. While the eye looked like it hade from a human, not even Xu Jin knew its own origins.

    It was as if the eyeball had gained consciousness, cultivated, and trained before eventually being discovered by True God and brought into Aeternus.

    Consciousness was both Xu Jin¡¯s power and innate gift. His sequence particle was the Law of Intent, and the greatest power he could manifest was True God''s Natural Art.

    The moment Lu Yin Possessed Xu Jin, the Natural Art stopped.

    Across the Second Scourge, Lord Xu and the other humans had all started to despair. They were unable to escape, which meant that they had no choice but to wait for thenterns to shatter once again, which would severely injure them. They might not be lucky enough to survive this next bout of attacks.

    However, thenterns started to slowly dissipate without ever shattering.

    Arrow God and the Magician were both left quite perplexed. What was happening?

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen stared down at theke of divine energy, simrly confused.

    The eyeball suddenly shot out from the depths of theke, aiming straight for Lu Yin.

    Ye Wu attacked out of reflex, but Lu Yin had already been prepared and reacted with consciousness.

    Ye Wu had been gravely injured by the Natural Art, and he felt the world around him spin and copse.

    Lu Yin could not afford to worry about the man. Possessing Xu Jin would onlyst for a very short amount of time. This had nothing to do with the amount of divine energy that Lu Yin had, but was instead rted to the fact that Xu Jin''s cultivation was much greater than Lu Yin¡¯s. The moment that Lu Yin¡¯s Possessed started, he had barely had enough time to look through even just a few memories before charging up from theke of divine energy.

    Everyone watched as the eyeball crashed against the Champions'' Stage. At this moment, Xu Jin was within five meters of Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s consciousness returned to his own body, and Xu Jin regained control of its eye. It was dazed when it saw how close it was to Lu Yin and the Champions'' Stage. Pain throbbed through the eyeball due to crashing against the Champions¡¯ Stage. Lu Yin had not been gentle when he had mmed Xu Jin¡¯s body into Lu Yuan¡¯s Champions¡¯ Stage, as he had wanted the impact to prevent the eyeball from immediately retreating.

    Lu Yin used his consciousness to Possess the eye again, but this Possession had nothing to do with Lu Yin¡¯s die, as it was simply because Xu Jin was within five meters of him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to devour Xu Jin''s consciousness, just as he had once devoured the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness.

    Normally, such an attempt would be impossible, but by Possessing Xu Jin, Lu Yin could prevent Xu Jin from resisting with his own consciousness. This was the only way in which Lu Yin could hope to seed.

    As Lu Yin Possessed Xu Jin, he made the eye¡¯s consciousness flow into the universe within Lu Yin¡¯s chest. There was a star of consciousness in that universe, and as Lu Yin Possessed Xu Jin and controlled his consciousness, the star started to spin and absorb Xu Jin''s consciousness. The star quickly started to grow.

    Lu Yin''s mind returned to his own body again. He could not maintain the Possession for very long.

    Xu Jin regained awareness, and its gaze locked onto Lu Yin. It knew that it was being controlled, and the eyeball tried to escape.

    However, before Xu Jin could move, Lu Yin Possessed the eye again. There was a limit to how long Lu Yin could Possess Xu Jin each time, but during that time, Xu Jin''s consciousness was being continuously devoured and absorbed by Lu Yin¡¯s star of consciousness. Every time Xu Jin recovered and tried to escape, Lu Yin would Possess it once again.

    The cycle kept repeating, and it drove Xu Jin to despair.

    Others were watching, but the situation was too bizarre for them to make any sense of it.

    It looked like Xu Jin was attacking Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was inside the Champions'' Stage, where it should be impossible to harm him. In that case, what was Xu Jin doing? Actually, what was Lu Yin doing?

    Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and everyone else watching could not understand what they were seeing, and they alsocked the ability to interfere in this unseen battle.

    After Ye Wu barely managed to recover a bit, he watched from the distance. He saw both Xu Jin¡¯s eyeball and Lu Yin, separated by the Champions'' Stage. Ye Wu was also unable to make sense of what he was seeing.

    No one couldprehend what was happening. Only Lu Yin and Xu Jin knew the truth.

    Lu Yin was devouring Xu Jin''s consciousness, and after the third round, Xu Jin managed to get out a scream of anguish. "Help me!"

    Arrow God''s eyes went wide, and she shot an arrow at Lu Yin.

    However, Sovereign Dou Sheng intercepted the attack.

    The Sovereign appeared to be invincible. Golden blood stained his entire body, but he still wielded his cudgel fiercely. He was unyielding and unrelenting as he attacked Arrow God.

    No one but Arrow God was able to help Xu Jin. But at this moment, Arrow God was being stopped by Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Near the ck Mother Tree, the four most powerful individuals in the Second Scourge were engaged in a chaotic battle that was impossible for anyone else to make out clearly.

 Chapter 3106: Lu Yinâ€™s Death

    <h4>Chapter 3106: Lu Yin¡¯s Death</h4>

    The First Scourge was currently facing a disaster. The Lord of Lightning had ultimately realized that, since Aeternus had lured the Ancient Lightning Locust to Whitecloud City, he was just as capable of drawing the creature to the First Scourge. After all, the Ancient Lightning Locust was fixated on the Lord of Lightning himself, and it did not care about Whitecloud City at all. Wherever Jiang Feng went, the locust would follow.

    Thus, at this moment, the First Scourge was facing a catastrophe of lightning.

    In the Third Scourge, Di Qiong faced off against Lu Tianyi. In all the Scourges, everyone who was not part of Aeternus would be shunned and suppressed.

    Even so, Lu Tianyi was able to fight against Di Qiong despite being shunned from the Scourge.

    ckless God had not left the Fourth Scourge.

    In the Fifth Scourge, the Abandoned was continuously attacking Aeternus Kingdoms. Two of the Five Elders had been antagonized into pursuing the man, but they could not find him. However, the Abandoned¡¯s actions werepletely unrted to what Lu Yin and the others were doing; his attacks were merely coincidental.

    The Sixth Scourge was the only one that was peaceful throughout it all. Even without Ji Luo, that Scourge did not face any formidable enemies.

    As for the Nine-Star Civilization, the addition of the Scourge upation stopped the Aeternals from making any further progress.

    An unprecedented war raged across the megaverse, sweeping through many parallel universes.

    Aeternus had expected their Divine Commandment to plunge humanity into an abyss of destruction. They had never expected to see the current situation.

    In the Second Scourge, the star of consciousness in Lu Yin''s inner universe was continuing to grow. It had already surpassed the other stars and was now thergest in his inner universe. Even so, it was still expanding.

    Xu Jin''s pupil was constantly fluctuating. Every time it regained control of itself, it let out a scream of horror. It was truly terrified at this moment, as Lu Yin was devouring Xu Jin¡¯s fundamental power.

    Xu Jin often devoured the consciousness of other creatures, and it had most recently devoured the consciousnesses of the Totem Civilization. Yes, it had consumed the consciousnesses of an entire civilization. Such an exhrating sensation had been unforgettable, but it had never once thought about the despair of those being devoured.

    At this moment, Xu Jin was suffering it firsthand.

    Lu Yin showed no sign of mercy and had absolutely no intention of stopping.

    At this moment, his consciousness was undergoing a profound transformation, as he was metamorphosing.

    At least in terms of consciousness, Lu Yin no longer had any equal.

    A crack appeared on the eyeball.

    Xu Jin regained its mind once more and shrieked, "Let me go, Lu Yin! I can teach you True God''s Natural Art. I can tell you many, many things. You''ve already devoured most of my consciousness! Let me go, please!"

    Lu Yin''s expression remained as cold as ever, and he simply continued devouring.

    Xu Jin wailed, cursed, and even screamed out its hatred for Lu Yin, but its actions were futile.

    One of the Aeternals¡¯ Three Pirs and Six Skies was being shoved into the abyss of death within the Second Scourge.

    Not one of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses could save Xu Jin, not even Arrow God.

    In fact, none of them even understood what was happening.

    The crack expanded until, finally, the eye shattered with a soft sound, and it fell to the ground.

    Xu Jin''s consciousness had beenpletely devoured by Lu Yin. At this moment, thergest star in Lu Yin¡¯s independent universe was the star of consciousness, and it far exceeded all the other stars in size.

    In terms of pure consciousness, Lu Yin was now equal to the Seven Skygods.

    However, that did not mean that wielding this newly strengthened consciousness would be easy. Lu Yin still needed to adapt to it and train.

    Far away, a thunderous roar erupted.

    Lu Yin stared down at the broken eyeball. Xu Jin was truly dead and forever gone. It would never again be included among the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Lu Yin turned to look into the distance and called out, "Everyone, retreat."

    Arrow God stopped pushing forward, as she realized that Xu Jin had died. She was not confident that she could kill Sovereign Dou Sheng, which meant that the battle had to end here.

    The Star Devourer also stopped.

    The Magician was bleeding. He had been almostpletely overwhelmed by Kong Tianzhao.

    However, the swordsman also stopped at that moment. In the distance, ckless God appeared, entering the Second Scourge right as Xu Jin died.

    Another one of the Seven Skygods had entered the Second Scourge. At this juncture, neither Aeternus nor humanity held the upper hand.

    Lu Yin looked over at ckless God, who stared straight back at the young man. Both of them remembered the offer of the 10,000 year opportunity that had been made years before.

    Was there still any chance?

    After all, Lu Yin had already managed to kill two of the Seven Skygods and one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Lu Yin nced over at the ck Mother Tree, a trace of worry flickering through his eyes. "Ancestor, you need to return safely."

    The void was torn open, and everyone went their separate ways. Naturally, Lu Yin made his way back to Aeternus Nation so that he could return to the Fifth Maind.

    No one noticed that, as Lu Yin turned to enter the spatial tear, a dark-red light appeared from the ck Mother Tree. It shot straight across the entire Second Scourge in a mere instant. While the dark-red light originated from the ck Mother Tree, no one could see where it was aimed at. It pierced through the void as it moved along, and eventually struck Lu Yin¡¯s forehead, shooting straight through and continuing on until it disappeared into he distance.

    A thunderous roar rang out, "Little Seven-"

    Golden light filled the sky as the Investiture of the Gods appeared. A Champions'' Stage flew toward the ck Mother Tree as Lu Yuan started frantically attacking. The entire time, he shouted, "Yong Heng, I want your life!"

    The Great Sovereign stared into the distance in a daze. In front of a spatial tear, Lu Yin''s eyes went nk, and all traces of vitality left his body. He plummeted from the sky like a lifeless corpse.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng, Mu Shen, and everyone else saw this as well, though no one had expected it. Despite Xu Jin¡¯s death, as well as the fact that the Great Sovereign and Lu Yuan were fighting against True God, he had still managed to strike down Lu Yin.

    Even if it had only been a strand of True God¡¯s divine energy, no one doubted that the strand was powerful enough to obliterate everything.

    Lu Yin''s body mmed onto the ground, dropping like a stone. There was no sign of any motion.

    Hended just a short distance away from the fragments of Xu Jin''s eyeball.

    Close to the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yuan fought like a madman. Astral Anura screamed, while the Great Sovereign remained cold and indifferent. True God''s divine energy surged into the sky once more, epassing the entire Scourge and turning the sky a dark red.

    No matter how fierce the distant battle raged, such things no longer concerned Lu Yin.

    Hey on the ground, his eyes devoid of all life. Blood slowly leaked from his forehead.

    Ye Wu took a long look at Lu Yin before leaving. It was impossible to save the man, and they had no personal connection.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng, Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and Kong Tianzhao all made their way towards Lu Yin. Arrow God and ckless God did not try to intervene. It was impossible to even imagine what sort of impact Lu Yin''s death would have on humanity as a whole. Lu Yuan had already gone mad, and there was no need to force everything to a futile struggle at this moment.

    For most people, the current battle had already ended.

    As for True God, if the Great Sovereign and Lu Yuan were capable of defeating him, Aeternus would have been destroyed long ago.

    A small group of people arrived beside Lu Yin. They all stared down at his lifeless body with sorrowful expressions.

    "While I may not have always agreed with his methods, I can¡¯t deny that he was humanity''s hope of defeating Aeternus. What a pity," the Voidlordmented.

    Mu Shen sighed. "Even the Great Sovereign couldn''t give us the same kind of hope."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng took a deep breath before turning back to look at the ck Mother Tree. He wished that that blow had been aimed at him. He had been seeking death for years, but because of Extremes Must Be Reversed, it was incredibly difficult for him to die.

    Kong Tianzhao''s eyes remained calm. This was his first time meeting Lu Yin. While the young man had already left a deep impression on Kong Tianzhao, most of that was due to Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue. Even so, the man was dead, which was a great pity.

    "Take him back. Even if he¡¯s dead, he should not remain in a Scourge," Lord Xu stated. While he grieved Lu Yin''s death, someone as old as the Voidlord had seen too much death throughout his life. Even someone as extraordinarily talented as Lu Yin could not escape the inevitable, and since he was already dead, there was nothing more to be done.

    As everyone spoke, Lu Yin could hear them. He was not actually dead, despite the fact that his body clearly looked like it. What was happening? True God¡¯s attack should have been enough to kill Lu Yin, but the divine energy had struck Lu Yin in the center of his forehead, and it had shattered Heaven''s Sight.

    Heaven''s Sight was a technique and a treasure left behind by Wu Tian, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. While the man was not as powerful as True God, the discrepancy was not excessive.

    Heaven''s Sight, an invaluable treasure created by Wu Tian, had been shattered by True God, but its destruction had spared Lu Yin from a fatal blow.

    Regardless, the attack had separated Lu Yin''s mind from his body. He could hear people talking and even see what they did, but he was unable to move. All of his body¡¯s vital functions had stopped, so everyone thought that the young man was dead.

    Even Ancestor Lu Yuan thought that Lu Yin was dead, as the man had personally witnessed True God¡¯s attack stab through Lu Yin''s forehead. How could Lu Yin possibly survive an attack from True God?

    Noone even considered that Heaven''s Sight might have blocked the blow.

    While Heaven''s Sight had protected Lu Yin¡¯s life, the attack had still reduced him to a living corpse.

    Lu Yin wanted to move. He desperately wanted to tell Lord Xu and the others that they needed to call Lu Yuan back, as a desperate fight would only increase the risk of a mistake uring. Unfortunately, Lu Yin could not move or make any sound at all. He might as well be a corpse.

    Lord Xu knelt down. "Let''s go. We''ll take you home."

    Lu Yin summoned all of his strength, but he was still unable to move. He had no way of letting anyone know that he was still alive.

    He felt something cold drip from his brow. It was blood, and it stained his right eye red while tinting his vision crimson.

    <i>Move, move! Hurry up and move! I''m not dead. I just killed Xu Jin!</i> <i>We¡¯ve only taken down one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Move, move!</i>

    <i>Huh? Why is the sky changing color? It''s getting darker. Am I really going to die? Do colors fade before death?</i>

    <i>No...</i>

    Lu Yin saw Lord Xu¡¯s hand pause as it reached out to him. Mu Shen, Kong Tianzhao, and even a distant corpse king all froze, and the sky turned gray. Was it Lu Yin¡¯s master?

    Lu Yin''s eyes were lifeless, but he could still see a figure step out from behind Lord Xu. The figure was shrouded in gray, and the person¡¯s mere presence seemed to make time freeze. It really was Mister Mu.

    "This is quite themotion," Mister Mu said as he stepped past Lord Xu and reached out with a hand to pull Lu Yin up.

    A distant shout echoed, "Old Mu, do you intend to drag the battle from the Immemorial Citadel here?"

    Lu Yuan looked over and saw Mister Mu. "Is that him?"

    The Great Sovereign also turned to look at Mister Mu. She recognized him from some previous encounters.

    Astral Anura let out a strange cry, "I''m done here! I won¡¯t fight anymore! I''m just a businessman, and this job is a loss! A total loss!"

    Mister Mu was able to freeze time in the area near to Lu Yin, but he could not freeze the battlefield near the ck Mother Tree. A gray aura split the Second Scourge. "I''m simply taking away this poor disciple of mine. Don''t mind me. Loam, it¡¯s been a long time. I''m taking your child with me."

    Lu Yuan wanted to say something, but he held his tongue.

    The Great Sovereign stared at Mister Mu. "Is Tai Chu really dead?"

    Mister Mu and the Great Sovereign exchanged nces across the distance, but Mister Mu, along with his gray aura, disappeared without ever answering.

    "Don''t leave! Answer me!" The Great Sovereign hurriedly chased after the man.

    Lu Yuan threw a reluctant nce at True God. An icy resolve filled the man¡¯s eyes, but his previous madness and desperation were gone. That man had arrived and taken Little Seven away. Could it be that Little Seven was not actually dead?

    The battle in the Second Scourge ended, apanied by Astral Anura''s cries that he had suffered a great loss.

    After that, the battles in the Third and First Scourges also ground to a halt.

 Chapter 3107: Lu Yin And The Origin Progenitor

    <h4>Chapter 3107: Lu Yin And The Origin Progenitor</h4>

    No true battle had erupted in the First Scourge, as the Lord of Lightning had merely lured the Ancient Lightning Locust there. As soon as the battle in the Second Scourge ended, Jiang Feng had quickly left. He had no desire to be besieged by the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    At around the same time, Aeternus¡¯s efforts to eliminate the Nine-Star Civilization came to an end as well.

    The Scourge upation was like an unkible monster. Theycked powerful battle techniques, but neither did they need them. Their only goal was pure destruction. Whenever they exhausted their energy, they would return, drain a bit more from their ancestor, and then immediately resume their rampage. Every attack was delivered at full power, which meant that even powerful experts like Ji Luo and Shao Yin had no choice but to retreat.

    Finally, the massive battle came to an end.

    Aeternus had initiated a massive campaign with the start of a Divine Commandment, but the moment the Scourge upation had appeared to help the Nine-Star Civilization, everything had shifted away from the Aeternals¡¯ direction and initiative. Aeternus was not able to end the battle. That was something that only Lu Yin could do.

    Divine Commandment was intended to be one of Aeternus¡¯s most powerful campaigns, but humanity refused to fall for such a thing again. Divine Commandments could no longer pose an existential threat to humanity.

    Humans were also able to unite forces across multiple parallel universes.

    Of course, at this moment, everyone wanted to know what had happened to Lu Yin. He was the only person capable of uniting the various human civilizations. That was not something that the Great Sovereign or Lu Yuan could aplish. While some people possessed amazing personal power, that did not make them all-powerful. Lu Yin had his own methods and personal charisma.

    If Lu Yin died, humanity would suffer a fatal blow.

    His death did not only concern humanity, but also Aeternus.

    ...

    Mister Mu carried Lu Yin through outer space, and Lu Yin had no idea where they were headed.

    "Every time I see you, you¡¯ve changed, my disciple," Mister Mu muttered. It seemed that he was speaking to himself but also addressing Lu Yin. "At first, I was able to clearly see your path and power, but you¡¯ve moved beyond my sight.

    "Even though we, master and disciple, have met infrequently, each of our meetings has been extraordinary. You¡¯ve advanced too quickly and climbed too high. There are times when even I can¡¯t help you. All I can do is help you forge your own path.

    "You aren¡¯t dead. I know that, but I can¡¯t save you. There¡¯s only one person who can, and you¡¯ve seen them before, at the Immemorial Citadel."

    Lu Yin was shocked. <i>The Origin Progenitor?</i>

    If Lu Yin was not mistaken, Mister Mu was taking him to the Origin Progenitor. Who else could save Lu Yin when not even Mister Mu could?

    "After all, I don¡¯t belong to this ce."

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. What did that mean?

    Mister Mu did not borate, simply continuing to tear through the void. Sequence strings swirled around the two men, all of them converging in a single direction. They all led to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Mister Mu nced at Lu Yin. "Ironically, after I gave you those cosmic doors so that you could join forces with other civilizations, Aeternus initiated a Divine Commandment right as you seeded. If you had been even a bit slower, we humans would have been caught off guard by the Divine Commandment.

    "Unfortunately, you also caught Yong Heng¡¯s attention. He attacked you himself, and while I thought that that might be possible when I learned of the battles in the Scourges, I was still a step toote.

    "We¡¯re here."

    Once again, Lu Yinid eyes on the Immemorial Citadel. While it had not been that long since hisst visit, this time, he was arriving as a member of humanity.

    There was no predicting how the future would y out. Lu Yin had assumed that he would not see the Immemorial Citadel again for a very, very long time.

    The battle surrounding the Immemorial Citadel was as awe-inspiring as ever. Even if Lu Yin only caught a fleeting nce of the battlefield, he had the impression of something dancing along a de¡¯s edge. He was instantly reminded of his previous visit.

    Aeternus¡¯s Divine Selection required participants to survive at the Immemorial Citadel for a month. Anyone who could aplish that would be qualified to rece the Three Pirs and Six Skies, but very few had ever passed the Divine Selection.

    Mister Mu carried Lu Yin into the depths of the Immemorial Citadel. They crossed over some ancient blocks to reach a ce that had left an indelible mark on Lu Yin¡¯s memory.

    He was once again seeing something that had once felt like a scene from a dream.

    An armless person with one knee on the floor held countless sequence strings in their mouth. Like this, they served as the foundation of the Immemorial Citadel, bearing the weight of the entire city.

    It was the Origin Progenitor.

    The sight once again left Lu Yin feeling deeply moved.

    The Origin Progenitor had lost both arms, and yet he was still the pir that held up the sky. He supported the Immemorial Citadel, and symbolically, the entire megaverse through the endless sequence strings he held.

    The Immemorial Citadel was the most intense battlefield in existence. Aeternus had tasked many individuals to destroy universes to eliminate individual sequence strings, but the Immemorial Citadel was both the origin and endpoint of all the sequence strings that connected the countless parallel universes of the megaverse.

    Destroying the Immemorial Citadel would also destroy countless parallel universes.

    Was the Origin Progenitor still alive? No one had ever given Lu Yin a definitive answer.

    The Great Sovereign believed that the Origin Progenitor was dead, as did the Aeternals. On the other hand, Lu Yuan believed that his master was still alive.

    Even afterying eyes on the Origin Progenitor during his previous visit, Lu Yin still had no idea if the man was alive or dead.

    Finally, Mister Mu was providing him with an answer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave this to you,¡± Mister Mu stated as he set Lu Yin down and left the underground chamber.

    In the dim room beneath the Immemorial Citadel, Lu Yin faintly saw a blurred figure that did not move at all. Was the Origin Progenitor really still alive?

    ¡°Little one, are you one of Loam¡¯s descendants?¡± A gentle voice reached his ears.

    Lu Yin was startled. The Origin Progenitor really was alive.

    ¡°That fellow, Yong Heng, can be quite ruthless, causing such harm to someone as young as you. Let me take a look.¡±

    Given that he was lying on the ground andpletely unable to move, Lu Yin was only able to make out a small corner of his surroundings. Even so, he saw the Origin Progenitor move.

    Lu Yin could not even guess how many years it had been since the Origin Progenitor hadst moved, but dust fell as the sound of cracking stone filled the room.

    He knew that the Origin Progenitor was looking at him.

    ¡°Just as that old geezer Mu said, no one can offer you guidance in your cultivation path, not even me. I do look forward to seeing what you¡¯ll be when you break through and be a Progenitor. Maybe you¡¯ll be the first of all of us to ovee Dukkha? Haha.

    ¡°Yong Heng¡¯s attack could have killed you, but you managed to survive thanks to Big Thug¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Sight. Big Thug is such a good child. I noticed you when you disguised yourself as one of the Aeternals¡¯ representatives for their Divine Selection and came to the battlefield here at the Immemorial Citadel. Heaven¡¯s Sight isn¡¯t something that just anyone can obtain. It¡¯s not just a power, as it also has a personality. It will fit with some people, but it ispletely ipatible with others.

    ¡°The fact that you were able to merge with Heaven¡¯s Sight means that you¡¯re also a good child, just like Big Thug.

    ¡°Old Mu told me that you attacked Aeternus in response to their Divine Commandment. Well done. Loam once acted as humanity¡¯s gbearer, but his descendant is even more impressive, haha.¡±

    Lu Yin just listened to the Origin Progenitor, who seemed to be rambling. Was it impossible to save Lu Yin without all this talking? He sounded like a reminiscing old man.

    Still, some of what Lu Yin heard was ratherforting.

    Even so, he was quite anxious. War could break out between humanity and the Aeternals at any moment, and without Lu Yin to oversee things, it was possible for the situation to spiral out of control, even with the strength of Lu Yuan and several other powerhouses.

    Lu Yin had Possessed Xu Jin, and from that, he hade to understand the details of the Divine Commandment.

    He had learned that Aeternus had dered two Divine Commandments in the past. The first had shattered the Heavens Sect at its peak, leading to the destruction of four Mainds. The second had created a hole in human history.

    There had been outstandingly talented humans who had risen to power between the Heavens Sect era and the Daosource Sect era, such as a generation of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. There might have even been some who were as powerful as the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    However, the second Divine Commandment had erased that entire era, leaving no trace behind.

    The second Divine Commandment had not only targeted the Origin Universe, but it had also wiped out human civilizations in many parallel universes.

    The first Divine Commandment had been carried out over a long period of time, as there were considerable intervals between the destruction of each Maind. The first Divine Commandment epassed all of Aeternus¡¯s efforts during the time that it took the four Mainds to be shattered.

    Although it hadsted for a much shorter period of time, the second Divine Commandment had stretched into the era of Progenitor Chen and the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. That Divine Commandment had erased the previous era and part of the Daosource Sect era.

    The destruction of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Daosource Sect and the war with the Sixth Maind were both part of the second Divine Commandment, though those two events also marked its end. The most intense period of fighting had been before the Daosource Sect era even started.

    In the current era, Aeternus had announced their third Divine Commandment andunched an united offensive against humanity. Every Divine Commandment had led to the death of countless creatures, as well as the extermination of entire civilizations.

    The second Divine Commandment had erased humanity¡¯s knowledge of an entire era.

    The Daosource Sect had managed to survive, but the greatest powerhouses of the previous era had all perished. If not for that, people like Lu Tianyi would not be the only ones who had lived from the Heavens Sect era to the Daosource Sect era. Many powerhouses from the Celestial Frost Sect and Shenwu¡¯s Sky had been killed by the second Divine Commandment.

    Humanity did not know of the Divine Commandments, and they simply thought that the Aeternals hadunched major offensives.

    Not recognizing a war was a terrible tragedy, and it was also a reason for losing.

    Lu Yin had learned about the Divine Commandments when Aeternus had dered their third one. This meant that there would be a fight to the death, and he wanted to quickly return so that he could oversee the situation.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying on the floor. Being unable to move must be tiring. Don¡¯t worry and just wait a bit. I haven¡¯t used this for years, so I need to find it. Are you asking what I¡¯m looking for? You¡¯ll recognize it when you see it.¡±

    Lu Yin was speechless. When had he asked anything?

    ¡°I heard you have four inner worlds and that one of them had the appearance of my Primaldust during your Semi-Progenitor tribtion. That¡¯s right, you guessed it. That¡¯s what I¡¯m looking for.¡±

    If he could move, Lu Yin would have immediately mentioned that he had guessed no such thing.

    ¡°Losing both of my arms has severely weakened me. I can still fight, but revealing myself would attract some rather troublesome enemies, and I can¡¯t defeat them with my current strength. That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t taken action in so many years. Still, don¡¯t underestimate me. I¡¯m quite strong.¡±

    Lu Yin internally acknowledged that he had never underestimated the Origin Progenitor.

    ¡°Are you wondering why I¡¯m looking for my weapon? Well, that¡¯s so that I can heal you. Yong Heng struck your head, and the wound he made is permanent. Normally, you¡¯d be dead, and there¡¯d be no need to try to close it. Burning the body would be best, as it would be less of an eyesore.¡±

    Lu Yin felt helpless. He was still alive, so how was he an eyesore?

    ¡°But since you¡¯re not dead, things are a bit troublesome.¡±

    All Lu Yin could see was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s back. The old man¡¯s incessant chatter caused Lu Yin¡¯s initially high expectations to quickly wane. It felt as if the Origin Progenitor regretted that Lu Yin had not actually died.

    ¡°You¡¯re not dead, but that hole in your head is like a dam with a leak. It needs to be plugged up. The best way to do that is with my weapon, Primaldust. I haven¡¯t used it in years, which is why it¡¯s reluctant to cooperate, but just wait a moment. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡±

 Chapter 3108: A Good Place

    <h4>Chapter 3108: A Good ce</h4>

    Lu Yin calmed his mind. He remembered once hearing someone say that, while everyone respected the Origin Progenitor, actually meeting the man and getting to know him wouldpletely change one¡¯s initial impression. Was this what they had meant? That the old man was a chatterbox?

    Lu Yin had no idea how long he had waited for when the Origin Progenitor suddenly shouted, startling Lu Yin. ¡°I found it! Old friend, don¡¯t me me. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t <i>want</i> to use you, but rather that I simply can¡¯t. You¡¯ll have to settle for helping this youngd stay alive. What? He¡¯s not worthy? Don¡¯t be so blunt.¡±

    Lu Yin felt utterly helpless. Was this some sort of joke?

    While he was lost in his own thoughts, he felt a cool sensation on his forehead. Suddenly, he sat up and gasped for air. Could he finally move again?

    Lu Yin turned to look at the Origin Progenitor, and his pupils contracted sharply. What was this?

    How much damage could one person survive? Lu Yin did not know for sure. He had received many attacks that were meant to be fatal, but he had never suffered injuries so severe that anything but death seemed impossible.

    At that moment, Lu Yin clearly saw the Origin Progenitor for the first time. The old man¡¯s entire body was covered with wounds. There was not a single portion that remained intact. His back was full of injuries so severe that it looked like his flesh had been turned inside out. The severed arms were surrounded by a dark-red power, which was clearly divine energy. The worst injury of all was on the man¡¯s neck, as a significant portion was missing entirely. Was the Origin Progenitor really still alive?

    When Lu Yin had first seen the Origin Progenitor from outside the Immemorial Citadel, it had been impossible to see the man¡¯s wounded neck or the injuries riddling his body. Only aftering close to the Origin Progenitor could Lu Yin see everything clearly.

    The Origin Progenitor had survived truly unimaginable injuries, and yet he still held onto all those sequence strings.

    Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor, dumbfounded by the sight.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s eyes shifted over to Lu Yin. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, kid? Scared? Don¡¯t be. These are just flesh wounds. Are you asking if they hurt? Of course not. They just itch a bit.¡±

    It was only then that Lu Yin realized that the Origin Progenitor had never actually been speaking. Given the fact that half of his neck was gone, the man was unable to talk, and he was instead transmitting his voice.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the Origin Progenitor before he finally spoke up, his own voice hoarse. ¡°Junior Lu Yin greets the Origin Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°Are all of Loam¡¯s descendants so formal? Let me think... That kid Lu Tianyi was also very polite. Not bad. All of you kids have grown up. In the past, out of all the kids, Loam was always the most mischievous. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Young one, your name is Lu Yin, right?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°My name is Lu Yin, but the Origin Progenitor can call me Little Seven. My original name was Lu Xiaoxuan.¡±

    ¡°Little Seven, huh? That sounds friendly enough, but your name doesn¡¯t sound very grand. You know, when the Origin Universe first began, there weren¡¯t very many people. I was afraid that the children would die, so it was important to give them proper names. A modest name meant a better chance of survival. How about I give you a name? You¡¯ll be called...¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, Origin Progenitor. Lu Yin is a good name,¡± Lu Yin quickly interrupted. He could never forget about the names like Big Thug, cky, Loam, and Yellowy, and recalling them made Lu Yin very nervous.

    The Origin Progenitor sighed. ¡°Oh well. I was going to call you Pir, like the pir that holds up the Origin Universe. See? It¡¯s both meaningful and ensures your survival.¡±

    Lu Yin quickly replied, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary, Origin Progenitor. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Very well. It seems that you don¡¯t understand art. Many people have begged me to give them names, but I rarely agree. Doing so is tiring.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow, and his hand rose up to touch his forehead. ¡°Origin Progenitor, is your Primaldust in my forehead?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It said that you¡¯re not worthy, but don¡¯t take that personally.¡±

    Lu Yin coughed lightly. ¡°During my Semi-Progenitor tribtion, I did indeed encounter your Primaldust. That tribtion led to the formation of my inner world, Dust World. I''ve been searching for a path to evolve Dust World into a Progenitor¡¯s world, but I have not been able to find any possibilities.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush things. You¡¯re still young.¡±

    ¡°Time waits for no one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, and Primaldust doesn¡¯t feel that you¡¯re worthy of it. It would be best for you to break through soon.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor, can we not talk about worthiness?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to dwell on it.¡±

    ¡°I can promise that I won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Alright, it feels like you¡¯re getting a bit annoyed.¡±

    Lu Yin exhaled. ¡°I swear, I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°I believe you. You¡¯re a good child. Now, what was your question again?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s face twitched. ¡°How can I evolve my inner world, Dust World, into a Progenitor¡¯s world? Since my inner world is simr to your Primaldust, I¡¯m confused.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared nkly at the Origin Progenitor. Was the man teasing Lu Yin because the name that he had chosen was not appreciated?

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Pir. I really don¡¯t know. You¡¯ll have to figure this out for yourself. My path is different from the one that you are taking. Or maybe they¡¯re the same? Let me think... No, they¡¯re definitely different. No doubt about it.

    ¡°The only advice I can give you is these words: gather the desires of all creatures.¡±

    Lu Yin was puzzled. ¡°Gather the desires of all creatures?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. How you interpret that is up to you, but I think you might be going down the wrong road. Who said that breaking through to the Progenitor realm requires you to evolve all four inner worlds at the same time?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes went wide, and he felt as though he had just been struck by lightning. This was true. Who had said that he needed to evolve all four of his inner worlds at the same time? He could seal them off and simply evolve one or two into Progenitor¡¯s worlds.

    ¡°See? You¡¯re exactly like the name I chose for you¡ªa Pir. Sometimes you overthink things, and that clouds your judgment.¡±

    ¡°Origin Progenitor, my name is not Pir,¡± Lu Yin corrected.

    The Origin Progenitor fell silent for a moment. ¡°Fine. You really don¡¯t understand art.¡±

    ¡°Origin Progenitor, what about Primaldust? What should I do with it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. When you break through and be a Progenitor, you¡¯ll naturally be worthy of it. Don¡¯t overthink things.¡±

    Lu Yin felt exhausted. ¡°What I meant was, how do I use it?¡±

    ¡°For now, you can¡¯t. Just leave it there in your forehead. Maybe your Dust World¡¯s evolution will be rted to it. Many things happen naturally. Just rx. No one can predict everything urately. Lassy was always overthinking things, and she ended up being thest one to break through. Who knows how she¡¯s doing now?¡±

    Lu Yin was astonished. ¡°Lassy? Destiny?¡±

    ¡°You know her? Right, you have ckie¡¯s power and Big Thug¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Sight, so you might know Lassy as well. Wait, is that Lassy¡¯s power? You even have her power? I didn¡¯t notice it earlier. Very impressive, Pir!¡±

    Lu Yin was about to reply when a sequence string in the Origin Progenitor¡¯s mouth suddenly snapped. The broken string recoiled like a whip, and a bleeding wound opened on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s back.

    Lu Yin was startled. ¡°Origin Progenitor?¡±

    The man¡¯s tone of voice never fluctuated at all. ¡°That¡¯s nothing. Aeternus broke a sequence string, nothing more. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the bleeding tear on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s back. Not a big deal? How could it not be a big deal? That had been a sequence string! It was essential for maintaining the stability of multiple parallel universes and was part of the infrastructure of the megaverse itself.

    Lu Yin could notprehend the Origin Progenitor¡¯s strength. The fact that a sequence string could tear his back open and leave a bleeding wound suggested that if Lu Yin had been struck by the same power, it would have split him in two.

    Sequence strings stabilized the various parallel universes, but they were also stretched taut like stic bands. As long as they remain intact, there would be no issues, but if one broke, both ends would recoil. The Origin Progenitor held one end in his teeth, so any sequence strings that broke would snap back to him.

    Lu Yin immediately understood why the Progenitor¡¯s back was covered in gashes and why there was no intact portion of the man¡¯s flesh. It was because he had been suffering the attacks of the broken sequence strings.

    The pain caused by the wounds of the sequence strings could not be as trivial as the Origin Progenitor made it seem.

    Aeternus worked to destroy sequence strings not only to annihte multiple parallel universes at the same time, but also to attack the Origin Progenitor.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He vowed to himself that he would never allow another sequence string to break. Every one that broke wounded the Origin Progenitor.

    ¡°Pir, you¡¯re overthinking things again, just like Lassy. This doesn¡¯t hurt, really. It¡¯s just a bit itchy,¡± the Origin Progenitor said with a light-hearted smile as his eyes twinkled.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice grew grave. ¡°Origin Progenitor, I will do my best to stop Aeternus and eradicate their entire race.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t overburden yourself. Learn from your master, old geezer Mu. He¡¯s quiteid-back. He didn¡¯t seem too heartbroken even when all of the creatures in his home died.¡±

    ¡°His home?¡± Lu Yin was again hearing that Mister Mu was from elsewhere.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a ce rted to us. Regardless, I know that you¡¯re eager to break through and be a Progenitor, right? I¡¯ll send you to a ce where you can find everything you need to do that, and it might help you achieve your breakthrough.¡±

    Lu Yin hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry to get back. Aeternus has dered their third Divine Commandment.¡±

    ¡°I know, but there¡¯s no need for you to worry too much. The Divine Commandmentsst a long time. Since they¡¯ve already started one, it means that humanity currently has the strength to warrant such an action. This means that humanity is strong enough that they won¡¯t be easily defeated.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to return.¡± Mister Mu suddenly appeared.

    Lu Yin looked over. ¡°Master.¡±

    Mister Mu stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve killed one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies and gravely injured another. Two of the Seven Skygods are dead. The Aeternals have been substantially weakened. Right now, your priority should be to break through to the next level. If you don¡¯t, then every one of your encounters with the Seven Skygods will require a united effort to deal with them. Can you guarantee that you will be sessful each and every time? Can you ensure that you won¡¯t die during one of those battles?¡±

    Lu Yin remained silent. It was true that every time he had faced someone at the Seven Skygods¡¯ level, he had needed to gang up on them with others. Each attempt had been exhausting and extremely dangerous.

    In order to sessfully deal with such opponents, Lu Yin had needed to thoroughly prepare, and for that, knowledge of the target¡¯s capabilities had always been essential. Without that, his attacks always ended in failure, like the attempt to kill Corpse God.

    Even if they managed to seed every time, doing so would substantially weaken humanity¡¯s strength.

    In addition to that, only one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies of Aeternus had been killed. The Aeternals had far too many powerful experts who were still alive.

    Ambushes could not guarantee victory, and attempting to do so would cost many lives. Winning in such a manner would be incredibly challenging.

    ¡°Given your current strength, once you be Progenitor, you won¡¯t need to rely on ambushes anymore. You¡¯re versatile enough that you should have an advantage over any opponent you face,¡± Mister Mu stated.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°I understand, Master. I was too impatient.¡±

    "Pir, there''s no need for you to feel rushed. Humanity won¡¯t be easily defeated. Focus on your own cultivation. The ce I''m sending you to has everything you¡¯ll need. Of course, it might also be dangerous, but as cultivators, we fight against fate. Dying while cultivating isn''t a big deal."

    Mister Mu looked puzzled. "Pir?"

    Lu Yin corrected the old man again, "Origin Progenitor, my name is Lu Yin, or if you like, you can call me Little Seven."

    "I understand, Pir. Don''t worry. If you die, I''ll remember you fondly."

    Lu Yin felt like this nickname might stick with him for the rest of his life, which was quite frustrating. "Origin Progenitor, just where are you sending me?"

    "It¡¯s a good ce. We call it the Mirari Realm."

    ...

 Chapter 3109: Chance

    <h4>Chapter 3109: Chance</h4>

    Mist drifted through the mountains and twined about a bamboo forest, creating a serene and elegant atmosphere. A breeze stirred nearby, and Lu Yin turned to gaze at a flowing river.

    He was in the Mirari Realm.

    He still could not believe that he had suddenly and easily arrived in the ce that Mr. Daheng had tried so hard to reach. Still, Lu Yin had been sent to the Mirari Realm by the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu.

    <i>The Mirari Realm... So is this what it looks like?</i>

    Lu Yin stood where he was, considering the Origin Progenitor''s earlier warning. The Mirari Realm held everything that Lu Yin needed, as well as unexpected dangers. He needed to be cautious of everything he saw.

    The Origin Progenitor''s warning made Lu Yin realize that this ce was far from as serene and beautiful as its facade presented.

    Even the mist around him might not be ordinary. He had previously seen a number of things that looked like mist, but were not.

    As for the nearby river, Lu Yin was tempted to move closer to it and investigate. He could only make out a blurred image through the mist.

    There should be an upstream and a downstream section in a flowing river, as the flow should have a direction. On top of that, water nurtured life. However, while Lu Yin had only been in the Mirari Realm for a short period of time, he had seen no signs of any life.

    Suddenly, the wind picked up.

    A bit of the mist around him was blown away, revealing a stone monument behind Lu Yin.

    He looked at it and read the words carved on it. The monument bore nine characters: ¡°Ascend to the Origin realm. Ovee Dukkha. Gain immortality.¡±

    Could this be the same monument that the patriarch of the Bai n had seen?

    Lu Yin had first heard about the Mirari Realm from Old Dian. The man¡¯s master, who had been the patriarch of the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Bai n, had identally stumbled into the Mirari Realm. After that visit, the man had be obsessed with finding out more about the ce, and he had incessantly muttered the nine words.

    Later, this man''s death had also been connected to the Mirari Realm.

    He had been killed by Chen Le, but the order hade from Mr. Daheng.

    Mr. Daheng had been searching for a way into the Mirari Realm, and he had repeatedly shed with Lu Yin because of that.

    However, Lu Yin hade to suspect that the one who was truly interested in the Mirari Realm might not be Mr. Daheng, but rather Astral Anura.

    The wily toad did nothing if there was no profit in it. He had been supporting Mr. Daheng for a reason, as why else would such a powerful creature care about someone as insignificant as Mr. Daheng?

    If the Mirari Realm was able to draw Astral Anura''s desire, then the ce had to be absolutely extraordinary.

    However, why was the Origin Progenitor able to send Lu Yin to this ce so easily? Could the Mirari Realm belong to the Origin Progenitor?

    Lu Yin had not discussed any of the specifics of the Mirari Realm with the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu before being sent to the ce. It appeared that the two men wanted Lu Yin to discover the details and explore the ce on his own.

    The only thing that the two men had said to reassure Lu Yin was that the Mirari Realm did not impact time, at least ording to Mister Mu. In other words, time was frozen as long as a person was within the Mirari Realm.

    Unlike parallel universes where time could flow faster, time simply did not pass as long as one was within the Mirari Realm. It did not matter how long Lu Yin stayed here; not even a second would pass for the rest of the universe. However, Lu Yin would experience the passage of time himself. If not for that, everyone would enter the Mirari Realm and simply be immortal.

    As he moved closer to the stone monument, Lu Yin¡¯s hand rose up to touch it.

    The monument was ancient, and there was no indication as to who had carved the nine characters into it.

    At that moment, another gust of wind blew the mist between Lu Yin and the riverbank away.

    He walked towards the river and was soon able to see it clearly. What he saw left him utterly shocked.

    He was not staring at a river, but rather at the River of Time.

    For a long time, Lu Yin had treated the river of time as nothing more than a concept, a term used to refer to the passing of time. It was not something that actually existed. However, as Lu Yin had slowly started learning to wield the power of time, especially after his Semi-Progenitor tribtion, he had realized that the River of Time was actually real.

    Big Sis had lost her power in the River of Time.

    It was a shock to learn that the River of Time flowed through the Mirari Realm. Just what was this ce?

    Could this be what the Origin Progenitor had meant when he had said, "Where there is a river, there is a bank"?

    The man had made thatment before sending Lu Yin into the Mirari Realm, but Lu Yin had not understood it. But at this moment, it made sense. If the River of Time was real, then it had to have banks. This even fit with how the power of Destiny allowed her to cross the River of Time and see the future.

    It was only natural for a river to have banks and bridges.

    But how could ordinary peopleprehend such a thing?

    Lu Yin stared at the River of Time as it flowed by. Was this the river that the Origin Progenitor wanted Lu Yin to fish from?

    <i>"The Mirari Realm is a good ce, and it has everything you need, as well as unknown dangers. </i>

    <i>¡°There is a river in there, and any river will have banks. Go there. It''s a great ce to fish. Use your body as the fishing rod and your techniques as the line. Enjoy some fishing.</i>

    <i>"Back in the day, Loam, ckie, and Lassy all visited that ce. I hope that, when you emerge, you¡¯ll be transformed. Good luck."</i>

    The Origin Progenitor''s words echoed in Lu Yin''s mind. Fishing? Fishing in the River of Time? Was this where he needed to focus his efforts?

    Fishing in the River of Time did not mean catching fish, but rather catching snippets of the past!

    Lu Yin also finally understood thement about using his body as the fishing rod and his techniques as the line.

    After observing for a while, the wind blew the mist closer to Lu Yin. His eyes flickered as he took out a Zenith Mountain from his cosmic ring and pulled out Jue Yi.

    Jue Yi had been one of the gatemasters of the Heavens Sect era¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates. During that time, he had seen the God of Death and dered himself as the God of Death¡¯s disciple. When Lu Buzheng, Destina, and the others had been released from the frozen sourcebox, Jue Yi had been with them. Over the years, he had worked both with and against Lu Yin, but hisst action had been to conspire with the Celestial Demon Emperor against Lu Yin. As a result of that scheme, Jue Yi had been gravely injured and imprisoned in a Zenith Mountain. This was the first time since then that Lu Yin had released the man.

    Decades had passed since Jue Yi had been imprisoned, and during that time, Lu Yin had neither killed nor released the man. Despite having once been a gatemaster of a Heavenly Gate, Jue Yi was of limited use to Lu Yin as the man was merely a Semi-Progenitor. However, Semi-Progenitors were not entirely useless. In reality, Lu Yin had basically forgotten about the man.

    This was the proper time to use him.

    As Jue Yi emerged from the Zenith Mountain, he was initially a bit dazed. After he saw Lu Yin, his expression changed. Nothing was said, and the man simply stared at Lu Yin.

    Decades of imprisonment might feel like the blink of an eye for someone with Jue Yi¡¯s level of cultivation, but that did not make it a pleasant experience.

    Lu Yin calmly observed Jue Yi. "It isn¡¯t much fun being imprisoned, is it?"

    Jue Yi''s expression fell. "What do you want?"

    He nced around. Where were they?

    Jue Yi had thought that he would be released within the Heavens Sect, where he would be surrounded by people like Lu Buzheng, as well as where Lu Yin could draw on Progenitor Chen¡¯s power. How else could Lu Yin hope to overpower Jue Yi? His injuries hadpletely healed over the decades of imprisonment.

    "Don''t worry, we aren¡¯t in the Fifth Maind. I¡¯m the only one you need to deal with," Lu Yin said as he watched Jue Yi with interest. "You can try to escape."

    Jue Yi¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he looked away from Lu Yin to the raging river roaring behind him. The man frowned. This river looked slightly familiar, and he felt like he had seen it somewhere before. All rivers looked somewhat alike, but the River of Time was different. Instead of normal water, a grayish-white fluid flowed through it, which had apletely different feel.

    Suddenly, Jue Yi remembered, and his face grew pale with shock as he turned back to stare at Lu Yin. "That¡¯s the River of Time! Where are we?"

    Lu Yin said nothing.

    Jue Yi trembled. The River of Time was flowing behind Lu Yin. Even a fool would understand that something was wrong. How could Lu Yin be so close to the River of Time? Such a thing had been taboo even during the Heavens Sect era. Jue Yi had only ever read about the river in some ancient texts. Of the Three Realms and Six Daos, some of them had drawn out the River of Time during their Progenitor tribtion.

    During the Heavens Sect era, any and all appearances of the River of Time had been significant enough to be recorded down in history. Why was it flowing behind Lu Yin?

    Jue Yi nced around, increasingly nervous. His scalp started to go numb. "Where are we?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "You can try to escape."

    Jue Yi immediately and decisively refused. "I won¡¯t run. Dao Monarch, I may have been wrong in my actions, but I am still one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s gatemasters. I am willing to ept my punishment."

    Lu Yinughed. The man was no fool.

    Seeing the River of Time be physically manifested was beyond abnormal, and the fact that Lu Yin was standing so close to it made Jue Yi even more uneasy. On top of that, the young man was actually telling him to try to escape. Jue Yi waspletely certain that, if he tried to do so, he would either be killed by Lu Yin or die in this mysterious ce.

    Did Lu Yin want Jue Yi to scout around for him?

    Seeing the realization dawning on Jue Yi¡¯s face, Lu Yin praised the man. "As expected of someone capable of bing a gatemaster. Your sense of danger is quite urate, but regardless of whether you want to run, you have to do so right now. I am giving you one chance. This is your only opportunity to survive and continue serving as a gatemaster. If you manage to escape, I won¡¯t stop you. If you survive, it''s simply fate. However, even if you do escape, if you continue to oppose me, you can¡¯t me me for being ruthless in the future."

    Jue Yi gritted his teeth. "I won''t run. You can punish me however you want, and you can even strip me of my cultivation, but I won¡¯t run."

    "Are you that afraid of this ce?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Jue Yi''s eyes flickered. He had started cultivating as an ordinary human and eventually risen to the Semi-Progenitor realm, and during his journey, he had experienced hardships that others could not even imagine. His sense of danger was extremely sharp.

    The River of Time should not be a physical river, and yet that was exactly what was before Jue Yi. This defied his understanding of reality; it was a power he could notprehend as it was far beyond his level. It would actually be best for him if he could return to the Zenith Mountain, where he would be safe.

    Lu Yin had not released Jue Yi with any good intentions in mind.

    Seeing that Jue Yi was determined not to run, Lu Yin sighed. "Since that¡¯s the case, I can only force you to try to escape. Jue Yi, we haven¡¯t seen each other in decades. Aren¡¯t you curious about my strength?"

    Jue Yi¡¯s eye twitched. "Dao Monarch, I am willing to atone for my past crimes. No matter what, I am a gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. I am a Semi-Progenitor who might break through and be a Progenitor in the future. I have seen the God of Death for myself and consider myself his disciple. I-"

    "Run. You only get this one chance," Lu Yin interrupted. He had no desire to listen to Jue Yi''s nonsense. This man did not understand the level that Lu Yin had reached.

    The God of Death? The Three Realms and Six Daos might be some of the most powerful human cultivators to have ever lived, but while the God of Death had once been an unimaginable existence to Lu Yin, the young man could finally see how strong the ancient cultivator had been.

    The Three Pirs and Six Skies were regarded asparable to the ancient Three Realms and Six Daos. Lu Yin did not believe that they were actually on the same level, but there could not be too much of a difference. Lu Yin had ambushed and defeated four different experts at the level of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and he had even killed three of them. He was willing to curse the Great Sovereign, he had survived an attack from True God himself, and he had even spoken with the Origin Progenitor as an equal. Lu Yin¡¯s current level was far beyond anything Jue Yi could imagine.

    To Lu Yin, all that Jue Yi had ever experienced was child¡¯s y.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and set it on Jue Yi¡¯s shoulder. "If you refuse to fight back, I will simply throw you out. If you don¡¯t want that, then run. You don¡¯t have any other options."

    Jue Yi was still unwilling. "Dao Monarch, can¡¯t you give me a chance?"

    "This <i>is</i> your chance," Lu Yin stated coldly. Jue Yi had attacked Lu Yin in the Astral Beast Domain and tried to kill him. The Semi-Progenitor should have been executed on the spot. If he wanted to survive now, he needed to seize his current opportunity.

 Chapter 3110: The Past

    <h4>Chapter 3110: The Past</h4>

    Lu Yin did not know how dangerous the Mirari Realm was. It was entirely possible that Jue Yi might escape, or he might die in the Mirari Realm. It was all up to fate.

    Everyone had to be responsible for their own mistakes, and Lu Yin had not immediately executed Jue Yi.

    The man acted decisively. The sight of the River of Time already hinted that something was wrong with this ce, and he had immediately begged for mercy. After seeing that Lu Yin was determined not to grant mercy, Jue Yi attacked. No matter how strong Lu Yin might have be, the Semi-Progenitor knew that he had to do his best. While he had not seen Lu Yin in decades, Jue Yi was at his peak condition. It was possible that Lu Yin was incapable of doing anything at all.

    Jue Yi released his inner world, the World of Death. Death energy surged, and it enveloped Lu Yin. A gate opened wide, and the image of the God of Death appeared behind Jue Yi as he visualized the God of Death.

    Lu Yin could now see through this visualization method. Jue Yi was not visualizing the true God of Death, but rather an imitation. While Lu Yin had not been able to see through the technique in the past, Jue Yi¡¯s methods seemedughable to him at this moment.

    Lu Yin allowed Jue Yi to unleash his full power, and the death energy surrounded Lu Yin. It pressed in upon him before simply flowing into the universe within his chest.

    The pressure of the World of Death meant nothing to Lu Yin. He remained motionless, as though he were the true God of Death. "We fought once before, but even back then, I was already able to withstand your World of Death. Why would you think that I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it now?"

    Jue Yi was horrified. This was impossible! How could this be? He knew that Lu Yin could endure, or even absorb death energy, but that had only been while using the God of Death Transformation. Jue Yi had been waiting for Lu Yin to perform that transformation.

    During his decades of imprisonment in the Zenith Mountain, Jue Yi had continuously studied his battle with Lu Yin, and during that time, the man had found a w. After Lu Yin underwent the God of Death Transformation, it was possible for Jue Yi to absorb death energy rather than release it. That would greatly weaken Lu Yin¡¯s transformation, limiting his power.

    Jue Yi had been waiting for the moment that Lu Yin transformed, but Lu Yin was doing no such thing. He simply stood within Jue Yi¡¯s World of Death and absorbed the death energy. How was that possible?

    Jue Yi could not fathom Lu Yin¡¯s current power. It was clear to Lu Yin that Jue Yi had never abandoned his thoughts of defeating Lu Yin. The man wanted to seize control of all death energy in existence and be the God of Death¡¯s true heir. Unfortunately, the gap between him and Lu Yin was too vast.

    Jue Yi¡¯s talent had allowed him to be a gatemaster, and there was a good possibility that he would eventually be a Progenitor. However, not even Mister Mu could predict how high Lu Yin would reach in the future.

    A few decades was just a short bit of time for Jue Yi, and not much had changed for him. However, in that same amount of time, Lu Yin had ascended to an unimaginable level.

    Jue Yi raised his scythe and brought it swinging down. "Heaven¡¯s sh!"

    The scythe fell onto Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder as Jue Yi tried to cleave his opponent in two. However, the de was unable to even touch Lu Yin¡¯s body, as it stopped a centimeter away. It was impossible for the scythe to cross that single centimeter.

    Jue Yi¡¯s face turned pale. He finally understood that Lu Yin had risen to a level far beyond anything that Jue Yi could hope to contend with.

    Lu Yin raised a hand up in front of Jue Yi. "Go."

    <i>Bang!</i>

    A simple push shattered the death energy that had surrounded Jue Yi, broke the man¡¯s scythe, and sent him flying into the distant mist.

    Jue Yi mmed into the ground, the impact dispersing the mist. He coughed up blood as he pushed himself up with a hand to look over at Lu Yin. "You-"

    Suddenly, the man¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he stared down at his arm in shock.

    Lu Yin was also staring at Jue Yi¡¯s arm.

    Jue Yi¡¯s arm had suddenly withered. It looked as though all the moisture had been wicked away, and it copsed in on itself. At the same time, the man¡¯s entire body started to change as well. His head, legs, feet all changed, with some growingrger and others smaller. Some shriveled and grew old, while others suddenly looked like they belonged to a child.

    The transformations continued.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face fell. These changes were a result of the power of time.

    Sure enough, the Mirari Realm was dangerous. The mist that filled this ce was not actually mist, but rather the power of time in gaseous form. Any contact with the mist could have its time warped, elerating or even reversing. The mist could transform Jue Yi into an old man on the brink of death, or revert him back into a child.

    More importantly, the mist was not homogenous, and each ce it touched could experience different effects. Various parts of Jue Yi¡¯s body were undergoing different transformations at the same time.

    Lu Yin watched as Jue Yi¡¯s legs were reduced to mere bone. Thousands, or even millions, of years had passed for the man¡¯s legs. On the other hand, Jue Yi¡¯s head had reverted back to his childhood, as time had unwound by the reverse.

    Jue Yi was stunned as he was tortured by the power of time. Eventually, every part of his body was reduced to simple bones. The change started with his legs and then moved up to his abdomen, which became a skeleton. Abruptly, his head melted way into a solitary skull, which fell to the ground and shattered. All the while, Jue Yi¡¯s arm continued to point at Lu Yin as it underwent continuous transformations.

    Eventually, even the arm was reduced to bones. From a short distance away, Lu Yin simply watched as Jue Yi was turned into a skeleton, erased by the power of time.

    The entire transformation took ce in the time it took to brew a cup of tea. Throughout the entire process, Jue Yi was unable to move at all.

    Once the man was nothing more than a skeleton, the power of time could not reverse his death, and that realization chilled Lu Yin to the bone.

    He stared in horror, his scalp growing numb. He nced around, realizing that the mist that surrounded him was the power of time. The slightest touch could devour any creature¡¯s lifespan. This was far more terrifying than any poison, and the knowledge of what surrounded him made Lu Yin¡¯s hair stand on end. He slowly started to move backwards.

    A gust of wind blew, pushing the mist closer to him.

    This startled Lu Yin, and he quickly sent out a st of wind himself, only to discover that he was unable to affect the mist. It continued to drift towards him, and his mouth went dry from fear.

    Fortunately, he was in arge open area, and the wind was not consistent. The mist kept dissipating and reforming, but ultimately, it was unable to fill the entire space. Seeing this let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief.

    He did not want to suffer the same miserable end as Jue Yi.

    He nced at the skeleton once more, and the sight caused Lu Yin''s eye to twitch. This was the Mirari Realm.

    He could not even imagine how the patriarch of the Bai n had managed to return from this ce alive.

    The Origin Progenitor had sent Lu Yin to this ce without offering any warnings. How irresponsible!

    At the very least, a hint would have been nice. If not for Lu Yin¡¯s cautious nature and his reluctance to touch the mist, he might have already been struck by disaster.

    He had initially considered exploring the forest, but at this moment, he hadpletely lost all such desire.

    How could he risk exploring anywhere if just the mist was this dangerous?

    He considered leaving, but he eventually decided against it. No matter what, he needed to increase his strength. Without greater strength, he would not be able to handle the third Divine Commandment.

    Xu Jin''s death would most likely trigger a reaction from the Aeternals and cause their wariness to rise even further. They had also learned that Lu Yin had united several different human civilizations, and given their intelligence, they would definitely develop some countermeasures. Lu Yin¡¯s best response to all of this was to enhance his own strength.

    He took a deep breath and sat down by the River of Time. He drifted into thought and calmed his pounding heart.

    After an indefinite amount of time, he stared out at the River of Time. Since this was a ce for fishing, he should get started. Who knew what he might catch?

    Using his body as the fishing rod and his techniques as the line, Lu Yin channeled stellr energy through his arm to start fishing in the River of Time. Stellr energy allowed his body to act as the rod, and he used his inner worlds as the line.

    He released his inner world, Infinity, and cast the line into the River of Time.

    The Mirari Realm supposedly held everything he needed, so he decided to simply see what he could get.

    As Infinity dangled into the River of Time, an invisible force tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s fishing rod. It was a very strange sensation. It felt like there was a presence, but also not¡ªit was simply the pressure of time. Suddenly, droplets sshed up from the river. They flowed up Infinity, expanding rapidly and quickly forming an image of a universe above the river. Two massive bodies shed in outer space.

    "I''ll give you one more chance. Your ability to raise a colossal giant clone indicates that you could be a super giant, which would greatly enhance your strength. You¡¯re just one of his nine clones. Are you really willing to be consumed by your original body one day?" One of the massive forms roared while punching at the other. Each blownded with a thunderous impact.

    "Being a colossal giant is already enough. I''m merely a sliver of a childhood obsession. Corpse God, despite being a sequence powerhouse, you are unable to defeat me even after this long. How is this anything but a failure on your part? Hahaha!"

    "I''m giving you an opportunity, but since you don''t want it, you can die!"

    <i>Boom!</i>

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Stars shattered as the giants fought across outer space.

    The two giants were none other than Progenitor Chen''s giant clone and Corpse God.

    Lu Yin had not expected to fish out this particr moment in time. He was well aware of the abilities of Progenitor Chen''s nine clones, having faced them during his first stellr tribtion. However, he had never learned of the clones¡¯ fate, and he also had not asked Progenitor Chen about the matter when they had met in Burial Garden.

    Many people imed that Progenitor Chen was dead, but Lu Yin had a feeling that it was actually the man¡¯s clones who had died. If that were true, then had all of the clones died, or only some of them?

    Lu Yin knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the clone with the innate gift of Heaven¡¯s Furnace had died. If not, Ye Wu would not have been able to use his symbiotic corpse technique to gain that innate gift.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was seeing the colossal giant clone.

    Of Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds, Infinity represented brute strength, and this sh between the two giants encapsted that same sort of power. The scene from the past had been pulled up from the River of Time, allowing Lu Yin to witness a battle that had never been recorded down in history.

    Progenitor Chen''s giant clone had been incredibly powerful, and while the man had never achieved Wielder-realm battle force, the giant had cultivated Aurelian Force to an impressive level. Corpse God was also formidable, but that was because of his sequence particles. They made him immortal and indestructible. In the duel, Progenitor Chen''s clone proved to be no match for Corpse God.

    However, that did not mean the clone was unable to counterattack. Corpse God was forced to retreat at times, and he even coughed up blood after his sequence particles were scattered by Progenitor Chen¡¯s blows.

    The giant clone had focused purely on physical strength, and it had honed it to an unimaginable level. A flick of a wrist caused stars to shatter.

    "Unfortunately, you haven¡¯t had the time toprehend thews of the universe or master a sequence particle. If not for that, I might not be able to win so easily. Even so, you¡¯ve obtained incredible opportunities across the universe. It''s a pity to kill you. I''ll ask you onest time¡ªdo you really want to die?"

    Lu Yin, who had previously joined an ambush on Corpse God, understood the man¡¯s strength well. Even at his peak, Corpse God had been forced back by each of the blows thrown by Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone.

    "Talking is pointless! All I¡¯m good at is fighting. Maybe I''ll have a breakthrough during our battle."

    This statement seemed to provoke Corpse God, or perhaps the Aeternal had been worried about his opponent. Either way, after that, Corpse God released his full power and held nothing back.

    There was no way to refute absolute strength, and in the end, Progenitor Chen''s clone was beaten to death. Even in death, the clone remained standing upright. His heart no longer beat, and his brain was already dead, but he remained unbowed.

    The battle took a long time, and Lu Yin sat on the bank of the River of Time as he watched the entire scene y out.

    The scenested until the moment that Corpse God took the giant corpse away.

    A droplet sshed back into the River of Time.

 Chapter 3111: The Power Of The Past

    <h4>Chapter 3111: The Power Of The Past</h4>

    Lu Yin had just witnessed a scene that was nothing more than a fragment of the past.

    He felt his heart grow heavy. So Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone was also dead. Did that mean that all of Progenitor Chen''s other clones were dead as well?

    In that case, was the Progenitor Chen that Lu Yin had spoken with in Burial Garden the man¡¯s original body?

    Thest bit of the scene had also caught Lu Yin''s attention. Corpse God had taken the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone away. What were the Skygod¡¯s intentions with the body? If Ye Wu could create a cultivation method like symbiotic corpses, then did the Aeternals also have the ability to utilize the corpse of Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone? The possibility was disturbing.

    Even if Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone had lost to Corpse God, the Progenitor¡¯s opponent had been Corpse God, who was a sequence powerhouse. On top of that, the Skygod had essentially been immortal and indestructible. Despite all that, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone had still forced Corpse God to cough up blood during their fight. If humanity was forced to fight against Progenitor Chen''s colossal giant clone, they would certainly have a difficult time.

    Lu Yin let out a deep breath and shook these dark thoughts away before he continued fishing.

    Infinity stretched out from his fishing rod and dipped into the River of Time. Suddenly, the rod jerked, and another drop of water sshed out, and the same situation as before repeated. Lu Yin looked into a universe that had appeared above the flowing river. This time, he saw an enormous creature. It appeared to be sleeping, but its snores were so loud that they even shook the stars. The creature resembled a whale, but it was impossible to determine its actual size just from the scene.

    Suddenly, the creature rolled over, and the simple movement caused the void to copse. The destruction spread into the distance, and the Hollow appeared as far as Lu Yin could see.

    His expression changed. Just such a minor movement had exposed the Hollow. Just how massive was this creature?

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength had actually fished out such a scene from the River of Time.

    Fishing in the River of Time could allow one to catch anything that existed in time: people, events, objects, everything.

    By using his own strength as bait, Lu Yin had drawn out incidents from the past that were rted to strength.

    The sh between Corpse God and Progenitor Chen''s giant clone had been one such sh of strength.

    The creature that Lu Yin was currently staring at was an even greater representation of pure power.

    Lu Yin had never seen something that could expose the Hollow by simply rolling over. He had no idea where the creature might be.

    The droplet fell back into the river, and Lu Yin continued fishing. He started to believe that he could pull up something from the past that would be able to help him improve his Infinity. Even if he failed to do so, he could at least pull out some interesting scenes from history.

    The entire time, he kept one eye on the mist, making sure that it never touched him. He did not want to end up like Jue Yi.

    Lu Yin was in the Mirari Realm, and time did not pass for anyone outside of this ce. The River of Time flowed through it, and Lu Yin was in no hurry. He patiently continued to fish, hoping to find something that would allow Infinity to undergo a transformation. After that, he intended to also use Lightstream, Dust World, and the Wordless Heavenly Book as bait.

    He wondered if he would even be able to drop the Wordless Heavenly Book into the river to use as bait.

    One after another, droplets sshed up from the River of Time. Each one revealed some scene from the past that was rted to physical might. Lu Yin felt as though he was seeing different paths that one could walk with strength, and he found the process rather enjoyable.

    He lost track of how long he spent fishing, as well as how many scenes he had pulled out of the river, when he happened upon a scene that featured Ancient God.

    The River of Time contained every event that had taken ce in the megaverse from the moment it had first begun, which meant that it would never show the beginning or the end.

    Lu Yin rarely ever saw familiar faces while fishing in the endless River of Time, but still, all of the people he was interested in were extraordinary individuals. The first scene that he had pulled out had shown Corpse God and Progenitor Chen''s giant clone fighting. Some timeter, Lu Yin was now seeing Ancient God.

    Ancient God¡¯s body was shrouded with Wielder-realm battle force as he fought against someone. Lu Yin did not recognize the other person, and he was not sure whether or not the other man was from the Origin Universe. What was clear was that this man was powerful enough to challenge Ancient God. Only someone at the level of the Seven Skygods could pull that off, as anyone else would be instantly destroyed.

    The fight was intense. Lu Yin saw Ancient God use his Purgatory Seal, Wielder - Indestructible, and even Wielder - Void to chase time. In the end, Ancient God defeated his opponent.

    Just as Ancient God was about to deliver the final blow, the other man lost consciousness and copsed.

    Surprisingly, Ancient God spared the man¡¯s life, and he instead tossed him into a parallel universe.

    Lu Yin watched in disbelief. Why had Ancient God spared that man? The person had not shown any mercy during their fight, and every attack had been an attempt to kill Ancient God.

    After getting rid of his defeated foe, Ancient God abruptly whipped around. "Someone¡¯s using the power of time? Who¡¯s there? Show yourself!"

    He then threw a punch at outer space. The fist contained a terrifying level of power, as well as the full force of his Wielder-realm battle force. The attack contained a formidable pressure that was unlike anything that Lu Yin had ever felt before. Stars shattered around the point of impact.

    Just one punch shattered multiple stars.

    Lu Yin''s inner world, Infinity, shattered, and his fishing rod snapped as he staggered back. He even spat out blood. It was horrifying.

    Ancient God had punched through the River of Time,unching an attack even more terrifying than anything he had revealed in the First Scourge. Ancient God had kept his true strength hidden.

    Lu Yin had just witnessed the true power of one of the Three Realms and Six Daos and the leader of the Seven Skygods.

    He cleaned the blood from his lips while trying to catch his breath. Thankfully, he had faced Ancient God¡¯s punch after it traveled through the River of Time. If Lu Yin had faced that attack in person, there was no question that it would have killed him before he could even try to escape. That punch had shattered the universe, and it had felt even more powerful than the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s nine-star technique, Restart.

    Who had that person been? Ancient God had struggled to defeat him, and yet he had spared his life. On top of that, Ancient God had not thrown such a powerful punch just because he had felt someone watching him; it was most likely because the man suspected that someone had seen Ancient God spare his opponent.

    Lu Yin stared at the River of Time, a wild thought suddenly urring to him: could Ancient God be a spy that humanity had nted within Aeternus?

    Lu Yin had long since spected that there could be a human spy among the Seven Skygods. With Shaman God and Undying God both dead, the surviving Skygods were Ancient God, Corpse God, Forgotten Ruins God, Whiteless God, and ckless God.

    Corpse God was unlikely to be a spy, given that he had nearly been killed before, and he was also a super giant with no connection to the Origin Universe. The super giants did not care about humanity at all.

    Whiteless God was the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods, and Lu Yin had no idea what her true identity was. However, countless human spies and Redbacks had been recruited by Whiteless God. If she were a human spy, it would be beyond ridiculous, and there would be no need for her to keep her identity such a secret.

    Ancient God had never been a suspect due to the fact that he had been one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. A betrayal by such an influential individual had to have drawn True God''s scrutiny. If Ancient God were a human spy, True God would look like a joke.

    Lu Yin had once suspected Forgotten Ruins God, but she had pulled both Wang Xiaoyu and Wang Fan over to Aeternus, and she had practically destroyed the entire Wang family¡¯s reputation. Wang Xiaoyu was known as the greatest traitor in the Fifth Maind''s entire history, given that she had triggered the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. It was very unlikely for Forgotten Ruins God to be a human spy.

    The most suspicious one was ckless God, who had offered Lu Yin 10,000 years to consider joining Aeternus.

    However, what Lu Yin had just seen left him confused, as Ancient God''s behavior had been very strange.

    If only Lu Yin could find the man that Ancient God had defeated and find out who they were.

    After receiving Ancient God¡¯s punch through the River of Time, Lu Yin was in bad condition and needed to recover.

    The wind blew around him, and mist drifted closer, forcing him to move.

    Lu Yin had not kept track of the time since entering the Mirari Realm, but he felt like years had already passed. The higher his cultivation rose, the less that time seemed to matter.

    When he had traveled through time and space in the Daosource Sect''s main hall with the power of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sword, twenty years had passed before Lu Yin could return to the Origin Universe. At the moment, two decades felt insignificant to Lu Yin.

    After spending a long time recovering, Lu Yin returned to fishing. He found that he quite enjoyed fishing the River of Time.

    Fishing in the River of Time allowed him to witness both ancient and modern history. How many others could experience such an opportunity?

    Lu Yin had once envied the Sword Sect¡¯s sect master Liu Qianjue because he was able to fish between stars. As a result, Lu Yin had started to asionally fish when he was in the Heavens Sect. However, if Liu Qianjue knew that Lu Yin was fishing in the River of Time, who knew what sort of reaction the man would have?

    After all, Jue Yi had been so terrified of the mere sight of the River of Time that he had refused to even try to escape.

    The fishing line reentered the River of Time, and Lu Yin resumed fishing with Infinity.

    It was possible that years or even decades passed for Lu Yin as he continued fishing. He witnessed numerous events from the past, and he saw many more familiar faces as his power drew out scenes featuring them. He even managed to pull out the scene of his own Semi-Progenitor tribtion.

    However, Lu Yin immediately let go of that scene as soon as he saw it. Both True God and the Great Sovereign had been present at that moment in time, and either of them might attack Lu Yin through the River of Time. That would be far more dangerous than Ancient God''s punch.

    One day, Lu Yin fished out a scene that shocked him.

    There was a massivendmass that was breaking apart and shattering. An enormous elephant roared as it charged at the continent, shoving a gigantic figure into the shatterednd, from which a tree grew. It was the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree.

    There was no mistaking this scene, as it was the destruction of the Second Maind.

    The colossal elephant was, of course, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    Lu Yin only caught a momentary glimpse of that moment from the past. In that fleeting vision, he also saw Ancestor Lu Yuan. The giant that the Heavenly King Elephant had shoved through the Second Maind had most likely been Corpse God.

    It was a terrifying scene, and without the strength to endure what he was seeing, Lu Yin did not dare to examine the scene too closely, even through the River of Time.

    This was much like when he had witnessed his own Semi-Progenitor tribtion.

    He let out a long breath. He vowed to himself that there woulde a day when he would be so powerful that no one would dare to spy on him, even across time.

    That thought made something ur to him. Since he was able to peer into the past through the River of Time, could someone else be observing him from further down the river as well? Lu Yin¡¯s head snapped up, and he looked around at the nearby mist, suddenly feeling uncertain about his situation.

    If someone was truly capable of watching Lu Yin¡¯s life through the River of Time, it would be quite unsettling.

    He eventually resumed fishing.

    Time passed without notice. One day, Lu Yin witnessed a universe being destroyed. He saw the scene of a serene universe where stars revolved.

    For some unknown reason, the stars suddenly mmed into each other and shattered. It looked as though they had been manipted by some unfathomable power. The stars started to collide like pinballs, and each impact generated a tremendous amount of power that triggered further collisions. The chain reaction spread throughout the entire universe, leading to its eventual destruction.

    Lu Yin sat on the bank of the River of Time and stared nkly at the scene. His mind started racing as his eyes zed over.

    The spectacle had sparked a sudden inspiration. <i>Collisions, force, action, and reaction</i>.

    Every time the stars collided, the resulting power had stunned Lu Yin. He felt like he was on the brink of epiphany, but it remained just out of his reach. It eluded him by a hair''s breadth.

 Chapter 3112: Transformation

    <h4>Chapter 3112: Transformation</h4>

    The droplet fell back into the River of Time. It had contained the scene of a shattering universe, without any people or anything else taking ce. In fact, there had not even been any sign of life. Even so, the scene left Lu Yin dazed for a long time.

    He sat where he was, motionless and in deep thought. Fishing was abandoned.

    Even when the wind blew the mist closer to him, Lu Yin did not notice.

    At the most dangerous moment, the mist even touched his hair, which caused a strand to vanish. Even so, he still did not move.

    His eyes were zed over as his mind constantly reyed the scene of the shattering universe and the colliding stars.

    The scene was etched into Infinity, and Lu Yin even started to simte what he had seen with his inner world. After countless simtions, his eyes lit up, his confusionpletely gone. He shot to his feet, startled to see the mist drifting so close, and quickly moved to a different location.

    How long had he been sitting on the shore of the river? He had nearly been swallowed by the mist and died.

    The thought filled him with dread.

    After relocating to a safer distance, Lu Yin brought out Infinity. The lines of strength flickered like shooting stars. It was a mesmerizing disy.

    Every line of strength that merged with Lu Yin¡¯s body increased his physical strength. Infinity seemed to have endless lines of strength, like the number of stars in a universe. No one could count the stars.

    While powerful individuals were capable of destroying stars and even entire universes, counting all the stars in a universe remained an impossible task due to the sheer number.

    Lu Yin had watched a universe¡¯s destruction, and it had all started with the collision of individual stars. Could Infinity also generate greater power through collisions?

    The universe consisted of countless stars, and in a simr manner, Infinity consisted of countless lines of strength, representing the infinite.

    If a universe remained fixed, then the power of the stars would be limited. However, the power created from their collisions was enough to destroy the universe, which represented the finite.

    This was the principle of transforming the finite into the infinite.

    To epass all possibilities within Infinity and transform the inner world; this was the essence of what Lu Yuan had told Lu Yin. The young man had not fully understood what this meant in the past, and he had intended to transform Infinity by visualizing the Fifth Maind and continuously increasing his own physical strength. But now, he had realized that the power that colliding stars could generate was truly infinite. Even if the stars came from the universe itself, a finite universe could generate infinite power, and that infinite power could destroy that universe itself.

    These were Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts as the lines of strength thatposed his inner world started to collide with each other.

    Lu Yin initially struggled to control the collisions, which meant that they urred freely. That simply caused Infinity to grow increasingly unstable. While new power was being generated, if it was uncontrolled, then the force could backfire on Lu Yin.

    Fortunately, the power created by the collisions transformed into more lines of strength, growing and expanding Lu Yin¡¯s inner world.

    In other words, once the collisions started, there would be no end to the inner world¡¯s growth.

    Ancestor Tianyi had once advised Lu Yin to improve Infinity by visualizing the Fifth Maind. That was one path he could take, but generating power by forcing the lines of strength to collide and produce more lines and greater power was another path.

    In fact, the two paths did not conflict with each other.

    One of the two expanded the scope of Lu Yin¡¯s inner world, while the other increased its potency. The two pathsplemented each other perfectly.

    Now, Lu Yin needed to visualize the Fifth Maind and expand Infinity while simultaneously producing more lines of strength through controlled collisions. If he could aplish this, then the strength of his inner world would rise beyond anything he could imagine.

    However, it would undoubtedly be a very lengthy process.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin was in the Mirage Domain, which meant that time did not exist. It was truly the perfect ce to train.

    As time passed, Lu Yin observed Infinity. He started by trying to control the collision of two lines of strength. The moment a collision urred, a chain reaction would be triggered. He needed to control the lines of strength produced by each collision within that chain reaction in order to maintain control over his inner world.

    As time passed, Lu Yin moved on from controlling the collision of two lines to four, then to eight, ten, and more. He constantly added lines and improved his control.

    He lost track of time and did not bother trying to count the days.

    Lu Yin was in true secluded training.

    Time was a preciousmodity, which was why powerhouses would often seek out parallel universes where time flowed at elerated rates.

    The fact that the Origin Progenitor could allow Lu Yin to ess the Mirari Realm was quite remarkable. Had everyone in the Immemorial Citadel visited this ce? If people used the Mirari Realm, would they not also see their strength improve rapidly? There had to be some limitations to the ce.

    Lu Yin did not concern himself with others. At this moment, his sole focus was on perfecting Infinity.

    For the moment, there was no reason to try expanding the inner world¡¯s scope. Controlling the collisions at their current level was already challenging enough for Lu Yin. Expanding the inner world would be counterproductive.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin had already shifted his location dozens of times to avoid the troublesome mist. He had even tried to block the mist with physical items, but nothing was able to withstand the power of time, so he had eventually given up.

    One day, Infinity¡¯s lines of strength started to collide, and the reaction continued steadily. The newly created lines continued colliding, and the reaction became an endless cycle.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew sharply focused as the lines started to merge with his body. The continuous collisions did not stop, and his strength rose ordingly. However, there was a limit to how much force his body could endure.

    He quickly reached that limit and was forced to use Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    This was an experiment that Lu Yin had wanted to try. He already knew that his body was limited in terms of endurance, so the possibility of using Extremes Must Be Reversed to surpass those limits had appeared. Not only would this allow him to unleash even more physical strength, but it would also absorb the damage his body was suffering from surpassing his limits and allow himunch even more powerful attacks.

    Suddenly, Infinity vanished as Lu Yin punched at the sky, releasing all of the pent-up energy.

    He then doubled over, breathing heavily. He lifted his hand to look at it, exhrated by his sess. The seemingly simple punch he had just thrown had actually carried two destructive powers: his own umted strength and the force produced by absorbing damage with Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    With Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin could endure a tremendous amount of damage. SInce even that miraculous ability had struggled to endure the overexertion caused by Infinity, it was hard to imagine how much pressure the inner world had ced on Lu Yin¡¯s body when it improved his physical strength. That punch had released the full power that Lu Yin could absorb with Extremes Must Be Reversed, and it was a level of strength that most sequence powerhouses could not touch.

    Bybining the two forces, Lu Yin¡¯s punch had reached a shocking level of power.

    There was no need for any visualization method. Lu Yin¡¯s physical might had already undergone aplete transformation. He had fully transformed Infinity, and he had no doubt that the inner world would eventually be one of the most formidable forces in existence.

    Lu Yin could release a punch that could crush most sequence powerhouses. Even someone like Corpse God would struggle to endure that level of power. In the future, Lu Yin¡¯s punch would be a nightmare for countless enemies.

    No, it already was.

    That punch had far surpassed the power of any attack that Lu Yin had ever released before.

    Additionally, if he could use the power of time to confine a hundred of those punches, Lu Yin could not even guess how powerful his attack might be.

    However, it might be a bit too excessive to try to confine a hundred of those punches. After all, Extremes Must Be Reversed could not be used continuously.

    It was necessary to continue experimenting.

    Lu Yin felt quite satisfied with the fact that he had sessfully transformed his first inner world, Infinity. He was confident that this new level of power could allow him to break through and reach the Progenitor realm. Next, he needed to transform his other three inner worlds.

    Each of his inner worlds was more unique than thest. Infinity was the most conventional of the four.

    He decided to move on to Lightstream.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin was not even certain how Dustworld or the Wordless Heavenly Book could be used. He knew that he could write names in the Wordless Heavenly book to shun people from the Fifth Maind, but the inner world¡¯s other uses remained unknown.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan had also specifically warned Lu Yin not to reveal the Wordless Heavenly Book to anyone.

    Transforming Lightstream seemed to be the most practical next step, especially since the River of Time seemed like the perfect ce to do so.

    Lu Yin had an idea of how to transform Lightstream for a long time, and for that reason, he had sought out multiple parallel universes where time flowed more quickly. However, transforming the inner world in that manner remained nothing more than a theory. On top of that, it took him a tremendous amount of time to find such universes, and Lu Yincked the luxury to search endlessly.

    The River of Time held the potential to transform Lightstream.

    Using his body as his fishing rod, Lu Yin was surrounded by the glow of Lightstream as he directed his inner world towards the River of Time. He watched anxiously as it slowly touched the river.

    Lightstream was his inner world that had formed by chasing after time with the power of space. Now, Lu Yin was going to touch the River of Time, which was the embodiment of time itself. Doing this was clearly risky, but he saw no other option. Without attempting this, Lu Yin could not even guess at how long it would take Lightstream to transform.

    Cultivation was inherently risky.

    As soon as Lightstream touched the River of Time, Lu Yin was nearly swept away.

    He felt like he had stepped under a waterfall, and the River of Time nearly pulled him in.

    He hastily pulled back on Lightstream, instantly drenched in a cold sweat.

    He looked up and noticed that a droplet had sshed out.

    Lightstream had pulled out a droplet of water, which represented a moment in the past. Lu Yin had already seen many of these droplets.

    This droplet also revealed the past, and when Lu Yin looked in, he saw a universe that was constantly shifting, though it was devoid of life or any other details. All he could see were stars moving through outer space.

    What did this mean? Was this a scene of the power of time?

    The image quickly faded, and Lu Yin waited for the droplet to fall back into the River of Time, as had happened every time he had pulled out a droplet with Infinity.

    However, this time, the droplet did not fall back in. Instead, Lightstream swallowed it.

    Lu Yin was startled, and he stared at Lightstream. The droplet, or rather, the fragment of time, had disappeared.

    Could time really disappear? Lu Yin quickly pulled Lightstream back from the river.

    Before this, he had been able to see 600 seconds into the past with Lightstream, but at this moment, Lu Yin realized that he had gained another five seconds. These five seconds were precisely how long the scene of the universe that Lu Yin had just seen hadsted for.

    After Lu Yin had seen five seconds of that unknown universe, Lightstream had absorbed the droplet of the River of Time, and that had improved the inner world by five seconds.

    Could this really work?

    Lu Yin grew ecstatic. He had spent a great deal of effort in seeking out parallel universes where time passed faster in order to strengthen and improve Lightstream¡¯s power. But in the Mirari Realm, was it really possible to improve Lightstream just by fishing in the River of Time?

    The thought was exhrating.

    His breath quickened. He had to try again and confirm his suspicions.

    Still, he needed to take care, as he had nearly been dragged into the River of Time just now.

    This issue had not appeared when Lu Yin had been fishing with Infinity, which indicated that Lightstream¡¯s close connection to time was what had caused it.

 Chapter 3113: Seeing Yourself

    Chapter 3113: Seeing Yourself

    Lu Yin held his fishing rod tightly, subconsciously enhancing his strength to stabilize himself as he carefully lowered Lightstream into the River of Time.

    The moment contact was made, he was nearly dragged away once again. This had nothing to do with Lu Yin¡¯s strength, as it was not the River of Time pulling at him. Rather, Lightstream was the one pulling. Unfortunately, since Lightstream was part of him, he could not avoid being affected.

    Lightstream was an inner world created by the power of space chasing time, and it led to space carrying time. As time flowed, space was dragged along.

    Lightstream gave Lu Yin the ability to chase after time, but the inner world consisted of the power of space. Because of that, it was only normal for the River of Time to pull at the inner world.

    Lu Yin quickly reeled Lightstream back in, but he failed to catch a droplet of the river this time.

    He frowned and then tried again. He was determined to see if fishing could really improve Lightstream.

    This could very well be the key to transforming his inner world.

    Lu Yin continued to cast Lightstream into the River of Time, each time only barely avoiding being pulled away. He soon came to understand that, as long as he retrieved Lightstream quickly enough, he would not be dragged away.

    The River of Time pulled at a constant rate, and Lu Yin eventually adjusted to that.Finally, Lightstream caught another droplet and revealed another scene from the past. He saw an unknown person whose face was contorted. They were struggling or fighting. The vision ended with the person''s head flying off. Clearly, they had died.

    Once again, the droplet did not fall back into the River of Time, instead being consumed by Lightstream.

    After testing it out, Lu Yin discovered that the droplet had improved Lightstream by three seconds, which perfectly corresponded to the length of the scene that he had pulled out.

    It worked. While it had taken a number of attempts to catch a single droplet, this was still far faster and easier than finding a parallel universe where time passed faster.

    Finding those universes was only the beginning, as gaining their eptance took far more time.

    Lu Yin was ted, and he immediately continued.

    He cast his line repeatedly and sessfully caught several more droplets, all of which allowed him to witness various scenes from the past.

    Some of them showed him people, others strange creatures, and some nothing but pure darkness.

    Eventually, Lu Yin stared nkly at a scene, as it was showing Undying God.

    However, in the scene, Undying God did not look normal, but instead severely injured. Could Lu Yin have found a moment of skipped time?

    Lu Yin stared intensely at the scene, though it vanished in an instant.

    Undying God only skipped over brief moments of time, so Lu Yin found it surprising that he had fished out any of those moments.

    Just what was Lu Yin pulling out from the River of Time? Were the scenes he was seeing really moments from the past?

    <em>No.</em> Another possibility suddenly struck him; could he be fishing out moments of erased time?

    The River of Time flowed without end. If Lightstream could pull out and absorb moments from the past, how was that any different from erasing a moment in time from the past? Lu Yin had thought about this, but he had not considered the matter too deeply. At this moment, he realized that his initial thought was urate.

    Lightstream was devouring moments in time, essentially erasing time, and that would subsequently alter history.

    However, it was just as clear that neither Lu Yin nor Lightstream had that power.

    Lightstream was not devouring moments from the past, but rather moments of time that had already been removed from the River of Time. These were moments of erased time.

    Exactly like the moments of time that Undying God had skipped.

    Undying God had skipped that moment in time, which had negated everything that had happened during that moment. Doing this had removed the moment from the River of Time, but that moment in time had still existed. Could Lu Yin interpret this as the droplet not being swept away with the rest of the river?

    Only those droplets of erased time could be fished out with Lightstream.

    This would exin why Lightstream so frequently returned with nothing when Lu Yin cast it into the River of Time. However, it also made sense that, when something was pulled out, the inner world would devour it.

    Lightstream was not consuming the past, but rather moments of abandoned or erased time.

    Lu Yin let out a breath, wondering if his thoughts were urate. This led him to think of Mister Mu''s Origin Tracer. Undying God had been killed because Mu Ke had found the moment in time that Undying God had skipped through Origin Tracer. In that case, what did the name ¡°Origin Tracer¡± actually mean? Was the technique supposed to find moments of time that had been excluded from the River of Time?

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something that Ancestor Lu Yuan had mentioned about the Heavens Sect era. During that era, the Origin Progenitor had forbidden anyone from reversing time and altering the past. Mister Mu was able to locate and retrieve moments of erased time.

    It seemed that both individuals were concerned with maintaining the stability of the River of Time.

    In hindsight, Lu Yin felt like his current spections were quite reasonable.

    However, how much erased time was in the River of Time? Would fishing with Lightstream be even more effective and faster than using Origin Tracer?

    Lu Yin would need to discuss this with Mister Mu when they next met.

    Moments of erased time could be considered impurities in the River of Time, and Lu Yin was apparently one of the people who had been polluting the river.

    He finally understood that the scenes of moving through a dark universe might be moments from when someone traveled at the speed of time.

    It was even possible that Lu Yin had seen some moments when he had used Inverse Step.

    With this in mind, he continued fishing in the River of Time.

    The longer he fished, the more he found his spections being confirmed. He saw moments of people traveling, though not across a universe, but rather across a battlefield.

    He started to carefully examine each scene, wondering if any were rted to him.

    He had rather frequently traveled at the speed of time after acquiring the ability to do so.

    Sure enough, he soon saw himself.

    Lu Yin saw scenes from when he had invaded the First Scourge. He saw himself riding atop the summoned Seven-Star Mantis, as well as fighting against the being of pure energy. When seeing himself, Lu Yin also saw Ancient God using his Wielder - Void domain.

    Time had never disappeared.

    Even when moving at the speed of time or reversing time, time still passed. All that changed was that those moments of time were no longer a part of the River of Time. If the River of Time was the primary stream that directed time across the entire megaverse, then the moments of time that Lu Yin was fishing out could be considered side-branches.

    No matter what happened, time would exist and continue to flow, though not always within the primary River of Time that carried all of existence.

    There were certain things that could be erased or undone, but time itself could never be truly erased.

    Lu Yin finally understood this.

    He also understood why Ancestor Lu Yuan and others had never mentioned this directly. They would have simply told Lu Yin that sharing such knowledge was useless because true understanding could onlye from personal realization.

    Clearly the Origin Progenitor and many others already knew what Lu Yin had realized, but would telling him allow him to truly understand it? Possibly not.

    At this moment, he genuinely understood.

    In that case, what about the mist? Lu Yin looked back. The mist in the Mirari Realm was time in gaseous form. Did the mist also consist of moments of time that had been removed from the River of Time? Could the mist be consumed by Lightstream?

    Lu Yin was tempted to try, but he quickly thought better of it. He realized that he had been wrong about the mist. Lightstream was able to consume moments of time that had been removed from the River of Time, but the time that formed the mist had never experienced anything. The only way for Lightstream to absorb the mist would be if it encountered the part of the mist that had eroded someone else before.

    Most of the mist had probably never touched anyone, which meant that it had never experienced any sort of event. The mist was just pure time, and it could even return to the River of Time. It was essentially vapor that had risen from the river. This mist could not be used to improve Lightstream.

    Lu Yin looked away from the mist and continued fishing. The mist was out of the question, as he was quite confident that his spections were correct.

    Again and again he fished, constantly increasing how far back in time Lightstream could look.

    When Lu Yin had first entered the Mirari Realm, he had been able to look 600 seconds into the past, but he had already extended that time to more than 700 seconds. Well, Lu Yin had no idea how long he had been working on Lightstream for, but it felt like it had been a very long time, subjectively speaking.

    Still, it would have taken decades to do the same outside of the Mirari Realm.

    It was clear that fishing in the River of Time was far more efficient than seeking out parallel universes with different flows of time.

    Lu Yin did not even need to move. Just sitting next to the river was enough.

    Well, that was not entirely true. He still needed to move away from the shifting mist.

    Additionally, since Lu Yin was fishing for moments of time that were not part of the River of Time itself, it was a good idea to periodically change locations.

    These lost moments of time were like fish in the River of Time, and Lu Yin was able to genuinely feel the pleasure of fishing.

    Lu Yin finally had a direction for transforming Lightstream. He had been contemting and specting about it for a long time, and he still needed to umte a great deal of time before the inner world could transform. In fact, Lu Yin estimated that Lightstream would need to be improved to at least 1000 seconds before he could attempt anything.

    <em>Hmm?</em> One day, Lu Yin saw a scene of himself appear. How was he seeing himself?

    He stared intently, as the scene seemed to be from when he had been an Enlighter.

    The image disappeared very quickly.

    Lu Yin felt a chill. Had someone been watching him? Could it have been Mister Mu? Every time Mister Mu appeared, time froze.

    No, that had not been one of the times when Lu Yin had met with Mister Mu. Besides, every time Lu Yin met with Mister Mu, time had remained frozen for as long as they spoke.

    In that case, who had been observing Lu Yin? Not only that, but who had been watching him with a method that stopped time?

    Some timeter, Lu Yin saw himself yet again. This time, it was a scene of when he had been an Envoy, and it was right after his first stellr tribtion. Who could have been watching him? There was no way it had been Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned grim. He continued fishing, but his back was covered with cold sweat. Could someone have been observing him his entire life?

    The more he thought about it, the more chilled he felt. Someone had been observing him, and he had never even known about it.

    His first thought was Whiteless God, the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods. She had appeared a few times, but she had only ever given a few threats or retreated without putting up much of a fight. In fact, she had always been so passive that not even Ancestor Lu Tianyi or anyone else was certain how powerful Whiteless God really was.

    However, if Whiteless God had been the hidden observer, then she could have simply killed Lu Yin during any of these moments. Lu Yin pulled out scenes of himself being observed throughout his entire cultivation journey. He saw himself as an Enlighter, an Envoy, and even as an Explorer.

    Someone had been observing Lu Yin at least since he had been an Explorer.

    If Whiteless God were the culprit, she would have killed him. There was almost no chance that she was a human spy.

    However, if it had not been Whiteless God, then who else could have been watching Lu Yin so closely?

    Was he still being watched?

    Lu Yin abruptly waved his hand, activating Lightstream so that he could look back in time.

    There was nothing, but it was possible that he was simply unable to detect being observed.

    Whoever had been watching him was undoubtedly a powerhouse far beyond his level.

    Lu Yin hoped that the observer was a protector, and not an enemy. The possibility seemed high, but if they were actually an enemy, then their intentions werepletely beyond Lu Yin¡¯sprehension.

    Could it be someone from Aeternus? An outsider powerhouse? Or maybe someone from humanity''s past?

    Lu Yin could not make any sense of the matter, but he thought about it for a long time before he regathered himself.

    No matter what, no one could be observing him in the Mirari Realm. Before entering, he had been with the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu. If someone was able to hide from those two, then Lu Yin could only ept their observation.

    It was even possible that being watched was not even a bad thing.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3114: Understanding Your Place

    Chapter 3114: Understanding Your ce

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and resumed fishing. Lightstream was still very far from being able to reveal as much of the past as he wanted.

    As he continued fishing, he witnessed more and more scenes. A long timeter, Lightstream was now able to let Lu Yin peer nearly 900 seconds into the past. Twice more during this time, Lu Yin saw scenes of someone observing him. Each instance caused his skin to crawl, as it was further proof that someone had been watching him.

    As Lightstream grew stronger and allowed Lu Yin to look further back in time by dozens of seconds, Lu Yin once saw a scene that left him stunned. How could such a thing be possible? He stared intently, wondering if he was seeing an illusion.

    The scenested for quite a long time, but the time associated with that scene could not be devoured by Lightstream. It was a moment in the past that had been identally pulled out from the River of Time, not time that resisted the flow of ages.

    Lu Yin sat in silence for half a day before he resumed fishing.

    One day, the mist suddenly dispersed, blown away by an unusually powerful wind. At that time, a path to the forest was exposed.

    Lu Yin looked over at the forest, wondering what kind of growth could endure the endless erosion of time. Even a Semi-Progenitor had been quickly erased by the mist, and yet this forest remained lush and vibrant.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin''s gaze snapped to a specific location. He could just barely make out a cabin in the woods.

    A cabin in the Mirari Realm?He remembered something that the Origin Progenitor had mentioned; other people had been sent to the Mirari Realm in the past, including Destiny, Wu Tian, and other members of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Could the cabin be theirs?

    The Bai family¡¯s patriarch had inadvertently entered the Mirari Realm, which suggested that arge number of people may have visited this ce throughout history.

    Who had built the cabin? Anyone who could build something in the Mirari Realm¡¯s forest could not have been an ordinary person.

    Lu Yin wanted to go see the cabin, but he knew that it would be unreasonable to act rashly. The mist was too dangerous. He knew that, given the speed of the mist, as long as no strong wind picked up, he had enough time to visit the cabin and return to the river. Still, Lu Yin hesitated. Making the trip was too risky. If the mist closed in on him, he would be forced to simply leave the Mirari Realm, which he did not want to do.

    After all, Lu Yin could not count on the Origin Progenitor to send him back to the Mirari Realm from the Immemorial Citadel.

    Besides, he really, really did not want to be called ¡°Pir¡± ever again.

    Ultimately, rationality triumphed over curiosity. Lu Yin focused on fishing and ignored the cabin in the woods. Even if the building might potentially contain treasures that belonged to the Three Realms and Six Paths, his only goal was to transform Lightstream.

    Time passed, and Lightstream continued to grow. Lu Yin was now able to peer nearly a thousand seconds into the past. The time had increased by more than half since the time Lu Yin had entered the Mirari Realm. Unfortunately, it still was not enough for him to attempt to transform the inner world.

    Recently, strong winds seemed to have be moremon, and the mist was constantly being blown about, and the cabin in the woods frequently appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s sight.

    The first time this happened, he felt quite tempted, but after that, he no longer felt drawn to the cabin. He had already given up on exploring it once, which made the subsequent decisions easier.

    Besides, the frequency of the wind was rather suspicious.

    Lu Yin looked around, but he saw nothing unusual. He shook his head and continued to fish.

    Finally, Lightstream was able to see 1,200 seconds into the past, which was twice what it had been able to do when Lu Yin had first entered the Mirari Realm. It was time to see if this development direction for his inner world was correct.

    Ancestor Tianyi had offered Lu Yin some guidance on how to transform Infinity, but most of the transformation had been brought about by Lu Yin¡¯s own enlightenment. As for transforming Lightstream, no one had been able to provide Lu Yin with any sort of direction. He was relying solely on the inspiration he had found while exploring parallel universes with elerated time flows.

    He needed to forge his own path, and no one could help him.

    Not even Mister Mu or the Origin Progenitor could help Lu Yin with this process. All they could do was send him to the Mirari Realm.

    The wind blew again, but this time, the mist did not expose the forest. Instead, the mist moved towards Lu Yin.

    He grew wary. There was no doubt that the wind was abnormal. He looked around, once again wishing that he still had Heaven¡¯s Sight so that he could see if there were sequence particles in the wind.

    Aside from sequence particles, Lu Yin could not think of any other power that could move the mist.

    As the mist drew closer, Lu Yin was forced to change his location again.

    Unfortunately, the mist seemed to have a mind of its own, and it followed after Lu Yin no matter where he moved. Anyone would be able to tell by this point in time that someone was controlling the wind and the mist.

    "Who''s there?" Lu Yin shouted.

    This was the first time he had spoken since Jue Yi''s death. It felt strange to speak after such a long period of silence.

    No one responded. Lu Yin continued to move about, avoiding the mist that kept following him. It quickly became clear that the mist was herding Lu Yin in a specific direction.

    He was not being moved closer to the forest and the cabin, but rather upstream along the River of Time.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. He grew determined to find out who was behind this.

    After a while, a candle suddenly appeared on Lu Yin''s shoulder, which caused his expression to change drastically. He immediately brought out Lightstream, intending to reverse time by a second, but instead, he suddenly stopped. He could see that Lightstream was absorbing something. Time?

    After fishing in the River of Time for so long, Lightstream had devoured a great deal of time that had been separated from the river, and because of that, Lu Yin had be quite familiar with that particr sensation.

    At this moment, Lightstream was absorbing time, and this time wasing from the candle''s me.

    The candle could create time that Lightstream could devour, which meant that this candle used the power of time. Someone was targeting Lu Yin. Time alone was not enough for Lightstream to absorb it; the time had to have been somehow removed from the rest of the River of Time.

    Since Lightstream was able to devour the time produced by the candle, Lu Yin could safely ignore it.

    Not only that, but he could even use it as another means to strengthen Lightstream.

    Lu Yin was uncertain of his own feelings at this moment. He had spent a very long time fishing in order to strengthen Lightstream. After that, he had assumed that someone was attacking him, only to discover that what he had assumed was an attack was an even better means of strengthening Lightstream.

    Could the hidden person have made their move on Lu Yin while knowing this was possible?

    Lu Yin warily scanned his surroundings. "Just who are you?"

    A hoarse voice answered from directly ahead. "Young one, who are you? How did you enter this ce?"

    Lu Yin looked forward, but the swirling mist made it impossible to see anything clearly. "I came here by ident. If I''ve disturbed you, please forgive me."

    "So young and yet you already lie without batting an eye. You came here by ident and yet know how to fish in the River of Time? On top of that, you clearly fear touching the mist, which shows that you know how dangerous it is."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. The questions made it evident that this person had not discovered Lu Yin when he had arrived. In order to avoid the mist, he had repeatedly changed locations, which might have led to him being found.

    "I picked up some broken stones after a great deal of effort, and then found my way here," Lu Yin said.

    "Hehe, you used the markers, huh? Well, whether that¡¯s true or not is none of my concern. Do you see that candle on your shoulder? That represents the time that you have left. When that me goes out, so will your life."

    Lu Yin feigned shock. "Why are you attacking me, Senior?"

    "You don''t have to die, but you do have to help me with a certain task. Perform well, and not only will you survive, but I can even guarantee that you will be an Ortus. Have you seen that monument in the Mirari Realm? Your cultivation is enough to fish in the River of Time, so maybe you¡¯ve already heard about reaching the Origin Realm, oveing Dukkha, and achieving immortality."

    Lu Yin pretended to grow excited. "What realm have you reached, Senior?"

    "My cultivation is beyond what you canprehend. If you want to live, you''ll help me."

    Lu Yin sighed. "I don¡¯t have a choice. Just tell me what you need me to do."

    "Smart. What¡¯s your name?"

    "I am Xuan Qi."

    "Where are you from?"

    "The Sixverse Association."

    "Sixverse Association? Never heard of it."

    Lu Yin probed further. "The Transcendent Universe?"

    "Never heard of it. It¡¯s just a parallel universe, and your past identity doesn''t matter. From now on, you have a new identity. You are from the Fifth Maind and are a descendant of the Lu family."

    Lu Yin was stunned, and his mind went nk. What did this mean? This person was stating the truth; Lu Yin was from the Fifth Maind and was also a descendant of the Lu family. Wait, could this person be aware of Lu Yin¡¯s true identity? What else could be going on?

    "What are you talking about, Senior?"

    "Have you heard of the Origin Universe?"

    "I¡¯ve heard of it, but the Origin Universe has fallen far from its past glory."

    Whoever was speaking to Lu Yin was not even aware of the Sixverse Association, which suggested that they had been in the Mirari Realm for a very long time without learning about the outside world. If this person was aware of the present situation, then he would absolutely deny Lu Yin¡¯s assertation about the Origin Universe. Lu Yin was testing the man.

    "Really? Well, even if it¡¯s fallen, the Lu family must still exist. Listen carefully, young one, to all that I tell you. You need to remember everything perfectly and not make any mistakes. If you make a mistake, your life will be forfeit. Don¡¯t even think about trying to escape. My candle will stay with you no matter what parallel universe you go to, and no one can save you."

    Lu Yin answered respectfully, "I understand, Senior. Please tell me."

    "The Origin Universe is a parallel universe in the megaverse. It¡¯s where the brilliant Heavens Sect was born¡­"

    Everything that Lu Yin heard matched with his own knowledge of the Origin Universe. Lu Yin was hearing a history lesson, but it was one that he already knew.

    This served as proof that this person had not seen through Lu Yin. After all, Lu Yin had used stellr energy to form his fishing rod, and anyone with a deep knowledge of the Origin Universe would have instantly recognized that particr energy.

    This person had most likely only seen Lu Yin himself, not the energy that he had been using. This was likely due to the distance between them and the presence of the pervasive mist.

    Such a distance would not normally matter, but the Mirari Realm¡¯s mist greatly inhibited vision, even Lu Yin¡¯s, especially since he no longer had Heaven''s Sight. Even if this person was able to see a great distance, there still had to be certain limitations. If not, they would not have needed to force Lu Yin to move closer.

    While listening to the history of the Origin Universe, Lu Yin examined himself to see if there was anything that could potentially reveal his identity.

    "The Lu family has been the strongest family in the Origin Universe since four of the Mainds were destroyed. They are the rulers of the Fifth Maind. Do you understand this clearly?" the person asked.

    "I understand," Lu Yin replied. "You¡¯ve given me a rough understanding. Is this enough for me to pose as a descendant of the Lu family?"

    "Of course not! The main line of the Lu family possess two innate gifts: their Champions¡¯ Stage and their Investiture of the Gods, neither of which can be faked. However, not every generation is able to awaken the family¡¯s innate gifts. I can help you fake a Champions¡¯ Stage, and because of that, the Investiture of the Gods isn¡¯t too important. The Champions¡¯ Stage alone will suffice.

    "As for your name..." The person paused, apparently considering the matter.

    Lu Yin suggested, "My name is Xuan Qi, but I am also called by another name, Yin. How about calling me Lu Yin?"

    "Fine. It¡¯s just an alias anyways, so from now on, you will be Lu Yin."

    "I understand," Lu Yin replied. This person¡¯sck of knowledge about current events had given Lu Yin the confidence to use his real name.

    "Hmm¡­ You are quite cooperative. Others who have stumbled into this ce were all either too weak or too scared of dying, and both options werepletely useless. I¡¯ve waited a very long time for someone like you: young, decent cultivation, and not an idiot."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3115: Hongyan Mavis

    <h4>Chapter 3115: Hongyan Mavis</h4>

    Lu Yin smiled. "That¡¯s only natural. I want to be an Ortuser, and since a senior like you is offering to help me aplish that, I should do my best toplete the tasks you ask of me."

    "Good. If you do well, I might even consider taking you as my disciple. By the way, have you heard of Aeternus?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Of course."

    "What do you think of them?"

    "They are humanity¡¯s greatest enemy."

    "And what do you think of them personally?"

    Lu Yin was not certain why the man was asking such a question. Was he a part of Aeternus, or was he loyal to humanity? Judging by how the man had been behaving, he most likely to be part of Aeternus. He wanted Lu Yin to pose as a member of the Lu family, most likely in order to target someone rted to them.

    However, if the man was not from Aeternus and Lu Yin gave the wrong answer, it could mean a great deal of trouble.

    Lu Yin was not afraid of the unknown powerhouse attacking, as Lu Yin was confident that he could protect himself, or if needed, at least escape. However, since this person wanted Lu Yin to impersonate a member of the Lu family, Lu Yin was curious who the target was.

    "I only want to be an Ortuser," Lu Yin replied cautiously.

    After a moment''s silence, the man responded, "Hmm... you think only of yourself. I like that. Only by being willing to use any means necessary can one achieve their goals."

    Lu Yin exhaled a breath of relief. "Thank you, Senior. May I know your name?"

    There was a thunderous sound as something appeared in front of Lu Yin. It was a Champions¡¯ Stage.

    However, this was not a real one, but rather a false one made by the hidden powerhouse.

    "Examine this closely. I¡¯ll give you a bit of time to get used to it. This is your Champions¡¯ Stage, so you need to treat it as your innate gift. Remember, this is your source of power. You are Lu Yin, a descendant of the Lu family. Understand?"

    "Yes, Senior. I am Lu Yin, a descendant of the Lu family."

    "Who is your ancestor?"

    "Lu Yuan."

    "Who else?"

    "Lu Tianyi."

    "What is the most tragic event to strike your family?"

    "Lu Yuan''s own child died, and our ancestor was unable to reverse time to save his child because the Origin Progenitor refused to allow it."

    "And what is the most frustrating matter for your family?"

    "Someone named Qingluo Jiantian injured Lu Tianyi, which forced my family to cultivate one of the Origin Progenitor''s techniques topensate for ourcking spiritual force."

    "There is also a madman in your family. He is one of Lu Yuan¡¯s direct descendants. Remember, that madman is considered a forbidden topic to your family."

    Lu Yin confidently replied, "I am Lu Yin, of course I know that. Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi are my ancestors, and I have met both of them."

    "Good."

    ...

    The mist started to disperse a bit, and Lu Yin moved towards the forest.

    It had been a long time since the old man had first threatened Lu Yin with the candle. During this time, Lu Yin had been forced to familiarize himself with the Lu family¡¯s history. Surprisingly, he had actually learned some things that he had not previously known, and the information hade from an outsider.

    The man had given Lu Yin a simple task: to enter the forest and find a certain woman. After that, he was to get as close to her as possible.

    Lu Yin was never told why he was impersonating a member of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin cautiously moved through the forest. He was able to see the distant form of the cabin, but it was much further away than when he had first seen it.

    There were narrow paths through the bamboo groves, and the ever-present mist gave the ce a serene and elegant atmosphere.

    Lu Yin automatically reached out to touch the bamboo. What kind of bamboo could withstand the erosion of mist of time?

    He was unable to find anything strange about the nts.

    He continued on towards the cabin.

    He quickly arrived at a bamboo fence. There was grass inside the fence that swayed gently in the breeze. It gave off a soft green glow, and it was soothing to look at.

    There was a beautiful woman wearing simple clothes walking across the grass, a hint of a smile touching her lips.

    She wore no makeup and exuded a natural elegance that mirrored the pristine mountain forest. Her smile made Lu Yin feel truly at ease.

    While not stunning, the woman¡¯s presence was soothing. It was like returning to nature, and that made her the most pleasant person to look upon.

    Lu Yin stood outside the bamboo fence, where he watched the woman tend to the grass.

    After some time, the woman looked up and noticed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin bowed. "Junior Lu Yin greets you, Senior."

    The woman stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "How did you get here?"

    "I entered the Mirari Realm by collecting some broken stones."

    "Is your surname Lu?"

    "Yes."

    "That''s a lie."

    Lu Yin was speechless. "It''s true."

    The woman smiled and pointed to Lu Yin''s shoulder. "You still have his candle burning on your shoulder."

    Lu Yin blinked. What was this? The old man had said that no one but Lu Yin would be able to see the candle.

    "He believes that I can''t see those things, but this is my domain. How could I not see something here? He underestimates me. Still, I did lead him to believe that I can¡¯t see his candles," the womanmented before she resumed tending to the grass.

    Lu Yin sighed. "I apologize for this embarrassing situation, Senior."

    The woman sighed. "I should be the one apologizing to you. You got involved because of me. If not for me, you wouldn¡¯t have been targeted by him. I''m sorry, but I can''t remove that candle or its me."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Who are you, Senior? And who is that man?"

    There was a wooden chair on thewn, and the woman sat in it. "Stay on that side of the fence. From this distance, he can''t harm me, but if youe any closer, that might change."

    Lu Yin nodded and sat down, maintaining his distance while he observed the woman.

    "The one who is manipting you is Feng Bo, and he has betrayed humanity. As for me, I am Hongyan Mavis," the woman spoke slowly.

    Lu Yin went bug-eyed in shock. "The founding ancestor of the Mavis family? That Hongyan Mavis?"

    Hongyan Mavis nced over at Lu Yin. "I can see in your eyes that your surprise is genuine. Did he not tell you who I am, or are you just that good at acting?"

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the woman. "Are you really Hongyan Mavis, the founding ancestor of the Mavis family?"

    The woman gave a small smile. "Referring to me as a founding ancestor makes me sound so old. I''ve just lived for a little while. What''s your name?"

    Lu Yin never expected to encounter one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, the founding ancestor of the family which had ruled over the Second Maind, much less meet her in the Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin had only ever heard of this woman from Lu Tianyi. No one knew where she had gone, but many people believed that she had perished with the Second Maind.

    He had never imagined that he would find her in this ce.

    Lu Yin grew excited. This was the founding ancestor of the Mavis family, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos! Hongyan Mavis was a legend. While the Mavis family history did not have much to say about the woman, the Lu family did.

    In the Origin Universe, the Lu family had been the ones to truly understand Hongyan Mavis.

    "Senior, why are you in the Mirari Realm? Why haven¡¯t you left?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yin quite intently. "How long has Feng Bo been training you? Your surprise makes it seem like you¡¯re actually from the Origin Universe."

    "I am." Lu Yin could not help himself.

    Hongyan Mavis chuckled. "Feng Bo is truly capable. You''re not the first person he''s sent to get close to me. He knows that, when the Second Maind was destroyed, Lu Yuan helped me. It was for my sake that even the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant died. I know that that man sent you here to impersonate a descendant of the Lu family, hoping that you would be able to get close to me. But he doesn''t know that I can see his candles. You don''t need to pretend. It''s been a long time since I''ve had anyone to talk to. Meeting you is fate.

    "Still, I can''t free you from Feng Bo''s control, and I am truly sorry for that. But if you''re willing, we can at least chat a bit."

    Lu Yin did not know how to feel. He had hoped to use the fact that Feng Bo assumed that Lu Yin was merely impersonating a member of the Lu family to turn the tables on the man, but unfortunately, the target of Feng Bo''s ploy also did not trust Lu Yin.

    The situation was rather awkward.

    "What¡¯s your real name?" Hongyan Mavis asked again, clearly eager to speak with another person after being isted for so long.

    Lu Yin sighed. "This junior''s name is Xuan Qi."

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "Where are you from? I can''t tell if your reaction to hearing my name was real or just an act."

    Lu Yin replied, "I was genuinely surprised. I¡¯m from the Sixverse Association. Have you heard of the Great Sovereign?"

    Hongyan Mavis was taken aback. "Tai Hong?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, her."

    Hongyan Mavis let out a long breath as she was ovee by nostalgia. She turned to stare off into the distance. "Tai Hong... So, you''re from her universe. It¡¯s no wonder you know about me. How is she?"

    Lu Yin shared various details about the current situation in the Sixverse Association with Hongyan Mavis. During the Heavens Sect era, the Sixverse Association had not yet existed, though the Great Sovereign had already been a renowned figure, as well as an overbearingly arrogant one.

    Hongyan Mavis took the opportunity to recount various events from the Heavens Sect era.

    She mostly focused on matters that had involved the Three Realms and Six Daos, and there were even some details concerning the Great Sovereign.

    "Believe it or not, we almost ambushed Tai Hong at one point in time, and we very nearly seeded." Hongyan Mavisughed heartily as she reminisced about the past.

    Lu Yin smiled. He believed this to be true, as he had heard about this matter before.

    Unfortunately, the Three Realms and Six Daos had not gone through with their n. This was despite the fact that the God of Death had created the Mask of Death technique in preparation for the ambush.

    "That woman, Tai Hong, was so arrogant! She was always looking down on everyone else, and she even disrespected our master. She considered herself to be the noblest person in existence, and because of that, we really wanted to beat her up. Still, her strength was intimidating. At first, we knew that we would not be able to defeat her even if we ganged up on her, butter, as each of us became Progenitors, that changed. Any one of us had the courage to scold her, which caused her to constantlyin to our master. You wouldn''t believe how..." Hongyan Mavis chuckled as she recounted various stories of the past.

    Who could even guess at how long the woman had been in the Mirari Realm? She had probably stayed there since the Heavens Sect era.

    Rather than a conversation, Lu Yin''s visit offered Hongyan Mavis an outlet for all the words that she had been keeping to herself for so long.

    She spent a very long time talking to Lu Yin, to the point where he even felt as though he had been transported back to the Heavens Sect era and personally witnessed the greatest pinnacle of human civilization.

    Actually, was Hongyan Mavis a chatterbox? Maybe she had inherited this trait from the Origin Progenitor.

    "Sorry for talking so much," Hongyan Mavis apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s fine. I was bored anyway. You can talk as long as you want, Senior."

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "You''re very kind."

    "It¡¯s only normal."

    "By the way, there''s something interesting here. Do you want to see it?" Hongyan Mavis pointed toward the cabin, puzzling Lu Yin.

    "I wasn¡¯t the one to build that cabin. Wu Tian made it. Go in and look at the floor," Hongyan Mavis said with a grin.

    Lu Yin grew excited. Could there be some sort of powerful battle technique or cultivation method? If anyone else were to have this opportunity, they might not care, but Lu Yin was different. His path epassed all powers, and he could cultivate any form of energy or power.

    That thought upied Lu Yin¡¯s mind as he walked toward the cabin and pushed the door open. He made sure to stay a reasonable distance from Hongyan Mavis, so that she would not feel threatened by him at all.

    When Lu Yin entered the cabin, he discovered that it was a simple construction, and the design reminded him of the hut that he had once shared with Bai Xian''er in Food Paradise.

    <i>The floor, huh?</i>

 Chapter 3116: The Writing

    <h4>Chapter 3116: The Writing</h4>

    Lu Yin looked down and saw writing on the floor in thenguage of the Heavens Sect era. Ancestor Lu Tianyi had personally taught Lu Yin thisnguage.

    <i>"I built a cabin for future convenience - Wu Tian."</i>

    <i>"You built this? Didn''t wee here at the same time? Why are we so far apart? - Lu Yuan."</i>

    <i>"Convenience? You built a toilet?"</i>

    <i>"Who¡¯s being so snarky? That has to be ckie. You don''t speak much, but you always stir up trouble in secret. Also, Big Thug, Master is too biased towards you, letting youe here first. I had to wait a thousand years! - Garan."</i>

    <i>"Garan, I had to wait even longer than you. What are you talking about? - Gu Yizhi."</i>

    <i>"So why are you saying anything? - Garan."</i>

    <i>"You guys are all useless."</i>

    <i>"Put your name down if you have the courage, ckie. That has to be you - Lu Yuan."</i>

    <i>"Loam, what¡¯s it to you? ckie never mentioned you. You came here early enough; Master is just too biased - Garan."</i>

    <i>"That wasn¡¯t me - God of Death."</i>

    <i>"It was you - Wu Tian."</i>

    <i>"It was you - Gu Yizhi."</i>

    <i>"It was you - Lu Yuan."</i>

    <i>"Roar."</i>

    <i>"Yellowy, don''t think we don''t know you''re cursing us every time you roar. It''s all written here - Garan."</i>

    <i>"Garan, you make too much of a fuss about things - Lu Yuan."</i>

    <i>"You all came here before? - Hongyan."</i>

    <i>"Thanks, Wu Tian, for the cabin. It¡¯s very convenient - Destiny."</i>

    <i>"Lassy, you finally broke through! We¡¯ve been waiting forever for you - Lu Yuan."</i>

    <i>"Loam, why are you here again? I think that you must have ulterior motives towards Lassy. Lassy, be careful of him - Garan."</i>

    <i>"Having a toilet built makes all of you so happy. Do you like sleeping in an outhouse?"</i>

    <i>"ckie, don''t think I don¡¯t know it¡¯s you. Just you wait! - Destiny."</i>

    <i>"So everyone¡¯s been here, huh? - Chu Yi."</i>

    Lu Yin stared at the writing on the floor. It spread across the room and even to the door. Reading the messages gave him a different perspective on the Three Realms and Six Daos. They had once been so happy and carefree.

    For so long, people had regarded those nine people as great and impressive predecessors who had been solemn and aloof, untainted by the mundane world. However, Lu Yin was currently looking at proof that they had once been young and carefree, even yfully bantering with each other.

    Lu Yin could almost picture the Three Realms and Six Daos writing on the floor to each other. Each one must have been so young and full of life.

    Where had they all gone?

    Wu Tian was imprisoned atop the Wu Tian Observatory in a Scourge. No one knew what had happened to Garan, and it was uncertain if the God of Death was even still alive. If they had known the fate that awaited them, how would the Three Realms and Six Daos have felt?

    Everyone had to carry their own burdens, but they were also unable to see others¡¯ burdens.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan felt like he owed Lu Yin a debt for cing the responsibility of the Lu family onto the young man, but Lu Yuan had neverid down his own burden. How much had the man carried? He also had close friends, brothers, and family. There were people he cared about as well.

    What had been Lu Yuan¡¯s state of mind when he had seen Gu Yizhi betray humanity?

    And what about when Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor had seen Wu Tian chained atop the Wu Tian Observatory?

    Conflicting emotion appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as he stared at the messages on the floor. Those people had all once been so innocent and happy.

    He closed his eyes and stood there in silence for a long time before finally leaving the cabin.

    Outside, Hongyan Mavis looked to be perfectly calm.

    "Those messages written on the floor, is that a conversation between the Three Realms and Six Daos?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "Master sent us into the Mirari Realm in batches. This ce allowed us to find our own paths. I visited this ce several times before."

    "You all seemed so happy back then."

    "Yes, we were very happy and utterly carefree."

    After a moment of silence, Lu Yin asked, "Senior, what¡¯s the story between you and Feng Bo?"

    Hongyan Mavis stared off into the distance again. "Feng Bo betrayed humanity. Long ago, my Mavis family took him in and had him nurture our Divine Tree. However, when Aeternus destroyed the First Maind and started attacking the Second Maind, he betrayed my family and gave our Divine Tree to Corpse God. Losing the Divine Tree cut my strength in half, and we were unable to fight the Aeternals off. Eventually, the Second Maind shattered.

    "If not for Feng Bo, the Second Maind wouldn''t have fallen so quickly.

    "Still, it isn¡¯t entirely urate to call him a traitor, as he was always a spy for Aeternus who was sent to infiltrate my Mavis family. Aeternus schemed against us for a long time before attacking."

    Lu Yin could not resist asking a certain question, "Why didn''t the Heavens Sect destroy Aeternus back then?"

    Hongyan Mavis turned back to look at Lu Yin. "That was Master''s decision. He must have had his own reasons for that."

    "But the Origin Progenitor didn''t always make the right decisions. If Aeternus had been dealt with back then, we wouldn''t be fighting against such a powerful enemy now," Lu Yin countered.

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression remained calm. "But there would still be another powerful enemy."

    Lu Yin was startled. Another powerful enemy?

    Hongyan Mavis''s gaze became distant. "Nature is that of a stable ecosystem. If the ecosystem bes unstable, it will bring about disasters. The megaverse is the same. No species can remain invincible forever. Without being restrained by an outside enemy, there¡¯s no doubt that humanity would inevitably reach the pinnacle, which would disrupt the cosmic order.

    "Whether it''s Aeternus or some other enemy, the current situation is a result of naturalw and fate."

    Lu Yin stared at Hongyan Mavis. "What would have happened if the Heavens Sect had destroyed Aeternus back then?"

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s decisions were not wrong."

    While the woman refused to give a direct answer, Lu Yin understood what she was saying: Aeternus had to exist.

    Aeternus¡¯s existence was necessary.

    However, if that were true, then what was the point of everything that Lu Yin had been doing for so long? The Immemorial Citadel, the Sixverse Association, and uniting the various human civilizations¡ªwhat was the point of any of them?

    Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yin. "You''re quite odd. I can''t tell if you''re putting on an act or if you''re genuine. After seeing those messages on the floor, you seem to feel sorry for us, which is not the attitude that an outsider should have. We are not the same as you."

    Lu Yin felt heavy-hearted. If he had read messages left behind by the ancient powerhouses of another human civilization, he would not feel the same way.

    It was because he was from the Origin Universe that he felt so conflicted.

    "Senior, tell me more about Feng Bo. What level has his cultivation reached? What sort of techniques does he use?"

    Hongyan Mavis did not refuse and proceeded to share all that she knew about Feng Bo.

    During his time within Aeternus, Lu Yin had never heard of Feng Bo. He had no idea if Feng Bo might be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, but he was clearly as powerful as the Seven Skygods.

    If not, the man would not have been able to trap Hongyan Mavis in the Mirari Realm for so many years.

    "He has an innate gift called Reverse. Anything, no matter if it is an attack or anything else, can be made to fall down, or the opposite and not fall. It¡¯s an infuriating innate gift to deal with.

    "His battle technique is called Wind and Cradle. There''s an expression that describes it well: ''As the wind blows, the candle burns to its end.'' When his candles go out, a life ends...

    "As for thew of the universe that he hasprehended, I understand it to be expansion. It isn¡¯t the expansion of physical objects, but rather the expansion of time. Expanding time is not like stretching out a physical object. Instead, in his perspective, when time is expanded, time slows down, and he has more time to work with. For everyone else, time passes at the same rate as ever, which gives Feng Bo more time to work with. The River of Time is here, and time is frozen, so you can think of his sequence particles as creating a weaker version of frozen time.

    "Even in our era, there were very few who could freeze time. While we were all able to touch upon the powers of time and space, anyone who didn¡¯t specialize in those powers would never be able to deal with his sequence particles.

    "I¡¯ve fought Feng Bo many times, and the only way to counter his time expansion is with frozen time. If you can¡¯t do that, then every move you make appears incredibly slow to him, and you will move much slower than him. Of course, that¡¯s just one of the ways he can use time expansion. I''ve had to deal with other uses as well..."

    Hongyan Mavis shared a great deal, and she recounted all of her own battles against Feng Bo.

    The woman spoke quickly, clearly not wanting to discuss what she was saying with Lu Yin. She was simply speaking, and whether Lu Yin was capable of understanding what was being said was of no concern to Hongyan Mavis. She did not believe that anyone Feng Bo could control with his innate gift could fight back against him. So, she simply assumed that Lu Yin was curious.

    Another possibility was that he was unwilling to ept his situation.

    Lu Yin listened without saying a word. He had attacked several of the Seven Skygods before, and he understood just how terrifying that level of power could be. Every time Lu Yin had tried to ambush one of those powerhouses, they had revealed a hidden trump card. Corpse God had even managed to escape thanks to his trump card, and Shaman God had nearly escaped as well. Undying God had only been killed because of Origin Tracer. If not for Mister Mu¡¯s technique, Undying God¡¯s ability to skip time would have made himpletely impossible to deal with.

    Despite having fought so many battles, Lu Yin had never had the opportunity to analyze an enemy''s abilities as thoroughly as at this moment. Layer afteryer was peeled back and clearly exined, which allowed him to simte multiple battles against Feng Bo.

    There was no one in the Mirari Realm who could help Lu Yin, not even Hongyan Mavis. If she were capable of defeating Feng Bo, she would have done so long ago and would not still be trapped here. She had already mentioned that she had been drastically weakened from her previous strength.

    The Mavis family had always been famous for their physical strength, and yet Lu Yin was unable to sense any sort of power from Hongyan Mavis, which was different from the other members of the Mavis family he had encountered.

    In fact, this woman felt fragile.

    "Senior, how is Feng Bo trapping you in the Mirari Realm? Given your strength, even if you¡¯ve been weakened, you shouldn''t fear him," Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis countered, "How strong do you think Feng Bo is?"

    "Very strong," Lu Yin answered without hesitation.

    "Right now, I am no match for him," Hongyan Mavis admitted.

    Lu Yin frowned. "But still, that shouldn''t be enough to trap you here in the Mirari Realm for so long."

    Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yin. "Then why didn¡¯t you consider that he might be trapped in here by me?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. This was true, for while Hongyan Mavis was in the Mirari Realm, so was Feng Bo. Neither of them was able to leave this ce.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "There is no doubt that I am not his match, given how weakened I am. Even so, he is unwilling to let me go. The fact that someone like me is able to keep one of Aeternus''s strongest experts trapped here in the Mirari Realm¡ªdo you think that¡¯s more advantageous for humanity or for the Aeternals?"

    Lu Yin had to admire Hongyan Mavis. "I understand now."

    Hongyan Mavis stared off into the distance again. "Humans and Aeternus have reached a certain bnce, despite the constant fighting. Both are unable topletely overpower the other. Master has his battlefield, while Wu Tian and the others have theirs. I have mine.

    "To use my ruined body to deal with an Aeternus powerhouse who is as strong as the Three Realms and Six Daos is certainly not a bad trade, even if I remain trapped here for millions of years. One day, I may find my eternal rest in this ce." She nced over at the cabin, and a happy smile returned to her face. "It''s really not that bad, is it?"

    Lu Yin stared at Hongyan Mavis and then looked over at the cabin. "Perhaps not.

    "Also, maybe one day, you¡¯ll meet the person you¡¯ve been waiting for, Senior. Then, you¡¯ll be able to write a few more words on that floor."

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes trembled as a mix of longing and otherplex emotions appeared. She could no longer look at the cabin.

 Chapter 3117: Distrust

    <h4>Chapter 3117: Distrust</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis had always stayed close to the cabin, secretly hoping that, one day, those people would return, leave another message on the floor, and take her away. On that day, the mist would surely clear away.

    After spending a considerable amount of time staring at the cabin, Hongyan Mavis spoke at length with Lu Yin. As they spoke, the candle on Lu Yin''s shoulder burned down and was about to disappear.

    Lu Yin was not at all concerned, as Lightstream was constantly devouring the time generated by the candle¡¯s me, as that time was not a part of the River of Time. The existence of the candle on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder was nothing but a decoration.

    This was something that Feng Bo did not know, and neither did Hongyan Mavis.

    Lu Yin was waiting for the candle to burn outpletely before he went to confront Feng Bo. Or, perhaps he could find a way to get a new candle from Feng Bo so that Lightstream could keep absorbing the generated time, strengthening Lu Yin¡¯s inner world.

    He no longer had any idea how far back in time Lightstream could show him.

    It was all thanks to Feng Bo.

    "Xuan Qi, you can see the candle burning on your shoulder, right?" Hongyan Mavis asked.

    Lu Yin nced at his shoulder. "Yes, I can see it."

    "It''s about to go out. Once the me extinguishes, so will your life. Aren''t you afraid?" Hongyan Mavis inquired.

    Lu Yin sighed. "There''s nothing I can do about it. Whatever happens, happens."

    A hint of a smile appeared on Hongyan Mavis''s lips. "It looks like you''ve been with Feng Bo for a long time if you already know that he is capable of renewing his candles at will."

    Lu Yin blinked. Really?

    The look on the woman¡¯s face told Lu Yin that he had lost a great deal of her trust and that her wariness had spiked precipitously.

    He had assumed that she might admire his courage in the face of death, but the fact that the candle could be restored caused Hongyan Mavis to believe that Lu Yin had known about that particr detail all along. Hongyan Mavis took this to mean that Lu Yin was well acquainted with Feng Bo and his innate gift and that he had only been asking about those details as a ruse to deceive the woman.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. This also meant that his genuine emotional response to reading the messages on the floor of the cabin, which had caused Hongyan Mavis to warm up to him slightly, was probably being seen as another act.

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "I understand that a person''s life is what is most important to them, and I can''t me you for what you''ve done. I can''t help you, and yet you''ve still stayed here and listened to me vent. That''s good enough, Xuan Qi. Thank you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior, please continue. I truly wish to hear all that you have to say."

    Hongyan Mavis looked at Lu Yin before nodding. "Thank you."

    As soon as the candle burned out and was about to go out, it really was restored to full size. Feng Bo was unable to eavesdrop on the conversation taking ce between Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yin, but he also knew that it would not be easy to get close to Hongyan Mavis and that one candle would not be not enough.

    While Hongyan Mavis was far more suspicious of Lu Yin than earlier, Lu Yin was still able to have Lightstream devour the candle¡¯s time, and that was nothing toin about.

    All that remained unclear was how many times Feng Bo would renew the candle. Human patience was limited.

    After Lu Yin spent a good deal of time with Hongyan Mavis near the cabin, the candle started burning significantly faster. Feng Bo was clearly trying to tell Lu Yin to hurry.

    The change was noticed by both Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis, and the woman looked regretful. "I wish I could help you break free from his control, but Xuan Qi, you must take care of yourself. Go back and see Feng Bo. Maybe he has some other n that he intends to use to deal with me and you will be able to stay alive for a while longer."

    Lu Yin shrugged and took out the fake Champions'' Stage that he had received from Feng Bo. "Senior, can you distinguish between a real Champions'' Stage and a fake one?"

    Hongyan Mavis stared silently and refused to say a word.

    Lu Yin summoned his own Champions'' Stage. "What about this one?"

    Hongyan Mavis remained expressionless. "Feng Bo certainly spent a great deal of time creating a fake Champions'' Stage in order to deceive me. I must admit, it is quite an effective deceptive. Xuan Qi, I truly do understand that a person''s desire to live can drive them to do anything. I pity you, but I won''t soften my heart. You won''t be able to get close to me.

    "Go back."

    Lu Yin sighed and put away the Champions'' Stages. "What about the Lu family¡¯s visualization method? Would that convince you? The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant? The Fifth Maind."

    Hongyan Mavis remained silent.

    Lu Yin continued, "What about the Investiture of the Gods?"

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes red in shock. "Feng Bo really did prepare well this time. He must have gone all out if he managed to counterfeit even the Lu family¡¯s visualization methods and Investiture of the Gods."

    Lu Yin understood at that moment that, no matter what he said, nothing would convince this woman. Hongyan Mavis was determined to not trust him. "In that case, I''ll take my leave. Before I go, could you do me a favor?"

    Hongyan Mavis grew curious. "What is it?"

    Lu Yin nced around. "This mist is a threat to me. Do you have any way to protect me from being destroyed by the mist? At least I''d have a chance against Feng Bo that way, or might have a chance to escape."

    Hongyan Mavisughed. "You aren¡¯t the first to make such a request. The others that Feng Bo sent to deal with me asked for the same thing.

    "I understand. Feel free to do whatever you can." With that, she casually plucked a de of grass from the ground and then sent it floating towards Lu Yin. "Take this."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    "That will provide you with temporary protection from the mist. If not for this ability, Feng Bo would have already blown the mist over this ce and surrounded me, and I would have died long ago," Hongyan Mavis exined.

    Lu Yin epted the de of grass. "Thank you, Senior."

    He turned to leave, but froze briefly. "Senior, there will be a battle soon. If you still believe that I¡¯m putting on an act, feel free to watch. If you believe that I''m not acting and might actually be able to kill Feng Bo, then please help. Given my current strength, the chances of me being able to kill Feng Bo are very slim."

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head as she watched the young man leave. Over the years, Feng Bo had tried every means possible to lure her out, but he was getting sloppier.

    She had never once doubted that Lu Yin had been sent to get close to her by Feng Bo, or to lure her away from the cabin. The more borate the scheme, the less likely she was to fall for them. Leaving the cabin would be irresponsible to the rest of humanity.

    <i>That kid isn¡¯t actually bad. It¡¯s such a pity.</i>

    Lu Yin passed through the bamboo forest, moving further away from the cabin.

    He arrived at the bank of the River of Time and had no fear of getting lost after that. The mist filled his surroundings, aside from a single path that led back to Feng Bo.

    Lu Yin stood on the riverbank. "Senior, I failed. That woman is extremely cautious and wouldn''t let me approach her no matter what I said."

    "Hmph! If it were that easy to seed, I would have destroyed her long ago. Did she tell you anything? Did she believe you?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "No, she refuses to believe that I¡¯m from the Lu family."

    "Not even with the Champions'' Stage?"

    "I don''t know. I showed it to her, but she wouldn¡¯t say anything."

    "That sounds right, but at least you now know her identity."

    Lu Yin answered in amazement, "We of the Sixverse Association know of the ancient Three Realms and Six Daos. You never mentioned that the woman is the founding ancestor of the Mavis family that ruled the Second Maind! She¡¯s Hongyan Mavis."

    "Hehe, apparently she told you quite a bit. Well, given her personality, she can¡¯t handle the years of silence. She loves to talk."

    Lu Yin thought back to the conversation written on the floor of the cabin. It seemed that Hongyan Mavis preferred talking to writing.

    "What did you two talk about?"

    Lu Yin had considered what he would share with Feng Bo during his walk back. He shared a great many details that Hongyan Mavis had mentioned, all of which were rted to the Origin Universe. There was no reason to hide anything. Hongyan Mavis had never trusted Lu Yin, and she had only casually spoken to him to relieve some stress and pass some time.

    Feng Bo listened patiently and did not interrupt Lu Yin even once.

    Lu Yin spoke for a very long time, as Hongyan Mavis had simrly spoken to Lu Yin for a long time.

    Feng Bo listened without anyment.

    Lu Yin''s mouth grew dry. "Senior, are you really interested in all of these trivial matters?"

    Feng Bo sneered. "I''ve heard all of this at least three times from others when I sent them to get close to that woman. I¡¯m just trying to see if there are any discrepancies between what you say and what the others told me."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Were there any differences? There should be. Hongyan Mavis wouldn''t change her story three times."

    "Hehe, there were no differences. That woman just wants to infuriate me, but it¡¯s not a big deal. No matter if it''s three times or thirty times, I can listen to everything that she has to say."

    Lu Yin understood that Feng Bo was probing to see what kind of rtionship Lu Yin had formed with Hongyan Mavis. By telling the man everything, Lu Yin proved that he was no different from the others who had approached the woman in the past.

    It was even true, as Hongyan Mavis had never trusted Lu Yin. She had treated him the same as she had all the others.

    "By the way, Senior, I also saw some writing on the floor of the cabin."

    "Oh, that nonsense between the Three Realms and Six Daos? That woman is as nostalgic as ever. It''s pathetic. All of those people are either dead or missing. I personally witnessed the God of Death being torn apart and his remains scattered across Burial Garden. Wu Tian was imprisoned in the Third Scourge, and Destiny will never have the courage to show her face ever again. She must have seen the future and knows that humanity has no hope. Garan, Wilderness God, and all the others disappeared one after another, while Gu Yizhi betrayed humanity. That woman knows all this. What''s the point in reminiscing? The past can''t help her.

    "They¡¯re all a bunch of outdated relics. Even the Origin Progenitor is dead."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but he said nothing.

    "Alright, get ready for your next meeting with her. This time, I''ll tell you some more details about the Lu family. That woman owes the Lu family a great debt, which is her weakness. By using that and a few other things, you can definitely get close to her."

    Lu Yin looked around. "Senior, could you show yourself? It''s ufortable speaking to you like this."

    "Little one, you want to see me?"

    "You might one day be my master," Lu Yin replied.

    "Well said. I already intended to meet you during this time. You should have learned who I am from that woman."

    Lu Yin nodded. "One of the most powerful experts from the Original Universe''s Heavens Sect era, the man who personally destroyed the Second Maind, Senior Feng Bo."

    "Hahaha, ''destroyed'' is such a good word! Yes, I am Feng Bo." As the man spoke, the mist cleared in front of Lu Yin, and he saw a short old man. His head only reached as high as Lu Yin¡¯s waist, and he was dressed in exceptionally luxurious clothes. In fact, the clothes were more luxurious than anything that Lu Yin had ever seen before.

    This was neither the clothing style of the Aeternals nor the Origin Universe.

    Various patterns were embroidered across the cloth, each one quite unusual.

    As heid his eyes upon the old man, Lu Yin felt suppressed and suffocated. While he did not want to admit it, Lu Yin could feel that this old man greatly surpassed him. This air of superiority was etched deeply in Lu Yin¡¯s soul, which was different from the Great Sovereign¡¯s aura.

 Chapter 3118: I Am Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 3118: I Am Lu Yin</h4>

    Why did Lu Yin get such a feeling from this old man?

    The old man walked over and looked at Lu Yin in a satisfied manner. "Everyone who sees me shows that same expression. Don''t be surprised. My civilization is beyond anything you canprehend, which is why you have that feeling."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Senior Feng Bo, are you not from the Origin Universe?"

    Feng Bo sped his hands behind his back. "Of course not. Don''t bother trying to guess. I am from neither the Origin Universe nor Aeternus. Basically, you can¡¯t even imagine my origins. If you be fortunate enough to be my disciple, your future will not be limited to this ce."

    Lu Yin wanted to ask more and learn about Feng Bo''s past, but the man switched topics and started to talk about the Lu family.

    Nothing that was mentioned was a secret. Aside from Nutjob Lu, the Lu family had nothing disgraceful to keep hidden, and Feng Bo merely wanted to ensure that Lu Yin gained Hongyan Mavis''s trust.

    Lu Yin interrupted Feng Bo, "Senior, I have a n that might lure Hongyan Mavis out."

    Feng Bo was extremely irritated, and a dangerous light shed through his eyes. "No one interrupts me!"

    Lu Yin quickly bowed. "I was unaware. Please forgive my transgression."

    Feng Bo¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a hint of killing intent entered in his gaze. He looked over at the River of Time. "Speak."

    Lu Yin feigned fear. "Senior wants to kill Hongyan Mavis, but she wants to kill you just as badly. Actually, since the Second Maind was destroyed, she might want you dead even more. Since that¡¯s the case, why not create the illusion that you might die in order to draw her out?"

    Feng Bo scolded, "How stupid! Do you think that that woman is as much a fool as you? How could I die? What could happen to cause that? An ident? Or someone attacking me? Who? You?"

    Lu Yin quickly added, "By having your cultivation deviate."

    Feng Bo let out a roar ofughter. "How absurd! At our level, we have already reached the peak and are struggling to take that final step. How could we experience a deviation while cultivating? If there was truly a path to take that could lead me to madness, I wouldn''t waste my time here. You are too foolish. Don''t use your ant-like perspective to try to understand us! We are not creatures that an ant like you canprehend!

    "All you need to do is follow my instructions! Nothing more! If you try, I will rip out your bones and extract your marrow. You will wish for death. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin pretended to be terrified. "But I already told Hongyan Mavis that I would try to kill you. She said that, if I do, she will intervene."

    "What? You-" Feng Bo started, but before he could finish speaking, Lu Yin suddenly attacked. A fist was thrown at Feng Bo while he released Infinity. The lines of strength started to collide, creating an infinite burst of power. As that happened, Lu Yin¡¯s arm instantly withered.

    The fist was not fast, but Feng Bo was furious. This attack had disrupted the old man¡¯s ns. He had finally managed to establish contact with Hongyan Mavis after so long, but he would need to wait even longer for the next opportunity.

    The child had be entirely useless.

    At this thought, Feng Bo raised his own hand. As a powerhouse at a level that almost no other had reached, his palm strike was something that even the Three Realms and Six Daos would be threatened by, let alone an average sequence powerhouse.

    Even so, the old man had underestimated Lu Yin. Feng Bo had been isted in the Mirari Realm for a very long time, and he was thus unaware of anything that had happened outside of it.

    Before he entered the Mirari Realm, when Lu Yin had used the power of time to confine a hundred punches into a single attack, he had been able to wound sequence powerhouses. Even Corpse God had been wary of Lu Yin¡¯s attack. After he transformed Infinity and learned to collide the lines of strength within Infinity, Lu Yin could only endure his own inner world by employing Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fist not only contained as much of the power of Infinity as his body could handle, but it also carried the damage that Extremes Must Be Reversed had absorbed.

    This punch was the strongest attack that Lu Yin was capable of unleashing at the moment.

    Even so, Feng Bo was initially unconcerned by the approaching attack.

    Despite hisck of concern, since Feng Bo had already decided to end Lu Yin, the old man held nothing back with his own palm strike.

    Fist met palm, and the void shattered at the point of impact. Feng Bo felt four of his fingers break as a tremendous power traveled up his arm, startling him. How could a mere child possess such terrifying strength?

    Lu Yin''s punch shattered Feng Bo''s arm, and the force of the blow continued on towards the old man¡¯s head.

    At such a time, even an idiot would realize that there was a problem. It became clear that Lu Yin was genuinely trying to kill Feng Bo. <i>Suicidal fool!</i>

    Feng Bo red as the power of Lu Yin''s fist moved forward, but just as it was about to reach the man¡¯s head, everything started to reverse. This was Feng Bo''s innate gift: Reverse. Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Lightstream appeared, and time reversed by one second.

    <i>You reverse, I reverse.</i> With both men reversing time, everything returned to normal.

    Feng Bo watched in disbelief as Lu Yin''s punch struck his head, smashing the old man into the ground.

    If they were not in the Mirari Realm with the strange mist, Lu Yin would have aimed his punch forward, in order to maximize the power.

    Even with the current limitations, Lu Yin¡¯s punch was far more powerful than anything he had ever unleashed before entering the Mirari Realm.

    This punch was as powerful as a p from the slipper after Lu Yin had Enhanced it a single time, and those attacks had been powerful enough to threaten Undying God.

    Lu Yin had finally reached the level where his own strength was enough to threaten the Seven Skygods.

    Feng Bo was mmed into the ground. The earth of the Mirari Realm was incredibly robust, as anything less would fail to support the River of Time.

    The old man sank just half a meter into the ground, his head deformed by the fist that had struck it. He felt as though the world was spinning, and a sharp ringing filled his ears. Feng Bo was dazed by Lu Yin¡¯s punch.

    Lu Yin immediately followed through with another punch.

    Suddenly, the space before him blurred, and his fist seemed to enter a region of space that had been stretched out, causing it to slow down. Without Hongyan Mavis''s warning, Lu Yin would not understand what was happening.

    This was the result of Feng Bo''s sequence particles. Without Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was unable to see sequence particles, so he was lucky to understand what he was facing.

    Feng Bo hadprehended the Law of Expansion, which allowed him to extend time and subsequently slow down Lu Yin''s punch. Feng Bo looked up. To him, Lu Yin''s fist was moving extremely slowly.

    It was this ability that had allowed Feng Bo to manipte the power of time and develop his battle technique, Feng Zhu.

    By expanding time, Feng Bo was able to deliver his attacks faster than his opponents could react.

    Lu Yin was already prepared for this. The moment he saw time expand, he used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time.

    Expanding time could only dy actions by stretching out time itself. On the other hand, moving at the speed of time essentially caused time to freeze entirely.

    Feng Bo released a battle technique in front of himself, confident that his attack was faster than Lu Yin¡¯s, as the young man had been trapped in a region of expanded time.

    Despite that, Feng Bo¡¯s attack missed.

    The old man¡¯s pupils shrank as Lu Yin''s fist appeared before him again, and Feng Bo¡¯s head was smashed yet again. He was driven even deeper into the ground.

    No matter how much Feng Bo expanded time, Lu Yin was able to counter the effect with Inverse Step. Being struck by another punch left Feng Bo questioning reality. He could not understand why his innate gift had failed to stop the young man¡¯s first punch, and why expanding time had failed to stop the second punch.

    What on earth had the boy done?

    Receiving two consecutive punches from Lu Yin left Feng Bo bleeding from all seven orifices, and the ground was stained red beneath him.

    A third punch descended, and Feng Bo''s eyes red with panic. A flicker of candlefire appeared on Lu Yin''s shoulder as the candle instantly burned down to nothing, but it aplished nothing. Lu Yin continued moving forward with Inverse Step, and Feng Bo''s pupils constricted as he focused on a particr direction, where he expanded the universe once more.

    This expansion was different from the previous use of sequence particles. Even with Inverse Step, Lu Yin felt that Feng Bo was out of reach.

    From where hey on the ground, Feng Bo had expanded time infinitely in every direction. After that, he took the opportunity to release another palm strike.

    Lu Yin was unable to avoid this attack, as it was impossible to determine which direction Feng Bo¡¯s attack wasing from. Without first determining this, Lu Yin could only brace himself with Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    The palm hit Lu Yin in the abdomen, and the attack pierced into the void behind him. He spat out a mouthful of blood as numbness ran through his body. This attack exceeded the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed, but Lu Yin was still able to use Lightstream to rewind time by a single second, which allowed him to dodge the attack.

    After just barely surviving a near-fatal injury, Lu Yin was able to make out Feng Bo''s attack as time reversed.

    Feng Bo stared in utter shock as he saw Lu Yin reverse time. ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±

    ¡°Lu Yin,¡± Lu Yin replied as he moved about with Inverse Step. He waved his hand, using Setting Sun.

    An exquisite sunset appeared over the River of Time, drawing Feng Bo¡¯s eyes to it. At the same time, Hongyan Mavis looked over from within the bamboo forest.

    The woman had been watching the battle at the riverbank. She had initially believed it to be a ruse to lure her out, but this battle seemed too intense to be fake. It was impossible for Feng Bo to be suppressed by Xuan Qi. There was no reason for the old man to be overwhelmed, especially since Xuan Qi was merely a Semi-Progenitor. However, the boy also possessed the ability to reverse time and even move at the speed of time.

    Just who was the young man?

    When the sunset appeared, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s expression changed. She recognized it as aprehension technique.

    To people at her level, aprehension technique was not something impossible to achieve. While it was extremely difficult to create one, they did not possess an overwhelming power that was coveted.

    Still, the existence of aprehension technique indicated that a person had a profound understanding of a particr area. Could such a person really be controlled by Feng Bo?

    At that moment, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s suspicions regarding Lu Yin wavered slightly.

    No, she could not afford to doubt her suspicions. The boy had undoubtedly been sent by Feng Bo to lure her out. That old man had used every means possible to infiltrate the Mavis family and gain her trust. If not for that, her Divine Tree would have never been entrusted to his care. That had caused the Divine Tree to be stolen and destroyed. Hongyan Mavis had been deceived by Feng Bo once, and she refused to let it happen a second time.

    The battle she was watching had to be a ruse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s Setting Sun shone with the light of dusk.

    As the sunset faded, Feng Bo¡¯s understanding of martial arts disappeared. He no longer knew how to use his own techniques, his innate gift, or even his sequence particles. At that moment, his mind waspletely nk.

    <i>Puff!</i>

    Blood spewed from Feng Bo¡¯s mouth. He suffered bacsh after forgetting his battle techniques and everything else. Taking advantage of this, Lu Yin delivered a third punch.

    Feng Bo¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot as he red at Lu Yin. ¡°Just who exactly are yo-?¡±

    Lu Yin''s fist struck Feng Bo¡¯s neck, interrupting the man¡¯s words. His body shattered at the junction of his neck and shoulder, and blood sttering across the ground.

    ¡°I am Lu Yin,¡± Lu Yin stated again. He moved with Inverse Step, preparing to deliver a fourth punch.

 Chapter 3119: A Fierce Battle

    <h4>Chapter 3119: A Fierce Battle</h4>

    The universe around Feng Bo expanded once again, but this time, he did not expand time, but rather space.

    Lu Yin''s punchnded, but only after traversing the expanded region of space, which dispersed a great deal of the attack¡¯s force.

    Still, the attack struck, though it only managed to push Feng Bo back.

    He staggered a few steps while clutching at his neck. The old man red at Lu Yin. "Boy, no matter who you are, you¡¯re courting death!"

    As Feng Bo spoke, an indescribable power erupted from his body. It seemed to raise him to a matchless height. This was a sort of power that Lu Yin could notprehend. A figure emerged from Feng Bo¡¯s body and released a deafening sound. "Greater Sancti of the Nine Odysseys, kill!"

    The figure felt like divine wrath personified as it connected the sky to the ground below and released a blinding light. Its hand rose up to reveal a tower-shaped sword that shed at Lu Yin.

    This sword felt very unfamiliar to Lu Yin, as though it did not belong to this megaverse.

    This was not due to the sword¡¯s power, but was rather a feeling that it was somehow out of ce.

    As the sword fell, the star of consciousness within Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe quivered. A surge of consciousness erupted, looking like a burst of fog that shot high into the sky before sweeping across the area. The sword stopped when it met the consciousness, which caused Feng Bo''s expression to change yet again. What a terrifying power of consciousness! How long had this young man been cultivating for? How had he managed to acquire such a formidable consciousness?

    Far away, Hongyan Mavis''s expression also changed. The power of Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness made the entire Mirari Realm quake.

    Feng Bo¡¯s mind was struck hard, and he was forced back. The towering figure faded from sight, and the tower-shaped sword started to disperse. The old man¡¯s expression twisted from rage and disbelief. How could he lose? How could a mere boy, who was so young, defeat him?

    He had destroyed the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree during the Heavens Sect era, which had led to theplete and total destruction of the Second Maind. How could a mere child with such a pitiful level of cultivation defeat him, Feng Bo?

    The towering figure suddenly grew distinct once again, and the tower-shaped sword pressed down. Lu Yin clenched his fists, his star of consciousness trembling in his chest as he desperately mobilized all of his power of consciousness even though he could not fully control it. This was the consciousness that he had devoured from Xu Jin. That odd eye had possessed a level of strength that rivaled Feng Bo''s, but Xu Jin had been a master of consciousness.

    At this moment, it was as though Xu Jin was the one attacking Feng Bo with his consciousness. This was not something that the old man could withstand, though Lu Yin was also suffering bacsh from releasing this attack.

    Both men spat out blood. The tower-shaped sword suddenly broke apart to create a massive tower around Lu Yin, trapping his consciousness inside it.

    He punched at the walls of the tower, but they did not budge.

    The next moment, the tower rang with a booming sound that sounded like someone chanting. Lu Yin looked up and saw a character that he didn¡¯t recognize. Despite having learned the writing of both the Heavens Sect and Daosource Sect eras, this character still was not one that he recognized or understood.

    All that Lu Yin knew was that the appearance of the character caused an incredible pressure to fall upon him. As the character pressed down, the lines of Infinity appeared around Lu Yin. Afterbining it with Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin released another punch.

    This time, his fist struck the descending character, but it did not move in the slightest bit.

    <i>Impossible!</i> Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. How could Feng Bo possess such power?

    Before Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts could proceed any further, the tower suddenly vanished as though it had never existed at all. If not for the blood filling his throat, Lu Yin would question whether the tower had ever actually appeared, as well as the figure that had been holding it.

    Feng Bo¡¯s face was pale, and reluctance covered his features as he turned to leave.

    A Champions'' Stage appeared in front of Lu Yin, and he summoned the Seven-Star Mantis. He could not allow Feng Bo to escape, not after such an intense battle.

    Hongyan Mavis stepped out of the bamboo forest behind Lu Yin. No matter how cautious she might be, she was forced to reveal herself at this moment. Even if the battle was a trick performed by Feng Bo and Lu Yin to lure her out, there was no denying that most of Feng Bo¡¯s strength had been depleted. In this sort of situation, what did Hongyan Mavis need to fear?

    She could see clearly both men¡¯s injuries, and it was readily apparent that they were authentic.

    "Senior, attack!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Hongyan Mavis had already struck, and her fist was aimed straight for Feng Bo. However, this attack was not as powerful as Lu Yin¡¯s punches.

    Despite the apparent weakness of the attack, Feng Bo was more wary of Hongyan Mavis than he was of Lu Yin. It did not matter that the woman¡¯s attackcked an overwhelming level of power at the moment.

    Feng Bo did hesitate and continued to flee. "Boy, I¡¯ll remember you! I won¡¯t let you off!"

    Even as the old man spoke, he expanded the universe around himself.

    The Seven-Star Mantis unfurled its six pairs of wings and moved at the speed of time to instantly appear behind Feng Bo, where Lu Yin released another punch.

    This punch was also weakened by Feng Bo¡¯s expansion of space, and the impact only caused Feng Bo to stagger back a step as a result. His head was spinning, and Lu Yin immediately struck with his consciousness.

    Lu Yin''s diverse abilities continued to rain down on Feng Bo, while the attacks from Hongyan Mavis had little impact on the old man. Feng Bo understood the threats he faced, so he not only expanded the space in his own surroundings, but also in the distance, which created a st of wind that swept through the mist.

    Dread filled Lu Yin. Even with the de of grass that Hongyan Mavis had given him, Lu Yin instinctively wanted to avoid the mist that surrounded him.

    While enduring Hongyan Mavis''s attacks, Feng Bo tore the void open and then turned back to re at Lu Yin. "Boy, we <i>will</i> meet again!"

    Hongyan Mavis smirked. "Feng Bo, do you really believe that I¡¯ve done nothing during all these years?"

    Feng Bo felt puzzled, but the next moment, grass started growing in every visible corner of the Mirari Realm. It grew from both above and below, and it filled the entire space.

    While the sight of grass growing alongside a river was perfectly ordinary, the grass had to be extraordinary for it to grow along the River of Time.

    Even the void filled with grass as soon as Feng Bo tore it open. There was no space for him to pass through.

    "I haven¡¯t been idle all these years here in the Mirari Realm. You wanted to kill me, but I¡¯ve also been plotting to kill you. On top of that, I¡¯ve always believed that someone would one daye to help me. This is that day! You will pay for your betrayal!" Hongyan Mavis said as she exposed her true strength. She was one of the Six Daos, the founder of the Second Maind¡¯s Mavis family. Even if she had been greatly weakened, she was still a supreme powerhouse.

    Such a person was entirely capable of preventing Feng Bo from escaping from the Mirari Realm.

    The grass growing and filling the Mirari Realm left the old man with no way to escape.

    For countless years, he had believed himself to be the one hunting Hongyan Mavis and keeping her trapped in the Mirari Realm, but in hindsight, had Hongyan Mavis not also kept him trapped?

    There was no way that a weakened Hongyan Mavis could be Feng Bo¡¯s match, but with Lu Yin, things had changed.

    Lu Yin continued to attack Feng Bo with his consciousness, domain, and spirit force. All of Lu Yin¡¯s abilities were brought out, and Feng Bo was even surrounded by Lightstream, which was constantly consuming the time produced by Feng Bo''s and countering that battle technique. Hongyan Mavis kept the man trapped.

    Lu Yin''s attacks were powerful enough that each one could injure Feng Bo, provided that they connected. However, nine out of ten times, Lu Yin¡¯s attacks missed.

    Trapping someone as strong as the Seven Skygods who was determined to escape was far from easy, and while Lu Yin was a Semi-Progenitor, he was no a Progenitor. No matter how absurd hisbat strength was, there were still limits, and one of them was that Lu Yin could not surpass Feng Bo¡¯s endurance.

    The constant attacks caused Lu Yin¡¯s arm to fluctuate between a withered and a normal appearance, while the constant collisions of Infinity¡¯s lines of strength eventually made it so that Lu Yin could not even lift his right arm anymore.

    "To the right!" Hongyan Mavis called out.

    Lu Yin threw a punch with his left arm.

    Lightstream apanied the punch, and the attack struck a very disheveled-looking Feng Bo. As Lu Yin¡¯s fist drew close, space expanded, and the power of the attack was dispersed. In the end, the punch merely sent Feng Bo flying further away.

    The mist was kept back by the grass, and Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yin both pursued Feng Bo.

    They spent a long time chasing Feng Bo across the Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin could no longer lift his right arm, and his left arm was also quickly reaching its limit.

    He had not bothered to count how many punches he had thrown¡ª100? 200? Both of his arms trembled, and he was exhausted. His body was reaching its limits, and blood seeped through his skin. He had even resorted to using Triumphant Brawl, but while his will was strong, his body was limited.

    No matter how pathetic Feng Bo¡¯s appearance was, the old man was still far from death. Lu Yin could not even see how much further the man needed to be pushed. Even if Lu Yin used his Champions'' Stage and Investiture of the Gods to summon more peak powerhouses to the battle, none of the summons would be able to even touch Feng Bo. Lu Yin could only rely on himself.

    Lu Yin was panting and feeling extremely frustrated. He was essentially cooperating with Hongyan Mavis to deal with Feng Bo, but Lu Yin had reached his limits.

    He had tried rolling his die, but there was no time in the Mirari Realm. Rolling four pips aplished nothing, which meant that Lu Yin could not recover in his Timestop Space.

    He had effectively been deprived of one of his key abilities.

    <i>Cough!</i>

    Lu Yin barely managed to bring his right arm to his chest, but he could not move it any further.

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "Forget it. This is your limit."

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "Senior, that old man is also being pushed to his limit!"

    Hongyan Mavis responded with a bitter smile, "Even if there were two of you, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to push him to his limits."

    Lu Yin opened his mouth to respond, but Hongyan Mavis spoke first. "This is my fault."

    Lu Yin asked, "Senior, how could that be?"

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "If I had trusted you from the beginning and cooperated with you, we might have been able to kill him."

    "You can¡¯t me yourself, Senior. If you trusted people so easily, you wouldn¡¯t havested for so long.

    "You weren¡¯t right or wrong. It¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t sealed that old man¡¯s fate quite yet."

    They had already moved far away from the River of Time and deep into the forest.

    Curious, Lu Yin asked, "Senior, did you nt this bamboo forest?"

    "It wasn¡¯t me. These nts grow naturally here in the Mirari Realm. nts are quite miraculous, and as long as there''s a ce for them to grow, no matter how harsh the environment is, they will find a way to survive.

    "When I first arrived in the Mirari Realm, there wasn¡¯t just bamboo, but also flowers. Unfortunately, all of the flowers have been picked."

    "Were they useful?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Not really, but I don¡¯t know who picked them. It made no sense at all."

    Feng Bo¡¯s voice echoed through the mist as he shouted from the distance, "Hongyan, what¡¯s the point of keeping me trapped here in the Mirari Realm? The Mirari Realm is vast, and you neverpletely explored it. Do you really think that you can keep me trapped?"

    Hongyan Mavis sneered. "Go ahead and run! If you have the guts, escape into those regions we never entered."

 Chapter 3120: Cultivating The Ultimate Technique

    <h4>Chapter 3120: Cultivating The Ultimate Technique</h4>

    "There''s no need to leave." Feng Bo''s voice turned sinister. "That kidcks the strength to kill me, and you are only able to trap me, but what¡¯s the point of that? So what if you keep me trapped for 10,000 or even 100,000 years? If you can wait, and so can I, but can that kid wait?"

    Lu Yin raised his head. "Old man, I can wait. After all, time means nothing in this ce. I''ll continue to cultivate here, break through and be a Progenitor, or even a Sequence Progenitor. In fact, I¡¯ve even heard that the Mirari Realm contains a hidden opportunity to be an Ortuser, so I¡¯ll continue to train here."

    "Child, you''re young, and your cultivation has progressed too quickly, which leaves youcking the mental strength that those at your realm should possess. How can you hope to endure billions of years of struggles? Even if time means nothing in this ce, your body will still age here. When you leave, the people outside will be the same, but you will have changed. You''ll be a stranger to them and will no longer care about their lives. You¡¯ll be indifferent to life itself.

    "Heheh, go ahead and wait here. Time will reveal to you that both humanity and Aeternals are nothing more than a shell. The only thing that is eternal are your own thoughts."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "If that''s true, then why do you insist on staying here for the chance to kill Senior Hongyan?"

    Feng Bo did not respond.

    Lu Yin continued, "It¡¯s because you care about that so-called shell as well. You know that you''re a traitor, and if you don''t kill Senior Hongyan, you¡¯ll never be able to get past that internal obstacle. Long ago, you did everything it took to earn her trust, and since then, you¡¯ve done even more to erase the sincerity that you once showed her. Killing Senior Hongyan is your way of making up for your past, or at least, what you perceive as repentance."

    "Ridiculous! I never belonged to this ce, so how can I have regrets?"

    "It''s about how despicable and shameless you behaved. Because you''re despicable and shameless, the word ¡®sincerity¡¯ is an insult to you. And yet, you were once sincere."

    "Boy, do you really think that you can persuade me?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "I just want to insult you, but then I realized that insulting you merely dirties my own mouth."

    "You¡¯ve got a sharp tongue. Let¡¯s see just how long you canst in this ce."

    Hongyan Mavis nced in a certain direction, and her expression changed. "He''s moved away, but all of the areas he''s willing to step foot in are under my control. He can''t escape."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Willing to set foot in? Are there ces in the Mirari Realm where not even he dares to go?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded and grew serious. "The Mirari Realm is a very mysterious ce. You''ve seen where the River of Time flows, but that¡¯s not the end of this ce. There are other phenomena here that defy the imagination, such as the karmic cycle. All of us have seen that ce, and it seems as though all possibilities of a person¡¯s life exist there. It¡¯s as if the ce is the origin of all possibilities. Basically, this is a magical ce."

    "Wasn''t this ce created by the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "Of course not. Back then, Master and a few others worked together to anchor the Mirari Realm to our megaverse. ording to Master, the Mirari Realm is far older than he is, and it is an iprehensible ce. Even when you fish in the River of Time, the only that you can pull out are moments from the past that are rted to the power being used.

    "You were born in our Origin Universe, which means that it¡¯s easier for you to catch moments from our universe. However, before the Origin Universe came into existence and before Master was alive, there were other civilizations that have existed for an unknown period of time. As long as you don¡¯t possess any power rted to those civilizations, you won¡¯t be able to catch any moments from their past."

    She paused and then expressed some curiosity. "Why did you think that this ce was created by Master?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Because he sent me here."

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes grewrge and were filled with excitement. "You were sent here by Master? How is he?"

    "Rest assured, Senior, the Origin Progenitor is doing well." Lu Yin decided it was best not to mention the Origin Progenitor''s current condition, as he feared that the knowledge might provoke some unpredictable reaction from Hongyan Mavis.

    It was clear that, in the long past Heavens Sect era, the Origin Progenitor and the Three Realms and Six Daos had enjoyed an exceptionally close rtionship as master and disciples.

    Who said that peak powerhouses had to be indifferent and aloof? All the messages on the floor of the cabin had been written by legendary peak powerhouses, and yet those messages were perfectly ordinary and expressed genuine emotions.

    Hongyan Mavis eagerly asked, "Where is Master now?"

    Lu Yin pointed into the distance.

    Hongyan Mavis said, "Don''t worry. He can''t hear us from where he is."

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief and then proceeded to share what he knew about the Origin Progenitor with Hongyan Mavis.

    He mentioned that the Origin Progenitor was fighting at the Immemorial Citadel, but he did not go into too much detail.

    "I only spoke with the Origin Progenitor for a few moments before he sent me here to the Mirari Realm, telling me that this ce is suitable for me to cultivate," Lu Yin exined.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled with relief as tears welled up in her eyes. "I¡¯ve always feared the worst for Master. It''s good to know that he''s still alive."

    She stared off into the distance, conflicted emotions painted on her face as she walked towards the River of Time, reminiscing about the past.

    Lu Yin did not disturb her.

    Only after they arrived at the River of Time did Hongyan Mavis manage to collect herself. "Now, tell me about yourself. Who are you? Where are you from? And what¡¯s the situation outside?"

    Lu Yin nodded and then proceeded to share his own story in addition to the current state of affairs in the megaverse, all of which shocked Hongyan Mavis.

    The Heavens Sect era had been truly magnificent, and the Origin Progenitor had stood above everything. The Three Realms and Six Daos had been unmatched, and all of them together had brought about an era of unmatched prosperity. Since then, Aeternus had grown increasingly powerful, and it had also constantly oppressed humanity. Despite all that, Lu Yin had still sessfully led the Fifth Maind to war, and they had even invaded Aeternus on several asions. Not only that, but he had also led several ambushes that had killed a few of the Seven Skygods. All of his feats earned him a great deal of Hongyan Mavis''s respect.

    The fact that Lu Yin was able to work with others to ambush and kill some of the Seven Skygods meant that he was strong enough to hold his own against even the top experts from the Three Realms and Six Daos¡¯ era.

    LuYin had climbed to his current level from the very bottom. Step by step, he had risen to a level where he could stand against Aeternus, and he had even been attacked by True God himself.

    Hongyan Mavis looked at Lu Yin throughpletely different eyes. "It¡¯s no wonder how you were able to be a Semi-Progenitor at such a young age, and why you even have the power to threaten peak powerhouses like us. Lu Yin, even in our era, you would not have been inferior to anyone. You would have shone as brightly as any of us."

    Lu Yin was already aware of this.

    Even during the Heavens Sect era, who aside from the Three Realms and Six Daos themselves could have stood up to Lu Yin¡¯s current strength?

    Of course, Lu Yin had not possessed such overwhelmingbat strength before he entered the Mirari Realm, and he had frequently relied on powerful weapons and tools.

    After entering the Mirari Realm and transforming Infinity, he had obtained the destructive power to threaten even the Seven Skygods. This marked the beginning of his total transformation.

    He had formally stepped onto the level of being able to fight against the Seven Skygods.

    Even without Hongyan Mavis, Lu Yin had been able to fight against Feng Bo, and while killing the old man might be impossible, Lu Yin would not have died either.

    Still, Lu Yin remained humble. The reason why he had been able to do so well against Feng Bo was inrge part due to his thorough understanding of the old man¡¯s strength and abilities. Lu Yin had gone over numerous simtions of the battle before it started, and even so, he had almost been badly wounded by Feng Bo.

    None of the Seven Skygods were simple opponents, and just possessing raw strength alone was far from sufficient.

    Lu Yin knew that he was nowhere close to being able to effortlessly crush opponents at the level of the Seven Skygods. Only by breaking through and bing a Progenitor after experiencing a total transformation would he be able to do so. Perhaps then he would be able to face True God himself.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s purpose in entering the Mirari Realm.

    "Senior, we can kill Feng Bo," Lu Yin stated resolutely as he looked at Hongyan Mavis.

    The woman just looked puzzled.

    Lu Yin continued somberly, "Give me a bit of time, and I will be able to achieve a level of strength where I will be able to kill Feng Bo."

    Hongyan Mavis was taken aback. "You n to break through and be a Progenitor?"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "A Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough is never easy, and I¡¯m not even close to the opportunity to try that. Still, my current strength can undergo a transformation."

    Hongyan Mavis did not press any further. "Then go ahead and train. No matter how long you need, I''ll stand guard for you."

    Lu Yin nodded and walked toward the River of Time. He looked at the seemingly endless river flow by. He knew that there was neither a known beginning nor end to this river, but he hoped to one day travel against the flow and visit the ancient past.

    To aplish that, he needed to transform Lightstream.

    Lu Yin had already decided to transform Lightstream into a ship.

    Lightflow used the power of space to chase time, and Lu Yin intended to create a ship from his inner world that could sail on the River of Time. This was the direction that he had envisioned for his inner world after a long time of contemtion.

    Seeing the River of Time flow through the Mirari realm had only firmed his determination.

    The River of Time was a river, and therefore, it had banks and could have bridges. And theoretically, boats should be able to traverse it.

    Despite spending years on the riverbank, Lu Yin had never once seen a ship drift along the River of Time. He wanted to be the first to navigate it.

    This was the direction that Lightstream would move towards, but even if Lu Yin seeded in this endeavor, there was no way to know whether a transformed Lightstream would be enough to deal with Feng Bo.

    Lu Yin needed to cultivate another technique, and he intended to master True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    Lu Yin had acquired the Natural Art by Possessing Xu Jin and reading his memories. Lu Yin had also witnessed the power of the technique firsthand in the Second Scourge. At that time, both Lord Xu and Mu Shen had been severely injured and barely been able to do anything to defend themselves. The Natural Art was one of True God''s three ultimate techniques.

    Since Lu Yin had acquired it, it was only natural that he wanted to cultivate it.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current goal was to use True God''s Natural Art to kill Feng Bo.

    The only thing was that, Lu Yin did not know how difficult it would be to cultivate the Natural Art. He had not been able to absorb many of Xu Jin''s memories, and seeing the technique had been quite a lucky opportunity.

    True God''s Natural Art was a technique that transformed thoughts intonterns. When thenterns were destroyed, the associated thoughts would be destroyed as well. That would leave a person in a state of having no sense of self or others. They would abandon all goals and try to attain an eternal unity with the universe...

    Lanterns appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. One by one they floated into outer space.

    Lu Yin focused on a singlentern and cut it.

    <i>Poof!</i>

    A spurt of blood erupted from his mouth as his eyes snapped open. He had made a mistake. That was not the correct way to cut antern.

    "Little Seven!" Hongyan Mavis grew rmed and rushed over to check on him.

    Lu Yin waved a hand. "I''m fine."

    He hesitated, and then, with a glint in his eyes, said, "Feng Bo''s candle damaged me a bit, but luckily, it¡¯s nothing too serious."

    Hongyan Mavis felt confused, but while she wanted to say something, she had noticed that Lu Yin was trying to signal her with his eyes.

    She frowned. "Feng Bo''s Wind and Candle uses the power of time. He developed the ability from his innate gift. The phrase ''as the wind blows, the candle burns to its end'' once brought disaster to the Second Maind. His candles are not easy to get rid of. Are you sure that you¡¯re fine?"

    Lu Yin''s face grew pale. "I''m fine."

    Suddenly, burning candles appeared on each of his shoulders.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed drastically. "Old man, how dare you attack me?"

    Feng Bo''s voice echoed from the distance, "Kid, I told you that it isn¡¯t easy to ignore my battle techniques! Not even sequence powerhouses can escape from me! Since one of my candles wasn¡¯t enough to harm you, let''s see how well you can handle two! I''ll keep adding more and more, so let''s see how long you canst."

    Lu Yin red at Hongyan Mavis. "Senior, didn''t you say that the old man couldn''t hear us from where he is?"

    Hongyan Mavis answered in a bitter tone, "You were just injured, and I let my guard slip for a moment..."

 Chapter 3121: Shattered Cosmic Doors

    <h4>Chapter 3121: Shattered Cosmic Doors</h4>

    Lu Yin wiped the blood from his mouth, his face ashen. "This is a problem. That old man won''t let me go. Senior, I might not be able to hold on for much longer. Let''s go back to the cabin. If I can''t push through, then we''ll have to leave. Don¡¯t worry, as I will definitely find a way to return and rescue you from the Mirari Realm."

    "Boy, there''s no need to rescue anyone. If you leave, I''ll leave too, and then we¡¯ll settle things outside. I¡¯ll make sure you suffer!" Feng Bo''s venomous voice echoed.

    Lu Yin shook his head and exchanged a nce with Hongyan Mavis. They both saw amusement in the other''s eyes as they walked toward the cabin.

    Hongyan Mavis did not understand why Lu Yin had deliberately antagonized Feng Bo into cing candles on his shoulders again, but she did know that the mes were harmless to Lu Yin. The candles were not a threat.

    Lu Yin had indeed been goading Feng Bo to get the candles again; how was he supposed to have Lightstream devour more moments of time without them? His inner world needed to devour time to strengthen its ability to peer into the past, which essentially meant that Lu Yin was cultivating Lightstream while he focused on learning True God''s Natural Art.

    Feng Bo was no fool. Lu Yin had been genuinely injured, but the blood that he had spat out was because he had made a mistake while learning True God''s Natural Art. That had not been a ruse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s injury was more serious than anything he had received while fighting against Feng Bo, so why would Feng Bo not believe Lu Yin¡¯s words?

    In a way, this was simr to how Hongyan Mavis had been convinced that Lu Yin was not acting after she had witnessed the ferocity of his battle with Feng Bo.

    Lu Yin had simply taken advantage of a genuine injury, as he could not think of any other way to provoke Feng Bo into attacking again and using against Lu Yin.

    The candles¡¯ mes would save Lu Yin a great deal of time.

    Once they were at the cabin, even if Lu Yin were not in the Mirari Realm, Feng Bo would not be able to harm Hongyan Mavis. Lu Yin could then cultivate without any worries as Lightstream continued to absorb time from the candle mes.

    True God''s Natural Art was incredibly difficult to cultivate. Lu Yin kept trying, but each time he cut antern, he would spit out blood. This convinced Feng Bo that the candles were indeed severely injuring Lu Yin.

    Even Hongyan Mavis started to wonder if Lu Yin was being genuinely harmed by the candles¡¯ mes, seeing how much blood he was losing.

    After training for a long period of time, Lu Yin finally opened his eyes. He looked exhausted.

    Hongyan Mavis anxiously asked, "How are you?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "There are some problems that I don''t know how to resolve."

    "Tell me. Maybe I can help," Hongyan Mavis suggested.

    Lu Yin looked at her. "Senior, have you heard of True God''s three ultimate techniques?"

    Hongyan Mavis was caught off guard. "Are you trying to cultivate one of the Aeternals¡¯ battle technique?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I seeded in infiltrating Aeternus and happened to obtain one of True God''s ultimate techniques. I intended to use that to deal with Feng Bo."

    Hongyan Mavis frowned. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. How could you possibly cultivate any of the Aeternals¡¯ battle techniques? Those techniques all use divine energy as their foundation, and regardless of whether you possess divine energy, a defining characteristic of that energy is heartlessness. Can you make yourself heartless?

    "Even if you were capable of cultivating such a technique, there¡¯s only a remote possibility of sess. If Yong Heng¡¯s techniques were that easy to master, there wouldn''t be so few Aeternals who can use them.

    "Back when the Second Maind was destroyed, Aeternus fought a decisive battle with the Origin Universe, but I never saw a single Aeternal use Yong Heng¡¯s techniques."

    Hongyan Mavis thought back to that time, the memory still filling her with a feeling of awe. "During that battle, no one held back any of their power. If any of the Aeternals could have used Yong Heng¡¯s techniques, they would have done so..."

    Seeing that Hongyan Mavis was starting to reminisce, Lu Yin sighed to himself. Once again, the woman was getting lost in her memories. The more a person lived through, the more memories they would have to remember.

    This reminded Lu Yin of the Origin Progenitor and Big Face Tree.

    Big Face Tree always recounted the battle of the Third Maind, and Hongyan Mavis was currently remembering the battle of the Second Maind. However, Lu Yin was most curious about how the First Maind had been destroyed.

    The First Maind had been the first to fall, and it had happened at the very peak of the Heavens Sect¡¯s power, when all of the Three Realms and Six Daos had been present. How could the First Maind have been destroyed by Aeternus? With the Origin Progenitor suppressing everything, who could have overwhelmed him?

    Unfortunately, not even Hongyan Mavis had any idea how the First Maind had been defeated.

    That was because everything had happened too quickly.

    Ignoring the woman, Lu Yin returned to his training.

    True God¡¯s ultimate technique involved discarding all of a person¡¯s preconceived notions and bing one with the universe. Was it truly impossible for Lu Yin to learn it?

    Time continued to pass, and one day, the candles¡¯ mes suddenly disappeared.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and shook his head. Had Feng Bo noticed that something was off? The man was no idiot, and despite how frequently Lu Yin coughed up blood, he was still alive and had persisted for a very long time. It was clear that something was off about his condition. Feng Bo was uncertain whether his was actually harming Lu Yin, so the old man had canceled his technique.

    If the candle mes were not injuring Lu Yin and the young man was trying to provoke Feng Bo into using his technique, then the old man could not even imagine what the results might be.

    With the candles gone, Lu Yin activated Lightstream and looked back in time.

    2,375 seconds. He could look back in time a total of 2,375 seconds. Lu Yin was ecstatic. This was more than double what Lightstream could do before Lu Yin had encountered Feng Bo, and it was nearly four times what it had been capable of before Lu Yin entered the Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin had initially intended to try transforming Lightstream after he was able to look a thousand seconds back in time, but Feng Bo had interrupted him. It was finally time.

    Hongyan Mavis observed Lu Yin''s training with open curiosity.

    Given her level of power, a single nce told her that Lu Yin''s path of cultivation was beyond anything she could help guide. He needed to follow his own path.

    As Lightstream appeared, Lu Yin''s gaze fixed on his inner world, and he continuously tried to alter its form. At first, nothing at all happened. He tried again, but there was still no reaction. This continued on to the fifth, the tenth attempt, and beyond. It was only after the thirtieth attempt that Lightstream started to change.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up as he started pushing Lightstream towards the transformation that he had envisioned.

    ...

    Lu Yin spent a very, very long time training in the Mirari Realm. He had already transformed Infinity, and then he had fought against Feng Bo. After a fierce battle, he finally started to transform Lightstream. From Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, he had experienced several centuries in the Mirari Realm.

    However, the Mirari Realm was not connected to the rest of reality¡¯s time, which meant that almost no time had passed from the moment that Mister Mu had taken Lu Yin from the Second Scourge.

    Despite the brief bit of time that had passed, news of Lu Yin''s death was already quickly spreading across the entire Sixverse Association. The speed of the news spread waspletely unexpected by the Lu family, Mister Mu, and anyone else who tried to keep the matter a secret.

    It was as though an invisible hand was elerating the spread of the news.

    There was no denying Lu Yin''s importance to the Sixverse Association. His influence was second only to the Great Sovereign, and it had been earned through a number of great battles.

    His Semi-Progenitor¡¯s tribtion that had urred during the Great Sovereign''s Tea Ceremony had left a huge impact on many people throughout the Sixverse Association.

    If not for the Great Sovereign''s incredible strength, no one in the Sixverse Association would have been able to restrain Lu Yin.

    People might have held back from trying to cause trouble as long as Lu Yin had been present, but they currently believed him to be dead. Thus, all of their grievances and frustration towards the young man erupted.

    As news of Lu Yin''s death spread, there was no overt reaction, but many people secretly rejoiced, including some of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples and many other cultivators from the Cyclic Universe. There were even people from the Origin Universe who had long harbored resentment towards Lu Yin, but who had never dared to give voice to their grievances. Lu Yin¡¯s death made many people secretly happy.

    Still, people kept their joy hidden for the moment. Lu Yin had been far too influential, and many people greatly respected him and were grateful for his efforts and aplishments on the Endless Frontier and how he had made the Sixverse Association''s various borders safer. Countless lives had been lost on the many battlefields, which meant that many people genuinely appreciated all that Lu Yin had aplished.

    In the Origin Universe, Lu Yin was even more revered than in the rest of the Sixverse Association. He had been recognized by the Fifth Maind; the fact that his fourth inner world was the Wordless Heavenly Book served as the best proof of that.

    As news of his death spread, countless people were stricken by grief or became enraged. Many refused to believe the news. All eyes focused on the Heavens Sect, as they waited for someone to make an announcement on the matter. People were waiting for Lu Yin to show himself.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect where Lu Yin frequently stayed, several cosmic doors led to different universes, including the one where the Scourge upation was based out of, as well as Ye Sheng¡¯s universe.

    One day, figures with dark-red auras appeared outside of the Heavens Sect, and they charged forward while roaring. They were frenzied corpses.

    While the First Scourge no longer had any frenzied corpses, Aeternus still had some in the other Scourges. The Divine Commandment was still in ce, which meant that the Aeternals wereunching an all-out attack against humanity.

    An rm sounded in the Heavens Sect, and experts like Arch-Elder Zen stepped out to fight.

    No one had expected the Aeternals to abruptly attack the Heavens Sect so quickly after word of Lu Yin''s death had spread. They had taken action very swiftly.

    As battle raged outside the Heavens Sect, within it, at the foot of the mountain that held the cosmic doors, another group appeared. These individuals were not corpse kings, but rather human traitors, spies loyal to Aeternus. The fact that they were present within the Heavens Sect meant that each one had been thoroughly vetted and cleared. They had been able to stay hidden because Aeternus had never given these people any missions. These were Aeternus''s deepest sleeping agents in the Fifth Maind.

    None of these people were particrly powerful, but they had sessfully infiltrated the Heavens Sect, which made them invaluable.

    As the frenzied corpses attacked and chaos erupted outside the sect, the traitors moved as well. Their target was the cosmic doors.

    Leng Qing was standing guard over the cosmic doors, but not even a Progenitor could stop the spies. After all, the cosmic doors had originally belonged to Aeternus.

    None of the people tried to defeat or even fight Leng Qing. Their only goal was the destruction of the cosmic doors.

    As soon as divine energy was released, the cosmic doors ceased to be under Leng Qing''s control.

    The battle outside the Heavens Sect ended as soon as Lu Tianyi arrived. He instantly ughtered all the frenzied corpses. The traitors sent to destroy the cosmic doors also perished, but they had never considered surviving their mission.

    On top of that, the cosmic doors had all been destroyed.

    Lu Tianyi stood at the peak of the mountain, staring at the shattered fragments of the cosmic doors with a grim expression.

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "I was careless. I didn¡¯t think that Aeternus¡¯s target would actually be the cosmic doors."

    Leng Qing clenched his saber tightly. "This is my fault."

    Lu Tianyi looked at the two men. "No one is to me. The Aeternals have been watching the Heavens Sect for a long time, and those traitors were spies long before this Heavens Sect was even established, even before Little Seven started cultivating. This is not your fault."

    Wang Wen arrived nearby, and he held his head as he looked at the broken remains of the cosmic doors. "This is a problem! Without those cosmic doors, those people can still reach us, but we can¡¯t touch them. The fact that Aeternus targeted the cosmic doors means that they''ll attack very soon. They''ll either attack us while we¡¯re isted, or they¡¯ll go after the other civilizations."

    Arch-Elder Zen asked, "Who do you think will be targeted?"

    Lu Tianyi also looked over at Wang Wen. He had never underestimated the young man, despite his modest cultivation. Wang Wen had helped Lu Yin a great deal, and while he might be one of the weakest people in the entire Heavens Sect, his status wasparable to Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s.

    Wang Wen replied without hesitation, "Us."

 Chapter 3122: Undercurrent

    <h4>Chapter 3122: Undercurrent</h4>

    "Do you really think that Aeternus wille after us?" Lu Tianyi asked.

    Wang Wen nodded. "If I were Aeternus, I would first cut off all of the Origin Universe¡¯s external support and then attack. To begin with, the Origin Universe holds humanity¡¯s greatestbat power as well as the greatest number of powerhouses. On top of that, the Aeternals have been recently suppressed, and that¡¯s mostly because of the Origin Universe¡¯s actions. Finally, they can use this to confirm His Royal Chesspiece¡¯s death and sow chaos in the Sixverse Association. It''s a triple win.

    "If I''m right, then unrest is already erupting in the Sixverse Association. News of His Royal Chesspiece''s death is just the Aeternals¡¯ first step. They''re going to test the Sixverse Association and His Royal Chesspiece, because even Aeternus can¡¯t be sure that he¡¯s really dead."

    As he spoke, Wang Wen leaned closer to Lu Tianyi. "Senior, just to confirm, how is His Royal Chesspiece?"

    Lu Tianyi did not know how to respond, as not even he was certain if Little Seven was dead or alive.

    By all reason, Lu Yin should be dead. True God had attacked a mere Semi-Progenitor, so how could Lu Yin have survived? However, Ancestor Lu Yuan had said that things were not certain. Mister Mu had taken Little Seven away, and ording to Ancestor Lu Yuan, Mister Mu was someone who was qualified to sit and discuss the Dao with the Origin Progenitor as equals. Since that man had acted, Little Seven might not be beyond saving.

    Wang Wen sighed. "It seems that you don''t know either. No matter what, we have to find some external reinforcements now. Aeternus will attack us soon, as they won¡¯t give us much time.

    "Don''t forget, there are still many spies and Redbacks in our Fifth Maind, but there are even more in the rest of the Sixverse Association. Our greatest threat is Whiteless God, who holds Aeterna."

    The cosmic doors had been destroyed, and Wang Wen immediately ordered that information to be sealed away. Even so, the news still reached the Sixverse Association.

    Not only did the information reach the Sixverse Association, but it also spread to the Five Spirits Alliance, the Luna Alliance, and the civilizations in other parallel universes. Not only that, but the information was altered.

    Instead of merely mentioning that the cosmic doors had been destroyed, word spread that the Origin Universe had lost all outside support.

    Countless people throughout the Sixverse Association started secretly discussing the matter. "It seems that the rumors of Lord Lu''s death are true! How else could the Heavens Sect be attacked. Do you know what attacked? It was frenzied corpses!"

    "Frenzied corpses? The creatures that Lord Lu was best at dealing with?"

    "Exactly! Frenzied corpses are very difficult to deal with. If one was thrown into our universe, it would be an absolute disaster. Supposedly, Aeternus has very few of them left, and yet they were still willing to throw theirst ones at the Heavens Sect. What does that indicate? You can figure it out yourself."

    "I heard the Heavens Sect''s alliance with the outsider civilizations fell apart."

    "I heard that their cosmic doors were destroyed."

    "In any case, the Heavens Sect can''t work with the outsider civilizations anymore. This all happened as soon as Lord Lu died. Aeternus must be nning to attack the Heavens Sect."

    "What about our Sixverse Association?"

    "No matter what others may think, I firmly support Lord Lu. If the Heavens Sect goes to war, I''ll help them. If not for Lord Lu, we would have never had any peace, and I would''ve died a long time ago."

    "Me too."

    "Me too."

    "Hmph, idiots! Lord Lu did it all for himself. He had to hide his real identity and join us because of the pressure that our Sixverse Association was putting on him. If he hadn''t helped the Sixverse Association, where would the Origin Universe¡¯s current status havee from? Do you really think that the Three Monarchs Universe disappeared all on its own? And who do you think controls the Transcendent Universe?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard that Lord Lu invited Lord Xu and Mu Shen to invade the Scourge on multiple asions. He was hoping for them to be injured or even killed so that he could gain control over the Voidforce Universe and the Arboreal Realm.¡±

    ¡°I heard about that, too. This is retribution...¡±

    ...

    All across the Sixverse Association, rumors denouncing Lu Yin spread like wildfire. It seemed as if, overnight, the Sixverse Association had be the Origin Universe¡¯s enemy. While the majority of people still supported Lu Yin and did not believe the rumors, as time passed, some started to be convinced. With careful nning, even if the rumors were unable to convince everyone, they could be a significant barrier for those who wanted to support the Heavens Sect.

    Little Lian overheard the rumors and scolded those she heard speaking. ¡°Stop spreading lies! Brother Xuan Qi isn''t dead, and he never plotted against the Sixverse Association!¡±

    A group of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples dispersed, none of them willing to argue with Little Lian.

    The girl was left speechless.

    Yao Lan approached from behind. ¡°Little Lian.¡±

    Little Lian felt quite frustrated, and said, ¡°Senior Sister, why do they believe those rumors? Brother Xuan Qi has done so much for the Sixverse Association. Without him, the war would have never ended. I might have been sent to the Endless Frontier and could have died there. The fact that the Aeternals have been suppressed at all is entirely thanks to Brother Xuan Qi.¡±

    Yao Lan gently replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. These rumors are merely the schemes of petty people, though some of them aren''t entirely baseless.¡±

    Little Lian gave Yao Lan a look of confusion.

    Yao Lan¡¯s eyes grew cold. ¡°Do you really think that the Transcendent Universe is still independent? Lord Lu has many means at his disposal.¡±

    Little Lian stared at Yao Lan as though looking at a stranger. She had never realized that her senior sister could be so cold.

    After Little Lian left, Yao Lan went to speak with Sovereign Lotus. ¡°Master, the Heavens Sect has been attacked. Given the current situation, Aeternus seems poised to strike the Origin Universe. How should we respond?¡±

    Sovereign Lotus replied, ¡°I am already injured. Lord Lu forced me to go to the First Scourge, which aggravated my wounds. I can''t help the Heavens Sect. You can go help them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    On the Endless Frontier, Mr. Daheng heard the rumors, and his expression turned grim.

    Was Lu Yin dead? The man was not sure how to feel about that. He had never been able to determine whether Lu Yin had plotted against him. If Lu Yin had been targeting Mr. Daheng, then the Peaks and Rivers Rock should not have been given to him, but if Lu Yin had not been targeting the man, the situation should not have escted the way it had.

    Regardless, Mr. Daheng had obtained the stone, so it did not really matter to him if Lu Yin was alive or dead.

    Mr. Daheng¡¯s current focus was to collect as many Peaks and Rivers Rocks as possible and enter the Mirari Realm. If he could do that, he might have a chance to be an Ortuser.

    The Origin Realm... he had no clues about how he could reach that level, but the Mirari Realm surely held a path.

    As for Heavens Sect being attacked, that was none of the man¡¯s concern.

    In the Three Monarchs Universe, Luo Shan also heard the rumors. He stared out at the stars, and muttered, ¡°Our grievances were resolved, but hearing of your death still brings me joy, Lu Yin. Now, we¡¯re truly even.¡±

    In the Decaying Diablo Universe, at the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters, Bi Teng could not hold back augh when he heard of Lu Yin¡¯s death.

    The man may have helped the Merchant Exchange once, but he had used that as an opportunity to manipte the Merchant Exchange, and Bi Teng had been very reluctant to reject any of Lu Yin¡¯s demands. Lu Yin¡¯s death was good news for the Merchant Exchange, as it had removed a significant obstacle from the Sixverse Association.

    "Come here."

    "Yes, sir."

    "Toss Liu Fuxue back to the Origin Universe. Never allow her to work with us again."

    "But sir-" the person behind Bi Teng trembled, as they were fully aware that Madam Nn, Liu Fuxue, was supported by the Heavens Sect. Was the boss really intending to sever all ties with the Heavens Sect?

    Bi Teng nced back, his expression frigid. "Do it now."

    "Yes, sir."

    Bi Teng sneered. Without Lu Yin, there was no need to worry about the Heavens Sect. Even if they targeted the Merchant Exchange, what of it? There were plenty of excuses to fire Liu Fuxue, and since the Heavens Sect was already struggling to protect itself, he did not need to even consider them. The only pity was that Lu Yin had taken so long to die.

    Bi Lan got wind of what was happening, and she quickly went to find Bi Teng. "Lord Bi Teng, are you really going to fire Liu Fuxue?"

    Bi Teng had calmed himself and simply replied, "What of it? Do you object?"

    Bi Lan replied, "Liu Fuxue has the Heavens Sect behind her, and we have a good rtionship with them. Firing her will antagonize the Heavens Sect."

    Bi Teng frowned and slowly turned to face Bi Lan. "Do I need to exin myself to others when I fire a subordinate?"

    Bi Lan hastily bowed. "That''s not what I meant. It''s just that..."

    "Enough. Liu Fuxue has vited our rules and revealed our secrets to outsiders. That alone is grounds for dismissal. We used to need to give face to the Heavens Sect, but that no longer matters. Send her to the Origin Universe and never work with her again."

    Bi Lan cautiously asked, "And what if Lord Lu returns?"

    Bi Teng shuddered, and a flicker of anxiety passed through his eyes, but he quickly remembered that Lu Yin was dead. The entire Sixverse Association knew this. What was there to be scared of? "Then let hime. No one can break the Merchant Exchange''s rules. You¡¯re dismissed."

    Bi Lan withdrew, feeling helpless.

    Shortly after that, Madam Nn returned to the Origin Universe, personally escorted by Bi Lan.

    "I''m sorry. I didn''t expect this to happen," Bi Lan said with a sigh. While it was true that Madam Nn had the Heavens Sect¡¯s support and that she had held a special position within the Merchant Exchange, she had never fought with Bi Lan. The two women got along well, and Bi Lan had even been the one to bring Madam Nn into the Merchant Exchange.

    Madam Nn smiled gently. "There¡¯s no need to apologize. We¡¯ll meet again soon."

    Bi Lan felt quite puzzled.

    Madam Nn stared off into space. "While people im that Lord Lu is dead, I don''t believe it. He isn''t that easy to kill, so just wait for me to return."

    With that, the woman started making her way towards the Heavens Sect.

    Bi Lan observed Madam Nn¡¯s smile, wondering where the woman¡¯s confidence came from. Was she not alone? Did the entire Origin Universe have such faith in Lu Yin?

    If Lu Yin really was not dead and did return in the future, then what would happen to the Merchant Exchange? Bi Lan did not even dare to imagine such a future.

    Lu Yin was no ordinary cultivator. THe Heavens Sect had peak powerhouses capable of shaking the Sixverse Association, but Bi Teng was not concerned about them. That was because those experts were predictable and would not make trouble for the Merchant Exchange without just cause. On the other hand, Lu Yin was different, and there was no telling how he would act. This was why the Merchant Exchange feared him.

    If Lu Yin returned... Bi Lan took a deep breath. She could not even imagine the potential consequences.

    Bi Teng was too impatient.

    He had felt suffocated under Lu Yin''s pressure, and he had been waiting a long time for such a day.

    In the past, the Merchant Exchange had never needed to consider anyone, but after Lu Yin appeared, the Merchant Exchange had been forced to look to him for direction.

    This was also just the beginning. As news of Lu Yin''s death spread, more and more things grew unfavorable for the Heavens Sect.

    ...

    Lu Yin had spent a very, very long time in the Mirari Realm, which was a ce beyond time. If this much subjective time had passed in the Sixverse Association, many people might have forgotten all about him, and he would have likely be a legend.

    Lu Yin was continuously trying to transform Lightstream, forcing it into a specific shape.

    Time passed, and Lightstream constantly shifted and changed.

    Finally, one day, Lightstream took the full form of a boat. It was blurry and transparent, to the point where it almost seemed to not exist, but Lu Yin could see it clearly. It had finally taken on the form of a boat.

    "Senior, do you see this? I did it! It¡¯s a boat! I made it into a boat!" Lu Yin eximed excitedly.

 Chapter 3123: Liberation

    <h4>Chapter 3123: Liberation</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis was impressed. "An inner world should be stable, and a transformation should only be possible when you be a Progenitor. However, you¡¯ve already managed to transform it. Why did you shape it into a boat?"

    Lu Yin suppressed his excitement enough to answer, "Because one day, I hope to sail it up the River of Time."

    Hongyan Mavis was stunned. "You want to take your boat on the River of Time?"

    Lu Yin smiled at her. "That¡¯s just a dream, but sometimes, setting a grand goal is already worthwhile. Even if you don¡¯t reach your dream, even just getting close is a sess."

    Hongyan Mavisughed. "Do you really think that this is some sort of negotiation?"

    Lu Yin had managed to reform Lightstream into the shape of a boat, but it was still extremely unstable.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin focused on fine-tuning Lightstream. Whenever it appeared, it had the same appearance as before, but when Lu Yin tried to peer back in time, it would transform into a boat. This was all that Lu Yin could do as a Semi-Progenitor. If he wanted to proceed further, he would need to first be a Progenitor.

    He was eager to test the newly transformed boat, and Lu Yin looked forward to using Lightstream against Feng Bo. The old man would be a perfect sparring partner, and given how perfectly he matched up against Lu Yin¡¯s abilities at the moment, it would be a waste not to take advantage of the opportunity.

    After some time, Lu Yin finally managed to stabilize his transformed inner world. Now, it could instantly take on the form of a boat. It was time to challenge Feng Bo.

    Lu Yin stepped out of the bamboo forest, and with Hongyan Mavis''s directions, Lu Yin already knew of Feng Bo''s location. "Old man, let''s fight! Hongyan Mavis won''t get involved, so let''s see if I can kill you or if you can kill me."

    "Boy, you''re courting death!" Feng Bo threatened Lu Yin, but he did not attack. Despite the old man¡¯s absolute confidence that Lu Yin could not defeat him, Lu Yin¡¯s knowledge of the old man¡¯s techniques and abilities meant that he was a very difficult opponent for Feng Bo. Thus, the old man preferred not to fight.

    However, while Feng Bo was hesitant, Lu Yin was not.

    Lu Yinunched an attack. The grass that Hongyan Mavis had given him protected him from the mist¡¯s effects. Lu Yin threw a number of frantic attacks towards where Feng Bo was hidden.

    Lu Yin had recovered from his earlier exhaustion, and his attacks felt stronger than before.

    Feng Bo was forced out, and retaliated against Lu Yin.

    Both men knew the other''s techniques quite well, which resulted in a prolonged fight where attacks rarelynded on either man. Everything either had its power dispersed, or was avoided with the power of time.

    Feng Bo started insulting Lu Yin. "Boy, don''t start thinking that you can hold me off. If I wanted to avoid you, you''d never be able to find me. Do you think that you can kill me by cooperating with that woman? Dream on!"

    Lu Yin remained silent, his inner world swirling around him. Feng Bo was highly cautious of it, as he already knew that Lightstream could reverse time by a second, which countered his own ability. This meant that whoever used their ability to manipte time first would fall to a disadvantage.

    "Boy, if you help me kill that woman, I can promise you that you''ll be the second most powerful being in Aeternus! You will answer only to True God. I promise on my life that, given your talent and True God''s guidance, you will definitely be able to go past the peak powerhouse level. You will be a Dukkhan, or even maybe an Immortal. Why restrict yourself to the human form?" Feng Bo shouted.

    Lu Yinughed. "Old man, you can¡¯t still think that I would ever join Aeternus, can you?"

    If Feng Bo were aware of Lu Yin''s history and how he had been attacked by True God himself, he would not have wasted his breath. Someone like Lu Yin would never betray humanity.

    Due to being stuck in the Mirari Realm, Feng Bo knew nothing about recent events.

    "So young and yet already so stubborn! How long has the universe operated ording to the current rules? How long have humans existed for? Before humans, there were countless other civilizations, and many other creatures thrived. Every creature is nothing more than a natural creation of the megaverse. Only by breaking free of the megaverse¡¯s shackles and transcending the biological limits can one achieve Immortality. Don''t you want to see what bes of the megaverse after humanity has perished? Don''t you want to be a creator, someone capable of creating civilizations?"

    "Old man, if there were no humans, you''d have no one to talk to. Do you have descendants? Clearly, you don''t need them. When the next species emerges, you can be their creator," Lu Yin replied, watching as Feng Bo expanded time. Lightstream transformed into a boat and proceeded to effortlessly sail across the expanded time and crash into Feng Bo.

    Feng Bo watched as an indistinct boat moved closer to him. He could not tell what it was, so he pulled his fingers together and attacked.

    This was the same attack that had once injured Lu Yin to the point of nearly incapacitating him.

    This time, the attack pierced Lightstream¡¯s boat form, which had somehow managed to appear just beyond the region of expanded time. Not even Lu Yin had anticipated that Lightstream would be able to traverse the expanded time so easily. The moment he had thought about pulling the boat back, it had instantly returned. It was as if time simply did not exist when the boat returned. It had moved as though teleporting.

    Feng Bo¡¯s attack missed, and he stared at the boat in confusion. What was that thing?

    Lighstream shot forward again, hurtling towards Feng Bo.

    Feng Bo attacked repeatedly, but the boat evaded every single attack. Lu Yin kept testing things, slowly uncovering the boat¡¯s capabilities.

    Slowly, Feng Bo came to understand what was happening. The brat was using the old man as a sparring partner. The boy, who had already been able to control the power of time, was further developing and pushing it through a transformation in a manner that reminded Feng Bo of when he had created his own battle techniques.

    This could not be allowed to go on.

    Feng Bo did not want to fight anymore, and he continuously fell back. Despite receiving directions from Hongyan Mavis, Lu Yin eventually lost track of the old man.

    "Forget it. I can''t catch him," Lu Yin muttered before returning to the bamboo forest.

    "How did it go?" Hongyan Mavis asked, curious. She was quite interested in learning about Lu Yin¡¯s inner world that had taken on the form of a boat.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. Lightstream was still swirling around him, sometimes in the form of a boat, other times not. He was still refining his inner world. "Oh, nothing special. It just seems to be... unaffected by time."

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes bulged as she stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a monster. "That''s not special? The fact that it¡¯s unaffected by time means that you might really be able to sail it in the River of Time one day!"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "That¡¯s why I''m not disappointed."

    Hongyan Mavis was speechless. She felt a sudden urge to beat the young man. He really did possess a unique power.

    After failing to defeat Feng Bo, Lu Yin returned to cultivating True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    This battle technique was exceptionally difficult to learn. It was very rare for Lu Yin to encounter something as challenging to learn as the Natural Art.

    He felt like he had no way to even start.

    Perhaps, the technique was simply not suitable for him.

    "Senior, keep an eye on him. Don''t let that old man escape," Lu Yin reminded Hongyan Mavis.

    The woman immediately reassured him. "Don''t worry, he can''t escape. At least, not unless he dares to push into one of the forbidden zones."

    It was some timeter that Lu Yin opened his eyes. He was exhausted and had once again failed to learn the battle technique. While he knew that it might require divine energy to cultivate, Lu Yin was notfortable using divine energy in front of Hongyan Mavis.

    The woman was not Ancestor Lu Yuan or someone else who unconditionally trusted Lu Yin. Despite having a good rtionship, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s trust in Lu Yin was based on the fact that he really was someone from the Lu family, as well as the fact that he had tried to kill Feng Bo. If it were revealed that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy, the woman¡¯s attitude might changepletely.

    She was ruthless enough to trap herself in the Mirari Realm for countless years, just so that she could drag down a more powerful opponent, even if it meant barely living.

    If Hongyan Mavis lost her trust in Lu Yin because of his divine energy, he had no doubt that she would trap him here forever.

    This thought caused Lu Yin to sigh.

    "What''s wrong?" Hongyan Mavis asked.

    Lu Yin¡¯s presence made the woman¡¯s days more bearable, as she at least had someone to talk to.

    She had been lonely for so many years in the Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin did not dare to tell her the truth, so after thinking for a moment, he said, "My trouble with that old man is that I can''t see his sequence particles. Your warnings are toote for me to react, which makes it impossible for me to break past when he expands time. Thus, I can¡¯tnd any solid hits."

    Hongyan Mavis felt helpless. "One has to reach the Sequence Progenitor level to see sequence particles. It''s normal for you to not be able to see them. Even knowing about them at your level is already impressive."

    Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "I''ve seen them before."

    Hongyan Mavis was caught off guard. "You''ve seen sequence particles? How?"

    Lu Yin looked over at her. "I once possessed Wu Tian''s Heaven¡¯s Sight, which allowed me to see sequence particles."

    Hongyan Mavis was astonished. "Big Thug¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Sight? How did you get that? Shouldn''t it be with him?"

    Lu Yin replied with his own question. "Where was Wu Tian when you entered the Mirari Realm?"

    "I don''t know. Everyone was fighting everywhere."

    "Then I guess you don''t know that Wu Tian was betrayed." Lu Yin had already shared Wu Tian''s current situation with Hongyan Mavis, as he had hoped to learn from her why Wu Tian had refused to leave the Third Scourge. Unfortunately, she had not known anything.

    Thus, she only knew that Wu Tian was a prisoner in the Third Scourge, and she had not known that Wu Tian had lost his Heaven¡¯s Sight, or what had happened for him to end up in the Third Scourge.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin knew that Wu Tian had been betrayed by Old Mo.

    "Too much has happened outside of this ce. I stayed here, hoping that they''de back some day," Hongyan Mavis said with a sigh. "When you told me that Wu Xing became one of the Seven Skygods, I couldn''t believe it. How could Wu Xing ever betray Big Thug?"

    Lu Yin grew curious. "You don''t believe that Wu Xing would betray humanity?"

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "Betray humanity, yes. Wu Xing''s mind was always unstable. Sometimes he was sane, but at other times, he was mad. That''s why Big Thug named him Wu Xing. It¡¯s certainly possible for him to have betrayed humanity, but he would have never betrayed Big Thug. Wu Xing sees Big Thug as a father figure, and both his sane and insane personalities respected Big Thug. All of us could see that. He shouldn¡¯t have betrayed Big Thug."

    "But he said that he wanted to kill Wu Tian before he died himself," Lu Yin murmured. Wu Tian was imprisoned in the Third Scourge, so why would Undying God, one of the Seven skygods, have been so insistent on killing Wu Tian?

    Hongyan Mavis gave Lu Yin a grave look. "Maybe he wanted to free Big Thug."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, and then he felt confused.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "That¡¯s just a guess, so don''t treat it too seriously. Still, knowing Wu Xing as I do, I can tell you that he thinks differently. While others might try to save Big Thug, Wu Xing might very well want to free Big Thug by killing him."

    Lu Yin considered what he was hearing. It did not sound impossible. Undying God had referred to himself as a traitor to humanity before he died, but he had never said anything about betraying Wu Tian. The man had even taught Lu Yin a modified version of Inverse Step, shared that Wu Tian was in Third Scourge, and warned Lu Yin of the danger of Wei Nui.

    Perhaps, as Hongyan Mavis believed was possible, Undying God had genuinely wanted to free Wu Tian.

 Chapter 3124: The Core

    <h4>Chapter 3124: The Core</h4>

    Lu Yin was reminded of Fei again. When he first met that woman, Fei had tried to kill Wu Tian. She had attempted to do the same thing many times before, and she imed that she did so to test the power of her battle techniques. Was that actually the truth?

    Lu Yin had seen Fei''s style of swordsmanship in the memories that Wu Tian had shared with him. Her technique was based on the Divine Eagle¡¯s actions capturing a fish. Fei should not have ever seen Wu Tian¡¯s memories, no matter what methods Di Qiong may have used. Those memories were a form ofprehension that could not be taken away.

    If Fei had seen Wu Tian¡¯s memories, then Wu Tian must have allowed her to do so, and he might have even guided the woman.

    Could it be that Fei, like Undying God, wanted to free Wu Tian?

    Lu Yin considered many things. There were certain actions that may as well be invisible to others, but that did not mean they had not taken ce.

    That was also true of Hui Wu. Despite knowing he was condemning himself to death, he had insisted on remaining in the First Scourge. Lu Yin had no idea what the man¡¯s goals were.

    Thinking about these things made Lu Yin feel rather irritated. He desperately wanted the strength to suppress everything. He wanted to storm the Scourges, rescue Wu Tian and the others, eliminate the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and restore peace to the megaverse.

    Hongyan Mavis spent a long time staring at Lu Yin''s forehead, seemingly trying to find some trace of Heaven''s Sight.

    Lu Yin shook off his heavy thoughts. When he noticed that Hongyan Mavis was staring at his forehead, he couldn¡¯t help but touch a hand to his head. "Senior, there''s no need to look. Heaven''s Sight is gone."

    "What happened?" Hongyan Mavis asked.

    Lu Yin replied, "I was sent here by the Origin Progenitor, which I mentioned to you earlier, but the reason I was sent here is... Well, actually, the reason why I was able to meet the Origin Progenitor is because Heaven''s Sight was broken by True God. To save my life, the Origin Progenitor filled the hole left by Heaven''s Sight with his weapon, Primaldust. Heaven''s Sight is gone, and Primaldust has taken its ce."

    He pointed to his forehead. "There''s a piece of Primaldust in there."

    Hongyan Mavis could no longer remember how many times this young man had amazed her, and yet it was happening again. "You have Master''s Primaldust in your forehead?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s right. Without it, I would probably be dead."

    Hongyan Mavis leaned in closer, until she was just a few centimeters away from Lu Yin. She was so close that he inadvertently caught a whiff of her fresh scent.

    She stared intently at his forehead. "You really are extraordinary, living through something like that. Do you know how much Master values his Primaldust? Very, very much. And yet, he gave one to you... Could you be his illegitimate child?"

    The more she considered this, the more suspicious she became.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Of course not."

    "Right, did he give you a name when he gave you Primaldust?" Hongyan Mavis suddenly thought of something.

    Lu Yin blinked. "No."

    Hongyan Mavis did not believe him. "That¡¯s impossible. That¡¯s a habit of his. He believes that a demeaning name ensures a person¡¯s survival. The more he cares about someone, the more likely he is to give them a ridiculous name. It''s an obsession of his."

    Lu Yin remained calm. "Nope."

    "Come on, tell me what it is."

    "Senior, are you really this certain that the Origin Progenitor gave me a name?"

    "Absolutely."

    "Then what''s your name?"

    "First Blood."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "You told me so easily?"

    Hongyan Mavis shrugged. "It''s a nice name. Now, what''s yours?"

    Lu Yin opened his mouth. He did not want to answer, but Hongyan Mavis''s persistence forced him to eventually give in. "Pir."

    After Hongyan Mavis learned that the Origin Progenitor had named Lu Yin ¡°Pir,¡± she looked at him with a rather unique expression. It was somehow amused, and yet also gloating. Just the sight of that expression made Lu Yin very ufortable.

    Still, she also shared a very important piece of information with Lu Yin: the Origin Universe had originally only had one Maind, the First Maind. The other five Mainds had been created by the Origin Progenitor, and the core of each Maind was Primaldust.

    Hearing this caused Lu Yin to sit, frozen, for a long time. He felt like he had grasped hold of something, and he entered a state of enlightenment.

    His inner universe housed various powers and energies, and mastering any given cultivation method would yield insights that Lu Yin could then apply to other aspects of his cultivation.

    He wanted to create a unique power, but that did not mean that he had to create somethingpletely different from every other cultivation method.

    Primaldust had be the cores of the various Mainds, which made Lu Yin think of thendmass in his own universe. Thatndmass was formed from fatesand, and it had given birth to all of the stars in Lu Yin¡¯s universe, including the Withered Bark¡¯s power of time, voidforce energy, monarch essence, consciousness, divine energy, and many more. Lu Yin had used thisndmass as the foundation for his universe, while the Cosmic Art served as the shell. All together, Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe had transformed into a power that not even Mister Mu could know how it would develop.

    There was no doubt that thendmass in Lu Yin¡¯s universe was the foundation of everything.

    It hade about when the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had triggered the formation of Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. It had set forth a chain reaction in the fatesand that Lu Yin had gathered, causing thendmass to take shape.

    Since thendmass within Lu Yin¡¯s chest was the foundation of his universe, then could he copy the Origin Progenitor and give thatndmass a core? The Origin Progenitor had created six Mainds, and he had done so in an actual universe by using his Primaldust as the core of the other Mainds. Lu Yin had decided to use Dust World as the core for his ownndmass, and he would transform both his inner world and his inner universe by doing so.

    This would affect not only his inner universe, but also Dust World.

    Upon realizing this, Lu Yin stopped hesitating. Dust World appeared, and as Hongyan Mavis watched on in astonishment, it merged into Lu Yin¡¯s chest, where it subsequently appeared in his inner universe. It was like a meteor crashing into thendmass. In the end, it silently merged with the continent of fatesand.

    The moment that happened, thendmass underwent aplete transformation. Lu Yin could not quite describe what exactly urred, but it felt as though the continent of fatesand had transitioned from an illusory state to a real, tangible object. It was like the pi¨¨ce de r¨¦sistance that brought a painting to life.

    Hongyan Mavis stared as Lu Yin''s silhouette somehow grew more defined.

    She found this change to be quite strange. How could someone be more real? The newfound rity that had manifested in Lu Yin felt out of ce, as there was a sense of discord between him and the surrounding universe.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was staring at thendmass in his inner universe, examining the changes that had taken ce.

    How was he supposed to use it? Every time he released his inner universe, it isted him from whatever universe he was in, surrounding him with a barrier of the Hollow. Thendmass itself had never been used forbat, and he did not know how to even begin trying.

    Lu Yin fell back into deep thought. His presence faded, and he became like a stone that sat in front of the cabin.

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. Were all of the youths of the new generation so formidable? In her day, she and the others had trained under their master, but they had not nearly been this well-behaved. They had not evenpeted with each other, as while they might have bickered over who had been advancing faster, none of them had truly cared.

    They had been rxed and carefree back then.

    In contrast, this descendant of the Lu family constantly wore a troubled expression. Even when he smiled, Hongyan Mavis could sense the heavy burden that he carried. How old was Lu Yin, really?

    The child must have suffered a great deal before entering the Mirari Realm.

    She knew that it was impossible to offer Lu Yin any guidance in his cultivation, but she could still share her knowledge. The greatest help that she could offer was to ensure that Feng Bo stayed here as Lu Yin¡¯s sparring partner. That old man could not be allowed to leave the Mirari Realm, no matter what it took. He had to stay and serve as Lu Yin¡¯s sparring partner.

    With this in mind, Hongyan Mavis''s eyes grew cold, and she nced out beyond the bamboo forest. No one would be able to escape from her.

    A long time passed, but Hongyan Mavis had long ceased tracking the passing of time. She merely noticed that ayer of dust had umted on top of Lu Yin, and there was even a bit of grass on his head.

    Beyond the bamboo forest, Feng Bo still did not show himself. The mist permeated the entire Mirari Realm as always.

    One day, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. An idea had suddenly urred to him: visualization.

    Yes, visualization.

    The moment he had merged Dust World with thendmass in his inner universe, Lu Yin had been considering how he could use thatndmass. It was challenging to master any particr cultivation method, and Lu Yin had simted countless battles where he used his inner universe, with a particr focus on thendmass. However, nothing had felt right.

    After a great deal of time, he had finally realized that the answer was to use a visualization method. By visualizing thendmass in his inner universe, he would be able to better understand it and eventually unleash its potential.

    The Lu family''s direct line had a visualization method that focused on the Fifth Maind.

    Since the Fifth Maind could be visualized, then Lu Yin could also visualize thendmass in his inner universe.

    There could not be any method more direct than visualizing thatndmass.

    The more he thought about this, the more Lu Yin felt that it was possible, and he quickly tried it out.

    When Hongyan Mavis saw Lu Yin open her eyes, she moved to speak to him, only to see him close his eyes again. She held her tongue and settled down to resume waiting.

    Time continued to pass, and one day, Lu Yin suddenly stood up, startling Hongyan Mavis.

    He did not say a word as he walked straight out of the bamboo forest.

    Seeing his actions, Hongyan Mavis understood that Lu Yin wanted to challenge Feng Bo again. She quickly found the old man¡¯s location and shared it with Lu Yin.

    Feng Bo had hidden himself far away from the bamboo forest. When he saw Lu Yin emerge, a sense of dread filled him. It was clear that the old man was being treated as a sparring partner, and each time he fought against the young man, Lu Yin¡¯s strength was different from before. So much time had passed, so what could Lu Yin haveprehended this time?

    Feng Bo suspected that he would eventually be worn down by Lu Yin.

    No, he absolutely could not go out. Feng Bo quickly moved further away. He refused to fight against Lu Yin.

    "Little Seven, he fled again. He keeps on moving. Now he''s..." Hongyan Mavis continued to update Lu Yin.

    He focused on a specific direction. Feng Bo was clearly avoiding Lu Yin, given how he was constantly moving further away. As soon as Feng Bo noticed that Lu Yin had found his location, the old man would immediately leave.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Old man, why are you hiding? You¡¯re a peak powerhouse, the one responsible for destroying the Second Maind. You managed to take down the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree. You¡¯ve forced Hongyan Mavis, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, to hide here in the Mirari Realm for so long. But despite all that, why don¡¯t you have the guts to face a Semi-Progenitor like me?"

    Feng Bo red at Lu Yin. He greatly resented this usation. "Kid, one day I''ll show you what it means to wish for death."

    "One day? How about today? The longer you wait, the more progress I¡¯ll make. I should probably tell you that I only spent about a century cultivating before I came to the Mirari Realm." Lu Yin continued to taunt the old man.

    Feng Bo''s expression changed. A century? His wariness spiked. Lu Yin¡¯s talent exceeded anything that Feng Bo had ever seen throughout his entire life. No one couldpare to this child.

    Feng Bo had lived through the Heavens Sect¡¯s most brilliant period, and he had also witnessed the rise of Aeternus. He knew of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, the Seven Skygods, and the various peak powerhouses of his own home. He had witnessed much, but no one he had ever seen had ever possessed as much talent as this startling child. Lu Yin was simply terrifying. In just a mere century, he had risen to a level that others would need countless years to reach.

    There was no doubt in Feng Bo¡¯s mind that Lu Yin had to die.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin appeared right in front of the old man. After determining Feng Bo''s location, Lu Yin had moved at the speed of time. However, Feng Bo had prepared himself, and he expanded the universe between himself and Lu Yin. This time, it was not time that was expanded, as Lightstream¡¯s boat form could instantly cross a region of expanded time, and that intimidated Feng Bo.

    No, Feng Bo only expanded space, which dispersed the power of all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    At the very first opportunity, Feng Bo pulled back. Hepletely refused to fight against Lu Yin.

 Chapter 3125: Just A Little Bit

    <h4>Chapter 3125: Just A Little Bit</h4>

    Lu Yin''s eyes snapped open. Up above, something massive appeared and cast a shadow on the two men below. Feng Bo looked up in astonishment. "A continent?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s new visualization method had appeared in the sky above. This was thendmass from Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. A visualization method typically created an ethereal image that merely enhanced a person¡¯s strength, but when Lu Yin released the universe from within his chest, he became isted from the surrounding universe. At the exact same moment when the barrier of the Hollow appeared, thendmass had manifested and instantly merged with Lu Yin¡¯s new visualization method.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The ground shook, causing the entire Mirari Realm to tremble. Dust fell from high above; this was real dust from a realndmass.

    Thendmass fell down, mming down on Feng Bo.

    The old man tried to escape, but thendmass¡¯s size could change at a thought. It could be small enough to fit within Lu Yin''s heart, nearly imperceptible, or it could berge enough to overshadow every single ce Lu Yin had visited in the Mirari Realm. Hongyan¡¯s grass danced in the air, as she was afraid that the mist of time would affect Lu Yin¡¯s strange new power.

    However, the mist had no effect whatsoever.

    Land would remainnd, no matter how much time passed. The mist could not erode thendmass with the passage of time.

    Feng Bo had nowhere to escape to. The only ces he could flee to were the forbidden regions of the Mirari Realm that Lu Yin had never visited. However, if Feng Bo were willing to enter those ces, he would have done so long ago, and he would not have waited for so long.

    The massivendmass covered an enormous portion of the Mirari Realm, and then it plummeted from the sky.

    Space continuously expanded all around Feng Bo as thendmass dropped, but the expanded space actually startedpressing and twisting. At the center, Feng Bo coughed up blood, disbelief distorting his features. How was this possible? How could a mere lump ofnd feel so unstoppable? This was impossible! Even if the universe itself copsed, Feng Bo should not feel this threatened.

    Clearly, the thing falling down on him was not some merendmass. But in that case, just what was it? What was he facing?

    In the bamboo forest, Hongyan Mavis stared in awe at thendmass that had appeared. She could recognize the Origin Progenitor¡¯s cultivation path.

    She could not discern the cultivation path that Lu Yin was taking, as his path epassed all powers and all methods. He could even use the power of time, and his other inner world might eventually be able to sail on the River of Time. On top of that, he was also walking down the Origin Progenitor¡¯s path. Just how many paths was Lu Yin taking? How many powers had he cultivated?

    Normally, cultivating too many different methods would cause a person to be confused, and they would run into a dead end.

    In contrast, for Lu Yin, the more paths he incorporated into his cultivation, the better.

    Even the Origin Progenitor¡¯s path was simply one more among many.

    This seemingly ordinaryndmass was far from simple. After all, it was based on Lu Yin¡¯s inner world, Dust World. This inner world had the ability to create earth, which was how allndmasses first formed.

    Only earth could give birth to humanity. While it could be said that the universe had been born first, it was the appearance of earth that had given rise to sapient creatures, such as humans.

    Feng Bo had never dreamed that he would one day be crushed by andmass. He coughed up blood as he gasped for breath.

    He let out a roar of fury, and the colossal figure emerged from Feng Bo¡¯s body once more. The tower-like sword stabbed into the ground, holding thendmass back and granting the old man a moment of reprieve.

    Feng Bo was breathing heavily. Far away, Lu Yin stared at the man with cold eyes.

    "Kid, what on earth have you been cultivating?" Feng Bo growled through clenched teeth. He could not understand Lu Yin at all. When they had first fought, the young man had already been able to fight against Feng Bo, which already exceeded the limits of what a Semi-Progenitor should be capable of. However, in their subsequent battles, Lu Yin had revealed more and more strength, while also bing more iprehensible and mysterious to Feng Bo. Just what was happening?

    From far away, Lu Yin released Infinity. The lines of strength collided in a chain reaction. Once the power reached Lu Yin¡¯s limits, he confined his punches and released a hundred attacks as one.

    Feng Bo had already anticipated this attack, and space expanded between the two men again, which dispersed most of Lu Yin¡¯s punch into either the ground below or thendmass above. The impact shook the entire Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin regretted the fact that he was still unable topletely suppress Feng Bo. Not even the power of thendmass manifested through the visualization method was enough to overwhelm the old man, and Feng Bo was also still capable of dispersing the power from Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Countless cracks had appeared in thendmass, and Feng Bo used them to escape and flee into the distance.

    Thendmass slowly disappeared.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce for a long time before finally returning to the bamboo forest.

    Another failure. The old man possessed truly formidable strength, and he was equal to any of the Seven Skygods. While Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor, he was consecutively transforming his inner worlds. Any given punchunched with Infinity far exceeded anything that Lu Yin had been capable of using in the past, and a direct hit could even make a Skygod cough up blood. Lightstream had taken on the shape of a boat, and while itcked any offensive abilities, it could traverse time and prevent enemies from using the power of time, which had left Feng Bo very wary. As for Dust World, Lu Yin had merged it with the continent of fatesand that was the foundation of his inner universe. That alone meant that Lu Yin had the potential to suppress everything.

    While Lu Yin still had not experienced a true breakthrough and be a Progenitor, he had already reached that level of power, as far as other people were concerned. Despite that, he still could not defeat Feng Bo.

    Lu Yin wanted the strength to instantly crush Feng Bo and his power.

    He just needed a bit more. What could he be missing?

    Lu Yin returned to the forest and sat down in front of the cabin. He started thinking.

    He just needed a little bit more.

    It was a small gap, but for a cultivator, such gaps were often no different from an insurmountable chasm. It might be possible to cross it, or it might never happen.

    Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yin, impressed by histest battle. "No Semi-Progenitor has ever managed to reach the same level of power as you, Little Seven. You are unprecedented in all of history. Even when my master had your level of cultivation, he might not have been as powerful as you.

    "A Semi-Progenitor surpassing the strength of someone equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos? Who would ever believe that?"

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Senior, there¡¯s no need tofort me. Feng Bo is definitely not at the same level as the Three Realms and Six Daos."

    "Close enough."

    "Far from it. Ancestor Lu Yuan dares to confront True God head on. The Aeternals¡¯ Three Pirs and Six Skies were instantly overpowered by my ancestor. While it might appear as if Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies areparable to the Three Realms and Six Daos, the reality is that Gu Yizhi might be the only one actually at that level. The rest of the Three Pirs and Six Skies could be taken down even if they worked together."

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s expression grewplex. "Gu Yizhi? I never thought that he would ever betray us.

    "I don''t know how strong the other Three Pirs and Six Skies might be, but Gu Yizhi will be extremely difficult to deal with, unless someone as strong as the Three Realms and Six Daos steps in.

    "Honestly, that man¡¯s goals for his future cultivation were always the clearest of us all. He wanted to walk the original path of humanity to the extreme. He created the colossal giants and mastered his Wielder-realm battle force, which impressed even Master. Wielder - Indestructible alone makes Gu Yizhi a monster, and I have no idea what weakness he reinforced with the Origin Sutra."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed, and he looked over at Hongyan Mavis. "The Origin Sutra?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "You should already be familiar with it. Your Lu family used it topensate for yourck of spiritual force. Do you know why?"

    "Qingluo Jiantian."

    "You¡¯re pretty well informed. That¡¯s right. After Loam treated Qingluo Jiantian poorly, she stormed into the Lu Sanctum and suppressed your entire Lu family with her overwhelming spiritual force. No one knows the results of that battle, but your ancestor Lu Yuan did go and shamelessly beg Master for the Origin Sutra to make up for hisck of spiritual force."

    Hongyan Mavis reminisced as she remembered the past. "Everyone assumes that Qingluo Jiantian won that battle, but Loam never admitted to it. Instead, he always insisted that it was a draw. Who knows? He values his pride above all."

    "Senior, you don¡¯t know what Gu Yizhi used the Origin Sutra topensate for?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "None of us ever knew, as he never revealed it."

    Lu Yin grew even more wary. He hadpletely forgotten that Ancient God also knew the Origin Sutra.

    The Three Realms and Six Daos were all disciples of the Origin Progenitor, and all of them had learned the Origin Sutra.

    The Origin Sutra was an all-inclusive cultivation method, much like Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. This allowed it topensate for any deficiency that a person might have. For example, the Lu family had used it topensate for theirck of spiritual force. What could Ancient God havepensated for?

    Ancient God had never revealed his ownprehension of the Origin Sutra.

    Lu Yin needed topletely reassess the man''s strength.

    As the leader of the Seven Skygods, there was no doubt that Ancient God was the strongest of them all. He was also most likely the most powerful of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    There was no need to consider Ancient God for the time being. Lu Yin looked beyond the forest. "Just a little bit more. My inner worlds are transforming, which has let my strength rise much like it will when I break through and be a Progenitor. Why am I still missing thatst little bit?"

    "You want to break through to the Progenitor realm?" Hongyan Mavis asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "It''s not time yet, but my inner worlds have almost all transformed, which increased my strength almost as much as a breakthrough in my cultivation. Even so, I still can''t suppress Feng Bo."

    Hongyan Mavis asked, "Does there have to be a connection between transforming your inner worlds and a breakthrough?"

    Lu Yin grew puzzled.

    Hongyan Mavis looked down at Lu Yin''s heart. "Truthfully, your current strength is unbelievable. Others cultivate in order to strengthen their inner worlds, while you transform yours, which is a new path. It is certainly impressive, but that doesn''t mean you''ve actually had a breakthrough. What''s the biggest difference between a Semi-Progenitor and a Progenitor?"

    "Vitality," Lu Yin answered immediately.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled, but said nothing more.

    Lu Yin instantly understood. That was it, he was missing vitality.

    Any cultivator with enough talent could reach the Semi-Progenitor level and develop an inner world. However, the following breakthrough to be a Progenitor had a critical requirement: Origin Matter.

    In order for a person to be a Progenitor, they had to first open the three meridian points, and one needed Origin Matter to open the third meridian point. One could not be a Progenitor without that.

    After rising to a level where he was constantly facing experts such as sequence powerhouses, and even Ortusers from the six Scourges, Lu Yin had nearly forgotten that one of the prerequisites to be Progenitor was to open the three meridian points and obtain Origin Matter.

    He had already done this, which meant that there was nothing stopping him from bing a Progenitor, but these requirements also revealed a distinction between Progenitors and Semi-Progenitors.

    Several of Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds had transformed, but they stillcked vitality, which made them fundamentally different from a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    To achieve the distinctive power of a Progenitor, vitality was absolutely critical.

    After all, it was the presence of vitality that made a Progenitor''s world.

    Xia Shenji¡¯s Progenitor''s world was filled with creatures formed from des.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s Progenitor''s worldcked living creatures, and yet it had vitality. While his lonely path was devoid of any visible lifeforms, it still overflowed with vitality from the Origin Matter that the man had absorbed.

    No matter how Lu Yin¡¯s inner worlds transformed, without the necessary vitality, they would always be fundamentally different from a Progenitor''s world.

    Yes, that was the piece that Lu Yin was still missing.

    However, how could he introduce vitality into his inner worlds?

    Lu Yin fell deep into thought.

    Beyond the bamboo forest, Feng Bo''s sense of danger was growing stronger. Every time Lu Yin attacked, he was noticeably stronger than before, and on top of that, escape seemed impossible. Waiting in the Mirari Realm felt like awaiting execution.

    No, he could not continue waiting. He had to leave.

    No matter what, he was out of options.

    Feng Bo picked a direction and started moving.

    In the forest, Hongyan Mavis shot to her feet and looked outside with a strange expression, which Lu Yin immediately noticed. "Senior, what is it?"

    Hongyan Mavis solemnly replied, "Feng Bo just entered a forbidden region."

 Chapter 3126: Overpowering

    <h4>Chapter 3126: Overpowering</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis''s words caught Lu Yin by surprise. "Is it one of the areas that even you all haven¡¯t explored?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "When Master sent us here to the Mirari Realm to prepare for our breakthroughs, we seeded. However, during our explorations, we were always forced to return here because there are some regions with bizarre phenomena that are far too dangerous. Master even warned us that some of the areas are beyond what we can handle, and he forbade us from entering them.

    "Feng Bo is out of options if he¡¯s finally entered one of the forbidden regions."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "What''s in those ces?"

    Hongyan Mavis looked back at Lu Yin. "After you have a real breakthrough, you can go check it out for yourself. At that time, you should at least be able to keep yourself alive, though that¡¯s still not guaranteed. Lassy could have broken through much earlier than she did, but she inexplicably entered one of the forbidden regions for some reason. When she came back, she dispersed her entire cultivation and started over from scratch. She could have been the first of us all to be a peak powerhouse."

    "Destiny?" Lu Yin was shocked.

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression grew increasingly solemn. "Even Master acknowledged Lassy as the most talented cultivator out of all of us. She could have been the first to be a peak powerhouse, and she was the second to be sent to the Mirari Realm, but after she went to a forbidden region, she restarted her cultivation. After that, all of us became extremely wary of the forbidden regions, and all of uspletely avoided them before breaking through.

    "Back then, even Big Brother Chu Yi was intimidated. He grew cautious, and despite being the first to enter the Mirari Realm, he never explored any of the forbidden regions. He¡¯s still scared of them."

    "What did Destiny see in the forbidden area?" Lu Yin could not resist asking.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "She never said. However, the power that she cultivated after restarting was divination."

    Lu Yin looked out from the forest. The Mirari Realm had many forbidden regions. This ce had not been created by Origin Porgenitor as Lu Yin had originally believed, but rather been left behind by something even older. The ce was apparently even older than the first human, considering the fact that the River of Time flowed through it.

    "Don''t think about the forbidden regions for now. Don''t enter any of them before your next breakthrough. Feng Bo knows about the legends of the forbidden regions, which is why he never entered any of them before. He¡¯s be desperate, and he no longer has any choice but to enter one to escape. Little Seven, focus on your cultivation," Hongyan Mavis advised.

    "While my influence doesn¡¯t extend into the forbidden regions, he might not find it easy to leave the Mirari Realm from there either."

    Lu Yin nodded and then proceeded to focus on his own training. He continued to mull over how he could supplement the vitality that his inner worldscked. If he could pull that off, he would finally gain the power to face or even kill the Seven Skygods.

    This step would lead to a true transformation, which would mean the equivalent increase in strength as a breakthrough without actually going through one.

    Some timeter, Hongyan Mavis''s eyes lit up and a smile touched her lips. <i>He¡¯s out</i>.

    Feng Bo was standing beside the River of Time, panting heavily. His eyes were filled with disbelief. He had been badly injured, and blood stained half of his body.

    He stared out at the River of Time, his pupils fluctuating constantly as he whispered to himself, "So, it¡¯s not just this megaverse. I can''t cross over there. This is my fault. I took out the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree. It''s my fault, but it¡¯s also not my fault. I don¡¯t belong to this ce, so what do such things have to do with me? I was merely fighting in the war, nothing more. Why should I have to bear the consequences?

    "I won''t die. I''ll leave this ce alive. I''ve already fulfilled my promise to Yong Heng, so I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll leave this megaverse..."

    Hongyan Mavis watched from within the forest. She had no idea what Feng Bo had encountered, but judging from his haggard appearance, it had had a significant impact on him.

    However, if the man believed that he could leave, it was still impossible. The countless lives lost during the destruction of the Second Maind would never allow it.

    As time passed, Feng Bo frantically searched for a way to leave the Mirari Realm, but he continuously failed.

    "Hongyan, why are you so persistent? You know that this is pointless! Let me go, and I promise that I will never reveal to Aeternus that you survived. I won¡¯t have anything more to do with the war. This megaverse¡¯s war has nothing to do with me. Let me go!"

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression turned frigid. "Every action has its consequences. You need to face the repercussions of what you¡¯ve done."

    "Do you not care about yourself any longer? The past is already gone, and nothing can change it. Your only task is to survive. Do you want to end up like Wu Tian? Aeternus¡¯s captive, suffering a fate worse than death? Or like the God of Death and be dismembered? Destiny doesn¡¯t even dare to show herself, while Gu Yizhi betrayed your people. You Three Realms and Six Daos were able to aplish nothing, Hongyan. Fighting me to the death is meaningless!" Feng Bo roared.

    Hongyan Mavis nced over at the cabin and looked at its floor. Every word there seemed to echo with the sentiments of all who had participated in that conversation. "I believe that I will eventually see them again. Haven¡¯t you also stayed here in the Mirari Realm all this time just to kill me?"

    "You are too foolish! Humanity will never be able topare to Aeternus!" Feng Bo shouted.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open. "That doesn''t matter. As long as we live our lives with dignity, they aren¡¯t lived in vain. Besides, I believe that humanity will win. Unfortunately, you won¡¯t live to see that day."

    With that, Lu Yin moved out from the forest.

    Hongyan Mavis watched Lu Yin¡¯s back and let out a breath. Was this the fourth or the fifth time? Each time he awakened, his strength would transform. Each time, he moved closer to killing Feng Bo. This would be theirst battle.

    Lu Yin exited the forest and looked at the River of Time.

    At the same time, Feng Bo saw Lu Yin. The old man¡¯s eyes grew bloodshot. "Boy, do you really think that you, a Semi-Progenitor, can kill me? Ridiculous! Such a thing has never happened throughout all of history!"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression remained calm as he stared at Feng Bo as though he was looking at a dead man. "Paths are made by people. Humanity¡¯s greatest weapon is wisdom. The Aeternals believe that emotions are humanity¡¯s greatest weakness, but today, those emotions will be your death."

    With that, he visualized hisndmass while simultaneously releasing his inner universe. The visualization ovepped with the continent of fatesand, and at that moment, the Mirari Realm trembled once again. The sky waspletely covered, and thendmass fell down upon Feng Bo.

    This would not be enough to kill the old man.

    Just as thendmass was about to m down, Lu Yin¡¯s Wordless Heavenly Book also appeared, zing brightly down upon thendmass. As both Hongyan Mavis and Feng Bo gaped in astonishment, thendmass transformed.

    <i>¡®Dao Monarch, we believe that you are still alive.¡¯</i>

    <i>¡®Dao Monarch,e back alive.¡¯</i>

    <i>¡®Dao Monarch...¡¯</i>

    <i>¡®Dao Monarch...¡¯</i>

    Countless voices rang out. These were the prayers of countless people in the Fifth Maind, transmitted from the Wordless Heavenly Book to Lu Yin¡¯s ears, and then to thendmass, granting it vitality.

    Hongyan Mavis''s mouth dropped open. Was such a thing even possible?

    Feng Bo¡¯s face turned pale. Vitality and emotions were supposed to be humanity¡¯s weaknesses. This should not be happening. These voices belonged to ordinary people. They were mere mortals.

    The difference between a Semi-Progenitor¡¯s inner world and a Progenitor¡¯s World was the presence of vitality. Lu Yin had not yet broken through, and he was unable to truly give thendmass vitality, even after making his Dust World its core. However, the Wordless Heavenly Book was the presence of life itself, and it represented the lives of the entire Fifth Maind, and even that of the entire Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin could shun anyone from the Fifth Maind, making it so that the Origin Universe would no longer recognize them. The Wordless Heavenly Book represented the will of the Fifth Maind itself, and willpower meant vitality.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book was the greatest source of vitality in the universe.

    As long as people acknowledged Lu Yin and prayed for him, he would gain strength.

    Everything that he had done over the years was rewarded at this moment. The people of the Fifth Maind would never abandon him. Even if they learned of his death, they would continue to pray for his return.

    No matter how much effort Aeternus put into creating turmoil, the people of the Fifth Maind would always support Lu Yin.

    They were the ones who brought life to Lu Yin¡¯sndmass.

    The continent crashed down, mming down onto Feng Bo.

    Feng Bo expanded space, but his efforts were instantly crushed. He raged, "Boy, no Semi-Progenitor can kill me! It¡¯s impossible! Don¡¯t think that you can rewrite history! I¡¯ll fight you to the death!"

    The man¡¯s skin then started to crack open, causing blood to leak out and stream down his entire body. The massive figure reappeared. While bringing it out always made Feng Bo suffer a severe bacsh, he was staring at death and had no other choice.

    A tower-like sword shed upwards toward the descendingndmass.

    There was a deafening crash, but the continent was not shattered by the impact. It had gained vitality, whichpensated for its previous slight deficiency, and the massive sword was overpowered.

    Feng Bo dropped to one knee. His disheveled hair and resentful eyes made him look like a malevolent ghost. He spouted miserable curses as his blood sttered onto the enormous sword. The de then split apart into a tower that protected the old man, and as it absorbed his blood, the tower turned crimson.

    For a moment, thendmass was not able to continue descending.

    Feng Bo gave a bitterugh. "Boy, you''ll never be able to kill me! Let''s see how much time you can waste in the Mirari Realm. You cannot even see the gap between us, as it¡¯s a chasm that you will never be able to cross!"

    Thendmass struggled to crush the tower.

    Hongyan Mavis clenched her hands into fist. She had not expected Feng Bo to still have such a trick hidden up his sleeve. The old man had used his own blood to reinforce his tower until it became indestructible. This was Feng Bo¡¯s ultimate trump card. This was something that he had kept hidden even during the war that had destroyed the Second Maind.

    Even at that time in the ancient past, Feng Bo had not been pushed as far as he had against Lu Yin.

    His power was that of defense, not attack.

    Lu Yin calmly watched as Feng Bo mocked him. Had Lu Yin not anticipated such an oue? Of course he had. Everyone who reached the level of the Seven Skygods possessed some sort of ultimate trump card. Even when Corpse God had fought against the Great Sovereign, he had not revealed his final ability. Such things were only reserved for when such experts faced death.

    Feng Bo was no exception to that.

    "I want to find out if that slight discrepancy really can¡¯t bepensated for. Old man, watch closely." Lu Yin lifted his hand, positioning it as though he were connecting himself to thendmass above Feng Bo. The earth was above, and the sky was below, instead of the earth being below and the sky above. The earth was destined to overturn the sky: Flipping the Sky.

    Lu Yin used thendmass in the sky with his Flipping the Sky. He needed thendmass to press down the rest of the way. Feng Bo was already suppressed, and he had nearly been killed, but Lu Yin needed a final push to force thendmass down the rest of the way and finish the job. How much force was that?

    It was the force of Flipping the Sky.

    Flipping the Sky was aprehension technique that belonged to Lu Yin alone, while thendmass was also his. Everything involved in this attack was entirely Lu Yin¡¯s and his alone. He could raise up the ground, and he could also flip the sky.

    Feng Bo stared upwards in horror as an indescribable chill caused his mind to go nk. Could the brat still have more to his attack?

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Thendmass vanished, only to be reced by a massive palm print that covered the entire sky. The ground and the sky were inverted, and the blood-stained tower was shattered.

    The slight discrepancy had finally been ovee.

    Feng Bo stared up at his cracking tower. A howl of despair rang out. "Impossible! You''re just a Semi-Progenitor! How could you bridge the gap between us? It''s impossible! Impossible!"

    The tower shattered, and Feng Bo spat blood at the sky. An unimaginable weight pressed down upon him, shattering his bones and veins. His cultivation, battle techniques, power, and innate gift were all annihted in the same instance.

 Chapter 3127: Not A Funny Joke

    <h4>Chapter 3127: Not A Funny Joke</h4>

    Feng Bo remained frozen in ce. His pupils were dted, and his body shrank in upon itself as he slowly copsed.

    Lu Yin was panting. Sweat dripped from his forehead and ran down his arms. Flipping the Sky had pushed him to his limits.

    Using Flipping the Sky with thendmass from his inner universe had not been easy, but doing so had bridged the gap in power between Lu Yin and those at the level of the Seven Skygods. If this attack did not kill Feng Bo, then Lu Yin would have no choice but to break through and be a Progenitor before trying to kill the man again.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had seeded.

    Hongyan Mavis emerged from the forest, amazement filling her eyes as she stared at Lu Yin. This was the moment the young man had truly stepped onto their level. To aplish such a thing with only the cultivation of a Semi-Progenitor was unprecedented, and it was something that not even her master had anticipated.

    Once Lu Yin broke through and became a Progenitor, who in the entire megaverse could possibly stand against him? Perhaps only those old monsters who were oveing Dukkha.

    Step by step, Lu Yin slowly walked towards Feng Bo. The old man waspletely exhausted and unable to muster any strength. Hey sprawled on the ground like a dead man as he mumbled to himself.

    A shadow fell over the man as Lu Yin looked down at Feng Bo.

    Hongyan Mavis also moved closer, and she stared at Feng Bo from nearby. After being trapped in the Mirari Realm by this man for so many years, she was finally free.

    "I don¡¯t ept this! I shouldn''t have lost. It¡¯s this megaverse that¡¯s restricting me. My spirit has so much potential. I still have power. I don¡¯t ept this! I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t..."

    Lu Yin looked at Feng Bo. "Do you regret betraying the Second Maind?"

    It seemed that Feng Bo did not hear Lu Yin''s question, as the old man continued to mutter to himself. It seemed that his mind had shattered.

    If Lu Yin were a Sequence Progenitor, or even just a regr Progenitor, Feng Bo would not have been this badly affected by his defeat. But Lu Yin was a mere Semi-Progenitor. Such people were regarded as ants by Feng Bo. Hisst servant, who had apanied him when he had cared for the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree, had possessed a simr level of cultivation.

    How could a mere Semi-Progenitor defeat him? How?

    Lu Yin nced at Hongyan Mavis, and she walked over to Feng Bo. "Feng Bo."

    Focus returned to the man¡¯s eyes, and he looked up at Hongyan Mavis.

    "My Mavis family¡¯s grievances have been avenged," Hongyan Mavis stated slowly.

    The confusion left Feng Bo''s eyes, only to be reced by a crazed wildness. He cackled with a chillingugh. "Avenged? How? I¡¯m nothing but a pawn. The true culprit behind your Mavis family¡¯s destruction is the Aeternals! They are the race that¡¯s destined to rule this megaverse! Hongyan, the moment you allowed me into your Mavis family, your fate was already sealed. Humanity is doomed!

    "Hahaha, I haven''t lost. I¡¯m simply leaving first. Whether it¡¯s you or that boy, you¡¯ll both follow in my footsteps. You don¡¯t understand, as you can¡¯t see! You can¡¯t see it at all!"

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression soured. "Humanity may have Aeternus as its arch-enemy, but Aeternus also needs humanity as their arch-enemy."

    This sentence wiped the smile from Feng Bo¡¯s face. He seemed to realize something, and his mouth fell wide open as he let out a shrill scream, "Yong Heng, you deceived me!"

    Lu Yin frowned. He did not understand, and he looked at Hongyan Mavis in confusion.

    The woman did not say another word and simply walked towards the River of Time.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes returned to Feng Bo. Raising a hand, Lu Yin decided to end things and also anoint the man as a champion. Feng Bo was no corpse king, so there was no reason not to anoint him. Lu Yin¡¯s current strength should be enough to anoint such a powerful cultivator.

    With Feng Bo added to his Champions'' Stage, even if Lu Yin fought against someone at the level of the Seven Skygods, he would be able to hold his own, even if he did not know everything about his opponent¡¯s methods.

    Feng Bo screamed, cursing True God with a venomous hatred.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand fell, ending Feng Bo''s life.

    The shrill screams were cut off, and the Mirari Realm¡¯s former calm returned.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. It was finally over.

    He had fought against Feng Bo a number of times, and he had to fully learn the man¡¯s methods in order to defeat him. Without Hongyan Mavis, even if Lu Yin possessed the strength to win, there was no doubt that Feng Bo would have escaped.

    Lu Yin would never underestimate any powerhouse at the level of the Seven Skygods. Such opponents were incredibly difficult to put down.

    The Champions'' Stage appeared. "By my name, I anoint a Champion."

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A tremendous roar filled Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and before he could react, he copsed to the ground, unconscious.

    Hongyan Mavis was startled. "Little Seven!"

    She raced back to check on Lu Yin, only to find blood leaking from his seven orifices. His originally ck hair now had quite a bit of white running through it. What was going on? He had merely been anointing a champion; could this be bacsh from his innate gift?

    Hongyan Mavis carried Lu Yin into the cabin in the forest andid him down before checking him over again. She could find no injuries, but Lu Yin still remained unconscious.

    It looked like the results of a bacsh. She knew that the Lu family''s Champions'' Stage could produce a powerful bacsh if someone tried to anoint a champion much stronger than the owner of the Champions¡¯ Stage, but Feng Bo had not been that much stronger than Lu Yin. That was why Lu Yin had almost single-handedly defeated Feng Bo. Why had he suffered such a severe bacsh?

    All Hongyan Mavis could do was wait for Lu Yin to wake back up.

    Lu Yin remained unconscious for even longer than the time that he had spent seeking enlightenment and transforming his inner worlds.

    Hongyan Mavis checked on him repeatedly and tried to wake him up, but all of her attempts failed.

    In the end, Lu Yin woke up on his own.

    He had experienced a dream of the universe shattering, and he had turned to dust along with everything else. The pain had been unbearable, and he repeatedly experienced the sensation of turning to dust along with the universe.

    When he finally opened his eyes, his vision was blurry.

    "Little Seven, how are you?" He could hear Hongyan Mavis''s voice, though not very clearly. Slowly, Lu Yin''s vision started to clear.

    "Senior." Lu Yin opened his mouth, but his throat was dry.

    Hongyan Mavis helped him to sit up, very worried about him. "Little Seven, what happened? Was that a bacsh?"

    Lu Yin felt confused. "I don''t know."

    "Then what caused you to pass out?"

    "I was just anointing Feng Bo."

    Hongyan Mavis said, "It looked like a bacsh. I''ve heard that your family¡¯s Champions'' Stages can produce a severe bacsh if you try to anoint someone too powerful."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "That¡¯s wasn¡¯t a bacsh. I''ve dealt with that sort of bacsh before when I tried to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as an Envoy. It didn''t feel the same. But..."

    He considered what he had felt, as the sensation had been rather simr.

    But that should be impossible. Lu Yin had defeated Feng Bo almost entirely on his own, which meant that the gap in strength between them was not excessive. Lu Yin had also already anointed the Cyclops King, and anointing Feng Bo should have been well within Lu Yin¡¯s capabilities. Anointing the Cyclops King had been much more dangerous, given that Lu Yin had only barely been able to defeat it with help.

    In that case, why had he suffered such a severe bacsh?

    On top of that, was it even bacsh at all? Lu Yin¡¯s suffering had appeared so quickly that he had not been able to react at all.

    He suddenly remembered something, and his head whipped around to look at Hongyan Mavis. "Senior, what happened to Feng Bo''s body?"

    Hongyan Mavis did not understand. "It''s still there. Do you want to try anointing him again?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and left the cabin. He found that Feng Bo''s body was still where he had left it,pletely untouched.

    Hongyan Mavis would never move Feng Bo''s body into the forest.

    Lu Yin examined the body, but nothing about it had changed. A simple drop of such a powerful cultivator¡¯s blood could crush a. Feng Bo¡¯s body would not dpose easily.

    Lu Yin examined Feng Bo''s forehead to see if he could find any mark simr to what had appeared on Ye Zhang.

    However, Feng Bo''s body remained intact, which was different from Ye Zhang.

    Lu Yin stared at the corpse, still puzzled. Why had he experienced such a severe bacsh? Was it simply a matter of difference in cultivation level? No, the Cyclops King had been a sequence powerhouse and had greatly surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation as well.

    "Senior, do you know where Feng Bo was born? I remember that he repeatedly mentioned not belonging to this ce," Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "The first time I saw him was on the Second Maind before he betrayed it. He never mentioned anything about not belonging to this ce until after he exposed his true intentions by destroying the Divine Tree. That was when he revealed his real strength, especially the form of the Greater Sancti of the Nine Odysseys. You saw that for yourself, and when he used that ability, even I could barely break through his defenses. His cultivation method is entirely different from ours."

    "Is he from a parallel universe?" Lu Yin spected.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head again. "It doesn¡¯t seem like it. If he were from a parallel universe, there would be no reason for his power to be restricted. Do you remember hisst words? He mentioned not being able to fully utilize his spirit, or something like that. He seemed more frustrated about dying while being unable to unleash his full strength. He wouldn¡¯t have been limited like that if he had been restricted, especially given his level of cultivation. Someone like him started forging his own path long ago, and he wouldn¡¯t have relied on cultivating a power that was not his own."

    Lu Yin frowned. That reasoning made sense.

    A Progenitor would not be restrained no matter where they went, especially once they created their own power. Typically, cultivators from the Fifth Maind needed to absorb star energy or stellr energy before they became Progenitors. Even after that, as long as they did not create their own power and continued using stellr energy, they would need to absorb stellr energy before they tried to fight in any parallel universes.

    In that case, what did Feng Bo¡¯s talk about "not belonging to this megaverse" mean?

    Hongyan Mavis did not know, so Lu Yin did not dwell on the matter any further. His head was still spinning, and he needed to rest.

    Later, when he looked at himself in the mirror, Lu Yin sighed andughed bitterly. "It seems that whatever happened was really serious this time. It looks like I aged quite a bit, given that I even have some white hairs now."

    Hongyan Mavisughed. "You don''t look old. That touch of white makes you look more distinguished."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I¡¯ve never thought about what I''d look like in my old age. While cultivation doesn¡¯t grant us immortality, it¡¯s enough to prevent us from aging.

    ¡°Senior, do you want to leave this ce?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "I stayed here to keep Feng Bo trapped here, so now that he''s dead, I should leave. Still, I''ve lost much of my power. Once we¡¯re outside of this ce, I won''t be able to help you much."

    Lu Yin asked, "How did you lose so much of your strength? Can''t injuries be healed?"

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "I lost my Progenitor''s world, which means that I¡¯ve lost the source of my strength."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "How can a Progenitor''s world be lost?"

    Hongyan Mavis met his gaze. "One day, after you reach a certain level, any of your powers can manifest in reality. Master oncemented that he wasn''t sure if our own universe might have once been someone¡¯s Progenitor''s world."

    Lu Yin''s face turned pale, and a chill ran down his spine. "That''s not a funny joke."

 Chapter 3128: Dukkha

    <h4>Chapter 3128: Dukkha</h4>

    "It¡¯s just a metaphor," Hongyan Mavis exined. "Have you ever thought about the fact that five of the six Mainds came from Primaldust? Master created the Mainds."

    "I never thought about it, as I was scared to even consider it."

    "When you first started cultivating, did anyone ever tell you that cultivating on the Mainds makes it easier to be a Progenitor or toprehend certain thingspared to cultivating in the rest of the universe? The Mainds are all extraordinary because they were created by Master. When you cultivate on a Maind, it''s like being in contact with Master¡¯s Primaldust. Each Maind contained a different cultivation method, and the one maintaining those methods is Master."

    Lu Yin understood. He remembered hearing people mention this to him long ago, back when he had first entered the Neoverse. Many people there sought to cultivate on thend, and even the space in the Neoverse was more stable than anywhere else. The Sixth Maind was still intact, and some cultivators would only cultivate while holding a handful of the Maind¡¯s soil. In the past, Lu Yin had neither understood the significance of this nor had he noticed any difference between cultivating on the Maind or in outer space. However, the reason behind this had finally been exined to him.

    The Mainds all contained the power of Primaldust.

    "If Mainds can be created, then why not an entire universe?" Hongyan Mavis mused as she turned to stare off into the distance. "When you be a Progenitor, you should try visiting the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden zones. You might find your worldview expanded."

    Lu Yin changed topics. "Senior, what was your Progenitor''s world? Can you get it back?"

    If Hongyan Mavis could recover her full strength, it would be a monumental gain for all of humanity.

    She smiled. "The Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree."

    Lu Yin was astonished. "Your Progenitor''s world is the Divine Tree?"

    She nodded.

    "But that tree still stands. The Mavis family still has it."

    "That''s just a tree that I nted with a seed from the original to ensure that the Mavis family would have a ce to live in case anything happened to me. The real Divine Tree was destroyed. More importantly, the Divine Tree''s imprint was taken by that giant from Aeternus. With my current strength, I can''t take it back, and the Aeternals will never allow a human to betray them. Trying to get the tree back will mean war," she exined.

    A confident smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "You''re talking about Corpse God, aren¡¯t you? That exins why we found evidence of the Divine Tree on his body. Don''t worry. I''ll get it back for you."

    Hongyan Mavis was surprised. "You <i>can </i>get it back?"

    "I can."

    "But that will mean war. If I leave this ce, Aeternus will likely learn of it, and they¡¯ll be able to guess my intentions."

    "Then we¡¯ll get it back before your presence is exposed," Lu Yin stated confidently. Given his current strength, why would he not be confident? No matter if he ambushed or directly confronted Corpse God, the injured Skygod was no longer a match for Lu Yin. Besides, Lu Yin was already looking for a way to ess the Sixth Scourge, and the key to everything was that none of the Aeternals were aware that Lu Yin¡¯s strength had transformed. With the element of surprise, he was absolutely certain that he could take back the imprint of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree.

    Hongyan Mavis was thrilled, "If we can recover that imprint, and if I can use the current Divine Tree as my Progenitor''s world, then I¡¯ll be able to restore at least half of my previous strength."

    "Ha, then let¡¯s do it! Oh, I should mention, Senior, I am the current Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect."

    Hongyan Mavis rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Dao Monarch. I hope that your Heavens Sect can reach its previous peak again."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes sparkled. "I¡¯ve had some thoughts about reestablishing the Three Realms and Six Daos."

    "You should rest first."

    Lu Yin was quite satisfied with the initial transformations that his inner worlds had gone through during his time in the Mirari Realm. Time passed, but Lu Yin did not cultivate at all. Instead, he simply sat by the River of Time and fished. He just wanted to see the moments of time that had been removed from the river, as each picture held something unique.

    After some time, he felt that he had recovered, though his white hair did not regain its color.

    He could force his white hair to turn ck again, but there was no point in doing so. The new color would serve as a reminder to avoid recklessly anointing defeated foes in the future.

    One day, while fishing in the River of Time, the droplet he pulled out for Lightstream revealed an image of a piece of paper. Puzzled, Lu Yin studied the image, but he could not make out what was on the paper, as the image only appeared for a brief moment.

    He continued fishing and soon caught another droplet. Again, the image revealed the same piece of paper as before.

    Lu Yin frowned. The second image also disappeared too quickly, but he had managed to make out a single word: "Kill."

    "Kill?" What did that mean? Did the paper just have that one word?

    Because of how quickly the image had disappeared, Lu Yin had only been able to make out the word "Kill," but he felt certain that there had been no other words on the paper.

    He continued fishing.

    Within just mere seconds, he pulled out another droplet. Such frequency was highly unusual. Normally, he would have to fish for quite some time beforending another moment of isted time, so why were these dropletsing up so close together?

    Again, the image that appeared was a piece of paper with the word "Kill," but this time, there was a clear smudge after that word. It looked like something had been erased from the page.

    The image vanished, and Lu Yin continued fishing.

    Time passed, and Lu Yin pulled out multiple droplets from the River of Time. Every one of them revealed the same image of a piece of paper with the word ¡°Kill¡± followed by a smudge. The frequency made Lu Yin increasingly uneasy. He nced upstream. Was it possible that these images were someone in the past trying to send a message to the future? "Kill"... followed by what? A name? A species? Something else?

    Why had the following characters all been erased?

    Who could have erased them?

    These papers had been rejected by the River of Time, which suggested they had been written while time was frozen. To erase words from such papers would require immense power, as this was something that far exceeded merely freezing time.

    Whoever was capable of stopping time and erasing what had been written on every single sheet of paper had essentially sliced away moments of time.

    Lu Yin knew that this was beyond his own capabilities.

    He continued fishing, but he did not pull up any more droplets. It was as if the images of the papers had all drifted downstream to appear at the same time so that they would be seen by future generations.

    Lu Yin shared what he had seen with Hongyan Mavis.

    She was shocked. "To do what you saw requires far more than merely touching upon the power of time. This would require being able to sever time and even traverse the River of Time, much like how you wish to travel upstream with your Lightstream boat."

    "So, are you saying that someone has already aplished what I¡¯ve wanted to do a long time ago?" Lu Yin asked.

    "More than one person. Only Ortusers and people who have focused intently on the power of time could have done this," Hongyan Mavis stated solemnly.

    Lu Yin understood. He had never thought that transforming Lightstream would allow him to surpass an Ortuser. He knew that he needed to be a Progenitor himself before he could even think about surpassing such powerhouses.

    "So, whoever erased the writing from those pieces of paper had to have been at least in the Origin realm," Lu Yin concluded.

    Hongyan Mavis remained silent for a moment before slowly responding. "From what I am aware of, during our era, only a few individuals managed to reach the Origin realm, and I can¡¯t think of any Ortusers who would have done such a thing, even if they were capable of it.

    "Oh, there was one other person. She was originally at the same level as us, but then she had a breakthrough and became an Ortuser: Qingluo Jiantian."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Qingluo Jiantian became an Ortuser during your time?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "Do you know who put up that stone monument by the River of Time? Qingluo Jiantian. She became an Ortuser here in the Mirari Realm. That was what convinced everyone who knew about this ce that the Mirari Realm holds a path to the Origin realm."

    Lu Yin had always known that Progenitor Xi was incredibly strong, as she had once ended a massive battle with a single swipe of her sword. Even Astral Anura and the Great Sovereign acknowledged the woman. Even so, Lu Yin had not realized that Qingluo Jiantian was an Ortuser. Still, Progenitor Xi''s strength did not seem to be much greater than a Progenitor¡¯s. If she were much stronger, it would not have been so easy for the Lord of Lightning and the Great Sovereign to reach the ck Mother Tree and go after True God.

    Something must have happened to Progenitor Xi.

    "By the way, Senior, there''s something that I''ve always been confused about. What¡¯s the difference between an Ortuser and a Dukkhan?" Lu Yin asked. He had first heard about the Origin realm and oveing Dukkha from Ancestor Lu Yuan, but he had not given either cultivation level much thought at the time. Only afterwards, as Lu Yin had encountered more and seen more, had his confusion appeared and grown.

    The Great Sovereign was clearly a Dukkhan, as was True God, but what about Jiang Feng? The Lord of Lightning had once referred to True God and others as monsters who were oveing Dukkha, but the man was clearly stronger than a Progenitor. Progenitor Xi was not strong enough to stop the man, so what was he? An Ortuser? What about Ancestor Lu Yuan? He was not afraid to confront or fight the Great Sovereign, but he had never mentioned being an Ortuser or oveing Dukkha. In fact, during the invasion of the Second Scourge, Astral Anura had clearly been the weakest of the four individuals fighting. While it was said that Astral Anura was oveing Dukkha, the toad did not seem to have the strength of a Dukkhan.

    Hongyan Mavis exined, "Ortusers have surpassed the Progenitor realm, and the Origin realm is a defined cultivation realm. Anyone who has reached that level is referred to as a Dukkhan, and this is because they are essentially undergoing a lengthy tribtion. Oveing Dukkha is a process, not a cultivation realm. It¡¯s much like flying¡ªthere¡¯s a takeoff and anding, but if you are unable tond, you fail.

    "The only ones who can tell if someone is oveing Dukkha is the person themselves. It''s not a level with a specific level of strength. True God is incredibly strong, but he might have only barely lifted off the ground and started his flight. Tai Hong might not be a match for True God or for Master, but she might be about tond again. No one can be certain, which is why it is referred to as oveing Dukkha, as all Dukkhans are facing a tribtion.

    "Some who reach the Origin realm never want to be Dukkhans because of the suffering associated with oveing Dukkha. Master once said that an Ortuser and a Dukkhan are like two different people.

    "So far, the only thing that is known for certain is that no one has truly ovee Dukkha and achieve Immortality. That realm is nothing more than an idea. Since no one has ever reached it, all we have are spections."

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why the Origin realm and oveing Dukkha were regarded so differently; one was a cultivation realm, while the other was a process or a state of existence.

    "How can you tell if someone is oveing Dukkha?"

    Hongyan Mavis thought for a moment. "There isn¡¯t any way to know for sure. When a person surpasses the Progenitor realm, they go beyondmon understanding. Only they truly know what they are dealing with. It¡¯s important that you don¡¯t allow your thoughts to get stuck in a rigid pattern. Everyone assumes that True God is oveing Dukkha, but what if he isn''t? What if he''s still just an Ortuser? No one really knows.

    "Some im that oveing Dukkha is a lie and that there''s no such thing as Immortality.

    "Others say that Immortality is tied to one¡¯s species. As long as their species survives, so will the individual. For instance, if you be an Immortal, then as long as humanity survives, you will be able to appear or disappear at will.

    "Some have even suggested that the megaverse itself is an Immortal. Who knows?"

    Lu Yin felt amazed. "All of these ideas sound usible."

 Chapter 3129: Return

    <h4>Chapter 3129: Return</h4>

    Hongyan Mavisughed heartily. "Of course it makes sense! Anyone who is able to truly contemte Immortality is at least a peak powerhouse. Anyone at that level has to have experienced a great deal and already considered countless whimsical ideas. I personally believe that the Mother Tree is an Immortal lifeform because my Progenitor''s world is my Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree."

    Lu Yin agreed, saying, "That would make a lot of sense."

    Hongyan Mavis chuckled as she shook her head. "There are many theories, and when you don''t understand something well, anything you hear might sound reasonable. You need to try to break through yourself in order to determine the truth.

    "In fact, most people who have ever spected about Immortality have a rather pessimistic view of it. Achieving Immortality wouldn¡¯t necessarily be a blessing. You''d have to watch everyone around you die and suffer more than anyone else. You might even end up watching your entire species go extinct. Can you imagine living forever with nothing but bugs?"

    Lu Yin shuddered at the thought. Just thinking about a universe without humans and only insects provoked a feeling of revulsion. What would be the point of being Immortal in such a universe? He would rather die.

    Lu Yin had fully recovered from his injuries, so there was no reason for them to stay in the Mirari Realm any longer. After all, Lu Yin was not yet ready to attempt a breakthrough to the Progenitor realm.

    "Let¡¯s go, Senior."

    Hongyan Mavis nced around, feeling rather nostalgic. "I''ve lived in this ce longer than I did on the Second Maind. I hope that those whoe behind won''t destroy this ce."

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. "Senior, will we be able toe back after we leave?"

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "Unless we find all of the markers, not even I will be able to return. Of course, Master could send us back, but we''d need to find him first."

    Lu Yin sighed. That was quite the pity. He had hoped to take the entire Heavens Sect to the Mirari Realm and have them train until all of them became Progenitors. Then, they would be able to overwhelm Aeternus.

    Unfortunately, that was nothing but a dream. If such a thing were possible, the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu would have already done it.

    Time was able to change many things, but not everything.

    As long as a person was unable to achieve Immortality, they would eventually age and die in the Mirari Realm. Regardless of how much time was spent, some people would never be able to be Progenitors.

    Before leaving, Lu Yin went into the cabin and looked down at the messages scrawled across the floor. He then crouched down and wrote his own. <i>¡°Little Seven was here. I hope to meet all of you seniors one day - Lu Yin.¡±</i>

    That done, he walked out of the cabin. "Let''s go, Senior."

    Hongyan Mavis went in behind him. She saw what he had written, crouched down, and added her own bit. <i>¡°He''s a newbie, and he¡¯s called Pir. Wee the new guy - Hongyan.¡±</i>

    That done, she also walked out. Lu Yin was curious and wanted to see what she had written, but Hongyan Mavis blocked him. "Let''s go. What are you looking at?"

    "Senior, what did you write?"

    "None of your business."

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He really wanted to see what the woman had written, but she dragged him away.

    "By the way, Senior, when we leave this ce, will you return to the Heavens Sect era?"

    "Time in the Mirari Realm is separate, and while this ce is untouched by the River of Time,ing here means bringing the River of Time with you. The moment that anyone enters this ce, the Mirari Realm is refreshed due to the new connection established with the River of Time."

    "That''s good."

    ...

    Lu Yin tore through the void to arrive in the Origin Universe at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. He stepped out, only to find that he was surrounded by several familiar figures: Leng Qing, Cloudflow, and Arch-Elder Zen.

    "Dao Monarch?" they all joyfully eximed.

    Lu Yin was startled. "It looks like a lot¡¯s happened while I was gone."

    As Lu Yin spoke to the three men, Hongyan Mavis emerged from the void behind him, stunning them further. It was already shocking to see Lu Yin return so quickly, much less return with a woman.

    Hongyan Mavis took a deep breath, savoring her newfound freedom. "Freedom really is wonderful."

    Lu Yin turned to her. "Feel free to wander about. I need to deal with a few matters, and then I''ll take you to the Lu Sanctum."

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "Take your time and don''t worry about me. I''m not in a rush to see Loam."

    "Dao Monarch Hongyan, is that you?" Leng Qing eximed. He recognized the woman, but he was startled by the figure he saw.

    Hongyan Mavis looked over, surprised that anyone had recognized her.

    Leng Qing''s excitement grew. "It''s me, Leng Qing! I once visited the Mavis family, and you offered me a bit of instruction."

    Hongyan Mavis thought for a moment before it dawned on her who was speaking to her. "Oh, it''s you. I remember now, one of the gatemasters."

    Leng Qing bowed respectfully. "It really is you! You''re still alive?"

    "It isn¡¯t that surprising that I¡¯ve been able to survive for this long, but how have you managed it?" Hongyan Mavis asked in confusion. Many people had disappeared during the Heavens Sect era along with Leng Qing. Hongyan Mavis had taken a particr interest in the matter because a descendant of the Mavis family and the Second Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen, Heluo Mavis, had been among those who had vanished.

    Leng Qing was breathing heavily as he solemnly offered another bow. "Leng Qing, gatemaster of the Celestial de Gate, greets the Dao Monarch."

    As the once-ruler of the Second Maind, which had had its own Daosource Sect, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s title was indeed Dao Monarch.

    Curious, Hongyan Mavis asked, "What happened back then? Several gatemasters and Dao Chosen all disappeared at once."

    Lu Yin told Leng Qing to give Hongyan Mavis a tour of the new Heavens Sect while sharing details of past events.

    While Lu Yin had spoken extensively with the woman while in the Mirari Realm, there was simply too much to cover.

    Leng Qing had been born on the Second Maind, and he was ecstatic to have the opportunity to speak with Hongyan Mavis.

    As for Lu Yin, he made his way to the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall to meet with Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and the others who had been gathered. Arch-Elder Zen, Lu Buzheng, and several others were also present to discuss recent events.

    Lu Yin actually had not been gone for long¡ªfor everyone else, it had only been as long as it had taken Mister Mu to leave the Second Scourge to when Lu Yin had entered the Mirari Realm. After all, time had stood still for him while he was in the Mirari Realm.

    What had felt like an eternity within the Mirari Realm had been less than a second of time for the rest of reality. Arch-Elder Zen and the others had no idea that Lu Yin had vastly changed from when they hadst spoken to him.

    Lu Yin listened quietly as he heard about what had happened recently.

    While it had been a very brief amount of time, a great many incidents had transpired, given that Lu Yin was believed dead. It did not matter that it had only been a brief bit of time, given that Aeternus was spurring things onwards.

    Lu Yin sat there quietly, his finger tapping the table as he absorbed the news.

    Spies within the Heavens Sect had destroyed the cosmic doors connecting the Origin Universe to the Cmity upation and the Nine-Star Civilization.

    More and more people within the Sixverse Association were expressing their frustrations with Lu Yin and spouting baseless usations and spections. Some even imed that Mu Shen and Lord Xu had both been injured because of Lu Yin''s scheming and that he had been aiming to seize control of the Arboreal Realm and the Voidforce Universe.

    In the Perennial World, people had started assassinating both members of the Lu family and visiting cultivators from the Fifth Maind. These attacks were an attempt to incite a conflict between the Perennial World and the Fifth Maind.

    Madam Nn had been fired and sent back to the Origin Universe by the Merchant Exchange.

    Several of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples were actively provoking the Heavens Sect, dredging up events from the past. In addition to other matters, they were demanding that the Heavens Sect apologize to Yao Lan on Lu Yin''s behalf, iming that Lu Yin had wrongfully used the woman of being a spy.

    Countless problems had appeared, and it looked as though the Heavens Sect was under siege from all sides.

    Of course, many people still supported the Origin Universe. Mu Shen and Lord Xu both spoke up in Lu Yin¡¯s defense, as did the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Arrow Sage and Sage Bodhi. Even the rarely-seen Sage Yajna had released a message expressing his gratitude for Lu Yin''s contributions to humanity, as well as the man¡¯s hopes that rumors of Lu Yin¡¯s death were proven false.

    Lu Yin¡¯s most loyal and protective supporters were the people of the Origin Universe, but they were closely followed by the inhabitants of the Sixverse Association¡¯s Endless Frontier. Lu Yin had driven the Aeternals out of the Endless Frontier and into the First Scourge, which had put an end to the endless cycle of war that had gued the Endless Frontier for countless years. Despite the deep undercurrents within the Sixverse Association, the discord was far from enough to topple Lu Yin''s authority, not unless he was actually dead. Only his true death would result in his influence fading over time.

    After hearing everything, Lu Yin did not get angry, and he smiled instead. "Things are getting interesting. Without any problems, how can we resolve matters? All of these people put on an act of being respectful and obedient, but who can really guess what is going on inside of their heads?

    "Wang Wen, make sure that the outside world believes I''m actually dead. Make things as convincing as possible. I want to see who else will expose themselves."

    Wang Wen smiled. "We''ve already started doing just that. If the Dao Monarch were to truly die, there would be nothing we could do about it. The Heavens Sect can protect itself unless Aeternusunches an all-out attack. If you''re alive, it would be best to take advantage of everything that¡¯s happening right now."

    Wei Rong jumped in, "Actually, we instigated arge portion of the current unrest."

    Arch-Elder Zen could not help but nce at Wei Rong. This man¡¯s methods were truly too ruthless. Even the Aeternals were likely baffled at this moment, confused about why their efforts were so effective.

    This exined why things had erupted so quickly.

    Lu Yin stood up. "In that case, I''ll disappear for a while and only show up again when it¡¯s the right time."

    Wang Wen cautioned, "That won¡¯t be very long. Aeternus destroyed the cosmic doors in order to iste us from our allied civilizations. They might focus on attacking those civilizations, but that''s not unlikely, as they can still easily request our support. The most likely scenario is that they will attack our Heavens Sect, as we are the ones who have been cut off from external support.

    "They will likelyunch their attack very soon."

    Lu Yin felt a rising sense of excitement. "If a battle breaks out, that¡¯s even better. I want to see how effectively Aeternus can cut us off from receiving support from other universes. Can they cut us off from the Sixverse Association? Whitecloud City? Those are connections that they¡¯ll have to pay a heavy price to sever."

    Lu Yin then left the main hall. Their following actions had been entrusted to Wang Wen and the others, so Lu Yin intended to take Hongyan Mavis to the Lu Sanctum.

    Once Lu Yin left, Arch-Elder Zen thoughtfully asked, "Did any of you notice that the Dao Monarch seems different?"

    Cloudflow looked surprised. "You noticed that too? I thought that it was my imagination."

    Lu Buzheng shook his head. "It''s not your imagination. I could feel it too. He seems... how should I put it?"

    He pondered for a moment.

    "Complete?" Arch-Elder Zen suggested.

    Lu Buzheng and Cloudflow exchanged nces. "Yes, that''s it. Complete."

    "Could the Dao Monarch have be a Progenitor?" Cloudflow wondered.

    Lu Buzheng nced at Arch-Elder Zen, who just smiled. "Let''s go. With the Dao Monarch back, there''s no need for us to worry. All of the Aeternals¡¯ ns hinge on the Dao Monarch¡¯s death. His return will cause all of their plots to fall apart."

    Wang Wen was eager to see events unfold. "I can''t wait to see the look on the Aeternals¡¯ faces when they realize that the Dao Monarch is still alive! This is going to be quite the show."

    Wei Rong''s eyes flickered with a cold glint. "I''m also looking forward to that."

    Lu Yin chased down Hongyan Mavis and Leng Qing.

    Leng Qing had shared the details of the events that had led to him and the others being frozen in the sourcebox, but Hongyan Mavis had be captivated by the sight of Ancestor Tortoise, who was lounging outside of the Heavens Sect. The Divine Tree was still growing from its back, and the sight left her engrossed.

 Chapter 3130: The List

    Chapter 3130: The List

    "Senior, would you like to go see your descendants first?" Lu Yin asked.

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "There¡¯s no need for that. Let''s go to the Lu Sanctum. It''s better if my existence remains a secret for now."

    Lu Yin nodded. "It would be best to only reveal yourself after you regain your strength. Alright, I''ll take you to the Lu Sanctum."

    Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis quickly left the Heavens Sect and moved to the Perennial World.

    They moved quickly, stars whizzing by until they arrived in the Perennial World.

    Upon seeing the distant form of the Mother Tree, Hongyan Mavis felt a surge of emotion. "There it is, the Mother Tree. From my very first memories, aside from Master, it was the Mother Tree that always apanied us. I thought that it had been destroyed, so it¡¯s wonderful to see it still standing."

    "The Mother Tree isn¡¯t easy to destroy. Our Fifth Maind was only able to hold off Aeternus¡¯s constant attacks thanks to it," Lu Yin remarked, not fully understanding the depth of Hongyan Mavis''s feelings regarding the Mother Tree. He then directed them towards the Lu Sanctum.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s eyes were moist as she silently followed Lu Yin. Seeing the Mother Tree felt like seeing home.

    Soon, they arrived at the Lu Sanctum."This ce has changed," Hongyan Mavis observed.

    "When the Lu family was exiled, so was the Lu Sanctum. Of course that led to some changes," Lu Yin exined.

    Hongyan Mavis had already heard of the Lu family¡¯s exile from Lu Yin, so she just nodded and followed him silently.

    Lu Yin chose not to make a grand entrance, and he merely notified Ancestor Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Yin''s message allowed Lu Tianyi to breathe a sigh of relief. He was greatly relieved to learn that Lu Yin was alive.

    The sight of Hongyan Mavis prompted a respectful bow. "Junior Lu Tianyi greets Senior Hongyan."

    Hongyan Mavis scrutinized Lu Tianyi. "So, you''re the famous Lu Tianyi? Time really flies. When Ist saw you, you were just a child."

    Lu Tianyi reminisced, "Senior, you haven''t aged a bit."

    "Ancestor Tianyi, Senior Hongyan will be staying in the Lu Sanctum for now. We''ll discuss other matters after I handle a few issues," Lu Yin said.

    "I understand. There are pests which need to be dealt with," Lu Tianyi replied grimly.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something important. "What about my father?"

    "Lu Qi was never informed of your supposed death. The news waspletely sealed from entering any part of the Middle Ocean."

    "Good." Lu Yin felt relieved. Given his father''s temperament, if he learned that Lu Yin had died, there would be trouble.

    ¡­

    Ten days after Hongyan Mavis arrived at the Lu Sanctum, a shocking bit of news shook the Sixverse Association.

    Cheng Feng, the spy that Lu Yin had caught long ago, finally died, but not before revealing a list of names of Aeternal spies within the Sixverse Association. It was a list with hundreds of names that included spies from every single part of the Sixverse Association, including the Origin Universe and the Endless Frontier.

    There were five names on the list that were far more important than any others: Luo Shan, Wu Heng, Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, and Sovereign Lotus.

    These five names belonged to five peak powerhouses.

    Arch-Elder Zen was a highly esteemed Progenitor within the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect, and he was often seen with Lu Yin.

    Mu Xie was Lu Yin''s senior disciple brother.

    Most important of all was the fact that Sovereign Ninth Lotus was included on the list.

    As one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, if Sovereign Lotus was proven to be a spy, it would make the Great Sovereign the biggest joke in the Sixverse Association.

    However, it was not just the Great Sovereign, as Lu Yin would also be a joke if it was proven that Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie were spies given their close connections to him.

    The list spread like wildfire across the Sixverse Association. In no time at all, everyone in the parallel universes started arresting the people whose names were on the list, and not one was found to be false.

    Many people whose names were on the list tried to escape, but most were either captured or killed. Very few managed to flee.

    Of the five peak powerhouses, Wu Heng escaped. As one of the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Arboreans, as well as someone who had spent a great deal of time stationed on the Endless Frontier, this verified that Wu Heng was a spy, as it also revealed that he had hidden a great deal of his true strength.

    At the same time that Wu Heng escaped, one of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples discovered a cosmic door in the Lotus Realm, which cast further suspicion on the Sovereign. Could Sovereign Lotus really be a spy?

    At this moment, Sovereign Lotus was thrust into the spotlight. Could she truly be a spy?

    Chu Jian, Arrow Sage, and other peak powerhouses immediately made their way to the Lotus Realm to confront the woman.

    Given the fact that both Sovereign Lotus and Wu Heng were suspicious, what about the other three peak powerhouses?

    Within the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin remained calm. Before him stood an unusually serious Wang Wen. "This is very serious. The list has been proven urate, and everyone who managed to escape has been confirmed to be a spy. Hundreds of spies were exposed at the same time. Aeternus is incredibly ruthless. Even I question how urate the list is."

    Lu Yin frowned deeply. He had not expected Aeternus to be this ruthless, sacrificing hundreds of spies to target Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie, though it was possible that Sovereign Lotus and Luo Shan were also being targeted. By extension, the Heavens Sect was being attacked.

    If it were just the hundreds of spies, things would be manageable. But the fact that Wu Heng was actually a spy was unexpected.

    The Arborean had originally been under Mr. Daheng¡¯s control, but Wu Heng had secretly allied himself with Lu Yin in order to escape from Mr. Daheng¡¯s control. Lu Yin had even used Wu Heng to provoke Mr. Daheng into targeting Luo Shan, which had eventually resulted in Mr. Daheng being condemned to the Endless Frontier.

    Throughout the entire ordeal, Lu Yin had never once suspected Wu Heng of being a spy. The man had performed his role perfectly.

    However, Wu Heng had proven his identity as a spy through this upheaval, which meant that there was nothing more to be said about the matter.

    What truly elevated suspicions to the peak was the discovery of a cosmic door in the Lotus Realm.

    This incident was the straw that broke the camel''s back, and the entire Sixverse Association suddenly believed that the list had to be genuine. If Sovereign Lotus and Wu Heng were both spies, then why not Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, and Luo Shan as well? Could any of them be more valuable to the Sixverse Association than Sovereign Lotus?

    In fact, even within the Heavens Sect, many people started to doubt Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie. This was why Lu Yin and hisrades were taking the matter so seriously.

    The list was a lie, but it was mixed with nine parts of truth. Exposing the lie could be done depending on the true parts, but there was no denying that the Aeternals had paid a truly hefty price this time. At least, as far as outsiders could see, it was a shocking price.

    Arch-Elder Zen entered the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall. The old man appeared to be perfectly calm. "Dao Monarch, you must imprison me now, or else the Sixverse Association will not let go of this matter."

    The Cyclic Universe was already confronting Sovereign Lotus, and countless people from all parts of the Sixverse Association were demanding that the Heavens Sect purge itself of all traitors. There were even people surrounding the Heavens Sect, waiting for a response.

    As far as these people were concerned, Lu Yin was already dead, so there was no need to be overly intimidated by the Heavens Sect. While the sect still had arge number of peak powerhouses, none were as intimidating as Lu Yin himself. That man was unpredictable and could never be tracked down.

    Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen. "I know that these allegations are a lie, and yet you want me to allow you to suffer regardless? I can¡¯t do that."

    Arch-Elder Zen sighed. "Dao Monarch, Aeternus wants to use this matter to sow discord between the Origin Universe and the rest of the Sixverse Association. No matter what else may happen, imprisoning me needs to be a priority."

    "Me as well." Mu Xie entered the main hall. While both men¡¯s names were on the list, the Origin Universe had never acted against them.

    This was not even a matter of blind trust, as only the inhabitants of the Origin Universe would understand that it was impossible for either Mu Xie or Arch-Elder Zen to be spies.

    Mu Xie had established Humility¡¯s Gate in the Perennial World. With the Lu family''s support, he had spent many years hunting down and killing Redbacks. How could such a person be a spy? If he were, then what could be the motive for his actions? Could he be more important to the Origin Universe than even Wang Wen? Mu Xie had practically acted alone in the Perennial World, and he hadcked the power to contend against the four ruling powers or wield much influence on the Endless Frontier. Even if he was valuable due to being a Progenitor, that alone was not enough reason to sacrifice so many Redbacks.

    As for Arch-Elder Zen, it was even more impossible for him to be a spy. Without the old man, the Aeternals would havepletely conquered the Fifth Maind long ago. Why would Aeternus hide Arch-Elder Zen and have him fight against them for so many years? It made no sense.

    The most crucial point was, why would Cheng Feng, even if he had a list of spies, name Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie? At the moment of Cheng Feng¡¯s death, how long had the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association been interacting? Why would Aeternus disclose such secrets to a minor figure like Cheng Feng?

    Cheng Feng had been tasked with infiltrating the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Knowledge Nexus, and Lu Yin had known this for a long time. Beyond that, Cheng Feng had been worthless to the Aeternals.

    Aeternus was clearly trying to cut the Heavens Sect off from receiving any sort of outside support. Either the Heavens Sect would protect Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie, which would create a rift with the Sixverse Association, or the sect would deal with Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie. Either way, Aeternus would not lose out.

    "Senior Brother, we both know the truth of this matter, as well as Aeternus''s goals," Lu Yin replied.

    Mu Xie solemnly stated, "Which is precisely why we must not fall into their trap."

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen smiled at Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen. "Both of you are forgetting that this is exactly what we wanted Aeternus to do. As long as they believe that the Dao Monarch is dead, they will go all out. Their goal is to leave the Origin Universe stranded, without any external support.

    "If we don¡¯t allow them to seed now, they¡¯ll simply try again. Now that they¡¯ve moved against us, the Aeternals must be getting anxious."

    Arch-Elder Zen was worried. "If there is too much discord, then even when the Dao Monarch reappears, we won¡¯t be able to easily and quickly drive Aeternus out."

    Lu Yin turned to look beyond the Heavens Sect. "Then let¡¯s see what sort of forces Aeternus will send against us. No matter how they try to provoke us, those who can see the truth will see things clearly, while those who can¡¯t will remain blind. Problems are being exposed right now, and that is precisely what I need to deal with next."

    Issues rted to the list of spies continued to escte, and more and more cultivators from the Sixverse Association gathered outside of the Heavens Sect. All of them were demanding that Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie be arrested to cleanse the Sixverse Association of all spies.

    However, the Heavens Sect remained unmoved.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Lotus had a grim expression on her face. She had been rudely disrupted during her seclusion, only to be confronted with countless suspicious eyes.

    She had no way to exin why a cosmic door had been found in the Lotus Realm, but why did someone want to frame her as a spy with just a single cosmic door? That was impossible.

    Who in the Cyclic Universe could challenge her? Those capable of doing so would not suspect her due to just a cosmic door.

    On the Endless Frontier, Luo Shan fled as soon as he learned about the list. It was clear that someone was orchestrating something, and he did not want to be used as a stepping stone.

    Time passed, but the Heavens Sect still refused to act against Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie. More and more voices within the Sixverse Association demanded that the sect take action against the two men. Even the old grievance regarding Yao Lan being wrongfully used as a spy and punished was resurrected, and people demanded that the Heavens Sect apologize on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf.

    The most outrageous demand was that the Heavens Sect send a Progenitor to kneel as an apology for Lu Yin¡¯s actions.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3131: Strike

    Chapter 3131: Strike

    This particr demand sparked outrage in countless individuals throughout the Fifth Maind, and many even set off for the Sixverse Association to find the people responsible for making the demand.

    There were even people from the Sixverse Association who found this demand to be too much.

    The situation was growing increasingly dire, and the conflict even escted to the point where some cultivators from the other parts of the Sixverse Association shed violently against people from the Fifth Maind.

    As that happened, figures arrived outside of the Heavens Sect, bringing with them an oppressive pressure.

    The cultivators who had surrounded the Heavens Sect were ughtered. Inside the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin looked out. They had finally arrived.

    Dark-red divine energy erupted as the figures charged at the Heavens Sect. It was a horde of frenzied corpses.

    Behind the monsters were three individuals, who also made their way towards the Heavens Sect. ¡°Destroy this cepletely!¡±

    A red light danced through the sky like a ribbon as Ji Luo shed his sword at the Heavens Sect. The strike sliced between the frenzied corpses as though the man was trying to split the sect itself in half.

    Both the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise had already retreated. While they appeared to be dumb beasts, their instincts were sharp enough to know that they could not stand up to Ji Luo.An abyssal flower bloomed within the Heavens Sect. Behind it stood Big Sis, and behind her stood the Lord of the Abyss. The sword sh was shattered with a wave of the image¡¯s hand.

    Ji Luo stepped forward, instantly disappearing before suddenly reappearing during a violent retreat. A short dagger closed in on the swordsman, wielded by a person who was barely a meter tall. It was The Abandoned.

    Previously, only the Scourge upation had gone to support the Nine-Star Civilization while Lu Yin had attacked the Second Scourge with Ye Wu. As for The Abandoned, he had done nothing, and the cosmic door leading to his universe had stayed in a cosmic ring, untouched.

    Lu Yin had contacted The Abandoned before Aeternusunched their attack on the Heavens Sect, and the man had been ready to provide aid at any moment.

    The time hade.

    Ji Luo was fast, and his sword was astoundingly powerful and more than capable of breaking through almost any defense. However, The Abandoned was even more unpredictable; even Lu Yin could not evade The Abandoned¡¯s dagger by moving at the speed of time. There was no doubt that The Abandoned was every bit Ji Luo¡¯s equal.

    A beam pierced a great distance, aimed at The Abandoned, but before it could arrive, Big Sis shattered it. She red at a distant location. ¡°Shao Yin, it¡¯s you again!¡±

    Shao Yin¡¯s eyes twitched. Something was off. It was not just Big Sis¡¯ attitude that tipped the man off, but also the fact that there was an expert capable of stopping Ji Luo who was not a known member of the Heavens Sect. Clearly, the Origin Universe had made preparations.

    From behind the former Sovereign, Di Qiong stepped forward. ¡°It would appear that the Heavens Sect has made preparations. This battle is not favorable to us.¡±

    Despite the man¡¯s words, the Aeternals had already paid a terrible price for this opportunity to attack the Heavens Sect. Hundreds of their spies had been sacrificed, and they could not afford to retreat just because The Abandoned was helping the Heavens Sect.

    Di Qiong raised a hand, and a long spear appeared in his grip. He thrust the weapon towards the Heavens Sect, wanting to see who in the sect was capable of stopping him.

    At the same time, Ancient God and Forgotten Ruins God descended upon the Perennial World, appearing near the Lu Sanctum. Their mission was to prevent Ancestor Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi from providing the Heavens Sect with any assistance.

    The Sixverse Association quickly received word that the Heavens Sect was being attacked by Aeternus. Mu Shen was startled, but regardless, all of humanity needed to work together to eliminate Aeternus. That was something that would never change.

    Just as the man was about to head to the Origin Universe, a crimson haired figure appeared before him: Arrow God.

    In a simr fashion, a figure appeared in front of Mu Ke in another part of the Arboreal Realm. Mu Ke was stopped by the Magician, who was one of Aeternus¡¯s few experts strong enough to participate in the Divine Selection.

    In the Voidforce Universe, Lord Xu fought against ckless God, while Xu Wuwei faced Lan Lan.

    This was the result of the Divine Commandment. All of Aeternus¡¯s strength was being brought to bear against humanity in a united assault. The Aeternals were not necessarily aiming for a crushing victory, and they were simply working towards specific objectives.

    From the Aeternals¡¯ perspective, the Heavens Sect had no experts who were capable of standing up to Di Qiong or Ji Luo. These two had been sent to deliver a death blow to the Heavens Sect¡¯s.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Lotus was being watched and was thus unable to help the Heavens Sect. The Great Sovereign remained in seclusion, ignoring all that happened in the outside world.

    Whitecloud City was still trying to deal with the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were also being attacked by frenzied corpses at this moment.

    While the First Scourge had run out of frenzied corpses, the other Scourges still had enough to keep the two alliances upied.

    The Heavens Sect had lost all external support and could only rely on their own peak powerhouses.

    Could any of them stop Di Qiong?

    This was Aeternus¡¯s n.

    Lu Yin stepped out from the Heavens Sect; it was time. The goal of this battle was not to achieve some great victory, but simply to stop Aeternus¡¯s current scheme and protect the Heavens Sect. The Aeternals had incurred significant losses even beforeunching this attack.

    Their efforts to iste the Heavens Sect had been costly, even for Aeternus. It was enough.

    If the Heavens Sect could also eliminate one or two of the Aeternals¡¯ top experts during this battle, it would be perfect.

    Lu Yin''s strength had greatly improved, but he had not allowed himself to be arrogant. He knew how difficult it was to kill an expert at the level of the Seven Skygods. After all, they had already done so.

    Di Qiong fell upon the Heavens Sect, where he was surrounded by Qing Ping, Mu Xie, Shao Chen, and Arch-Elder Zen. Further below, Cloudflow, Xia Shenji, Wang Jian, and Bai Sheng stood ready as well. All eight of the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak powerhouses were present for this battle.

    ncing at the people surrounding him, Di Qiong sneered. ¡°Insects.¡±

    With that, his spear shot towards Qing Ping. During the fight in Aeternus Nation, Qing Ping¡¯s Judgment had left a deep impression on Di Qiong. While Qing Ping had not been able to harm Di Qiong, the man used thews of the universe to judge otherws of the universe. He followed a dangerous path.

    A ?ar¨©ra appeared in front of the Progenitor as Mu Xie pushed his Progenitor¡¯s world towards Di Qiong, only for the spear to easily pierce through and shatter the ?ar¨©ra.

    A stream of cloud-like energy rose up from below to form a barrier: Thousand Streams Shatter the Dao.

    Di Qiong did not even look at the barrier, and he simply allowed Cloudflow¡¯s attack to strike him while he focused on his spear continuing towards Qing Ping.

    Cloudflow was startled. This man was simply too strong, and the gap between them was too vast. Despite both of them being peak powerhouses, the disparity was unbelievable.

    Against Di Qiong, the Heavens Sect¡¯s peak powerhouses were truly like insects.

    Xia Shenji gritted his teeth. He did not want to fight this monster, but there was no ce to hide. He joined Wang Jian and Bai Sheng, and all three men leaped towards Di Qiong.

    A sword and staff were both shattered by a swipe of Di Qiong¡¯s spear. The man¡¯s terrifying power allowed him to suppress everyone with a single attack. ¡°You want to court death? I¡¯ll grant your wish!¡±

    Di Qiong¡¯s spear fell again, this time targeting Xia Shenji and several others, including both Cloudflow and Mu Xie.

    None of them could withstand this attack.

    At that moment, Lu Yin emerged from the Heavens Sect using Inverse Step. He moved at the speed of time to appear right behind Di Qiong with a clenched fist. Instantly, Infinity was released, and the lines of strength collided to produce explosive power as Lu Yin¡¯s arm withered. The moment that Infinity reached the limit of what Lu Yin¡¯s body could endure, his fist shot out.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    A terrifying punch struck Di Qiong¡¯s back, forcing him to bend over. The power of Extremes Must Be Reversed that was released with the attack sent Di Qiong¡¯s body flying forward. Lu Yin had felt Di Qiong¡¯s bones crack beneath his unprecedented punch. Even Feng Bo had not been able to withstand this attack.

    Di Qiong was stunned, and he was unable to straighten his body as he was sted away by an unfathomable power. He could not understand how a human could release such a powerful attack. Just who had done so?

    He wanted to turn around, but the terrifying power of the attack forced Di Qiong to continue flying forwards. If he forced himself to turn around, it would only exacerbate his injuries.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step again, and by moving at the speed of time, he caught up to Di Qiong. Lu Yin would not give the man a single moment¡¯s respite.

    Another punch fell, but this time, it was stopped. Pages from a book surrounded Di Qiong, and one of them showed an image of Lu Yin¡¯s punch.

    Lu Yin noticed the page and frowned. He had forgotten about Di Qiong¡¯s ability.

    Di Qiong also saw what was disyed on the page, and his expression changed drastically. ¡°Lu Yin?!¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s punch changed to a palm strike as he resumed his attack on Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong was finally able to regain hisposure. He sensed the approaching palm strike and turned around to thrust his spear at Lu Yin''s hand. Lu Yin shifted his hand to the side so that it slid along the spear¡¯s shaft to attack Di Qiong, and Lu Yin¡¯s body followed the same movement as his hand. Di Qiong''s eyes suddenly changed as he used the Pupilless Transformation.

    Lu Yin''s palm mmed into Di Qiong''s, and the impact resulted in a terrifying shockwave that ripped through the void and opened up a massive region of the Hollow.

    Both men were forced back by the impact. Lu Yin was forced to retreat by Di Qiong''s palm, while Di Qiong was pushed away by the unexpected power of Lu Yin''s palm strike. The man was stunned to discover that the young man had gained enough strength to rival Di Qiong himself. How was that even possible?

    Di Qiong refused to give Lu Yin even a moment to recover, and he stepped forward with his spear aimed at Lu Yin. This attack appeared to be easy to avoid, and yet it triggered Lu Yin''s instincts. He retreated continuously as Di Qiong sneered. "I didn''t expect you to survive, but it doesn''t matter. I''ll kill you here and now."

    The spear relentlessly pursued with its razor-sharp tip.

    Lu Yin raced away with Inverse Step, moving to Di Qiong''s side at the speed of time while aiming a finger at the man¡¯s head. This attack carried the power of both Infinity and Extremes Must Be Reversed, though only Lu Yin¡¯s finger withered.

    Di Qiong''s ability prevented his opponents from using the same attack twice, which meant that Lu Yin could no longer employ punches or palms. This was his third attack.

    However, this strike was also ineffective. This was not because of Di Qiong¡¯s pages, but rather because of his sequence particles.

    Without Heaven¡¯s Sight, Lu Yin was unable to see sequence particles, and for this reason, the attack aimed at Di Qiong''s head inexplicably appeared beneath the man. At the same time, Inverse Step failed, as Lu Yin was unable to use the technique in the presence of so many sequence particles. Di Qiong gripped his spear tightly and thrust it at Lu Yin''s face. Lu Yin unleashed his inner universe and repelled the Origin Universe. He was isted by a shell of the Hollow, but the spear pierced through both that thin barrier and Lu Yin¡¯s universe, aiming for his chest.

    At that moment, thendmass from Lu Yin''s universe mmed into the spear.

    There was a ringing impact, and Di Qiong was forced back. His spear even shattered. He stared at thendmass that had appeared in shock. How was this possible?

    This was the samendmass that Lu Yin had used to suppress Feng Bo. Even when Lu Yin had not released the Wordless Heavenly Book to bestow the continent of fatesand with vitality, it had still nearly killed Feng Bo. Lu Yin was using this collision to test Di Qiong''s power.

    Di Qiong''s physical strength was no less than Feng Bo''s. While thendmass had nearly killed Feng Bo, it was not nearly as effective against Di Qiong.

    Lu Yin regretted his failure, though Di Qiong''s astonishment could not even be measured.

    How had the young man¡¯s strength risen so far so fast? How was he matching Di Qiong? It should be impossible! After all, Lu Yin was still only a Semi-Progenitor.

    Thendmass continued to close in on Di Qiong. While itcked the strength to kill the man, it was more than enough to keep him under pressure.

    Di Qiong''s eyes red, and more pages appeared all around him. At that moment, thendmass froze. One of the pages showed the image of thendmass colliding with Di Qiong.

    The same attack could never be used twice against Di Qiong. No matter what power Lu Yin employed, that fact would never change.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3132: New Heights

    <h4>Chapter 3132: New Heights</h4>

    Lu Yin had fought countless battles, but he rarely felt this frustrated with an opponent. Being unable to use the same attack twice was a significant restriction.

    This was Di Qiong''s Progenitor''s world¡ªMartial Scriptures.

    The spear reformed in Di Qiong''s hands as he stepped forward. He immediately thrust the weapon at Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin tried to use Inverse Step, but it instantly failed. As long as he was within the range of Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures, it was impossible to use the same technique twice, no matter if it was Inverse Step, a punch, a palm strike, or even thendmass from his inner universe.

    "Die, boy!" Di Qiong''s spear pierced through the void, its sharpness unmatched.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. The star of consciousness in his inner universe quivered, and his consciousness surged, a terrible amount of energy mming into Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong abruptly stopped moving. He let out a long breath as his pupils dted. He stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. "Is this... consciousness?"

    Lu Yin''s head was spinning. It was not easy for him to use his power of consciousness, but what else could he do against Di Qiong? Even if hebined his Wordless Heavenly Book with the continent of fatesand and then used Flipping the Sky to attack, Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures would prevent Lu Yin from using the attack more than once.

    Lu Yin needed to push Di Qiong hard enough to force him to use his trump cards. Only after that could Lu Yin use his full power to end the fight.

    Di Qiong gritted his teeth as he tightly clenched the shaft of his spear while ring at Lu Yin. "This is Xu Jin''s consciousness! You devoured Xu Jin''s consciousness!"

    "Shut up!" Lu Yin roared as he sent his consciousness mming into Di Qiong again.

    To hurt the enemy by a thousand was to damage oneself by eight hundred.[1] This was because he had not fully digested Xu Jin''s consciousness yet, which had been umted over the course of countless years. Despite the extensive amount of time that Lu Yin had spent in the Mirari Realm, that was still like the blink of an eyepared to Xu Jin¡¯s life.

    To fully usurp Xu Jin''s consciousness, Lu Yin would have needed to fully dedicate his time in the Mirari Realm to reciting the Origin Sutra, and he had clearly not done so.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin''s own consciousness remained as solid as a rock. Although he was injured by each attack, Lu Yin suffered much less than Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures invalidated the repeated use of any attack, and the only way to ovee that was to deliver an instantly lethal attack. However, the ability¡¯s weaknesses were also clearly evident; the powers of time and consciousness were Di Qiong¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heels.

    Lu Yin barely did not have enough power to decisively end things.

    The consciousness attacks left Di Qiong clutching his head and letting out roars of pain. Seizing this opportunity, Arch-Elder Zen and others attacked in unison, all of their different assaults striking Di Qiong. He roared, "How long are you going to wait for?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes widened; were there more?

    A barely perceptible sense of danger sent a chill down Lu Yin''s back. He instantly became certain that there was an expert hidden nearby. He could not afford to wait any longer. His focus sharpened as he waved a hand to bring out his Wordless Heavenly Book and wrote Di Qiong''s name on it. At that moment, Di Qiong felt his strength sap away, which caused his expression to change dramatically. He had just been shunned from the Origin Universe.

    Initially, as long as Di Qiong did not use divine energy, he would not suffer any suppression in the Origin Universe as he had never visited this ce before. This was why he and Ji Liu had been sent to attack the Heavens Sect.

    However, Lu Yin was able to shun people from the Origin Universe at will by wielding the will of the universe itself. When Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness was added to the mix, Di Qiong realized that he was unable to deal with Lu Yin.

    "Let''s see who will kill who!" Lu Yin shot forward, no longer hesitating. His left arm rose up, and he attacked with a finger. As long as he did not use the same attack twice, Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures could not stop the attack.

    Di Qiong had already been hit by Lu Yin''s punch, and he was also reeling from the continuous consciousness attacks, as well as being shunned. He did not think twice and immediately tore through the void to escape.

    Lu Yin wanted to prevent the man from fleeing, but it was nearly impossible to do so. Di Qiong had not even been forced to use any of his trump cards, and the hidden danger that Lu Yin had sensed was still present. This was not the time for an all-out battle against Aeternus. Lu Yin still had other means to defeat them besides brute force.

    If only he had as much information about Di Qiong as he had with Feng Bo. The battle could have ended very differently.

    As soon as Di Qiong fled, Shao Yin and Ji Luo also retreated.

    Without surrounding and attacking such powerhouses from all sides, it was difficult to stop them from escaping. After all, Shao Yin and Ji Luo were both about as strong as the Seven Skygods.

    Even after Di Qiong and the others left, the frenzied corpses continued to wreak havoc at the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin stepped forward and quickly dealt with all the frenzied corpses. With that, the Heavens Sect was out of danger, and the hidden danger had also silently disappeared.

    Once the battle at the Heavens Sect ended, the skirmishes in the Perennial World and the other universes of the Sixverse Association also ended very quickly.

    ...

    In the First Scourge, Di Qiong and the others who had attacked the Heavens Sect gathered in front of Progenitor Xi, who was surprised by their report. "Lu Yin is still alive? And he''s be significantly stronger?"

    Di Qiong''s expression was grim. "If his physical strength hadn''t spiked to reach my level, I would have never retreated."

    ckless God quietly spoke up. "Lu Yin has be a major threat now. It will be difficult to eliminate him."

    Progenitor Xi turned to Ji Luo. "Did you also encounter a powerful opponent?"

    Ji Luo¡¯s face remained hidden beneath his cloak, which made it impossible to read his expression. "A man wielding a knife. He was always a step ahead of me."

    "The Abandoned!" Arrow God eximed in surprise.

    Progenitor Xi looked over. "You know him?"

    "He''s one of the targets of this Divine Commandment."

    "It would appear that Lu Yin has gathered a considerable amount of external support. This third Divine Commandment is proving to be quite difficult to carry out. We lost Xu Jin right at the outset, and even before that, two of the Seven Skygods were killed, while humanity continues to unite. We have to find a way to eliminate Lu Yin before anything else," Progenitor Xi mused.

    ...

    The battle at the Heavens Sect ended swiftly, and news of Lu Yin''s return spread equally quickly throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    Many people were ted at the news, as Lu Yin¡¯s survival gave people hope that Aeternus could be defeated.

    As soon as Lu Yin revealed that he was alive, he ordered a group of people to be arrested. They were the ones who had ndered the Heavens Sect and attempted to create a fissure between the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association. Their arrest caused many within the Sixverse Association to despair.

    As for Lu Yin himself, he took a trip to the Lotus Realm.

    There were problems there that needed to be dealt with.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Chu Jian and others still had the Lotus Realm under surveince. The fact that Lu Yin was alive had no direct connection to the list of spies, and they needed to carry out an investigation to determine whether or not Sovereign Lotus was actually a spy.

    Many things had happened in a very short amount of time. Aeternus had stirred up many hidden currents within the Sixverse Association, but Lu Yin''s return had almost instantly averted the worst crises.

    Even so, determining whether the people listed as spies had nothing to do with Lu Yin''s return.

    Of the people on the list, Luo Shan had fled, and Wu Hen had been revealed as a spy, along with hundreds of other people. This proved just how credible the list of spies was, and given the situation, not even Sovereign Ninth Lotus could escape suspicion in the Cyclic Universe.

    Shao Yin had set a precedent, so why could Sovereign Lotus not also be a spy?

    Chu Jian and the others standing guard over the Lotus Realm all had somber expressions on their faces. It should have been good news to learn the identities of spies, but they absolutely did not want Sovereign Lotus to be a spy. This was not simply because of her strength, but also because of her status as one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns. Shao Yin had already been exposed as a spy, so if Sovereign Lotus was also a spy, then the Great Sovereign¡¯s reputation would be utterly destroyed, and that would leave the Cyclic Universe in a precarious position.

    Fortunately, after the list was publicized, Sovereign Lotus had not made any suspicious moves. Even when the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect hade under attack, she had done nothing at all. This served to reassure Arrow Sage and the others, and they all felt that the Sovereign was most likely not a spy.

    When Lu Yin arrived at the Lotus Realm, everyone offered bows of respect.

    "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    ...

    Even Chu Jian and Arrow Sage bowed. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yinnded in front of the man and nced around. "It¡¯s rather lively here. Chu Jian, are you looking for a partner?"

    The Lotus Realm was a beautiful ce, as it was covered with mist and filled with Sovereign Lotus¡¯s lovely disciples.

    Chu Jian had let go of his past grudges towards Lu Yin long ago, and he actually felt increasing admiration for the other man. Without Lu Yin, the Sixverse Association would have never been able to achieve its current state.

    "You must be joking, Lord Lu. We are here to ensure that Sovereign Lotus is not a spy."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "If she were, could you stop her?"

    Chu Jian said nothing.

    Lu Yin had a certain level of respect for Chu Jian. It was impressive for him to have survived attacks from both Ancient God and Arrow God and still be active. Chu Jian¡¯s Nine of Ten Chambers Empty was an incredibly difficult innate gift to deal with if a person did not know about it. But once they learned the details, it was rather simple to ovee Chu Jian¡¯s innate gift; once simply needed tounch ten attacks simultaneously.

    Sovereign Lotus emerged from the Lotus Realm, apanied by Little Lian and Yao Lan. The three women approached Lu Yin and offered slow bows. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    "Greetings, Lord Lu." Yao Lan and Little Lian echoed their master.

    Lu Yin focused on Sovereign Lotus. "This is the first ce I came to after dealing with matters in the Heavens Sect. Do you know why?"

    Sovereign Lotus''s expression turned grim. "Because of the list."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Wrong."

    Sovereign Lotus grew puzzled.

    Everyone else also gave Lu Yin looks of confusion. At the moment, aside from how the Heavens Sect had captured certain individuals, the question of whether Sovereign Lotus and several other people were spies was the most important issue in the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes remained fixed on Sovereign Lotus. "You are not a spy. I know that to be true just as I know that neither Arch-Elder Zen or Senior Brother Mu Xie are spies. In fact, it¡¯s highly unlikely that Luo Shan is a spy either, though I can¡¯t bepletely certain, which means that he needs to be watched."

    "How can you be so certain, Lord Lu?" Arrow Sage asked.

    Lu Yin looked into the Lotus Realm. "Trading the lives of hundreds of spies for three of humanity¡¯s peak powerhouses, all of whom are people with great status and power, is quite the bargain for Aeternus, isn¡¯t it?"

    Arrow Sage wanted to argue, but he held his tongue.

    The bottom line was that the Sagecked the status to argue with Lu Yin. During the most recent battle at the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin had almost single-handedly driven Di Qiong back, and that man was one of Aeternus¡¯s most powerful experts. News of the battle had already spread throughout the Sixverse Association, and people knew that Lu Yin¡¯s power had dramatically increased. He had reached brand new heights.

    Even peak powerhouses needed to be cautious around Lu Yin.

    In the past, Lu Yin¡¯s authority hade from his position and backing, but thetest battle had made it clear that his own strength was sufficient as well.

    Sovereign Lotus smiled wryly. "Lord Lu¡¯s trust in me makes me rather nervous."

    Chu Jian stared at Lu Yin. "I also don¡¯t believe that Sovereign Lotus is a spy, but what brings you here to the Lotus Realm, Lord Lu?"

    Lu Yin''s focus shifted to Yao Lan, who stood behind Sovereign Lotus. "Some people have demanded that Ie here and apologize to Yao Lan, iming that I wronged her before. So, here I am."

    Yao Lan looked helpless as she slowly bowed to Lu Yin. "They¡¯re just some busybodies who are stirring up trouble. Please don¡¯t take the matter to heart, Lord Lu."

    Sovereign Lotus added, "Lord Lu, I¡¯ve heard of this as well, and I¡¯m sure that Aeternus has a hand in it."

    Lu Yin nodded. "You¡¯re absolutely right, Aeternus has had a hand in this. However, how do you know that your disciple isn¡¯t one of them?"

    These words caused Sovereign Lotus''s expression to change drastically, and she turned to stare at Yao Lan.

    Chu Jian, Arrow Sage, and everyone else also stared at Yao Lan.

    Lu Yin had spoken loud enough for Sovereign Lotus¡¯s nearby disciples to easily hear him, and they were all stunned. Could Yao Lan be a spy?

    1. This is a verymonly used Chinese expression. It''s like kamikaze attack; "Injure the enemy by a thousand, but at the cost of eight hundred of your own," "Cutting off your nose to spite your face."

    This expression means that while you may cause significant harm to your opponent, you also suffer considerable losses in the process. It emphasizes the idea of a pyrrhic victory, where the cost of winning is almost as great as the gains. ?

 Chapter 3133: Lu Yins Strength

    Chapter 3133: Lu Yin''s Strength

    Yao Lan frowned as she stared at Lu Yin. She looked calm, but she was clearly angry. "Lord Lu, I respect what you have done for the Sixverse Association, and I respect how you trust my master. However, I won¡¯t ept your wrongful charges."

    Lu Yin indifferently answered, "I don''t need you to admit to anything. Arresting you will be enough."

    With that, the void split open behind Lu Yin. Leng Qing emerged, followed by a group of cultivators from the Heavens Sect. "By the order of the Dao Monarch, we are here to arrest Yao Lan, Qing Yin, Jiu¡­"

    Dozens of names were given, all of whom were Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples.

    The woman¡¯s eyes narrowed as she stared at Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, what is the meaning of this?"

    "They¡¯re being detained for interrogation," Lu Yin replied in a t tone.

    Sovereign Lotus struggled to suppress her anger. "This is the Lotus Realm."

    "And?" Lu Yin was unfazed.

    Sovereign Lotus clenched her fists. "Have youe to my Lotus Realm to arrest people without presenting any evidence or even notifying me in advance? Do you really believe that you can just humiliate me like this?"Lu Yin looked at her. "My presence is enough notice."

    Sovereign Lotus¡¯s fists tightened even further. "Even so, what are the charges against them? Are you going to arrest them on the basis of mere rumors or personal grudges?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "I¡¯ve already said that Yao Lan is an Aeternal spy. On top of that, your disciples were among the most provocative towards the Heavens Sect, which makes them highly suspicious. Do you think that the cosmic door that was found here in the Lotus Realm wasn¡¯t nted to frame you?"

    Sovereign Lotus was well aware that she was being framed. "That is a matter for my Lotus Realm. We can handle our own affairs, and we don¡¯t need your meddling. As for Yao Lan, she is one of the Nine Sages. Even if you want to arrest her, you need to show evidence of your suspicions. How else can you expect our Cyclic Universe to save any face? What of the Great Sovereign¡¯s dignity?"

    Chu Jian also spoke up. "Lord Lu, Yao Lan is indeed one of the Nine Sages. Regardless of your suspicions, please reconsider your actions."

    A smile slowly spread across Lu Yin''s lips. "I didn¡¯t onlye here to arrest people, but also to meet with the Great Sovereign. If shees out, we can talk. If not, who in the Cyclic Universe can stop me?

    "Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know that, when rumors of my death were going around, the Cyclic Universe had the fewest number of people who spoke up for me, especially among the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. When the Heavens Sect was in danger, did any of you consider helping us? Aeternus didn¡¯t even send anyone to stop you. Lotus Sovereign, you said it perfectly. ¡®We handle our own affairs.¡¯ Even if the Heavens Sect was destroyed, it would have had nothing to do with you.

    "On the other hand, I am different. The Sixverse Association¡¯s affairs are my affairs. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s this small Lotus Realm or the entire Cyclic Universe¡ªI will take care of things. Arrest them."

    As soon as Lu Yin gave hismand, Leng Qing descended, and the cultivators from the Heavens Sect moved into the Lotus Realm. They began arresting everyone who had been named.

    Within the Lotus Realm, many of the Sovereign¡¯s disciples shouted in anger. They already disliked the Heavens Sect, and they werepletely unwilling to allow anyone from the Heavens Sect to arrest them.

    Sovereign Lotus shouted angrily, "Lord Lu, I already said that I am not against you arresting my people, but you must give evidence! Don¡¯t overstep your bounds!"

    She was unaware that Lu Yin hade to the Lotus Realm with the specific intention of making trouble. Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples had been the most provocative in instigating a rift between the Origin Universe and the rest of the Sixverse Association. They had even demanded that Yao Lan receive a formal apology on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf, which had enraged the entire Origin Universe. A fire had been started, and it needed to be quelled. Those who had supported Lu Yin deserved to see him stand up for them, so Lu Yin was putting on a tant disy of favoritism.

    Besides, while Aeternus had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s increase in strength, the Sixverse Association had heard of nothing more than rumors. Lu Yin intended to take advantage of Sovereign Lotus to demonstrate his new power and instill fear.

    But first, he would prove Sovereign Lotus¡¯s innocence. In this manner, even if he took drastic actions against herter, she would not be able to hold a grudge. As soon as proof that Yao Lan was a spy appeared, all of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s people¡¯s resentment towards Lu Yin would quickly dissipate, leaving only respect and awe. Lu Yin would be viewed more like how people viewed the Great Sovereign, rather than someone who necessitated a perfunctory demonstration of respect.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes were cold. "My words are all the evidence that I will give. Coming here shows my position on this matter."

    Chu Jian clenched his fists. Lu Yin was too overbearing.

    Arrow Sage felt bitter. Who in the current Sixverse Association could suppress Lu Yin? Unless the Great Sovereign left seclusion, no one could do anything to him. Even if Sovereign Dou Sheng were present, he would likely support Lu Yin, as the Sovereign admired Lu Yin too much.

    Sovereign Lotus trembled from rage. This was too much, far too much.

    "Lord Lu, do you really believe that my Lotus Realm is unprotected? Without evidence, you can forget about taking any of my disciples!"

    Yao Lan stepped forward, her expression livid. "Lord Lu, I, Yao Lan, have fought on the Endless Frontier. What kind of joke is it for you to use me of being a traitor with nothing more than your word to go for it? The Cyclic Universe won¡¯t ept this!"

    Chu Jian jumped in as well, "Lord Lu, if you can present evidence, we will help you arrest these people, but without evidence, we cannot allow you to take anyone."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Then just try to stop me. I hope that there are more people in the Sixverse Association who can stand up to me."

    Sovereign Lotus, Chu Jian, and the others felt a chill. Was Lu Yin going to fight them?

    Lu Yin disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was in front of Leng Qing. His inner universe emerged, and he visualized thendmass in his universe as the Hollow appeared in a shell around him. Thendmass quivered as it merged with the visualization technique, and the entire Lotus Realm quaked. From a distance, the Lotus Realm usually looked like a giant lotus, but at this moment, all of its petals seemed strained, as if an invisible force was pressing them down.

    As thendmass descended, it mmed down upon the entire Lotus Realm.

    Sovereign Lotus was furious. "Lord Lu, you are going too far!"

    A ninth-stage lotus bloomed as the Sovereign tried to resist the suppression of the descendingndmass.

    Chu Jian, Arrow Sage, and Yao Lan all attacked as one.

    However, as thendmass pressed down upon them and their attacks, all of them spat out blood, much to their shock. What kind of power was Lu Yin using?

    This was the same attack that Lu Yin had used to make Feng Bo vomit blood. Feng Bo had been a powerhouse at the same level as the Seven Skygods, and he had far surpassed Chu Jian and the others in strength. While Sovereign Lotus was a formidable cultivator, she was still suffering from severe injuries from her recent string of battles. If not for that, her ninth-stage lotus would not shattered upon contact.

    As she coughed up blood, Sovereign Lotus¡¯s lotuspletely shattered apart. She frantically spread out her sequence particles in another attempt to stop the fallingndmass, but even that effort was overpowered.

    The woman could not believe what was happening. Had Lu Yin truly gained such strength? He was still just a Semi-Progenitor, so how could he be so strong?

    Thendmass cast its shadow over the entire Lotus Realm, forcing every one of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples into the ground. They could feel the end approaching.

    All alone, Lu Yin had effortlessly suppressed the Lotus Realm while also overwhelming four of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s peak powerhouses, one of whom was a sequence powerhouse.

    Even Leng Qing was astonished by Lu Yin¡¯s power, and the man¡¯s eye started twitching. How had the Dao Monarch gained such strength? How long had he been missing for?

    No one could have even imagined that Lu Yin had spent an unknown period of time in the Mirari Realm, where he had transformed his inner worlds and improved his strength to the point where he could now contend with the Seven Skygods. While he might not be able to single-handedly kill a Skygod, they would also find it incredibly challenging to kill Lu Yin.

    Thendmass did not continue its descent after pressing down upon the Lotus Realm. Still, the Lotus Realm was being pushed downwards, and water started to flood the region, submerging each of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples in turn.

    The Sovereign had never suffered such humiliation before, but even so, she felt unprecedented fear towards Lu Yin. How powerful could the man be?

    Arrow Sage shouted, "Lord Lu, show mercy! We are not your enemies!"

    Lu Yin ignored the Sage and continued to force the Lotus Realm down. He wanted to force Sovereign Lotus to speak up.

    Yao Lan¡¯s face had turned ashen, and she stared at Lu Yin with fear and wariness. How had he discovered her?

    The truth of the matter was that Lu Yin was not certain whether Yao Lan was a traitor. Logic said that the Aeternals had been stirring up trouble from behind the scenes. During that period, not only had Yao Lan failed to suppress the unrest, but she had also incited Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples into demanding that the Heavens Sect offer her an apology on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf, which had beenpletely unreasonable. On top of that, who else could have nted a cosmic door in the Lotus Realm without Sovereign Lotus noticing anything?

    The Sovereign herself was likely already suspicious of her disciple, but she had refrained from doing anything to Yao Lan until her own innocence was proven.

    Lu Yin''s guess was urate. Sovereign Lotus was furious with not only Lu Yin, but also Yao Lan. The Sovereign did suspect Yao Lan of having a hand in framing Sovereign Lotus as a spy, and she had intended to deal with the Sage after proving her own innocence. However, Lu Yin had arrived at the Lotus Realm before the Sovereign¡¯s matter could be resolved, which was beyond humiliating for Sovereign Lotus.

    Thendmass continued to press down upon the Lotus Realm, and Sovereign Lotus, Yao Lan, Chu Jian, and Arrow Sage only barely managed to prevent the region from copsing. They repeatedly coughed up blood, as none of them could truly withstand the pressure of thendmass.

    A sigh echoed. "Lord Lu, please calm your anger and spare the Lotus Realm."

    Leng Qing looked over. Was that Sage Yajna?

    While Sage Yajna was one of the Nine Sages, his position in the Cyclic Universe was utterly unique. Not even the Three Sovereigns would be disrespectful to the man.

    After all, only the Great Sovereign herself was older than Sage Yajna.

    "Fine, I''ll give you some face, Sage Yajna," Lu Yin responded in a cool tone. Sage Yajna was one of the very few people in the Cyclic Universe who had spoken up for the Heavens Sect, and he deserved a show of respect.

    Thendmass disappeared.

    Sovereign Lotus and the others heaved a collective sigh of relief.

    Leng Qing stepped forward to stand beside Yao Lan. "Let¡¯s go."

    The woman gritted her teeth, frustrated with her situation. She had already made ns to escape as soon as possible after learning that the Aeternals had been forced to retreat from the Heavens Sect, but she had still been a step toote.

    Sovereign Lotus watched helplessly as Leng Qing and his men arrested her disciples. She could do nothing to stop them.

    Chu Jian, Arrow Sage, and the others were powerless to stop Lu Yin from doing whatever he wished.

    As Lu Yin had said, who in the Sixverse Association could stop him now?

    "Lord Lu, why are you so angry?" Sage Yajna asked with a sigh.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the Lotus Realm. "This isn¡¯t due to anger, but simply because there are some things that need to be done."

    "Lord Lu, did youe to speak with the Great Sovereign?" Sage Yajna asked.

    Lu Yin finally looked over. "That''s right."

    "Allow me to show you the way," Sage Yajna offered. The man felt helpless. If Lu Yin wanted to see the Great Sovereign and was not guided to the woman, he would find some way or another to force the woman out of seclusion. This was not the first time that he had done so, and Lu Yin¡¯s domineering behavior was well-known across the Sixverse Association.

    No matter how irritated the Great Sovereign might be with Lu Yin, she would not attack him. This had bemon knowledge throughout the Sixverse Association.

    Lu Yin left the Lotus Realm, but before leaving, he nced at Sovereign Lotus and left her one final message: all who tried to obstruct the Heavens Sect from taking action would be arrested.

    Sovereign Lotus spat out another mouthful of blood before finally returning to her ce of seclusion. All that had transpired left her feeling utterly dejected.

    As they made their way to see the Great Sovereign, Sage Yajna shook his head. "Lord Lu, that was deliberate, wasn¡¯t it? Were you establishing your authority?"

    Lu Yin answered bluntly, "You could say that."

    "Sovereign Lotus is not a bad person."

    "That¡¯s none of my concern."

    "Is Yao Lan truly a traitor?"

    "It¡¯s possible."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3134: So What?

    Chapter 3134: So What?

    Lu Yin''s response briefly stunned Sage Yajna. "I thought that you knew for sure that she is a traitor."

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s just a logical deduction."

    "And if she isn''t?"

    Lu Yin looked over at the older man. "Then she isn¡¯t. So what?"

    Sage Yajna wanted to say something, but ultimately, he just gave a bitter smile. Yes, so what? Would Lu Yin apologize? That was impossible. Who would even dare to suggest that Lu Yin apologize? There would be no need for Lu Yin to say anything to such a suggestion, as countless people would stand up and do it for him. Lu Yin was alive, and as long as he lived, no one would dare to act recklessly towards him.

    Even Aeternus had only taken action because they had thought that Lu Yin was dead.

    That was the measure of Lu Yin''s influence.

    There were times when being forceful was necessary. There was no denying that Yao Lan had fought on the Endless Frontier and done much for humanity as a whole, but that did not excuse her actions.

    Her failure to prevent Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples from antagonizing the Heavens Sect and creating a rift was more than a mistake. Had Lu Yin not returned, the situation could have escted quickly, and there had to be consequences.Sage Yajna led the way, and Lu Yin soon met with the Great Sovereign.

    When she saw Lu Yin, the Great Sovereign was quite surprised. "Child, what happened to your strength?"

    Lu Yin remained solemn. "What is happening with Sovereign Shao Yin? If you don''t exin things, I¡¯ll create an opportunity to kill him."

    ¡­

    While Lu Yin was meeting with the Great Sovereign, Bi Teng was at the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters. The man felt as though his heart had been set on fire. He had first felt a sense of schadenfreude when he heard that the Heavens Sect had been attacked by Aeternus, but then news had quickly arrived; Lu Yin had appeared and single-handedly driven Di Qiong off. Bi Teng was still stunned from hearing that report. Lu Yin was not dead? How had he managed to return?

    Bi Teng immediately sent people to investigate matters in the Origin Universe.

    Their subsequent reports caused Bi Teng¡¯s blood to run cold. Lu Yin had returned and was indeed alive. The man had not died.

    This news sent Bi Teng into the abyss. <em>He¡¯s not dead¡­ Not dead?</em>

    Bi Teng stared out into the Decaying Diablo Universe from the Merchant Exchange¡¯s headquarters but saw nothing. Lu Yin wasn¡¯t dead? This was bad. Very bad.

    More reports were soon delivered, and Bi Teng quickly learned that Lu Yin had gone to make trouble for Sovereign Lotus. The man had single-handedly suppressed the Lotus Realm and overpowered Sovereign Lotus, Yao Lan, Chu Jian, and Arrow Sage at the same time before arresting arge number of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples, including Sage Yao Lan.

    Bi Teng grew terrified. As soon as the Heavens Sect had dealt with their own crisis, they had started arresting people from the Sixverse Association. Even Yao Lan had been captured, and right in front of Sovereign Lotus and in the Lotus Realm at that.

    Bi Teng did not even consider whether Yao Lan was a traitor. The man was absolutely certain that Lu Yin was simply taking revenge for the fact that Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples had antagonized and insulted the Heavens Sect.

    If Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples received such treatment, then what would happen to Bi Teng and the Merchant Exchange?

    He had fired Liu Fuxue and announced that she would never work with the Merchant Exchange ever again. What was Bi Teng supposed to do after Lu Yin returned? What should he do?

    ¡°Hurry! Send Bi Lan to see me,¡± Bi Teng urgently ordered.

    Bi Lan quickly arrived, her expression also quite grim. As a member of Merchant Exchange, news of Lu Yin¡¯s return concerned her as well. While she admired Lu Yin for the many victories he had won for humanity against Aeternus, Bi Lan was well aware that the Merchant Exchange had irredeemably offended the Heavens Sect.

    As soon as Bi Lan arrived, Bi Teng suppressed his nervousness. When he spoke, his voice was quite hoarse. "Have you heard about Lord Lu?"

    Bi Lan felt disgusted. Bi Teng had previously referred to the man as "Lu Yin" while firing Liu Fuxue. But as soon as Lu Yin returned, Bi Teng called him "Lord Lu." Bi Lan had never realized how revolting her boss was.

    She then suddenly remembered that Bi Teng was nothing more than one of Lord Bi Rong¡¯s servants. The man was just a servant, and he was not the true master of the Merchant Exchange.

    "I''ve heard," Bi Lan replied tly.

    Bi Teng stared at the woman. His eyes were filled with anxiety and stress, no matter how calm he tried to look. "What should we do?"

    Bi Lan pretended not to understand the question. "What do you mean?"

    "About Liu Fuxue."

    "Liu Fuxue? Wasn''t she fired? What does she have to do with us anymore?" Bi Lan responded bluntly.

    Bi Teng twitched, he snapped back. "Lord Lu is back, and he¡¯s not dead as was previously reported. Liu Fuxue is one of his people, and yet we fired her. How do we exin ourselves to Lord Lu?"

    Bi Lan corrected the man, "Not ''we.'' <em>You</em>. You fired Liu Fuxue and announced that she would never work with us again. That matter has nothing to do with me or the rest of the Merchant Exchange."

    Bi Teng gritted his teeth. "It has nothing to do with you? Don''t forget that you are also a member of the Merchant Exchange! If Lord Lu decides to destroy us, neither of us will escape unscathed. Besides, why didn¡¯t you stop me back then? You could have stopped me from firing Liu Fuxue, but you didn¡¯t. You wanted to fire her too, didn¡¯t you? You¡¯re just as responsible as I am."

    Bi Lan was furious. "Don''t try to twist things around! I did try to stop you, but you refused to listen to me!"

    Bi Teng red at the woman as his features warped. "Regardless, if Lord Lu decides to destroy the Merchant Exchange, neither of us will escape. Don¡¯t you know that Lord Bi Rong disappeared long ago?"

    The moment the words slipped out, Bi Teng regretted them. How could he have revealed that information to anyone?

    Bi Lan was startled. "What did you just say? Lord Bi Rong has gone missing?"

    Bi Teng took a deep breath, though he refused to meet the woman¡¯s eyes.

    Bi Lan pressed, "Is that true? Is Lord Bi Rong really missing?"

    Bi Teng let out a long breath before nodding. "Yes. Long ago, Lord Bi Rong disappeared."

    "Why didn¡¯t you ever say anything?"

    "How could I? If word got out, how would our Merchant Exchange still be standing?"

    Bi Lan¡¯s face paled. She could not recover from her daze.

    Bi Teng continued. "In fact, I wasn¡¯t even the first to discover that Lord Bi Rong disappeared. Rather, it was the Lord of Lightning.

    "Lord Bi Rong has remained in seclusion for too long, and the Lord of Lightning noticed that something was wrong. He went and checked, only to find that Lord Bi Rong was missing. The Lord of Lightning searched for a long time, but he couldn''t find him anywhere. How can we hope to find him?"

    Bi Teng looked up at Bi Lan. "With Lord Bi Rong missing, we lost our leverage with Whitecloud City. The Lord of Lightning might help us once out of respect for Lord Bi Rong, but that will not continue indefinitely. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never asked Whitecloud City for any help, but now it¡¯s toote. This is my fault, but we need to get through this, or else the Merchant Exchange will be done for.

    "You know how Lord Lu is. He didn¡¯t even spare the Lotus Realm! How could we hope for him to spare the Merchant Exchange? Bi Lan, if I go down, so will the Merchant Exchange, and you too! Do you understand now?"

    Bi Lan stared at Bi Teng. ¡°What do you want me to do? Things have already happened. No one can stop Lord Lu from doing something to us. Not even the entire Sixverse Association can stop him.¡±

    Bi Teng felt weak, and he copsed into a chair. This was very urate; no one could stop Lu Yin. Bi Teng had been hoping that Bi Lan could help somehow.

    Bi Lan had gotten to know Lu Yin somewhat, though they had never gotten close. They were essentially acquaintances. How could she hope to stop Lu Yin?

    After a long silence, Bi Lan turned to leave, and Bi Teng looked over at the woman. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Bi Lan did not turn around. ¡°I¡¯m going to go find Liu Fuxue.¡±

    ¡°Find her?¡± Bi Teng felt confused.

    Bi Lan retorted, ¡°Who else? If she doesn¡¯t say anything to Lord Lu, then maybe we can still have a chance.¡±

    Bi Teng¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Right! Find Liu Fuxue. Agree to whatever conditions she gives, as long as she¡¯s willing to return.¡±

    Bi Lan felt bitter. Return? That was easier said than done. Bi Lan could clearly remember Liu Fuxue¡¯s expression when she had left the Merchant Exchange, as well as what the woman had said. It turned out that Liu Fuxue had been right all along. She had already nned out her actions and had simply been waiting for the Merchant Exchange to approach her.

    It was ridiculous for Bi Teng to still believed that he could turn things around. He had no idea what wasing for him.

    ¡­

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin remained on the rear mountain after returning from the Cyclic Universe, mulling over what the Great Sovereign had told him.

    If the Great Sovereign¡¯s n regarding Shao Yin seeded, it could be crucial in the war against Aeternus. It all depended on how things yed out.

    Given this new information, Shao Yin''s position was extremely important.

    One reason why Lu Yin had never suspected that Sovereign Lotus of being a spy was because she knew that the Great Sovereign had ns for Shao Yin. If the woman was a traitor, Shao Yin would not still be alive.

    Even if Progenitor Xi and the others were confident in themselves, they would never dare to simply ignore the Great Sovereign¡¯s ns.

    Yao Lan and the rest of Sovereign Lotus¡¯s captured disciples had been taken back to the Heavens Sect. While Yao Lan refused to admit to being a spy, it did not matter. Her recent behavior was more than enough for the Heavens Sect to detain her for some time.

    In addition to Sovereign Lotus¡¯s disciples, tens of thousands of other people had been arrested in various parallel universes that were part of the Sixverse Association. Most of the captured people had been swayed by traitors to cause trouble for the Origin Universe. Of course, anyone who had fallen for the maniption so easily had already had some level of dissatisfaction with the Origin Universe. Why else had they been influenced while others had not?

    After the round of arrests, the Sixverse Association grew much quieter.

    The publication of the list of traitors attributed to Cheng Feng proved to be a great boon, and it served as a gift to humanity that marked Lu Yin''s return from the dead. If Aeternus had not thought that sacrificing hundreds of traitors could lead to the destruction of the Heavens Sect, the spies would not have been exposed.

    While most of the traitors did not have high cultivation, they had been immensely useful to the Aeternals.

    In just the Heavens Sect alone, more than ten spies were arrested. These were the people who had been surveilling the Heavens Sect for Aeternus.

    With the traitors eliminated, the entire Sixverse Association became a much safer ce.

    As for Lu Yin, his prestige soared to even greater heights than ever before. He had single-handedly fought Di Qiong off before suppressing the entire Lotus Realm, with even Sovereign Lotus unable to resist. His new strength, inbination with his reputation, granted Lu Yin a peerless authority within the Sixverse Association.

    It was finally time.

    Wei Rong approached from behind Lu Yin. ¡°Dao Monarch, we can start at any time.¡±

    Lu Yin continued to stare off into the distance. ¡°Aeternus has made their move, so now it¡¯s our turn. However, I don¡¯t want to repeat their failure.¡±

    Wei Rong remained confident. ¡°There won¡¯t be any issues with the portion that I¡¯m responsible for, though the most important parts remain with those few people. As long as you can persuade them, everything else will fall into ce.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to face Wei Rong. ¡°Then let¡¯s begin. Let me see the fruits of yourbors after all these years.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Dao Monarch.¡± Wei Rong left.

    Ever since the Origin Universe had first started interacting with the Sixverse Association, Wei Rong had been given the task of infiltrating every corner of the Sixverse Association, just like what he had done with the Perennial World. The goal was to take control of the rumors and propaganda throughout the Sixverse Association in order to steer the public¡¯s thoughts and opinions. This was not something to be underestimated. After all, a great deal of Lu Yin¡¯s current reputation hade from such efforts. Without that, even if Lu Yin had suppressed Aeternus and led the Sixverse Association to victory, his reputation would not have grown nearly this quickly.

    However, everything up to now had merely been practice. This was the time for Wei Rong¡¯s efforts to have a real impact.

    A few dayster, news spread across the Sixverse Association at an astonishing speed, much like how the rumors that Aeternus had incited had spread. The current message was so important that no one from the Sixverse Association dared to try to suppress it.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3135: Rumors

    <h4>Chapter 3135: Rumors</h4>

    Voices rose up throughout the Sixverse Association, echoing through every corner.

    "Do you know why we¡¯re always at a disadvantage against Aeternus? It''s because Aeternus has six Scourges and the Three Pirs and Six Skies. All of their power is united, and they can mobilize their full strength at any time. But what about us? We¡¯re scattered across multiple parallel universes, with each of us fighting all alone. Of course we¡¯re no match for Aeternus."

    "Is it true? Is Aeternus really so strong?"

    ...

    "I know it¡¯s true. My great-uncle¡¯s second son¡¯s neighbor¡¯s master fought in Lord Lu¡¯s crusade of the Endless Frontier, and he saw countless Aeternal powerhouses working together."

    "Isn¡¯t our Sixverse Association also united?"

    "United my foot! Just look at the recent attack on the Heavens Sect. Did any other universe offer their aid? No, because they couldn¡¯t! It¡¯s said that most people in the Cyclic Universe didn¡¯t even hear about the incident until after it ended."

    ...

    "Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Didn¡¯t you hear that many of the people who were spreading rumors were arrested?"

    "That¡¯s because they were badmouthing the Heavens Sect and spreading lies about Lord Lu¡¯s death while also trying to sow discord between the Origin Universe and the rest of our Sixverse Association. Those people were basically helping Aeternus, and it¡¯s good that they were dealt with. What we¡¯re saying is different. We want the Sixverse Association to truly be united so that we can gather our full strength."

    "That¡¯s easy for you to say. The Sixverse Association has done fine for many years. Do you think that things are more dangerous now just because of Lord Lu?"

    "That¡¯s so short-sighted. Just wait until your universe is destroyed because no one goes to help you. Then you¡¯ll know what desperation feels like."

    ...

    "What¡¯s the point of talking about this? Even if we want to unite our universes, nothing will happen unless the people at the top agree. Besides, how are we supposed to unite our universes? Connecting parallel universes isn¡¯t easily done, and even if we use spatial tunnels like on the Endless Frontier, Aeternus can easily destroy them."

    "We can move to the Origin Universe."

    "If we leave, what will happen to the ordinary people here? Do you know how many normal humans live in each universe? It¡¯s impossible to even count them all. Leaving just isn¡¯t realistic."

    "That¡¯s true. Just forget it. Leave it to the people at the top to worry about it."

    ...

    Recently, many voices had spoken up within the Sixverse Association. At first, most of them spoke against the Origin Universe, but suddenly, they spoke in favor of it.

    No one knew where these voices came from, and no one investigated them. However, these topics did cause many in the Sixverse Association to start thinking.

    Was it even feasible to fully unite the Sixverse Association¡¯s parallel universes?

    In the past, no one had ever considered such a thing. While the members of the Sixverse Association appeared to be equal, the Cyclic Universe had unquestionably stood above all the others. No other universe had dared to try to establish a connection to the Cyclic Universe, fearing the possible repercussions. The association¡¯s internal conflicts had only been held at bay by the threat of Aeternus. Connecting their universes might not have been a good thing.

    However, with Aeternus¡¯s true strength fully revealed, the fragmented state of the Sixverse Association made it look fragile. If Aeternus attacked a single location and the other parallel universes were unable to instantly send support, a universe could be easily destroyed.

    If Lu Yin had not returned alive and stronger than ever, the Heavens Sect would have faced a terrible crisis.

    Aeternus had sessfully cut the Heavens Sect off from all outside support, and that state was quite simr to how the Sixverse Association¡¯s fragmented condition prevented any of their member universes from offering immediate assistance to the others.

    While it was simple reasoning, it had failed to work in the past because Aeternus had not been seen as an existential threat. However, the revtion of the six Scourges and the knowledge of the term "Divine Commandment'''' had greatly strengthened the sense of crisis within the Sixverse Association.

    Many cultivators were already making their way towards the Origin Universe, seeking refuge.

    Everyone knew that the Origin Universe was the strongest universe in the Sixverse Association, followed by the Cyclic Universe. In contrast to those two, both the Voidforce Universe and the Arboreal Realm were losing cultivators.

    Even across the parallel universes of the Endless Frontier, cultivators were moving towards the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin left the Heavens Sect and headed toward Aeternus Nation. As he traveled, he observed the increasing number of cultivators in the Fifth Maind. Despite the fact that the Origin Universe had battled against the Aeternals more than any other universe, as well as the fact that the Heavens Sect had been attacked twice, many cultivators still saw the Origin Universe as the safest option.

    As more and more cultivators trickled into the Origin Universe, the other member universes of the Sixverse Association saw their numbers drop, which only strengthened their sense of crisis. Things were ying right into Lu Yin¡¯s ns.

    His goal was to interconnect the entire Sixverse Association, connecting all the parallel universes to the Origin Universe. This would create an unprecedentedly glorious Heavens Sect.

    This was the only way to not just fight back against Aeternus, but even start suppressing the Aeternals.

    Lu Yin had seen the full extent of Aeternus¡¯s strength, and the despair that had once consumed him had gradually faded away as he encountered outside civilizations and seen his own strength grow. Lu Yin was confident that he could eventually eliminate Aeternus, and uniting the Sixverse Association was nothing more than the first step.

    Everything depended on how the key figures of the Sixverse Association would react to these recent developments.

    Lu Yin respected people such as Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder, but in the face of what was necessary, tough decisions needed to be made. He could only hope that the others would be able to see the bigger picture.

    Lu Yin went to Aeternus Nation in order to meet with the Divine Maiden. She had requested a meeting on several asions, but Lu Yin had always been either absent or too busy. However, the matter of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant still needed to be addressed.

    The Divine Maiden had be essentially no different from a normal person. The universe of God''s Domain had been destroyed, and their three elephants were all dead. God''s Domain was now the weakest civilization that Lu Yin knew, as they only had two individuals with the strength of Semi-Progenitors.

    The peace that their people had once enjoyed was gone, and without protection of overwhelming strength, such peace was incredibly fragile.

    Lu Yin''s arrival stirred the people of God''s Domain, and everyone greeted him.

    The Divine Maiden bowed slowly. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

    Lu Yin looked at her. "Are your people adjusting well to this ce?"

    She calmly replied, "Adjusting well or not doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is survival."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Many things in existence are nothing more than coincidences. If the Infinity Empire hadn¡¯t tricked me and sent me to your universe, your people would have been exterminated by Di Qiong. However, Di Qiong also went after God''s Domain because I invaded the First Scourge, and they requested help from the other Scourges."

    The Divine Maiden interrupted, "Lord Lu, there is no right or wrong in these matters, it¡¯s simply that wecked the strength to stand against Di Qiong. That has nothing to do with you."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. After a moment, she asked, "I simply want to know what happened to the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant."

    Her nervousness was clearly visible. If the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant could return to God''s Domain, the Divine Maiden might be able to borrow the elephant¡¯s strength once more. Even if this did not restore the power that she had wielded when the other three elephants had been alive, her people would at least be able to enjoy some measure of self-protection. In truth, the Divine Maiden¡¯s ability to wield the strength of the four elephants had nothing to do with receiving the acknowledgement of the universe. Rather, it was simply the inheritance of God''s Domain. How else could an ordinary human be acknowledged by a universe?

    Lu Yin sighed. "I''m sorry, but the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant is already dead."

    The Divine Maiden staggered. She had already heard the same thing from Arch-Elder Zen, but hearing it directly from Lu Yin was even harder for her to ept.

    He continued exining. "The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant was the mount of my ancestor, Lu Yuan. Long ago, during the Heavens Sect era, when the Aeternals issued their first Divine Commandment, the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant perished when the Second Maind was destroyed. It died protecting the Mavis family and the Fifth Maind."

    The Divine Maiden grew pale as tremors wracked her entire body. Everything was over. There was no way to recover. The death of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant meant that God''s Domain had lost the power of all four elephants. How could they survive going forward?

    Were they doomed to forever live under the control of the Origin Universe?

    While they were both human civilizations, they were significantly different from each other. Their people¡¯s thoughts, methods, and many other aspects were vastly different. The Divine Maiden simply wanted to protect the people of God''s Domain, and possibly leave the Origin Universe. She wanted nothing to do with any war. However, all hopes of being able to leave had been shattered. At the moment, God¡¯s Domaincked the qualifications to go out on their own.

    "Is it really dead?" she muttered.

    Lu Yin nodded. "It is."

    The woman was filled with sorrow. Losing all four of God¡¯s Domain¡¯s elephantspletely crushed her.

    Lu Yin stood a short distance away, silently watching.

    The death of the four elephants had nothing to do with him directly. The Immovable Heavenly King Elephant had been his ancestor¡¯s mount, but Lu Yin did not know the old man very well, and he had never met his mount. However, the copse of God''s Domain was closely tied to the Divine Maiden''s own perspective on things. Despite being targeted by Di Qiong, the people of God¡¯s Domain had not striven to advance and progress. Instead, they had focused solely on defending themselves. They had naively believed that they could hold off all outside threats.

    When Lu Yin and hispanions encountered God''s Domain, they had nearly been driven off themselves. At that time, the Divine Maiden had been arrogant, believing that she held the power of life and death. How arrogant she had been.

    God¡¯s Domain had been defeated by their own stagnation and antiquated thinking.

    Had they been willing to cooperate with the Heavens Sect and sought aid when Di Qiong had attacked, things might have turned out very differently.

    Nothing ever happened by pure chance. God''s Domain could not escape reality.

    Lu Yin¡¯s invasion of the First Scourge had resulted in Di Qiong moving to destroy God''s Domain. There was a connection, but not a causal link. Di Qiong had always been targeting God''s Domain, and they could not have escaped from him. It could be said that Lu Yin¡¯s actions had expedited Di Qiong¡¯s victory over God''s Domain, but Lu Yin had also saved many people of God¡¯s Domain.

    There was no need for him to feel guilty.

    The universe was a cruel ce, which the Divine Maiden fully understood. The only thing that could truly be med was their own weakness.

    If Aeternus destroyed the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin would not me other civilizations for not sending support. He would simply resent himself for not binding those civilizations to the Heavens Sect.

    It was imperative that he be proactive, not reactive.

    Lu Yin left a short timeter, though he granted the Divine Maiden the right to visit the Heavens Sect and see him directly. Without such permission, an ordinary person would never be allowed entry to the Heavens Sect.

    The Origin Universe had taken in refugees from more than just God''s Domain. To the Heavens Sect, God''s Domain was just another defeated human civilization, one of countless throughout the megaverse, and their peoplecked the qualifications to meet with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin treated God''s Domain rtively well, likely because of his past interactions with them, or out of respect for the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant.

    At this time, Sovereign Dou Sheng was sitting cross-legged at the entrance to the First Scourge, his golden cudgel nted in the ground beside him. He was standing guard on his own.

    Far away, Mu Ji sensed the Sovereign¡¯s presence, which made the Arborean uneasy. He had no desire to fight such a monster, as he could die all too easily.

    However, the entrance to the Scourge was so close to Sovereign Dou Sheng. To pass through, Mu Ji would need to get past this monster. What should he do?

 Chapter 3136: Choose One

    <h4>Chapter 3136: Choose One</h4>

    Mu Ji thought for a long time before deciding to take a risk.

    He spun his Roulette of Life and Death, and when it stopped spinning, the pointernded on Live and Die Together.

    Cursing under his breath, Mu Ji held himself back and continued to wait.

    After a long time, he spun his innate gift again. This time, it stopped on Drunk and Dreaming of Death.

    "Such bad luck? One more time."

    The wheel next stopped on Escape From Death.

    Mu Ji''s eyes flickered. He no longer had any worries, so he decided to make his move.

    He leaped forward and charged straight for the entrance of the First Scourge.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he stared into the distance. He grabbed his golden cudgel. "Get lost."

    The cudgel swept out as golden light split the sky such that it looked as though the sky itself was boiling.

    Mu Ji''s scalp went numb. <i>This monster...</i>

    Gritting his teeth, he epted the full force of the golden cudgel, and it felt like all of his bones had shattered. He was about to be flung away, which was not good at all. He could not endure the power of the Sovereign¡¯s attack. It was impossible for Mu Ji to force his way into the First Scourge.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng stood up. He did not normally stay so close to the entrance of the First Scourge, but Lu Yin had asked the Sovereign to keep watch here and eliminate anyone who tried to force their way in.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had taken Lu Yin''s words to heart, and he had been sitting right at the entrance.

    As soon as Mu Ji had tried to get close, he had been noticed, and Sovereign Dou Sheng had attacked without mercy.

    Mu Ji was knocked away.

    If not for Escape From Death, he would have already died.

    The gap between a True God Guard Captain and Sovereign Dou Sheng was too vast. Sovereign Dou Sheng was capable of facing the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and there was no doubt that he was at the same level of power as the Seven Skygods.

    Just as Sovereign Dou Sheng was about to pursue and kill Mu Ji, Skydog raced out from the First Scourge, charging at the Sovereign.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng''s expression grew cold. This damn dog was the only opponent the Sovereign did not want to face. It was impossible to injure Skydog, and no one understood how the creature¡¯s body worked.

    The man pulled out a foul-smelling item out from his cosmic ring. He had been given this item by Lu Yin, as it was the dog''s perfect counter.

    The moment the rancid item appeared, an indescribable stench instantly permeated the area near the entrance to the Scourge. Skydog howled in misery, tucked his tail, and fled back into the Scourge, vomiting as he ran.

    The presence of the foul-smelling item hadpletely incapacitated the dog and even traumatized him.

    At that moment, Progenitor Xi stepped out from the Scourge. She gave Skydog a helpless look before turning to stare at Sovereign Dou Sheng. "I''m quite curious about what that thing truly is."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng quickly put the item away as soon as Skydog fled. The man was also unable to endure the stench.

    After the item disappeared, the man waved his hand and grinned. "I''m also curious about that, but it''s not important. Why have you stepped out?"

    Progenitor Xi looked into the distance. "Someone wants to enter, so I came out to allow him in."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng tightened his grip on his weapon. "That won''t happen. He isn''t getting in."

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "He wants toe in, and I''ve already epted his desire to do so. Your objections are meaningless, aren¡¯t they?"

    Sovereign Dou Sheng hesitated, and he thought back to what Lu Yin had said. When asking the Sovereign to prevent anyone from entering the First Scourge, Lu Yin had also mentioned that, if the Three Pirs and Six Skies or any other expert at the level of the Seven Skygods noticed what was happening, the Sovereign¡¯s efforts would be fruitless. This was why Sovereign Dou Sheng had attacked Mu Ji with his full strength, as he wanted to kill the man with one blow. Unfortunately, that attempt had failed, as Mu Ji had survived the attack.

    The Sovereign turned to look into the distance, wondering about the identity of the man who had tried to force his way into the Scourge. Why would Progenitor Xi step out to allow the man in?

    "It appears that you understand that your efforts are futile," Progenitor Xi stated calmly.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng sneered. "I may understand that, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s going to be easy for you to take him with you."

    Progenitor Xi was not surprised. "I know."

    Before the entrance to the First Scourge, Sovereign Dou Sheng tightened his grip on his golden cudgel. Blood flowed down the weapon as the Sovereign stared intently at the entrance. The woman he was facing was incredibly powerful.

    Within the First Scourge, Mu Ji stood in front of Progenitor Xi, nearly crying as he bled out and tried to exin his situation.

    After hearing Mu Ji''s story, Progenitor Xi appeared to be unfazed. "So, you''re not a human spy?"

    Mu Ji howled, "I¡¯ve been wronged, Progenitor Xi! It''s not me! It absolutely is not me."

    "Then who is it?" the woman demanded.

    Mu Ji did not expose the fact that Ye Bo was actually Lu Yin, and he instead said, "I don''t know. If I were a spy, why would I have ever returned? If I had attacked the First Scourge with the people from the Heavens Sect, how could I willingly return? Sovereign Dou Sheng nearly killed me with that attack. Progenitor Xi, please believe me¡ªI have not betrayed our people! I definitely haven¡¯t."

    "Then why did you attack Ye Bo?" Progenitor Xi inquired.

    Mu Ji wanted to reveal the truth about Ye Bo, but he had thought long and hard on his way back to the First Scourge and had ultimately decided that it would be best not to. "I don''t know."

    Progenitor Xi stared at Mu Ji.

    Mu Ji wailed, "I really don''t know! When I attacked him, I had no idea what I was doing. Ye Bo probably doesn''t know what happened either. By the time I realized what had happened, I had already gone through the spatial tear."

    Progenitor Xi continued to stare at Mu Ji.

    Suddenly, Mu Ji pped his forehead. "Oh, Progenitor Xi! There¡¯s something I must tell you! Marquis Wu is a spy!"

    Far away, standing within a tall high tower, Hui Wu was quietly watching. The fact that Mu Ji had returned meant that he was out of time.

    "Father, I have done all I can. The rest is up to you."

    Progenitor Xi soon arrived at the bottom of Hui Wu''s tower and looked up. The man stared downwards, and the two people¡¯s eyes met.

    "Corpse king or frenzied corpse? Choose one." Progenitor Xi was giving Hui Wu a choice. He really was a human spy.

    Hui Wu looked out at the Scourge. "Whatever. It makes no difference."

    Progenitor Xi could not help admiring the man. "I respect your father''s intelligence. He even sent his own son to us. I met him once when he was young, but back then, he wasn''t so cold-hearted."

    Hui Wuughed. "You, the great Qingluo Jiantian, who has survived since the Heavens Sect era, are you really so narrow-minded? Are you trying to convince me to betray humanity?

    "If I were willing to do that, I would have done so long ago."

    Progenitor Xi asked, "Just out of curiosity, why aren''t you controlled by divine energy?"

    Hui Wu sneered. "My Hui family''s Golden Meteor battle technique was modified by my father and Lu Tianyi for this specific situation. Unfortunately, even after all these years, only I was able to infiltrate Aeternus. My father may have seeded, but he also miscalcted. He underestimated his own reputation. Due to being his son, you Aeternals have never trusted me, and I was tested repeatedly. Despite passing all of those tests, I was forced to remain a Semi-Progenitor.

    "If not for the desperate need to have more True God Guard Captains, I would have never been allowed to break through, would I?"

    Progenitor Xi turned and walked away. "A frenzied corpse it is then. We¡¯re done."

    ...

    The voices demanding that the Sixverse Association be united grew louder. No one wanted to leave their own universe, but the people who had sought safety in the Origin Universe were the most vocal. They could see a possibility of returning home if the parallel universes of the Sixverse Association were connected to the Origin Universe.

    These individuals were most responsible for spreading the idea of uniting the Sixverse Association, and they ensured that as many people as possible heard their demands. But how to actually carry out the matter was none of their concern.

    Even if the Heavens Sect tried to stop people from voicing their demands, it would be difficult. The people speaking up would go after anyone who tried to obstruct their n of connecting the universes.

    While people could be selfish, that did not mean that they were wrong. Everyone simply wanted to survive.

    Connecting all of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes was humanity¡¯s best strategy to counter Aeternus.

    However, the Aeternals did not just sit around and wait. They had spies spread rumors and discord in an attempt to stop the unification.

    As far as Wang Wen was concerned, such efforts were foolish. Anything that Aeternus opposed was precisely what humanity should do, and there was no way to argue against that.

    When Lu Yin spoke to Lord Xu about the matter, the older man felt incredibly exasperated. He scrutinized Lu Yin. "I never imagined that the child who was once so scared of revealing his identity while doing everything he could to remain in the Voidforce Universe would reach this level. So, you''re here to put the pressure on me, huh?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, I¡¯m not trying to pressure you. Don''t you want to defeat Aeternus?

    "After all of these fierce battles¡ªinvading the First Scourge, attacking Corpse God, killing Xu Jin¡ªhaven''t you realized the truth? Only by uniting can we hope to win. Aeternus''s Divine Commandment utilizes this exact same principle: they gather their full strength to eliminate their scattered enemies with a united assault.

    "We humans are good at remembering history, and we need to ensure that our failures don¡¯t repeat."

    Lord Xu rolled his eyes. "All of this talk is useless. I will tell you right now¡ªif I don¡¯t want this, no one can connect with my Voidforce Universe."

    Lu Yin arched a brow.

    "On the other hand, if I want to, then no one can stop my Voidforce Universe from connecting with yours," the older man quickly added.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "Senior, you are very generous."

    Lord Xu opened his mouth to say something, but then he reconsidered his words. "How do you n to unite multiple universes? What role have you nned for me to y?

    ¡°Tell me, what are your ns?¡±

    Anyone who had reached Lord Xu or Mu Shen¡¯s level would be no fool. They had both understood the truth of the matter long ago, but they alsocked the ability to truly unite humanity. The appearance of someone like Lu Yin was something that they had been hoping to see.

    Even if their universes ended up being ruled by the Heavens Sect, that was still better than being wiped out by Aeternus.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up as he looked at the Void Lord. "Of course I have ns. I can promise that you''ll be satisfied with them."

    After Lu Yin left the Voidforce Universe, Mu Shen arrived. "You also agreed."

    Lord Xu sighed. "As did you."

    "We discussed this matter long ago. To truly have a chance against Aeternus, we need to be fully united, but it was impossible to do so in the past. Each universe had their own agendas. The Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages were arrogant and acted superior to all, the Great Sovereign had her unmatched strength, and there was also Luo Shan''s scheming and Sovereign Shao Yin''s mischief to deal with. Uniting our universes was impossible back then, and just creating the Sixverse Association was the limit of what we could do."

    Mu Shen stared off into the distance. "Who would''ve thought that the fallen Origin Universe would rise back up?"

    "Only the Origin Universe can surpass the Cyclic Universe."

    Lord Xu turned to look at Mu Shen. "Can unity really defeat Aeternus?"

    Mu Shen''s eyes lit up. "If we don¡¯t unite, we''ll never even have a chance."

    "If we do defeat Aeternus, what next?" the Void Lord asked.

    Mu Shen paused. "I''m tired. After all these years, I just want to let go of things."

    "Do you want to run away?"

    "What about you? What do you want to do?"

    Lord Xu sighed. "As long as we have an outside enemy, internal harmony will prevail, as humanity will remain united in purpose. Without such an enemy, conflicts will quickly arise. Who do you think our enemy will be at that time?"

    Mu Shen chuckled. "That won''t concern me. As soon as Aeternus is defeated, I''ll disappear and never involve myself in such matters again."

    Lord Xu rolled his eyes. "You crafty old fox. Fine, when that timees, let me know. We''ll leave together and stay out of any future messes."

 Chapter 3137: Lost Home

    <h4>Chapter 3137: Lost Home</h4>

    As the two old men spoke, Lu Yin arrived in the Lost n''s universe to meet with their Great Elder.

    Within the Sixverse Association, the Lost n had the smallest presence, and even the Three Monarchs Universe was talked about more. This was not because the Lost n was weak, but rather because they had isted themselves and tended to stay separate from the other parallel universes.

    At one point in the past, Shao Yin had deliberately provoked the situation and caused the Lost n to greatly resent the Cyclic Universe. After that, the Lost n had be reluctant to interact with other universes. Even so, they had always been friendly towards Lu Yin, as the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder saw the young man as someone who would eventually be able to bring out the Primeval card.

    After hearing Lu Yin''s proposal, the Great Elder shook his head. "I''m sorry, Lord Lu, but we will not agree to connect our universes."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why not? Shao Yin is a traitor, and your rtionships with the other universes have improved recently, haven''t they?

    "It¡¯s especially so after the Sixverse Academy was established¡ªmany youths have chosen to learn the Lost n''s cultivation method."

    The Great Elder raised a hand to stop Lu Yin from continuing. "There''s no problem, and we are getting along well with the other civilizations. However, connecting our universes remains out of the question."

    "Can you tell me why?" Lu Yin asked.

    Great Elder Shan Gu stood up as he thought for a moment. "If anyone else asked that question, I would have simply refused to answer them, but since it''s you, Lord Lu, I feel trapped."

    Lu Yin observed the Great Elder. "Aeternus is an enemy of all of humanity. At this moment, we can finally see a chance of victory, so why not take it?"

    Shan Gu turned his back to Lu Yin. "Can they really be defeated?"

    Lu Yin replied firmly, "Yes, they can."

    The old manughed and turned back around to face Lu Yin. "True God cannot be defeated."

    "If we do nothing, we will never have any hope of defeating him, so why not at least try? Do you really want things to return to how they were? The endless battles at the border of each universe, the constant threat of new battlefields appearing, the omnipresent spies... Such things bring no benefits to your Lost n. If the Sixverse Association is destroyed, the Lost n won''t be spared," Lu Yin argued.

    The Great Elder nodded. "Your arguments are persuasive, but I must still refuse."

    Lu Yin frowned. "I need to know why, or else I won''t give up."

    Of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, Lu Yin had thought that there would be no major issues with convincing either the Voidforce Universe or the Arboreal Realm to connect to the Origin Universe. Lord Xu and Mu Shen seemed indifferent to worldly affairs, and both men genuinely wanted to defeat Aeternus. The Cyclic Universe was powerful, and with the Great Sovereign overseeing things there, it did not particrly matter to Lu Yin if the universe was connected to the Origin Universe or not.

    Thus, he had left the Lost n forst, as he had thought that they would be the hardest to convince, and he was being proven right.

    Not only were they difficult to persuade, but they also refused to give the reason for their refusal.

    If the Lost n were not entirely human, Lu Yin might have suspected them of colluding with Aeternus.

    Shan Gu sighed. "Even if you defeat Aeternus, what next? War will not simply disappear. The Heavens Sect has had its moments of glory and its times of decline, yet war is what remains constant. Wouldn''t it be better to fight against an outside enemy rather than tear each other apart?"

    Lu Yin frowned. "So you want Aeternus to continue existing?"

    The Great Elder remained silent.

    Lu Yin barked a bitterugh. "That excuse is too weak. Regardless of what the future holds, we need to force them to repay the blood debt that they have umted. What of all those who fought and died in the war against Aeternus? ording to your logic, we shouldn''t fight Aeternus at all, in which case, we might as well join them if we can retain our identity as humans. Wouldn¡¯t that be a better option?

    "Great Elder, your words are the worst insult imaginable to those who have died fighting."

    Lu Yin¡¯s reaction showed his anger. He could understand fear, avoiding responsibility, or even betrayal, but he could not understand the Great Elder''s passive position. Such a thing was even more detestable than betrayal.

    Traitors participated in the war, as everyone knew, but Shan Gu¡¯s current words could cause all of the war efforts to fade away.

    Lu Yin had previously held a great deal of respect for the Great Elder, and he had thought that the Lost n¡¯s Primeval card could potentially grant humanity an edge over the Aeternals. The Great Elder had also been kind to Lu Yin, helped him to conceal the Primeval card, and even given Lu Yin Evernight. The Lost n had supported him on multiple asions, and Shan Pu had even died to protect Lu Yin.

    The Lost n was one of Lu Yin¡¯s earliest supporters in the Sixverse Association, having supported him even before the Voidforce Universe or the Arboreal Realm.

    However, supporting Lu Yin was one thing, while agreeing to connect their universes was another matter entirely. Lu Yin already knew that the Lost n was xenophobic, which was also why he had done his best to persuade Shan Gu. However, he had never expected the Great Elder¡¯s perspective to be like this.

    The man was fundamentally refusing to fight Aeternus. Everything that the Lost n did was simply forced upon them.

    Lu Yin stood up and red at the Great Elder. "Senior, I don''t know what your Lost n has experienced, but I know that, no matter how desperate things appear to be, there is always a way out. There are no absolutes in existence, and as long as humanity persists, we won¡¯t be easy to exterminate. Conflicts are inevitable, but that''s no reason to allow Aeternus to continue existing."

    Lu Yin remembered something that Hongyan Mavis had said to him. Lu Yin had once asked her why the Heavens Sect had not eliminated Aeternus in the past, or at least prevented the Aeternals from gaining strength. Hongyan Mavis had agreed with the Origin Progenitor¡¯s reasoning that, even if humanity did not have Aeternus as an enemy, there would simply be another.

    It might have been something that Hongyan Mavis had said, or possibly something the Origin Progenitor had said, but no species couldst forever. Without being restrained by an enemy, humanity would have risen to an unparalleled height, which was not in line with the way of the megaverse. This was why Aeternus existed as humanity¡¯s enemy; without Aeternus, there would be some other enemy of humanity.

    This was the reason why the Origin Progenitor had allowed Aeternus to exist, and the Great Elder seemed to hold to a simr point of view. He used it to justify Aeternus''s continued existence.

    No matter how logical such reasons may appear, Lu Yin considered them pure nonsense. It did not matter if humanity¡¯s enemy was Aeternus or someone else; he would deal with all enemies as they came. Should humanity simply wait for their enemies to grow stronger until they were suppressed and forced to struggle for survival?

    Lu Yinpletely disagreed with the Origin Progenitor''s philosophy. If he had been in the Origin Progenitor¡¯s position, Aeternus would have been destroyed during the Heavens Sect era. Any species that threatened humanity would have been wiped out. No matter how bad the results may have turned out, there was no way for things to be worse than the current state.

    The Origin Progenitor could not predict the future. The bridges that Destiny had built across the River of Time acted as endpoints, but there was no end to the River of Time itself. No one could see humanity¡¯s future. They might defeat their enemies, or they might be defeated. It did not matter, as what mattered was the present.

    Lu Yin wanted to eliminate Aeternus, not to elevate humanity to greatness. He simply wanted to live a peaceful life, even if only for a short while.

    If humanity broke apart due to internal conflicts after Aeternus was destroyed, then so be it. That would be humanity''s choice. However, there was a prerequisite: Aeternus had to be defeated.

    "If we allow all of the cultivators in the Sixverse Association to vote, I believe that all of them would choose to destroy Aeternus, even if doing so leads to internal wars. Dying at the hands of another human is better than being killed by an Aeternal," Lu Yin stated solemnly.

    Shan Gu turned around to look at Lu Yin. "We can''t find our way home anymore."

    Lu Yin was stunned. What did that mean?

    Complex emotions flitted across Shan Gu''s eyes as the man radiated an indescribable sorrow. "We can''t find our way home anymore.

    "We had a home, and it was a magnificent ce. There were not just one or two individuals with my level of cultivation, but many who far surpassed me. However, all of those people are now dead."

    As he spoke, Shan Gu seemed to remember something, and fear filled his eyes. Someone with his level of strength should have forgotten about fear, except when facing death.

    "We struggled, fought many battles, all as part of a desperate war for our species. In the end, we sessfully defeated our enemy. As far as I¡¯m concerned, our enemy was far more terrifying than even Aeternus, and they had countless peak powerhouses. We won, and we even saved our wonderful home, but just as we managed to glimpse the glory of victory, everything changed.

    "They died before our eyes." Great Elder Shan Gu clenched his fists so tightly that blood leaked out from between his fingers. "An unimaginable being was enraged. Our enemy had been nothing more than ves. That being became angry because we were not supposed to win. We were supposed to be exterminated, and the life in our universe was supposed to start again from nothing. However, we won. That being wanted events to follow a given script, and so things were reset and forced back onto their predetermined course.

    "At that moment, I saw the truth of reality. It''s a joke, really. We believed that we had won. We paid such a high price, and so many powerful cultivators returned from the flow of time, only to die during that battle. In the end, that was our reward."

    Great Elder Shan Gu''s voice cut off. He had lost control of himself, which was something that Lu Yin had never seen before. The old man was ovee by confusion, grief, and hatred.

    He stared at Lu Yin. "Those ancient powerhouses, our ancestors who protected us, all of them died. Everyst one of them. No one could even move before that being. No one."

    The old man roared. "Why? Those who were strong beyond my understanding were effortlessly erased by that individual! There was absolutely no chance of survival, all because that being was angry that things did not go ording to n. That''s all there was to it. Nothing more. Hahaha, it''s absurd. Absurd! Tell me, why did we fight so hard? Just to end up as pawns in someone else''s game?

    "Hahaha, everyone who put forth their total efforts for countless ages was reduced to nothing in an instant. We, the few survivors, managed to escape, but only because that being had felt a sliver of mercy. Perhaps, in that creature¡¯s eyes, we aren¡¯t enough to even count as ants."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "When did this happen?"

    Shan Gu took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. Only after a long time did he finally manage to calm down and weakly wave a hand. "Lord Lu, do as you wish. I must rest."

    With that, the old man disappeared.

    Lu Yin stood where he was, unable to believe the story that he had just heard. Had he misunderstood? Had powerhouses who had been far stronger than Great Elder Shan Gu been casually erased from existence by some unfathomable being? Could such an existence really be out there somewhere?

 Chapter 3138: That Being

    <h4>Chapter 3138: That Being</h4>

    Not even True God could casually wipe out powerhouses as strong as Great Elder Shan Gu, and people who surpassed the man had to at least be Ortusers. No, True God could not easily destroy such cultivators.

    The story that Great Elder Shan Gu had just shared sounded too bizarre. Such a being should not exist. If such a being did exist, then what were all of their efforts for?

    Lu Yin did not press Great Elder Shan Gu, and he gave the old man his space. Lu Yin also needed some time to consider all that he had learned.

    He was certain that the Great Elder was telling the truth. For someone so strong to lose control just from recalling an incident suggested that there existed a being that saw all others as less than ants. Was that being human or something else?

    Lu Yin finally understood why the Lost n had always been so passive in the war against Aeternus. Theycked something crucial that all the other civilizations had: the will to fight. No matter how many battles the Lost n participated in, as long as they remained under Great Elder Shan Gu''s influence, the Lost n would only participate in the war on a reactive basis. Shan Gu was terrified by his past experiences, and he had projected them onto the current war with Aeternus.

    Shan Gu was afraid that, after Aeternus was defeated, another unfathomable being would reset the state of things back to a predetermined path. The old man had already experienced the joy of victory after countless years of struggle, only to be thrust back into despair and lose everything in a single instant.

    The man had lived in the same universe for countless years, and he did not want to relive his previous experiences.

    All of Shan Gu¡¯s talk of a future of internal conflicts between humans was nothing more than a pretext. His true fear was the Sixverse Association being destroyed and him losing everything he knew. It was quite possible that he was also afraid of that unfathomable being.

    As the Great Elder had said, such a being may as well be omnipotent.

    What of Lu Yin? If such a being existed, what would be of the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin himself?

    After several days passed, the Great Elder reappeared before Lu Yin. He had managed to regain hisposure, and he looked at Lu Yin with an apologetic gaze. "Lord Lu, I¡¯m sorry. There are some things which should have remained unsaid."

    Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the older man from continuing. ¡°Great Elder, what is our purpose for living?¡±

    Shan Gu was taken aback. He had assumed that he would find Lu Yin just as despondent as he had been. After all, if an omnipotent being existed, then all of humanity''s efforts were meaningless.

    "Do you believe that I lied to you?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and sped his hands behind his back. "Of course not. I know that you told me the truth."

    "Then why ask such a thing? Why can you still smile?"

    The Great Elder stared at Lu Yin, unable toprehend why the young man was still smiling. For so many years, the truth that Shan Gu carried had weighed heavily on both him and the entire Lost n, which was why they had lived like ants.

    The Lost n was far from the weakest civilization in the Sixverse Association, and yet they had maintained the lowest profile. It was all because of their past.

    They had escaped, but they had developed an inferiorityplex.

    Lu Yinzily stretched out. "Life or death, it¡¯s a very serious matter. Life represents a beginning, while death signifies an end. Great Elder, are you afraid of death?"

    "Of course not," Shan Gu replied reflexively. If he feared death, he would have never participated in so many dangerous battles.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Then what''s the problem? If you''re not afraid of death, then what is there to fear? That your efforts could be meaningless? That the people you unite with might die once more? That humanity could face extinction? Honestly, none of those things are your concern."

    Great Elder Shan Gu was taken aback. The young man was being too blunt.

    No one had ever spoken to Shan Gu in such a tone. His aura gave people the impression of a reclusive sage. When he first met Lu Yin, the Great Elder had intimidated Lu Yin, especially after speaking of matters beyond the realm of peak powerhouses. Such a person should be a mentor, a venerated elder, and someone to respect.

    The old man had never imagined that someone would tell him that something was none of his concern.

    Lu Yin chuckled as he looked at the Great Elder. "Senior, could you be overthinking things? Are you the savior of humanity? Do you have the responsibility to save everyone? You only need to take care of yourself. Whatever that being wants to see happen, that''s their business. You were unlucky to have encountered them before, which is certainly tough luck, but we might not be so unlucky. Even if we are, all of us will die along with you. Once we¡¯re dead, everything will be over. Anything that happens after that won''t be any of your concern.

    ¡°Are you overthinking things? Or are you worried that the Lost n will bepletely wiped out as well? If that¡¯s the case, then why not have your peoplemit mass suicide now, if everything is under someone else¡¯s control?¡±

    Shan Gu stared at Lu Yin, dazed.

    Lu Yin continued, ¡°Is that being someone you can deal with? Are they someone any of us can deal with? Since neither of us can do anything about it, then just leave things be. If they show up one day and demand our lives, then we¡¯ll hand them over, but do we need to be so scared that we can¡¯t even interact with other civilizations? Great Elder, are you getting old? As you get older, are you bing more afraid of death?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s words were blunt, and he was actually venting a bit. If an unfathomable being like the one Great Elder Shan Gu had described really did exist, who would not be terrified? Everyone would be afraid, and so was Lu Yin. But what could he do about it? Should he follow the Great Elder¡¯s example and do nothing? Should he simply go through the motions of resisting Aeternus for a bit, wasting time before dying and then leave the problem for future generations? Lu Yin could not ept that.

    ¡°Lord Lu, if we manage to one day destroy Aeternus and that being appears, wanting to obliterate humanity and reset the course of reality, what will you do?¡± Shan Gu asked as he stared at Lu Yin. This was a question that had haunted the old man for a long time. He had constantly wondered what he would do if he was able to return to his homnd and see his elders, old friends, andrades once again. Would he try to stop them?

    Lu Yin let out a breath. ¡°If we can fight, we fight. If we can¡¯t, then we curse that being and die.¡±

    Shan Gu was stunned. Curse that being?

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°What matters is to live life without regrets. Who cares if there will be other enemies in the future or some omnipotent being? How many of our predecessors fought and died in the war with Aeternus? Their bones lie in Burial Garden, and their cries echo in the Endless Frontier. Were their sacrifices made for the fun of it? Were their efforts nothing but a game?

    ¡°I want to destroy Aeternus, even if it ends in mutual destruction. Even that is better than being slowly ground down by the Aeternals. I want to be worthy of those who fought and died for humanity. I might join them someday, but if I do, I will do so while trying to destroy that omnipotent being. Such a person wasn¡¯t born invincible¡ªI don¡¯t believe that. Besides, the one thing that we humans neverck is spirit.¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression grew conflicted. He had thought about this matter for far, far too long. However, the more he had considered things, the more powerless he felt.

    That being was capable of erasing everything, and it was truly omnipotent.

    Lu Yin frowned. This old man was quite stubborn. Well, he had lived for many years and had probably already heard everything. Lu Yin¡¯s words might not be convincing on their own. ¡°I met the Origin Progenitor.¡±

    Shan Gu was startled, and he looked at Lu Yin in surprise. ¡°The Origin Universe¡¯s Origin Progenitor?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°He said that there are no absolutes in existence, as such a thing doesn¡¯t follow thews of reality. The being that you told me about sounds like an absolute. Do you really think that such an individual can control reality? That they are truly omnipotent?

    ¡°If they are, then what is the point of universes even existing?¡±

    Great Elder Shan Gu was shaken. There were no absolutes? Could that be true?

    ¡°There¡¯s a bnce to everything. If the being that you told me about is truly omnipotent, then why did your people fight against enemies in your homnd? Why did Aeternus appear here? That being might be strong, even too strong to resist, but there must be limitations,¡± Lu Yin stated firmly while staring at the Great Elder. ¡°It¡¯s possible that your people¡¯s victory over your old enemies ced some sort of limitations on that being, which is why your people were destroyed. Just because you can¡¯t see something doesn¡¯t mean that it didn¡¯t happen. Maybe you weren¡¯t ants, but rather impossible to chase down.¡±

    Shan Gu wanted to argue, but he could not find anything to say. Everything that Lu Yin was saying was pure spection.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes did not leave the Great Elder. ¡°Do you know what realm the Origin Progenitor has reached?¡±

    Shan Gu shook his head. ¡°No.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew solemn. ¡°Immortal.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! There are no Immortals in this megaverse,¡± Great Elder Shan Gu blurted.

    Lu Yinughed. ¡°The Origin Progenitor alone stands above everything else in the megaverse. He controls the sequence strings.¡±

    The Great Elder¡¯s pupils shrank. While others might not understand what Lu Yin was referring to, he did. This was true even if they knew about sequence strings. Even if Lord Xu or Mu Shen knew of this matter, they might not understand what ¡°controlling sequence strings meant,¡± but Shan Gu understood the implications. This was because, in his ancient homnd, the war had been fought over that megaverse¡¯s source of sequence strings.

    ¡°The Origin Progenitor controls all sequence strings?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice dropped low. ¡°It¡¯s either the origin or the endpoint of all sequence strings, but regardless, the Origin Progenitor alone controls that source. If he didn¡¯t, Aeternus would have already destroyed this megaverse. Do you know why the Origin Progenitor hasn¡¯t appeared?¡±

    Shan Gu was stunned. He had always thought that the Origin Universe¡¯s Origin Progenitor was dead. This was also what the Great Sovereign believed. Shan Gu himself had never interacted with the Origin Universe in the past, and he had never seen the ancient Heavens Sect.

    However, if what Lu Yin said was true, and if the Origin Progenitor truly held the source of all sequence strings, then it was highly likely that the man was an Immortal.

    So there was such a powerful individual in this megaverse.

    Lu Yin suddenly raised a finger, startling Shan Gu. ¡°Once.¡±

    Great Elder Shan Gu was confused.

    Lu Yin raised a second finger. ¡°Twice.¡±

    A third finger rose. "Three times.

    "Every time you foil the ns of that being, do you think they remain unscathed?"

    Shan Gu stared intently at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "I don''t believe it. The Origin Progenitor said that there are no absolutes in existence. Such a thing goes against the nature of reality. If an absolute being exists, then they will suffer certain restrictions. Your people won a war, and that being intervened. Those restrictions must have impacted them. Win again, or maybe twice more, but even if you can''t kill that being, you can still at least retaliate.

    "Great Elder, the blood of your people will never cool. It needs to be sshed on that being''s face. Even if we can''t kill them, we will disgust them. The people of this megaverse will stand with you. Even if humanity is wiped out or the universe is reset, we will at least have done our best."

 Chapter 3139: The Connection Method

    <h4>Chapter 3139: The Connection Method</h4>

    Lu Yin spoke at length with Great Elder Shan Gu, saying even more than what he had said to the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s Mentor Kakawen. While most of what Lu Yin said was mere spection, as the Great Elder''s fears were also founded on spection and dread for some omnipotent being.

    The Lost n¡¯s universe had to be connected to the Origin Universe. Only by uniting all their civilizations and gathering their full strength could the Heavens Sect even hope to defeat Aeternus.

    The Aeternals were no longer able to destroy the human civilizations one by one. Everything that Lu Yin had been doing was elerating the fall of Aeternus, provided that there was no invincible being among them.

    There were still three individuals among the Three Pirs and Six Skies who had not shown up, and their existence made for some uncertainty. Aside from those three, Lu Yin had mostly seen through Aeternus¡¯s strength, though at the cost of countless lives.

    As for the things that still remained a mystery, such as why Wu Tian remained in the Third Scourge or the mystery regarding Wei Nu, it was not possible to wait to take action until everything was understood. While it was important to get to the bottom of both matters, the fact that Mister Mu had given Lu Yin the eight cosmic doors was a signal that it was time for humanity to act.

    Humanity needed to unite and initiate a final battle in the war against Aeternus.

    Shan Gu stood in silence as he stared outside. Lu Yin''s words were still echoing in the old man¡¯s mind. He was already well aware that many of Lu Yin''s assertions were only spective, but at their level of strength, even their spections were based on evidence. Absolutes should not exist. That being might truly have restrictions ced on them. Was it worth it to fight such a being through repeated victories while constantly risking the threat of extinction?

    "Great Elder, there are two things that I need to rify," Lu Yin said as a chill entered his voice, causing Shan Gu to look over.

    The two men¡¯s eyes met. "First, you don''t need to worry about the people of this megaverse. We have our own thoughts and are willing to fight to maintain our dignity as humans. Since the Lost n doesn''t belong to this ce, you don''t need to worry about us. Our survival is none of your concern.

    "Second, building on that first point, while your Lost n may not belong to this megaverse, as long as you are here, we will not abandon you. Otherwise, you would have been facing Aeternus on your own for a long time. Since we are uniting to face a final battle against Aeternus, you won¡¯t be able to stay out of things. If you try to, I have my own ways of dealing with you."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew even colder. "Don''t me me for being so blunt. While I respect you and your Lost n has provided me with a great deal of support, that does not give you the right to sit back and watch as the rest of us fight to the death. You must join us, and this universe needs to be connected to the Origin Universe. I''ve said enough, so if you still refuse, don''t me me for being unkind."

    The Great Elder remained calm and simply stared at Lu Yin.

    "You can see this as either a threat or as a final warning," Lu Yin continued. "I''ve already said more than enough. If you still can''t see reason, I''ll be forced to use other methods.

    "For what the Lost n has done for me, I will repay them myself, but connecting your universe to the Origin Universe is about the bigger picture, which is dealing with Aeternus. Don''t confuse the two."

    Shan Gu stared intently at Lu Yin. "Lu Yin, there''s no need for you to say anything more. We agree to connect."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. What did this mean? Had his final threat forced the Great Elder to agree? Did everything that he had said before mean nothing?

    The old man¡¯s expression appeared torn. "Truthfully, your threat was unnecessary, as I was already prepared to agree. You''re right, I am afraid of losing everything again. But what here is worth clinging to? I never belonged to this ce, and my habit of keeping others at a distance was nothing more than a way to avoid losing things again. There''s no longer anything left to lose, so there is no longer any reason to be afraid.

    "As for my Lost n, we''ve already be exiles once, and we don''t want to go through such a thing again. Doing so would cost us all of ourbat strength.

    "Lu Yin, do not underestimate us. During the final battle in our homnd, my Lost n led the charge, and that resulted in more than half of our people dying without ever retreating."

    Lu Yin exhaled in relief. "That¡¯s good. Thank you for your support, Great Elder."

    The old man gave Lu Yin a look of admiration. "In our homnd, thatst battle was also instigated by a young man. You and he are alike, and yet quite different."

    Lu Yin did not ask any questions, as there was no doubt that the person the Great Elder was referring to was already dead. There was no need to dwell on such things. "Senior, what level of cultivation does a Primeval card correspond to? Can I try to draw out the Primeval card now?"

    Shan Gu shook his head. "You need to be a peak powerhouse first, which your Origin Universe refers to as Progenitors. Only then can you make the attempt."

    "I¡¯ve transformed my strength, which is fundamentally no different from breaking through to the Progenitor realm."

    Shan Gu grew serious. "Drawing out a Primeval card is no trivial matter. If you fail, you might end up drawing the attention of <i>that </i>being."

    Lu Yin was startled. "The omnipotent being that you mentioned?"

    The Great Elder nodded. "We are unable to find our way home, and it¡¯s possible that that being is simply not in this megaverse. But if you try to draw out a Primeval card, the attempt might catch that being¡¯s attention. After all, that individual once had all the Primeval cards in their possession.

    "They most likely remember our Primeval cards."

    "What level of cultivation do the Primeval cards correspond to?" Lu Yin asked. He had spected that such cards might match up to the Origin Realm, which surpassed the Progenitor realm, but to be sure, it was important to first understand the Great Elder¡¯s level of cultivation.

    It seemed that Shan Gu had never been pushed to the point of revealing his full power. All that Lu Yin knew was that the man was at least as powerful as Lord Xu and Mu Shen.

    The Lost n kept to themselves, and their Great Elder rarely participated in any battles. Even when the Great Sovereign and Ancestor Lu Yuan had fought against True God and the Seven Skygods, the Great Elder had only used his seven star Immemorial card. His own strength remained a mystery.

    Lu Yin had learned of this from Ancestor Lu Yuan, who admitted to being unable to fully determine Shan Gu¡¯s power. That made sense, given the unique and mysterious nature of the Lost n¡¯s abilities that were based on their cards. Their abilities were difficult to see through.

    Lu Yin¡¯s question was also a subtle way to ask about the Great Elder¡¯s own strength.

    Shan Gu was aware of this, and he replied, "Primeval cards correspond to the Origin realm."

    Lu Yin felt a tinge of disappointment. If Primeval cards corresponded to the Origin realm, then that meant that the Great Elder¡¯s cultivation was at best equivalent to the peak of the Progenitor realm, but not the Origin realm. Lu Yin felt like he had possibly missed an opportunity.

    Lu Yin had ced a significant level of importance on Primeval cards, but the truth was not entirely unexpected. If Primeval cards corresponded to an even higher level, then even the Great Sovereign would have shown a great deal of interest when Lu Yin had drawn out a corner of that card. However, she had never mentioned the Lost n¡¯s cards, which suggested that not even a Primeval card warranted her attention.

    In the past, everyone had thought that the Great Sovereign was a supreme powerhouse, with Lord Xu iming that he could sense the difference in strength between them. The truth was that the Great Sovereign was a Dukkhan, and that perceived difference in strength was nothing more than an illusion.

    Lu Yin had always thought that a Primeval card surpassed the strength of a peak powerhouse and that the cards were even stronger than the Great Sovereign, but that had been a mistake. The Great Sovereign was someone who had already surpassed the Origin realm, which ced her on the same level as the Origin Progenitor.

    The Lost n¡¯s Primeval cards had once been seen as a potential key for humanity to defeat Aeternus, but it seemed that the doubts concerning that hope were correct. The reverence of the Primeval cards might have been a strategy employed by the Lost n to elevate their own status.

    The higher they managed to maneuver themselves, the less likely it was for others to antagonize them, which ensured their stability.

    Seeing Lu Yin''s expression, the Great Elder chuckled. "Are you disappointed?"

    Lu Yin did not try to hide his feelings. "A bit. The Great Sovereign is beyond the Origin realm, so if Primeval cards only correspond to Ortusers, then how can one of them be any sort of threat to that omnipotent being?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s implication was quite clear; the cards did not warrant the value they were given. Drawing the attention of an omnipotent being for a rtively weak card would not be worth it.

    Shan Gu answered in a soft voice, "Primeval cards certainly do correspond to the Origin realm, but what if the card that you saw wasn¡¯t a Primeval card?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "It wasn¡¯t a Primeval card?"

    The Great Elder¡¯s voice dropped even further. "Do you think that a Primeval card could attract the attention of an omnipotent being? That card carried my people to this megaverse. In a way, our survival is linked to that card. Its true level... well, you can imagine what it is. For the moment, it must be regarded and treated as nothing more than a Primeval card."

    Lu Yin understood and did not press the matter further. The Lost n had already given him a pleasant surprise, and in the future, they might also surprise Aeternus.

    Having secured the support of the Lost n, Lu Yin finally felt a sense of peace. Next, he needed to visit the Infinity Empire.

    He did not intend to connect their parallel universes through cosmic doors or spatial tunnels like the Endless Frontier, as neither method was secure enough.

    Aeternus had already severed the Heavens Sect''s connection to the Nine-Star Civilization''s universe by sending spies to destroy the cosmic door. Despite the spies¡¯ weak cultivation, they had sessfully destroyed the cosmic doors because such things belonged to Aeternus. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, cosmic doors could only be a temporary option.

    To truly connect two parallel universes, there either needed to be a natural connection, such as the one between the Three Monarchs Universe and the Fifth Maind, or the method used by the Infinity Empire, which used ring energy to connect universes.

    It would not be difficult to find the Infinity Empire.

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and met with Master Shan, Bu Qing, Fei Su, and Hong Yi.

    After capturing these three people, an idea urred to Lu Yin. He had allowed the three people to cultivate, and then he had given them an energy converter so that they could tear through the void and find their home universe, which was where the Infinity Empire was based out of.

    While the Infinity Empire had fled from the Origin Universe, there were three people who could be beacons that led to the empire¡¯s universe.

    "Young Master, the others are dead, and only these three managed to survive," Master Shan reported.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "How did the others die?"

    Master Shan exined, "Theycked sufficient willpower. The Infinity Empire uses ring energy, which conflicts with cultivation methods. That¡¯s why the people of the Infinity Empire don''t cultivate. If they try, and if their willpower isn''t strong enough, the internal conflict can lead to madness and death.

    "Before any of them started cultivating, they mentioned that the Infinity Empire has already experimented with training a group of cultivators, but most of them failed. Death wasmon among the test¡¯s participants. These three have rtively strong wills."

    Lu Yin looked over at Bu Qing, Fei Su, and Hong Yi, who faced Lu Yin and quickly bowed to him. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin smiled. "While your cultivation is low, your attitudes aremendable.

    "How have you been handling the energy converters?" he asked.

    Master Shan answered for the three people. "Not very well."

    "Take them to a universe with elerated timeflow. I¡¯ll give you five days of this universe¡¯s time, and then I want to go to the Infinity Empire," Lu Yin instructed.

 Chapter 3140: The Infinity Empireâ€™s Capital

    <h4>Chapter 3140: The Infinity Empire¡¯s Capital</h4>

    Bu Qing and the other two exchanged nces, as they felt both excited and nervous. They were finally going to return home, but delivering such a powerful force into the heart of the Infinity Empire would undoubtedly spell disaster for their homnd.

    However, they had no choice. Refusing toply would mean certain death.

    Hong Yi had no reservations about proceeding. She could see things the clearest out of the three, and she had been the first to pledge her allegiance to Lu Yin. In the Infinity Empire, her father stood at the pinnacle of power. He could either retire peacefully, or be crushed by his rivals. There was no other option.

    At least, they had no other options before the appearance of the Heavens Sect had offered another path.

    Allying with the Heavens Sect and leveraging their power could secure a brighter future for Hong Yi¡¯s family.

    <i>Father, I¡¯ming home</i>.

    Master Shan led the three people away while Lu Yin paid a visit to the Arboreal Realm and the Voidforce Universe before finally making his way to the Perennial World. In each ce, he gathered peak powerhouses.

    Going to the Infinity Empire was no trivial matter, and a fierce battle was inevitable. Unless the Infinity Empire was utterly overwhelmed, future cooperation would bepletely out of the question.

    Lu Yin had no intention of negotiating with the empire. Unlike the universes that Mister Mu had led Lu Yin to, they had no existing ties to the Infinity Empire that could be leveraged.

    Five dayster, Master Shan returned with Bu Qing and the other two. Their cultivation had advanced significantly due to faster time flow of the parallel universe that they had gone to. They had lived through far more than five days, and they had sessfully mastered the use of their energy converters.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Infinity Empire,¡± Lu Yin dered. His hands were sped behind his back, and the peak powerhouses who stood behind him watched expectantly. Seeing this group of people, Bu Qing felt like she was leading wolves into her own home. The Infinity Empire had always acted as the predator, but they had finally be the prey.

    Using her energy converter, Bu Qing tore through the void and quickly found her home universe. She then nced back at Lu Yin, who smiled at her.

    The woman took a deep breath and then stepped into the void, vanishing.

    Following her, Xia Shenji stepped out from behind Lu Yin and went second. Following him was Fei Su, then Hong Yi, and the two were quickly followed by Xu Wuwei, Big Sis, Mu Ke, and finally by Lu Yin himself. They were on their way to the Infinity Empire¡¯s universe.

    Tearing through the void frequently sent people to parallel universes, and that was exactly what happened this time as well. All of these people appeared in an unknown universe.

    Lu Yin emerged from the spatial tear and scanned his surroundings. This universecked any energy that could be used for cultivation, which proved that no peak powerhouse with the ability to alter a universe had ever appeared in this universe. This was actually typical of most parallel universes.

    Not every universe could produce strong cultivators, and not every universe was suitable for cultivation.

    Bu Qing and herpanions quickly oriented themselves, and then they led Lu Yin and the others into the distance. Soon, the woman warned them, "Up ahead is the Imperial City. It looks like it¡¯s an empty region, but the entire area is actually under surveince. It won¡¯t be easy for us to get in."

    Lu Yin summoned the Seven-Star Mantis, and everyone got on it. It unfurled its six pairs of wings and then moved at the speed of time. Forget a surveince system¡ªnot even a peak powerhouse would notice if the group passed by right in front of them.

    Bu Qing, Fei Su, and Hong Yi were stunned by the speed at which they were moving. Everything around them seemed frozen.

    Even for peak powerhouses like Mu Ke, Xu Wuwei, Big Sis, and Xia Shenji, such speed was impressive, if not astonishing. Xia Shenji was capable of wielding a bit of the power of time, while the others possessed enough strength where not even the speed of time was shocking.

    Lu Yin and the others soon saw a massive city in front of them. It was grand and imposing, and it spread across the starry sky like the Heavens Sect, though it was not quite asrge. From a distance, the city resembled a giant, horizontal mirror.

    The closer they drew, the clearer they could make out the city. There was no denying that it had been constructed in outer space by a pure technological civilization.

    The Seven-Star Mantis easily bypassed the city''s defenses by traveling at the speed of time. The Imperial City''s barriers werepletely useless to it.

    However, Lu Yin would not underestimate the capital of the Infinity Empire. The city was not able to stop them, but that was because of its size. Once they drew closer to the emperor''s location, it would be different. That ce held mechas that were capable of fighting against sequence powerhouses, as well as the emperor''s mecha, which was known as the Supreme Mecha. Supposedly, the mechas was indestructible, and it was also protected by five twelve-ring mechas which were piloted by the empire¡¯s Pirs of Heaven, which made things even more challenging. There was no doubt that the Infinity Empire was incredibly powerful and that they were qualified to fight against Aeternus.

    There was no need to start fighting right away, as it was better to first gather information.

    Lu Yin¡¯s target was the empire''s Minister of the Armory, Hong Nian.

    After entering the capital, Hong Yi easily found her way home.

    There was a rustic courtyard near the emperor¡¯s pce in the capital city. It waspletely at odds with the futuristic design of the rest of the city. However, the courtyard was not alone, as the surrounding area was filled with simr residences.

    These residences looked out of cepared to the rest of the city, but this was the most prestigious neighborhood as it was the closest to the emperor''s own pce, separated by nothing more than a wall. This neighborhood was where the empire¡¯s most important individuals all lived.

    Hong Yi''s home was one of the courtyards. As the Minister of the Armory, he was responsible for the military¡¯s logistics. While the man did not possess much personal strength, he was incredibly influential, as he could directly impact the Infinity Empire''s armed forces. There was no doubt that he was one of the highest-ranking officials in the empire.

    Within the courtyard, Hong Nian was staring nkly at a star chart. It showed the Sixth Maind.

    Hong Yi was the man¡¯s only daughter, and she had been captured. Every day, Hong Nian stared at the star chart, hoping that the day woulde when the Infinity Empire invaded that universe and rescued his daughter.

    Unlike Fei Yan, who was too obvious in his actions, Hong Nian was a subtle man. Because of his position, if he was too transparent about his intentions, Hong Nian could easily lose his position.

    However, how could he convince the Infinity Empire to invade that universe?

    The only possibility was the temptation of a ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings. The Sixth Maind held the potential for the Infinity Empire to develop a utilization rate of thirteen rings. If that potential could be transformed into reality, the emperor would not be able to ignore it.

    For that reason, in addition to his daily meetings with the emperor, Hong Nian also visited the Energy Research Institute, where they conducted experiments on the energy that had been collected from the Sixth Maind. As long as a ring energy utilization rate of thirteen rings could be achieved, it would be worthwhile to brave the dangers of that universe.

    "Father," Hong Yi called out.

    Hong Nian froze. For a moment, he thought that he had heard his daughter''s voice. No, he had to be hearing things. A bitter smile touched the man¡¯s face, as he realized that his longing for Hong Yi had caused him to start hallucinating.

    He thought back to the day she had been born, and her cute and innocent appearance. The memory caused tears to well up, but he buried those emotions deep down. He had to be careful to not let the emperor notice a thing. The ring energy research had to seed.

    With newfound determination, the man turned to make his way to the Energy Research Institute.

    Suddenly, his expression changed dramatically. There were several people standing behind him, arriving at some unknown moment in time, and Hong Nian¡¯s gaze instantlynded on his daughter, who was standing among the others.

    "Little Yi?"

    Hong Yi was overwhelmed with emotion, and she called out, "Father!"

    Hong Nian took a step forward to embrace her, but then he stopped out of instinct. He turned to look at the people standing around his daughter: Bu Qing and Fei Su were present, but the man¡¯s eyes lingered on Mu Ke and Big Sis. "Who are you?"

    "Is that a star chart of the Sixth Maind?" someone asked from behind. Hong Nian spun around to see a young man carefully studying the star chart.

    Hong Nian quickly suppressed his excitement at seeing his daughter again, and he regained hisposure. "Are you from the Fifth Maind?"

    Lu Yin looked over and gave the man a small smile. "My name is Lu Yin. I am the Dao Monarch of the Fifth Maind''s Heavens Sect. You may call me Lord Lu."

    Everyone needed a guiding light, and the Infinite Capital was no exception. However, with light came darkness.

    As evening fell, Big Sis and the others left the courtyard, guided by Bu Qing and the other natives of the Infinity Empire.

    Lu Yin alone stayed behind to speak with Hong Nian.

    Hong Nian had learned about what had happened, though he struggled to ept it.

    The Infinity Empire had always been the aggressor, invading other parallel universes, conquering and upying more territory. However, they had suddenly be the target.

    This had happened in the past, but their previous enemies had always attacked directly, instantlyunching a war. The man standing in front of Hong Nian did not seek revenge, and he also had not suffered any losses from the Infinity Empire¡¯s attempt to invade his universe. No, Lu Yin wanted to take over the Infinity Empire.

    "Is the emperor¡¯s mecha really that formidable?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Hong Nian respectfully answered, "It is extremely powerful. In the past, when a formidable enemy once invaded us, while they seeded in destroying the Pirs of Heaven, they failed to destroy the emperor''s Supreme Mecha. That generation¡¯s emperor was the one who finally defeated that enemy."

    Lu Yin expressed a bit of interest, "While the mecha might be strong, isn''t your people¡¯s greatest weakness the pilots themselves? Do you think that, if I suddenly attacked the emperor, he¡¯ll have time to get inside his mecha?"

    Hong Nian replied bitterly, "No, he won¡¯t. If you can get inside the pce without being detected, you would gain control of the emperor. The Supreme Mecha is kept within the pce, and the emperor only needs a second to enter his mecha. However, you¡¯ll only have that one second to take control of him."

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s lips. "That''s plenty."

    Hong Nian sighed. He knew that the Infinity Empire was already doomed. It was quite likely that they were not a match for this other universe. Already, the empire¡¯s capital had been silently infiltrated. Even if they did not take control of the Emperor, what would happen to everyone else?

    Hong Nian did not believe that the cultivators who had arrived with Lu Yin had simply gone sightseeing. They had spread out, and they would quickly gain an understanding of the capital¡¯syout.

    The Infinity Empire might very well soon have a new ruler.

    However, it would not be easy to seize control of the Pirs of Heaven, and Hong Nian felt nervous. He had joined Lu Yin''s side. If the Infinity Empire fell to Lu Yin¡¯s control, Hong Nian would be able to maintain some level of power, but if Lu Yin failed, Hong Nian would be in deep trouble.

    "Lord Lu, are your people nning to take control of the Pirs of Heaven?" Hong Nian asked.

    Lu Yin did not bother trying to hide anything. "Of course. The Pirs of Heaven are supposed to protect the emperor, aren¡¯t they? If we don''t deal with them, how will we be able to handle the emperor?"

    Hong Nian¡¯s worries grew stronger. "It won¡¯t be easy to take control of the Pirs of Heaven."

    Lu Yin turned to look outside. "We''ll see. If that doesn''t work, then we''ll just use brute force."

    Hong Nian felt nervous, as he had no idea what the future held.

    He did not me Hong Yi. When the Infinity Empire¡¯s people were captured, they were expected to pledge allegiance to their captors as a means of surviving. Even the Emperor implicitly permitted this sort of betrayal. The actions that Lu Yin had taken had gotten Hong Nian involved, and no matter if it was for his daughter or for himself, there was only one path avable for him.

    The Imperial City was centered on the imperial pce, which was surrounded by five rings. The imperial pce itself was not counted, so the first ring included Hong Nian''s neighborhood, and the rest of the rings spread out from there.

    The Pirs of Heaven guarded the pce, and they were stationed in five different locations.

 Chapter 3141: Battle Commences

    <h4>Chapter 3141: Battle Commences</h4>

    At the same time, Bu Qing had guided Mu Ke to a ce where he could see a massive mecha that rose above the wall that surrounded the imperial pce. The mecha was inside the pce, which meant that only a small part of it was visible, and it was rather inconspicuous.

    "This mecha is called Regisword, and it¡¯s piloted by the Pir of Heaven, Huan Zhan. Huan Zhan is the Imperial Academy¡¯s chief instructor, and he once taught the current emperor. His mecha is equipped with the sharpest weapon the Infinity Empire has ever forged, and the de is also called Regisword. The sword is the reason for the mecha¡¯s name," Bu Qing exined.

    Mu Ke looked up at the towering mecha. <i>The sharpest sword, huh?</i> He was eager to test that out for himself.

    "And where is Huan Zhan?" Mu Ke asked.

    Bu Qing shook her head. "All I can do is bring you here. I can¡¯t reveal myself right now, but even before I was captured, I didn¡¯t have a high enough status to have the privilege of meeting with Lord Huan Zhan. He is someone high above my father, and even the emperor is respectful to the man."

    "Give me a picture of him," Mu Ke requested.

    Bu Qing easily found a picture of Huan Zhan, as the man¡¯s identity was no secret. After all, he had been the Imperial Academy¡¯s chief instructor for a long time, and none of the Pirs of Heaven¡¯s identities were secret.

    Mu Ke casually grabbed a handful of dust, raised a hand, and then threw it towards the imperial pce. It drifted over the wall, past the mecha, and onwards into the distance.

    "He''s inside the mecha," Mu Ke stated.

    Bu Qing asked, "So, what now?"

    "We wait," Mu Ke replied.

    Elsewhere, Hong Yi led Big Sis to another mecha.

    "This mecha is called Sorrowforge, and it¡¯s piloted by the Pir of Heaven, Lord Ying Du. Whenever Lord Ying Du fights, he makes his enemies experience great pain. This has led him to bing the most feared of the Pirs of Heaven," Hong Yi said nervously.

    Big Sis sneered. "Using a tool to achieve his strength? What¡¯s the point of that?"

    Hong Yi was much smarter than Bu Qing, and she had already prepared pictures of all five Pirs of Heaven. Big Sis nced at the images, and then turned to stare at the imperial pce.

    "He''s inside the mecha," she stated.

    "What now, Senior?" Hong Yi asked.

    "We find another one," Big Sis responded.

    As for Xu Wuwei, Fei Su served as his guide, and he also observed a mecha. This one was called Perpetua, and it was piloted by Jiao Feng. The man was standing atop the imperial pce¡¯s wall.

    Fei Su looked up at Jiao Feng standing on the wall and knew that the man was already doomed. Without their mechas, pilots were all just ordinary humans.

    Xu Wuwei made a move, because Jiao Feng was about to enter his mecha. As soon as the pilot entered the mecha, Xu Wuwei would have to break it open to seize control of the man.

    Jiao Feng was about to enter his mecha from the top of the imperial pce¡¯s wall when he suddenly froze. His eyes darted about. Why was he unable to move?

    Xu Wuwei easily took control of Jiao Feng. "Done."

    Fei Su watched events unfold. He could not help but think that, without their mechas, the Infinity Empire was nothingpared to the Fifth Maind.

    Xu Wuwei sent a message to Lu Yin, who immediately replied, "Thanks for the help, Senior."

    "It¡¯s not a problem. He¡¯s just an ordinary person," Xu Wuwei responded. However, the moment he finished speaking, a piercing rm rang throughout the Imperial City, and Perpetua gave off a red glow that drew the attention of the entire city.

    Xu Wuwei was startled. "What''s going on?"

    Fei Su''s face turned pale. "This is bad! We''ve been caught!"

    In front of Perpetua, Jiao Feng''s expression grew somber. Someone tried to control him, but were they an outsider or an insider? He did not know, but whoever it was, they were too naive. The Pirs of Heaven were ordinary humans without their mechas, and they could easily be controlled. To address this vulnerability, the five Pirs of Heaven all adhered to strict protocols regarding the time that they spent outside of their mechas.

    Leaving too early or returning toote, even by a second, would trigger rms throughout the Imperial City.

    The Pirs of Heaven represented the security of the Infinity Empire and the safety of the emperor himself, so no caution was regarded as excessive.

    Jiao Feng had been controlled, which resulted in him beingte to return to his mecha, and that had triggered the rm.

    Only the five Pirs of Heaven and the emperor were aware of this security protocol. Even the crown prince, Shang Tianzong, the fifth prince, Shang Cheng, and the ninth princess, Shang An''an knew nothing about it, let alone someone like Hong Nian.

    At this moment, it no longer mattered who knew about the security protocol, as with Jiao Fengpromised, the entire Imperial City sprang into action.

    At the center of the imperial pce, the emperor instantly entered his mecha. After many years of peace, the Imperial City was once again facing an enemy.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The ground trembled as a mecha dropped down near Jiao Feng. Itnded outside of the imperial pce¡¯s walls and stared at the man.

    Jiao Feng was still unable to move.

    Xu Wuwei felt helpless. He had only just reported his sess to Lu Yin, and the moment he had, trouble had arisen. Given the circumstances, the man had no choice but to take action.

    The mecha moved to capture Jiao Feng, who was immobilized, yet it was clearly controlled by someone. The top priority was to get the man away.

    Xu Wuwei instantly released his Spiral Domain, which spread across the entire Imperial City. Lines of space, which should have been invisible to the naked eye, struck the mechas while leaving the people inside unharmed.

    There were at least twenty mechas within the Imperial City, but aside from the Pirs of Heaven''s mechas, all the others were stationed outside of the imperial pce.

    The moment that Xu Wuwei attacked, half of the mechas were defeated. Most mechas were not able to withstand Xu Wuwei¡¯s power.

    In fact, a mecha needed to at least be a twelve ring mecha to fight back against Xu Wuwei. After all, the man was a sequence powerhouse.

    The mecha that was trying to capture Jiao Feng was Regisword.

    The force of Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain pushed the mecha back and caused its energy shield to warp.

    Inside of Regisword, a middle-aged man was stunned by the sheer force being brought against him. The mecha''s rms red incessantly.

    Suddenly, a long de appeared, and the mecha shed it at Xu Wuwei, who had been targeted by the mecha.

    A cauldron appeared above Xu Wuwei. It was his lifebound voidforce puppet. Voidforce energy surged wildly, but the sword easily sliced through it, the attack continuing towards the cauldron.

    Xu Wuwei was stunned; had his voidforce energy been sliced through? What a sharp de!

    The de effortlessly split the void, the attack striking the cauldron with a deafening bang. Cracks started to spread across the cauldron, making Xu Wuwei''s heart ache. The sword was sharp, to an almost unimaginable degree. Xu Wuwei was by no means weaker than the Regisword. Rather, it was the sharpness of the sword that gave the mecha an advantage.

    However, regardless of how sharp a de might be, as long as it did not connect, there was no threat.

    At that moment, a sh appeared from the distance, and the attack mmed against Regisword¡¯s sword. This attack looked miniscule inparison to the mecha¡¯s massive de, and it was nearly invisible. However, the attack sessfully deflected the enormous de. The terrifying power behind the attack caught Huan Zhan''s attention, as it meant that another powerful opponent was present.

    At the same time, battles erupted in two other locations.

    A sea of abyssal flowers blossomed as Big Sis attacked Sorrowforge. As for Xia Shenji, he shed with a mecha that was covered with intricate engravings of flowers. This mecha was called Petalstorm, and it was piloted by Shang Qiu, who was the emperor''s sister.

    Fierce battles took ce in four corners around the imperial pce, and rms red across the entire city, prompting numerous evacuations.

    Hong Nian was standing in his courtyard, his face growing pale as he watched the distant battle. From where he stood, he was able to see Mu Ke''s battle against Regisword.

    Hong Nian was well aware of Regisword¡¯s power, having seen numerous imperial records. Regisword had not been built specifically for Huan Zhan, as it was an ancient machine. Huan Zhan was nothing more than the mecha¡¯stest pilot. Still, the mecha''s peerless sword was able to slice through anything, and even just looking at it could injure normal humans.

    Forged from the sharpest material the Infinity Empire had ever encountered, the sword represented the empire''s greatest weapon.

    At this moment, Hong Nian was watching someone fight against Regisword head on, and each time the peerless sword shed out, it was parried. The mecha was being pushed back. Just who were these people? They were all terrifyingly powerful.

    Hong Nian turned around to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was also observing the battle with great interest. As expected of the twelve-ring mecha, this weapon could withstand his senior brother''s attacks. While Lu Yin could no longer see sequence particles himself, he could sense that his senior brother was using them. Even so, the massive de was able to block Mu Ke¡¯s attacks.

    Twelve-ring mechas really were capable of fighting against sequence powerhouses.

    However, this battle would notst for very long. In the end, a mecha was not a living creature, and machines had limits. Holding Mu Ke back was already this mecha¡¯s limit.

    The imperial city had fallen into chaos. The battle between the Pirs of Heaven and the Sixverse Association¡¯s peak powerhouses had transformed the universe into a battlefield.

    Lu Yin was still as calm as ever. "Hong Nian."

    Hong Nian quickly looked over at the young man. "Yes, Lord Lu?"

    "Let''s go to the Energy Research Institute."

    Hong Nian was taken aback by thement, and he nced at the distant battle. As he did so, Regisword''s sword sliced upwards, splitting the void open to expose the Hollow. Hong Nian was left speechless by the sight.

    If that attack had struck another mecha, it would have been instantly destroyed.

    Lu Yin was unperturbed by the sight, and he reminded the other man, "Lead the way."

    Hong Nian admired Lu Yin''sposure. Even in the face of such an amazing battlefield, this man remained unfazed.

    Hong Nian had no idea what Lu Yin had lived through. Was this an intense battle? Not at all. In fact, it was far from enough to catch Lu Yin''s attention. It was just a small skirmish, nothing more.

    Mu Ke and the others could handle the situation, and Lu Yin wanted to see the Energy Research Institute.

    If a twelve-ring mecha could fight against sequence powerhouses, then what about a thirteen-ring mecha? Would that be at the level of the Seven Skygods? Maybe even as strong as an Ortuser?

    Mechas most likely could not reach the strength of an Ortuser, as that was an entirely different cultivation realm. Still, a thirteen-ring mech would likely possess the same level of strength as the Seven Skygods.

    If that was true, then Lu Yin would fully support the research, as he was doing whatever he could to ensure that humanity had more experts.

    Aeternus wanted to overpower humanity through outnumbering them with powerhouses. Lu Yin wanted to try the same thing, and he would use every method that was avable.

    The Infinity Empire could not be destroyed.

    Lu Yin had already given his people specific instructions, and they included a warning of just how important it was to preserve the Pirs of Heaven¡¯s mechas.

    Hong Nian showed the way, and Lu Yin moved at the speed of time to enter the imperial pce, which was where the Energy Research Institute was located. It was the most important facility in the entire Infinity Empire, as it formed the foundation of their strength.

    Following Hong Nian''s directions, Lu Yin arrived within the institute, only to be confronted by a scene that he could notprehend.

    There were various forms of energy on disy. They had been collected from the parallel universes the Infinity Empire had conquered.

    The ce was full of people, all of whom were the Infinity Empire¡¯s best researchers in the field of ring energy.

    From time to time, the floor shook, and dust would fall, but the people in the Energy Research Institute ignored it all. This was not because they did not fear death, but rather because they were in one of the empire¡¯s most secure locations. The people inside were not afraid of any battle that might break out outside of the institute.

 Chapter 3142: Cutting Corners?

    <h4>Chapter 3142: Cutting Corners?</h4>

    The Infinity Empire had discovered a material that could produce the sharpest de in their history, and that sword had been given to Regisword. The most durable material had been used to manufacture the Emperor''s mecha, Supreme, but some of it had been used to construct the Energy Research Institute.

    That was why the institute was regarded as the safest ce within the entire Infinity Empire. This was not even mentioning that it was located in the heart of the imperial pce.

    They were even protected by Supreme itself.

    "When one powerful enemy invaded the empire, they nearly destroyed all of the Pirs of Heaven, and even Regisword was shattered. In the end, only Supreme survived the attack. Despite the ferocity of that battle, the Energy Research Institute waspletely unscathed," Hong Nian exined.

    Lu Yin followed Hong Nian. The emperor would have never imagined that Lu Yin had already infiltrated the empire¡¯s most valued asset, as well as the one regarded as the most secure.

    Ring energy research was the institute''s primary focus, with a significant number of experts dedicated to that particr study. They were all located in the institute¡¯s deepest portion.

    As Hong Nian led Lu Yin inside, other people acted as though they did not see the two men. The only person speaking was a white-haired old man who was constantly giving out orders.

    "That¡¯s the head of the research institute. His teacher was the one who developed the twelve ring energy utilization rate, and his lifelong ambition is to surpass his mentor by developing thirteen ring energy," Hong Nian whispered.

    Lu Yin stood with his hands sped behind his back as he silently observed everything.

    Stellr energy was being analyzed by various instruments, and there were constantly people reporting on the observed data. All the while, the old man frowned as he concentrated intently. His dedication to his research bordered on madness, but only such a person could achieve the extraordinary.

    The floor trembled, and an alert was announced throughout the institute.

    The old man straightened up. "What¡¯s going on? Has this ce been breached?"

    "It¡¯s Regisword. It sliced through the upper levels of the institute."

    The old man shouted angrily, "Has Regisword betrayed us?"

    "No, the enemy redirected an attack that sliced through the imperial pce."

    The white-haired old man sighed, clearly irritated. "It¡¯s only to be expected. Any universe that can produce energy with the potential of reaching the power of thirteen rings must be terrifyingly powerful. They could even have lifeforms which possess that level of power¡ªno, they definitely have them. If they didn¡¯t, we would have never detected thirteen ring energy.

    "While the empire decisively retreated, we were still targeted."

    Lu Yin asked, "What should we do? Can the empire survive this attack?"

    The old man heaved another sigh. "It will be difficult. If the enemy sends those thirteen ring lifeforms here, the empire won¡¯t be able to do anything. There¡¯s a vast difference between twelve and thirteen ring energies. However, if those individuals aren¡¯t sent here, the empire won¡¯t necessarily lose. Supreme is very strong, and the Pirs of Heaven aren¡¯t weak either."

    "Still, it seems like they have quite a few experts. Supreme and the five Pirs of Heaven might not be enough," Lu Yin remarked.

    "As long as Supreme isn¡¯t destroyed, there will always be hope-" The old man suddenly stopped himself and yelled, "Who has the balls to speak up? Who is it?"

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was still standing in ce with his hands behind his back as he smiled at the old man. "Pleased to meet you. I am Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect."

    The old man stared at Lu Yin and then slowly moved his left hand behind his back.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Old man, do you have some tricks up your sleeve that you can use to protect yourself? You seem to recognize me."

    The old man¡¯s gaze was fixed on Lu Yin. "You are a cultivator."

    "That¡¯s right."

    "A cultivator from the universe which is currently attacking the empire."

    "Correct."

    "How did you get in here?" It was only then that the old man noticed Hong Nian. "Did you betray the empire?"

    Hong Nian sighed but remained silent.

    "ording to your empire''s standards, such a betrayal shouldn''t be any surprise," Lu Yin remarked.

    The old man chuckled. "You seem to have some knowledge about our Infinity Empire."

    "Just a bit," Lu Yin replied as he studied the old man. "Go ahead and do whatever you need. I won¡¯t stop you. Only after you¡¯ve tried everything you can will we be able to have a proper discussion."

    The old man¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You¡¯re very confident."

    Lu Yin smiled. "So far, there¡¯s nothing I¡¯ve seen in this universe that can threaten me."

    The white-haired man nced around, but everyone was staring at Lu Yin. Apprehension and suspicion could be seen on every face.

    "What are you staring at? Get back to work!" the old man barked.

    It was clear just how influential he was, as despite people¡¯s fear of Lu Yin, they all resumed their work.

    The floor shook again, and a speck of dust drifted through the air between the old man and Lu Yin.

    The white-haired man slowly walked to a corner of the room, speaking as he moved. "This ce isn¡¯t without its own defenses. If you can break past my defenses, I will surrender to you, ording to the empire¡¯s standards. Please, just don¡¯t damage the Energy Research Institute."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course."

    The Infinity Empire¡¯s strongest defense was the Emperor''s mecha, Supreme, but the Energy Research Institute had its own defense mechanisms. Still, the institute could not possibly surpass Supreme. Lu Yin knew this not because of what he knew about the Infinity Empire, but rather based on his understanding of human nature.

    If the emperor perished and the institute remained, it would simply serve another. Such a thing was meaningless for the emperor. That was why Supreme was guaranteed to possess the empire¡¯s strongest defense.

    If Lu Yin could not ovee the institute¡¯s defensive measures, how could he hope to defeat Supreme? His goal was topletely subdue the Infinity Empire, which was why he did not want any of the five Pirs of Heaven to be destroyed. Even if the empire relied on external power, their mechas were still powerful enough to contend against sequence powerhouses, which was exactly the sort of strength that Lu Yin needed most.

    The old man arrived in a corner and turned back to look at Lu Yin. Seeing that the young man really had not tried to interfere, the old man¡¯s heart sank. This young man was either very confident or very arrogant. Regardless, it indicated incredible strength. The old man was not ustomed to feeling so intimidated.

    <i>Let''s see if you''re actually confident or merely arrogant</i>, the old man thought to himself as he made a few adjustments. Dots of light started to appear throughout the Energy Research Institute, and they moved to gather around Lu Yin, where they formed a barrier that resembled a prison, trapping both Lu Yin and Hong Nian.

    These points of light could be manipted to appear anywhere within the institute. This was their means of self-defense.

    Hong Nian was startled. "Light barriers? I thought they said that that research failed!"

    The old man sneered. "Since the empire has a policy of surrendering when defeated, of course we also have measures in ce to protect ourselves from those who have betrayed us after surrendering. This light barrier is just one such measure. If you can get out of there with your own power, I will submit to you."

    Hong Nian lost all confidence.

    Lu Yin looked over. "What''s going on?"

    The man internally cursed Lu Yin for being careless, though Hong Nian was too scared to show his true feelings. He exined, "This light barrier is the most advanced technology that the empire discovered in another civilization. I can¡¯t exin the specifics, as I''m not part of the research teams, but this light barrier once managed to withstand abined attack of three twelve-ring mechas. It took Regisword twenty-nine attacks to break through this barrier. While this might not beparable to the defenses of Supreme, it is the closest out of anything that the empire possesses.

    ¡°Only something as sharp as Regisword¡¯s sword can break through this barrier."

    The old man nodded in agreement. "That¡¯s quite urate. This light barrier¡¯s defensive abilities are second only to Supreme, and even then, it isn¡¯t much of a gap. If you can break through this barrier, then it means that you have the ability to defeat Supreme as well. If that¡¯s true, then the entire Energy Research Institute will surrender to you."

    Lu Yin ced his hand on the light barrier and started pushing, but it never budged.

    <i>Interesting.</i> He gradually increased the amount of strength he used until he reached the maximum he was capable of without using Infinity or any visualization method, but the light barrier still did not show any reaction.

    The old man appeared to be quite pleased. The light barrier was a technology that had only seeded after decades of research. While this technology did not surpass the twelve ring energy that the old man¡¯s mentor had developed, it was still a noteworthy achievement, as the old man had introduced a new defensive ability to the empire.

    While the light barrier had not yet be widespread, it had the potential to significantly enhance the empire''s strength.

    Hong Nian nervously watched Lu Yin. The young man had to break out, or else they would be in serious trouble.

    The light barrier was able to withstand any attack weaker than Regisword¡¯s. Not even the powerful cultivators who had arrived in the empire with Lu Yin were guaranteed to be able to break through the barrier.

    Hong Nian did not want to be punished for his betrayal.

    Lu Yin praised, "This is quite the impressive defense. Honestly, it''s difficult to break through. Even a sequence powerhouse would struggle."

    Lu Yin¡¯sment did not reassure the old man at all. Instead, he felt even more nervous than ever. Lu Yin''s calmness was not what a person who was supposed to be captured should have.

    The moreposed Lu Yin appeared, the more frightened the old man became.

    Lu Yin nced at the old man before taking out a number of weapons from his cosmic ring. The weapons were of all different sizes and shapes, and many of them had bizarre appearances and looked unwieldy. They were all weapons that Lu Yin had acquired from Progenitor Guai¡¯s armory.

    Progenitor Guai had used his unique abilities to create many weapons from the rarest of materials. Such materials had been regarded as priceless treasures by even the Daosource Sect. Lu Yin had retrieved the weapons from the Progenitor¡¯s armory, which he had left at the bottom of the Astral River.

    Lu Yin had intended to Disassemble all of the weapons, but he had not found the chance to do so yet.

    Some of the weapons were enormous, while others were tiny, but all of them were impractical to actually use.

    Lu Yin started testing the weapons, striking at the light barrier with each weapon.

    While it was possible for him to break through the light barrier with brute strength, Lu Yin did not know if he could do so without damaging the Energy Research Institute. Since he had these weapons, he decided to try them instead.

    The old man, Hong Nian, and all the researchers present watched in stunned silence as Lu Yin tested each weapon.

    He shed with one and then stabbed with another. Despite the weapons¡¯ odd appearances and seeming impracticality, one of them managed to pierce the light barrier.

    The old man gaped in disbelief. How was this possible?

    Hong Nian was equally shocked. The light barrier was something that only the empire¡¯s sharpest de, Regisword, could breach. And yet, it had just been pierced by one of these strange weapons.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Sorry, but I have quite a few weapons, some of which are rather sharp."

    The old man had already anticipated that Lu Yin might be able to break through the light barrier by using overwhelming strength or some extraordinary weapon. Either scenario would have been impressive, but not really surprising. However, the actual oue almost felt like Lu Yin had cheated.

    <i>Does this even count?</i> the old man wondered.

    Even Hong Nian felt that Lu Yin had simply gotten lucky by having such a sharp weapon on hand.

    Lu Yin put away Progenitor Guai¡¯s weapons. He knew that he had another weapon that was capable of effortlessly slicing through the light barrier: the God of Death¡¯s scythe. Lu Yin had no idea what sort of material that weapon had been made from, but it was incredibly sharp, and it far surpassed Regisword.

    If Lu Yin had used the God of Death¡¯s scythe, he would have been able to slice through the barrier as though cutting through paper.

    However, that would have been overkill.

    No matter how sharp a weapon might be, it would be useless without someone skilled enough to wield it. Enemies would not simply stand still like the light barrier. If they did, there would be no reason for anyone to cultivate, as they could simply focus on gathering the right materials.

 Chapter 3143: Terrifying Defense

    <h4>Chapter 3143: Terrifying Defense</h4>

    The people of the Infinity Empire did not cultivate, which was why they valued rare materials so highly.

    Lu Yin stepped past the light barrier and smiled at the head researcher. "Old man, it''s time to fulfill your promise."

    The white-haired old man sighed. "Sir, this is really..."

    At that moment, the floor quacked violently, and the old man''s expression grew serious. "Supreme is taking action."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Supreme? The emperor''s mecha?"

    The old man looked at Lu Yin. "Do you want to see it in action?"

    Lu Yin gestured for the man to continue, and a disy soon appeared inside the Energy Research Institute that showed the battle being fought in the Imperial City.

    Mu Ke, Big Sis, Xu Wuwei, and Xia Shenji were all fighting against the Pirs of Heaven¡¯s giant mechas. While Lu Yin was in the Energy Research Institute, four of the five mechas had been fighting. Only three remained standing, as two had been dealt with. All five of the mechas had been activated during Lu Yin¡¯s time in the institute, but two of them had still fallen.

    Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World covered the sky above the Imperial City, producing a terrifying pressure. Xu Wuwei''s voidforce energy filled the entire capital like air.

    Behind Big Sis stood her Lord of the Abyss.

    The most striking figure was Mu Ke. When the disy turned on, it showed the sight of the Arborean¡¯s long saber chopping into the back the Regisword''s sword, splitting the de in two.

    Mu Ke¡¯s sequence particles allowed him to cut through anything. While his saber was not inherently sharp, his technique was difficult to counter.

    In the end, Regisword was a mecha piloted by a human. When fighting against a sequence powerhouse with the same amount of raw power as the mecha, especially one with as muchbat experience as Mu Ke, the mecha¡¯s defeat was inevitable.

    However, when fighting against opponents who had not yet reached the level of a sequence powerhouse, Regisword would conduct a one-sided ughter.

    The fall of Regisword was what instigated Supreme to take action.

    A mecha moved out from the depths of the imperial pce. It was half asrge as any of the other mechas, and it radiated a heavenly power. It punched at Mu Ke with a fist that instantly started glowing red. The punch pierced through the void and painted the previously white sky with red and ck.

    Mu Ke''s eyes narrowed, and he sensed that this was a dangerous attack. His eyes turned to look at the Supreme, and the man¡¯s saber slowly rose up. This was his attack that had once injured Corpse God. It took a terrifying amount of power to breach the defenses of the Seven Skygods. This was Mu Ke¡¯s Verseless, and it could even slice through thews of the universe.

    The saber¡¯s edge shed down.

    Supreme''s punch hesitated, and the power of its assault was stopped, though it still exploded, which sent Mu Ke flying.

    Inside the Energy Research Institute, Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. That was a truly powerful punch. Supreme was a mecha that absolutely had enough raw strength topare to the Seven Skygods. This was the result of gathering the greatest resources of the entire Infinity Empire.

    Brother Mu Ke''s Verseless had managed to stop the punch from advancing, but it had not been able to ovee the power of the attack.

    The emperor, who was was inside of Supreme, which was standing on the ground, was absolutely astonished. His punch had actually been blocked. That attack should have shattered any opponent, as it would have even cracked the hull of a twelve-ring mecha. Supreme was fundamentally different from any other mecha in existence, and even if everyst twelve-ring mecha in the Infinity Empire joined forces, they would not be able to match Supreme on its own.

    This mecha was the true foundation of the emperor¡¯s line to maintain their power over the Infinity Empire.

    However, an outsider had blocked Supreme¡¯s punch.

    Blocking that punch showed that this human had the strength to stand up to Supreme. It was no wonder why Regisword had been defeated. Such a formidable enemy could not be allowed to live.

    Thinking of this, the emperor took a step forward with his mecha. Supreme was so enormous that just one step moved the mecha out of the imperial pce and into the Imperial City. Immediately, the mecha was struck by a sh from the Shenwu World as a massive de fell from the sky.

    <i>ng!</i>

    A loud impact rang out, but a light barrier had appeared around Supreme. The Shenwu World¡¯s attacks could not breach the light barrier.

    A long sword formed in one of Supreme¡¯s hands, and the mecha sliced through the Shenwu World, the attack continuing on towards Xia Shenji.

    Xia Shenji''s face grew pale. How was this mecha so strong? The Progenitor had assumed that a technological civilization which relied on tools and outside strength would be easy to deal with.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin had never underestimated the Infinity Empire. They were bold enough to brazenly invade parallel universes, and in doing so, had plundered countless resources. That was precisely why Lu Yin had gathered Senior Brother Mu Ke and the others. However, it now looked like not even theirbined strength would be enough to ovee Supreme.

    The Energy Research Institute¡¯s head researcher let out a breath of relief. Supreme was still able to hold its ground. That mecha¡¯s terrifying strength was enough to turn the tide.

    If thirteen ring energy could be developed and then harnessed in Supreme, who knew what kind of power the mecha would be able to unleash! The mere thought caused the old man''s eyes to ze with excitement.

    In contrast, Hong Nian looked despondent when he saw the invincible might of Supreme again. The man had known that Lu Yin¡¯s universe was strong, but they were not able to defeat Supreme. If these people retreated from the Infinity Empire, Hong Nian would have to go with them. He could not stay in the empire.

    Supreme''s sword tore through the void, and Xia Shenji was forced to quickly dodge. Elsewhere, Xu Wuwei struck at Supreme with voidforce energy, but the mecha remained unmoved. A bead appeared behind Xu Wuwei, and it hurtled towards him from a distant mecha.

    That mecha was called Intelcore, and it was piloted by Yi. Intelcore did not possess any powerful offensive abilities, but it was the empire¡¯s best mecha when it came to analyzing energy or identifying an enemy¡¯s weaknesses.

    While Xu Wuwei had attacked Supreme, Intelcore had seized the right moment to strike. Fortunately, Xu Wuwei had mastered the power of space, which allowed him to evade the attack.

    Still, he was prevented from joining the assault on Supreme.

    Big Sis was fighting against Petalstorm. The Progenitor had already defeated one mecha, and while Petalstorm was not a match for Big Sis, she needed a bit of time to defeat it.

    Supreme did not want to give Big Sis the time she needed, and the mecha raised its long sword to strike.

    In the depths of the Energy Research Institute, Lu Yin''s eyes focused tightly. It was time for him to take action.

    A step forward caused him to disappear.

    The white-haired old man noticed that Lu Yin had vanished. "Is he going to join the fight? He''s just a young man."

    Hong Nian''s expression fell. "That man is the ruler of those cultivators¡¯ universe."

    The old man was startled by this news, and he fell silent. Already, the disy they were watching showed Lu Yin appear in the sky, high above the Imperial City.

    Supreme''s sword shed through the abyssal flowers, forcing Big Sis to quickly evade.

    From another direction, Mu Ke''s saber sliced through Supreme''s light barrier, oveing the obstacle with sequence particles. However, Supreme itself remained unscathed.

    The emperor had been waiting for Mu Ke¡¯s attack. Out of everyone present, Mu Ke posed the greatest threat.

    Mu Ke''s saber targeted an opening that the emperor had deliberately created. As Mu Ke''s de sliced out, the light barrier reappeared, and the man¡¯s saber was trapped within it. Although Mu Ke could retract his de, he needed time to do so, but that was time he could not afford to waste. The only other option was to abandon his weapon, which was unthinkable for a warrior like Mu Ke.

    The emperor exploited this opportunity, and he threw a punch at Mu Ke.

    The man¡¯s eyes narrowed, and although he did not seem to do anything, he vanished, narrowly avoiding the mecha¡¯s punch.

    Inside Supreme, the emperor was perplexed. How had the man dodged that punch?

    Lu Yin, on the other hand, had seen what had happened quite clearly. Mu Ke had used Origin Tracer.

    The battle had fallen into a stalemate, and only Lu Yin could break the deadlock.

    He slowly clenched a fist and narrowed his focus. Infinity appeared, and the lines of strength started colliding as Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed and confined his attack with the power of time.

    Instantly, rms started ring inside of the mecha. The emperor immediately focused on Lu Yin. What was happening?

    Before the mecha¡¯s pilot could even react, Lu Yin''s punchnded. The attack easily sted through the light barrier and mmed into Supreme''s hull with a thunderous impact. The void shattered and the ground broke apart. The sky cracked, and spatial tears radiated in all directions.

    It was as a st of lightning had exploded above the Imperial City.

    Supreme staggered back, and the emperor struggled to keep his mecha standing upright. Each step back left deep prints in the ground.

    Lu Yin looked down at his fist. Even that attack had been ineffective. While Lu Yin¡¯s punch wasparable to the power of Mu Ke¡¯s Verseless, since Mu Ke could not ovee the mecha¡¯s defenses, then neither could Lu Yin.

    He was amazed by Supreme¡¯s abilities. "That thing really is tough! No wonder you''re so confident that it can''t be destroyed."

    Lu Yin''s punch shocked almost everyone who saw it. The citizens of the Infinity Empire were rendered speechless, and even their emperor was dumbfounded. Could a human being really deliver a punch with that much power behind it?

    In the Energy Research Institute, the old man and Hong Nian were stunned. They were ordinary humans, and they could not even imagine that a person could release so much power without a tool or a weapon.

    Lu Yin had shattered the light barrier with a single punch. This meant that he had just been ying around with the light barrier that had trapped him in the institute. He could have broken free even without his bizarre weapons.

    Lu Yin''s punch had also startled Mu Ke, who had not seen Lu Yin''s new level of power after his return from the Mirari Realm. The Arborean had only heard that Lu Yin had driven Di Qiong back and overwhelmed Sovereign Lotus, but hearing about something and witnessing it in person were two different things.

    This punch shook Mu Ke, while it startled Xia Shenji, Xu Wuwei, and even Big Sis.

    Every eye in the Imperial City was fixed on Lu Yin at this moment, and all of them were filled with disbelief.

    However, Lu Yin was staring down at his fist. "I can''t break it, so I¡¯ll have to suppress it."

    He looked up at Supreme. "I''ll treat you like someone at the level of the Seven Skygods, though there¡¯s one thing that youckpared to people at that level. You¡¯re too clumsy."

    With that, Lu Yin visualized thendmass in his inner universe while also releasing that universe. The two ovepped, and a tremor ran through the entire Imperial City.

    The emperor felt an instinctive sense of danger. Even in Supreme, he felt a sense of impending doom.

    The man red at Lu Yin. "Who are you people? Why are you attacking my Infinity Empire?"

    Lu Yin looked at him calmly. "I''ll tell you after I defeat you."

    The emperor gritted his teeth. "What a joke! Do you think that you can defeat Supreme?"

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and thendmass from his inner universe grewrger andrger until it overshadowed the entire Imperial City. It looked as though the ground and the sky had been reversed.

    "Crush."

    Thendmass dropped down upon Supreme.

    The mecha stood tall. There was nothing in the entire Imperial City that could match its height, and that forced Supreme to bear the brunt of thendmass¡¯s weight.

    Supreme raised its arms to hold thendmass back. There was a tremendous boom as the two made contact, and Supreme was forced down to one knee. Inside, the emperor''s face twisted from shock. What kind of power was this? It felt like he was holding up the entire universe, and the force only continued to increase.

    "Your Majesty, let me help!" Yi directed Intelcore over, and the mecha started attacking the fallingndmass.

    Petalstorm joined in, and it alsoshed out at thendmass.

    All of their efforts were futile, as thendmass refused to budge from their attacks.

    Lu Yin was perfectly calm. This attack had even crushed Feng Bo and forced him to vomit blood. There was no need to worry about these mechas.

    Still, Lu Yin wascking a bit of power. While Supreme was not as strong as Feng Bo, the mecha¡¯s defenses were at least equal to the man¡¯s, if not better. Lu Yin needed to up the pressure even further.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book appeared, and golden light illuminated the Infinity Empire as vitality infused thendmass in the sky.

    There was a stark difference between a lifelessnd and and filled with vitality.

    The moment thendmass was infused with vitality, Supreme''s arms started to falter, and cracks appeared. The emperor''s face turned red as he struggled to maintain control of the mecha. Supreme was being overpowered. How could such a terrifying power exist? The Infinity Empire had faced many crises in the past, but Supreme had always managed to save the day. Unfortunately, this time, even Supreme was rendered helpless.

 Chapter 3144: Lu Yin And The Divine Eagle

    <h4>Chapter 3144: Lu Yin And The Divine Eagle</h4>

    The underground portion of the Energy Research Institute continued to crack and break. The head researcher was badly shaken, and his face was filled with disbelief. Since cracks had appeared in Supreme, it meant that the mecha had surpassed its limits and that it would no longer be able to endure. Aside from the emperor himself, the old man understood Supreme the best.

    Hong Nian clenched his fists, excitement rekindling in his eyes. He had won his gamble. It had been the right choice to surrender to the cultivators.

    ¡°Your Majesty, surrender,¡± the old man advised, his message reaching the emperor inside Supreme.

    The emperor was ovee with both grief and rage, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. As the cracks in the mecha¡¯s hull continued to increase, he had no choice but to shout, ¡°I concede! State your demands!¡±

    Darkness covered the Infinity Empire, casting a pall of doom over the Imperial City.

    To the countless inhabitants of the Infinity Empire, Lu Yin looked like a deity, as only a god could force Supreme to its knees.

    As soon as Lu Yin heard the emperor''s surrender, he sped his hands behind his back and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. Starting today, the Infinity Empire will obey me."

    The emperor¡¯s expression turned grim, but he did not argue.

    The people of the empire had always known that their relentless conquest of other parallel universes would eventually result in them encountering an unimaginable adversary. Even so, what choice did they have? The Infinity Empire always needed more resources. Without conducting their invasions, they wouldck the resources they needed to even sustain themselves, let alone increase their power.

    It was a vicious cycle, and destruction was the inevitable destination.

    The vicious cycle would inevitably lead to their doom. They had hoped against hope that they would not meet a civilization that was capable of destroying them, or at least that it would happen to a future generation.

    However, the day had finallye, and it had arrived so abruptly.

    Thendmass overhead disappeared, and the sky grew bright once again.

    In the imperial pce, Lu Yin sat on the emperor¡¯s throne while looking around with open curiosity.

    He had never used such a seat himself. A throne was a symbol of absolute power, and Lu Yin did not aspire to sit on something so ostentatious.

    Big Sis watched from down below, clearly amused.

    Xu Wuwei rubbed his shoulders. The battle had been intense, but fighting against machines instead of people was strange.

    The emperor and various officials were also present in the room. The empire¡¯s mechas had been repaired, which meant that their physical presence demonstrated that Lu Yin currently controlled whether they lived or died.

    All the people here were ordinary humans, and they were utterly incapable of resisting.

    Among the gathered people were the Pirs of Heaven, all of whom had been captured, the Energy Research Institute¡¯s lead researcher, Hong Nian, and the imperial princes and princesses: Shang Tianzong, Shang Cheng, and Shang An¡¯an.

    Shang An''an nced at Bu Qing, who was standing beside Hong Nian. The princess understood that the invaders had found their way to this universe because of Bu Qing and the other captives.

    The princess then looked at Lu Yin, marveling that a human could single-handedly overpower her father¡¯s Supreme.

    Shang Tianzong felt incredibly resentful. He had not yet taken the throne, but it had already been lost.

    Shang Cheng was more resigned than resentful. He hadpeted for the throne out of necessity; if he had not done so, he would have perished long ago. Competing for the throne had given him a fighting chance. The prince epted his fate more readily after Lu Yin seized control of the Infinity Empire.

    Lu Yin''s eyes swept over everyone present before they finally settled onto the emperor himself. "How is Supreme?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s question caused the crowd''s demeanor to shift, and the mutual scrutiny instantly stopped.

    The emperor answered, "It has been sent for repairs."

    "What is the source of its impressive defenses? The materials that it¡¯s made from?" Lu Yin was curious.

    Mu Ke and the others were also quite curious about this question.

    Mu Ke had experienced Supreme¡¯s defenses firsthand, as his saber had not been able to damage the mecha at all.

    The emperor nodded. "Yes, its materials. We can produce and utilize ring energy, and we are also able to refine various materials into their most effective forms in order to produce even more durable substances."

    Lu Yin praised, "What impressive technology. While such a thing might not be of much use to those at our level, it''s still quite remarkable. Continue your research, especially on developing thirteen-ring energy."

    The white-haired old man spoke up, "Lord Lu, you want us to continue researching thirteen-ring energy?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Of course. I want you to develop that technology as it will provide me with even greater support. Without that, your current capabilities are of limited use."

    The emperor was baffled by that statement. He regarded his empire as very powerful, before encountering Lu Yin, and thisment made the emperor wonder if Lu Yin had even more powerful adversaries.

    That was a chilling thought. Exploring parallel universes was truly perilous.

    "Lord Lu, may I ask what you want of us?" Shang An''an asked in a respectful tone after bowing.

    Lu Yin replied, "Help me connect a few parallel universes and then serve as my vanguard."

    Shang An''an was taken aback. "Vanguard?"

    ...

    Ring energy cut through the void to form a massive passage. On one side of the passagey the Origin Universe, and on the other sidey the Lost n''s universe.

    This was the first thing that Lu Yin did after he returned to the Heavens Sect; he personally watched as the Infinity Empire used their ring energy to create stable passageways that connected parallel universes.

    From this point forward, there would be no need to tear through the void to move between the Lost n''s universe and the Origin Universe. People could simply pass through the passage.

    Of course, people who were capable of tearing straight through the void would still find it more convenient to do so, butvery few people were able to travel directly between the two universes.

    The most crucial aspect of this connectiony in its strategic advantage. Regardless of whether Aeternus attacked the Lost n or the Origin Universe, either universe would be able to react instantly. The person standing guard over the ring energy passage was a Pir of Heaven, and it was a task given to the Infinity Empire.

    The emperor had been reluctant to send the Pirs of Heaven to assist the Sixverse Association, but there was no choice in the matter. The emperor himself no longer had the authority to make any decisions for his people.

    In the entire Infinity Empire, there were seven twelve-ring mechas, five of which were the Pirs of Heaven. Another was the emperor''s Supreme, and thest was piloted by the marshal of the empire¡¯s armed forces, Bu Wu¡¯s Fortress.

    However, the empire¡¯s armies had stopped their invasions, and Bu Wu had returned to the Imperial City, where he awaited orders from the Heavens Sect.

    The empire¡¯s smarter individuals were all looking to the Heavens Sect, as in the future, the Heavens Sect would be the one making decisions for the empire.

    As for Hong Nian, he retained his position as the empire''s Minister of the Armory, but he now answered to the Heavens Sect, acting as their eyes and ears within the Infinity Empire.

    The Energy Research Institute continued studying how to develop thirteen-ring energy. Lu Yin hoped for the research to seed, as it would add even more powerful warriors to their ranks.

    Naturally, Lu Yin had already ced certain measures to ensure that he would maintain control and that the Infinity Empire would not be able to escape from him.

    With a connection established between the Origin Universe and the Lost n''s universe, Lu Yin finally felt a sense of relief. This step would give the reestablished Heavens Sect a real chance at regaining is ancient glory.

    He stared intently at the passage created with ring energy and then turned towards the Perennial World. There was something that he had always wanted to do, but had not done yet: speak with the Divine Eagle and the Ancestor Python. The two massive creatures lived in the Perennial World, and unless absolutely necessary, they refused to participate when Aeternus attacked. Lu Yin could not ept their refusal to fight.

    He needed to find out just what the two colossal beasts were up to.

    He intended to first approach the Divine Eagle, and then visit the Ancestor Python. There was a simple reason; Lu Yin remembered that, when he and Bai Xian''er had asked the Ancestor Python for help in dealing with Undying God, the massive snake had recognized the Lu family bloodline and then spat at Lu Yin multiple times. If not for the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sword, Lu Yin had no idea how much more he would have had to endure.

    Lu Yin was ignorant of any grudges the Ancestor Python might have with the Lu family, but the Divine Eagle should be easier tomunicate with, despite the bird¡¯s apparent arrogance.

    Before long, Lu Yin entered the Perennial World and made his way straight to the Dominion Realm and the top of the Mother Tree. He looked out at the sprawling branches and saw traces of the Progenitors who had lived in the Dominion Realm in the past.

    In hindsight, cing Progenitor Ku in the center of the Dominion Realm might have been the most ironic assignment. That Progenitor was a monster who had managed to survive through invading the First Scourge on his own. However, if not for Progenitor Ku being given a central region of the Dominion Realm, Lu Yin would have never acquired Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    That technique had yed a truly pivotal role in Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation.

    He passed through the Dominion Realm and arrived at the very top of the Mother Tree, where Lu Yin saw the Divine Eagle.

    The bird was majestic and intimidating. It radiated arrogance and pride. The Divine Eagle had stayed at the very top of the Mother Tree for countless years as endless generations of humans lived and died. This had continued since the Heavens Sect era. The Divine Eagle and Ancestor Python had both lived since that ancient era, and they were most likely not much younger than the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin stood in front of the Divine Eagle.

    The bird continued to stare straight ahead, much like a statue gazing into the distance.

    Lu Yin was directly in the Divine Eagle¡¯s line of sight, but the beast showed no reaction and behaved as though it had not seen Lu Yin.

    After a while, Lu Yin realized that he would not be able to oust the bird¡¯s patience, so he spoke up first. "I¡¯m talking to you. Can you understand me?"

    The Divine Eagle did not react at all, and it continued to stare straight ahead.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I''m speaking to you."

    The Divine Eagle still did not react.

    Lu Yin frowned, and then shouted, "Divine Eagle-!"

    Still, the bird did not react at all.

    Lu Yin looked at the beast as it continued to stare straight ahead without revealing any indication of being alive. Had it died?

    Lu Yin tested that question by waving a hand and sending a st of wind towards the Divine Eagle. Its feathers were ruffled, but there was no other reaction.

    Lu Yin suddenly looked down, where he saw someone approaching him. It was Nong Yi.

    Nong Yi had heard amotion and had hurried over. As soon as the man saw Lu Yin, he offered a slow bow. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin acknowledged the man with a nod. "What brings you here?"

    Nong Yi replied, "I happened to be in the Dominion Realm when I heard a loud noise, so I came to investigate. Your shout was quite loud, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin knew that he had been very loud, as he had been hoping to startle the Divine Eagle, but not even his shout had managed to elicit the slightest reaction.

    "Are you trying tomunicate with the Divine Eagle? That''s not going to be easy. The Divine Eagle is very arrogant and doesn''t react to anyone. Even when the four ruling powers¡¯ Progenitors tried to speak to the beast, they failed. They ended up spending many years up here in vain," Nong Yi cautioned.

    Lu Yin nodded as he continued to stare at the Divine Eagle. "So it¡¯s arrogant, huh? Maybe it''s just deaf."

    The Divine Eagle''s pupils suddenly shrank, and a sharp gaze fixed upon Lu Yin as the bird gave him a cold re.

    The Divine Eagle was incredibly powerful, and it had lived since the era of the Heavens Sect, when it had perched on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s shoulders. Even if the bird¡¯s strength was not equal to the top human powerhouses, such as the Three Realms and Six Daos, it could not be very far off. Lu Yin had seen the scene of the Divine Eagle snatching a massive fish out of the water in the memories of a martial art that Wu Tian had shared with him.

    Being stared at by such a creature would cause almost anyone to quiver, but Lu Yin was unfazed. He had already faced death, and not even True God had been able to kill Lu Yin. What was there to fear from a mere eagle?

    "So, you can understand me," Lu Yin stated as he met the Divine Eagle''s gaze.

    The bird¡¯s re grew even colder.

    "What¡¯s that look for? You don¡¯t like being called deaf?" Lu Yin mocked.

    Down below, Nong Yi quickly left, though not without leaving a parting remark. "There was once a traitorous Progenitor who fought in the Dominion Realm. He cursed the Divine Eagle and ended up being torn to pieces. Dao Monarch, it seems to absolutely hate being insulted."

    Lu Yin chuckled. Who enjoyed being insulted? What mattered was the one saying the insults.

    He called the Divine Eagle deaf again, and the bird¡¯s stare intensified. It red at Lu Yin with increasing malice, and the pressure in the area intensified as the light faded a great deal.

 Chapter 3145: Just Bored

    <h4>Chapter 3145: Just Bored</h4>

    Lu Yin gazed at the Divine Eagle. "How long did you follow the Origin Progenitor for?"

    As soon as the Origin Progenitor was mentioned, the coldness in the Divine Eagle''s eyes instantly faded. There was a brief fluctuation, and then the bird resumed staring off into the distance.

    "The Origin Progenitor developed the first path of cultivation for humanity, protected them, and created the glorious Heavens Sect. You and the Ancestor Python are both part of his legacy. Now that the Origin Progenitor is gone, are you two really going to do nothing?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Divine Eagle continued to stare off into the distance, its expression unchanging.

    Lu Yin felt a headache growing. The Divine Eagle had its own thoughts, but it was not human. It was possible that the bird only cared for the Origin Progenitor. However, if that was the case, then why had it not followed the Origin Progenitor to the Immemorial Citadel?

    "Why are you here in the Fifth Maind?" Lu Yin inquired.

    The Divine Eagle did not react.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath and then smiled at the Divine Eagle. "Feathered idiot."

    The Divine Eagle''s eyes abruptly twitched and moved to stare at Lu Yin. Fury filled its gaze.

    Lu Yin red right back, clearly upset. "I asked you a question. Even if you don''t want to help humanity, can''t you at least respond? Do I have to insult you to get a reaction? You need a beating, don''t you?"

    The Divine Eagle finally moved, and the branches of the Mother Tree shook as the bird¡¯s eyes grew colder than ever. It was clearly about to attack.

    Lu Yin was prepared. He did not want to be ignored by the Divine Eagle, and even being attacked would be better than being treated as a statue. If he could subdue the bird, it would be ideal. The Divine Eagle and the Ancestor Python were both incredibly powerful, though they were absolutely not as strong as the Three Realms and Six Daos or the Seven Skygods. If they were, the Ancestor Python would not have merely trapped Undying God, but rather killed him.

    With his current strength, Lu Yin was confident that he could suppress both beasts.

    At this moment, a figure emerged from the void. Lu Yin looked over in surprise. "Ancestor?"

    The neer was none other than Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s arrival caused the Divine Eagle to bristle. Its talons flexed as it stared at Lu Yuan with eyes even colder than when Lu Yin had insulted it. The beast looked ready to attack.

    Lu Yuan was surprised to see Lu Yin confronting the Divine Eagle. After a moment, he sighed. "Little Seven, why are you bothering with these two stubborn beasts?"

    The Divine Eagle let out a screech and raised its talons to strike Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "My descendant is right here, and yet you¡¯re still being so reckless? If you embarrass me, no one wille out of this looking good."

    The Divine Eagle''s talons abruptly stopped just short of Lu Yuan and Lu Yin. It then pulled its talons back and red at Lu Yuan before flying away, obviously frustrated.

    Lu Yin was astonished. "Ancestor, what just happened?"

    Lu Yuan sighed. "The two beasts are powerful, but if I was able to make them take action, I would have done so long ago. Unfortunately, there''s some bad blood between us. They''re both very vindictive and refuse to help our family at all, and there''s nothing we can do about it. Little Seven, just act like the two don''t even exist."

    Lu Yin grew exasperated. "Ancestor, given their strength and the fact that they followed the Origin Progenitor, it''s hard to simply ignore them. Is there really no way to get them to help us?"

    Ancestor Lu Yuan sighed heavily. "That¡¯s my fault. When I was young and reckless, I offended both of them quite badly. There¡¯s really nothing to be done."

    Lu Yin felt curious. "Ancestor, what did you do to offend them so badly?"

    He had always suspected that the reason why the Ancestor Python had spat at him when he had sought the snake¡¯s help against Undying God was because of some ancient grievance with Lu Yuan. Of anyone from the Lu family, only Ancestor Lu Yuan seemed capable of provoking such a strong reaction from the beast.

    The only other member of the Lu family with the strength to offend the Ancestor Python was Lu Tianyi, and Lu Yin did not feel like the man had the personality to offend Ancestor Python.

    Lu Yuan looked rather embarrassed as he answered, "Let''s just say that the two are quite foolish. You don''t need to know any details."

    The more Lu Yuan avoided the matter, the more curious Lu Yin became.

    At that moment, Hongyan Mavis appeared. "What¡¯s wrong? Are you too ashamed to tell your descendant about your past?"

    Lu Yin turned to Hongyan Mavis. "Senior, what brings you here?"

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "I just wanted to see some old friends. It¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve seen the Divine Eagle or the Ancestor Python. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever have the chance again."

    She turned to look at Lu Yuan again. "He¡¯s the current Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, and he¡¯s responsible for everything. The Divine Eagle and Ancestor Python are powerful assets, and it¡¯s a waste to not resolve old grudges and put them to good use, isn¡¯t it, Lu Yuan?"

    Lu Yuan''s expression fell, and he coughed. Lu Yin continued to watch curiously as his ancestor reluctantly said, "It¡¯s nothing serious, it¡¯s just a few small matters. They¡¯re just overly sensitive."

    "What kind of small matters?" Lu Yin was intrigued.

    Hongyan Mavisughed as she stared at Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan red at Hongyan Mavis before slowly exining. "When ites to the Divine Eagle, I might have plucked a few of its feathers."

    Lu Yin arched a brow, but he continued to stare at his ancestor.

    "I made a fan out of its feathers and gave it to Master as a gift. He was very pleased with it and he praised me for being filial. So then, I almost plucked the bird bald," Lu Yuan admitted awkwardly.

    Lu Yin blinked as he tried to imagine the Divine Eagle stripped of almost all its feathers. Considering the beast¡¯s current majestic appearance, such a thing was hard to picture. It made sense for it to hold a deep grudge.

    Hongyan Mavis chided, "Master didn¡¯t need that fan. He just appreciated your gesture because it showed that you were thinking of him first. But you took things too far. You chased after the Divine Eagle to pluck its feathers, and it became so scared that it wouldn¡¯t show its face and clung to Master¡¯s shoulder, which exhausted him."

    ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter, nothing big,¡± Lu Yuan said with augh as he tried to cover up his embarrassment.

    ¡°Nothing else? Go ahead and share all of your glorious aplishments with your descendant,¡± Hongyan Mavis pressed.

    Lu Yuan shot another re at the woman. ¡°Nope, there¡¯s nothing else. That was all.¡±

    Hongyan Mavis sneered. ¡°What about how you taught the Arkfish to tease the Divine Eagle?¡±

    Lu Yin was startled. There was more? If there was something the Divine Eagle hated the most, it had to be the Arkfish. The Origin Progenitor had originally used the Arkfish to train the Divine Eagle, but the Arkfish had been too slippery an adversary. The Divine Eagle had never been able to catch the fish, which had proven to be quite humiliating.

    ¡°The Divine Eagle could have caught the Arkfish, but your ancestor here thought that things weren¡¯t entertaining enough, so he taught the Arkfish how to dodge and tease the Divine Eagle. The Arkfish got the hang of things, and the Divine Eagle couldn¡¯t figure out how to deal with it. After that, there was a mischievous fish and an eagle that could never catch it,¡± Hongyan Mavis exined.

    Lu Yin was stunned. ¡°Ancestor, you¡¯re quite the prankster.¡±

    Lu Yuanughed awkwardly. ¡°They¡¯re just small matters, nothing much.¡±

    ¡°Then why did the Ancestor Python spit at me?¡± Lu Yin asked out of reflex. He suspected that his ancestor might have treated the Ancestor Python even worse than the Divine Eagle.

    Lu Yuan instantly grew furious when he heard Lu Yin¡¯sment. ¡°What? That old snake dared to spit at you? I¡¯ll skin it and make shoes from it!¡±

    Hongyan Mavis burst intoughter and nearly doubled over. ¡°It spat at you? Hahaha! Yes, it should have spat at you. It was already being polite by not smacking you. Do you know? Your ancestor used the Ancestor Python as bait when fishing for the Arkfish. He also drained the snake¡¯s blood, iming that it was good for digestion. He also stuffed its mouth with socks before using the Ancestor Python to whip the Divine Eagle. There were so many incidents! I can¡¯t even count all of his pranks.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned. This exined everything. It was no wonder why the Ancestor Python had spat at Lu Yin after confirming that he was a member of the Lu family. If he were the Ancestor Python, spitting would certainly be regarded as being polite.

    Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor had been too wicked.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered something the Origin Progenitor had mentioned; of his disciples, Loam had been the most mischievous. Sure enough, Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor had acted up quite a bit.

    Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. ¡°Why did you have to bring those matters up?¡±

    Hongyan Mavis just warned Lu Yin, ¡°I would suggest that you don¡¯t bother either of those two. They¡¯ll never listen to you, not even if you beat them to death, hahaha!¡±

    Lu Yin sighed. ¡°Ancestor, you really knew how to have fun.¡±

    Lu Yuan grew even more awkward. ¡°Well, Little Seven, some of these things weren''t my fault. I was just... bored.¡±

    Lu Yin had nothing to say to that. Being bored was no excuse to mess with others, and Lu Yuan¡¯s actions meant that the two powerful beasts would not interact with humans at all.

    Lu Yuan left, and so did Hongyan Mavis. The Divine Eagle had flown off in disgust after seeing Lu Yuan, which left Lu Yin alone at the top of the Mother Tree, and he stared out at the empty branches. It seemed that trying tomunicate with either the Divine Eagle or the Ancestor Python would bepletely impossible.

    Especially with the Ancestor Python. Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor had gone too far, even in Lu Yin''s opinion. It would be impossible to resolve the grudges that the two beasts held towards Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. If a direct approach would not work, then could an indirect method work? After all, there was still that mischievous fish, right?

    Also, there was Wilderness God.

    That reminded Lu Yin of something, and he quickly went to the Lu Sanctum.

    Lu Yuan had only just returned himself when he saw Lu Yin approaching. The old man¡¯s expression soured. This brat was being too disrespectful to his ancestor. What was he doing? Coming to taunt Lu Yuan even more? It was true that things were Lu Yuan¡¯s fault, but did his descendant need to chase after him?

    Lu Yuan decided to go into seclusion, and he refused to see Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had not gone to the Lu Sanctum to taunt his ancestor, but rather to ask about Wilderness God. Since he was unable to speak with Lu Yuan, Lu Yin turned to Hongyan Mavis instead.

    "Are you saying that Yellowy isn''t dead?" Hongyan Mavis asked in shock.

    Lu Yin nodded, his expression serious. "He used a method that can resurrect him. It¡¯s called the Wilderness Sutra, and the Astral Beast Domain has been collecting humanoid sourceboxes in order to resurrect Wilderness God. These humanoid sourceboxes..."

    As Lu Yin exined the situation, Hongyan Mavis''s smile slowly slipped away. It looked like she was remembering something.

    Lu Yin did not rush the woman. After all, what he was telling her was a rather heavy matter.

    Lu Yin did not know how the Fourth Maind had been destroyed, but Hongyan Mavis certainly did. Wilderness God had used his Wilderness Sutra to control the humanoid sourceboxes, while disguising the Stone Reversal Technique as a means of controlling the people frozen in the sourceboxes. However, the truth was that the Stone Reversal Technique would resurrect Wilderness God himself. The fact that Wilderness God had used the Wilderness Sutra to scatter himself among countless astral beasts which were then frozen in sourceboxes suggested that Wilderness God might not have given his all during the battle that had destroyed the Fourth Maind. Lu Yin felt that Wilderness God might have even intentionally allowed the Maind to be destroyed in order to free astral beasts from the envement of humans.

    From Wilderness God''s perspective, such an action would have made sense. Astral beasts were astral beasts, while humans were humans. If it was possible for astral beasts to break free from their bondage to humanity, then whether or not humanity survived would not matter to the astral beasts. However, Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis were both human, and their perspective was different. They had to consider Wilderness God''s possible actions.

    After a long period of silence, Hongyan Mavis softly said, "We can''t allow him to revive."

    Lu Yin was not surprised. "You also think that reviving Wilderness God would be a bad idea, Senior?"

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "Yellowy was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciple, but he was still an astral beast. The Origin Progenitor took Yellowy as a disciple in order to ally humanity with the astral beasts. Back then, there were too few human powerhouses. While the Origin Progenitor was formidable, or even invincible, it was not an option to annihte all the astral beasts in our universe, and a war with them would have been disastrous for humanity, just because of their sheer numbers.

    "So, the Origin Progenitor took Yellowy in as a way to form an alliance with the astral beasts. Master used his unbeatable strength to buy time for humanity to grow stronger. It was only after the Heavens Sect was established that humanity was able to stand on the same level as the astral beasts."

 Chapter 3146: The Past

    <h4>Chapter 3146: The Past</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression grew conflicted. "The Origin Progenitor never intended to enve the astral beasts. He just wanted humans and astral beasts to coexist peacefully. However, not even Master can control human nature. Despite his efforts to suppress humanity¡¯s tendency to enve the astral beasts, he wasn¡¯t able to ovee human nature.

    "We got along very well with Yellowy. While he was an astral beast, we never ostracized him. Often, before our cultivation was very developed, he took us to parallel universes to y. However, as time passed and humans started enving more and more astral beasts, he started to distance himself from the rest of us. He isted himself on the Fourth Maind, where he gathered astral beasts in order to prevent them from being enved by humans."

    Hongyan Mavis looked at Lu Yin. "The first Maind to be destroyed was the First Maind. No one knows how or why it happened, but even with the Origin Progenitor present, it was still destroyed. After that, the Fourth Maind was next, though a considerable amount of time passed between the two events. We were all still investigating the mystery of the First Maind''s destruction, and we had never anticipated that another Maind would be destroyed.

    "During that time, we didn''t pay much attention to the Fourth Maind itself, so it was only after it was destroyed that we became vignt. Unfortunately, that was far toote.

    "In hindsight, it seems possible that the Fourth Maind''s destruction didn¡¯te about solely due to external influence. It¡¯s possible that the astral beasts yed a role as well, and I''m afraid that even Yellowy might have been involved."

    Lu Yin said, "That''s rather unlikely. If he had been involved, he would have betrayed humanity like Gu Yizhi."

    Hongyan Mavis exhaled. "That¡¯s true."

    "Still, it might have been at least partially destroyed due to Wilderness God''s indifference. While he might not have helped Aeternus, he certainly didn''t stop them," Lu Yin spected.

    Hongyan Mavis remained silent.

    Yellowy had once been such a genuine and straightforward individual, but as time passed, he had changed. He had be distant and resentful when he looked at the others.

    In that era, despite the Three Realms and Six Daos¡¯ overwhelming power and dominance across the six Mainds, many things had remained hidden and unknown to them. This was especially true due to the fact that their secluded training sessions couldst for ages, and entire generations of humanity would rise and fall during that time. It was impossible for the Three Realms and Six Dao to fully grasp the Origin Universe.

    Not even the Origin Progenitor had been able to aplish such a thing.

    After hearing some answers from Hongyan Mavis, Lu Yin became more determined to not allow Wilderness God to resurrect.

    An entity filled with hostility toward humanity, and one with the strength of one of the Three Realms and Six Daos at that, would not be much better for humanity than Aeternus.

    Unless Lu Yin was fully confident that he could overpower everything in the same manner as the ancient Heavens Sect, he would never consider reviving Wilderness God.

    Still, Wilderness God had never openly sided with Aeternus.

    "Senior, why did Gu Yizhi betray us?" Lu Yin asked. The Second Maind had been thest of the four Mainds to be destroyed. Gu Yizhi''s Third Maind had fallen earlier, so Hongyan Mavis should know what happened with Gu Yizhi.

    Hongyan Mavis''s gaze trembled. "He was too stubborn."

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    "Forcing oneself to pursue strength can lead to madness. Gu Yizhi was not himself for a long time, and the powerful Musclehead that we knew disappeared long ago. Now, there is only an enemy, Ancient God."

    Lu Yin felt heavy-hearted, and he remembered a scene that he had seen while fishing in the River of Time. Was Ancient God really a traitor?

    Musclehead was the name that the Origin Progenitor had given Gu Yizhi, and it was a perfect example of the Origin Progenitor''s sense of naming.

    ...

    One day, three months after the Infinity Empire started connecting parallel universes to the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect officially announced that there would be a military announcement that would be made to the entire Sixverse Association.

    This announcement was intended to serve as a demonstration of power after the various parallel universes were connected and different civilizations were united. It was intended to intimidate their enemies by revealing some of the power and influence of both the Heavens Sect and Lu Yin.

    This event was not only intended to intimidate Aeternus, but also the various other parallel universes and outside civilizations.

    This was the first step in Lu Yin''s n to restore the ancient glory of the Heavens Sect. This was the true beginning to reiming that ancient might. After military deration, the Heavens Sect''s future progress would be unstoppable.

    The ultimate goal of this uing announcement was to invade the Scourge again.

    The ultimate battle in the war between humanity and Aeternus was fast approaching.

    Every time Lu Yin thought back to the scene of the Origin Progenitor being struck by that severed sequence string, he felt an indescribable heaviness weigh on his heart.

    Lu Yin wanted to settle things quickly, lead the Heavens Sect to the Immemorial Citadel, and then utterly annihte Aeternus.

    A few days after the Heavens Sect announced Zhao Wu, someone from the Scourge upation paid a visit.

    After the cosmic doors connecting the Heavens Sect to various universes had been destroyed, Lu Yin had be unable to visit the Scourge upation. He had been forced to wait for them to enter the Origin Universe.

    The purpose of this visit was simple: the Scourge upation wanted to urge the Origin Universe to resume the war against Aeternus. They craved destruction and needed to release the pent-up energy that they absorbed from their ancestor. Destroying stars ands was not nearly enough. Fighting against the Aeternals had given the Scourge upation¡¯s people a thrill that they sought to experience again. They loved that feeling.

    Of course, their people frequently died in battle, but death was something that the Scourge upation faced on a daily basis. Their people enjoyed extravagant lives as long as they lived, and they faced death calmly afterwards.

    However, as long as they lived, they needed to release their power.

    E'' Ji arrived in the Heavens Sect, where she marveled at its grandeur. Any outside civilization that saw the Heavens Sect for the first time would be astonished by its incredible size.

    The presence of the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise only added to the visual impact of the Heavens Sect. All together, it was a scene of extraordinary grandeur.

    Lu Yin weed E'' Ji in the sect¡¯s main hall, but when he saw the woman¡¯s difort, he led her to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect.

    "This is more like it. That ce is too formal, and it doesn¡¯t fit my people at all," E'' Ji said with a yful smile.

    Lu Yin returned the smile. "The Scourge upation''s fearlessness in the face of death is quite admirable. Who decides what''s proper or unconventional in a given universe? There are no real rules to such things."

    Even the Origin Progenitor had merely established what was considered normal in the Origin Universe.

    Zhao Ran brought tea for Lu Yin and his guest.

    E'' Ji blinked at the tea¡¯s unusual appearance. "Lu Lord, your tea here is... quite unique."

    Lu Yin took a sip. "It may look strange, but its taste is excellent. Would you care to try it?"

    E'' Ji never even considered that Lu Yin might poison her, as there was no need for anything like that. She boldly took a sip of the tea and savored the vor. "It is good. I¡¯ll have another."

    Zhao Ran happily refilled the woman¡¯s cup. The girl was content so long as someone enjoyed her tea. How the tea was drunk did not matter, and E'' Ji seemed to genuinely relish the drink.

    Lu Yin swirled his tea as he observed it.

    The tea had a much better appearance than in the past. Zhao Ran¡¯s tea-making abilities were clearly improving.

    Lu Yin and E'' Ji spoke of many things. She was very interested in the Origin Universe, the Sixverse Association, and Aeternus, while Lu Yin was curious about how he could integrate the Scourge upation into the Heavens Sect¡¯sbat strength. Both incorporating them and whether the people would agree were significant issues.

    After some time, but before Lu Yin could bring the matter up, E'' Ji addressed the issue first. "Allow my people to join the Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You want to join my Heavens Sect?"

    E'' Ji nodded while showing a brilliant smile. "It sounds like fun!"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "It''s certainly possible, but what about your people?"

    E'' Ji dismissively waved her hand. "They''ll follow me."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright then."

    "However, we won''t fully integrate ourselves into the Heavens Sect. Rather, we¡¯ll join nominally. You can order us about however you want during battle or war, but you won¡¯t be allowed to interfere with us during times of peace," E'' Ji rified.

    Lu Yin considered the proposal for a moment. "How about this: I''ll create a separate division of our military that consists entirely of outside civilizations. How does that sound?"

    E'' Ji nodded. "That''s up to you, but whatever we are given needs to be prestigious."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course."

    E'' Ji finished her second cup of tea. "Little sister, give me another."

    "Of course!" Zhao Ran eagerly refilled the cup, watching Lu Yin¡¯s guest intently and enthusiastically.

    E'' Ji sighed deeply. "During that battle with Aeternus, aside from seeing the Aeternals, we also encountered that Nine-Star Civilization. They are ruthless, as they simply destroyed their entire universe! That kind of destruction is different from what we do. It was swift and merciless.

    "Don¡¯t be deceived by the power of the Scourge upation. There have been times when we faced enemies that could have easily annihted us. If not for Mister Mu, we would have been annihted long ago."

    Lu Yin asked, "Is that why you want to join the Heavens Sect?"

    E'' Ji was as blunt as ever. "The Heavens Sect has many strong powerhouses, and you''re still very young. Who knows how long an orthodox cultivator like you can live for? You might go into seclusion just once, and I¡¯ll be dead before youe back out. Lu Yin, I don¡¯t expect much for my Scourge upation¡ªI just want my people to enjoy their lives for as long as they¡¯re alive. All that I ask is that your Heavens Sect protect my people as much as possible. In return, before I die, I¡¯ll do you one favor."

    As she spoke, Lu Yin saw how much E'' Ji had aged. At best, the people of the Scourge upation could live for 300 years. They were not true cultivators. E'' Ji was likely quite close to the end of her life.

    This was probably why she had sought out the Heavens Sect¡¯s help.

    Lu Yin grew serious as he stared at the woman. "Do you want a grand feast for your death?"

    E'' Ji¡¯s eyes lit up. "That¡¯s what every member of the Scourge upation wants, especially when they¡¯re reaching the end of their lives."

    "Alright, I¡¯ll grant you what you want. You won¡¯t have to wait very long."

    "Thank you."

    "No, thank you. By the way, if you die, who will take over as chief of the Scourge upation?"

    "E'' Nan, of course. He is already able to bear about as much power as me, so I can die without any worries."

    Lu Yin nodded. Everyone needed to eventually face death. He had seen many friends and acquaintances die, and it would only happen more in the future.

    If he saw death frequently enough, he would eventually be numb to it.

    E'' Ji left. The Heavens Sect had thus formed a formal alliance with the Scourge upation.

    Unfortunately, there was still no way to contact Ye Wu¡¯s universe, or the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Lu Yin did not know what had happened to the Nine-Star Civilization. With Kakawen''s death, unless another eight-star expert appeared, the civilization¡¯s survival might be in jeopardy.

    After saying goodbye to E'' Ji, Lu Yin intended to go visit Madam Nn in order to settle matters with the Merchant Exchange. However, before he could do that, Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue arrived.

    Lu Yin had been waiting for them, as he needed the Lord of Lightning to stir up trouble in the First Scourge.

    "You want us to invade the First Scourge again? Brother Lu, you¡¯re not treating us like your thugs, are you?" Jiang Chenined. "We came here to see you out of goodwill."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "It won¡¯t just be the Lord of Lightning. I¡¯m sending other experts to the First Scourge. They just need to stir things up, not fight True God himself."

    Jiang Qingyue stared at Lu Yin. "I heard that you were killed by True God. How did you survive?"

    Jiang Chen was also curious about this. "That¡¯s right. News spread everywhere about the death of the Origin Universe¡¯s Dao Monarch after you killed some Aeternus expert and enraged True God. Apparently, he personally made a move, and he evenunched a sneak attack. When we heard you had died, we mourned your loss for some time.

    "Especially my sister. She even cried."

    Jiang Qingyue showed a rare sh of anger. "Don¡¯t be ridiculous!"

    She quickly turned to Lu Yin. "Don''t listen to him. I didn¡¯t cry."

    Jiang Chen grinned. "Yes, that¡¯s right, you didn¡¯t cry, I did. Happy now?"

    Jiang Qingyue was furious and really wanted to hit her brother. She really had not cried, but with how Jiang Chen was portraying things, who would ever believe her?

 Chapter 3147: Negotiations

    <h4>Chapter 3147: Negotiations</h4>

    Lu Yin envied the connection between the siblings. ¡°You two have such a great rtionship.¡±

    Jiang Qingyue continued to re at Jiang Chen, who shamelessly mentioned, ¡°If you be my brother-inw, our rtionship will improve even more.¡±

    ¡°Jiang Chen, if you want to die, just tell me.¡± Jiang Qingyue was genuinely angry.

    Jiang Chen quickly apologized, and then he signaled to Lu Yin with his eyes.

    Lu Yin had no desire to antagonize Jiang Qingyue anymore, so he quickly changed the topic. ¡°I managed to survive because I met someone, and they sent me somewhere.

    ¡°That person was the Origin Progenitor, and he sent me to the Mirari Realm.¡±

    Lu Yin had no desire to hide anything from Jiang Qingyue or Jiang Chen, and he had been simrly open and honest with Arch-Elder Zen and a few others. Aeternus already knew that the Origin Progenitor was alive and in the Immemorial Citadel, and they were also aware of the Mirari Realm¡¯s existence. However, the Aeternals had not entered the Mirari Realm, though for their own reasons. This was likely simr to why the Origin Progenitor had not sent many humans to the Mirari Realm.

    This information was not secret to everyone, and Lu Yin was also not concerned if it was leaked. He preferred to share his experiences with Jiang Qingyue and Jiang Chen.

    The siblings were shocked. ¡°The Origin Progenitor? Your Origin Universe¡¯s Origin Progenitor?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, much to their shock. It appeared that they had never heard of the Mirari Realm before. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Origin Progenitor.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive?¡± Jiang Chen was astonished.

    Jiang Qingyue sternly reprimanded, "Don¡¯t be rude!"

    Jiang Chen quickly apologized, "I¡¯m sorry, I didn''t mean it like that. It''s just..."

    Lu Yin smiled. "It''s fine. If it weren''t for this recent incident, I wouldn''t have known that the Origin Progenitor was still alive either. Now we know."

    "The Origin Progenitor saved you? No wonder you¡¯re still alive. Aside from him, I don¡¯t think anyone else could have kept you alive," Jiang Qingyue said. The Origin Progenitor was a peerless powerhouse in everyone''s mind, and he was an existence who was shrouded in mystery and greatly revered. Many people believed that the Origin Progenitor was superior to even True God.

    People did not question why the Origin Progenitor had disappeared or if he was dead, but they automatically believed that, if he reappeared, he would be able to instantly eliminate the threat of the Aeternals.

    This was a belief among humans, and it was even held by people outside of the Origin Universe, such as Jiang Qingyue and Jiang Chen.

    "So, what exactly is this Mirari Realm?" Jiang Chen asked, curious.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s hard to exin, but you can think of it as a ce where time stands still."

    "A ce like that exists? Can we go there?" Jiang Chen''s eyes lit up.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "I''m afraid not. I wish I could return myself, but I can''t. Not unless I meet the Origin Progenitor again."

    "Where is the Origin Progenitor?" Jiang Chen pressed.

    Jiang Qingyue quickly interrupted, "Don¡¯t ask that!"

    Jiang Chen realized that he had overstepped and let out an awkwardugh. Up to this moment, no one in the Sixverse Association had held any knowledge of the Origin Progenitor''s survival, which meant that his whereabouts was a closely guarded secret.

    However, Lu Yin did not hesitate to answer. "He¡¯s at the Immemorial Citadel."

    Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue exchanged nces, moved by Lu Yin''s openness with them. They appreciated the information, even if it was not a huge surprise. If the Origin Progenitor was alive and hidden somewhere, then the Immemorial Citadel made the most sense.

    They were deeply curious about the Origin Progenitor, the Mirari Realm, and the sudden increase in Lu Yin''s strength, but they also knew not to press for too much information.

    "Let''s get back on topic. Why do you need my father to kick up a fuss in the First Scourge again? At least tell us the reason so that we can pass it along to him," Jiang Qingyue asked, refocusing on the task at hand.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned serious. "I can''t disclose the details right now. This isn¡¯t a matter of trust. Rather, there are times when revealing ns can cause them to fail. Fate ys a hand in the grand scheme of things, and there are people from this Origin Universe who can manipte destiny. The Aeternals might have their own experts with the same abilities."

    Jiang Qingyue nodded, epting the exnation. She had asked for more information not because she did not trust Lu Yin, but rather so that she could ry moreprehensive information to her father. It was impossible for her to tell her father to storm into the First Scourge without any context at all. "Who from the Heavens Sect will be joining?"

    Lu Yin gave several names, including Sovereign Dou Sheng. Whenever humanity attacked the First Scourge, that Sovereign liked to participate, mostly because it gave him the opportunity to search for any clues that Progenitor Ku may have left behind.

    Lu Yin refused to believe that Progenitor Ku had pushed his way into the First Scourge and not left any sort of information behind.

    Jiang Chen expressed his own concerns. "This isn''t going to be like before. The first time my father stormed into the Scourge, the Aeternals were unprepared, which was why they had such a high chance of sess. Even then, he went knowing that there was a possibility that he wouldn¡¯t return. Thest time, he invaded while your Sixverse Association was fighting multiple battles with Aeternus. You invaded the Second Scourge, and my father lured the Ancient Thunder Locust to the First Scourge, which was still a significant risk.

    "If he does this again, I''m afraid that Aeternus will be ready for him. The Three Pirs and Six Skies have already gathered, and they could attack at any moment."

    Lu Yin reassured the siblings. "Don''t worry. While I can''t tell you that I¡¯ve managed to uncover all of Aeternus¡¯s strength, I''ve learned enough. This time, there won''t be any risk in attacking the First Scourge."

    Jiang Chen¡¯s eyebrows rose. If there was not going to be any risk in attacking the First Scourge, then that meant that the real danger would be elsewhere. This suggested that Lu Yin''s true objective was not in the First Scourge.

    "Do you want to face off against True God again? If you do, you might not end up as lucky asst time," Jiang Qingyue cautioned, suspecting Lu Yin¡¯s intentions.

    He confidently replied, "I''m not the same as I was before."

    Jiang Qingyue nodded, "I''ll share your message with my father, but it¡¯s up to him whether or not he goes."

    "Of course."

    "In that case, we¡¯ll head out now," Jiang Qingyue stated decisively. She understood just how important this matter was.

    Just as the two were about to leave, Jiang Chen turned back to look at Lu Yin. "Uncle Kong has a high opinion of you, Lu Yin. When you have time,e visit us at Whitecloud City. My father wants to meet you."

    Lu Yin answered earnestly, "I will definitely make it a point to visit Whitecloud City and meet the Lord of Lightning."

    With that, all that Lu Yin needed to do now was wait for the Lord of Lightning''s answer. While he waited, he decided to address the matter of the Merchant Exchange.

    Madam Nn arrived at the Heavens Sect to meet with Lu Yin for the first time since his return.

    There had been many matters far more critical than the Merchant Exchange, so Lu Yin had not had time to deal with it before.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch," Madam Nn greeted Lu Yin in a respectful tone.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Have a seat."

    Madam Nn sat down casually, a hint of a smile on her lips as she looked at Lu Yin. "Does the Dao Monarch finally have time to deal with the Merchant Exchange?"

    Lu Yin observed the woman. "Bi Teng already approached you, didn¡¯t he?"

    Madam Nn smiled. "He has. I didn''t meet with him, but I''ve spoken with Bi Lan several times."

    "What did Merchant Exchange have to say?" Lu Yin asked.

    "Compensation."

    Lu Yin remained calm as he quietly waited for Madam Nn to continue.

    "Bi Lan shared Bi Teng''s offer with me: all of the Merchant Exchange''s star essence, both from the Origin Universe and the Cyclic Universe, aspensation," Madam Nn stated.

    Lu Yin smiled. "I want those star essence, but that¡¯s not enough."

    "I know, which is why I refused. Bi Lan came to see me four different times. We have a good rtionship, but the terms that she offered aren¡¯t eptable for you," Madam Nn exined.

    Lu Yin looked at her. "What terms do you think I would ept?"

    Madam Nn smiled enticingly. "The Merchant Exchange."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "That''s not going to be easy. Doing that would invite criticism."

    "As long as someone with the Bi surname remains in charge, it won''t matter," Madam Nn said.

    They exchanged knowing nces. Both of them perfectly understood the other.

    After her meeting with Lu Yin, Madam Nn sent a message to Bi Lan, asking the woman to visit the Heavens Sect.

    After receiving the message, Bi Lan felt unusually ufortable. After firing Madam Nn, Bi Lan had always been the one to take the initiative to start a conversation. This was the first time that Madam Nn had reached out to Bi Lan, which suggested that it was not actually Madam Nn who wanted to see Bi Lan, but rather Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch.

    Every time Bi Lan met with Lu Yin, he seemed like a different person. The first time, she had been confident enough to speak to him directly, as his influence had been limited to the Origin Universe and had not yet permeated the Sixverse Association. But at this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s influence was no longer limited to just the Sixverse Association; it even extended to other parallel universes.

    Aside from the civilizations which had allied with Aeternus, was there any parallel universe that did not respect Dao Monarch Lu? How many of those civilizations qualified to catch his notice?

    Bi Lan felt both nervous and confused as she arrived at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. However, she did not see Lu Yin, but rather Madam Nn.

    "Where is Dao Monarch Lu?" Bi Lan asked.

    Madam Nn smiled. "Are you so eager to meet with our Dao Monarch? I suggest that you don¡¯t get your hopes up. There are many people waiting to see our Dao Monarch, so you¡¯ll have to wait your turn."

    Bi Lan heaved a sigh of relief, even if she did feel rather helpless. "Don¡¯t tease me! I thought Dao Monarch Lu wanted to speak with me."

    Madam Nn shook her head. "I wanted to meet with you this time. However, if this discussion doesn¡¯t go well, I will have to ask the Dao Monarch to step in."

    Bi Lan''s expression changed, and she immediately grew much more serious. She walked closer to Madam Nn and sat down across from the woman. "Go ahead. What price does my Merchant Exchange need to pay to appease Dao Monarch Lu¡¯s anger?"

    Madam Nn answered bluntly, "I won''t beat around the bush. There are two prices that need to be paid¡ªone public, and one hidden."

    "What do you mean?" Bi Lan''s heart sank. Whatever price they paid publicly would not particrly matter, but the requirement of a private price was unexpected.

    Madam Nn continued as directly as ever. "State the terms you are willing to offer forpensation, but remember, this is not a negotiation."

    Bi Lan nodded solemnly. "I understand. Right now, without impacting regr operations, my Merchant Exchange can mobilize a total of 170 trillion star essence."

    Madam Nn''s pupils shrank. 170 trillion star essence? If she remembered correctly, the wealth that they had gathered from the four ruling powers had only amounted to 1 trillion star essence.

    That had been all four ruling powers, the families which had ruled over the entire Perennial World, and yet their pooled assets had only totaled 1 trillion star essence.

    While that certainly had not been the entirety of the four ruling powers'' resources, it had represented a significant portion.

    The Merchant Exchange was subservient to the Sixverse Association and to any other parallel universe, but through their business activities, they had managed to umte an astonishing amount of star essence.

    170 trillion star essence was likely the total amount of star essence the four ruling powers had possessedbined.

    ¡°I already knew that the Merchant Exchange was wealthy, but this is beyond anything I had imagined.¡± Madam Nn could not stop herself from being impressed. She had once been the richest widow in the Outerverse, leading one of the Outerverse¡¯s four major conglomerates, but her total wealth from that time was insignificant inparison to what the Merchant Exchange possessed.

    Bi Lan could not stop herself from feeling proud. ¡°No matter what, our master, Bi Rong, is someone who is qualified to sit and speak with the Great Sovereign, and he also has a friendship with Whitecloud City¡¯s Lord of Lightning. He is famous far beyond the Sixverse Association, and not even the Aeternals dare to provoke him. With Bi Rong in charge, our business continues to thrive like no other. No one else can work or exchange currencies across as many different parallel universes as us.¡±

 Chapter 3148: Replacement

    <h4>Chapter 3148: Recement</h4>

    Bi Lan¡¯s confident expression quickly shifted into a bitter one. "However, ever since Lord Bi Rong went into seclusion, the Merchant Exchange¡¯s business has declined. While no one from the Sixverse Association has targeted us, Aeternus has been constantlying after us in ratherrge numbers, as well as sending spies to infiltrate us.

    "Honestly, I¡¯m very curious about why Aeternus is so fixated on the Merchant Exchange. If not for that, we would have never been forced to ask the Heavens Sect for help.¡±

    The woman¡¯s emotions welled up. The moment the Merchant Exchange had sought help from the Heavens Sect, freedom had be a thing of the past. The Merchant Exchange was incapable of breaking free from the Heavens Sect. The higher Lu Yin¡¯s status and the stronger his personal strength became, the more impossible it was for them to escape his influence.

    In fact, Bi Lan questioned whether even Lord Bi Rong could free the Merchant Exchange from the Heavens Sect¡¯s grasp, should he reappear.

    Bi Lan believed that Bi Rong was a powerhouse on par with the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s member universes, such as Lord Xu and Mu Shen. But Lu Yin had already tied those universes and their rulers to the Origin Universe.

    That was absolutely terrifying.

    Bi Lan was unable to understand Aeternus¡¯s purpose in targeting the Merchant Exchange, but Lu Yin understood the matter thoroughly. He was eavesdropping on the conversation.

    There were two key areas where humanity could not measure up to Aeternus. The first was that humanity was too scattered, whereas the Aeternals could easilymunicate and even unite to work together. Often, human civilizations did not even know that other ones existed, which had led to a significant disparity in effective strength.

    This also impacted how the two sides¡¯ resource allocation worked. The Aeternals were able to pool all of their resources, while humanity¡¯s resources were spread out among all the different civilizations scattered across the various parallel universes. A simple example of how this impacted things was how Aeternus could easily and repeatedly hire Astral Anura, and they could even raise the price at a whim. On the other hand, humanity was barely able to afford hiring Astral Anura just a few times.

    Humanity¡¯s scattered resources had resulted in an ever-widening gap in absolute strength between them and Aeternus.

    The Merchant Exchange, while ostensibly nothing more than a currency exchange, indirectly helped consolidate human resources through their exchanges; this even included the profits they collected. The Merchant Exchange received a smallmission on each transaction, and over time, thepany had amassed significant wealth.

    Even Lu Yin was taken aback by the Merchant Exchange¡¯s ability to pay 170 trillion star essence aspensation. This was nothing more than star essence, which meant that the Merchant Exchange¡¯s total liquid funds was unimaginable.

    The Merchant Exchange most likely also had ess to various parallel universes where time flowed faster.

    The Merchant Exchange could most likely use their wealth to hire Astral Anura multiple times, which presented a considerable threat to Aeternus. If the Merchant Exchange funneled all of their resources into fighting Aeternus, it would have a terrifying impact.

    ¡°Liu Fuxue,[1] 170 trillion star essence is all that my Merchant Exchange can mobilize without affecting our regr operations. If we need to produce more, we¡¯ll need to exchange resources with parallel universes, which would disrupt our business. Do you think that this amount is sufficient?¡± Bi Lan asked nervously.

    Madam Nn smiled gently. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s enough. Our Dao Monarch isn¡¯t someone who drains the pond to catch the fish.¡±

    Hearing the phrase ¡°drains the pond to catch the fish¡± left Bi Lan momentarily stunned. What did Dao Monarch Lu think of Merchant Exchange to even say such a thing?

    Madam Nn did not care about the impact of her words on Bi Lan. The woman needed to understand the reality of her situation. Removing Bi Teng would be pointless if his recement wound up acting exactly the same.

    Bi Lan snapped out of her daze, her expression darkening. ¡°And what is the other condition?¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°The Merchant Exchange needs a new leader.¡±

    Bi Lan¡¯s face turned pale as she shot to her feet. ¡°Impossible!¡±

    Madam Nn remained calm. ¡°Why is that?¡±

    Bi Lan¡¯s expression grew increasingly grim. ¡°Liu Fuxue, while it¡¯s true that my Merchant Exchange has offended Dao Monarch Lu, thispensation is more than enough. Throughout the entire history of the Merchant Exchange, we have neverpensated anyone with such a vast amount of resources before. This is because of our great respect towards Dao Monarch Lu. However, the Merchant Exchange¡¯s leadership is an internal matter, and it has nothing to do with Dao Monarch Lu or the Heavens Sect. No one can interfere in ourpany¡¯s internal affairs.¡±

    Madam Nn stared intently at Bi Lan. ¡°Bi Teng offended the Dao Monarch. Does the Merchant Exchange really want to settle this matter with mere money?¡±

    Bi Lan opened her mouth, but she could not find anything to say. The idea of resolving such a matter with money sounded awful and was extremely condescending towards Lu Yin. However, it was well known that Dao Monarch Lu wanted money more than anything, right? The Merchant Exchange was offering an astronomical sum, one which would cause even the Great Sovereign herself to shudder.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about using money to settle things¡ªit¡¯s aboutpensation.

    ¡°However, your Merchant Exchange¡¯s Bi Teng has offended the Dao Monarch, and yet the Merchant Exchange intends to settle this matter with money. If word of this gets out, how will our Dao Monarch ever be able to manage the Sixverse Association?¡± Madam Nn spoke harshly. ¡°Do you want outsiders to believe that our Dao Monarch is a money-grubbing person?¡±

    <i>Isn¡¯t he?</i> Bi Lan¡¯s face turned ashen. In the Merchant Exchange¡¯s perspective, Lu Yin was exactly that, someone who could be bought off by money. This perfectly fit the Merchant Exchange¡¯s preferred manner of handling things; they had the money to resolve an issue, and Lu Yin needed money.

    How had the situation turned so sour?

    Madam Nn stood up. ¡°The Merchant Exchange¡¯s offer ofpensationcks sincerity. You want our Dao Monarch to suffer public criticism. You should leave.¡±

    Bi Lan quickly tried to exin herself, ¡°We don¡¯t mean that at all! If star essence isn¡¯t enough, then we have other resources that will satisfy Dao Monarch Lu. Please, just don¡¯t interfere with the Merchant Exchange¡¯s leadership.¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s eyes grew cold as she stared at Bi Lan. ¡°Leave.¡±

    Bi Lan stared back at Madam Nn, desperate, but all she saw were increasingly cold eyes.

    Despite Bi Lan¡¯s close rtionship with Liu Fuxua, business was business. Madam Nn had raised the Nn family into one of the fourrgest conglomerates in the Outerverse, and she had done so not through her beauty, but rather through her shrewdness. She could be as ruthless as the wintry ice or as gentle as a spring breeze.

    The coldness in Madam Nn¡¯s eyes caused Bi Lan¡¯s heart to sink further than ever. In the current era, offending Lu Yin was nothing less than total disaster. Even the Great Sovereign was not immune to this. She had been forced out of seclusion by Lu Yin on several asions, and the rumors imed that the Great Sovereign did not dare to touch Lu Yin due to his numerous connections.

    Lu Yin had done amazing things to improve the situation for the Sixverse Association and humanity as a whole. Whatever he did would be epted simply because he was seen as humanity¡¯s gbearer.

    If he wanted to destroy the Merchant Exchange, Lu Yin would not even need a valid reason to do so. Countless people would find excuses for him, while simultaneously condemning the Merchant Exchange on his behalf. This was Lu Yin¡¯s power. This was the influence of Dao Monarch Lu.

    Bi Lan understood perfectly well that, if Madam Nn left, the Merchant Exchange would have no future.

    She stared at Madam Nn, pleading, ¡°Liu Fuxue...¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s expression remained cold, though it did slowly soften slightly.

    Seeing that, Bi Lan dropped to her knees, but Madam Nn quickly pulled the woman back up. ¡°Lan, this isn¡¯t your fault.¡±

    Bi Lan begged, ¡°Fuxue, the Merchant Exchange can¡¯t disappear! We don¡¯t care about Bi Teng, but thispany is Lord Bi Rong¡¯s legacy. The Merchant Exchange can¡¯t just vanish. Fuxue, please help us! I¡¯m begging you!¡±

    Madam Nn sighed. ¡°You haven¡¯t even asked who we want to lead the Merchant Exchange.¡±

    Bi Lan looked at Madam Nn in a confused manner.

    ¡°You.¡±

    Bi Lan showed a bitter smile. She had already suspected as much. When she heard that the Heavens Sect wanted someone different to lead the Merchant Exchange, she had already known that they wanted her to helm thepany. Who else would the Heavens Sect support? Liu Fuxue? She was an outsider, and therefore not a viable option.

    Lu Yin was able to dominate the Sixverse Association, and even all human civilizations, but there were certain matters that could not be done publicly.

    Changing the leader of the Merchant Exchange was a negotiation condition that could not be exposed.

    ¡°I wish to speak with Dao Monarch Lu,¡± Bi Lan stated softly.

    Madam Nn was about to refuse, but then Lu Yin stepped out.

    ¡°Dao Monarch?¡± Madam Nn was caught off guard. A matter like the Merchant Exchange should not warrant Lu Yin¡¯s personal intervention.

    Bi Lan stared at Lu Yin before quickly bowing. ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Bi Lan, his hands sped behind his back. ¡°Go and take charge of the Merchant Exchange. I won¡¯t interfere with thepany¡¯s affairs unless it¡¯s a matter that concerns the survival of humanity itself. You should understand the implications if there¡¯s a need to use the Merchant Exchange¡¯s resources.¡±

    Bi Lan stared at Lu Yin in a daze. She had assumed that Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to seize control of the Merchant Exchange for their wealth and resources, but his words carried a very different meaning. Just what was he nning?

    In the past, Lu Yin would have needed the Merchant Exchange¡¯s resources, but he had other ways to obtain such things at the moment. Thus, the Merchant Exchange had a unique role to y.

    Listening to Bi Lan had let Lu Yin realize why Aeternus had targeted the Merchant Exchange this whole time.

    The more that Aeternus opposed something, the more it indicated that a thing was detrimental to them. Because of this, Lu Yin wanted to pursue the matter further.

    Initially, he had not nned to get directly involved, but matters had escted, and the importance of the negotiations had risen.

    ¡°Give me the 170 trillion star essence and take over as the leader of the Merchant Exchange. As for Bi Teng, I don¡¯t want to ever see him again. From now on, the Merchant Exchange should carry on as usual, without worrying about anything. I won¡¯t interfere in your business, and thepany will be yours to do with as you wish. What do you say?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Bi Lan felt quite uneasy, and asked, ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, you won¡¯t interfere with my Merchant Exchange?¡±

    Lu Yin gave a small smile. ¡°Are you afraid that I¡¯ll treat Merchant Exchange like my wallet?¡±

    Madam Nn¡¯s expression grew strange, as that was precisely what she had assumed. She had been certain that this had been the Dao Monarch¡¯s original goal, so what had changed?

    Bi Lan pursed her lips, but she did not respond.

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Bi Teng is nothing more than a servant. If a servant is disloyal, he cannot retain his position. If you¡¯re willing to let the Merchant Exchange disappear because of him, then that¡¯s your choice.¡±

    Resolve flickered in Bi Lan''s eyes. "Alright, I will follow Dao Monarch Lu''s suggestion and take over the Merchant Exchange."

    She then looked at Madam Nn. "Fuxue, you will need to help me. Without your assistance, I don''t know if I will be able to manage it."

    This was a clever move.

    Bi Lan returned to the Decaying Diablo Universe with Madam Nn right behind her.

    Bi Teng was waiting, and he hurried forward when he saw Bi Lan return. He noticed Madam Nn, but he left her alone, and she went straight to her old quarters.

    A cold glint flickered through Bi Teng''s eyes, though it was quickly suppressed. "How did it go?"

    Bi Lan answered in a low voice, "170 trillion star essence, and Dao Monarch Lu will not take any further action."

    "What? 170 trillion star essence? Are you insane? That''s the most that the Merchant Exchange can mobilize!" Bi Teng shouted.

    Bi Lan shot a cold re at the man. "Do you have another answer?"

    Bi Teng red back at Bi Lan as he clenched his fists. "That''s too much! Do you have any idea how many years of work this is going to cost us?"

    "Would you prefer to pay with your life instead of resources?" Bi Lan mocked.

    Bi Teng took a deep breath. Hatred filled his eyes.

    "Also," Bi Lan continued after seeing Bi Teng''s grim expression. "You need to go and apologize to Fuxue."

    Bi Teng lost his temper. "I have to apologize as well?"

    Bi Lan replied, "The star essence is nothing more than a punishment for the disrespect you¡¯ve shown Dao Monarch Lu. You were the one who fired Fuxua without valid cause. Should you not apologize to her?"

    Bi Teng suppressed his anger. "Aren¡¯t the resources we¡¯re paying more than enough for that?"

    "Do you want the Sixverse Association to believe that Dao Monarch Lu can be bought off with money?" Bi Lan retorted.

    <i>Can¡¯t he?</i> Bi Teng gritted his teeth.

    1. Just a reminder, but this is Madam Nn''s real name. She married into the Nn family, and was then widowed. ?

 Chapter 3149: Megalith Poison

    <h4>Chapter 3149: Megalith Poison</h4>

    In the past, Bi Lan might have tried to persuade Bi Teng, but there was no longer any need for such tactics. Why bother with someone who was already as good as dead?

    Bi Teng suppressed his anger and stomped off to Madam Nn''s quarters. Soon, he saw the woman herself.

    "Fuxue, this was all my fault. I didn''t look into the matter thoroughly and misunderstood things. I apologize," Bi Teng said while just barely keeping his anger from surfacing. He seeded in making his apology seem quite sincere.

    Madam Nn gave the man an odd look. "There¡¯s no need for you to be polite. We''re all on the same side."

    Bi Teng was taken aback. Madam Nn had never spoken to him in such a manner before.

    "Come in and sit for a while," Madam Nn said while stepping aside.

    Bi Teng felt quite puzzled. He gave Madam Nn a second nce, desire flickering across his eyes. This woman was incredibly tempting, and Bi Teng had been interested in her ever since she had joined the Merchant Exchange. However, because of their respective positions in thepany, he had buried that desire deep. What was going on today?

    He entered Madam Nn''s quarters, and she ced a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. He felt surrounded by her fragrance, and Bi Teng did not dare to move. He wondered if he had walked into a trap. Could the Heavens Sect be using the woman to tempt him into providing more resources? Yes, that had to be it. He quickly tried to stand up and leave the room.

    Suddenly, he was struck by a sharp pain, which was followed by a sense of numbness and paralysis.

    A spatial diablo appeared nearby as it tried to iste Bi Teng.

    However, not even the spatial diablo was able tost longer than a moment under Madam Nn''s hand, and it shattered instantly.

    Bi Teng stared up at Madam Nn in horror. "Fuxue, you...?"

    Madam Nn''s face shifted. "I¡¯m not Fuxue. You can call me E'' Ji."

    ...

    The Heavens Sect soon received the resources from the Merchant Exchange.

    "Dao Monarch, I''m going to return to the Merchant Exchange now," Madam Nn announced with a bow.

    Lu Yin replied, "You need to report any information about Aeternus targeting the Merchant Exchange back to me. That¡¯s very important."

    "I understand," Madam Nn replied. She gave another bow and then left.

    With the situation with the Merchant Exchange settled, Lu Yin just needed to await news from Whitecloud City.

    The Lord of Lightning was currently fully upied with the Ancient Thunder Locust, which made it quite difficult for Jiang Qingyue or anyone else to speak to the man.

    While he waited, Lu Yin made a trip to the Three Monarchs Universe, hoping to find Luo Shan. Unfortunately, the man could not be found.

    Luo Shan¡¯s name had also been on the list of traitors, and Lu Yin could not trust anyonepletely.

    No one could prove that Luo Shan had betrayed humanity or that he was a spy, but the Monarch did not believe that Lu Yin would implicitly trust him. So, he had chosen to disappear.

    As for Mr. Daheng, he was also on the Endless Frontier. The man was backed by Astral Anura, though aside from Luo Shan and Lu Yin, no one else knew of that matter.

    Mr. Daheng felt confident that Luo Shan would not reveal the matter to anyone, and the Arborean had no idea that Lu Yin was aware of their connection.

    Through Mr. Daheng, it might be possible for Lu Yin to locate Astral Anura¡¯sir.

    Lu Yin harbored a heavy grudge against Astral Anura. Aeternus frequently hired the toad to harass humanity, but hiring Astral Anura indicated that Aeternuscked sufficient power on their own. If Astral Anura could be dealt with, Lu Yin would gain an even greater advantage for humanity in the war against Aeternus.

    Time passed, but there was no news from Whitecloud City. Instead, Lu Yin received terrible news.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had both been attacked Aeternus, and they had suffered heavy losses.

    Upon hearing the dreadful news, Lu Yin hurried to the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe.

    The Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were outside civilizations that also fought against Aeternus, and they had previously interacted with the Origin Universe. Any attack on those alliances would prompt an immediate response from the Origin Universe.

    Unfortunately, they had been toote.

    Aeternus had only attacked once, but that single assault had resulted in the death of the Luna Alliance¡¯s Yue Shen, as well as three of the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s leaders. Specifically, the Fire Lord, the Lightning Lord, and the Wood Lord had all died.

    This devastating news caught the Sixverse Association off guard andpletely ruined Lu Yin¡¯s previously good mood.

    He arrived in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe, mostly worried about the Iceheart. Fortunately, the Iceheart remained unharmed, though the Ice Lord had been gravely injured. Still, he had survived.

    Lu Yin quickly found the Ice Lord. ¡°What happened?¡±

    The Ice Lord looked distressed. ¡°Poison.¡±

    ¡°Poison?¡± This was unexpected.

    Lu Yin felt rather confused. Eight sequence powerhouses from the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had instantly suffered heavy casualties from a single attack from Aeternus. This was highly unusual.

    From what Lu Yin understood, even if Aeternusunched a unified attack under the Divine Commandment with their full, united forces, they should not have targeted the Five Spirits Alliance, but rather an outside civilization. This was what they had done with the Nine-Star Civilization. Logically, Ye Sheng or The Abandoned should have been targeted next. After all, the Five Spirits Alliance had five sequence powerhouses, which should have been enough to resist the attack long enough for allies to arrive.

    If Lu Yin had known that Aeternus had the ability to instantly severely damage both the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, he would have devised countermeasures.

    After all, he was not currently able to contact Ye Sheng or the Nine-Star Civilization.

    The Ice Lord was panting as he asked, ¡°Have you heard of Megalith Poison?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he instantly understood. He had nearly forgotten that Aeternus was constantly researching Time Poison and Vitality Poison, both of which were extremely dangerous.

    For a long period of time, Lu Yin had been on guard against the usage of poison, but as time passed and his cultivation had improved, he had stopped considering poisons as real threats.

    Unexpectedly, Aeternus had used poison to instantly cripple the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, and it was even a poison that Lu Yin had never heard of before: Megalith Poison.

    It seemed that this Megalith Poison was rather simr to the Vitality Poison and Time Poison that Aeternus had developed previously.

    ¡°We never anticipated something like this Megalith Poison existing. The people of our Five Spirits Alliance are born of nature and are not human. We never imagined that we could be poisoned. As soon as we are poisoned, our strength and vitality are quickly sapped away. The condition is practically irreversible, much like the condition of the woman who¡¯s frozen in the Iceheart. Only exceptionally strong cultivators can treat this poison, and even peak powerhouses can just barely manage to stay alive.

    ¡°As soon as I realized that I had been poisoned, I used the froststone that you gave me to freeze myself and then boosted my sequence particles with it. Without that, I would have also died during Aeternus¡¯s assault. I don¡¯t know how the Earth Lord survived, but the other three were all poisoned before being killed by Aeternus¡¯s experts.¡± The Ice Lord¡¯s voice was weak.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell even further. The fact that both the poison drained both strength and vitality made it even more vicious than Vitality Poison. ¡°How were you poisoned?¡±

    The Ice Lord shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Do you know the number of the Megalith Poison that was used?¡± Lu Yin asked again.

    The Ice Lord looked confused. ¡°Which number?¡±

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment. All of Aeternus¡¯s poisons were numbered, and the lower the number, the more potent the poison. He had first learned about Vitality Poison because of Ming Zhaoshu''s death. Both Time Poison and Vitality Poison were numbered.

    If the poison that had been used against the Ice Lord and others was numbered zero, then it would be at least somewhat reassuring, as it would mean that the Aeternals had concluded their research into this Megalith Poison and that it could not kill sequence powerhouses. However, if the poison used was not numbered zero, then that would present a significant problem.

    Time Poison had once crippled the entire Origin Universe and the Three Monarchs Universe when it was used on arge scale. Vitality Poison had not yet been used on such arge scale.

    This attack served as a warning for Lu Yin. If they did not prepare for such poisons forthwith, humanity could potentially face a cmity at any moment.

    In a way, Lu Yin felt relieved. In order to kill four sequence powerhouses, Aeternus had been forced to reveal a powerful trump card.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as he looked toward the Iceheart.

    Soon, Jiang Qingyue also arrived in the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s universe. She had made her way over as soon as she had received word of the attack.

    The Ice Lord had been poisoned by Megalith Poison, which caused him to constantly lose both vitality and energy. He needed to either find an antidote to the poison, or use his sequence particles to freeze himself. He was not capable ofbat for the time being.

    It was very likely that the Earth Lord, Moon Fairy, and Moon Ghost were all in the same condition as well.

    The Megalith Poison¡¯s potency was readily seen.

    It was vital that they create an antidote quickly. Without one, there was a grave risk of four more sequence powerhouses either dying or being crippled.

    With the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s universe being connected to the Whitecloud City, there was no need to worry about the Aeternals attacking again.

    Even if Aeternus had the strength to attack the Five Spirits Alliance again, they could not do so anytime soon. If they possessed such a level of strength, Aeternus would have already attacked.

    The top priority was to deal with the Megalith Poison while staying on guard against Time Poison and Vitality Poison.

    Lu Yin immediately called the Sixverse Association¡¯s best healers to the Heavens Sect so that they could examine the Megalith Poison that was afflicting the Ice Lord and the others. Thergest obstacle was the fact that the Ice Lord and Earth Lord were not human, which made it very difficult for humans to treat them.

    With no other choice, Lu Yin ordered the Sixverse Association to search for Moon Fairy and Moon Ghost, who were also suffering from the poison.

    The women had escaped and survived, but they were likely in dire condition. If not, they would have already returned. It was possible that they were on the brink of death.

    After several days, Lu Yin received word from another universe. Moon Fairy and Moon Ghost were being pursued by Aeternus. Fortunately, Lu Yin¡¯s efforts to find the two women led to them being rescued. Their rescuer was none other than Sovereign Lotus.

    Sovereign Lotus was quite familiar with the outsider powerhouses.

    Saving the two women was a rather impressive achievement.

    When Moon Fairy and Moon Ghost arrived at the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin barely recognized them. They were both extremely weak, their faces were pale, and their bodies were badly wounded.

    Even so, neither woman was in a hurry to recover. Their injuries were not life-threatening, and the real danger that they faced was the Megalith Poison. It was a slow, torturous affliction that pushed them closer to death with each passing moment. The weakening of their cultivation alone was a form of torture.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to have all of their skilled healers examine the women¡¯s blood and any other indicators that could help to identify the Megalith Poison.

    Despite the thorough examinations, the healers were at a loss. They werepletely unable to determine the nature of the Megalith Poison.

    Master Qing Cao did manage to offer Lu Yin some important insight. "To treat the Megalith Poison, you first need to understand just what it is.

    "You mentioned that Time Poison can make the time in a universe either speed up or slow down, making it nearly impossible for the people there to cultivate.

    "Vitality Poison drains a person¡¯s life away in a manner that can never be restored.

    "In that case, what is this Megalith Poison doing? Is it draining their energy, vitality, or is there some other hidden danger to the poison?"

    Lu Yin understood the truth in these words. Without understanding the Megalith Poison, how could they hope to treat it?

    Soon after that, Jiang Chen arrived, a grim expression on his face. "My father sent me to tell you this. ¡®We will meet in the First Scourge. The Five Spirits Alliance must be avenged.¡¯"

    Lu Yin replied, "Please ask the Lord of Lightning to wait. We need to first understand this Megalith Poison. If we just charge into the First Scourge and end up being poisoned, it could be disastrous."

    "Is the poison that dangerous? Could it affect even my father?" Jiang Chen was doubtful.

    Lu Yin responded solemnly, "The Ice Lord and all the others who were poisoned are sequence powerhouses. I don¡¯t believe that the Lord of Lightning is above that level."

    Jiang Chen nodded. "You have a point. I''ll go back and tell my father to wait. We can''t let Aeternus gain the upper hand. But how long will this take? We can''t drag things out indefinitely."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment. "It shouldn¡¯t take long. I was already nning to attack the First Scourge."

    Jiang Chen gritted his teeth, anger shing across his eyes. "This is no longer just about your ns! Aeternus killed the Fire Lord and others. My father won¡¯t let this go."

 Chapter 3150: Improvement

    <h4>Chapter 3150: Improvement</h4>

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had seen Jiang Chen show such anger. Whitecloud City had a very strong rtionship with the Five Spirits Alliance, which was why Aeternus had been so certain that instigating a conflict between the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance would force Whitecloud City to get involved.

    After enacting a Divine Commandment, Aeternus had grown even more brazen than ever, and their sole goal was to eliminate as many enemy powerhouses as possible.

    Whitecloud City could not recklessly invade the Scourge without making any preparations, as they could easily fall into a trap.

    Lu Yin believed that Aeternus had already made preparations.

    A Divine Commandment was not merely a war; each one was a crusade for an entire era. A Divine Commandment might onlyst a few days, or it couldst for tens of thousands of years.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the destruction of the four Mainds had not urred overnight. An extremely long time had passed between the destruction of each Maind, and yet all four had been destroyed during the first Divine Commandment.

    Countless yearsy between the Heavens Sect era and the Daosource Sect era where Progenitor Chen and the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had stood strong. There were almost no records of human history during that period, though there were still some. The Lu family possessed such records, but little else remained of that time. In the Origin Universe, aside from the Daosource Sect, Shenwu¡¯s Sky, and the Celestial Frost Sect, everything else had been wiped out. Lu Yin knew nothing about those ancient organizations as there were no survivors.

    There had been heroes worthmemorating and remembering, yet there were no longer any inheritances from those people.

    That was the result of the second Divine Commandment.

    Aeternus had now dered a third Divine Commandment.

    During each Divine Commandment, Aeternus had always seized the initiative, no matter if it was starting the conflict or even triggering each battle. Lu Yin believed that Aeternus enjoyed many more advantages than humanity.

    However, after learning from their two previous experiences, humanity would no longer remain passive.

    Lu Yin had already thought of a way to learn about the Megalith Poison: rolling six pips with his die.

    Six pips was Possession, and after devouring the Chiliagonist¡¯s consciousness, Lu Yin was able to perceive an invisible barrier in the mysterious dark space of consciousness. That barrier separated parallel universes from each other. Initially, Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness had not been strong enough to push through the barrier, but that had changed after usurping Xu Jin''s consciousness. Even though he still needed a great deal more time to fully digest the power, Lu Yin felt like his consciousness power was already strong enough to break through a few barriers.

    He used energy to roll his die, and then he would use his consciousness to break through the barriers that separated the parallel universes. This was something that only Lu Yin could do.

    Lu Yin knew that the brightness of the light orbs in that dark space represented the rtive strength of individuals that he could Possess. If the light was brighter, the person was stronger than Lu Yin. Given his current strength, such a person would have to be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies or someone else at the level of the Seven Skygods. Any of those people would likely know about Megalith Poison.

    Lu Yin had already once Possessed Xu Jin, but he had not had the time or opportunity to thoroughly review its memories. Even if Lu Yin had, he might not have seen anything regarding the Megalith Poison due to the sheer number of Xu Jin¡¯s memories.

    This time, Lu Yin intended to specifically look for information about the Megalith Poison. Even if he only Possessed one of the Seven Skygods for a brief moment, he should at least be able to glean some information.

    With this thought in mind, Lu Yin returned to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect and ordered that he not be disturbed by anyone. He raised his hand, and his die appeared. Slowly, he released divine energy from his body, allowing it to be visible, much like when star energy coalesced into star essence. This allowed divine energy to power the die when it was rolled.

    With a tap of his finger, Lu Yin watched as the die slowly stopped spinning to reveal four pips: Timestop.

    Lu Yin did not waste any time after he entered the Timestop Space, and he immediately extended the time to almost a year and then began cultivating. This time, he focused primarily on his consciousness, which he would soon need.

    He had not stayed in the Mirari Realm long enough. If he had stayed there for another significant period of time, he could have fully digested the consciousness that he had usurped and ced it entirely under his control.

    As the scenery changed around him, Lu Yin reappeared in reality, after which he rolled his die again. This time, itnded on three pips: Enhance. He had an incredible amount of wealth on him, but he had not decided what he should upgrade next.

    Suddenly, he remembered his seven star Immemorial card, Evernight. Could the card be Enhanced?

    The card had been created by the Lost n, and since it was something that had been made, it implied that it could be improved. If Lu Yin Enhanced Evernight, could it be a Primeval card?

    He immediately decided to give it a try.

    He ced Evernight on the upper screen of light and started tossing out star essence.

    He had attempted this once before, but he had not been able to determine whether Evernight could be enhanced. Even if it was possible, the amount of star essence required to do so was far, far beyond what he had possessed in the past, and he had not been able to make the card so much as twitch. This had led Lu Yin to believe that the Lost n¡¯s cards could not be improved, but he wanted to try again.

    As the star essence was thrown out, Evernight started to move. Lu Yin went bug-eyed with excitement. The card really could be Enhanced, which meant that he could improve it from a seven star Immemorial card to a Primeval card.

    His breath quickened. ording to what he had heard from the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder, a Primeval card was at the same level as an Ortuser. This meant that Lu Yin might be able to obtain a tool that could counter an Ortuser.

    Instinctively, he immediately wanted to Enhance Evernight, but he forced himself to stay calm. Enhancing the card might not be the right solution. Even with a Primeval card, what could Lu Yin do against an Ortuser? He knew that this was reasonable and logical, but as he stared at Evernight, which was right in front of him, Lu Yin found it hard to suppress the urge to Enhance it.

    He felt a wave of regret for not training more with Evernight in the past. The card contained traps in its own pocket dimension, and only the true master of Evernight could wield the card¡¯s power. Despite being the master of the card, Lu Yin had never tried to master its abilities, and he had instead believed that the Primeval card that he had seen a mere corner of was his true card. He merely saw Evernight as a tool that the Lost n¡¯s Shan Gu had given to him to hide what had happened. Lu Yin had not thought of the card as truly belonging to him.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin finally realized that he had been underestimating Evernight.

    Evernight had only ever been used as a shield when facing sequence powerhouses or forying an ambush, but never as a means of directbat. This had been Lu Yin¡¯s oversight.

    However, mastering Evernight would not be easy at all. The Lost n''sbat style did not suit him in the least. They relied on traps to pull their enemies into their cards, and then they would fight using preset traps within that card.

    In contrast, Lu Yin excelled at directbat.

    If he encountered an opponent who necessitated the use of ambush tactics, a single Immemorial card would not be enough to trap such an enemy. Any of Lu Yin¡¯s opponents that he was cautious of would have the strength to easily escape.

    Even if he Enhanced Evernight into a Primordial card, it still would not be able to trap an Ortuser. After all, Lu Yin himself was not at that level, and he would not be able to trap such a powerful opponent.

    However, it might be possible to trap opponents who were beneath the Origin realm.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. The enemies he faced were not Ortusers¡ªthey were the Seven Skygods and the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Realizing this, he decided to proceed with upgrading the card.

    Still, the decision was only one thing. Another matter entirely was the cost of the Enhancement.

    After silently calcting the cost, Lu Yin felt a twinge of pain.

    Upgrading Evernight even just once would deplete half of Lu Yin¡¯s wealth.

    He currently had 226 trillion star essence. This was likely more than what the Lu Sanctum had ever possessed at the Lu family¡¯s peak. In fact, the only organization in the entire Sixverse Association that couldpare to Lu Yin¡¯s wealth was the Merchant Exchange. Even so, it would take half of Lu Yin¡¯s wealth, over 100 trillion star essence, to Enhance Evernight. This was almost as much as what the four ruling powersbined had possessed.

    Individually, none of the four ruling powers had ever possessed such an astronomical amount of wealth.

    If Lu Yin spent this amount of money in the Perennial World, it would trigger a war, as such wealth would drive countless people mad.

    And he would have to use all of this just to upgrade Evernight.

    It was no wonder why his previous attempts to Enhance the card with star essence had not made the card budge the slightest.

    Lu Yin''s heart bled at the thought. The Merchant Exchange was already thest source that he could use to gather a massive amount of funds. It was impossible for him to find another simrly wealthy organization. On top of that, Lu Yin was holding the greatest amount of money that he had ever possessed, as well as the most that he had ever obtained from a single source. It was incredibly painful to use it all up at once.

    There was no other choice.

    Lu Yin gritted his teeth, and his eyes grew bloodshot as he stared at the two light screens. He started to frantically throw star essence out and watched as Evernight slowly fell.

    Once the card finally dropped out from the bottom, Lu Yin let out a long breath. His back was drenched with sweat.

    In the past, the most expensive Enhancement he had ever done had been to repair the Origin Progenitor''s Sword, and that had cost him 12 trillion star essence. Upgrading Evernight had far exceeded that cost.

    As he stared Evernight, he muttered, "I hope you¡¯re worth the cost."

    He picked the card up.

    The moment it fell out from the bottom screen of light, nothing seemed to change in the Origin Universe. However, in the Lost n''s universe, something incredible urred.

    All of the cards that were out and exposed started to tremble uncontrobly.

    Great Elder Shan Gu was shocked. What was happening? He immediately took out his own seven star Immemorial card, Heavenly King, only to find it was also trembling. This was a phenomenon that should only ur when an Immemorial card was in the presence of a Primeval card.

    Where was the Primeval card? He looked up into outer space but saw nothing at all.

    Could a Primeval card have silently arrived in the universe? If so, where had ite from? Who had brought it? Had someone from their home arrived?

    Shan Zheng approached. "Great Elder, our cards-"

    Shan Gu raised a hand to stop the other man. "I know. Keep this a secret. Don¡¯t let anyone know about it."

    Shan Zheng nodded. He noticed the Great Elder¡¯s unprecedented seriousness, and a hint of hidden excitement could be seen on the elder''s face.

    The anomaly within the Lost n went unnoticed by the Origin Universe. The two universes had only recently connected, and their inhabitants were still unfamiliar with each other. The Lost n was very isted, and it would take a long time for them to open up to the people of the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin was also unaware of the disturbance that he had caused by upgrading Evernight.

    When he entered the card¡¯s pocket dimension, he noticed that things did not seem to have changed very much. The darkness was still overwhelming and suffocating. It was a darkness that surpassed even Old Mo¡¯s sequence particles, and it was even more profound than the Hollow.

    Lu Yin believed that if the Old Mo entered Evernight again, even his sequence particles would be consumed.

    Still, that alone was not particrly useful to Lu Yin. He needed to truly master how to use Evernight, or else the upgrade would be a waste.

    Also, the fact that Evernight could be upgraded meant that the Lost n¡¯s other cards could as well.

    The Great Elder¡¯s Heavenly King could also be Enhanced, though it would cost just as much as it had to upgrade Evernight. However, Enhancing Heavenly King would mean that, with his card, Shan Gu would have the strength to fight against Ortusers.

    There was no doubt that this was good news, but whether or not Lu Yin should upgrade the man¡¯s card was another matter.

    The Lost n kept almost entirely to themselves, and Shan Gu had experienced tremendous despair. While he had been persuaded to join the Heavens Sect in the war against Aeternus, Lu Yin was not certain just how far the Lost n would be willing to go for the sake of the humans of this megaverse.

    Should Lu Yin upgrade Shan Gu¡¯s card? It would use up all of his remaining resources. Would it be better to save that wealth for Lu Yin¡¯s own usage? He needed to decide.

    After considering the question for a bit, Lu Yin decided to hold off on making a decision. After all, he still needed to use Possession.

    Possessing powerhouses at the level of the Seven Skygods would consume a tremendous amount of resources. Even if Lu Yin did decide to help the Great Elder upgrade his card, Lu Yin needed to make sure that he reserved enough star essence for his own use

 Chapter 3151: Mirebound Artifact

    <h4>Chapter 3151: Mirebound Artifact</h4>

    A Primeval card could significantly improve Great Elder Shan Gu''s strength, though it would still be limited.

    In contrast, Possession could have far reaching effects on apletely different level, and its potential far surpassed that of a Primeval card.

    After putting Evernight away, Lu Yin continued to roll his die.

    Itnded on six. Lu Yin smiled with relief. He had thought that it would take awhile tond on Possession, but this meant that he did not need to wait another ten days.

    His consciousness appeared in the dark space, and he let out a sigh of relief. Appearing here meant that he could use divine energy to Possess another person who had cultivated the same energy. All he needed to do was find a glowing sphere.

    A dim sphere appeared in the distance, but its brightness made it obvious that it was not what Lu Yin was looking for.

    Many individuals were qualified to cultivate divine energy, such as the spies who had infiltrated the Heavens Sect and destroyed the cosmic doors with their divine energy. They might not have fully mastered the energy, but they had at least been able to use it a bit.

    His consciousness continued to traverse through the dark space. Soon, Lu Yin saw a bright ball of light. It was so bright that it was almost blinding. He grew excited, as it had to represent a powerhouse at the level of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. There was no other way for the orb to be so bright.

    This brightness indicated that the person was much stronger than Lu Yin.

    As expected, there was a barrier between Lu Yin and this orb of light, which meant that his target was in another parallel universe, not in the Origin Universe.

    That was disappointing, as Lu Yin had hoped to Possess Aeternus¡¯s most mysterious figure, Whiteless God. He wanted to find out who that person was.

    His consciousness rushed towards the orb and mmed into the invisible barrier. Gradually, his consciousness pushed through the barrier, pressing until he broke through. He then immediately merged with the sphere of light.

    At that moment, memories surged into his mind, as well as the sight of a piercing gaze. There were scarlet eyes staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s scalp went numb. He had been discovered. As he realized this, he also understood who he had Possessed: Ancient God, Gu Yizhi.

    "A mirebound artifact? So that''s how it is. It¡¯s no wonder how you¡¯ve been able to reach such heights. I should have known." A voice rang out, and Lu Yin quickly ended his Possession, returning his consciousness to the strange dark space.

    This was the first time he had been discovered when Possessing someone. That voice had belonged to True God, who had learned of Lu Yin¡¯s secret.

    "Do you think that you can leave so easily?" The dark space trembled, and a square seal appeared before Lu Yin''s consciousness and then smashed down into it.

    Blood spurted from Lu Yin¡¯s mouth the moment his consciousness returned to his own body. He staggered. Blood dripped from his mouth as his pupils fluctuated. His eyes only intermittently showed a sense of rity amidst confusion.

    It took a while for Lu Yin to recover from the blurry vision. His head continued to spin.

    But the worst part was the damage that had been done to his inner universe; a crack had appeared in his star of consciousness.

    This was not the first time that Lu Yin had seen that seal, as it was the same as the coordinate seal that had been Aeternus Nation¡¯s anchor. The Sixverse Association also used coordinate seals, as people could leave traces on them to easily travel to various parallel universes. A coordinate seal should not have been able to badly harm Lu Yin while his consciousness was in the dark space. Clearly, there was more to the seal than what he knew.

    His die had always been Lu Yin''s trump card. One pip allowed him to Pilfer items from cosmic rings. Two pips allowed him to Dpose items into their raw materials. Three pips could Enhance items. Four pips was Timestop. Five pips, Gift Copy, could copy another person¡¯s innate gift. Six pips granted the ability to Possess another individual. While many people had made guesses about Lu Yin¡¯s die¡¯s different abilities, no one had ever truly understood his innate gift.

    In particr, Lu Yin had thought that no one would ever be able to unravel the truth behind Possession.

    Even when he had Possessed Di Xia and Mu Ji in the Third Scourge, despite the close proximity to Di Qiong, Lu Yin was certain that no one had detected what he had done.

    Unfortunately, True God had discovered Lu Yin, and he had even attacked him while his consciousness was in the mysterious dark space.

    Lu Yin grew extremely wary, as his greatest secret had just been exposed.

    Conflicting emotions appeared in his eyes. He should have anticipated such a possibility, but he had be ustomed to everything rted to his die going smoothly. He had forgotten that his die might not be the most mysterious item in existence.

    True God had also mentioned something called a "mirebound artifact." Was Lu Yin¡¯s die a mirebound artifact? Just what was a mirebound artifact?

    He needed to find an opportunity to ask about this.

    Lu Yin had been discovered by True God while Possessing Ancient God because a means of control had been left behind in the Skygod. Lu Yin had not seen this in Ancient God¡¯s memories, but he had sensed it the moment that he had Possessed the man.

    There was a reason why Ancient God had betrayed humanity.

    Also, during the very brief moment that Lu Yin had Possessed Ancient God, he had managed to glimpse a few crucial memories regarding the Megalith Poison.

    He was fortunate that his first thought had been to focus on the Megalith Poison, as if he had dyed by even a single moment, he would have learned nothing at all.

    Megalith Poison was not something that the Aeternals had developed through research, but was rather a living creature¡¯s saliva. That creature was known as the Megalith.

    The Megalith was a white beast that slept in outer space and fed on vitality. Vitality was simply the source of life. Without it, a creature could do nothing; food would not provide any aid, and all cultivation would vanish as well. This was the result of losing one¡¯s vitality.

    The Megalith thrived on vitality, which was its favorite food.

    Megalith Poison was saliva collected from the slumbering Megalith.

    Lu Yin had actually seen the creature before. While fishing in the River of Time with Infinity, he had seen a scene with a monster that looked like a whale. The beast had simply rolled over, and that movement had shattered the void and exposed the Hollow. That creature had been the Megalith.

    The Megalith fed on vitality, which resulted in its own vitality being unimaginably powerful. Describing the beast as possessing earth-shattering power was no exaggeration. Vitality could be transformed into physical might, and Lu Yin had been astounded by the Megalith¡¯s power.

    He had not expected Aeternus to have captured, tamed, and used such a creature as a source of Megalith Poison.

    The briefness of the Possession meant that Lu Yin had not been able to learn where the Megalith was located from Ancient God¡¯s memories. Lu Yin had only managed to discover where Megalith Poison came from, as well as its antidote.

    Ironically, the antidote for Megalith Poison was Time Poison.

    The Megalith had been naturally born from a universe, and it had no natural enemies. Due to its incredible vitality and enormous size, no astral beast could kill the monster. In fact, astral beasts would not even dare to approach the Megalith. Simply getting close would cause them to lose their vitality, and no one could survive that.

    However, no creature in existence was invincible.

    The Megalith''s greatest fear was time. The passage of time terrified it, which was why it was always sleeping; it was avoiding the sensation of the passage of time.

    Everything about the Megalith could be eroded by time, but this refers to time that has undergone significant change, rather than the normal passage of time.

    Lu Yin suspected that the Aeternals had managed to trap the Megalith because of Time Poison.

    Despite knowing the antidote to Megalith Poison, it would not be easy to find Time Poison.

    Time Poison was not just a type of power, but rather the physical manifestation of time itself. Lu Yin¡¯s first thought was of the mist in the Mirari Realm, which could certainly counter the Megalith Poison, but he did not have ess to the Mirari Realm.

    The one relief for Lu Yin was that not even Aeternus had ess to more Megalith Poison.

    It was not easy to harvest saliva from the Megalith. Approaching the beast was incredibly dangerous, as even the Seven Skygods risked losing all their vitality.

    Over the course of many years, Aeternus had only acquired a very limited amount of Megalith Poison.

    Attacking the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance had used up all of the Megalith Poison that Aeternus had gathered. They had sessfully dealt with eight sequence powerhouses at once, but they had depleted their stores of Megalith Poison to do so.

    This meant that it was time to attack the First Scourge.

    Lu Yin touched his chest, sensing his injured star of consciousness. However, that was Lu Yin¡¯s only injury, and his physical body remained unharmed. The n could be carried out without any dys. Waiting would only give the Aeternals more time to prepare.

    ***

    In the Lost n¡¯s universe, Great Elder Shan Gu was standing in outer space, his Heavenly King card in his hand.

    There had not been any further disturbances. Had someone taken the Primeval card that had appeared? How had that card appeared?

    <i>Huh?</i> Great Elder Shan Gu noticed someone approaching him.

    Lu Yin soon arrived. "Why are you here, Great Elder?"

    Shan Gu replied, "Just watching. Connecting two universes will inevitably cause a few points of friction."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course, but there¡¯s no need to worry about that. If the Lost n prefers to not interact with others, there¡¯s no problem. The primary reason behind connecting our universes is so that we can instantly support each other and defend against any attacks from Aeternus quickly."

    "Why did youe to see me?" Shan Gu asked. He could not help but think back to when he had caught a glimpse of a card¡¯s corner, but the recentmotion could not be rted to that Primeval card. Otherwise, there would have been a much stronger reaction.

    If that card had made an appearance, then the entire universe would have trembled.

    Lu Yin sighed. "Honestly, I¡¯ve never managed to fully understand Evernight, and I¡¯m not familiar with itsbat applications. I came here to ask you, Great Elder, about the card¡¯s abilities."

    With Evernight now Enhanced into a Primeval card, Lu Yin needed to use it in battle. For that, it was essential that he understand and master the card before fighting with it.

    Of course, Lu Yin had no intention of showing the upgraded Evernight to Great Elder Shan Gu, as the man would immediately notice the change. It would be extremely difficult for Lu Yin to exin what had happened.

    Shan Gu did not suspect a thing. "Evernight is a card that has been with my Lost n for ages. It''s equal to my own Heavenly King, as both are seven star Immemorial cards. Evernight¡¯s primary technique is called the Dark Pce."

    "Dark Pce?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Great Elder Shan Gu stared at Lu Yin. "You¡¯ve never asked me about Evernight before. I had assumed that you weren¡¯t interested in our cards."

    Lu Yin apologized, saying, "I¡¯ve focused on too many battle techniques, and there are times when I don¡¯t know which abilities I should focus on mastering. That may have given you the wrong impression."

    Shan Gu gave a knowing smile. "I suspect that your interest in our Lost n¡¯s cards has increased since ourst conversation."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. He had not even considered that.

    "Before west spoke, you likely regarded my Lost n as just another civilization that also could notpare to your Origin Universe. At best, we might have been equal to the Cyclic Universe, though only by relying heavily on our Primeval cards. Our talk showed you our previous peak, and you started to see Evernight as more important," Great Elder Shan Gu guessed.

    Lu Yin had not consciously thought of such things, but Shan Gu''s reasoning was sound.

    The Lost n was not from the same megaverse as him, and in the past, they had given rise to unimaginable powerhouses, which suggested that their civilization enjoyed just as glorious a past as the Heavens Sect. This history made it reasonable for Lu Yin to start cing more importance on Evernight.

    Lu Yin smiled wryly. "It¡¯s difficult to hide anything from you, Great Elder. Yes, I always believed that a person¡¯s individual strength was the foundation of cultivation. I never imagined that a civilization could achieve such glory with something like your people¡¯s cards."

    Shan Gu sighed. "A senior once mentioned that anything that exists in reality can develop in its own unique way. No species is invincible, but there is also no species incapable of growing and improving."

    The old man sighed. "Even a de of grass or a simple stone can find a path forward to improve upon. It all depends on whether or not that path can be found."

 Chapter 3152: The Disappearing Attack

    <h4>Chapter 3152: The Disappearing Attack </h4>

    Lu Yin remembered a civilization on the Endless Frontier where everyone fought with stones on their backs. There were also instances of people using grass as a weapon. Hongyan Mavis had used a de of grass to block the Mirari Realm¡¯s mist of time.

    Great Elder Shan Gu''s words were quite urate.

    Lu Yin bowed and solemnly said, "I have learned much, Great Elder. It¡¯s true that every civilization has its own unique path of development. I shouldn¡¯t be narrow-minded."

    Shan Gu chuckled. "These words aren¡¯t mine. Rather, they belong to a senior who, unfortunately, met a tragic end. In the end, there is nothing in existence that can stand up to <i>that </i>being."

    Lu Yin quickly interrupted. "Senior, I once heard that fate exists everywhere and that there is no such thing as an absolute. That should apply even to the being you mentionedst time. I told this to you then as well."

    Shan Gu let out a heavy sigh. "I apologize, Lu Yin. I lost myposure."

    Whenever Shan Gu brought up that invincible being, he lost hisposure. This was a manifestation of the man¡¯s past trauma.

    This was also why Lu Yin was so hesitant to help the man by Enhancing his Heavenly King card. It was not that Lu Yin was looking down on the Great Elder. Rather, an Enhanced card needed to match its user''s ability. Shan Gu''s inner demons meant that he was incapable of reaching the Origin realm, and using a card at that level would only result in disaster if he faced a true Ortuser inbat.

    Enhancing Heavenly King would not help Shan Gu but instead harm him.

    "Our Lost n has three seven star Immemorial cards: Heavenly King, Evernight, and Aurora. At the moment, Aurora has no master. I hold Heavenly King, and you possess Evernight.

    "Heavenly King is domineering, while Evernight is cunning. You should be the one to create the traps in Evernight, and the card¡¯s original ability is called ¡®Dark Pce.¡¯ That ability imprisons enemies in darkness and incinerates them with it..."

    From Shan Gu''s exnations, Lu Yin gradually developed an understanding of Evernight.

    Despite the fact that Shan Gu had never used Evernight himself, the card had had many masters throughout the history of the Lost n, and those people had left detailed records behind.

    Lu Yin gently rubbed his cosmic ring. He could not help but wonder just how effective Evernight would be in a fight.

    His strength hadpletely transformed since he had obtained the Immemorial card, though he still had not be a Progenitor. While Evernight should be at the level of an Ortuser, Lu Yin realistically could not use the card against such a powerhouse.

    However, it seemed more than possible to use Evernight to take down one or two of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    After Shan Gu finished his exnation, he allowed Lu Yin to consider what he had just learned. The Great Elder had been waiting for Lu Yin to reach out and ask about how to use Evernight, but Lu Yin had never done so.

    With the assistance of a card and a corresponding level of personal power, it was certainly possible for a person to understand their card¡¯s ability. However, when there was a gap between the master and the card, understanding the card¡¯s abilities would be very difficult.

    Previously, Lu Yin had only had a basic understanding of Evernight, but he had just learned that the card¡¯s most deadly ability was its Dark Pce.

    Soon after, Lu Yin departed.

    Shan Gu remained standing in outer space, staring at his Heavenly King while hoping to see another reaction. That might lead him to the Primeval card that had appeared.

    ...

    Thunder roared in the First Scourge as lightning swept through the sky and across the earth. Countless spatial tears opened up.

    A figure stepped out. They were holding a long sword as they retreated step by step.

    Right behind the person, a creature that resembled both a worm and a snake appeared. Its entire body was a golden color, and it was covered with ck lightning patterns. Blue lightning shed across the creature¡¯s eyes as it lunged at the person in front of it.

    Down on the ground of the First Scourge stood Progenitor Xi. She looked up, seeing what she had expected.

    After attacking the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance, Aeternus had anticipated that Whitecloud City would retaliate. In fact, they expected that, not just Whitecloud City, but the Sixverse Association would also grow agitated.

    But what of it? The Scourges were not ces that humans could brazenly invade. There were ancient beings which simply needed to be awakened. They could not remain hidden forever.

    "Jiang Feng, this is the second time you''ve lured the Ancient Lightning Locust into my Aeternus¡¯s territory. This time, you won''t be able to return." ckless God rose into the sky as ck lines appeared in front of the Ancient Lightning Locust, trying to trap the creature.

    The person who had arrived in the First Scourge was none other than the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng.

    Jiang Feng had a cold, determined expression on his face. "I hadn¡¯t nned on leaving this ce alivest time, but you¡¯ve allowed me to just walk away time and time again. ckless God, where is your confidenceing from?"

    The man then shed his sword, and that single attack sliced through the ck lines.

    Lower in the sky, countless ck lines appeared, densely packed together.

    A golden light descended at the entrance of the First Scourge. Sovereign Dou Sheng entered with a broad grin. "I''m here again! Arrow God, I may not like hitting women, but you seem to be asking for it."

    He received an answer of arrows as a pair of cold eyes fell on the Sovereign. Arrow God was already focused on Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    He was the only person who could keep her upied, but likewise, only she could keep the Sovereign tied down.

    The man was simply too difficult to kill, and it was practically impossible to take him down. He was truly the most troublesome type of enemy to face.

    Lord Xu and Mu Shen entered at the same time, despite both of them still nursing wounds from previous battles. There were important reasons why they needed to contribute to this attack on Aeternus.

    For the first time, Great Elder Shan Gu entered the First Scourge, and he immediately trapped Di Qiong within Heavenly King. Di Qiong was not even able to react.

    When it came to skill in using the Lost n¡¯s cards, Lu Yin could not evene close toparing to the Great Elder. Lu Yin would have never trapped Di Qiong.

    Another great battle broke out in the First Scourge. The number of experts attacking from both the Sixverse Association and Whitecloud City took the Aeternals by surprise. They had expected retaliation, and they had been confident that there would be an attack, but such a quick andprehensive reaction exceeded all their expectations.

    Kong Tianzhao faced off against Progenitor Xi, only to be repelled by a single sweep of her sword. Qingluo Jiantian¡¯s Qingluo Intent was an attack that carried unbeatable spiritual force.

    Lu Tianyi stepped forward, using the Lu family''s version of the Origin Sutra, whichpensated for the family¡¯s spiritual force weakness. Although this still could not bridge the gap between him and Qingluo Jiantian, it was enough for him to hold his own in this fight.

    Shao Yin watched as human powerhouses stormed into the Scourge. Since when had Aeternus been the one to react instead of the one seizing the initiative?

    In the past, the First Scourge alone had suppressed the entire Sixverse Association. However, as the Sixverse Association persistently retaliated, the humans¡¯ momentum had surged. At the moment, not even the united strength of all six Scourges under the Divine Commandment was enough to suppress humanity.

    With humanity united, they wielded truly terrifying power.

    Shao Yin greatly regretted exposing himself so early.

    Still, revealing himself had not been done entirely by choice. Lu Yin, that little wretch, had forced Shao Yin¡¯s hand.

    <i>Wait, where is Lu Yin?</i>

    Shao Yin scanned the battlefield. This should be impossible, as who else but Lu Yin could lead the entire Sixverse Association to attack? Despite his reluctance, Shao Yin had to admit that no one other than Lu Yin was capable of mobilizing so many parallel universes to attack all at once. That brat should not be missing from this battle.

    Suddenly, Shao Yin felt a sh of danger. A de flickered in front of him, the edge gleaming with a cold light. The man raised a hand, bringing out the merged powers of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang to create a beam that repelled the de.

    Mu Ke had attacked the former Sovereign. The Arborean took a step forward as his saber shed at Shao Yin.

    Shao Yin had known that his opponent would be Mu Ke.

    Mu Ke continued to swing his de, but Shao Yin was confident that he could match Mu Ke in a fight. When Shao Yin had still been one of the Three Sovereigns, Mu Ke had only been as strong as Shao Yin, but after he merged his Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang, Shao Yin¡¯s strength had risen to match the Seven Skygods themselves. Mu Ke was no longer Shao Yin¡¯s equal.

    However, Shao Yin failed to notice that Mu Ke was not his only opponent. To the right stood Qing Ping, and to the left was Mu Xie.

    Shao Yin had never imagined that all three of Lu Yin''s senior disciple brothers would target him. This was done at Lu Yin''s request, as Shao Yin was crucial to this particr battle.

    In front of Shao Yin, a de shed as it sliced down. The attack was sharp and terrifying.

    Shao Yin raised his hand, and a beam of light met the attack before sweeping past, slicing through the sh. "Mu Ke, I underestimated you in the past, but this time, you are underestimating me!"

    Mu Ke''s eyes were cold as his de shed out again. He was using Verseless.

    Verseless severed space, and Shao Yin felt a sudden surge of danger. His eyebrows rose as he immediately used his sequence particles to overpower Mu Ke¡¯s attack. A battle of sequence particles ensued, though Shao Yin waspletely confident that he outmatched Mu Ke in this regard.

    Suddenly, a ?ar¨©ra appeared from the side, and it crashed towards Shao Yin.

    Mu Xie was not yet a Sequence Progenitor, so he seemed to pose no threat to Shao Yin, especially in a Scourge where all human forces were weakened. The former Sovereign was able topletely ignore Mu Xie¡¯s attack.

    However, Mu Xie was not trying to attack Shao Yin. All the Progenitor wanted to do was get his ?ar¨©ra close to the man, nothing more.

    The ?ar¨©ra was a marker that could be targeted by Origin Tracer.

    Shao Yin used his sequence particles to shatter Mu Ke¡¯s sh and then pointed a finger at the Arborean while another finger pointed at Mu Xie.

    The ?ar¨©ra was already at Shao Yin¡¯s side, and the beam that was shot at Mu Xie first shattered the ?ar¨©ra before continuing on towards Mu Xie.

    Suddenly, the beams vanished, but the saber sh continued to fall down onto Shao Yin

    He quickly dodged the attack, but it grazed his shoulder, opening a bleeding gash.

    Shao Yin stared nkly at the blood on fingers. What had just happened? His sequence particles should have overpowered Mu Ke''s attack, but those sequence particles had simply disappeared. No¡ªafter he scrutinized it, Shao Yin realized that his sequence particles had not been reduced. Rather, it was as if his attack had never even happened.

    He looked over at Mu Ke, and the man¡¯s saber shed out again while Mu Xie pushed his ?ar¨©ra forward.

    Mu Xie had just used his ?ar¨©ra as a marker for Origin Tracer, undoing the events that had taken ce as the ?ar¨©ra approached Shao Yin. The only thing that had happened during that time had been Shao Yin pointing two fingers, one at Mu Ke and the other at Mu Xie.

    This event had been negated, which meant that Shao Yin had neverpleted that action, but in his perception, he had already attacked.

    Essentially, Shao Yin believed that he had released an attack that had never actually urred, which allowed Mu Ke''s saber to fall unimpeded. If Shao Yin had not reacted quickly enough, the sh would have done far more than leave a mere flesh wound.

    As soon as he saw Mu Ke''s de fall again, Shao Yin immediately grew wary. He pointed his finger and shot a beam of light at Mu Ke''s attack whilepletely ignoring Mu Xie, as Shao Yin believed that the ?ar¨©ra could not harm him at all.

    However, the beam vanished once more.

    Shao Yin''s focus snapped over to Mu Xie as a chill entered them. "It''s you!"

    Using Origin Tracer a second time had left behind a trace that Shao Yin had sensed. After dodging Mu Ke''s saber, Shao Yin focused on attacking Mu Xie while also avoiding the ?ar¨©ra. A finger pointed out again, and another beam of light shot out. This attack should kill Mu Xie, as the man had not be a Sequence Progenitor yet.

    However, the beam vanished yet again. Origin Tracer had activated, though this time, Mu Ke''s saber was the marker. When Shao Yin had dodged the sh, he had still been grazed by it, and Mu Ke used that as a marker to negate the subsequent events. This caused Shao Yin''s attack to disappear.

 Chapter 3153: What Happened?

    The ?ar¨©ra charged at Shao Yin from the front.

    A solitary ?ar¨©ra did not pose much of a threat to the man, but Mu Xie had more than just that one ?ar¨©ra; his true attack was his ?ar¨©ra Kingdom.

    For a very long time, Mu Xie had kept his true ?ar¨©ra inside the Mother Tree, where he had used it to search for Ye Bo and to train with Origin Tracer.

    After Lu Yin managed to find Ye Bo, Mu Xie had been able to release his main ?ar¨©ra, and that allowed him to use his true Progenitor''s world: ?ar¨©ra Kingdom.

    The ?ar¨©ra suddenly separated, forming a central piece with eight satellites surrounding it. This was the form of Mu Xie¡¯s ?ar¨©ra Kingdom, and the entire thing then crashed into Shao Yin. The man was forced back a step, as the power of the attack far exceeded his expectations. This attack was nearly as powerful as one made by a sequence powerhouse.

    Mu Ke¡¯s saber chopped down once again.

    Shao Yin waved a hand, dispersing the ?ar¨©ra Kingdom. He was highly wary of both Mu Ke and Mu Xie, and he prevented any of their attacks from approaching. He was quite frustrated, as he could not understand how these two men were able to erase his attacks. What kind of battle technique were they using?

    The entire First Scourge had been thrown into chaos, but Shao Yin had no time to worry about anyone else. His only intention to break free of Origin Tracer.

    Unfortunately for Shao Yin, he could not find any way forward, as he waspletely unable toprehend the time-manipting battle technique.Helpless, Shao Yin could only retreat. This was not because hecked the strength to fight against Mu Ke and Mu Xie, as even when cooperating, the two men could not defeat Shao Yin. Still, their techniques were too bizarre, and their relentless assault and total focus on him made Shao Yin uneasy.

    As he pulled back, Mu Ke¡¯s attacks grew sharper, and Mu Xie¡¯s ?ar¨©ra Kingdom blocked Shao Yin¡¯s path. The ?ar¨©ra Kingdom was not able to deal much damage to the man, but it was tough and durable enough that it was difficult for Shao Yin to break through even with his sequence particles.

    He tried to move in a different direction, but Mu Ke would not allow it.

    Step by step, Shao Yin was forced to move towards the ck Mother Tree.

    This was exactly what Mu Ke and the others were trying to do, and it was exactly what Lu Yin had told them to do; force Shao Yin to the ck Mother Tree.

    Shao Yin felt that something was off about Mu Ke and Mu Xie¡¯s actions. Whenever he retreated, the attacks he faced grew softer, yet any time he tried to move in a different direction, the attacks grew fiercer. Something was definitely wrong.

    He quickly decided to not go along with their ns. Shao Yin knew that he needed to move in a different direction.

    Mu Ke¡¯s saber shed out again in a fierce attack as the ?ar¨©ra Kingdom closed in.

    This time, Shao Yin was determined to change direction. He retaliated with a Divine Yin Awl, firing it at the ?ar¨©ra Kingdom while dodging Mu Ke¡¯s saber. Shao Yin had managed to figure out that the men could not negate his attacks so long as none of their attacks got close to him.

    While Mu Ke and the others had their own techniques, Shao Yin was not an idiot, and he had managed to determine the pattern.

    A beam of light shot out, forcing Mu Ke to dodge.

    As soon as this happened, Qing Ping stepped forward from where he had been watching carefully. He had also been taught Origin Tracer.

    The three disciple brothers had all learned Origin Tracer, though they all had different levels of mastery of the technique. Mu Ke was able to easily negate Shao Yin¡¯s attacks due to also being a sequence powerhouse, while Mu Xie found it more difficult, though he could seed with great effort. As for Qing Ping, it was much more difficult.

    For this reason, he decided not to use Origin Tracer at all, and instead used Judgment.

    The set of scales appeared, with one side appearing beneath Qing Ping''s feet while the other appeared under Shao Yin''s feet.

    This was Qing Ping¡¯s method of using thews of the universe to judge anotherw. The path he walked was unique to him alone, but it was a path that had once allowed him to judge even Di Qiong. Facing Shao Yin was naturally within Qing Ping¡¯s capabilities.

    Shao Yin pointed a finger, intending to destroy Qing Ping''s Progenitor''s world.

    It did not work. Qing Ping''s Progenitor''s world was not a battle technique or a physical attack. Instead, it was a judgment based on thews of the universe. Although it did not use sequence particles, it used a shortcut that allowed it to function simrly.

    "Judgment: near or far? It must be near."

    During the battle against Di Qiong in Aeternus Nation, Qing Ping had used this same judgment to save Lu Yin. The further he had been from his target, the more favorable the judgment had been in Qing Ping¡¯s favor. This had forced Di Qiong to distance himself from Lu Yin. Against Shao Yin, Qing Ping reversed the trial, choosing to be near. This meant that the closer he was to Shao Yin, the more the judgment would be in Qing Ping¡¯s favor, and the worse it would be for Shao Yin.

    This was a fair trial, so long as there was no outside interference.

    The effectiveness of the battle techniques employed during the judgment should determine the oue, but with Mu Ke and Mu Xie interfering, things changed.

    Shao Yin was rtively close to Qing Ping at the moment, and he could clearly feel that the scales were raising him up. He felt a nameless feare into being, as though some invisible force was weakening him.

    What was going on?

    As Qing Ping continued to move closer, Shao Yin felt a chill that only grew worse.

    If Mu Ke and Mu Xie were not present, Qing Ping¡¯s judgment might not have posed any danger at all to Shao Yin. Even in the worst case scenario, Shao Yin would suffer harsh injuries. This was because Qing Ping was not invincible, nor was his Judgment.

    Shao Yin knew nothing about the severe bacsh Qing Ping would face if he forced the Judgment to continue, and Shao Yin could not risk being wounded on the current battlefield.

    With Qing Ping closing in, Shao Yin had no choice but to retreat, so that he could maintain a bit of distance.

    The further Shao Yin retreated, the more his side of the scales dropped, and the sense of danger faded.

    Shao Yin let out a sigh of relief, but then he saw Qing Ping chasing after him.

    Shao Yin raised a hand and fired a beam at Qing Ping, but Mu Ke shattered the attack with a sweep of his saber. At the same time, Mu Xie¡¯s ?ar¨©ra Kingdom approached from the other side.

    Shao Yin was utterly bewildered. The coordinated efforts of these three men indicated a pre-nned strategy. Just what was their goal?

    Mu Ke''s saber, Origin Tracer, Qing Ping''s Judgment, and the relentless pressure from the ?ar¨©ra Kingdom worked together to overwhelm Shao Yin, leaving him breathless.

    The triobined their techniques in various manners to counter everything that Shao Yin attempted.

    Helpless, he could only continue to retreat, trying to gain as much distance as possible from Qing Ping. However, Qing Ping chased after Shao Yin, moving their fight closer and closer to the ck Mother Tree and further from the main battle where Progenitor Xi and the others were fighting.

    Mu Ji noticed the odd fight between the four men, but chose to neither intervene nor investigate.

    Given the size of the battle across the First Scourge, the attack on Shao Yin was only a small skirmish, and itcked the scale of other fights.

    There was the fierce, ongoing sh between Arrow God and Sovereign Dou Sheng, Lu Tianyi''s battle with Progenitor Xi, Kong Tianzhao''s fight with Ji Luo, and thebined efforts of Lord Xu and Mu Shen against Ancient God, and all of them were far more eye-catching than what the three disciple brothers were doing.

    Even more distracting was the fact that high above everyone else, the Ancient Lightning Locust sent its lightning spreading across the First Scourge while the Lord of Lightning fought it. ckless God¡¯s ck lines filled the sky, giving the entire Scourge the appearance of an apocalypse.

    No one dared rise high into the sky.

    The First Scourge fell into ruins.

    Shao Yin was forced ever closer to the ck Mother Tree, and he became increasingly certain that something was wrong. However, Qing Ping''s Judgment prevented the man from moving in any other direction.

    Moving closer to Qing Ping was dangerous, but so was continuing to be corralled.

    Desperate, Shao Yin used the Eight-Star Garan.

    The Eight-Star Garan used spatial memory, and this allowed Shao Yin to replicate a previous attack that had urred within a certain range of him, and use it for himself.

    He had no idea what attacks may have been used in the nearby area, but Shao Yin knew that humanity had repeatedly invaded the First Scourge, and had even pushed as far as the ck Mother Tree. It was impossible for no powerful attacks to ever have been released in his current location.

    Blue lines appeared across his body, and as the lines on his back disappeared, a blue gemstone appeared nearby. Shao Yin grabbed it and swallowed it in one gulp.

    Mu Xie and Qing Ping both eximed in shock, "Eight-Star Garan?"

    Mu Ke''s expression fell. He had also heard of the Eight-Star Garan, but how could Shao Yin use it?

    If Big Sis or Arch-Elder Zen were present, they would not be surprised by the sight, as they had once attacked Shao Yin with Lu Yin in the Decaying Diablo Universe, and had seen him use the Eight-Star Garan innate gift. The power that this innate gift could unleash depended entirely on how powerful of an attack had urred in a given area in the past.

    As Shao Yin swallowed the blue gemstone, invisible ripples spread out. He raised his hand and shot an arrow at Qing Ping, replicating one of Arrow God''s attacks.

    The first time that the First Scourge had been invaded, Arrow God had arrived to offer support, and she had done so by firing arrows. Lu Yin had nearly been struck, and the Lightning Lord and Chu Jian had both been badly wounded.

    Mu Ke¡¯s saber shed out, severing Arrow God''s attack. While the arrow was powerful, it was not to the level of being able to overpower Mu Ke with a single shot. Arrow God was more of a threat because of her continuous attacks that could suppress the entire battlefield.

    However, Arrow God had only ever fired one arrow in the area where Shao Yin stood.

    While only one arrow could be replicated, Shao Yin was only getting started. Terrifying lightning crackled across his body, and it lit up an entire region of the Scourge, bright enough to pull everyone¡¯s attention for a moment.

    Even high in the sky, Jiang Feng noticed the lightning, recognizing it as his own.

    Shao Yin shed a wicked grin, reveling in the sensation. He had unwittingly replicated the Lord of Lightning''s power. Shao Yin turned to face the three men, and sneered at them.

    ¡°Die!¡± he shouted as he unleashed the lightning. The attack shattered the void.

    Jiang Feng''s expression instantly changed, as he understood the danger the three men faced. He moved to intervene.

    Above him, the Ancient Lightning Locust grew enraged, and it looked down as it released a furious roar. Blue lightning shed from its eyes, tearing through the void. The beast was attacking Shao Yin.

    Just as Shao Yin was about to attack Mu Ke and the other two men, he felt a sudden chill. As he looked up, he saw blue lightning falling upon him. Without any hesitation, he redirected the replicated golden lightning towards the falling blue lightning.

    The two lightnings collided in the most dazzling spectacle to have urred in the First Scourge.

    No one had expected Shao Yin to suddenly fight against the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    Even Shao Yin himself was stunned by the sudden development.

    He had intended to use the Lord of Lightning''s power to sweep his adversaries away, but had instead found himself targeted by the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    The blue lightning was relentless, and it continued to rain down. The golden lightning that surrounded Shao Yin was overwhelmed and suppressed. He had only managed to replicate the power that the Lord of Lightning had released in a single location, and Jiang Feng had not used his full strength there. The Ancient Lightning Locust''s full-power attack was unstoppable. The blue lightning burned Shao Yin''s skin as it tore it apart. His body was bombarded by the blue lightning, and the golden lightning quickly dissipated.

    Desperate, the man used his sequence particles, and released all of them in an attempt to counter the lightning.

    When the blue lightning finally crashed into the ground, the exchange ended.

    Mu Ke and hispanions were left bewildered by the sudden turn of events they had just witnessed. They could not make sense of what had just happened.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3154: Six Paths Of Reincarnation Realm

    <h4>Chapter 3154: Six Paths Of Reincarnation Realm</h4>

    High in the sky, Jiang Feng let out a heartyugh. The Ancient Lightning Locust did not hate the Lord of Lightning, or even Whitecloud City specifically. It hated his golden lightning.

    As soon as Shao Yin replicated the lightning, the Ancient Lightning Locust had targeted him. It was not a surprise to see the beast focus on the man.

    In the distance, Progenitor Xi could only shake her head, feeling a bit sorry for Shao Yin. <i>Of all the powers to borrow, why did he choose Jiang Feng''s lightning? Didn''t he realize Jiang Feng is pursued by the Ancient Lightning Locust? Using that man¡¯s power was simply courting death.</i>

    Shao Yin had practically been crippled.

    Hey deep underground, his entire body burned and broken. He was incapable of moving, or even thinking clearly. He had been charred by the blue lightning.

    Mu Ke, Qing Ping, and Mu Xie exchanged nces.

    This had not been any part of the n. They had been told to force Shao Yin close to the ck Mother Tree, which had seemed feasible. However, the man had been left half-dead, and was unable to even try to escape. How could they possibly push Shao Yin towards the ck Mother Tree?

    If they did not press the attack, their actions and intentions would be too obvious. However, if they did attack, Shao Yin would not survive.

    The three felt confused, as they had never been ced in such a situation before.

    At that moment, a figure burst out of one of thekes of divine energy, and it moved straight for Shao Yin. Mu Ke moved to attack, but was stopped by Qing Ping. The three men watched as the figure grabbed Shao Yin, and then raced off towards the ck Mother Tree.

    Qing Ping stared at the figure, recognizing the person as Marquis Wu, whose name was Hui Wu.

    A faint red glow covered Hui Wu''s body. It was the mark of divine energy.

    He had been submerged in theke of divine energy as a punishment announced by Progenitor Xi.

    Everyone was surprised to see Hui Wu carry Shao Yin towards the ck Mother Tree.

    "What is he doing?"

    "After him!" Mu Kemanded in a low voice. He swung his saber, shing at the ground in front of Hui Wu. Regardless of Hui Wu''s intentions at this moment, no matter if he was trying to help Shao Yin or Mu Ke and the others, their goal seemed feasible at this moment.

    Qing Ping watched things unfold, his expression conflicted.

    Hui Wu had finally been discovered as a human spy in Aeternus, so why had he not left with Lu Yin when there had been a chance? What was he up to this time? Was he helping humanity, or helping Shao Yin?

    Not even Qing Ping could make sense of Hui Wu''s actions at this moment.

    Also at this time, the Ancient Lightning Locust realized that Shao Yin no longer posed any threat, so the creature¡¯s attention returned to Jiang Feng, and it iled its massive tail at the man.

    Jiang Feng also saw that Hui Wu was taking Shao Yin to the ck Mother Tree, and realized that it was time for him to take action.

    He started moving towards the ck Mother Tree, shouting, "Yong Heng, I¡¯m here again! Don¡¯t you want what I have? Come and take it!"

    The Ancient Lightning Locust let out a roar behind the man, and started chasing Jiang Feng towards the ck Mother Tree.

    ckless God¡¯s eyebrows rose. "Jiang Feng, I am your opponent."

    A figure stepped out from within the ck Mother Tree. It was none other than True God.

    True God ignored the Shao Yin and all that was happening around the man. True God¡¯s focus was entirely on the golden lightning that Jiang Feng controlled. "Jiang Feng, you still don¡¯t understand. There are things I thought you would haveprehended by now."

    "Comprehended what? That you want to annihte humanity?" Jiang Fengughed. ¡°Back on Earth, powerful people brought about despair, and yet I still led humanity through it.

    ¡±I¡¯ve faced countless life-and-death battles throughout various parallel universes, and I¡¯ve survived them all. That beast has been chasing me for ages, yet once, I stole lightning right under its nose. Hahaha.

    "Is there something you want me to understand?" Jiang Feng questioned.

    True God remained calm. "You mean to reject my divine grace."

    "Obviously," Jiang Feng replied as he stepped onto the ck Mother Tree. Behind him, the Ancient Lightning Locust was still in pursuit, while in front of Jiang Feng, True God awaited.

    An indescribable sensation appeared as Jiang Feng¡¯s sword shed out. It was as though the sky above and the earth below had been reversed. Everything converged into this one attack. At this moment, all creatures¡ªhumans and animals¡ªas well as thend, thekes, and even the stars above, seemed to let out a single breath. It was as though the universe itself was breathing.

    True God raised a hand, freezing the entire sky. A ringing impact echoed out as his fingertips struck the de of the sword. Two fingers pinched the de, unbothered by the surge of lightning. "I''ll take this mirebound artifact."

    "Can you handle it?" Jiang Feng tightened his grip on his sword. As he turned around, the Ancient Lightning Locust arrived, and its blue lightning crashing into the man. Jiang Feng raised his arm, allowing the blue lightning to enter his body. While the blue lightning shared the same origin as his own golden lightning, the blue lightning had been nurtured by the Ancient Lightning Locust for countless years, and Jiang Feng''s body could not handle it. This was the reason that the creature relentlessly pursued the man.

    However, while Jiang Feng was unable to endure the blue lightning, neither could True God.

    The lightning struck Jiang Feng, and he coughed up blood as the lightning traveled down his sword and into True God''s body.

    Golden and blue lightning both assaulted True God at the same time, forcing him to release his hold on the sword. Jiang Feng bothughed and coughed up blood as he took advantage of the moment, and his sword shed out once more. Surrounded by the gold and blue lightning, the de pierced True God''s hand, and drops of blood fell that melted into the ck Mother Tree.

    True God pushed the sword down with a hand. It had stabbed into his hand, but had not fully prated it.

    Jiang Feng felt his opponent¡¯s immense power and, unable to bear the onught of the blue lightning any longer, was forced to retreat.

    Another ng rang out, and the sword trembled slightly from Jiang Feng''s own power. He spat out even more blood.

    This time, True God was the one to take a step forward. "Jiang Feng, your arrogance knows no bounds. Without this mirebound artifact, you would never be able to even get close to me. Now, you will stay here."

    With that, a hand reached out to grab Jiang Feng.

    Jiang Feng smiled at True God. "Do you think you''ve lived long enough?"

    From behind the man, the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s tail whipped forward, carrying the beast¡¯s blue lightning. Jiang Feng did not dodge, and simply allowed the tail to send him flying.

    While the impact wounded the man, it also managed to open up some distance between him and True God.

    At this moment, Hui Wu finally arrived at the base of the ck Mother Tree with the wounded Shao Yin.

    Far away, the Great Sovereign emerged from the void. "Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm!"

    At the bottom of the ck Mother Tree, Shao Yin managed to regain consciousness. He had considered himself to be doomed, but instead found that he had been rescued by Hui Wu. He had managed to escape from Mu Ke and the others¡¯ pursuit.

    Just as Shao Yin was about to express his gratitude to Hui Wu, realized where he was, and understood that something was very wrong; he was beneath the ck Mother Tree.

    He looked away, and saw Mu Ke and the other two staring at him from the distance. The three men¡¯s expressions betrayed their intentions at this moment, and Shao Yin''s heart sank.

    "Get me out of here!" he urged Hui Wu.

    Hui Wu just stood beside Shao Yin, silently staring up into the sky.

    Shao Yin struggled to get up, ignoring the pain. As he did so, he heard the words "Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm" that the Great Sovereign spoke.

    Shao Yin¡¯s body started to slowly rise up. He had a sh of insight, and understood his terrible mistake.

    He had believed himself to be well-hidden, the Aeternals¡¯ perfect mole within the Sixverse Association. But that was wrong; terribly wrong. The Great Sovereign had known the truth all along, and had set a trap. That was why Shao Yin had been able to escape from the Tea Ceremony after being exposed, as well as why his various actions had never been opposed by the Great Sovereign. This was also why Lu Yin had spared the man¡¯s life in the Decaying Diablo Universe.

    Shao Yin was unable to control his body as he drifted upwards. His vision blurred, until all he could see clearly were the Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes as she stared at him with unmatched power, but no emotions.

    So, this was the truth; he had only ever been a mere pawn.

    <i>Boom</i>

    There was a resounding explosion, and Shao Yin''s body disintegrated. Beams of light suddenly connected to each other through the void. In an instant, six pirs of light shot upwards and downwards, surrounding the ck Mother Tree to form a massive circr column thatpletely enveloped the ck Mother Tree. These pirs connected the heavens and the earth, each of them extending out of sight to create an enormous construct out of light.

    Not only was the ck Mother Tree within the construct, so was True God and the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    In the middle of the First Scourge, Progenitor Xi''s expression changed drastically. Her sword shed at the ck Mother Tree as she tried to cut through the pirs of light, but the attack failed to make so much as a dent.

    ckless God joined her, as well as Ancient God and Arrow God, but none of their attacks could harm the pirs in the slightest bit.

    Within the pirs that surrounded the ck Mother Tree, True God ced a hand on one of the pirs. There was the sound of thunder, and the pir trembled before ultimately cracking.

    Up in the sky, Jiang Feng''s face fell. Had they failed?

    Mu Ke, Lu Tianyi, and many others stopped fighting, as every eye turned to look at the ck Mother Tree.

    If this failed, the entire battle would be for nothing.

    While most of the people fighting had not been informed of the exact reason for the battle, it had be clear that the goal was to trap True God.

    If he could break free so easily, their efforts would be nothing but a joke.

    Suddenly, the Great Sovereign appeared beside the pir. Only a hundred meters separated her from True God. It was the width of the pir.

    "Tai Hong, is this your n? For this, you exiled the Lu family and allowed Shao Yin to run rampant?" True God asked. He sounded perfectly calm, as though he was not the one trapped.

    The Great Sovereign''s expression remained cold. "There are things that require a price to be paid."

    "And this, what significance does it have?" True God asked in the same level tone.

    The Great Sovereign slowly moved down, before finally merging with the pir. She sat at the bottom of the pir of light. "You are my obsession. Only by killing you can I ovee Dukkha. However, killing you is impossible.

    "This is the only way, Yong Heng. I''m gambling everything on this. Either I die in this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, or it will slowly strip your power from you. Either one will take a long time, but I can wait."

    True God sped his hands behind his back. "Are you so certain that this can strip my power?"

    The Great Sovereign said nothing and simply closed her eyes.

    True God raised his hand to touch the pir again, but this time, he was unable to so much as shake the pir. All of the cracks that he had made earlier were already healed.

    With the Great Sovereign sitting within the pir, not even True God could break it.

    "I never thought that the proud woman of the past could be so patient. Tai Hong, I have to admire you, but even if you manage to trap me, so what? Can you deal with my Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies? Can you ept the grace of the heavens?" he asked in a resonating voice.

    At this moment, the Ancient Lightning Locust, which had been trapped within the pirs of light along with True God, slowly swam out. It waspletely unaffected by the trap.

    True God chuckled. "So it really does target only me. Tai Hong, how long did you spend preparing for this?"

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes opened. "Did you learn to spout such nonsense from Tai Chu? Your tongue ps too much."

    High above in the sky, Jiang Feng sighed. He had hoped that the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm would also trap the Ancient Lightning Locust, but it seemed he had been too optimistic.

 Chapter 3155: The Big Players

    The Great Sovereign had spent uncountable years and incalcble effort to trap True God, which was a truly incredible feat. If her trap could simply confine any creature within it, she would have never allowed Shao Yin to exile the Lu family and made so many terrible sacrifices.

    Her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm targeted True God and True God alone. No other creature was affected by the trap.

    Thunder rang out once more, and Progenitor Xi looked away. With True God and Tai Hong essentially taking each other out of the fight, the rest of the battle resumed.

    Progenitor Xi had not anticipated that Tai Hong''s n would involve Shao Yin. The Great Sovereign had been underestimated.

    Since humanity had clearly been preparing for this exact moment, there was no doubt that they had a strategy in mind for the battle afterwards.

    At that moment, Lu Yuan appeared. His Champions'' Stage shook the void. It was finally his turn to act.

    Far away, Ancient God waved a hand, forcing Lord Xu back. The Skygod stepped into the sky to confront Lu Yuan. "Loam, has your injury healed?"

    Lu Yuan stared at Ancient God. "Musclehead, why did you betray us? You must give me a reason today."

    "There is no reason. If you insist on having one, then it''s that the human body limits power too much. I couldn''t see any hope of a breakthrough.""That''s not the reason I want to hear," Lu Yuan said as he threw a punch at Ancient God.

    The fist was casually deflected, as Ancient God raised his own fist and brought out his Wielder - Indestructible.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The First Scourge quaked. Space copsed, and the ground shattered. The resulting pressure of the two attacks sent shivers down Mu Ji''s spine. This was the power of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and it was terrifying beyond belief. Even Mu Shen could barely approach the two men¡¯s battle. However, this was also the level of strength that Mu Ji aspired to reach himself, and resolve zed in his eyes. One day, he would reach that level.

    Ancient God revealed the full extent of his dreadful strength, and it far surpassed what he had revealed during the previous battles in the First Scourge. This time, the man brought out his sequence particles.

    At the same moment that the ck Mother Tree was sealed within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, three people appeared in the sky of the neighboring Sixth Scourge. Lu Yin stood between Hongyan Mavis, whose face was hidden, and E'' Ji.

    As the three moved forward, they immediately drew the attention of numerous corpse kings and peak powerhouses who had betrayed humanity and were in the Sixth Scourge.

    The Sixth Scourge had never been invaded, and because of that, the human traitors were left bewildered as the corpse kings fearlessly charged forward.

    Lu Yin brought out a Zenith Mountain and released the emperor in his mecha. Supreme effortlessly crushed the countless corpse kings before leaping towards the ck Mother Tree. Lu Yin¡¯s guess proved to be correct; Corpse God was under the ck Mother Tree, in a simr location as the temple to True God in the First Scourge.

    Xu Jin¡¯s Second Scourge, Di Qiong¡¯s Third Scourge, and ckless God¡¯s Fourth Scourge were all facing simr situations at this moment.

    The colossal form of Supreme instantly drew countless attacks from all across the Sixth Scourge.

    Beneath the ck Mother Treey a hidden valley, shrouded by dark clouds that made it impossible to see through.

    Supreme was unstoppable, and the mecha brushed all attacks aside. In the Sixth Scourge, aside from the new member of the Seven Skygods, Ji Luo, there was not even a single sequence powerhouse capable of standing up to Supreme. Even the Progenitor-level corpse kings were simply swept aside as Supreme boldly and brazenly fell into the valley.

    Supreme fell swiftly, but the mecha retreated from the valley even faster. It turned out that the mecha was not retreating, but had rather been thrown out of the valley.

    An incredible power had hurled Supreme out of the valley, and the mecha flew into the sky.

    Inside Supreme, the emperor was stunned by the terrifying power that had just struck him. What kind of monster could be hidden in this ce?

    He had struggled to ept the fact that the Heavens Sect''s powerhouses were able to overpower Supreme, but he had already known that there were many formidable foes throughout the cosmos.

    However, while the emperor had anticipated facing strong enemies, he had not expected to face an opponent whose strength was absurd enough to send Supreme flying.

    As the man listened to the piercing rms that rang out in the mecha, he understood that whatever was hiding in the valley possessed enough power to pose a true threat to Supreme.

    Lu Yin, E'' Ji, and Hongyan Mavis all arrived at the edge of the valley.

    A colossal hand rose up from the valley and grabbed hold of its side. A deep, rhythmic thumping emanated from the hidden depths. It was the monster¡¯s heartbeat.

    E'' Ji''s eyes went wide with excitement. This was interesting, incredibly interesting. Some sort of giant had appeared.

    As the four people watched, an enormous head emerged from the canyon, and it roared at the sky. The roar created visible shockwaves that ripped through the clouds as they spread towards the ck Mother Tree and the other Scourges.

    The ripples passed through the void.

    Lu Yin''s eyes bulged. Was this Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone? No, it did not look quite right.

    He focused on the giant that climbed up out of the valley, noting the differences between it and Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone that Lu Yin had seen while fishing in the River of Time.

    Supreme descended from the sky, surrounded by a halo of light and wielding a sword that had appeared. The mecha shed towards the giant in the valley.

    The giant roared again, and mes of aurelian force burned the void as the battle force spread out and stopped Supreme¡¯s sword from falling, preventing the attack entirely.

    The emperor went bug-eyed. Only moments had passed since he had been caught off guard and sent flying by this giant. Despite fighting in a battle that he did not want to be part of, the emperor could not ept Supreme being overpowered.

    It was eptable for Supreme to lose, but it could not be swept aside like some sort of insignificant bug.

    The sword continued to press down, and it started to slice through the mes of aurelian force.

    This sword had been forged from the sharpest materials that the Infinity Empire had ever found, and it could not be easily blocked.

    The giant dodged the sword, leaped up, and then threw a punch at Supreme.

    This time, the emperor was prepared. He used Supreme¡¯s full ring energy capacity and countered with his own punch.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The massive impact overturned thend of the Sixth Scourge, and shockwaves rippled outwards.

    Several peak powerhouse traitors who had taken refuge in the Sixth Scourge were stunned by the scale of the fight they were seeing. They retreated further and further. What kind of power did these two monsters possess?

    Supreme and the giant both possessed simr size and physical strength.

    E'' Ji leaped over Supreme, her foot touching the head of the mecha as she punched straight at the giant. A fist was the most fundamental human attack, and it could deliver immense destructive power, especially when thrown by someone skilled at using brute strength.

    E'' Ji''s punch was powered by the destructive power that she had absorbed from the Scourge upation¡¯s mad ancestor, and there was no need for any sort of battle technique.

    The punch smashed into the giant''s chest, sending the monster crashing back into the valley.

    The emperor was irritated; how dare the woman step on Supreme''s head?

    Standing beside Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis was impressed. "Little Seven, where did you find such strong people? Both of them are quite impressive."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Without such people, how would I have had the courage to im that I would restore the Heavens Sect to its past glory?"

    Hongyan Mavis marveled, "The Heavens Sect was once so brilliant that it eclipsed all lesser lights. But over the years, those lesser lights have grown strong enough to rival that brilliance. Tai Hong''s Cyclic Universe, along with these outsider civilizations, have united to truly possess the power to challenge Aeternus."

    Down in the valley, the giant let out another roar, and the scorching aurelian force continued to spread further, burning the void wherever it passed.

    Inside Supreme, the emperor shouted, "Woman, get down!"

    E'' Ji was still standing on top of Supreme, and she cocked an eyebrow at the emperor''s order. "Watch your tone."

    "I am the emperor of the Infinity Empire!"

    "And I am the chief of the Scourge upation."

    The emperor caused Supreme to clench a fist, and it nearly tried to crush the woman. But with Lu Yin watching, the emperor restrained himself.

    The giant lunged up from the depths of the valley, twisting its body to deliver a powerful kick to Supreme.

    E'' Ji immediately leapt away.

    The giant''s kick sent Supreme flying far away, and it even cracked the mecha¡¯s energy shield.

    The emperor could not believe that the giant was capable of withstanding such a powerful blow from Supreme without suffering any injuries. He maneuvered the mecha, readying its massive sword before charging back at the giant.

    E'' Ji struck first, but the giant directly endured her attack, and it even retaliated with a punch that sent the woman flying.

    Supreme moved past E'' Ji, the mecha¡¯s sword slicing at the giant. Once again, aurelian force stopped the de. While the sword was able to push through the aurelian force, it was not able to make contact with the giant.

    As the giant''s fist mmed down, Supreme released the sword to meet the blow with a fist.

    The giant roared in the valley, aurelian force continuing to ze and incinerate the void.

    Lu Yin was well aware of Supreme¡¯s impressive defenses, as even thebined efforts of Mu Ke and the other sequence powerhouses had been helpless against the mecha.

    It waspletely unexpected that the giant would possess a simr level of defenses, and Lu Yin was once again reminded of Progenitor Chen''s giant clone.

    When fishing in the River of Time, Lu Yin had seen Progenitor Chen''s giant clone use enough brute strength to injure even Corpse God''s indestructible body, as the super giant had coughed up blood. If this giant in the Sixth Scourge really was Progenitor Chen''s clone, then such strength would not be surprising. However, Lu Yin did not recognize the giant.

    The two titans continued to sh with the ck Mother Tree serving as their backdrop. The fierce battle continued in the Sixth Scourge, shattering the ground below.

    As Lu Yin watched the fight, his eyes were drawn to the distant form of the ck Mother Tree, and to the pirs of light that had imprisoned True God. Suddenly, Lu Yin realized something; Shao Yin was not a member of the Garan family, and yet he could use their innate gift of Eight-Star Garan. How?

    If Shao Yin could use Eight-Star Garan, then why could the giant fighting against Supreme not use the abilities of Progenitor Chen''s giant clone?

    Lu Yin had witnessed Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone fight against Corpse God and even die at the end of the battle. Corpse God had taken the corpse with him, and after seeing that scene, Lu Yin had wondered what they had used the corpse for. As he watched the giant fight against Supreme, Lu Yin felt that he had finally found an answer.

    Corpse God must have found a way to transfer the power of Progenitor Chen''s giant clone to another giant.

    In other words, Supreme was effectively fighting against Progenitor Chen''s giant clone.

    Lu Yin stared at the giant, feeling conflicted. What kind of strength was needed to fight Supreme to a standstill? What level of strength had Progenitor Chen truly possessed? Bai Wangyuan, Wang Fan, and Xia Shenji were jokes, believing themselves to be Progenitor Chen¡¯s peers. Sharing the title of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had blinded the men.

    Progenitor Ku had invaded the First Scourge on his own, and yet he had managed to survive. Given True God¡¯s unfathomable strength, how had he failed to kill Progenitor Ku? Reality defied imagination.

    Every era would give rise to extraordinarily talented individuals. The current era had given birth to Lu Yin, who was unmatched throughout all of human history. It was not surprising that people like Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku had appeared during the Daosource Sect era. What was more surprising was that their strength had managed to remain a mystery and that their incredible strength had been grossly underestimated even now.

    Lu Yin stared at the giant. If this really was the strength of Progenitor Chen¡¯s giant clone, then the fact that Progenitor Chen was still alive and in Burial Garden, working on creating a technique to kill True God, was truly no trivial matter.

    Lu Yin was eager to see what Progenitor Chen would create.

    Also, Progenitor Ku would surely awaken one day.

    Humanity¡¯s strength was unimaginable, even to someone like Lu Yin. What could possibly stand in their way?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3156: Fast And Slow

    <em>Boom!</em>

    On the ground, a river of divine energy suddenly surged toward the giant. The monster could not endure any longer. Supreme was a mecha, and it possessed both light barrier technology and a shield of ring energy, while the giant was nothing more than flesh and blood. Persevering for so long in a fight was already quite impressive.

    However, as divine energy flowed into the giant¡¯s body, the creature started to change. Its eyes turned scarlet, but it didn¡¯t stop there. They turned green, red, and then finally settled on the Specter Eye Transformation. Each change caused the giant¡¯s aura to spike as its strength rose. The moment the Specter Eye Transformation finished, the emperor was stunned. Could this be real?

    <em>Bang!</em>

    There was a resounding crash as Supreme was sent flying for the third time. This time was also different, as the impact had sessfully created a crack in the mecha¡¯s hull.

    Lu Yin''s expression finally changed. Progenitor Chen''s giant clone had already possessed formidable physical strength. Now, with a boost from divine energy and also an exponential increase in strength provided by the corpse king transformation, the giant was no longer an opponent that Supreme could handle. "Attack it together!"

    From above, E'' Ji unleashed the destructive power of her ancestor, shattering the sky as attacks rained down. An endless darkness spread as the Hollow appeared.

    The glowing lines of Infinity appeared around Lu Yin as he brought out his inner world. The lines started to collide, and the bacsh was absorbed by Extremes Must Be Reversed and transformed into more power waiting to be released.

    In the distance, Supreme¡¯s hands rose to face the giant. A burst of ring energy was released as the mecha attacked.Three attacks converged from three different directions, each with the power to obliterate a universe, and the giant was engulfed.

    Starting from the giant, the Hollow appeared, and it quickly expanded to devour the surrounding area.

    One by one, corpse kings were pulled in and consumed.

    Several traitorous human peak powerhouses watched on, stunned. Some tried to tear the void open in order to escape, only to find grass blocking their path. Where had this grasse from?

    Hongyan Mavis was in the Sixth Scourge for two reasons. The first was to reim the remnant of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree that had been stolen by Corpse God, and the second was to prevent anyone from escaping.

    Corpse God was severely injured from the previous battles, and he was not even as powerful as the giant. If the Sixth Scourge could not stop Lu Yin and hispanions, then Corpse God would definitely try to flee.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s presence was Lu Yin¡¯s source of confidence that Corpse God would not be able to escape.

    The Hollow did not spread very far. After all, they were in a Scourge, and the surging divine energy caused the Hollow to quickly recover.

    At this moment, True God''s attention shifted from the First Scourge to the Sixth Scourge.

    While the First and Sixth Scourges were neighbors, the ck Mother Tree had blocked all the shockwaves of the Sixth Scourge¡¯s battle from reaching the First Scourge.

    Only True God, from his position at the top of the ck Mother Tree, could see what was happening.

    Lu Yin had chosen this moment to act, as he was afraid of another sneak attack from True God, but with True God trapped, there was nothing to stop Lu Yin from invading the Scourges however he wanted.

    A cloud of dust spread out, revealing a bottomless chasm in the Sixth Scourge.

    Lu Yin, E'' Ji, and the emperor piloting Supreme all stared into the immense chasm. The giant should be dead, right?

    Another roar rang out. There was no hint of weakness, and the st dispersed the cloud of dust while sending shockwaves rippling outward.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. The giant was still alive.

    The strength of Progenitor Chen''s giant clone,bined with divine energy and a corpse king transformation, had created a monster that even Corpse God might not be able to defeat at his peak. In essence, they were facing off against Corpse God at his peak.

    The giant rose up from the chasm and immediately charged at Supreme, punching at the mecha.

    The giant had locked onto Supreme as its primary target.

    The emperor''s scalp went numb. <em>This monster</em>¡­

    He raised Supreme¡¯s arms in a defensive position, even while feeling a sinking sense of dread. This punch would likely destroy Supreme.

    However, the punch nevernded. The giant vanished.

    The emperor was not the only one confused, as E'' Ji was simrly puzzled. The giant had been about tond a terrifying strike on Supreme, but then, it had simply disappeared.

    The giant was nowhere in the Sixth Scourge. It had been trapped within Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension.

    Lu Yin had not expected to use his card so quickly after Enhancing it.

    He did not want Supreme to be destroyed, especially since they still needed to deal with Corpse God.

    Corpse God no longer possessed the terrifying power that he had wielded at his peak, and Supreme could handle the Skygod¡¯s strength. As for the giant¡­

    The giant stood in the midst of an endless darkness. It seemed to bepletely devoid of any sort of intelligence, and it focused solely onbat. It showed no intention of wanting to leave Evernight.

    Even without improving the card, Lu Yin felt that Evernight could have trapped the giant.

    The giant was a formidable deterrent, but Lu Yin did not need to fight it. The Lu family had a rule against anointing corpse kings. If the giant did possess the strength of Progenitor Chen''s giant clone, then Lu Yin needed to ensure that the monster was reduced to dust, out of respect for Progenitor Chen.

    The first step was to drain the giant¡¯s divine energy.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to travel at the speed of time, and he instantly appeared behind the giant. He released his inner universe, and the star of divine energy trembled as it started absorbing energy.

    This was not a method that Lu Yin would dare to use anywhere else. True God would definitely notice, and there was always a chance that he would break free. Not to mention, Hongyan Mavis was close by, and Lu Yin could not risk any misunderstandings.

    At this time, grass started to appear in the Sixth Scourge, growing out from the void. This was a sign that Corpse God had appeared. With the giant dragged into Evernight, if Corpse God did nothing, he would naturally be the next target.

    He was well aware that the giantcked the intelligence necessary to escape Evernight.

    This was precisely why Corpse God rarely ever used the giant. Its weakness was too obvious, and any Lost n member could easily and quickly remove the giant from battle.

    Corpse God had forgotten that Lu Yin possessed one of the Lost n''s three seven-star Immemorial cards, Evernight. It was truly the giant¡¯s perfect counter.

    Corpse God tried to sneak away from the Sixth Scourge, but he failed. Grass had blocked off the void. While it was possible to tear through the grass, the time he needed to do so was enough for E'' Ji to pinpoint Corpse God¡¯s location and attack.

    The powerful punch forced Corpse God to dodge.

    Corpse God''s body was much weaker than what Lu Yin had faced in the Giants¡¯ Purgatory. The massive Skygod appeared to be extremely weak, as though he was about to copse.

    E'' Ji sneered. "Another big guy, but you don''t seem nearly as tough as thest one."

    She charged at Corpse God.

    The Skygod had been greatly weakened, and Hongyan Mavis could see that Corpse God was in control of less than a fifth of the number of the sequence particles that he hadmanded during the battle that had destroyed the Second Maind. Just as Little Seven had imed, their earlier ambush had nearly killed Corpse God.

    While E'' Ji possessed incredible destructive power, she also possessed a clear weakness; she did not have any battle techniques.

    Corpse God easily evaded the woman¡¯s attacks with nothing more than a simple movement technique.

    Even if an ordinary human was granted the power of a sequence powerhouse, they could not match up to a seasoned cultivator who had trained relentlessly to acquire their strength. Even if the warrior was severely injured, their experience would make it nearly impossible for an ordinary human to win, regardless of their strength.

    This was a matter of perspective andbat acumen.

    To Corpse God, E'' Ji''s attacks wereughably predictable.

    Still, escape was not an option for the Skygod.

    Supreme also attacked, the mecha¡¯s sword shing at Corpse God, the edge of the de flickering with a deadly glimmer.

    Corpse God was forced to keep dodging.

    In the First Scourge, the most intense sword battle was the duel between Ji Luo and Kong Tianzhao.

    One was incredibly fast, and he moved about at a speed that was impossible to react to.

    The other made himself seem like the center of the universe with his mastery of the sword.

    These twopletely different sword styles shed in the First Scourge.

    Kong Tianzhao had received several sword wounds, and each one looked like it hade from an attack aimed straight at him. Every one of the injuries had been delivered by Ji Luo. Despite Kong Tianzhao¡¯s injuries, Ji Luo was even worse off, as Kong Tianzhao had sessfully pierced Ji Luo¡¯s heart with a thrust.

    Sword fights were swift, ruthless, and deadly. Even the slightest mistake could result in death.

    Flickered of white light exploded from each sword collision, and there was also the asional stter of blood. No one dared to approach the area near the battle.

    Kong Tianzhao never stopped attacking, but he did nce down at his neck. A cut had appeared there. Just a fraction of an inch more, and the attack would have decapitated the man. This was the wound that Kong Tianzhao had epted in order to thrust a sword through Ji Luo''s heart, even if the man appeared to be unfazed by the wound.

    A sh of sword light approached Kong Tianzhao from behind, and the man took a single step. Ji Luo could not control his attack, and it was pulled straight towards Kong Tianzhao, who parried it while counter attacking. Ji Luo evaded, taking advantage of his greater speed.

    It was a battle of speed versus patience, slow versus fast, but neither could im superiority.

    Progenitor Xi was currently fighting against both Lord Xu and Mu Shen.

    Had the two men not already been injured, there would have been no need for them to join forces against a single opponent.

    Ji Luo suddenly hesitated during his duel with Kong Tianzhao, and the man turned to look back at the ck Mother Tree and at True God.

    True God had spoken to Ji Luo. <em>Has something happened to Corpse God?</em>

    At that moment, Kong Tianzhao''s swordshed out, and Ji Luo was forced to quickly dodge and pull back. He retreated from the fight with Kong Tianzhao.

    The white-d swordsman raised his de and dered, "This attack of mine is unmatched!"

    Ji Luo suddenly turned to look back. He saw a sword strike that he would never forget. Despite the distance, Ji Luo felt like he was at the center of the battlefield, as everything seemed to be drawn to this sword. His speed was nullified, and he was forced to directly face the attack.

    He instantly realized that he could not survive this attack.

    In that case, he would simply avoid it.

    Ji Luo turned around and brought out a cosmic door, ignoring the threat from behind.

    Kong Tianzhao''s eyes narrowed as his attack sliced through Ji Luo, tearing through the void and ripping open the Hollow. Ignoring the attack, Ji Luo stepped through the cosmic door and disappeared.

    Kong Tianzhao knew that his strike should have killed Ji Luo. Clearly, the other swordsman had used some method to survive.

    At this moment, a cosmic door appeared in the sky above the Sixth Scourge. Ji Luo emerged, the wound on his chest still open. It was where Kong Tianzhao¡¯s sword had pierced Ji Luo¡¯s heart.

    Ji Luo looked down. His eyes did not so much as flicker as he took a step forward. His sword was already aimed at E'' Ji.

    "Watch out!" Hongyan Mavis shouted. She had been observing the entire Scourge, and she had noticed the moment that Ji Luo had appeared. His speed was shocking, and Hongyan Mavis could only warn E'' Ji while using her grass to try to stall the swordsman.

    Fortunately, the grass managed to slow Ji Luo, which allowed E'' Ji to barely dodge the attack. When she looked up and saw Ji Luo, E'' Ji recognized him. "You again?"

    When Aeternus had tried to destroy the Nine-Star Civilization, E'' Ji had been the first to fight against Ji Luo. While the Aeternals had eventually been repelled, E'' Ji had paid a steep price during the battle, and Ji Luo had nearly killed her.

    She had only managed to counter his speed with pure destructive power.

    Upon seeing the swordsman again, E'' Ji knew she had no chance, especially after she had already expended much of her strength against the giant.

    Ji Luo attacked the woman again.

    Corpse God shouted, "Kill that shrouded person!"

    Ji Luo instantly changed directions and instead aimed his sword at Hongyan Mavis.

    Hongyan Mavis met Corpse God¡¯s eyes. She knew that he had recognized her. As Ji Luo drew closer with his deadly de, she spoke, "I''ve lost much of my strength, but I can still fight back."

    Green grass sprouted beneath her feet, and when Ji Luo cut through it with his sword, he discovered that Hongyan Mavis had vanished.

    At that instance, grass started to grow everywhere, and a rampant green spread across the entire Sixth Scourge.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3157: Power Returned

    <h4>Chapter 3157: Power Returned</h4>

    Ji Luo continued to attack Hongyan Mavis, but she seemed to have vanished. There was absolutely no trace of her, which left Ji Luo perplexed and disoriented.

    E'' Ji and Supreme kept attacking Corpse God, who grew frustrated. He begged Ji Luo, "Work with me to help me escape first."

    Ji Luo immediately turned around and attacked E'' Ji with his sword, but Supreme blocked the sh. The attacknded on the mecha¡¯s energy barrier but failed to break through. Ji Luo continued to attack, each sh stronger than thest. Finally, he broke through the barrier, but he was still unable to harm Supreme''s hull.

    The battle with Kong Tianzhao had caused Ji Luo''s strength to fall. While he had survived two attacks that had struck his heart, doing so had forced him to pay a steep price.

    Inside Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension, divine energy was continuously drawn out from the giant and absorbed by Lu Yin. Even without divine energy, the giant was still greatly strengthened by the Specter Eye Transformation and its natural strength. It was still a formidable opponent.

    However, for the moment, Corpse God was their greatest concern.

    Lu Yin allowed the Evernight card to drift into the void while he reappeared in the Sixth Scourge. He quickly noticed Ji Luo and Corpse God¡¯s severely weakened state.

    Corpse God also noticed that Lu Yin had returned to the battle, and the Skygod¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    Lu Yin released his inner universe while also visualizing thendmass. The continent of fatesand merged with the visualization technique, which caused the Sixth Scourge to tremble and be overshadowed.

    Everyone saw anotherndmass appear in the sky overhead. It looked ready to fall and crush them all.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God¡¯s eyes narrowed at the sight. This was Tai Chu¡¯s technique. Not only had Lu Yin survived True God¡¯s attack, but had he also mastered Tai Chu''s technique?

    Thendmass fell as the Wordless Heavenly Book was brought out. The desires of all living creatures of the Fifth Maind granted thendmass vitality, transforming it and strengthening it until it became remarkably clear.

    Supreme quickly dropped down andy on the ground. The emperor instantly recognized the technique that had defeated his Infinity Empire.

    Hongyan Mavis looked up. This was the attack that had allowed Lu Yin to truly step onto the same level as her and the others.

    Ji Luo¡¯s sword shed at thendmass, but it only made a small crack. Despite his relentless attacks, thendmass continued to press down, causing Ji Luo to cough up blood.

    Corpse God had been significantly weakened even before this battle, and he shrank his body down. He was unable to endure the fallingndmass.

    E'' Ji dropped to the ground and looked up to watch thendmass descend. This was no ordinary continent; it contained a mysterious power.

    Thendmass continued to fall, bringing with it an indescribable pressure.

    Ji Luo did not give up and continued to attack thendmass with his sword, despite coughing up more blood with each attack.

    The pattern of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree appeared on Corpse God''s body. He punched upwards, but he failed to prate the fallingndmass.

    Finally, thend touched down on the heads of both Corpse God and Ji Luo.

    Ji Luo used his sword to support himself, while Corpse God lifted both of his arms in a desperate attempt to hold thendmass at bay.

    Lu Yin was standing atop thendmass. During theirst battle, Corpse God had escaped. This time, Lu Yin would not let the Skygod get away.

    "Lu Yin," True God called out.

    In the First Scourge, both the Aeternals and the human forces were startled by the voice, and they turned to look at True God. What had just happened? Was Lu Yin also fighting?

    No one knew for sure, not even Lu Tianyi. All the man knew was that Lu Yin''s true target was the Sixth Scourge.

    This was not because Lu Yin was trying to keep secrets from Lu Tianyi and the others, but rather as a safeguard against unknown possibilities, such as observers using the River of Time.

    Lu Tianyi and the others had only been informed that Lu Yin''s target was True God. They believed that trapping True God meant that they had aplished the goal of the invasion and that their current task was to try to eliminate other experts of Aeternus.

    However, True God had just called out to Lu Yin. Where was Lu Yin fighting?

    Lu Yin stood atop hisndmass, his feet above Corpse God and Ji Luo. The young man turned to look at the ck Mother Tree. "Yong Heng."

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had used True God''s name.

    "Do you remember what I told you?" True God asked, his voice sounded unusually gentle, to the point where it soundedpletely out of character for the man.

    Lu Yin stared at True God from a distance. "Of course I remember. Unfortunately, you didn''t let me speak back then."

    "There was no need for you to say a word. I spoke, and you listened. Whether or not you understand, you will eventually walk the path," True God stated.

    Lu Yin smiled. "You mean that I''ll abandon everything to be a new species and that I will stop being concerned with the term ''human?''"

    "The further you progress as a cultivator, the less you''ll be constrained by your species. Gu Yizhi understood this, and so will you."

    Lu Yin looked up. "Yong Heng, how many people have you deceived with that twisted logic of yours?"

    True God seemed unfazed by Lu Yin''s attitude. "Not everyone qualifies to be persuaded by me. I''m telling you the truth. I speak, and you listen. If you follow me, you can live without aging, witnessing the birth and creation of countless new species. Why not embrace it? Why choose death?

    "Back in the Perennial World, you qualified to be recruited by me. During the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Tea Ceremony, I could see your ambition and knew that you would be hard to control, so I wanted to kill you."

    "What about now? You can''t kill me, so you''re trying to persuade me again?" Lu Yin mocked.

    True God remained calm. "My perspective has changed. Before, I wanted to recruit you. Now, I want to cooperate with you. You possess a mirebound artifact, which qualifies you to cooperate with me."

    Lu Yin frowned. "What do you mean by a mirebound artifact?"

    "When the megaverse first formed, all things were pure, and then the River of Time came into being. The purer something is, the easier it is to be tainted. Beneath the River of Time, there are things that swim against the current, and they carry objects from the future that can corrupt what is pure. These items are called mirebound artifacts."

    "What does that even mean?" Lu Yin was confused.

    True God continued his exnation. "The fact that you possess a mirebound artifact qualifies you to speak with me. Jiang Feng holds the same qualifications, but he is too stubborn. You qualify, but I hope that you won''t be as obstinate."

    Lu Yin shrugged. "Well, you''re going to end up disappointed."

    With that, thendmass mmed down.

    Corpse God roared in defiance, even as his body started to shatter. Ji Luo did not even have a chance to scream before he was crushedpletely. While Ji Luo had achieved a level of strengthparable to the Seven Skygods, he was still a bit short. Pressed down by Lu Yin''sndmass, which had been nearly enough to crush Feng Bo, Ji Luo could only be obliterated.

    Beneath thendmass, speed was meaningless.

    True God¡¯s expression grew cold. "It looks like you still need to understand reality. Some things are irreversible, and defying them means defying the natural order of things."

    Lu Yin stared at True God. "Then show me what ¡®defying the natural order of things¡¯ can lead to."

    Despite being separated by a vast distance, as well as the barrier of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, True God and Lu Yin locked eyes. Each could see the coldness in the other''s gaze.

    Beneath thendmass, Hongyan Mavis appeared next to Corpse God¡¯s shattered remains. The imprint of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree radiated vitality. As long as the imprint remained, Corpse God would not die, not even if he was broken into pieces.

    He had already survived self-destruction once before.

    However, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s sudden appearance cut off Corpse God¡¯s one chance of survival. This was why he had tried to escape as soon as he saw her. He had known from the beginning that, if he was defeated in this battle, he would not survive.

    Hongyan Mavis raised a hand, and the imprint of the Divine Tree floated up from Corpse God¡¯s body as though it were being summoned. It drifted toward the woman and then merged with her body.

    Trees sprouted and grew rapidly. Thendmass beneath Lu Yin¡¯s feet disappeared and was reced by countless towering trees. Hongyan Mavis¡¯s eyes were closed, and waves of powerful energy radiated from her, sweeping across the Sixth Scourge. Feeling them, even Lu Yin grew wary.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s strength had finally returned to her.

    At this moment, the Sixth Scourge waspletely transformed. The previous aura of decay and destion was gone, reced by a surge of life. This energy shed with thekes and rivers of divine energy, forcing the dark-red energy back towards the ck Mother Tree.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and she took a step forward. The ground trembled beneath her feet, and an incredibly powerful aura shot into the sky.

    Far away, in the First Scourge, Lu Yuan''s expression changed, and he looked towards the Sixth Scourge. "What is that?"

    In the Third Scourge, atop the Wu Tian Observatory, Wu Tian also turned to look towards the Sixth Scourge. "Is that First Blood¡¯s aura?"

    Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, and others, all looked toward the Sixth Scourge. They had not been able to feel anything from the other Scourge even when Lu Yin hadpletely suppressed Corpse God.

    Lu Yin could not spread his aura to the other Scourges, but Hongyan Mavis could. This was the power of one of the Six Daos. This was the strength of Mavis family¡¯s ancestor.

    "Little Seven, let that giant out," Hongyan Mavismanded. Her aura hadpletely transformed. Her previously gentle demeanor had vanished, reced by a power that seemed capable of shattering the sky. The transformation made her almost feel like a stranger to Lu Yin.

    However, this was the woman¡¯s true self.

    Of the Three Realms and Six Daos, the person who had truly embodied physical strength had not been Ancient God or Lu Yuan, but rather Hongyan Mavis. The members of the Mavis family had always possessed unparalleled strength, and Hongyan Mavis had once single-handedly overpowered the Ancestor Python.

    She had once mentioned to Lu Yin that Lu Yuan had once stuffed a dirty sock in the Ancestor Python''s mouth, but she had failed to mention that she had yed a crucial role in that matter as well; she had been the one to pin the Ancestor Python down.

    During the war of the Second Maind, if not for the fact that Feng Bo had felled the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree and crippled Hongyan Mavis¡¯s strength, the battle would have been drastically different.

    Aeternus feared the woman¡¯s strength, which was why they had nted Feng Bo in the Second Maind.

    With her strength returned to her, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s power was something that even True God had to be wary of.

    Lu Yin wanted to see just how powerful the woman was. He summoned Evernight over and released the giant trapped within the card.

    The giant had beenpletely drained of divine energy, but it had not undone the Specter Eye Transformation. It immediately roared and charged at Lu Yin.

    Hongyan Mavis stepped forward. She walked through the sky, stepping on the air as she raised a hand and threw a punch.

    There were no impressive visual signs like when Lu Yin used Infinity, or when Ancient God used his Wielder-realm battle force. This attack was nothing more than a simple punch, thrown with a small fist. It looked as insignificant as an antpared to the giant.

    However, the punch shattered half of the giant¡¯s body, fragmenting the creature without it being able to put up any resistance. It was as though the giant was not a formidable creature, but rather a block of tofu.

    Yes, tofu. To Lu Yin, it looked like Hongyan Mavis had just punched through tofu.

    The giant lost its bnce and fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

    Hongyan Mavis still stood in the sky, and she turned to face True God. "Yong Heng, I lost my strength at the very beginning of the battle for my Second Maind. You destroyed my Second Maind and did whatever you wanted. If not for the Lu family, my Mavis family would have been exterminated. You must repay your debt."

    True God remained calm. "It''s been a long time, Hongyan, and yet you¡¯re still so impetuous."

    Hongyan Mavis clenched her fists. "I will crush your skull with my fists!"

    Lu Yin stared at Hongyan Mavis in disbelief. Was this really the same gentle, flower-nting Hongyan Mavis that he had met in the Mirari Realm? She seemed like apletely different person.

    "Musclehead, why did you betray us?" Hongyan Mavis suddenly shouted. Her voice sliced through the void and rang across the First Scourge like a sharp de.

 Chapter 3158: One Breath

    <h4>Chapter 3158: One Breath</h4>

    In the First Scourge, Ancient God looked up. "First Blood, it''s been a long time. I thought that you were dead."

    Opposing the man, Lu Yuan grew excited. "First Blood, how does it feel to regain your strength? Hahaha."

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes zed. "Loam, let¡¯s crush Aeternus today!"

    "Alright!" Lu Yuan shouted back.

    Lu Yin felt invigorated. With two of the Three Realm and Six Daos going all out, as well as the Lord of Lightning, the rulers of the Sixverse Association¡¯s universes, and their allied civilizations, it did not seem like a far-fetched possibility to crush Aeternus.

    What strength did Aeternus have left? They had already lost two of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, Xu Jin and Corpse God. With Lu Yuan facing off against Ancient God, there was only Progenitor Xi, ckless God, Di Qiong, and Arrow God remaining. The others at that level of power, such as Shao Yin and Ji Luo, were mostly already dead.

    Whiteless God and ??Forgotten Ruins God had not shown themselves yet, but neither was enough to turn the tide. The only real concern was one of the Three Pirs who had not yet appeared.

    As for the Six Skies, one of them also remained a mystery and had never appeared. Lu Yin was aware that Feng Bo had been one of the Six Skies, as True God had promised the man that position. Despite staying in the Mirari Realm for so long, the title of one of the Six Skies had always been reserved for Feng Bo.

    This meant that Lu Yin had already worn down and killed one of the Six Skies in the Mirari Realm.

    Aeternus''s foundation was no longer as unfathomable as it had once been.

    Ancient God sighed. "You are going to be disappointed. Meetings between old friends shouldn''t lead to a sh with weapons, but if you want a decisive battle, we will give you the opportunity."

    With that, Wielder - Indestructible covered the man¡¯s body. The purplish-ck substance created patterns all across Ancient God and then extended out from his body to form a weapon that resembled a long spear. An overwhelming aura sted out, focused entirely on Lu Yuan. "Master once warned us that, if not absolutely necessary, to not enter the Origin realm. Today, I''ll show you what it means to step into the Origin realm."

    Lu Yuan''s pupils instantly shrank. "Everyone, retreat!"

    All of the humans retreated as one, and even the Aeternals pulled back.

    They were not in the Origin Universe, so breaking through to the Origin realm should not be associated with any sort of stellr tribtion, but everyone still instinctively retreated. They did not know how Ancient God would enter the Origin realm.

    The Origin realm was above the Progenitor realm, and like any cultivation realm, it involved a transformation. How many Ortusers were still alive in the megaverse? They could be counted on one¡¯s fingers.

    Lu Yin had always assumed that Lu Yuan was an Ortuser, given that he had the courage to challenge the Great Sovereign.

    Later, Lu Yin had realized that Lu Yuan was not an Ortuser and that it had all been just a bluff. Out of all the powerhouses that Lu Yin knew, the only Ortuser was Qingluo Jiantian. The others who had surpassed the Progenitor realm, such as True God, the Great Sovereign, and Astral Anura, were all Dukkhans.

    Not even the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng, had entered the Origin realm.

    Not a single one of the Three Realm and Six Daos had ever be an Ortuser.

    This was also why the Three Pirs and Six Skies dared topare themselves to the Three Realm and Six Daos. If the Three Realm and Six Daos were Ortusers, then how could humanity hope to attack and kill any of the Three Pirs and Six Skies?

    The Seven Sky Gods, the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and Three Realm and Six Daos were all still in the Progenitor Realm. None of them had surpassed it.

    Each one of them was undeniably powerful, and some were even capable of fighting against Ortusers as Realmbreakers, given their various techniques, but a gap still existed.

    The Lord of Lightning had challenged True God twice by relying on his three treasures, but Jiang Feng had also been injured each time, while True God had not ever revealed his full power.

    Lu Yuan had never mentioned trying to take down True God.

    When the Lu family had returned from exile, Lu Yuan had stated that he would settle the score with the Great Sovereign. While he did possess the strength to fight her, his chances of winning were remote.

    Lu Yin had discussed this matter with Hongyan Mavis while in the Mirari Realm. He had asked her what the Origin realm truly was.

    Hongyan Mavis had answered with just a few words. "Thews cannot reach them."

    Ortusers were transcendent beings, but this transcendence did not reflect sheer power. It was more of a personal transformation, and it marked an individual¡¯s eligibility to attempt to ovee Dukkha and seek Immortality.

    If Ortusers were truly invincible, it would be impossible for anyone in the Progenitor realm to challenge such powerhouses, and the Three Realms and Six Daos would have never considered attacking the Great Sovereign. The Lord of Lightning also would not have repeatedly challenged True God, and Lu Yuan would not have had the courage to provoke the Great Sovereign.

    Ortusers were unquestionably powerful, and they were definitely above those in the Progenitor realm, but they did not have the strength to render peak powerhouses helpless.

    The most important aspect when contending with Ortusers or Dukkhans was an individual¡¯s physical strength.

    Astral Anura was a Dukkhan, and his attacks were extremely powerful, but Mu Shen had still been able to block them.

    If Mu Shen had instead faced Progenitor Xi, he would not have been able to endure even a single attack from the woman¡¯s sword.

    If he had faced the Great Sovereign, a single p would have sent Mu Shen flying.

    There was an incredible difference between those at the same level.

    This was precisely why Lu Yin and his allies had dared to attack Aeternus, even with Progenitor Xi in the First Scourge.

    Ortusers were not invincible, but no one knew what would happen if Ancient God¡¯s breakthrough seeded and he became an Ortuser.

    He was already one of the Three Realm and Six Daos and was incredibly powerful. With this...

    One¡¯s strength in the Origin realm depended on the individual themselves.

    In the First Scourge, Lu Yuan stared at Ancient God. "Do you really want to enter the Origin realm? Master warned us so many times that there are unpredictable consequences to bing an Ortuser. Gu Yizhi, do you really want to sacrifice everything for Aeternus?"

    Ancient God raised his purplish-ck spear that he had formed from his battle force. "I''ve already betrayed humanity. There¡¯s no need to say anything more."

    High above in the sky, the Ancient Lightning Locust let out a roar. Jiang Feng was staring at Ancient God. While they both used simr powers, Ancient God felt more formidable to him. His current form might be something to learn from...

    "Why did you betray us?" Lu Yuan roared.

    Ancient God held his spear and then thrust it into the sky. As he did so, everyone felt as though everything before them had vanished. Only the purplish-ck spear seemed to exist. It was as though there was nothing else in the entire universe. At this moment, Ancient God revealed his true strength. Even Lu Yin, who was far away in the Sixth Scourge, felt a chill run down his spine.

    This was the same level of power that Lu Yin had sensed when he had witnessed Ancient God¡¯s battle while fishing in the River of Time. This was the man¡¯s true strength.

    To break into the Origin realm, one had to break through the megaverse itself with overwhelming power. The attack needed to pierce through all of the sequence particles that were spread across reality and touch what cultivators recognized as the True Void. This True Void was not the same as the Hollow. There were no sequence particles in the Hollow, and anything that entered it would disintegrate. The Hollow could not nurture any sort of life.

    To reach the Origin realm, one needed to inhale a single breath of that True Void.

    One needed to breathe in that which belonged to the primordial purity of the megaverse¡¯s origin.

    There were people who could tear open the Hollow, but they would never be able to pierce through the fabric of the megaverse and reach that primordial realm to inhale that one breath. This was what was needed to be an Ortuser.

    Out of a hundred sequence powerhouses, it would be lucky if just one of them could achieve the necessary level of power. This was what Lu Yin had learned from Hongyan Mavis.

    There was also no doubt that Ancient God possessed the requisite strength.

    The man¡¯s strength waspletely overwhelming. Even though he had never reached the Origin realm, he was more than capable of fighting against an Ortuser. In Lu Yin''s view, Ancient God was capable of standing equal to even Dukkhans like Astral Anura.

    Given the man¡¯s strength, he could have attempted a breakthrough long ago. This was not only true of Ancient God, but also true of Lu Yuan, the Lord of Lightning, and Hongyan Mavis. All of them possessed the necessary strength to be Ortusers, but none of them had ever attempted the breakthrough. Lu Yin could not understand their hesitation.

    Ancient God¡¯s breakthrough attempt might finally reveal the answer to this mystery.

    The spear pierced through the void, sending out ripples that tore space apart. It was not the Hollow that appeared. In fact, the spatial tears did not seem to expose anything particrly special, though the ripples that radiated from the tip of the spear seemed to open up a region that was somehow different from the nearby void.

    The ripples only extended to Ancient God''s shoulders before they quickly disappeared. The ripples¡¯ disappearance signified that the tear in space had already disappeared.

    Everyone stared at Ancient God, puzzled by what he had done.

    Not everyone present knew how to break through to the Ortuser realm. In fact, without his time in the Mirari Realm, Lu Yin would have never learned about the process.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Progenitor Xi, True God, and even the Great Sovereign were all focused on Ancient God.

    The man took in a deep breath, and his figure grew a bit blurry. If anyone looked into his eyes at this moment, they would see that his gaze waspletely unfocused. It looked as though his mind was utterly empty. This moment was known as the Origin, and it was the essence of bing an Ortuser. This was the single most crucial step in the breakthrough process.

    The birth of the megaverse was the origin of all things in existence, and those who could breathe in that primordial air would return to the source of everything.

    Every individual who broke through to the Origin realm experienced something different at that critical moment, and no one ever spoke of it.

    For the moment, Ancient God¡¯s thoughts were absent. His state had already transcended the normal fabric of the universe, and it was said thatws no longer applied. But how could thews of the universe not apply in a universe that is governed by them? Whether flying, walking, breathing, moving forward or backward, every action was dictated by thews of the universe. Simply existing within the universe meant being subjected to thews of the universe.

    Upon entering the Origin realm, a cultivator would enter a state where thews of the universe no longer applied to them. However, this defiance of the natural order of things invoked resistance from thews of the universe.

    This was not a stellr tribtion, but it was very simr.

    When Lu Yin learned about this process from Hongyan Mavis in the Mirari Realm, he had understood just how farsighted the Origin Progenitor had been.

    For a sequence powerhouse to enter the Origin realm, they had to suffer bacsh from thews of the universe. This process was very simr to how cultivators in the Origin Universe faced stellr tribtions. Facing the bacsh from thews of the universe was a step that would be very familiar to anyone from the Origin Universe, but for all those from other parallel universes, it would be a new and unique experience, and that would greatly reduce their chances of sess.

    If the Origin Universe could give rise to two Ortusers, it would enjoy a significant advantage over the other universes, even if they had fewer peak powerhouses.

    The Origin Progenitor''s foresight had been focused on this step, and it was the reason why there were stellr tribtions.

    Additionally, surviving repeated stellr tribtions honed a person¡¯s survival skills andbat ability, which was why the Origin Universe¡¯s cultivators far surpassed their peers in other universes.

    Lu Yin found it hard to imagine how the chatty Origin Progenitor had conceived of such a n.

    In the First Scourge, Ancient God¡¯s surroundings appeared calm, but only the sequence powerhouses present could see the truth. The man was surrounded by countless sequence particles. Anyone who approached him would have to survive a barrage from endless sequence particles right along with Ancient God.

    While this was not a stellr tribtion, it was no different from one. No one was willing to suffer the tribtion alongside the one challenging it.

    Ancient God''s thoughts quickly returned, and his eyes regained rity. He looked up, and with a single step, the sky trembled. At that moment, the weather changed dramatically in the sky around the man. A unique force surrounded him, creating a storm that shredded the void and exposed the Hollow, which blocked everyone''s vision.

    Even in the Sixth Scourge, Lu Yin could sense the unparalleled, terrifying power. It was a sensation that reminded him of the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield.

    He turned to Hongyan Mavis. "Senior, what is that?"

 Chapter 3159: Three Steps To The Origin Realm

    <h4>Chapter 3159: Three Steps To The Origin Realm</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression turned somber. "There are sequence particles permeating the entire universe. This is someone¡¯s tribtion for breaking through to the Origin realm. To achieve the state where ws no longer apply,'' one must first suppress thews of the universe. The three steps to the Origin refer to this process.

    "The first step is when practically all the sequence particles in a given universe manifest. The second step is to suppress thews of the universe associated with those sequence particles. The third step is to disperse thews. Only then can one achieve the state wherews are unable to reach them.

    "If Gu Yizhi sessfully bes an Ortuser, no one in the same universe as him will be able to use sequence particles against him. However, he will be able to still use sequence particles, which will allow him to suppress all of his enemies with his superior realm."

    Lu Yin looked in the direction of the First Scourge in shock. To invalidate all sequence particles that targeted a person, the ability that Ortusers possessed was impressive.

    <i>Three steps to the Origin</i>...

    Lu Yin had never fought against an Ortuser, and he could not fully understand just how terrifying the concept of ws no longer apply¡± could be. However, he had experienced what it felt like to be overwhelmed by sequence particles, and each time he fought against a sequence powerhouse, it took immense effort to understand and then exploit his opponent''sw and corresponding weaknesses. It made such battles incredibly challenging.

    As soon as Ancient God became an Ortuser, Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis''s sequence particles would be rendered useless, but everyone would be suppressed by Ancient God''s sequence particles. How would humanity be able to fight back? Ancient God was already incredibly powerful.

    What Lu Yin had realized about the current situation, others could as well.

    Anyone who had some understanding of the Origin realm currently had a grim expression on their faces.

    While it was possible for someone in the Progenitor realm to fight against an Ortuser, that was only if there was a significant disparity in power. Even as a Progenitor, Ancient God was no weaker than anyone. If he broke through to the Origin realm, even Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis together might not be able to fight against Ancient God.

    Hongyan Mavis rxed her hands. "It looks like I might also need to attempt a breakthrough."

    Lu Yin looked over. "Senior, you want to be an Ortuser?"

    Hongyan Mavis responded with a bitter smile. "My chances of sess are less than one percent, but someone needs to try to stop Gu Yizhi. Otherwise, we can just forget about defeating Aeternus, and humanity''s very survival will be ced in jeopardy."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. Ancient God was controlled by True God, but what difference did that make? Regardless of the reason for Gu Yizhi¡¯s betrayal, he was currently working for Aeternus. Humanity would face disaster if they did not have an Ortuser who could counter him, and countless lives would be lost.

    An Ortuser was a being beyond anything that Lu Yin had anticipated. He had not considered the possibility of Ancient God breaking through during the battle. Could anyone foresee every possibility? If they had known that Ancient God might attempt a breakthrough, would Lu Yin still have initiated the battle?

    Despite the obstacles, the war had to continue. This was what everyone had agreed on. Even if Ancient God¡¯s breakthrough seeded, even if all of the Three Pirs and Six Skies had breakthroughs, humanity would not give up. They could not ept being controlled by Aeternus.

    Hongyan Mavis''s body started to radiate a tangible power. Only by breaking the universe to touch the True Void and breathe in the origin of the megaverse could she attempt to step into the Origin realm.

    Suddenly, the woman stopped, and she turned to look towards the First Scourge again.

    A golden light exploded from the First Scourge, and it was apanied by Lu Yuan''s voice. "Musclehead, if you can break through, why can''t I? Do you think that you¡¯re the only one who can do it? Let''s see who¡¯s tougher!"

    Lu Yin towards the First Scourge in shock. The golden light he saw wasing from the Investiture of the Gods. Lu Yuan was going to break through to the Origin realm.

    The foundations of the Three Realms and Six Daos were unimaginable.

    Hongyan Mavis mentioned that she only had a one percent chance of sess at breaking through. Her chances were low because of how long she had been deprived of a good portion of her strength, and she had be unfamiliar with her old power.

    Lu Yuan was different. He had remained in seclusion in the Lu Sanctum, but not because of the injuries that he had received during the war in the Second Maind war. Rather, it was to fully recover. His strength had never diminished.

    If Ancient God could break through, then Lu Yuan could do the same.

    The First Scourge was in chaos at this moment. Even far away in the Sixth Scourge, Lu Yin could sense the incredible tide of sequence particles that formed the tribtion, as well as see the dazzling golden light. "Ancestor, you have to seed!"

    Already, everyone present in the First Scourge had retreated, creating as much distance as possible from Lu Yuan and Ancient God. The two men were the true powerhouses.

    Lord Xu was amazed. He had once seen the glorious period of the Heavens Sect era, and so was not surprised by Lu Yuan''s decision. If the rest of the Three Realms and Six Daos had been present, they might have all attempted the same breakthrough. They were all absolute monsters.

    Di Qiong had already escaped from Great Elder Shan Gu¡¯s Immemorial card, but the man¡¯s expression was extremely grim.

    He was one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and they had always prided themselves as being equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos, but at this moment, both Ancient God and Lu Yuan were breaking through to the Origin realm. What about the others? They were unable to attempt such a breakthrough.

    Di Qiong knew that he could not pierce through the fabric of existence to breathe in a trace of the origin to even start the breakthrough.

    Xu Jin and Arrow God were in the same position.

    In contrast, the Three Realms and Six Daos possessed that required level of strength. This demonstrated the difference between them.

    At the peak of the ck Mother Tree, True God watched on in admiration. "Tai Chu created the six Mainds and established the Heavens Sect, but I never minded any of that. What truly impressed me has always been his disciples. Each of them is more formidable than thest, and none of them have disappointed his expectations. Unfortunately for him, he overstepped. There are certain things that should never be done."

    The Great Sovereign stared off into the distance. At this moment, both Ancient God and Lu Yuan were standing high in the sky. One had reached the second step of his breakthrough and was enduring the tribtion of sequence particles, while the other was preparing to breathe in a trace of the origin. Both had risen to this level.

    Thinking about the past, the Great Sovereign remembered the times when the young ones had red at her and gritted their teeth, wanting to strike her down. Time had flown by, and so much had changed over the years.

    Ancient God waspletely enveloped in endless sequence particles, making it impossible for anyone to see him clearly.

    Lu Yuan used the Investiture of the Gods and his Champions¡¯ Stage to tear through the megaverse so that he could inhale the primordial purity. His eyes lost focus as he did so, and the surrounding sequence particles became unstable.

    With two individuals both attempting to break through to the Origin realm, the First Scourge waspletely engulfed in sequence particles.

    As Ancient God reached the third step of his breakthrough, the sequence particles that had surrounded him suddenly dispersed. He looked into the distance, where Lu Yuan''s eyes regained rity, and the two men¡¯s eyes met.

    "Why must you do this?"

    "If you dare to make the attempt, why shouldn''t I?"

    "I merely want this battle to end."

    "Bullshit! As long as Aeternus exists, humanity will never rest." With that, Lu Yuan took the next step and was instantly engulfed by endless sequence particles.

    These sequence particles were different from the ones that had engulfed Ancient God.

    Thews of the universe that had surrounded Ancient God had resembled the copsing void, while those that enveloped Lu Yuan looked more like multicolored clouds.

    Regardless, the danger the phenomena posed was the same.

    Progenitor Xi watched everything calmly. It was not easy to break through to the Origin realm, but for those with the profound foundations of the Three Realms and Six Daos, it was nothing more than a natural progression.

    Everyone expected that the battle to wait until Lu Yuanpleted his breakthrough attempt, but Ancient God suddenly moved. He shot forward at the speed of time, using the power of space chasing time, and instantly appeared in front of Lu Tianyi to p a hand down at the man.

    Not even Lu Tianyi had anticipated Ancient God¡¯s sudden attack, but one person present had expected it: Mu Shen.

    A piece of wood appeared above Lu Tianyi¡¯s head, and it instantly shattered under Ancient God''s palm, but it gave the man a vital moment that he used to retreat.

    Ancient God turned to re Mu Shen, but the Arborean red right back. ¡°Gu Yizhi, no one knows you better than me! When the Third Maind faced disaster, I helped you countless times. Ipletely understand what actions you will take.¡±

    Ancient God was impressed. ¡°Had you not acted, I might have forgotten about that. You can rest assured, I will spare your life as a token of my gratitude.¡±

    Lu Tianyi pointed a finger, using the Dao of One Heavens.

    Ancient God found himself sealed in on all sides. The only path open was the Dao of One Heavens, so he reached out to grab Lu Tianyi.

    Lu Tianyi had fought Ancient God multiple times over the years, and he was strong enough to stand up to the former Dao Monarch. However, this time, it seemed like Ancient God was simply toying with Lu Tianyi. The Progenitor¡¯s attack was effortlessly captured by a purplish-ck substance that disintegrated the Dao of One Heavens. Lu Tianyi¡¯s Law of Undoing was dispersed before the sequence particles could even manifest.

    The Progenitor¡¯s expression changed drastically. So, was this the ability of ws no longer apply?¡±

    Ancient God grabbed hold of Lu Tianyi''s finger and pushed down. Half of Lu Tianyi¡¯s body was forced underground. He waspletely unable to resist Ancient God. A Champions¡¯ Stage appeared, and it mmed into Ancient God. At the same time, the Investiture of the Gods appeared with a burst of golden light. Both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku stepped out, and they attacked Ancient God from both sides.

    When they hadst fought in the First Scourge, while Lu Tianyi had been weakened due to being shunned in the Scourge, he had still been capable of fighting back against Ancient God with the help of the summoned Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku.

    However, this time, Ancient God¡¯s strength hadpletely transformed. His aura was different. A purplish-ck spear formed in the man¡¯s hand, and it pierced through Lu Tianyi''s arm as it aimed at his head.

    At thest moment, Lu Tianyi vanished. He had used One Word Manifestation to find a path of escape that had been impossible for anyone else to see.

    Despite having been grabbed by Ancient God, Lu Tianyi still managed to escape.

    Progenitor Ku charged at Ancient God with suicidal determination, his body withered up and desated. Progenitor Chen attacked with an ability that no one had ever seen before. It twisted the void and spun it about like a living creature as the attack fell upon Ancient God.

    The spear blocked both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku¡¯s attack, the weapon¡¯s sharp tip glinting. The spear shed out, and both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were sent flying.

    From another direction, Sovereign Dou Sheng appeared with his golden cudgel, which dropped down to deliver a powerful blow.

    Voidforce energy gathered in the area, converging to form the Thermometer of Life.

    All of humanity¡¯s most powerful experts present were ganging up on Ancient God, but none of the Aeternals¡ªDi Qiong, Arrow God, and the others¡ªmade a move. They were curious to see the limits of Ancient God¡¯s new strength.

    The purplish-ck substance in Ancient God¡¯s grip morphed and changed. It took on a different color and became a gray so dark that it was nearly ck.

    It was impossible to describe this new substance. More than just the color had changed. It gave off a sense of vitality, as though it possessed a portion of the megaverse¡¯s origin. It looked like the first color to appear in the cosmos.

    High above, Jiang Feng, still wary of the Ancient Lightning Locust, looked down at Ancient God. The Lord of Lightning was focused on the nearly ck substance that had appeared. Yes, that was the feeling. This sensation represented the potential path for exceeding humanity¡¯s limits. Initially, Jiang Feng had believed that he had reached the utmost limit, but Ancient God had surpassed that boundary. That dark, dark gray substance represented the true limit, or perhaps, the path that would lead to it.

    Ancient God''s arm was entirely enveloped in the dark-gray substance. With a single swing of his arm, the void was frozen, and then it shattered entirely. It seemed as though the entire void had been destroyed, and a massive region of the Hollow was exposed. It moved as though it intended to swallow Sovereign Dou Sheng and the others.

    The terrifying power of a casual movement from Ancient God left everyone in shock.

    Humanity¡¯s most powerful cultivators were swept back by the enormous Hollow, and they were pushed far away.

    Di Qiong and the others were stunned. This was Ancient God¡¯s power after bing an Ortuser. It was too terrifying. All of them knew that it would be impossible for them to face such strength.

    Before his breakthrough, the other Aeternals had harbored hopes of being able topete with Ancient God. Those hopes had just been utterly destroyed.

    Ancient God was someone who should be fighting at the same level as True God and the Great Sovereign, not fighting with the rest of them.

 Chapter 3160: Advantage

    <h4>Chapter 3160: Advantage</h4>

    Ancient God took another step forward and thrust his spear at Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    The spear stabbed into the Sovereign''s body, and he coughed up golden blood. Sovereign Dou Sheng''s determination spiked, and he grabbed hold of the spear shaft with a tight grip.

    Up above, Hongyan Mavis arrived with Lu Yin at her side.

    The woman instantly punched at Ancient God, who looked up at her. "I expected you to be impatient, First Blood, but you shouldn''t have brought him along."

    As he spoke, the spear suddenly became such a dark gray that it was nearly ck, and it shed out, tearing Sovereign Dou Sheng''s shoulder open as it rose to point at the sky.

    Hongyan Mavis''s punch fell on the spear with a thunderous boom. At the same time, Lu Yin attacked. He visualized thendmass from his inner universe and merged the visualization with thendmass itself. Additionally, Lu Yin released his inner universe, prepared to use Flipping the Sky.

    Suddenly, Ancient God pulled back. Lightning fell from behind him, and a sword shed out. The Lord of Lightning had arrived.

    Jiang Feng¡¯''s sword missed, but then it changed direction to move at an impossible angle to attack where Ancient God was retreating to.

    The Skygod moved at the speed of time to appear beside the Lord of Lightning, and a palm pressed down.

    "Lord of Lightning, be careful!" Lu Yin shouted.

    Jiang Feng remained calm. Golden lightning connected the sky to the ground, and at the same time, the Ancient Lightning Locust''s blue lightning fell, merging with the golden lightning to strike Ancient God below.

    "Do you think that Aeternus avoids you out of fear?" Ancient God looked up at the lightning falling upon him. "You received our master''s mercy, and yet you see it as weakness. Jiang Feng, do you truly believe that our master is avoiding you?"

    The intertwined lightning engulfed Ancient God.

    This same attack had previously forced even True God to pull back, but Ancient God allowed the attack tond on him without moving. A spear thrust out from within the lightning, and a ck beam pierced the Lord of Lightning''s body before continuing on into the void. A massive spatial tear appeared that not even the Hollow could close.

    The Lord of Lightning clutched his wound. At this moment, facing Ancient God gave him the same sensation as when he had faced off against True God.

    A single misstep, and everything would spiral out of control. Any mistake or even a moment of carelessness could open a deep abyss.

    In the past, Jiang Feng had only sensed this feeling of dread from True God. Not even the Ancient Lightning Locust had ever felt this dangerous, but Ancient God had just given him the same feeling.

    Ancient God emerged from the lightning, his spear pointing at the Lord of Lightning. "Your Whitecloud City has always sought out shortcuts for your cultivation. This ''aura energy'' that you wield is one such shortcut, and it grants you a feeling that is closest to the megaverse''s origin.

    ¡°By continuously refining this ''aura energy,'' you continuously move closer to the megaverse''s origin. This is something that no other universe can achieve, so why haven¡¯t you entered the Origin realm yet?

    "You have the strength to attempt your breakthrough, so why haven''t you?"

    The Lord of Lightning lowered his hand, his palm covered with bright red blood. He shifted his his sword grip into a reverse grip and then, without any visible effort, his wounds started to quickly heal. "I''m more curious about the ck-gray substance that you¡¯re wielding. What is it called?"

    "Wielder - God," Ancient God replied.

    Jiang Feng was impressed. "Wielder - God? The name is quite appropriate. Not even my lightning can break through it. Few in existence canpare to your current strength."

    "You can also reach this level with a breakthrough to be an Ortuser," Ancient God stated.

    The Lord of Lightning shook his head. "My foundation is too shallow. I haven¡¯t spent nearly as much time cultivating as you. It''s not possible for me to break through quite yet."

    The man then pointedly looked over, and his eyes met Lu Yin''s.

    "This young friend of ours might have his breakthrough before me."

    Lu Yin had often observed the Lord of Lightning, but this was their first time meeting face-to-face.

    Ancient God nced at Lu Yin. "What a shame. If Loam had hesitated just a moment longer, I could have eliminated this threat."

    Higher up in the sky, Lu Yuan was on the third step of his breakthrough. The sequence particles surrounding the man simply vanished, just like with Ancient God¡¯s breakthrough.

    The new Ortuser looked down. "Musclehead, who are you calling a threat?"

    Ancient God drifted upwards until he was level with Lu Yuan. "The members of your Lu family are all threats."

    Lu Yuan sneered. "If you have the ability, then why don¡¯t you eliminate us?"

    Ancient God had tried to eliminate the most powerful experts in humanity¡¯s forces while Lu Yuan was still upied with his breakthrough, but the humans had reacted too quickly. All of their top powerhouses had united, which had prevented any of them dying, despite facing an Ortuser.

    Hongyan Mavis''s assistance, as well as the Lord of Lightning''s intervention, had led to Ancient God¡¯s failure.

    All eyes were focused high in the sky at where Ancient God and Lu Yuan were standing.

    This battle would be decided by these two men.

    Ancient God had already revealed an unimaginable level of strength, and he had single-handedly suppressed all of the human experts present. What about Lu Yuan? What level had his power reached?

    Progenitor Xi stared at the two men, also quite curious about which of the two Ortusers wielded greater strength at the moment.

    An overwhelming power suddenly erupted, and it seemed to split the First Scourge in two. Two colors separated the ce; ck-gray and gold, and the two were in direct confrontation.

    Ancient God and Lu Yuan stared at each other, neither speaking a word.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God remained unnervingly calm.

    All the while, the Ancient Lightning Locust''s lightning continued to flicker.

    Suddenly, Lu Yuan turned to re at the Ancient Lightning Locust. "Get lost!"

    A terrifying power shot towards the Ancient Lightning Locust, and Ancient God nearly reacted out of instinct. The Thunder Locust''s lightning red, and it kept a wary eye trained on Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan grinned, his smile making him look ferocious. His expression made the Thunder Locust even more cautious, but the beast still did not retreat. While it had not entered the Origin realm, its unique nature allowed it to face extremely powerful foes.

    Lu Yuan sighed. He had been hoping to scare the Ancient Lightning Locust away so that the Lord of Lightning would be freed up. This would give the human forces a greater advantage in the battle, but the Ancient Lightning Locust refused to move.

    "The Ancient Lightning Locust is a creature of nature, and it was born from consuming lightning. It¡¯s body is not physical. You won¡¯t be able to scare it away," Ancient God stated coldly.

    Lu Yuan looked back over Ancient God. "Then it seems like we will need to first fight in order to see who is stronger between us."

    Ancient God did not refuse. He was quite familiar with Lu Yuan''s temperament. It would not be easy to end this battle.

    At this moment, the void was split open, and a lotus leaf emerged from the tear.

    The sight of the lotus leaf told everyone that Astral Anura had arrived.

    Lu Yin frowned. Humanity had failed to recruit Astral Anura to their side, and his appearance at this moment was not a good sign.

    The massive body of Astral Anura emerged from the void, and the toad took in the entire battlefield with a single nce. The sight of the two terrifying auras shing startled the creature, and before Astral Anura spoke a single word, he transformed. He held a steel fork and turned a deep shade of red. "Let me be clear. I don''t want to fight."

    Everyone stared at Astral Anura.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s expression was frigid. "Toad, why are you here?"

    Astral Anura looked at Lu Yuan and grinned. "Is that Loam? It¡¯s been a long time!

    "Loam, Musclehead, and let me see... Huh? First Blood? You''re not dead?"

    Hongyan Mavis looked up. "Toad, this war has nothing to do with you. Get lost."

    Astral Anura shook his trident vigorously. "Big Boss Yong Heng hired me, and he even paid an unprecedented price for me to help settle things here."

    The toad then looked at the Great Sovereign, who was still in one of the pirs of light that made up the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. "Tai Hong, you can''te out of there, can you? Haha, you can''t get out! That''s good! That''s good."

    Lu Yuan''s eyes red. "Toad, if you meddle in the war between our Heavens Sect and Aeternus, you''re courting death."

    Astral Anura waved his trident. "I don''t want to get involved, but Big Boss Yong Heng¡¯s offer was too tempting, and I just can¡¯t help myself. Why don¡¯t you all give me some face and stop fighting? Ending things here can mean winning, or you can simply not fight at all. Right, Big Boss Yong Heng?"

    From atop the ck Mother Tree, True God¡¯s soft voice could be heard. "Correct."

    Astral Anura quickly showed his gratitude. "Thank you, Big Boss!"

    The toad cradles his steel fork as he turned to look downwards, his eyes turning heart-shaped. "Big Boss Lu, what do you think?"

    Everyone followed the toad¡¯s gaze. "Big Boss Lu" referred to Lu Yin.

    There was no denying that Lu Yin was a decision-maker in the war. Despite Lu Yuan''s breakthrough to the Origin realm, not to mention the presence of Hongyan Mavis and the Great Sovereign, no one could ignore Lu Yin''s influence.

    There were people with great personal power, but no leadership abilities. The Great Sovereign and Lu Yuan both possessed immense power and could stand up to the strongest enemies on the battlefield, but Lu Yin was the one who decided the direction of the war.

    This was something that both Aeternus and humanity recognized.

    This was why, as soon as Lu Yin was believed to be dead, Aeternus had lost all hesitation.

    Lu Yin was the only one who could guide the entire Sixverse Association and unite the various human civilizations. No one else could aplish this task, not even an Ortuser like Lu Yuan.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s influence, and even Astral Anura could see it.

    Lu Yin looked at the toad. "I''ll pay you to help us against Aeternus."

    Astral Anura sighed, looking troubled. "Big Boss Lu, you should have made your offer earlier. It¡¯s important to maintain integrity in business. You must understand this."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s lips. "Aren''t you curious about my offer? I promise that you¡¯ll be tempted."

    Astral Anura looked distressed. "No, absolutely not! Big Boss Lu is a smart man, so since you¡¯re saying that, there must be a reason. I can¡¯tpromise my integrity. I''m sorry, Big Boss Lu, but next time, please hire me in advance."

    The toad sounded quite sincere, and he was clearly tempted by Lu Yin¡¯s offer.

    Lu Yin had been prepared to offer the Mirari Realm to Astral Anura. The toad had been using Mr. Daheng to collect Peaks and Rivers Rocks to gain ess to the Mirari Realm. Lu Yin was certain that Mr. Daheng was not the one who wanted the stones, but rather Astral Anura.

    Bringing up the Mirari Realm would also test just how much Astral Anura knew about the ce, and it might also reveal why others were unable to enter the Mirari Realm.

    Unfortunately, the toad refused to take the bait.

    The damn toad always popped in at the worst times. They really needed to deal with him soon.

    "Little Seven, leave that toad to me." Hongyan Mavis clenched a fist, her incredible strength warping the space around her.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed, but he still nodded.

    Even from high above, Astral Anura noticed the exchange. "Hey, hey, hey, First Blood, I''ve never done anything to offend you! Don''t mess with me! Think about things for the sake of humanity. Can you really win this battle? Look, even if youe to deal with me, you''ll be down one expert, right? This is unnecessary! Completely unnecessary!"

    Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain and released both Supreme and E'' Ji.

    The sight of the human powerhouse and the mecha left Astral Anura speechless. How were there so many human experts? More and more kept appearing. Was there no end to them?

    True God arched a brow. Humans had always held an advantage over Aeternus, but they had never realized their advantage until this moment. Only after two Divine Commandments had been sessfully carried out had humanity finally started to leverage their full strength.

 Chapter 3161: The Butterfly

    <h4>Chapter 3161: The Butterfly</h4>

    Compared to other species, humans were extremely creative, intelligent, and resilient. If all of the humans across the various parallel universes united as one, there was no doubt that Aeternus would be outmatched. This was why Aeternus had issued a Divine Commandment, as they wished to prevent humanity from uniting and obtaining any sort of advantage.

    Unfortunately for the Aeternals, their third Divine Commandment hade toote.

    However, True God just turned to look at a distant location and muttered, "She¡¯s here."

    The appearance of Supreme and E'' Ji had once again strengthened the humans with additional powerfulbatants. Hongyan Mavis was confident that she could keep Astral Anura upied, and Ancestor Lu Yuan would hold Ancient God off. Lu Yin intended to keep the battle going.

    At the highest point in the sky, the Ancient Lightning Locust abruptly turned around and left without any warning, startling both Lu Yuan and Ancient God. Why had the beast fled?

    Astral Anura was about to try to persuade Lu Yin again, but the toad suddenly felt a chilling presence approaching them, and Astral Anura felt his skin start to crawl.

    He slowly turned around. <i>No way! How could she be here? Isn¡¯t she supposed to stay hidden?</i>

    The Great Sovereign suddenly looked over, and her action was quickly mirrored by Ancient God, Lu Yuan, the Lord of Lightning, Hongyan Mavis, and Mu Shen. All of the most powerful individuals present were staring in the same direction. Something was approaching.

    After a moment, Lu Yin could also feel it. There was a sense of oppression, as though something was drawing closer and was almost within reach.

    What could this be?

    A deathly silence fell over the First Scourge. Everyone who could sense the approaching presence turned to look.

    Space twisted and warped, the phenomenon rippling like water.

    A butterfly emerged, dancing gracefully through the air. It radiated a beautiful light that illuminated the dark Scourge. It scattered a trail of silver light behind it, which resembled the beauty of the Astral River.

    Everyone was stunned. A butterfly?

    True God closed his eyes.

    The Great Sovereign stared intently at the butterfly. "Is that...?"

    Lu Yuan furrowed his brow. This butterfly looked familiar, but from where?

    The butterfly gently fluttered through the sky before stopping high above the First Scourge, releasing a warm light that fell upon the continent below it.

    It was stunningly beautiful, as the most enchanting colors in existence seemed to be concentrated in its wings. The warmth that it released dispelled all hostility in everyone on the battlefield below.

    "Everyone, please listen to me. Can you not cease this fighting?" A soothing voice, warm and soft, echoed in everyone''s hearts.

    Lu Yin stared up at the butterfly, noting the pleasant voice. It was the voice of a woman, and it induced a feeling of sleepiness.

    "I remember now! It''s you!" Lu Yuan shouted.

    "I remember too." Hongyan Mavis stepped forward while staring at the butterfly. "You passed through the Heavens Sect long ago, delivering disaster to the First Maind. Our master was the one who drove you away. That was you, wasn''t it?"

    The Great Sovereign stared at the butterfly, as memories of this same butterfly flooded her mind.

    The butterfly fluttered gracefully in the air. "I apologize. At that time, I had only just broken through, and my mind was not yet mature. I caused trouble for all of you, and for that, I am truly sorry."

    "Why are you here? What does our war have to do with you?" Lu Yuan asked.

    The butterfly continued to speak in the same soft, delicate voice that soothed the ears of all who heard her. "Aeternus has helped me in the past, as have humans. I hope that both sides of this war can stop fighting."

    Lu Yuanughed. "Since both of us have helped you, you should just leave. This war has nothing to do with you."

    "This is such a massive battle, and there is much at stake. Both sides will pay dearly if the fighting continues. Whether it''s for the sake of Aeternus or for humanity, I hope to see an end to the fighting so that I may repay the kindness that both sides have shown me."

    Lu Yin felt like the entire situation was utterly ridiculous. He had never heard such distorted logic before. It was clear that this butterfly was not a benevolent creature.

    She had clearlye to stop the battle.

    At this thought, Lu Yin nced back at True God, whose eyes were calmly closed, which confirmed Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions.

    This was arge problem. Regardless of the butterfly''s true intentions, there was no doubt of her power. She had once brought disaster to the First Maind, and only the Origin Progenitor had possessed the strength to drive her away.

    If this creature sided with Aeternus, humanity would not fare well.

    "And if we insist on continuing?" Lu Yuan asked bluntly.

    The butterfly radiated a burst of light. "Fighting is undesirable. The only way to end this war is for one side or the other to bepletely annihted, or for both sides to be evenly matched. It seems that you humans are keen to continue fighting, which suggests that you hold the advantage. In that case, I will need to stand with Aeternus to return bnce to the scales.

    "You don''t need to worry. If doing this leads to humanity''s defeat, I will help you recover and will ensure Aeternus does not destroy you, which will repay my debt to both of you."

    The butterfly''s excuses struck everyone asughable. She was essentially offering to stab someone and then heal them as a means of repaying a favor. This was absurd, but no one couldugh. This butterfly was too powerful.

    Astral Anura stood off to the side, silent and already back in his golden form. The straw hat had reappeared, as did the lotus leaf. The toad looked quite innocent.

    Astral Anura had transformed as soon as the butterfly had appeared. Clearly, he either feared the butterfly or was fully confident that the fighting would not continue.

    Lu Yuan''s personality meant that he would insist on fighting, especially since the butterfly''s twisted logic disgusted the man. However, Lu Yuan was also uncertain of the butterfly''s strength.

    "Brother Astral Anura, what do you think?" the butterfly suddenly addressed Astral Anura.

    A tremor ran through the toad, and his eyes squinted until they resembled crescent moons. He chuckled. "Yes, you''re absolutely right."

    "Brother Astral Anura, I¡¯m asking for your honest opinion, so please speak truthfully. I''m very serious right now," the butterfly stated.

    Astral Anura blinked and then shook his lotus leaf while attempting to look serious. "You''re right about everything."

    Everyone was speechless.

    "Brother Astral Anura is as amusing as ever," the butterfly remarked.

    Astral Anura forced out a smile. <i>Amusing, my ass!</i>

    If not for the fact that he absolutely could not afford to antagonize the butterfly, Astral Anura would have already torn her apart and devoured her . Still, the butterfly had a point. "Humans, I strongly advise that you stop fighting. You can''t win. Aeternus has just gained two more powerhouses. Unless you have two more who can match them, what''s the point in continuing fighting? Isn''t that right, Big Boss Lu?"

    Astral Anura stared at Lu Yin. The toad understood humans all too well.

    Lu Yin stared up at the sky. At this moment, the butterfly turned herself around, and she was clearly looking at Lu Yin as well.

    Lu Yin stared at the butterfly. "Alright."

    A single word put an end to the battle.

    Lu Yuan did not mind the prospect of fighting against two more enemy powerhouses, but that was just his nature. Lu Yin called for an end to the fighting, and Lu Yuan did not object.

    Neither did Hongyan Mavis or the Lord of Lightning.

    When observing the entire situation, ending the battle at this juncture seemed reasonable. Aeternus had just gained two outsider powerhouses who were extremely powerful, and there was also the unfathomable Progenitor Xi. There was no way for humanity to win.

    "Esteemed Butterfly, may I ask your name?" Lu Yin asked while still staring at the butterfly.

    The butterfly was simrly gazing at Lu Yin. "You may call me Tian En. Human, you are quite kind. I like you."

    Lu Yin smiled. "I like you too, Tian En.[1] Your voice is lovely."

    "Thank you."

    Lu Yin then turned to look up at True God. "The Sixth Scourge now belongs to humanity. Yong Heng, do you have any objections?"

    True God opened his eyes to meet Lu Yin''s gaze. "That is your reward.

    "A Semi-Progenitor seeded in seizing one of my Scourges. Lu Yin, you certainly deserve to be someone who possesses a mirebound artifact. The value of yours even surpasses the three mirebound artifacts that Jiang Feng possesses."

    Many people were taken aback. A mirebound artifact?

    Almost no one had ever heard of mirebound artifacts before, but everyone present was well aware of the three treasures that Jiang Feng possessed.

    Those three treasures were what had allowed Jiang Feng to rise to power so quickly, as well as what allowed Whitecloud City to hold such a prestigious status in the megaverse. Even the Aeternals were wary of the city.

    Also, those three treasures were why Whitecloud City had be a target of Aeternus; True God wanted to take those treasures.

    At this moment, everyone was learning that Lu Yin possessed something that was even more valuable than the Lord of Lightning¡¯s three treasures.

    This revtion allowed many people to understand Lu Yin¡¯s rapid rise to power. He was a Semi-Progenitor who could fight against peak powerhouses and even influence battles between Ortusers. Were all of the dangers that Lu Yin had ovee, as well as his survival, due to his mirebound artifact?

    By nature, humans were inherently greedy, and news of Lu Yin¡¯s possession of such a treasure would inevitably spread, drawing the entire megaverse¡¯s attention.

    However, Lu Yin no longer cared about such things. He was backed by Ancestor Lu Yuan, who had be an Ortuser, as well as the Heavens Sect¡¯s numerous peak powerhouses.

    Who would dare to covet Lu Yin¡¯s possessions?

    Still, that was not enough protection. Lu Yin needed to demonstrate his full and true power. It was important to initiate military deration as soon as possible.

    ...

    In the Sixth Scourge, thekes and rivers of divine energy were drawn back to the ck Mother Tree. The withdrawal of all divine energy marked the Scourge as human territory.

    Lu Yin had no intention of destroying the Scourge. It would serve as humanity¡¯s forward base in the war against Aeternus.

    This would not only be the location from which they could keep an eye on True God. They could also use it as a springboard for powerhouses like Hongyan Mavis to reach the other Scourges.

    After the battle in the First Scourge ended, the butterfly and Astral Anura both left.

    Lu Yin asked Hongyan Mavis to help the Lord of Lightning deal with the Ancient Lightning Locust. The woman had only just regained her strength, and she needed to refamiliarize herself with it.

    Supreme was sent to join the two.

    Humanity had achieved both of their primary objectives in the battle; True God was trapped, and Corpse God had been in, which allowed Hongyan Mavis to reim her power. The only variable had been Ancient God''s breakthrough to the Origin realm. Fortunately, Ancestor Lu Yuan had also broken through, which maintained the bnce of power between the two sides once more.

    Still, the sudden appearance of the butterfly puzzled Lu Yin.

    He went to speak with Ancestor Lu Yuan specifically to get some answers, but the answer that he received was very vague.

    All that anyone knew was that the butterfly had once sowed chaos on the First Maind before being driven away by the Origin Progenitor. As for the creature¡¯s current position, Ancestor Lu Yuan and everyone else was uncertain.

    Even the Great Sovereign was unsure.

    A short timeter, the Heavens Sect announced the date for the military deration. Before it started, Lu Yin needed to meet with some people.

    Once Lu Yin had settled back down in the Heavens Sect, Hongyan Mavis arrived to see him, and she brought Jiang Qingyue with her.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust had fled, which had made Hongyan Mavis''s trip futile, but Whitecloud City was still enjoying a temporary peace.

    "Brother Lu, my father, the ruler of Whitecloud City, officially invites you to visit," Jiang Qingyue informed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Now?"

    Jiang Qingyue nodded. "My father sent me to tell you that he knows something about Tian En."

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly grew serious. "Lead the way."

    The void was torn open, and Lu Yin followed Jiang Qingyue. When they emerged in normal space again, Lu Yin saw familiar stars filling the sky.

    This ce was familiar because he was looking at Earth¡¯s sr system. Lu Yin could see Jupiter, the moon, and Earth. He was very familiar with this ce.

    Whitecloud City was a civilization from Earth.

    Lu Yin had always been curious about something; did the Sixverse Association really consist of parallel universes?

    If they were parallel universes, then why had he never met multiple versions of the same people?

    Some people had offered answers, suggesting that different parallel universes might have diverged at different points in history, resulting in alternate paths of development, which was why the same individuals did not exist in multiple universes. However, this exnation contained a paradox; if the same person could not exist in multiple universes, or if there was no evidence of someone having been born in different universes, then how could anyone be certain that there were actually parallel universes?

    1. Tian = heaven plus en = grace. ?

 Chapter 3162: Whitecloud City And The Lord of Lightning

    <h4>Chapter 3162: Whitecloud City And The Lord of Lightning</h4>

    Was Whitecloud City a true parallel universe to the Origin Universe? That certainly seemed to be the case, given the presence of Earth and its sr system. However, there was no version of Jiang Feng or any of the others in the Origin Universe.

    Jiang Chen had previously mentioned that the people of Whitecloud City had found other versions of themselves in other parallel universes. For example, there had been two Kong Tianzhaos, though only one had ultimately survived.

    It was a very intriguing idea.

    As Lu Yin gazed at the distant Earth, he saw that Whitecloud City was quite different from what he had initially imagined.

    He had imagined that Whitecloud City would be a colossal entity, much like the Heavens Sect, and sprawl across outer space. Instead, Earth was in the same location as in the Origin Universe, and Whitecloud City was on the.

    With Jiang Qingyue leading the way, Lu Yin quickly arrived on the universe¡¯s version of Earth.

    Between the two universes, the Earth in Whitecloud City¡¯s universe did not seem to have advanced much when it came to their knowledge of cultivation. In fact, even the¡¯s technology was not particrly advanced, as the people here were still at the stage of exploring their sr system. Only a few of the closest nearbys showed any trace of settlements or human activity.

    "What is this?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

    Jiang Qingyue exined, "Whitecloud City hasn''t been around for very many years, and my father has never interfered in Earth''s development. While there are other ces in the universe where technology or cultivation methods are more advanced, almost none of that has been brought back to Earth. Cultivators have their own worries, while ordinary people have their own joys.

    "Joining Whitecloud City allows a person to cultivate, but people who don''t join will never catch even a glimpse of the vast world of cultivation.

    "On Earth, the inside and outside of Whitecloud City are two vastly different worlds."

    Lu Yin thought of God¡¯s Domain. That civilization had been ruled by their Divine Maiden, and it had been harmonious, but their peace had brought about decline andcency. The Earth in Whitecloud City¡¯s universe seemed simr to God¡¯s Domain, but Whitecloud City was constantly pursuing progress. The Lord of Lightning was not one to fall intocency.

    Externally, they wielded great power and influence, while internally, their people enjoyed peace and harmony. Was this what Jiang Feng believed to be best?

    "It''s said that the Lord of Lightning started off as an ordinary human before stepping onto the path of cultivation, and because of that, he¡¯s lived two lives. His journey parallels that of normal people, and yet he possesses the will and determination of a powerful cultivator," Lu Yin said.

    Jiang Qingyue smiled. "My father is basically just an ordinary person."

    She then led Lu Yin to her Earth, and they entered Whitecloud City.

    Whitecloud City covered a vast area, but Earth itself felt small to Lu Yin. He had seen far more impressive ces, and he could envelop all of Whitecloud City within his perception. Still, this ce was Whitecloud City, the home of the Lord of Lightning.

    It was alsopletely surrounded by clouds, causing the city to live up to its name.

    Following behind Jiang Qingyue, Lu Yin climbed up to the Lord of Lightning''s residence. In this ce, Lu Yin restrained his aura, choosing to show his respect for the Lord of Lightning by observing Whitecloud City with nothing more than his eyes. He was just like an ordinary person even though he had the ability to perceive all of Earth with but a thought.

    "Ah, Brother Lu, you''re finally here!" Jiang Chen called out as he approached from a distance.

    They were in the northern part of Whitecloud City. It was a serene ce filled with various flowers and nts. It looked like paradise. Even with just his eyes, Lu Yin could see far, and he had already spotted Jiang Chen, as well as a mantis.

    When the Astral Beast Domain had invaded the Outerverse, a giant astral beast that looked like a praying mantis had chased after Lu Yin. Jiang Chen arrived at thest minute, and Lu Yin had tossed the mantis to Jiang Chen, who had taken it away.

    At the time, Lu Yin had joked about giving Jiang Chen a gardener, but as it turned out, that was exactly the role the giant mantis was serving.

    When Lu Yin saw the astral beast, he was noticed in turn. The creature¡¯s demeanor immediately changed, and it grew cold and zed with killing intent.

    Amused, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a pressure enveloped the giant mantis, inducing indescribable terror. The mantis froze, as it could instinctively sense that Lu Yin had gained a level of power that could not be fathomed. The astral beast quickly prostrated in submission.

    Jiang Chen watched the silent exchange and just shook his head. "Poor thing. It''s only been a few decades, but its old target is already able to terrify it out of its mind. Brother Lu, stop scaring it. It''s quite the skilled gardener."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I can tell. Your garden is beautiful."

    He observed the garden, and he also noticed giant ants walking in the distance. Some of them were carrying people on their backs. In one corner, he saw a chicken coop.

    He blinked and then stared at the various chickens. There was no doubt what the birds were, yet their tails came in a variety of colors. There were two-colored, three-colored, and even four-colored tails. The Lord of Lightning had quite the eclectic taste.

    The garden was filled withmon nts, but all of them looked slightly different from normal. There were bananas, cucumbers, and eggnts, but the slight differences made Lu Yin feel both familiar and alienated by their presence.

    Overhead, a giant eagle soared through the sky, but lightning crackled over its body.

    "What do you think? Isn''t my Whitecloud City quite unique?" Jiang Chen boasted.

    Lu Yin was impressed. "It truly is unique. Many things that I see look familiar at first nce, but a second nce reveals the differences."

    "Ha, there''s a lot more! We have flying fish, turtle inds, and all sorts of other things," Jiang Chen boasted.

    Jiang Qingyue interrupted, "That¡¯s enough. Stop bragging. No matter how unique Whitecloud City might be, it can''tpare to an entire universe. Brother Lu has experienced far more than anything you or I can imagine."

    Jiang Chen retorted, "Just because he¡¯s seen a lot doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s seen everything I have. Anyway, Father¡¯s waiting, so let¡¯s go."

    Suddenly, he shouted, "Wait! Brother Lu, where''s your gift?"

    Lu Yin grew puzzled. "What gift?"

    Jiang Chen gave Lu Yin an odd look. "What do you mean, ¡®what gift?¡¯ You came here without a gift?"

    Lu Yin was more confused. "Why would I need to bring a gift? I don''t have a habit of bringing gifts when I visit people. Is that a custom here? If so, I can prepare something."

    Jiang Qingyue frowned. "Jiang Chen, what are you doing? Brother Lu is the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch, and Father invited him here. If not for the fact that he¡¯s friends with us because of our ages, Father would have greeted him personally. We¡¯ve alreadypsed as his hosts. Brother Lu, ignore him."

    Jiang Chen gave Lu Yin a knowing look. "Normal guests don''t need to bring gifts, but given your special rtionship with my sister, isn''t it customary to make a good impression during your first time meeting your future father-inw?"

    Jiang Qingyue instantly exploded in anger, and her sword shed out at Jiang Chen. "Jiang Chen, are you looking for trouble?"

    Jiang Chen yelped as he quickly dodged. "Brother Lu, I was just thinking about you! Take care!"

    Her face flushed with rage, Jiang Qingyue let out a huff and then turned to apologize to Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, Jiang Chen likes to tease people. Please don''t mind his words."

    Lu Yin felt quite awkward. He had no idea if he should take offense to what had been said.

    He did have a good impression of Jiang Qingyue, but Yan''er was already in his life, which made him feel conflicted. Bringing a gift to Whitecloud City did seem like it would be appropriate, but doing so would also imply something more. Lu Yin had a headache over his indecision.

    Jiang Qingyue sheathed her sword. "Brother Lu, please follow me. Father has been waiting a long time for you. Business needs toe first."

    Lu Yin remembered the butterfly and immediately grew serious. "Lead the way."

    Shortly thereafter, Lu Yin met Jiang Feng.

    Three times before, Lu Yin had seen Jiang Feng. The first had been when Jiang Feng had invaded the First Scourge on his own. At that time, Lu Yin had witnessed the Lord of Lightning''s unmatched prowess with his identity as Ye Bo. The second time had also been during an invasion of the First Scourge, though Lu Yin had never gotten a good look at the man. The third incident had been the most recent battle. At that time, Lu Yin had gotten a clear look at Jiang Feng, but he had not had the opportunity to speak to the man.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first true meeting with the Lord of Lightning.

    Jiang Feng was a legendary figure, and he was feared by even Aeternus. He was a man who, despite knowing that certain death awaited him, had still dared to charge into the First Scourge. Like Lu Yin, the Lord of Lightning also possessed mirebound treasures.

    Jiang Feng had a quite average appearance, but leading Whitecloud City and surviving countless battles had granted the man a unique charisma. Years of enduring lightning had infused him with a sense of righteousness, and it immediately inspired trust from people.

    Lu Yin had encountered many powerful individuals. Some of them were arrogant and haughty, and others were untouched by worldly matters. There were also some who seemed to be as approachable as ordinary people. However, the Lord of Lightning gave Lu Yin a different impression; it was a sense of shared destiny.

    Lu Yin did not know if this feeling was because they both owned mirebound artifacts, or if there was something else to the sensation.

    As Lu Yin was sizing up the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng was also scrutinizing the younger man.

    Lu Yin was far from an unknown name to Jiang Feng.

    The first time that Jiang Feng had heard of Lu Yin had been from Jiang Chen, who had mentioned encountering an interesting person in a parallel universe. At first, Jiang Feng had paid little attention to the matter.

    However, as Jiang Chen had continued to bring up Lu Yin¡¯s name after subsequent visits to the Origin Universe, and especially after Jiang Qingyue and Dragonturtle had both mentioned Lu Yin, Jiang Feng''s interest had finally been piqued.

    He had also heard Lu Yin¡¯s name be frequently mentioned by people from the Sixverse Association and the Merchant Exchange. This had made Jiang Feng realize that meeting Lu Yin was an inevitability. There was a sense that the young man was rather simr to the Lord of Lightning himself.

    This sense had proven to be true.

    Jiang Feng had been the first to invade the Scourge, but Lu Yin had done so on several asions after that.

    Jiang Feng possessed a mirebound artifact, as did Lu Yin.

    Jiang Feng had risen to power when Earth had faced an apocalypse, and he had united the entire.

    Lu Yin had done the same for the Origin Universe when the universe had faced a crisis, and he was currently trying to unify the Sixverse Association.

    There were numerous simrities between the two men.

    The more simr two people were to each other, the more likely they would be to be either enemies or friends.

    "Senior Lord of Lightning, this junior is Lu Yin," Lu Yin introduced himself.

    The older man smiled. "If you are calling yourself my junior, then you can call me Uncle Jiang. If you are here as the Heavens Sect''s Dao Monarch, then I''d have to stand up to greet you."

    Lu Yin smiled back. "I''m not here in any sort of official capacity. I¡¯m just a friend of Jiang Chen and Qingyue."

    "Listen to that, Dad! He¡¯s so warm and friendly! Qingyue, Dragonturtle was right," Jiang Chen butted in.

    Jiang Qingyue gritted her teeth in irritation.

    Jiang Feng ignored them both.

    Lu Yin felt rather ufortable. "Uncle Jiang, Qingyue and I are just friends."

    Jiang Feng nodded. "You don''t need to exin your rtionship to me. Have a seat. Would you like tea or a real drink?"

    Lu Yin sat down across from Jiang Feng. "There¡¯s no need for any of that. I''m not thirsty."

    "Alright, then just let me know if you get thirsty. I''ll have your aunt prepare some fruit. The fruit in my Whitecloud City is unmatched," Jiang Feng stated casually.

    Lu Yin did not hold back. "I¡¯ll make sure to take some with me when I leave. What I saw looks delicious, and I¡¯d like to see if I can grow them in my universe¡¯s Earth."

    "Help yourself."

    The fact that he was on Earth gave Lu Yin an innate sense of familiarity with his surroundings, and Jiang Feng''s straightforward attitude put Lu Yin even more at ease. After having interacted with countless people, Lu Yin could tell that Jiang Feng saw him as a nephew.

    "Uncle Jiang, thank you for supporting me," Lu Yin stated.

    Jiang Feng sighed. "The Five Spirits Alliance and I have a deep connection. I didn¡¯t attack the Scourge just because I was supporting you, but also to further my own vendetta."

    Lu Yin replied, "I wasn''t referring to that. When the Great Sovereign was making things difficult for me, Qingyue stood up for me and spoke on your behalf."

    Jiang Feng nced over to stare at something in the distance. "The girl never mentioned that to me."

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but then he showed a wry smile. "I see."

    Jiang Feng chuckled. "If I had known, I would have personally helped, and that''s the truth."

    Lu Yin felt a warmth well up in his heart. "Thank you, Uncle Jiang."

 Chapter 3163: Jiang Feng And Lu Yin

    <h4>Chapter 3163: Jiang Feng And Lu Yin</h4>

    "Alright, let''s get to the point. There are two things that I need to discuss with you." Jiang Feng grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin. The man was just about to continue when they heard Jiang Chen shout from a distance.

    "Dad, Mom wants to know if you want her to cook a few things. She''s making her special smoked chicken and cured pork. It''s been a while since we''ve had Old Liu''s braised dishes from outside the city."

    Jiang Feng nodded. "Sure. Lu Yin, stay for a home-cooked meal. Old Liu''s braised dishes are exceptional."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Alright, I''ll stay and have a drink with you, Uncle Jiang."

    Jiang Fengughed. "You want to drink? Not a problem at all."

    Jiang Feng felt genuinely pleased. While he frequently received guests in Whitecloud City, it had been a long time since he hadst entertained someone like Lu Yin, who felt more like family.

    "Now, back to business. The first matter is about your mirebound artifact."

    Jiang Feng stared intensely at Lu Yin before bringing out three items: a sword, a branch, and a ck pearl. "These are my mirebound artifacts."

    Without hesitation, Lu Yin raised his hand and revealed his die in his palm. "Yong Heng mentioned that name. This should be it."

    Jiang Feng examined the die while Lu Yin scrutinized the other man¡¯s three items.

    Undying Yushan had sought out these three treasures under the Impious Sutra¡¯s control.

    Lu Yin had heard from Jiang Chen that the ck pearl allowed people to freely travel between parallel universes, but he did not know how the sword or the branch could be used.

    Jiang Feng admired Lu Yin¡¯s die. "Mirebound artifacts... To be honest, I¡¯ve only heard of them in the past. I only recently learned that these three items are mirebound artifacts. They appeared during this Earth''s apocalypse, and I used the ck pearl to rise to power, and I eventually stabilized the situation here. At that time, I didn''t even know what these items were used for.

    "For a few different reasons, I threw the sword into the sea, butter, when Earth faced a crisis on the cosmic scale, I understood that just stabilizing Earth was meaningless. The universe is filled with powerful beings and formidable creatures that could easily destroy Earth. In order to protect this ce, I retrieved the sword and started on my journey across different universes.

    "My path has been rtively smooth, and it¡¯s led me to where I am now.

    "It wasn''t until I became the Lord of Lightning that I learned the importance of mirebound artifacts. Lu Yin, these treasures are vitally important, and Yong Heng will never give up on them."

    Lu Yin nodded solemnly. "I understand, Uncle Jiang. Though, I do wonder, why haven''t you broken through to the Origin realm? Why do you keep challenging Yong Heng? Aren''t you afraid that he''ll take your mirebound artifacts?"

    Jiang Feng sighed. "Since the treasures are with me, even if I don''t act, he''ll stille for them. Rather than wait for him to gain strength and attack Whitecloud City, I¡¯d rather choose to strike first. Time doesn''t mean much to us anymore."

    Lu Yin nodded in understanding. "Aeternus''s strength is terrifying. Even with Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s breakthrough to the Origin realm, we still aren¡¯t guaranteed to be able to stop Yong Heng."

    "Without the ability to shun people from the universe, your Origin Universe wouldn''t be able to stand up to Aeternus. Being shunned from the Scourges is simr to when one is shunned from various parallel universes, but your Origin Universe is unique in that shunning someone has a much stronger effect than normal," Jiang Feng exined.

    Lu Yin had already been aware of this, and he had even drawn the same conclusion.

    Humans were shunned from the Scourges, but each time they invaded the Scourges, even if they were unable to defeat Aeternus, they had still been able to safely retreat. This was because the effect of being shunned from the Scourges was not too strong. For example, Ancestor Lu Tianyi, even while being shunned in the First Scourge, had still been able to fight against the Seven Skygods. He might have been at a disadvantage, but he had never been as severely weakened as the Seven Skygods were while in the Origin Universe. In that ce, Lu Tianyi alone could hold off all seven enemy powerhouses.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not understood why this difference existed, but he had since learned about it.

    It was because of the Fifth Maind. The Fifth Maind had been made by the Origin Progenitor, and its core was Primaldust. This meant that, in the Origin Universe, because of the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, those who were shunned were not just shunned by the power of the Origin Universe itself, but also by a hint of the Origin Progenitor''s power.

    With Dust World as the core, Lu Yin was able to use thendmass in his inner universe as a weapon and suppress opponents at the level of the Seven Skygods. The Origin Progenitor''s Maind was naturally far more powerful.

    Very few individuals could sense this detail, but it was clear to Lu Yin because he walked the same path as the Origin Progenitor.

    It was not until he had truly started walking this path in the Mirari Realm that Lu Yin had understood why the Progenitor had created the six Mainds and why Yong Heng, despite clearly holding the upper hand, was still determined to destroy the Mainds.

    It was because the Mainds were the Origin Progenitor''s power. If the six Mainds were still intact, then the Origin Progenitor''s power would be terrifying.

    Yong Heng wanted to destroy the six Mainds one by one.

    If the lives and deaths of the Three Realms and Six Daos werepared to the destruction of the Origin Universe¡¯s Mainds, then the powerhouses were likely not as important.

    The Mainds were why Aeternus''s Seven Skygods were unable to wield their full power in the Origin Universe and why they had sent Semi-Progenitor avatars instead; the avatars had not been shunned.

    On the other hand, Yong Heng did not walk the same path as the Origin Progenitor. Thus, being shunned from the Scourges only took effect when one was in the Scourges, and that was different in the Origin Universe.

    "The other matter that I want to discuss is that butterfly," Jiang Feng continued, his expression growing more serious.

    Lu Yin also refocused on the matter at hand. Not even Ancestor Lu Yuan knew anything about the butterfly¡¯s origins. Hongyan Mavis and the other Three Realms and Six Daos only knew that the butterfly had appeared in the First Maind during the Heavens Sect era, and then had been driven off by the Origin Progenitor. As for where the butterfly hade from, its purpose, or anything else, those were all mysteries.

    Lu Yin was surprised that Jiang Feng knew anything.

    Jiang Feng had been around for about as long as Lu Yin, if his time as Lu Xiaoxuan was also taken into ount.

    However, if they also took the amount of time spent in parallel universes where time flowed faster, who could say?

    Jiang Feng had spent a long time in the Five Spirits Alliance, but Lu Yin had also spent a great deal of time in the Mirari Realm.

    "When I first started making a name for myself as the Lord of Lightning and my reputation started spreading beyond this universe, that butterfly came to visit me. She called herself Tian En, and she suggested that she can bestow blessings on behalf of the heavens," Jiang Feng recalled. "She offered to give me a blessing, immortality, and a unique status in the megaverse."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. What did that even mean?

    Jiang Feng looked at him. "You don''t understand, do you? Neither did I. However, here on our Earth, we have a saying. ¡®There''s no such thing as a free lunch. If something falls from the sky andnds on you, it might not be a good thing.¡¯ So, I refused.

    "That butterfly approached me three times, and I rejected her each time. She hasn''t contacted me again after that.

    "I had nearly forgotten about her, but when I first lured the Ancient Lightning Locust to the First Scourge when you were taking out Xu Jin, Yong Heng mentioned Tian En to me. He threatened me, saying that I should ept Tian En¡¯s offer, or else I would face endless suffering. I don¡¯t know what sort of connection he has with Tian En, and he didn''t borate.

    "He not only pushed me to ept Tian En¡¯s offer, but he also demanded that I give him my mirebound artifacts, which is ridiculous. He brought the matter up again during ourtest battle, asking if I had changed my mind. I refused Tian En again. I''ve rejected that butterfly on several asions, but it''s clear that the butterfly is very important to Yong Heng."

    Jiang Feng stared at Lu Yin. "That''s all I know about the butterfly."

    Lu Yin felt rather bewildered. The only useful information he had gleaned from this exnation was that True God had some sort of connection to the butterfly. Perhaps the offer that Tian En had made to the Lord of Lightning had been arranged by True God, but even if that was true, the butterfly clearly was not part of the Aeternus.

    On top of that, the butterfly¡¯s name was "Tian En." Just what was "heaven" referring to?[1]

    Lu Yin was inexplicably reminded of Ye Zhang. A brand with the character for ¡°ve¡± had appeared on the man¡¯s forehead after he had died, but what kind of being could enve someone as powerful as Ye Zhang? That man had been incredibly powerful, and he had manipted all of the super giants in the universe by changing thews of the universe to create the Giants¡¯ Purgatory. Even Corpse God had been leery of Ye Zhang. Without Ye Zhang¡¯s intervention, the attack on Corpse God would have never seeded. Instead, the Skygod had been forced to self-destruct and escape.

    Brands with the characters for ¡°heaven¡± and ¡°ve,¡± and a butterfly who seemed to be heaven¡¯s representative; everything seemed connected to Lu Yin.

    Furthermore, Lu Yin could not shake Great Elder Shan Gu¡¯s words from his mind. The Lost n had once faced a being who was capable of erasing everything, and even Shan Gu¡¯s ancestors, who had been far stronger than him, had all been annihted. The ancestors of the Lost n had been Ortusers at the very least, and yet they had all been obliterated with seemingly no effort. What kind of entity was capable of doing that?

    Lu Yin stood up and stared off into outer space. More and more, he felt as though there was a hand reaching closer to him, and it felt far more profound and terrifying than Aeternus.

    He was gradually uncovering a certain truth. To get to the bottom of it, the butterfly seemed like a good ce to start.

    "Uncle Jiang, have you ever fought against that butterfly?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Feng shook his head. "She was always very polite, and her voice is so gentle. How could we fight?"

    Lu Yin continued to consider the matter. Even during the battle in the First Scourge, when the butterfly had stopped all of the fighting and openly sided with Aeternus, her voice had always remained incredibly gentle, and she had also professed her concern for humanity.

    Her reasoning had been revolting, but her politeness had been impable, which made it difficult to simply attack her.

    There was no personal enmity.

    Jiang Feng stood up. "Lu Yin, how old are you?"

    Lu Yin took a moment to consider the question. "A bit more than 100."

    Jiang Feng chuckled. "Just over a hundred? That''s quite young."

    Among cultivators, someone who was 100 years old was truly very young.

    "At a bit more than a hundred, even if you''ve cultivated for more than a century, that¡¯s not even a drop in the vast river of time. Even so, your achievements are already enough to alter the course of history for our entire era. What more could you want?" Jiang Feng calmly asked.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Do I seem unsatisfied?"

    Jiang Feng looked at the younger man. "I see that you carry a great weight. You¡¯re still young¡ªthat¡¯s reason enough to not bear that burden. You''ve already avenged your grievances, and your enemies are clear and in front of you. Many things will happen regardless of your efforts, so why do you need to see everything clearly?

    "After I reached the pinnacle on this and unified Earth, I still ended up being outmaneuvered and even lost my cultivation. I waspletely incapable of foreseeing that. In the end, the one who restored my cultivation was my archenemy. That was something even more unexpected. Life is full of uncertainties, and you can''t predict everything. Who can see up and down the River of Time? Even your universe¡¯s Destiny¡¯s foresight is limited. Who can know the future beyond what we can foresee? Don''t live with so many burdens. When you can''t control the rules of reality, adapting to them is still an option."

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance, lost in thought. Jiang Feng was not the first or the only one who had advised Lu Yin to stop overthinking things. Many others had offered the same advice. Could he really stop? His life had been exhausting, unbearably so. The smiles that he wore in public were nothing more than a mask to hide his suffering. However, the voices he heard from the Fifth Maind, the countless voices of support, were all genuine.

    "Uncle Jiang, everyone on this Earth must worship you," Lu Yin murmured.

    Jiang Feng smiled. "When youck strength, you live for yourself. When you gain strength, you can live for others. Still, don''t make yourself miserable. People are only people. No matter how great I be, I''ll never consider myself a saint."

    Lu Yin looked over and smiled back at the man. "I¡¯ve never aimed for that, either. I just do my best."

    "Come, let''s eat. Your aunt''s cooking is really good."

    "And old Liu''s braised dishes?"

    "There¡¯s also our smoked chicken and cured pork."

    1. Just a reminder, but the butterfly''s name is Tian (Ìì) En(¶÷). Heaven + grace. ?

 Chapter 3164: Control From Beyond

    <h4>Chapter 3164: Control From Beyond</h4>

    The meal was enjoyable for everyone. Lu Yin met Jiang Feng''s wife, who was a very gentle soul, and the food was delicious. Everyone drank a lot, and the alcohol hit them hard. Jiang Chen kept smacking the table, urging Lu Yin to also call the Lord of Lightning ¡°father,¡± which caused Jiang Qingyue to constantly attack her brother in anger.

    Far away, the giant mantisy on the ground, quivering.

    Jiang Feng''sughter echoed throughout the entire area.

    Lu Yin rarely let himself rx, but during this meal, heughed louder than anyone else.

    ...

    In the Fourth Scourge, Wei Shu crouched by a river of divine energy, seemingly lost in thought.

    Aeternus¡¯s Scourges werepletely different from what they had once been.

    He looked up at the ck Mother Tree. The Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm had imprisoned True God, and the Sixth Scourge had been upied by humanity. What was happening to reality as they knew it?

    Wei Shu regretted betraying humanity and joining Aeternus, but no one could have predicted the sudden turn of events.

    He sighed heavily. He could not help but wonder what would happen to the Fourth Scourge.

    ckless God was gone again, so if any enemies invaded the Fourth Scourge, they would be finished. There were no sequence powerhouses left, and all of the Scourge¡¯s frenzied corpses had been taken. In fact, they only had five Progenitor-level corpse kings remaining.

    Of the human traitors in the Scourge, there were only two peak powerhouses remaining. One was Wei Shu himself, and while he still dared to wander about, the other peak powerhouse remained hidden in a tower.

    "If only I could obtain True God''s ultimate techniques," Wei Shu muttered, desire filling his voice.

    "Even if you found them, you wouldn''t be able to train in any of them."

    "Who said that?" Wei Shu asked out of reflex. He then realized his situation, and he spun around to stare nkly at a person who was standing less than a meter away from him. Wei Shu¡¯s face grew pale. "Yo- it''s you?"

    Lu Yin stared at the river of divine energy. "Squatting here won''t help you find True God''s ultimate techniques."

    Wei Shu''s heart sank. He recognized who was in front of him. Lu Yin was the leader of humanity. He had led multiple invasions into the First Scourge, and he had also taken over the Sixth Scourge.

    What was Lu Yin doing in the Fourth Scourge? It was over! Wei Shu knew that he was no match for Lu Yin, and could not even put up a fight. This was the end of his road...

    Lu Yin nced over at Wei Shu. "Work hard. Maybe you''ll find True God''s ultimate techniques."

    He then took a step forward and vanished.

    Wei Shu stood frozen in ce, stunned. He continued to stare at the ce where he had just seen Lu Yin. The man rubbed his eyes. <i>He¡¯s gone? Wait, was someone even here? Did I just hallucinate the whole thing? Lu Yin told me to work hard? How ridiculous!</i>

    Right, it had to have been a hallucination. If Lu Yin had entered the Fourth Scourge, how could Wei Shu possibly survive? The Scourge would already have a new master.

    Lu Yin went through a cosmic door and quickly arrived in a different universe. This was the parallel universe that was Ye Wu¡¯s home.

    Lu Yin had once had a cosmic door that could directly connect to this universe, but it had been destroyed. For the moment, the only way to the universe was through a cosmic door in the Fourth Scourge, which was difficult to get to.

    Aeternus no longer posed any threat to Lu Yin, not unless he was surrounded by the Three Pirs and Six Skies, which was impossible in the Fourth Scourge.

    While the butterfly had managed to put a stop to one great battle, it could not stop a second one from taking ce.

    For the moment, his top priority was the military deration.

    He needed to formally dere his intentions as the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch. This military announcement would officially unite all of the parallel universes beneath the Heavens Sect¡¯s banner, unifying humanity into a single crusade against Aeternus.

    What the Heavens Sect had failed to aplish in the past, Lu Yin would achieve.

    He quickly found the mountain range where Ye Wu and his disciples had stayed in the past. The mountains looked the same as thest time Lu Yin had seen them. There were corpses and skeletal remains scattered around, but no trace of Ye Wu or his followers could be found anywhere.

    Had they fled?

    Lu Yin arched a brow, and he quickly scanned the entire mountain range. There was no sign of any recent activity.

    They really had run away.

    Were they hiding from Lu Yin, or from Aeternus?

    His expression grew cold. After taking a moment to think, he started moving in a specific direction, and he soon arrived at the ce where he had first discovered the meteorite that had been the home of the Totem Civilization''s people after they had abandoned their bodies. However, that meteorite was missing.

    He quickly took out Bi Rong¡¯spass and used it to try to find the Totem Civilization¡¯s meteorite.

    Meteorites were natural objects from the universe, and thepass could only target such items. All Lu Yin needed to do was focus on the shape of the meteorite. While there were countless meteorites in the various parallel universes, no two were exactly alike.

    Lu Yin guessed that Ye Wu and his two disciples had probably taken the Totem Civilization''s meteorite with them.

    Ye Wu sought revenge for the Totem Civilization, and he had bravely joined the attack on the Fourth Scourge, where he had fiercely joined the efforts to kill Xu Jin. The man¡¯s deep bond with the Totem Civilization suggested that he had most likely taken the meteorite. If that was true, then Lu Yin could find the man by using Bi Rong¡¯spass.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin tore through the void with thepass. He had found it.

    In an unfamiliar universe, Ye Sheng clenched his long spear. He was continuously practicing. He had bonded with Da Hui''s corpse, which had granted him an instinctive understanding of spear techniques. He had initially felt ted at the knowledge, believing himself to have achieved a new level of skill, but meeting Lu Yin had made Ye Sheng realize just how far he still had to go.

    After joining Lu Yin to attack Aeternus, Ye Sheng¡¯s master had immediately taken the two disciples away.

    While it appeared as if they were trying to evade Aeternus, Ye Sheng understood his master quite well. The man was clearly trying to avoid Lu Yin.

    The fact that Lu Yin was capable of forcing Ye Sheng¡¯s master to flee, despite the man¡¯s apparent youth, left Ye Sheng feeling rather resentful. He felt inferior and also frustrated.

    He was irritated with Lu Yin, but he could do nothing about it. He wanted to cultivate, or get a stronger corpse to bond with, just like his master.

    "Brother, you''ve been staring at that spear for a long time. Is it helping?" Ye Xiaoxiao asked. She was resting her chin in her hands while staring at Ye Sheng with a curious, almost innocent expression on her face.

    Ye Sheng frowned. "Go away. Don''t bother me."

    Ye Xiaoxiao stretched, her movements graceful. "You''re too serious. I know what you''re thinking about. You''re still upset about losing to Brother Lu, aren¡¯t you?"

    Ye Sheng''s eyes grew cold and he turned to stare at Ye Xiaoxiao. "Are you that familiar with Lu Yin? You keep referring to him as ¡®Brother Lu.¡¯ Do you realize that Master took us away to avoid that man?"

    Ye Xiaoxiao looked puzzled. "Why?"

    Ye Sheng sneered. "That guy¡¯s no good."

    As they were speaking, Ye Wu suddenly appeared in front of them. He was staring out into space.

    Ye Sheng quickly noticed the older man¡¯s presence. "Master?"

    Ye Xiaoxiao beamed. "Master!"

    "Silence." Ye Wu sounded stern. For some time, he had felt increasingly uneasy, which was a sensation that he had not experienced in a long time. Was there an enemy, or was it something else?

    "Let''s go."

    Ye Wu quickly tried to move Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao away, but as he did so, a powerful aura swept through the area. Ye Wu''s expression instantly and drastically changed as he whipped around.

    There was a person standing in outer space, looking down at the three individuals. "It looks like you¡¯ve been trying to avoid me."

    Ye Wu''s eyes bulged in disbelief. How was this possible? How had they been found? They had left no traces behind and had even chosen a parallel universe at random. On top of that, Lu Yin was supposed to be dead, right? How was he alive?

    Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao both looked up as well, and they saw Lu Yin standing above them.

    Ye Sheng was startled. How had they been found?

    That same question was on everyone''s mind.

    Lu Yin stared at Ye Wu. "Considering the fact that we''re allies, it''s not very polite to just leave without a word."

    Ye Wu answered in a t tone, "I promised you that I would help kill Xu Jin. Now that it¡¯s dead, there¡¯s no longer anything between us."

    Lu Yin stared down at Ye Wu. "What about Heaven¡¯s Furnace?"

    Ye Wu''s eyes narrowed. "That''s none of your business."

    "Do you know that Heaven¡¯s Furnace is an innate gift unique to a single person? His name is Xia Shang, though he was also known as Progenitor Chen. He¡¯s one of our Origin Universe¡¯s most respected powerhouses. What did you do to him? Did you steal his corpse, or did you kill him?" Lu Yin''s expression turned cold.

    After seeing Ye Wu use Heaven¡¯s Furnace in the Second Scourge, Lu Yin had been waiting for a chance to address this issue.

    Xia Shang could not be disrespected. Regardless of how Ye Wu had obtained Xia Shang''s corpse, even if he had killed Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, an exnation was needed.

    Ye Sheng pulled Ye Xiaoxiao back as Ye Wu slowly drifted upwards. "Did youe here alone?"

    "That¡¯s enough." Lu Yin''s demeanor was icy.

    Ye Wu stared at Lu Yin. "I don''t know anything about Xia Shang or some Origin Universe. The body was a gift."

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. "A gift?"

    Ye Wu continued in the same serious tone. "That¡¯s right, it was a gift to the person who created the symbiotic corpses method."

    "Who gave it to you?" Lu Yin pressed.

    Ye Wu shook his head. "I don''t want to be your enemy, but I''m not afraid of bing one. I have no reason to lie to you. I genuinely don''t know."

    Lu Yin red at Ye Wu, who stared straight back at him.

    The man was genuinely unafraid. He had not been afraid of Aeternus, and he was also unafraid of Lu Yin.

    "Come with me to the Origin Universe. Xia Shang is greatly respected there. Regardless of your reasons or whether you knew anything about him, you need to exin yourself to him," Lu Yin demanded.

    Ye Wu was taken aback. "<i>To</i> him? Isn''t he dead?"

    "Xia Shang cultivated nine clones. The body that you merged with is one of those clones. How you are dealt with should be decided by Xia Shang alone, so I will take you to see him," Lu Yin replied.

    Ye Wu refused. "I have no intention of going with you. If anyone is going to do something about this, it should be Xia Shang himself, not you."

    "Are you refusing?" Lu Yin''s tone of voice grew even colder.

    Ye Wu''s fingers twitched. "You''re not my match."

    Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain and released Supreme.

    The massive mecha stood tall in outer space, inciting awe in both Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao. What was this thing?

    They had seen technological civilizations while traveling about various universes, but they had never seen such a massive mecha before, not to mention one that looked so intimidating.

    Inside Supreme, the emperor felt aggrieved. Once again, he was being used as Lu Yin¡¯s thug. Even so, nothing could be done about it. Supreme¡¯s defenses were incredible, and the mecha also wielded the sharpest sword. Anytime the mecha encountered opponents who were unable to overpower its defenses, it could simply wear them down.

    Lu Yin enjoyed using Supreme to oppress his opponents.

    At the same moment that Supreme appeared, the emperor attacked, and the mecha¡¯s sword shed at Ye Wu.

    Compared to Supreme, Ye Wu looked pathetically small, but the mecha¡¯s aim was incredibly precise. No matter how small its opponent was, none could avoid Supreme''s aim.

    Lu Yin was using one outsider powerhouse to deal with another. All he needed to do was watch.

    Ye Wu knew absolutely nothing about Supreme''s formidable strength, but when he saw an enormous sword falling down upon him, he chose to meet it head-on. The man took a step to the side and then punched at the de. Supreme was massive, but its reaction speed was incredible, which was part of what allowed the mecha to face off against sequence powerhouses.

    While Supreme was unable to counter opponents who could move at the speed of time, like Lu Yin, most people found it extremely difficult to deal with Supreme''s attacks. If a single attack did notnd, the mecha could simply attack an entire region.

    Ye Wu''s fist met Supreme''s sword, and the universe warped at the point of impact as countless spatial cracks radiated out.

    Ye Wu''s expression changed as a searing pain filled his fist. How could this giant sword cut through his body''s defenses? Impossible!

    He quickly changed tactics and dodged, and the area where he had just been standing was sliced open by the sword, revealing the Hollow.

 Chapter 3165: One Chance

    Supreme took a step forward and shed head on with Ye Wu. The man was sted backwards while an indescribable force also forced the mecha to retreat.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. This was it.

    Ye Wu possessed an unknown ability. It was his sequence particles, and thew of the universe that he had mastered caused harm to whatever attacked the man, regardless of the oue of the attack. Thew that the man hadprehended still eluded Lu Yin.

    He had ordered Supreme to attack Ye Wu because the mecha¡¯s formidable defenses could withstand the damage from such attacks.

    Inside Supreme, the emperor was shocked and a bit confused. What kind of power was he up against? Whatever it had been, it had been strong enough to force Supreme back. While it was impossible to see it outside, the emperor knew that the mecha¡¯s light barrier had reached its limits. Another attack like that, and the light barrier might fail entirely.

    Why did the Heavens Sect have such formidable enemies wherever they went?

    The emperor felt incredibly unlucky. Before encountering the Heavens Sect, the Infinity Empire had been unstoppable, but the moment they had entered the Fifth Maind, disaster had been on their heels. It was impossible to shake off the Heavens Sect, and the ruler of the Infinity Empire was being dragged around to act as a thug, fighting against increasingly formidable enemies.

    He was even beginning to question Supreme''s defenses.

    The emperor was shocked by the exchange¡¯s oue, but Ye Wu was equally astonished. Thew that he hadprehended was incredibly powerful, and when he had fought in the Fourth Scourge, while Ji Luo had seeded in severing Ye Wu¡¯s arm with a single sh, Ji Luo had been wounded in the process because of Ye Wu''s sequence particles. They forced an exchange of mutual harm, and everyone who faced Ye Wu had to deal with it.However, that effect was useless against a mecha like the one Ye Wu was currently facing.

    No matter how much damage was dealt, it went to the mecha, not the pilot, let alone Lu Yin.

    At the thought of Lu Yin, Ye Wu shot towards the young man after momentarily evading Supreme. Ye Wu wanted to attack Lu Yin himself.

    Lu Yin calmly watched as Ye Wu approached, and then he used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time.

    Everything around him froze, aside from Ye Wu, who simply moved slower. The man could even see Lu Yin moving, but he was unable to attack while Lu Yin moved at the speed of time.

    Lu Yin was about to attack, but then he suddenly felt a sense of danger, and it prompted him to retreat and open up a bit of distance. He raised an arm and swung it, releasing Setting Sun.

    The image of the sunset appeared, and everyone saw thest light of day!

    Theprehension technique was unleashed, and it painted the dark, deep starry sky with the beautiful scene of a setting sun. Ye Wu felt a brief bit of warmth, but then his heart grew cold. He recognized what he was seeing. This was aprehension technique.

    Before another thought could enter his mind, it went nk. His understanding of martial arts was reduced to nothing, which led to Ye Wu suffering some bacsh. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

    Behind him, Supreme''s sword sliced across.

    Ye Xiaoxiao cried out, "Master!"

    The sword struck Ye Wu and sent him hurtling through space. He crashed into a, but shot straight through it.

    At the same moment, Supreme was pushed back by an unknown force. The mecha¡¯s light barrier shattered, and inside, the emperor was jarred. He felt dizzy, and he nearly threw up. Blood trickled out of his mouth due to his internal organs being shaken up.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin remainedpletely unscathed. He stood still in outer space and looked down.

    Was Ye Wu dead? Of course not. If he could be killed so easily, how could he have possibly merged with the body of Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone, which had possessed the Heaven¡¯s Furnace innate gift?

    Lu Yin¡¯s father, Lu Qi, had gained a massive increase in strength from merely having the pressure of Heaven¡¯s Furnace within his body. The man was so confident that he proimed himself immortal, and he had managed to earn the moniker "Immortal Lu Qi." In that case, what about Ye Wu, or rather, Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone that had originally possessed Heaven¡¯s Furnace? There was no doubt that he had been far more formidable.

    Naturally, there were limits to this. Ji Luo had once severed Ye Wu¡¯s arm, and Xu Jin had also left the man severely injured by using True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    While Supreme''s defenses were incredible, and even though the mecha wielded the sharpest sword, it was not as powerful as the Seven Skygods and was unable to mortally wound Ye Wu.

    The enormous figure of Supreme towered high in outer space. The mecha held its sword while staring downwards.

    Lu Yin waited patiently.

    Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao both watched on anxiously. How was their master?

    Some timeter, Ye Wu finally reappeared. He looked battered, and there was blood dripping from his forehead. Supreme''s sh had not been entirely ineffective.

    The man nced at Supreme and then looked at Lu Yin. "You even know aprehension technique."

    Lu Yin remained calm. "I know more than what you can imagine."

    Ye Wu''s eyes grew cold. "Is this all you can do? That mecha can¡¯t kill me, and you can''t defeat me. Because you helped me avenge the Totem Civilization, I''ll let you go with this, but if you keep pushing me, you can¡¯t me me for being cruel."

    Inside Supreme, the emperor sneered. "Cruel? What more can you do? Try it."

    Ye Wu ignored the man and simply continued to stare at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin saw the cold determination in Ye Wu''s eyes and knew that the battle had incited a deadly resolve in the man. In the past, they had neither been friends nor foes. Ye Wu, like Lu Yin himself, adhered to his own moral code, and for that reason, Lu Yin had been treated differently from the Aeternals.

    However, if he pushed past his limits, there was no doubt that Ye Wu would retaliate with overwhelming force.

    "Come with me to give Progenitor Chen an exnation," Lu Yin insisted, unbothered by the pending threat. No matter how strong Ye Wu might be, could he surpass the Seven Skygods?

    Without hesitation, Ye Wu raised both of his hands, and Heaven¡¯s Furnace appeared in outer space. It was positioned to trap both Lu Yin and Supreme inside.

    Heaven''s Furnace was an immensely powerful innate gift, and it took almost no time for it to close. Still, the brief moment that was necessary was enough for Lu Yin to escape, given that he could move at the speed of time.

    He used Inverse Step, and everything around him froze. However, after less than a moment, things started moving again, and Lu Yin found himself staring into Ye Wu''s cold eyes.

    Lu Yin was surrounded by sequence particles. Ye Wu already knew about Lu Yin''s ability to move at the speed of time, and he had preemptively scattered sequence particles around in order to prevent Lu Yin from escaping.

    Ye Wu had umted a great deal ofbat experience.

    During the brief time that Lu Yin was dyed, Heaven''s Furnace closed.

    "This is yourst chance! Leave, and we will never see each other again," Ye Wu stated in a frigid tone.

    When Ye Sheng saw that Heaven''s Furnace had managed to trap both Lu Yin and Supreme, he finally rxed. He red at Lu Yin with open hatred.

    There was no way for anyone to escape after they had been trapped within his master''s innate gift. Whether a person lived or died waspletely up to Ye Wu.

    Ye Xiaoxiao patted her chest, also feeling relieved. "I thought that Master wouldn''t be able to defeat them! Thankfully, he did."

    "I told you, Lu Yin is despicable, but you didn''t believe me," Ye Sheng said with a sneer.

    Ye Xiaoxiao bit her lip while staring out into space. Was he really so hateful?

    Inside Heaven''s Furnace, the emperor was unaware of his current situation, and he tried to sh at the walls with Supreme¡¯s sword in an attempt to break free.

    However, the attempts failed, which stunned the man. "How can this be?"

    Through the wall of Heaven''s Furnace, Lu Yin stared at Ye Wu. "This is yourst chance as well. Come with me. We don¡¯t need to be enemies."

    Ye Wu stopped hesitating, and the pressure inside of Heaven''s Furnace instantly spiked. He intended to obliterate both Lu Yin and Supreme.

    Ye Wu had survived the loss of his wife and the destruction of his home. He would never ce his life in the hands of another.

    The more valuable the corpse that Ye Wu had bonded with was to Lu Yin''s universe, the more opposed Ye Wu was to visiting the ce.

    Lu Yin let out a breath, and then he looked upwards. He was within this innate gift yet again. He had faced Heaven¡¯s Furnace during his first stellr tribtion when breaking into the Envoy realm. If not for Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin would not have survived that first encounter.

    At the moment, Lu Yin had already anticipated entering Heaven¡¯s Furnace, as he wanted to see if Heaven''s Furnace or if the One Word Manifestation was superior.

    Lightstream appeared and flickered, taking on the form of a small boat as Lu Yin peered into the past.

    Currently, Lu Yin could observe up to 3,275 seconds into the past, which was quite a bit of time.

    It was also more than necessary. He only needed to see the full process of Heaven''s Furnace manifesting and then closing.

    The results surprised Lu Yin, as Heaven''s Furnace had appeared the moment Ye Wu had started fighting against Supreme. The man had simply not made the furnace visible. When he formed a circle with his hands, it had been a trick to make people think that the gesture was needed to bring out Heaven¡¯s Furnace. The innate gift had already been in ce, which meant that it was toote for any enemy to react.

    Lu Yin observed Heaven''s Furnace from the moment it started forming to the moment it was sealed shut. All the while, he listened to the incessant sound of Supreme''s sword striking the walls of the furnace.

    The pressure grew increasingly intense.

    The emperor''s expression fell. The rms inside of Supreme were ring, as the mecha was suffering from some unknown form of mounting pressure.

    The man was not sure if Supreme would be able to withstand this pressure. Their enemy was remarkable, but the emperor was already certain that he could not break free.

    He could not help but look over at Lu Yin.

    The young man was ncing around. Lightstream receded, and Lu Yin stepped forward to a certain corner of Heaven''s Furnace. "The essence of One Word Manifestation is to find a path to survival in even the most desperate situations. Heaven''s Furnace is no exception."

    After speaking, he pointed a finger as he stared intently at a single point in the furnace and then struck at the wall of Heaven''s Furnace.

    There was a resounding crash, and the echoes shook the nearby universe, with ripples spreading out to epass a massive area.

    Ye Wu''s expression changed drastically. <em>Impossible, he...?</em>

    Lu Yin turned to smile at Ye Wu. "Heaven''s Furnace isn''t invincible. If it were, how could Progenitor Chen¡¯s clone have died?

    "Given more time, Progenitor Chen might have been able to resolve the weaknesses of Heaven''s Furnace, but for you, it¡¯s impossible."

    As Lu Yin finished speaking, the void suddenly broke open. It was not space breaking apart, but rather Heaven''s Furnace. The immense pressure produced visible streams that shot out of the fissure, and the energy quickly shrouded the area where Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao were.

    Ye Wu quickly grabbed his two disciples and retreated. Where the two had been standing quickly copsed under the escaping pressure from the broken Heaven''s Furnace.

    This power could even obliterate a peak powerhouse.

    Ye Sheng felt his scalp go numb. If not for his master, he would have died just now.

    Lu Yin stepped out of Heaven''s Furnace and stared at Ye Wu. "Do you have any other tricks? Feel free to bring them out now."

    Lu Yin was well aware of Ye Wu''s abilities; he had his unknown sequence particles, Heaven''s Furnace, and a level of physical strength that allowed the man to withstand attacks from even a Skygod. With everythingbined, the man was a formidable opponent who could challenge one of the Seven Skygods.

    However, after exhausting all of his abilities, Ye Wu was at Lu Yin''s mercy.

    The man¡¯s eye twitched as he stared at Lu Yin. More than once, Ye Wu had been amazed by the power that Lu Yin had revealed, despite being a Semi-Progenitor. In particr, there had been his fight against Xu Jin. If not for Lu Yin, Xu Jin would not have died, and Lu Yin¡¯s performance during that battle had been awe-inspiring.

    However, the young man seemed to have be even more unfathomable since then.

    Lu Yin was revealing abilities that he had not used during the battle against Xu Jin. Ye Wu had never before seen Lu Yin¡¯sprehension technique, that small boat of light, or the finger attack that had broken Heaven''s Furnace.

    Feeling helpless, Ye Wu abandoned his thoughts of resistance. There was no escaping this young man.

    "I''ll go with you, but these two have nothing to do with this. Let them go."

    Heaven''s Furnace disappeared. Ye Wu would not attack again. He had surrendered to Lu Yin.

    Supreme also appeared, though the emperor felt a lingering sense of fear. Without Lu Yin, the emperor had no idea what would have be of him.

    The Infinity Empire needed to be taught such lessons in order to abandon their aggressive warfare policies. However, Lu Yin¡¯s lessons were too harsh, and they allowed no room for recovery.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "They need toe too."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3166: One By One

    Ye Wu''s expression turned grim. "Mr. Lu, I may not be your match, but if I use everything I have in a fight, you won''t have an easy time of things.

    "The corpse that I used for my symbiotic corpses method has nothing to do with them. I am the one who created this cultivation method, and I am the one who found the corpses. Why involve two children?"

    Ye Sheng''s face turned pale.

    Ye Xiaoxiao could not stop herself from clutching Ye Wu''s arm. "Master, I won''t leave you! I want to stay with you."

    Ye Wu''s eyes remained cold as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s eyes for a long time. "Did you really receive Progenitor Chen¡¯s corpse as a gift from someone?"

    "If I have spoken a single lie, may I die a horrible death and be struck down," Ye Wu swore.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "You merge with corpses, which means that your oath isn''t trustworthy. However, if you¡¯re telling the truth, then you won¡¯t be harmed by following me. At least, until you meet with Progenitor Chen, nothing will happen to you. Are you really willing to let your two young disciples roam about on their own?

    "There¡¯s Aeternus, humans, astral beasts¡­ There are dangers everywhere, and they¡¯re much safer for them to be with you. That is¡­ unless you¡¯re lying to me."Ye Wu¡¯s voice dropped low, "I''m telling the truth. I don''t know who gave me the corpse. When I woke up, the corpse was in front of me. I can help you find whoever left it for me."

    Lu Yin slowly smiled. "Alright then,e with me. As long as you''re being honest and help in the war against Aeternus, there might even be a ce for you in the Heavens Sect."

    Most people would not ept something like merging with corpses to gain power, but as long as Ye Wu did not kill the people he merged with, and if he held himself to a certain moral code, then he was more amoral than immoral.

    It was very possible that Ye Wu would not actually join the Heavens Sect, but Lu Yin had other ns for the man.

    Ye Wu had no choice but to follow Lu Yin. There was no escape, or any chance of victory, which meant that he had toply.

    On their way to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin asked why Ye Wu was so concerned about his two disciples. While strong bonds between masters and disciples were not unusual among cultivators, Ye Wu did not seem to be a person with such strong feelings.

    Ye Wu''s answer was simple; he had named Ye Sheng himself, and the name meant "reborn in my ce."

    The darkness that Ye Wu had lived through had turned him into a symbol of filth. He hoped for Ye Sheng to walk a different path, but in order to forge his own path, Ye Sheng needed strength, which was why he also cultivated symbiotic corpses. To Ye Sheng, who had used the cultivation method since childhood, it was just another method, and he felt no mental burden from using it.

    To Ye Sheng, symbiotic corpses was nothing more than a means to gain the strength needed to preserve his own life.

    As for Ye Xiaoxiao, Ye Wu had named her with only one intention¡ªto smile more. Ye Wu imed to have never smiled since his birth. He had adopted Ye Xiaoxiao because he found her smile endearing.

    He wanted to protect that smile, which was why he had never allowed Ye Xiaoxiao to learn the symbiotic corpses method.

    Ye Sheng could be thought of as a second Ye Wu, a version of the man that could be free, and the man was willing to pay any price for that freedom.

    Ye Xiaoxiao represented Ye Wu''s most beautiful dreams and wishes.

    Lu Yin could sense the depths of Ye Wu''s sorrow and bitterness.

    How could one yearn so strongly for beauty in the world without having experienced its evils?

    Ye Wu and his disciples quickly settled into the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin had the means of ensuring that they could not leave on their own. After all, he only needed to know of an item on them for him to use as a target for Bi Rong¡¯spass. Then, he could track them down wherever they went.

    Ye Wu had no idea how Lu Yin had managed to find them, but because he had done so, the man knew that it was almost impossible for them to leave.

    On top of that, Ye Wu was extremely wary after seeing the strength of the Heavens Sect.

    It appeared that even Aeternus was being suppressed.

    Once Ye Wu was dealt with, Lu Yin''s next target was The Abandoned.

    The Abandoned had not helped defend the Nine-Star Civilization, and neither had he fought in the battle to kill Xu Jin. The cosmic door that led to his universe was still in Lu Yin''s cosmic ring, so it had not been destroyed by Aeternus.

    Lu Yin arrived in the cave again, and then used the method that The Abandoned had left in order to send a message to him.

    This time, Hongyan Mavis was the one apanying Lu Yin.

    She had already returned to the Mavis family, which had shocked them and caused a massive celebration. The return of the family¡¯s founding ancestor had shaken the Fifth Maind itself, and word of her return soon spread across the Sixverse Association, stunning countless people.

    Legends regarding the Three Realms and Six Daos had previously spread to many people in the Sixverse Association, especially after the Origin Universe had joined.

    The Three Realms and Six Daos were legendary figures to the people of the Origin Universe, and they had gained a simr status within the Sixverse Association.

    The fact that the Lu family¡¯s founding ancestor and the Mavis family¡¯s founding ancestor had both returned to the Origin Universe left a deep impression on everyone. The universe¡¯s strength could only be imagined.

    Hongyan Mavis looked around the cave. "Why did you bring me here?"

    "To meet someone. I need you to help me keep his temper under control," Lu Yin said.

    Hongyan Mavis gave Lu Yin a curious look, puzzling him. "What''s wrong?"

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "Nothing. I¡¯ve simply heard a great deal about you from Yuhua and Lulu."

    Lu Yin blinked. "Good things or bad things?"

    "Good things."

    "I don''t believe that."

    "It''s true, Little Seven. Would anyone in the Fifth Maind speak ill of you?"

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "Right, sure. If it was all good, you wouldn''t give me a look like that."

    Hongyan Mavis chuckled. "You''re so much like Loam. When he was young, he was the most mischievous of us all, and he was alwaysing up with new schemes. Usually, he was the one who came up with the ideas, Musclehead would carry them out, and then Big Thug would take the me. You, on the other hand,e up with ideas, execute them, and then manipte things so that others take the me, haha!"

    Lu Yin was left speechless. "When have I ever made someone else take the me?"

    "That¡¯s not even everything. You also don''t let others speak badly of you, and you spread positive rumors about yourself everywhere. Little Seven, you''re not very reasonable," Hongyan Mavis teased.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Senior, I''m very reasonable."

    Hongyan Mavis no longer responded, as she was staring at the bit of milky white liquid that was further away in the cave. She walked over and looked down at it.

    Lu Yin felt a jolt. "Do you recognize it?"

    Hongyan Mavis frowned. "I''ve certainly seen it before, but while it looks familiar, I can''t remember where."

    "Think harder. That stuff could be useful," Lu Yin urged.

    He loved to use tools and other items. On top of that, the one thing that he had plenty of at the moment was money.

    Hongyan Mavis had been in the Mirari Realm for far too long, and she had forgotten many things. Despite spending a long time trying to remember, she was unable to recall anything.

    Some timeter, The Abandoned returned to the cave, though he kept his distance from Lu Yin.

    "What do you want from me?" The Abandoned asked coldly. His attitude towards Lu Yin was rather simr to Ye Wu''s.

    He was another pitiful individual. His entire civilization had been destroyed by Aeternus, and his only goal in life was to get revenge. He destroyed Aeternus Kingdoms and made life as difficult as possible for the Fifth Scourge.

    When Lu Yin had attacked and killed Xu Jin, Aeternus had effectively dered war on humanity. At that time, The Abandoned had taken advantage and attacked the Aeternus Kingdoms in his universe. At that time, he had caused a significant amount of destruction while venting his anger.

    He had a decent impression of Lu Yin, but that was all that The Abandoned felt.

    Lu Yin replied, "I won''t waste words. I want you to join us in fighting against Aeternus."

    The Abandoned nced at Hongyan Mavis, who was standing rather close to Lu Yin. The man frowned slightly. He felt a pressure from the woman, which was something that he had previously only felt from Arrow God.

    Such pressure indicated that this woman was a threat to him.

    His expression grew colder. "I¡¯ve already helped you once, which is what we agreed upon before."

    When the Aeternals had believed Lu Yin to be dead, they had not only worked to divide the Origin Universe from the rest of the Sixverse Association, but they had also tried to outright destroy the Heavens Sect. At that time, Lu Yin had asked The Abandoned to help by holding Ji Luo back.

    Lu Yin said, "This time, I¡¯m asking for an alliance. Don¡¯t you want to avenge your people? You can¡¯t defeat Arrow God on your own, let alone all of Aeternus."

    "Don¡¯t bother saying anything more. I¡¯ve already helped you once, and even that was only for Mister Mu''s sake," The Abandoned replied warily as he slowly moved back. It was clear that he was about to leave.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "Does Mister Mu''s favor warrant you helping us just once?"

    The Abandoned remained silent as he prepared to step onto the teleportation device.

    Lu Yin sighed. He was being pushed to use force again. At least with Ye Wu, there had been a legitimate reason to act against the man, but with The Abandoned, forcing the man did not feel justifiable, especially since the man had already helped the Heavens Sect once in the past. Still, there were times when undesirable methods were needed to achieve one¡¯s goals. Persuasion alone would not aplish much in this situation.

    Just as The Abandoned was about to step onto the teleportation device, green grass appeared all throughout the cave, and it even covered the device.

    The Abandoned''s expression changed, and he red at Lu Yin. "What¡¯s the meaning of this?"

    Hongyan Mavis stepped forward. "Young man, you''re quite arrogant. You haven¡¯t even greeted me properly, which is very rude."

    The Abandoned looked over at Hongyan Mavis. "I don''t want to be your enemy, but I do ask that you don''t make trouble for me."

    Hongyan Mavis waved an arm. "At my age, calling me ¡®Ancestor¡¯ wouldn''t be too excessive. You''re very rude, and you¡¯ve gone too far with it."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. In the Mirari Realm, Hongyan Mavis had been serene and elegant. After regaining her strength, she had revealed a violent side that reminded him of Yuhua and Lulu Mavis.

    This was the real Hongyan Mavis.

    While fighting in the Sixth Scourge, she had practically shattered the giant corpse king, which had amply demonstrated her amazing physical strength. Hongyan Mavis lived up to her reputation as one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    The Abandoned suddenly vanished.

    Lu Yin instantly moved at the speed of time with Inverse Step, but he still felt a shiver run down his spine. He had been a step too slow.

    He had fought The Abandoned before, and even when moving at the speed of time, The Abandoned always managed to stay one step ahead of him. This was rted to thew of the universe that he hadprehended, and much like Ye Wu, Lu Yin could not understand whatw the man had mastered.

    The Abandoned''s knife was almost touching Lu Yin''s neck when the man felt a chill run down his own spine. He used his sequence particles again, just as Hongyan Mavis''s hand fell. Her attack missed by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Hongyan Mavis clenched a fist, which sent ripples throughout the cave.

    The Abandoned''s knife pointed at Hongyan Mavis''s head. He was certain that he could attack faster than her, and the woman was clearly a greater threat than Lu Yin.

    Shockingly, the man found that he could not move forward. His sequence particles were being disrupted by the ripples from Hongyan Mavis''s show of strength. The Abandoned could not believe what he was seeing. Where could a human obtain such absurd physical strength? This power had reached the level of being able to repel sequence particles, which exceeded anything that The Abandoned could understand.

    Hongyan Mavis faced the man. "Young man, are you drawing a de against your ancestor?"

    As she spoke, she squeezed with her fingertips. A white wave appeared within the ripples of power, and it shot forward like an arrow, traveling straight at The Abandoned.

    The man¡¯s head almost exploded. He could not take this attack. He knew that he would not be able to survive this attack if it reached him.

    He immediately fell back, vanishing once more. Drops of the milky white liquid sprinkled about, each droplet transforming into a white ne. Almost instantly, The Abandoned did something, and the white nes became short des that shot at Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yin.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3167: A Familiar Scene

    <h4>Chapter 3167: A Familiar Scene</h4>

    Lu Yin was startled to see the sheets of white liquid suddenly transform into des that held immense power. Together, they rivaled the strength of Xia Shenji''s Shenwu World. This had to be The Abandoned''s most powerful knife attack. This attack brought out dozens of des at the same time, and they attacked from every direction.

    How had the man pulled this attack off?

    Hongyan Mavis looked up as she took a step forward. Ripples spread out from her body, and they swept through the entire cave, shattering all of the short des that had formed from the white liquid.

    In a corner of the cave, The Abandoned''s pupils contracted. He could not win. He quickly stepped back onto the teleportation device to escape, but the grass covering the device prevented it from activating. When the man tried to tear the void open in order to escape, a hand was already gripping his shoulder.

    Lu Yin had caught The Abandoned.

    The Abandoned could stay one step ahead of his opponents, but Hongyan Mavis''s strength had already pushed all of the sequence particles away, which meant that The Abandoned could not use them. He was no longer able to perceive Lu Yin when the young man moved at the speed of time.

    The moment the man sensed Lu Yin¡¯s hand on his shoulder, The Abandoned froze. He could tell that it would be impossible to ovee the young man¡¯s strength. The Abandoned had always been able to stay one step ahead of his opponents by using his sequence particles, but without ess to hisw of the universe, hecked the power to make up for the difference in raw strength.

    The Abandoned lowered his arm, a cold expression on his face.

    Lu Yin continued to hold the man¡¯s shoulder. "I tried talking to you nicely, but you wouldn''t listen. Aeternus has dered a Divine Commandment, and they are gathering their full power to destroy all human civilizations. Do you really think that you can keep fighting on your own? If multiple experts as strong as Arrow God ambush you, do you think that you can escape?"

    The Abandoned replied in a mocking tone, "I''ve always known that I''d eventually die. It doesn''t matter."

    "Then make your death mean something. I can find a ce worthy of your death. For now, you can''t die. Join us in fighting against Aeternus. I¡¯ll let you keep targeting Arrow God, and there will even be someone to protect you from her attacks. As for killing her, that will be up to you." With that, Lu Yin released the man¡¯s shoulder.

    The Abandoned looked over at Hongyan Mavis. "Who¡¯s she?"

    If not for Hongyan Mavis, The Abandoned was confident that Lu Yin would not have been able to stop him from leaving.

    Making a disy of physical strength visible was rtively simple, but having the raw strength to repel sequence particles was absolutely terrifying. The Abandoned had never encountered anyone with such formidable power before.

    Lu Yinughed. "How could I get you to stick around without bringing a powerhouse with me? Come with me to the Heavens Sect."

    The Abandoned sighed. "Do I even have a choice?"

    "I remember now! This is Mirrorbane," Hongyan Mavismented excitedly as she stared at the milky white liquid on the ground.

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "What''s Mirrorbane?"

    Hongyan Mavis turned to The Abandoned. "Is this the substance that returns your exact attack back to you if you hit it?"

    The Abandoned nodded. "Yes. I discovered it by ident. It''s rather odd, but no one besides me seems to know how to use it."

    The man grew much more curious about Hongyan Mavis. She had mentioned earlier that it would be appropriate to call her ¡°Ancestor¡± due to her age. Just how long had she lived for?

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. "Sure enough, it''s Mirrorbane. I never thought that I''d see this again."

    "Senior, can you exin?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Hongyan Mavis answeed, "We call this substance Mirrorbane. It''s the pettiest substance in existence. If you hit it, it will always retaliate perfectly. If you stab it with a knife, it will transform into a knife and stab you back. That''s why so many knives appeared earlier, which I understand now."

    She looked back at The Abandoned. "You really know how to use this well."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Is what you said true?"

    Hongyan Mavis flicked a drop of the liquid into the air, where it transformed into a t ne.

    Lu Yin bent a finger and flicked the liquid. The moment his finger struck, the ne transformed into a bent finger that struck back at Lu Yin.

    The force of the counterattack was exactly the same as his own. This was truly remarkable.

    He looked at The Abandoned. "I understand that the des that appeared are the attacks that you used earlier, but aren¡¯t the attacks supposed to target whoever made them? Why did it attack us?"

    He suddenly realized something. "The direction?"

    The Abandoned nodded. "It''s not alive, and there¡¯s no intelligence behind its reactions. It simply retaliates in a given direction. When I attacked it, I attacked it from your direction, so its retaliation was aimed towards you."

    Lu Yin was amazed. There truly were countless wonders in existence, and this Mirrorbane was clearly one of them.

    "In the past, whenever we got bored of cultivating, we all yed with this stuff." Hongyan Mavis grew nostalgic as she crouched down and pulled up a bit of the liquid. "But as time passed and our cultivation improved, this stuff wasn¡¯t able to keep up. It couldn''t withstand the power of our attackster on, so we eventually stopped ying with it."

    Lu Yin asked, "What''s the maximum amount of force that it can counter?"

    The Abandoned replied, "It can withstand my full-strength attacks, but when I tried attacking it twice at the same time, it could no longer handle it."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "That''s still very impressive. After all, you''re a sequence powerhouse, and there¡¯s not much that can withstand one of your full-powered attacks."

    Hongyan Mavis jumped in. "While it¡¯s better than nothing, it¡¯s useless against people at our level of strength. I¡¯m just taking a bit for the memories."

    Lu Yin also collected some of the liquid. He was able to upgrade things, so if he could Enhance the white liquid to the point where it could withstand attacks from the Three Realms and Six Daos, or even stronger attacks, it would be invaluable.

    He was curious to see if it could be improved.

    After leading The Abandoned back to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin decided to check on the Nine-Star Civilization, as he had no idea how they were doing.

    He was particrly interested in their nine-star technique, Restart. If Kakawen had not used Restart, destroying his universe in the process, Xu Jin would not have been gravely wounded, and it would have been far more difficult for Lu Yin to have killed the eyeball.

    The Nine-Star Civilization was fundamentally different from Ye Wu and The Abandoned.

    Their universe had been utterly destroyed. It had been reduced to a dark, chaotic realm that was devoid of anything. It was as though Restart had taken everything in the universe away with it.

    The Nine-Star Civilization had moved to a parallel universe that was connected to their old universe, though the only thing that remained was their Star Capital.

    Star Capital was a vast city, but it had been impossible to save everyone in the Nine-Star Civilization from the destruction of Restart.

    The civilization had suffered unbelievable losses.

    Lu Yin''s arrival created an uproar in the Nine-Star Civilization. Everyone felt grateful to him, as if not for his efforts, all of them would have been captured by Aeternus.

    "On behalf of the Nine-Star Civilization, I, Mimina, wee you, Lord Lu!" Mimina announced.

    "Wee, Lord Lu," everyone in Star Capital echoed the woman¡¯s words.

    "Wee, Lord Lu..."

    Lu Yin had not expected such an overwhelming reception. "Mimina, there''s no need for things to be so formal. Please, everyone, rx."

    "Thank you, Lord Lu..." The entire city trembled with excitement.

    The Nine-Star Civilization was genuinely grateful to Lu Yin. He had given their people a chance to survive. Their gratitude had also been strengthened by people like Wuwude, who had been very proactive in sharing an ount of what had happened.

    Everyone had their own agendas, and Wuwude was hoping to ensure that Lu Yin would feel the genuine respect and admiration of the Nine-Star Civilization. This would hopefully draw the Heavens Sect''s attention, and then they might offer further support for their Nine-Star Civilization. Wei Rong had already mentioned this to Lu Yin, as such motivations werepletely transparent to Wei Rong.

    Lu Yin was not offended at all. Everyone needed to consider their own civilization''s survival and what was best for them, and Wuwude was not plotting against Lu Yin in any way.

    The people of the Nine-Star Civilization were sincere in their admiration for Lu Yin, and he also did not mind helping them.

    Starting in the same simple room at the bottom of the bell tower, Mimina apanied Lu Yin up the familiar stairs. They walked this path out of respect for Kakawen. In this ce, both Mentors and students were treated equally, and they all acted as ordinary humans.

    After pushing the ancient wooden door open to the familiar room within, Lu Yin sighed. "This ce is still the same, even when the people are gone."

    Sadness painted Mimina''s face. "Mentor Kakawen always knew that this day woulde. He said that, when his time was up, he would make sure to enter Aeternus¡¯s territory to release Restart. It was intended to be the final sh of brilliance for his life. Unfortunately, before that day arrived, our Nine-Star Civilization needed someone else who could use Restart to appear. Without that insurance, our entire civilization would copse with Mentor Kakawen¡¯s death.

    "We never expected Aeternus to act so quickly."

    Lu Yin sat down at the exact same ce where he had sat during hisst visit to the room. "Mentor Kakawen was a respected senior, and he deserved our admiration."

    He looked over at Mimina. "Your Nine-Star Civilization has another powerhouse in the Immemorial Citadel. His name is Babal, correct?"

    Mimina nodded. "Mentor Babal and Mentor Kakawen were the oldest powerhouses in our Nine-Star Civilization. Originally, Mentor Kakawen could also have gone to the Immemorial Citadel, but one of them needed to stay here.

    "Lord Lu, once again, I want to thank you for helping my Nine-Star Civilization." The woman then offered a deep bow.

    Lu Yin raised a hand in protest. "There¡¯s no need for that as we¡¯re allies. I even came here to invite your Nine-Star Civilization to participate in the uing military deration that my Heavens Sect is hosting."

    Mimina was puzzled. "Military deration?"

    Lu Yin exined, "We¡¯ll be announcing and demonstrating to all parallel universes that the Heavens Sect has no equal and that we will fight Aeternus to the death."

    Mimina''s eyes zed with determination. "The Nine-Star Civilization will stand with you. There¡¯s no question about that."

    Lu Yin nodded. "We have a date, so just decide who will attend. However, there is one thing that I need to rify.

    "The martial deration''s entire purpose is to demonstrate our strength. There are going to be some positions that can only be determined by individual strength, not by the strength of one¡¯s civilization."

    Mimina was taken aback. "Solely by personal strength?"

    Lu Yin continued, "I know that your Nine-Star Civilization will produce someone else who can use Restart, but until that happens, there are certain positions that will remain unavable to your people, not until such a person appears.

    "Many outside civilizations have allied with us, but most are merely allies. Before they achieve a certain level of power, they won¡¯t be able to participate in military announcement and will only be allowed to observe."

    Mimina exhaled. "I see. However, Lord Lu, I can use Restart."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "You can use Restart?"

    Mimina nodded solemnly. "It would cost me my life, but that is my path. Seeing the brilliance of Restart allowed me to take thatst step. It was only at that moment that I understood that the final step one must take to be able to use Restart is to actually witness it.

    "Only by seeing Restart can one reach the state necessary to use it themselves."

    Lu Yin praised the woman, "I see. In that case, congrattions, Mimina. You have be the new Mentor of your Nine-Star Civilization."

    Mimina smiled bitterly. "I wish Mentor Kakawen were still here."

    Lu Yin stood and walked over to the window. "Mentor Kakawen''s dying wish was to save your Nine-Star Civilization and raise up another who can use Restart. He¡¯s achieved both of those things and can rest in peace."

    Lu Yin then looked upwards and stared at the sky. Suddenly, he froze. This was a familiar sight, but where had he seen it before?

    "Lord Lu-" Mimina began, but Lu Yin raised a hand to stop her. He continued to stare at the sky. He knew that he had seen it somewhere before. It was this exact same scene, from this exact same angle. The stars were the same, as well as the windowsill in his peripheral vision. The corner of the clock tower visible above him was the same, and even the distant houses were no different. He had seen this exact same sight before.

    Had it been during his first visit, when he had met Kakawen? No, Lu Yin had not looked out the window during that meeting.

    Suddenly, it hit him; he had seen this scene while fishing in the River of Time.

 Chapter 3168: Finding Out

    <h4>Chapter 3168: Finding Out</h4>

    The droplets that Lu Yin had fished out of the River of Time were actually moments of time that had been separated from the River of Time. They were moments when time had been frozen, skipped, or when someone had moved at the speed of time. Why would this particr scene have appeared from the River of Time? Lu Yin still remembered when the droplet had been absorbed by Lightstream andpletely removed from the River of Time.

    "Are there any experts in your Nine-Star Civilization who can use the power of time?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mimina shook her head. "No."

    "What about Mentor Kakawen?"

    "Mentor never touched the power of time, I¡¯m certain of that. However, for someone at his level of power, not even the power of time could have easily breached his Supreme Shield."

    Lu Yin was not interested in that. He had simply wanted to know if Kakawen had ever touched upon the power of time.

    If neither Kakawen nor anyone else from the Nine-Star Civilization had ever touched upon the power of time, then who had stood at the tower¡¯s window and looked out? Why had this scene been a moment that had been removed from the River of Time?

    With that question in mind, Lightstream appeared, and it took on the form of a small boat as it moved around the area, revealing the past to Lu Yin.

    Mimina watched the glowing boat with curiosity, as she could not understand what she was seeing.

    Lu Yin did not move as he observed the past. He was hoping to find some sort of clue.

    Someone had stood within the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s Star Capital and looked out the window in this tower. Who could it have been? Why had they stood there? If they had looked out that window once, then they might have done so a second or a third time, especially if Lu Yin''s presence had attracted their attention.

    Lu Yin looked back 500 seconds, but found nothing. He continued on to 1,000 seconds, but there was still nothing. He pressed on, reaching 1,500 seconds, 2,000 seconds, and finally 3,000 seconds. At that point, a figure appeared in the scene. Lu Yin continued to observe the past, focusing on the figure. The figure appeared in the room very abruptly and took a few steps, but they did not approach the window. After taking a few more steps, the figure vanished again.

    Lightstream returned to Lu Yin¡¯s body, and his expression fell. He had seen the Purple Emperor.

    It waspletely unexpected for the Purple Emperor to be the one in the room.

    Why had the Purple Emperor visited this particr room? That creature was one of Aeternus¡¯s outsider powerhouse allies, and he had no connection to the Nine-Star Civilization. After the battle where several outsider powerhouses had attempted to kill Sovereign Dou Sheng, the Purple Emperor hadpletely vanished, and he had not been seen anywhere else.

    Even when the Heavens Sect had invaded the First Scourge and Aeternus had hired Astral Anura and the Star Devourer, the Purple Emperor had never shown up.

    Lu Yin had almost forgotten about the creature, but he had found it in the most unexpected ce; it was in the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s Star Capital, which had no connection to the creature.

    Lu Yin lifted a hand and made an image of the Purple Emperor in the air. "Have you ever seen this creature?"

    Mimina looked at the image for a moment, but shook her head. "No, never."

    Sure enough, there was no connection. The Purple Emperor had to be in the Nine-Star Civilization because of something concerning Aeternus.

    What were the Aeternals nning?

    If not for serendipitously seeing the Purple Emperor''s viewpoint from the windowsill while fishing in the River of Time, Lu Yin would have never suspected such a thing. The Purple Emperor had hidden himself very well, and Lu Yin would never have guessed that he was here.

    It could be said that the Purple Emperor was simply unlucky. He had looked out the window through folded time, and doing so had removed that moment from the River of Time. Lu Yin had just happened to fish that exact moment out.

    The Purple Emperor definitely knew that Lu Yin was in Star Capital, but the creature would never dare to observe Lu Yin, as he was terrified that Lu Yin would notice him.

    Something had to be going on in the Nine-Star Civilization.

    The situation had be clear. The Purple Emperor believed that he was hidden while Lu Yin was exposed. But in truth, Lu Yin was hidden while the Purple Emperor had been exposed. The only challenge was locating him.

    "Mimina, I remember that you once found me and the others by using Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion. Can that technique be used to find anything within its range?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mimina nodded. "Yes, you could say it like that."

    "Then use it now." Lu Yin''s eyes lit up.

    He could not search for the Purple Emperor himself, as doing so would cause the creature to instantly flee, but Mimina was different. She could simply use one of her techniques within her own city, which would not be unusual. She often did so when teaching students.

    Shortly thereafter, Lu Yin publicly bade the Nine-Star Civilization farewell and left their universe.

    Star Capital¡¯s entire poption saw him off.

    In a dark corner of Star Capital, a figure stood, motionless. It was not watching, and it was frozen like a statue.

    This figure was the Purple Emperor. The creature was humanoid, though with antennae and a solitary white eye with a slitted pupil that took up most of his face.

    Originally, he had had no connection with the Nine-Star Civilization and had not even been aware of the human civilization, but one day, Aeternus had sought out the Purple Emperor and told him to stay in the Nine-Star Civilization¡¯s universe. The Purple Emperor was to do nothing more than ensure that he was not discovered.

    The Purple Emperor did not know what the Aeternals were nning, but there was no one in the Nine-Star Civilization who could pose any threat to him. So, he had not minded agreeing to the task. Besides, after attacking Sovereign Dou Sheng, the Purple Emperor would have died if he had not been saved by the Aeternals, which made it difficult to refuse them.

    He had not spent much time in the Star Capital, but he had made it a point to visit many ces and to familiarize himself with the civilization and the universe.

    In particr, he was fascinated by the clock tower. While everyone else needed to climb to the top one step at a time, the Purple Emperor could simply tear through space and instantly reach the top. This difference gave the creature a sense of superiority. After all, the Aeternals regarded the Nine-Star Civilization quite highly, and this helped boost the Purple Emperor¡¯s ego. Every time he ascended to the top of the clock tower, he felt as though he was trampling on the entire civilization.

    He frequently entered the top room, and he sometimes even spent an entire day up there. asionally he practiced folding time, and he found it quite pleasant to spend time in the room.

    He had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly visit.

    The Purple Emperor hated Lu Yin. If not for the young human, the ambush on Sovereign Dou Sheng would have gone very differently. However, without Lu Yin, the Sovereign would have been forced to reveal his true strength, and the Purple Emperor would likely have died. For this reason, the creature could not decide whether he should feel grateful or resentful towards Lu Yin.

    But it did not really matter, as Lu Yin was an enemy.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived in the Star Capital, the Purple Emperor had stopped moving, as he was terrified of being noticed. Powerhouses like Lu Yin were extremely sensitive to being observed, so the Purple Emperor had remained as motionless as a statue until Lu Yin left.

    Only after Lu Yin had left did Purple Emperor turn and peer into the distance.

    He quickly returned to the top of the clock tower and looked down upon the entire Star Capital.

    It could see the excited discussions taking ce between the students down below, Mimina, Wuwude, and various cultivators from the Nine-Star Civilization.

    At that moment, the slitted scarlet eye it carried started to glow; there was a message from Aeternus.

    "On the day that the Heavens Sect releases their military deration, ughter everyone in the Nine-Star Civilization."

    Aeternus had given him a mission, and the Purple Emperor finally understood why he had been sent to this universe.

    The Heavens Sect had released the date for their uing announcement, and that was the day on which the Purple Emperor was to massacre the Nine-Star Civilization. Aeternus was preparing a gift for the Heavens Sect.

    Truthfully, the Purple Emperor did not want to carry out this mission. Doing so would make it a mortal enemy of the Heavens Sect. However, refusing would force him to give an exnation to Aeternus.

    The Purple Emperor was trapped. It would either be hunted by the Heavens Sect, or by the Aeternals. There was no third option.

    Ultimately, he decided to massacre the Nine-Star Civilization.

    The scheduled military announcement was intended to be a day for the Heavens Sect to showcase its power, but for the Nine-Star Civilization, it would be the announcement of their deaths.

    The Purple Emperor looked up at the clock. Time was running out.

    Mimina walked through the academy, gathering a group of students to whom she would demonstrate the power of Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion to. Those who she gathered felt puzzled.

    None of them were close to being able to use Senluo¡¯s Light of Annihtion, as it was a six-star technique. Very few people in the entire Nine-Star Civilization had such strength.

    Still, Mimina continued her lecture. "It looks like you can''t understand simply by listening, so I¡¯ll give you a demonstration."

    Her hand rose, and she used a piece of wood to draw a constetion in the air. As six points that represented stars were connected, beams of light shot out from the academy, sweeping across the entire Star Capital.

    The Purple Emperor frowned. What was going on?

    One beam of light swept over the clock tower. Mimina paused, but she betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

    The Purple Emperor grew uneasy and decided to change locations.

    Just as it was about to move, another beam of light shot straight at the creature.

    The Purple Emperor quickly folded time to avoid the beam, sensing that something was wrong.

    Lu Yin abruptly appeared right behind the Purple Emperor, arriving by moving at the speed of time. As the Purple Emperor tried to fold time, Lu Yin took out Evernight.

    Instantly, both the Purple Emperor and Lu Yin disappeared, leaving nothing behind but a gust of wind.

    Inside Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension, the Purple Emperor was startled. Where was he?

    He looked around and saw a shadowy figure shrouded in the darkness. As the figure approached, it became clear: Lu Yin.

    "Lu Yin?" The Purple Emperor was terrified.

    Lu Yin looked at the creature. "It¡¯s been a long time. I never thought that you would be hiding in the Nine-Star Civilization."

    The Purple Emperor tried to break out of Evernight. If he had been captured in Evernight before it was Enhanced, the creature would have escaped.

    Unfortunately, the card was powerful enough to even trap a sequence powerhouse like the Purple Emperor without any assistance.

    The Purple Emperor could escape, but it would not be easy. If Lu Yin interfered, it would be far more challenging.

    Lu Yin spread his hands, and the darkness within Evernight converged. "Dark Pce."

    This was Evernight¡¯s trap. It used darkness to imprison and incinerate a prisoner. This was the Dark Pce.

    Endless darkness enveloped the Purple Emperor. It was not fire, but was somehow even more intense. The darkness formed a cage that burned. It was like a pce formed from ck mes.

    The Purple Emperor could not stop this attack. The moment it had entered Evernight, it had been surrounded by darkness. Trying to break free from the darkness was futile.

    Even when deprived of its sequence particles while within Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension, the Purple Emperor still possessed enough physical strength to fight against Sovereign Dou Sheng, but it was useless against the burning darkness.

    "Lu Yin, you''re despicable! You¡¯re using a tool like this to win? Despicable!" the Purple Emperor shouted.

    Lu Yin watched as the Purple Emperor burned in the darkness. This was his first time using the Dark Pce, and it was working exceptionally well.

    Before the card was Enhanced, Lu Yin would not have been able to pull out such power from the Dark Pce before he reached Great Elder Shan Gu¡¯s level of strength. But after the upgrade, the trap possessed enough power on its own.

    Even if Lu Yin was unable to strengthen himself, he could still Enhance his card. He found that his approach was proving to be quite effective.

    The Purple Emperor screamed, the burning darkness robbing it of light while lowering his resistance to the me. His body grew weaker as he suffered unimaginable torture.

    Lu Yin did not personally know what it felt like to burn from the darkness, but it appeared to be quite miserable.

    "Lu Yin, let me go! I surrender! I''ll help you humans fight against Aeternus! I''ll help you!" the Purple Emperor pleaded.

    Lu Yin was unphased and said nothing. To ensure loyalty, he needed to use the Champions¡¯ Stage to anoint a new champion. The Purple Emperor would be a good addition.

    The Purple Emperor''s slitted white eye suddenly stared at Lu Yin as the creature tried to take control of him.

    In the past, he had used this ability to seize control of Sovereign Dou Sheng. Without Extremes Must Be Reversed, the Sovereign would not have survived.

    If Sovereign Dou Sheng was unable to resist this ability, there was no way that Lu Yin could.

 Chapter 3169: Solution

    <h4>Chapter 3169: Solution</h4>

    Lu Yin had never considered resisting the Purple Emperor¡¯s control. It did not matter if something took control of Lu Yin, as the Dark Pce would continue to automatically attack regardless of what he did.

    The Purple Emperor stared at Lu Yin. He had initially believed that controlling the human would stop the dark mes, but the mes continued to burn. He continued to suffer continued as his strength waned.

    At this moment, Lu Yin discovered something remarkable. The Purple Emperor''s ability to control others seemed to be based on the power of consciousness.

    He had already known that the Purple Emperor could control others with his slitted white eye, but Lu Yin had assumed that it was an innate gift. As Lu Yin found himself falling under the Purple Emperor¡¯s control, his fractured star of consciousness slowly started to rotate, and it drew the Purple Emperor''s consciousness towards it.

    Lu Yin was thrilled by this unexpected development.

    The Purple Emperor sensed that his consciousness was being pulled somewhere, and he quickly tried to retract it.

    Lu Yin was cautious, but he could not allow this to happen. Because of the fractured state of his star of consciousness, he was unable to forcibly extract the Purple Emperor''s consciousness. If the Purple Emperor abandoned his attempt to control Lu Yin, he would not be able to consume his consciousness. Worse, Lu Yin had no idea how long the star of consciousness would take to recover on its own.

    Thinking quickly, he directly took over the Dark Pce and stopped it from burning its prisoner.

    Lu Yin was unable to control the destructive power of the Dark Pce, but he could at least stop it for a time.

    As the dark mes stopped burning, the Purple Emperor looked around in confusion. What was happening? Did controlling Lu Yin actually work?

    He immediately tried to tear through the void to escape from Evernight, but the moment that happened, Lu Yin let the Dark Pce¡¯s burning resume, and the Purple Emperor¡¯s suffering returned. The creature immediately tried to seize control of Lu Yin again in order to stop the burning. This process repeated again and again, like a never-ending cycle.

    The Purple Emperor could not abandon his attempts to control Lu Yin. Only by doing so could he find momentary relief, even if he knew that Lu Yin was harvesting his consciousness. He simply had no choice in the matter.

    Lu Yin continued to control the Dark Pce, granting the Purple Emperor brief moments of respite, but not giving him any opportunities to escape.

    Lu Yin was quite familiar with this process, as he had dealt with both the Chiliagonist and Xu Jin in a simr manner.

    He found that he was quite adept at this strategy.

    The Purple Emperor possessed an incredibly robust consciousness. Although his power was not as vast as Xu Jin''s, he had still seeded in controlling Sovereign Dou Sheng, which suggested that he was much more powerful than the Chiliagonist.

    Lu Yin''s star of consciousness slowly recovered as it absorbed the Purple Emperor''s consciousness. As this happened, the Purple Emperor felt like he was getting closer and closer to breaking free from Evernight.

    Throughout the process, the Purple Emperor repeatedly tried to persuade Lu Yin to release him by offering to switch sides, and even providing valuable information regarding various outsider powerhouses. This included not only Aeternus¡¯s allies, but also their enemies.

    In an attempt to earn Lu Yin''s trust, the Purple Emperor even revealed the mission that he had been given in regards to the Nine-Star Civilization.

    Lu Yin was rmed to learn that Aeternus had ordered the Purple Emperor to massacre the Nine-Star Civilization on the day of the Heavens Sect¡¯s uing military deration.

    This announcement was intended to be a demonstration of the Heavens Sect¡¯s power to the entire megaverse, which included countless parallel universes. The Heavens Sect had gone to great lengths to extend its influence as far as possible, but if the Nine-Star Civilization was exterminated on the day of their grand deration, it would be a permanent stain on the Heavens Sect''s reputation, and would subject them to the ridicule of countless beings.

    The consequences would be dire.

    For the Heavens Sect, the destruction of the Nine-Star Civilization would greatly harm their future alliances, and for the Nine-Star Civilization, it would be total annihtion. While Aeternus had ordered the massacre, Lu Yin knew that he would also be indirectly responsible.

    Aeternus was only targeting the Nine-Star Civilization because of its alliance with the Heavens Sect.

    If they carried out this massacre, there was no question that the Heavens Sect would struggle to form alliances in the future.

    Lu Yin was relieved that he had glimpsed the Purple Emperor¡¯s perspective while folding time. If not for that coincidence, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

    "Lord Lu, I promise that I never intended to carry out the ughter. I know that doing so would only result in me being relentlessly pursued by humanity until my death. Unless humanity is exterminated, I would never have a moment¡¯s peace. I always intended to leave this ce. If you release me, I won''t say anything to Aeternus and will instead help you humans and the Heavens Sect from now on," the Purple Emperor pleaded.

    Lu Yin scrutinized the creature. "You really never intended to massacre the Nine-Star Civilization?"

    The Purple Emperor swore an oath, "Absolutely not, Lord Lu! You must believe me. I can''t risk being hunted by humanity. You have fought Aeternus to a standstill. I may fear Aeternus, but I am also afraid of humanity. I don''t want to be hunted down and killed."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Alright, surrender your consciousness to me, and I''ll let you go."

    The Purple Emperor''s expression changed. "Lord Lu, without my consciousness, I will lose my power. Please, spare me. From now on, I''ll do whatever youmand."

    At this moment, Lu Yin was still under the creature¡¯s control, and his star of consciousness was still devouring the Purple Emperor¡¯s consciousness. However, there was still a great deal more to go before he could fully usurp all of his power.

    "If you don¡¯t surrender your consciousness, how can I ever trust you?" Lu Yin countered.

    The Purple Emperor''s voice dropped low. "Lord Lu, do you really want to force me to die?"

    Lu Yin remained calm. "I''ve already given you a chance. You just need to seize it."

    The Purple Emperor roared, "My consciousness is everything to me! Without it, my ability will bepletely useless! Do you know how many times my ability to control others has saved me? Lu Yin, I''ll say it again¡ªrelease me, and I''ll help you fight against Aeternus. If you refuse, I''ll fight to the end. This dark space might not be able to hold me, and if I manage to escape, you will never know peace!"

    Lu Yin shook his head. "In that case, you can just die."

    With that, the dark mes resumed their burning. The cycle continued to repeat; the Purple Emperor tried to escape by taking control of Lu Yin, despite knowing full well that he might not actually be controlling the human. Regardless, this was the only way he could stop the ck mes and try to find an opening to escape. At the same time, Lu Yin continued to devour the creature¡¯s consciousness.

    It was a race to see who could act faster.

    Inside Evernight, silence reigned. The Purple Emperor focused entirely on escaping, while Lu Yin concentrated on devouring consciousness.

    Finally, a light pierced the darkness, and the Purple Emperor rejoiced; he had broken through. He leaped forward, escaping from Evernight and returning to the room in the clock tower.

    Lu Yin watched as the Purple Emperor left, but contempt covered his features. "Your opponent isn''t just me, but rather the entire Heavens Sect."

    The Purple Emperor appeared back in the room, and he rushed to leave. But at that moment, a hand mped onto his shoulder. "Little one, where do you think you''re going?"

    The Purple Emperor immediately tried to fold time, but the very next moment, his sequence particles were scattered apart, dispersed by the person behind it.

    Stunned and in disbelief, the creature slowly turned around. Who could it be?

    A woman was smiling at the Purple Emperor. Despite her gentle appearance, the hand holding onto his shoulder possessed a terrifying strength.

    The Purple Emperor was confident that he could even challenge Sovereign Dou Shen when it came to physical strength, but this woman was firmly holding him in ce.

    "Who are you?" the Purple Emperor demanded. Fear crept into his voice.

    Lu Yin emerged from Evernight. "Allow me to introduce her. This is one of the Three Realms and Six Daos of our Origin Universe, Hongyan Mavis."

    Simply hearing the title "Three Realms and Six Daos" left the Purple Emperor stunned.

    He stared at Hongyan Mavis, confused. Those individuals were legendary figures that should only exist in ancient myths. Even if they did reappear, why would they go after him, the Purple Emperor? The creature suddenly felt as though he was being bullied.

    This was rather ironic. The mighty Purple Emperor, a famous outsider powerhouse, a sequence powerhouse who had once dared to ambush Sovereign Dou Sheng, someone who was qualified to negotiate with Aeternus, was feeling bullied.

    It was an urate assessment, as he was indeed being bullied.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled at the Purple Emperor. "You¡¯re a curious creature. An alien life form? During our era, there were countless outsider powerhouses who wanted to join the Origin Universe, but never qualified to do so. Now, such creatures dare to attack my Origin Universe."

    "I didn''t," the Purple Emperor reflexively responded, which caused Lu Yin to crack a smile.

    Hongyan Mavis squeezed harder, and the Purple Emperor''s shoulder dropped a bit further.

    "Senior, I never attacked the Origin Universe! Never!" The Purple Emperor''s voice grew hoarse. While the single, white slitted eye on his face made his facial expressions indiscernible, his tone exposed his fear.

    To remain fearless, conviction was needed.

    There were humans who possessed such conviction, and that allowed many of them to face the prospect of death calmly. Mere beastscked that conviction, as they werepletely driven by instinct, and no level of cultivation could ovee that.

    There were certainly exceptions to this, but the Purple Emperor was not one of them.

    "You should have called me earlier. Why did you drag it into that card to fight it?" Hongyan Mavis inquired curiously.

    Lu Yin replied, "I needed to test the power of Evernight. I managed to gain something quite valuable, as my injuries have been mostly healed."

    He was referring to his star of consciousness.

    His star of consciousness had cracked from True God''s attack, but it had noticeably recovered, though there were still a few fractures. Lu Yin finally had hope of fully recovering, whereas in the past, he had had no idea how long it would take.

    The Purple Emperor pleaded, "I''m willing to join you humans. Lord Lu, I''ll do whatever you say."

    "Give me your consciousness first," Lu Yin demanded.

    The Purple Emperor looked distressed. "There''s hardly any left."

    Lu Yin stared at the creature. "In that case, let me ask you a question. How much human blood have you shed?"

    The Purple Emperor hesitated, unsure how to respond. In the end, silence was his answer.

    Without waiting for Lu Yin to respond, Hongyan Mavis applied greater force and shattered half of the Purple Emperor''s body. Lu Yin seized the opportunity to m a powerful palm strike against the Purple Emperor''s forehead, killing him.

    Hongyan Mavis rxed her grip. "Little Seven, a creature like this can¡¯t be used."

    "That won¡¯t affect my control." Lu Yin smiled as he brought out his Champions¡¯ Stage and anointed the Purple Emperor.

    The process proceeded smoothly. There were no issues.

    Given Lu Yin''s current strength, he could easily defeat the Purple Emperor in a one-on-one battle. The Purple Emperor had not been strong enough topare to the Seven Skygods, and just Lu Yin¡¯s fatesand continent alone would have utterly crushed the creature. Even within Evernight, if Lu Yin had not been focused on usurping the creature¡¯s consciousness, the Purple Emperor would have long since been burned to death by the darkness.

    Lu Yin let out a long breath as he stared at the image of the Purple Emperor on the Champions¡¯ Stage.

    How many outsider powerhouses had allied with Aeternus? One by one, Lu Yin would kill them all. His next target was Astral Anura. That old toad presented a formidable obstacle.

    With the Purple Emperor dealt with, Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Were the Aeternals only targeting the Nine-Star Civilization during the Heavens Sect¡¯s forting deration? Lu Yin felt worried, so he sent experts to scout the entire Sixverse Association and all of their allied outsider universes. To his surprise, several hidden plots were discovered.

    Aeternus had not just been targeting the Nine-Star Civilization.

    The Nine-Star Civilization had been intended to be the heaviest blow, but several other outsider civilizations were being watched by either Aeternus or their allies. If not for the peak powerhouses investigating these universes, the danger would have remained hidden.

    Fortunately, the threats had been neutralized.

    The Aeternals might have more tricks up their sleeve, but Lu Yin was not without his own countermeasures.

    He had prepared a special gift for them during the military deration.

    ...

 Chapter 3170: Military Declaration

    <h4>Chapter 3170: Military Deration</h4>

    Monthster, a grand bell rang across the entire cosmos.

    Next to the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao both stretched out as they let out earth-shattering roars and fully disyed their strength as Progenitor-level beasts.

    Clouds swirled through outer space, spreading a majestic aura throughout the universe.

    On this day, all eyes were focused on the Heavens Sect. On this day, the entire Sixverse Association fell silent.

    As the bell''s chimes subsided, the endless clouds spread out and reached towards nearby stars.

    One cloud connected to the Arboreal Realm, another to the Voidforce Universe, another to the Lost n''s universe, another to the Infinity Empire''s universe, another to the Luna Alliance''s universe, another to the Five Spirits Alliance''s universes, and others to...

    Each cloud represented a connection that had been established between the Origin Universe and a different parallel universe.

    Not all of these universes had joined the Heavens Sect, but for the war against Aeternus, all of them answered to the Heavens Sect¡¯s leadership, even the Five Spirits Alliance.

    Originally, not even Lu Yin had expected the Five Spirits Alliance to willingly connect their universes to the Origin Universe. This connection had been approved by Whitecloud City.

    Each cloud symbolized a parallel universe.

    Besides the well-known universes, many other parallel universes had also been connected to the Origin Universe. These universes might not hold great power, but Lu Yin sought to gather an overwhelming momentum by uniting endless universes. He wanted to produce enough shock and awe that even Aeternus would feel pressure, while also boosting the morale for the inhabitants of every allied universe.

    At this moment, everyone was stunned as they stared at the countless clouds drifting through space, as well as the cultivators from each parallel universe who were arriving at the Heavens Sect atop the clouds.

    "Is that Lord Mu Ke?" someone from the Arboreal Realm eximed as they watched Mu Ke stride across the clouds towards Heavens Sect.

    Xu Wuwei approached from the Voidforce Universe, and from the Lost n''s universe, Shan Zheng had appeared, followed by others.

    The Infinity Empire¡¯s colossal mechas all stood tall and imposing.

    The Scourge upation¡¯s representatives radiated a sense of violence and power.

    The Luna Alliance was represented by the breathtaking beauty of Moon Fairy and Moon Ghost.

    The people from the Nine-Star Civilization carried short wooden staves, which gave them a unique and exotic appearance.

    From God''s Domain, a number of their cultivators carried sculptures of the four elephants, and they were led by their Divine Maiden.

    Countless people across countless parallel universes were watching the spectacle in awe.

    Who else could unite so many parallel universes and gather so many experts with such vastly different cultivation methods? Such a sight had never been seen before.

    In the First Scourge, the Aeternals were also watching the scene y out.

    As Progenitor Xi stared at the Heavens Sect, she felt a bit of nostalgia as she was reminded of the sect¡¯s ancient glory. That had been a time when no external power had dared to interfere with the Origin Universe.

    The new Heavens Sect epassed all universes and all peoples.

    Lu Yin was different from the Origin Progenitor. The Origin Progenitor had single-handedly created a brilliant era, but no others had been tolerated.

    On the other hand, Lu Yin had received the help of countless individuals, and he had gradually risen up to his current strength and status.

    Beneath the cover of endless clouds, the Heavens Sect shone brilliantly.

    ¡°We pay our respects to Lord Lu.¡±

    ¡°We pay our respects to Lord Lu.¡±

    ¡°We pay our respects to Lord Lu.¡±

    ...

    Countless voices rose up to create a river of sound that caused the stars to tremble. Countless people raised their arms in excitement, eagerly watching the scene y out on their disys as they all awaited Lu Yin''s appearance.

    He had be a symbol of faith for humanity, as he embodied the reasons for their war and sacrifices.

    Everyone revered and respected the peerless leader.

    The stars in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe could epass all paths, and Lu Yin could traverse them all.

    Amidst the cheers, revelry, and shouts that rang out across multiple universes, Lu Yin slowly appeared in the Heavens Sect. His arrival instantly captured the attention of the entire megaverse. He took a step forward and entered the Heavens Sect¡¯s za, where he looked up to face the statue of the Origin Progenitor, to which he slowly bowed.

    "This junior, Lu Yin, being graced by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s favor, has rebuilt the Heavens Sect. Today, as the second master of the Heavens Sect, I dere that we have both external enemies and internal strife. I hereby announce themencement of this martial deration: the myriad universes will unite under the Heavens Sect." Every word Lu Yin spoke echoed through space, producing ripples in the Heavens Sect that spread out in every direction.

    This military announcement was a deration of the Heavens Sect¡¯s strength.

    The Heavens Sect represented all of humanity, and they were not only dering their strength to Aeternus, but to any creature that stood to oppose humanity. Any adversary of mankind would tremble from this promation of military might, and any true enemy would feel tremendous pressure.

    This was the pinnacle of human power in the current era.

    After speaking, Lu Yin stepped forward and started to climb the stairs that rose through the Heavens Sect. There was no one else in sight, and he walked up alone, step by step, until he arrived at the top and stood in front of the statue of the Origin Progenitor. After turning to face the outwards, he proimed, "Let this military announcement begin."

    With that powerful shout, countless figures stepped out of the void and entered the Heavens Sect, where they all bowed to Lu Yin. "We ask the Dao Monarch to proim the military announcement."

    "We ask the Dao Monarch to proim the military announcement."

    "We ask the Dao Monarch to proim the military announcement."

    ...

    Lu Yin stared out at the stars. "Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I announce that the Three Realms and Six Daos are to be given the task of threatening external enemies who attempt to suppress our people''s prosperity.

    ¡°Lu Yuan."

    A cloud bridge instantly connected to a location some unfathomable distance away.

    Lu Yuan walked out, crossing the distance with just one step. His Investiture of the Gods appeared, and his Champions¡¯ Stage circled around him. He was shrouded by a golden light as he entered the Heavens Sect. As he faced Lu Yin, Lu Yuan offered a slow bow. "Lu Yuan is here."

    "The Three Realms and Six Daos must return. You bear great responsibility."

    Lu Yuan solemnly replied, "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    He then started up the Stairway to Heaven, also walking one step at a time.

    Next, Lu Yin called out, "Hongyan Mavis."

    Another cloud bridge appeared, this one connecting to Ancestor Tortoise, and Hongyan Mavis stepped onto it. Behind her, the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree grew frantically while emitting a ringing sound. She took a step to enter the Heavens Sect and also bowed slowly. "Hongyan Mavis is here."

    Lu Yin gazed at Hongyan Mavis. "The Three Realms and Six Daos must return. You bear equally great responsibility."

    Hongyan Mavis solemnly replied, "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    She then climbed up the Stairway to Heaven to stand level with Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin looked out into space. "The Three Realms and Six Daos are legendary figures, and they are not yet gone. One day, the Heavens Sect will bring back all Three Realms and Six Dao, weing the return of those senior powerhouses who sacrificed everything for humanity."

    Countless people excitedly cheered.

    The fact that the Heavens Sect had two legendary powerhouses, not just Lu Yuan alone, was already enough to intimidate the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. Seeing two figures from the ancient myths appear in the Heavens Sect of today had created immense shockwaves.

    Not everyone had known of Hongyan Mavis¡¯s return.

    Lu Yin once again looked out at the stars. "Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I announce the appointment of the Three Suns and Six Rulers to threaten our foreign enemies. They will serve as the sharp de of the Heavens Sect, invincible in all their endeavors.

    "Mu Shen."

    A cloud bridge connected the Heavens Sect to the Arboreal Realm. With Lu Yin''s shout, Mu Shen stepped forward, crossing the bridge and entering the Heavens Sect, where he bowed to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin addressed Mu Shen, "Today, you will be one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers of the Heavens Sect. I hope that you will y our foreign enemies and uphold the human legacy."

    Mu Shen bowed low. "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    The Three Suns and Six Rulers were newly created positions by Lu Yin, made solely for the reestablished Heavens Sect. They were intended to stand equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos, as challenging as that might be.

    The people who were being appointed as the Three Suns and Six Rulers still had room to grow and improve their strength, but they were already strong enough to intimidate outsiders.

    Each era had its own representative group. During the ancient Heavens Sect era, the Three Realms and Six Daos had been legends. Maintaining those positions in the new Heavens Sect was a nod of respect to the Origin Progenitor, an homage to the brilliance of the past, and also simple respect for both Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis.

    At the moment, none of the Three Suns and Six Rulers could measure up to the Three Realms and Six Daos. However, over the course of countless years, if the Three Suns and Six Rulers became legends as well, they would represent the current era.

    To truly contend with Aeternus, it was essential that humanity fully unite as one. Merely connecting parallel universes was far from enough. All of their most powerful people needed to have a sense of belonging in order for them to truly be a de against Aeternus.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was aplishing just that.

    In the First Scourge, Di Qiong clenched a fist. "The Three Suns and Six Rulers? Tasked with ying foreign enemies and upholding the human legacy? How arrogant."

    ckless God''s eyes spun, the ck lines in them exceptionally distinct. "This time, they¡¯re really making trouble. After this demonstration of power, humanity will reach an unprecedented degree of unity. It won¡¯t be easy to deal with them after this."

    Forgotten Ruins God had returned to the First Scourge, and she was also watching the scene. She let out a charmingugh. "That little fellow hasn¡¯t only ascended to stand on the highest stage, but has rather built another stage altogether! Impressive, hehe."

    Ancient God stared at the disy. He had taken particr note of the fact that the Three Realms and Six Daos had been retained. Was this acknowledging and respecting the past era?

    Progenitor Xi''s expression remained calm as she turned to look back at the ck Mother Tree. True God was also watching the disy, as was the Great Sovereign, from within a pir of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    What were those two thinking?

    Could the Heavens Sect truly regain its former glory? In that ancient era, no one had dared to act out towards the Heavens Sect. Even within the countless parallel universes and countless outsider powerhouses, any who encountered the Origin Universe had needed to bow to the Heavens Sect. It had been an era of unparalleled power.

    Was Lu Yin really trying to recreate that era?

    Impossible. People from other universes, such as Mu Shen, would not be able to support the rise of such a powerful entity.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin shouted, "Sovereign Dou Sheng."

    As he spoke, another cloud bridge spanned a vast distance, and Sovereign Dou Sheng appeared on it, to the astonishment of the entire Cyclic Universe.

    The Cyclic Universe had not been connected to the Origin Universe. They had their own pride, and with the Great Sovereign absent, there was no one who qualified to agree to such a connection.

    However, that was beside the point. What was important was that Sovereign Dou Sheng had just been summoned by Lu Yin. What did this mean? Had the Sovereign betrayed the Cyclic Universe?

    In the First Scourge, the Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes opened as she calmly stared at the distant disy.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng stepped onto the cloud bridge, wielding his golden cudgel. When he appeared outside the Heavens Sect, his Triumphant Brawl lit up his body. The golden radiance made the man look like a god of war, and a brilliant light filled the area.

    "Sovereign Dou Sheng is here."

    Lu Yin spoke to the man. "Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers. I hope that you will fight for the Heavens Sect and stand as humanity¡¯s vanguard."

    Sovereign Dou Sheng grinned broadly. "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    He then ascended the Stairway to Heaven.

    The people of the Sixverse Association were stunned into silence, though they soon erupted with a tremendous outburst of cheers.

    The Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had always represented an unreachable height of power for the universes of the Sixverse Association. No one had ever dared to ignore those individuals. It was precisely the existence of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages that the Cyclic Universe had always overshadowed the other members of the Sixverse Association.

    Of those powerhouses, there was no question that Sovereign Dou Sheng was the greatest of the Three Sovereigns, and he was known as the Sky Sovereign. He alone stood guard at the entrance to the First Scourge. Even the Aeternals were wary of the man, as he was almost impossible to kill.

    The respect that this man received was unimaginable.

    The sudden revtion that the Sovereign had been folded into the Heavens Sect left the Cyclic Universe stunned, though it also utterly invigorated the rest of the Sixverse Association.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng zed with an unyielding spirit. While he was not the ruler of a universe, he gave the people an entirely unique sort of excitement.

 Chapter 3171: Three Suns And Six Rulers

    <h4>Chapter 3171: Three Suns And Six Rulers</h4>

    Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue were standing in outer space, watching the proceedings in the Heavens Sect.

    ¡°Lu Yin really has quite a bit of charisma, doesn¡¯t he? He even managed to convince the stubborn Sovereign Dou Sheng to go over to his side. Sister, can humanity really rally behind him?¡± Jiang Chen remarked.

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s eyes sparkled as she stared at Lu Yin. He shone brilliantly where he stood at the top of the Heavens Sect. At this moment, he practically zed with glory.

    Through the spatial tunnels that pierced the void, parallel universes that had never interacted with the Origin Universe were watching through various means.

    The purpose of this day was to intimidate humanity¡¯s external enemies by demonstrating their unified determination. As one powerful human after another appeared and submitted to the Heavens Sects, hearts sank.

    Some of these observers were human, but most were not.

    The sight of humanity¡¯s united strength was intimidating to other species.

    ¡°Shan Gu,¡± Lu Yin called out.

    The Great Elder appeared on the cloud bridge that connected the Origin Universe to the Lost n¡¯s universe. The aura that his Heavenly King card gave off was so intense that it shattered the void as the man appeared. He took a step to enter the Heavens Sect, where he also bowed low to Lu Yin. ¡°Shan Gu is here.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Shan Gu. ¡°Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers. I hope that you will protect humanity and represent resilience and determination.¡±

    Shan Gu bowed again. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    He then climbed up the steps of the Heavenly Ladder.

    Lu Yin turned to look at another point in space. ¡°Lord Xu.¡±

    The Voidlord appeared and also crossed over the cloud bridge that connected to the Heavens Sect. The man was feeling rather emotional, as Lu Yin had previously been promised to make the man one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers.

    Lord Xu had never imagined that he would eventually receive a title from another, much less a mere child.

    He had once envied the titles of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and he had even suggested to the Great Sovereign that the Sixverse Association adopt simr titles, but the Great Sovereign had shown no interest in the idea. Her refusal had left Lord Xu disappointed for many years.

    When Lu Yin had mentioned the title of the Three Suns and Six Rulers, the old man had been ecstatic.

    He might be an ancient powerhouse, but the Voidlord¡¯s heart had remained youthful. To him, the title of the Three Suns and Six Rulers sounded more than grand and impressive enough.

    Additionally, receiving his title in front of the known megaverse meant that the matter would be passed down to future generations in countless universes.

    Lord Xu¡¯s status as the ruler of the Voidforce Universe might be forgotten outside of his universe after his death, but the title as one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers would be different.

    The Three Realms and Six Daos were still remembered and regarded as legends. Lord Xu also longed to be a legend.

    ¡°Lord Xu is here!¡±

    Lu Yin found the man¡¯s reaction amusing. It was unexpected that even an ancient powerhouse like Lord Xu would be excited about receiving a title. ¡°Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers. I hope that you will demonstrate humanity¡¯s might and decisiveness in battle and bring us evesting glory.¡±

    Lord Xu was thrilled. Hearing that his task was to "demonstrate humanity¡¯s might and decisiveness in battle and bring us evesting glory" sounded far more impressive than the tasks assigned to him in the past.

    He bowed deeply. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    He then also climbed the Stairway to Heaven. From this moment on, he would no longer be just the ruler of the Voidforce Universe, but also an elder of the Heavens Sect.

    He had never imagined that he would one day join the Heavens Sect.

    When the ancient Heavens Sect had been at its most glorious heights, he had wanted to join the sect, but he had been rejected. The reason had been simple: the Heavens Sect refused anyone from another universe. At that time, the sect had been powerful and invincible, and anyone who joined it had possessed the potential to be a legendary figure, but Lord Xu had not been given that opportunity.

    Finally, after so long, the Voidlord had finally joined.

    Lu Yin looked out into space. ¡°Lu Tianyi.¡±

    Lu Tianyi emerged from behind some clouds. He entered the Heavens Sect, bowed to Lu Yin, and said, ¡°Lu Tianyi is here.¡±

    Lu Yin solemnly dered, ¡°Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers. I hope that you will stand as humanity¡¯s guardian for ages toe.¡±

    Lu Tianyi bowed. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    Lu Yin watched as Lu Tianyi slowly ascended the Stairway to Heaven, and then he lifted his head to look out away from the Heavens Sect. ¡°Humans of this universe and those of other universes, anyone willing to join the Heavens Sect is wee. The Three Suns and Six Rulers¡¯ positions will all be filled in the future.

    ¡°Additionally, the Heavens Sect has established the positions of the Inner Eight Paths and the Outer Eight Paths.

    ¡°Shan Zheng.¡±

    Shan Zheng stepped out from the clouds connected to the Lost n¡¯s universe, and he also entered the Heavens Sect. ¡°Shan Zheng is here.¡±

    Lu Yin stared down at Shan Zheng. ¡°I, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, appoint you as one of the Inner Eight Paths, tasked with protecting the Heavens Sect.¡±

    Shan Zheng respectfully bowed. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    ¡°Mu Ke.¡±

    Mu Ke crossed over the clouds before bowing to Lu Yin. ¡°Mu Ke is here.¡±

    ¡°I, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, appoint you as one of the Inner Eight Paths, tasked with protecting the Heavens Sect.¡±

    Mu Ke bowed. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    ¡°Xu Wuwei.¡±

    Xu Wuwei crossed over the clouds, staring at Lu Yin. He had never expected that he would one day receive an appointment from this young man. In the past, the young man had used every means avable to join the Voidforce Universe, and Xu Wuwei had disliked him for being maniptive. He had never imagined that things would end up as they had. ¡°Xu Wuwei is here.¡±

    ¡°I, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, appoint you as one of the Inner Eight Paths, tasked with protecting the Heavens Sect.¡±

    Xu Wuwei bowed respectfully. ¡°As the Dao Monarchmands.¡±

    ¡°Progenitor Y¨­u Ming.¡±

    Big Sis emerged from the clouds and stepped into Heavens Sect with rare solemnity. "Progenitor Y¨­u Ming is here."

    Lu Yin looked at her. "I, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, appoint you as one of the Inner Eight Paths, tasked with protecting the Heavens Sect."

    Big Sis bowed. "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    Lu Yin looked out from the Heavens Sect again. "The Inner Eight Paths will bepleted in due time. Humans from other universes who share a bond with us are also wee to join."

    This deration opened the Heavens Sect up to the entire megaverse.

    Lu Yin was incapable of reproducing the peerless glory of the ancient Heavens Sect in the same manner as the Origin Progenitor. The young man¡¯s only option was to gather greater numbers to bridge the gap in power between the present and the past and crush Aeternus.

    "The Outer Eight Paths are positions that the Heavens Sect has created specifically for outsider powerhouses. They will not be considered a part of the Heavens Sect, but will rather serve in battle under itsmand.

    "E'' Ji."

    The universe trembled as the Scourge upation entered the Origin Universe.

    The Scourge upation was a pce created from joining together countlesss into a massive, luxurious pce. Its sudden appearance shocked many who saw it for the first time.

    As for the people of the Scourge upation, they were forced to suppress their arrogance when they looked at the Heavens Sect.

    They had always believed their home to be enormous, but it paled in significance inparison to the Heavens Sect.

    Not only that, just Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao, which were both outside of the Heavens Sect, were about the same size as the Scourge upation.

    E'' Ji appeared and stepped onto the cloud bridge before making her way towards Heavens Sect.

    "E'' Ji is here."

    Lu Yin turned his attention to the woman. "The Scourge upation is an ally of Heavens Sect. Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. Together, we will protect ourselves from our enemies."

    E'' Ji looked up at Lu Yin. "The Scourge upation will never betray an ally. From this day forward, we will be one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Outer Eight Paths. Thank you, Dao Monarch."

    Unlike the Three Suns and Six Rulers or the Inner Eight Paths, the Outer Eight Paths were more open positions. They were not given to members of the Heavens Sect, but rather to the sect¡¯s allies.

    This was a way for outsider powerhouses who wished to join forces with the Heavens Sect againstmon enemies to do so without formally joining the sect.

    Some powerhouses from other universes would not be willing to join the Heavens Sect, but might still wish to ally themselves with the Heavens Sect in order to fight against powerful enemies. The Outer Eight Paths were the perfect choice.

    E'' Ji walked towards the Stairway to Heaven. She had not expected this day toe. She knew that she was approaching the end of her life and that her first time setting foot in the Heavens Sect might also be herst.

    "Moon Fairy."

    Moon Fairy appeared from the clouds. She looked ethereal and was stunningly beautiful. She was the representative of the Luna Alliance. Even after Yue Shen¡¯s death, Moon Fairy and Moon Ghost were still formidable powerhouses.

    The Megalith Poison was still weakening them, but Lu Yin was determined to find an antidote.

    "Moon Fairy is here."

    Lu Yin looked at the woman. "The Luna Alliance is an ally of Heavens Sect. Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. Together, we will protect ourselves from our enemies."

    Moon Fairy stared back at Lu Yin. "Thank you, Dao Monarch."

    Her gratitude towards Lu Yin was readily evident. Without his help, the Luna Alliance might not have survived. She slowly ascended the Stairway to Heaven.

    E'' Ji noticed Moon Fairy''s weakened state and grew curious about it.

    Moon Fairy smiled at the other woman, and E'' Ji nodded, her expression serene.

    While Moon Fairy was much older than E'' Ji, E'' Ji seemed more like the elder sister.

    "Mimina."

    Mimina stepped out from clouds to enter the Heavens Sect. "Mimina is here."

    Many of the people watching found it curious that all of the appointed Outer Eight Paths were women.

    "The Nine-Star Civilization is an ally of Heavens Sect. Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. Together, we will protect ourselves from our enemies."

    Mimina gave a respectful bow. "The Nine-Star Civilization is extremely grateful to Dao Monarch Lu for rescuing us. We stand ready to serve the Heavens Sect without hesitation."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Senior Kakawen deserves our respect. I hope that the Nine-Star Civilization can produce a cultivator who is capable of using your nine-star technique Restart without needing to sacrifice their life, unlike you and Senior Kakawen."

    Thisment was delivered as a warning to Aeternus. Lu Yin was informing the Aeternals that Mimina was also capable of unleashing Restart.

    Without this knowledge, Aeternus might attack the Nine-Star Civilization again, and even if Mimina used Restart and dealt terrible damage to Aeternus, the Nine-Star Civilization would still lose their foremost powerhouse.

    Mimina understood Lu Yin''s intention. "You don¡¯t need to worry, Dao Monarch Lu. The Nine-Star Civilization will not disappoint you."

    With that, she ascended the Stairway to Heaven to stand just below E'' Ji.

    E'' Ji and the others nced outwards, curious to see if all of the Outer Eight Paths would be women. That did not seem very likely.

    Many others were simrly curious.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "The Abandoned."

    A cloud bridge extended towards the crowd, startling the people who had gathered outside of the Heavens Sect. They wondered who among them was qualified to walk the path of clouds into Heavens Sect.

    The Abandoned stepped forward. His appearance was as low key as ever, and he startled those who were nearby.

    Anyone who was worthy of being given entry into the Heavens Sect with a cloud bridge had to be an exceptional expert.

    The Abandoned was not used to being the center of attention, and at this moment, he was not simply in the spotlight of the Heavens Sect, but of the entire megaverse. Countless creatures were watching him at this moment. It was enough to make even a jaded man like him feel nervous.

    In the First Scourge, Arrow God stared at the disy with an icy gaze.

    The Abandoned was thest survivor of a civilization that Arrow God had destroyed, and he was that civilization''s greatest powerhouse.

    Arrow God had been infuriated and frustrated at failing to kill the man, and his existence had created endless trouble for the Fifth Scourge.

    Progenitor Xi calmly stared at the disy. "Is that the powerhouse that your Fifth Scourge listed as a priority target for the Divine Commandment?"

    Arrow God answered in a cold voice, "Yes."

 Chapter 3172: Invincibility

    <h4>Chapter 3172: Invincibility</h4>

    "What are his abilities?" Forgotten Ruins God asked, intrigued by The Abandoned. Anyone qualified to be epted into the Heavens Sect on a cloud bridge was powerful enough to serve as a true deterrent against Aeternus, and they would all be key targets for the Aeternals to eliminate.

    Arrow God¡¯s eyes narrowed. "He¡¯s always one step ahead."

    Everyone was puzzled by her answer.

    Arrow God continued, "The Abandoned''s sequence particles ensure that he always remains one step ahead of his opponent, no matter if it¡¯s in regards to time, speed, or space. It makes it impossible to outmaneuver him, which is precisely why I¡¯ve struggled so much to eliminate him."

    ckless God asked, "Not even time can get ahead of him?"

    Arrow God said nothing, remaining as cold and indifferent as ever.

    "A truly troublesome opponent," Forgotten Ruins God remarked with a smile.

    Di Qiong mused, "I remember now. When we attacked the Heavens Sect, he¡¯s the one who faced off against Ji Luo."

    Progenitor Xi indifferentlymented, "There are many formidable outsider powerhouses. The current Divine Commandment was issued toote."

    The Abandoned had arrived in the Heavens Sect. "The Abandoned is here."

    Lu Yin stated, "I know that your civilization was destroyed by Aeternus. Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. Join us in fighting against ourmon enemy to prevent such tragedies recurring."

    The Abandoned¡¯s expression grewplicated. Prevent it from recurring? His own tragedy had already passed.

    "I will do everything to eradicate Aeternus," he vowed with steely resolve.

    He then ascended the Stairway to Heaven.

    E'' Ji observed The Abandoned, noting the deep hatred he carried in his eyes.

    Lu Yin looked out into space. "Ye Wu."

    The crowd observing the Heavens Sect exchanged nces again. Could another powerhouse be hidden among them?

    A cloud descended and formed a bridge that connected the Heavens Sect to the crowd. The people were left speechless. Had such formidable individuals been hidden among them all along?

    Ye Wu stepped out from the crowd. His face was as pale as a ghost¡¯s, and it created an unsettling contrast, even with the gentle glow of the cloud bridge.

    He took a moment to gaze at the Heavens Sect before taking a step forward and entering it.

    He was being forced to join Heavens Sect. While someone like The Abandoned might reluctantly change their position because of the sect''s impressive power, Ye Wu would not. He was a drifter without any ties, and his only desire was to live a peaceful life with Ye Sheng and Ye Xiaoxiao, free from the agony of war.

    For the moment, his wish would remain fulfilled.

    On the other hand, Ye Sheng¡¯s thoughts hadpletely transformed. He was young and ambitious, and he yearned to explore and reach broader horizons than a life spent in the shadows of corpses beside Ye Wu.

    If Ye Sheng had once felt hatred and resentment for Lu Yin, then he currently felt only awe and admiration. At this moment, Lu Yin''s image had been etched deep into the young man¡¯s heart.

    Even if Ye Wu could break free from the Heavens Sect, Ye Sheng would not want to leave. He wanted to stay and see the vastness of the megaverse.

    "Ye Wu is here," the man announced as he stepped into the Heavens Sect. He was unustomed to receiving so much attention, and he had always been morefortable interacting with corpses than with living people.

    The current situation made Ye Wu feel even more ufortable than The Abandoned.

    Lu Yin spoke to the man, "I know that you feel homeless and that you aimlessly wander about, but humanity is a single entity. Should the daye when there are no humans left alive in this megaverse, you will no longer enjoy solitude, but rather the silence of the dead."

    Ye Wu''s gaze quivered, but he did not respond.

    "Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. I hope that you will stand together with the rest of humanity to face our enemies as one."

    Ye Wu took a deep breath. "I understand."

    With that, he started climbing the Stairway to Heaven.

    Once Ye Wu had taken his ce, Lu Yin looked into outer space. "Shang Huang."

    On one of the clouds stood a number of massive mechas from the Infinity Empire.

    Just due to their size, the mechas were intimidating to see, and Supreme was thergest and scariest of them all, and it stepped forward.

    When Lu Yin called out for Shang Huang, Supreme stepped forward to enter the Heavens Sect.

    The people of the Infinity Empire who had been left behind by their emperor stared in awe. Only at this moment did they finallyprehend the overwhelming power of the Fifth Maind that they had once sought to conquer. Finally, they understood the insignificance of their own empire. At this moment, they felt relieved that they had neverunched an all-out invasion to conquer the Heavens Sect¡¯s universe. If they had done so, the Infinity Empire would have been doomed.

    All the powerhouses who had apanied Lu Yin to the Infinity Empire in the past had been appointed as part of the Inner Eight Paths. Above them stood the Three Suns and Six Rulers, as well as the Three Realms and Six Daos. Any of those experts on their own couldpletely crush the entire Infinity Empire.

    Shang Huang also felt that his people had been quite lucky, but he could not help but let out a sigh upon realizing how far he had strayed down the path of being nothing more than a subordinate.

    Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng exchanged nces, and they could each see the bitterness in the other''s eyes.

    When theypared their Infinity Empire to the Heavens Sect, how was there anypetition? The Infinity Empire had endured solely at the mercy of others.

    Compared to Lu Yin, they were nothing.

    "Shang Huang is here."

    Lu Yin stared at the towering figure of Supreme, and a smile touched his lips. "Today, as Dao Monarch of Heavens Sect, I appoint you as one of the Outer Eight Paths. May you wield your sword to y our enemies and use your impressive size to protect our people."

    Supreme gave a respectful bow. "As the Dao Monarchmands."

    Theoretically, the Outer Eight Paths were only allied with the Heavens Sect and were not officially within the hierarchy. However, Shang Huang demonstrated a clear sense of servility, which suggested that the Infinity Empire was far from Lu Yin¡¯s equal.

    Due to the mecha''s immense size, Shang Huang had to step out of the mecha to ascend the Stairway to Heaven.

    Lu Yin had already anticipated this, and he had made arrangements in advance. Without that, Shang Huang would have never been able to climb the stairs.

    With Shang Huang in ce, the Outer Eight Paths were finished for the time being.

    "From this day forth, more outsider powerhouses will be invited to join the Outer Eight Paths, until all positions have been filled."

    The new structure of the Heavens Sect had been established. In addition to the original Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, the Inner Eight Paths, and the Outer Eight Paths had all been added.

    Everyst one of the positions could only be held by a sequence powerhouse. This meant that people like Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Shao Chen, and Mu Xie did not qualify. While they were all powerful Progenitors, they had not yet managed to reach the level ofprehending sequence particles and thews of the universe. While they each possessed tremendous strength, it was still insufficient.

    Mastering thews of the universe was a certain threshold.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s current framework was not based on rtionships, but rather on cultivation levels. Only if people such as Shao Chen were able to greatly surpass the power of a sequence powerhouse would they qualify to be given one of those positions.

    During the Daosource Sect era, people like Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku had been regarded as peers with Xia Shenji and Wang Fan, which was truly an injustice.

    Lu Yin looked out beyond the Heavens Sect. "The megaverse is teeming with countless creatures, and humanity stands at the forefront. We have countless heroes, and they have all risen up along the length of the River of Time, from the distant era of Heavens Sect..."

    As he slowly narrated the history of humanity''s power, Lu Yin continued speaking, sharing the greatness of mankind.

    As he spoke, more and more people stepped onto the clouds and entered the Heavens Sect from every direction possible.

    These people were all peak powerhouses. Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Shao Chen, Mu Xie, Lu Qi, Qing Ping, Xia Shenji, Xia Zhen, Wang Jian, Bai Sheng, Nong Yi, Xi Wei, the Arboreal Realm¡¯s Mu Tao, and the Voidforce Universe¡¯s Xu Heng and Xu Ling. Each of the peak powerhouses arrived by stepping across clouds to enter the Heavens Sect.

    The audience watching were left awestruck and amazed. Never before had anyone witnessed so many peak powerhouses gathered in a single ce.

    In the past, the reputation of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had caused their universe to be regarded as unparalleled. No one had ever imagined that a single universe could gather so many terrifying experts.

    At this moment, the Cyclic Universe could note close toparing to the Heavens Sect.

    The arrival of more and more peak powerhouses rendered everyone watching speechless.

    Even in the First Scourge, there was a stunned silence.

    While the Three Pirs and Six Skies typically looked down on ordinary peak powerhouses, it was still a fact that only individuals with exceptional talent and potential could reach that level of cultivation. Their mere existence implied significant possibilities.

    Who could predict where even ordinary peak powerhouses might stand in the future?

    The people entering the Heavens Sect might one day join the Inner or Outer Eight Paths, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, or possibly even the pinnacle to stand alongside Lu Yin.

    No one could say for certain.

    At this moment, the true strength of humanity was on full disy.

    The entire Heavens Sect was surrounded by countless, multicolored clouds.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Sovereign Ninth Lotus was watching in awe. If the Heavens Sect decided to move against the Cyclic Universe, victory would be effortless. Even if the Great Sovereign herself returned, it would be useless.

    At this moment, the Heavens Sect was reminiscent of Aeternus in how the Aeternals had once brought a sense of despair to humanity.

    Sage Bodhi, Food Sage, Bai Wangyuan, and many others watched in silent wonder at the Heavens Sect''s grandeur.

    The thirty-six Ascendants of the Cyclic Universe stood in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open.

    In Whitecloud City, Jiang Feng stood with his wife beside him. Even Liu Pianran, who was known for her gentle demeanor, was awestruck at this moment. "Does Lu Yin really need to put on such a grand spectacle?"

    Jiang Feng was impressed. "While he and I are quite simr, he has pushed further than I ever could."

    In the Five Spirits Alliance, the Ice Lord marveled. This was truly a monstrous entity. There were so many sequence powerhouses and legendary experts. At this moment, the Aeternals had to be struggling.

    In the parallel universes beyond the known civilizations and alliances, numerous beings weremunicating between themselves. They all understood that a monster had risen up above them all.

    The days when the Heavens Sect had dominated the megaverse had returned.

    The Star Devourer immediately fled. He had already sensed that something must have happened to the Purple Emperor. Things were looking grim.

    The coins that hung around Astral Anura¡¯s neck jingled as he muttered to himself, "I can''t let Lu Yin find out that I once plotted against him with Daheng. This kid... how did he pull this off? There are so many powerful beings, and there¡¯s even an Ortuser like Lu Yuan. It''s too risky to y with them anymore. I can¡¯t afford the losses. It¡¯s best not to get involved with either him or Yong Heng."

    Even Astral Anura was intimidated by the strength of the Heavens Sect, let alone other outsider powerhouses.

    The moment the Heavens Sect fully exposed its strength, many of the outsider powerhouses who had previously allied themselves with Aeternus fled. It was not that they no longer wanted to help the Aeternals, but that it was impossible to do so. Their enemy had be too powerful.

    Lu Yin stood above the Stairway to Heaven, looking down at the Heavens Sect. He felt both proud and exhrated at this moment.

    What about the Aeternals? The despair that humanity had once felt upon thinking of their ancient enemy was being shattered. Lu Yin had already seeded. He could lead humanity to rise up. He could achieve anything he set his mind to.

    There were so many powerhouses. This was the power of humanity, and it was glorious.

    Humans were the leaders of all living beings, in the past and forever.

    Stretching out his arms, Lu Yin met the gazes of countless people as he dered, "From this day forward, humanity shall be invincible! We are the rulers of all reality!"

    Countless people roared with excitement, "Lord Lu is invincible!"

    "Lord Lu is invincible!"

    "Lord Lu is invincible!"

    ...

    The chorus of voices merged to create a powerful current that seemed to stir up the ancient, ever-flowing River of Time. It was as though countless eyes from across the eons had suddenly focused on Lu Yin.

    He closed his eyes, and his mind expanded in an instant. At this moment, Lu Yin was able to perceive the entire Fifth Maind, but then his perception extended to the Sixth Maind and the Perennial World, followed by the Arboreal Realm, the Lost n¡¯s universe, the Voidforce Universe, and many more parallel universes.

    He did not even realize that the universe inside of him had suddenly expanded. While no one could see his inner universe, it was perfectly clear to him. In his mind, he stood at the center of his own universe, and the stars that surrounded him each represented a different aspect of his power.

 Chapter 3173: Symbolic Sacrifice

    <h4>Chapter 3173: Symbolic Sacrifice</h4>

    In the past, no matter how much Lu Yin''s inner universe had expanded, when he released it, it had only been able to extend a very limited distance. At best, it would surround him.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that he was able to spread his universe out much, much further. He could even epass the entire Heavens Sect with his inner universe.

    His universe was undergoing an explosive transformation.

    Lu Yin did not know what this transformation meant, but somehow, his power seemed to have evolved.

    This evolution had been brought about by the support of countless people.

    Lu Yin stared off into the distance. In this moment, he was not only recognized by the Origin Universe, but also by the Arboreal Realm, the Voidforce Universe, the Lost n¡¯s universe, and many other parallel universes.

    "Guardian Beasts of the Heavens Sect! Jiao, Ancestor Tortoise, Divine Eagle, and Ancestor Python," Lu Yin called out. Outside of the Heavens Sect, the jiao bared its fangs and ws, and Ancestor Tortoise reluctantly raised its head as images of the Divine Eagle and Ancestor Python both appeared.

    Despite the two ancient creature¡¯s animosity towards Lu Yin, he was not unable to take advantage of their existence.

    After all, both of the beasts were Progenitor-level creatures.

    The sight of four Progenitor-level beasts left everyone feeling awed.

    Far away, the rude fish that rode atop of Xi Qi''s head was thrashing about in a rage. "Unfair, unfair! It''s those two <i>again</i>! Why is it always them? I want to beat them up! Beat them up!"

    Xi Qi felt exhausted. "What are you talking about?"

    The fish pped the woman with its tail. "Girl, you are such a disappointment! You need to train harder and reach that kid''s level, or else you will never be worthy of being my mount!"

    Xi Qi looked back at Lu Yin, and bitterly asked, "Me? How could I possibly do that?"

    "You''re so useless! Time! It''s just a matter of time. Given enough time, Lord Fish can ensure that you will catch up to that kid."

    In the Origin Universe, excitement had peaked, as everyone cheered in amazement and excitement. They felt as though they were seeing humanity''s sword being drawn to threaten the rest of the megaverse.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened back up. "Today is a deration of our martial power, and because of that, such a deration needs a demonstration, which I shall provide."

    He then took a step forward and disappeared. This was his gift for the Heavens Sect¡¯s military deration.

    People grew puzzled. What did the Dao Monarch mean? Where had Lord Lu gone? Was he going to provide a demonstration? With whom? Not just anyone qualified for such a thing.

    In one of the Endless Frontier¡¯s parallel universes, on a certain, countless people were listening to what was happening at the Heavens Sect. They were not able to watch, as their entire universe only had a single disy, and the inhabitants of this were not qualified to see it. They could only enjoy the broadcast from those who could watch the proceedings, but this¡¯s people were still excited at the Heavens Sect''s deration of military might, as well as for Lu Yin.

    In the crowd, an old man was leisurely sipping his tea. His gaze could pierce through the endless stretches of space to watch the disy, but his eyes were cold.

    This man was Mo Shang. The higher Lu Yin had risen, the less willing Mo Shang had been to show his face. The Aeternals had once invited him to join them, but while he had once been tempted and wanted to join, Aeternus was increasingly unable to stand up to the Heavens Sect. They had already been driven from the Endless Frontier and into the First Scourge. Given their weakened state, how could Mo Shang ever join Aeternus?

    However, the old man also believed that human power was limited. Once an era grew and became too brilliant, all that awaited was destruction.

    This had been the fate of the ancient Heavens Sect, and he did not believe that the current Heavens Sect wouldst for very long.

    Mo Shang could wait for the destruction of thetest iteration of the Heavens Sect, and for the day that Lu Yin died. Mo Shang would never abandon Heaven''s Sight. He would make sure that he eventually obtained it.

    "Glory to Lord Lu!" A shout rang out, causing Mo Shang to frown.

    Everyone nearby had started shouting and were growing increasingly excited.

    Only the people who lived in the Endless Frontier truly understood what Lu Yin had given them. In the past, the Endless Frontier had been a meat grinder, and the people who lived there had had no hope at all. Lu Yin had granted them a measure of peace and the means to enjoy normal lives. They no longer had to fear being randomly killed as they walked on the street, suddenly encountering someone from Aeternus, or having to avoid entire regions of multiple universes that were engulfed in war. All of these changes were thanks to Lord Lu.

    Hearing the countless people celebrating irritated Mo Shang, and he raised a hand. Things had grown too noisy, and he desired silence.

    Suddenly, the old man¡¯s expression changed, and he spun around. He had only just realized that someone was staring at him.

    His pupils shrank, "Lu Yin?"

    Lu Yin smiled at Mo Shang. "Old Mo, it¡¯s been a long time. You really know how to hide."

    Mo Shang immediatelyshed out, but he did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, the old man targeted the nearby people. He did not want to fight Lu Yin, and Mo Shang¡¯s only thought was of escape. Lu Yin had clearly just been in the Heavens Sect moments ago, and he had mentioned a demonstration of power before appearing behind Mo Shang. Was the kid nning to use him for the demonstration?

    Ridiculous! Mo Shang did not believe that he could lose to Lu Yin, but he also did not want to expose himself to the Heavens Sect''s de at such a time.

    After all, both Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis were watching.

    As Mo Shang attacked, an Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin''s head, and golden light spread across the entire universe, instantly dispelling the darkness. As that happened, Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, traveling at the speed of time to arrive in front of Mo Shang. The old man had already released his sequence particles, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to use Inverse Step, but that did not matter.

    In the end, Lu Yin only needed a single second, and moving at the speed of time with Inverse Step gave him that one second.

    In that moment, Lu Yin grabbed Mo Shang, tore through the void, and dragged the old man back to the Heavens Sect.

    Everything had happened too quickly for Mo Shang to even react. He had not expected the child who had once struggled so badly to survive against him, even after pulling out everything avable, to have stolen the initiative from him and dragged him straight back to the Heavens Sect.

    When they arrived in the Heavens Sect, golden light zed brightly.

    Mo Shang stared at Lu Yin before him while quickly retreating. Down below, the eyes of the many people standing on the Stairway to Heaven focused upon Mo Shang. Beyond the Heavens Sect, countless eyes across numerous parallel universes. Even the Aeternals and beyond, were all focused on the old man.

    Mo Shang''s entire body tensed with fear. Feeling Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis¡¯s gazes ced incredible pressure on the man.

    A smile touched Lu Yuan''s eyes, while Hongyan Mavis seemed to be puzzled. She had recognized Mo Shang as a former gatemaster of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng''s grin grew wider with amusement.

    Big Sis slid her thumb across her throat as she stared at Mo Shang.

    Mu Ke¡¯s saber was unsheathed and in his hand. It gleamed with a cold light.

    Ye Wu and The Abandoned both watched with cold eyes.

    Beneath the Stairway to Heaven, among the Semi-Progenitors, Lu Buzheng let out a bitter sigh. "Old Mo, you¡¯re really out of luck."

    Kui Luo chuckled grimly. "This guy¡¯s done for!"

    Sympathy filled Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes. Mo Shang was incredibly unlucky. Not only had he been found, but he had also been instantly dragged back to the Heavens Sect. Just how miserable could a person be?

    Only one other person had ever experienced what Mo Shang was feeling at this moment: Wang Si.

    In the past, Lu Yin had executed Wang Si atop the Stairway to Heaven as a deterrent. Mo Shang was to be the second person to be executed in that manner, but he was a Sequence Progenitor, rather than a Semi-Progenitor.

    Everyone was aware of the tragic fate that awaited Mo Shang.

    Mo Shang gazed nkly at the Heavens Sect as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. "Lord Lu, I will join the Heavens Sect. I am willing to submit to the Heavens Sect and follow your everymand."

    In front of the old man, Lu Yin just smiled. "Mo Shang, during the Heavens Sect era, you rose up to be the gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, but during the war against Aeternus, you betrayed one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, Wu Tian. In your cowardice, you hid on the Endless Frontier. When Aeternus attacked the reestablished Heavens Sect, not only did you not help, but you also attacked the Heavens Sect. While it is true that you have never explicitly joined Aeternus, your actions are still a betrayal of humanity. You are a Sequence Progenitor, having risen above Progenitors.

    "This man was personally acknowledged by Aeternus, and if he had joined them, he would have instantly been raised up to be one of the Seven Skygods.

    "He is among the most powerful experts in human history.

    "Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, this man will serve as a demonstration of power for this martial deration."

    Lu Yin then released his inner universe. In the past, when he had done so, the rejection from whatever universe Lu Yin had been in had produced a shell of the Hollow between the two universes.

    While that phenomenon still existed, the scope had expanded greatly.

    He did not envelop the entire Heavens Sect with his inner universe, as he knew he could, but rather simply released it into his immediate surroundings as in the past.

    The continent of fatesand appeared, and Lu Yin visualized it as well. The two ovepped and merged, and the Heavens Sect was overshadowed as thendmass blocked off the sight of most of the auspicious clouds up above.

    Mo Shang started pleading desperately, "Lord Lu, I never betrayed humanity! What happened back then was just a misunderstanding. You misunderstood the situation¡ªI never intended to attack the Heavens Sect."

    As he spoke, a terrible darkness spread from his body as he attempted to engulf the Heavens Sect. This was his Darkest Sky, which was the most powerful attack that he could unleash with his sequence particles.

    Mo Shang knew that he would only have one chance to strike.

    He did not believe that a Semi-Progenitor like Lu Yin could kill him. Instead, Mo Shang assumed that one of the powerhouses down below would do the deed and that Lu Yin was simply setting the stage. The ones to be wary of were those down below.

    However, not one of the people standing on the Stairway to Heaven moved.

    Mo Shang''s Darkest Sky enveloped the Heavens Sect and blocked off the Stairway to Heaven. This made him confident that, even if the people down below tried to attack, they would first need to overwhelm the Darkest Sky, which would give Mo Shang a chance to escape.

    Throughout all of this, the old man failed to notice that, up above, thendmass had fully formed and was crashing down upon him.

    As thend fell, Mo Shang finally sensed that something was wrong. His darkness shot up towards the plummetingndmass, and Old Mo¡¯s hand rose up as he used his finger to execute sword techniques.

    However, everything was simply crushed by thendmass.

    This attack had even rendered Feng Bo''s sequence particles ineffective, let alone Mo Shang''s.

    While the old man was a Sequence Progenitor, he was nowhere near the level of the Seven Skygods.

    Thend dropped, and Mo Shang was pressed down more and more. It was only at this moment that he realized that no one was going to help Lu Yin; the youth was going to handle Mo Shang on his own. Lu Yin intended to kill Mo Shang, a Sequence Progenitor, despite only being a Semi-Progenitor.

    Impossible. How could a Semi-Progenitor kill <i>him</i>?

    Mo Shang had heard that Lu Yin had driven Di Qiong from the Heavens Sect unassisted after returning from the dead. But he had believed those rumors to be nothing more than propaganda spread to raise the youth¡¯s reputation. At this moment, Mo Shang realized that the rumors were all true. This child was a monster! How had he managed to achieve such a level of strength while only a Semi-Progenitor? How?

    <i>Puff!</i>

    Mo Shang spat out blood as his face turned pale. He stared at Lu Yin. "Sensory Deprivation."

    This was the man¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world. He wanted to strip Lu Yin of all perception of the outside world. He had once used this method to render Shan Pu unable to even move, as the man had not been able to understand if he had been dead or alive. Even the Chiliagonist would have fallen to this technique without using divine energy.

    However, it had absolutely no effect on Lu Yin.

    The Investiture of the Gods zed into being with a burst of light, and vitality filled thendmass above Mo Shang.

    The pressure on the old man instantly spiked, and an even more terrifying pressure descended. He screamed as his arms were crushed, his sequence particles werepletely suppressed, and he himself was pinned down. He finally remembered; this was the same attack that the Origin Progenitor had once used. Mo Shang had read about this method in ancient texts. Was Lu Yin actually walking the same path as the Origin Progenitor?

    Thisndmass could suppress everything.

    "Lord Lu, spare me! Please, spare me! I am willing to serve the Heavens Sect! I will serve humanity! My power can be used to fight against Aeternus. Please, Lord Lu, my strength can help humanity-" Mo Shang wailed in despair.

 Chapter 3174: Duty

    <h4>Chapter 3174: Duty</h4>

    Lu Yin shook his head. Within his cosmic ring, he still had the sword that could kill Mo Shang. It had been Undying God¡¯s sword, and it contained his power of decay. There was a time when Lu Yin had thought that he would need to use the sword to kill Mo Shang, but it had since be unnecessary. Since he was capable of overpowering Feng Bo, Mo Shang would be even easier to deal with. The moment Mo Shang was moved to the Heavens Sect, his fate had been sealed. His only use was to serve as a demonstration of Lu Yin¡¯s power for the military deration. Did humanity need powerhouses? Of course, but not just any expert. Mo Shang was selfish, and he would readily enjoy the benefits of the Heavens Sect only to betray them in the end. While he was human, he cared nothing for humanity as a whole. He was someone who could only be used as a sacrifice.

    "Lord Lu, don''t push me! I know that you¡¯ve cultivated divine energy. Don''t force me to expose you! I just want to live, and I''m willing to submit to you," Mo Shang threatened quietly as he red at Lu Yin, who just sneered.

    "Go ahead, say whatever you want. Who doesn''t know about it already?" Mo Shang was startled. Did people already know about this?

    "What do you think allowed me to be the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect? What do you think I¡¯ve sacrificed? Do you think I can be controlled by divine energy?" Lu Yin asked in a mocking tone.

    "Lord Lu, I will submit to you! Lord Lu-" Mo Shang shouted as blood sttered down the Stairway to Heaven.

    His Darkest Sky had already dissipated, and everyone was focused on the Heavens Sect as Mo Shang continued to copse, pressed down by thendmass. He could neither avoid it nor escape. Thendmass was inevitable. Lu Yin could use it to crush countless people, or to crush just one.

    Lu Buzheng let out a breath. This was the end. <i>Old Mo, our grudge is finished now</i>. There was a loud crash, and thendmass abruptly disappeared. Mo Shang had been mmed down into the Heavens Sect, and he fell beneath the Stairway to Heaven. His limbs had been shattered, and his body was contorted in an unnatural position. It was a pitiful sight. Everyone who saw him fell silent and simply observed. A mighty sequence powerhouse had met his end so easily.

    Lu Yin stared down at Old Mo. He was the first Sequence Progenitor Lu Yin had ever fought against. At that time, Lu Yin had been outmatched and desperate. If he had not suddenly acquired Heaven¡¯s Sight and also used divine energy, he would have died back then. Fighting against Old Mo could be regarded as a turning point in Lu Yin¡¯s path. He had changed after facing the man, as Lu Yin had only truly appreciated the power of sequence particles afterwards. But Old Mo, who had once appeared invincible, now appeared so small.

    Old Mo''s face was bleeding and destroyed. He whimpered, "Lord Lu, please, spare me! I''m begging you, please, please, please!"

    Lu Yin looked down at the man. The golden light that surrounded Lu Yin gave him a divine appearance, while the shadow of death hung over Old Mo.

    "When you betrayed Wu Tian, did you ever imagine that this moment woulde?" Lu Yin asked coldly. "When you decided to act against the Heavens Sect, did you even consider the future consequences?"

    Lu Yin nced around at the people along the Stairway to Heaven, and then out at the stars beyond the Heavens Sect. "People¡¯s actions have consequences, and there is no returning from betrayal. Anyone who dares to betray humanity will meet the same fate. There will be no exceptions."

    With that, he waved his hand. A terrifying power shed down like a meteor and struck Old Mo, instantly killing him. Right after that, a Champions'' Stage appeared, and Lu Yin immediately anointed the man. This was his fate. Betraying humanity would not lead to anything other than a bad ending.

    The sight terrified countless people. Anyone who had been considering the possibility of ying both sides, thinking that they could take advantage of the war between humanity and Aeternus, were currently filled with fear. They absolutely could not betray humanity, no matter what. The Aeternals were undeniably intimidating, but Lu Yin was beyond terrifying. This military deration had won over countless vaciting hearts, and Lu Yin¡¯s demonstration of power had intimidated just as many. There was a bnce to brutality and diplomacy, and this was the path of a king.

    Lu Yin was no saint, and he did not even consider himself a particrly good person. He was just an ordinary human, made of flesh, blood, and emotions. He might be able to sacrifice everything for the human race, but he could also take the lives of his fellow humans if he saw it fit. He only sought to live a life without regret whilepletely eradicating Aeternus and removing all mortal enemies of humanity.

    Lu Yin¡¯s goal was to live a peaceful life, but he could not even begin to guess how far away he was from that day.

    He turned around and walked back to the top of the Stairway to Heaven. He passed everyone as he moved to the top of the stairs, and he once more took his ce before the statue of the Origin Progenitor. He turned to face everyone and dered, "No matter how strong our enemy may be, do not fear. I will stand before you all.

    "Always remember, there is a path in front of you, and its name is Lu Yin."

    Endless cheers erupted throughout the Heavens Sect and across all the parallel universes. Everyone looked at one man who stood ahead of them, shielding and protecting them from disasters. That man was Lu Yin, and he would always lead the path forward.

    Countless people were inspired by Lu Yin, and they were filled with excitement and determination.

    Even people who tended to be cold and rarely betrayed their emotions, such as Wendy Yushan and Zhuo Daynight, were barely able to contain their excitement at this moment. It was as if they could already see the day when humanity would rise to the pinnacle. On that day, the same man would still be in front of them all, leading them to the light.

    The other parallel universes fell silent. At this moment, Lu Yin''s dominance had been put on full disy. Everyone understood that humans were no longer scattered and weak. They had someone they would follow into the unknown, even if it meant diving into an endless abyss.

    The most terrifying detail was the man¡¯s youth. He was so young that, in both the next era and the one following that, all would have to bow to him.

    The First Scourge was eerily quiet. Di Qiong and the others had been rendered speechless. At this moment, all of them were feeling immense pressure from Lu Yin.

    ckless God readily regretted his previous choice. He should have never offered the kid 100,000 years of peace. The Skygod should have dealt with the youth when they first met. By this point, it was toote.

    "Do you remember how the Heavens Sect era, when the sect was at its greatest peak, came to an end?" Progenitor Xi''s voice shattered the silence, drawing everyone¡¯s attention.

    Progenitor Xi looked around at Ancient God and the others. "It was their arrogance. The Origin Progenitor, the Three Realms and Six Daos, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas¡ªdid any of them not consider themselves invincible? The Heavens Sect refused all outsiders, and yet myriad races submitted to them. How glorious that era was for them.

    "And yet, despite it all, they fell because of their arrogance.

    "They never realized that Aeternus was secretly plotting against them. They refused to believe that they even had enemies, which is why they lost.

    "What about now? When Lu Yin was rising up to power, did any of you truly care about him?" Progenitor Xi turned to look at Forgotten Ruins God. "Standing on the same stage? He¡¯s already dismantled the stage that you built.

    "Already, he has reached heights that you can hardlyprehend, despite being a mere Semi-Progenitor."

    The woman finished speaking and turned to look at the ck Mother Tree. "<i>He</i> didn''t anticipate this either. If he had, he would have prevented it, no matter the cost. Tell me, is this third Divine Commandment the end of humanity, or of us? Are you still confident?"

    In a column of light beside the ck Mother Tree, the Great Sovereign was staring intently at the screen. "Little one, you''ve reallye so far. Show me how much further you can go."

    ...

    The military deration had inspired an unprecedented sense of confidence within humanity. The strength of the Heavens Sect had silenced both Aeternus and outsider powerhouses, which more than validated Lu Yin''s efforts.

    In the following days, more and more parallel universes sought to connect to the Origin Universe, and the Infinity Empire never stopped working.

    As for Lu Yin, he was calm and rxed. He was fishing in the Heavens Sect.

    If he were to go make trouble for Aeternus right after his grand event, it would be all too easy for him to fall into a trap.

    It was important to always seize the initiative. There was no doubt that the Aeternals would eventually initiate a decisive battle to determine the overall war, but Lu Yin had many more preparations that he needed toplete before that happened. It was not the right time yet. He had not intended for the military deration to be a deration of war, as it was simply supposed to be the first step towards restoring humanity''s confidence. The deration of war had note yet, though that day was not far off.

    At the moment, Aeternus would struggle to attack any human civilization. Already, they had lost the initiative.

    One day, a butterfly flew through outer space. It passed through one parallel universe after another until it arrived in the Lost n''s universe.

    In the Perennial World, Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes instantly snapped open, and he took a step forward and disappeared.

    In the Lost n''s universe, a faint light had enveloped every member of the n, freezing all of them in ce like statues.

    Even peak powerhouses, such as Shan Zheng, Shan Yan, and Great Elder Shan Gu, were unable to move, even with their cards in their hands.

    The butterfly slowly pped her wings, and she spoke in a soft, melodious voice. "Please don''t misunderstand. I have nothing against you humans, but your n must be taken away. This is my duty."

    Lu Yuan suddenly appeared in the universe, and he red at the butterfly, murder zing in his eyes. "Is this some kind of joke? The Lost n has joined my Heavens Sect. How can you go after them while iming that you¡¯re not targeting us?

    "Before, when Aeternus was losing a battle, you helped them survive. What is your real goal?"

    The butterfly sighed. "I already made it clear at that time. Aeternus and humanity are evenly matched, and fighting will not benefit anyone. That''s why I stopped the war. If you want to fight now, I won''t stop you.

    "As for these people, they are from another megaverse. My duty is to drive out all outsiders from this megaverse. I am not targeting you, so please don''t misunderstand."

    Lu Yuan roared, "Then why wait until the Lost n joined my Heavens Sect? Why wait until after the military deration toe here? How is this not pping us in the face?"

    The butterfly''s voice grew even gentler. "I''m sorry, but I was informed about this matter by Aeternus. I was unable to find these people before, but now that I know that they are here, I can¡¯t ignore this matter. Again, please don''t misunderstand me. Humanity has done me a favor in the past, and I have no intention of targeting you, truly.

    "And besides, I don''t intend on harming these people, only to force them to leave."

    At that moment, Great Elder Shan Gu finally regained a bit of control of himself. He stared at the butterfly withplete confusion. "Who are you, and why are you attacking us?"

    The butterfly pped its wings again. She really was beautiful to look at. "Your people do not belong to this megaverse, so please leave."

    The Great Elder''s face fell.

    Lu Yuan saw his expression change and knew that the words were true. He frowned and then turned to stare at the butterfly. "No matter what, the Lost n is now part of my Heavens Sect, and there''s no reason for them to leave. You should go. We will protect these people."

    The butterfly replied, "Please don''t interfere. I am merely doing my duty. If I don''t drive them out, I will have failed in my duty. Please don''t make things difficult for me."

    Finally, Lu Yin arrived. The Lost n''s universe was already connected to the Origin Universe, and he had even received the universe¡¯s acknowledgement, which was why he had been able to sense that something was off.

    "It''s you again? Your name is Tian En, isn¡¯t it?" Lu Yin warily eyed the butterfly.

    The butterfly greeted him with the same soft voice as ever. "We meet again. You have my most sincere apologies. I don''t mean to go after you, but these people do not belong to our megaverse, so they must leave. Please don''t make things difficult for me."

    Lu Yin frowned. "You''re mistaken. The ones who don''t belong to this megaverse aren¡¯t the Lost n, but rather the Aeternals."

 Chapter 3175: Direction

    <h4>Chapter 3175: Direction</h4>

    Great Elder Shan Gu and Lu Yuan both froze, and then they gave Lu Yin an odd look. Was he tantly lying to the butterfly?

    Great Elder Shan Gu had clearly already admitted that the Lost n was from another megaverse.

    The butterfly was also taken aback. "Um, excuse me, but I''m quite certain that it''s this n. Please don''t make things difficult for me."

    Lu Yin looked seriously as he stared at the butterfly. "I''m not making things difficult for you. It''s really not them¡ªit''s Aeternus."

    "It''s this n."

    "No, it''s not."

    "Please don''t make things difficult for me."

    "I''m not making it difficult for you. In fact, I''m happy to help you. If Aeternus refuses to be expelled, I''ll help you."

    "Sorry, but it really is this n."

    "It absolutely isn''t. It''s Aeternus. I''m sure of it. Let me help you expel them, I mean it."

    Lu Yuan was speechless. He was domineering, and maybe a bit shameless at times, but he could not evene close toparing to this child. Where had Lu Yin learned to lie so shamelessly while ndering others? This was clearly gaslighting, and even Lu Yuan found it excessive.

    The butterfly felt like it was impossible tomunicate with the young human. "Please, don''t make this difficult for me. It really is this n."

    Lu Yin countered, "What makes you think that it''s the Lost n? Where''s the evidence?"

    The butterfly paused. "I can sense it."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Come now, ''sense it?'' That¡¯s too vague. How can anyone believe that? I''m certain that Aeternus doesn''t belong to this megaverse¡ªI can sense it as well. Do you believe me?"

    The more abstract something was, the easier it was to manipte.

    If Tian En was dealing with someone else, she would have already taken the Lost n away and not bothered trying to be polite. However, things became rather difficult when dealing with Lu Yin, mostly because Lu Yuan was also an Ortuser.

    "Human, what should I call you?" the butterfly asked.

    Lu Yin casually answered, "Call me Seventh Bro."

    Great Elder Shan Gu''s face twitched.

    The butterfly had no idea how to respond to Lu Yin. "Human, I mean you no harm, but I have a duty to drive out those who do not belong to this megaverse. If you insist on making things difficult for me, you might end up being dragged into bigger things. My name is Tian En, but there''s another called Tian Fa, and they have a duty to punish unruly beings. If this n refuses to leave, then Tian Fa will step in, and they are not as easy to talk to as I am."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "Things should always be done in a reasonable manner. If you can show me evidence that the Lost n doesn''t belong to this megaverse, I''ll even help you drive them out. Otherwise, listen to me and investigate Aeternus. There are absolutely Aeternals who don¡¯t belong to this megaverse. Just ask Yong Heng."

    The butterfly sighed. "Human, if you force Tian Fa¡¯s hand, you''ll regret it."

    Lu Yin held a hand to his forehead. "Yes, I¡¯m quite sure I''ll regret it, but if you can''t provide evidence, how can I allow you to take the Lost n away? I understand that you have a duty to expel those who don''t belong to this megaverse, but you''re not doing your job. How about this, I¡¯ll point you in the right direction.

    "Aeternus has someone called Feng Bo. He uses a technique that he calls the Greater Sancti of the Nine Odysseys, and he has also admitted to not being from this megaverse. Why don''t you go check that out?"

    The butterfly was surprised. "The Greater Sancti? He said that?"

    "What? Do you think I''m making things up? That''s just rude! Also, be sure to call me Seventh Bro."

    "I''ll go ask Yong Heng about this. Human, this n also doesn''t belong to this megaverse, which is why they must be driven out. I''ll be back, and when I do, I hope that you won''t make this difficult for me. Otherwise, Tian Fa wille." With that, the butterfly turned around and flew away, her light leaving with it.

    As soon as the light disappeared, all of the members of the Lost n returned to normal.

    Lu Yin''s expression instantly fell. This butterfly was another problem to be dealt with. She had already interfered in one battle, and now she had returned to make more trouble. The butterfly had heard about the Lost n from Aeternus, and if the Aeternals could use the butterfly once, then they would likely do so again, just like with Astral Anura.

    The Aeternals truly had a lot of tricks.

    "Both of you,e with me," Great Elder Shan Gu said to Lu Yin and Lu Yuan once the butterfly was gone.

    The two men silently followed the Great Elder to arge, but rather dpidated, building that had been constructed from unknown materials.

    The building was clearly ancient, and it bore scratches from weapons, battle scars, and ck stains on its walls. Lu Yin and Lu Yuan both recognized what they were.

    As soon as they entered the building, they were struck by the stench of old rot.

    Shan Gu walked in front of them, his expression conflicted. The building consisted of courtyards, pavilions, and corridors, and it even had small bridges that crossed over streams, though the water had dried up long ago. No one had lived in this ce for a very long time.

    "This is where we lived as we made our way to this megaverse," Shan Gu stated as he turned around to look at Lu Yuan and Lu Yin. A range of emotions could be seen on his face, though there was also a great deal of bitterness. It seemed that he was remembering something. "When we arrived, our Lost n only had 3,262 members. We don''t know how long it took us to get here, as there was no way to calcte the time, but it had to at least be several years.

    "During all those years, not a single person spoke. Everyone lived here in silence, empty shells of who we once were.

    "They¡ªno, we¡ªreally were nothing more than empty shells. That final battle, which connected the past and present, resulted in the deaths of many of our elders who had plotted for many years, or those who had faked their deaths and gone into cryostasis to await that final battle. We won, but it was a terrible victory. It was the costliest battle we ever fought. It dragged on for too long, and too many people died. It¡¯s impossible to even count the casualties."

    The Great Elder continued to reminisce. "There were no innocents in that war. Even ordinary humans, who were ignorant of the war, weren¡¯t innocent. That¡¯s because they were native to our megaverse and carried its karma. People fell like des of grass. When one group died, another was born. During that period of time, everyone was blinded by bloodlust. No one cared about the lives or deaths of others, and all anyone saw were enemies.

    "That war ultimately ended in our victory. But." Great Elder Shan Gu closed his eyes and fell silent.

    Lu Yuan nced over at Lu Yin. The older man had never heard of the Lost n¡¯s past before, though Lu Yin had.

    "But what does defeating our enemy matter? What we considered the most brutal war of our existence and our most glorious victory, had only been achieved at the cost of countless lives. Despite all that, the entire incident was nothing more than a pebble in the eye of a certain being. Because of them, we fled to this megaverse. I''m not telling you all this to ask the Heavens Sect to protect us, but rather the opposite." Shan Gu stared at Lu Yin. "Allow Tian En to send us back. We can''t fight back against that being, but I want to see them again, and I want to see our home again.

    "We can''t find our way home, but if Tian En can help us find it, we''d rather return."

    "It can''t find the way," a voice suddenly cut in. At the same time, gray overtook all the colors in the area, and the change spread around the three men.

    Lu Yuan cocked a brow and turned to look in a specific direction.

    As soon as Lu Yin saw the change to his surroundings, he eximed in surprise, "Master!"

    Shan Gu was startled. Who was it? He had not even noticed that someone else had arrived.

    Close to the three men, Mister Mu emerged from the void and walked closer. The entire time, his eyes were on Lu Yuan, who stared back at Mister Mu.

    "Congrattions, Loam, on entering the Origin realm," Mister Mu praised.

    Lu Yuan smiled. "Mister Mu, it''s been a long time."

    Mister Mu was regarded as a peer of the Origin Progenitor. During the greatest heights of the ancient Heavens Sect, Mister Mu had already been known. Because of that, he had seen Lu Yuan and the other Three Realms and Six Daos when they had been quite young.

    "In the blink of an eye, you''ve all grown up. The Heavens Sect produced some good disciples," Mister Mu remarked.

    Lu Yuan gave a bitter smile. "You must be joking, Senior. The Heavens Sect has been destroyed, and most of us have either died or gone missing. Very few of us survived, so how could there be good disciples? On top of that, there''s the one who betrayed us."

    Mister Mu responded with a faint smile, "Bing an Ortuser is not necessarily the end of your path. I have high hopes for you."

    "Then I must thank you, Mister Mu, and especially thank you for teaching our Little Seven," Lu Yuan said sincerely.

    Mister Mu nced at Lu Yin. "His future path is bing more and more unclear to me. I really haven¡¯t taught him much at all."

    Lu Yin bowed. "Master, what brings you here? How are things at the Immemorial Citadel? How is the Origin Progenitor?"

    Lu Yuan grew excited. He had already heard from Lu Yin that the Origin Progenitor was at the Immemorial Citadel. For that reason, Lu Yuan was eager to go there, but he could not leave the Origin Universe.

    Mister Mu replied, "The Immemorial Citadel is doing fine. Thanks to your activities, Aeternus has lost its momentum in the current war, but I didn¡¯t expect the Boundary Guardians to be drawn out."

    The three men grew puzzled. The Boundary Guardians?

    Mister Mu looked at Shan Gu. "The Boundary Guardians protect the four sides of this megaverse. They are duty-bound to drive out any creature that enters from another megaverse, and your people are no exception. The butterfly was not lying, as that is her duty.

    "But there''s one detail that she mentioned that you failed to understand. Being expelled from this universe does not mean that you will be shown the way back to your home."

    Shan Gu''s expression changed. "What do you mean?"

    Mister Mu spoke calmly. "Expelling you simply means throwing you out of this megaverse. They will do this only because they fear you and the Heavens Sect. If you were moremon creatures without any power or backing, they would not drive you out, but rather exterminate you all.

    "The Boundary Guardians have a duty to cleanse this megaverse of all creatures that don''t belong to this ce. They do so by either expulsion or extermination. Those are the only two options.

    "They don''t have the ability to guide you to your old home. They belong to this megaverse alone and can only survive here."

    The Great Elder''s expression fell. He had thought that his people could find their way back home with the help of the butterfly, but if the butterfly could not help them find their way back, then why should they leave?

    Even within the confines of the megaverse, peak powerhouses did not have the courage to randomly tear through the void and enter an unknown parallel universe, let alone toss themselves into an unfamiliar megaverse. Doing so would be suicide.

    "Master, what do you mean by ''this megaverse?¡¯ Who appointed the Boundary Guardians? Did they just form on their own?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu replied, "When the time is right, you''ll learn about all of these things. In my megaverse, as well as the one that the Lost nes from, there were certain beings¡ªI can''t say more, as merely mentioning them could draw them out."

    Lu Yin''s heart sank. Was even Mister Mu scared of those beings?

    "How strong are the Boundary Guardians?" Lu Yuan asked.

    "All of them are Ortusers."

    Lu Yuan frowned. This was a problem. If the Heavens Sect wanted to protect the Lost n, then they would need to face off against four Ortusers. That would be at least as difficult as dealing with Aeternus.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. "Are they really just carrying out their duties, or are they helping Aeternus with the excuse of doing their duty?"

    Mister Mu hesitated. "Both."

 Chapter 3176: Method

    <h4>Chapter 3176: Method</h4>

    Murder appeared in Lu Yin''s eyes. As expected, during the battle in the Scourge, the butterfly had only been pretending to want to put an end to the conflict. In truth, the butterfly was helping Aeternus.

    Now, just as the Heavens Sectpleted its military deration, the butterfly had appeared once again. If it was allowed to take the Lost n away, what would happen to the Heavens Sect¡¯s reputation? With just a little propaganda, Aeternus could portray Lu Yin as aplete joke.

    No matter how he looked at things, the butterfly was clearly helping Aeternus.

    Mister Mu grew solemn. "The Boundary Guardians are not to be trifled with. I only left the Immemorial Citadel because I sensed Tian En''s presence here. If you want to protect the Lost n, you''ll need to either fight against the Guardians with your full strength¡ªhumanity''s current power should be enough to oppose them¡ªbut doing so will make it nearly impossible for you to fend off Aeternus."

    "We''ll handle this ourselves," Shan Gu dered softly.

    The Lost n rarely interacted with other civilizations. This was something they did to avoid losing anything more. However, the current situation had reversed things; the Lost n would be taken away from the megaverse, but their departure would not matter to most people, due to theirck of connections.

    Lu Yuan could not hold back from saying, "Since the Boundary Guardians have a duty, they shouldn''t fight us to the death just because of the Lost n, right? If they lose, their duty will be meaningless."

    Mister Mu replied, "Even if just two or three of them appear, it will be enough. The Boundary Guardians rarely show themselves. They¡¯ve stayed hidden for countless years because of how difficult it is for any creature to enter this megaverse from the outside. Still, they have their methods.

    "There is one point that might be an opportunity.

    "While the Boundary Guardians may seem like four members of a single group, the truth is that each one is responsible for a specific region. If the Lost n fights back against one of them alone, without any outside help, the other three might not get involved. This is the only way you can hope to avoid an all-out conflict with them while also protecting the Lost n."

    Lu Yuan shook his head. "How could the Lost n hope to fight back against an Ortuser?"

    Shan Gu felt helpless. If the Lost n were still at its peak, they would not fear one or two Ortusers, but they were nothing more than thest, exiled remnant of their people.

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly lit up. It might not be entirely impossible for the Lost n to handle the butterfly on their own.

    Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "Congrattions on leading the Heavens Sect out into the open again. That call to arms was brilliant."

    Lu Yin grew excited. He had always sought Mister Mu''s praise, but in the past, no matter how well he had performed, Mister Mu had always seemed indifferent to everything. That had somewhat frustrated Lu Yin, but this time, he could tell that his master was genuinely impressed.

    This meant that Lu Yin genuinely deserved the praise.

    "Thank you, Master."

    Mister Mu nodded and looked back at Lu Yuan. "As for Tai Chu, if you can defeat the Aeternals,e to the Immemorial Citadel and join us there. That will be the site of the final battle. In addition to your master, you might see some other familiar faces."

    Lu Yuan clenched his fists. "We will definitely go to the Immemorial Citadel to meet up with you and Master."

    The gray color that surrounded Mister Mu started to slowly fade away. "I can''t stay here for long as the Aeternals are always watching me. Everyone, I''ll see you again at the Immemorial Citadel."

    With that, the man disappeared.

    There were many questions that Lu Yin wanted to ask his master, but Mister Mu was already gone.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not understood why Mister Mu always came and left so abruptly, but things finally made sense to Lu Yin. Mister Mu was always keeping an eye on the Immemorial Citadel while also hiding his actions from Aeternus. Mister Mu¡¯s knowledge and strength meant that, if he was gone for too long, the Immemorial Citadel would be ced in danger.

    The stronger a person became, sometimes the more restricted their actions were.

    The freedom of ordinary humans was something that could never be experienced again after losing it.

    After Mister Mu left, Lu Yuan turned to Shan Gu. "Do you have any confidence in fighting against the butterfly?"

    Shan Gu shook his head. "The moment it appeared, Ipletely fell under its control. It was like I was in a dream or an illusion of some kind, and I waspletely unable to resist."

    Lu Yuan was looking at Lu Yin. This was a problem. If the Heavens Sect tried to protect the Lost n, they would be forced to go against four Ortusers. Mister Mu had shown up at the perfect time, as without his warning, the Heavens Sect would have never known that they were offending four enemy Ortusers.

    Everything from this point forward depended on what action the Heavens Sect would choose. Would they abandon the Lost n, or would they confront four enemy Ortusers for the sake of an ally?

    Shan Gu slowly bowed to Lu Yin. "As one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Three Suns and Six Rulers, I, Shan Gu, formally request permission to leave the Heavens Sect. My Lost n has been ungrateful. We have received the Heavens Sect''s favor, but because of my people''s xenophobia, we must withdraw. None of this has anything to do with the Heavens Sect, and so I ask that the Dao Monarch allow the Lost n to leave."

    Lu Yuan''s eyes red. The Great Elder intended to bear all the me for breaking the alliance in order to prevent the Heavens Sect from facing criticism. This would avoid putting Lu Yin in a difficult position.

    If the Lost n withdrew from the Heavens Sect, they might not be driven out by the butterfly, but rather simply exterminated.

    This would be the most tragic fate possible for the Lost n.

    "My Lost n has experienced too much. We are nothing more than thest remnants of a destroyed megaverse. We should have died long ago. I ask the Dao Monarch to grant us this favor," Shan Gu worded his request respectfully while maintaining a deep bow.

    For a man who was nearly as powerful as an Ortuser to demean himself in such a manner was shocking even to Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s personality meant that he would never be intimidated by the Boundary Guardians or Aeternus. They were both enemies, and the Lu family had never acted out of fear. However, the Lu family no longer represented themselves alone, but also the entire Heavens Sect, and even all of humanity.

    The alliance between the Heavens Sect and the various parallel universes was too important. They could not allow the hope of humanity''s victory over Aeternus to be shattered just because of the Lost n or their pride.

    Not even Lu Yuan was willing to pursue such a path.

    He did not fear death and was willing to lead the Lu family to their demise, but he could not sacrifice all of humanity.

    Lu Yuan could not help but look over at Lu Yin. The older man knew that this decision would be a huge test for Lu Yin as well.

    If they abandoned the Lost n, the decision would undoubtedly be a thorn in Lu Yin''s heart, and it might even impact his future cultivation and potential. This might even be Aeternus''s true goal.

    Even more importantly, how would the other parallel universes react if the Heavens Sect abandoned the Lost n? It could be a devastating blow to the alliance. Regardless of the decision they chose, things would not work out well. Aeternus would never allow the Lost n to withdraw from the Heavens Sect; the truth would certainly be revealed and spread. There was no point in hoping for a different oue.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew solemn. "I, Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, formally reject your request."

    Lu Yuan remained calm. This decision was not at all surprising.

    The pain on the Great Elder¡¯s face deepened, and he lowered himself even further. "Please, Dao Monarch, allow my Lost n to leave. This matter is our fault, and the people of this megaverse should not have to bear our burden. I ask the Dao Monarch to consider the bigger picture."

    Lu Yin stretched out his hand to help the Great Elder stand back up, but the old man remained motionless and maintained his posture. "I ask the Dao Monarch to grant the Lost n permission to leave."

    Lu Yin stared at Shan Gu. "Do you understand that, if your Lost n leaves the Heavens Sect, your people will bepletely wiped out? That butterfly clearly came here at the Aeternals¡¯ request and is trying to make trouble for me. Sacrificing your Lost n might simply cause the Voidforce Universe or the Arboreal Realm to be the next sacrifice. There¡¯s no telling the ramifications of this."

    The Great Elder sighed. "Since they haven''t appeared for so many years, the Boundary Guardians must have their own concerns. Dao Monarch, please consider the bigger picture. The humans of this megaverse should not pay for our mistakes. We are just the stragglers of a civilization, the ones who fear death."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Who isn''t afraid of death? Great Elder, don''t be in such a hurry to leave. Let''s discuss this. There might be a way for you to handle that butterfly on your own."

    Shan Gu felt helpless. "If there were a way, I wouldn''t be in this situation. Dao Monarch, let us go."

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the old man. "What if I could improve your Heavenly King card to another level? Do you think that that would be enough for you to stop the butterfly?"

    The Great Elder¡¯s head snapped up, and he stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "What did you just say?"

    "I am able to upgrade your Heavenly King card to the next level. With that, could you stop the butterfly?"

    Shan Gu wentpletely bug-eyed. "How can you upgrade a card?"

    "I''m just asking if that would be enough for you to stop the butterfly," Lu Yin pressed.

    Shan Gu straightened up as he seriously considered the question. "I wouldn''t be able to win, but it would no longer be capable of dragging me away either."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Then that''s enough."

    ...

    Far away, Tian En fluttered into the First Scourge. As soon as she arrived, her light spread out.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng watched the butterfly as it flew overhead. He did not try to stop her. He knew that, while the butterfly could not kill him, he was simrly incapable of stopping the butterfly. Instead, the Sovereign simply spat in disgust.

    The butterfly''s arrival drew the entire Scourge¡¯s attention.

    Even the Great Sovereign opened her eyes and looked into the sky.

    "Yong Heng."

    Given his position at the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God was nearly level with the butterfly. "Did you fail?"

    "The Heavens Sect needs to be given a bit of face," the butterfly softly stated.

    True God chuckled. "What of your duty as a Guardian of the Four Directions?"

    The butterfly continued to p her wings. "You told me about the Lost n when the Heavens Sect conducted their military deration, intending to use me to deal a blow to the Heavens Sect. I couldn''t refuse because of my duty, but their Dao Monarch told me something interesting.

    "Does your Aeternus have someone named Feng Bo?"

    True God nodded. "We do. He''s one of our Three Pirs and Six Skies. But he hasn''t been back for many years."

    "Where is he? I wish to see him."

    "He''s already dead."

    The butterfly was surprised. "Dead? When did he die?"

    "Not long ago. He was killed by Lu Yin. Didn''t he tell you?"

    The butterfly remained silent for a moment. "This Feng Bo, he didn''t belong to this megaverse."

    True God showed a slight smile. "That¡¯s true, he didn''t. I brought him here."

    "Why?"

    "During the first Divine Commandment, my people were short of manpower. When the Second Maind was destroyed, Feng Bo was the one who contributed the most."

    "You disregarded us, the Boundary Guardians.¡±

    "The Boundary Guardians have a duty to expel or eliminate any creature that does not belong to this megaverse, but only if that creature is in this megaverse. I brought him here, and if you had managed to find him and wanted to drive him out, I would have done nothing to stop you. But you never noticed him."

    "Now I know."

    "But Feng Bo is dead."

    The butterfly fell silent for a second time. "Yong Heng, do you believe that I''ll ept that Feng Bo was killed by Dao Monarch Lu?"

    True God replied, "Whether you believe it or not, it remains the truth. You''re free to look into the matter for yourself. If you can find Feng Bo, my Aeternals will do nothing to stop you from expelling him. In the same manner, I hope that you will quickly drive the Lost n out. After all, they''re an entire civilization."

    "I will search for Feng Bo, and you should remember that you should not try to use us, or else Tian Fa wille for you," the butterfly dered before disappearing with a p of her wings.

    True God watched calmly and said nothing.

    A bit further down, the Great Sovereign frowned. True God had not tried to hide his conversation with the butterfly from her, and she realized that she was still too ignorant of the megaverse. <i>The Boundary Guardians... I think that I¡¯ve heard of them before...</i>

 Chapter 3177: Understanding The Bigger Picture

    <h4>Chapter 3177: Understanding The Bigger Picture</h4>

    In the Origin Universe, on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin examined a card in front of him. It was Shan Gu¡¯s card, Heavenly King. For the members of the Lost n, their cards were like a second life, so the fact that Shan Gu had willingly put his card into Lu Yin¡¯s care showed the man¡¯s absolute trust in Lu Yin.

    In the past, Lu Yin had hesitated over whether he should help the Great Elder by Enhancing his card, but he had since dismissed his reservations. His only choice at the moment was to proceed with the upgrade. Whether or not the butterfly was helping Aeternus did not matter. What did was the fact that Aeternus had the means to gain the butterfly¡¯s assistance.

    The Lost n was only the beginning. As Aeternus grew weaker, they would start using more and more diverse methods to retaliate. Still, there were only so many powerhouses in existence, and Lu Yin refused to believe that Aeternus could hold out forever.

    He raised his hand, and his die appeared. A touch set the cube spinning, and Lu Yin watched as it slowlynded on three pips: Enhance. His eyes lit up. Getting Enhance on his first roll was a lucky start.

    He ced Heavenly King on the top light screen and started out throwing endless star essence. Upgrading Evernight had cost him over 100 trillion star essence,[1] a staggering amount. There was no chance that Heavenly King would be any cheaper to Enhance.

    100 trillion star essence. It had taken a tremendous amount of effort to gather such a sum, and yet he was using it up so quickly. The loss was incredibly painful for Lu Yin.

    No, this was uneptable. He had to find a way to get more star essence. He most likely would not be able to acquire more from the Origin Universe, which meant that he could only look to the Cyclic Universe. While their energies were the opposites, both could still be used by Lu Yin¡¯s die.

    As the star essence disappeared, the card continued to slowly fall until it finally dropped out of the bottom screen. Just like with Evernight, the upgrade had cost Lu Yin 100 trillion star essence.

    He reached out and picked up the card. At that moment, a scene repeated itself, and the people in the Lost n''s universe were astonished as their cards inexplicably reacted to something unseen. It was as though the cards were worshiping something.

    At this moment, Shan Gu was currently in the Heavens Sect, though he also noticed the phenomenon, and he looked towards the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. At this moment, he understood that the phenomenon he had witnessed before was not caused by the arrival of a Primeval card, but rather due to Evernight.

    Lu Yin had Enhanced Evernight into a Primeval card, and that had induced the strange phenomenon in the other cards. The fact that it was repeating meant that Heavenly King¡¯s upgrade had seeded.

    The old man had no idea how Lu Yin had done it, as it was too miraculous to even consider. Even at their civilization¡¯s greatest peak, they had not been capable of improving Immemorial cards. On top of that, how long had Lu Yin taken to finish the process? At this juncture, the Great Elder felt that there was a shroud of mystery concealing Lu Yin. There were unfathomable depths to the young man.

    Shan Gu grew anxious as he waited to have his card returned to him. When he finally saw it, he could feel that the familiar connection to his blood was still present, but there was also something odd about the connection. It was as though there was a barrier between the man and his card.

    This was the power of a Primeval card. Shan Gu was still only a peak powerhouses, and he was not an Ortuser. Using a Primeval card meant exceeding his own level of cultivation, and doing so would be far from easy.

    "Great Elder, give it a try. If you¡¯re confident that this will be enough to stop that butterfly, wonderful. If not, we¡¯lle up with something else," Lu Yin said.

    Lu Yuan gave the card a curious look and then turned his focus to Lu Yin. Lu Yuan remembered hearing True God mention something. Mirebound artifact? Perhaps only a mirebound artifact could possess such a miraculous ability.

    Great Elder Shan Gu soon returned to the Lost n¡¯s universe. He felt extremely excited, as though he had discovered a new path forward. Since Lu Yin was able to upgrade an Immemorial card into a Primeval card, then could Heavenly King be upgraded once more?

    Lu Yin did not say yes, but he also did not say no, which gave the Great Elder hope. At his people¡¯s peak, they had possessed a card greater than Primeval cards, and that card was the one that hadnded a blow on that invincible being. If they could acquire a second card at that level, they might actually have a chance to resist.

    This was also what only Lu Yin could do to strengthen the Lost n. There were many other human civilizations in existence, and with Lu Yin¡¯s abilities, what could not be achieved? At this moment, the Great Elder¡¯s perspective of Lu Yin transformed.

    Shortly after Shan Gu returned to the Lost n¡¯s universe, the butterfly returned. This time, Lu Yuan did not show up, and instead, Lu Yin made an appearance. He wanted to see how the Great Elder would go about stopping the butterfly.

    "Tian En, if you want to exile my people, go ahead and try. No one will help us, but we won¡¯t allow you to push us around however you please!" Great Elder Shan Gu stared at the butterfly from a great distance, and his tone of voice waspletely different from before. This time, there was hope.

    The butterfly pped its wings. "Dao Monarch Lu, what is your Heavens Sect''s position on this matter? Please don¡¯t make things difficult for me."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "I won¡¯t make trouble for you. Go ahead."

    "Thank you. You¡¯re someone who can understand the bigger picture," said the butterfly, gratitude clearly present in her melodious voice.

    Lu Yin smirked. "I should also thank you, for helping Aeternus to cause trouble for me. Please, call me Seventh Bro."

    "I haven¡¯t helped Aeternus. Aeternus has done me a favor, as have you humans. My attitude towards both of you remains the same," the butterfly said.

    Lu Yin retorted, "Then what about Feng Bo? Did you drive him out?"

    "Yong Heng told me that Feng Bo is already dead. You killed him."

    Lu Yin sneered. "How ridiculous! Do you actually believe that? That a mighty sequence powerhouse was killed by a Semi-Progenitor like me? On top of that, the moment you said something about Feng Bo not being from this megaverse, Aeternus told you that he¡¯s already dead. You¡¯re still only targeting the Lost n. Why aren¡¯t you going after Aeternus?"

    "I¡¯m really sorry about Feng Bo, and I promise that I will give humanity an exnation for my actions. For now, please allow me to first handle the matter of the Lost n," the butterfly replied.

    ording to Mister Mu¡¯s words, if they wanted to avoid provoking all four Boundary Guardians, then the Lost n needed to deal with Tian En on their own. Regardless of whether or not they could endure, none of the Guardians would attack the Heavens Sect. On top of that, as long as there was only one outsider to deal with, only one of the Boundary Guardians would act, as they oversawpletely different regions of the megaverse.

    The butterfly was currently focused on Shan Gu. Out of everyone in the Lost n, he alone deserved Tian En¡¯s attention.

    However, aside from Shan Gu, there was no one else present from the Lost n. Even their peak powerhouses, such as Shan Zheng and Shan Yan, were gone. If Shan Gu was unable to endure, then there was no chance that their other powerhouses would be able to do anything at all.

    "Your name is Shan Gu, right?" the butterfly asked in a soft voice.

    The Great Elder stared at the butterfly. "It¡¯s true that my Lost n doesn¡¯t belong to this megaverse, but we¡¯ve still lived here for many years. We¡¯ve long sincee to regard this ce as our home and have forged deep ties with the people here while fighting against Aeternus. Why can my people not be epted?"

    "Your n¡¯s destiny does not belong in this megaverse, so you should not stay here. Leave, and I will point you in the right direction." The butterfly pped her wings. This was a demonstration of her respect for the Lost n. They were not a weak civilization, and with the support of the Heavens Sect, Tian En was unwilling to push too far.

    The Great Elder¡¯s eyes lit up. "The direction back to our homnd?"

    The butterfly sighed. "I''m sorry, but I don''t know where your homnd is, so I can''t show you that direction. All I can do is guide you out of this megaverse."

    "You''ll give us a direction, but towards what? What kind of megaverse will await us? Do you know?" Shan Gu pressed.

    The butterfly said nothing, which was an answer. She did not know.

    Her duty was to remove all outsiders from the megaverse, but that did not extend to helping them find their way home. Whether they lived or died once they left the megaverse was none of the Guardians'' concern.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of Mister Mu. He was another person who clearly did not belong to this megaverse. Since Aeternus had fallen to a disadvantage in the war against humanity, there was no way they would forget about Mister Mu.

    This thought prompted Lu Yin to look over at the butterfly again, but this time, a flicker of killing intent appeared in his eyes. There was no doubt that the Boundary Guardians were humanity¡¯s enemies.

    Some individuals were righteous and impartial, but others were protective of their own kind. Lu Yin clearly belonged to thetter. While he would offer a certain degree of courtesy and respect to strangers, he would go to exceptional lengths to protect those who were close to him. Mister Mu was among the closest, being Lu Yin¡¯s master. Whether or not the Boundary Guardians were helping Aeternus, even if they were simply performing their duty, Lu Yin would not tolerate any action they took against Mister Mu.

    It also seemed that the Boundary Guardians were increasingly leaning towards supporting Aeternus. While the butterfly spoke in a kind tone, used polite words, and imed that she owed humanity a favor, what sort of favor was it? It was nothing more than an excuse to take action against the Lost n.

    Shan Gu sighed. "It appears that you don¡¯t care about us at all. Is there no way for us guests from afar to have a way of staying?"

    The butterfly''s voice remained as gentle as ever. "I¡¯ve already said all there is to say. If you insist on trying to stay, then I will have no choice but to act against you. I¡¯m truly sorry. Dao Monarch Lu, this is just a reminder, but there are three others like me. If humans insist on protecting these people, we might end up as your enemies."

    Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat?"

    "No, it¡¯s just a reminder, with the best of intentions. I really don¡¯t want to end up as your enemy. I¡¯m sorry for this." With that, the butterfly pped its wings, stirring up a beautiful glow that swept out. In an instant, the light reced the Lost n''s universe, abruptly revealing a kaleidoscope of colors.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. This was the power of an Ortuser. There was no indication of any sort of attack, but the Lost n''s entire universe had been transformed.

    While Ortusers were not necessarily much more powerful than peak powerhouses, they had a single distinct advantage: Ortusers were unaffected by thews of the universe.

    This was why sequence powerhouses were forced to bow their heads against Ortusers.

    As the light flowed out, the Lost n¡¯s universe froze. It looked like a beautiful painting. The entire Lost n was held within the painting, and not one of them could move.

    Lu Yin was able to move, but that was only because the butterfly had not targeted him. Even so, Lu Yin could not do anything.

    The butterfly may have refrained from attacking Lu Yin as a means of inciting him to attack her, or perhaps she was trying to avoid giving him a reason to attack.

    However, there was no need for Lu Yin to do anything. There was a reason why Ancestor Lu Yuan had not even bothered to make an appearance.

    Above Shan Gu''s head floated Heavenly King, and around it stood three tall statues. Their features were indistinct, but they radiated a majestic aura, giving the impression of towering mountains that could crush the universe. The butterfly¡¯s attack was met head-on.

    The moment the butterfly''s light touched the three statues, it copsed. It could not get any closer.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide at the sight. The butterfly¡¯s radiance was able to freeze the entire universe, but it was unable to even get close to Shan Gu. What did those three statues represent? Heavenly King clearly had not possessed such power in the past. Had the statues somehow changed when the card was upgraded to a Primeval card?

    The butterfly was astonished. "The power of an Ortuser? How can you wield this strength?"

    The Great Elder calmly gazed at the butterfly. "Why not? If not for this level of power, how could my people have entered this megaverse?"

    The butterfly¡¯s wings slowed their pping, and the surrounding universe slowly returned to normal as the light dissipated and the beautiful image vanished.

    1. A typo in chapter 3150 led to the amount being mistaken. The old chapter has been fixed. This amount is correct. ?

 Chapter 3178: Heavenâ€™s Punishment

    <h4>Chapter 3178: Heaven¡¯s Punishment</h4>

    "You''ve surprised me. While you may have reached the Origin realm and I might not be able to defeat you easily, I still urge you to reconsider. If I leave, Tian Fa will take my ce, and its power ispletely destructive. Not even Ortusers can easily stand up to it. Once it takes action, there is almost no chance for your people to survive. Tian Fa fears no creature, and it will not negotiate with anyone."

    Shan Gu nced over at Lu Yin, who asked, "Is Tian Fa stronger than you?"

    The butterfly replied, "I am Tian En, the one who delivers heaven¡¯s blessings. Tian Fa is the one who delivers heaven¡¯s punishment."[1]

    Lu Yin frowned. "Dealing with the Lost n should be your responsibility. The Heavens Sect hasn''t interfered with your duties, so why would Tian Fa get involved?"

    The butterfly was taken aback. "How do you know about that? Normally, no one knows anything about us. Even your Origin Progenitor tried to avoid us in the past and might not know everything about us. Only creatures from outside this megaverse who try to enter know such things. Are there other outsiders among your humans?"

    Lu Yin''s expression was calm. "It was just a guess."

    Even Shan Gu nced over.

    The butterfly sighed. "Dao Monarch Lu, please understand that expelling outsiders is our duty as we ultimately want to protect this ce. If outsiders from other megaverses are allowed to freely enter this one, it could introduce unimaginable disasters."

    Lu Yin agreed with this. If the Boundary Guardians were actually fulfilling their proper duties and not getting involved in internal conflicts between forces within the megaverse, then he would have no reason to oppose them. Even if felt the need to protect Mister Mu and Great Elder Shan Gu, it would not create any hatred.

    However, were the Guardians really not involving themselves in internal power struggles? At least for the moment, they seemed clearly inclined towards Aeternus.

    Additionally, Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others from the Heavens Sect era had mentioned that the butterfly had entered the Origin Universe before. Back then, its presence had brought disaster upon the First Maind before Tian En was ultimately driven away by the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Lu Yin trusted the Origin Progenitor more than the butterfly. If the Origin Progenitor had driven the butterfly out of the Origin Universe, then the man clearly had not wanted it to stay in the First Maind. From that perspective, Lu Yin also needed to consider that the butterfly''s intentions might not be as simple as they appeared to be.

    "Your responsibilities are heavy. I will support them, but I do have a question. Who gave you your duties?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Great Elder stared at the butterfly. At this moment, he was suddenly reminded of his homnd and of the omnipotent being. It seemed that only a being with that level of power could assign an Ortuser a job.

    The butterfly slowly pped her wings, scattering light. "Dao Monarch Lu, once you reach our level, you will naturally understand the importance of protecting your own megaverse. We voluntarily joined together to stand guard over the four regions of the megaverse, with the sole responsibility to drive all outsiders away. No one assigned us this responsibility."

    Lu Yuan arrived at that moment, and he rolled his eyes at the butterfly''s words. "I''m also an Ortuser, so why don''t I feel that way?"

    Lu Yin chuckled. "I don''t believe you, and I can''t. Tian En, you keep telling us that humanity has shown you kindness, so why won¡¯t you give us even this answer?"

    "I''m telling you the truth, Dao Monarch Lu. I really don''t want you to have to deal with Tian Fa. It will not discuss matters with anyone, and if ites here, things won''t end well for you," the butterfly replied.

    Lu Yin nodded. "I''ve heard your warning, but my question remains the same: why would Tian Fae here? Dealing with the Lost n should be your responsibility. If you are not capable of fulfilling your duties, they should not be pushed onto Tian Fa."

    The butterfly denied that im. "If Tian Fa can¡¯t take over after I¡¯ve failed, why would they be called heaven¡¯s punishment?

    "Tian Fa enforces heaven¡¯s punishment, while ''heaven'' refers to our megaverse. Tian Fa''s duties cover the entire megaverse. So, Dao Monarch Lu, I will ask onest time: are you willing to allow the Lost n to leave this megaverse?"

    Great Elder Shan Gu frowned. "We will not leave, even if it means our deaths."

    In the past, he had behaved entirely reactively, no matter if it was in regards to the war with the Aeternals or the threat of being driven out of the megaverse. Even if all of his people were to be killed, he had not wanted to drag the Heavens Sect into the matter. However, things had changed. The realization that Lu Yin was capable of upgrading Heavenly King had given him a glimpse of an opportunity for their people to return to their civilization¡¯s peak. How could Shan Gu abandon that?

    The butterfly sighed. "In that case, I''m truly sorry, but Tian Fa will being. Take care."

    With that, she pped her wings and flew away.

    Shan Gu looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, Tian Fa might not be easy to deal with."

    Lu Yin pondered for a moment before ordering, "Take the members of your Lost n away. Great Elder, you will need to face Tian Fa alone. As long as you haven¡¯t been dealt with, Tian Fa won¡¯t target others, as they are far less valuable than you."

    Great Elder Shan Gu expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, Dao Monarch."

    Tian En¡¯s retreat did not mean that the butterfly was incapable of defeating Shan Gu. ording to her, she delivered the heaven¡¯s blessings, but after encountering an Ortuser opponent, she made it sound like it was only natural for Tian Fa to deliver heaven¡¯s punishment.

    Once the butterfly left, the people of the Lost n were quickly and secretly evacuated. Aside from a select few, no one in the entire Heavens Sect knew about this matter.

    Lu Yin remained in the Lost n''s universe, waiting for Tian Fa''s arrival.

    He wanted to see just how powerful the so-called ¡°heaven¡¯s punishment¡± was.

    Of course, Ancestor Lu Yuan stayed behind as well.

    Before long, they were joined by Hongyan Mavis.

    There were others who wanted to join them as well, but Lu Yin refused. This was not an all-out battle, and the presence of others would not make any difference.

    Half a month quickly passed, and one day, a mass of blood-red liquid drifted through outer space. There was enough liquid to drown ten people.

    The blood-red liquid moved oddly. There were times when it would vanish, only to reappear again. It did not take any turns or shift its route the slightest bit as it headed straight for the Lost n''s universe, passing through other parallel universes along the way before it finally entered that universe.

    Even when it arrived in the Lost n''s universe, the blood-red liquid made no sound and did not alter course, but rather simply headed straight for the Great Elder.

    Soon, there was an abrupt surge of blood-red light that filled the entire universe.

    The Origin Universe was connected to the Lost n''s starry sky, and Jiao Feng was in his mecha, Perpetua, at the spatial passage that connected the two universes. The mecha pilot stared ahead of him. Just what was happening? The Lost n¡¯s entire universe had turned blood-red.

    Lu Yin, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Great Elder Shan Gu''s expressions all changed. What were they feeling?

    "Heaven¡¯s punishment has arrived. The Lost n is sentenced to annihtion," the blood-red liquid uttered in a deep voice that oozed bloodlust. It echoed across the universe and sent chills down the spines of all who heard it.

    Lu Yin stared into the distance. Was that... a mass of blood?

    Lu Yuan''s face fell. "Such arrogance."

    Hongyan Mavis clenched a fist. "This feeling... this is bad."

    Shan Gu''s expression had turned grim. He could feel just how terrifyingly powerful Tian Fa was. The entire starry sky had taken on a blood-red color, and the feeling that Tian Fa gave off waspletely different from the butterfly.

    Tian Fa¡¯s only goal was ughter.

    Lu Yuan shouted angrily, "So you''re Tian Fa, right? And your duty is to expel outsiders who don''t belong to this megaverse? Tian En imed the same thing, and yet you only want to kill?"

    The blood moved through space, slowly approaching the three people. "Tian Fa exists solely for ughter. All who obstruct my duty will be killed without mercy."

    After that, a cold light rose up from beneath everyone''s feet.

    Lu Yin and the others looked down, and endless des appeared throughout the entire universe, each of them targeting Great Elder Shan Gu.

    While Lu Yin and the others were within the des¡¯ range, none of them were targeted. However, they had no doubt that, if they interfered, those des would turn on them as well.

    Shan Gu instantly pulled out his card, and the appearance of Heavenly King brought out the three statues. They sealed off the void in an attempt to block the approaching des.

    Countless des shed at the Great Elder, only to be blocked by the three statues. The endless attacks were all continuously eliminated.

    The space around the man and his card was constantly being shattered, and the Hollow appeared before spreading out.

    Lu Yin and the others had no choice but to pull back. They could only hope that Shan Gu would be able to survive Tian Fa''s des.

    The des seemed endless, and the power of Heavenly King was being rapidly drained. There was a feeling of desperation, and one of the statues suddenly moved. Its hand slowly rose up to point at Tian Fa.

    Blood leaked from Shan Gu''s mouth when he activated this attack. He was capable of unleashing his card¡¯s attacks without pulling his opponent into the card¡¯s pocket dimension, but only those who had reached the Great Elder¡¯s level of strength were capable of doing such a thing.

    However, that had only been true in the past, before Heavenly King was Enhanced. An Immemorial card coincided with the strength of a peak powerhouse, but Heavenly King had been upgraded to the level of a Primeval card. This meant that Shan Gu was using a power that exceeded his cultivation, and there were consequences for overreaching.

    As the statue raised its hand, inexplicably, a massive hand seemed to appear in outer space, and it covered the entire universe.

    Lu Yin and the others saw the hand, and it left them all stunned. What kind of battle technique was this?

    Lu Yuan frowned. "Such an oppressive hand."

    Shan Gu slowly bowed. "Heaven and Earth Cosmic King, I humbly request your aid¡ªXuantian Immortal Hand."

    Those words prompted the image of the hand that covered the universe to suddenly take physical form, and it instantly held back the blood-red color that had spread across the universe before reaching forward to grab Tian Fa.

    Tian Fa was some kind of mass of blood-red liquid, and it had no visible expression.

    As the Xuantian Immortal Hand drew closer to Tian Fa, countless des shot upwards to sh at the approaching hand.

    The Lost n¡¯s entire universe was trembling.

    At the connection point between the universe and the Origin Universe, the people of the Infinity Empire were bbergasted. They saw countless stars shatter as des filled the entire universe before being overshadowed by a giant hand.

    What kind of battle was this? Jiao Feng piloted one of the Infinity Empire¡¯s Pirs of Heaven, and he had always believed that his twelve-ring mecha was strong enough to fight against sequence powerhouses. At this moment, the man realized his own insignificance.

    Was this the level of the Heavens Sect¡¯s enemies?

    When he thought back, he realized that the Heavens Sect had been incredibly lenient against the mechas in the Imperial City. If they had unleashed this level of attack on the Imperial City¡ªno, on the Infinity Empire¡ªwho could have stopped it? The empire would have beenpletely annihted.

    The des and the hand shed in an infinite exchange that covered the universe.

    Shan Gu''s face turned pale. He was attacking with a Primeval card, and this attack far exceeded his own capabilities, even when controlling a seven-star card. This attack would be regarded as incredibly powerful even among Ortusers, and yet Tian Fa still managed to block it with its des.

    The hand slowly faded, but the des remained endless. Finally, the hand shattered.

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "That hand was powerful, but unfortunately, it was nothing more than a borrowed attack from that statue. It was nothing more than an image from the past. If the true owner of that hand had been here, the results would have been different."

    Lu Yuan marveled. "I nowpletely believe what Shan Gu told us. The Lost n once had incredible cultivators, and the owner of that hand must have been one of them. What a pity."

    Lu Yin was staring at Shan Gu. There were three statues, and only one had been used to attack. That attack had failed, but what about the other two statues?

    Countless des shot towards Shan Gu from every direction.

    The man spat out a mouthful of blood and then bowed low to another statue. "Warking of Infinity, I humbly request your aid."

    1. Tian En (Ìì¶÷), heaven + grace/favor. Tian Fa (Ìì·£), heaven + punishment. ?

 Chapter 3179: Means

    The second statue trembled, and the blood-red color that filled the universe took on a deeper color. However, this red did note from Tian Fa, but rather from the statue.

    Multiple sounds that seemed filled with bloodlust echoed out, and the sounds caused the countless des to freeze for a moment.

    The blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa slowly swirled about, as though the creature had grown wary.

    Great Elder Shan Gu''s face was as pale as death, and his entire body was trembling as he struggled to maintain control of Heavenly King. Wielding the power of a seven-star Primeval card was far beyond his own capabilities, especially since he was directing the card''s power outward.

    Unfortunately, there was no way to draw Tian Fa into the card¡¯s pocket dimension, so Shan Gu was doing the best he could.

    He hoped that the Warking of Infinity would destroy the powerful enemy facing him.

    In the Lost n¡¯s home, during the final battle, the Warking of Infinity had shone brilliantly, and he had fought right up until the veryst moment. Even in death, the man had maintained the intent to attack.

    While Shan Gu had felt fear and despair upon learning of that invincible being¡¯s existence, the Warking of Infinity had not. The War King had been born for the battlefield, and he had carved a path of blood for the creatures of his megaverse.

    One by one, the Lost n¡¯s ancient powerhouses had perished, like moths to a me. Shan Gu had not wanted to die while carrying the regrets of countless beings from his megaverse. He had wanted to live and survive so that he could confront that being again in the future, even if doing so led to the entire Lost n¡¯s extinction.He was determined to live to see that day.

    A blood-red figure shot out from the statue. While its figure was indistinct, its appearance instantly produced an indescribable surge of excitement in Lu Yin and the others. It was as if the blood-red figure represented the fiercest battlefield and the most primitive type of ughter.

    The blood-red figure had the shape of a human, and it charged straight at Tian Fa, fearless and unstoppable.

    "ughtering Form."

    Space froze and then shattered bit by bit. The blood-red figure swept past Tian Fa. The figure¡¯s de was unstoppable, and it left behind a crack in the blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa.

    Lu Yuan was amazed. "That¡¯s not sequence particles, or else it wouldn¡¯t be able to get close to an Ortuser. That¡¯s just a remnant will left behind in that statue, and yet it can unleash such destructive power. That person must have been incredibly powerful while alive, and they must have been an Ortuser at the very least."

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "What a pity that we were never able to meet that person."

    Lu Yin¡¯s brow furrowed. Even someone as powerful as this had beenpletely helpless before the invincible being who had destroyed the Lost n.

    But what had happened to Tian Fa?

    Everyone stared.

    The blood-red figure dissipated, and Heavenly King flickered faintly. The Great Elder was barely holding on.

    The blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa gradually repaired itself, and it quickly looked as though it had never suffered any damage at all. At the same time, endless des reappeared across the universe, and they were all aimed at Great Elder Shan Gu. It was a truly endless attack.

    Even Lu Yuan could barely resist the urge to intervene.

    Great Elder Shan Gu''s attack had once again proven ineffective.

    "Resist heaven¡¯s punishment, and you shall suffer the torment of a million des." Tian Fa''s voice rang out, deep and terrifying.

    While Great Elder Shan Gu had not personally attacked his opponent, he was still in a wretched state. With an opponent like Tian Fa, Shan Gu would not have been able to put up even the slightest bit of resistance without the Enhanced Heavenly King.

    In hindsight, the butterfly, Tian En, had told the truth. She had been quite polite with her words, while Tian Fa refused to discuss anything and only wanted to kill the target.

    "Royal Regent of the Third Rampart, I humbly request your aid," Great Elder Shan Gu bowed low to the third statue.

    At that moment, the Primeval card started to quickly spin.

    Lu Yin and the others stared with wide eyes. Each of the card¡¯s attacks seemed to be stronger than thest. What kind of power did this Royal Regent possess?

    At that moment, Tian Fa¡¯s des were halted once more, which indicated that even that creature was concerned about Shan Gu¡¯stest attack.

    Suddenly, Shan Gu disappeared into his Heavenly King; he had fled.

    Tian Fa was briefly stunned. Then, the blood-red liquid crashed down. It covered the entire universe in an attempt to force the Great Elder to reveal himself. It was only then that Tian Fa realized that Shan Go was no longer present. The man had clearly prepared himself, and no one from the Lost n could be found anywhere in the universe.

    Lu Yin was left speechless. This had been the n all along. If it proved to be impossible for Shan Gu to defeat Tian Fa, he would flee. However, Heavenly King¡¯sst attack had left even Lu Yin shocked, and he had been eager to see the Royal Regent in action.

    Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis were simrly disappointed that they were unable to see the attack.

    It certainly seemed as if the Royal Regent might have had the greatest power in the Lost n¡¯s original megaverse.

    Heavenly King definitely was not some ordinary card. There might have been a reason why the Lost n hade to the Origin Universe¡¯s megaverse, and it also seemed that the three individuals that Heavenly King¡¯s statues represented were not as simple as they looked.

    Lu Yin considered the matter.

    He had a feeling that the three statues contained their own legacies, and Great Elder Shan Gu reminded Lu Yin of the past Arch-Elder Zen.

    Lu Yin also felt that there were simrities between the card that had brought the Lost n to a different megaverse and the Origin Universe¡¯s Burial Garden.

    "Ancestor, what level of cultivation do you think the Heaven and Earth Xuan King and the Warking of Infinity possessed? Neither of their attacks used sequence particles, but they were still able to produce such incredible power, even from their statues. Are they really dead?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

    Lu Yuan replied, "Dead? That¡¯s certainly possible. As for how strong they were, that¡¯s unclear, but they were at least Ortusers."

    Hongyan Mavis felt puzzled. "Three Ortusers, and yet they left their power behind in a card?"

    "There must be a reason for it," Lu Yin spected.

    "I''m quite interested in their megaverse now. Do you think we could visit it?" Hongyan Mavis asked.

    "Doubtful. First, we don¡¯t have any way of finding it, and second, that megaverse likely has guardians like Tian En and Tian Fa. On top of that, I wouldn''t dare to make the trip," Lu Yin replied bluntly.

    "I wouldn''t have the courage to go either," Hongyan Mavis agreed.

    Lu Yuan chuckled awkwardly. "I''m a bit intimidated myself, though mostly because of what old man, Shan Gu, said. Does such a being really exist?"

    "They should."

    "They definitely do."

    The three of them continued chatting, havingpletely forgotten about Tian Fa.

    The blood-red liquid remained silent for a bit before finally speaking up. "Tian En mentioned you. You are from the humans¡¯ Heavens Sect."

    The three people looked over at Tian Fa. "That''s right. What of it?"

    A cold hint of bloodlust entered Tian Fa''s voice. "Where are the people of the Lost n?"

    "Don''t know," Lu Yin answered bluntly.

    "Are you here to stop me?"

    "We were just passing through," Hongyan Mavis said.

    Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "What? Does this road belong to you? Are we not allowed to walk here?"

    The blood-red color of Tian Fa deepened. "Those who try to stop heaven¡¯s punishment will also suffer heaven¡¯s punishment."

    Lu Yuan sneered and stepped forward. "Bold words. You dare to threaten our Heavens Sect? We¡¯ve done nothing to stop you and have simply watched. If you have evidence, then bring that butterfly along with you ande after us. If not, get lost. We belong to this megaverse, and there¡¯s no denying that."

    Lu Yin chimed in, "If you dare to threaten us again, you can¡¯t me our Heavens Sect for acting against you."

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression fell. "It looks like you need a beating."

    Tian Fa was not ustomed to being treated in such a manner. It had always been the one threatening others, and it had never expected to be threatened because of a single sentence. "Humans, do not presume to challenge heaven¡¯s punishment! The price of doing so is far more than what you can bear."

    Lu Yin did not back down. "Don''t assume that you can challenge our Heavens Sect. The price of doing so is beyond what you can bear."

    Lu Yuan scoffed. "You''re just a ball of liquid. Do you think that you can represent the heavens?"

    Tian Fa remained silent for a moment before turning and leaving, though not without leaving behind one final statement. "Do not attempt to protect those people. If I discover that your Heavens Sect is sheltering the Lost n, the Four Guardians will annihte your Heavens Sect. You will be punished by execution."

    After Tian Fa left, the blood-red color finally dissipated from the Lost n''s universe.

    Hongyan Mavis remained wary. "That thing is strong. I probably can''t beat it."

    Lu Yuan could not resistmenting, "You definitely can''t. Laws can¡¯t touch it, and those endless des would tear you apart."

    Hongyan Mavis grew irritated. "Things will be different once I break through to the Origin realm."

    Lu Yin looked at Lu Yuan. "Ancestor, can you beat it?"

    Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "I don''t know. It didn''t reveal its full strength."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was the biggest obstacle. Aeternus had sent a formidable enemy against the Heavens Sect, and they had no idea just how strong this new enemy was.

    At the spatial passage that connected the Lost n''s universe to the Origin Universe, Jiao Feng heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that things had finally returned to normal.

    He really wanted to see what had happened, but he did not dare to investigate.

    He did not even feel safe inside his mecha, which had never happened before.

    Soon, news of the strange phenomenon in the Lost n''s universe started to spread. With Aeternus''s guidance, people quickly learned that the Lost n had been abandoned by the Heavens Sect and that Great Elder Shan Gu had fled. The story circted throughout the entire Sixverse Association.

    This had been Aeternus''s goal all along. Whether or not the Boundary Guardians directly attacked the Heavens Sect, the Lost n could not survive. If the Lost n was not protected, then the influence that the Heavens Sect had built up from their recent announcement would be instantly seen as nothing more than a joke.

    The fact that the Heavens Sect had failed to protect the Lost n and that one of the sect¡¯s Six Zeniths, Great Elder Shan Gu, had been abandoned would make others think twice about their loyalties.

    As time passed, more and more people learned of what had happened, but many refused to believe that the Lost n had faced such a catastrophe. They made a point to visit the Lost n''s universe, only to fail to find any trace of the Lost n.

    While news spread quickly and reached more and more people, lessons learned in the past made even the most eager of troublemakers hesitate tounch usations against the Heavens Sect. Instead, people chose to wait and see how things developed.

    A short timeter, Great Elder Shan Gu appeared, and he openly visited the Heavens Sect. While his visit was very brief, the fact that he had appeared at all was enough to silence everyone.

    The Great Elder clearly had not been abandoned by the Heavens Sect. If he had, why would he have visited the sect again? Why would the Heavens Sect have allowed the man to enter?

    No matter how anyone looked at the situation, it seemed clear that the Heavens Sect still maintained a strong rtionship with the Great Elder.

    Three days after Shan Gu''s visit, Tian Fa arrived at the Heavens Sect.

    The Origin Universe immediately took on a blood-red hue, but almost immediately, a golden light spread out and dispersed the red color. This was the light of the Investiture of the Gods. Ancestor Lu Yuan had taken action.

    "The Heavens Sect is harboring criminals and will suffer heaven¡¯s punishment!" Tian Fa tried to send its voice ringing out, but Ancestor Lu Yuan blocked it, so only a few heard anything.

    Lu Yuan sneered. "With which eye did you see us harboring any criminals? Tell me."

    Tian Fa answered in a deep and ominous voice. "That person, the one named Shan Gu, came to the Heavens Sect."

    "Are you iming that we¡¯re harboring him just because he came here? Aren¡¯t you here right now? Countless people visit our Heavens Sect every day. What? Do we need to report each and every one of them to you?" Ancestor Lu Yuan mocked.

    Tian Fa hesitated for a moment, and then an unseen aura of ughter spiked and spread out. Countless des filled the universe, everyst one of them was pointed at Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    The man¡¯s expression hardened. "You dare to raise des against our Heavens Sect? Then you¡¯re the criminal to us."

    "Your Heavens Sect should suffer heaven¡¯s punishment!"

    "Enough talk! Show me your evidence. Do you really think that our Heavens Sect is easy to push around?"

    After a brief standoff, Tian Fa left the universe.

    They were not afraid of the Heavens Sect, but taking down the Heavens Sect would not be easy.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan returned to the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin was on the mountain behind the sect, where he had watched everything. "It really wanted to attack."

    Ancestor Lu Yuan nodded. "I could tell, but it also has its own reservations. That butterfly ims to be the one delivering heaven''s blessings, while Tian Fa delivers heaven¡¯s punishment. I think that she''s just trying to get this Tian Fa to deal with things while she stays hidden in the background."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3180: Fertile Soil

    Lu Yin had a feeling that the Boundary Guardians might not be what they portrayed themselves as.

    In the past, the butterfly had specifically sought out the Lord of Lightning to try to grant him heaven¡¯s blessing, but the man had refused.

    If the Boundary Guardians truly had a duty to bestow heaven¡¯s blessings, then they would not go out of their way to do so. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the offer of a blessing was nothing more than a means to win people over.

    As long as a creature was sapient, there would be conflicts of interest.

    However, as long as there were conflicts of interest, things could be negotiated.

    A few days passed, and rumors started to appear. They imed that the Lost n was being hunted by enemies and that the Heavens Sect was unwilling to offer any assistance. These rumors were once again the work of Aeternus, but this time, the rumors werepletely true. The Lost n was being hunted by powerful enemies, and the Heavens Sect was genuinely unable to get involved.

    Another visit from Great Elder Shan Gu caused the rumors to disappear once again.

    Regardless of whether the rumors were true, as long as Great Elder Shan Gu remained alive and the Heavens Sect showed no indications that there was something wrong, people would be put at ease.

    This time, it was only two days after Shan Gu¡¯s visit that Tian Fa arrived in the Origin Universe, still chasing after the Great Elder. Once again, Tian Fa was scolded away by Ancestor Lu Yuan.Just a short whileter, Shan Gu made another visit, and this time, Tian Fa arrived just a day behind the man. It was clear that the guardian was closing in on Shan Gu.

    Lu Yin had no idea how Tian Fa was tracking the Great Elder, but it was readily apparent that, as long as things continued how they were, it was only a matter of before Shan Gu was caught.

    When Tian Fa entered the Origin Universe for the fourth time while chasing after the Great Elder, Shan Gu had been gone for only five hours.

    This time, Ancestor Lu Yuan did not hold back and attacked. "It seems that you really aren¡¯t taking our Heavens Sect seriously! Youe and go however you please. Just what do you think this ce is?"

    He threw out a palm strike. Lu Yuan¡¯s attack was powerful enough that it had once sent Di Qiong flying, leaving the man hesitant to face Lu Yuan ever again. This was the strength of the Lu family.

    Throughout the history of the Origin Universe, only the Mavis family had ever been able topare to the Lu family when it came to physical might.

    Endless des filled the universe, and they all shot at Lu Yuan, but he shattered them all with a single p.

    It was true that Lu Yuan had been startled by the strength of the statues that were part of the Primeval-level Heavenly King, that did not mean that the Ortuser was necessarily weaker than the men that the statues represented, even when they had been alive. Lu Yuan¡¯s shock hade from seeing something from another megaverse.

    Once Lu Yuan shattered the des, he continued his attack, just like the blood-red human figure of the Warking of Infinity, and Lu Yuan targeted Tian Fa.

    Tian Fa was a mass of some sort of blood-red liquid, and the moment Lu Yuan hadid eyes on the creature, he had wanted to find out what it really was.

    Out of nowhere, the palm strike froze. Lu Yuan felt as if his entire body had been tied up by unbreakable bonds and that he was being restricted in all directions by some inexplicable force. He even felt restrictions binding him from the void. Even with Lu Yuan¡¯s strength, he was unable to break free.

    The des shed up at him from below.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. "Ancestor!"

    Hongyan Mavis spoke directly into Lu Yin''s ears. "Don''t worry. You don''t understand Loam''s power. He needs to fight against a peer, or even be pushed to the brink of death. It¡¯s more important for him than anyone else."

    Lu Yin did not understand. "What does that mean?"

    "Just watch," Hongyan Mavis said as she stared out into space. "It''s been a long time since Loam has been able to enjoy a fight like this. Facing another Ortuser is a unique opportunity for him."

    All of the des in the universe shot towards Ancestor Lu Yuan.

    A Champions'' Stage appeared beneath his feet, and he entered it. The des were allowed to strike the Champions¡¯ Stage, but while there was a sharp sound from the impacts, the Champions¡¯ Stage remained unscathed.

    Lu Yin had noticed something strange. He had never seen his ancestor summon any champions or gods during any of his battles. Was that because Lu Yuan did not have any invested gods or anointed champions, or was it because he simply did not need to use such means?

    The Champions'' Stage surrounded Lu Yuan, and it never moved at all, despite the powerful attacks from the endless des.

    There truly seemed to be no end to Tian Fa¡¯s des, just like when the creature had attacked Shan Gu. The Great Elder had been forced to use his Heavenly King card and surpass his limits to even have a chance at victory, but he had ultimately ended in failure.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan watched the des intently. He refused to believe that they were truly endless. In fact, part of the reason why he had started a fight with Tian Fa was so that he could buy a bit of time for Shan Gu to escape.

    It was clear to everyone that Tian Fa would soon catch up to the Great Elder.

    "Does your Heavens Sect intend to make the Boundary Guardians its enemies?" Tian Fa demanded in a cold voice that clearly revealed its bloodlust.

    Lu Yuan sneered. "What a joke. You¡¯vee to our Heavens Sect to unt your power on multiple asions, no doubt at Aeternus''s behest. People are starting to say that our Heavens Sect''s military deration is nothing but a joke and that Aeternus can send their expert to suppress and force us to stay silent.

    "You¡¯re the one that Aeternus sent, and you¡¯re working with them to crush the will of humanity. Even if only one of us remains, we humans will never beg for mercy."

    Tian Fa''s voice dropped lower than ever. "Tian Fa is responsible for delivering heaven¡¯s punishment. My duties have nothing to do with Aeternus."

    "You know perfectly well what you''re doing. Do you think we''re easy and that you can toy with us? You won¡¯t be able to leave this ce so easily today! Guardians? I think you''re all in cahoots with Aeternus and just pping a different name on things. Bring it on!" Lu Yuan roared as he released a terrifying surge of power that tore the universe apart.

    This disy of raw strength caused Lu Yin''s eye to twitch. This was more power than his most powerful attacks. Ancestor Lu Yuan was truly formidable.

    However, what about his Progenitor¡¯s world and sequence particles? Why had Lu Yin never seen his ancestor use those either?

    The void was ripped open, as though something had broken free. Lu Yuan stepped out of his Champions'' Stage, shattering the endless des as he suddenly charged at Tian Fa. The man¡¯s entire being zed with an unstoppable aura, and he looked like he was about to tear Tian Fa apart.

    Confronted with Lu Yuan¡¯s charge, Tian Fa''s voice took on a terrifying depth. "As expected of one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. You¡¯ve broken my Earth de. Now, prepare to face heaven¡¯s punishment: Heaven''s Spear."

    As Tian Fa spoke, a spear slowly took form in front of them, but at an incredibly slow rate. By the time the weapon fully manifested, Lu Yuan¡¯s attack should already havended.

    However, Lu Yuan was unable to move. He was trapped in ce and unable to take another step forward.

    His expression changed. "The power of time? You''ve trapped me with time."

    "The Earth de binds with the void, while Heaven''s Spear binds with the passing of time. There is no escape. This is your punishment for resisting heaven¡¯s punishment! If you survive, remember this lesson." With that, the spear finished forming and shot forward to pierce Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, ready to intervene, but Hongyan Mavis pulled him back. "Don¡¯t be in a rush. Loam won''t be defeated so easily."

    The spear did not move quickly. Even ordinary humans could track its passing, but Lu Yuan was unable to evade it. Given his level of power, he could easily touch upon the power of time, which meant that it should have been impossible for him to be trapped by time or space.

    This was because it was not the power of time that had trapped Lu Yuan, but rather the passing of time itself.

    "The passing of time is irreversible," Hongyan Mavis said warily.

    Time was a mighty force, but its passage led to an unchangeable oue.

    By being trapped by the passing of time, even having the power to break free from time would not change anything.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s time in the Mirari Realm, even when Feng Bo had been on the brink of death, he had not dared to jump into the River of Time. This was because the passage of time was even more terrifying than death.

    Tian Fa¡¯s spear contained enough power that the creature was fully confident in killing Lu Yuan.

    Even with the spear approaching him, Lu Yuan did not panic. Instead, he simply closed his eyes. It looked like he had no intention of doing anything about the attack.

    Lu Yin trusted both Hongyan Mavis and his ancestor, but no matter how he looked at the situation, the spear was dangerous. Just what was his ancestor nning?

    Just as the spear was about to stab him, Lu Yuan¡¯s Investiture of the Gods suddenly appeared, and it swept the spear aside.

    Tian Fa said nothing and simply disappeared. The creature had already left the Origin Universe.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. His ancestor was safe.

    However, Hongyan Mavis felt puzzled. Why had this been the oue?

    Very few people witnessed the battle between Ancestor Lu Yuan and Tian Fa. Lu Yuan had only fought the creature in order to buy time for Shan Gu to get away.

    When Lu Yuan returned to the Heavens Sect, Hongyan Mavis asked him, "Why didn''t you take that spear?"

    Lu Yin was confused. Take it? No one would normally take such an attack.

    "It wasn''t the right time," Lu Yuan replied.

    "Ancestor, what''s she talking about?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan looked at Lu Yin. "Little Seven, do you believe that the Investiture of the Gods is my innate gift?"

    Lu Yin was taken aback, but he thought about it for a moment. "To my knowledge, there are two categories of innate gifts: hereditary and unique. If someone awakens an innate gift that no one else in their ancestry has ever possessed, then that innate gift is considered to have awakened naturally and be unique. The other option is a hereditary innate gift. Many people have studied them, but no one can figure out how innate gifts are passed down."

    "Exactly. How are innate gifts passed down and inherited? This touches on the mystery of a species¡¯ most primitive origins. I can''t give you an answer, but there is amon thread among inherited innate gifts. They are almost always passed down within a single family, and even if the family has fallen, it will have had a glorious past."

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "These inherited innate gifts all originate from a powerhouse in the family¡¯s past, and not a normal one. It must be someone who¡¯s managed to be a sequence powerhouse and touched the mysteries of the universe. As for my Lu family''s innate gift, I was the one who created it. My Progenitor¡¯s world is called Fertile Soil. It doesn¡¯t have any offensive capabilities, and it doesn¡¯t even have any defensive abilities either. When it first appeared, it offered no help at all, and I was mocked by quite a few people for a while."

    Hongyan Mavis jumped in, "Of course you wereughed at! Back then, you were the biggest trouble maker of us all, so when word got out that your Progenitor¡¯s world didn¡¯t do anything, the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor were the ones whoughed the hardest. The Python Ancestorughed so hard that he rolled on the ground."

    Lu Yuan sneered. "Let themugh! I was really upset back then, and the more theyughed, the angrier I became. It was only when Master praised my Progenitor¡¯s world for being unique that I calmed down. He said that it might bring about something extraordinaryter on.

    "Thanks to Master''s encouragement, I managed to cultivate all the way to the Sequence Progenitor level, and thew of the universe that Iprehended was Growth."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Growth?"

    Lu Yuan sped his hands behind his back. "Growth. No matter how you look at it, it''s aw that doesn''t seem particrly useful. No matter how hard I tried to steer my cultivation towards strength or destruction, thew that I ended upprehending was still Growth. I couldn''t escape it, not even in my dreams.

    "Because of thatw, I ended up being ridiculed again."

    Hongyan Mavis nced over. "We weren¡¯t mocking you, we were justughing. Besides, we were worried about you back then. Given your personality, how did you manage toprehend aw as gentle as Growth? It was something that I could see myself mastering, but never you.

    "But that was thew that you mastered. At the time, it was a mystery to us. ckie even privately joked about how you nurtured motherly love."

    Lu Yuan''s eyes red in a burst of anger. "What did you just say?"

    Hongyan Mavisughed loudly. "It wasn''t me! ckie said it!"

    Lu Yuan snorted, but then he continued exining. "I knew what they wereughing at, and I also knew that Growth sounded gentle andcking in offensive power. However, it was from my Law of Growth that my innate gift, the Investiture of the Gods, was born."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "The Investiture of the Gods is from your Law of Growth?"

    Lu Yuan nodded. "That''s right. The Investiture of the Gods seals the power of a peak powerhouse for us to summon back out and use their power for ourselves. This ability was triggered by the Law of Growth. At the peak of Growth, it is able to produce the Investiture of the Gods. That is the secret of our hereditary innate gift."

    Lu Yin pondered. "So, your Investiture of the Gods is essentially a product of your Law of Growth. You constantly absorb the power of powerful individuals, which eventually led to the formation of your own sealing power."

    Lu Yuan smiled. "Exactly. That''s why my Investiture of the Gods is different from other summoning abilities. Its potential for growth is limitless. As long as it continues to absorb power from stronger and stronger individuals, it will continue to grow."

    Lu Yin suddenly understood. "I see. It¡¯s no wonder why you didn''t take Tian Fa¡¯s spear earlier. You were waiting for your Investiture of the Gods to grow strong enough to withstand even Tian Fa''s attack."

    Lu Yuan nodded. "Yes. It''s not time yet, but one day, my Investiture of the Gods will grow strong enough to withstand any attack. On that day, I will be truly invincible."

    Hongyan Mavis sighed softly. "The future of the Investiture of the Gods is limitless."

    Lu Yin was badly shaken, and he finally understood why his ancestor was able to stand above so many powerful individuals. The Law of Growth allowed Lu Yuan to continue growing stronger until he became invincible.

    His gaze firmed. "Ancestor, in the future, the Heavens Sect will undoubtedly be stronger because of you."

    Lu Yuan gave a small smile. "I believe in you, Little Seven. The future of the Heavens Sect will be ced in your hands."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3181: The Power of Growth

    Lu Yuan gritted his teeth. "That bastard ckie! He actually dared to say things like that about me, and I never even knew about it?"

    Hongyan Mavis rolled her eyes. "Who was going to tell you? If anyone had mentioned it, wouldn¡¯t you have flipped the universe over?

    "Did you really not notice that there was a period of time when ckie avoided you?"

    Lu Yuan was shaking with rage. "That bastard ckie! I knew he was a scheming, sharp-tongued devil! He was always pretending to be so well-behaved. If he had the guts to say that, he should have said it to my face! That despicable bastard! When I see him again, I¡¯ll make sure to tear his mouth off!"

    Lu Yin was speechless, but then he was suddenly reminded of the words written on the floor of the cabin in the Mirari Realm. It seemed that all of the Three Realms and Six Daos were aware that the God of Death had a sharp tongue, and Lu Yin was seeing evidence of it for himself.

    He had initially believed the God of Death to be an unsmiling, ruthless warrior. He had been strong enough to suppress all the astral beasts in the Origin Universe, and he had given Lu Yin the impression that he was someone as steady as a mountain. That image of the God of Death hadpletely copsed in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    It seemed that even the Great Sovereign had held simr thoughts about the God of Death, until Ancestor Lu Yuan mentioned that the God of Death had wanted to sneak attack her while in disguise. The woman had refused to believe it when Lu Yuan had first mentioned it.

    The God of Death had been too good of an actor.

    Lu Yuan finally caught his breath. "Just wait. I don¡¯t believe that that bastard would have died so easily. He¡¯ll definitely show up again, and when he does, I¡¯ll tear his mouth off. Just wait!""Ancestor, what happened next?" Lu Yin asked. Hearing the story of each person¡¯s cultivation journey could provide insights for Lu Yin, especially the story of someone like Ancestor Lu Yuan, who was one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Moreover, Ancestor Lu Yuan''s Progenitor¡¯s world and sequence particles were both rather unique and did not match the man¡¯s personality. This revealed another aspect ofprehending thews of the universe to Lu Yin, and it suggested thatprehension might not always align with a person¡¯s desires.

    Lu Yuan took a deep breath and finally suppressed his anger. "My Progenitor¡¯s world Fertile Soil and the Law of Growth are not offensive abilities, no matter how you look at them. I thought about both of them for a long, long time, and eventually, I linked my Law of the Universe with my Fertile Soil, and when I did so, something strange happened. That managed to shut everyone up for good."

    The man grew serious as he stared at Lu Yin. "I grew the Investiture of the Gods."

    Lu Yin was stunned, and wondered if he had misheard.

    "You didn''t hear wrong. I really did grow the Investiture of the Gods," Lu Yuan repeated.

    Lu Yin blinked. "An innate gift¡­ can be grown?"

    Lu Yuan chuckled at Lu Yin¡¯s expression. "All of us have constantly been amazed by your path of cultivation and progress. I didn¡¯t expect that something like this would manage to surprise you."

    Hongyan Mavis interjected, "All of us showed the same expression as you when we heard about it. Can an innate gift be grown? But he really did just that. Our master was in seclusion at the time, and when he came out and heard about it, even he was surprised, though notpletely shocked. It seemed like he had already guessed that something like that might happen."

    Lu Yuan sighed. "I didn¡¯t expect that I would one day actually grow something like the Investiture of the Gods. My Lu family already had an innate gift, our Champions'' Stage. That hereditary innate gift is what made me realize that there must have been some powerful cultivator in our family¡¯s past. The Investiture of the Gods was grown by me, but our Champions'' Stage might also have been created by someone in the past, since it can be passed down.

    "I wanted to stand equal to our unknown ancestor who might have founded our family by passing down the Investiture of the Gods, but you know how that turned out. I drove my son to his death and ultimately raised a madman in our Lu family.

    "At first, everyone told me that the Investiture of the Gods couldn¡¯t be inherited, and because of my obsession in aplishing just that, I pushed my son to his death."

    Hongyan Mavis consoled the man, "People¡¯s words can be terrifying. There are times when words can be more harmful than a powerful innate gift."

    "ckie wasn¡¯t the one to spread thosements, was he?" Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something and turned to re at Hongyan Mavis.

    The woman frowned. "ckie just has a sharp tongue. He¡¯s never been cruel to anyone, much less ridiculed or ndered you. Loam, do you not trust him?"

    Lu Yuan sighed. "Sorry, I was overthinking things."

    Lu Yin also did not believe that the God of Death would nder Lu Yuan. What had been said had nothing to do with someone being sharp-tongued. Rather, it had clearly been borne of jealousy and intended to mock Lu Yuan.

    Given the God of Death''s strength, how could he have been jealous of Lu Yuan?

    It was possible that the God of Death was even stronger than Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor.

    ¡°When Nutjob Lu awakened the Investiture of the Gods, I knew that I had seeded. I had indeed grown an innate gift that could be inherited by my descendants, and it hade from my Fertile Soil and Law of Growth. However, that was also the limit. My Fertile Soil was unable to grow anything more. That¡¯s what Master told me.

    ¡°However, there was also a condition to that limitation: that I remained a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yuan grew extremely excited. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve broken past the Progenitor level and be an Ortuser, my Fertile Soil has undergone yet another transformation.¡±

    The old man¡¯s eyes sparkled as he looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Little Seven, your ancestor here can grow something again!¡±

    Lu Yin felt that there was something off about thatment, but he also could not help but feel a bit excited himself.

    Reaching the Sequence Progenitor level had allowed Lu Yuan to grow his Investiture of the Gods in his Progenitor¡¯s world. Since he had recently be an Ortuser, what could Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor grow next? Could the Lu family produce a third hereditary innate gift?

    After hearing his ancestor¡¯s words, Lu Yin understood. ¡°You wanted to fight someone with your life at risk to find out what else you can grow in your Fertile Soil, right?¡±

    Lu Yuan replied, ¡°There are too few powerful enemies for me to fight against as an Ortuser, and without facing death and oveing it, how can I hope to grow something truly powerful? If I can grow an innate gift that surpasses the Investiture of the Gods, our Lu family will be truly invincible in the future.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you give up?¡± Hongyan Mavis asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin also felt confused about this.

    Lu Yuan thought for a moment and then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯m your ancestor, and I have no idea what you want.¡±

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin¡¯s body as he stared at the ancestor, dumbfounded.

    Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yuan and then looked at Lu Yin before nodding. ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    With that, she left.

    Lu Yuan quickly chased after the woman. ¡°Wait, Hongyan! Tell me what else you all were saying about me behind my back? Especially ckie¡­¡±

    Lu Yin remained standing in the same ce as he watched his ancestor and Hongyan leave. A smile appeared on his face.

    Was cultivating lonely? No, it was never lonely.

    When he had been Lu Xiaoxuan, he had received the protection of the Lu family and been the heir and young master of the Perennial World. Then, the Seven Heroes had sacrificed themselves for him. That had been a bond of blood and the most genuine friendship that could exist.

    During his life as Lu Yin, despite the many hardships and life-and-death situations he had survived through, he had also gained friends, love, and family. He had everything that he could hope to ask for. He trulycked nothing.

    In the Origin Universe, and even in the Sixverse Association and all the other human civilizations, how many people recognized Lu Yin?

    He was truly not alone.

    Sacrificing oneself for the greater good was a foolish thing to do for a cultivator, and yet Lu Yin was willing to do just that for his people.

    Regardless of whether it was the Lu family or all of humanity, there were too many people who were protecting Lu Yin, both secretly and openly. He would protect all of them as well, even to the end.

    ¡­

    Tian Fa refused to stop chasing after Great Elder Shan Gu to deliver heaven¡¯s punishment.

    The butterfly, Tian En, also visited the Heavens Sect once, and she sternly warned them not to help Shan Gu escape. However, the butterfly ended up being insulted by Ancestor Lu Yuan and sent away. He told her that the Heavens Sect had never helped the Lost n and that it was the Boundary Guardians¡¯ own ipetence that had caused them to fail to capture the Lost n. Despite that, the Heavens Sect was being med.

    Tian En had felt helpless, and she had been forced to leave.

    No matter how badly rumors ndered the Heavens Sect, Shan Gu always made it a point to appear at a crucial moment in order to crush those rumors.

    The rtionship between the Lost n and the Heavens Sect remained strong.

    One day, Monarch Xing arrived in the Heavens Sect and requested an audience with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was surprised. Monarch Xing had only agreed to join the Heavens Sect so that she could ensure that her people were protected. After joining, she initially stayed within the sect, but she hadter moved to the Starfall Sea. She had never participated in any of the sect''s matters, unless Aeternus invaded the Starfall Sea.

    Why had shee?

    Lu Yin met with her, and Monarch Xing appeared as calm as ever. ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded slightly. ¡°What brings you here?¡±

    Monarch Xing raised a hand to show him a cosmic ring and a drop of blood. Lines swirled around the drop of blood.

    ¡°Someone gave this to me, but I was unable to open it. Because of that, I assumed that they might have wanted me to deliver it to you,¡± Monarch Xing exined.

    Lu Yin took the cosmic ring and the drop of blood surrounded by the swirling lines.

    The sight reminded him of someone: ckless God.

    Whenever ckless God attacked, he always trapped his enemies within ck lines.

    Lu Yin applied a bit of force, but he was unable to break the line. He used more and more strength until, finally, there was a soft snap and the line shattered.

    No wonder Monarch Xing had been unable to open it. Lu Yin had used far more strength than what most Progenitors possessed. The Monarch¡¯s strength meant that it was impossible for her to break the line.

    Lu Yin used the blood to open the cosmic ring. It only held a single item, a cosmic door.

    Another cosmic door? Where did this one lead?

    ¡°I will take my leave,¡± Monarch Xing said as she offered a bow.

    Lu Yin looked over. ¡°Has Luo Shan contacted you recently?¡±

    Monarch Xing hesitated briefly. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Lu Yin had only casually asked. He had not really expected Luo Shan to have been in contact with Monarch Xing. The man truly harbored strong feelings for the woman.

    ¡°He only came to speak with me. There was nothing more to it. I asked him, and he told me that he isn¡¯t a spy,¡± Monarch Xing said.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman. ¡°Do you believe him?¡±

    Monarch Xing met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. ¡°I do.¡±

    Lu Yin did not respond, and Monarch Xing continued speaking. ¡°Luo Shan is an extremely goal-oriented person. While he certainlyckspassion and can kill anyone, it¡¯s precisely because he is so goal-oriented that he knows exactly what he wants.

    ¡°He desires to hold a position of power over humans, not to live among a group of monsters.

    ¡°If Aeternus defeats humanity, he would have to either be a corpse king or live on his own. To him, either fate is even more painful than death, so he can¡¯t be a spy.

    ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing.¡± Monarch Xing hesitated before continuing, ¡°He¡¯s never lied to me.¡±

    Lu Yin had no interest in the rtionship between Luo Shan and Monarch Xing. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    When the list of Aeternus¡¯s spies had been published, while Arch-Elder Zen, Mu Xie, and Sovereign Lotus had been wrongfully used, Wu Hen had indeed been a spy. Who could guarantee that Luo Shan was not also one? As soon as the list had been revealed, Luo Shan had disappeared. He had not been seen since.

    Monarch Xing shook her head. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t tell me.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s never lied to you?¡± Lu Yin felt skeptical about that detail.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t lie to me, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he tells me everything. He¡¯s on guard against everyone, and that includes even me,¡± Monarch Xing exined.

    Lu Yin did not know how he should describe Luo Shan. Wasn¡¯t itpletely exhausting to live life as that man did?

    However, it was because of how he lived that Luo Shan had managed to stay alive.

    Luo Shan and Mr. Daheng had betrayed their master, and they were bothpletely selfish. Luo Shan could never be trusted, though it did seem quite unlikely for him to be a spy.

    ¡°If you see Luo Shan again, tell him that I¡¯ll give him a chance to prove his innocence, but only if he appears in person,¡± Lu Yin said.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3182: An Unexpected Person

    After Monarch Xing left, Lu Yin continued to stare at the cosmic door that had been delivered to him. Who had sent it? What was on the other side of the cosmic door?

    He was no longer afraid of being ambushed by Aeternus. Their strongest individuals were the Three Pirs and Six Skies, with the additional possibility of Progenitor Xi. If Lu Yin did decide to pass through the cosmic door, he would absolutely go with Lu Yuan, and there was no one in Aeternus who was strong enough to ambush Lu Yin¡¯s ancestor.

    The most likely possibility was that the cosmic door led to a ce where one of humanity¡¯s moles within Aeternus was waiting to meet with Lu Yin.

    Hui Wu was only one of the spies who had infiltrated the Aeternals. There was clearly another within the Seven Skygods, which even Mister Mu had confirmed. It was only because of that spy¡¯s warnings that humanity had been able to respond to Aeternus on several asions.

    In particr, Shaman God would have never been ambushed and killed if not for that mole¡¯s warning. They had no idea that Shaman God was hiding within Lord Wei¡¯s body, and without the warning, they would have never been able to trap the Skygod and eventually kill him.

    Could that spy want to meet with Lu Yin?

    Lu Yin summoned Lu Yuan and, together, the two passed through the cosmic door.

    After taking that one step, they found themselves in a dim universe. Far away, indistinct in the darkness, they could vaguely make out a massive object.

    Lu Yin stared at it, his pupils contracting. Was that¡­ the Megalith?He had seen the Megalith while fishing in the River of Time, andter, when he Possessed Ancient God, Lu Yin had gained some knowledge of the creature.

    Megalith Poison was still threatening humanity. If Aeternus managed to extract enough, even sequence powerhouses could be killed.

    Lu Yin had been hoping to get his hands on some Time Poison to counteract the Megalith Poison that was still afflicting the Ice Lord and Moon Fairy, but he had not yet found an opportunity to do so.

    It was unexpected for the cosmic door to be connected to the parallel universe that was the Megalith¡¯s home.

    Someone else approached from another direction, moving slowly.

    Lu Yin and Lu Yuan stared at the approaching figure, and their expressions quickly changed. ¡°So it¡¯s really you.¡±

    The person who had appeared was none other than ckless God.

    The Skygod¡¯s eyes had three ck lines rotating within each of them as he stared at Lu Yin and Lu Yuan. "We¡¯ve been waiting a very long time for this day."

    Lu Yin stared at ckless God. "And just who are you?"

    ckless God looked at Lu Yin. "Who I am doesn''t matter. What does matter is that I do not belong to your megaverse. If I did, I would have never been able to deceive True God."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "You''re not from this megaverse?"

    "You don''t need to know where Ie from, and it wouldn¡¯t mean anything to you if you did. That creature in the distance, do you recognize it?" ckless God pointed at the massive object.

    Lu Yin replied in a low voice, "The Megalith."

    ckless God was caught off guard. "You know what it is?"

    "Why did you bring us here? Since the Megalith is here, we could easily be discovered by Aeternus, right?" Lu Yin responded with his own question.

    ckless God replied, "No, not easily. I¡¯ve been the one collecting Megalith Poison."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered as he stared at ckless God. "So you''re the one responsible for the defeat of the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance?"

    "I¡¯ve spent years collecting the Megalith''s saliva, but I¡¯ve only given a small bit of it to Aeternus, telling them that I was unable to gather very much. Despite their limited supply, Aeternus used up all of their Megalith Poison at once to cripple the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance. There was nothing I could do about it. If I hadn''t held back most of the Megalith Poison that I¡¯ve collected, it wouldn''t have been just the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance that was defeated, but also your Heavens Sect and Whitecloud City."

    As ckless God spoke, he pulled out a container of liquid that was surrounded by ck lines from his cosmic ring. "This is more than ten times the amount of Megalith Poison that Aeternus used to cripple the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance."

    Lu Yin nodded. "If that''s the case, then why didn''t you warn us ahead of time that they were going to be attacked by Aeternus?"

    ckless God''s voice remained calm. "My existence is not something that can be exposed, not unless it''s a matter of life and death.

    "Just the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance are not enough to change the overall situation of the war."

    "So why have you reached out to us now?" Lu Yin asked.

    "The Megalith is also not from this megaverse."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "You want to divert the Boundary Guardians with the Megalith so that they stop targeting our Heavens Sect?"

    ckless God turned to stare off into the distance. "If the Boundary Guardians hadn''t appeared, I would not have exposed myself just yet. Those four are enough topletely restrain your Heavens Sect. If you really want to protect the Lost n and fight against the Boundary Guardians, it¡¯s hard to say who would emerge as the victor. After all, they are four Ortusers.

    "Even if you abandon the Lost n and forget about how doing so will damage your reputation, Aeternus will still find ways to manipte the Boundary Guardians into continuing to make things difficult for your Heavens Sect. They are already inclined to help the Aeternals¡ªdo not question that. Given the chance, those four willpletely destroy your Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yuan felt puzzled. "Why is that?"

    ckless God exined, "From their perspective, the Aeternals are more capable of maintaining the stability of this megaverse, whereas humanity introduces too many variables. Do you think that the destruction of the First Maind during the first Divine Commandment was a coincidence?"

    Lu Yuan''s eyes sharpened. "The Boundary Guardians?"

    ckless God replied, "While I did not see it myself, the fact that your Heavens Sect''s Origin Progenitor was unable to prevent the destruction of the First Maind was most likely rted to the Boundary Guardians. Four Ortusers can restrain the Origin Progenitor. That much is within their capabilities."

    A murderous light filled Lu Yuan''s eyes. <em>So that''s how it was.</em>

    Lu Yin had not considered the possibility of the Boundary Guardians being connected to the destruction of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    If this was true, then these four had to be eliminated.

    "To them, it doesn¡¯t matter if Aeternus or humanity ends up winning. They will simply help whoever will be more stable while destroying the side that presents more variables. That''s their logic," ckless God exined.

    When he finished speaking, he looked at Lu Yin. "I sought you out to tell you two things: first, the antidote to the Megalith Poison is Time Poison, but you¡¯ll need to find it yourselves.

    "Second, Aeternus ns to push the Megalith into the Origin Universe."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "When?"

    "They were originally going to do it right after the Five Spirits Alliance and the Luna Alliance were crushed, but you surprised them by attacking the Scourge first. Actually, that didn''t matter much, as they had already anticipated you invading the Scourge. They were prepared for a stalemated battle, even if they had to sacrifice something to do that. Pushing the Megalith into the Origin Universe would have been worth the price.

    "However, the Great Sovereign ruined those ns by sealing True God with her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and the n failed."

    "If they were nning on this, why didn''t you warn us before now? This concerns humanity''s very survival," Lu Yin asked.

    ckless God replied, "I didn''t know about it. You are certain that one of the Seven Skygods is helping humanity, but the Aeternals have guessed as much themselves. Because of that, there are many things that I¡¯m unaware of, and the other Skygods might have been left in the dark as well. The only ones who know for sure are Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, and possibly Whiteless God."

    As the man spoke, he continued to look at Lu Yin. "I''ve had several chances to kill you, but I¡¯ve always ensured that you had a hope of escaping. You should have noticed that."

    Lu Yin exhaled. "Where can I find Time Poison?"

    ckless God shook his head. "I don''t know. I''ve told you everything I can, but there are certain matters that I won''t help you with. I''m not doing this for you, but for myself. I have my own ns, and if things weren¡¯t such a mess, I wouldn''t have revealed myself to you. I also hope that you won''t expose me.

    "We don¡¯t have much time, so if you have any questions, be quick about it."

    Lu Yin had known for quite some time that Time Poison was the antidote to Megalith Poison, but he had not found any yet.

    Aside from Time Poison, there was another substance that could potentially neutralize Megalith Poison: the mist in the Mirari Realm.

    That mist was the power of time in gaseous form, and it would likely be even more effective than Time Poison.

    However, reaching the Mirari Realm was incredibly difficult.

    "Does Aeternus have a way to enter the Mirari Realm?" Lu Yin asked.

    ckless God grew puzzled. "Why are you asking about the Mirari Realm? There used to be a way to enter that ce, but not anymore.

    "It was a simple method¡ªjust tear through the void while crushing a marker stone. Those stones are from the Mirari Realm, and the debris automatically returns to the Mirari Realm. By following the dust, it¡¯s possible to enter the Mirari Realm."

    "It was that simple?" Lu Yin was surprised.

    ckless God replied, "Not really. Those stones were hard to find, and there were both real and fake ones."

    Lu Yin felt confused. "Weren''t those stones supposed to be pieces of a map that shows the way to the Mirari Realm?"

    "No."

    "What do you mean by real and fake stones?"

    "The Mirari Realm is a mystical ce. Legends im that Qingluo Jiantian broke through to the Origin realm in the Mirari Realm, which led countless people to try to enter that ce, and they fought over the stones. At that time, arge number of fake stones were made. They were made from a hard material that was just as durable as the real stones, but the fake ones can¡¯t lead you to the Mirari Realm. Eventually, no one was able to find any of the real stones anymore. Even Aeternus struggles to track any of them down, and they¡¯ve only managed to find any through pure luck."

    Lu Yin frowned. He personally had two of the Peaks and Rivers stones. He had previously had three, but he had given one to Mr. Daheng. They had assumed that they needed to gather enough stones to piece together an image that would show how to enter the Mirari Realm. If Lu Yin had known how easy it was to use them, he would have never parted with one.

    However, it was also clear that Mr. Daheng did not know how to properly use the stones, or else he would already have done so.

    Sometimes a method would be incredibly simple, but that simplicity would make it hard to discover.

    "How can you tell a real stone from a fake one?" Lu Yin asked. He could not just go around crushing each stone in order to test them. Timing was important when entering the Mirari Realm, and he could not do so randomly.

    ckless God raised an eyebrow. "It seems that you have some stones."

    "I do," Lu Yin admitted.

    ckless God said, "Very few people can tell a real stone from a fake one, but you''re in luck. I can tell the difference because I''m one of the few people who have entered the Mirari Realm. Less than half of Aeternus¡¯s top ten powerhouses, including both the Three Pirs and Six Skies and the Seven Skygods, have ever entered the Mirari Realm."

    As the man spoke, he took something out of his cosmic ring and tossed it to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin caught it and found that he had been given a cubic crystal.

    "That holds a speck of dust. I caught it from the ashes of the stone that I crushed to enter the Mirari Realm. Not everything from the Mirari Realm can be used as a marker; it''s hard to find such things. Use this grain of dust. If it reacts when it gets close to a stone, then it''s real. If not, it''s fake."

    Lu Yin was delighted. "Thank you."

    "There¡¯s no need to thank me. Hongyan Mavis''s reappearance has already told Aeternus that you''ve been to the Mirari Realm. Since you¡¯ve been there, there''s no need for me to warn you to avoid certain regions of the Mirari Realm. However, as someone who''s used that ce before, I will tell you this: time is not omnipotent. Even with endless time, there are certain cultivation realms that are impossible to reach. While the time that you¡¯ve experienced in the Mirari Realm might not be connected to this megaverse¡¯s time, that doesn¡¯t mean that time isn¡¯t still passing in that ce.

    "True God once mentioned that, above everything we know, there should be a mainstem of the River of Time. The River of Time that exists in the Mirari Realm represents this megaverse, or possibly more, while the main River of Time represents all of existence since the very beginning of time. The truth is that the cosmos is not just our megaverse, but rather the entire omniverse that epasses all megaverses.

    "The time that you spend in the Mirari Realm is always present in that main River of Time. You can never truly escape time."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3183: The Megalithâ€™s Strength

    <h4>Chapter 3183: The Megalith¡¯s Strength</h4>

    This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard of such a thing. While fishing in the River of Time, he had spected that, since time was passing for him in the Mirari Realm, there had to be some sort of time flow present in the Mirari Realm. From what ckless God was saying, there was no way to truly break free from time. It was just that the connection would shift to a higher level.

    Lu Yin noted ckless God¡¯s warning. "One more question. When you were in the Mirari Realm, was Feng Bo there?"

    "The Mirari Realm isn¡¯t small, and as long as you have the capability, you can explore the entire ce. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be limited to wandering nothing more than a small portion of it near the river and its two banks. When I was there, I didn¡¯t see Feng Bo," the man replied.

    Lu Yin understood. This exined why Aeternus had not helped Feng Bo deal with Hongyan Mavis. If another one of Aeternus¡¯s experts at the level of the Seven Skygods had gone to help, how could Hongyan Mavis have survived her time in the Mirari Realm?

    "We¡¯re out of time. I must go. We¡¯ll speak again if an opportunity arises," ckless God said as he prepared to leave.

    Lu Yin grew worried. "If we bring Great Elder Shan Gu here, won¡¯t the Aeternals realize that you showed us this universe?"

    ckless God continued to tear through the void and entered the tear. "I¡¯m not the only one who knows about this ce."

    With that, he vanished.

    Lu Yin and Lu Yuan stared at the empty space before them before exchanging nces.

    "Do you trust him?" Lu Yuan asked.

    Lu Yin considered the matter. "There¡¯s no reason not to. So far, everything he¡¯s said matches what I know. He¡¯s spared my life several times, and he was the one who said that he would give me 100,000 years before I would be forced to make a final decision about joining Aeternus. He also shared the Aeternals¡¯ ns with us, as well as the details about the Mirari Realm. Even if he wanted to put on an act to get close to us, there wouldn¡¯t be any reason to share that kind of information."

    Lu Yuan sighed. "I always suspected that one of the Seven Skygods was on our side, but I never considered him."

    "It¡¯s time to give Shan Gu a bit of peace," Lu Yinmented softly as he stared at the colossal creature off in the distance.

    ...

    A cosmic door hung in outer space as Shan Gu rushed out of it. He threw a nce at the distant form of the massive Megalith, and the man instantly felt a chill cover his body. Lu Yin had warned him about the Megalith beforehand, so Shan Gu knew that the creature could crush space and expose the Hollow just by rolling over.

    The warning had not only startled the Great Elder, but also Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis.

    Both of them were famous for their physical strength, and they knew perfectly well just how much power was needed to tear open the Hollow.

    Not even all Progenitors were able to tear open the Hollow, and yet the Megalith was able to do so by simply rolling over. This suggested that the creature possessed unfathomable power. What would happen if the beast ever attacked?

    Lu Yuan spected that, if the Megalith was a normal creature, its physical strength would beparable to the power of an Ortuser¡¯s attacks.

    Shan Gu remembered Lu Yin''s warning, and he therefore did not dare to approach the Megalith. Not only could it crush the void and reveal the Hollow by merely rolling over, but it was also capable of absorbing energy, which was how the Megalith produced its poison. Any creature that got too close to the beast would lose its energy. For the time being, the Great Elder preferred to keep his distance.

    Several days quickly passed, and Tian Fa caught up to Shan Gu. The creature did not enter the universe through the cosmic door. After all, that was impossible, as the cosmic door was with Lu Yin.

    Tian Fa was able to track Shan Gu¡¯s location through some unknown method, and it had directly entered the Megalith¡¯s universe.

    This was the same as in the past. They were able to easily track Shan Gu across parallel universes and constantly drew closer and closer. However, after fighting Lu Yuan in the Origin Universe, Shan Gu had managed to gain a great deal of distance. At the moment, Tian Fa was closing in yet again.

    As soon as Tian Fa appeared, Shan Gu immediately rushed closer to the Megalith, though not by himself. The man was piloting a mecha.

    It was one of the Infinity Empire¡¯s mechas, though it was one of the very few that was not powered by ring energy. It was an experimental machine that the Imperial Academy had designed, and it was intended to be disassembled by students.

    At this moment, the mecha wasing in handy.

    The mecha could move quickly, and it was at least as fast as a Semi-Progenitor. Before its deployment, the Infinity Empire had modified it to no longer relied on ring energy. Without that change, Shan Gu would not have been able to use it.

    Tian Fa watched as the mecha rushed towards the Megalith. It noticed the massive creature, and the blood-colored liquid that was Tian Fa roiled in ce. "A creature from another megaverse?"

    It had already noticed that the Megalith was also an outsider.

    This was why ckless God had shared the Megalith¡¯s location with Lu Yin, as it could be used to restrain Tian Fa.

    ckless God was confident that this was possible. While the Megalith was not much of a fighter and was not particrly aggressive, it was very resilient and could automatically absorb energy without even being conscious.

    As the mecha moved closer to the beast, Shan Gu could feel his energy draining away. However, it was rather easy to avoid this effect, as all that he needed to do was move away from the creature. The Great Elder had not been afflicted by Megalith Poison.

    At this moment, everything depended on Tian Fa¡¯s decision.

    The creature hesitated for a moment and then attacked the Megalith. Tian Fa had hesitated because it was clear that the Megalith was not a creature to take lightly, but since it was an outsider from another megaverse, Tian Fa was obligated to attack.

    ¡°Earth¡¯s de.¡±

    Endless des filled the universe and shed at the Megalith. Of course, the mecha was also included in its range.

    Shan Gu took out his Heavenly King card to stop the des, as the mecha was incapable of surviving any of Tian Fa¡¯s attacks.

    The endless des struck the bottom of the Megalith, instantly waking the beast.

    The Megalith immediately rolled over while letting out a deep growl of pain.

    Tian Fa showed no mercy as it dered, "You dare to enter this megaverse without permission? You will be killed without mercy!"

    As the Megalith rolled over, its massive body crushed space. After turning over, it lunged at Tian Fa.

    Despite its incredible size, the Megalith moved quickly, and it looked as though it was swimming through a sea of stars. The closer it got to Tian Fa, the stronger its energy-absorption ability became. Furious roars rang across the universe as the beast opened its mouth to bite at Tian Fa.

    Tian Fa shouted, "Thews cannot touch me! Yourws of the universe are useless against me."

    The Megalith had directly been born from a universe, and it innately possessed the ability to absorb energies. This power could be considered a type of aw of a universe. This was not something that the beast had acquired through cultivation, but was rather an innate ability.

    However, as long as an action was aw of the universe, it could not touch Tian Fa.

    The Megalith¡¯s energy absorption had absolutely no effect on Tian Fa.

    A spear started to form in front of Tian Fa, and the Megalith suddenly froze in ce. This was exactly what had previously happened to Lu Yuan when he had fought against Tian Fa.

    "Heaven¡¯s Spear."

    The spear shot forward, and it pierced through the Megalith, piercing into its front and exiting out its back.

    The beast let out a heartrending roar as it thrashed about violently, shattering space all around it.

    The Great Elder watched from within his mecha and felt his scalp go numb. He knew that not even Lu Yuan, who was an Ortuser, could break free from Tian Fa¡¯s constraints that used the passage of time. Despite that, the Megalith was actually shattering the power of time itself.

    Tian Fa was equally shocked. Once strength reached a certain level, it became possible to break all constraints, even those of time.

    Despite being an Ortuser, Lu Yuan was unable to do this because he was not as physically strong as the Megalith. In fact, there was no one in the entire megaverse who was physically stronger than the Megalith. It was possible that Hongyan Mavis might surpass the beast when she became an Ortuser, but the chances were incredibly small.

    The Megalith was one of the strongest creatures across all the countless parallel universes when it came to brute strength.

    Even so, the beast could only writhe about. It was unable to truly break free from the shackles formed from the passing of time.

    Heaven¡¯s Spear had not actually caused that much damage to the Megalith. The beast continued to writhe about, and the sound of space shattering continued to echo out in the universe. Tian Fa¡¯s Earth¡¯s de also continued to rain down on the Megalith¡¯s body, but the attacks were unable to break through the beast¡¯s defenses. Only Tian Fa¡¯s Heaven¡¯s Spear was strong enough to pierce the Megalith¡¯s hide.

    Tian Fa wanted to move around the Megalith so that it could attack Shan Gu and deal with the human first, but the Great Elder stayed close to the Megalith, though he maintained a certain distance from Tian Fa so that he could avoid Heaven¡¯s Spear. The spear needed to beunched from within a certain distance to be effective, and as long as Shan Gu kept his distance, Tian Fa could not attack the man.

    It was also difficult for Tian Fa to bind an opponent with the passing of the years. If it were easy, it would have be invincible long ago.

    The endless des were unable to breach Heavenly King¡¯s defenses, and the Megalith continued to shatter the shackles of the passing of time. There was no other option; Tian Fa was forced to retreat for the moment.

    Shan Gu watched Tian Fa retreat before finally heaving a sigh of relief.

    He quickly moved the mecha away from the Megalith, fearing that the beast would roll over again, and in doing so, open up the Hollow in arge enough region to swallow the mecha and Shan Gu with it.

    The Megalith continued to thrash about. It would take a long time for it to calm down from the pain it was suffering from.

    ...

 Chapter 3184: Progenitor Ku Awakens

    <h4>Chapter 3184: Progenitor Ku Awakens</h4>

    Xuan Jiu remained silent for a moment, but then he gave the waiter an admiring look. "You truly have seen the universe and be as steady as a mountain."

    The waiter was left speechless. "There isn''t really anything extraordinary about me."

    "I¡¯ll introduce you to a beautiful and gentle woman who will be your wife. I''m her ninth grandfather, so as long as I give the word, she¡¯ll agree to marry you without any hesitation. However, you have a rival, and I¡¯m not sure whether or not you have the courage to face him."

    The waiter blinked. "Our boss treats me well. I''m not afraid of rivals."

    "You really have seen the world. My granddaughter¡¯s name is Starsibyl."

    "That¡¯s a nice name, Uncle. You shoulde on out first. The ground here is cold."

    "You¡¯re such a good child¡ªUncle appreciates your efforts. By the way, your rival''s name is Lu Yin, though some people call him Lord Lu."

    "Boss! This bastard¡¯s trying to trick me!"

    "Who dares to try to take advantage of someone from our restaurant? I''ll cut them down!"

    There was a bang as Xuan Jiu leaped through the window and out of the restaurant. He was still holding a roasted haunch in one hand, and he muttered to himself even as he ate it, "I¡¯d better go find that brat Lu Yin. Grandpa Jiu can''t be beaten! Let''s see who¡¯s got worse luck! Brat, grandpa''sing..."

    ...

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin decided to roll his die.

    It was not going to be easy to deal with the Boundary Guardians, and on top of that, Lu Yin wanted to use his die to check on the current situation of the Aeternas.

    Aeternus was doing everything possible to get the Boundary Guardians to act against the Heavens Sect. On the surface, the guardians seemed to be wary of the Heavens Sect, but Lu Yin was not certain what their true intentions were.

    Aeternus was not run by fools. Lu Yin could not help but suspect that they wereying a trap, given that the Aeternals were acting so weak.

    Aeternus had destroyed the ancient Heavens Sect with overwhelming power.

    Only knowing both his enemy and himself would reassure Lu Yin.

    Seizing the consciousness of the Purple Emperor had allowed Lu Yin¡¯s cracked star of consciousness to mostly recover, which meant that he should be able to break through the barriers in the strange dark space that separated different parallel universes. Lu Yin was not going to target any of the Seven Skygods or the Three Pirs and Six Skies with his Possession; otherwise, he might run into True God again. The best option was to merge with some other peak powerhouse within Aeternus so that Lu Yin could determine the state of the Scourges.

    He lifted his head as his die appeared. He used divine energy as he tapped the die and rolled it. He watched as it slowly stopped spinning. It showed one pip, and Pilfer caused something useless to fall out. Again.

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin rolled his die again. His first four rolls had not given him Possession once.

    Once, twice, thrice, four times. Still, not once did Lu Yin roll Possession. This was pretty bad luck, so he waited again. However, even after another ten days, he still failed to roll Possession.

    It was highly unusual for Lu Yin to have so much trouble getting a specific roll, and he could not believe his luck.

    Finally, as he watched the diee to a stop, it showed six pips, and Lu Yin''s consciousness appeared in the strange dark space.

    He looked into the distance. The dark space was vast, and he could only see a few dim orbs of light far off in the distance. They clearly represented individuals who were much weaker than Lu Yin. His consciousness wandered about, and soon enough, he saw a slightly brighter ball of light. From the brightness, he judged that it should represent a peak powerhouse.

    There was also a barrier between him and the light.

    Lu Yin''s consciousness shot towards the orb, and he smashed through the invisible barrier to merge with the orb of light.

    When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiarndscape surrounding him. He was back in the Scourge. Memories quickly surged into Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he raised a hand as he realized that he was Possessing Chong Gui.

    Chong Gui was one of the True God Guard Captains, and Lu Yin had first learned of the man¡¯s existence when he had attacked the Heavens Sect. That was also when the Lu family had returned from exile, and as a result, Chong Gui had been captured by Lu Tianyi and then imprisoned within the death energy beneath Aeternus Nation. When Di Qiong had invaded Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin had been forced to release Chong Gui and Dual deform in order to return to the Scourge as Ye Bo. That had allowed Lu Yin to continue infiltrating Aeternus.

    Chong Gui was not human. Lu Yin had previously received reports about him, and the Heavens Sect had interrogated him, but Chong Gui had never said anything.

    However, from the memories he could see, Lu Yin learned that Chong Gui had indeed been born a human, though he had lived a truly tragic life.

    Chong Gui had been born as an ordinary human, butter on in life, he had been captured by a cultivator who specialized in experimenting with insects. That cultivator had used insects to attack enemies, and he had used people to feed his bugs. Chong Gui¡¯s childhood had been miserable, and he had barely survived. As for the cultivator, he had eventually been devoured by his own insects with nothing left behind. Chong Gui, due to having spent so much time with the bugs, had gained the ability to control them. Thus, he stepped onto the path of the cultivator who had captured him.

    While the cultivator had only ever managed to be the equivalent of an Envoy, Chong Gui sessfully became a peak powerhouse by following the man¡¯s path.

    Because he used insects to fight, Chong Gui had been regarded as an evil individual, and he had never bothered to exin himself. He had mercilessly killed all invaders andmitted heinous massacres in his native civilization. Eventually, he had been taken away by Aeternus and made a True God Guard Captain.

    As for the man¡¯s strange manner of speaking, that all stemmed from his childhood interactions with insects, during which time he had created an alternate personality.

    Chong Gui''s memories left Lu Yin feeling very ufortable. The man¡¯s tragic childhood and the ughters that he hadmitted after bing a cultivator both opened Lu Yin''s eyes.

    The man had lived a pitiful life. Everything about his existence had been tragic, but he had also delivered tragedy to countless others.

    He had killed many innocent people.

    In front of Chong Gui, a river of divine energy flowed through a crack in the ground. The First Scourge was in shambles after the multiple battles and invasions.

    Mu Ji approached from the distance. "Chong Gui, why are you staring at the divine energy river?"

    Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ji. The Arborean was the reason why Hui Wu had be a frenzied corpse. Mu Ji was one of Lu Yin¡¯s must-kill targets, though the man had not yet told Aeternus that Ye Bo was actually one of Lu Yin¡¯s alternate identities, nor had the man¡¯s suspicions regarding Wang Xiaoyu been shared. Just what was Mu Ji thinking?

    Mu Ji observed Chong Gui with open curiosity. "What''s wrong with you? You don''t seem like yourself."

    Lu Yin''s consciousness withdrew from Chong Gui''s body. He did not need to be cautious any longer. Even if he was discovered, what of it? True God already knew that Lu Yin could Possess people with his die. The Three Pirs and Six Skies and the Seven Skygods most likely knew about the matter as well.

    It was not impossible for Mu Ji and the other captains to have been informed, so it would not be unreasonable for them to be suspicious if Chong Gui acted in an unusual manner.

    When his consciousness returned to his body, Lu Yin let out a breath. Chong Gui''s memories were still weighing heavily on Lu Yin¡¯s heart. A person needed to be able to control their own fate. Lu Yin had also experienced something terrible in the past, and he had nearly be white meat. Fortunately, his luck had not beenpletely terrible, and he had ultimately reimed everything that should have belonged to him from the beginning.

    After steadying his mind, Lu Yin continued to roll the die.

    After another ten days passed, Lu Yin rolled Possession again. He quickly found another appropriate orb of light, and he immediately merged with it.

    Upon opening his eyes, his vision waspletely filled by a dark-red light. Was he in a river of divine energy?

    Memories entered his mind. Lu Yin had Possessed a frenzied corpse. There were a great many memories he could ess, as the frenzied corpse had once been a peak powerhouse.

    Lu Yin had no interest in the cultivator¡¯s memories. After all, they had been reduced to being nothing more than a frenzied corpse.

    Not far away, he could see another frenzied corpse. It was Hui Wu.

    Lu Yin stared at Hui Wu. The man¡¯s eyes were closed, and he was locked in a cage. There was no hint of life or vitality.

    Thest time that Lu Yin had led an invasion into the First Scourge, Hui Wu had charged out of ake of divine energy and dragged Shao Yin over to the ck Mother Tree. At the time, no one had understood Hui Wu''s actions; had he been trying to help or harm Shao Yin?

    Regardless, Hui Wu had been thrown back into theke of divine energy, destined to eventually be a frenzied corpse.

    Lu Yin wanted to call out to Hui Wu, but suddenly, the divine energy of theke swirled, and a four-sided seal appeared in front of Lu Yin¡¯s vision. At the same time, he heard True God¡¯s voice. "You¡¯ve recovered so quickly?"

    Lu Yin immediately ended the Possession and returned to the mysterious dark space.

    The seal chased after him, trying to attack Lu Yin''s consciousness.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin had reacted quickly this time, and he avoided being struck by the seal. Once his consciousness returned to his own body, he was breathing heavily.

    <i>I¡¯m fine. I dodged it.</i>

    True God was trapped within the Great Sovereign¡¯s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, but he was still able to attack Lu Yin by using a mirebound artifact. As expected, True God was prepared for Lu Yin.

    He put his die away. For him to obtain information about Aeternus, his best targets were the Three Pirs and Six Skies or the Seven Skygods, but unfortunately, they were all most likely on guard against him. There were finally restraints to Lu Yin¡¯s die.

    He felt a sense of loss.

    He stayed on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect for a few days as he tried to find a way to bypass the Boundary Guardians and fight against Aeternus directly.

    One day, news came from the Lu Sanctum: Progenitor Ku had awakened.

    Lu Yin was thrilled with the news, and he instantly left to visit the Lu Sanctum.

    Progenitor Ku had been one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Daosource Sect era. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been nothing more than a title, but Progenitor Ku had been terrifyingly powerful.

    Lu Yin would never forget the vision of Progenitor Ku passing by Undying God, instantly shattering half of the Skygod¡¯s body. Lu Yin had witnessed that scene while traveling through time and space in the Daosource Sect¡¯s main hall.

    Progenitor Ku had forced his way into the First Scourge, where he had directly confronted True God himself, and survived.

    Progenitor Ku was the first powerhouse from the Origin Universe to have received Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s respect. They had exchanged techniques at that time, andter, Sovereign Dou Sheng had gone into the First Scourge on several asions, searching for any traces of Progenitor Ku.

    There were very few legends about Progenitor Ku in the Origin Universe, but any who truly knew about the man were amazed by him.

    There was no doubt that Progenitor Ku had been Progenitor Chen''s equal.

    In the depths of some mountains that were part of the Lu Sanctum, chains stretched across the sky. Progenitor Ku sat at one end of a chain. His head was bowed, and he seemed to be lost in thought.

    At the other end of the chain stood both Ancestor Lu Yuan and Ancestor Lu Tianyi.

    When Lu Yin arrived, he saw Progenitor Ku¡¯s bowed head. "How is Progenitor Ku doing?"

    Lu Tianyi replied in a low voice, "He''s been like this since he woke up. He hasn''t spoken to either of us. Let''s wait. He should still be recovering."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Ku as he waited in silence.

    Some timeter, the Progenitor slowly raised his head to look at the three men. He first looked at Lu Tianyi, who he addressed in a hoarse voice. "Senior Tianyi."

    Lu Tianyi sighed in relief. "Ku Jie, how are you?"

    Progenitor Ku looked down at his body. "I still need time to recover. This is quite troublesome."

    Kui Jie then looked at Lu Yuan in surprise. "Dao Monarch?"

    Ku Jie had never met Lu Yuan, due to the extended period of time that Lu Yuan had been sleeping for.

    "I¡¯ve heard of your feats. You even invaded the Scourge on your own. Ku Jie, thank you for everything you''ve done for humanity," Lu Yuan praised.

    Ku Jie frowned. "I forgot."

    "Senior, did you forget what you did?" Lu Yin could not stay silent.

    Ku Jie then looked at Lu Yin, and the older man¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the young man. "Extremes Must Be Reversed!"

    Lu Yin bowed low to Ku Jie. "This junior, Lu Yin, thanks Senior for leaving behind the inheritance of Extremes Must Be Reversed. This technique has saved this junior countless times."

    Ku Jie scrutinized Lu Yin more carefully. "You¡¯re quite strong, though you¡¯re still just a Semi-Progenitor. That¡¯s quite unusual."

    Lu Tianyi exined, "His name is Lu Yin, and he is the current Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect. The Daosource Sect is gone now, and my Lu family was also exiled for a time. A great deal has happened since you disappeared, but we¡¯ll tell you everything."

    Ku Jie nodded. "The future is always unpredictable, which is as things should be. Humanity will always rise up from the ashes, reborn and shining brightly."

    As the man spoke, a sharp glint flickered in his eyes. "I remember now: rebirth. There was a butterfly. I was nearly killed by a butterfly once."

    Lu Yuan and the other two were shocked. "A butterfly?"

    Ku Jie lowered his head to his hands and clutched it. He seemed to be in pain, and his pupils fluctuated as he remembered something.

    Lu Yin and the other two exchanged nces. <i>A butterfly? Tian En?</i>

 Chapter 3185: The Stone And The Mirari Realm

    Progenitor Ku continued to recall the past, and cracks creeped along his skin, one inch at a time as his flesh was shed, revealing new skin beneath. It looked as though the man was being reborn.

    His head suddenly snapped up. ¡°Once, when I was traveling through a universe, I was killed by a butterfly. I used my Mountains and Seas technique to undergo a rebirth. While I did manage to survive, I lost some of my memories. Yes, that''s what happened.¡±

    ¡°What kind of butterfly?¡± Lu Yuan asked quickly.

    Ku Jie replied, ¡°It was a massive butterfly that spoke with a very gentle voice. I don¡¯t remember anything she said. All I remember is that I was already in a terrible state and close to death. I don¡¯t know why a butterfly would suddenly appear and attack me, but I used my Mountains and Seas technique, which is a method that allows for a single rebirth, and I managed to escape death.

    ¡°A butterfly¡­ It was a butterfly. A butterfly killed me...¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. A giant butterfly with a gentle voice? There was no doubt that Tian En had attacked Progenitor Ku.

    ¡°Did that butterfly produce a soft glow that filled the universe?¡±

    Ku Jie suddenly looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it?¡±

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. ¡°Senior, we need to have a proper talk about how to take down that butterfly.¡±After Progenitor Ku woke up, Lu Yin was the first to see the man, though he was quickly followed by Sovereign Dou Sheng and Xi Wei, who were also eager to see Progenitor Ku.

    News of Progenitor Ku''s awakening was not allowed to spread, since the man had been nearly killed by Tian En. For the moment, only a select few people knew that Progenitor Ku had woken up within the Lu Sanctum. Tian En likely believed Progenitor Ku to be dead, given that she had continued to present herself as a kind being to humanity.

    In truth, she was even more detestable creature than Tian Fa.

    Tian Fa was open about killing others and delivering heaven¡¯s punishment, but the butterfly, Tian En, had attacked human powerhouses in secret.

    Was this what it meant to deliver heaven¡¯s blessings? To give all of the blessings to Aeternus?

    ¡­

    After the Heavens Sect¡¯s military deration, the disappearance of the Lost n from their universe did not stir up many waves. This was because their Great Elder Shan Gu had visited the Heavens Sect on several asions.

    No matter how much propaganda Aeternus spread throughout humanity, their means could not exceed what the Heavens Sect was capable of.

    When it came to these matters, no one was more skilled than Wei Rong.

    Everyone was waiting for the Heavens Sect to announce the start of the decisive battle in the war against Aeternus.

    However, before that happened, a legend regarding the Mirari Realm quickly spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association, as well as several other outside universes.

    The rumors started from the discovery of a massive creature hiding in the void of a universe known as the Bai Wu Universe. Many cultivators went to investigate, and they eventually discovered a piece of hide that was wrapped around several stones.

    Someone mentioned where the stones came from, and almost instantly, the entire Bai Wu Universe realized that there was a connection between the stones and the mythical Mirari Realm.

    Before too long, the information reached the Sixverse Association and the Heavens Sect.

    Simrly, the rumors spread across the Endless Frontier.

    Mr. Daheng heard the news, and it shocked him. ¡°Is this true?¡±

    A cultivator from the Liberation Pce stood in front of the Arborean, and respectfully answered, ¡°It is true. Right now, the beast hide and several stones are in the Bai Wu Universe. The people of that universe have allied with several other universes that they¡¯ve had dealings with in the past, and several peak powerhouses have worked together to seal the hide and the stones away safely. They¡¯ve decided to auction them all off, and invitations have already been sent to people across the Sixverse Association.¡±

    Mr. Daheng frowned. ¡°They¡¯re going to auction them?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that the people in the Bai Wu Universe don¡¯t believe that the Mirari Realm really exists, so they want to auction the stones off to gain some real benefits,¡± the person replied.

    Mr. Daheng nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a wise choice. Sharing the information so openly will give anyone who wants to steal the stones second thoughts. Alright, I understand the situation.

    ¡°Wait, how has the Heavens Sect reacted?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Arch-Elder Zen has already gone to the Bai Wu Universe and that he intends to buy all of the stones.¡±

    The Arborean¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Alright, you can go back.¡±

    Once the man was gone, Mr. Daheng thought about the situation.

    Peaks and Rivers Stones had not appeared in many years. Why had so many appeared all at the same time? Furthermore, even if there was nothing suspicious about their appearance, why did someone know about the connection between the stones and the Mirari Realm, and why had they dispersed the information?

    These recent events made Mr. Daheng nervous. He felt like something was about to happen.

    Even so, he was reluctant to abandon the stones. They truly did have a connection to the Mirari Realm, and more importantly, those stones were Mr. Daheng¡¯s business.

    His greatest fear was that the Heavens Sect was somehow behind the matter, but after a bit of thought, Mr. Daheng felt the chances of that were extremely slim. Why would the Heavens Sect do such a thing? What would be the reason? If they had extra time on their hands, they should have devoted it to finding a way to pierce through Aeternus¡¯s defenses.

    Mr. Daheng had even heard recent rumors that imed that the Heavens Sect had abandoned the Lost n. There were also people saying that the Heavens Sect was being targeted by incredible powerhouses and that it was just a matter of time before it was destroyed.

    The Arborean did not believe a single word of it. He was quite aware of the Heavens Sect¡¯s real strength.

    In the past, Lu Yin and a group of peak powerhouses had struggled to ambush Forgotten Ruins God and had failed to kill her. That had not been long ago, but already, which of the Seven Skygods dared to step out alone? If they did, they would die. While the Heavens Sect had not returned to its ancient glory, it was quickly reaching that level.

    There was no doubt that the Aeternals were on edge, and the fact that they hadpletely withdrawn from the Endless Frontier was the best proof.

    If the discovery of the Peaks and Rivers Stones had nothing to do with the Heavens Sect, then Mr. Daheng would definitely get involved in the auction, but he was terrified that the Heavens Sect would get also involved.

    Lu Yin knew that the Peaks and Rivers Stones had a connection to the Mirari Realm.

    After mulling things over, Mr. Daheng decided to attend the auction, but only after hiding his identity.

    In another parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, Luo Shan heard the same news. Just like Mr. Daheng, the Monarch decided to attend the auction while hiding his identity. Regardless of whether or not the Heavens Sect interfered with the auction, Luo Shan was certain that Daheng would go. If Daheng ended up fighting with the Heavens Sect, Luo Shan could simply bide his time.

    He had no interest in the Mirari Realm, though that was because Luo Shan knew that it was impossible for him to get enough stones. The most likely victor of the auction was the Heavens Sect, but that did not mean that Luo Shan could not find a chance to eliminate Daheng. The Monarch would not be able to truly rx until he had dealt with Daheng.

    As for the Heavens Sect, it was publicly known that Arch-Elder Zen was making his way to the Bai Wu Universe, which was a clear indication that the Heavens Sect would get involved.

    There were many cultivators in the Sixverse Association who were eagerly waiting to see who would be the auction¡¯s victor and who would obtain those stones. People were even more eager to catch a glimpse of the mythical Mirari Realm.

    ¡­

    The Bai Wu Universe was a rtively powerful universe. With two peak powerhouses, the universe was strong enough to have a significant impact even within the Sixverse Association.

    The Sixverse Association had once tried to incorporate the Bai Wu Universe, but they had been refused. At the time, the war against Aeternus had been particrly intense, which was also why the Sixverse Association had not attacked the Bai Wu Universe. In fact, the choice of joining the Sixverse Association had never really been the Bai Wu Universe¡¯s decision.

    It was a rathermon situation. There were many united parallel universes that refused to join the Sixverse Association because of their existing support system.

    When Lu Yin had first entered the Sixverse Association, the Sixverse Associaton and the Endless Frontierbined had had less than seventy parallel universes. This was not because they did not know about more parallel universe, but rather because many universes were already interconnected with each other, and they refused to join the Sixverse Association or to fight against Aeternus.

    There was really no choice to be had, especially since a significant number of the universes were not even inhabited by humans.

    The Bai Wu Universe was ruled by humans, but other species were also present.

    At the moment, there was a vast circr za at the center of the Bai Wu Universe, and more and more people were constantly arriving.

    This za was going to host the auction.

    The square had been paved with dark-red stones, which gave it an ancient and simple appearance. At the center was a giant statue of a man, which represented the human peak powerhouse that had risen to power in the Bai Wu Universe. The man had been known as Bai Wu, and he had led the Bai Wu Universe onto the path of cultivation with him. The universe had been named after the man.

    The stone za was enormous, but none of the individuals entering it were simple. No parallel universe was allowed to send more than five qualified individuals, while weaker universes were not qualified to send anyone at all.

    People asionally arrived outside of the za; some were humans, while others were astral beasts in human form. If some of them were in their true form, they would berger than the za itself.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be any trouble, will there?¡± Five people stood on a tform that rose high into the air behind the statue in the za. They were the peak powerhouses who were hosting the auction. Two of them were humans from the Bai Wu Universe, one was an astral beast from the Bai Wu Universe, and the final two were peak powerhouses from two other parallel universes.

    It was only because they had five peak powerhouses that they had dared to hold the auction at all. Without such a lineup, they would never have dared to face so many universes.

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be. We sent invitations to powerful universes while showing humility and deference. As long as none of them start trouble, our strength should be enough,¡± one person said.

    ¡°How did the Sixverse Association respond?¡±

    ¡°Of course, those were the first invitations we sent, and they received a full twenty invitations. We still need to be cautious, especially with the Heavens Sect. I personally gave their invitation to Arch-Elder Zen. I believe that he wille.¡±

    ¡°No matter what, we can¡¯t underestimate the Heavens Sect. They¡¯re just too terrifying. After witnessing their military deration, forget about the five of us¡ªI would only feel safe if there were fifty of us.¡±

    ¡°Did the Heavens Sect say anything more?¡± someone asked.

    The person who had personally delivered the invitation to the Heavens Sect hesitated, but then he said, ¡°Arch-Elder Zen asked us to sell the stones and beast hide directly to the Heavens Sect, promising to give us a fair price.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not just the profits that we¡¯re after¡ªwe also want the fame! The Heavens Sect is so strong because they¡¯ve pulled various parallel universes together and have gathered many powerful experts. While we can¡¯t reach the level of the Heavens Sect, if we can pull in a few more parallel universes, we can better protect ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Doing so is our fundamental interest, and the Heavens Sect can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I turned him down. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t have been any auction at all.¡±

    ¡°The Heavens Sect might not be happy with us, but they won¡¯t do anything about it. As more parallel universes ally themselves with the Origin Universe, they also need to set an example for other universes. If they don¡¯t, how can they hope tomand any respect? There¡¯s no need to worry about them this time. The Heavens Sect definitely won¡¯t be the one to cause problems.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Arch-Elder Zen has arrived. Let¡¯s go wee him.¡± Thisment startled the rest of the group, and they all hurriedly went down from the tform.

    As Arch-Elder Zen arrived outside the dark-red za, his presence drew countless eyes.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s military deration had made it famous to countless parallel universes.

    Many of those universes enjoyed rtively long histories, and they had known the Heavens Sect during its glory days of old. The current Heavens Sect was rapidly approaching that same peak.

    Many people stepped forward to speak with Arch-Elder Zen, though only peak powerhouses. When he looked around, he saw that there were only a few such powerhouses present outside of the za.

    Soon, a group of five individuals appeared. ¡°The Bai Wu Universe¡¯s Bai Ni hase to greet you, Senior.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen looked over at Bai Ni. He was a peak powerhouse from the Bai Wu Universe and was also a descendant of Bai Wu himself. He was the one who had organized the current auction.

    Beside Bai Ni, another man bowed. ¡°The Bai Wu Universe¡¯s Qing Du hase to greet you, Senior.¡±

    ¡°The Bai Wu Universe¡¯s Zhao Li hase to greet you, Senior.¡±

    ¡°The Yang Jia Universe¡¯s Yang Jia hase to greet you, Senior.¡±

    ¡°The Luo Fu Universe¡¯s King Luo Fu hase to greet you, Senior¡±

    Five peak powerhouses had stepped out to greet the Progenitor. They were the hosts of the auction, and they had arrived to show the Heavens Sect their utmost respect.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3186: Second Life

    The nearby people all fell silent in awe as they watched the scene in envy. Very few people were qualified to be greeted by the auction¡¯s five hosts, and all of those individuals were extremely powerful.

    In the past, these five hosts had even dared to reject a membership offer from the Sixverse Association.

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "You¡¯re all too kind."

    Bai Ni responded enthusiastically, "This is only right. It is an honor for my Hundred Weapons Universe to receive a visit from the Heavens Sect. Please, Arch-Elder Zen."

    The Progenitor nodded, and then, with furtherpliments from the group, he stepped into the za.

    Someone muttered enviously, "Tch, what''s the big deal? All of us need to queue up to get in."

    Someone nearby gloatingly responded, "Brother, if you could also throw a military deration that intimidates the entire megaverse, you¡¯d get the same treatement."

    "Bah, they were just lucky to unite so many parallel universes. If not for this shocking news from the Hundred Weapons Universe, we wouldn''t have even known that so many parallel universes were connected."

    "Who knew? Back then, I also thought that the entire megaverse was just the few known universes. I was even worried that the Sixverse Association might forcibly annex us. Now, it seems like I was overthinking things. There are plenty of parallel universes.""There might be more than a few, but none of them can rival the Sixverse Association."

    "True."

    Neither of the two speaking were human. In fact, humans made up less than a tenth of the za¡¯s upants. Most of the cultivators here were astral beasts, which was a general term for non-human species, despite the significant differences between the various types of creatures.

    No fewer than five fights had broken out outside the za, and all of them had been between astral beasts.

    None of the skirmishes were enough to catch Arch-Elder Zen''s attention, and none of the astral beasts had dared to fight in front of him. All of them regarded the Heavens Sect as a monstrous organization.

    Far away, Mr. Daheng had also arrived. He kept his face hidden as he held out an invitation.

    For someone with his strength and cultivation, personally receiving an invitation changed little, as such people had plenty of ways to obtain one.

    Mr. Daheng watched as Arch-Elder Zen was ushered into the za, and the Arborean¡¯s eyes then swept through the crowd before locking onto someone. That person met Mr. Daheng¡¯s gaze and stared back.

    It was Luo Shan.

    The two had trained under the same master, and they could recognize each other with a nce.

    Luo Shan frowned. He had done his best to disguise himself, but Daheng had still managed to instantly recognize him. There was nothing Luo Shan could do about it; his disguises were not able to fool Daheng, just as Daheng''s couldn''t fool Luo Shan.

    No words were exchanged between the two as they silently entered the za.

    More individuals were still arriving outside the za, and countless eyes stared at the za from further away. They belonged to people who did not dare to try to enter the za themselves, but who still wanted to see how many different universes¡¯ powerhouses would attend this auction. Also, it was important to find out if anything significant happened during the event.

    After all, with the Mirari Realm involved, even the Heavens Sect cared.

    Lu Yin arrived, hidden by his mask. Not even the Three Pirs and Six Skies would be able to recognize him at this moment, let alone anyone else.

    <em>It''s really busy</em>.

    He followed the crowd and slowly made his way into the dark-red za. He nced around, and easily spotted both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan, but neither of the two had any idea that Lu Yin was also present.

    There were quite a few other experts present as well, but no one noteworthy.

    Would Aeternus send anyone?

    Across the dark-red za, Arch-Elder Zen was being escorted to a tall tform that rose up behind the statue.

    "Gentlemen, it will be a challenge for me to participate in the auction from this position," Arch-Elder Zen said with a chuckle. His eyes swept the entire za. The tform undoubtedly had the best view.

    Bai Ni smiled. "If you wish to reveal your identity and participate in the auction, we¡¯ll ept that, but if you prefer to stay anonymous, we can facilitate that as well. There won''t be any issues."

    Yang Jia apologized, "If it were possible, we''d happily send all the items up for auction to the Heavens Sect, but we do hope that you can understand our difficulties. We in these parallel universes are also struggling to survive, and sometimes, we need to boost our peoples¡¯ spirits with grand events."

    Arch-Elder Zen raised his hand to stop the man. "I do understand. However, I also have a question I¡¯d like to ask."

    He looked at Bai Ni. "You don''t intend to join the Heavens Sect and fight against Aeternus?"

    Bai Ni and the other four exchanged nces. They had already anticipated that the Heavens Sect¡¯s representative would pose this question, and they had prepared an answer in advance. "Of course we''ll participate. If Aeternus shows up, we''ll fight them to the death. If the Heavens Sect engages in an all-out battle against Aeternus, the Hundred Weapons Universe will not shirk our duty, and we will also send experts to join the fight."

    "My Yang Jia Universe as well."

    "The same for my Luo Fu Universe."

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled. These five knew how to say the right things, but their actions indicated something else entirely.

    All these men wanted to do was protect themselves. They were hoping that the Sixverse Association and Aeternus would fight each other to death, and they had no consideration for what might happen to humanity if the Sixverse Association lost.

    The five men knew that they were incapable of altering the bnce of the war, so they tried their best to simply stay out of it. They did not seem to understand that the war was for the fate of the megaverse, and the oue concerned everyone in it, even the ordinary humans who knew nothing of the war.

    The Sixverse Association had tried to forcibly annex parallel universes to the Endless Frontier before. Some attempts had been sessful, such as the Big Stone Universe, but many other attempts had failed. Universes had banded together to resist the Sixverse Association, and those efforts had proven to be somewhat effective.

    People could not really be med for resisting. Who would want their homnd to be a part of the meat grinder that was the Endless Frontier?

    It could be said that the only way to shift the overall situation was to change people''s hearts.

    "Why are <em>they</em> here?" King Luo Fu suddenly shot to his feet in shock, his expression changing dramatically.

    Bai Ni asked in confusion, "Who?"

    Arch-Elder Zen looked toward the entrance to the za. At the moment, there was a small group of people entering, and they instantly caught the Progenitor¡¯s eye due to their striking appearance.

    It was not that the people in the group looked strange, but rather that they looked too ordinary. They were so average that there was something odd about their appearance.

    Typically, cultivators would carry some sort of defensive equipment when they wandered about universes, and most gave off an aura of a grizzled veteran who had survived many battles. However, the people who were currently entering the za looked like a flock of sheep that had identally wandered into a pack of wolves. They lookedpletely unguarded.

    However, Arch-Elder Zen already knew that these were the people whose presence had caused King Luo Fu¡¯s expression to change so dramatically. The moment he saw this group, Arch-Elder Zen had felt a strong sense of danger.

    Yang Jia stared at the neers entering the za, and his eyes flickered. "Second Life¡­"

    Qing Du and Zhao Li¡¯s expressions also changed, and Bai Ni recognized the name as well. "Second Life? Why are they here? This is a problem."

    Arch-Elder Zen grew curious. "What''s wrong? Are those people going to be a problem?"

    King Luo Fu¡¯s turned somber. "Senior, you might not know of them, but Second Life is a gang that roams across multiple universes. They are extremely powerful and are the most terrifying outsider powerhouses that we know of. They follow no rules and behave like bandits. No one¡¯s ever been able to deal with them.

    "The first time they made a name for themselves was when they stole a treasure from the ruling power in a universe, and they did so by ughtering the entire ruling family. They shocked everyone with that stunt. Outsiders assumed that it was an act of revenge, and they basically ignored it. But then Second Life went crazy, and they started stealing treasures everywhere. They killed everyone they encountered, even astral beasts. They even went after Aeternus. They kill just to plunder, they stand for nothing at all, and they have no morals."

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned. "Are they strong?"

    King Luo Fu took a deep breath. Fear filled his eyes. "Very. They¡¯ve ughtered countless people over the years, but we¡¯ve finally managed to figure out their abilities.

    "There are five members of Second Life. The leader, Second Gu,[1] is a sequence powerhouse, and just a nce of him induces fear. He has mastered the Three Bone Techniques. It allows him to externally manifest his skeleton as an armor that he ims no one can prate.

    "Their second member, Second Meng,[2] is another sequence powerhouse, and she¡¯s able to copy other people''s battle techniques. She''s extremely difficult to deal with. Normally, Second Gu doesn¡¯t even need to take action because Second Meng is enough to handle even their most difficult opponents.

    "The third, Second Gang,[3] isn''t a sequence powerhouse, but his physical strength is unmatched. No one has ever managed to break through his defenses, not once. There was once a powerful astral beast sequence powerhouse who fought against Second Life, but only Second Gang had to make a move. He alone was enough to wear the astral beast down and kill it. That fight made him famous.

    "The fourth, Second Shan,[4] is considered the brains of Second Life. He¡¯s quite clever and is able to quickly counter any crisis they encounter. Multiple parallel universes worked with people from your Sixverse Association once to surround and kill them all, and the Sixverse Association even sent Sovereign Lotus. The goal was to deal with all of them at once, and the ns were meticulous, but that the task force never even caught a glimpse of Second Life. Supposedly, Second Shan sensed danger and led the rest of them away.

    "A great deal of time and preparations went into that attack, and it involved a number of universes. Even if there were traitors, they couldn¡¯t have revealed the ns. Second Life only escaped because of Second Shan.

    "As for the fifth member¡­" King Luo Fu nced at the other four men, but all of them shook their heads at him.

    "No one knows what the fifth member is capable of because she¡¯s never had to take action. She¡¯s never done anything at all."

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s eyes flickered. "Maybe she has, but you just didn¡¯t realize it."

    Bai Ni agreed, "We¡¯ve had that same thought, but we¡¯ve never been able to find any evidence of her actions. She¡¯s very difficult to deal with."

    "I didn''t expect them all toe. They¡¯re quite bold," Zhao Li marveled.

    King Luo Fu nced at Arch-Elder Zen, and then he looked back down at the za. "Aren''t they afraid that this could be another ambush?"

    "Since they¡¯re here, they must have made preparations. Arch-Elder Zen, what do you think?" Bai Ni asked.

    Arch-Elder Zen asked, "When Sovereign Lotus participated in the nned ambush, did she do so on her own, or with the authorization of the Sixverse Association?"

    "With the Sixverse Association¡¯s authorization," King Luo Fu confirmed. "At that time, the war with Aeternus was intense, and losing one of their top experts had a big impact on the Sixverse Association. Still, Sovereign Lotus came because Second Life is just too evil. While they have attacked Aeternus at times, Aeternus has never cared about them. They¡¯ve killed far more humans and astral beasts than corpse kings."

    "They''re nothing but beasts!" Qing Du muttered darkly.

    Arch-Elder Zen¡¯s gaze swept the za. With the Dao Monarch present, he would definitely hear about Second Life. How to deal with them would be up to Lu Yin.

    "Let''s wait and see how things y out," Arch-Elder Zen said. He knew what the others were thinking; they wanted their auction to seed, but they also wanted to eliminate Second Life. It was impossible to do so if they acted on their own, but if they received the help of experts from the Heavens Sect, such as the Three Suns and Six Rulers or the Eight Inner and Outer Paths, then they might be able to pull it off.

    If the Heavens Sect sent people, they would not allow a failure. This could be considered the first battle that the Heavens Sect participated in after their military deration, and failure would be too embarrassing.

    Fortunately, the ones who would benefit would be the Hundred Weapons Universe. If Second Life died during the auction, the Hundred Weapons Universe¡¯s prestige would spike. They had nned things out well.

    The members of Second Life had already fully entered the za. Since King Luo Fu had been able to recognize them, then naturally, others could as well.

    1. Gu = Bone. ?

    2. Meng = Cute. ?

    3. Gang = Steel/Firmness. ?

    4. Shan = Kindness. ?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3187: Respect

    <h4>Chapter 3187: Respect</h4>

    ¡°Isn''t that Second Life? How dare they show up here!¡±

    ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t, you¡¯re just asking to die! Second Life might be evil, but they''re also very powerful. If they go after you, you''re finished. Just mind your own business.¡±

    ¡°They also want to join this auction. Would anyone else dare to reveal their real identities here? If anyone takes something from this auction, they¡¯re definitely going to be targeted.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. That all depends on who gets it. If it''s the Heavens Sect, even if you gave Second Life ten times the courage, they wouldn''t dare to cause any trouble.¡±

    ¡°That''s easy to say, but Second Life also isn¡¯t afraid of death.¡±

    The five members of Second Life casually walked into the za. They seemedpletely unaffected by the murmurs that surrounded them.

    ¡°Big Brother, aren¡¯t we being a bit too high-profile? This isn¡¯t how we usually do things.¡± Second Meng adjusted her sses. She was wearing a ck sweater andrge sses, which gave her a cute appearance that matched her name. However, those who actually knew her understood just how ruthless the woman was.

    Second Gang grinned. ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Which of these weaklings would dare to challenge us? As long as Fifth Sister isn¡¯t here, we¡¯re fine.¡±

    ¡°Be more careful. The Heavens Sect <i>is</i> here.¡± Second Gu¡¯s expression grew serious. Coming to the auction was quite the risk. Second Life had been quite intimidated by the Heavens Sect¡¯s military deration, but their desire to enter the Mirari Realm was even stronger.

    Over the years, they had stolen many things and had learned many secrets. They knew far more about the Mirari Realm than most people and were well aware that the Mirari Realm was a miraculous ce where they might find the means to break through again. If they could do that, then regardless of how vast the megaverse was or how powerful the Heavens Sect or Aeternus might be, no one would be able to stop Second Life.

    Their goals had never once changed throughout their existence. They wanted to be the most feared existence in the megaverse, regardless of how much blood stained their hands.

    As for their position on things, they simply did not care. Humanity or Aeternus did not matter at all to them.

    As for going to the auction in disguise, it was impossible for them to hide in front of so many people, and as soon as they appeared, it was guaranteed that they would be recognized. That was why they had decided to enter boldly, as they hoped to frighten people.

    ¡°Big Brother, this isn¡¯t like you. Normally, you¡¯d rather steal whatever¡¯s up for auction after someone else buys it rather than show up at the auction itself.¡± Second Meng was still puzzled by this. After speaking, she nced at the elegant man walking behind the rest of their group. Second Shan wore a monocle and liked to check his pocket watch when he had nothing to do.

    ¡°Fourth Brother, was this your idea?¡±

    Second Shan looked up. ¡°This is the only ce where these items can be obtained. As soon as they¡¯re taken away from here, they¡¯ll be lost forever.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Second Meng was confused.

    Second Shan nced at her. ¡°Just y along. You don¡¯t need to ask so many questions.¡±

    Second Meng bared her teeth.

    Second Gu was looking around. There were too many eyes on them, and Second Life had no idea what kind of powerhouses might be lurking in the shadows of this auction. How many people had the Heavens Sect sent? Second Gu was eager to find out.

    For so many years, Second Life had operated from the shadows. Second Gu dreamed of the day when they would make a name for themselves and be famous across the entire megaverse. Scaring pathetic parallel universes was no fun. He wanted to stand equal to the Heavens Sect and Aeternus; now that would be interesting. That was also why he had not hesitated to attend the auction.

    There was no doubt that the auction would be dangerous, but Second Life had their own trump cards.

    Within the crowd, Lu Yin heard the discussions all around him, and he observed the group of those people who were dressed overly casually. Second Life?

    At that moment, Second Shan''s eyes suddenly red, and he put his pocket watch away while quietly warning, ¡°There¡¯s a real powerhouse here! Be careful.¡±

    The expressions of Second Gu and the others changed, and they all took a step back to surround Second Shan. They had taken this particr action too many times in the past.

    Second Gu nced at Second Shan. There were beads of sweat dripping from the man¡¯s forehead, his face was pale from sheer terror.

    This was not the first time that Second Shan had revealed such a reaction. He had had the exact same reaction when the parallel universes had asked the Sixverse Association for help and when Sovereign Lotus had arrived to attack Second Life. At that time, Second Shan had shown this exact same reaction, which had led them to abandon a treasure that they had coveted even in their dreams. Looking back, it was clear that they had made the right choice. If they had tried to steal the item, Second Life would have ceased to exist.

    Seeing Second Shan disy this same reaction again made Second Gu¡¯s heart sink. ¡°Fourth Brother...¡±

    Second Gang¡¯s smile also fell.

    Second Meng¡¯s expression became terrifyingly calm.

    Second Shan took a few deep breaths and then quietly stated, ¡°Big Brother, we should retreat. I saw things too simply. The Mirari Realm has drawn out some absolute monsters.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Second Gu asked.

    Second Shan shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I just felt an incredible amount of danger, more than anything I¡¯ve ever sensed before. It took my breath away. Big Brother, we should give up. We¡¯ve underestimated those monsters; they don¡¯t just have numbers.¡±

    Second Gu was still unwilling to give up. ¡°If we take a risk, can we still win?¡±

    Second Shan firmly stated, ¡°Big Brother, give up.¡±

    Second Meng spoke up in a chillingly calm voice that waspletely different from her earlier tone. ¡°Listen to Fourth Brother, Big Brother. Give up. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Second Gang nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Second Gu closed his eyes. His frustration could be readily seen on his features. ¡°The auction hasn¡¯t even started, and yet we¡¯re already giving up. Our Second Life has never faced such humiliation before... Forget it, let¡¯s go.¡±

    With that, the entire group turned and started walking towards the za¡¯s exit.

    King Luo Fu and the other hosts had been carefully watching Second Life, and the sight of the bandits turning towards the exit left people puzzled. Were they leaving already?

    Most eyes in the crowd were staring at Second Life. People watched as the group moved towards the exit, but when they were just halfway there, the four people suddenly froze, and then moved in a different direction. Ultimately, they stopped in a corner of the za.

    The people watching all felt bewildered. Just what was going on?

    At this moment, Second Shan was ovee by a growing sense of fear.

    Just as Second Life had been about to leave the za, Second Shan had been ovee by an greater feeling of danger than before. He had no idea where the danger originated from, or if it came from inside or outside the za. All the man knew was that the closer Second Life moved to the za¡¯s exit, the greater the danger they faced.

    The terror grew so great that the man had started trembling.

    All he could do was move to a corner of the za. Ignoring anything else, at least they would remain safe until the auction ended.

    ¡°Is it really that bad?¡± Second Gu¡¯s face was grim.

    Second Shan spoke through his terror, ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯ve never felt this scared in my entire life! We absolutely cannot do anything! As soon as the auction starts, we need to leave.¡±

    ¡°This was a mistake. If I had known that it would be so dangerous, I wouldn¡¯t havee. There might be more than one freak here.¡± Second Gu felt quite bitter.

    Second Shan gritted his teeth. ¡°This is my fault. I led you all here.¡±

    ¡°Fourth Brother, it¡¯s not your fault. I asked you to find a way for us to get that thing. Our sesses all these years have made me arrogant, and I believed us to be strong enough topete with those behemoths. The truth is, all of those organizations have freaks at the top,¡± Second Gu said with a sigh.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything more. Let¡¯s just stay quiet in this corner. As long as Fifth Sister is safe, we¡¯ll be fine. Besides, no matter what happens, we aren¡¯t weak.¡± Second Meng was calmer than all the others at this moment.

    The za started to quiet down.

    Lu Yin had been watching the group with interest. Had Second Lifee to the auction just to y around? They had arrived, only to turn to leave, but then they had suddenly decided to stay. It was ridiculous to see.

    A man and a woman arrived outside the za. They looked as ordinary as anyone else at the auction, and they entered the za without catching even Lu Yin¡¯s notice.

    The two made their way to a corner and quietly took their seats.

    Soon, another person entered: Shan Gu. He entered the za and casually found a corner to have a seat.

    He sat down precisely between Mr. Daheng and Second Life. While the two were quite far apart, Shan Gu had taken a position rtively close to both.

    People ignored each other. Everyone attending the auction was restraining their auras as much as possible. No one would do anything before the items up for auction were brought out.

    Time passed, and the za continued to fill with people.

    Second Life was clearly at the center of attention. There were people who wanted nothing more than to kill the four individuals as soon as theyid eyes on them, but no one dared to take action before the auction had started.

    Time continued to pass, and eventually, the doors to the za closed. No one else was allowed to enter, as the auction was about to begin.

    ¡°Senior Arch-Elder Zen, I will take my leave to serve as the auction¡¯s host,¡± Bai Ni exined, getting a nod from Arch-Elder Zen.

    Bai Ni stepped off of the tall tform and moved to the bottom of the statue. His eyes swept over the entire za.

    At this moment, the Bai Wu Universe was the focus of countless individuals. The sess of this auction was crucial to the universe¡¯s future hopes.

    Bai Ni understood that the za was filled with a great number of powerhouses, many of whom he could not afford to offend. All he could do was pray that nothing terrible would happen.

    ¡°Thank you all for taking the time to attend this auction in my Bai Wu Universe. Everyone is aware of the auction¡¯s final listing, but before that, we have a few other items up for sale that we hope will pique your interest.¡± Bai Ni then waved his hand, and a beautiful woman stepped out to begin the auction that was the focus of countless parallel universes.

    Any item that qualified for such an auction could not be simple, and fiercepetition sparked between people in the crowd. They did not bid with cultivation resources from their own universe, but rather with rare treasures. Essentially, the auction worked on a barter system. However, for the most powerful individuals present, the items up for sale were not worth their attention.

    ¡°The next item up for auction should be familiar to anyone from the Sixverse Association or the Origin Universe. It¡¯s called a Root of Intelligence.¡± The beautiful woman shed a brilliant smile as she announced the item up for sale.

    Lu Yin went stiff as he stared at the auction stage. A Root of Intelligence? How could there be one at this auction?

    There were few in the za who were familiar with Roots of Intelligence, but those few would not abandon such an opportunity.

    Roots of Intelligence were priceless treasures even for peak powerhouses.

    Lu Yin grew increasingly curious about how a Root of Intelligence had entered the auction.

    As the auctioneer spoke, someone stepped out from behind her while holding a tray that held the Root of Intelligence.

    ¡°This Root of Intelligence is from the Daosource Sect era in the Origin Universe. More specifically, it was developed by Progenitor Hui, who was one of their Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. For cultivators, a Root of Intelligence can calm the mind and enable a level of focus andprehension that exceeds what is normally possible, and it can even allow one to discover things that are usually impossible to detect. This is one of the Origin Universe¡¯s greatest treasures. If anyone is interested, bidding will start now.¡±

    The bidding started immediately.

    On the tform up above the statue, Arch-Elder Zen said nothing and simply watched the auction proceed in silence.

    Next to him, Bai Ni waved a hand, and a woman approached. She respectfully held out a tray. ¡°Senior Arch-Elder Zen, this is a gift for you.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen looked at the tray in surprise, as he could see that it held a Root of Intelligence. ¡°What is this?¡±

    Bai Ni smiled. ¡°Roots of Intelligence are from the Origin Universe. The seller happened to fight a war there during the Daosource Sect era, for the Fifth Maind of course. They acquired these Roots of Intelligence but didn¡¯t know how to use them, so they simply held onto them until now. When this auction was announced, two roots were delivered to us. We put one up for auction and reserved the other as a gift for you, as a sign of our respect.¡±

 Chapter 3188: Chaos Ensues

    <h4>Chapter 3188: Chaos Ensues</h4>

    Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. "That¡¯s quite thoughtful of you, but our Dao Monarch is the one who enjoys Roots of Intelligence."

    Bai Ni''s eyes lit up. "Lord Lu?"

    Arch-Elder Zen nodded.

    Bai Ni swallowed and nced at the others. Only after checking with all four was a decision made.

    The auction continued, and the atmosphere grew heated. Suddenly, someone joined, and they ced a crazily high bid, showing their determination to obtain the Root of Intelligence. Their bid was so high that no one dared topete any longer.

    Lu Yin had initially intended to join the bidding, but he had decided to let the Root of Intelligence go. There was an inevitability to certain things, and there was no need to rush when things would eventually end up in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    The Root of Intelligence was won by the determined buyer. No one knew who that was, since the za was not specifically an auction venue. It was the most distinguished location in the Bai Wu Universe, which was why the auction was being held there, but that also meant that it was not difficult for people to hide their identities while bidding.

    On the tform high up above the za¡¯s statue, Bai Ni let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, their bid had been sessful. This item might bridge a connection between them and Lord Lu.

    They had initially assumed that Lord Lu would not care about something like a Root of Intelligence.

    Arch-Elder Zen found the proceedings amusing, but he did not expose his hosts. There were many people across numerous parallel universes who sought to get closer to the Dao Monarch, and not even peak powerhouses were exempt from such ambitions.

    The auction continued.

    People in the za bid on the various items, though some remained silent throughout the entire proceedings. They were waiting for the final item.

    "Next up, we have a cosmic door up for auction. No one knows where it connects to. We were entrusted with selling it, so please understand that it may connect to Aeternus¡¯s territory, or possibly to a universe that served as the stronghold of the expert who took it. Everything about this item is unknown. Bidding begins..."

    Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked up at the tform up above the za. These people dared to sell off a cosmic door?

    Any cosmic door could potentially connect to Aeternus¡¯s territory. Because of this, when one was discovered by humans, it would usually be taken to the Sixverse Association for their decision. Instead, this one was being ced for auction.

    Lu Yin''s eyes moved down from the high tform, his expression souring.

    Arch-Elder Zen frowned and turned to look at Bai Ni and the others. "What''s the deal with this cosmic door?"

    Zhao Li quickly stepped forward, showing a forced smile. "Senior Arch-Elder Zen, this cosmic door actually belonged to one of my seniors, and it connects to the universe where they once cultivated. This no longer has any connection to Aeternus, which is why we dared to auction it off. If there was any connection to Aeternus, we would never dare too sell it and would have instead sent it straight to the Heavens Sect."

    Qing Du jumped in, "Not only that, but we can also use this cosmic door to see if any of the bidders are from Aeternus."

    Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "You''re underestimating the Aeternals. If it was so easy to test them, how would Aeternus still exist?"

    The five hosts had the grace to look embarrassed, and they said nothing further.

    Ultimately, no one tried to buy the cosmic door. Most people would not dare to ce any bids, and any who did would choose to deliver it to either the Heavens Sect or the Sixverse Association. Any other choice would result in bad luck, as the buyer would gain Aeternus¡¯s attention. Only a fool would pay for such danger.

    Just as Arch-Elder Zen had said, even if there were experts from Aeternus in the za, they would not touch the cosmic door.

    Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan would never ce a bid on such an item. Second Life was only interested in leaving, and they were waiting for the final item to appear. At that time, the monsters in the crowd would not have the time to bother with Second Life, and they would be able to leave. Naturally, they would not bid on the cosmic door either.

    After the cosmic door, several more items were put up for auction. It was unclear just how many items remained.

    Finally, an old man was unable to hold back. He rose to his feet, the movement shaking his surroundings, as though he had rattled space. "Bai Ni, what are you guys doing? Hurry up and put the stones on! Do you think that we came here just to give you money?"

    ¡°Exactly! Hurry up and auction off the stones. We¡¯ve been waiting too long.¡±

    ¡°How much longer are you going to make us wait?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    More and more people started losing their patience. On the stage, the auctioneer was at a loss. While she was certainly experienced, she was facing many ruthless powerhouses, as most of the participants in this auction were the most powerful cultivators of their universes. The woman grew flustered, and she turned to look above the statue for help.

    On the tform behind the statue, Bai Ni gritted his teeth. ¡°These guys are clearly here for a show. How do they have the confidence to bid?¡±

    ¡°Just bring out the stones now. These guys don¡¯t matter, but if we offend others, things won¡¯t end well for us,¡± Yang Jia suggested.

    King Luo Fu nodded. ¡°Start.¡±

    Bai Ni nodded and gave the order.

    On the stage down below, the stunning auctioneer breathed a sigh of relief. She settled her thoughts and turned to face the audience again. ¡°In response to our esteemed guests¡¯ requests, the next item up for auction will be the final item of the auction: five Peaks and Rivers Stones, as well as the hide that was found wrapping them. Starting price: none.

    ¡°Due to the rarity of this final item, all bids must be made with something equally valuable. Because our Bai Wu Universe may not recognize all such items, we will only ept cultivation resources from the Origin Universe, which means that bidding will be conducted with star essences. All proceeds from this sale will be sent directly to the Heavens Sect.¡±

    This announcement shocked the entire crowd. The proceeds of the final sale were going to be sent to the Heavens Sect?

    No one had expected the Bai Wu Universe to y such a card. What did this mean? Were they trying to get closer to the Heavens Sect?

    Luo Shan was surprised, and he looked at the tform high above the statue. Naturally, he was able to see Bai Ni, the other hosts, as well as Arch-Elder Zen.

    These guys were not brainless. Even the Heavens Sect was interested in the Mirari Realm. While the Bai Wu Universe had not given the Peaks and Rivers Stones to the Heavens Sect because of their own needs, the auction had been a smooth sess, and the hosts had already obtained what they needed. By giving the profits from the auction to the Heavens Sect, the Bai Wu Universe would be taken care of. On top of that, the bidding had to be made with star essence.

    Who did not know that Lu Yin was greedy for more star essence?

    This was a triple win for the Bai Wu Universe: they had achieved their goals, they would earn the Heavens Sect¡¯s favor, and they would also get closer to the Heavens Sect. After this auction, anyone who wanted to mess with the Bai Wu Universe would have to think twice, as Heavens Sect would not stand by and do nothing.

    Smart.

    Most people realized the various implications, and they suddenly saw Bai Ni and the others in a new light.

    Even the members of Second Life were surprised.

    Second Gu was impressed. ¡°It¡¯s not surprising. The Bai Wu Universe, Yang Jia Universe, and the Luo Fu Universe have likely formed an alliance. This auction has already sessfully expanded their influence, and with this, they might be protected by the Heavens Sect. As for losses, they aren¡¯t taking any, as the Heavens Sect won¡¯t ept the star essence for nothing. Smart.¡±

    The man then looked over at Second Shan, worried. ¡°Fourth brother, can we leave now?¡±

    Second Shan panted, ¡°Go!¡±

    Elsewhere in the za, Lu Yin was also caught off guard by Bai Ni and the others¡¯ decision. This maneuver made it impossible for the Heavens Sect to ignore them. <i>Interesting</i>.

    Up on the tform, Arch-Elder Zen''s eyes swept over Bai Ni and the other four. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Bai Ni quickly responded, ¡°Please forgive us, Senior Arch-Elder Zen. We wanted to use this auction to make a name for ourselves, and because of that, we were unable to simply give the stones to Lord Lu. However, all the profits from this auction will be sent to the Heavens Sect as a gesture of our goodwill.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. ¡°Do you think the Dao Monarch is short of such resources?¡±

    King Luo Fu answered respectfully, ¡°Of course Lord Lu doesn¡¯tck resources, but this is all we can do. We don¡¯t know what else might be able to catch his eye.¡±

    Arch-Elder Zen smiled and fell silent.

    This was about survival. Some people were born into high positions, while others needed to employ various means to reach such a level.

    It was impossible to say that the decision was wrong. Bai Ni and the others had apparently done well enough.

    However, it was possible that the final result would not be what they wanted to see.

    In the za below, bidding had already begun.

    ¡°A treasure like mine, when converted to the Origin Universe star essence, is worth at least 50 million star essences.¡±

    ¡°You dare bid with just 50 million star essences? My treasure can block a peak powerhouse¡¯s attack, which makes it worth at least 100 million star essences!¡±

    ¡°Who says that¡¯s worth 100 million?¡±

    ¡°If I can¡¯t sell it for that much, I¡¯ll put my head on the line.¡±

    ¡°Since the Origin Universe joined the Sixverse Association, everyone has learned the value of star essence. I have something worth at least 200 million star essences.¡±

    ¡°My item is worth 258.43 million.¡±

    ¡°How did youe up with that 430,000 star essences?¡±

    ¡°None of your business.¡±

    Without a minimum bid, chaos ensued. However, everyone already knew the real big shots were still waiting.

    The four members of Second Life were already making their way to the za¡¯s exit.

    Lu Yin nced up at the tform and then suddenly took a step while using Inverse Step.

    He moved at the speed of time, and everything around him froze. Lu Yin appeared on the stage, and he looked out at the entire za.

    No one could move, and no one could see him.

    They were faking it. Lu Yin sneered. He knew that there were at least five experts present who were able to touch upon the power of time, and there was no chance that none of them had noticed Lu Yin¡¯s use of Inverse Step. Fine, if they wanted to pretend, he would let them.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, and the five stones that were on the tray shot out. One flew towards Mr. Daheng, another towards Luo Shan, and another went towards Second Life. He threw out thest two randomly, but the beast hide remained where it was on the tray.

    With another step, Lu Yin left the stage, and everything around him returned to normal.

    For anyone who could not touch the power of time, everything that Lu Yin had done had happened instantaneously, and all anyone saw was the stones flying away from the stage.

    Mr. Daheng instinctively caught the stone thrown at him. How had this happened?

    Luo Shan also caught his stone, and he immediately looked over at Daheng.

    At the za¡¯s exit, a stone shot towards Second Gu, who caught it out of reflex. <i>Not good, it¡¯s one of those monsters!</i>

    Just because someone was a sequence powerhouse did not mean that they were able to see Lu Yin when he used Inverse Step. Still, Lu Yin was certain that some of the experts present at the auction had seen him and might even be able to stop Inverse Step. At least, that was Lu Yin¡¯s intuition.

    The other two stones fell into the crowd, and for a moment, the za fell silent. Then, a furious roar rang out, and the auction took an expected turn.

    ¡°Put that down!¡±

    Someone tried to escape with a stone, only to be stopped by others.

    One womanshed out with a long whip and wrapped it around Mr. Daheng. "Give me that stone!"

    Mr. Daheng clenched a fist. Something had clearly gone wrong with this auction, but since he was holding a stone that matched the one he already had, it was clear that Mr. Daheng needed to get the other stones as well.

    He nced over, and the woman¡¯s whip shattered, much to her horror. "Senior, I-"

    Before she could finish, she was cut down by the Law of Lightness, and the sequence particles caused her blood to spill across the za.

    Someone else tried to steal the stone from Luo Shan, only to be killed by the Monarch.

    Mr. Daheng looked over at Luo Shan, who met the Arborean¡¯s gaze. "Let''s work together."

    "Alright."

    At the za¡¯s exit, Second Gu threw his stone away. Second Life was not getting involved in this fight.

    Inexplicably, another stone shot towards them. Second Shan¡¯s head whipped around, and he looked over to see Lu Yin staring at them.

    Second Shan¡¯s pupils shrank, and a sense of numbness crept over his scalp. ¡°Big Brother, let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    No one would be able to easily escape from the auction.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3189: Pawns And Schemes

    <h4>Chapter 3189: Pawns And Schemes</h4>

    On the tform high in the air behind the statue, Bai Ni and the other hosts had expected something to happen during the auction. However, they had no intention of getting involved, as theycked the strength to do so. Instead, they ced their hopes on Arch-Elder Zen.

    The auction¡¯s profits were going to be sent to the Heavens Sect. Part of the reason why the Bai Wu Universe had done this was because they wanted to use the Heavens Sect''s reputation to intimidate the crowd. Unexpectedly, it was not enough to suppress people''s madness.

    Arch-Elder Zen watched the ensuing chaos calmly. It was clear that he had no intention of intervening.

    The statue shattered, which caused Bai Ni''s expression to fall. Even after that, he did not step forward. He and the other four hosts could not stop the madness in the za, as there were terrifying experts participating.

    Bai Ni looked at Arch-Elder Zen, only to see that the man was staring at the members of Second Life who were trying to escape.

    "You want to leave?" Arch-Elder Zen''s voice rang out and entered the ears of the four members of Second Life.

    The four people all looked up at the tform. The Heavens Sect?

    "Take the stones and the hide, and everything from your past will be swept under the rug. Don¡¯t, and the Heavens Sect will send the Inner and Outer Eight Paths out to execute you," Arch-Elder Zen stated in a deep voice that was dripping with bloodlust.

    Throughout Second Life¡¯s existence, they had been threatened countless times. At first, it had been others threatening them, but as time had passed, they had be the ones making threats. It had been a long time since they had felt intimidated by any threat, but this time, they knew that they had to tread lightly.

    The Heavens Sect was an absolute monster. The Aeternals had suppressed humanity for countless years, to the point where humanity had struggled to resist. However, Aeternus had pushed too far, and they had lost control of the situation. That had led to the rise of the Heavens Sect.

    As for Second Life, none of them cared about humanity or Aeternus. Whoever dominated the megaverse was irrelevant, as the members of Second Life only cared about themselves.

    Even if everything else was ignored, the Heavens Sect had already risen to power. Even if the positions of the Inner and Outer Eight Paths had not yet beenpletely filled, there were still more than ten sequence powerhouses who held one of those two titles. Second Life had five members, but only two of them were sequence powerhouses.

    What would it be like to be hunted by more than ten sequence powerhouses? Just the thought made their scalps tingle.

    Second Shan looked past the ruins of the statue. "You''re already fighting against Aeternus. Can you spare the manpower to deal with us?"

    Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. "If we have to, then we''ll send one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers, or maybe one of the Three Realms and Six Daos after you. Whatever works."

    His words sent chills down the spines of the four members of Second Life. The Inner and Outer Eight Paths had terrifying numbers, but everyst one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers or the Three Realms and Six Daos was an unbelievable powerhouse.

    Second Life had survived a trap set for them that had included Sovereign Lotus, as they had not dared to face the woman. Dealing with experts who were even more powerful than that woman was unthinkable.

    Despite Second Life¡¯s confidence, the Heavens Sect stood at the pinnacle of the human race and could rally countless experts at a call. On top of that, Second Life had a terrible reputation, and there were many entire universes calling for their deaths. Given their infamy, being hunted by the Heavens Sect¡¯s experts would pose a significant problem.

    "Fine, we agree. But first, we need to take care of someone." Second Shan suddenly looked at a corner of the za. <i>Huh? Where did he go?</i>

    He was searching for Lu Yin, as that person had thrown the stone at Second Life. Second Shan had felt a sense of great danger from the young man, which was why he wanted to attack Lu Yin. In addition to eliminating a threat, this would also test the Heavens Sect and reveal if the one who had targeted Second Life was someone else from the Heavens Sect.

    If he was, then Second Life would prefer being hunted by the sect than remaining in the za. An attack from someone from the Heavens Sect would indicate that the sect was toying with Second Life. However, if the attack was not from the Heavens Sect, then Second Life might genuinely help the Heavens Sect. There was some interest in the positions of the Inner and Outer Eight Paths. If one of them could gain the position of one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers, that would be even better.

    However, Lu Yin had already vanished.

    When Arch-Elder Zen saw Second Shan''s movement, the old man¡¯s eyes narrowed. Second Shan was clever, and he had quicklye up with a way to test Arch-Elder Zen and the Heavens Sect. This person could not be allowed to live.

    Most of the people present were fleeing from the za. Mr. Daheng, Luo Shan, and several other peak powerhouses were demonstrating a terrifying level of power, and no one weaker had any ce in the battle.

    Second Gu looked at the stone in his hand and hesitated. Should they leave or stay?

    "Big brother, let''s go," Second Shan said decisively. Even being hunted by the Heavens Sect would be better than staying in the za and waiting to die. He was sensing more and more danger every second. They could not stay.

    Suddenly, Second Gang vanished. A card shed through where he had just been standing before flying on towards the auction stage.

    Second Gu was shocked. "Third brother!"

    He reached out to grab the card but could not touch it. He watched as the card moved further away, and the frustration that had been building from the moment Second Life had entered the za finally erupted. Sequence particles surged and spread to fill the za.

    Second Gu hadprehended the Law of Fear, and his sequence particles induced terror in his opponents. Anyone who touched his sequence particles would immediately feel fear when facing him.

    At that moment, everyone who was still in the za was affected by Second Gu¡¯s sequence particles.

    Not even Mr. Daheng or Luo Shan were spared.

    Lu Yin was in a corner of the za. He had been watching everything all along. Second Gang had been captured by Heavenly King, as Lu Yin had asked Great Elder Shan Gu to take action and force Second Life to stay in the za. Lu Yin was surprised by the strength of bandits, but it was a pleasant surprise. They just needed to be stalled until Tian Fa arrived.

    No one had expected Second Life to attend the auction, and Lu Yin had not anticipated the presence of two other uncertain factors in the za.

    There was a man and a woman whose expression had not altered the slightest bit since they had first entered the za. They had remainedpletely unfazed even when the chaotic battle had broken out. The more they looked at ease in the growing chaos, the more abnormal they appeared. They were another reason why Lu Yin wanted to force Second Life to stay around.

    There were deep waters in the za.

    Second Life was unable to leave for the time being. Their five members were connected by strong bonds, and while they did not care about the lives or deaths of others, they cared a great deal for each other. None of them would leave as long as Second Gang was a captive.

    On the auction¡¯s stage, Daheng waved his hand, releasing his Law of Lightness to slice through the void in a long sh as he tried to get close to the hide.

    However, it was too difficult to get close to it. Luo Shan, who had initially agreed to work with Mr. Daheng, suddenly attacked.

    A Monarch Arrow pierced through the void and appeared right in front of Mr. Daheng. The arrow managed topletely avoid the Arborean¡¯s sh, as Luo Shan was also using his sequence particles; he hadprehended the Law of Transmission.

    Mr. Daheng raised a hand to deflect the Monarch Arrow, and he then whirled around to re at Luo Shan. "What are you doing?"

    Luo Shan remained indifferent. "I thought that there were some real experts here, but it looks like you''re still the one most likely to get something. That makes this nothing more than a contest between you and me."

    Mr. Daheng was furious. "Are you insane? Arch-Elder Zen is here. Do you really think that he''s the only one from the Heavens Sect who came? I don¡¯t have any choice right now! Who threw the stones into the crowd? Who can use the power of time like that? Lu Yin is obviously here!"

    It was as if Luo Shan could not even hear the other man. The Monarch reached for Mr. Daheng, monarch essence smashing the void open and exposing the Hollow. This was Luo Shan''s Progenitor''s world: Monarch''s Domain.

    Mr. Daheng was furious. <i>This bastard!</i>

    The situation was already precarious in the za, and this was Mr. Daheng¡¯s only chance to make a move, and yet Luo Shan was stopping him.

    At this moment, the Heavenly King card floated out. Both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan saw the card and simultaneously eximed, "Shan Gu?"

    "Third Brother!" Second Gu''s sequence particles spread out, still being recklessly dispersed.

    Mr. Daheng shot a cold re at Second Gu and then raised a hand to release a sh with the Law of Lightness, cutting right through the void.

    Second Gu twined his arms around each other, grabbing at his joints to rip two bones out from his body. He then used them to block the approaching attack. Mr. Daheng¡¯s sh mmed into the bones and sliced them in two. Second Gu was startled, and he barely avoided the attack. Where had this experte from?

    By pure coincidence, Second Gu brushed against Luo Shan''s Progenitor''s world, which had already started to devour everything nearby, and it even tried to pull Second Gu into the Hollow.

    The man felt a terrible chill that numbed his scalp. This was another terrifying powerhouse.

    "Big Brother, duck!" Second Shan called out, just in time. Second Gu dropped down out of pure reflex, just as another sh from Mr. Daheng¡¯s Law of Lightness shot by. This time, it was aimed at Luo Shan.

    Mr. Daheng had wanted to use Second Gu as a shield while attacking Luo Shan, but Second Shan''s warning had allowed the man to duck out of the way within just enough time, while also warning Luo Shan.

    The Monarch dodged the sh, and his expression chilled. "Daheng, you''re still as despicable as ever."

    Mr. Daheng sneered. "When ites to being despicable, who canpare to you, Luo Shan? I¡¯ve figured it all out. You knew that Lu Yin was here, and you¡¯re acting on his orders. He¡¯s behind this whole setup!"

    In a corner of the za, Lu Yin felt helpless. These men were too sharp, and Lu Yin was not really able to say that the current situation was not his fault. He had been a bit too obvious.

    There really had not been any other way. Since no one was going to make trouble at the auction, Lu Yin had needed to do it himself.

    He had indeed been the one to orchestrate the auction, though the people of the Bai Wu Universe did not know anything about it. They had only been reacting to their circumstances. Simrly, Luo Shan had not known that Lu Yin was behind everything, and it was because of his ignorance that the Monarch had attended the auction. Lu Yin would not have been able to find Luo Shan without drawing him out of hiding.

    Luo Shan knew that Lu Yin was present, and yet he still attacked Mr. Daheng. This was because Lu Yin had just told the Monarch to do so, as it was a chance to prove his innocence.

    The entire goal of the auction and everything rted to it was Tian Fa.

    Mr. Daheng, Luo Shan, Second Life, the Bai Wu Universe, and all the other experts who had been lured to the auction were nothing more than pawns in Lu Yin¡¯s scheme. While there had been a few unexpected developments, the overall goal had never changed.

    <i>Hmm? The goal just changed.</i>

    Lu Yin looked at the man and woman who were still as calm as ever. They were preparing to tear through the void in order to leave, but while others could be allowed to go, these two could not.

    Lu Yin attacked. Infinity appeared, and the lines of strength collided as he used Extremes Must Be Reversed. A powerful punch was thrown at the man and the woman.

    This punch shook the universe itself, causing it to howl.

    Everyone still in the za was stunned by this attack.

    The man and woman both turned to look at Lu Yin. The young man¡¯s punches were powerful enough to threaten even sequence powerhouses. At the very least, both Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan were terrified.

    The calm man confronted the punch on his own, and Lu Yin¡¯s punch suddenly shifted in a direction and mmed into the floor of the za.

    His eyes bulged. "Di Qiong!"

    Di Qiong had just used his sequence particles, which manifested thew Under the Dome. In the past, Lu Yin had not understood why so many attacks aimed at Di Qiong had missed and had instead fallen at the man¡¯s feet. Later, Lu Yin had realized that it was because of thew that Di Qiong hadprehended, which was called Under the Dome. As long as the man¡¯s sequence particles remained intact, every attack wouldnd at his feet.

    Lu Yin had thought that Aeternus might send some powerhouses to the auction, but he had thought that it was more likely that no one would appear. While Lu Yin was scheming against Tian Fa, if one or two Aeternal powerhouses could be lured in as well, things could still work. He could simply trap both the Aeternus powerhouses and Tian Fa.

    <i>Since Di Qiong is here, then...</i>

    An arrow shot through the air, aimed straight at Lu Yin. She was also present; it was Arrow God.

    "Not bad. Di Qiong and Arrow God? Two of the Three Pirs and Six Skies showed up. Aren''t you afraid that you¡¯ll be surrounded and killed?" Lu Yin dodged the arrow. It had not been moving fast and was not particrly powerful, but Lu Yin knew that the longer the battle dragged on, the more difficult it would be to avoid Arrow God¡¯s attacks. Even Sovereign Dou Sheng would be riddled with arrows every time he faced Arrow God.

    Di Qiong looked over. "Lu Yin, do you really think that you can keep us here? How do you n to handle us while also dealing with Tian Fa?"

    Lu Yin stared back at Di Qiong. "The Heavens Sect has plenty of experts."

 Chapter 3190: The Way Of Survival

    <h4>Chapter 3190: The Way Of Survival</h4>

    Di Qiong sneered as he turned to Second Shan. "Help us in this battle, and afterwards, you will be regarded as friends of Aeternus. You won''t even need to join us. If the Heavens Sect starts hunting you, Aeternus will take the burden for you. You¡¯ve roamed the universes for years, so I¡¯ll tell you something-

    "The third Divine Commandment is in effect."

    Second Shan''s expression changed dramatically. "The Third Divine Commandment?"

    Second Gu and Second Meng both looked confused. What was a Divine Commandment?

    Di Qiong''s lips curved upwards. "So, you do know."

    Second Shan did not hesitate, and he shouted, "Big brother, let''s agree to Aeternus''s terms."

    "Fine, we''ll do as you suggest. Aeternus, tell us what to do. However, before anything else, we need to rescue our third brother," Second Gu shouted.

    Second Meng frowned but she did not object. The five members of Second Life were united in both life and death.

    A cold light flickered in Lu Yin''s eyes. "You know only half of the truth, and yet you are in a hurry to decide your fate and betray your own race? You deserve to die."

    He had not expected Second Life to betray humanity, but it did not particrly matter. Even with them joining Di Qiong, there was little hope of Aeternus aplishing much against the Heavens Sect in the current battle. The Aeternals were simply using Second Life as a shield. Lu Yin had also dismissed the idea of trying to trap Di Qiong and Arrow God for the time being, as Tian Fa was fast approaching, and time was running out.

    Compared to Di Qiong or Arrow God, Tian Fa was a much greater threat.

    Arrow God nocked an arrow and aimed it at Heavenly King before loosing an attack.

    Di Qiong shouted, "Second Life, surround that young man and kill him!"

    Naturally, he was pointing at Lu Yin.

    Second Gu and Second Meng both looked at Lu Yin and attacked him. One pulled a bone out of his body, which then split and formed the skeleton of a humanoid figure, while the other moved right behind that skeleton before charging at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression turned cold. These people deserved to die. He clenched a fist and threw another punch, this time aiming at only the members of Second Life, Di Qiong, and Arrow God.

    One punch shattered the void.

    The skeleton quickly moved out from beside Second Gu to block Lu Yin¡¯s punch.

    Still behind the skeleton, Second Meng released her sequence particles while raising her own fist and retaliating with a punch. She was copying Lu Yin''s attack, with the intention of countering it. However, as soon as she raised her first, her arm was shredded and blood sttered.

    "Second Sister!" Second Gu eximed in shock. The skeleton in front of him was simultaneously shattered. Lu Yin''s punch was too powerful, and no one in Second Life could stand up to it.

    Second Meng was horrified. "He¡¯s a monster! I can¡¯t duplicate his strength."

    The moment she finished speaking, she and Second Gu were knocked back by Lu Yin''s punch. Blood spilled as they were pathetically sent flying towards Di Qiong.

    The man¡¯s eyes grew cold. <i>Trash</i>.

    He was impressed by Lu Yin''s strength, but the fact that two sequence powerhouses had failed to endure even a single one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches when working together was beyond pathetic.

    There was a loud crash as Second Gu and Second Meng fell close to Di Qiong. They both coughed up more blood, their faces deathly pale.

    Lu Yin was solely focused on Di Qiong and Arrow God.

    On the auction stage, Daheng and Luo Shan were both targeting Heavenly King, as the card was the closest thing to the hide that had held the stones.

    On the tform in the sky behind the statue, Arch-Elder Zen quietly observed everything. He was powerless to influence the battle. He was not yet a Sequence Progenitor.

    As for Bai Ni and the other four hosts, it was even more impossible for them to get involved. It was already quite impressive that they had not already fled the scene entirely.

    Di Qiong had his spear in his hand and was pointing it at Lu Yin from across the za. "Even after so long, no expert has appeared from the Heavens Sect. Tian Fa must be quite close.

    "I''m quite curious to see how you n to deal with Tian Fa, but I don''t have the time to y with you any longer. Lu Yin, if you have the ability,e to the Third Scourge and take Wu Tian away."

    A cosmic door appeared beside the man, and he moved to step through it.

    In any case, if experts from the Heavens Sect did surround the Aeternals, it was very likely that they would be in trouble. Besides, the fact that it was clear that Lu Yin wanted to face Tian Fa at the site of the auction served as proof that he had some sort of backup n in ce. Di Qiong and Arrow God had no desire to get caught up in Lu Yin¡¯s schemes, and be the ones suffering instead of Tian Fa.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to move close to Di Qiong. Pages appeared in the air around Di Qiong. They were his Progenitor¡¯s world, Martial Scriptures. Lu Yin''s Inverse Step came to an abrupt halt, as his actions were being limited by the Martial Scriptures.

    Di Qiong raised his spear up high and thrust it at Lu Yin in an attack that pierced the void.

    Lu Yin visualized thendmass in his inner universe while releasing that universe from inside his body. The visualization method merged with thendmass itself, and a shadow instantly fell over the entire za.

    Di Qiong looked up, and his eyes narrowed. "Let''s go."

    Suddenly, a streak of light shot at him. He turned and waved a hand, shattering the light. It was a spear. Was it his own spear?

    He followed where the attack hade from and saw that he had been attacked by Second Meng.

    There were two skeletons standing beside Second Gu, and they instantly charged at Di Qiong, "You can forget about leaving!"

    "Second Life, have you gone mad?" Di Qiong shouted angrily.

    Far away, Second Shan shouted, "Lord Lu, I know it''s you! We won''t help Aeternus. We''re also still human. What do you want us to do next?"

    Lu Yin frowned. Just what was Second Life thinking?

    The weak had their own methods to survive. Lu Yin had once prevented the Daynight n from attacking him by using the Third Nightking¡¯s whereabouts as bait. At this moment, Second Life was doing the same thing. They had agreed to help Aeternus partly as a test to find out who was controlling the card that had captured Second Gang. If the card belonged to Aeternus, Second Life would help and attack Lu Yin. If the card belonged to Lu Yin or his people, Second Life had already decided to pretend to help Aeternus while actually getting closer in order to prepare an attack that would demonstrate their loyalty to Lu Yin.

    Second Life knew that it was impossible for them to free Second Gang, which meant that their brother¡¯s survival depended on whoever had captured him.

    By firing an arrow at Heavenly King, Arrow God had proven that Second Gang had been captured by Lu Yin''s people. So, Second Life had immediately attacked the Aeternals.

    Second Life¡¯s way of surviving was to get a clear picture of a given situation and then go with whatever served them best.

    While their actions had been a bitplicated, Lu Yin understood what Second Life had done. They were guilty of myriad crimes and certainly deserved to die, squashed like a bug that lived in a dark corner. However, even bugs knew how to survive.

    "Forget it. Let them go," Lu Yin stated calmly. He could sense that Tian Fa was very close.

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand fell, apanied by thendmass in the sky. It dropped with a thunderous crash.

    Di Qiong and Arrow God both shot through the cosmic door, leaving the za.

    Thendmass pressed down upon the entire za. Arch-Elder Zen and the auction¡¯s hosts quickly escaped from the tform in the sky, avoiding being crushed before the za.

    Mr. Daheng was horrified by Lu Yin¡¯s demonstration of power.

    "We can''t wait any longer! Waaaah, grab it!" A shadow suddenly appeared on Daheng''s shoulder, and it smacked Heavenly King away. Luo Shan''s monarch essence had absolutely no effect on the shadow.

    It was Astral Anura.

    Mr. Daheng had been searching for Peaks and Rivers Stones in order to gain ess to the Mirari Realm, but all of the man¡¯s actions had been at the orders of Astral Anura. The toad had learned of the ancient legends regarding the Mirari Realm and that the ce held the means to Immortality.

    However, Astral Anura knew very little about the Mirari Realm. Long ago, he had gotten close to the Mirari Realm, but his opportunity had been stolen when the Origin Universe had locked the Mirari Realm in ce, limiting ess to a few of humanity¡¯s peak powerhouses. Their actions had left Astral Anura helpless. Those powerhouses had beenplete bastards! The Mirari Realm belonged to the entire cosmos, and it should not be imed by any single group. And yet, those bastards had stolen control of the Mirari Realm, which had deprived Astral Anura of any chance to enter, even after so many years.

    He finally had another opportunity right in front of him, and the stones were real. Even if the auction looked like a trap, Astral Anura had been willing to face the risk, because even a chance that was only one in ten-thousand was still a chance.

    On top of that, Astral Anura was confident in his strength, and he felt that very few creatures in the entire megaverse could threaten him. Where was the danger?

    Mr. Daheng was startled. "This is a trap, my lord. The stones and the hide are all fake. They¡¯re counterfeits."

    Astral Anura grabbed the hide and the stones at the same time and stared at them. The toad¡¯s eyes grewrge as it studied the stones. <i>Is that right? Hmm? Are they fake? Are they real?</i>

    Lu Yin looked up. Tian Fa had arrived.

    He looked over at Heavenly King. Beneath the card, Great Elder Shan Gu stepped forward while tearing through the void and simultaneously crushing a stone in his hand.

    A mass of blood-red liquid descended far away from the za, already racing towards the za.

    Tian Fa arrived just in time to see Shan Gu tear through the void and escape.

    Astral Anura was the closest to Shan Gu and saw the man¡¯s actions. Instantly, the toad¡¯s eyes zed with excitement. "It''s real! It¡¯s the Mirari Realm! The Mirari Realm! Wait for me!"

    The toad shot through the spatial tear.

    Mr. Daheng also grew excited. Was this really a path to the Mirari Realm? Lu Yin had used the actual Mirari Realm as a trap. What a steep price to pay! The Arborean also shot through the tear in the void.

    Luo Shan hesitated, but then he turned and left.

    Lu Yin took a step forward and rushed through the spatial tear.

    Second Gu rushed forward without any hesitation. "Third Brother, wait for us!"

    Second Meng and Second Shan also charged forward at the same time.

    Tian Fa elerated, also rushing in. It would not allow Great Elder Shan Gu to escape again.

    Just as the spatial tear was about to close, a figure appeared in a corner of the za, and instantly shot through the tear as well. It was a woman, the fifth member of Second Life: Second Zi.[1]

    Once Second Zi passed through the tear in the void, the tear finally disappeared.

    The za quieted down. Aside from Arch-Elder Zen and Bai Ni, no one else was in the za. All who remained were corpses scattered across the floor.

    ...

    Time passed. It flowed through the megaverse, and countless worlds experienced the passing of spring and autumn.

    Every time a person entered the Mirari Realm, the connection would reset the moment in time that the Mirari Realm was connected to the outside world.

    Shan Gu, along with his Heavenly King card that was still above his head, fell into the Mirari Realm. When the void was torn open, there was a brief moment when the nearby mist of time had been pushed back. Because of that, as long as people who newly entered the Mirari Realm did not move, they would not touch the mist for a period of time.

    The Great Elder already knew how terrifying that mist was, but he still boldly charged into it. That was because he was carrying a de of Hongyan Mavis''s green grass.

    The second to fall into the Mirari Realm was Astral Anura.

    At this moment, the toad was quite small, and he was only the size of a person¡¯s hand. He looked like a toy as he held the hide in a hand.

    After falling into the Mirari Realm, the toad first saw the flowing River of Time nearby, as well as the more distant bamboo forest. The sight thrilled him. "The Mirari Realm! I¡¯m really in the Mirari Realm! This deal was absolutely worth it, no doubt about it! I¡¯ve finally made it into the Mirari Realm."

    The toad¡¯s eyes locked onto Shan Gu. "You, get over here!"

    It was at this moment that Mr. Daheng fell through the spatial tear and dropped onto Astral Anura.

    The toad contemptuously tossed the man to the side, and Mr. Daheng fell to the ground nearby. However, they were in the Mirari Realm, and the entire ce was filled with the mist of time.

    While Mr. Daheng did not go very far, he stillnded within the mist.

    A terrifying scream rang out across the Mirari Realm, startling Astral Anura.

    Both the toad and Shan Gu looked over at Mr. Daheng.

    It was at this time that Second Gu, Second Meng, and Second Shan all fell through the spatial tear. They were lucky enough to notnd on Astral Anura, but rather a few meters away from the toad. The moment they arrived, they heard Daheng''s screams, and all three people looked over at the man. They saw a sight they would never be able to forget.

    Every part of Mr. Daheng''s body was constantly changing. Sometimes bits and pieces would belong to an old man, and at other times to a young child. There were times when his body would shrivel up, and at other times, it would glow. Mr. Daheng was a sequence powerhouse, and he released his sequence particles to resist the mist as he struggled to crawl away from it. However, already his abdomen had been reduced to bones. It was a chilling sight to all who saw it.

    1. Zi = Purple. ?

 Chapter 3191: The Path To Immortality

    <h4>Chapter 3191: The Path To Immortality</h4>

    Mr. Daheng was trembling as he stared at his skeletal abdomen. This condition would not kill him, as he was a sequence powerhouse, but he would need a great deal of time to recover.

    "What''s wrong with him?" Second Meng asked, stunned.

    Lu Yin dropped into the Mirari Realm, and he calmly walked into the mist.

    The next moment, Tian Fa arrived as well. "Hmm? The Mirari Realm?"

    Finally, Second Zi entered, and Second Gu instantly reacted. White bones moved to pull the woman over to the rest of Second Life. Without that intervention, the woman would havended on Astral Anura''s head. While Second Life did not know Astral Anura, the toad radiated a sense of danger that was terrifyingly strong.

    The Mirari Realm was no longer quiet, having suddenly been filled with so many people.

    The mist of time slowly drifted about, but the sight of the shifting mist made Second Gu and everyone else cautious, and they all continuously moved towards areas that were free from the mist.

    Astral Anura was not overly concerned. He understood that the mist was time itself, but for a powerful Dukkhan, the power of time was nothing unknown, and Astral Anura could defend himself against the mist.

    On the other hand, Mr. Daheng was utterly terrified.

    Lu Yin and Shan Gu both stood within the mist, and their location made them particrly conspicuous.

    Tian Fa spoke in a deep voice, "Dao Monarch Lu, do you believe that entering the Mirari Realm will allow that man to escape heaven¡¯s punishment?

    "No one can escape it!"

    Astral Anura looked over in astonishment. "Tian Fa of the four Boundary Guardians? You¡¯re actually here, too."

    In the First Scourge, the toad had seen Tian En, the butterfly that delivered heaven¡¯s grace. Soon afterwards, he saw the blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa. Astral Anura visibly grew more cautious.

    The mass of blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa shifted, and the creature seemed to be looking at Astral Anura. "Hmm? It''s you? We''ve met before."

    Astral Anura grinned, but it was a fawning smile. The toad waved his lotus leaf in a rather humorous manner. "That¡¯s right, we''ve met before, we have indeed. Go right ahead with your business and don''t mind me at all. Just carry on."

    Lu Yin looked at Astral Anura. "Astral Anura, didn¡¯t we agree to deal with Tian Fa here in the Mirari Realm? I paid you by giving you entry into the Mirari Realm."

    Killing intent surged from Tian Fa, and bloodlust filled the Mirari Realm with a blood-red tint. The sight of the sudden change caused Second Gu and hispanions to shudder in fear. They did their best not to disturb anyone. It was clear to the four that they were surrounded by terrifyingly powerful individuals. Even if Lord Lu was not yet a peak powerhouse, his strength exceeded his cultivation to an absurd degree.

    Astral Anura shrieked, "Lu Yin, don''t spout nonsense like that! When did I ever agree to a deal with you? That''s <i>Tian Fa</i> we''re talking about! You actually want to take out one of the Boundary Guardians? Are you insane?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s lips. "Stop ying around. Tian Fa isn¡¯t going to trust you. If you want tounch a sneak attack, you should just forget it. You need to fight openly."

    The young man then turned to stare at Tian Fa. "You four Boundary Guardians keep making trouble for my Heavens Sect, again and again. Do you really think that I don¡¯t know you¡¯re helping Aeternus? After I deal with you, Tian En will be next."

    "You intend to go against us, the Boundary Guardians? Do you have any idea what this megaverse would be like without us?" Tian Fa''s voice dropped even lower. "You humans are too ungrateful! Without us, how would you have enjoyed any peaceful living? We have sacrificed so much for this megaverse. We¡¯re the ones who maintain stability in this ce by holding off external threats."

    "Is that why you attacked the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin shouted sternly.

    Astral Anura was stunned. Had the four Boundary Guardians attacked the humans¡¯ Origin Progenitor?

    Tian Fa fell silent for a moment before replying, "Humanity is an unstable race. The Origin Progenitor locked the Mirari Realm to this megaverse. We warned him against it, but he continued his recklessness and was too arrogant. If he were allowed to continue, the day would eventuallye when he connected this megaverse to others, which would have reduced our years of effort to nothing. We acted for the greater good of this megaverse.

    "Humans are a selfish race, and you people are filled with desires for violence, conquest, and oppression. Your race cannot be allowed to expand too quickly, nor can you be allowed to rule the megaverse. The Origin Progenitor tried to do that, and we hope that you won''t try to follow in his footsteps."

    Lu Yin tilted his head back, took a deep breath, and let out a loudugh. Hisughter was filled with sarcasm. "So, for the so-called greater good of the megaverse, if I try to guide the Heavens Sect to regain its former glory that it enjoyed under the Origin Progenitor, will youe after me as well?"

    Tian Fa softly replied, "As long as you don¡¯t disrupt the stability of the megaverse, we won¡¯t target you. We don''t go after any specific creature, but humanity is too unstable a species, so we pay more attention to it. If you prove yourself to be different from the Origin Progenitor, and we see that, you may be allowed to continue to exist."

    "And what if I want to lead humanity to truly rule over this megaverse?" Lu Yin countered.

    Tian Fa hesitated before answering, "One of the duties of the four Boundary Guardians is to drive away all outsider creatures from outside megaverses. Our second duty is to maintain the stability of this megaverse, and that includes the human race."

    "To hell with your stability!" Lu Yin shouted as he threw a punch at Tian Fa.

    Infinity erupted, and lines of strength collided with each other as Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed to absorb the damage his body suffered.

    A fierce punch shot towards Tian Fa, but an endless array of des formed a mountain in front of the mass of blood. The des were shattered by the force of the punch, though they seeded in stopping the attack.

    "You dare to attack me? It looks like you are just the same as the Origin Progenitor! In that case, the Heavens Sect will be forced to appoint a new master," Tian Fa dered as it unleashed endless des that filled the sky. As this happened, Lu Yin found himself unable to move, as the void itself had trapped him like shackles. He was being forced to ept the full force of Tian Fa¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. For a moment, Extremes Must Be Reversed caused his entire body to wither. As that happened, Wielder - Indestructible shrouded his body, shattering the void nearby.

    Shan Gu attacked, calling out, "Warking of Infinity, I humbly request your aid."

    A massive hand tore through the void, reaching out to grab Tian Fa.

    A spear appeared in front of the blood-red liquid. "Heaven¡¯s Spear!"

    Not even Lu Yuan was able to break free from Tian Fa¡¯s shackles that used the passing of time, so there was no chance that Shan Gu could escape.

    The spear pierced the Warking of Infinity¡¯s outstretched hand instantly, and continued on towards Great Elder Shan Gu.

    Astral Anura watched the exchange from the side, unwilling to get involved. Tian Fa was one of the four Boundary Guardians, and attacking one would cause all four to target a person. From what the toad had just heard, the four had apparently seeded in taking down even the Origin Progenitor. It was no wonder why Aeternus had been able to silently destroy the First Maind so many years ago.

    Astral Anura knew just how powerful the Origin Progenitor had been, but even he had been taken down. The toad had no desire to antagonize the four Ortusers.

    As for Second Gu and the others, they stayed as quiet as possible while creating as much distance as they could. They were waiting to see how the current exchange yed out.

    Suddenly, Hongyan Mavis stepped out from a Zenith Mountain and appeared at Lu Yin''s side. She was the only expert that Lu Yin had brought into the Mirari Realm to help him deal with Tian Fa.

    While Tian Fa needed to be dealt with, the Aeternals could not be left unchecked. Ancestor Lu Yuan needed to stay behind to dissuade Ancient God so that Aeternus could notunch a surprise attack on the Heavens Sect. As for dealing with Tian Fa, Hongyan Mavis was not enough on her own. Lu Yin¡¯s real assistant for handling Tian Fa was Astral Anura.

    The trap that Lu Yin had set to move the battle into the Mirari Realm had been specifically set up to lure Astral Anura in. Without the toad, there was no one capable of dealing with Tian Fa.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s punch shattered Heaven¡¯s Spear. "Today, I''ll settle the score for my master!"

    "The Origin Progenitor deserved to die, as he vited the order of the megaverse. None of his disciples should be allowed to remain either. Since you''ve attacked us, as soon as I leave this ce, we will destroy the Heavens Sect. In the future, not even the name of the Heavens Sect will exist in this megaverse."

    "You talk as though you¡¯re going to leave this ce alive!" Hongyan Mavis snapped back as she raised a fist. The sheer power of her punches produced a terrifying roar that shook the entire Mirari Realm, and Second Gu and hispanions all trembled with fear. They knew that, if any of them were hit by that punch, there would be no saving them.

    Hongyan Mavis''s punch contained earth-shattering power, but Tian Fa showed no intention of avoiding the attack.

    Just as the punch drew close to the creature, it suddenly disappeared.

    Hongyan Mavis was puzzled. How was that possible?

    No one could understand what had just happened, not even Astral Anura. However, the toad was certain that Tian Fa had used sequence particles.

    There were an infinite variety of sequence particles, and thew of the universe that one mastered depended on themselves alone. As for whatw Tian Fa hadprehended, that was yet to be determined.

    Endless des sliced at Hongyan Mavis.

    The void chains that bound Lu Yin suddenly snapped. He twisted his wrist while releasing the universe from his heart and visualizing thendmass, merging reality and the visualization. At the same time, the Wordless Heavenly Book appeared, and it released a golden light that filled the Mirari Realm while granting vitality to thendmass that was dropping down upon Tian Fa.

    Tian Fa was taken aback. "The Origin Progenitor¡¯s power? That''s the acknowledgement of the Origin Universe."

    As thendmass descended, an endless number of des bloomed around Tian Fa like a lotus before shing upward at the fallingndmass. The endless des mmed into thendmass and slowly wore away at it. Long ago, Feng Bo had used his tower-shaped sword to resist thendmass, and Tian Fa was using its endless des to achieve the same effect.

    Even Ortusers could simply ignore an attack with a destructive power at the same level as the Seven Skygods.

    Ortusers could be impressively more powerful than peak powerhouses, but the strength of the two realms could also be nearly indistinguishable.

    Advancing in cultivation did not always equate to an increase inbat power.

    Ortusers could not be touched by thews of the universe, so if Lu Yin¡¯s attack was powerful because of sequence particles, it would pose much less of a threat to Tian Fa. It was the fact that Lu Yin was using nothing more than his own strength, with no sequence particles at all, that made him an actual threat to Ortusers. In fact, Lu Yin was at least as much of a threat to Tian Fa as Hongyan Mavis and the other Three Realms and Six Daos.

    "Astral Anura, why aren''t you helping?" Lu Yin roared, clearly enraged.

    The toad was startled. "Lu Yin, stop saying that! How could I ever help you fight against the Boundary Guardians? I''m friends with the four of them!"

    "I already paid you!"

    "I don''t ept deals that guarantee losses."

    "Don''t you want to reach Immortality?"

    That one sentence caused Lu Yin to fully capture the attention of even Tian Fa. Immortality was a legendary cultivation realm, and no one in the entire megaverse had ever reached it. That was true even for the one acknowledged as the strongest being in history: the Origin Progenitor.

    Astral Anura froze. "What did you say? Immortality? Pah, you think you''re qualified to talk about such a thing? You''re nothing more than a Semi-Progenitor!"

    "And what about me?" Hongyan Mavis stared at Astral Anura. "I''ve spent countless years in the Mirari Realm. I stayed here from the time my Second Maind shattered, and I¡¯ve explored every corner of this ce. If Aeternus hadn''t stolen my Progenitor¡¯s world, I would have broken through long ago.

    "I¡¯ll also tell you the same thing. The Mirari Realm holds a path to Immortality."

    Astral Anura raised his lotus leaf up as he leaped about, cursing. "Do you take me for an idiot? If there¡¯s a path to Immortality, why didn''t the Origin Progenitor take it? You must think I¡¯m a fool! I''m a businessman, and I only ept deals with guaranteed profits!"

    Even as she countered the endless des, Hongyan Mavis continued to speak to Astral Anura. "That path is not intended for humans. Other creatures have created their own civilizations in this megaverse before the appearance of humanity, and the path here was made for those species, not for humans. However, you''re not human."

    "Who do you think you¡¯re insulting! Wait, you''re right, I''m not human... Are you serious?" Astral Anura hesitated. He had always believed that the Mirari Realm hid a path to Immortality, and if anyone knew about the Mirari Realm, there was no doubt that it would be the Origin Progenitor or his people. The Origin Progenitor had anchored the Mirari Realm to the Origin Universe, which required a level of strength that not even the four Boundary Guardians had been able to overlook. After that, the man¡¯s disciples had frequently entered the Mirari Realm, so it was impossible for them to not know the ce¡¯s secrets.

    "Why do you think Destiny recultivated from the beginning? You must have heard about that. She discovered that path. If not for that, given her innate talent, she would have been the first of us to break through. You know that she has always been the most talented of us all," Hongyan Mavis continued to tempt the toad.

 Chapter 3192: Surrounding And Killing Tian Fa

    <h4>Chapter 3192: Surrounding And Killing Tian Fa</h4>

    Hongyan Mavis''s words made Astral Anura clench his jaw. He thought for a moment and then looked at the ones being assaulted by the endless des. Ultimately, he refused. "Don''t think that you can tempt me! There¡¯s no question that I¡¯m friends with the four Boundary Guardians! We might as well be sworn siblings! I would never ept payment from them, let alone help you. How ridiculous!"

    Hongyan Mavis sneered. "Then go ahead and find it yourself. The Mirari Realm has forbidden areas that even our master didn''t dare to enter. If you enter one of those, you''ll either die or end up crippled. If you want to search all of them, I can promise that, before you find the path to Immortality, you''ll be nothing more than a dead toad."

    Astral Anura grew furious. "You''re the dead toad!"

    "Nothing more than a mere toad," Lu Yin mocked, repeating the Great Sovereign¡¯sment.

    Thementpletely enraged Astral Anura. He remembered when the Great Sovereign had stepped on his head in the Second Scourge, as well as his brutal defeat when he had teamed up with Yong Heng to fight against Lu Yuan and the others. Just remembering that incident left Astral Anura feeling wronged, and he grew furious and bitter.

    He was eager to break through and be an Immortal, as that would allow him to kill the people who were present, everyst one of them.

    <i>Wait a minute</i>. His eyes narrowed, and he revealed a slimy smile. "You humans intend to allow me to break through to Immortality? Is this a joke? Wouldn¡¯t my breakthrough terrify you all?"

    Hongyan Mavis replied, "There are limits even to Immortals. Even if you be invincible, it still won''t be easy for you to attack us. Of course, we also would struggle to even try to attack you, but there are no absolutes in existence."

    Hearing this made Astral Anura think, as this was quite reasonable.

    Lu Yin found the situation rather strange. Hongyan Mavis was repeating words that had once been spoken by the Origin Progenitor. She used them quite smoothly, but the words that had once been spoken to Lu Yin were suddenly being used on Astral Anura.

    It was true that, the higher one''s cultivation, the more they tended to believe such seemingly abstract concepts.

    Tian Fa suddenly spoke up. "Even if you find the right path, we will ensure that you have nowhere to go."

    Astral Anura was horrified. This threat from Tian Fa sent a chill through the toad¡¯s entire body. Even if he found the path to Immortality, what good would it do him? If the four Boundary Guardians decided to attack, Astral Anura would be dead long before he became an Immortal.

    The thought of such a possibility snapped him back to reality, and Astral Anura angrily waved his lotus leaf while ring at Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis. "Lu Yin, cut the nonsense! Don''t think that you can tempt me! I''m best friends with the four Boundary Guardians! I ampletely on the side of the four Boundary Guardians and will help them uphold the order of the megaverse! I am the future fifth Boundary Guardian!"

    Second Meng and Second Zi exchanged nces, and both the other¡¯s strange expression and barely restrainedughter. A toad was jumping around and shouting while waving a lotus leaf about. The sight surprisingly eased their fear of this unknown ce where they had found themselves.

    Only Second Shan looked at the toad with rising fear. <i>This toad is terrifying!</i>

    Lu Yin sighed. "Astral Anura, do you really think that Tian Fa is going to leave this ce alive? All four Boundary Guardians will die as well."

    "Shut up! You have no right to insult my friends!" Astral Anura shouted.

    He was yelling fiercely, yet he showed no intention of actually attacking anyone. Instead, the toad was letting Tian Fa and Lu Yin continue their standoff. Astral Anura just wanted to keep as much distance as possible while not helping Lu Yin, though he also wanted to avoid assisting Tian Fa.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "If Immortality isn''t enough to convince you, then how about this?"

    As he spoke, Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, avoiding all the des while withdrawing a steel fork from his cosmic ring that he then threw to the ground.

    The steel fork stabbed into the ground, vibrating in front of Astral Anura.

    The toad stared at the steel fork, puzzled at first. After a moment, his eyes turned red with rage, and he finally let out a roar of fury. "That¡¯s my old weapon! Where did you get it?"

    Lu Yin sneered, "Did you really think that we couldn''t find yourir? Daheng gave you a stone, didn¡¯t he? Do you think that I gave it to him on ident?"

    The toad¡¯s vicious re turned to focus onto Mr. Daheng.

    The Arborean was dumbfounded; what did he have to do with the current situation?

    In the past, Lu Yin had schemed against Mr. Daheng, and he had ultimately sent the man to the Endless Frontier as punishment. There had been no connection between that incident and tracking down Astral Anura. Lu Yin¡¯s scheme had only targeted Luo Shan and Mr. Daheng. At the end of the matter, in order to make peace with Mr. Daheng, Lu Yin had given him a Peaks and Rivers Stone.

    At that point in time, Lu Yin had already possessed his own stone, so giving one to Mr. Daheng had not made any difference to him. To their understanding, multiple stones needed to be gathered and put together like a puzzle to reveal the way to the Mirari Realm.

    Onlyter had Lu Yin learned the true method to enter the Mirari Realm from ckless God. With that knowledge, Lu Yin had formed a n to use the stone to drag Astral Anura in to help him deal with Tian Fa. However, he also needed some way to force the toad to help him. It was at that point that Lu Yin had remembered the Peaks and Rivers Stone that he had given to Mr. Daheng.

    The stones were formed from the megaverse itself, and since they were fragments, each stone had a unique shape.

    Lu Yin had simply used Bi Rong¡¯spass while thinking of the stone that he had given to Mr. Daheng to easily locate Astral Anura''sir. Luckily, Mr. Daheng really had given the toad the stone, or else Lu Yin might never have found the right universe.

    This was the most crucial step in manipting Astral Anura.

    The toad was too cunning, and he had lived for countless years, gaining knowledge about nearly everything. From his attitude towards Tian En when the butterfly had appeared in the First Scourge, Lu Yin knew that merely tempting Astral Anura with rewards might not be enough to force his hand. However, raiding the toad¡¯sir and plundering his entire hoard would put enough pressure on Astral Anura. Of course, there was no guarantee of sess. Everything depended on how much the toad valued his hoard.

    If the n failed, it would not be a terrible problem. In the worst case scenario, Lu Yin and the others would simply flee from the Mirari Realm and then find another way to deal with the four Boundary Guardians.

    The four Ortusers were a formidable obstacle, and as long as they were not dealt with, it would be impossible to truly eliminate Aeternus. Even if it ultimately led to a confrontation against both the Boundary Guardians and the Aeternals at the same time, Lu Yin was willing to take a risk and gamble on this one opportunity, as it was the only way to eliminate Tian Fa.

    There was only one chance to surround Tian Fa and kill it.

    Cultivators frequently had to take risks, and Lu Yin was no exception. Every cultivation realm had its own dangers and risks, and dealing with the four Boundary Guardians was a challenge that had to be ovee.

    The four Ortusers were unhappy with humanity, and they had plotted against the Origin Progenitor, attacked Progenitor Ku, and forced a truce in the war between humanity and Aeternus. Their repeated actions against humanity were unforgivable in Lu Yin''s eyes.

    The intention was to surround and kill Tian Fa, and Lu Yin was already prepared for an all-out war with the rest of the Boundary Guardians.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan and others had also prepared themselves. Humanity faced too many challenges, but they would eventually ovee them all.

    Seeing his steel fork drove Astral Anura mad. His nostrils red, and his body shifted through a kaleidoscopic array of colors. He reached out and grabbed the steel fork as a ne of skulls appeared around his neck. The toad suddenly leaped at Lu Yin. "You thief!"

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed as he stared at Astral Anura. "I''m going to sell off your entire hoard for dirt-cheap. It¡¯ll be the worst deal of your entire life!"

    "I want you dead!" Astral Anura''s body suddenly grewrger as he clenched his steel fork and thrust it towards Lu Yin.

    Hongyan Mavis made a fist, and nts quickly grew from the ground to block Astral Anura''s attack, but the toad¡¯s steel fork pierced through the vegetation as it continued straight towards Lu Yin in a deadly attack.

    "It¡¯s no good! Retreat!" Hongyan Mavis shouted.

    Lu Yin stared at the toad, and Astral Anura stared back. Unprecedented ferocity filled the toad¡¯s eyes that were otherwise devoid of emotion or intelligence. They were the eyes of a wild, enraged beast.

    The steel fork grazed the top of Lu Yin''s head, drawing a line of blood.

    Shan Gu was horrified. "Dao Monarch!"

    Lu Yin felt the cold killing intent emanating from the steel fork, but this bloodlust was not aimed at him. It was aimed at Tian Fa, who was behind him and above countless des.

    Astral Anura had finally been coerced into helping Lu Yin. It was possible that his madness was his hoard, and it might be even more important to the toad than reaching Immortality.

    Lu Yin had made the right bet, and his suspicions were proven correct; Astral Anura¡¯s obsession that he faced while oveing Dukkha was making a profit from his business deals. It was the obsession of his madness, and the toad was incapable of abandoning his madness, no matter the cost. This was Astral Anura''s greatest obstacle in oveing Dukkha.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s obsession was to kill True God, and only then could she ovee Dukkha.

    Astral Anura¡¯s madness was to have every business transaction be profitable. He would rather refuse Lu Yin¡¯sst-minute offers of paying sky-high prices to fight against Aeternus than betray his integrity as a businessman. This was Astral Anura¡¯s Dukkha, and he had been struggling with this madness for countless years.

    Compared to the ethereal and elusive path to Immortality, oveing Dukkha was a far more tangible goal.

    The toad had struggled and endured for countless years to ovee his Dukkha. Forget about Tian Fa¡ªeven if all four of the Boundary Guardians were present, Astral Anura would still attack them if Lu Yin threatened his hoard. There would be no question about it.

    These were the instincts of a beast.

    The multi-colored Astral Anura gripped his steel fork and thrust it straight at Tian Fa. It was an attack that not even Tian Fa had anticipated.

    Despite being obstructed by endless des, the steel fork still stabbed deep into the blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa¡¯s body. All the obstacles in Astral Anura¡¯s path were shattered, and he tore the very fabric of space open.

    The sharp tines of the steel fork emerged from the other side of the blood-red liquid. Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis, Shan Gu, and even the members of Second Life stared intently. Did it work?

    Heaven¡¯s Spear took form in front of Tian Fa, and the weapon then traveled along the path the steel fork had just taken, shooting towards Astral Anura. "You''re courting death-!"

    Astral Anura''s expression grew even more vicious. "Friend, you can¡¯t me me! I have no choice!"

    With that, he swept his steel fork to the side in a sweeping motion that shattered Heaven¡¯s Spear. The toad then retreated at high speed, only to find that he was unable to move. Tian Fa had used the passage of time to shackle the toad in ce.

    Astral Anura was horrified. What was this sorcery?

    Hongyan Mavis stood on Astral Anura''s head to throw a powerful punch at Tian Fa. The terrifying fist mmed into the blood-red liquid, but once again, the attack was ineffective.

    Heaven¡¯s Spear and Earth des appeared at the same time, and they crossed over one another to merge into an attack that was neither spear nor de. This time, it targeted Hongyan Mavis, Astral Anura, and Lu Yin.

    The space around Hongyan Mavis warped as a massive tree thrust out of the ground to block the attack. This was none other than the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree, and its sacred light glowed brightly.

    Thebined technique that merged spear and des stabbed deep into the Divine Tree in an attempt to ovee its formidable defenses.

    Blood trickled out from a corner of Hongyan Mavis''s mouth as she forced the Divine Tree to stop the attack. She had suppressed Tian Fa¡¯s attack within her Divine Tree.

    The sky grew dark as thendmass fell from above. Lu Yin was also attacking, and he was trying to crush Tian Fa.

    "Do you truly believe that you can undo heaven¡¯s punishment?" Tian Fa demanded in a deep, ominous voice as thendmass dropped down, only to cause no harm.

    "It''s the sequence particles! It¡¯s an Ortuser, so thews of the universe can¡¯t touch it, but its own sequence particles are incredibly powerful," Hongyan Mavis growled through gritted teeth.

    All of their attacks had beenpletely nullified by Tian Fa''s sequence particles. Even after fighting for so long, no one had been able to determine exactly whatw of the universe Tian Fa had mastered.

    There was a loud ng as Astral Anura finally broke free from the restrictions of the passing of time. It was all thanks to Tian Fa¡¯s attack being stopped by the Divine Tree. Without that, the toad would have never been able to escape.

    A strange cry rang out as Astral Anura raised a hand and summoned his steel fork back to him. He then charged at Tian Fa, and the steel fork mmed down with enough force to rattle the void. A terrifying power radiated out from the point of impact. It felt like the arrival of the apocalypse.

    Everyone from Second Gu was horrified, and they immediately raised their own defenses.

    Mr. Daheng felt bitter. He was trapped in the battlefield, and he could not help but feel like he was being pushed closer to death with every passing moment.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3193: No Sky Above Me

    <h4>Chapter 3193: No Sky Above Me</h4>

    Out of everyone in the Mirari Realm, Astral Anura was the only one who was capable of harming Tian Fa. This was because the toad was a Dukkhan, and he was therefore also untouchable by sequence particles. Tian Fa''s sequence particles had no effect on Astral Anura, though the toad¡¯s sequence particles were likewise unable to affect Tian Fa.

    This was the type of helper that Lu Yin needed; there needed to be at least one individual who could harm Tian Fa. Without that threat, Tian Fa would be invincible, as no one would be able to face the creature.

    The steel fork once again stabbed into the blood-red liquid. Astral Anura let out strange shrieks as he kept moving the fork about.

    Hongyan Mavis coughed up blood as the weapon formed from thebination of the spear and des continued to push through her Divine Tree. Her Progenitor¡¯s world was constantly injuring her.

    "Warking of Infinity, I humbly request your aid: ughtering Form." A blood-red humanoid figure emerged from one of Heavenly King¡¯s three statues, and it instantly charged at Tian Fa.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and when he pressed it down, thendmass fell down from above. This was the same attack that he had used before, as it was his most powerful attack. If not even this was enough to harm Tian Fa, then none of Lu Yin¡¯s other techniques would be able to do anything at all.

    The humanoid figure used its ughtering Form, and whenbined with the droppingndmass, Tian Fa¡¯s deep red color intensified even further. Astral Anura pulled his steel fork out and ran; he had a bad feeling about this attack.

    The next moment, an endless, blood-red energy swept out in every direction. The color stemming from Tian Fa¡¯s sequence particles were so dense that they were almost visible to the naked eye.

    Lu Yin had only ever seen such a tremendous amount of sequence particles from individuals like the Great Sovereign. While Lu Yin had lost Heaven''s Sight, he was still able to perceive something like this.

    The blood-red energy even burned the void, and at that moment, the ughtering Form struck, thendmass fell, and the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree vanished.

    Hongyan Mavis dropped to the ground and staggered back several steps, her face pale. This monster possessed such terrifying sequence particles that, without breaking through to the Origin realm, there was no way to defend against them.

    Astral Anura shrieked, "Even I don''t have that many sequence particles! These guys really haven''t lived for so long for nothing."

    All the members of Second Life were horrified. They felt so pressured by the overwhelming sequence particles that they could barely breathe, and they even felt an urge to kneel. They were Second Life, infamous and renowned, but they found that they wanted to kneel in submission.

    This was the pressure emanating from Tian Fa.

    Lu Yin held his breath as he faced the wave of sequence particles. Not even Astral Anura was able to get close to Tian Fa at this moment.

    "There is no defying heaven¡¯s punishment! All living creatures who are present must die!" As the creature spoke, Heaven¡¯s Spears and Earth des appeared within the blood-red haze that had filled the entire Mirari Realm. The manifested weapons all absorbed the endless red energy, and each spear and every de turned blood red.

    In the past, Tian Fa had only ever manifested one Heaven¡¯s Spear at a time, but at the moment, its weapons filled the sky. Each and every one was capable of stabbing into the Divine Tree, and just the sight of the endless spears was enough to terrify anyone.

    Second Bone could no longer hold back. "My lord, we never attacked you! Please, spare us."

    Even the members of Second Life had been surrounded by Heaven¡¯s Spears and Earth des.

    Unfortunately, Tian Fa did not care about the members of Second Life at all.

    "Dao Monarch, enter Heavenly King!" Shan Gu urged in a low voice.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to make his way towards the card, and Hongyan Mavis followed him inside.

    The Heaven''s Spears and Earth des fell, and the attacks swept across the entire Mirari Realm.

    Astral Anura quickly pulled out his lotus leaf and used it as a shield as he shrank down and hid behind the leaf.

    Inside Heavenly King¡¯s pocket dimension, Shan Gu clutched at his chest as he coughed up blood.

    Outside, the Heaven''s Spears and Earth des rained down on Heavenly King. If the card had not been upgraded into a Primeval card, it would have already shattered.

    Even so, it was not able to endure for much longer.

    Mr. Daheng stared in horror as an Earth de stabbed at him. He waved a hand and used the Law of Lightness to deflect the massive de. However, the Earth de easily sliced through the man¡¯s sequence particles and then his body; there was no resistance.

    Second Bone, Second Shan, and Second Meng shielded Second Zi under their own bodies as Second Bone¡¯s bone armor shielded them as an additionalyer of protection.

    When an Earth de swept through, the skeletal armor was instantly shattered, and Second Bone, Second Shan, and Second Meng were all instantly killed. Their bodies were shredded, and their blood stained the ground.

    Above Astral Anura, his lotus leaf was exposed to the violent storm of weapons, and it could shatter at any moment. The toad huddled beneath his leaf, not daring to lift his head.

    No one could stand up to Tian Fa¡¯s attack. It was a move that could erase an entire universe.

    After Mr. Daheng and the members of Second Life were all killed, the Heaven''s Spears and Earth des converged upon Heavenly King, relentlessly stabbing at the card.

    Cracks appeared on Heavenly King as it endured the assault.

    Within the card, Lu Yin and the others all stared upwards as the sky above started to crack. It was clear that the card would notst for much longer.

    Second Gang was close to the people hiding in the card. After he was captured, Second Gang had wanted to fight back against Great Elder Shan Gu, but the man was nothing more than a peak powerhouse, and he was simply too weak. At the moment, he did not dare to make a sound.

    However, the sight of Heavenly King breaking apart made Second Gang feel doomed. Just what was happening? Was reality copsing?

    The Great Elder suddenly coughed up blood as he dropped to his knees before a statue, and then slowly bowed to it. "Junior Shan Gu humbly requests the Royal Regent¡¯s aid. We beg the Royal Regent to intervene."

    As soon as the man spoke, he started bleeding from his entire body.

    Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis watched as the statue started to move. No¡ªa figure emerged from the statue. Its face could not be made out, but its hands were sped behind its back, and they seemed to be holding a scroll.

    Within Heavenly King¡¯s pocket dimension, the chaos seemed to calm down, and the fissures in the sky were restrained by some unknown power. Even the Heaven''s Spears and the Earth des that were attacking the card seemed to tremble.

    The figure raised its head to look up at the sky. "Above me, there should be no sky¡ªthere should only be one being.

    "No sky shall remain."

    The moment these words were spoken, the sky grew dark. As that happened, the sky above the Mirari Realm, outside of Heavenly King, was also shrouded in darkness.

    The blood-red liquid that was Tian Fa started to churn and roil violently, as the creature could sense the presence of an unmatched power. Heaven''s Spears and Earth des were both forced to recoil, and they formed an enormous mountain of weapons that surrounded the blood-red liquid in an attempt to protect Tian Fa.

    Astral Anura peeked out from beneath his lotus leaf, and he looked over at Tian Fa. "Why is the sky dark? What''s happening?"

    He then let out a startled cry and buried his head in the ground until only his backside could be seen.

    The earth and sky both roared.

    Inside Heavenly King, Lu Yin and the others also heard the thunderous roars. Shan Gu had already copsed, and no one knew if he was still alive or not. Lu Yin hurried over to help the man.

    The card¡¯s pocket dimension trembled. Hongyan Mavis waspletely horrified. "What kind of power is this? What would refuse to allow the sky above to exist? The foundations of his civilization are more than I can even imagine."

    Lu Yin had already held the Lost n¡¯s civilization in very high regard, but every time that Great Elder Shan Gu revealed something new, Lu Yin was forced to admit that he had still underestimated the Lost n.

    It was moments like these that reminded Lu Yin of what Shan Gu had once mentioned about his people¡¯s unfathomable elders, as well as the invincible being.

    The roaring stopped, and the darkness receded.

    Lu Yin stared at the statue. It was back to normal.

    "Dao... Dao Monarch," Shan Gu called out very weakly.

    Lu Yin immediately turned to the man. "Senior Shan Gu, how are you?"

    The Great Elder''s face was deathly pale. "I''ll be fine. I won''t die. Dao Monarch, Tian Fa won''t be able to recover from this that easily. The Royal Regent was a peerless expert. Even if Tian Fa isn''t dead, it''s at least been seriously injured. This is your chance! Finish it off!"

    Hongyan Mavis instantly left Heavenly King.

    Lu Yin gave the Great Elder a long look. "Rest well, Senior."

    With that, Lu Yin immediately returned to the Mirari Realm.

    Upon returning to the Mirari Realm, Lu Yin saw that green grass was covering both the ground below and the sky above.

    This was a familiar scene to him. In the past, Hongyan Mavis had used this exact same method to prevent Feng Bo from escaping from the Mirari Realm. This time, her target was Tian Fa.

    "Attack! It''s almost dead!" she shouted.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance, where Tian Fa had been reduced to a mere fraction of its original size. At the moment, the creature was no bigger than a person¡¯s fist. Its Heaven''s Spears and Earth des had all vanished.

    Tian Fa was frantically trying to tear open the void and escape.

    Lu Yin shot forward with Inverse Step, and he threw a punch straight at Tian Fa.

    The punch struck the blood-red liquid head-on. This was the first time Lu Yin had managed tond a real attack, and he felt a strange warmth where he made contact. Suddenly, images of mountains of corpses and seas of blood filled his mind, which caused him to hesitate. Where had these imagese from?

    The fist-sized bit of liquid was almost scattered by the punch, and Hongyan Mavis reached out to grab it.

    "You truly dare to defy heaven¡¯s punishment? No one can defy heaven¡¯s punishment! You will pay a terrible price! You will suffer a fate worse than death! Humanity will no longer have any future! You are doomed-" Tian Fa raged.

    Hongyan Mavis pped the small blob of liquid, the tremendous force of the impact sending it flying. Lu Yin quickly calcted Tian Fa¡¯s trajectory and used Inverse Step to arrive in front of it. Infinity appeared, and the lines of strength collided as Extremes Must Be Reversed was used. Only then did Lu Yin throw another punch.

    The closer his fist moved to Tian Fa, the stranger a sensation Lu Yin felt. When his fist made contact, Tian Fa slipped past him and shot into the distance. Once again, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had no effect at all. Tian Fa was still using its sequence particles. Even with only a tiny number of sequence particles remaining, the creature was still able to negate Lu Yin''s punch.

    However, Lu Yin finally understood.

    "It''s eleration," he stated as he stared at Tian Fa¡¯s fleeing form. A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "Thew that you¡¯veprehended is eleration, but it doesn¡¯t affect your speed. Your sequence particles elerate your opponent''s attacks. If my punch would normally take one second to reach you, then you cause the attack to expend all of its power within just a hundredth of a second.

    "By doing that, by the time an attack reaches you, it¡¯s already lost all its force.

    "Your Law of eleration doesn''t speed you up¡ªit speeds others up. You''re just elerating the speed at which battle techniques dissipate.

    "This is the end."

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step once more, and he moved at the speed of time to pursue Tian Fa.

    Without enough sequence particles, Tian Fa could not prevent Lu Yin from using the power of time.

    Lu Yin looked down from high above, spread his fingers out, and pressed down with a hand.

    Andmass crashed down. No matter how Tian Fa tried to flee, unless it could exit the Mirari Realm, there was no way to escape from the descendingndmass. Even if Tian Fa wanted to escape by entering one of the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden zones, there was simply not enough time to do so.

    By moving at the speed of time, Lu Yin was more than capable of ensuring that Tian Facked the time to do anything.

    "You humans have brought a great disaster upon yourselves! You will be exterminated! Your species has no chance of any sort of future! You will all die horrible deaths-" The blood-red liquid was crushed beneath thendmass and shattered. A horrifying wail rang throughout the Mirari Realm, chilling everyone to the bone. The sound continued for a long time before it finally faded. When the sound disappeared, thest remnants of the blood-red liquid scattered and disappeared.

    Far away Astral Anura peeked out from beneath his lotus leaf. Was it all over?

    Lu Yin stood high in the sky, panting.

    Hongyan Mavis let out a breath of relief. It was finally over. They had seeded in surrounding and killing one of the four Boundary Guardians. They had in an Ortuser.

    Elsewhere, Second Zi peaked out from beneath the corpses of Second Bone and the others from Second Life. She bit her lip at the scent of blood and then stared intently at the broken bodies of Second Bone and her otherpanions. <i>It has to work! It has to!</i>

    "Hey, you won. You guys are ruthless! You actually managed to trap and kill one of the Boundary Guardians.¡±

    Lu Yin looked over at the toad and said, "It¡¯s all thanks to you, Astral Anura."

 Chapter 3194: One Figure, One Sword

    <h4>Chapter 3194: One Figure, One Sword</h4>

    Lu Yin''s pure gratitude startled Astral Anura, and the toad shot a re at Lu Yin. "Hey, why are you thanking me? Don¡¯t say such things without any reason! Being overly polite can get someone killed¡ªno, it can get a toad killed! What do I have to do with any of this?"

    Hongyan Mavis let out a genuineugh. "If you hadn¡¯t forced Tian Fa to unleash its sequence particles, it would have escaped. I couldn¡¯t have stopped it. You were the one who forced it into a corner. All along, you were the only one who was able to hurt that thing. You really gave it a beating."

    This was allpletely true. If Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis had been on their own, they would have never been able to trap Tian Fa, let alone hurt the creature. Astral Anura had been the one to push Tian Fa to its limits.

    While the decisive attack had been delivered by the Royal Regent that Great Elder Shan Gu had summoned, without Astral Anura, No Sky Shall Remain would have never had a chance to be unleashed. The Great Elder would not have had an opportunity to summon the Royal Regent, and Tian Fa would have easily left the Mirari Realm. Hongyan Mavis would not have been able to stop it.

    Astral Anura let out a squeal, "Don¡¯t say that! When did I fight? What does any of this have to do with me? Don¡¯t nder me! This is just wrong! This is hical!"

    Lu Yin continued to act grateful, "Don¡¯t worry, I''ll pay you for your services."

    "Lu Yin, stop saying things like that! What do you mean, ''my services''? Have you gone crazy?"

    "What, you don''t want your hoard anymore?"

    "That''s already mine! You can¡¯t pay me for what you¡¯re calling my services with what¡¯s already mine!"

    "Then what price do you want? Just name it."

    "I don''t want anything! I was never hired by you! You¡¯re too sneaky! You¡¯re even worse than Tai Chu! Don¡¯t get me in trouble! I¡¯m begging you, stop talking!"

    "So, you really don¡¯t want your hoard back?"

    Astral Anura was finally pushed past his limits, and he clenched his steel fork tightly and pointed it at Lu Yin. "Kid, don¡¯t push me too far! If you provoke me, you won''t enjoy the consequences. I¡¯m a Dukkhan! You can¡¯t handle me, not even by working with First Blood!"

    Hongyan Mavis frowned in irritation. "You''re nothing but a toad."

    Astral Anura finally snapped, and he raised his steel fork and lunged at Hongyan Mavis.

    Lu Yin shook his head. There was no way for Astral Anura to extricate himself from the current situation. Even ignoring the threat the toad had posed to Tian Fa, simply moving his steel fork meant that Astral Anura had fought in the battle. There was no way that Lu Yin would allow the toad to simply walk away.

    Hongyan Mavis looked down at Astral Anura. While the toad was not weak, he was still an opponent that she could handle, even without being able to use sequence particles. At the very least, she would not be defeated.

    Suddenly, the mist stopped moving.

    The wind froze.

    Even the River of Time seemed to stop flowing.

    The entire Mirari Realm underwent a shift, seemingly bing a mere image, with everything frozen in ce. Only Lu Yin and the others were able to move.

    Astral Anura froze in mid-air. His mouth slowly fell open as he stared into the distance in a daze. "What the-"

    Hongyan Mavis slowly turned around. She saw what should have been the dispersed liquid of Tian Fa¡¯s body. The blood-red liquid had somehow gathered from every direction and reformed into the shape of a person. It was a blood-red figure.

    Lu Yin also saw the figure, and he stared at it, dumbfounded. <i>No way, it isn¡¯t over? But it should be. Ortusers aren¡¯t invincible. Why isn¡¯t Tian Fa dead?</i>

    He reflexively tried to move, but while it was possible, Lu Yin moved incredibly slowly, as though he was bound in ce by countless invisible ropes.

    Hongyan Mavis clenched a fist and tried to punch the blood-red figure, but her movements seemed to have been slowed by 10,000 times.

    Astral Anura clutched his steel fork, ready to escape. Damn it...

    He had seen Ortusers die before. The toad knew that such powerhouses were not invincible. While Ortusers had surpassed the level of sequence powerhouses, the strength of an Ortuser varied wildly, depending on the individual. They had proven their qualifications to pursue Immortality, but that did not mean that an Ortuser was invincible or that they could not die. How was Tian Fa still alive?

    <i>No way, I can¡¯t fight that thing. I¡¯m done for!</i> Astral Anura immediately decided to spend the rest of his life hiding in the Mirari Realm and to never leave the ce again.

    The blood-red figure slowly finished taking form, and then it lifted its hands, as though to inspect them. After that, it moved its legs and twisted its neck. It seemed as though the figure was unfamiliar with its own body.

    In front of the figure, Hongyan Mavis''s slow movements clearly showed that she was about to throw a punch.

    The blood-red figure looked at the woman, and she met its gaze.

    The figure smiled and then raised its hand as a strangely shaped, blood-red sword materialized in its grip. A blurry pattern could be seen on the hilt, but it was indistinct and blurry.

    With a single step, the figure passed by Hongyan Mavis and caused a streak of blood to stter onto the ground.

    An expression of helplessness covered Hongyan Mavis''s face. She looked down to see that a massive wound had been opened across her body, covering her from bottom to top.

    As single slice of the sword¡ªjust one attack¡ªhad left Hongyan Mavis heavily wounded. She had never had the slightest chance to even put up her defenses.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks. This was impossible! That was Hongyan Mavis, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos! She was powerful enough topare to even Lu Yuan and Gu Yizhi, before they had broken through and be Ortusers. How could she have been so badly injured by a single attack?

    Unfortunately, there was no denying that what they had seen was absolutely real.

    The entire Mirari Realm seemed to have been frozen in time.

    Was Tian Fa truly invincible?

    The crimson figure moved past Hongyan Mavis. After delivering its sh, it seemed to momentarily be confused. It nced down the bloodied de of its sword and then back at Hongyan Mavis. The de swung again. This time, it was a horizontal sh that left a deep wound across the woman¡¯s back.

    No one could interfere, and Hongyan Mavis''s movements were absurdly slow.

    Lu Yin''s eyes bulged in rage as he watched the crimson figure raise the sword to deliver a third attack. Then a fourth, and a fifth. He roared, "Stop-"

    The figure turned its head to look at Lu Yin.

    Hongyan Mavis crumpled to the ground. She had suffered five attacks, and they had almost torn her body apart.

    As she copsed to the ground, Hongyan Mavis could hardly believe her situation. How could there be such an overwhelming power? Even when she had faced her master, she had never felt so helpless before. Who was this person? This being exceeded anything they could have ever imagined. This was definitely not Tian Fa. This was a powerhouse who was beyond their understanding.

    This was the end. Hongyan Mavis had not expected such a being to suddenly appear.

    If they had known that such a thing would happen, they would have never attacked Tian Fa, but it was toote for regrets.

    It was impossible toy perfect ns. Lu Yin had set a trap to eliminate Tian Fa. While every possible oue had been considered, both victory and defeat as well as escape ns, Lu Yin had never thought that an invincible being would suddenly appear after Tian Fa¡¯s defeat. Even if Lu Yuan and the Great Sovereign were present, they would not be able to stop this figure. There was no one who could render Hongyan Mavis this helpless.

    This figure was an unexpected variable that surpassed anyone''s schemes.

    Lu Yin had not anticipated such a variable, and its arrival only meant death.

    The figure briefly looked at Lu Yin and then took a step forward, disappearing.

    Lu Yin threw a punch while releasing a loud roar. He could only move slowly, but he refused to simply give up. Even if his punch would never touch his target, he would still attack. Just like Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin preferred to die standing than give up.

    Astral Anura waspletely stunned, and his scalp was numb. He was fully aware of just how powerful a being needed to be to render Hongyan Mavispletely helpless. The toad did not even consider trying to fight such a being.

    This individual had to be an Immortal, right? This had to be someone who had ovee Dukkha, right?

    To the toad¡¯s knowledge, the strongest creatures in all of history should be the humans¡¯ Progenitor Tai Chu, and after that, Yong Heng. They were the only ones who were capable of giving Astral Anura the impression that they were close to achieving Immortality, even if neither of them had actually reached that level.

    However, neither of those two were capable of leaving Hongyan Mavis unable to even fight back. Against them, she would have at least been able to at least throw a punch, but she couldn¡¯t even do that against the blood-red figure.

    A monster. This was a true monster.

    As the toad stared, red filled his vision.

    Astral Anura stared in shock as the figure appeared, and the toad¡¯s mouth fell wide open. "We¡¯re friends!"

    The blood-colored sword fell with a hiss, and it was followed by the sound of metal striking metal. Astral Anura was smashed down by the blow and nearly split in two.

    The toad mmed into the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head as he pretended to be dead. Blood leaked everywhere.

    The blood-red figure took another step, and this time, it appeared right in front of Lu Yin, who was not even halfway through his punch. He was caught in the middle of the motion, his stance almost looking ridiculous, though only he knew just how powerless he truly was at this moment.

    The figure raised its sword up high and slowly brought it down. Unlike when it had attacked Hongyan Mavis and Astral Anura, which had been instantaneous, the sword fell slowly this time. It moved just a bit faster than Lu Yin¡¯s fist. Still, that difference in speed ensured that the sword would strike before Lu Yin¡¯s punch would connect.

    Theparison induced a sense of despair. The blood-red figure was clearly enjoying Lu Yin¡¯s helplessness and desperation, and even his futile resistance. It was toying with him.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide in shock as he watched the blood-red sword de slowly fall andnd on his shoulder. The icy chill of the de sliced through him, followed by a searing pain that radiated throughout his entire body. He could hear the slow, horrible sound of his bones being sliced apart. It felt as though time itself had been stopped, which caused the pain to feel eternal.

    As this happened, Lu Yin¡¯s punch was casually evaded by the figure. The gap between them was too vast.

    No matter what Lu Yin tried, it seemed like it was impossible to escape his fate of being cut down.

    <i>How could this be happening?</i> Lu Yin was filled with unwillingness. He had faced countless dangers and ovee death on many asions. He had even died more than once since he had started cultivating. Why was he facing such a situation once again? He was unwilling to ept this oue. He had gathered so many types of power that he should be capable of facing any enemy. Even if True God attacked, Lu Yin was confident that he would not bepletely powerless and unable to even fight back. How could a figure that had suddenly appeared kill him so easily?

    Lu Yin had power, and that power should allow him to resist any threat.

    The sword de continued down, passing from his chest to his abdomen as it sliced through his body. The physical strength that Lu Yin prided himself on was nothing before this blood-red figure. Hongyan Mavis and Astral Anura both possessed unimaginably strong defenses, and yet they had both been instantly cut down and left for dead. Lu Yin could not exceed them.

    As the sword fell, blood scattered across the ground, leaving a crimson stain.

    At that moment, the small boat that was Lightstream appeared near Lu Yin''s body, and it sliced through space, reversing time by one second.

    The blood-red figure''s sword had moved slowly, but that was only for someone at Lu Yin''s level. From the moment the sword had been raised to the moment the sh waspleted, less than a second had psed. By reversing time by one second, Lu Yin could return to his condition before the de had touched him.

    Lightstream traveled through space, unaffected by the fact that everything else was frozen. The appearance of the boat seemed to take the blood-red figure by surprise.

    The figure raised a hand, and its sword shed at Lightstream.

    The small boat instantly shifted, dodging the strike.

    This scene sparked a sudden realization in Lu Yin¡¯s mind: Lightstream did not merely chase time with the power of space; it also devoured fragments of time that were not part of the River of Time¡ªtime that existed independently of the universe they knew. The blood-red figure was clearly unable to affect that separate timeline.

    In that case, in order to attack this blood-red figure, one needed to be able to surpass the limits of the megaverse, but how could he do that?

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3195: A Losing Deal

    <h4>Chapter 3195: A Losing Deal</h4>

    Reversing time by one second meant that all of Lu Yin''s injuries had beenpletely undone. The blood-red figure was also returned to its original position, which meant its sword was raised up high. While the figure seemed a bit confused, it also did not seem concerned at all. If one attack failed, another would settle things.

    However, as the sword de descended, the blood-red figure started to dissipate into particles of light. The dissipation started at the tip of the sword, spread down the length of the de, continued down the figure¡¯s arm, and eventually enveloped the entire blood-red figure.

    The figure nced around in confusion before its gaze finally locked onto Lu Yin. It met Lu Yin''s eyes and, right before it disappeared, it gestured for silence.

    It still seemed to be smiling.

    The blood-red figurepletely disappeared from the Mirari Realm.

    Everything in the surrounding area returned to normal.

    The mist started slowly drifting around again, the River of Time flowing once more. It was as if everything that had just happened had been nothing more than an illusion.

    Lu Yin hurried over to Hongyan Mavis. "Senior!"

    She was stillying on the ground with blood covering her entire body. Lu Yin quickly raised her up. "Senior!"

    When she spoke, Hongyan Mavis sounded bitter. "Sorry, I wasn¡¯t able to help."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "No one could have predicted something like that."

    Hongyan Mavis stared up at the sky, lost in thought. "When you first told us about the Lost n¡¯s past, I didn''tpletely believe it. I thought, how could there be some invincible being? Even when Master was at his peak, there were clear limits to his strength, and all of us disciples were able to at least fight back a bit.

    "Now, I believe it."

    She looked back down at Lu Yin, her expression more serious than ever. "We''ve stirred up something very dangerous."

    Lu Yin had the same feeling. "That wasn''t Tian Fa just now."

    "Tian Fa delivers heaven¡¯s punishment, but what we just saw... that might have been ''Heaven'' itself," Hongyan Mavis mused.

    Lu Yin felt a bitter chill. Heaven?

    Corpse God had endured for years, Ye Zhang had created the Giants¡¯ Purgatory, the four Boundary Guardians¡¯ existence, and the history of the Lost n all pointed to the existence of something beyond the known limits of reality.

    There was some being that could easily erase humanity.

    This was not good news.

    A howl of agony echoed across the area, instantly drawing Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis''s attention. It was Astral Anura.

    The toad had also been wounded by a single sh of the blood-red figure¡¯s sword, and it was clear that the wound was rather significant.

    Down on the ground, Astral Anura''s short legs trembled as he stared up at Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis with wide eyes. "Look at what you''ve done."

    Lu Yin looked down at Astral Anura, his eyes narrowing. "Are you seriously injured?"

    "Obviously!" Astral Anura was about to curse when a chill ran down his back. He looked up at Lu Yin. "Hey, what are you thinking?"

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "All this time, you''ve helped Aeternus many more times than you''ve helped us, right?"

    "That was just business..."

    "Today, I''m going to make a deal with you¡ªI''m going to buy your life." With that, Lu Yin used Inverse Step and charged at the toad. He had been waiting for an opportunity to kill the Dukkhan for a long time.

    Astral Anura''s multicolored skin grew darker as he swung his steel fork and leaped into the air. "Kid, don''t think that you can bully me! Business is business, and anyone who mixes personal feelings into business deserves to die!"

    With that, the fork thrust out at Lu Yin.

    Despite his seemingly severe injuries, the attack felt incredibly dangerous to Lu Yin. The damned toad had been acting; his injuries were not nearly as bad as they appeared. At this moment, Hongyan Mavis was unable to help Lu Yin, and in a one-on-one fight, Lu Yin had no confidence in being able to kill the toad.

    That thought caused Lu Yin to instantly retreat. "This is a losing deal. I''m not fighting anymore."

    Astral Anura quickly moved right past Lu Yin, his skin instantly taking on a golden color. The coins around his neck clinked as he grinned at Lu Yin, while the toad¡¯s eyes narrowed into slivers. "Mr. Lu, you really are wise."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course. In the end, we¡¯rerades."

    Astral Anura bristled at that, and he started ring at Lu Yin. "Hey, kid, can you stop bringing that up? I had nothing to do with Tian Fa''s death. You just want to me me for it, don''t you?"

    Lu Yin stared at the toad. "Just tell me, did you attack Tian Fa, or not?"

    Astral Anura clenched his jaw. He really wanted to stab Lu Yin with his fork, but the toad was not entirely confident. Despite being a Dukkhan, he was one of the weakest creatures who had surpassed the level of a peak powerhouse, and this was rted to the toad¡¯s strength when he had been a peak powerhouse.

    Astral Anura had be a peak powerhouse due to the unique nature of his species, but when it came to pure strength, he had been far weaker than any of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Even after bing an Ortuser, the toad had not been a match for the four Boundary Guardians or Ancient God. His only hope of surpassing his peers was to ovee Dukkha and be an Immortal.

    Astral Anura red fiercely at Lu Yin. The toad knew that, no matter what happened, the kid would force the Boundary Guardians¡¯ enmity onto him. Given the situation, Astral Anura turned his attention to Hongyan Mavis. "What about the path to Immortality that you said is in here? Where is it? Tell me."

    Hongyan Mavis scoffed. "Do you think that you''re worthy?"

    Astral Anura snapped. "I risked my life to help you fight against Tian Fa, and now you''re going back on your word?"

    "You were forced to fight. You didn¡¯t fulfill any of the conditions of the deal," Lu Yin casually retorted.

    Hongyan Mavis instantly followed up, "But I can still tell you."

    Astral Anura was about to curse, but he froze at Hongyan Mavis''sment. The toad¡¯s attitude instantly transformed, and he became almost fawning towards the woman. "Go ahead."

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes turned cold. "Agree to one condition, and I''ll tell you. Don''t worry, this has nothing to do with fighting against the Boundary Guardians, Yong Heng, or even Gu Yizhi. This is something you can easily do. It¡¯s very simple."

    Astral Anura grew wary. "What''s the condition? Let me hear it, first."

    Hongyan Mavis spoke calmly, "No matter who asks you, you aren¡¯t allowed to say a single word about Tian Fa¡¯s death."

    Astral Anura''s mouth fell open as he stared at Hongyan Mavis in a daze. "You''re too devious!"

    Even Lu Yin was taken aback, as he had not considered this condition. Hongyan Mavis truly was quite cunning. This condition would force Astral Anura to side with humanity.

    "I refuse! That¡¯s impossible, absolutely impossible. If the Boundary Guardians ask me, there''s no way I can stay silent," Astral Anura immediately rejected.

    Hongyan Mavis sighed. "Then there''s nothing we can do. You know very well that, when we first offered you the path to Immortality in exchange for your help against Tian Fa, you refused. It wasn''t until Little Seven threatened your hoard that you were forced to help us. Isn''t that right, Little Seven?"

    Lu Yin stared at Astral Anura with a somber expression. "Business is business, and I can''t help you with that. You''re right, I haven''t touched your hoard¡ªall of it still belongs to you. However, regarding the path to Immortality, it looks like you¡¯re not fated for it.

    "However, you do have one other option."

    Astral Anura stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grinned. "Force us."

    Astral Anura rolled his eyes. Despite Hongyan Mavis¡¯s terrible injuries and the fact that Lu Yin was nothing more than a Semi-Progenitor, something about this offer felt off. Lu Yin had the courage to threaten a Dukkhan, and he had used Astral Anura to scheme against Tian Fa. Ths human¡¯s audacity was unfathomable. Lu Yin was absolutely someone who should not be provoked, no matter what.

    Suddenly, the toad thought of something, and he pointed his steel fork at Mr. Daheng''s corpse. "You knew that I sent Daheng to the Sixverse Association, didn''t you?"

    Lu Yin sneered. "Did you really think that you could deal with me with that idiot? Toad, you really underestimate me."

    Astral Anura clenched his jaw again, and he suddenly wished that he could revive Daheng, just so that he could kill the man again. That fool had been thoroughly manipted by Lu Yin. If not for Daheng, Astral Anura would not have been forced into such a passive position. He would have rather never entered the Mirari Realm than be dragged into the mess of attacking and killing Tian Fa, especially after seeing that blood-red figure. That individual was utterly terrifying. The toad knew that the situation had escted far beyond his level.

    "Enough. Thinking about such things is meaningless at this point in time. Either you learn the path to Immortality and truly ovee Dukkha, gaining control over everything, or you deal with the situation on your own. Tian Fa is dead, and you fought against it. The four Boundary Guardians will figure things out eventually, and we can even share all the details of what happened. You won¡¯t be able to escape responsibility. Of course, regardless of which path you choose, your hoard will remain yours. I might know where it is, but I won''t touch it. You can even go ahead and move it. Now, make your choice," Lu Yin casually stated.

    Astral Anura felt trapped. This was too much. Were all humans so cunning? The Aeternals were much easier to deal with. Why did negotiations with humans always involve so much deceit?

    The toad felt deeply conflicted. It seemed that no matter which path he chose, he would be targeted by the Boundary Guardians.

    There was no doubt that the blood-red figure would also get involved.

    <i>Cough, cough!</i>

    Lu Yin and the others looked over in surprise. Had the members of Second Life managed to survive?

    This far exceeded Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. When Tian Fa had unleashed its most powerful attack, even Heavenly King had been nearly broken, and Astral Anura¡¯s protective leaf had been torn to bits. By all rights, no one from Second Life should have survived. How were they still alive?

    Lu Yin distinctly remembered seeing them dead; the pool of blood from their corpses had been rather impressive.

    In the distance, Second Zi wasying on the ground,cking the strength to even stand. Beside her, Second Gu, Second Meng, and Second Shan were all sitting up, gasping for air. Their bodies had clearly been pieced back together, which was evidence that they had been in pieces just moments before.

    "Interesting. That has to be some kind of innate gift," Hongyan Mavis remarked in admiration.

    Lu Yin stared at the members of Second Life. These people hadmitted countless evils and all deserved to die, but that did not mean that they were entirely useless.

    There was a loud ng as Astral Anura stabbed his steel fork into the ground and red at Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis. "Tell me where the path to Immortality lies, and I swear that I won¡¯t say a word about Tian Fa¡¯s death."

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "A wise choice. The path to Immortality is..."

    Soon after that, the toad left. He felt resentful and helpless, and he simply wanted to put as much distance between himself and Lu Yin¡¯s group as possible.

    Astral Anura had already decided that he would not leave the Mirari Realm until he broke through and became an Immortal. What could the Boundary Guardians do, anyway? Were they capable of entering the Mirari Realm?

    Astral Anura would cease to exist in the current megaverse. He would simply vanish and disappear.

    "I would say that he¡¯s nning to stay in the Mirari Realm forever," Hongyan Mavismented.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "That¡¯s fine by me. He¡¯s already caused us enough trouble. Things will be a bit quieter with this. Besides, if I ever need to find him again, he won''t have any choice but toe with me. I still have a stone that will let me return to the Mirari Realm."

    Hongyan Mavis frowned. "The problem is, even if you want to use that toad, he first needs to survive and leave the forbidden zone. I¡¯ve already told you how terrifying that ce is. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that toad dies in there."

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart stirred. "The forbidden zone... Is there really a path to Immortality in there?"

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "That¡¯s what Lassy told us. I told Astral Anura what I believe to be true, so I never lied. Even if what I said wasn¡¯t true, I simply repeated Lassy¡¯s lie."

    Lu Yin realized that Hongyan Mavis might be a bit more scheming than he had initially believed.

    With Astral Anura gone, Lu Yin finally turned his attention to Second Life.

    They were already staring at Lu Yin.

    Second Gang was still trapped within Heavenly King, but Shan Gu had fainted, which meant that Second Gang would remain trapped for the time being.

    As the mist of time spread across the Mirari Realm, the members of Second Life grew wary of it, and they quickly moved closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin started walking towards them.

 Chapter 3196: The Sects Dark Hand

    <h4>Chapter 3196: The Sect''s Dark Hand</h4>

    Second Gu was staring intently at Lu Yin, and he took a step forward to ce himself between Lu Yin and Second Meng. "Lord Lu, if we''ve offended you, we beg your forgiveness."

    Second Shan felt a chill run through his body. There was no doubt that Lu Yin was the dominant power in the Mirari Realm at this moment. That terrifying blood-red liquid and the freakish Astral Anura had both been subdued by Lu Yin. The man was unquestionably worthy of being the Heavens Sect¡¯s Dao Monarch. This was someone that no multiversal power dared to provoke.

    Lu Yin''s eyes swept over the group. "I''ve heard of your actions in the past. You all deserve death."

    Second Gu responded cautiously, "Lord Lu, to cultivate is to struggle against fate and to fight against everything in reality. We are nothing more than cultivators."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "I don''t want to discuss such matters with you.

    "You were unlucky enough to get dragged into this battle. I didn¡¯t let you escape from the auction because your past behavior led me to believe that you would be easy to eliminate."

    Second Gu and the others grew even more wary. The pressure that Lu Yin put on them was intimidating.

    Lu Yin showed open interest in the group. "However, I''ve since changed my mind. Everyone has the right to live, and you¡¯re not wrong about struggling against everything in existence. I have no obligation to avenge those who you killed¡ªthat was simply a matter of survival of the fittest. However, since I''m stronger and you''re weaker, your lives belong to me. No surprises there, right?"

    Second Shan spoke up, "We will submit to whatever judgment Lord Lu deems appropriate."

    Lu Yin nodded in approval. "Smart man. I heard that you have a strong sense of danger. You were paying close attention to me during the auction, weren''t you? If you already knew the danger, why didn''t you escape as soon as you entered the Mirari Realm? You should have known that following us to this ce would make it almost impossible for you to survive."

    Lu Yin then looked at Second Zi. "I hadn''t even noticed you, but you actually followed us all in, too."

    Second Zi answered in a weak voice. She looked as though she was on the brink of death. "The five of us are siblings, and we will live or die together."

    Second Shan gritted his teeth. "No matter how dangerous this ce may be, you captured our third brother, which left us with no choice but to follow you."

    Second Gu interjected, "Lord Lu, please release our third brother."

    "What if I told you that your brother is already dead?" Lu Yin asked in an indifferent tone.

    The expressions of every member of Second Life changed drastically. Hatred and venom filled their eyes as they red at Lu Yin, clearly ready to attack him.

    Second Shan clenched his fists. "Then please, Lord Lu, kill us as well. If you don¡¯t, we will absolutely try to avenge our brother."

    Second Meng and Second Zi were both ring at Lu Yin with the same undisguised hatred.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "Killing you would be easy, but there''s no need to rush things. He might not be dead."

    The members of Second Life continued to re at Lu Yin. They knew that this man held their lives in his hand, and while the feeling was unbearable, it was something that they had already expected.

    They had already known that, eventually, all five of them would die, one by one.

    Lu Yin looked at Second Zi. "Your innate gift is quite special."

    Second Gu interjected, "Our fifth sister''s innate gift is called Destiny''s Cohort. With it, as long as she uses a specific person as an anchor and a base temte, anyone she connects to won''t die, as long as the anchor lives. Thus, if that person isn¡¯t injured, we will heal from any and all injuries."

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "That¡¯s your innate gift? Can you use it on anyone?"

    Second Zi answered weakly, "Of course not. The biggest limitation of my innate gift is that I can only use it on a fixed number of people. The first person I used it on was our oldest brother, followed by our second sister, third brother, fourth brother, and finally on myself. It would be very difficult to add anyone else."

    Lu Yin understood. "No wonder they protected you at all costs and even risked their lives to do so. I also see why you followed them into the Mirari Realm at the veryst moment. As long as you stay alive, they¡¯ll be able to live. No wonder you all managed to survive, despite Second Life¡¯s infamy."

    The members of Second Life exchanged nces, only to see utter helplessness in each other¡¯s eyes. What was the point of surviving if they ended up as someone¡¯s puppets? That was no different from death, and yet they had no choice.

    They had overheard the conversation that had taken ce between Astral Anura and Lu Yin. Even a Dukkhan had been forced to swear to not reveal what had happened in the Mirari Realm. The moment they saw that exchange, Second Life had known that they would never be free from Lu Yin. There were only two choices: fully submit to Lu Yin, or die. They were not qualified to try to negotiate with the man.

    As for Second Life, Lu Yin had ns to make use of them.

    These people hadmitted too many atrocities, to the point where not even their deaths would be enough to atone for their sins. Besides, Lu Yin had no obligation to avenge Second Life¡¯s victims; all of them had been strangers to him.

    Given the situation, Lu Yin intended to force Second Life to work for him. They would aplish tasks that Lu Yin could not handle personally, things that not even someone like Arch-Elder Zen could take on. This would be a way for them to aid humanity.

    The Heavens Sect could not return to how it had been in the past, with its strength fully exposed for all to see.

    During ancient times, the Heavens Sect had been dazzlingly bright, and it had intimidated all other universes and civilizations. However, it shone too brightly, and it had ultimately been destroyed by Aeternus.

    In contrast, the new Heavens Sect needed to have both visible brilliance and a hidden de.

    Second Life was only the beginning. Lu Yin already had ns for another group of hidden operatives.

    These hidden operatives would be referred to as the Sect''s Dark Hand.

    Since they had entered the Mirari Realm, they would not be leaving anytime soon.

    In the past, Lu Yin had regretted the fact that he had not made Xu Jin''s consciousness fully his own while in the Mirari Realm. The consciousness had not been fully refined yet. At present, Lu Yin simply hoped that time would be enough to allow his star of consciousness to recoverpletely.

    The Purple Emperor¡¯s consciousness had helped restore the star a great deal, but it had not fully recovered. Lu Yin needed more time for that.

    Some timeter, Great Elder Shan Gu woke up. While the man had survived, he had suffered grave injuries. They were far too severe. The Royal Regent¡¯s attack had left Tian Fa in horrible condition, much to the amazement of Lu Yin and the others, but that attack had also far exceeded the level of strength that Shan Gu could control.

    "From now on, Heavenly King is as good as destroyed. I won¡¯t be able to use the power of any of its statues again, or else things will end up even worse than they did today," Shan Gu exined in a bitter tone.

    Lu Yin consoled the old man, "That¡¯s fine. When we leave this ce, you can rece it with an Immemorial card that I¡¯ll help you upgrade to the Primeval level."

    Shan Gu¡¯s mouth hung open in shock. Was it really so easy? He found that he could note up with even a single argument.

    Since when had Primeval cards be asmon as cabbages?

    "However, I want to make this clear in advance; the resources needed to improve another card to the level of Heavenly King will amount to half of my entire wealth," Lu Yin reminded.

    Shan Gu nodded with a smile. "In that case, Dao Monarch, is it possible to upgrade a card even further?"

    Lu Yin nced at the Great Elder. "It is."

    Shan Gu''s eyes lit up.

    "To begin with, you will need to provide the resources for the upgrade, which will cost at least tens of trillion star essence," Lu Yin stated.

    Shan Gu was rendered speechless. The starting cost that Lu Yin mentioned was enough to make the old man¡¯s heart tremble.

    "Secondly, does your Lost n even have anyone who can use such a card? If I''m not mistaken, Senior, you will never be able to be an Ortuser," Lu Yinmented somberly.

    Shan Gu was already unable to use Heavenly King again. Even if it was upgraded beyond a Primeval card, the man would never be able to fully utilize the card¡¯s power. Even if he could connect to the True Void and breathe in the essence of the origin, he would never be able to endure the three steps to the Origin Realm.

    He was incapable of ever bing an Ortuser.

    However, the Great Elder did not seem to mind. ¡°I¡¯ve long known that I would never be able to be an Ortuser the moment my people fled to this megaverse. However, Dao Monarch, you¡¯ve offered me an alternative path. While I may not be an Ortuser, I can still wield the power of one. Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Rest and recover. We still have to deal with the three surviving Boundary Guardians.¡±

    Tian Fa might have been the strongest of the four Boundary Guardians. After all, the creature had been responsible for delivering heaven¡¯s judgment, and that responsibility required a certain level of strength. At the very least, Lu Yin did not believe that Tian En was Tian Fa¡¯s match. But even if the other three Boundary Guardians were not as strong as Tian Fa, none of them would be much weaker. All of them were Ortusers, and if that blood-red figure appeared each time a Boundary Guardian died, Lu Yin had no idea how they would handle such a development.

    Lu Yin still did not know what had caused that blood-red figure to disappear. Lu Yin had only reversed time by one second. While he knew how to reverse time, and he even understood how to counter the blood-red figure¡¯s attacks, doing so was incredibly difficult. The only power that Lu Yin possessed that could go above the megaverse¡¯s River of Time was Lightstream.

    If that blood-red figure reappeared, Lu Yin had no confidence of being able to handle it.

    That was his greatest obstacle at the moment.

    Second Gang had been released and was staying in a corner of the Mirari Realm with Second Gu and the other members of Second Life. They had also been given a de of green grass so they no longer had to be afraid of the mist of time.

    Hongyan Mavis had been deeply shaken by the earlier battle. At one time, the legendary Three Realms and Six Daos had represented the pinnacle of power in the known megaverse, but she had just encountered an enemy whose attacks she was unable to withstand.

    She had caught a glimpse of the deepest levels of power.

    ¡°Little Seven, do you really think that the four Boundary Guardians were the ones who attacked Master?¡± After they had all spent some time in the Mirari Realm, Hongyan Mavis sought out Lu Yin and asked him this question. She intended to heal her injuries while in the Mirari Realm.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew conflicted. They had managed to gang up on Tian Fa and kill the creature, but was it really possible for four Boundary Guardians to overpower the Origin Progenitor, given the man¡¯s strength? Lu Yin was not entirely certain.

    The modern Heavens Sect already possessed the strength to fight the Boundary Guardians head on, which meant that there was no need to even mention the glorious past when the Three Realms and Six Daos had ruled over the Origin Universe. At that time, even without the Three Realms and Six Daos, there had been the strongest of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who had possessed strength simr to Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku. They should have been enough to hold the Boundary Guardians back.

    There was no doubt in Lu Yin¡¯s mind that there had to have been experts simr to Progenitor Chen and his peers during the ancient Heavens Sect era.

    Despite all of that, the Origin Progenitor had mysteriously disappeared, and the First Maind had been destroyed. Those two matters remained mysteries of that past era, and neither had been solved even after so many years.

    Lu Yin had met the Origin Progenitor, but the man had not answered either question.

    It was only when meeting with ckless God that Lu Yin and Lu Yuan had learned that the First Maind had been destroyed because the Boundary Guardians had ganged up on the Origin Progenitor.

    Was that ount true?

    Lu Yin had always felt that things could not be so simple.

    "Senior, don''t overthink things. We just need to take things one step at a time. After losing my memory, I restarted my life as an ordinary human, and I gradually climbed up to my current height. I once felt that the Frostwave Weave was a vast domain and that the Outerverse was enormous. After that, the Innerverse had felt immense to me, and then the entire Fifth Maind was massive.

    "With every step I¡¯ve taken, my previous limits and perception have been surpassed. Even now, while we might believe that the megaverse¡¯s countless parallel universes are vast, the day wille when we no longer hold that to be true.

    "That day is fast approaching, and I can feel that we are already touching upon the deepest secrets of the cosmos."

    Hongyan Mavis did not answer. She needed to break through to the Origin realm. Only by bing an Ortuser could she hope to face that unknown being.

    Her master had warned her and the others to not enter the Origin realm, unless it became absolutely necessary to do so. Hongyan Mavis felt that that time hade.

    The blood-red figure had rendered her helpless and filled her with an indescribable dread. It had not been fear, but the helplessness that came from glimpsing an iprehensible secret. Such a feeling of helplessness could only be suppressed with greater strength.

    She would break through and be an Ortuser.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3197: Real And Fake

    <h4>Chapter 3197: Real And Fake</h4>

    No one knew how much time they spent in the Mirari Realm, but Hongyan Mavis''s injuries had mostly healed, and Shan Gu had long since recovered. While he was no longer able to wield the power of Heavenly King¡¯s statues, thanks to that card, he retained the ability to barely hold off an Ortuser, even if only for a short while. This was even without using the power of any of the statues.

    The members of Second Fate had also recovered. Since they were unable to leave the Mirari Realm, they had been forced to stay with Lu Yin.

    One day, a golden streak flew by all of them, and Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis, and Shan Gu immediately gave chase. There was no mistake; they had just seen Astral Anura.

    The toad had ventured into one of the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden zones, searching for what was supposed to be the path to Immortality. Not even Hongyan Mavis was confident that she could survive the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden zones, and Astral Anura had just returned from one of them.

    Lu Yin was curious to learn about what the toad had experienced.

    At the banks of the River of Time, Astral Anura finally stopped, his back to Lu Yin and the others as he nkly stared into the river. The copper coins that had hung from his neck had been scattered, and the wound that he had received from the blood-red figure¡¯s sword was still bleeding.

    No matter how they looked at the toad, Astral Anura not only seemed to have failed to recover, but he seemed to have ended up in an even worse condition.

    On top of that, the toad¡¯s posture indicated that he was rather depressed, as though he had suffered some sort of mental blow.

    "Toad, are you... are you alright?" Hongyan Mavis asked hesitantly.

    Astral Anura''s body swayed, and he leaned forward as though he was about to fall into the River of Time. Lu Yin felt an instinctive urge to give the toad a little shove.

    Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis, and Shan Gu were all in silent agreement, and no one said a word to warn Astral Anura. While the wretched toad had his uses, his death would not be a setback. Lu Yin had already felt the urge to kill the creature on several asions.

    Unfortunately, Astral Anura merely wobbled, and he did not fall into the River of Time.

    ¡°First Blood, you¡¯re incredibly shameless!¡± Astral Anura spat.

    Hongyan Mavis was momentarily taken aback, and then her expression fell. "Are you insulting me, you damned toad?"

    Astral Anura turned around to re angrily at the woman. "So what if I am? I haven''t hit you yet!"

    "Go ahead and try it," Hongyan Mavis threatened as she clenched a fist with enough force that the void quivered.

    Astral Anura clenched his jaw, rage zing in his eyes. "That wretched ce doesn¡¯t have any path to Immortality. It¡¯s just, just-"

    The three humans were all curious. "It¡¯s just what?"

    Astral Anura, finally finished, though he sounded bitter and despondent, "It¡¯s just that I saw my great-great-grandmother, who died long ago. She told me to join her, saying that many of my elders are waiting for me and that they really like me."

    Lu Yin blinked, feeling very puzzled. What the hell?

    Hongyan Mavis casually remarked, "Isn''t that immortality? Your great-great-grandmother already died, but she was still able to appear in that ce. If even the dead can be seen, what could it be but immortality?"

    Astral Anura''s skin changed, taking on a mottled coloring as he raised his steel fork and red fiercely at Hongyan Mavis.

    Lu Yin¡¯s guard rose. The damn toad was not about to go berserk, was he?

    After a moment, Astral Anura spat out, "Shameless," turned around, and fled, disappearing from everyone¡¯s sight.

    Lu Yin gave Hongyan Mavis a strange look.

    Shan Gu also looked at her oddly.

    She coughed, and said, "Don''t look at me like that. This isn¡¯t my fault. I didn''t expect things to turn out like this.

    "If I had known, that would have meant that I had lied, but I didn''t. If I had, it would have affected my uing breakthrough to the Origin realm."

    Lu Yin thought about it, and then agreed. "So, does that mean that Destiny lied to all of you?"

    Hongyan Mavis frowned. "I don''t think that¡¯s it, either. Back then, Lassy was very obedient."

    This would not have been a simple deception, but a bold-faced lie.

    Astral Anura had been severely injured, but he had originally been in better condition than Hongyan Mavis. With the time they had spent in the Mirari Realm, the woman had recovered, but the toad¡¯s condition had worsened after entering a forbidden zone. If Astral Anura ran into an enemy at this moment, he might die without even knowing what happened.

    No one would tell such a lie without some deep resentment already present.

    Logically, in the past, Destiny had been one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciples, alongside Hongyan Mavis and the others of the Three Realms and Six Daos. There should not have been any great hatred between them.

    Unless...

    Lu Yin nced at Hongyan Mavis, right as the woman looked at him. She asked, "Did you think of something?"

    Lu Yin replied, "Did you think of something too, Senior?"

    "I did, but it shouldn''t be that, right?"

    "Let''s see if we''re thinking the same thing and write it down."

    Each of them wrote a word on their palms and then raised their hands to each other.

    Lu Yin''s palm read ¡°fake."

    Hongyan Mavis''s palm read "real."

    What was the real answer?

    Both people¡¯s moods grew heavier as they realized that the cosmos that they throught they had understood became increasingly strange.

    "Great-great-grandmother-" Astral Anura wailed in the distance.

    Lu Yin exhaled. It was time to leave the Mirari Realm. After all, he could always return.

    ...

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, Lu Yin sipped a cup of tea that Zhao Ran had prepared. In front of him stood the five hosts of the recent auction.

    The five men were nervous, and none of them dared to speak or sit.

    Lu Yin set down his teacup. "Your auction was quite the sess. Congrattions."

    Bai Ni quickly and respectfully replied, "It was thanks to the support that we received from the Heavens Sect. Without that, we would have never been able to host such an event. The items might have disappeared before the auction even started."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "That has nothing to do with me. Besides, I¡¯m the one who stirred up trouble at the end."

    Qing Du smiled. "You must be joking, sir. That had nothing to do with you. You didn¡¯t even attend our auction."

    Bai Ni was startled, and he turned to look at Qing Du in surprise. What did this mean? They all knew that Lu Yin had attended their auction and attacked Second Life. None of the five hosts were idiots; how could any of them have not noticed?

    They had made the trip to the Heavens Sect for two reasons: first, they needed to offer the Root of Intelligence to Lu Yin. Second, they needed to apologize to the Heavens Sect, as none of them had done a thing during the battle that had ended the auction. Not once had any of them entertained the thought that Lu Yin might not have attended the auction, but they had never known if they should act ignorant about that matter or not.

    None of them knew what to make of the situation. Did it make any difference whether Lu Yin had been present at the auction or not? Bai Ni did not know, and neither did any of the others.

    Why would Qing Du say such a thing? He was clearly cing some distance between Lu Yin and the auction, but why? Also, why was the man so certain that this was the correct course to take?

    When Bai Ni looked at Lu Yin and saw the hint of a smile, a sh of insight struck the man. He turned and stared at Qing Du with open disbelief.

    Could Lu Yin have orchestrated everything from the very beginning?

    Qing Du turned to meet Bai Ni¡¯s stare. "Isn¡¯t that right, Brother Bai Ni?"

    Bai Ni¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared intently at Qing Du.

    The man gave a subtle signal, and Bai Ni let out a breath. "That¡¯s right, Lord Lu didn¡¯t attend our auction."

    Lu Yin looked up and studied the men before him. "I understand the purpose of your auction. Everyone has their own ambitions. I can help you, but for that to happen, you need to do me a favor."

    Bai Ni bowed. "Please, tell us, Lord Lu."

    "Choose someone suitable to serve as your representative who can take the position of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Eight Outer Paths."

    Bai Ni was taken aback, and he instantly felt rather troubled.

    The Heavens Sect¡¯s Eight Outer Paths were no pushovers. The five hosts of the auction had seen the Heavens Sect¡¯s power during the military deration, and regardless of whether it was the Infinity Empire¡¯s Supreme or the Scourge upation¡¯s E'' Ji, neither would be easy to deal with. These people had the strength to directly fight against Second Life.

    There were many parallel universes which were not affiliated with the Heavens Sect, but aside from Second Life, none of the connected universes had any real experts. Where were they supposed to find someone with the strength to join the Heavens Sect?

    Lu Yin did not care if other universes wanted to form their own alliances. He was not overbearing to the point of wanting to control such things, but the war against Aeternus needed to be the top priority. Whether the parallel universes submitted to the Heavens Sect or not, they all needed to join the war against Aeternus.

    In fact, Lu Yin actually preferred the unaffiliated civilizations to form their own alliances. There was no need for the Heavens Sect to manage such affairs. Instead, it was better if a singlemand could summon all the alliance¡¯s experts for war. If these five men and their allied universes could find someone who was qualified to be one of the Eight Outer Paths, Lu Yin would have a very pleasant surprise.

    Whether they could find a qualified expert or not, the Heavens Sect had no time to worry about the affairs of other universes.

    Bai Ni and the others all bowed and left.

    Arch-Elder Zenughed. "These guys are all trying to plot their own schemes! They saw our Heavens Sect connect multiple parallel universes and grow stronger by doing so, to the point where we¡¯ve even driven Aeternus into hiding, and now they want to do the same. Dao Monarch, that military deration demonstrated humanity¡¯s strength, but it also ignited many people''s ambitions."

    Lu Yin was unbothered. "Ambition is a good thing to have. With ites motivation to improve. It¡¯s a true disaster when there''s no ambition."

    He then raised a hand to look at the Root of Intelligence that he had received from Bai Ni.

    The Root of Intelligence that had been sold at the auction had been purchased by Bai Ni at a steep price, as the man had hoped to form a rtionship with Lu Yin.

    Arch-Elder Zen simrly took out the Root of Intelligence that he had been given by Bai Ni and handed it to Lu Yin. "I''ve already reached my own peak. Having a breakthrough and bing a Progenitor was already an unexpected surprise. I can''t progress any further, so it would be better for you to use this Root of Intelligence, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin did not refuse. "Thank you."

    After leaving the Heavens Sect, Bai Ni and the others all shot dirty looks at Qing Du.

    While Bai Ni had seemed to be the one to organize and manage the recent auction, Qing Du had been the one to put forth the suggestion. Their recent meeting had made it clear that Lord Lu had gotten what he wanted from their auction, but this fact needed to be kept hidden.

    The only one of the five who had truly benefited from the auction was Qing Du.

    "Brother Qing Du, what did Lord Lu offer to make you go through so much trouble to organize the auction?" Bai Ni asked.

    The others, including Yang Jia, were also staring at Qing Du. "We want to know as well."

    Qing Du chuckled. "Everyone, don''t be upset with me. Lord Lu didn''t offer me any sort of wealth or benefits, and he certainly never approached me directly. Arch-Elder Zen came to see me.

    "I never helped the Heavens Sect for any sort of benefits¡ªI just wanted to get closer to them.

    "Think about it. We may be powerful and control the lives of countless beings within our universes, but Second Life alone leaves us all terrified. There are too many powerful creatures in the megaverse, and who can guarantee that we won¡¯t encounter one of them? I just want to survive."

    "What sort of promise did the Heavens Sect give you?" King Luo Fu asked coldly.

    Qing Du smiled and answered humbly, "My life. They promised to save my life once."

    Bai Ni and the others let out sighs and praised theirpanion. "You¡¯ve received nothing, and yet this waspletely worth your efforts."

    Seeing that the other four were still upset with him, Qing Du said, "The truth is that we can all join the Heavens Sect, if we want. They treat everyone the same."

    Bai Ni frowned. He could not join the Heavens Sect, as he had his own ns for the future. The most important thing was to find a suitable representative who could qualify to receive the title of one of the Eight Outer Paths.

    However, where could they find such a representative? Even if one was found, such a person might not even acknowledge the five of them. This was a difficult dilemma.

    Tian Fa was dead, and Lu Yin was waiting for Tian En, the butterfly, to visit him. It was impossible for her to not know that Tian Fa was dead.

    Lu Yin did not wait very long.

    He looked out into outer space and saw the enormous butterfly, and Lu Yin stepped out of the Heavens Sect.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, may I ask where Tian Fa is?" Tian En''s voice sounded as gentle as ever, but Lu Yin would never forget the fact she had once left Progenitor Ku for dead. If not for her, Progenitor Ku would not have remainedatose for so long.

 Chapter 3198: Xuan Jiu And Zhao Ran

    <h4>Chapter 3198: Xuan Jiu And Zhao Ran</h4>

    "I don''t know where Tian Fa is," Lu Yin immediately tried to put some distance between himself and the Boundary Guardian.

    "Tian Fa is dead," the butterfly reported.

    Lu Yin acted surprised. "Tian Fa is dead? When?"

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you... don''t know?"

    "How could I have known? I was just about to ask you what happened to Shan Gu and the Lost n."

    The butterfly pped her wings as she floated in space. "Dao Monarch Lu, you must understand that Tian Fa¡¯s death is no small matter. The duties of the four Boundary Guardians must be continued. Tian Fa¡¯s death has opened a breach in this megaverse, which could lead to disaster."

    Lu Yin nodded in agreement. "Ipletely understand. Why don¡¯t I help you find someone to rece Tian Fa?"

    "Dao Monarch Lu, this is not a joking matter."

    "I''m not joking. Do you think that the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect has the time to toy with you?"

    The butterfly remained silent for a moment. "I hope that you have nothing to do with Tian Fa¡¯s death, as if you do, the price you will pay will be too steep."

    Lu Yin sneered. "I have nothing to do with what happened, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m afraid of your threats. Don''t even think about pinning this matter onto me. I personally suspect that Aeternus is likely behind this. By the way, what have you found out regarding Feng Bo?"

    "No trace of Feng Bo has been found. ording to Yong Heng, he''s dead."

    "You think I¡¯m going to believe that? We''ve already talked about this before. Aeternus must have hidden Feng Bo. Since you''re so capable of keeping an eye on us humans, why aren''t you watching Aeternus? Let me make something clear to you: if you don''t bring out Feng Bo, the Boundary Guardians can forget about touching anyone from the Heavens Sect ever again. Leave. You aren¡¯t wee in the Origin Universe," Lu Yin stated grumpily.

    Tian En left. She needed to continue investigating Tian Fa¡¯s death.

    Logically, if Tian Fa had died in the current megaverse, she should have already learned of everything that had happened. However, Tian Fa had not died in the megaverse, which was the biggest problem that Tian En faced; just where had Tian Fa died?

    "What should have been an impressive demonstration of strength has been ruined by those four. While the demonstration¡¯s purpose was achieved, we can''t immediately attack Aeternus, as our people¡¯s morale will crumple," Lu Yuan stated in a quiet voice as he stepped out from behind Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "It''s fine. We just needed to put on a show of humanity¡¯s strength. As long as we can remove these final obstacles, I''ll be able to officially dere war on Aeternus. When that happens, we¡¯ll raise a g for humanity, and that is when the true victory will be decided.

    "Ancestor, did you ever consider that there could have been other changes to Destiny, other than the fact that she restarted her entire cultivation, after she returned from the Mirari Realm?"

    Lu Yuan was taken aback. "Why do you ask?"

    "I need to confirm a few things," Lu Yin replied.

    Lu Yuan thought for a moment. "It¡¯s too long ago for me to remember clearly, but there shouldn¡¯t have been any other changes. If there were, Master would have noticed."

    That was the biggest problem with the matter.

    Lu Yin stared out into outer space. How could the Origin Progenitor have not noticed any changes in Destiny? If there had not been any changes, then Lu Yin¡¯s suspicions would have no foundation at all. However, why would Destiny have deceived herpanions about a false path to Immortality? Everything about the matter seemed contradictory.

    Despite the fact that Lu Yin had achieved such impressive heights of strength, there were still manyyers of mysteries to the megaverse that he needed to unravel.

    At the moment, the most pressing issue he needed to address was the Boundary Guardians.

    Tian En was already certain that Tian Fa was dead. As soon as she could gather evidence that Lu Yin was the culprit, the butterfly would undoubtedly join forces with the other two Boundary Guardians to attack the Heavens Sect. Going by her previous attack on Progenitor Ku, things would not take very long.

    It was even possible that her visit just now had been nothing more than a show.

    The Heavens Sect needed to be prepared for the Boundary Guardians¡¯ attack at any moment.

    If the Boundary Guardians really did attack the Heavens Sect, there was no chance that Aeternus would simply remain standing by the side. If the two joined forces, the Heavens Sect would face a true threat.

    Thinking about this, Lu Yin decided that, since his star of consciousness had fully recovered, it might be good for him to go into seclusion again. This time, he wanted to deal a heavy blow to Aeternus.

    He was not after memories this time, but efficiency.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to enter seclusion, the arrival of someone startled him enough to change his mind; Xuan Jiu and Starsibyl had both arrived.

    Starsibyl could have never imagined that she would encounter the bastard Xuan Jiu in the Heavens Sect.

    Xuan Jiu also had not expected to meet Starsibyl in the Heavens Sect.

    "It¡¯s been a long time, Granddaughter." Xuan Jiu, as the elder, felt that he should be the first to speak.

    However, all that met his greeting was Starsibyl''s frigid re.

    Even that was not enough to make Xuan Jiu feel awkward, and he justughed it off.

    Lu Yin arrived, and he gave Xuan Jiu a curious look. "You actually came to seek me out?"

    As soon as he saw Lu Yin, Xuan Jiu''s smile warped into an expression of pure misery. He looked as though he had been abandoned as he started wailing, "Lu brat- no, Dao Monarch Lu! Lord Lu, you have to protect me!"

    As the old man spoke, he tried to embrace Lu Yin.

    The Second Nightking raised a brow and casually shoved Xuan Jiu back. "How presumptuous."

    Lu Yin waved a hand, gesturing for the Second Nightking to take a step back. Lu Yin examined Xuan Jiu''s miserable appearance. "What''s going on? Were you bullied in the Sixverse Association?"

    Xuan Jiu bitterlyined, "It wasn''t the Sixverse Association. It was Destiny."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Destiny?"

    Starsibyl stared at Xuan Jiu''s back. Destiny had be a dark cloud hanging over her head as well.

    When Destina had scattered Destiny¡¯s power to others who had cultivated that power so that she could break through and be a Progenitor, the woman¡¯s cultivation had been foisted off onto Starsibyl and Skymender. Destina had been trying to avoid her karma with Destiny, but she had still been taken away and transformed into one of Destiny¡¯s threads. That event had terrified Starsibyl so badly that she no longer dared to cultivate at all.

    "What''s going on?" Lu Yin asked urgently.

    Xuan Jiu shrugged and let out a heavy sigh. "This is my fault. I knew that I shouldn''t have cultivated it, but I went ahead and cultivated Destiny¡¯s Enigma technique. In the modern Starsibyl Sect, I was only the second person after Brother Zhu to manage to cultivate it. However, the moment I seeded, I felt that something was wrong.

    "My brother started looking at me differently, and I had a premonition of imminent disaster following me. The more I cultivated Destiny¡¯s power, the stronger that feeling became, especially when I used that to try to look into Destiny. At that moment, the sense of danger was so intense that I thought my head would explode.

    "Desperate, I fled from the Starsibyl Sect and started telling fortunes wherever I went, but I deliberately gave out readings that directly opposed what I saw. I did that in hopes of countering Destiny¡¯s Enigma technique. As the years passed, I managed to slightly seed, though doing so ruined my reputation. Still, the sense of danger faded.

    "But, but-" Xuan Jiu gave Lu Yin a miserable look. "Recently, the feeling of danger¡¯s returned, and it''s stronger than ever. It feels like I can almost see a hand reaching out for me. It¡¯s like a massive mouth is ready to devour me.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you have to save me! We''ve known each other for so many years, and I''ve helped you before, haven''t I?"

    As he wailed, it seemed as though Xuan Jiu was ready to cling to Lu Yin''s legs. It was clear that the man was not going to leave, even if staying meant dying.

    Xua Jiu had once regarded Lu Yin as an ominous person, but that dangerous person had be the old man¡¯s only lifeline.

    Lu Yin stared at Xuan Jiu. "Where do you feel that sensationing from?"

    Xuan Jiu shivered. "Everywhere."

    "Specifically?"

    "It¡¯s not something that I can pinpoint, it''s just everywhere. No matter if I¡¯m walking, eating, or sleeping, she''s always there and always watching. Can you imagine what it¡¯s like to have eyes on you at all times? To have a hand constantly reaching out to grab you, and no matter how hard you try to escape, for it to always be in front of you, behind you, and all around you? Surrounded by hands and eyes and an inescapable sense of doom-

    "Enough!" Starsibyl shouted. Her face had gone pale, and terror filled her eyes.

    Xuan Jiu looked over at Starsibyl. "Granddaughter, I''m just exining what it feels like to him. There¡¯s no need to be so dramatic."

    Lu Yin looked at Starsibyl. The woman was genuinely scared.

    The previously always calm Starsibyl, who had overseen the Origin Universe¡¯s talented youths while plotting for the future, had been reduced to nothing more than a frightened child before the threat of Destiny. Destina''s fate had terrified Starsibyl, and even Lu Yin had to admit to feeling a chill.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Ancient God¡ªeach of whom was among the Three Realms and Six Daos¡ªLu Yin had met them all, and he felt rather familiar with the legendary figures of the ancient era, but he still felt a chill when he thought about Destiny. It was as though the woman was somehow different from herpanions.

    "You once told me that I was a dangerous person to be around and that everyone close to me would meet a bad end. If that''s true, whye to me?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xuan Jiu sighed. "Honestly, if I could avoid this, I would stay away from you, even if it killed me. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any choice. If I don''t stay close to you, Destiny will devour mepletely, while staying close to you might give me a slight chance of survival.

    "With the Heavens Sect so powerful and the Three Realms and Six Daos joining you, even if Destiny is reborn, she¡¯ll still be wary of this ce, won¡¯t she?"

    Lu Yin stared at Xuan Jiu for a long time, but this time, the old man calmly met Lu Yin''s eyes. If not for his tattered clothes and the broken wooden staff in his hand, the exchange would not seem out of ce.

    "So, you''re seeking my protection," Lu Yin stated tly.

    Xuan Jiu smiled wryly. "You could say that, but there¡¯s another exnation as well: I''m here to help you sense Destiny."

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "That''s a good exnation. You can stay."

    Xuan Jiu heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

    "Zhao Ran, bring some tea," Lu Yin called out as he took a seat on a stone bench. He gestured for Xuan Jiu and Starsibyl to sit as well.

    However, Xuan Jiu''s attention had already been captured by something in the distance. He was staring at Zhao Ran with wide eyes. "She''s still here?"

    Lu Yin was not surprised by the old man¡¯s reaction. He already knew that there were issues between Zhao Ran and Xuan Jiu, and Lu Yin intended to use Zhao Ran to force out Xuan Jiu''s secrets, or vice versa.

    Lu Yin clearly remembered what had happened when he had first met Zhao Ran; she had mentioned that she could always find Xuan Jiu.

    The old man had also mentioned that he was never able to avoid Zhao Ran.

    There was some kind of connection between the two, and it was also clear that Zhao Ran had some sort of connection to Destiny. Lu Yin had seen Destiny''s power appear near Zhao Ran.

    "Oh, it''s you! The kind fortune-telling grandpa!" Zhao Ran happily eximed when she saw Xuan Jiu.

    The old man was not at all happy with this development, and his face looked worse than if he were crying. "You still remember me?"

    Zhao Ran apologized, "Even if I''m quite forgetful, I try to remember people who are kind to me, especially you, fortune-telling grandpa."

    "I wish you would forget me," Xuan Jiu muttered helplessly.

    Lu Yin nced between Xuan Jiu and Zhao Ran. "Alright,e have a seat. We need to clear some things up."

    Xuan Jiu sighed. "Lord Lu, you have a good eye. I''ll admit, part of why I¡¯ve been avoiding you is because of this girl. She''s connected to Destiny."

    Lu Yin was not surprised, and neither was Starsibyl. Zhao Ran clearly had a connection to Destiny, though no one had been able to determine just what that connection was.

 Chapter 3199: Evidence

    <h4>Chapter 3199: Evidence</h4>

    After Progenitor Ku woke up, Lu Yin had asked Lu Yuan to look into the connection between the Progenitor and Zhao Ran, but Progenitor Ku had only been able to say that he did not know.

    Progenitor Ku only knew that Zhao Ran was waiting for someone, and he had seen her during his youth. After bing a Progenitor, he had seen Zhao Ran again, and yet she had looked the same as before. That was when Progenitor Ku had realized that Zhao Ran was extraordinary, though he had not been able to determine what was so special about her.

    Zhao Ran wandered about the universe, seemingly immortal, yet constantly forgetting everything. If such a person did not have some sort of hope, dying would be better than living.

    Three cups of hot tea were set on a stone table. Green steam rose from the cups, giving them an eerie appearance. However, for those who were familiar with Zhao Ran, they understood that this appearance actually indicated that the tea had been well-made and that she had made some progress.

    ¡°The first time I saw this girl, I already knew that she was connected to Destiny. However, at the time, I didn¡¯t make the connection to Destiny and simply believed that there was an issue with Inverse Enigma,¡± Xuan Jiu said.

    Starsibyl interjected, ¡°You thought that it was a problem with Mr. Zhu.¡±

    Xuan Jiu scratched his head. ¡°That¡¯s true. Who would¡¯ve considered the legendary Destiny back then? Destiny¡¯s Enigma technique made my scalp go numb, and I assumed that Senior Brother Zhu was working against me somehow. You know how sneaky he is, always with that creepy smile.

    ¡°This girl stirred a reaction from Destiny¡¯s Enigma, so I assumed that she had been sent by Senior Brother to make trouble for me. After testing her a few times, I learned about her memory loss. While it seemed possible to figure out what was wrong with Destiny¡¯s Enigma technique from her, the longer I stayed with her, the greater the danger I felt.

    ¡°So, I left. I tried to avoid this girl after that, but she always managed to find me. It was rotten luck.¡±

    Zhao Ran nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m rotten goods.¡±

    She may not have understood most of what Xuan Jiu had said, but the word ¡°rotten¡± resonated deeply with her.

    ¡°You already know what happened after that. The girl started following you, so I tried to stay away from both of you. Honestly, I don¡¯t know anything else about her. I just didn¡¯t want to get involved,¡± Xuan Jiu said.

    For once, it was clear that the man was telling the truth.

    Lu Yin had not expected to learn anything about Destiny from Xuan Jiu. No matter what the old man said, he was nothing more than someone who had cultivated Inverse Enigma. He was not a powerful cultivator at all. Even Skymender was more valuable than Xuan Jiu. The old man¡¯s only value was possibly his sense of impending doom.

    Without sufficient strength, just being able to sense danger would not provide him any help in finding Destiny, nor would Xuan Jiu be able to expose any of her secrets.

    When he finished speaking, Xuan Jiu leaned closer to Lu Yin and offered an ingratiating smile. ¡°Lord Lu, please send that girl away. I won¡¯t be able to rest easy with her around.¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°She makes tea for people here. What can you do?¡±

    Xuan Jiu gave the green vapor steaming out of the cups on the table an odd look. ¡°You call this... tea?¡±

    With that, Xuan Jiu settled into the Heavens Sect. The man was determined to not leave again, though he also had no choice in the matter. Without the security that Heavens Sect offered, Xuan Jiu felt threatened.

    As for Zhao Ran, there was no question that she was more useful than Xuan Jiu.

    Ten days passed, and the butterfly returned. Again, Tian En asked about Tian Fa, and Lu Yin gave the same answers as before, frustrating the butterfly with more questions about Feng Bo. The butterfly was so angry that her voice lost its usual gentleness.

    Once a few more days went by, the butterfly returned yet again. Still, she asked Lu Yin about Tian Fa, while also threatening the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin continued to bring up Feng Bo, while telling Tian En that she needed to show him Feng Bo¡¯s head if she wanted to have a conversation. Without that, Lu Yin refused to continue talking. Helpless, the butterfly was left with no choice but to visit the Scourge.

    ¡°Tian En, I¡¯m not lying to you. Feng Bo truly is dead. The truth of the matter is, with only four Boundary Guardians, it¡¯s impossible for you to oversee the entire megaverse, and it¡¯s often pure chance that you encounter outsiders. If Feng Bo wasn¡¯t already dead and you learned of his existence, then I would have already turned him over to you. However, he really is dead,¡± True God stated calmly.

    The butterfly pped her wings. ¡°Tian Fa¡¯s death is no small matter. Yong Heng, I need your help to thoroughly investigate this incident."

    "There¡¯s no need to investigate anything. They were killed by Lu Yin," True God stated bluntly.

    Tian En replied, "Of course, I know that. The only ones in this entire megaverse capable of killing Tian Fa are your Aeternus and his Heavens Sect. What I need is to find out is how it happened. With evidence, there will be justification for dealing with the Heavens Sect."

    True God sped his hands behind his back. "Cultivation has always been a matter of survival of the fittest. Since when do we cultivators concern ourselves with things like evidence?"

    "We do when strength is equal."

    "Do you believe that the Heavens Sect has the strength topare to the Boundary Guardians?"

    "If not, how could Tian Fa be dead?"

    "What do you n to do now?"

    Tian En hesitated before answering, "I need help from your Aeternals."

    "That¡¯s not up for question," True God agreed.

    Their conversation could not be overheard even by the Great Sovereign, who was within one of the columns of light of her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. She was very curious about the Boundary Guardians, as the four were quite extraordinary individuals.

    Far away, on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was staring at a chessboard, frowning.

    Across from him sat Wang Wen, who was already confident of his own victory. There was a smug smile on his face. "Well, Dao Monarch Chesspiece, it looks like I¡¯ve won again."

    Lu Yin readilyplimented the other man. "As expected of the smartest person in the Outerverse. You seem rushed when you make your moves, but all of them are actually interconnected. They are all endless variations of moves that are centered on the same strategy. Impressive."

    Wang Wen grinned. "Exactly! When ites to cultivation, even a thousand of me can¡¯tpare to you, but when ites to chess, hehe, Dao Monarch Chesspiece, you still have much to learn."

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Alright, I lost."

    Wang Wen set his own piece down. "The existence of the Boundary Guardians ces our Heavens Sect at a disadvantage. While one of them has been killed, the surviving three will likely join forces with Aeternus. If those two sidesbine, things will turn catastrophic for us. Is that what you¡¯re preupied with, Dao Monarch Chesspiece?"

    Lu Yin replied, "I don¡¯t have a choice but to be worried about it."

    Wang Wen stood up, and looked down at the chessboard from a higher vantage point. "All sapient creatures have one characteristic inmon: concerns.

    "Concerns originate from gaining or losing things that are in one¡¯s own self-interest. Even the Boundary Guardians have to be busy evaluating the pros and cons of bing enemies with the Heavens Sect. They can''t attack us directly, as the duties that they¡¯ve been bound to for countless years still bind them. They first need to prove that we¡¯re rted to Tian Fa¡¯s death and offer irrefutable evidence.

    "While it may seem absurd that powerhouses at their level need evidence to act against someone, the fact that they do is proof of our Heavens Sect¡¯s power. If not for Ancestor Lu Yuan bing an Ortuser, as well as Matriarch Hongyan Mavis¡¯s return and the establishment of the Three Suns and Six Rulers and the Inner and Outer Eight Paths, the Boundary Guardians wouldn''t hesitate at all."

    Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen. "So, are you saying that we shouldn¡¯t give them any leverage?"

    "You¡¯re already doing just that, Dao Monarch Chesspiece. What I''m saying is that you need to be on guard against them seeking outside help. The Aeternals understand humans better than anyone, and they¡¯re the ones most likely to find evidence that you killed Tian Fa. Even if they just want to frame you, only Aeternus can pull something like that off. The Boundary Guardians need an excuse, one that¡¯s believable," Wang Wen calmly exined.

    He was not sharing any sort of profound truth or secret strategy, just simple words. However, there were times when the moreplex the situation was, the simpler the solution that could actually work.

    <i>Aeternus? Because I¡¯ve been so wary of the Boundary Guardians, I''ve held back from doing anything to the Aeternals. However, the more I continue on in this manner, the more likely it is that Aeternus will meddle in the matters between the Boundary Guardians and the Heavens Sect. The Boundary Guardians are so powerful that I¡¯ve actually overlooked Aeternus. How could I let that happen?</i>

    <i>The real enemy has always been Aeternus.</i>

    <i>I was already preparing to go into seclusion and use Possession to stir up trouble for Aeternus. My consciousness has recovered, and I¡¯ve made preparations regarding True God. After that, Xuan Jiu showed up, and after he decided to stay in the Heavens Sect, Wang Wen wanted to y chess, and I agreed to that.</i>

    "With our game done, I''ll be off," Lu Yin said as he stood to leave.

    Wang Wen was confused. "Dao Monarch Chesspiece, where are you going?"

    "Seclusion."

    Wang Wen stared at Lu Yin''s back and smiled as the Dao Monarch walked away. Wang Wen genuinely hoped to see the Heavens Sect return to the peak. He had risen up from the tiny little Ironblood Weave, and while Wang Wen had seen the vastness of the universe, he felt that it was not vast enough. He sought control, even if the only way to achieve it was by helping another acquire it.

    The smartest person in the Outerverse? No, Wang Wen wanted to be the smartest in the entire megaverse.

    "By the way, it''s almost time. You know what to do, right?" Lu Yin''s voice was faint, as he spoke while walking away.

    Wang Wen grumbled, "Don''t tell me to deal with this stuff. This is the kind of thing that should be left to Wei Rong. This is such a hassle!

    "Still, Dao Monarch Chesspiece is growing increasingly cunning..."

    Lu Yin arrived at the location he used for his secluded trainings and raised a hand. His die appeared. He hoped that Wang Wen would not disappoint him.

    A tap of his finger set the die spinning, and the first rollnded on three pips: Enhance. Unfortunately, he had no money remaining. Disappointed, he could only continue, so he tapped the die again...

    Right as Lu Yin went into seclusion, new rumors started spreading like wildfire, until the news was regarded asmon knowledge. The rumors imed that Astral Anura had killed Tian Fa.

    While most people did not know the name Tian Fa, they did know that Astral Anura had killed a creature that had the appearance of a blood-red liquid while in the Mirari Realm. As for who instigated the rumors, no one knew. In fact, no one knew any details beyond what the rumors shared.

    Yong Heng had been asked to help Tian En expose the truth of Tian Fa''s death, and neither of them believed a word of the rumors.

    Again, the butterfly visited the Scourge.

    "It couldn''t have been Astral Anura. While he is a Dukkhan, you should know that toad¡¯s strength. There is no way he¡¯s Tian Fa¡¯s opponent," True God stated confidently.

    The butterfly replied, "That''s why I came to see you. At the Hundred Weapons Universe¡¯s auction, the first person to enter the Mirari Realm was the Lost n¡¯s Shan Gu, and he was followed by a man named Daheng. After them, Second Life entered, and they were followed by Tian Fa. Once they entered, none emerged again.

    ¡°Right now, I have two questions.

    "First, how did any of them learn how to enter the Mirari Realm? That¡¯s a secret that is known to only a few within your Aeternus. How did Shan Gu learn of it?"

    True God replied, "The Heavens Sect might also have that information. Don¡¯t forget that the Lu family has an unbroken lineage stretching back to the Heavens Sect era."

    "That''s true.

    ¡°Second, even if those people worked together, it¡¯s impossible for them to have defeated Tian Fa. On top of that, none of them havee out of the Mirari Realm, not even Astral Anura. I''m certain that Tian Fa is dead, but what about the others? Yong Heng, I am asking you to help me look into this."

    True God looked at the butterfly. "I''m certain that Lu Yin also entered the Mirari Realm."

    "Certainty isn¡¯t the same as evidence. We can''t just act against the Heavens Sect without justifiable reason. We also have our limitations," Tian En replied.

    "I''ll find you the evidence you need. This isn''t our first time working together," True God answered.

    Once the butterfly was gone, True God stared out across the Scourges. The truth was quite clear to him: Tian Fa had been killed by Lu Yin''s hands, and both Yong Heng and Tian En knew it. The problem was the fact that Tian Fa had died in the Mirari Realm, which made it impossible to confirm any of the details.

    The Boundary Guardians could not attack the Heavens Sect without reason. If they could, they would have already done so. They needed an excuse, one that would justify outright destroying the Heavens Sect.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3200: A Slap

    <h4>Chapter 3200: A p</h4>

    Eventually, as Lu Yin was watching his die slowlye to a stop, it finallynded on six pips. His eyes lit up, as he had finally rolled Possession.

    In the strange dark space, he saw a brilliant ball of light shining brightly in the distance. There was no hesitation as Lu Yin shot towards the orb of light. Given its brightness, it had to represent someone as strong as the Seven Skygods.

    A barrier tried to stop Lu Yin, but it failed. His consciousness was too strong after his star of consciousness had fully recovered. He easily broke through and merged with the orb of light.

    Right after that, Lu Yin experienced a familiar sensation; he had Possessed Ancient God.

    Without any hesitation, Lu Yin fiercely pped his own forehead.

    "Lu Yin-" True God¡¯s voice rang out.

    Lu Yin''s hand struck with a bang, and the world spun in his vision. He ended the Possession and returned to the dark space. Behind him, arge square seal came crashing down. Lu Yin raced back to his own body, narrowly avoiding the seal. This time, he had sessfully moved faster, as he was prepared this time.

    In the First Scourge, Ancient God spat out a mouthful of blood, he doubled over and was gasping for breath.

    What had just happened?

    A short distance away, Progenitor Xi frowned. "It was Lu Yin again."

    Ancient God''s pupils fluctuated. He had injured himself, but that had been Lu Yin''s goal all along.

    True God¡¯s voice rang out, "Pass down my orders: No one in Aeternus is to act recklessly. Stay in pairs. If one moves, their partner must stop them."

    "As True Godmands," everyone replied with a bow.

    Across the Fifth Scourge, the Fourth Scourge, and all the others, everyst member of Aeternus formed into pairs.

    Naturally, the one partnered with Ancient God was Progenitor Xi.

    Aside from Progenitor Xi, there was no one else who could instantly stop Ancient God.

    The man held his forehead. "I¡¯m fine. Even if he seizes control of my body, I would struggle to kill myself. At most, I''ll be injured, but I''ll recover quickly."

    "It¡¯s that mirebound artifact. As expected, something born of the megaverse itself is truly miraculous. Even you can be hurt this way," Progenitor Xi marveled.

    Ancient God calmly sat down and said nothing.

    Progenitor Xi continued to face the Skygod.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God felt helpless. Lu Yin was ensuring that Aeternus could not move. Since Lu Yin had already escaped from True God after one possession, he would be able to do so a second and a third time. The young man was capable of seizing control of any one of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses and then force them to injure themselves. Even if doing so did not kill someone, if too many powerhouses were injured, the Heavens Sect could attack them, and the Aeternals would be in grave danger, unless the Boundary Guardians intervened.

    A single mirebound artifact had pushed Aeternus into a disadvantage.

    The only hope was for Whiteless God to find some evidence that Lu Yin was the one responsible for Tian Fa¡¯s death. Such evidence would provide the Boundary Guardians with a legitimate reason to attack the Heavens Sect.

    Within the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened. He had Possessed Ancient God again. That was strange. Ancient God had clearly broken through and entered the Origin realm, which meant that, logically, there should be toorge of a gap between Lu Yin and the man for Possession to be possible.

    The only possible answer was that Lu Yin¡¯s consciousness had grown too strong.

    Possession was an ability that relied on the power of consciousness. Lu Yin had devoured Xu Jin¡¯s consciousness, and that creature had been one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs. Even if Gu Yizhi had sessfully be an Ortuser, Xu Jin''s consciousness was still sufficient to Possess him.

    However, the Possession would onlyst for a brief moment.

    In other words, even if True God had not disrupted Lu Yin, it still would have been impossible for the Possession to result in Ancient God¡¯s death. A few breaths¡¯ time was not enough to force the Skygod tomit suicide.

    As he watched his die slowly spin, Lu Yin smiled. Ancient God had pped himself... <i>I wonder how that felt</i>. While the resulting injury had not been serious, it would still take a bit for Ancient God to recover.

    Lu Yin had no idea who his next target might be. The Aeternals had to be on high alert at this moment, but that did not matter. Lu Yin¡¯s only goal was to prevent Aeternus from inserting themselves into Tian Fa¡¯s death.

    Also, there was still Whiteless God who needed to be dealt with, as that Skygod had never revealed herself. Lu Yin frowned, as he had forgotten about Whiteless God, as well as thest of the Three Pirs.

    That thought prompted Lu Yin into extending a finger and rolling the die again. As long as he used divine energy, he would eventually possess one of those two mysterious individuals.

    Lu Yin was eager to learn Whiteless God¡¯s true identity.

    He had already made the decision; unless something unexpected happened, he would remain in seclusion, rolling his die. He was determined to use Possession to expose Whiteless God.

    The die slowly stopped spinning, showing two pips. Again, he had rolled Gift Copy. He kept going until he managed to roll Possession again.

    His consciousness returned to the dark space. Lu Yin looked in all directions, but could not see even a single bright ball of light. He started searching, but still failed to find even one.

    When rolling the die with divine energy, Lu Yin did not have to worry about how much energy he consumed. His star of divine energy wasrge enough to sustain almost any usage.

    However, after searching far and wide without ever finding an orb of light, he finally gave up.

    Ten dayster, he rolled his die again, but he failed to roll Possession even once. He then waited for another ten days before resuming.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s time in seclusion, Tian En paid the Heavens Sect a visit, but she was driven away by Hongyan Mavis. The butterfly left without even delivering a threat.

    Lu Yin spent nearly two months in seclusion when he finally rolled Possession for the third time. The more he rolled his die, the more difficult it became to roll six pips. That was just the way the die worked.

    This time, he quickly saw a light, but this ball was not particrly bright, which suggested that it represented someone with the strength of a Progenitor.

    Since there was no other option, Lu Yin merged into the orb.

    He opened his eyes to see nothing but red filling his vision. Was this... ake of divine energy? As memories started to pour into his mind, Lu Yin let out a breath. He had not expected to possess this frenzied corpse again.

    This frenzied corpse was the one in ake of divine energy in the First Scourge, and it was not very far away from Hui Wu. Lu Yin had Possessed the frenzied corpse once before, and he had seen Hui Wu at that time. Lu Yin was seeing the same sight as before.

    In thekes of divine energy, True God could sense Lu Yin, so the Possession had to be very short.

    He turned to look at Hui Wu, already intending to end the Possession, as there was no real value in Possessing a frenzied corpse.

    Suddenly, his expression changed. There was a pair of dark-red eyes staring back at him. They belonged to Hui Wu, but while they should have been murky and devoid of any spark of intelligence, there was unmistakable rity in the eyes staring at Lu Yin.

    These were the eyes of someone fully aware and intelligent.

    The eyes served as windows to the soul, and Lu Yin was certain that he saw awareness and intelligence in this pair of eyes.

    Hui Wu retained his mind.

    Though briefly stunned, Lu Yin quickly returned to the dark space. Therge square seal chased him through the mysterious space, trying to crush his consciousness, but he managed to return to his body quickly enough to avoid the attack once again.

    As long as Lu Yin reacted quickly enough, not even True God could do anything to him.

    Lu Yin lifted his hand to continue rolling the die. He needed to Possess that frenzied corpse again so that he could learn what was going on with Hui Wu. If he could simply Possess Hui Wu himself, that would be even better.

    Hui Wu had been given the opportunity to escape from Aeternus, but he had chosen not to. That decision meant that he had been exposed as a human spy when Mu Ji had finally returned to the First Scourge. Hui Wu had then been cast into ake of divine energy, condemned to be a frenzied corpse.

    One time, when the First Scourge had been invaded, Hui Wu had carried Shao Yin to the ck Mother Tree, though for the reason why was unknown. After the battle¡¯s conclusion, Hui Wu had been thrown back into theke of divine energy.

    It did not matter if the man was a corpse or not, so long as he was transformed into a frenzied corpse.

    However, Lu Yin was absolutely certain that the transformation had not seeded. Although there were signs of Hui Wu being corrupted by divine energy, his eyes remained incredibly clear. What was the man doing?

    Lu Yin recalled what Hui Wu had said when Lu Tianyi and Lu Yin had tried to take the man away from the First Scourge. "This isn¡¯t the right time."

    Hui Wu undoubtedly had his own ns.

    Lu Yin needed to Possess that frenzied corpse again so that he could speak to Hui Wu and learn exactly what the man was nning.

    A monthter, Lu Yin finally rolled Possession again. This time, he saw two very bright lights, as well as one dim one. He immediately merged into the dimmer light, for the sole reason of hoping to Possess Hui Wu.

    Unfortunately, he instead ended up Possessing a Progenitor-level corpse king in the Second Scourge. Lu Yin instantly forced the corpse king tomit suicide.

    Again.

    Ten dayster, he rolled six pips again, only to find nothing. He failed to find even a single orb of light.

    Again.

    Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, six months had passed. During this time, Lu Yin infrequently rolled Possession, and even when he did, he rarely ever found any balls of light. His greatest sess was when he had Possessed Di Qiong, but True God had acted too quickly, forcing Lu Yin to retreat right after he forced Di Qiong to p himself.

    A p. Just a single p. Such an attack could not cause enough damage to make any difference. Even Ancient God had already recovered. Since such ps were pointless, Lu Yin decided to stop performing them.

    A p echoed loudly across the First Scourge. As soon as Lu Yin ended his Possession, Di Qiong let out a roar of rage that resounded across the First Scourge.

    The sound caused Forgotten Ruins God to bark out augh.

    The Aeternals were usually cold and indifferent individuals, but many of them found themselves wanting tough at this scene.

    Yet even as they wanted tough, Lu Yin''s tactics also gave them all chills. If he used this method during an actual battle while they were fighting against an enemy, they would not merely suffer humiliation, but death.

    Progenitor Xi specifically asked True God if there was any way to counter Lu Yin¡¯s actions, but not even True God had any solution to offer. This was the power of a mirebound artifact.

    While the Aeternals were feeling pinned down, Lu Yin was also frustrated.

    Six months had passed, and he still had failed to Possess that frenzied corpse again. How was he supposed to meet Hui Wu?

    He sighed and rolled the die again. It slowly stopped spinning and showed six pips.

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up, as this roll had gone very smoothly.

    Once he was in the dark space, Lu Yin saw a dim light far away. He instantly shot towards it, and merged with the light.

    He opened his eyes. Was this Chong Gui?

    He had Possessed Chong Gui again. There really were not very many Aeternals who had cultivated divine energy, and that led Lu Yin to repeatedly Possess the same people.

    Chong Gui was facing Mu Ji, who was sitting across from him. Lu Yin received some memories, but nothing of any value.

    True God had ordered everyone in the Scourges to pair up to counter Lu Yin¡¯s ability. With this, even when Lu Yin seeded in Possessing someone, there was not much that he could do.

    On top of that, all the Scourges were filled with divine energy, which was another of True God¡¯s tactics to deal with Lu Yin.

    Even so, there was no way to truly stop Lu Yin from acting first. For example, when he had Possessed Di Qiong, he had immediately pped himself.

    Lu Yin looked around at the surrounding divine energy. Thest time that he had Possessed Chong Gui, True God had not known about the Possession until after Lu Yin moved. It was possible that, this time, True God would discover the Possession more quickly due to the fact there was divine energy was all around them. True God had prepared for Lu Yin, and there was already a thread of divine energy wrapped around Chong Gui''s wrist.

    <i>In that case...</i>

    Lu Yin moved Chong Gui¡¯s body, raised his head to look over at Mu Ji, and then pped him across the face.

    Mu Ji did not react in time, and the p connected. Mu Ji was stunned by Chong Gui¡¯s p and then grew furious. "Lu Yin, it''s you!"

    In Chong Gui¡¯s body, Lu Yinughed loudly. "To think that the mighty Aeternals have been forced to resort to these means just to deal with me myself! I, Lu Yin, am truly honored! Hahaha!

    "Yong Heng, do you think that you can stop me? I can possess any creature, no matter if they are a corpse king, a frenzied corpse, one of the Seven Skygods, or one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. You can''t stop me!"

    With that, the Possession ended.

    In the dark space, the massive square seal fiercely crashed down.

    Lu Yin was already back in his body, and he let out a breath of relief. That had felt too good.

    He had spoken to make sure that Hui Wu heard him. As long as he could possess that frenzied corpse, Hui Wu would know that it was Lu Yin. If the man needed anything from Lu Yin, he would recognize his chance to share it.

    However, the problem remained whether Lu Yin could Possess that frenzied corpse again.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3201: Change And Adaptation

    <h4>Chapter 3201: Change And Adaptation</h4>

    In the First Scourge, Chong Gui was very confused, and he stared nkly at his hand. "Did I just p you? Really, Mu Ji? That was a love tap!"

    Mu Ji was furious. If he had not known that Chong Gui had been under Lu Yin''s control, Mu Ji would have killed the man.

    Dual deform exchanged nces. The pink-haired woman trembled. "Brother, this is so, so scary!"

    The blue-haired manforted her, "It''s going to be alright. Don''t be afraid."

    The pink-haired woman bit her lip. "I''m... I''m just afraid that, if I p you, you won''t like me anymore."

    The blue-haired man smiled. "That won''t happen, so don''t worry."

    Further away, Wang Xiaoyu and Skydog were facing each other, which created a rather odd sight.

    Skydog barked, ncing at Wang Xiaoyu''s hand.

    Wang Xiaoyu also looked down at her hand, but she stayed silent.

    A p was not a powerful attack, but it was extremely insulting. Lu Yin''s actions had humiliated all of Aeternus.

    There was a strange expression on the Great Sovereign''s face. Lu Yin was a truly odd cultivator, as he demonstrated none of a powerhouse¡¯s dignity.

    In the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was still rolling his die. He had humiliated Aeternus, and retaliation arrived quickly.

    They publicly revealed that Lu Yin was capable of possessing anyone, and by doing so, ess their memories and take control of them. All who heard the news grew terrified.

    Who did not have memories they wished to keep hidden? Who did not harbor at least a few secrets? Lu Yin''s ability scared everyone.

    However, the Heavens Sect responded quickly, as Wei Rong secretly spread more rumors. These imed that Lu Yin was not only capable of controlling other people, but that he could also instantly learn their battle techniques and steal their innate gifts. He could even stop or reverse time, changing the past and the future.

    These rumors,bined with the news about Lu Yin¡¯s ability to control people, made everyone start mocking the rumors.

    "What a joke! How could something like that be possible? I might believe that Lord Lu can control people, but taking their innate gifts, reversing time, and altering the past and future? How absurd!"

    "Jealous people must have been spreading lies. Anyone spouting such nonsense must be a spy of Aeternus."

    "These rumors were definitely spread by Aeternus. Find out who started them..."

    "Who dares try to nder Lord Lu? Find them..."

    It did not take long for many rumor-mongers to be caught, and sure enough, some of them were Aeternal spies. With this, no one believed any of the rumors anymore.

    The Aeternals had been rendered helpless. They had hoped to humiliate Lu Yin, and while such rumors would not cause any real harm to the Heavens Sect, as time passed, people would grow increasingly wary of the sect.

    It was surprising how quickly and effectively the Heavens Sect had responded. By exaggerating the rumors even further, they had muddied the waters to the point where no one believed the truth.

    Within the Heavens Sect, Wei Rong listened to the reports his subordinates were delivering with a contemptuous look on his face. <i>They think that they can handle our Heavens Sect with such petty tricks? The Aeternals have fallen</i>.

    <i>However, can the Dao Monarch really control others? If he can ess others'' memories, then that''s truly terrifying.</i>

    Lu Yin had no idea what was happening outside, nor did he need to know. Most of the time, there was no longer any need for him to personally handle these minor issues. If he was forced to do so, he would not have any time to cultivate.

    Rolling his die was the key.

    Another two months passed, but Lu Yin failed to roll Possession even once. His luck was the worst possible at this moment, and Lu Yin was ready to take a break. Just then, the die stopped on six pips. He breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he had rolled Possession again.

    He opened his eyes to the familiar sight of the dark-redke of divine energy.

    He had finally Possessed a frenzied corpse again. Lu Yin turned his head to look around. This was a different frenzied corpse from before, but fortunately, he was rtively close to Hui Wu.

    Lu Yin was thrilled to have finally Possessed a frenzied corpse again.

    With a casual wave of his hand, he created ripples in the divine energy, directing the flow towards Hui Wu.

    The man looked over at Lu Yin, and they locked eyes. Hui Wu opened his mouth but made no sound. Even so, Lu Yin understood what the man said, and his eyes went wide in shock.

    As soon as he finished, Hui Wu closed his eyes again.

    Lu Yin hurriedly ended the Possession, but this time, he was caught by the square seal, and it mmed into him heavily.

    Despite hurrying back to his body, Lu Yin was still hit, as he had briefly dyed his return to receive Hui Wu''s message.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes opened as his consciousness returned to his body. His face was pale, and he spat out blood. In his inner universe, the star of consciousness had cracked again. He had been injured.

    This Possession had resulted in True God catching Lu Yin and cracking his star of consciousness. Until the star recovered, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to break through the invisible barriers in the strange dark space, which meant that he could no longer Possess any of the Aeternals unless he was in the same universe as them.

    However, there was no need to worry about such things for the moment. Lu Yin rose to his feet. He had learned something very important from Hui Wu.

    The ck Mother Tree was rooted in divine energy, and it sat upon Primaldust.

    Primaldust was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon. The Origin Universe had once held six Mainds, and aside from the First Maind, the Origin Progenitor had created all the others by using a core of Primaldust as their foundation. When Aeternus had destroyed the ancient Heavens Sect, each Maind had been deliberately shattered, which had puzzled many people.

    Was there some sort of connection between the destruction of the Heavens Sect and the destruction of the Mainds?

    Finally, Lu Yin understood the reason; the Aeternals had been pursuing Primaldust.

    There was one piece of Primaldust in his forehead. He was not sure if it was one that had stayed with the Origin Progenitor or with the First Maind. While the First Maind had not been created by the Origin Progenitor, it had still been infused with Primaldust.

    The Primaldusts from the Second, Third, and Fourth Mainds had all been taken.

    Since the Fifth and Sixth Mainds still existed, their Primaldusts must still be present.

    This meant that the Primaldust beneath the ck Mother Tree was likely from the Second, Third, and Fourth Mainds.

    Lu Yin had no idea how Hui Wu had learned this, but it was clear that the Primaldust needed to be taken back.

    That was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon, and it would certainly be useful to him.

    However, in order to reach beneath the ck Mother Tree, it was necessary to go through one of the Scourges.

    Fortunately, Lu Yin already controlled the Sixth Scourge.

    If he wanted to, Lu Yin could have seized control of all the Scourges, aside from the First Scourge. The scattered strength of Aeternus was not a match for the current Heavens Sect, but the unexpected appearance of the Boundary Guardians right after the Heavens Sect¡¯s military deration had prevented Lu Yin fromunching another invasion.

    However, the Sixth Scourge was already theirs.

    Lu Yin sent an order to the Heavens Sect and then went to the Sixth Scourge.

    The Heavens Sect had a cosmic door that led directly there.

    Lu Yin stepped into the Sixth Scourge. He looked up at the ck Mother Tree that was surrounded by the pirs of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. True God''s eyesnded on Lu Yin, and their gazes met.

    "Can you still use your mirebound artifact?" True God asked calmly.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s stare. "Of course. Do you want me to deliver another p?"

    "It¡¯s nothing more than a trick. Your mirebound artifact leaves me disappointed."

    "And what about your mirebound artifact? What can you do with it other than smash things?"

    True God studied Lu Yin. "I actually admire you for having the courage to kill Tian Fa."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Something so crass doesn''t need your admiration. I didn''t kill Tian Fa¡ªI don¡¯t even have the ability to do that."

    "Tian En isn''t here, which means that this is just the two of us talking. The Boundary Guardians are your species¡¯ great enemies. They''ve never underestimated humanity¡¯s ambition. This megaverse is like a prison, keeping creatures like uspletely trapped and preventing us from connecting with anything outside. Tai Chu wanted to escape from this ce, and look where it got him. Lu Yin, I understand you. You''re the same type as him," True God stated calmly.

    Lu Yin stared back at True God. "I am indeed like the Origin Progenitor, but not because I have the ambition to leave this megaverse. Instead, it¡¯s about the legacy we leave for our people. What about you? What do the Aeternals mean to you? Are they a tool? Also, what about this megaverse? What meaning does this ce hold for you? Do you not want to leave?"

    True Godughed. "No one has ever asked me such a question before. I¡¯ll be blunt. Yes, the Aeternals are nothing more than a tool to me. As for this megaverse, I¡¯m not limited by it."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. Not limited by the megaverse? That meant that Yong Heng was able to leave at any time. He had that ability, and yet the Origin Progenitor did not. In other words, perhaps the Aeternals were allowed to leave the megaverse, while the humans were not.

    It was also clear that True God wanted humanity to be pitted against the Boundary Guardians, but there was no need for the Aeternals to do anything. The Boundary Guardians were already humanity¡¯s enemies.

    Ever since the Boundary Guardians had attacked the Origin Progenitor, they had sown an enmity that could never be resolved.

    Tian En had tried to kill Progenitor Ku, and Lu Yin had killed Tian Fa. Ultimately, things would end with either all the Boundary Guardians¡¯ deaths, or the destruction of the Heavens Sect. There was no third option.

    Light filled the air as a butterfly flew into the Sixth Scourge.

    Lu Yin looked over and frowned.

    The butterfly''s voice rang across the Sixth Scourge. "Dao Monarch Lu, may I ask, were you among those who traveled to the Mirari Realm from the Hundred Weapons Universe?"

    Lu Yin answered coldly, "Until you deal with Feng Bo, I won¡¯t speak with you."

    "Dao Monarch Lu, proving that you didn''t kill Tian Fa won''t cause any harm to you."

    "But it won''t help me either," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    "No harm is the greatest benefit."

    "Is that a threat?"

    The butterfly''s voice grew even softer. "You also don''t want me constantlying after you."

    Lu Yin felt a headache blossoming. "You are indeed quite inconvenient. How about this. Yong Heng is telling you that Feng Bo is dead and can''t be found, right? Well, I''ll give you something that you <i>can </i>find."

    He then casually tossed a piece of paper towards the butterfly.

    It floated over and stopped in front of Tian En.

    "That¡¯s a list of names. All of them are part of Aeternus, and some of them aren¡¯t from this megaverse. Go ahead and find them," Lu Yin''s voice echoed.

    The butterfly was caught off guard. "How do you know this?"

    Lu Yin retorted, "In the same way that the Aeternals are knowledgeable about us humans, we¡¯re just as well informed about them."

    True God spoke up. "Aside from Feng Bo, there are no creatures in Aeternus who are not from this megaverse."

    Lu Yin scoffed, "Do you think that those words are enough to make us believe it? How many times do I have to say that I didn''t kill Tian Fa, and yet this butterfly refuses to believe me?

    "Besides, the Megalith isn¡¯t from this megaverse either."

    The butterfly gently pped her wings. "Yong Heng, bring me all of the beings whose names are on this list. I''ll check them one by one."

    As she spoke, the paper floated towards True God.

    The man replied, "There¡¯s no need for you to check anything. Just like Feng Bo, most of these people are already dead. This boy is just trying to distract you with dead people. He already killed Feng Bo but refuses to admit it. He won''t admit that any of these others are dead either."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "You won¡¯t even look? Tian En, I''ve shown you my sincerity. If you won¡¯t deal with this, don''t expect to hear another word from me."

    Whatever the butterfly then said to True God, no one else could hear. The butterfly then left, and True God''s voice rang out again. "Lu Yin, with your military deration, you have demonstrated the Heavens Sect''s strength to the entire megaverse, offering countless people confidence. Even so, the Boundary Guardians can still crush you. Why do you cling to humanity so stubbornly? Humans are too limited in this megaverse. Don''t you want to go out and see more?

    "It is impossible for any human to achieve Immortality in this megaverse, but beyond this ce, there are unimaginable civilizations led by Immortals. All creatures born from the universes must adapt in order to survive. The essence of life is change and adaptation."

    Lu Yin countered, "In that case, what were you before you changed and adapted?"

    True God did not answer, and the Sixth Scourge fell silent.

 Chapter 3202: Seizing A Scourge

    <h4>Chapter 3202: Seizing A Scourge</h4>

    The Heavens Sect had not garrisoned the Sixth Scourge with many powerful cultivators, but the Aeternals had not made any attempt to reim it either. This fact had made Lu Yin realize something: the Six Scourges were not very important to Aeternus.

    Perhaps the Scourges were simply a part of True God''s obsession, some kind of desire topare himself to the Origin Progenitor.

    However, all six of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Mainds had contained a core of Primaldust.

    The myriad paths of cultivation were all different, and even when they might appear to be simr, they were not the same.

    The Sixth Scourge did not have any foundation reminiscent of Primaldust. While it was possible that thekes and rivers of divine energy had once served a simr function, all divine energy had been drained from the Scourge.

    Step by step, Lu Yin approached the ck Mother Tree. He needed to find the Primaldust thaty at its roots.

    The closer he moved to the ck Mother Tree, the closer he drew to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    The moment the Great Sovereign had fused into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, Lu Yin had not said a word to the woman.

    When he arrived just outside the columns of light, Lu Yin saw that the Great Sovereign¡¯s back was facing him.

    "Are you confident?"

    The Great Sovereign did not answer. Her obsession, her tribtion for oveing Dukkha, was True God. Only by killing him could she hope to ovee Dukkha. All of her hope had rested on Sovereign Shao Yin, who had been the only one who could make her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm work. For the sake of her ns, no matter what he had done, the Great Sovereign had refused to touch Shao Yin or let anything happen to him. The higher he had risen within Aeternus, the greater the likelihood of her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm seeding.

    In the end, her n had indeed seeded. The Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm was her personal battle against True God. True God¡¯s power was constantly being sapped away, as the Great Sovereign was using her own vitality to suppress her opponent.

    As long as she couldpletely strip all of True God''s power from him and kill him, she would ovee Dukkha, which would enable her to be the first person in the history of the megaverse¡ªor at the very least, the first known human¡ªto achieve Immortality.

    Lu Yin looked back up at True God, whose expression was still as calm as still water.

    Had True God¡¯s words been intended for Lu Yin, or for the Great Sovereign? If it was really impossible for humans to achieve Immortality in this megaverse, then the Great Sovereign''s fate was already sealed.

    Could this have some sort of connection to that blood-red figure?

    The mysterious figure had appeared when Tian Fa had died, and it had been so powerful that both Hongyan Mavis and Astral Anura had been renderedpletely helpless. Neither of them had ever experienced such despair before that moment. The experience had instantly caused everyone involved to think of the legendary Immortal realm.

    It was possible that Immortals had lived in the megaverse for eons, simply hidden.

    That figure¡¯s appearance had weighed heavily on Lu Yin ever since he had returned from the Mirari Realm, and it had started to hinder his cultivation. In particr, when it came to dealing with the Boundary Guardians, Lu Yin constantly felt as though he was also facing something beyond the Origin realm, someone invincible from the fabled Immortal realm.

    The Heaven¡¯s Sect military deration had given countless people confidence, but the appearance of the Boundary Guardians had shaken Lu Yin''s.

    In some ways, it was simr to what he had felt when he had first seen the six Scourges from the top of the ck Mother Tree. Initially, Lu Yin had truly felt a sense of despair, but he had managed to ovee it. But at this moment, that despair had returned.

    Even for people renowned for creating miracles, miracles did not recur endlessly.

    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± The Great Sovereign¡¯s voice entered Lu Yin¡¯s ears. He looked over, but the Great Sovereign was facing the First Scourge and her back was to him. ¡°You¡¯ve done well, child. I never thought that you would make it so far. Since you¡¯ve managed to reach this ce, what are you still afraid of?¡±

    Lu Yin did not respond.

    ¡°I owe your Lu family nothing.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression turned cold. "You don''t need to say anything."

    He had heard this same phrase more than once in the past. The Great Sovereign had repeatedly stated that she never owed the Lu family anything at all.

    "I have my path, while the Lu family has their own, and humanity has one as well. My goal is the same as the Lu family¡¯s and everyone else¡¯s, which is to eradicate Aeternus. That is why I have faith that my path is correct, and it is also why I am confident that I can destroy Yong Heng. Child, if the dayes when your path requires you to sacrifice some people in order to proceed further, will you do it or not?"

    Lu Yin stared at the woman¡¯s back. "There are countless paths. If one doesn''t work, I''ll simply choose another."

    "While there are countless paths, you may not be able to find the right one. You need to simply continue moving forward. Your Lu family was exiled because of the seeds that were sown in the past¡ªthey deserved it. The consequences have already been borne, so what are you afraid of now?

    "The moment the Lu family returned, you were already reborn. The seeds you sow will determine what fruits you will reap. Karmic cause and effect will never disappear."

    Lu Yin did not understand anything the Great Sovereign was saying. "Crazy woman, are you really confident about destroying Yong Heng?"

    ¡°Insanity is nothing more than a matter of perspective, child. The day wille when someone will call you mad as well.¡± The Great Sovereign was clearly irritated. If not for the fact that she was trapped in the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm Realm, she would have pped Lu Yin. He had caused an insult to be her moniker.

    Lu Yin stared at the Great Sovereign¡¯s back. "I firmly believe that, when my path is blocked, I will be able to forge a new one."

    He then turned around and left.

    He had entered the Scourge to explore beneath the ck Mother Tree. However, when he drew close to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, he found that there was no way to ess the tree¡¯s roots from the Sixth Scourge, which meant that he would have to approach from another Scourge.

    The Fifth Scourge was Arrow God¡¯s domain. The womanmanded five sequence powerhouses who were known as the Five Elders.

    Of the six Scourges, the Fifth Scourge had been regarded as the second most powerful one, right behind the First Scourge, as they had possessed the most sequence powerhouses.

    However, at the moment, there were only three of the Five Elders left, as two had died.

    A figure appeared in the sky, emerging from a cosmic door. They casually tore through the void and allowed a gigantic figure to pass through; it was Supreme.

    The figure who had first appeared was Ye Wu.

    Behind him, The Abandoned revealed himself.

    Countless corpse kings throughout the Fifth Scourge roared at the sky and flung themselves upwards, only to be ughtered by Supreme¡¯s sword. The ground was stained with blood.

    The Magician, Wen Huan, and Jie looked up at the sky in shock.

    "Let¡¯s go! Just abandon the Fifth Scourge! Without Arrow God, there''s no way we can stop the Heavens Sect."

    "They¡¯re all part of the Outer Eight Paths! Lu Yin is definitely on his way."

    None of the three hesitated to flee from the Fifth Scourge.

    In the First Scourge, Arrow God learned that her Fifth Scourge was being invaded, but she did not move. Most of Aeternus¡¯s top powerhouses had already gathered in the First Scourge to defend it from any assaults from the Heavens Sect.

    No one could predict what Lu Yin might do next.

    Already, there were many times when everyone had believed a battle was over, only for Lu Yin to treat it as the beginning. The Aeternals had suffered from such situations more than once before.

    The Magician and the other two arrived in the First Scourge, which meant that the Fifth Scourge had been effectively abandoned.

    True God watched calmly as Supreme and the other two ughtered all of the corpse kings in the Fifth Scourge, but he said nothing.

    Lu Yin arrived in the Fifth Scourge, and he looked up at the ck Mother Tree. ¡°From this day forward, the Fifth Scourge will also belong to me. Any objections, Yong Heng?¡±

    True God cidly replied, "If you want them, then you can have all the Scourges, aside from the First Scourge. What do any of them matter?"

    Supreme, Ye Wu, and The Abandoned cleared the Scourge out for Lu Yin. Unless the Aeternals decided to reignite the war with the Heavens Sect, nothing could stop the three.

    The Heavens Sect was cautious of the Boundary Guardians and would not fight an all-out battle with Aeternus, but at the same time, the Aeternals were wary because the Boundary Guardians had refrained from attacking the Heavens Sect outright.

    Given the current situation, losing a few Scourges would not mean much to Aeternus.

    The only thing was, True God could not make any sense of Lu Yin¡¯s intentions.

    <i>Does he really want to seize that Scourge? It¡¯s useless to him. If he sends experts from the Heavens Sect to guard the Scourges, it would be beyond stupid. In that case, what is his goal?</i>

    No one could guess at Lu Yin''s purpose, as he had not told anyone.

    He walked to the base of the ck Mother Tree in the Fifth Scourge, and there, he found Arrow God''s residence. It was a cold pce. He continued walking forward and entered the building. It was lit with firelight, which gave it a particrly creepy appearance.

    The walls were covered with indecipherable murals, which likely belonged to Arrow God''s native civilization.

    The entire pce had been meticulously constructed. The stairs, theyout, the towering ramparts, and the murals all seemed toe from the imperial pce of a prosperous dynasty.

    Lu Yin had once served as the Royal Regent of the Great Yu Empire, he had seen a simr cultural heritage fully disyed within that empire¡¯s imperial pce.

    He nced at the throne in the pce, but had no interest in it. He approached the living quarters and eventually stepped into a room. It was the only room in the entire building that had any color to it.

    The entire pce was the same dark-gray color, but this one room was pink.

    Lu Yin had never expected to see pink within Aeternus¡¯s Scourges.

    At this exact moment, Arrow God shot to her feet in the First Scourge, clearly intending to return to the Fifth Scourge.

    Progenitor Xi looked at the other woman. "What are you going to do?"

    Arrow God coldly replied, "Return."

    "If you go back, you¡¯ll die," Progenitor Xi stated.

    There was no sign of hesitation as Arrow God pulled out a cosmic door and passed through it to return to the Fifth Scourge.

    Di Qiong frowned. There was clearly something in the Fifth Scourge that Arrow God cared deeply about. Was there not something in the Third Scourge that Di Qiong also cared about? Wu Tian was still in the Third Scourge. Should Di Qiong allow the Heavens Sect to take that man back? He could not ept that.

    If that happened, it would be better to drive the Heavens Sect out from the Fifth Scourge.

    Just as Di Qiong was about to leave, True God spoke up. "Do not be reckless."

    Di Qiong turned to face the ck Mother Tree and respectfully said, "Lord, Wu Tian is still in the Third Scourge."

    "Leave him."

    Di Qiong was startled, and he could not help but nce over at Ancient God.

    Wu Tian had repeatedly refused to leave the Third Scourge. There had to be a reason behind that, though Di Qiong still did not know. Ancient God certainly knew, and given that True God was not allowing Di Qiong to take action, it was clear that True God did not care about Wu Tian. This meant that True God also knew Wu Tian¡¯s reason.

    No matter how badly Di Qiong wanted to understand this matter, he had no choice but to back down after receiving True God¡¯smand.

    Aside from Arrow God, no one went to the Fifth Scourge.

    In the Fifth Scourge¡¯s pce, Lu Yin was standing outside of the pink room. He had pushed the door open and was looking at what seemed to be a cozy princess¡¯ room. It did not mesh with the rest of the Scourge at all. He picked up his foot to step forward, but as he did so, he felt a cold killing intent appeared behind him. He turned around to see an icy glint. Arrow God had arrived.

    She actually dared to go after Lu Yin.

    There was a ng as The Abandoned cut her arrow down. The man stood in front of Lu Yin, and Ye Wu stepped forward from another direction.

    "You came here alone? Are you looking to die?" Lu Yin stared at Arrow God with a cold re. He did not hold back with his murderous intentions.

    No one had ever spoken to the Three Pirs and Six Skies in such a manner before. The Aeternals had always been the ones threatening others, but they were suddenly being looked down upon and threatened by someone else.

    Arrow God had not felt suppressed for a very long time.

    "Get away from there," said Arrow God. Her face was beautiful enough to destroy kingdoms, and many who saw her preferred to die under her arrows, if doing so at least meant that they would earn her attention.

    She was stunningly beautiful, and the eerie surroundings only amplified her beauty. She seemed like a princess in eternal slumber.

    Her scarlet hair fluttered, but her face disyed her steely determination.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3203: Surrounding And Killing Arrow God

    <h4>Chapter 3203: Surrounding And Killing Arrow God</h4>

    This was not the first time that Arrow God had taken action. Every time she fought, Sovereign Dou Sheng had intercepted and faced the woman. The only exception was during her first appearance. That time, she had subdued the entire battlefield with her arrows, shocking everyone.

    After that first battle, Lu Yin had almost always ignored Arrow God, because Sovereign Dou Sheng was such an effective counter to her.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time actually facing Arrow God.

    "Kill."

    That singlemand caused the Abandoned to vanish. He had waited for this moment for a very long time. Finally, he could avenge his civilization¡¯s destruction.

    The Abandoned appeared right behind Arrow God, already stabbing his knife at her snow-white neck. As the de seemed to pierce her crimson hair, an arrow suddenly blocked it. Arrow God grabbed hold of the arrow and then deflected the de with a soft ng. The Abandoned shifted locations and attacked from the side. He was always able to gain an advantage due to his sequence particles.

    He had fought Arrow God too many times for him to believe that he could easily kill her, but this time, he was not alone.

    From another direction, Ye Wu formed a circle with his hands, unleashing Heaven¡¯s Furnace. He had already seen Arrow God''s power when he had participated in the battle at the Second Scourge, which had resulted in Xu Jin¡¯s death. Without Sovereign Dou Sheng, no one could have restrained this woman.

    Without even turning her head, Arrow God repeatedly blocked the Abandoned¡¯s knife. She held her bow with a foot and drew the string with her left hand, firing arrow after arrow at Ye Wu. While none of these arrows were particrly powerful, Ye Wu¡¯s scalp went numb. He knew that he could not stop these arrows, but he had to at least try.

    The third and fourth arrows failed, but the fifth stabbed into Ye Wu¡¯s body with a spray of blood.

    When Arrow God had first appeared on the First Scourge, her first attack that hadnded was her fifth arrow, which had pierced Lord Xu¡¯s body. After that, she had suppressed the entire battlefield.

    Her arrows were very strange.

    The Abandoned¡¯s face fell. His sequence particles were useless at protecting him from these attacks, which meant that he had no choice but to retreat.

    Things were proceeding the same as ever. When the Abandoned had first ambushed Arrow God, her sequence particles hadpletely thrown his own intoplete disarray.

    Yes, disarray. Arrow God had mastered the Law of Disarray.

    Lu Yin moved forward with Inverse Step, traveling at the speed of time. It was time for him to attack. After all, this opponent was one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and she was incredibly powerful.

    Arrow God''s scarlet hair fluttered in the air as her sequence particles spread into the void and beyond. When Lu Yin stepped into the vicinity of her sequence particles, Inverse Step instantly failed, and he was also met by one of Arrow God¡¯s arrows.

    Infinity appeared, and its lines of strength were already colliding with each other.

    The arrow entered within Infinity¡¯s range, where the lines of strength mmed into each other, creating new lines. As the arrow drew closer to Lu Yin, the lines of strength that were in front of him almostpletely filled the air, and they sessfully blocked the arrow.

    Ultimately, the arrow dropped to the ground in front of Lu Yin.

    Arrow God was unbothered, and she simply fired another arrow.

    This arrow entered Infinity¡¯s lines of strength as well, and the same events as before yed out again.

    This time, Arrow God was surprised. What was happening?

    Behind her, the Abandoned¡¯s broken de drew closer, but Arrow God bashed it aside with another arrow, forcing the man to retreat.

    Heaven¡¯s Furnace appeared, releasing its incredible pressure as it attempted to obliterate Arrow God.

    Arrow God''s pupils changed multiple times before finally settling on the Pupilless Transformation. She clenched an arrow tightly as she leaped forward, stabbing the arrow into Heaven¡¯s Furnace.

    There was a ng, and Heaven¡¯s Furnace cracked. Still, it did not shatter. It had managed to endure even an attack from Arrow God undergoing the Pupilless Transformation.

    Another arrow fell to the ground in front of Lu Yin. He absorbed Infinity¡¯s lines of strength back into his body and threw a punch. At this moment, divine energy suddenly shrouded Arrow God¡¯s body. The divine energy surged around her, and while she continued to use the Pupilless Transformation, the divine energy now twined around an arrow. As it tore through Heaven¡¯s Furnace, Lu Yin¡¯s punch struck.

    Heaven¡¯s Furnace had sessfully trapped Xu Jin, but it could not contain Arrow God.

    Xu Jin hadcked the physical power necessary to break free from Heaven¡¯s Furnace, as the feat required absurd levels of brute strength.

    Arrow God had cultivated the Corpse King Transformation to the Pupilless Transformation, which was why she was capable of matching Sovereign Dou Sheng in close-rangebat.

    Not all the arrows that had stabbed into the Sovereign had been shot from a distance.

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Arrow God was sent flying by Lu Yin¡¯s punch, which caused further damage. Not even she could handle the incredible power behind Lu Yin¡¯s punch. Her body smashed through her pce, and it hurtled through the sky high above the Fifth Scourge.

    Supreme had been waiting for this, and the mecha¡¯s sword rose and shed down. The de mmed Arrow God back down into the ground.

    She tried to ovee her body¡¯s momentum, but all the attacks striking her were too powerful. Arrow God could only raise her arms in an attempt to defend herself as she was struck by the sword. Blood sprayed from her mouth as her body was driven deep into the ground of the Scourge.

    Supreme grabbed the enormous sword¡¯s hilt with both hands and then thrust the de into the ground, trying to impale Arrow God.

    Down below, Arrow God¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open. Divine energy shot upward, blunting the impact of Supreme''s sword.

    The tip of the de continued to press down, but it failed to tear through the divine energy. Arrow God took advantage of the opportunity to avoid the attack, and the enormous de sank into the ground, all the way up to its hilt.

    The Abandoned and Ye Wu both stepped on Supreme as they raced towards Arrow God.

    In the sky above, an enormousndmass had appeared, and it started to drop.

    Lu Yin, by joining forces with three of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Outer Eight Paths, would be able to surround and kill Arrow God.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had fought Arrow God on multiple asions, and he had learned that her arrows were called Chaotic Arrows. Every arrow she fired transformed order into chaos, which meant that any power used to block the arrows would be increasingly disordered, until it failed to take shape entirely. This was the true danger of Arrow God¡¯s Chaotic Arrows.

    This was why any attempt to block the Chaotic Arrows might as well be a joke, and the only real way to deal with them was to simply endure the attacks.

    Extremes Must Be Reversed was the reason why Sovereign Dou Sheng was the natural nemesis of her Chaotic Arrows.

    However, that did not mean that there was only one person who perfectly countered the technique.

    Lu Yin''s Infinity could not have blocked a Chaotic Arrow in the past. But he had since seeded in transforming the inner world in the Mirari Realm by introducing ever-rising power in the form of the collisions between the lines of strength. These collisions were entirely random.

    Because the collisions were entirely random, Arrow God¡¯s Chaotic Arrows had absolutely no effect whatsoever.

    The simplest way to exin the situation was that purely chaotic punches could defeat even a master. It was as simple as that.

    With her Chaotic Arrow perfectly countered yet again, Arrow God''s Pupilless Transformation and divine energy no longer gave her much of an advantage, which made her less of a threat,pared to the other Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Ye Wu and Supreme both boasted defenses that were capable of withstanding attacks from even the Seven Skygods, while Lu Yin couldunch attacks powerful enough to threaten experts at their level.

    Arrow God had gone to the Fifth Scourge without any support from the other Aeternals. There was no doubt that she was doomed.

    The massive sword swept out again. Its de was sharp enough to threaten Arrow God, even with her Pupilless Transformation.

    Ye Wu was also capable ofunching incredibly powerful attacks, and he had even mastered a mysteriousw of the universe that even Arrow God feared.

    The Abandoned was always able to remain one step ahead of his opponents, which meant that Arrow God was forced to continuously release her sequence particles to counter him, and she was quickly exhausting herself.

    All the while, thendmass continued to press down from up above.

    By all appearances, Arrow God had been pushed into a desperate situation.

    From the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God watched in silence. If Aeternus made any move, the Heavens Sect would respond. The Boundary Guardians had not yet dered war on the Heavens Sect, which meant that the Aeternals did not hold any advantage.

    However, it was impossible for them to kill Arrow God.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    A deafening crack rang out as the Fifth Scourge split open, just like what had happened to the Second Scourge before.

    Arrow God waspletely suppressed by thendmass, and she also had to deal with Ye Wu and the others'' attacks, which prevented her from moving.

    Lu Yin and the others stood on top of hisndmass, looking down. Arrow God''s presence had already vanished.

    The Abandoned closed his eyes. It was over. Finally, he had avenged his lost civilization.

    Lu Yin frowned. Was it really that easy?

    While it was true that Lu Yin had formed a team to deal with someone at the level of the Seven Skygods, this battle had seemed far too easy. Arrow God had been suppressed and overwhelmed from start to finish, and she had barely been able to fight back. It also seemed like she had only returned to the Fifth Scourge in order to die.

    When Lu Yin had fought against Feng Bo in the Mirari Realm, despite being well informed of the man¡¯s abilities and power, Lu Yin still had to fight against the man repeatedly, while also experiencing several moments of enlightenment before he finally seeding in killing Feng Bo.

    As another one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, it was impossible for Arrow God to be any weaker than Feng Bo. Despite that, Lu Yin had not even needed to use things like Flipping the Sky or Evernight. Had the woman really died that easily?

    It all seemed too easy, but there was no denying that Arrow God''s presence had vanished.

    Lu Yin dismissed thendmass, and he stared at the ground down below.

    Arrow Gody supine, her crimson hair syed out. Blood painted the ground around her, as though decorating a beautiful painting. The corpse was not ugly or gruesome after being crushed by thendmass. Instead, Arrow God still looked quite beautiful.

    The Abandoned started walking forward.

    "What are you doing?" Lu Yin asked.

    The man did not even look back. "I''m going to cut off her head and take it back to serve as a tribute."

    Lu Yin did not try to stop the man. Arrow God had destroyed the Abandoned''s entire civilization, which had spanned an entire universe. As a sequence powerhouse, the Abandoned had hidden himself in his universe, living in secrecy so that he could get avenge for his people. There were no words to express the hatred the man felt for Arrow God.

    Ye Wu did not really like this development. He had already considered letting Ye Xiaoxiao use Arrow God¡¯s body for the symbiotic corpses technique. In the past, Ye Wu had not wanted Xiaoxiao to even touch the cultivation method, as he had simply wanted to protect the girl¡¯s smile. However, as the massive war against Aeternus continued to unfold, Ye Wu had realized that his hopes had been too naive. No one could avoid a war between the two species. There was no escape, so he hoped to find some way for Ye Xiaoxiao to protect herself.

    There was no denying that Arrow God had been extremely powerful. Ever since Ye Wu had merged with Progenitor Chen¡¯s corpse, he had rarely encountered such a difficult opponent. Aeternus was the greatest threat, and they were even more dangerous than Lu Yin. While the battle against Arrow God had seemed easy with the woman surrounded, things had actually been very dangerous. Even the smallest mistake could have resulted in one of the men dying.

    It was unfortunate that Arrow God was an Aeternal who had cultivated divine energy. Due to that, Ye Xiaoxiao could not use the woman¡¯s body for the symbiotic corpses method.

    The Abandoned arrived at Arrow God¡¯s corpse and clenched his broken de. He crouched down and stretched out a hand to remove the woman¡¯s head.

    Suddenly, Arrow God¡¯s eyes snapped open. The Abandoned was startled, and he instinctively used his sequence particles to stay a step ahead. As he did so, Arrow God¡¯s body shattered, and another figure emerged from the broken remnants of the corpse. There was a surge of divine energy that enveloped a snow-white body. She held an arrow and shed it through the void, attacking Lu Yin¡¯s nearby form.

    Arrow God was fast, but Lu Yin was even faster. He immediately used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time, freezing everything in the area.

    However, Arrow God''s sequence particles spread through the void, disabling Inverse Step. Lu Yin looked at where Arrow God was clenching an arrow. There was no missing how sharp the tip was as she stabbed it at Lu Yin''s face.

    Lu Yin knew that it would not be that easy to take out one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. The earlier battle had been too easy. At this moment, Arrow God did not feel any weaker than she had before, and she did not seem to have suffered any injuries at all. How was that possible? Had the entire battle been for nought? That should be impossible.

    Suddenly Arrow God vanished, as did Lu Yin. Both of them had entered Evernight.

    The moment Arrow God had attacked the Abandoned, Lu Yin had pulled out Evernight, hiding the card in the void. He suspected that Arrow God was not trulypletely unharmed from their earlier fight, and he intended to finish her off within Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension.

    The two disappeared, and Evernight floated in the air. The Abandoned and Ye Wu exchanged nces, both of them hesitating over whether they should enter.

    Inside Supreme, Emperor Shang was ncing all around the Scourge. All the battles he had taken part in recently had been more dangerous than anything the Infinity Empire had faced throughout the countless years before. They had truly entered the center of thergest conflict in the megaverse. If the Infinity Empire had discovered Aeternus before the Fifth Maind, all of their people would have already be corpse kings.

    The thought made the man shiver.

 Chapter 3204: Not A Person

    <h4>Chapter 3204: Not A Person</h4>

    Above the ck Mother Tree, True God remained as calm as ever.

    Could it really be that easy to kill Arrow God? No, it was extremely difficult.

    There were several other members of the Three Pirs and Six Skies who were much easier to kill than Arrow God. She had been born in a universe known as the Li Universe, and that ce had had a very peculiar feature; its people¡¯s innate gift.

    Not everyone in the Li Universe received the innate gift, but it would asionally awaken in certain individuals.

    The innate gift was called Li, just like the universe. It was a rather simple innate gift, as it let all who awakened to cover themselves in a shell once their cultivation reached a certain level. This shell would be a body exactly like their own, but without any consciousness. The shell could not be sent away from the body or serve as a clone. The sole purpose of the shell was to serve as a substitute for the true body, in the case of death.

    Anyone who awakened the Li innate gift would be extremely difficult to kill, because it was impossible for their opponents to know just how many shellyers the person might have.

    These shells were invisible to others, but when the person suffered a fatal attack, their shell would take the damage instead of the true body. Only after all the shells were destroyed could the true body finally die.

    True God had discovered the Li Universe by chance, and he had visited it personally. He had happened to encounter Arrow God, who had awakened the Li innate gift. In order to consolidate his power, the ruler of the universe would gather anyone who awakened the universe¡¯s innate gift, kill their parents and all their loved ones, and then ensure that the person lost all of their memories of those people. That way, their loyalty would remain solely with the ruler of the universe.

    Since the Li innate gift could only awaken at a young age, before a person¡¯s memories were fully formed, there were no risks to the ruler¡¯s actions.

    In fact, this method had allowed that person to continue ruling over the Li Universe for countless years.

    However, True God''s intervention had introduced a change. He had secretly enabled Arrow God to witness her family¡¯s executions, and he had also allowed her to clearly retain the memories. However, True God had not stopped Arrow God from being taken by the ruler of her universe and trained. The ruler had believed Arrow God to bepletely loyal, and he had spared no effort in training her.

    More than five people in the Li Universe had awakened the universe¡¯s innate gift during that era. In order to ensure that the strongest of them rose up, the ruler of the universe had forced the five of them to kill each other. Ultimately, Arrow God alone had survived. Unexpectedly, she then turned against the ruler and wiped out his entire family line. It was at that moment that True God had appeared and taken the woman to Aeternus.

    How could a person with the Li innate gift be killed? Not even True God himself knew how many shells Arrow God had. Three? Five? Ten? Even more?

    Inside Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension, Lu Yin and Arrow God were engaged in a fierce battle. He used Infinity to stop the woman¡¯s Chaotic Arrows, Dark Pce to burn her, and hisndmass to crush her. Arrow God was constantly at a disadvantage, especially with Dark Pce, which was the Primeval card¡¯s ability that was as powerful as an Ortuser. On top of that, it was impossible to ess sequence particles in Evernight, which meant that Arrow God was constantly being overpowered by Lu Yin.

    She even ended up exhausting her divine energy. There were ces where the dark energy exposed her pale skin, which Lu Yin found rather dazzling.

    The woman was beautiful, but she also radiated a cold bloodlust. It was impossible to resist such a wildness, as it begged to be conquered.

    Furthermore, Arrow God had no intention of covering herself, and she fought against Lu Yin naked, offering him a clear view.

    He could not help getting distracted. Frustrated, he opened up a bit of distance and tried to overpower Arrow God with hisndmass, using the Wordless Heavenly Book to grant thend vitality while also using the Dark Pce. With this, he managed to kill Arrow God again.

    As he looked at Arrow God drifting in Evernight¡¯s space with blood leaking from her skin and her lifeless body looking like a sleeping beauty, Lu Yin did not lower his guard at all. What¡¯s more, he even attacked again. The next moment, the woman¡¯s skin tore apart, and another figure emerged. She was still as stunningly beautiful as ever, with the same pale skin. There was yet another Arrow God.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. This was an innate gift. It could not be anything else, but the question remained. Just how many times could this woman resurrect herself?

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength meant that working with others to kill Shaman God, Undying God, or even Corpse God would not be too difficult. On the other hand, he felt nervous while fighting against Arrow God, as there was a feeling that it was impossible to kill her.

    Arrow God stared at Lu Yin with a frigid expression. ¡°Have you seen enough yet?¡±

    Lu Yin had been contemting how to kill the woman, so he had been staring intently at Arrow God, who still had not put on any clothes.

    ¡°Your innate gift is quite odd.¡±

    Arrow God¡¯s expression remained cold. ¡°You can upy the Fifth Scourge. I won¡¯t stop you. However, you are not allowed to enter the pce.¡±

    Lu Yin pressed, ¡°Just what exactly is your innate gift?

    ¡°Also, please put on some clothes.¡±

    Arrow God continued to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°My innate gift allows me to revive myself dozens of times. You can¡¯t kill me.¡±

    Lu Yin remained unfazed. ¡°Dozens of times? Then I guess I¡¯ll have to kill you dozens of times.¡±

    Arrows appeared around Arrow God, concealing her as though they were clothes. ¡°I can leave this card¡¯s space.¡±

    Lu Yin retorted, ¡°But you can¡¯t escape the Fifth Scourge.¡±

    ¡°That pce is the imperial pce of the Li Universe. I keep it because of my hatred. Everything in that room was made for me by my parents. It¡¯s a room from my memories, which allows me to feel my parents¡¯ lingering presence. It holds no value for you,¡± Arrow God slowly exined.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯ve kept the symbol of your love for your parents inside your hatred for your enemies?¡±

    Arrow God never looked away from Lu Yin. ¡°I¡¯ll share something important with you, but I have a condition.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go.¡±

    ¡°Whether I live or die is for me to decide. My condition is that you don¡¯t enter that room,¡± Arrow God stated.

    Lu Yin had already scanned the room but found nothing of any value. It really was just a little girl¡¯s room. It held absolutely no value for Lu Yin, but it served as a spiritual refuge for Arrow God. ¡°Tell me.¡±

    ¡°Do you agree to my condition?¡± Arrow God demanded.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Sure.¡±

    Arrow God stated, ¡°Progenitor Xi is not a person.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°What does that even mean?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said what I need to. I won¡¯t betray Aeternus, but Progenitor Xi doesn¡¯t belong to Aeternus. I won¡¯t say anything more, and whether or not you understand is up to you.¡±

    With that, she tore the void open with a sh of an arrow and left Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension, reappearing in the Scourge.

    The moment that Arrow God reappeared, Ye Wu and the Abandoned simultaneously attacked. However, she had no intention of fighting against the two men. A wave of her hand caused countless arrows to pierce the void, and they spread out without any end in sight.

    Lu Yin emerged from Evernight as well, and he threw a punch. Arrow God was surrounded by her sequence particles, and the Law of Disarray dispersed the power of Lu Yin¡¯s punch. Hisndmass instantly reappeared, and it dropped down upon her.

    Arrow God allowed thendmass to press down, and she even allowed Supreme¡¯s sword to sh at her. Attacks from the Abandoned and Ye Wu seemed to not even be noticed, as Arrow God simply endured each attackunched at her as she forced her way through a spatial tear.

    It was hard to pin down anyone at the level of the Seven Skygods when they were willing to risk death to escape.

    Arrow God could revive, which meant that she was not afraid of death. Such a person was the most challenging to kill.

    ¡°She should be dead now, right?¡± The Abandoned looked at Lu Yin.

    The injuries that Arrow God had suffered as she fled should have been enough to kill her.

    However, they had seen her die earlier in the battle, only to resurrect and bepletely unharmed. It was bizarre.

    Lu Yin frowned. Did the woman really need to be killed dozens of times? Arrow God was quite the tricky opponent. In the future, it might be best to leave her to Sovereign Dou Sheng.

    Lu Yin turned around. He nced at the pce, but while his eyes shed, his attention instead turned to the ck Mother Tree, which he started approaching.

    He continued searching for a way to get beneath the tree.

    As for the pce, he had no intention of revisiting it. It was of no importance whatsoever.

    It might be possible to use the pink room to lure Arrow God back, but doing so might also antagonize her and prompt her to start ughtering humans. It was not worth the risk.

    Besides, Lu Yin considered himself to be a man of his word.

    The most frustrated person was the Abandoned. He had dreamed of killing Arrow God, but such a perfect opportunity had slipped away. After seeing the woman resurrect from the dead, the Abandoned had realized that he had absolutely no hope of killing Arrow God on his own.

    Only by continuing to work with the Heavens Sect could he hope to have a chance of killing Arrow God.

    Any resentment the man had harbored towards Lu Yin for forcing him to join the Heavens Sect hadpletely vanished.

    This was the way of things for cultivators. The Abandon¡¯s civilization had simrly forced others to follow them, so the man regarded Lu Yin¡¯s actions as only natural. It was simply the way of the world for cultivators.

    Lu Yin stood outside the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. He was disappointed that the Fifth Scourge also did not have a path that led beneath the ck Mother Tree.

    ¡°What do you keeping here for?¡± the Great Sovereign asked.

    Lu Yin replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯m searching for a way to destroy this ck Mother Tree.¡±

    The Great Sovereign was taken aback, as she had not expected Lu Yin to have such a goal.

    True God overheard Lu Yin¡¯s statement from the top of the ck Mother Tree. Finally, Lu Yin¡¯s actions had an exnation.

    Aeternus wanted to destroy the Origin Universe¡¯s Mother Tree, and apparently, Lu Yin wanted to destroy the ck Mother Tree.

    Lu Yin was curious about something. ¡°Just what is the connection between the ck Mother Tree and the Mother Tree?¡±

    The Great Sovereign replied, ¡°The Mother Tree has been around since ancient times, but for anything regarding the ck Mother Tree, you¡¯ll have to ask Yong Heng.¡±

    There was no way that Lu Yin would ask, and there was also no chance of True God answering.

    All that Lu Yin knew for certain was that the six Scourges were different from the Origin Universe¡¯s six Mainds. Those six Mainds had been a part of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s power, and they could have even been regarded as his weapons. On the other hand, the six Scourges had been created by Aeternus as a counterpart to the Heavens Sect and the Origin Universe. However, the ck Mother Tree was not that simple. The tree could not simply have grown on its own.

    It was possible that Sapling might one day reach the same size as the Mother Tree, but how had the ck Mother Treee about?

    After studying the tree for a while, Lu Yin finally left. His next goal was the Fourth Scourge.

    As he made his way to his destination, he mulled over Arrow God¡¯s words. ¡®Progenitor Xi is not just a person.¡¯ What did that even mean? Did it mean that she was not human, or that she was not a single individual? Either interpretation seemed possible.

    If she was not human, then it implied that Progenitor Xi was some other species.

    If she was not a single individual, then it meant that she either had additional powerful allies, or-

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered what he had seen on the day the Lu family had been exiled.

    Bai Xian''er hadid on a bed, and several figures had emerged from her body, including Professor Wei. That scene had been etched into Lu Yin¡¯s memory.

    Could there be a connection?

    Not just one person... Bai Xian''er, Wei Nu, and Progenitor Xi?

    Lu Yin kept going over the possibilities as he entered the Fourth Scourge.

    The Fourth Scourge was essentially the weakest of the six Scourges. It had once had Kong Ji, but after Lu Yin killed him, this Scourge had lost all its true powerhouses. None of the Fourth Scourge¡¯s representatives had passed even the first round of the Divine Selection, and Ye Wu had been capable of challenging the entire Fourth Scourge on his own.

    It was overseen by ckless God.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3205: Fate

    <h4>Chapter 3205: Fate</h4>

    Ye Wu arrived in the Fourth Scourge without issue, entering ahead of The Abandoned and Supreme.

    As the three experts made their way across thend, all the Fourth Scourge¡¯s powerful experts fled.

    Lu Yin made a point to check a certain area, and he noted that Wei Shu had also fled. The only things that remained in the Scourge were the distant Aeternus Kingdoms.

    They were in no hurry to deal with those ces. Even if the Aeternus Kingdoms were dealt with at the moment, they would always reappear as long as Aeternus remained. Lu Yin only intended to destroy the kingdoms afterpletely eradicating Aeternus, but that would be its own monumental task.

    Many people had been born in Aeternus Kingdoms, and they naturally considered themselves a part of Aeternus. Only by scattering those people and re-educating them could there be any hope of rehabilitating them back into human civilization.

    It was a task no less challenging than defeating Aeternus.

    Step by step, Lu Yin made his way towards the ck Mother Tree. He eventually arrived at the ck mountains that were ckless God¡¯s personal territory, only to be disappointed by the results. Once again, there was no ess to the ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots.

    This was not because the Aeternals had sealed off all paths to the tree¡¯s roots. Rather, the tree had simply grown in a way that did not allow anyone to reach beneath it.

    Lu Yin had considered simply attacking the tree itself, but the ck Mother Tree was nearly as tough as the original Mother Tree. Aeternus could not easily destroy the Mother Tree, and Lu Yin did not have time to waste on destroying the ck Mother Tree. Besides, he could not allow Aeternus to learn his true purpose, or else they might move the Primaldust. Then, Lu Yin would never be able to get it.

    Next up was the Third Scourge.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived in the Third Scourge, Di Qiong looked over from the First Scourge. Wu Tian was still in the Third Scourge. If the man wanted to leave, he could do so at any moment. Di Qiong was curious to see if Wu Tian would leave with Lu Yin or not.

    If Lu Yin took over the Third Scourge and Wu Tian still refused to leave, it would indicate that there was a significant issue.

    Lu Yin was quite familiar with the Third Scourge. It held the Corpse King Monument, the Wu Tian Observatory, and the tower where Lu Yin had lived as Ye Bo.

    While passing by the tower that he had once owned, Lu Yin did not so much as nce at it as he continued straight for the Wu Tian Observatory.

    Various Aeternus Kingdoms surrounded the Wu Tian Observatory. As Lu Yin passed through, people everywhere stared at him with fear and anxiety.

    These people, having been born in Aeternus Kingdoms, saw Lu Yin as an enemy. He could not me them, as they had been born in this ce, and to them, corpse kings were more familiar than Lu Yin.

    Someone threw a rock, but it was crushed before it could even get close to Lu Yin.

    He stopped walking and turned to look at the person who had thrown the rock.

    It was a young man, who was crouched behind a window. It was clear that he lived quite well, but he looked at Lu Yin with eyes that were full of hatred and disgust.

    Lu Yin saw simr expressions everywhere.

    He did not say a word as he continued walking toward the Wu Tian Observatory.

    When people saw that nothing had happened to the young man who had thrown the stone at Lu Yin, many others also picked up stones to throw. Of course, none of them were able to even get close to Lu Yin before they were shattered.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin stopped and raised his hand. He then flicked a finger in a specific direction, sending out ripples of force that swept through half of the Aeternus Kingdom beforepletely destroying a certain section of the city. In that ce, not a single de of grass remained.

    Lu Yin¡¯s actions stunned everyone who saw them, and they all fled in terror. No one dared to show their faces to Lu Yin after that.

    That section of the city had been full of corpse kings.

    Aeternus Kingdoms were ces where corpse kings and humans coexisted. While having humans throw stones at him was one thing, as the people believed that they were part of Aeternus, how could Lu Yin tolerate it when corpse kings secretly attacked him as well?

    After eliminating all the corpse kings in this Aeternus Kingdom, Lu Yin walked over to the Wu Tian Observatory.

    The man was still there, chained in ce.

    As Lu Yin approached, Wu Tian opened his eyes and met his gaze.

    Lu Yin slowly bowed. ¡°Senior, thank you.¡±

    Wu Tian had shared his memories of martial arts with Lu Yin, which had allowed the young man toprehend Setting Sun and then visit the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield as Ye Bo. During that time, Lu Yin had seen the truth of the Immemorial Citadel.

    Wu Tian was also thankful. "It''s been many years since someone as exceptional as you has appeared. Even if you were born in our era, none of us would be able to keep up with you. Child, you are truly excellent, unlike Loam¡¯s other descendants."

    Lu Yin stared at Wu Tian. "Senior, you can leave now."

    Wu Tian shook his head. "I¡¯m sorry, but I can''t."

    Lu Yin felt quite puzzled. "Why not?"

    The Heavens Sect had once staged an entire attack to create an opening for Wu Tian to escape, but the man had refused to leave. This was much like how Lu Yin hadunched a fake attack on the First Scourge to give Hui Wu a chance to escape, but that man had also refused.

    Neither of the men had ever nned on leaving Aeternus alive.

    Lu Yin was unaware of Hui Wu¡¯s purpose, but the fact that he had stayed in the scourge had indeed helped humanity immensely. Hui Wu had dragged Shao Yin to the ck Mother Tree, which was the only reason why the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm had been able to activate. The Aeternals were not stupid, and even Shao Yin himself had noticed that Lu Yin¡¯s senior brothers had been trying to force him closer to the ck Mother Tree.

    Hui Wu was also the one who had informed Lu Yin of where Aeternus kept their Primaldust.

    If those were the reasons for Hui Wu to remain in the Scourge, then what of Wu Tian? Why did he insist on remaining in the Third Scourge?

    Wu Tian let out a long breath. "Fate. Everything is fate."

    Lu Yin was confused. "What is fate?"

    "The true end leads to evil. That is fate. My presence here prevents humanity from suffering that fate," the man stated as he stared at Lu Yin. "Remember, you can¡¯t be impulsive. The fire of humanity is unquenchable. Defeat is possible, but extinction is not. You can flee, as you can always fight again. Child, you must survive. Do whatever it takes in order to survive."

    Lu Yin walked through the Wu Tian Observatory until he stood right in front of Wu Tian. "Senior, just what is going on?"

    Wu Tian sighed. "If I tell you, then that fate will target you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth opened, but he really had no idea what to say.

    There were still certain things that he could not know, just because of his inadequate cultivation. As a Semi-Progenitor, he apparently possessed the strength to fight against opponents at the level of the Seven Skygods. But were the Seven Skygods really that strong? Not all of them were equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos, but of the Three Realms and Six Daos, only Ancient God and Ancestor Lu Yuan had managed to reach the Origin realm. Beyond them still were Dukkhans, and above even them were Immortals.

    True God had repeatedly imed that it was impossible to achieve Immortality in the current megaverse.

    After killing Tian Fa, the blood-colored figure that had appeared was still vivid in Lu Yin¡¯s memory.

    He was still too weak. Comparatively, he was pathetically weak.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. He needed to be a Progenitor. No matter what it took, he needed to reach that level. Not all of his four inner worlds needed to break through at the same time.

    Bing a Progenitor,prehending thews of the universe, and then bing a Sequence Progenitor was just one stage. After that, Lu Yin still needed to be an Ortuser. Only after reaching that level could he learn about everything.

    He had once believed that his path was filled with suffering. At one point in time, even just dealing with the Daynight n had forced Lu Yin to use everything at his disposal. However, even after uniting multiple parallel universes after the Lu family¡¯s return, Lu Yin found that his path was still filled with suffering; there seemed to be no end in sight.

    Wu Tian''s words were quite pessimistic. Even if Lu Yin seeded in conquering multiple Scourges, Wu Tian still believed that humanity would ultimately be defeated and forced to flee. Was it really just because of some supposed fate?

    "Senior, I don''t believe in fate¡ªI believe in myself. What level do you think I need to reach for me to be able to bear this fate?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Tian stared at Lu Yin intently for a long moment. "How is Master?"

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin''s body. He did not answer. Instead, he turned around and walked back towards the ck Mother Tree.

    Wu Tian had not answered Lu Yin, and yet the man had also given the best answer; not even the Origin Progenitor could bear the fate, and he was suffering because of it.

    There had to be a connection to the Boundary Guardians.

    Lu Yin felt suffocated and suppressed. It felt as though he could not breathe. Despite having gained a tremendous advantage over Aeternus in their war, the sudden appearance of the Boundary Guardians had thrown everything into question. Had the Origin Progenitor really been attacked and injured by the Boundary Guardians? Lu Yin desperately wanted to return to the Immemorial Citadel and ask these questions, regardless of whether it was to the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu. Lu Yin felt desperate to learn just how deep the mysteries of the megaverse really ran.

    Wu Tian silently stared at Lu Yin¡¯s departing figure for a long time.

    In the First Scourge, Di Qiong shot to his feet, his expression dark and brooding. Wu Tian had not left. He had not left even when no one was in the Third Scourge. <i>Damn it!</i>

    Di Qiong felt as though he had been yed. All along, he had believed himself to be Wu Tian¡¯s captor, but it was bing clear that Wu Tian had trapped him.

    Just what was going through that man¡¯s mind?

    Di Qiong suddenly looked over at Ancient God, and he quietly asked, "Why didn¡¯t Wu Tian leave?"

    Ancient God¡¯s eyes opened as he replied, "I already told you, I don¡¯t know."

    "Something is wrong with Wu Tian. I will make sure to kill him!" Di Qiong''s voice dripped with bloodlust. He felt humiliated. It seemed that he had been toyed with for a very long time.

    No one said anything at all in response. Kill Wu Tian? If that were possible, Di Qiong would have done so long before.

    The fact that Wu Tian still refused to leave the Third Scourge cast a shadow not only on Di Qiong, but over all the Aeternals.

    The Third Scourge also did not have any path to the ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots.

    Lu Yin stood outside the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. He simply observed for a while before turning around and leaving.

    Suddenly, he recalled something: stellr liquid could be extracted from the Mother Tree, and it could greatly elerate the cultivation of anyone who cultivated with stellr energy. But how did it work exactly? Hongyan Mavis and a few others had previously mentioned that the Mother Tree was possibly the oldest life form in the entire megaverse and that it was most likely older than even the Origin Progenitor. If that was true, then why could stellr liquid be extracted from the Mother Tree?

    Stellr energy was supposed to be the Origin Progenitor¡¯s power. This meant that the Mother Tree should have appeared after the Origin Progenitor developed stellr energy, but the facts did not seem to support that timeline.

    Did this mean that the Mother Tree could grow and adapt to changes in the universe? For example, the Origin Universe had been transformed by the Origin Progenitor, and it had gained stellr energy after the Origin Progenitor had established a cultivation method for all of humanity. Could that transformation have caused the Mother Tree to use stellr energy as its nourishment? And eventually, the tree came to possess stellr liquid within its trunk.

    If the Mother Tree held stellr liquid, then what about the ck Mother Tree?

    The ck Mother Tree rivaled the Mother Tree, so did it also hold the power to alter the universe that it was in? Could it be that the streams of divine energy were not only traveling outside of the ck Mother Tree and across the Scourges, but also within the tree itself?

    If too much stellr liquid was drained from the Mother Tree, then the tree would be harmed. Did the same apply to divine energy and the ck Mother Tree?

    Lu Yin suddenly stopped and looked back as he made his way across the Scourge. He stared at the ck Mother Tree. What would happen if he absorbed all the divine energy that flowed across the six Scourges? What would happen to the ck Mother Tree? For that matter, what would happen to Yong Heng?

    This question caused a zing desire to ignite within Lu Yin''s eyes. He wanted to try, and he was even capable of doing so. However, what of Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, and countless people throughout the Sixverse Association? How would Lu Yin exin his actions? If it became known that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy, it would be a massive blow to both him and to the Heavens Sect.

    Unless no one knew that Lu Yin was the one absorbing the divine energy...

    Ye Bo.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He could still use his identity as Ye Bo. Should that man make a reappearance? What about Mu Ji? How would things be exined to Aeternus?

    Lost in his thoughts, Lu Yin made his way towards the Second Scourge.

    Ye Bo still had not been exposed as Lu Yin, which suggested that Mu Ji had kept that secret to himself. If not, that news would have been spread far and wide.

    And as far as the Aeternals were concerned, Ye Bo was already dead. After participating in the Divine Selection and being sent to the Immemorial Citadel, Ye Bo had never been seen again. If he suddenly returned, what would their reaction be? What could the story for his absence be?

 Chapter 3206: Tian Ci

    <h4>Chapter 3206: Tian Ci</h4>

    Lu Yin soon arrived in the Second Scourge.

    Ever since Xu Jin was killed, the Second Scourge had been semi-abandoned by the Aeternals.

    As soon as Lu Yin arrived in the Second Scourge, it could essentially be considered part of the Heavens Sect¡¯s territory. Xu Jin was dead, but Lan Lan should still be somewhere in the Scourge.

    However, as Lu Yin looked around, he found that the Second Scourge seemed quite empty. In fact, aside from the Aeternus Kingdoms, he did not find even a single reasonably powerful corpse king anywhere in the Scourge. All the strong ones had already been moved to the First Scourge.

    Lu Yin had traveled from the Sixth Scourge all the way to the Second Scourge, essentially circumnavigating the ck Mother Tree. Saying that he wanted to destroy the ck Mother Tree was a good excuse.

    He slowly moved as close to the ck Mother Tree as possible from the Second Scourge, which was directly beneath where Xu Jin''s dark clouds had once hung. Lu Yin looked down at the ground and spread out his domain to carefully explore the Scourge.

    Before long, his eyes lit up. He had found something.

    The ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots were extremely tight-knit, which was unlike the Perennial World¡¯s Mother Tree that had the Lower Realm. In contrast, none of the Scourges had anything simr to the Lower Realm. There was nothing but an endless stretch of dark roots.

    In all the other Scourges that Lu Yin had explored, it was impossible to see through the dark roots, but he had found a gap in the Second Scourge.

    The Second Scourge was the closest to the First Scourge, which most likely had a path that led directly to the ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots. That path had most likely created a small gap in the Second Scourge.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to move down, he spun around. Far away, a figure slowly stepped out of a distortion in the void.

    Ye Wu and the Abandoned instantly appeared, and they both stared at the figure.

    It was a young man. He was handsome, if slightly effeminate. He had a somber expression, though there was a hint of a smile on his lips. It looked as though there was a subtle smirk just barely revealed as he started to walk towards Lu Yin.

    The man¡¯s arrival caused Lu Yin and the others to instantly raise their guards, as they felt danger from this man.

    Lu Yin stared at the stranger. Years ofbat had honed his instincts, and they screamed at him that this man was very dangerous, despite his apparent youth.

    The young man slowly walked towards Lu Yin,pletely ignoring both Ye Wu and the Abandoned, who stood in the man¡¯s path.

    A step saw him brush past both of the men.

    At that moment, a massive sword stabbed down into the ground in front of the man, as Supreme was trying to block the man¡¯s path. The enormous mecha towered high in the Second Scourge as Shang Huang made himself an obstacle.

    The young man looked up at Supreme. "It¡¯s an interesting toy, but I don''t like being stopped. You have one chance. Back off."

    Inside of Supreme, Shang Huang stared intently at the young man. What an arrogant tone! In the past, the emperor might not have cared, but he had changed after the Infinity Empire had participated in the various battles between the Heavens Sect and Aeternus. Shang Huang understood that there were some utterly terrifying people with very unassuming appearances.

    He had already encountered more than ten powerhouses who could threaten Supreme, and already, the emperor felt nervous about this young man. That was why he had instinctively blocked the man¡¯s path with Supreme¡¯s sword.

    The emperor looked back at Lu Yin, who waved a hand.

    Shang Huang sighed in relief and drew his sword from the ground. Even so, his eyes remained fixed on the young man.

    The man showed a faint smile as he looked over at Lu Yin. "It¡¯s nice to meet you. My name is Tian Ci."

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed in surprise. "You¡¯re human?"

    Tian Ci''s smile widened. "That¡¯s right, human."

    "One of the Boundary Guardians?"

    "Correct again."

    Lu Yin had not expected to learn that one of the Boundary Guardians was actually a human.

    "You are Lu Yin. Dao Monarch Lu, correct?" Tian Ci scrutinized Lu Yin as he spoke.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s gaze. "You''re not from our megaverse."

    Tian Ci nodded. "That¡¯s right, I''m not."

    The oldest powerhouse in the megaverse was the Origin Progenitor. He had taught the Three Realms and Six Daos, but none of them had broken into the Origin Realm, until Ancient God and Ancestor Lu Yuan had seeded, which was very, very recent. Given the fact that Tian Ci was a Boundary Guardian, he had to be an Ortuser. If he were also from the known megaverse, then Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others would undoubtedly know of Tian Ci.

    For an unknown human to be an Ortuser, there was only one exnation: he was not from their megaverse.

    Lu Yin chuckled. "How interesting. The great Boundary Guardians who are so determined to drive out all foreigners from our megaverse aren¡¯t all from this ce yourselves. In that case, may I ask, who will drive you out?"

    Tian Ci remained unruffled. "I¡¯ve lived in this ce for so long that I might as well be considered a native."

    "Then what about the Lost n?" Lu Yin retorted. "They''ve lived here for a great deal of time as well. If you examine their situation, virtually their entire known history takes ce in this megaverse. How do you categorize them?"

    Tian Ci replied, "Dao Monarch Lu, there''s something that you may not have understood previously."

    He stared at Lu Yin and slowly stated, "The Boundary Guardians are governed by our own rules. These rules are like a circle. Once you step inside, you be bound by those rules. If you remain outside, you vite them. I am inside the circle, while everything in this entire megaverse, aside from the other Boundary Guardians, is outside of it."

    Lu Yinughed. "I see. Now I understand. You are much more straightforward than Tian En''s hypocritical nonsense."

    Tian Ci smiled. "Even if we are inside the circle, we still have to abide by the rules. So, tell me, how did Tian Fa die?"

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. "There seems to be something that you¡¯ve misunderstood as well."

    He stared at the other man. "I also have a circle. Those who follow me are within it, while all who oppose me are outside it."

    Tian Ci did not respond and simply continued to stare at Lu Yin. Lu Yin met the Ortuser¡¯s gaze without any fear. So what if the man was an Ortuser? It was not as if Lu Yin had not killed such a powerhouse before. He had already killed Tian Fa. The Boundary Guardians were governed by rules that they could not easily break. Despite Tian Ci''s arrogant attitude, if he attacked the Heavens Sect without just cause, there would be consequences that the Boundary Guardians could not bear.

    Tian En had dared to attack Progenitor Ku, but she had not dared to make any open moves against the Heavens Sect.

    Tian Fa had been toyed with for a very long time while he chased after Elder Shan Gu.

    Just because the restrictions that bound the Boundary Guardians were invisible did not mean that they did not exist.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you''re interesting. Very interesting," Tian Ci stated slowly.

    Lu Yin continued to face Tian Ci. "I think you''re interesting too. Would you mind answering a question for me?"

    Tian Ci replied, "Tell me."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes never left the man. "Who drew your circle for you?"

    Tian Ci''s expression suddenly grew cold. "There is nothing absolute in existence. When something reaches the limit, rules must be implemented to restrain it, or else things will result in self-destruction."

    "So are you saying that your circle was drawn by the Boundary Guardians themselves?"

    Tian Ci did not answer the question. "Dao Monarch Lu, I would like to ask you a question of my own."

    "Go ahead."

    Tian Ci''s gaze calmed back down. "Do you cherish all that you possess at this moment?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man for a moment before answering. "Of course I do."

    "If you cherish what you have, then don''t forsake it easily," Tian Ci stated.

    Lu Yin countered, "And what about you? Do you cherish your position as a Boundary Guardian? Or perhaps, do you cherish your own life?"

    Tian Ci smiled. "Of course I do. However, I''m also curious. Is there anyone bold enough to try to take my life?"

    "There might be," Lu Yin casuallymented. "Who can say what the future might hold?"

    Tian Ci shook his head. "Since that¡¯s possible, I''ll elerate things. I¡¯m not one to wait around.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, I''ll ask you onest time. How did Tian Fa die?"

    Lu Yin was unmoved by the question. "I have onest question of my own. Did youe to our megaverse on your own, or were you sent here with a specific agenda?"

    Tian Ci''s eyes suddenly red, and a dangerous glint flickered in their depths.

    Lu Yin had been thinking about this particr question the moment he had realized that Tian Ci was from another megaverse. That fact had led Lu Yin to one possible conclusion.

    Tian Ci was a human from another megaverse, so what was his own civilization¡¯s position towards Lu Yin¡¯s megaverse? Had they sent Tian Ci to facilitate peaceful coexistence and the exchange of ideas, or to invade and conquer them?

    If thetter was their goal, then everything made sense. It exined the Boundary Guardians attacking the Origin Progenitor, as well as them helping Aeternus to destroy the Heavens Sect. Everything would have been done to pave the way for another megaverse tounch an invasion. The Heavens Sect had been too powerful, so it had to be destroyed in order to make room for the invaders.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first thought. After all, he had been the one to unify the Outerverse, then the Innerverse, the entire Fifth Maind, and even the Sixverse Association. He was all too familiar with conflicts between natives and outsiders.

    In fact, Lu Yin could not think of even one other possible exnation for why the Boundary Guardians had attacked the Origin Progenitor. There were too many foreigners in the megaverse, and the Boundary Guardianscked the power to drive all of them away. Even their title as Boundary Guardians seemed, to Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, like nothing more than a convenient excuse to target humanity.

    Yes, it was nothing more than an excuse.

    Of course, this was also the absolute worst-case scenario. It was possible that the Boundary Guardians were telling the truth. They might truly have a duty to prevent foreigners from entering the megaverse and might have once seen the Origin Progenitor as a threat to humanity''s stability.

    Regardless of their true motivations, humanity waspletely opposed by the Boundary Guardians. The two were just as ipatible as humanity and Aeternus.

    War was inevitable.

    Tian Ci''s expression changed, causing his handsome features to grow even more delicate as a chill entered his voice. "It seems that Dao Monarch Lu has no intention of answering my question. In that case, we''ll drop the matter of Tian Fa''s death for the moment and will conduct a slow investigation. For now, I need to fulfill my duty as a Boundary Guardian."

    With that, he casually waved a hand, tearing through the void behind him. Through the rift, a city could be seen. However, the city was filled with mountains of corpses and rivers of blood that flowed through the streets. There were countless bodies strewn across the ground. Above it all, there was a woman suspended in the air. She had been dead for a long time.

    Lu Yin looked across the city, and his pupils shrank as a wave of killing intent exploded from him. He barely refrained from attacking Tian Ci.

    It was a city that had belonged to the Lost n.

    The Heavens Sect had hidden the Lost n by scattering their people across multiple universes. All so that Tian Fa could not find the entire Lost n and eliminate all their people.

    Lu Yin had expected the Boundary Guardians to find a few of the Lost n''s hiding ces, but he had never imagined that there would be such a massacre.

    Everyone in the city had been ughtered, and their blood had pooled together to form rivers. The woman hanging in the air was Shan Fangyi.

    Both Ye Wu and the Abandoned''s expressions fell. They had ughtered countless creatures throughout their lives, but scenes such as this were very rare. This city had been popted by a vast number of ordinary humans, as not all members of the Lost n had cultivated.

    Within Supreme, Shang Huang''s expression turned grim. While he had led wars and invasions, he had always done his best to provide stability for the people of his own Infinity Empire. What he saw made him twitch. This was far too cruel.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3207: Bearing The Consequences Alone

    A smile slowly spread across Tian Ci''s lips as he looked at Lu Yin. "Look at these people from another megaverse. They think that they can hide. It''s absurd, isn''t it? We are the Boundary Guardians, and we are too familiar with this megaverse. Hide? Where can they hide?"

    "Is this how you expel people?" Lu Yin''s killing intent subsided, and his expression became unnervingly calm.

    Tian Ci smiled at Lu Yin, though his eyes narrowed. "It didn''t have to be like this. The Lost n had so many people, so wiping all of them out wasn''t something we particrly desired. However, with Tian Fa dead, someone has to pay the price. Since it was the Lost n''s fault, we''ll kill all of them so that they can apany Tian Fa in death.

    "Humans always believe themselves to be clever, when they''re really just fools. While I am also human, I''m well aware of our species¡¯ weaknesses. Killing Tian Fa was your biggest mistake, and this is only the beginning of the consequences. Soon, you''ll see the second, third, and fourth hidden locations wiped out.

    ¡°Dao Monarch Lu, what are you going to do?"

    This was ckmail. Tian Ci was trying to force Lu Yin into attacking so that the Boundary Guardians would have a justified reason to destroy the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin did not respond, and he instead simply stared at Tian Ci. This man¡¯s death was already guaranteed, but how? As soon as Lu Yin did anything, both Tian En and Tian Feng would immediately appear. It would be very difficult for the Heavens Sect to fight against three Ortusers at the same time, and that was not even considering Aeternus, who was waiting in the wings. The final results were impossible to predict.

    Over the years, Lu Yin rarely started wars when he did not see at least a seventy percent chance of victory. He seldom took risks when it came torge-scale conflicts. Unfortunately, at this moment, he was being backed into a corner.

    Tian Ci sneered and waved his hand again, tearing the void open in another ce. Lu Yin''s expression changed, and he saw another city. This one was bustling with members of the Lost n. Many of them noticed Lu Yin, Tian Ci, and the Second Scourge through the spatial tear."This is the second one." Tian Ci''s voice rang across thend.

    Far away, at the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God closed his eyes. Humanity¡¯s greatest weakness was their emotional nature. If Yong Heng were ced in Lu Yin¡¯s position, the Lost n would be instantly abandoned to protect the Heavens Sect. After that, he would take his time and n slowly. The Heavens Sect had so many human powerhouses at the moment that they could handle any crisis, given enough time. In particr, when Lu Yin became a Progenitor, or when he reached an even higher level of cultivation, who in the entire megaverse would be his opponent?

    True God already knew that Lu Yin would not wait. That was human nature; they were driven by their emotions. They felt things so strongly that their feelings hindered progress and prevented people from making the right choices.

    Tian Ci was also human, and he was simply all too familiar with human nature.

    Slowly, one deliberate step at a time, Tian Ci walked towards the spatial tear. He was in no hurry, as he wanted to give Lu Yin time to struggle. The more that Lu Yin struggled, the more painful the results would be. If the Lost n was abandoned, then Lu Yin would lose the support of the Sixverse Association. His titles, such as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and leader of the Sixverse Association, would mean nothing. However, if Lu Yin refused to abandon the people, then it would be time for war. While the Heavens Sect had not yet returned to the same level of power that it had once enjoyed, they were getting close, and that could not be allowed.

    Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse had paid an unbelievable price to gain entry to this megaverse. How could they allow the Heavens Sect to rise up again?

    Tian Ci¡¯s civilization were the true masters of this megaverse¡¯s humanity.

    Far away, someone entered the destroyed city of the Lost n. They saw the sea of corpses and Shan Fangyi¡¯s corpse hanging in the sky. A heart-wrenching scream echoed out. "Xiao Fang-"

    It was Xu Wuji. He was one of the few individuals who had known of Shan Fangyi''s location. He had met her on several asions, as they had already gained the Lost n''s permission to be together.

    Xu Wuji had never expected hisst time seeing Shan Fangyi to be their final goodbye.

    He rushed towards her.

    Tian Ci frowned. "A mere ant wants to destroy my masterpiece?"

    With that, he waved a hand, and a st of wind sent Xu Wuji flying back.

    The man mmed into the ground, thrown by the wind. He spat out blood, but still red at Tian Ci with undimmed fury. "It was you? You bastard!"

    He unleashed his voidforce energy to release a fierce attack at Tian Ci.

    The man¡¯s expression turned cold. "You are seeking death."

    Suddenly, he turned around, only to see a card approaching him from behind.

    Tian Ci did not even move as he was sucked into that card.

    The card belonged to Shan Zheng, and Xu Wuji leaped into it.

    Lu Yin''s heart dropped. This was not good.

    Before his thoughts could process any further, the card cracked. Tian Ci emerged, holding both Shan Zheng and Xu Wuji by their heads. He looked over at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, here we have one person from the Lost n who deserves death, and one person from your Sixverse Association who dared tp attack me. Do you think I should kill them, or not?" £Ò??N???¦¥?

    Shan Zheng and Xu Wuji were both peak powerhouses, and Shan Zheng was even a sequence powerhouse. Even so, the two had been easily and instantly crushed by Tian Ci. The man¡¯s strength far surpassed them both, and it had been impossible for them to fight back.

    Shan Zheng''s card had already been shattered, and Xu Wuji''s head had an open fracture. Blood streamed down the man¡¯s forehead, and his consciousness was quickly fading. "Xiao Fang... Xiao¡­ Xiao Fang¡­"

    Tian Ci''s expression was extremely arrogant as he asked Lu Yin the question. The dignified Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect was at the mercy of another. Lu Yin had already be a figurehead for humanity in the megaverse, and shattering that figurehead would deal a second major blow to humanity.

    The Heavens Sect had been destroyed once before, and if it was destroyed a second time, there would be no chance for it to rise a third time.

    "Release them," Lu Yin quietly ordered. Only a few times in the past had he ever wanted to kill someone so badly. Previously, he had felt the same about Nightking Zhenwu, Shao Yin, and Wang Fan. Tian Ci had just made it onto that list.

    Tian Ci sneered. "Tell me, how did Tian Fa die?"

    Lu Yin clenched his fists.

    From the First Scourge, Di Qiong, Arrow God, and the others were able to see what was happening. The First and Second Scourges were adjacent, and without the interference of divine energy, there was no problem for them to see what was happening in the other Scourge.

    The Boundary Guardians were existences that not even the Three Pirs and Six Skies fully understood. Were all of them Ortusers?

    Ancient God watched on calmly. The Boundary Guardians¡¯ appearance marked the beginning of the third Divine Commandment.

    Wang Xiaoyu dropped her eyes to look at ake of divine energy.

    In the depths of thatke, Hui Wu looked up. He seemed to meet the woman¡¯s gaze.

    Within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, the Great Sovereign frowned.

    In the Second Scourge, Lu Yin slowly rxed his hands. "Do you understand me?"

    Tian Ci sounded as though he admired Lu Yin. "Of course, I understand you. I have to admit, you are truly extraordinary, standing out from all the other humans in this megaverse."

    Lu Yin stared at Tian Ci, and slowly asked, "I meant, do you understand my personality?"

    Tian Ci raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice turned cial. "Whoever I want dead, never survives. Not. One."

    "Are you threatening me?" Tian Ci mocked. He was an Ortuser, as well as a Boundary Guardian.

    Before Lu Yin could reply, light spread across the Scourge, and Tian En appeared. "Tian Ci, what are you doing?"

    Tian Ci''s expression remained unchanged. "Carrying out my duty."

    "Stop. Our duty is to expel creatures which do not belong to this megaverse, not to wage war on humanity," Tian En stated softly.

    Tian Ci scoffed. "Wage war? What qualifies them to wage war with us? Lu Yuan?"

    "Tian Ci-"

    "Tian En, do you believe that humanity can still be saved?" Tian Ci interrupted before Tian En could finish speaking.

    The butterfly''s wings fluttered. "What do you mean?"

    Tian Ci spat, "Human nature never changes. In the past, Tai Chu grew arrogant and reckless. He allowed the astral beasts to be enved and ignored us. He got what he deserved! We should have reshaped that era, but instead, we hesitated. That allowed the Origin Universe to catch its breath. Now look at what the Heavens Sect has be.

    "They take in creatures from other megaverses, disrespect us, and have made a mockery of Tian Fa, even causing his death. All of this is on humanity.

    "They have a vile nature and resist enlightenment. They are arrogant! If things are allowed to continue, they will destroy this entire megaverse. I don''t want to see another Tai Chu appear.

    "You''re too kind, and you don''t realize that humans will only take advantage of your kindness. Ask Dao Monarch Lu here if he cares about you. Has he ever understood your kindness?"

    "Exactly." A short distance away, an oval-shaped stone appeared. This was thest of the Boundary Guardians, a being named Tian Feng. They served as heaven¡¯s seal.

    Tian Feng agreed with Tian Ci. "Human¡¯s have a vile nature. I''ve always wanted to seal all the humans of this megaverse away, trapping them forever as punishment, but I''ve never had the opportunity. Tian Ci, this is the time."

    Tian En sighed. "Isn''t that too cruel?"

    Tian Ci snapped back, "If you think that¡¯s cruel, then just stay out of it! Look at how many wars the humans of this megaverse have started. What do you think, Yong Heng?"

    From very far away, True God¡¯s answer came from atop the ck Mother Tree. "Humans cannot be subdued."

    Tian Feng sneered. "Exactly. They cannot be tamed."

    Tian Ci turned back to Tian En. "The two of us can handle this, fulfilling our duty as Boundary Guardians. You can resume your own duty and stay put."

    "Enough with the noise." A soft voice filled the air.

    Tian Ci and everyone else turned towards the voice. It came from the bottom of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, which was where the Great Sovereign sat.

    She slowly turned around so that she could look at the Second Scourge, and her eyes fell upon Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, what are you waiting for? Is it that, the more you obtain, the more you''re afraid to lose? Or have you already grown fearful? You intend to simply allow these few fools to shout? They¡¯re nothing more than beasts."

    Tian Ci red at the Great Sovereign. "Tai Hong, your nature is even worse than the rest of your kind. Such disrespectful words will not lead you to a good end."

    Tian Feng also threatened the woman. "I wanted to seal her long ago. If not for the fact that Tai Chu''s disciple identally ran into her, she would not have survived this long. Still, that doesn''t matter. That disciple died in her stead, which was punishment enough."

    Tian En sighed. "Humans may resist enlightenment and have vile natures, but they are still a species that belongs to this megaverse. Let''s try to leave some of them alive."

    From what was being said, it sounded like, regardless of whether Yin tried to save the Lost n, the Boundary Guardians would eventually take action against the Heavens Sect.

    Tian Ci had run out of patience. Even if Lu Yin decided to abandon the Lost n, the man still intended to attack the Heavens Sect andpletely erase all traces of human legacy from the megaverse.

    Lu Yin looked up and let out a long breath. "You crazy woman, since when were you able to tell me what to do?"

    The Great Sovereign snorted coldly.

    "While these beasts might be noisy, they do have a point. Is human nature so vile?" Lu Yin dropped his head and grinned. "It¡¯s true, it''s quite nasty. If you have the ability, thene and take care of it!

    "If the heavens won''t destroy me, then I''ll destroy the heavens! Hear me, Heavens Sect! As your Dao Monarch, I order the Boundary Guardians to be killed! All resulting karma and all consequences of this will be borne by me, Lu Yin, alone!

    "Let''s show them how our vile species sharpens our fangs and tears all of our enemies apart!"<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3208: Garan Zhiluo And Wu Tian

    As soon as Lu Yin finished speaking, a golden light appeared, and a Champions¡¯ Stage rose up from underground to m into Tian Ci.

    The man instinctively squeezed, trying to crush Shan Zheng and Xu Wuji¡¯s skulls, but Lu Yin had already arrived with Inverse Step. Lightstream appeared in the form of a small boat, and it sailed through space to reverse time by one second. The Champions¡¯ stage forced Tian Ci back, and Shan Zheng and Xu Wuji were both saved. While they had managed to survive, they were both unconscious.

    Lu Yuan stepped out on the golden light. "That¡¯s right, I''m that vile. What of it? We¡¯re just facing a few beasts."

    Hongyan Mavis, Sovereign Dou Sheng, Lu Tianyi, and the Heavens Sect¡¯s other experts all appeared one after another.

    As they revealed themselves, True God ordered, "Aeternals, assist the Boundary Guardians. Kill them all."

    Ancient God was the first to step forward, already throwing a punch at Lu Yuan. The Skygod was singling out Lu Yuan, who was simrly focused on Ancient God. "Musclehead, let''s fight to the death!"

    "Loam, you''re no match for me."

    "Bah, still as shameless as ever."

    Arrow God loosed an arrow, and Sovereign Dou Sheng swung his golden cudgel to block it. The two instantly became locked inbat. Only the Sovereign could keep Arrow God upied. If she were allowed to attack freely, she would end up controlling the entire battlefield.Forgotten Ruins God let out a flirty littleugh as she released her Forgotten Ruins. She was targeting Lu Yin. "Little Lu Yin, will you y with big sister?"

    Lu Yin did not move, but a surge of immeasurable voidforce energy shot forward forth. "Forgotten Ruins God, right? I¡¯ll be your opponent."

    The woman pouted. "Old man, this big sister doesn''t like you."

    In an instant, battle erupted between the Heavens Sect and the Aeternals. Once again, they were fighting in the Second Scourge. This was where Aeternus had previously lost Xu Jin, and there was no telling how many powerhouses would meet their ends in the Second Scourge during this battle.

    Tian Ci was staring at Lu Yin. "Have you realized it? Even if you don''t save the Lost n, humanity is still doomed. Your master, that old geezer Mu, is also from another megaverse."

    Lu Yin stared at Tian Ci. "I promise that you will die a horrible death."

    "Before that, I''ll make sure that you¡¯re dead." Tian Ci moved to attack Lu Yin. As an Ortuser, it should be easy to kill a mere Semi-Progenitor. Tian Ci might not know how Tian Fa had died, but he was certain that Lu Yin had not seeded on his own.

    At that moment, thunder cracked. The Lord of Lightning descended, his sword already drawn and shing at Tian Ci.

    Tian En''s voice rang out, "Lord of Lightning, I invited you to join the Boundary Guardians, and yet you now act against us?"

    Jiang Feng kept Tian Ci busy. The Lord of Lightning was entirely shrouded with lightning, as well as a purplish-ck substance. "I don''t want to be a beast."

    Tian Ci''s expression turned cold. "You''re courting death!"

    High above, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s green grass was constantly fighting against the butterfly¡¯s light. Hongyan Mavis was able to tell that there was clearly something wrong with the butterfly''s light.

    Tian Feng charged at Lu Yin, intending to seal him.

    As the rock moved forward, shes and sword qi swept across the Scourge; Mu Ke and Kong Tianzhao attacked in unison to stop Tian Feng.

    Against an Ortuser, thews of the universe had no effect. Mu Ke and Kong Tianzhao''s abilities were already rendered useless. Patterns shed across the surface of the stone that was Tian Feng, and both men were instantly sealed in ce,pletely unable to move. §²????¦¢¨¨S

    A massive sword dropped from the sky, as Supreme had attacked.

    However, even the enormous mecha was instantly frozen in ce.

    "I serve the heavens, sealing all who oppose it! How can you hope topete with me? As soon as I''ve sealed this child, I''ll deal with the rest of you." Tian Feng again turned back to Lu Yin.

    Di Qiong and Di Xia charged at Lu Yin from another direction, as the Dao Monarch was standing at the center of this battlefield.

    In the Third Scourge, Wu Tian looked up in surprise. "They actually started fighting against the Boundary Guardians? The Fated One has already targeted him. Well, in that case, so be it!"

    Ye Wu and the Abandoned moved as one to stop Di Qiong and Di Xia.

    The pages of the Martial Scripture appeared around Di Qiong, and its images flickered. Ye Wu was only allowed to attack once before he was pinned in ce. Di Qiong passed by the man while ring fiercely at Lu Yin. "Brat, prepare to die!"

    The void twisted next to Lu Yin, and Wu Tian stepped out. "Di Qiong, you''ve learned a lot from me. Today, you will return it all."

    Di Qiong was stunned, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Wu Tian? You?"

    Lu Yin was equally shocked. Had Wu Tian actually left the Third Scourge? Even more shocking was the man¡¯s strength. He had looked like he was on the verge of death in the Third Scourge, so how could he be so strong?

    Wu Tian stopped Di Qiong, but Tian Feng remained unstoppable.

    The stone possessed a unique power, and no matter who acted against the Boundary Guardian, they would be instantly sealed. This made it impossible for anyone to stop the charging rock.

    "Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect? Hmph! back then, I sealed Tai Chu''s bloodline, which resulted in him losing both of his hands. Today, I''ll seal your entire body!" Tian Feng dered.

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. So, this stone had caused the Origin Progenitor to lose his hands.

    Lu Yin could not quite determine just what Tian Feng was, but it was clear that Lu Yin was no match for the stone.

    For that reason, he did not hesitate to turn and race towards the ck Mother Tree. The battle had suddenly erupted because the Boundary Guardians had been actively trying to start a fight. Humanity was at a disadvantage as they were facing off against both the Boundary Guardians and the Aeternals. Even with the appearance of Wu Tian, there was nobody capable of stopping Tian Feng, and Hongyan Mavis was struggling to hold just Tian En off.

    Lu Yin needed to break through and be a Progenitor. Of his four inner worlds, Infinity was in the best position to break through, but there were three pieces of Primaldust beneath the ck Mother Tree, and they were a potential path for his Dust World to evolve. It was possible that this path was even more appropriate at the moment, but first, he needed to obtain them.

    "Don''t run!" Tian Feng gave chase.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time, but there were sequence particles being used in every part of the battlefield. They permeated the Scourge, which caused Inverse Step to repeatedly fail. Lu Yin¡¯s figure flickered in and out of existence.

    On the surface of Tian Feng, patterns flickered as it released more and more sequence particles. The stone created a that spread across the ground. He was determined to capture Lu Yin.

    Suddenly, Tian Feng stopped and started trembling.

    Lu Yin looked back, puzzled. What was happening?

    "You''re still not dead? Impossible! I''ve kept you sealed for so long and even yed and dismembered you! You can''t possibly still be alive!" Tian Feng screamed in disbelief.

    A crisp voice rang out from the patterns that covered Tian Feng''s surface. "Kill me? It¡¯s not so easy. I''ve waited far too long for this moment."

    In the sky above, Hongyan Mavis, stared down at Tian Feng with a nk stare, despite being in the middle of a battle with Tian En. "Flora?"

    From far away, both Ancient God and Lu Yuan looked over as their expressions changed dramatically.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Flora? That was the name that the Origin Progenitor had given to Garan Zhiluo, the Dao Monarch of the Sixth Maind. Was she also here?

    No one had expected that one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, Garan Zhiluo, to have been been sealed inside of Tian Feng for so long.

    No one knew what had happened to Garan Zhiluo, but there were many different theories. Some had believed the woman to be dead, while others thought that she must have betrayed humanity. Others even spected that Garan Zhiluo might have be Whiteless God, and those were only some of the theories. After all, why else would the Sixth Maind have be mortal enemies with the Fifth Maind?

    Still, with of all the proposed theories, none had turned out to be true. The disappearance of the Garan family had been somewhat understandable. Sky Garan had been the Sixth Maind¡¯s Dao Chosen during the Heavens Sect era, as well as the heir of the Garan family for his own generation. His disappearance had effectively put an end to the Garan family line, especially because the Garan family¡¯s inheritance could only be received by a single individual from each generation.

    However, there had never been any exnation for Garan Zhiluo disappearance.

    Not even Ancestor Lu Yuan had had any idea how Garan Zhiluo had vanished.

    Finally, after eons, everyone learned that Garan Zhiluo had been sealed inside of Tian Feng the entire time.

    Tian En had tried to kill Progenitor Ku, Tian Feng had sealed Garan Zhiluo, and all the Boundary Guardians had worked together to attack the Origin Progenitor. The grudge that the Boundary Guardians had earned from humanity was enormous.

    Tian Feng was still trembling. "So what if you''re still alive? You''ll just die today!"

    "Who¡¯s going to kill me? You? You four cowards who don¡¯t have the courage to attempt to ovee Dukkha? Even if I''m not at an Ortuser, I''m not going to die at the hands of you four pieces of trash," Garan Zhiluo retorted, contempt oozing from her tired voice.

    "Flora, are you okay?" Hongyan Mavis shouted.

    From within the patterns that covered Tian Feng''s surface, Garan Zhiluo''s voice replied, "First Blood, just take care of yourself. You¡¯re facing Tian En. That butterfly is the most insidious of them all! Don''t let her deceive you. Watch out for her wings. Almost no one who¡¯s not at least an Ortuser has any chance of escaping from her illusions. Always remember your pain.

    "As for that one over there fighting against the lightning man, that¡¯s Tian Ci. He¡¯s the strongest of the Boundary Guardians and even has a mirebound artifact¡­"

    Garan Zhiluo seemed to be quite well informed about the Boundary Guardians, and she constantly revealed information regarding the abilities of Tian Ci, Tian En, and Tian Feng, which caused the Boundary Guardians'' expressions to grow increasingly grim.

    The Lord of Lightningughed heartily. With the information that they were receiving from Garan Zhiluo, humanity was finally confident that they could hold their ground, even against multiple Ortusers.

    True God studied Tian Feng from the top of the ck Mother Tree Feng as he thought to himself. <em>Garan Zhiluo, huh? That woman once loved to dress herself up. She went mad whenever there was even a single strand of hair was out of ce. So, she¡¯s still alive? She¡¯s been skinned and dismembered, and being disfigured like that must be the worst torture imaginable for her, and yet she still lives. Tai Chu, you really did train up an exceptional group of disciples.</em>

    <em>If I didn¡¯t have Gu Yizhi under my control, he would have never betrayed humanity.</em>

    However, it did not matter how much humanity struggled, as the oue was already determined. There were certain things that could not be reversed. Humanity''s struggle had only be a slightlyrger ssh in the river of time, but things would eventually settle down, and the river would flow quietly again.

    Lu Yin stared intently at Tian Feng, and then he turned and continued towards the ck Mother Tree, eventually leaping down under the ground.

    He could not make much of a difference in the current battle. He alone was not enough to shift the tides of the battle, which was why he had decided to focus on bing stronger.

    Three pieces of Primaldust. No matter if Lu Yin used them himself or returned them to the Origin Progenitor, they would be extremely useful.

    At this time, countless cosmic doors opened, connecting to the Heavens Sect, and a flood of corpse kings poured through them. The battle was not limited to just the Second Scourge, as it had spread to the Heavens Sect, the Perennial World, the Sixverse Association, and even more ces.

    Aeternus threw out all of their corpse kings at this moment, including even thest few frenzied corpses. All the Progenitor-level corpse kings and the peak powerhouses who had betrayed humanity were also sent out.

    At the Heavens Sect, Arch-Elder Zen, Master Shan, and the other peak powerhouses fought with their full power.

    Ancestor Tortoise pulled its head in, feeling slightly nervous. The jiao bared its fangs and ws. It looked incredibly intimidating, but in truth, it was just as nervous as Ancestor Tortoise. Both beasts were overwhelmed by the scale of the battle before them.

    Things grew even worse when the Star Devourer appeared. The jiao instantly grew terribly anxious, as this gigantic creature seemed extremely strong.

    In the Second Scourge, the Ancient Lightning Locust appeared, instantly targeting the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng.

    The man felt helpless. This Ancient Lightning Locust always appeared at the worst moment, trying to cause trouble.

    However, humanity had also gained an additional powerhouse: Progenitor Ku.

    The Progenitor had been sent to a universe with an elerated flow of time to recover more quickly. While he had not fully recovered yet, he was certainly capable of using Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    Progenitor Ku arrived on the battlefield and went straight for the Ancient Lightning Locust. The beast released a burst of lightning, which rained down on Progenitor Ku. The man¡¯s body withered up, but he simply endured the lightning before looking elsewhere on the battlefield. "Butterfly, it''s time to settle the score between us."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3209: A Fated Battle

    Tian En stared at Progenitor Ku in utter astonishment. He hadn¡¯t died?

    On the ground below, Sovereign Dou Sheng swung his cudgel and forced Arrow God to pull back as he let out a wild cackle. "Ku Jie, you finally showed up! I''ve been waiting for you for so long! We should have fought together ages ago!"

    Progenitor Ku let out a low, raspyugh. Even so, it was filled with the man¡¯s heroic spirit. "You¡¯re right, we should have fought together long ago. Now, let''s see who on this battlefield can kill us!"

    The Sovereign seemed reinvigorated. "Hahaha! Yes! Let''s see who can kill us!"

    The ground of the Scourge continued to break apart. Some sort of power was linking the Second Scourge to the Third and First Scourges.

    Rivers of divine energy ran across the Scourges like flood dragons, flowing out from the ck Mother Tree. They suddenly transformed into a blood-red barrier that enveloped the entire universe.

    The Aeternals grew stronger from the divine energy, while all the humans were already weakened from being shunned by the Scourge. Thus, many of the human powerhouses were forced to go on the defensive.

    While humanity had fallen to a disadvantage, they were not yet defeated.

    Progenitor¡¯s worlds shed, and countless sequence particles filled the Scourge¡¯s sky, which was lit up by myriad battle techniques. This battle was practically unprecedented and unparalleled in history. The only ones that couldpare to it was the one that had destroyed the Heavens Sect or the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s current battlefield.Tian Ci''s expression fell. He had not expected that, even with the addition of the Boundary Guardians, they still could notpletely overwhelm the humans.

    In particr, Garan Zhiluo was revealing all the Boundary Guardians¡¯ secrets. If not for her, the Lord of Lightning, who was not even an Ortuser, would have been no match for Tian Ci. While Jiang Feng had mirebound artifacts, so did Tian Ci.

    It was such a pity. He should have taken action earlier. If Tian Fa were still alive, they would have been the deciding factor in the battle.

    Instead, they would need to slog through a bitter struggle, but as time plodded forward, victory would inevitably belong to them. The humans could not change that.

    Battle raged across the Scourge, and The Abandoned shot forward to appear behind Fei. She was his opponent, and as his sequence particles allowed him to always be one step ahead, he could kill this woman.

    A de shed through the air. As far as The Abandoned could tell, his attack should be more than enough to kill Fei.

    However, even as he watched, Fei actually shifted locations. Impossible. His attacks should never miss. His uracy was rted to his sequence rules.

    Fei hadprehended the Law of Reality, which allowed her to amplify the various senses. This could cause her enemies¡¯ attacks to deviate from where they aimed. Lu Yin had suffered from her ability in the past.

    Fei and The Abandoned were both sequence powerhouses. The Abandoned had fought against Arrow God multiple times and not died, while Di Qiong had considered Fei powerful enough to participate in the Divine Selection. The two proved to be evenly matched.

    The fact that his own sequence particles had failed caused The Abandoned''s heart to sink. He watched as Fei''s eyes changed color, and she used the Pupilless Transformation. She reached for her opponent, but he again used his sequence particles to avoid her, even as he stared at Fei in surprise.

    The woman did not stop. After The Abandoned sessfully dodged, she thrust her sword in another direction, attacking Mu Shen, who stood still, looking a bit confused.

    Mu Shen had been fighting against Lan Lan. That woman had the innate gift of Virtual Reality, which allowed her to treat anyone like a video game character, while she set the rules of the game.

    This innate gift had allowed Lan Lan to be a nightmare for the people of the Nine-Star Civilization. If they had not managed to determine her innate gift, they might have been wiped out long ago. ?

    At the moment, Lan Lan was using her innate gift to restrain Mu Shen.

    Mu Shen was the ruler of the Arboreal Realm, and he was strong enough to hold his own against Ancient God before the Skygod had be an Ortuser. Xu Jin had recognized Lan Lan as strong enough to participate in the Divine Selection, which meant that both Mu Shen and Lan Lan were roughly as strong as the Seven Skygods.

    Mu Shen wanted to defeat Lan Lan, but doing so was proving difficult. Simrly, Lan Lan found it incredibly challenging to defeat Mu Shen.

    Mu Shen was feeling quite frustrated. He was stuck within the rules of Lan Lan''s game, and the bizarre mechanics left him puzzled. He was barely able to fend off the woman¡¯s attacks, which took advantage of her game¡¯s rules.

    Suddenly, Fei''s sword appeared out of nowhere, and it stabbed straight at Mu Shen.

    The Abandoned quickly released his sequence particles in an attempt to block Fei''s sword.

    As that happened, Lan Lan brought The Abandoned into her game, and its rules instantly applied to him. He watched in shock as his de was reduced to fragments of sequence particles. What was happening?

    Suddenly, Fei''s sword diverted its path. There was an opening that had appeared the moment that Lan Lan had pulled The Abandoned into her game, and using that, Fei¡¯s sword pierced Lan Lan''s body.

    Lan Lan froze, and she stared at Fei inplete disbelief as she focused on Fei''s pupilless eyes. "You?"

    Fei''s replied in a cold voice. "I have been taught by Wu Tian and am his disciple. Today, I am leaving Aeternus."

    With that, she swept her sword across, slicing Lan Lan''s body in two. Blood sttered across the ground.

    Lan Lan''s power had been focused on her innate gift. The woman herselfcked powerful defenses.

    The Abandoned and Mu Shen were still stunned, as they had never expected such a turn of events.

    ¡­

    The ck Mother Tree was rooted in all six Scourges. Underground, the Scourges were all connected. Lu Yin continued digging down through the earth, constantly moving closer to the rivers of divine energy.

    When he had leaped into the roots, many Aeternals had seen him, but none had tried to stop him. That was because of the rivers of divine energy that flowed beneath the ck Mother Tree.

    No matter how strong Lu Yin might be, he would be effected by the rivers of divine energy. This wasmon knowledge throughout all of Aeternus.

    Everyone understood that Lu Yin wanted to destroy the ck Mother Tree.

    However, none of the Aeternals knew that Lu Yin also cultivated divine energy and that the rivers would not harm him at all. Instead, they would strengthen his divine energy, effectively increasing his strength.

    There was a ssh as Lu Yin plunged into a river of divine energy. At this moment, the Primaldust in his forehead became zing hot. It could clearly sense the presence of more pieces of Primaldust.

    The closer Lu Yin moved to the other Primaldusts, the hotter the piece in his forehead became.

    Following his Primaldust¡¯s lead, Lu Yin continued to move closer to the other three particles.

    Finally, a hazy glow appeared before him. There were three orbs of light, which contained the three particles of Primaldust.

    Lu Yin immediately shot towards them.

    Suddenly, he froze and then slowly turned his head. Close by, someone was sitting cross-legged, and they were even closer to the three particles of Primaldust than Lu Yin.

    As he moved closer, the person¡¯s eyes opened and met Lu Yin''s gaze.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, I didn''t expect you to find your way here."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Bai Xian''er?"

    There was no way Lu Yin would have ever anticipated encountering Bai Xian''er amidst the roots of the ck Mother Tree, right next to three particles of Primaldust.

    From the time that Lu Yin had be the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and his prestige within the Sixverse Association had soared, he had constantly been searching for Bai Xian''er, who had betrayed humanity.

    The Cyclic Universe had protested Lu Yin¡¯s actions many times, but to no avail. He had been determined to find Bai Xian''er and learn her secrets.

    However, he had never been able to find any trace of the woman.

    It was only down in the roots of the ck Mother Tree that he finally saw her.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes remained bright and clear, even in the darkness of theke of divine energy. "Brother Xiaoxuan, how did you learn about the pieces of Primaldust here?"

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er and suddenly frowned. "You broke through and became a Progenitor?"

    Bai Xian''er replied as though stating the obvious, "You could say that, but I don''t need to break through."

    Lu Yin did not understand.

    Bai Xian''er smiled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, have we ever truly fought each other?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "No."

    When Lu Yin had be an Envoy, Bai Xian''er had lost her advantage over him. When the Python Ancestor had attacked Undying God, Bai Xian''er had gotten involved. At that time, Lu Yin had felt like it would have been possible to kill her. That feeling had persisted during their subsequent encounters, but feelings were one thing while actually killing Bai Xian''er had remained an entirely different matter.

    Bai Xian''er was the only person Lu Yin had ever encountered who, despite being in the same realm of cultivation as him, had been capable of ignoring the power of his inner universe. She was the one person he felt he was capable of killing, yet had refrained from making an earnest attempt to do so.

    Lu Yin had never underestimated Bai Xian''er. Never.

    Bai Xian''er revealed the smallest smile. "Let¡¯s have a match today. These three bits of Primaldust can serve as the victor¡¯s spoils. If you win, you can take them, but if I win¡­"

    She paused, and her smile grew much brighter. " I''ll take Brother Xiaoxuan''s life."

    She did not wait for any sort of response, and Fay Blossoms bloomed all around the two people. This was Bai Xian''er''s innate gift, and the flowers were bewitching and beautiful.

    When the Lu family had been banished, these flowers had rained down across the Perennial World.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step and moved at the speed of time to charge towards Bai Xian''er.

    Everything was frozen in ce around him, including Bai Xian''er. However, her stillness only made Lu Yin feel uneasy.

    Bai Xian''er was not someone who could be easily frozen by something like moving at the speed of time. She had already proven that she could ignore the power of Lu Yin¡¯s universe, so there was no reason why she could not simrly ignore the power of time.

    Lu Yin threw a punch, and the power of his attack traveled through the space separating them.

    Bai Xian''er looked over and smiled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, you¡¯re so cautious, aren¡¯t you?"

    She then gently raised a hand. Her movements served as a stark contrast to Lu Yin''s vicious punch.

    That attack had not contained all of Lu Yin power, and he had merely thrown it with his maximum physical strength.

    Even so, the punchnded and crumpled half of Bai Xian''er''s body.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. This was impossible. There was no way that Bai Xian''er could be injured so easily.

    Before his thoughts could proceed any further, red flowers rained down, and they made him numb wherever they touched him. Lu Yin immediately used Extremes Must Be Reversed, and his body withered, only for it to recover just as quickly.

    Lu Yin was startled by the speed at which his body recovered. This should not be possible. The Fay Blossoms caused numbness, but they should not do much actual damage. In that case, why was his body recovering so quickly from its withered state? The faster he recovered, the more damage his body was suffering from.

    Something was very wrong. There was clearly more to the Fay Blossoms than what he knew.

    At some point in time, Bai Xian''er''s body had recovered, and she looked as though she had never been struck at all. She raised a pale finger, undoing space itself as she drew a line and released a Void Rip.

    The ck line swept past, though Lu Yin easily evaded it. By using the Dao of One Heavens, which he had learned from Ancestor Lu Tianyi, he was able to escape from even the most impossible situations, which meant that dodging something like Void Rip was incredibly easy.

    Bai Xian''er then used Celestial Being Shows the Way, but Lu Yin dodged that attack just as easily.

    She was only using the Celestial Frost Sect¡¯s battle techniques, but none of them had any effect on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist while releasing Infinity. Lines of strength collided, and after boosting his strength even further with Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin threw a second punch at Bai Xian''er. This time, he held nothing back. If Bai Xian''er tried to endure the attack as she had the first one, there was no question that she would die without raising her defenses.

    There was a loud bang. Once again, Bai Xian''er was struck by the punch, and it was a direct hit, as she had not attempted to use any defensive means whatsoever, which shocked Lu Yin.

    This attack should have been too much for Bai Xian''er to endure, but even after taking the attack, she stood unscathed before Lu Yin. She met his astonished gaze, and her eyes started to radiate a disturbing light.

    Theke of divine energy was the same as ever, and so was the ck Mother Tree, but everything in Lu Yin¡¯s surroundings seemed to have somehow changed. It was as though everything was moving slower. Ripples passed through the divine energy that should have moved quickly, but as Lu Yin watched the undtions, he could not help but wonder why they were moving so slowly. Their movements were slow enough to drive a person mad.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3210: Wei Nu

    Lu Yin saw only a single ripple and nothing else. There was only that one ripple, and he stared at it for a long, long time. He silently counted the time: one day, two days, three days¡­ one year, two years, three years¡­ a hundred years, a thousand years¡­

    How was this possible? A thousand years had passed, but the ripple still had not finished moving. What had happened to him? Was this an innate gift? But Bai Xian''er''s innate gift was undoubtedly her Fay Blossom.

    A single ripple took a thousand years to pass by, and Lu Yin watched it for the entire time. He had not been able to move, or rather he was able to move, but even the smallest movement was so slow that it needed a thousand years toplete, just like the ripple.

    However, Lu Yin¡¯s thoughts moved normally. He had managed to count the time, and there was no question that a thousand years had passed.

    Had his own senses been amplified somehow? It was possible that his perception of time had been amplified indefinitely, while his regr awareness had remained unchanged.

    This was an innate gift. There was no other option.

    Suddenly, there was a spike of pain in his abdomen, and Lu Yin snapped back to reality. A ck line shed in front of him. Bai Xian¡¯er was again attacking with a Void Rip. He quickly dodged the attack, but when he looked down, he saw that his once withered body had somehow recovered, and his abdomen had even been sliced open by the Void Rip.

    Lu Yin looked back at Bai Xian''er. "You have two innate gifts."

    Bai Xian''er smiled faintly. "Brother Xiaoxuan, so far, you haven''t managed to hurt me at all."Lu Yin''s expression turned serious. Both Inverse Step and his physical strength had failed against Bai Xian¡¯er, while her ability to extend his sense of time was terrifying. There was no way for him to avoid it, or rather, he did not know of any way to do so.

    Once his senses were amplified, Bai Xian¡¯er was essentially able to freely strike however she wanted.

    If thest Void Rip had sliced through his neck instead of his abdomen¡­ He did not even want to imagine what the results would have been.

    Lu Yin released the universe from his chest, and thendmass appeared overhead. It merged with his visualization method and pressed down to crush Bai Xian''er.

    She looked up and admired thendmass. "Is this the Origin Progenitor¡¯s power? Brother Xiaoxuan, your cultivation is soplicated, and yet I can sense that your future will be extraordinarily brilliant. In that case, please die here. I like you a great deal, but fate has already been written, and it cannot change."

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s Wordless Heavenly Book appeared, and it granted vitality to thendmass.

    It pressed down even harder. This was the attack that had caused even Feng Bo to cough up blood, and it had killed both Corpse God and Ji Luo. Lu Yin refused to believe that Bai Xian''er was truly invincible.

    Thendmass pressed down upon Bai Xian''er, who did not move as Lu Yin tried to crush her. Her body copsed beneath the pressure.

    However, once thendmass fell down the whole way, Bai Xian''er reappeared where she had been standing,pletely unharmed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Was she skipping time? No, erasing time? He had encountered simr abilities several times in the past. The one that stood out the most to him was Undying God¡¯s ability to skip time.

    By skipping the moments when he was injured, Undying God had been able to instantly recover. However, those moments had still existed.

    When Lu Yin had been fishing in the River of Time, he had caught several such moments.

    On the other hand, Bai Xian''er did not seem to be skipping time. It was as if a segment of space, or a segment of time, had been locked down and briefly made unchangeable.

    Could a battle technique aplish such a thing?

    The power of time could be truly miraculous.

    Everything around Lu Yin suddenly slowed down again. It was happening again; his sense of time had been extended indefinitely.

    He watched as hisndmass disappeared, but the process would take an incredible amount of time.

    Hundreds of years? Thousands? Maybe even tens of thousands?

    Lu Yin had no idea what it would be like to stare at the same sight for what his senses would perceive as tens of thousands of years. It would drive him mad.

    Was there any way to escape this phenomenon? The only possibility he coulde up with was Lightstream or his inner universe¡¯s gray star that had formed from the Withered Bark.

    But no, time itself had not been altered at all. All that had truly changed were his own senses, which had nothing to do with the power of time.

    How could he restore his senses?

    Lu Yin watched thendmass slowly disappear as he recited the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra.

    Unfortunately, it was useless. The Lu family used the Origin Sutra to strengthen their spiritual force, but Lu Yin had yet to explore the other aspects of the sutra.

    Time flowed by, or, more urately, Lu Yin¡¯s perception of time kept extending.

    He had no idea how much time had passed. He kept trying to restore his senses to normal, but all his efforts were useless. He could not recover.

    Suddenly, he felt intense pain from his heart.

    The moment the pain erupted, his senses returned to normal. Lu Yin instantly used Lightstream to reverse time by one second.

    In front of him, Bai Xian¡¯er smiled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, you reacted so quickly, and you even knew to reverse time in order to heal your injury."

    Lu Yin clutched at his chest above his heart, feeling relieved. He had suffered a terrible wound once again, but fortunately, he had managed to reverse time.

    Things were getting very tricky. Bai Xian¡¯er refused to move, and she allowed every one of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks tond. Each of his attacks should be capable of killing the woman, and yet she repeatedly recovered perfectly. This was very difficult to ovee. In addition to that, her innate gift forced Lu Yin to suffer what felt like endless amounts of time passed in an instant.

    Once or twice was still bearable. He could endure hundreds or even thousands of years, but if his sense of time was extended to the point where he had to endure 10,000 years or more, Lu Yin had no confidence that he could endure.

    This was not like meditation; he was simply staring at a single scene for what felt like hundreds or thousands of years. It was a form of sensory imprisonment taken to the extreme.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, and his Champions¡¯ Stage appeared. He summoned multiple peak powerhouse champions. He did not expect them to be able to do much to Bai Xian¡¯er, and he simply wanted to use them as distractions.

    Bai Xian¡¯er might be able to extend her own senses as she did Lu Yin¡¯s, but she would not be able to affect Lu Yin¡¯s summoned champions. As long as he had some form of external stimtion, he would be able to instantly recover.

    Up above, the Investiture of the Gods also appeared. Lu Yin was still bleeding from his abdomen, but he started using Triumphant Brawl, which caused him to radiate a terrifying aura. Cold murder blossomed in his eyes as he pulled out the God of Death''s scythe from his cosmic ring andshed out.

    He took a step forward, but he did not use Inverse Step. He charged straight at Bai Xian¡¯er, while shing the scythe at her. When he had tried to crush her with hisndmass and shatter her with a punch, the attacks had apparently left Bai Xian¡¯er horribly wounded, but she had instantly and fully recovered from both attacks. Because of that, Lu Yin decided to not use either of those abilities and instead attack with the most basic of methods. He refused to believe that Bai Xian¡¯er could recover from every attack, and he was determined to break her battle technique.

    There was no battle technique that could not be broken.

    Confronted with the shing scythe, Bai Xian¡¯er moved for the first time. She dodged every sh of the weapon. However, Lu Yin had mastered the ability to defeat any weapon technique from the Sword Monument, and his mastery of the scythe was wless. Not even Bai Xian¡¯er couldpletely avoid his attacks, and she was asionally cut. Blood stained her white clothes.

    As the battle continued, Lu Yin¡¯s movements gradually slowed. This time, the slowing was real, and not just due to his perception being altered. He was growing fatigued from wielding his own power. Fay Blossoms danced around him, and there was no doubt that they were somehow rted to his fatigue.

    The scythe in his hand suddenly slowed down mid-sh. It had happened again. His sense of time was being extended indefinitely.

    Lu Yin stared at his scythe. He knew that he would be staring at this same scene for at least a hundred, and possibly even a thousand years. The more times he experienced this phenomenon, the worse it became. If he failed to find a way to ovee this phenomenon, he knew that he would eventually lose to Bai Xian¡¯er.

    She was a Progenitor, having had broken through. There was no shame in a Semi-Progenitor like Lu Yin losing to her, but Lu Yin was a Realmbreaker who was capable of fighting against even opponents like the Seven Skygods. Out of all the various peak powerhouses, the Seven Skygods stood near the peak, second only to the Three Realms and Six Daos. In fact, there was even some ovep between them.

    It was impossible to measure Lu Yin¡¯s strength by conventional realms, and yet Bai Xian''er was still overpowering him.

    She was like cotton; no matter how hard Lu Yin struck her, while there was certainly an effect, she always recoveredpletely in almost an instant. This was far more frustrating than fighting against Feng Bo or Corpse God.

    In contrast, Bai Xian''er''s attacks were not decisive, lethal strikes. Instead, she extended Lu Yin¡¯s perception of time, which forced him to feel unbearable despair. This fight was like nothing that Lu Yin had ever experienced before.

    From the moment he had broken through and be a Semi-Progenitor, this was the first time that hecked confidence in fighting a Progenitor.

    Lu Yin realized at this moment that his summoned champions were useless. He had no way to send anymands to them.

    He felt a sharp burst of pain again, and he immediately used Lightstream to reverse time by one second.

    Lu Yin stepped forward, swinging the scythe to attack in every direction.

    Bai Xian''er was not surprised to see Lu Yin recover. Her goal was to continue extending his sense of time until he waspletely numb to it. Once he became ustomed to the extended sense of time, he would either bepletely desensitized, which would leave him unable to correctly react to outside stimuli, or he would go mad. There were only two possible oues.

    However, one thing surprised her.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, you''re currently in ake of divine energy, and yet you''ve held on for this long without any problems. Have you been cultivating divine energy?" Bai Xian''er asked.

    Around them, the summoned champions continued to attack Bai Xian''er. The Seven-Star Mantis was the fastest, as it moved at the speed of time while it attacked. Bai Xian''er gave a small smile as she casually pointed a finger and used the Celestial Being Shows the Way to obliterate the summoned champion.

    Next, the Purple Emperor stared at Bai Xian''er with his solitary white eye and attempted to control her. At the same time, Mo Shang and Kong Ji attacked from two other directions. While none of the champions could use sequence particles, Old Mo¡¯s sword finger and Kong Ji¡¯s Vacuum Palm were both extremely powerful attacks.

    Bai Xian''er raised a hand and drew a line that connected two points to release a Void Rip.

    This time, the Void Rip spread further, and it sliced through the nearby void, cutting through Old Mo, Kong Ji, the Purple Emperor, and the seventeen other summoned champions which were further away.

    In just a moment, all of Lu Yin¡¯s summoned champions were cut in two.

    He felt a massive amount of his stellr energy instantly disappear.

    While the summoned champions had all been peak powerhouses and were able to use all their abilities from life, aside from their sequence particles and innate gifts, they were still easily destroyed by Bai Xian''er. This meant that, even if they had been alive, they would not have fared much better against the woman.

    There was toorge a gap. It was sorge that it was almost ridiculous.

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er. "Just who are you?"

    Bai Xian''er looked puzzled. "Brother Xiaoxuan, why don''t you recognize me all of a sudden?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "You aren¡¯t Bai Xian''er, so who are you?"

    Bai Xian''er chuckled. "Is Bai Xian''er unable to defeat you, Brother Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin let out a breath. "Are you Wei Nu?"

    Bai Xian''er''s expression changed drastically, and she stared at Lu Yin with utter disbelief.

    Lu Yin had the impression that Bai Xian¡¯er always remainedposed and acted as though everything that transpired was in her control and that nothing could ever surprise her.

    However, at this moment, her expression changedpletely. Lu Yin became certain, because of this change, that what he said had caught herpletely off guard.

    Bai Xian''er stared intently at Lu Yin, her smile long gone. "Brother Xiaoxuan, what are you talking about?"

    Lu Yin answered in a low voice, "Are you really Bai Xian''er, or are you Wei Nu?

    "Didn¡¯t you leave that paper cutout in Virtue Archives? You clearly knew as soon as we touched it, so why are you surprised now?"

    Bai Xian''er stared at Lu Yin and answered in a soft, calm voice, "Because you think that I am Prof. Wei."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3211: A Clash Of Wits And Power

    Lu Yin arched a brow. Yes, Prof. Wei had been the one to leave the paper cutout in Virtue Archives. She had also held Ancestor Lu Tianyi back on the day of the Lu family¡¯s exile. It was why Lu Tianyi had hurried to Virtue Archives.

    In Lu Yin¡¯s memories, there should only be Prof. Wei, and Wei Nu should not exist.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, where did you hear the name Wei Nu?" Bai Xian''er asked, very curious. At this moment, she suddenly seemed like aplete stranger. Her eyes, tone of voice, movements¡ªeverything seemed slightly different. It was as if she was no longer Bai Xian''er.

    "Oh? Does the name Wei Nu hold some sort of special significance to you?" Lu Yin retorted.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes grew cold. "It seems that Brother Xiaoxuan doesn''t intend to answer. In that case, let''s continue."

    She took a step forward, a pale hand raised to attack.

    While this palm strike appeared gentle and to not carry much power, Lu Yin¡¯s guard rose. While they had not been fighting for very long, Bai Xian''er had held the advantage at every turn. Nothing that Lu Yin tried seemed to have any effect on the woman. Finally, she was taking the initiative to attack, and it was with what appeared to be a harmless attack.

    No threat was the greatest threat, as it meant that Lu Yin was unable to even see where the danger was.

    He used Inverse Step, but he did not move at the speed of time. He simply moved quickly as he charged at Bai Xian''er. He also threw a palm strike, but halfway through the movement, his strength faded away. It was the effect of the Fay Blossoms.The two palms collided, creating a shockwave through the divine energy in all directions.

    In the second Scourge, all thekes and rivers of divine energy were connected to the ck Mother Tree, and all of them erupted. Multiple explosions caused divine energy to surge into the sky, drawing the attention of many across the battlefield as power channeled from down below.

    Both the people from the Heavens Sect and the Aeternals knew that Lu Yin had descended underground. As the repercussions of that unseen battle appeared, everyone knew that Lu Yin was in the middle of a fierce fight with someone underground.

    Lu Yuan and many others immediately thought of thest of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and also of Whiteless God. Those were the only two powerhouses that Aeternus had held back from the current battle who could hold their own against Lu Yin in a fight.

    Beneath the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yin visualized thendmass in his inner universe, and his arm withered, only to instantly recover with Extremes Must Be Reversed as heshed out with another palm strike.

    Bai Xian''er still appeared to be soft and practically boneless, but each palm she threw out managed to block Lu Yin''s. The Fay Blossoms were continually sapping his strength, and his withered arm kept recovering. Lu Yin still had not managed to figure out what sort of effects the Fay Blossoms might have beyond numbing his nerves and draining his strength.

    There was a bang. Lu Yin used Infinity and broke Bai Xian''er''s arm with a palm strike that struck her shoulder, forcing her back.

    The woman¡¯s expression remained calm. When she saw Lu Yin trying to press his advantage, a smile tugged at her lips, and she quickly recovered. Her movements were graceful, like a butterfly, and her strange footwork allowed her to keep increasing the distance between her and Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, giving chase at the speed of time. Even so, he was unable to catch up to Bai Xian''er.

    Her movement technique also used the power of time. She was not moving parallel to time or at the speed of time, but rather moving between distinct points, as though skipping through time or erasing the time she used when retreating. ??

    She flickered about in the depths of theke of divine energy, looking like an ethereal spirit. She was beautiful, but also disturbing to look at.

    Her hair drifted past her cheek as Bai Xian''er nced back at Lu Yin. His heart dropped. It wasing again.

    Everything around him slowed down as his sense of time was extended indefinitely. Lu Yin had no way to avoid this technique. It seemed that, as long as Bai Xian''er simply looked at him, his sense of time would inevitably be extended.

    However, that was simply not possible. There had to be a triggering condition, or else it would be a truly invincible technique.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin had no idea what the trigger might be.

    Ten years. 100 years. 1,000 years passed. After 1,000 years psed, Lu Yin once again felt intense pain. He reversed time by one second and just barely managed to recover, only to have his sense of time immediately extended again. Bai Xian''er intended to eitherpletely numb him or drive him mad with her technique.

    Maintaining the same posture and staring at nearly the same scene for a thousand years was more than enough to a person insane.

    At the very least, Lu Yin was already growing numb to his condition. He experienced 1,000 years, and as soon as his sense of time was restored to normal, he instinctively used Lightstream to reverse time by one second. Once he recovered from the injury, he felt disconnected from the battle with Bai Xian''er. There was not a smooth flow to the battle from Lu Yin¡¯s perspective, and it made him insensitive.

    He felt like a deaf and mute person walking through a canyon. He was walking forward, step after step, but could see no end in sight, as the canyon appeared to be exactly the same no matter where he stood. It was endless and unchanging.

    Lu Yin tried everything he could, but he could not restore his normal senses.

    If he allowed Bai Xian''er to continue controlling him in this manner, he would be doomed.

    Finally, Lu Yin decided to cultivate True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    The divine energy that formed theke around him was the only external power that might be able to restore his normal senses, but Lu Yin was unable to control external divine energy on his own. Cultivating with the power was his only option.

    The Natural Art required a person to lose their sense of self and others. They had to abandon all thoughts and desires and be one with the universe, in order to live for as long as it continued. It was a technique that stripped away one¡¯s emotions and all desires. Everything was perceived as karma to be overturned¡­

    Theke of divine energy trembled.

    It was a very slight tremor, and it was nearly imperceptible.

    Even so, Bai Xian''er noticed it. She nced around in surprise. Was someone using divine energy?

    At this moment, experts from all six Scourges were fighting, and any of them could have potentially cultivated divine energy, but the fluctuation that she had just sensed had been very close. In fact, it had been within arm''s reach.

    None of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses were nearby, which meant that nobody who cultivated divine energy should be so close.

    There was another fluctuation, and Bai Xian''er¡¯s suddenly locked onto Lu Yin. It was him.

    The surrounding divine energy suddenly started to boil, and all of it was instantly sucked into Lu Yin¡¯s body, much like a whale drawing in water.

    Bai Xian''er''s eyes red. What she was sensing seemed ridiculous. Was Lu Yin actually cultivating divine energy?

    In order to ovee the impossible, something impossible needed to be done.

    Bai Xian''er had always believed that she had heldplete control over Lu Yin and that she understood absolutely everything about him. She knew that he had a mirebound artifact and had received the Seven Heroes¡¯ innate gifts. Still, she had never anticipated seeing him cultivate divine energy. On top of that, what he was doing was not simple cultivation. He was absorbing the divine energy at a rate that was incredibly rare, even for the Seven Skygods.

    He was clearly not simply cultivating with divine energy.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God looked down, his eyes flickering. What was happening?

    Lu Yin had not tried to master the Natural Art before because he was afraid of being discovered, but he no longer had any choice. It did not matter if he was discovered, as True God would eventually find out regardless, as divine energy was the man¡¯s own power. As for Bai Xian''er, even if she knew, her knowledge would not affect Lu Yin.

    Who among the current human civilizations could do anything about this matter? Only Lu Yin himself.

    Even if the Aeternals spread word everywhere that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy, such rumors would not truly shake his position, not unless Lu Yin himself admitted to it.

    Beneath the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yin absorbed more and more of the surrounding divine energy.

    True God frowned, surprised to see that Lu Yin had even cultivated his divine energy. How was he maintaining control of himself? As Lu Yin absorbed more and more divine energy, True God took a step, which caused all six Scourges to tremble. Theke of divine energy suddenly solidified, and the divine energy became as immovable as a solid object.

    This was the divine energy at the roots of the ck Mother Tree, which meant that the tree was also unable to absorb divine energy at this moment.

    Lu Yin opened his eyes and let out a breath. He had indeed been discovered by True God, but that did not matter. He had already absorbed a great deal of divine energy.

    Blood leaked from a corner of his mouth. He had still not truly mastered the Natural Art, but he could at least use it to restore his normal senses. The technique absolutely deserved to be known as one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, you¡¯ve actually cultivated divine energy?" Bai Xian''er asked in shock.

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Xian''er. "It''s not easy for me to surprise you."

    Bai Xian''er shook her head as she looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "Yong Heng¡¯s power is something that not even Tai Chu wanted to touch. The more you involve yourself with it, the more you¡¯ll be affected. Brother Xiaoxuan, are you nning to join Aeternus?"

    "Why aren''t you affected by divine energy?" Lu Yin asked.

    Their entire battle had taken ce in the middle of ake of divine energy, and while Lu Yin had not been at all affected, that was because he cultivated divine energy.

    Why was Bai Xian''er not effected either?

    Bai Xian''er answered with a gentle smile, "My power isn¡¯t inferior to divine energy."

    Lu Yin''s expression sharpened. Was that Wei Nu¡¯s power? As expected, she was an old monster who was oveing Dukkha.

    Only someone who stood at the same level as True God would be unaffected by his power.

    "Since even divine energy can''t affect you, Brother Xiaoxuan, then I can''t allow you to live." Bai Xian''er''s smile faded away as she stared at Lu Yin. His sense of time started to stretch out once more.

    This time, he immediately started using the Natural Art. Whether or not he seeded did not matter, and neither did the risk of suffering bacsh and injuries. All that mattered was restoring his normal senses.

    Again, blood trickled from the corner of Lu Yin''s mouth, but he had sessfully ovee Bai Xian''er¡¯s innate gift.

    She was impressed. "Throughout history, very few people have managed to ovee this move of mine. As expected of Brother Xiaoxuan. In that case, I¡¯ll get serious now. Survive as long as you can."

    Her body then flickered as she stepped across nodes of time and instantly appeared behind Lu Yin.

    He responded by using Inverse Step to move at the speed of time, which caused everything around him to freeze. In that frozen stillness, Bai Xian''er continued to move, flickering again as she threw a palm strike at Lu Yin.

    He raised an arm to block her attack while countering with a palm strike of his own with his left hand. As Bai Xian''er flickered about and vanished, Lu Yin focused on the void and used One Word Manifestation and the Dao of One Heavens.

    The moment that Bai Xian''er appeared behind him again, Lu Yin threw a palm strike backwards, and he managed to catch her off guard. Lu Yin was using Chu Yi¡¯s technique. That man was the oldest of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and his power was both stable and decisive. He was able to see through the most desperate of situations, and his mastery of the power of time was at a level as Wu Tian¡¯s Heaven''s Sight.

    However, while Wu Tian¡¯s Heaven''s Sight allowed him to see through his opponents¡¯ attacks, the Dao of One Heavens allowed a person to see a path of escape from even the most desperate situation.

    The palm strikended on Bai Xian''er¡¯s shoulder, knocking her back. She lifted a leg and kicked at Lu Yin¡¯s head, but Evernight appeared beside his head. The foot struck the card, which pulled her body in. Lu Yin also entered the card to use Dark Pce.

    The darkness surged around them, the ck mes burning Bai Xian''er.

    A brilliant light surrounded the woman, and she remained unmoved as the darkness zed around her. She raised a finger and drew a line to connect two points and release a Void Rip.

    The two people emerged from Evernight¡¯s pocket dimension at the exact same time.

    Evernight could not trap Bai Xian''er. She pointed a finger at Lu Yin, and her Fay Blossoms suddenly exploded. As they did, something burst inside of Lu Yin¡¯s body. His expression changed, as he realized that it was pollen. This was her Fay Blossoms¡¯ true power.

    The pollen had entered his body, and Bai Xian¡¯er could detonate it inside of him. The damage that this caused was no different from suffering a peak powerhouse¡¯s attack.

    Lu Yin could not even begin to calcte how much pollen had entered his body. It was as pervasive as air.

    The pollen continued to explode within his body, but Lu Yin released his inner universe, isting himself from the rest of the universe and cutting Bai Xian''er off from being able to control her pollen.

    At that same time, Lu Yin waved his hand towards Bai Xian''er, using Setting Sun.

    The glow of a sunset appeared in the depths of theke of divine energy. It was a stunningly beautiful sight. As the sun set, its light shone across the horizon!<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3212: Overbearing

    Bai Xian''er stared nkly at the beautiful Setting Sun as it disappeared. For a moment, she forgot all her martial techniques, which led to a bacsh from her cultivation and injured her.

    She looked over at Lu Yin, recognizing that he had just used aprehension technique, which were very troublesome to deal with.

    Lu Yin continued to release his inner universe in an attempt to pull Bai Xian''er into it.

    He pointed her index finger, and an attack as sharp as a sword pierced the void and exposed the Hollow. The attack even ripped through Lu Yin¡¯s universe, and continued on straight at him. This finger was like the sharpest weapon in existence, surpassing even Supreme¡¯s sword.

    Andmass appeared in front of Lu Yin with a thunderous roar, even as his Wordless Heavenly Book added vitality to thendmass as it flew towards Bai Xian''er.

    Her finger tore through thendmass, slicing right through it. Thend trembled as it pressed down with an incredible force.

    There was a loud boom, and thendmass shattered. Both Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er were forced backwards from the shockwaves of their sh.

    The Second Scourge trembled slightly, and many people looked down at the ground. Was there a battle being fought underground as well?

    The entire Second Scourge started cracking, and even the ck Mother Tree tilted slightly due to the tremors.Down beneath the ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots, Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er and raised his hand again before hisndmass crashed down upon her.

    She allowed the impact, and it shattered her body.

    Once again, Lu Yin felt overwhelmed. He was clearly able to injure or even kill Bai Xian''er, but her ability to instantly recover was infuriating. She had no need to defend herself from any of his attacks, and she simply allowed all of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks tond. This power of hers was even more difficult to deal with than her ability to manipte his sense of time.

    Even Flipping the Sky did nothing to help Lu Yin in the current situation.

    Thendmass was already capable of crushing Bai Xian''er, but what did that aplish?

    Bai Xian''er instantly recovered, but this time, something around her changed. Arge tree sprang up from the ground behind her. Was that her Progenitor¡¯s world?

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. Bai Xian''er was finally using her Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Throughout the battle, she had only used her innate gift and a few battle techniques, but never her Progenitor¡¯s world. She was finally exposing her true strength.

    However, why did the tree look so familiar?

    Once the tree fully emerged, another nt started climbing up it. It was a lotus vine.

    It was a tree and a lotus vine.

    Lu Yin suddenly remembered. This was a tree lotus vine.

    In the Perennial World, the Nong family¡¯s home was Seed Garden, and in it, they had a special garden dedicated to nts that had been nted by people the Nong family had acknowledged. All the nts were grown from all-growing seeds, and no two nts were the same, just as each person¡¯s character and abilities were unique.

    There was a tree lotus vine in that garden, and it had been nted by Bai Xian''er. It was an extremely overbearing nt, and it stole all the nutrients from the nearby soil, which led all the nearby nts to wither, even those which had been nted by Progenitors.

    But that tree lotus vine was a nt that Bai Xian¡¯er had nted. How could her Progenitor¡¯s world also be a tree lotus vine?

    When Bai Xian¡¯er had nted her all-growing seed, she had not been even close to the Progenitor level. In fact, she had been far from bing a Semi-Progenitor. What connection could she have with the tree lotus vine?

    Lu Yin stared at the nt in shock.

    As the tree lotus vine appeared, Bai Xian''er''s expression turned cold. An indescribable arrogance and nobility could be seen deep in her eyes, as a hint of an aura that felt incredibly domineering and greedy appeared.

    With the tree lotus vine at her back, Bai Xian''er seemed even more of a stranger to Lu Yin, but it was possible that this was her true self.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin, illuminating the underground region with a golden light that burst upwards through the cracks and riddled the Second Scourge as they shot towards the sky.

    Lu Yuan, who was in the middle of a vicious battle with Ancient God, frowned at the sight. The Investiture of the Gods being used meant that Little Seven was facing a formidable enemy.

    The other most powerful experts, such as Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, and Garan Zhiluo, all looked at the ground as well. They could sense an extraordinary aura.

    Massive mechas arrived in the Second Scourge from the Infinity Empire, as well as several of the Scourge upation¡¯s experts.

    At this moment, the humans had more powerhouses than the Aeternals.

    In particr, the arrival of Second Life caused humanity to gain a distinct advantage in terms of numbers.

    Leng Qing and E'' Ji shot towards the base of the ck Mother Tree, intending to go help Lu Yin. However, when they both saw theke of divine energy, they stopped. Not only would they not be able to fight within the divine energy, but they would also be corrupted by it.

    Underground, Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, and Xia Shenji stepped out of the Investiture of the Gods and charged at Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin was curious to see what kind of Progenitor¡¯s world her tree lotus vine was.

    The three summoned Progenitors rushed into the tree lotus vine Progenitor¡¯s world, only to be instantly reduced to golden light that dissipated away.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed dramatically. What had just happened?

    Bai Xian''er looked upwards, and her tree lotus vine experienced explosive growth once more, cutting off the divine energyke as it drew closer and closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin immediately released his inner universe, using it to counter the tree lotus vine.

    The tree lotus vine had actually dissolved the power of his Investiture of the Gods, which Lu Yin had not anticipated.

    "In my Progenitor¡¯s world, no power can approach me, not even sequence particles," Bai Xian''er stated coldly.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. That sounded incredibly simr to how Ortusers could not be touched by thews of the universe. Bai Xian''er''s Progenitor¡¯s world was unexpectedly overbearing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe separated him from whatever universe he was in, while the tree lotus vine was able to simrly iste Bai Xian¡¯er from theke of divine energy. One was able to absorb any power and transform it into a star, while the other could prevent any power from approaching.

    One absorbed, while the other repelled. These two forces shed between the roots of the ck Mother Tree, continuously shaking the Second Scourge, and the shockwaves even reached the other Scourges.

    Bursts of power erupted from the ground of the Second Scourge and shot into the sky. All of them came from the underground sh.

    How long had it taken Lu Yin to create his inner universe? How many different powers had he cultivated? How many opportunities had he seized?

    Despite all that, Bai Xian''er''s tree lotus vine was nothing more than a Progenitor¡¯s world, and yet it could rival Lu Yin''s inner universe.

    He finally understood why his inner universe had never been able to affect Bai Xian''er. Her inherently domineering power allowed her to disregard such things.

    The two were theplete opposite of the other.

    The two opposing forces shed again and again, shaking the entire universe. Their battle was just as intense as the one between Lu Yuan and Ancient God.

    Tian Ci looked at the ground of the Scourge with uncertainty in his eyes. Lu Yin had to be eliminated. If he was allowed to grow any further, Tian Ci might soon be unable to defeat him.

    It was inconceivable that a mere Semi-Progenitor could possess such power.

    Lu Yin was shocked by Bai Xian''er''s tree lotus vine, but she was even more astonished by his inner universe.

    After all, Lu Yin was not even a Progenitor yet, though he did have four inner worlds, as well as his inner universe. There was no telling what his future power might be.

    Separated by their respective territories, Bai Xian''er and Lu Yin silently stared at each other. They were both desperate to kill the other and knew that this was a crucial moment to do so.

    The tree lotus vine bloomed, and Lu Yin saw that they were all Fay Blossoms.

    His eye twitched at the sight of even more Fay Blossoms. Could it be that the flowers¡¯ ability to numb one¡¯s nerves, drain strength, and release explosive pollen were not the limits of the Fay Blossoms¡¯ abilities?

    If that was the case, then just what was the flowers¡¯ power?

    As the Fay Blossoms bloomed one by one, Bai Xian''er stepped out of the range of her Progenitor¡¯s world and walked towards Lu Yin''s inner universe. As she stepped inside of it, stars started to revolve around her. She looked around at countless stars, continents, oceans, and even divine energy. There was simply too much.

    The more she saw, the more shocked she became.

    What kind of person could gather so many different powers and energies? If all of what she saw was cultivated to the peak, just what sort of astonishing scene would ur?

    Bai Xian¡¯er had witnessed countless eons, but she was still unable to suppress the shock that Lu Yin gave her.

    He stared at Bai Xian''er, lifted a hand, and threw a punch. She intended to face him head-on.

    Bai Xian''er looked up and raised her own hand. It was still a delicate, pale white hand, but this time, her movements gave Lu Yin a sense of unimaginable strength. Something had transformed.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    When the fist and palm touched, Lu Yin found himself stepping back. He had lost in terms of brute strength.

    Bai Xian''er pressed her palm forward, pressing in on Lu Yin.

    He used Extremes Must Be Reversed and released Infinity. As the lines of strength collided with each other, Extremes Must Be Reversed absorbed the resulting bacsh, and Lu Yin threw another punch at Bai Xian''er.

    She responded with the same simple palm strike.

    There was another loud collision, and Lu Yin was forced to retreat yet again. This should be impossible. There was no way Bai Xian''er could be physically stronger than Lu Yin. This had to be due to her tree lotus vine. No, this was the Fay Blossoms.

    Lu Yin''s eyes slid past Bai Xian''er to focus on the distant tree lotus vine Progenitor¡¯s world and the Fay Blossoms blooming on the nt. The true power of the Fay Blossoms was not inducing numbness, explosive pollen, or even draining strength.

    The flowers¡¯ true purpose was to absorb power.

    The tree lotus vine did not simply repel all power. It was able to repel power, but it could also absorb it.

    Aggressively absorbing all power. This was the tree lotus vine¡¯s true ability.

    Lu Yin thought back to the scene he had witnessed in Seed Garden. All the nts on the ground near the tree lotus vine had withered away, aside from the tree lotus vine itself. This was because the surviving nt had absorbed all the other nts¡¯ nutrients. This was the dominance of the tree lotus vine.

    Bai Xian''er threw another palm strike at Lu Yin. He struggled to defend himself, but his strength was instantly suppressed. Each palm strike snapped bones and broke tendons. He used Wielder-realm battle force, the Cosmic Art, and even divine energy, but nothing worked.

    Earlier in their battle, Bai Xian''er had absorbed an ocean of Lu Yin¡¯s power with her tree lotus vine. At the moment, all of that absorbed power was beingbined with Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s own strength and then used to overwhelm Lu Yin. Even within his inner universe, Lu Yin had been rendered powerless.

    Setting Sun.

    The beautiful glow of a sunset filled the region, but Bai Xian''er remained unscathed. She was using nothing more than raw power, and there were no battle techniques.

    Lu Yinshed out with his consciousness. Even if doing this meant further damaging his star of consciousness, Lu Yin was willing to take that risk.

    Even that was useless. Bai Xian''er had no weaknesses.

    She looked at his cracked star of consciousness. "So that''s it. These stars are manifestations of your power. If I break them, you will lose all of your strength, won¡¯t you, Brother Xiaoxuan?"

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank. He did not hesitate at all as he used the God of Death Transformation. Death energy filled his body, and a scythe appeared in his right hand as a shield appeared in his left. Chains whipped around with a whistle as they wrapped around Bai Xian''er.

    She coldlymented, "Even if the God of Death himself were here, he wouldn''t be able to defeat me. The God of Death is nothing more than one of Tai Chu''s disciples."

    As she spoke, she grabbed hold of a chain and shattered it with a single yank. Lu Yin''s scythe shed at her, but a fist met it, and the punch not only shattered the scythe, but also Lu Yin¡¯s shield.

    "You are even stronger than the God of Death''s power, Brother Xiaoxuan. You''re finished," Bai Xian''er dered in an icy tone. She stepped onto thendmass in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe and looked up to see the stars connected to thendmass. On thendmass, she could see a sea of stellr energy.

    Her hand pressed down, holding onto thendmass as a massive tree shot up from the ground. Again, it was her tree lotus vine.

    Bai Xian''er had sent her Progenitor¡¯s world right into Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. She wanted to use the domineering nature of her Progenitor¡¯s world to absorb Lu Yin''s power and utterly crush him.

    At first, she had simply wanted to defeat Lu Yin. But after seeing the power of his inner universe, Bai Xian''er had developed other ideas.

    She wanted to steal Lu Yin''s power and im it for herself. Given the domineering nature of her tree lotus vine, Bai Xian¡¯er was confident that she could do just that.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, thank you for helping me to aplish this," Bai Xian''er said as her smile returned to her face.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3213: Total Suppression

    Lu Yin clutched his shoulder. He looked rather miserable at the moment, but when Bai Xian''er smiled at him, he returned it with one of his own. "Sister Xian''er, I need to thank you as well."

    His words startled her, and his smile unsettled her, though she could not pinpoint why. She should bepletely suppressing him at this moment.

    The tree lotus vine was growing strong, aggressively absorbing the power of thend from which it grew, as well as the power of Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe.

    However, Lu Yin took something out. It was a small seed. It was his own all-growing seed.

    Nong Lie had given the seed to Lu Yin long ago so that he could grow his own unique nt in the Nong family¡¯s Seed Garden.

    Lu Yin had refrained from doing so at the time, as he had recovered some of his memories. While he had not yet known that he had once been Lu Xiaoxuan, Nong Lie had mentioned that everyone¡¯s nt grown from an all-growing seed would be unique. However, if someone nted a seed twice, each seed would grow into an identical nt. Lu Yin had feared exposing his true identity to the Nong family, so he had changed the subject at the time and avoided nting his all-growing seed.

    The seed had sat in his cosmic ring ever since that day.

    An all-growing seed was nothing more than a seed. If it was nted in Seed Garden, then the resulting nt would merely represent that an individual had been acknowledged by the Nong family.

    However, if Lu Yin nted his all-growing seed in thendmass from his own inner universe, the results might be significantly different. He still remembered how the tree lotus vine in Seed Garden had been aggressive and greedy, stealing all the avable nutrients and causing all the nearby nts to wither. All that remained had been a single small de of grass that continued to thrive. It had never withered, and instead, had grown healthier and stronger, thriving off of the tree lotus vine. That de of grass had grown from the all-growing seed that Lu Xiaoxuan had nted.If that de of grass could survive in Seed Garden, then it could also thrive in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe.

    He opened his hand, and the all-growing seed fell to the ground.

    The tree lotus vine continued to absorb all the surrounding power, but as it did so, the all-growing seed cracked open, and the ground shifted. A young, green de of grass sprouted from the soil. It looked like nothing more than a weed growing by the road, which could be easily crushed underfoot. It lookedpletely unremarkable.

    However, that same de of grass danced in the wind, as if celebrating and rejoicing.

    The greedy and aggressive tree lotus vine that was covered with beautiful Fay Blossoms tried to conquer the entire universe. Bai Xian''er stood beneath her nt. It was a sight as beautiful as a painting. She looked like an ethereal immortal.

    Suddenly, her expression changed, and she stared at the de of grass in utter disbelief. A seemingly insignificant and fragile de of grass was dancing in the breeze, and the whirlpool of various powers that had formed from the tree lotus vine''s absorption was unable to get close to the de of grass. Domination was impossible, because the tree lotus vine was thwarted by a solitary de of grass.

    As time passed, the de of grass grew taller. While it still looked delicate and fragile, it started to exude a sense of vigorous vitality.

    The power that the tree lotus vine had been forcibly absorbing from Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe swirled around the nt and then returned to the universe. Everything revolved around the de of grass, as though it was ying.

    "How can this be?" Bai Xian''er could not understand why this was happening.

    Lu Yin dropped to the ground to stand beside the de of grass. Thisndmass belonged to him, and it acknowledged him alone. All the power produced on thisnd or from hisnd should also belong to him.

    The tree lotus vine sought to seize that power, but to do so, it had to root itself in thendmass. Because of that, and the fact that the de of grass was rooted in the samend, the grass could seed.

    The scene from Seed Garden yed out once more, but this time, the process was elerated countless times over. The tree lotus vine¡¯s domineering nature not only failed to suppress the de of grass, but also allowed the grass to thrive. The grass was able to grow on its own and, with Lu Yin¡¯s will, returned the absorbed power back to his own universe.

    Bai Xian''er''s n hadpletely failed.

    Moreover, the de of grass was not very far from the Progenitor¡¯s world that was the tree lotus vine. At the moment, the grass was effectively destroying Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world inside of Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. While this would notpletely destroy the Progenitor¡¯s world, it would certainly render it unusable for some time.

    The Fay Blossoms withered, and the tree lotus vine itself vanished.

    Bai Xian''er stood calmly on the ground, staring at the de of grass before her with a distant look in her eyes. "The noblest of flowers, yet it is defeated by a mere weed. Perhaps this is thew of the universe.

    "There are no absolutes in the universe, and if there is truly a limit, then what might ovee it might be the most inconspicuous of things.

    "The universe is a cycle."

    Her gaze passed over the de of grass, and she looked at Lu Yin and smiled. It was a beautiful and enchanting smile. "I understand now, Brother Xiaoxuan. Thank you."

    Lu Yin had no idea what she had managed to understand, but any progress on Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s part meant that Lu Yin was falling behind.

    "You just said that the universe is a cycle?"

    Bai Xian''er¡¯s smile was beautiful. It was a truly unforgettable sight. "That¡¯s right, Brother Xiaoxuan. If you live past today, remember this: the universe is a cycle."

    Once she finished speaking, her entire demeanor changed, and Lu Yin¡¯s universe trembled.

    His hair stood on end as he instinctively withdrew his universe back inside his body. Bai Xian''er stepped across the moments of time, shing forward as she extended a finger. This finger looked rather ordinary, resembling Celestial Being Shows the Way, but it felt inexplicably dangerous to Lu Yin. This finger reminded him of the one that had appeared countless times in his dreams after he had lost his memories.

    Lu Yin had no intention of trying to block this attack, and instead, used Inverse Step to retreat. However, both where he had been standing and the direction he wanted to escape suddenly solidified into almostpletely solid ground.

    Lu Yin was bewildered; where had this grounde from?

    <em>Crack!</em>

    The ground shattered, which caused Lu Yin¡¯s legs to shake uncontrobly. His left leg struck his right, which made him stumble and fall.

    Bai Xian''er descended from up above, a jade-white finger steadily moving closer to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, unleashing Setting Sun.

    Regardless of anything else, this was still aprehension technique. Bai Xian''er''s eyes grew vacant for a moment, as she forgot everything she knew about martial techniques. Even so, her body retained its momentum, and her finger stabbed into Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. His bones were already broken and shattered, and this strike rendered his right armpletely immobile.

    Lightstream appeared in its boat form as it traveled through time and reversed time by one second.

    Mysteriously, a river appeared at this moment, and it carried the boat. Lu Yin was astonished; since when had his Lightstream had a river?

    Before his thoughts could proceed any further, the river shattered, and Lightstream vanished.

    Lu Yin''s pupils contracted sharply. Bai Xian''er had shattered his inner world, Lightstream.

    When it came to the power of time, Lu Yin rarely encountered people with a greater mastery than him. Even Feng Bo, who had been able to manipte time, had been overwhelmed by Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream. Despite his multiple encounters with powerful opponents, no one, aside from those with unstoppable brute force like True God, had ever been able to overpower Lu Yin when it came to the power of time.

    Lightstream devoured time that was rejected by the River of Time. Any cultivator who could wield the power of time might find themselves at odds with the overall flow of the River of Time, and this made Lightstream the nemesis to any who used the power of time.

    But today, Lu Yin¡¯s inner world had finally been countered, and it had been done in an iprehensible way to Lu Yin.

    While he had no idea how Bai Xian''er had managed to break Lightstream, Lu Yin was certain that it was rted to her sequence particles.

    Bai Xian''er had not only silently be a Progenitor; she was even a Sequence Progenitor.

    She was not only Bai Xian''er. She was also Wei Nu, someone whom Undying God had warned Lu Yin about. She was someone who had lived since the ancient era.

    Wei Nu was the same one who had left a paper cutout for Ancestor Tianyi.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to quickly retreat, but the ground suddenly reappeared underfoot. As it shattered, he was unable to use Inverse Step smoothly, and his rhythm was broken. However, after having already experienced his legs shake and trip, Lu Yin was prepared, and he did not fall, even if Inverse Step was broken.

    Bai Xian''er appeared at his side, and she opened up a deep gash across Lu Yin¡¯s body. Blood sprayed out, leaving the solidke of divine energy a brighter red.

    Power, speed, battle techniques¡ªLu Yin even used his spiritual force, domain, and consciousness, but each and every power of his had been countered.

    His muscles were torn, and his bones were broken. Countless wounds covered his entire body.

    Bai Xian''er stood above him like a queen. She could see through all his techniques and also counter them. Lu Yin had no means of resisting her.

    After killing Feng Bo in the Mirari Realm, Lu Yin hade to believe that no one in the megaverse could overpower him, aside from Ortusers and Dukkhans, but Bai Xian''er had utterly defeated him. No matter what methods he tried, he was unable to stop her at all.

    Blood covered most of his body, and Fay Blossoms were still blooming and dancing in the air around him. He retained his strength, but his body was unable to endure it.

    His body had been battered and abused, and even Lightstream''s ability to rewind time had been countered.

    There was a thunderous crash as Bai Xian''er shoved his Champions'' Stage back with a single hand, sending it crashing into Lu Yin. He spat out blood as his body was thrown backwards.

    At this moment, Bai Xian''er was demonstrating unimaginable strength. Very few of even the Three Pirs and Six Skies could stand against her at this moment.

    "Thew of the universe that I¡¯veprehended is ¡®a vessel carries.¡¯

    "Everything needs a vessel¡ªa drop of water needs a river or a sea. Life needs space andnd. Even the void itself requires an ever-expanding universe. This is aw.

    "Your power is no exception, as every power needs a vessel. I can bring forth something that can carry your power and then shatter it. By doing so, I can neutralize your techniques.

    "Brother Xiaoxuan, can you fight against such aw?"

    Lu Yin gasped for breath. The area around him was stained with blood. He stared at the distant form of Bai Xian''er with a bitter expression. To think there could be such aw of the universe. A vessel carries? It was no wonder why she had been able to counter even Lightstream.

    As long as one existed in reality, how could they hope to escape the need for a vessel?

    At this time, up above on the surface of the Second Scourge, a mecha shattered, and You Ding died.

    As one of the Infinity Empire¡¯s pirs, You Ding and his twelve-ring mecha, Pain, was qualified to fight against even sequence powerhouses, but he had been felled by Progenitor Xi¡¯s de. He was not the only one, as everyone on the battlefield in the Second Scourge had been forced to momentarily suffer from Progenitor Xi''s consciousness as she unleashed it with her sword.

    Qingluo Jiantian was capable of unleashing a terrifying level of strength.

    Kong Tianzhao, who had been fighting against the woman, dropped to one knee, and he clutched his sword tightly. There was a terrible wound on his body where he had nearly been bisected.

    The Lord of Lightning wanted to help his friend, but Tian Ci was clearly stronger than Jiang Feng, and the man was unable to break free.

    Progenitor Xi stared at Kong Tianzhao and said, "Your talent for the sword is the most impressive I¡¯ve ever seen. Given time, you might actually reach the same level as me, but unfortunately, you¡¯ll never have the chance."

    With that, she raised her sword.

    There was no one close who was capable of helping Kong Tianzhao.

    While the Aeternals had fewer powerhouses in the battle, the presence of the Boundary Guardians granted them the advantage of having Ortusers, which was not something that humanity could match.

    Kong Tianzhao looked up at Progenitor Xi, his eyes calm. Death was something he had expected to meet for a long time. In fact, this day should havee long ago.

    Just as Progenitor Xi¡¯s sword was about to fall, she paused, and her expression changed.

    Anyone familiar with the woman knew that her face rarely showed different expressions, but there was a radical change at this moment. That was because she had detected a terrifying odor. It was a stench beyond imagination.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3214: Battlefield Of Life And Death

    The foul-smelling object flew towards Progenitor Xi. Xu Wuwei had thrown it.

    <em>Woof!</em>

    Skydog had his tail tucked between his legs and was racing across the battlefield as Xu Wuweiughed happily and chased after the dog. Their chase had gradually brought them closer to Progenitor Xi.

    ¡°You stupid dog,e on! Aren¡¯t you good at taking hits? Come on! Let¡¯s fight to the death! You can fight against my smell!¡± Xu Wuwei was ecstatic. Skydog had mmed into the man on the Endless Frontier in the past, and the impact had shattered many of the man¡¯s bones. No matter what he tried, he had not been able to cause the slightest bit of damage to the dog.

    Finally, Xu Wuwei had received an opportunity. As soon as the foul-smelling object was brought out, Skydog had fled with his tail tucked. It felt incredibly satisfying for Xu Wuwei.

    Progenitor Xi frowned and shed her sword at the man.

    There was a ng, and a piece of a turtle shell appeared far away, protecting Xu Wuwei. Lord Xu had intervened.

    The Voidlord warned, ¡°Be careful. You are still on a battlefield.¡±

    Xu Wuwei felt bted fear as he realized that he had almost been killed by Progenitor Xi''s sword.Far away, in a corner of the Second Scourge, Di Qiong faced off against Wu Tian. Both men stared at each other intensely, hatred zing in their eyes.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave?¡± Di Qiong demanded through gritted teeth. This question gued him, as he could not make any sense of it. He held a spear in his hand, the tip glittering coldly, and pages from his Martial Scriptures floated around him.

    Wu Tian also held a spear, and it was even identical to Di Qiong''s. ¡°What? Does the fact that I didn¡¯t leave the Third Scourge wound your pride?¡±

    Endless killing intent zed in Di Qiong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Not only did you not leave, but you¡¯ve instantly recovered from your near-death state. Wu Tian, what have you been plotting?¡±

    Wu Tian shook his head. ¡°I just wanted to hide out. If you really want to know, I can tell you¡­ Right before you die.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, die? Do you really think that I can¡¯t kill you?¡± Di Qiongughed raucously as he stomped down on the ground, shattering it as he shot towards Wu Tian, his spear thrust forward.

    Wu Tian looked up. ¡°Do you know why I discarded Heaven''s Sight? Because I no longer need it.¡±

    With that, his spear also thrust forward.

    The ng of metal striking metal rang out as the spears collided. They flickered like two beams of light that sent reflections across the entire battlefield that covered the Scourge. Their battle took up all the surrounding space, and then it expanded ever farther. The void, the ground below, and everything in sight was sliced apart, and the impacts even managed to reach the ck Mother Tree, where deep wounds appeared on its trunk.

    Countless ck lines were burned into the trunk of the ck Mother Tree, illuminated by a golden light that shone from Lu Tianyi. This was where he was fighting against ckless God. ?

    As the battle between Di Qiong and Wu Tian spread, ckless God nced over. ¡°Di Qiong is in danger. Not only did Wu Tian refuse to leave the Third Scourge, but he¡¯s clearly recovered from his near death state. Given the fact that he kept such a powerful move hidden for so long, he must be plotting something.¡±

    Lu Tianyi stared at ckless God. ¡°You¡¯re still not nning to reveal yourself?¡±

    ckless God shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, it¡¯s too early. You are all underestimating Aeternus. This battle won¡¯t be able to achieve much. We should deal with the Boundary Guardians first.¡±

    Far away, blood sttered. Wu Tian hade out on top. He had sliced through Di Qiong¡¯s wrist and cut off three of the man¡¯s fingers with his spear. As Wu Tian turned and thrust his spear again, he froze. This attack had already been used, which meant that it had been recorded by Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures. It was impossible to use the same move twice against Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong¡¯s spear swept out, slicing Wu Tian''s abdomen open and spilling the man¡¯s blood. However, right after that, Di Qiong also froze. This was because Wu Tian¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world was also Martial Scriptures.

    There should not be any two Progenitor¡¯s worlds in existence that were identical, but Di Qiong and Wu Tian¡¯s were the exact same.

    Pages from their scriptures drifted around the two men, recording each of their opponent¡¯s moves. Any move that was repeated would be renderedpletely ineffective.

    Anyone watching the intense battle would find the exchange extremely unsettling. What seemed to be a smooth fight would asionally freeze, only for the men to resume once they used a different technique. This was the style ofbat that they were both the most familiar with, and it was also what they were the mostfortable with.

    Move after move, the men froze and then resumed fighting. All along, Di Qiong suffered far more injuries than Wu Tian. Wu Tian, who had taught humans in the Origin Universe how to use weapons, had the means to counter any and all weapons. Despite losing Heaven''s Sight, he did not need it.

    If Di Qiong was not himself extremely powerful, he would have never been able to wound Wu Tian even the slightest.

    As time passed, Di Qiong¡¯s injuries only multiplied.

    Di Qiong was aware of his situation, so he released his sequence particles: Under the Dome. All of Wu Tian¡¯s attacksnded beneath Di Qiong¡¯s feet. Di Qiong stood tall and then thrust his spear down from up above.

    Wu Tian looked up as a spear fell, and his own spear thrust upward.

    Di Qiong sneered, appearing like a monarch that looked down from on high.

    There was a deafening ng as the two spears shed. Sparks flew, and the void warped as the Progenitor¡¯s worlds were sliced apart. Di Qiong¡¯s spear was about to stab into Wu Tian¡¯s forehead, but at that moment, Di Qiong¡¯s pupils constricted tightly. He saw an eye appear in the middle of Wu Tian¡¯s forehead. <em>Heaven¡¯s Sight? Impossible.</em>

    ¡°Ugh.¡± Di Qiong spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked down to see that Wu Tian¡¯s spear was stabbed through his heart, holding his entire body aloft.

    At this moment, Di Qiong was still above Wu Tian, but that was only because Wu Tian was holding the other man up with a spear.

    ¡°You like to look down on me from above? Then keep looking.¡±

    Di Qiong¡¯s pupils flickered, and his face grew pale. ¡°You¡­ Heaven¡¯s Sight?¡±

    Wu Tian stared up at Di Qiong. ¡°This is thew of the universe that I¡¯ve mastered, as well as how I taught all of humanity to use weapons. Did you think that that was just a myth? That¡¯spletely wrong. It was due to myw, which allows me to teach all creatures right from wrong. I can summarize it sinctly: Enlighten All Beings. Yourw ¡®Under the Dome¡¯ is wrong. Man cannot always stand at the top.¡±

    Di Qiong stared at Wu Tian in a daze for a moment and then barked out a bitterugh. ¡°I see. All these years, I thought that I had worn down your sequence particles. But this¡­ this is yourw of the universe. You destroy aw and then reconstruct it. This is the power of one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    ¡°Still, I won¡¯t be defeated so easily!¡±

    Di Qiong let out a deep growl, and divine energy roiled within his body. He underwent a Pupilless Transformation and then grabbed hold of Wu Tian¡¯s spear. There was a crunch as he crushed the spear with his hand.

    One of Wu Tian¡¯s eyebrows rose. Throughout the years, Di Qiong had stolen much from Wu Tian, using what he stole to be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies and even earning the nickname of ¡®the Dark Wu Tian.¡¯ However, this was notpletely urate. The true reason why Di Qiong was called the Dark Wu Tian was because of the Corpse King Transformation.

    He had created the Corpse King Transformation.

    If Di Qiong had only ever learned to use Wu Tian¡¯s stolen power, True God would have never paid any attention to the man. It was because of the Corpse King Transformation that Di Qiong had sessfully be one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. That was why he was the Dark Wu Tian, someone who could rival Wu Tian himself.

    There was a gust of wind; Di Qiongshed out at Wu Tian with a palm, and the power of the attack shattered the ground of the Scourge and opened a deep crater.

    Wu Tian let out a breath. It was clear that it would not be easy to defeat Di Qiong.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, lightning poured down from the sky as the Ancient Lightning Locust tried to pursue Jiang Feng, only to be firmly held in ce by Progenitor Ku.

    The Progenitor did not even try to fight against the beast, and instead, he simply used Extremes Must Be Reversed to maintain a hold on the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s tail. Progenitor Ku never moved, despite being continuously sted by lightning. The sight sent chills through many people¡¯s hearts.

    Not even the Lord of Lightning would willingly endure lightning this powerful. There was no denying that Progenitor Ku was incredibly formidable.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng cackled. This was Ku Jie, the one who had charged into the Scourge on his own to face True God and survived to tell the tale. After leaving the Scourge, Ku Jie had been pursued by Tian En and attacked while severely injured, but still the man had survived.

    Progenitor Ku might not be the strongest, but he was unquestionably the most resilient. It was truly beyond absurd.

    Light rained down upon the ground across a broad region.

    Grass trembled as Hongyan Mavis struggled to hold Tian En back, though the woman was asionally pulled into the butterfly¡¯s illusions. If not for the fact that Hongyan Mavis¡¯s sequence particles were strong enough, she would not have been able to resist at all.

    Even Tian En was impressed. ¡°To stand against me as a mere Progenitor is truly impressive. Humans are too stubborn.¡±

    Hongyan Mavis ground her teeth as the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree continued to grow behind her. ¡°Beasts have no right to judge us humans!¡±

    ¡°Such foulnguage. I may be the one to deliver heaven¡¯s blessings and might not be the best at fighting, but today, you humans will pay for your ignorance and stupidity.¡±

    The butterfly pped her wings, creating a gale that swept out. Most of the st was blocked by the Divine Tree, but a bit of the wind slipped past, and it blew over to where Dual deform, Bai Sheng, Wen Huan, and E'' Ji were fighting.

    The five were frozen where they had been fighting earlier.

    Bai Sheng fell, his staff slipping from his hand, his eyes filled with bitterness. In the end, he was dying on the battlefield.

    Wen Huan copsed next. He had been one of Arrow God¡¯s Five Elders in the Fifth Scourge. He had been a sequence powerhouse, but that was not enough to save him from a p of the butterfly¡¯s wings.

    Both of Dual deform¡¯s bodies started to show signs of corrosion.

    The pink-haired woman was terrified. ¡°Brother, brother, are we¡­?¡±

    The blue-haired man cradled the pink-haired woman in his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Brother is here.¡±

    The pink-haired woman clung tightly to the blue-haired man while weeping. ¡°Brother, are we going to die?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright. Brother will protect you.¡± As the man spoke, the corrosion covering their bodies grew even worse. Both were covered in rust.

    It was odd to see rust appear on a person, but Dual deform was not human; they were a pair of des.

    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m scared!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. Brother is here. No matter where we go, Brother will stay at your side.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Brother. I¡¯ve held you back again.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t be afraid. Don¡¯t be afraid¡­¡±

    As the two whispered to each other, they slowly closed their eyes, and their bodies disintegrated. Finally, two long, rust-covered des appeared on the ground of the Scourge. One was entirely blue. Before rusting over, the knife had been dazzling to look at. The other de had been pink, and it had been equally beautiful.

    As the rust continued to cover the two knives, they fell apart, eventually bing nothing more than powder. Only the handles remained, and theyy stacked atop each other.

    A short distance away, E'' Ji revealed a bitter smile. She had lived a life of extravagance, and she had never dreamed that her final moments would be spent alongside two knives.

    She stared off into the distance, looking at E'' Nan, her eldest son.

    <em>Live well, E'' Nan. We of the Scourge upation don¡¯t fear death, and I¡¯ve lived a life of luxury. My time hase. Even if I don¡¯t die on this battlefield, I only have a few years remaining.</em>

    E¡¯ Ji had not only agreed to help Lu Yin because of Mister Mu. The debt that her people owed Mister Mu for the kindness he had shown them had already been paid in full when they had helped rescue the Nine-Star Civilization. No, E¡¯ Ji had continued to ally her people with Lu Yin for the sake of the Scourge upation.

    Her people could not continue as they had been living, lingering between extravagance and death. The more that they encountered, the more that people¡¯s thoughts would shift and change. Who among them did not want to cultivate properly and live a bit longer?

    The truth was that many members of the Scourge upation had already fled.

    E'' Ji hoped that the day woulde when Lu Yin would reach an unprecedented height and resolve their ancestor¡¯s madness, which would allow her people to regain normal lives. For countless years, each generation of the Scourge upation¡¯s chieftains had been searching for such a person.

    E¡¯ Ji saw hope in Lu Yin. The day woulde when Lu Yin would achieve their dream.

    Why else would the Scourge upation, a people who hade to ept death, join the Heavens Sect?

    <em>E'' Nan, my son, lead the Scourge upation well and follow the Heavens Sect. One day, you will find freedom!</em>

    E'' Ji slowly fell.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3215: Big Tree, Big Tree

    <h4>Chapter 3215: Big Tree, Big Tree</h4>

    Countless lives had already been lost on this battlefield, and many more were destined to follow.

    This was war, and it was being fought for survival.

    Many familiar faces would never be seen again.

    This war was also inevitable. For humanity, they needed to fight for their descendants.

    If they did not carry this burden, it would fall upon their descendants.

    In the Heavens Sect, bodies fell, one after another.

    The Progenitor of Bloodlines leaned on his cane as he stood outside the sect''s main hall.

    "My own end draws near as well," he murmured as he looked ahead at Master Shan¡¯s cold body.

    The Star Devourer, the jiao, and Ancestor Tortoise were engaged in a fierce battle in outer space.

    Soon, another body fell; it was the Luna Alliance¡¯s Moon Ghost. She had been killed by an odd creature which was another outsider powerhouse who had allied with Aeternus.

    As for the odd creature, it was quickly put down by Mu Xie.

    In the Perennial World, Lu Qi fought against outsider powerhouses above the Middle Ocean.

    Nong Yi stood guard outside of Seed Garden, while Xi Wei went to the top of the Mother Tree.

    Battles were being fought absolutely everywhere.

    This was a massive war, and although it had broken out quite suddenly, humanity had been prepared for it for a long time.

    Life and death were decided almost casually at this moment.

    Arge tree appeared in outer space. It raised a thick trunk and started frantically racing towards the Perennial World.

    Lu Qi was in the middle of fighting a strange creature above the Middle Ocean when the big tree stomped on his head. Enraged, he tried to chase after the tree, but he was stopped by his opponent.

    The big tree ran through the Perennial World and continued on to the Fifth Maind. It circled the Neoverse and then passed through the void to make its way to the Heavens Sect. As Arch-Elder Zen and the others stared in amazement, the tree stepped on the Star Devourer''s head and vanished.

    Shao Chen rubbed his eyes. "Was that... a tree?"

    The tree then arrived in the Second Scourge, where it moved faster than anyone else. Even the speed of time meant nothing before the tree. The entire megaverse was the big tree¡¯s sandbox, and it could go wherever it pleased.

    On this battlefield, many people recognized the big tree.

    Big Sis¡¯ mouth fell open, and she shouted, "You stupid tree! Get over here!"

    Lu Yuan and Ancient God both looked over. "Is it really that same tree?"

    "Why does that thing always visit battlefields?"

    Ancient God clearly remembered how many human powerhouses had been dragged away from the Third Maind''s Battle of Turtledove River by the big tree. That was when Ce Wangtian had been lost.

    Progenitor Xi stared as the big tree zipped by and frowned. This tree really knew when to show up.

    Kong Tianzhao was caught off guard. He was down on one knee and was surprised when his ankle was caught on a branch. As quick as that, he was dragged away,pletely shocked.

    As it dragged Kong Tianzhao away, the big tree panicked, as it thought that someone was chasing it. It started frantically running around the battlefield.

    Tian En red at the tree coldly. "It¡¯s that tree yet again! If not for that tree, Tai Chu would have died long ago."

    As she thought back, she attacked the big tree, only to be blocked by Jiang Feng.

    The Lord of Lightning had been unable to save Kong Tianzhao, but the big tree had just happened to drag the swordsman away. While it was a rather humiliating escape, it was at least better than dying.

    Kong Tianzhao, a paragon of righteousness who had always maintained an air of a noble gentleman, even during difficult training in harsh environments, was currently being dragged across the ground by a tree branch.

    "Get over here!" Behind Big Sis, her Abyssal King stepped forward and grabbed a branch.

    This terrified the big tree even further, and it started running even more frantically.

    Big Sis grabbed hold of a branch with one hand, and the Magician with her other. The man looked at her in confusion as he was dragged along.

    The Magician was one of Arrow God¡¯s Five Elders. He was powerful enough to have participated in the Divine Selection, and he had survived the battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel. He had survived countless battles and was incredibly powerful. Not even Big Sis could handle the Magician easily.

    At this moment, Big Sis wanted to follow the big tree, so she naturally had to drag the Magician along.

    The Magician quickly used his innate gift, Truth me, and tried to burn a branch.

    Unfortunately, he discovered that the branch produced an even more terrifying me, and it devoured his Truth me. He did not dare to act rashly again.

    At this moment, Xin Wu raced after the big tree. He had been about to die, killed by Ye Wu, and the big tree offered hope of escaping from the battlefield.

    Ye Wu did not pursue, though The Abandoned was one step faster, and he appeared in front of Xin Wu. The man¡¯s broken de shed out, and Xin Wu''s head flew off.

    Lightning fell, and as everyone stared in shock, Progenitor Ku kept a fierce grip on the Ancient Lightning Locust and charged at the big tree.

    The big tree was so terrified its branches were trembling.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust''s lightning roared as it tried to shake Progenitor Ku off, but the Progenitor remained immovable, "Come with me to the Immemorial Citadel."

    Lightning flickered over top of mes as the Ancient Lightning Locust struggled. Unfortunately, it was unable to break free from Progenitor Ku.

    Progenitor Ku''s body zed with the light of Triumphant Brawl as he maintained a tight hold on the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    He could not defeat the beast, as the Ancient Lightning Locust was not even a living creature, but rather pure lightning. Even so, that was not enough to stop the Progenitor from dragging Ancient Lightning Locust along with him.

    Qing Ping used judgment on Mu Ji. "Judgment: up the tree."

    Mu Ji was stunned. How could that be a judgment? Was this some kind of tree-climbing contest? That should be impossible.

    He immediately spun his Roulette of Life and Death, trying to find a way out.

    The big tree frantically tried to escape from the intense war that covered the Second Scourge. The fierce fighting had opened deep fissures everywhere.

    The big tree tripped and fell into one of those fissures.

    The tree was dragging Kong Tianzhao along, and Big Sis was holding onto a branch with one hand and the Magician with the other.

    Progenitor Ku squatted on the tree¡¯s trunk while clutching the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    All of them fell along with the big tree, and they crashed into the solidifiedke of divine energy. Some distance away from them were both Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er were both taken aback by the sudden arrival of the others, and they stared at the big tree. What was going on?

    The big tree struggled in a panic as it tried to shake off the creatures clinging to it, but it could not get free. Because of that, it fled through theke of solidified divine energy.

    Bai Xian''er stared. <i>The Ancient Lightning Locust? Progenitor Ku? And that... is that Progenitor Y¨­u Ming? That big tree has appeared on a battlefield yet again.</i>

    In every major war throughout human history, this same big tree had made an appearance. This battle was being fought across multiple universes, which was a scale rare even across all of history. It was not surprising to see the tree make an appearance.

    This big tree had a connection to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin had no time to worry about the tree. He was under too much pressure from Bai Xian''er. Her sequence particles were almost impossible to deal with, and with his current strength, he could not match her. The only possibility was to break through and be a Progenitor.

    However, the three bits of Primaldust remained far away, and Bai Xian''er would never allow Lu Yin to reach them.

    If he could not break through with his Dust World inner world, then he would have to do so with Infinity.

    Lu Yin had spent a long time as a Semi-Progenitor, and it was time for him to break through and be a Progenitor.

    He took a deep breath and then looked away from the big tree to focus on Bai Xian''er.

    She was already looking at him. "Brother Xiaoxuan, you-"

    Before she could finish, the big tree shot towards them.

    Bai Xian''er¡¯s eyes grew cold. "Brother Xiaoxuan, you can''t leave with that tree! Even if you do, will you abandon this battlefield?"

    Lu Yin responded with a bitter smile, "Of course not."

    "In that case, let''s fall into oblivion along with this battlefield," Bai Xian''er icily dered.

    Neither of the two noticed that the big tree''s branches had created a ripple in the solidifiedke of divine energy, and that the ripple had generated a force pulling on the three distant pieces of Primaldust.

    Everyone''s attention remained focused on the big tree.

    Especially Bai Xian''er. She watched as a dirt road appeared beneath the big tree¡¯s two thick trunks. This was the manifestation of the path that the tree used to move. Even the tree needed something to support its journey through the void.

    Bai Xian''er shattered that dirt road in an attempt to stop the big tree.

    The tree was startled, and mes started to ze all around it.

    These were the same mes that had once burned the Books of Destiny. They were the mes that burned above the Immemorial Citadel and held the Aeternals at bay. They had epted the bodies of countless human heroes throughout history. This time, they burned Bai Xian''er''s sequence particles.

    On the tree, Big Sis shouted, "Little Seven, are you alright?"

    Progenitor Ku was still clinging tightly to the Ancient Lightning Locust. "We might be going to the Immemorial Citadel. I''ve lost some of my memories, but I have a feeling... that this is not yet the time to decide things with Aeternus."

    The big tree continued to flee in a frenzy. It burned Bai Xian''er''s sequence particles, which caused the dirt road to vanish.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin noticed the ripple trailing behind the big tree, as well as the three pieces of Primaldust that were being pulled along.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. He could not even answer Big Sis and Progenitor Ku. He waved his hand, and the pieces of Primaldust followed the ripple as they flew toward him.

    Bai Xian''er saw what was happening and hurriedly tried to stop Lu Yin, but Kong Tianzhao stabbed his sword into the big tree¡¯s trunk. The tree was startled, and it jumped up and changed direction, racing towards Bai Xian''er, which blocked her.

    mes burned, and they melted the nearby divine energy.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God was focused on the battle down below. To him, the fight between Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er had been far morepelling than the fights between Lu Yuan and Ancient God, Wu Tian and Di Qiong, or the Lord of Lightning and Tian Ci.

    The big tree¡¯s appearance was unexpected, and the mes surrounding it were so intense that not even divine energy could suppress them.

    The mes even managed to block Bai Xian''er''s vision.

    Lu Yin managed to grab the three pieces of Primaldust. He felt their scorching heat from the one in his forehead, and he let go of the ones in his hand. The three pieces of Primaldust shot towards his brow, merging with his body and disappearing.

    "Mavis, Mavis, Mavis..."

    "First Blood, from now on, this Maind is yours to oversee. Everyone will call you Ancestor Mavis. Listen to that. Doesn¡¯t it sound impressive?"

    "Master, this sounds like a pain. Why don¡¯t you give it to Loam?"

    "Loam has one too."

    "Then what about Musclehead?"

    "Musclehead also has one."

    "Then who doesn''t? There are nine of us, so are you going to make eight Mainds?"

    "Big Thug, Lassy, and ckie won''t have one. It doesn¡¯t suit their personalities."

    "I understand Lassy and ckie, but how is Big Thug unsuitable?"

    "Big Thug needs to continue teaching all creatures. How could he be confined to a single Maind?"

    "I don''t know why, but I feel like you''re mocking us, Master."

    "You¡¯re mistaken."

    ...

    "Musclehead, take good care of this Maind."

    "Master, I''ll bring a new kind of life to this Maind. What do you think about humans growing to be a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times bigger and creating a new race?"

    "Musclehead, do you think I¡¯ve gone senile? That¡¯s already been done. There are parallel universes with enormous humans. I''ve seen them, and I can even grow bigger myself. Look at my hand. See how big it is?"

    "No, Master. You¡¯ve managed toprehend everything. How could you be senile?"

    "Alright, in that case, go ahead and add more life to your Maind. In fact, go ahead and take the astral beasts with the worst tempers with you too."

    "What? Master, that''s too much! Those astral beasts act more on instinct than rationality. Clearly, they should be handled by Yellowy. He¡¯s better suited to deal with them."

    "Yellowy is too blunt and forceful. You should handle this. We humans need to live peacefully with the astral beasts. We can''t allow them to be a spark that ignites war."

    "Then what about the Divine Eagle or the Python Ancestor? If they don¡¯t work, then even the Arkfish could disgust them."

    "Don¡¯t you want to try to create a race of giants? You might receive some inspiration from the massive astral beasts."

    "Master, I feel like you''re messing with me."

    "You¡¯re mistaken."

    ...

 Chapter 3216: Breakthrough With Dust World

    <h4>Chapter 3216: Breakthrough With Dust World</h4>

    "Yellowy, it''s not that I don''t want to bring you along. Rather, given your strength, you should have already be a Progenitor and been responsible for a territory for a long time now."

    <i>Roar!</i>

    "Just think about it. One day, astral beasts will also develop a civilization simr to humanity, and they will have their own history, culture, and pride. You will be their pride."

    <i>Roar!</i>

    "Don''t re at me! I hope that you can enlighten the astral beasts. One day, they will be able to live peacefully with humanity, and at that time, our Origin Universe will be beautiful."

    <i>Roar!</i>

    "You aren''t cursing me, are you? I''m sure that you can protect them. As time goes on, there will be more and more humans, and some of them won''t be able to control their greed. There might even be outsiders who resent our Origin Universe, and the grudges between humans and astral beasts is a perfect point to instigate a war, so you have to keep an eye on things."

    <i>Roar!</i>

    "You¡¯re mistaken."

    ...

    The three specks of Primaldust entered Lu Yin''s brow, which caused him to hear many conversations and see numerous scenes. Everything was from the Second, Third, and Fourth Mainds. They were memories of the Primaldust.

    In front of him, the big tree slipped away, and Bai Xian''er immediately attacked Lu Yin. "Give me the Primaldust!"

    Lu Yin dodged while trying to initiate a breakthrough.

    For him to breakthrough to the Progenitor realm with Dust World, a strong foundation was not nearly enough. Though, these three pieces of Primaldust were a rare opportunity.

    Dust World did not merely transform thought into reality. Far more importantly, it embodied the desires of all creatures.

    Without embodying the desires of all creatures, how could andmass take form? The Origin Progenitor''s heart had been able to epass an entire universe, which was why he had created five Mainds, using his own Primaldust as the core for each one. If Lu Yin wanted to transform his Dust World, then what he needed was not more power, but rather for Dust World to have the ability to contain and hear the desires of all creatures.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book had once allowed Lu Yin to hear countless voices, and with that, he had taken a step forward with Dust World. The appearance of Primaldust here was a shortcut that greatly reduced the work Lu Yin had to do.

    Lu Yin continued to listen to the voices from the three Mainds. These voices came from the ancient era, but they still held the desires of various creatures.

    He heard the Mavis family being praised by the Second Maind, the astonishment of countless beings on the Third Maind when the colossal giants were created, and the roars of the Fourth Maind¡¯s astral beasts. As time passed, Lu Yin heard more and more voices.

    Even so, this was not enough. It was stillcking.

    All the voices he was hearing were insufficient.

    Lu Yin took out his Wordless Heavenly Book, which radiated a golden light that shot up through the cracks in the ground and reached out towards the Second Scourge¡¯s sky. They looked like golden swords, and the light pierced countless eyes.

    He heard voices from both the Origin Universe and the many parallel universes connected to the Origin Universe.

    Dust World grew heavier and heavier. It had long since merged with thendmass in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. It yearned to transform and move closer to the four grains of Primaldust in his brow.

    But all this still was not enough. He needed to hear more voices and hear more prayers from all creatures, no matter if they were from the past, the present, or the future. It did not matter where the creatures were, or even if they still existed.

    In the Perennial World, the Python Ancestor¡¯s eyes abruptly snapped open, and its massive body shot into the ground beneath the Lower Realm.

    Atop the Mother Tree¡¯s crown, the Divine Eagle spread its wings and tore through the void, making its way to the Sixth Maind.

    Their memories had been triggered, and they felt as though they had returned to the past and the times when they had followed the Origin Progenitor around. At that time, the Divine Eagle had perched on the man¡¯s shoulder, and the Python Ancestor had coiled around his waist. They both felt the Origin¡¯s Progenitor''s desperate need for his weapons. They could hear him begging for their help.

    The Python Ancestor moved through the Lower Realm¡¯s underground tunnels, searching for the Primaldust that served as the core of the Fifth Maind thaty beneath the Perennial World. The snake bit down on the Primaldust, shot back into the sky, and tore through the void. It could sense the locations of the other pieces of Primaldust.

    In the Sixth Maind, the Divine Eagle tore the ground open and seized the Primaldust core of the Sixth Maind. It then also ripped through the void as it let out a cry that echoed throughout the entire Origin Universe as it flew to the Second Scourge.

    Lu Yin was still dodging Bai Xian''er''s attacks, but her sequence particles were putting too much pressure on him, and his injuries multiplied. He never stopped bleeding.

    He needed to hear more voices. Four pieces of Primaldust were not enough; he needed all six of them.

    As he was considering this, the Python Ancestor and the Divine Eagle both appeared in the sky of the Second Scourge. They stared down at the ground before crashing into it.

    Atop the ck Mother Tree, True God¡¯s eyes suddenly red in rm. "Stop them!"

    However, there was no one on the entire battlefield who could spare any effort to block either the Divine Eagle or the Python Ancestor. Even the Three Pirs and Six Skies would struggle to stop the two beasts.

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor shattered the ground of the Second Scourge as they continued their downward charge.

    Lu Yin and Bai Xian''er looked up and saw the ground above them break apart.

    Lu Yin''s forehead was getting hotter and hotter, which surprised him. Were there more pieces of Primaldust close by? <i>Could it be...?</i>

    There was a cry as the Divine Eagle pped its wings and shot towards Bai Xian''er, startling her. "Divine Eagle?"

    She pulled back, as she knew that the Divine Eagle was far from weak; it was evenparable to the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Next came the Python Ancestor, and its eyes locked onto Lu Yin. However, the snake did not see Lu Yin, but the Origin Progenitor. That mythical figure was the Python Ancestor¡¯s master, and he needed his weapons. He needed his Primaldust.

    <i>Master, we¡¯vee!</i>

    Two pieces of Primaldust flew out from the mouths of the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor and shot towards Lu Yin.

    Bai Xian''er went bug-eyed in rm. She wanted to stop the Primaldusts from reaching Lu Yin, but both the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor charged at her at that moment. It was difficult for anyone who had not yet be an Ortuser to deal with the two beasts, as they had fought alongside the Origin Progenitor himself.

    With them shielding him, Lu Yin managed to safely receive the two pieces of Primaldust. He had no time to consider why the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor would deliver these to him. All that he knew was that there were finally enough voices.

    Primaldust was the Origin Progenitor''s weapon, and they embodied the desires of all creatures while also forming the core of the six Mainds. This was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s path.

    Lu Yin''s Dust World was following the Origin Progenitor¡¯s path.

    Once he heard enough voices and could feel the determination of all creatures¡¯ desires, it was possible to start transforming his Dust World.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Thunder rumbled across the sky as the universe shook even more violently than when the Ancient Lightning Locust and the Lord of Lightning had fought.

    The battles stopped in the Second Scourge as people turned to look up at the sky.

    The thunderp allowed everyone to realize something.

    Right after the deafening thunder, ck cracks appeared from nowhere, and they tore through both the Scourge and the void, as though someone was attacking indiscriminately.

    In the Second Scourge, and even in the five other Scourges, all creatures felt terrified. They all moved to avoid the ck cracks that had suddenly appeared.

    The sky above was shaking, and so too was thend below.

    "What¡¯s happening?"

    "Who¡¯s causing such amotion?"

    "It feels like someone¡¯s triggered a breakthrough, but not even a Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough should affect the universe like this."

    "Could someone be trying to break into the Origin realm?"

    When Ancient God and Lu Yuan had broken into the Origin realm, their breakthroughs had been a hugemotion, and the resulting chaotic sequence particles had forced all the fighting to pause for a time.

    This was a simr situation, though there was an important difference in that there were no chaotic sequence particles. Instead, it seemed as though the entire universe itself had been thrown into chaos.

    The sky above, thend below, and even far beyond, everything was affected. The impact even stretched into the Endless Frontier.

    One after another, cosmic doors fell from the sky. Everyone could sense that something was off with the universe itself, though they could not identify what exactly.

    Only Lu Yuan, Ancient God, and a few others looked down below the Second Scourge. They were able to sense that these sudden changes originated from down below.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes zed intensely. <i>Could this be?</i>

    For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.

    Di Qiong panted. He stared down at the ground with a growing sense of unease.

    Progenitor Xi frowned. <i>Could it be? Could he be breaking through to be a Progenitor right now? This isn¡¯t the Origin Universe, which means that the boy must want to forge his own path.</i>

    For many, forging their own path was essential if they wanted to be an exceptional powerhouse. Since Lu Yin was the strongest in his realm, it was only expected for him to do the same.

    However, the moment he started to truly begin walking his path, he did not produce a small amount of shock. While this was to be expected, its impact was not reduced in the slightest.

    Deep underground, Lu Yin looked up. Breaking through to the Progenitor realm was simr to breaking through to the Semi-Progenitor realm, as his own power was the catalyst.

    During his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, he had developed all four inner worlds at the same time, and that had inadvertently led him to believe that his Progenitor breakthrough needed to be the same.

    The truth was, separately breaking through with each inner world would work just as well.

    For the time being, Lu Yin intended to first break through to the Progenitor realm with his Dust World.

    Bai Xian''er did not attack again. During a Progenitor breakthrough, any outsiders who got involved would be asking to die, especially if the person challenging the breakthrough was forging their own path. While stellr tribtions were specific to the Origin Universe, this phenomena was true for Progenitor breakthroughs throughout the entire megaverse.

    In the Sixverse Association, some people could be peak powerhouses without facing any sort of tribtion, but such incidences were all too rare.

    Mu Shen, Lord Xu, and all the others who had forged their own paths had had to face their own tribtions. Not everyone¡¯s first tribtion would be when trying to enter the Origin realm.

    Bing a peak powerhouse meant reaching a fundamentally different level and creating a new path. Creatures capable of doing this disrupted the megaverse itself, and the universe would not allow such a thing to happen.

    There was no Heaven''s Suppression, as Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough did not involve any stellr energy.

    Instead, something even more terrifying than Heaven''s Suppression appeared, which startled everyone present.

    The sky above the Second Scourge twisted, and scenes flickered in and out like mirages. However, these scenes were actually all parallel universes.

    Each parallel universe connected to the Second Scourge, and they twisted together to surge towards Lu Yin like a tidal wave.

    Entering a parallel universe waspletely different from seeing them ovep with each other; Lu Yin was like an ordinary human up against the vast, surging ocean.

    The sight startled everyone.

    True God nced around. This child was attempting to walk down a path that was so extreme that not even parallel universes could bear it. Thus, the megaverse sought to destroy Lu Yin.

    Could it be that the boy truly wanted to create a parallel universe?

    Each Progenitor¡¯s world was essentially a universe, but none couldpare to the megaverse¡¯s true parallel universes. The two were on entirely different levels.

    If a person could truly create their own parallel universe, then it meant that they could create an entirely separate and distinct universe from whatever universe they were in. However, this wouldpress the other parallel spaces in the megaverse. The consequences of such a thing would be beyond terrifying.

    Even when Lu Yin unleashed his inner universe, it had been rejected by whatever universe he was in, creating a shell of the Hollow around him. However, his inner universe could notpare to a true universe.

    Lu Yin rose up from the depths of the Scourge and stepped onto the surface. He could see the entire battlefield, all the participating powerhouses, and even the various corpses. He then looked up to see the rapidly flickering scenes of various parallel universes.

    The scene created by Dust World¡¯s breakthrough to the Progenitor level seemed to be even more exaggerated than what Lu Yin had anticipated.

    He had assumed that he would face something simr to his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, like a summoned peak powerhouse or some sort of astral phenomenon. Instead, he was not facing something nearly that simple. Instead, it seemed that the megaverse itself was rejecting him. It was as though reality sought to erase Lu Yin.

    <i>Does the universe really hate me this much?</i>

 Chapter 3217: Limits Of Power

    The Origin Progenitor crouched low beneath the Immemorial Citadel. He clenched his jaw, holding countless sequence strings between his teeth.

    At this moment, those sequence strings were all vibrating, which caught him off guard.

    Mister Mu arrived. "Hold tight. That kid is breaking through to the Progenitor realm, and it¡¯s creating a hugemotion. Even the Immemorial Citadel is being affected."

    The Origin Progenitor chuckled. "It''s not that big a deal. He''s just trying to create some more space to survive in. During my breakthrough, there was a much biggermotion. Do you think the various species came to fight me? No! All of them were too scared of me. Even the Boundary Guardians were frightened."

    Mister Mu calmly replied, "Stop boasting. This breakthrough is only for one of his inner worlds, and he still has three more. That hugemotion that you stirred up wasn''t during your Progenitor breakthrough, was it? Do you think I¡¯m ignorant? That happened during your breakthrough to the Origin realm."

    "It was when I became a Progenitor. You''re underestimating me."

    "No, it was when you became an Ortuser. I''m absolutely certain."

    "Old Mu, epting Pir as your disciple is the only thing in your life that you can brag about. Aside from him, you''re worthless."

    "Go ahead and insult me all you want, but I''m not changing my words. Endure. It''s almost time."In the Second Scourge, Lu Yin sensed various parallel universes approaching, and it felt as though they were about to crush him.

    Right as they were about to collide, a familiar sight appeared; it was the Sixth Maind.

    The Origin Universe also appeared. Lu Yin had been born in the Origin Universe, so if he were to create a new parallel universe, the first one that would be pushed aside was the Origin Universe.

    Both the Sixth Maind and the Fifth Maind were ready to crush Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. He had already known that his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough would be difficult, but this still exceeded his expectations.

    Who else had ever needed to withstand the suppression of numerous parallel universes to ovee their breakthrough and be a Progenitor? No one. Lu Yin had never heard of such a thing before.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, and Garan Zhiluo were all stunned. They were among humanity¡¯s strongest experts as the Three Realms and Six Daos, and they all had amassed vast experience, but none of them had ever encountered such a phenomenon, aside from their master. He was the only one who had ever produced a simr phenomenon during a breakthrough. He had caused the entire megaverse and countless parallel universes to tremble in fear. Thatmotion had been much greater than what Lu Yin was currently inducing, but that was because it had happened during their master¡¯s breakthrough to the Origin realm. His tribtion had disrupted the entire megaverse¡¯s sequence particles. But right now, Lu Yin was just challenging his Progenitor breakthrough.

    "Little Seven," Lu Yuan called out, worried.

    Lu Tianyi, Qing Ping, Mu Ke, Jiang Feng, and many others looked at him with simr concern. This breakthrough¡¯s tribtion was sorge that none of them knew how to deal with it.

    Bai Xian''er looked up at the sky with calm eyes.

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor both let out cries, seemingly worried.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. Since he had triggered this tribtion by trying to breakthrough with Dust World, he would need to use Dust World to ovee this.

    He closed his eyes.

    The void in the Second Scourge continued to split apart, the fissuresing together until they formed a ck river that appeared to flow backward. This was not a real river, but rather the illusion of one formed by countless spatial tears that had merged together.

    More and more spatial tears opened as the river edged closer and closer to Lu Yin.

    From a distance, it looked as though Lu Yin was trapped inside a ck jar that was about to close.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and his Dust World appeared above him, surrounded by the six pieces of Primaldust. He sped his hands behind his back and stared at the Origin Universe. He spoke with an aura of transcendence, "I am the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect. I carry the will of the people and ept the prayers of all creatures. ?

    "Today, I vow that I, for the sake of humanity, will establish a foothold in this megaverse.

    "I, for the sake of humanity, will protect all creatures in this universe, no matter if they are human or other.

    "In the megaverse, among the countless races, humanity shall rise above all in wisdom.¡±

    The parallel universes all trembled and roared, and the countless spatial tears shed non-stop.

    "Fifth Maind, will you acknowledge my name?"

    The Fifth Maind trembled.

    "Sixth Maind, will you acknowledge my name?"

    The Sixth Maind trembled.

    "Origin Universe, will you acknowledge my name? I am Lu Yin, Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect."

    In the Origin Universe, countless people looked up, and they all saw Lu Yin. Everyone was able to see him. <em>That¡¯s the Dao Monarch, the Dao Monarch¡­ </em>

    "I will lead humanity to invincibility. Beneath this sky, in this megaverse, in this reality, who will dare oppose us?

    "No matter what path I take, humanity will always be my first priority. I, Lu Yin, will always be right, and the path I tread will lead to sess. Am I wrong?"

    There was a brief silence in the Origin Universe, followed by a thunderous roar, "Yes, the Dao Monarch is right! The Dao Monarch''s path is true! It will seed. Who dares to oppose the Dao Monarch?"

    "The Dao Monarch''s path is true!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible and leads humanity!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    "The Dao Monarch is invincible!"

    ...

    Countless voices converged into a torrent of sound that ran through the Origin Universe, shaking the Fifth and Sixth Mainds. Everyone in the universe was shouting wildly, and soon, countless parallel universes that were part of the Sixverse Association and even outsider universes joined them.

    Lu Yin stood in the sky, countless voices swirling around him. He was listening to them again, but this time, the voices were for him. This was the true meaning of "prayers of all creatures."

    The prayers of all creatures did not only mean listening to the desires of all creatures, but also disseminating the desires of an individual to all creatures.

    There were no absolutes in the megaverse. Only living creatures were able to create limits.

    The countless prayers melded into a surge of force that pushed the Origin Universe into its neighboring parallel universes, and dozens of parallel universes that were part of the Sixverse Association also appeared. They mmed into the various parallel universes that sought to crush Lu Yin as well.

    The entire sky above the Second Scourge shattered. Lu Yin stood in the air like a deity, without even needing to lift a finger. No matter who stepped forward, none could block his path. The path he walked was the correct one.

    From the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God''s expression fell. As he stared at Lu Yin in the midst of his tribtion, an unprecedented bloodlust appeared in True God¡¯s eyes.

    The boy could be allowed to have extraordinary talent, hold onto a mirebound artifact, and even reestablish the Heavens Sect and lead it back to its former glory. True God could tolerate all of those things, but at this moment, he saw something that he could not allow.

    Lu Yin had gained the support of countless individuals. It could even be said that he was supported by the entire human race.

    It was impossible to say just how powerful such support could be.

    The higher one''s cultivation, the better they understood how terrifying this power could be.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin presented a greater threat than anyone else True God had ever known, including even the Origin Progenitor.

    Far away, Tian Ci''s expression grew even darker. He wanted to bring his people into this megaverse and rece the indigenous humans here. As he observed Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough, Tian Ci saw his hope slipping further away.

    A single person had received the support of the entire human race. Just what sort of terrifying power was that?

    This power had helped Lu Yin by oveing his tribtion for him, and it could also allow him to ascend to unprecedented heights.

    This was the support of an entire species.

    Bai Xian''er let out a breath. They were toote. She had not been able to stop this from happening. Lu Yin had broken through and be a Progenitor. How powerful would he be now? Not even Bai Xian''er could begin to guess.

    All she could hope was that, as a newly ascended Progenitor, Lu Yin had not yet achieved a realm of power that was beyond her. Otherwise, who would be able to stop him?

    Up in the sky, Lu Yin spread his arms open wide, and the numerous parallel universes that had tried to crush him all vanished. The Scourge returned to normal.

    His Dust World had sessfully transformed.

    Dust World disappeared, and the first piece of Primaldust that Lu Yin had been given by the Origin Progenitor, as well as the other five pieces, all fell upon thendmass in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. One day, all six pieces of Primaldust would be returned to the Origin Progenitor. They were his weapons.

    At this moment, a barely noticeable dot had appeared on Lu Yin''s brow. This dot was his own Dust World.

    Dust World had transformed from an inner world into a Progenitor¡¯s world. It held the voices of countless creatures; it held their prayers and a spark of vitality. At this moment, Dust World was truly a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin was finally a Progenitor.

    While this breakthrough was only for one of his inner worlds, that did not change the fact that Lu Yin was now a true Progenitor.

    He had finally stepped into the realm of peak powerhouses.

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor both suddenly shot towards Lu Yin.

    As countless eyes stared on in astonishment, Lu Yin found the Divine Eagle perched on his shoulder and Python Ancestor coiled around his waist. This waspletely unexpected. The two beasts must have mistaken Lu Yin for the Origin Progenitor.

    Hongyan Mavis''s eyes flushed red. "Master, Master."

    Ancient God''s body trembled. <em>Master¡­</em>

    At this moment, Lu Yin looked like the Origin Progenitor, uncannily so. Many were reminded of the ancient past, and they could even see the brilliance of that era.

    But the illusion onlysted for a moment.

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor stared nkly at Lu Yin''s face, and their expressions suddenly changed. There was no hesitation as they both left. They had finally realized that it was Lu Yin and not the Origin Progenitor. The man was an impostor.

    Hongyan Mavis and several others snapped back to reality. Lu Yin was still Lu Yin. He was not the Origin Progenitor.

    They missed their master.

    Lu Yin looked down, and his eyes locked onto Bai Xian''er¡¯s. "Now, it¡¯s time for round two."

    With that, he stretched his hand out towards Bai Xian''er, and a cylindrical mass of soil appeared in the sky. It was only as wide as a palm, and it shot towards the woman like a spear.

    Bai Xian''er pointed a finger to intercept the attack, but her expression quickly changed. She contorted her body as quickly as possible, but the column of dirt still tore through her wrist before continuing down to the ground.

    At that moment, Bai Xian''er found that it was impossible for her to stop the soil.

    Lu Yin''s expression was cial as he curled his fingers. More and more columns of soil appeared in the sky, only to rain down on Bai Xian''er like a storm.

    Bai Xian''er used her sequence particles and learned the trajectories of the cylinders of soil. She could see the dirt¡¯s vessels, and breaking them caused the soil to shatter.

    However, her features twisted once again, as she discovered that she was only able to shatter a few attacks. Most of Lu Yin¡¯s columns of soil continued unimpeded.

    She stood in ce as the soil pierced her body, one column after another, each one continuing down into the ground.

    Bai Xian''er fully regenerated, but it took more effort than earlier in the battle. In fact, her face looked as pale as death.

    Lu Yin stared down at the woman. "How many more times can you use that method to recover?"

    His arm rose up, and a shocking scene unfolded.

    The entire sky of the Second Scourge became speckled with ck flecks. Each dot was a bit of soil. Each one was a destructive column of soil that even Bai Xian''er feared. The sight of so many attacks left her dazed.

    Lu Yin swung his arm down, and countless columns of soil rained down to bombard the entire Second Scourge. He was no longer just aiming at Bai Xian''er, but at all the Aeternals who were fighting against his Heavens Sect, as well as the Boundary Guardians.

    The Ortusers were immune to sequence particles, but Lu Yin was not attacking with anyws of the universe. This was nothing more than the pure power of a Progenitor.

    Just how strong could a Progenitor be? At one point in time, Lu Yin believed that Xia Shenji had reached the peak of what a Progenitor could be. With his abilities like his Shenwu World, Graduation, and his Nine Clones Secret Technique, Xia Shenji had seemed practically invincible. Lu Yin had genuinely thought that Xia Shenji could not be much weaker than even Progenitor Chen.

    However, as Lu Yin''s cultivation had advanced and his perspective expanded, he had graduallye to understand what Sequence Progenitors were.

    Even then, Xia Shenji had still been regarded as a peak Progenitor beneath the realm of sequence powerhouses. The man had not touched that level himself, but he was nearly impossible for anyone who was not a sequence powerhouse to defeat.

    However, Lu Yin hadpletely redefined the limits of what a Progenitor¡¯s power could be.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3218: Peerless

    Without sequence particles, a cultivator was nothing more than a peak powerhouse, pure and simple. There was nothing to set them apart from weaker cultivators, aside from their Progenitor¡¯s world. But a seemingly ordinary Progenitor had just unleashed an unimaginable, terrifying level of power.

    Not even Lu Yin himself had anticipated how powerful his Dust World would be after bing a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Bai Xian''er was unable to defend herself against Lu Yin¡¯s Dust World. She could break or avoid the attacks, but she could not block them. If she tried, the columns of dirt would pierce right through her body.

    The same was true for others as well.

    All across the Second Scourge, Ancient God, Di Qiong, Arrow God, Forgotten Ruins God, Progenitor Xi, and others, such as Di Xia, Jie, and every one of Aeternus¡¯s powerhouses, was targeted by the spear-like columns of soil. The attacks fell upon the Scourge like rain.

    Jie was the first to die. He had been fighting against Supreme, and the battle had been fierce. Jie was one of Arrow God¡¯s Five Elders from the Fifth Scourge, and he was a sequence powerhouse. Because of that, he had assumed that he could use his sequence particles to block the columns of dirt.

    However, if even Bai Xian''er was incapable of blocking Dust World, then how could Jie?

    A column of dirt instantly pulverized his body, leaving behind nothing more than a mist of blood that fell to the ground in the outline of a human shape, stunning Emperor Shang in Supreme.

    Di Xia underwent a Pupilless Transformation while also releasing a surge of divine energy. Even so, he only managed to deflect the first dirt column. The second one still pierced his body, pinning him to the ground, even if it did not kill him.The only person in the entire Third Scourge stronger than Di Xia was Di Qiong himself, which meant that Di Xia was one of Aeternus¡¯s most powerful experts. He was possibly evenparable to one of Seven Skygods. However, Di Xia was still much, much weaker than Bai Xian''er.

    Even if Bai Xian''er did not use her sequence particles, Di Xia would not stand a chance against her.

    If she released her full power, Bai Xian¡¯er was unquestionably equal to one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. She was even capable of fighting against Ancient God, before his breakthrough. Even after the man became an Ortuser, he would still find it difficult to defeat Bai Xian''er.

    Given the fact that Bai Xian''er was unable to block the soil columns, very few Aeternals could.

    In fact, this was not only true of the Aeternals, as even the Boundary Guardians were targeted by Lu Yin''s attack.

    Tian Ci, Tian Feng, and Tian En all endured the rain of soil columns. These manifestations of Dust World carried the desires of all living creatures. Lu Yin¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world was so powerful that even parallel universes had sought to prevent Dust World from transforming. This went to show how powerful Lu Yin¡¯s first Progenitor¡¯s world was.

    Still, the Boundary Guardians were all Ortusers, so while they were wary of the attacks, it was not easy for Lu Yin to injure any of them.

    Arrow God fired one arrow after another at the falling soil columns, but Sovereign Dou Shengnded a brutal attack on the red-haired woman¡¯s back, nearly tearing her in half. She was forced to use her innate gift and shed a shell to survive.

    The soil columns stabbed through the Forgotten Ruins, aimed straight for Forgotten Ruins God. She was not targeted by a single column, but several.

    Her expression changed, as she could sense that she was in grave danger. The Forgotten Ruins up above her seemed toe to life, and they formedyers in front of her as they moved to block the columns of dirt.

    Layer afteryer was pierced, and the dirt columns were worn away. Only one column managed to pierce through the Forgotten Ruins and stab into Forgotten Ruins God''s body, dragging her down to the ground. ???

    Lord Xu clicked his tongue in amazement. This power was too terrifying. The boy had only just be a Progenitor, but who could stand against him?

    Near the ck Mother Tree, Ancient God grabbed a column of soil with a hand as more columns rained down from above.

    To the Skygod, while the columns were quite powerful, his own strength could not be underestimated.

    "If I faced this before my breakthrough, it wouldn''t have been easy to deal with it," Ancient God remarked as he nced over at Lu Yuan, who was his opponent. "Loam, your descendant will surpass all of us, even Master."

    Lu Yuan answered proudly, "That''s right, Musclehead! You can still turn back¡­"

    Ancient God shook his head. "This is exactly why he cannot live. Already, we¡¯re powerless against him, but there will always be someone who can deal with him."

    Lu Yuan frowned. "Who?"

    Ancient God refused to answer. He squeezed the column of soil in his hand apart and swept the rest of the falling columns aside before leaping at Loam. "Our battle still isn¡¯t over!"

    Far away, divine energy erupted from Di Qiong''s body, creating an armor-like defense around him. He punched at the sky, trying to shatter the soil columns that were stabbing at him with terrifying power.

    One column, two, three¡ªhe shattered three columns in an instant, but more kept raining down.

    Lu Yin had focused specifically on Di Qiong.

    The man quickly dodged, but a soil column still pierced his body. The pages of his Martial Scriptures swirled around him, and the columns froze in midair.

    Lu Yin''s Dust World was unable to break Di Qiong''s Martial Scriptures even after transforming and bing a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    All the columns of dirt were identical, so while the first one had managed to injure Di Qiong, the others could not. All of them were stopped by his Martial Scriptures.

    Di Qiong grabbed the column of soil that had pierced his body and casually ripped it out. Blood sprayed out, and he turned to re at Lu Yin in the distance. How could he be killed so easily? Even if someone wanted to kill him, they would have to do so in person. <em>Who do you think I am? I am Di Qiong, the Dark Wu Tian! One of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies!</em>

    Across from the man, Wu Tian spoke up. "Throughout history, few have dared to attack all of Aeternus at the same time. That¡¯s not easy to do, even for us. There¡¯s no doubt that the boy will surpass every powerhouse we know of. He¡¯s going to rise higher than what we can see."

    Far away, Lu Yin was still staring at Bai Xian''er. More dirt columns rained down upon the Second Scourge, shocking the Aeternals. More blood was spilled, and the human powerhouses were all encouraged.

    The strength that Lu Yin was demonstrating was utterly terrifying.

    Progenitor. This was Lu Yin¡¯s strength as a Progenitor. He had finally taken that step, and his power hadpletely transformed.

    No, that was not quite right. He had four inner worlds, but only one had transformed into a Progenitor¡¯s world. Lu Yin still had far more potential waiting to be unlocked.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist. He would break through with all four inner worlds and unify all of his cultivation paths into a single whole in order to be the strongest Progenitor ever. "As a Progenitor, no one in the same realm can stand against me!"

    They were simple words, but they rang throughout the cosmos, and drew everyone''s attention.

    Lu Yuanughed loudly, and he was quickly followed by every human powerhouse. Theyughed freely and proudly. This was Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect. After bing a Progenitor, no other peak powerhouse could stand against him. He waspletely domineering.

    His words spread beyond the Scourges and even past the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association. They reached every parallel universe in the megaverse.

    Transforming Dust World into a Progenitor¡¯s world had granted Lu Yin the ability to speak to all universes.

    His words stirred up humanity¡¯s excitement, and it caused emotions to boil over.

    Bing a Progenitor was not the end of cultivation, and yet Lu Yin had already dered himself to be without any peers.

    The Heavens Sect would soon see an era of unparalleled brilliance.

    In the Immemorial Citadel, both the humans and the Aeternals fell silent for a moment.

    "What a domineering statement¡­ Who is so arrogant?"

    "I don''t know, but I hope they¡¯re human. To send their voice all the way here to the Immemorial Citadel, neither of us could do that. Whoever it is has the qualifications to make such a deration."

    "They must be human."

    "There¡¯s no need to guess. The one who spoke is the current Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect in the Origin Universe, Lu Yin." Chu Yi stepped onto the city wall with a smile as he stared off into the distance. "The final battle is not far off."

    In the Second Scourge, Bai Xian''er looked up at Lu Yin with a gleam in her eyes. "Brother Xiaoxuan, you really are domineering. Today, I¡¯ll admit defeat, but we¡¯ll meet again."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. <em>You want to escape?</em>

    He took a step forward with Inverse Step, which caused everything around him to freeze. He waved a hand, and more soil appeared, manifesting into reality and forming multiple columns that instantly shot at Bai Xian''er.

    A rain of red flowers fell from the sky as Fay Blossoms bloomed. It was a beautiful and enchanting sight.

    The pirs of soil tore through the Fay Blossoms, approaching Bai Xian''er¡¯s location, only to reveal the fact that she had already disappeared.

    The Fay Blossoms were her farewell.

    Lu Yin casually redirected his columns of soil towards Tian Feng.

    The sapient stone had tried to kill Lu Yin earlier in the battle, and it was also close to the ck Mother Tree. If Lu Yin did not take action at this moment, when would he be able to?

    As for Bai Xian''er, Lu Yin was not at all surprised that she had escaped. She was not just Bai Xian''er, but also Professor Wei, the woman who had once given Lu Tianyi a paper cutout during the Heavens Sect era. No one knew the true significance of her existence.

    All that Lu Yin knew for sure was that he could not kill the woman for the time being.

    There was no doubt that the woman was on the same level as True God, the Great Sovereign, and the Origin Progenitor.

    While Lu Yin had sessfully broken through and be a Progenitor and was fully confident that he could defeat any other peak powerhouse, he was not overconfident.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength was not yet enough for him to overpower and kill a Dukkhan. On top of that, while his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough had caused a hugemotion, one thing was missing: a phenomenon.

    After Lu Yin¡¯s breakthroughs to the Explorer, Enlighter, Envoy, and Semi-Progenitor realms, there had always been a phenomenon. There was no reason why his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough wouldck one. Could it be that all four of his inner worlds needed to transform into Progenitor¡¯s worlds for a phenomenon to trigger? Would that be the true indication of Lu Yin fully entering the Progenitor realm?

    Lu Yin¡¯s limitations did not mean that he would not try to deal with an Ortuser, especially Tian Feng. That was because Lu Yin was not the primary attacker. That position was reserved for Garan Zhiluo.

    Columns of dirt stabbed at Tian Feng, who was constantly trembling. Despite being attacked from within by Garan Zhiluo, the stone still managed to dodge the soil columns.

    "Hey, you''re called Lu Yin, right?" Garan Zhiluo¡¯s voice emerged from within Tian Feng.

    Lu Yin looked at the stone. "Yes."

    "Switch with Big Thug."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled. "Sequence particles are useless against an Ortuser."

    "Of course, I know that, but Big Thug can see his opponents'' weaknesses. Let him handle this thing. I can''t coordinate with you," Garan Zhiluo growled.

    The patterns covering Tian Feng flickered with light, and suddenly, Lu Yin was unable to move his limbs. This was exactly the same as what had happened to the others earlier, and Lu Yin could not determine if his body had been sealed, or the space around him.

    "Garan Zhiluo, you''re definitely going to die a horrible death! Isn''t it better to live within me?" Tian Feng spoke.

    Garan Zhiluo sneered. "Why do you think I''ve hidden myself inside of you all this time? I''ve been waiting for a chance to learn about you so that I could eventually eliminate you four worthless things. Kid, hurry up. If you aren¡¯t able to kill an Ortuser, then you can''t help me. You might as well deal with some other enemies."

    While Lu Yin''s strength had increased greatly, he still was not capable of outright killing an Ortuser. Rather than Lu Yin, Garan Zhiluo preferred to work with Wu Tian. After all, they were all too familiar with each other.

    Once he was able to move again, Lu Yin took off and headed towards Wu Tian. If it was not impossible to kill an Ortuser, then he would switch targets. Not all of the Three Pirs and Six Skies were Ortusers.

    Far away, the battle between Wu Tian and Di Qiong had clearly tipped in Wu Tian''s favor. Di Qiong had suffered too many serious injuries, and he was coughing up blood with every exchange.

    As Lu Yin arrived, he called out, "Senior, let''s switch!"

    Wu Tian took a step back and smiled at Lu Yin. "Then I''ll leave him to you."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Don''t worry. He won''t survive."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3219: Persistence

    <h4>Chapter 3219: Persistence</h4>

    Wu Tianughed heartily as he moved towards Tian Feng. All across the battlefield, the only battles that could truly decide the overall oue were Ancient God versus Lu Yuan, Tian Ci versus the Lord of Lightning, Tian En versus Hongyan Mavis, and finally, Tian Feng versus Garan Zhiluo.

    Lu Yin''s earlier attack had forced the Aeternals to suffer heavy losses, but while many human experts like Supreme, Ye Wu, and the Abandoned were free to move around, they were unable to participate in the high-level battles.

    Only peopleparable to the Three Realms and Six Daos could participate in those fights.

    "Don''t run, Wu Tian!" Di Qiong shouted as he clenched his spear. His pupilless eyes were fixed upon Wu Tian. After a moment, the man looked at Lu Yin, who had drawn close.

    "Di Qiong, long time no see."

    Di Qiong continued to stare at Lu Yin, and the man¡¯s wariness intensified, despite no longer facing Wu Tian.

    Lu Yin''s single attack had affected the entire Scourge, and everyone recognized that he had reached the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    "I should have killed you long ago," Di Qiong slowly stated. A chill entered his eyes.

    Lu Yin calmly observed the man. "You weren¡¯t able to."

    With that, he waved his hand. Soil appeared in the sky, condensing into the shape of a column that shot at Di Qiong. Around the man, the pages of his Martial Scripture appeared, and the column froze in ce. At the same time, Di Qiong held his spear tightly, and his divine energy boiled over as he charged at Lu Yin. "Spear of the Gods."

    The spear was shrouded in divine energy, and it contained a terrifying power as it tore through the void, slicing open a long spatial tear that looked like it was going to split the Scourge in two.

    Lu Yin did not move his feet, and he simply waved his hand, causing more blocks of soil to appear. But this time, the dirt did not form into columns, but rather other shapes. There were swords, knives, spears, shields, and more. Martial Scriptures was only able to freeze attacks that it had seen before. One requirement was that the attacks had to look the same; attacks from different weapons would not be affected.

    Each of the weapons that Lu Yin had manifested could only be used once.

    But even so, that was enough for Lu Yin.

    The various dirt weapons struck Di Qiong, and his body was repeatedly stabbed as blood spilled and sttered across the ground. Half of the man¡¯s body disappeared, and he roared at the sky while his heartbeat was growing louder and louder.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and his hand rose up again. This time, soil gathered into what looked like sharp stones of varying sizes, all of which shot mercilessly at Di Qiong.

    Di Qiong was a top-tier expert, and he had once destroyed God''s Domain and overpowered multiple powerhouses from the Heavens Sect in Aeternus Nation. If not for Lu Yuan¡¯s timely arrival, Di Qiong might have swept through the entire Heavens Sect on his own.

    At the moment, the man was beingpletely suppressed by Lu Yin. While he had been badly wounded by Wu Tian, even without those injuries, Lu Yin would have still been able to overpower Di Qiong.

    The man¡¯s power had been exposed long ago, and Lu Yin understood how the man fought even better than Feng Bo.

    Not even Di Qiong¡¯s sequence particles were able to fully block Lu Yin''s rocks made of dirt.

    There was a loud bang as Di Qiong''s heart shattered, quickly followed by his head. The battlefield fell silent.

    All eyes turned to look at where yet another one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies of Aeternus had fallen. Once again, they had fallen to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had killed Shaman God, Undying God, Corpse God, and now Di Qiong. Who would be next?

    Di Qiong''s headless corpse slowly crumpled to the ground, his blood staining the dirt below.

    Lu Yin watched in silence. He could not help but feel that something was off. This battle had been too easy.

    While he was confident that he could kill Di Qiong, it should not have been this easy.

    While he had been fighting against Wu Tian, Di Qiong had been confident and eager to do battle against the man. However, the moment that Wu Tian left, Di Qiong had been killed by Lu Yin. This was just too absurd.

    On top of that, his divine energy had not dissipated.

    Lu Yin stared at Di Qiong''s corpse, and with a flick of his finger, soil manifested in the void. This time, it gathered into bs that mmed down onto Di Qiong''s body. Lu Yin intended to crush itpletely.

    After the corpse was reduced to powder, Di Qiong would have no chance of retaliating.

    From atop the ck Mother Tree, True God watched calmly as he recalled the past.

    Di Qiong was a man of great persistence. When True God first saw the man, he already knew that Di Qiong¡¯s persistence surpassed everything else about him.

    That first meeting had urred shortly after the destruction of the ancient Heavens Sect, just after the first Divine Commandment had ended. Aeternus had not had many experts at that time, and they had not even gathered the Three Pirs and Six Skies, let alone the Seven Skygods or the rulers of the six Scourges.

    True God had been searching everywhere for talented cultivators to join Aeternus, and that was when he had found Di Qiong.

    When True God first saw the child, he had been gnawing on a bone atop a pile of corpses. It had been a human bone. The child¡¯s small body had been covered in blood, but he had revealed no trace of fear. He had been as calm as a satiated beast.

    Even True God, who was ustomed to death, had been captivated by the scene. Intrigued, he had approached the child and asked him what he was doing.

    "Eating meat."

    "That''s a human."

    "Hungry."

    "Why are you here alone?"

    The child then nced to the side, where there was a well-preserved corpse.

    "Is that your father?"

    "Yes."

    "Why haven¡¯t you left?"

    In response, the child calmly stared at his father''s body but said nothing.

    True God then stepped forward to examine the child. "What are you thinking about?"

    The child answered without hesitation, "Living."

    "Then,e with me."

    "Can you help me survive?"

    "Surviving is simple."

    "It''s difficult."

    "Why do you say that?"

    "Father couldn''t survive."

    "He was too weak."

    The child looked up at True God. "Father said that Wu Tian''s teachings would eventually make him stronger."

    "He didn''t get the chance."

    The child remained calm. "Father believed in the wrong thing."

    True God stared at the child with growing interest. "Do you know Wu Tian?"

    "No."

    "Wu Tian is a human."

    The child asked, "Is he strong?"

    True God smiled. "He¡¯s at least able to survive."

    The child was not happy with that answer. "Father is dead. Wu Tian shouldn''t be allowed to live either."

    True God hadughed. "Do you hate Wu Tian?"

    "No, but he shouldn''t be alive. The weak shouldn''t live."

    "Then go and deal with him yourself."

    "I will. I won''t be weak."

    True God intently stared at the child. "If you find that you are about to die one day, what will you do?"

    The child considered the question for a moment. "As long as I can move, I''m still alive."

    True God stared off into the distance. <i>As long as you can move, you''re alive?</i>

    Movement had been the child''s only standard for remaining alive. He had been obsessed with killing Wu Tian, though he was even more obsessed with survival. On top of that, he could still move.

    As a b of soil mmed down, Di Qiong''s body suddenly moved. Half of his body was supported by his one remaining arm, and it started to rise up. The man¡¯s heart and head had both been shattered, but within his body, divine energy reconnected the broken pieces of his broken body.

    Lu Yin had seen something like this before. It was the same disturbing and terrifying scene that he had witnessed right before Shaman God¡¯s ultimate death.

    <i>Thud, thud, thud</i>.

    The sound of a beating heart echoed out from Di Qiong''s once-shattered heart that had been newly rebuilt with divine energy. The man¡¯s skin cracked open as divine energy continued to surge within his body, and an overwhelming aura shot into the sky.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was... an incredibly powerful physical strength.

    Ancient God, Arrow God, and many other experts all looked over at Di Qiong. "So, the rumors are true. Di Qiong really did create a transformation beyond the Pupilless Transformation.

    "However, the cost is death."

    Atop the ck Mother Tree, True God sighed in admiration. The child had kept his word. The final level of the Corpse King Transformation was not the Pupilless Transformation, but the Martial God Transformation. It was a stage where the body would persist even after death.

    The word ¡°martial¡± in the name represented Di Qiong¡¯s continual obsession with Wu Tian.

    The word ¡°god¡± represented divine energy. Only divine energy could enable such a transformation.

    This was the true final stage of the Corpse King Transformation.

    Di Qiong was already dead, but his body could still move. As long as his body could move, Di Qiong was not truly dead.

    There was a thunderous sound as the remaining half of Di Qiong''s body charged at Lu Yin, a solitary arm reaching out to grab the young man.

    Lu Yin waved his hand, and a spear formed from dirt, only to be instantly crushed by Di Qiong''s arm.

    With just the Pupilless Transformation, Di Qiong had been able to evenly fight against Wu Tian¡¯s pure physical strength that wasparable to Corpse God¡¯s. At this moment, Di Qiong¡¯s corpse was ten times stronger than at his greatest peak in life. This level of strength exceeded what a peak powerhouse couldprehend.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had no desire topete with Di Qiong in physical strength. After all, such a victory was impossible.

    Spears of soil shot forward, only to be shattered by Di Qiong''s arm. The corpse¡¯s legs bent, and heunched himself forward, piercing through the void and creating ripples that spread far into the distance. The pressure was so great that Lu Yin struggled to even breathe.

    Lu Yin watched as Di Qiong shot towards him. At this moment, the corpse was nothing short of the most terrifying humanoid weapon in existence.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to keep pace with Di Qiong, and he sessfully maintained a distance of one meter. One was retreating, while the other was pursuing.

    Lu Yin could clearly feel Di Qiong''s overwhelming physical power. It had reached a level beyond even what Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis were capable of. In terms of raw physical power, no one couldpare to this monster.

    However, this level of the Corpse King Transformation was enabled by divine energy, and divine energy was one of the things that Lu Yin feared the least.

    He pulled out Evernight and dragged both himself and Di Qiong into the pocket dimension.

    Within the dark realm, Di Qiong waved a hand. The void shook, and the darkness was dispersed. The Dark Pce could not burn the corpse, and even if it could, it would not matter. Di Qiong was already dead, though his physical might was beyond understanding.

    Lu Yin instantly appeared behind the corpse, and he released his inner universe. The star of divine energy spun, ripping the divine energy away from Di Qiong''s body.

    Lu Yin had been the one to kill Di Qiong, and the man had died while focused on killing Lu Yin. At the moment, Di Qiong¡¯s corpse had lost all reason.

    The arm kept swinging, trying to grab Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin''s expression was grim. Without the ability to steal divine energy, he would have been forced to use his own physical strength to deal with Di Qiong at this moment, and that would have been unimaginably difficult.

    While Ancestor Lu Yuan might be able to handle this corpse, Lu Yin would struggle to harm Di Qiong¡¯s corpse at all while it was in this state.

    Di Qiong had paid his life to activate the final level of his Corpse King Transformation.

    If not for the fact that it cost him his life, there was no doubt that Di Qiong would have been the most terrifying of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and he would have posed even more danger than Ancient God.

    The Corpse King Transformation was Aeternus¡¯s greatest battle technique of all. On a strategic level, the Corpse King Transformation was equal to True God''s three ultimate techniques.

    Lu Yin continued to evade while Di Qiong relentlessly pursued him, his single arm swinging about. The entire time, the body¡¯s divine energy was being drained away.

    Lu Yin had been able to steal divine energy from even the frenzied corpses, let alone Di Qiong.

    The heartbeats grew softer, and the arm started to slow. Lu Yin could clearly feel that the body¡¯s strength was waning. The corpse was constantly weakening. Finally, Di Qiong¡¯s corpse froze in ce and no longer moved at all.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. This time, Di Qiong was truly dead.

    It was hard to imagine what kind of persistence could force someone to continue fighting even after their death. If they had not been enemies... Lu Yin could not help but feel admiration.

    Battles continued to rage across the Second Scourge, but all eyes remained focused on one particr area.

    When Lu Yin and Di Qiong reappeared, everyone paid attention.

    Lu Yin and Di Qiong were still facing each other, but then Lu Yin turned to look at True God.

    Behind him, Di Qiong''s body copsed, and the crash echoed across the entire battlefield.

 Chapter 3220: This Era

    <h4>Chapter 3220: This Era</h4>

    A momentary sh of brilliance could not be eternal. Di Qiong had erupted with a blinding radiance at the end of his life, but that brilliance was destined to fade away.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God remained as calm as ever.

    After learning that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy, True God had already known that Di Qiong could not pose a threat to the young man.

    One by one, Aeternus¡¯s experts were falling, and it was all thanks to one man.

    "The Seven Skygods once put tremendous pressure on my Origin Universe, and that was nothingpared to the despair that we felt when we first learned of the Six Scourges. Even so, what of it? We still endured.

    "Humans are gifted at creation, despite our many ws. When faced with a crisis that threatens the entire species, humans will always unite.

    "Yong Heng, you are sure to lose. Even with the Boundary Guardians, you will still lose. Nothing can stand against humanity''s determination to survive," Lu Yin dered as he stared at the ck Mother Tree.

    True God praised Lu Yin. "It took me a very long time and a great deal of effort to gather the Three Pirs and Six Skies, and yet you are killing them, one by one. Lu Yin, the Three Pirs and Six Skies are no match for you on their own.

    "However, the stronger something bes, the more easily it will break. You will eventually see the truth of this megaverse, and you will be crushed by despair. Humanity may survive, and my Aeternus may not be able to exterminate your species. However, you and your Heavens Sect, as well as everyone who supports you, will definitely cease to exist.

    "That is a truth of this megaverse. You will be no different from Di Qiong¡ªa momentary sh of brilliance. This era will indeed remember you, but the next will forget you."

    A smile crept across Lu Yin''s lips. "I''m not that easily killed. At least, I won¡¯t die before your Aeternals are eradicated. My mission is to pave a path for humanity, no matter where that path may lead. Whether or not I¡¯m remembered by this era doesn''t matter. As long as someone cares and I''m still alive, it will be enough.

    "Listen to the voices of countless people. They care about me, which is enough."

    With that, the Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin¡¯s head, and its golden light filled the Scourge. While many watched on in confusion, the golden light focused on Hongyan Mavis, creating a shadow behind her.

    Lu Yin''s voice rang out. "Hongyan Mavis, do you ept being conferred as a god?"

    That was it. At this moment, Lu Yin was going to confer Hongyan Mavis as a summoned god.

    He had once considered conferring many of the Heavens Sect¡¯s experts, but he had realized that doing so would not make much of a difference. Ordinary Progenitors would only have a tiny impact on a battlefield like this one, and the Investiture of the Gods surely had limits, just like the Champions¡¯ Stage. Because of that, Lu Yin had decided to wait and only confer true experts.

    In the past, he had not been confident about conferring someone like Hongyan Mavis, who was one of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Just because Lu Yin could defeat some of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, that did not mean that he could also defeat the Three Realms and Six Daos. There was a significant difference between the two groups.

    Additionally, Lu Yin hadcked the opportunity.

    But at this moment, he was confident that he would seed. There were still many powerful Aeternals on the battlefield, as well as the Boundary Guardians. Humanity still did not hold the advantage, even with Di Qiong dead.

    There was only one way to change that; confer a god.

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi had conferred Progenitor Chen, Progenitor Ku, and the rest of the Daosource Sect¡¯s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which had allowed the man to single-handedly stop the Aeternus and protect the Perennial World.

    At this moment, Lu Yin wanted to confer the Three Realms and Six Daos in order topletely crush the Aeternals.

    Seeing Lu Yin¡¯s intentions, Progenitor Xi immediately attacked him with her sword. She would not allow Lu Yin to confer another god.

    Mu Shen blocked the attack. After Fei had ambushed and killed Lan Lan, Mu Shen had been freed up. While there was almost no chance of him defeating Progenitor Xi on his own, by joining forces with Mu Ke and Emperor Shang, the three were confident that they could keep Progenitor Xi upied. Unless the woman could release the power of an Ortuser and fully wield her spiritual force, the three men believed that they could restrain Progenitor Xi, especially since Kong Tianzhao had seeded in doing the same in the past.

    Hongyan Mavis looked over at Lu Yin and replied, "I never thought that I would be conferred by a member of the Lu family. Little Seven, remember this. Loam never conferred me, which means that you¡¯re the first.

    "I ept."

    The shadow moved through the sky, making its way to the Investiture of the Gods.

    Tian Ci roared, "Stop them!"

    There was no need for him to say anything. Tian En had started taking action, but Wu Tian was even faster. Before Hongyan Mavis even answered, Wu Tian had already attacked Tian En, preventing the butterfly from interfering with Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yin.

    Conferring one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. It was something that almost no one would even dare to imagine.

    The Lu family had both their Champions'' Stage and the Investiture of the Gods. One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all. The two were iparably powerful and terrifying innate gifts, and they had allowed the Lu family to rule over the Fifth Maind.

    From the Heavens Sect era to the present, while the Lu family had ruled over the Fifth Maind with their two hereditary innate gifts, it had never caused a qualitative change that could transcend the Fifth Maind. No matter how many summoned gods were conferred, they could notpare to the qualitative difference that Hongyan Mavis alone could make.

    But at this moment, that qualitative change was taking ce.

    The fact that Lu Yin could confer the Three Realms and Six Daos meant that he alone was capable of wielding the strength of the Three Realms and Six Daos. When that wasbined with his own strength, no one could estimate what Lu Yin¡¯sbat potential would be.

    Hongyan Mavis¡¯s shadow reached the Investiture of the Gods, and her image appeared on it, surprising no one.

    Lu Yin let out a breath when he saw that the golden light did not fade. An image of Hongyan Mavis stepped out at Lu Yin''smand and charged towards Tian Feng.

    Hongyan Mavis smiled wryly. "This is my first time working with myself to fight against an enemy."

    At this moment, golden light enveloped Wu Tian.

    This was due to Wu Tian''s own request. The moment he attacked Tian Feng, he had also asked Lu Yin to confer him as a god.

    Lu Yin had originally only intended to confer Hongyan Mavis, but since Wu Tian had asked, Lu Yin had no reason to say no.

    Countless people stared in stupefaction.

    "Wu Tian, do you wish to be conferred as a god?"

    A voice echoed across the Scourge.

    Wu Tian looked up. "I ept."

    Forgotten Ruins God, Lord Xu, Xu Wuwei, Ye Wu, and many others werepletely stunned. Conferring two of the Three Realms and Six Daos in session? This waspletely mind-blowing.

    If not for the fact that Ancestor Lu Yuan had already be an Ortuser, he would have likely also been conferred by Lu Yin.

    Wu Tian''s shadow moved to the Investiture of the Gods, and Tian Ci''s eyes grew cold. This granted the humans two more top-tier experts.

    A voice called out from within Tian Feng. It was Garan Zhiluo, who said, "First Blood, Big Thug, you guys are really ruthless. That kid is Loam¡¯s descendant, isn¡¯t he? Loam once shamelessly tried to confer all of us, and we drove him away with insults, but now you¡¯re epting being conferred by his descendant?"

    Wu Tian gave a small smile. "He''s not Loam, and if possible, even Loam would ept being conferred by him."

    As Wu Tian''s image appeared on the Investiture of the Gods, and then emerged from it again, Lu Yin took a step forward to charge at Tian Feng himself. "Senior Wu Tian, leave Tian Feng to me."

    Wu Tian nodded. "Be careful. You need to free Garan."

    This was precisely why Lu Yin intended to deal with Tian Feng first.

    Garan Zhiluo was sealed within Tian Feng. Even if it was impossible to kill Tian Feng, Lu Yin needed to at least rescue Garan Zhiluo. If she could not be saved, then there was no question that she would be killed.

    The gods from the Investiture of the Gods, much like the Champions'' Stage¡¯s champions, could not use their sequence particles, but against Ortusers, sequence particles meant nothing anyway. They were useless.

    With Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, Lu Yin, and Garan Zhiluo all making a move, if it was still impossible to rescue Garan Zhiluo, then no one could save her.

    As for Wu Tian, he went to help Jiang Feng.

    Jiang Feng was struggling greatly against Tian Ci. If not for his mirebound artifacts, the Lord of Lightning would have already been defeated. After all, he was not only fighting against an Ortuser, as Tian Ci was supposedly the strongest of the Boundary Guardians.

    Hongyan Mavis continued to fight against Tian En, but she was being supported by Ye Wu and the Abandoned.

    The situation hadpletely reversed for humanity. The addition of two more fights on the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos had changed everything.

    At the bottom of the ck Mother Tree, the Great Sovereign stared out at the battlefield. It was just like seeing the Heavens Sect during its most glorious era.

    At that time, the Origin Progenitor had suppressed everything. The Three Realms and Six Daos had risen to power. The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been regarded as invincible as they swept away all before them. That era had been known as the Origin Era.

    At the moment, if the current battle could end with the defeat of both Aeternus and the Boundary Guardians, it would be due to conferring two summoned gods in a single battle. This era would certainly be named after Lu Yin.

    Nothing could stop humanity at this moment.

    At this moment, Lu Yin had forgotten about the blood-red figure that had appeared in the Mirari Realm after Tian Fa died. He had forgotten about the invincible being that had been weighing on his heart so heavily. He had forgotten about everything. All that was on his mind was his desire to defeat Aeternus and the Boundary Guardians, providing an answer for his era.

    They needed to do something for future generations.

    The summoned Hongyan Mavis punched at Tian Feng, while on the other side, the summoned Wu Tian thrust a spear forward, piercing the void. As the summoned god took action, the pages of his Martial Scriptures swirled around him.

    At the front, Lu Yin raised his hand, manifesting soil into columns that rained down like a storm.

    Tian Feng seemed like a sourcebox. The being looked like an oval-shaped rock, and it gave off a sense of natural perfection.

    Whenever Lu Yin attacked, the patterns on Tian Feng''s surface would flicker. Each flicker caused Lu Yin to momentarily pause, along with the summoned forms of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian.

    "Kid, this thing is called the Skyrender Glyph Array. I¡¯ll tell you now that Tian Feng isn''t actually a sourcebox, but rather a sourcebox array," Garan Zhiluo''s voice reached Lu Yin.

    He was caught off guard. "It¡¯s a sourcebox array?"

    "There are many strange creatures in existence. There are even sourcebox arrays that have developed consciousness. With the power of this sourcebox array itself, it''s not impossible for it to reach this level of power. Even my master was trapped by this sourcebox array, which caused him to lose both of his hands. I chased this guy out of the Origin Universe, only to be sealed inside of it. Be careful. Over the years, this sourcebox array has continuously evolved, and I don¡¯t even know how many of these there are anymore," Garan Zhiluo warned.

    Tian Feng spoke up, "Garan Zhiluo, I truly admire you. You''ve endured the pain of being yed, having your bones drawn out,plete disfigurement, and you still haven''t died or gone mad."

    "No matter what, I won''t be killed by trash like you!" Garan Zhiluo snarled.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. She had been skinned and maimed. As Lu Yin stared at Tian Feng, his expression grew colder and colder.

    He had heard legends about Garan Zhiluo. The Origin Progenitor had named her Flora because of how she had loved beauty and been more enraptured by it than anyone else. She had meticulously cared for every strand of her hair, and in that ancient era, her name had been synonymous with beauty.

    Since then, she had suffered the most painful torture one could imagine, and it had all been brought about by Tian Feng.

    The four Boundary Guardians had attacked the Origin Progenitor, Tian En had almost killed Progenitor Ku, and Tian Ci had attempted to exterminate all of humanity in the megaverse. All of the Boundary Guardians deserved to die.

    "The Skyrender Glyph Array is the foundation of the continuously evolving sourcebox array that is Tian Feng. It''s invisible, but it can seal powerhouses of any level. However, there are two ws to it. First, distance. The array can¡¯t be activated from a distance, or else Tian Feng would have already taken control of all the humans on this battlefield.

    "Second, it has to be directly facing you."

 Chapter 3221: Threefold Absolutes Array

    <h4>Chapter 3221: Threefold Absolutes Array</h4>

    A sourcebox array could have a front side? Lu Yin felt puzzled. "How can I tell if it''s facing me? The markings?"

    "Exactly, there are markings etched across Tian Feng''s surface. As long as you stay towards its back, you''ll be fine. The markings point in three different directions."

    Lu Yin concluded, "So there''s only one direction to attack it from."

    Tian Feng felt both frustrated and furious. It had never suffered the humiliation of someone analyzing its weakness right in front of it before.

    The same thing had happened earlier, when Garan Zhiluo had revealed the abilities of Tian Ci and Tian En to the humans. Without that, the humans would have never been able to stop the Boundary Guardians.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, and soil columns appeared all around Tian Feng. The stone was almost entirely surrounded. With a flick of his fingers, Lu Yin¡¯s dirt columns shot forward.

    He felt the sourcebox array start sealing his body again, but even without him controlling them, the columns of dirt continued forward out of pure momentum, though they lost a great deal of power. Still, Lu Yin only wanted to create an opening for the summoned Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian.

    Hongyan Mavis''s image created green grass that surrounded Tian Feng. The grass was so thick that the Boundary Guardian¡¯s vision was almost entirely impaired.

    Wu Tian¡¯s Martial Scriptures was ineffective against Tian Feng¡¯s Skyrender Glyph Array, but the summon grabbed a dirt column and stabbed forward as if it were a spear.

    Tian Feng spun around, blocking Wu Tian''s attack.

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin took action. Since Wu Tian was facing Tian Feng, it meant that Lu Yin was behind the creature. He took control of Wu Tian¡¯s dirt weapon and stabbed it at Tian Feng from the front.

    Tian Feng¡¯s Skyrender Glyph Array was able to seal living creatures, but it could not stop the dirt columns.

    There was a ng as the soil pierced into Tian Feng''s body.

    The stone trembled and let out a deep, furious roar. "You lowly humans! You dare to challenge the heavens? Insolent! Humanity should have been exterminated long ago!"

    "Watch out, it''s about to use its Two Worlds Dust Array," Garan Zhiluo warned, just in time. She was also attacking Tian Feng from inside. "This sourcebox array uses two parallel timelines as focal points, and then it oveps them to instantly envelop everything. Another way to put it is that it¡¯s drawing you into its core by eliminating a timeline."

    Her exnation enraged Tian Feng, who screamed, "Garan, you''re asking to die! I will make sure that you die miserably! I¡¯ll y all the flesh from your body and open you up in front of all humanity!

    "Garan, Garan-"

    Lu Yin''s expression grew dark, and his dirt weapons continued to rain down on Tian Feng.

    The markings on the stone¡¯s surface flickered, serving as evidence that Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were effective.

    The assault was powerful enough to kill one of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. While Tian Feng was an Ortuser, that did not mean that it could simply ignore Lu Yin¡¯s attacks.

    Again and again, strikesnded. Lu Yin believed that his efforts would eventually break the sourcebox array.

    Every time Tian Feng tried to use its Two World Dust Array, its attempt was thwarted by Garan Zhiluo.

    Finally, Tian Feng could no longer endure, and a terrifying, murderous aura exploded.

    Lu Yin''s eyes red. Just what was this?

    An ominous bloodlust radiated out from the patterns that covered Tian Feng¡¯s surface, and it quickly filled the sky above all six Scourges. Everyone¡¯s hearts started to pound from fear.

    Mu Ke frowned. <i>What terrifying bloodlust! Who could develop something like this?</i>

    This bloodlust had been released from within Tian Feng, but that did not mean that this was the Boundary Guardian¡¯s own bloodlust. The Ortuser was simply releasing the aura.

    Jiang Feng nced over at Tian Feng while tightly clenching his sword. This bloodlust would not be easy to deal with.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng looked up at the sky while gripping his golden cudgel. His blood was boiling, and it gave his Triumphant Brawl even more fuel. The bloodlust had ignited the Sovereign¡¯s fighting spirit. Di Qiong¡¯s death had erased Arrow God¡¯s desire to fight, and while Sovereign Dou Sheng had overwhelmed Arrow God, she still stubbornly refused to die.

    Garan Zhiluo¡¯s voice reached Lu Yin¡¯s ears again. ¡°This is the Threefold Absolutes Array. I can¡¯t stop it. It uses three sources of bloodlust as the core of the sourcebox array, and they¡¯re sealed within the patterns that cover Tian Feng¡¯s body. I can¡¯t stop this one, so be careful.

    ¡°The three bloodlust auras are from different sources. The first is from Sha, who was one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas during the Heavens Sect era. He became a cultivator after killing a million enemy soldiers, and he always zed with bloodlust. For the rest of his life, he was never able to escape ughters. While he was not particrly powerful, and while he certainly couldn¡¯tpare to us, his bloodlust was terrifying and practically endless.

    ¡°The secondes from ckie, who was also known as the God of Death.¡±

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°The God of Death?¡±

    ¡°After the First Maind shattered, Master disappeared, and I chased after Tian Feng, only to be trapped within it. At that time, the countless astral beasts of the Fourth Maind rebelled. ckie single-handedly ughtered almost all the species there, and he made blood rain down upon the stars. Enraged, Yellowy fought him, and ckie was soaked in the bloodlust of the astral beasts.

    ¡°Tian Feng ambushed ckie and stole arge portion of his bloodlust.

    ¡°The third bloodlust auraes from Tian Fa, the Boundary Guardians¡¯ executioner. That creature ims to deliver heaven¡¯s punishment, and it has executed countless creatures, though mostly humans.

    "The Threefold Absolutes Array merges the three bloodlust auras into a single deadly strike that functions like a battle technique fueled by intent. You need to be very careful.¡±

    Tian Feng roared, "So what if you understand it? My Threefold Absolutes Array kills with unmatched power! Even if you¡¯ve studied it for thousands of years, you still wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it! Humans, prepare to die!¡±

    As the stone spoke, the terrifying bloodlust split into three parts, each moving independently of the other two, yet all three flowed together in a strange, harmonious manner as they slowly merged back together.

    Sha¡¯s bloodlust was like a cloud. It was disorienting, but it seemed at least somewhat normal.

    The God of Death''s bloodlust took on the appearance of various astral beasts, and everyone could hear illusory cries and roars from the beast images.

    As for Tian Fa¡¯s bloodlust, it mostly consisted of various humanoid forms, each of which was filled with sorrow and resentment. It was a sight that left people¡¯s skin crawling.

    The three bloodlusts eventually merged into a trident in the sky that pointed straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yuan''s expression changed drastically. He understood that the strength of this attack would be a serious problem.

    Ancient God looked over at the distant trident as well. Even he had to acknowledge the power of this battle technique, and he would not even try to block the attack.

    Lu Yuan started moving towards Lu Yin, but Ancient God blocked him.

    "Musclehead, get out of my way!"

    "Loam, this is a battle for survival. Why are you in such a hurry?"

    "You¡¯re seeking death!"

    Lu Tianyi also wanted to go help Lu Yin, but if Lu Yin was unable to handle this trident, then neither could Lu Tianyi.

    Instead, the man used his Investiture of the Gods again. He summoned Progenitor Ku and sent the summon to Lu Yin in the hopes that Progenitor Ku would be able to block the trident.

    Both Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis turned pale. This Threefold Absolutes Array was immensely powerful, and it was almost impossible for anyone who had not reached the Origin realm to block it.

    "Move, kid! Don¡¯t face it head-on! Even if you manage to block it, you¡¯ll still be horribly injured! It¡¯s not worth it!" Garan Zhiluo cautioned.

    Lu Yin looked up at the enormous trident. It looked as though it could pierce through the Second Scourge. It looked like a god¡¯s weapon.

    However, Lu Yin just smiled. "Why would I try to block it? Senior, there¡¯s something that you might not know about me. I¡¯m a Lockbreaker."

    No matter how powerful the Threefold Absolutes Array might be, it was still ultimately just a sourcebox array. Because of that, it could be undone.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking abilities were rather formidable, especially with his current strength. At the moment, he was the best human Lockbreaker.

    While Grandmaster Gu Yan had extensive lockbreaking experience, he would never be able to unravel the Threefold Absolutes Array. The Array Grandmaster simply was not strong enough to survive the sourcebox array¡¯s danger zone.

    But that was not true of Lu Yin.

    Additionally, when it came to lockbreaking this particr sourcebox array, Lu Yin had a unique advantage: his death energy.

    One of the three bloodlusts came from the God of Death, and while the sourcebox array¡¯s danger zone manifested as bloodlust, it still contained death energy.

    In other words, an entire third of the sourcebox''s dangerous energies would not have the slightest effect on Lu Yin, and that was more than enough.

    He moved forward, intent on confronting the trident, and Tian Feng sneered. "You¡¯re seeking death."

    The trident fell.

    The entire Second Scourge trembled, and even the ck Mother Tree swayed. This attack was terrifying enough to capture even True God¡¯s attention.

    Lu Yin took a step forward, having already pinpointed the exact location of the God of Death''s bloodlust. Then, he moved inside the trident.

    The weapon continued to slowly fall, but Lu Yin had already disappeared.

    Tian Feng was startled. How was this possible? The Threefold Absolutes Array was supposed to kill Lu Yin, but when he entered the trident, there was absolutely no reaction. Why? That was impossible.

    Garan Zhiluo was just as confused.

    Lu Tianyi had a thought. <i>Could it be the God of Death''s bloodlust? Little Seven has cultivated death energy</i>.

    Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking abilities allowed him to identify where the God of Death¡¯s aura of bloodlust was located. Even when the three bloodlusts merged together, it was not enough to hide the truth from Lu Yin¡¯s lockbreaking senses.

    He was countering the Threefold Absolutes Array by lockbreaking it.

    In the First Scourge, beneath ake of divine energy, Hui Wu looked up to stare at the Threefold Absolutes Array. "A decent sourcebox array, but it¡¯s not enough."

    The trident continued to fall from the sky above the Second Scourge, but it was noticeably shrinking.

    Countless people stared upwards, dumbfounded by what they saw.

    Within the trident, Lu Yin was moving back and forth as the trident kept shrinking. It was as if he was absorbing the weapon.

    That was also quite urate, as Lu Yin was indeed absorbing the trident. At the very least, he was absorbing the death energy.

    Bloodlust was an intangible aura rooted in intent. There were people who could invoke terror in others with just a nce, but that was just a kind of intimidation. To actually materialize bloodlust, it was necessary for a cultivator to rely on the power that they had cultivated.

    This was also why Garan Zhiluo had referred to the Three Absolutes Array as an intent-based battle technique.

    The God of Death''s bloodlust was based in death energy, and Lu Yin was lockbreaking the weapon by absorbing that death energy. He had no intention of shattering the trident by lockbreaking the entire thing; that would take too much time and energy.

    All he needed to do was absorb the death energy, which would eliminate the God of Death¡¯s bloodlust. Without one of its three aspects, the Threefold Absolutes Array would simply cease to exist.

    Tian Feng stared nkly as the patterns on its surface flickered. The being was clearly disturbed.

    The Threefold Absolutes Array was supposed to be a peerless killing technique, so why was it just casually disappearing?

    Lu Yuan let out a breath of relief. Little Seven¡¯s cultivation was diverse andplex, which was something that was generally considered only an advantage while early on in one¡¯s path. As cultivators grew, more and more would gradually abandon various aspects of their cultivation in order to narrow and focus their path. But Little Seven had instead continued down his diverse path, and he had even expanded its scope. As he progressed further, he had managed to merge all of his diverse paths into aprehensive one. This was Lu Yin¡¯s unique cultivation path, and it was one that no one had ever walked before.

    Even the Origin Progenitor¡¯s path was merely one part of Lu Yin¡¯s.

    At this moment, the benefits of Lu Yin¡¯s path were being made clear. He had cultivated the God of Death''s death energy, and he was now absorbing that power to rather easily undo the Threefold Absolutes Array.

    This was only possible with both mastery of death energy and exceptional lockbreaking skills, both of which Lu Yin possessed.

    "Hahaha, Tian Feng, you actually helped the kid! He¡¯s cultivated death energy and just absorbed all of the God of Death¡¯s bloodlust! Your Threefold Absolutes Array is gone! Hahaha, look at that trident, hahaha!"

 Chapter 3222: Control

    <h4>Chapter 3222: Control</h4>

    Garan Zhiluo was not alone, as many others alsoughed. Even Mu Ji could not stop himself from smirking.

    Sure enough, the trident had a rather odd appearance at the moment. One of the three sharp tines seemed to have melted away, while the other two were bent. It looked less like a mighty trident and more like a broken pitchfork.

    The constantughter enraged Tian Feng even further, and the stone let out a roar of fury. "Humans, you all deserve to die! You all must die!"

    The trident finally shattered, exposing Lu Yin, who had been inside of the weapon this whole time. He waved his hand, and a column of soil shot at Tian Feng. "You''re the one who should die! All of you Boundary Guardians should die!"

    The images of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian which had been summoned from Lu Yin¡¯s Investiture of the Gods worked together as more columns of soil stabbed into Tian Feng with loud crashing sounds.

    The void warped around Tian Feng, flickering as it revealed different images. This was its Two Worlds Dust Array. Tian Feng was not giving up, and it was trying to drag Lu Yin into a sourcebox array and then eliminate him by erasing a timeline.

    In some ways, this sourcebox array was simr to Restart.

    It dragged its target into a parallel timeline, and then destroyed both the target and that timeline.

    Garan Zhiluo was constantly disrupting Tian Feng¡¯s efforts, which made it difficult to fully activate the sourcebox array.

    Tian Ci''s expression fell. Never before had the Boundary Guardians been so humiliated before. Even after they had joined forces with Aeternus to deal with humanity, the humans were still overpowering them.

    They had to win this battle, or else the Boundary Guardians would forever lose their ce in this megaverse.

    In fact, the Boundary Guardians might even be hunted by humanity, which was something that neither Tian Ci nor the megaverse that he hade from could ept.

    This thought caused him to turn and look at True God, who met the Boundary Guardian¡¯s gaze.

    So far, Tian Feng had used three sourcebox arrays, but that was not all that the stone possessed. Tian Feng had once used its sourcebox arrays to seal the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hands, which had forced the man to cut them off. Not even Garan Zhiluo knew which specific array had been used at that time, as she had not witnessed the battle between the Boundary Guardians and the Origin Progenitor.

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, a zing light enveloped Tian Ci, and when he swung his sword, it possessed much greater power than before. The stars shook, and the ground cracked open as the ck Mother Tree trembled.

    Lu Yin watched in amazement. Not even the Lord of Lightning or Wu Tian could stand up to Tian Ci at this moment. The two men¡¯s attacks vanished without a trace, having no effect on Tian Ci.

    The Lord of Lightning had the confidence to attack even True God, while Tian Ci was an Ortuser. While the distinction between Ortusers and Dukkhan was a bit unclear, it seemed to be somewhat simr to the difference between a sequence powerhouse and a peak powerhouse. The main difference between Ortusers and Dukkhans was their cultivation realm, as well as a crucial step. If a sequence powerhouse possessed the strength to break through to the True Void, like Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and the other Three Realms and Six Daos, then there would not be a huge power gap between them and an Ortuser.

    The Lord of Lightning undoubtedly had the requisite strength to ess the True Void, but he was still being suppressed by Tian Ci.

    Tian Ci was the strongest of the Boundary Guardians.

    "ckless God, what are you waiting for? We need to end things now!" Lu Tianyi shouted as he charged at Tian Ci, the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods instantly shrouding half of the Second Scourge.

    Behind him, ckless God¡¯s eyes twitched, and he suddenly looked up. His eyes met True God¡¯s.

    "So, it¡¯s you," True God stated calmly.

    In a low voice, ckless God replied, "I¡¯ve done a lot for Aeternus, but now it¡¯s time to change sides."

    True God said nothing more, but the murder that zed in his eyes seemed able to incinerate the stars.

    There was no doubt that one of the Seven Skygods was a human spy, but True God had never been able to determine who the traitor was. Shaman God had once been suspected, but they had died fighting for Aeternus. Undying God had also been doubted, but he had also died under simr circumstances. Forgotten Ruins God had coerced multiple generations of the Wang family to betray humanity and join the Aeternals, with Wang Xiaoyu even triggering a war between the Sixth and Fifth Mainds. Thus, it was impossible for the woman to be a traitor to Aeternus. The rest, such as Corpse God, were not even human. Ancient God was being controlled by True God himself, and Whiteless God held Aeterna, and she had done as much damage to humanity as the entire Wang family.

    After considering all the possibilities, only ckless God remained a possibility, and as it turned out, ckless God was indeed the traitor.

    After being exposed, ckless God joined Lu Tianyi and attacked Tian Ci.

    At this moment, four powerful individuals, each as strong as the Three Realms and Six Daos¡ªthe Lord of Lightning, Wu Tian, and Lu Tianyi¡ªwere attacking Tian Ci. Lu Tianyi was not much weaker than the others, and his Investiture of the Gods allowed him to borrow the strength of both Progenitor Ku and Progenitor Chen, which elevated him to the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos. It was difficult for anyone to overpower Lu Tianyi. As for ckless God, he was one of the Seven Skygods and also extremely strong and equal to the Three Pirs and Six Skies. He was certainly at the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    This meant that four men with strength simr to the Three Realms and Six Daos level were attacking Tian Ci. No matter how powerful the Ortuser might be, he could not spare the effort to involve himself in any of the other battles.

    This created an opportunity. Lu Yin raised a hand, and countless dirt columns manifested and shot at Tian Feng. The markings on the surface of the stone dimmed significantly.

    "Senior Garan, which sourcebox array did Tian Feng use against the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

    Garan Zhiluo sighed. "I don¡¯t know. Over the years, Tian Feng has taken action very few times, and the most that it¡¯s ever used is the Threefold Absolutes Array."

    Lu Yin''s expression fell. "In that case, we''ll just have to force it out."

    Tian Feng was still using the Skyrender Glyph Array, but it was not very effective. Lu Yin was coordinating with his summoned Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian to attack from different directions, which ensured that at least one attack would always hit. Tian Feng struggled to evade.

    While Ortusers could not be touched by thews of the universe, Lu Yin wasn¡¯t using anyws. He was the only person who was not a sequence powerhouse who was capable of fighting against Ortusers, and in a sense, this made Lu Yin a perfect counter to Ortusers.

    Tian Feng¡¯s weaknesses were readily seen. It was not a living creature, and it could notprehend thews of the universe. Bing an Ortuser had been incredibly difficult for the odd being.

    Without any sequence particles, and with Lu Yin also not using any to attack, Tian Feng held no advantage in the fight. As soon as its sourcebox arrays were broken, the Boundary Guardian would be at Lu Yin¡¯s mercy.

    Garan Zhiluo was constantly revealing all of Tian Feng''s weaknesses, which prevented it from using the Two World Dust Array. This forced Tian Feng to continuously endure Lu Yin''s relentless attacks.

    Tian En was unable to offer any support. While neither the Abandoned nor Ye Wu were at the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos, they were still very powerful sequence powerhouses, and with Hongyan Mavis¡¯s help, they were able to fight against Tian En.

    ording to Garan Zhiluo, Tian En was the weakestbatant of the Boundary Guardians.

    Of the Aeternals, Progenitor Xi was being upied by Mu Shen and a few others. Ancient God was held back by Lu Yuan, and Arrow God was being restrained by Sovereign Dou Sheng. There were no experts who could support Tian Feng.

    Lu Yin was determined to kill a second Boundary Guardian during this battle.

    As the soil columns mmed into Tian Feng, six pieces of Primaldust suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin, swirling around to strike a small point of light.

    The speck of light was so tiny that Lu Yin could barely see it. If the Primaldust had not suddenly appeared, the speck would have struck his forehead.

    What was that?

    Far away, Wu Tian called out, despite attacking Tian Ci, ¡°That¡¯s an attack! It¡¯s invisible, due to its extremely small size.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. A microscopic attack?

    Suddenly, a broken de appeared in front of Lu Yin, shing at his neck. The Abandoned had attacked.

    Lu Yin reflexively dodged. The Abandoned did not follow up on his attack, and he instead looked at Lu Yin in confusion, while warning him, ¡°Behind you!¡±

    Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, moving at the speed of time and causing everything around him to freeze.

    As he turned around, he saw a de aimed at him. This time, it was his senior brother, Mu Ke, who was attacking Lu Yin.

    He flicked a finger, and the soil moved around him and expanded like a balloon to shield him. Right after that, Ye Wu passed by, using his sequence particles to cause a series of explosions. At the same time, ck lines closed in on Lu Yin from all directions, in an attempt to trap him.

    The ck lines could not ovee the dirt shield, which was formed from Lu Yin¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s World Dust World.

    Finally, a shadow fell on Lu Yin as Supreme punched at him. There was a deafening boom, but Lu Yin did not move. Instead, Supreme retreated a few steps, forced back by the recoil.

    In an instant, Lu Yin had withstood the attacks of five figures with the strength of sequence powerhouses: the Abandoned, Ye Wu, Mu Ke, Emperor Shang, and ckless God.

    It was absolutely impossible for all five to turn traitor at the exact same time, which meant that there was only one exnation: they had been controlled.

    The Abandoned and the others nced around in confusion.

    Inside Supreme, Emperor Shang was badly shaken. How could such a thing have happened?

    Further away, Mu Ke clenched his saber while a block of wood stopped one of Progenitor Xi¡¯s shes.

    Mu Ke stared at Lu Yin, confused by the fact that he had just attacked his own junior brother.

    "A microscopic Progenitor¡¯s world is changing things. Be careful, as this is a top-level expert," Wu Tian warned.

    ckless God''s expression darkened. "It''s Whiteless God."

    Lu Yin grew serious. Whiteless God had finally appeared.

    She was the most mysterious of the Seven Skygods, and she rarely took action.

    Thus far, Whiteless God and thest of the Three Pirs were the only Aeternals who had never shown themselves during the various battles between humanity and Aeternus. All the other top powerhouses had either fallen or at least been wounded.

    Whiteless God was the one who held Aeterna, the list that recorded all human traitors. The fact that she had joined the battlefield meant that the Aeternals were facing a genuine crisis.

    However, the value of Aeterna had diminished greatly over the years. Lu Yin had managed to purge nearly all the spies in both the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association, capturing or killing many. The Aeternals had even exposed almost 100 of their own spies, including Wu Hen, an Arborean, in an attempt to cripple Lu Yin and the Heavens Sect.

    That attempt had used up almost all the spies who had been undercover in the Sixverse Association.

    Even Yao Lan had been revealed as a traitor, and she was a peak powerhouse.

    It had not been easy for the Aeternals to recruit so many spies, not to mention spies who were peak powerhouses. Just how many names could still be left on Aeterna?

    The biggest threat that Lu Yin and the others faced at this moment was not hidden spies, but rather Whiteless God herself.

    Whiteless God had not managed to be one of the Seven Skygods and receive the title of one of Three Pirs and Six Skies because of how she had groomed spies. Rather, this was due to her own strength.

    Ancestor Lu Tianyi had once fought against Whiteless God, and he knew that she was very powerful.

    Thetest incident only served as proof that Whiteless God was capable of altering the bnce of the entire battlefield.

    Tian Feng had been granted a brief respite.

    Lu Yin was forced to stop attacking Tian Feng. He thought of the speck of light that he had seen a few moments before. That must have been Whiteless God''s power. She seemed to be capable of instantly manipting the minds of a number of experts, which would prove to be quite troublesome.

    Whiteless God had not revealed herself, and the Abandoned and the others nced around in confusion, unsure of what they should do.

    "Keep going!" Lu Yin ordered.

    The Abandoned and the others returned to what they had been doing, but a massive shadow soon fell over Lu Yin again. It was Supreme. Once again, Emperor Shang¡¯s mind was being manipted, and he was attacking Lu Yin.

 Chapter 3223: Four Locks Array

    <h4>Chapter 3223: Four Locks Array</h4>

    Lu Yin stood in the sky and simply allowed Emperor Shang''s punch tond. At Lu Yin¡¯s side, Lightstream reviewed the past. He was trying to see how Whiteless God had attacked.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin ended up being disappointed. He could not see any attack from Whiteless God.

    He heard ckless God¡¯s voice call out. "Whiteless God is extremely small. Her sequence particle is the Law of Shrinking, which allows her to shrink down to nothingness. To her, what is visible to the human eye is as vast as an entire universe. There''s no way for you to see her.

    "If you want to deal with her, then you need to force her out first.

    "On top of that, she uses the Eight Diagram Formation, which can trap someone just as powerful as her. Do not get trapped by it."

    Lu Yin suddenly had a headache. Any one of the Seven Skygods was hard to deal with, and he once again wondered where True God had managed to find so many incredible cultivators.

    To be honest, if Lu Yin had known about the depths of Aeternus¡¯s true strength from the start, which included the Seven Skygods, the Three Pirs and Six Skies, the six Scourges, and their countless experts, he might not have been willing to fight against such a monstrous organization. In fact, Lu Yin might have even been tempted by ckless God''s offer in the past.

    Even the Great Sovereign had felt despair, and she had been willing to sacrifice everything for just one chance to defeat True God with her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. How could Lu Yin have not been simrly ovee with hopelessness if he were confronted with the truth soon after he started cultivating?

    A person''s belief and will would grow gradually. Such things were not innately born with a person.

    If Lu Yin had not lived through the process of unifying the Outerverse, fighting against the Daynight n, facing the powers of the Neoverse, navigating the threats of the Perennial World, infiltrating the Sixverse Association, and surviving countless life-and-death battles, he would have never developed the resolve to face colossal threat like Aeternus.

    Fortunately, he had made it through.

    No matter how difficult Whiteless God''s abilities might be to handle, there had to be a way to do so. If not, why would she have ever bothered grooming spies and traitors? It would have been far simpler to simply take out humanity''s experts one by one, no?

    Tian Feng also needed to be dealt with. Whiteless God was unable to directly affect Lu Yin, and she could only do so by controlling others, such as the Abandoned and Ye Wu.

    Lu Yin tried again and again to find traces of Whiteless God''s attacks, but each attempt failed.

    Not only that, but Supreme was repeatedly controlled by Whiteless God, and this gave Progenitor Xi an opening. With a single sh of her sword, she cut down Supreme.

    The massive mecha was sliced in half, exposing Emperor Shang.

    The Infinity Empire¡¯s emperor was just an ordinary person, and he struggled to breathe the moment he was exposed to the Second Scourge¡¯s atmosphere. It was impossible for him to participate in such a high-level battle, not to mention the toxicity of the Second Scourge.

    Emperor Shang looked up at the dark, distorted sky that was filled with stars. He wanted nothing more than to return to Supreme, but that was no longer possible.

    Supreme, even with the Infinity Empire¡¯s strongest defenses, had failed to endure a single attack from Progenitor Xi.

    Mu Ke appeared beside Emperor Shang, intending to take the man away, but unfortunately, just two seconds of exposure to the Second Scourge was enough to kill Emperor Shang. Even in his final moments, he was still staring up at the sky. He had never dreamed that Supreme would be cut down.

    Lu Yin let out a breath. They were fighting one of thergest, most intense battles in human history, and a sacrifice like Emperor Shang''s had to be expected. Anyone on the battlefield could be sacrificed, including Lu Yin himself.

    Emperor Shang was simply the first casualty. Right after that, Ye Wu was controlled by Whiteless God again, but this time, instead of attacking Lu Yin, the man charged into Wu Tian and the others¡¯ battle against Tian Ci, and he directly received Tian Ci''s attack.

    Ye Wu was not at the same level as the Three Realms and Six Daos. If Tian Ci¡¯s attacknded, there was no doubt that Ye Wu would die.

    The sword shed and lit up like a divine artifact. In Ye Wu¡¯s eyes, the weapon grew brighter and brighter. His sequence particles were dissipating, unable to exist so close to Tian Ci. The man waspletely exposed to Tian Ci''s power, which caused the sky and the ground to both crumble.

    mes engulfed Ye Wu. He could feel his body burning, just like the corpses he had dissected.

    How many corpses had he dissected toplete his research and develop the symbiotic corpses? All of them had ended up being burned.

    He had seen such mes too many times, and he had always wondered when his own day woulde.

    It seemed that the day had finally arrived.

    At this moment, Ye Wu¡¯s only concerns were for his disciples.

    The pain of having his skin and internal organs incinerated was only momentary, and it did not actually feel like much at all.

    The man hoped that reincarnation was real, because his life had been far too bitter.

    A small boat appeared before him. A boat? Was there really a boat to transport the recently deceased?

    Of course not. He was looking at Lightstream.

    Lu Yin used his inner world to reverse time by one second. Wu Tian and Jiang Feng both attacked from next to Ye Wu; one thrust a spear forward while the other swung a sword. One was aimed at the front, and the other at the back. They surrounded Ye Wu and shattered all of the surrounding sequence particles with pure strength, exposing the True Void of the megaverse and revealing the Breath of the Origin.

    It was impossible for an attack to surpass the origin of the megaverse. Even if Whiteless God was in her Progenitor¡¯s world and was so small that she could not be seen, as long as an attack struck the True Void, she could be struck as well.

    She could not shrink small enough to avoid the origin of the megaverse. If she could do that, then she would not be a sequence powerhouse, or even an Ortuser, but rather an Immortal.

    Exposing the True Void was how one broke through to the Origin realm, and only those with the strength topare to the Three Realms and Six Daos could aplish such a feat.

    However, as long as the essence of the origin was not inhaled, one would not trigger their breakthrough to be an Ortuser.

    Lu Yin, Wu Tian, and Jiang Feng had worked together perfectly. In a single moment, they had forced Whiteless God to relinquish her control of Ye Wu.

    Whiteless God was able to control multiple powerhouses simultaneously, but she did not aplish this by splitting herself into multiple clones. Rather, she moved so quickly that she could instantly cover the entire battlefield. She took control of all of her targets in the blink of an eye.

    That was also why Wu Tian and Jiang Feng had been able to force her out with their attacks; she was not willing to give up on Ye Wu.

    Whiteless God¡¯s goal was to take out the human experts one by one.

    The void warped at Ye Wu¡¯s side, and a white light was revealed.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes red, and he pressed down with one hand, sending out dirt to crush the void.

    Whiteless God was unable to hide in her microscopic Progenitor¡¯s world any longer. Wu Tian''s attacks were incredibly powerful, and the woman¡¯s sequence particles had been shattered, which rendered her unable to do anything for a few moments. Wu Tian¡¯s recent attack was more powerful than any he had used against Tian Ci.

    With Lu Yin¡¯s soil pressing down with immense force, a white world appeared from the white light. A white-colored mountain and sea raced across the ground of the Scourge.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The void trembled as Wu Tian once again thrust his spear forward, this time attacking the white world.

    Tian Ci blocked the attack, deflecting Wu Tian¡¯s spear. The man nced at the edge of Tian Ci¡¯s sword while quickly retreating. At the same time, Jiang Feng¡¯s sword swept out, and a surge of purplish-ck substance sent Ye Wu flying.

    Throughout the entire exchange, Ye Wu did not contribute a single thing to the battle. He had been nothing more than a puppet on strings, and he had nearly been burned to death. After being saved, he was tossed away from the battlefield.

    That was one of the fights on the Scourge with the most powerful experts, and even sequence powerhouses could barely survive.

    "Be careful!" Garan Zhiluo shouted.

    Lu Yin suddenly dodged, but there was nothing where he had evaded. He looked up to see that, at some unknown point in time, the three bloodlusts had once again appeared and formed a trident that mmed down from above.

    Lu Yin frowned. This Threefold Absolutes Array was useless against him, and Tian Feng knew that. Additionally, since Lu Yin had already absorbed arge chunk of death energy from the sourcebox array, the Threefold Absolutes Array no longer had its former power.

    Unfortunately, Lu Yin also needed to deal with Whiteless God, which meant that the Threefold Absolutes Array could at least serve as a distraction.

    Lu Yin¡¯sndmass pressed down, constantly crushing and destroying the white mountain and sea, but the white world simply reappeared again and again.

    This was not Lu Yin¡¯s first time encountering this white mountain and sea. Whiteless God¡¯s Semi-Progenitor avatar had once revealed this white world as her inner world, and it had been capable of dissolving any living creature.

    At the time, Lu Yin had simply believed the white mountain and sea to be some kind of substance or unique type of power, but he had since realized that the white world consisted of living organisms. There were tiny, microscopic creatures that formed the white mountain and sea.

    If he had not sessfully be a Progenitor and developed Dust World into a Progenitor¡¯s world, Lu Yin would not have been able to discern the truth of the white world.

    The white mountain and sea wasposed of countless white, microscopic organisms, each of which had cultivated to a certain level within the Progenitor¡¯s world. They worked together to empower Whiteless God while also forming her Progenitor¡¯s world.

    In the past, what Lu Yin had seen was not Whiteless God dissolving her opponents, but rather her microscopic creatures destroying their targets.

    Dissolving and destruction were two different concepts.

    Still, no matter how miraculous Whiteless God''s Progenitor¡¯s world might be, it could not stand up to Lu Yin''sndmass.

    Thendmass formed from his Dust World was even more powerful than thendmass from his inner world. It could even match the strength of Lu Yin¡¯s attack when he had used Flipping the Sky with thendmass from his inner universe to smash Feng Bo.

    Since Whiteless God and Feng Bo were both members of the Three Pirs and Six Skies, the fact that Lu Yin had managed to defeat Feng Bo meant that he should also be able to defeat Whiteless God.

    As for the Threefold Absolutes Array, ckless God moved against it. He sent his ck lines out to spread across the sky, creating a ck that firmly held the trident in ce.

    ¡°Little Seven, leave Whiteless God to me,¡± Lu Tianyi stated as his Champions'' Stage mmed into the white mountain and sea, pinning the Progenitor¡¯s world beneath Lu Yin¡¯sndmass.

    Lu Yin stepped out to continue attacking Tian Feng. ¡°ckless God, continue attacking Tian Ci.¡±

    ckless God looked intensely at Lu Yin for a moment. ¡°Since I¡¯ve been exposed, there¡¯s no longer any turning back. We better kill Tian Feng, or else we might not see victory at the end of this battle.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold as he charged back at the trident in the sky. Just like before, he absorbed the death energy from the trident, destroying the Threefold Absolutes Array.

    As soon as he exited the sourcebox array, a strange power appeared on his hands and feet, forming locks that shackled his limbs.

    Garan Zhiluo was startled. ¡°That¡¯s it! Be careful!¡±

    Unfortunately, her warning was toote.

    Tian Feng grew excited. ¡°The Four Locks Array! Boy, you won¡¯t be able to escape from this!¡±

    Lu Yin tried to break the four shackles. They had locked onto his limbs, but they did nothing to inhibit him. It felt quite odd.

    However, the more force he used to try to shatter the locks, the stronger they became.

    His heart sank as he looked back over at Tian Feng. ¡°You used my own power to bind me.¡±

    Tian Feng praised him. ¡°Clever! It¡¯s no wonder how you were able to fight an Ortuser right after your breakthrough. That¡¯s right, I¡¯m using your own power to bind you.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been observing you throughout this battle, and you¡¯ve use four different sources of power.

    ¡°The first is your physical strength, which is more than impressive. You managed to match Di Qiong even after he underwent a Corpse King Transformation, so the first lock seals your physical strength.

    ¡°Your second power is your Progenitor¡¯s world, which follows Tai Chu¡¯s path. I once used Tai Chu¡¯s power to bind him, so I had no issue in sealing your Progenitor¡¯s world. This forms your second binding.

    ¡°The third power you¡¯ve used is time. You can reverse time by one second, see into the past, and also move at the speed of time. I must admit, boy, you are terrifyingly talented. I can¡¯t think of many throughout all of history who can surpass you. However, the stronger your power, the stronger your bindings. The third seal is your own power of time.¡±

 Chapter 3224: That Is The God Of Death

    <h4>Chapter 3224: That Is The God Of Death</h4>

    "As for the fourth binding, that¡¯s naturally for your innate gift, your Investiture of the Gods. It¡¯s the Lu family''s innate gift, and it caught our attention back when it first appeared. We even wanted to eliminate the Lu family because of that power.

    "However, since your family was under Tai Chu''s protection, we weren¡¯t able to make any moves. You¡¯ve even used your Investiture of the Gods to confer two of the Three Realms and Six Daos to fight against me. This is something that we never expected, but the stronger your Investiture of the Gods bes, the stronger the binding bes.

    "That¡¯s why the fourth lock is your Investiture of the Gods.

    "You can''t unlock the Four Locks Array. Aside from me, there is no one who can help you remove those four bindings. You''ll never be able to use any of those four powers ever again. Well, not unless you do the same as Tai Chu and sever your arms."

    Everyone was surprised to learn that Tian Feng had such an ability. It was no wonder why the being had allowed Lu Yin to attack it. Even while falling to a disadvantage, it had never shown any intention of fleeing. Tian Feng had continued to fight against Lu Yin in order to understand his abilities and then choose four powers to seal away with the Four Locks Array to bind Lu Yin.

    All that patience had led to sess.

    Lu Yin''s Investiture of the Gods disappeared, and he had been rendered unable to use any of his sealed abilities. What means did he have left?

    Garan Zhiluo grew furious. "Is this the sourcebox array that sealed Master¡¯s power?"

    "Hmph! Now you understand? Aside from Tai Chu, who else could be worthy of me using my Four Locks Array? It''s toote to learn about it now!" Tian Feng stated smugly, despite the fact that the patterns covering its surface had dimmed greatly.

    With Lu Yin crippled, the bnce of the entire battle would shift.

    Ancient God, Arrow God, and Progenitor Xi all looked over. Finally, Lu Yin could be killed.

    "Kid, leave the battlefield!" Garan Zhiluo urged.

    Tian Feng sneered. "Leave? Do you think he can? Do you think that my Four Locks Array can be escaped? I control the position of those bindings, so unless he removes his own limbs, he can''t escape! His hands and feet will be held by the Four Locks forever!

    "Come here!"

    At Tian Feng¡¯s shout, Lu Yin''s body was dragged towards the stone against his will, pulled by the four bindings.

    In the sky, a set of scales appeared. One side was beneath Lu Yin''s feet, while the other was beneath Qing Ping¡¯s. Lu Yin¡¯s senior brother was trying to use his Judgment to pull Lu Yin away.

    However, the scales instantly broke.

    Qing Ping spat out blood.

    Xu Wuwei''s spatial lines appeared as the man tried to move Lu Yin through space, but Lu Yin continued moving towards Tian Feng. Xu Wuwei¡¯s Spiral Domain also shattered, but the man did not give up. Instead, he used his sequence particles and the Law of Jamming to stop Lu Yin from reaching Tian Feng.

    However, those sequence particles simply dissipated due to their proximity to Tian Feng. The Ortuser¡¯s mere presence prevented the sequence particles from stopping Lu Yin¡¯s progress.

    Xu Wuwei staggered, his face growing pale.

    Leng Qing then recklessly raced towards Lu Yin, only to end up trapped by the Skyrender Glyph Array, which caused the Progenitor to copse.

    Far away, Mu Ke shed his saber at Tian Feng, but as the attack drew closer, it dissipated. An ordinary attack was useless against Tian Feng, while sequence particles were unable to touch the stone.

    No one could stop Lu Yin from being dragged over to Tian Feng.

    Once Lu Yin was in front of Tian Feng and facing him directly, multiple Skyrender Glyph Arrays startedbining. The arrays formed a de that would cut Lu Yin down when he got close enough.

    Without his four key abilities, Lu Yin had no way to block this weapon formed from thebined Skyrender Glyph Arrays. This sourcebox array could even trap sequence powerhouses.

    Lu Tianyi, Lu Yuan, and Wu Tian all wanted to save Lu Yin, but there was nothing any of them could do. Earlier, they had worked to hold Ancient God, Tian Ci, and the others back, but at this moment, the three men were the ones being restrained.

    Lu Yin was pulled closer and closer to the weapon. As he looked at it, he could see a dangerous glint on the de as it reflected the light of the dark sky. It looked ancient beyond reckoning, which was fairly urate. This was not some technique that Tian Feng had randomly created. This was the weapon that had been used to sever the Origin Progenitor''s hands.

    This was no longer a battle, but rather an execution. This was punishment. Tian Feng intended to execute Lu Yin before everyone and crush humanity¡¯s spirit.

    Lu Yin was humanity¡¯s current figurehead, and once that faith was shattered, it would be nearly impossible for it to ever be restored.

    Everyone was trying to save Lu Yin, but he remained unusually calm as he moved closer and closer to Tian Feng. In fact, the man¡¯s calmness started to make Tian Feng nervous.

    The patterns on the surface of the stone flickered. <i>He shouldn¡¯t be so calm. How can Lu Yin be so calm right now? I can¡¯t let him get any closer!</i>

    Suddenly, Tian Feng felt a flicker of danger. Still, without pulling Lu Yin closer, how was it supposed to execute him?

    The Skyrender Glyph Arrays could not be too far away from Tian Feng. While Lu Yin was already close enough for the Threefold Absolutes Array to kill him, that sourcebox array had been used twice, and its death energy had been depleted. As for the Two World Dust Array, Garan Zhiluo¡¯s interference meant that it could not be used.

    If Tian Feng wanted to kill Lu Yin, there was only one option.

    Still, why was the man so calm? Tian Feng did not dare to allow Lu Yin to move any closer, simply due to how calm he appeared.

    <i>No, it¡¯s fake. It has to be fake!</i>

    <i>He¡¯s pretending to be calm to prevent me from executing him. Yes, it¡¯s nothing but a ploy</i>.

    <i>Not even Tai Chu could resist after he was trapped by my Four Locks Array, and this man has already had four of his key abilities sealed. There¡¯s no way he still has enough strength to fight me. It¡¯s impossible</i>.

    <i>How could he possibly be greater than Tai Chu?</i>

    This line of reasoning caused Tian Feng to sneer. "You humans are all so hypocritical! Did you think that I would fall for your act? Your hypocrisy and arrogance will be your downfall. Humanity, your end is nigh!"

    There was a teasing and mocking expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face as he stared at Tian Feng. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡±

    Tian Feng felt confused. ¡°Afraid? Human, you are the one who¡¯s about to die. I will execute you as all of humanity bears witness. I will behead you¡ªno, I¡¯ll y you alive like Garan and have you die in utter disgrace.¡±

    The mockery grew stronger in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, but behind that teasing expression was indescribable bloodlust. ¡°I said, what are you afraid of?¡±

    Tian Feng¡¯s tone grew harsh. ¡°The more a person fears death, the more insane they be as they meet it. You¡¯ve already gone mad. Me, afraid? Ridiculous!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°The greatest respect you can show a civilization is to try to destroy it.

    ¡°You were so terrified of the brilliance of the ancient Heavens Sect that you secretly attacked the Origin Progenitor. You didn¡¯t dare to act openly, because you knew that, if you were discovered, the Three Realms and Six Daos would wipe you four out.

    ¡°Now, you¡¯ve jumped at the chance to work with Aeternus to dere war on us, because you¡¯re afraid once again. This time, you¡¯re afraid that humanity is progressing too quickly and that, soon, you¡¯ll no longer have the power to stop us. You¡¯re afraid that we¡¯ll learn the truth of what you¡¯ve done and will pursue vengeance. Your fear of us has made us into your nightmare!

    ¡°I ept your respect. On behalf of all humanity, I ept it.¡±

    Tian Fengughed in fury. "Ridiculous! Human, you''re too arrogant! You are just like Tai Chu! You deserve to die! Tai Chu deserved to die, but you deserve it even more so! You still haven¡¯t reached the same heights as him, and yet you''re already so arrogant! You deserve death more than even Tai Chu!

    "Die!"

    The weapon formed from thebination of more than a dozen Skyrender Glyph Arrays fell from the sky, the sharp de slicing down at Lu Yin as he arrived beside Tian Feng.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky and sneered. "Have you forgotten? Humanity''s greatest weapon is our creativity."

    As he spoke, stars erupted from Lu Yin¡¯s chest. His inner universe was rejected by the universe he was in, and a shell of the Hollow spread out in all directions, isting Lu Yin from the de formed by the Skyrender Glyph Arrays. Tian Feng''s strength naturally meant that the weapon could pierce the Hollow, but that would take a bit of time, time that Lu Yin would not give Tian Feng. In fact, Tian Feng needed more time than Lu Yin, because Lu Yin had deliberately allowed himself to be pulled over.

    He pulled out the God of Death''s left arm and the man¡¯s scythe from his cosmic ring. Beyond the stars of his inner universe, the ck and white mist formed a maelstrom that connected the sky above to the earth below. This was the death energy that Lu Yin had just absorbed from the Threefold Absolutes Array. Tian Feng had even sealed it within a sourcebox array because of how fearsome its unimaginable power was.

    It was the power of the God of Death.

    As the ck and white mist connected to Lu Yin, his entire appearance changed. His hair grew longer until it fell to his waist. His eyes turned solid ck, and the clothing that covered his upper body disintegrated into dust. ck energy swirled around him like clouds before forming chains. Dark-red patterns etched his skin like tattoos, and a ck cloak billowed out behind him. The white mist twined around his left arm before forming a shield, while his right hand held a scythe, which had once been the God of Death''s weapon. Behind Lu Yin, ck energy rose up, giving him a ghostly, demonic appearance.

    It was the God of Death Transformation.

    Compared to the previous times he had used the transformation, something new appeared. The ck energy that billowed up behind Lu Yin slowly took on the shape of a towering figure. Just a nce was enough to send chills down people¡¯s spines.

    The figure¡¯s appearance caused the temperature to plummet in all six Scourges.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and several others all eximed, "ckie?"

    The figure who had appeared behind Lu Yin was none other than the God of Death.

    By using the God of Death''s left arm and scythe while undergoing the God of Death Transformation, it was as though Lu Yin had dragged the God of Death back from ancient times.

    The God of Death lifted his head. While he only had his left arm, his presence still instantly swept through the sky and across the ground. Then, he shed out with his scythe.

    During the Heavens Sect era, the Three Realms and Six Daos had ruled supreme over the entire megaverse. Although they had never fought over which of them was the strongest, they had all known that the God of Death was the one that nobody should push too far.

    While the other members of the Three Realms and Six Daos had developed powers that were used to preserve legacies or hide mysteries, the God of Death''s power had been developed purely for ughter. There was nothing more to it.

    The God of Death had been born for death.

    He was not even the one who had chosen the name ¡°God of Death.¡±

    The Origin Progenitor had named all the Three Realms and Six Daos. When they grew up, each of them had chosen their own names. ckie had done the same, but the name that he had chosen had been forgotten eons ago. The only name that had lingered through the ages was God of Death.

    He had been the God of Death of his era¡ªthe brilliant and final God of Death of the Heavens Sect era.

    During that era, who else would have dared to use the name of the God of Death? Only ckie. Lu Yuan and the others could still remember the shock that they had felt when death energy had first appeared.

    It was an energy that could even overpower sequence particles.

    During that ancient era, battles between humans and astral beasts had grown increasingly fierce. In the end, even Wilderness God, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, had not been able to avoid joining the conflict. However, all of the astral beasts, including even Wilderness God himself, had been suppressed by the God of Death.

    There had been no exceptions. No matter if they had been from the Origin Universe or other parallel universes, all the astral beasts of that entire era had been suppressed by the God of Death.

    The God of Death alone, with just his scythe, had taken on the Fourth Maind, and he had utterly suppressed it.

    That was the God of Death¡¯s legacy.

 Chapter 3225: A Sword

    <h4>Chapter 3225: A Sword</h4>

    Lu Yin had met Ancestor Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Gu Yizhi, and even Wu Tian. Despite all of that, only the God of Death¡¯s death energy made him feel an unparalleled sense of awe. That shock was not simply because Lu Yin had cultivated death energy. Rather, it stemmed from how death energy innately produced an inexorable fear. This power was rooted deep in the bloodlines of countless astral beasts and fed by the deaths of innumerable creatures. As the name implied, death energy was the breath of death.

    Tian Feng stared in astonishment as the God of Death''s scythe fell. How could this be? How could the boy still possess so much power? Where had thise from? Just how many different powers had the child cultivated?

    No one would be able to offer an answer. Even Mister Mu had been amazed by the incredible variety of powers that Lu Yin cultivated, let alone Tian Feng.

    The manifestation of the God of Death was entirely due to Tian Feng''s own Threefold Absolutes Array. Without the addition of the death energy from that sourcebox array, Lu Yin''s own death energy would not have been enough to bring forth the God of Death.

    The attack was from the God of Death.

    The sharp sound echoed clearly in everyone''s ears. Right after that, darkness filled the sky, forming a ck torrent that shattered half of the ground of the Second Scourge. The sky above waspletely dark.

    Death energy had reced the sky, much to the shock of everyone.

    Even Tian Ci was shaken. He was forced to remember something from ages past when he had fought against the God of Death. At that time, Tian Ci had felt a despair so chilling that it had haunted him ever since.

    Thankfully, the God of Death was already dead. He had died.

    Above the ck Mother Tree, True God looked up to stare at the sky with a conflicted expression.

    He had once cooperated with the Boundary Guardians to fight against the Heavens Sect. That had been an extremely difficult time. They had to avoid the Three Realms and Six Daos while also plotting against and ambushing them. Aeternus¡¯s actions at that time had been quite simr to how the modern Heavens Sect had dealt with the Three Pirs and Six Skies, except Yong Heng had faced even greater challenges.

    In the past, all Three Realms and Six Daos had been peak Sequence Progenitors, any one of whom could have broken through at any moment to be an Ortuser.

    The battles of that era remained vivid in Yong Heng¡¯s memory.

    There was no doubt that the God of Death had been the most difficult opponent of them all. During that battle, even True God had been shaken. The scene in the Second Scourge was so familiar... the overflowing, earth-shattering death energy... There was enough to bury everything, even the sequence particles that filled the universe. If not for...

    Fortunately, everything had ultimately ended, and, after everything, the God of Death had died.

    Yong Heng looked back across the Scourge. This attack would finish Tian Feng.

    At the base of the ck Mother Tree, the Great Sovereign casually looked across the Scourge, reminiscing about ckie. <i>How nostalgic</i>.

    Slowly, the darkness started to dissipate, but it would take time for the death energy to fully fade away.

    Everyone stared up at the sky. They saw Lu Yin, as well as another figure. It was a long-haired woman who was hidden by bandages thatpletely covered her. Even her face was hidden. Aside from her long, flowing hair and bright, glistening eyes, nothing about the woman really be seen. In contrast, her aura was unmistakable and unique. There was a purity that transcended her veiled appearance.

    "Flora." Hongyan Mavis''s eyes grew bloodshot as she tightly clenched her fists.

    There were grim expressions on both Wu Tian and Lu Yuan¡¯s faces.

    There was no mistake. This was certainly Garan Zhiluo, who had just been freed from Tian Feng.

    However, the Garan Zhiluo they were looking at was nothing like her appearance in the past. Once, she had been the most beautiful of all, renowned as the Beauty of the Luo River.[1] She had stayed away from the rest of the world, showing contempt for everyone. Even her master had said that her beauty was a gift from the heavens.

    At present?

    She had been yed and disfigured. Tian Feng deserved to die.

    Both Lu Yin and Garan Zhiluo stood with their backs to the rest of the battlefield, staring forward.

    Tian Feng¡¯s figure was exposed as the darkness continued to recede. The patterns covering its surface started to crack, like a spiderweb spreading out from a single point.

    Tian Ci''s expression fell.

    Tian En''s voice lost its constant gentleness. "Humans, going against Tian Feng means that you will now face extinction!"

    Tian Feng staggered backward, trying to retreat as it let out a piercing scream. "Humans, you are doomed! Your entire species will be wiped out! You will be annihted!"

    Garan Zhiluo spread her arms out wide as she summoned a white spear. She stepped forward as she raised the weapon, only to smash it down upon Tian Feng. "We¡¯ll destroy you first. Then we can talk."

    Suddenly, her body froze. She was held in ce by the Skyrender Glyph Array.

    Lu Yin put the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe away, and his body returned to its normal appearance. Even his skin¡¯s withered condition had faded away. While the shackles remained on his hands and feet, Lu Yin had mastered far too many abilities. If he was unable to use four, then he would simply switch to others. Extremes Must Be Reversed was used as the Champions'' Stage appeared. At the same time, the stars in his inner universe quivered. Voidforce energy, the power of Arboreal Realm, monarch essence, and other energies surged out. All of them were aimed at Tian Feng.

    The stone was dumbfounded. So many powers? Who could have cultivated such a hodgepodge of powers? This was impossible. It had to be a trick, or some kind of illusion.

    Even while trapped by a Skyrender Glyph Array, Lu Yin summoned Mo Shang, the Purple Emperor, the Seven-Star Mantis, Kong Ji, and seventeen other peak powerhouse champions. All of them charged at Tian Feng like an army.

    The countless people watching were rendered speechless by the sight.

    Lu Yin was clearly just one person, and yet he had summoned a host of powerful experts to attack his enemy. This was the Lu family¡¯s innate gift, and it was freakishly terrifying.

    More Skyrender Glyph Arrays appeared, trapping one powerful champion after another.

    In the past, Tian Feng would not have cared about the attacks from such weaklings, as they could not pose any threat to it. Unfortunately, with the patterns covering its surface already shattered and its stone body cracking, Tian Feng could not afford to suffer any further damage.

    The Seven-Star Mantis unfurled its wings and moved at the speed of time itself as it flew towards Tian Feng and swung a de down.

    Without sequence particles, Tian Feng had no advantages. In fact, the stone would rather face sequence powerhouses.

    There was a ringing ng as the mantis¡¯s de struck Tian Feng, and the stone staggered back.

    From a distance, Kong Ji threw a Vacuum Palm that mmed into Tian Feng and pushed the being back yet again.

    The Purple Emperor had possessed immense power, and it had even beenparable to Sovereign Dou Sheng himself. Mo Shang was the first Sequence Progenitor that Lu Yin had ever met, but that did not mean the man had been a weakling. He had been just as strong as Ye Wu and the Abandoned. Old Mo had been a true expert.

    Seventeen summoned champions were unable to cause the slightest bit of harm to Tian Feng, but four were continuously causing the cracks to grow.

    Tian En pped her wings, as the butterfly wanted to save Tian Feng.

    Tian Ci also pushed forward.

    Both were blocked and held back.

    During this one battle, Dual deform had died, Di Xia had died, thest of the Five Elders had died. But all of those together were not enough. Di Qiong had died, but even that was not enough. Tian Feng had to die.

    Garan Zhiluo managed to dispel the Skyrender Glyph Array binding her, and then she swung her spear. It smashed into Tian Feng¡¯s body and widened the already-present cracks.

    Lu Yin also sessfully broke free from the sourcebox array imprisoning him, and he charged at Tian Feng.

    Tian En shouted, "Humans, do you really wish to fight us Boundary Guardians to death?"

    Hongyan Mavis snorted with open disdain. "You want to beg for mercy now? It¡¯s toote! Let me make things clear: Tian Fa was killed by Astral Anura, while we helped. Tian Fa¡¯s death is also rted to us. What can you do about this?"

    Tian En was startled. "Astral Anura? That¡¯s impossible."

    "What¡¯s impossible about it? Do you think that he¡¯s an ordinary toad?" Hongyan Mavis scoffed. Even at this moment, despite the fact that the Boundary Guardians were so disadvantaged, the woman would not miss an opportunity to drag Astral Anura into the mess.

    Tian En no longer cared about how Tian Fa had died. All she wanted to do was save Tian Feng.

    But she could not do it. Neither could Tian Ci.

    "Yong Heng, Tian Feng cannot die!" Tian Ci addressed True God for the first time, the youthful-looking man¡¯s expression terrifyingly grim.

    The experts attacking Tian Ci gave him no chance to help Tian Feng at all.

    Above the ck Mother Tree, True God¡¯s eyes narrowed. "I can do nothing."

    Whiteless God had already appeared, having been forced out, and she was currently fighting against Lu Tianyi. Unless thest of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs appeared, there was no way to reverse the current situation.

    Lu Yin remained on guard for thest of the Three Pirs to appear, but that individual never showed themselves. Their absence puzzled Lu Yin.

    The longer the mysterious person waited to appear, the warier Lu Yin became.

    "Humans, you aremitting an unforgivable sin! You will regret this! You cannot strike me down! This is rebellion!" Tian Feng kept dodging attacks.

    Garan Zhiluo¡¯s spear mmed down upon Tian Feng¡¯s form, sending the stone crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.

    Lu Yin rode atop the Seven-Star Mantis, chasing after Tian Feng and stomping on the Boundary Guardian. The sword that Lu Yin had received from Undying God and used to kill Mo Shang was held in one hand as he stated, "More than one person has used me of rebellion, and yet I eventually crushed them all. Who stands at the top, and who stands below? If anything, humanity is standing above you."

    With that, the sword was driven down.

    Tian Ci¡¯s eyes bulged as he stared at the execution.

    Tian En screamed, "Dao Monarch Lu, show mercy!"

    She was toote. Lu Yin¡¯s sword skewered Tian Feng, and with a crisp crack, Tian Fengpletely shattered apart.

    Lu Yin stared downwards, curious to see what Tian Feng had truly been. The being had appeared to be a sourcebox, but if that were the case, then something should have been sealed within.

    Did killing Tian Feng count as unlocking it?

    This might have been the most challenging lockbreaking session in history.

    The battle froze as everyone turned to stare at Lu Yin¡¯s feet.

    Was Tian Feng dead?

    Had a Boundary Guardian, an Ortuser, really just died?

    This was the first Ortuser that anyone could remember dying.

    Tian Feng had been in the Origin realm, and it had even attacked the Origin Progenitor and cut off the man¡¯s hands. At the moment, everyone felt as though they were bearing witness to the end of a legend. It was like watching a myth fade away.

    The fall of one legend would inevitably herald the rise of another.

    At this moment, Lu Yin¡¯s figure was etched deep into everyone¡¯s memories, including even Tian Ci¡¯s.

    The man¡¯s expression looked terrifyingly calm as he stared at Lu Yin. At this moment, Tian Ci was not alone, as he represented the gazes of everyone from his own megaverse.

    At some point in the past, someone had done something simr, but things had ended in the worst of tragedies.

    The higher Lu Yin rose and the greater his legend became, the more tragic his ultimate fate would be.

    This man had broken the shackles of the heavens.

    Tian Feng was different from all others.

    Tian Fa could die, as could Tian En. Even Tian Ci himself could die, but Tian Feng could not. Unfortunately, it was toote.

    Lu Yin looked down. Tian Feng¡¯s body had shattered to reveal a sword. It was an oddly shaped, blood-red sword.

    The moment heid eyes on the sword, Lu Yin¡¯s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

    He had seen the sword before, back in the Mirari Realm. When Tian Fa had died, a blood-red figure had appeared. There had been both a figure and a sword. That figure had been capable of ying both Hongyan Mavis and Astral Anura without either of them fighting back at all. Lu Yin had also been cut down by a single sh of the sword, which had cleaved his body and bones. At that moment, he had been ovee with despair, as that blood-red figure had simply toyed with him.

    If not for Lightstream, Lu Yin would have most likely died at that moment.

    That blood-red figure¡¯s sword had looked exactly like the one before Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the sword as an uncontroble chill rose up across his entire body, freezing him in ce. His eyes shot up to the sky, as though he could see a pair of eyes opening to look at him and give him an odd smile while gesturing for silence.

    Something moved at his feet, and when Lu Yin looked back down, the sword was gone.

    1. A ssical Chinese reference: the goddess Luo Shen embodies an idealized version of feminine beauty and grace, symbolizing purity and perfection. The Luo River itself is often portrayed as a sacred or mystical ce, a boundary between the mortal world and the divine realm, making it a powerful metaphor for unreachable beauty or the fleeting nature of life. Thus, having the Luo River in a name like this is a connotation of not just physical beauty, but also a deep, almost divine grace and elegance that stands apart from the ordinary. ?

 Chapter 3226: Fateful Confrontation

    <h4>Chapter 3226: Fateful Confrontation</h4>

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the ground. Had it just been an illusion? No, it had been real. The sword had simply disappeared.

    If there was a sword, then it had a master.

    Lu Yin feltpletely powerless, and his sword dropped from his own hand, striking the ground with a gentle sound. He felt immense danger, the likes of which he had not felt since he had first started cultivating. That fear had disappeared long ago, after he had gained the strength to protect himself and the Lu family had returned.

    Not even nearly being killed by True God had induced such a strong feeling of danger.

    At this moment, he felt like an ordinary human staring at a starving beast. It was the fear of being seen as prey, and the feeling was growing stronger by the second.

    The sky grew darker.

    The battlefield fell silent.

    Lu Yin looked around and saw the excited expressions of his allies. Tian Feng was dead, which proved that even Ortusers could be killed. What could humanity not achieve?

    He was reminded of Great Elder Shan Gu¡¯s words.

    In the Lost n¡¯s original megaverse, their civilization had had countless powerhouses who had risen up over the ages, but all of them had been casually ughtered by an omnipotent being. When Lu Yin had first heard the story, he had not been able toprehend the despair that such an encounter must have caused, but at this moment, he felt it himself.

    Weakness filled every cell of his body. He had failed to hold onto his sword.

    There was a bang as Garan Zhiluo dropped to the ground beside Lu Yin and gave him a curious look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Did you just see something?¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s the Four Locks Array. I feel weak.¡±

    Garan Zhiluo frowned. ¡°Tian Feng is already dead, so why is its Four Locks Array still active?¡±

    She then nced down at Lu Yin¡¯s feet. ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s the body?¡±

    Lu Yin replied, ¡°There isn¡¯t one. It was just a sourcebox, and it was unlocked, but there was nothing inside.¡±

    Garan Zhiluomented, ¡°That has to be one of the most difficult sourceboxes to unlock in the history of the megaverse. I was certain that it held a treasure, but it was just an empty shell.¡±

    Lu Yin felt bitter. How he wished that there had been nothing inside.

    ¡°All right, rest a bit. You¡¯ve fought enough for this battle, so leave the rest to us.¡± Garan Zhiluo stepped forward as she scanned the battlefield. ¡°Loam, First Blood, Big Thug¡ªwhat are you waiting for? Let¡¯s wipe the Aeternals outpletely!¡±

    With that, she clenched the shaft of her spear and charged at Tian En.

    Of the Boundary Guardians, Tian En was the least skilledbatant. If not for the sake of rescuing Garan Zhiluo, Lu Yin would not have targeted Tian Feng.

    Tian En would have been much easier to kill than Tian Feng.

    Tian En¡¯s voice rang out. It was soft, yet cold. ¡°Humans, I don¡¯t regret acting against Tai Chu. You all are far too audacious!¡±

    ¡°Little butterfly, I¡¯m going to put a pin in you and put you on disy!¡± Garan Zhiluo¡¯s spear shot forward.

    At the same time, Hongyan Mavis smiled. ¡°Flora, let¡¯s see who can catch her first.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be me!¡±

    The battle resumed. Lu Yin stood where he was, looking down at his hands and feet. Tian Feng was not really dead. All that had been destroyed was the being¡¯s shell. Lu Yin was still being sealed by the Four Locks Array.

    In that case, did it mean that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hands were in the same situation?

    As for the blood-red figure, Lu Yin tried not to think about it. There was no point.

    Just as Lu Yin had mentioned to Shan Gu, there were no absolutes in existence. That being had not ughtered the Lost n and then allowed the few survivors to escape to another megaverse because they wanted to. Most likely, they had not been able to stop it from happening.

    Every creature had limits and were restricted by something. If not, there would be no limits.

    It was the same as how no Immortal had ever appeared in the current megaverse.

    Was that blood-red figure an Immortal? Perhaps not.

    When Lu Yin had been just a Semi-Progenitor, he had already been capable of fighting against the Three Pirs and Six Skies and the Seven Skygods. After his breakthrough and bing a Progenitor, despite only having one of his inner worlds be a Progenitor¡¯s world, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had already risen high enough that he could kill Di Qiong in a direct confrontation. He was also confident he could face any of the Seven Skygods. What would happen when he became a Sequence Progenitor? Or, for that matter, when he became an Ortuser or a Dukkhan?

    It was impossible for anyone to know for sure, but the one thing that everyone would agree on was that Lu Yin would be truly invincible.

    No matter if it was Astral Anura, Ancient God, Lu Yuan, the Great Sovereign, True God, or even Tai Chu, the Origin Progenitor himself, none of them would be able to stand against him when he reached their cultivation level. Lu Yin¡¯s strength was simply too all-epassing.

    Could that blood-red figure be someone like Lu Yin?

    Did the fact that Lu Yin had risen up in the megaverse not mean that another like him could exist as well?

    He had not forgotten that there the megaverse had had other civilizations humanity¡¯s existence. The River of Aeons[1] flowed from the beginning of the megaverse, but who truly knew how far back that went?

    It seemed possible that the blood-red figure was the greatest powerhouse of some ancient civilization.

    As long as they were not an Immortal, it was possible to defeat them.

    Determination returned to Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. The Aeternals could be defeated. He could also return to the Immemorial Citadel to join his master and the Origin Progenitor. What did he need to fear?

    For the moment, the most important thing was to break the Four Locks Array.

    Lu Yin himself was an Array Grandmaster. For such aplicated sourcebox array, he could only think of two people who might be capable of unlocking it: Progenitor Hui and himself. Others, such as Grandmaster Gu Yan, Grandmaster Li, and Grandmaster Xiu Ming, would not be able to seed simply due to theircking cultivation.

    The first requirement for lockbreaking was that a lockbreaker had to either be able to withstand a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone, or be able to perceive and avoid it. If neither was possible, then making an unlocking attempting was no different from suicide.

    Grandmaster Gu Yan and the others were clearly incapable of helping. They were unable to discern Lu Yin¡¯s four abilities, which meant that they would not be able to see through the Four Locks Array or avoid the danger produced by Lu Yin¡¯s sealed abilities. How could he rely on them? There was no chance at all.

    The only way that would change would be if Grandmaster Gu Yan or the others managed to be sequence powerhouses.

    Lu Yin believed that, while Progenitor Hui may not have been as powerful as Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku, the man should not have been much weaker. In particr, the fact that Progenitor Hui had left behind True Insight, which was a collection of sourcebox arrays, made it clear that the man had been one of the greatest lockbreakers in all of human history.

    However, Lu Yin had no clue where Progenitor Hui might be now.

    That meant that Lu Yin could rely only on himself.

    The fighting continued to rage across the Second Scourge, but Lu Yin could no longer take part in the battle. His remaining power was insufficient to pose any real threat to the Seven Skygods or to the Boundary Guardians, so it would be best if Lu Yin left those opponents for others to deal with.

    He was already focusing on the Four Locks Array.

    Strength, Dust World, the power of time, and the Investiture of the Gods. Four seals firmly bound Lu Yin. He kept thinking about the sourcebox array, and he even brewed a bit of tea with a Root of Intelligence, but he still failed to find any means of oveing the sourcebox array.

    He was shackled by his own power, and his four strongest abilities had been turned against him. Lu Yin felt as though the Four Locks Array had trapped him in a cage that he had built himself.

    It was no wonder why this sourcebox array had seeded in sealing the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hands and forced him to sever them himself.

    ¡°Tian En, let¡¯s go,¡± Tian Ci¡¯s voice echoed across the Scourge.

    By the time Lu Yin looked over, Tian Ci had already met up with Tian En and was staring at Lu Yin.

    Two pairs of eyes locked, and Lu Yin saw the endless bloodlust that filled Tian Ci¡¯s eyes, as well as a hint of regret. Was the man regretting the fact that he had not tried to kill Lu Yin sooner? Did Tian Ci regret allowing Lu Yin to grow?

    ¡°The humans of this megaverse have no future, and you are no exception,¡± Tian Ci dered. As soon as he spoke, he was enveloped by an entire barrage of attacks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. There was no doubt that Tian Ci was extremely powerful. If the man joined Aeternus, then he would certainly stand below only True God. It was unknown whether or not Ancient God could defeat Tian Ci, but Lu Yin doubted it. Having such a powerful enemy escape was not something that Lu Yin wasfortable with.

    However, humanity had already put forth their all in the battle.

    Their greatest experts had been united, and they had risked danger falling upon the Heavens Sect, the Sixverse Association, and the Perennial World in order to fight in the Second Scourge. The final results were quite satisfactory.

    One of the Boundary Guardians had died, and the Aeternals had lost Di Qiong. ckless God had defected, and Whiteless God had been forced out, which had exposed more of her abilities.

    While humanity had also suffered significant losses, given the deaths of E'' Ji, Emperor Shang, and several other peak powerhouses like Bai Sheng, Aeternus¡¯s losses had been much, much more severe.

    It was impossible to avoid death during war. The battle may have started unexpectedly, but it was still humanity''s greatest victory since the Heavens Sect era. Still, two of the Boundary Guardians had survived, and not only had Bai Xian''er survived, but she had already be a Progenitor.

    As Tian Ci and Tian En retreated, Ancient God, Progenitor Xi, Whiteless God, Arrow God, and Forgotten Ruins God all moved in unison towards the ck Mother Tree. Lu Yuan and many others quickly tried to stop the retreat, hoping to eliminate more of the most powerful Aeternals.

    Theke of divine energy beneath the ground suddenly erupted, shooting into the sky. It looked as though the sky and earth had switched ces. The rivers of divine energy merged together, and the Second Scourge was flooded.

    All of the human powerhouses did whatever they could to protect themselves, while the surviving members of Aeternus were swept away by the surging divine energy. All of them were dragged back towards the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    The Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm only targeted True God, which meant that other creatures could enter and leave freely.

    The endless divine energy gathered up all the surviving Aeternals and then formed into swirling red ribbons that drew them all back to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    Everyone looked at the ck Mother Tree.

    True God himself was at the very front, nked by powerhouses like Progenitor Xi. All of Aeternus faced Lu Yin and his allies.

    Between themy both the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm and a sea of divine energy.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. As he did so, the various human powerhouses gathered around him, one after another. Together, they all approached the ck Mother Tree in silence.

    Eventually, every human expert present had gathered around Lu Yin. They all stood just outside the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    Within the pirs of light stood True God and the rest of Aeternus.

    The two sides stared at each other in silence, though a tense, murderous atmosphere filled the air.

    Never before in all of history had so many powerful experts gathered in one ce.

    Even during the Heavens Sect era, the Three Realms and Six Daos had never joined forces against amon enemy. When the Origin Progenitor had disappeared and the First Maind had shattered, Garan Zhiluo had chased after Tian Feng, only to disappear herself. When it came to the number of true powerhouses, the modern Heavens Sect did not fall behind its ancient predecessor.

    Lu Yin, Lu Yuan, Jiang Feng, Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, Lu Tianyi, Sovereign Dou Sheng, and more all stood together.

    As True God¡¯s Aeternals, there was Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, Whiteless God, Arrow God, and the rest.

    Ancient enemies of the megaverse faced each other in full force after endless years.

    ¡°You''ve won, Lord Lu,¡± True God stated. This was the first time that Yong Heng had spoken to Lu Yin in such a formal manner.

    Lu Yin stared back at True God. ¡°Not yet.¡±

    Yong Heng gave a small smile. ¡°Do you intend to leave no survivors?¡±

    Lu Yin remained calm. ¡°In order to eliminate evil, it needs to be ripped out by the roots.¡±

    ¡°Do you remember the first time we spoke?¡± True God asked.

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°You left quite an impression.¡±

    1. In earlier chapters, ËêÔÂÖ®ºÓ was tranted as the "River of Time." However, this term fails to capture the full meaning and poetic nuance of the original Chinese. The term ËêÔÂ suggests more than the linear or measurable concept of time (which usually appears as Ê±¼ä), and instead epasses the relentless flow of the passing of time. ËêÔÂ indicates the grandeur of history, the transience of life, and the inexorable flow of existence.

    To better convey such depths, we have revised the trantion to River of Aeons. "Aeons" evokes the idea of timeless epochs and a sense of an eternal flow, which more closely aligns with the weight and mystique portrayed in the original text. This change will also apply to rted terms such as "branches of the River of Aeons" and powers derived from ËêÔÂ, to ensure consistency and fidelity to the original narrative. ?

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3227: Lu Yin And Yong Heng

    True God looked at Lu Yin in amazement. ¡°At that time, I never would have dreamed that this day woulde. The mighty Aeternals, with just our First Scourge, had both the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association on the defensive, with the entire Endless Frontier acting as a buffer. All of them were too afraid to take the initiative. Everything changed with your arrival. Lord Lu, you have my respect.¡±

    No one had expected this day to arrive, not even humanity itself, and certainly not Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin would never forget the despair that he had once felt when he stood atop the ck Mother Tree and learned of the six Scourges. At that time, even though Arrow God''s attack had been blocked by the Great Sovereign, Lu Yin had still felt struck, and he had been chilled to his core.

    He was not as strong as the front that he put up for others.

    Years of perseverance and belief had shattered upon the realization that there were six Scourges. Lu Yin had appeared determined and resolute when he had spoken to the Great Sovereign, Sovereign Dou Sheng, and the rest of humanity about his lifelong convictions and his resolve to die with honor. However, if he was honest, he had really been speaking to himself.

    All he could do was take things one step at a time. If death was not terrifying, then what else would he fear?

    He had never actually imagined reaching this point.

    Decades worth of memories shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and he saw his former helplessness. He had needed encouragement and help, but at that time, who had been able to help him? Not even the return of his Lu family had been able to give him absolute confidence, as the Aeternals had simply been too powerful.

    In the end, humanity always retained the ability to make the impossible possible. Lu Yin stood in the Second Scourge, surrounded by people who had roamed the stars for countless years, leaving behind their legends. All of them would create more legends in the future.As for Lu Yin himself, he would stand above all other legends.

    Countless years in the future, humans might no longer believe that the events that had just taken ce were urate parts of history.

    In that case, it would be better to leave cleaner records for history andpletely turn the pages on Aeternus.

    ¡°Tai Chu was formidable, benefiting the masses and bringing about the Origin Universe¡¯s first era of greatness. However, I don¡¯t respect him. His progress was too smooth. During his era, humanity was not seen as important. Astral beasts casually ughtered humans as they wished. While it is true that he rose to power in defiance of such things, he rarely encountered true despair and was rarely targeted. He was never forced to face an enemy as terrible as my Aeternus.

    ¡°You are different. You rose up from beingpletely suppressed by my Aeternus. Lord Lu, whether it¡¯s your people or ours who survive, you will never be forgotten by history,¡± True God spoke slowly.

    Lu Yin stared at the other man. ¡°You still think that Aeternus can endure?¡±

    True God smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no reversing fate. From the very beginning, you¡¯ve already lost. Your survival was a mercy given to you. I respect that you¡¯ve been able to lead humanity so far, but I also pity you. Everything that you¡¯ve done is meaningless. You¡¯ve merely dug your own grave.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°You¡¯re wasting your breath. None of this is going to give your Aeternals any chances to survive. Besides, even if you¡¯re telling the truth, I¡¯d rather die on my feet than live crawling on my belly.

    ¡°Your Aeternals have no chance.¡±

    Behind True God, Progenitor Xi and the others all stared at Lu Yin with torn expressions. Who could have imagined that Aeternus would be forced into such a precarious position by this young man? The day hade too quickly and too suddenly.

    Mu Ji gritted his teeth, realizing his mistake. He had chosen the wrong side. Who could have predicted that humanity would manage to reverse the bnce so quickly? Even if he did manage to obtain one of True God''s ultimate techniques, what would it change? Even True God himself was trapped.

    Staring at Lu Yin, Mu Ji''s eyes were filled with a powerful sense of fear. This young man would stand at the forefront of the future. What could be done about it? What could Mu Ji do?

    Forgotten Ruins God let out a soft breath. She was not looking at Lu Yin and was instead ncing elsewhere, acting as though she was unconcerned by the entire situation.

    Around Lu Yin, Lu Yuan and the others all remained silent. The current conversation was taking ce between the leader of humanity and the leader of the Aeternals. No matter how much any of the others wanted to speak up, they would show Lu Yin the respect that he deserved.

    At this moment, Lu Yin served as the representative of all of humanity.

    "There is an opportunity, but it''s up to you to seize it. At least for the moment, our war has stopped, hasn''t it?" True God stated calmly.

    Lu Yin frowned. He did not want the war to be put on hold, as he wanted topletely eliminate everyst remnant of Aeternus. But to do so, it was necessary to enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    While the others could be handled, they had no answer to True God, which was the biggest problem.

    Just how strong was True God? No one knew. While the Great Sovereign had stopped True God on several asions, and while the Lord of Lightning had attacked the man multiple times, both people had only done so with the determination to die for their efforts. Even after so long, True God had never revealed his full strength. ?

    "Ancestor, do you have any confidence of being able to deal with Yong Heng?" Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan frowned. "Not at all."

    Lu Yin then turned to Jiang Feng, but the Lord of Lightning just shook his head.

    Wu Tian spoke up, "Master oncemented that Yong Heng is the only one who has the potential to one day surpass him."

    "Then why didn¡¯t the Origin Progenitor deal with Yong Heng back then?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Tian sighed. "There are some things that only Master can answer."

    Lu Yin turned back to Lu Yuan. "Ancestor, how did you manage to fight Yong Heng to a draw on the Endless Frontier?"

    Lu Yuan looked down at the Great Sovereign. "You¡¯ll have to ask her. She was the one who faced off against Yong Heng."

    Lu Yin turned to the Great Sovereign.

    The woman had her back to everyone, and she showed no desire to say a word.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Logically, even if Yong Heng is quite powerful, it shouldn''t be to the degree where he can y a deciding role in a war. At least, he didn¡¯t kill Progenitor Ku, and neither you nor Uncle Jiang were seriously injured by him."

    Jiang Feng''s eyes glinted sharply. "While it may seem that way, have you considered the possibility that, if Yong Heng truly is as strong as the Origin Progenitor believed, why hasn''t he shown it? Such power would be decisive.

    "My guess is that this has something to do with his Dukkha."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. Right, Dukkha. Yong Heng was trying to ovee Dukkha.

    Several other people exchanged nces. "That¡¯s our best guess as well. No one knows what Yong Heng''s obsession is, but over the years, he¡¯s only ever shown power equal to an average Ortuser, and he hasn¡¯t exposed any sort of exceptional strength."

    The Great Sovereign then turned around, clearly upset. "An ordinary Ortuser?"

    Everyone looked over and saw the woman¡¯s displeasure. They suddenly remembered that it had always been the Great Sovereign holding Yong Heng at bay. To im that Yong Heng was as strong as an ordinary Ortuser implied that the Great Sovereign was ordinary as well.

    "If you¡¯re so courageous, then go ahead and test it out. An ''ordinary'' Ortuser will deal with all of you! Hmph!" the Great Sovereign snapped.

    Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "Fine, he¡¯s not ordinary. He¡¯s strong, just like you. Happy?

    The Great Sovereign red at Lu Yuan. "Leave. Don¡¯t throw your lives away. Yong Heng is not someone any of you can handle. Whether he faces one person or a hundred, the results will be the same: Yong Heng won¡¯t be harmed, but neither will any of you."

    Jiang Feng spoke up, "Great Sovereign, please share what you know with us."

    The Great Sovereign had a better opinion of the Lord of Lightning, and her attitude improved when she addressed him. "I don¡¯t know. The power that Yong Heng has shown is too unusual. He must be using some sort of method that we can¡¯t even imagine to try to ovee Dukkha."

    "Then we should strike now. If he ovees his Dukkha, who will be able to stop him?" Lu Yin could not stop himself from speaking.

    The Great Sovereign coldly retorted, "Then he could simply abandon his Dukkha and ughter all of you. The result would be the same."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. "He can do that?"

    "Yes," the Great Sovereign answered firmly. After a moment, as though feeling that her answer was insufficient, she added, "I could take down several of you, including Loam and hispanions, though it might kill me. If I can do that much, then Yong Heng can do much more. Do you think I¡¯ve avoided all-out war with Aeternus and focused solely on Yong Heng for so long for no reason?

    "If Yong Heng isn¡¯t dealt with, Aeternus will never be defeated."

    Garan Zhiluo spoke up, "You crazy woman, you think that you can take all of us down with you? Do you really think that you can actually do it?"

    Her long spear pressed against the ground with enough force that fissures started to open.

    The Great Sovereign nced at the other woman. "Brat, you¡¯re as sharp-tongued as ever. I should have marred your face back then."

    "We should¡¯ve taken you down," Garan shot back with open disdain.

    The Great Sovereign ignored thement and turned to Lu Yin. "If Yong Heng abandons his Dukkha, he has the strength to kill all of you. If he doesn¡¯t, then let him try to ovee his Dukkha. He can¡¯t escape my Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and I¡¯ll do my best to erase his power. This is your only chance."

    "What if he ovees Dukkha?" Lu Yin challenged.

    The Great Sovereign closed her eyes. "Then we¡¯ll all die together."

    Lu Yin looked up at True God.

    Throughout the entire battle, True God had remained almostpletely calm. "There is nothing that time cannot restore. Even if you eliminate all Three Pirs and Six Skies, I can eventually rece them. Your only chance is to kill me now. Why don¡¯t we find out if you can do it?"

    Lu Yin stared at him. "Can I?"

    True God stared back. "No."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Then we¡¯ll forget it."

    Everyone was taken aback, and Garan Zhiluo could not stop herself from speaking up. "What? You¡¯re just going to end things here?"

    Wu Tian stopped Garan from saying anything further with a shake of his head.

    The woman looked away. She was unwilling to even look at True God.

    Yong Heng was impressed. "You understand when to advance and when to retreat, Lord Lu. The biggest difference between you and the Origin Progenitor is that he looked down on everything from high above, while you climbed up from the very bottom."

    Lu Yin did not want to force the battle to a life or death match with True God. This was not only because of the Great Sovereign''s warning, but also because of both Progenitor Hui and Wang Xiaoyu.

    Progenitor Hui was definitely hiding within Aeternus, so why had he still not revealed himself? There had to be something important preventing him from doing so.

    What about Hui Wu? He was also being held by the Aeternals, and not at a great distance from True God either. The man had not been transformed into a normal frenzied corpse. If not for Hui Wu, Lu Yin would have never learned about the Primaldust beneath the ck Mother Tree. However, even after that, Hui Wu still had not revealed himself. The man knew that he would die, and yet he still refused to leave Aeternus. There was a reason for that as well.

    On top of that, there was Wang Xiaoyu. Whether it was what he had heard from Progenitor Chen or Mu Ji, Lu Yin was certain that Wang Xiaoyu had not betrayed humanity.

    She had instigated the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, but there had to be some hidden motive behind her actions. Why had she done such a thing? Why had she not returned to humanity as ckless God and Fei had? Why was Wang Xiaoyu continuing to follow True God? She had to have a reason.

    In addition to all that, the Aeternals still had the final member of the Three Pirs who had never appeared. Why had that person not shown up even during such an important battle?

    There were many signs indicating that the Aeternals were not truly at the end of their rope. If Lu Yin forced his hand, even with therge number of experts following him, he might not achieve the victory he craved.

    Finally, the owner of the blood-red sword was still out there somewhere, and Lu Yin¡¯s Four Locks Array had not been dealt with. There was an unfathomable being in their megaverse, and Lu Yin needed to reserve enough strength for that confrontation.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3228: Position

    There were actually multiple reasons why it was impossible to continue the war for the time being.

    Even if humanity wanted to push True God into a fight to the death, Lu Yin knew that he first had to deal with the Four Locks Array that bound him. Otherwise, he would only be able to watch as others risked their lives.

    "And what about you? What¡¯s your position been this whole time?" Lu Yin asked as he sped his hands behind his back. After giving up on the possibility of killing True God and that the battle was over, Lu Yin felt much more rxed.

    True God smiled. "Me? I''ve always been in a corner that you can¡¯t see."

    Lu Yin stared at True God, as though trying to see through him.

    "Stepping back from this battle was wise. Tian Ci has already left, but he will bring another megaverse to the fight. He sees no hope in you, which means that war is the only option for him," True God exined.

    Lu Yin and the others¡¯ expressions changed. "Tian Ci¡¯s original megaverse?"

    True God nodded. "The ancient Heavens Sect shone too brightly, but that did not matter. No matter how bright it became, it had to eventually dim. As I said before, the Origin Progenitor looked down on everything from above. He could not see the crises that were brewing in the shadows. Countless schemes and plots could have pulled him down.

    "You are different from him. You crawled up from the bottom. The first thing you saw wasn''t the endless light, but rather the dark shadows. This is why you know that crises only breed in the shadows. Both Tian Ci and I live in those shadows."You saw us, which is why we lost our opportunities. Tian Ci realizes this, which is why he now wants to bring his own people here to fight a war."

    Lu Yin asked curiously, "Aeternals can¡¯t coexist with us humans, but you can coexist with humans from that megaverse?"

    True God smiled. "Who said that we can¡¯t coexist with you? Aeternus has already seeded at doing so. It¡¯s just that you don¡¯t want it."

    "And they¡¯re willing?" Lu Yin felt confused. How could humans be willing to live with such an existence?

    True God answered slowly, but the single sentence he shared did not make any sense to Lu Yin, even after he returned to the Heavens Sect. "They want to survive. You want to live. The two are not the same."

    Lu Yin was fishing on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. A cup of tea that Zhao Ran had prepared sat beside him.

    When the battle had started in the Second Scourge, the Heavens Sect had also been attacked. The Star Devourer had attacked them, and both Master Shan and Moon Ghost had died. Their deaths weighed heavily on Lu Yin.

    Ultimately, the Star Devourer had been driven off. Arch-Elder Zen, Senior Brother Mu Xie, the jiao, and Ancestor Tortoise had all remained at the Heavens Sect, and the Star Devourer was not strong enough to destroy the Heavens Sect on his own.

    Lu Qi arrived, and he looked down at Lu Yin¡¯s hands. "You can''t open that?"

    Lu Yin smiled. "Don¡¯t worry, Dad. I¡¯m fine."

    Lu Qi sighed and sat down next to Lu Yin.

    The fish in theke were all scared away.

    "Little Seven, your dad is useless. I can''t even be with you on the battlefield," Lu Qi stated, feeling guilty.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Dad, you¡¯ve always been easy going about things. When did you be so sentimental?"

    Lu Qi scratched his head. "If your mother knew about all this, she¡¯d dieughing."

    Lu Yin looked at Lu Qi. "You¡¯ve done well."

    While Lu Qi was known for his carefree attitude¡ªhe was even said to have kidnapped Lu Yin¡¯s mother¡ªwhen the Lu family had been exiled, it was Lu Qi who had shielded Lu Yin with his Champions'' Stage. Without Lu Qi, Lu Yin would not have survived that incident.

    That Champions'' Stage had been Lu Qi¡¯s innate gift, and it had been destroyed as a result of protecting Lu Yin. Lu Qi had lost the symbol of the Lu family, but he had never worried about that. When he reunited with his son, the matter had not even been mentioned to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin realized how deeply Lu Qi cared for him. The man was a father who was willing to give his life for his son, and that was enough.

    "Zhao Ran, brew some tea."

    "Don¡¯t bother, I¡¯m leaving. That¡¯s not my thing."

    "Dad, you¡¯re always fishing in the Middle Ocean. Why don¡¯t you do that here?"

    "It¡¯s different. I¡¯m not as refined as you. I¡¯m off."

    Lu Qi did not want Lu Yin to see his guilt for another moment. He needed to be stronger, no matter what. He had to be able to stand next to Lu Yin and fight their enemies together, even if that meant blocking only a single blow to protect his son.

    ¡°Dad.¡±

    Lu Qi turned back. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Lu Yin smiled. ¡°You''ve done well. Honestly, it won¡¯t be long before even Ancestor Lu Yuan most likely won¡¯t be able to stand on my battlefield. Your son is just too much of a genius.¡±

    Lu Qi froze for a moment, but then he rolled his eyes and ran off.

    Lu Yin chuckled and looked away, refocusing on his fishing.

    At this moment, the Aeternus Kingdoms throughout all six Scourges and the parallel universes that Aeternus had controlled were being dismantled. All of the most powerful Aeternals were trapped within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, which meant that, for the moment, the megaverse belonged solely to humanity.

    Time passed, and the Aeternus Kingdoms were almost entirely dealt with. Finally, Lu Yin stood up and headed towards the Scourge upation.

    E'' Ji had fallen in battle, and Lu Yin needed to pay his respects to her and the Scourge upation.

    The people of the Scourge upation did not feel much sorrow. They were like ordinary humans, and their lives were too short. Death was all toomon to them.

    E'' Nan had reced E'' Ji as the chief of the Scourge upation, and the man weed Lu Yin upon his arrival.

    Lu Yin looked at a portrait of E'' Ji as he performed the traditional rites of the Scourge upation to pay his respects to the woman.

    ¡°Mother enjoyed life while alive, and death is only to be expected. Dao Monarch, there¡¯s no need to be sad,¡± E'' Nan said.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew conflicted. ¡°What about you? How much longer do you have?¡±

    E'' Nan considered the question. ¡°More than a hundred years, I believe.¡±

    Lu Yin showed a bitter smile. A hundred years¡­ that was far too short. It was possible that the next time Lu Yin visited the Scourge upation, E¡¯ Nan would already be reced by another chief.

    Despite wielding some of the strongest power known to cultivators, the people of the Scourge upation were unable to cultivate themselves.

    Their people were crude and direct, but there was no denying the tremendous help that they had given Lu Yin.

    He thought of Elder Gong, Master Shan, and many others. Old friends would leave, one by one. Immortality was not necessarily a blessing.

    After bidding farewell to the Scourge upation, Lu Yin''s next destination was the Infinity Empire. Emperor Shang had died, and the broken bits of Supreme had been taken back to the Infinity Empire. Supposedly, the mecha could be repaired, but Lu Yin needed to appoint the new emperor.

    When he arrived in the Infinity Empire, Lu Yin saw that much had changed, despite having only recently visited the empire.

    The connection between the universe and the Origin Universe meant that many cultivators had visited the Infinity Empire, and their curiosity had introduced various influences from the cultivation world.

    The most obvious change was the number of people flying through the sky, which was not something that the ordinary humans of the Infinity Empire could do.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arrival did not attract much attention. He arrived in the Imperial Capital itself, though the Pirs of Heaven no longer surrounded the imperial pce. They had been sent to different ces in the Origin Universe and across the various parallel universes.

    One of the pirs, You Ding, had fought in the Second Scourge and been killed. His mecha, which had been known as Immortal, had also been destroyed.

    Theoretically, a twelve-ring mecha should be capable of fighting against sequence powerhouses, but reality was tragic when such a mecha entered a top-tier battlefield.

    You Ding¡¯s death served as an example. Despite his mecha¡¯s massive size, the man had aplished nothing of significance in the Second Scourge, and he had really been nothing more than a target.

    One of the Infinity Empire¡¯s Pirs of Heaven had died a meaningless death on the battlefield, and that loss strengthened the Infinity Empire''s fear of both the Heavens Sect and Aeternus. In particr, when the severed form of Supreme had been delivered back, the entire empire had been left silenced.

    No one could describe what their people were feeling, but they had all learned one important thing: Supreme was no longer enough to protect their empire.

    This truth felt even worse than when they had initially been suppressed by Lu Yin.

    Hong Nian summoned various high-ranking officials of the Infinity Empire to the imperial pce. Lu Yin was seated on the emperor¡¯s throne, and he was calmly staring at his right hand, thinking about how he could deal with the Four Locks Formation.

    One by one, the officials arrived.

    Shang Tianzong, Shang Cheng, Shang An''an, Bu Wu, Liu Ling, and the four surviving Pirs of Heaven¡ªJiao Feng, Yi, Huan Zhan, and Shang Qiu¡ªall arrived.

    The gathered individuals represented the future of the Infinity Empire.

    As the people arrived, none of them dared to make any sound, and they silently stood in ce.

    Lu Yin finally looked up, his eyes sweeping the crowd before finallynding on Shang Tianzong and a few others. ¡°I deeply regret the death of Emperor Shang.¡±

    While the Infinity Empire had been suppressed by Lu Yin and forced toply, that was merely a temporary measure. The empire possessed great potential. If the ring energy research seeded in developing thirteen-ring energy, then humanity would enjoy a significant boost in strength. On top of that, numerous parallel universes had been connected with the use of ring energy technology. Lu Yin needed to cate the empire.

    Emperor Shang had been one of the Outer Eight Paths, and that meant that the Infinity Empire was not truly part of the Heavens Sect.

    Shang Tianzong bowed and said, ¡°Dao Monarch, your words are too kind. As one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Outer Eight Paths, the emperor had a duty to defend the sect and fight ourmon enemy. Life and death aremon on the battlefield.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the young man. ¡°Emperor Shang helped me greatly, and since he sacrificed himself, I have a duty to protect the Infinity Empire that he left behind. Which one of you is willing to seed him as the new emperor?¡±

    People in the group exchanged nces, with most of them looking at Shang Tianzong or Shang Cheng.

    The two were Emperor Shang¡¯s sons, and they were the only two qualified to seed the throne.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze also fell on the two men.

    The two nced at each other by reflex, and they could each see the bitterness in the other¡¯s eyes. Their once fervent pursuit of the imperial throne had faded long ago, extinguished like an old beacon. Their eyes no longer held the same spark of ambition.

    Was there even any meaning to bing the emperor of the Infinity Empire? Inheriting the throne meant nothing more than bing another one of Lord Lu¡¯s thugs.

    Had the old emperor wanted to fight on the battlefield where he had died? Of course not. Shang Tianzong¡¯s words had been nothing more than politeness. If the Infinity Empire was given a choice, they would avoid the Heavens Sect at all costs.

    Whoever became the next emperor would be nothing more than Lord Lu¡¯s muscle. It would be impossible to avoid simr battles in the future, and death would be a constant threat.

    The throne of the emperor seemed like a bottomless abyss. It was a cliff from which they could plummet to their deaths at any moment.

    No one answered, which was what Lu Yin had expected. This was the reason why he had made this trip to the Infinity Empire. If this problem did not exist, then there would not have been any need for him to visit, as a new emperor would have already been chosen.

    The problem was that no one was willing to be the emperor.

    ¡°Shang Tianzong,¡± Lu Yin said.

    The man¡¯s heart sank, but he gave Lu Yin a respectful bow. ¡°Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the man. ¡°You are the Infinity Empire¡¯s crown prince, and it is only right for you to inherit your father¡¯s throne.¡±

    Shang Tianzong quickly replied, ¡°Dao Monarch, while my father has passed on, he was the one who lifted the Infinity Empire up to its current height. The entire empire cherishes his memory, and we have no desire to go against his wishes.

    ¡°My father was more inclined to see my fifth brother seed him as emperor.¡±

    Shang Cheng instantly denied that im. ¡°Dao Monarch, that¡¯s not true. My eldest brother is indeed the crown prince and should rightfully inherit the throne. That is in line with the rules of our Infinity Empire.¡±

    Shang Tianzong frowned and looked over at Shang Cheng. ¡°Fifth brother, you have alwayspeted with me for the throne. I will readily admit that I am not as capable as you, and Father also saw that. He has advised me on several asions to leave the throne to you. You should not refuse.¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3229: Strategy

    After hearing Shang Tianzong¡¯sment, Shang Cheng immediately retorted, ¡°Elder Brother, you are already able to control a ten-ring mecha, while I am only able to manage a nine-ring one. Just that alone shows how far you have surpassed me. Moreover, you¡¯ve been involved in the management of the empire''s affairs under Father¡¯s guidance for a long time already. The entire Infinity Empire knows of this, so please, Elder Brother, there¡¯s no need for such humility.¡±

    Shang Tianzong replied, ¡°When ites to overseeing the empire, how could Ipare to you, Fifth Brother? Of the empire¡¯s 1,785 officials, you¡¯ve met with at least 500 of them, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Shang Cheng¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He had not expected Shang Tianzong to know about even those meetings. They had not been held openly, but rather arranged through secret channels that belonged to Shang Cheng alone. Despite his caution, Shang Tianzong had still learned of them. ¡°Elder Brother, don¡¯t make things up. How could I have had the time to meet with so many people? Even if I did, what of it? All of them praised you as the rightful heir to the throne. I had no choice but to listen.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an rolled her eyes. In the same breath, Shang Cheng first imed to have not met with the officials, and then he remarked about how they had praised Shang Tianzong as the ideal heir to the throne. <em>Fifth Brother, you¡¯re really shameless! Do you feel no guilt at all when you lie like this? Who would openly discuss the throne? That¡¯s nothing less than suicide. On top of that, why would they say anything to you?</em>

    Shang Tianzong realized that he had underestimated Shang Cheng¡¯s shamelessness. How could anyone say such things?

    Shang Tianzong barked out augh in anger. ¡°You¡¯re being too modest, Fifth Brother. The truth is that I¡¯ve met with even more officials, and all of them suggested that I notpete with you for the throne. They all believe that you have the ability to elevate the Infinity Empire to even greater heights. Even Father agreed.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an was left speechless. Who would have been stupid enough to say such things? Who would have openly supported their fifth brother? Her oldest brother was also being shameless.

    With this, Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng continued their little back and forth, crazily praising the other while belittling themselves. The bottom line was the same; neither wanted to be the next Emperor Shang.

    Lu Yin watched the exchange with a bit of interest. He knew exactly what the two men were thinking. In fact, if he was in their same position, he also would not want to be the emperor.Bing Emperor Shang meant bing Lu Yin¡¯s thug, and they would have to answer summons to fight battles and frequently life-threatening situations at a moment¡¯s notice. They would not even be able to enjoy much authority within the Infinity Empire, since there would simply be no time for it. It would be much better to live the leisurely life of a prince.

    Lu Yin was reminded of the final statue from Great Elder Shan Gu¡¯s Heavenly King. That statue was known as the Royal Regent. He had refused to allow a sky to remain above him, which was beyond arrogant.

    One of the two men bickering in front of Lu Yin would be Emperor Shang, while the other would inevitably be the Royal Regent. Whether the next emperor liked it or not, he would have to follow the Heavens Sect into battle.

    Lu Yin did not say anything as Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng continually tried to force the throne onto the other.

    Such an argument had never before urred in the entire history of the Infinity Empire. No one wanted to inherit the throne, and the best candidates were instead trying to force it upon their former rival, whom they had once wished to kill for the throne.

    Their argument echoed through the vast imperial pce.

    Finally, someone could not take it anymore. ¡°Elder Brother, Fifth Brother, whether or not you be Emperor Shang should be left to the Dao Monarch to decide. You two have been arguing for so long! Do you realize what this looks like?¡±

    Only Shang An¡¯an could stop the two men¡¯s argument.

    Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng both turned to bow to Lu Yin. ¡°We ask the Dao Monarch to make this decision.¡±

    Lu Yin shifted his posture. ¡°Are you finally done?¡±

    The two quickly bowed again. ¡°Please forgive us, Dao Monarch.¡±

    Lu Yin looked around the room. ¡°No matter what, this is a family matter that involves the Infinity Empire. It¡¯s really not my ce to interfere.

    ¡°Shang An¡¯an, right?¡±

    Shang An¡¯an looked up at Lu Yin before stepping forward and bowing. ¡°Yes, I am Shang An¡¯an.¡±

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Who do you think is most suitable to be the next Emperor Shang?¡±

    Shang An¡¯an had not expected Lu Yin to throw the problem at her feet. She looked over at Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng, both of whom gave her continuous subtle gestures.

    Shang An¡¯an hesitated. ¡°Dao Monarch, I am just a princess. I hold no authority to decide matters concerning the throne.¡±

    ¡°Just share your own feelings,¡± Lu Yin said casually.

    Shang An¡¯an¡¯s eyes flitted back and forth between Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng for some time before she finally gritted her teeth and spoke, ¡°ording to the empire¡¯s traditions, Crown Prince Shang Tianzong is the rightful heir and should be the next emperor.¡± ?

    Shang Cheng let out a sigh of relief.

    Shang Tianzong¡¯s expression fell as he red at Shang An¡¯an. He had always known that she was close to Shang Cheng. When Lu Yin asked the princess for her opinion, Shang Tianzong had already known that things would not fall in his favor, and the results proved him right.

    Shang Tianzong was about to say something, but Lu Yin raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Enough. If that¡¯s the case, then Shang Tianzong, you will be the next Emperor Shang.¡±

    Lu Yin then rose to his feet and stepped down from the throne. ¡°Go have a seat.¡±

    Everyone stared at Shang Tianzong.

    Shang Cheng¡¯s eyes betrayed a mix of relief and lingering fear.

    Shang An¡¯an¡¯s expression was conflicted. Between Shang Tianzong and Shang Cheng, she preferred Shang Cheng; he was at least a more genuine person.

    Several of their older siblings had died under mysterious circumstances, and all the signs had pointed to Shang Tianzong.

    The man wanted to refuse the throne, but Lu Yin had already made the decision. If Shang Tianzong refused, it would be no different from rejecting Lu Yin¡¯s authority, and Shang Tianzong did not have the courage to do such a thing.

    Helpless, he could only walk to the throne, walking past Lu Yin on his way. Shang Tianzong offered a respectful bow. ¡°Given the Dao Monarch¡¯s presence, I don¡¯t dare to be presumptuous. Please, Dao Monarch, take the throne.¡±

    Lu Yin dismissed the suggestion with a wave of his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that chair. Sit.¡±

    Shang Tianzong¡¯s face turned pale as he turned to look at the throne. He still hesitated.

    Shang Cheng rxed and gave Shang An¡¯an a grateful look. If she had chosen him, he would be the one hesitating instead.

    No one truly knew Lu Yin¡¯s opinion on the matter.

    Lu Yin looked at Shang Tianzong. ¡°Go sit down.¡±

    Shang Tianzong¡¯s heart dropped. He gritted his teeth and slowly walked over to the throne, which he then nervously sat upon.

    Down below, Shang Cheng was the first to bow. ¡°Greetings, Emperor Shang.¡±

    Right after that, Shang An¡¯an, Liu Ling, Bu Wu, and the others followed suit. ¡°Greetings, Emperor Shang.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Emperor Shang.¡±

    Hong Nian nced at Lu Yin, but his expression remained nk.

    Then, he also bowed. ¡°Greetings, Emperor Shang.¡±

    Shang Tianzong¡¯s voice was filled with bitterness as he said, ¡°Rise.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Emperor Shang.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Emperor Shang¡­¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Now that there is an Emperor Shang, we need to choose Supreme¡¯s next pilot.¡±

    Shang An¡¯an was caught off guard. ¡°Dao Monarch, isn¡¯t Supreme Emperor Shang¡¯s exclusive mecha?¡±

    ¡°Who said that?¡± Lu Yin countered.

    Shang An¡¯an froze and then slowly lowered her head, not daring to ask any further questions.

    Everyone was stunned. Supreme had always been used by the Infinity Empire¡¯s emperor. This was a rule of the empire, and the throne and the mecha had been tied together so tightly in people¡¯s minds that they had even connected the position of emperor with being Lu Yin¡¯s thug. This was why neither Shang Tianzong nor Shang Cheng had wanted to be the emperor.

    If the emperor was not going to serve as Lu Yin¡¯s muscle, then¡­?

    Shang Cheng¡¯s face twitched, and his eyes flickered as his mind raced.

    Shang Tianzong stared at Lu Yin¡¯s back, equally confused.

    Lu Yin calmly called out, ¡°Yi.¡±

    The man stepped forward from the rest of the crowd. ¡°Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Starting today, you will be Supreme¡¯s pilot. The mecha is broken, but it can be repaired. Once it¡¯s fixed, use it and bring it to the Heavens Sect.¡±

    Yi quickly bowed. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Lu Yin then left. He was not going to spend much time in the Infinity Empire.

    Only after he left did the tense atmosphere in the imperial pce finally rx a bit.

    Shang Tianzong''s eyes flickered. He understood that Lu Yin¡¯s actions had all been quite deliberate.

    Separating Supreme from the Infinity Empire¡¯s emperor could have been mentioned much sooner, and that would have removed everyone¡¯s hesitancy to ept the throne, and yet Lu Yin had kept silent. He had simply watched to see who would be forced to be the emperor, knowing that, in such a situation, the emperor would fall to a disadvantage.

    Shang An''an''s rtionship with Shang Cheng had led Shang Tianzong to be pushed forward. His siblings had essentially sacrificed him.

    However, Lu Yin had overthrown the traditions of the Infinity Empire, which had given Shang Tianzong true power to rule as Emperor Shang. This changed everything, as there was no doubt that resentment would linger between him and Shang Cheng and Shang An''an, which would give rise to two opposing factions within the Infinity Empire.

    The Heavens Sect would no longer need to keep such a close eye on the Infinity Empire. If any internal conflicts arose, subsequent orders from the Heavens Sect would be carried out instantaneously.

    This was all a strategy. It had been a small action, but the results were obvious. To implement such methods, there was only one requirement: overwhelming power that suppressed all.

    Lu Yin could choose to follow the empire¡¯s traditions, or he could discard them at whim. His word alone was the final decision. The Infinity Empire was powerless to resist.

    This was Lu Yin''s power.

    Shang Tianzong was not alone, as everyone understood what had happened.

    All of the people in the imperial pce felt quite bitter. Lu Yin was toying with their Infinity Empire, and they were powerless to do anything about it.

    Shang Qiu stared at Shang Tianzong, who sat high above on the throne as the new Emperor Shang. However, there was another figure behind the emperor.

    The Infinity Empire hadpletely changed.

    Bu Wu sighed. For Lu Yin, it did not matter who became the emperor or if the Infinity Empire genuinely submitted to the Heavens Sect. The Infinity Empire was incapable of escaping.

    That was the truth, and they were helpless to do anything about it. Their Infinity Empire was nothing more than a toy.

    ¡­

    After leaving the Infinity Empire, Lu Yin next visited the Lockbreaking World in the Fifth Maind¡¯s Neoverse. Four people were there waiting for him: Grandmaster Xiu Ming, Grandmaster Gu Yan, Grandmaster Li, and Grandmaster Qiu Ling.

    These four were the only Array Grandmasters left in the Origin Universe. While Highsage Grandmaster still lived, he had lost a great deal of his former strength due to his failed breakthrough, and he was quite frail. There was no reason for Lu Yin to reach out to the old man for advice.

    There were additional Array Grandmasters in the Sixverse Association, but none of them surpassed Grandmaster Gu Yan¡¯s skill, which meant that there was no reason to seek them out.

    The Six Ancient Spirit Array had disappeared long ago, the six massive sourceboxes having been taken back to Shenwu Continent.

    The Lockbreaking World still felt rather nostalgic to Lu Yin, especially when he looked at the Ancient Spirit Sea and a certainndmass.

    He hade to that ce to meet with Grandmaster Xiu Ming, Grandmaster Gu Yan, and the others in Xiu Ming¡¯s home.

    This was Lu Yin¡¯s first time meeting Grandmaster Li, who was one of the Perennial World¡¯s Array Grandmasters. He had focused his expertise on destructive sourcebox arrays, and thus, he had always been stationed on the rear battlefield.

    As for Grandmaster Qiu Ling, thest time Lu Yin had seen her had been on the rear battlefield, where Lu Yin had yed a game of Stable Zone with Mu Shang before being attacked by Nutjob Lu.

    Lu Yin had not forgotten that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback.

    As for Nutjob Lu, it was past time to settle things with that man.

    When she saw Lu Yin again, Grandmaster Qiu Ling trembled. The gap between them had grown to an unimaginable level. It was simply too vast for her toprehend.

    If Lu Yin wanted to kill the woman, he could do so with nothing more than a nce.

    She was a Redback, and she knew that Lu Yin was likely aware of that fact. And yet, even after so many years, he had never targeted her. Why? Did he know the truth, or not? Grandmaster Qiu Ling had no idea.

    For a long time, she had wanted to flee. After Lu Yin had be the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, she wanted to escape, but someone had always been watching her. She could never get away, and she could not even think of where to go if she could escape.

    It was actually Grandmaster Li who had been keeping an eye on Grandmaster Qiu Ling. While Lu Yin had never met the man, that had not stopped him from giving the Array Grandmaster certain tasks.

    Lu Yin had never forgotten that Grandmaster Qiu Ling was a Redback. He had kept her around to see if Aeternus would try to take action through her. However, as Lu Yin¡¯s own power had grown and more experts had joined the Heavens Sect, Grandmaster Qiu Ling had faded into the background. She was nearly irrelevant now.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3230: An Unexpected Person

    "Let''s begin," Grandmaster Gu Yan said.

    The four Array Grandmasters sat around Lu Yin and began exining everything they knew about opening sourcebox arrays.

    Lu Yin did not expect them to be able to help him open the Four Locks Array, but gaining insights from their lockbreaking expertise would still be valuable.

    Given his current strength, there was not much experience that Lu Yin needed to glean from others.

    Several days passed as the four grandmasters shared their knowledge and experience before Lu Yin finally opened his eyes. He looked down at his hands and feet.

    "Is there a way?" Grandmaster Gu Yan asked.

    Lu Yin shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not enough to break this Four Locks Array.¡±

    Grandmaster Xiu Ming¡¯s expression turned heavy. ¡°It¡¯s possible that only Progenitor Hui can undo this array. Using a person¡¯s own abilities in ce of a sourcebox¡¯s danger zone to seal that same person¡­ Who came up with such an array? Even the Origin Progenitor was unable to avoid it.¡±

    "Absolute power won¡¯t be enough to break it either. If that were attempted, the process would shatter your own abilities, Dao Monarch," Grandmaster Li interjected.Grandmaster Gu Yan stared at Lu Yin¡¯s hands. ¡°If all else fails, I¡¯ll attempt to break through to the Progenitor realm myself. Then, I¡¯ll see if I can solve it.¡±

    Lu Yin nced at the man. ¡°Without opening your three meridian points, it¡¯s impossible for you to be a Progenitor.¡±

    Grandmaster Gu Yan knew that this was urate and let out a helpless sigh.

    As the men spoke, Grandmaster Qiu Ling did not dare to utter a word.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet and looked at Grandmaster Qiu Ling. ¡°When did you be a Redback?¡±

    This question startled both Grandmaster Gu Yan and Grandmaster Xiu Ming. A Redback?

    They both turned to stare at Grandmaster Qiu Ling.

    Grandmaster Li showed no sign of surprise. When Lu Yin had asked the man to keep an eye on Grandmaster Qiu Ling, he had already started to suspect her.

    The woman¡¯s face turned pale, and she dropped to her knees. ¡°Dao Monarch, I wasn¡¯t willing! Please, spare me, Dao Monarch!¡±

    Lu Yin looked at the kneeling Array Grandmaster without any hint of pity.

    Even if he disregarded the damage that she had done to humanity as a whole as a Redback, the way that she had schemed against Lu Yin himself in the past was something that he would never forgive.

    As he had once told Little Lian and those with her, if his past self appeared, would he forgive those who had wronged him?

    Lu Yin¡¯s current self did not have any right to forgive what had been done to his former self.

    As one walked down the path of cultivation, every step was fraught with danger. A single misstep could lead toplete ruin.

    There was no reason to forgive those who had harmed him.

    Grandmaster Qiu Ling died, and her death surprised no one. No one begged for her life. All Redbacks had to die.

    There were still many matters that needed to be dealt with. While Aeternus¡¯s most powerful experts were all trapped within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, they were not dead.

    On top of that, both Tian Ci and Tian En needed to be found and dealt with as well.

    True God¡¯sments left Lu Yin ufortable. Just how powerful was the megaverse that Tian Ci hade from?

    Logically, they should not have the strength to overwhelm Lu Yin¡¯s megaverse, or else they would have already done so. However, they were also foreigners from another megaverse. What would happen if they did arrive? Lu Yin needed to consider the possibility.

    First, he needed to figure out how to resolve the Four Locks Array. If he could not do that, he would forever remain a half-formed Progenitor.

    In the Perennial World, Lu Yin arrived at the Wang family¡¯s continent.

    This floating continent was part of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hand. Since the Origin Progenitor had also been sealed by the Four Locks Array, Lu Yin wanted to see if that array still existed at his hand.

    The floatingndmass waspletely deste. Everyone who used to live here had either fled or been captured and imprisoned beneath the Middle Ocean.

    After it became public knowledge that Wang Fan had betrayed humanity, the hunt for other members of the Wang family had greatly intensified.

    The Wang family had produced Wang Miaomiao, who was one of the Seven Skygods. There was also Wang Xiaoyu, who had triggered the war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds, which had led to her bing one of the most infamous Redbacks in human history. Finally, Wang Fan had alsoe from that same family.

    No one trusted the Wang family anymore.

    As for the Wang family¡¯s floating continent, it was currently being managed by the Lu family, and it essentially belonged to them.

    When Lu Yin arrived, the present members of the Lu family quickly bowed to him.

    He waved them off and proceeded to walk across the continent alone.

    While thend was deste, it was notpletely uninhabited. Most of the people still living there were not members of the Wang family, but rather fortune seekers who were there because of the Wang family¡¯s past as one of the four ruling powers.

    As he strolled along, Lu Yin saw quite a few cultivators.

    The Lu family had not stopped these people.

    Every cultivator hoped to get lucky, even if there was danger associated with such opportunities.

    Of course, there were specific ces that these wandering cultivators were not allowed to enter. One such region was the Tri-Petal area, which was where the Wang family¡¯s youths had once trained. That particr area was off-limits, not because of the Lu family, but rather because Wang Jian had sealed it off.

    Despite the total copse of the Wang family, there were still specific people that the Lu family had not touched, such as Wang Jian and Wang Miaomiao.[1]

    There were rumors throughout the Perennial World that Wang Miaomiao had had an affair with Lu Qi, and thus no one dared touch her. While Lu Yin knew about these rumors, he had not said a word.

    For many years, Lu Qi had refused to ept Wang Miaomiao¡¯s affections, due to his powerful feelings for Lu Yin¡¯s mother, even if Lu Qi did not show it.

    Lu Qi was aplete person who lived his own life, and Lu Yin did not interfere with his father¡¯s affairs.

    Wang Jian was only able to live in the Tri-Petal area thanks to Wang Miaomiao. If not for her, even if the Lu family had not done anything to the man, he would have been sent to the battlefield and died there long ago.

    The other ce that off-limits was restricted because of the Lu family, and that was the mines.

    The mines, which was how the Wang family had referred to the area, was where they extracted the Yellow Springs.

    The Yellow Springs was incredibly important, and for that reason, the Lu family had sealed off the area.

    Lu Yin entered the mining region and looked into the depths below. He was unable to see any Yellow Springs, or even detect it with his domain or spiritual force, but he knew that it was there. The Wang family had harvested the liquid for years without exhausting the supply.

    At one point, he had believed the Yellow Springs to be the Origin Progenitor¡¯s blood, but he hadter realized that that assumption was wrong.

    After all, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s blood was still red.

    This Yellow Springs was clearly not blood, but in that case, what was it?

    On the day that the Lu family had been banished, Ancestor Lu Yuan had been asleep, while Ancestor Lu Tianyi had been restrained by Wei Nu. The rest of the family¡¯s experts had not been able to do anything because of the Yellow Springs. It had drained their power and left them helpless.

    Lu Yin was just about to descend into the depths when he suddenly turned to look at something in the distance. Then, he vanished.

    Far away, a figure was crouching below a rock. They looked anxious and asionally peeked through a crack in the stone to look towards the mine.

    "Looking for me?" a voice asked.

    The figure quivered and then slowly turned around to see Lu Yin, who was standing right beside the person.

    Lu Yin looked at the man and said, "I didn''t expect you to still be here, Xiao Can."

    The man behind the rock was indeed Xiao Can. This was the same man who had traded a Root of Intelligence for an early dismissal from the rear battlefield, only to be captured by Wang Xun and taken to the Wang family¡¯s continent.

    Lu Yin remembered the man well, as he had bought a Root of Intelligence from him.

    During the time he had been disguised as Hao Yu, Lu Yin had seen Xiao Can in the mining area of the Wang family¡¯s continent, and that had strengthened his impression of the man.

    He had assumed that, after the fall of the Wang family, Xiao Can must have either been caught up in the chaos and killed, or had fled. Surprisingly, he was still on the floating continent and even close to the mines.

    Why? Why did he remain here?

    Lu Yin realized that it was quite possible that he had overlooked Xiao Can. Despite the strong impression that the man had left on Lu Yin, he had never paid any real attention to Xiao Can. In fact, all that had ever really happened was that Lu Yin had wanted to get Roots of Intelligence from the man.

    Upon discovering Xiao Can close to the mines, Lu Yin knew that the man had to be hiding something.

    Xiao Can stared at Lu Yin in stunned silence. He had never imagined that Lu Yin himself would suddenly appear, much less discover him. Xiao Can had thought that he had been quite well hidden.

    Ordinary people could not hope toprehend the power of cultivators, and the gap between Xiao Can and Lu Yin was greater than the gap between an ordinary human and an Explorer. Ordinary humans could never travel freely through outer space and traverse the universe, nor could theyprehend how other humans could do such things.

    Still, none of that mattered. Lu Yin had already found Xiao Can.

    "Lu¡­ Lord Lu- greetings, Lord Lu." Xiao Can bowed respectfully while struggling to regain hisposure.

    Lu Yin observed the man and said, "I can see every micro-expression that crosses your face and hear every breath you take."

    Xiao Can''s heart dropped. He did not dare to move a muscle.

    "I can probably even guess what you''re thinking. The entire megaverse, the Origin Universe, the Sixverse Association, parallel universes beyond those, even Aeternus¡¯s six Scourges, are all under my control. How can you hope to hide from me?" Lu Yin asked calmly.

    Xiao Can immediately knelt on the ground, his face already pale. "I¡­ I wouldn''t dare. I wouldn''t dare hide anything. Please, Lord Lu, see for yourself."

    Lu Yin chuckled as he looked down at the man. "How long has it been since we first met?"

    Xiao Can swallowed as he thought back, "About¡­ about seventy years."

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back as he also remembered the time gone by. "Yes, seventy years¡­ You''ve matured a great deal since we first met on the rear battlefield. At that time, you were young and skinny, like a deer that had wandered onto the battlefield. You looked like you were about to be devoured at any moment."

    Xiao Can trembled. "Lord Lu, you haven''t changed at all."

    Lu Yin looked back down at the man. "My heart has grown colder."

    Xiao Can pressed his hands to the ground. Slowly, they clenched into fists as he squeezed the soil between his fingers. He gritted his teeth, as though enduring the greatest torment the world could offer him.

    Life and death. Dangling between the two was the greatest torture that any person could suffer. For Xiao Can, he had no hope that Lu Yin would show mercy. There was nothing that Xiao Can could say to deceive the Dao Monarch.

    The only way to get through this encounter was if Lu Yin decided that he did not care, but how was that possible?

    Xiao Can had been captured by Wang Xun and dragged to the mines in the Wang family¡¯s continent. He had been sent to harvest the Yellow Springs. After the fall of the Wang family, there had been no one to oversee things at the mines, and all the other workers had fled. Why had Xiao Can stayed behind?

    The mines should be a painful memory for him, a ce he never wanted to approach for the rest of his life. Despite that, he had remained, observing the area for quite some time. What was he watching? The only thing in this area was the Yellow Springs.

    Could Xiao Can know something? Or was it possible that he was trying to obtain something?

    The Yellow Springs was not an ordinary treasure. Even Lu Yin cared about that liquid, and he was far more curious about what Xiao Can might really know.

    Xiao Can said nothing, and he simply remained kneeling on the ground. He was doubled over in a pathetic posture.

    Lu Yin looked down and said, "Whatever you hope to gain here is worth less than a single word from me. Just one word from me can ensure that you enjoy endless blessings in the future, or send you into the endless abyss. Nothing in this ce will help you achieve anything at all. If it could, the Wang family wouldn''t be in their current situation."

    Xiao Can closed his eyes, clearly miserable. He did not care about Lu Yin¡¯s threat, but the fact that Lu Yin had said anything at all was proof that he would not simply let Xiao Can go. His persistence was meaningless before Lu Yin.

    There was a soft sound as Xiao Can¡¯s strength fled him, and he silently copsed to the ground.

    Lu Yin was in no hurry. He remained standing where he was, observing Xiao Can while asionally ncing around. Lu Yin had visited this ce before with his alias as Hao Yu. How many years had it been since then?

    1. Just a reminder, but there is Forgotten Ruins God (Wang Miaomiao - Íõíµíµ) and Lu Qi''s girl (Wang Miaomiao -<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3231: The Fruit

    <h4>Chapter 3231: The Fruit</h4>

    In the past, the four ruling powers had been an indestructible giant in Lu Yin¡¯s mind. But they had since disappeared, with the White Dragon n suffering the worst. Their n had been almostpletely wiped out, though those losses were the price for the freedom of Long Tian and the rest of the survivors.

    Upon thinking of the White Dragon n, Lu Yin could not stop himself from remembering Long Xi.

    "Lord Lu, please follow me," Xiao Can said as he struggled to his feet. He started leading Lu Yin in a certain direction.

    Xiao Can¡¯s cultivation had nearly reached the Envoy realm. The truth was that, for his age, he was quite strong. Not many people in the entire Origin Universe had managed to be an Envoy.

    The people that the Heavens Sect had gathered together made it seem that they had a great number of powerful cultivators. However, they were actually scattered throughout the entire Origin Universe, so such people were quite rare.

    When Lu Yin had first met Xiao Can on the rear battlefield, the man had been quite weak. After being captured and taken to the Wang family¡¯s floating continent, he had spent most of his time mining, and he had had few opportunities to cultivate. Despite those limitations, Xiao Can had still managed to reach the Envoy realm, which made Lu Yin curious.

    Lu Yin questioned whether even he, given the same limitations, could have done any better than Xiao Can.

    His high cultivation was how Xiao Can had entered the Wang family¡¯s floating continent and had had the confidence to observe the mines for the Yellow Springs.

    However, whenpared to Lu Yin, Xiao Can¡¯s cultivation was simply too weak.

    They continued moving in the same direction, and it seemed that they still had quite a distance to cover.

    "How much further? I''ll take you there," Lu Yin asked.

    "With my speed, it will take three days," Xiao Can replied respectfully.

    Lu Yin took one step forward and warped space. The next instant, the scenery around Xiao Can had changed. As he took in his new surroundings, his pupils shrank in shock. <i>What¡ªhow?</i>

    He could see that they had already arrived. What would have taken Xiao Can three days to reach had taken Lu Yin a mere instant.

    For Lu Yin, such distance no longer held much meaning.

    Xiao Can was startled. This was the strength of a top-tier powerhouse, the leader of all humanity. With such power, it was possible to ignore normal distances. Would he ever be able to obtain such strength in the future?

    While feeling a mixture of awe, yearning for the future, and regret at the impending loss of a treasure, Xiao Can led Lu Yin to a hidden location. There, they found a pond civilization.

    In the Perennial World, pond civilizations were simr to the 3,000 hidden worlds of the Fifth Maind. Both were hidden pocket dimensions that contained civilizations hidden from the normal universe.

    In the Perennial World, a few powerful families controlled pond civilizations, treating them as a continuous source of cultivators.

    Lu Yin had once fantasized that their entire universe might be a sort of pond civilization, but such a thought was too fantastical for him to consider any longer.

    There were both pros and cons to pond civilizations. It was good that they provided a steady stream of new cultivators to the Perennial World. While the cultivators were loyal to their respective families or factions, they were still human. The downside was that Aeternus had managed to infiltrate some of the pond civilizations, nting spies and asionally even converting entire civilizations into Aeternus Kingdoms.

    Such things had happened in the past.

    After bing the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin had ordered a crackdown on pond civilizations, making the operations of pocket dimensions more transparent. After that, many corpse kings had been discovered in them, and some were discovered to be Aeternus Kingdoms.

    After that, pond civilizations had gradually faded away. Most had been either hidden or destroyed, and the civilizations within them had been forced into the open.

    It was clear that this pond civilization before the two men was one that had been hidden away.

    "This is my home," Xiao Can exined.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Your home?"

    Xiao Can nodded. "Lord Lu, please follow me."

    With that, he entered the pocket dimension, followed by Lu Yin.

    They entered a small pocket dimension that Lu Yin scanned in just a nce. Suddenly, his eyes focused on a single point, and he instantly vanished.

    Xiao Can knew that Lu Yin had discovered something, though the man¡¯s expression remained calm.

    In the end, it was impossible to keep it hidden.

    An unusual flower had blossomed in one corner of the pond civilization. The flower itself was not beautiful, and it was actually quite ordinary looking, but its roots were anything but ordinary. Its roots were Roots of Intelligence.

    Lu Yin had never known that a Root of Intelligence could produce a blossom.

    Not only had this nt bloomed, but it had also borne fruit. This Root of Intelligence had been nted in Yellow Springs.

    When Lu Yin reappeared, he was shocked as he stared at the flower. The fact that a Root of Intelligence could produce fruit when nted in Yellow Springs... How did such a thing exist?

    Xiao Can arrived and said, "My true name is Hui Can. I am a descendant of Progenitor Hui from this Perennial World."

    Lu Yin turned to look at Xiao Can. "You''re one of Progenitor Hui¡¯s descendants?"

    Xiao Can nodded. "Yes."

    Lu Yin frowned. "Progenitor Hui went missing when the Perennial World was split off from the Fifth Maind. How can you be his descendant?"

    Xiao Can looked at Lu Yin. "In the same way that Shenwu¡¯s Sky can be considered descendants of Progenitor Chen."

    Lu Yin thought for a moment and realized that there was some sense to this. Although Progenitor Hui had disappeared before the Perennial World¡¯s appearance, that did not mean that his descendants had not followed the Perennial World. But Lu Yin could not understand why Progenitor Hui clearly had other descendants, such as the Hui family of the Court of Seven Names. Hui Wu was even one of the Progenitor¡¯s descendants. In that case, what was Xiao Can¡¯s connection to the Progenitor?

    "Are you a descendant of Progenitor Hui, or a descendant of the Hui family?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Can replied, "I am a descendant of Progenitor Hui. Our ancestor left a task for our family, which is why I am so certain that I am a descendant of Progenitor Hui."

    "A task... this?" Lu Yin looked at the Root of Intelligence.

    Xiao Can nodded. "The Wang family harvests the Yellow Springs. This wasn''t a secret during my ancestor''s time, but no one understood what the Yellow Springs truly is.

    "Ancestor used every method possible to obtain the Yellow Springs and then he cultivated a Root of Intelligence with it. He left our branch with a task: wait. Wait for a Root of Intelligence to bloom and bear fruit. That fruit of the Root of Intelligence will reveal the truth about the Yellow Springs.

    "Our branch has waited for countless years, from the Daosource Sect era with the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas to now. It¡¯s only in my generation that we¡¯ve seen any results, though I don¡¯t fully understand what it means. The results will be limited, unless we can get more Yellow Springs. That¡¯s why I deliberately exposed myself and went to the rear battlefield."

    Xiao Can looked up and stared at the Root of Intelligence with aplicated expression. "I traded that Root of Intelligence with Wang Xun both to save my own life on the rear battlefield, and also to attract the Wang family''s attention. I was captured by them and taken to their continent. After they squeezed out all my value, they sent me to the mines where they extract the Yellow Springs.

    "Everyone from my branch of the family fled long ago. This isn¡¯t where they live, or else we would have never been able to keep this ce safe."

    Lu Yin gazed at Xiao Can in amazement. He thought back to how he had schemed against the four ruling powers in order to survive. Lu Yin had thought that his own plotting was impressive, but it was nothingpared to what Xiao Can had aplished.

    Lu Yin had relied on disguises, while Xiao Can had done nothing at all to disguise himself. He had calcted every step far in advance. How well did he understand the Wang family?

    A single mistake at any point in the n would have doomed Xiao Can.

    The rear battlefield, the Wang family, mining¡ªevery step had been foreseen and calcted, just so that he could get more of the Yellow Springs.

    "The Wang family would have never imagined that they were being outwitted by you," Lu Yin praised. Many people wanted the Yellow Springs, and it was possible that even the Lu family had once desired it, but the Wang family had guarded their treasure carefully. In the end, it was a minor character who had managed to pry the great mountain open.

    Xiao Can¡¯s voice grew bitter, "I wasn¡¯t trying to outwit them, but was rather gambling with my life. Without doing at least that much, my entire family¡¯s existence would have been rendered meaningless. Our ancestor''s intelligence was truly without peer, and his ns spanned millennia. He left behind the sourcebox array Ceaseless Impetus to defend this ce from Aeternus. As for this ploy regarding the Yellow Springs, it was done at a whim. We were never given a heavy responsibility to see this topletion."

    "A whim?" Lu Yin considered what he knew of Progenitor Hui¡¯s actions and schemes. He had worked against the Sixth Maind, taking advantage of Aeternus to help the Fifth Maind get revenge, which had almost led to theplete downfall of the Sixth Maind.

    The man hadid down sourcebox arrays to seal away countless humanoid sourceboxes in order to prevent the return of Wilderness God.

    He had set up Ceaseless Impetus to prevent the Aeternals from conquering the Perennial World through the rear battlefield.

    His manifested thoughts had taken over the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, posing as the man and acting as though he had been controlled by Shaman God before finally working with others to kill the Skygod.

    Progenitor Hui had even sent his own son to infiltrate Aeternus. Even after so long, Lu Yin still did not know the real purpose for that infiltration. Hui Wu had chosen to be a frenzied corpse instead of escaping from Aeternus. There was no doubt that the decision was connected to Progenitor Hui.

    Indirectly, Hui Wu¡¯s decision had allowed Lu Yin to obtain three pieces of Primaldust, which he had then used to break through and be a Progenitor.

    Every single incident demonstrated Progenitor Hui''s unparalleled intelligence.

    The man was so clever that people could not evenprehend what he was capable of.

    Because of that, when Xiao Can imed that using a Root of Intelligence to analyze the Yellow Springs was merely because of Progenitor Hui¡¯s "whim," Lu Yin believed it.

    For countless years, no one had been able to understand just what the Yellow Springs was, not even the Lu family. Despite that, Progenitor Hui had been confident that his Root of Intelligence could reveal the Yellow Springs¡¯ secrets. That was a perfect example of the Progenitor¡¯s brilliance.

    Progenitor Hui may not have wielded invincible power, but his intelligence was still humanity''s greatest treasure.

    "And the results?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at the Root of Intelligence in wonder.

    Xiao Can sounded helpless. "I can''t make any sense of it."

    "So, you still need more of the Yellow Springs?"

    "Yes."

    "What did you see?"

    Xiao Can hesitated for a moment before bowing to Lu Yin. "I truly don''t understand it. Please, Lord Lu, see for yourself."

    Lu Yin looked at Xiao Can. "How?"

    The man exined, "You just need to water the Root of Intelligence with the Yellow Springs. Over the years, I''ve stolen a bit of the Yellow Springs using a tool that my ancestor left behind, but I used up everything I managed to collect more than twenty years ago. After all that happened with the Wang family, I wasn¡¯t able to find any opportunities to obtain more."

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Xiao Can had been so focused on the Yellow Springs. Everything made sense. He thought that the fruit of the Root of Intelligence was intended to be eaten.

    It had been nearly impossible for Xiao Can to obtain any of the Yellow Springs, but that was no problem for Lu Yin.

    The Wang family naturally had kept stores of the Yellow Springs. While Wang Fan had taken most of it, some had been left behind, all of which had eventually ended up in the hands of the Lu family.

    Lu Yin quickly took out the Yellow Springs and had Xiao Can continue experimenting.

    Xiao Can watered the fruiting Root of Intelligence with some of the Yellow Springs, and it started to emanate a fragrant scent. Xiao Can closed his eyes as he sniffed. It seemed as though he had been transported into an illusion. It was clear that he was sensing something.

    Soon, Lu Yin felt the same thing. He could see some carvings, as well as a few images of someone engraving something.

    The images shed by, disappearing quickly. Each of themsted for only the briefest of moments.

    Lu Yin and Xiao Can simultaneously opened their eyes.

    Xiao Can eagerly stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin frowned. "Carvings?"

    Xiao Can shrugged. "Yes, carvings. While I can see them, I can''t understand them."

    Lu Yin was also unable to make sense of what he had seen.

    He did not know how much of the Yellow Springs Xiao Can had used on the nt over the years, but no matter how much Lu Yin¡¯s strength might surpass the other man¡¯s, Lu Yin could not expect to fully understand everything in one attempt.

    For that reason, he decided to continue.

    However, he did not intend to include Xiao Can. The nt only released a limited amount of the scent, and there being two people here meant that the fragrance was consumed faster.

 Chapter 3232: Verdant Eternity

    <h4>Chapter 3232: Verdant Eternity</h4>

    Xiao Can had no choice but to leave. He already knew that, if Lu Yin discovered the fruiting Root of Intelligence, Xiao Can would lose all im to it. Still, he did not feel much regret, seeing how it had been impossible for him to obtain more of the Yellow Springs.

    Who knew how much of the Yellow Springs it would take to fully let someone understand the carvings that he had seen?

    With the Lu family taking over the Wang family''s continent, it had be impossible for Xiao Can to get so much as another drop of Yellow Springs. That avenue had beenpletely closed off to him.

    Throughout the entire universe, Lu Yin alone could proceed further and unveil the true nature of the Yellow Springs.

    The Wang family had not left behind much of the Yellow Springs, though when Xiao Can saw what remained, he could not help but shout. It was far more than what he had managed to gather over the years.

    Of course, that was the expected oue. Xiao Can had only ever managed to steal tiny bits of the Yellow Springs. Given his abilities and cultivation, how much could he have really snuck away? Let alone the fact that he had been stealing from an already limited supply.

    In contrast, Lu Yin had full ess to all the Yellow Springs that Wang Fan had left behind for the Wang family. While this was not nearly as much as what Wang Fan had kept on his person, it was still a considerable amount.

    It was more than what someone like Xiao Can could have gathered, even after thousands of years of working the mines.

    Lu Yin ordered the Lu family to gather more of the Yellow Springs while he continued to breathe in the fragrance produced by the Root of Intelligence¡¯s fruit after it was watered with the Yellow Springs. He hoped to learn the truth behind the odd liquid.

    Lu Yin''s orders overturned the remnants of the Wang family yet again.

    In the Tri-Petal area, Wang Jian¡¯s expression was gloomy as he looked at an old woman from the Lu family standing before him.

    The woman looked quite calm. ¡°Hand it over. This is a direct order from Lord Lu himself. If you refuse, no one can protect you.¡±

    Wang Jian replied in a low voice, ¡°There really is no more of the Yellow Springs. As soon as the Lu family took control of the Wang family¡¯s continent, all of the Yellow Springs was given to you.¡±

    The old woman sneered. ¡°Wang Jian, the only reason why you''re still alive is thanks to Lady Wang Miaomiao. We are fully aware of whether you gave us all the Yellow Springs in here. If not for the sake of your daughter, do you really think that you would be allowed to remain here in the Tri-Petal area?

    ¡°Wang Fan betrayed humanity and deserved to die. As the Wang family¡¯sst remaining Progenitor, you should understand what your fate should be.

    ¡°Lord Lu¡¯s orders cannot be disobeyed. If you refuse again, you will be killed and shown no further mercy.¡±

    Wang Jian¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he prepared to continue arguing, but Wang Miaomiao arrived at that moment. ¡°Father, give her the Yellow Springs.¡±

    Wang Jian¡¯s mouth fell open as he stared at Wang Miaomiao for a long moment. Finally, his only option was to sigh, retrieve the Yellow Springs that he still had in his cosmic ring, and hand it to the old woman.

    She epted it while giving Wang Jian a cold re. ¡°If anyone from the Wang family is ever found with Yellow Springs again, you will all be treated as traitors to humanity. Lord Lu won¡¯t need to say a word, as my Lu family willpletely eliminate all traces of the Wang family.¡±

    Wang Jian grew furious. The old woman was just a Semi-Progenitor, and yet she dared to threaten him.

    The old woman left after giving Wang Miaomiao a simple nod.

    It did not matter if Wang Miaomiao eventually ended up with Lu Qi or not. The one who stood at the peak of humanity was Lu Yin, and his orders were more important than anything else.

    Once the old woman was gone, Wang Miaomiao turned to re at Wang Jian. ¡°Why did you hang on the Yellow Springs?¡±

    Wang Jian¡¯s expression turned bitter. ¡°That was always our Wang family¡¯s property.¡±

    ¡°There is no ¡®Wang family¡¯s property¡¯ anymore! No one can disobey Lord Lu¡¯s orders, not even Lu Qi. This is the way of humanity now,¡± Wang Miaomiao scolded.

    Wang Jian sighed. ¡°Alright, I understand. Don¡¯t worry, there isn¡¯t any more of the Yellow Springs, not a drop.¡±

    While Wang Jian¡¯s words convinced Wang Miaomiao, the Lu family still was not convinced. So, all of the remaining members of the Wang family were rounded up and interrogated. This even included those who had been sent to the 100,000 currents; everyone from Semi-Progenitor Wang Xun to a mere janitor was questioned to ensure that there was truly no more of the Yellow Springs anywhere.

    The Lu family even sent people to take over the Wang family¡¯s mining operations to gather more of the Yellow Springs, just because there was a chance that Lu Yin might need it.

    Two months quickly passed. During this time, Lu Yin used up all of the Yellow Springs that he had been provided with before emerging from the pond civilization.

    Outside of the pocket dimension, Xiao Can had been waiting respectfully.

    While there was no way for him to know what happened, Xiao Can still hoped that Lu Yin would be able to discover something, as that wouldfort his entire family.

    Lu Yin looked over at Xiao Can. ¡°You¡¯ve never done anything to try to harm me, nor have you betrayed humanity. On top of that, you are one of Progenitor Hui¡¯s descendants. I won¡¯t take that fruit of the Root of Intelligence from you.¡±

    Xiao Can stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

    The world of cultivators was cruel, and the ideas of stealing or being robbed were perfectly normal. Since it had been discovered, Xiao Can naturally expected the fruit from the Root of Intelligence to be taken by Lu Yin. In fact, Xiao Can had already steeled himself for that moment.

    What did Lord Lu mean with this gesture?

    Lu Yin calmly continued on. ¡°I want to offer you two choices. First, that fruit from the Root of Intelligence will remain yours, but you will need to stay in the Lu Sanctum. My Lu family will provide you with more of the Yellow Springs until you discover its origin and share your findings with them. This isn¡¯t about taking your results from you, but rather about providing an answer for all of humanity and to the Origin Progenitor.

    ¡°I won¡¯t say anything further about that.

    ¡°Second, you can be my disciple.¡±

    Xiao Can was astonished. ¡°Be your disciple?¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Xiao Can. Despite the man¡¯s weak cultivation at the time, he had willingly stepped onto the rear battlefield, schemed against the Wang family, and even sessfully obtained some of the Yellow Springs for a Root of Intelligence. Lu Yin believed that Xiao Can had to have already prepared a way to escape from the Wang family before being captured. There was no way that he had not prepared a backup n.

    Clever schemingbined with courage and wisdom; Xiao Can was certainly a descendant of Progenitor Hui. On top of that, humanity had greatly benefited from the Roots of Intelligence, and Lu Yin was deeply grateful for them.

    Taking Xiao Can as a disciple was an idea that had urred to Lu Yin when he had seen the fruit of the Root of Intelligence in the pond civilization. It was a means of making up for possibly taking the fruit from Xiao Can.

    ¡°It¡¯s just my suggestion, and if you refuse, you are absolutely free to choose the first option,¡± Lu Yin calmly stated.

    Xiao Can did not hesitate even a moment before he bowed low to Lu Yin. ¡°This disciple is willing to be Lord Lu¡¯s disciple. I ask Lord Lu to ept me.¡±

    The man was no fool. Between a fruit from a Root of Intelligence and Lu Yin, Lu Yin was clearly the better option.

    No matter what that fruit might be able to offer, even if it could elevate Xiao Can to the Progenitor level or beyond, it would not beparable to being the Dao Monarch¡¯s disciple.

    Everyone had seen how, when Lord Lu¡¯s first disciple had wanted to read books, an entire branch of the Heavens Sect had been created that had spread across the Sixverse Association.

    Bing Lord Lu¡¯s disciple would instantly raise someone to the pinnacle of all humanity. How could Xiao Can not know the best choice?

    Xiao Can acted exactly in line with Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. He observed Xiao Can for a long moment. ¡°Go to the Heavens Sect and wait for me there. Find Tuo Lin. I¡¯ll meet up with you.¡±

    Xiao Can excitedly replied, ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    The man then immediately started making his way towards the Fifth Maind.

    Lu Yin stared at the man¡¯s departing back. This disciple was much more cunning than Tuo Lin. Hopefully, Lu Yin would not be disappointed.

    ...

    "A pce? How do you know about that?" Lu Yuan asked in surprise as he stared at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin replied, "Did the Origin Progenitor really have a battle technique that looked like a pce?"

    Lu Yuan nodded, and he started reminiscing. "Master had an ultimate technique that he called Verdant Eternity. He often carved things inside of Verdant Eternity, and those carvings would eventually transform into power. For us Three Realms and Six Daos, our graduation exam was to ovee Verdant Eternity. Actually, Verdant Eternity inspired me to create my Investiture of the Gods.

    "How do you find out about this? Did Master tell you?"

    Lu Yin shook his head and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Ancestor, I think I¡¯ve figured out what the Yellow Springs is."

    Lu Yuan''s eyes lit up. "And that is?"

    Lu Yin looked at Lu Yuan. "Verdant Eternity."

    The older man blinked. "Verdant Eternity is the Yellow Springs? You can''t be serious."

    Lu Yin exined everything about Progenitor Hui''s arrangements and how a fruit from a Root of Intelligence had appeared after the nt was watered with the Yellow Springs. Lu Yuan waspletely astonished.

    "If that''s all true, then the Yellow Springs really could be Verdant Eternity. But how? How could Verdant Eternity have be the Yellow Springs?" Lu Yuan felt quite puzzled.

    Lu Yin could not make sense of this either, which was why he had gone to visit his ancestor, Lu Yuan. Lu Yin wanted to learn how Verdant Eternity could have be the Yellow Springs, but it was apparently impossible.

    The two discussed the matter for some time, and they even called Garan Zhiluo over, but she could not help them find an answer either.

    Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian were standing guard in the Scourge, keeping watch on the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm so that none of the Aeternals could escape. This was why they did not join the discussion.

    "Little Seven, since you can see the carvings, then can you learn Verdant Eternity?" Lu Yuan suddenly asked.

    Garan Zhiluo instantly looked over at Lu Yin. "If you can learn Verdant Eternity, your strength will rise precipitously."

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Is Verdant Eternity really that powerful?"

    Their discussion had initially been focused on how Verdant Eternity might have transformed into the Yellow Springs, but they had never discussed the technique¡¯s strength.

    From what Lu Yin could see on Lu Yuan and Garan Zhiluo''s faces, it seemed that Verdant Eternity was no ordinary technique.

    Lu Yuan''s expression turned serious. "It¡¯s beyond powerful. It¡¯s downright monstrous."

    Garan Zhiluo added, "Before Master approved of us graduating, we had to defeat Verdant Eternity, but it didn¡¯t matter if we worked together or on our own; the result was the same."

    "You failed?" Lu Yin asked out of reflex.

    Garan Zhiluo was quite offended. "If we failed, how would we have be the Three Realms and Six Daos?"

    Lu Yin was speechless. After all, the woman¡¯s tone had made it sound like they had failed.

    "What I mean is that we were only barely able to handle Verdant Eternity on our own, but that was still the case even when all nine of us worked together," Garan Zhiluo exined.

    Lu Yin could not believe that. "All of the Three Realms and Six Daos, nine people working together, could barely ovee Verdant Eternity? How did any of you manage to do it on your own?"

    Lu Yuan exined, "That''s the brilliance of Verdant Eternity. As long as you''re inside that pce, energy consumption simply doesn¡¯t ur. When peak powerhouses fight against each other, we use stamina, internal energy, and the power of our Progenitor¡¯s world. Even using sequence particles will consume those.

    "However, for someone using Verdant Eternity, nothing that they use will be consumed. Even if they use their sequence particles, Verdant Eternity will instantly reproduce that same power from the pce¡¯s carvings. If used properly, Verdant Eternity can allow for a truly endless stream of attacks.

    "The simplest example I can give you is how you use death energy with ckie''s left arm and scythe to release that powerful attack. If you can master Verdant Eternity, then congrattions, you can use that exact same sh countless times without ever running out of energy."

    Lu Yin''s eyes bulged. "Is something like that even possible?"

    He considered the possibility. If he had been able to release countless attacks with the scythe during thest battle in the Second Scourge, how would that have altered the battle? Forget about dealing with just Tian Feng and Tian Ci¡ªLu Yin could have even slowly chopped the ck Mother Tree down.

    Was such a thing really possible?

    Garan Zhiluo sighed. "That¡¯s the wonder of Verdant Eternity, one of Master''s ultimate techniques. Every ability has limits, except for Verdant Eternity. It increases a quantity to infinity without diminishing quality. That''s why we¡¯ve never been able to understand how the Boundary Guardians managed to defeat Master, even if all of them worked together.

    "It was only during thatst battle when I saw the Four Locks Formation that I figured it out. Tian Feng must have sealed Master with Verdant Eternity, binding his hands. That''s how Master was defeated.

    "If not for that, no matter how many Ortusers attacked, they would have never been able to defeat Master. Just Verdant Eternity alone would have been too much for them to ovee."

 Chapter 3233: Fated One

    <h4>Chapter 3233: Fated One</h4>

    Lu Yuan stared at Lu Yin, "Little Seven, do you really think that you can master Verdant Eternity?"

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up with excitement. "Possibly."

    "Then go train. It will definitely help you," Lu Yuan encouraged.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. The Four Locks Formation was still sealing his abilities, but that would not prevent him from learning Verdant Eternity. What hecked was enough of the Yellow Springs.

    While it was possible to train with what he had, he was afraid of running out at a critical moment. With enough of the Yellow Springs, he could always inhale more of the scent from the Root of Intelligence¡¯s fruit and gain further inspiration.

    He needed to make sure that he had more than enough of the Yellow Springs before he started.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin, Lu Yuan, and Garan Zhiluo arrived at the Wang family''s floating continent.

    They were visiting not only to obtain more of the Yellow Springs, but also to investigate the Four Locks Formation.

    While they knew that the Four Locks Formation had sealed the Origin Progenitor''s hands, they needed to find the sourcebox array itself to try to remove it. By doing so, the Origin Progenitor''s hands could return to him.

    Every time Lu Yin thought about how the Origin Progenitor had lost his hands and was biting down on the megaverse¡¯s sequence strings, his heart ached.

    Such a person should not be forced to endure such pain.

    In the past, Lu Yin had resented the Origin Progenitor and the glory of the ancient Heavens Sect era. Lu Yin had believed that, if the Origin Progenitor had properly understood the threat of Aeternus, many tragedies could have been prevented. Lu Yin¡¯s thinking had been quite simr to how the Sixverse Association viewed the Origin Universe, treating the universe as they had once done to the Heavens Sect.

    But as time passed, Lu Yin hade to understand that not even the Origin Progenitor had been free to act as he pleased.

    It was not easy to urately judge the past. Rather, he needed to focus on protecting the Immemorial Citadel, defeating Aeternus and the Boundary Guardians, and restoring peace to humanity.

    Regardless of whether there were absolutes in the megaverse, or what sort of beings they might encounter, it was necessary to fight. There was no other choice.

    Lu Yin thought about the Lost n and how their greatest powerhouses across the ages had stepped out, only to be defeated after their final battle. Their feelings at the time must have been simr to Lu Yin¡¯s own in the present.

    They had been willing to sacrifice everything.

    The Wang family''s continent trembled, and as it slowly settled downwards, stones fell from it.

    Lu Yuan took action, shattering the countlessyers of stone and debris that had umted over the eons to reveal the Wang family''s continent¡¯s true form.

    A massive hand floated in the air, encircled by the Yellow Springs.

    Lu Yin stared in awe. The Origin Progenitor''s body might not have been huge, but his hand was enormous. It looked like it might have been the Origin Progenitor¡¯s battle form.

    The man had been capable of growing to a massive size.

    "Let''s go," Lu Yuan said in a low voice. He then led Lu Yin and Garan Zhiluo onto the Origin Progenitor''s hand. It was easy for them to find the Four Locks Formation.

    Lu Yuan had known for some time that the Wang family¡¯s continent was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hand, but he had assumed that the man was dead and that the hand had simply broken off of his corpse. He had never thought to investigate the matter further, which he hade to deeply regret.

    If Lu Yuan had realized the truth sooner, regardless of whether the Four Locks Formation could be unlocked, then at least the Wang family would not have been able to banish the Lu family.

    As for the Wang family, they had never dared to restore the hand to its original condition, as doing so would have made it impossible to keep the truth hidden.

    At the very least, they would have been rendered incapable of hanging onto the source of the Yellow Springs.

    The Wang family had been extracting the Yellow Springs for countless years, greatly depleting the amount present, but a small portion still twined between the hand¡¯s fingers.

    Lu Yin and the other two stepped onto the wrist of the hand, which was where the Four Locks Formation was located.

    The sourcebox array was exactly like the Four Locks Formation that sealed Lu Yin''s wrists and ankles, only much, muchrger.

    "I''ll do it," Garan Zhiluo announced. She brought out a long spear and thrust it at the Four Locks Formation.

    Lu Yuan and Lu Yin watched carefully as the attack was deflected by the sourcebox array. The spear waspletely ineffective.

    Lu Yuan stepped forward. "If it were that easy to break the Four Locks Formation, Master would have never been trapped."

    As he spoke, he struck the Four Locks Formation with a palm.

    Just like Garan Zhiluo''s attack, the palm strike was useless.

    The woman sneered. "Is that all that breaking into the Origin realm gets you?"

    Lu Yuan snorted. "The biggest difference is that Ortusers have taken that vital step, showing our qualifications to strive for Immortality. As for the strength of Ortusers, that is something that can only truly be understood when we fight against others."

    Garan Zhiluo did not argue. The biggest advantage that Ortusers enjoyed inbat was the fact that they could not be touched by thews of the universe.

    Sequence powerhouses could not affect Ortusers with theirws of the universe, which rendered most of a sequence powerhouse¡¯s strength useless. On the other hand, Ortusers could freely use their own sequence particles, which led to a twofold disparity between sequence powerhouses and Ortusers.

    The sole exception to this was Lu Yin. He was only a Progenitor, and yet he possessed the raw power to defeat sequence powerhouses. He was the only person capable of fighting against Ortusers without suffering any sort of suppression.

    No one else could match that.

    This was why Lu Yin had been able to kill both Di Qiong and Tian Feng, while others had all struggled greatly.

    Time passed, and both Lu Yuan and Garan Zhiluo continued attacking the sourcebox array. They even sent others to stand guard over the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm so that both Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis could try attacking, but none of them could break the Four Locks Formation.

    "It¡¯s useless. This sourcebox array sealed Master with his own power. There¡¯s no doubt that Tian Feng used one of Master¡¯s strongest abilities to seal him. To break this is to destroy one of Master¡¯s ultimate techniques, probably Verdant Eternity. Are any of you confident that you can overpower Verdant Eternity?" Wu Tian said with a sigh.

    Hongyan Mavis shrugged. "Verdant Eternity, how nostalgic. Each of us charged into that pce and fought our way through it to earn our title as one of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Even so, the truth is that none of us were ever able to ovee Verdant Eternity."

    Lu Yuan frowned. "Even if all nine of us fought together, we were never able to defeat Verdant Eternity. Master¡¯s ultimate technique is just too overwhelming."

    "Is there no other option?" Lu Yin could not help asking.

    Wu Tian nced at Lu Yin¡¯s hands and feet. ¡°No. The most straightforward way to undo this sourcebox array is for Master to do it himself. The only other way is to find a way to break Verdant Eternity. If you haven¡¯t experienced Verdant Eternity for yourself, then you won¡¯t be able to understand how infuriating that sort of infinite power is to face.

    "However, we can try to break your Four Locks Formation. Would you like us to try?"

    Lu Yin instantly shot down the suggestion. If he wanted to try, he would have already asked Lu Yuan for help. This was not because Lu Yin did not trust the Three Realms and Six Daos. Rather, it was a matter of personal conviction.

    Breaking the Four Locks Formation would mean shattering his four strongest abilities, and doing so would impede Lu Yin¡¯s future progress. It would be like nting a seed of failure.

    There was no denying that Tian Feng''s Four Locks Formation infuriated everyone.

    This was why Lu Yuan had also never offered to break the Four Locks Formation for Lu Yin.

    A powerhouse¡¯s conviction was of vital importance.

    Lu Yin needed to resolve the sourcebox on his own.

    "Senior Wu Tian-"

    Lu Yin started to speak, but he was immediately interrupted. "Call me Big Thug."

    Lu Yin was momentarily taken aback.

    Wu Tian looked at Lu Yin and smiled. "You''ve met Master, haven¡¯t you? Then you should have been given your own nickname."

    Thatment caused Garan Zhiluo to instantly focus on Lu Yin as well.

    Lu Yin¡¯s face betrayed nothing. "No."

    Garan Zhiluoughed mockingly. "Impossible. That habit of Master¡¯s has never changed. Go on, tell us. Don¡¯t be shy. Getting a name means that Master¡¯s acknowledged you."

    "Really, I never got one," Lu Yin answered somberly. He then pointedly nced over at Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yuan.

    They were the only two who had heard about Lu Yin¡¯s nickname of Pir, and Lu Yin felt that acknowledging the name out loud would be undignified.

    Hongyan Mavis said, "Alright, stop making things difficult for him. Pir, what were you about to say?"

    "Pir?"

    "I see. A good name."

    Lu Yin waspletely speechless, and he stared at Hongyan Mavis, aghast.

    She just coughed. "Sorry, a slip of the tongue."

    Lu Yuanughed. "Alright, it''s no big deal. Little Seven, what were you about to say?"

    Helpless, Lu Yin turned back to Wu Tian. "I wanted to ask, Senior, why didn¡¯t you leave the Third Scourge? Just what is the ¡®fate¡¯ that you mentioned?"

    Lu Yuan and the others fell silent, all of them turning solemn.

    Wu Tian straightened up. "When the First Maind was destroyed, on the same day that something happened to Master, I arrived before everyone else. I personally witnessed the final portion of the confrontation between the Boundary Guardians and Master.

    "Master cut off his own hands and then forced the Boundary Guardians back. When he noticed me, he gave me a warning."

    Wu Tian stared at Lu Yin in a very serious manner. "¡®My spections are right.¡¯"

    Lu Yin could not make any sense of the statement.

    Lu Yuan spoke up, ¡°Master once spected that, when anything in the megaverse approaches its limit, it will transform into another kind of creature, one that the megaverse cannot tolerate. Thus, the megaverse will seek to dominate it. It might have been some insight that Master gained from his own Dukkha, but when a creature triggers such an event or phenomenon, it is known as the Fated One.¡±

    Wu Tian¡¯s voice dropped low. "If master¡¯s spection about the Fated One is correct, then given the fact that the Boundary Guardians secretly ambushed Master, ¡®fate¡¯ might be either be the Boundary Guardians themselves acting once one reaches a certain limit. Or, it could be something else that stands behind them.

    "Regardless, at that moment, I knew that the Fated One is real, and I felt a chill fall upon me. It felt as though something was watching me."

    At this point, Wu Tian¡¯s expression turned grim. "There was definitely something watching me at that time, and that something prevented me from going after Master. Master knocked me away, and I don¡¯t know what happened after that. I have no idea how Master ended up at the Immemorial Citadel, or what that even is.

    "All I know is that, in the battles that followed, as each Maind was destroyed, I always felt like something was watching me. Each Maind was destroyed, and yet I was powerless to do anything about it. When I learned that Aeternus¡¯s Divine Commandment was about to end, I allowed myself to be captured by them and imprisoned in the Third Scourge. In doing so, I drew the Fated One¡¯s attention to the Aeternals instead of humanity.¡±

    "This is a secret known to only a select few of us. The existence of the Fated One is something that only Master could have suspected," Lu Yuan finished.

    Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Wu Tian had been unwilling to leave the Third Scourge. The man had possessed the ability to leave at any time, and he had even instantly restored his own strength when he had joined the battle in the Second Scourge. He had never needed anyone''s help.

    "So you joined the battle in the Second Scourge because the Boundary Guardians showed up?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wu Tian nodded. "The Boundary Guardians represent the Fated One. Since they¡¯ve already dered war on humanity, then there¡¯s no longer any reason for me to remain in the Third Scourge."

    "Do you still feel the Fated One¡¯s attention on you?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Garan Zhiluo all turned to look at Wu Tian. This was a very important question.

    The man let out a breath. "Not for now."

    Sighs of relief escaped from everyone.

    However, they then exchanged nces, noting the helplessness in each other¡¯s eyes.

    It did not matter if they could not sense it for the moment, as the Fated One would certainly return. In the past, only the Origin Progenitor had been able to detect the presence of the Fated One, but what about in the future?

    Lu Yin was not sure if there was some unfathomable being in the megaverse, or if everything that was happening was connected to them.

    The fall of the Heavens Sect, the way in which the Boundary Guardians had continually weakened humanity, and even the rise of Aeternus might all be tied to that same being.

 Chapter 3234: Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 3234: Opportunity</h4>

    Lu Yin remembered what Great Elder Shan Gu had once mentioned.

    The Lost n¡¯s original megaverse had fought a final battle, and while humanity had won, their victory had disrupted some omnipotent being¡¯s ns. In the end, humanity had been wiped out from that megaverse.

    In that case, could everything that had recently been happening also be part of some sort of game?

    Lu Yin did not want to see a repeat of what had happened to Shan Gu¡¯s original megaverse.

    If an omnipotent being really did exist, then just what exactly was it? There was no doubt that it was a monster.

    Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis both returned to the Scourge to once again stand guard over the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    Lu Yuan took the Origin Progenitor''s hand back to the Lu Sanctum.

    There, Lu Yin took what remained of the Yellow Springs, intending to use it to train Verdant Infinity.

    He raised his hand and brought out his die. One tap started a roll, as the best way to train was with Timestop.

    Of course, training in the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s universes was also an option, as the time in those universes passed much, much faster than in most universes.

    Currently, Lu Yin essentially had ess to all the various resources of the megaverse, which allowed him to train in various manners. In the end, he chose to roll his die, as it offered him more than just Timestop. There were other features that he could use, and he also felt like his Timestop Space was the only ce where he could hide from fate¡¯s attention, even if it was more of a mentalfort than anything.

    ...

    In the blink of an eye, three years passed in the Origin Universe.

    During this time, not much changed, as it was only a brief period of time.

    Most of the Aeternus Kingdoms had been destroyed during this time. The upants of the Aeternus Kingdoms who had simply been captured were allowed to return to their original universes, while those who had been born in those cities or who had betrayed humanity were sent elsewhere by the Heavens Sect.

    Neither Tian Ci nor Tian En made any appearances, and the Heavens Sect was also unable to find them.

    Tian Ci¡¯s original megaverse, which Lu Yin had been so wary of, also remained silent.

    Humanity continued to hunt down corpse kings, and the number of the monsters across the megaverse plummeted. The destruction of the six Scourges had destroyed Aeternus''s very foundation, which led to things copsing for them.

    True God, Ancient God, and all the others remained in the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, ignoring all that happened throughout the megaverse.

    None of them cared if the corpse kings were wiped out. As long as they attained ultimate victory, they could always create more corpse kings.

    The Heavens Sect would not allow True God or any of the Aeternals trapped with him to escape. All of them had to die.

    The Great Sovereign''s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm continued to sap away at True God''s power, but it was a very lengthy process. It was even possible that not even she knew how long it would take to finish.

    Also, during this time, countless parallel universes kept being pulled to the Heavens Sect. As far as most people could see, the modern Heavens Sect had achieved something incredible, and while most people had not witnessed the original Heavens Sect, they felt that the difference in strength between the ancient sect and the modern sect could not be too wide.

    Lu Yin emerged from seclusion. While only three years had passed in the Origin Universe, he had spent fifty years training in his Timestop Space.

    It was the longest period of training that he had ever undergone.

    He had spent these fifty years trying to learn Verdant Infinity, but unfortunately, he still had not mastered the technique.

    However, he had gained a profound understanding of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s technique, which was why Lu Yin understood that mastering one of the man¡¯s ultimate techniques would not be easy. At the very least, it was impossible for Lu Yin to seed at the moment. Even if he managed to remove the Four Locks Array, sess would still be impossible. What he needed was the right opportunity.

    "An opportunity, huh? That makes sense. Master¡¯s ultimate techniques aren¡¯t things that can be easily mastered. While you¡¯ve cultivated with stellr energy, a technique like Verdant Infinity exceeds the bounds of what stellr energy can aplish," Lu Yuan remarked.

    Lu Yin asked, ¡°Of the Three Realms and Six Daos, I understand that only Senior Wu Tian cultivates with stellr energy, while the rest of you have forged your own paths. So, is your path the Investiture of the Gods?¡±

    Lu Yuan replied, ¡°My path is my Fertile Soil.

    "At first, all of us cultivated with stellr energy, but as time passed, our paths diverged. In fact, no one has ever learned Master¡¯s ultimate techniques. He only ever passed down one of his methods to us."

    ¡°The Origin Sutra?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Lu Yuan nodded. "That¡¯s all that any of us ever received. ckie developed death energy, Lassy mastered her own power, and the rest of us followed our own paths. My path was to develop my Investiture of the Gods in my Fertile Soil, and when I fight, I primarily rely on my Champions¡¯ Stage and the Investiture of the Gods.

    "However, the Investiture of the Gods isn¡¯t a power that can be cultivated.

    "The power that one cultivates doesn¡¯t determine their path. For example, Chu Yi follows the Dao of One Heavens. He still cultivates stellr energy, but stellr energy is not his path. Stellr energy epasses many aspects, but both Chu Yi and I diverged from that power. I focused more on open, massive battle techniques."

    Lu Yin said, "In that case, I haven¡¯t been following the path of stellr energy either."

    Lu Yuan nodded. "Of course not. You stopped following that path a long time ago. When was thest time you relied solely on your stellr energy in a fight?"

    Lu Yin considered the question. It had been so long that he could not even remember.

    None of his four inner worlds relied on stellr energy, and while there was stellr energy in his inner universe, there were also other energies, like death energy. Lu Yin¡¯s innate gifts did not even need to be mentioned.

    He had not followed the path of pure stellr energy for a long time.

    "Big Thug''s path is rooted in stellr energy. He developed methods to use various weapons, and he taught such techniques to all of humanity. Only by cultivating stellr energy was he able to guide all creatures in the Origin Universe," Lu Yuan stated, clearly admiring Wu Tian.

    "If he wanted to, Big Thug could have walked his own path, but he didn¡¯t, and that¡¯s something that we all admire about him.

    "With all of that said, mastering Verdant Infinity definitely won¡¯t be easy, but I believe that you can do it."

    Lu Yin also believed that he could master the technique. In fact, he had already figured out what sort of opportunity he needed. He was just waiting for something crucial.

    ...

    The Aeternus Kingdoms in the First Scourge had all been reduced to ruins. Many humans and corpse kings had once lived in those ces, but they were all gone now.

    An echo rang out in an empty underground chamber as rocks fell.

    Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened deep beneath the ground, looking upwards. After a long wait, a hoarse voice stated, "No one¡¯s here. We need to move now."

    "I don¡¯t think that we should move. This ce is already in ruins. The Heavens Sect won¡¯t be paying attention to it, so staying here might actually be safer," another voice responded.

    The first voice argued, "The Heavens Sect won¡¯t search this ce just once. They¡¯re going tob through the Aeternus Kingdom again and again until everything here ispletely destroyed. You can see ruins, but they want it to all be dust."

    "It¡¯s too dangerous to leave now."

    "It¡¯s more dangerous to stay. The people from the Heavens Sect haven¡¯t been gone for very long. Right now, this ce is a blind spot, which is why we need to leave immediately."

    Soon, a slight tremor ran through the ground. A pair of hands rose up, breaking through to the surface. Following them, an old man crawled out.

    His face was gaunt, and his eyes were dim. It was as though the spark of life might expire at any moment. Deep in those eyes hid an almost imperceptible cruelty.

    He carefully scanned the area and then barked, "Move!"

    One by one, other people crawled up from beneath the ground. None of the people were very powerful, though they all shared onemon trait; deep in their dim eyes, there lurked the sharp cruelty of a vulture. Most people would avoid eye contact after seeing that.

    These people moved through the ruins of an Aeternus Kingdom, asionally searching the ground for something as they moved forward.

    "Who knows how long it¡¯ll take, if we have to search like this."

    "What other choice do we have? All of the cosmic doors have been destroyed. The only corpse king that was carrying a cosmic door died the day this Aeternus Kingdom was destroyed. If it hadn¡¯t been killed, all of us would have already been discovered."

    "We can¡¯t escape."

    "Shut up! We betrayed humanity, so there¡¯s no way for us to survive if we¡¯re caught. We¡¯ve been living underground without any hope, so it¡¯s better to just take this gamble. When Aeternus returns, we cane back. They won¡¯t me us for leaving."

    The atmosphere grew tense, and the only sound to be heard were soft footsteps. The group continued to search the ground for a cosmic door they could use to escape the Scourge.

    From atop the ck Mother Tree, True God watched the group with a frown. "What utter fools."

    A person¡¯s perspective was determined by what they were aware of, and that was frequently determined by their level.

    Ordinary people could never understand the feeling that cultivators experienced when they saw an entire world in a single nce. It was simr to looking down on a two-dimensional drawing from a three-dimensional perspective. Every detail was crystal clear.

    Simrly, normal cultivators could notprehend how ridiculous many of their actions must appear in the eyes of peak powerhouses.

    There was no need for peak powerhouses to destroy the Aeternus Kingdoms, as the Infinity Empire''s mechas could handle that task. That was also why a group of traitors had managed to escape. They had avoided the mechas¡¯ detection because, while the machines could fight against peak powerhouses, they did not possess all of the abilities of such cultivators.

    However, the moment these people emerged from underground, the human experts who surrounded the ck Mother Tree immediately noticed the group. Every expression on their faces, every movement they made, and even every word that they spoke was on full disy.

    It did not take long for someone to approach them.

    Terrifying pressure fell on the area, making it difficult for the people to breathe. Most of them were only at the Enlighter level, which meant that they were barely able to survive the toxic environments of the Scourges. They were far from thriving.

    The moment a peak powerhouse put a bit of pressure on the area, these people knew that they had no chance to fight back.

    Xia Qin went to see the people.

    She looked at the pitiful figures trying to flee and easily subdued them with nothing more than a cold re. She then abruptly appeared in front of the scrawny old man.

    "Who are you people?"

    The scrawny old man dropped to his knees. "Please, mydy, take us from this hell! We are just ordinary cultivators who were captured and then brought to this Aeternus Kingdom. We know nothing!"

    "Yes, we know nothing!"

    "Please, take us away from here."

    "Please, mydy..."

    Xia Qin coldly retorted, "And what about those two poisons?"

    The old man¡¯s heart sank, though he looked confused. "What? What poisons?"

    Xia Qin stared at the man. "The Time Poison and the Vitality Poison?"

    ...

    In the Heavens Sect, a delighted smile covered Lu Yin¡¯s face. "We finally found it!"

    Aeternus had developed both Time Poison and Vitality Poison to target humans.

    Lu Yin had first encountered Vitality Poison on Shenwu Continent, where a short old man had used it to threaten Ming Zhaoshu''s maid, who had then poisoned Ming Zhaoshu. The short old man had then observed the emperor¡¯s reactions to the poison and measured how long it had taken him to die.

    After that, Lu Yin had seen Vitality Poison several more times. Yan''er had even been afflicted by it, and if Mister Mu had not used a secret technique to split the woman¡¯s personality, Ming Yan would have died there and then.

    As for Time Poison, it had once sent the entire Origin Universe into despair. Only by restoring the Origin Progenitor¡¯s cracked sword had Lu Yin been able to remove the Time Poison and return things to normal.

    Both poisons were incredibly dangerous.

    After defeating Aeternus, Lu Yin had ordered people to search for more Time Poison, as it was the antidote to Megalith Poison. Until Time Poison was found, Moon Fairy, Ice Lord, and the others who had been afflicted by the Megalith Poison could not be cured. Additionally, Lu Yin wanted to go after the Megalith itself.

    After quite a bit of time, they had found more Time Poison.

    It was perfect timing.

 Chapter 3235: Colliding Forces

    Lu Yin had realized that the key to mastering Verdant Eternityy in breaking through with Infinity and transforming it into a Progenitor¡¯s world. If he could use Infinity to fill his inner universe, then he could turn it into Verdant Eternity.

    Breaking through with Infinity had be a necessary step that could not be avoided.

    In order to break through with Infinity, Lu Yin needed the right opportunity, and that opportunity was the Megalith.

    Megalith possessed the greatest physical strength in the megaverse, and Lu Yin wanted to use that power to transform Infinity into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    It was time to make use of the opportunity.

    Lu Yin first needed to deliver the Time Poison to Moon Fairy. She was the only sequence powerhouse still alive from the Luna Alliance.

    Yue Shen had died when Aeternus attacked with the Megalith poison, and Moon Ghost had perished during thest battle in the Second Scourge.

    "I didn''t expect to not find it until now. If we had found it earlier, Moon Ghost wouldn''t have died," Lu Yin said as he gave the Time Poison to Moon Fairy.

    Her expression wasplicated. "Everything is ording to fate. Thank you, Dao Monarch."Lu Yin looked at Moon Fairy and was reminded of his fight against her while he had been posing as Ye Bo. Even after so long, Moon Fairy still had no idea that Lu Yin was also Ye Bo.

    Thinking of his time as Ye Bo, Lu Yin realized that he still had no idea how to use that alias.

    While the Aeternals did not know that Ye Bo had been Lu Yin, they were all trapped within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. On top of that, there was no longer any divine energy outside of that barrier, which made it seem rather pointless to try to use Ye Bo¡¯s identity for the time being.

    Lu Yin then delivered Time Poison to the Earth Lord and the Ice Lord. When he arrived at the Ice Spirit Tribe¡¯s Iceheart, he stared at it while lost in thought.

    The longer two people were separated, the more a sense of unfamiliarity would grow.

    Even so, it was different for Lu Yin with Ming Yan. As he stared at the Iceheart, he did not feel a sense of unfamiliarity, but rather warmth.

    He knew that there was always someone who needed him, someone who supported him, someone who was waiting for his return. It was aforting feeling.

    He did not linger and quickly left.

    The universe where the Megalithy was much darker than the Fifth Maind, likely due to how little stars there were.

    The colossal Megalithy there, filling outer space. It was a truly massive creature, and Lu Yin was about to face it.

    "I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here, but I¡¯ll warn you again. Megalith¡¯s strength is terrifying. Even your Origin Universe''s Hongyan Mavis and Lu Yuan can¡¯tpare to this thing. You need to be careful," ckless God warned.

    Lu Yuan stepped forward from behind. "Little Seven, is this your opportunity?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯m going to use the Megalith to break through with Infinity."

    "So, basically, you want to y with fire," ckless God remarked.

    Lu Yin did not hesitate and approached the Megalith.

    The creature was able to devour all forms of energy, which was why no living being dared to get close. At one point in time, Great Elder Shan Gu had used one of the Infinity Empire''s mechas to get close, using the Megalith to block Tian Fa.

    If not for Lu Yin''s scheming, Shan Gu would not have suffered any injuries from Tian Fa while staying close to the Megalith.

    At the moment, Lu Yin alone stood in front of the massive beast. The Four Locks Formation still sealed his strength, which made the situation even more dangerous.

    The Megalith was in a deep slumber, as if it would never wake up on its own.

    The closer Lu Yin approached, the clearer the creature¡¯s overwhelming pressure. It was a pressure that no level of cultivation could counter, and it gave him chills.

    Every breath the Megalith took seemed to cause the universe itself to expand, as though the breath was about to shatter the universe.

    Even something as simple as rolling over would crush space and expose the Hollow.

    Thanks to the Time Poison, while Lu Yin could feel his energy being consumed, the sensation was faint and would not hinder him from what he needed to do.

    He moved to the Megalith¡¯s side and looked up at it. The creature¡¯s body seemed to never end. It was sorge that it defiedprehension.

    He raised a hand and touched the Megalith. There was no sense of temperature, as the creature¡¯s side was neither warm nor cold, though it felt as hard as stone.

    It had been a long time since he had felt anything like it.

    He almost felt like an ordinary person cing their hand on a towering mountain. There was a sense that the wall before him was utterly immovable.

    This was exactly what Lu Yin needed. Without such overwhelming pressure, how could he hope to break through and transform Infinity?

    He took a deep breath, and then his eyes red. Invisible ripples trembled around him. "Let''s do this."

    As he spoke, he punched the Megalith¡¯s side.

    Lu Yuan watched intently, feeling rather anxious. He was terrified that Lu Yin would not be able to withstand the creature and would be crushed in one blow.

    Time passed as they all waited, but there was no reaction.

    Lu Yuan and ckless God exchanged nces, feeling rather confused. They then looked back at Lu Yin and the Megalith.

    Lu Yin stared at the creature, but there was not even the slightest bit of movement. Could it not feel anything?

    This was awkward. While Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength was sealed by the Four Locks Formation, that simply limited his strength to the point where it no longer posed a threat to truly powerful enemies. Lu Yin still had the physical might of a Progenitor. How could the Megalith not feel his punch?

    The Megalith stirred slightly, as though moving in a dream. It looked like it was about to roll over.

    Lu Yin pursed his lips and raised his hand. A purplish-ck substance spread over his body, and he released another punch that was boosted by his Wielder-realm battle force.

    Still, there was no response. Lu Yin¡¯s punches had absolutely no effect whatsoever against the Megalith.

    Unconvinced, Lu Yin kept punching. Finally, after he threw nearly a hundred punches, the Megalith moved. This was not a movement like it was dreaming. Rather, its tail had swept out, as though swatting a mosquito.

    Lu Yin hurriedly activated Extremes Must Be Reversed, withering his entire body. At the same time, he used Triumphant Brawl and crossed his arms in front of him.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    There was a rather gentle sound as the Megalith¡¯s tail sent Lu Yin flying. He waspletely powerless to resist.

    Lu Yuan was startled. "Little Seven!"

    He shot after Lu Yin.

    ckless God frowned. Could Lu Yin be dead? The man quickly chased after Lu Yuan.

    Far away, Lu Yin mmed through dozens ofs before finally smashing into aposed entirely of a gray-brown stone. The impact almost shattered the.

    "Little Seven!" Lu Yuan arrived.

    Lu Yin immediately sat up. "Ancestor, I''m fine."

    Lu Yuan heaved a sigh of relief. "That hit was no joke."

    Lu Yin moved his arm. "It felt like being attacked by a sequence powerhouse, though it wasn¡¯t enough to put me down. The Megalith still isn¡¯tpletely awake. Let''s continue."

    ckless God suggested, "You could let your ancestor wake it up for you."

    Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. "Right! Ancestor, could you hit it for me?"

    Lu Yuan frowned. "That¡¯s dangerous. If that thing gets serious, you¡ª"

    "Ancestor, my strength has been sealed, and the Megalith might be able to break the seal," Lu Yin exined.

    Lu Yuan thought for a moment before agreeing. "Alright, get ready."

    Lu Yin moved back over to the Megalith again, his body withering as he prepared.

    Far away, Lu Yuan clenched his fist and threw a punch that shattered space, ripping open the Hollow in an enormous area as the punch mmed into the Megalith. At the same time, a ck line struck the Megalith from ckless God as well.

    Both attacks hit the Megalith at the same time, jolting it awake as it let out an angry howl.

    Both Lu Yuan and ckless God both had the power to challenge the Megalith. The creature¡¯s only advantage against the two men was its ability to devour energy and its incredible physical strength. It actually had nothing else that it could use.

    Very few creatures in the entire megaverse were capable of enduring abined attack from Lu Yuan and ckless God.

    Lu Yin stared as the universe seemed to copse. The Megalith rose up as it howled. Its tail swung towards the direction of the attacks. Lu Yin had already prepared himself for this strike, and he braced himself for the iing blow.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    There was a loud sound from the impact, and Lu Yin was sent flying again. This time, it waspletely different from the first time, as Lu Yin was flung straight into the Hollow. He pierced multipleyers of space as he spat out blood before vanishing.

    In the distance, Lu Yuan was shocked, and he turned to re angrily at ckless God. "You¡ª"

    ckless God replied indifferently, "I just thought that you might hesitate. Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t die from this."

    Lu Yuan gave ckless God a dirty look before chasing after Lu Yin.

    ckless God remained where he was and did not pursue them this time.

    In the distance, the Megalith thrashed about, clearly aching from the attack. It was suffering from intense pain, which was why it was rolling around.

    Lu Yin was also in pain, though his pain onlysted for a moment. Right after that, he lost all sensation, as his body had gone numb.

    He had no idea how far he flew. It was possible that he was still in the Hollow, or maybe back in the universe again.

    "Little Seven!" A golden light erupted, and it caught Lu Yin as the soft glow of the Investiture of the Gods surrounded him.

    "Little Seven, are you alright?" Lu Yuan asked anxiously.

    Lu Yin coughed up a great deal of blood. His face was pale, and he was unable to even speak. He looked down at his right wrist, where one of the seals of the Four Locks Formation had broken. His strength was back.

    Suddenly, he spat out more blood.

    After that, Lu Yin finally caught his breath. "Ancestor, I''m fine."

    Lu Yuan sighed in relief. "As long as you''re fine. How do you feel?"

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily. He was unable to move his body, as everything was numb. He had not felt like this for a very long time.

    While he had been injured by his shes against both Bai Xian¡¯er and Tian Feng, those injuries were not the same as what the Megalith had inflicted.

    He felt as though he had been crushed by an overwhelming power that pushed his strength to its very limit. His body had instantly recovered from Extremes Must Be Reversed, but luckily, the blow had not surpassed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed. If that had happened, Lu Yin¡¯s injuries would have been far worse.

    After a while, Lu Yin slowly started to move again.

    The Megalith approached from the distance. Its massive eyes were locked onto Lu Yin as it was attracted to the light of the Investiture of the Gods.

    "Ancestor, I''ll handle this myself," Lu Yin said as he flexed his limbs, producing a crisp cracking sound. While Lu Yin had seemed to be gravely injured, the blow had not surpassed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed, which was why he had only needed a brief rest.

    Lu Yuan nced at Megalith. "Don''t push yourself too hard."

    "Don''t worry," Lu Yin said with a grin. He was actually thrilled by the Megalith¡¯s strength. This freakish power was without equal, and the Megalith¡¯s might surpassed Ancestor Lu Yuan¡¯s strength and even Hongyan Mavis¡¯s. Of course, it far surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s as well.

    This was the sort of power that he craved. If he could obtain this level of strength, then things might have turned out differently during the battle in the Second Scourge. The Aeternals might not have been able to escape to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. This was the greatest physical strength that existed in the megaverse.

    This strength had to belong to Lu Yin. This was the transformative physical strength that he craved.

    The Megalith swam through outer space, and when the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods faded, the beast stopped moving, seemingly disoriented.

    Lu Yuan opened up some distance from Lu Yin.

    While facing the Megalith, Lu Yin released Infinity and activated Extremes Must Be Reversed. To further increase his strength, battle force shrouded his body. "Come!"

    He threw another punch at the Megalith.

    This punch waspletely different from any that Lu Yin had thrown at the Megalith before. There was absolutely noparison.

    The attack mmed into the Megalith¡¯s forehead, causing the beast to let out a roar of fury. It suddenly charged at Lu Yin.

    Despite the immense power of the punch, it had not harmed the Megalith at all. Instead, the Megalith¡¯s massive form mmed into Lu Yin, sending him flying once again.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3236: The Essence Of Strength

    The Megalith swatted Lu Yin away like a fly, knocking him away across the vast universe. However, Lu Yin was a fly that could strike back.

    <em>Poof!</em>

    Time after time, Lu Yin spat out blood as he was sent flying. Eventually, Extremes Must Be Reversed was not enough to endure the blows, and the limits of the technique were ovee. Cracks opened up across Lu Yin¡¯s body, and numerous serious injuries appeared.

    The Megalith was locked onto Lu Yin, and it relentlessly pursued him.

    However, if Lu Yin did not want to be hit, then the Megalith could not touch him.

    Inverse Step was enough for Lu Yin to easily avoid the Megalith''s attacks. He did not even need to move at the speed of time, just quickly enough.

    Lu Yuan watched as Lu Yin received injury after injury. The old man¡¯s heart was in his throat.

    At some point in time, Wu Tian arrived, and he watched the scene with admiration. ¡°I never imagined that the Lu family would be able to produce such a descendant.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that I can''t put up with a bit of struggle?¡± Lu Yuan retorted.Wu Tian replied, ¡°I¡¯m saying that you never had his kind of talent.¡±

    Lu Yuan was in no mood to talk to Wu Tian. The man was focused solely on Lu Yin, worried that he might be badly hurt.

    Wu Tian watched Lu Yin. ¡°This child might end up being a turning point in human history. Whether or not fate can be ovee will depend on him. Protect him, Loam. Anyone else can die, but not him.¡±

    With that, Wu Tian left.

    Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°Always stating the obvious.¡±

    As Lu Yin dodged the Megalith, he rolled his die. He watched it slowly stop spinning andnd on four pips. Timestop was the perfect roll at this moment.

    The scenery changed before his eyes as Lu Yin entered his Timestop Space. Blood continued to leak from his body as he sat down. Everyst part of his body radiated pain. His injuries were indeed quite serious, but fortunately, they were all external injuries and would not take too long to heal.

    One year. Just one year would be enough.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and started to slowly recuperate.

    After almost a year, Lu Yin left his Timestop space. For the rest of the universe, only a second had passed.

    The Megalith was still charging at Lu Yin from afar, and it grew bewildered when Lu Yin had vanished for that one moment, but just as quickly, Lu Yin reappeared.

    At this moment, Lu Yin was fully recovered. No matter how severe his injuries may have been, for someone with his level of strength, they had not been a big deal.

    Ming Yan¡¯s vitality had been stolen, and Progenitor Ku had basically died once. Those sort of injuries needed a very long time to heal from, even with time maniption. Progenitor Ku had been working to recover the moment he had woken up.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s confrontation with the Megalith, while his injuries seemed severe at first nce, it was actually rtively easy to recover from them.

    ¡°Come!¡± Lu Yin shouted as the physical pain was driving him slightly mad. The more his body hurt, the clearer his mind became. This was exactly what he needed.

    Without pain, how could one draw forth their inner strength?

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The deafening sound from another impact tore the void open in all directions as Lu Yin was sent flying by the Megalith yet again. As expected, his level of physical strength had no effect on the beast. Cracks opened up across his body once more as Extremes Must Be Reversed reached its limit. The Megalith roared in rage as it charged at Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yuan clenched his fists. He had never seen Lu Yin in such a miserable state before.

    Given everything he was capable of, Lu Yin could defeat the Megalith, or at the very least, the Megalith could not defeat Lu Yin. However, in a contest of pure physical strength, the Megalith was forcing Lu Yin to experience agony that no one else could understand.

    After being injured again, Lu Yin rolled his die. Once. Twice. On his third roll, he finally managed to get Timestop again, and he used it to recover.

    As the scenery shifted around him, Lu Yin returned to the universe, once again fully healed. Again, the Megalith beat Lu Yin, though he used speed to drag the fight out for ten days. After that, he rolled his die again. He recovered, fought again, got injured again, recovered. Again¡­

    The Megalith let out a deep growl. It had been repeatedly provoked and antagonized by Lu Yin, and an indescribable fury had built up in the beast. It was so enraged that it no longer cared where Lu Yin was, and it simply attacked randomly in all directions, shaking the entire universe. It knew that, as soon as Lu Yin recovered, he would appear before the Megalith yet again to resume their battle of brute strength. There was no need for the beast to search for the human.

    Hongyan Mavis arrived, and she stared at the scene in a daze. She thought back to the Mirari Realm and how Lu Yin had repeatedly challenged Feng Bo there. "He will definitely get what he wants."

    Lu Yuan hadpletely calmed down. As long as the Megalith was unable to outright kill Lu Yin, things were good enough.

    ckless God had already left.

    Lu Yuan continued watching. Other people came and went, watching bits and pieces of Lu Yin''s fierce battle with the Megalith. Though no word of the battle spread outside, all who saw a bit of it were ovee with admiration and amazement.

    Lu Yin had reached his current level not merely because of his natural talent, mirebound artifact, and background, but also because of his own hard work and diligent efforts.

    For his battle against the Megalith, no one could help Lu Yin, not even Lu Yuan who remained closeby.

    Thirty-eight times. Lu Yin fought against the Megalith thirty-eight times. Each time, he suffered brutal injuries. Finally, he hade to understand the essence of the Megalith''s strength.

    ckless God had once mentioned that the Megalith had been born from the megaverse itself, and its physical might was essentially a sort ofw of the universe. This was why, when Tian Fa had shed with the Megalith, it had thought that the Megalith''s strength would not be able to affect it, due to it being an Ortuser.

    Tian Fa had been forced to retreat after seeing that not even its chains made from the passage of time could restrain the Megalith.

    However, when Lu Yin hadter asked Lu Yuan about the incident, the older man had replied by saying that he had not seen the Megalith use any sequence particles at all.

    However, how could thews of the universe be used if there were no sequence particles?

    If there were nows of the universe, then how could the Megalith''s strength have not harmed Tian Fa?

    Logically, the Megalith''s strength should be based on thews of the universe.

    The phenomenon reminded Lu Yin of Corpse God, who had kept his sequence particles within his body, which had rendered him practically immortal. If not for the damage that Ye Zhang had done to the Skygod, Lu Yin and his group would have never been able to kill Corpse God.

    Since Corpse God had possessed that sort of power, could the Megalith''s strength have a simr foundation?

    If the Megalith hid its sequence particles within its body, there had to be a method to it, and that was precisely what Lu Yin needed to figure out. If the beast was not relying on sequence particles, it would be even better. Lu Yin was eager to determine the source of the Megalith''s terrifying physical might.

    Only someone at Lu Yin¡¯s level could hope to understand this. While it seemed as though the creature¡¯s strength came from its body, after physical might reached a certain level, all creatures would have to use some method to store their power. To achieve such a level of strength was not possible through natural means.

    The Megalith was at the highest tier of physical strength in the megaverse. This was not simply due to its size. If that were possible, Ancient God would have made himself thergest creature in existence long ago.

    The Megalith clearly had its own method of storing power.

    Also, Lu Yin had finally found that method.

    He saw how the Megalith utilized its strength; there was a series of nodes throughout its body that were interconnected by a unique force.

    If one could clearly perceive the nodes of strength and the way the unique force connected them together, then they would see that the nodes were so tightly linked that there were no gaps. Even if its body were ced under a magnifying ss and magnified countless times over, there would be no gaps between the nodes. This was the essence of the Megalith''s strength.

    Living creatures were peculiar. It was impossible for them to perceive the internal structure of their own bodies, and yet those internal structures could be incredibly intricate.

    The Megalith had not consciously stored its strength in such a fashion; its power was simply so immense that it had instinctually developed this method.

    Lu Yin needed to develop the same instincts.

    Being severely injured thirty-eight times had allowed him to understand the Megalith¡¯s power. Lu Yin pulled back, bit by bit to open up some distance between himself and the creature.

    Megalith remained where it was, staring solely at Lu Yin while not moving.

    Lu Yin made the Megalith uneasy. The creature clearly understood that it was the stronger of the two and that it could easily send Lu Yin flying. However, each time that happened, Lu Yin would reappear,pletely unscathed. This was very odd to the Megalith, and its instincts made it hesitate to approach Lu Yin again.

    Lu Yin was surprised by the beast¡¯s behavior. Was it not charging him anymore? He had nned to enter the Timestop Space to study the creature¡¯s strength, but if the Megalith stopped attacking, that was also fine. He needed to wait ten days to roll his die again anyways.

    Infinity appeared.

    The moment the Megalith saw the lines of Infinity, it became enraged again. Every time Lu Yin attacked the creature, it had been with Infinity. Upon seeing the inner world, the beast thought that Lu Yin was about to attack again, so the Megalith charged out first.

    Lu Yin quickly dodged. <em>It¡¯s attacking me again? Then I¡¯ll just forget it and wait ten days to roll the die to enter the Timestop Space.</em>

    In the distance, Lu Yuan smiled. Little Seven must have realized something, as he had stopped recklessly attacking the Megalith. This was good, as Lu Yuan¡¯s heart had seized up every time Lu Yin had shed with the Megalith, even if the old man had gotten used to it over time.

    Next to him, Garan Zhiluomented, "I¡¯vee to admire him a bit."

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy to earn your admiration. Back when there were nine of us, you only admired ckie,¡± Lu Yuan teased.

    Garan Zhiluo replied, ¡°ckie¡¯s death energy is so powerful that even Master was in awe of it. He said that, whenever ckie became an Ortuser, no one in the entire megaverse would be able to match hisbat ability, not even Master himself.¡±

    ¡°And yet he still lost.¡± Lu Yuan sighed.

    Garan Zhiluo asked curiously, ¡°How did he lose?¡±

    Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just like how we had no idea how you just disappeared.¡±

    Garan Zhiluo fell silent for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that he¡¯s dead. Death energy is produced from death. To him, both life and death are forms of power.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so.¡±

    Ten dayster, Lu Yin rolled his die four times, but not once did he roll four pips. He was forced to dodge the Megalith for another ten days before he could try again, and only then did he finally manage to roll Timestop.

    Upon entering his Timestop Space, Lu Yin used Infinity. This time, the lines of strength did not collide with each other in a chaotic manner.

    He had been inspired to induce chaotic collisions between the lines of strength after witnessing the destruction of a universe while fishing in the River of Aeons. He could replicate that chaotic chain reaction with Infinity¡¯s lines of strength, producing more lines that what Lu Yin could absorb. Each collision produced more lines of strength, so the chain reaction truly led to potentially infinite strength.

    While the potential was real, there was a limit to how much strength Lu Yin could absorb from Infinity. That limit was determined by how much damage his Extremes Must Be Reversed could absorb. If Lu Yin exceeded that limit, there would be no way for him to handle the power of his own strength, and he would suffer grave injuries even if his enemy did not attack.

    Seeing the essence of the Megalith¡¯s strength had given Lu Yin an idea on how to take the final step in perfecting Infinity.

    He needed to make the strength generated by his inner world truly infinite, but he also needed to improve his own ability to utilize that strength to an infinite level. Only then would Infinity be aplete inner world, or rather, transform into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin started trying things out.

    It was a long and arduous process, as he needed to change the way in which he used physical power. This was a process that was no less challenging than creating a new cultivation method or battle technique. While he had seen the essence of the Megalith''s incredible strength, trying to apply that same method to a human body was extremely difficult.

    Infinity¡¯s lines of strength needed to intertwine with the strange binding force, but the slightest mistake would cause things to misalign. Whenever that happened, the raw power he was channeling would strike Lu Yin¡¯s body.

    While one or two mistakes were perfectly manageable, as the number of lines of strength increased, so too did the damage that was inflicted upon his body.

    After six months of repeated attempts to condense the lines of strength, Lu Yin had finally managed to fill his hand and his wrist with nodes of power. From there, he was able to slowly spread the effect through the rest of his body.

    However, justpleting one hand had taken six months, and during that time, Lu Yin had failed countless times. His hand had been repeatedly struck by the bacsh from misaligned lines of strength. As he progressed further and further, there were more and more lines of strength, and any mistake would result in increasingly severe injuries.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3237: The Pridebeast

    As Lu Yin¡¯s time in his Timestop Space approached a year, a misalignment in his lines of strength caused his arm to break open. He reappeared in outer space and was forced to continue fighting against the Megalith even while his new wounds prevented him from getting near the beast.

    He had already used up most of the Time Poison that he had obtained, and it would notst much longer.

    Nheless, he continued to calmly roll his die.

    This time, he ended up being very lucky, as his first roll was four pips. Lu Yin immediately returned to his Timestop Space, where he spent another year mapping out the interconnected nodes of strength throughout both of his arms. He called this newly developed method the Infinite Strength Realm.

    The initial stages of this method were quite difficult, but the further along that Lu Yin progressed, the more skilled he became.

    During the next month from the Megalith¡¯s perspective, Lu Yin rolled Timestop three more times, which allowed him to spend nearly three years developing his Infinite Strength Realm. Finally, it covered his entire body.

    The moment that he finished, endless light erupted, and Infinity¡¯s lines of strength started constantly flickering. The light reminded Lu Yin of when he had first met Mister Mu. When his physical strength had been raised to the limit of his cultivation realm, his body had simrly lit up.

    Right, Lu Yin had forgotten that, after his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, he had never raised his physical strength to the limit again. At this moment, he had reached the Progenitor realm by transforming Dust World into a Progenitor¡¯s world. At the same time, the Infinite Strength Realm had allowed him to reach the limits of a Progenitor¡¯s physical strength, which was why his body was shining once again.

    As he stood within his Timestop Space, Lu Yin had no idea how strong his body had be at this moment. All that he knew was that the power provided by the Infinite Strength Realm was greater than anything he had ever experienced before. This was also just the first step of the Infinite Strength Realm. The next step would be to disperse and condense his power at will; at that point, he would be able to cover his entire body with Infinity¡¯s lines of strength at any moment to activate the Infinite Strength Realm.The third step was to not even use the Infinite Strength Realm. As long as Lu Yin used Infinity, the Infinite Strength Realm would naturally appear, granting him endless strength and the ability to control infinite power.

    These were the three steps that Lu Yin had nned out to transform his physical strength.

    For the moment, what he needed to do was trigger his next breakthrough and transform Infinity into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Lu Yin reappeared in the Megalith¡¯s universe. He was almostpletely out of Time Poison.

    Fortunately, he no longer needed the poison. He had seen through the essence of the Megalith''s strength and understood it entirely. That was the end of the matter.

    Off in the distance, the Megalith was staring at Lu Yin with its enormous eyes. At this moment, it felt something very familiar from Lu Yin. This was not a sensation from their numerous shes, but rather something that came from Lu Yin¡¯s strength. It was not anything that aroused amity, but it also did not provoke any hostility.

    The Megalith felt quite confused, and it simply stared nkly at Lu Yin.

    Since encountering Lu Yin, it had experienced more than in the rest of its lifebined.

    Far away, Lu Yuan and Garan Zhiluo were both staring at Lu Yin. His aura had changed.

    Hongyan Mavis had also arrived, and she felt something strange as she looked at Lu Yin.

    The entire universe was silent. No one made a sound.

    Lu Yin lifted his head to stare out into the endless starry sky. Infinity¡¯s lines of strength continued to collide with each other, and he used his inner world as a guide to break through and transform it into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The universe exploded with a deafening sound that startled the Megalith. It eyed Lu Yin warily, unsure of what was happening. All the beast knew was that Lu Yin had suddenly started to give off an extraordinary threatening feeling.

    Further away, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Garan Zhiluo all watched with widening eyes. Was Lu Yin about to have another breakthrough?

    "Hasn¡¯t he already broken through and be a Progenitor?" Garan Zhiluo felt incredibly confused.

    Lu Yuan grinned as he let out a proudugh. "Little Seven has four inner worlds!"

    Garan Zhiluo''s mouth fell open in shock. Was that even possible?

    Hongyan Mavis just stared at Lu Yin. This breakthrough was to raise Infinity into a Progenitor¡¯s world, which would transform Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength. Suddenly, the woman remembered why the feeling that she had from Lu Yin felt so familiar; it was very simr to a certain creature, and that creature was¡­  ?

    "Pridebeast?" Hongyan Mavis stared nkly at a gori-like creature that seemed to have a metal body which had just emerged from the void.

    The creature that gave off the same feeling as Lu Yin was indeed the Pridebeast.

    Hongyan Mavis had not expected the Pridebeast to appear the moment she thought of it.

    Lu Yin looked over. He watched as a massive gori tore through the void and appeared in the universe. While it was not asrge as the Megalith, it was not too far off. Its entire body looked like it had been forged from steel, and it exuded brute strength. Each breath the creature took seemed to crush the universe itself. It let out a roar, and space surged like a tsunami, crashing down on Lu Yin like a wave.

    After that, more strange creatures started to enter the universe from all directions. While Lu Yin did not recognize any of these creatures, all of them had one thing inmon: power. All of these creatures seemed to have been born for raw power, and all of them were focused on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin understood; this was his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion.

    He was not triggering his breakthrough with stellr energy, but rather by creating his own path. Because of that, this Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough could not trigger a stellr tribtion. Instead, it had triggered a rejection from the megaverse itself.

    When Lu Yin had broken through with his Dust World to be a Progenitor, his breakthrough had pulled out multiple parallel universes that had all tried to crush him. That breakthrough had disrupted the entire battlefield of the Second Scourge.

    Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough with Infinity had not incited asrge a tribtion as Dust World¡¯s, but that was because the nature of the two inner worlds waspletely different. Even so, there were multiple powerful creatures trying to stop his breakthrough.

    Out of all of them, the beast that concerned Lu Yin the most was the metallic gori.

    That creature¡¯s appearance did not make just Lu Yin wary; it had also caught the attention of the Megalith.

    The Megalith red at the gori, immediately on guard. It sensed a threat from another of the same kind.

    Far away, Lu Yuan blurted, "Is that the Pridebeast?"

    Garan Zhiluo turned to look at Hongyan Mavis. "<em>Is</em> that the Pridebeast?"

    Hongyan Mavis''s expression fell. "Yes, that¡¯s the Pridebeast.

    "As a creature born from the creation of the megaverse, it possesses unstoppable strength. Of all the creatures I''ve ever encountered, that one is the most physically powerful. I''ve fought it many times, and without any exception, I¡¯ve always lost in terms of brute strength.

    "Loam, you once wanted to challenge the Pridebeast''s strength, but I told you that, unless you can beat me, you have no chance against the Pridebeast.

    "That¡¯s the Pridebeast."

    Lu Yuan warily eyed the distant gori. The Pridebeast was not really much of a threat to him since an Ortuser¡¯s power was not solely based on physical might. However, if theypeted in raw strength, Lu Yuan could not be able to measure up to the ape. Even Hongyan Mavis was unable to overpower the beast, and it was possible that even their master would lose in a contest of pure strength.

    Hongyan Mavis continued in a low voice, "I once traveled across multiple universes, challenging all the powerful creatures I met. I defeated most of them, and even the ones I couldn''t beat were never able to defeat me. With the Divine Tree, I was able to remain undefeated. But the Pridebeast is different. It used nothing but raw power to topple the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree.

    "Both Feng Bo and Corpse God needed to use their sequence particles and various other methods to destroy the tree. Only the Pridebeast was able to do that with nothing but pure strength. Little Seven needs to be careful."

    Hongyan Mavis did not need to warn Lu Yin, as he was already aware that he needed to be careful of the metallic gori. Out of all the powerful beasts that had gathered, the Megalith and the Pridebeast were clearly the greatest threats.

    If not for the Four Locks Array, Lu Yin would not have been concerned about any of these creatures, but with three of his abilities still sealed by the sourcebox array, it would be a bit difficult to handle the situation.

    Luckily, he had already seen through the nature of the Megalith¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin nced around. He was surrounded by at least 100 creatures, all from different parallel universes. It was as if they had been summoned by some unknown force. As each entered the universe, a sense of danger filled the region. The situation was beyond theprehension of any of the beasts at this moment.

    Lu Yin clenched his fists. "Come! It''s time to test our strength."

    A roar rang out, as the gori answered Lu Yin.

    All the creatures turned to look at the beast. The gori spread its arms wide and then mmed its fists together. Its power manifested in visible shockwaves that tore through the void. The destruction spread across an incredible distance.

    Nearly a hundred of the powerful creatures that hade instantly showed signs of fear, and they started slowly backing away.

    Then, the gori roared again.

    All the creatures fled, vanishing without leaving any trace.

    The gori¡¯s enormous eyes locked onto Lu Yin. As far as the Pridebeast was concerned, it was the strongest creature in the entire megaverse, which made Lu Yin its prey.

    However, the gori had clearly forgotten about the Megalith.

    The Megalith had not left with the rest of the beasts, and instead, it simply stared at the gori. The Megalith felt something familiar: intimidation.

    Yes, this beast was intimidating.

    Once, the Megalith had simrly intimidated all the other creatures of its own megaverse in the same manner. This scene was all too familiar to the beast.

    Lu Yin focused on the gori, sensing the beast¡¯s overwhelming desire to fight. This creature wanted to test its strength against Lu Yin¡¯s.

    Just as the gori was about to charge forward, Lu Yin raised a hand and pointed at the Megalith. "There''s another one."

    The gori turned its head and noticed the Megalith.

    The creature was enormous, but it was also not from the same megaverse. The gori had not noticed the Megalith at first, as it had simply assumed the Megalith would flee like all the other beasts. Only when Lu Yin pointed the Megalith out did the Pridebeast realize its mistake.

    Suddenly, the gori grew furious, and it turned to roar at the Megalith.

    The Megalith¡¯s tail twitched as it roared back.

    The gori''s intimidation attempt had angered the Megalith.

    At that moment, the two titanic creatures roared at each other across the universe, both of thempletely forgetting about Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as the lines of strength from Infinity continued to envelop his entire body, enhancing the power of his Infinite Strength Realm. From a distance, it looked as though Lu Yin¡¯s body was being pierced by countless lines of strength as his body released a brilliant light. He seemed transcendent, and he gave off a powerful, otherworldly feeling.

    Far away, Hongyan Mavis stared at Lu Yin. His aura was bing more and more the Pridebeast¡¯s. Their strength seemed identical.

    The radiance from Lu Yin''s body grew even more dazzling. He was like a brightmp that illuminated the darkness in the depths of the universe.

    The standoff between the Megalith and the Pridebeast reached its peak, and both creatures moved simultaneously, charging at the other.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    A deafening explosion followed, and the universe shattered at the point of impact. Layer afteryer of the void was shattered by the collision between two massive forces, and the aftershocks even reached Lu Yuan and the others.

    As the shockwave swept past them, Garan Zhiluo felt as though an invisible force was pushing her back.

    The fact that she could feel something pushing her indicated the terrifying levels of strength involved in the sh, as this was merely the shockwave.

    The Hollow appeared, enveloping arger andrger area. It seemed to appear almost casually as the Megalith and the Pridebeast forgot about everything around them as they fought, including Lu Yin. The two creatures were fighting for supremacy, for who would rule as the supreme strength in the megaverse.

    One thunderous explosion followed another as the two creatures collided. The universe shattered like a broken mirror, the broken fragments growing denser. The two massive beasts asionally disappeared into the Hollow, and even when they reappeared, it was almost impossible to make out their entire forms due to the presence of the Hollow across the entire battlefield.

    "I never thought that there would be a creature in this megaverse that had the strength topare to the Pridebeast," Hongyan Mavis marveled.

    Lu Yuan replied, "This isn¡¯t just strength. If the Pridebeast only had strength, it would lose. The Megalith can absorb energy and power."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3238: Strength To The Limit

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. "You''re underestimating the Pridebeast. It doesn¡¯t need anything else. Its own strength is enough. Even if the Megalith tries to absorb the Pridebeast¡¯s energy, it won¡¯t give the Megalith an advantage, not even in the short term. For these two monsters, the amount of energy that this battle is consuming is negligible. If they want to drag things out to determine a winner based solely on energy, it will take a very long time.

    "Little Seven''s Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough triggered the megaverse to suppress and limit him, which is why the Pridebeast appeared. The Pridebeast won''t be able to keep fighting against the Megalith for very long."

    "What will happen then?" Garan Zhiluo asked, feeling a bit confused.

    Hongyan Mavis''s face grew serious. "If the Pridebeast and Megalith can¡¯t determine a winner quickly enough, then¡­"

    "Both of them will attack Little Seven together," Lu Yuan concluded.

    Hongyan Mavis nodded.

    "Won¡¯t that be extremely dangerous for him?" Garan Zhiluo was stunned.

    Lu Yuan''s expression darkened. This was worse than simply being extremely dangerous; how could Little Seven hope to survive his tribtion if he had to face both behemoths at once? It was possible that the very existence of the Megalith was part of the megaverse¡¯s attempt to prevent Little Seven''s breakthrough with Infinity.

    "Logically, there shouldn¡¯t be any tribtions for a Progenitor level breakthrough, as long as the breakthrough takes ce outside of the Origin Universe. The only exception is when the power of the cultivator making the breakthrough approaches certain limits of the megaverse, or when a breakthrough touches upon specific aspects of reality and attempts to surpass them."For example, Little Seven''sst breakthrough with his Dust World allowed him to create a universe of his own. This brought out multiple parallel universes that tried to suppress him. If Little Seven was allowed to create an independent universe, then that would disrupt the original structure of the megaverse. Those universes weren¡¯t acting consciously, but rather on instinct.

    "While the universes that we live in may appear to just be regions of the megaverse thatck thought or consciousness, each one has a self-repairing ability, much like how a''s natural environment will self-correct. As long as no force that can destroy the outright appears, then whatever creatures do to a ce will eventually be repaired by nature.

    "Lu Yin¡¯s Dust World is the same as Infinity. Little Seven is trying to break through with Infinity and transform it into a Progenitor¡¯s world, which has touched upon the limits of physical strength and achieve a state that shouldn¡¯t exist in the megaverse. That¡¯s why the Pridebeast appeared. You could say that the beast is the megaverse¡¯s attempt to stop Little Seven''s breakthrough, or that the Pridebeast sensed a threat and came specifically to stop it from appearing."

    Hongyan Mavis continued to exin, "The reason why I haven¡¯t attempted my next breakthrough to the Origin level is twofold. First, my own power has been inadequate for too long and I still haven¡¯t fully adapted to it since recovering. Second, my next breakthrough will inevitably mean touching upon these limits. This means that, not only will I have to deal with the bacsh of sequence particles and thews of the universe, but also possibly ovee a tribtion rted to reaching the limits of strength."

    "Like facing the Pridebeast?" Garan Zhiluo asked.

    Hongyan Mavis nodded. "Master warned all of us to not break through to the Origin realm lightly, and this is likely the reason why. Master knew that each of us could potentially touch on the limits of the megaverse, triggering an additional tribtion for our breakthroughs. If I tried a breakthrough and drew the Pridebeast over, my chances of seeding would be less than ten percent.

    "Right now, Little Seven is facing the same situation as us. If Master knew of Little Seven¡¯s current strength, he definitely would have warned him not to attempt his breakthrough lightly, because all four of his inner worlds touch on the limits of the megaverse."

    Lu Yuan med himself. "I should have realized his situation earlier. Little Seven, if things get too difficult, we¡¯ll deal with the Pridebeast for you."

    Far away, Lu Yin heard this. Lu Yuan and the other two had been speaking as a means of mentally preparing Lu Yin for what was toe.

    He watched the Megalith and the Pridebeast sh. As time passed, the light from his body grew brighter and brighter. A tribtion was a tribtion, but just because it was present, it did not mean that he could notplete his breakthrough and finish developing his Progenitor¡¯s world.

    After all, he was not in the Origin Universe.

    This tribtion was not a stellr tribtion.

    As Lu Yuan had offered, others could get involved in a tribtion like what Lu Yin was facing. He could focus solely on his breakthrough while others handled the tribtion. The Megalith was an example of outside interference. If not, the fight between the Megalith and the Pridebeast would have triggered an even greater tribtion.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s first Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough with Dust World, the Aeternals had not interfered in the tribtion because the appearance of the multiple parallel universes had been too oppressive. Any interference would not have made any difference, and anyone who had attempted to do so would have also had to endure the crushing pressure of all the parallel universes. It had been better to let Lu Yin handle it on his own. ??

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. "Ancestor, if those two monsters try to make trouble for me before I finish transforming my Progenitor¡¯s world, please help me hold them off."

    Lu Yuan nodded. "No problem."

    As long as it was not a contest of pure strength, Lu Yuan alone could deal with both the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    Lu Yin focused on his breakthrough and on transforming Infinity into a Progenitor''s world.

    It was possible that the megaverse had not anticipated that the Megalith would stand in the way of the Pridebeast. The Pridebeast had simply been sent as a stop-gap measure to prevent someone from touching the limits on of the megaverse. However, no matter what happened, it was impossible to prevent Lu Yin from transforming Infinity into a Progenitor''s world.

    As the lines of strength continuously merged with his body, Lu Yin spread out his arms, and the light fully enveloped him.

    Suddenly, the Pridebeast turned to look at Lu Yin, and it then leapt up with an upraised fist that was ready to strike down the human and stop Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough.

    Lu Yuan snorted coldly. Next to him, Hongyan Mavis¡¯s eyes zed brightly. "I''ll deal with it."

    As she spoke, she shot forward. The Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree appeared, and it swayed as a stream of endless power flowed into the woman. She threw a punch straight at the Pridebeast.

    <em>Bang!</em>

    The void shattered, and both the Pridebeast and Hongyan Mavis were forced to retreat.

    The Pridebeast nced over before letting out an enraged roar; it had recognized Hongyan Mavis.

    She rubbed her wrist. "We meet again, little monkey. Let''s see how much your strength has improved."

    The Pridebeast tipped its head back and roared ferociously before leaping at Hongyan Mavis.

    Despite her small size, Hongyan Mavis was capable of unleashing terrifying power. She threw another punch, and ripples tore through the void in waves that smashed upon the Pridebeast.

    At the same time, the Megalith charged at Lu Yin, instinctively sensing that Lu Yin posed a growing threat.

    This time, Lu Yuan stepped forward. Heunched his Champions¡¯ Stage into the Megalith¡¯s side, almost flipping the beast over.

    The Megalith turned to re at Lu Yuan, but the man just lifted his head. "Those are some pretty serious scars that Tian Fa gave you, aren¡¯t they? Want me to leave you some more?"

    The Megalith¡¯s tailshed out, sending the Champions¡¯ Stage flying as it charged at Lu Yuan.

    Garan Zhiluo sighed, amazed by the situation. "Has anyone since the ancient era had several of the Three Realms and Six Daos protect them during their Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough? This must be the first."

    However, most Progenitor breakthroughs that they had observed had taken ce in the Origin Universe, where it was not possible to offer outside assistance. Lu Yin¡¯s situation was quite rare.

    The universe quivered.

    While Hongyan Mavis was incapable of matching the Pridebeast in raw strength, she possessed far more than mere strength.

    As for Lu Yuan, he was capable of holding off both the Megalith and the Pridebeast on his own. Dealing with just the Megalith was not difficult at all for him.

    Lu Yin focused entirely on his breakthrough. Once the light peaked, it abruptly dissipated, as did the Infinite Strength Realm. After that, the light returned as Lu Yin pushed the Infinite Strength Realm to the second stage. Transforming the inner world to a Progenitor¡¯s world was actually the third stage of the Infinite Strength Realm.

    By merging with Infinity after it became a Progenitor''s world, it would cease to simply be a Progenitor''s world. Instead, Lu Yin himself would be a Progenitor''s world.

    The radiance suddenly spread out, and it swept through the entire universe in an instant. It passed over Megalith, the Pridebeast, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, and the distant stars before it slowly faded away.

    All eyes turned to look at Lu Yin.

    However, Lu Yin was staring down at his own hand. He had seeded. Infinity¡¯s breakthrough had seeded, and the inner world had transformed into a Progenitor''s world. He could feel power surging within him, simr to the Megalith¡¯s strength. The Infinite Strength Realm had been a necessary transition, as without it, even if Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough had been a sess, the transformation would not have been nearly as significant.

    He might not have triggered a tribtion that drew out creatures like the Pridebeast.

    However, things had turned out differently.

    In essence, Lu Yin was walking down a path of strength that no human had ever taken before.

    This was just like how Ancient God had pioneered Wielder-realm battle force and domains, while also creating the Origin Universe¡¯s race of colossal giants.

    The nature of Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength had never been seen in humans before, not even in Hongyan Mavis.

    He had developed a new cultivation path for humans, in regards to physical strength.

    Additionally, Verdant Eternity waspleted in the same instance that Infinity transformed into a Progenitor''s world. Well, it was not quite urate to say that the technique wasplete, but rather that it had be usable.

    To Lu Yuan and the others¡¯ perspective, Lu Yin looked almost exactly the same, but there was a more profound depth to his gaze. Wherever he stood, he gave off an impression that he could block anything.

    His hair seemed to have grown a bit longer, and it was as if a breeze was swirling around him.

    "Little Seven, did you seed?" Lu Yuan asked.

    Lu Yin looked over at Lu Yuan. "Ancestor, hold them off for a little longer. I¡¯ll deal with them myself soon."

    The Pridebeast understood what the two men said, and it let out a furious roar.

    Hongyan Mavis nced at Lu Yin. He felt too simr to the Pridebeast, at least to her senses.

    Lu Yin released Infinity, and then he instantly retracted the Progenitor¡¯s world again. There was no visible change to his physical body, but he had alreadypleted the Infinite Strength Realm¡¯s second stage, and it now epassed his entire body. With Verdant Eternity also usable, Lu Yin no longer needed to rely on Infinity to restore his strength as he used it.

    After that, he released his inner universe, which caused Garan Zhiluo''s eye to twitch. "Just how many powers does this guy have? Where does it alle from?"

    Lu Yin had not yet fully mastered Verdant Eternity, and it was impossible for him to do so. After all, even the Origin Progenitor had needed to continuously work to cultivate the technique, and Lu Yin did not have that much time.

    However, his inner universe was able topensate for that difference. After all, what was the difference between the stars in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe and the carvings in the pce of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Verdant Eternity?

    As Lu Yin released his inner universe, the Megalith¡¯s universe trembled, much to the shock of Lu Yuan and the others.

    They then watched an unbelievable scene.

    What should have been stars became streaks of light that moved in all directions. It was as if a region of the universe had been isted by the lights. That space was Verdant Eternity, and the streaking stars were the pce¡¯s carvings, but the sensation was all too familiar.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciples were feeling his Verdant Eternity.

    Lu Yuan was overjoyed. "Little Seven, have you mastered Verdant Eternity?"

    A smile tugged at Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "Ancestor, I told you that the key to mastering Verdant Eternity was transforming Infinity into a Progenitor''s world. I¡¯m done, so let theme to me. I want to test my new strength."

    Hongyan Mavis was the first to step aside. She was eager to see how Lu Yin¡¯s power had transformed from his breakthrough.

    Immediately after bing a Progenitor, Lu Yin had been able to stand up to the Boundary Guardians, which meant that, as a new Progenitor, he could fight against Ortusers. The Three Realms and Six Daos were simrly Realmbreakers, but they were also Sequence Progenitors.

    In other words, Lu Yin had climbed up to stand on the same level as the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Each of those nine powerhouses had possessed incredible talent and had been legends across the eons. Even so, Lu Yin, who was practically a child to them, had caught up to them. While pleased, they also felt a sense of frustration.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3239: Conquest

    In the past, Hongyan Mavis had not been bothered at all, as she had been confident that Lu Yin¡¯s strength would only have a chance to surpass hers when he became a Sequence Progenitor. At that point, they would both stand on the same level, so even if Lu Yin surpassed Hongyan Mavis¡¯s strength, there would be no shame in it.

    However, the current situation was very different. Lu Yin had simply transformed Infinity into a Progenitor¡¯s world. His strength had undergone a metamorphosis, and Hongyan Mavis was very curious to see if the young man had managed to catch up to her.

    Lu Yuan did not allow the Megalith to escape. He preferred to y things safe and let Little Seven deal with the Pridebeast alone first.

    Lu Yin was not bothered, and he looked at the Pridebeast in an antagonizing manner. "Let¡¯s go, monkey."

    The Pridebeast grew enraged. It hated being called a monkey. It was the name that Hongyan Mavis had always used to infuriate the beast when they had fought in the past, and Lu Yin was copying her.

    The Pridebeast leaped at Lu Yin with both hands raised high before dropping them down in a vicious double punch that was aimed at Lu Yin¡¯s head.

    Lu Yin looked up. He had already merged with his newest Progenitor''s world, and in doing so, his source of strength resembled the Megalith, but it was also quite simr to the Pridebeast¡¯s strength.

    As the Pridebeast¡¯s fists came crashing down, Lu Yin bent his legs and leaped upwards. Right when he drew close to the ape, Lu Yin flipped over and kicked at the beast.

    <em>Bang!</em>Space shattered, and the darkness of the Hollow swept over the universe like ink spilled over the dark starry sky.

    Everyone watched as the Pridebeast was sent flying backwards until it crashed into the Megalith.

    The Megalith had no time to dodge before the Pridebeast mmed into it, and they were both sent flying.

    Lu Yin stood tall, excitement lighting up his eyes. Yes, this was strength. This was exactly the kind of strength that he had been pursuing.

    In the current megaverse, when it came to pure strength, there was none who could match him. Not a single creature.

    Lu Yuan and the others were all stunned. <em>This¡­ this¡­?</em>

    Even Hongyan Mavis was shocked. There was no doubt that Lu Yin¡¯s strength exceeded her own. This was his strength as a Progenitor. This was Lu Yin¡¯s level after transforming his inner world into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Garan Zhiluo swallowed nervously. There was no denying that this young man stood above all others throughout history.

    In the Origin Universe, the two individuals who had boasted the greatest physical strength had been Hongyan Mavis and Yellowy, but neither couldpare to what Lu Yin had just achieved.

    With just his physical might, the young man could simply crush many of the most powerful cultivators in the megaverse, and that included sequence powerhouses.

    Actually, just how many could even fight against Lu Yin any longer?

    Lu Yin exhaled, very satisfied with himself. It was an exhrating feeling.

    Far away, the Megalith shoved the Pridebeast aside before angrily ring at Lu Yin and then charging at him.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Good timing. You¡¯ve mmed into me so many times earlier. It¡¯s about time I thanked you."

    The Megalith continued to hurl itself towards Lu Yin. As it crashed into him, Lu Yin simply raised his right hand and used that alone to stop the blow.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    Shockwaves rippled out, and Lu Yin¡¯s hair was blown back.

    The blow pushed him back dozens of steps, but he eventually held firm with only one arm raised, and he even managed to pin the Megalith in ce.

    The beast¡¯s two massive eyes revealed human-like disbelief.

    "Be careful," Lu Yuan warned.

    The Pridebeast stepped on the Megalith in order to punch at Lu Yin again. The ape refused to ept defeat. When it came to strength, it was sure that it could never lose.

    Lu Yin looked up, and while holding the Megalith with one hand, he raised his left arm to grab the Pridebeast.

    The Pridebeast¡¯s fist struck Li Yin''s palm. Despite the vast difference in size between the two, Lu Yin¡¯sparatively tiny hand managed to block the punch, and his body was only pushed slightly downwards.

    The Megalith growled and exerted more force, while the Pridebeast¡¯s eyes zed with a vicious light as it raised its other fist to deliver another punch.

    At the same time, Lu Yin let go. He kicked the Megalith, flipped around, and then kicked the Pridebeast as well.

    There were two explosions that sent echoing shockwaves radiating through the universe as the Hollow was ripped apart. Both of the giant creatures were sent tumbling back from Lu Yin¡¯s kicks. After taking a firm stance, he took a step forward, and then rushed at the Megalith with a raised fist. ¡°You deserve this.¡±

    The punch struck the Megalith¡¯s forehead. As the attacknded, the Pridebeast clenched its fists up above the Megalith before mming them downwards. Lu Yin looked up and unleashed an uppercut.

    The battle of raw strength was a simple yet thrilling experience. The three strongest creatures in the entire megaverse were fighting, and no one could interfere in their battle.

    While it might be possible for Hongyan Mavis to join the fight, she would not be able tost to the end. If Lu Yuan tried to step in, not even his Champions¡¯ Stage could guarantee that he would be able to keep up with the other three.

    With just his own physical strength, Lu Yin was single-handedly dealing with both enormous beasts. Garan Zhiluo watched with growing excitement, and her eyes started gleaming.

    Lu Yuanughed happily. Lu Yin¡¯s power hadpletely transformed after another one of his inner worlds had reached the Progenitor level.

    Previously, Lu Yin had needed to rely on various methods to fight against opponents as strong as the Seven Skygods, but he had always been missing something. After he transformed Dust World into a Progenitor''s world andpleted his first Progenitor breakthrough, that gap had disappeared. After breaking through again, just one hit from his fists would leave those same opponents in a very difficult position.

    This was the limit of physical strength. The megaverse had tried to stop a human from reaching such an extreme, but Lu Yin had seeded anyways.

    Hongyan Mavis was shaken. "I tried to take this step in many different ways, but I couldn''t do it. But after seeing Little Seven¡¯s transformation, I finally understand.

    "It''s not that I couldn''t take that step, but that I was limited by my species.

    "Little Seven gives off a feeling that¡¯s very simr to the Pridebeast. He used the essence of both the Pridebeast¡¯s and Megalith¡¯s strength, while I focused on only the Divine Tree and on transforming my own strength."

    Lu Yuan looked over at Hongyan Mavis with a stunned expression.

    Hongyan Mavis was puzzled. ¡°What?¡±

    Lu Yuan automatically asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ever try learning the Pridebeast¡¯s way of utilizing power?¡±

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. ¡°I just never thought of it. I understood the essence of its strength, but I always ced my own strength as having greater value.¡±

    Lu Yuan looked away. He looked rather conflicted. "I might finally understand why Yellowy grew away from the rest of us."

    Hongyan Mavis stiffened, as she understood what was being suggested.

    Garan Zhiluo sighed. She understood as well.

    It was truly difficult to ovee or change the barriers between species. Afterpleting their training with the Origin Progenitor, the Three Realms and Six Daos had all made names for themselves. With the brilliance of the Heavens Sect that they belonged to, all of them had unconsciously developed a bit of prejudice towards astral beasts. Yellowy, being an astral beast himself, had been able to feel this.

    This was why, after their training had ended, they had drifted apart.

    Could humans really have stopped enving astral beasts during the ancient Heavens Sect era, as the Origin Progenitor had hoped? Impossible. Humanity¡¯s greatest glory had been a brilliant light that had hid endless darkness. Yellowy had been able to see that darkness, but the rest had not.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s era, however, humanity had been too weak to enve the astral beasts.

    This led to a fundamental difference in mentality between modern humans and the humans from the Heavens Sect era.

    The Fourth Maind had shattered, but even if it had been deliberately nned by Yellowy, he may not have been wrong to do so. To the astral beasts, both humans and the Aeternals had been the same.

    The Aeternals might have even been a slightly better option, simply because corpse kings would not enve astral beasts.

    Far away, Lu Yin punched the Pridebeast¡¯s forehead, forcing the creature down. At the same time, the Megalith¡¯s head was kicked, leaving it dazed.

    The two giant beasts looked at each other, questioning their very existence.

    Lu Yin looked at the two behemoths before him, and felt invigorated. "Again!"

    The Pridebeast red at Lu Yin.

    The Megalith raised its tail up high and let out a howl as it charged at Lu Yin in an attempt to body check him.

    Lu Yin kicked again, and his foot stopped the Megalith''s charge, though Lu Yin was pushed back several steps. Right at that moment, the Pridebeast attacked again, but Lu Yin punched it away. In front of him, the Megalith swung its body around to m its tail into Lu Yin.

    In the past, this tail swipe had always left Lu Yin severely injured.

    This time, he simply snapped his foot out with another kick, blocking the blow. Following that, another kickshed out, mming into the Megalith¡¯s side and sending it flying.

    Lu Yin was stronger than both the Megalith and the Pridebeast. He was able to suppress one of them with a single hand, but subduing both at the same time still took a bit of effort.

    However, that only meant that he needed a bit of time.

    These two enormous creatures could certainly take a beating, but after transforming Infinity into a Progenitor¡¯s world, Lu Yin¡¯s own resilience had increased significantly as well.

    Transforming his physical strength had also transformed his entire body. He was not at all the same person that had participated in the battle of the Second Scourge.

    An even more intense battle followed, as all three creatures exchanged blows while testing their strength.

    The fight dragged on.

    Neither the Megalith nor the Pridebeast showed any signs of giving up, and they continued to work together to fight against Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin had no intention of letting the fight end easily. If the two beasts wanted to be beaten, then he would beat into submission. He refused to believe that it was impossible to conquer the two beasts.

    Lu Yuan and the others were also in no rush, and they simply watched.

    They understood Lu Yin¡¯s thinking. It was clear to them that he wanted to conquer the two beasts.

    "Conquer them? I''ve thought about it before. While it can¡¯t be done if any other form of power is used, it might be possible if someone beats them with pure strength," Hongyan Mavismented.

    Garan Zhiluo was amazed. "Yellowy really should see this."

    Lu Yuan sighed. "Even if he wanted to use other powers, he can¡¯t. Little Seven¡¯s only managed to undo a single seal of that Four Locks Array."

    "He should be able to release the rest on his own. With his current strength, he can do it," Hongyan Mavis stated.

    If Lu Yin broke the seals made with his own abilities with his own strength, it would be possible to undo the Four Locks Array.

    It was just a question of when Lu Yin would choose to do so.

    There was another loud bang as the Pridebeast was again mmed into the Megalith before the two beasts were sent flying.

    Lu Yin was breathing heavily as he chased after his opponents. He refused to believe that any beast could not be conquered. There were only people whocked sufficient will.

    The Megalith pushed the Pridebeast aside and opened its mouth to bite Lu Yin.

    As its mouth opened, thest of Lu Yin¡¯s Time Poison ran out, and he felt his energy being consumed by the Megalith. It was a strange sensation, and it simply felt like his energy consumption was being elerated.

    The fatigue that built up from jumping ten times in a row waspletely different from what would build up after jumping a hundred times in a row.

    The Megalith made Lu Yin feel as if he had jumped a hundred times when he had only jumped ten times.

    His energy was being depleted ten times as fast, and this was why the Megalith was so confident that it could fight against Lu Yin. The beast had been certain that, given enough time, it could oust Lu Yin and force him to the brink of exhaustion.

    The Pridebeast noticed the Megalith¡¯s n and, much to the shock of Lu Yuan and the others, the ape gave the Megalith a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin was stunned. Was this¡­ apliment?

    This Pridebeast was too¡­ human-like.

    The Megalith¡¯s eyes rolled around. It was clearly confused by the Pridebeast¡¯s gesture.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression suddenly changed. A thumbs-up was not a universal gesture across universes; it was something specific to Earth.

    While it was not impossible for other universes to have developed the same gesture, could things really be so coincidental?

    Lu Yin stared at the Pridebeast. Could this creature have a connection to Earth?

    How was that possible? The Pridebeast¡¯s universe had never had any contact with the Origin Universe. From what Hongyan Mavis had said, during the Heavens Sect era, she had been the one to seek out the Pridebeast to challenge its strength, but it had been very difficult to find the Pridebeast.

    On top of that, the ape had truly lived for countless years, while a thumbs-up was a gesture that had only developed on Earth within thest few hundred years, at most.

    If the Pridebeast¡¯s gesture really was connected to Earth, then the only possible link was Whitecloud City.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3240: Thumbs Up

    There was a simple way to prove whether the Pridebeast had some sort of connection to Earth.

    Lu Yin gave the ape a thumbs up.

    The Pridebeast froze, its expression strange. What did the human mean? Was heplimenting the ape?

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed as he reversed the gesture, and then gave two thumbs down to the Pridebeast.

    The ape¡¯s jaw dropped, and its eyes zed red with fury. It released a roar of utter rage. The human was insulting it!

    Lu Yin let out a breath. The creature definitely had some sort of connection to Earth.

    Enraged, the Pridebeast charged at Lu Yin while swinging its fists. Space shattered, and the entire universe seemed to sway from the blows.

    While Lu Yin¡¯s energy was being drained, the Pridebeast and the Megalith were both unaffected, and actually, neither was Lu Yin.

    While jumping ten times might use up the energy of jumping a hundred times, if Lu Yin could jump a thousand, or tens of thousands of times, there basically would be no effect.<em>Bang!</em>

    <em>Bang!</em>

    Two back-to-back crashes sent shockwaves ripping through the Hollow and created ripples that shatteredyers of space as if they were the surface of ake.

    Lu Yin traded two punches with the Pridebeast and forced it back. Then, with a quick step, he appeared right in front of the Pridebeast with his arm raised high. ¡°Let¡¯s see how well you can take a beating.¡±

    A single blow knocked the Pridebeast down with one blow, and its head started to swell.

    Further below, the Megalith was no longer trying to charge at Lu Yin. Instead, it was trying to drain his energy over time.

    Lu Yin was not going to give the beast the time that it wanted. He next appeared directly on the Megalith''s back and punched it right in the middle, causing the Megalith to howl in pain as its body curled and twisted wildly.

    Lu Yin refused to let up, and he threw punch after punch. The Megalith frantically tried to flee, but it could not break free from Lu Yin. It almost crashed into Lu Yuan and the others, who all dodged, and then it mmed into the Pridebeast, who learned its lesson and quickly fled.

    Punch by punch, Lu Yin pushed the Megalith so far that it started spitting out stomach acid. Its howls grew weaker, and its once-smooth back had been torn open. The unique force that it used to condense its strength had been shattered, and it was growing weaker.

    When the Pridebeast saw that the Megalith was about to be defeated, it tore the void open in order to make its escape.

    Lu Yin looked over. <em>Trying to flee?</em>

    Before Lu Yin could do a thing, a Champions¡¯ Stage crashed into the Pridebeast from the side, sending it flying.

    The Pridebeast shot a vicious re at Lu Yuan.

    The old man lifted his head and released the aura of an Ortuser with a cold smirk. "Little beast, do you still want to try your luck with me?"

    The Pridebeast grew wary. This human possessed a level of power that scared the ape, which was why it did not dare to face Lu Yuan directly. It hurried into the distance, only for a shadow to fall over it. Turning around, the Pridebeast saw the Megalith¡¯s massive form crashing down upon it. With no time to dodge, the Pridebeast was struck, and it coughed up blood as two giant creatures tumbled away in a tangle. ?

    Lu Yin snorted disdainfully before chasing after them. He was determined to conquer the two beasts; they would either follow him or die. There were no other choices.

    Humans had enved astral beasts during the Heavens Sect era, which had not been fair to the beasts. Lu Yin had no intention of doing anything to the astral beasts, such as Ancestor Tortoise. If the tortoise did not want to stay, Lu Yin would not force it. The same was also true for the the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor.

    As for the jiao, that beast had previously been an enemy.

    At the moment, the Pridebeast was also an enemy, as it was the tribtion sent to stop Lu Yin from transforming Infinity into a Progenitor''s world.

    As for the Megalith, it did not even belong to their megaverse. Its Megalith Poison had caused humanity to suffer terrible losses, which was why Lu Yin felt no guilt for fighting it.

    Heavy breathing could be heard, and it grew increasingly ragged.

    The Pridebeast clutched its arm, which had been broken, while the Megalith was barely able to move, due to all the damage that it had suffered.

    Lu Yin slowly approached them.

    The beasts¡¯ expressions shifted from initially wariness and dread, to outright fear. They stared as Lu Yin drew closer.

    The closer Lu Yin got, the more the two beasts pulled back.

    Despite their enormous size, the creatures looked quite pitiful at this moment.

    Far away, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered the Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor, which had been their master''s pets. <em>Oh, there was also the Arkfish. That fish was particrly pathetic</em>.

    Lu Yin had already forced the jiao into submission, and if he managed to tame the Megalith and the Pridebeast, he would be nearly on par with the Origin Progenitor.

    The jiao looked fierce, but it was the first to escape when there was danger, just like the Arkfish. The two made for quite the pair.

    The two beasts that Lu Yin was currently facing were certainly no weaker than the Divine Eagle or the Python Ancestor.

    The more that Lu Yuan watched, the more he felt that Lu Yin bore a resemnce to the Origin Progenitor.

    Did reincarnation really exist? Humanity always seems to rise back from the ashes. Their master had once led humanity to their greatest peak, and in the present, Little Seven was sure to aplish the same thing.

    Facing the two behemoths, Lu Yin slowly raised his fist. "Again."

    The Megalith instinctively retreated, letting out a whimper of pain as its tail drooped.

    The Pridebeast, with a human-like expression on its face, took half a step back. It stared at Lu Yin, clearly unwilling and helpless. After a moment, it raised its hand and gave Lu Yin a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin snorted coldly. "Don''t try that with me. You can either follow me or be beaten to death. Choose one."

    The Pridebeast bared its teeth. It instinctively wanted to turn its thumb the other way, but with Lu Yin''s fierce gaze focused on it, the ape did not dare to do so.

    It scratched its head, its eyes darting about, and then it gave Lu Yin what it believed to be a friendly smile, showing a massive set of white teeth.

    Because of its incredible size, those white teeth practically lit up the universe. Hongyan Mavis and the others watched the disy with odd expressions.

    The Megalith''s eyes shifted. It saw what the Pridebeast did, and it copied the gesture. The Megalith¡¯s mouth curved upwards to form a grin that exposed evenrger white teeth.

    The Pridebeast was speechless and wanted to kick Megalith. Was it incapable of even the slightest bit of originality?

    In a vast, deste universe, where survival was the top priority, Lu Yin¡¯s killing intent vanished because of the two enormous creatures.

    Seeing their big, white teeth, he found himself unable to strike them down.

    When the Pridebeast sensed that Lu Yin¡¯s bloodlust was fading away, its smile grew even brighter. It repeatedly gave the human a thumbs-up, its thumb poking the void and creating ripples. It was showing Lu Yin its approval.

    The Megalith could also sense Lu Yin¡¯s changing attitude. Since it had no hands or feet, it lifted its tail, and much to everyone¡¯s shock, the tail bent in half to form what looked like a thumbs-up. The Megalith then started tapping on the void as well while staring at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin rolled his eyes.

    The Pridebeast watched the Megalith in amazement. The other guy was not as dumb as it seemed.

    The Pridebeast kept giving Lu Yin a thumbs-up while slowly backing away. It was clearly trying to escape.

    The Megalith copied the Pridebeast¡¯s actions exactly, giving Lu Yin a thumbs-up while retreating.

    Unexpectedly, the Pridebeast stepped on the Megalith, but the whale¡¯s body was too slippery, which caused the Pridebeast to slip and fall. The ape¡¯s trip hurt the Megalith, which then roared angrily as it red at the Pridebeast.

    The Pridebeast quickly put its finger to its lips and shushed the Megalith, trying to get the other beast to be quiet.

    The two astral beasts then slowly turned to look at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin smiled at them. "Let¡¯s keep going."

    He raised a fist and threw a punch at both the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    The Pridebeast let out a roar of frustration, and it used its only functioning arm to punch back at Lu Yin. The Megalith also retaliated, and it did so by charging straight forward.

    In the distance, Lu Yuan shook his head. "Those two monsters won¡¯t escape."

    Hongyan Mavis said in a bitter tone, "I¡¯ve never seen the Pridebeast like this."

    "That''s because you never pushed it to its limit," Garan Zhiluo retorted.

    Hongyan Mavis replied, "Whenever I fought it, we only used raw strength. I couldn¡¯t win, so I never pushed it to its limit. If I had used my other abilities, it would have never been my match."

    "If you had used your other abilities, why would you have bothered fighting it?" Garan Zhiluo retorted.

    Hongyan Mavis frowned and turned to look directly at Garan Zhiluo. "Are you mocking me, Flora?"

    Lu Yuan interjected, "She''s not mocking just you, she makes fun of everyone. Don''t you remember her personality? The Sixth Maind has never had good rtions with any of the other Mainds."

    Hongyan Mavis thought back and then nodded in agreement.

    Garan Zhiluo was not at all offended.

    The sounds of collisions and attacksnding frequently echoed in the distance. Even when working together, the Pridebeast and the Megalith were unable to overpower Lu Yin. Given their current state, they could not even fight back. Escape was impossible, and eventually, they stopped resisting altogether. It almost seemed as if they had given up.

    The Pridebeast looked particrly defeated. Ity on its back in outer space, constantly giving Lu Yin a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin stood above the beast and asked, "Can you talk? Try to speak like me."

    The Pridebeast simply shook its head.

    Lu Yin was satisfied. "That¡¯s even better. If you could talk, I wouldn¡¯t want to take you along."

    The Pridebeast opened its mouth and let out a sigh.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the Megalith, whichy in space like a stranded fish. Its tail would asionally flick a bit, but it was otherwise unable to move.

    As expected, the two behemoths had finally been subdued.

    Lu Yin pointed to his shoulder with one hand and below his feet with the other.

    The Pridebeast struggled to sit up while shrinking its size. The Megalith also started to shrink, and it did so even faster before quickly making its way onto Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    Lu Yin looked at it.

    The whale¡¯s tail wagged slightly, and it gave off a rxed vibe.

    The Pridebeast gritted its teeth and rushed over, kicking the Megalith off of Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder.

    The Megalith grew furious, and it charged back at the Pridebeast.

    Lu Yin grabbed both of the beasts by the scruff of their necks. After they had reduced their size, they were small enough for him to easily grab.

    "Keep fighting, and I''ll beat both of you again."

    Both the Pridebeast and Megalith shed big white teeth at Lu Yin while giving him a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin sighed. He could not help but remember the Divine Eagle¡¯s majestic aura and Python Ancestor¡¯s domineering presence. These two could notpare at all.

    Lu Yuan and the others moved closer.

    "Congrattions, Little Seven, on gaining two guardian beasts for the Heavens Sect," Lu Yuan said with a smile.

    Garan Zhiluo examined the Megalith and the Pridebeast with open curiosity. "The Megalith¡¯s energy-devouring ability is a bit problematic."

    Lu Yin pped the Megalith. "Don''t tell me that you can¡¯t control that ability. If you can''t, I won''t take you with me."

    The Megalith grinned and bared its white teeth. It shook its body in a manner that clearly indicated that it was unable to control the ability.

    The Pridebeast popped out from behind, and it bumped the Megalith away before giving Lu Yin a thumbs-up while pointing at the Megalith. The ape was trying tomunicate something.

    The Megalith was furious, and it wished that it could smack the Pridebeast.

    A dangerous glint appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, and he started to release a hint of bloodlust. "You seem to have misunderstood me. If I can¡¯t take you with me, then I¡¯ll just have to kill you."

    The Megalith froze for a moment, and then quickly stopped devouring the surrounding energy.

    In the past, anytime that anyone had found the Megalith, the beast had been sleeping, all the while devouring whatever energy was nearby. Even Ancient God had believed that the beast could not control its ability.

    While the Pridebeast was different, the two beasts were quite simr, to a certain extent.

    One was a beast from another megaverse, where it possessed the greatest physical strength, while the other embodied the greatest physical strength of the current megaverse.

    The Pridebeast had sensed that the Megalith could control its energy-devouring ability.

    The price, however, was that the Megalith¡¯s entire body started to swell up in a manner that left it unable to show its big white teeth anymore.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3241: Restored

    Hongyan Mavis leaned in to stare at the Pridebeast. "Hey, do you remember me?"

    The Pridebeast red at her viciously. The ape looked like it might try to bite the woman at any moment.

    "Senior, are you sure that this is the same Pridebeast that you fought in the past? Could it be a descendant?" Lu Yin asked.

    "No. A Pridebeast isn¡¯t a species. Even if the beast had offspring, there¡¯s no guarantee that they¡¯d inherit its strength. Its power isn¡¯t something that¡¯s cultivated, but rather developed instinctually. It¡¯s the same as the Megalith," Hongyan Mavis replied.

    As she spoke, the woman looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. "Little Seven, you¡¯ve actually managed to cultivate a power that can normally only be developed instinctually. Very impressive."

    Lu Yin replied, "As long as you treat strength as a physical state, it¡¯s possible. If you want to learn, Senior, I can teach you."

    "Of course I want to learn. Thank you," Hongyan Mavis gratefully epted.

    Lu Yuanughed. "Little Seven, teach your ancestor too."

    Lu Yin smiled. "Of course."Garan Zhiluo felt a bit envious and said, "Once you¡¯ve learned it, your strength will noticeably increase. Do me a favor and make a note of wherever you¡¯ve fought at full strength. That way, when I use my Eight-Star Garan, I¡¯ll know where I can copy a powerful attack."

    This reminded Lu Yin of something, and he turned to look at Garan Zhiluo. "There¡¯s something that I forgot to ask you, Senior Garan. Why does Shao Yin have your Garan family¡¯s innate gift?"

    Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis both turned to look at Garan Zhiluo as well.

    They had forgotten that Shao Yin had used the Eight-Star Garan before, despite it being impossible for him to be a member of the Garan family.

    Garan Zhiluo¡¯s expression chilled. "He must have received it from the Aeternals."

    "What do you mean? Do the Aeternals have the power of your Garan family?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

    Garan Zhiluo answered calmly, "I only learned this while I was sealed within Tian Feng. Yong Heng, True God, has an innate gift known as ''Bone Grafting.''"

    "Like bone grafters?" Lu Yin blurted.

    Garan Zhiluo¡¯s expression grew even colder. "Bone grafters did indeed appear in the past, but they did notst for very long. They didn¡¯t care about flesh, only bones. They were able to absorb strength from bones and even acquire the innate gifts of the bone¡¯s original owner. That¡¯s why their race was wiped out.

    "So, you actually know about bone grafters?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned serious. "What¡¯s Yong Heng¡¯s connection to bone grafters?"

    Garan Zhiluo exined, "He created the bone grafters and left them in the Origin Universe.

    "While I was sealed within Tian Feng, Tian Feng first wanted to simply kill me, but then Yong Heng showed up. He used his bone grafting innate gift to peel back my skin and muscles, disfiguring me while removing some of my bones. With that, it¡¯s no surprise that there are Aeternals who have my Garan family''s Eight-Star Garan."

    Hongyan Mavis suddenly grabbed Garan Zhiluo¡¯s arm, only for the woman to instinctively pull back.

    "Is that why you won¡¯t take off those bandages and why you can¡¯t restore your appearance?" Hongyan Mavis''s eyes zed with murderous intent.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s expression also darkened ominously.

    No matter what sort of internal conflicts had existed between the Three Realms and Six Daos, the bond between the disciples was real, and it had been forged while under the Origin Progenitor¡¯s teachings. Garan Zhiluo¡¯s tragic fate enraged both Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis. The two immediately wanted to go destroy the rest of the Aeternals and all the surviving Boundary Guardians.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression also fell.

    The suffering that Garan Zhiluo had endured was unimaginably vast, and at this moment, they all understood why it was impossible for her to heal herself.

    For someone who had treasured her own beauty, being horribly disfigured must have been a devastating blow.

    "Flora, how do you want to get revenge?" Lu Yuan asked in a low voice.

    Garan Zhiluo calmly replied, "It¡¯s been so long, so let¡¯s leave things alone for now, but we need to be careful. If Yong Heng can allow someone like¡­ who did you say? Shao Yin, right? If he can allow someone like Shao Yin to use the Eight-Star Garan, then there has to be more as well. Since we didn¡¯t see them in thest battle, the Aeternals must have other ns."

    Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered the Ossis Ark that was fighting against the Immemorial Citadel. While there, he had noticed that the Aeternals did not seem to care when their powerhouses died. He had even overheard conversations where people said that, even if someone died, they would reappearter. At the time, he had not understood, but he finally had a suspicion of what was going on.

    It was possible that some of Garan Zhiluo¡¯s bones were on the Ossis Ark and that Aeternus was using something like bone grafting to give corpse kings various abilities from the bones of powerful creatures. That was why experts would seem to keep reappearing. In other words, the Immemorial Citadel was fighting against those who were already dead. As long as Aeternus continued to gather bones, the Ossis Ark''s power would continue to grow.

    Garan Zhiluo¡¯s bones might not have been given to Shao Yin alone, as some of them might have been taken to the Ossis Ark.

    The Ossis Ark was the Aeternals¡¯ greatest weapon against the Immemorial Citadel, and Lu Yin finally understood just what that weapon was.

    Garan Zhiluo had learned a great deal while sealed within Tian Feng, though she had paid a horrifying price.

    A thumb appeared in front of Lu Yin¡¯s face before it pointed at Garan Zhiluo. It was the Pridebeast. The ape was giving Garan Zhiluo a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin smacked it on the head. "Get back."

    The Pridebeast cradled its head as it retreated.

    "Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s time to leave," Lu Yuan said.

    ¡­

    Lu Yin soon returned to the Heavens Sect.

    As soon as the group arrived, the Pridebeast and the Megalith both looked towards the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise, who were both outside the sect. It was always easy for beasts to sense the auras of simr creatures, though the jiao and Ancestor Tortoise were far fromparable to the two neers.

    The jiao felt its head start tingling, and it reflexively bared its fangs and brandished its ws in an attempt to intimidate the unknown threat.

    Ancestor Tortoise was more straightforward, and it simply retreated into its shell. Anything it could not see could be avoided.

    The Pridebeast scoffed at the two other beasts.

    The Megalith was currently wrapped around Lu Yin¡¯s waist, as it did not like to stay by his feet.

    Many people were curious about the Megalith and the Pridebeast, and Lu Yin released a public announcement that the Heavens Sect had gained two additional guardian beasts, which sparked a great deal of excitement. The stronger the Heavens Sect became, the more confident humanity as a whole became.

    A few dayster, Lu Yin started rolling his die.

    He gave it a light tap and then watched as it slowly stopped spinning,nding on three pips: Enhance. Lu Yin sighed. Without money, there was nothing that he could Enhance. He rolled again and got Gift Copy. He casually pped the Megalith, and a swirling energy pattern appeared on the die¡¯s face. The Megalith¡¯s ability to devour energy was not merely aw of the universe, but also an innate gift, which Lu Yin could use.

    The Megalith felt confused by the sudden p. It automatically opened its mouth and grinned at the human to show him its big white teeth. The beast¡¯s body deted, and it unintentionally started to absorb energy, which created chaos throughout the Heavens Sect.

    A single re from Lu Yin caused the Megalith to quickly suppress its ability, and its body swelled back up.

    The Pridebeast blinked and smiled at Lu Yin, and then both creatures gave him a thumbs-up. They were terrified of being beaten up again.

    Lu Yin was speechless. The two beasts were not much smarter than the jiao, which meant that they were bothplete idiots.

    Again.

    His third roll was Timestop, and Lu Yin entered his Timestop Space. The Pridebeast fell to the ground when Lu Yin disappeared.

    Inside the Timestop Space, Lu Yin looked down at his hands and feet. It was time to remove the Four Locks Array.

    Lu Yin had already managed to remove one of the seals by learning how the Megalith utilized physical strength, and histest breakthrough meant that he had obtained the strength necessary to shatter the remaining three seals.

    Dust World, Infinity, his power of time, and his Investiture of the Gods were not simple abilities. With his current strength, Lu Yin was not entirely certain sure which opponents he could realistically face.

    Additionally, there was another ability that he had obtained: Verdant Eternity.

    Infinity had transformed into a Progenitor''s world that was directly and permanently incorporated into Lu Yin¡¯s body through his Infinite Strength Realm, but that was still not enough.

    Lines of strength started to appear around Lu Yin, and they violently collided with each other.

    The Infinite Strength Realm was a unique force that permeated through Lu Yin¡¯s entire body. With that alone, Lu Yin most likely had enough power to break the seals formed by his power of time and his innate gift. The problem was that it might not be enough to break the seal formed from Dust World. It was also a Progenitor''s world, and it was just as powerful and threatening as Lu Yin¡¯s physical strength.

    Lu Yin had relied on Dust World during the battle in the Second Scourge.

    The lines of strength collided, produced new lines, and entered Lu Yin¡¯s body. As long as Infinity was active, Lu Yin could instantly activate the Infinite Strength Realm with a thought.

    A short timeter, Lu Yin also released his inner universe, and Verdant Eternity appeared. Brilliant lights swirled in all directions as the stars shone brightly, acting like the carvings of the pce. The lines of strength continued to collide within Verdant Eternity, which meant that the lines never dissipated and were endlessly reused.

    Lu Yin punched at the seal on his left wrist.

    <em>Crack!</em>

    The seal shattered. It had used his power of time as the seal, but that power could not stand up to Lu Yin¡¯s newfound strength.

    Next, Lu Yin used his physical strength to break the seal on his right ankle. That was the one sealing his Investiture of the Gods. The only remaining seal was on his left ankle.

    Lu Yin punched the seal, but it did not budge. As a Progenitor¡¯s world, Dust World was different from the other seals.

    Lu Yin had already expected this. He continued to absorb more lines of strength, and his body started to wither as he absorbed more and more.

    The Infinite Strength Realm was enough to ce Lu Yin¡¯s strength above both the Megalith and the Pridebeast, but there were limits to even that. If Lu Yin¡¯s strength was truly infinite, then just a single finger would have been enough to crush both the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    Within Verdant Eternity, Lu Yin threw one punch after another at the seal on his left ankle. His strength would never fade in this ce, and he could use Infinity for as long as he remained within Verdant Eternity.

    If one punch was not enough, then he would punch twice. If two were insufficient, then he would punch 200 times.

    Finally, there was a soft sound as the final seal shattered.

    Lu Yin stood where he was, exhausted and breathing heavily. He had finally removed the Four Locks Array.

    As of this moment, Lu Yin had regained his full power.

    Verdant Eternity not only allowed him to use his strength endlessly, but also all his other abilities. This was one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s ultimate techniques. When breaking through with Infinity and transforming it into a Progenitor''s world, Lu Yin had sessfullybined Verdant Eternity with his inner universe, which had released the full potential of the technique.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength could notpare to what he had possessed when he had fought on the Second Scourge.

    There were very few individuals in the entire megaverse who were capable of defeating Lu Yin in a one-on-one fight. In fact, not even the Three Realms and Six Daos could do so any longer. Lu Yin was certain of that.

    The scenery changed around Lu Yin, and he returned to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect.

    Only a second had passed for the outside world, and the Pridebeast had only just fallen off of Lu Yin''s shoulder when the human reappeared, and the ape was knocked aside.

    The Pridebeast looked up at Lu Yin in confusion. It had no idea what had just happened.

    Lu Yin crouched down to stare at the Pridebeast.

    The ape blinked, gave Lu Yin a thumbs-up, and showed a broad smile. It thought that doing so might save it from another beating.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3242: The Source

    "Where did you learn that motion?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Pridebeast was confused, and it simply continued to give Lu Yin a thumbs-up.

    Lu Yin raised his own thumb. "This. Who taught it to you?"

    The Pridebeast stared at Lu Yin''s thumb and fell deep into thought.

    "Have you ever heard of Whitecloud City?" Lu Yin asked.

    The Pridebeast shook its head.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Have you ever seen a rabbit that likes to step on people''s heads?"

    The Pridebeast''s eyes suddenly lit up, and it responded with repeated thumbs-ups.

    Lu Yin understood that it was saying yes."Where is that rabbit?"

    The Pridebeast shook its head and then started gesturing wildly as an exnation.

    It took Lu Yin some time to understand. The rabbit had suddenly appeared and tried to step on the Pridebeast, but the Pridebeast was no ordinary beast. It was even stronger than Hongyan Mavis, who had been one of the physically strongest members of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Even Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods would struggle against the Pridebeast, let alone the rabbit.

    That rabbit had been captured and beaten, but the Pridebeast had not killed it. Instead, the ape had chosen to y with the rabbit. The Pridebeast had learned the thumbs-up gesture from the rabbit during that time.

    Later on, the rabbit had escaped, and the Pridebeast had not bothered trying to chase it down. The rabbit had fled through multiple parallel universes, and the Pridebeast had no way to track it down.

    Lu Yin had suspected that the Pridebeast had a connection to Earth, so the story was not surprising.

    However, that rabbit really did have some nerve, despite constantly fleeing in fear of being captured by the people of Whitecloud City.

    After getting an answer, Lu Yin turned and stared at the Megalith.

    The whale-like creature was floating in midair, looking like a dead fish. Only asionally did it flick its tail.

    When it noticed Lu Yin staring at it, the Megalith panicked and quickly forced out a smile, though it did its best not to show its big white teeth. Its tail rose up to give Lu Yin a thumbs-up. ?

    Lu Yin pursed his lips. He continued to stare at the Megalith without saying a word.

    Behind him, the Pridebeast blinked and watched with a good deal of curiosity. It seemed like the ape enjoyed watching the Megalith¡¯s misfortune.

    The Pridebeast and the Megalith had only met each other very recently, and they had even fought against each other, but they were already brothers in misfortune.

    The Megalith grew increasingly nervous, and it lifted its tail higher and gestured frantically to make its thumbs-up more emphatic.

    Lu Yin frowned. "How did you figure it out?"

    There was something that he could not figure out. When Tian Fa had first seen the Megalith, he had immediately noticed that the Megalith was from a different megaverse, but how had Tian Fa figured that out?

    The Boundary Guardians had to have some way of identifying creatures from other megaverses. How else could they have managed to track someone like Great Elder Shan Gu across multiple universes? How had Tian Ci discovered where the Lost n was hidden?

    Lu Yin was eager to figure out the truth.

    He wanted to learn how to identify creatures from other megaverses so that he could find and eliminate threats like Tian Ci and Tian En.

    But even after observing the Megalith for several days, Lu Yin still could not sense anything at all.

    The entire time, the Megalith had been giving him thumbs-up with its tail, and it waspletely exhausted.

    It believed that the only reason why it had not been beaten yet was the constant thumbs-ups that it had been offering. Given the intensity of Lu Yin¡¯s stare, the Megalith was certain that it would have been hit otherwise.

    At this thought, the whale-like creature gave the ape a grateful look. After all, the Pridebeast had been the one to teach the Megalith that movement.

    Lu Yin went to see Ancestor Lu Yuan, Garan Zhiluo, Wu Tian, and many others, but none of them could tell him what he was searching for.

    He even went to speak with True God.

    "You want to use this to find the Boundary Guardians?"

    "Find them and eliminate them. Isn¡¯t that what you Aeternals want to see as well? Humanity and the Boundary Guardians are irreconcble enemies. Only one of us can remain."

    "Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know where they are or any characteristics that will let you find them. However, you¡­ your aura has changed quite a bit. Have you advanced another inner world to the Progenitor level?"

    There was no way to hide the changes that Lu Yin had undergone from True God, and Lu Yin had not intended to try to hide anything either.

    True God was not the only one to notice, as the other Aeternals with him could also sense the change in Lu Yin. There was a captivating aura to the young man that had not been there previously, and it gave off immense pressure.

    Forgotten Ruins God was certain that, in a one-on-one fight, she could no longer match up to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin left and went to the Lost n¡¯s city that had been massacred.

    Tian Ci had ughtered the entire city in an attempt to enrage Lu Yin and incite a war between humanity and the Boundary Guardians. Things had unfolded as Tian Ci had predicted, though he had failed to gain any sort of advantage. The Heavens Sect still ruled supreme in the megaverse.

    As Lu Yin walked through the city, he picked up the smell of blood that still lingered in the air.

    All of the Lost nsmen had been returned to their universe, where they lived openly again, and the city that Lu Yin was in had been abandoned. However, there was one person still there: Xu Wuji.

    The Lost n had a unique funeral ritual for their dead. Their graves looked like traps, and each one had a card engraved on the outside. It was the same card that the deceased had used in life.

    At the front of Shan Fangyi¡¯s grave was an engraved card.

    Xu Wuji sat by the grave, clutching a jar of wine while mumbling to himself. There was a box at his feet; it was the same one that Fang Yi had once asked Lu Yin to deliver to Xu Wuji.

    At the time, Lu Yin had been curious about the contents of the box, but it had been a secret between Xu Wuji and Fang Yi.

    Lu Yin walked up behind Xu Wuji and stared at Shan Fangyi¡¯s grave.

    Engraved cards served as tombstones for the Lost nsmen. For them, their cards were their greatest treasures.

    Lu Yin stared at the engraving for a long time before offering a slow bow to pay his respects to Shan Fangyi and all the Lost nsmen who had died.

    While the massacre was not Lu Yin¡¯s direct fault, he still felt as though he had failed to protect them.

    The fact that the Lost n had joined the Heavens Sect made him responsible for protecting them, and he had failed to do that.

    "I''m sorry," Lu Yin said heavily, his voice echoing through the deserted city.

    Xu Wuji set down the wine jar, and he adjusted his sunsses before trying to stand up. He was so drunk that he stumbled and fell to the ground.

    Lu Yin looked down at the man.

    Xu Wuji tried again, but despite multiple attempts, he could not get to his feet.

    "Sorry, Lord Lu. Can''t get up." Xu Wuji barked out a bitterugh.

    Lu Yin stared at the man. "I''m sorry."

    Xu Wuji waved the apology away. "For cultivators, life and death aremon. There''s no need for you to apologize. You''ve done quite well, far better than others would have. Most would have abandoned the Lost n long ago. Lord Lu, you don''t owe anyone anything."

    Lu Yin slowly sat down on the ground, facing Xu Wuji. "Does it hurt?"

    Xu Wuji chuckled and shook his head. "It doesn''t hurt. We''ll all meet again someday."

    "Your sunsses fell off."

    Xu Wuji¡¯s hand rose, and he touched his face, only to find that his sunsses were still there. He let out another bitterugh and took a big gulp from the jar of wine. He seemed to feel somewhat relieved.

    Lu Yin looked around. "I will avenge them, I swear."

    Xu Wuji threw the wine jar to the ground, shattering it. He took his sunsses off and stared at Lu Yin, looking very serious. "If you''re confident, it''s revenge. If you''re not, it''s suicide. I already did something suicidal."

    He was referring to when he and Shan Zheng had attacked Tian Ci. Both of them had been instantly defeated withoutnding so much as a single blow. If Lu Yin¡¯s Lightstream had not managed to reverse time by one second, Xu Wuji would have died then and there.

    "Lord Lu, you shouldn¡¯t have saved me," Xu Wuji stated as he pulled out another jar of wine from his cosmic ring and started drinking again.

    "I already feel terrible that I didn¡¯t save all of these people," Lu Yin replied.

    Xu Wuji sighed. "You shouldn''t have saved me, but I still want to thank you for it."

    Lu Yin stayed silent and just stared at Shan Fangyi''s grave. Only a whileter did Lu Yin finally speak. "Tell me about you two."

    Xu Wujiy back on the ground. "What''s there to tell?"

    "What was the deal with that box? What was inside it? I was your courier," Lu Yin asked.

    Xu Wuji stared up at the sky in a daze. "I have one of the Lost n¡¯s cards. It''s a seven-star Primordial card called Nightfall. I got it during the Shangsan Festival.

    "I''m the guy I told you about. I flexed my muscles during the Shangsan Festival, showed my true self, and ended up getting a card because of it."

    Lu Yin was not surprised at all by this admission. Xu Wuji had once told Lu Yin about the Lost n¡¯s Shangsan Festival, and at that time, he had listed off various methods that had sessfully drawn out a card before¡ªsinging, writing poems, verbally expressing one¡¯s desires, and even flexing muscles. At that time, Lu Yin had already suspected that the muscle-flexing guy had been Xu Wuji. It turned out to bepletely urate.

    Xu Wuji slowly shared the story of how he and Shan Fangyi had met and fallen in love.

    It was not a long story. At the time, Shan Fangyi had been named Fang Yi, and she had just been another Lost nsman. The Lost n was reclusive, so she had not had many opportunities to interact with Xu Wuji.

    What had sparked their love was a fateful encounter during the Shangsan Festival.

    Xu Wuji had not been flexing his muscles to draw out a card, but rather to catch Fang Yi''s attention. Ironically, Fang Yi had been particrly attracted to muscr men. On that day, Xu Wuji had been ridiculed by people from the Voidforce Universe, as well as members of the Lost n. Only Fang Yi had found him attractive.

    As simple as that, they had fallen in love.

    However, the Lost n had not approved of their love. So the two had been forced to meet in secret while, in public, they had pretended to be close friends. Xu Wuji openly called her Xiao Fang to lower the Lost n¡¯s suspicions. Sometimes, acting more intimately drew less attention. Even when they exchanged tokens of affection, their actions had been filled with traps.

    In spite of everything, Xu Wuji had risen up to be a powerful figure, and the Lost n had to show him some level of respect, so the rtionship had not been entirely forbidden. At the very least, the two had been allowed to exchange their gifts.

    Xu Wuji had given Lu Yin a sculpture of a man flexing his muscles as well as one of the couple¡¯s keepsakes to deliver to her. In return, Fang Yi had given Lu Yin a trap to take back to Xu Wuji. If the box had been opened, it would have been dangerous, and this prevented anyone from the Lost n from inspecting the box. Within that trap had been Fang Yi¡¯s true gift.

    The two had expressed their feelings for each other by exchanging gifts.

    Hearing the story, Lu Yin could not hold back his admiration. "You two had a purely spiritual love."

    Xu Wuji rolled his eyes and hurled his wine jar into the distance where it exploded with a loud crash. "To hell with that! Who wants something like that? The Lost n forced us into it. Thankfully, you managed to convince them to open up a bit recently. After they connected to the Origin Universe, they stopped being so isted. Xiao Fang and I were finally able to be together, and we were even acknowledged by the Lost n.

    "The Lost n hid in several different universes, and I¡¯m one of the few who knew about this city. I visited this ce many times, but our time together was always too short. I never thought that thatst visit would be our final farewell¡ªno, it wasn¡¯t even that."

    Xu Wuji''s words caused Lu Yin¡¯s mood to fall. A love that had finally been fulfilled had been forcefully torn apart, the lovers separated forever. He understood that pain all too well.

    Ming Yan¡¯s current condition was no different from dead.

    Even so, Lu Yin was luckier than Xu Wuji. Ming Yan was at least still alive, while Shan Fangyi was truly gone.

    Tian Ci would pay his debt. There was no doubt about that.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3243: Ethersand

    <h4>Chapter 3243: Ethersand</h4>

    The box at Xu Wuji''s feet was knocked over, and its contents spilled onto the ground.

    There was a sculpture of a man flexing his muscles that was rather humorous, and the rest seemed to be grains of sand. The grains were tiny, somewhat translucent, and almost invisible.

    "What¡¯s that?" Lu Yin asked, his curiosity piqued.

    Xu Wuji replied, "That¡¯s the token of love between me and Xiao Fang."

    Lu Yin nced up at Xu Wuji. "Sand?"

    Xu Wuji took another swig of wine. "It looks like it. We called it Ethersand.

    "As long as you¡¯re close enough to it, if you think about something else while focusing on it, the sand will form whatever you picture in your head. Xiao Fang and I found it by ident, and we decided to keep it for ourselves."

    Lu Yin was amazed. He had never heard of such a thing before.

    He moved closer and saw that each and every grain was perfectly identical in size. He focused on the sand while also picturing a sword. As he watched, the Ethersand moved, and the grains formed into the shape of a sword.

    There were too many strange things in the megaverse. The first thing that Lu Yin was reminded of was Mirrorbane, which was a substance that seemed to have a will of its own. Whenever it was struck, it would retaliate with a perfectly copied attack. The Ethersand was just as remarkable.

    "Hmm? Why is there so little of it?" Xu Wuji muttered as he stared at the sword of Ethersand in confusion.

    The sword fell apart as the Ethersand copsed.

    Xu Wuji stared nkly, hatred suddenly filling his eyes. "It was him!"

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    Xu Wuji¡¯s hands were clenched into fists, and his eyes became bloodshot. "Ethersand is slightly sticky. When that man killed Xiao Fang, she must have had the sand out. When she died, the sand stuck to him. That''s why there''s less of it now."

    He punched the ground, his whole body trembling like a raging beast. Overwhelming bloodlust surged and caused the sky to grow dark, yet the man¡¯s aura also contained a touch of guilt. Xu Wuji knew that he was no match for Tian Ci.

    However, Lu Yin thought of something. "Are you saying that some of this sand might still be on Tian Ci?"

    Xu Wuji said nothing, as he was lost in his own feelings of hatred and guilt.

    Lu Yin ced a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder, his expression very serious. "Tell me, is some of this sand stuck to Tian Ci?"

    Xu Wuji nced at Lu Yin, and his eyes flickered. "So what if it is? Can you find him?"

    Lu Yin smiled. It was a very cold smile that would give people chills. "If there is, I should be able to find him."

    The grains of Ethersand were tiny and practically invisible, much like dust. It was entirely possible that some of them were still clinging to Tian Ci.

    Xu Wuji''s eyes red, and he turned around and grabbed Lu Yin¡¯s clothes. "Lord Lu, can you really find him? Take me with you! I have to avenge Xiao Fang!"

    Lu Yin pushed down with a hand, and he effortlessly pushed Xu Wuji to the ground.

    The man waspletely helpless given Lu Yin''s strength, and he was pinned to the ground, unable to move.

    "Even if you do find him, what¡¯s going to happen? You¡¯d just die. Wuji, calm down! Right now, your only job is to help me find him. I¡¯ll get revenge for you. Xiao Fang wasn''t just your lover¡ªshe was a member of the Heavens Sect, as were the countless Lost nsmen who died with her. Even before that, Garan Zhiluo needs revenge, as does the Origin Progenitor, and so many others. I will settle all of these ounts."

    Xu Wuji panted as hey on the ground. His fists clenched tightly as he tried to get up, but with Lu Yin holding him in ce, the man could not move at all.

    Xu Wuji''s emotions erupted into a roar at the sky as hey on the ground, shouting his helplessness.

    Since Shan Fangyi¡¯s death, the man had been like a walking corpse, drowning himself in alcohol and muttering to himself while ignoring everyone.

    Finally, he had something he could focus on, and his grief erupted.

    Lu Yin released the man with a sigh, and then quietly waited for him.

    Xu Wuji needed a long time to calm himself down. He then slowly climbed to his feet and put his sunsses back on. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, but it was also clear that he had shaken off his previous despair. "There were a total of 278,952 grains of Ethersand. We searched the megaverse, but that was all we ever found. If that guy really has some Ethersand stuck to him, then we can figure out how much by counting what¡¯s missing."

    He squatted down, staring at the Ethersand on the ground.

    "There are 203,642 grains still here, which means that 75,310 are missing, but that doesn¡¯t mean that he has that much stuck to him. Some might have fallen off during the following fight, or while he was traveling. Let''s first see if any of the grains fell here in this city."

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain swept across the city, and he found some more grains of Ethersand. Tian Ci had ughtered everyone in the city, and Shan Fangyi had not been thest to die, but rather the first. She had been the strongest cultivator present, and she had been the first to fall to Tian Ci.

    The two men searched the entire city, and they found 21,005 grains, which left 54,305 grains still unounted for.

    Lu Yin and Xu Wuji then went to the Second Scourge, and they searched everywhere Tian Ci had fought, much to the confusion of Wu Tian and the others who saw them. Eventually, they gathered a total of 32,102 grains of Ethersand from the Second Scourge.

    The conclusion was clear: Tian Ci most likely had about 22,203 grains on him still.

    Of course, everything was pure spection. Tian Ci was an Ortuser, and the chances of some sand grains sticking onto him were quite low. However, it was the only clue that they had to finding Tian Ci for the moment, and Lu Yin did not want to simply give up.

    "Are you sure that this sand is something that urs naturally and isn¡¯t in any way man-made?" Lu Yin asked again, knowing that Bi Rong¡¯spass could only search for naturally urring items.

    Xu Wuji nodded firmly.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Wait to hear from me. If at all possible, I''ll bring you Tian Ci''s head."

    With that, he left the Second Scourge and returned to Heavens Sect.

    Xu Wuji also returned to the destroyed city.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin thought about Ethersand as he took out Bi Rong¡¯spass.

    He was confident that he could find the Ethersand because every single grain of sand was perfectly identical. This was a bizarre situation, as people generally believe that no two grains of sand could be the same.

    It was possible that this homogeneity was part of what made Ethersand so mystical.

    As long as Lu Yin knew exactly how much sand he was searching for, he could picture it in his mind. There was a good chance that he would be able to find it.

    Of course, it was highly unlikely that all the missing sand was stuck to Tian Ci. Some might have been lost along the way, so Lu Yin would need to gradually reduce the amount of sand he was searching for, one grain at a time.

    First, 22,203 grains.

    He pictured 22,203 grains of Ethersand in his mind and used thepass while tearing the void open. No response.

    Next, 22,202 grains. He used thepass again. Still nothing.

    Then 22,201 grains, 22,200, 22,199, 22,198, 22,197...

    Lu Yin continued reducing the number of grains while tearing the void open each time, constantly using thepass.

    Time slowly trickled by.

    Every possible means of finding Tian Ci had to be attempted; how else would the Heavens Sect ever be able to locate the Boundary Guardians?

    The truth was that humanity¡¯s understanding of the megaverse was toocking whenpared to the Boundary Guardians''.

    More than ten days passed, when, suddenly, thepass tore through the void, and Lu Yin''s eyes lit up. He had found something.

    Excited, he noted that he was tracing 16,842 grains of sand. It was quite possible that this amount would lead Lu Yin to Tian Ci¡¯s hiding ce.

    Lu Yin did not immediately race off. Instead, he put thepass away and went to visit Whitecloud City.

    During the battle in the Second Scourge, out of everyone who had faced Tian Ci, the Lord of Lightning had undoubtedly been the one who had fought the Boundary Guardian the most.

    While Garan Zhiluo knew of Tian Ci¡¯s abilities, she had never fought him herself, and all of her knowledge had been gathered during her time being sealed within Tian Feng. Only the Lord of Lightning had fought Tian Ci for an extended amount of time, which made him the best choice for the next fight.

    Upon returning to Whitecloud City, Lu Yin easily found Jiang Feng.

    The man was rxing in his garden, chatting with his wife. There were snacks spread across a table.

    "Little Seven? What brings you here?" Jiang Feng asked in surprise. "Come, try your auntie''s cooking. She made these herself."

    Lu Yin was about the same age as Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue, which ced him in the younger generation whenpared to Jiang Feng. Since Whitecloud City was not part of the Heavens Sect, there was nothing wrong with Jiang Feng calling Lu Yin Little Seven. During their first meeting, Jiang Feng had called him Lu Yin, but the man was clearly showing a greater level of intimacy.

    At the moment, there were very few people who could call Lu Yin Little Seven.

    Lu Yin smiled. "Auntie''s cooking? Of course, I¡¯ll try some."

    He took a bite and praised the food highly.

    Liu Pianran gave him a small smile. "Who would tell the cook their food is bad to their face? Alright, you two go ahead and chat. I''ll go make dinner. Little Seven, what would you like to eat?"

    Lu Yin took another bite and smiled apologetically, "Auntie, maybe next time, but when I do join you for another meal, I¡¯d love to have your tomato and egg stir-fry."

    Liu Pianranughed. "Alright, I¡¯ll prepare that next time then."

    She nced at Jiang Feng, and the man nodded before Liu Pianran left.

    "What¡¯s the matter?" Jiang Feng asked, turning serious.

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Feng. "I think I may have found Tian Ci."

    Jiang Feng''s eyes lit up, excitement dancing across his features. "Are you sure?"

    "No, but there¡¯s a good chance."

    "Good enough. Finally, we¡¯ve found him! Let¡¯s go!" Jiang Feng said, only to then frown. "However, that guy won''t be easy to deal with."

    Lu Yin spoke in a solemn tone, "That¡¯s exactly why I came to find you, Uncle Jiang. I didn¡¯t fight against Tian Ci in the Second Scourge, so I don¡¯t really understand his power. You should know him quite well."

    Jiang Feng¡¯s excitement dimmed. "Tian Ci¡¯s strength is incredible. First, he¡¯s an Ortuser, so nows of the universe can approach him. That already puts us at a disadvantage. Next, his innate gift is quite powerful, even if it¡¯s not an offensive ability. It somehow seems to see through everything, including battle techniques, abilities, and energy types. I never managed to leave a single injury throughout the entire fight."

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart dropped as he listened to Jiang Feng. He was well aware of the Lord of Lightning¡¯s strength. The man was one of the most powerful humans in the megaverse, and he wasparable to the Three Realms and Six Daos. With the addition of his mirebound artifacts, it was possible that not even the Three Realms and Six Daos could defeat the man. Even so, if Jiang Feng had not been able to even touch Tian Ci; just how strong was the Boundary Guardian?

    "I didn¡¯t understand thew of the universe that heprehended while we fought, but after thinking about it afterward, I believe that it¡¯s Stacking."

    "Stacking?" Lu Yin pondered.

    Jiang Feng exined, "He can stack his own attacks or stack his opponent¡¯s attacks."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "He can stack his opponent¡¯s attacks? What does that mean?"

 Chapter 3244: The Stone Gate

    <h4>Chapter 3244: The Stone Gate</h4>

    Lu Yin remembered that Tian Fa¡¯s sequence particles affected eleration, which had allowed it to increase its own speed, or even elerate an enemy¡¯s attack. When an attack was elerated, the power of the attack would dissipate before it could reach its target.

    Did Tian Ci¡¯s sequence particles have a simr effect?

    "When an attack is stacked, it can''t be unleashed at that moment, or else it wouldn''t be stacked. Since the stacking is under Tian Ci''s control, he can release the umted power whenever he wants. In other words, any attack against him can potentially be renderedpletely useless, and when it is finally released, Tian Ci will be long gone," Jiang Feng exined in a grave tone.

    Lu Yin exhaled. These sequence particles sounded even more troublesome than Tian Fa''s. It was no wonder why Tian Ci was known as the strongest Boundary Guardian.

    "What about his mirebound artifact?" Lu Yin asked. This was another crucial detail. This was the first thing that Garan Zhiluo had warned the Lord of Lightning about.

    Jiang Feng''s expression rxed. "His mirebound artifact isn''t a big problem. If you know its ability, it¡¯s manageable. If not, you''re almost guaranteed to die while fighting him. Luckily, your universe¡¯s Garan Zhiluo gave us fair warning. Without that, I might not be sitting here, talking to you right now.

    "Tian Ci¡¯s mirebound artifact only has one ability: within three feet of the clear de, there is no distance."

    Lu Yin''s eyes gleamed as he stared at Jiang Feng. The man proceeded to exin, "His mirebound artifact is a sword, and within three feet of the de, distance doesn¡¯t matter. Do you understand?"

    Lu Yin gasped. Was that the sword¡¯s ability? That was incredibly sinister. Without Garan Zhiluo¡¯s warning, the Lord of Lightning would have most likely died on the battlefield.

    If distance did not count within three feet of the de, then whenever Tian Ci swung his sword, his opponent would be struck as long as they were within three feet of the sword. Even if they dodged, as long as they did not escape three feet away from the sword, they would be hit no matter what they did.

    For a powerhouse like the Lord of Lightning, Surviving a single attack from the sword might expose its ability, but that attack would not be at all simple. Tian Ci would never waste a free attack for a flesh wound.

    A sword sh that could not be avoided¡ªwhen someone as powerful as Tian Ci wielded such an ability, not even the Lord of Lightning could guarantee surviving.

    Lu Yin felt relieved. Thankfully, Garan Zhiluo had been present. Without her, the battle in the Second Scourge would have ended quite differently.

    If humanity had lost the Lord of Lightning and Tian Ci had been free to move about the battlefield, how would humanity have been able to continue the battle?

    That was likely why Tian Ci had been so eager to start an all-out war. At the time, he had beenpletely confident that he could defeat the entire Heavens Sect by himself. If he had waited longer, he would have lost his advantage as more human powerhouses rose up or joined the sect.

    "Since we know what his mirebound artifact can do, it¡¯s not nearly as much of a threat. It¡¯s just a distance of three feet," Jiang Feng stated.

    Lu Yin nodded, and then asked, "Are you sure that it only has one ability?"

    Jiang Feng shook his head. "I can¡¯t be entirely sure, but throughout the entire battle, even when Tian Feng died, no other abilities were ever shown. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m wrong.

    "That battle was when things favored Tian Ci the most, and yet he still didn¡¯t win. Now, he¡¯s facing the threat of elimination from the Heavens Sect. It¡¯s not very likely that he¡¯s kept anything hidden."

    Lu Yin stood up. "If that''s how things are, then let¡¯s go find him."

    Jiang Feng¡¯s expression turned solemn. "Even when facing Yong Heng, I was always able to at least put up a fight, but Tian Ci made me feel helpless. It¡¯s not a pleasant feeling. I hope that we find him."

    ...

    In order to ambush and kill Tian Ci, it would be best if more experts participated. However, Lu Yin had already drawn Aeternus¡¯s attention while searching the Second Scourge for grains of Ethersand. At the moment, those powerhouses were right at the edge of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, ready to escape at a moment¡¯s notice.

    This meant that Lu Yin could not take more experts with him to kill Tian Ci, as no one knew when the Aeternals might make a sudden move.

    While hunting Tian Ci was a priority, dealing with the Aeternals was just as important.

    Ultimately, they had no choice. Aside from Jiang Feng, Lu Yin only took Garan Zhiluo with him. Taking anyone else more would not make much of a difference.

    In fact, Lu Yin by himself was already the same as sending both Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian.

    On top of that, there were the two enormous creatures: the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    Five of the most powerful individuals in the megaverse were heading out to kill Tian Ci.

    That is, if they managed to even find Tian Ci.

    Holding onto Bi Rong¡¯spass, Lu Yin slowly tore the void open.

    Jiang Feng felt a bit emotional as he looked at thepass in Lu Yin¡¯s hand. It was Bi Rong''s tool. The Lord of Lightning had been searching for Bi Rong for a long time, and he had never managed to find his friend.

    "Let¡¯s go," Lu Yin ordered, and everyone climbed onto the Megalith, which then charged into the spatial tear.

    Previously, Lu Yin had ridden the jiao and roamed the megaverse with thepass, but the Megalith had taken over that duty. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the change was an upgrade. The Megalith was much, much more powerful than the jiao, even if the jiao did look more intimidating despite being aplete idiot.

    After emerging from the spatial tear, they arrived in the dark starry sky of an unknown universe that looked no different from most others.

    "That way."

    Lu Yin directed the Megalith to follow a sequence string in a specific direction.

    The routine was all too familiar to L Yin. He had once roamed about the megaverse. In what felt like the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.

    The Megalith''s body swelled up, much to Garan Zhiluo¡¯s amazement. Seeing the beast¡¯s reaction gave the woman the odd odd urge to poke it with a needle.

    The Megalith quickly charged into a universe that had no stars at all. It was apletely dark universe. At the exact moment that they arrived, everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to the distant location.

    Far away stood a colossal stone gate. It stretched from the heavens down to the earth, such that neither the top nor the bottom could be seen. It looked like something that had existed in the universe since before recorded history.

    The Megalith was a truly massive creature, but whenpared to this stone gate, it seemedpletely insignificant.

    Lu Yin and the others stared in awe.

    "I''ve been here before. Or rather, Tian Feng¡¯se here before," Garan Zhiluomented excitedly. They had indeed found the right ce.

    She had spent countless years sealed within Tian Feng, and even the stone had believed that the woman was dead. This had allowed her to learn many secrets, even if she had never known exactly where Tian Feng had been.

    Tian Feng and the others had never discussed any of the matters that had taken ce in this particr universe. Even over the course of countless years, they had never spoken about this ce to any outsiders.

    Garan Zhiluo might not have been able to find the universe, but she was able to recognize it.

    "That stone gate... Tian Ci should be sitting in front of it. It felt like he was always guarding this gate," Garan Zhiluo said.

    Lu Yin and the others exchanged nces. The Boundary Guardian had been found.

    At this moment, at the base of the massive stone gate, Tian Ci¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he looked up, his expression changing drastically. How was this possible? How had they managed to find him?

    In the next instant, lightning flickered in the distance, and it shot straight at Tian Ci.

    The man drew his sword and sliced through the lightning. "You¡¯re seeking death."

    Lu Yin sneered and, despite still being a great distance away, punched at Tian Ci. This punch contained the same amount of force as before Infinity¡¯s breakthrough. Lu Yin intended to reveal his new strength as a surprise.

    Tian Ci was still wearing the same clothes that he had worn during the battle in the Second Scourge battle, and there were even some faint blood stains. The man did not care about such things, let alone something like a bit of sand.

    This was the man who had ughtered the people of the Lost n, seeing them as nothing more than ants. He had never imagined that such ants would one day track him down.

    Garan Zhiluo spun her spear around before thrusting it at her distant target.

    An impact echoed across the entire universe as Tian Ci thrust his sword at Lu Yin. The young man was the Boundary Guardian¡¯s primary target as, without Lu Yin, humanity would lose their g.

    The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin¡¯s head, and Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis stepped out from the scroll. "Tian Ci, Tian Fa is waiting to reunite with you."

    Tian Ci was surrounded by Jiang Feng, Garan Zhiluo, the Megalith, the Pridebeast, Wu Tian, and Hongyan Mavis. All of them attacked.

    Tian Ci might possess an innate gift that allowed him to observe an entire battlefield at once, which had made it impossible for Jiang Feng to injure the Boundary Guardian during theirst sh. However, when surrounded by so many experts, Tian Ci could not defend himself from all of the attacks. His sword, Three-Foot Edge - Zero, sliced through both Garan Zhiluo¡¯s spear and Jiang Feng¡¯s lightning. The Pridebeast and the Megalith were also cut open, but Tian Ci was still forced to retreat from thebination of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian¡¯s attacks.

    Lu Yin was right behind those attacks, and he punched at Tian Ci while maintaining a distance of more than three feet from the man¡¯s sword.

    This punch stopped just short of its target, as Tian Ci raised a finger and used his stacking ability to halt Lu Yin¡¯s fist.

    With a wave of Lu Yin¡¯s hand, dirt spears appeared in all directions, and they all stabbed at Tian Ci.

    The Ortuser could not be touched by thews of the universe, but this did not affect an attack that was based on pure, overwhelming force, like Lu Yin¡¯s attacks. Dust World was a threat to Ortusers, especially since it did not use any sequence particles orws of the universe. This was incredibly frustrating for someone like Tian Ci.

    As Tian Ci¡¯s sword swept through the air, the earthen spears were cut in half, only for more to continue forming around him.

    Tian Ci was astonished. ¡°Have you already undone the Four Locks Formation?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got more surprises for you!¡± Lu Yin shouted as he charged at Tian Ci even as more dirt spears shot at the man.

    Tian Ci pointed his finger forward again, frantically stacking the power of the earth spears so that they impeded each other.

    Behind the man, Jiang Feng¡¯s sword rose and then dropped back down.

    Tian Ci turned to meet the sh with his own sword.

    Jiang Feng immediately retreated, barely avoiding entering the range of Tian Ci¡¯s mirebound artifact.

    Garan Zhiluo was using her Eight-Star Garan, and new earth spears appeared wherever she stood. They created a formation around Tian Ci that pressured on him.

    Tian Ci repositioned himself while releasing his stacking ability.

    Earth spears pierced through the void in the location where the Boundary Guardian had just been standing, perfectly intercepting the spear formation that Garan Zhiluo had created with her innate gift.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to appear behind Tian Ci. The summoned Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian attacked in unison from two different directions.

    It was a three-pronged assault that left Tian Ci with no way out.

    His sword twirled, and it swept across the battlefield. The tips of Tian Ci¡¯s fingers entered the void, and the afterimages of his sword solidified. He then unleashed a devastating attack in all directions, stacking his own sword¡¯s power with his sequence particles. In an instant, the summoned forms of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian were shredded apart.

    In front of Lu Yin, dirt converged into a shield that blocked the sword¡¯s violent impact.

    High above, the Pridebeast threw a punch at Tian Ci. As one of the strongest creatures in the megaverse, this was not an easy punch to endure.

    Tian Ci barely managed to dodge the attack, but the Megalith mmed into him from behind, sending Tian Ci flying.

    At this moment, the Boundary Guardian was experiencing the same feeling that Lu Yin had once endured.

    For the first time, Tian Ci was injured. He spat out blood and threw a savage, murderous re at them all.

    Jiang Feng¡¯s entire body was covered with a purplish-ck substance as terrifying lightning wrapped around his sword. He shed down from high above, not allowing Tian Ci to have even a moment to breathe.

    The man looked up, holding his sword out with one hand. He released the weapon, only to then control it in some strange manner.

    The two swords struck, producing a crisp, cracking sound. Shockwaves rippled through the void, tearing space apart to expose the Hollow. Lightning illuminated the dark universe.

    Wisps of sword qi struck the stone gate, leaving behind deep gouges and causing the structure to tremble.

    Lu Yin charged at Tian Ci while thrusting an earthen spear forward. Tian Ci looked down and then stepped through the void. Every step he took caused the void to copse. While the man¡¯s strength was not what Lu Yin would consider impressive, the resulting copsing void would have crushed an ordinary Progenitor.

    Lu Yin¡¯s attack was disrupted, as he was momentarily unable to thrust his spear forward.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3245: The Boundary

    <h4>Chapter 3245: The Boundary</h4>

    Tian Ci¡¯s sword snapped out, repelling Jiang Feng. At the same time, Garan Zhiluo appeared in the distance, her white spear piercing through space to create a single brilliant point of light that approached, moving through the dark universe.

    Down below, Lu Yin also thrust his earthen spear forward.

    Two spears attacked in unison.

    Tian Ci¡¯s eyes shed, and sequence particles exploded into action around him.

    Garan Zhiluo shouted out a warning. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    While Lu Yin was still unable to see sequence particles, he could clearly feel their presence.

    The sequence particles that surrounded Tian Ci forcefully stacked every attack within their range, including both his own and those from Lu Yin and the others. No attack was able to get any closer than 100 meters.

    Finally, everything erupted at once.

    A terrifying destructive power radiated out in every direction.

    The Megalith and the Pridebeast both beat hasty retreats. Neither had healed from their battle against Lu Yin, and they had no desire to get any closer to the maelstrom.

    The shockwaves also pushed Garan Zhiluo back.

    Jiang Feng charged his way forward through the shockwaves, apanied by the crack of thunder.

    Lu Yin released his inner universe, and with it, Verdant Eternity.

    Tian Ci and Jiang Feng¡¯s sword shed relentlessly. They were isted from the nearby universe in a way that made it nearly impossible for anyone else to approach the two without being sliced to shreds.

    Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yin threw a powerful punch.

    As Tian Ci¡¯s sword struck Jiang Feng¡¯s, Lu Yin¡¯s punch arrived. Jiang Feng pulled back, and Tian Ci turned to face Lu Yin¡¯s strike. A wave of a hand caused sequence particles to stack the approaching attack.

    However, the punch scattered the sequence particles, to Tian Ci¡¯s utter shock. How was that even possible?

    The st from the punch grazed Tian Ci¡¯s head, and just that tiny bit of contact caused half of his body to go numb. <i>Such power</i>...

    He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How could a human possess such strength?

    He could ept it when creatures like the Megalith and the Pridebeast possessed overwhelming might. However, Tian Ci simply could not ept that a human like Lu Yin could wield such power. If humans could acquire that level of physical strength, then they would bepletely different from the powerful astral beasts.

    This was a true transformation of power.

    "You''ve improved again?" Tian Ci stared at Lu Yin in horror. Who was this young man? What kind of creature was he? Only a short amount of time had passed, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength had already transformed multiple times. He was only a Progenitor, and he was very far fromprehending thews of the universe and mastering sequence particles, let alone reaching the Origin Realm.

    Despite Lu Yin¡¯s limited cultivation, just his physical strength alone was enough to shake someone like Tian Ci. That was very difficult to ept or counter. Just what would happen if Lu Yin was allowed to be an Ortuser? Tian Ci did not dare to imagine such an oue.

    He could not wait another moment. This child had to be eliminated as quickly as possible.

    However, this battle was not about Tian Ci eliminating Lu Yin; rather, Lu Yin was hunting Tian Ci.

    If one punch was insufficient, then Lu Yin would throw two, or even twenty. Just as he had done to the Megalith and the Pridebeast, ultimate strength could render any defense as fragile as paper.

    Lu Yin punched again.

    Despite the overwhelming power of the punches, Tian Ci was able to dodge them. One punch after another rained down on the man.

    Tian Ci did not have any abilities or techniques that used the power of time, but given his cultivation level, it was not terribly difficult for him to manipte the power of time in small ways. No matter how strong Lu Yin¡¯s punches were, they were useless if they could not hit him.

    Despite the situation, Tian Ci was not very optimistic about the battle. Jiang Feng, Garan Zhiluo, and the others had stepped back and were no longer participating in the battle.

    They could see that Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were unable to hit Tian Ci, but they were still holding themselves back. This could only mean one thing: Lu Yin had to have some way to guarantee his punches hitting, but what was it?

    Tian Ci was unwilling to take risks, and he stepped forward with enough force to make space copse beneath his feet. Each step shattered the void. The universe itself trembled beneath the man¡¯s feet. Spatial cracks opened up, revealing the Hollow.

    It was at that moment that Tian Ci noticed something strange. There should not have been stars in this particr universe, and yet he was surrounded by them. All of the stars were also untouched by Lu Yin¡¯s overwhelming power.

    Tian Ci moved closer to one of the stars and shattered it with a single attack. The star seemed ordinary, but it immediately reformed.

    Many of the stars in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe had been created with the Cosmic Art. After fusing Verdant Eternity with the inner universe, the power of those stars would never disappear. No matter how many times the stars were destroyed, they would always instantly reform. This was true of the star of divine energy, the gray one formed from the Withered Bark, the star of voidforce energy, and also the sea of stellr energy.

    However, the stars alone were not enough to deal with Tian Ci.

    What could truly threaten Tian Ci was thendmass, a Progenitor¡¯s world formed from Dust World.

    The continent filled the sky, overshadowing everything in sight. It looked as though it was going to fill the entire universe.

    Tian Ci¡¯s expression changed. He had already been wary of Lu Yin¡¯s earthen spears, but this was an entire continent pressing down upon him. This power was on par with what Tai Chu had been capable of using. Tian Ci hurriedly tore through the void and escaped.

    As he reacted, a new threat appeared; stars hurtled towards Tian Ci from all directions.

    These stars were manifestations of Lu Yin¡¯s power. Within the bounds of Verdant Eternity, his energy would never dissipate. In the same way that the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Verdant Eternity had taken the form of a pce filled with carvings that the Three Realms and Six Daos had been tasked with fighting through, Lu Yin¡¯s Verdant Eternity was filled with stars.

    The Cosmic Art had allowed Lu Yin to skip the process of creating Verdant Eternity, as it allowed him to directly manifest his power into reality. All of the stars in his inner universe were physical manifestations of Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    Stars rained down from every direction.

    Tian Ci kept dodging, but the number of stars never decreased. As long as they were within Verdant Eternity, the stars would not lose any power. In fact, the number of stars rose with every attack that Lu Yinunched.

    There was a loud bang as one of the stars mmed into Tian Ci¡¯s sword, sending him hurtling backwards.

    The man¡¯s arm was numb. <i>How could this be happening?</i>

    He looked around and saw that the stars looked more like meteors as they crashed down upon him. They posed a very serious threat.

    This was wrong. Tian Ci¡¯s strength meant that he should be capable of easily destroying entire universes. These stars were not at all normal.

    One after another, the stars fell, and Tian Ci cut them all down with his sword.

    Thendmass continued to drop down from up above, bringing down a terrible pressure.

    Tian Ci was suffering the full experience of being suppressed by Lu Yin. This should have been impossible; he was an Ortuser! How could a mere Progenitor overpower <i>him</i>? This could not happen!

    Sequence particles surged and spread out around Tian Ci as he tried to stack the power of the fallingndmass, but instead, the sequence particles were suppressed, and they were even shattered by the falling stars. It was this sensation that caused Tian Ci to realize something undeniable.

    He stared at Lu Yin in abject horror. ¡°Verdant... Eternity?¡±

    Lu Yin was not surprised that Tian Ci had recognized the technique.

    After all, the Boundary Guardians had once ganged up on the Origin Progenitor, and Verdant Eternity was one of that man¡¯s ultimate techniques. It would have been stranger if Tian Ci had not recognized it.

    ¡°How do you know Verdant Eternity?¡± Tian Ci stared at Lu Yin, unable to believe what he was seeing.

    Lu Yin¡¯s gaze was cold. ¡°Surprised? You four once used the Four Locks Formation on the Origin Progenitor and sealed his Verdant Eternity. Today, I¡¯ll make sure that you die to it.¡±

    From both above and below, stars struck, engulfing Tian Ci.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Stars expanded throughout the universe and then exploded. Tian Ci¡¯s hair was horribly disheveled, his breathing became heavy, and he pointed his sword at Lu Yin. Just as the man opened his mouth to speak, thendmass mmed down from above, burying him.

    Everywhere, the universe started to fracture. The stone gate itself trembled, and the dust that fell from it threatened to fill the entire region.

    Buried beneath thendmass, Tian Ci let out a roar of fury as he hacked at thendmass in an attempt to tear through it.

    Jiang Feng and Garan Zhiluo stepped onto the continent together, attacking with sword and spear. Blood sprayed and fell onto the ground.

    Far away, the Pridebeast and Megalith exchanged nces, each thinking of how brutal the battle had be.

    The golden light of the Investiture of the Gods shone once again as the summoned forms of Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis appeared. They joined Jiang Feng and Garan Zhiluo to attack Tian Ci. This was their best opportunity. If they failed to kill Tian Ci here, they might never have another chance.

    Beneath thendmass, Tian Ci was in a miserable condition. Wounds covered his entire body, while Jiang Feng and the others continued to rain down attacks onto the Boundary Guardian.

    Tian Ci ground his teeth. Overflowing hatred filled his eyes as he released his sword.

    The weapon started to spin around him. Eventually, it turned into a cyan glow that entirely surrounded the man. As though unstoppable, he broke free of thendmass before racing towards the stone gate.

    Lu Yin had been waiting for Tian Ci to attempt to escape. There was no way it would be that easy to kill a Boundary Guardian.

    Lu Yin was particrly curious about the blood-red figure that had appeared after Tian Fa had died. Would it show up again?

    As the cyan glow shot forward, Lu Yin pulled out the God of Death¡¯s left arm and scythe and released an attack.

    Death energy swept across the universe, splitting it in two. The two sides were as smooth as a mirror, impossibly precise.

    However, the sh of death energy actually failed to cut through the cyan glow, and it instead acted as a powerful shove that pushed the cyan glow straight along Tian Ci¡¯s escape route, right to the stone gate.

    Lu Yin quickly attacked again. With Verdant Eternity, he could release the death energy sh countless times.

    Unfortunately, the cyan light mmed into the stone gate, slipped through a crack, and vanished without a trace.

    The sh mmed into the stone gate, and while it left a deep cut, it had failed to stop Tian Ci. The gate shook violently, which caused even more dust to fall down, threatening to drown the entire universe with a gray haze.

    Everyone hurried over, and they tried to push their way through the crack in the stone gate, only to discover that there was no crack. What they had thought was a crack was actually nothing more than a small gap where the two doors met and formed a ck line. Upon closer inspection, they found that there was no way for any living creature to pass through the gap.

    That was despite the fact that they had just seen Tian Ci escape through it.

    Lu Yin ced his hand on the stone gate and pushed with his full strength. The gate trembled, and as he increased the force, the trembling grew stronger, but the doors refused to budge.

    Jiang Feng, Garan Zhiluo, the Pridebeast, and the Megalith all tried their best as well, but no one could open the gate.

    The stone gate towered tall in the universe, as though it held up the sky itself.

    ¡°Senior, do you know what¡¯s on the other side of this gate?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Garan Zhiluo shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been here several times while I was sealed within Tian Feng, but I never heard any of them mention what¡¯s behind it. They never even talked about the gate itself. They acted like it didn¡¯t even exist.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the gate and considered a possibility. ¡°Could this gate lead to Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse?¡±

    Jiang Feng agreed. ¡°That seems quite possible.¡±

    Garan Zhiluo also felt that this was a reasonable idea. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then opening it carelessly might cause us to face an enemy from another megaverse. Tian Ci might not even be the strongest powerhouse from that ce.¡±

    ¡°First, we need to figure out how to open the gate. That¡¯s not going to be easy,¡± Lu Yin remarked.

    As he spoke, he positioned himself between the two doors and ced a hand on one of them. Again, he tried to push the doors open, but no matter how much force he used, the gate refused to open and would only shake increasingly violently.

    Jiang Feng said, "It¡¯s no use. The gate can be opened, but there¡¯s something on the other side preventing it from happening."

    "Are you saying that there''s a bar locking it?" Garan Zhiluo asked.

    Jiang Feng nodded.

    Lu Yin nced at the narrow gap where the two doors met. "There really might be a bar holding it shut. That would mean that we can¡¯t force it open with brute force. First, we¡¯re going to have to get rid of the bar. Unfortunately, no matter how small we make ourselves, we can''t get through this gap. Tian Ci must have had some special way to get through."

    Unable to open the gate, they started searching through the rest of the area, only to graduallye to a terrifying realization.

    The parallel universe with the stone gate had a boundary.

 Chapter 3246: A Terrifying Speculation

    <h4>Chapter 3246: A Terrifying Spection</h4>

    The universe¡¯s boundary could not be seen with the naked eye. The universe looked the same as ever, dark and endless. Only upon approaching would one be able to touch the boundary.

    The boundary stretched endlessly into the distance. Lu Yin, riding on the Megalith, moved away from the stone gate in one direction, only to discover that, no matter how far he went, the boundary never ended.

    Garan Zhiluo sent a message from the other direction, sharing that the boundary continued on in her direction as well.

    Some timeter, they reunited at the stone gate.

    "The boundary is as unbreakable as the stone gate," Garan Zhiluo said.

    Lu Yin''s expression darkened. "This isn''t the end of this universe. There are countless parallel universes, some big, some small, but regardless of their size, none of them have a solid boundary. All of them can be torn apart to ess other parallel universes. But this boundary is different. It''s like-"

    "A wall," Jiang Feng interrupted. He had not explored the area, as he had been standing guard at the stone gate to ensure that Tian Ci did not return.

    "Uncle Jiang, what are you thinking?" Lu Yin asked.

    Jiang Feng exhaled and said, "That butterfly, Tian En, invited me to join the Boundary Guardians. At the time, I asked her about the Boundary Guardians¡¯ duties. I asked her what distinguished one megaverse from another. How was one to tell if something belonged to another megaverse?"

    ¡°Tian En responded with four words, ¡®The aura is different.¡¯

    "The aura wouldn¡¯t be different if there wasn¡¯t a barrier of some kind. There must be something separating the megaverses, and that separation is solid, like a wall¡ªan astral wall."

    Garan Zhiluo looked over at the stone gate again. "This is where Tian Ci always stayed. The Boundary Guardians are responsible for four different regions of the megaverse, which implies that there are boundaries in all directions that iste our megaverse from the outside ones.

    "This means that our megaverse is finite."

    Lu Yin¡¯s mind lit up with a moment of insight, and he blurted out, "That''s why Aeternus wants to break the sequence strings!"

    He looked at Jiang Feng and Garan Zhiluo. "The megaverse is an incredibly precise thing, for those who belong to it. It''s exact, right down to the specks of dust, or even to the individual atoms. Our megaverse consists of countless parallel universes, all connected by sequence string, which stabilizes the megaverse.

    "When a sequence string is broken, the connected universes are all thrown into chaos. What will happen to the megaverse if all the sequence strings are broken?"

    Garan Zhiluo''s face fell. "Disaster."

    "It would be a disaster for all species," Jiang Feng added.

    Mu Ji had already told Lu Yin that Aeternus wanted to destroy parallel universes by breaking sequence strings. Each string that was broken would destroy countless universes. The point of this destruction was to gain control of the megaverse. This was why Whitecloud City had acted to stop Aeternus, and it was also why the Immemorial Citadel had be thergest battlefield in the war against Aeternus; it was where all of the sequence strings intersected.

    It was only at this moment that Lu Yin realized that the Aeternals¡¯ purpose was not as simple as they had initially believed.

    If the sequence strings were all broken, then not just the parallel universes would be destroyed. Rather, it would be the entire megaverse.

    It was like boiling a pot of water. As the steam built up, if there was no way to vent the building pressure, the pot would explode. If there was some form of vent, then the pressurized steam would be able to dissipate. Regardless, adding more and more energy to a fixed area would only lead to the destruction of that area.

    Eventually, all the water would disappear from the pot.

    The megaverse¡¯s parallel universes and all the creatures living in them were the water inside the sealed pot of the megaverse, and Aeternus was constantly breaking sequence strings, which was essentially raising the temperature.

    Jiang Feng¡¯s expression looked grim. "I thought that the Aeternals only wanted to destroy parallel universes in order to crush humanity. I never even considered that they would actually want to destroy the entire megaverse.

    "If this is true, then what will happen to them?"

    "Reset," Lu Yin replied.

    Jiang Feng¡¯s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

    No one could actually destroy the megaverse. If the destruction of parallel universes increased the ambient energy of the megaverse and caused it to copse, then the megaverse would copse entirely, returning to the singrity from which it had been born. That would result in another Big Bang, which would create a new megaverse. Essentially, the megaverse would reset.

    Everything that existed in the entire megaverse would utterly vanish, and evolution would begin anew.

    As for Aeternus...

    Lu Yin looked at the stone gate. The Aeternals could escape and go to Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse.

    If Lu Yin¡¯s spections were correct, then this was also the exnation why people had not yet arrived from Tian Ci''s megaverse; they were waiting for the megaverse to reset. They intended to live in the new megaverse, or perhaps, there was something that they wanted from a new megaverse.

    Lu Yin thought back to Ancient God and Lu Yuan¡¯s breakthroughs to the Origin realm, and then he considered an even more terrifying possibility.

    Could the people from Tian Ci''s megaverse and the Aeternals want to use the resetting of the megaverse to breathe in the Breath of the Origin so that all of them could be Ortusers?

    That would be madness.

    True God was already a Dukkhan, so his goal might be to reach Immortality.

    As for Tian Ci and the people of his megaverse, they must have been preparing for a very long time and must already have an entire group of sequence powerhouses who were ready to step into the Origin realm.

    If they seed and all of them became Ortusers, then what would happen?

    Not to mention the current Heavens Sect¡ªeven if the modern sect were tobine with its ancient self at humanity¡¯s peak, it would be impossible to defeat such an enemy.

    The people from Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse would be the true rulers of Lu Yin¡¯s megaverse.

    He kept thinking about what True God had said, and how the man had mentioned that it was impossible to enter the Immortal realm in the current megaverse. Was this the situation that Yong Heng had been referring to? Was it only possible to reach immortality by resetting the megaverse?

    Countless possibilities instantly ran through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. The fog that had clouded his vision was cleared, and he caught a glimpse of the truth.

    He suddenly remembered something Mister Mu had mentioned: Murkiness.

    When the Aeternals had contaminated the Origin Universe with Time Poison, everyone had assumed that that was the end of Aeternals¡¯ n codenamed Murkiness, and even Mister Mu had agreed. However, was that really the case?

    Even the Seven Skygods had believed that to be the end of Murkiness.

    For a moment, Lu Yin rejected everything that he had assumed, and he felt as though he was seeing through to the truth of Aeternus¡¯s ns.

    If his spections were correct, then what roles did certain people have in the grand scheme of things? Wei Nu, Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, and even the blood-red figure that had appeared after Tian Fa''s death¡ªwhat roles did all of them y?

    In particr, that blood-red figure. If that person endorsed this n, then it suggested that the individual was not yet an Immortal.

    Immortality was likely not only Yong Heng¡¯s goal, but also that blood-red figure¡¯s ambition.

    But such methods were simply too cruel. Were they really going to sacrifice an entire megaverse to achieve their ambitions?

    As for Tian Ci and his people, this was most likely a dreame true, as their megaverse would not be the one that was sacrificed.

    All of the Boundary Guardians¡¯ talk of keeping out beings from outside megaverses and keeping humanity from bing uncontroble was nothing but lies. The Origin Progenitor would never allow such a thing to happen, which was why he had locked down all the sequence strings. During the Heavens Sect era, humanity must have been the greatest obstacle to this n, and allowing beings from other megaverses to visit also had the potential to create obstacles.

    This was the true goal.

    Lu Yin looked at Jiang Feng and Garan Zhiluo. Had they alsoe to the same conclusion?

    "Tian Ci has already escaped. Before we understand how to open this stone gate, I''ll remain here to stand guard. You two should go back," Jiang Feng said.

    Lu Yin was worried. "Uncle Jiang, if this gate opens and powerful enemies enter from another megaverse, just escape if you can''t win. This isn''t your burden alone to bear."

    Jiang Fengughed. "Don''t worry. Are you afraid that I''ll fight to the death? I''m not a battle freak."

    "I''lle to relieve you at times," Garan Zhiluo offered.

    Jiang Feng shook his head. "There¡¯s no need for that. Time is no longer that important to people like us. If I stay here at the edge of the megaverse, maybe I¡¯ll be able to gain some insight and break through to the Origin realm. Go back."

    Lu Yin and Garan Zhiluo left. Returning was simple; they just needed to tear through the void.

    The Lord of Lightning was strong enough that, even if enemies from an outsider megaverse appeared, he should not be in too much danger, as long as he did not try to fight them to the death.

    At the moment, the most important thing was for Lu Yin to confirm his suspicions.

    He hoped to learn that his guesses were wrong, but if not, then humanity''s enemies were not just Aeternus and the people from Tian Ci''s megaverse. There were ancient monsters hidden in the megaverse, and those creatures likely did not care about human life at all. Their sole concern was their own breakthroughs.

    Immortality held the greatest temptation for everyone.

    After returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin saw Xu Wuji, who had been waiting the entire time.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "He escaped."

    Xu Wuji sighed helplessly and left, looking quite dejected.

    "He''ll definitelye back, and when he does, we¡¯ll have an opportunity," Lu Yin continued.

    Xu Wuji stopped and turned around to offer a deep bow to Lu Yin. "Thank you, Lord Lu."

    After Xu Wuji left, Lu Yin sat down and collected his thoughts once again.

    What sort of grand scheme were they facing? This was a n that had been in the works since the Heavens Sect era. If not for the Immemorial Citadel, the game would have ended long ago.

    Zhao Ran delivered tea for Lu Yin.

    He inhaled the fragrance and then took a sip. He rxed a great deal.

    A person could not constantly be tense. The more urgent the situation, the more important it was to rx the mind.

    Lu Yin was eager to discover if his suspicions were urate, but he could not rush in his eagerness.

    His attention turned to the bottom of the mountain, where there was a courtyard that waspletely filled with books. That was Tuo Lin''s home.

    Well, it was no longer just Tuo Lin¡¯s, as Xiao Can had moved in as well.

    "Bring Xiao Can to see me," Lu Yin calmly stated.

    The Second Nightking bowed and left.

    Xiao Can was quickly delivered by the Second Nightking.

    When the man saw Lu Yin, Xiao Can grew excited and immediately knelt. "Your disciple greets you, Master."

    Lu Yin looked at Xiao Can and gave him a slight smile. "Stand up."

    "Yes, Master." Xiao Can kept referring to Lu Yin as master, afraid that Lu Yin might decide to not ept the other man as a disciple. After all, there had been no formal ceremony.

    Lu Yin studied Xiao Can, making the man nervous. He only briefly met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze before ducking his head.

    "Have you met Tuo Lin?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xiao Can nodded, and showed a great deal of admiration. "Senior Brother is so dedicated! He¡¯s never satisfied, even after reading all those books. I need to learn from him."

    "I lied to him," Lu Yin stated.

    Xiao Can was shocked.

    Lu Yin met the man¡¯s eyes. "He was born incapable of cultivating, so I lied to him. You should be aware of that."

    Xiao Can¡¯s head dropped again. He said nothing.

    "It¡¯s possible that I lied to you as well," Lu Yin continued.

    Xiao Can¡¯s heart dropped, and he sank to his knees once more. "Master, did I do something wrong? Please don''t abandon me, Master..."

    Lu Yin raised a hand to cut Xiao Can off. "What do you think of Tuo Lin?"

    Xiao Can lowered his head to stare at the ground. His mind was in turmoil, and he had no idea how he should respond.

    "Just answer honestly."

    "Your disciple feels that, while my senior brother may be foolish, he also possesses an admirable kind of persistence."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "But he will never be able to cultivate, so his life will soon run out."

    "I am willing to serve my senior brother until his end," Xiao Can quickly stated.

    Lu Yin shook his head. "Stand up. I never said that I was abandoning you."

 Chapter 3247: The Gap

    <h4>Chapter 3247: The Gap</h4>

    Hui Can trembled as he slowly stood back up, though he kept his head bowed. He did not dare to look up at Lu Yin.

    The man thought back to when he had first met Lu Yin on the Perennial World¡¯s rear battlefield. Who would have thought that, after so many years, Lu Yin would rise to his current position? If Hui Can had known the oue all those years ago, he would have asked Lu Yin to be his master from the start.

    However, when the two men had first met, Lu Yin¡¯s strength had not been very remarkable.

    Lu Yin looked at Hui Can. "You¡¯re one of Progenitor Hui¡¯s descendants, and you are simrly bold and cunning. Despite being seen as an insignificant ant, you had the courage to plot against the Wang family, and no one in their entire family managed to see through you. For this alone, you are truly worthy of being Progenitor Hui''s descendant and will take his name.

    "I owe you a debt for helping me master Verdant Eternity. It¡¯s only right that I repay that debt. From today onwards, you will be Hui Can, and you will be my disciple."

    Hui Can hurriedly kneeled on the ground. "Disciple Hui Can greets his master."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression turned a bit more solemn as he looked at Hui Can. "As my disciple, you should stand at the very pinnacle of the megaverse. Remember, you must not abuse your power, act immorally, or betray humanity.

    "As my disciple, you will gain more than anyone, but you will also have to bear a greater burden than anyone. Whether your future will be bright and dazzling or dark and hopeless will depend on both you and me.

    "Are you willing to share this karma with me as master and disciple?"

    Hui Can did not hesitate for even a moment. "This disciple is willing to bear this burden. I will serve you, Master, with all my heart, even to the death. I will not regret this choice."

    "Good. I hope that you won''t disappoint me," Lu Yin stated.

    This was something that he had not said to Tuo Lin, because that man was incapable of cultivating. But Hui Can was different. He was bold, meticulous, decisive, and extremely clever. He was capable of using small advantages to achieve great gains. As long as he had a good personality, many people would benefit from him. If not, he had the potential to be a disaster.

    Lu Yin had ordered an investigation into Hui Can after he arrived at the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin had been satisfied with the results.

    Hui Can was not someone who would be blinded by greed. He sought out his own opportunities, which was a major reason why Lu Yin had agreed to ept the man as a disciple.

    If Hui Can''s character had not been suitable, Lu Yin would have never epted him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s disciples held an incredible status in the Origin Universe, much like the Three Realms and Six Daos of the past.

    Hui Can would also start learning Verdant Eternity.

    To begin with, learning Verdant Eternity would test one¡¯s patience and character more than anything else. This would give everyone ample time to get to know Hui Can.

    Secondly, Lu Yin himself had only been able to learn Verdant Eternity because of Hui Can, so it was quite fitting to pass the technique along to the man.

    As for how long it would take Hui Can to master Verdant Eternity, that depended on him alone.

    Learning Verdant Eternity did not prevent Hui Can from learning other techniques. The Tower of the Fifth had numerous cultivation methods, and as Lu Yin''s disciple, Hui Can would have easy ess to anything he wished to learn. It would be entirely his choice.

    "Take good care of your Senior Brother Tuo Lin," Lu Yin emphasized.

    Hui Can answered respectfully, "You don¡¯t need to worry, Master. I will definitely take good care of Senior Brother."

    The Second Nightking gazed at Hui Can with envy. This was yet another person who had ascended in a single one step, though Hui Can was also different from Tuo Lin.

    No matter what, Tuo Lin would never be able to cultivate, which meant that the resources he enjoyed were extremely limited.

    Hui Can was the first person who could truly be considered Lord Lu¡¯s disciple. Hui Can would undoubtedly be envied by everyone in the megaverse.

    ...

    As Lu Yin quietly enjoyed some tea that Zhao Ran had prepared, Hongyan Mavis arrived.

    ¡°I¡¯ve cultivated divine energy,¡± Lu Yin bluntly stated.

    A tremor ran through Hongyan Mavis''s body, and she looked at Lu Yin in shock. ¡°You¡¯ve cultivated divine energy?¡±

    Lu Yin met the woman¡¯s eyes, but after only a brief moment of eye contact, Hongyan Mavis suddenly started tough.

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. ¡°Senior, you already knew?¡±

    Hongyan Mavis replied, ¡°Do you think that we¡¯re all fools? During thest battle in the Second Scourge, you fought Bai Xian''er in ake of divine energy, and despite the time you were down there for, you never showed any issues. Anyone would have been able to figure it out.¡±

    Lu Yin had forgotten about that detail.

    ¡°After the battle was over, Loam came to us and exined things,¡± Hongyan Mavis continued.

    Lu Yin felt his heart warm. While he had done a great deal for humanity as a whole, many others had acted on his behalf behind the scenes. He just had not noticed most of it.

    ¡°Little Seven, no matter what, divine energy is Yong Heng¡¯s power. While power by itself is never good or evil, divine energy is an exception. Even my master said that divine energy can affect a person¡¯s rationality,¡± Hongyan Mavis cautioned.

    Lu Yin was instantly reminded of the scene of the future he had seen from the Books of Destiny, and he nodded. ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, Senior, I¡¯m walking a much broader path than Yong Heng.¡±

    Hongyan Mavis smiled. ¡°In the past, we might not have feltfortable with this, but now we are. Given your strength, it won¡¯t be a problem for you to control your divine energy. Did you want to see me just for this?¡±

    ¡°Does Senior Wu Tian and the others know about this as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Lu Yin nodded. ¡°Good. In that case, I can move ahead without worrying.¡±

    ¡°Move ahead with what?¡± Hongyan Mavis asked, puzzled.

    Lu Yin looked over at Hongyan Mavis. ¡°Destroying the ck Mother Tree.¡±

    ...

    Lu Yin arrived at the Lu Sanctum. After speaking with Hongyan Mavis, he had intended to reassume his alias as Ye Bo so that he could absorb divine energy and destroy the ck Mother Tree.

    However, he had suddenly remembered a task that was still pending; he needed to deal with Nutjob Lu.

    They had a wager to settle.

    Lu Yin went to where Nutjob Lu was imprisoned in the Lu Sanctum, looking perfectly calm.

    Some distance away, deep underground in the dark, Nutjob Lu¡¯s eyes opened. They burned with bloodlust and madness as a grin spread across his face. <i>He¡¯s here</i>.

    The prison rose up from underground, and Nutjob Lu looked at his visitor.

    Lu Yin stood calmly and met the older man¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯vee to settle our wager.¡±

    Nutjob Lu red at Lu Yin, his eyes ferocious. ¡°Are you confident that you can defeat me now?¡±

    "Tell me, who helped me by pushing your Champions'' Stage aside?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.

    Both Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi were present and watching from a distance. The day had finally arrived.

    Lu Yuan''s expression wasplicated. This fight would be Nutjob Lu''s execution. The man had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus. He deserved to die.

    The sky above Lu Sanctum grew dark.

    Would Lu Yin win? There was no need to answer that question. Everyone already knew that Nutjob Lu was doomed.

    Even Nutjob Lu was aware of this. Lu Yin was not someone blinded by arrogance. The fact that he had appeared for the death match showed that Lu Yin had reached a level of strength where he could defeat or simply kill Nutjob Lu. That was fine. Nutjob Lu had lived long enough. He would let things happen naturally.

    "Brat, if you want that answer, you need to beat me first," Nutjob Lu said, insanity filling his voice.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and flicked a finger. He used pure physical strength to produce a sharp de that sliced through the chains that bound Nutjob Lu.

    The madman¡¯s pupils shrank, and his expression changed drastically as he stared at Lu Yin.

    The chains were formed from sequence particles. Not even Nutjob Lu himself could break the chains, and yet Lu Yin had done so effortlessly. The difference in the two men¡¯s strength had grown worlds apart.

    ¡°Hahaha! Brat, you¡¯re vicious enough! I thought that we¡¯d have a grueling battle, but it seems that I was overthinking the matter. It¡¯s only been a few years, and yet you¡¯ve already reached this level.¡± Nutjob Lu cackled.

    Lu Yin sped his hands behind his back. ¡°Make your move now, or else you won¡¯t get a chance at all.¡±

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s smile faded as he stared at Lu Yin. Hatred chilled the man¡¯s eyes. ¡°I hate the Lu family! I¡¯ve never regretted betraying them, nor have I ever regretted betraying humanity.¡±

    As he spoke, dark-red divine energy erupted from his body, transforming the sky above the Lu Sanctum into a blood-red color.

    One by one, the members of the Lu family looked up at the sky. The power being used sent chills down their spines.

    Lu Yuan closed his eyes. <i>Divine energy. As expected, Nutjob Lu¡¯s cultivated divine energy</i>.

    Lu Tianyi sighed.

    Lu Yin simply observed Nutjob Lu. The man actually did not have very much divine energy inside of him. He had only spent a short while training in the Scourge.

    As the divine energy surged, Nutjob Lu also charged at Lu Yin. The man knew that only his divine energy even had a chance of threatening Lu Yin. The Investiture of the Gods, the Champions'' Stage, his ominion energy, and even the Corpse King Transformation would not be nearly enough. Not even close.

    Sequence particles filled the air in front of the man as violence filled his eyes. Nutjob Lu only had this one chance to attack. <i>Let¡¯s see if you can withstand thebined force of my sequence particles and divine energy!</i>

    Lu Yin calmly watched as Nutjob Lu charged forward, and then he simply raised a hand and pointed a single finger forward.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s rage mounted. Someone was dealing with him with one finger¡ªagain. When Lu Tianyi had gone to the Cyclic Universe to retrieve Nutjob Lu, the madman had beenpletely thrashed by Lu Tianyi¡¯s Dao of One Heavens. The power of that solitary finger still haunted Nutjob Lu. At this moment, Lu Yin was acting in the exact same manner.

    The man went berserk, and his divine energy surged like it belonged to a mad beast.

    <i>Whoosh!</i>

    A gust of wind swept through the area, dissipating the dark-red divine energy. It was quickly pushed back, and Nutjob Lu froze in ce, still in a charging stance. At this moment, there was a single finger pressed to his be, holding him in ce. He waspletely immobilized.

    Nutjob Lu stared nkly at Lu Yin, who had appeared right in front of him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s other hand was still behind his back. It was clear from his stance that he had no intention of using it. With just one finger, he had pinned Nutjob Lu in ce. If Nutjob Lu moved, he would die.

    A chill seeped into Nutjob Lu¡¯s bones. It had been a very long time since he had felt so powerless.

    Lu Yin gave the man a sense of utter despair.

    Nutjob Lu was not afraid of death, but with just one finger and nothing more, he had been defeated. It was even more effortless than when Lu Tianyi had defeated Nutjob Lu. Or rather, the man was confident that, if he used his divine energy, Lu Tianyi would not be able to defeat him that easily.

    Only Lu Yuan, that old monster, was strong enough to do such a thing. There was no one else.

    But if that was true, then how could a mere child pull it off? How had Lu Yin aplished this?

    Were sequence particles and divine energypletely ineffective against this brat?

    Lu Yin looked at Nutjob Lu with pity. He really was pitiful, both in his life and experiences, as well as his final fate.

    Nutjob Lu stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. <i>What is that I see? Pity?</i>

    <i>Pity! This boy dares to pity me?</i>

    Nutjob Lu roared and tried to p Lu Yin.

    The finger twitched, and Nutjob Lu was sent flying back. He roared, ¡°Do you pity me, brat?¡±

    Lu Yin remained as calm as ever. ¡°You are no match for me.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯ve got the guts, then kill me! I don¡¯t need your pity! I don¡¯t need the pity of the Lu family! Brat, kill me!¡± Nutjob Lu charged back at Lu Yin, his eyes bloodshot. He hadpletely lost his mind.

    Lu Yin grabbed Nutjob Lu¡¯s outstretched hand and pressed it down with a bit of force. The man¡¯s entire body was pressed into the ground.

    Lu Yin looked down at Nutjob Lu. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about your past. No matter what may have happened, you¡¯re still an elder of the Lu family. Do as you said and tell me who pushed your Champions'' Stage aside, as well as the price they paid.¡±

    Nutjob Lu pushed himself up from the ground with one hand. The other was still held by Lu Yin, preventing the man from moving as he wished.

    He showed a bitter smile as he looked up to meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I can tell you, but I don¡¯t want that old bastard to kill me. That¡¯s why I wanted this deathmatch with you.

    ¡°Brat, kill me, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Killing Nutjob Lu would not be difficult, but doing so would cause the karma of the matter to fall onto him. Nutjob Lu was Lu Yuan¡¯s grandson, which was why the Lu family had tolerated the man for so long and acted as though he was owed a debt. If Lu Yin killed Nutjob Lu, it might be a thorn in Lu Yuan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Scared?¡± Nutjob Lu cackled. ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me, you¡¯ll never know who it was! That person paid a price to save you that you won¡¯t be able to repay in your entire lifetime! I can also guarantee that you¡¯ll never guess who it was.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. ¡°Fine, I ept your condition.¡±

 Chapter 3248: That Person

    <h4>Chapter 3248: That Person</h4>

    Lu Yin''s response caused the redness in Nutjob Lu''s eyes to fade slightly. He acted as though he had achieved his goal, and he let out a mockingugh.

    If Nutjob Lu was killed by the most outstanding member of the Lu family to ever live, how would that make that old bastard, Lu Yuan, feel? While everyone wanted Nutjob Lu to die, would Lu Yuan truly be able to let it go? This was the biggest blow that Nutjob Lu could deal to Lu Yuan. If Lu Yuan carried a thorn in his heart, it would not just be a problem for him, but for the entire Lu family, including the brat.

    Nutjob Lu''s derangedughter disgusted Lu Yin, and he looked at the madman with contempt. ¡°Who was it?¡±

    Nutjob Lu chuckled, seemingly delirious. When he spoke, his voice was low. "When I attacked you, someone capable of transcending the past and the present pushed through time to divert my Champions'' Stage. How many people have ever been capable of doing such a thing?

    "Of those people, how many could have acted instantly, knowing that you were in imminent danger?

    "Only someone capable of acting across time, whose strength has merged with time itself, could have helped you. That moment, for that person, was a manifestation of their power sent down the River of Aeons. Their power has always been with you, and that allowed them to act instantly. If they had been even a second toote, it wouldn¡¯t have worked. They only seeded because their power has always been with you."

    Lu Yin''s pupils shrank in shock. "The... God of Death."

    Nutjob Lu threw his head back. ¡°Hahaha, that ancient battle, I never was able to understand it. At that time, the God of Death should have won. He had broken through to the Origin Realm and was invincible in the megaverse. No one couldpare to him, not even True God. He was too strong, and his death energy was too powerful. Most of the experts who had surrounded him had died. At that moment, the Aeternals were ready to give up.

    "But heshed out with a single palm, and that attack missed. I was never able to understand why the God of Death missed at that moment.

    "I could never piece together how missing that one strike managed to lead to his defeat. It was just one palm strike, after all."

    When Nutjob Lu looked back at Lu Yin, both curiosity and a mocking glint could be seen. ¡°Now, I understand. His palm strike didn¡¯t miss. He sent it down the River of Aeons with the strength of an Ortuser in order to save your life. For him, touching the River of Aeons only took an instant, but for experts like True God, that moment might as well have been an eternity.

    "That one palm strike caused him to lose. Despite his invinciblebat power, he was ultimately torn apart and died by being hacked to pieces. Hahaha! Brat, you will never be able to repay your debt, never! Hahaha!

    ¡°Kill me! Kill me!¡±

    Lu Yin nkly stared into Nutjob Lu¡¯s crazed eyes. It was as though that ancient battle could be seen in the madman¡¯s eyes, and Lu Yin was watching events unfold.

    Why? Why had the God of Death paid such a terrible price to save Lu Yin? Torn apart, hacked to pieces¡ªwhy? Why had he done it?

    Lu Yuan suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin, and a hand struck Nutjob Lu.

    The madman¡¯s pupils shrank as he stared at Lu Yuan. ¡°No-¡±

    <i>Bang!</i>

    Nutjob Lu''s head exploded, and blood dyed the sky red, startling Lu Yin from his stupor. He stared as Nutjob Lu''s corpse fell, and then looked forward. Lu Yuan had executed the madman.

    ¡°Ancestor?¡±

    Lu Yuan''s eyes betrayed his conflicted feelings, and he gave Lu Yin a look of regret. "Little Seven, this was always between him and me. I¡¯m sorry that you were dragged into such a mess. As for what he told you, don¡¯t take it seriously. No one can confirm his story."

    Lu Yin¡¯s face had gone pale, and he swallowed hard. ¡°The day the God of Death disappeared, where was Nutjob Lu?¡±

    Lu Yuan¡¯s body trembled, but he said nothing.

    Lu Yin pushed harder, ¡°Ancestor, where was Nutjob Lu? Where was he!¡±

    "Where else could he have been? He was here in the Lu Sanctum, of course," Lu Yuan replied.

    Lu Yin shook his head, his eyes vacant. ¡°No, Ancestor, you¡¯re lying to me. He wasn¡¯t in the Lu Sanctum. He was with the God of Death, wasn¡¯t he?¡±

    Lu Yuan frowned. "How could he have possibly been with the God of Death? You''re overthinking things. After Gu Yizhi experimented on him with Wielder-realm battle force, I kept him locked up in Lu Sanctum. He was never allowed out again."

    Lu Tianyi approached and interjected, "Ancestor, Little Seven is now the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe. There''s no need to lie to him."

    Lu Yuan turned and shot Lu Tianyi with a vicious re.

    Nothing more needed to be said. Lu Yin knew the truth.

    Nutjob Lu had been with the God of Death on the day that he had disappeared, and thus, he had witnessed the battle. He had told Lu Yin the truth.

    Lu Tianyi''s expression grew conflicted. "Did the God of Death really die to save Little Seven?"

    Lu Yin also looked at Lu Yuan, desperately hoping to hear a denial.

    Lu Yuan sighed. "I don''t know. I wasn''t there, or else the God of Death wouldn''t have disappeared. But yes, <i>he</i> was with the God of Death on that day. After Gu Yizhi''s experiments with Wielder-realm battle force, I brought him back and asked the God of Death to help me discipline my grandson. The God of Death had a ruthless approach to such things, which was perfect for keeping someone in line. It was the same as how I once sent Tianyi to train under Chu Yi.

    "I never thought that that would be ourst goodbye.

    "I don''t know how the God of Death disappeared, or even if he''s dead or alive. All I know he couldn''t have known about you, Little Seven, let alone possess the power to see into the future. Even now, I can''t see the future. Doing that requires traversing the River of Aeons, which isn''t something that can be mastered by simply learning the power of time. The God of Death shouldn''t have had such abilities.

    "Looking back, Nutjob most likely turned into a Redback at that time. Aeternus got to him somehow."

    Lu Yuan then set a hand on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder. "Little Seven, don''t burden yourself with this matter. There''s less than a one percent chance that the God of Death was the one who saved you. Nutjob only told you that to weigh you down with guilt, just as he wanted you to kill him so that I would carry the emotional burden. Even if the God of Death did save you, that would only prove that you were worth his sacrifice. You never knew him, but he only ever did what he believed to be right, no matter who became his enemy due to his actions.

    "When he suppressed the astral beasts, he had to fight against Yellowy countless times, and their fights were often death matches. He never regretted anything that he did."

    Lu Yin stood silently, death energy enveloping his hands as he stared at them nkly.

    Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi both left, taking Nutjob Lu¡¯s corpse with them. They left Lu Yin alone to gather his thoughts.

    Lu Yin continued standing in the same ce, staring at the death energy that swirled around him. He was remembering that fateful day and the scarred hand that he had seen save him. <i>Was it worth it? Was it really the God of Death? Why would he save me?</i>

    It rarely rained on the Lu Sanctum, but rain started to fall at this moment, and it washed away the blood that stained the ground.

    Lu Yin looked up. The rain did not avoid him, instead falling right on top of him, carrying a bit of a chill.

    Nutjob Lu''s words continued to resonate in his mind.

    <i>¡®At that time, the God of Death should have won. He had broken through to the Origin Realm and was invincible.¡¯</i>

    <i>¡®He was too strong, and his death energy was too powerful.¡¯</i>

    <i>¡®That one palm strike caused him to lose. Despite his invinciblebat power, he was ultimately torn apart and died by being hacked to pieces.¡¯</i>

    Lu Yin stared up at the rain as the clouds obscured the sky. It was as though he could see the River of Aeons itself. Down it, he caught a glimpse of a lonely figure. There was a scythe at his side, and his hands were scarred. His seemingly frail body stood against an endless horde of astral beasts. He alone held up the sky.

    <i>The God of Death... Was it really you?</i>

    Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and stayed on the mountain behind it for a few days, refusing to see anyone.

    A few dayster, the Second Nightking arrived to deliver a report, "Dao Monarch, we¡¯ve located the traitor Wu Heng. Lord Qing Ping has already captured him."

    <i>Wu Heng?</i> That name rang a bell in Lu Yin¡¯s memory.

    Wu Heng had been an Arborean who had seemed to be under the control of Mr. Daheng, who had used peak powerhouses and other powerful cultivators to search for Peaks and Rivers Rocks. Mr. Daheng had sealed people¡¯s cultivation progress and used that as leverage to control them. That was supposed to be how Mr. Daheng had controlled Wu Heng.

    After Lu Yin confronted Mr. Daheng, Wu Heng had secretly approached Lu Yin and agreed to follow him, and he had then helped work against Mr. Daheng.

    However, Wu Heng had actually been a spy for Aeternus all along. Joining Lu Yin to oppose Mr. Daheng had likely been part of some scheme to incite conflict between humanity¡¯s powerhouses. Unfortunately, there was only so much that Wu Heng could aplish. The list of spies that the Aeternals had leaked had exposed Wu Heng, and he had been forced to flee.

    That had been the full extent of the man¡¯s aplishments. Exposing his status as a spy had been hisst task as an Aeterus spy. After that, there had been no word about the man at all.

    Senior Brother Qing Ping would have had no trouble capturing such a person. Lu Yin was well aware of Wu Heng''s strength.

    Some timeter, Wu Heng was delivered to the Heavens Sect.

    The man was an Arborean, and while it had been proven that he was a traitor, his status meant that he still had to be taken to Lu Yin for judgment.

    Lu Yin looked at the pitiful and dejected man who stood before him, but he had no questions to ask the man. Lu Yin waved a hand, ordering the man to be taken away.

    There had been a time when peak powerhouses like Wu Heng had been highly valued, but at the moment, Lu Yin saw such people as nothing more than slightly more powerful cultivators. No matter if it was Wu Heng or Yao Lan, neither was important enough for him to personally handle their cases.

    Lu Yin had alsoe to understand certain details about his own past.

    Why had people that he had offended when he had been weak not dealt with him? It was not that they had been incapable of doing so, but rather that they had not cared enough.

    It was like having ants crawling on one¡¯s feet; they could be brushed off, but no one would bother to crush the ants.

    That kind of disregard was directly responsible for why many were able to sessfully reverse their fates.

    If Aeternus had foreseen the current bnce of power, there was no way Lu Yin would have been allowed to grow and prosper.

    It was said that humans were weak because of their emotions, but the reality was that all creatures were the same. Only instinct remained unchanging.

    A starving beast would not spare someone just because they were an ant; it needed to eat.

    As Lu Yin stared out at the distant stars, he reflected on the fact that the people from Tian Ci''s megaverse seemed more like beasts. If that was the case, then why had they not acted sooner? Before the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect¡¯s second rise to power, that megaverse could have taken action and crushed them without any resistance while the Sixverse Association was still locked in a stalemate with Aeternus. Why had that not happened?

    Also, there was Bai Xian''er to consider. If she had recovered Wei Nu''s power sooner, she could have killed Lu Yin long ago. Why had she allowed him to escape and grow so strong?

    Even at the moment, if Bai Xian¡¯er managed to regain Wei Nu''s full strength, she should still be capable of hunting LuYin down.

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. He hade to a rough understanding of the Aeternals¡¯ goals, as well as those of the Boundary Guardians. However, human nature remained elusive to his understanding.

    ...

    One day, a figure appeared in the Second Scourge. It was Ye Bo.

    Ye Bo was, of course, Lu Yin in disguise. He had told the Three Realms and Six Daos that he cultivated divine energy, but until the Aeternals werepletely defeated, he had no intention of revealing the matter to everyone, in order to prevent discord.

    The moment that Ye Bo appeared and was not attacked by Wu Tian and the other human powerhouses, both the Aeternals and the humans understood who the man really was. But, with the mask that Ye Bo was wearing, knowing the truth and being able to prove it were two entirely different things.

    On top of the ck Mother Tree, True God stared into the distance, watching as Ye Bo slowly approached.

 Chapter 3249: True Gods Dominion

    <h4>Chapter 3249: True God''s Dominion</h4>

    Behind True God, Progenitor Xi frowned. "Ye Bo?"

    "I see." True God realized where the immense amount of divine energy within Lu Yin hade from. He was the only one who could see through Ye Bo''s disguise.

    Ancient God, Forgotten Ruins God, and the others all watched as Ye Bo approached the ck Mother Tree.

    Other eyes around the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm were also focused on Ye Bo, but they quickly shifted away, as though he did not exist.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s eyes opened, and she stared at Ye Bo. The woman watched calmly as Ye Bo approached the ck Mother Tree and leaped down into the roots.

    From beginning to end, no one spoke to Ye Bo, and he also said nothing to anyone.

    It was eerily quiet.

    There was an unspoken agreement between both sides.

    Lu Yin moved between the roots of the ck Mother Tree. The divine energy had already been pulled within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, but Lu Yin''s goal was not any of the exposed divine energy; he wanted what was inside the ck Mother Tree itself.

    He believed that, since the Mother Tree was nourished by stellr energy, the ck Mother Tree had to be nourished by divine energy.

    The Mother Tree had sprouted before the Origin Progenitor was even born. By the time the Origin Progenitor had appeared, the tree had already been supporting the Origin Universe. Stellr liquid had appeared within the Mother Tree because the tree was capable of using various nutrients, and that was why it made sense for divine energy to exist within the ck Mother Tree.

    True God''s eyes turned cold as he watched Lu Yin move downwards. He had already realized Lu Yin¡¯s goal, and that made the man¡¯s expression darken.

    Without a word, Lu Yin raised a hand and shed it sideways. A section of the tree¡¯s roots was torn open, and dark-red divine energy poured out from the opening.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. It was just as he had expected.

    True God¡¯s expression grew terrifyingly grim, and the sky above the Scourge dimmed.

    He had underestimated Lu Yin. What was happening was True God¡¯s mistake.

    He had originally believed that the boy was extraordinarily talented, and it was quite impressive for him to have risen to such a level in such a short amount of time. Even so, True God had not expected Lu Yin to be such a threat so quickly.

    To begin with, Lu Yin had received the support of all of humanity, which was something that True God could not tolerate. At this moment, it was also clear that Lu Yin had seen through the truth regarding the ck Mother Tree and was about to absorb its divine energy.

    Even when the Seven Skygods or the Three Pirs and Six Skies absorbed divine energy, True God never cared, because none of them were capable of absorbing too much.

    But Lu Yin was different. Regardless of how much divine energy he was capable of absorbing, the most terrifying thing about Lu Yin was how much remained unknown.

    Even True God could not see the full depths of the man¡¯s capabilities, and that was what frightened Yong Heng the most.

    In many ways, Lu Yin was a mystery, and nothing was more terrifying than the unknown.

    In the Perennial World, absorbing stellr liquid had been one of the greatest crimes, because doing so would weaken the Mother Tree, and a weakened Mother Tree would not be able to protect the Perennial World from Aeternus. However, there was a theory that, by absorbing the Mother Tree¡¯s stellr liquid, a cultivator could rapidly increase their strength, undergoing a qualitative transformation that would allow them to destroy Aeternus in a single stroke.

    This would be no different from sacrificing the Mother Tree to save humanity.

    Ultimately, the second possibility had been rejected. Throughout history, the idea had persisted, but it had never be very popr because the ones in power had all understood that Aeternus would not be defeated that easily.

    Even if the Perennial World produced ten or even dozens of Progenitors, it still would not be enough to defeat the Aeternals.

    The Lu family had understood this quite clearly.

    Eventually, people had taken to absorbing stellr liquid not for the sake of humanity or defeating Aeternus, but rather for personal gain.

    All of the four ruling powers had allowed their people to absorb stellr liquid as a means of raising their own strength, ensuring their continued dominance over the Perennial World and their grip on power.

    Regardless of the reasons, it remained true that absorbing stellr liquid certainly did enhance a person¡¯s cultivation, provided that they cultivated with stellr energy.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was absorbing divine energy from the ck Mother Tree in the same manner as how people absorbed stellr liquid the Mother Tree, and this was because Lu Yin cultivated divine energy.

    As more and more divine energy was absorbed, Lu Yin waved his hand again, opening arger hole in the ck Mother Tree. Divine energy surged out like a waterfall, and Lu Yin proceeded to frantically absorb as much as he could. His inner universe appeared, and the star of divine energy started spinning faster and faster.

    Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis exchanged nces, worry flickering in their eyes.

    It was not necessarily a good thing that Lu Yin cultivated divine energy. Their master had warned them that True God¡¯s divine energy could influence a person¡¯s mind.

    Lu Yin¡¯s current strength served as proof that he would undoubtedly surpass True God in the future, or at the very least, reach the same level. Because of that, he should not be affected by divine energy too much.

    That was why they had been at peace with Lu Yin cultivating divine energy.

    However, that ease was suddenly reced with concern as everyone watched Lu Yin frantically absorb divine energy. Their original worries returned in force.

    The more divine energy that Lu Yin absorbed, the greater the chance that some sort of change would ur. If Lu Yin eventually became an enemy of humanity, he would pose an even greater threat than Aeternus had at their peak. This was because, if Lu Yin turned, he would shatter humanity¡¯s faith.

    The third Divine Commandment would end in Aeternus¡¯s victory.

    But no matter how much anyone worried, no one could stop Lu Yin, and he had already informed them of his ns.

    It was questionable if the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm could actually drain True God¡¯s strength, but there was no doubt that absorbing his divine energy would diminish his strength.

    In order to defeat Aeternus, there was no avoiding the fact that True God needed to be dealt with.

    The fate of humanity had prompted Wu Tian to stay imprisoned in the Third Scourge instead of returning to humanity, because he had seen a threat even greater than Aeternus.

    If humanity truly wished to break free of such restraints, they needed to rise up, step by step. First, they needed to eradicate the Aeternals, and then they needed to confront that looming fate.

    Lu Yin was currently trying to prepare for that future day.

    The Great Sovereign looked down below. "So, is this also an option?"

    She looked up at True God. Things were getting interesting.

    The Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm had been steadily sapping away at True God¡¯s power, even if progress was very slow. The Great Sovereign had prepared herself to wait for an eternity, but with this new method of weakening Yong Heng, everything had changed.

    Down among the ck Mother Tree¡¯s roots, Lu Yin¡¯s mind remained clear and free of all distractions. He focused solely on absorbing divine energy and strengthening the star within his inner universe. Divine energy, like the other energies that formed stars in Lu Yin¡¯s universe, was nothing more than another tool for Lu Yin to use. Even if using divine energy roused a desire for ughter, that was just nothing more than a means to an end.

    Even if he never used the divine energy, sealing it away inside of himself would still weaken True God.

    Cracks started to appear in the roots, spreading out from the tear that Lu Yin had opened up in the ck Mother Tree. Eventually, it reached the surface of the Second Scourge, where many people could see them.

    Without nourishment, the tree would die.

    True God¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared downwards. He even paid Lu Yin apliment. "Even when ites to cultivating divine energy, you surpass all others before you. Dao Monarch Lu, do you intend to absorb all the divine energy from the ck Mother Tree?"

    Lu Yin ignored the man. Instead, the Great Sovereign responded, ¡°Yong Heng, are you afraid?¡±

    True God chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m merely reflecting on the situation. Isn¡¯t it ironic that the one most talented for cultivating divine energy happens to be our enemy?

    ¡°If Dao Monarch Lu joins my Aeternus after cultivating too much divine energy, wouldn¡¯t that be the greatest irony for humanity?¡±

    The Great Sovereign sneered. ¡°Absurd. Given his current strength, no energy can control him. Rather, he¡¯ll be the one to control it. You¡¯re just worried about your ck Mother Tree copsing, aren¡¯t you? Fake is fake, and it can neverpare to the real thing.¡±

    One of True God¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Fake? Are you talking about the ck Mother Tree? You¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s very real.

    ¡°This treees from another megaverse. Specifically, from Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse. There, the tree holds the same significance as the Mother Tree does for you. If this tree copses, their megaverse will wage an unending war with yours.¡±

    The Great Sovereign responded coldly, ¡°Then let theme.¡±

    Lu Yin heard their exchange, and his eyes opened. He looked up at the Great Sovereign with surprise. Was this woman actually taking a bit of responsibility?

    ¡°Besides, you are my sole target. Others don¡¯t concern me,¡± the Great Sovereign added.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes again. As expected, the crazy woman was the same as ever. She didn¡¯t care about Immortality or another megaverse. Her focus was solely on True God. He was her obsession for oveing Dukkha.

    All who entered Dukkha became insane. Lu Yin had been right about that all along.

    However, did the ck Mother Tree belong to Tian Ci¡¯s universe? Did that mean that they had transnted their Mother Tree to another megaverse before developing their ns to destroy humanity? Why? If the megaverse was destined to be restarted, then the tree would also be destroyed, right?

    <i>Wait</i>.

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Mother Tree in the Perennial World. When had that tree first sprouted? If his earlier guess was urate, then the fact that Tian Ci¡¯s megaverse had transnted the ck Mother Tree was not a simple matter. It was even possible that the restart of the megaverse was somehow tied to the Mother Tree.

    The cracks grewrger and spread across all of its roots. The fractures covered a full tenth of the ck Mother Tree.

    However, since the cracks were at the roots, the damage was far worse than what could be seen.

    Branches started withering and falling off. The ck Mother Tree resembled Aeternus itself as it slowly decayed.

    Wu Tian and the others stared at the ck Mother Tree, waiting for it to copse.

    Divine energy continued to pour out from the ck Mother Tree with no end in sight. No one else who cultivated divine energy could hope to absorb so much. Lu Yin was an exception, as his inner universe could expand indefinitely.

    From atop the ck Mother Tree, True God stared down at Lu Yin. The man saw the star of divine energy inside Lu Yin¡¯s universe. It was acting like a seed of divine energy. Even if all of the divine energy from all six Scourges was absorbed, Lu Yin still would not reach his limits. Eventually, the ck Mother Tree¡¯s divine energy would be drained away, and the tree would copse.

    However, the ck Mother Tree could not be allowed to copse, not under any circumstances.

    True God closed his eyes. Nearby, Progenitor Xi sensed something and slowly pulled away. Everyone else did the same.

    Mu Ji¡¯s heart trembled as he stared at True God¡¯s back, a powerful fear enveloping him.

    True God had not taken action once since he had been sealed within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. At this moment, the sky over all six Scourges started to change.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Everyone looked up at the ck Mother Tree, even Lu Yin. His eyes locked onto True God, just as Yong Heng¡¯s eyes snapped open, revealing that they were blood red. He seized hold of a river of divine energy that flowed beside him and flung it out of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    At that instant, divine energy spread across the sky, overshadowing the entire Scourge with a dark-red light.

    ¡°True God¡¯s Dominion,¡± True God¡¯s voice rang out.

    The Great Sovereign shouted, ¡°This is one of True God¡¯s three ultimate techniques! Yong Heng, you can¡¯t break this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm!¡±

    True God turned to stare at the Great Sovereign. ¡°Tai Hong, you have seeded in sealing me. Your countless years of painstaking efforts have brought you to the edge of sess, but you have forgotten one thing. When power reaches a certain level, everything can be broken.¡±

    As the man spoke, his eyes started to change colors. He was undergoing the Corpse King Transformation.

 Chapter 3250: I Am Tai Hong

    <h4>Chapter 3250: I Am Tai Hong</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed drastically. Wu Tian and the others were simrly stunned.

    They all understood what True God was about to do. He was about to use the final level of the Corpse King Transformation that Di Qiong had developed. It was a level that Di Qiong had only reached at the cost of death: the Martial God Transformation.

    Di Qiong¡¯s Martial God Transformation had allowed an individual to achieve an unimaginable level of physical strength, even reaching the same level as what Lu Yin currently possessed. This was almost at the biological limit of strength. If Di Qiong had not died and beenpletely conscious, Lu Yin would not have been able to absorb his divine energy, and with that, even a corpse would have been impossible to defeat.

    If Di Qiong had been so powerful, then just how terrifying would True God be after he underwent the Martial God Transformation?

    The man was far stronger than Di Qiong, both physically and with his divine energy.

    The idea of True God undergoing the Martial God Transformation incited fear in everyone.

    An overwhelming aura appeared, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm warped.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. True God¡¯s strength surpassed Lu Yin¡¯s own.

    Physically, the most powerful creatures in the megaverse were the Megalith and the Pridebeast, both of which approached the limits of physical strength. At this moment, True God had actually reached that theoretical limit.

    He embodied the ultimate level of physical strength, which was impossible for any human to withstand.

    True God struck with a palm strike, distorting the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm and nearly tearing it apart.

    Heshed out again. No one doubted that the man could forcibly tear apart the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    However, if Yong Heng was capable of doing this, then why had he not done so during the battle in the Second Scourge? There had to be some sort of limitation.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s words echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s mind once again. <i>¡®There are no absolutes in existence. If an absolute does appear, it can only appear by paying a price</i>.<i>¡¯</i>

    Lu Yin could not determine what price True God had paid, but it was clear that the Great Sovereign¡¯s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm would not endure for much longer.

    Wu Tian and the others were unable to do anything. They did not dare to enter the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, as facing True God directly at this moment would be no different frommitting suicide. All they could do was watch.

    Above, the dark-red shroud painted everyone red. It looked like they were in hell.

    The Great Sovereign stood up and calmly looked up at True God. ¡°I sacrifice my life to the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.¡±

    As she spoke, countless sequence particles surged from around the Great Sovereign and into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. Apanying them was her stellr energy and her Progenitor¡¯s world. The woman¡¯s face grew pale, and she even staggered, looking like she was about to copse.

    True God shouted angrily, ¡°Tai Hong, do you really want to die?¡±

    ¡°Even if I do, I¡¯ll drag you down with me! Yong Heng, I know that it¡¯s impossible for me to ovee Dukkha, but no matter what, I¡¯ll take you down! At the very least, I¡¯ll ensure that you are never able to ovee Dukkha!¡± the Great Sovereign¡¯s voice echoed across the sky.

    True God struck the Great Sovereign with a palm, and her body was flung about like a boat on the waves of a storm. She spat out blood as she went flying.

    Her veil fell, and a stunningly beautiful face was exposed.

    Blood trickled from the woman¡¯s lips, but they smiled like a withering flower that was about to die. ¡°Yong Heng, you¡¯ve paid a steep price for that power, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    It had to be a steep price, or else the man would have acted much sooner.

    Just as True God was about to attack again, his skin cracked open, and blood sttered everywhere.

    ¡°Attack!¡±

    Progenitor Xi, Ancient God, Forgotten Ruins God, and Arrow God all simultaneously attacked the Great Sovereign.

    The woman was powerless to fight back, and she allowed all the attacks to rain down on her.

    Lu Yin''s eyes grew cold and he used Inverse Step to charge forward. Wu Tian and the others did not hesitate to barge into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    "Get out!" the Great Sovereign ordered with a sharp shout.

    She whirled around to re at Lu Yin and the others. "Begone! Who do you think you are? This is a fight between me and Yong Heng. You have no right to interfere!"

    "You crazy woman, you''re going to die!" Lu Yin shouted back.

    The Great Sovereign scoffed. "Die? You don''t get to save me. I owe your Lu family nothing, and I never will! Do you think that these weaklings can kill me? Ridiculous.

    "Do you know who I am? I am Tai Hong! During the Origin Universe¡¯s Heavens Sect era, I was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s peer. I am senior even to the Three Realms and Six Daos. All of them call me senior. Do you think that I need <i>your</i> help? Leave!"

    The endless assault continued to rain down on the woman.

    The Great Sovereign turned her back to Lu Yin and the others to face the barrage of lethal strikes. Her face could no longer be seen, but her blood stained the sky.

    "Yong Heng, you will never be rid of me! You can¡¯t escape! This is my obsession, and no one can interfere with my Dukkha!" she dered.

    The Great Sovereign¡¯s voice echoed across the universe.

    For the first time, Lu Yin realized that the madwoman did not deserve to die. She held to her own convictions, and she had no need to answer to anyone.

    True God''s face was as red as blood, and he was panting heavily. It was clear that he was suffering the price of his increased strength. He growled between his gritted teeth, "If you want to die, then I''ll oblige you. I''ll force Tai Chu to watch you die!"

    Yong Heng clenched a fist and gestured at the ck Mother Tree. "Rise!"

    An unbelievable power ripped the towering ck Mother Tree from the ground.

    The tree continued to carry the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm as it turned into a dark-red streak of light that shot into the sky.

    Lu Yin immediately tried to stop the ck Mother Tree from leaving, pressing down with thendmass from his inner universe. At the same time, Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, and everyone else present took action as well. Even Lu Yuan appeared, and he used his Investiture of the Gods to try to block the tree from leaving.

    All of their efforts were useless. Every attack was blocked by the dark-red barrier that hung over the Scourge.

    Lu Yuan''s expression changed drastically. "True God''s Dominion?"

    The ck Mother Tree and the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm vanished entirely, hidden by Dominion. There was no trace to be found.

    Lu Yin and the others turned their attacks to Dominion, but it seemed indestructible.

    "Stop. This is True God¡¯s Dominion. It can trap even Origin realm powerhouses for a while," Lu Yuan said gravely as he looked at where the ck Mother Tree had just stood. "What happened?"

    The people standing guard in the Scourge rotated regrly, and Lu Yuan had just happened to not be present.

    However, his presence would not have changed the oue at all.

    No one could oppose True God when he unleashed his strength to the limit. No one could have stopped him.

    Lu Yin exined everything that had happened to Lu Yuan.

    The man¡¯s face fell. "That crazy woman is still the same. Luckily, you didn''t go in, or else you would¡¯ve died for sure.

    "Don''t worry. Even at his peak, Yong Heng is incapable of breaking the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. It should be able to hold him for a while longer. Right now, no one knows where they¡¯ve gone."

    Wu Tian looked up. "They went to the Immemorial Citadel."

    Lu Yuan frowned, and his heart dropped even further.

    This was the worst-case scenario. True God and the powerhouses with him had gone to Immemorial Citadel, which was the location of the greatest battlefield. At the same time, Lu Yin and many human powerhouses remained trapped in the Scourge. Unless they could break Dominion, no one would be able to leave.

    ¡°We need to get to the Immemorial Citadel! We have to break this Dominion quickly. If the citadel falls, this megaverse will be doomed,¡± Hongyan Mavis said.

    Lu Yin knew something even more terrifying; if the Immemorial Citadel fell and all of the sequence strings were broken, the megaverse would reset.

    It would destroy all of humanity.

    With this thought in mind, Lu Yin punched Dominion, but it had no effect.

    At the moment, Lu Yin, Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, Mu Shen, Sovereign Dou Sheng, Fei, and Ye Wu were all trapped in the Scourge. They made up more than half of the Heavens Sect''sbat power. Even worse, the barrier allowed entry into the Scourge, but not exit. Anyone else who entered would be simrly trapped.

    Lu Yin and the others tried many different things, but nothing allowed any of them to get past Dominion.

    ¡°This is one of Yong Heng¡¯s three ultimate techniques. It creates a barrier of divine energy thatpletely surrounds a region of space, allowing for entry but no exit. There¡¯s no way to forcefully break it, unless if Master were here,¡± Wu Tian stated solemnly as he stared at the sky. He was trying to find a weakness in the technique.

    Lu Yin took out a Peaks and Rivers Rock. ¡°What about the Mirari Realm?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t ess it right now,¡± Lu Yuan replied.

    ¡°This entire region is sealed off with divine energy. We can¡¯t even tear the void open, let alone use some dust particles as a guide.¡±

    ¡°There is one way to break it.¡± Wu Tian looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Absorb the barrier¡¯s divine energy.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right! I can absorb Dominion¡¯s divine energy.¡±

    Hongyan Mavis shook her head. ¡°Do you think that absorbing the energy powering a technique is that simple? It¡¯s impossible, unless you can understand the technique itself.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. Let¡¯s at least try things out first.¡± Lu Yin leaped up and started trying to absorb divine energy from Dominion.

    At this same time, the entire Immemorial Citadel shook violently within the burning mes that surrounded it.

    After fighting a fierce battle, several figures returned to the city, all of them breathing heavily.

    ¡°Brilliant, brilliant! Hahaha, Ku Jie, you really know how to take a beating. You faced five sequence powerhouses and didn¡¯t lose! That¡¯s impressive!¡± Ce Wangtian praised as he stood atop the city wall. The mes burned down below, and the man was feeling quite at ease, given that he once again had two slippers.

    A short distance away, Ku Jiemented, ¡°Senior Ce, those slippers of yours pack quite the punch. You kicked two corpse kings to death. Are those your weapons?¡±

    Ce Wangtian¡¯s expression grew very ufortable, and he nced down at his slippers.

    Old Zhong Tou arrived from the other direction. ¡°I¡¯m getting old, so old. Couldn¡¯t you all have waited for me? If I hadn¡¯t been able to move, I would have died out there.¡±

    Ce Wangtian rolled his eyes. ¡°Old Zhong, acting old won¡¯t work on us.¡±

    Old Zhong Tou chuckled as he stroked his beard. ¡°Ancestor Ce, do your slippers still fit? You sure cursed the one who stole them so viciously back then.¡±

    Ce Wangtian was speechless. ¡°After he stole my slippers? Cursing was the least I could do!¡±

    Ku Jie felt a bit curious, but he did not ask any questions.

    Ku Jie had been taken to the Immemorial Citadel by the big tree during the battle in the Second Scourge. Since then, the Progenitor had fought numerous battles. The fighting had been endless and unrelenting.

    While he was at the Immemorial Citadel, he had faced many enemies, some of whom were even as strong as him. Aeternus¡¯s Ossis Ark contained too many powerful hidden beings, and no one knew where they had alle from.

    Old Zhong Tou chuckled. ¡°Ancestor Ce, what¡¯s the deal between you and that woman Big Sis? Care to share?¡±

    Ce Wangtian¡¯s eyebrows rose, and he silently cursed his rotten luck. He had not expected Y¨­u Ming to suddenly show up at the Immemorial Citadel. He had seriously offended the woman years ago, and trouble had finally caught up to him.

    Elsewhere, Kong Tianzhao was staring at the sword in his hand in a daze. He was stillcking. He needed just a little more, just one small step further. This time, he was determined to have a breakthrough before Jiang Feng.

    The people of Whitecloud City followed their own cultivation path, and it was one that others typically could not see easily.

    Kong Tianzhao stared off into the distance. This was a ce that he had dreamed of. He would either die fighting on this battlefield, or break through and reach a new level.

    Big Sis was on the opposite side of the city as Ce Wangtian. The two needed to be kept separate, or else they would start fighting each other before the Aeternals even showed up.

    Chu Yi warily nced over at Big Sis, worried that the woman might run off to another section of the walls in order to cause trouble for Ce Wangtian. It would not be the first time...

 Chapter 3251: The Final Battlefield

    Throughout the ages, the people of the Immemorial Citadel had always gotten excited whenever the big tree showed up, as it always brought powerful cultivators to join the fight against Aeternus. Every time, the Aeternals had tried to intercept the big tree before it could arrive at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Many times, the big tree had failed and been unable to approach the city, and those it carried had either been killed or gravely injured, their journey ending in tragedy.

    This time was different.

    The powerful enemies that Aeternus had sent to intercept the big tree had been eliminated, and the tree was able to deliver several truly powerful experts, such as the invincible Ku Jie, swordmaster Kong Tianzhao, and the temperamental Progenitor Y¨­u Ming. Their arrival hadpletely foiled Aeternus¡¯s ns. Even the Ancient Lightning Locust had arrived.

    As for the Magician, he had been eliminated the moment he had entered the city, having been thrown into the fire. There was no ce for him in the Immemorial Citadel.

    The arrival of powerful reinforcements invigorated the people of the Immemorial Citadel, especially since they brought even better news. Elsewhere, Aeternus was being crushed by the Heavens Sect, and it was all thanks to one man: Lu Yin.

    The endless battle at the Immemorial Citadel seemed to have no end, but finally, a conclusion to the war was in sight. Aeternus was being pushed to their limits.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust was struggling. Like one of the participants of the Divine Selection, the bug had been snatched by a massive hand that hade out from the depths of the Immemorial Citadel. The massive hand forcibly endured the lightning as it dragged the Ancient Lightning Locust to some unknown location, leaving Kong Tianzhao momentarily stunned.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust was not a weak creature. Not even Whitecloud City was capable of really handling the creature, but at the Immemorial Citadel, someone was able to reach out and simply grab the bug. It was clear that this person was one of the most powerful cultivators in existence.Of course, Kong Tianzhouter learned that he had greatly overestimated the owner of the hand, as they had also been badly wounded by grabbing the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    Even so, there was more than one incredible expert in the Immemorial Citadel. Any one of them could alter the course of the war outside, but many powerful individuals were also hidden within Aeternus¡¯s Ossis Ark, and the boat¡¯s endless reinforcements meant that the Immemorial Citadel had no way to achieve true victory.

    The battlefield was a warrior''s paradise.

    The arrival of Big Sis and the others tipped the scales in favor of the Immemorial Citadel, and they were able to venture out and ughter a great number of corpse kings. They even seeded in catching sight of the Ossis Ark on multiple asions.

    At the moment, everyone in the Immemorial Citadel was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Heavens Sect to initiate the final battle against the Aeternals.

    No matter how intense the fighting became elsewhere, the Immemorial Citadel was destined to be the site of the final battle. There was no other possibility.

    On thest of the city walls stood an elderly man who wore a pointed hat. His expression appeared somewhat conflicted. His name was Babal, and he was a Mentor of the Nine-Star Civilization.

    When Kakawen had used Restart, Babal had sensed the moment of the other man¡¯s death. At the time, he had assumed that the Nine-Star Civilization had been wiped out, but luckily, Babal had since received word from Big Sis and the others that the Nine-Star Civilization persisted.

    Not only did the Nine-Star Civilization still stand, but they had even gained another powerhouse capable of using their nine-star technique, Restart. That was enough.

    The ultimate battle between humanity and Aeternus was fast approaching, and Babal was grateful that he would be able to witness it. Only at that moment could Restart shine the brightest, and it was a moment that he had waited a very long time for.

    The inextinguishable mes burned around the Immemorial Citadel.

    Atop the city walls, people were waiting to charge out again. Humanity had gained the upper hand, and regardless of whether they would die during the next battle, no one cared. They would fight to the bitter end.

    The favorite source of entertainment in the Immemorial Citadel was betting on which sequence powerhouse would die next.

    There was no one in the city who feared death.

    Soon, the people of the Immemorial Citadel witnessed an amazing sight. The endless sequence particles that filled the surrounding area were suddenly pushed back in one direction. It was as though some monstrous powerhouse had just arrived.

    The expressions of all who stood on the wall that faced the direction of the new arrival changed drastically. ¡°Is that¡­ the Mother Tree?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s the Aeternals¡¯ ck Mother Tree! Everyone, be careful!¡± Big Sis shouted.

    The enormous ck Mother Tree was being moved by some unseen power, and it was being directed straight at the Immemorial Citadel. The tree¡¯s immense size had pushed the endless sequence particles away, and it also brought with it a crushing pressure that made people feel like the tree was about to crash into the city.

    One by one, more experts gathered at the wall closest to the tree, all of them holding their breath.

    Mister Mu stepped forward. How could the Aeternals¡¯ ck Mother Tree of Aeternus be at the Immemorial Citadel? What had happened to the Scourges beingpletely suppressed by the Heavens Sect?

    Who had the power to move the ck Mother Tree?

    Soon, everyone received an answer.

    At the top of the tree stood the elites of Aeternus, including True God himself. Yong Heng¡¯s eyes locked onto Mister Mu¡¯s.

    ¡°Mister Mu, we meet again,¡± True God said, his voice echoing across the Immemorial Citadel.

    Everyone in the city heard the man¡¯s voice, and deep underground, the Origin Progenitor frowned. <em>Yong Heng? He actually came here?</em>

    From the walls of the Immemorial Citadel, Mister Mu stared at True God. ¡°Yong Heng, you¡¯vee to the Immemorial Citadel? Have you abandoned your Scourges?¡±

    True God sighed. ¡°You epted the most extraordinary disciple in history, and he forced me out of the Scourges. I had nowhere else to go, so I¡¯vee to your Immemorial Citadel for one final battle. Just as Tai Chu said, this city is destined to be the ultimate battlefield.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Little Seven?¡± Big Sis shouted.

    True God ignored her and instead stepped aside to reveal the Great Sovereign, who was behind Ancient God and Progenitor Xi.

    Within the Immemorial Citadel, many people¡¯s expressions changed dramatically due to their shock. ¡°The Great Sovereign?¡±

    ¡°Tai Hong?¡±

    Mister Mu¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Tai Hong.¡±

    Deep beneath the city, Tai Chu looked up, his eyes piercing through the Immemorial Citadel to look at the Great Sovereign, who had been beaten bloody by True God and the others. At that moment, the Origin Progenitor looked quite conflicted. ¡°Tai¡­ Hong.¡±

    True God praised the woman, ¡°I always believed Tai Hong to bepletely unreasonable, but I have to admit, she possesses greater perseverance than anyone. Out of all of us Dukkhans, she might be the closest to surpassing this realm.

    ¡°She used her own life to trap me in her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, which prevents me from escaping. For that, I respect her. Mister Mu, Tai Chu, neither of you canpare to her.¡±

    Atop the walls of the Immemorial Citadel, Mister Mu¡¯s expression turned grim. Despite the countless years he had spent fighting against the Aeternals on this battlefield, none of those near him had ever seen such an expression on his face.

    Mister Mu was looking at an entirely different woman from the Tai Hong he had once known. That woman had been a proud and arrogant figure.

    In the past, Tai Hong had been arrogant beyond measure and looked down on everyone, believing that she would surpass all and be the first to achieve Immortality. She had offered guidance to the Three Realms and Six Daos, and she had also debated the Dao with Mister Mu and Tai Chu. Her pride was backed by her invincibility.

    At the moment, the Great Sovereign¡¯s hair was disheveled, and her entire body was covered in blood. Her face was pale from the torture that she had endured. Only her eyes remained as bright and arrogant as ever.

    Figures started to appear beside the ck Mother Tree. They were powerhouses from the Ossis Ark.

    One of them was a man named Yuan Qi, a powerful individual who had once challenged Mister Mu.

    Yuan Qi observed the Great Sovereign and sneered at her. ¡°Tai Hong? To think you¡¯ve ended up like this! Hahaha, Tai Hong, this day has finallye for you! I told you that you would suffer terribly in the future, and look at you now. Hahaha!¡±

    Another voice chimed in. ¡°Tai Hong, huh? I¡¯ve heard about her. Supposed to be strong. Is that really her? She looks pretty ordinary.¡±

    ¡°Rip the woman¡¯s clothes off. Creatures should face us in their most primitive form.¡±

    ¡°I want her bones¡­¡±

    This ce was the most intense battlefield in the entire megaverse. It was the ce where both humanity and Aeternus¡¯s greatest powerhouses had gathered, and yet the Great Sovereign was being scrutinized and discussed like an object.

    The voices of the Aeternals rang loud in the Great Sovereign¡¯s ears, but she just sneered at them. Her eyes grew colder and her demeanor more arrogant. "What a bunch of trash! Old Mu, what¡¯s with that look? No one gets to pity me, not even you. Yong Heng, you¡¯re already as good as dead. Neither Tai Chu nor you can take this battle from me. This is my Dukkha. If you can¡¯t stop the rest of Aeternus, that¡¯s your problem.

    ¡°When I ovee Dukkha and destroy Yong Heng, all of you will bow to me!¡±

    Yuan Qi cocked a brow. ¡°Still as arrogant as ever. You¡¯re about to die, and yet you still talk so big.¡±

    With a casual flick of his hand, power pierced the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm to strike the Great Sovereign''s shoulder, shattering it.

    Someone beside Yuan Qiined, ¡°Old Yuan Qi, don¡¯t hit her bones! I need those. Hit her somewhere else. Look at that face¡ªit¡¯s so beautiful.¡±

    The Great Sovereign did not so much as nce at the others, as her eyes remained fixed solely on True God. No matter how much the pain she had to endure, she would never allow the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm to break. This was her determination and her own way of fighting.

    True God was staring at the Immemorial Citadel. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Tai Chu. If Tai Hong dies in front of you, how will you feel?¡±

    From far below the Immemorial Citadel, a voice replied, ¡°I¡¯ll have won.¡±

    Tai Hong instantly grew furious. ¡°Nonsense! Tai Chu, I¡¯ll outlive you for sure! You¡¯ll never beat me! Not even once!¡±

    True God waved a hand. ¡°Take the Immemorial Citadel.¡±

    From beside him, Ancient God and the others all moved forward, charging at the Immemorial Citadel. Yuan Qi and the other powerhouses from the Ossis Ark quickly followed suit.

    Atop the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s walls, Mister Mu¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Everyone, Aeternus has concentrated all of their forces here. We are fighting a defensive battle now. Do not take any unnecessary risks. We wait for reinforcements.¡±

    A terrifying battle erupted. Sequence particles filled the sky. The city trembled, and the Ossis Ark appeared. Countless figures raced towards the city.

    The number of powerhouses present in the Immemorial Citadel could not possibly hope to hold back the full power of Aeternus. The Aeternals were reinforced by both Progenitor Xi and Ancient God¡ªtwo Ortusers¡ªas well as Whiteless God, Arrow God, and Forgotten Ruins God, each of whom were part of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. When it came to the most powerfulbatants, the humans were horribly outmatched.

    Fortunately, True God remained trapped within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and thus could not join the fight. With his assistance, the Aeternals would have already won.

    Given the current situation, the only factor that could sway the final oue was if the Heavens Sect could send reinforcements in time.

    In the Scourge, Lu Yin dropped to the ground and let out a breath. He had failed. There was no way for him to absorb Dominion¡¯s divine energy. The technique was practically wless. Breaking the barrier was as difficult as an ordinary human breaking out of a sealed prison.

    Someone else arrived in the Scourge. It was Lu Tianyi.

    One after another, peak powerhouses were being trapped. The most frustrating part of Dominion was that it allowed anyone to pass through the barrier in one direction, but not the other. This meant that every additional powerhouse who went to the Scourge became trapped with the rest.

    Lu Yin had no doubt that, the longer they remained trapped, the more people who would arrive, only to end up trapped as well.

    Lu Tianyi was just as helpless as everyone else. He had not expected to encounter such a situation.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to even see Dominion from outside. Yong Heng must have created this technique just to trap people,¡± Hongyan Mavismented through gritted teeth.

    Lu Yuan spoke up. ¡°Everyone, no matter what, we need to work together to break free. No matter how long it takes us, we can¡¯t allow Yong Heng and his Aeternals to destroy the Immemorial Citadel. If that city falls and the Ossis Ark is free to leave, all of us will be done for.¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3252: The Only Way

    Lu Yin felt a heavy weight settle onto his shoulders. The strength hidden within the Ossis Ark wasparable to that of the Immemorial Citadel, which was home to many of humanity¡¯s most powerful experts. If the remnants of Aeternus united with the Ossis Ark, not even the Heavens Sect would be able to endure theirbined might.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try again.¡±

    A short timeter, Lu Yin descended once more. He still was unable to find a solution. The only possibility was if he mastered Dominion.

    <em>Wait.</em> He looked around, examining the different Scourges and the cracks that riddled the ground. Rivers of divine energy had once flowed across the Scourges, and supposedly, True God¡¯s three ultimate techniques were hidden beneath those rivers. Where had they gone?

    Lu Yuan and the others would eventually be able to break free from Dominion if they worked together, but doing so would take a long time¡ªfar longer than they could afford to spend.

    Even Lu Yin¡¯s help would only save them a negligible amount of time. It would take far too long to break the barrier.

    Frustrated, Lu Yin released his inner universe from his chest and spread it across the entire Second Scourge. His current strength meant that his inner universe could fill all six Scourges.

    He wanted to see if he could find True God¡¯s three ultimate techniques which were supposedly hidden in the Scourges.

    He had already learned the Natural Art, but not yet mastered it. There were still two techniques remaining.As his inner universe continued to expand, stars spun out across the dark Scourges. It was as though the universe was lighting up the Scourges, illuminating them with the light of the cosmos.

    Nothing was found anywhere in the Second Scourge, nor in the Third or the First. Then, as Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe reached the Fourth Scourge¡­ <em>Wait, is that Wei Shu?</em>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped open, and he suddenly vanished.

    Deep underground in the distant Fourth Scourge, Wei Shu was curled up. He did not dare to move. His eyes were closed, and there was no energy within his body at all.

    His cultivation had fallen, and he was no longer a peak powerhouse. Nothing at all stood out about him.

    This was Wei Shu¡¯s way of staying alive. If he had not done this, he would have died long ago.

    The sudden battle between the Heavens Sect and the Aeternals had caught the man off guard, and he had not had any chance to escape. He had believed that such a battle was in the distant future, but it had erupted without any warning.

    As soon as the fighting started, Wei Shu had fled underground. He had never had any intention of joining the battle. The fighting had been fierce, and the Scourges had been torn apart. The ck Mother Tree had swayed, and had even tilted. Wei Shu had trembled in fear, ecstatic that he had not joined the battle.

    The fighting had taken ce everywhere, both above and below ground.

    He had been waiting for the moment when a victor would be decided. He firmly believed that Aeternus would win because their foundation was so deep, but the actual results of the battle left the man in despair; Aeternus had lost.

    When the Aeternals were defeated and True God was trapped in the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, Wei Shu had made a decision: he would disperse his power and fall from being a peak powerhouse in order to protect himself.

    There had never been any chance for Wei Shu to escape, from the moment the battle had started. It had been impossible for anyone to leave the Scourges. Even after the fighting had ended, escape had still been impossible.

    He was certain that, the moment he tried to tear open the void, those terrifying human powerhouses would sense his actions and instantly crush him like a bug. It was inevitable.

    By dispersing his cultivation, as long as Wei Shu remained unnoticed underground, he would not only be able to stay alive, he would also be able to continue searching for True God¡¯s ultimate techniques.

    The rivers of divine energy had all been drained away, but Wei Shu knew that True God¡¯s ultimate techniques were not hidden in the rivers themselves; they were hidden in the riverbeds. This was something that he had learned after years within Aeternus. He had made countless connections and exhausted every resource avable.

    Wei Shu continued to wait. He was waiting for the Aeternals to bepletely defeated and for humanity to secure total victory. He was waiting for the Scourges to be left as an abandoned wastnd. At that time, there would be no one topete with him. He would be able to freely search for True God''s ultimate techniques and then use them to climb back up and join the ranks of truly top-tier powerhouses.

    A peak powerhouse? That level had once been impressive, but it had since be redundant.

    After mastering True God''s ultimate techniques, even a Semi-Progenitor could be invincible. Just look at Lord Lu. What kinds of battles had he fought while only a Semi-Progenitor? After his breakthrough to the Progenitor realm, he had be one of the most powerful individuals in the entire megaverse.

    Wei Shu did not intend topare himself to someone like Lu Yin, but if hepared himself to others, he was more than capable.

    He would sleep for countless years as he waited for the ideal opportunity. This was not the first time Wei Shu had done such a thing.

    Content in his slumber, Wei Shu never imagined that he would be discovered. The battle had finished, and no one would visit the barren Fourth Scourge.

    When a dim light shone down on him, Wei Shu opened his eyes. He stared nkly up at a figure above him. The man grimaced, and his expression looked worse than if he were crying. "L-Lord Lu?"

    Wei Shu had never even considered that Lu Yin himself might find him.

    While Wei Shu had considered the possibility of being discovered, there was no chance of him being found by the most powerful man in the megaverse. There was no need for Lord Lu to bother with someone like Wei Shu; he was just an insignificant ant.

    Lu Yin also had not expected to find the man.

    Wei Shu had been something of an oddity in the Fourth Scourge. He had avoided any sort of fighting, and he had instead focused on searching for True God¡¯s ultimate techniques. The man had even created a map of the rivers andkes of divine energy across five of the Scourges, which was quite impressive.

    No one else in Aeternus was as skilled at making connections as Wei Shu.

    Looking down at the man, Lu Yin said, ¡°You really know how to hide.¡±

    Wei Shu trembled as he kneeled down, ovee with a sense of despair. ¡°Lord Lu, I¡¯m just a nobody. I¡¯ve never done anything to harm humanity. Please, don¡¯t kill me. Give me a chance to change, Lord Lu! I beg you!¡±

    Lu Yin had no time to waste. ¡°Where are True God¡¯s ultimate techniques?¡±

    Wei Shu was momentarily stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin in confusion. ¡°True God¡¯s¡­ ultimate techniques?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been searching for them for so long, don¡¯t you have any leads?¡± Lu Yin pressed. He had searched all six Scourges with his inner universe, but had found nothing.

    Wei Shu blinked. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    Seeing the change in Lu Yin¡¯s expression, Wei Shu quickly continued, ¡°I may not have found them, but I know how to look for them.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°Dig.¡±

    ¡°Dig?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Supposedly, Lord Xu Jin found an ultimate technique by digging it out. Long ago, something happened in the Second Scourge. All of the corpse kings, as well as the humans from the Aeternus Kingdoms, were digging. Lord Xu Jin raised up entire sections of the rivers of divine energy and dredged the riverbeds. Ultimately, they found nothing.

    ¡°However, we now know that Lord Xu Jin learned True God¡¯s Natural Art. He must have found it while digging.

    ¡°And as for Lord Di Qiong, he was given an ultimate technique by True God himself.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Di Qiong didn¡¯t master any of the ultimate techniques.¡±

    Lu Yin himself had killed Di Qiong. If the man had mastered one of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, there was no way Di Qiong would not have used it.

    Wei Shu¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, but I am sure of one thing: if you want True God¡¯s ultimate techniques, you¡¯ll have to dig for them.¡±

    ¡°All of the rivers of divine energy are gone. Do you really think that the ultimate techniques were left behind?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had not held out much hope even while searching.

    Wei Shu nodded resolutely. ¡°They¡¯re there. Trust me, Lord Lu. If we dig up all of the river beds across the six Scourges, we¡¯ll definitely find the ultimate techniques.¡±

    ¡°The riverbeds?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where the techniques should be hidden.¡±

    Lu Yin''s inner universe had already enveloped the six Scourges, and a map of the rivers of divine energy appeared in his mind. Despite how damaged the Scourges were from the recent battle, Lu Yin could still find where the rivers had once run.

    Overwhelming power rippled through the six Scourges, catching the attention of Lu Yuan and the others. They all looked over, as they did not understand what Lu Yin was doing.

    Wei Shu felt the ground beneath him tremble, and the nearby channel that had once been a river was dredged by an unseen force. This did not only happen nearby, as the entire Fourth Scourge was upended. It was as though a giant serpent was slithering beneath thend.

    Wei Shu also knew that this was not just happening in the Fourth Scourge. The river beds in all six Scourges were being dredged.

    Lu Yin suddenly nced in a particr direction and then vanished.

    Wei Shu copsed, his body going limp as he was ovee with bitterness. Lu Yin must have found what he was searching for, what should have been Wei Shu¡¯s.

    In the Fifth Scourge, a small stone at the bottom of a shattered river channel had caught Lu Yin¡¯s attention.

    As the stone was lifted from the river bed, it flew towards the star of divine energy in Lu Yin''s inner universe, drawn by the divine energy.

    Lu Yin grabbed the stone and examined it.

    After a while, he crushed the stone in frustration. It was a copy of True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    Apparently, of his three ultimate techniques, True God had only passed down his Natural Art, keeping the other two for himself.

    That made sense. Why would True God leave something like Dominion behind in the Scourges? It would give others the key to break free.

    It was simple logic, but Lu Yin had still hoped to find more. Ultimately, the Natural Art was all that he could find.

    He returned to the Second Scourge and watched as Lu Yuan and the others continued to attack Dominion. Lu Yin had only one option remaining: make another breakthrough.

    His previous breakthroughs with Dust World and Infinity had both induced massive disturbances. He could only hope that his next breakthrough would simrly create an incrediblemotion that would be powerful enough to break Dominion.

    Lu Yin asked Lu Yuan and the others to stop attacking the barrier and to move back. Lu Yin then looked up. This time, he intended to break through with his Wordless Heavenly Book.

    If not for his previous breakthroughs with Dust World and Infinity, Lu Yin would have never considered trying to break through with his Wordless Heavenly Book. Even at this moment, he did not fully understand the purpose of this inner world beyond blocking sequence particles and allowing him to name people to be shunned from the Origin Universe.

    He did not even have an idea of a direction for this particr breakthrough.

    However, would he be able to find that direction even if he waited longer? No, he would remain lost. In that case, he might as well attempt a breakthrough and see what the Wordless Heavenly Book could be.

    As for Lightstream, Lu Yin wanted to save that inner world forst. It used the power of time, and he hoped to one day be able to use it to sail along the River of Aeons.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book appeared, and Lu Yin raised his head. Golden light shone down on his face in a warm andforting manner.

    As he stared up at the dark-red sky, Lu Yin wondered what kind of tribtion his Wordless Heavenly Book would trigger. He had never wished for arge tribtion before.

    It was a shame. If he could repeat the tribtion that he had faced for Dust World¡¯s breakthrough, where parallel universes had crashed together to crush Lu Yin, it might be enough to break Dominion.

    Far away, Lu Yuan and the others watched Lu Yin, their expressions somber.

    ¡°What kind of tribtion will be triggered from being acknowledged by the Origin Universe?¡± Hongyan Mavis had no idea what would happen. She had never been acknowledged by the entire Origin Universe.

    Throughout history, only the Origin Progenitor had also received that acknowledgement. Lu Yin was the second.

    At best, the Six Daos had only ruled over a single Maind each.

    Lu Yuan''s expression grew heavy. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. All of us were only acknowledged by a Maind. None of us ever had a breakthrough like what he¡¯s attempting with his Wordless Heavenly Book. This is the first time. It¡¯s possible that not even Master knows.¡±

    Wu Tian solemnly said, ¡°Heart refinement.¡±

    Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis looked at Wu Tian, as neither of them understood what the man meant.

    Wu Tian had enlightened countless beings, and in a way, that was much like being acknowledged by the Origin Universe. However, Wu Tian had never pursued that particr power.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3253: Heart Refinement With The Mortal World

    "I can¡¯t say if my guess is correct, but where there are gains, there are also losses. For every good, there is also a bad. Breaking through with the Wordless Heavenly Book may not trigger the most powerful tribtion, but it might also be the one that threatens to take the most. Everything depends on how he sees it."

    The group started discussing the breakthrough among themselves.

    Gradually, shadows started to appear outside True God''s Heaven-Transforming Technique.

    Lu Yin saw the shadows. Was it a parallel universe? Could this tribtion be simr to what he had faced when breaking through with Dust World? That should be impossible. The two inner worlds werepletely different, so how could they trigger the same tribtion?

    The truth was that, aside from the Origin Universe, most parallel universes did not cast down tribtions when creatures became peak powerhouses. Lu Yin was not following the path of stellr energy, which meant that there was no guaranteed chance that he would trigger a tribtion, even in the Origin Universe. However, he was creating his own path, and any who attempted to do that would trigger a tribtion.

    The more unique one¡¯s path, the more difficult the tribtion they would trigger.

    Lu Yin looked at the shadows outside of the barrier sealing off the Scourges. "Come! The greater my tribtion, the better! Hopefully, this will be able to break this Heaven-Transforming Technique."

    Gradually, the shadows grew clearer.

    Lu Yin''s eyes went wide. Was that¡­ the Fifth Maind?Lu Yin was not alone, as Lu Yuan and the others were able to see the same thing. It was not just a parallel universe that had appeared, but rather the Fifth Maind itself. As it drew closer, it disappeared, and instead, the images of countless people living their lives yed out, unaware of Lu Yin and the others observing them.

    The images were just illusions. They were images, though it was possible that these scenes were actually ying out somewhere in the Fifth Maind right now.

    Golden light was still shining down upon Lu Yin¡¯s face, but as the images grew clearer, he saw something different.

    He saw scenes demonstrating the worst aspects of humanity. These were things that only happened in the darkest corners of existence.

    "Child, do it now! Kill him! We¡¯ll get his cultivation method."

    "But, father, he¡¯s a good man! He saved me."

    "There are no good people. Do it now! Kill him! Kill him!"

    ¡­

    "My lord, I am innocent! I did not kill this family. Please, my lord, look into this matter carefully."

    "Heh, if I say you¡¯re guilty, then you are. There are no other possibilities. Begging won¡¯t help you, unless¡­"

    "Unless what?"

    "Unless you can afford to buy your life."

    "My lord, I have an eighty-year-old mother, as well as children I need to feed. Where would I get so much money?"

    "Then you¡¯re guilty. Drag him out and behead him."

    "My lord, please! I beg you! Investigate further, my lord!"

    "Master Hui, well done."

    "Don¡¯t worry, young master. Only heaven, earth, you, and I know of this matter."

    "Heh, I won¡¯t mistreat you. Looking back, that youngdy was really tempting. We killed her too soon."

    "Young master, I know of another family with an even more enticing youngdy."

    "Really? In that case, show me quickly. Rest assured, I won''t treat you unfairly."

    "Please, my lord."

    ¡­

    "Wee back from seclusion, Master."

    "I¡¯ve been in seclusion for thirteen years. This must have been hard on you, my disciples."

    "In order to serve you, Master, we would dly die a thousand deaths."

    "Hmm, since that¡¯s the case, I have one final task for you toplete."

    "Please tell us, Master."

    "Give yourselves to me as a blood sacrifice."

    "Master! Master, spare my life! I don''t want to die!"

    "Master, it''s me, Hong''er! Master-"

    "I don¡¯t have a choice. My cultivation deviated while in seclusion, and only by sacrificing your blood can I hope to restore my strength. Rest in peace, as 99,999 of you should be enough. Sigh, now I need to recruit more disciples. Such a hassle." ?

    ¡­

    Voices echoed in Lu Yin''s ears. He heard all of them as he witnessed the worst of humanity¡¯s ugliness. Gradually, the golden light that shone on his face started to dim.

    Lu Yuan and the others were all watching intently. How could this be happening?

    Wu Tian''s expression grew grave. "As expected, this is a Heart Refinement. The mortal world is full of both good and evil. Being acknowledged by a universe means that the desires of all creatures can serve as his strength, but there is also a dark side to this. It is necessary to carry both the good and the evil."

    Lu Yuan and the others only saw shadows, but Lu Yin was witnessing brutal, evil scenes. He saw the full extent of human nature¡¯s corruption,plete immorality. Darkness flooded his mind, recing his thoughts. The golden light that had once warmly shone on him grew dim and dark. It looked cold and lonely.

    Worse and worse scenes filled Lu Yin¡¯s vision, blocking out all of the light. He could only see eyes that were filled with resentment and hatred. He seemed to see arms covered with blood that reached out for him. He struggled to breathe.

    "I hate this! Why kill me? I saved him. People shouldn''t be like this! They shouldn''t be like this!"

    "I have an elderly mother, a wife, and children. How can I die? I didn¡¯t kill that family. How can I bear this guilt? How will my mother and wife handle this?"

    "Master, we treated you as our father and mother. Why do this?"

    "I hate this! Is this what human nature truly is?"

    "If there is another life, I don''t want to return as a human. Human hearts are treacherous. If I must live again as a human, then I will be the most wicked person, so no one can ever betray me."

    "If there is another life, I will be that young master! What harm is there in killing people?"

    "If there is another life, I will ughter everything for thousands of miles¡­"

    "In my next life¡­"

    The golden light had almostpletely disappeared from Lu Yin. Countless voices and images filled his mind as he was forced to experience the worst torture produced by human evil. He clutched his head while muttering to himself, "If there is another life, I will be that young master. If there is another next life, I will be that official. If there is another life, I will be that master. I will be that father and son who repay kindness with evil. I¡­"

    Lu Yin suddenly flung back his head and howled at the sky.

    Lu Yuan immediately wanted to rush over, but Wu Tian stopped him. "Don''t. Right now, he can only ovee this on his own. Since he has received the support and desires of countless creatures, he needs to endure this karma now. This is not something that you or I can help him with. Even if you manage to save him now, he will simply fall the next time."

    Lu Yuan''s face grew pale and he gritted his teeth. "Little Seven, endure! Get through this!"

    There was nothing darker than human nature. The Aeternals clearly saw human emotions and thought of them as a weakness, which is why they were able to defeat humanity. Lu Yin had survived one disaster after another. Even when multiple universes had ovepped in order to destroy him, or when he had suffered a seemingly endless tribtion, he had been able to endure it all because he had not been alone. There had always been many people supporting him. Even if parallel universes tried to crush him, Lu Yin would always have countless people supporting him, and that had caused the Origin Universe to push those various parallel universes back.

    Lu Yin had already reaped the rewards, and now he needed to pay the price.

    He was down on one knee, sweat streaming from his body. His pupils were constantly fluctuating. What he was experiencing was not anything that could be ovee with mere strength. As long as one was human, as long as they had a sense of morality, the pain would only grow worse. The better the person, the more twisted they were capable of bing after crossing their bottom line.

    Lu Yin had always held firm to his bottom line, but what he was seeing and hearing during his tribtion shattered that line entirely.

    It was as though he became that father and son, that young master, that official, that master. If he fell into this oblivion, he would be even more evil than any of them, and he would no longer be Lu Yin.

    This was the true test of Heart Refinement.

    In the Origin Universe, a Progenitor¡¯s tribtion involved questioning the heart. Lu Yin had already broken through with his Dust World and Infinity, but neither tribtion had included questioning the heart. That had led him to believe that that specific tribtion was unique to the Origin Universe. The reality was that this heart-refinement tribtion had always been waiting for him.

    He became countless viins from across the entire universe andmitted countless evil deeds. This tribtion was more infernal than any other, as Lu Yin was unable to pull himself out of the abyss. That bottom line that he had always adhered to acted like a noose that tightened around his throat.

    More and more voices rang out, louder and louder each time.

    Lu Yin closed his eyes. Suddenly, they snapped wide open. He smashed a fist into the ground, breaking the Scourge open.

    ¡°Good or evil, both are part of human nature. I can enjoy the good side of humanity, which means that I can also confront the evil side.

    ¡°So what if there¡¯s evil? What does it matter if there is darkness in human nature? I have always believed that humanity¡¯s goodness outweighs our evil. I have seen too many beautiful things: family love, romantic love, friendship. I have seen fathers and sons die for humanity, couples face death without regret, and heroes die on the battlefield with smiles on their faces.

    ¡°You think these evil scenes can rece the goodness in human nature? Ridiculous! Be gone!¡± With a roar, Lu Yin shot to his feet, waving his right hand. The darkness scattered, and he was once again enveloped by light. However, it was not enough. The deep darkness formed pairs of sinister andughing eyes that closed in, attempting to drown him.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked up at the Wordless Heavenly Book. Slowly, he spoke. ¡°Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil. Disperse for me.¡±

    The Wordless Heavenly Book suddenly erupted with golden light that pierced both the sky and True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique. The light shot towards the Fifth Maind and the Origin Universe as a whole. It even targeted the Sixverse Association.

    In the Origin Universe, everyone looked up at a golden light that blossomed in the depths of space. They could see Lu Yin, and one by one, everyone bowed in excitement. ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡­

    <em>¡®Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil.¡¯</em>

    <em>¡®Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil.¡¯</em>

    <em>¡®Since I have received the desires of all creatures, I will hear it all, good or evil. I am willing to use the good of all creatures to spend my life crossing the endless sea of evil.</em>¡¯

    ¡­

    Lu Yin¡¯s voice echoed in everyone¡¯s ears. People trembled and fell to their knees as they faced Lu Yin. ¡°Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Dao Monarch.¡±

    ¡­

    At the bottom of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Stairway to Heaven, the cauldron grew even more solid, and it glowed brightly. It had be different from before.

    Humanity as a whole could feel Lu Yin¡¯s intent. The Wordless Heavenly Book had delivered the evil of all creatures to him, but evil was just another aspect of human nature. However, goodness was greater. Lu Yin was willing to bear the evil and resolve it while guiding people toward goodness.

    All along, Lu Yin had never been the type of person to care about such things. Most of the time, he preferred to focus on himself, which meant that guiding others toward goodness had nothing to do with him. He had never even considered doing it.

    However, given the heights that he had reached, the things that he saw, and the experiences that he had felt, everything waspletely different from in the past.

    In the past, he had been able to say that he owed nothing to the masses. At most, he had been willing to protect humanity, when it was within his power. He had considered that as his responsibility as a human being.

    However, Lu Yin had since been protected by humanity, and they would continue to do so even more so in the future. He needed to ept this responsibility.

    At this moment, Lu Yin seemed inviable. His light spread across the entire Sixverse Association, and everyone could feel it. Even the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield could feel the warmth of Lu Yin¡¯s light.

    For a moment, even the Aeternals were astounded.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3254: Battle At The Immemorial Citadel

    True God''s expression grew increasingly grim. Lu Yin had already received the support of all of the creatures in the Origin Universe. Then, he had absorbed divine energy from the ck Mother Tree, continually challenging his limits. At this moment, Lu Yin had gained additional support with a new breakthrough, and he now posed a greater threat than ever before. The child could not be allowed to live.

    Even so, Lu Yin did not really matter. He could not break free from True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique. Even if he was capable of reaching that level of strength, by the time he did, humanity would already be gone. What could Lu Yin do at that time?

    In the Second Scourge, the Wordless Heavenly Book disappeared, and the golden light faded away. Everything returned to normal.

    Lu Yin remained standing in ce, looking slightly confused. He was certain that the Wordless Heavenly Book had broken through and be a Progenitor¡¯s world, but it felt no different from before. Had anything at all changed? Was he simply unable to perceive the difference?

    He looked up and saw that the shadow of the Origin Universe was beginning to fade. The tribtion was over, and yet it seemed as though Lu Yin had gained nothing. He had even made a grand vow to guide other humans towards goodness, but just the thought of doing so gave him a headache. How was he supposed to guide others? He was not exactly a good person himself!

    As for breaking True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique, that was even more questionable.

    At this moment, Great Elder Shan Gu arrived in the Second Scourge.

    The man had remained in the Mirari Realm after the battle there to recover from his injuries. Unfortunately, he had lost the ability to call upon the statues of his Heavenly King card. His strength had fallen drastically, and he had been continuously trying out new cards within the Lost n¡¯s universe.

    During the most recent battle, he had been tasked with protecting the survivors of the Lost n, which was why he had not gone to fight in the Second Scourge. It was unexpected for him to appear at this moment."Dao Monarch."

    When Lu Yin saw Shan Gu, something suddenly urred to him, and his eyes lit up. ¡°Senior, why are you here?¡±

    The man replied, ¡°I just happened to have some business with you, Dao Monarch, regarding Evernight.¡±

    Lu Yin stared intently at the Great Elder. ¡°I also happen to have something I need to discuss with you, Senior.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Shan Gu looked puzzled.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and the others all approached him. ¡°Little Seven, did the Wordless Heavenly Book sessfully be a Progenitor¡¯s world?¡±

    Lu Yin nodded, but he also frowned. ¡°While I seeded, I wasn¡¯t able to break True God¡¯s barrier. However, I have another way.¡±

    He then looked at Shan Gu. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯re here because of that card, right?¡±

    The man replied, ¡°You are correct, Dao Monarch. It¡¯s about that card.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I want to summon that card here,¡± Lu Yin stated. He was referring to what the Lost n publicly called a Primeval card. However, that card was not really a Primeval card. Primeval cards were equal to the Origin realm, which was Lu Yuan¡¯s level. Both Evernight and Heavenly King had been enhanced to the Origin level, and adding another Primeval card would be meaningless.

    The card actually possessed the power to protect the Lost n, and it had once allowed them to escape from some invincible being in their original megaverse, and it might have even posed a threat to that being.

    That card was at least at the Dukkha Realm, which was the same level as the Origin Progenitor, True God, and the Great Sovereign. There was even a chance that the card was more powerful than those three.

    Lu Yin had not considered using the card to break True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique until he saw Great Elder Shan Gu. Of course, even if Lu Yin had thought of the possibility earlier, it would not have mattered, as he could not summon the card on his own.

    Shan Gu grew confused. ¡°Here?¡±

    ¡°Will it be difficult to summon it here?¡±

    ¡°Of course! In order to summon that card, we need to wait for the Shangsan Festival. Only when the barrier opens is it possible to summon the card. We aren¡¯t in the Lost n¡¯s universe, which means that we can¡¯t open the barrier here,¡± Shan Gu exined helplessly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. Was it not possible to summon the card from the Scourge?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Lost n¡¯s universe?¡± Mu Shen looked up at a shadow in the sky.

    Everyone else looked up to stare into the sky. They looked at where Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion had appeared for his Wordless Heavenly Book. Since the tribtion had finished, the first thing that had disappeared was the images of the people, followed by the Fifth Maind, and then the Origin Universe. Everything was disappearing in the reverse order that they had appeared in.

    It was like a curtain was being drawn back.

    So far, the curtain was only just closing on the Origin Universe, which was connected to the Lost n¡¯s universe. Everyone in the Scourge had the strength to make out the Lost n¡¯s universe within the vast image that had appeared.

    Lu Yin looked at Great Elder Shan Gu.

    The man was still staring at the image in the sky, puzzled by the sight of the Origin Universe in the sky of the Scourge. The Great Elder had not made his way to the Scourge because of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough which had transformed the Wordless Heavenly Book into a Progenitor¡¯s world. The old man had been intending to speak with Lu Yin, and his timing was nothing more than a coincidence. After hearing Lu Yin¡¯s request and seeing the image of the Origin Universe in the sky, Shan Gu¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try. Since we can see my people¡¯s universe, it might be possible to open the barrier.¡±

    ¡°Senior, humanity¡¯s survival hangs by a thread. You must open the barrier!¡± Hongyan Mavis reminded the old man. While she was not fully aware of the Lost n¡¯s situation, she believed that a solution that Lu Yin hade up with at this point in time should have a good chance of seeding.

    Shan Gu felt even greater pressure after hearing Hongyan Mavis¡¯s warning. While the old man did not fully understand the current situation, the serious expressions on Lu Yin and the others¡¯ faces made it clear just how dire the situation was.

    Heavenly King floated into the air. Shan Gu was no longer able to borrow power from any of the statues, but the card itself remained intact. This was just enough to allow the Great Elder to stand up to an Ortuser.

    Shan Gu could not attack with Heavenly King, but he could still intimidate his opponents. However, this was insufficient for the Great Elder.

    The reason why he had wanted to speak with Lu Yin was to ask for Evernight, as Lu Yin rarely used the Primeval card himself. If not, Shan Gu wanted to ask if Lu Yin could help improve another one of the Lost n¡¯s cards to allow them to regain some measure of their lost strength.

    Shan Go was not concerned about his own strength, but he was very concerned about the Lost n¡¯s.

    Tian Ci had ughtered many of the Lost nsmen. While Shan Gu had not participated in the battle against the Boundary Guardians, the burden of having failed to protect his people weighed heavily on him.

    He was a powerhouse who had once fought in the ultimate battle of his native megaverse. He had seen an invincible being. There was no longer anything that could truly frighten Great Elder Shan Gu. What hecked was strength.

    "Ancestors, our situation is dire. I humbly request an early opening for the Shangsan Festival.

    ¡°I humbly request that the barrier be opened.¡± Great Elder Shan Gu waved his hand, and Heavenly King seemed to pierce through the sky, vanishing from the universe.

    Lu Yin and the others all watched.

    Heavenly King did not pass beyond True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique. Still, just outside of the barrier, where the universe connected to the Lost n¡¯s universe and the Origin Universe, there was a slight tremor. Right after that, an indescribable sensation overcame everyone. It was as though the air they were breathing had acquired a new vor.

    The people from the Origin Universe felt the sensation even more clearly.

    It was as if the universe had just acquired something more.

    The stronger the person, the more clearly they could feel this sensation.

    Shan Gu¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Dao Monarch, with Heavenly King, the barrier can only be opened for enough time to burn one stick of incense.¡±

    Lu Yin stepped forward, his expression solemn. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Everyone moved back as Lu Yin moved forward on his own. He slowly rose into the air, just like when he had triggered his breakthrough. No one could help him at this moment. He already stood at the pinnacle of the megaverse.

    ¡­

    At the Immemorial Citadel, everyone heard Lu Yin¡¯s voice, and that made True God even more afraid. The Aeternals¡¯ assault on the Immemorial Citadel grew even more ferocious.

    The Ossis Ark moved forward. It was going to crash into the Immemorial Citadel.

    Yuan Qi was an ancient monster. He carried a bell on his back, and each time it tolled, the universe shook, and sequence particles were dispersed. Only the sound of Mister Mu''s flute could resist the tolling of the bell.

    From within the Immemorial Citadel, a super giant rose up. This was the source of the enormous arm that had appeared on several asions. He was an ancestor of the super giants, and he had also captured the Ancient Lightning Locust. At this moment, he confronted the Ossis Ark itself directly, charging at the ship in a frenzy.

    For Aeternus, Ancient God stepped forward. He released his gray, God-realm battle force. Stars disappeared as a palm strike shot out to meet the ancestor of the super giants.

    The ancient giant simultaneously reached out to grab Ancient God.

    The collision took ce outside the city walls, and the impact suppressed the mes that surrounded the Immemorial Citadel. The force of the resulting shockwaves tore through the void, revealing the Hollow in all directions.

    The ancient super giant¡¯s hand cracked, and he quickly pulled it back. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Ancient God raised a hand. "Purgatory Seal."

    Unlike before, his Purgatory Seal had now taken on a dark-gray hue, and it gave off an ancient, primordial aura. The giant was astonished, as he was also an Ortuser. In the past, he had fought against Yuan Qi on multiple asions while protecting the Immemorial Citadel. There were almost no beings within Aeternus who had the strength to face the giant directly, and yet a single palm strike from Ancient God had injured the giant. The demonstration power changed the giant¡¯s expression.

    Chu Yi appeared. "Musclehead, have you still not understood?"

    Ancient God calmly looked at Chu Yi. "Understood what? Let¡¯s see how long your Immemorial Citadel canst for. No one ising to help you. They can¡¯t break through True God¡¯s Heaven-Transforming Technique. Humanity is already done for."

    As he spoke, Ancient God disappeared. He reappeared in front of Chu Yi, already attacking.

    Chu Yi sighed, "Even if the Immemorial Citadel falls, you Aeternals won''t have an easy time of things. The people here do not fear death."

    "Chu Yi, you can''t stop me."

    "Then I shall break through to the Origin realm. Master warned me to not do that unless absolutely necessary, but this is the right time." As Chu Yi finished speaking, Ce Wangtian, who had been standing beside the man, kicked at Ancient God. The Skygod raised an arm to block the attack, but he was still forced back.

    The power of the kick startled Ancient God, and he looked at Ce Wangtian''s slippers. <em>Isn¡¯t that Lu Yin''s weapon?</em>

    Ce Wangtian was from the Third Maind, so Ancient God had seen him before. However, he had never paid attention to the man¡¯s slippers before, which was why he had not made the connection between Ce Wangtian and Lu Yin¡¯s slipper.

    "Senior Chu Yi, you¡¯ve finally figured it out, so hurry up now. We can¡¯t hold out for much longer," Ce Wangtian shouted.

    The Immemorial Citadel was being attacked by Aeternus¡¯s forces on all sides. One expert after another fell, and blood stained the city¡¯s walls as the mes incinerated the corpses.

    The sudden appearance of Progenitor Xi, Arrow God, and the other experts from the Scourges was enough to overpower the Immemorial Citadel, and the humans were unable to mount a defense.

    At this moment, the universe practically copsed in one direction. The destruction suddenly transformed into a brilliant beam of light.

    Chu Yi mourned the loss. Babal had just used his nine-star technique, Restart, which meant that the man was about to die.

    Qing Hui, who had once fought with Lu Yin when he had posed as Ye Bo, had a Progenitor¡¯s world known as Road''s End: Andromeda, as well as sequence particles that granted him incredible defenses. Even Lu Yin had been wary of the man. At the moment, five of Arrow God¡¯s arrows were lodged in Qing Hui¡¯s body. The Arrows of Entropy transformed order into chaos. If not for Qing Hui¡¯s sequence particles, he would have already died.

    There were experts in the Immemorial Citadel who could endure Arrow God''s attacks, but there were also experts with simr strength among the Aeternals.

    Kong Tianzhao again sought out Progenitor Xi. This time, there was no big tree to save the swordsman. His choices were to either break through, or die.

    The Immemorial Citadel was bathed in blood as the Aeternals nearly breached the city walls.

    The Ossis Ark once again charged at the walls.

    Deep underground, Tai Chu looked up, just as a pair of slitted crimson eyes appeared before him.

    "That trick doesn''t work on me," Tai Chu said, and the corpse king simply shattered. Tai Chu never even nced at the corpse king, instead focusing on a particr corner. There, in a microscopic world that was invisible to human eyes,y a threat. It was Whiteless God.

    Suddenly, a flirtatiousugh rang out. "Origin Progenitor, we meet again! Miaomiao says hi."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3255: Non-Existence

    <h4>Chapter 3255: Non-Existence</h4>

    Tai Chu''s expression changed as he looked upward. "You-"

    Before he could finish speaking, an invisible attack struck out. It was a fist that punched sideways, tearing through the void. It shattered an entire side of the Immemorial Citadel, and the aftermath was terrifying, as the shockwaves nearly tore through to the True Void.

    Whiteless God, who had survived the battle in the Second Scourge, but been outmaneuvered by Jiang Feng and Wu Tian, was no longer able to hide in her microscopic world. In the face of this attack, she instinctively retreated.

    A person was standing in front of Tai Chu, and they lifted their head to look at Forgotten Ruins God.

    The woman did not try to attack Tai Chu. It was clear that she was being cautious. "Origin Progenitor, I just came to say hi. Is all of this really necessary? Haha."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    A dog¡¯s bark rang out. It was the Skydog.

    No fewer than five attacks flew out from the Immemorial Citadel and struck the dog, but Skydog remainedpletely unharmed. Even Babal''s Restart earlier had not done anything to the beast, despite the dog being within range of the nine-star technique. Skydog rampaged through the citadel, seemingly unkible.

    Suddenly, chains appeared. "A mere dog dares to act so arrogantly in the Immemorial Citadel? Watch as I cook you."

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog looked at the chains snaking through the air and wrapping around it. They were controlled by Qiu, who was the first person that Lu Yin had faced during the Divine Selection when he had been posing as Ye Bo. Because he had failed to kill Qiu, Ye Bo had failed the first stage of the Divine Selection. As a direct result, Lu Yin had used Possession to injure Di Xia in order to take his ce for the remainder of the selection.

    Qiu was not a particrly powerful expert, but he was unkible. He had been one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at the greatest height of the Heavens Sect era, and he practiced the same inherited battle technique as Progenitor Chen, which made the man essentially immortal. He had even invented a revolting 108 suicide techniques.

    He hadprehended the Law of Imprisonment, and the chains made of sequence particles were almost impossible to escape from.

    At the moment, the Ancient Lightning Locust was trapped by the chains, and now, Skydog was also being targeted, which caused the dog to let out a horrifying howl.

    Far away, a sh of light tore through the chains, allowing Skydog to break free and escape.

    Qiu¡¯s expression turned grim as he looked in the direction of the attack. It was that man yet again.

    There was a powerhouse within the Aeternals¡¯ Ossis Ark who was Qiu''s nemesis. That powerhouse specifically targeted Qiu during every battle, and it was utterly infuriating.

    Elsewhere, mes swept through outer space to shatter a corner of the Immemorial Citadel. Qiu rushed over, only for a chill to suddenly creep up his back. It was that man again. <i>Damn it</i>.

    More and more people looked towards the northwest corner of the city, where the walls had been breached and humanity was suffering heavy casualties.

    The northwest corner was not the only ce suffering. Pressure was mounting everywhere for the Immemorial Citadel. Even the Origin Progenitor, Tai Chu, had been attacked by Whiteless God. No part of the entire citadel had the strength to defend itself.

    Huge cracks spread across the ground.

    Tai Chu looked up through those fissures and stared into outer space. He was focused on the Great Sovereign, Tai Hong.

    The woman was covered with blood, and her head hung low. Despite her appearance, she was still alive. If she had died, her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm would have disappeared, and True God would have already entered the Immemorial Citadel. If that happened, the city would bepletely doomed.

    But at this moment, the crisis grew even worse.

    Tian En, the butterfly of the Boundary Guardians, appeared. She spoke with a gentle voice that echoed across the battlefield. "Humanity, in your arrogance, you have defied the heavens. Now, the Boundary Guardians will protect the heavens and bring enlightenment. This Immemorial Citadel must fall."

    Mister Mu, Tai Chu, the ancient super giant, and all the other powerful individuals looked at the butterfly with cold, intimidating res.

    The Aeternals were humanity¡¯s enemy, and all of them deserved to die, but the Boundary Guardians were even worse.

    Progenitor Ku leaped straight at Tian En. "The grudge from the past needs to be settled."

    Tian En''s voice remained as gentle as ever as she replied, "Ku Jie, your greatest sin is not dying."

    Chu Yi stood atop the city walls. He took a deep breath and looked forward. "Master, your disciple is entering the Origin realm."

    The moment he spoke, space shattered. Chu Yi had triggered his Origin realm breakthrough.

    ...

    Still in the Second Scourge, Lu Yin was standing high in the sky. He stared at the image of the Lost n¡¯s universe that was growing fainter. He only had a few minutes left. He needed to find a way to draw out that card again.

    How had he summoned it in the past? He had done so by revealing his true thoughts.

    At the time, he had only possessed a vague understanding of the megaverse. He had not known that it had boundaries, nor that other megaverses existed. Instead, Lu Yin had wanted to break through the false sky in order to see the true sky and the true universe, and for everyone to create their own rules and experience true freedom.

    Looking back, while Lu Yin realized that his understanding of the megaverse had been unclear at the time, his thoughts had been surprisingly urate, which was what had allowed him to draw out that card.

    At this moment, how should he do so?

    Speaking the same words would not work. Great Elder Shan Gu had already warned him about that.

    Lu Yin stared up at the starry sky as time slowly trickled away.

    Everyone watched him from the distance. No one tried to rush him. There were times when silence itself could be a kind of power.

    Shan Gu was feeling quite anxious. Could that card really be drawn out? That legendary card had once managed to intimidate even that invincible being. If it truly appeared, the bnce of the entire megaverse would shift.

    <i>Dao Monarch, you must summon it! You must!</i>

    The Lost n would never forget that they still had a home, and they always wanted to return and see it again.

    The image of the Origin Universe on the other side of True God¡¯s Dominion was growing fainter, and it was already nearly invisible. Lu Yin was almost out of time.

    He let out a long breath, his eyes calm. "My vague spections have proven true. This megaverse has boundaries.

    "Who determines the boundaries of the megaverse? Who put a gate in that boundary?

    "Who decides if we can leave or if someone can enter? Who binds us?

    "It might be the one who calls themselves ''Heaven.''

    "If this Heaven allows humanity as a whole to develop, following the natural course of survival of the fittest, then we will revere Heaven, love Heaven, and follow its path.

    "But if this Heaven is unjust, destroying our development and stopping humanity from continuing, then we will fight them to the very end.

    "I said before that I will one day shatter this false sky and allow everyone to see the true universe.

    "One day, everyone will be able to create their own rules and be free.

    "As for me, there is no one in this megaverse who can be called Heaven. Heaven represents freedom, morality, and justice.

    "If someone really wishes to call themselves Heaven, then I will not allow such a Heaven to exist."

    No Sky Above Me was the most powerful attack that the Royal Regent¡¯s statue inside Heavenly King couldunch. That attack had represented the powerhouse¡¯s courage to conquer the megaverse. It had also represented the will of Shan Gu¡¯s megaverse during their final battle. No matter if they won or lost, Lu Yin had been able to feel their determination to fight to the death.

    He was willing to stand with those people and fight back against forces that should not control the megaverse so that everyone could regain their freedom.

    The Great Elder¡¯s eyes flushed red as he stared at Lu Yin. It was as if he could see the Royal Regent once again. That figure had once stood before everyone to charge at an invincible being. He had shielded his people from countless storms.

    <i>Royal Regent, if you are still alive, please protect us.</i>

    "I¡¯ve realized that we¡¯ve been overthinking things from the start," Lu Yin continued, as the card had still not appeared.

    Shan Gu gave Lu Yin an odd look. Overthinking things?

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, and the others all stared at Lu Yin as well.

    The young man sped his hands behind his back as he stared up at the sky. His voice suddenly grew softer, sounding both teasing and amused. "As long as something doesn¡¯t exist in our hearts, it will never truly exist. The ''Heavens'' is the origin of what nurtures humanity and the countless species throughout the megaverse. The Heavens are not a single creature. No being can ever be called ''Heaven.''"

    There was a snap. Just as the image of the Origin Universe was about topletely disappear from the sky, a tremor erupted.

    In the Lost n¡¯s universe, the barrier opened uppletely. A streak of white light appeared high in the sky, tearing through the Hollow across an unfathomable distance to instantly reach the Second Scourge.

    It seemed as though there was no distance between the Origin Universe and the Second Scourge for this card. For this card, distance did not even exist.

    Lu Yin''s lips curved up into a smile. People always thought of the heavens and considered themselves below the heavens, but in reality, where was ¡°below?¡± And just what were the heavens? Such concepts only existed because people had conceived them.

    There was an invincible being supporting the Boundary Guardians whom they referred to as ¡°Heaven.¡± To be the enemy of the Boundary Guardians was to rebel against that Heaven. However, why should others ept that notion?

    Lu Yin did not see things the same way. That invincible being was just another living creature, not the Heavens themselves. Thus, they had no right to call themselves Heaven.

    The heavens were the natural megaverse that had given life to countless creatures, not a solitary being.

    This was what Lu Yin believed, and that aligned with what the card believed.

    Neither had ever seen themselves as inferior to that invincible being. That being was just another enemy, nothing more.

    Far away, Shan Gu heard Lu Yin''s words, and the old man¡¯s eyes zed over. Was that it? The Royal Regent''s No Sky Above Me had once seemed so profound, but to Lord Lu, ''Heaven'' did not even exist. There was a being that was an enemy, nothing more.

    Lu Yin summoned the card with that final statement. Great Elder Shan Gu looked up to see a corner of the card be increasingly clear. <i>So, you think the same</i>.

    There were no inferior people, only those who felt that they were inferior.

    When a person cast off their feelings of inferiority, their vision and outlook would change entirely.

    These feelings had been the shackles of humanity, and Lu Yin had just broken those bonds.

    Everyone stared at the sky past the stars. The card was bing clearer. It seemed to overshadow both the Origin Universe and the Scourges. People could see it from both universes.

    In the Heavens Sect, the Perennial World, the Lost n¡¯s universe, and across the Sixverse Association, countless people stared up at the card that had suddenly appeared. They could not make sense of what was happening.

    Lu Yin spread his arms wide. "Come."

    The card fully revealed one corner as it descended towards Lu Yin. The moment the card touched True God¡¯s Dominion, cracks appeared in the barrier before the card simply tore through it.

    At the Immemorial Citadel, True God suddenly turned to stare. How was this possible? He waved a hand, and the six streams of divine energy that he had extracted from the Scourges roared and surged toward the Immemorial Citadel. "Destroy the Immemorial Citadel, quickly!"

    On the other side, Chu Yi had already taken the three steps needed to enter the Origin realm, and thews of the universe could no longer touch him as he fought against Ancient God.

    The surge of divine energy painted the Immemorial Citadel red. The mes that surrounded the city were suppressed by the streams of divine energy, and they became dark red as two of the city¡¯s walls shattered at once.

    Ce Wangtian coughed up blood, both slippers in hand.

    Big Sis fell to the ground. The image of the Abyssal King behind her was slowly fading away.

    The ancient super giant had already fallen to one knee. He had been facing off against a bronze-skinned corpse king. The monster was one of the strongest creatures on the Ossis Ark, second only to the old freak, Yuan Qi.

    The ground trembled and broke open as corpse kings entered the Immemorial Citadel.

    The warriors of the city sacrificed themselves, like moths throwing themselves into the mes.

    Humanity could not hold out any longer. There was nothing that they could do.

 Chapter 3256: Burial Garden Reappears

    <h4>Chapter 3256: Burial Garden Reappears</h4>

    Divine energy continued to pour into the corpse kings, granting them greater power than ever. This strength came from True God sacrificing his own divine energy, which weakened him. However, since the man himself could not leave the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, whether he was weakened or not was irrelevant to the battle.

    Yuan Qi struck out with his bell while letting out a maniacalugh. "Old Mu, this is the day the Immemorial Citadel will be destroyed! You are all finished! Hahaha!"

    Mister Mu remained unphased, though his flute¡¯s melody intensified.

    True God stared into the depths of the Immemorial Citadel. "Tai Chu, are you still not going to act? Tai Hong is about to die."

    Tai Chu stared at the ck Mother Tree. He could not move. If he did, the sequence strings would be released, and the Aeternals would be able to easily destroy many of them. Losing that stability would cause the megaverse to expand, but since the megaverse had set boundaries, expansion was impossible, and the pressure would cause the megaverse to copse and restart.

    This was the Aeternals¡¯ ultimate goal.

    The sequence strings could not be destroyed. The people of the megaverse could not be annihted.

    Inside the Immemorial Citadel, Zhong Tou''s forehead was bleeding. "I''m getting old, so old. Still, we¡¯re all going to die anyways, so it doesn''t matter.

    "Brothers, let''s charge out onest time! Let¡¯s fight one final battle before the Immemorial Citadel falls!

    "Old Six, I bet that you¡¯ll live longer than me! I''m going out first."

    "When the six of us first swore brotherhood, we swore to live and die together. Third Brother, don''t you dare break that promise."

    "We six siblings are all from different eras, and even different races, but we made it this far together, which has made it all worth it. Just seeing those slitted red eyes makes me sick! Charge!"

    "Charge!"

    Six men charged forth from the Immemorial Citadel, never to return.

    Zhong Tou was left speechless. "Couldn¡¯t you all at least wait for this old man?"

    "Zhong Tou, shall we go together?" a melodious voice asked.

    Zhong Tou looked over at a distant corner of the city. An elegant woman of unparalleled beauty stood there. She clutched her shoulder while holding a broken sword. She slowly walked forward, her grave injuries clearly visible.

    Zhong Tou chuckled. "It would be my honor to die alongside the Ice Phoenix Fairy."

    The woman was a Celestial Ice Phoenix, and she had been a gatemaster of one of the Heavens Sect¡¯s Twelve Heavenly Gates from the Fourth Maind. She had since risen to be a Sequence Progenitor.

    When the Fourth Maind had shattered, she had not been on the Maind. Later, she had followed the big tree to the Immemorial Citadel during the battle at the Third Maind¡¯s Turtledove River. She had continued fighting here ever since.

    "Let¡¯s go." The woman¡¯s expression was frigid, and her breathtaking beauty waspletely cold. She raised her broken sword, which glinted with multiple colors, as she charged at the Ossis Ark itself.

    Zhong Tou¡¯s face betrayed his great excitement. "It''s finally my turn to die! Hahaha!"

    The Immemorial Citadel continued to break apart as divine energy surged from up above. The dark-red energy crashed down in an attempt to drown the entire city.

    More corpse kings stepped out from the Ossis Ark.

    This entire region of outer space had turned red.

    At this moment, the void trembled. A figure silently emerged. They stood before the Ossis Ark. Compared to the massive bone boat, this figure seemed like an ant.

    Right at this moment, two corpse kings happened to step out from the Ossis Ark.

    Both had been granted incredible power through bone grafting, and they were each powerful enough to fight against the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s greatest powerhouses.

    As soon as they saw the figure, the two corpse kings attacked without any hesitation. One carried seven swords on its back, all of which were unleashed instantly. These des had already cut down several of the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s most powerful individuals.

    The figure before the corpse kings just raised a hand. There was only a single palm strike.

    Not only were the two corpse kings utterly obliterated, but the attack also struck the Ossis Ark, sending a tremor through the enormous boat. Step by step, the figure pushed the Ossis Ark out of the Immemorial Citadel and away from the city. All the while, any corpse king that tried to stop this from happening was destroyed.

    Forgotten Ruins God turned her head, and her pupils shrank. ¡°Xia Shang!¡±

    Countless eyes from both the Aeternals and the Immemorial Citadel fell upon the figure who had just shoved the Ossis Ark out of the city.

    That figure was none other than Progenitor Chen: Xia Shang.

    There was a brief moment of silence. No one had expected Xia Shang to suddenly appear on this battlefield.

    Ku Jie, who was locked in battle with Tian En, startedughing. "Xia Shang, so you didn¡¯t die after all."

    Xia Shang stood on the shattered walls of the Immemorial Citadel. He stared into the distance, looking straight at True God. "Because of you, I¡¯ve stayed in Burial Garden for too long. This battle has finallye."

    The void warped behind the man, and the eerie sound of suona horns rang out as the Dead Regiment appeared, bringing with them a bizarre aura.

    The Dead Regiment was the embodiment of battle itself. Early on in Lu Yin¡¯s cultivation, Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper had only been a Semi-Progenitor, while the four captains of the Dead Regiment had revealed power levels of just over a million. However, all of them had lived since the Heavens Sect era.

    Throughout the eons, Burial Garden had entombed many powerful individuals.

    Those who willingly entered had volunteered to be buried, while the unwilling had been carried away by the Dead Regiment.

    The appearance of Burial Garden indicated a doomed battle, but they also represented rebirth and humanity¡¯s future.

    Burial Garden had always been waiting for the final battle, and that battle had finally arrived. Progenitor Chen had honored his vow and never left Burial Garden until this moment. He had finally emerged to join the fight.

    If the Immemorial Citadel fell, humanity would have no future. This battle would also be Burial Garden¡¯sst stand.

    One after another, wandering corpses emerged from Burial Garden. Each of them represented powerful individuals from multiple eras. There were descendants of Ce Wangtian, a one-legged old monster, Elder Tong, Gu Guai, and even the wandering corpses of monstrous individuals, such as the Eastern Mountains Tea King.

    Wandering corpses were also a part of Burial Garden¡¯s strength, and they would fight in this final battle for both Burial Garden and for humanity.

    Numerous powerful individuals rose from underground in Burial Garden. Their eyes were vacant, but pure will and determination moved their bodies. They charged at the Aeternals. These were people from all generations who had chosen to enter Burial Garden.

    The shocking scene shook both the humans and the Aeternals.

    Ce Wangtian stared nkly at one of the people who had appeared. "Xiao''er?"

    Big Sis was panting as she looked at a little girl. She was Elder Tong. Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s Impious Sutra was a collection of many people¡¯s techniques, but Elder Tong¡¯s technique hadid the foundation for everything. Big Sis had not expected Elder Tong to have entered Burial Garden.

    "Is that the Eastern Mountains Tea King? That wretched beast."

    "That¡¯s Blind God! He¡¯s the disciple of the Third Maind¡¯s Progenitor Blind."

    Progenitor Ku looked over from his fierce battle with Tian En. He saw someone familiar emerge from Burial Garden. The person was formed from a strange power, but their face was very familiar. "Big Brother Fu."[1]

    Many people were recognized. It was as though time had folded in on itself. Both ancient and modern powerhouses were all converging onto the battlefield to face their fated enemy.

    Inside of Burial Garden, in a city a short distance from the Yellow Springs, stood the peak of Mt. Microcosms. In that city were Unseen Light, Shang Qing, and many others. They watched the changes that took ce throughout Burial Garden, and they could even sense the incredible battle taking ce outside, though it felt distant to them.

    Chu Yi sighed. "Even Burial Garden has appeared. I wonder if the future will end up buried in that garden, or if there will be no need for that insurance."

    Ancient God stated in a grim voice, "The final oue won¡¯t change."

    On the citadel¡¯s shattered walls, Progenitor Chen''s gaze swept the battlefield before locking onto Wang Xiaoyu¡¯s.

    The woman met Xia Shang¡¯s eyes.

    The two stared at each other in silence.

    A cyan sword shed out from one point on the battlefield, the attack epassing the entire Immemorial Citadel. Progenitor Xi had attacked.

    The power of her Qingluo Intent had appeared once again. It was a force powerful enough to suppress the entire battlefield.

    Progenitor Chen moved forward with Inverse Step, moving parallel to time as he threw a palm strike at Progenitor Xi.

    This attack froze the void, and the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes, which had been suppressed by the streams of divine energy, surged into the Progenitor¡¯s palm, making his hand as dazzling as a sun. His attack shattered Progenitor Xi¡¯s cyan sword sh and struck the woman herself.

    The impact caused an indescribable heat to instantly consume Progenitor Xi¡¯s body, and she vanished into nothingness.

    Forgotten Ruins God, Arrow God, and everyone else was terribly shocked. How was this possible?

    Atop the ck Mother Tree, True God''s expression fell. Xia Shang... he was a geniusbatant unmatched throughout all of history. No one else couldpare to the man¡¯s talent for battle.

    If Lu Yin was the most talented cultivator in history, then Xia Shang was the most talented fighter in history.

    The man was too perfectly suited for the battlefield. He had once possessed the strength to suppress the Seven Skygods, and after so many years hidden in Burial Garden, Progenitor Chen had created a battle technique that intimidated even Yong Heng. That palm strike far exceeded what Xia Shang had been capable of in the past with the sequence particles that he had possessed.

    Forgotten Ruins God was horrified. Xia Shang had changed his sequence particles. He had somehow managed to destroy thew of the universe that he hadprehended and thenprehended another one. What a madman.

    Once someoneprehended thews of the universe, it was practically impossible topletely destroy their sequence particles.

    Even Lu Yuan, whose sequence particles were not focused onbat, could not easily destroy his own.

    However, during the Daosource Sect era, at the height of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, Progenitor Chen, Xia Shang, had re-cultivated sequence particles more than once. People had assumed that, after his eight clones were all killed, his sequence particles had be fixed, but they were proven wrong.

    Who else would be so insane?

    Whatw of the universe had the man mastered this time? How had he managed to obliterate Progenitor Xi with a single palm?

    Progenitor Xi was an Ortuser, which meant that thews of the universe should not have been able to get close to her, even if her strength had fallen significantly.

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s one attack managed to instantly silence the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s entire battlefield. The power of that palm strike was overwhelming.

    Whenever Kong Tianzhao faced Progenitor Xi, he had been suppressed and overpowered by the woman, so he was well aware of her strength. Even if she was incapable of fully unleashing the might of an Ortuser, it should have been impossible for her to die to a single attack.

    The swordsman looked at Xia Shang¡¯s hand. That attack had used the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes. Xia Shang had somehow borrowed the power of the city.

    Kong Tianzhao was absolutely correct. Xia Shang could not have killed Progenitor Xi with one strike without using that borrowed power. But what of it? It was still something that he was capable of doing.

    Progenitor Chen raised his hand again. It grew as bright as a zing star, and the mes beneath the Immemorial Citadel formed a maelstrom that swept toward the man.

    He raised his hand up high. "Yong Heng, I created this for you. Only this eternal me can incinerate you."

    True God praised the Progenitor. "Xia Shang, you truly are the greatest fighter in history, but that¡¯s still not enough.

    "Not even Burial Garden''s arrival will be able to change things.

    "I¡¯ve been waiting for all of you to finally appear, both Burial Garden and the Immemorial Citadel. If I don¡¯t deal with all of you, there will always be a threat."

    True God then looked away, shifting his gaze until he faced both the Immemorial Citadel and Burial Garden. He gently tapped the void. "True God¡¯s Eternal Decree."

    All three of True God¡¯s ultimate techniques had appeared: Natural Art, Dominion, and at this moment, Eternal Decree, thest of the man¡¯s ultimate techniques, was being used. It was a technique that had been created specifically for this final battle.

    No one had ever seen the technique before. It had not appeared, even during the battle that had destroyed the ancient Heavens Sect.

    As True God lightly tapped on space, beams of light started to appear. They slowly grew and expanded, warping until they took on human shapes. Finally, what unfolded terrified everyone from the Immemorial Citadel.

    "Is this the Immemorial Citadel? It¡¯s been a long time. I see so many familiar faces."

    "Thanks to our lord for allowing us to appear once more!"

    "We haven¡¯t been resurrected; all that¡¯s happened is the immortal seeds that were left behind have sprouted. We¡¯ll all wither away again."

    "But this allows us to shine onest time and witness humanity¡¯s extinction."

    "Kakaka, where¡¯s that kid, Lu Yin? Is he still not qualified toe to the Immemorial Citadel? Oh, right, Hui Wen. My lord, Hui Wen has been hiding within Aeternus this whole time."

    "My consciousness... Lu Yin, return my consciousness!"

    "Where¡¯s Hongyan Mavis? Where¡¯s Lu Yin? Where is he?"

    The battlefield fell dead silent as everyone stared in shock at the figures who had appeared from True God¡¯s tap.

    Everyone, no matter who they were, was stunned by what they saw.

    1. Just as a reminder, but this is the Rune Progenitor. ?

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3257: Endless Path

    <h4>Chapter 3257: Endless Path</h4>

    Even Mister Mu and the Origin Progenitor had not expected to see the dead reappear.

    Big Sis could not believe what she was seeing. Undying God, Corpse God, Di Qiong, Shaman God, Xu Jin, Feng Bo¡ªall of them had reappeared. How?

    True God stood high in the sky, ordering his Three Pirs and Six Skies and his Seven Skygods. He stood above the entire megaverse.

    Humanity had paid terrible prices to surround and kill those Aeternals one by one. Even when only a few had remained, they had still been incredibly difficult to deal with. However, all the fallen powerhouses had just been resurrected. They were not even mere shells or summons, butplete with their memories and full power. How could this be?

    True God¡¯s expression turned cold. "Let¡¯s put an end to this era."

    Xu Jin was surrounded by ck clouds, and its consciousness surged out like a tsunami that swept toward the Immemorial Citadel.

    Corpse God threw an incredibly powerful punch.

    Di Qiong raised his spear and pointed it at the city before him.

    At this moment, Aeternus¡¯s powerpletely overwhelmed everything that the Immemorial Citadel could bring to bear.

    No matter how confident Progenitor Chen might be in his own strength, he could not face off against so many powerful enemies at the same time.

    The next instant, the fighting resumed across the battlefield. People died, and stars were destroyed. All that remained on the battlefield was blood and fire.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, True God turned to look at the Great Sovereign. "Do you still wish to persist? Humanity has no future. Your perseverance is meaningless. You will not ovee Dukkha in this megaverse. All you can do is wait for the next megaverse to appear. I¡¯m offering you that opportunity."

    The Great Sovereign sneered. "Yong Heng, I¡¯m a crazy woman, a lunatic! I don¡¯t take anyone¡¯s advice."

    True God¡¯s eyes grew cold. "What a pity... You won¡¯t survive long enough to even see humanity¡¯s annihtion."

    As the resurrected powerhouses joined the fray, the Immemorial Citadel teetered on the brink of total copse. The Yellow Springs surged out of Burial Garden, but they were blocked by streams of divine energy. Burial Garden itself started to crack and break.

    "We were still a little bitcking. We were so close!"

    "Aeternus, this blood feud will continue for endless generations."

    "The will of the Immemorial Citadel will never be extinguished! One day, it will rise again!"

    "Burial Garden holds humanity¡¯s future, and it will continue to lead humankind forward."

    ...

    In the Second Scourge, one corner of the card tore through True God¡¯s Dominion, and that crack widened.

    Lu Yin was thrilled, as they had finally broken free.

    The card continued to descend, and Lu Yin continued to stare at it. This card could shatter True God¡¯s Dominion, which meant that it had to be as powerful as a Dukkhan, or possibly even greater. Just what kind of card was it? What power did it hold?

    Shan Gu grew excited. The card was finally arriving.

    Lu Yuan and the others were all shocked. The card seemed to be truly extraordinary.

    Suddenly, the card stopped moving, and everyone¡¯s expressions froze. They were ovee with a chilling sensation that they could not describe.

    At the same moment, every single powerhouse in the Second Scourge felt the same cold dread.

    Wu Tian¡¯s expression changed drastically. The Fated One. This was the attention of the Fated One. He shouted, ¡°Give up the card!¡±

    His warning was unnecessary. Lu Yin was unable to take the card even if he wanted to. It had already disappeared, just like when it had appeared to Lu Yin during the Shangsan Festival. This time, the card was much more visible, but the final result was the same. Lu Yin could not attract the card.

    As soon as the card disappeared, the cold dread that everyone had felt also vanished.

    Wu Tian''s face had gone pale. He exchanged nces with Hongyan Mavis, Lu Yuan, and the others. All of them could see the same disbelief in each other''s eyes.

    How could they have felt such a thing?

    Lu Yin slowly turned his head to look at Wu Tian, and in doing so, noticed Shan Gu.

    The Great Elder felt a chill in his limbs as he muttered, "That¡¯s him! That¡¯s the invincible being! Their attention has been pulled here..."

    Wu Tian nced at Shan Gu. Could the Fated One that he had been sensing be that invincible being? Yes, that should be right.

    Lu Yin examined the sky intensely for a moment, but he quickly moved on. The Immemorial Citadel was the most urgent matter that needed to be addressed.

    "Everyone, we need to get back to the Heavens Sect and head to the Immemorial Citadel."

    As they tore through the void, Lu Yin and all the others suppressed their lingering fear from what they had felt just now. They quickly returned to the Heavens Sect in order to gather all the avable powerhouses before going to the Immemorial Citadel.

    They had known how to get to the battlefield for some time.

    The Immemorial Citadel was no longer a secret to the Heavens Sect.

    After arriving in the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin mounted the Megalith. The Pridebeast stood on Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder as he issued an announcement to the entire Heavens Sect. "The Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, and the Outer Eight Paths will all join me in going to the Immemorial Citadel! We will destroy Aeternus and return hope to humanity!"

    It was a simple announcement, but it sent shockwaves throughout the megaverse.

    Dust World allowed Lu Yin¡¯s words to echo across the megaverse for all to hear.

    Countless people throughout the Origin Universe, the Sixverse Association, and parallel universes beyond them were stunned. All attention turned towards the Origin Universe.

    A campaign to the Immemorial Citadel? Would this be the final battle?

    There was no rousing speech. Such was not necessary.

    This was the moment that the fated showdown would begin. One by one, powerful cultivators arrived at the Heavens Sect and climbed onto the Megalith.

    The universes trembled from the powerful auras that gathered. Everyone who bore witness to the gathering felt chills. Even when the Heavens Sect had conducted its military deration, there had not been this many powerhouses gathered in one ce. Even ckless God and Second Life hade to join the battle.

    Powerful beings from unaffiliated universes also arrived, and they asked to join the Heavens Sect¡¯s campaign.

    At the moment, more than thirty peak powerhouses had gathered atop the Megalith, all led by Lu Yin. They wasted no time in making their way to the Immemorial Citadel.

    Countless eyes followed the Megalith as it disappeared. Everyone was aware that the true master of the megaverse was about to be decided.

    A few Progenitors, such as Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing, remained on guard in the Heavens Sect. Not all peak powerhouses needed to go to the Immemorial Citadel. The Heavens Sect only sent their sequence powerhouses, and the outsider powerhouses who joined the expedition were all powerful, regardless of their cultivation level.

    There was no time to waste, and Lu Yin sent the Megalith speeding towards the Immemorial Citadel. The beast quickly disappeared from the Heavens Sect.

    While the Megalith was not particrly fast, the Immemorial Citadel was not actually that far away, distance-wise. The hard part was finding the ce, as it sat above the sequence strings. Without knowing the proper way, it was impossible to find.

    Since they knew where they were going, it would not be too difficult to find the city.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew heavy. He was silent as he stood with Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, and everyone else. What was happening in the Immemorial Citadel at the moment?

    ckless God looked up, his eyes flickering with ck lines as he stared ahead.

    Some timeter, the Immemorial Citadel appeared in the far-off distance. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes snapped wide open. They had arrived.

    The Megalith sped up to get to the Immemorial Citadel, but even after quite some time, the city could still be clearly seen in the distance. The people on the Megalith could even make out the intense battle surrounding the city.

    Even so, they could not reach the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin noticed Shaman God. <i>How can that be? Shaman God¡¯s dead</i>.

    He also saw Undying God and Corpse God. How had all the dead Aeternalse back to life?

    "Those people," Lu Tianyi muttered, also shocked by the sight.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression fell. True God must have done something.

    He watched the desperate battle all around the Immemorial Citadel, as well as Burial Garden and Progenitor Chen. There were multiple powerhouses who were wounded and bleeding, and the mes beneath the city looked like they were about to go out. Lu Yin saw Progenitor Ku struggling to hold back Tian En, as well as countless other heroic battles. Why had they still not arrived?

    Suddenly, Lu Yuan turned to look at ckless God. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    ckless God vanished, merging into the Hollow. "This is a road that you can never reach the end of, even if you can see your destination. This is called the Endless Path."

    Lu Yuan reached out to grab ckless God, but he grasped nothing.

    The Skygod had fully entered the Hollow. "Lord Lu, your people are destined to fail in this megaverse."

    "You never betrayed Aeternus!" Lu Yin shouted angrily. ckless God had been the one to share the way to enter the Mirari Realm with Lu Yin, and he had also revealed the Megalith¡¯s location. The man had shared many of the Aeternals¡¯ secrets, and over time, Lu Yin¡¯s caution had faded. After everything that had happened, ckless God had betrayed them.

    No, this could not be called betrayal.

    "Yong Heng sent me to join you. Having one more at my level within Aeternus wouldn¡¯t make any difference. Everything I told you was to help you deal with the Boundary Guardians. Lord Lu, there¡¯s no need for you to go to the Immemorial Citadel. This Endless Path is my innate gift, and not even Ortusers can ovee it. This is why I was the one sent to join you.

    "I gave you 100,000 years, but you didn¡¯t cherish it. Now, it¡¯s all over.

    "When the next era starts, we¡¯llpletely erase your legend. Goodbye."

    ckless God¡¯s voice slowly faded away.

    Lu Yin threw a punch forward, shattering the void and even the Hollow, but the Immemorial Citadel remained unapproachable.

    Lu Yuan and the others attacked as well. All of them could see the Immemorial Citadel, but it was impossible to reach it.

    This had been True God¡¯s n. At this moment, many of his ns had been revealed, and they were all interconnected. Not any ordinary Ortusers could possess such strength.

    There had been a time when Progenitors had been regarded as the ultimate level of power with the strength to alter the universe. Then, sequence powerhouses had appeared, and they had been regarded as the top powers. Later, the appearance of Ortusers had shifted the bnce of power yet again. However, no one had imagined that True God would always remain standing at the pinnacle. His ns did not just target Envoys or Progenitors; from the very beginning, his ns had epassed all cultivation realms, even the Origin realm.

    Lu Yuan was an Ortuser, but not even he could break ckless God¡¯s Endless Path. This was True God¡¯s n.

    ...

    Blood sprayed across shattered walls as a man¡¯s limbs were severed. He stared forward, his eyes bloodshot.

    "Kakaka, there¡¯s no need to struggle." Shaman God let out a strangeugh as he casually tore the man apart.

    Some distance away, a wandering corpse swung a massive log, only to be crushed into a blood puddle by Corpse God¡¯s gigantic hand.

    Di Qiong and Feng Bo worked together to surround Progenitor Chen and pin the man down. This man¡¯s single palm strike had instantly eliminated Progenitor Xi. His strength gave everyone chills. Even the arrogant Three Pirs and Six Skies refused to face Progenitor Chen one-on-one.

    The Progenitor had developed a battle technique to target True God himself, and that made everyone wary of him.

    Xu Jin¡¯s consciousness surged forth like a torrent sweeping over thend. A woman inside the Immemorial Citadel stared at Xu Jin. No one knew what she did, but it blocked the eye¡¯s consciousness.

    The woman was homely, and she could even be regarded as ugly. She was also not even human, but rather the strongest creature from a parallel universe. It had only been due to chance that she had joined the Immemorial Citadel.

    Xu Jin stared at the woman, and floatingnterns started to appear. This was True God¡¯s Natural Art.

    The woman spat out blood. As she died, the other defenders of the Immemorial Citadel who were nearby did the same. Not even the neers from Burial Garden were safe.

    One by one, the wandering corpses exploded, staining the ground with their blood.

    Two powerful attacks erupted from the Immemorial Citadel, each targeting Xu Jin, and each failing. Xu Jin¡¯s innate gift made it almost impossible to hit it, unless it was forced into the Hollow itself.

    The Ossis Ark regurgitated an endless stream of corpse kings. Each one was empowered by grafted bones, which allowed them to wield the abilities of the powerhouse that the bone had been taken from. The Aeternals already had enough of an advantage to defeat the Immemorial Citadel, and yet they still threw out their entire forces. The Immemorial Citadel would crumble at any moment.

    Even with the reinforcements from Burial Garden, it was impossible to save the Immemorial Citadel.

    The countless sequence strings quivered.

 Chapter 3258: Still Here

    <h4>Chapter 3258: Still Here</h4>

    Corpse kings started to appear around the Origin Progenitor. One by one, they charged at him, only to be stopped by a man who could not hold on any longer.

    There was a crack of thunder, and the Ancient Lightning Locust, which had been trapped for quite some time, seized the opportunity to escape and flee from the Immemorial Citadel without hesitation. Staying would have been suicide.

    The ancestor of the super giants rose up. He looked around the Immemorial Citadel. With a furious roar, his fist smashed downwards, shattering the ground beside the Origin Progenitor and instantly killing a number of corpse kings.

    The Origin Progenitor looked up. "Be careful."

    Another super giant approached behind the ancestor. It was Corpse God.

    The ancient super giant swung a fist, but Corpse God responded with a punch of his own.

    The two enormous fists collided, and the entire Immemorial Citadel shook.

    "Ancestor, helping the humans is continuing down a path to self-destruction," Corpse God¡¯s voice echoed through space.

    The ancestor of the super giants roared in anger, "You are already dead, but I, your ancestor, am not! Who¡¯s the one walking down a path of self-destruction?"

    "You stubborn fool! The super giants are already gone, and you will disappear too!" The sequence particles that covered Corpse God''s body dispersedpletely. He was facing his ancestor, who was an Ortuser, which rendered sequence particlespletely ineffective. There was no need for them.

    The super giants had their own way of fighting.

    The two enormous figures fought within the Immemorial Citadel. Each drop of blood they spilled was like ake to those watching.

    Blood stained the entire Immemorial Citadel red.

    In the distance, a figure was entangled with Feng Bo, who stared at the figure in surprise. "Remnant power?"

    The figure he was facing was the Rune Progenitor, though not the Progenitor¡¯s actual body. The man had not entered Burial Garden, as he had died long ago. Only remnants of his power remained.

    This was why the Fifth Maind had once been able to harness the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant power to alter the universe. That incident had caused the Sixth Maind to suffer heavy losses.

    The Progenitor¡¯s power that had remained Burial Garden was thest portion of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s remnant strength.

    "Dead people shouldn¡¯t reappear." Feng Bo''s eyes gleamed. It was unclear if he was referring to the Rune Progenitor or himself.

    One by one, experts from the Immemorial Citadel fell, and Burial Garden¡¯s wandering corpses were destroyed.

    People like Elder Tong, Gu Guai, Xiao, as well as an expert from the Lu family who had once enjoyed building models of the Champions'' Stage, only to stomp on them afterwards, all disappeared, one after another.

    Rivers formed from the Yellow Springs and divine energy intertwined in space, colliding like two massive dragons.

    Above the ck Mother Tree, True God calmly watched the battle as ckless God approached.

    "Master, they won¡¯t make it here," ckless God said respectfully.

    True God sighed. "The third Divine Commandment ends with the final battle. The people from the Heavens Sect are no longer qualified to participate. The megaverse will soon restart, and you will also be able to break through to the Origin realm in the new megaverse."

    ckless God¡¯s eyes zed at True God¡¯s words. He was not from the megaverse, nor was he a corpse king. He was from another universe.

    His goal was simple: he wanted to reach the Origin realm.

    In ckless God¡¯s home megaverse, both the megaverse itself and he were trapped by a certain power, which had made it impossible for him to break through and be an Ortuser.

    Restarting a megaverse was his only way to progress further, and that was why he had joined Aeternus.

    And now, the moment had finally arrived.

    ckless God excitedly said, "The Immemorial Citadel is about to be destroyed. These people can¡¯tst much longer. Let me send them off."

    With that, he moved forward, leaving the ck Mother Tree as he charged at the Immemorial Citadel. ck lines covered the sky.

    Anyone with the strength of the Three Pirs and Six Skies would be terrifying. The Immemorial Citadel was already on the verge of total destruction, so when ckless God joined the battle, even more experts from the Immemorial Citadel and Burial Garden died or were injured.

    Qiu used countless chains in an attempt to stop ckless God.

    However, the Skygod¡¯s ck lines pierced the chains instead.

    ckless God was much more powerful than Qiu, and he appeared in front of the man. "So, you wish to die? I''ll grant that wish."

    ck lines then pierced Qiu¡¯s body, igniting a dark fire. Qiu roared as his chains shot into the sky. He used his Progenitor¡¯s world, Heaven''s Net to envelop both himself and ckless God. "Let¡¯s die together!"

    With those words, the man dragged ckless God down into the mes beneath the Immemorial Citadel.

    While the streams of divine energy rivers had suppressed the mes, there were still ces where they continued to burn.

    Qiu dragged ckless God into the mes, and both men instantly turned into wisps of blue smoke.

    The void twisted, and ckless God emerged. He looked downwards with a cold expression. "You want to drag me down with you? Impossible."

    Ce Wangtian suddenly appeared beside the man and kicked ckless God.

    Countless ck lines appeared behind ckless God to block the attack, but they failed to stop it. ckless God was sent flying.

    Ce Wangtian directed a vicious re at the Skygod. "Since Old Qiu is dead, you should join him."

    ckless God sneered. "A coward from the past wants to kill me?"

    One, two, three, four, five corpse kings appeared around Ce Wangtian. Slitted eyes stared at the man as the corpse kings prepared to kill him.

    The Immemorial Citadel had once fiercely fought against the corpse kings that emerged from the Ossis Ark, as both sides had been nearly equal in strength. Being surrounded by three of the boat¡¯s corpse kings almost guaranteed a person¡¯s death, and Ce Wangtian was surrounded by five of the monsters.

    Far away, a corpse king with a triangr head appeared in front of Big Sis. Its head cocked to the side, which almost made it look like the corpse king was lying on the ground as it looked at her. It let out an eerieugh that sent chills down her spine.

    "Run! That''s one of the five strongest monsters from the Ossis Ark!" someone from the Immemorial Citadel shouted.

    Big Sis stared at the triangr-headed corpse king in front of her as the glow of dark-red divine energy in the sky lit up the background like a painting of death.

    Chu Yi was still fighting against Ancient God when another figure appeared. This individual had no arms, only two legs, but those legs were five meters long. The figure looked extremely disproportionate.

    However, their arrival caused Chu Yi¡¯s expression to fallpletely.

    This person was considered one of the five most powerful individuals in the Ossis Ark, and he was strong enough to fight against the ancient super giant. This was another Ortuser.

    This person also was not a corpse king. No one knew where the Aeternals had found him, but True God''s bone grafting ability had granted the man unrivaled power, though he had avoided appearing in many battles throughout the ages.

    During this final battle, he had stepped out of the Ossis Ark.

    While the ancient super giant fought against Corpse God, the long-legged figure targeted Chu Yi.

    Confronted with two enemy Ortusers, Chu Yi found his situation hopeless. He was surrounded and outmatched.

    Chu Yi was not the only one, as Progenitor Ku and Progenitor Chen simrly found themselves surrounded by experts from the Ossis Ark. Each of the powerhouses who had appeared had previously been countered by powerful experts from the Immemorial Citadel, but the resurrection of Di Qiong and the others resulted in the city and Burial Garden beingpletely outnumbered. This was why some of the Ossis Ark¡¯s elites were able to turn their attention to ughter the more exceptional human fighters.

    Everywhere in the Immemorial Citadel was facing a desperate situation.

    A woman appeared above the Origin Progenitor. Her features were delicate, and her eyes were lively and full of energy. They made her look as though she was no older than twenty.

    However, this woman¡¯s appearance caused the Origin Progenitor¡¯s guard to nch. This woman¡¯s name was Zhan Yan, and she was ranked second among the Ossis Ark¡¯s experts. The only one more powerful than her was that ancient monster, Yuan Qi.

    ¡°Mu Zhu,e out. The Immemorial Citadel is about to fall. How much longer are you going to hide?¡±

    ¡°Zhan Yan, I am your opponent!¡± The man standing guard over the Origin Progenitor shouted as he leaped towards the woman. Suddenly, someone else moved even faster and appeared in front of Zhan Yan. This person was also a woman, and she, like Zhan Yan, looked extremely young. However, the neer had an icy demeanor that was theplete opposite of Zhan Yan¡¯s vibrant energy. It was like looking into a pool of still water that would never ripple.

    There was a loud boom that shattered the void and exposed the Hollow in an expanding area.

    The guard helplessly dropped back, once again taking his ce to guard the Origin Progenitor. He stared upwards.

    Mu Zhu was the final line of protection for the Origin Progenitor. The fact that Mu Zhu was taking action meant that there was no one left to guard the Origin Progenitor. The man standing guard was clearly inadequate on his own.

    More and more eyes turned to look underground.

    The Ossis Ark moved through space again, once more aiming to crash into the Immemorial Citadel. It had been pushed away by Progenitor Chen, but there was no one who could stop it this time. The Immemorial Citadel had run out of powerful defenders.

    True God sped his hands behind his back. ¡°It¡¯s over. Tai Hong, watched the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s final moments, as well as Tai Chu¡¯s end.¡±

    The Great Sovereign looked past True God. Sadness filled the woman¡¯s eyes as she saw the broken Immemorial Citadel. The entire city was stained with blood.

    Despite humanity¡¯s perseverance, they had ultimately lost to Aeternus.

    No matter how brilliant the Heavens Sect grew, no matter how much pressure Lu Yin put on Aeternus, one fact had always been overlooked; the Aeternals did not rely solely on overwhelming power, but also on cunning.

    Aeternus had defeated the ancient Heavens Sect, despite its incredible strength. Despite having clearly fallen to a disadvantage, they had managed to reverse the tides. This was Aeternus¡¯s true power.

    The Immemorial Citadel, Tai Chu, the Heavens Sect, humanity as a whole, it was all about toe to an end.

    The Ossis Ark barreled towards the Immemorial Citadel. As it moved forward, one human expert after another tried to stop the boat, only to be prevented from doing so.

    Progenitor Ku, Progenitor Chen, Chu Yi, and even Mister Mu were all unable to stop the Ossis Ark at this moment.

    The Ossis Ark would be the final blow that would crush the Immemorial Citadel.

    mes swept up from beneath the Immemorial Citadel. Progenitor Chen struck out with a palm, but he was briefly restrained by Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures. Feng Bo surrounded the Progenitor with his Greater Sancti of the Nine Heavens, but Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm shattered the tower, to Feng Bo¡¯s utter shock. This was the same battle technique that had instantly destroyed Progenitor Xi.

    Still, it was only a single attack, and how many of the mes were still burning beneath the Immemorial Citadel?

    Progenitor Ku charged at the Ossis Ark, but the butterfly passed by him in a sh of light, throwing the man into a dreamlike illusion.

    The four captains of the Dead Regiment were all held back by powerful corpse kings from the Ossis Ark.

    Even Tombkeeper himself appeared, and he charged at the Ossis Ark with all his might, only to be blocked by Undying God.

    Mister Mu looked at the Ossis Ark. Once again, a feeling of powerlessness welled up within him. Once, his original megaverse had faced the same situation, and they had eventually lost to their nemesis. The same scene was repeating in this megaverse.

    Humans might be the most intelligent creatures in the megaverse, but they were also the most targeted.

    Yuan Qi let out a bellyugh. ¡°Old Mu, your perseverance is a joke! I told you, it¡¯s useless! Hahahaha!¡±

    The tolling of a bell rang out, like a final farewell to the Immemorial Citadel.

    The ce that had housed countless sequence strings in order to protect the megaverse for countless years had finally reached its end.

    The Ossis Ark mmed into the Immemorial Citadel.

    At this moment, the fighting stopped everywhere as everyone watched the impact. They were witnessing the final destruction of the Immemorial Citadel.

    Suddenly, something enormous emerged from the darkness. It mmed into the Ossis Ark and knocked it off course, deflecting it from the Immemorial Citadel.

    True God''s eyes flickered. "What is that?"

    Mister Mu let out a sigh of relief. "It''s finally here."

    Beneath the Immemorial Citadel, a smile touched the Origin Progenitor''s eyes.

    All eyes turned towards the dark object.

    A spacecraft had emerged from the Hollow. It slowly entered outer space so that everyone could see it clearly.

    Carved into the hull was the name <i>Boundless</i>.

    ckless God''s eyes narrowed. "<i>Boundless</i>? Why is that ship here?"

    <i>Boundless</i> was not unknown to the Aeternals. If Burial Garden was a relic from the first Divine Commandment that had been left behind for humanity¡¯s future, then <i>Boundless</i> was the legacy left behind from the second Divine Commandment. It had been left behind by the Daosource Sect era.

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3259: Redemption

    <h4>Chapter 3259: Redemption</h4>

    The Fifth Maind had once fought against the Sixth Maind by using <i>Boundless</i>, and that had tricked the Aeternals into believing that <i>Boundless</i> was just another warship. Onlyter had they realized that <i>Boundless</i> was more like Burial Garden.

    What had emerged from the Hollow and knocked the Ossis Ark aside was none other than <i>Boundless</i>.

    <i>Boundless</i>, like the Ossis Ark, could travel through the Hollow.

    The spacecraft was carrying Lu Yin and the other experts from the Heavens Sect, and terrifying auras shot into the sky.

    Lu Yin turned to look at the ck Mother Tree. ¡°Yong Heng, I¡¯ve kept you waiting.¡±

    <i>Kill...</i>

    <i>Kill...</i>

    <i>Kill...</i>

    The survivors from the Immemorial Citadel were all shocked. How could the spacecraft be carrying so many powerful individuals?

    ckless God¡¯s mouth gaped open in disbelief. <i>That¡¯s impossible! How could they have broken through my Endless Path? Impossible!</i>

    Immediately, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, Garan Zhiluo, and many other experts charged out from <i>Boundless</i> to attack the Aeternals.

    The Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, and both the Outer and Inner Eight Paths had arrived. There were more than ten sequence powerhouses, as well as several Progenitors. All of them left <i>Boundless</i>, charging at the Immemorial Citadel. More than twenty peak powerhouses had arrived as reinforcements.

    Lu Yuan instantly locked onto Ancient God. ¡°Leave Musclehead to me. We still haven¡¯t decided a winner.¡±

    Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, and Wu Tian all looked beneath the Immemorial Citadel. All of them were thinking about their master.

    The Origin Progenitor saw his disciples, and relief filled his eyes. <i>They¡¯ve finally arrived. It¡¯s good that they survived</i>.

    Above the Immemorial Citadel, Zhan Yan and Mu Zhu looked over. So many experts?

    The Abandoned, Ye Wu, and others finally understood that the Immemorial Citadel truly was the greatest battlefield in the megaverse. Not even the battle in the Second Scourge couldpare.

    Supreme suddenly charged at Corpse God, the mecha¡¯s sword slicing down. It was currently being piloted by Yi.

    E¡¯ Nan¡¯s eyes zed fiercely. After E¡¯ Ji¡¯s death, E¡¯ Nan had be the Scourge upation¡¯s chief, as well as one of the Outer Eight Paths.

    Mimina raced to the Immemorial Citadel, shouting, ¡°Mentor Babal! Where are you?¡±

    Of the Aeternals, the resurrected Shaman God was stunned. When he died, the Heavens Sect had not nearly had so many experts. Where had all of these peoplee from?

    Feng Bo¡¯s expression turned vicious as he saw Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve found you!¡±

    The man abandoned Progenitor Chen and charged straight at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin stood atop <i>Boundless¡¯s</i> bow and surveyed the battlefield of the Immemorial Citadel. They had seeded in making it just in time.

    ckless God¡¯s Endless Path had stopped them from reaching the Immemorial Citadel, but at the crucial moment, <i>Boundless</i> had appeared. The vessel was piloted by Xi Wei, one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

    Not only had the woman brought <i>Boundless</i>, but she had also provided the location of the Immemorial Citadel to them.

    <i>Boundless</i> was just a tool, and it was not nearly enough to allow them to reach the Immemorial Citadel. The one who had truly guided the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses to the Immemorial Citadel was Progenitor Hui.

    Progenitor Hui had always maintained contact with Xi Wei through Progenitor Smoke¡¯s mist.

    Xi Wei''s mist was not really mist, but rather the result of her Wei-Induction Technique. Anyone who cultivated with Progenitor Smoke¡¯s method could manipte the resulting mist to form different shapes, such as letters. This meant that another person who was familiar with the technique could interpret a message.

    The Wei-Induction Technique had allowed Progenitor Hui tomunicate with Xi Wei. Of course, theirmunications had been quite infrequent. Xi Wei had gone to the Sixverse Association not just because of Long Er¡¯s death or her disillusionment with the Origin Universe¡¯s internal conflicts. In fact, she had done so primarily in order to establish contact with Progenitor Hui. She was not one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas for nothing.

    Xi Wei had brought <i>Boundless</i> to Lu Yin and the others because she had been guided by Progenitor Hui¡¯s ns. <i>Boundless''s</i> timely arrival had not been a coincidence, but a single part of arger n.

    ckless God had pretended to defect to Lu Yin and the Heavens Sect, and they had not seen through the man¡¯s true loyalties. The Skygod had seemingly fooled everyone with his false betrayal, but it was impossible to deceive Progenitor Hui.

    Lu Yin had tolerated ckless God''s presence in order to learn what the man¡¯s intentions were. There was no question that ckless God was part of True God''s schemes, so until those ns were exposed, the hidden threat would always remain. Merely exposing ckless God as an enemy would not have been enough to stop anything. Only by revealing the entire n could the threat be neutralized.

    ckless God¡¯s innate gift had indeed made things difficult for Lu Yin and the others. Lu Yin had not expected ckless God¡¯s innate gift to allow him to block all of the Heavens Sect¡¯s top experts from finding the Immemorial Citadel. This was not merely a matter of strength. The Endless Path worked as though ckless God had manipted countless parallel universes. While the Megalith would have eventually reached the Immemorial Citadel, by the time it did, it would have been far toote.

    This had been the final part of ckless God¡¯s false defection, but fortunately, everything had been ounted for, and <i>Boundless</i> had arrived in time.

    The entire incident had caused Lu Yin to break out in a cold sweat. He realized that he had been careless and had greatly underestimated ckless God.

    However, Yong Heng had also underestimated humanity. Just as the Great Sovereign had sacrificed everything to trap True God in her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, Lu Yin also intended to deliver a gift to Yong Heng through ckless God.

    Upon arriving on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, the first thing that Lu Yin did was search for Progenitor Hui, who had to be somewhere on the battlefield.

    Progenitor Hui had shared the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s location with him, which must have made it easy for the Aeternals to target him.

    Suddenly, Lu Yin looked at the city¡¯s crumbling walls. ¡°Big Sis!¡±

    He instantly vanished.

    Feng Bo suddenly appeared in the same spot where Lu Yin had just been standing on <i>Boundless</i>. "Where is that kid?"

    The timely arrival of the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses had once again reversed the tide of battle, and the Aeternals were suddenly the ones being suppressed. There were simply too many humans.

    Just a short while earlier, several Aeternals had been ganging up on each human powerhouse, but that situation was now reversed.

    On the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s crumbling walls, Big Sis was gasping for breath. The image of her Abyssal King had disappeared long ago. She was at her limits. She had managed to kill two corpse kings from the Ossis Ark, both of which had been sequence powerhouses. The battles were grueling, and yet more powerful corpse kings continued emerging from the Ossis Ark.

    The triangr-headed corpse king in front of Big Sis was one of the five most powerful creatures from the Ossis Ark.

    The triangr-headed monster had the strength of a sequence powerhouse. As soon as it stared at her, Big Sis felt as though her body was being stripped away. A pain beyond words spread throughout her entire being. Despite being physically unharmed, the agony that she experienced was quite real.

    This was thew of the universe that the corpse king''s sequence particles contained: Flesh Stripping.

    The corpse king could strip away the surface of any living creature it stared at, transforming them into another form, or rather, whatever form the corpse king envisioned. Once they were fully stripped in the corpse king¡¯s mind, a creature¡¯s surface would be removed, killing them.

    It was an extremely cruelw of the universe.

    There was an agreement among the people of the Immemorial Citadel: whenever this triangr-headed corpse king appeared, no matter the cost, it had to be killed.

    Unfortunately, despite the passing of many years, every attempt had failed. The corpse king was one of the five most powerful creatures in the Ossis Ark, and only a few from the Immemorial Citadel could face the monster. It had killed many over the years.

    This corpse king was the one that the Immemorial Citadel wanted to see dead the most.

    At the moment, Big Sis was suffering the agony of Flesh Stripping. It was enough pain to make her soul tremble.

    At this moment, Lu Yin appeared behind the corpse king, and he ced a hand on the creature¡¯s shoulder. The corpse king''s sequence particles surged towards Lu Yin. The corpse king was going to strip Lu Yin¡¯s body as well. His eyes red, and an indescribable force mmed down. The corpse king was instantly shattered, and blood spilled across the ground.

    Big Sis stared at Lu Yin in shock. <i>One move? Just one move?</i>

    <i>How did Little Seven be so powerful?</i>

    When Big Sis went to the Immemorial Citadel, Lu Yin had not yet broken through with even Dust World. His strength waspletely different from what Big Sis was familiar with.

    ¡°Big Sis, take a break. Leave the rest to me,¡± Lu Yin said with a somber expression. The Investiture of the Gods appeared above his head, and a wave of his hand summoned Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian. The Pridebeast leaped off of Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder and raced away towards Corpse God.

    At the same time, the Megalith charged into the Immemorial Citadel.

    At this moment, Feng Bo arrived. ¡°Die, brat!¡±

    A tower-shaped sword shed down at Lu Yin. Lu Yin looked up and asked, ¡°If you die again, will you still revive?¡±

    He raised a hand, and a spear of earth shot up to m into the tower sword. There was a resounding crash, and the sword shattered. Feng Bo¡¯s pupils shrank in shock. How was this possible?

    Lu Yin casually stepped forward and passed by Feng Bo. The man panicked and expanded time in order to avoid Lu Yin''s attack.

    Despite the man¡¯s efforts, his body shattered the very next moment. Lu Yin did not even nce back as he raced away. He rushed over to Hui Wu, who was standing in ce with a river of divine energy flowing behind him.

    True God''s gaze fell upon Hui Wu. "So, it¡¯s you."

    Hui Wu had stopped moving the moment ckless God had appeared. This was because he had been silentlymunicating with Xi Wei.

    It was difficult tomunicate with the outside world from the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. It was beyond Hui Wu¡¯s capabilities, but Progenitor Hui could do it.

    Long ago, Progenitor Hui had foreseen many future events. He had plotted against Shaman God, which had led to the Skygod¡¯s tragic demise. Progenitor Hui had also schemed against the Sixth Maind and Aeternus. Out of pure curiosity, he had even meddled with the Wang family and their Yellow Springs. However, the man¡¯s focus had always been primarily on the Immemorial Citadel, and it had remained the crux of his calctions.

    In order tomunicate with the outside world from the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield with its endless sequence particles, Progenitor Hui had devoted his life to designing a sourcebox array. This array had allowed him to contact Xi Wei, who had then brought <i>Boundless</i> at thest moment. The spacecraft had crashed into the Ossis Ark and saved the Immemorial Citadel.

    However, in doing so, Progenitor Hui had also exposed himself.

    True God had been keeping an eye on the entire battlefield, which made it impossible for him to not notice Hui Wu''s unusual behavior.

    Hui Wu looked up at True God.

    "Yong Heng, I told you long ago that if someone couldpensate for humanity¡¯scking strength, I would fill that gap with my wisdom. I¡¯ve won."

    True God¡¯s expression fell. He had miscalcted by one step, and it was the step that had always been within Hui Wen¡¯s control.

    Long ago, True God had tried to recruit Hui Wen, valuing the man¡¯s intelligence. Hui Wen had refused, even turning down repeated invitations. Not only had Progenitor Hui refused, but he had even made a bet with True God, saying something memorable.

    Those words were why True God had continued to tolerate Hui Wu''s existence.

    Despite suspecting that Hui Wu might be a part of Hui Wen¡¯s grand n, True God had still tolerated the man¡¯s presence in Aeternus. Yong Heng¡¯s confidence had stemmed from the fact that he was True God, the strongest being in the megaverse, unmatched in both strength and intellect.

    He had firmly believed that he could never be defeated by humans.

    Thus, even after Hui Wu was exposed as a spy, he had not been killed. Instead, he had been thrown into ake of divine energy to be transformed into a frenzied corpse. Everything had been done on True God''s orders, as he refused to tolerate Hui Wen¡¯s arrogance. Yong Heng had wanted Hui Wen¡¯s son to personally witness the restarting of the megaverse, which was why the man had been kept so close, even when the Aeternals had escaped from the Scourge.

    Yong Heng had never thought that Hui Wu would actually be Hui Wen. More urately, Hui Wu was Hui Wen¡¯s son, but a son whose existence was to be exposed.

    From the very beginning, Hui Wen had never believed that Hui Wu would actually be able to deceive Aeternus or sessfully scheme against them.

    Even if some measure of sess was possible, what sort of threat could Hui Wu pose to True God or Aeternus as a whole?

    Hui Wen¡¯s n had truly started only after Hui Wu was exposed. The Progenitor had deliberately made a bet with True God to ensure that Hui Wu would be kept alive. Every step of the scheme had been carefully calcted. If even one detail had gone wrong, the current battle would have yed out very differently.

    Despite everything, Hui Wen had remained confident in his sess.

    Just as predicted, Hui Wu had been kept alive. Even after he was outed, he had only been thrown into theke of divine energy to be a frenzied corpse.

    The moment Hui Wu had fallen into thatke of divine energy, Hui Wen¡¯s n had seeded. He had informed Lu Yin of Primaldust¡¯s location, and he had also made sure that <i>Boundless</i> could reach the Immemorial Citadel.

    Everything that Progenitor Hui had done had been for this one moment.

    He had seeded. True God had beenpletely outwitted. Aeternus had failed at the veryst step. Hui Wen hadpleted his task, and he could step back. He was satisfied.

    True God was amazed. ¡°You abandoned your own son.¡±

    Progenitor Hui¡¯s expression grew dark. ¡°Throughout my life, while I¡¯ve done right by humanity, I failed Little Wu. Even at a young age, he was never able to experience the joy that his peers did. His entire life was consumed by my schemes. The moment he was thrown into thatke of divine energy, his consciousness ceased to exist. I reced him.

    ¡°While I am his father, I owe him a great debt.¡±

    The man then looked at the approaching Lu Yin and smiled. ¡°Lord Lu, things are up to you from this point on.¡±

 Chapter 3260: Terrifying Power

    <h4>Chapter 3260: Terrifying Power</h4>

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Wait, Progenitor Hui!¡±

    <i>Boom!</i>

    Hui Wu¡¯s body exploded, leaving nothing at all behind.

    Lu Yin stared nkly. Not only had Hui Wu¡¯s body exploded, but also his consciousness. Progenitor Hui was gone, leaving nothing behind.

    An indescribable emotion spread from Lu Yin¡¯s heart. While Progenitor Hui had not been a particrly powerful fighter, without him, humanity would have never been able to reach their current position. Progenitor Hui had truly altered the course of history.

    He had contributed immensely to humanity, yet had never been able to ovee his own guilt.

    Both Progenitor Hui and Hui Wu, in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes, had been truly great men.

    This was not time to get emotional. Already, Lu Yin was surrounded by several corpse kings, and all of them were attacking him. Bone grafting had granted these corpse kings incredible strength.

    Bone grafting was an astonishing ability, as it allowed corpse kings to even receive the sequence particles of the bones¡¯ original owner. This was what gave the Ossis Ark the strength to challenge the Immemorial Citadel head-on.

    Lu Yin clenched a fist and threw a punch. One of the corpse kings in front of him shattered.

    The monster had tried to block the punch with sequence particles, but Lu Yin possessed the greatest physical strength in the megaverse. The only ones who could hope topare to him were the deceased Di Qiong after he used his Martial God Transformation, and True God, with the use of his Natural Art.

    Aside from those two, Lu Yin was invincible when it came to physical strength.

    After smashing several corpse kings with his fists, Lu Yin raised a hand. Countless ck dots appeared in outer space. They then spread out and gathered to form what looked like andmass.

    Far away, Di Qiong shouted, even while fighting against Progenitor Chen, ¡°Up above!¡±

    Everyone looked up to see countless dirt spears raining down. Anyone who had fought in the Second Scourge were too familiar with this sight. Lu Yin had used this same technique to suppress the entire battlefield and silence Aeternus. He was doing the same once more, but this time, it was at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield.

    When Lu Yin had first visited the Immemorial Citadel while infiltrating Aeternus as Ye Bo, he would have never imagined that he would one day attack the entire battlefield with pure, overwhelming power.

    One by one, corpse kings were skewered. Sequence particles may have covered the battlefield like fog, but these earthen spears pierced through that fog. Each spear was powerful enough to tear right through the sequence particles. They were nearly powerful enough to rip open the True Void.

    The dirt spears rained down in a torrent.

    Ce Wangtian stared in disbelief as four of the five corpse kings that had surrounded him were instantly eliminated by the spears. Thest one copsed as well.

    Further away, more corpse kings were impaled. Some were stabbed through the body, and others through the head. Some were pinned down within the Immemorial Citadel.

    It was an incredible scene to watch. Aside from a select few, such as Mister Mu and the ancient super giant, who else could attack the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s entire battlefield at once, especially when targeting so many powerful enemies?

    The ancient powerhouse, Yuan Qi, stared at Lu Yin with a grim expression. While those dirt spears posed no threat to someone like Yuan Qi, Lu Yin¡¯s attack had rendered the Ossis Ark practically useless. With the exception of the boat¡¯s five most powerful experts, all the other corpse kings had essentially been neutralized.

    ¡°Mister Mu, is that your little disciple?¡±

    Mister Mu showed a rare smile. ¡°Yuan Qi, the real battle is only just beginning.¡±

    Elsewhere on the battlefield, both Shaman God and Undying God were stupefied. Lu Yin¡¯s new strength shattered their understanding of power. They were both wondering just how long they had been dead for.

    Even they had been injured by the earthen spears.

    Even Shaman God¡¯s sequence particles and the Law of Space were not enough for him to avoid having his leg pierced.

    He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. How could this be? Had eons passed since his death? How had the brat be so terrifyingly powerful?

    Corpse God was simrly astonished. In the past, Lu Yin had to work with an entire group of peak powerhouses to deal with Corpse God, and yet he could sense Lu Yin¡¯s overwhelming, invincible strength at this moment. It was a level of power that seemed to suppress the entire megaverse.

    Progenitor Chenughed heartily. ¡°Lu Yin, well done!¡±

    Progenitor Ku smiled. This final battle had brought together the most talented individuals from the ancient Heavens Sect era, the Daosource Sect era, and the modern Heavens Sect era. There was no reason for humanity to fail.

    Zhan Yan and Mu Zhu both stared at Lu Yin in shock. Even they had to admit that Lu Yin was capable of threatening them.

    Dirt spears rained down on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s entire battlefield, weakening the Ossis Ark¡¯s impact on the battlefield and crushing the Aeternals¡¯ morale.

    Still, this was far from enough.

    Lu Yin examined the battlefield. All of the Aeternals had to die.

    His first target was Feng Bo. They had recently crossed paths, which had resulted in Feng Bo¡¯s body being shattered. The man no longer dared approach Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was going after the man anyways.

    Lu Yin was also not alone, as Hongyan Mavis had also set her sights on Feng Bo.

    ¡°He¡¯s mine,¡± Hongyan Mavis dered. She was eager to exact some vengeance.

    Lu Yin turned to leave, only to discover that all of the remaining Aeternals were already surrounded by human powerhouses.

    <i>Boundless</i> had delivered a decisive number of sequence powerhouses, including the Three Realms and Six Daos and the Three Suns Six Rulers. Aeternus did not have enough experts to match humanity¡¯s numbers.

    Earlier in the battle, Di Qiong and Feng Bo had ganged up on Progenitor Chen, but the tables had since turned. Wu Tian and Progenitor Chen were both attacking Di Qiong, and it was clear the man would not be able to hold out for much longer.

    The Immemorial Citadel¡¯s experts had survived several ups and downs during thistest battle, and they feltpletely revitalized at this moment.

    The ancient super giant threw a punch that forced Corpse God to bend over. The attack was instantly followed by a punch from the Pridebeast, targeting the Skygod¡¯s back, which straightened him back up.

    Supreme¡¯s sword shed across Corpse God¡¯s chest, opening up a deep wound.

    Corpse God¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot. He was being ganged up on by three enemies. He was being pinned down even worse than when he had been attacked in the Giants¡¯ Purgatory.

    Forgotten Ruins God was being targeted by Lu Tianyi. The Wang family was originally from the Fifth Maind, and Forgotten Ruins God was their founding ancestor. Lu Tianyi was determined to settle some old scores.

    Mu Ji kept spinning his Roulette of Life and Death in a panic. <i>It¡¯s over! This time, there¡¯s absolutely no chance of victory! Aeternus is finished! I don¡¯t want to die!</i>

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog was yet again being chased by Xu Wuwei. The man had no intention of actually killing the dog, but he was able to at least keep it upied.

    After all, not even Sovereign Dou Sheng could injure the dog.

    As soon as Lu Yin thought of Sovereign Dou Sheng, a golden light erupted near the ck Mother Tree. Sovereign Dou Sheng was charging at True God.

    No one had expected the Sovereign to be <i>this</i> reckless.

    No one knew just how strong True God would be at full strength. Only the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu, and the Great Sovereign might have some idea. No one else knew what sort of limits there might be to True God¡¯s power.

    With those three unable to intervene, not even Lu Yin had considered trying to fight against True God at this moment.

    Everyone, including Lu Yin, had assumed that Progenitor Ku had survived his encounter with True God due to Extremes Must Be Reversed. However, after the man woke up, he had told them the truth: he had survived not simply because of his ability, but also because of his unique sequence particles. They were the Law of Vanishing.

    Despite losing some of his memories of that time, Progenitor Ku still remembered thew that he hadprehended. When he had thought back to the situation, he knew that his Extremes Must Be Reversed would not have been enough for him to stay alive when facing True God. Only his sequence particles could have saved him.

    Hisw of the universe meant that anything or anyone covered by his sequence particles would instantly vanish from the universe.

    Had True God known of Progenitor Ku¡¯s sequence particles in advance, the man would have never survived. Given True God¡¯s power, dispersing the sequence particles would not have been difficult. However, no one had known about Progenitor Ku¡¯sw of the universe before that moment.

    Not even the people of Progenitor Chen¡¯s era had known whichw of the universe Progenitor Ku hadprehended. That was the only reason why Progenitor Ku had been able to escape from the Scourge.

    Unfortunately, as soon as he had escaped, he had run into Tian En and been killed. If not for the battle technique that he had inherited from his Mountain and Sea, he would have truly died.

    Everyone had believed that Progenitor Ku, the creator of Extremes Must Be Reversed, had to haveprehended aw rted to battle or immortality. No one had ever imagined that he had insteadprehended aw of the universe ideal for escaping.

    This had been Progenitor Ku¡¯s greatest secret. He would not have revealed it if he had not needed to warn Lu Yin and the others to not recklessly fight against True God.

    Everyone watched as Sovereign Dou Sheng charged at the ck Mother Tree.

    True God¡¯s expression remained calm.

    The Great Sovereign roared, ¡°Fool! Get back!¡±

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s bulging eyes zed with determination. He was not trying to defeat True God, but rather but simply rescue the Great Sovereign, his master.

    In the Cyclic Universe, everyone referred to the Great Sovereign as master because her Progenitor¡¯s world allowed her to bestow power upon other cultivators. However, Sovereig Dou Sheng was the woman¡¯s only true disciple. Even people like Chu Jian and Bai Xian''er had not been genuine disciples in the same way as the Sovereign.

    The Great Sovereign had only ever had one true disciple.

    Not even when her rtionship with her disciple had deteriorated had the Great Sovereign ever driven him away or done anything to hurt him.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng had always disagreed with the Great Sovereign¡¯s manner of doing things, but he had still always acknowledged her as his master. He saw her as both his teacher and his mother. Upon seeing her suffering, he recklessly charged forward, determined to save the woman.

    ¡°I told you to get back, fool!¡± the Great Sovereign shouted angrily. Not even when she had been wounded and tortured by True God and the others had she lost herposure in such a manner.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng raised his golden cudgel as he stepped into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. The weapon swung straight at True God.

    The man looked up, but while there was no visible movement, his hand still caught Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s golden cudgel, stopping it from striking.

    At this moment, True God and Sovereign Dou Sheng were only a meter apart. True God calmly said, ¡°You should have listened to her.¡±

    He then squeezed a bit with his hand, and cracks snaked across the golden cudgel.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s pupils shrank in shock, and he let out a roar as he used Triumphant Brawl to its limit. His body burst open, spraying blood everywhere as his sequence particles shot into the sky, causing his body to grow. He knew that he would only have one chance to strike True God.

    The Sovereign was determined to pour everything he had learned throughout his entire life into this one attack.

    A terrifying aura spread out from the ck Mother Tree, and golden ripples swept over the battlefield. Despite being covered with blood, Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched a fist and punched at True God.

    Yong Heng¡¯s left arm rose to block the punch. The resulting impact caused the void to tremble, and waves spread out like a pool of water before the void shattered to expose the Hollow. Even so, True God did not take a single step back.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng could not believe his eyes. How was it possible that even his full-powered strike could not make True God so much as flinch?

    True God¡¯s pupils disappeared, indicating that he had undergone a Pupilless Transformation. At this moment, the man possessed incredible physical strength. No matter how much power Sovereign Dou Sheng could unleash, he still had not touched upon the limits of strength of the megaverse, which meant that he could never shake True God.

    True God released the cudgel. It shattered and fell. He then reached out to grab Sovereign Dou Sheng, but before the hand could even touch the Sovereign, the devastating strength of the hand destroyed half of Sovereign Dou Sheng¡¯s body. Right when True God was about to seize the man, someone appeared behind Sovereign Dou Sheng and punched at True God.

 Chapter 3261: The Golden Rain

    It was just one punch¡ªone single punch¡ªand yet it caused True God¡¯s expression to change slightly as he brought his right hand up to protect his face.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The ck Mother Tree trembled, and the cracks in its bark grew even wider. True God staggered back a few steps. The fist had carried incredible power.

    Lu Yin leaped past Sovereign Dou Sheng. At his side, the summoned forms of Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis charged at True God. Lu Yin grabbed Sovereign Dou Sheng and threw him out of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. At the same time, countless dirt spears appeared and stabbed at True God.

    Despite facing thebined attacks of Wu Tian, Hongyan Mavis, and the spears of earth, True God¡¯s lips curled up into a smile. He looked past the three assaults to stare at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve finallye.¡±

    This was the moment that Yong Heng had been waiting for. Unless Lu Yin was killed, there would be no end to this war. Only by killing Lu Yin could victory be achieved.

    Ten thousand paths¡ªSword Return.

    A sword slowly formed in True God¡¯s hand. It had a simple appearance and was unassuming to look at, but the next instant, the de swept across the world. The power that the summoned Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis drew from the Investiture of the Gods was severed, and all the earthen spears were cut through.

    Lu Yin was stunned by what he saw. He had already known that True God was incredibly strong. The Great Sovereign had repeatedly warned everyone else not to fight True God. Even so, Lu Yin had never imagined that the man would be this incredibly powerful.Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis were part of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and they were almost as strong as Ortusers, and yet both had been obliterated in the same sword stroke.

    True God took a single step forward and instantly appeared in front of Lu Yin. The sword swung down.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arm rippled through the void as he tried to stop the sword with physical power. However, the sword sliced through the void, and the force that Lu Yin had gathered. The attack shed towards him as though nothing could block it.

    This scene was eerily familiar. In the Mirari Realm, that blood-red figure had used a simr attack several times to severely injure Hongyan Mavis and Astral Anura. Could True God be that figure? No, the shape of the sword was different, and also¡­

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step in an attempt to dodge the attack. Everything froze in the surrounding area, and yet the sword de did not stop. It sliced across Lu Yin¡¯s shoulder, nearly severing his arm in its passing.

    A mass of dirt formed from Dust World appeared in front of Lu Yin, but True God¡¯s sword casually sliced through it. Past that soil was a punch that Lu Yin had thrown with his full strength. This was more power than what both the Pridebeast and the Megalith possessed. This was the peak of strength in the megaverse.

    True God just shed his sword again, and Lu Yin felt an indescribable sense of danger. Mister Mu¡¯s voice rang in his ears. ¡°Retreat!¡±

    Lu Yin forced his body to twist and bend. He managed to avoid a direct impact between his fist and the edge of the sword. The de grazed his arm as it shed towards his neck. A small smile touched True God¡¯s lips, and he started to turn the sword to decapitate Lu Yin. At this moment, two figures appeared behind Yong Heng. Progenitor Chenunched a zing palm strike that seemed capable of obliterating an entire universe. This was the battle technique that he had designed specifically to target True God.

    The other figure was Lu Yuan, and the man¡¯s eyes zed with a fierce light as he shoved his Champions'' Stage at True God.

    Yong Heng was undeterred, and he continued to spin his sword around. Lu Yin could already feel the cold de biting deep into his neck.

    Suddenly, the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm turned golden. True God froze and then spat out a mouthful of blood. Behind him, Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm strike and Lu Yuan¡¯s Champions'' Stage mmed into the man, and he was sent flying by the attacks. He mmed into the border of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    Lu Yin gasped for breath. He had only narrowly escaped death.

    The exchange had taken only a moment, and while Lu Yin had still not seen True God¡¯s full power, he had almost died.

    A single swipe of a sword had allowed True God to ovee all of Lu Yin¡¯s power. He could not believe that he had survived.

    In the distance, True God coughed up blood as he clenched his sword. He turned to stare in a particr direction.

    The Great Sovereign had her head bowed. Her golden robe had transformed into shimmering specks of light that were merging into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    ¡°Tai Hong, you¡­¡± True God¡¯s expression darkened.

    Lu Yin and the others all turned to stare at the Great Sovereign.

    Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Self-sacrifice.¡±

    Progenitor Chen was astonished. ¡°Merging with a battle technique?¡±

    Lu Yin stared nkly at the Great Sovereign. Her golden robe had finished transforming into the particles of light that were slowly merging into the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. The entire cage had taken on a golden color. From his years of cultivating, Lu Yin understood that the Great Sovereign was sacrificing herself, merging her entire being into her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. ?

    This was indeed a self-sacrifice.

    ¡°Tai Hong, I never thought that you would go so far,¡± True God said in obvious surprise.

    The Great Sovereign lifted her head to look at True God. ¡°It¡¯s either you or me, Yong Heng. I told you already. You don¡¯t understand me.¡±

    True God¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he gripped his sword more tightly. ¡°I understand you well enough. I just never expected you to be this mad. You, a mighty Dukkhan, clearly believe that humanity has gained the advantage in this war, and yet you¡¯re still willing to sacrifice yourself.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, gained the advantage? Where¡¯s the victory if you are not defeated? Do you think that that kid can do it?¡± The Great Sovereignughed, and she looked over at Lu Yin. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m repaying you.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the Great Sovereign. ¡°The debt you owe the Lu family?¡±

    ¡°I already told you, I owe your Lu family nothing. Nothing! Everything in the cultivation world obeys karma. Has your Lu family never harmed any innocents before? Why should I care about your family? The debt I¡¯m repaying is for Dou Sheng. You saved his life, and I¡¯m repaying that debt,¡± the Great Sovereign exined.

    She then looked at Lu Yuan before her gaze swept across the entire battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel. ¡°I thought that my Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm would strip Yong Heng of his power, but I miscalcted. He is my Dukkha. I will never ovee him, but I will also never be defeated. Even if I die, I will take him with me. Tai Chu, do you hear me? I will never lose! Never!¡±

    Deep beneath the Immemorial Citadel, Tai Chu looked up at the stars, but he said nothing.

    Mister Mu sighed.

    Chu Yi, Wu Tian, Garan Zhiluo, and many others stared at the ck Mother Tree withplex expressions.

    This madwoman had never changed. Even in the face of death, she refused to admit that she had ever been wrong, and she would also never admit defeat.

    ¡°Master-¡± Sovereign Dou Sheng struggled to shout. He was drifting through space, severely injured and clearly in excruciating pain. He would have already died if not for Extremes Must Be Reversed.

    The Great Sovereign looked up, her gaze growing distant as her body transformed into golden specks of light that slowly merged into her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. In this moment, she was the most beautiful sight in the megaverse. ¡°I am Tai Hong! All of you are dead. Only I can protect this megaverse! I will kill Yong Heng! I will. I definitely will¡­¡±

    Her voice gradually faded as Tai Hong finished dissolving into golden particles that merged with the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    A golden rain started to fall in the darkness of outer space. It fell upon the Immemorial Citadel and the surrounding battlefield, sshing onto the faces of everyone present.

    Lu Yin felt the bone-chilling cold of the rain. The Great Sovereign was gone, just like that.

    How many times had he cursed the madwoman? How long had he hated her for? So why did his heart suddenly feel so empty?

    Deep beneath the Immemorial Citadel, Tai Chu closed his eyes as the golden rain fell around him. The Great Sovereign appeared, crouched in front of the man and simply staring at him.

    Tai Chu looked at the golden form before him. "You never lost. You won, and I lost. Wait for me¡ªI¡¯lle find you."

    The golden rain fell slowly, as though to wash the blood away from the Immemorial Citadel and expose the colors of the ancient stone once more.

    "Master¡ª" Sovereign Dou Sheng wailed, though no one answered him.

    At the top of the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yin and the others looked over at True God. His sword had been stained gold, and it started to crack. Golden blotches also appeared on the man¡¯s body. This was all a result of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm.

    The Great Sovereign had sacrificed herself, fully merging her entire being into her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and this had sessfully disrupted True God¡¯s divine energy.

    The Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm had been created specifically to counter True God.

    This was the perfect moment to kill Yong Heng.

    Lu Yin took out the God of Death¡¯s scythe and released his inner universe as he prepared to execute True God.

    Lu Yuan and Progenitor Chen steeled their expressions.

    Everyone¡¯s attention shifted to the ck Mother Tree. For humanity, losing Lu Yin would be a disaster. But if the Aeternals lost True God, they would be utterly destroyed.

    True God released the hilt of his sword and let out a long breath as he looked around at the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. ¡°Tai Hong, the oue is still undecided, but you will never lose.¡±

    He then turned to look at Lu Yin and the others. ¡°You want to kill me? You can¡¯t.¡±

    He raised up both hands and drew a circle overhead. Dark-red energy enveloped the man. It was True God¡¯s Dominion.

    ¡°Tai Hong¡¯s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm may have sealed much of my power, but can you break through my barrier?¡±

    Lu Yin did not hesitate to use the God of Death Transformation. He pulled out the God of Death¡¯s left arm as the scythe swung down.

    Lu Yuan threw his Champions'' Stage forward as the golden light from his Investiture of the Gods intensified.

    Progenitor Chen threw a palm strike that borrowed the dying mes from beneath the Immemorial Citadel.

    All three attacks struck the Dominion, but just like when they had been trapped in the Second Scourge, it was impossible to break the barrier.

    True God stood, immovable. His eyes were cial. ¡°Do you believe me to be so weak? Do you believe that Tai Hong alone can kill me?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew cold. ¡°If we can¡¯t kill you, then we¡¯ll deal with Aeternus, the Ossis Ark, and this ck Mother Tree. Yong Heng, let¡¯s see how long you can continue hiding in your shell.¡±

    The man then turned and raced away to join the battlefield again.

    ¡°You two, get to work!¡± Lu Yin shouted into the distance.

    Naturally, he was giving orders to the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    The two massive creatures had almost seeded in crushing Corpse God to death, and they both answered Lu Yin¡¯s order with a thumbs-up.

    The two beasts¡¯ actions left the people nearby dumbfounded.

    The ck Mother Tree soon trembled. True God looked down to see the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

    The two massive creatures were on both sides of the tree, holding it in ce to prevent True God from uprooting it as he had done in the Second Scourge.

    True God frowned. These two beasts were among the strongest beings in the entire megaverse. Previously, he could have used his Natural Art or the Martial God level of the Corpse King Transformation to force his way out, but that was before Tai Hong¡¯s sacrifice. Yong Heng no longer possessed the power to do that.

    His eyes flickered as he looked out at the battlefield and the Immemorial Citadel.

    There was no escape. Humanity was working topletely eradicate the surviving Aeternals, and then they would work together to eliminate True God.

    Lu Yin looked ahead. The ancient super giant hadpletely overwhelmed Corpse God, and the Skygod was almost dead.

    Using Inverse Step, Lu Yin appeared right above Corpse God. There was a terrifying eruption of power as a palm mmed down, driving Corpse God beneath the Immemorial Citadel, his neck broken.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3262: The Truth of the Past

    The ancestor of the super giants was momentarily stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin and clicked his tongue. ¡°You¡¯re Lord Lu, right? Your strength¡­ is a bit excessive.¡±

    The giant had been forced back by the shockwaves from Lu Yin¡¯s attack. If the attack had instead targeted the ancient giant, he would not have fared any better than Corpse God.

    While the giant was an Ortuser, that gave him no advantages against this little freak who had not yet even be a sequence Progenitor. Just how had the kid trained?

    Lu Yin stared at the ancient giant and remembered his time as Ye Bo when he had visited the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. The massive arm that had captured Qi andter fought against Yuan Qi was probably this giant.

    ¡°Senior, please deal with the Ossis Ark.¡±

    The super giant looked out from the Immemorial Citadel. ¡°Understood, give me a moment.¡±

    The massive figure then turned to look down below. ¡°It¡¯s over. The moment you joined Aeternus, you were removed from our n.¡±

    With that, the giant clenched his fists and smashed them down with a great deal of strength.

    The Immemorial Citadel trembled, and enormous fissures cracked open.Underground, Corpse God''s skull shattered. He waspletely dead.

    The ancestor of the super giants sighed and left the Immemorial Citadel, making his way towards the Ossis Ark.

    Lu Yin moved towards the Origin Progenitor, deep beneath the Immemorial Citadel. Right as he moved away, a round item, much like a seed, flew up from where Corpse God had died and shot toward the ck Mother Tree.

    Corpse God''s body waspletely gone.

    His body had been made by True God¡¯s Eternal Decree.

    That seed was the seed of Eternal Decree.

    Lu Yin turned around and saw the seed. He rushed over to grab it, only for it to disappear and reappear right in front of True God.

    Yong Heng looked at the seed. ¡°The first one.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned at this. ¡°Don¡¯t kill any of the resurrected people. Capture them.¡±

    True God''s expression remained calm. There were no emotions at all on his features.

    Lu Yin had already sensed that something was wrong. Each of True God''s three ultimate techniques served a unique purpose. Lu Yin had learned that Corpse God and the others had been resurrected by True God¡¯s Eternal Decree. However, when they died, they did not leave a corpse behind, but a seed instead. That was clearly a problem.

    Lu Yin could only try to prevent the other resurrected people from also bing seeds.

    After taking a long look at True God, Lu Yin continued on to the depths beneath the Immemorial Citadel to speak with the Origin Progenitor.

    Beside the Origin Progenitor stood a man named Yi Wei. He was the Origin Progenitor¡¯s first line of defense, while Mu Zhu was the second.

    Lu Yin intended to return the bits of Primaldust to the Origin Progenitor, but when he saw Yi Wei, Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "It''s you?"

    Yi Wei looked confused. "Have we met?"

    Lu Yin stared at the man for a moment before shaking his head. "No, we haven''t."

    He then continued walking slowly towards the Origin Progenitor.

    The Origin Progenitor looked at Lu Yin. "Pir, you¡¯re here."

    Yi Wei chuckled. "Pir?"

    Lu Yin sighed. "Origin Progenitor, my name is Lu Yin."

    "I know, Pir. You''ve done well. Without you, the Immemorial Citadel would have fallen." The Origin Progenitor''s voice echoed in the chamber.

    Lu Yin sighed. Suddenly, his hand struck out at Yi Wei and fell on the man¡¯s head. Yi Wei reacted quickly¡ªhe was someone qualified to protect the Origin Progenitor¡ªbut Lu Yin had anticipated the reaction. With overwhelming strength, Lu Yin dispersed the sequence particles as they appeared and settled his hand onto Yi Wei¡¯s head.

    Yi Wei instinctively moved to stand in front of the Origin Progenitor, where he red at Lu Yin.

    The Origin Progenitor watched as Lu Yin took action against Yi Wei and calmly remained holding onto the sequence strings.

    ¡°What¡¯s your rtionship with Ancient God?¡± Lu Yin asked. He had seen Yi Wei before, though Yi Wei had never seen Lu Yin.

    When Lu Yin had been fishing in the River of Aeons in the Mirari Realm, Infinity had brought up scenes from the past rted to physical strength. Among them had been one of Ancient God fighting an opponent. The battle had ended with Ancient God knocking his opponent unconscious but not killing him. Instead, the man had been thrown to a parallel universe.

    That person had been Yi Wei.

    Lu Yin had not expected to meet the man in the Immemorial Citadel. There were only two possibilities for why Ancient God had spared the Yi Wei¡¯s life. The man was either working with Ancient God and had betrayed humanity, or there was something wrong with Ancient God¡¯s defection to Aeternus. Why else would the man have spared Yi Wei?

    The fact that Yi Wei was guarding the Origin Progenitor made Lu Yin fear the worst, that the man was a spy for Aeternus and had been ced close to the Origin Progenitor in order to eventually attack him.

    Of course, this seemed highly unlikely, as the man should have already attacked. Still, given the situation, Lu Yin could not afford to take any chances. He needed to first get Yi Wei under his control.

    Yi Wei red at Lu Yin. ¡°Gu Yizhi?¡±

    ¡°I saw Gu Yizhi spare your life and throw you into a parallel universe,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    Yi Wei then understood. ¡°Ah, so it was you we sensed back then. You watched our battle through the River of Aeons.¡±

    ¡°You knew?¡±

    ¡°Gu Yizhi told me.¡±

    Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared at Yi Wei.

    The Origin Progenitor spoke up. ¡°Pir, let him go. He¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    Lu Yin turned to the Origin Progenitor as he slowly released his grip. ¡°Is there something wrong about how Gu Yizhi joined Aeternus?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor sighed. ¡°All of my disciples are excellent, and that includes Musclehead.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s being controlled by True God,¡± Lu Yin stated.

    The Origin Progenitor nodded helplessly. ¡°Yes, and because of that, many sacrifices have been made.¡±

    Lu Yin finally understood. There had always been a human spy within the Seven Skygods; this was undeniable. This was why ckless God¡¯s fake betrayal of Aeternus had been believed, as he had been believed to be humanity¡¯s spy. It turned out that the truth was very different. ckless God had been acting on True God¡¯s orders all along, waiting for the perfect opportunity to turn on Lu Yin and the others. Humanity¡¯s real spy within the Seven Skygods had always been Ancient God, Gu Yizhi.

    Lu Yin had considered many possibilities, but he had never suspected Ancient God. As one of the most powerful humans during the Heavens Sect era, why had Ancient God deliberately joined Aeternus? Without his betrayal, humanity would have likely been in a much better situation in the present era. After learning that Ancient God was being directly controlled by True God, Lu Yin had found it even harder to suspect that the man was a spy.

    How could someone controlled by True God possibly be a spy?

    Even True God could have never expected such a thing.

    And yet the truth was that Ancient God really was a spy. He was the highest-ranking human spy in all of Aeternus: the leader of the Seven Skygods and one of the Three Pirs of the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    Just what was the man¡¯s goal?

    Humans were a peculiar species. Their weaknesses were quite obvious, but so were their strengths.

    When humans had risen up to be the pinnacle species in the megaverse, they had consequently been able to see farther and had unconsciously started aiming higher. In doing so, they had failed to notice the sinister shadows that lurked in the corners. That had led to the destruction of the Heavens Sect at the hands of Aeternus, with the Mainds being destroyed one by one.

    However, every time humanity faced a dire situation, someone had always stepped up. No matter the cost, either through power or wisdom, someone had always managed to find a way to make up for what had been lost.

    The human spirit could be summarized quite sinctly: inheritance and sacrifice.

    When humanity first appeared in the megaverse, they had already been destined not to be a fleeting presence.

    ¡°Gu, what is Senior Gu Yizhi¡¯s goal?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    Sadness filled the Origin Progenitor¡¯s eyes. ¡°He wants to expose the truth.¡±

    ¡°What truth?¡±

    ¡°The truth behind the destruction of the First Maind. The truth about how I lost to the Boundary Guardians.¡±

    ¡°Senior Gu Yizhi knew that you were attacked by the Boundary Guardians?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Origin Progenitor looked back at Lu Yin. ¡°He didn¡¯t at first. He was a pure man. When the Heavens Sect was destroyed and the Mainds were shattered, one after another, the ones who benefited the most was Aeternus. After I disappeared, Musclehead felt that only Aeternus could be responsible. At this realization, he abandoned everything, even his Third Maind. He allowed it to be destroyed by the Aeternals. He betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus just so that he could find me.

    ¡°By the time I learned what had happened, it was already toote. He had chosen to be controlled by Yong Heng just so he could unveil the truth behind my disappearance. He could not believe that anyone in the entire megaverse could be a match for me, not even thebined force of the Boundary Guardians.¡±

    Lu Yin could not hold back his own question. ¡°And the truth?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor smiled. ¡°He was both right and wrong.

    ¡°The Boundary Guardians? Just four worthless fools. They¡¯re Ortusers who aren¡¯t even worth their names. Their attack on me was a joke¡ªthey were never my match. They couldn¡¯t even ovee my Verdant Eternity. Musclehead wasn¡¯t wrong about that. What he was wrong about something else: my defeat had nothing to do with Aeternus.

    ¡°Big Thug was the first to realize the truth, as he personally experienced what it felt like to have that being¡¯s attention focused on him.

    ¡°That being, I call it-¡±

    ¡°The Fated One,¡± Lu Yin interjected.

    The Origin Progenitor nodded. ¡°Yes, the Fated One. It¡¯s a fitting name. That existence is fate. They stopped me from breaking through to the Immortal realm. When those four fools attacked me, the Fated One ensured their sess. My hands were bound, which forced me to sever them in order to survive. If not for Old Mu, I would have died.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Old Mu is quite experienced. He¡¯s encountered a Fated One before.¡±

    Lu Yin was surprised. ¡°My master?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your master. He¡¯s not from our megaverse. His own was destroyed during a final battle that humanity lost. ording to him, if a Fated One hadn¡¯t intervened, he would have broken through to be an Immortal at thest moment and reversed the situation. Sadly, he still lost.

    ¡°I truly admire him. Even after losing to a Fated One, he managed to escape and has kept his current strength. I lost to a Fated One and was forced to cut off my hands and only barely survived. I owe your master my life.¡±

    This exceeded all of Lu Yin¡¯s expectations. He finally understood what had happened when the First Maind had been destroyed.

    The Boundary Guardians had attacked the Origin Progenitor, and Wu Tian had arrived during the battle. He had felt the chilling sensation of the Fated One¡¯s attention, and the Origin Progenitor had thrown Wu Tian away so that he would not get too close.

    The Fated One¡¯s interference had led to the Four Locks Array sealing the Origin Progenitor¡¯s hands. The man had been left with no choice but to sever his own hands in order to survive. Fortunately, Mister Mu had arrived and taken him away.

    Garan Zhiluo had arrived after the Origin Progenitor was taken by Mister Mu. She had seen the aftermath of Tian Feng¡¯s actions and tracked that creature down, only to be sealed within Tian Feng.

    The destruction of the First Maind had started the fall of the ancient Heavens Sect.

    This was the harsh truth behind the First Maind¡¯s destruction.

    Everything stemmed from that being, the Fated One.

    Ancient God had chased after the truth behind the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disappearance. He had gone after Aeternus, betrayed humanity, and even chosen to be controlled by True God, all in order to uncover the truth and find the Origin Progenitor.

    ¡°How long did it take Senior Gu to learn that you were in the Immemorial Citadel?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The Origin Progenitor thought for a moment. ¡°He was brought here by the Delivery Shrub.¡±

    ¡°The Delivery Shrub?¡± Lu Yin was confused, but then something clicked. ¡°The big, running tree?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor chuckled. ¡°Yes, it is quite good at running. That tree was nted here in the Immemorial Citadel, and it is able to use the city¡¯s mes and travel between battlefields. Those who are destined can be brought to the Immemorial Citadel by that tree, which has preserved humanity¡¯s legacy.¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3263: The Answer

    "Musclehead once followed the Delivery Shrub to the Immemorial Citadel. Even at that time, there was already a battlefield here at the Immemorial Citadel. Yong Heng seemed to not fully trust Musclehead yet, so he hadn¡¯t been brought here. What the Aeternals never knew was that Musclehead had alreadye here earlier, met me, and learned the truth.

    "However, it was already toote. He was already under Yong Heng¡¯s control. Not even I could undo that, and neither could Old Mu. Besides, Musclehead didn¡¯t want to be freed. He wanted to find the Fated One."

    Lu Yin understood. "Senior Gu has always wanted to find out who hurt you, Origin Progenitor. Regardless of whether it was Aeternus or Fated One, he wanted to know the truth."

    The Origin Progenitor''s eyes dimmed. "I don¡¯t want him to. Once he does, it will be the end.

    "The Fated One is an Immortal."

    Lu Yin''s pupils instantly shrank. This was the first time that he was being definitively told that the Immortal realm was real. He finally understood that it was a real realm of cultivation that people could achieve.

    Fated One¡­ an Immortal. Such power really did trigger feelings of despair.

    Not even the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu could fight against such an expert. Escape was the only option.

    Lu Yin felt confused. "There¡¯s no way this Fated One doesn¡¯t know about the Immemorial Citadel, so why leave it... why not deal with it?"Despite not finishing his sentence, Lu Yin¡¯s question was clear.

    The Origin Progenitor chuckled. "Why leave us be, you mean?"

    Lu Yin remained silent.

    The Origin Progenitor looked lost. "I¡¯ve considered that exact question for a very long time, and I still don¡¯t have an answer. I thought that I might never find an answer, but your appearance has suggested one."

    Lu Yin was puzzled.

    The Origin Progenitor looked him in the eye. "If humanity is defeated by Aeternus, the answer will disappear forever, but you can let us win. You can lead humanity forward. Then, one day, the Fated One will appear. Even if that being wants to kill us, I will at least be able to learn the answer, won¡¯t I? Heh."

    Lu Yin felt a sudden chill. While the Origin Progenitor¡¯s words sounded teasing, they felt like the deep abyss of death that was going to drag Lu Yin down.

    Lu Yin felt as if he was hearing, <em>¡°We¡¯re going to die anyways, so everything we¡¯re doing is just so that we can get answers."</em>

    "Are you scared, Pir?" The Origin Progenitor smiled at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath. "A little."

    "Don¡¯t be afraid. If we die, we¡¯ll die together, so at least you won¡¯t be alone, heh." The Origin Progenitor chuckled.

    Lu Yin could not hold back augh. "Your hands¡­ One is Burial Garden and the other is the Wang family''s floating continent, right?"

    "The Wang family¡¯s floating continent? Oh, did it end up in the hands of the Fifth Maind¡¯s Wang family?" It sounded like the Origin Progenitor was hearing this for the first time. ?

    Lu Yin asked, "How can we break the Four Locks Array? Also, I have your six bits of Primaldust with me. I want to return them to you, along with your sword."

    The Origin Progenitor immediately stopped Lu Yin from continuing. "No, while we might be destined to die together in the end, I don¡¯t want to meet our end so quickly. If I regain my full strength, the Fated One will immediatelye after me."

    "Senior Wu Tian also imprisoned himself in the Aeternals¡¯ Third Scourge because he was afraid of being targeted by the Fated One," Lu Yin said.

    The Origin Progenitor sighed. "That child is too direct. Why would the Fated One target him? He isn¡¯t even an Ortuser, let alone someone trying to ovee Dukkha. Still, from his perspective, he wasn¡¯t wrong. He felt the Fated One¡¯s attention, and I also know that feeling. He was afraid of drawing the Fated One¡¯s attention towards humanity, and he knew that they would have no chance to resist. Despite the terrible cost, he imprisoned himself within Aeternus.

    "Even if it was only a one-in-a-billion chance, he wanted to ensure that humanity was able to resist. In that way, he¡¯s a lot like you, Pir. The first time you saw the Aeternals¡¯ Six Scourges and understood their full strength, you must have also felt despair. And yet, you still chose to go against them."

    Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor. After a moment, he understood the man¡¯s earlierment. The pressure from the being known as the Fated One was so overwhelming that certain things could only be said indirectly.

    "The Fated One looks down from up above, indifferent to the ants below. Those ants also need to do everything they can to avoid even the slightest chance of being noticed. The truth is that all of us are just ants."

    The Origin Progenitor smiled again. "Don¡¯t bother trying to help me regain my hands or return Primaldust to me. I¡¯m the only one with a chance of bing an Immortal in this megaverse. The other Dukkhans, such as Yong Heng and Wei Nu, can¡¯t reach the Immortal realm in this current megaverse. That¡¯s why Yong Heng wants to destroy all the sequence strings and reset the megaverse."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "So, that really is his goal."

    The Origin Progenitor was taken aback. "You actually figured that out already? Very impressive, Pir. That¡¯s why you arrived just in time. If you had been anyter, I would have had no choice but to take back my hand from Burial Garden, which would have risked drawing the Fated One¡¯s attention towards me, and that might trigger them to enter this war. You need to understand. If the Fated One¡¯s attention turns to us, then no matter how this war ends, humanity will be doomed. I can¡¯t do anything until the veryst moment, but not because I can¡¯t recover.

    "You need to understand that it¡¯s not that I''m unable to recover. This old ancestor is very powerful! Incredibly so."

    Lu Yin pressed his lips. "I know how strong you are. There are a few questions I¡¯d like to ask."

    "Is this really the time? Pir, we should first deal with Aeternus. We have a rare opportunity right now. Once everything is settled, we can chat to our hearts'' content for as long as it takes."

    Lu Yin inexplicably shuddered. Chat with the Origin Progenitor to his heart¡¯s content? Just the thought was terrifying.

    Still, it was true that this was not the time for a conversation. The most important things had already been said. Lu Yin rose up from beneath the Immemorial Citadel and silently examined the battlefield, taking count.

    <em>Did Feng Bo die again?</em> Lu Yin looked up at True God and saw that there were two seeds in front of the man. Hongyan Mavis had killed Feng Bo.

    Of the people who had been resurrected by True God''s Eternal Decree, only Di Qiong, Xu Jin, Undying God, and Shaman God still lived. They could not afford to let them die again.

    Lu Yin looked up at the sky, and manifested his Dust World once more. ck dots appeared in the sky. They were countless dirt spears, and there were so many that they blocked out the stars.

    Ancient God looked up, his expression solemn, yet also unnervingly calm.

    In front of the man, Chu Yi roared, "Musclehead, have you still note to your senses?"

    Ancient God looked down at Chu Yi. "Aeternus will not lose."

    Chu Yi was furious. He was enraged by Musclehead''s refusal to repent for betraying humanity and their master.

    Arrow God, Forgotten Ruins God, Di Qiong, and all the others saw the earthen spears that blotted out the sky. More and more were constantly appearing. They never stopped.

    The more spears that appeared, the stronger the terrifying chill that people felt.

    Shaman God''s face grew pale. Who could have imagined that the child from the past would rise so far so fast? It was iprehensible that he was capable of single-handedly dominating the entire battlefield.

    Far away, Yuan Qi, the ancient powerhouse, carried his bell. Each time it tolled, an earth-shattering sound would ripple through space. The man was trying to destroy the dirt spears.

    Mister Mu reacted first, and he blocked the bell. "Yuan Qi, isn¡¯t it a bit unseemly for someone as old as us to attack children?"

    Yuan Qi stared at Mister Mu. The man¡¯s previous arrogance was nowhere to be seen. Yuan Qi had been certain that the Immemorial Citadel would fall, and yet the tide of battle had reversed so quickly.

    Zhan Yan and Mu Zhu stood facing each other. The pair of women formed a striking contrast on the battlefield.

    The moment Zhan Yan had joined the Ossis Ark, her opponent had always been Mu Zhu. Whenever one had appeared, the other had as well.

    "It looks like this battle is finally about to end," Zhan Yan looked away from the battlefield to stare at her opponent. "Mu Zhu, you and I still haven¡¯t determined a winner."

    Mu Zhu''s aura remained cold and isting. "You aren¡¯t from Aeternus. Where do youe from?"

    Zhan Yan replied with a small smile. "Does it matter? We¡¯re all going to die here anyway."

    She pointed upwards. "Your young Dao Monarch doesn¡¯t seem like he intends to let me go."

    As Zhan Yan spoke, the countless earthen spears started raining down.

    Their targets were perfectly clear. The individuals who had been resurrected, such as Shaman God, and the most powerful cultivators who could not be touched, like Yuan Qi, were ignored, and every other Aeternal was targeted by the spears.

    Darkness enveloped the Immemorial Citadel battlefield as the ck rainpletely reced the earlier golden rain.

    The void was torn apart, and the Hollow was exposed almost everywhere.

    This was the most powerful attack that Lu Yin was capable of unleashing with Dust World, and it was also able to cover the entire battlefield.

    The butterfly was the first to suffer from the attack. She had been fighting against Progenitor Ku and Garan Zhiluo. While Tian En was an Ortuser, she had a rtively weak presence on the current battlefield. She did not possess an incredible power that allowed her to ughter her way across the battlefield, and she was not the most hated enemy of humanity. She drew far less attention than the Aeternals.

    However, in some ways, the Boundary Guardians were even more detestable than the Aeternals. The Boundary Guardians were the ws of the Fated One. They had served as the stumbling blocks that had hindered humanity¡¯s rise. They were the true culprits who had attempted to supnt humanity.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The butterfly pped her wings, but dozens of soil spears rained down from overhead. Progenitor Ku grabbed one of the butterfly¡¯s wings, resisting her illusions with Extremes Must Be Reversed technique.

    Garan Zhiluo used her Eight-Star Garan innate gift to immediately copy Progenitor Ku¡¯s Extremes Must Be Reversed, and she grabbed the butterfly¡¯s other wing.

    The situation startled Tian En, and she was forced to endure the barrage of dirt spears. Multicolored light exploded from her body, simr to how a human would bleed.

    The Purgatory seal appeared above Ancient God, and it blocked the soil spears. There was a resounding ng from each impact.

    Wu Tian stepped back as a vast area in front of him waspletely shredded by the dirt spears. It was the location of Whiteless God.

    Even at this point in time, no one hadid eyes on Whiteless God¡¯s true form, but that no longer mattered. She was not able to reverse the situation. She was not even strong enough topletely block the dirt spears. As they rained down on her,bined with Wu Tian¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, Whiteless God¡¯s white mountain and sea waspletely destroyed. A hint of red spread through the void as her aura weakened. Finally, a human figure could be seen. She raised her head and looked at Lu Yin in the distance.

    She was Luo Shen.

    As he surveyed the battlefield, Lu Yin saw Luo Shen, but he was not surprised.

    He had suspected her long ago. The most suspicious thing that she had done had been to travel to the Perennial World via Jupiter.

    Jupiter was not a ce just anyone could enter. At the time, Luo Shen had only been a Melder, so how could she have possibly followed Lu Yin to the Perennial World through Jupiter? Even if she had managed to enter the Perennial World, how could her appearance have been so coincidental that she was rescued by Lu Yin? The chances were ridiculous.

    Later on, Lu Yin had devised a n to lure out Whiteless God. At the time, he had ordered people to monitor everyone, especially Luo Shen.

    However, the woman had not shown even a hint of abnormal behavior, and Whiteless God had still appeared.

    At that time, Lu Yin had hesitated.

    Afterward, Luo Shen had still not revealed any oddities. Other than that one instance with Jupiter, Lu Yin had never had any reason to suspect her. Still, that one time had been enough.

    While he was not able to prove that Luo Shen was Whiteless God, discovering that it was true was not a shocking revtion.

    In hindsight, many things made more sense, such as Zi Rong.

    One time, when Zi Rong had tried to absorb Bai Xue¡¯s innate gift, the incident had been exposed because of Luo Shen. Luo Shen had deliberately caused Zi Rong to be exposed, which had led to Lu Yin interfering and him ultimately fighting against Zi Rong.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3264: Leaving

    It was also possible that Luo Shen had been the one to manipte events so that Zi Rong had learned the Corpse King Transformation. Everything had been under her control.

    She had protected Lu Yin from harm, while constantly trying to get closer to him. When Feng Mo had attacked Madam Nn, why had it coincidentally happened right when Lu Yin was on Aegis? If not for that, Feng Mo¡¯s attack would have seeded. Luo Shen must have also orchestrated that.

    Everything that Luo Shen had done had been to get closer to Lu Yin.

    Across the vast battlefield, Lu Yin and Luo Shen locked eyes.

    Luo Shen had blood leaking from the corner of her mouth as she stared at Lu Yin. The woman¡¯s expression was incrediblyplex. At that moment, Lu Yin could not read it at all.

    Did Luo Shen really love him? How could that even be possible? She was Whiteless God, an ancient powerhouse who had lived for countless years. They had only met a handful of times. Lu Yin was not nearly self-absorbed enough to believe that Whiteless God could have fallen for him. Everything had to have been an act.

    The dirt spear pierced Luo Shen¡¯s body, pinning her to the ground and spilling her blood.

    Luo Shen looked at Lu Yin and mouthed something.

    His eyes narrowed as he watched her body be torn apart by dozens of soil spears. He remained frozen in ce, dazed. He waspletely confused by what Luo Shen had just said to him. "I knew you were Long Qi. You owe me your life."Long Qi was the alias that he had used during his first journey in the Perennial World. He had encountered many dangers while using that alias. He had visited the rear battlefield, been attacked at Dragon Mountain, and then returned to the Fifth Maind. Throughout that entire time, when had Lu Yin ever owed Luo Shen anything? Had Whiteless God ever helped him?

    It was during that time that Luo Shen had also visited the Perennial World, arriving there via Jupiter in order to chase after Lu Yin. However, for most of that time, she had been in the Zenith Mountain. When had she ever saved Lu Yin?

    The ck rain of dirt spears continued to fall, stabbing down across the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield.

    Whiteless God¡¯s death was just one minor detail of the entire conflict.

    One by one, corpse kings emerged from the Ossis Ark, only to be crushed by either the ancient super giant, Supreme, or the earthen spears.

    Of the top five strongest creatures from the Ossis Ark, Lu Yin had killed the triangr-headed corpse king. The long-legged creature was surrounded by runes, which erased parts of its body. However, the runes were nothing more than remnants of the Rune Progenitor¡¯s power. It was nearly impossible for the runes to kill the long-legged creature.

    A dirt spear pierced the long-legged creature''s head, ending it.

    Arrow God blocked the earthen spears, but she could not fend off thebined assault of Ye Wu, the Abandoned, and Ce Wangtian. Ce Wangtian pped Arrow God¡¯s forehead with his slipper, forcing Arrow God to use her innate gift to avoid death as her body dropped down.

    Ye Wu and the Abandoned instantly chased after the woman.

    Ce Wangtian was unaware of Arrow God¡¯s innate gift and was therefore a step too slow. Fortunately, Lu Yin knew about it.

    A dirt spear shot down, straight at Arrow God. The woman¡¯s body was inundated by a rain of ck spears.

    Mu Ji''s eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at his Roulette of Life and Death. Hepletely ignored the spears falling from up above. "Spin, spin!"

    Then, the spears dropped.

    A short distance away, Wang Xiaoyu stared nkly up at the descending spears. Was she about to die?

    Lu Yin nced at Wang Xiaoyu. There were multiple indications that the woman had not really betrayed humanity, but if he did not target her, the Aeternals would be suspicious of her.

    The best way would be¡­

    Progenitor Chen appeared beside Wang Xiaoyu, and he wrapped an arm around her waist while throwing a palm strike at the sky, shattering the soil spears. Lu Yin¡¯s attack caused the Progenitor¡¯s body to drop down a bit from the pressure. He turned to look at Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, let her go."

    Lu Yin''s expression turned cold. "She was the primary instigator of the war between the Fifth and the Sixth Mainds. She is the worst Redback in the history of the Fifth Maind. How could I face my dead ancestors if I let her go? So many died during that battle, including even the Rune Progenitor. All that remains of him are his runes."

    Progenitor Chen took a deep breath. "She never betrayed anyone. Aeternus used her to get me to start that war. I will bear the cost of that conflict."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. It was best if Progenitor Chen protected Wang Xiaoyu, as this allowed the woman to decide on her own whether to reveal herself or not.

    Held by Progenitor Chen, Wang Xiaoyu struck the man¡¯s chest with a palm and broke free from his embrace. The man stared at her in shock.

    He did not have any specific reason to trust Wang Xiaoyu, as he simply trusted her without question or doubt. He did not need to investigate her at all.

    "Xiaoyu."

    Wang Xiaoyu slowly retreated to the ck Mother Tree. Suddenly, Forgotten Ruins God swooped down and grabbed the other woman before racing back to the ck Mother Tree.

    Progenitor Chen did not chase them, and he simply watched.

    Forgotten Ruins God nced back at Progenitor Chen. "Xia Shang, Xiaoyu belongs to my Wang family. The scar that you left on my face back then means that you will never get her back, haha."

    Far away, Lu Yin frowned. How had Forgotten Ruins God avoided being killed by his Dust World?

    He looked in another direction, which was where Forgotten Ruins God and Ancestor Tianyi had been fighting.

    At the moment, Lu Tianyi was staring at his own hands in confusion. He had no idea how Forgotten Ruins God had escaped.

    Forgotten Ruins God was one of the first of the Seven Skygods whose identities was exposed. After so long, her power should have been thoroughly understood. Lu Tianyi should have been able to suppress the woman, and the dirt spears should not have had any trouble executing her. So, why was shepletely unharmed? Not only had she escaped from Lu Tianyi and the dirt spears, but she had also managed to get close to Progenitor Chen and take Wang Xiaoyu away without alerting the man.

    This should not have been possible, given Forgotten Ruins God''s abilities.

    Lu Yin suddenly considered Forgotten Ruins God''s words. The scar that Progenitor Chen had left on her face must be the flower mark.

    Had Progenitor Chen wanted to kill her? Of course he had, and yet Forgotten Ruins God still lived. The only sign of Progenitor Chen¡¯s attempt to kill the woman was the flower on her face. Clearly, Progenitor Chen had failed to kill her in the past.

    Just how powerful was Progenitor Chen?

    Each era had its own supreme powerhouses.

    During the ancient Heavens Sect era, the Origin Progenitor and the Three Realms and Six Daos had represented the pinnacle of strength.

    Later, during the Daosource Sect era, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been nothing more than a title. There would not have been any connection to the strongest powerhouses from the Heavens Sect era, except for the fact that Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku had both been different. They had represented the pinnacle of power during the Daosource Sect era.

    Progenitor Ku had invaded the Scourge on his own and faced True God without dying.

    Progenitor Chen had been confident that he could create a battle technique that could challenge True God, and one palm strike had been enough to obliterate Progenitor Xi.

    Each of them were supreme experts.

    Despite his incrediblebat strength, Progenitor Chen had still failed to kill Forgotten Ruins God. Clearly, humanity had been underestimating the woman all along. She had never revealed her true strength, or perhaps, she possessed incredible abilities that were focused on survival.

    However, even if she did manage to return to the ck Mother Tree, Ancestor Lu Yuan was still standing in her way.

    Atop the ck Mother Tree, Lu Yuan looked over at the rest of the battlefield, and he saw Forgotten Ruins God approaching with Wang Xiaoyu.

    From another direction, Zhan Yan was also approaching.

    Additionally, there was Ancient God and the old monster, Yuan Qi.

    Further away, Tian En was being held tightly in ce by Progenitor Ku and Garan Zhiluo.

    The battle had devolved to the point where the Aeternals only had a few true powerhouses remaining.

    Also, a dog.

    True God¡¯s eyes opened. The golden light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm looked beautiful, but it was his prison.

    This cage trapped not only True God, but also all of Aeternus.

    Given the current situation, unless something unexpected happened, none of the Aeternals would survive aside from True God himself.

    Humanity had far too many powerful experts on the battlefield.

    With this thought, Yong Heng rose to his feet.

    At the same time, Lu Yuan also moved, keeping his eyes on True God.

    True God did not spare Lu Yuan so much as a nce. Both of them were inside the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and Yong Heng¡¯s body was still shrouded by his Dominion. Without his barrier, True God would not be able to withstand the attacks of all the present human experts.

    ¡°Yong Heng, you¡¯ve lost. A fair and square battle would be better than hiding like a coward,¡± Lu Yuan warned, though still wary of the other man.

    True God had blood at the corner of his mouth. ¡°If not for Tai Hong, you would¡¯ve lost long ago.

    ¡°The final oue is still undecided. There¡¯s no need to rush to conclusions.¡±

    True God looked past Lu Yuan at Undying God, Xu Jin, Di Qiong, and Shaman God. Two seeds from his Eternal Decree floated in front of his forehead.

    Undying God and the others all looked at True God. Then, they exploded.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The void trembled, and spatial cracks spread out endlessly in all directions.

    The self-destruction of the experts at the Seven Skygods level almost shattered the battlefield, and the rain of dirt spears was overpowered.

    Lu Yin was startled. This was not a good development.

    One after another, the remaining seeds flew towards True God.

    Mu Shen and Lord Xu tried to stop them, but the seeds passed right through their hands as they shot through space.

    Lu Yin used Inverse Step to instantly appear in front of one of the seeds. He reached out to grab it, but the seed also passed through his palm. It was as though the seed had no physical substance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Lu Yin swung a fist, releasing such terrifying force that the void shattered entirely, exposing the True Void. This destructive power was on the level of the Three Realms and Six Daos. This was the strength needed to break through to the Origin realm.

    However, even this punch failed to stop the seed.

    The seeds were not physical objects, but rather projections of True God''s divine energy.

    One by one, the seeds arrived in front of True God. Lu Yuan also tried to stop them, but all such efforts were useless.

    Six seeds floated in front of True God. They then pressed into his forehead, leaving images of six seeds on the center of his brow.

    At that moment, the golden Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm suddenly shrank. It passed right by Lu Yuan to wrap around True God¡¯s body like a golden robe.

    Not even the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm could fully restrain True God¡¯s power. The best it could do was restrict him in this manner.

    Fortunately, True God was still unable to break free from the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. As long as that prison existed, his power would be limited, and that prevented him from actually fighting in the battle.

    Lu Yuan threw a palm at True God.

    The attack passed right through the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, but it was still blocked by the Dominion.

    Theyer closest to True God¡¯s body was his own barrier, and it protected him from all attacks. On top of that was the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, which restricted the man¡¯s power.

    He was enveloped in both red and gold light. He slowly lifted his head, stepped past Lu Yuan, and appeared beside Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu. "Let¡¯s go."

    True God was abandoning the ck Mother Tree.

    The ck Mother Tree was still being held in ce by the Megalith and the Pridebeast. With his strength restricted, there was no way for True God to take it from them, so he was forced to give it up.

    This battle had clearly started because of the ck Mother Tree, and True God¡¯s actions suggested that he had been forced to a dead end. He was truly at his limits.

    Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu were taken away by True God. They walked across the battlefield as though it was t ground.

    Everyone attacked them, and one by one, powerful attacks rained down. There were too many humans free to attack at this moment, but none of them couldnd a hit on True God.

    He moved as though he was walking through time itself,pletely unharmed by all the attacks.

    Lu Yin moved at the speed of time with Inverse Step, and yet True God passed right by him. He waspletely unaffected, as Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of the power of time could notpare to True God¡¯s.

    Yong Heng appeared next to Tian En. Progenitor Ku was knocked back, and the butterfly was taken away by True God.

    Next, the man appeared near Zhan Yan. Mu Zhu attacked, but he failed to even shake the man. The next instance, he vanished again.

    He appeared next to Ancient God, nced at Chu Yi, and then swept past like a phantom.

    ckless God was the next target. ck Lines wrapped around True God, and then he disappeared.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3265: Unwilling To Accept

    No one was able to stop True God as he collected the surviving Aeternals and carried them to the Ossis Ark.

    At this moment, the Ossis Ark was being held back by the ancestor of the super giants. On the other side was <em>Boundless</em>.

    True God carried Ancient God and the others aboard the Ossis Ark.

    The ancient super giant pped a palm down, but it was as if he had struck nothing at all.

    It was an incredible disy of power.

    True God was clearly greatly restricted. If not, just a swing of his sword would dominate the entire battlefield. Even with the restrictions he was suffering, no one could stop him from leaving.

    ¡°You seem to misunderstand. My Eternal Decree doesn¡¯t grant others immortality, but me.¡± True God faced the entire battlefield from where he stood on the Ossis Ark. The images of the seeds reappeared on his forehead, and one by one, they transformed back into Undying God and the others.

    The six dead experts reappeared.

    For Lu Yin and many others, it did not matter if these six revived again. The Aeternals were destined to lose the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. However, True God was no fool. He could see the oue just as clearly as the humans.Feng Bo and the others were revived for a second time, but this time, they had not been brought back to fight, but rather to perform actions that no one could understand. They repeatedly sent powerful attacks through the void.

    Lu Yin did not understand what they were doing, but he did know that he had to stop them.

    Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, and Chu Yi all attacked the Ossis Ark.

    Skydog appeared at that moment, and the beast suddenly grew to an enormous size, nearly matching the Ossis Ark itself. The beast howled at the sky and then barked. "Woof!"

    Every attack struck Skydog. The dog looked to be in great pain, but it managed to endure.

    Corpse kings started to appear outside the Ossis Ark again, and they also started attacking the void. Slowly, a familiar structure began to emerge.

    Lu Yin stared at the Ossis Ark, his tension rising. Was that Ceaseless Impetus?

    Undying God and the other resurrected individuals were working with the corpse kings that had emerged from the Ossis Ark to create a sourcebox array. It was Ceaseless Impetus.

    Ceaseless Impetus was a sourcebox array from the Fifth Maind that had been created by Progenitor Hui. It had protected the Fifth Maind from countless Aeternus invasions for many, many years.

    No one had expected the Aeternals to be able to learn Ceaseless Impetus and then use it to protect the Ossis Ark.

    Skydog howled in agony as its body shrank back down. It crashed onto the Ossis Ark.

    At this moment, Ceaseless Impetus waspleted, and it surrounded the Ossis Ark. Inparison to the sourcebox array, the Ossis Ark seemed tiny.

    True God sped his hands behind his back as he looked across the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. "Hui Wen¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus has held Aeternus back for many years, but over time, we¡¯ve made progress with it. Through trial and error, we finally managed to decipher its design."

    Lu Yin remembered an incident in the Higher Realm when Corpse God had attacked the entire Perennial World. At that time, Semi-Progenitors and even Progenitors had poured stellr energy into Ceaseless Impetus to hold the Aeternals back.

    Lu Yin had been rather puzzled at the time, as it was clear that the Aeternals knew that their efforts were useless. If such an attack could work, they would have broken through Ceaseless Impetus long before. Why had they continued to perform such attacks?

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood. Aeternus had been probing Ceaseless Impetus. The sourcebox array had protected humanity from Aeternus for so long, demonstrating its incredible power. That same sourcebox array had just been constructed by experts at the level of the Seven Skygods and the most powerful corpse kings from the Ossis Ark, all of whom could fight against the forces of the Immemorial Citadel. There was no doubt that this Ceaseless Impetus far surpassed the one in the Perennial World.

    The two were not even on the same level.

    The Ceaseless Impetus in the Perennial World had five massive sourceboxes as its foundation, and the one that the Aeternals had just created had the same: Xu Jin, Di Qiong, Undying God, Shaman God, and Feng Bo.

    The Ceaseless Impetus in the Perennial World had been built upon the Mother Tree, while the new one had been built upon Corpse God.

    One by one, corpse kings walked, moving away from the Ossis Ark.

    Outside of Ceaseless Impetus, there was a barrier formed from thebined power of all of Aeternus¡¯s experts. This was simr to the barrier in the Perennial World that separated the rear battlefield from the Higher Realm.

    No matter how anyone looked at this sourcebox array, aside from its size and power, there was no functional difference between the two Ceaseless Impetuses.

    However, that difference in power was also the most significant difference.

    The barrier of the Perennial World¡¯s Ceaseless Impetus was, at most, able to block people from the Higher Realm from seeing the rear battlefield. Their view was cut off, and divine energy was kept out. The barrier from the Ceaseless Impetus that protected the Ossis Ark had already withstood a palm strike from Progenitor Chen without suffering any damage at all.

    The barrier around Ceaseless Impetus was being powered by all the surviving Aeternals, and that energy was then circted through Ceaseless Impetus. True to its name, the sourcebox array was a seamless and endless flow of power.

    Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, and Chu Yi all attacked, as did the ancient super giant. Hongyan Mavis used her full strength, as did Lu Yin.

    The full power of all of humanity¡¯s experts could not break the barrier.

    There were a great number of human powerhouses present, but they were not able tounch a unified attack. The power of their attacks was scattered, which put them at a significant disadvantage against Ceaseless Impetus.

    ¡°Whoever developed this sourcebox array, they gave it power that flows endlessly and seamlessly,¡± the ancient super giantmented as he continuously tried to attack the Ossis Ark. All of his attacks were blocked by Ceaseless Impetus, and he could only produce the slightest ripples. All that his strikes really did was push the Ossis Ark farther away.

    Lu Yin frowned. He finally understood what it must have felt like to be one of Progenitor Hui¡¯s enemies and a victim of the man¡¯s schemes. It was extremely unpleasant.

    It could be said that the only reason why humanity had been able to turn the tide of the war was because of Progenitor Hui.

    In fact, Lu Yin himself had been so sessful inrge part due to Progenitor Hui.

    Humanity was truly fortunate to have had Progenitor Hui.

    Lu Yin went over to join Lu Yuan and the others, and then he released his inner universe, enveloping the Ossis Ark, <em>Boundless</em>, and even the Immemorial Citadel. He observed all of Aeternus¡¯s experts who were within the Ossis Ark and then examined True God. They could test if Ceaseless Impetus or Verdant Eternity was stronger.

    Both possessed endless power.

    At that moment, a bell rang, and the sound shook the Immemorial Citadel.

    Lu Yin felt as if he had just been struck in the head by a club. He nearly passed out.

    He was not alone, as nearly half of the human powerhouses near the Immemorial Citadel fainted.

    Far away, up above the Immemorial Citadel, Yuan Qi coughed up blood. In front of him, Mister Mu was standing on top of a bell, which could be heard shattering.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    The tolling that everyone had just heard was the destruction of Yuan Qi¡¯s bell. The man had not been able to endure against Mister Mu, and he had been heavily wounded. He had failed to protect his Dao Bell during a moment of weakness when he had been trying to escape.

    Mister Mu raced after the man, knowing that, if Yuan Qi managed to escape, he would be a terrible threat in the future.

    Yuan Qi was an ancient monster, and he was the most powerfulbatant fighting for Aeternus, aside from True God himself. Not just anyone could fight Mister Mu. The man regarded even the Boundary Guardians as trash. Mister Mu had not spared Tian En so much as a single nce during the entire time the butterfly had been on the battlefield.

    The final tolling of Yuan Qi''s bell, as it was just about to shatter entirely, echoed through the Immemorial Citadel. For a moment, Lu Yin''s mind went nk. That was the moment that the Ossis Ark made its escape.

    By the time Lu Yin was able to regain his senses, the Ossis Ark had already vanished, as had Yuan Qi and Mister Mu.

    The Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield fell silent as everyone stared at the empty sky. Despair filled their hearts.

    The Ossis Ark was gone. Aeternus still had many powerful members who had survived, and as long as they lived, humanity would live in constant fear.

    In fact, now that they were freed from the massive organization that had been Aeternus, the surviving Aeternals might even pose a greater threat to humanity.

    Lu Yin was unwilling to ept this oue. They had fought so hard and for so long; why should they allow the Aeternals to escape? What was the point of all the lives that had been sacrificed by the Immemorial Citadel, Burial Garden, and the Heavens Sect? What about the sacrifices that Progenitor Hui and the Great Sovereign had made? No, Lu Yin refused to let them escape.

    Lu Yuan stepped forward. "Little Seven, you¡¯ve done your best."

    The Ossis Ark had escaped. The protection of Ceaseless Impetus meant that even powerful Ortusers like Lu Yuan and Chu Yi did not have any hope of catching up. Even if that were possible, they would not be able to do anything to the Ossis Ark.

    For many, the results of the war were eptable. After all, just a short while ago, the Immemorial Citadel had been on the brink of copse. In such a short amount of time, many of the most powerful Aeternals had perished, and even the ck Mother Tree had been abandoned.

    Lu Yin could not ept the oue. The ancient Heavens Sect had been destroyed, and humanity¡¯s experts had ovee impossible struggles, risking their lives to gain an advantage over Aeternus, only for such an oue. True God had not really suffered any losses at all. Progenitor Hui''s schemes had been wasted, and the Great Sovereign¡¯s sacrifice would eventually fade to nothing. As long as True God survived, all of the losses that Aeternus had suffered could be recovered, and Lu Yin was unwilling to ept that.

    <em>Wait, time?</em>

    Determination firmed across Lu Yin''s features, and he softly asked, "Why didn''t the Origin Progenitor allow the River of Aeons to be reversed?"

    Lu Yuan''s eye twitched. "Little Seven, what are you thinking?"

    Lu Yin turned to look at Lu Yuan. "I¡¯m going to break through to the Progenitor realm."

    Lu Yuan was taken aback. Break through to the Progenitor realm? Of Lu Yin¡¯s four inner worlds, three had already been transformed into Progenitor¡¯s worlds. Only one remained, and that one was connected to the great power of time.

    "You want to use Lightstream to reverse the River of Aeons? You can¡¯t do that, Little Seven! There¡¯s always been a reason for everything that Master says. You can¡¯t reverse time." Lu Yuan immediately tried to stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked out at the vast starry sky. "As long as Yong Heng doesn''t die, I will have no peace. He will be my inner demon."

    Lu Yuan''s eyes narrowed. An inner demon¡ªit was an abstract term, but for cultivators, it spelled disaster.

    If a cultivator developed an inner demon, they would be bound to suffer a catastrophe from it.

    Why did so many cultivators fear breaking oaths? It was because they could not suppress the resulting inner demon. While an inner demon was intangible and formless, it was essentially a form of self-denial.

    Being denied by others could neverpare to denying oneself.

    If someone denied themselves, how could they ever hope to transcend themselves?

    "Loam, his path is different from ours," Wu Tian spoke up.

    Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, and Chu Yi all looked at Lu Yin with conflicted expressions.

    Lu Yuan suddenly turned to peer into the depths of the Immemorial Citadel. "Master, Pir wants to reverse time."

    No answer could be heard. The Origin Progenitor remained silent.

    This silence might be a positive affirmation, or a negative denial. There was no way to know for sure.

    It was even possible that the Origin Progenitor simply knew that he would not be able to stop Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin let out a breath as Lightstream appeared. It took on the form of a small boat and then drifted off into space. It was time for Lu Yin to transform his final inner world into a Progenitor¡¯s world.

    Four Progenitor¡¯s breakthroughs. Each of the previous three had triggered a transformation in Lu Yin¡¯s strength. He did not know if transforming Lightstream would grant him the ability to go against the flow of the River of Aeons.

    During the Heavens Sect era, Lu Yuan had wanted to reverse time in order to save his son, but the Origin Progenitor had stopped him from doing so.

    At that time, Lu Yuan had been about as strong as Lu Yin was now. Even without relying on Lightstream, Lu Yin should be capable of going against the River of Aeons.

    Lu Yin had never attempted to do so before, and he did not actually know how to even attempt such a thing.

    He had undergone repeated breakthroughs back to back with almost no time in between them, and that meant that he did not have a clear idea of his own strength. Transforming Lightstream into a Progenitor¡¯s world seemed like the most secure way forward.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3266: Extreme Compression From The River Of Aeons

    "I will reverse the River of Aeons," Lu Yuan announced as he suddenly reached out towards outer space. As he reached out, he was surrounded by a flowing gray aura. It was the power of time.

    Lu Yin turned back to the man, his expression firm. "Ancestor, this is my inner demon."

    Lu Yuan was taken aback, and he stared nkly at Lu Yin.

    Lu Tianyi spoke up. "Ancestor, let Little Seven do it."

    Lu Yuan gritted his teeth. After a moment, he slowly withdrew his hand, the gray aura dispersing.

    Lu Yin looked away. At this moment, the entire sky overhead was covered in gray. It looked like smoke and dust. Everyone was captivated by the phenomenon, and they all looked up, unsure of what was about to happen.

    A Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough was not a very big deal for the people who fought at the Immemorial Citadel. Who among them was not a peak powerhouse?

    Ordinary Progenitors were not even qualified to step foot onto this particr battlefield.

    But Lu Yin was different. Not even Ortusers could anticipate what would happen during his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough.Looking back, every single one of Lu Yin¡¯s breakthroughs had shaken the megaverse.

    The gray color in the sky seeped down, dropping lower and lower. Lu Yin stared at it. He felt as though he was seeing the mist of time in the Mirari Realm. This gray might be simr to that fog, but in outer space, it simply looked like the color gray.

    A massive river could be heard flowing. Everyone could hear it.

    They were in outer space, on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. Where was the a river?

    "It¡¯s the River of Aeons," someone eximed in shock.

    Everyone looked up. No one could see where the gray color hade from, but they were able to see a river flowing towards them from the distance, and it was surging downward.

    Lu Yin''s expression remained calm. The River of Aeons. Yes, that was what his tribtion had to be. How could an inner world that involved the power of time avoid the River of Aeons? His goal was to go against the flow of the River of Aeons, and the river had appeared before him.

    Lightstream formed a small boat that floated beside Lu Yin. He looked at the surging River of Aeons. Normally, he would be able to roll four pips on his die and simply avoid the river, as he had during his Semi-Progenitor breakthrough, but this tribtion was different. If he avoided the tribtion, he would fail.

    The River of Aeons drew closer and closer.

    There were dire consequences to falling into the River of Aeons.

    Even Feng Bo had refused to do such a thing when on the verge of death.

    Big Sis had fallen into the River of Aeons, and her luck could be considered extraordinary, as she had only lost her cultivation and her memories.

    Such luck was incredibly rare.

    In the face of the River of Aeons, Lu Yin waved a hand, sending Lightstream towards the river. Everyone watched as the small boat touched the River of Aeons and instantly almost capsized. Lu Yuan and the others held their breath.

    Thankfully, the boat held on, even though it struggled to stay afloat in the River of Aeons. The boat was not carried downstream, but it also was not able to go against the current. It simply remained in ce, bobbing up and down with the flow of the River of Aeons, always just barely avoiding being overturned.

    Lu Yin stared intently at the boat. The waves of the River of Aeons grew increasingly fierce. This could not continue, or else Lightstream would eventually sink.

    He took a step forward, and to the astonishment of everyone watching, he got onto the boat. He looked like a fisherman struggling to stay afloat on the ocean.

    Everyone watching felt their pulses quicken. If Lightstream was overturned, Lu Yin would fall into the River of Aeons.

    That was the River of Aeons, and no one could ensure that Lu Yin would ever reappear if he fell in. Even if he did return, there was no guessing what state he would be in.

    The area around the Immemorial Citadel was no longer a battlefield, as there were no longer any enemies. Everyone watched Lu Yin¡¯s breakthrough, holding their breath in tense anticipation.

    Lu Yin stood in Lightstream as it swayed with the raging currents of the River of Aeons. He then started to move, using Inverse Step to move at the speed of time.

    The Lightstream had taken on the form of a boat because, during Lu Yin¡¯s fishing in the Mirari Realm, his inner world had devoured many moments of time that no longer belonged to the River of Aeons. Those droplets had gradually strengthened the inner world enough for Lu Yin to reshape it into a boat. That boat was now facing a grave disaster and could capsize at any moment. The only way that Lu Yin could think of to help his boat was to continue strengthening it by producing more moments of time that did not belong to the River of Aeons.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Since Lu Yin was standing in Lightstream, which separated him from the River of Aeons that was flowing by, all time would first make contact with Lightstream before joining the River of Aeons. This meant that he did not need to fish for rejected moments of time like he had in the past.

    His reasoning proved to be correct. The longer he used Inverse Step to move at the speed of time, the more stable Lightstream became, though it was far from enough.

    While in the Mirari Realm, the most nourishing supplement for Lightstream was the time produced by Feng Bo¡¯s battle technique. Inparison, the time that Inverse Step was producing was insignificant.

    Lu Yin released his inner universe and pulled upon the power of time that he had taken from Progenitor Ku¡¯s Withered Bark years ago.

    Far away, Progenitor Ku was taken aback. He recognized his Withered Bark. The boy had truly cultivated a great number of powers. However, not even the Withered Bark would be enough to stabilize the boat. What would Lu Yin do next?

    Verdant Eternity appeared. The technique¡¯s greatest advantage was the fact that any power used within Verdant Eternity¡¯s bounds would not dissipate. Lu Yin continued to pull upon the power of time from the Withered Bark while simultaneously using Inverse Step and producing more time that did not belong to the River of Aeons. His goal was not for Lightstream to absorb all the time, as that time would disappear after it was absorbed. Instead, he allowed the time to linger between the boat and his inner universe, and it started umting. As long as he moved fast enough, he would be able to fill his entire inner universe with time that did not belong to the River of Aeons.

    Lightstream slowly stabilized. The River of Aeons had diminished to just a trickle. Despite the great danger, the boat had endured the river¡¯s waves.

    Lu Yin watched as the River of Aeons disappeared into outer space, and then he let out a sigh of relief.

    That tribtion had been too close. If not for Verdant Eternity, which prevented the power of time from dissipating, he would not have been able to keep Lightstream afloat on the river. Whether the boat capsized or not would have been a matter of pure luck.

    Of Lu Yin¡¯s four inner worlds, the one that had been the easiest to transform into a Progenitor¡¯s world had turned out to be Infinity. While he had faced the Pridebeast and the Megalith, others had been able to hold the beasts off. The breakthroughs for Lu Yin¡¯s three other inner worlds had been fraught with danger.

    Everyone had been holding their breath, worried for Lu Yin.

    The power of time was mysterious and unfathomable. Oveing a Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough with the power of time was something that was very, very rare throughout all of history.

    Although many powerful beings were able to touch upon the power of time after their strength reached a certain level, that was fundamentally different from how Lu Yin had literally used the power of time itself to break through to the Progenitor realm.

    At the moment, everyone was curious. What would happen now that Lightstream had be a Progenitor¡¯s world as well?

    Lu Yin was just as curious.

    He stared at his little boat.

    Lightstream, which had been a faint, glowing boat, slowly condensed into a solid object. Its shape did not change, but it was no longer a boat formed from the power of space chasing time. It looked like a physical object, a boat with a gray hull.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and the boat shrank, instantly appearing in his palm. It was very heavy.

    He stared at Lightstream in surprise. Its weight was strange. It was heavy, yet not. It was as if the weight did not affect his body. Still, it felt as though it was incredibly, unbelievably heavy.

    What was going on?

    "That is extremepression. It¡¯s thepression of the River of Aeons," the Origin Progenitor¡¯s voice rang out, echoing throughout the Immemorial Citadel.

    Everyone turned to look at the depths of the Immemorial Citadel.

    The Origin Progenitor looked up at the boat in Lu Yin''s hand. ¡°Those who haveprehended thews of the universe and mastered sequence particles go against the River of Aeons, or else their karma will be entangled. Those who have entered the Origin realm or beyond are also unable to reverse the flow of the River of Aeons, as doing so will cause their cultivation to fall back to the Progenitor realm. Loam, Chu Yi, both of you should have felt this.¡±

    Lu Yuan frowned. He had indeed felt that sensation when he had tried to reverse the flow of the River of Aeons for Lu Yin. The moment the gray power had appeared, Lu Yuan¡¯s cultivation had be unstable.

    However, he had not stopped because of that instability. Even if his cultivation was reverted and he fell back to the Progenitor realm, he would have preferred to do that on Lu Yin¡¯s behalf.

    ¡°Origin Progenitor, none of that applies to me,¡± Lu Yin replied.

    The Origin Progenitor praised the young man. ¡°Precisely. That means that you are free.¡±

    Everyone was astonished. Was that really how things were?

    Lu Yuan was thrilled. ¡°Master, are you saying that Little Seven can turn back the flow of the River of Aeons?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor replied, ¡°He can, but in doing so, he will umte karma. It¡¯s just that he will not suffer as much umtion as the rest of you. I don¡¯t rmend for Pir to reverse the flow of the River of Aeons, but his Progenitor¡¯s world doesn¡¯t need to. He can simply cross the river. Traversing and reversing the River of Aeons arepletely different. Pir, you can do it.¡±

    Lu Yin was ecstatic. Traversing the River of Aeons; that was what Lightstream had be capable of after transforming into a Progenitor¡¯s world. His breakthrough really had seeded.

    When he had first transformed Lightstream into a boat, he had dreamed of eventually using it to sail up the River of Aeons. He had truly achieved just that. While he was only able to traverse the river, to him, traversing and reversing were not much different.

    He was so happy that hepletely ignored the fact that the Origin Progenitor called him Pir.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to use Lightstream to travel along the River of Aeons, a rumble echoed across the Immemorial Citadel and its surroundings. Outer space tore open, and a familiar starry sky appeared in Lu Yin and the others¡¯ sight. Was that the Origin Universe?

    Vast amounts of stellr energy surged forth, and the gray color once again obscured everything overhead.

    Lu Yin felt terribly confused; what was this?

    An even more familiar sight then appeared above his head; it was the ck hole surrounded by the vortex of a stellr tribtion.

    Everyone was stunned.

    ¡°A stellr tribtion? Didn¡¯t he just pass his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough? Why is there another tribtion?¡±

    ¡°Is that the Origin Universe tribtion?¡±

    ¡°Origin Progenitor, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Master?¡±

    In the depths of the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor looked up and met everyone¡¯s stares. He casually exined, ¡°Pir is about to break through to be a Progenitor.¡±

    Lu Yin wanted to curse. He had already broken through to the Progenitor realm! Why was the old man saying that this was his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough?

    <em>Could it be?</em> Lu Yin looked down at his chest. Could there be another one?

    He had forgotten that his inner universe was not an inner world, and neither had it broken through. Because of this, Lu Yin had assumed that his inner universe would not transform and that he would simply reach the Progenitor realm. However, the appearance of the ck hole of a stellr tribtion shattered Lu Yin¡¯s preconceptions. Had he overlooked something? His inner universe was surrounded by a ck and white mist, and stellr energy acted as its shell. If that inner universe were to also transform into a Progenitor¡¯s World, it would certainly trigger a tribtion.

    However, what Lu Yin was seeing was simply too much. Had he really drawn the entire Origin Universe onto himself?

    ¡°Everyone fall back!¡± Hongyan Mavis ordered sharply.

    No matter why it had appeared, a stellr tribtion was something that no one wanted to get caught up in.

    Anyone who knew about the Origin Universe¡¯s tribtions fled faster than theirpanions.

    Everyone was watching Lu Yin in shock.

    Throughout history, he was most likely the only person to have broken through to the Progenitor realm five times.

    The Origin Progenitor praised, ¡°Others break through to be Progenitors in the Origin Universe, but Pir, the Origin Universees to you for your breakthrough.¡±

    Lu Yin felt bitter. He did not want the Origin Universe to visit him for his breakthrough.

    He waspletely unprepared for this. How was he supposed to break through at this moment? What power did he have left that he could transform? Should he just release his inner universe?

    ¡°The Progenitor realm is the culmination of all of a cultivator¡¯s efforts throughout their entire life. To reach that realm, one must achievepleteness. No matter how many paths you have walked, no matter how much power you have cultivated, ultimately, there is no escaping the need forpleteness.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Completeness. He looked into the depths of the Immemorial Citadel and met the Origin Progenitor¡¯s eyes.

    In an instant, like a great river flowing, images of great powerhouses appeared in Lu Yin¡¯s mind: the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu, Tai Hong, True God, the Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Each of these powerful individuals shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind. Every one of them had possessed the potential to walk multiple paths, but in the end, they had all walked a single path.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3267: Legends And Myths

    A person was not capable of walking two paths simultaneously. Lu Yin had broken through with four Progenitor¡¯s worlds, effectively walking four different paths. However, that did not mean that he was walking them simultaneously. Instead, he had taken these paths, and ultimately, they would converge into the single path that he was meant to take.

    He finally understood that.

    This also exined why there had been no phenomena after he finished transforming his four inner worlds into Progenitor¡¯s worlds.

    Logically, since he had triggered phenomena with his breakthroughs to the Explorer, Enlighter, and Envoy realms, it should have also appeared during his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough.

    Lu Yin finally understood that individually breaking through with each one of his four Progenitor¡¯s worlds had merely allowed him to divide the process of his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough into four parts. He was about to undergo his true breakthrough.

    A Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough always required the questioning of the heart, a tribtion, and finally, undergoing a total transformation.

    Dust World¡¯s breakthrough had brought out multiple parallel universes that had tried to crush Lu Yin, which was simr to Heaven¡¯s Suppression.

    Infinity¡¯s breakthrough was apanied by a challenge from the Pridebeast and the Megalith, which was a tribtion that he had to fight through.

    Lightstream¡¯s breakthrough had forced Lu Yin to endure the surging River of Aeons, which could also be considered a battle tribtion.The Wordless Heavenly Book¡¯s breakthrough had been questioning the heart.

    Lu Yin had already passed the tribtions of Heaven¡¯s Suppression, battle, and questioning the heart. Next, he needed to transform the universe.

    Others would transform the universe after breaking through to the Progenitor realm, but for Lu Yin, transforming the universe meant enduring yet another breakthrough.

    His myriad paths had merged into a single one, and he needed to break through with that solitary path in order to truly enter the Progenitor realm.

    Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. He had long anticipated that his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough would be quite difficult, but even then, he had not expected this difficulty to be this high. While others faced one breakthrough, Lu Yin had already faced four, and he still had one more to go.

    This was his path to bing a Progenitor.

    As a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin had been able to face off against the Three Pirs and Six Skies. He now had to bear the consequences for his strength.

    His path to bing a Progenitor was even more difficult than when others broke into the Origin realm.

    Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked up at the ck hole at the center of his stellr tribtion. This tribtion had been triggered by his inner universe, which had a shell of stellr energy. This tribtion was perfectly normal, and since it hade for him, Lu Yin would not back down.

    His focus sharpened. Dust World descended into his inner universe, and at the same time, Lightstream, Infinity, and his Wordless Heavenly Book all entered that universe as well. As his Progenitor¡¯s worlds moved, Lu Yin released his inner universe.

    Doing so produced an indescribable feeling.

    Everything that Lu Yin had mastered converged at this moment. It was like various streams merging into a single river. Before, his hands had just been hands. His feet had just been feet. His entire body had been as clumsy as a puppet on strings. At the moment, Lu Yin felt as though he had gained an additional brain. He was able to instantly move any part of his body, which made him feel like a puppet that had finally transformed into a real person.

    Dust World descended into his inner universe as Infinity spread out. A vast continent appeared and spread out beneath the stars of Lu Yin¡¯s universe, and it even epassed the continent of fatesand.

    The boat that was Lightstream floated gently on the ocean of stellr energy that sat above thatndmass.

    Infinity¡¯s glowing lines wove through the outer space of the universe, transforming into light, wind, and various astral phenomena.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book became the most dazzling sun, and it illuminated the entire inner universe.

    An unprecedented feeling offort flowed through Lu Yin, causing him to let out a loud roar as he looked up at his stellr tribtion. ¡°Come! Show me what sort of tribtion you are!¡±

    Space trembled, and the ck hole at the center of the stellr tribtion tore the void open to reveal the Hollow.

    The Origin Universe had connected to the space around the Immemorial Citadel. This allowed people at the Immemorial Citadel to see the Origin Universe, the Fifth Maind, and the parallel universes that were connected to the Origin Universe. The reverse was also true; countless people throughout the Origin Universe were able to see the Immemorial Citadel.

    There was a time when the Immemorial Citadel had beenpletely unknown to the people of the Origin Universe. There had also been a time when the Origin Universe did not even have a single Progenitor.

    At this moment, countless people looked up to see the Immemorial Citadel. They witnessed the powerful warriors who had been fighting for humanity, as well as the mes beneath the city that were fueled by the sacrifices of countless human heroes. They also saw Lu Yin standing directly beneath the ck vortex of his stellr tribtion.

    The Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Universe, and a great deal more of the megaverse were all able to watch this scene.

    Lu Yin could not see any of the people witnessing his tribtion. In his eyes, there was only the stellr tribtion before him.

    In his mind, his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough would be his most difficult challenge ever, and he was eager to see what the true universe would bring out in an attempt to stop him. Just what could hope to stand in Lu Yin¡¯s way?

    Given Lu Yin¡¯s current strength as he was about to break through and truly be a Progenitor, did the true universe have any memories of someone strong enough to rival Lu Yin? Was there any sort of astral phenomenon that could stop him?

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Origin Progenitor and smiled. The Origin Progenitor had created the true universe, which meant that the true universe had only appeared after the Origin Progenitor had broken through to the Progenitor realm. How could the true universe have any memory of the Origin Progenitor from before he had been a Progenitor? There was no way that Lu Yin would face the Origin Progenitor for his tribtion.

    However, if he was not going to face the Origin Progenitor, then could it be¡­?

    At that moment, a figure emerged from the ck vortex of the stellr tribtion, and it slowly descended.

    Lu Yin stared at the figure. Who could it be? Who had possessed enough strength when entering the Progenitor realm to give the true universe the confidence that they could stop Lu Yin? Had such a powerful figure ever appeared in the Origin Universe?

    Lu Yin was not the only one curious; even the Origin Progenitor felt puzzled. It should not be possible for Lu Yin to face a humanoid tribtion. At his current cultivation level, aside from the Origin Progenitor himself, there had never been anyone capable of standing in Pir¡¯s way. Such a tribtion was impossible. The Origin Progenitor understood the Origin Universe too well.

    Even during the Origin Progenitor¡¯s time at the Immemorial Citadel, Old Mu had roamed the megaverse. If such a person had ever appeared, they would have been mentioned.

    <em>Huh? Another one?</em>

    Lu Yin¡¯s tribtion was not just one opponent.

    A second figure slowly descended, followed by a third, a fourth, and a fifth. Eventually, nine figures stood before him.

    There were eight faceless humanoid figures that had descended from the stellr tribtion, and they formed a circle that surrounded Lu Yin. In addition to the humanoid figures, there was also what appeared to be an astral beast.

    Everyone stared. Was Lu Yin really being forced to face eight humanoid tribtions and one beast-shaped tribtion at once?

    Such a thing had never urred throughout history. Never before had a stellr tribtion brought out so many humanoid tribtions to stop someone¡¯s breakthrough. This was not just a matter of quantity. If Lu Yin was not mistaken, the nine before him were the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Lu Yin was amazed as he looked around. Even an idiot would know that the nine figures arrayed against Lu Yin were the Three Realms and Six Daos. That was because one of the figures was holding a scythe. That was too obvious of an indication. On top of that, there was also the image of an astral besat.

    The stellr tribtion must have broken, for it to immediately summon the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Everyone was stunned, including Chu Yi and Lu Yuan.

    ¡°Shit! That''s disgusting! That''s us!¡± Lu Yuan cursed loudly.

    Chu Yi eximed in astonishment, ¡°That really is us! All of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Could the stellr tribtion believe that only we, all together, have a hope of stopping him from breaking through to the Progenitor realm?¡±

    Hongyan Mavis was stunned. ¡°About that¡­ have all nine of us ever fought together before?¡±

    ¡°Never. Not even when we faced Master.¡± Garan Zhiluo¡¯s expression darkened. This was a matter of pride. They were the Three Realms and Six Daos, invincible legends from the ancient Heavens Sect era. At this moment, all nine of them were cooperating against a single junior.

    Wu Tian sighed. ¡°Throughout human history, in both the past and the future, only Pir has any chance of facing off against the nine of us at once. I want to see if ourbined strength can stop Pir from breaking through to the Progenitor realm.¡±

    ¡°I both hope that he seeds and that he doesn¡¯t,¡± Garan Zhiluomented.

    Chu Yi gave a small smile. ¡°It would be good for him to seed. We¡¯ve lived for so long, and we need someone to eventually surpass us.¡±

    Around them, many people threw strange nces at the group.

    The Three Realms and Six Daos were renowned legends in both the Origin Universe and the rest of the megaverse. Each one of the nine had been a legend in their own right, and each one had been powerful enough to alter the course of history.

    For all nine to work together, this scene was not enough to be called legendary, as it was something beyond that. This was a mythical battle.

    Deep below the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor was also briefly stunned, but then he burst intoughter. ¡°I understand now! Hahahaha, so that¡¯s how it is! That¡¯s how it is!¡±

    Mister Mu returned and saw Lu Yin¡¯s stellr tribtion. ¡°I never thought that the illustrious Three Realms and Six Daos would one day gang up on my disciple. Tai Chu, what are youughing about?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor looked at Mister Mu. ¡°Where¡¯s that old monster, Yuan Qi?¡±

    ¡°Fled.¡±

    ¡°Old Mu, I already told you that, aside from taking Pir as your disciple, you¡¯re worthless. You really let him get away?¡±n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Mister Mu stared off into the distance. ¡°What did you figure out?¡±

    The Origin Progenitorughed so hard that he nearly dropped the sequence strings. ¡°I created the Origin Universe¡¯s stellr tribtions, so I understand it all too well. That¡¯s also why I understand why my disciples were brought out.

    ¡°It¡¯s because Pir learned Verdant Eternity.¡±

    Mister Mu was shocked. ¡°He learned Verdant Eternity?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. My disciples were tested before I let them graduate, and that test was for them to ovee Verdant Eternity. Pir fused Verdant Eternity with his inner universe. From the perspective of the tribtion, that means that his strongest power is Verdant Eternity. Think about it; all of my disciples were required to ovee Verdant Eternity in order to graduate. Do you think that the stellr tribtion would hesitate to summon them?

    ¡°For this tribtion, any one of my disciples who sessfully overcame Verdant Eternity should be capable of stopping Pir¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough. The reason why all nine of them have appeared at once is because Pir¡¯s stellr energy is so vast, and also because that inner universe of his ispletely unique. All of them were summoned, just in case.¡±

    ¡°But when they overcame Verdant Eternity, they were already Progenitors,¡± Mister Mu retorted, feeling slightly confused.

    The Origin Progenitor agreed, ¡°Yes, they were already Progenitors, but to the stellr tribtion, the cultivation level isn¡¯t important. As long as they were able to ovee Verdant Eternity, they are qualified to stop Pir. Also¡­¡± The man paused for a moment. ¡°Pir already has Progenitor¡¯s worlds.¡±

    Mister Mu stared into the distance.

    Lu Yin nced around. The Three Realms and Six Daos¡­ how ruthless. To stop him from bing a Progenitor, the entire Three Realms and Six Daos had been summoned against him.

    This had to be the most difficult stellr tribtion in history.

    Who could boast that they had broken through after being surrounded by the Three Realms and Six Daos? Even Aeternus had once hunted those powerhouses down one by one. If the Three Realms and Six Daos had joined forces back then, things might have gone far differently.

    Lu Yin was truly setting a precedent.

    For the Three Realms and Six Daos, this was a chance to rectify a long-standing regret.

    Ancient legends and a modern myth. Everyone wanted to know the true power of the Three Realms and Six Daos when united, even Lu Yin.

    There was a brief moment of silence, and then Lu Yin made his move. Nine spears of soil flew at the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    All nine figures reacted simultaneously, as they each used their own unique abilities to block the dirt spears.

    The spears were powerful enough to threaten even the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin had used these spears to devastate the entire battlefield, destroying most of Aeternus by eliminating a great number of peak powerhouses.

    This time, Lu Yin was using his attack to test the strength of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Not a single spear made contact. Everyst one of them was struck down.

    Seeing this allowed Lu Yin to understand something; the Three Realms and Six Daos had not been summoned as Semi-Progenitors, but rather as Progenitors.

    Logically, since this was Lu Yin¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, the stellr tribtion should have brought out Semi-Progenitors to face him. However, he had already ovee four Progenitor¡¯s tribtions and obtained four Progenitor¡¯s worlds. It was not unreasonable for the tribtion to send out the Three Realms and Six Daos as Progenitors to face him.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3268: Surrounded By Nine

    What sort of power did the Three Realms and Six Daos possess at the Progenitor level? While their cultivation might not match the Three Pirs and Six Skies, who were all sequence powerhouses, in terms ofbat strength, there might not be much of a difference.

    Even as a Semi-Progenitor, Lu Yin had been able to fight against the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Given the raw talent of the Three Realms and Six Daos, there was no doubt that they had all been Realmbreakers. And as Progenitors, they might have possessed the strength to match up to sequence powerhouses like the Three Pirs and Six Skies.

    The fact that Lu Yin¡¯s nine dirt spears had all been struck down was proof of this.

    Even Forgotten Ruins God and the rest of the Seven Skygods had somewhat struggled against Lu Yin¡¯s dirt spears.

    Far away, Lu Yuan¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°We¡¯re all Progenitors¡­¡±

    He thought back to how powerful he had been right after bing a Progenitor.

    Wu Tian and the others grew solemn. <em>Progenitors, huh?</em>

    While Wu Tian had notprehended thews of the universe when he first became a Progenitor, he had still seeded in oveing Verdant Eternity.

    <em>That¡¯s it! Verdant Eternity</em>. Wu Tian finally understood. It was no wonder why he and the others had been summoned by this tribtion. Little Seven had learned Verdant Eternity, while all members of the Three Realms and Six Daos had ovee Verdant Eternity in the past.Could this be karma?

    Verdant Eternity could grant Lu Yin immense power, but it had also brought about a tribtion of corresponding strength.

    Two of the summoned Three Realms and Six Daos attacked first. One brought out a Champions'' Stage and mmed it at Lu Yin. Clearly, that figure was Lu Yuan. The other instantly appeared behind Lu Yin and threw a punch at him.

    Lu Yin blocked the Champions'' Stage with one hand while reaching back with his other.

    There was a tremendous crash as a fist struck Lu Yin¡¯s palm, but Lu Yin remained immovable. His physical strength was too great, and he was overwhelmingly powerful.

    Lu Yin had initially thought that the figure behind him was Hongyan Mavis, but there was a depth to the figure that allowed him to realize the truth. This figure was using Wielder - Indestructible. It was Gu Yizhi.

    Lu Yin tightened his grip as he threw the Champions'' Stage back. The summoned Lu Yuan instinctively tried to brace himself, but Lu Yin¡¯s strength had reached the limit of the megaverse. The hurtling Champions'' Stage crushed half of Lu Yuan¡¯s body, and the impact forced him to retreat further and further away.

    Far away, Ancestor Lu Yuan watched the exchange, and it left him speechless. His Progenitor image was unable to endure even his own Champions'' Stage.

    As for Gu Yizhi, his fist was still in Lu Yin¡¯s hand, and with a simple squeeze, Lu Yin crushed the fist. The summoned Gu Yizhi¡¯s arm dissipated, but just as Lu Yin was about to continue his attack, he hesitated. At some point in time, Martial Scriptures had appeared around him. This was Wu Tian¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    As Lu Yin had expected, he was facing the Three Realms and Six Daos as Progenitors.

    His eyes narrowed, and heshed out with a fierce attack. The Martial Scriptures shattered.

    The Martial Scriptures was a Progenitor¡¯s world that could restrict someone and force them to only use each technique once. It was a Progenitor¡¯s world that both Wu Tian and Di Qiong possessed. However, despite the miraculous abilities of his Progenitor¡¯s world, the summoned Wu Tian was only a Progenitor. Therefore, hecked the strength to impose this limit on Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength was enough to pose a threat to even True God. He did not need to use anything else. His physical strength was already more than enough to ovee countless abilities.

    A massive object fell towards Lu Yin, and he held it up with one hand, the impact not moving him at all. He looked up and saw that the enormous object looked quite familiar. It only took him a moment to remember; this was Mt. Microcosms, or rather, one of the Pirs of Heaven that had held up the Heavens Sect. ?

    Was this Pir of Heaven a Progenitor¡¯s world? It belonged to¡­ Chu Yi?

    Far away, the real Chu Yi was watching, and he let out a sigh. "My Progenitor¡¯s world is being held up by just one of the child¡¯s hand¡¯s. Truly, truly¡­"

    The man did not know how to even express his amazement.

    Wu Tian interjected, "He just shattered my Martial Scriptures, and you didn¡¯t hear me mention anything."

    Lu Yin held the Pir of Heaven up with one hand as he bent his knees. Suddenly, the gigantic object was thrown upwards.

    Chu Yi, as well as his Pir of Heaven, was tossed away by Lu Yin.

    After reaching a higher vantage point, Lu Yin punched downwards. His terrifying strength createdyer afteryer to the attack, and it targeted all of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    The beast-shaped image, which was Wilderness God, roared at the sky before charging forward with a terrifying momentum.

    Wilderness God was knocked back down with just one punch from Lu Yin. A giant tree then shot up from below. It was the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree. Hongyan Mavis had entered the fray, and she used her Divine Tree to block Lu Yin¡¯s attack. The woman stood on top of her Progenitor¡¯s world and stared at her opponent.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. He was well aware of the Mavis family¡¯s innate gift: the Rhythm of Life.

    Did Hongyan Mavis want to control him? Impossible.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The real Hongyan Mavis felt helpless at this moment. Even when all of them appeared as Progenitors, it was not enough. At this moment, it might not be enough even if all nine of them faced Lu Yin with the strength of Sequence Progenitors.

    The young man¡¯s strength was truly terrifying, especially given his cultivation level. He was powerful enough to contend with Ortusers, and he was even qualified to step onto a battlefield with True God and the Origin Progenitor.

    Just his physical strength alone allowed Lu Yin to overpower all the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    The initial shock of seeing the Three Realms and Six Daos all appear at once had been reced by another kind of shock.

    After all, withoutparison, it was impossible to fully perceive certain gaps.

    Lu Yin had undergone multiple transformations, and each one had caused his power to leap forward. Most people had no idea how powerful he had be, but they would finally be able to see.

    What of the Three Realms and Six Daos? Even when they worked together, they were unable to ovee Lu Yin alone.

    In the depths of the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor sighed. ¡°Throughout history, others like the Three Realms and Six Daos may have appeared, but Lu Yin¡­ such a person is nearly impossible to find throughout the entire megaverse.¡±

    The Divine Tree shattered.

    Lu Yin looked into the distance. "Seniors, my apologies."

    Hongyan Mavis and the others exchanged nces, showing bitter smiles. When they had be Progenitors, all of them had been full of confidence. They had never imagined that, countless yearster, they would be beaten by a junior who was merely in the process of breaking through to the Progenitor realm.

    The prestige of the mighty Three Realms and Six Daos had been lost in an instant.

    Silver shed in front of Lu Yin. It was a long spear that carried a chilling cold.

    Snow started to fall in outer space.

    Lu Yin raised a finger and pointed it forward. The spear froze at his fingertip, and then shattered. However, it instantly reformed just a millimeter away. The summoned Garan Zhiluo was controlling the spear, and she thrust it at Lu Yin. He casually grabbed the spear, and his strength immediately stopped Garan Zhiluo dead in her tracks.

    She released her weapon and then formed a circle with her hands, causing a mirror to appear. Mirrors suddenly surrounded the two individuals. Each mirror contained a reflection of Garan Zhiluo. White snow formed into long spears within each mirror, and the reflections held the weapons. Thousands of white spears shot at Lu Yin from all directions.

    Garan''s Mirror; this was a battle technique created by Garan Zhiluo.

    Against opponents with the samebat prowess, this technique was deadly. Garan Zhiluo had used it before to hold her own against the others of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and it had even left them struggling against her.

    On the other hand, if her opponent was too strong¡­

    Lu Yin did not move. He simply allowed the white spears to strike his body. None of them were able to cause any damage at all.

    Garan Zhiluo''s white spears were of absolutely no threat to Lu Yin.

    In the distance, Garan Zhiluo rolled her eyes. <em>Does he really think so little of me? Was I really that weak when I was just a Progenitor?</em>

    It was not that Garan Zhiluo had been weak, but rather that her opponent was simply too strong.

    Lu Yin took a step forward. He used Inverse Step to create an area of chaotic time and space. The Garan''s Mirror shattered as Lu Yin appeared in front of Garan Zhiluo andshed out with a palm. The summoned form of Garan Zhiluo had no way to escape or dodge, and she certainly could not block the blow. Suddenly, a scythe shed sideways in a sh of cold light. Lu Yin dodge out of pure instinct.

    The God of Death was making his move.

    Garan Zhiluo took the opening and retreated. The summoned figures moved to encircle Lu Yin, just like when they had first appeared. However, after the first round ofbat, it was already be clear that Lu Yin waspletely overpowering the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Only two of the nine had not made a move yet. Destiny, who remained some distance away and was carefully observing Lu Yin, and the God of Death.

    The God of Death had only stepped in at thest possible moment to save Garan Zhiluo. If not for him, one of the summoned individuals would have already disappeared.

    However, everything that had happened so far was just Lu Yin probing the abilities of his opponents.

    Next, he would start to actually deal with the Three Realms and Six Daos one by one. He was about to ovee his stellr tribtion.

    As countless witnesses held their breath, the Three Realms and Six Daos started to attack again.

    The pages of the Martial Scriptures swirled around Lu Yin as the Divine Tree and the Pir of Heaven hurled at him from left and right, respectively. Up above, a Champions'' Stage dropped down, while the Purgatory Seal sat below. Lu Yin was surrounded by attacks on all sides as the Three Realms and Six Daos worked together.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly red. Out of respect for his opponents, he would fight them with his full strength.

    He suddenly shot downwards, stomping a foot on the Purgatory Seal and shattering it entirely. Lu Yin then threw a punch upwards, which cracked the falling Champions'' Stage. The Divine Tree and the Pir of Heaven were both shaken by the resulting shockwaves that pushed them back.

    Snow was still falling, and a silver spear shot out from a Garan Mirror. Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, traveling at the speed of time, only to discover that doing so changed nothing. None of the Three Realms and Six Daos were frozen.

    The power of time had no effect on them.

    Lu Yin did not have an innate gift rted to the power of time. He had only started developing his power of time with Progenitor Ku''s Withered Bark. After that, he had incorporated the power into Inverse Step, and finally, he had created Lightstream, which was space chasing time. When the Three Realms and Six Daos had be Progenitors, they had also been able to touch the power of time.

    Without Lightstream, Lu Yin¡¯s mastery of the power of time was no better than that of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Progenitor Chen had modified Inverse Step to allow him to move parallel to time, and he had done so without much effort. The Three Realms and Six Daos'' mastery of the power of time was no weaker than Progenitor Chen¡¯s.

    Many people stood frozen in the distance. They were unable to perceive a battle where everyone wielded the power of time.

    Lu Yin clenched his right fist and threw a punch. The images of Gu Yizhi and Lu Yuan were both instantly shattered. Neither was able to survive even a single attack.

    Next, Lu Yin went after Garan Zhiluo, but suddenly, the scythe appeared in front of him again. It sliced down with a surge of ck energy.

    Lu Yin reached out and grabbed the scythe.

    The closer Lu Yin moved to the scythe¡¯s attack, the stronger the prickling sensation on his back. It felt like he was being pulled into an abyss. This was the power of death energy, which he was all too familiar with. However, the God of Death¡¯s death energy was different. Lu Yin had merely cultivated with death energy, while the God of Death had created it.

    At that moment, Lu Yin felt that the death energy in his inner universe was being drawn out and incorporated into the God of Death¡¯s power.

    The scythe dropped, and ck energy tore the void apart. Lu Yin caught the scythe¡¯s de, stopping its descent. He looked up at the image of the God of Death.

    Nutjob Lu¡¯s words echoed in Lu Yin¡¯s ears. <em>¡°At that time, the God of Death should have won. He had broken through to the Origin Realm and was invincible in the megaverse..</em>

    <em>¡°He was too strong, and his death energy was too powerful.</em>

    <em>¡°That one palm strike caused him to lose. Despite his invinciblebat power, he was ultimately torn apart and died by being hacked to pieces.¡±</em>

    Lu Yin stared at the summoned God of Death, lost in thought. <em>Why?</em>

    The God of Death spun his scythe around, and the ck energy moved like a ghost as the weapon tried to slip out of Lu Yin¡¯s grasp.

    Once an ability touched the limit, it would render others powerless. If Lu Yin were fighting the real Three Realms and Six Daos rather than the summons of a stellr tribtion, the nine people would have felt helpless at this moment.

    No matter their abilities, being exposed to Lu Yin¡¯s power would simply be their end.

    Lu Yin released his grip on the scythe and gently flicked a finger. There was a loud ng as the scythe was sent flying. Lu Yin swept past the God of Death and arrived before Garan Zhiluo, striking her with a palm.

    In the distance, the real Garan Zhiluo froze in shock. ¡°Why me? The God of Death is clearly closer! Why isn¡¯t he attacking the God of Death? Why go after me instead? Why is he bullying me? I need to use my innate gift, Eight-Star Garan!¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3269: The End And The Beginning

    The summoned Garan Zhiluo from the stellr tribtion tried to use her innate gift, Eight-Star Garan, but she was toote. Lu Yin obliterated the figure with one palm strike.

    The Pir of Heaven and the Divine Tree approached him once more.

    Lu Yin¡¯s fierce attack broke the Pir of Heaven as he threw a palm strike at Chu Yi.

    The summoned Chu Yi narrowly dodged Lu Yin¡¯s palm, whose eyes shed. Had that been One Word Manifestation? As a Progenitor, Chu Yi had not yet fully developed his Dao of One Heavens, but just his One Word Manifestation had been enough for him to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s simple, yet powerful, attack.

    However, Lu Yin had also learned the Dao of One Heavens.

    Just as the summoned image seeded in avoiding Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike, Chu Yi was shattered.

    Far away, the real Chu Yi was taken aback by this development, and he reflexively turned to look at Lu Tianyi. ¡°He knows the Dao of One Heavens?¡±

    Lu Tianyi awkwardly bowed to Chu Yi. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master. I taught him the Dao of One Heavens without your permission.¡±

    Chu Yi responded with a bitter smile and a wave of his hand. ¡°Forget it. Forget it.¡±Beneath the stellr tribtion, the summoned Hongyan Mavis threw a punch at Lu Yin¡¯s back. He spun around and countered with his own fist, meeting hers.

    Far away, Hongyan Mavis covered her face with a hand. It was over.

    Not even the Pridebeast could endure Lu Yin¡¯s current strength.

    Elsewhere, the Pridebeast and Megalith were still holding the ck Mother Tree in ce. They watched as Lu Yin crushed the humanoid tribtions one by one. Subconsciously, the two beasts reached out and gave Lu Yin a thumbs-up. Neither of the beasts wanted to be beaten up again.

    As expected, the Hongyan Mavis beneath the stellr tribtion was shattered by a single punch.

    Lu Yin then set his sights on Wu Tian. There was a sh of light on the tribtion¡¯s forehead. Was that an early version of Heaven¡¯s Sight, or had the man already fully developed his technique by the time he had be a Progenitor?

    Regardless, Lu Yin easily shattered the summoned Wu Tian.

    Heaven¡¯s Sight allowed a person to see through all weaknesses in battle techniques, and it had even allowed Lu Yin to observe sequence particles as a mere Envoy.

    But so what?

    No matter how clearly someone could perceive overwhelming power, there was no way to stop it.

    What difference would it make if an ordinary human was able to see their shattering? What if they could see their universe copse?

    The moment that Wu Tian shattered, a line suddenly appeared in the distance. The God of Death had disappeared long ago, but at some point in time, he had reappeared behind Lu Yin, shrouded by his dark energy. This was the God of Death¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world: Deathly Forcefield.

    Several of the God of Death¡¯s Fields of Death still remained in the Origin Universe. They had always been regarded as ces where death energy gathered. This understanding was not wrong, as the Fields of Death were essentially copies of the God of Death¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    The Deathly Forcefield was the God of Death¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world.

    The summoned God of Death swung his scythe, draining the Deathly Forcefield of all death energy as the de shed sideways at Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around. Now it made sense to him. He understood how Destiny fought.

    Destiny had the ability to see the future and could weave her threads together to create bridges across the River of Aeons. When she saw that Lu Yin was about to shatter Wu Tian, Destiny had joined hands with the God of Death to attack at the perfect moment. ?

    There was only one opening that the God of Death could use for his attack.

    Simrly, Destiny also had only one chance to strike.

    This was Destiny¡¯sbat method.

    Destiny did not try to attack or defend and instead only sought to seize opportunities.

    The God of Death¡¯s attack was the most powerful one he was capable of unleashing as a Progenitor. In an instant, everyone close to the Immemorial Citadel felt chilled to the bone.

    They were all shocked. Even as a Progenitor, the gathered sequence powerhouses felt an incredible sense of danger from the God of Death. The man¡¯s reputation as the most deadlybatant during the ancient Heavens Sect era was fully deserved.

    Even Lu Yin grew cautious.

    From what he could see, the God of Death¡¯s full-powered attack was no weaker than Tian Fa''s Heaven''s Spear. In other words, as soon as the God of Death became a Progenitor, he had been strong enough to fight against Tian Fa, who had been an Ortuser.

    Lu Yin had always believed that no one in all of history could rival him, aside from the unfathomable Destiny. However, he now felt the presence of another peer in the God of Death.

    Both of them were capable of fighting against Origin realm cultivators before bing Sequence Progenitors.

    Lu Yin raised a hand and used the soil of his Dust World to form a scythe of his own that swept out.

    <em>ng!</em>

    A deafening sound echoed across the battlefield and the Immemorial Citadel. It kicked up a gale that swept the area, even swaying the city¡¯s mes.

    The God of Death''s scythe had been severed. By relying on his terrifying physical strength and the properties of his Dust World, Lu Yin had ovee the God of Death''s attack and sliced through both the scythe and the humanoid tribtion.

    As he watched the God of Death''s image slowly dissipate, Lu Yin casually flung his scythe out to sh at Destiny.

    The summoned version of Destiny did not try to dodge at all. The de passed through her, and Destiny vanished.

    At the moment, there was only one figure remaining beneath the stellr tribtion: Wilderness God.

    It was not that Lu Yin had deliberately saved Wilderness God forst, but rather that Wilderness God had survived one of Lu Yin¡¯s punches.

    Lu Yin was fully aware of just how powerful that punch had been. Out of all the Three Realms and Six Daos, Wilderness God alone had been able to endure Lu Yin¡¯s power with just his body. Wilderness God had possessed incredible physical strength as well.

    Silence fell upon the watching crowd.

    They had watched as one humanoid tribtion after another, each of which represented one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, had been ruthlessly crushed by Lu Yin. Watching such a scene induced an indescribable feeling.

    It was as though they were witnessing the fall of one legend and the rise of another.

    What made things even more remarkable was that some of these ancient legends who had fallen to Lu Yin were also in the audience.

    Many people sneaked nces at Lu Yuan and the others, unsure of what the Three Realms and Six Daos must be thinking.

    "Yellowy was always the strongest," Wu Tian stated.

    Lu Yuan replied, "Yellowy is an astral beast, and he had a much higher starting point than the rest of us. When he first became a Progenitor, Yellowy was far stronger than any of the rest of us. At that time, aside from Master, Yellowy was the most powerful."

    "That''s why, at that time, we would all pester Yellowy into taking us to explore different parallel universes," Hongyan Mavis continued, her expressionplicated.

    Human greed had ultimately led Wilderness God to lose heart. That was why the Fourth Maind had not fought back and had been shattered by Aeternus.

    If not for that, the Heavens Sect would not have been so easily defeated.

    At what point had Yellowy and the rest of his disciples be enemies?

    Beneath the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor sighed. "Yellowy, I wish I could see you again."

    Under the vortex of the stellr tribtion, Lu Yin faced a beast-shaped tribtion. After a brief standoff, they both charged at each other.

    As they passed by, Lu Yinnded a punch on the summoned astral beast and sent him flying. The bestial tribtion twisted around even while hurtling through outer space so that he could stare at Lu Yin. Then, he let out a roar that caused the void to tremble and also induced a wave of dizziness.

    Still, the vertigo was quite mild.

    Lu Yin was close behind the astral beast, as he used Inverse Step to appear above the summoned creature and punch him again, this time sending him crashing downwards.

    Punch after punch, the bestial tribtion was offered no chance to counterattack. While Wilderness God¡¯s body was strong enough to endure Lu Yin''s power, there was no way for Lu Yin to lose.

    Not to mention the Wilderness God of the past¡ªeven at his peak, Wilderness God would not have been a match for Lu Yin.

    Wilderness God had once been defeated by the God of Death. While the astral beast might not have been any weaker than the rest of the Three Realms and Six Daos, he also had not been any stronger.

    Lu Yin had grown so powerful that not even Ortusers like Lu Yuan or Chu Yi couldpare to Lu Yin, let alone Wilderness God right after bing a Progenitor.

    The summoned astral beast was beaten into submission. Even then, to the shock of many, the figure stood upright and started wielding a strange weapon in a hand. It was a halberd.

    "An indestructible body and an unbeatable weapon¡ªthat was Yellowy¡¯s power," Lu Yuanmented admiringly.

    Just as the man reminisced, Yellowy had been invincible. He had boasted an unbreakable body as well as an undefeated weapon. He had roamed across parallel universes, undefeated, and overwhelming all astral beasts that he encountered. Even the rest of the Three Realms and Six Daos had acknowledged Wilderness God¡¯s strength.

    His undefeated weapon was called Limitless Halberd. It used space as its shaft and time as its de.

    Despite being an astral beast, the summoned form of Wilderness God stood upright like a human and pointed his halberd at Lu Yin while charging forward with a strange movement technique.

    Lu Yin found the movement odd, but it was also clear that the halberd was no ordinary weapon.

    As the halberd was thrust forward, the void froze, and time and space were both thrown into chaos. Lu Yin used Inverse Step, but the movement technique instantly failed. Lu Yin could not see through either space or time.

    The halberd thrust out straight at Lu Yin''s face.

    He watched the halberd¡¯s approach calmly. Lightstream appeared and moved through space, causing the halberd to pass right through Lu Yin.

    The bestial tribtion froze in ce. Lu Yin turned around, and with a casual wave of his hand, the stellr tribtion dissipated.

    The exchange made no sense to anyone beneath the level of sequence powerhouses, as this had been a battle with the power of time.

    Despite the fact that the Limitless Halberd used time as its de, it could not touch Lightstream, as Lightstream was something that did not belong to the River of Aeons.

    All of the Three Realms and Six Daos had vanished. Lu Yin stared up at the ck hole of his stellr tribtion. He refused to believe that it could manifest anything more formidable than the Three Realms and Six Daos. There was nothing more that could stop him from breaking into the Progenitor realm.

    Stellr tribtions had been created by the Origin Progenitor, and Lu Yin, to some extent, was already capable of challenging the Origin Progenitor.

    The ck hole at the center of the stellr tribtion''s vortex rumbled with thunder, and a vast amount of stellr energy flooded out like a sea, surging into Lu Yin''s body.

    A smile touched his lips. He had ovee his tribtion.

    The Origin Universe trembled as an endless stream of stellr energy surged into Lu Yin.

    The sea of stellr energy in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe swelled. Throughout the entire Origin Universe, countless people praised Lu Yin while staring at the universe that he had released.

    The light of the Wordless Heavenly Book zed brightly.

    Stars suddenly appeared, but not from the Cosmic Art. They were something that not even Lu Yin understood.

    He immediately retracted his inner universe back inside his chest. While it was continuing to evolve, others could no longer see it.

    Lu Yin himself did not know what his inner universe would be after he fully became a Progenitor. All he knew was that, if he wanted to, he would be able to aplish many things that he had wished to do in the past, but been incapable of. Things like reviving Ming Yan or leaving the Cosmic Art to the Cosmic Sect.

    He knew that he had just crossed a crucial threshold. This was what it meant to truly enter the Progenitor realm.

    Outer space swayed as a massive tree appeared behind Lu Yin. It grew and stretched until it covered the Immemorial Citadel, the surrounding area, and then spilled out into countless parallel universes. The scope of this phenomenon far surpassed anything that had appeared in the past.

    This was a phenomenon, and it was one that Lu Yin had seen several times before during his earlier breakthroughs. This time, the tree wasrge enough to envelop multiple universes, and it was impossible to see where the tree ended.

    Its branches hung low, and from them hung various objects.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to understand what his phenomenon meant, but that had changed. On the branches of the tree, he saw his die and the Lord of Lightning¡¯s three treasures.

    Everything that hung from the tree was a mirebound artifact.

    What were mirebound artifacts?

    At the birth of the omniverse, everything had been pure and untainted. That was when the River of Aeons had been born. However, the purer something was, the more easily it was tainted. Within the River of Aeons, there were some things that could travel upstream, and they carried with them objects from the future that tainted the purity. That taint was known as mire, and these objects were known as mirebound artifacts.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    What was the connection between the tree that appeared after Lu Yin¡¯s breakthroughs and things that could swim up the River of Aeons? Lu Yin had no idea. All he knew was that, if there really were so many mirebound artifacts in existence, then where was the real tree? Also, why did it appear as a phenomenon for his breakthroughs?

    The Immemorial Citadel was different from other ces. It was the home of a great number of extremely powerful experts, and at least half of the poption knew about mirebound artifacts.

    The sight of Lu Yin''s phenomenon left all of those people stupefied.

    They felt as though they were witnessing the creation of a mirebound artifact.

    The phenomenon slowly disappeared, but the shock it gave them was something that would never disappear from their memories.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3270: Overbearing Rejection

    Lu Yin had no time to ponder over the phenomenon. Lightstream appeared beside him, and he looked at the boat with a resolute glint in his eyes. He knew that the time hade.

    As Lightstream drifted away, ripples spread through space. These ripples were not caused by some kind of power, but were rather actual ripples, like what appeared on water. As the boat''s speed increased, the flow became more apparent. Finally, Lightstream disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight.

    When the boat vanished, so did Lu Yin.

    "Little Seven," Lu Yuan said anxiously.

    Beside him, Wu Tian marveled, "So that¡¯s what it means to traverse the River of Aeons. Time and space have always been around us, never disappearing. It¡¯s just invisible to ordinary people."

    "That little boat can cross the River of Aeons, traveling upstream, disappearing with the Pir. This isn''t reversal, but rather traversal."

    Chu Yi wore a solemn expression. "To cross the River of Aeons and travel through time. That¡¯s what his boat can do."

    Everyone still on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield was astonished to see that it really was possible to traverse the River of Aeons. While most of them were sequence powerhouses, very few had ever seen the River of Aeons.

    While the Three Realms and Six Daos were able to interact with the River of Aeons, they had always refrained from doing so because of the Origin Progenitor. However, their reasons did not necessarily apply to others.Most people were incapable of interacting with the River of Aeons, and those who did try would asionally meet a tragic end.

    Lu Yin had already shown that he was capable of fighting against sequence powerhouses and even Ortusers. He had even defeated the Three Pirs and Six Skies, but that only proved hisbat power. It did not mean that he was capable of the same feats as someone in the Origin realm.

    Before bing a full Progenitor, Lu Yin had not known how to save Ming Yan, but the moment he broke through, he had understood.

    If one¡¯s cultivation could be determined by their strength, it would make things far simpler.

    Realms determined what cultivators were capable of, not the other way around.

    There were times when, even if someone¡¯s strength reached an amazing level, it would be useless without the corresponding cultivation realm. When a person¡¯s cultivation realm aligned with their power level, they would be capable of unleashing far more power, which would essentially elevate their cultivation realm to a new level.

    For Lu Yin, there had been a significant gap between his power level and his cultivation realm.

    He had finally be a peak powerhouse, and he was now a genuine Progenitor.

    "Wait, if he travels to the past by traversing the River of Aeons, then if he changes how Aeternus escaped, what will happen to the present? Won¡¯t that change as well?" someone shouted. He was a powerhouse from the Immemorial Citadel. The man had lost his legs, but he remained upright and stable through sheer willpower.

    He did not want the past to change. Things had turned out for the best. The Immemorial Citadel had survived, and there was meaning behind all the sacrifices that the man¡¯srades, family, and brothers had made.

    Mister Mu spoke up, "Traveling to the past only allows a person to alter their karmic past. The karmic future that they altered from their karmic past will not affect others, as those things are independent of a person¡¯s own actions. This is much like reversing the River of Aeons. Doing so does not change things, as even if the karmic future is altered, events will still naturally follow the flow of the River of Aeons. You don¡¯t need to worry."

    Most people did not understand all that Mister Mu said, but no one asked any further questions. His answer just seemed to make sense.

    Mister Mu looked wistful. It was impossible to alter the past or the future. If such were possible, how could his own megaverse have fallen?

    Far away, Lu Yin was standing on Lightstream. The River of Aeons had manifested, and Lu Yin was traveling upstream. Images continuously flickered around him.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    It was not easy to travel along the River of Aeons. A single mistake could cause Lu Yin¡¯s boat to capsize.

    At the moment, Lu Yin was experiencing a situation that was strikingly simr to when Big Sis had fallen into the River of Aeons and lost her cultivation. Lu Yin had willingly entered the River of Aeons, and he was moving upstream.

    He saw his destination, and the small boat suddenly stopped. As it did, everything around Lu Yin changed. Images shed by, which were the same scenes that he had seen while on the River of Aeons, but this time, they appeared in chronological order, rather than reversed. It was as though Lu Yin had entered the past from the future and needed to watch time pass until it caught up to the present.

    When Lu Yin regained his senses, he found that he was still standing in a dark point in outer space, but he was no longer anywhere near the Immemorial Citadel. Instead, he was in front of countless pairs of slitted scarlet eyes. Shaman God stood at the forefront, and he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief.

    "Traveling across time itself? Dao Monarch Lu, you are truly courageous," True God¡¯s voice rang out.

    Lu Yin was on the Ossis Ark, and he waspletely surrounded by Aeternus¡¯s most elite warriors.

    Lu Yin had sailed along the River of Aeons, which changed his physical location to the Ossis Ark. When the Aeternals had fled, Lu Yin had traveled with it. This change had then flowed down the River of Aeons. There was no way to change this any further, not unless someone else traveled up the River of Aeons.

    While Lu Yin had altered his location in the past, that had not altered anything regarding his Progenitor¡¯s breakthrough. It was as though the River of Aeons had been briefly reversed, but eventually, everything would continue to flow downstream.

    Lu Yin sailed along the River of Aeons, but the River of Aeons was not reversed. If his actions would affect his breakthrough, Lu Yin would not have been able to return to the past.

    Since he had left the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield on the Ossis Ark, at the moment, Lu Yin was the only person present, aside from the numerous Aeternals.

    Confronted by the countless slitted scarlet eyes, Lu Yin peered into the depths of the Ossis Ark at a figure which was bathed in golden light. "Yong Heng, I came to send you all on your way."

    As soon as Lu Yin spoke, he threw a punch straight forward.

    The presence of the bones of fallen powerhouses meant that the Ossis Ark was continuously producing powerful corpse kings from those remains. True God¡¯s innate gift of bone grafting made the Ossis Ark a terrifying weapon and granted it the ability to face off against the Immemorial Citadel and all the powerhouses there. There had even been a point in time when the Ossis Ark had overpowered the city.

    Lu Yin had given chase not only to pursue True God, but also to destroy the Ossis Ark.

    Unless the Ossis Ark was destroyed, the Aeternals would essentially be able to travel around the megaverse in a portable Immemorial Citadel. Such a powerful force would drive countless beings to despair.

    At the moment, the overwhelming power of Lu Yin¡¯s punch instantly shattered more than a dozen corpse kings in front of him.

    All the corpse kings here were as powerful as sequence powerhouses. When Lu Yin had infiltrated Aeternus as Ye Bo and been sent to the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield, such corpse kings could easily kill the city¡¯s best warriors when facing them one-on-one. Those same monsters were obliterated by just one punch from Lu Yin.

    Several more corpse kings appeared behind him, and various sequence particles quickly spread out and enveloped the Ossis Ark.

    Lu Yin unleashed his inner universe, and Verdant Eternity surrounded the Ossis Ark.

    At that same moment, all the sequence particles were repelled from Lu Yin. Cracks opened on the Ossis Ark as Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe fought against the universe that the Ossis Ark was in, and was rejected. The rejection between the two universes opened the Hollow.

    True God''s eyes narrowed. "He can¡¯t be touched by thews of the universe? How is that possible?"

    No one could have imagined that Lu Yin, despite not being an Ortuser, was already untouchable by thews of the universe.

    This was a development that not even Lu Yin had anticipated. His inner universe had evolved when he had truly be a Progenitor and merged his four Progenitor¡¯s worlds with it. That transformation had granted Lu Yin an ability that should have belonged only to Ortusers; he could not be touched by thews of the universe.

    This effectively bridged what had been an impossible gap between Lu Yin and sequence powerhouses, and even those who had surpassed that particr realm.

    Thews of the universe and sequence particles had always been Lu Yin''s weakness, and that weakness had just been eliminated.

    Within the bounds of the Ossis Ark, sequence particles could no longer be used. Lu Yin drove them back, much like how an Ortuser would. This was a tyrannical ability.

    "No, he isn''t just immune to thews of the universe. Rather, he¡¯s rejecting them," True God observed as he studied Lu Yin''s inner universe. "The boy has created a universe with its ownws. Anyw he does not ept cannot exist within his universe.

    "This is something that not even Tai Chu was able to achieve, and yet this boy has done so."

    Beside True God, Ancient God stepped forward. "I''ll deal with him."

    While the Ossis Ark¡¯s corpse kings were powerful, with their sequence particles being repelled, they were defenseless before Lu Yin''s overwhelming strength.

    By releasing his inner universe, Lu Yin was able to observe the depths of the Ossis Ark. There, the boat was filled with countless bones that had been submerged in a white liquid. Corpse kings were constantly pulling those bones out and pressing them into their own bodies in order to evolve. There had to be at least hundreds of thousands of bones.

    Those bones were Lu Yin''s target.

    A massive hand mmed down in front of him. Corpse God was attacking, and he red at Lu Yin.

    Corpse God was incredibly powerful, and by merging his sequence particles with his body, he was practically indestructible.

    Lu Yin raised his hand, and countless earthen spears appeared. They shot across the Ossis Ark in a wide-spread attack.

    Corpse God was the first to be stabbed by the spears, and he transformed into a seed that flew towards True God. Without his sequence particles or the protection of the Mavis family¡¯s Divine Tree, Corpse God looked fragile in Lu Yin''s eyes, and he was easily destroyed.

    The sight of the seed flying towards True God caused Lu Yin¡¯s focus to spike, and the stars of his inner universe trembled. One of them shot forward and intercepted the seed before it could reach True God.

    <em>Boom!</em>

    The Ossis Ark shook violently. The star exploded, nearly destroying the seed.

    True God''s eyes bulged.

    Lu Yin took a step forward and appeared right beside the seed. He reached out to grab it. In the end, the seed was nothing more than the manifestation of a battle technique; how could it escape from Lu Yin while within his universe?

    The seed broke down, osciting between illusory and real before quickly being crushed by Lu Yin.

    True God''s expression fell. His Eternal Decree was an extremely powerful ability. Any creature who had been imnted with a seed could resurrect indefinitely, which made the technique almost unbeatable. However, the stronger the battle technique, the more restrictions there were. The destruction of the seeds caused significant harm to True God.

    This was why he would not use Eternal Decree unless it was absolutely necessary. His goal was to ovee Dukkha and be an Immortal with the reset of the megaverse.

    The slightest w in his foundation could lead to failure.

    If humanity was destroyed and the megaverse was reset, then True God would actually choose to abandon Eternal Decree. There were limits in the megaverse, and this particr battle technique pushed the boundaries of those limits. The megaverse would not tolerate Eternal Decree for much longer.

    Yong Heng had been forced to use this technique during the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Because of that, even if the megaverse was reset soon, True God would not try to ovee Dukkha.

    As he watched Lu Yin wreak havoc on his Ossis Ark, True God''s expression grew darker and darker.

    He had destroyed the once-glorious Heavens Sect and forced humanity to its knees. He had reached the cusp of being able to reset the megaverse, only to be defeated by a mere boy.

    Just how old was the child?

    <em>Does he truly believe that he can stop Aeternus and the Spirit Nidus? Impossible. He can never do that</em>.

    It looked like Lu Yin sensed True God''s stare, and he looked up, only to find Ancient God blocking his path to Yong Heng.

    Ancient God was shrouded with a ckish-gray substance. The man radiated an intimidating pressure due to his Wielder - God battle force. A spear shot out, piercing through the void as it tore a ck path across Lu Yin''s inner universe. Star after star was shattered as the dark streak covered a vast distance.

    Lu Yin''s expression grew serious. He held a spear of dirt and thrust it at Ancient God.

    The two spears struck, and a shockwave exploded, rippling out in all directions. A vast portion of the Ossis Ark was instantly obliterated.<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3271: Sweeping Victory

    <h4>Chapter 3271: Sweeping Victory</h4>

    Neither men took a step back as their spears remained locked in a fierce struggle.

    ¡°Child, you are truly impressive. Loam may have broken into the Origin realm, but he still needed his Investiture of the Gods and Champions'' Stage to barely be able to stand up to me. He suffered one blow after another. You, on the other hand, you can already face me directly,¡± Ancient God marveled.

    Lu Yin peered through the copsing space to stare at Ancient God. There would be no escape for this man. He was controlled by True God, and thus he had no choice but to fight for Aeternus. Even if he uncovered the truth of the Fated One, what would it matter? Gu Yizhi¡¯s sacrifice would still ultimately be futile.

    ¡°Gu Yizhi, you betrayed humanity! You deserve to die!¡± Lu Yin pushed forward, thrusting his spear with immense strength. Even Ancient God, who wielded the most powerful battle force in existence, could not stop Lu Yin and was pushed back step by step. Gu Yizhi¡¯s spear was reinforced with his Wielder - God battle force, which made it tough enough to not shatter, even under the pressure of Lu Yin¡¯s dirt spear.

    Lu Yin dropped his spear and quickly threw a palm strike. The attack followed the line of his spear and Ancient God¡¯s.

    The Skygod raised a hand, bringing out his Purgatory Seal, which crashed down. A massivendmass appeared above Lu Yin''s head, and it blocked the Purgatory Seal. The next instant, Lu Yin had moved past the spear and was standing just a meter away from Ancient God. The Skygod¡¯s eyes turned blood-red as he underwent the Corpse King Transformation. With his Wielder - Void domain, space chased after time, and his surroundings froze. Simultaneously, Lu Yin used Inverse Step and moved at the speed of time.

    The two figures passed each other as the void shattered. One of the two staggered backwards, while the other stomped firmly on the deck.

    "I told you, you deserve to die," Lu Yin stated.

    Suddenly, his vision warped, and all he could see was the deck. Shaman God had mixed Lu Yin¡¯s five senses.

    "Hehe, you came here alone to ughter us Aeternals? Kid, just who do you think you are?" Shaman God mocked.

    Stars shifted as the power of Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe reacted violently, warping his surroundings. Theyer of space where Shaman God had been hiding was ripped open, and Lu Yin spun around. He instantly appeared right in front of Shaman God, ignoring the two corpse kings that were attacking him from behind. Lu Yin grabbed Shaman God by the neck and lifted him up. "Times have changed. It''s time for the Seven Skygods to fall."

    <i>Crack!</i>

    Shaman God¡¯s eyes bulged as his neck snapped. His body dissolved into a seed that instantly flew towards True God.

    Before the seed could reach True God, Lu Yin crushed it with one hand.

    The two corpse kings behind him were no threat; Lu Yin was already using Extremes Must Be Reversed. He turned around and shattered both of the monsters with a single punch. When he nced around, he found that Ancient God had already disappeared.

    It might be for the best that Ancient God left. Lu Yin lifted his hand and aimed at the section of the Ossis Ark where the bones were stored. Within the bounds of Verdant Eternity, endless power surged through him, and he unleashed a single palm strike at the distant region.

    At that moment, the pages of the Martial Scriptures filled the area. Lu Yin¡¯s attack did not break through the Ossis Ark, but it did shatter the Martial Scriptures.

    During his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion, Lu Yin had shattered the Martial Scriptures of the humanoid tribtion of Wu Tian from when he had just be a Progenitor. Using the same attack on the Ossis Ark had shattered Di Qiong¡¯s Martial Scriptures, despite the man being a sequence powerhouse.

    Di Qiong stood before Lu Yin, no spark of intelligence in his eyes. He had undergone the Martial God Transformation.

    None of the Three Pirs and Six Skies were currently Lu Yin¡¯s match, at least not in their normal states. Upon bing a true Progenitor, Lu Yin¡¯s power had reached a level that shocked even True God.

    Di Qiong sacrificed his life once again to use the Martial God Transformation, and his unconscious body charged at Lu Yin.

    The Martial God Transformation? This was the final level of the Corpse King Transformation. Lu Yin could not help but admire Di Qiong. Being able to create such a technique showed the man¡¯s tenacity and resolve.

    However, the real greatest strength in the megaverse did not belong to Di Qiong.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The Ossis Ark trembled.

    Across the ship, Feng Bo, Undying God, Xu Jin, ckless God, and Tian En all turned to look towards themotion. Were they still fighting? Had Lu Yin managed to hold out for so long?

    ¡°Attack together! Kill him!¡± True God¡¯s voice echoed in all of their ears.

    The Ossis Ark was enormous, and Lu Yin had appeared near True God. On that side of the ship, there was Ancient God, Shaman God, Corpse God, and Di Qiong. The Aeternals had initially assumed that Lu Yin would not be able tost for very long and that he would quickly escape. The fact that he had chased after them indicated that he was at least somewhat confident, but how could the battle have not ended yet? On top of that, had True God really just ordered all the Aeternals to attack Lu Yin? That was terrifying.

    Just how powerful had the man be?

    It had to be stated that the Investiture of the Gods had not appeared yet. Lu Yin was capable of summoning two of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and the fact that he had not done so yet could only mean one thing: he no longer needed to borrow others¡¯ strength.

    Cracks started to spread across the Ossis Ark, reaching from stem to stern.

    The Ossis Ark started wobbling. Because of the overwhelming power of Lu Yin¡¯s attacks, the ship could potentially shatter at any moment.

    Lu Yin moved to the area where the corpse kings were integrating bones into their bodies, and countless crimson slitted eyes turned to re at Lu Yin.

    He took a deep breath. This was the secret of the Ossis Ark.

    When he had first heard about the Ossis Ark¡¯s secret, it had left him so shaken that he had felt that he had no choice but to infiltrate Aeternus as Ye Bo.

    At that time, Lu Yin had only known that Ossis Ark could produce an endless number of sequence powerhouses, which allowed the ship to restrain the Immemorial Citadel. If the Ossis Ark had ever visited the Sixverse Association, they would have had no way to stop it.

    This was also absolutely true. If the Ossis Ark had gone to the Sixverse Association back then, before Hongyan Mavis, Garan Zhiluo, Wu Tian, the Megalith, the Pridebeast, Supreme, Ye Wu, and so many other experts had joined the Heavens Sect, who would have been capable of stopping the ship that had fought against the Immemorial Citadel for eons?

    If the Ossis Ark had arrived, the Sixverse Association would have been wiped out.

    However, at that time, it had also been impossible for the Ossis Ark to travel to the Sixverse Association specifically because of the Immemorial Citadel. If the Ossis Ark moved, the people of the Immemorial Citadel would have given chase.

    This was something that Lu Yin had only understood muchter on. When he had first learned about the Ossis Ark, how could he have not gone to investigate such a threat? How could he have left such a thing unchecked?

    Even at the current moment, with so many of humanity¡¯s greatest experts uniting together, Lu Yin still had to chase after the Ossis Ark in order to destroy it. He did not expect to kill True God or even Ancient God; he was not strong enough to do that yet. However, he could¡ªand he needed to destroy Aeternus¡¯s ability to produce endless corpse kings at the level of sequence powerhouses. The Aeternals¡¯ greatest weapon needed to be neutralized.

    A group of corpse kings charged at Lu Yin. He once again sensed the same power that he had once felt from the triangle-headed corpse king and the long-legged corpse king. He also saw a corpse king charging at him while carrying seven swords, as well as a powerful, bronze-skinned corpse king.

    None of these corpse kings had originally possessed such powers. Everything had been given to them through the bones they had integrated into themselves.

    These bones likely came from powerhouses who had fallen to Aeternus, some of whom had died during ancient eras. No one knew how many powerhouses had fallen over the years, aside from the Aeternals themselves.

    It was time for those mighty experts to finally return to dust.

    Lu Yin moved as if there were no one nearby. His overwhelming strength allowed him to break through everything. Sequence particles were rejected, and the corpse kings could not do anything to stop Lu Yin either.

    Only one person was able to catch Lu Yin''s attention. There was an energetic-looking woman who wielded a long staff that looked like it was made of ss. She stood behind the others, watching Lu Yin. She clearly was not a corpse king.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The deck shattered as Lu Yin punched at the remaining bones. The woman understood his goal and pushed a brightly colorful painting towards Lu Yin.

    He punched at the painting, and it simply vanished.

    However, her efforts were not entirely ineffective. The painting had been of a lofty floating castle, and a corner of that castle had shattered.

    The woman eximed, "As expected of the ruler of humanity who managed to defeat their greatest enemy. Not even the Jintian Painting can stop you."

    As she spoke, she swung her ss staff. Lu Yin could sense the woman¡¯s strength, and there was no doubt that she was one of Aeternus¡¯s most powerful sequence powerhouses, but that was still not enough to stop him.

    Lu Yin¡¯s strength was truly peerless. No one within the same realm of cultivation as him could stand against him.

    A gust of wind swept past. Feng Bo and Undying God, who had just arrived, were almost pushed back. They looked over to see Lu Yin blocking the ss staff, and fear filled the two men¡¯s eyes. What was this power?

    "I am Zhan Yan, and I represent the Spirit Nidus. I invite you to join us, Lord Lu," the woman offered, her eyes sparkling even as cracks appeared on her staff.

    Lu Yin struck the ss staff with a hand, but his attack was blocked. The power that blocked his palm was actually his own.

    Zhan Yan held the Jintian Painting in one hand and her ss staff in the other. She was barely managing to endure Lu Yin''s palm strike.

    He stared at her. "The Spirit Nidus? What¡¯s your connection to Tian Ci?"

    "He is he, and I am me. Lord Lu, think about it. You have no future. Even if you defeat Aeternus, so what? You should already understand that Aeternus is not your true enemy. Humanity has reached their limit. Beyond this point is only the abyss," Zhan Yan whispered. She made sure that Lu Yin was the only one who could hear her voice.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Show some sincerity first."

    Zhan Yan stared into his eyes, revealing open admiration and a hint of a smile. "When you show your sincerity, we will reciprocate."

    "How?"

    "Abandon the Heavens Sect."

    Lu Yinughed loudly, and with the help of Verdant Eternity, his power surged as heshed out with another palm.

    There was a crack, and the ss staff shattered. Zhan Yan was sent flying, though she managed to use the Jintian Painting to shield herself. Lu Yin attacked again, this time striking the painting. The castle in the painting copsed entirely, and the painting tore apart. Behind it, Zhan Yan spat out blood, her face pale. She simply turned around and moved to leave.

    Lu Yin threw another punch after her as she fled. "Worm!"

    Zhan Yan looked back, her eyes zing with a bone-chilling coldness. This was the first time in her life that anyone had called her an worm.

    "You will regret this!"

    A section of the Ossis Ark broke open as Zhan Yan rushed away, still spitting out blood after her escape.

    Lu Yin did not chase after the woman. She most likely would not be able to survive after taking his punch. Instead, he turned around, just as a powerful consciousness surged towards him like a tsunami. Xu Jin was attacking.

    Undying God and Feng Bo both approached as well; one moved with Inverse Step while holding a withered de, and the other carried a sword shaped like a tower that was stained with blood. The two swords sliced out.

    Three experts at the level of the Seven Skygods were attacking Lu Yin in unison.

    He stood in ce, immovable. Xu Jin''s consciousness had no effect. Simrly, neither Undying God nor Feng Bo could harm Lu Yin at all.

    His hands rose up, and he grabbed the withered de with one and the tower-shaped sword with the other as he stared at Undying God and Feng Bo.

    "Since you''re already dead, you shouldn¡¯t show up again."

    He squeezed with both hands, shattering the two swords.

    Feng Bo was horrified. This person''s power had reached an absolutely terrifying level. "Wait, I am from..."

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Before he could finish speaking, everything went ck. Lu Yin had already shattered the man with a single palm strike, even crushing the seed that had brought him back. Lu Yin had not even heard Feng Bo''s words.

    Then, Lu Yin turned to Undying God, and the more distant ckless God, though Lu Yin did not move any closer.

    Undying God stared nkly at Lu Yin. He rxed his grip on his broken sword while showing a bitter smile. This was the same expression that Lu Yin had seen on the man¡¯s face when he had first seen Undying God: listless and exhausted.

    "Wu Tian was willingly imprisoned in the Scourge. You wanted to kill him in order to set him free, didn''t you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Undying God took a deep breath and smiled. This smile was different from any that Lu Yin had seen on the man¡¯s face before. "Wu Tian deceived me."

    Lu Yin did not know how to respond to that. If Wu Tian had not allowed himself to be imprisoned in the Scourge, Undying God might not have be one of the Seven Skygods. However, had Wu Tian¡¯s choice been wrong? He may have been unfair to Undying God, but for the rest of humanity, Wu Tian had done what he thought was necessary.

    Wu Tian had made a decision to prevent misfortune from befalling humanity. The man had willingly sacrificed himself. As the Origin Progenitor had once said, Wu Tian was too earnest, and that made those closest to him suffer.

 Chapter 3272: Attempt

    <h4>Chapter 3272: Attempt</h4>

    Progenitor Hui was no different from Wu Tian. In order to deceive and outmaneuver Aeternus to reverse humanity''s disadvantageous position, Progenitor Hui had sacrificed his own son, and ultimately, himself.

    Humanity''s survival and victory had all been built upon the sacrifices of many different people.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Dao Monarch Lu, deliver a message to Wu Tian for me," Undying God stated as he stared at Lu Yin. During the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, Undying God had made a point of avoiding Wu Tian, and he had instead chosen to fight against Burial Garden¡¯s Tombkeeper. It was possible that Undying God did not know how to face Wu Tian, or that he simply did not want to.

    "I owe him nothing, and he owes me nothing. Even if he hadn''t been imprisoned in the Scourge, I wouldn''t have fought Aeternus to the death for the sake of humanity. What does humanity''s survival have to do with me?"

    As soon as he finished speaking, Undying God¡¯s body exploded and transformed into one of Eternal Decree¡¯s seeds that floated in the air in front of Lu Yin.

    He stared at the seed. No one could predict the future. Undying God, who had once been known as Wu Xing, had wanted Wu Tian to be free. As far as Wu Xing was concerned, he had been more aware than anyone else.

    Lu Yin grabbed the seed and crushed it. From that moment on, Undying God would never appear again.

    Lu Yin''s attention shifted to the distance. ckless God had fled, but Xu Jin had stayed behind.

    Far away, an eyeball rolled about within a dark cloud. It was Xu Jin.

    "I''m curious. Why didn''t you use True God¡¯s Natural Art at the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin asked.

    The eye spun, and the dark cloud shifted to flee. Xu Jin wanted to stay alive. As long as its seed remained intact, it would be able to revive. It was already quite clear that it could not take Lu Yin in a direct fight.

    Lu Yin watched Xu Jin escape and then moved at the speed of time with Inverse Step.

    Everything nearby froze, aside from the dark cloud that was racing away, an eyeball inside it constantly rolling about.

    Lu Yin vanished and instantly reappeared in front of Xu Jin.

    He had used Lightstream to cross both time and space.

    The eye stared nkly at Lu Yin. "You''ve already killed me once. Let me go. I''m already dead."

    Lu Yin looked at Xu Jin. "Resurrecting with True God''s Eternal Decree involves many limitations. Some of your powers can''t be used anymore. You haven¡¯t truly been resurrected."

    "So what? As long as I''m alive, that''s enough!" Xu Jin shouted.

    Lu Yin felt disappointed. He had considered keeping Xu Jin alive in order to absorb the creature¡¯s consciousness again and heal the star of consciousness. Unfortunately, Lu Yin had since realized that the resurrections were not authentic. All of the power that the returned being used came from True God. It was all fake.

    Xu Jin''s consciousness could no longer help Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin raised his hand and pressed it back down.

    The deck sank. Xu Jin let out a howl as it was exterminated. Only a seed was left behind.

    Lu Yin was too familiar with Xu Jin¡¯s abilities. The eyeball had possessed an innate gift that allowed it to see both the visible and the invisible. If he hadn¡¯t already fought and killed the Three Pirs and Six Skies, Lu Yin would have had more more trouble dealing with his various opponents.

    It was precisely his well-developed knowledge of his opponents that let Lu Yin resolve things so quickly.

    After crushing another seed, Lu Yin looked at the end of the Ossis Ark. There were still a few left.

    The Ossis Ark continued to break apart. Violent tremors ran through the ship as it split in two.

    Lu Yin watched half of the Ossis Ark drift away. On the distant half was True God and his followers.

    Lu Yin frowned. Where had Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu gone? They should have also been aboard the Ossis Ark. Simrly, ckless God had already fled. That one was his gift for True God.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, I¡¯m quite impressed. You chased after all of my Aeternals on your own and even managed to destroy my Ossis Ark. You¡¯ve nearly eliminated all of the Three Pirs and Six Skies. Not even Tai Chu could have aplished so much," True God''s voice rang out.

    Lu Yin answered coldly, "If the Origin Progenitor were here, you wouldn''t survive."

    True God gave a small smile. "Are you saying that you don¡¯t believe that you can kill me?"

    "I¡¯ve never believed that I could kill you. I''m just doing my best to ensure that the Great Sovereign''s sacrifice won¡¯t be in vain," Lu Yin retorted. He then started to move through space. He was making his way towards the broken half of the Ossis Ark. He was not going to destroy the bones, but rather take them with him.

    "Tai Hong? She was nothing more than a madwoman. Her restrictions won''t be able tost for very long," True God stated.

    Lu Yin stared at him. "You¡¯re right. She was a madwoman, but that madwoman managed to change history."

    During the battle in the Scourge, Lu Yin had not fullyprehended True God¡¯s power. He had once had an impulse to gather humanity''s strongest powerhouses and have them work together to take True God down, but the battle on the ck Mother Tree at the Immemorial Citadel had shown Lu Yin the truth. True God had rendered Lu Yinpletely powerless. Even as a Progenitor, Lu Yin did not believe that he had bridged that gap.

    True God was the strongest being in the megaverse. The only ones who might be able to stand against him were the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu. Lu Yin was still no match.

    Unfortunately, it was impossible to take Mister Mu or anyone else along while Lu Yin traversed the River of Aeons. Changing his location in the past was simr to reversing his own ripple in the water, but he could only reverse his own ripple, not anyone else''s. If he could, he would not be traversing time, but rather reversing it, and the subsequent karma for such an action would result in unimaginable consequences.

    When it came to traversing the River of Aeons, Mister Mu had warned Lu Yin that any cause he altered that did not belong to Lu Yin himself would result in severe effects.

    For example, if Lu Yin carried people in a Zenith Mountain while traversing the River of Aeons, there would not be any issues, as long as their timelines never ovepped. However, if anyone in a Zenith Mountain managed to alter their own karmic cause while traveling through time, it would alter someone else¡¯s effect.

    This meant that no one who had fought at the Immemorial Citadel could be taken along with Lu Yin. That was why he had chased after the Ossis Ark alone.

    Facing True God alone was not just a challenge for Lu Yin, but also a tribute to the Great Sovereign.

    If not for the Great Sovereign¡¯s sacrifice to restrain True God, the battle at the Immemorial Citadel might have ended very differently.

    Even so, Lu Yin needed to at least try. Whether or not he managed to kill True God, he had to at least make an attempt, so that the Great Sovereign''s sacrifice would not be in vain.

    Soil covered space overhead. It was from Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe. Infinity swirled above thendmass, taking on the form of various astrological phenomena. All together, an incredible amount of pressure fell upon True God''s half of the Ossis Ark. The earth was below and the sky above, but then the earth was above and the sky was below. Lu Yin had overturned everything with Flipping the Sky.

    This Flipping the Sky was stronger than any other time he had ever used. The earth was his Dust World, which had be a Progenitor¡¯s world, and the resulting pressure was not from Dust World alone. There was also the astrological phenomena in the sky that had been produced by Infinity, which was a Progenitor¡¯s world that represented the pinnacle of physical strength in the megaverse.

    Beside True God, Ancient God¡¯s expression turned somber. He let out a breath and prepared to make a move, but True God stopped him.

    As he looked up, True God admired what he saw. "Yourprehension technique. When you first created it, as Lu Xiaoxuan, I was amazed. Even Lu Yuan made an appearance, and the Seven Skygods attacked the Perennial World as a sign of respect for you. Lord Lu, whether you were Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin, your talent has always been astonishing.

    "But aren¡¯t you underestimating me? Tai Hong may have made it difficult for me to act, but that doesn''t mean that I can''t defend myself. The limits of my Dominion are beyond anything you can imagine."

    With that, Yong Heng leapt up to stand at the top of the broken Ossis Ark, and he allowed Flipping the Sky to fall upon him.

    Flipping the Sky passed through the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and continued on, straight for True God.

    The Dominion manifested as a dark-red glow that hid beneath the golden light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. The barrier was struck by Flipping the Sky, and the impact created cracks that spread across the fragment of the Ossis Ark beneath True God. The man raised his arms and held Flipping the Sky back while staring straight at Lu Yin.

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The universe trembled, and terrifying spatial cracks tore through everything as they spread outwards.

    Lu Yin''s Flipping the Sky was not enough to break through True God''s Dominion.

    Lu Yin had obtained incredible power, but he still could not break the Dominion. It was a barrier that could even stop an Ortuser. Even if it was possible for Lu Yin to eventually break it, he would need a very long time to do so.

    During the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel, even thebined efforts of the God of Death¡¯s scythe, Lu Yuan, and Progenitor Chen had not been enough to break through the Dominion. The barrier was simply too strong.

    A smile touched True God''s lips, even as a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He was not entirely unscathed by the attack, as he was forced to hold off both the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm and Flipping the Sky. Even as the strongest being in the megaverse, this was a heavy burden. "Dao Monarch Lu, look over there."

    Lu Yin followed True God''s finger and saw Tian En, the butterfly.

    Tian En had already escaped from the Ossis Ark and was flying away, trying to escape.

    "You only have one chance. Either pursue us, or her. The choice is yours," True God stated firmly.

    Far away, Tian En¡¯s wings were fluttering desperately. She was unable to break out of the universe that they were in. At this moment, she hated True God deeply. He had forced her out of the Ossis Ark and then trapped her in the universe, using his Dominion on her. She was well aware of the man¡¯s intentions.

    However, it was impossible for the butterfly to escape. She was still badly wounded from the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Even Ancient God was capable of easily overpowering Tian En at this point in time. She was being used to present Lu Yin with a choice: to go after the Boundary Guardian, or to go after True God and hispanions.

    Tian En, a once magnificent and respected Boundary Guardian, had fallen so far that she was nothing more than a choice. It was a tragic fate.

    She had never imagined she could face such a day, never.

    She and the other Boundary Guardians had once surrounded and attacked the Origin Progenitor himself. They had forced the most powerful beings in the megaverse to be ves to an omnipotent being. How had things developed to this point? She refused to ept it.

    She did not want to die like Tian Fa.

    In the middle of outer space, Lu Yin watched as True God''s Ossis Ark drifted farther away. A choice?

    "An interesting choice, isn''t it, Dao Monarch?" True God''s voice echoed across the distance.

    Lu Yin looked at the man and also saw Ancient God and Skydog.

    Two men and a dog. They were all that remained of Aeternus. Of course, there was also the missing Forgotten Ruins God, Wang Xiaoyu, and ckless God.

    In the opposite direction, there was a butterfly trying to escape.

    Lu Yin knew that he could not kill True God. Ancient God was also being controlled by True God and had no choice but to help the man. Finally, there was the indestructible Skydog.

    The reason why True God had offered Lu Yin such a choice was because the man did not want Lu Yin to continue tracking them. While Lu Yin was incapable of killing Yong Heng, if he was able to keep track of the man¡¯s movements, it was possible to wait for Mister Mu and others to arrive. If that happened, True God would be forced into a very difficult position.

    As for Lu Yin, he was not confident that he could keep track of True God. If True God sent Ancient God to do all that he could to hold Lu Yin off, True God would be able to escape from Lu Yin, and that would render Lu Yin¡¯s efforts meaningless.

    He looked away from the butterfly and stared straight at True God. "One question."

    True God was intrigued. "Tell me."

    "Everything you are doing right now, is it by choice?" Lu Yin spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, yet it rang like a bell, echoing in the minds of both True God and Ancient God.

    Ancient God automatically looked over at True God, and even the Skydog looked up at the man.

    There was greater depth to True God¡¯s eyes as he stared at Lu Yin. "It¡¯s time for you to make your choice."

    Lu Yin closed his eyes and stopped. He allowed the half of the shattered Ossis Ark that was carrying True God and hispanions to drift away. After that, Lu Yin turned to look at Tian En. Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned ice cold.

    The distant butterfly turned around and met Lu Yin''s icy stare. She softly said, "Dao Monarch, we are not yet at the point where we must fight to the death."

    "As far as I¡¯m concerned, we are," Lu Yin retorted as he took a step forward. He shot through the void to instantly appear behind the butterfly.

    At that moment, the power that had kept the butterfly trapped within the parallel universe disappeared. Light erupted from the butterfly¡¯s body, and a glow spread across the universe like an illusion from a dream.

 Chapter 3273: The Spirit Nidus

    <h4>Chapter 3273: The Spirit Nidus</h4>

    As Lu Yin watched, the butterfly shrouded itself with light and then transformed into Ming Yan.

    "Big Brother Lu."

    Lu Yin froze. That simple "Big Brother Lu" pulled him back to when he had been on Shenwu Continent and firstid eyes on Ming Yan; her breathtaking beauty had been a lotus emerging from the water. That sight had left an indelible mark on his heart. It had been the first time he had felt his heart stir. Just that one look had made him fall for her. He had gotten lost in her bright, shy eyes.

    He was on a battlefield. He was fighting the butterfly. Yet, as he looked at the distant Ming Yan, Lu Yin¡¯s heart could not deny that he was looking at Ming Yan. Even while his mind kept warning him that this was not her, but an illusion conjured by Tian En, for the moment, it really was Ming Yan.

    "Big Brother Lu, you look tired." A soft voice brushed over him like a gentle breeze, and Lu Yin let his hand drop. Yes, he was tired. So, very, very tired.

    He could not even understand when it had begun, but at some point in time, he had picked up the burden for all of humanity.

    That was not the kind of person Lu Yin was by nature. He was selfish, ruthless, and opportunistic. He was not the type of person who would sacrifice himself for others, much less carry a burden of righteousness.

    When had all of that changed?

    He had be the vanguard for everyone. When had Aeternus started to believe that, if they killed Lu Yin, humanity would fall? He did not know.

    He was so tired. He had survived countless life-and-death battles, ovee countless breakthroughs, and at the moment, deep in his heart, he was still terrified of the unknown Fated One. He was very worried about the future.

    Lu Yin¡¯s arms fell as he gazed at Ming Yan. ¡°Yan¡¯er, I¡¯m really am tired.¡±

    "Yes, Big Brother Lu, you¡¯re tired. Rest for a while," Ming Yan spoke softly as a hand rose to caress Lu Yin''s face.

    He closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so tired. I just want to rest. I want to go fishing with someone. I want someone to drink tea with. Someone to share my joys and sorrows with. I want someone to always be waiting for me under the light of a candle. That¡¯s what I want, a home. Yan¡¯er, I want to have a home with you.

    "The simpler the wish, the harder it is to fulfill. All I want is to give you a peaceful life, and for us to raise children and have a future together. That¡¯s all.

    "Sadly, I can¡¯t do that right now. I don¡¯t dare to bring you back because I don¡¯t know if I can even survive. Yan¡¯er, promise me that you will live and wait for the day when we might be able to reunite. Promise me."

    A gentle voice replied, ¡°Alright, I promise you.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, and his expression turned fierce. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking to you!¡±

    As he spoke, heshed out with a palm strike. Terrifying power shook the universe, and his hand touched something soft. It was the butterfly''s wing. Lu Yin had only barely avoided being struck by them.

    The butterfly let out a wail as she staggered backwards. Again, light shed from her body.

    Energy surged around Lu Yin, stirring up space. It felt as though a giant had risen as Lu Yin¡¯s fury mounted. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have used Yan¡¯er against me, Tian En! You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    His inner universe was released, and it filled the entire parallel universe.

    At that same moment, the light vanished. The light came from Tian En''s sequence particles.

    Garan Zhiluo had warned Lu Yin before that, while Tian En was not a skilledbatant, her sequence particles were the most difficult to deal with out of all the Boundary Guardians. They were invisible and untouchable, but they could prate anywhere, allowing Tian En to deliver a lethal strike when someone was the most vulnerable.

    Tian En was the most insidious of the Boundary Guardians.

    In the past, Lu Yin had not noticed, especially during thest two battles, as Progenitor Ku had held Tian En back. It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood how dangerous the butterfly could be.

    Without his ability to repel sequence particles, Lu Yin was uncertain just how badly Tian En¡¯s attacks would affect him.

    Everyone had weaknesses, especially humans, whose emotions were too powerful. Ming Yan was not the only option against Lu Yin; Big Sis, Leon¡¯s Armada, or the Lu family could have appeared as well. It could be anyone whom Lu Yin cared about.

    This was the most difficult kind of attack to defend against, which made it the most deadly.

    In a manner that was simr to cultivators who hadprehended sequence particles that prevented closebat, Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe possessed an overwhelming sense of dominance.

    A palm struck the butterfly, which opened up cracks on her wings. She had already been forced to endure numerous attacks during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, where she had faced off against Progenitor Ku and Garan Zhiluo. Tian En was grievously injured. Lu Yin¡¯s palm strike had made it impossible for her to escape, as only one wing was even able to move at this point.

    Lu Yin stepped onto the butterfly¡¯s back and stomped down. He forced her to move lower and lower.

    The butterfly shrieked. Her voice was no longer gentle, but instead hoarse and filled with hate. ¡°Humans! You will suffer retribution! Your entire species will perish! All of them will die! You will all surely perish!¡±

    ¡°Before we die, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± Lu Yin grabbed one of the butterfly¡¯s cracked wings and yanked on it, tearing it apart.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The butterfly¡¯s scream pierced the universe.

    ¡°You ambushed the Origin Progenitor, tried to kill Progenitor Ku, and have been ndering humanity. You¡¯re just a butterfly. Who gave you the courage to do all this?¡± Lu Yin tore off Tian En¡¯s other wing.

    The butterfly kept dropping down. Light appeared again, and it shot at Lu Yin in a desperate attempt to attack him, but Tian En¡¯s strength had already fallen to a pitiful level.

    Lu Yin was confident that he had be strong enough to deal with even Tian Ci on his own, let alone Tian En.

    The butterfly had never been a skilled fighter. In the past, even Great Elder Shan Gu had forced her back, which had caused Tian Fa toe and fight him in Tian En¡¯s ce.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, you can¡¯t kill me! If you do, you will suffer retribution! You know this," the butterfly screamed, despair filling her voice.

    Lu Yin looked down at the butterfly. ¡°Who¡¯s behind you?¡±

    The butterfly shuddered as she froze in ce. ¡°Dao Monarch, I¡¯ll tell you whatever you want to know, but there are certain questions that you shouldn¡¯t ask. Can you bear the consequences?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°How do you identify creatures that aren¡¯t from this megaverse?¡±

    ¡°We pass over this megaverse¡¯s boundary,¡± the butterfly answered without any hesitation. With Lu Yin standing on her back, she felt as though she might be torn apart at any moment. It was a feeling that she had not suffered since reaching the Origin realm. She had been a Boundary Guardian for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like to be pushed to the brink of death. The sensation was being etched deep into her memory.

    ¡°The megaverse¡¯s boundary?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Only by leaving this megaverse and returning can we develop the sense to feel creatures that don¡¯t belong to this ce. It bes an aura that zes as brightly as a beacon. With our strength, we can track down such beings even across multiple sequence strings. That¡¯s why Tian Fa was always able to find Shan Gu, the Lost n¡¯s Great Elder, and also how Tian Ci was able to find their hiding ces.¡±

    ¡°What is Tian Ci¡¯s goal? What¡¯s your rtionship with Aeternus?¡±

    ¡°We and Aeternus are merely using each other. When humanity was at its peak, they forcibly took over the Mirari Realm. The Mirari Realm doesn¡¯t belong to any megaverse. What Tai Chu did crossed a line, and he needed to be punished. Back then, we could also see that, if humanity was left unchecked, they would definitely break past the limits of this megaverse, which is why we started cooperating with Aeternus. Those corpse kings will never break free of the controls ced on them.¡±

    ¡°And what is Tian Ci¡¯s goal?¡±

    ¡°Tian Ci? He wants to lead his megaverse to this one. It¡¯s because his megaverse is no longer suitable for life.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed and he punched the butterfly¡¯s back, who let out another scream of agony. ¡°Dao Monarch, that¡¯s all I know!¡±

    Lu Yin sneered. ¡°Alright, then here¡¯s another question: Why does Aeternus need to destroy the sequence strings?¡±

    The butterfly hesitated for a moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t think the Origin Progenitor already knows, do you?¡± Lu Yin scoffed.

    Tian En replied, "To reset the megaverse so that he can be an Immortal. That¡¯s Aeternus¡¯s goal, as well as Tian Ci¡¯s."

    That made sense. Lu Yin looked down at the butterfly beneath his feet. "The power of Aeternusbined with the Boundary Guardians could have allowed you to destroy the Immemorial Citadel or even all of humanity in this megaverse decades or even centuries ago. There was no reason to let me grow and lead humanity¡¯s counterattack. Why didn¡¯t you act sooner? A hundred years is nothing to cultivators."

    The butterfly let out a helpless sigh. "We need to follow our own rules, Dao Monarch. Whether you believe me or not, no matter how badly Tian Ci wanted to destroy humanity or destroy the sequence strings, he never dared to do so. All he could do was act within his role as a Boundary Guardian, as that is in line with our rules.

    "We can''t act recklessly, and that applies to Yong Heng as well."

    "Why?" Lu Yin stared at the butterfly.

    "I don''t know. I really don¡¯t. Often, rules are iprehensible. We can''t ask about them, and we can''t even speak of them. We can only simply follow them. These are the rules, and they weigh heavily upon us. If we break them, we will cease to exist."

    Lu Yin frowned. He could tell that the butterfly was telling him the truth. This was no different from how she did not dare to say anything about the entity behind her.

    The whole situation was quite bizarre. The Boundary Guardians had always been observing the megaverse, and its existence had been known for a very long time before that. Even if that were not true, they had to have noticed when the Heavens Sect had reestablished itself. At that time, any one of the Boundary Guardians could have easily wiped out the entire Heavens Sect and killed Lu Yin. However, none of them had taken action. They had only done so after the Heavens Sect had grown strong enough to be a threat, not before.

    It did not make any sense.

    Rules? Did the Fated One set those rules in ce? Why?

    Lu Yin recalled something that he had once said to Great Elder Shan Gu. The old man had shared what he knew about the invincible being from the Lost n¡¯s original megaverse. At the time, Lu Yin had not paid much attention to the details. He had been focused solely on connecting the Lost n¡¯s universe to the Origin Universe and onforting Shan Gu. Lu Yin had brought up the idea that, even if such a being did exist, they must be restricted by certain limitations. After all, the Origin Progenitor had said that there were no absolutes in the megaverse.

    Thinking back to that time, Lu Yin felt that his words had been more tofort his current self.

    Was the Fated One really limited in their actions? They had to be. If not, why would they have allowed the Origin Progenitor to live? Why would they have allowed humanity to rise back to power? Why had Lu Yin been allowed to kill the Boundary Guardians?

    The Boundary Guardians were just four creatures who were too scared to face Dukkha. To Lu Yin¡ªand probably to the Origin Progenitor as well¡ªthose four were ves to the Fated One. Their deaths likely did not even matter to the Fated One, but in that case, what did the Fated One care about? When would that individual appear, and what form would they take?

    "What was Tian Feng?" Lu Yin asked again.

    The butterfly showed terrible fear. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see it?¡±

    "That sword?"

    "Dao Monarch, I¡¯ll tell you whatever I can, but please, spare me! If you kill me, it will bring disaster upon you! Humanity won¡¯t survive that disaster."

    Lu Yin responded coldly, ¡°Tian Fa is already dead, and Tian Feng was destroyed. What makes you think that you¡¯re indispensable?¡±

    Tian En asked, ¡°What will it take for you to spare my life?¡±

    "What is the megaverse behind Tian Ci?"

    ¡°The Spirit Nidus. That old monster, Yuan Qi, at the Immemorial Citadel is from the Spirit Nidus. It¡¯s apletely different megaverse from ours.¡±

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold. "Didn¡¯t Yong Heng say that Tian Ci would bring the Spirit Nidus here to destroy us?"

 Chapter 3274: Knocking

    <h4>Chapter 3274: Knocking</h4>

    ¡°That¡¯s extremely difficult,¡± the butterfly replied. ¡°The Spirit Nidus is powerful, butunching an expedition to our megaverse is an unbelievable challenge. It takes an incredibly long time to travel between the boundaries that separate the two megaverses.¡±

    ¡°But Tian Ci has already been here for a very long time, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Lu Yin pressed.

    The butterfly hesitated briefly. ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s not impossible that the Spirit Nidus could invade us?¡±

    ¡°They could...¡±

    ¡°How would they get here?¡±

    ¡°Through the megaverse¡¯s boundary.¡±

    ¡°Take me there,¡± Lu Yin said. He was certain that Tian En did not know that Tian Ci had been attacked. Tian Ci had not had enough time to send word to anyone before feeling through the gate, and that meant that the butterfly did not know that Lu Yin had already visited the megaverse¡¯s boundary and seen the stone gate.

    If she led him to the wrong ce, Lu Yin would immediately know.

    It was possible that the butterfly really was afraid of death, or that Lu Yin had just been too ruthless with her. Some timeter, she really did lead him to the stone gate Tian Ci had fled through. In that parallel universe, Lu Yin could see the massive gate that connected heaven and earth, as well as the Lord of Lightning guarding it.

    ¡°Jiang Feng?¡± The butterfly was startled.

    In front of the gate, Jiang Feng saw the butterfly and Lu Yin. ¡°You two?¡±

    The sight of the butterfly¡¯s miserable condition prompted augh that Jiang Feng could not hold back. ¡°It looks like you got beaten pretty badly, Boundary Guardian.¡±

    The butterfly said nothing, as she was too terrified. The fact that Jiang Feng was at the boundary meant that Lu Yin and his people had already visited the stone gate. If Tian En had tried to deceive Lu Yin by taking him to a false boundary, she would likely already be dead.

    ¡°Uncle Jiang, how is Tian Ci?¡± Lu Yin asked.

    The butterfly nced over at Jiang Feng, but the man just shook his head. ¡°He hasn¡¯te back out yet. By the way, how did you run into this butterfly?¡±

    Lu Yin shared what had happened during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, whichpletely stunned Jiang Feng.

    The Lord of Lightning had long since known that humanity and Aeternus would eventually have a final battle. He had been waiting for it, expecting it to take ce after the Boundary Guardians were dealt with. Unexpectedly, the battle had already been fought while he was guarding the gate.

    Lu Yin just gave some brief details of what had happened.

    Jiang Feng felt a lingering fear. There had been several critical turning points throughout the battle, and while humanity had ultimately won, it had been a narrow victory. If any one of the various turning points had gone wrong, things could have endedpletely differently.

    ¡°The Great Sovereign¡¯s sacrifice deserves respect. I¡¯ve heard of Progenitor Hui, but I never imagined that he would be hiding in Aeternus all this time, or that he would y such a crucial role in the final battle. Honorable, but so tragic.¡±

    The mention of those who had sacrificed themselves caused Lu Yin to feel his heart weighed down.

    Lu Yin moved closer to the gate, though his foot remained on the butterfly¡¯s back. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, prove your worth. What¡¯s the deal here?¡±

    The butterfly did not hesitate to answer. ¡°This gate leads to the Spirit Nidus, but that megaverse is extremely far away. Even for Ortusers, it takes a long time to reach the Spirit Nidus. We used this gate to travel to other megaverses, and when we returned, we were able to easily determine whether a being belonged to this megaverse or not.¡±

    ¡°Who made this gate?¡±

    ¡°That- I really don¡¯t know. It was already here when I first visited this universe. Tian Ci and the others don¡¯t know either.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯m curious about,¡± Jiang Feng mentioned as he stared at the butterfly. ¡°Do you belong to this megaverse?¡±

    The butterfly hesitated before answering. ¡°I belong to this megaverse.¡±

    ¡°What about the other three Boundary Guardians?¡±

    ¡°Tian Fa is not from this megaverse. I don¡¯t know about Tian Feng.¡±

    Lu Yinughed as he exchanged nces with Jiang Feng. Both of them wereughing, though it sounded bitter.

    The Boundary Guardians were supposed to guard the megaverse and drive out any outsiders, but at least two of the Boundary Guardians were from other megaverses. It was such a joke. Instead of helping the megaverse drive outsiders away, the Boundary Guardians had turned the ce into a prison. They were able to freelye and go, but the natives of the megaverse were trapped inside.

    When humanity had started to reveal a bit of strength, when the Origin Progenitor had demonstrated that there was even a slight chance of him leaving, he had been ambushed.

    They were not Boundary Guardians, but rather wardens. They kept watch over the megaverse like it was a prison.

    It was also clear that Tian En understood what would happen when the truth was exposed. Humanity¡¯s hostility towards the Boundary Guardians would only grow, but even so, she did not dare to tell any lies.

    She believed that she had a chance to survive because she was valuable.

    She was an Ortuser. How could she not be valuable?

    She might not know how Tian Fa had died, but given their personality, there was no way that the creature would have ever debased themselves. She, on the other hand, was different. She was willing to humble herself and beg for her life. She had not lived nearly long enough yet.

    As long as she could survive, there would always be a chance to get revenge.

    They had been too merciful. After they attacked Tai Chu, the Boundary Guardians should have ughtered all of humanity¡¯s strongest powerhouses. There had been a chance at that time, but they had missed it. It was toote. They were always toote.

    ¡°Open the gate,¡± Lu Yin snapped.

    The butterfly begged, ¡°I... I can¡¯t open it. Only Tian Ci can.¡±

    Lu Yin frowned. ¡°Then what use are you?¡±

    The butterfly retorted, ¡°I¡¯m an Ortuser. I can help you with anything, as long as it¡¯s within my power.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    ¡°I can tell you about the Spirit Nidus. I know a little about that ce. I can also travel freely between parallel universes and sense creatures that are not from this megaverse. I truly have been helping this megaverse drive outsiders away. I swear it, Dao Monarch. Please believe me.

    ¡°Aside from our personal agenda against humanity, we really have been carrying out our duties.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Knock on the gate.¡±

    The butterfly hesitated, but she could also sense Lu Yin¡¯s bloodlust. There was no choice for her but to turn to the gate and bang on it.

    From a distance, it looked like the butterfly was crashing into the gate. It was more pathetic looking than seeing a moth flying into a me. At least the moth would burn brightly for a moment before dying. The butterfly was silently striking the gate, producing only the faintest of ripples.

    Lu Yin did not know if Tian Ci could hear the banging from the other side of the gate, but they needed to try. The next time the gate opened, it might mark the start of a war between the Spirit Nidus and Lu Yin¡¯s own megaverse.

    No matter how confident he might be in his megaverse¡¯s strength, Lu Yin did not want such a war. It would lead to the deaths of countless people.

    No one knew how many megaverses there might be.

    Lu Yin was exhausted, and all he wanted was to protect his own universe.

    The butterfly kept ramming into the gate. Each strike caused her light to grow a bit dimmer.

    ¡°Speak! Are you really just going to knock?¡± Lu Yin shouted angrily.

    Tian En was filled with despair, but still called out, ¡°Tian Ci, open the gate! Tian Ci, it¡¯s me, Tian En! Open the gate! Tian Ci...¡±

    Jiang Feng was watching a truly bizarre scene. He could not shake the feeling that there was something off about the situation. There was an oddity to what he was seeing.

    This was clearly a matter that concerned the fate of the entire megaverse, and yet it somehow felt like he was watching a breaking and entering attempt.

    He looked over at Lu Yin. "How is Kong Tianzhao?"

    "Still alive."

    Jiang Feng sighed. "He''s quite unfortunate."

    Lu Yin felt puzzled.

    "In order to break through, he fought a copy of himself from a parallel universe. One of them ended up dying, and that caused him to almost cut his emotions off.

    "He joined the invasion of the Scourge and specifically targeted Progenitor Xi in hopes of either breaking through or dying. After numerous battles that pushed him right to the edge of death, he neither managed to die nor break through. He¡¯s very unlucky."

    Lu Yin was curious about something. "Uncle Jiang, is there a parallel universe with a copy of you?"

    Jiang Feng nodded. "Yes."

    "Then why have I never seen two versions of the same person no matter how many parallel universes I¡¯ve been to?" Lu Yin was confused about this. During a previous conversation, they had spoken about how every choice within a universe could lead to variations. Because of this, there should be an infinite number of parallel universes, as each choice would spawn a new parallel universe.

    Even at Lu Yin¡¯s level, no one was able to clearly exin parallel universes to him.

    Sequence strings connected the various parallel universes, but to Lu Yin, they did not seem like parallel universes, but rather stacked universes.

    The only true parallel universe he had ever learned of was the one that Whitecloud City had found that was a near-perfect copy of their own. That was a real parallel universe.

    Jiang Feng replied, "I don''t know about that either. I''ve heard that the Aeternals define parallel universes that have the same internal structure as true parallel universes, and those are somehow different from the ones that we normally see. Aeternus sees some sort of distinction. I interrogated a few human traitors who joined Aeternus, and they were trying to find those kinds of parallel universes. As for why they wanted them, I have no idea."

    <i>Parallel universes, sequence strings...</i> Lu Yin''s expression became thoughtful.

    In front of the two men, Tian En continued to bang on the gate while constantly shouting, but all of her efforts were useless. The door did not budge, and there was no response of any kind.

    She continued her efforts for a very long time, but nothing ever changed.

    Lu Yin spoke up, "Enough. Stop."

    The butterfly stopped and turned to face Lu Yin. Her wings were gone, which made her look pitiful. "This gate is very important to the Spirit Nidus. Tian Ci will not open it easily."

    Lu Yin stared at the butterfly. "Although you weren¡¯t able to open the gate, your performance was quite impressive. I can give you a chance to live."

    The butterfly heaved a sigh of relief, and her voice grew much gentler, "Thank you! Thank you, Dao Monarch Lu."

    Lu Yin then asked, "Why did you kill Progenitor Ku?"

    "What?" Tian En was startled.

    Lu Yin repeated, "You told me earlier that the rules that you are subject to are why the Boundary Guardians didn¡¯t cooperate with Aeternus to eliminate humanity. If not for that, humans would have never had any chance to defeat Aeternus, and I would have never grown to power. You are restricted by the rules you follow, so why did you kill Progenitor Ku?

    "That was before I was even alive. It was while the Fifth Maind was at war with the Sixth, just after the Perennial World split off. The Origin Universe was weak at that time, and the Sixverse Association was barely able to hold back the First Scourge. They barely managed to survive against the Seven Skygods. So, at that time, why did you specifically go after Progenitor Ku?"

    Tian En grew nervous. "It was just an coincidental encounter. The human managed to escape from Yong Heng, and he was incredibly talented, so..."

    Lu Yin''s eyes shed. "That¡¯s too forced. Your answer is too forced."

    The butterfly quivered in fear. "No! That''s really what happened!"

    "What did Progenitor Ku see or run into in the Scourge that caused you to hunt him down after he escaped? Why didn¡¯t Yong Heng chase him down instead? On top of that, why did Progenitor Ku lose some of his memories? What do you know? Answer me!" Lu Yin ordered.

    Tian En stared nkly at Lu Yin, clearly hesitating.

    "What? Now you don¡¯t want to live?" Lu Yin shouted.

    The butterfly replied, "Dao Monarch Lu, there are certain questions that I cannot answer. This is one of them. Please don¡¯t ask me again. I am an Ortuser. I have value. I can be of great help to you."

    Lu Yin''s expression grew cold. "Answer me. What was removed from Progenitor Ku¡¯s memory? What do you know?"

    A tremor entered the butterfly¡¯s voice. She could sense Lu Yin''s determination. "Dao Monarch Lu, you are touching upon something forbidden."

    Lu Yin was unswayed. "The moment I killed Tian Fa, I had already touched upon something forbidden. I¡¯ve asked you so many questions, and there are several that you¡¯ve avoided answering. You''ve told me all that you can, haven¡¯t you?"

    Tian En¡¯s voice rose, "You had me knock on the boundary gate! From the very beginning, you never intended to let me go! Lu Yin, you will die a miserable death! All of you humans will suffer greatly!"

 Chapter 3275: The Cosmic Ecosystem

    <h4>Chapter 3275: The Cosmic Ecosystem</h4>

    Lu Yin shot forward, and he physically pinned the butterfly against the gate. He red at her as she helplessly struggled against him. "Answer me!"

    "Lu Yin, you have no future! You are touching something forbidden! Tai Chu doesn''t dare to leave the Immemorial Citadel, but you dare to touch what is forbidden! You will die a terrible death, a terrible death¡ª" the butterfly screeched. Abruptly, she released a burst of light that briefly illuminated the universe before it shrank back down onto her.

    Jiang Feng pulled Lu Yin away. "Leave! She''s going to self-destruct."

    <i>Boom!</i>

    The explosion echoed through the area. The gate trembled, and space twisted and rippled outward in waves that tore through the void and revealed the Hollow in huge swathes.

    An Ortuser¡¯s self-destruction was shockingly powerful. Even Jiang Feng was wary of the destruction, which was why he had pulled Lu Yin back.

    Lu Yin looked at the charred imprint that the butterfly had left on the gate. Tian En had clearly been afraid of death and had wanted to live, but she had self-destructed when questioned about the Fated One. Obviously, she felt that the Fated One was far more terrifying than death.

    Progenitor Ku must have seen something that had some sort of connection to the Fated One, which was why the butterfly had targeted the man.

    Just what had Progenitor Ku seen?

    "Go on back. I''ll continue to stand guard here," Jiang Feng said.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to reply, both men felt an indescribable sense of dread. Their expressions changed, and they both turned to look at the gate. It felt like the universe was copsing around them as they saw the character "Heaven" appear where the butterfly had died, and it pressed down on them.

    Chaos was unfolding.

    They felt like ordinary humans staring at a scene of the sky copsing and the ground crumbling. They felt like they were about to be buried, and they were sent into despair.

    Lu Yin stared at the ¡°Heaven¡± character in a daze. When Ye Zhang had died, the same character had appeared. Lu Yin would never forget what he had felt at that moment. If not for the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes appearing from his die, he could not even begin to guess what would have happened.

    <i>me, me!</i> The mes were gone from within the die.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The "Heaven" character continued to press down, and the universe continued to copse. Everything was about to be destroyed. Both Jiang Feng and Lu Yin could sense this even as they stared nkly at the approaching character.

    Lu Yin instinctively took out his die, and Jiang Feng simrly drew his sword.

    As the character approached the men, they both spat out blood in unison. Both the die and the sword trembled, though the sword shook more violently. It flickered out, piercing the character before returning to Jiang Feng''s hand.

    Everything immediately returned to normal, though the men were badly shaken.

    They looked at each other, clearly seeing the shock in the other¡¯s eyes.

    Given how powerful Lu Yin and Jiang Feng were, how powerful did someone need to be for them to both feel so helpless?

    Neither man spoke. They mutually agreed to the silence.

    They both understood what sort of power they had just witnessed.

    Jiang Feng calmly sat down in front of the gate. "Go back. I''ll stay here."

    Lu Yin nodded. "I¡¯m sorry to trouble you, Uncle Jiang."

    He then tore through the void and left the universe.

    Some timeter, Lu Yin arrived back at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Everyone had been waiting for his return, especially Lu Yuan and the others. They had all been quite worried about Lu Yin''s safety. Seeing him return allowed them to breathe sighs of relief.

    Lu Yin announced that the Ossis Ark had been destroyed, but the Aeternals had not been exterminated. True God, Ancient God, ckless God, and Zhan Yan had all escaped.

    People were not surprised by the results. It would have been shocking if Lu Yin had been able to kill True God.

    No matter what may have happened, True God remained one of the most powerful individuals in the entire megaverse, while Lu Yin had only just be a Progenitor. Even if he was strong enough to fight against True God, and even if True God had been weakened by the Great Sovereign''s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, it should still be impossible for Lu Yin to kill Yong Heng.

    The destruction of the Ossis Ark was the greatest victory of the entire battle.

    The Ossis Ark had been the greatest threat to the people of the Immemorial Citadel for far too long. They had fought against it for eons.

    With the Ossis Ark gone, a burden had finally been lifted from their hearts.

    While True God still lived, he no longer appeared invincible.

    The Aeternals could be considered to have been thoroughly defeated. They were on the brink of total annihtion.

    Deep beneath the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor smiled. Even so, he continued to hold the sequence strings between his teeth. He did not rx his grip at all.

    Lu Yin arrived and looked at the Origin Progenitor, who remained in the same position as before. "If you can''t keep the sequence strings suppressed, is it guaranteed that our megaverse will reset?"

    "Pretty much. Pir, do you know why I took the Three Realms and Six Daos as my disciples? It''s because I needed people to destroy parallel universes." The Origin Progenitor looked up at Lu Yin. "It was not a matter of ughter, but of maintaining the stability of our megaverse. I was not enough on my own, so I created the Heavens Sect.

    "Yong Heng gathered so many powerhouses and fought to destroy these sequence strings and reset the megaverse. When I first created the Heavens Sect, I did so in order to destroy parallel universes and stabilize the megaverse. There are far too many parallel universes now, and many of them have even developed life. It won¡¯t be easy to destroy them."

    Lu Yin felt a weight settle onto his heart. Yes, this was not an easy task.

    Even if they destroyed all the parallel universes that were devoid of sapient life, it still would not be enough to stop the megaverse from restarting when the sequence strings were released.

    It was a difficult choice.

    "But you can''t maintain the sequence strings forever," Lu Yin said.

    Mister Mu spoke up from nearby. "This is the cosmic ecosystem."

    Lu Yin looked over at his master.

    Mister Mu let out a sigh. "Creation, destruction, maintenance, stabilization. A megaverse is like a balloon. If there are too few parallel universes, it will shrivel. If there are too many, it will explode. After sapient creatures reach a certain level of power, it bes possible for them to see this truth. Either you choose to stand on the side of stability, or you work towards destruction.

    "In the end, those are the two options. It simply depends on which oue benefits a creature the most.

    "Yong Heng wants to reset this megaverse so that he can be an Immortal, which is a valid possibility. That¡¯s why Aeternus continued to attack the Immemorial Citadel and worked to destroy sequence strings. As for us..." Mister Mu paused as he observed Lu Yin. "If not for the fact that we care about whether or not sapient life is wiped out, we would also benefit from such a choice."

    Lu Yin''s eyes flickered. "Is that what it takes to be an Immortal?"

    It was at this moment that Lu Yin finally realized just how admirable the Origin Progenitor and the others were.

    Entering the realm of Immortality was an irresistible temptation for most cultivators, and yet the Origin Progenitor was willing to give such a thing up, solely for the countless creatures living throughout the megaverse.

    Long ago, if the Origin Progenitor had chosen differently, if he had chosen the same as True God and decided to reset the megaverse in order to be an Immortal, the Origin Progenitor would have had a much greater advantage over Yong Heng.

    "Master, what about you?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu did not answer, and instead, the Origin Progenitor answered for him. "If he had made the other choice, he wouldn''t be here."

    A woman entered the underground room. She was Mu Zhu, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s protector.

    Lu Yin looked at the woman, who met his gaze.

    "This is your senior sister," Mister Mu introduced the woman.

    Lu Yin was surprised. "My senior sister?"

    Mu Zhu had a cold expression, and no emotions could be seen even as she looked at Lu Yin. "Junior Brother, we finally meet."

    Lu Yin nodded to the woman. "Senior Sister."

    "Hehe, Pir, back then, it was your master and senior sister who saved me. If it weren''t for them, I wouldn''t still be alive. They are the saviors of our entire megaverse," the Origin Progenitor announced.

    Mister Mu calmly replied, "Not quite. We merely share amon goal. However, even now, we have not achieved that goal."

    He looked at Lu Yin. "Yong Heng is simply too strong. During the Heavens Sect era, I was confident that I could fight him, but now, I am no longer certain."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Even you can¡¯t defeat Yong Heng?"

    He really had no way to estimate Mister Mu¡¯s strength. While it initially appeared that Mister Mu, the Origin Progenitor, and True God were all Dukkhan, Lu Yin had never seen Mister Mu¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s world, nor seen the man use any sequence particles. The only thing that Lu Yin had ever seen his master use was the flute which had countered Yuan Qi¡¯s bell.

    "Master¡¯s strength fell long ago. If not for that, Aeternus would not havested so long," Mu Zhu calmly informed Lu Yin.

    He looked at Mister Mu. "Weakened?"

    "I know that you have many questions. The war is over for the Immemorial Citadel, and we will have many opportunities to meet from now on. We can take our time," Mister Mu said before leaving with Mu Zhu.

    Lu Yin was left alone with the Origin Progenitor in the underground chamber.

    Lu Yin looked at the Origin Progenitor. "What about Destiny?"

    "Lassy?"

    "I gathered all of her books. They were burned by the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes one time, but I was able to use a mirebound artifact to restore them. However, right when I was about to perform a divination with the books, one of them vanished. Someone denied the karmic cause of me obtaining all of the Books of Destiny, which caused the karmic effect to change.

    "This junior would like to ask, just what is Destiny¡¯s part in the grand scheme of things in this megaverse?" Lu Yin asked seriously.

    Lu Yin had always been concerned about Destiny, especially after what had happened in the Mirari Realm. Both he and Hongyan Mavis had their own suspicions, and if they were urate, then Lu Yin had no idea what the future might hold for them.

    The Origin Progenitor pondered for a moment. "Denied the cause, did she? That sounds like how Lassy does things. She has a gentle nature and is extraordinarily talented. She¡¯s the most gifted of all of my disciples. However, after her visit to the Mirari Realm, she changedpletely. She dispersed her cultivation and started over with a new power. Honestly, even I don¡¯t fully understand her anymore."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "If not even you can see through Destiny, does that mean that Destiny changed?"

    The Origin Progenitor hesitated. "What do you mean by ''changed?''"

    "That Destiny is no longer Destiny. That Lassy became someone else," Lu Yin said. This was what he and Hongyan Mavis suspected may have happened.

    The Origin Progenitor immediately denied the possibility. "Impossible. Lassy is still Lassy. She didn¡¯t change like that."

    "Destiny once told Senior Hongyan Mavis and your other disciples that one of the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden zones has a way to reach the Immortal realm. Astral Anura was tricked into visiting that region, and he almost lost his life. If Destiny has really never changed, then why would she have tried to harm Senior Hongyan Mavis and the others?" Lu Yin voiced his doubts.

    The Origin Progenitor fell silent. It took him a moment to find an answer.

    "All I can tell you is that Lassy hasn¡¯t changed. If what you say is true," the old man paused and grew solemn as he stared at Lu Yin. "Ask First Blood: was the Lassy that she saw the same Lassy that I saw?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. "Could there be two Destinys?"

    The Origin Progenitor shook his head. "No, there is only one. Lassy can¡¯t disguise herself in front of me."

    "But she could mask herself to the Three Realms and Six Daos," Lu Yin finished.

    The Origin Progenitor did not say anything for a bit. He looked rather troubled. "Go talk to First Blood and the others. Anyone, anything, even any information that had contact with Lassy needs to be checked again. It¡¯s likely that what they saw was not Lassy."

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart sank. "If Destiny appears again, can I trust her?"

    The Origin Progenitor smiled. "Just call her Lassy."

    Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor for a long moment and then nodded. "Understood. I have one more question: What are the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes?"

 Chapter 3276: The Former Mirebound Artifact

    <h4>Chapter 3276: The Former Mirebound Artifact</h4>

    "Why are you suddenly asking about this?" the Origin Progenitor asked in surprise.

    Lu Yin shared what had happened after both Ye Zhang and Tian En had died. "Only the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes and Uncle Jiang¡¯s mirebound artifact were able to destroy those heaven characters. That made me wonder if the mes are also a mirebound artifact."

    The Origin Progenitor praised him, "Pir, you''re very perceptive. Not only are the mes a mirebound artifact, but the Immemorial Citadel itself is also a mirebound artifact."

    Lu Yin was shocked. "The entire Immemorial Citadel is a mirebound artifact?"

    The Origin Progenitor looked up. "Well, it used to be a mirebound artifact. When we first arrived at the Immemorial Citadel, we confirmed that this city was a mirebound artifact. However, over time, with Aeternus''s attacks and the mes constantly burning, the artifact has decayed. If it were still in its original condition, the Ossis Ark would have never been able to crash through the walls."

    "Who does the Immemorial Citadel belong to?" Lu Yin asked eagerly.

    The Origin Progenitor shook his head. "This megaverse has been home to more than just our human civilizations. There were other civilizations before us, but whether they were human, I can''t say. The Immemorial Citadel isn¡¯t from our era.

    "Also, those heaven characters that you mentioned must be some method used by the Fated One to control the Boundary Guardians. I don''t know how many more of this megaverse¡¯s powerhouses are under the Fated One¡¯s control."

    Lu Yin left the underground chamber and looked at the bustling Immemorial Citadel. The people in the city were all excited. Victory was something that they had long regarded as an impossibility, and after achieving it, many of them were not sure where to go after leaving the Immemorial Citadel.

    The various powerhouses had strong connections to various parallel universes.

    Big Sis was relentlessly chasing after Ce Wangtian. She refused to stop.

    Mimina sat alone atop a shattered wall. It was the ce where Babal had used the nine-star technique, Restart.

    Ancestor Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, and Chu Yi were engaged in a lively conversation.

    Progenitor Ku sat beside Sovereign Dou Sheng, who, due to his severe injuries, was barely even able to sit upright as he chatted with Progenitor Ku.

    It seemed as though everyone from the various parallel universes was able to find someone they were looking for in the Immemorial Citadel.

    Many people stood on the city¡¯s shattered walls, staring down at the mes while lost in thought. Too many had died and entered those mes.

    Lu Yin looked out from the city at Burial Garden.

    He saw people who had been in Burial Garden were also staring out at the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield. Most of the people in Burial Garden were not qualified to step onto such a battlefield, including Shang Qing and the others.

    They were not nearly strong enough to participate in such fights.

    The Yellow Springs flowed around Burial Garden.

    The Origin Progenitor had no intention of reiming his hand, so Burial Garden would continue to exist.

    Lu Yin moved forward and entered Burial Garden. He went over to Progenitor Chen, who was nearby.

    Progenitor Chen was staring nkly at the sea formed from the Yellow Springs, lost in thought. It was impossible to guess what was on the man¡¯s mind.

    "Senior, was that palm strike the battle technique that you developed to deal with True God?" Lu Yin asked.

    Progenitor Chen looked away from the Yellow Springs and gazed at Lu Yin with a rather mncholic expression. "Yes. I thought it would be enough to deal with him, but it was stillcking."

    "What do you call that technique?" Lu Yin asked. While he had not personally seen the attack, he had heard about how Progenitor Chen had obliterated Progenitor Xi with a single attack.

    Progenitor Xi had been an Ortuser who had once been known as Qingluo Jiantian. Despite falling from the Origin realm for some unknown reason, she had still been strong enough to suppress entire battlefields and had altered the course of many wars and battles. It was incredibly difficult to kill such a powerhouse.

    Despite that, Progenitor Chen had ended the woman¡¯s life with a single palm strike. Even Lu Yin was not confident of doing the same, even with his improved strength.

    Progenitor Chen showed a bitter smile. "That wasn¡¯t my own strength, as I just borrowed it. As for a name, I never really thought of one. Let¡¯s just call it Linked Palm."

    "Linked Palm, huh? You¡¯re pretty casual about naming it, but it also fits," Lu Yinmented.

    Progenitor Chen looked at Lu Yin. "Do you want to learn it?"

    Lu Yin did not hesitate. "I do."

    He was eager to learn any kind of ability. His inner universe could epass any power or technique. Lu Yin was not afraid of diversity, but rather scarcity.

    Progenitor Chenughed heartily. "Good! If you want to learn it, I¡¯ll teach you. To be honest, I¡¯ve never seen anyone who¡¯s cultivated as many different powers as you, and each one has reached an impressive level. You are walking the widest path of all."

    While learning Linked Palm was very difficult, teaching the technique was quite easy.

    Even with Lu Yin''s current abilities, he would need a bit of time before he could actually use Linked Palm.

    "Senior, what happened with Forgotten Ruins God? Did you leave that mark on her face?" Lu Yin asked.

    The mention of Forgotten Ruins God caused Progenitor Chen''s expression to be solemn. "All of you have underestimated that woman."

    Lu Yin agreed. He had originally thought that Forgotten Ruins God was just another one of the Seven Skygods, and possibly even the weakest of them all. However, during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, she had survived several attacks. When Lu Yin had gone after the Ossis Ark, both Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu had mysteriously vanished, which was strange.

    Lu Yin had no idea why, but he did know that Forgotten Ruins God was not nearly as simple as he had previously thought.

    Progenitor Chen stared back out at the sea of Yellow Springs. "Wang Miaomiao is the progenitor of the Wang family. By all rights, she should not be nearly as strong as Ancient God or Corpse God, but the woman always manages to escape at the critical moment. I suspect that the reason why Xiaoyu betrayed the Fifth Maind is because she was controlled by that woman. If Xiaoyu deliberately joined Aeternus to aplish some purpose, then that woman may very well be her target."

    "Was it worth it?" Lu Yin asked with a frown. If Wang Xiaoyu was investigating Forgotten Ruins God, then she had betrayed the Fifth Maind and instigated a war with the Sixth Maind in order to do so. That war had led to the fall of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and the separation of the Perennial World. Such a cost hardly seemed worth it.

    Progenitor Chen shook his head. "I can¡¯t say. It is certain that Xiaoyu is no traitor. I believe in her as she¡¯s kind. As for Forgotten Ruins God, even at my peak, I was unable to kill her. The best I could do was leave that mark on her face, which makes it easier to track her. If you ever run into her again, be careful."

    Lu Yin looked out at the stars. Forgotten Ruins God could be injured, but while it seemed that she could be killed, she had survived countless battles and always managed to escape, even when fighting on the most dangerous battlefields in the megaverse. How was that possible? Could she really have survived with just the abilities of the Wang family? No, there had to be more to it.

    If Wang Xiaoyu really had betrayed humanity because of Forgotten Ruins God, then perhaps Wang Xiaoyu already knew the answer and believed that her efforts were worth the cost.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Could there really be an answer that was worth starting a war between the Fifth and Sixth Mainds?

    From Lu Yin¡¯s current perspective, both the Fifth and Sixth Mainds were of vital importance. That had to have been even more true for Wang Xiaoyu, who had betrayed her people before even bing a Semi-Progenitor.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, how is Xiaoyu?" Progenitor Chen finally asked. He had held back from asking this question for some time.

    Lu Yin replied, "She¡¯s missing."

    Progenitor Chen was puzzled by the answer.

    Lu Yin continued, "Neither she nor Forgotten Ruins God were on the Ossis Ark."

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s expression instantly fell. "I will leave Burial Garden in your hands."

    "Are you going to go after Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu?" Lu Yin looked at Progenitor Chen.

    Progenitor Chen nodded. "I have a promise to fulfill. I¡¯m sorry."

    With that, he turned to leave.

    Lu Yin quickly called out to the man, "There¡¯s something you need to know, Senior. Someone has merged with one of your clones."

    Progenitor Chen¡¯s eyes swept across space and locked onto the distant form of Ye Wu, who was standing on <i>Boundless</i>. "It¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it? I saw him use Heaven¡¯s Furnace."

    "What are your thoughts, Senior?"

    "Leave him. That clone died a long time ago. If it can continue to serve humanity, that¡¯s not a bad oue."

    Lu Yin nodded. This was the answer that he had expected. "Also, I have the body of your colossal giant clone. I took it from Corpse God¡¯s Sixth Scourge."

    Progenitor Chen let out a helpless sigh. "Having too many clones is difficult. There are just so many bodies scattered about. Burn it for me. Toss it into the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes. If I don¡¯t return from chasing Forgotten Ruins God and the others, consider it my funeral."

    "You¡¯re not confident, Senior?" Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Chen.

    Progenitor Chen chuckled. "I¡¯m always confident in my own strength, but I also know Xiaoyu. For her to betray us like this, there might be something even bigger behind it than what I can imagine. In any case, Dao Monarch Lu, keep in touch."

    Lu Yin nodded as he watched Progenitor Chen leave.

    Once the man was gone, Lu Yin took out the body of the colossal giant clone and tossed it into the city¡¯s mes.

    The fire red brightly, rising up for a moment and illuminating many people¡¯s faces before dying back down.

    Lu Yin felt a heavy weight on his heart. He was well aware of Progenitor Chen¡¯s strength, and even that man was not confident. What secret could Forgotten Ruins God possibly be hiding?

    Lu Yin felt that there should no longer be any secrets in the megaverse, aside from the Fated One.

    Feeling a bit irritated, Lu Yin looked around Burial Garden. He suddenly focused on a specific location, and with a step, he disappeared.

    When he reappeared, he was at the ruins of the Rune Civilization.

    This was the ce where Lu Yin had once turned into a statue and experienced a breakthrough with cultivating Truesight. It was also where he had found Bi Rong¡¯s body.

    During the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel, the Rune Progenitor''s remnant power had left from Burial Garden, and it had eventually been entirely used up.

    The moment that remnant power had vanished, the Rune Progenitor had disappearedpletely from existence, never to appear again.

    Lu Yin looked at the statue of the man and offered a deep bow.

    Much like Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin had benefited greatly from the Rune Progenitor¡¯s techniques.

    Far away, a figure was staring at the ruins.

    Lu Yin turned and looked at the person.

    They immediately bowed to Lu Yin, showing a mix of respect and fear.

    The man was Mr. Lifeview, a cultivator from the Sixth Maind. He had once entered Burial Garden, but his greed for Lu Yin¡¯s blood-red bell had caused him to be trapped by Truesight and transformed into a statue. Only when the Rune Progenitor''sst bit of power was used up had Mr. Lifeview been released.

    He could only be regarded as very unlucky.

    The man had once been Lu Yin¡¯s enemy, but at the moment, he was just another cultivator from the Sixth Maind, which ced him under the Heavens Sect.

    Further away, in a city beneath the Yellow Springs, Mt. Microcosms¡¯ First Protector stared nkly at Lu Yin. When he saw that Lu Yin was looking back at him, the old man gave an awkward smile.

    The person that the First Protector had once needed to guard had be one of the most powerful humans alive. The old man could not fullyprehend Lu Yin¡¯s strength.

    Lu Yin scanned all the familiar faces, and then he looked at an astral beast that had the body of an ape and the head of an eagle. It walked across Burial Garden while carrying a pce on its back.

    When Lu Yin had first entered Burial Garden, he had quietly followed the creature, gathering what fell from the pce. Among them had been a bloodstained piece of cloth that had once belonged to the God of Death.

    The thought of the God of Death prompted Lu Yin to take a step forward. The next moment, he was standing on the beast¡¯s back.

    The creature did not even notice Lu Yin, and it simply continued walking along.

    Lu Yin entered the pce. It was pitch-ck inside and filled with bones that crumbled to dust from the breeze stirred up by Lu Yin¡¯s passage.

    His domain swept through the building. He raised his hand, and fragments of a scythe flew towards him. They were all pieces of the God of Death''s scythe that had fallen inside of the pce.

    Lu Yin brought out the scythe fragments that he already possessed. Combined, he nearly had the entire weapon.

    He did not know whom the pce had belonged to, but it definitely had not been the God of Death.

    The astral beast that carried the pce was certainly not weak, even as a wandering corpse. While alive, it had likely been as strong as a Semi-Progenitor or even a Progenitor. For the pce¡¯s owner to force such a powerful creature to carry their pce for countless years, they must have also been quite the formidable expert.

    It was also possible that the pce''s owner had be another one of Burial Garden¡¯s wandering corpses, or they might have died during the Immemorial Citadel¡¯sst battle.

 Chapter 3277: The Past

    <h4>Chapter 3277: The Past</h4>

    Lu Yin arrived back at the entrance of the pce and swept his domain across all of Burial Garden. This ce could no longer hide anything from Lu Yin, and most of the wandering corpses were gone. Without them, certain areas, such as the mountains of tea bushes, looked quite beautiful.

    Lu Yin¡¯s domain instantly exposed everything useful to him.

    Scythe fragments, humanoid sourceboxes, and other items all surfaced.

    Soon, Lu Yin held all of the fragments of the God of Death¡¯s scythe in his hands.

    A ck light swept over Burial Garden, carrying the cold bloodlust that was unique to death energy. All of the creatures that felt the energy shuddered.

    Even the people who were outside of Burial Garden or in the Immemorial Citadel sensed the energy.

    Lu Yuan and hispanions looked towards Burial Garden in surprise, and then excitement covered their faces as they all entered Burial Garden together, where they found Lu Yin.

    "Little Seven, is that ckie''s weapon?" Lu Yuan asked.

    Faced with several of the Three Realms and Six Daos, Lu Yin just nodded silently and handed the God of Death''s scythe to them.

    The God of Death had taught Lu Yin, and he had even saved his life, but for the Three Realms and Six Daos, the God of Death was part of their family. It was more fitting for them to keep his weapon.

    Far below the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor''s eyes looked up at the scythe in Burial Garden, and he sighed. "All of them are such good children."

    There was aplicated expression on Lu Yin¡¯s face. He had expected to find the God of Death¡¯s remains in Burial Garden. Someone had once imed that the God of Death¡¯s body had been dismembered and scattered throughout Burial Garden, but Lu Yin had not been able to find anything.

    He really wanted to see the God of Death again. Lu Yin looked at Lu Yuan and the others, who were all muttering among themselves. He knew they were even more eager to learn that the God of Death had survived than Lu Yin.

    Later, the scythe was returned to Lu Yin, as he had cultivated death energy. He had inherited the God of Death¡¯s power, which meant that it was better for him to use the scythe rather than bury it.

    After leaving Burial Garden, Lu Yin went to visit the ck Mother Tree.

    The Megalith and the Pridebeast were still holding onto the tree.

    When they saw Lu Yin, both of the behemoths gave him simultaneous thumbs-ups.

    "Good job," Lu Yinplimented.

    Both beasts grinned widely, revealing bright white teeth that shone in the light.

    However, as soon as the Megalith started grinning and bared its teeth, its energy-devouring ability activated, which created a small stir near the Immemorial Citadel, though things quickly calmed back down.

    When the creature saw Lu Yin¡¯s disapproving look, it quickly and frantically gave him another thumbs-up.

    The Pridebeast joined in with its own frantic thumbs-up. The two creatures were clearly supporting each other.

    Lu Yin had no time to bother with the two and simply started absorbing divine energy from the ck Mother Tree.

    ording to True God, the ck Mother Tree was from the Spirit Nidus. Yong Heng had injured himself in order to move the tree to the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s battlefield before starting the final battle. This demonstrated that the tree had to have a significant purpose.

    The more the Aeternals wanted to protect something, the more Lu Yin wanted to destroy it.

    Destroying the tree was the right choice.

    Besides, Lu Yin was in dire need of more divine energy.

    He released his inner universe and started to absorb the ck Mother Tree¡¯s divine energy.

    The process was much, much faster than in the past. The ck Mother Tree withered visibly, and its branches started to fall off, one after another, as cracks opened up along the trunk.

    There was a loud crack, and the Pridebeast looked down at its hand, which had sunk into the tree¡¯s trunk. The beast had not even used any strength; how could the tree have be so weak?

    On the other side of the tree, the Megalith plunged headfirst into the ck Mother Tree, with only its tail left wagging outside.

    The Pridebeast moved over and pulled the Megalith out. The two enormous creatures exchanged bewildered looks.

    The star of divine energy in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe spun, growingrger, darker, and redder as it expanded and took up more of the universe.

    From the distance, Wu Tian and the others watched.

    "Absorbing divine energy like that won¡¯t hurt him, right?"

    "It shouldn¡¯t."

    "Pir is already able to fight Yong Heng directly. How could Yong Heng¡¯s power affect him?"

    Deep beneath the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor watched as Lu Yin absorbed the divine energy. "Old Mu, you''re not going to stop him?"

    "He is following his own path," Mister Mu replied.

    The Origin Progenitor remained concerned. "If he absorbs too much of Yong Heng¡¯s power, it might affect him."

    "No power can escape the limits of the megaverse," Mister Mu replied.

    "You¡¯re reallyid back."

    Bark continued to ke off of the ck Mother Tree. Its branches had already all fallen off. There was a loud crash as the massive tree split in two, revealing a hollow trunk that should have been filled with divine energy.

    At this moment, the star of divine energy in Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe had grown farrger than any of the other stars. It was a massive, dark-red giant.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned blood-red, and he dropped his head low as murderous thoughts ran rampant in his mind. He felt a rising desire to ughter everyone, and it threatened to consume him.

    He took a deep breath. Currents of power swirled around the star of divine energy. On thendmass down below, the ocean of stellr energy stretched up into the starry expanse to form a vast river through the universe that suppressed the star of divine energy.

    How could a single star in Lu Yin¡¯s own universe possibly influence him?

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    A long timeter, the bloodlust gradually subsided.

    Lu Yin stood up. It was time for him to rest for a while. Not only did he need to suppress the newfound bloodlust introduced by the divine energy, but he also needed some time to adjust to his new strength and abilities after bing a true Progenitor.

    He had merged his four Progenitor¡¯s worlds into his inner universe, but it would take some time before he could fully integrate them.

    ...

    In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.

    Lu Yin had spent this year fishing and enjoying tea on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. It was a peaceful time for him.

    Elsewhere, Aeternus¡¯s defeat had introduced drastic changes to the megaverse as a whole. Just the fact that powerhouses were able to return to their home universes from the Immemorial Citadel introduced unprecedented changes.

    None of it disturbed Lu Yin.

    It was only at this time that the full power of the Heavens Sect was truly revealed.

    Chu Yi, Mu Zhu, Ce Wangtian, Yi Wei, and many of the most powerful cultivators from the Immemorial Citadel had officially joined the Heavens Sect, instantly filling the positions of the Three Suns and Six Rulers.

    Previously, the Three Suns and Six Rulers had included Lord Xu, Mu Shen, Shan Gu, Lu Tianyi, and Sovereign Dou Sheng. Ce Wangtian, Mu Zhu, Progenitor Chen, and Progenitor Ku were added to those ranks.

    Additionally, Chu Yi had returned as one of Three Realms and Six Daos.

    This was not even considering Mister Mu or the ancestor of the super giants.

    While Yi Wei and many of the other survivors from the Immemorial Citadel had returned to their own parallel universes, there was no doubt that they would assist the Heavens Sect if they were ever called upon.

    The two massive astral beasts, the Pridebeast and the Megalith, were also just as strong as the Three Suns and Six Rulers.

    Finally, there was Lu Yin, who had be a true peak powerhouse.

    At this moment, the Heavens Sect had managed to surpass its former glory.

    While not all nine of the Three Realms and Six Daos had returned, if war ever broke out again, the modern Heavens Sect was stronger than its ancient self.

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor had both made their way to the Immemorial Citadel to be with the Origin Progenitor.

    Humanity entered a second golden age.

    However, there were many who were unable to witness this.

    Everything that humanity had gained had been bought with the sacrifices of countless lives.

    Lu Yin stared out at the calm surface of theke. The star of divine energy in his inner universe had stabilized a great deal. After more than a year of suppression, he had finally adjusted to the changes.

    One day, Xi Wei arrived at the mountain to see Lu Yin.

    "Have a seat," Lu Yin offered. He looked quite rxed. He had quite enjoyed his year of peace.

    Xi Wei observed Lu Yin as he fished. "How nice it would be if these days could continue."

    Lu Yin looked at her curiously. "Is there something bothering you?"

    "You should be the one with all the worries," Xi Wei replied. While she was not at the level of knowing about Aeternus¡¯s true goal or the existence of the Spirit Nidus, she still understood that things were not yet truly peaceful.

    Lu Yin shrugged. "People need time to rx. You can''t always stay tense, or else you''ll break down.

    "By the way, what brings you here?"

    Xi Wei stared out at theke. "I¡¯m not here for me... It¡¯s for my master."

    This answer startled Lu Yin, and he set down his fishing rod. "Progenitor Xi?"

    "Yes."

    "Isn¡¯t she dead? Didn¡¯t Progenitor Chen kill her?" Lu Yin asked.

    Xi Wei shook her head. "No, she didn¡¯t die, and my master also wants to meet with you."

    Lu Yin had not expected Progenitor Xi to still be alive. While it was hard to ept for an Ortuser to be killed by a single attack, even if her strength had fallen, Lu Yin understood that Progenitor Chen¡¯s Linked Palm had pulled on the Immemorial Citadel¡¯s mes, which was the true source of his attack¡¯s destructive power, rather than the man himself. In theory, it was possible to use such a method to kill an Ortuser.

    Those mes had burned the Books of Destiny and suppressed the Heaven character. It was certainly not impossible for them to have incinerated Progenitor Xi.

    However, was Progenitor Xi not actually dead? Had Progenitor Chen misjudged it?

    "Let here see me."

    Xi Wei remained silent.

    Lu Yin turned so that his back was to the woman as he gazed out at theke. "So, she¡¯s already here. My apologies, I didn¡¯t notice."

    Xi Wei, or rather Progenitor Xi, spoke to Lu Yin¡¯s back. "Dao Monarch Lu, I took a great risk toe see you here."

    "Give me a reason to not kill you," Lu Yin stated bluntly.

    He was not actually speaking to Xi Wei, but to Progenitor Xi. The woman had disguised herself as her disciple in order to infiltrate the Heavens Sect. Progenitor Xi was already with Lu Yin.

    "Just listen to my story. You may find it to be of interest." Progenitor Xi started slowly, and she recounted her past. This was a story that was new not just to Lu Yin, as no one in the entire megaverse had ever heard Progenitor Xi¡¯s story.

    This was because the woman was not from their megaverse. In fact, she was not even human.

    "Ie from another megaverse. My home was facing an unprecedented enemy, one so powerful that we were on the verge of destruction. Desperate, I followed our enemy to your megaverse. Here, I witnessed humanity¡¯s flourishing Heavens Sect, as well as Tai Chu¡¯s power and his Three Realms and Six Daos.

    "At that time, my only goal was to expose the location of our enemy¡¯s megaverse to your people, in hopes of inciting a war between the Heavens Sect and our enemies in order to save ourselves. However, as soon as I arrived, I learned something shocking: your Origin Progenitor, Tai Chu, had locked the Mirari Realm in ce.

    "The Mirari Realm does not belong to any single megaverse, but rather moves between many of them. Tai Chu was too brazen. In order to benefit this megaverse¡¯s cultivation, he anchored the Mirari Realm to this ce, preventing it from traveling to other megaverses. This showed me that humanity isn¡¯t much better than our enemy¡¯s megaverse. I hesitated, uncertain if I should lead you all to them or not.

    "In the end, I decided to continue as nned. If I didn¡¯t, there was no doubt that my people would be destroyed by our enemy. Leading you to them would at least give us a chance.

    "However, just as I decided to reveal our enemy¡¯s location, Tai Chu was ambushed and then disappeared. The First Maind was destroyed. I knew that I was toote. While I didn¡¯t know who had attacked Tai Chu, I was certain that his fall would leave the Heavens Sect with no one who could oppose our enemy''s megaverse.

    "Helpless, I had no choice but to join Aeternus. I watched as the Heavens Sect¡¯s Mainds were destroyed, one after another. I watched right up until now."

    It was a short story, but it had a profound impact on Lu Yin. He stared at Progenitor Xi for a long time. "What is your megaverse called?"

    "The Consciousness Megaverse. We aren¡¯t humans, but rather creatures of pure consciousness, or spiritual force. We¡¯re rather simr to your Origin Universe¡¯s Celestial Demons, but we are far more powerful than them.

    "You¡¯ve probably already guessed who our enemy is."

    "The Spirit Nidus?" Lu Yin frowned.

 Chapter 3278: The Tianyuan Megaverse

    Progenitor Xi nodded. "Correct, the Spirit Nidus. I followed Tian Ci to this universe. To us, this ce is known as the Tianyuan Megaverse."[1]

    Lu Yin understood. The Spirit Nidus had invaded the Consciousness Megaverse in the exact same manner that Tian Ci was trying to invade the Tianyuan Megaverse. The Consciousness Megaverse was unable to stop its invaders, so they had decided to draw other megaverses into the struggle in order to bnce the forces standing against the Spirit Nidus.

    However, Progenitor Xi had arrived at an unfortunate time. Before she could do anything at all, the ancient Heavens Sect had been destroyed.

    "Why did you attack the Lu Sanctum back then?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled. Progenitor Xi should have maintained a neutral position, at least before she made a decision. She certainly should not have done anything to make humanity her enemy. At the time, they had been her only option.

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "That was a personal grudge between Lu Yuan and me. It was something that had nothing to do with the megaverse as a whole. He was simply too rude."

    Lu Yin understood and did not press the matter further. "So, after the Heavens Sect was destroyed, you joined Aeternus, hoping that they would be the key to turning the tide of your war?"

    "Not just that. By joining Aeternus, I wouldn¡¯t be targeted by the Boundary Guardians. Those four have their own agenda, and it was possible that they wouldn¡¯t spare a powerful expert like me," Progenitor Xi exined.

    Lu Yinughed. That was certainly true. After all, the Boundary Guardians had already been in league with Aeternus back then.

    "Did you know back then that Aeternus was working with Tian Ci and that his Spirit Nidus wants to take over our megaverse?"Progenitor Xi took a moment. "Not at first, but I did find out about itter. However, I was also certain that Yong Heng would never help others without his own motives. There was no question that he had his own schemes."

    "Reset the megaverse and break into the Immortal realm," Lu Yin stated bluntly. Many people had already figured out True God¡¯s goal.

    Progenitor Xi was not surprised to learn that Lu Yin was aware of this. "Yong Heng wants to be an Immortal, and Tian Ci wants to raise the entire Spirit Nidus up to another level. It¡¯s possible that he himself wants to try to break through and be an Immortal as well. All of their goals are reliant on resetting your Tianyuan Megaverse.

    "It¡¯s honestly quite unfair to the people of this megaverse, but I can¡¯t help you. The best I can do is try to deal with the Spirit Nidus at thest moment. Yong Heng will never willingly abandon this megaverse. As far as I¡¯m concerned, the Aeternals are a species set on an endless path of expansion. Once they¡¯re done with this megaverse, they will certainly target others.

    "The most troublesome thing about the Spirit Nidus is that the creatures from there can appear as human or as other creatures. Even now, I still haven¡¯t managed to find a way to counter them. However, with your Heavens Sect rising back to the peak, Dao Monarch Lu, you¡¯ve now entered the game and restored bnce. This isn¡¯t something that just my Consciousness Megaverse needs¡ªyou need it as well. The Spirit Nidus has reached the limit of a megaverse. They can no longer survive, and their people need to leave. So, they are pushing out to conquer other megaverses. They are the enemy of all megaverses."

    Lu Yin observed Progenitor Xi. "How did you survive Progenitor Chen¡¯s palm strike?"

    Progenitor Xi replied, "My body did die, but I¡¯m not human. We conscients are beings of consciousness and spiritual force. As long as those aspects survive, I will continue living."

    "Why did you take Xi Wei as your disciple?"

    "To observe humanity."

    "What do you know about the being that we of this megaverse call the Fated One? By that I mean, what do you know of the being behind the Boundary Guardians." ??

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s eyes flickered. "Nothing."

    Lu Yin looked at her intently. "After all your years in the Scourge, you still know nothing?"

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "Honest, I know nothing."

    "The Boundary Guardians can detect creatures from other megaverses. How did you manage to hide from them?"

    "Because my body does belong to this megaverse. I only acquired my body aftering here. I even used that body for my Origin realm breakthrough in the Mirari Realm. You¡¯ve probably heard of the monument there. I was the one who left that behind."

    Lu Yin stared at the woman for a while, and then asked, "What happened the day that Progenitor Ku invaded the Scourge?"

    Progenitor Xi thought back. "He attacked the ck Mother Tree while using both Extremes Must Be Reversed and Triumphant Brawl. He faced Yong Heng himself. However, it was only a brief fight as Progenitor Ku was defeated instantly. He is still not even an Ortuser. Honestly, it¡¯s a miracle that he even managed to survive at all."

    "I want details," Lu Yin demanded. He was no longer being polite, and he addressed Progenitor Xi as though giving orders to a subordinate.

    Progenitor Xi was an Ortuser, but that did not matter. Lu Yin had already killed more than one Origin realm powerhouse. To him, Ortuser were no longer mysterious beings. Besides, Progenitor Xi was an enemy.

    She was not just someone who had joined Aeternus and worked to harm humanity, but rather someone with ulterior motives even when she had first arrived in the megaverse. She wanted to start a war between Lu Yin¡¯s megaverse and the Spirit Nidus in order to save her own home.

    While Progenitor Xi¡¯s megaverse might consider her a hero and a savior, to Lu Yin and his megaverse, she was nothing more than another enemy. She was trying to start another war.

    Progenitor Xi was not at all bothered by her shifting roles. She knew exactly who she was facing and did not dare to underestimate Lu Yin, even if he had not yetprehended any sequence particles.

    She shared everything she had seen on the day that Progenitor Ku invaded the Scourge, right down to the smallest detail.

    Lu Yin listened in silence. The entire attack had been quite brief. From the moment that Progenitor Ku had suicidally charged into the Scourge and attacked the ck Mother Tree, to the moment that he had used his sequence particles to escape, everything had happened in a sh. While Progenitor Ku had shone brilliantly at that moment and had seeded in paving the way for future generations, his glorious moment had trulysted for just a moment.

    "So what you¡¯re saying is that you saw nothing of Progenitor Ku¡¯s battle at the ck Mother Tree. You didn¡¯t even see any of his attacks or techniques?" Lu Yin asked in a low voice.

    Progenitor Xi replied, "There¡¯s no way I could have. I¡¯m an Ortuser, someone who was second only to Yong Heng in Aeternus. He would have never allowed me to get close to his ck Mother Tree."

    "Useless," Lu Yin spat as he stood up. He turned his back to Progenitor Xi. "All you¡¯ve given me is a bit of insight into your ns for our megaverse and shared the names of your Consciousness Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus. Your visit is worthless to me. Whether you joined Aeternus by choice or not, you were with them for countless years, and a few words cannot smooth over all of the damage that you¡¯ve done to humanity. And your information? It¡¯spletely worthless."

    Lu Yin whirled around and stared straight into Progenitor Xi¡¯s eyes. "I told you to give me a reason not to kill you."

    Progenitor Xi met Lu Yin¡¯s gaze. "I am willing to pay with my death."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Then I¡¯ll grant your wish."

    "Dao Monarch Lu, the Spirit Nidus has already targeted your Tianyuan Megaverse. You cannot avoid this. Tian Ci has been here for so many years. There¡¯s no way he¡¯ll just give up."

    Lu Yin remained unfazed. "Even if we do go to war with the Spirit Nidus, what does it have to do with your Consciousness Megaverse? We won¡¯t help you."

    "You are likely no match for the Spirit Nidus. No, I should mention that there is no doubt that you are absolutely no match for them," Progenitor Xi said solemnly.

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "Is the Spirit Nidus really that powerful?"

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s expression fell. "They¡¯re fighting our Consciousness Megaverse while also trying to take over your Tianyuan Megaverse. As you might imagine, the Spirit Nidus seeks unmatched power. Yong Heng has his own ns, and I doubt that he would willingly reset this Tianyuan Megaverse just for the Spirit Nidus. However, the people of the Spirit Nidus are also not foolish enough to believe that Yong Heng will give up his own ns so easily.

    "All creatures seek Immortality, but beyond even that, everyone involved in this matter has their own interests. The reason why they are able to coborate for the moment is because they are all confident in their own strength or abilities.

    "Now that you¡¯ve destroyed Aeternus, there¡¯s no doubt that you will have to face the Spirit Nidus itself. It would not be wise to try to face them without us to hold them back. Your Tianyuan Megaverse cannot face the Spirit Nidus alone."

    Lu Yin did not argue, as it was clear that the Spirit Nidus was a significant problem.

    "You¡¯ve spent so many years in the Scourge that you should understand that there is someone else behind Yong Heng and the Boundary Guardians. There¡¯s some sort of invincible being."

    Progenitor Xi¡¯s eyes flickered. "I¡¯ve never even thought about them."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Why not?"

    Progenitor Xi shook her head. "Since nothing can be done about them, there¡¯s no point in thinking about them. It¡¯s much like how, long ago, when our Consciousness Megaverse first encountered the Spirit Nidus, we realized that they were much, much stronger than us. No matter how hard we fought back, we would eventually be destroyed. It was only a matter of time.

    "All the creatures in my Consciousness Megaverse were simply waiting for extinction, right up until we discovered the existence of your Tianyuan Megaverse. Only then were we able to ignore our pending doom.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "We¡¯ve already experienced that feeling of utter helplessness, and we don¡¯t want to suffer it again. Whether or not there¡¯s an invincible being makes no difference to us because, in the end, we still face extermination."

    At this moment, she gave Lu Yin a look of open admiration. "Honestly, the humans of your megaverse should have suffered even worse despair than us. The Aeternals¡¯ Scourge and Seven Skygods had you gasping for breath. I¡¯ve always believed that it was just a matter of time for humanity to be wiped out here and that you would be destroyed even before my Consciousness Megaverse. However, you managed to pull humanity through the crisis. You created a miracle.

    "I find you even more impressive than Tai Chu, which is why I came to speak with you.

    "Dao Monarch Lu, I¡¯m not asking you to save my Consciousness Megaverse. Even if our megaverses eventually end up as enemies, before that happens, the Spirit Nidus needs to be dealt with. They currently stand between our Consciousness Megaverse and your Tianyuan Megaverse."

    Lu Yin stared at Progenitor Xi¡¯s face. "No matter how eloquent your words are, it won¡¯t work. I refuse to believe that, after all those years in the Scourge, you know nothing about the Fated One. When Progenitor Ku invaded the Scourge, he left behind some clue that prompted Tian En to hunt him down. All of that happened in an instant.

    "If you really know nothing, then you were either also exposed to what he saw and Aeternus has kept you in check, or you¡¯re like ckless God and simply pretending to ally with us, only to eventually betray me."

    Progenitor Xi sighed. "Progenitor Ku found whatever he discovered at the cost of his life. Dao Monarch, I could have never attacked the ck Mother Tree and confronted Yong Heng. I could have never found what Progenitor Ku discovered."

    While much of what Progenitor Xi¡¯s said sounded reasonable, ultimately, she might as well have said nothing at all.

    She had clearly decided before meeting with Lu Yin what she would and would not say to him.

    Lu Yin turned around, sat back down, and resumed fishing.

    Progenitor Xi remained motionless as she stood behind him, waiting. Her fate had been ced in Lu Yin¡¯s hands.

    In the Heavens Sect, even Ortusers had to kneel to Lu Yin. Progenitor Xi¡¯s strength had fallen, and she no longer possessed the power of an Ortuser. At best, she was a sequence powerhouse who could asionally use the strength of an Origin realm expert.

    Lu Yin had never seen Progenitor Xi repel thews of the universe. There was no doubt that her cultivation had fallen from its peak.

    "Where did you get your body?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

    Progenitor Xi was surprised. "My body? I¡¯m a creature of consciousness. It¡¯s not hard for us to take over a body."

    Lu Yin said calmly, "What if I not only refuse to ally with your Consciousness Megaverse and fight against the Spirit Nidus, but also decide to go after your megaverse?"

    1. The Tianyuan (Chinese: ÌìÔª; pinyin: Ti¨¡nyu¨¢n) is a Gopetition in China organized by the Chinese Weiqi Association. <strong>The word ti¨¡nyu¨¢n literally means the center or origin of heaven, and is the center point. </strong>?<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3279: Fisherman

    <h4>Chapter 3279: Fisherman</h4>

    To Lu Yin¡¯s words, Progenitor Xi replied, "I never nned on leaving. Dao Monarch Lu, regardless of your decision, I will remain here in the Heavens Sect."

    "Take our guest somewhere to rest," Lu Yin ordered.

    The Second Nightking stepped forward and offered a respectful bow. "Yes."

    He gestured for Progenitor Xi to follow him.

    The woman said nothing more and followed the Second Nightking.

    She genuinely had no intention of leaving the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yin lowered his fishing rod. Progenitor Xi¡¯s past was truly unexpected. He had assumed that she was an ancient powerhouse from his own megaverse and that she was someone of a simr age to the Three Realms and Six Daos. Instead, it turned out that she was from another megaverse entirely. She had wanted to implement a grand scheme where she deliberately exposed the Spirit Nidus¡¯s location in order to instigate the Tianyuan Megaverse into a war against the Spirit Nidus and create some sort of three-way bnce. Such individuals, who appeared calm and indifferent to things, were often the most cunning of all.

    "Wang Wen,e y a game of chess with me."

    Wang Wen looked up from a mountain inside the Heavens Sect and smiled. "Chess? Dao Monarch, you¡¯ve never beaten me."

    A short timeter, Wang Wen arrived at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. He and Lu Yin were sitting across from each other with a chessboard between them. They were about to y a game.

    "Haha, all of these pieces are mine now! Dao Monarch, even after all these years, your chess skills still haven¡¯t improved very much."

    "I¡¯m certainly far behind you, but that doesn¡¯t mean that it will be easy for you to win. My pieces may be scattered, fighting on their own, and will lose eventually, but they won¡¯t be defeated quickly. The countdown to defeat only slows the more one struggles."

    "I don¡¯t see it that way. The countdown to defeat never actually slows down. There¡¯s just an invisible timer."

    "One that I can¡¯t see?"

    "You may not be able to see it, but I can. Your pieces might each be fighting independently, but as soon as I capture and expose one of them, my own pieces will be exposed and vulnerable to yours, leading to a stalemate. In the end, not only will I fail to destroy you quickly, but you might also be able to drag things out even longer. You might even be able to capture some of my pieces. It¡¯s not worth it."

    "You want to drag things out?"

    "I¡¯ll still eventually win, won¡¯t I? Still, Dao Monarch, you¡¯re using a rather clever strategy. Where did you learn this? Mutual support and an overall bnce¡ªif one of your pieces is exposed, all of them are equally exposed."

    "The world is a dangerous ce. Anyone who is exposed will suffer because no one knows just how strong the hidden enemy might be. Look, I¡¯ve already captured some of your pieces."

    "But if you look at the entire board, the general direction to your defeat has never changed, whether you can see it or not. Dao Monarch, how long do you think you can drag this game out for?"

    "So, do you think that I should keep ying this way?"

    "Of course you should. If not, you would have already lost. If I get careless, you might even be able to turn the tables. Your strategy is well conceived. The ultimate oue depends on how many pieces you¡¯ve managed to keep hidden and how many of mine you are able to capture. Chess is unpredictable. All of a person¡¯s thoughts can be revealed in a game. It¡¯s an all-out confrontation that tests a yer¡¯s patience and resilience."

    Lu Yin¡¯s hand hovered over the board, but he did not make a move. His focus was fixed on a certain corner of the board, where a good number of his pieces were located. At first nce, Wang Wen¡¯s pieces had clearly surrounded Lu Yin¡¯s, but by capturing those pieces, Wang Wen would expose his own and open himself up to Lu Yin¡¯s counterattack.

    This hidden threat was the key to determining the game¡¯s victor.

    Had Wang Wen not seen this? That was impossible. He had to have seen it, which was why he had not yet moved in on Lu Yin¡¯s pieces. However, Wang Wen would eventually have to move, but when and where? As Lu Yin observed the overallyout of the game, threats could be seen everywhere; where was the threat that Wang Wen¡¯s had kept hidden?

    "Dao Monarch, there are times when thinking too much can create a disadvantage. You could miss the greatest opportunity," Wang Wen said with a smirk. He looked quite satisfied as he observed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin nced up at his opponent, but he said nothing. Instead, he made his move.

    Lu Yin¡¯s pieces were intentionally exposed. Wang Wen was forced to either capture a piece, which would expose Wang Wen¡¯s own forces, or hold back, which would allow Lu Yin to determine where Wang Wen had hidden his threats.

    Wang Wen stared at the chessboard, silently contemting his next move.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    During all the games the two men had yed, Wang Wen had never needed more than five seconds to consider his move. The man was that confident in himself. However, at this moment, he fell deep into thought.

    Lu Yin frowned. Could Wang Wen have no backup ns?

    Wang Wen let out a breath as he fiddled with a chess piece. His eyes were bright as he looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, you¡¯ve won this game."

    Lu Yin was puzzled. "Did you really not see this?"

    "I didn¡¯t."

    Lu Yin did not believe it for a moment.

    Wang Wen said, "Honest, I didn¡¯t. I genuinely underestimated you. Not in this game, but as a person.

    "You¡¯ve led humanity to victory over the Aeternals and are now the master of the entire megaverse. You should be proud of such an aplishment and even arrogant, but instead, you restrain yourself and act as if you¡¯ve enjoyed no such victory. Not only that, but you''re also acting even more cautiously than ever before your victory. That''s the reason for my loss.

    "May I ask what happened?"

    Wang Wen, as the Heavens Sect¡¯s strategist, had helped Lu Yin countless times over the years, and was privy to a great deal of secret information. However, he had not been informed of True God¡¯s goal of resetting the universe, the Spirit Nidus, or the secret individual that Lu Yin and others referred to as the Fated One. Such matters were connected to the deepest mysteries of the megaverse.

    Lu Yin had asked Wang Wen to y a game of chess because he wanted to share this information.

    The Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu were too far above the rest of the megaverse, and their perspectives were skewed. Lu Yin had now reached that same level. While he had started as a normal cultivator, he was no longer the same person.

    Lu Yin needed Wang Wen to provide the perspective of a normal person on the situation. Although there were countless such people, Wang Wen was the one most suited for this particr task. He was exceptional at creating grand strategies and chasing after distant goals, which was theplete opposite of Wei Rong.

    With the game of chess concluded, Lu Yin exined everything that had happened to Wang Wen.

    The man grew increasingly stunned as he listened. "I always knew that humanity must have been keeping some kind of secret from the Heavens Sect era to the present, but I never thought that it would be so big. True God wants to reset the megaverse in order to be an Immortal? And then there¡¯s the Spirit Nidus and the Consciousness Megaverse? Wow... that¡¯s fascinating. Really fascinating."

    Lu Yin sighed. "You only think that this is fascinating because you aren¡¯t at the same level as the Origin Progenitor and the others. At their level, every decision that they make can lead to the life or death of our entire megaverse. Do you know how many lives are at stake? Including yours and mine?"

    Wang Wen smiled brightly. "I get it now. You received some inspiration from Progenitor Xi. When one of two sides is at a clear disadvantage, it¡¯s best to introduce a third party in order to create bnce. That can buy some time, which might eventually lead to reversing the situation."

    Lu Yin nodded. "It¡¯s simple logic. There¡¯s nothingplicated about it, but at our level, it¡¯s hard to see such things. This is precisely the strategy that the Consciousness Megaverse is looking to employ."

    "It¡¯s a smart move. Since the Consciousness Megaverse can¡¯t beat the Spirit Nidus, their only choice is to drag a third party into the conflict, and we¡¯re that third party. Unfortunately for Progenitor Xi, she happened to see the Origin Progenitor¡¯s domineering side, and she hesitated. That ultimately led to him being ambushed and the Heavens Sect being destroyed. It¡¯s all destined.

    "Fortunately, you rose to power, Dao Monarch, which has given Progenitor Xi hope. Still, no matter how we look at things, her Consciousness Megaverse is also an enemy."

    Lu Yin agreed with this particr detail. As long as there was a chance, the Consciousness Megaverse wanted nothing more than for the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverse to tear each other apart. Progenitor Xi herself understood that it was impossible to hide such desires from Lu Yin.

    Everything had beenid bare.

    "What do you think we should do?" Lu Yin asked.

    Wang Wen smiled. "Go with the flow."

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "Do nothing?"

    "It¡¯s useless to try to interfere. Can you go to the Consciousness Megaverse, Dao Monarch? Or even find the Spirit Nidus?"

    "Progenitor Xi should be able to return to the Consciousness Megaverse."

    "For the sake of her own megaverse, she will do all that she can to incite war between us and the Spirit Nidus. What we need to do is wait. Wait for war and for the Consciousness Megaverse to run out of options. Progenitor Xi was right about one thing: we aren''t saints." Wang Wen chuckled and leaned closer to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, if the threat of the Spirit Nidus is eliminated, then the next threat will be the Consciousness Megaverse, right? They also want to reset our Tianyuan Megaverse, so why shouldn¡¯t we do the same?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed dangerously as he looked at Wang Wen.

    Wang Wen spread his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Don¡¯t me me for being ruthless. The Spirit Nidus must be incredibly powerful. They¡¯re eager to conquer the Consciousness Megaverse, and are also targeting our Tianyuan Megaverse for a reason. It¡¯s never wrong to try to make ourselves stronger. Besides, that¡¯s not our megaverse, and we can simply move the humans there to somewhere safe."

    Lu Yin looked away. He had not considered such an angle before, but Wang Wen was thinking far in the future. The idea of resetting both the Consciousness Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus would allow many of the Heavens Sect¡¯s powerhouses to enter the Origin realm, including Lu Yin himself. On top of that, it was even possible that the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu might be able to take another step forward, possibly even into the Immortal realm. That would be an incredible boon for the Heavens Sect.

    However, such benefits woulde at the cost of two megaverses.

    Wang Wen had managed to rify the situation. The Consciousness Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus, and the Tianyuan Megaverse were like three tantalizing fruits, each with its own guardian. Whoever managed to eat a fruit first would obtain the strength needed to take everything. Even if one of the three guardians did not want to eat any of the fruit, they could not trust the other guardians to simrly restrain themselves. As soon as one started eating, the other two were doomed to starve and get absolutely nothing.

    It was impossible that no one would eat any of the fruit. The very nature of life itself was survival of the fittest. This was beyond any creature¡¯s wisdom or control.

    Inevitably, a fruit would be eaten, and the two losing guardians would be forced to take action.

    Lu Yin had be one of those three guardians.

    <i>No.</i> Lu Yin suddenly realized something as he nced at Wang Wen. He would not be the one to eat the fruit. The one actually capable of devouring the fruit was that invincible being hiding behind the Boundary Guardians, the one whom the Origin Progenitor referred to as the Fated One. That was the only one with the right to eat the fruit.

    "If¡ªjust hypothetically¡ªthere¡¯s some invincible being above all of us, what should we do?"

    Wang Wen¡¯s expression shifted. "¡¯If?¡¯"

    Lu Yin nodded seriously. "If."

    Wang Wen¡¯s eyes flickered. There was a brief silence, during which he stared at the calmke. "If a fisherman is starving and there¡¯s only a single fish in theke, and another starving fisherman arrives, what do you think the two fishermen will do?"

    Of course, both people would try to eliminate the other in order to keep the fish for themselves. Lu Yin instantly thought of this, but he stayed silent.

    Wang Wen left. He needed some time to digest everything that he had just heard from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly sat by theke. He stared at his fishing rod, lost in his own thoughts.

 Chaptere 3280: Severing

    <h4>Chaptere 3280: Severing</h4>

    A few dayster, Lu Yin left the Heavens Sect to return to the Immemorial Citadel and meet with the Origin Progenitor.

    The Immemorial Citadel was still standing, as the powerhouses defending the city had all returned shortly after visiting their own universes.

    Such experts were too powerful, and they had no one in their own universes who could speak with them as equals. They preferred to return to the Immemorial Citadel, where they could live as people once again, rather than remain isted by their elite status.

    Furthermore, it was necessary for someone to be protecting the Origin Progenitor. For a time, the Three Realms and Six Daos had taken on that task, but with additional powerhouses returning to the Immemorial Citadel, there was no longer a need for the Three Realms and Six Dao to fulfill that task.

    Lu Yin arrived deep below the Immemorial Citadel and met with the Origin Progenitor.

    ¡°Pir, you¡¯re back,¡± the Origin Progenitor greeted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s visit had been prompted by several questions that he needed answered. "Why did you take over the Mirari Realm back then?"

    Many events stemmed from the fact that the Origin Progenitor had worked with others to anchor the Mirari Realm to the Tianyuan Megaverse.

    The Boundary Guardians regarded humanity as rebellious, and that mostly came from how excessive the Origin Progenitor and his allies had been in anchoring the Mirari Realm to a single megaverse.

    When Progenitor Xi had first arrived in the Tianyuan Megaverse, she had restrained from revealing anything about her Consciousness Megaverse to the Origin Progenitor because she had learned that they had seized the Mirari Realm, which had made her hesitant.

    The Origin Progenitor looked upset by the question. "Pir, are you also ming me? I wasn¡¯t the only one involved. All of us had a hand in that."

    "Who else was there?" Lu Yin asked, curious.

    "Me." Mister Mu appeared.

    Lu Yin turned around and bowed. "Master."

    Mister Mu responded with a slight nod. "For you to bring up the Mirari Realm so suddenly, is this because many events were instigated by our seizing of the Mirari Realm?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "Yes. I want to understand why the Mirari Realm was anchored to this megaverse. It couldn¡¯t have just been to give the Three Realms and Six Daos a ce to cultivate, right? Too high a price was paid for that. Even now, with my current strength, I still can¡¯t find a way to restrict the Mirari Realm like you have."

    The Origin Progenitor chuckled. "Pir, you can thank your master for that. One of his greatest achievements in his entire life, aside from epting you as his disciple, was helping us to seize the Mirari Realm."

    Lu Yin gave Mister Mu a questioning nce.

    Mister Mu sighed. "There was nothing honorable about what I did, as it was truly unfair to the other megaverses, but there was no other choice. If not for that, we could have never created the brilliant Heavens Sect or opened up any sort of possibility to defeat that being. Whether we were right or wrong will be for future generations to judge¡ªif there are future generations, that is."

    He looked at Lu Yin. "We anchored the Mirari Realm to this ce in order to give rise to as many powerhouses as possible, especially those capable of breaking into the Origin realm. The Three Realms and Six Daos were among those, but unfortunately, things quickly went wrong with Tai Chu. If not for that, there would have been many more."

    Lu Yin immediately understood. The Mirari Realm had been anchored to their megaverse to give them a chance to resist the being they referred to as the Fated One.

    Mister Mu''s megaverse had been destroyed, and beings capable of destroying an entire megaverse most likely possessed a simr level of strength as the Fated One. That was why Mister Mu had helped the Origin Progenitor anchor the Mirari Realm to the Tianyuan Megaverse: to create experts. However, they had not anticipated that the megaverse already had such a being in it, and that had led to the Origin Progenitor being ambushed. Mister Mu had been left with no choice but to intervene, which had eventually led to the war between the Immemorial Citadel and Aeternus.

    This was not a matter that could be said to be right or wrong. Mister Mu had misread the Tianyuan Megaverse and failed to determine the existence of the Fated One. The Origin Progenitor had suspected such a being¡¯s existence, but for his efforts to strengthen the Three Realms and Six Daos, he had chosen to overlook the matter.

    The ancient Heavens Sect had been destroyed because of the Mirari Realm, but the Mirari Realm had also given rise to the current Heavens Sect, and even to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did not know if the people of his megaverse would one day be able to resist the Fated One. As someone who had benefited from the Mirari Realm being anchored to the Tianyuan Megaverse, he had no right to judge whether the decision had been right or wrong.

    After all, he had already benefited from the anchored Mirari Realm.

    ¡°Master, how was the Mirari Realm anchored here?¡± Lu Yin asked, quite curious about this, as he had not been able toe up with any possibilities.

    Mister Mu sped his hands behind his back. "Origin Tracer."

    "Origin Tracer?" Lu Yin was taken aback. "Isn¡¯t the technique used to find a specific moment in the past?"

    "A moment that doesn¡¯t belong to the Mirari Realm¡¯s River of Aeons," Mister Mu exined.

    Lu Yin had already known this much. He had even considered asking Mister Mu why he had created Origin Tracer. Lightstream devoured time that was not part of the River of Aeons, and Lu Yin felt that Origin Tracer might have been created to achieve the same purpose.

    Mister Mu continued his exnation. "A single moment of time that isn¡¯t part of the River of Aeons can be found with Origin Tracer. If there are enough of those ¡®droplets,¡¯ then they can build up across the river, essentially acting like a dam and blocking the flow. What do you think the results would be?"

    Lu Yin was stunned. "Is that even possible?"

    "As long as enough time builds up, a dam can certainly be found," Mister Mu replied.

    Lu Yin was badly shaken.

    From what he understood, Mister Mu was essentially saying that they had collected enough time that was not a part of the River of Aeons that they could use it to block the river and stop its flow.

    While such a thing sounded possible in theory, in reality, it seemed impossible.

    Where would one even find so many ¡°droplets¡± that were not part of the River of Aeons? That much time was inconceivable.

    However, Mister Mu had done just that. Lu Yin had thought that he was close to understanding his master¡¯s true power, but at this moment, he was forced to realize that he had still been underestimating Mister Mu.

    Just the fact that Mister Mu had traveled from his own destroyed megaverse to the Tianyuan Megaverse was already proof enough of the man¡¯s capabilities.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    The Lost n¡¯s most powerful card had done the same thing, carrying its people so that they could escape their original megaverse. That card was so powerful that just a corner of it had been enough to break True God¡¯s Dominion, which had been a demonstration of unmatched power.

    Mister Mu had aplished the same achievement as that card. Did that mean that Mister Mu was about as strong as that card? Just how powerful was the man?

    "Pir, your master is the most ruthless person," the Origin Progenitor¡¯s voice rang out.

    Lu Yin could not agree more.

    Mister Mu was as calm as ever. "Tai Chu, be careful of what you say, or else you might drop your sequence strings."

    Lu Yin looked over at Mister Mu. "Master, how did you develop the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?"

    Mister Mu stared straight at Lu Yin, his expression more somber than ever. "Cultivate diligently."

    It was only two words, but they weighed heavily on Lu Yin. The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation was one of Mister Mu¡¯s ultimate techniques. The man had only ever passed two of his techniques on to his disciples. However, of all of the man¡¯s disciples, only Lu Yin had received the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation. The others, including Mu Zhu, Mu Ke, Mu Xie, and Qing Ping, had received Origin Tracer.

    Lu Yin emerged from the depths beneath the Immemorial Citadel and looked over to where arge tree had rooted itself in the city¡¯s mes. It was the big tree that loved to run away.

    He went over to the tree and examined it.

    When he first met the tree, it had been delivered to him to serve as Sapling¡¯s ymate. Who could have imagined that the tree had witnessed the entirety of human history and also changed its course?

    "Sapling misses you," Lu Yin told the tree.

    The branches swayed, but the tree¡¯s meaning was unclear. All that could be seen clearly was the mes swirling around the tree.

    <i>Right</i>. Lu Yin suddenly remembered Big Face Tree, who was with the Nong Family. That tree had also witnessed human history and was knowledgeable of many things that had taken ce during the Heavens Sect era. What was that tree¡¯s story?

    He quickly made his way to the Perennial World and to the Nong family¡¯s estate.

    Nong Yi noticed Lu Yin¡¯s arrival and hurried out to greet the Dao Monarch. The man was followed by Nong Ya, Nong Sanniang, Nong Lie, and many others.

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    "Greetings, Dao Monarch..." the Nong family members all bowed low.

    Lu Yin just nodded as his gaze swept past Nong Sanniang and the others before him. Once, they had been his peers, but they were currently onpletely different levels. They were no longer anywhere close to standing on the same level as Lu Yin.

    Even Nong Sanniang was still only an Envoy.

    "Nong Yi, stay. The rest can leave," Lu Yinmented. Nong Ya and the others immediately excused themselves.

    Nong Sanniang looked at Lu Yin with a bit of curiosity. She could never fathom how this person had risen to be the leader of humanity.

    From what she had heard from an elder in the Nong family, Nong Sanniang was not even close to being qualified to go to the battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel. It was a ce for sequence powerhouses alone. Despite that, not only had Lu Yin gone there, but he had also dominated the battlefield and even fought against the Aeternals¡¯ True God. Lu Yin stood far, far above Nong Sanniang and the others.

    No matter how close Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie had once been with Lu Yin, or how the woman had once teased him, at the moment, everyone in the Nong family was quite anxious.

    Lu Yin understood the pressure that others felt from his current status and strength. He had no intention of lowering himself to their level in order to restore old friendships. It was impossible to keep such things with effort alone. It would be too fake. If Nong Lie and the others were able to be Sequence Progenitors, or even Ortusers, then his interactions with them would not be nearly so strained.

    Time was a valuablemodity. The higher one rose, the slower their progress became. Eventually, those who had been surpassed would catch a glimpse of a figure in the distance, and when that happened, things would be different.

    "Senior Nong Yi, where did Big Face Treee from?" Lu Yin asked directly.

    Nong Yi was puzzled. "Big Face Tree? Why do you ask about that, Dao Monarch?"

    The two were walking towards the tree as they chatted.

    "Truthfully, I¡¯m not sure myself. Going back to the very beginning of my Nong family¡¯s records, Big Face Tree has always been present. It''s truly ancient, and it enjoys sharing stories from the Heavens Sect era, though not many can really make out what it''s saying..." Nong Yi exined.

    The two men soon arrived at the tree. It had not changed at all. Lu Yin had visited the tree several times in the past, and he had learned many details about the battle at the Third Maind¡¯s Turtledove River, as well as many other events. However, it took an unimaginable amount of time to hear the tree¡¯s whole story.

    Bai Xue approached from a short distance away, and she bowed to Nong Yi. "Senior."

    Nong Yi nodded to acknowledge her.

    Bai Xue then looked at Lu Yin and offered a slow bow. "Greetings, Dao Monarch."

    Nong Yi was aware that Bai Xue and Lu Yin were old acquaintances, so he stepped away to offer them a bit of space to talk.

    Lu Yin looked at Bai Xue. "It''s been a while."

    The woman offered a small smile. "Even if we haven''t seen each other, word of everything that the Dao Monarch has done spreads like wildfire. You¡¯re a legend."

    Lu Yin chuckled. "That''s exaggerating."

    "Not in the slightest. Dao Monarch Lu, you have led humanity to defeat Aeternus. I, Bai Xue, truly admire you for that."

    Lu Yin''s eyes moved past Bai Xue to look at a distant figure. This person was wearing all white and possessed an ethereal aura. It was Shang Qing.

    "He''s truly persistent," Lu Yinmented. He was aware of Shang Qing¡¯s feelings for Bai Xue, but he had not expected the man to run straight back to the Nong family after being trapped in Burial Garden for so many years. It was clear that he was seeking the family¡¯s permission to pursue Bai Xue.

    Bai Xue let out a helpless sigh. "If possible, Dao Monarch, please take him back with you."

    Lu Yin replied, "That¡¯s your business."

    He had no intention of getting involved in such matters.

    "After spending so many years with Big Face Tree, have you learned any valuable history?" Lu Yin asked as he turned to look at Big Face Tree.

    Bai Xue thought for a moment. "I¡¯ve learned a great deal about wars that took ce during the Heavens Sect era, but that history probably doesn¡¯t hold much value for you, Dao Monarch. You could ask the Three Realms and Six Daos themselves for more information about those matters."

    "Has Big Face Tree ever mentioned its origins?" Lu Yin asked.

    Bai Xue shook her head. "No, not at all."

    Lu Yin moved forward and went towards Big Face Tree.

 Chapter 3281: The Gaze Of Time

    <h4>Chapter 3281: The Gaze Of Time</h4>

    Big Face Tree was delighted to see Lu Yin again. "Kid, you''re back. Where did we leave offst time? Oh right, the Battle of the Turtledove River. Speaking of that battle, back when the Progenitor of Y¨­u Ming..."

    "We already discussed the Battle of the Turtledove River," Lu Yin interrupted.

    Big Face Tree blinked. "Did we? This old tree doesn¡¯t remember finishing that story."

    "We did," Lu Yin stated firmly.

    Big Face Tree somberly replied, "No."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "We did."

    "No."

    "We did."

    "No."

    At each denial, Lu Yin sensed Big Face Tree''s mental resilience, but he was ultimately disappointed. Despite the tree¡¯s considerable mental strength, it was not enough to interest Lu Yin.

    Big Face Tree was essentially an ancient tree that had witnessed history. It had lived a long life, but it was not particrly unique.

    It was possible that it was just Lu Yin¡¯s imagination. There were a number of ancient trees in the megaverse, which had led him to believe that they were all special.

    The Mother Tree, the ck Mother Tree, the Delivery Shrub, and Sapling.

    While Big Face Tree was not an extraordinary tree, it could be considered a robust history book.

    After leaving the Nong family, Lu Yin continued on to visit the Ice Spirit Tribe. There, he stood beside the Iceheart, deep in thought.

    Without uttering even a single word, Lu Yin stared at the Iceheart for an entire half-month before he finally left again.

    He was able to restore Ming Yan, but what would be the point? Neither True God, the powers of Destiny, nor the Spirit Nidus had been dealt with. Reviving Ming Yan would do nothing but add to Lu Yin¡¯s burdens.

    He wanted to give his family warmth and stability. It might be selfish on his part, as Ming Yan would surely choose to apany him through dangers and want to face death together, but was selfishness not another aspect of human nature?

    The deeper one¡¯s love, the more they would crave peace.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin once again met with Progenitor Xi.

    "If the Spirit Nidus defeats your Consciousness Megaverse andes to fight against our Tianyuan Megaverse, which side will stand a better chance of winning?" Lu Yin asked, not dancing around the issue.

    Progenitor Xi replied, "The Spirit Nidus."

    "Why?"

    "First, if they defeat us, they will be able to reset our Consciousness Megaverse and use the process to produce incredible powerhouses. Second, the creatures of the Consciousness Megaverse also understand life and death and fear dying. They will likely join the Spirit Nidus to survive. This would mean that your Tianyuan Megaverse would be facing two megaverses, and you would have absolutely no chance of victory. Third, your megaverse has already lost too many powerhouses during the war with Aeternus. The survivors from the Heavens Sect and Immemorial Citadel aren¡¯t enough to stand against the Spirit Nidus."

    Lu Yin asked, "If they can reset the Consciousness Megaverse, then why did the Spirit Nidus target our Tianyuan Megaverse during the Heavens Sect era?"

    Progenitor Xi said, "Greed can never be satisfied. Resetting the Consciousness Megaverse will allow the most powerful beings in the Spirit Nidus to rise to a higher level. However, what about those who are just one level below? They also need room to grow. Even if every one of their peak powerhouses enter the Origin realm, will that be enough?

    "The Tianyuan Megaverse is like an insurance policy, while the Consciousness Megaverse is more of a testing ground."

    Lu Yin was curious about something. "Is the Consciousness Megaverse still around after all these years?"

    Progenitor Xi nodded firmly. "It is. While the Spirit Nidus is stronger than our megaverse and we are essentially doomed to eventually be defeated, that does not mean that it is easy for the Consciousness Megaverse to bepletely defeated. Aeternus destroyed the ancient Heavens Sect, and just their First Scourge was enough for them to push the Sixverse Association to the limits. But then you rose to power. There are endless possibilities in a megaverse.

    "What truly leaves us hopeless is the sheer scale of the future. It¡¯s an estimate of the infinite possibilities that the future holds. If the Consciousness Megaverse has a future potential of five, then the Spirit Nidus has a potential of six. This small discrepancy means that it is impossible for my Consciousness Megaverse to surpass the Spirit Nidus, no matter what possibilities may appear. We''ve long since epted this as reality.

    "Your Tianyuan Megaverse is different. When I saw the brilliance of the ancient Heavens Sect, I believed your future potential to be six, but when you rose to power and reversed the tides of the war, I was convinced that this ce¡¯s future potential might even be seven. I''m referring to future potential. This is not a measure of your megaverse¡¯s current strength.

    "If the Spirit Nidus attacks right now, you will lose."

    Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table as he took a moment to think. "If I don¡¯t deal with our internal threats, I won¡¯t be able to handle the external ones."

    "Aeternus?"

    "Help mepletely eliminate Aeternus. That way, I will be able to truly unite the entire Tianyuan Megaverse, which will give us a better chance of fighting back against the Spirit Nidus. If we don¡¯t eliminate thempletely, the Aeternals alone will be enough to wear me down." Lu Yin then looked over at Progenitor Xi. "Even if we don''t want a war against the Spirit Nidus, a united Tianyuan Megaverse is something that they won¡¯t want to see."

    "I understand that, but thoroughly eradicating the Aeternals is not going to be easy. True God possesses a truly overwhelming strength. He is powerful enough to negotiate with the Spirit Nidus," Progenitor Xi said in a helpless manner.

    "Dealing with True God is our problem. Your task is to find him," Lu Yin said.

    Progenitor Xi frowned. "I''ll do my best."

    Lu Yin stared out at the calm surface of theke. While the water was clear, there were always dark regions that hid filth. "True God, Ancient God, Forgotten Ruins God, Tian Ci, Bai Xian''er, and ckless God. I''ll find them all and deal with them once and for all."

    He allowed Progenitor Xi to leave. She had voluntarily gone to speak with Lu Yin. If she had wanted to hide from the Heavens Sect, there would not have been any reason for her to expose herself to Lu Yin.

    For the moment, no one could find True God, and Lu Yin was getting anxious. He wanted to eliminate True God before the Great Sovereign¡¯s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm faded away. However, if True God could not be found, the gift that Lu Yin had prepared for the man would be rendered useless.

    Progenitor Xi had been a part of Aeternus for so long. Hopefully, that time would prove to be of some use.

    "As for Ancient God, is there really no way to get any clues regarding his location?"

    <i>Fishermen¡ªone, two, three</i>. Lu Yin stared at theke, lost in thought.

    ...

    The defeat of Aeternus naturally led the Heavens Sect to be a behemoth in the megaverse that countless creatures looked up to.

    Every day, countless people arrived at the gates of the Heavens Sect to pay homage, and statues of Lu Yin appeared throughout the entire megaverse.

    One day, four people arrived at the Heavens Sect to speak with Lu Yin. They were Mu Zhu, Mu Ke, Mu Xie, and Qing Ping.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin solemnly looked at his four senior disciple brothers and senior disciple sister. "Senior brothers and sisters, this is a critical task that I must trouble you with."

    "I''m not very skilled at Origin Tracing," Qing Ping said.

    "I¡¯ll take the lead," Mu Zhu stated. This was her first time seeing the Heavens Sect, but she was not particrly impressed.

    She had seen the ancient Heavens Sect and had even helped save the Origin Progenitor. If not for Mister Mu¡¯s status, Mu Zhu would be considered a peer of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you, Senior Sister."

    The four people surrounded Lu Yin and simultaneously started using Origin Tracer.

    The void warped around Lu Yin, and gray energy streamed by as scenes from the past flickered.

    When just Senior Brother Mu Xie had used Origin Tracer to search for Ye Bo, it had been an incredibly difficult task. With the four of them working together, especially with Mu Zhu taking the lead, sess was far more likely.

    Lu Yin had asked them to find the Books of Destiny and the moment that had been erased from history.

    The threat posed by Destiny, Wei Nu, and Bai Xian''er was no less than the threat that True God posed. The only way for Lu Yin to find those three women was to use Origin Tracer to search for time that had been erased and then use Lightstream to traverse the River of Aeons in the same way he had chased after the Ossis Ark after it escaped from the Immemorial Citadel.

    A day passed. Two days. Three days.

    Time streamed by.

    No one disturbed the mountain behind the Heavens Sect.

    On the ninth day, four pairs of eyes opened wide. "We found it."

    Lu Yin waved his hand and brought out the small boat that was Lightstream. As it floated in ce, the great River of Aeons surged out. Both inside and outside the Heavens Sect, countless people were stunned by the sight.

    The River of Aeons epassed the entire lives of every creature in existence. It was the manifestation of the almighty force of time itself.

    The small boat drifted out onto the River of Aeons. Lu Yin stood on Lightstream, and then they both vanished.

    He could only be seen briefly before he vanished, and as soon as Lu Yin disappeared, the other four people nearly copsed.

    Mu Xie gave a bitter smile. "Our junior brother¡¯s Lightstream is truly an incredible use of the power of time."

    Mu Ke¡¯s voice was grave. "It took all four of us nine days to find that moment. It was not hidden by simple means."

    "Unfortunately, Master used Origin Tracer to block the River of Aeons and anchor the Mirari Realm to this ce. If not for that, he would still be able to use Origin Tracer, and we wouldn¡¯t be needed," Mu Zhumented.

    "I hope that everything goes smoothly," Qing Ping muttered to himself.

    Meanwhile, Lu Yin was traveling along the River of Aeons. He observed scenes from the past sh by him. Time was still flowing forward, and the current caused his small boat to bob up and down.

    The longer one spent traveling on the River of Aeons, the greater their chances of sinking into the river. However, after seeding once before, Lu Yin was now confident.

    Suddenly, an image froze. He could sense a familiar power through it. It was Origin Tracer. Mu Zhu and the others had helped Lu Yin pinpoint the moment the Books of Destiny had been erased. Lu Yin focused on that particr scene and left the River of Aeons.

    He arrived in a courtyard. Images continued to shift around him. The phenomenon was due to time rewinding.

    Lu Yin nced around. Was he in Virtue Archives? This was Professor Wei''s courtyard.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head abruptly snapped around as the surrounding images quickly disappeared. Time was surging wildly. In front of him stood Professor Wei.

    She was standing among some flowers, giving off the impression of a lotus. Even when dressed as a man, the woman¡¯s ethereal, pure aura could not be hidden.

    Lu Yin stared at Professor Wei, and she met his gaze.

    Time had passed, but Professor Wei had never left her courtyard. Lu Yin had given orders for no one to enter the ce, and Virtue Archives had kept it tightly sealed.

    Neither person moved as they stared at each other while the River of Aeons flowed past them.

    It was a strange sight. Lu Yin could travel through multiple years in the blink of an eye by traversing the River of Aeons.

    However, Professor Wei had stood in the exact same location, staring in the same direction for years, a smile touching her eyes. She looked as though she had remained that way for an eternity.

    The images faded, and their surroundings returned to normal.

    Birds sang in the courtyard, and the scent of flowers filled the air.

    Lu Yin and Professor Wei¡¯s eyes remained locked. "You never left?"

    "I¡¯ve been waiting for you," Professor Wei said with a hint of a smile.

    "Back then, Ancestor Tianyi and I came here looking for you, but all you left behind was a paper cutout," Lu Yinmented.

    Professor Wei¡¯s smile deepened. "It wasn¡¯t that I wasn¡¯t here, but rather that you simply couldn¡¯t find me. I¡¯ve always been right here."

    Lu Yin''s eyes suddenly flickered. "Are you Wei Nu? Bai Xian''er? Or... Destiny?"

    Professor Wei¡¯s smile grew gentle. "Does it matter?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "You''re right, it doesn¡¯t matter. Were you waiting for the current me, or the me from the past?"

    "What difference does it make?" Professor Wei retorted.

    Lu Yin continued to stare at the woman. "I am now not someone you can afford to wait for."

    Even as he spoke, he took a step forward and released his inner universe as he reached out to grab Professor Wei.

 Chapter 3282: Recognizing Reality

    <h4>Chapter 3282: Recognizing Reality</h4>

    Professor Wei stood still. She did not move at all and simply allowed Lu Yin''s hand to pass through her body.

    His expression changed. Was this a fake? No, it was the power of time.

    A casual wave of a hand caused Professor Wei''s figure to scatter like light, but then she simply reappeared in the same ce.

    Lu Yin stared at her and his expression fell. ¡°You¡¯re hiding within time.¡±

    Professor Wei nodded andmented with admiration, ¡°There¡¯s no shame in Bai Xian''er losing to you, but she¡¯s not me. Also, I¡¯m not everything. What you face now is me, and I ampletely different from Bai Xian''er.¡±

    Lu Yin realized this. Given his current strength, even if Bai Xian''er seeded in bing an Ortuser, she might not be able to measure up to Lu Yin. However, he was dealing with Professor Wei.

    He had no idea how Professor Wei was rted to Wei Nu¡¯s identity, but he did know that Bai Xian''er corresponded to when he had been Lu Xiaoxuan. She was his peer. In contrast, Professor Wei was not from Lu Yin¡¯s generation.

    He was confident that he could defeat anyone within the same cultivation realm, no matter how ancient they might be. However, it would be much harder to defeat an old monster who had cultivated for countless years with the same level of talent as Lu Yin.

    The power of time was something that needed to be mastered slowly, and who could say how long Professor Wei had been doing that? This was why she was capable of hiding within time and how she could see the future.

    Lu Yin was looking at a version of Professor Wei from the future. She had seen her own past, which was what had allowed her to avoid Lu Yin¡¯s attack before he evenshed out.

    Even if Lu Yin clearly understood the situation, oveing it would be incredibly difficult.

    Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin attacked, everything was part of the future that Professor Wei had already seen as her past.

    She had built a bridge across the River of Aeons. It was a bridge for just herself alone.

    ¡°If you really want to attack me, take your time and think¡ªthere¡¯s always a way. However, I¡¯m not here to fight you. I would like you to stop focusing on me. We don¡¯t have to be enemies,¡± Professor Wei stated softly.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. Yes, there absolutely had to be a way. If Lightstream was able to move against the flow of the River of Aeons, then it could also flow downstream. There was no need for Lu Yin to build a bridge. He just needed to see past the bridge that was there, or even destroy it.

    ¡°If I wanted to attack you, I just need to wait until I can see your future. While others might not be capable of seeing your future, I can,¡± Professor Wei continued.

    Lu Yin arched a brow. ¡°You can see my future?¡±

    A gentle smile touched Professor Wei¡¯s lips, making her already serene and elegant appearance even more intoxicating. ¡°I¡¯m from the same generation as Tai Chu. I was the first to discover that the Mirari Realm was anchored to this megaverse.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You were the first to notice?¡±

    ¡°I admire Tai Chu, as well as your master. They aplished things that others would never even dare to attempt. What they face now are the consequences for their actions. They burned a lot of bridges, I suppose.¡± Professor Wei studied Lu Yin. ¡°If I were truly your enemy, I would have helped Yong Heng eliminate the Immemorial Citadel long ago. With me at their side, you wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance against the Aeternals.¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted dangerously. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve never acted against us.¡±

    Professor Weiughed. ¡°What happened with the Lu family doesn¡¯t count as me acting against you! Do you really think that someone like Lu Tianyi could stop me? Or that your father, Lu Qi, could hold me back with his Champions'' Stage? Doesn¡¯t that sound like a joke? Also, there¡¯s you."

    She stared at Lu Yin very intently. "Six of the Seven Heroes died, while only you survived. I didn¡¯t prevent that.¡±

    Murder zed in Lu Yin¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re the one who killed them.¡±

    "In order toplete you," Professor Wei calmly replied.

    Lu Yin clenched his fist. "I don¡¯t need that kind ofpleteness."

    Professor Wei chuckled. "Without their innate gifts, how could you have be your current self? I waited here for you just to tell you that we are not enemies. By now, you should have a better understanding of this megaverse. Rather than focusing on me, you should be thinking about how you are going to survive. Three of the Boundary Guardians are dead and Aeternus has been defeated, which is not a situation that Destiny would have wanted to see."

    Lu Yin frowned. This woman also knew about Destiny, which clearly indicated that Professor Wei was Wei Nu.

    "What¡¯s going on with Destiny?"

    Professor Wei¡¯s smile shrank. "That¡¯s my business and none of your concern. Regardless of whoever shows up to deal with that, it won¡¯t be you. If you insist on trying to make trouble for me, I¡¯ll be forced to show you reality."

    "Reality?"

    Professor Wei¡¯s smile faded. "You¡¯re still not quite at our level."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes grew frigid as he stared at Professor Wei.

    She opened a hand and held out a paper cutout so that Lu Yin could see it clearly.

    It was the image of a woman, but while that much was clear, exactly who the woman was could not be discerned.

    "This cutout is of someone named Nightqueen Yanqing."

    At first, Lu Yin felt confused, but then disbelief appeared on his face. "Nightqueen Yanqing?"

    Of course, he knew who that was. She was Nightking Zhenwu¡¯s sister, and she was also from the Daynight n. Nightqueen Yanqing had treated Lu Yin as an enemy while he was in Astral-10, and she was the one who had forced Lu Yin to use the Third Nightking¡¯s location to manipte the Daynight n. It had been a very dangerous time for Lu Yin.

    Nightqueen Yanqing had been one of Lu Yin¡¯s first enemies when he had started cultivating.

    However, the copse of the Daynight n had caused the Nightking surname to slowly fade away. Even the Celestial Frost Sect, which had enved the Daynight n, were nothing more than ants in Lu Yin''s eyes, let alone someone like Nightqueen Yanqing.

    Without Professor Wei mentioning the woman, Lu Yin would have forgotten about her entirely.

    Professor Wei¡¯s smile returned. "You remember her, don¡¯t you? Nightqueen Yanqing¡ªyou once hated her, while also respecting her as an enemy. She might only be a minor character to you now, but she once had arge impact on your life.

    "What do you think would happen if that impact was erased?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eye twitched. "Erased?"

    Professor Wei nodded. "Erased. Completely vanished."

    "Impossible," Lu Yin immediately rejected the idea. "Erasing Nightqueen Yanqing would alter the past as well as the future. Things have already developed into the current situation, and you can¡¯t change that."

    It was not impossible to change the past in order to alter the future, but such things could only be done on a small scale; essentially, only a single person or a single life could be altered. For instance, Ancestor Lu Yuan had wanted to change the fact that his son had died, and theoretically, that was possible, though doing so would have exacted a terrible price.

    "It¡¯s just the life of one person, a small blip in time. This doesn¡¯t have to involve others¡¯ karma at all."

    Professor Wei wanted to erase Nightqueen Yanqing to alter the past. Doing so would mean erasing the enmity that had existed between Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing, which would subsequently eliminate his feud with the Daynight n and the resulting series of events. This was impossible.

    Not even the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu could do such a thing.

    Lu Yin was certain that this simply could not be done. No one could pull off such a thing.

    Professor Wei held up a pair of scissors and slowly moved them closer to the paper cutout of Nightqueen Yanqing. ¡°You im that it¡¯s impossible, but I say that it can be done. What do you think? When the past is changed, what will happen to the present? Do you care to find out?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at the cutout of Nightqueen Yanqing that Professor Wei held in her hand. ¡°Try it.¡±

    Professor Wei looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Are you really that confident?¡±

    Lu Yin answered softly, ¡°You can¡¯t shift the River of Aeons. No one can. If you could do something like that, why would you bother talking to me?¡±

    Professor Weiughed, which was a beautiful sound. ¡°You¡¯re right, I can¡¯t.¡±

    The scissors moved to the cutout, and with a single snip, it was cut in two.

    That cut was as if a kite string had suddenly snapped. The world shifted colors from ck to white.

    The world spun crazily around Lu Yin. A moment passed, though it could have also been a long time. He eventually regained his senses and stared at Professor Wei. What had happened?

    Nothing at all.

    The woman was still holding the scissors, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lu Yin. While she was dressed as a man, there was an unquestionable femininity to her aura, and a gentle smile still hung on her lips.

    Just as Lu Yin was about to speak, he heard the roar of a powerful river fill his ears. He instinctively sensed that something was wrong, but there was nothing that he could do about it. A powerful force surged towards him from some unseen ce. He was struck, and his head rang. He could not see any enemy or attack. He could not see anything at all.

    Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he nearly copsed. His face grew pale, and he stared up at Professor Wei in shock.

    Her hand dropped. ¡°It looks like it worked.¡±

    Lu Yin stared intently at Professor Wei, his mind racing. He looked around. Virtue Archives remained unchanged. It appeared that nothing at all had changed in the universe. The flow of time had not been shifted. All that had happened was that Lu Yin had been injured.

    "A time... paradox."

    Professor Wei nodded. ¡°You could call it that.¡±

    Lu Yin understood how he had been injured. Just as he had suspected, Professor Wei was incapable of altering the present by erasing people in the past. It was impossible to alter events in such a manner. However, by cutting the paper, she had indeed erased a person in the past. With that person gone, the present should have changed. However, the River of Aeons had instead flowed onwards without so much as a pause. It did not reverse or change because of Professor Wei¡¯s power.

    She was not nearly strong enough to aplish such a feat. It was far beyond the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu as well.

    How could an ordinary person shift the River of Aeons?

    While people might be able to stir up waves in the River of Aeons, they would eventually be swept under by the relentless flow.

    The attempt to erase Nightqueen Yanqing had created a ripple that went against the current of the River of Aeons, as the attempt had tried to reverse the flow of the river. With enough power, it might be possible to shift the River of Aeons¡¯s flow and alter the future. However, her force had been far too weak. In the end, nothing had changed. Nightqueen Yanqing had not been erased, and the present remained unaltered.

    The only real change that had urred was that Professor Wei had created a ripple in the River of Aeons. As that ripple was swept away by the relentless flow, the two forces had ovepped, like two waves in ake meeting each other. This small surge of power was Professor Wei¡¯s entire goal.

    It did not matter that the ripple would eventually be subsumed into the river¡ªwhat mattered was that the ripple had even appeared.

    The force from the ripple going against the flow of the River of Aeons had been directed at Lu Yin. It was a manifestation of a time paradox going against the River of Aeons itself. Such power was invisible, intangible, and irresistible.

    This was what the paper cutout could produce.

    ¡°Do you understand the truth now?¡± Professor Wei stared at Lu Yin. ¡°You¡¯ve never truly defeated anyone at our level. Tai Chu, Old Mu, Yong Heng, me, and even Tai Hong. When have you ever beaten any of us?

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    ¡°The Boundary Guardians were nothing more than four cowards who were too afraid to challenge Dukkha, and Astral Anura is simply trash. Killing such weaklings proves nothing at all. I¡¯m here to help you recognize this reality.

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve seen the truth clearly, we can talk.¡±

    Lu Yin stared at Professor Wei in awe. ¡°So, this is the power that those at your level possess?¡±

    ¡°Yes. In the future, you will reach the same level,¡± Professor Wei replied.

    Lu Yin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. ¡°Well, thank you for helping me see things clearly.¡±

 Chapter 3283: Infinite Possibilities

    <h4>Chapter 3283: Infinite Possibilities</h4>

    Professor Wei stared into Lu Yin''s eyes. "Your expression makes it clear to me that you still don¡¯t truly understand."

    As she spoke, she pulled out another paper cutout. Again, it was of a woman.

    "Can you guess who she is?"

    Lu Yin raised his hand to stop her. "Enough. There''s no need to cut another. I understand."

    Professor Wei frowned. "Your eyes don¡¯t look like it."

    Lu Yin sneered. "Do you really need to cut another one? You just told me that we aren¡¯t enemies, but if you make one more cut, we will be."

    Professor Wei¡¯s eyes remained fixed on Lu Yin as she slowly lowered the scissors. "I hope that you¡¯re being honest."

    "Hope?" Lu Yin cocked a brow as he cleaned more of the blood from his mouth. "Didn¡¯t you already build a bridge to see the future? How is it that you simply ¡®hope?¡¯

    "You should have already seen my reaction and my choice."

    Professor Wei''s eyes flickered, but she said nothing.

    Lu Yin looked down at the scissors in the woman¡¯s hand as he said, "If you had cut that paper again just now, I would have admitted defeat. I don¡¯t have any way to deal with you yet. However, you didn¡¯t. That can only mean one thing: we¡¯ve already passed the point where you built a bridge across the River of Aeons."

    He raised a finger and smiled.

    Suddenly, Professor Wei held up the cutout again, and she quickly cut through it.

    As that happened, Lu Yin moved at the speed of time. His hand rose up, and his fingers curled as though he was holding something, despite his hand being empty. His hand swept out, and a wound opened on Professor Wei''s body as she was sent flying backward. A shockwave rocked Virtue Archives as darkness enveloped the world.

    Slowly, Lu Yin turned his head. At some point in time, an ancient sword had appeared in his hand. It was the Origin Progenitor''s sword.

    As long as it was possible to manipte the power of time, there would be infinite possibilities.

    Lu Yin had just tested one of those possibilities. He had decided that, in the future, he would ask Mu Zhu and his senior disciple brothers to use Origin Tracer to search for the moment when he used Inverse Step and created a moment that had broken free of the River of Aeons. They would then send the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword to Lu Yin by targeting that moment of time, which would allow him to attack with the sword.

    Something that should have urred in the future had be reality in the present.

    This was not changing the future, as it was closer in line with how Lu Yin had traversed the River of Aeons, altering his location in the past in order to chase after the Aeternals aboard the Ossis Ark. This was nothing more than reversing a single ripple in the River of Aeons.

    He had seeded, and it had allowed Lu Yin to wound Professor Wei.

    Three different factors had ensured his sess. First, Lu Yin needed to be able to safely retreat from the battle, ensuring that he would exist in the future. Second, Professor Wei could not see the future that Lu Yin had intended. Third, he was able to ask Mu Zhu, Mu Ke, and the others to use Origin Tracer.

    Through their conversation, Lu Yin had already confirmed the second point. Professor Wei had built her bridge across the River of Aeons at the moment when she had avoided his attack. If not, she would not have said so much, and she would have never used the word "hope." She no longer knew Lu Yin¡¯s future.

    As for being able to retreat safely, Lu Yin was simply confident in his own strength, even if it was only to the point of being able to stand up to Professor Wei.

    If Lu Yin was facing an enemy who could truly force him to make decisions in the future to change the present through the River of Aeons in order to ovee the difference in power, then Lu Yin would hesitate. Being forced to such a point would mean that he had already exhausted all other options, and if the attempt still failed to alter the bnce of the battle, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    Professor Wei clearly would not push Lu Yin to the point where he felt like he needed to take such a terrible risk.

    Finally, Mu Zhu and the others were a limiting factor. If a truly powerful foe appeared, Lu Yin¡¯s senior disciple sister and brothers might not be able to gather fast enough to use Origin Tracer for Lu Yin.

    While manipting events up and down the River of Aeons might seem to offer infinite possibilities, each attempt required careful preparation. This was not something that could be used recklessly.

    Making changes from the future was a truly difficult task.

    One other detail that Lu Yin had tested and proven was that Professor Wei¡¯s mastery of the power of time did not allow her to avoid the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    The sword¡¯s most powerful effect was the fact that it could stabilize time, even across an entire universe. This was why Lu Yin had once gone to such great lengths to restore a broken sword. Doing so had neutralized the Time Poison that had been ravaging the Fifth Maind.

    Professor Wei was able to walk through time, stepping on the flows to be untouchable. In such a state, only the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword could harm her.

    The two had only confronted each other very briefly, and Lu Yin had only attacked once, but this exchange represented countless possibilities given the two¡¯s understanding of the power of time. This battle was a contest over their mastery of time as well as a verbal battle.

    Professor Wei looked down at the cut on her body. The paper cutout slipped from her hand. She looked up at Lu Yin.

    He twirled the de and swung it again. "I¡¯m going to make you see reality. I rule this megaverse!"

    Professor Wei quickly retreated. A gray haze swirled around her like an illusion. Strangely, as she stepped back, a figure stepped out of her body and moved to face Lu Yin. A single palm strike shot out.

    Lu Yin stared as time seemed to slow to the point of not even moving. This was Bai Xian''er¡¯s innate gift. The one who had stepped out of Professor Wei¡¯s body was Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin released his inner universe, and stars spun around, instantly shattering Bai Xian''er¡¯s innate gift. The sword was thrust forward, and Bai Xian''er''s form solidified as she stared at her opponent. "Brother Xiaoxuan, are you really going to kill me?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes red. "While Lu Xiaoxuan wouldn¡¯t have, I¡¯m Lu Yin."

    Fay Blossoms drifted down, once more raining down across the entire Perennial World as Lu Yin¡¯s sword stabbed into Bai Xian''er¡¯s body. Blood stained the de as Lu Yin¡¯s head rose, and he met Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s eyes.

    Her face was deathly pale. She stared into Lu Yin¡¯s resolute eyes and gave him a bitter smile. "Brother Xiaoxuan, I¡¯m sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

    Lu Yin stared at Bai Xian''er as memories flooded his mind. In Food Paradise, inside a simple wooden cabin, a boy and a girl had happily shared a meal. Outside, a rainbow-colored deer that gave off a gentle glow had asionally nced at the two, its eyes full of trust.

    Scenes of past interactions with Bai Xian''er shed through Lu Yin¡¯s mind, and a heart-wrenching agony overcame him.

    Lu Xiaoxuan had truly loved Bai Xian''er, but as Lu Yin had said, he was not Lu Xiaoxuan. Ming Yan was the only one in his heart. He had an ordinary woman waiting for him.

    Throughout the Perennial World, countless people stared up at the falling Fay Blossoms. They were reminded of the day when the Lu family had been banished. The same red flowers had rained down on the Perennial World that day. It was a beautiful sight, but also deeply disturbing.

    Under the rain of red flowers, Bai Xian''er¡¯s face turned even paler as blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. She raised a trembling hand to cup Lu Yin¡¯s face. "Xian''er loves Brother Xiaoxuan, but Xian''er... had no choice.

    "For banishing the Lu family... I¡¯m sorry.

    "For killing the Seven Heroes... I¡¯m sorry.

    "For imprisoning your people in Crimson Garden... I¡¯m sorry.

    "I¡¯m sorry, Brother Xiaoxuan. Xian''er... is sorry for everything."

    Lu Yin might not have had any love for Bai Xian''er, but at this moment, he felt as though Lu Xiaoxuan had suddenly returned. The sword slipped from his fingers, and he gently embraced Bai Xian''er. Her body was soft. He inhaled her scent.

    "Are you really Bai Xian''er, or are you Wei Nu?"

    Bai Xian''er caressed Lu Yin¡¯s face, longing filling her eyes. "Bai Xian''er has always been Wei Nu. I¡¯ve never changed, not since the moment I was born."

    Bai Xian''er showed a faint smile as more blood drained from her face. "After the Lu family was exiled, my happiest moments were when I fought you beneath the Scourge and when we danced in Crimson Garden. I am content, Brother Xiaoxuan. Not even death will cleanse my sins, but I never meant to kill you, Brother Xiaoxuan. I¡¯m sorry... I''m so sorry."

    Lu Yin could not untangle his own feelings. Bai Xian''er had been an enemy of the Lu family, but she had never truly been her. Even with the Great Sovereign sealing Lu Yuan, the Lu family should not have been banished. It was mostly because Wei Nu had emerged from Bai Xian¡¯er¡¯s body and stopped Ancestor Tianyi. Bai Xian¡¯er was the one who had moved Food Paradise to the Lu Sanctum. She was the one who had caused the deaths of the Seven Heroes and who had imprisoned the people loyal to the Lu family in Crimson Garden. She had orchestrated the deaths of the Lu family¡¯s allies by sending them to the New World. Everything was because of Bai Xian¡¯er.

    She had even tried to kill Lu Yin during his breakthroughs in the Fifth Maind.

    Ever since Lu Yin had started cultivating, the moment when Bai Xian''er¡¯s deadly strike had fallen on him often appeared in his dreams. The boundless rage he had felt at that moment had fueled his endless desire to kill the woman and avenge the Lu family¡¯s banishment once and for all.

    And yet, at the moment when he finally killed Bai Xian''er, Lu Yin felt no satisfaction.

    Was it because of Lu Xiaoxuan? He had be Lu Yin and no longer loved Bai Xian''er, so where was this paining from? It was an agony so deep that it left him breathless.

    Bai Xian''er stared at Lu Yin¡¯s face in a daze, the light fading from her eyes as her hand fell limply. Blood stained the ground beneath her, much like her crimson Fay Blossoms.

    Lu Yin watched as Bai Xian''er died, and pain consumed him. Even so, his mind remained clear. He knew that he should not feel this pain.

    "Xian''er..." Lu Yin unconsciously uttered in a hoarse voice.

    It was Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s voice.

    Lu Xiaoxuan¡¯s emotions died with Bai Xian''er, and his voice called out.

    "I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually kill her." Professor Wei calmly watched from the distance.

    Lu Yin¡¯s head rose, a cold, endless rage filling his eyes.

    "Bai Xian''er is the one who wronged your Lu family. She¡¯s the one you ordered the Sixverse Association to find. With her dead, our grudges should be settled," Professor Wei said calmly.

    Lu Yin stared at her. "Do you really think that?"

    Professor Wei showed a small smile. "I¡¯ve already given you Bai Xian''er so that you could kill her. What more do you want? Dao Monarch Lu, we are not enemies. Even if you haven¡¯t figured out how to deal with me, I¡¯ve already told you: we are not enemies. Don¡¯t force me to cooperate with Yong Heng."

    "Go to them, if you wish. No matter if it¡¯s you or Yong Heng, as long as you''re in this megaverse-" Lu Yin¡¯s eyes flickered. "You will answer to me!"

    Professor Wei chuckled. "You¡¯re too arrogant. I¡¯ve already paid more than enough to settle our grudge. Why do you insist on fighting to the death?"

    "Bai Xian''er said it herself¡ªshe had no choice." Lu Yin clenched his sword tightly. "You were the one who stopped Ancestor Tianyi, which led to the Lu family¡¯s exile. You are the one who killed the Seven Heroes, though I don¡¯t know which one of you that was. Even if you were brought here by Bai Xian''er, you are the true culprit."

    When he finished speaking, Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step and shed his sword at Professor Wei.

    The woman just sighed. "Had I known this would happen, I would have never allowed you to grow."

    Another figure emerged from her body. It was another woman, and this one held arge book with grains of dust swirling around it. Her right arm rose up, revealing a bracelet around a pale wrist. She used her fingers as a sword, and Lu Yin watched as she attacked with seven shes.

    The sharpness of the attacks could notpare to the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. Lu Yin was confident that he could easily ovee the attacks.

    However, the attacks were not aimed at him, but at the ethereal River of Aeons. They targeted the past.

    Lu Yin''s expression changed, and Lightstream appeared beneath him as he and the little boat vanished.

    The River of Aeons surged onwards. As he stood in Lightstream, Lu Yin watched as the seven shes sliced into the flow of time. He moved quickly and swept all of the attacks aside.

    By the time Lu Yin turned back around, Professor Wei was gone.N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 3284: The End And The Beginning

    <h4>Chapter 3284: The End And The Beginning</h4>

    Lu Yin reappeared in the courtyard, his expression somber. Had he seen things correctly? Had he really just been attacked by Destiny?

    Were Professor Wei and Destiny the same person? How could that be?

    The reality of the forbidden region in the Mirari Realm had led both Lu Yin and Hongyan Mavis to think that Destiny was an imposter. However, the Origin Progenitor had promised that Destiny was real.

    At the time, Lu Yin had considered the possibility that the person who had met with the Origin Progenitor and the one who met with the Three Realms and Six Daos had been two different people.

    However, how could Destiny not know when someone posing was her? How could there be two of her?

    The seven sword strikes aimed at the River of Aeons had targeted Lu Yin¡¯s past. Destiny had tried to erase Lu Yin¡¯s existence in the past, and while it was almost impossible for her to seed, the results were rather simr to what had happened when Professor Wei had sliced the paper cutout; the ovepping ripples in the River of Aeons had injured Lu Yin.

    When Destiny had emerged from Professor Wei¡¯s body andunched seven sword shes, Professor Wei could have attacked Lu Yin with another paper cutout, but she had chosen not to.

    There was no way she had refrained out of love for Lu Yin. There had to be some other motive for her actions.

    Fay Blossoms fell in front of Lu Yin as he watched the red flowers rain down. At the same time, Bai Xian''er''s body dissolved into red light that then disappeared.

    After all, Bai Xian¡¯er had never been anything more than one of Wei Nu¡¯s avatars.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword also disappeared from Lu Yin''s hand. It would reappear in the future.

    The shower of red flowers caused the entire Perennial World to tremble.

    The Lu family was particrly affected. Ancestor Tianyi, Lu Qi, and others all moved out and started searching for Bai Xian''er.

    Lu Yin exined the situation to his family, which finally allowed peace to return to the Perennial World.

    In one corner of the Perennial World, on Dragon Mountain, Long Xi stared out at the sky as the rain of red flowers gradually disappeared. This was both the end and the beginning.

    Bai Xian''er was finally dead. The woman¡¯s existence had weighed heavily on everyone, leaving them suffocated. <i>The only one capable of killing her is Brother Xiaoxuan.</i>

    ...

    Lu Yin left the Perennial World and went to find Wu Tian.

    At the moment, the man was at the Immemorial Citadel. He kept a constant eye on the Origin Progenitor.

    Lu Yin wanted to ask Wu Tian about Destiny¡¯s fighting style.

    ¡°How Destiny fights?¡± Wu Tian thought for a moment. ¡°To be honest, the rest of us rarely fought against Lassy. You should ask your ancestor, he¡¯s more familiar with herbat style than the rest of us. He even forced a junior from your Lu family to cultivate Destiny¡¯s shadow.¡±

    "The Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique?"

    "That¡¯s right, the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Loam, despite being so close to Lassy for most of the time, was more ruthless when it came to preparing to fight against her than any of us. Lassy actually tattled on him to Master, but nothing came of it in the end," Wu Tian exined.

    Lu Yin then went to see his ancestor, Lu Yuan.

    Lu Yuan reacted with confusion. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go ask Master himself?¡±

    Lu Yin gave an awkward chuckle.

    Lu Yuan sighed. ¡°You¡¯re afraid that Master won¡¯t leave you alone, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lu Yin remembered that the Origin Progenitor had mentioned that they would talk more after the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. If Lu Yin went back to ask the Origin Progenitor questions, he might be stuck there for a while, and that was not aplication that Lu Yin could handle.

    "Lassy has incredible control over the power of aeons. Didn''t your master mention to you that she always acts at the most critical moment? Normally, she can look down the River of Aeons to see what will happen next. That¡¯s where things get tricky..." Lu Yuan proceeded to slowly exin things.

    His exnation was simr to what Lu Yin already knew. While fighting against Wei Nu, he had already experienced how frustrating it could be to fight against an adept user of the power of time. If not for the fact that he had noticed a mistake in Wei Nu¡¯s ims, Lu Yin might not have been able to attack at all.

    Destiny¡¯s power was really nothing more than a skilled maniption of the power of aeons and the ability to see into the future. That was why it was called divination.

    "Lassy specializes in attacking through the River of Aeons. She erases moments in her opponents¡¯ pasts in order to alter the present. Of course, changing the flow of time in the future is impossible, but it can create ripples in the present," Lu Yuan said.

    Lu Yin shared with Lu Yuan what had happened with the paper cutouts, as well as with Wu Tian, Chu Yi, and Hongyan Mavis. He was worried that they might eventually run into Wei Nu and be caught off guard.

    Far beneath the Immemorial Citadel, the Origin Progenitor looked up. "Is Wei Nu stirring up trouble again?"

    Lu Yin moved down below the Immemorial Citadel. "She imed to be the first one to know when the Mirari Realm became anchored to this megaverse. Senior, are Wei Nu and Destiny the same person?"

    The Origin Progenitor rolled his eyes. "Pir, can¡¯t you listen when an old man is talking to you? Lassy is Lassy. She''s real, not fake. Wei Nu is Wei Nu, and that woman is treacherous. However, she hasn¡¯t shown herself in a very long time. In fact, I¡¯d almost forgotten about her.

    "Be careful if you run into her."

    "But Wei Nu used Destiny''s power."

    "She¡¯s still Wei Nu, not Lassy. Pir, there¡¯s always wisdom in an old man¡¯s words. Come, let¡¯s talk."

    Lu Yin quickly changed the subject, ¡°Where are your swords?¡±

    The Origin Progenitor was taken aback. "My swords? Why are you looking for those? Pir, you can''t be too greedy. You already have Primaldust, and now you want my swords too? That¡¯s a bit much."

    Lu Yin sighed helplessly. "Senior, I need to resolve some temporal karma..."

    He exined what had happened to the Origin Progenitor, who praised him. "You reacted pretty fast, but unfortunately, you can only use the sword that you used to stabilize the Fifth Maind. The rest of them were either stolen by Yong Heng or broken."

    As the man spoke, despite the fact that he did not move at all, shards of a sword started to fall. They were the pieces of one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swords.

    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Lu Yin was taken aback. "Shattered?"

    "Of course. After going through so many battles, even people will break, let alone a sword. If you want it, take them.

    "Oh, and be careful of Wei Nu. She doesn¡¯t show herself frequently, but I¡¯ve always felt like she¡¯s been plotting something."

    Mister Mu arrived. "Wei Nu is not simple."

    Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu. "Master, do you know her?"

    Mister Mu shook his head. "I don¡¯t, but I do know that she is like me in that she¡¯s not from this megaverse."

    Lu Yin arched a brow. "Another person from another megaverse?"

    Mister Mu replied in a grave tone, "She¡¯s been missing for a very long time. We had indeed forgotten about her, but it seems that she¡¯s never left. If you encounter her again, contact me. I need to have a word with her."

    ...

    When Lu Yin left the Immemorial Citadel, he took the fragments of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s shattered sword with him. He needed to resolve his temporal karma.

    It would be expensive to repair the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword, incredibly expensive.

    When the first sword had merely cracked, it had cost Lu Yin 12 trillion star essence to repair it. This sword, however, hadpletely shattered, so Lu Yin could not even guess how much it would cost to repair.

    He had only 26 trillion star essence left.

    Should he try to repair the sword?

    Lu Yin stared at the fragments of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    The truth was that the swords had been nothing more than the Origin Progenitor¡¯s weapon. Even if Lu Yin gathered all six of them, it would not necessarily grant him any significant benefit. They were just weapons.

    What had once seemed unattainable he now realized had only been because of how weak he had been at the time.

    Lu Yin currently had the courage to go up against the Origin Progenitor in his prime. While Lu Yin would not be able to win, he would at least be able to put up a fight. There was no longer any reason for him to revere the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swords.

    Still, the swords¡¯ greatest ability was that they stabilized time.

    The reason why Wei Nu had not entered the Fifth Maind was because the time there was suppressed by the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword. As long as she was not confident that she could simply destroy the sword, she would not try to stir up trouble in the Fifth Maind.

    In fact, the only threat that Lu Yin posed to Wei Nu, aside from using the power of time, was by using the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword.

    He was certain that Professor Wei was not Wei Nu¡¯s full form. Wei Nu was a powerhouse on the same level as the Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu. That was not a level of power that Lu Yin couldpete against yet.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword served as a form of deterrence.

    With that thought, Lu Yin decided to repair the sword.

    He raised a hand and brought out his die. A tap sent it spinning.

    The die slowly came to a stop on one pip. A useless item fell out, so he rolled the die again. The second roll was Gift Copy. He rolled once more and got Enhance.

    He threw the shards of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword onto the screen of light and immediately began throwing out enormous amounts of star essence.

    Before long, 12 trillion star essences were consumed, and the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword was fully repaired.

    Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. It had cost him 12 trillion star essences to repair this sword as well. It seemed that the amount of damage did not matter; instead, the overall power of thepleted weapon was the only factor that determined how much it cost to repair the swords.

    With the sword repaired, Lu Yin asked Mu Zhu and the others to once again use Origin Tracer. This time, they searched for the branch in the River of Aeons that Lu Yin had created by using Inverse Step to attack Professor Wei. That moment of time did not belong to the River of Aeons, which was exactly the type of temporal anomaly that the technique targeted.

    The four peoplebined their efforts. After several days, they finally managed to sessfully locate the branching stream of time. Following their directions, Lu Yin threw the Origin Progenitor¡¯s restored sword into that moment of time.

    With Origin Tracerplete, Lu Yin left the Heavens Sect and returned to Professor Wei¡¯s courtyard in Virtue Archives. There, the Origin Progenitor¡¯s swordy on the ground.

    Only then was the karma that Lu Yin had umted by manipting time resolved.

    Lu Yin picked up the sword. Truthfully, this means of altering the present with actions in the future was quite exciting. While it offered infinite possibilities, it also carried numerous unforeseen risks. This was not something that Lu Yin could use unless it was absolutely necessary.

    Time clearly flowed in one direction, but because the River of Aeons existed, it was possible to make changes to the flow of time. If Lu Yin was the one to use such means, it was to his benefit, but if others used it, things could quickly turn against him.

    Was this the reason why the Origin Progenitor and the others had anchored the Mirari Realm to the Tianyuan Megaverse?

    If not, then why had Mister Mu created Origin Tracer? Was the technique intended solely for battle?

    The River of Aeons was like a treasure that many could ess. It would not be good if a single person seized control of it.

    ...

    In the Heavens Sect, in a courtyard that was piled high with books, two figures bustled about.

    "Senior Brother, isn¡¯t this enough?"

    "No, they¡¯re not enough¡ªfar from it. Junior Brother, you need to read more books, and you need to read the good ones."

    "But it will take a long time to read all of these books."

    "Take that pile as well."

    "That many?"

    "Your senior brother chose those for you himself. You need to study them seriously. When your senior brother saves the megaverse in the future, you¡¯ll need to help. You can¡¯t leave everything for Master to handle on his own, understand?"

    "Fine, Senior Brother. You¡¯re amazing."

    "Thank you, Junior Brother."

    An old man arrived outside of the courtyard. When he heard the conversation within, he smiled.

    The man was Sage Yajna, one of the Cyclic Universe¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, the one who had been ranked second only to the Great Sovereign. Even Sovereign Dou Sheng showed Sage Yajna respect.

    The Sage stepped into the courtyard and looked around at the piles of books while letting out a long breath.

    Two heads popped up from the sea of books. One belonged to Hui Can, and the other to Tuo Lin.

    "Who are you?" Hui Can asked. He did not recognize the old man, but since he had been allowed into the courtyard, there was no way he was an enemy.

    The old man smiled. "Young friend, congrattions on bing Lord Lu¡¯s disciple."

    Hui Can beamed with pride. He had risen up from a frightened mining ve to bing the disciple of the ruler of the entire megaverse. Even with Hui Can¡¯s restraint, he found it hard to hide his excitement over theplete transformation in status.

    Sage Yajna then looked over at Tuo Lin, and the old man¡¯s expression became conflicted. "Child, we¡¯ve met before."

    Tuo Lin was one of the Sage¡¯s descendants. It was thanks to Sage Yajna that Tuo Lin had the qualifications to attend the Great Sovereign¡¯s Tea Ceremonies and be treated with respect by many powerful cultivators. However, the man himself was unaware of his ancestry, and he had only met Sage Yajna once before.

    "Old man, are you here to see me?" Tuo Lin asked, curious.

    Sage Yajna smiled and nodded. "Yes, I came to see you. Can we speak privately?"

    Hui Can immediately grew cautious. "Old man, why do you need to speak to my senior brother?"

    Sage Yajna chuckled. "You don¡¯t need to worry. Lord Lu knows that I¡¯m here."

 Chapter 3285: Special Tea

    <h4>Chapter 3285: Special Tea</h4>

    Special Tea

    Hui Can did not question the old man¡¯s words at all. They were in the Heavens Sect. No one could enter the courtyard without permission. "In that case, Senior Brother, take your time and enjoy your conversation."

    Tuo Lin gave a nod, and just as Hui Can was leaving the courtyard, he called out, "Junior Brother, take the books with you. You can¡¯t waste a single moment. Read more, and read well."

    Hui Can chuckled awkwardly. "I understand, Senior Brother."

    Once Hui Can was gone, Tuo Lin stepped out from the piles of books. He looked a bit embarrassed. "Apologies, Senior, but I don¡¯t have anywhere you can sit."

    Sage Yajna waved a hand. "There¡¯s no need. Child, do you remember me?"

    Tuo Lin carefully observed Sage Yajna. "You look familiar. I think that we¡¯ve met before. What brings you here, Senior?"

    Sage Yajna¡¯s expression turned solemn, though a hint of awkwardness could also be seen. "The megaverse- the megaverse is in crisis. It¡¯s time for you to step onto the path of bing a savior."

    Tuo Lin¡¯s eyes grewrge with excitement. "Is it finally my turn?"

    Seeing the eagerness in Tuo Lin¡¯s eyes, Sage Yajna¡¯s awkwardness vanished. The child had be a recluse due to his innate condition rendering him unable to cultivate. This had resulted in him developing an unusual obsession with cultivation. He had even been convinced by Lu Yin and truly believed himself to be a savior.

    Tuo Lin wholeheartedly believed something that others would not have considered even in their teens.

    It was not even that the man truly believed what he had been told, but rather that he <i>had</i> to believe it. He treated Lu Yin as a role model. Believing in Lu Yin meant believing in himself as the savior.

    The higher Lu Yin climbed, the more firmly Tuo Lin believed it.

    Already, his belief bordered on insanity.

    Seeing what had be of Tuo Lin made Sage Yajna¡¯s heart ache.

    He felt guiltily as he looked at Tuo Lin. "I¡¯m your ancestor. I¡¯m sorry, child. Your ancestor sincerely apologizes to you."

    Tuo Lin looked at Sage Yajna with confusion, but also with a great deal of anticipation. "Senior, where¡¯s my master? Why isn¡¯t he here? How do I be a savior? I¡¯ve read so many books. Really, so many..."

    He spread his arms as if to exin himself, yet he failed to fully express what he meant.

    Any random cultivator could read all of the book in the entire courtyard, but Tuo Lin could not.

    He was just an ordinary human. Completely and totally ordinary.

    Sage Yajna gently ced his hand on Tuo Lin¡¯s head, the old man¡¯s heart aching. He had always believed that, as long as his descendants could inherit the family legacy, the day would eventuallye when they could cultivate again. However, Sage Yajna had overlooked what his descendants needed to endure throughout this process. Tuo Lin, his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather¡ªgeneration after generation¡ªhad waited with hope, only to see their hope destroyed. That was the hardest part to endure.

    If they had not known anything about the world of cultivation, things would have been fine. Instead, they had all lived within that world and been shown respect by peak powerhouses, despite being unable to cultivate themselves. This pain that they had suffered¡ªSage Yajna could feel it from Tuo Lin¡¯s near-insanity.

    "Your ancestor is sorry to all of you.

    "However, child, you can leave it now. Your ancestor will make things right." Sage Yajna looked at Tuo Lin with pity, patted his head, and then turned to leave.

    "Senior, where are you going? What about me? What should I do?" Tuo Lin asked, terribly confused.

    Without turning around, Sage Yajna waved a hand. "I¡¯m going to discuss the matter of you bing the savior with your master."

    Tuo Lin¡¯s excitement returned. "Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Master!"

    Outside the courtyard, Hui Can found the exchange quite strange. <i>Savior? Did Master ask this old man toe here to put on a show? The look in his eyes, his demeanor, it was allpletely perfect. It looked as if he really is responsible for Senior Brother¡¯s inability to cultivate. What talent!</i>

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Sage Yajna met with Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin was sitting at a stone table, and he looked up when Sage Yajna arrived. "Senior, please have a seat."

    Sage Yajna sat down across from Lu Yin. The old man¡¯s eyes involuntarily drifted back towards the courtyard below, where Tuo Lin resided. "Thank you, Lord Lu, for taking care of that child."

    "He''s my disciple. It¡¯s not a question of whether or not I¡¯ll take care of him."

    "I¡¯ve also seen how your other disciple treats Tuo Lin. Thank you, Lord Lu," Sage Yajna said. He stood up and offered a deep bow to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin did nothing to stop the older man. There was a tremendous difference in their ages, but the world of cultivators did not care about age. Acknowledging another¡¯s respect was giving face, while disregarding it would have been considered normal. Lu Yin''s current status and how he had treated Tuo Lin fully entitled him to receive such an excessive gesture from Sage Yajna.

    Lu Yin motioned once more for the Sage to have a seat.

    Sage Yajna sat back down and let out a heavy sigh. "I¡¯m the one who wronged them. A legacy is more than just a cold, lifeless text. Every one of my descendants has been a person of flesh and blood with their own hopes. In the end, those hopes transformed into despair."

    Lu Yin nced down at Tuo Lin¡¯s courtyard. "It¡¯s true that a legacy is the continuation of a race. In such a continuity, where does each person, both ancestors and descendants, ever really care about others? Ultimately, each simply lives their own lives."

    "Thankfully, this is now over. Rather, perhaps for Tuo Lin and the rest, this is a new beginning," Sage Yajna said, his voice heavy with emotion.

    Lu Yin grew curious. "Is that because of the Great Sovereign?"

    Sage Yajna''s expression grew conflicted. "For the Great Sovereign to ovee Dukkha, she needed to defeat True God. The way for her to aplish that was with her Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. I was subjected to the Great Sovereign''s trials through her Reversal Cycle. Over the years, everything, including cultivation, innate gifts, and even our family¡¯s bloodline inheritance, was stripped away by her Reversal Cycle. That¡¯s what caused my descendants to be unable to cultivate.

    "Now that the Great Sovereign has passed away, her Reversal Cycle that bound me has dissipated, and I am also free." At this point, the old man gave Lu Yin a solemn look. "Lord Lu, by using my bloodline, I can allow Tuo Lin to step onto the path of cultivation."

    The old man stood back up yet again and bowed a second time. "Tuo Lin will surely live up to your expectations, Lord Lu, and carry your legacy onwards. I humbly ask you to guide him. I, Sage Yajna, kneel to show my thanks."

    Sage Yajna did not kneel simply to ask Lu Yin to guide Tuo Lin, but also as a gesture of atonement to his own descendants. In Tuo Lin, the old man saw the despair that his other descendants had suffered through. In order to ensure that his bloodline continued on, Sage Yajna had sacrificed all who had lived and died up until the current generation. Guilt led him to seek repentance in such a manner.

    This time, Lu Yin did stop the old man. "Senior, they were born because of you. There''s no need for this.

    "Cultivation is done by choice. Even without being offered that choice, your descendants all lived lives that were far beyond those of ordinary humans. You did not wrong them; the gift of life surpasses all.

    "As for Tuo Lin, he¡¯s my disciple. I understand how to guide him. If you can help him, then consider it me owing you a favor on behalf of my disciple."

    Sage Yajna showed a bitter smile. "With a favor from Lord Lu, there is nowhere in the vast megaverse that I cannot go. Thank you, Lord Lu."

    Zhao Ran arrived from the distance, delivering tea that she set on the stone table. She gave Lu Yin and Sage Yajna expectant looks. She had prepared a new blend of tea for them.

    Lu Yin looked at the tea andplimented the girl. "Zhao Ran, your efforts are getting better and better."

    Zhao Ran beamed. "Thank you, Your Highness."

    Sage Yajna nced at the tea that had been ced in front of him, and then at Zhao Ran before finally looking at Lu Yin in confusion.

    Lu Yin motioned for the man to taste the tea. "Go ahead, try it. Zhao Ran¡¯s tea tastes wonderful. Don¡¯t be concerned by its appearance¡ªit¡¯s actually improved greatly. In the past, her teas looked like they would kill you. Even Ancestor Lu Yuan hesitated to touch them, haha."

    Sage Yajna was taken aback, and he looked at Zhao Ran again. This time, his expression was stranger than before.

    Zhao Ran stared at the old man with open anticipation.

    Sage Yajna stared back at her, seemingly deep in thought.

    Lu Yin was puzzled by the reaction. "Senior, what¡¯s the matter?"

    Just as Sage Yajna was about to reply, Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Zhao Ran, could you please brew two more cups of this tea? It¡¯s really delicious."

    "Really, Your Highness? I¡¯ll get right on it!" Zhao Ran happily skipped away while humming to herself.

    Sage Yajna looked like he wanted to say something, but someone stepped forward.

    Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Master, what¡¯s going on?"

    Upon seeing who had arrived, Sage Yajna shot to his feet and bowed low. "This junior greets Mister Mu."

    It was no surprise that the Sage recognized Mister Mu. Sage Yajna had followed the Great Sovereign for many years, and he was even older than Sovereign Dou Sheng. He had met many ancient powerhouses, not just Mister Mu. It was highly likely that Sage Yajna had met the Three Realms and Six Daos in the past, such as Chu Yi. He might have even visited the ancient Heavens Sect and met the Origin Progenitor himself.

    Mister Mu looked at Sage Yajna. "It all starts and ends with a cup of tea."

    Sage Yajna¡¯s body trembled as he stared at Mister Mu in shock. "Senior, how do you know those words?"

    Lu Yin was terribly confused, but he refrained from saying anything.

    Mister Mu asked, "Where did you hear them?"

    Sage Yajna shook his head, clearly confused. "I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know when, but those words have been stuck in my mind, unable to leave. I asked the Great Sovereign about it, but not even she could answer me."

    Mister Mu asked, "Throughout your life, what was the most unique tea you¡¯ve ever had?"

    Sage Yajna instinctively looked at the tea on the stone table. "It was simr to this."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. <i>Zhao Ran? Right!</i>

    He suddenly remembered! Once, when Lu Yin had visited the Cyclic Universe and spoken to Sage Yajna, the old man had mentioned that he had once enjoyed a tea that had left asting impression, but he had never been able to replicate it. Could it have been Zhao Ran¡¯s tea?

    Mister Mu sped his hands behind his back. "It wasn¡¯t quite the same, but they were prepared by the same person."

    "Destiny," Lu Yin interjected.

    "No, Wei Nu," Sage Yajna corrected.

    Lu Yin was startled. "Wei Nu?"

    Sage Yajna nodded. "The tea that I mentioned to you, I drank it when I apanied the Great Sovereign. Wei Nu was the one who brewed it for us."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Zhao Ran clearly had a connection to Destiny, yet Sage Yajna had enjoyed tea brewed by Wei Nu. Wei Nu and Destiny; the two really were linked and inseparable.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    "Master, just what is going on?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu''s expression turned serious. "There are only two people who know the truth about this, neither of whom are Tai Chu or Tai Hong. It all starts and ends with a cup of tea. The time has finallye.

    "I think it''s best if someone else helps exin this." As Mister Mu finished speaking, the space beside him warped, and a figure stepped out.

    Lu Yin waspletely shocked by who appeared. "Destina?"

    It really was none other than Destina, whom Lu Yin had seen transform into a thread of Destiny during her stellr tribtion. Destina should not have been able to appear here. She had tried to defy Destiny and had suffered a tragic fate for it.

    Destina looked the same as ever, a stunningly beautiful young girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old. No one would recognize her as Destiny¡¯s heir and one of the gatekeepers of the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

    Destina smiled at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, it¡¯s been a while."

    Lu Yin had experienced countless storms and struggles to reach his current position, but he could have never anticipated Destina''s appearance. Even more surprising was her apparent association with Mister Mu.

    "I¡¯ll exin everything, Dao Monarch. All of this was orchestrated by my master from the beginning, so please don¡¯t me me," Destina said with a smile. She looked pleased to see Lu Yin so surprised.

    In the past, Lu Yin had been quite harsh in suppressing Destina, though his attitude mostly stemmed from his wariness of her master.

    "Before we go any further, one thing needs to be rified: Wei Nu is Wei Nu, and Destiny is Destiny. They are not the same person. Dao Monarch, only by understanding this can we understand the truth," Destina stated somberly.

    Sage Yajna spoke up, "Lord Lu, since all of you have matters to discuss, I¡¯ll take my leave."

    Mister Mu replied, "There¡¯s no need for that. You are also a part of this, and you have the right to know the truth."

    Sage Yajna shook his head. "Senior, I have no desire to know. At this time, I just want to spend time with Tuo Lin."

    Mister Mu remained silent.

 Chapter 3286: The Ferryman

    <h4>Chapter 3286: The Ferryman</h4>

    Destina was unfazed by Sage Yajna''s insistence on leaving. "You can leave, it doesn¡¯t matter."

    Sage Yajna gratefully left.

    Once the old man was gone, Destina looked back at Lu Yin. "My master was the first to enter the Mirari Realm and also the first to visit its forbidden regions. After she left that ce, she dispersed her cultivation. She would have been the first to be a Progenitor, but instead, she chose to recultivate from the very beginning, changing to the power of destiny, which eventually led her to bing Destiny. Dao Monarch, you already know this much."

    "Wait, wasn¡¯t Senior Chu Yi the first to enter the Mirari Realm?" Lu Yin remembered hearing Hongyan Mavis say that.

    Destina replied, "It was my master. Let me put it this way, the Origin Progenitor gave my master special treatment."

    Lu Yin was surprised. The Origin Progenitor really had been... indulgent.

    "What I¡¯m saying is that my master was the first of the Three Realms and Six Daos to enter the Mirari Realm, but when she entered that ce, there was already someone else there: Wei Nu. She is the Ferryman of the River of Aeons."

    Lu Yin was caught off guard. "The Ferryman of the River of Aeons?"

    Destina nodded. "Yes. I can¡¯t really understand why the River of Aeons has a Ferryman. All I can exin is the oue.

    "While in the Mirari Realm, my master met Wei Nu in a forbidden region. Wei Nu was the one who coerced my master into dispersing her cultivation. She even learned the power of destiny from Wei Nu. That¡¯s why Destiny can be considered a person, a legacy, or even Wei Nu herself."

    "Wei Nu is the Ferryman of the River of Aeons and the greatest wielder of the power of time. My master wasn¡¯t wrong to recultivate with destiny, as not even the Origin Progenitor objected to that. However, Wei Nu had ulterior motives in teaching my master. She wanted to use the power of destiny to escape from the Mirari Realm and shed her status as Ferryman. At least, that is what my master told me. Some of the information regarding the Mirari Realm came from my master, while other parts came from Wei Nu."

    Lu Yin finally understood. This exined why Hongyan Mavis and the others had learned of a path to the Immortal realm in the Mirari Realm¡¯s forbidden regions, only for it to prove to be a deadly trap. Destiny had not been the one to share that, but rather Wei Nu.

    The Origin Progenitor had only seen Destiny, whom he knew as Lassy.

    Destiny was Destiny, while Wei Nu was Wei Nu.

    They both cultivated the power of destiny, but were ultimately different people.

    "It¡¯s not easy for Wei Nu to escape from the Mirari Realm and escape from her identity as the River of Aeons¡¯s Ferryman. It isn¡¯t enough to simply leave. She needs to ovee Dukkha and break through to Immortality, just like any other. No one, not even Wei Nu, is exempt from oveing Dukkha.

    "However, the way she chose to ovee Dukkha was unique. She split her Dukkha into multiple parts." At this point in her exnation, Destina hesitated.

    Mister Mu interjected, "Just exin it to us as you were told by Destiny. There¡¯s no need for you to understand it yourself."

    Destina sighed. She knew that, as a Semi-Progenitor, she was incapable of fullyprehending such concepts. "Alright, this is how my master exined it. Essentially, the Wei Nu that the Origin Progenitor and others saw was only one part of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha. Aside from my master, more fragments of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha will appear over time. What those fragments do will depend on Wei Nu¡¯s choices. Not even my master knows what they might do."

    She looked at Mister Mu.

    Lu Yin also turned to look at Mister Mu.

    The man gestured for Destina to continue. ¡°The Origin Progenitor was unaware that my master was being pressured by Wei Nu because Wei Nu had set her sights on the Origin Progenitor. The only person that my master confided in was Mister Mu, but only now is it the proper time for him to intervene. No matter what happened in the past, there was no need for Mister Mu to show himself.¡±

    "It all starts and ends with a cup of tea?" Lu Yin was still puzzled.

    Destina nodded. "The Great Sovereign once met with Sage Yajna and Wei Nu, and at that time, Wei Nu brewed tea for them. Of course, the person who prepared that tea was not the one you know as Zhao Ran. Even when Wei Nu personally brews tea, it looks just as unpleasant, and even deadly. My master marked that tea as the start, and shemented that, when Sage Yajna drinks Wei Nu¡¯s tea again, it would be the end. That would be the moment for Mister Mu to act.

    "Wei Nu pushed my master, but she also underestimated my master. My master was able to master the power of destiny in a very short time, quickly bing a Progenitor and even Destiny. Her talent far exceeded what Wei Nu expected, but even then, my master was unable to defeat Wei Nu when it came to the power of destiny. That¡¯s because Wei Nu has lived for far too long, and her understanding of the River of Aeons is too profound.

    "That¡¯s not to say that my master is inferior. She simply has her ownprehension of the River of Aeons, and her understanding was built on Wei Nu¡¯s contempt for the River of Aeons."

    Destina suddenly raised a finger. "Dao Monarch, this is one."

    Lu Yin quietly watched.

    "Dao Monarch, if you knew in advance that I would show one finger, and then you made that gesture first, do you think that I would still proceed ording to n?" Destina asked.

    Lu Yin frowned. "That would depend on the conditions."

    "During a fight."

    "Are you saying that, during a fight, I would know what you n to do in advance and then act first?"

    "Exactly."

    "Then, of course, you wouldn¡¯t make such a move."

    "That is how my master is using the power of destiny against Wei Nu. My master built a bridge to look into the future, and she managed to see some of the things that Wei Nu would do. My master then had to do those things first. For example, letting other Dukkhan approach you, Dao Monarch, and me transforming me into a thread of Destiny and disappearing. Both of these events were supposed to have been done by Wei Nu, but my master did them first.

    "That¡¯s also where Ie in. I acted before Wei Nu, so that she would be able to perform certain tasks."

    "What¡¯s the point of that?" Lu Yin asked, confused.

    Destina replied, "To create a branch in the River of Aeons."

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "Is that possible?"

    Destina pursed her lips, as she herself did not know. Such things were beyond her understanding.

    Mister Mu spoke up. "It is possible."

    Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu. "If that¡¯s done, what will happen?"

    Mister Mu exhaled. "This is a battle with the power of destiny."

    Lu Yin still did not understand.

    Mister Mu slowly began to speak, "Wei Nu is the Ferryman of the River of Aeons. Destiny acted early, doing things that should have happened further along in the future. Not only that, but they were also actions that she should not have performed at all. This created a time paradox. The events still happened, but the process was different. So, what does that mean? Is it real or fake? The Ferryman is needed to determine just that.

    "The River of Aeons¡¯s Ferryman has responsibilities. It is not some position that others can appoint, but rather something that one bes by using the River of Aeons as their foundation. They cultivate the great power of aeons, which is the power of destiny. They can see through the past, present, and future. The price that they pay is that they must forever remain within the River of Aeons. If a problem appears in the River of Aeons, the Ferryman is the one who must restore order.

    "Destiny created both real and false futures for the River of Aeons, which is the same as creating a branch in the river. This is her way of counterattacking against the River of Aeons¡¯s Ferryman. If the Ferryman fails to notice the attack, they will fall to a disadvantage. If they do notice, they will restore order, and all that has happened will be reset."

    Lu Yin understood. "And Destiny wants to use this to defeat Wei Nu? Is that actually feasible?"

    Mister Mu smiled. "Why do you think Zhao Ran lost her memory?"

    Lu Yin¡¯s body shook. "Because of Destiny?"

    "My master has tried more than once. Some of the bits of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha that split off have disappeared, and others have lost their memories. That was my master''s doing. She hasn¡¯t appeared because she has been fighting against Wei Nu within the River of Aeons," Destina proudly stated.

    Lu Yin was astonished. "Has the Origin Progenitor been unaware of this the whole time?"

    Mister Mu shook his head. "If he knew, Wei Nu would also know. Wei Nu doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, as it¡¯s a sneak attack. If the River of Aeons¡¯s Ferryman learns that a branching stream is being used to attack her, then all of those efforts will end up in vain."

    Lu Yin looked at Destina. "When you deliberately failed your tribtion and vanished into a thread of Destiny, did Wei Nu really not realize that Destiny is still around?"

    Destina exined, "Destiny has always been around. Wei Nu never thought that Destiny was dead, but she didn¡¯t know that Destiny wasying an ambush for her.

    "Zhao Ran is an aspect of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha that was sessfully attacked. If there was enough time, my master could attack more aspects of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha until she loses all her memories. My master said that she would then throw her back into the River of Aeons to resume her task of being its Ferryman. The River of Aeons must have a Ferryman, or else anyone and everyone would be able to interfere in the River of Aeons, undoing time whenever they wished and fishing up whatever they wanted. The entire megaverse would fall into chaos."

    That made sense. Lu Yin nodded. He also believed that not just anyone should be allowed to meddle with the River of Aeons. Allowing that would create too much chaos. Still, he had meddled with the river more than anyone.

    Lu Yin had attacked Professor Wei by sending the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword to the past through the River of Aeons. While fishing, he had also seen the scene of Ancient God not killing Yi Wei. If any expert was able to touch the River of Aeons, then what events in the past, present, or future would not be able to be changed?

    This was the reason why a Ferryman was needed, right?

    Something still confused Lu Yin. "Since Destiny has been attacking Wei Nu all this time, why are you telling me about it now? Also, what is the meaning of ¡®it all starts and ends with a cup of tea?¡¯"

    Destina shook her head. "I don¡¯t know why my master stopped attacking Wei Nu, but she gave me the temporal coordinates for the phrase ¡®it all starts and ends with a cup of tea¡¯ and instructed me to tell you everything at that time. She also asked me to give you a message.

    "I¡¯ve always believed that my master sent me from the Heavens Sect era to this era to do more than just ambush Wei Nu. I believe that my most important task is to deliver this message to you."

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression grew serious. A message sent from Destiny in the distant past, and it was for him?

    "Did Destiny see my future?"

    "Not exactly. My master asked me to deliver a message to the one capable of leading humanity out of despair. She didn¡¯t specify you, Dao Monarch, but right now, there is no one else who qualifies for that description," Destina replied.

    Lu Yin stared at the woman, and she met his gaze. "¡¯I am giving you the chance to start again.¡¯"

    Lightning shed through Lu Yin''s mind. Start again?

    <i>Start again</i>.

    <i>Restore order</i>.

    <i>Let everything return to how it was</i>.

    Three phrases kept echoing in Lu Yin¡¯s mind.

    Destina stared at Lu Yin, but she said nothing more.

    Silence reigned in the area until Zhao Ran returned, carrying tea.

    Destina left, but she did not leave the Heavens Sect. She needed to ensure that the next tributary would branch off at the right moment.

    Mister Mu did not leave, and he instead sat at the stone table.

    Zhao Ran felt a bit curious, as this was not the same guest who had been present earlier, but she did not ask about the change. Instead, she simply set the tea down before Mister Mu and watched him expectantly.

    Mister Mu took a sip and praised the tea. "Delicious."

    Zhao Ran smiled happily. "Thank you!"

    Lu Yin looked at Zhao Ran in apletely different manner. He had thought that the girl was connected to Destiny, but it turned out she was actually a piece of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha.

    "Your Highness?" Zhao Ran asked, puzzled by the attention.

    Her question startled Lu Yin. "It¡¯s nothing. You can go now."

    "Oh." Zhao Ran nced back at Mister Mu, and when she saw him drinking her tea, she smiled and left, happy.

    Lu Yin stared at Zhao Ran¡¯s back as she left, and then he turned to Mister Mu. "Master, when did you realize Zhao Ran is actually a part of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha?"

    "Just now."

    Lu Yin was surprised. "Just now?"

    Mister Mu chuckled. "Do you believe me to be omniscient? When ites to many things, I am no different from an ordinary person. Not even I can fullyprehend the power of destiny. It¡¯s also not impossible for an ordinary human to scheme against a cultivator. If not, how could Destiny have managed to attack Wei Nu, the River of Aeons¡¯s Ferryman?"

 Chapter 3287: Opportunity

    <h4>Chapter 3287: Opportunity</h4>

    Lu Yin agreed. Scheming had nothing to do with one¡¯s level of cultivation. Anyone who schemed from the shadows would have an advantage. But, whether or not their ns seeded was an entirely separate matter.

    Ever since he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had participated in countless battles of various forms. He had fought against strange innate gifts and miraculous battle techniques. Still, the battle between Destiny and Wei Nupletely redefined his perspective of things.

    The two never even physically fought each other. Instead, they used the power of time and altered the future as their battlefield. If their fight had not been revealed to Lu Yin, he would have never known about it.

    Who could have imagined that Destiny, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, and Wei Nu, a Dukkhan on the same level as the Origin Progenitor and other such powerhouses, had always been fighting in the River of Aeons?

    "Can it really... start again?" Lu Yin took a sip of tea, seemingly asking both Mister Mu and himself.

    Mister Mu looked at him. "What if you can?"

    Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu. "Master, I''m not a naive kid anymore. Was this the true goal when anchoring the Mirari Realm?"

    Mister Mu smiled. "This was my purpose in helping Tai Chu, though he didn¡¯t know that."

    "Then how did you know? How much did you know from Destiny?"

    "Destiny never told me."

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    "Then how did you-?"

    Mister Mu''s eyes fell, and he stared into his teacup in a daze. "I once had my own megaverse."

    A tremor ran through Lu Yin, and he nodded. "I understand."

    The Origin Progenitor and Mister Mu had had different motivations for anchoring the Mirari Realm. The Origin Progenitor, like Mister Mu before, was in his own megaverse. After having already experienced the destruction of his own megaverse in the past, Mister Mu had sought to control all variables.

    If it were truly possible to start again, Lu Yin could understand why the Boundary Guardians had gone to such lengths to eliminate the Origin Progenitor. Even at the moment, the Origin Progenitor remained unaware of their true motivation.

    The Origin Progenitor had been much luckier than Mister Mu, as he did not need to know why he had been targeted.

    "Wei Nu scattered her Dukkha for a reason. That reason-"

    Lu Yin started, but Mister Mu cut him off. "Wei Nu¡¯s reason is none of our concern. Now, you can decide: what will be the start, and what will be the end."

    Destiny had plotted against Wei Nu, but there had been no clear start or end to their conflict. For the future of humanity, Destiny¡¯s ns had started with Sage Yajna¡¯s first cup of tea and had ended with another. At the moment, Lu Yin needed to decide when humanity¡¯s future would begin, and when it would end.

    While it appeared as if the Aeternals had been defeated and that humanity was experiencing an unprecedented time of prosperity, only Lu Yin and a handful of others understood that their current prosperity was apanied by extreme danger.

    The Heavens Sect had once risen to the pinnacle, only to fall and copse. It was inevitable that it would suffer the same fate once again. How their tortuous path in the future looked was up to Lu Yin.

    He thought for a moment before looking up across the table. "Kill Professor Wei."

    "Another part of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha?"

    "She once gave Ancestor Tianyi a paper cutout, and she also held him back when my Lu family was being banished."

    "Good. Let that be the start. The end will be with her." Mister Mu stared off into the distance in the direction Zhao Ran had gone.

    Was Wei Nu truly an enemy of humanity? Lu Yin had no clear answer to that question. She wanted to escape from the Mirari Realm and leave the River of Aeons, while also entering the Immortal realm. She had schemed against Destiny and targeted both humanity and Lu Yin. Lu Yin could only treat such a person as an enemy.

    The easiest and most straightforward path to bing an Immortal was to reset a megaverse.

    Lu Yin was certain that, given the chance, Wei Nu would help Yong Heng reset the megaverse. As for why she had not yet done so, the woman had to have her own reasons.

    What Lu Yin needed to do was weaken Wei Nu¡¯s power as much as possible. However, it was not really about the woman¡¯s power. Since Professor Wei, Zhao Ran, and others were all part of Wei Nu¡¯s Dukkha, eliminating them would simply extend the time that Wei Nu needed to ovee Dukkha; she would not truly be weakened.

    What intrigued Lu Yin the most at this moment was the future that Destiny had seen. What had she seen to make her willingly abandon her efforts against Wei Nu so that she could give Lu Yin a chance?

    He knew that, if he truly chose to restart things, all of Destiny¡¯s efforts would fail. Everything that she had worked for would vanish.

    While Destiny had offered Lu Yin a chance to start over, the gift made Lu Yin feel even more burdened.

    It would not be easy to find Professor Wei, just like how Progenitor Xi was struggling to find True God.

    All Lu Yin could do for the moment was wait. He had seen the truth of the megaverse, but he could not yet pursue it. All he could do was wait.

    No, there was one thing he could do, what he should as well.

    The Tower of the Fifth stood in the Cosmic Sea. It was a ce that contained many inheritances that countless people in the Origin Universe longed to obtain.

    It stood in the ce where Lu Yin had ordered the Tower of the Fifth to be first built, above the Eye of the Seam and it was used to pass down battle techniques. When Aeternus hadunched a massive invasion of the Fifth Maind, the tower had been relocated several times before eventually finding a home in the Heavens Sect. With the Heavens Sect having stabilized, the Tower of the Fifth had been returned to the Cosmic Sea.

    The tower held too many inheritances, many of which had originally belonged to Lu Yin. However, as time passed, people from the Fifth Maind, the Sixth Maind, the Perennial World, and even other parts of the Sixverse Association had entered the tower, obtained inheritances, and left their own legacies behind.

    At the moment, no one, not even Lu Yin himself, knew just how many inheritances were stored in the Tower of the Fifth. There were simply too many.

    At any time of year, many people would seek their lucky opportunity in the Tower of the Fifth. Everyone who received an inheritance as reward from the tower was obligated to acknowledge Lu Yin as a half-master. This had contributed to Lu Yin¡¯s reputation throughout the Fifth Maind. He had risen from being an ordinary cultivator to leading humanity to victory in wars and defeating Aeternus. But even more than that, the Tower of the Fifth had yed a significant role in spreading Lu Yin¡¯s fame.

    More precisely, the Tower of the Fifth was the source of many people¡¯s gratitude towards Lu Yin, as they saw him as a half-master. Even if some people did not truly feel any respect for him, as long as they received an inheritance from the Tower of the Fifth, they had to show him at least a token of respect.

    The phrase "disciples across the world" perfectly described Lu Yin.

    His fame had spread everywhere, in a manner that no one other than could have aplished.

    Lu Yin arrived beside the Tower of the Fifth in the Cosmic Sea. He watched as people came and went. On the surface, the tower was still being protected by experts like Jiu Chi, Liu Ye, Fei Hua, and Man Li. But secretly, there were multiple peak powerhouses keeping an eye as well. Otherwise, anyone capable of taking the tower itself would also seed in stealing countless legacies.

    Every era had its own symbol. In the ancient era, Burial Garden had been the symbol of the Heavens Sect, which in turn had represented the height of human civilization. Later, as one Maind after another was destroyed, the Daosource Sect era had created <i>Boundless</i>, which was the vessel that held the Fifth Maind¡¯s inheritances. It was a battleship capable of traversing the Hollow, and it had even mmed into the Ossis Ark. For the modern era, the Heavens Sect had the Tower of the Fifth as its symbol.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes turned to the Inheritance Ranking for the Tower of the Fifth.

    The Inheritance Ranking was a unique list. It wasposed of the individuals who had made the greatest contributions to the Tower of the Fifth, and it did not list sects or families.

    Anyone who could leave their name behind on the Inheritance Ranking would be recorded in the annals of history.

    Countless independent cultivators and powerhouses had chosen to leave their inheritance to the Tower of the Fifth if they failed to find an heir or had no descendants. If they could leave their name on the Inheritance Ranking, then their legacy would endure for countless years. There was also no doubt that, someday, someone would obtain that inheritance and remember the one who had left it behind, which would also ensure that their name would be remembered.

    There were many names on the Inheritance Ranking, as there was no limit to how many names could be on it. Anyone who offered a significant contribution to humanity''s inheritance deserved to be remembered.

    Of course, ordinary battle techniques and cultivation methods did not qualify. If they did, then anyone could leave anything behind to have their name recorded down in history.

    Only forty-nine names were currently listed on the Inheritance Ranking. This indicated that forty-nine significant inheritances had been left behind. The name at the very top of the list was Wu Tian¡¯s.

    Lu Yin was not surprised to see the man ranked first. During the Heavens Sect era, Wu Tian had taught the masses, and he had already relocated the Wu Stele to the Tower of the Fifth. It took up a ce on the ninth level. The man deserved to hold the top ce on the Inheritance Ranking.

    When the Liu family had been destroyed by the four ruling powers, the Sword Monument had been lost and eventually picked up by Lu Yin. When Wu Tian returned, Lu Yin had given the Sword Monument back to the man, and Wu Tian had then left his Wu Stele behind. Lu Yin had not asked about it at the time, but he hadter learned that Wu Tian had left the Wu Stele within the Tower of the Fifth.

    Wu Tian had never been the strongest of the Three Realms and Six Daos, but he had done more for humanity as a whole than any of his peers.

    Second on the Inheritance Ranking was Big Sis, who had left her Impious Sutra behind. Of course, she had only left behind a refined version of the Impious Sutra that was no longer capable of controlling people.

    Big Sis did not leave her name as Progenitor Y¨­u Ming, but rather as Lei Qingqing.

    Lei Qingqing was Progenitor Y¨­u Ming¡¯s name in the modern era. She viewed Leon''s Armada as her family, as well as Lu Yin.

    Leng Qing was ranked third, and he had left behind his insights on the path of the saber.

    The fourth was a name that Lu Yin did not recognize. This person had left behind a secret technique that was valuable enough to have been left on the seventh level, which was the same as the Yu Secret Technique.

    Unfortunately, secret techniques were no longer of use to Lu Yin.

    More and more familiar names appeared on the ranking list. It could be said that Lu Yin personally knew most of the people whose names were on the list. After all, those whose inheritances qualified to be ced on the Inheritance Ranking were not ordinary individuals. Naturally, there were also a few strangers.

    The inheritances that the Tower of the Fifth held had be truly extraordinary treasures.

    Lu Yin also knew that, aside from the inheritances that were mentioned on the Inheritance Ranking, some inheritances had been left anonymously, such as another secret technique: Phoenix Tail Sweep.

    Chu Jian had once used that secret technique. It had been developed by the Great Sovereign.

    While the Great Sovereign was the creator of the secret technique, Lu Yin did not bother asking who had left it in the Tower of the Fifth.

    The Tower of the Fifth showcased the cumtive efforts and legacies of countless people. It was the glory of humanity¡¯s legacies. Lu Yin was visiting the tower to ensure that its brilliance would illuminate the entire megaverse.

    His Wordless Heavenly Book started to shine, and light radiated across the Origin Universe. Everyone turned to look towards the light.

    Lu Yin stood beneath the Wordless Heavenly Book, the Tower of the Fifth before him.

    He raised a hand and proceeded to etch a name into the Tower of the Fifth: Tai Hong.

    "The Great Sovereign, Tai Hong, perished in battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Today, I leave her name here, so that no future generations will ever forget."

    As the two characters "Tai Hong" appeared on the Tower of the Fifth, a shadow entered the Wordless Heavenly Book. Throughout the entire Origin Universe, the universes of the Sixverse Association, and even more beyond them, countless people witnessed this moment. They all slowly bowed towards the Wordless Heavenly Book.

    In the Cyclic Universe, Chu Jian, Sovereign Ninth Lotus, and many others had their eyes flush red with emotion.

    The Great Sovereign''s death at the Immemorial Citadel had drastically weakened the Cyclic Universe. Many had expected Lu Yin''s Heavens Sect to take advantage of the situation and annex the Cyclic Universe. Given the antagonistic rtionship that had existed between the Great Sovereign and the Lu family, many had believed that her death would bring suffering to the people of the Cyclic Universe.

    Instead, the Great Sovereign was the first fallen hero whose memory was honored at the Tower of the Fifth.

    Lu Yin was worthy of leading all of humanity; he did not deny the Great Sovereign¡¯s contributions.

    At the Immemorial Citadel, Mister Mu and Tai Chu both watched the scene withplicated emotions. In the end, Tai Hong had left before either of them.

 Chapter 3288: Remembering

    <h4>Chapter 3288: Remembering</h4>

    Lu Yin wrote down the names of the fallen heroes without following any particr order. The reason why he had inscribed the Great Sovereign¡¯s name first was because, at her Tea Ceremonies, she had shared the names of a great number of fallen heroes. Her respect for such warriors was unmatched, and her way of honoring them was something that no one else had done.

    At the Immemorial Citadel, when Lu Yin spoke with the Origin Progenitor, he had learned that the Great Sovereign had actuallye from the Origin Universe. She had cultivated a power that was both identical to and the opposite of stellr energy. She was someone who had never epted defeat.

    "Progenitor Hui, Hui Wen, died in battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Today, I write his name here, so that future generations will never forget."

    Progenitor Hui''s contributions could not be measured. Without him, humanity would not have reached its current state. Everyone was indebted to the man, regardless of their level of cultivation. Progenitor Hui had altered the course of human history.

    Countless people bowed, including those from the Cyclic Universe and various other parallel universes. Progenitor Hui had worked to help all of humanity, not just the Origin Universe.

    Only the people from the Sixth Maind did not bow. While Progenitor Hui had helped them by enabling humanity to defeat Aeternus, he had also done a great deal of harm to the Sixth Maind. In the end, Progenitor Hui had been a human, not a god, and he had had his own bits of selfishness.

    Time passed as name after name was written onto the Tower of the Fifth.

    Qiu, Qing Hui, Old Chong, Hui Wu, Bai Sheng, E'' Ji, Babal, the Rune Progenitor, Jian An, Bai Mu, Master Shan, and Xiao, and more.

    People remained bowed as each name appeared. These people had sacrificed themselves for humanity. Lu Yin was only able to list a few of the fallen heroes, and all that anyone could do at this moment was offer their deep respect and remember the fallen.

    The Wordless Heavenly Book zed like a sun, and it illuminated the entire universe, warming the hearts of all people.

    N?v(el)B\\jnn

    An inheritance was not merely the passing down of a civilization, but also the passing down of the will and culture of a people. If a civilization lost their past culture and will, they had not received aplete inheritance. They would be nothing more than a continuation of a given race, but they could not be considered the same civilization as before.

    The Tower of the Fifth sought to pass down not just the current era, but also the memory of humanity''s fateful battle against the Aeternals to future generations. The will and spirit of humanity could not be forgotten by future generations.

    After Lu Yin etched all of the names that he knew onto the Tower of the Fifth, Lightstream started to take him through the universe, just like when the Origin Progenitor¡¯s sword had carried Lu Yin and the others through time and space. He stared into the River of Aeons and observed the unknown histories of countless individuals who had fought and died for humanity in forgotten corners of the megaverse, never to be remembered.

    Lu Yin did not know the names of these people, but he made sure to etch their memories into his mind. Even without names, the Tower of the Fifth continued to shine brightly. The light never dimmed at all.

    Those great people who had passed away had never expected to be remembered by future generations at the moment of their sacrifice. Still, they deserved to be remembered.

    Even minor characters who had died on the battlefield would be remembered. Their spirit and will would be passed down to future generations.

    The Tower of the Fifth continued to glow brightly for two full years.

    For two years, Lu Yin constantly traveled along the River of Aeons, searching for forgotten heroes who had died and remembering their memories. For two years, the Wordless Heavenly Book zed ever brighter, its light reaching every dark corner of the universe.

    More and more, Lu Yin could feel the hopes and desires of the people, and his inner universe expanded yet again.

    This was something that he had not anticipated. He had simply wanted to leave a bit of history behind for the future. It was his responsibility.

    During Lu Yin¡¯s Progenitor¡¯s tribtion with his Wordless Heavenly Book, he had vowed to guide humanity toward goodness. The collective will of the fallen heroes that he was passing down was one method of doing just that. Anyone could be moved by such sacrifices, and if so, they would not fall to evil.

    Not everyone could remember the fallen heroes, nor would every fallen hero be remembered. However, everyone, human or not, would remember Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin wished to make the Tower of the Fifth a gift of inheritance to future generations, much like what Burial Garden and <i>Boundless</i> had both been. However, the truth was that he himself had be the greatest symbol of his era.

    This day marked exactly 100 years since Lu Yin had first started cultivating on Earth during the¡¯s apocalypse. This was the time that had passed in the Origin Universe, and it did not include the additional time that Lu Yin had spent in universes with elerated time, the Mirari Realm, and his Timestop Space.

    In just 100 years, humanity had experienced a monumental transformation.

    ...

    There was a ce in the Perennial World that was rarely visited by anyone. It had once been the site of a grand battle, and it had served as the front line, resisting the Aeternal¡¯s invasion. It was also the location where one of the Perennial World¡¯s peak powerhouses had once lived, long ago. It was in the Dominion Realm, which was in the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy.

    After the Perennial World had split off from the Fifth Maind, the Dominion Realm, Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and Lower Realm had all been established. The Dominion Realm had been the ce where Progenitors stood guard, and it had also served as their battleground.

    However, the battles in the Dominion Realm had never been as intense as the ones on the rear battlefield. Aeternus rarely targeted the Dominion Realm, even if the human Progenitors had frequently fought against Aeternus there.

    This was because the Dominion Realm had been guarded by the Divine Eagle, and the Perennial World had never left the region unprotected.

    However, things had since changed.

    Aeternus had been defeated, which had led to a great number of people leaving Ceaseless Impetus and the rear battlefield. The Divine Eagle had left the Mother Tree entirely, and only Nong Yi remained behind to guard the Dominion Realm.

    There were many different regions of the Dominion Realm, corresponding to the territories of various Progenitors. Lu Yin and other youths had once visited the Domain of Withering, which had belonged to Progenitor Ku. His Voidsoul Pce had been there, which was where Progenitor Ku had left his own legacy.

    Far away from the Voidsoul Pce, on another one of the Mother Tree''s branches, there was a region known as the Wildde Domain. It was where one of the Perennial World¡¯s Progenitors had once lived. That powerhouse had been known as Wild Sword.

    Wild Sword had been a Progenitor who had risen up from the Liu family. His sword had been fierce and wild, which earned him the title of Wild Sword. For a time, he had swept through the rear battlefield. Aeternus had been forced to take the man seriously. After he arrived in the Dominion Realm, his chosen region had been much closer to the rear battlefield than Progenitor Ku¡¯s Domain of Withering.

    After Wild Sword¡¯s death, the region had fallen to ruin.

    No one thought that True God would be hiding in such a ce.

    True God''s body was still shrouded by the golden light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, though a blood-red color was suppressing the golden light. If not for that, the man would ze like a beacon everywhere he went, and it would be impossible for him to hide.

    His expression fell as he watched countless people in the Higher Realm bow in the direction of the Wordless Heavenly Book. He sighed. ¡°Humanity is a strange species. They always manage to stand up when confronted with despair. There is always someone willing to lead them out of the darkness. Even if Lu Yin had not appeared, someone else would have.

    ¡°That child is like an illusion born from the collective desires of humanity to reverse their despair. But an illusion, no matter how brilliant, will eventually fade away.¡±

    Ancient God and ckless God both stood behind True God, calmly watching.

    Skydog quietly sat at True God''s feet. Even after surviving so many battles, the dog showed no sign of any injuries. Despite only being a True God Guard Captain and much weaker than the Seven Skygods, Skydog was exceptionally tough.

    ¡°I just hope that this illusion doesn¡¯t take you with it when it disappears,¡± an elderly voicemented from behind the small group.

    Ancient God and ckless God both whipped around as one, startled. They had not noticed anyone¡¯s arrival.

    True God¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°He won¡¯t take me. No matter how bright an illusion might shine, it will remain false. It¡¯s been a long time.¡±

    He turned around to look at an elderly man some distance away. ¡°Master Qing Cao.¡±

    It was indeed none other than Master Qing Cao standing behind the remaining Aeternals, the same old man that Lu Yin had met with and questioned, but found nothing strange about.

    Master Qing Cao was the elderly man who led the Windrift Hall. He had saved many lives and enjoyed a brilliant reputation in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

    Ancient God stared at the old man in the distance. He had never seen this man before. Who was he?

    Ancient God was an Ortuser, and yet this old man had arrived behind him without Ancient God noticing anything. That might be beyond even True God. Ancient God believed himself capable of fighting True God on equal footing, and yet he had beenpletely unaware of when this old man had approached.

    Could this person be an Immortal?

    Was this the Fated One that Gu Yizhi had been searching for?

    Master Qing Cao was carrying a bamboo basket on his back. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary herb gatherer. He slowly walked forward, smiling at the group of men. ¡°The mighty Aeternus, reduced to just the few of you. How pathetic.¡±

    ¡°And who might you be?¡± ckless God could not hold back the question.

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog barked once, but the moment Master Qing Cao looked at the dog, it was overwhelmed by fear. It curled up, burying its head below, not daring to make another sound.

    Ancient God frowned. He was well aware of Skydog¡¯s strength. In fact, not even he really understood why Skydog was so resilient. The man did not know if he was capable of killing the beast.

    Despite that, Skydog was clearly terrified of this old man.

    Master Qing Cao looked at ckless God and said, ¡°All of your schemes are nothing more than fleeting illusions;pared to the ns of that child, Hui Wen, yours are insignificant. You¡¯ve lost, which is by no means unfair.¡±

    ckless God clenched a fist, but he did not dare speak back. He was no idiot, and he had already guessed the truth. He silently took a step back.

    Master Qing Cao then turned to Ancient God, to whom he gave a nod of admiration. ¡°Tai Chu¡¯s disciples were all quite remarkable. If not for the fact that Tai Chu forced you to suppress your cultivation and forbade you from breaking through to the Origin realm, the Heavens Sect might not have fallen so easily.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ancient God asked.

    Master Qing Cao gave a slight smile as he sighed. ¡°Who am I? I¡¯ve long since forgotten. I¡¯ve lived for far too long. Immortality is more of a curse than a blessing. You, Yong Heng, dream of entering the Immortal realm, but little do you know that Immortality is where the true nightmare begins.

    ¡°The feeling of being unable to die is something that you can¡¯t evenprehend.¡±

    Ancient God¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Immortal realm. So, this old man really was an Immortal. This was the mysterious power behind the Boundary Guardians, the Fated One that Ancient God had been searching for.

    However, he had never seen this old man before.

    True God stared at Master Qing Cao. ¡°Not being able to experience such a thing is even more tragic than experiencing it.¡±

    Master Qing Cao gave the same slight smile. ¡°The megaverses ce severe restrictions on Immortals. While we can never die and have no equals, the megaverse itself is our greatest enemy. If not for the restrictions it ces on us, I would have never needed to strip that man, Ku Jie, of a bit of his time.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t allow him to take that time with him.¡±

    ¡°You should have just killed him,¡± True God stated coldly.

    Master Qing Cao shook his head. ¡°And that¡¯s why there are restrictions. Tian En was utterly useless¡ªshe failed to kill the man even under those circumstances. However, that doesn¡¯t matter. The time that was taken from him will never be returned.¡±

    Ancient God listened in silence, betraying nothing on his face.

    True God spoke again. ¡°Three of the Boundary Guardians are dead, and only Tian Ci managed to escape. My Aeternals have been defeated. Either you help me break this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, or your Spirit Nidus can deal with the things here on its own. While the Heavens Sect has gained many experts, they still might not be able to stop your Spirit Nidus.¡±

 Chapter 3289: That Punch

    <h4>Chapter 3289: That Punch</h4>

    Master Qing Cao sighed. ¡°It was a mistake to make them the Boundary Guardians. Four cowards who refused to even attempt to ovee Dukkha... Even whenbined, they can¡¯tpare to you alone. However, your ambition is too great, and you refused to be a Boundary Guardian.¡±

    True God stared at Master Qing Cao. ¡°You¡¯re the one whose ambitions are too great. You wish to break past your limitations again, and the only way to do that is by resetting a megaverse. I merely wish to be an Immortal, but ultimately, I will always remain beneath you.¡±

    Master Qing Cao chuckled. ¡°Immortality is the end of the line. There are no breakthroughs left. I¡¯m simply trying to reduce the restrictions that bind me.¡±

    True God fell silent. He knew that Master Qing Cao had to have some n, and given the current circumstances, the man could no longer remain hidden.

    ¡°They¡¯ve already set out,¡± Master Qing Cao said.

    True God¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°The Spirit Nidus?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. I thought that there would be no need for the Spirit Nidus to act directly. After all, waging war against two megaverses simultaneously would bring about more harm than good. Who could have imagined that the Tianyuan Megaverse would give rise to someone like Lu Yin?¡± Master Qing Cao sighed.

    He then started walking away. ¡°It¡¯s a shame Tai Hong died. Out of everyone from her generation, I had the most hope for her¡ªso persistent and pure. A pity, such a pity.¡±

    The old man¡¯s voice grew faint and erratic before eventually fading away entirely.

    True God looked at the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm that surrounded him. Was it truly a pity that Tai Hong had died? No, not at all. She would not have been herself if she had acted any differently. At the same time, without that personality, she would have had no chance of oveing Dukkha. Her actions had been predetermined by her character.

    A few dayster, Ancient God stood in a dark corner of the Wildde Domain. A thread of power fell, piercing through the Dominion Realm as it made its way towards the Higher Realm and the Lu Sanctum.

    Before the thread could even leave the Dominion Realm, the power dissipated.

    Ancient God¡¯s face twitched, and he suddenly spun around. Behind him, he saw Master Qing Cao smiling warmly.

    ¡°The first time I saw you, I mentioned that all of Tai Chu¡¯s disciples are impressive. You¡¯ve suffered great humiliation, joined Aeternus, and endured countless years of infamy. You even risked humanity¡¯s extinction without ever revealing yourself. It was all for me, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    True God approached from the distance, always staring at Ancient God. ¡°You were under my control, and yet you still had thoughts of rebelling?¡±

    Ancient God remained calm. He had anticipated being discovered. ¡°You¡¯ve been watching me this whole time?¡±

    True God¡¯s eyes glittered with a cold light. ¡°There had to be a human spy within the Seven Skygods. After eliminating everyone else, the least likely candidate became the most likely: you.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t trust you after you first betrayed humanity and joined me. That is why I ced you under my control. I never imagined that you¡¯d be able to resist even that and try to pass on information at such a crucial moment.¡±

    Master Qing Cao praised, ¡°You waited for countless years, just for this moment. I¡¯ve shown myself, but you won¡¯t be able to tell anyone.¡±

    Suddenly, Ancient God struck out. His fist was covered with Wielder - God as he attacked Master Qing Cao.

    Only an Immortal could stop Gu Yizhi. True God was restrained by the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, and neither ckless God nor Skydog could stop Ancient God.

    Besides, the man wanted to test the power of an Immortal for himself.

    Master Qing Cao sighed. ¡°I¡¯m giving you onest chance. Complete abandon your identity as a human, or else I will be forced to take action.¡±

    Ancient God remained unmoved. His punch was not simply aimed at Master Qing Cao; he intended to shatter the entire Dominion Realm in order to draw the rest of the Perennial World¡¯s attention.

    His fist passed by Master Qing Cao, and the attack continued on into the distance.

    However, the punch vanished without a trace.

    Forget shattering the Dominion Realm, Gu Yizhi failed to destroy so much as a single speck of dust.

    Ancient God stood frozen, unable to believe his eyes.

    <i>How... how could this be?</i>

    Master Qing Cao stood calmly in front of Gu Yizhi. Less than a meter separated the two men, and Master Qing Cao stared at Gu Yizhi with a gentle expression. ¡°Child, life onlyes once, and there¡¯s no way to live it again. I¡¯m offering you an opportunity. You should be able to sense the vast difference between us.¡±

    Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao. ¡°You... are restricted.¡±

    Master Qing Cao sighed. ¡°You wish to trade your life to slightly alter my limitations? Is it worth it?¡±

    A ck-gray force swirled across Ancient God''s body. ¡°Yes!¡±

    He lunged at Master Qing Cao while unleashing the ck-gray power in an eruption that engulfed everything nearby. This was a level of power that Ancient God had never demonstrated before¡ªneither in the Scourges, nor at the Immemorial Citadel. This was his full power with Wielder - God realm battle force, and it was all directed at Master Qing Cao.

    The old man stood where he was, unfazed. The ck-gray power, which absolutely terrified ckless God, instantly vanished, as though it had never existed at all.

    True God¡¯s eyes fell to Master Qing Cao¡¯s wrist, where a small mark had appeared.

    Ancient God might be an Ortuser, and even if an Immortal could afford topletely ignore the power of an Ortuser, to those watching, it seemed as though Ancient God¡¯s power had simply disappeared.

    To both Ancient God and ckless God, it looked as though Ancient God¡¯s incredible power was less than dust before Master Qing Cao. It had disappeared at the faintest breeze, if that was even necessary.

    Ancient God was stunned. He had never imagined that he could be so thoroughly suppressed. Was this the power that a living creature could possess? Ortusers and Dukkhans? Neither could ignore Yu Ghizi¡¯s power in such a manner. Only an Immortal could.

    ¡°To make all matters disappear¡ªthat is the power of the Immortal realm,¡± Master Qing Cao spoke slowly, as thoughmenting on something trivial.

    ¡°To me, all substance and even thews of the universe are nothing more than fleeting illusions. Nothing can approach me. This is the power of an Immortal.

    ¡°Child, I will give you onest chance. I will guide you personally. If Yong Heng is capable of bing an Immortal, then so are you. After all, you¡¯ve already taken the first step.¡±

    Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao in shock. ¡°Nothing can approach you?¡±

    Was that really the ability of an Immortal? Who could stand against such power? It was impossible to resist. To all others, an Immortal might as well be a god, as only a deity could possess such power.

    This was the power that True God sought to gain by sacrificing an entire megaverse.

    Ancient God¡¯s hand pulled back, and he stared nkly at the ground. The power he had just seen was enough to overwhelm anyone. In the face of such power, numbers lost all meaning.

    Master Qing Cao remained standing in the same ce, a calm smile on his face.

    ckless God and Skydog watched in silence from a distance, both too terrified to even make a sound.

    They had just witnessed the true pinnacle of power, and it was an overwhelming force that could control everything. This was a level of strength that nothing could even approach. Such power was beyond theirprehension.

    Ortusers could not be touched by thews of the universe, which was already terrifying enough, but Immortals could not be touched by anything at all. This was the power of a being that transcended all others.

    Ancient God had unleashed his full strength, and yet he had failed to stir up even the slightest ripple.

    He had simply wanted to create enough of amotion that the Perennial World would be alerted, or even Lu Sanctum, which was so close.

    A once revered Ortuser, one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, suddenly found himself unable to even make a bit of noise.

    Some distance away, Nong Yi stood on a branch of the Mother Tree, staring towards Seed Garden. As a Progenitor, he could easily see the region of the Dominion Realm where Ancient God was standing, but no matter what Ancient God did, he could not attract Nong Yi¡¯s attention. To Nong Yi, the Dominion Realm appeared to bepletely peaceful.

    Ancient God¡¯s expression fell and grew ominous as the ck-gray energy around him faded away.

    ckless God¡¯s expression shifted. Had the man epted his fate?

    Suddenly, Ancient God¡¯s body let out the sound of thunder. His skin cracked, and blood sttered into the air, staining the area around him red. His bones and meridians both shattered everywhere as a terrifying, indescribable aura sted out.

    ckless God was terrified. What was this power? Just the shards of Ancient God¡¯s shattered bones and meridians flying through the air were enough to force ckless God to retreat. How could the man possess such power? However, he had already shattered his body, so what more could he do?

    True God was simrly astonished. He had not expected Ancient God to be capable of unleashing such power. This force was in no way inferior to what True God himself had unleashed with his Natural Art when he had uprooted the ck Mother Tree.

    Ancient God raised his head, revealing bloodshot eyes. This was thew that he hadprehended: Enhancement.

    Just as objects could be enhanced, so too could his own body.

    At this moment, Ancient God was targeting his own body, enhancing his strength without limits. He continued to enhance his body, even after he pushed beyond what he could physically handle. His flesh was destroyed as his meridians shattered. No matter what sort of attack he was capable of unleashing at this moment, he was doomed to die in the following moment.

    Master Qing Cao frowned. ¡°Why bother? Any power that falls under the limitations of the megaverse can never touch an Immortal.¡±

    A deep roar emanated from Ancient God as his five fingers curled into a fist. The terrifying power emanating from the man caused even True God to retreat several steps. ckless God was incapable of even getting close, and Skydog let out a howl as it fled with its tail tucked between its legs.

    A gust of wind swept through the area.

    As a punch was thrown at Master Qing Cao, Ancient God''s body started to crumble, starting from his legs, and working up from there. His bones, meridians, and flesh disintegrated,yer byyer. The destruction spread across his torso, reaching his arms and even his head. In a mere instant, Ancient God looked like nothing more than a decaying corpse. It was as though throwing this one punch had caused him to age countless years.

    This punch should have shattered everything before it. It was the most terrifying attack in human history.

    It was a punch that should have stirred the River of Aeons itself, making it difficult for future generations to trace the punch through time.

    The punch should have embodied the glory of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

    Instead, the punch failed to produce a breeze or even create the slightest ripple.

    In the distance, Nong Yi was still peering down at Seed Garden. In his old age, he found joy in watching the younger generation, and he saw them as his legacy. Overseeing his family¡¯s prosperity was trulyforting.

    If man had simply nced to the side, he would have seen Ancient God¡¯s desperate, final punch.

    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

    But Nong Yi never looked. Ancient God¡¯s punchcked the power to cause Nong Yi to merely shift his gaze. The attack had been erased in front of Master Qing Cao.

    The old man looked at the skeletal remains of Ancient God¡¯s fist, and said, ¡°Your name is Gu Yizhi. I will remember you.

    ¡°From the moment I became an Immortal, you are the first one to have gotten so close to striking me.¡±

    Ancient God stared at Master Qing Cao, and his skeletal frame started to crumble,pletely devoid of all power. His efforts had been useless. His desperate strike had aplished nothing. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to harm Master Qing Cao in any way.

    Did humanity really have no future?

    <i>Impossible. There must be something that we haven¡¯t discovered yet. If not, why hasn¡¯t this man already reset the megaverse? What is the Immemorial Citadel to this man? What is the Heavens Sect? The Three Realms and Six Daos? Even Lu Yin. All arepletely insignificant, as they can be easily swept away with a flick of his fingers.</i>

    <i>And yet he hasn¡¯t taken action against us, and that¡¯s because he is restricted</i>.

    <i>Those restrictions must be severe, to the point where he needs to reset the megaverse to weaken them. They prevent him from personally taking action.</i>

    Ancient God¡¯s eyes, deep in his skeletal head, flickered with light as his mouth opened and he started to speak, ¡°When the Dao of Heavens is bestowed, devour the hundreds of rivers, and the reflection of the ancientnds is the way of the sage. When the Dao of Heavens is not present, gather the energy inwards... Leap into the cosmos and crouch... Harmonious with themon people... Devour the hundreds of rivers... Leap into the boundless skies and crouch...¡±

    True God was shocked. ¡°No! The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra!¡±

    With a casual wave of his hand, Master Qing Cao sent Ancient God flying back, his body nearly shattering.

    At that moment, throughout the entire megaverse, anyone who had ever practiced the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra suddenly saw a face; it was Master Qing Cao¡¯s face. It was thest sight that Ancient God saw.

 Chapter 3290: A Gift For You

    <h4>Chapter 3290: A Gift For You</h4>

    In the Cosmic Sea, outside the Tower of the Fifth, Lu Yin had just taken the Wordless Heavenly Book back when he suddenly heard someone reciting the Origin Sutra. At the same time, he also saw a face. While the image only appeared for an instant before quickly disappearing, Lu Yin recognized it. It was the face of Master Qing Cao.

    His expression changed dramatically, and he used Inverse Step, vanishing as he rushed back to the Heavens Sect.

    Upon arriving, he immediately went to find Destina, who had remained there. She looked at him in confusion, and he shouted, "Start now! Hurry!"

    Destina did not bother to ask any questions. She tore through the void and instantly appeared beside a flower garden on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. There, Zhao Ran was happily humming a song while stretching out her hand to pick a flower.

    Destina moved faster, and she snatched the flower before Zhao Ran could.

    Lu Yin watched from the distance.

    Destina breathed a sigh of relief as Zhao Ran looked at her in confusion. She blinked in bewilderment, unsure of what had just happened.

    "Here, a gift for you," Destina said with a smile as she handed the flower over.

    Zhao Ran smiled brightly. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    She gave Destina a curious look. ¡°Sister, you look familiar. I¡¯m sorry, but Zhao Ran is rotten goods, so I can¡¯t recognize you.¡±

    Destina quickly replied, ¡°We¡¯ve never met, so it¡¯s normal for you to not recognize me.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    By this time, Lu Yin had already left, and he was heading to Windrift Hall.

    At the same time, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and several others left the Immemorial Citadel, all moving out to search for Ancient God.

    The Origin Progenitor closed his eyes as he reminisced about Musclehead. <i>He¡¯s gone... Just a memory now.</i>

    ***

    In the Perennial World, in the Domain of the Wild Sword up in the Mother Tree¡¯s canopy, Ancient Gody on the ground. His body barely resembled that of a human any longer. Both his flesh and bones were shattered. His condition was pitiful.

    Master Qing Cao no longer had his usual calm, and his expression was quite upset.

    True God stepped forward, looking down at Ancient God. ¡°You abandoned an opportunity to be an Immortal so easily? All because of Tai Chu?¡±

    Ancient God¡¯s skeletal mouth moved, and he let out a hoarse sound. Not even True God could understand what the man tried to say.

    It was not that Ancient God¡¯s voice was too soft, but rather that there was no sound at all.

    Ancient God had already epted his fate before he threw his final punch. He had be lost in his own memories, and he was smiling at something only he could see.

    Master Qing Cao nced down at his wrist, and his expression grew even worse. ¡°Yong Heng, you should have never taken him in.¡±

    With that, the man turned and vanished.

    True God calmly stared down at Ancient God for a while, and then up and off into the distance where Nong Yi was still smiling while observing the Middle Realm, taking pleasure in watching his family.

    "Humans¡¯ greatest weakness is their emotions, but that is also their strength. You''re truly difficult topletely eradicate," True God softlymented. Then, with a single step, he crushed Ancient God¡¯s body, shattering it beyond repair and ensuring the man had no chance of surviving.

    In the distance, ckless God let out a breath. Yet another one had died.

    One after another, they kept falling. Would he really live to see the megaverse reset?

    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    <i>Woof!</i>

    Skydog ran up to True God, who looked over at ckless God. "Let''s go."

    A short timeter, the Domain of the Wild Sword was silent once again. A breeze swept through and picked up Ancient God¡¯s shattered remains, blowing them towards Nong Yi.

    ***

    In the Fifth Maind¡¯s Innerverse, Lu Yin arrived at Windrift Hall for the second time.

    His first visit had also been to look for Master Qing Cao. He remembered hearing Qing Cao say that the universe breathed, and he hade here to seek further answers. He had suspected Master Qing Cao of being a hidden expert, but Lu Yin had found nothing.

    At Lu Yin¡¯s second visit, he arrived zing with killing intent.

    Windrift Hall trembled as everyone within it dropped to their knees in terror. No one could even meet Lu Yin¡¯s eyes.

    Coco and Zora were both missing, and Zeng Die was the one overseeing things.

    "Where is Master Qing Cao?" Lu Yin demanded.

    Zeng Die did not understand why Lu Yin was so furious, even if he was not tantly showing it. Even the restrained bloodlust that Lu Yin gave off was enough to shake the stars. "Master hasn¡¯t returned since youst requested his help with the poisoning, Dao Monarch."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes swept through the ce, and a single step took him to Master Qing Cao¡¯s residence.

    The man¡¯s home was humble, much like the homes of many older cultivators that Lu Yin had met. The house was simple, and the courtyard was in. There was just a modest selection of medicinal herbs. Nothing in the ce hinted at Qing Cao being the individual referred to as the Fated One whom Ancient God had been desperately trying to discover.

    Lu Yin did not know what had be of Ancient God. Lu Yuan and his peers were certainly searching frantically, but the chances of finding anything were slim.

    Lu Yin quickly realized that he had acted impulsively. Even if he had found Master Qing Cao, what could have changed?

    Ancient God was far from weak. If Master Qing Cao had managed to force Ancient God to use the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra just to send a message, then it indicated that there was a vast gap between them. Finding Qing Cao would likely be a death sentence for Lu Yin.

    Even so, Lu Yin was unwilling to give up. How could Lu Yuan, Garan Zhiluo, or the others be satisfied with giving up? Even if they knew that sess meant certain death, they would still want to find Ancient God.

    Unfortunately, there was no trace of him to be found.

    The only thing that Ancient God had shared through the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was Master Qing Cao¡¯s face. There had been nothing else at all. There was no way to determine a location.

    Lu Yin started thinking back to every word Master Qing Cao had ever said to him.

    <i>¡°The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I am treating it.¡±</i>

    <i>"The poisonous gasses are moving about abnormally. It¡¯s just like when a human¡¯s breathing is wrong."</i>

    <i>"When the dayes that you are able to see this grass observing you, you should also be able to see the Venom Flowzone¡¯s breath. In this universe, every natural order has its own breath and its own life."</i>

    These words had returned to Lu Yin¡¯s mind many times over the years. He regretted not realizing Master Qing Cao¡¯s power. Could such profound words havee from an ordinary cultivator?

    He quietly stood within Master Qing Cao¡¯s courtyard, unsure where to start searching.

    Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Chu Yi were all desperately searching for Ancient God and Master Qing Cao, but none of them found anything.

    It was practically impossible to find a single person in the vast megaverse with its countless parallel universes.

    The Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra was unable to help them determine where Ancient God was, unless Ancient God himself mentioned it.

    As time dragged on, hearts grew heavier. Finally, they received word from the Perennial World. There was a possibility that Ancient God had been found.

    Lu Yin raced to the Perennial World, and he soon arrived in the unfamiliar Domain of the Wild Sword.

    He was greeted by the sight of Ancient God''s shattered remains. They could barely be recognized as a human¡¯s. Lu Yin¡¯s experience was enough for him to immediately understand that this damage hade from surpassing one¡¯s physical limits, rather than from an enemy. This was self-inflicted damage.

    How desperate of a situation had Ancient God been in to willingly suffer such horrendous bacsh? There were not even any signs of battle anywhere in the nearby area.

    Nong Yi stood a short distance away, shock still painting his features. He had yet to recover from what he had found.

    Just moments passed, and Lu Yuan and the others arrived, one after the other. All of them fell silent when they saw Ancient God¡¯s remains.

    "How did you find him?" Lu Yin asked.

    Nong Yi finally came to his senses, and he forced himself to reply, ¡°There was nothing obvious to be seen at all. At first, there was nothing that caught my attention, but I am too familiar with the Dominion Realm. I¡¯ve been in this ce for too long, and I was friends with Wild Sword. I''m very familiar with his territory, so when I noticed a slight change in the region. I automatically came to investigate it, and that¡¯s when I found this.

    "Aside from this here, there¡¯s nothing at all. I can¡¯t even be sure that this is Ancient God."

    There was little more than some bones. There was almost no flesh remaining. Most people would have failed to recognize who the body belonged to, but Nong Yi had fought Ancient God several times over the years. That had been enough for him to suspect whose corpse he might have found. That was all it had taken for him to send a message to the Heavens Sect.

    Lu Yuan and the others stood beside Ancient God''s remains. Visibly, there was no reaction, yet their silence spoke volumes. This was the most intense response that they could give.

    Deep bonds existed between the Three Realms and Six Daos. Lu Yin admired them; none of them had betrayed each other. Not Garan Zhiluo, who had been sealed within Tian Fa¡¯s body and tortured with yings and deboning. Not Wu Tian, who had been strung up in the Third Scourge. Not Hongyan Mavis, who had remained trapped in the Mirari Realm for countless years. Not even Ancient God, who had been controlled by True God himself.

    Not one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciples had been a traitor.

    As True God had said, Tai Chu¡¯s disciples were all impressive.

    Lu Yin had no personal feelings for Ancient God, and he could not fullyprehend how deep of a hatred others had to hold for the man. Regardless, Ancient God had died for humanity, and such determination was worthy of respect.

    Lu Yin bowed to Ancient God¡¯s remains.

    Nong Yi quickly followed suit, and he also bowed.

    There were only a few who had practiced the Origin Progenitor¡¯s Sutra. In fact, aside from the Three Realms and Six Daos, only Lu Tianyi and Kui Luo had been taught it. Kui Luo had also seen Master Qing Cao¡¯s face, but as a Semi-Progenitor, he had not understood what the vision meant, and he had not gone to visit the Dominion Realm.

    Silently, Ancient God¡¯s remains were gathered, and people prepared to take them away.

    Not many powerful cultivators¡¯ remains would be preserved after they were dead. After the battles at the Immemorial Citadel, most of the casualties had been cremated.

    Only when Ancient God¡¯s remains were taken back did Arch-Elder Zen and the other Progenitors realize what had transpired.

    Master Qing Cao¡¯s true identity started circting among peak powerhouses, though there was no need for anyone below that level to know anything. Master Qing Cao would not bother with such people anyway.

    Lu Yin stared out at theke, his heart heavy as he realized that his suspicions had been confirmed.

    No, his spections in the past remained nothing more than that, spections. As long as the Fated One did not show themselves, there would be no proof. Lu Yin had even hoped that the Fated One would never appear, and that they would remain more of a figment or a dream.

    However, the Fated One had indeed appeared.

    ording to Nong Yi, Ancient God had died just a short distance away from where Nong Yi had been in the Dominion Realm. The Progenitor should have seen what had happened, but despite the clearly incredible power that Ancient God had unleashed, Nong Yi had not sensed anything. Lu Yin understood just what a terrifying level of power this indicated.

    At the time of his death, Ancient God must have unleashed what was quite possibly the greatest force in the megaverse, at the moment. Not even Lu Yin was confident that he could have withstood such power. Ancient God had released something on the same level as when True God had moved the ck Mother Tree. Despite that, Ancient God had failed to make the slightest disturbance. The power needed to suppress such force defied Lu Yin¡¯s understanding of what was possible in the megaverse, and this knowledge pressed down on him with the force of a mountain.

    Lu Yuan and the others did not remain silent just because they mourned Ancient God¡¯s death, they were also shaken by the terrifying strength that had killed him.

    "Dao Monarch, Progenitor Ku is requesting an audience," the Second Nightking announced to Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin turned around. "Please, bring him here."

    The mountain behind the Heavens Sect was not exactly a restricted area. Many people entered and left without notice, but Progenitor Ku was an exception. That was just his personality. He kept a low profile and did things his own way.

    "Senior, what brings you here?" Lu Yin asked right away, skipping past the formalities.

    Progenitor Ku''s expression was solemn. "Was Ancient God killed by that Master Qing Cao?"

    Lu Yin nodded.

    "I think I¡¯ve met Master Qing Cao before."

    This was a surprise. Master Qing Cao had always kept quiet, and he had never gotten involved in any part of the war with Aeternus. Before killing Ancient God, the man had never shown his hand, or rather, if he had, no one knew about it. "You¡¯ve met him, Senior?"

    "I can¡¯t remember, but I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ve seen him before," Progenitor Ku replied.

    Lu Yin''s eyes narrowed. "Your lost memory."

    Progenitor Ku nodded. "As soon as I saw his image, I became certain that I¡¯ve met him, and yet I can¡¯t remember anything. It might not be that I lost my memory, but rather that that bit of time was taken from me. If not, given my strength, there¡¯s no reason for me to still have not recovered my memories."

 Chapter 3291: Chains Of Karma

    Lu Yin immediately called for Mu Zhu and his senior disciple brothers. If time had been taken from Progenitor Ku, then they could use Origin Tracer technique to search for it.

    Mu Zhu was fine, but Qing Ping and Mu Xie were still struggling to recover. They had already used Origin Tracer to help Lu Yin deal with Prof. Wei, and they had not yet regained their full strength.

    However, this matter was too important. If some of Progenitor Ku¡¯s time had really been stolen away, then something truly significant must have urred during that time.

    When Progenitor Ku had invaded the Scourges by himself, he had not expected to return alive. He had fully intended to pave a path for future generations. Even if he died, he had intended to leave behind some clues within Aeternus. Even when he used his sequence particles to escape, he had not really expected to seed. Lu Yin had scoured the ck Mother Tree and all six Scourges, but he had not found even a trace of a clue.

    That period of time had been taken away, and Master Qing Cao had to have been involved. But if Master Qing Cao had been in the Scourge during Progenitor Ku¡¯s invasion, why had the man not simply killed Progenitor Ku? If he had not cared about the Progenitor, then why had Tian En been sent out to hunt Progenitor Ku down?

    Master Qing Cao had his own ns, and both Lu Yin and Progenitor Ku wanted to discover what had happened during the missing time.

    Senior Brothers Qing Ping and Mu Xie both went to the Five Spirits Alliance so that they could quickly recover in the parallel universes where time flowed faster.

    It was more than a month before they finally returned. They had needed the extended stay with the Five Spirits Alliance in order to fully recover.

    They were going to try to use Origin Tracer to search for a removed piece of time that involved a terrifying expert like Master Qing Cao. Not only were Lu Yin and several others present, but even Mister Mu hade, just in case.The target for Origin Tracer was Progenitor Ku.

    If some time had truly been taken away from Progenitor Ku, then his presence during that time would have to exist outside of the River of Aeons, which meant that Origin Tracer should be able to find it.

    As they started using the technique, all that Lu Yin and the others could do was wait.

    Ancient God¡¯s death meant that Lu Yuan and his peers were all grieving terribly. Even the Origin Progenitor had fallen silent beneath the Immemorial Citadel.

    The Immemorial Citadel was all quiet, and the Heavens Sect had simrly be eerily still.

    The Aeternals may have been defeated, but only those who were unaware of the truth were celebrating. No peak powerhouse or anyone who had reached a higher level of cultivation could bring themselves to feel joy.

    The true enemy had only just revealed themselves.

    After half a year passed, the day finally came when Mu Zhu and the others shouted, ¡°We¡¯ve found it!¡±

    They were staring at the stream of the River of Aeons trickling between them. There was a shing gray light as images flickered by, but they were too blurry to make out.

    Suddenly, a pair of eyes snapped open within the gray, and they stared directly at the four individuals.

    Lu Yin instantly recognized the eyes, as they belonged to Master Qing Cao.

    <em>Cough!</em>n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    All four people using Origin Tracer abruptly coughed up blood and copsed.

    A wave of Mister Mu''s hand caused the void to tremble as the stream of the River of Aeons vanished. Concern covered his face.

    In the middle of outer space, Master Qing Cao frowned. Had he been discovered? If so, it was time to start the war in earnest.

    He stood up and made his way toward the edge of the megaverse.

    On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, only Mu Zhu remained conscious. The three men who had been working with her had all fainted at the same time.

    Mister Mu quickly examined them and then said, "They¡¯re fine. They only received a nce. That person didn¡¯t do much to them."

    After moving Senior Brother Mu Ke and the others aside so that they could rest, Lu Yin turned to Mu Zhu. "Senior Sister, were you able to see anything?" §²?????§¦?

    Mu Zhu¡¯s face was pale, but she recalled what she had seen and started drawing a symbol in the air.

    The symbol that she drew was the same one that True God had noticed when Ancient God had been trying to fight Master Qing Cao. It was the symbol that was on Qing Cao¡¯s withered wrist.

    Progenitor Ku grew excited. "That¡¯s the symbol! I don¡¯t know why, but when I saw that, I knew that I had to survive and get the message out."

    Lu Yin nced toward Mister Mu, Lu Yuan, and the other senior cultivators present.

    Lu Yuan and the others of the Three Realms and Six Dao were all visibly confused.

    Even Wu Tian, who was known for being a teacher and possessing the broadest knowledge base, was unable to make any sense of the symbol.

    "Karma," Mister Mu said as he stared at the symbol. That was all he said, just one word.

    Everyone looked at the man in confusion.

    What did the symbol have to do with karma?

    Mister Mu stared at the symbol for a long time before he let out a sigh. "So that¡¯s it. Now I understand. No wonder I managed to survive. It all makes sense now."

    "Master, you understand this?" Lu Yin asked.

    Mister Mu waved his hand, and the symbol disappeared. "In this megaverse, aside from myself, no one else will understand this symbol, not even Tai Chu. That¡¯s because you simply haven¡¯t experienced it.

    "I saw this symbol long ago."

    Mu Zhu looked at Mister Mu. "In our megaverse?"

    Mister Mu nodded, his expression conflicted. "Yes, in our megaverse. At the time, I didn¡¯t understand what the symbol meant, and I didn¡¯t think much of it."

    He then turned to Progenitor Ku. "As for you, why did you find this symbol so strange?"

    Mister Mu then immediately shook his head. "Never mind, you won¡¯t remember."

    While it was true that Progenitor Ku could not remember, something must have happened at the time that had made him feel that the symbol was important enough to let others know about it.

    It was even possible that the symbol was the reason why Master Qing Cao had taken a period of time away from Progenitor Ku and then sent Tian En to hunt the Progenitor down.

    "If I were to guess, then I believe that this symbol is used for measuring time," Mister Mu continued.

    Everyone felt confused by that. Measuring time?

    Mister Mu continued in a solemn tone. ¡°There are no absolutes in the megaverse. This is something that I, Tai Chu, Wei Nu, Tai Hong, and others have all agreed upon. If an absolute were to exist, such as an Immortal, then there would have to be restrictions holding them back. The most probable restriction is karma.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know how Immortals might be restricted, but whatever it is, it must be severe. If not, how could a megaverse develop normally? An Immortal cannot possibly dominate the entire megaverse.

    ¡°When an Immortal takes actions, that is a cause, while the restrictions of the megaverse produce bacsh, which is the effect. So, in my opinion, this symbol is a chain of karma. It¡¯s a tool to measure karmic bacsh.

    ¡°Immortals are truly invincible. If they act, then they can instantly alter the structure of the megaverse. When they don¡¯t act, they are restricted by this chain of karma.

    ¡°This might be the only way to counter an Immortal.¡±

    Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu. ¡°Master, did you see a chain of karma like this when you encountered an Immortal?¡±

    Mister Mu¡¯s hands were sped behind his back as he nodded.

    ¡°The first time I saw it, I found the symbol to be odd, but I didn¡¯t think too much of it. I simply assumed that it was a symbol that belonged to that powerful being. Now, after seeing almost the same symbol once again, I realize that there is something wrong.¡±

    Lu Yin suddenly thought of something. ¡°Ask Shan Gu toe over.¡±

    Mister Mu and Great Elder Shan Gu were the only two people who had ever personally encountered an Immortal. The Lost n had once seeded in defeating their archenemies in their home megaverse, but then an invincible being had appeared, and all of the Lost n¡¯s efforts were rendered futile, and they had even been forced to flee.

    Great Elder Shan Gu quickly arrived.

    Mu Zhu drew the symbol in the air once more.

    Shan Gu stared at the drawing. There was confusion at first, but then his eyes grew wide with disbelief. ¡°This- this symbol?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it before?¡±

    Shan Gu gritted his teeth. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen it. Lord Lu, where did you see this symbol?¡±

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Where did <em>you</em> see it, Senior?¡±

    The Great Elder was visibly agitated, as pure hatred filled his eyes. ¡°That invincible being.¡±

    ¡°Was it on his wrist?¡± Mister Mu asked.

    A tremor ran through Shan Gu¡¯s body before he looked over at Mister Mu. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Mister Mu let out a breath. ¡°So, it¡¯s true. All Immortals carry this symbol, and they are unable to hide it.¡±

    ¡°Senior Shan Gu, is this symbol the exact same one that you saw?¡± Lu Yin asked. He then continued in a very serious manner. ¡°Please think carefully, Senior. This matter is of great importance.¡±

    Shan Gu nodded. He did not know where Lu Yin and the others had seen this symbol, but he clearly understood the gravity of the situation. It involved an Immortal, which was an invincible being. Would this megaverse see a repeat of the tragedy that had befallen his own?

    The man closed his eyes and reviewed his memories for a long time before his eyes opened again. ¡°They are different. The symbol that I saw was simpler.¡±

    Using hazy memories, Shan Gu also drew a symbol. ¡°I remember it clearly. At the time, myrades, seniors, and juniors had all died, and their blood had stained the stars. My clearest memory of that time is this symbol. It seemed like that invincible being¡¯s emblem. It lit up the stars as it was engraved deeply into my soul and the souls of everyone in my Lost n.

    ¡°This symbol has repeatedly appeared in my dreams. I remember it perfectly.¡±

    Everyonepared the two symbols. In general, they were quite simr, but the one that Great Elder Shan Gu had drawn was a good bit simpler than the one that Master Qing Cao wore.

    It was now clear that either all Immortals bore such a symbol, or Master Qing Cao had been the one to destroy Shan Gu¡¯s megaverse. However, the Great Elder had seen images of Master Qing Cao and said that that man was not responsible.

    Such a being would not bother to disguise themselves, just as how a human would not bother to disguise themselves in front of ants.

    If the two Immortals were different people, then the symbol most likely served the purpose that Mister Mu had hypothesized. Immortals were all restricted by the megaverse, and this symbol was a measure of that restriction.

    It was clear that Master Qing Cao¡¯s symbol consisted of more lines than the one that Shan Gu had previously seen. The lines of the two symbols were notplicated, but rather repetitive. Most notably, they formed a circle that went around the wrist. What would happen if that circle waspleted?

    ¡°Now that the Fated One has appeared, Master can finally recover,¡± Wu Tian suddenly announced.

    Lu Yuan and the others'' eyes all lit up. Yes, the Origin Progenitor had not allowed himself to recover out of fear of being targeted by the Fated One. Since that person had been exposed, the Origin Progenitor should be able to recover.

    Lu Yin, however, considered a more serious problem. ¡°The Fated One has been exposed, but we don¡¯t know his goal. Now that he¡¯s revealed himself, what is he going to do, since he can¡¯t take direct action due to the chain of karma?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll have someone else act for him,¡± Lu Yuan blurted.

    Lu Yin¡¯s expression changed. ¡°But there¡¯s no one left in this megaverse who can do that.¡±

    ¡°The Boundary Guardians,¡± Garan Zhiluo suddenly thought aloud.

    rmed, Lu Yin quickly turned to Mister Mu. ¡°Master, we have to go to the stone gate!¡±

    ¡­

    At the Tianyuan Megaverse¡¯s boundary, Jiang Feng was calmly sitting in front of the massive stone gate, his sword resting on hisp.

    A figure appeared in the distance. It was Master Qing Cao. The old man was bent over as he carried his bamboo basket, and he slowly approached the gate.

    Jiang Feng frowned as he watched the old man move closer. The Lord of Lightning did not recognize this man, but his mere presence made Jiang Feng wary. While he could clearly see the man, it somehow felt as though the old man was not really there.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Jiang Feng asked as he slowly rose to his feet.

    Master Qing Cao smiled as he examined Jiang Feng. ¡°The Lord of Whitecloud City. Your rise to prominence was thanks to your mirebound artifacts. You have quite the legendary tale.

    ¡°I am Qing Cao, though people usually call me Master Qing Cao.¡±<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3292: Losing Everything

    Jiang Feng observed the approaching man with confusion. "Where are you from, Master Qing Cao?"

    "Lord Jiang, why are you sitting here?" Master Qing Cao did not answer the question. Instead, he asked his own.

    Jiang Feng stared at the old man and repeated his question. "Where are you from, Master Qing Cao?"

    Master Qing Cao smiled at Jiang Feng. "Whitecloud City''s poweres from mirebound artifacts. It¡¯s the power that you refer to as aura energy. It¡¯s a power that aligns with sequence particles, and it can serve as a sort of shortcut. However, that¡¯s only true for the early stages of cultivation. As you progress, the path bes harder to walk, and it bes nearly impossible to find a way to break through.

    "However, I can help you cross that threshold, and once you do, you will stand on the path to Immortality¡ªthe path to eternity."

    Jiang Feng clenched his sword tighter. The path to Immortality?

    "Master Qing Cao, are you an Immortal?"

    Master Qing Cao chuckled softly. "The path to Immortality is before you. What will you choose?"

    "You are the one whomands the Boundary Guardians." Jiang Feng''s voice turned cold.Master Qing Cao sighed as he shook his head. "I admire your talent, but just like Gu Yizhi, you''re bound by your fleeting concerns. Time can change many things. Civilizations and even entire megaverses can disappear, but Immortals are beings which will endure forever. Why cling to this megaverse and this race? Wouldn''t it be better to roam the cosmos and live freely? To rule over time itself?"

    "It would be good, of course it would, but can I bring Whitecloud City with me as I live the free life of an Immortal?" Jiang Feng retorted.

    Master Qing Cao let out anotherugh. "I chose the Aeternals over humanity precisely because of how your emotions tie you down. Never mind. Since you''ve already abandoned this opportunity, then disappear from this megaverse."

    With that, the old man took another step forward, moving closer to Jiang Feng.

    Jiang Feng thrust his sword forward. The originally purplish-ck substance reinforcing his attack had taken on a ckish-gray tinge. Coincidentally, both he and Ancient God had cultivated the same power, which was the path of strengthening the human body itself. Ancient God had achieved Wielder - God battle force before Jiang Feng, but after he witnessed Ancient God¡¯s breakthrough, the Lord of Lightning had advanced further down his own path.

    Thunder roared and shook the universe.

    Master Qing Cao smiled in amusement. Both people who had attacked him recently used the same power. That was quite the coincidence.

    Ancient God had used his sequence particles to infinitely Enhance himself and unleash the most brilliant punch of his life. But even then, it had not been able to affect Master Qing Cao at all. Even Nong Yi had not sensed the punch, despite being so close. There was no need to even consider Jiang Feng, who had yet to truly achieve Wielder - God battle force.

    Still, Jiang Feng was different from Ancient God in one key aspect: he was a more practical man. He had risen to power during his¡¯s apocalypse, and he had emerged from that time of despair with an intense desire to survive. He still had his family. In contrast, Ancient God had stood at the peak from the very beginning as one of the Origin Progenitor¡¯s disciples. His pride would never allow him to retreat, only always moving forward, even if doing so meant death. He had been utterly determined to uncover the mysteries surrounding the one known as the Fated One.

    Jiang Feng thrust his sword forward, but as the ckish-gray substance dissipated and his lightning faded, he immediately pulled back. He brushed past Master Qing Cao in an attempt to escape.

    Master Qing Cao smiled. "You¡¯re smarter than Gu Yizhi."

    Jiang Feng had no intention of fighting to the death. He hadunched a sword attack at full strength, and he had felt the overwhelming might of an Immortal. There was no need to continue fighting, as doing so would be suicide. Thus, Jiang Feng had decisively chosen to escape, intending to return with information about his opponent.

    Unfortunately, escape was impossible. The universe turned into a prison, and just as Jiang Feng slipped by Master Qing Cao, the man¡¯s body was dragged back by some invisible power. There was a p of thunder as the Lord of Lightning¡¯s power backfired on him. Soon, he found himself unable to so much as hold his sword, which ttered to the ground.

    Master Qing Cao turned around and looked at Jiang Feng.

    The Lord of Lightning could not believe what had just happened. He had been attacked by his own power. How was it possible for him to be harmed by lightning? That was supposed to be his own power.

    There was no one who could answer him.

    Master Qing Cao was the first and only Immortal in the history of humanity in the Tianyuan Megaverse to have ever taken action. No one knew what abilities an Immortal might possess.

    "We are not the same. I am the ruler of the megaverse, while you must follow its lead. I can take your power away at any moment, such as your lightning." ??¦­§à?¦¥s?

    A ck orb emerged from Jiang Feng¡¯s chest and floated in front of him. He realized that his lightning had disappeared, but how was that possible?

    "Your power."

    Jiang Feng felt weak. He stopped breathing. He was in outer space, and he was unable to breathe. Even though he had reached the level where he could freely travel through the universe long, long ago, at this moment, Jiang Feng felt like an ordinary human.

    "Everything that you possess can be taken away. Your life, colors, and even your five senses." With each word that Master Qing Cao spoke, Jiang Feng felt himself lose something. He was unable to see colors, and everything turned ck. He lost his sense of touch and taste, and only his hearing remained. All he could do was listen to Master Qing Cao¡¯s voice.

    He felt like a corpse that had been tossed into the abyss, but then his sense of gravity and space faded away.

    "You follow the megaverse, which means that you are always beneath me. I valued your understanding of the power of sequence particles, which you received from your mirebound artifacts, but you chose to defy me. Mere tools mean nothing. Today, I will take them from you." As Master Qing Cao spoke these words, a withered tree also emerged from Jiang Feng¡¯s body and floated into outer space.

    A sword, a withered tree, and a ck bead. These were Jiang Feng¡¯s three mirebound artifacts, and all of them were being taken.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Jiang Feng stood in outer space, unaware of anything happening around him, unable to sense or see anything. Everything that he possessed had been taken from him. For Master Qing Cao, stripping Jiang Feng of his power had been as easy as taking a breath.

    Humans were strange creatures. No one could know what they might do when faced with overwhelming despair.

    From Master Qing Cao¡¯s perspective, Jiang Feng was already finished. The man had lost everything. Even so, the truth was that the man¡¯s powers had not really been taken from him. Technically, he had lost the time when he possessed those powers. With that time taken from him, everything that had happened as a result of those powers, and all of the opportunities that he had gained, would vanish entirely.

    This was not manipting the power of time, but rather controlling the megaverse itself.

    For Master Qing Cao, even the River of Aeons was nothing more than a force of the megaverse, and such a power could be used as he saw fit.

    He could decide the life or death of anyone in the megaverse, and he could simrly manipte what powers they possessed. Did they have too much power? He could take it away. Not enough? He could grant it to them. It was as simple as that.

    This had not been a battle, but a judgment. He was conducting a trial for every living creature in the entire megaverse.

    However, at this moment, despite having already lost everything, Jiang Feng felt something else.

    In the darkness, unable to see, touch, hear, or smell, with nothing around him¡ªor at least, there should have been nothing¡ªhe could feel a breath. It was the breath of all things, the aura of the universe that he had onceprehended.

    During his Earth¡¯s apocalypse, Jiang Feng had learned about many different kinds of energies, but he had ultimatelyprehended the breath of all creatures. When he entered the greater universe, he hade to understand that the universe itself breathed.

    Animals, nts¡ªall lifeforms breathed, and Jiang Feng could sense that whenever he wished.

    However, at the edge of the megaverse, there were nos. There was nothing at all. So where was this breathing from?

    Master Qing Cao, an Immortal, was present. In that case, why was Jiang Feng sensing so many different breaths around him? The breath of all things, allws, the breath of the universe¡­ Just what was he sensing?

    <em>Wait¡­</em> Were the breaths closest to him his three mirebound artifacts?

    Master Qing Cao opened a hand, and the three mirebound artifacts started to move towards him. Suddenly, Jiang Feng, who should have lost everything and been unable to move, grabbed the sword, the withered tree, and the ck bead. The man hurled the bead away, and it disappeared in an instant as the space around it warped.

    Master Qing Cao had not expected Jiang Feng to still be able to move. It should not have been possible.

    There was a sudden sh of golden lightning that zed in the distance as it crashed down. The Ancient Lightning Locust had arrived. Finally, it had managed to find Jiang Feng.

    The Delivery Shrub had taken the Ancient Lightning Locust away from the battle in the Second Scourge and to the Immemorial Citadel, where it had been captured by the super giant ancestor. As soon as it had escaped during the final battle between humanity and Aeternus, the Ancient Lightning Locust had immediately started searching for Jiang Feng. With the war between humanity and Aeternus now over, it was able to hunt for the man again.

    It had indeed found him, as it was impossible for Jiang Feng to truly lose the bug, no matter where he went.

    Master Qing Cao frowned. "Just a bug."

    He considered getting rid of it, but he hesitated and nced down at his wrist. Adding more to his chain of karma for a mere insect was not worth it.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust was terrified. It understood that even the slightest hint of killing intent from Master Qing Cao would end the creature¡¯s life. It immediately turned and fled.

    As soon as the Ancient Lightning Locust was gone, Master Qing Cao turned to look in another direction. A gray mist was approaching, freezing space wherever it touched. Mister Mu had arrived.

    "I, Mu Zhi, offer my respects to the Immortal before me."

    Master Qing Cao calmly looked into the distance before ncing back at Jiang Feng, who was still standing in front of the old man, awaiting his fate. Then, Master Qing Cao turned around and left.

    One or two bugs did not matter. The mirebound artifacts were gone, so he dropped the matter. There was no need to add more to his chain of karma for mere insects. Ultimately, they would all die, as their megaverse would be reset.

    By the time Mister Mu arrived at Jiang Feng¡¯s side, Master Qing Cao had already disappeared.

    Mister Mu looked at the stone gate. The old man had passed through the gate.

    He then looked down and moved over to Jiang Feng.

    The Lord of Lightning did not move at all. He was as still as a statue as he stood in outer space.

    Soon, Lu Yin and the others also arrived, though they only saw Mister Mu and Jiang Feng.

    "Master," Lu Yin called out.

    Mister Mu shook his head. "I couldn''t stop him."

    Lu Yin was not sure if he should feel relieved or regretful. Was it even possible to stop an Immortal? Even if such an individual was restricted, what could any of them offer to strengthen those restrictions? Their lives?

    "Uncle Jiang?" Lu Yin shot over to Jiang Feng.

    The man was still trapped in darkness, having been deprived of all his senses, his cultivation, and even his innate gift. Master Qing Cao had thought that the man was incapable of moving, which was why he had not been killed. However, Jiang Feng was still able to sense the presence of people around him.

    Still, he could not determine who those people were, and he was also incapable of even speaking.

    Lu Yin called out several times, but Jiang Feng never responded.

    Not even Mister Mu could understand what was wrong with the man.

    It seemed that an Immortal was capable of doing more than simply take time away, but unless they specifically knew what such a powerhouse was capable of doing, there was no way to even guess what had happened. Even if they could guess, they had no way of retrieving the time that Master Qing Cao had taken away.

    In this condition, even an ordinary human could kill Jiang Feng.

    After determining that it was impossible to wake Jiang Feng, Mister Mu and the others tried to open the stone gate, but it seemed to be blocked or barred on the other side. Something was preventing it from being opened.

    With no other choice, they were forced to leave someone behind to guard the gate.

    "I''ll stay," Lu Yuan offered.

    Lu Yin¡¯s heart trembled.

    Whoever stayed behind would most likely face Master Qing Cao. If the Immortal truly intended to bring another megaverse here and start a war, then whoever remained at the stone gate would be the first to die. Taking this job was almost certainly a death sentence.

    Lu Yuan smiled at everyone. "The Lu family serves as humanity¡¯s g bearers. When the g is unfurled, it¡¯s time for war. The first to fight should be the g bearer."

    "But the g cannot be allowed to fall. Let me stay," Wu Tian argued.

    Lu Yuan shook his head. "The g that can¡¯t fall is Little Seven. My g fell long ago."<blockquote>

    OMA''s Thoughts

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA</blockquote>

 Chapter 3293: Bai Qing

    <h4>Chapter 3293: Bai Qing</h4>

    Lu Yin felt something heavy weigh on his heart. The Spirit Nidus was undoubtedly a formidable opponent. Even if Master Qing Cao did not take direct action, Ancestor Lu Yuan would not be able to stop the first wave of the invaders on his own.

    Still, someone had to stay behind and guard the stone gate, and whoever that was, they could not be weak. Without sufficient strength, the guard would not even be able to send out a warning.

    As an Ortuser, Ancestor Lu Yuan was the most suitable choice.

    "I¡¯ll stay with you," Hongyan Mavis offered.

    Lu Yuan shook his head, rejecting the suggestion. "We don¡¯t have enough truly powerful individuals to spare. One person staying and guarding this ce will be enough. What would be the point of more? Yong Heng is still out there, as well as that old monster Yuan Qi, who attacked the Immemorial Citadel. Our enemies have not been wiped out yet. I¡¯ll stay here alone."

    "You are the correct choice, but remember, the moment the gate starts to open, leave. There¡¯s no purpose in a meaningless sacrifice. We are facing the invasion of an entire megaverse, and your singr death won¡¯t aplish much. It¡¯s unlikely for you to even take down a single enemy with you. It will be better to fight united," Mister Mu advised.

    Lu Yin quickly jumped in as well. "Ancestor, don¡¯t face the invaders alone. Listen to my master¡ªleave as soon as the gate starts to move."

    Lu Yuanughed. "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not Gu Yizhi. I¡¯m much smarter than him. I won¡¯t sacrifice myself for nothing."

    No? Upon seeing Lu Yuan¡¯s smile, Lu Yin understood that there were certain tasks that simply had to be taken care of by someone.

    As his fists clenched, Lu Yin thought of Progenitor Xi. If the Tianyuan Megaverse did not want to be in a reactive state against the oing invasion, they would need to strike first. They had to join forces with the Consciousness Megaverse and attack the Spirit Nidus instead of waiting for the invaders to arrive.

    In the end, Ancestor Lu Yuan was left alone at the boundary of the megaverse.

    Mister Mu and others made their way back to the Immemorial Citadel. It was time to have the Origin Progenitor regain his full strength.

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 Chapter 3294: The Bonds Of Emotion

    <h4>Chapter 3294: The Bonds Of Emotion</h4>

    "What is going on?" Lu Yin''s expression darkened. The fact that Whiteless God had targeted Yan''er was intolerable.

    The Ice Lord shared what he knew with Lu Yin, whose frown only deepened. The truth was that the Ice Lord knew very little about what had actually happened, as Whiteless God had trapped the entire Ice Spirit tribe the entire time.

    Lu Yin suddenly turned to look into the distance. Bai Qing was approaching.

    Lu Yin was no longer wary of the woman. The fact that Jiang Feng had put her in the Iceheart indicated that she was someone from Whitecloud City. At the very least, she was not an enemy.

    "Lord Lu?" Bai Qing¡¯s face appeared serene as she calmly observed Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "Who are you?"

    "You can consider me as someone from Whitecloud City."

    Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."

    If not for Bai Qing, there was no doubt that Ming Yan would have been taken by Whiteless God, and Lu Yin could not even imagine the consequences of that.

    Lu Yin had not considered the possibility that Whiteless God could still be alive.

    "I heard some of what Whiteless God said," Bai Qing said, as she locked eyes with Lu Yin. "But only thest two sentences.

    "¡®If not for your consciousness, I would have never saved him. Now, that has led to a catastrophe.

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 Chapter 3295: Restoration

    <h4>Chapter 3295: Restoration</h4>

    Did Lu Yin believe Luo Shen? He could not decide.

    What did it matter whether she loved him or not? Whiteless God was one of Aeternus¡¯s Seven Skygods. She was the one who controlled Aeterna, the list of traitors and Redbacks. She had orchestrated countless betrayals and done incalcble damage to humanity. If Wang Xiaoyu''s betrayal made her the greatest Redback in the history of the Fifth Maind, then Whiteless God was humanity''s greatest adversary, the one whom they most desperately wanted to eliminate.

    She was not a threat due to her raw strength. Rather, it was her pervasive temptations and how deeply she had infiltrated humanity that made her threatening. She worked to destroy the very core of humanity.

    There was no reason for Lu Yin to allow such a being to go free.

    The two people were surrounded by Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe, which rendered Whiteless God¡¯s sequence particlespletely useless. Everything she did would be exposed. There was no way for her to do anything that escaped Lu Yin¡¯s notice.

    He could strike her down at any moment, but for some reason, he hesitated. He could not bring himself to deliver the final strike.

    Was it because Whiteless God loved him? Or was it because her love for him was from Ming Yan?

    For some reason, attacking Whiteless God felt like attacking Yan''er.

    Luo Shen stared into Lu Yin¡¯s eyes as she brushed some of her hair aside. ¡°I can still see Ming Yan in your eyes even now. I know that I can never rece her, but I can make sure that you will never forget me.¡±

    As she spoke, she attacked Lu Yin. Her white mountains and sea surged forwards. They were capable of melting anything. However, that was only what it looked like. The reality was that the Progenitor¡¯s world attacked on a microscopic level; everything in it was made of microscopic creatures that ultimately formed Whiteless God¡¯s Progenitor''s world.

    Soil appeared in front of Lu Yin, condensing into a spear that thrust forwards.

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 Chapter 3296: The Rivers And Mountains Painting

    <h4>Chapter 3296: The Rivers And Mountains Painting</h4>

    The Divine Eagle and Python Ancestor were both hovering outside the Immemorial Citadel, and they shot forward at the same time. One of them moved to perch on the Origin Progenitor¡¯s shoulder, and the other coiled around his waist. The man stretched out his free hand, and the sword that had been left in the Heavens Sect flew into his grasp. He pointed the sword at the stars. ¡°The Immortal realm¡­ Since they are restricted, we have nothing to fear. In the worst case scenario, we¡¯llpensate for the difference with our lives. Musclehead is already dead, but the rest of us are still alive. Tell me, disciples, are you afraid?¡±

    Hongyan Mavis, Wu Tian, and Garan Zhiluo all felt invigorated. "We''re not afraid!"

    The Origin Progenitor then looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Pir, are you afraid?¡±

    Lu Yin was caught off guard, but he managed to reply, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s only right to be afraid! Who doesn¡¯t fear death? Pir, at least you¡¯re honest. Hahaha!¡± The Origin Progenitorughed heartily.

    Garan Zhiluo gritted her teeth. "Master, we were just agreeing with you."

    The Origin Progenitor red at her. ¡°Nonsense! Of course I¡¯m scared, but sometimes, you just have to charge forward anyways. However, there¡¯s a big problem right now.¡±

    He nced at the countless sequence strings he held in his hand. ¡°Who can help me hold these?¡±

    nces were exchanged, but everyone remained silent.

    Only Dukkhans could hope to suppress so many sequence strings, which meant that, aside from the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu was the only one capable of performing this task. There was no one else. Despite being an Ortuser, not even Lu Yuan could do it.

    The Origin Progenitor sighed in resignation and sat down, cross-legged. ¡°I guess it¡¯s still up to me then.¡±

    Lu Yin shook his head. More and more sequence strings were continuing to appear. During the ancient Heavens Sect, there had been no need for the Origin Progenitor to suppress the sequence strings. Whenever too many parallel universes appeared, they would simply destroy the ones without any sapient life. However, after Aeternus rose to prominence and the Heavens Sect fell, the number of sequence strings had multiplied until there were enough to threaten to destroy the entire megaverse. That was when the Aeternals had started destroying the sequence strings.

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 Chapter 3297: Sequence Bases

    <h4>Chapter 3297: Sequence Bases</h4>

    Far away, atop a waterfall, Yuan Qi spoke with pride. "The biggest difference between my Spirit Nidus and your Tianyuan Megaverse is that your cultivation methods are too diverse. Throughout our history, every peak powerhouse from my Spirit Nidus has left their legacy behind for future generations to use. Sessors don¡¯t need toprehend thews of the universe themselves. They just need to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.

    "There¡¯s no need to create anything new, as sequence particles are already the greatest power in the megaverse.

    "The Law of Near and Far ranks thirty-fifth in my Spirit Nidus. Many people have cultivated thisw over the years¡ªseventy-seven in total. Most of them are long dead, but before they passed away, they contributed and poured their sequence particles into this Rivers and Mountains Painting to create the seventh-ranked sequence base.

    "There are very few experts from your Tianyuan Megaverse who can actually resist the Rivers and Mountains Painting. That man is clearly not one of them. He hasn¡¯t even entered the Origin Realm."

    Forgotten Ruins God was stunned. "How can you leave behind a legacy of sequence particles? Is that even possible?"

    A smile spread across Yuan Qi¡¯s lips. "It is."

    "Can someone who isn¡¯t a sequence powerhouse actually cultivate sequence particles?"

    "We have our methods. The Consciousness Megaverse failed because of the vast gap between us and them, and your Tianyuan Megaverse is no different," Yuan Qi stated confidently.

    "What would happen if an Ortuser entered the painting?" Wang Xiaoyu suddenly asked.

    Ortusers repelled thews of the universe. The Rivers and Mountains Painting was filled with the sequence particles of seventy-seven sequence powerhouses, and it was supposed to overwhelm all enemies who entered it. However, such a thing would be useless against an Origin realm expert.

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 Chapter 3298: Jade-Colored

    <h4>Chapter 3298: Jade-Colored</h4>

    Yu Leng went insane. This was not a part of the legacy that he had found from the powerful cultivator. Instead, this jade orb was something that he had stumbled upon more recently; it had fallen from the sky like a meteor. No one else had seen it, so he had kept it for himself. This exact item was why Yu Leng had stopped caring about the other cultivators in the Sixverse Academy. If not for the orb, he would have never ignored Xu Kang¡¯s offer of alliance, which was what had led to the current confrontation.

    Xu Kang had been infuriated by Yu Leng¡¯s refusal, and his anger had given way to the battle.

    Yu Leng was no match for Xu Kang. The young man was indeed a member of the Void Yang n and had been trained by a Void Suprema. Yu Leng could notpete against that. The legacy that he had found, just as Xu Kang had pointed out, was only enough to help Yu Leng progress slowly. It was not enough for him to continue surpassing his peers. However, the jade orb was different. It was his trump card, his path to bing a peak powerhouse.

    Xu Kang looked at the orb with open interest. "Is that the legacy that you found?"

    Yu Leng¡¯s eyes zed brightly as he looked at the jade-colored orb. He carefully ced a finger on one of the smaller spheres and gently tapped it.

    Xu Kang frowned. There were too many strange and mysterious things throughout the various universes. For cultivators, there could be an incredible discrepancy in the power of legacies that were found, and Xu Kang knew that he could not afford to be careless. His life-bound voidforce puppet appeared in front of him. It was a red sword. This puppet allowed Xu Kang to use several times more voidforce energy than other cultivators, and it was how he had defeated Yu Leng so easily. This was the advantage that cultivators from the Voidforce Universe enjoyed.

    The red de radiated a hot killing intent that enveloped Yu Leng. The heat was from the Scorching Sun technique, which was the signature battle technique of the Void Yang n.

    Yu Leng did not seem to notice the danger that he was in. He continued to tap on the jade orb. Soon, a shadow appeared within it. Momentster, a dragonfly-sized insect crawled out of the sphere. Its entire body was the same jade color as the orb. The bug looked as though it had been carved from a single piece of jade, despite how delicate and lifelike it was.

    The insect crawled out of the small sphere and onto Yu Leng¡¯s hand.

    His breath quickened with excitement. "Good child! You¡¯re such a good child! Come,e."

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 Chapter 3299: The Consciousness Megaverse

    <h4>Chapter 3299: The Consciousness Megaverse</h4>

    Mister Mu sighed. "There are countless cultivation methods in existence. Even just this megaverse has given rise to numerous methods. Essentially, each peak powerhouse represents their own unique method. In my original megaverse, all of the various cultivation methods were eventually unified, which led to the most efficient cultivation method. Spirit Nidus must have done the same. It¡¯s clear that it is a unified megaverse."

    Lu Yin interjected, "Our megaverse hasn¡¯t yet achieved that sort of unification."

    "And that¡¯s why we are at a disadvantage against Spirit Nidus," Mister Mu replied.

    Progenitor Chen rubbed his forehead. "It feels like cheating. Each of us cultivates differently and achieves different results, but Spirit Nidus has already published their results, so everyone can use those as guides to cultivate. The scariest part is that their results can be stacked, leading to even more terrifying results, such as their sequence bases.

    "That old man said that the Rivers and Mountains Painting is only ranked seventh out of all of Spirit Nidus¡¯s sequence bases."

    Mister Mu nodded. "If Spirit Nidus¡¯s people cultivate like this, then that¡¯s not impossible. I believe that their top-ranked sequence base must be beyond terrifying. It might very well be in the hands of Master Qing Cao."

    Facing just one Immortal was already challenging, but suddenly, the entire Spirit Nidus seemed just as difficult to contend with.

    How many people in the Tianyuan Megaverse could defeat or trap Progenitor Chen? And yet, just the Rivers and Mountains Painting alone had almost been enough to prevent him from escaping, and that was nothing more than a sequence base. Lu Yin believed that, aside from the sequence bases, Spirit Nidus¡¯s cultivators also had to be extremely powerful. Even without a sequence base, their sequence powerhouses would no doubt be just as formidable as everything else from that megaverse.

    Old freaks like Yuan Qi, Tian Ci, and Zhan Yan were all incredible powerhouses.

    Spirit Nidus was already dealing with the Consciousness Megaverse, and yet it had also infiltrated the Tianyuan Megaverse. It was dealing with both enemy megaverses with ease. It was difficult to even grasp just how powerful Spirit Nidus must be.

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 Chapter 3300: Shortcut

    <h4>Chapter 3300: Shortcut</h4>

    During every major battle, Xu Wuwei had always been the one to deal with Skydog, which was why Lord Xu was so deeply concerned about the beast. Not dealing with the dog felt like an insult to the Voidforce Universe.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng was also present, and he simrly looked rather upset, as he had also failed to kill the dog.

    Of course, the same was true of everyone. While the Aeternals were setting up a Ceaseless Impetus sourcebox array around the Ossis Ark, Skydog had stopped all of the human forces from interfering.

    Progenitor Xi''s eyes flickered. "I don¡¯t know anything about that dog."

    Lord Xu instantly red at Progenitor Xi.

    "A True God Guard Captain is far below what you were for Aeternus, and yet you im to not know anything?"

    Progenitor Xi turned to Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, you were also once a True God Guard Captain. Did I ever mention anything about Skydog?"

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    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and

    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 3301: The Right Path

    Before anyone could recover from the shock, Progenitor Xi¡¯s expression turned even more somber. ¡°There¡¯s another sequence base that they call Everstone. If we had to pinpoint the moment my Consciousness Megaverse started to lose, it would be when the Everstone sequence base appeared.

    "Before that, we were evenly matched against the Spirit Nidus. While they may have held the upper hand, theycked the strength to outright defeat us. What truly broke us was the Everstone sequence base. It ranks third out of Spirit Nidus¡¯s top ten sequence bases."

    She took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, both hatred and fear could be heard in her voice. ¡°In the Spirit Nidus, the Law of Everstone ranks second out of their eighty-eightws of the universe. It¡¯s incredibly difficult to master, and cultivating thatw essentially means turning into stone. This requires incredible willpower, intelligence, and sacrifice. Even in the Spirit Nidus, very few pursue thisw of the universe, but in every era, there are a few who believe that they have the will and attempt it.

    ¡°Throughout history, only five people have ever sessfully cultivated the Law of Everstone. Each one was exceptional for their era, and they dominated the megaverse during their lives. Thisw of the universe allowed them to transform their thoughts into reality, and they used their immense willpower to alter the universe and even other people.

    ¡°Since arriving in your Tianyuan Megaverse, I haven¡¯t seen anyone who hasprehended thisw of the universe. Throughout the Spirit Nidus¡¯s entire history, only five people have ever seeded, and they created the Everstone sequence base. With an unparalleled power of consciousness, they are able to simply erase any consciousness lifeform, as if they were erasing a stain from a canvas.¡±

    At this moment, Progenitor Xi looked at Lu Yin. ¡°Lord Lu, I know that you devoured Xu Jin¡¯s consciousness, but if you faced the Everstone, the oue would be decided in an instant. That sequence base canpletely destroy your consciousness. It would not be consumed or exhausted, but rather obliterated. Your consciousness would be utterly erased from existence, leaving you as only a mindless shell.

    ¡°Xu Jin was one of Aeternus¡¯s Three Pirs and Six Skies and was incredibly powerful. Its consciousness was practically invincible, but if it tried to go against the Everstone sequence base, there would be no contest. Not even ckless God, who possesses a stronger consciousness than Xu Jin ever did, would stand a chance against that sequence base.

    "Everstone is the bane of all consciousness."

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes narrowed, and everyone else remained silent.

    Progenitor Xi had only shared a bit of information about three sequence bases, but each one sounded more terrifying than thest. The power that these tools possessed was overwhelming.

    Distorting distance, reversing impressions, and destroying consciousness: three sequence bases had these three devastating abilities, and there were still seven more, as well as eighty-eightws of the universe. Thesews of the universe were the same in the Tianyuan Megaverse. Had anyone imed that the Spirit Niduscked strong sequence powerhouses? Not only did they have them, but they also most likely had a great number of them. How else could they have confidence to wage war against both the Consciousness Megaverse and the Tianyuan Megaverse at the same time?

    Progenitor Xi''s expression fell. "I¡¯ve only spoken about the strength of the Spirit Nidus, but that megaverse is most terrifying because of their unified cultivation methods that uses Spirit Ignition and Spirit Rebirth. Even if our two megaverses join forces and seed in defeating the Spirit Nidus right now, they will rise back up very quickly. They already have their pathsid out before them. They have no need to undergo any breakthroughs. They simply need to keep progressing, as they will eventually surpass us. Their path allows for fast progression, while ours are slow and filled with obstacles."

    Progenitor Xi then left. She had now shared everything that she knew about the Spirit Nidus. Now, it was up to the Heavens Sect to decide how they would deal with this enemy megaverse.

    The woman had once sought to provoke the Tianyuan Megaverse to fight against the Spirit Nidus, but there was no longer any need to do that. The Spirit Nidus would not spare the Tianyuan Megaverse anymore. War was simply a matter of survival, and regardless of whether either megaverse wanted war, it was already inevitable.

    People remained silent. What truly weighed on them was not the knowledge of the sequence bases, but rather the Spirit Nidus¡¯s cultivation method and the existence of Master Qing Cao. The enemy megaverse had already given rise to an Immortal, the existence of which proved that the Spirit Nidus¡¯s path was correct.

    The greatest pressure came from understanding that the Spirit Nidus had found a shortcut, one that actually followed the correct path.

    If the ancient Heavens Sect had not been destroyed and had endured throughout the ages, Lu Yin believed that the Tianyuan Megaverse would have been fully unified and might have also developed a unified cultivation method. This was the real reason why Master Qing Cao had sent the Boundary Guardians to attack the Origin Progenitor. The Tianyuan Megaverse could not be allowed to travel down the same path as the Spirit Nidus, and it was because that path was correct.

    Lu Yin barked a softugh.

    Everyone turned to look at him.

    "Everyone, our megaverse is far from a lonely ce. After all the time we¡¯ve spent cultivating, wouldn¡¯t life be too boring if we were only pursuing the next realm?" Lu Yin asked as he stretched outzily.

    Sovereign Dou Sheng smashed his fists together. "Only battle will always give a bit of thrill!"

    "I don¡¯t want to fight, but I also don¡¯t want things to be too dull," said Garan Zhiluo.

    Chu Yi shook his head. "I once thought that Master had reached the pinnacle, but it now seems that even he has room to grow. Master, keep pushing."

    Wu Tian chuckled. "No creature can ever break free of the constraints of the megaverse. As long as the Spirit Nidus is still a megaverse, we can fight back."

    "It won''t be easy. We need toe up with a n, preferably an ambush," Ce Wangtian grumbled as he idly swung his slippers about.

    Progenitor Ku sped his hands behind his back. "I can scout ahead."

    Who were the people participating in this meeting? They were the Three Realms and Six Daos and the Three Suns and Six Rulers. They were the greatest powerhouses in the Tianyuan Megaverse. No matter how hopeless Progenitor Xi¡¯s words sounded, these people would never give in to despair.

    The Spirit Nidus and an Immortal¡ªthe Tianyuan Megaverse was undoubtedly facing incredible pressure. While the threat of death was suffocating, it was not enough to break them.

    People were only focused on one thing at this moment: how to deal with Master Qing Cao and the Spirit Nidus.

    "Our biggest problem right now is that we don¡¯t know when the Spirit Nidus will arrive," Hongyan Mavis said as she massaged her temples.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes lit up. "We¡¯ve also got our own troubles already. There¡¯s Yong Heng, Forgotten Ruins God, and the old freak from the Spirit Nidus, Yuan Qi. If we don¡¯t deal with them, they¡¯ll always be a threat.

    "However, finding them won¡¯t be easy. So for now, we¡¯ll prepare for the Spirit Nidus."

    Lu Yin then looked over at Zhao Ran, who was happily picking flowers on the side of the mountain. Lu Yin intended to use branches of the River of Aeons to explore the Spirit Nidus.

    The group dispersed. They had gained a basic understanding of the Spirit Nidus, and they each had their own ideas. Lu Yin would not interfere with their ns. His only goal was to use the full power of the Heavens Sect to destroy the Spirit Nidus¡¯s mortal forces that threatened the Tianyuan Megaverse.

    That meant that they would be going up against cultivators who had cultivated with Spirit Ignition and undergone Spirit Rebirth.

    Even if those cultivators were weak, losing them would cause the Spirit Nidus to hesitate, and it might even prevent a full-scale invasion.

    In the Heavens Sect¡¯s main hall, Wang Wen, Wei Rong, and the other top officials gathered. There were also researchers, such as Backyard¡¯s Zi Jing.

    Reports on Backyard¡¯s research progress were being shared, as well as information regarding the production of energy converters and microarray weapons.

    After listening to the reports, Lu Yin ordered Backyard to be moved to the Five Spirits Alliance¡¯s universes so that their research would be expedited by the elerated time flow there. Wang Wen and Wei Rong were also told to use the Heavens Sect¡¯s authority to consolidate all the various parallel universes¡¯ resources that could be used to produce energy converters, microarray technology, and more. They were also to gather materials and send them to the Infinity Empire so that more mechas could be produced.

    The Spirit Nidus enjoyed a consolidated cultivation method, which was not something that the Tianyuan Megaverse could match. However, the Tianyuan Megaverse has its own advantages.

    While their cultivation methods were diverse, many of the paths taken by the people of the Tianyuan Megaverse were rooted in the wisdom of their ancestors. This was not without its own value.

    For instance, this was the time to fully leverage the advantages of energy converters and mechas. Doing so could greatly enhance the strength of the Tianyuan Megaverse. While neither tool could ever help someone fight against a sequence powerhouse or sequence bases, an overall quantitative increase in power would still threaten the Spirit Nidus''s ground forces, which would effectively cut the invasion off at the root.

    War was not always about overpowering the enemy; strategy and intelligence were also keyponents.

    At this moment, Lu Yin particrly felt the absence of Progenitor Hui. If that man were thrown into the Spirit Nidus, who could imagine what sort of chaos he would create?

    It was impossible to hide suchrge movements of the Heavens Sect. As the activity increased, so too did spections. Many people started to im that the Heavens Sect was preparing to attack any parallel universes that had not yet connected to the Origin Universe or submitted to the Heavens Sect.

    These rumors terrified many universes into visiting the Origin Universe and requesting a connection to be made.

    Many parallel universes had previously assumed that the Heavens Sect did not know about them, but they had decided that it was too risky to maintain that assumption.

    Wei Rong was actually the instigator of the rumors. This was his area of expertise, and with nothing more than rumors, more than ten universes stepped forward to join the Heavens Sect, bringing vast resources with them.

    Lu Yin stared out across theke. The Spirit Nidus was an opponent that they would have to fight against openly. They would appear, and then the fight would begin. In contrast, until Yong Heng and Yuan Qi were dealt with, they would remain hidden thorns in Lu Yin¡¯s side.

    The Rivers and Mountains Painting was still in the Tianyuan Megaverse. Just because Progenitor Chen had managed to escape, that did not mean that the others would be able to do the same.

    Yuan Qi was also quite powerful on his own.

    While the Heavens Sect busied itself with the new war effort, news came from Whitecloud City that the Ancient Lightning Locust had attacked.

    Lu Yin immediately left for Whitecloud City.

    As soon as he arrived in the city¡¯s universe, he saw lightning erupting in the distance. His expression turned cold. The Ancient Lightning Locust had always been a problem for Whitecloud City. During the battles in the war between the Heavens Sect and Aeternus, the Ancient Lightning Locust had frequently appeared, but always as an enemy. It was finally time to deal with the bug once and for all.

    Above Earth, Kong Tianzhao was fighting the Ancient Lightning Locust back. He had borrowed Jiang Feng¡¯s sword, but he was only barely able to hold the bug off. It was clear that the man could notst for much longer.

    Upon seeing Kong Tianzhao, Lu Yin thought the man to be unfortunate. He had survived numerous life-and-death battles, but he had failed to break through. It seemed that, while the people of Whitecloud City had taken a shortcut in their cultivation methods, progressing further would be quite difficult.

    Lu Yin arrived. The Pridebeast on his shoulder bared its teeth, and the Megalith wrapped around his waist swished its tail.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust spun around and stared at Lu Yin. Golden lightning sted out and shot at the man.

    One hand grabbed the Pridebeast while the other grabbed hold of the Megalith. Lu Yin then flung both beasts forward. "Deal with it."

    Both the Pridebeast and the Megalith were stunned. Before they could react, the lightning struck. Furious, they threw themselves at the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust had always been a thorn in Whitecloud City¡¯s side, and it was undoubtedly a powerful creature. Still, the Pridebeast and the Megalith were no weaklings. They represented the peak of physical strength in the megaverse. The collision of the three titanic creatures was nothing short of earth-shattering.

    There was a thunderous crash as the Pridebeast¡¯s fist shot forward, scattering the lightning. The Megalith followed up and mmed into the Ancient Lightning Locust. The creature did not rely purely on its lightning, and it was strong enough to resist the Megalith¡¯s body m. The battle shook the surrounding void.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnoxn/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 3302: Suppression

    Lu Yin arrived near Earth and stood beside Kong Tianzhao. "Uncle Kong, are you okay?"

    Lu Yin called Jiang Feng ¡®Uncle Jiang.¡¯ Since Kong Tianzhao was from the same generation as Jiang Feng and was even Jiang Qingyue¡¯s master, it felt natural to Lu Yin to call the man ¡®Uncle Kong.¡¯

    Kong Tianzhao nodded and rxed his hand. After being released, the sword flew back to Earth.

    In Whitecloud City, Jiang Feng was sitting in ce, not moving at all. The sword quietlynded in the man¡¯s arms. He held it,pletely unaware of the world around him.

    Lu Yin watched, and the sight left him incredibly sad. The once mighty Lord of Lightning had fallen into a catatonic state.

    What might happen to Ancestor Lu Yuan in the future?

    When the gate opened again and Spirit Nidus arrived with a full-scale invasion, there was no chance that Ancestor Lu Yuan would be able to hold them off.

    Three behemoths shed in outer space, bing entangled. The Pridebeast and the Megalith were covered in ck marks from the multiple lightning strikes. However, the Ancient Lightning Locust was not in much better condition, as the Pridebeast¡¯s terrifying punches were taking their toll. Every time the Ancient Lightning Locust tried to counterattack, the Megalith would body m it and drain the bug¡¯s energy.

    The Pridebeast asionally gave the Megalith a nod of approval, and the Megalith returned the gestures. Their coordination was growing increasingly smooth.

    Liu Pianran arrived and admired the two beasts. "Little Seven, are those your two pets?"

    Lu Yin nodded. "They''re rather dumb, but they¡¯re still useful."

    Liu Pianranughed. "Jiang Feng used to have his own pet. During our Earth''s apocalypse, it was known as the Lightning Eagle. Sadly, it wasn¡¯t able to keep up with him, and it died during one of his battles out in the universe."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om

    Kong Tianzhao interjected, "Whitecloud City has lost too many people. The bottom line is that Earth reached out to join the greater universe too soon. If those people had waited until now to show themselves, things would have turned out very differently."

    "Aunt Liu, how is Uncle Jiang?" Lu Yin asked.

    Liu Pianran shook her head. "Just the same."

    Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue also arrived. When they saw the Pridebeast and the Megalith fighting against the Ancient Lightning Locust, Jiang Chen went bug-eyed. "Brother Lu, are those two yours?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin¡¯s lips. "Yep."

    "That¡¯s awesome!"

    Jiang Qingyue¡¯s eyes lit up. She was immediately reminded of the statue of the Origin Progenitor that stood in the Heavens Sect. The statue depicted the Origin Progenitor with the Divine Eagle perched on the man¡¯s shoulder and the Ancestor Python wrapped around his waist. With his own two beasts, Lu Yin bore an increasingly uncanny resemnce to the Origin Progenitor.

    As Lu Yin watched the Ancient Lightning Locust continuously release lightning, he suddenly thought of something. "Given Uncle Jiang¡¯s current state, why did the Ancient Lightning Locust stille after him?"

    Jiang Feng had been found at the megaverse¡¯s boundary in front of the stone gate. At that time, he had been severely injured by lightning. When the Ancient Lightning Locust arrived, it had not even had a chance to attack before it sensed Master Qing Cao¡¯s presence. With that, the bug had fled, and Jiang Feng had been left alone, drifting in outer space.

    The man had not been attacked by the Ancient Lightning Locust, and there was no way Master Qing Cao would have used lightning against Jiang Feng. That meant that there was only one possible source of the lightning that had wounded Jiang Feng: himself.

    Progenitor Ku had lost a portion of time that he had experienced. ording to Mister Mu, when time was taken from someone, all of their opportunities rted to that time, as well as any cultivation stemming from it, would be lost forever. With the karmic cause removed, the karmic resulting effect would also disappear.

    That means that Master Qing Cao took away Jiang Feng¡¯s lightning-rted cultivation, which was how he was injured by his own lightning. He lost all control of his power.

    But in that case, if he no longer controls lightning, why did the Ancient Lightning Locust still show up?

    Could the bug be holding a grudge? Did it remember where to find Whitecloud City? Does this mean that, regardless of whether Jiang Feng has his power of lightning, the Ancient Lightning Locust is still going to attack? Or could there be some other reason?

    "Go on! Hit it! Hit it!" Jiang Chen shouted excitedly as he waved his arms.

    In the distance, the Pridebeast punched the Ancient Lightning Locust hard enough to make the bug scream. However, its fist was met by golden lightning, and the Pridebeast was electrocuted badly enough to cken its whole body and force it back. The Megalith swung its tail and struck the bug, but the same lightning zapped the Megalith through its tail, wounding that beast as well.

    Even so, the Ancient Lightning Locust had suffered much worse damage than the other two creatures. It was against two powerful astral beasts, and its golden lightning started to dim. The bug turned to flee.

    The Pridebeast and the Megalith were about to chase after the Ancient Lightning Locust when the bug whirled back around and shot vicious res at both of its attackers. At the same time, lightning shed, lighting up the sky and giving the Ancient Lightning Locust a menacing appearance.

    The Pridebeast and the Megalith both stopped as one. They nced at each other, but they did not move again.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust instantly escaped.

    Lu Yin raged at the two beasts, "Go get it and capture it! If it gets away, I¡¯ll zap you both with lightning every day!"

    The Pridebeast and the Megalith turned back to look at Lu Yin, and they almost reflexively gave him a thumbs-ups.

    Lu Yin red at them. "Now!"

    The Pridebeast grimaced. It was clear that the ape did not want to go after the bug, but the Pridebeast still moved quickly. It leaped onto the Megalith¡¯s tail, and the Megalith swung its tail to fling the Pridebeast straight after the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    The bug looked back and released a terrifying st of lightning.

    The Pridebeast clenched its fists and simply pushed through the lightning to deliver a heavy blow to the Ancient Lightning Locust. The bug shrieked, and its lightning struck the Pridebeast, causing the ape to also let out wails of agony.

    That dy let the Megalith arrive, and a swing of its tail knocked the Ancient Lightning Locust unconscious.

    With that, the battle between the three massive beasts was brought to an end.

    Not once had Lu Yin needed to even lift a finger. The Pridebeast, the Megalith, and the Ancient Lightning Locust were all incredibly powerful beasts, and each of them far surpassed the jiao or Ancestor Tortoise. As for the Divine Eagle and the Python Ancestor, they were likely on par with Lu Yin¡¯s two pets, given their age and the fact that they followed the Origin Progenitor.

    Even when the Ancient Lightning Locust was unconscious, the lightning that covered it did not dissipate.

    The Pridebeast gave the Megalith a thumbs-up while shing its big white teeth. The ape pointed at the Ancient Lightning Locust, indicating that the Megalith should drag the unconscious beast back.

    The Megalith opened its mouth, revealing even bigger white teeth. Its tail rose up, and it made the equivalent of a thumbs-up at the Pridebeast. You do it.

    The Pridebeast frantically gave more thumbs-ups. No, you do it.

    The Megalith smiled even wider, and its tail thrashed so wildly that it nearly smacked the Pridebeast in the face. You do it! You do it!

    The two massive beasts kept giving each other thumbs-ups.

    Lu Yin¡¯s mouth twitched as he watched. This was just embarrassing.

    Kong Tianzhao remained calm. After living for so long as a cultivator, there was little that he had not already seen.

    Jiang Chen¡¯s jaw dropped, and his eyes lit up. "That¡¯s awesome! Those two are so cool!"

    Liu Pianran showed a small smile. "Little Seven,e over for a meal sometime."

    Lu Yin coughed. "Maybe next time. I¡¯m going to take the Ancient Lightning Locust back first. We might be able to tame it."

    Liu Pianran nodded. "That¡¯s fine."

    Jiang Qingyue warned, "Brother Lu, you need to be careful. The Ancient Lightning Locust is going to be very difficult to tame."

    Jiang Chen grew even more excited. "Brother Lu, you¡¯ve already tamed those two, so there¡¯s no way the Ancient Lightning Locust will be a big deal for you. How about you give one to me?"

    Lu Yin answered generously, "Go ask them yourself. You can have one, as long as they¡¯re willing."

    Jiang Chen¡¯s face fell. His strength was not enough to qualify him to even pick the two massive creatures¡¯ teeth.

    Still, they¡¯re just so amazing, especially the way they give thumbs-ups. It¡¯s perfect! Where did they learn such a gesture? It looks so familiar¡­

    "You two, drag it over here," Lu Yinmanded, his voice echoing across the stars. A terrifying ripple of power swept over the Pridebeast and the Megalith like a hurricane.

    The two beasts jumped in surprise, instantly reminding them of the beatings that they had suffered. They quickly grabbed the Ancient Lightning Locust and raced back to Lu Yin, giving him more thumbs-ups and shing big white smiles even as they ran.

    As the Megalith drew closer to Lu Yin, it quickly lost its grin, which caused its body to puff up. It was trying to avoid draining nearby energy; otherwise, Lu Yin would punish it again.

    It was at this moment that the Megalith realized that its ability was too inconvenient; it did not look as powerful as the Pridebeast when it gave thumbs-ups.

    The Pridebeast¡¯s thumbs-up was so enthusiastic that it nearly poked Lu Yin in the nose.

    Lu Yin lost the urge to scold the two creatures. Instead, he turned his attention to the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    It was a fearsome creature that had managed to restrain all of Whitecloud City, and it had even made trouble for Aeternus. But despite its formidable power, Lu Yin had captured it today.

    In a one-on-one fight, the Ancient Lightning Locust could hold its own against either the Pridebeast or the Megalith, but it had struggled against both at once.

    Lu Yin ordered the Pridebeast and the Megalith to drag the Ancient Lightning Locust back to the Heavens Sect.

    When the Ancient Lightning Locust appeared, it created quite amotion in the Heavens Sect. Countless parallel universes focused on the Origin Universe, awed by the strength of the Heavens Sect.

    In particr, the sect¡¯s guardian beasts were incredibly powerful. Many people watching the scene felt that Lu Yin had not even needed to do anything, as his two enormous beasts had seemingly taken down the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    Just outside the Heavens Sect, the jiao¡¯s jaw dropped when it saw the Ancient Lightning Locust. Without any hesitation, the jiao turned and fled far away. It was running away.

    This caused the Pridebeast and the Megalith to exchange confused looks.

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes shed, and he took one step to instantly appear in front of the jiao. "Where are you going?"

    The jiao reflexively bared its fangs and ws, but as soon as it realized that Lu Yin was the one in front of it, the jiao instantly lowered itself submissively. It moved its head closer to Lu Yin, holding it so that he could see the scar on its head from the lightning.

    Lu Yin understood. "So, the Ancient Lightning Locust was the one that zapped you senseless?"

    Lu Yin had always thought that the jiao had been struck by the Lord of Lightning, which had rendered the beast an idiot. However, Jiang Qingyue and the others had said that it was Jiang Feng. Also, the timing did not add up. Finally, Lu Yin understood; the Ancient Lightning Locust had attacked the jiao. The Lord of Lightning had stolen the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s lightning, which was why the two had possessed the same power.

    It was no wonder why the jiao had fled the moment it had seen the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve captured it. It won¡¯t be allowed to hurt you again. If it bullies you, just ask the Pridebeast and the others for help," Lu Yin said as he grabbed the jiao and headed back to the sect.

    When they returned to the Heavens Sect, the Ancient Lightning Locust woke up. Instantly, it bared its teeth and red at Lu Yin.

    The jiao instantly shrank and hid.

    The Pridebeast punched the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s head, while the Megalith pped the beast with its tail. Both were quite aggressive with their actions.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust showed no sign of submitting, and it continued to radiate lightning as it red at Lu Yin.

    Countless people from within the Heavens Sect watched on in amazement.

    All of them had heard of the Ancient Lightning Locust, at least to some degree. It was an absolutely terrifying creature, and very few could defeat it in the entire megaverse.

    No matter how the Pridebeast and the Megalith beat the Ancient Lightning Locust, it refused to submit.

    Lu Yin arched a brow and then waved a hand, telling the Pridebeast and the Megalith to stop.

    The two massive creatures nced at Lu Yin, and then back at the Ancient Lightning Locust. They exchanged smiles before stepping back. It looked like they were happy to witness the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s forting suffering.

    Lu Yin faced the Ancient Lightning Locust directly, not saying a word. He released his inner universe, instantly dispersing the lightning sequence particles and fully exposing the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    The beast was startled. Where was its lightning? Before it could form another thought, Lu Yin took a step forward, instantly appearing above the creature¡¯s head. The Ancient Lightning Locust was about to attack, but Lu Yin raised a foot above the beast.

    Boom!

    One stomp instantly ttened the Ancient Lightning Locust. The force behind the stomp far exceeded all of the attacks at the Pridebeast and the Megalith hadunched at the Ancient Lightning Locust. The bug was dazed.

    It had not expected such overwhelming power toe from a puny human like Lu Yin.

    The Ancient Lightning Locust had reigned supreme in the megaverse from the moment it had been born. Neither the humans nor the Aeternals had been able to defeat it. Whenever it encountered an opponent it was unable to defeat, it had simply fled. Even then, just how many creatures in the entire megaverse were able to overpower the beast?

    Only Jiang Feng had ever managed to steal the beast¡¯s lightning, and that was the real reason why it hated that human. The Ancient Lightning Locust would never be satisfied until it killed Jiang Feng. It needed to reim its lightning. It alone in the entire megaverse deserved to wield such power.

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 3303: Mission

    During the battles in the Scourge and at the Immemorial Citadel, the Ancient Lightning Locust had felt the presence of the most powerful beings in the megaverse. It had been particrly terrified when it had approached the boundary and sensed Master Qing Cao.

    That was why the bug had decided to go make trouble for Whitecloud City, as it had wanted to calm its fear and restore a bit of its dignity.

    It had not expected to be overpowered by Lu Yin so easily.

    Lu Yin used his inner universe to disperse the lightning sequence particles, which meant that the Ancient Lightning Locust¡¯s most fundamental power had vanished. After that, the strength that had surpassed both the Pridebeast and the Megalith overwhelmed the Ancient Lightning Locust, leaving the beast feeling utterly defeated.

    Countless people cheered, stunned by Lu Yin¡¯s power.

    Who else could defeat the Ancient Lightning Locust with just one stomp?

    Even the Lord of Lightning, Jiang Feng, would have to spend a good deal of time fighting against the bug, and even then, his victory would not have been this decisive.

    The biggest difference between Lu Yin and Jiang Feng was the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe granted him an ability that was essentially the same as an Ortuser, which Jiang Fengcked. However, this did not mean that Lu Yin could defeat Jiang Feng as easily as he had the Ancient Lightning Locust.

    Jiang Feng and the Ancient Lightning Locust were fundamentally different, starting with the fact that Jiang Feng did not rely solely on his lightning.

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 Chapter 3304: E Jia

    Lu Yin solemnly said, "Everyone, the survival of the megaverse itself is at stake. I don¡¯t know when the Spirit Nidus will invade us, but as things currently stand, there is a massive gap between us. They¡¯ve used the same cultivation method for countless years, much like if our Heavens Sect had never fallen and continued to flourish for all this time. You can imagine the gap before us."

    People¡¯s expressions changed. All of them had heard bits and pieces about the Spirit Nidus, and Lu Yin had made sure that the researchers were told about the invasion. That would mentally prepare them for the intense days ahead of them.

    "The gap is sorge that, if we don¡¯t fight to catch up, we¡¯re doomed. Their goal is to reset our megaverse, destroying all of us so that they can climb higher themselves. Even if it means that I have to die, I refuse to let them seed. I expect the same determination from all of you. Fight with your lives to develop what we need.

    "I want 10,000 of these 108-arraybinations, each capable of using the power of a Progenitor."

    Lu Yin¡¯s outrageous demand stunned everyone, and even the usuallyposed Grandmaster Xiu Ming was left speechless.

    Grandmaster Li¡¯s excitement vanished as if someone was strangling him.

    "10,000?" Chief Engineer Biao Zi gasped in horror.

    Lu Yin waspletely serious. "What¡¯s important is the theoretical research, right? Once that¡¯splete, it shouldn¡¯t be that difficult to start mass production."

    If not for Lu Yin¡¯s status, Chief Engineer Biao Zi would have immediately started cussing him out.

    Director Zhi cleared his throat and cautiously spoke up. "Lord Lu, I don¡¯t fully understand this 108-array microarray, but in order to support something of this level, the universal armors need to be far, far stronger and durable than anything we¡¯ve ever created. That¡¯s not going to be easy to develop, and it will be even harder to manufacture."

    Lu Yin nodded. "That¡¯s why I¡¯ll have the Infinity Empire cooperate with you. I¡¯m assigning them with the task of manufacturing the armors. They use extremely robust materials, which I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already heard about."

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 Chapter 3305: To Be Useful

    As Lu Yin stepped inside the chamber, E'' Jia, who was sitting in a corner, immediately lifted his head. His eyes were fierce and utterly devoid of any hint of humanity. Years of sucking blood had given him the aura of a beast.

    Lu Yin slowly moved closer, carefully observing E'' Jia.

    E'' Jia was breathing heavy, and he clenched ab tightly in his right hand.

    When Lu Yin had first visited the Scourge upation, E'' Ji had mentioned that their mad ancestor had always been particrly concerned about his appearance and had often repeated the phrase, "Where''s myb?" Lu Yin realized that this was quite urate; even in his madness, E'' Jia never let go of hisb.

    Lu Yin held a great deal of respect for this madman. The Scourge upation had an ancestral rule: As long as they don''t show any hostility towards us, they are not harmed. E'' Jia was someone whose respect for life so ingrained into his very being that, even in his madness, he kept himself imprisoned. This was certainly a person worthy of respect.

    Suddenly, E'' Jia rose to his feet, and a hand reached out for Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin calmly raised his own hand and caught E'' Jia¡¯s.

    Outside the chamber, E'' Nan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. If anything happened to Lu Yin, the Scourge upation would be doomed.

    There was a sudden whoosh, and the entire Scourge upation trembled.

    Lu Yin firmly sped E'' Jia¡¯s hand. No matter how much force the madman used, he was unable to break free.

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 Chapter 3306: Blood Dissolution Technique

    Silver was quite clear on his current position. He simply was not strong enough for the Heavens Sect to care about him. Everything that he had done in the past had been written off after the incident involving the God of Death''s left arm. The only thing about Silver that could be of any interest at all was the fact that the man was a bone grafter.

    Silver¡¯s eyes narrowed. Despite the tremendous pressure he had just been subjected to, he understood that he was at a turning point in his life.

    Lu Yin was one of the people in the megaverse who could determine anyone¡¯s fate.

    ¡°Lord Lu, we stand at different heights, so we see things very differently. Please exin the matter clearly,¡± Silver said.

    Lu Yin stared down at the other man. ¡°Have you ever heard of the Ossis Ark?¡±

    Silver shook his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s a tool that uses the bones of powerhouses to power corpse kings, allowing them to wield the abilities that those powerhouses had while they were alive. It had the strength of nearly a hundred peak powerhouses. This is the Ossis Ark,¡± Lu Yin exined slowly.

    Silver''s eyes grewrge as they filled with both excitement and surprise. ¡°Such a thing actually exists?¡±

    Lu Yin stared at him. ¡°Did you really not know, or do you not understand?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t hard to understand. In the past, Tian Dou studied bone grafters, and he tore every inch of my body open. He managed to sessfully transnt the God of Death¡¯s left arm into his own body, but unfortunately, he was too scared of his Semi-Progenitor tribtion and didn¡¯t have the courage to attempt a breakthrough. If he had been a Semi-Progenitor, he would not have suffered the same fate.

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 Chapter 3307: A Jade Butterfly

    In the blink of an eye, three years passed. During these three years, Lu Yin constantly searched for True God and the other Aeternals, but he never found them.

    Progenitor Xi also failed. It was as though True God, Yuan Qi, and the others had disappeared into thin air.

    Even if they had found the megaverse¡¯s boundary, the Tianyuan Megaverse was still incredibly vast, and it was practically impossible to search every universe in it.

    For three years, the Heavens Sect oversaw various parallel universes and made the most progress it had ever seen. Materials were automatically refined and sent to the Heavens Sect. Whenever new substances were discovered, they were immediately analyzed and then reported on to the Heavens Sect.

    Energy converters, mechas, microarray weapons, and other tools were all in high demand. People had initially believed that they would struggle to fulfill the assignments that Lu Yin had given. But as more and more materials appeared, confidence spiked.

    Resources were gathered from countless parallel universes, and there were so many that even Progenitors were astonished. In particr, as more and more parallel universes were explored, all of them were immediately scoured for resources.

    There was no universe that was capable of standing up to the Heavens Sect. The entire megaverse had a simple goal: gather resources, and then gather even more.

    If Spirit Nidus was able to raise countless powerful cultivators due to their unified cultivation system, then the Tianyuan Megaverse would deplete all the resources from the various parallel universes to resist their terrifying enemy.

    While this was a bit like draining a pond to catch the fish, they had no other choice. If the Tianyuan Megaverse lost the uing war, the megaverse would be reset, and everyone would die. There was no need to even consider the megaverse¡¯s resources.

    One day, shortly after returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin received a report that the Sixverse Academy had been massacred. Rivers of blood flowed through the school.

    This news exploded in the Heavens Sect.

    The Sixverse Academy was no longer a mere academy. It had be the ce where the Heavens Sect trained its cultivators. When the Sixverse Association was ruling the megaverse, there were already arge number of young elites attending the academy.

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 Chapter 3308: Thousand Shards

    A monthter, another person was delivered.

    More reports concerning jade-colored insects kept arriving from various parallel universes.

    ¡°Dao Monarch, this isn¡¯t looking good. It looks like this is some sort of wide-spread inheritance or power,¡± Wei Rong reported. He was the one in charge of searching for the jade-colored insects, and his expression was grim.

    Lu Yin had realized the same thing. Yu Leng had used a jade butterfly to kill a Semi-Progenitor, but that butterfly was only the second type of insect from the jade-colored orbs. One of the people who had been brought to the Heavens Sect had already trained enough to summon a jade butterfly, which he referred to as a Sentinel Waltz.

    The jade orbs and the insects inside them were clearly part of some inheritance, but whatever it was, it was on an absolutely massive scale.

    Additionally, the fact that a jade butterfly had sessfully killed a Semi-Progenitor served as proof that this inheritance was not a minor one.

    Lu Yin stared out at the stars. There were other species and lifeforms in the megaverse aside from humans like astral beasts and countless other strange creatures. There was no denying that insects were arge and powerful race.

    He had a premonition that they may have discovered a terrifying inheritance of some kind of insect, possibly even the inheritance of an entire civilization.

    ¡­

    On a lush that was covered with vegetation, the sounds of birds and insects filled the air. The atmosphere was humid, but it was also refreshingly clean.

    There were mountains just barely visible in the distance, and overhead, there was a that was on the verge of shattering entirely. Nearly half of it was already broken, and the debris was shooting toward the verdant. Despite that, the debris caused little damage, thanks to a massive nt blocking the way. Without this nt, the debris would have wiped out all life on the.

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 Chapter 3309: Nemesis

    Yu Leng quickly manipted the jade butterflies, causing them to turn into streaks of light that cut his way out and let him escape from the card¡¯s pocket dimension.

    The card shattered, and Yu Leng escaped, gasping for breath. His entire body was a mess, and the skin that still remained looked ready to slough off at any moment.

    Countless jade butterflies had died around him, and even more jade dragonflies were dead. They littered the ground.

    Off in the distance, four headless corpsesy bleeding out, the ground beneath them stained as the blood flowed into the sea.

    Hu Liu appeared, and he looked no better off than Yu Leng. He tore his own skin apart, ripping them off in strips, along with the flesh beneath them. The sight was grisly enough that even Yu Leng felt a shiver of fear when he looked down at the little insect on his fingertip. Just what had the bug done to Hu Liu?

    The man was suffering from unbearable pain that far exceeded anything he had ever experienced before. Blood drenched his entire body, but he still had not forgotten his desire to kill Yu Leng.

    His card had been destroyed, and his hand was a mangled mess. He stared at Yu Leng through bloodshot eyes.

    Yu Leng stared back at his opponent. "Do you still want to keep going?"

    Hu Liu gritted his teeth, enduring pain that Yu Leng could not even imagine. The man picked up the broken sword of his fallenrade from the ground and then started to slowly walk towards Yu Leng, one step at a time.

    Yu Leng was amazed. "You¡¯re impressive, but you¡¯re still going to die. No one will leave this alive."

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 Chapter 3310: Inheritance Of Destruction

    Speaking of this, Great Elder Shan Gu sighed. "Hu Liu suffered the pain inflicted by a Thousand Shards. He felt the need to tear off every inch of his skin and dig into his flesh to relieve his torment."

    Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. This sounded like a big problem. Pain?

    "My Lost n has very few records concerning the Jade Warden or the Sentinel Waltz, so most of my people are unaware of them. But the Thousand Shards is different. The memory of that creature has been seared into us, and there are special records dedicated to them. Once a Thousand Shards appears, it has to be killed before it can fly, or else it will force you to experience a pain that you will never be able to forget."

    Lu Yin looked at Shan Gu. "Did a lot of the people in your megaverse endure that pain?"

    The old man stared at Lu Yin. "All of us endured it. There were no exceptions."

    Lu Yin''s expression changed. "How is that possible?"

    "The greatest advantage of these insects is their numbers. When the Thousand Shards flies, even the heavens weep. When there are enough of them to fill a universe, some of them are always flying. Pain became a daily reality in our megaverse. If aparison were made, you would find that my people have a much greater pain tolerance than the people of this Tianyuan Megaverse. In fact, there is noparison.

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 Chapter 3311: Almost Everything

    There was a pause, and then Great Elder Shan Gu let out a long breath. "The Verdant Sages seem to know everything that the other insects experience. They are iprehensible creatures¡ªit¡¯s almost as if a pair of eyes were watching us from the very beginning, examining every move we made, all to eventually create a being to counter us at every step. That is what a Verdant Sage is.

    "It knows everything and can use the abilities of all of the insects, but what''s even more terrifying is¡­"

    Great Elder Shan Gu stared intently at Lu Yin as a terrible fear appeared in the old man¡¯s eyes. "Its learning ability."

    Lu Yin was startled. "Learning ability?"

    Shan Gu¡¯s voice turned grave. "Verdant Sages possess the most exceptionalprehension I have ever encountered. In our megaverse, everything that our human civilizations had mastered, the Verdant Sage could also master. There were no exceptions. No matter how difficult the battle technique or the cultivation method was, the Verdant Sages could learn them all. There was nothing that they couldn¡¯t master. Its learning ability is absolutely terrifying.

    "What¡¯s most frightening is that, before they reveal themselves, you can''t identify them. If a Verdant Sage takes on the form of an insect, they will look exactly like any other insect. No one can tell that a seemingly unremarkable bug is actually a Verdant Sage, not unless it exposes its abilities. If they assume a human form, they will appear to be one of the most extraordinary geniuses in human history, a cultivator of unparalleled talent.

    "To be honest, Lord Lu, there was a time when I suspected that you were a Verdant Sage."

    Lu Yin was shocked, and he stared at Great Elder Shan Gu. "You''re joking, right? Are the Verdant Sages really that powerful?"

    The Great Elder sighed heavily. "In our megaverse, many incredible people were born, and some of our legendary ancestors even traversed the River of Aeons in order to join that final battle. At that time, we killed everyst Verdant Sage. However, do you know what our sess cost us, Lord Lu?"

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 Chapter 3312: Concealment

    "Stop! Listen to me! I found a Nest! I want to give it to Lord Lu! I want to give it to Lord Lu!" the woman screamed as terror filled her eyes. Even with the jade butterflies surrounding her, it was impossible for her to hide her fear. She had no chance of putting up any sort of resistance against the Heavens Corps.

    Any member of the Heavens Corps, when using their tools and equipment, could easily take on an Envoy with a power level of over 600,000. The gap between them and the woman was just too big.

    The beam passed through the area, and the woman was obliterated. She was not given any chance to exin herself. If she had not attacked with her butterflies, she would have been simply taken to the Heavens Sect.

    A Nest was a Nest, but not all cultivators who found them were evil. Some merely viewed the jade-colored orbs as a tool. So, when the Heavens Sect released the announcements about the Nests, those people willingly turned their Nests in and received generous rewards. However, there were always some who believed that they could deceive the Heavens Sect, evade pursuit, and then rise to power by using a Nest.

    People were not fools. The Heavens Sect was a behemoth, and they were also clearly quite concerned about the Nests. That meant that the Nests had to be of immense value.

    How could ordinary cultivators resist such temptation?

    Most of the people who found a Nest were unwilling to hand them over.

    Nests were being discovered in various parallel universes, and in far greater numbers than Lu Yin had anticipated. Fortunately, with the Heavens Sect¡¯s announcement, many universes cooperated, and many people worked together to eliminate the Nests.

    ¡­

    "Huo Xiu, why are you so pale? You just defeated your older brother, sessfully gaining the family inheritance. You should be happy! Your mother is happy for you."

    "I''m just exhausted from training."

    "Then take some time to rest. Don''t worry about your older brother. It was a fair fight, and the family won''t favor him."

    "Thank you, Mother."

    "Big Brother? Why are you here?"

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 Chapter 3314: Limits And Sanctis

    Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, traveling parallel to time, but a casual wave of Yuan Qi¡¯s hand caused the void to ripple and forced Lu Yin out of his movement technique. The power of time had no effect on the old man.

    Lu Yin was already in front of Yuan Qi, and heshed out with a palm. His inner universe lit up as collisions appeared with Infinity, letting Lu Yin unleash the ultimate strength of the Tianyuan Megaverse.

    Yuan Qi''s eyes zed fiercely. "Child, in the Spirit Nidus, I am also renowned for my palm strikes! Veilparter!"

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Bang!

    Collisions rang out as Lu Yin and Yuan Qi¡¯s palms shed, shattering the nearby void. More and more of the Hollow was exposed, and it spread across the universe like an ink blot.

    However, the universe quickly recovered as Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe ovepped it. Stars rained down upon Yuan Qi without pause. Lu Yin¡¯s attacks were fierce and endless. Yuan Qi was forced to simultaneously defend against both the powerful palm strikes and the crashing stars.

    Unable to endure, Yuan Qi spat out blood, which shocked him. "Child, this power?"

    Yuan Qi had not seen True God or those who followed him since the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. The Spirit Nidus denizen had fled from the Immemorial Citadel before Lu Yinpleted his Progenitor¡¯s tribtion. While he had met with Forgotten Ruins God, who had entered the Rivers and Mountains Painting, Yuan Qi had never heard anything about how Lu Yin had chased after the Ossis Ark. What the old man knew about Lu Yin was only what he had seen during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Yuan Qi knew that Lu Yin was exceptionally powerful, but no matter how strong Lu Yin had be since that battle, it should have been impossible for him to have surpassed Yuan Qi''s Veilparter technique. This palm strike was something that had been passed down within the Ascendant Hall, and it had been developed by one of the Spirit Nidus¡¯s greatest powerhouses. Even if Lu Yin could block one of the palm strikes, it should have been impossible for him to do so a second or third time.

    Despite that, Lu Yin had managed to meet Yuan Qi¡¯s attacks dozens of times, and cracks had even formed on Yuan Qi¡¯s hands. In contrast, Lu Yin showed no signs of weakening.

    How was this possible?

    Lu Yin¡¯s palm grazed Yuan Qi, even as the old man desperately dodged and then quickly retreated.

    Lu Yin was taken aback. Doesn¡¯t he know about Verdant Eternity? Right, he was always fighting against Mister Mu at the Immemorial Citadel, while the Origin Progenitor stayed underground and never participated in any of the battles. Even if the Origin Progenitor had the chance to join a fight, it still wouldn¡¯t have mattered since Tian Feng had already sealed Verdant Eternity.

    This meant that Yuan Qi knew nothing about Verdant Eternity.

    It was a terrifying technique that allowed all energy and power to be reused indefinitely. This technique alone meant that, so long as Lu Yin¡¯s attacks reached a certain level of strength, he would be able to defeat anyone. He could no longer grow exhausted.

    Still, Yuan Qi¡¯s Veilparter had stunned Lu Yin. Very few creatures in the entire megaverse were capable of withstanding Lu Yin¡¯s power. It was beyond the abilities of both the Pridebeast and the Megalith. Yuan Qi had not demonstrated this level of physical strength during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel.

    Despite his various thoughts, Lu Yin did not hesitate to continue attacking. His power was endless.

    As long as Yuan Qi was within Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe, he would have to deal with the fact that Lu Yin¡¯s energy reserves were truly endless. The old man had to either overpower Lu Yin with pure strength, or he would be defeated by Lu Yin.

    Yuan Qi kept flitting about, using a strange movement technique that was in no way inferior to Inverse Step. It also incorporated the power of time.

    The power of time could not affect Yuan Qi, but by the same token, whenever the old man tried to use the time on Lu Yin, it was equally pointless.

    After sessfully dodging several times, Lu Yin finallynded a palm strike on Yuan Qi¡¯s shoulder, sending him flying.

    Lu Yin stepped forward. "Where is your Dao Bell?"

    While fighting at the Immemorial Citadel, Yuan Qi¡¯s strongest weapon had always been his Dao Bell. Whenever that bell tolled, it had influenced the entire battlefield. If not for being countered by Mister Mu''s flute music, the Immemorial Citadel would not have been able to defend itself against that bell. However, during the final battle, Yuan Qi had shattered his Dao Bell while trying to escape from the battlefield and help True God''s Ossis Ark. This was why the man had started to look old, as well as why he had been weakened.

    If not for this, Lu Yin would have had no confidence of being able to defeat Yuan Qi.

    Yuan Qi coughed up blood before looking up, whereupon he saw Lu Yin approaching him. The old man gritted his teeth, his blood staining his clothes. "Child, do you really think that you can keep me here?"

    "Those who rely on their more advanced age to seed don¡¯t usually meet a good end." Lu Yin¡¯s palm struck Yuan Qi in the abdomen again, causing the old man to spit up blood as he flew backwards. Yuan Qi wanted to escape into his Rivers and Mountains Painting, but he had not been able to move any closer to the painting once he had decided to fight Lu Yin instead of retreating.

    Yuan Qi was in Lu Yin¡¯s universe, which only Lu Yin could control.

    Yuan Qi had never imagined that he would one day bepletely suppressed by Lu Yin. This was beyond infuriating! His Dao Bell had been shattered, and his sequence particles were impossible to use. On top of that, he could not get even a single step closer to the Rivers and Mountains Painting. Infuriating! Simply Infuriating!

    Pfft!

    Lu Yin struck out yet again, his palm meeting Yuan Qi¡¯s hand. There was a cracking sound. Yuan Qi¡¯s arm was broken, and the attack continued on to strike Yuan Qi¡¯s head, He was almost knocked unconscious.

    In the distance, the Rivers and Mountains Painting suddenly flew away. There was someone inside it, controlling it. They were trying to get away from Lu Yin.

    Lu Yin grabbed hold of Yuan Qi and used Inverse Step to chase after the Rivers and Mountains Painting.

    Hatred filled Yuan Qi''s eyes. "I am one of the Seven Seraphs! How could I end up in such a pitiful state? Zhan Yan, hurry up and save me! Rivers and Mountains Painting,e back to me!"

    No matter how Yuan Qi shouted, the Rivers and Mountains Painting continued to fly away from him.

    Lu Yin raised a hand, ready to suppress the painting.

    Within the Rivers and Mountains Painting, Zhan Yan, Forgotten Ruins God, and Wang Xiaoyu all looked up.

    "While this person is not an Ortuser, he¡¯s still capable of holding back thews of the universe. We can''t stop him. Hurry up and help me," Zhan Yan said with a grim expression.

    Forgotten Ruins God was surprised. "Aren¡¯t we going to save Yuan Qi?"

    ¡°He won¡¯t survive,¡± Zhan Yan instantly replied.

    Yuan Qi was not facing an ordinary opponent, but rather one of the most powerful individuals in the entire Tianyuan Megaverse. While Lu Yin might not be a match for True God or the Origin Progenitor at their peaks yet, dealing with a weakened Yuan Qi was no issue.

    If they tried to save Yuan Qi, the three women would only be dragged down with him.

    Zhan Yan was able to see this quite clearly, as she had already fought against Lu Yin when he had attacked the Ossis Ark.

    Despite that, she had not shared anything that she had learned about Lu Yin with Yuan Qi.

    "Zhan Yan! Zhan Yan!" Yuan Qi roared, calling for the Rivers and Mountains Painting to help him.

    Lu Yin''sndmass pressed down, which caused the Rivers and Mountains Painting to shrink. A surge of sequence particles shot upwards, forming a visible beam of light that held back the continent. While the sequence particles were being repelled by Lu Yin¡¯s inner universe, their pure quantity made it difficult for the sequence particles to be fully held back.

    From within the Rivers and Mountains Painting, Zhan Yan¡¯s voice called out, "Yuan Qi, you can no longer escape. Don¡¯t disgrace the Seven Seraphs or humiliate the Spirit Nidus. Otherwise, your descendants will suffer beneath the High Seraph."

    Yuan Qi¡¯s eyes narrowed. He red at the Rivers and Mountains Painting.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

    Lu Yin¡¯s eyes glinted as he raised a hand. He was about to use Flipping the Sky.

    Boom!

    The universe rumbled. It sounded as though heaven and earth were copsing. Lu Yin grabbed Yuan Qi with one hand and pressed his other downwards. He was determined to prevent the Rivers and Mountains Painting from escaping.

    Suddenly, Yuan Qi started to shout while he was held aloft by Lu Yin, "I won¡¯t disgrace the Seven Seraphs! Zhan Yan, protect my descendants and allow one of them to ascend to be a Seraph. I¡¯ll help you this onest time."

    As the old man spoke, a bell appeared. Despite its broken and battered appearance, it still produced a deafening sound when it rang.

    Lu Yin grew dizzy, and his hold of Yuan Qi automatically loosened.

    Yuan Qi spat out blood as he shot a fierce re at Lu Yin and rang the bell yet again.

    Lu Yin used his fingers as a sword, pointing them forward. The attack pierced the bell, which let out a final whine. At the same time, the Investiture of the Gods appeared, and Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian stepped out to pursue the Rivers and Mountains Painting.

    Unfortunately, they were toote. The Rivers and Mountains Painting, which was formed from an overwhelming number of Near and Far sequence particles, had escaped with that slightest opening.

    The Dao Bell shattered entirely. Yuan Qi clutched his heart as he slowly copsed.

    Lu Yin gazed into the distance. The Rivers and Mountains Painting had escaped. What a pity.

    "Cough, cough. I never thought, especially after all those years of fighting with that old bastard Mu, that I would lose¡­ to his disciple." Yuan Qi barked a bitterugh, his face ashen.

    Lu Yin looked back at Yuan Qi. "Without your Dao Bell, you were never a match for me. Didn¡¯t Zhan Yan warn you?"

    Yuan Qi¡¯s eyes red. "Are you the one who injured her?"

    A smile spread across Lu Yin''s face. "It seems that while your Spirit Nidus has a unified cultivation method, you still aren¡¯t able to escape from human nature. She had a chance to warn you, which would have prevented you from fighting me directly, and yet she chose not to. I would guess that that has something to do with your title of Seraph?"

    Yuan Qi''s eyes zed with hatred, but the fire quickly died down again as he let out a sigh of defeat. "The young are truly formidable. I''ve roamed wherever I wished my whole life, and yet I ended up being outwitted by two children. What a joke."

    Lu Yin stared at Yuan Qi. "Your strength without your Dao Bell is iparable to how strong you are with it. The people of your Spirit Nidus follow a unified cultivation method, which leads you toprehend specific sequence particles and allows you to build sequence bases. However, the w of such a method is also clear¡ªyou rely on it too much, which leads to a decline in personal strength.

    "Your Dao Bell was a product of your Spirit Transformation, and using it allowed you to fight against my master, Mister Mu. But how many creatures in your Spirit Nidus are able to undergo Spirit Transformation? Most are only at the Spirit Rebirth stage, aren¡¯t they?"

    Thews of the universe that the Spirit Nidus cultivatorsprehended, as well as their sequence bases, were both products of their unified cultivation method. Those cultivators were also able to undergo an incredible metamorphosis, which was called a Spirit Transformation.

    Only a few individuals were able to undergo a Spirit Transformation, which was a second transformation above the Spirit Rebirth. Only by undergoing a Spirit Transformation could one create a unique weapon or innate gift. One example was Tian Ci¡¯s Three-Foot Edge, which Garan Zhiluo had mistakenly believed to be a mirebound artifact. The reality was that the sword was the result of Tian Ci¡¯s Spirit Transformation, which Lu Yin had since learned from Progenitor Xi.

    Yuan Qi¡¯s Dao Bell and Zhan Yan¡¯s Jintian Painting were both the results of their Spirit Transformations.

    If a cultivator¡¯s Spirit Transformation weapon was destroyed, the owner would suffer even worse than if they had been defeated.

    Sequence particles, sequence bases, and the Spirit Transformation were the foundation for the Spirit Nidus¡¯s confidence in being able to fight against both the Consciousness Megaverse and the Tianyuan Megaverse. Their confidence was truly not without justification. Without his Dao Bell, Yuan Qi was nothing more than a fairly powerful Ortuser, and he was on apletely different level than Mister Mu, who was one of the most powerful experts in the entire megaverse.

    The fact that Lu Yin had managed to defeat Yuan Qi meant that the old man was only about as strong as the Boundary Guardians.

    However, with his Dao Bell, Yuan Qi became a true monster. If he also used the Rivers and Mountains Painting, he would have been even more formidable. It was possible that not even Mister Mu would have been able to stop Yuan Qi.

    A Spirit Transformation effectively elevated the strength of the Spirit Nidus cultivators to a higher level. Whenbined with their sequence bases, the potential of the megaverse was readily evident.

    Yuan Qi gave Lu Yin a mocking look. "Even if you belittle the cultivators of our Spirit Nidus, so what? The power that we gain through our various means still surpasses what your Tianyuan Megaverse is capable of. Since you know about our Spirit Transformations, you clearly know quite a bit about us. You must also know about our Limits and Sanctis, Ascendant Hall, and our ten all-powerful sequence bases. These are powers that you cannot defeat. If you spare my life, I promise that you will be able to live. Your family, your friends, and everyone you care about can also survive. You simply need to join the Spirit Nidus.

    "With your talent, if you join the Spirit Nidus and cultivate our sequence particles, it¡¯s not impossible for you to obtain a sequence base and be one of the Seven Seraphs."

    Tranted By: OMA

    Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

    TLC''ed By: OMA

 Chapter 3319: The Path To Becoming A Sequence Progenitor

    Inside a spacecraft, a loud voice announced, "Everyone, up ahead is the Umbral Universe. Lord Lu once fought a sequence-rule expert in this universe, a man named Mo Shang. He was eventually executed by Lord Lu during the Heavens Sect''s martial deration. The man¡­¡±

    This vessel was specifically making a trip across the Endless Frontier. More than 10,000 people were on it, all of whom wanted to visit locations that had once been avoided.

    The Endless Frontier had been a nightmare for the people of the Sixverse Association. No one wanted to go to that battlefield, as there was no way to ensure survival after entering. However, it had be possible to freely enter and travel across the Endless Frontier and see ces that had once only been known by those who had endured the horrors of the battlefield.

    There was a person at the front of the spacecraft who was narrating their journey.

    At the back of the ship, people excitedly chatted among themselves.

    "We¡¯re back in the Umbral Universe. I never thought that I''d return to this ce while still alive, let alone in this manner."

    "Have you been to the Umbral Universe before?" someone asked in surprise.

    "Heh, it was a long time ago. Back then, I was fighting against Aeternus and the Umbrals in an endless darkness. Everyone was an enemy, aside from yourself, and every second felt like a year. The Umbrals never distinguished between friends and enemies, and I even suspected them of colluding with Aeternus.

    "People fell one after another. The war here was brutal."

    "For you to have survived this ce and returned, you must be a hero," someonemented admiringly.

    Someone else agreed, "Yes, a true hero!"

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 Chapter 3324: Completion

    Nests were truly mysterious items. They did not require any sort of cultivation, and yet they were able to spawn insects. The truth was that not even Yan Gang himself understood how the Nests produced insects; it was more like the bugs simply used him as a vessel to move about. However, the man did not dare to reveal this to True God.

    It was likely that this was true of all Nests. The reason why people mistakenly believed themselves to be the masters of their Nest was because the insects that spawned obey them.

    However, no one actually knew why the insects obeyed the owners of the Nests. Everyone believed that they could control their Nest, but if people gathered and discussed the matter, they would realize that each of them had a different method of "control."

    The insects spawned incredibly quickly, and theypletely shattered all conceptions that humans understood about cultivation speed. An individual human needed an incredibly long time to cultivate to the peak powerhouse level, but these insects could be spawned in a very short span of time. This was unfair and a disaster for human civilizations, but this was also in line with the nature of the megaverse: there were mysteries everywhere.

    An ordinary human could use technology to destroys, or even entire universes while still being an ordinary human who had lived for just a few decades.

    On the other hand, the insects came from the Immortal Lord, who was an invincible being. That was why such powerful insects could be produced so quickly by a given Nest. However, the Immortal Lord had personally spent an unimaginably long time developing from a lower life form into an invincible being.

    Without the Immortal Lord¡¯s miraculous abilities, there would be no insects at all. In a way, the Immortal Lord was simr to technology for ordinary humans; it was the power to move mountains and fill seas. The technology of regr humans had advanced so much in just a few decades that their progress had surpassed thousands of years of progress for ancient civilizations. It was a qualitative leap.

    For cultivators, humans pursued the level of peak powerhouses. Then, they would be able to give birth to descendants who possessed innate gifts. These people were essentially striving for the same abilities as the Immortal Lord. That individual had already achieved that state, while humanity as a whole was constantly moving in that same direction.

    There was no telling how many other kinds of lifeforms throughout the megaverse had already taken that step. As humanity as a whole grew stronger, they would encounter more and more incredible species.

    After Yan Gang waited for a long time, a jade-colored centipede crawled out of the orb.

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